Fun for the Wild Circulation Bunch - Harry Potter Halloween

Hogwarts

Quidditch players

Jen (Ravenclaw), Yolanda (Hufflepuff) and Anrey (Gryffindor)

Tiesha, Joyce, Rachel and Helen -- representing all houses

Joyce being half Slytherin-half Harry Potter -- making the candles float

Where's my memory?

Hedwig on Privet Drive

Tiesha (Gryffindor), Joyce (Slytherin) and Chaela (Gryffindor)

Mail delivery and the Restricted Section

My favorite decoration -- the floating candles

The closing crew knows how to cast spells -- Piper (Slytherin), Anna (Ravenclaw) and Adam (Hufflepuff)

Harry Potter was a big hit this Halloween! Everyone's going to miss the decorations. Now what to make for winter...

GIRLIE UPDATE: Man of Steel filming

Oh Henry is busy at work in Vancouver, being the hunky Superman that he is. The boy is buff times 10! Not sure I like the grizzly look but...

GIRLIE UPDATE: Hunter Killer announcement

The Butler has signed on to another movie but I don't know if it's called Hunter Killer or Thunder Run.

Hunter Killer is about an American submarine captain who teams with Navy Seals to rescue the Russian president, kidnapped by a rouge general. Hello, the Butler as a Navy officer!

Thunder Run will be a CG 3-D flick of the capture of Baghdad and the start of the Iraqi war. So does that mean we'll hear only his voice or will his CG character resemble them, like they did in Avatar? I vote for the later option! The Butler, a Marine?

Well IMDb lists Hunter Killer... I'm going to love the Butler as a military man!

MOVIE ALERT: Tower Heist

Since Aaron and I had the day off we got to catch a pre-screening of Tower Heist. It has two of the funniest actors playing lead roles - Mr. Stiller and Mr. Murphy. The old Eddie Murphy's back! A nice date with the hubby!

New windows for da house

Aaron and I had two window companies come in to measure our old windows and give us quotes for new, energy efficient ones. Boy does our house need them! You can feel the chill creep in through the window seals in the winter.

It looks like we can afford to replace the 4 in the front of the house and the 1 in the kitchen. I'm so excited! The living room windows really need replacing before our rooms. It is very chilly in the winter, probably because of where they are situated relative to the wind/snow patterns, as well as the fireplace when it's unused.

We are hoping to replace the last 3 windows and maybe the back sliding door in the spring. Our back door's handle broke off so we really need it replaced eventually. But they are so expensive!

Cramps to die from

I got bad cramps as I was driving my student workers back to Oberlin. I thought I was going to die! A sharp pain went down my legs and up my back. I had to do "labor" breathing in order to bare the stabbing pain. So much for weening myself off of my "candy" ibuprofen. I took one and put myself to sleep. Poor dogs didn't know what happened - I ran in the house, used the bathroom and popped into bed. The pain was gone by the time Aaron came home from work at midnight.

I guess the acupuncture treatments didn't work this cycle. At least I didn't have my migraines!

Fun for the Wild Circulation Bunch - Dinner at Wasabi

What a nice supervisor I am! I planned an outing with my student workers who are stuck here during the fall break. Helen wanted to eat Japanese food so a bunch of us met at Wasabi's in Elyria for dinner. A nice break out of Oberlin for everyone! Some even got to visit Keala and Ikaika at my house - a short detour back to campus.

Fall gardening

I finally got out of bed and dragged myself out of the house. I am happy that I managed to chop down two of my many flower beds but oh, my back and legs hurt like a mutha! I long to take some ibuprofen but I'm trying to ween myself off of my "candy". Will try the icy hot/sweatpants remedy again as an alternative. Two down... 8 more flower beds to go!

GIRLIE UPDATE: Of Men and Mavericks filming continued

Now that's more like it! Lookin' good and manly! Why does it have to be cold enough for a wetsuit?

Sore calves

OK I'm not sure what's going on with my old body, but all of a sudden my calves started throbbing. Both legs! And now I can't walk! I hope it has nothing to do with the acupuncture treatments I'm getting. But a small part of me hopes it is and not because I'm getting old, ha!

Lathering on the icy hot and putting on sweatpants in hopes that the cramps will go away.

Fall Break vacation

Yay I'm taking vacation during fall break! My intention is to catch up on my gardening and do some house improvements. We'll see how productive I am!

Owl on my mind...

My desk attendants asked for owls so they got two! Our Hedwig is actually stuffed to give it a 3-D effect, ha! I think one of my student supervisors is coloring the other one. What to make next...

Main Circ is going...

Harry Potter for Halloween! I start making some homemade decorations to put up on the 31st. You like my house crests? All my workers were sorted into their respective houses and should wear their colors. I placed myself in Slytherin thinking no one wanted to be in it. But I wonder what's my true house? I should take the test...

Mom, you see the calendar you send me for Christmas?

GIRLIE UPDATE: Of Men and Mavericks filming

G started filming his surfing flick in Santa Cruz, CA. Beaches shouldn't be cold enough to wear beanies, or is he hiding his surf hair? Too much clothes, Handsome!

For those of you who don't know about the movie, it's based on surf legend Jay Moriarity. Sadly I never heard of him. I was too busy in love with Kelly Slater! And other local surfers.

The movie is set to come out October 26, 2012. Mark your calendars, beach bunnies!

Home improvement 2011

More shopping! Well window shopping at the Home Depot. We wanted to compare the prices from our last week's explorations at Lowe's. I must say the service was better. We actually got help! And the prices were comparable but with specials going on. Some even included free installation! So I think we are going to buy our home improvement supplies from Home Depot. We just have to decide what to do first.

