"The smell of cakes and pies is absolutely everywhere..."

No updates in a while because I haven't had anything to say, really.  Nothing I can put up into the internet ether, anyway.  I recently told a friend that we needed new words to describe our feelings, since "frustrated" and "over it" weren't cutting it anymore.  Like we should make up some sort of code so we could actually get the angry feelings effectively off our chests.  Unfortunately, I can't.  So... slartibartfast.

That being said, I would like to wish everyone who might see this Happy Holidays!  I hope you have a great, relaxing, fun winter time.  I'd like to leave you with a little number from one of my favorite holiday movies.  I hope you all feel just like The Pumpkin King this year :)

Who's the big winner?

Jeskuh's the big winner!

Lately, I find myself to be something of a super duper contest enter-er.  (Enter-er is a word... right?)  I have won a random amount of stuff, including but not limited to a Charles David shoe bag, an audio version of a Sherlock Holmes novel, a Tinkerbell DVD, and a JMU homecoming shirt.  I also tend to give most of these away, because while I am glad to win them, others will enjoy them more (or the shirt is too big for me!).  I enter to win lots and LOTS of books from all the YA book blogs I follow, but I hadn't been successful.

UNTIL... I found out an old friend from HS runs a YA blog.  And she was having a super fun giveaway for the book Nevermore by Kelly Creagh.  I knew nothing about it, but it sounded pretty fun, I'm always looking for new things to read, and the giveaway included an Edgar Allan Poe "action" figure.  Being a Richmond girl at heart, a little Poe always reminds me of home.  And also opiates.

Anyway,  I put my name in the proverbial hat, thinking nothing would come of it.  But, I think we all know how this story ends.

Yeah, I totally won.

Which, as you can tell by the cheesy grin on my face, is so awesome.

(Also, this is the 4th of a 5 pic photo shoot Hubs did using the iPhone to capture the moment.  In the others, I look like the rejected dwarves CrazyEyes, Unprepared, Hungry, and Blurry.)

The entire prize pack seen to the left includes the aforementioned autographed Nevermore (with a super eyeliner-y wearing dude that looks kind of like Peter Petrelli), the Poe figure, some purple pens (which makes sense once you start reading the book), a black feather for Raven-y purposes or poking your husband in the face, and some autographed bookmarks.

In general, I am way pleased.  I feel like I never win, but odds are, eventually, it's your turn to win.  Fun fact is that I chided Friend to go ahead and send me the prize anyway, so it's extra hilarious that I won.  Hubs cannot even look at the book without laughing, because he's a terrible person like that and because he's a historical purist, so he takes issue with some of the Poe tales mentioned in this novel.  However, I am about 10 chapters in, and I'm a big fan.  It's got good mystery surrounding it, the characters are believable, and it's entertaining.  All I can ask for.

I'd like to thank Susan and Wastepaper Prose for having the contest, for pretending to be shocked when I won, and for finding me on Twitter so I could win.  Yay!

Busy busy JBS!

Happy December!  I can't believe how fast this year is going.  Blah blah blah!  I have had so many ideas lately of blog topics, but they all tend to get lost in my brain at some point before I get to a computer, and then when I get home, it's all "ooh, Bejeweled Blitz!" or "ooh, knitting!" or "ooh, Navy Seals!" and it's a fail.  Therefore, I haven't updated in a while.  So, here's what I've been up to:
*went to see Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows Part 1.  I enjoyed it quite a bit, especially the more and more I think about it.  We went to see it at midnight here in town, and the place was just crawling with college students.  Almost everyone was dressed in costume, either as a Hogwarts student, a Death Eater, or... a house elf.  It was pretty bizarre.  Saw our friend's name in the credits for his visual effects work, which was awesome.  Is it July yet??
*went to in-laws for Thanksgiving, which was super fun.  The actual T-Day was delicious and relaxing, up until the dog decided to take a little neighborhood excursion all by her lonesome at dusk.  Not so good when you're a BLACK LAB, mutt.  She was found quickly and successfully, only to start being barfy a few hours later.  Dog decided to eat... something unknown on her trip... it was gross.  On Friday, Hubs, Hubs' BFF, SIL, and I stayed up not so late (though it felt REALLY late) playing King's Court and opening champagne with knives (note: everything about this video cracks me up bc this is EXACTLY what we did) and (they were) drinking 4Loko.  The next morning, Hubs' BFF stated that no 4Loko would ever pass his lips again.  That's probably a good plan.
*Wednesday, Hubs and I made the trek to Richmond to see Dashboard Confessional (my choice!).  10 years ago, he released his first album, The Swiss Army Romance.  He played the entire thing, just him and his guitar like the good old days.  Then, he played a few other gems, and personally, I loved it.  Singing along with Chris and everyone else in the crowd made me feel 19 all over again.  Love.

Now, just looking forward to the holidays.  Possibly time to relax.  Possibly time to run around with arms waving.  Possibly going to stand arms akimbo, left foot forward.