Below are the most recent 11 friends' journal entries.

Saturday, December 26th, 2009
gramercy	8:36a	You know, Christmas has been lovely. I got some wonderful gifts, ate delicious food, and spent time with mah family. Nick really loved all his presents. He is so cute and appreciative, though he does have the "MORE MORE MORE" attitude. I wish he didn't, but I understand. Some of the coolest things I got were a gift card to the King Arthur Flour catalog, a "good card" which I donated to charity with, and a family pass to Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village. I ended up donating to pancreatic cancer research (PanCan)&US fund for UNICEF. I looked them both up, and both were highly rated charities. I have a cold, which has been the only damper on my holidays so far. I really kinda just want to get underneath blankets and sleep, right now. But I have to go out and buy things for a salad that I'm supposed to bring over for our last day of Christmas, at my dad's house, with his extended family. I enjoy all this stuff, but of course, the holidays take a lot of ya normally. With a cold I'm finding them brutal. It could always be worse though. Very glad I don't have a flu or anything worse to deal with. Nick got 3 diggers, a new RC engine for his Sodor layouts, a drum set, a percussion instrument set, and a mini pool table. He got a lot more than that, but those were the big ones. Oh, and we got him the big cardboard blocks so he can build big houses and things. Those should be cool. Ugh ugh ugh. I need to get moving. And all I wanna do is sit here and expel mucus from my body. You're welcome (for the visual). (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009
gramercy	10:21a	New Year's Resolution for 2010 I've been bad lately. I've been feeling guilty. I have been buying clothes and fabric that I know were made in sweatshops. I'm disgusted with myself. I had been doing very well, buying all second-hand clothes. Then, I got lazy. Yesterday I saw two very cute sets of PJs at Target... and picked them up. "Nick will love these Thomas jammies" I said to myself, by way of rationalization. It's just not okay. It is NOT okay for me to buy clothes that I know were likely made by exploited workers. I can afford to spend more money on clothes. I do not need to shop for the very best deal. Those brand new $7 pants I bought for Nick, because I needed something fast and didn't want to deal with wading through junk at a thrift store? I'm now having a serious case of buyer's remorse and a guilty conscience. It's not just the cheap clothes, either. My lovely dress for the Toast of Hockeytown was almost certainly made the same way. And that cost me $200. Very upsetting, when I sat down and thought about it. I think the biggest issue is that if you don't actively think about it, you can easily forget about it. We are too far removed from the problem. I really hope that in 2010 I can avoid purchasing new clothing from any major retailers. I will be buying my fabric online if I'd like to sew, hopefully organic stuff. I will be using yarn that I spun, with fiber bought from local farmers who treat their animals well. I will be buying clothes from thrift stores, garage sales, and from labels like "No Sweat". I have the time and money to make this commitment. It's not acceptable to ME that I have been slipping and taking the lazy, easy way out. (6 Comments |Comment on this)
sunfall	2:25a	In between coughing up my lungs, I bring you this post. I've been having a good week so far. Running errands and laughing and playing with friends is just what I needed after being stuck in bed. I got my books for the Philosophy class I'm taking in January and moved most of my stuff out of my dorm room with a little help from my friends (insert proper Beatles joke). I'm actually quite proud of myself for driving on such tricky roads; it's exactly what I signed up for to deal with next semester when I commute, so I should get used to it, right?  I've been getting away with some beastly snow maneuvers, believe you me. Also any car ride that lasts more than an hour devolves into Disney music, whether or not passengers are in the car with me. I'll make a man out of you, alright. I've been doing a wee bit of "holiday shopping" in the last week as well. Malls are such carnivals of the grotesque. Consensus among myself, Emma, and Smalls is that some sort of nauseating substance is pumped through the air vents to make shoppers tense, hyper, and impulsive. My heart goes out to anyone working retail or forced to cater to the insane whims of shoppers this season. Oh America, ILU. One thing I noticed from being at the mall is that Waldenbooks is closing its doors. I fear Borders is next. I'm not going to knock the discounts it has been forced into providing, though. 30% off was the discount I got when I worked at Barnes and Noble, and that was just what was off fiction books when I walked in today (slim pickings, though). Doubtless it will rise, but I have to assert some control over my mass book hysteria, or it will ruin me. Do you like languages? You should try livemocha. It's sort of fun; I have to admit I haven't explored it much beyond the beginner courses of a few languages. Beware the arabic and farsi courses though-- the alphabet appears in the equivalent of what English spakers would call capslock, so don't expect it to teach you the letter forms, which is an important component of their alphabets. I just found an e-mail from Chris Baty of Nanowrimo reminding me that my book is waiting patiently for me to come back and love it properly like I should. It's true. I have neglected it in order to let ideas swirl in a less frienzied way. I printed out a paper version of my manuscript so far. My characters seem all on the cusp of something, which makes sense considering nothing much has happened. Some of them have weird quirks that I have to flesh out. One of them turned out to be much more violent than I anticipated! Anyway, enough of that for now.  