Thrusday's 10: The One with the V-Day Presents

Oh mah gah. Presents? Do you know how hard it is to shop for P?! He never really has any advice as to what I should get him, so instead I run around frantically trying to find presents for him that I'm never sure that he'll actually likes, but he promises he does.

On the other hand, P either gets me The Perfect Gift, which makes me feel like a horrible person for not getting him the perfect present, or he buys me...a video game. Love the man, but just because I play Sims and Harvest Moon doesn't mean that video games are a great de facto gift. :P

Also, my birthday's on Valentine's Day. MOAR PRESENTS, PLZ.

(Someone once suggested that we should get married on V-Day. His eyes got real big and he quickly said "NO. Oh, no. That's Valentine's Day and her birthday and her anniversary. I'd have to get her a massive present every year to cover all my bases. Like a pony.")

In any case...here's my Thursday's Ten variation: the five best gifts I've gotten P, and the five best gifts he's gotten me.

(because that makes ten.)

BEST PRESENTS I'VE GOTTEN P:
#1: a bright blue iPod mini. It was used, but in decent condition, and it lasted him a good while. He was pretty excited.

#2: The Marvel Superhero Encycolopedia. He's read it cover to cover on multiple occasion, and just loves it. There's a new edition out now...maybe I have found a good V-day present.

#3: A VIP Disney tour and a Jedi hat. That was for his birthday last summer, and he was so excited. And I was excited that he would finally know what I was babbling about...

#4: The Orange Box- a video game set that includes Portal. He was happy. Yay, I picked good...

#5: A box full of random wrapped presents and notes. I gave it to him when he started his first semester at MTSU. I told him to open them slowly...um, yeah. Didn't happen. He opened all of them at once. Well, as long as he's happy!

BEST PRESENTS P HAS GOTTEN ME:
#1: a box he filled with reasons he loves me. I melted. Although Emma opened it up and started reading them aloud without realizing what it was. I have never seen P lunge that fast...


#2: A Red vs. Blue shirt that says I HEART CABOOSE. I haven't worn it in a while (gaaaaained weeeeeight) but I'm turning it into something cuter. ;)

#3: The entire Shaman King series on DVD. Twice. He got me the dub version, then the sub version. And considering it's never been released in the States, that is quite a feat!

#4: A beautiful glass figurine of Ariel. They sell Arribas Brothers figures in Adventureland and Downtown Disney, and I've always ooh'd and aah'd over them. Last summer I went to go check Fastpass times, and when I came back P snuck a little brown box in my hand and said it was my welcome home present. I'm keeping him.

#5: Aerie clothes. I know, it sounds shallow, but a year or two ago I was feeling really depressed about my looks. He took me to Aerie and let me pick out a cute outfit and bought it for me. And I felt better.

So yeah! Ten presents! I made it! Woot!

A Room of One's Own

I hope you're ready for the LAZIEST THURSDAY'S TEN EVER.

Like seriously.

The theme for today is things around your house, and I was too lazy to leave my bedroom. So...here's a handful of random things that I like that just so happen to lurk in my room.

#1: My bed and

#2: COLORS!

I love my bed. It's so squishy and comfy. And, um, cluttered at the moment.

Also, I love my room's color scheme. I designed it back when I was in high school and I was obsessed with Trading Spaces.

The conversation when I tried to explain the colors to my dad was PRICELESS. "You want...you want blue and green? And orange and purple? And red? Are you...are you sure?"

#3: My movie tie-in collection

and

#4: My book collection

I love movies, and these are all souvenirs from some of my favorites. (They're not in the picture, but I have a cluster of action figures to the left.)

I am an absolutely VORACIOUS reader. You can't really tell, but the shelves run pretty much all around my room. I have so many books that I had to move the nonfiction books and my scripts to a different spot.

#5: My ipod/stereo/alarm clock

and

#6: Hello Kitty

I would die without my iPod alarm clock. For serious.

That Hello Kitty is actually my sister's. She dragged that little toy around with her everywhere throughout her childhood, and she's sort of the family mascot now. We joke about who gets to have "custody" of Kitty.

#7: My Disney pins

(This is the part where I start grasping at straws as to what I have in my room that's actually interesting.)

I have a huge collection of Disney pins after working in the parks for so long. I refer to it as my retirement fund.

(Seriously, some of these babies go for about $50-$150 on ebay.)

#8: My manuscript

(Whoa, old picture! Back when I was still blondish!)

Yup. I wrote that shiz. All 360+ pages of it.

Now to find a publisher...

#9: Zac Efron!



Yeah. My sewing machine. Love that thing.

The Zac Efron sticker makes it over 9,000 times cooler.

aaaaaaand finally...

#10: MY DRESSFORM!

GUESS WHAT ARRIVED YESTERDAY?!

Yup. My dressform. Still debating about what to name her. Probably going to go with Giselle. Since Giselle sews and all.

But yeah. I think I win for LAZIEST THURSDAY'S TEN EVER.

...

EVER.

Thursday's Ten!

Before I get started, I guess I should say that the Regency dress is done, done, done! I finished it this morning, a few hours before class, and it fit perfectly and was incredibly comfortable. Success! The presentation also went very well, which pleases me. Now I just have to make a Swiper costume before Sunday and a zombie coat before Halloween...

I have also been named an honorary man in the theater department. When I have my official christening, I shall report the tale (as much as I am permitted).

Other than that...nothing has really been thrilling. Basically life=Guys and Dolls rehearsal.

