I Don't Want To Get Left Behind

No, I'm not worried about the rapture. I know where I'm going. But I feel as though my life has hit a bit of a stasis. Where nothing really moves. What's new? Not much. No new jobs. No new house. No new friends. No new big things.

Just same old, same old.

And I'm not saying I'm unhappy. I really love my life. And I have a lot of wonderful things in it, like dinner out with friends, movie nights, vacations, fun stuff! Really fun stuff!

But sometimes I'm worried that somehow, I'll get left behind. By whom? I don't know. I have a hard time with change, but never want to stop changing...

A Few of My Favorite Things: BBC and Elizabeth Gaskell!

Megan Hoeksema, thank you, thank you, thank you. My friend Megan knows that I am a fan of all things Jane Austen. So she did me the awesome favor of introducing me to Mrs. Elizabeth Gaskell, and the fantastic BBC adaptations of three of her novels.

I now own all three of these DVDs and I watch them more often than I should. It's nice to have noise in the background while I'm cleaning or writing or crocheting, and these movies fit the bill. Though I always have to stop and watch intently the moment Roger Hamley comes and stands in the rain. Or when Mr. Thornton and Miss Hale arrive at the train station. Or any time Miss Pole comes on the screen (Imelda Staunton, I love you.).

So there's my next edition of some of my favorite things. If you'd like to borrow any of these, let me know. They're long, but totally worth it.

A Few of My Favorite Things

Today I'm going to make a "commitment" that I'll never keep. There are certain things in my life that I love (there are LOTS of people I love, but certain things). So I'd like to share some of them. Let's see if I can do a few of my favorite things every Monday. Anyone want to place a bet on how long that will last? I'm guessing a week.

First up is my favorite sweatshirt in the whole wide world. Here it is:

My sister went to Northwestern, and for a little while, I thought I might go there too. But I figure, why go there when I already had the best sweatshirt possible from there?

Now, my sister went to Northwestern from 1990-1994, and we're guessing that she gave this sweatshirt to me when I went to visit. In 1993.

Yes, this sweatshirt is 17 years old. And it's still my favorite.

Why? There's no one reason. There are lots of reasons. (1) It's from my sister, whom I love. (2) After 17 years, it still retains this softness that has never been beat. (3) The size, shape, feel, etc. makes me feel a little bit like I'm back in the 90s. And come on. Who didn't love the 90s? (4) I mostly wear it on the weekends, so when I put it on, I think comfort, relaxation, and curling up with a good book.

Ta. Da. My favorite sweatshirt. Aren't you glad you know?

The Office Recap Friday!

How about a little Bossa Nova?

Yes, yes, YES! This week's episode didn't *exactly* rock my socks off, but my shoes were definitely off and my socks were slouching considerably.

1. Good job casting Kathy Bates. She is awesome as the new owner of Sabre/Dunder Mifflin. And I love that she brought the dogs with her.

2. Excellent ensemble work! Oscar is obviously the one to tell Michael about the commission, Kelly is obviously the one to misunderstand Andy's valentine, and Phyllis is obviously the one to stink. Oh. My. Gosh. If I send you an email, is it okay to break wind?

3. Dwight. Oh, Dwight. I sincerely hope that you begin a Ryan Howard Diabolical Plan. And in all honesty, I thought that the last scene, when Dwight and Ryan got in the elevator, that it would close and then open to reveal Ryan in his Saw-like scenario in Dwight's barn. How awesome would that have been?

4. Jim and Pam! I loved seeing them as a unit, yet more back to their normal roles. When Pam grinned at Jim being called "a tall drink of sun tea," I grinned too. And finally, FINALLY we get the old Jim back. Putting Dwight's tie in his coffee was just subtle/evil enough. And I love that the last line is Dwight yelling "Michael!"

5. Erin. I can't wait for her and Andy to have a date (by the way, I saw on Entertainment Weekly that The Date will be on March 11). But she was brilliant. From the ants on a log to the spinning the chair to the Bossa Nova. Fan-freaking-tastic.

Yay! What did you think?

P.S. I just checked NBC's site and we don't get another new episode until March 4 (because of the Olympics), but it's called "The Delivery." Can't wait!

