Musings of Lanna Lee Maheux

My landlords invited us downstairs for pizza and a little solstice bon fire. Now my hair smells like smoke. Then we went in an took a look at their Christmas Tree. Kathy collects Hallmark ornaments, she has over 4000 of them, and she picks a theme every year. This year it was birds. She thought of doing a Star Wars/Star Trek theme – I told her she’d have to invite us in to see that.

Then Ed and I played Dominion. And I DOMINATED Edmund – I won two games in a row. And then we stopped playing. Because I was on a roll and didn’t want to end it. This is because Edmund usually wins. We’re fairly evenly matched, for the most part, but Edmund usually wins in whatever game we play. It gets frustrating. Usually I win enough times to make it still interesting for me to play, but I’ve had a pretty bad losing streak in the past month, so I will rest on my laurels.

And then I watched the latest episode of American Horror Story, which is also the last of the season. A fantastic show – yet the season finale has me flummoxed. I don’t want to spoil it for anyone who hasn’t watched it, but if I see you in person and you want to discuss the show with me, let me know.

And when I am done writing here, I am going to read a book. This book, to be exact. A fun, light, frothy romance with humor and stuff.

Like Edmund, I am having a dull night. Not that my night was dull, far from it. But I am dull. My brain is dull. Brilliance is not to be had. And that’s okay. I will read my book, and cuddle with the hubby, and be grateful for this gorgeous day.

So my Christmas shopping is done! Tonight Edmund and I met for dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings. We did what we always do – played trivia, mostly against each other. Wait, that’s not exactly true. Edmund was playing against everyone else, and I was just trying to beat him. He was successful. I was ahead for a few rounds, and then not so much. Also of note, when he first got there, he accidentally spilled his water. Since I sat across from him, this water ended up mostly on my lap. I have since forgiven him. Mostly.

And then I braved the mall area [and the dreaded WallyWorldPlace]. Now I am wrapping presents.

This concludes my post for today.

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How are you doin’?

Balance. One of my goals for the following year is to achieve some sort of balance in my life. With work, play, and life in general. I’ve lost a bit of my balance in going back to school. It is only now in the aftermath of my last couple of classes, that I can realize it.

After I finished my Stats final on Monday, it was like the string holding my body together snapped. My back is killing me and I am walking around like I’m an old person (no offence, old people.) It is clear I need to work on reducing my stress. How, I don’t really know, but I think Balance would be a great place to start.

I don’t do New Year’s Resolutions. They always seem to not happen. But. I have done goals. [Evidence my recent completion of my bachelor's degree.] So. I will have some goals for the next year.

What’s the difference? I think what bothers me about “resolutions” is that you are resolving to do something – so if you don’t or can’t manage to do it, you’ve failed in some way. And usually the resolution is so broad, so undefined – it’s hard to hang your hat on it. But goals. They can change. If you can’t attain a goal, maybe you need to try it a new way or make a new goal.

Take this blog blag, for instance. Up until the end of October of this year, my posting on it was sporadic at best. I would resolve to post more. I would feel bad about posting more. Neither would work as a tactic. Instead I made a goal. I would post every day in November. I knew I was very busy, so it didn’t matter when I wrote the post (so I could schedule posts ahead) I just needed to have one post each day. The posts didn’t need to be good. No one needed to read them. They just needed to be done. For some reason, this worked for me. When I thought about blagging differently, it suddenly became easier.

So my goal for the coming year, starting now (why wait?) is to achieve balance. Sometimes I will be a little right or left of center, other times I might be way off, but there will be times I’ll be smack dab in the middle and blissing out on awesome.

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Do you do New Years Resolutions? Do tell! Why or why not?

I worked late tonight, had a good head of steam going and I went with it. Then I went shopping for our company holiday party which will happen on Friday. Items procured for said office party were a combination of foodstuffs and a top secret Yankee Swap gift.

(I am writing this on my phone because I don’t want to turn on my computer, so please forgive any imperfections.)

I will be making a Garlic Feta Cheese Spread, recipe from my Mom. Crackers and veggies on the side.

I love Yankee Swaps. Are you familiar with them? The rules vary, but the gist is: anyone who wants to participate buys a gift within a certain dollar amount, my office has a $30 cap, when I worked at USM it was between $5-10. The gifts can be funny, valuable, or jokey. One year, when I had my shit together, I got a bunch of stuff from Think Geek, it was a Nerd Gift. Last year I bought some Simpsons pint glasses and a 6 pack of beer. This year I’m not tellin’, but I think it’s pretty awesome.

