Rob's Halfway House - #10

[Susie]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TONISE!! It sounds like you have fun plans for your special day. Check your snail mail next week, OK? Maybe Tuesday.....

Last night was so fun! Except that Maureen couldn't make it at the last minute because her husband's grandma was on her deathbed and they had to travel to say goodbye to her. So sad. This was my 7th viewing and I actually noticed something new: When Jacob first sees Bella on the couch preggers, she is covered in the T-Shirt quilt her mom made for her in Eclipse. I don't know why I didn't notice that before. Of course you all did, right? Rob was delish as usual, and I SO want the Interactive Version of the movie, don't you??????

Marielle - What a scare you had driving last night! Yikes! Are you and bf going on a ski trip? I may have missed something.

Songbird Susan - Oh my goodness! Your concert sounds like there were so many pratfalls that it was comical. Almost like a anxiety nightmare!! Can you laugh about it yet? I'll bet the director feels really bad. Regarding grumpy husbands - yes it is the weather.

Sean - I'm so happy your meeting went well!! Fingers crossed for you!

Jaclyn - Your friends are very lucky to have YOU as their friend!!

Lynne - That cake sounds delicious!! Any Twilight related gifts???

Tracy - Shorts to school? Well, it's definitely not that warm here, even though it is record breaking warm. Kids can't wear shorts here until May. Nettie Pot - I tried it when I had severe sinus congestion from a cold. I would never use it for regular "preventative" maintenance, since it's not that fun.


Daughter Dear is halfway home - stuck in Atlanta, so I advised her to go through Memphis. She won't get home until 9pm. Still, you can't complain about the price. I'm so glad she's back in the U.S. at least.

Gotta go give Sonny Boy a ride somewhere because I'm being a nice mom.

Have a Great Weekend, Everyone!

[Tornado]

I've been racing around like mad this morning, making sure I've got everything ready for our trip to Ipswich today. After the guys have done their painting we're all having a barbecue lunch at the park. I decided to cater for it all myself as it was a bit late to ask anyone else to help. So I'm checking and double checking that I've got everything!

Tonise - happy birthday! Sounds like you had a great time lined up. I hope it was heaps of fun!

marielle - I'm glad you missed that pedestrian, and I'm sure she is, too! Driving on icy roads would be insanely scary.

Songbird - hm, your performance does sound eventful! At least you had fun with it. There are days when things like that just happen, don't they? I hope hubby calms down. Maybe he's got PMS. Hang on, that wouldn't be a good thing, would it?

Susie - no Twilight related gifts this time, although I did get The Matrix trilogy on blu ray, and some jewelry. So I did pretty well!

[VolturiGirl]

Just a fly by. Hubs picked up our new travel trailer Thursday night so we are camping this weekend. Took my two boys to a birthday today. I will jump on the lex sometime this weekend.


Happy birthday Tonsie!'

[ Post made via Mobile Device ]

[♥midnight_sun♥]

Just a few quick replies from me for today...

Susan~Yep! I took the GED on Thursday. I think I did really well on it, but I won't know until the first week of March, which is when they mail out the scores. Next Saturday is the ACT. I'm not a big fan of the ACT either. I wanted to take the SAT, but was told that since I'm not applying to any Ivy League schools (Harvard, Yale, ect.) that I needed to take the ACT instead. I'm actually really good with English, Writing, and Math, but I'm more worried about the science and social studies/history portions because the maps tend to be a bit too small to read, and there are so many maps and graphs in those two sections, and I really need to get a minimum of a 23 (the average is a 20-21 and the highest score possible is a 36) on it to be able to easily apply to all the colleges on my list. Although just between you and me I may look up SAT testing dates and possibly take it as well if I don't feel too confident about how well I did on it after next weekend.

Tracy~They went well. I got done with all of the portions at least 40 minutes early every time so I had a lot of time just staring at the wall, but I did also get to go to lunch an hour earlier because of that, and I also got out over an hour earlier too, so it wasn't too bad. They score the exams the third weekend of the month, so I'm guessing I'll have them back either the last couple days of the month, or the first part of March. I've got a list of schools I want to apply to, but unless I can find an art class through the local community college to take this summer, I'm going to have to make a second list of schools to apply to since I'll have to start out in a basic interior design program (BID) and then transfer after the first semester to either a BA or BFA program. And eeing as there are very, very little schools with interior design programs in the first place, the about of schools that have both the BID and either the BFA or BA programs comes out to one school, it's a bit tricky and a lot longer of a process for me than it is for most students who only have to create one list. Although, if I can get a score on the ACT of 23 or more, and get my application in during the early application process, I'll have almost a 100% chance of getting into NYSID, which is the one school that has both programs as it's a school that only has interior design programs (from the BID all the way up to masters). It's been a huge migraine even though I've been gathering information since about 6th grade (2005-2006) but information is always changing. I'll just be happy when all I have to do is wait for yes or no letters to start coming in!

