Update (Boring)

Currently I'm working on a few projects and I seem to be not doing very well on many/all of them. I need help and inspiration!

For instance, my "50 books by the end of the year" (which started at 100 if you recall) is going very slowly. I noticed in reviewing my list that nearly two-thirds of the books I've read were within the first four or five months of the year. There are only about 50 days left until the start of 2010 and I still need about twelve more books (however, I must say that the one I just finished-- in three days I might add-- The Wild Trees, was a very interesting, informational, and inspiring book-- especially for non-fiction-- and I will readily recommend it to anyone). The main problem here is that I'm trying to work through Founding Brothers, which is probably the dullest book I've ever been required to read (after Aristotle's Nichomachean Ethics I had to read for my Greek Literature class a year ago).

This obstacle brings me to my next suffering goal which was to finish all three of my Independent Study courses by January first. I have to get through F. B. and another required novel and I must point out my online instructor claimed about these two books, "you will enjoy them so much that you'll soon forget that you are reading for a class." Ha. Clearly this person has never met me. Anyway, so I might be able to complete the courses by January first if I become a temporary hermit for a while and speed through as many lessons as I can, but I'm afraid the quality of my work would greatly suffer. I've determined that I'm a better student in a physical, rather than cyber, classroom.

This month I'm supposed to be participating in the NaNoWriMo challenge alongside my mom and sister Megan, but it's nearly two weeks in and I still only have one sentence and a lot of ideas, but no clue how to put them onto paper.

Also, I'm rather sad to say that my third day in the food challenge I'm working on did not go very well at all. I'll write about it more tomorrow over on the Hungry Thing so I can combine it with day 4, but I'm really quite disappointed in myself. At least it isn't a real, health-threatening situation.

Tomorrow we have a cleaning check, and for some reason the management gave me the longest list of things to clean out of the rest of my roommates. And the most difficult tasks...like the fridge. Wish me luck for tomorrow (yes, I have yet to clean) and hope that I come out of the sticky, drippy, smelly mess of the fridge alive and on-time!

P.S. Perhaps this will cheer you up (the first two minutes are the most important part...and also the part at 5:40):

Looking Forward

The New Moon premiere is coming up in a couple of weeks. Unlike my sisters, I will not be attending the midnight showing. No, I'm setting my sights on a different midnight showing...a year from now. That's right kids, I'm already counting down to Deathly Hallows pt 1 on November 19th! Don't get me wrong, it's not like I've put up a paper chain or anything, but there it is. I'm just a little miffed that Germany gets to see it two whole days before we do. Harumph.

Harry and Hermione bury Dobby at Shell Cottage

Also, part two comes out July 15th, 2011.

Other things I'm looking forward to?
-dive trip to Bonneville Seabase next weekend
-Christmas, a time to see family and an excuse to make tons of sweets (and eat them of course)
-SCUBA stress and rescue course starting Feb 25th
-St Patrick's Day (a favorite holiday because I get to show what pride I have for a place that contributes, however minimally, to my ancestry...and who doesn't love corned beef and cabbage?)
-two weeks in England at the end of April/beginning of May (oh gosh. I just said it. Now I'm excited.)
-sailing lessons if I can raise the money and find someone to take it with me
-probably starting culinary school next August (read what I think)

Puggles and Fingerlings and Squeakers, Oh My!

