Auld Lang Syne

Just a quick note to wish all my readers, friends, and anybody who stops by here, whether you feel you're my friend or not, the happiest of new years. 2006 has been a year of some tremendous change, with some wonderful new friends who've come into my life, and others who've chosen to step out of it. I love you all and wish you well. May 2007 bring you the best of everything.

Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind?
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and auld lang syne?

For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we'll take a cup o' kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

I'll happily chose to remember, thanks. Unless I drink too much champagne...

Sage Advice

So I'm sitting here at Doyce's, snowbound, and in-between marathon CoH sessions and other stuff, my eyes keep drifting to that book I mentioned a couple of posts back, No One Cares What You Had For Lunch: 100 Ideas for Your Blog. And I thought -- well, I'll be here for another whole week, almost, and I have lots of writing to do, and that may as well includde blogging, right?

So I flipped open the book to page 6 (As Julie Andrews once sang, "Let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start.") and uncovered idea #5: Be a Sage. Basically, share some great advice you've received.

And so, in the spirit of New Year's resolutions AND travel tips, this brilliant piece of sage wisdom I received from Tom Cahill, author of How The Irish Saved Civilization, on planning a trip to Ireland (but it works just as well as a resolution!):

Be Sober For Part of Each Day.

What's the best/most memorable advice YOU ever received?

Snow!

The trees next to Doyce's freshly shoveled driveway. The drifts (and piles of shoveled snow) are about 5 feet tall.

Yeah, we're totally staying in.

Post-holiday wrap-up

The chaos is contained for another year, as all the presents have been unwrapped (even the ones Mom forgot to give us last year, merrily marked "2005") and the little munchkins all headed home last night with new stuffed animals and video games. Christmas dinner was a family affair, with Mom under the weather, my sisters and I and my sister's partner put together a yummy meal of filet mignon, au gratin potatoes, string beans, corn, crescent rolls (a family gathering staple), and macaroni and cheese. So yummy! Dessert was butterscoth pudding pie in a graham cracker crust, a yellow cake iced with a Christmas tree on top, and a collection of cookies. Weight Watchers be damned -- well, sort of. Only had one helping of dinner, and a tiny slice of both cake and pie, but having skipped lunch, I figured I was owed. Besides, my week (and my weekly points) resets on Mondays, so I had plenty of points to play with!

It's a quiet day at the family homestead today, as I try to fit all my presents into the lowest number of bags for the return trip home to the city this evening. Luckily, I found a wireless connection from a neighbor somewhere, so I may get onto CoH later when Mom takes another nap. I didn't get any other toys to play with, unless you count a skillet and a new set of flatware. But I am now totally prepped for a fantastic winter party! Just need to plan one...

Hope your day was merry and relaxing, and your holidays continue to be fun. I'm off tomorrow to Denver to enjoy some real winter weather! Ho ho ho!!

'Twas the night before Christmas!

And all the presents are wrapped,
The cookies are baked,
The table is ready (well, almost),

... and other stuff.

No midnight mass this year, since Mom's feeling poorly and is already in bed. I'm sniffly myself, and have been very careful not to sneeze on any of the cookies we made today. Of course, my fingers are all dried out and cracking from all my repeated washings of my hands, even though I keep trying to gloop on the hand lotion.

Still, 'tis the season! Tomorrow, I'll be distracted from wanting to open presents by having to make au gratin potatoes for dinner, and help with the rest of the meal. Still, I'm sure I'll get that pang first thing in the morning... and then have to WAIT until the whole family congregates for the big unwrapping. I just hope everyone likes their presents!

Anyway, heading early to bed with some cold medicine. And, though I may be in my 30s, I still figure the sooner to bed, the sooner Christmas will come! Huzzah!

Merry Christmas, everyone! And happy holidays to all!

Merry Christmas!!

Sniffling through a cold and all the assorted body aches and pains that come with it, but still planning on heading up to my mom's today for Christmas cheer. Happy Holidays to all!

Windows!

Via the cool folks at Shelterrific, this site with pics of all the cool NYC department store holiday windows! As always, I think my favorite windows are at Lord & Taylor's.