Tonise~ Happy Birthday!!!!

And now I'm off to try and do a marathon reading session since my library books are due Monday, and I haven't even started any of them, and then more college info gathering! I can already feel the headache coming on...

[velvet409]

Happy Saturday everyone!

Tracy~ Remember Me really is an amazing and moving movie and it is definitely a shame that so much controversy surrounded it. I've never had a movie get an emotional reaction out of me that that one did. I have been alternating between that score and the WfE score at work this week. Both are so beautiful. These books aren't my usual either but I enjoyed reading WfE and Bel Ami, so I'll definitely give Cosmopolis a try too. You guessed right about SydneyAlice's Songbird. I'm actually re-reading it right now. She has become my all-time favorite fanfic author and I love so many of her stories. She's actually in the process of writing her own original fiction novel right now. I'm sure it'll be awesome and I hope I get the chance to read it.

Lynne~ Sorry to hear about the termite issues you're having. One of my coworkers had an infestation around her chimney and she and her husband got into a fight with the pest control company they had hired years before to protect their house because apparently they didn't treat that area. Happy Early Birthday to you! I'm glad you enjoyed your family get-together. That cake sounds yummy!

Brenda~ Glad that things came through for your new work contract. I'll keep my fingers crossed for Chicago for you too. I'd love to see you again! You're welcome for the pics, although Caryn should get credit because it's thanks to her well-stocked photobucket account I was able to post them.

Songbird~ That's really something that your friend gets to have her baby after thinking that she'd miscarried. I'm sorry you have to wait so long for the BD DVD. Like Susie mentioned, the US was about the last country to get the WfE DVD, and I was so frustrated about the wait (still confused about why that happened too). Your concert certainly sounds like a comedy of errors, but I'm glad you still had a good time.

Susie~ I guess I should've mentioned that content-wise there's no difference (I don't think) in the BD DVD between the retailers. It's just the packaging and little extras that come with the movie, like Wal-mart's comes with a wedding poster while Target's includes a flower prop used during the filming of the wedding. I'm just debating which special "gift" I would prefer.

Caryn~ Thanks for sharing those pics of you. Looks like you had a lot of fun!

Marielle~ In Florida we almost never get snow, but we've had some heavy fog and smoke from brushfires that's wreaked havoc on the roads in the last week. We had one massive crash on the highway last weekend that killed 11 people and injured many others.

Tonise~ Happy Birthday!! Hope you had a blast today.

[Tornado]

Christina - we haven't got termites. It's just that the man who comes and checks once a year has just told us that we need to do a few things around the house if we want to ensure that we can claim their guarantee should we discover that we do have termites in the house.

[older_twilight_fan]

Hello everyone~

Here's a little blast from the past....and hope for the future as we keep fingers crossed for another bountiful and beautiful Rob appearance at the 2012 Academy Awards.... How many women spontaneously conceived after being on the receiving end of this particular impregnation stare

Christina~ I agree wholeheartedly about Remember Me being an amazing movie and having a huge emotional, gut-wrenching impact. I cried quite a bit when I saw the movie for the first time in theaters with a close friend. But I completely broke down when I finally got around to watching the DVD in the privacy and quiet of my own home last summer--it wasn't a pretty sight. I too love my WFE soundtrack and often play it in the car, but I hadn't thought about purchasing the Remember Me soundtrack until you mentioned having it. I'll have to check that one out on iTunes. I also loved Sydney Alice's "Pros and Cons" and "Forget Me Not", and she writes some amazing one-shots, as well. That's great news that she's writing original fiction and I wish her all the best....I'd certainly consider purchasing her book if it became available to the general public.

Sean~ I'm glad to hear you had a good meeting with the job placement group. That must be gratifying to know the reason they hadn't contacted you was because of losing your contact information, instead of apathy on their part. We'll send positive vibes your way for some good news and renewed interest in the job search.

Ashley~ I'm glad to hear you feel good about your performance on the GED exam, and hopefully you won't have to wait too long to receive your results. It sounds like you probably aced it. Good for you for knowing what you want to do and being so organized and single-minded in your pursuit of your future career. Good luck with the rest of the oftentimes confusing and tedious college application process.

Amy~ Hope you and the family had good weather and a fun time camping this weekend. We'll see you soon.

Lynne~ How was the trip to Ipswich, and is the painting finally complete? I'm sure everyone appreciated you organzing and supplying the barbecue lunch afterwards. The chocolate birthday cake does sound delicious, but then I'm a biased chocoholic, of course.