I found this list of baby names for various animals and thought it was both interesting and sort of hilarious:

Alligator = hatchling

Alpaca = cria

Ant = antling

Antelope = calf

Ape = baby

Armadillo = pup

Badger = kit, cub

Bat = pup

Bear = cub

Beaver = pup, kitten

Bee = larva

Bird = hatchling, chick

Bison, Buffalo = calf

Boar = piglet, shoat, farrow

Bobcat = kitten or cub

Butterfly = caterpillar, larva, pupa, chrysalis

Camel = calf

Caribou = calf or fawn

Cat = kitten

Cattle = calf

Cheetah = cub

Chicken = chick, pullet (young hen), cockrell (young rooster)

Cicada = nymph

Clam = larva

Cockroach = nymph

Codfish = codling, hake, sprag, sprat

Coyote = pup, whelp

Crane = chick

Crocodile = hatchling

Crow = chick

Deer = fawn

Dinosaur = hatchling, juvenile

Dog = pup

Dolphin = pup, calf

Donkey = colt, foal

Dove = squab, chick

Duck = duckling

Eagle = fledgling, eaglet

Echidna = puggle

Eel = leptocephalus (larva), elver (juvenile)

Elephant = calf

Elk = calf

Emu = chick, hatchling

Falcon = chick

Ferret = kit

Finch = chick

Fish = fry, fingerling

Fly = maggot

Fox = kit, cub, pup

Frog = tadpole, polliwog, froglet

Gerbil = pup

Giraffe = calf

Gnat = larva

Gnu = calf

Goat = kid, billy

Goose = gosling

Gorilla = infant

Grasshopper = nymph

Grouse = chick, poult, squealer or cheeper

Guinea pig = pig, pup

Gull = chick

Hamster = pup

Hare = leveret

Hawk = eyas

Hedgehog = piglet, pup

Heron = chick

Hippopotamus = calf

Hog = shoat, farrow

Hornet = larva

Horse = foal, colt (m), filly (f), stat, stag, hog-colt, youngster, yearling or hogget

Hound = pup

Human = baby, infant, toddler

Hummingbird = chick

Hyena = cub

Jay = chick

Jellyfish = ephyna

Kangaroo = joey

Koala = joey

Lark = chick

Leopard = cub

Lion = cub

Llama = cria

Louse = nit, nymph

Magpie = chick

Mallard = duckling

Manatee = calf

Mole = pup

Monkey = infant

Moose = calf

Mosquito = nymph, wriggler, tumbler

Mouse = pup, pinkie, kitten

Mule = foal

Muskrat = kit

Nightingale = chick

Opossum = joey

Ostrich = chick

Otter = whelp, pup

Owl = owlet, fledgling

Ox = stot, calf

Oyster = spat

Panda = cub

Parrot = chick

Partridge = cheeper

Peacock = peachick

Penguin = chick

Pheasant = chick

Pig = piglet, shoat, farrow

Pigeon = squab, squeaker

Platypus = puggle

Porcupine = porcupette

Porpoise = calf

Possum = joey

Prairie dog = pup

Pronghorn = fawn

Quail = chick

Rabbit = kitten, bunny, kit

Raccoon = cub

Rat = pup, pinkie, kitten

Reindeer = calf

Rhinoceros = calf

Sand Dollar = larva, pluteus, juvenile

Sea Urchin = larva, pluteus, juvenile

Seal = pup

Serval = kitten

Shark = pup

Sheep = lamb, lambkin, cosset

Skunk = kit

Snake = Snakelet, neonate, hatchling snake)

Spider = spiderling

Squirrel = pup, kit, kitten

Swan = cygnet, flapper

Termite = larva

Tiger = cub, whelp

Toad = tadpole

Trout = fry, fingerling

Turkey = poult

Turtle = hatchling

Wallaby = joey

Walrus = cub, pup

Wasp = larva

Weasel = kit

Whale = calf

Wolf = pup, whelp

Wombat = joey

Woodchuck = kit, cub

Woodpecker = chick

Wren = chick

Yak = calf

Yellow Jacket = larva

Zebra = colt, foal

Color

A rainbow of color...in vegetables!
Check out my new post on l'autre blog.

Trick or Treat?

