I've lost my mind.

I swear I left the cheese tray over here. Who stole it?

I swear I already posted a new blog entry today. Turns out I didn't.

Ooooh, I do remember visiting lots of blogs, though.

Monsty is now to be called fishcakes.

Weekend Recrap

Morning campers! I have some leftover sharp cheddah for you to munch on. If you so please, there is also venison summer sausage.

The weather was pretty great all weekend. Too hot & humid yesterday, though.

My weekend activities included: cooking, reading, sitting on my butt by the fire, playing cards, boating, walking to the bathroom and garbage dumpsters, drinking and sleeping.

The boat ride was fun. It was first positive boating experience in a long, long time. Usually whatever boat I'm in malfunctions, hits something, the water is too low, the driver doesn't know the waterway or the water is too choppy. This time, the water was high, the boat was fine and it was a little choppy, but that's ok. Chris did a great job driving us around the river (Mississippi).

I read my INXS: Story to Story book. Interesting stuff. Quite sad when it started talking about Michael's death.

Rum & coke get me in trouble. *passes out* Just sayin'.

Holy Carp I'm Busy

I'm rushed, therefore it's a cheddar variety tray today. Not very imaginitive, I know. I'll include some of the hummus I made last night. Spicy & delicious.

I'm off tomorrow, so am trying to get stuff done at work. We have a grant going out (again). It's in decent shape, but there are always last minute changes that spin everything out of control.

We are camping at a beautiful State park this weekend. It's along the bluffs of the Mississippi River. We aren't camping on the bluffs (the sites are tiny, crowded and if bad weather hits, good luck), but we have spacious shaded sites below. The weather is supposed to be perfect: Low 80s and no rain. Rare for Memorial Day weekend.

On the camping menu:
Tacos
BBQ sauced, grilled chicken
Grilled pork roast
Morel mushrooms
Pudgie Pies (camper pies, whatever you want to call them)
Turkey burgers
hot dogs/brats

We tend to eat pretty well all weekend. :-)

ABC Meme

Nookie said I forgot the cheese. I just needed to find inspiration. In honor of the Top Chef finale tonight, I'm serving the cheese Miguel couldn't pronounce to save his life: Fourme d'Ambert Cheese. You might not like this strong french cheese, but I've laid out some good crostini to go with it.

A is for Age - 29
B is for Booze - Rum & Coke or Cosmos
C is for Career - Research Project Manager
D is for Dad’s name - Mark
E is for Essential Item to bring to a Party - Cheese. Come on, it's what you expect me to say.
F is for Favorite Songs at the Moment - Suicide Blonde by INXS...oldie but I've been playing it lots
G is for Goof off thing to do - Play Testes Toss. You might know it as ladder ball. The military boys introduced me to it, therefore it's why I know it as testes toss.
H is for Hometown - Richland Center
I is for Instrument you play - I used to make harmonicas out of combs and wax paper
J is for Jam or Jelly you like - Freezer strawberry rhubarb jam. *licks lips*
K is for Kids - 3 cats
L is for Living arrangement - House with Chris & the cats
M is for Mom’s name - Rosemary
N is for Names of best friends - Melanie, Angie, Megan, Deanna
O is for overnight hospital stays -None
P is for Phobias - Snakes, en masse bugs
Q is for Quote you like - Normal is getting dressed in clothes that you buy for work and driving through traffic in a car that you are still paying for - in order to get to the job you need to pay for the clothes and the car, and the house you leave vacant all day so you can afford to live in it-Ellen Degeneres
R is for Relationship that lasted longest - Current one...around 8 years as a serious relationship.
S is for Siblings - 2 older sisters.
T is for Texas, Ever been? - Not yet--ask me again in November!
U is for Unique trait - I'll go with my crooked pinky.
V if for Vegetable you love - Peas, corn on the cob (thanks, momma), broccoli, cucumbers, bell peppers
W is for Worst traits - Not passionate enough (I have few things I feel quite strongly about)
X - is for XRays you’ve had - teeth, arm & hand, spine...I think that's about it.
Y is for Yummy food you make - jumbalaya, stuffed mushrooms, peppercorn beef tenderloin, cream puffs, Snickers pie
Z is for Zodiac sign - Aries

They are dead.

Have some sympathetic white queso & chips with me.

They are all dead. Well, all but five. The 40 pepper plants and 20 tomato plants that I nursed from seeds and carefully planted on Monday are dead. Who knew that Monday night we were going to have a bad frost? *sniff* The five bell pepper plants survived. Those were seeds I had taken from the most delicious farmer's market red bell pepper I'd ever had. I forget what kind it was, but yum!

