The Random Emporium of PrettyDaisies

Quick and dirty update

Tue, 27 Nov 2007 18:09:09 GMT

Benzaiten, my laptop, is at the laptop hospital for what I perceived to be power management issues. Upon intake, the nice Toshiba-licensed guy speculated it might be a motherboard issue. I'm told I'll have her back in 7-10 days, perhaps sooner.

The power problems started around about PodCamp Boston 2, which was *fabulous*, by the way. However, since PodCamp, I've had limited computing time, especially at home, and have been sneaking in personal computing at work and at the library (as a patron, natch).

At this moment, I'm using my husband's computer, and for those of you who know my husband's computer, you know that calling it ancient is being kind. So yeah, my life is a little upside-down work- and communication-wise (however, Piper, my 2-month old Blackberry 8830, has been a lifesaver). Also, consider that I'm giving a presentation in a little over a week to 70 librarians about tech planning and Web 2.0 building my presentation everywhere *but* my comfy home workspace, and it's a wee bit stressful. Oh, hey, and all that other online work I do.

Just a *smidge* stressed.

I have acquired a "new" vehicle. I am now in possession of a 2002 Ford Focus in lovely gray without the ghetto issues of yore. There was a trade with my parents, and it continues to be complicated. Suffice it to say it will take up a whole day to get everything done for it, and it'll hafta be next Monday, right in the middle of my getting ready for a presentation next Thursday. More on that later.

braingeyser had his surgery a week and change back, and he's doing well by all accounts. His nose looks more "normal" in that it's straighter, which is totally not normal to either of us. All the same, it is good.

Thanksgiving sucked, and I'm glad it's over.

To end on an up note, craft night w/ the gals just before Thanksgiving was awesome. Thanks for coming over!

And, with our Y membership coming to an end (and with no intention of renewing), I've been going to classes at Karma Yoga Studio on Mass Ave and finding a good amount of peace to attempt to balance the stress. More balance to come, I hope.

Happy Samhain!

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 15:38:11 GMT

Happy New Year! It's, like, a call to my Long Island roots mashed with one of my favorite shows. Mazel tov!

Birthday & Anniversary weekend plan

Tue, 16 Oct 2007 17:22:18 GMT

I can barely contain my excitement! It's gonna be an awesome weekend, filled with all manner of festivity.

_Friday_
+ Get out of work at 1pm.
+ Buy firewood.
+ Head down to Middletown.
+ Dinner...
+ Attend Pledging at the House.

_Saturday_
+ Some semblance of morning and/or afternoon food at some point, likely at Ford News Diner.

+ Apple picking at Lyman Orchards in the afternoon sometime (forecast is currently cloudy, but I'm still going).

+ Build a fire at the house, hang out, perhaps do some crocheting/knitting/gaming/whatever, and have dinner foods at some point. Apples with peanut butter are a must, at least for me. If someone has a kitchen, perhaps there will be apple pie baking. ;)

_Sunday_
+ Breakfast? Lunch? Hit that geocache at Indian Hill Cemetery?

+ Say our loving goodbyes and head out to New Paltz, NY for our 2 night stay at the Hungry Ghost Guest House Bed & Breakfast.

+ Check in to our room (known as "The Treehouse," the most romantic room of the *3*, and the one with the best view of The Nature), hang out, possibly explore, geocache, pick herbs, or just be snuggly.

+ Hit dinner at the Culinary Institute of America (we haven't made our reservation yet b/c we haven't picked a restaurant, but we'll do that soon).

_Birthday! Anniversary! Yay!_
+ Breakfast reservation at Mohonk House at 9am. We can get there as early as 8am, if we want, and wander around before we are seated, but we'll see if that happens.

+ Spend the entire day frolicking on the grounds, hit the Labyrinth again, hike hike hike, be generally pleased with the world. We did this on our honeymoon, and decided we absolutely needed to do it again. We've also decided that we're hard core enough to do it in the rain, if necessary. :)

+ Lunch plans are still a bit fuzzy, since the Picnic Lodge for day visitors won't be open. We'll likely stop at the Bistro Mountain Store about 10 mins away on the way in, where we had those fantastic sandwiches last time, and get our own carry-in picnic to hide in a cooler in our car.

+ Dinner? Evening plans? Ummm... dunno yet. It should involve a fire in the sitting room at the Hungry Ghost, at least.

_Tuesday_
+ Vegan breakfast at the Hungry Ghost.

+ Lunch somewhere, or perhaps we'll hang out long enough to take tea a The Village Tea Room (we should stop by there at least for just plain old tea-and-a-snack at some point, it's adorable).