Happy Halloween everyone!
I haven't dressed up for Halloween since high school when I was Queen Elizabeth and Ian was Tony Blair:
But this year I was invited to a Halloween party at the Hughes' so I decided to dress up. The only thing I could think of on short notice was a skipper:
While I would much rather have been a Star Weasel crew person:
Oh well, maybe next year.
In the mean time, enjoy this funny trick:

I'm Basically Famous

About a week ago I sent in a question with a couple pictures to Apartment Therapy (since I recently learned how to do a screen shot-- so simple, so awesome!!! I'm easily amused...) about the headboard in Across the Universe, which I think is a beautiful piece of carpentry and would love to have grace my future perfect bedroom.
Anyway, tonight the editor/s decided to post my question! Hopefully I will get some response from this.
In somewhat related news, over the summer when Mom and Adrien and I went shopping in Salt Lake (and didn't buy anything...) we passed this wonderful apartment building that looked like it was falling to bits, but I of course loved. I took a couple of grainy pictures with my phone:

What is wrong with me? Why do I find such dilapidated buildings so beautiful?

Boo

When I say "Boo" I'm not really talking about Halloween stuff because I don't really have anything Halloween-related going on right now (though there's a party at the Hughes' I might go to the day before and a movie at Jared & Megan's Halloween night, which I'm excited about). I sort of want to make Kleenex ghosts to hang around the house, but I don't have any Kleenex, so...boo.
That's really the sort of "boo" I mean to talk about right now, so this might be a little complain-y for you. Feel free to not read on.
I curled my hair today. It was frizzy and creepy so I put it in a ponytail. That made me feel like a 50s librarian. Or maybe like I needed to be wearing a poodle skirt.

Yes, I did just take this picture as I was sitting here typing this.

Actually that doesn't look too bad, at least not from this angle. I guess I'm too hard on myself sometimes. Well anyway.

My grilled cheese sandwich stuck to the pan, which has never happened to me before...maybe it was the pan? Though I'm pretty sure I've used that pan to make grilled cheese before...hm. Anyway, it made it taste all nasty and tore holes in it. But I'll have you know I ate it anyway. So there.

I didn't babysit this past week because the grandma/mom was in town, and you all know how grandmas are, they love their grandkids enough to babysit so the babysitter doesn't have to. For me this meant not only that I didn't have to wake up before the sun rises over the mountains and brings light and life to the valley, but also that I didn't get my $30 in spending money this week. But my habits didn't change, and the bills came early (or late?) so I have no money (though I did save enough cash to be able to buy a few necessities at the grocery store this coming week, thank goodness for my moderate foresight), and I'm having a craving to make many tasty and delicious things but I can't pay for the ingredients! I am so very, very sad :(
Luckily, Mom's coming to town on Thursday so maybe I can get her to pay for some superfluous groceries if I make tasty things for her to eat!

Madraste? Will you?

P.S. I posted a recipe for cheesecake on my other blog.

Having Fun

You know how kids are lean and scrawny because they run around all the time? (Well, besides those whose parents buy them video game consoles) Well, it's because they're having fun. Remember the days when you didn't want to come inside when you were called in for dinner as the sun was setting on another beautiful day involving running all over the yard and maybe even down the street to the huge open fields? Even if you don't, you can learn something from all of this-- fun is good exercise! Remember my post on the Tumble Gym? I went again last week and woke up sore the next morning, and I don't remember doing anything that wasn't fun, meaning the fun is what made me sore (okay, I'm stretching a bit here, but I'm trying to make a point, mkay?).
The other day Adrien and I discovered this type of "dancing" that, when we tried to learn it, put us out of breath but also made us anxious to try more because it was fun.
In Sweden they did this test to see if they could get more people in the subway/metro/whatever to use the stairs by making them more fun. And it worked! Watch the video:

So getting more exercise doesn't have to be a chore. Find a way to make it more fun. Go to the rock wall place (definitely gets your heart rate up, especially if you're afraid of heights like me), go to the tumble gym, make up challenges like "how many jumping jacks can I do during the course of this song?," or learn a jumpstyle dance! You'll feel a lot better, I can assure you.

