Rob's Halfway House - #10

[♥midnight_sun♥]

For those who haven't seen my FB post, I FINALLY got my train tickets today! Very excited. I also went to the bakery today and got my birthday cake ordered for next week, which I was nervous about, as I draw up sketches of what I want myself, and then show them/explain them to a woman at the bakery and she decorates it and all that for me. But this year I did a 'SuperWhoLock' theme (its a fan-base of sorts for people who like Supernatural [tv show], Dr. Who [British tv show], and Sherlock [British tv show]) so there were a few elements of it that I wasn't sure if she could do or not as she's known for doing everything free-hand. Thankfully she said that she should be able to do it all, though a couple things may be printed with edible ink onto this cool edible paper they use at times, though I told her that was fine. We'll pick it up next Friday, so that Saturday when my brothers come to visit, we'll have it here already. The only somewhat downside to it this year, was that I felt like a HUGE geek/dork explaining some things to her, as I'm sure she has no idea what a sonic screwdriver or a TARDIS are.

Susan~No. He hasn't been to the doctor in a few years, and outside of the house maybe once or twice each year because it's very difficult for him to move around, and he also tends to just be difficult in general when he has to go somewhere. And he has a rather fancy walker that's also a bit difficult to take apart/put together for when he has to go anywhere in the car. CNA is a nurse's aid, or assistant. So one way you could lokk at it is, Doctor - Nurse - CNA. I just posted over on the FB page that I got my tickets today - finally! I had ordered them online, and I have triple checked the info many times, but after a month had gone by since I ordered them, I figured it was finally time that I ask if they were just being sent closer to my trip date (as it was March 7th when I ordered them, and I know other places sometimes do that) or if not, what the hold up was. They emailed me very nicely apologizing and said they were on their way.

Grayce~Yeah, my mom's a CNA (trying to go back for nursing) and said the same thing.

Brenda~Well the CNA gig certainly doesn't make enough to fully pay for school, but if I go somewhere that doesn't have student housing, it'll pay for all the furniture and bits and bobs I'll have to buy, as well as help pay for part of my school expenses. And it'll also be something that I can get a job doing easily, no matter where I end up, with a bit more leniency with my work schedule as well. I just don't like Angelina Jolie in general. She seems a bit stuck up, and every movie I've seen that she's in, I can't see her as her character. I just see 'Angelina Jolie', which takes me out of the movie a bit and makes it less enjoyable. I think the only one of her films that doesn't do that for me is Mr. and Mrs. Smith...and The Tourist just slightly.

[Tornado]

I'm going to a bookstore today to film one of our authors reading her book to some children. She has written a beautiful picture book with Australian animals. We're going to post a video of her interaction with the children on youtube ... when I get time to put it up!

Brenda - yes, she wants to do the right thing by me ... and everybody else!

marielle - I'm not sure exactly how they will play out the end. We'll have to wait and see. I'd be surprised if there wasn't a fight of some sort, but I don't think it's going to be in "real time", if I can put it that way. More likely, it will be in someone's mind.

Sean - believe me, I know what it's like to live on nothing. When my husband asked my father for permission to marry me, my father jokingly asked him if he could keep his daughter in the manner to which she was accustomed, and I said, "Of course he can! We'll be broke!" I've was the bread winner in both the family I was born into and the family I made with my husband for almost twenty years, and I have never earned much. We've had plenty of hard times.

[Chernaudi]

Ok everyone, all was going good after I got the OPERS deal straitened out until I (may've) twisted my ankle and did something to my shoulder. They both hurt and I can't figure out what I did to them, but both of them started to have sharp pains in the about an hour ago.

Oh, well, I guess that's what I kinda get for having a good day otherwise. I plan on baking some chicken later tonight with some of the stuff I bought a couple of days ago. It's like breadcrumbs and cheese mixed together.

I'll be back later

[VirginiaMay]

*lurking...*

That is all.

[Austwilight]

Hi everyone,
OMG!!!!! I cant believe how long its been since lve been on the Lex. I feel sooo guilty lve been keeping up to date on the fb page but just havent managed to get on here. And now just as l start typing my 4 year old is trying to make me be a robot lol.
Ok lve told him to go be a robot outside lol

I was also thinking about the reshooting for BD 2 and how they were going to do Robs hair last l saw a pic of it it was looking very unEdward-like. But love how BC is keeping all the fans up to date. When l was watching the extras on the BD dvd l remember thinking how respectful he is of the fans and how much how he gets our obsession, l really like that.