Susie~ I'm so glad you enjoyed your BD viewing redux, but so sorry for your friend's imminent loss. I love that they carried over Bella's quilt into that Breaking Dawn scene. I imagine it would be a source of comfort for Bella and a means for her to feel Renee's presence when there was no logical way Renee could be with Bella, otherwise. I thought Renee's quilt was a wonderful non-canon addition to the Eclipse movie, and guess we grudgingly have Melissa Rosenberg to thank for that. The scene in Eclipse when Renee presented it to Bella makes me tear up every time. I hope Daughter Dear made it home safely tonight and that she had a wonderful trip to Mexico. When will she return to campus and resume her classes?

Missp~ It sounds like you had some wonderful plans for your birthday and we hope you had a great day. The feeling is mutual hon....we're blessed to have you in our lives.

Songbird~ I'm glad you're feeling a bit better and hope Susie's gargling advice helped do the trick for warding off the full-fledged cold. I love that your choir sings such a wide variety of song--that must be fun. The story of your choir performance at the party was pretty funny.....you guys certainly persevered in spite of so many little things going wrong. I'm glad it all worked out in the end and that you had an enjoyable time. I think husbands can get a bit snappy and/or grumpy without even realizing it, when they're stressed about work or other things. That's nice that your husband realized the error of his ways and apologized. My hubs is pretty stressed about work right now as things are very busy and he's worked late all week, and much of the weekend. He's a C.P.A. at a large local hospital and this is their first month "closing the books" after a completely brand new computer system was installed at the first of the year. Their hospital is the "beta" and having to test everything for all the other hospitals in their system (company). I really don't know what any of that means , except that things are very chaotic and hectic for all of them just now. Anyway....he's being a real trooper, as I know he's exhausted and has hated being away from the house so much when my daughter and I are/will be celebrating b'days. I'm trying to be a patient and understanding wife, and giving him the benefit of the doubt.

Marielle~ I'm glad to hear you made it home safely while driving in the snow, and I'm sure that particular pedestrian is too. It sounds like you had a successful shopping trip with your bf. He's quite the trooper to go shopping for clothes with you. Does he wait patiently for you and give you wardrobe advice and/or suggestions about potential purchases, is is he tapping his foot and rolling his eyes as my husband probably would, if he accompanied me shopping for clothes? Hope you have some warmer weather headed your way soon.

[Tornado]

Tracy - They did get the house finished, yes. Hooray! I was on child-minding duties today, so I stayed at the park and helped look after the kids, and mind our picnic tables until the others came back from the painting. His whole house (inside, anyway) is done now.

[marielle]

Good morning everybody!!!

Happy Sunday! Do you all have plans for today???
My bf and I are going to look for a new sofa. We have a really big one, but it isn’t really good for my back and it takes up much space that could have been used better… so it’s time for something new…

Now time for posts…

Jaclyn, did you got snowed in yesterday? I saw on the BBC that England had a lot of snow, did it snow up north as well?

Songbird, the band you meant is Within Temptation…
Hihi, I bet you thought of us Dutch weird with our snow obsession. I remember not having snow for years in Holland, about 5 years ago we got my first real big snow fall, that means that in the 24 years before that we hadn’t had much snow. Now for the last 5 years we have a lot of snow. But you are right it’s completely ridiculous that with just an inch of snow the whole country falls apart. The whole public transport doesn’t work and a lot of people don’t know how to drive in snow. At you side of the country it isn’t as bad as here, here you have a lot of immigrants who have never seen snow and they try to drive with out proper wheels or cars on it and causes a lot of accidents…

Tonise, it sounds like you had a lot of fun on your bday…

Susie, no, I’m not going on a skiing trip … Though I would love to do that some day. My bf is invited by the parents of a good friend to join their family on their annual skiing trip. They had a room free and because that friend is the only one without a girlfriend or family of his own they said he could invite somebody along.

Lynne, yes, it’s really nerve wracking to drive on snowy roads but to be honest if you go slowly and pay good attention and be considerate to others you’ll be safe. I followed a truck driver, he created a good track and they usually know what speed to drive in snow. They are much more experienced.

Christina, fog is more terrible to drive in than snow I think… at least in snow you see the one driving in front of you. A short while ago there are a big collision caused by mist where my parents lives. There was a crash of 89 cars and trucks. The biggest we had in the snow this week was a crash with 15 cars…

Tracy, my bf would make Alice so happy, he actually enjoys shopping. We usually go to stores where they have a men’s department as well so he can browse for himself but if it’s all women than he helps me… yesterday we actually went for him, he needed new skiing clothes and he wanted new trousers as well, like the ones Howard in the Big Bang theory wears, with the bright colors, he bought a blue one. Would you believe he even helps me in a lingerie store… he has strong opinions about clothes and isn’t afraid to let me hear them…

I’ll see you all later today, there is a lot of soccer this afternoon so I’ll have a lot of laptop time…

[Songbird]

Tonise, sounds like a great way to celebrate! If you fell asleep at the computer the other night, you must have needed your sleep! Sounds like you need a weekend to crash!

