September 2007 Round Up

Monthly Round Up idea borrowed from Katie the Scrapbook Lady.


Credit: Pinky Blinkies

What books and/or magazines did I read this month?
Um, uh, er.... I am ashamed.

What movies and/or tv shows did I watch this month?
Only one movie: The Queen. Helen Mirren was brilliant and deserved all of her accolades. The film itself was quite interesting, offering a very unique perspective of the whole situation. I had no idea that Tony Blair had taken his post so close to the events. But overall, the film was just okay. It is another one of those weird films for me (The Hours was the same way); each piece was quite good (acting, story, etc), but as a whole, it was only so-so. Still don't know how that happens, but it does. Worth seeing if you like this kind of film and don't mind that it is pretty slow for the average viewer. I have a few more sitting on the DVR, but haven't gotten to them yet (Proof, Twelfth Night, plus a few more set to record in October).

TV-wise, the fall season has finally begun! YYYAAAAYYYYYY!!! (Doing my best Kermit the Frog Muppet Show yay.) A couple of our short summer series are bleeding over, though, and I am not happy about that. World Series of Poker in particular is really mucking up my schedule! LOL Need Damages and Mad Men to be over with as well. Not that I'm not enjoying them, just too much other stuff to watch that I am much more invested in. Not enough hours to watch it all! DVR is getting way backed up.

As far as our fall schedule goes, there is much more than there should be. Returning from our previous rotation are: Shark, Rules of Engagement, House, Criminal Minds (Mandy Patinkin left, waaahhh!), CSI:NY, CSI, and NUMB3RS. Sadly, we have decided to drop ER. We just really lost interest over the last year. Had 7 of them recorded from the end of last season, but when premiere day rolled around, and we had not only NOT watched any of them but had no desire to do so, I deleted them and removed it from the DVR rotation. Been watching it for nearly 10 years. The only other one missing (that I can think of) is Law & Order: Criminal Intent, which will begin its new season on USA sometime in October, as I understand it.

New for (hopefully) our 2007 viewing pleasure are: Chuck (loved it!), CSI: Miami (not a new show, but new to my rotation thanks to getting hooked on the stupid A&E reruns this summer), Back to You (pretty good, but not great), and maybe Moonlight (if my brother gives me the OK that it isn't too scary for me). Whenever The Sarah Connor Chronicles begin (I'm hearing Dec/Jan), we'll pick that one up to try as well. If we're lucky, *one* of them might survive.

Oh, and Heroes! Again, not a new show, but new to us. After much pushing and prodding from innumerable folks, we finally decided to give it a try. I didn't want to come in 2/3 through the season last year, so we waited for the DVDs, and I signed up for a one month free trial of Netflix. Watched the first two last night, and I am mightily impressed. I am DVRing the new episodes in hi-def for viewing after we get through all of Season 1.

What special days did I celebrate and how?
We were in Brunswick almost for my father's birthday (we left on Sunday, his birthday was Monday). And my best friend Connie gave birth to a beautiful little girl!


What gifts did I give and/or receive?
I sent Connie a baby gift. I also sent a card congratulating BIL and SIL on their gestating bundle, due in April. We also gave two albums of photos to DH's grandmother, one of Luke's last 18 months, and one of BIL's wedding.

What illnesses or health concerns did I have?
I was sick as a dog for a day at the beginning of the month. The actual symptoms only lasted a little over 24 hours, but I felt drained and "off" for a good week or so. Luke has either a cold or some serious allergies at the moment, but we're surviving. You might want to buy stock in Kleenex, though.

What fun things did I do with my friends and/or family?
Family-wise, we did pretty well. The reason we left Brunswick earlier than normal on Labor Day weekend was so we could spend Sunday afternoon at DH's uncle's house. MIL was also there (eventually). We've seen his aunt and uncle, oh, three times in the last 8 months, and every time, they have done all but get down on their knees and BEG us to come visit. So when we were reminded of their annual Labor Day Sunday bash, we decided to make the effort to attend. It was a busy day. Drove from Brunswick to Waycross to see my grandfather, then to Statesboro to visit Uncle Jack and Aunt Evelyn, and we left there to come back to Atlanta. I haven't calculated the mileage, but it was a whole lot of time spent in the car, I can tell you that! (380 miles, per MapQuest) We also visited with Steve's grandparents in Vidalia (yes, of world-renown Vidalia Onion fame). First time in over two years. Are we horrible grandchildren, or what?


