Tuesday, September 4, 2007

The Goings-On Of Life

It's been a few days since I've posted here, so I figured it's time for an update! My weekend with Megan was great :) We made the most of it and managed to make a 2 day trip feel like much more. I think we got a total of about 6 hours of sleep the whole weekend. But I'm all recovered now. The plan is for her to come down for a real trip in a couple of weeks and she'll probably stay for about a week. The bed feels empty again now, and I'll have to adjust to that, but I'm left with a smile on my face from our visit.The 10:4 challenge officially ended a couple of days ago, and unfortunately I did not meet the 10 pound goal, but I'm still proud of myself. I lost 8.6 pounds, which is more than I've done in quite some time! In fact, since Katrina (now a little over 2 years) all I've done is gain weight. So to lose any weight at all is awesome. Carl has given me a chance to redeem myself though the RIP5 Challenge! This one is to lose 5 pounds by October 31st. Weight now is 187.4 pounds. So the goal is 182.4 pounds by October 31st. The 10:4 challenge did lead to some healthy changes for me. I've started drinking a lot more water and juice instead of cokes all the time. I've also cut back on the fast food, though I could definitely cut back some more still :/ In fact, if I just stopped eating fast food all together for these 2 months, I know I'd lose the 5 pounds...but I know I won't, so I'm not going to set unrealistic goals. I'm just going to be more conscientious than I've been!

The RIP Challenge has been so much fun, and it's only day 4! I kicked it off with Rob Zombie's Halloween on Saturday. I absolutely loved it! Halloween is probably my favorite classic slasher flick. Halloween and Halloween II are both excellent in my book. I'm even a big fan of 4 & 5. I'm also a huge fan of Rob Zombie's films. House of 1000 Corpses and The Devils Rejects are some of my favorite horror movies since the 70's and early 80's. When I heard he was doing Halloween, I got so excited and it was better than I expected. Warning! This film is not appropriate for those who are easily offended or do not like gore. I saw plenty of people who brought their children, I guess expecting just another horror movie (not knowing anything about Rob Zombie obviously), and they all walked out after the first 5 minutes of dialogue. Zombie did a great job with this film. The first half explains the origins of Michael Myers...the creation of a serial killer, his home life, his mental illness (some sort of dissociative disorder), and makes the movie believable...instead of just some supernatural horror movie killer, he's human...we actually feel for him, for the horrible childhood he has and for his illness. The second part of the movie is an almost exact replication of the original Halloween, but with a few twists, modernized, and with the more believable background story that we now know. I loved it!Just in time to be the mascot of the RIP challenge, I received my little purple poppet in the mail today :D He (I've decided it's a boy) is very cool and came with one of these little hands that I've been seeing and have been wanting! Here he is posing with Dracula that I have really been enjoying. It's such an atmospheric read, and even though it's hot as hell in New Orleans right now, it's managed to fool my brain into believing that it's Fall.

Tomorrow is a day of all things job related. I have a meeting with my licensure supervisor in the morning. She sounds really sweet over the phone, so I'm looking forward to meeting her. Then I have to start all of the paperwork and do the drug test and all of that fun stuff. My very temporary start date is September 24th, but that's subject to change. It all depends on paperwork going smoothly and my licensure paperwork being filed quickly...which in Louisiana post-Katrina..."quickly" isn't a word that's heard very often.

I missed short story Sunday this past weekend, so I'll be playing catch up next weekend. Regular blogs should now be back on the schedule.

22 comments:

DesLily said...

..that's not all you haven't been reading! (oof.. sorry, but you left yourself wide open for that!)
However, you are already forgiven since Megan was there *wicked grin*

love your purple poppet!
and congrats on the weight loss!

chrisa511 said...

Deslily, I've had a horrible reading start to September, lol! I'm playing catch up though! ;)

The purple poppet is so cool! I really hope you get one during the RIP challenge!

Debi said...

Glad to hear you had such a wonderful weekend! I think you're forgiven for missing the opening weekend short story...but lesser excuses will not cut it.

The purple poppet is fabulous...glad he found such a good home!

Stephanie said...

So glad to hear you and Megan had a great weekend!! I'm sure it was much needed!

Well...you KNOW how I feel about Halloween. My all-time favorite horror movie!! Like I said, I really enjoyed this one....I love Rob Zombie!! And I really liked the first half of the movie, even with the creepy kid. But I'm still a little unconvinced it was enough to warrent a new movie!!

Anonymous said...

Congratulations on completing the 10:4 challenge. Even if you fell a little short of the goal, you kept in there to the end, and that's what really counts in health.

Looking forward to reading more of your thoughts on Dracula!

chrisa511 said...

Debi, :p I did a short story post last Sunday...does that count? I just didn't link it to the review site. The purple poppet is in good company. He's number 5 and is enjoying the company of the 3 reds and the blue one!

Stephanie, It was very much needed, and very much enjoyed, thanks :)

I really think we were separated at birth sometimes :p I'm going to disagree with you though and say that it did indeed warrant a remake...though I understand where you're coming from as the original is an all time favorite. I guess I'm looking at it more as a different movie, instead of a remake even though that's totally just me living in denial, lol.

Kim, Thanks! I say we make you mascot of the RIP5 Challenge and you can create some spooky, healthy recipes ;)

I'm looking forward to giving my thoughts on Dracula whenever I finally finish it! I've been reading so slowly these days.

Carl V. Anderson said...

"The bed feels empty again now"...oh, my virgin ears. ;) ha!