Anyway, I give up. I'm not investing any more time or money in the tomatoes & peppers. I'll have such little time to garden this summer, anyway.

So much work down the drain. This has been a very late killing frost for our area. Usually the second week of May & you are then safe. However, there HAVE been killing frosts around Memorial Day before...just long ago. I'm a young gardener, I guess I took a chance. Sigh.

The Concert

Cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting this morning...mmmmm.

INXS is hot. Not just JD. All of them.

Scott Stapp? Not bad. He was better than I anticipated. Did a lot of old Creed stuff in addition to his new solo music. Not a long break between SS & INXS coming on. That was nice.

They had a curtain down with a 5 minute countdown timer (a few screams when it hit JDs # at 4:48). 3-2-1 *enter harmonica* The curtain raises & JD bursts on stage with Suicide Blonde. Holy carp did he look hot in his black suit, white shirt and yellow striped tie undone. Oh, and shades. Mmmmm. The pinnacle of JD hotness. The jacket came off soon after, then the tie. And about three songs in, he changed to a black t-shirt.

Ok, enough about JD hotness (for now). The set was simple, so nothing to report there. We were on Tim & Garry Gary's side of the stage, but were close enough to get a decent view of the whole band. Other than Jon. There was a cymbal blocking my view of him. *pout*

Notable performances:
Taste It. No, we didn't get the microphone sex that he often does as part of the show, however he did a little sexy mic dance. And he did a fun rap with Taste It to intro the band.

By My Side. Ok, I'm biased. I love this song. It started out with all of them sitting around Jon's drum stand playing and singing. So intimate. JD's voice sounded FABULOUS on this one.

Other songs included:
Mystify
Need You Tonight
Devil Inside
Never Tear Us Apart
Don't Change
New Sensation
Original Sin
Kick
Afterglow
Pretty Vegas
Hot Girls
Never Let You Go (Yes, I said "Knockers would love this")
Devil's Party
Hungry

JD & the two backup singers (I think one is the girl that does the Afterglow backup vocals on the album) did a beautiful acapella of Amazing Grace. Absolutely beautiful. JD also did a spoken word thing that was odd, yet cool. Something in there about chocolate chip orgasms.

Tim is a horny rock star. He makes me laugh. He was always mugging for the crowd, playing with the ladies in the front row & generally hamming it up.

Andrew was looking quite cute. I think he's lost some weight. He and Kirk had some cute playful moments.

JD smoked & swore a lot. One lucky girl (I hope she was a smoker) got one of his half-smoked cigarettes. He also had a thing for ripping up signs people made. He'd take them up to Jon & show him, then rip them. Very odd. He did his homework on Milwaukee, referencing the city being about beer & Harley Davidson's.

I was disappointed there wasn't a little more banter from the band. Other than JD, nobody said anything to the crowd. Yesterday, I was reading my INXS: Story to Story book & it shed a little light on that. Their image, by their first manager, was very much about mystery. They were supposed to seem a little private & inaccessible, yet completely musically compelling. I guess that has carried through to present day.

Now for the picture story. I forgot to charge the batteries before I left, so there wasn't much juice to take pics left. Chris grabbed the camera, because that is what he always does. He takes a picture of Scott Stapp, knowing full well there isn't enough juice to take more than a few pics. Gah! He gets one of the band when they are doing Suicide Blonde. The camera shuts off. I looked at them yesterday & the SS one is perfect...if you are in to SS. INXS? Blurry, blurry, blurry. Sigh.

Nap Time!

It's nap time, so get your nap mats ready.

Did you have "nap mats" in kindergarten? We did. My mom bought me a stupid rug. One of those nylon strip woven ones. I wanted an actual mat. *pout* My dad still has my nap mat in his messy workshop. I think I'm a little insulted by that.

Your Work Environment

Somebody had a license plate that said "GOUDA" this morning, so we're having gouda.

How do people at your workplaces get along? At most of my other jobs, it's been generally good. There's always been one or two people that nobody likes, but we could all get along & have fun. There wasn't a ton of talking about others behind their backs.

