I have no response to that.

Ever seen the movie Joe vs. the Volcano? No? That's okay, nobody else has seen it either. Except, of course, I have seen it. Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan playing two sisters, really odd film. One of the sisters that Meg Ryan plays uses the line in the title up there, and that's about how I've been feeling for the last several days.

Words seem to be passing me by on either side, or bumping into me without leaving any impression at all. What does it all mean? I have no idea.

Times like these...

Not sure how coherent I'll be in this blog. My brain is shutting off without my permission. I actually fell asleep sitting here in front of my computer a few minutes ago waiting for the washing machine to finish so that I can put the clothes in the dryer.

Today, the kids and I went to their great grandmother's 90th birthday party. Friends and family from far and wide came to see her and share her day. We had a gorgeous blue October sky, with plenty of sunshine for the kids to enjoy the small playground and field outside the church where the party was held. People who hadn't seen each other for fifty years reunited over slices of white bakery cake and ham biscuits.

I hope I'm still around when I tun 90. I hope I have as much zest and love as Big Granny, and I hope she makes it to 100, so we can do this all over again.

Movie Night

Thank God for flimsy British romance movies.

Tonight's fare was I Capture the Castle, starring Romola Garai, and Henry Thomas of all people. You know, Eliot from E.T.? I suppose it was worth the run time, as Henry Cavill played a lovely little part. The film contained all the requisite sweeping shots of blowing countryside, dramatic score, luscious 1930's costuming and atmosphere, and sparkling dinner parties.

Was the movie over-acted and needlessly misty? You betcha, but that's what's so lovable about it. It is a chick flick without reservation or remorse. Yay, Britain! Yay, Merchant Ivory and all you wannabees! Yay, costume melodramas! Yay, Jane Austen and even more wannabees! Yay, Movies!

The Once and Burger King

The theme song for Monty Python's Holy Grail is playing loudly in my head right now, and I am wearing a Burger King Crown on my damp head.

Damp, because it is raining and raining. Soon the sky will run out of water and start sending down margarita salt or something.
Burger King, because none of the other fast food joints have free head wear. Also, my hair was touching my forehead in a very annoying way and the crown keeps my hair back.
Monty Python, because my mind can't take the Sponge Bob theme any more.

It's Friday, I got a NetFlix movie today, and Monopoly has started again at Mickey D's. I'm a happy camper.

Nano, my Nano

Just a few weeks now until November 1st, are you ready?

I have my note cards ready, a fuzzy idea of what the novel will be about, and a tentative title. Yay, Me! If you haven't already figured it out, I'm talking about National Novel Writing Month. Basically, you write a novel in a month. 50K (words) in 30days. You in?

If you're wondering why anyone would do such a thing, the answer is: Why not? What have you got to lose?
Didn't you ever want to write a novel? Isn't there some spark you've had on the WAY back burner that thinks, I could write a novel if I had the time! Well, now is the time. November is one month out of your life, and by December 1st, you could have written a novel!

Broken down, it's 1667 words a day. You can do it. I've done it. Over 100,000 people signed up last year. Now it's your turn. http://www.nanowrimo.org

Ollie and me

Should be in BED! The alarm will go off (ready or not!) in less than six hours, and I have the runny-crazies. You know, like a cat at midnight. My ears are twitching and I find myself across the room wondering why I'm standing there.

Jamie Oliver is on the brain tonight. Young, cutesy British chef, who used to have a show called The Naked Chef on the Food Network a few years back. I checked out one of his cookbooks from the library the other day, and I <3 him. Toad in the hole: super good. But the best thing about it is that he seems to have written the copy himself, and you get to see a little what his life is like. There's a picture of him eating a salad with his gas man, and another of him eating a frozen fishstick sandwich. How cool is that?

One Flu Over the Cuckoo's Nest

My kids were sick, but now they're not. A whole week out of school with fever, snot, coughing, fatigue, crankiness, and I-need-to-be-mommied-all-day-long.

It's not bad enough that they were really sick, or that somehow they smelled really weird from the virus, or that no one got any sleep from the coughing, or that we had cabin fever by the third day. The kicker is all the darn make-up work from school. The kids put in an hour on Thursday and Friday, and an hour and a half on Sunday, but there's still several hours worth which is due next Friday, plus they have all of their regular work.

And I'm not that fond of Social Studies.

Cabin fever is kind of a big deal for me. Don't get me wrong, I love my solitude, probably more than most people, but I work through my anxiety by wandering around Big Lots or Tuesday Morning or T.J. Maxx. I'm not really a spender, but I like to look and think. By Wednesday, my brain felt like a pressure cooker. I made two pounds of spaghetti, veggie tacos, and baked cookies just to have something to do.

Then I joined NetFlix. By Friday afternoon, I had rated over three hundred movies and was still scrolling through the selections. There are seventy-eight DVDs in my cue (because I absolutely MUST see every movie Colin Firth was ever in).

I'll never get anything done, now.