There's a kitchen special going on this month so we may be getting new kitchen counters! Get this, there's a granite counter top that is priced the same as the solid surface counters. I didn't even consider the expensive stuff when planning. How exciting if we can pull it off.

I plan to paint our bedroom during my fall break. And maybe Aaron can install a new bathroom sink and counter top in our half bathroom. Practice for our master bathroom later.

Home Depot also has a special on windows and patio doors until the end of the year. That's definitely on our list of things to replace! I can imagine the $$ and energy we'd save with efficient windows! No more fall and winter drafts! And our back patio door is broken right now.

The last thing I would like to do over is the lighting. Since we now have central air and heat we don't really need the heavy, intrusive ceiling fans and dim lights. Recess lighting, recess lighting!! But we don't have to do all of this in 2011!

After an hour roaming the kitchen, bath and window aisles we left and wanted to go to the Halloween store next door. But it was closing. I guess I know what I'll be doing tomorrow!

I'm lovin' our new weekends

Another productive day for the Brlas'! Aaron went to the dentist while I slept the morning away. Unfortunately he had cavities to fill. Later we went to see the acupuncturist.

After we did some shopping. We actually had fun in World Market in Avon Commons. I wanted to stock up on some ethnic spices and sauces and was successful -- an Italian pumpkin pasta sauce (in the Italian pasta section), Mexican enchilada sauce, Indian Garam Masala and Tandoori spices, Chinese Hoisin, and more Indonesian chili paste for Aaron. He picked up a Czech, an Irish and an English beer to try too. All that browsing made us hungry for dinner.

We drove down the street to our favorite Hungarian restaurant Helen & Cal's on Detriot Ave. Aaron had the veal paprikas special and I had my favorite stuffed cabbage. Ono! We did more shopping after to walk off the meal. We eventually made it home to drop off our purchases and walk the dogs. Guess what we did after that?

ACUPUNCTURE ALERT: Treatment #3

I told Dr. Caruso that I had headaches in the last two weeks. Not migraines but tension headaches that would come and go. Not sure if it's lack of sleep, my changing diet or my body changing due to the treatments.

I had more needles this time and I felt every prick! I'm thinking now that I know where my "trouble" spots are my mind knows what's coming, that's why I can feel them all, unlike the first time. My tummy still hurts when he turns the needle and the top of my feet are extra sensitive. Dr. Caruso placed one in my right wrist this time and it hurt big time! We'll see how I feel now and how it will affect my upcoming cycle. Crossing fingers!

Aaron got his 2nd arm treatment too. He got three needles this time. I was happy that Dr. Caruso explained to Aaron how he was working the pressure points in a more medical way than explaining ch'i and the flow of energy to the organs. Aaron would have been discouraged. But he said it doesn't hurt as much as it did before his first treatment so he wanted to try again. We're lucky but we're not charged for it!

GIRLIE UPDATE: Man of Steel release date

Oh Henry's Superman flick is expected to release in June 14, 2013. Holy far in the future!

His currently filming in Vancouver. I must say he's looking very Wolverine right now. And what a fine lookin' Wolverine he makes!

Thump, thump, thump

For the past couple of days my heart has been beating hard, and I'm just sitting on the couch watching TV! It's not beating fast but hard. I can feel the beats in my head and chest. I just made miso soup lately. Did you know it has tons of sodium in it? I thought miso was suppose to be good for you! I thought maybe all that sodium messed with my blood pressure but I don't think so now. It's been a couple days now since I ate my soup and my heart is still beating hard. mmmm...

I take after my Dad

I was sent to the guest bedroom this morning because I was snoring too loud. I didn't even know I was snoring! No sore or dry throat the next morning. Oh well...

GIRLIE UPDATE: A couple of Scots

I love it when these boys get together. Hey G mentions Hawaii! Lookin' good!

Hangin' with the Ransome's

It was such a beautiful day! I actually braved the pollen and hung out in the sun with Keala this afternoon. Aaron went mountain biking with Mikey and Ikaika stayed in the house and slept.

Later we went for a BBQ at Dave and Nikki's. Such a nice relaxing evening!

Fall house renovations

I convinced Aaron that we may be able to do some home improvement projects this fall. His car is paid off and so is our driveway. All new windows and kitchen and bathroom countertops are top on the list! We're going to go check it out at Lowe's and Home Depot...

Biometric screening

My cholesterol is down since last year... YES! With exercising back in my schedule and the new diet of veggies my health should improve even further. Go, 44-year old, go!

No more days and midnights

Congratulations to Aaron and the new schedule he proposed. He's back to four 10-hour weeks and just the evening shifts. We may actually have same days off and the weekends free together!

GIRLIE UPDATE: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo trailer #2

Mr. Craig in his third film of 2011. One more to go!

GIRLIE UPDATE: Of Men and Mavericks

G's upcoming surf flick is renamed and will begin shooting in late October. Sadly it will not be filmed in beautiful Hawaii. After all it's all about the famous surf spot Mavericks in California. Let the hang tens commence!

I'm back, workouts!

I went to work in my yoga capris and gym shoes. And I made time to go downstairs and do a fast workout. Yeah! It lasted only 15 minutes but my heart was pumping and I worked up a sweat. Now all my body parts are hurting. Let's see if I can workout every night this week!

Headache... NO!

I was disappointed to have a headache today. And all day too! I'm not sure if it's because of the acupuncture treatment, or something I ate, or sleeping on the master bed. We'll see if it continues tomorrow. I hope not!

No Doggie Do!

Aaron and I were looking forward to taking the dogs to Oberlin's annual dog fair but it got cancelled because of the bad weather. It actually is a blessing because I stayed up too late reorganizing my calendars and needed the sleep-in! What a lazy day! Let's see how long I can stay in my pj's!