At my current job it is HORRIBLE. There are many groups:
Faculty (PhD level instructors and researchers),
Academic Staff (researchers like me and people like advisors, communications staff, etc)
Instructional Staff (MS level instructors for entry courses),
Classified staff (admin. support personnel),
Administration (Dean, Business office staff)

The Faculty & Instructional staff have a long standing status issue. The Instructional feel mistreated and unimportant. The faculty feel they do all the important stuff and don't have time to collaborate with other staff. Not to mention faculty members can be odd folks with few social skills anyway.

The Classified Staff feel extremely persectuted by everyone (and there is some basis for that). However, they generally do little to earn respect and decide to complain to everyone OTHER than the person they have issues with. They aren't problem solvers and don't think before they speek.

Administration has filled itself with defensive, rule spewing, recluses. Everyone hates them, they hate everyone. They aren't friendly in the hallways, but rather hide in their offices. And never ever ask how you are doing. But when you ask them? They'll moan & complain for hours about how their life is awful or how awful other employees are behaving. They LOVE to come out with policies that make themselves sound like the police. They have no sense of "how can we help you work within the rules?" Instead it's this attitude of "You're all idiots that don't know the rules & just wait til we catch you." And decisions are made behind closed doors with no venue for feedback.

I'm in the Academic Staff group that just hangs out. We are on the fringe & have little power. It's easy to get sucked in by both sides of arguments because we are so powerless that everyone wants to vent to us.

It's just horrible & is creating a complete lack of any social or professionally sound atmosphere.

Anywhoooo, INXS is tomorrow-YAY!

"I" Meme

I AM: average.

I WANT: more money.

I WISH: I had a flat stomach & abs.

I HATE: pickles.

I MISS: the occassional weekend alone.

I FEAR: my career future.

I HEAR: the ventilation system above my desk.

I WONDER: what I'll do when my boss retires.

I REGRET: not finishing my bachelor's sooner.

I AM NOT: motivated to do my work.

I DANCE: poorly.

I SING: only with the radio turned up loudly.

I CRY: when I'm really angry.

I AM NOT ALWAYS: eating cheese, contrary to what you might expect.

I MAKE WITH MY HANDS: some decent food.

I WRITE: better than what reflects on here.

I CONFUSE: my cats as they try to follow me around they house. My constant directional changes stress them.

Shoot me now.

I try to be good & this is what I get.

Remember how I was happy with my 11th row INXS tickets for this weekend?

I checked...there is now Row B available. 2nd Row! However, this would mean neck crooning and loudness. The loudness doesn't bother me, but Chris gets this static ear thing.

Besides, I'd then have to try & sell my other tickets. Not positive I could do that with the short time left.

*grumpy eyes*

2 things that bother me

Nice cheesy omeltes this morning. What would you like in your omelet? I'm having mushrooms, spinach, tomatoes, dill havarti & cheddar cheese. *burp*

Two completely unrelated things I hate:

The best pasta dishes are fattening. They are loaded with butter and/or olive oil.

I hate coworkers that pass the buck. The famous "it's not my job" line gets old real fast. I'm the person that ends up with a problem in my lap because everyone KNOWS I'll take care of it. This has always served me well in terms of work reputation & I'm sure has helped me advance in my jobs, however, it feels "doormatish" at times. And it keeps happening because I continue to allow it to. Yesterday I at least voiced my displeasure to everyone involved. That was a step.

Peep Meet

Caprino goat cheese today. Never had it, but it sounds delicious. Not much in the food & beverage category Italians do wrong.

I'm excited & sad at the same time about the peep meet in Niagara Falls. I thought (ok, hoped) we'd get a big turnout, but as time goes by numbers have dropped. I'm not at all angry about it, just sad that I won't get to meet as many as I'd thought. Understandable that the timing is bad for some, gas prices & flight prices are high right now, room rates aren't exactly cheap and the mood on OT has been tense lately.

I'm still very excited at meeting all that will be there. So far, I think it's us, the Le Pew's, Meemo, Seana, Maroonclown, Byoffer, Catt, Mysticwolf, and Frisky. Hmmm, maybe it's good that I get to keep this group all to myself! Muwhahahahahaha! *hops*

P.S. Did I mention I get to stop at Breezy's on the way? *double hop*

*Looks Down*

Yes, that article from Friday IS from a satrical newspaper. I shouldn't have assumed everyone knows about The Onion. They are completely satirical and cross the line weekly. I? Love it.

Now have some dill & garlic cheesecurds. *squeak*

I had a nice weekend. Friday night we went to my brother-in-laws for a Mother's Day gathering. MIL has to be back for church services Sunday morning, so we celebrated Friday & Saturday. Friday we drank far too much wine. Saturday we visited nurseries in the rain. I bought a few perennials & some annuals.

