Texas Blue Lime Productions

Enunciate

The English language requires enunciation when speaking. Otherwise, you might be completely mis-understood.

• House Number: 3018, “thirty-eighteen” can sound like “thirtyeight-ten”, 3810
• Meaning: “and fortunately” (“an’ fortunately”) can sound like “unfortunately”
• Amount: $1500, “fifteen hundred” can sound like “fifty to a hundred”, $50-100
• Word: “Second” is a a measure of time. It is also the ordinal the comes after first. Secont is not a word. Secant is a geometry term and is pronounced with a long e.

Doors

When walking through a door, do not stop just inside it, keep going and let those behind you also pass through. Don’t create a “rear end collision” by stopping just inside the door way.

Mabel, Mabel…off the table!

Mabel, Mabel, sweet and able, keep your elbows off the table!

Now, I’m just as likely as anyone else of my same height to put my elbows or forearms on the table—taller people have more room and reason to use the table for a resting place. But, if you are rocking the table (especially if someone else is trying to eat or take notes), you need to keep your elbows at your waist and let the others use the table as it was intended.

Gmail Filters

Due to drama and hateful types[1], I had ~7 email addresses blocked. Someone I do like to receive email from sent me an email and copied one of those people. I gave a courtesy-only reply. Now, two of the people in my black-list successfully emailed me. I guess Gmail is smart enough to see that you had a conversation involving them (even for the one I did not email) and removes the filter so you can continue the conversation.

Damn, Gmail. Let me make that decision. Let me just have this conversation:

“Did you get my email?”
“no”
“’cause I sent it like three times”
“strange. I wonder what’s wrong.”

grrrr….I had them filtered for a reason[2]. (….and, by the way, curses to the one who looped me in the conversation in the first place. While there could be logic to the Reply All, it wasn’t really all that necessary.)

They are both re-blocked, now, of course.

Last week, it did a wonderful thing in the Brazos Valley: it snowed! It was not ice; it was not sleet. It was real honest-to-goodness snow!

Wednesday night, we went to sleep knowing it could, but wondering if it really would. Even the sky had that “it could snow” purple color and odd look shine it. Of course, the view was exaggerated by the almost-full-and-very-close-to-Earth moon. Thursday morning, we awoke to a pretty little blanket that dusted the trees and rooftops, but not the roads. It was gorgeous. Thursday was a magical wonderland as our friends posted pictures to facebook of their snowmen and other creations.

Thursday afternoon at about 3pm, an amazing thing happened: it started snowing again! And this time, it was a thick, full snow. The flakes looked and felt three-dimensional! I wish I had taken a small video with my phone, because the density of flakes falling from the sky was unlike anything I’d ever seen. When I got home, I liesurely walked to get the mail. I walked outside again just to be outside with the drifting flakes. I caught them on my tongue and let them cascade upon my lashes. Yet again, the white magice clung to trees, and rooftops. It made blankets in fields….but it did not stick to roads and did not impede all those holiday errands! (Though I’m certain the kiddos wished it had impeded school; I would have!)

Thursday, for supper, Emil and I went to River Bridge Grill where we sat facing a window. We enjoyed our dinner while we watched a young couple make a snowman off the small patio tables in the courtyard of the La Salle Hotel.

Interestingly, when I called my mom (who hates cold weather and thus snow) to say, “Guess what I’m doing?”, she innocently questioned, “um, playing in the snow?” and was slightly jolted to some reality when I explained that we weren’t but we were warm and cozy at the restaurant watching others do that very thing.

Anyway, It was the cutest little table-top snowman ever! After dinner, we went for an amazingly romantic walk through downtown Bryan. We let the snow fall on our shoulders and enjoyed the displays of holiday lights. We even stepped inside Earth Art and did a little “wish” shopping while we chatted with the clerk working that night.

I haven’t had any holiday spirit for years. (Too. Much. Stress!) I won’t say that I’m totally there, but that ~24 hours sure was a turning point for my mood and attitude toward the holiday season. It was nothing short of magical.

According to the facebook/urban legend, “if you’ve seen over 85 films, you have no life.”

Mark the ones you’ve seen. There are 239 films on this list. Copy this list, go to your own facebook account, paste this as a note. Then, put x’s next to the films you’ve seen, add them up, change the header adding your number, and click post at the bottom. Have fun.

