oh, hello....yeah.............

Right, so I barely blogged over here, right? And when I did it was never so horribly important that I couldn't share it with my grandmother, my neighbour, or whoever. And then SO and I decided we wanted to move. And originally we thought we'd be moving in October-ish and we wanted to start a blog so family can keep up with us. So we switched over to wordpress and began our own site; and if I or he ever feel the need to be private, wordpress offers a password option for its blogs. And, really, I'll just give out the password to anybody that asks, but honestly...who is even going to want to bother going to that much trouble, just having the password there will be deterrent enough from whomever the post is being blocked.
So, I'll leave this up for a month or so, and then I may just shut this blog down entirely.
I only know of two people who have the address to this anyhow. (hi, J! hi, E!) And I'm not even sure if they are reading it either.

But the new blog:

PetlerInn dot wordpress dot com

you should come by and say hello.

in which I participate as part of the worst bloggers ever

**I am deeply apologetic for all of the parenthetical expressions and the sentence fragments and the over abundance of exclamation points--we're going to blame it all on the whiskey, okay??**

Other blogs take up so much of my internet time, that it is horribly shameful. I'm that awful sort of lurker. I only De-lurk if I feel the absolute need to say something...or if there's a contest (you know, poor girls who don't speak need love too!).
And all I seem to do here are list-updates on my life and book/movie reviews (which, by the way are SO UNBELIEVABLY far behind, that I cannot imagine I'd actually ever realistically catch up).
I had a birthday recently and I'm a big believer in birthdays; it's the German in me, a birthday is more important than any other holiday to these people.
But I was unbelievably lucky enough to receive from my parents a ....you ready?? A KITCHEN AIDE!!!! AND IT'S GREEN!!!!! LIME GREEN!!!!!! Oh-My-God!! I could not be any more excited if I tried. Also, SO gave me the ENTIRE collection of (prepare for super-nerdom) Sailor Moon--including the movies!!! (although, the first part is still in the works, I only have the second half in my possession) and he also gave me a Holga camera TWIN LENS!! (I didn't even know they made a twin lens!) And Sister gave me a beautiful handmade necklace and an art book from Hieronymus Bosch...just so many wonderful things did I receive from those who love me!! :)
Also, SO and I went to Savannah for the weekend; to look around and see if it could be the kind of place we could live. And of course, I loved it. (Although if we're being totally honest it's about in 6th place of places Sassy should live next; however my poor little Rock Star just loathes cold weather) I should probably dedicate a separate post to the Savannah trip and the debates (read: lengthy arguing) contained as a result, and really, I'm in much to pleasant a mood to delve into it.
Happy Thoughts to any who happen to pass by!!
:)

where I talk about updating, but don't really follow through

I love mornings like today: pre-storm sunlight filtering in through the windows is gray, and we lay tangled up in our sheets, sleepily nuzzling until I delicately extract myself to start the coffee brewing.

I've got book/movie reviews to write, but I'm beginning to see that's about all this blog has become; which isn't exactly what I wanted so I'm going to try to get better about it. Also, I'm still tossing around the idea of switching over to wordpress and taking my blog to a more-public venue (i.e. give my family/friends the name); with wordpress I can password-set any blogs I don't want any particular person/people to read. Although everyone can always ask for it....I'm just unsure, still debating
really.

Also, I think we're going to be traveling down to Savannah in a few weeks for the weekend to re-check out the city. Of course, the date we chose the only hostel in the city is closed for renovations, so we may or not be living out of our car. We'll see.