We also had a college graduation party on Saturday night. It was a really nice time. My boss opened up her home to the student for the party. The student wanted to have a party in Madison, but her apartment is small. My boss said "Invite people to my house." How nice is that?

Sunday I cleaned & did a few projects indoors. I hope the weather gets a little nicer this week.

Hope you enjoyed your weekend, especially the bloggy moms!

Pro-Deathers Unite!

Thank you to Chris and the Onion for this special post.

New 'Anti-Abortion Pill' Kills Mother, Leaves Fetus Alive
http://www.theonion.com/content/node/48199
May 10, 2006 Issue 42•19
NEW YORK—Pro-life advocates celebrated approval of the new anti-abortion drug UR-86 by the Food and Drug Administration Tuesday, calling it a "safe and effective method" for terminating pregnant women while leaving their unborn children unharmed.

A doctor explains to an expectant mother how her organs will slowly dissolve with the new pill.
Pfizer, manufacturer of UR-86—dubbed the "last-morning-ever pill"—said the drug is intended only for occasions when the mind-set or politics of the mother threaten the life of the fetus.
"This drug is designed for extreme cases in which the mother cannot or should not be saved, or when her health has been placed before that of her unborn child," Pfizer spokesman Anthony Wright said.
The orally ingested drug first tests for the presence of a fetus. If the outcome is positive, a near-lethal dose of barbiturates is released, which induces a coma in the expectant mother until the child is born, at which point a second, fatal dose is released.
The FDA's approval came after months of clinical trials firmly established that the fetus would be nourished and protected in the womb of the near-deceased UR-86 user.
Gender-equality advocates praised the introduction of the drug, calling it an "innovative solution" to the highly polarizing national abortion debate.
"This is a step forward for equality," men's rights activist Charles Hackett said. "For too long, women have had an unfair advantage in the outcome of a pregnancy. UR-86 levels the playing field for husbands and boyfriends across America."

....(more at above link...it's worth the read, really).

I like...

I like:

Camembert, so let's snack.

Violas. They've popped up hardily for the third year in my flower beds. Yay!

Rain. It means I don' t have to water the gardens.

Reader's Digest. Fluffy & a bit conservative, but I like reading it. Does that make me old?

Wine. I like shopping for it as much as drinking it. And we found mini-boxed wine! They are like individual serving sizes. We thought of you!

Hot chocolate. I don't drink it very much, but the cold weather inspired me to get some yesterday. mmmmm.

English Muffins. I often forget how good these are with a little bit of jam. Last weekend I even made eggs bennedict. I added some fresh chives to my hollandaise & it was delicious. Gawd it's fattening, though.

Reading in bed. I can focus quite well on the story. I get distracted if I sit elsewhere in the house.

Bonus Post! Music Meme

I'm wasting time & just read MCatt's blog. I want to play!

Instructions: Open a music player of your choosing. Say the following questions aloud and press "Shuffle". The first song that comes up is the answer to the question. Keep shuffling/refreshing for each question.

Well, I don't have a very big library, so I opened up iTunes & randomly clicked on iMixes.

1. How does the world see me?
There's a World by Goldrush
I think it just called me fat.

2. Will I have a happy life?
Devil with a blue dress on by Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels
I'll take that as a Yes.

3. What do my friends really think of me?
Pardise City by Guns N Roses (OOOOH, look! An "-N-" thing!)
And now it thinks I'm a whore. Or is it all of you that think I'm a whore? *evil glare*

4. Do people secretly lust after me?
That's the Way It Is by Celine Dion
I've learned to live with it, so must you.

5. How can I make myself happy?
Episode Prelude by Nandro Lauria
I think I'm happier ignoring this one.

6. What should I do with my life?
Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd
Pining after peep meets, in other words.

7. Will I ever have children?
Holiday by Green Day
Named Holiday? Does that mean it will be a boy?

8. What is some good advice for me?
Touch It by Busta Rhymes
Mine or yours?

9. How will I be remembered?
One Little Slip by Barenaked Ladies
Just one? I'll call that success!

10. What do I think my current theme song is?
On an Island by David Gilmore
I think I called myself spacey.

11What does everyone else think my current theme song is?
Stop by the Spice Girls
Really? Am I that annoying?

12. What song will play at my funeral?
4Ever by the Veronicas
I think this is where I'm sent into perpetual reincarnation because I never get it quite right.