Here at my home its been really busy. We are coming to the end of our Easter school holidays and my boss has been away for the full 2 weeks and we recently lost our other person so l have been working 3 jobs as well as being on-call over the last 3 weekends so l feel as if l havent had a break at all over the weekends and just feeling very very tired. Thank goodness she is back on Mon. I also had to get my 8 year old tested for whopping cough this morning. Just hoping the tests come back neg on Tuesday he's now on antibotics for it just in case and in the last week hes actually been getting better so lm hoping because hes been vaccinated for it he will only have a very mild dose of it. Will find out Tues the results.

Sorry l dont have more to tell but l have now saved the tex to my home page on my ipad so hopefully l will be in here more often.

[ Post made via Mobile Device ]

[missp]

Hi, Siblings! Just a drive-by to say ! I will try and check in more often during spring break! Y'all have a great weekend! I am in Hot Springs, Arkansas for a getaway! I'll try and post some pics over on FB! It's after 1 am here now and I am upstairs sitting on the floor of my own little guest suite FBing and Lexing! I am already feeling soooo relaxed, but I am getting a bit sleepy. The drive in today was really great until about half way when it started raining! I hate driving in the rain! But, my friend Regina had dinner almost ready when I got here and we spent the evening drinking my latest drink crave - a citrus cooler - and catching up! Tomorrow we plan on going shopping in downtown Hot Springs. There are lots of little boutiques and novelty shops on Bath House Row. It's really neat. Ok... I am off to get some sleep!

[Songbird]

Lynne, I hope you like the other Hunger Games books. I know you are reading it more for the research aspect of it, but I hope you like them. I remember you saying that about water in your dreams…so interesting since you aren’t normally afraid of water, only in your dreams. I’m so sorry to hear that someone you helped out is lacking in integrity. That’s awful when that happens. I hope the publishing business picks up so you get some more work.

Susie, I think you’ll find a lot of singers have similar problem with complicated rhythms. At least, where I went to school, the instrumentalists looked down on the vocalists as “lesser musicians” because we often aren’t as strong at rhythm, because we don’t have to be. When do we sing 32nd notes? It’s just not something you find in a choral setting because it wouldn’t sound good. Sure, you’ll find embellishments in solo pieces, which are optional, but for the most part vocal pieces are more straight forward because of the limitations of our “instrument”. On the other hand, instrumentalists aren’t generally as good with pitch…they have a set fingering for each note that’s the same every time. Tuning can be a chore for them if they don’t have the “ear” whereas a vocalist HAS to have a good ear to be a singer. Don’t say you are less of a musician…we all have strengths and weaknesses. I can sight sing pretty well now, though I couldn’t always. When I auditioned for Jazz my freshman year of college, the director said “You have a great voice for Jazz, but your sight reading SUCKS. Come back in a year and MAYBE you’ll stand a chance.” (and I made it the next year) But I have to slow rhythms way down and break them down in order to get them right. We should totally do a duet when we meet, though!

Tracy, I wouldn’t call myself a prankster…it’s not my normal behaviour. That’s why it shocks people when I do it…it’s so not what they expect from me. But I admit to enjoying their stunned faces when they find out it was “the quiet girl”. (I know, I’m not exactly quiet here, huh?) Believe me, I was relieved that the bus was too small for the whole choir and I was in the suburban instead, because then I wouldn’t be there for him to murder. But I was relieved when I heard he had made that little speech and that he wasn’t angry. So are you saying you sound like Scuttle doing background vocals on “Kiss the girl” when you get out of your comfortable range??
I’d like to hear that. LOL

Marielle, I’m with you on the rain. We had planned to go into the Centrum last night because it was Koopavond and I had looked on weer.nl and it said yesterday was supposed to be dry and today it was supposed to rain the whole day, which is why we planned to go last night. Of course, then when we were ready to go it started pouring, and hailing and Bug was FREEZING and tired so we just decided I’d go by myself to take the videos back and get her birthday present. As soon as I got to the Centrum it cleared up and was beautiful. If your phone has triband then you should be ok. I used mine in the states last time I was there, but it is really expensive, so I would suggest only using it for texting/calling if you NEED to. But don't forget an adaptor for your charger. You may already have one, but we forgot our charger once in Germany and couldn't use out phones while we were there because the batteries died and they were a new model of phone for which you couldn't buy a separate charger cord yet. It's a pain not to have that. And in the states of course you won't be able to plug your charger in without an adaptor.