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer

The movie for this book, which I did see first, seemed to drag quite a bit. So I picked up the book with some apprehensions about its content. I knew I wanted to read it, as it is a true account, but I was unsure how much I would actually enjoy this book.
The story is of Chris McCandless' tragic foray into the Alaskan wilderness in the spring and summer of 1992. Krakauer was drawn to the story by his own adventures as a young man; he followed McCandless' trail from the point at college graduation when McCandless donates several thousand dollars to charity and takes out on the open road for a few years before making his way into Alaska; Krakauer spoke to most of the people that McCandless encountered on his trek as well as included the few postcards and letters McCandless sent not to his family (who did not know where he was) but to those he encountered on the journey within the book.
The book, although dry in parts, was an easy read with quite a bit of information involved. Krakauer intersperses McCandlesss' story with other wanderers throughout history as well as some of his own past. I thought the book was very interesting, although it tended to get bogged down in information in parts (although I found it to be quite interesting).
It seems that reaction to this book was greatly varied; some people saying McCandless was a nutcase who shouldn't be glorified for his stupidity and others who expounded upon the tragedy that cut short his brilliant life. For me, McCandless was a spoiled strong-willed, intelligent young man, who lacked quite a bit of common sense. I wouldn't go so far to say he deserved his death, but he knew the consequences of his actions when he made the journey; although he may have realized too late what he wanted out of life, the decision to travel into Alaskan wilderness without so much as a compass will always remain his and only his decision.

The book did raise a desire in me to see the southwest portion of my country; it made me realize the ridiculousness of wanting to see Europe or India when I've missed out on the majority of my own homeland.

I would only recommend this book to those who enjoy travel and/or travel books as it does get dry for the casual reader--it is entirely true, so there are no dramatic plots to follow within its pages.

Armageddon Summer by Jane Yolen & Bruce Coville

This is a wonderful piece of young adult fiction! The two authors write alternating points of view from Marina and Jed, the two main characters as they live out what their church believes to be the end of days. Marina at 14 years is the oldest of six children whose fanatical mother follows Rev. Beelson to the top of a mountain to wait out the Armageddon he prophecized. Jed is the 16 year old son of a father who found comfort in Rev. Beelson after Jed's mother left for another man.
The writing follows each character as they leave their lives and head up to a camp on top of a mountain where only 144 people are going to be left alive to rebuild the earth in Jesus' name. The conflicting thoughts of the adolescents as they are pushed into adulthood from these extreme conditions are riveting.
Interspersed between the chapters are letters, sermons, and FBI files that keep the reader informed of all that is going on around the teens. As the two weeks on the mountain play out, the characters begin to see how dedicated the adults on the mountain really are; there is an electric fence that keeps the Believers locked in as much as it is keeping the non-Believers locked out; guns start appearing as soon as the population hits 144 people and things quickly turn downhill for the narrators as the story progresses.
It is a very well written book; and I really do not wish to give too much away in the review of it. Wonderfully entertaining and gripping. A great book!

Tumultuous Tokens of Tenderness

*also called How I Get Way Too Excited About Alliteration*

June is the month for birthdays. Baby-girl last week, the Celt this week, the next weekend is Father's Day, and then it's SO's birthday.
By the way, I'm HORRIBLE at gift giving. I hate having to wait until a specific day to give someone a present. As soon as I buy one, I want to give it away immediately.
So much time is spent on picking out something(s) that lucky guy/girl will just absolutely love and will want to keep forever that as soon as I bring it home, I turn into a four-year-old, "Guess what?!? I bought you something!! It's a surprise!!!!! ....wanna see it?!?!!??"
Even now, I know SO will occasionally pop into my blog and read all the nasty things I say about him, so I can't even put my secrets out into the world wide web. I am forced to sit on them in high anticipation, teasing him with the occasional (alright, fairly frequent--I'm sorry, sweetie!!), "You are gonna LOVE your gifts!! Want a hint?....You are going to be so excited!" And I do this type of thing with such frequency, that as soon as the special day arrives, I start getting nervous. Did I over-hype it? What if he doesn't love it as much as I thought he would? What if I led her to believe it was something else, and this isn't what she was expecting/wanting at all?
Apparently my ease of mind rests on the perfect gift-giving experience.