Have you heard of formspring? You create an account and people post anonymous questions for you to answer. I have just made one. If you're secretly dying to ask me silly or serious things, by all means, do so immediately.  Lastly, I just want to say that I've been illustrating, really illustrating for the first time since the summer and it's been flexing my creative muscles like woah. If anyone wants anything contact me about commissions/drawing something for them, go for it. I invite you to check out my sketch blog for some random stuff in case you forgot what I do. In the next few days, some lovely family will be coming to visit and staying until January. It will be fun and busy in the house and I can't wait. I will leave you with this picture of my bed. It is made of starlight. Current Mood: awake (16 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009
gramercy	6:12p	Posting this here, because my facebook is... full of people who just argue for the sake of arguing. Oh, and it's also full of people posting the crap that sparked this post! I identify as a secular humanist. I consider myself an atheist most days, an agnostic some others. Believe or not, I'm not part of any mass conspiracy to take Christ out of Christmas, piss you off by saying "Happy Holidays" or otherwise beat down any Christians. You're all the majority. Quit acting like a persecuted minority. I've had it. ETA: I couldn't leave well enough alone. I know I shouldn't bother, and it will just create a flame war, but I'm sick to death of this stuff. I posted a note defending my choice to celebrate Christmas in a secular way. ETA: I guess I underestimated my facebook friends. Everyone is civil and sweet and wonderful thus far. :) (6 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, December 21st, 2009
sunfall	11:12a	JOIE TO THE WORLD OMG WHAT IS THIS I DON'T EVEN I GOT AN A IN ANIMAL PHYSIOLOGY LAB. Hot damn do I feel like a champ. Maybe I'll even hit up Dr. Plotkin for a recommendation. I honestly thought I was pulling for a...well, not an A.  Current Mood: relieved (9 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, December 18th, 2009
gramercy	4:14p	Ummmm GIP. Also, I'm having a party tomorrow and this excites me. If you could come and didn't get an invite, let me know. <3 (Comment on this)
Wednesday, December 16th, 2009
gramercy	1:25a	Oh gosh. Toast of Hockeytown recap. First, ironhide is nothing short of amazing. She is wonderful and beautiful and a ton of fun. I am so luck y to have gone with her!! ( PHOTOS FROM THE TOAST OF HOCKEYTOWN. FULL OF PICS! ) (15 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, December 15th, 2009
gramercy	1:32a	Because I requested of my twinnie lookslikelove... First ten to comment get a short fic of their choosing (as long as I know who the characters you want are and feel capable of writing them). In exchange, you have to post something similar (offering fics or sketches or what have you) in your journal. I'll offer fic OR graphics. ♥ (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, December 14th, 2009
cantinera	5:35p	Top 10 Albums of 2009 Yeah, I'm not buying anymore music this year. ( Albums of the Year ) Current Mood: hungry Current Music: Bat for Lashes -- The Big Sleep (3 Comments |Comment on this)
sunfall	7:49p	Ok, WTF body. Why suddenly run a fever the day before finals? Why? DO NOT M'F'ING WANT Current Mood: DNW Current Music: DNW (2 Comments |Comment on this)
gramercy	8:55a	Today is going to be a long day, I can just tell. Nick woke up fairly early and is already a pistol. I swear, sometimes, I am just living for 5:30 when Princess comes home. I hate that I feel like that, too. I get very annoyed with myself for feeling that way. I should be able to keep the house fairly clean, and keep the 3 year old entertained, all without getting too bored or annoyed myself. And yet, somedays, it just seems so CHALLENGING. Nick and I spend a LOT of time together. During weekdays the only break I usually get is a few hours a few evenings a week, and 4 hours total, while he is in preschool. Many times I am busy working in some way for the preschool which keeps me from actually spending that free time being... free. I am not really complaining. I totally love my life. I just wish I was better at finding ways for Nick and I to stay entertained and happy during the weekdays. Last week we did cookies one day, and went shopping a few others. It was a very good week for entertaining Nick last week. This week should be interesting. We for sure will have another baking day, and I have a few small Christmas craft projects we can do together. We can always go to the library, or out to lunch. I just hate spending unnecessary money just to keep us busy. And TV is just not an option, IMHO. He gets to watch a half hour to forty-five a few times a week while I take a shower. That's about it. I downloaded this app for Adobe AIR called "Focus Booster". It's supposed to help you with The Pomodoro method, which I don't use. However, I am just using it as a timer for internets stuff. I gave my 11 minutes to write this LJ entry. It would be going a lot better if Nick wasn't trying to have a conversation with me the whole time. This must be why people have kids close in age, so they can play together and not drive you absolutely up the wall. Hey, look at that, done just over 8 minutes. <3 ya flist. (2 Comments |Comment on this)