3.28.2007

[Insert Title Here.... Again]

It weirds me out a little that our church is changing its name--rather drastically--from "Fellowship Bible Church North" to "Chase Oaks Church." It will now have an appended title, "A Fellowship Bible Church," which other associated churches are already using... but it's a bit surreal. They've got good reason, though--our location is moving near the Legacy Theater (where we lived in The Line for Star Wars) at Legacy & Chase Oaks, and they'll also be across the street from a (non-affiliated) Fellowship Church that has been causing some name confusion.

Still. It's like as if my Dad suddenly decided he'd like to be called Hubert.

Speaking of parents, a big congrats to my mom, who just sold her first painting! She sold an acrylic impression of a hydrangea (on canvas) for $75. She's already earned more at her artistic endeavors in 2007 than I have.

Speaking of those R2D2 mailboxes, Alex's cousin David (well, his Dad's cousin, but who's... er... counting) saw one in Houston, so it's been confirmed by a reputable source! Grand Admiral Jared went out looking for the aforementioned Abilene one yesterday, but couldn't locate it, as Barrow doesn't actually cross North 1st. Hopefully, we'll run into it anyway. (Hasn't anyone located one in Dallas yet? C'mon!)

And John Pendolino's radio story must have gone out on Monday without a hitch (I was at breakfast with our interviewee at the time), because our bank guy just called on personal business, and also mentioned that he had heard the story and would like the URL for the CyberCemetery, as he's really interested in old government information.

I'm sitting on news items here that I have to wait out--several that I've been waiting on for awhile. One has been dragged on for awhile, and two should be decided--and therefore able to be discussed--soon, but in the meantime I've just been frustratedly keeping my mouth shut. I'm good with other people's secrets... just not my own!

3.27.2007

"...What Postcard? The One You're Carrying in Your Rusty Innards!"

I love that I live in a country where they wrap USPS mailboxes like R2D2.




Which brings me to another reason to love mashups: locations of R2D2 mailboxes across the nation. There's one in Fort Worth--and in Abilene! I'll have to make a special trip to see it while we're there this weekend.

Tuesday Tidbits

I just found out that for $25 (just a little more than you'd pay at Best Buy or Amazon.com), you can get the new widescreen DVD version of "The Last Unicorn" autographed by Peter S. Beagle!!!

Did you have a great past three days? I sure did:

  • gorgeous sunshine on Saturday
  • attended a friend's wedding shower; enjoyed good company and champagne punch
  • saw TMNT (at the theater, gasp!)
  • Alex mowed our newly-green lawn (it's already tall again, two days later!)
  • watched Casino Royale (gasp!!!!!!!!! fantastic! I hereby take back my nasty complaints about a blond James Bond)
  • got to meet a great candidate for the GovDocs head position at work yesterday
  • as a result, enjoyed three delicious, free meals (it's great being on the Search Committee!)
  • tried shrimp enchiladas for the first time
  • enjoyed Beth Marie's fantastic homemade Raspberry Truffle ice cream
  • wandered around Recycled Books and found their graphic novel section
  • played Rayman with Alex last night (had a bunny dance-off in our bedroom)

3.23.2007

Random Pix

Krystal, Jaime, and I.
(Ah, we were young once. In 1999).

Coffee Break
(Jaime and I this past weekend, one day before her wedding.)

Wii're Excited!
(Alex and I in December, right after I surprised him with it.)

That first photo from HSU reminds me... we'll be in good ol' Abilene next week from Thursday through Sunday (March 29 - April Fool's Day). Any Abilene-ites who want to hook up are welcome to email or call to get together. We'll be hosted once again by the Grand Admiral himself, Jared.

3.22.2007

comix update (courtesy of e. e. cummings)

3.19.2007

Austin-tacious Weekend

Wow. What a whirlwind!

There are hundreds of photos on our SD cards, and I can only access the ones on the 512 mb one currently (the 2 gb one doesn't like the laptop). So I haven't seen actual wedding photos yet, just bridemaid stuff, rehearsal dinner, and wedding set-up.