Pride and Prejudice Favorite Quotes
These could probably all be from Mr. Bennet, who, face it, is the funniest character in this book (not the silliest or the most witty, just the funniest).

Volume 1:

"Mary wished to say something very sensible, but knew not how."

"'My dear, do not give way to such gloomy thoughts. Let us hope for better things. Let us flatter ourselves that I may be the survivor.'"

Volume 2:

"'In vain have I struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.'"

Volume 3:


"Her heart did whisper, that he had done it for her."

"'It taught me to hope,' said he, 'as I had scarcely ever allowed myself to hope before.'"

Petoskey, Projects, and Parties!

This weekend I had the chance to go to Petoskey to visit my bro-in-law Drew and his girlfriend Jen. They are always super nice to invite us up whenever we feel like a visit, so I finally took them up on their offer.

I also totally abused the invitation and asked Jen to help me with some sewing projects. She's an excellent seamstress and helped me design and make this table runner:
Plus some fun things for my sister Kate's kids. I had a great time crafting up these projects and spending time with Jen, who is infinitely patient with helping me and being nice. :-)

I also got the chance to meet a bunch of their friends during Progressive Birthday Party Saturday. A bunch of folks started out the day with Birthday Breakfast at one house, then Birthday Lunch at another, and finally Birthday Dinner at Drew and Jen's. I ate way too much and had a great time.

Sunday I got home just in time to head over to another friend's house for a Superbowl party! It was great to catch up with friends, see everyone (and their babies) and hang out for a while. I didn't watch a ton of the game, but what I did watch was very fun.

The Office Recap Friday

Here we go!

First, a shout-out to Allison and Ashleigh, who both made the comment that Erin throwing Michael the scissors (twice) was fantastic. I agree. And I love Erin. She's like Pam 2.0 for me these days.

Speaking of Pam. The Pam/Jim stuff has been a little disappointing for me lately. I think they're going to be super fun parents. But they're getting a little too "grown up" for me. Where are the Dwight pranks? Where are the Jim and Pam in sombreros laughing at the hole Andy punched in the wall? Though I did giggle at "infantry."

I did find the Michael story pretty funny. He was typical Michael, freaking out about change, demanding to speak to someone higher up on the food chain, then going to David Wallace for advice. (By the way, I love, love, love unemployed David Wallace. Suck it!) But he's losing his pizazz to me. The only ridiculous thing that happened with the new guy coming in was Dwight and his hot dogs (what?).

Here are my two requests for further episodes:

1. Bring back the ridiculous situational comedy! Sexual Harassment Day! Diwali! And Pretzel Day!!!!

2. Please give me some more ensemble stuff. Where were the rest of the Sabre/Dunder Mifflinites this week?

Overall grade: B-

February. Ugh.

February is possibly my least-favorite month. Mostly because I'm a big Grinch. But I have my reasons (whether or not they are valid could be debated).

1. It's gross in Michigan in February. It's either (a) bitter cold and disgusting or (b) barely above freezing and disgusting. There's rarely any truly gorgeous snow anymore and no chance of a real thaw. Just slush. Awesome.

2. Valentine's Day. My husband and I don't really celebrate because (here we go with the letters again) (a) I do think it's a little bit of a commercial "buy flowers and candy and expensive dinners" holiday and (b) because my birthday is only four days later. So it takes away from the "excitement" of my birthday a little. Which leads to reason number 3...

3. My birthday. I haven't really been a big fan of the birthday since my cat died on my birthday when I was in 8th grade. That was followed by the year after, when all I could think about was my cat dying the year before, and then the surprise 16th birthday party that I hated (sorry, mom). Plus, my options for birthday celebrations are all indoors because of Reasons to Hate February #1. And I was always jealous of my August-born sister who got to do fun outdoorsy things for her birthday.

4. February is the last month of basketball season for my husband, the coach. Which means, excluding the holidays, I haven't seen him on a Monday through Friday night since November. I can handle a few months of missing him, eating dinner by myself, etc., but by February I'm about ready for him to be home a little more. Well, home a little more when I am also home.

So. There's your big ball of sunshine for February 1. Let's just be thankful it's the shortest month and move on, shall we?