Desiree, how was the game?

Grayce, welcome back! Hope you are feeling better now! Not having to cook is wonderful, isn’t it? We ordered pizza once last week and it was soooo nice. Wow….rough pre-baking….yeah, that doesn’t sound like my cup of tea, either. But..I thought what I understood of 50 shades of grey, there are a lot of rough baking elements in that, too. Like…they might be violently whipping the whipping cream. And you've been reading that, haven't you? But I haven’t read that at all, so maybe I’m misunderstanding it. I’m sorry about your father. How long has he been gone? Do you do something to commemorate his birthday? I always buy yellow and purple flowers on my mom’s birthday, or the day she passed.(only a few weeks apart) Her favorite color was yellow and she loved that poem about “When I grow old, I shall wear purple” so when she got sick, she started wearing purple. So I get those 2 colors of flowers and put them on her piano (it’s the one thing I wanted from her estate because she played the piano and we sang together) underneath her picture. It’s my “mom” corner. It helps me in a way to feel more connected and to focus on the good memories rather than her death.

Wow, Susie, I didn’t know you could fly! I guess that’s easier on the knee than running!

Sean, I was raised in a single parent home, too, and I agree that there are a lot of people that are too judgemental about that. We were poor, but I still got straight A’s in school, I was involved in a LOT of extra-curriculars, and I worked and saved money to put myself through college…no one can say my mom was a bad parent. But I didn’t get the impression from Jenn’s post that what was said to her had anything to do with her being a single parent. I could be wrong about that, but that’s not what I got from it. I just think it’s completely wrong to say that to anyone! Single parent or not. If you are concerned about someone’s parenting, you approach it differently, but this didn’t sound to me like someone being concerned about her daughter, but about hurting her personally. To say as many hurtful, nasty things about her as possible to upset her. Which, just calling her selfish and a witch with a B, etc….hello, kettle, this is pot….you’re black. If you are saying those awful things to someone to hurt them, what does that say about you? But if it is solely because she’s a single parent, then hopefully that person will have an experience one day that lets them know how that feels. There were people who were REALLY rude and gossipy and unforgiving when my parents got divorced (I had just turned 6)…people who looked down on us and actually told us we weren’t a “Real” family and that Divorce is a sin, etc…they are now all divorced themselves. I am just vindictive enough to find some pleasure in that, though they all got divorced after their kids were raised, so they didn’t have to parent alone, but I would never wish that on their children anyway. It’s not the children’s fault that their parents are hypocritical and judgemental. But, rather than feel sorry for their ignorance or being angry about it, try to be what they can’t criticize. Those people that said rotten things about my family thought that having a broken home was bad for a child, because they need BOTH parents raising them and there would be something missing in the children if they didn’t have that, and that we would turn delinquent and end up on drugs or in jail or whatever….so I was about as prude as you could get in high school, determined to prove them wrong. So I graduated #2 in my class, I did school plays, was in Student Council, I was a cheerleader for a bit, I did speech and debate, I sang, I was involved in my church youth group, I was in the international club, and in Teen Leadership Coalition. I became a D.A.R.E. role model and I worked 2 jobs (tutor, and timing/scoring for ball games) I became everything they said I couldn’t…I proved them wrong. They dogged on us all my life, but in the end, -I- came out on top and they ended up miserable. Being happy and successful is about the best revenge possible.
I hope your ankle and shoulder are feeling better!

Brenda, I’m glad you can appreciate a good prank. But, being on my good side (which you are) is not a guarantee that you are safe from my mischievous side. This guy wasn’t necessarily on my bad side…just needed a subtle (or not so) reminder that he was not God. And I once stole a guy pal’s underwear and sewed lace and sequins on it….every pair he had. But if I DID pull a prank on you, you could be sure it was not mean spirited, nor damaging in a permanent way. And like I told Tracy, I’m not a big prankster, it just has a huge effect when I do because it’s generally not expected by someone like me. And because I don’t do it often. I can probably count on my fingers the number of times I’ve pulled a prank on someone. (other than my brother, but that just has to be done…it’s my job as his sister!)

Ashley, I’m glad you got your tickets! That must be a relief!!! Yeah, I was thinking CNA- Certified Nurse's Assistant or something, but I didn’t realize how quickly you could do the training and such so I thought maybe there was something else with the same acronym! That’s great! And it sounds like something you will be good at, too!

