Crowded Upstairs

All of you who have been ranting and raving about Sweeney Todd will undoubtedly cheer when you find out (if you haven't already) that the lovely Mr. Depp has been nominated for Best Actor!

For my own part, there was only one nomination that would have pissed me off if it hadn't been made, but it was, so I'm content. Cate Blanchett is up for Best Actress for Elizabeth: The Golden Age.

I'm vaguely annoyed (but not entirely surprised) that Shrek 3 did not get nominated for Best Animated. Enchanted is almost guaranteed the Best Original Song award, since it nabbed three of the five nominations.

Jon Stewart is again slated to host, which is exciting since he was so enjoyable two years ago when he did it, but it's a question of whether or not there's still a picket line in place. He's said he will not cross it if there is.

http://a.oscar.abc.com/nominees/

I only have a few minutes before I chain myself to my diabolical kitchen and attempt to scrub it clean. Yes, my kitchen is evil. No, I'm not making that up. Really.

Anyway. Today for lunch I went to Subway to try the sweet onion teriyaki chicken sandwich that Jared keeps banging on about in the commercials. That was, no exaggeration, one of THE best sandwiches I have ever tasted. Srsly. If you like that kind of thing, you should definitely try it. Plus I won a free cookie, so bonus.

I have a fundraising committee meeting tonight (blargh) but they're usually short so I can't bitch too much. Until then, I've vowed to continue my semi-productive streak and, as mentioned, clean the kitchen. However, to make this miserable situation more palatable, I've got the CD player hooked up and will be listening to Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix while I clean. It was my intention to read one book every day this week, so that I would be pumped and ready and up to speed by Friday night, but it just hasn't worked out that way. Fortunately, I've read the first four books so many times I know them practically by heart, so I can sort of skip them. But I've only read book five twice and listened to it once, and I've only read book six once and never actually listened to it at all.

I'm coming to the conclusion that part of the reason my kitchen is always a certifiable mess is the fact that it is so TINY. (Those of you who have seen it can vouch for its size.) I mean, the kitchen in terms of available square footage is actually smaller than my bathroom. And we have so many dishes and appliances and things that I'm at a loss what to do with them all. I've been trying to root out the dishes we don't really want so I can donate them to the local homeless shelter, but oddly, it doesn't seem to be making any notable difference in the amount of useful space. Also, my floor is unspeakably hideous; it and the cabinetry date from roughly the 1950s, and it shows. And it's kind of annoying to have the washing machine in there. The boys (meaning Kevin and Andy) keep promising to move the washer into the laundry room, but I don't know when exactly they plan on doing this.

I love my house, but sometimes I wish I could just wave a wand and instantly fix the things that are wrong with it. And at the same time, make a few other changes. The house was built in 1875 -- isn't it a crime that a house that old doesn't have even one secret passage? I think so. :)

I slept late today, which was lovely after yesterday's insane length. Up at 7:30 to shower and dress, then Sunday School, choir and bell practice, church service, cleanup afterward. Then I came home, changed my skirt for pants (because it was FREEZING), made up one of Liza's wedding invitations, and Kev and I took that and one of the finished centerpieces up to Mom's for lunch. They were very happy with the invite and extremely happy with the centerpiece -- Liza took one look at it and said, "That's perfect." From there we went to visit Kevin's family, for the first time since Christmas I think, and while there we paid a long-overdue to their next-door neighbor Ted, who's always been kind of a mentor to Kevin. He's not in good shape physically and it seemed to really cheer him up that we were there. Finally got home close to 11 and spent a few hours online, getting used to the insane new plot on Beyond Evolution (I like it better than I did initially, but it's still crazy) and talking to people until I started dozing off at the desk.

I need to watch The Holiday, which is due back at Blockbuster this evening. I also still have to finish Marie Antoinette, which I was watching while I worked on the centerpieces; it's a little weird, but visually gorgeous and on the whole I like it. But MA isn't due back until Saturday, while TH has to go back today. I also rented Cinderella III *hangs head in shame* My curiosity got the better of me.

Anyway, the name of the game today is to not do anything I don't want to do. I have a fic I want to work on, and that's a thrill by itself -- it's the first time in ages I've wanted to write a story. Dru, I'm going to need your help with part of it, so please IM me if you get a chance.

My husband came home and told me not to plan anything for the Sunday after Thanksgiving.

