Oops...

I really ought to post more often. I try to make these posts smarter, funnier, better written, and more grammatically corrrect than my LiveJournal posts. That means these posts are just so much more work. I'll try to get better, though. For now, though, I'm running off to fiction writing. Have a picture of the cats, instead of a post. Worth a thousand words, right?

Movie Meme!

Because everyone else is doing it:
Here is the deal:* Pick 15 of your favorite movies

* Go to IMDB and find a quote from each movie
* Post them on your blog for everyone to guess
* Fill in the film title once it’s been guessed

These are your rules:

* No Googling or using IMDB search functions (Don’t cheat!)
* Leave your answer(s) in the comments

I'll come back in two days to check and post answers!

1) "I'm a firm believer in the ruling class, especially since I rule."

2)"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned for Sega."

3)A: [Examining the broken vase] Late 14th Ming Dynasty. Oh it breaks the heart.
B: And the head. You hit me dad.
A: I'll never forgive myself.
B: Don't worry I'm all right.
A: Thank God... it's fake. See you can tell with the cross sections.

4) "I'm little! I cheat little! You big! You cheat big!"

5) "I shall call him Squishy, and he shall be mine, and he shall be my Squishy! ... ow! Bad Squishy!" Finding Nemo

6)A: "You're vile! You're foul! You're flawed!"
B: "Also cute and fluffy!"

7) "Why should Caesar get to stomp around like a giant, while the rest of us try not to get smushed under his big feet? What's so great about Caesar? Hm? Brutus is just as cute as Caesar. Brutus is just as smart as Caesar. People totally like Brutus just as much as they like Caesar. And when did it become okay for one person to be the boss of everybody, huh? Because that's not what Rome is about. We should totally just *stab* Caesar! "

8) A: There's only one reason Christian girls comes down to the Planned Parenthood.
B: She's planting a pipe bomb?
A: Okay, two reasons. Saved!

9) A: A book?
B: That's right. When I was your age, television was called books. And this is a special book. It was the book my father used to read to me when I was sick, and I used to read it to your father. And today I'm gonna read it to you.
A: Has it got any sports in it?
B: Are you kidding? Fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles...
A: Doesn't sound too bad. I'll try to stay awake.
B: Oh, well, thank you very much, very nice of you. Your vote of confidence is overwhelming. Princess Bride

10) "I am your WIFE. I am the greatest good you are going to get!"

11) "Knight jumps queen! Bishop jumps queen! Pawns jump queen! Gangbang!"

12) "Sweetie, go get mommy's bazooka."

13) "If I wasn't a key player in this whole conspiracy to brainwash the youth of America with rock music, we could totally date!"

14) "You should have died. You should have just laid down and died."

15) "As long as there is injustice, whenever a Targathian baby cries out, wherever a distress signal sounds among the stars, we'll be there. This fine ship, this fine crew. Never give up... and never surrender."

Invasion of the Body Snatcher

My body is no longer mine. I suppose I haven't been stripped of it entirely, but am simply sharing it. The needs of the tiny proto-person I'm sharing it with, however, take precedence over my own wants. Andrew has taken to hovering in the background whenever I'm eating, asking if whatever it is I'm having is okay. I can't complain too much, though. He's always taken care of me, but now he won't let me lift a finger for anything. It's odd though, to think that everything I'm doing is affecting my unborn child. I've always been the sort of person who reacts poorly to being told I can't do something, especially if it's for my own good. I would love nothing more than to have a big block of feta cheese crumbled over a salad as a side dish to a nice plate of sushi, all washed down with a pint of hard cider, or even just a glass of iced tea, perhaps both. I now I can still have plenty of things I enjoy, but at the moment I'm focused on what I can't have. It's like I'm on a nine month diet from hell.
My mother has also gone crazy over this child, in a much better way than expected. We went to the beach together yesterday, just the two of us. There was no arguing and minimal eye rolling. She's already talking about babysitting next year while we're both working and at school. Today she told me she's ordering me a book about keeping a natural home for the baby, since I've become a bit of a hippie in that respect. She's also been sympathetic, since Dr. Killjoy, as she calls him, has basically put her on the same diet I'm having to keep to, though presumably without all the folic acid.
Andrew just called, he's finally on his way home. He's doing sound design for the show that's going on at school, so he's been putting in long hours. He's kindly agreed to bring me a strawberry milkshake because "the baby wants one." I think this kid and I, if we can work together, have a great future ahead of us.