This is funny

So yesterday, I spent a good portion of my day adding subscriptions to all my favorite blogs to the swanky Google Reader, since my blogroll thingie has been acting persnickety. Now in one single page, I can see all the updated blogs, and can quickly scan them, rather than doing big ole long reads. Yes, I know, you've probably all been doing this for ages, but it's new to me.

Anywho, I found this, and it's funny. Enjoy!

Another one for the ladies

So the fantabulous Bloom and I just spent my lunch hour at Linda's Lingerie on Lexington (no website, thus, no linkage) getting fitted for new bras. I hadn't properly been fitted in ages, and what with recently having lost over 40 pounds (43 and counting!) I knew it was time to do something about it.

Linda's is a small store, with one girl behind the counter and the estimable Linda. We walked in and asked to be fitted, and momentarily were behind adjacent velvet curtained alcoves, tops off, measuring tapes around our busts. Linda gave us each a look-see, and returned with three bras. She helped me on with each, lifting and cupping and placing things where they ought to be, and like magic, each one fit perfectly. Perfectly.

I've struggled before in finding the right fit -- the size on the tags sometimes seems to have nothing to do with the actual fit of a bra -- but each one of these I put on was flattering and hoisted things into the proper position. With my top back on, I felt like I lost another 10 pounds, easily, the right bra actually holding the girls up, defining my torso and my waist so much better.

I spent way too much money of course, but on Linda's advice bought two nude bras and one black one (and some matching thongs). White bras, she told me, show under everything, and shouldn't be worn even under white shirts. She also advised giving bras a break between wears, so that you're not wearing the same bra two days in a row, and the fabric has time to readjust. Finally, they advised not inverting the cups one into the other when you store them, but either laying them flat in a drawer, or in a row.

I walked out feeling perky and yes, boobtastic, eager to go home and toss all my old, poorly fitting bras. Linda's other advice: buy a new bra every six months, so I'll be back in June!

I am LOVING

Reading Scott Smith's The Ruins. If anyone's looking for a great holiday read, I highly recommend it. Unless you're heading down Mexico way, and have a penchant for wandering off into the jungle. And even then, actually, may I suggest "The Ruins" as a cautionary tale?

I'm halfway through, and wishing I could just sit at my desk for the rest of the day and finish it. Instead, I have to get through all the queries and partials and manuscripts I've recently received, and get all my responses to them out by the end of the week. The holiday break will be purely for leisure reading. No manuscripts allowed!

The Lost Room

Writers Group was cancelled last night, so I was able to go directly home from work, with only a brief stop at the grocery store for some necessities, and after putting the apartment back together after tropical storm Kaylee, I watched the conclusion to SciFi's miniseries "The Lost Room," which aired last week.

I think they did some really interesting things -- the idea of a series of objects with magical properties randomly appearing or being passed around the country is similar to our idea for the third Storyball (still unfinished), and Peter Krause played a father searching for his daughter very well, his determination to use any means necessary to get her back from the titular room very believable. The filmmakers set up a lot of backstory, and more cabals and consortitums working together and against each other than I was easily able to keep track of, but I was ultimately unsatisfied.

Yes, of course he gets his daughter back (Spoiler, but do you really think a Fanning will die? Not a chance). But do we actually learn what happened? What event in the room created the objects, including the Prime Object (still being somewhat spoiler-free for those who want to see it)? No, we don't. We're left with almost more questions than we had at the beginning, and unlike the cliffhanger ending of last week's BSG, I don't know when, if ever, we'll learn more.

Maybe that's the point. The reason Krause's Joe Miller was able to use the objects so well, to find the Prime Object, wasn't because he had some grand theory he wanted to test, some reality-bending experiment he wanted to prove, but because he had a simple, straightforward will: find his daughter, bring her back. The Legion, the Cabal, the other Object holders -- they all wanted much more. (Except for the guy with the bus ticket. He was pretty simple, and I liked him.)

Anyway, I'm sure SciFi will be rerunning it over the holidays if you missed it. And if you saw it, I look forward to hearing what you think! Here's Entertainment Weekly's review, which, looking over again after seeing the miniseries, I almost entirely agree with. You?

Chrismukkah!

