Life Imitates Star Wars

A couple of weeks ago I came across this article from the BBC about a giant ant colony that was taking over the world (okay, so maybe that was slightly melodramatic :) ). It wasn't until I saw this blurb on TheForce.net, though, that I saw the similarity between it and the Dark Nest Trilogy by Troy Denning (which is basically about a massive colony of bugs getting together and trying to take over the galaxy).

It may be a small thing, but at least it gives me a chance to share some Japanese Star Wars novel covers again. :)

In other geek news, I stumbled upon this "How to Woo a Nerdy Girl" post via the Official Star Wars Blog.

A couple of my favorite excerpts...

Tip #2: It helps to look like this guy:

I'll edit that to add this guy as well (hint: it's all about the HAIR!!). :)

Tip #7: Know your pop culture references.

Know the complete works of the Nerd Holy Trinity: Joss Whedon, J.J. Abrams and Peter Jackson. Know that Nathan Fillion will always be on your girl’s “freebie” list. When she goes to church and thanks God that Robert Downey Jr. survived the 1980s so he could play Iron Man, say “Amen” right alongside her. And for the love of all that is sacred and holy, do not EVER get “Star Wars” and “Star Trek” confused: one has Wookiees, one has Shatner, it’s not that hard.

So true! Don't ever, EVER cross the streams!

And finally, via Cake Wrecks, some sweet geek cakes. Click the link to see even more awesome Star Wars cakes!

4th of July + Independence Day 5K

I spent this past weekend with my family again, this time for the 4th of July.

The day started off with a 5K. Yes, I ran a 5K. If anyone had told me a year ago or even 6 months ago that I would be able to run one of these, I would have said they were nuts!

Darren asked to see my game face before the race, so this is it. Ferocious, aren't I?

I decided last minute to run with the iPod instead of without it, which turned out to be a great, great decision. Playlist for the run: "Numb," "New Divide," and "What I've Done" by Linkin Park; "Mea Culpa" and "Return to Innocence" by Enigma. I crossed the finish line while listening to "Caravanserai" by Loreena McKennitt.

Not sure what was going on while I was talking to Dad, but it looks like my nose was itchy.

30:33. My best time for a 5K, even in practice.

And then I was a little goofy with the big plastic purple dinosaur while waiting for the awards to start.

That last one was me being *really* goofy. I think I still had this stuck in my head from ICanHasCheesburger...

I was completely shocked when I won my division!!! I am soooo not a distance runner, so it felt really good to accomplish that.

Back home I dug into a fried pie from Apple Barn.

And then Dad started the grill. My Dad is, like, the grill master. The steaks were sooooooo good. And so were the hot dogs. And hamburgers. And chicken.

Okay, so it was all good. :)

Beth and J showed up- this is Beth with her armload of CSA goodies to share.

After lunch J took me out to see the property that he and Beth are thinking of buying- it's very pretty!! The cows aren't part of it, but when I saw them I just had to take some photos.

The weekend also involved an emergency trip to the camera store (yes, there is such a thing as a photographic emergency) to buy a remote shutter release for my D300. I didn't want to have to do the whole timer method of shooting fireworks this year- it's so much easier just to stand next to the tripod and press the button every once in a while.

After being pretty all morning and afternoon, it started to rain in the evening. The city's fireworks display was postponed by about an hour, but when it was still raining around 10pm, they just set them off anyway. Instead of photographing from the nearby cemetery like we'd planned, Dad and I ended up shooting photos off the front porch instead (hence the trees and power lines in the pictures).

I think I may have made a Mac convert out of Beth. This is her on Sunday morning playing with my old Powerbook G4 that she bought from me. As an aside, I may have converted my brother, too- Beth kept having to ask him to giver her the computer back!

J showing Dad how to play Lego Star Wars on the XBox 360.

And then some time in the garden and picking blackberries before I drove back home.

Father's Day is a three week event

At least it was this year. :) I'd been planning to go visit Dad that weekend, but then we got the news that my brother was coming home early from Iraq on the following Monday, so we all decided to postpone until the next weekend. I called Dad that weekend instead and talked with him for a while.

The next weekend I did go visit, and we all gave Dad his gift- a new Lensbaby Composer. That thing is really cool- it's a selective focus lens that can do all this artsy stuff. And they have really cute packaging, too!