( ) Rocky Horror Picture Show ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Grease ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Pirates of the Caribbean ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man’s Chest  ( emil )
( ) Boondock Saints
( ) Fight Club ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Starsky and Hutch
( ) Neverending Story ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Blazing Saddles  ( emil )
( ) Airplane  ( emil )
( ) The Princess Bride ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Anchorman
( ) Napoleon Dynamite ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Labyrinth ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Saw
( ) Saw II
( ) White Noise  ( emil )
( ) White Oleander
( ) Anger Management
( ) 50 First Dates ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) The Princess Diaries
( ) The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
( ) Scream ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Scream 2 ( lori )
( ) Scream 3
( ) Scary Movie  ( emil )
( ) Scary Movie 2
( ) Scary Movie 3
( ) Scary Movie 4
( ) American Pie ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) American Pie 2
( ) American Wedding
( ) American Pie Band Camp
( ) Harry Potter 1 ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Harry Potter 2  ( emil )
( ) Harry Potter 3  ( emil )
( ) Harry Potter 4  ( emil )
( ) Resident Evil 1 ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Resident Evil 2 ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) The Wedding Singer ( lori )
( ) Little Black Book
( ) The Village  ( emil )
( ) Lilo & Stitch ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Finding Nemo ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Finding Neverland
( ) Signs ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) The Grinch  ( emil )
( ) Texas Chainsaw Massacre  ( emil )
( ) Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
( ) White Chicks
( ) Butterfly Effect ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) 13 Going on 30
( ) I, Robot ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Robots ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Universal Soldier  ( emil )
( ) Lemony Snicket: A Series Of Unfortunate Events  ( emil )
( ) Along Came Polly ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Deep Impact ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) KingPin
( ) Never Been Kissed ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Meet The Parents ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Meet the Fockers ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Eight Crazy Nights
( ) Joe Dirt  ( emil )
( ) KING KONG  ( emil )
( ) A Cinderella Story
( ) The Terminal ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) The Lizzie McGuire Movie
( ) Passport to Paris
( ) Dumb & Dumber ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Dumber & Dumberer  ( emil )
( ) Final Destination ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Final Destination 2 ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Final Destination 3 ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Halloween ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) The Ring ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) The Ring 2
( ) Surviving X-MAS
( ) Flubber ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Practical Magic
( ) Chicago ( lori )
( ) Ghost Ship ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) From Hell
( ) Hellboy ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Secret Window
( ) I Am Sam
( ) The Whole Nine Yards  ( emil )
( ) The Whole Ten Yards  ( emil )
( ) The Day After Tomorrow ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Child’s Play  ( emil )
( ) Seed of Chucky
( ) Bride of Chucky
( ) Ten Things I Hate About You  ( emil )
( ) Just Married
( ) Gothika  ( emil )
( ) Nightmare on Elm Street  ( emil )
( ) Sixteen Candles ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Remember the Titans ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Coach Carter
( ) The Grudge  ( emil )
( ) The Grudge 2
( ) The Mask  ( emil )
( ) Son Of The Mask
( ) Bad Boys
( ) Bad Boys 2
( ) Joy Ride
( ) Lucky Number Slevin
( ) Ocean’s Eleven
( ) Ocean’s Twelve
( ) Bourne Identity ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Bourne Supremecy ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Lone Star
( ) Bedazzled  ( emil )
( ) Predator I ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Predator II ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) The Fog  ( emil )
( ) Ice Age ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Ice Age 2: The Meltdown ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Curious George  ( emil )
( ) Independence Day ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Cujo  ( emil )
( ) A Bronx Tale
( ) Darkness Falls  ( emil )
( ) Christine  ( emil )
( ) ET ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Children of the Corn
( ) My Bosses Daughter
( ) Maid in Manhattan
( ) War of the Worlds ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Rush Hour ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Rush Hour 2 ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Best Bet
( ) How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) She’s All That
( ) Calendar Girls ( lori )
( ) Sideways ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Mars Attacks ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Event Horizon  ( emil )
( ) Ever After
( ) Wizard of Oz ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Forrest Gump ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Big Trouble in Little China ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) The Terminator ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) The Terminator 2 ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) The Terminator 3 ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) X-Men ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) X-2 ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) X-3 ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Spider-Man ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Spider-Man 2 ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Sky High  ( emil )
( ) Jeepers Creepers
( ) Jeepers Creepers 2
( ) Catch Me If You Can ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) The Little Mermaid ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Freaky Friday ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Reign of Fire  ( emil )
( ) The Skulls
( ) Cruel Intentions ( lori )
( ) Cruel Intentions 2
( ) The Hot Chick
( ) Shrek ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Shrek 2 ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Swimfan
( ) Miracle on 34th street ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Old School  ( emil )
( ) The Notebook
( ) K-Pax
( ) Krippendorf’s Tribe
( ) A Walk to Remember
( ) Ice Castles ( lori )
( ) Boogeyman
( ) The 40-year-old Virgin ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Lord of the Rings Fellowship of the Ring ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Lord of the Rings The Two Towers ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Lord of the Rings Return Of the King ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Baseketball ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Hostel
( ) Waiting for Guffman
( ) House of 1000 Corpses
( ) Devils Rejects
( ) Elf
( ) Highlander  ( emil )
( ) Mothman Prophecies
( ) American History X
( ) Three
( ) The Jacket
( ) Kung Fu Hustle
( ) Shaolin Soccer
( ) Night Watch  ( emil )
( ) Monsters Inc. ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Titanic ( lori )
( ) Monty Python and the Holy Grail ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Shaun Of the Dead ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Willard  ( emil )
( ) High Tension
( ) Club Dread
( ) Hulk ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Dawn Of the Dead ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Hook ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) 28 days later  ( emil )
( ) Orgazmo ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Phantasm  ( emil )
( ) Waterworld  ( emil )
( ) Kill Bill vol 1
( ) Kill Bill vol 2
( ) Mortal Kombat  ( emil )
( ) Wolf Creek
( ) Kingdom of Heaven  ( emil )
( ) the Hills Have Eyes ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) I Spit on Your Grave aka the Day of the Woman
( ) The Last House on the Left
( ) Re-Animator
( ) Army of Darkness  ( emil )
( ) Star Wars Ep. I The Phantom Menace ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Star Wars Ep. II Attack of the Clones ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Star Wars Ep. III Revenge of the Sith ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Star Wars Ep. IV A New Hope ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Star Wars Ep. V The Empire Strikes Back ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Star Wars Ep. VI Return of the Jedi ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Ewoks Caravan Of Courage
( ) Ewoks The Battle For Endor
( ) The Matrix ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) The Matrix Reloaded ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) The Matrix Revolutions ( lori ) ( emil )
( ) Animatrix
( ) Evil Dead  ( emil )
( ) Evil Dead 2  ( emil )
( ) Team America: World Police  ( emil )
( ) Red Dragon
( ) Silence of the Lambs ( lori )
( ) Hannibal ( lori )