Des Livres

So far I have thirteen books left before I reach my goal of reading 50 books this year! I have compiled a list of books that I would like to read next and came up with twelve.
Here, in alphabetical order, with an explanation:

84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff
-recommended/ in preparation for the London trip this spring

Adrift: Seventy-Six Days Lost at Sea by Steven Callahan
-read a good review/recommendation

The Adventures and Misadventures of Maqroll by Alvaro Mutis
-read somewhere one's life would be incomplete until this book had been read

The Big Over Easy by Jasper Fforde
-I read the beginning of this book ages ago and loved it but had to surrender it to the proper owner before I got very far

Blindness by Jose Saramago
-recommended by a friend

Blink by Malcom Gladwell
-recommended by a friend

Founding Brothers by Joseph J Ellis
-required for my Political Science class

Gideon's Trumpet by Anthony Lewis
-required for my Political Science class

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
-I think this is an interesting story and hope it will be a good read. I know the guy had flaws, but no one is perfect, right?

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
-recommended by a friend

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
-read a good review/recommendation

The Wild Trees by Robert Preston
-came across this book a while ago, thought it looked interesting, and haven't had the chance to read it yet

Now here's where you come in. I need a thirteenth book! Recommend something to me! Also, if you see something on my list that you read and didn't like or that you want to read too, or something/anything you might want to comment on, go right ahead. Here's to fifty books!

Spontaneity

Today I went and saw a matinee by myself. I saw White on Rice, a weird independent(?) film that was in town for a while.

WHITE ON RICE-THEATRICAL TRAILER from Dave Boyle on Vimeo.

Today was the last day it was showing in Provo and I read about it somewhere and went to see it. Everyone was in class or at work like most normal people are at noon on a Thursday, so I went alone. I was actually the only one in the entire theatre. What bothered me was that the movie was playing when I got there. It didn't bother me that it had already started because I was a few minutes late anyway, but since I was the only one in the theatre, that must've meant they were planning to show the film whether or not anyone was there. That bothers me. I'm sure Cinemark is wasting a lot of electricity by playing a film when no one is watching it. Anyway, the movie has moved out of Utah now, so I can't recommend it if you live in the area, but if you don't, check the website and see if it's coming to you. I do recommend seeing it, but only at a matinee. It was a good show and had quite a bit of comedy, but it was just a little too awkward at times. Maybe it's a better show when you have some company or don't have a headache (which I did)...
Anyway, in other news, I randomly found this song and happened to like enough to take the time to download it for free on the band's website (there's a link in the description of the video if you're interested).

Tell Me Something

Why is it that I cannot attend a concert when an interesting band comes to town with fairly good priced tickets? Oh that's right, because it's 21 and up.
And why is it that one of the best scores I've heard is unavailable in sheet music form alone? Here I've found "River Waltz" and "Promenade" from The Painted Veil in a collection, but there's no music just from that particular film. There's still The Hours I suppose, but I really love the music in Painted Veil.
Listen:

Am I not right?

New Things

With all my free time, I've decided to branch out in the blogosphere with a new food blog and participation in a fashion (of sorts) blog/project with Megan and Adrien.
Check them out!

Oh and P.S. Happy 60th birthday to Lindsey Buckingham, one of my favorite musicians.

Stuff

I'm considering making a new blog just for food stuff. But do I really cook or bake often enough to make even a weekly post? Would you read it? Input please.
Also, this is pretty cool:

“What is beautiful is good, and who is good will soon be beautiful”

