A Movie Weekend

Update: Removed link for site I no longer maintain.

I feel a little guilty for skipping the last three days of blogging. I made a commitment to blog daily in March, and I already broke it. I feel bad for that, but the trouble is that I wouldn’t want to change a thing. I had a wonderful weekend with my husband that I wouldn’t trade for the world. I hope you can forgive me :)

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You see, my husband surprised me (yay!) on Friday by coming home early from work so we could catch a matinee showing of Watchmen. Both of us had been looking forward to this movie. We’re fans of the superhero genre. Plus with Zack Snyder as director (we loved 300, 5 out of 5 stars), we figured that would make it all the more interesting. Well for the most part we were entertained, and I give it a solid 3 out of 5 stars (my rating system is explained briefly on the sidebar of my Books and Movies List).

Afterwards it was a nice, casual sushi dinner with decent live music at the Crossroads Mall food court. This place has a wonderful energy of community that’s hard to explain and which I’ve not found in another mall so far but was probably the original intent for the mall concept. I’ll have to tell you more about it some other time.

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Anyway, Saturday was another movie day. After a very late lunch, we finally got around to seeing He's Just Not That Into You. It was a cute movie that we both enjoyed. The characters were likable (though we only get to know them on a somewhat superficial level) with moments that had us either laughing or tearing up (just me on that one) a bit. It’s another 3 out of 5 stars with sugar on top. On a side note, I’m very grateful to my mom for never telling me that a boy did or said something mean to me because he liked me (that’s the basis in the movie for women’s dating predicaments).

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Finally, Sunday came and we decided to do a Deadwood marathon. As I mentioned in a previous post, we don’t have cable so we hadn’t seen this show yet though we heard so much about it from a friend. Well we’re about halfway through the series, and really liking it so far. (Thanks, Ken!)

Yeah, so you can see that we were on some movie kick this weekend and had a good time. Have you seen any good movies lately?

Hope and Fear

I was supposed to do a creative writing post today, but I just don’t seem to have it in me. So I’m doing a photo association instead.

When I see this photo, it seems to evoke a strange combination of hope and fear. Interestingly, it’s for the same association—the light at the end of the tunnel.

Hope because that light can signify the end of troubles, heavenly rewards, good times ahead…you get the idea.

Fear because it is the unknown. The light is vague and doesn’t make clear what’s on the other side. Certain sayings come to mind:

• Out of the pot and into the fire.
• Look before you leap.

Now that I think about it, some people would view success in the same way (though most probably don’t know it). They want it, work towards it, do almost anything for it. However when they get close, they fear it and sabotage their efforts. There are even books to deal with it, for example:

• From Sabotage to Success: How to Overcome Self-Defeating Behavior and Reach Your True Potential by Sheri O. Zampelli
• Get Out of Your Own Way: Overcoming Self-Defeating Behavior by Mark Goulston, M.D. and Philip Goldberg

While writing this post, I started wondering if my fear is the fear of success or the fear of failure. According to this article, mine is more the fear of failure.

Regardless, if I don’t manage this fear, this fear will manage me. Ironically, either fear will bring the same result.

What does this photo evoke in you?

Photo source: by extranoise on Flickr

Plinky – A New Service to Inspire Your Blogging

Need help sparking that imagination of yours and getting those blogging juices flowing? I know I can use all the help I can get.

Well, last week I shared a list of things I’ve done to give my journal writing and this blog new momentum. Today I found and added a new service to that repertoire called Plinky. I hope to use it as another source of inspiration. They describe their service as such:

Plinky makes it easy for you to create inspired content. Every day we provide a prompt (i.e. a question or challenge) and you answer. We make it simple to add rich media and share your answers on Facebook, Twitter and blogs.

You can see the list of Plinky prompts already given. Looks like they just launched in late January 2009, so it’s still in its early stages and bound to have technical hiccups. Regardless, I'm signed up and willing to give it a go. Since Saturday is “anything goes” on my blogging schedule, that’s the most likely day when you’ll see a post from me through Plinky.