Total: 106 –     lori, 143 – Emil

Do I get bonus points for movies I have not only seen, but own? What about for the one my business is named after??? Furthermore, who made this vastly incomplete list????

see more pwn and owned pictures

For the last couple of years, we have scaled back our gift-giving and receiving.

Primary Steps

1. Scale back.
2. Ask the recipient what that they want.
3. Involve charity.
4. Buy something they need or already have.

Difficult-to-shop-for Friends and Family

Brainstorm the Person

1. Brainstorm the person, first. Brainstorm identifiers and characteristics of the person.
   • Once you have a list of words describing the person, read the list with gift-giving in mind.
2. Then, make a list.
3. Do research, if necessary.
4. Finally, shop.
5. Keep “records“. Keep your lists from one year to the next.

Click the more… link for the much longer explanation of these.

Read the rest of this entry »

Emil was forced to attend Thanksgiving with his family alone. I came down with some kind of stomach bug and was bed-ridden for ~24 hours. I spent Thanksgiving sleeping through and watching movies and TV shows. Luckily, since so many of us visited Mom recently (between surgery, her homecoming, retro-fitting her home, some therapy/recovery), I’d seen many of our family members and didn’t feel like I totally missed out.

Friday morning, I was feeling better, so we loaded up and drove to Paris to have Thanksgiving II with my mom and her parents. As usual, my grandmother prepared an amazing meal. We spent the rest of the afternoon with them and celebrated Emil’s birthday with homemade chocolate cake and a couple of his gifts.

The rest of our time in Paris was perfectly lazy. We slept in, lounged around, played computer games, played with Roxi Lee—and accommodated the needs of the Princess—and made Christmas wish lists.

Even the drive home was better than usual. Traffic was heavy, but we saw no major accidents and made it home in less than 5 hours. On the drive, we made shopping lists for those we need to shop for for Christmas. I’m proud to say we know exactly what we are getting every person on our list!

I was so excited by this that I Twittered it. I’ve already been asked for our technique for coming up with the perfect thing for us to give each person on our list. So, I’ll be writing again to describe that technique in case anyone else finds it helpful.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

Emil’s Mom has had weak/bad knees for years. They have kept her from enjoying anything that requires much/any standing or walking. After suffering through, the doctors finally said she had to have replacements. Being a strong woman, she wanted to get them both done at once and get it over with. The doctors wouldn’t let her since she’d not have a way to stand to do the therapy required for healing. So, a few days before Thanksgiving, she went under the knife. Between pre-op and post-op xrays, her femur developed a hairline fracture. So, recovery for this knee will be 4 months instead of 3 (and then they’ll work on the left knee.)

We spent a day or so before Thanksgiving helping rearrange furniture and build a ramp so moving around the house with a walker was easier. Emil and his siblings are really giving a team effort into her care. (She’s probably sick of us and ready to have some peace and quiet!)

I missed Thanksgiving due to a stomach bug, but Emil reports that she managed just fine and even was able to take a nap.

We are spending a couple of days/nights with her over the next two weeks. Then, one of Emil’s sisters plans to come into down to stay a week. Since we don’t have kids/Santa to deal with, we volunteered to take Christmas Eve, too.