Over at Lonita’s livejournal, she posted a nifty bit about a variation on a phrase I’ve been known to use from time to time: “Build a bridge and get over yourself.” (I usually state it as it appears on my bumpersticker: “Cry yourself a river, build yourself a bridge, and get over it!”) Then Lonita mentioned another very use-worthy phrase – which I wish I’d heard years ago, because I certainly can think of a few times it would have come in handy – “Get down off the cross, honey. Somebody needs the wood!”

(The preceeding snarkiness brought to you due to the thoughtfulness of my Number One Internet Fanboy in forwarding the link. It’s so good to be loved.)

Geoffrey, the demonspawn, and I were at Robert & Jen’s place from mid-afternoon to midnight on Sunday, and it was a blast! We’d been planning a dinner for a while now, both to celebrate my birthday and to just hang out & enjoy one another’s company. Since Jen hadn’t really used the oven since they moved into the new place, it took a bit longer than expected to actually make dinner – because apparently the oven thermostat is defective.

Nevertheless, the baked chickens stuffed with herbed dressing turned out to be utterly sumptuous (Jen says the secret is baking them breast-side down, with lots of basting), the garlicked mashed potatoes were heavenly (and normally I don’t care for mashed potatoes), the seasoned bread was darned yummy, and the Caesar salad was delightfully flavorful, though Robert grumped about the radicchio being bitter (I didn’t notice).

It was an elegantly laid-out table, too! A tall vase full of exotic flowers was the centerpiece, and on either side were decorative candlesticks (though the candles went unlit because it was too warm not to have the fans going full-blast). Jen pulled out her gorgeous matte-black tableware, and everything was set atop a burgundy brocaded tablecloth.

As the dinner dishes were cleared away and we began to let our stomachs settle a bit over conversation before a dessert of cheesecake, a spider ran across the table. As soon as she spotted it – being aracnophobic – Jen instantly began her traditional chant upon noticing a spider: “Kill it, kill it, kill it, kill it!” Robert dutifully picked up a butter knife and smashed it. Moments later, someone asked if it was time to set out dessert dishes, and Jen wryly replied, “Yeah, except for the corpse on the table.” Of course, every gruesome spider story that everyone present had ever heard was then trotted out, and much laughter ensued.

Do we know how to have a dinner party, or what? *grin*

Anxiety has been doing extra chores to make money around the house, and sticking it all in her piggy bank, to save up enough to get her very own pet. Yesterday Jen gave her the cutest little 2.5 gallon aquarium tank so she wouldn’t have to buy a fishbowl. And this morning we went down to PetSmart and got a plant, some water conditioner, a small plecostomus, a blue betta, and food for both fishes.

She’s so excited about having her very own first pets! She just has to figure out what to name them.

Geoffrey & I had 4 blissfully childfree nights, because the demonspawn were both otherwise occupied! Unfortunately, he had to work 3 of those nights, but we did our best to enjoy the childfree days, and especially make the most of our last childless evening together for a while. Last night was mostly spent canoodling on the sofa, watching movies.

We’d watched the DVD’s we got from Netflix earlier, and so thank heavens for cable TV! The SciFi channel was showing thriller/horror flicks all day & night yesterday, and during a commercial when they presented the line-up for the next several hours, I realized the upcoming movies were all ones I was rather interested in seeing. Lifting my head from Geoffrey’s shoulder just a smidge, I said, “I think we should spend the rest of the night snuggling & watching horror flicks.”

At that, Geoffrey exclaimed (yelled in happy excitement, really), “You do love me!”

Yup, we are just too right together. And we plan on spending the next 40 or 50 years driving our friends into a sugar coma with how mushy we are about it! *grin*

Anxiety just got home from 5 days & 4 nights at Girl Scout Camp. She had a fabulous time, earned several Girl Scout badges (including a really nifty one for Outdoor Cooking, which came complete with a “campfire cookbook” that I will be borrowing from her), and even made Geoffrey a Father’s Day gift while at camp – a beaded bookmark.

When I picked her up, she greeted me happily with, “You sneak! You got me a care package at camp!” The camp makes arrangements for parents to prepay for a care package that includes a diary, a stuffed toy, a few other nifty pressies, and a letter from home (that you write & send in advance). Anxiety is the sort of very sentimental child who goes nuts over that type of stuff, but nevertheless it still surprises me how much it means to her when I remember to be thoughtful enough to plan for it.

