Farwell 2008!

Happy New Year!

I'm not sure if I posted last week, it seems like it has been forever the last time I posted. Anyway, i'm still a little under the weather from the wisdom teeth. My jaw is a little sore but the strangest thing is that my arm where they stuck me full of needles, hurts like hell. I'm glad that I won't be going back there just because of the pain in my arm. Hope everybody got what they wanted for Christmas, tomorrow is the Allen's new year eve party hope to see as many as you there as possible.

The Warlord goes Woot Woot

Well, I'm starting to get a feel for DnD 4th ed. I'm playing Bonn, the inspiring Warlord... I've given all of my powers snappy catch phases. My favorite is still "Suck it up buttercup" for my healing "Inspiring Word" class power.

I picked up In a Wicked Age. It's and indie game. A sword and sorcery themed game featuring the oracle as a main source of plot generation. It also has a system of negotiation which I'm curious about. I'm just starting to read it. I'll tell you all more later.


My musical selection this week is a reflection on the end of the year and a look forward. Bob Dylan - The Times They Are A-Changin

Sunday

Hey guys.
I'm watching a documentary about Dede, the "tree man". He's got a severe case of warts and they've grown to cover his hands and feet, and they're starting to cover his face. It's sad, and I hope he gets better.
I really want MySpanish Coach, but apparently it's discontinued and I can't find it anywhere, except online where it costs $40. And that's just ridiculous.
Not really much else to talk about. I've been eating tons of candy, but that should be stopping soon. Hey, my next post will be in 2009. That's kind of exciting : D
Thank you all for pleasant Christmas gifts : )
I really want to get in shape. Not like a New Year's Resolution, but just because I want to. I've been trying to for years, and this past year I've been trying much more than ever before. I guess I'm a little better, but nowhere near what I would like to be. And I don't even mean like just to be thin, cause I don't really care much about that anymore, I just want to be able to run without feeling asthmatic. That would be nice. That's my goal, not for New Year's, just for myself.
Do you guys have any New Year's resolutions? Or, any goals you want to set for yourselves?

Back to work..

It's Saturday already! This week flew by! I had yesterday off, and that only seemed to last about an hour. Also, today is my date of hire at HCNH. I never thought I'd see 9 years!
Christmas was awesome, thank you all, your thank you cards are in the mail =-D.
My parents got me the DS game coach cooking. So today I decided to break it in a bit. I made my first souffles (a set of 2). They are supposed to be cheese, but I couldn't find the right type of cheese, so I settled on blue cheese (it looked just like the picture). It took a few minutes to get a grip on what the little chef dude meant, but I think I did very well. They expect you to whisk the whites by hand...until stiff...so my arm is now killing me! I was very good and did not open the oven door once while they were cooking. They do put lights and a window on the oven door, so I viewed the progress from there!
When I had a few minutes until they were done, I made a meterrainian salad ( I cheated and bought a salad kit for that!) and then put half the salad on each plate and the souffle on the other. Greg seems to like it.
I'm itching to try out the crockpot! I was thinking of making either pulled pork or baked beans in it. I'll probably make the beans, because I'm pretty used to that recipe, I've been making them since I was 15.
I hope everyone had a great Christmas! And have a good week!

Recovering from Christmas. Uhhhh. I'm so sleepy..! So I think I'm going to give into that desire and go to bed and s-l-e-e-p. I hope everyone else is having a happy recovering from x-mas day. Have a nice new year too!
-Liz

Phrank: Minutes Late

Sorry, I was playing my new game, The Ship, for the last four hours, lost track of time. It's pretty good, it's an interesting blend of Sims and Counterstrike. I haven't played anything other than computer opponents so far, but I'm looking forward to playing real people. Also, I got some nice stuff of my registry, and a bunch of awesome stuff, it was a great Christmas. Thanks everybody!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Happy Christmas Eve everyone!

I ordered a Christmas CD almost over a week ago, and they didn't ship it till yesterday. I was despondent that I wouldn't get it in time. But when I got back from work, I saw it on the stairs!! I will definitely be bringing it to the family festivities tonight.

I am SO EXCITED to see you all! And I can't wait to give you your presents, because I think I did a good job picking them out this year. :) Anyways, I have to go get ready so I can be ready to leave and get home!

Wisdom is pain

Hello all, I have some new news for all of you.

I have three things to talk to you about.

Monday, I had an interview for a new job but we'll see if I get it and have to leave Tiffany's.

Tuesday, I had my top two wisdom teeth pulled and needless to say it hurts like hell.

Also I'm posting some links to videos of a game that I wanted for Christmas but it got pushed back to February and now March so i'm bummed about that and you have to watch the three videos that i'm linking too. Also a Christmas video for Greg.

Video One

Video Two

Video Three


Christmas Video

What's on your Wish Liszt?

Well, It's 3 days to Christmas. Well sorta..