Laura: Why?
Kevin: Just save the date.
Laura: Why?
Kevin: *makes a sing-songy humming sound which means "I know something you don't know"*
Laura: Oooh....*starts trying to figure out the secret*
Kevin: *just laughs*
Laura: Does it have something to do with Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire?
Kevin: No.
Laura: Hrm. Are we going somewhere, or is someone coming here?
Kevin: No one is coming here.
Laura: So we're going somewhere. *sits down to start thinking* That's the Sunday after Thanksgiving... the first Sunday in Advent... no birthdays... no anniversaries... what could it be?
Kevin: *watches television and leaves her to her plottage*
Laura: Wait. Sunday? Going somewhere on a Sunday that late in the year? Is TSO touring?
Kevin: Hmmmmmmmmmm.....maybe.
Laura: EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

So yes, it looks like for the fourth time in five years, my Christmas present from my husband will be floor seat tickets to see the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

So yesterday, very unexpectedly, I bought Kevin's Christmas present.

I was in Sam's Club for something else, and was on my way to the register with my single purchase when I saw IT. The most glorious collection of DVDs I could imagine.

It was A&E's English classics! Emma, Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre, Horatio Hornblower, Tom Jones, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Victoria and Albert -- all in one package! Only ninety dollars! How I longed to buy it!

And I might have, except that I then saw what was next to it on the shelf. Being the good little wife I sometimes am, I bought that instead.

It was another box set of DVDs -- all of the however many there are Star Trek films, including the director's cut of the original. It was a hundred bucks, but considering that we're talking about ten or so DVDs, that's really quite reasonable. And when I imagined Kevin's fanboy glee on Christmas morning when he unwraps the package and sees that I bought him Boxed Geekness, well, I couldn't pass that up.

Now the only trick will be hiding it until Christmas. At the moment it's in a place I know he'd never look...let's see how long that holds true. He's so difficult to surprise.

1. Maddy saw the vet today. She's in absolutely perfect health and the vet called her a total sweetheart.

2. We saw Corpse Bride tonight. It had the trailer for Goblet of Fire. In internet parlance, OMFG IT'S GOING TO BE THE MOST AMAZING MOVIE OF ALL TIME or something. Definitely the Best Trailer Ever.

3. We saw Corpse Bride. It's so adorable and sad and just...great. I wouldn't mind seeing it again. In a lot of ways it feels like you've stepped into an Edward Gorey drawing, which is by no means a bad thing.

4. I feel like writing an LXG version of Gorey's Gashlycrumb Tinies. I think that's what they're called. A is for Allan... I'd probably do it based on Clez's RPG rather than the movie, though, just because then there's more to work with.

That's all. Brain shutting off for the night.

( Today was a day for unloading crap. )

Oh, I mentioned this on my other LJ but not this one -- I've edited the church website so that you can now read our monthly newsletter online, or even download it if such is your preference. Since I also am the person who writes the newsletter, I feel doubly clever. If you're curious about what the heck I do all day to see what I've done, you can click here, then click on the button that says "Epistle."

Home. A little sleepy. Still achy, though not as bad. Dreading the necessary kitchen scrub which will commence shortly, but glad that the work week is over. On the whole, feeling much better.

Thanks, guys, for commenting and assuring me that I'm not boring. ;) I think I've been a little fried lately, physically and emotionally, and it 'outed' itself in a strange way. In some ways I feel like I've worked for two straight weeks, because even though last weekend didn't technically count as work, it was exhausting and at times trying to my patience.

But I have reasons to smile, for there is much for me to look forward to in the coming months. ladyrazorsharp may possibly be flying in to attend the Sherlockian bash in September with me, and there is a prospect -- however remote -- of my hosting clez and her sister for Thanksgiving. Late September will bring the Celtic Classic and my annual reunion with kytyn, and at some point before the end of the year I'll be meeting wens at the Moriarty Pub. And who knows what other surprises are in store.

I should go rest a bit before I start scrubbing the kitchen, I think...no sense in really doing myself an injury in ye olde troubled spyne.

Day of Sherlockiana was fabulous and I had a ball. Had a big long entry about the whole thing, and then my mouse decided to randomly close my browser before I could post it. No, I don't understand that either, but I'm too freaking tired to retype.

But I will say this as a word of caution. If you ever eat at a restaurant called the Elephant and Castle, do NOT order the Big Ben Brownie unless you a) have at least three people to help you with it, or b) have eaten nothing for a few days. That thing is enormous. It came with FIVE SPOONS, for pete's sake!

In other news, LXG fans -- gasp and drool at what I just won on eBay.

I'm a limp noodle now. Goodnight.