Karena, (I cheated and looked you up on the first page) it’s nice to meet you. I’ve seen your name on the Facebook group, but I don’t think we’ve ever talked. I’m Susan and I am originally from Wyoming, but I married a Dutchie and exported myself to the Netherlands, where I had hoped that getting much more rain might make me grow taller, but it didn’t work. I am a stay at home mom of 2 munchkins (4 and nearly 6 years old). Hope to see you around here more often!

Tonise, have a GREAT time on your getaway! That sounds so nice!

Hi to everyone else!

My second day of the running program went much better. I still don’t love running, but I didn’t get a pounding headache, or the stitch in my side, and it didn’t take as long to catch my breath again in the walking sessions. And I remembered a bottle of water this time. So it went pretty well. I actually got called to work Monday and Tuesday of next week, the first time since October, and then again on May 18th, so I’ll be getting a few hours here and there. I’d still like to get something a bit more reliable, but I’ll still keep this job even if I do, because with this one, I can always say no when they call and ask if I can work on a specific day. And whatever hours I get are a bonus. So I’m a pretty happy camper right now…nice restful weekend where we don’t have to go anywhere, weight loss program implemented and going well, albeit in the very early stages, and I even found a buddy on facebook so that I have some accountability to stick to it!, and a few days of work lined up. OH! And my friend in Ireland is a distributor for World Book Night and she got 24 copies of Good Omens to give to people and she sent me one. It’s been on my “to read” list for a long time but I’ve never seen it here. And I always get excited about new books!

[marielle]

Hey everybody!!!

Had a day out in the city with my BiL and his girl. It was actually fun. I bought the two last books of Collins and new rituals shower gel and shampoo...
Now we are going to the Italian restaurant!

I'll posts tomorrow after the race

Have a nice day

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[older_twilight_fan]

Hello everyone~

Hope all of you are enjoying your weekends. Hubs went with my daughter to her basketball tournament in east Tennessee this weekend, and I stayed here with my son because he had a baseball game today....which was cancelled due to rain, of course. Figures. Anyway, my son and I rented Kung Fu Panda 2 last night (which was a cute animated movie). All he wanted to eat was Pizza Hut, so we carb overloaded on pizza and breadsticks.

I rented The Descendants for myself and watched it very late last night (and into this morning). It was a wonderful movie, superbly acted and well written. I think it won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay, and deservedly so. I realized that I tend to take George Clooney's acting skills for granted, and it's easy to forget that he's so much more than just a pretty face (sound like another handsome actor we know? ) I don't know that I've ever seen George in a movie where he purposely looked so broken, and so careworn, and expressed so many emotions with his facial expressions, alone.

The supporting actors also gave great performances, especially the young actresses who played George Clooney's daughters. The main cast was surrounded by actors who were mostly unfamiliar to me, but gave noteworthy and subtle performances that enhanced the movie in every way, particularly the roles of George's father-in-law, and his daughter's best friend. I laughed, I cried, and felt nearly every emotion in between. The movie was heartbreaking, poignant, and almost difficult to watch at times, but amazing in the way it focused primarily on the relationships between these intriguing characters. It reminded me of great movies like Sideways and Juno....those movies that are funny, sweet, heartwarming, and a little sad, all at the same time.

Sean~ I hope your ankle and shoulder feel better soon.

Lynne~ I hope you enjoyed the visit to the bookstore with your author. I also hope you're right about action sequences filmed during BD Part 2--that any big fight scenes will actually be part of Alice's vision so the film stays true to the book. I'm sorry your publisher is unable to pay you right now and hope that things turn around for her soon. I'm glad to hear you enjoyed the movie THG. I honestly thought it was one of the better book-to-movie adaptations I've seen in recent memory. Woody Harrelson was great as Haymitch, and he probably was a little difficult to recognize with the wig.

Ashley~ Congrats on receiving your train tickets in the mail. Happy early Birthday! Your birthday cake sounds very intriguing and I hope you can post pictures of it for us to see. I've watched Supernatural a couple of times and enjoyed it, but haven't seen enough episodes to understand the mythology and background of the show.

Grayce~ Thanks for giving such a thorough explanation of the Nook and its general uses. I think I'm one of the few people who don't have an e-reader, and I may cut, paste, and save that part of your post for reference in case I hopefully invest in one in the future. I hope you're feeling better. Did the boys have a good trip to D.C.?