Jess has to work Christmas Eve and Night, so we're sorta doing an early Christmas to make up for it. Though, I think it's already come for us. The Ring came in today. Jess is now wearing it. And she loves it. And that makes me happy.


So for everyone else, some Festive music is in order. I just found something "Old School". "Old School" meaning something older than Liz. In this case it's the 8-bit musical goodness of the old NES game music mixed into carols. The Metroid \ Ye Merry Gentlemen Mix is my favorite so far.
http://www.doctoroctoroc.com/video-games/8-bit-jesus-full-album-release/

While you download that, here's something for that Toy Shop Madness...

It's Sunday!

Hello, it's Sunday, and that means it's time for me to post!
So, I love the snow. It's very pretty. I only had to drive in it once (well twice, to work and back) so that was good.
I'm really excited for Christmas!!
I'm watching this show about identical twins, and it's quite interesting. I'd like to have twins. I think it'd be super.
I hooked up the N64 yesterday for the first time in a while and I've been playing Banjo & Kazooie. It's such a fun game. I want to go play it again. In fact, I think I will when this show is over.
I'm hoping to make it to the Walek Christmas Eve Extravaganza, but I'm scheduled to work until 830. So I wouldn't get there until 9ish. My manager said he can't give me the night off (I pleaded, pouted, nothing worked) but as long as it's not really busy, I can leave at 7. So here's hoping.
In other news, the drummer in my band gave me some blank sheet music the other day. I was really excited, cause I don't have any. He told me to write down the songs we have so far so I won't forget. I don't think I'll be forgetting any time soon, but I suppose it's a good idea. I'm really excited to have a drummer, because for a while it's just been me and Hollyann, but we haven't played together yet because we all have such different schedules, and Hollyann lives in NH and goes to school in Salem MA.
So, that's life lately. Nintendo, work, music, snow.
Apparently, personalities start in the womb. Groovy.

RIP: The Ship's Voice Enterprise D, DS9, and Voyager

Sorry to steal some of your blogging day Liz, but I wanted to let everyone know that Majel Barrett Roddenberry passed away.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081218/en_nm/us_roddenberry_2


Greg's edit:
Added a title, FYI: She was also Troy's Mom and a nurse in the Original Trek series.
Also it's Jess's day to post.

SNOW

Snow, snow, snow! It seems as though no matter how much I shovel it doesn't make a difference. Anyways christmas is coming up and I'm finally on break now! I don't have much to say at the moment, I'll post a video hopefully later. Be safe in the snow~
-Liz

Phrank: Game Damage!

So there isn't much going on to talk about, I get to post on Christmas next week. To fill in this post, I'm gonna recommend you check out the pilot episode of Game Damage. Check it out here: http://www.gamedamage.net/
This is a video game tv show pilot by Yahtzee of Zero Punctuation and two of his friends. It's actually pretty good, though Yahtzee is less funny when you have to actually look at his deadpan face instead of a funny cartoon. Still, very interesting stuff, I hope this takes off. Greg, you definitely should check it out and tell me what you think!

Also, for my wedding, Lisa and I are thinking of catering it ourselves, to save money and I personally would enjoy it more. Let me know what you think of it, siblings!

I'm wicked tired. Even calling in sick the other day, working these 10-12 hour days just drain me. It doesn't help that I found a new game to play- Wizard 101. It's a little like Maple Story, only much, much better. There's an actual plot, instead of just level grinding. And while the quests DO tend to be "Kill X amount of monsters", it's adorable enough that I don't care. Also, it has an interesting combat system that reminds me slightly of Yu-Gi-Oh.

I almost have my Christmas shopping done, but I don't know when I'll be able to finish it! Gah, I want a new job so badly. I've started up my job search again, since I really can't take much more of this.

Sorry to be a downer! Other than the job, things are going well for me, so no worries. Not much else to report, so I'm signing off and going to bed. Ciao!

Turning to 11(:55pm) and Rocking On!

Woot. Woot. Double the Greg.
Get double the fun.
More video for all.
And Promise to ROCK!
That's my five. Out!







Okay one more... a blast into the future!

Forget Frosty...

So Forget Frosty, The Snowman (1982), which happens to be the video above, is a heck a lot better. It's best known for the song "Walking in the Air". When you watch the movie, particularly "Walking in the Air", remember that it's hand drawn.


So if you thought That I was on my high snow horse and being arrogant. I've got you pwned this week. As much as The Snowman "is the shit" the next one out does it.



Haha, Irn Bru... My new favorite line of commercials for a product I can't buy.