I had ordered one more gift (Quantum of Solace on Blu-Ray) for Dad and also made him a card, but didn't get to give him those things until this past weekend when I went to visit for the 4th of July. For some reason I didn't take a picture of the nifty Far Side card I made for him!! You can't find those in any stores any more, and I really miss being able to give them to him, so I decided to make my own. I found a still new in the box Far Side Page-A-Day calendar on Amazon and ordered it. Now I have 365 pages of Far Side goodness with which to make cards. :)

Seee, somehow I remembered to take a photo of the calendar, but not of the card. :/

So, Happy Father's Day again, Dad!!! I love you!!

The Transformers "Experience"...and the rest of the weekend, too.

Last weekend I went to see this movie on the IMAX in Nashville...

Ohmygosh, just GO AND SEE IT ALREADY!! Turn your brain off, sit back, and just have fun with it. I mean, you've got explosions, lots of people running around, and multi-story alien robots doing kung fu on top of the pyramids in Egypt. And in downtown Shanghai. And in a few other places (dude, the scene in the kitchen was hilarious...that was one evil Dyson). Oh, and the slow-motion extraction of a Decepticon skeleton is just insanely mind-blowing to watch- the whole thing is pure eye candy.

One sequence is filmed in the Smithsonian Air and Space museum, and for some reason (I think it was all the adrenaline from the previous hour and a half of running and robots) I felt like jumping up and screaming "I've been there...I have pictures from there!!!" But I restrained myself. But it did remind me that I need to post those Smithsonian photos here sometime soon.

The rest of the weekend was somewhat less, ummm, huge (the IMAX is a 5 story tall screen), but still fun. I visited Mom and Dad while I was in town and spent the night there. I bequeathed a 19" flat panel monitor that I'm no longer using to my Dad, and now he has a cool dual-screen setup. :)

The IMAX theather in Nashville is in Opry Mills mall, which houses some other cool stores. One of my favorites is Bass Pro Shops. I'm not a fisher or a hunter, but I love any store that has aquariums inside.

I also love any store that actually puts rifles on clearance. And all the ammo is quite cool, too.

My other favorite store is the Apple Barn. They make the best fried pies I have ever had. I think I've had dreams about those things!

As usual, there were lots of things blooming around Mom and Dad's place. The lighting was not the best for photography, but I took a few photos anyway just to document what they had blooming in June.

Run for Ella

I ran in my first official "race" of sorts on Saturday morning- the Run for Ella.

My friend Richard (of Code Monkey fame) was also running with it with his son. They were doing the 5K. I ran the 1 mile because I have a 5K coming up next weekend and didn't want two back to back- I just don't think that my knee could handle that.

It turned out to be a really good thing that I didn't sign up for the 5K, because when we got there we discovered that it was an off-road trail run, complete with rutted, washed out trailed filled with loose gravel, dirt, and tree branches. Not knee friendly at all, and certainly not friendly to Richard and Thomas, since this was their first 5K.

I did get some pretty good shots of them while they were running.

Then it was my turn to run...this is more my kind of distance- especially on a really hot, humid day!!

Everyone ready to start. It was a fun walk/run, so a lot of people were walking and just a few ran.

Going waaaay off road to try to politely get around some people.

This guy sprinted up and passed me at the very end- I'm glad someone had the energy to finish strong!

Finally able to go to a crop!

Actually, the title should probably be more like "Finally able to blog about going to a crop" since I actually went to this one on the 12th and am just now posting the pages from it. :)

Once Upon a Scrapbook holds great crops- being able to scrapbook in the store means I'm really close to an extra sheet of grey cardstock should I run out (which I did). And any time I have an excuse to eat at Firehouse Subs (about a mile from the store) I take it.

I completed 9 pages in about 6 hours (and part of that 6 hours was spent getting food and eating).

One set of pages was a random Christmas layout from last year. I put most of my Christmas photos from 2008 in a mini album (which you can see here), but there are still a few pages I want to make for my regular scrapbooks.

The rest of the pages are from Dad's birthday party last year. I haven't scrapped all my photos from that weekend yet- I'll probably be working on those at the next crop. :)

Floors and Doorknobs

My two latest obsessions. Actually, I've always been obsessed with floors- they're usually my favorite part of the room to work on.

Unfortunately, I can't always make up my mind as to what I want to do with them. Last week I wanted to paint mine white. This week I want to refinish them with a super glossy finish like these guys did on Project Rowhouse. Below are before (well, after sanding) and after photos of their old, restored flooring.



