Foxy!

Holy crap, you guys! A fox just jumped our 6-foot fence and strolled through the back yard. Right in the middle of the day. I didn't get a picture because I was too busy grabbing the dog and falling on the floor, trying to keep her from running out and picking a fight. I don't think she'd come out on top of that battle.

It looked just like this. Cute, right? But foxes "feed on rodents, rabbits, birds, and other small game." I'm pretty sure Ripley would look like a rodent to a hungry fox.

She can tear up a sunbeam though.

In case I didn't mention it

I'm trying the Mommy blogger thing over at 40-Something First Timer. I'm going to try to post periodically on both. But if you're interested in following my ups and downs in regards to being pregnant (sometimes I still don't believe it myself), you can head over there.

Check out my new blog

Now that I'm a mommy-to-be, I've started a new blog of that nature. I plan to still post here about random crap -- like always -- but will talk about my adventure to mommyhood over at 40-Something First Timer.

What I watched: "American Zombie"

In case I haven't said this a hundred times already, I love the Netflix watch instantly feature. I have watched many movies and TV shows -- good and bad -- that I would have never rented or put on my queue. Case in point is the movie I watched last night. It's a "mockumentary" called "American Zombie."

From the film's media Web site:

Filmmakers Grace Lee (“The Grace Lee Project”) and John Solomon (“Nonsense Man”) team up to shoot a documentary about high-functioning zombies living in Los Angeles and their struggles to gain acceptance in human society.

Now, anyone who has read even a little of this blog is well aware of my love for all things zombie. And I know I'm not alone in my love. Vampires may be the hot new thing and sexy as hell, but zombies will always be the top monster in my book. The scariest thing about zombies is their complete lack of humanity. They have no regard for family or friends. They kill and eat indiscriminately.

In "American Zombie," those particular zombies are known as "feral zombies." They have lost all humanity. But there are two other types: zombies who have retained enough humanity to do manual labor and "high-functioning zombies" who seem to be just like any other human -- except for their decaying flesh, of course. And none of them seem to have a taste for human flesh -- or do they? (Cue ominous music.)

The film follows four high-functioning zombies through their day-t0-day lives. We see them at their jobs, interacting with girlfriends and co-workers and preparing to attend Live Dead (a kind of Burning Man festival for zombies only). The film makers finally get permission to attend -- despite being living humans -- and film Live Dead, resulting in dire consequences.

It's an interesting take on the zombie genre. Though it wasn't as funny as I'd hoped it would be, I still enjoyed watching the film. For a die-hard zombie fan, like myself, it was a good movie. For everyone else, I'd probably say give it a pass. It starts out slow and has a pretty predictable ending.

All in all, I'd give it a better rating than the 4.9 stars out of 10 IMDb users give it. But, as I said, I have a love for all things zombie, from the super cheesy to the classic.

It's National Dog Day!

And Ripley is jumping for joy!

National Dog Day is celebrated August 26 annually and serves to help galvanize the public to recognize the number of dogs that need to be rescued each year, and acknowledges family dogs and dogs that work selflessly each day to save lives, keep us safe and bring comfort.

Thanks to Mayzie for helping us remember the date!

Because this deserves a post

I don't try to hide the fact that I have some geeky tendencies. In fact, just recently it occurred to me that I'm probably a bigger geek than my video-game-playing, computer-center-occupation-having S.O. I'm the one that recommend "Ender's Game" to him, after all.

However, he is the one who introduced me to "Stargate: SG1." And he is the reason I own all 10 seasons of that show and all five seasons of "Stargate: Atlantis."

Recently, an innocent visit to Michael's to find parts to repair necklace, inspired a trip to Etsy.com, where I came across the shop Take It to the Moon and promptly proceeded to buy this:
For the uninitiated that is the symbol for Earth in the Stargate world. And it's awesome!

And yes, I am also wearing a Captain America T-shirt. Shut up.

Shout outs

Now that I'm back to my as-normal-as-it-gets routine, I really need to get back to blogging more. I know you two or three that come here to read of my many and varied adventures and the random crap that occurs to me out of the blue have been missing my ramblings.

I haven't been writing here much but I have been writing at My Boot Camp Diary. And I have been reading others' blogs, even if I don't always comment. I'm pretty sure you all read each others' blogs already. But in case you don't, or if you're looking for something else to read, here are some of my favorites (in no particular order):

Mayzie's Dog Blog - the most glorious adventures of one brindle dog (I think Mayzie's owner actually does the typing, though.)