Quick Addition:
Okay, Jess read my post and though I was on crack or something. Well, Snow is white after all... Anyways. She's pointed me in the direction of this video, which is from "8 Crazy Nights".

long day

So today we took the Christmas tree out of the bag, and discovered something that may have been a mouse nest. We're not really sure. It looked like a giant ball of belly button lint. Ick. So my dad and I went to Linens N Things and got a new one. That was pretty exciting.
I shopped alot today, and bought alot for the babies and my mom and Zan, and I got vanilla chapstick and mini packages of Puffs tissues for myself.
Tomorrow is finishing up Christmas shopping, and hanging out with Frank. We're hoping to watch a movie but we can never decide on one and then end up watching Gilmore Girls or Heroes. But Gilmore Girls recently, since we finished Heroes. Which is such a good show.
I've been really tired lately, and I'm not sure why. It's annoying.
The job is annoying too. The other girl in the kitchen wants more hours, so they're giving her some of mine. Naturally. I mean, it's not like I'm constantly asking for more hours or anything *is sarcastic*. I would really, really love a reliable job. Haven't had one yet. Even when I was at the Wal, they always cut my hours for stupid reasons without warning me.
Any ideas for decent, reliable jobs that don't require a college degree? ..... Any at all....??

Yea, me neither.

PS- sorry I'm on the grumpy side today. It happens.

DMV, Chicken and work

Saturday already! So I don't have much to blog about. I did get all my Christmas shopping done, Greg had some good ideas, but as normal, I didn't listen to him. The only one I had trouble with was Bill!
I am going to the DMV Monday to change address on my license. I just changed my mailing address 10 seconds ago, so hopefully my mail will come here, and my parents can stop losing half of my bills!
I went to Shaw's today. I got a chicken on sale. I know that sounds kind of stupid, but chicken is expensive! I got a whole chicken for $3.57! I also got some ribs and 2 plants: an english ivy and a Christmas Cactus.
I really don't want to go to work tonight, but I have to. Actually, I should pick up some overtime shifts too, we get a HUGE break from RCIA coming up, and I should pick up a Sunday morning, because they just gave us a shift diff of $2 if we work on the weekend. And where I work second shift, I make .80 more.
So now I have to go get ready for work, I know this post was bad, maybe something better will happen next week!

Friday

Friday! In the beginning of the week I had so much to post, but now I can't remember any of it. I'm getting almost all of my x-mas shopping done so thats good, and after next week I'll be on break! I'm getting so pumped for the 24th!




I thought this video was hilarious, I couldn't stop laughing.
-Liz

Phrank: The Eleventh Hour

Of the Eleventh day, of the Twelfth month, etc... Not much to say today. Finals coming up, and then I'll be home soon. KoL Crimbo season is in full swing and practically lag-free. If you haven't commented with your birthday on Lisa's post yet, please go ahead and do so. It means a lot to her. This coming Patriot's game should be interesting, with Matt Cassel as a possible start, and Teddy Bruschi is out, according to my sources.

So.... I have my tree up and decorated. Most of my presents for y'all are wrapped. I only have 7 let to get. I'm playing Christmas music on Pandora at home, and humming them everywhere else. I would say I'm ready for the 24th!

My friend just IMed me in French- I hope I can remember enough to respond back properly. Silly Canadians.

I can't think of anything else to write, and I've met my quota. So sorry for the boring post; I'll try better next week!

Forced to Post

Now that Jess and Lisa have taken up days to post I feel that I am forced to post today. But in a good way, just think of the blog as a 24-hr Walek news channel now 7 days a week!

So I went Christmas shopping the other day, Greg, Jess, Frank, Lisa are easy they have a registry to buy from. Just getting you guys a leg up on the big celebration. Liz wants a gift card so the next time that I feel like braving mall traffic she'll be done. Anne, we lets say that Anne's gift is some awesome that I don't think of it as something she'll like but as something that was missing in her life. As for me I'm good. So good night to SIB-to the-LINGS and their significant others.

Wizards in Winter? No Muggles Allowed!

I'm feeling a bit under the weather, go figure it would happen the week alot of things happened.

Wow, The Blog has expanded. We're now 7 days of the week!
Mom is on Facebook. And thanks to Anne, everyone knows that I've got Jess her ring. It's currently out to be sized. It should be back before Christmas.

Speaking of Jess... She's so pwning me in Punch Buggy.
I'm trying to find some rules to hopefully give me an advantage.
So far google is no help.

I was gonna post a Happy Tree Friends Video this week, but it's a joke video and the image before you play it gives the joke away! Still, Wizards in Winter rocks the house year to year...

