BOO at the ZOO

Yesterday evening we went to BOO at the ZOO. The admission ticket comes with 6 coupons to get candy at various candy stations set up around the zoo. It was a different experience seeing the zoo at night. The big cats were all pacing and the birds of prey were eating. We got to see baby lions playing and a couple of foxes all curled up under a heat lamp. We got to see some animals much more close up than usual, including a penguin, the bobcat, and a screech owl. After the zoo we had very yummy pizza at Mellow Mushroom. Ethan started on the candy early. Actually, we all did.

The white Bengal tiger was pacing.

This is a 6 year old Eastern screech owl.

Nightmare Before Halloween

Last weekend we went and saw The Nightmare Before Christmas in 3D. It was good. I didn't remember the movie at all, so I really enjoyed it. I thought Ethan would like it, but he refuses to see anything in 3D because he had a bad 4D experience at Sea World. The 3D was a bit pricey, but I'm glad we went.

V for Vendetta

I couldn't sleep the other night, so I got up and finished reading V. I liked it. There were some differences between the movie and the book. I know I liked the movie. The main thing I feel was left out (that changed the story somewhat) was the neo-holocaust. In the book all darkies, yids, queers, and radicals had been rounded up and put into camps. I didn't get that from the movie. Maybe I just missed it or don't remember it. I think the movie flowed a little bit more smoothly than the book, but considering how the book was written that is understandable. I was confused at the end of the book, but I think I was able to figure it out. Natalie Portman did a great job portraying Evey Hammond in the movie and was a lot better looking than Evey in the book! Now I need to get back to that heavy reading...

Pumpkin Carving 2008

Saturday we had our pumpkin carving party. Ross made cream of poblano soup and crispy tuna sandwiches and I made guac and a pumpkin cake. We didn't get around to eating any cake until Sunday. After the food we started the routine...wash, dry, open, scoop, scrape, scoop, scrape, transfer pattern, then cut out pattern. Well, that is the routine for the more complicated patterns. Some people skipped the whole pattern transfer and just drew on the pumpkin (all the pumpkins in the first photo). Ethan took a shine to Heather and told her a really long story about pumpkins. I think everyone had a good time. Now I'm getting excited about the dessert party.

Leana's, Tim's and Terri's pumpkins.
Heather's Pumpkin.
Tiffany carved Ethan's Jack pumpkin and Robert caved the one on the right.
My beheaded cheerleader pumpkin.
Ross's sad Toad pumpkin. He doesn't want to try again because that would mean more scraping, scooping, peeling, chiseling, and carving.

Turning point?

I wasn't so good about working out last week. Monday and Tuesday of this week I only went for walks--no yoga or weights. I'm still no closer to my weight goal for this month. Today I decided to step it up. I did 90 minutes of yoga, a 35 minute firm dvd, and I'm planning on going for a walk after dinner. Tomorrow is supposed to be 30 minutes of weights class and 2 hour long yoga classes. Friday I'm going to do a 60 minute weights class and 60 minutes of yoga plus walking. The plan for Saturday is an hour long walk. I'm wondering if I can get that done in the morning. After the weekend I think I'll go back to the no C diet. One of the girls on the biggest loser lost 8 pounds this week! So I can meet my weight goal by Halloween! Next week I might throw in some swimming and sauna. Well, I'm sweaty, time to get cleaned up.

The Rabbi's Cat

I have finally made it through the first chapter of Light on Life by BKS Iyengar. It got a little heavy there for a while and I took a break to do some brainless reading. I read The Rabbi's Cat by Joann Sfar, the first trade of Y: The Last Man by Brian K. Vaughan, and Animalia by Graeme Base. I really enjoyed The Rabbi's Cat. Next time I go to the library I will pick up the second book. I didn't enjoy Y so much. Watchmen was definitely better. Last night I read Animalia to Ross. I pick out the children's books based on the art. The paintings in the book are awesome. It is an alphabet book, and as we were reading it Ross noticed that there were many things in the A painting that started with A (besides the armoured armadillo and angry alligator). It was fun finding the hidden things in each painting. When I read the T page Ross said "terrific..." and fell asleep. I think over the last year or two Ross and I have read quite a few graphic novels. It is a strange kind of bonding experience. I preferred watching anime series together. We need a new series. In the meantime he will start The Rabbi's Cat, and I will get started on V for Vendetta.

Follicular Cyst

When I Google "follicular cyst piercing" I get all these things saying it is a big scary word. Uh, not really. I have some sort of bump right next to the bottom hole of my piercing. All the research I've done seems to indicate that it is a follicular cyst. I have a clogged pore. Gunk has accumulated, forming a big bump. I think my pore is probably clogged with adhesive because I have been taping my piercing almost every day for the last two weeks. The bump started about a week and a half ago. This morning when I removed the tape from the bottom bead a piece of skin over the cyst came off with it. Eew, I know, gross. I thought everything would come out and it would just deflate, but that didn't happen. I soaked it for 15 minutes and tried to clean up the area really well. I need to be better about soaking and cleaning. I hope this thing goes away soon. I promise I'll be better about taking care of it....