We’re renting a house, built circa 1900.  It’s a pretty nifty house, albeit the “kitchen” is a bit lacking in style.  It looks like it’s the old dining room that they just decided to make into a kitchen.  The fridge is stuck in a converted doorway, an old built-in buffet area (really nifty woodwork) is the cabinet space, and the oven is… well at least it works, that’s all I have to say.  Our range only has two burners… and there’s a gigantic island in the middle of the room that includes the sink and dishwasher, and some more drawers and cabinets.  It’s not so bad… though it would be if I were more of a cook.

The rest of the house is awesome though!  Dark hardwood floors, towering ceilings, massive basement.  It’s a great house.  I’d love to be able to buy it and fix it up the way it should be, but that probably won’t happen.  We might end up renting for another year after our lease is up, though.  It depends on the situation with  Sean’s job next year.  I’m so torn, because I love Texas, all my family and a lot of my friends are in Texas (Austin!) but… the weather is so great here.  Everytime I call my dad to talk, he tells me how sweltering it is in Texas right now.  I look at the thermostat here and it’s barely 80 degrees.  We haven’t had to turn on the central AC once, and it’s the end of June.  All we have running are two window AC units, and they don’t run all the time.  Tough, tough decisions.

I guess it bears mentioning that I’m playing DragonRealms again.  Everytime I quit, I swear it’s for the final time.  Yet, here I am, back to playing again.  It’s inevitable really.  The game has become a part of me or something, I suppose.  Heck, I met my husband there, I guess I “owe” it something.  LOL  One great thing is that I’ve been able to compartmentalize my day now.  It’s no longer the crazy addiction it once was.  For an example of this addiction, see The Guild.  I’ve been pretty successful with my new schedule, with plenty of time for play with Hannah, work on my design, and play for myself.  The only thing I need right now is for my DSL to stop disconnecting every 10 minutes.  Gah.

27.  Almost 30.  Eeek!  Don’t want to think to deeply about that.  Hah!  I guess it helps that even at 27, I still get carded for alcohol (not that I buy much).  The more humorous example would be getting carded at Walmart when buying White-Out.  What the heck are the “kids” doing these days that White-Out would be tagged as a “not for minors” item? LOL Stupid kids.

27.  Old enough to refer to college folks as “kids”  HAH!

27.  So I may be getting older, but will I ever “grow up”?  I hope not.  I hope I remain forever a kid at heart and a geek on the surface!  My current geeky preoccupation revolves around the revamped Doctor Who series on the BBC.  No, I haven’t watched any of the old Doctors (yet) but I plan to.  Though I’ve only seen the 9th and 10th Doctor, I have to say #10 is my fave.  David Tennant was so totally “The Doctor” while on screen, it’s unbelievable.  My friends are quite aware of my preoccupation. In fact, many of their birthday wishes today consisted of photos of my favorite Doctor.  I’ll share a few with you.

These two are from my friend Hels from Kids Need to Read.

My friend and boss Anne from Can’t Stop the Serenity made me this image so I can always have The Doctor with me. I laughed for a good 30 minutes straight after getting this!

So yes, I hope I forever remain a geek. I can’t imagine living life any other way! There’s nothing better than sitting down and watching a good episode of Doctor Who with my daughter, mygeek-in-training.

Another year gone, another stretching out in front of me with so much potential it makes me want to sing.

Marian Call is a nerd extraordinaire living in Anchorage, Alaska, and touring the country as a singer-songwriter. She has been singing in public since age three, and since that time she has performed music in nearly every genre — classical art song, musicals, gospel, pop, country, rock, folk, jazz, and all kinds of choral music. She writes songs that appeal to all audiences, but nearly always encodes a deeper, encrypted layer of meaning for fannish friends who know what to listen for. Though new on the scene, she now plays for Browncoat and BSG events around the country. Her new album “Got to Fly” was commissioned by Quantum Mechanix, Inc., and consists entirely of songs about Firefly, Battlestar Galactica, and a life of fandom. Meet Marian online anytime at www.mariancall.com or http://twitter.com/mariancall.

I wish I could be in Austin, TX this weekend for Geekstravaganza.  Marian is the musical guest this year!

Haven’t heard any of her music?  Here’s a Serenity/Firefly video someone made set to Marian’s song “In the Black”.  You’ll also find the video in the sidebar here on my site.

If you like her music, you should totally head over to Quantum Mechanix and pick up her album “Got to Fly”.

Check out her her website as well for performance information.

As a little incentive for folks to pledge, there is a prize drawing at the end of the drive.  Anyone who completes their pledge donation to KNTR is elligible for one of these prizes.  Prizes were donated by Healthy Giving sponsor Austin Browncoats, KNTR (comics), and an anonymous donor.

There have been 11 individual pledgers and 4 one time donations.  As of the last weight check-in (May 8th) I have lost 19 pounds!  It is very exciting and I feel so happy that I went through with my plans for this fundraiser.

I do have other plans for Healthy Giving, but I’m playing those close to my chest for the time being.

As of this posting, there is a little over 9 days left in the pledge drive.  I will be posting both here and at the Healthy Giving website with details about the final results and drawing winners.

First things first!  Happy Mother’s Day! Being a mom has been one of the most difficult and most enjoyable parts of my life.  I still have no clue what I’m doing, but I’m trying and learning and hopefully, my daughter will turn out ok.  All I know is I must be doing something right, she’s happy and beautiful and brilliant.  And she’s only 3!  Who knows that the years ahead have in store.

<begin geekfest>

We went to see the new Star Trek today, for Mother’s Day.  What better way to tell your geek mom/wife you love her than to treat her to some Sci-Fi greatness!  Without posting any spoilers, I have to say I rather enjoyed the movie.  I decided to go in to just enjoy the experience, not pick it apart with the critical eye of a Trek fanatic. Not that I’ve ever been a die-hard Trekkie.   I definitely enjoy that universe though.  The original series, I haven’t seen much of, but I absolutely adored TNG and subsequent series.  I may not be able to speak fluent Klingon or have memorized every single TNG episode, but I am a fan.

Back to the movie at hand…Chris Pine did a great job with Kirk, in my opinion.  I’ve been a fan of Chris Pine for a few years now, even though he hasn’t had any major break-out roles.  Well, he has one now!  Zachary Quinto WAS Spock.  Well, as much as anyone who isn’t Leonard Nimoy can be Spock.  I respect Zach’s portrayal and enjoyed every moment he was on screen.

All of the main (recognizable) characters were good – Uhura, McCoy, Scotty, Chekov, Sulu. Simon Pegg (Scotty) was absolutely hilarious.  I wish he’d had a longer part (read: more lines – loved the accent!).  The chemistry between the entire ensemble in the various relationships was fantastic.  Especially between Kirk and Bones – and Kirk and Spock.

All in all, Star Trek was a delightful, funny, action-packed adventure that I would recommend to anyone, not necessarily just Trek fans.

My mission now is to continue the geekification of my daughter, Hannah.  Today was an adventure – her first time to a movie theater and it wasn’t Disney…it was Star Trek!  As she told me just days ago, “Star Trek is cool!”

</end geekfest>

Long story short: Clan Hodges’ new home is here at my own personal site!  Once I get all the photos and information from that site, I’ll be having it forward here until the domain expires.

There are two ways to fight a battle like ours. One is to whisper in the ear of the masses, try subtlely and gradually to change the gender expectations and mythic structures of our culture. That’s me. The other is to step up and confront the thousands of atrocities that are taking place around the world on an immediate, one-by-one basis. That’s a great deal harder, and that’s Equality Now. It’s not about politics; it’s about basic human decency.
- Joss Whedon