Today's small tale of woe

I've been feeling under the weather for a few days now, and today it all culminated in me taking a sick day from work. In my grouchy state, there was little to improve my mood.

I had ONE thing to look forward to today, and nothing else would do. That one thing happens to be a Woe, Is Me and Stheart collab hoodie. This hoodie:

Nothing else in my rainy, grumpy world could perk me up. Nothing. I couldn't remember whether it was coming USPS or UPS, so I waited patiently for the mail and UPS trucks to come, peering out the front door every now and then in anticipation.

Finally I heard a thump outside the front door. Success! I hurried out the front door in my pj pants and baggy shirt, grabbed the box from the porch, and ran inside.

In my glee I ripped open the box. And when I say ripped, I mean carefully opened. I didn't want to tear my awesome new Stheart hoodie.

Anger. Sadness. More grumpy feelings.

Inside the box rested not my hoodie, but a pair of shoes. Shaun's new pair of shoes, to be exact. I sat down, frustrated, mumbling made-up curse words under my breath.

My only hope then lay in the hands of the United States Postal Service. Never before had I needed to put so much trust in the hands of a government service. Despite my reservations, I was sure they wouldn't let me down.

A little while later I pulled on my polka-dot rain boots over my shamrock pjs, grabbed a jacket, and headed toward the mailbox, scanning the neighborhood for possible witnesses. I reached the mailbox, my heart pounding, and found a package within!

I rushed into the house once again, tore open the package, and pulled out...two limited edition Arkaik shirts that Shaun and I had ordered a while back. Not my hoodie.

All hope lost, I flopped on the couch, weeping tears of agony. My hoodie would not make it in time to wear for casual Friday at work.

After some brief research, Shaun found that my beloved Stheart hoodie had been misrouted and should have been in my hands by now. Yet again, a government service failed me. So much anticipation, and so little reward.

Pride & Peaches

There is something you must know about me. I love Pride and Prejudice with all my 24-year-old heart. Jane Austen, in my opinion, is one of the cleverest writers of all time. She could make a simple description of a house witty and entertaining.

 Colin Firth. Le sigh.

I love all things Austen, but P & P holds a special place with me because Elizabeth Bennet has spunk that can't be rivaled, and let's face it: Darcy makes girls everywhere sigh longingly. I first read P & P in my 11th grade AP English Lit class, where we lovingly referred to it as Pride & Peaches. By the end of the book even the guys in our class were grudgingly admitting that the story line isn't all that bad.

Fast forward to today, and I'm lucky enough to have married the ONE man in the world who can retain his masculinity while thinking P & P is actually quite funny. He prefers the Keira Knightley version and I think Mr. Collins is his favorite character.

That's this guy. Cringe-worthy.

For Christmas Shaun even bought me the BBC Jane Austen boxed set. We've watched approximately 10 hours worth of Jane Austen's stories, and he hasn't complained yet. I'm so proud!

 That's right, I posted someone's fan art. Deal with it.

If you haven't already, I highly suggest making a reading of Pride and Prejudice a Valentine tradition. It'll have you sighing with thoughts of Bingley and Darcy in no time :)

"You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you."

Random thought? Maybe.

There are so many things in movies that seem so cool, or at least appropriate to the scene, until you start dissecting what would have actually happened to get to that stage. I started thinking about this while watching Queen of the Damned yesterday. Take, for example, Lestat's transformation from "normal" vampire to vampire king in the movie. He goes from this...

..."normal," leather-pant-wearing, super-powered vampire man...

...to this. Skirt [or baggy pants] wearing vampire-god with a wide belt and fringe.

Very exotic and vampire king appropriate, right? Sure. Until you start thinking of the conversation that probably led up to the skirt wearing. It probably went something like this:

Lestat: "Hey, that gold sheen on your skin is pretty cool. Where can I have that done?"

Akasha: "Gold skin-sheen comes later. First, you must put this on."

Lestat: "This is a skirt. I think I'll just wear my leather pants, if you don't mind."

Akasha: "Kings don't wear leather pants. Kings wear skirts."

Lestat: "Well this king wears leather pants!"

Akasha: "This queen doesn't have kings who wear leather pants. Skirt, or get the heck out."

Lestat: "Pants!"

Akasha: "Skirt!"

Lestat: "Pants!"

Akasha: "Skirt!"

Lestat: "Pants!"

Akasha: "Skirt!"

Lestat: "Fine!"

Let's face it, that's less than cool.

No day like a snow day!

There's no day like a snow day! Shaun and I worked from home today, since we currently can't get out of the driveway. Right now there's a seven foot snowdrift ending on top of Shaun's truck, and if I can ever get out the front door I'll take a photo of it!

Our back yard is always gorgeous in the snow. We've got some snow drifts that the dogs are all too willing to plow into, leaving them with snow beards and icy feet!

Meanwhile, the view out our front door is pretty too. I guess the dogs concur...

 ...because they'll sit and watch the windblown snow as long as we let them!

One of the best parts of working from home is the chance to enjoy a cup of hot tea in my Tinker Bell mug and watch Dorian Gray, The Hound of the Baskervilles, and Northanger Abbey. Yep...I'm a sucker for BBC and English literature.

Last but certainly not least, lunch was fantastic! I made chicken vegetable rotini. Many of you probably know that I'm that perpetual five-year-old who can't stand any soup other than chicken noodle. I'm weird, I know. Anyhoo, I dipped into the snacks we save for when we watch the foster sisters and ate some of their Club Mini Crackers. Every time I pick one up I feel like a giant. Nom nom nom...

Days like today probably seem boring to everyone else, but sometimes I like to enjoy a quiet day full of comfort foods and classic tales. It prepares me for the rest of the crazy work week!