If I had to pick between ancient Greeks and Romans I'd definitely say I'm a Hellanophile because I usually get a bitter taste in my mouth when I think about the Romans (if you really want to know why, ask me in person so I don't have to bore the rest of you). One thing they had going for them though was that they had more apparent respect for women than the Greeks did. And the Etruscans liked them even more! Here're some evidences from art:
First of all, this fresco shows a woman who apparently learned to read and write. Literacy in women was rare in the ancient world. Aside from Sappho, I'm unaware of many Greek women being allowed to learn to write (this fresco is actually sometimes called the "Sappho Fresco" even though it's from Pompeii).
Here's another fresco from Pompeii, this one a portrait of the people that lived in the house where it was found. Not only was the woman depicted literate, she was shown in equal status with her husband, something ancient Greek women were rarely shown as (there's a whole 'nother story to discuss when you mention Penelope, so let's not for now and just say Homer was the exception in Greek views on women).
This is an Etruscan sarcophagus that shows a husband and wife eating together. Greek women were not even allowed in the same room as men during mealtimes (unless they were prostitutes/dancers there to entertain) let alone lie with them on the same couch. Kudos to the Etruscans.
And here's just a nice Etruscan frieze that shows a husband and wife together. I believe this is from a tomb/funerary memorial/sarcophagus, so you could possibly say that this couple wanted to be together after death, which is sweet.

The quote in the title is by Sappho, since we're talking of ancient women.

My Feet are Cold

Autumn is descending like a low cloud on the mountains.
And I am glad.

Shaun the Sheep

I'm sort of in love with this show:

Too bad viewing is limited outside the UK :(

Blue Skies

Do you like the new look? Summer's officially over I think (well, not the season, but the freedom certainly is) so I thought I'd go for something a little less summer-y. And I took that picture :)
So I found this preview for a movie I think looks kind of cool. The thing is, the only way to watch it (it's 45 minutes...only.) is by buying the special version of this random band's newest album. I'm still working out whether or not it means that much to me (since I don't really know the band or the music, though I like the song in the preview), but if I decide to buy it, you're welcome to borrow it if this tickles your fancy:

Also, a feel nerdy because I'm sort of really excited about these? Think of it...you could give people bread and stuff and never have to worry about them giving your pans back or feeling lame because you just gave it to them in a giant ziploc bag! Wow, I am a nerd. But I'm really getting excited for giving people bread. Haha!

Breakfaaaast...

With my lack of anything to do, I've lately been really wanting to get back into one of my favorite things to do-- cooking. But I have no one to cook for, and admittedly (at present), not a lot of money to be buying fancy ingredients.
This morning, however, I was perusing the many food blogs I subscribe to, and found an article about how to make the perfect poached egg. I tried the vortex method about a year ago to very unfortunate results, but I have now found a method I'd really like to try.
Now imagine this: fresh wheat bread lightly toasted and buttered, topped with a slice of tomato and a few leaves of spinach sauteed in olive oil, and the poached egg sprinkled with sea salt and pepper. My mouth is watering just thinking about it! And I don't even like tomatoes. Maybe a couple slices of bacon for added protein. But man. Maybe I'll go make that wheat bread right now since I have a recipe I know is great.
Does anybody want to help me eat?

Note: Apparently this method of poaching an egg is the most common...don't know how I missed the memo!

Oh, and kudos if anyone can guess what the title of the post is quoting. And I'll be surprised if you get it.

Terrible, Horrible

Please enjoy this lovely find:

It's a Walk in the Park

I'm not a parent, but I spend a lot of time with little kids (nephew, niece, and a little guy I just started babysitting) and I can appreciate how not always easy it is corralling/whatever them. But kids are really a lot of fun. Monday afternoon I went with Megan and the kids to Vivian Park up the canyon for a "picnic" (Burger King dollar menu) and some fun. It was incredibly windy. Nathan (for some reason) hates wind, so that was interesting, but even more interesting was watching Megan run all over the grass picking up stuff that got blown away. Here are some pictures from the excursion:

Megan; not actually holding a white ball-- I was just trying to reduce "Cleavage City" as she called it, but I think this picture is super cute so I had to include it.
Nathan with awesome hair. Like I said, it was windy.
All going down at the same time! Nathan enjoyed it, but I'm not sure Rylie did.