stave it off, 1-2-3

It's been a sort of gross three days or so (we're neck-deep in hurricane season here so it's been rainy and windy since Sunday) and although I wouldn't say I have Seasonal Affective Disorder or anything, four straight days without sunshine can get a girl down. While I did my fair share of wallowing yesterday (with Matt over a couple of beers) and it does have its merits, I'm trying to refrain from excessive self-pitying as much as possible. So in order to stave off the cloudy-weather blues, I'm focusing on exciting things that are coming up. I think you know what that means.

IT'S BULLETED LIST TIME

• My co-worker Alice (not her real name, but she'd approve) and I just got the go-ahead to plan and run a Harry Potter Palooza Party in November and we are SO EXCITED. And we JUST CAN'T HIDE IT. Children of the library, prepare yourselves for butterbeer (non-alcoholic, of course), pretzel stick wands, Quidditch relay races, and a library-wide dragon egg hunt! (Like I said, SO EXCITED.)
• I'm in the process of re-arranging, re-organizing, and re-decorating my bedroom in my parent's house. I'm talking new bedspread and linens, new headboard, new desk, extra storage, the whole shebang. Because unless someone steps up as an anonymous benefactor and decides to deposit several thousand dollars in my bank account on a monthly basis, I'm gonna be living in that room until I finish graduate school. And while the World of Van Gogh theme that I chose 9 years ago worked for me when I was 15, I'm kind of over it now. Dammit. I hate it when my parents are right.
• AWESOME NEWS ALERT: Matt gets a whole week of paid vacation time starting in March, and to celebrate the first vacation he's had in two years, he and I are stealing away on a 7-night cruise to the Bahamas. Yeah. It's like. I don't even. I've never been to the Bahamas and I've never been on a cruise and I'm beyond myself with excitement. It's not until May, but that won't stop me from obsessively researching every aspect of cruising, or imagining myself lying out on some white sand beach, or fantasizing about eating steak and cheesecake at midnight before going bowling and nightswimming and then ordering BLTs via room service. 

Ahhhh. That's much better. Now if this stupid weather doesn't let up, I think I'll be able to handle it.

But seriously, Weather Fairies. Make it stop or I'll smush you.

gorram ruttin' reavers

Last Halloween I was working the library's Halloween Party and I dressed up as a friendly witch and painted ghost and Frankenstein faces onto 7-year-olds.

So. This year I'm off on Halloween and I want to be as horrifying as possible. Scotty and Jewel are throwing a Whedonverse party and my costume choice was obvious. I'm going as a Reaver, AKA the brutal and animalistic space barbarians from Firefly.

That's hot. 

That picture is the most prevalent image of a Reaver on the Internet. It's like pulling teeth trying to find a good solid shot of one, let alone a female Reaver. So I'm gonna base my costume off of these two gems I found:

[Totally had to remove this one 'cause it came from a site that's infected with Malware apparently. Ugh.]

I like this one because a) it's an actual costume worn by a female Reaver in Serenity (to which the movie production geek in me says: OMGMGMGMGMG) and b) it's a great reference point as to the color scheme and aesthetic that I should aim for.

OK, first of all, that is one badass chick. Second of all, it's really impressive without being too elaborate. I feel like I could put together a costume like this without having to go to a Ren Faire, is what I'm saying.

My search starts this week and I'm little-kid giddy about it. I'll keep you guys updated as I find stuff!

Too soon?

So two weeks ago one of my co-workers caught me lusting over engagement rings online.

This was her reaction: *crazy grin* UH OH!!!
This was my reaction: *quickly minimizes all windows* I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT! I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT!

But I do want to talk about it. I just didn't want to, you know, talk about it with my co-workers. I allowed them to ask ONE question: How long have you been dating? (Answer: 3 years.) They nodded and seemed impressed, but I could have sworn it was the amused, affectionate kind of impressed that really just means they think I'm adorable, all fantasizing about big-girl things like COMMITMENT and DOMESTIC BLISS.

Then my mom stumbled upon what probably looked to her like a guest list because... well, it kind of looked like a guest list (it was really just a list of all of the people we know, though) and according to my sister, thought the whole concept was all sorts of hilarious. Fabulous.

So, Discretion FAIL on my behalf, because I keep on browsing wedding blogs at work and leaving wedding-related stuff all over my house and telling every damn person I know that IT'S ON THE HORIZON. Even though it's not really on the horizon because it'll most likely be another two years before we actually tie the proverbial knot. Maybe I should just keep my mouth shut until it's a done deal.

Sundry Summer 2010

Pictures from my first summer out in the Real World:

John Mayer concert at the Camden Waterfront with my sister, BFF, and Matt (not pictured).

Lots of D&D with Scotty and Jewel and their kitty:

Kitty liked my Homestar Runner messenger bag:

First Phillies game since 5th grade: 

Fun and games in Hilton Head, SC:

And one last hurrah in Ocean City, NJ:

Ah, summer. I shall miss you.