And we finally had a local stitching get-together. We figured it up, and it seems that this was the first one since November 2006! Dates just kept falling through, and we're all so very busy. We've committed to it not being nearly a year before the next one, though. Can't be; we have to throw a baby shower for Ginny!

What new foods, recipes or restaurants did I try this month?
Nothing comes to mind. Am I the world's slackest person or what? Never even made a single batch of cookies. I am a horrible mommy! I'm trying to find a recipe I like so I can make cut-out shaped sugar cookies for Luke's birthday. Hard to do if you don't actually *try* some recipes!! Best get cracking.

What special or unusual purchases did I make?
New underwear! Sorry if that is TMI. I bought some about a year ago, but I went cheap, and it is awful. It was supposedly the same brand and style I bought a few years ago, but the quality is now absolutely terrible! Doesn't fit well (or even consistently between the pairs), doesn't feel good on my skin, doesn't, er, stay put, and already has some holes in it. So I went back to the good stuff, Vanity Fair, and it is heavenly! LOL Haven't worn $10 underwear in at least 5 years (though I still refuse to pay that for it; got it on great sale). I may have to put underwear in the same category I do shoes: pay for quality, because it is so worth it in the end! If I ever get around to losing enough weight that I wear more a more normal size, I may even go back to pricey bras. (By that, I mean $30-40 bras instead of $10-15 bras.)

And a new washer and dryer, something we were hoping to do without for the next few years. Given that they were a minimum of 25 years old, and possibly more than 30 years old, it was time. Particularly given that the dryer decided to die on us. May as well replace both, since the washer is unlikely to be far behind. I just hate such large unplanned expenditures.

What were this month's disappointments?
I just didn't get nearly as much done as I should have, in virtually every single area of my life. And the dryer; that was a real bummer.

What were my accomplishments this month?
I think I am virtually ready for Luke's birthday party now. Except for the whole cookie thing. Guess I should start wrapping presents. We did get almost up to 80% finished on LEGO Star Wars. That counts for something, right? LOL

What were Luke's accomplishments this month?
Lots of little things this month. We think he might be ready to move from a crib to a bed, we just need to get his room ready. Too many open plugs and accessible wires at the moment. He had a great time laying in our bed, and even wanted to be covered up and have the light off. See!


What else? Speech therapy is progressing well, or so his therapist says. Hard for us to tell since we are with him every day. With gradual changes, it's hard to see when you're there all the time, but other people have commented that they can understand him better and he seems to be talking more, so I guess we're doing well.

There has also been some rather dramatic improvement on the eating front. He has finally started eating chicken fingers/tenders. Previously, they had to be Wendy's nuggets only, not even Chick-Fil-A. We've been trying to get him to eat tenders for 18 months now, but he finally decided to actually put some in his mouth this month, and lo and behold, he likes them! Sheesh. Same goes for milk. He had no interest at all, wouldn't even try it. I don't even remember where we were, but since a drink was included with the kids meal, our waitress insisted on bringing him something, so I chose milk. And he drank it! He still won't drink it at home (um, okay), but as long as we're out, he's fine. And last but not least on our tour of "foods he wouldn't eat for 2 years but suddenly decided he loves" is Mexican cheese dip (without jalapenos). He insisted on trying it after wanting nothing to do with it for ages, and now he'll easily eat half the bowl by himself if we let him. Used to be, we'd say we were going to have tacos on Fridays. Now, we say, "we're going to tacos" and Luke responds "cheese dip!" LOL

Anything else noteworthy to record?
No! I think we've had more than enough going on, thanks.

Currently feeling: well-rounded