Grandma's Briefs - bits and bytes of life's second act (It's not just for grandma's.)

Jackodilloprincess - a mommy blog that doesn't make you want to choke a mommy (That's not her tag line, by the way!)

Won't You Be My Cubemate? - more ramblings from a freelance writer with a snarky attitude (Which is why we're friends.)

Local Dish - recipes and more from a foodie

A Motivated Notion - A fellow blogger I met through NaBloPoMo, who motivated me to run my first (and sadly, only) 5k.

Neil Gaiman's Journal - The author of some of my favorite book's and stories talks about his day-to-day life, his work, his pets. It's like I know him (but not in an internet stalker sort of way, I promise).

The Official Pearls Before Swine Blog - Snarky, irreverent, ridiculous (I'm in love!).

What are your favorite blogs? I'm always looking for something different to check out.

Country music remembrances

In which part of an e-mail exchange poses as a blog post, and I show my age and nerdity.

Me: (in response to a link to "Whatcha Gonna Do With a Cowboy" by Chris LeDoux) Yeee haw!

He: Among my many musical oddities: I like country music that sounds like older country and western -- like that. Country song popular in the 1960s or 1970s? I probably know all the words.

Me: I grew up listening to (or being forced to listen to) the likes of Freddy Fender, Tom T. Hall, Conway Twitty and others. I can still listen to Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash, but most of the new country just sounds like twangy pop to me. So I can understand your "musical oddities."

He: So you... you remember the year that Clayton Delaney died?? (/arcane test)

Me: No. But I do remember the night that the lights went out in Georgia. And that day Billy Joe McAllister jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge.

He: He jumped because ROBBY BENSON DIDN'T GET THE OSCAR FOR THAT ROLE!! Ahem. The preceding microrant was gayer than a sequined handbag full of rainbows.

Me: Robby Benson WAS dreamy.

My apologies to those of you too young and/or hip to get the references. And even more apologies to those of you old enough and/or nerdy enough to get the references -- your ear worm of the day.

Worry Wart

A couple of weeks ago, my wonderful, talented friend Lisa of Grandma's Briefs asked, "What's one thing you used to worry about that you no longer do?"

My response (in the comments) was, "Does there really come a time when I can stop worrying about something? I look forward to that day. I'm a chronic worrier. I even worry that I worry too much."

Which brings us to this "Heart of the City" comic strip:

Click to enlarge

I'm beginning to think every aspect of my life can be related to one of three things: (1) comic strips, (2) reruns of "Friends" or (3) an episode of "The Simpsons."

And you know, it worries me.

Animal tales

My dear and talented friend Lisa over at Grandma's Briefs is sending her grandson a tortoise -- no not a real tortoise -- a very cute plastic tortoise. It's in honor of World Turtle Day and ... oh just go read her post (if you haven't already). Her post led her to ask: "Did you or anyone you know have a turtle when you were a kid?"

Which got me to thinking about the animals we did have as kids. Because with three boys in the house, it seemed someone was always bringing home some kind of orphaned animal (and by "someone" I mean "Joe.")

I have vague memories of baby rabbits and snapping turtles and squirrels, but the most memorable was JoJo the Raccoon. He was orphaned (don't ask me to tell you how he was "orphaned," please) at our friend's farm and came home with us. It was like something straight off Wild Kingdom. And he was the cutest damn thing. Look.

Yep. That's me -- cuddling a wild freaking animal. And before you think my parents were irresponsible, he was actually quite tame. We fed him grapes and scrambled eggs. And somewhere in my old photos, I have a picture of him inside my Barbie camper. (It was quite traumatic for Barbie and Ken. Ken lost an arm in the attack.)

Unfortunately, as raccoons reach sexual maturity, they become more and more aggressive. Knowing this, we took him to a local petting zoo well before that day came. Technically, it's a turn-of-the-century replica farm and it's still operating today. And technically, no one was actually allowed to pet JoJo or his buddy Ricky. But we were able to go and visit him a few more times before he was released into the wild.

Well, that's what I was told. And that's what I still choose to believe. If you have other theories about "released into the wild," I'd prefer you keep them to yourself.

Biggest Loser and Big Bad Trends

I've noticed that one of the new fitness trends is for trainers to scream at and belittle their clients ala "The Biggest Loser." The lovely and talented Moardy over at A Motivated Notion has even seen this phenomenon in yoga classes. (Go read her account of this yoga experience. It's freaking scary.)

And maybe it works for some people. As Moardy says, "The class was packed and the studio continues to bring in new students with the promise of helping them lose weight."