Alex and I drove down on Friday for Jaime & Todd's wedding. We stopped and ate at Chipotle first, to foist off both traffic and hunger. We got to Jaime's place later that night and had a blast hanging out with J, T, and meeting more of the wedding party--particularly the amazingly-talented Amanda and the hilarious Jon. Then while they all went out to have fun, we acted like the Old Marrieds we are and crashed on Jaime's rather-nice air mattress.

We decided the next morning that, in our defense, we had not only completed a long drive, but each had had particularly long, rough weeks at work. If we're deluding ourselves, just don't tell me.

Jaime and Amanda treated us to delicious breakfast in the morning, and us gals met John at milk + honey for some spa indulgence. As I still have the artist's misfortunate of short, fragile fingernails, I forewent a mani/pedi and opted to document the process on film instead. Then I walked a block south and met my parents, who were randomly in Austin at the same time for an art show. (Actually, Dad snuck up on me while I was calling his cell trying to find him, which in retrospect was pretty funny.)

My parentals took me to meet Alex at a local gun show, and then we did lunch together at Chuy's, where I had a veggie enchilada (quite good!). It was fun to briefly visit with them.

Then Alex and I jetted north to Cedar Park to hang out with his sister and our nephew for the afternoon. There was fun chatting and tickling. I left my purse there, we went back to get it, and then I promptly left my keys the second time. Sigh.

The rehearsal was fun--if difficult to locate--and the dinner was amazing Thai food. A-maze-ing. Tihleigh, I salute your people (no, I'm not dyeing my hair black or anything). And we got HUGE boxes of leftovers to take with us--so we brought our big ol' box to our pal Jenny's apartment. We got in while she was out--we promptly admired her Ikea decorating dynamic, laughed at her sticky notes everywhere in the apt., and fell into a deep slumber on her rather wonderful sleeper couch.

In the morning, we enjoyed Starbucks and church with Jenny, and then spent some fun hang-out time at her place while scarfing down some of the Thai leftovers. I love me some peanut sauce, let me tell you.

Then it was off to the wedding venue--which was gooooorgeous! We hung lights, inserted chicken-beer-can holders into paper lanterns (to hold votive candles, doncha know), and moved around tables until it was time to hustle into fancy garb. Jaime was luminous, Todd didn't cry, and we all had a great time--and no one spilled any Eucharistic wine.

We got to see some pals at the reception--Seth & Lisa, Pranaya, Ryan, Velma & Andy--and enjoyed cheesecake that melted like butter in our mouths. There was still more amazing food, some ridiculously good reddish champagne, and a coffee bar. Alex and I even did a little dancing while waiting on our coffee.

Then there were hugs and farewells, as we skedaddled out to make our way home for a little rest before Alex's work in the morning. On the way, we picked up my keys at Amy's, got turned around near 183, and were rescued by directions over the phone from Alex's mom. We got home at 2, fell into bed... and I promptly awoke at 4 to discover that the amazing food hadn't sat too well with me.

And thus, I've spent the day in or near bed being a little sick and nonproductive, instead of doing my taxes over Spring Break.

We got to see both sides of our family, and all kinds of friends--all in all, it was a packed and amazing weekend. I would love to experience more like that.

Equal Parts Batman & Wonder Woman

...But we knew that already, didn't we?

Your results:
You are Wonder Woman
























Wonder Woman
75%
Batman
75%
Supergirl
70%
Spider-Man
65%
Green Lantern
60%
Hulk
60%
Robin
55%
Superman
55%
Iron Man
55%
The Flash
45%
Catwoman
35%
You are a beautiful princess
with great strength of character.


Click here to take the Superhero Personality Quiz

3.14.2007

How You Know It's Spam

"Account On-hold: Please confirm your eBay informations today."

Yes, I'll go confirm my "informations" right now.
(And now, back to your regularly-scheduled lunch break.)

3.13.2007

Barefoot and in the Kitchen

This weekend I acted completely out of character by not only baking an elaborate dish (it required 5 pots--and a strainer!), but also by baking two different kinds of cookies from scratch. It's like on Sunday I had a little Betty Crocker Seizure... the lesser-known sister of the Grand Mal Seizure.