So glad you both had the time together and that another visit is not far away.

Congrats on your weight loss for the challenge, that is excellent. I'm glad you're joining with me in the next phase of our get healthy journey.

Have fun at work tomorrow! :)

chrisa511 said...

Carl, Lol! I wasn't going to go there after the PG rating that I earned on my blog...Ha!

I really hope I can lose 5 pounds! That would be awesome. It's so easy to gain weight, wouldn't it be nice if it were as easy to lose it. I have a friend who complains all the time because he CAN'T gain weight...My ass would gladly trade places with him!

No real work tomorrow, but it should be cool. I'll get to meet my supervisor who I'm sure will be a major person in my life for the next couple of years and then it's on to the wonderful human resources department for paperwork galore...yay...

Bookfool said...

I'll be back, later, but . . . PURPLE??? Did I miss another note on new poppets at eBay? I love purple!

chrisa511 said...

Bookfool, You must have missed the announcement :( There were a limited number of purple poppets made available. But she just announced on her blog that more will be available soon, so I'll let you know as soon as they go up!

Jill said...

That is great about the weight loss - and losing it slowly is totally the way to go - you will be able to keep it off that way. You should watch Supersize Me if you haven't already - if that won't help you stay away from fast food, nothing will! Especially if you watch the extras on the DVD - the bell jar part. That was my favorite! :-)

Anonymous said...

I love the photo of the poppet being chased by the vampire :) I am waiting for my purple one in the post too, yours looks lovely. I am reading Dracula too (I can't believe I have noy read it before) and really enjoying it.

chrisa511 said...

Darla, I totally agree that slowly is the way to go. I've done diets, in the past, where I've dropped weight quickly, but you're right..it's inevitable that it comes right back. I've found that I've been able to keep my weight down this time! I haven't seen supersize me...it's one that I'll have to watch...and give up my beloved fast food ;)

Rhinoa, I can't take credit for the poppet being chased by the vampire...that's all Carl's ;) Isn't it great! The purple poppets are so cool! Now we need orange and black for matching halloween colors! I am LOVING Dracula. I can't believe that I hadn't read it before either. It's such a wonderful book!

Bellezza said...

I have a little hand bookmark, too. Both of our hands together could make a clap, I bet. For you, who lost 8 plus pounds. I'm so jealous...

chrisa511 said...

Bellezza, Haha! You know, I'm a little slow and just realized that it's a bookmark! I just thought it was a cool hand, lol...but seeing as she usually sends a bookmark with her poppets, duh! Now I love it even more :)

Bookfool said...

Thank you for the Poppet URL!! There are a couple of things that resonate for me, in this post. "It's hotter than hell, here in New Orleans" (better, here, but the humidity is keeping it in the 100 range - there comes a point that you want to pull on Mother Nature's hair . . . hard) and the bit about things not moving quickly post-Katrina. Honestly, wasn't that true, anyway? I think it's a Southern thing and we can blame sluggishness on the heat. :)

Love the photo of Purple Poppet Boy and Dracula. I got a hand with my little blue, Simone. Pretty cool, aren't they?

Cath said...

I'm coming to the end of Dracula... only about 50 pages to go. I can't believe how much I've enjoyed it and am sorry to be so close to finishing.

Ender's Game arrived yesterday and now I have a decision to make (I'm very bad at decisions). And that is whether to read it soon or to wait until Jan '08 for the offical start of the challenge. It's not as though I'm short of things to read but I'm not sure I can wait...

chrisa511 said...

Bookfool, There have been these nice little breezes at least that have been coming in the afternoons. Could it be a sign that Fall is on it's way? God, I hope so!

You're right...things have always moved sluggishly slow in the south...it's our way of life, I should be used to it by now!

The little hands are so cool! She works them into some of her bigger sculptures and I've always loved them, so I was very excited when she started packing them with her poppets :)

Cath, Don't wait! Read it now ;) You should've known that if you asked my advice you'd get that answer, lol. I'm nearing the end of Dracula as well and I don't want it to end! Luckily though, I have 2 more Dracula inspired books ahead of me! The first is Renfield: Slave of Dracula, and then, The Historian. I figured I'd start off the RIP challenge with a Dracula theme!

Cath said...

Chris, I would read Ender's Game next but I thought it was time I actually started my RIP challenge now that I've finished Dracula. So I decided to start The Book of Lost Things. I'm only 60 pages in but I love it already. Such a brilliant sense of unknown, lurking menace. Glad I decided to get hold of it.

chrisa511 said...

Cath, Ok, I'll let Ender's Game slide for The Book of Lost Things ;) Isn't it great! It just gets better as it goes...I loved it!

Anonymous said...

i'm glad you had a good time with megan!

the rip challenge has been great, hasn't it?! i'm loving it!

i love halloween too. i pretty much like them all, but i agree that 1,2, 4 & 5 are probably the best. although i have a soft spot for 3...!

like i told stephanie, i like rob zombie himself but am a bit too much of a wuss to watch his films... but i will definitely watch his halloween!

chrisa511 said...

Jean Pierre, His films really aren't that scary, they're more on the disturbing side. There's really no, "jump out and scare the hell out of you" stuff. He focuses more on the "oh God, did he really go there" stuff ;)

Halloween 3 was awful, lol! I have somewhat of a soft spot for that one too, but only in the sense that I put that one on and just laugh at it. I will never understand why they through that into the middle of the Halloween franchise. Bad, bad decision...oh well, I guess people are still talking about it 20 years later, so they must have done something right!