Susie, I’m glad you had fun, but so sorry your other friend couldn’t make it. And for such an awful situation…I hope she’s ok. Did her grandma already pass? I didn’t notice the quilt!!! How did I miss that? I loved that! The performance…I could already laugh about it while it was happening. Since it was not a huge public performance but for a birthday for one of our members, there’s not as much pressure. It was more just for fun…so not a big deal that it didn’t go as planned. And really…what can you do? We were worried about the director, but we got an email yesterday explaining what happened but that she was ok and made it home safely. As for husbands, I hope mine is on his best behavior today. I don’t think he understands how demeaning it sounds when he’s in one of those moods and snapping at everything. (tiny things like how I pick up a muffin wrapper) And because he’s wonderful 95% of the time, it really highlights it when he’s being a grumpus so it makes it seem worse. But today is a new day! Did Daughter dear make it all the way home now? I had to laugh at your description of the Nettie Pot being Not fun…because you gargle salt water every day….is THAT fun? LOL

Lynne, how did the lunch go? That’s always so stressful when you are doing it yourself!
Funny you should mention PMS…that’s exactly what my husband said when he apologized. That he was just having one of those days and it was like PMS. Can you wait until you are more stable financially to do the termite stuff? Or would you have to wait until the annual check next year to up the protection?

Amy, have fun camping!

Ashley, that’s great that you felt you did well on the GED. What is it like? I’ve never had to take it, but I’m told it’s harder than you think. How many sections are there to the ACT now? When I took it, there were only 4. English, Science, Math, and Reading comprehension. I took it twice…once in my junior year and once in my senior year. I got 24 both times, which I wasn’t particularly happy with. The first time, I got 27 English, 25 Math, 22 science, and 20 Reading. The 2nd time I got 29 English, 25 Math, 20 Science, and 24 reading. (I think….it’s been a while). When I took it, the average was 17 (bad year, I guess) so my score was considered good, but I wasn’t happy with it. I was wanting to get at least 25. And I didn’t take the SAT because I wasn’t applying to schools that required that. I’m sure you’ll do fine. Good luck!!

Christina, yeah, I don’t know why it differs so much with release dates…like…we get The Hunger Games in the theater 2 days before you I guess…but then some other things like…Bridesmaids, we had to wait a month for. I don’t understand it.

Tracy, it was a comedy of errors, and we certainly did persevere. Wijnand won’t forget his 50th birthday party any time soon! Stress does funny things to people, doesn’t it? My husband is really busy at work, too, and he has to take Wednesday off to be home when I have my surgery. So he’s probably pretty stressed. Hope your husband is less stressed soon and you are able to stay patient!

Marielle, yes! Within Temptation…I couldn’t remember. I’m TERRIBLE about band names/artist names/actor names. My husband laughs at me if I actually recognize an actor…the worst is all the Italian ones…Robert Deniro, Al Pacino, Danny Devito, Joe Pesci…I know all the names, but I can’t pick out which name goes with which person. And I’m pretty famous for saying “You know…that guy...he sings that one song…” Yeah, I agree…a lot of people don’t know how to drive in snow. I think it’s worse in the bigger cities, like Amsterdam, Den Haag, Arnhem…etc. But even here…last year we actually did get a lot of snow…about what we get in a mild winter back home, but for here it was TONS. And it made me feel like back home. It was the first “White Christmas” since I moved here 9 years ago. I LOVED it. But I remember it took my husband over half an hour to get to work to pick me up one night and it’s usually only 10 -15 minutes. But it was snowing and everyone was bumper to bumper and driving at a snail’s pace. Back home it gets really bad on the roads…snow drifts in the roads and covers the median line, so you can’t see the lanes. My mom taught me to follow the delineator posts on the side rather than look for the median, so I did that, and one time a semi came up over a hill driving right down the center and I ended up in a ditch because it was hit the semi or hit the ditch. SCARY. But if you don’t grow up with the snow on the roads and you don’t know those things, it can be very dangerous. I was fortunate that I was driving at a time when there was no shift change at the coal mines, so the highway was deserted…had there been any traffic, it might not have had such a happy outcome. Here, I can’t drive anyway, so I don’t have to worry about it.

Heading to the out-laws for the afternoon. Have a great day everyone!