In Which Izzybella Promises to Try to Avoid Whining Too Much...Whiney Baby

Or is that whinging baby? Como se dice in Harry Potter-ese? Or as Americans call it--English. Hee, that's funny. Goes back to a conversation my sister and I had a few weeks ago about how we've lost a bit of the HP flavor in America by having Scholastic translate from English to "American." And here I thought we spoke the same language. Clearly not. It's a shame because I think most kids would have been able to figure out, based on context, what (for example) a bogey is. And I'm sorry, but "bogey" is much more poetical than "booger." I mean really. Bat Booger Hex. Not so awe-inspiring as Bat Bogey Hex. I'm just saying.

I'm really tired today. I don't sleep that well during rehearsal month anyway, but it's been compounded lately by my over-enthusiastic puppy dog. Speaking of which, I think the Internet world at large needs another picture. It's been almost a year since I posted the last one. It's time. So for your viewing pleasure, here's my boy, Baxter. And my dad's foot. Sorry about that.



Anyway, back to the subject. Baxter is clingy. And by clingy, I mean he follows me around the house all day and sleeps at the side of my bed all night. Usually I find that incredibly adorable, because let's face it, we all like being loved, especially by cute puppy dogs. But last night it was sort of tiresome. See, I'm rehearsing right now, which means I get home much later than usual. Baxter is a neurotic dog--he gets really anxious when any of his people aren't home--he gnaws holes in his blanket (yes, he has a blanket--er rag--and we totally should have named him Linus) and then when they finally get home (much later than he would clearly like) he turns into anxious guard dog. So he barked all night last night. I kept getting up to check and see if there were burglars making off with our boston ferns or something (don't laugh, it's happened before) but nothing. I can only conclude that a butterfly in Japan was flapping it's wings and Baxter overheard. Seriously, he was driving me nuts and even though it is now daylight and I'm back to thinking he's the cutest thing ever, I was incredibly annoyed at him last night. Dad and Carol, who just two weeks ago were complaining about how I stole their dogs, were all Mr. and Mrs. Smug this morning. "Boy, your dog sure was noisy last night, huh?" Yes, he was. Bite me.

So I'm really tired today and I'm telling you there isn't enough caffiene in the world to keep me from being tired.

On the plus side, this is a really good show and I have lots of warm, fuzzy feelings about it. Naturally (since it's a V&S MoMentuM production) there's at least one scene that completely scares the crap out of me. That's a good thing, though, as it means I'm being challenged. So clearly, there are good times ahead.

Oh, and more to be excited about!! I'm going to a charity screening of Serenity benefitting Equality Now this weekend and lots of my friends are coming too. I expect a tremendously good time will be had by all.

Okay, I now return you to your regularly scheduled activities. Have a lovely day.

My Life, How I've Missed You!

I am so very sleepy this morning. I had an extremely difficult time getting out of bed and the only reason I finally did is because I had a big yellow dog staring intently at me, trying to telepathically impart the message that he was starving and also needed to pee.

So the show is over and I’m thrilled beyond measure. Actors were all talented-it was a good show in the end, but I’m truly and genuinely delighted to move on to the next thing. I have a real sense of ownership for the Juarez show and for Momentum and that makes a huge difference. We’re meeting tonight for a writer’s meeting and I think I might actually go over to S’s early for gossip and fun. Her place is very peaceful and welcoming, so it’s a good place to unwind.

And can I say how glad I am that NBC has Heroes available to watch on the Internet? I’ve become ridiculously addicted to that show and, although to be honest, I would choose spending time with my friends over watching television, I’m still glad I have a way of watching it online. Other than Tivo or DVR or whatever. Because I don’t have those things on account of how I still barely know how to work my DVD player, much less a DVR.

It’s interesting-ordinarily after a show, I’m all lost like “what do I do with this free time?” But right now I’m thinking of many things to do. For example, I have had the same three movies from Netflix sitting on my desk for about five weeks. I think I will watch them (and then possibly cancel Netflix owing to how long it takes me lately to watch what I’m sent). And then I want to reread the Harry Potter books before Book 7 comes out. And then I have a nice list of books I should read I’ve collected from S and Faithie. And then Friday night, I’m hanging with my friends. I’m very excited.