+ Make the 3 hour drive home afternoonish, before dark. Maybe even hit a geocache on the way.

*squee!*

Threadless, thou hast not forsaken me!

Tue, 09 Oct 2007 13:47:05 GMT

The past month or two have been somewhat mediocre in the designs department over at Threadless. Nothing grabbed me and said, "You can't live without me!" I was starting to think that perhaps my love affair with Threadless was over. :'(

And then, that sneaky goose gave me this to gander at:

Want want want want want-want! And I have a birthday coming up. ;)

There's been a lot to distract me from the lack of Threadless love, which is kinda healthy, I s'pose. I worked a lot of extra hours in September on a grant for my library, plus all the other work I generally do, which was fairly exhausting. But October is for The Frolic! So far this month, I've had beer and pizza, Indian food, run through a maize maze, bowled, attended a good many social media gatherings, and there are plans for more, what with my birthday and our anniversary coming up, free lectures at the Museum of Science, movies, PodCamp at the end of the month, and quality leaf peeping to be had. What with the new moon in my sign, Libra, and all that, it's not a surprise that I'm super social this time of year.

That reminds me, I've got some pictures to post on Flickr. Hopefully I'll be able to get on that today or tomorrow. In the meantime, I've got about 1.5 hours before I head to the gym for yoga and swimming, and I have work to do and a new wireless printer to install (w00t!).

Geek Love

Thu, 27 Sep 2007 20:59:48 GMT

On Sunday, September 23, I went to a park on a whim of my husband, a comic strip, and the magnetic draw of geekery.

There was a countdown to the magic hour, 2:38pm:

And then it got festive...

Jamaica Plain Worlds Fair + free bowling @ Milky Way!

Fri, 07 Sep 2007 23:14:41 GMT

Anyone interested?

Sunday September 9th 2007
Jamaica Plain Worlds Fair!
http://www.jpworldsfair.org
12:00 - 6:00, Outdoors in Hyde Square, All Ages, Free
Craft vendors, local businesses, tons of food, family fun

Live Music from: Mittens, Eli Reed and the True Loves, Samba Tremeterra, Mango Blue, Waitiki, Mariachi Mex-Americana, Area 51, Santa Mamba, Stick and Rag Village Orchestra, Project Move, and Zili Misik!

After Party at The Milky Way Lounge and Lanes
6:00 PM - 1:00 AM, 21+ After 9:00 PM, Free with FREE BOWLING

9:00 - DJs Claude Money + the Soul Touch Crew come by to spin
the best in classic and underground funk and soul all night long!

As seen on UrbanDictionary.com

Tue, 04 Sep 2007 23:58:03 GMT

Under definition #2:

My whipped ice dairy drink brings the attention of many males to my place of residence and/ or employment, and they declare that its quality far surpasses that of yours. Absolutely, it far surpasses yours. I could convey to you the recipe, but i would have to demand compensation.

by Rockelle Mar 2, 2005

Run, don't walk!

Tue, 28 Aug 2007 11:33:26 GMT

3 words:

Ten. Dollar. Sale.

You heard me right, my dumplings. Threadless is having a back to school sale. Get on it, and show me what you buy.

You know you want to. You know you can't help it. I mean, how can you not buy the shirts of love in all their temporary cheapaliciousness?

Why fight it? Run. Quickly! Before your shirt of choice sells out, because, you know it will.

Even one of my most recent faves is gone. :(

Quick summer pictorial

Mon, 27 Aug 2007 21:25:55 GMT

Went to a backyard concert.

Enjoyed the Boston August Moon Festival as a solo excursion.

Got to see some awesome craft bits.

Managed to squeeze in a mini camping trip.

Found out I have allergies, and became a changed bee via Nasonex. I officially retract my apology to tree sex. It was tentative, anyway.

Experienced a fabulous nature + technology art exhibit on a Boston Harbor Island.

Visited Nashoba Valley Winery, picked some peaches with friends and made yummies out of them.

Attended a wedding.

There were tons of things I didn't take pictures of, but they are not forgotten. This is just the quick and dirty. :)

Anyone wanna go to the Rubber Duck Charity Race?

Mon, 27 Aug 2007 20:52:23 GMT

Yes yes, I realize that most people have Labor Day plans already, and that's super. However, if you *don't* already have plans, feel like an adventure, and this sounds like an enticing possibility, lemme know.