Lisa is dancing

Hi guys! I am dancing alot. Not really, but in elfyourself. (I hope that link works). That's my mom and dad, Frank, me and Zan.
Just to catch you up a little bit on my immediate family, I have two sisters and a brother (Keri Kim and Derek, all older than me) and Keri is married to Nick. They have Abigail, who was born the end of September. Kim has Alexandria (who is 8) and Isaiah (who was born in August). Oh, and then my parents.
Today, Isaiah and Alexandria had their dedication. It's basically the Christian version of a baptism. I use the broad term Christian, cause I'm not really sure what religion the church is that they go to. It was short, and Isaiah was so cute in a little white tux looking outfit, and he kept staring at Pastor Dave very seriously as though he understood everything that was going on. I posted some pictures on facebook if you're interested. The kids are so cute : )
Then there was a small gathering at Kim's house, where we ate lots of food and just visited. It was pretty fun. My mom and I tried to watch Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers when we got home, but we kept being interrupted, and then I kinda slept through part of the middle.
I'm working tons lately, which is good for wedding planning stuff, but it makes me sleepy.
Anyway, that's my life lately, basically. Family, work, Frank, wedding stuff. I think we're going to register somewhere else tomorrow, so that's exciting : )
Oh, and I don't know if it's allowed but I have a very easy challenge to issue. More of a request. Could everyone tell me their birthdays? I like to know people's birthdays. Including the year would be nice, too. So, all six of you. Well, not Frank, cause I already know his.

Howdy!

Well, I guess this is my first "official" post! Don't worry Bill, I'll still cover for you if needed. I really don't know what to write about, and Gregory isn't helping the matter!
The ring........I wait everyday for the phone to ring.....because they'll call when it's ready.....I hope really really soon!
Christmas......I'm almost done with my shopping, and I'll be sending down the goodies with Mr. Gregory....I have to work both eve and day, but there's always next year.
Tomorrow.....is my dad's extended side of the family's annual Christmas party. Greg went to the summer one with me, so now he gets to see my brother play Santa!
That's pretty much it. I have to make gingerbread and sugar cookies for the party tomorrow.
Oh, do all the rules go for me too? If I miss a day, do I get punished? =-D
And Liz, I'm certified for AED , CPR, and First Aid for the professional rescuer....so I think I meet your qualifications!

Liz Remembered

Yes I did. So anyways I have a treat for you guys! A wish list, a challenge and a excerpt from my novel! Oh my! Let's start with the wish list and get that over with~

THE LIST
(for those who just don't know what to do)

Tartan Wallet
Flower Wallet
Fingerless gloves
Hat

(I really need a wallet, so if someone could get me one of those that would be excellent. Also on my wish list are movies and BOOKS. and gift cards. gift cards to clothing stores are wonderful. )

The Challenge

O.K. so quick background: I have to learn how to use defibrillator in my gym/health class this year. I went to this whole ensemble on how people die from cardiac arrest ect. mostly because the people there don't know what to do or even know how to use a defibrillator. So my challenge to you guys is that you go to some sort of class on CPR or defibrillator's. I know that for most of you this will be really hard but I'm just asking for you to attempt because it happens to so many people. So be a cool cat and learn how to save a life~ (this challenge is issued to anyone who reads the blog)

THE EXCERPT
I know you wanted to read this part first =] So this part is about Emily one of the main characters in my novel. I hope you enjoy it and I fixed all the grammar and horrible sentence mistakes but that's about it. So it's not exactly perfect yet. Either way it's one of my favorite scenes so here it is. (sorry about crazy font/size. I can't get it quite right.)

Emily had one day decided she would never eat chicken. This was because she saw a chicken in her backyard once and began playing with it. She had so much fun chasing it and having it chase her for hours. Later that night at supper, the menu was Chicken. Emily refused to eat it. She knew that her chicken friend a few hours ago was now on her dinner plate accompanied with some vegetables from the garden.

"I won’t eat him! He was my friend!" Emily protested to her mother.
What a shock to Emily’s mother, for Emily wasn’t a big talker. She was really worried when she realized that a half an hour had past and Emily hadn't even picked up her fork. Emily was glaring at her plate in defiance. Emily’s mother realized that Emily was seriously NOT going to eat the chicken she had bought at the market. She began yelling at Emily. Emily yelled back, little tears in her eyes.

"He was my friend!" she screamed. Emily's mother mouth went ajar. What was she going to do with such a strange child? So she tried to trick Emily.

"That isn't chicken” she said. “It’s a fish." Emily's eyes widened in shock.

"Chuckles my goldfish that died last week?" Emily said her voice filled with horror. Emily's mother slapped her forehead and began to protest but it was too late: Emily was crying her eyes out, now talking to her ‘chicken fish’.

"I'm so sorry chuckles...I'm so sorry!" She cried petting the cooked chicken breast. Emily’s mother was furious with herself now. She was making this situation worse.
"It's a turkey!" she cried desperately. Emily didn't hear what she said though because she was still crying to her chicken/fish on her plate.

"Emily..." he mother said calmly. Danger. Everyone knows that if someone becomes calm very suddenly it’s very bad. Emily even as a small child knew this. Emily looked up to her mother with wide teary eyes. She sniffled. "Emily...eat your peas..." her mother said with a sigh giving up. She walked out of the dinning roomand into the kitchen. Emily sniffled again. She picked up her fork and did not eat her peas. She organized them on her plate so they read:
"Emily Loves You Still"

Emily left the table and the topic never came up again. From that day on she never ate chicken or peas again.