Wedding stuff has hit a minor plateau. Things have changed a little bit when it comes to vendors- we've decided to have a local bakery do the cake. It's getting a little stressful to balance school/rehearsal/wedding/graduating/life, so I've delegated the vendor search for the big three (cake, photography, and catering) to my dad. He loves that sort of contract stuff. And I...do not. But I'm trying to keep wedding stuff in my wedding blog, so I'll move on. (Although it's been a month since I applied to Weddingbee...and they still haven't answered me! Gah!).

And now on to the Thursday's Ten!

I love what Lora picked for this week. It's all stuff that we would absolutely have to take with us to the next house if we were moving. And since I'm going to be moving with P in five months (finally!), I suppose I should actually think about that.

So here's my list!
#1: My baby blanket. I know, stupid. But I've always had it, for every move, every dorm, every internship. And I'm holding onto it so I can sew it into a coat for my first child. So there.

#2: My Disney box. I have a box filled with all sorts of important things from my two Disney internships- a genuine Great Movie Ride newsie cap, an original Fantasmic! shirt, a handful of 3D glasses, photographs...even a piece of Great Movie Ride carpet. (Is that weird? Yep, that's weird.)

#3: My library. You know how the Beast gives Belle that massive library?

Yeah. I have this.

(This pictures was taken when I was in high school...there are fewer dolls now.)

I actually have shelves that wrap around my room, and they're sagging under the weight of my book collection. I also inherited a complete collection of Shakespeare's works from my grandfather, but I can't put them up because I ran out of room. But I'm already warning P that we have to get a lot of Ikea bookshelves for our apartment, because these babies are coming with me.

(And yes, my room is blue with a red stripe, a purple stripe, and orange shelves. My comforter is sage green, and I have curtains striped in all of those colors. Gotta love it.)

#4: My vintage Alice magazine ad. It's decorated my walls since I was five or six years old.

#5: My reminder box. For my twentieth birthday, P gave me a Willow Creek box filled with tiny pieces of paper. That tiny box is crammed full of reasons that he loves me, and he wrote it so that if I ever doubted that he loved me, I could read it and be assured.

#6: My Beatrice manuscript. When I wrote my novel, I wrote it by hand. Those three hundred sacred pages are coming with me EVERYWHERE, fo' sho'.

#7: My Alice in Wonderland costume. It's the first thing I ever sewed, and I love it. Plus, it's always nice to have a default costume lying around in case, you know, you have to dress up.

#8: A little glass Ariel figure. P bought her for me as a surprise from the Arribas Brothers kiosk in Magic Kingdom, right outside Pirates of the Caribbean. I had been drooling over her for months! She's a nice little mascot.

#9:My sewing machine. I have to downsize my sewing stuff when I move, but Zac Efron has to come with me.

#10: My little television. Because a girl has got to get her CSI fix while the guy plays his video games.

Thursday's Ten: TV!

So today's Thursday's Ten is television shows. I have to admit, I usually don't get into television shows until it's been canceled, and I see it in a rerun or on DVD, and then I get hooked. Sadness. And when I do watch a television show when it's actually still on the air, it tends to be of the animated variety.

Oh, well.

I probably watch a little more TV than I should, but I can't help it. I have to have something on when I'm cooking or sewing, otherwise I go crazy!

In any case, here are my top favorite TV shows:

#1: CSI: I love this show and I don't even know why. My freshman-year roommate used to watch it, and I was both grossed out and fascinated by it. Now I discovered that Spike airs marathons pretty much all day long. Love it!

#2: Arrested Development: This show is hilarious. Seriously. Not a week goes by wherein I do not hang my head and mournfully hum "Christmas time is here."

#3: Avatar: The Last Airbender: I watched this show starting on day one and I was there when it ended. A truly epic series. It's the only serie I've ever watched, actually, where every episode developed the plot rather than added filler.

#4: Family Guy: If you haven't watched it, you're missing out. On life.

#5: Glee: This is a new guilty pleasure, but it's hysterical. And the music is AMAZING. It's like Arrested Development (see #2 above) and High School Musical had a baby.

#6: iCarly: I shall not lie. I adore iCarly. I've only missed two episodes so far. My mother and I watch it all the time.

#7: America's Funniest Home Videos: A classic! My roomie/bestie/MOH Kat and I used to watch it every single night.

#8: Shaman King: So it's Japanese anime. I can't help it. I read my first chapter of the manga when I was only about fifteen, and I've followed the manga and the anime religiously. It has the absolute most compelling romantic storyline I've ever read. Ever. (take that, Twilight!)

#9: I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant: Basically TLC reenacts situations in which women Didn't Know They Were Pregnant? The best part of the show (besides the reenactments)? When the announcer declares in a deep voice that they "DIDN'T EVEN KNOW THEY WERE PREGNANT." I crack up every time.

#10: Golden Girls: I didn't start watching it until the past year, but it's so funny. I think I'm the most like Rose.

So there's my ten television shows! What do you think of them?

Thursday's Ten: Bucket List

This seems especially poignant today...but at the same time it's nice to think about something else for a little while.

My Bucket List:
#1: Get married and have children.

#2: See one of my books in print.

#3: Provide a voice for a big-name production (Disney, Funimation, Warner Bros., Nickelodeon)...it doesn't matter if I'm the lead or the ADR loop!

#4: Learn ballet.

#5: Get my MFA.

#6: Throw a 1950s-style dinner party- pearls, petticoat, apron, Betty Crocker recipes, Fiestaware, the works!

#7: Grow a garden.

#8: Sing in public.

#9: Get down to my target weight...and stay there.

#10: Win a sewing competition.

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