This Labor Day is the 4th annual running of the ducks sponsored by Bullfinchs Restaurant. This is guaranteed to be a hit with kids of the right age. You adopt a rubber duck (1 duck is $5, 6 ducks are $25, 13 ducks are $50). Each duck has a number on it. The ducks run the course through the Grist Mill at the Wayside Inn in Sudbury. The first three ducks to finish win (first wins $500, second wins $300, third wins dinner for 4 at Bullfinch's). The money raised goes to the UMass Memorial Child Life Services, an organization close to the hearts of the Bullfinch Restaurant's Richardson family. Duck adoptions at Bullfinch Restaurant or on Race Day at Grist Mill at the Wayside Inn. Race start at noon (don't be late, it only takes 10 minutes).

Bullfinchs Restaurant | Sudbury
978 443 4094 | www.bullfinchs.com

Quincy August Moon Festival this Sunday

Wed, 08 Aug 2007 13:31:50 GMT

braingeyser and I will be camping this weekend in the Berkshires from Sunday to Monday, so we won't be able to go, but I wanted to pass this along to anyone who might be interested.

20th Annual Quincy August Moon Festival:
New Location in Downtown Quincy!
An estimated 10,000 will attend the celebration

The 20th Quincy August Moon Festival will take place Sunday, August 19 on Hancock Street in Quincy Center. Festival attractions include: a sampling of traditional moon cakes; food vendors; exhibitors representing various countries; cultural performances on the main stage; activities for children; and entertainment for elders.

WHAT: August Moon is the second biggest holiday in China and is also celebrated in other Asian countries such as Vietnam, Korea, Malaysia, and Singapore. The celebration of this event in Quincy will help the community learn about Asian cultures and will give many countries (Asian and non-Asian) a chance to share their culture with the community.

WHO: The festival is a free event and all are welcome to attend.

WHEN: Sunday, August 19 from 11 AM to 5 PM

WHERE: Downtown Quincy, from approximately 1400 to 1600 Hancock Street.
The festival is a short walk from the Quincy Center MBTA station (on the Red line) and is close to free public parking and parking garages.

JP Lick's scratch card fun

Mon, 06 Aug 2007 16:19:51 GMT

Saw this in my weekly getsugar newsletter:

"On every Monday in August, with your purchase at any JP Licks location, you can get a scratch card where every card is a winner. Prizes range from JP Licks products, to free admission to the New England Aquarium, the Aquarium's Simons IMAX Theater or Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. Other prizes include free bowling at Lucky Strike, free billiards at Jillians and even Zipcar time. The Grand Prize is a 2 day getaway to Jay Peak in Vermont."

Super Fantastic Monday

Mon, 30 Jul 2007 13:29:17 GMT

Your Superpower Should Be Manipulating Electricity

You're highly reactive, energetic, and super charged.

If the occasion calls for it, you can go from 0 to 60 in a split second.

But you don't harness your energy unless you truly need to.

And because of this, people are often surprised by what you are capable of.

Why you would be a good superhero: You have the stamina to fight enemies for days

Your biggest problem as a superhero: As with your normal life, people would continue to underestimate you

What Should Your Superpower Be?

Shout out to my Potterhead friends

Mon, 23 Jul 2007 14:52:08 GMT

I, admittedly, am not a fan. However, you are my friends, and I'm here to support and entertain you. For those who have finished the book, I'm happy and sad for you. For those who have not, keep on truckin' at your own pace. :)

Thank you, MIT, for giving me hacks to share with my HP homies.

*AND*

To my Potterhead friends: who wants one?

Sat, 21 Jul 2007 18:28:29 GMT

Molly Weasley Sweater

Yesterday, geocaching. Today, more festivities!

Sat, 21 Jul 2007 16:55:06 GMT

I took Friday off, so's I could take a long weekend with the hubby. I'm not sure what the rest of our weekend plans are yet, but thus far, it's been spiffy.

After hitting a morning doctor's appointment for braingeyser in Wellesley, we had a fantastic lunch at Oiishi that involved a lot of tasty sushi. Next, with the help of the GPS, we found the nearest library, which happened to be the Faneuil branch of the BPL, and used wifi to download local geocaches to the GPS and printing to print out cache pages for reference. After three caches (one found, one not, and one found with the help of my headlamp and lots of bug block), we hit Whole Foods for dinner provisions, and had a quiet evening at home.