But for me, not so much. If my trainer talked to me the way the trainers on "The Biggest Loser" talk to those people, he'd be drinking his Power Bars through a straw. And I'm not the only one in my workout group who would give him whatfor.

I don't find yelling motivating. If you're yelling how hot I look, OK, sure, that's motivating. But I don't want my Boot Camp fitness workout to feel and sound like a real Boot Camp. I've joked about my trainer being an "evil drill sergeant" but I wouldn't have stuck with this workout program for nearly a year if he ever made me feel bad about myself.

You know, I can belittle myself just fine without having to pay someone else to do it. I want my trainer (and especially my yoga instructor) to tell me I'm doing a great job and encourage me to push myself a little harder. Tell me I'm lazy or weak or that what I'm doing should hurt, and I'm out the door.

Big Movie Night

Over the weekend, the S.O. and I watched two movies out on DVD right now. We don't go to the theater very much any more, mostly because I'm a curmudgeon who doesn't like crowds or talking during movies or crying babies or sticky floors. And I like to make my own popcorn and watch movies in my jammies.

We'd heard a lot of good things about both the movies we watched (on DVD because we're not that high-tech yet) . They weren't super hyped up, which can be the downfall of a movie. But they got good press and even received some awards. And they both definitely lived up to my high expectations of them.

The first one was "The Blind Side." Sandra Bullock won an Oscar for her role -- in case you missed that with all the news of her cheating husband -- and she, along with the rest of the cast really do turn in great performances.

It's heartwarming without being cloying, and kind of restores my faith in humans. And don't worry if you're not a huge football fan. Football plays second fiddle to the real story here.

The second movie we watched was "Fantastic Mr. Fox." I loved this movie for its unabashed playfulness.

Where "The Blind Side" was uplifting for it's rags-to-riches story and help-your-fellow-man message, "Fantastic Mr. Fox" is funny, laugh-out-loud, release-your-inner-child pure fun. George Clooney voices Mr. Fox, bringing all his old Hollywood type of charm to the character. Meryl Streep voices his wife, and Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Michael Gambon (Dumbledore!), Willem Dafoe and other lend their talent.

Based on the book by Roald Dahl, "Fantastic Mr. Fox" is fantastic, with talking wild animals (should I be bothered that all the mammals can talk, but the fowls are food?) who get themselves into crazy situations that are only partly due to their being wild animals.

These two movies, while wildly different, made a great double feature. Add in some homemade popcorn and the dog curled up on my lap and you really shouldn't wonder why I prefer my movie nights at home.

Speaking of nostalgia

The car I test drove this week was equipped with XM Satellite Radio, and whenever I drive a car with satellite radio, I immediately tune in to First Wave ("classic alternative"). While tooling around town -- and out on some country roads -- I heard "Forever Young" by Alphaville.

This song came out way back in 1984, so I'm totally dating myself with it. But didn't I think the lyrics were profound? Didn't I think they were written just for my angst-ridden teen life?

Let's dance in style, lets dance for a while
Heaven can wait we're only watching the skies
Hoping for the best but expecting the worst
Are you going to drop the bomb or not?

This song reminds me of my days working at the movie theater and the huge crush I had on the cute college boy with the red hair. Ah, memories.

Thank you, Lisa

A few weeks ago, my good friend Lisa -- over at Grandma's Briefs -- posted a clip from "Joyeux Noel (Merry Christmas)." I promptly put it on my queue. Then waited, hoping to watch it for Christmas.

It arrived in the mail the day after Christmas, but it was still a perfect way to wrap up my holiday.

Based on actual events during World War I, "Joyeux Noel" tells the story of a spontaneous truce declared by Scottish, French and German troops in the trenches on Christmas Eve 1914.

Click over to Lisa's site to watch the video. Then immediately add it to your Netflix or Blockbuster queue. Even if you are a bit Grinchy about holidays, this movie just might make you believe in Christmas miracles. And if you have any interest in history, make sure you watch the interview with the film's maker.

Thanks for turning me on to this movie, Lisa. I loved it. Two thumbs up.

What's on the menu

I'm trying to include some healthier side dishes in our Thanksgiving dinner this year. In addition to turkey and stuffing -- which the S.O. makes and are delicious -- I am making:

• Brussels Sprouts with Chestnuts & Sage
• Smashed Spiced Sweet Potatoes
• Frozen Pumpkin Mousse Pie

(All from EatingWell.com) I'll let you know how they turn out. But they sure sound yummy. No Tofurkey in this house!