Here's a link to the main course recipe on my wiki:
Portobello Mushroom Lasagna

For my vegetarian friends, in particular (Kali, Lilly, pay attention!), this would be a great dish. The mushrooms are hearty enough that they provide a lot of protein. It's provided courtesy of your friendly Food Network and specifically The Barefoot Contessa, a show which I will now have to avoid because it compells me to cook tasty things with a cup of pure butter. Yikes.

By ironic contrast, the cookies were quite healthy. I made several healthful substitutions that, oddly enough, resulted in the tastiest, most perfectly-baked batch of chocolate cookies I have ever made. I started with dark chocolate chips instead of the usual semi-sweet; they're tastier and have more of those "healthy" flavinoids (which is the most made-up sounding substance ever). It was a pear upside-down cake recipe that Alex sent me, that inspired me to substitute applesauce (and a dash of veggie oil) for the butter. Then I got reckless and substituted whole wheat flour for half of the regular white stuff. Then I got plain silly and added a few teaspoons of a fiber supplement and bee pollen (which is supposed to be miraculous for energy and allergies, according to my bee-keeping in-laws).

They were the puffiest, most glorious cookies I've ever made. Now I'm pondering another batch, but substituting honey for half of the sugar.

And in the crossover between politics and comedy...
I can't find the link to the clip from Thursday's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, but it was ridiculously hilarious, regarding Hilary and Obama in Alabama. Each, according to Stewart, speaking as if a black person imitating a white person imitating a black person. Ah, politics.

And in geekery...
I've had the Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis theme songs alternating in my head all day. This is no doubt due to the fact that we bought Atlantis Season 2 last week, and as a result, can finally finish watching SG-1 Season 9, since they intersect plotlines. And for the past two days, we've been watching a lot of Stargate.

Life is good... until you get to the last DVD of the season (we've currently got 2 1/2 to go in each show).

Memoirs

My pal Jaime, who's getting married to her best friend this weekend (hooray!!!), posted that she's reading Memoirs of a Geisha. And that reminded me of this great, great memory that I for some reason feel compelled to share with my readership.

I first read this book in 1999, long before the movie came out. It was the week after I graduated from Hardin-Simmons, and I was spending it in Kansas City with my grandparents. It was a lovely, restful, fun week, and I got to sleep in the "adult" attic bedroom for the first time--the bedroom my parents always got, with the quaint slanted ceiling and the window overlooking an extravagantly blooming dogwood tree. I felt grown-up and independent, with this quiet sort of contemplative feeling about it all. I spent hours on that bed, reading Geisha (a fantastic book), and periodically writing in a notebook. And at some point, I started writing about this great friend Alex back at HSU, that guy who also loved the Muppets and Star Wars and asparagus and had this great grin and the warmest hug on earth. I wrote about how it was really too bad that I was leaving Abilene, because we had this amazing connection and shared these bizarre tastes... and how if I wasn't moving to Denton in the fall, I'd probably have made a move.

I didn't remember this until a year or so after we'd been married, when I chanced upon Geisha in my bookcase, and the memory of it completely amazed me. It amazed me just as I am continually amazed at God's wisdom and grace in bringing Alex and I together. We are two such perfectly suited individuals, with such strange similarities and complementing dispositions... it's an amazing gift that we've been given, and we strive to honor it by keeping our relationship one of kind words, thoughtfulness, and deepening friendship.

I always think of sitting on that bed, thinking of Alex, when I read this book. And that always makes me smile.

3.10.2007

Random, It Is

Okay, so here's a great result in one of those ever-so-fun timewasters, a random movie quote generator. I gave it the word "librarian," and as luck would have it, the generator pulled up one that's ridiculously fitting for me:


She's Alive!

I know, I know, I've been lax about posting this week. Not that I haven't thought about it and composed at least five posts in my head--but it's been another week or particularly busy work, as well as a TON of personal paperwork... which is related to something that I hope to be able to post about soon. It's all-consuming at the moment.

I've been posting a lot to my professional blog, though. So if you're interested, go check out geeky artist librarian.

3.02.2007

Facebook Fun

Starr Hoffman's Facebook profile

Now, don't you want your own badge? Or at least a peek at my profile?