This morning was very, very lazy and lovely. Rice, miso soup with tofu, scallions, and seaweed, and miso/sake steamed shitake mushrooms and broccoli for breakfast, while I perused the ArtBeat schedule. I had wanted to hit the vinyasa flow class at the Y, because I *love* Dorian's classes, but I was just a bit too lazy. I also put together some raspberry lemonade jello (made with organic raspberries floating in jello made with gelatin packets, organic lemonade, and a pinch of organic honey), and spent some time plotting and scheming matcha latte frozen pops, as well as another batch of fabulous tabouli, but not actually making them. This afternoon will likely be frolicking at ArtBeat (hoping to catch some of my friend oakenguy's chocolates), so if you'll be in Davis Sq, feel free to ring me on my mobile, and we can hang about.

Hey, there might even be more geocaching today or tomorrow, if you're interested.

Dear Tree Sex, I'm sorry. Love, Me

Mon, 16 Jul 2007 14:30:00 GMT

Since the beginning of June, I've been quite unhappy. Dribbly nose, much sneezing, watery eyes, headaches, lethargy, no fever. It's easy enough to find me, just follow the trails of tissue boxes. I've never had allergies before, but everything I read made it all sound like allergies. And it's not unheard of to develop new allergies in adulthood. So an appointment was made to get tested in August (the soonest they had), and I figured I could manage until then.

So I suffered. But it seemed like I was definitely suffering *too* much. I stopped going to the gym, there just wasn't the energy, and the sinus pressure was killer. Always with the sneezing and nose blowing. Stabbing itchy pain that made my nostrils feel like they were on fire, and made my eye twitch. Lot's of sad feelings and exhaustion, sleeping away my weekends and most of my off-time on the weekdays. Much suckage all around.

Claritin didn't help. I moved on to Tylenol Severe Allergy, which helped more, but not completely, and required a new dose every 5 hours to stop the faucet that was my nose. The nettles and querciten have been awesome, as well as the herb steam (eucalyptus, chamomile, lavender, towel over head, inhale, sigh in peace), and the sinus wash (salt and tea tree oil), but it only lasts so long, and I can't exactly take it to work with me.

Then one morning I awoke to find my gums swelled, and my jaw muscle on the left side was painfully sore, and talking/eating almost impossible. That was the last straw. For reals, yo.

Upon visiting the doctor that day, she announced that after 5 weeks of misery, I likely had a bacterial sinus infection, since moving into the depths of summer should cause the allergies to improve, not worsen. So, now I'm on the antibiotics (which have lovely side effects, as most gals know), but I'm not exactly on the fast track to wellness, and still feeling a bit miserable. We'll see what's up at the end of 11 days; if the drugs fail, it could well be viral, in which case the suffering will end when the virus is good and ready.

*grr*

So, yes, I may have falsely maligned tree sex as the cause of my sorrows, and for this, I apologize. braingeyser still believes that allergies are somehow at fault, and I'm still on the fence about that, so we'll call this apology tentative yet heartfelt...

In the meantime, I've decided to put my body on a recovery plan. I'll be focusing on walking/hiking and yoga as my primary forms of exercise, daily, for the next month. I've been meaning to increase my Japanese home cooking consumption lately (I used to eat so much of it in NJ, and I loved it!), and that should also improve my physical and inner well being. I'll make an effort to meditate everyday instead of just once a week, and continue the herb steams and sinus washings as a precautionary measure post-antibiotics.

And that's where I've been hiding. :\

It's Tuesday, and my weekend is kinda filling up, but...

Tue, 10 Jul 2007 13:29:13 GMT

So I've got a housewarming and game night on Saturday, which starts the festivities at 4pm for my hubby and I. Saturday morning could be the Y or softball, depending on when we wake up.

Sunday, however, is somewhat open. And I'm thinkin'...

http://www.reverebeachpartnership.com/nessf07/index.htm

Anyone game?

(EDIT: I just realized that Sunday is when we had a loose plan to go to the perfomance of 3's at the Y, but that's flexible, and people are welcome to buy tix to join us for that, too. Weather may be the deciding factor here.)

Apply Threadless fun directly to torso

Tue, 10 Jul 2007 13:18:45 GMT

Yes, I stole this week's subject line, and twisted it to my own devices. I'm ruthless.

Two faves from the newsletter this week!

I might actually need to be owning this one (if I got an XL, I could make it into a skirt with a neck wide enough for my waist and stuff, and have the little girl design on the bottom, hot!)...

And this one really, really makes me wish they would make some of these designs into usericons:

Overall, that's it, though. I mean, it's kinda good that there's not as much scintillating stuff on Threadless these days, since it means taming my addiction to manageable levels, and giving my credit card a nice break. Enjoy muchly!