What do you think? Will I be seeing you there?

Photo source: "fireworks" by johnthescone on Flickr

Reducing my Pets’ Shedding

Today’s tip is a recommendation for the FURminator (Amazon link). It’s the best tool that I have in my dogs’ grooming kit. I have tried other brushes/tools for dealing with shedding, and this is the best so far. If you have cats, there’s a version of this tool for them too.

I have two sweet dogs, Pooh Bear and Lana. They certainly help keep life interesting. We got them both as rescues, and it’s always a wonder to me that anyone would give them up.

But let’s face it—dogs shed hair (some worse than others). If you don’t help them in some way with their shedding, they’ll shed all over you, your guests, and all over your house, car, clothes, etc. Ugh!

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Well, for me the FURminator deShedding Tool (Amazon link) is the way to cut down on shedding. When I first got mine about two years ago, I was shocked at how much hair came off with this tool in one sitting. It was also nice NOT having to stop every few swipes just to clear hair from the tool (like I’ve had to do with two different tools in the past). If you want to see it in action, the link has a video. BTW, I saw that same video at the pet store and thought they might be stretching the truth a little…nope!

It is pricey (I paid around $60 at the pet store for the large size), but if you shop around you shouldn’t have to pay so much. That’s what I get for impulse buying. Of course it will also be cheaper if you get a smaller size. There’s also a 30-day money-back guarantee from the manufacturer if for some reason it doesn’t seem to work out for your situation. All in all, even having paid the full price myself, it was worth it.

Have you tried this tool yourself? What other ways do you deal with shedding?

Photo Source: "Pooh Bear" and "Lana" by me :)

Giving Up Cable and Satellite TV

When we moved into our current home in 2000, I didn’t bother transferring our cable TV subscription over. With both my husband and I working long hours at Microsoft, there just didn’t seem to be a point at the time.

Though we no longer work those crazy hours, we find that we just don’t need cable or satellite TV. Our friends find this bizarre especially since we have a 64-inch TV wired to a 5.1 digital surround sound system. Though we take some ribbing, we just don’t care. With our personal DVD collection, as well as the use of the local library, Netflix, Hulu, and other internet sources, we get our fill of TV.

True we’re not up-to-date on the latest episodes, but at least we never wait long for the continuation ;)

Photo source: "Brainwashed" by Aaron Escobar on Flickr

Blogging Schedule for March 2009

In order to make a bull’s eye, you must first focus on your target and take aim. Well, I’m hoping that same concept works here.

I thought the best way to get me blogging daily is to give myself a blogging schedule—each day is a different topic (target) to focus on. I don’t know why I didn’t try this before; setting up editorial calendars (same concept) is a no-brainer for me when managing huge company websites.

Anyway, here’s my schedule:

• Monday: Something About Me. A day for memories, self-reflection, or just fun facts.
• Tuesday: Tips & Tricks. Sharing simple and quick tips in a wide range of areas—money, tech, health, relationships, home life, etc.
• Wednesday: Web World. Navigating the online world and pointing out good stuff along the way.
• Thursday: Creative Writing Thru Pictures. Using images as triggers (being a visual person that I am), I’m hoping this will have a cathartic effect and allow me to express myself in creative ways.
• Friday: Fun Day. Taking a moment to laugh, smile, relax, and maybe an idea or two for fun diversions.
• Saturday: Anything Goes. Having some flexibility in any schedule is important, so this is my day to go crazy.
• Sunday: State Of The Blog Address. Reporting on any news or developments regarding this blog. For example, this post ;)

By the way, this month’s NaBloPoMo theme is GIVING (UP). Their newsletter describes it this way:

…you can write about what you give to your friends, your job, your world, or yourself every day. That "up" in parentheses gives you the option to also write about things you're throwing out, quitting, recycling, or eliminating from your life right now.

I don’t know if I’ll stick to this theme all month but it would be a nice challenge to try to incorporate it with the above schedule.

Have you tried a posting schedule? What were your results in using it?

Photo source: "force india" by B. Sandman on Flickr