COPYRIGHT LIZ.
So that’s part of Emily’s story.

~Liz

Phrank: Christmas wish list

So there seems to be some issues with getting me stuff for Christmas. If you're really stumped, a KoL or XKCD t-shirt would be greatly appreciated. I wear a large shirt and here are my preferences if you decide to get me one. The following links are XKCD shirts, any KoL shirt is good.
StandBackScience
Just Shy

More importantly, I would really appreciate this poster. It's cheaper than a t-shirt, and would look way cool in my room. We're all pretty geeky here, and it's pretty cool. Height Poster

This is probably the funniest Muppet's video I've ever seen.

I'm TOTALLY listening to Christmas music right now

In my defense, it's Mannheim Steamroller Christmas music.

Work has been good, if busy. I have Wednesdays off now, so I should be able to post regularly for the foreseeable future. No promises.

It was lovely seeing you all for Thanksgiving! I had a great time hanging out with y'all. The highlight was probably the Macy's Rickroll, though. That was sheer geeky awesome.

Liz, how did your first NaNoWriMo go?
Frank, we need to make plans for an epic Dynasty Warriors day at some point. I've missed playing so much!
Greg & Jess, I'm gonna post the pictures! Because they're shiny and I <3 shiny! Greg finally got Jess her ring and it's all pretty and sparkly.
You can see it HERE and HERE.

I still don't know what to get Frank & Liz for Christmas. It's tormenting me! Other than socks. EVERYONE is getting socks this year.

And... that's about it for me. Oh! Things with Andrew are going well. I'll be heading down to Providence this week to see him again. I made him watch Thunderbirds and he's still dating me, so that's a good sign.

Also, since Bill posted (!!!), I think Jess should be allowed to post on Saturday and Sunday. Lisa also has an invitation to post, of course!

Brewing Days

Yup I'm posting. Sorry Jess but I made a promise to Liz that if she made me some tea I would post. So here we go again. This past weekended was a busy weekend in the brewing world that I know. I bottled a strong Belgium beer. And by strong I mean you need to not drive after having one. I also helped Justin bottle his apricot wheat beer, i'm looking forward to a taste of that. I also put my sweet stout into a secondary fermenter so the flavors go together better. I also got a used glass carboy that needs some cleaning and then it's time to make some mead! IPA is ready but not much left of it since it was made for some people at work. I think that I have hit my allotted number of sentences so i'll wrap this up and sign off by letting Jess know she can post for me next week.

The Zen of Rick Rolling

A good Rick Roll in it's purest form is the art of How Not to be Seen.

If you haven't seen it yet (then click here!), Cartoon Network managed to Rick Roll the nation on National TV! During the Macy's Parade, where NBC cameras where fixed in front of Macy's... Rick Astley came out and Lip synced to his now infamous song.

This was the setup for what is probally my best Rick Roll to date...
As the Icing words on CAKE!
(I will have a picture up ASAP!)

And Now For Something Completely Different

Every year I'm asked what one should get me for the holidays. And nearly every time, I've been I don't know. Well, I've sorta sat down and complied a list of things I'd buy for myself and would enjoy. Email me if you want the link to the list. Note... none of you have to buy me socks as I have someone else doing that for me this year!

And Now For Something Completely Different,
But Have heard about from me, again... Maybe

Jess is went on a 11-0 punch buggy run today...
I need to get better at this game or a miracle...

Which brings me to my video this week.
"For all the wimps and posers... and Women"
Land of the Miracle -- Edguy

Another late post...

Sorry another late post. I wasn't thinking about the blog at all on Friday. Anyways I hope everyone had a great turkey day. At the moment I'm working on my NaNoWriMo story. I'm over the worst of my writers block and I'm more concerned now with what perspective I'm going to write this certain large part I'm writing next. The perspective that I'll be writing it in is pretty crucial, so it's something I want to figure out now, not in the editing phase. Also, I just "won" NaNoWriMo about a half an hour ago. I cheated. I copied and pasted my first 26k words again in the same doc and submitted it. WAIT WAIT WAIT. I had a good reason. The first few days of NaNoWriMo I couldn't even get onto the site it was so busy. I have a feeling that people submitting stories tomorrow (the last day), will slow the site down. Even though the number of partcipants is much larger than the number of winners. Either way I didn't want any probelms getting my certificate. But I'm honest. I wont print it out and act like I won until I actually do. So I'm still writing till midnight tomorrow. I'm really really behind. But Joe said that because I procastinate I work best under pressure. I hope he's right and I do finish my story. As much as I hate it right now I really do love it for all it's craziness. I'm actually glad that I wrote this post. I'm feeling more like writing, I'm almost over this writers block hill and soon I hope I'll be a writing machine. I just gotta figure how I'm writing this part I'm stuck on and then I'll be set. Anyways wish me luck!
-Liz

