Graceland

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Something to think about

Well maybe the fountain worked. I totally got hit on by this cute young kid last night. Too bad my cougar days are behind me. Tempting (I mean flattering) though. :)

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Feng Shui and Other Silly Stuff

When I was redectorating my condo, a friend gave me a book about Feng Shui. A lot of it I really like, for example, putting all five elements in a room to make it feel balanced. There is also the more "woo woo" side of it. As many of you know, I'm open to the "woo woo", with some reservations.

In Feng Shui each part of your house/room holds a different energy representing different parts of your life. Putting specific things in those areas will, theorically, increase that aspect of your life. After I was done redecorating my condo, I realized there was a dying plant in my Love and Marriage Corner (it was alive right after the redecortaing but, with my brown thumb, it didn't look healthy for too long). I wasn't really buying into that creating dead energy in my love life and I didn't move it. But the idea was always in the back of my head.

One Friday I was shopping and decided to buy a new plant for the corner. It was lush and beautiful. Coincidentally, by the end of the weekend, I had three dates for the next week. I was sold on the whole Love and Marriage corner thing. About six months later, I was in an unhealthy relationship and, wouldn't you know it, the plant wasn't looking so good either. I ended the relationship and found great satisfaction in cutting up the dead plant to symbollicly get rid of his energy.

As a girl with a seriously brown thumb, I decided maybe a plant in the Love and Marriage corner (or really anywhere) was a bad idea. So I went with candles. A little romance, a little heat-- not bad things for a relationship. It hasn't served me too well. Back to the balance part of Feng Shui, the room is red and the fireplace is in that corner, so candles really put the fire element over the top. Plus someone told me unless they are beeswax or soy, they are toxic- nice. I've thought about putting a water element there to balance the room. I was told that I need some flowing energy for my love life. So I bought a little fountain for the corner and have spent months trying to find a stand for it. This weekend I finally got it all together. Here's what it looks like. (The colors aren't really true to life in this photo.)

It's not really what I was wanting. The motor on the fountain is louder than that water flowing. Also, the stand isn't really what I want. I decided I'm going to let it be for a while and see if it grows on me (which is really funny because that has been my attitude toward a lot of guys I've dated.) We'll see what it does for 1) the love life; and 2) the balance in the room.

Saturday, May 17, 2008

Happiness

Wow, I L-O-V-E my road bike. I've been waiting all week for Saturday to get here so I'd have time for a ride. I'd actually been fantasizing about that little click when my shoe connects to the pedal. Although this morning I just wasn't feeling it. I had all that girly stuff going on that just made me want to sit in front of the TV all day watching B movies. But I couldn't look forward to it all week and then wimp out because of stupid cramps. (Is that TMI?)

That little click of my shoe was all I needed to change my mood. Funny how satisfying it is. I rode from my house to the top of City Creek, which on my mountain bike (now referred to as The Tank) would be end of summer fitness level. I've been a little awkward thus far with the transition from my old bike, but the whole road bike thing made sense today and seemed much more natural. For the first time I wasn't getting passed by everyone, which really made me happy.

The weather was perfect and when I started coming down I had a hard time not singing some Boingo at the top of my lungs with my ipod. I was tired at the top of the canyon but by the time I got back to my house, I wanted to keep riding. Yes, I think I'm going to like the road biking. Honestly, I can't imaging feeling any happier than that. (Is that weird? I feel kind of selfish that a couple of hours on my bike by myself is so satisfying.) It's going to be a good summer.

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Scarf Shower for Cynthia

Well, it was the last of my party hosting spree tonight. We had a great time. I'm so mad I forgot my camera. (I just stole some photos off of Cynthia's blog- thanks Cyn.)

Cyn started chemotherapy a couple of weeks ago. I figured since she's going to be wearing a scarf or hat every day for the next few months, we needed to have a hat and scarf shower for her. So about 15 of us got together tonight to celebrate our Cynthia.

My place isn't very big, so I asked Liz Hale if we could do it in her condo commons room.