Preservation

We have a Valley lemon tree in the backyard. (That's Meyer lemons to everyone else in the world.) There is a lot of fruit on the tree, and some of it is already starting to ripen. This tree is one of my favorite things about this house. I love lemons and limes to an extreme degree, just ask my dentist. I especially love Valley lemons. They are large, with a smooth creamy yellow skin that is easy to peel. I vividly remember grabbing one from the veggie drawer of the refridgerator in our old house, this is the fridge that Mom and I had covered in cow print contact paper because it was rusting and ugly. I peeled it, thinking it was an orange that hadn't gotten all its color. It was sour, but a smooth sour, with just a hint of sweetness behind it. That's when I knew what true love felt like. So, of course I was a very happy girl when I found five of them on the kitchen table the other day. I squeezed one into a glass, intending to mix it with iced tea. While waiting for the tea to brew, I drank the juice straight. Whoops. It was only supposed to be a taste, but it went too far.
Finally, with lemony tea in hand, I contemplated the remaining lemons. For reasons unknown to neither me nor my parents, the ends of a few of the lemons had already begun to rot. Something had to be done. That's when I remembered the recipe I had seen for preserved lemons on Stuttercut.org. We aren't talking lemon preserves here, all glossy smooth and sweet. No, these are preserved lemons made by tossing lemon quarters with salt, layering them in a jar with some more salt, and then covering the whole mess with more lemon juice. Considering the fact that I had just eaten two of the lemons with a hearty sprinkling of salt, I knew what had to be done.
For some reason, Mom has a couple of cases of little canning jars just sitting around. These aren't the full on big ones, but small cute ones. The lids are white and have strawberries on them. But why does she have them? Mom always has a couple of projects in the wings. That's where I get it from. I feel odd if I don't have two or three things that need doing. I think the feeling is called sanity. At some point, Mom had decided that she really liked sweet jalapeno relish and would someday make her own, hence the jars. I'm not sure that project ever really took off, hence the completely unopened box of jars that I am not allowed to get rid of, because she's retired now. Truly these are the years of put up or shut up with my Mom. We'll see how many of the projects she has been talking about doing once she "has time" actually get done.
I snagged one of the jars, quartered the remaining lemons, carefully slicing away the rotted bits, and taking judicious taste tests to ensure what was left was edible. They were tossed with salt, and packed in and covered with more juice. I've been shaking the jar everyday, as per the recipe. Soon I'll have to come up with something to do with them beyond "open jar, eat." I can't wait for the rest of the tree to ripen. Truly, these are exciting, lemony, times.

Subtle

Last night I dreamt that I was watching myself try to fit my mouth around my notebooks and textbooks for my classes. It wasn't working very well. As I was watching myself in the dream I wondered if perhaps I really have bitten off more than I can chew. Then I wondered whatever happened to dreams that required actual interpretation. I keep telling myself that it was just a dream, and that I can do this. Sometimes it's all to easy to have doubts about that, but I haven't fallen down yet. So, it was just a dream, like any other anxiety dream. And like the dream that followed it, wherein a ginormous rattlesnake fell out of my airconditioner vent, it's not real. I may be fighting the urge to seal off my ac vent, but it wasn't real.

Huh...

Tonight my "voice" was compared, favorably even, to Harper Lee's in To Kill a Mockingbird. I think that is the most kick ass thing I have heard in a long time. I wish I had more to say, but at this point my brain is quickly powering down. Sadly, I can't write, but must read before all neural function ceases. Not that I'm in a silly mood or anything.

Cake

There is currently a six pound, ten ounce buttercream frosted chocolate cake on our kitchen table. Apparently, we're celebrating Mom's birthday again. I believe what really happened is that Dad was taken in by the cake while at Sam's this morning. "It's bigger and cheaper than the ones at HEB" was his completely rational answer to my question of "What's with the cake?" As the lolcats would say, the origins of my issues, let me show you them. Mom interrupted the cake conversation to ask if I wanted her to join the gym with me. The me plus other people plus the gym conversation is one we've been through over and over again. I hate people watching me while I work out. I don't care if they're actually watching me, because in my mind being in the same room is enough. They probably saw me at some point, and therefore they are watching me. Only replace the word watching with judging. If there's anything I hate more than people seeing me at the gym, it's having someone try to talk to me while I'm trying to do my thing as quickly and as solitarily as possible. My mother can't resist talking to me. Every trip will be a chat session. I told I don't mind her going at all, but that I am definitely not looking for a workout buddy. Again, this is a converrsation we've had. We'll see what happens.
In other news, we are sans tv at the moment. We're switching between satellite providers, and unfortunately the new one won't be able to install for four more days. It's not been too bad. I've been working on homework anyway. It's also a sort of thing. Amazingly, with all the studying I've been doing, words are failing me. At the end of my tv-free time, I will return with things better than ever. We're getting dvr. Oh yes. I will once more be able to pause and record tv. Joy. This means I am no longer an actual slave to my tv. In the meantime, we've been re-watching Firefly. I wish there was more. But, since there isn't, I'm off to continue on homework until it's time for HFS.