Phrank: Thanksgiving Special

This Thanksgiving season, we have lots to be thankful for. I, in particular, am thankful for my wonderful fiance, Lisa, for the wonderful times we have together as a family, for Matt Cassel, for raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens, brown paper packages tied up with strings, these are a few of my thankful things. One thing we do not have to be thankful for is Pachebel's Canon. Watch the following video, so as to learn why Pachelbel's Canon in D haunts us to this very day. Greg, it relates to cellos, so you better watch it.



Thanks for a great Thanksgiving, here's a link to our first post ever in the blog, and it was about the legendary and infamous Munchkin game that still divides us to this very day. I did enjoy this game of Munchkin today, I mean, Rat on a Stick was hysterical. That first post was on March 24, and kicked off our sibling blogging. We're within four months of one year of posting, and it's been quite a year so far. Well, enjoy your month of Christmas music, now that Thanksgiving is over!

God and Thanksgiving

I hope Bill forgives me for writing in purple. I really wanted to go for pink, but I didn't know how well it would show up.
So, I went to my RCIA class today, I did manage not to fall on my face Sunday, which I think is a miracle in itself. I received a beautiful cross and a brand spankin' new bible. My mom didn't go, but my dad did, and I couldn't look at him without almost crying. I don't know why, maybe it's because I feel like this is where I belong. The classes are awesome. I don't question the teachings, as in, how could Jesus possibly be human and without sin? It's a mystery! Some of my classmates just don't get it, but I just accept it. Back in my dad's day, you went to Catholic school, and you had your lessons and you didn't question anything.......or else you got a ruler across your knuckles.....(or else I was told so..).
One of our "ice breakers", actually our last one, was what are we thankful for? Greg said he was thankful for me, which was sweet. I said I was thankful for my family, my RCIA group,Greg and you guys. Yeah, I know it sounds mushy, but when Greg and I get hitched I'll have some pretty cool siblings. I'll have (in all) 3 younger sisters and 3 brothers. I'll actually have an older sibling for once (Bill)! If you ask my mom I always wanted to be an only child, because they spoiled me from the start, and then as I was getting used to the idea of my brother, George, being around, my mom turned around and had Rebecca. =-0 The older I get the more I realize I'm extremely lucky to have my siblings. (just don't tell them I said so).
In other news, I get to see you all in about 48 hours or so... I can't wait! I won't be able to make Christmas, but I'm sending gifts. I already got Anne and Liz squared away, but I need ideas for you boys! If you don't give me some suggestions, I'll leave the deciding up to Greg.................
Tomorrow will be a busy day, I am baking the pumpkin pie, getting my check and...going to work (ick!), but then I have a nice 2 days off, so I can't complain much.
Have a good night.

Yea, this might get me in trouble...

So Jess amused me in a way I haven't seen since I we saw Indy... This happened last saturday... which in an ironic way is exactly 6 months since I saw Indy with her. Up here in NH, they still produce a Chronicle Show. Chronicle is a show about the area it covers. Interesting stories about the seacoast or old-stlyed stuff... sometimes a restaurant and\or a recipe. The point is, it's all local. There used to be a RI and MA on TV 15 or so years ago. The RI featured a Magician in one episode. It runs in the hour slot at 7pm (after the news, but before primetime)...

Well up here in the NH, at the end of the show a local historian named Fritz Wetherbee has a segment. It's sorta like Andy Rooney on 60 minutes, but not angry or bitting but old-timey and local to NH. He's just wrote book and is doing a book tour. So off I went with Jess last Saturday to Barns and Nobles so Jess could get the new book, have it signed, and get a picture with Fritz. Oh yes, I was there to carry the drool bucket for her. Yea... Just as Bad as Indy.

Am I concerned... Nope...
Gives me breathing room to explain Captain Jack when I start watching the next season of Torchwood...

READ THIS

FAMILY! I have so much I want to talk about!
1st, is that I literally 6m minutes ago smashed my finger against a table by accident. I think I may have done some actual damage. So wow! Next is that my word count fro NaNoWriMo is 20,000! Whoo-hoo! I'm way behind but I just don't care~ Next is that I'm listening to Jupiter, by Holst which is AMAZING. And I'm listening to it and then it comes to this unbearably sweet part. And I was like, wow I’ve heard this right? And then my other brain was like, yeah remember that one time in band when that kid blasted Jupiter? But no, my brain insisted it was somewhere else! And then it hit me. FRANK. At that gorgeous mass during family weekend you sang this didn't you? I know you did because I was sitting in my chair going "wow, they're amazing, what is this song?" I'm not kidding, I wrote a paper for band on the music that was played at that mass. Another thing is that I finally found my favorite composer. Yann Tiersan. OHHH MY GOSH. His music is LOVE. So amazing. Anne you might recognize his music because he did all the music for the movie Amelie, which I am absolutely obsessed with. So possible Christmas present for Liz would be Amelie, the movie or soundtrack or ANYTHING Yann Tiersan does because it's just so great! (note. I have only seen part.1 of Amelie because youtube doesn’t have part.2!)