13. What type of men/women do you like?
Feel Good Inc. by Gorillaz
Well, duh.

Glad Press-N-Seal

Let me take some Vermont Sharp Cheddar out for you. *slices & chats*

I bought Glad Press-N-Seal last night. We usually use the Food Saver for freezing meats, but we ran out of bags & the local store didn't carry them. Hence, I thought I'd try the Press N Seal. It was strange to work with. I think I'll like it better to cover dishes with than to package up meat.

I'm buying my MIL a Swiffer Sweep-N-Vac for part of her MD gift. I have one & love it. The house up north gets really disgusting on the linoleum crap. Pet hair, human hair & other yuck. There's only a crappy straw-type broom up there now. I think the Sweep N Vac will work nicely.

What other "-N-" things can we talk about?

Feline Acne

Kasseri cheese, flambe'd for your pleasure.

Ever heard of feline acne? I think my calico might have it. She has a few dark spots that have developed around her mouth, but the inside of the mouth looks fine. So I read up & relized it might be feline acne. It can be caused by plastic water dishes (which we use & don't clean as often as we should). Cats can't groom their chins well, thus it's a breeding ground for kitty cat acne.

Guess I need to call the vet.

I'm here!

Have some Jarlsberg and pity me. I somehow hurt my back/hip this weekend. Stayed home with vicodin yesterday. It is a little better today. I'm out of ibuprofen & acetominophen, though.

Let's recap my weekend:

Yardwork: Got some new veggies planted in the garden (cantaloupe, zuchinni and cucumbers) and started to landscape an area in back of the house with some woodsy perennials. Had to pull a billion crappy weeds first.

Cinco de Mayo: Went to dinner with friends at a restaurant I dislike. I still dislike it. Went to a "beer unveiling" party afterwards. We met a guy at a party a few months ago. He was new to the area & was trying to open a brewery in Spring Green. Had trouble with zoning, but wanted to get the brews out regardless. Chris hooked him up with our favorite Madison brewpub owners to brew the beer. It all worked out and now they have two beers kegged and goint in for bottles. So welcome Furthermore beer to the Wisconsin microbrew market. They'll be grassroots pimping it across the area.

Fishing Day 1: Well that didn't go so well. We are boatsitting a very nice fishing boat for a friend while he's in Iraq. I've never driven a boat. Last year I helped Chris launch the boat once. This time, I launched it much better. Although, he forgot to put the drain plug in & we had to take it back out. Sigh. Still launched it ok. Loading it back on the trailer didn't go so well. He left me in the boat to drive it onto the trailer (it was either that or back the trailer in. I don't do that well). But I'd never driven a boat & it's the kind where the steering "stick" is on the motor (there's a word for that, but it escapes me)...no steering wheel. I ended up coming in sideways & driving the boat over the trailer wheels in the water. Only slight, easily repairable damage to the trailer, boat was fine.

Fishing Day 2: We had never been on the Wisconsin River near us, so decided to explore it with the boat. Launched it just fine. Yay! Then, we had to maneuver through about 1.1-2.2' of water for a distance. That sucked. Then we had to maneuver around sandbars. At least we found SOME deep water eventually. On the way back it was worse. Going like 2 MPH in shallow water we hit something (likely a log or rock). Broke a chunk off the prop, but luckily it was the crappy prop (at least we planned ahead for that). This time we decided to manhandle the boat back on the trailer. We were wet, but no stress & damage.

Goat herding: The John Deere Lady was gone for the weekend. Her goat got out of the pen. I decided I should put it back in. I tried reasoning with the goat. It decided to shit & piss instead of listening to me. I decided to get behind the goat & shoo it back into the pen. It ran in circles around me. I decided to be brave & take it by the collar (it has horns & made me nervous. do they bite?). Finally got it shoved in after about a 20 minute ordeal.

Garage cleaning: How do garages get so dirty & unorganized?

Appetizers!

Boursault (it's a form of brie, you'll love it) with baguettes today! Mmmmmmmmmmmm. I think Bob is busy, so there should be plenty for everyone.

I love appetizers. I love standard bar food appetizers and fancy little "mini meal" appetizers.

What's your favorite?

Jalepeno poppers, cheese curds, artichoke dip, shrimp cocktail and bruschetta my favorite appetizers. I have a hard time paying for shrimp cocktail though, because, come on, I can have it at home for half the price without any effort other than hitting the store.