Liz makes everything so incredible. It looked beautiful. She bought Mrs. Baker's cupcakes with those big pink frosting flowers, and had the table and room totally decked out in the most tasteful and elegant way. We bought pink ribbon pins for everyone which we will all wear on the days Cyn has her treatments to show our support and connect with her while she's having the chemo. I have a few extras so anyone who couldn't make it and would like one, please let me know.

People brought such thoughtful gifts. Lots of fun scarves and hats. Natalie gave her a few packs of darling thank you cards and postage stamps

she had made with a picture of Cyn and her dog, Addicus (see photo). Kiera gave her really nice fake eyelashes. Alex (all the way from Seattle) sent a cute hat she knit. Don contributed a tie dye hat he made. We threw in a couple of gag gifts/silly wigs. Just a really fun evening with some amazing women.

Here are the "girls in pink"
Laura, Betsey, Becca, Liz, and Kiera

Me and Cyn. Is it just me or does my head look extremely large in this photo???

Here's the whole gang all decked out in Cyn's new wardrobe.

Thanks everyone for coming and thank you Liz and Laura for your help in putting it together. And thanks Cynthia for being an amazing friend and good example to all of us. I love you all!

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Something Different

I feel like all I've blogged lately is reports of events I've hosted. There's more to come of those this week, but I thought I'd break it up a little with a more traditional post. Mostly because I want to post about my new bike and how anxious I am to ride. I've only been on it a few times. My life's been so crazy lately that I haven't had much time. I took it into the shop yesterday and had a few alterations, and now I'm really ready to go. Can't wait until the weekend!

I was with my sister the other day and going on and on about how excited I was to finally have a road bike. She asked if I was going to ride to work (I often walk). I said, very adamantly, "No, I really don't like riding on the road." She looking at me puzzled and asked why I was so excited to have a road bike. We both laughed really hard.

What I mean is, I don't like commuting/riding downtown. I think SLC is not a bike-friendly city. Maybe it's just because I came from Boulder which is the ultimate pedestrian friendly town, but I'm nervous biking around the city. Most of my pavement biking has been up City Creek (easily accessible and I can ride from my house) or Immigration Canyon or something similar. I was thinking I may enjoy doing some distance stuff that isn't straight up a canyon and then back down (however I really like the speed of coming down canyons). I need to get over my road fear and try some different routes, I'm just not sure where. I have plenty of biking friends, but I feel like the new, inexperienced kid and hate holding people back. The guy at the bike shop last night invited me to ride with him and offered his number, and then disappeared without giving it to me. I guess I'll call the shop and follow up.

My Movie Reviews

Quiet Earth. B-. Another SciFi recommended by Netflix, although this one was actually interesting and enjoyable. A guy wakes up and everyone is gone. Made in New Zealand, it claims to be one of the top ten movies in the US in the year it came out (sometime in the 1970s). After it was over, we agreed that it was good, but the ending was a little confusing, so we watched the ending again with the directors comments. Lame. Apparently the whole movie was supposed to have an anti-nuclear message and the director takes credit for his movie making New Zealand nuclear free. So.... pretend you don't know that and enjoy the movie.
Sunshine. C-. Netflix. That's it. We are not trusting Netflix's rating of sci-fi movies again. The sun is dying so a crew is going with a nuclear missle to "re-start" it. I kept hoping aliens would show up or at least something would happen to draw me in. A lot of things almost happened, but when they did, it did not make much sense.
Warm Bodies. B. Red Box. I was surprised by this movie. I'm a fan of a good zombie flick, but when I heard about the plot, it seemed a bit too much. It turned out to be very entertaining. I'd rate it pretty high on the must see zombie film list and very high on the cheesy teenage romance film list.
Wolverine. B. I'm a fan of the X-Men movies. I'm also a fan of Hugh Jackman. It was hard to go wrong going in with those two biases. The fighting sequences were too long, but that was expected. If you've like the X-Men movies, you should like this one too.
The East. B. I forget how much I love the indie flicks at the Broadway. This also had an environmentalist-based plot, but was written well and I liked how it ended. A women goes under cover in an environmental terrorist group. It goes with the obvious plot of her having sympathies for members of the group and trying to balance that with her personal beliefs. Worth seeing.
World War Z. B. I was in the middle of the book and didn't want to see the movie until I finish, but I couldn't help it and saw it opening weekend. Not a big deal as they are very different. This is a different kind of zombie movie. While most are horror flicks, this was more of a suspense movie. They cut out the gratutious gore associated with most zombie movies and gave it more of a plot. Fun for zombie fans and non-zombie fans.
Silent Running. D. Netflix. I have no idea why this is rated so well on Netflix. Sci-fi movie made in the sixties with blatant environmental message. Forests have died on the earth so they are growing them in a space station orbiting Saturn. Earth decides to abandon the project and for some reason that means they have to blow up the forests. One man understands the impact of losing all our forests so he kills everyone. My description made it seem way better than it is. At one point, he programs his robot helpers to play cards and you watch them play cards for about 10 minutes. Skip this one!