Yule Rules -- a meme, via ***Dave

Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Hot chocolate, definitely. I had a white hot chocolate last year that I want to try and track down again, and there's been some delicious spiked beverages involving minty goodness and whipped cream, but I've never been a nog girl.

Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Every one is wrapped, and though in past years I've made my own paper from pages carefully ripped from Bergdorf's catalogues, this year I'm taking advantage of a sale at Ikea, and six rolls of wrapping paper for $2.99! Also -- there must be ribbons.

Colored lights or white on tree/house? I prefer white, which is what's on my tree now, but as long as it's festive (but not too much), it's all good.

Do you hang mistletoe? No, but I take advantage of it when I see it.

When do you put your decorations up? The week or so before Christmas. All of my holiday things are in one box, so usually once I get the tree, everything goes up and out at the same time.

What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? Well, I have a really pretty round platter from Crate and Barrel with a tree on it... oh, you mean actual food, not china? Hard to say. In my family, though, the best Christmas meal is also the best Thanksgiving meal, so that would be turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, corn, and crescent rolls.

When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? What truth?

Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Not by tradition, no, although between gift exchanges with friends and co-workers, there's usually enough to open before the actual day that I can wait until Christmas for the family gifts.

How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? With ornaments I've picked up on travels, or been given, mostly as Christmas gifts. I actually try NOT to buy boxes of balls or such like that. I like the individual ornaments, and being able to say I picked those up in England, or those in Prague, or that in Sedona, Arizona.

Snow, love it or dread it? Love it falling, love it in the country, love it on weekends... less so when it gets piled up on NYC streetcorners, turns to mush, and becomes deceptive looking icy puddles in the gutters.

Do you know how to ice skate? Yes! I even have a medal from a college competition. UDelaware has a great ice skating program, and I took advantage of it with a lot of electives.

Do you remember your favorite gift? There's been a lot of great ones through the years, but I think the best and my all-time favorite is my teddy bear, Logan, which my Aunt Midge gave me when I was about 5. Logan still sits on my bed, and recently made the acquaintence of a new little friend.

What's the most important thing about the holidays for you? Family, friends, and presents! Also, time off from work.

What is your favorite holiday dessert? We usually make about a dozen different kinds of cookies, and give them out to friends, or have them as our main dessert, so it's that, I guess. I'm not much for pie, unless it's chocolate or butterscotch pudding in a graham cracker crust, with whipped cream from a can! Tacky, but so delicious!

What is your favorite holiday tradition? All of it. I like baking cookies with my sisters, going to midnight mass with my mom, waiting for everyone to be together (or wake up) to open presents, sitting around the dinner table, trading gifts with friends, decorating the tree... All of it.

What tops your tree? A paper snowflake I cut myself.

Which do you prefer giving or receiving? It's a pretty solid tie. I LOVE getting presents, but I get a huge amount of satisfaction in giving someone else something I thought they'd like.

Favorite Christmas Song? Santa Claus is Comin' to Town by Bruce Springsteen. But I love them all. I have about 90 on my iPod right now.

Favorite flavor of Candy Canes? They come in flavors?

I am BUSTIN' out!

With holiday cheer, that is!

Got some Christmas tunes on my iPod, a gorgeous tree in my living room bestrewn with lights (no ornaments yet, since I had a minor light kerfluffle that took more time than I'd planned), presents wrapped and beribboned on my coffee table, all my cards out, and happy CoH-themed holiday goodies on at least one toon, with more to come. Doyce and Kaylee arrive this afternoon, and we have plans to check out the Fifth Avenue holiday window displays, go see the big tree in Rockefeller Center, the snowflake at 57th and 5th, and FAO Schwartz, as well as visiting friends and family. All good stuff!

As the song says, "It's the most wonderful time of the year." Also...

They've got jellybeans and coconut with little hats
Candy rats, chocolate bats, it's a wonderland of sweets

No, wait. That may be a different song.

Go Hiro!

So, the Golden Globes were announced this morning, and adorable Hiro Nakamura from Heroes got himself a nomination. Yay for Masi Oka! Heroes also got a nom for best TV drama, while I was amused to see the Best Actor in a TV comedy series almost completely dominated by NBC's Thursday night lineup.