Top Chef

Pecorino is on the menu today. Try it, you just might like it. BTW, I gave the kitties your compliments from yesterday. :-)

I love Top Chef on Bravo. It's being renewed for another season. Hurrah! I much prefer this to any of the other cooking reality shows. For those that haven't watched, the premise is bringing quality aspiring chefs (ok, there were a few obvious duds) into a competition with two daily challenges:

Quick Fire: They have around 30 minutes to create something gourmet out of something, usually silly. For example: Create a gourmet dish out of gas station food items, create a carnival food inspired dish, etc.

&

The Challenge: They have usually a few days to create a meal for different guests. Examples: Cater a wedding of 100 guests (present your menu ideas to the couple & the couple chooses), serve dinner highlighting a rare wine & rare truffles to Napa Valley chefs, plan a dinner for food reviewers (but then producers switched up who was preparing which dish at the last minute to add a twist) and open a restaurant for a night...contestants choose the theme, set up and menu.

The hostess is awful, but the two standing judges are honest and seem to be having fun with the contestants. The contestants seem to be chosen carefully and the level of competition is great.

It's down to the final three now: Harold (mmmmm, Matthew Fox-ish, very skilled), Tiffani (bitchcy, but very creative dishes), and Dave (does gourmet casual well, emotional wreck).

Gooooooooooo Harold!

Cat Pics

I have nothing to say, so have some pepperjack & look at my kitties.
Loki (yawning), Ali (calico) & Bartleby (just being cute):

Holy Carp! I have lots to do!

Chevre and sesame crackers are being served on the pool deck. BYOB.

First, my inner thighs ache today from bull riding. It took a few days to set in.

Second, my excessive playing on the net yesterday left me with LOTS to do today. I need to make a list, so I'll do it on the blog:

-Deal with hotel room payment debate with a group we did a conference for in November
-Organize calling list for project
-Call 3 nursing homes to set up visits
-Review an IRB (human subjects research approval) application
-Start another IRB application
-Prep for a new grant application we found yesterday...due on June 6th

Ack! And I have to leave early today to go babysit the high maintenance nephews. Sorry if I'm not bloggy today!

Random Points

We haven't had meunster in awhile & it IS one of my favorite cheeses, so enjoy.

-We made donuts this weekend. They tasted good yesterday...not so much today. I will, however, have to perfect them further if they'll ever be fit to serve to family & friends. Frankly, I'm not convinced this is something my waistline needs me to work on perfecting.

-I rode a mechanical bull yesterday. It made me dizzy.

-My coworker still walks her 9 year old son into school and to his locker every morning. Is that weird? It struck me as weird. She's divorced and her older son (I think he's 20) is kind of a screwed up kid, so maybe she's just over-coddling this younger one.

-I just checked out all of Green Bay's picks in the draft & am quite pleased. There was a lot of good talent available this year. I think a lot of teams are happy. I think it would be exciting to work the draft in some capacity. Lots of tense excitement.

-I'm going to lunch today for a coworker's birthday. We are going to Panera. Totally forgot. I must have a salad given the horrendous diet of mine yesterday: donuts & coffee, chicken nachos, lots of beer (at least I drank Miller Lite instead of my normal full calorie microbrews), 1 glass of water, 1/2 c. of leftover corn chowder & a pork roast sandwich. Oh, I also had a handfull of grapes in the morning. At least there was some fruit involved.

-That recap of my food yesterday made me slightly nausious.

-We watched a few movies courtesty of free Starz weekend. We never go out to movies & rarely rent, so lots of new stuff for us! We watched National Treasure & Hitch. Both were very good. I'd seen Hitch before with my sister, but it was new for Chris. Chris also watched an oldie from childhood: Flight of the Navigator, which I'd never seen. I half-watched it while cleaning house.

-Last weekend we watched Jarhead. I liked it because it didn't try to be a bang-up war movie. Given the situation of our friends in Iraq right now, I think there is a good portion of soldiers that get all excited to go over & do what they've been trained for, but end up sitting around a lot & pulling patrol type jobs. Many of them feel it's a huge waste of their time away from their families & other jobs. Aside from the fact I don't think we should be there anymore, I guess I understand the need for patrol soldiers, it's just too bad they are bored & have to be away from their jobs & families for so long for such a boring, repetitive task. However, in our friends' units, lots of soldiers are working on their undergrad & graduate degrees online since the military will pay for it. It's a very constructive use of their time at least and getting your education paid for is a pretty darn good benefit of being in the military.

-ETA: Geg is going to INXS today...first row. She'd better save me some of their sweat.

Try to have a good Monday!