Pretty amazing looking, aren't they?!? I originally found their blog while looking for posts of IKEA cabinet installations. They used IKEA cabinets in their kitchen, and they look great!

Then there are the doorknobs. I LOVE old, vintage-y looking glass doorknobs. I don't necessarily want to use actual vintage knobs, though- the hardware can be difficult to match up on a modern door.

Anthropologie has some AMAZING doorknobs on their site, and the prices are not *too* outrageous (about $38 a set).

I think that this one- the Tea House Doorknob in Clear Antique Silver- is my absolute favorite of the bunch.

There are so many pretty ones, though! Like this Whipped Glass Doorknob...
Or the Inlaid Pearl Doorknob...
If the Elexia Flower Doorknob were available in clear glass, it would probably be my favorite.
And last but not least, the Globe Doorknob. For some reason it makes me think of all things Arthurian and Merlin-esque.

Sooooo many choices, but with such pretty things to choose from, how can you go wrong?

IKEA Expedit

Today I want to talk about the amazing, versatile IKEA Expedit. I have been looking at the one pictured below online for about a year, and I've decided that I definitely need one for the scrapbooking room. I finally got to see them in person last week during my trip to Boston, and they are very sturdy and as attractive in person as they are on the IKEA web site.
Then there's this one, which is actually meant to hold a television. I have plans to put my terrarium in it instead and place it in the living room to provide some storage for books and DVDs.
What I didn't realize until just a few weeks ago is just how many varieties of this bookcase IKEA makes. The one I want to get is 5x5, but they also have this 4x4 one...

I've seen pictures of this 2x4 version mounted on the wall...
And this one with all the different size cubbies, perfect for storing media or just as a little display area.
This cutie would actually make a nice end table...
And I could see this one in a corner somewhere, being unobtrusive.

And then there are the people who "hack" the Expedit. No, seriously, there is a whole website dedicated to people who find novel and alternate uses for IKEA products.

I totally love this idea- putting the Expedit on a metal frame to place the top of it at ceiling level. Look at all the storage space you get underneath!

And they are really quite sturdy- they have to be to hold people's vinyl record album collections, as seen here and here.


Or you can stack several of them, as shown here, and make your own customized bookcase.

This idea is probably my favorite- the Expedit used as a room divider. The storage is then easily accessible from both sides.

So, that's my rambling for the day. I think that I'm hoping that by cataloging all of my ideas here, I'll actually remember a few of them when it comes time to work on some projects around the house. :)

Code Monkey Goes to Boston

I had to go to Boston this past week for work. I hadn't traveled in about 6 months, but before that I was traveling pretty much every other week. I'd almost forgotten what the inside of the airport looked like.

I brought a friend along with me- Code Monkey.

Code Monkey was a gift from my friend and former coworker, Richard. I say former coworker because he left the company a little over a year ago. I've almost forgiven him for that.

Almost. :-P

Anyway, software development types are often referred to as "code monkeys," so Richard gave those of us on his team these little miniature sock monkeys. I decided for this trip I'd bring him (the monkey, not Richard, though I did bring Eric...you'll meet him later) along to some of the places I visited on my trip.

I didn't buy him his own ticket, so he traveled in the seat back pocket. Incidentally, why are we not allowed to put our laptops in the seat back pocket? I mean, I'm allowed to put my book there, and I've traveled with some books that weigh more than my laptop. It makes no sense.

Upon reaching Boston, I informed Eric that there was an IKEA 20 miles south of the city. Never mind that our hotel was 20 miles north. We didn't have to be at work until the next day, and he said he was game for it. Yay!

I'd never been to IKEA before. If you've never been, prepare yourself. It's huge. I mean MASSIVE. Imagine a store 3-4 times the size of Home Depot, two stories tall, and with it's own parking garage. I know, it sounds like a shopping mall, but it's just IKEA.

Insane. And very cool.

I was mostly interested in the kitchen displays since I've been thinking about using IKEA cabinets when I do the kitchen remodel.

Oh, and this is Eric. He was a good sport, letting me drag him all over Boston for two and a half days. He'd only been once and I'd been a lot, so I rented the car to drive us everywhere. He and his wife are redoing their kitchen next year, so he was actually kind of interested in going anyway.

I'm really digging these stainless steel doors.