TV-wise, I'm a little disappointed not to see some love for Battlestar Galactica, but I'll live. (Also, I'm seeing that they got some noms for the WGAs, so that's something, I guess.) As for the movies, I'm seeing a long list of nominated movies I have yet to see. I should probably sign up for Netflix, now that I don't have a video store conveniently located on my corner, huh?

So pretty!

So, the girls and I had a great night out last evening, drooling over the scrumptious Daniel Craig in the new Bond movie. And MJ was appropriately eagle-eyed, and picked out Virgin CEO Richard Branson in a crowd scene. Me? My eyes were on Bond. Heh.

Still, a great action movie, and decidedly better than any other recent Bond flick, with their ridiculous villians and plot. This had a slew of poker-themed blinds and double-blinds, high stakes and higher stakes, as well as some great lines/hands. (Sorry, I tried to take that metaphor as far as I could take it.)

In other news, Blogger has undergone some exciting changes, and I now have the opportunity to add labels to my posts. Like categories, only labelier. Help me come up with some! What sort of themes do I often talk about? Or should I make it a thing that every post has a different, distinct label? How much do I want to use something like "Nonspecific blathering"?

New digs!

It's been a mad, crazy couple of days, but I've finally had the time to sit down and recap the latest and greatest adventures of your very own ktbuffy.

First of all, of course, is the big news. I moved! I never thought it would happen, but I've left the cramped confines of Manhattan for the roomier districts of Astoria, Queens. The roomie and I are mostly settled, in that all the big boxes are unpacked, the cable, DVR, and internet are set up, and I've placed all my shoes in the drool-worthy built-in shoe rack in my spacious new closet. Still have a few boxes of books to unpack, as well as little knicknacks and pictures frames to arrange, and we have to decide where several shelves and posters are being hung, but that's aesthetics, and more fun to do than unwrapping kitchen plates. Still, it needs to be finished by this weekend, since I have to decorate for Christmas, and for a cute, tiny little houseguest.

No, not Chester.

So that was Friday and most of Saturday. We also went back to our old apartment on Saturday afternoon to give it a last sweeping, toss out the old couch, and spackle up a few holes, as well as turning in the keys to our old super (or to his doormat, as the case may be). Now the fun of trying to get our security deposit back!

Saturday night, the roomie and I wandered over to a holiday party some friends were having at their swank apartment nearby, now only a mere 25 minute walk away. They served an artichoke cheese dip in a bread bowl that was orgasmic. Seriously. I MUST get the recipe. Spent some time hanging with friends new and old, enjoyed a few Maltesers until I made MMJ move the bucket away from hands-reach, and went to bed early.

Sunday was Wedding Day! No, not for ME. A very good friend married the love of his life in a beautiful ceremony with friends all around, as well as a great band. After much food and champagne and wedding cake was enjoyed, I headed into the city for the afterparty, and got to spend more time with the relaxed, happy bride and groom, and friends that I just didn't get enough time to talk with at the reception.

Finally, finally, I made it home again, watched Friday's "Battlestar Galactica," and slipped in between my new Ikea sheets and off to sleep.

Sometime soon I hope to catch up on everything I let myself fall behind on in the past few days, but for now, I'm happy just to be blogging again.

Shoes!

I wasn't kidding about the boxes

Really.

Great music, Great Cause, Great Scene

From Studio 60 on Monday. In the spirit of the season, if you feel like contributing to the cause, click here.

More updates soon. I'm drowning under a sea of boxes.

Something to think of...

While packing boxes and boxes and boxes of books.

"Books are the carriers of tradition and the seeds of change; a source of solitary enjoyment and communal celebration; beautiful physical objects and abstract spaces for language and thought; work and pleasure; desirable and burdensome; always doomed and always thriving; cheap thrills and pricey enlightenment; worth talking about, worth fighting for, worth loving, worth sharing, worth making a life about."--Jessica Stockton, events coordinator at McNally Robinson Booksellers, New York City, in a Forbes special report on books.

Via Shelf Awareness.

It'll be an adventure!

My trip with MMJ to Ikea today was just like this.



Except without the candy bats and chocolate rats.