Oh, my life, how I’ve missed you.

Aaaaaaaand, Scene!

So, last night Baxter (yellow lab #1) really wanted to play with Cydney (yellow lab #2). He scrunched down in that cute pounce position, front legs and paws on the floor, tail straight up in the air and wagging about 100 mph. He barked. He growled. He humped. (Incidentally, I think he’s confused about the whole humping thing. He sort of just stands next to her and dry humps the air, while she gives him this what-the-hell look.) All this to no avail. Cydney, who at 10 years old, pretty much just wants to sleep all day, yawned widely and rolled over on her other side, her back to Baxter. Baxter stood there for a moment contemplating the rejection, hung his head down and made his way over to the loveseat next to me, all hangdog looking for all the world like Eeyore. It was so sad and pitiful. He’s an older dog, too-around eight-but he’s never really grown out of the puppy stage. He’s so melodramatic. The only thing missing was the “aaaaaaand, scene!” gesture with his paw.

I Love Sundays

Sundays are great. They involve a much bigger-than-usual newspaper to peruse, the smell of Columbian coffee brewing, shared blueberry English muffins, and cuddly puppy dogs who wag their tails at the slightest provocation. It really has been a nice day. At the moment I'm sitting here at the computer with one of the aforementioned puppy dogs laying beside me. The other dog is in the living room, no doubt, laying half-in/half-out of her bed. She's adorable, but she's rather inelegant when she sleeps.

My arm hurts today, a direct result of fighting and, ultimately vanquishing, the refrigerator monster living in Chaucerian Girl's fridge. I feel mighty. Chaucerian Girl is doing all kinds of neat things to her home. I especially like her Egypt room. I'm not clever enough to come up with themes for each room in my house. I pretty much limit myself to bedroom. Living room. Kitchen. Etc. You get the picture. Chaucerian Girl, however, has a good eye for that kind of stuff. If the writing doesn't pan out (and it will), she could probably make a decent living as an interior decorator. I know the end result will justify the work and I have to say it's kind of fun being a part of the process.

Have you ever had one of those days where everything, no matter how frankly un-funny or mundane, is suddenly hilarious? See, I totally had one of those days. I know when I type this out, it will seem only stupid and remarkably not funny, but at the time? I was laughing so hard there were tears. I went grocery shopping with the parents and we were beyond silly. I have no idea what got into us. First, my stepmother cannot pass by one of those cute little animated/motion toys without pressing the button and watching it go. (by the by, Chaucerian Girl is the same way. Why is this???) Kroger had this little stuffed Scooby Doo who sang along with "Why Do Fools Fall in Love?" The first time it hit the chorus, the little Scooby voice said, "rI, ron't know..." and for some reason it struck me as really funny and I collapsed into a fit of giggles. Then my dad went off on a tangent about people and cell phones. He loathes it when people have cell phones attached to their ear like some strange appendage. So I pulled out my cell phone while we were standing there and called him. The monster found this tremendously amusing. After that, we were arguing about whether we should take the free Dryer's ice cream offer:

Stepmonster: We don't have room in the freezer.
Me: But it's free!!!
Stepmonster: We don't have room in the freezer.
Me: But it's free!!!!!!

At which point the ice cream slipped out of her hands and fell on the floor. I picked it up in a huff and told her if she didn't want the damn ice cream, she should have said so, but throwing it on the floor was kind of rude. At this point, she collapsed into giggles. This was followed by more joking and even more giggling, prompting several people to steer their carts way clear of the crazies in the ice cream aisle. And see? I just read what I wrote. Not funny. But it was at the time. Honest. You had to be there.

Well, there's considerably more Sunday left and I don't feel like spending it on the computer. I have a couple of Netflix flicks waiting. Or I could read a book? Hmmm.... I so very love Sundays.