There were maps all over the store. I told you it was a huge place!

After walking through IKEA (an hour and a half there barely scratched the surface) and driving back through Boston to the hotel, Code Money was tired and glad to get in bed!

After work the next day, Code Monkey got to go to one of my favorite grocery stores- Trader Joe's (why we can't have one of these in Huntsville, I don't know).

I always try to pick up some goodies when I'm near one of these.

Did I mention that I was still dragging poor Eric around with me? Poor Eric had to sit across the table from me at Legal Seafood when I was taking this picture of Code Monkey. Luckily for him, I returned to being (somewhat) normal right after I shot it...and then promptly demolished a pair of 1lb lobsters. Yum!

While waiting for a table at Legal Seafood (a 45 minute ordeal), I squeezed in a little shopping at JCrew- they were having a big sale!

And SQUEEEEE!!! For some reason I just love their shopping bags. I love anything in this Kraft color, really. It's also my new favorite shade of cardstock for scrapbooking (Dad says I should just scrapbook on paper shopping bags :-P).

All Code Monkey really saw on Thursday was the inside of a software lab (where no cameras are allowed). Oh, and the inside of Chipotle. :)

But on Friday it was back to the airport to head home...but with a trip to Starbucks first.

Carpet is evil. Hardwood is good.

I suppose I should start detailing the saga of the new-old house here so my family can see it. :) I've not done much since moving in last week except to pull up the old carpet (the renters I had in it previously were heavy smokers, and I have bad, bad allergies) and really clean the place up.

Under the carpet, though, I found old oak hardwood! I had been planning on putting in new hardwood floors (in this maple), but since stumbling across the floors underneath, I've put that on hold. There are a few bad boards that need to be replaced (there were termites in the house at one time) and some paint/stains in places, but overall it's not in bad shape. I will have to wage war on 17 and a half billion miles of tack strip and fill holes left behind by an army of little staples, though.

After that, I will either refinish it (though the estimates I'm getting put the cost of that close to the cost of a new floor if I do the installation myself) or perhaps paint it white. I'm really leaning toward the painting option after seeing homebug's White Floor Inspiration set on Flickr.

I just love the fresh, clean look that the white floors give to the rooms, and it really makes the colors in the accessories pop! It's not terribly hard or expensive to do, either, it just takes time.

Then there's this wall behind the couch.

It's a fine wall, to be sure, but it's separating my scrap room from the rest of the living area (which is where the projector is). To solve that, I'll most likely have a set of pocket french doors installed. The scrap room has a large window in it, so the french doors will allow that light to pass through to the living room. They'll also allow me to open the room up or close it off (if I need to use it for a guest room).

PocketDoors.net has some wonderful examples of pocket french doors.




Oh, and the projector that I said was in the living room? Because of the throw distance, we now have a 9' wide viewing area as opposed to the 6' one we used to have. Which means I need to order a new screen. It's going to be recessed in the ceiling (where it can roll up out of sight) so I can put an Ikea shelving unit on that wall to use as a display area for the turtle's aquarium, plus some storage for books and DVDs.


Lastly, I have some new appliances already delivered or on the way. The new washer and dryer were installed last week. These are not their final resting places, but for now they're sitting where the existing hookups are located. When the kitchen is remodeled, they're going to get moved to sit side by side with a counter over them.

I've also been doing some clearance shopping at Home Depot- I found a vessel sink, vanity, and marble top 75% off!! The sink was only $37!!!

The new refrigerator is in, too. As soon as I get it cleaned up, I will post pictures. :)

Gamer Girl: My E3 Wii Roundup

After being completely un-wowed by Nintendo's showing at E3 last year, I was completely blown away by the lineup that they introduced this year. I'm not sure that my budget can handle all of this (and neither is my brother, after he and I chatted about it a little earlier this week)!

In no particular order, here's what caught my eye. Just a note- most of this information is gleaned from other gaming sites, and I've linked to them to give them credit.

Wii Fit Plus, Wii Motion Plus, and Wii Sports Resort


The Wii Motion Plus attachment for the original Wii Remote is supposed to provide an almost 1:1 mapping between your motions and what is communicated to the Wii as you move. I'm excited to try the new games that will be packaged with it in Wii Sports Resport- especially the fencing!