Awesome wedding cake

Thu, 05 Jul 2007 14:06:51 GMT

Pretty flowers with a twist (see the left side near the top):
http://web.mac.com/hauschka36/iWeb/Kjhauschka/Annie%27s%20Wedding_files/IMG_4525.jpg

Close up of the "ring bearer" ;D:
http://web.mac.com/hauschka36/iWeb/Kjhauschka/Annie%27s%20Wedding_files/IMG_4523.jpg

After a lovely day of waffles and sausages and friends on the porch, this is all I can muster, but it's still really good.

And, to those who've recently said, "Did you see that that I posted?" I'm behind on LJ by about 3 weeks :\. I'll get there, honest.

Seven songs meme

Tue, 19 Jun 2007 22:39:14 GMT

cabell totally tagged me on this a week ago, and I'm just catching up on LJ now (as opposed to, say, working, at work). So, here goes.

List seven songs you are into right now, no matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they're not any good--they just must be songs you're really enjoying now. Post these instructions in your LiveJournal along with your seven songs. Then tag seven other people to see what they're listening to.

1. Asia at Odd Hours by Splashdown: Just as cabell gave me a nod in her list (by way of a performance of mine at karaoke), I must say I'm totally obsessed with this song, which is on the copy of her "Once Upon A Time On The Rim" Firefly-inspired mix she gave me. Such a good song. BTW, the mix *rawks*.

2. On the Radio by Regina Spektor: My favorite on her recent album. However, "Summer in the City" came in a close second.

3. Feelin' Good by Nina Simone: It's Nina Simone. Really, now.

4. Waiting for the Kill by Elizabeth and the Catapult: I can't wait to seen them on July 6!

5. Cats on Mars by Gabriela Robin: Off the Cowboy Bebop soundtrack. Often gets stuck in my head as a background soundtrack to a happy day. I'm sure most would find it annoying. I don't really care. ;D

6. Six Feet Under theme song: It pleases me. I miss watching the series on Monday nights on Bravo.

7. Under the Weather by KT Tunstall: Because it's like me, and, in a way, it's comforting and challenging at the same time. At least right now.

Right, then, to the tagging: midsummernd, qlewkr, oakenguy, cdaisym, killer_mango, humanbeatbox, keever. Let's hear it!

OK, this safe kid playground crap is a bit much

Tue, 19 Jun 2007 21:56:15 GMT

midsummernd, braingeyser, and I were having a conversation the other night that included discussing the ridiculousness of banning games like tag from playgrounds for various reasons.

This, however, receives a rating of ridiculous *plus*:

School penalizes students for hugs, high-fives
Strict no-contact rule, meant to stem violence, has some pushing for change
[c/o MSNBC.com 18 june 2007]

[rant]I can see wanting to keep the traditional awkward spit swap in the hallway to a minimum, because, well, who wants really ugly Scinemax@school, but really, no hugging? Should high-fives only be available off school property and through Facebook apps? Really, now. It's like a subversive, puritanical sociological abstinence training program or something where the message is "TOUCHING MAKES BABY JESUS CRY."[/rant]

Yes!

Fri, 01 Jun 2007 14:12:12 GMT

http://www.frozenreality.co.uk/comic/bunny/index.php?id=853

Add my name to the "I met Joss" list

Tue, 29 May 2007 03:42:19 GMT

Joss Whedon hung out at my House at Wesleyan this weekend (he's an alum at my school), and there are a plethora of posts floating about on the event. It was like a Personal Salon with Joss, just shooting the shit about what he was doing and his thoughts on stuff and people asking questions and stuff. It was nice to ask normal, interesting questions (there were plenty of fan questions from other folks). I like how human he is. It was all pretty super.

He then came back later and requested a party. Upon returning, at some point we were abruptly standing face-to-face, and he said, "So, we meet again!" in a very cutely dorky manner I found most entertaining. I blinked and smiled. I s'pose you could call it A Moment.

His iPod was plugged in, he invited his friends over, his wife was there, people danced with him, and it was pretty keen.

The End

This week's Threadless champs

Mon, 14 May 2007 19:41:01 GMT

The most recent Threadless shipment I received included my first Threadless T in a size Medium. I was most pleased that all the time at the Y is totally paying off. Henceforth, I'll be able to purchase my Ts in a smaller size, and not be shut out of Ts b/c the last large has been purchased! Ha!

Depending on the T, this means that my Larges may be subject to Generation T projects. midsummernd, we still have a standing date for T-shirt cutting and crafting, other crafters are welcome.

Two Ts caught my eye this week. They both have potential to be cute in my new size... but I'll show some restraint for now.

I actually would kinda love this as a tattoo as well as a T...

Would also make a crazy tattoo :D

So yeah, sharing an addiction is caring. :)