Bridget Jones

Bridget Jone's Diary
Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason
both by Helen Fielding

(also, I've got this major vendetta about books with their dvd/movie poster as the cover)

I've read both the Bridget Jones books and let me tell you they are both supremely adorable!! The movies were always very cute, but never on my list of favourites, and I'm not quite sure how much I was expecting to like the books. But I was in a very stressed place and the books I had been reading when I picked up each of these were heavy and very dark.
If you've seen the movie(s) then you are fully aware of the book. Especially in the case of Diary, the plot was barely changed. The books are written as if they actually were Jone's diary for the year. Each post (re: chapter) beginning with the time, date, location, caloric intake, and various other fun facts to which the character is currently concerned;such as smoothies drank, cigarettes smoked, days between shagging, etc..
Typically reading about a character with such insecurity problems would normally drive me mad (see any of the Jennifer Weiner books); that sort of incessant complaining about weight, looks, lack of romance should not be published, women do not need any encouragement for this type of behaviour.
But Fielding manages it in such a way to make it quite funny and often hilarious. Jones' problems you see, normally turn out all in her head and once she gets what she wants, she realizes it was better off before. It's got that slightly bizarre English humour that I love so well.
I would recommend these books to anyone looking for a light read and a great laugh.

Lots of stuff currently going down:

1. I haven't blogged in quite awhile. This is mostly due to the fact that I have a partially written blog about our no-longer-with-us family dog, but every time I go to write a paragraph (because, yes it is that long) I start crying for him all over again.

2. My (only) baby sister just moved over 900 miles away from me--it's very strange knowing that she and her sweet dog will not just be dropping by my house ever again.

3. I am just freaking out about my lack of money right now; and yes, at least I have a job in our god-awful economy; and at least I have the sweetest partner who has no problem taking care of me; and yes, I have a huge family that would support me if something really terrible happened and neither I nor SO could handle it...but still, I AM FREAKING OUT.

4. Today marks the day many many years ago when SO and I decided that any other person in the whole wide world would not compare to the happiness we find in each other.

5. Lately I've been in a super-cooking mode (probably due to the fact that I've not been able to for about a week) and I managed to persuade SO to go to a party without me while I stayed home and nursed the migraines of the sinus-headache world. While at home I decided I wanted cookies, and instead of getting in my car to drive to the store (only FOUR minutes away!!), I thought it sounded like a better idea to just make it from scratch--which I did; also, didn't even bother with the oven, because, let's face it, cookie dough is really the goal of a cookie cravings in the first place.

6. My house is a wreck: laundry needs to be done, floors swept and cleaned, dog bathed, rug beat out, bathroom cabinet needs to be reorganized (to prevent the morning spillover resulting in one of the first words of my day being "OH, GOD-DAMN IT!!!"), chairs need to be painted, carpets cleaned, and grocery shopping is greatly needed too.

7. And I've not gotten a haircut since last September--yes, I know it's a long time, but my hair is usually okay with it, but it is really beginning to bug me.

HOO-RAH!!!

Alright, yes, I know I'm several days late on this news, but I celebrated the night I found out; and now it's time to share. Are you ready for this???
It's extremely exciting!!!!

Here it is:

VERMONT LEGALIZES GAY MARRIAGE!!!!!!

yippee!!! This means the number of states that allow gay marriage in one week HAS DOUBLED!!

I cannot believe how well this bodes for the nation...I have such hope.

*************

In related news, albeit BAD news...apparently all those who oppose gay marriage have gotten quite scared at the liberal takeover for civil liberties and has launched this terrifying commercial to run for the next two months, up to eight times a day in California where Prop 8 is back on the table for revocation.

These people, man, I just want to know how it hurts them for other people to be happy. WHY does it bother them if their neighbour is gay?!?? Someone PLEASE explain it to me.

Reason #5 to leave TN as soon as the lease is finished:

(This post could also be called, In which I use WAY too many paranthetical expressions and get very sidetracked)


The weather here blows ass.

I'm not kidding. It is the worst weather of anywhere I've ever been. Sure, because we live in the valley, we really don't get much in the way of a major league storm; hurricanes, tornadoes, and such are all stopped by the mountain ranges. There are practically no earthquakes here as there are no fault lines anywhere close to us.