My Book Reviews

The Rent Collector. B. I loved this book while I was reading it. Then the author's comments on the back disappointed me. It was fiction! I was so inspired by the "true" story of this woman living at the dump in Cambodia and learning to read. The whole way through I thought it was true. I was mad when it wasn't. Although toward the end, it started getitng a little unbelievable. It was based on real people which bothers me wondering how much is true and how much is fiction. I still recommend the book, but know what you're getting into.
Divergent. B+. Fun, quick read. YA fiction. Your basic strong female in post-apocolypic world fighting to make change. Even though the story's been told over and over, this one was very engaging. I can't wait to read the next in the series!
World War Z. B+. For staters, this is very different from the movie. It's 10 years after we won the zombie war. The book is a series of interviews with survivors. I was hesitant about the way it was written and that I wouldn't stay involved without a central character. However, the book created a very real world. So much so that when I was getting off the freeway one morning and saw some homeless people waking up under a bridge, for just second, I thought they were zombies. I also wanted to bring it up in conversation. Like when someone was talking about North Korea, I wanted to say, "Did you hear how they handled the Zombie Apocalypse?' It was a fun book. I've never read a zombie book before and I may never again, but I'm glad I read this one. It also was welcome to read a book that isn't a strong female character overcoming incredible odds. I'm seriously weary of that plot line.
Waiting to be Heard. B+. I've followed the Amanda Knox case for several years. I thought, since I knew most details of the case, this might be boring. I was surprised at how engaging and well written it was. She is a quirky girl and, while the complete lack of physical evidence makes me sure she is innocent, I can see why people think she is hiding something. The book was haunting to think the someone who doesn't understand a culture coupled with a corrupt prosecutor could put an innocent person in jail for years.
Girl Gone. C-. Maybe it was called Gone Girl. I don't remember. Book club book. I've never gotten into mysteries. This one took a while to get into, then I couldn't put it down, then it ended and I wished I never picked it up. Ridiculous ending.
The Kitchen House. B-. I have no idea how to rate this book. It was slow to start. Once things started to happen (murder), I found myself sucked in and not wanting to put it down; however, once I did put it down, I didn't look forward to picking it up again. I'm not sure why. Maybe because it's similar to a bunch of other books I've read. I'm just getting weary of the genre and need to mix it up a little. Overall, an interesting read. The story of a young white girl who is indentured when her family dies on the boat from Ireland to America. Her relationship with her new family (the slaves whom she is sent to live and work with) and how her life is different from them because of the color of her skin.
The Happiness Project. D. I'm reviewing the book, but I'm not going to finish it. I knew this wasn't my favorite genre, but it was the book club pick this month so I thought I'd give it a chance. I didn't see the point of reading someone's goals. I sometimes feel like these "self-help" books are an excuse for people to feel like they are doing something to be happier, when really they are an excuse to avoid working on yourself by living through someone else's experience. Instead of reading the book, how about spend that time working on your own "happiness project". As I read, I kept thinking it should have been a workbook for readers to complete their own project while reading hers. I'll be interested to hear how others in book club liked it.