Activities on the menu are playing with the S.O.'s new Playstation 3, board games, several episodes of Farscape and playing with Ripley and my dear friend's puppy.

It promises to be a fun day.

The culprit

I was all set to write a post about the scary vegetable peeler I bought a few weeks ago -- and will get to that in a minute -- then my dog created a new post for me with the same title. Somehow, she got into the bag of candy I have for my kids at tutoring. As I passed from the bedroom toward my office, I saw her holding something in her front paws and setting to work chewing on it. My first thought was that the S.O. had given her a rawhide bone to chew on so he could sleep in. But we never give her that bone in the morning. So my second thought was that the killer had caught a bird and brought it into the house to devour. Ew. Then I realized it was a Tootsie Pop miniature. She was holding it by the stick and trying to chew the wrapper off. And she'd chosen chocolate. It was pretty cute and I would have gotten a picture if I weren't more concerned about her health and safety.

Bad dog.

Today in weird products

Current TV's "Infomania" (which you can watch here) has a segment called "We've Got You Covered." Which gives an overview of what's happening in magazines. Within that segment, they have something called "How the @#*! is this a magazine?" In that vein, I bring you "How the @#*! is this a real product advertised in a magazine?"

In the back of the S.O.'s "Men's Fitness," there is an ad for this product: The Goatee Saver. It's a template to help guys shave their goatee. Or as the Web site says, "an innovative grooming tool designed to give you the perfect goatee every time you shave."

I'm thinking the model on the Web site may have Photoshopped his goatee. I don't know any guy who has facial hair that looks quite like that. I'm also thinking if you need some kind of pattern to help you cut your goatee -- a template that you appear to have to hold in your mouth while you shave, no less -- maybe you should forgo the facial hair all together. It's just a thought.

On the other hand, "grooming perfection makes a perfect gift for that hard-to-buy-for guy."

Continuing the doggy theme

Now I get it.

Click comic to enlarge.

She's trying to rob me blind, not get yogurt!
__

Smarty pants

I realized awhile back that parents really don't it like when you compare the antics of your pets to the antics of their children.

Well, this study shows I'm not so far off the mark:

The canine IQ test results are in: Even the average dog has the mental abilities of a 2-year-old child.

The finding is based on a language development test, revealing average dogs can learn 165 words (similar to a 2-year-old child), including signals and gestures, and dogs in the top 20 percent in intelligence can learn 250 words.

Border collies, poodles and German Shepherds are among the smartest, according to the tests. Dogs are as smart as 3 and 4 year olds when it comes to math, the story says. And they surpass even teens when it comes to social skills (but are we really surprised by that?).

Granted, I don't see rat terrier on that list, but I'm pretty sure my dog is still as smart as most toddlers.

For one thing, she's totally potty trained.

An interesting read

This article from Newsweek is quite enlightening (if a bit long). It talks about how Oprah is promoting some misleading -- and maybe even dangerous -- health practices on her show.

An excerpt that made me laugh:

But (Dr. Christiane) Northrup believes thyroid problems can also be the result of something else. As she explains in her book, "in many women, thyroid dysfunction develops because of an energy blockage in the throat region, the result of a lifetime of 'swallowing' words one is aching to say."

I have thyroid problems, and as the S.O. will attest, and most of you reading this already know, I don't really hold back when I want to say something. As the article's writer says, "An interesting theory—but is there anyone who believes that what Oprah suffers from is an inability to express herself?"

Another funny little bit:

On one of the Secret shows, Oprah gave an example of the scientific power of the concept. She said that once, while she was hosting an episode about a man who could blow really big soap bubbles, she was thinking to herself, "Gee, that looks fun. I would like to blow some bubbles." When she returned to her office after the show, there, on her desk, was a silver Tiffany bubble blower. "So I call my assistant," Oprah told the audience. "I say, 'Did you just run out and get me some bubbles? 'Cause I got bubbles by my desk.' And she says, 'No, the bubbles were always there. I bought you bubbles for your birthday and you didn't notice them until today'."

There are many lessons that might be drawn from this anecdote. One is that if you give Oprah a thoughtful gift, she may not bother to notice it or thank you for it. This is not the lesson Oprah took away from her story. Because the way she sees it, her assistant hadn't really given her the gift at all. She gave it to herself. Using the power of The Secret, she said, "I had called in some bubbles."

As I said, it's a fairly long article, but worth the read. I admire Oprah and -- as the article points out -- she worked hard to get where she is. But it just goes to show you can't believe everything you see on TV.

[crosses self and prays for Oprah's mercy]