Thanksgiving Weekend 2011

Hey, Everyone!

This is my 140th post on this Blog.  :)

First up, I'd like to mention that Ramiro premiered the first few pages of his new comic today.  You can read it here (NSFW).  And, don't worry, he's got it all finished and ready to go!  He's updating on a schedule, but you will be seeing the whole thing (it's done).  Enjoy!!

Thanksgiving went well.  It was a work day, but Ramiro and I still celebrated it the best we could.  It was our first Thanksgiving where we didn't go anywhere (it was just us) and we kept it simple.  We cooked a whole chicken in the oven, boiled a butternut squash, and had potato salad on the side.  For dessert we had sugar-free pumpkin tarts and sugar-free cherry pie from the Slender Sweet Shoppe in Montrose.  Here are some pics:

 Yesterday, Ramiro and I saw Twilight: Breaking Dawn (Part One) in theaters.  We've seen every Twilight movie thus far and always look forward to them.  They're absolutely terrible...but unlike a lot of bad movies out there (and we've seen a LOT of bad movies--more than our fair share, I'd say), they're also terribly entertaining.  This one was especially bad (to the point that Ramiro has been referring to it as Twilight: Breaking Wind because it "stank" so bad), but was also especially fun.  Seeing it with an audience and hearing their reactions, is what really "made" the movie for me.  I wouldn't watch these movies at home, but in the theater they're an extra special treat/experience.

 One of the least creative posters we've ever seen...

I liked that the opening scene of the movie was Jacob ripping off his shirt.  It's like they just gave up and said "Well, here you are, Ladies. We know what you're really here for." 

This happened literally 10 seconds in.

The movie was very, very faithful to the book; but much easier to sit through.  I've read all of the books (and I've read segments of them aloud to Ramiro) and that last book was a chore to get through.  Especially in its second half.  I will say this though: They did NOT wuss out on the birthing scene.  Edward [SPOILER] eats the baby out of her just like he does in the book [END SPOILER] and they did a great job on Bella's make-up/effects to make her look gross and horrifying.  And they did an equally good job with making her look ultra gorgeous for the makeover sequence at the end.

I was also amused that our ticket stubs were pink (they're usually gray).

Other than that, not much has been happening other than "the usual" (writing, health problems, more writing) in real life.

In my FAKE life on my Nintendo 3DS, I ended up getting married in Harvest Moon: The Tale of Two Towns.  Man, I love that game.

Here's a pic from my wedding:

 I'm playing as a boy.  My name is Lame.  I always name nameable characters Lame. (It's a long story going back to Pirates Gold! on the Sega Genesis).  I married Reina, the botanist chick.

After you get married, your spouse asks you what you'd like to be called as a pet name. I picked "Sir" as a joke and now feel horrible every time she says it.  *sheepish laugh*

Then, on the last day before I had to get back to work, I busted out Sarahe's copy of The Sims 2 again and made Sims of Ramiro, Ray, and myself.  The rest of this entry is just going to be pictures from that.  Look if you're interested, if not, I'll say goodbye to you here. 

Here we are as Sims:

I chose the "fat" body type for my Sim and she was still thinner than I am in real life! How depressing...

 Ramiro as a Sim

Ramiro and me discussing a poster we mutually enjoy.

Sharing our interests apparently ignited our passion... Actually, I mainly took this picture because I just noticed during this scene that the mirrors in The Sims 2 actually work!  I know that that's "old" technology now, but it still amazes me.

 Then Ray came by.  He seemed to be having trouble with his genie lamp.  Ramiro looked concerned...

 Nope. Guess not. Ramiro called "BS" on Ray and they had a minor tiff, but then...

...It was all good. They started playing video games while my Sim wrote in her journal.  (JUST LIKE REAL LIFE!)

They got really into it.  Not sure why they're sitting so far apart though.

I guess they won?  (That's my Sim making sandwiches for everyone in the kitchen)

I left off when we all sat down to eat lunch.

The way I "play" The Sims 2 is a bit unusual, I guess.  I mostly just like to build the houses and then, other than encouraging them to learn how to cook (so they don't set themselves on fire!), I just sit back and watch what they do.  *shrugs*  They usually get up to interesting shenanigans. 

See you next Monday!

--Lauren*
http://littlezotz.com

Feeling Miffed

Hey, Everyone!

I'm a bit miffed today.  Here's why:

As you know from last week's post, I recently got 1/4th of a new tooth from the dentist on the 29th of last month.  It was great!  However, when I came back in on the 1st of this month to get my required cleaning... Not so great.

The hygienist was the worst hygienist I've ever had the misfortune of encountering.  She was very inept with her prodding while creating my periodontal chart--using unnecessarily excessive force and a bad attitude!--and she didn't even perform the cleaning!  She claimed she was "overbooked" and didn't "have time" to do the cleaning I was scheduled for.  She ordered that I buy some $20 mouthwash and come back again in two weeks when she felt more like dealing with me.  (What??).  Anyway, foolishly perhaps, I did what I was told.

What followed that visit was a full list of horrors occurring in my mouth.  I won't go into details because it's super gross, but needless to say I've been in a LOT of pain since that day.  I finally broke down and called the dentist's "emergency" line over the weekend...and they said they'd see me on Monday (today). 

The doc's diagnosis...?

That's right.  I was told to "deal with it" and was sent home.

More specifically, I was told that the $20 mouthwash that the stupid hygienist made me buy had created a horrific allergic reaction in my mouth and that there was "nothing we can do about it."  I was told that I just have to "wait a week or two for the body to heal itself."  Then they tried to scam me into seeing an outrageously expensive "specialist" and still wanted me to come back for my scheduled cleaning on the 18th (the appointment the hygienist would have "had time" for).  Needless to say I said "No, thank you" and not only refused to see their "specialist" but cancelled my appointment for the 18th.  Forget that!!

My original dentist might be 5 towns away from where I live now, but at least he never destroyed my mouth and said "oh well" afterward!  Once I'm healed up in "a week or two," I'll be heading to him.  (Maybe this is what I get from straying from my loyalty to my dentist?  ...But he wasn't open on Friday when my tooth broke!  I didn't mean it!)

Anyway, here are a couple of great Harry Potter (and Twilight) related pictures Ramiro found for me on the Internet to cheer me up:

So that's pretty much been my week: Pain, pain, and more pain.  And work, work, and more work.  I recently took on a second "real" job ("real" as in it's another writing job with regular hours & a payroll and stuff like my writing job with WTR) for the month of August.  Plus I'm still writing dog articles and working on my own projects on the side. 

Speaking of which...

I wrote an e-book on how to do what I do!  :)  I had so much trouble figuring everything out when I first left my "day job" to become a professional writer, I figured I'd write it all down so others wouldn't have to go through what I did.  It's going to be available for sale on my website on August 17, 2011.  Ramiro designed the cover!

That's all for now.

--Lauren*
http://littlezotz.com