But there is a saying here, "If you don't like the weather, stick around for a day and it'll change."
And this is unbelievably true.

For example: Sunday? Just three days ago? SO and I ate our regular Sunday breakfast (mmmm......eggs in a basket, bacon, orange juice, milk and LOTS of coffee!!) on the back deck.
Yes, it was so gorgeous outside that we ate breakfast (admittedly it was probably 11am, so I suppose it could be considered brunch) outside!
And then what did we do? A whole bunch of our friends came over for an impromptu kickball tournament.

And while we waiting for all to arrive, some of us (obviously not this uncoordinated girl; meaning myself) preformed various gymnastic feats and we tossed around the frisbee--despite what this image suggests, we are a group of musicians and artists and Curly here was one of just two or three people that actually had a pretty good control over his/her muscles. (By the way, I did try to locate a kickball photo, but everyone's faces are in it, and I'm just not sure that's somthing I should be doing). All in all it was a really good day as after just two or three innings everyone got tired and we headed back to my house; oh yes, someone was wise enough to suggest walking down to the park that's just two (country, not city) blocks away to play rather than stick around in my yard to see who can break which neighbour's window first. And then we finished the day by driving to get half-priced sushi and drinking LOTS of sake....perhaps a little too much sake than is proper on a Sunday evening?

But the weather? Oh yes, THAT. The next day it dropped by about, oh, I don't know 20-30 degrees and on Tuesday? IT SNOWED. ALL DAY LONG THERE WAS SNOW!! I'm still nursing a nasty sunburn on my arms and I'm putting on heavy socks, multiple layers and my SNOWBOOTS to get to work.
Seriously? It's driving me mad.
Sister is in Boston looking for a place to live and on the seventh day in April that we folks here in the south are NOT enjoying gray skies and slushy HEAVY snowfall (it didn't stick by the way, the ground still had to be very warm from the 75 degree Sunday), she was enjoying walking around BOSTON, very northern, in a sunny 50-ish degree temperature.

Yes. That is just another reason to really hate TN.

GAY MARRIAGE=CIVIL RIGHT!!!!!

I'm so happy right now. Yesterday Iowa declared gay marriage a civil right; that by declaring marriage to be between a man and a woman violated their [Iowa] constitutional rights--YAY!!!!

That makes it the third state to allow gay marriage!!! I'm so very proud of them.

This is just another step closer to equal rights!!

friday night

and full of red wine....sweet red Cabernet Sauvignon as I listen to my sweet rock star sing god-awful Manofwar with his drunk friends...



...honestly, I really don't believe other people can be as happy as I am.

on moving and my Other

Tennessee summers are rather mild as summers go; surrounded by the mountains it cannot get too hot and it gets nowhere near the humidity of the more southerly states. However, I do believe I'd like to try living in a place that perhaps never gets cold; or rather, perhaps rarely gets cold. SO, of course, has such a natural abhorrence for any temperature below 55 degrees Fahrenheit that he simply LOVES this idea. Right now, the top contender is for Savannah, GA. We both fell in love with Savannah the moment we stepped out of the car. I don't believe 24 hours were even spent in that beautiful city and we both knew that it was a perfect place for us.
I'm still keeping hope for Boston (I know, the opposite of warm year-long) open right now; Sister is moving there within the month and I have such a fondness for the north-eastern cities (i.e. my beloved New York) and the trains and the theatre and the people (Northerners are my kind of people, none of this foolish, lets-talk-to-every-single-bloody-individual-in-a-seven-mile-radius-of-where-we-are-standing Southern hospitality shit); plus Boston is simple a TRAIN RIDE from Manhattan, and not just any train ride, a SHORT train ride--anyplace that gets me closer to my city is definitely high up on my Places-Sassy-Should-Be list. But SO doesn't want to move someplace he's never visited before, and despite this severe rationality of his, I'll go along with it; I'm just so happy I'm getting my little homeschooler to move away from the only state he's ever known.