Anyway, all the gifts are put in a pile, and everyone who brought a gift draws a number. The higher number the better, but the best is number 1. The first person (#1) picks out a gift and open it. Person #2 can decide to take either person #1′s gift or open a new one. Going in numerical order, each susequent person can either take an already opened gift from someone else, or choose an unopened one. At the end, person 1 can choose to take anyone’s gift. Now at my work we have a rule that one item can’t be swapped more than 3 times – otherwise we might be there all night.

And no, the image shown is not a hint on what my Yankee Swap gift is. It’s just my new mouse pad with squishies. Why did I post it? Because it serves as the first photo I will post from my phone and I forgot to take a shopping photo.

That’s all I have.

Tonight I went to the movies.

If you’ve known me for a while, then you know that I love to go to the movie theatre to see movies. I budget money especially for movie-watching. Movie watching (and television watching) kind of went by the wayside while I  finished my degree. Because of this, I haven’t been able to see all the movies I would’ve liked to see. [I would also try my hardest to not watch series television, I did get hooked on a couple of programs, but they were really good (Like Doctor Who, Torchwood and American Horror Story). I avoided others that were sure to hook me (like Glee).] So I expect I will glut myself on movies/media for a while. Looking forward to it.

Kind of sad that Blockbusters went out of business while I wasn’t looking. Guess I’ll have to figure out this Red Box thing.

Why do I love to go to the movies? I think big part of it was that I grew up in Monson, Maine. Monson is in the Moosehead Lake Region, also known as The Maine Highlands. The nearest large movie theatre (multiplex) was in Bangor, Maine – 60 miles away. Going to the movie theatre was a big deal. My Dad loved movies too, we had one of the first VCRs in town and we rented many videos from Page’s General Store (which was across the street from our house, we lived above the laundromat).

On my thirteenth birthday I asked  to see Cheech and Chong’s Nice Dreams. It’s a testament to how awesome my Mom is that she a) took me to see the movie and b) other than covering my eyes when the naked guy was on the glass elevator, did not say a word about the subject matter of the film. I should ask her what she thought, I never have. Maybe she reads my blog. I’ll know when I go over to my parents for suppa on Thursday.

I don’t read movie reviews, unless they are written by MaryAnn Johanson, from The FlickFilospher. I find that she and I have very similar geeky tastes. That said, I usually only read them AFTER I’ve seen the movies. Because I hate, abhor spoilers. And my idea of spoilers is extremely broad. I don’t want to know plot points, or to have scenes described. I decide to see a movie based on it’s trailer. If people start discussing a movie, book or tv show I want to watch or read I will put my fingers in my ears and say over and over again “lalalalalalalalalala.” Yes. I will. You might have seen me do it. MaryAnn is very good at NOT spoilering, so if I am on the fence for a particular film (like I was for District 9) I’ll read what she said and make a decision from there.

And yes, I go to movies by myself. All the time. I like going to the movies by myself. I don’t understand why other people don’t like going by themselves. Sure, it can be better to go with another person. They can guard your popcorn when you go to the bathroom. You can hold hands and stuff during the cry-ey parts. But that is just an added bonus. When I am at the movies, I am there to get lost in the story. To forget myself for a bit. I don’t need to bring another person with me to do it. Now I will wait for Edmund if we both want to see a particular movie. But our tastes don’t always mesh (Ed has much better taste than I do). And that is okay.

I saw Tower Heist. It was a lot of fun. Very clever. Eddie Murphy was spot on. And Gabourey Sidibe a delight. You should catch it, either in the theatre or when it’s in the video. [Thus ends my review.]

There are a few movies that are on my list right now I’d like to see in the theatre: Arthur Christmas, Twilight Breaking Dawn Part I (shut up), The Descendants, and Puss in Boots. Upcoming I want to see: Sherlock Holmes, Mission Impossible, and Young Adult. [No linking this time, Google it your damn self.]

So anyway, I love to watch movies in the movie theatre.

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How do you like to see movies? Do you watch movies by yourself?

Was thinking of a more robust post for today. Had it started even. But I am doing my Stats test right now, and frankly, cannot seem to get it done. So. Anyway. I think my professor wants us to do well because he keeps giving us hints. It’s great when I can understand them. All I can think of is that by this time tomorrow I’ll be done.

Here is my post about nothing, with a little wiggle on the side (see the screen shot of the wiggle? Actually it’s not a screen shot per se, it is an actual photograph of my 23″ Monitor while I was playing the following video.

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How are YOU doing?