Desiree~ It's good to see you, but please don't feel the pressure to post frequently with your busy schedule....just check in with us when you can. How was the latest Mission Impossible movie? I'm gradually warming up to Tom Cruise again after he sort of weirded out a few years ago, and you can't really go wrong with those movies if you're in the mood for a good action and suspense flick. Hubs and I need to put it in our Netflix queue.

Marielle~ Good point about it being difficult to make Jennifer Lawrence and Kristen Stewart look malnourished in THG and New Moon because they're both so naturally beautiful. I think KStew is appearing at Cannes to promote On the Road. I hope we get to see at least a couple of pictures of Kris and Rob together in Cannes, but not at the expense of their privacy. I'm not thrilled at all about Rob wearing a wig for the BD reshoots. Let's just keep fingers crossed that the scenes are shot from far enough away that we can't tell the difference. I hope you're enjoying writing your fanfic and it's a relaxing and therapeutic hobby for you. It sounds like you're having a fun weekend with your BIL and his girl; enjoy the rest of it.

Missp~ Have a wonderful and relaxing trip to Hot Springs--you deserve it! I'm sure you're glad to have the mandated state testing out of the way for your 5th graders. Our kids start TCAP testing next week; would you believe those stupid tests will now count 15% of their final grade on their report card?!

Brenda~ Congrats on getting the new van and I hope you enjoy it. Thanks for posting the link to the 2009 VF photoshoot. Now I remember....that photoshoot with so much gorgeous Robcrack. I agree that Woody Harrelson was pretty inspired casting as Haymitch. He gave a great performance and I look forward to seeing him in the other two films. Unlike many fans....I wasn't bothered by his wig and actually liked his hair that way as Haymitch.

So are you saying you sound like Scuttle doing background vocals on “Kiss the girl” when you get out of your comfortable range??I’d like to hear that. LOL

I'd say that's about right, Songbird. I love that song, and that movie. Those Disney animated movies have the best soundtracks. To totally change gears....I've read Fifty Shades, and there are some extremely lemony and citrusy scenes in the book, although not more so than what's available in Twilight fanfiction I've read. There is some aspect of the BDSM element to the book as well, and part of the story involves the two main characters trying to resolve their differences as to how they feel about these elements. The story introduces the idea that Christian's character has emotional baggage from his childhood that contributes to his need to "control" others in every way, and I think the other two books will help Christian and Bella come to terms with these issues and help Christian heal, so they can grow together as a couple. I love the idea of commemorating your Mom's memory with yellow and purple flowers....that's beautiful. That's wonderful that you both shared your love for music and singing, and that you'll always have her piano to help you relive those good memories. My Dad died when I was a little girl and my Mom still has his piano. I know we'll end up with it in our house at some point, because I'm the only one who took lessons for several years and still enjoys playing, and I'll treasure it, too. Enjoy your relaxing weekend.

Hello to Karena, Ginnie, Susie, Jenn Jenn, and anyone else I've missed.

[Tornado]

I had a very weird dream last night, and JACKSON RATHBONE was in it! Not as good as if it was Rob, but what the hell. Even more entertaining, I think he was my boyfriend in my dream (don't know what happened to my husband!).
Admittedly, he was annoying me in the dream. We were on a camp with a large group and were about to leave, and he picked up the wrong gear, thinking it was mine, and loaded it into his car. I told him it was the wrong gear, but he did it anyway. Then we had to stop and I went through it and showed him it wasn't mine, and then we had to go back and find mine. But then we were running late, and he and my brother were doing everything they could to take as long as possible, even though I was getting really angry. They were enjoying stirring me!
Then my son's alarm clock went off and I woke up. I was REALLY annoyed, because his alarm wasn't supposed to be on (he must have been playing with his clock yesterday) and if it hadn't been on, not only would I have had more of my dream, we would have all slept in!

Karena - maybe they'll do something digital to fix Rob's hair!

Songbird - that's because I've learned that water in my dreams signifies something bad is on its way.

Tracy - yes, the filming went okay yesterday. We only had a few kids, but that made it more manageable than it would have been otherwise. From what I've heard "around" it is going to be a part of Alice's vision, but I guess we won't know for sure until we see it. Yes, THG was a good adaptation of the book, but, as I said in my comment about it, it's the kind of story that translates easily, because it goes very much the way of a traditional movie plot.