September 2011 Round Up

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What books and/or magazines did I read this month?
Finally finished Wuthering Heights (ick; didn't like it at all). I also read How to Help your Student Succeed in School by Paul Kip Grimm, and Conquering an Enemy Called Average by John Mason, both very quick reads and fairly inspiring, but neither as insightful as I hoped.

What movies and/or tv shows did I watch this month?
* TV Time: Finished up the finales of The Closer, Rizzoli & Isles, and Suits. Just in time, too, since fall network television programming has resumed! Current slate discussed here. Person of Interest is so far quite interesting; I like that it is different from most shows currently on the air (and we're huge Jim Caviezel fans). We're enjoying the banter on Unforgettable; we'll have to see if they can keep it up. Been watching a fair bit of Law & Order and Murder She Wrote as well.
* New Films: The Green Hornet (eh, not really my cup of tea; I think most of what I laughed at wasn't supposed to be funny), Megamind (it was definitely different; I liked some of the points it had to make, but again, not my style of humor), Unstoppable (not bad; worth seeing once)
* Old Favorites: Cars, The Princess Bride, Catch Me If You Can, Tangled, Star Wars Ep I, Star Trek II, Star Trek IV, Terminator 2: Judgment Day (20 years old, wow), Star Trek: First Contact, Independence Day, Dante's Peak, Men in Black, The Lion King (at the theater in 3D; not a bad conversion, all things considered), First Knight, The American President

What special days did I celebrate and how?
We celebrated Dad's 60th birthday visiting over Labor Day weekend. He chose local seafood for his birthday dinner.

What gifts did I give and/or receive?
Just cards for Dad's birthday; Boston was "the gift."

What illnesses or health concerns did I have?
I had an absolutely awful headache for first time in months. Took me several hours to get it to let up. I know I've been stressed with the new job, but I'd really like to *not* have to increase my BP meds.

What fun things did I do with my friends and/or family?
While we were visiting my parents for Labor Day, we took Luke to the beach, visited with my grandfather, and stopped by DH's uncle's house for a family get together.

What new foods, recipes or restaurants did I try this month?
Tried two new recipes this month: Pepperoni Pizza Puffs (direct recipe link) (didn't care for the texture, probably won't make again), "supposedly the best ever cupcakes" from Pinterest (these were pretty good, but I think my scratch butter cake recipe is better). I also attempted to make up my own recipe for Pizza Balls (think Bisquick sausage balls, just substitute pepperoni for the sausage and parmesan and mozzarella for the cheddar). It was okay; better texture than the pepperoni pizza puffs, but the cheese flavor just wasn't strong enough to cut through the breading. I will be discussing these at some point on my new food blog.

For new foods, I tried my first ever real sushi. It was fine, but I don't think it is something I'll really be going out for on my own. It also counted as a new restaurant, Umezono in Smyrna. Our other new restaurant for the month was Three Dollar Cafe Jr., which opened where The Loop used to be, not far from where we live. The food was pretty good, but I certainly wouldn't want to be there when any sort of sporting event was going on. Between the zillion beers on tap and the 14 flat panel TVs I could see just from my chair (not counting the ones behind me or upstairs), it would be bonkers.

What special or unusual purchases did I make?
I guess Luke's birthday supplies qualify here as special purchases. That's really the only thing "nonstandard" I remember buying.

What were this month's disappointments or frustrations?
I got hit with twitter spam/spoof/virus thing sending out direct messages "from me" to my friends with some sort of malicious website link in it. I also received about 40 of them from various accounts. I felt bad for frustrating my tweeps!

What were my accomplishments this month?
Completed 52 items from 101 Things in 1001 Days Version 2. Not too bad, I guess. Better than Version 1, where I completed 46. Eventually I'll work my way up to 90% or better, right? Version 3 starts October 1!

The big news for the month was officially starting my new job, which also involved training in Virginia for a very rainy week. The boys seem to have survived just fine on fast food. I've also had homework every week this month; I'm grading Math Stars sheets for one of the 3rd grade teachers, which is a combination of about 10 word problems every week intended to stretch the kids and teach problem solving. It has been very interesting!

I found a new nail polish love: The Next CEO from Nicole by OPI (soft metallic gold), which is actually quite neutral on my fingers. It reminds me of the shiny gold polish that Pussy Galore wore in Goldfinger. As mentioned previously, I tried a hair style and some cupcakes that I found on Pinterest (yes, I am obsessed!). And I really branched out of my comfort zone and had sushi with my former boss.

What were Luke's accomplishments this month?


We had our first parent/teacher conference for the year. Luke is doing very well! He is one of the top kids in his class in both reading and math, and he is apparently very well behaved. Always good to hear. She thinks we need to work on maybe building up his confidence a little bit so he isn't afraid to try even if some of the other kids are juts a little bit faster than he is, but otherwise, he is doing great!

He also had his first soccer game at U8 level. He spends at least one quarter at goalie every game, which he really enjoys. He also usually plays full back for a quarter, and if he plays a 3rd quarter (which he usually does; only 8 boys to cover 5 positions), it is usually as a midfielder. He also took his first ball to the face (not terribly hard, but I know it stunned him), but he shook it off and lived to tell the tale.

And I finally got around to posting Luke's kitty song videos for your enjoyment. These were collected over the last couple of weeks of August and Labor Day weekend.

Anything else noteworthy to record?
Can't really think of anything.

Monthly Round Up courtesy of Katie the Scrapbook Lady.

Currently feeling: trying to catch up