Favorite songs of Yann Tiersan (who is french fyi)/songs you MUST listen to:
(Search these w/ Yann's name in youtube and you'll find em')

*Le Demarche

*La Veillée (my favorite)

*Toujours la

*La Valse d'Amelie (Orchestre)

*La Valse d'Amelie

Continuing on...
Twilight! I'll be seeing it on Saturday; I'm super excited because it's going to HORRIBLE/HILARIOUS. But of course, I’ll have solid reasons if I hate it. I might end up really liking. Who knows? Either way I’m pumped for the experience. I’ll be washing my Twilight shirt tonight (I wore it to school today, because it’s premire night) Oh that reminds me! My bud Abbey, wore a shirt that had Edwards face on it and obve it she took this big piece of silver duct tape and wrote ‘I HATE’. So her shirt had ‘I HATE EDWARD’. Ha ha ha…

But really. I’m going to be completely unbiased when I watch the movie. I’m excited!!!!!!

TURKEY DAY

Yes, turkey day is nearing and I can already taste the hot mashed taters and creamy gravy in my mouth now. And I can feel my blood getting ready to boil for an intense game of munchkins. It’s ON.

So family I leave you to have a great Friday. Please listen to Jupiter and the other songs if you get a chance because they are FABULOUS. I’m in an absolute wonderland of listening to such amazing music for the last hour.

As always lots of love,

~Liz.

Phrank: Movies and Music

Alright, three key things to talk about. Quantum of Solace, Twilight and something good other than me from the 80s.
1. Quantum of Solace is a good movie, no debate over that. However, as a Bond film, I don't think it really qualifies. This falls into the similar category as Casino Royale, as a Becoming Bond film. I think it's at the end of this movie we can assume he is the Bond of legend, not just an elite agent with a vendetta on his mind. Also, this movie did a spectacularly bad job of explaining the villain's plan. I won't go into anymore details, but I felt very confused by the villain's plot portion of the movie. Still, it's an excellent movie and worth seeing, though I think it falls short of being a Bond movie.
2. I'm seeing Twilight tonight with Lisa, 12:05 showing. It's very exciting, though my expectations for this movie are incredibly low. I think this movie is going to validate a lot of the critique about the book, which I don't think is necessarily true. I think Bella is a perfectly written teenager, which is one of the hardest characters to write or understand. So here over dramatic personality lends itself to drawing a lot of flak because real people don't act like that. I would out forth that teenagers do, which is part of Stephanie Meyer's skill as a writer. However, this movie is probably going to make Bella look like an over dramatic whiny person, but I'm hopeful.
3. Check out this song/video!

It's called Freeze Frame, and it reminds me of the Duck Tales theme song. I heard it on the way back weekend this past Friday, and I knew this was blog worthy immediately.

P.S. Check out Yahtzee this week, he delivers two more interesting commentaries on Fable 2 and Fallout 3. I still enjoy watching his reviews, even though I've come to realize my standards are nowhere close to his. I enjoyed Spore quite a lot, even though it does have some timing issues for certain stages. I also enjoyed Halo 3, but that game is part of a trilogy and does not stand well by itself. Yahtzee's reviews are entertaining and offers a unique critical eye to the games he reviews.

Anne's Triumphant Return!

Hello everyone! Sorry for the unexpected hiatus, but I am usually at work or asleep, so I can be awake for work the next day. The overtime is nice, but it kills my social life.

First off, any punishments for me?

2nd- what do you want for Christmas? I need ideas, people! I will be more than happy to provide you with gift ideas for me in a later post.

3rd- I will be home for Turkey Day. My plans are as follows: Get home on Wednesday night. Go to Liz's game and freeze my butt off. Go home and eat as much as I can. Go home and sleep.

Thanks goes to Greg for making me realize I could write this earlier and have it post on Wednesday!

I couldn't go to bed.