Wii Fit Plus is a whole new set of balance games, strength training, and yoga activities designed to work with the Wii Balance Board. It also has some additions that I had been wishing for in the original Wii Fit:

• Plan your own workout routines
  
• Set a length of time for your workout
• Choose from routines based on personal fitness goals or to target certain areas

Oh, and all that is compatible with activities from the original Wii Fit, as well!

Super Mario Bros. Wii


Super Mario Bros. Wii is probably the game I'm the most excited about. I have loved playing Mario since my parents bought my brother and I our first NES system when I was 8, so when the new version was announced and I saw that it looked like a traditional side-scroller, I was pumped!! The competitive multiplayer mode looks interesting, too.

For more screenshots, look here. :)

Lego Harry Potter


Lego Harry Potter will cover books 1-4 in the series. Players will be able to cast spells, attend classes...and pretty much do everything in the movies/books just as they can in Lego Star Wars, Indy, and Batman. I love Lego Star Wars, so this should be a lot of fun!


Guitar Hero 5


There's not a whole lot of news about Guitar Hero 5 at this point (I'm sure it will be given a catchier name prior to release), but since it's Guitar Hero, I'll definitely be buying it at some point.


Lego Rock Band

Lego Rock Band. Legos. Rock Band. So much goodness here!


Sonic and Mario at the Winter Olympics

Sonic and Mario at the Winter Olympics should be a fun collection of mini games, and it will support the Wii Balance Board (by sitting on it, no less)! I enjoyed the Summer Olympics version, and I'm looking forward to this, as well.


Rabbids Go Home

Rabbids Go Home is the latest installment in the Rabbids line, though it looks like Rayman is absent from this one. I still haven't played Rayman Raving Rabbis TV party (which you can also use with the balance board...while sitting on it), so this one will probably wait until I can pick up a used copy of it. The Rabbids games almost always make me laugh out loud.


Finally, I have a category called "games that I can't play for fear of becoming ill, but will probably be buying my brother for his birthday."

He's definitely going to want Mario Galaxy 2.


And most certainly the new Metroid game, as well.


Lost of fun stuff on the way!

Memorial Day Weekend in Pearlington

Willowbrook took its 37th and last (planned) trip to Pearlington, MS over Memorial day weekend. I think it was my 8th or 9th trip down, and I was very happy to have been able to take my cousin Michelle along with me this time.

It was a fun and eventful trip, even before we pulled out of the driveway. When Michelle and I opened the back of Jennifer's van, everything just kind of tumbled out onto the concrete (and we stood there laughing!).

On the way down I was able to introduce everyone to Chipotle when we stopped in Tuscaloosa for lunch. I luuuuurve their steak soft tacos!

I think Michelle liked it, too...

But Meg was not impressed.

Then we trekked on toward Pearlington, making another stop in Picayune, MS to catch up with the group at Paul's Pastry. I love this store. I love the baklava. I love the yummy pastries.

When we finally arrived in Pearlington, we were greeted by Steve Cooper. And a crab trap. Apparently it fell off a boat he was driving behind (I'm sure the boat was being towed, otherwise it would just be too weird) and he stopped to pick it up. That's Steve for you. :)

The whole group, some from Willowbrook and many from Renown Ministries, headed over to Tommy and Janet Dawson's house for a crawfish boil. Tommy and Janet's family is one of the first that our group met in Pearlington, and I have pictures of this house after it had to be ripped down to the studs after Katrina. It's really come a very long way since then. They've decked in the back and added a pool, and we spent pretty much every night there after working.

I'm not sure what Michelle thought of the live crawfish. :)

Sooooo yummy! I love the mushrooms especially.

And it was Jared's birthday, so his mom brought a cake for him.

And then we went back to the bunks for the night.

The next day we put grout in a shower at Tommy and Janet's. It. Took. All. Day. But it looked so good when it was finished.

Errrr, and that night part of the group went to New Orleans and forgot we were still over at the Dawson's, so we just ended up sleeping there. It's okay, they have nice guest rooms. :)

Sunday and Monday we worked at Terry and Rita's house, painting, varnishing cabinets, caulking and painting trim, and installing tile. Michelle even learned to use a tile saw!

Sunday evening we had a potluck dinner with many of the families that we've helped in the community.

And then we somehow all ended up over at Tommy and Janet's again. Hmmm, wonder how that happened? ;)

It's been a fun group to work with, and a great experience. I will miss going down there, but on the other hand I have to admit, I'm ready to work on my own house for a while!