I suspect one of the things she loves about camp is her 11-year-old concept of “conquering the wild outdoors.” Of all the fun things – swimming, canoeing, arts & crafts, campfire cooking, campfire songs – that she absolutely loves about camp, climbing Wind Mountain (elevation 1,903 feet) is her excitement-filled personal triumph every year.

I’m just glad that she didn’t have the same experience at Girl Scout Camp that I did when I was 11! Several troops, including mine, had to be evacuated several hours earlier than we’d planned to leave on Sunday, because Mt. St. Helen’s blew. Years ago, I may have climbed Wind Mountain myself, but the evacuation is about all I do recall from my Girl Scout Camp experience.

I just got back from my tattoo appointment, and I feel good. Wheeeee!

When you go two years between tattoos, you forget how delicious the endorphins are after you’re inked. It’s like having a very low-energy giddiness, a sense of languid cheerfulness. Everything is just quite pleasant and if I were any more happily relaxed, I’d be afterglowing. Actually, the feeling is remarkably similar to how you feel several minutes after a mellow-but-entirely-satisfying climax. However, it lasts a lot longer than afterglow.

My hip is a little stingy, but I don’t care. Jennifer did a lovely job re-inking my original tattoo, putting an extra-heavy outer edge on the design to cover up where the ink has diffused over the years, and adding highlights to the purple & green colors of the knotwork. I’ll post a pic after it heals.

And she showed me the template for the tattoo I’m getting done next month! It’s a smidgen larger than I’d expected, but I’m quite happy with it. The gyrfalcon tailfeather will run almost the entire length of my upper arm, from shoulder to elbow. I can’t wait!

And here we go with the question for week 2:

Whether it be a song you sing along with out of anger, sadness, or fantasies of revenge you’d never admit, what’s your favorite break-up song?

Mine would be a tie between the title of this entry (by Alanis, of course), and “Something I Can Never Have” by NIN.

The Imperial Princess of Cute (who, btw, got me the most scrumptious scented candle & set of bath soaps for my birthday – *melt*) recently wrote in her thingie about speed dating. Of course, it got me thinking about what kind of questions I would ask, were I to try such a thing. (I answered her questions here.)

So here’s my list…

1.) What kind of relationship are you looking for? Long term or Casual? Poly or Monogamous? Kinky or Vanilla?

(that’s right, I’m totally copying Mari on the first question!)

2.) Favorite authors?

(and the second one, too)

3.) How involved are you in sports, as either a participant or a spectator?

15.) What are your passions, the serious and the silly?

Most people who know me well at all know that I’m a Heinlein fan. I got a particular kick out of one gentleman who called me “Rangy Lil” and I’ve always wanted to name a cat “Pixel.” Yes, I’ve seen all the movies based on his books (even though the movies largely suck), and I imagine I’ll see this one too…

10> This time they actually based it on the book.

9> All the female troopers get knocked up by Lazarus Long.

8> Free smushed tarantula with every purchase!

7> The title: “Starship Troopers II: Electric Boo-ga-loo!”

6> Due to the prevailing Hollywood belief that “thinner is better,” the Skinnies will be played by stick figures.

5> Each box comes with $8.00 to cover what you wasted seeing the first one.

4> To everyone’s joy, that pretty-pretty crew is summarily killed and eaten by the bugs this time.

3> Photos of captured bugs, stripped naked, with hoods over their antennae and eye-stalks.

2> Aieee!! It’s worse than you think: it’s a joint project with “Battlefield Earth II.”

1> A link to the Web site with a live feed from Heinlein’s grave to see him spin.

As a migraineur of over 20 years, I knew that migraines could be triggered by certain foods (or food additives), scents, noises, hormonal changes, stress, bright light, and even lack of something you’re used to getting (like caffeine or a good night’s sleep), but I had no idea until today that migraines could be triggered by weather changes!

Yahoo news had this interesting article about whether or not migraine sufferers whose attacks were triggered by weather changes could actually predict those changes based on their migraines. The answer, apparently, is no – but it fascinates me that a reported 51 percent of those studied were found to have barometric, temperature, and/or other weather changes as a verified trigger for migraine.

Since sometimes my migraines hit when I’ve experienced no noticeable triggers, I guess I need to start paying attention to the weather reports when I have my headaches, and see if there’s any correlation for me.