Thursday, May 31, 2007

Happy Birthday, Cousin Candee!


Hope you're not having to cook on your birthday! Tell Ryker to stay home with the kids and you go out and have some fun. Tell him I said so.

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Okay, NOW I've Heard Everything


Reece 3rd grade awards
Originally uploaded by Aunt Vanessa
I spent my Memorial Day weekend entertaining Reece and my mom. It was such fun being with the boy. We saw “Shrek the Third,” drank Yoo Hoos and ate Krispy Kream donuts. How much more fun could you possibly have, I ask you?

We were eating lunch on Saturday, and I began asking Reece about his girlfriend. (Yes, he’s only nine, but he’s had a girlfriend his entire life. He loves the ladies.) He told me that he broke up with his girlfriend because he liked someone else, but then he wouldn’t tell me anything more about it. He said he didn’t want to talk about it. I asked him why, and he said, “Well, I don’t really like to talk about my social life.” When you’re as cute as he is, it’s pretty much a given that you’ll be famous one of these days and you’ll need to be discreet.

Friday, May 18, 2007

Girl Knows How to Swing


Em swinging 5-07
Originally uploaded by Aunt Vanessa.
Don't you love this photo? Dawn sent it to me a few days ago. It was taken by a photographer at one of Emily's softball tournaments this month. She's playing in another tournament next weekend, which is why Reece is coming up for a visit without her. I miss her so much, but get to watch her play ball next month when I go home for one of her tournaments. Good luck next weekend, Emily!

Pyro Nephew


Pyro Nephew
Originally uploaded by Aunt Vanessa.
The boy claims he loves to go camping. Turns out he just loves to burn stuff and camping gives him ample opportunity to do so. He's coming up with my mom next weekend for a visit. It'll be his first time here and I'm really looking forward to entertaining him. Oh, alright, and I'll have a legitimate reason to go see "Spiderman 3!"

Sunday, May 06, 2007

My Weekend Reviews

I spent most of yesterday completing my final for Cataloging class. It was take-home, so I was able to take my time and look up every answer and submit it when I was sure I had everything correct. Of course, my idea of everything correct and my instructer's always conflict and she wins, so no way will my score be 100%. Now, I have to complete my last paper for that class and turn it in tonight. WHEW. That will be a happy moment. Have I mentioned that I don't like cataloging?

My time has been limited to working full-time and two night classes per week and lots of homework, but I always manage to keep at least one novel going and thanks to Netflix I'm able to watch a movie or two every weekend. So, here's an update on what I've read and viewed lately:

I'm a new fan of David Sedaris. I don't know why I haven't read him before now, but he's a delight. Finished Dress Your Family and Me Talk Pretty, and this short one and will get to the rest of them soon.

Interesting story about the one I'm reading now. The writer is an MU graduate and we got an advanced copy of the book at work since one of our magazine staff writers interviewed her for an article. It's about abusive men and how the writer suffered and her sister was killed by an abusive man. Turns out the writer was scheduled to be on Oprah last week (she'd written for Oprah's self-indulgent rag of a magazine) but Oprah's "people" decided they wouldn't have her on the show because they couldn't verify some of the information in the book. (The writer's ex-husband, who lives here in Columbia, is suing over the book and the writer refuses to reveal his name.) James Frey pretty much killed the chance for nonfiction writers to be endorsed by Oprah. Still, I hope the writer makes a fortune in sales, although I don't think that's why she wrote it. Read it only if you think you can handle the subject.

As for movies, The Good Shepherd was boring and overrated. This very dramatic film, however, was so wonderfully acted I want to watch it again. It took a while, but I managed to watch most of the episodes of The Comeback, and it was quite funny most of the time, but I can see why HBO didn't renew it after the first season. I love Lisa Kudrow; I was a big "Friends" fan when it was running, and she is great in this series, but her character isn't very likeable and I don't know a soul who's ever watched the show.

One more thing. I've only recently discovered the world of literature on discs. I figure I'll never get to read all the books I want to read, so I got a couple of things on CD and started listening to them in my car. I love it. If you're interested, try this one for starters. It's short stories and you can easily finish listening to them in a week or less, depending on how much you drive. If you've already discovered this treasure of listening, recommend some titles to me, please. I am actually looking forward to my next six-hour drive to Arkansas, now.

I've procrastinated long enough. Have to finish my paper on Cataloging. Want me to post it when I'm finished?

Next post: what have Emily and Reece been up to lately?