Well, like my title states, I couldn't go to bed knowing that Bill hadn't posted. Greg is lucky I'm around because I harp and nag at him every Monday. From 8 am, until I go to bed at midnight.
So, not much to talk about, we moved into the new place. I love it, mainly because it has a dishwasher! I love the dishwasher, and even Greg uses it, which makes it all the better!
This Sunday I will be presented to the church. Greg gets to bless me. I had to fill out 7 questions which will determine whether the RCIA team feels I can go on to the next step in the process, or if I have to stay behind. I hope they let me move on, I'm kind of nervous, but I answered each question honestly. When I get accepted I get a cross I need to wear every Sunday and Tuesday (and occasionally Saturday, during a retreat). I also get a bible. Greg has to come to EVERY class with me, as he is my sponser.
Work is ok, but I feel like I could use a vacation. I have 3 vacation days to use before December 27th, which is my hire date (This year is my 9th year at the nursing home). I have thanksgiving and New year's day off, but have to work Christmas and Christmas Eve as well as New Year's Eve. Next year I'll be able to have Christmas off.
Well, I guess that's all for now. Sorry about my run-on sentences. I'll need Frank to give me a lesson on sentences, since he's the english major.
Have a wonderful week everyone!

Fire in the Hole

Well, I'm fulled moved in now. I didn't get Comcast to come do the install for cable\internet\phone till last Thursday. Took me till Friday night to figure out what was wrong with the cable modem. Anyways, we have an office now. all of our computers are going in there. This is where I am writing from tonight.

One of my favorite artists is Edmund McMillen. He's best known for his work on the IGF awarded game, GISH. I have his explosive tetris\puzzle game, Blast Miner. Funny story about Blast Miner... I got the game for free after his wife game a promotional code to me when I talked to her at GDC. Anyways, I'd talk about him more.... but I'd be going down a very not-Liz safe path. McMillen can get very taboo with some of his work. I mention him, because he just put out CD of his work from the past 10 years, plus extra. It's 10 bucks... I'm considering picking it... or holding off to see if someone picks it up for me instead!

Anyways, A video on Blast Miner this week

ARRGGG!!

Arrg, I forgot to post again! Sorry!
So anyways this weekend I'm not doing much just writing and writing to get caught up in NaNoWriMo. I also have some chemistry homework stuff to do also...ew. Twilight movie comes out next Friday, the 21st. Very exciting. Turkey day comming too...Oh! Also I guess Mr. Rizzo (my band teacher) is going to have a pep band for basketball and wrestling this year! So I'll get to play my mello all the time! umm not much else to report family...oh here is a really delicious and HEALTHY recipe I want you to try. I know the thought ground turkey may not apply to many of you, but TRUST ME. It was awesome.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ellie-krieger/stuffed-turkey-burgers-recipe/index.html

Have a great weekend!
-Liz

Lisa: Phrank's Hero!

Title suggested by Francis himself : )
So Frank's computer has a virus that has disabled his internet, so it's up to me. Hi guys!!
Ummmm, what to write about. Well, Francis went to a play tonight called Pericles: Prince of Tyre. Apparently is was very good, nice and entertaining, and even better than the Patriots game.
NaNoWriMo!! My story is almost at 6,000 words, and I am way far behind. Frank has a but more written than I do, but we're not sure how much yet cause part of it is not on his computer. We're having a writing marathon this weekend. We both have to write nearly 20,000 words to catch up. That's a lot.
I guess I could write about wedding stuff, but there's nothing really exciting to report, except that my dress came in : ) Other than that, we're basically waiting until we have more money to do anything. It kinda sucks. Oh well. We're getting married this summer, even if the reception doesn't have any food. At least there will be cake though.
I recently moved to Uxbridge, which is really spiffy, cause the house is great, and I'm closer to both Holy Cross and the good ole' NA. Super!!
I'd really like a puppy, or a kitten. I have a fish, a betta named Kirk that Frank actually bought for me, from his school, just about two years ago. He's red. Kirk, not Frank. So the other day I was cleaning his water, and I could have sworn he only had one fin!! The right fin was nowhere to be seen. I completely searched him (at least as completely as one can by looking through a fish bowl) and there was no fin. I was kinda sad, and a little disturbed that he was randomly missing a fin. And then, when I went to feed him that night, the fin was back! It was so weird. I'd even checked earlier to see if the fin was pressed against his body and it wasn't. Strange Kirk, odd just like his namesake.
Anywho, this post is kinda long, so I'll go now.

Back on line and rocking

This is actually being written on 11/14/08... I'm back dating it to fall under Wed to cover for Anne. There's an option for schedule your post to publish in the future, just open the Post Options tab below and set the post date ahead.

I haven't had internet service in my apt till today (Friday, 14th). I had the guy come and do the install yesterday, but had problems getting the modem work with the router. Comcast told me it's my router's fault with a bunch of crap since it was working with their equipment without a problem before I moved. I finally do a hard reset on the modem and it starts playing nice again.

Thanks for covering me Frank. Including posting an oldie but goodie anime music video... Tainted Donuts.

My Post by Bill

We had a good dinner tonight. We had fish. We had rice. We had spinach. We also had sparkling cider to drink. We had a good dinner tonight.

6 sentences. Eat it.

Placeholder for a real title

Boy howdy, little bro Frank swooping in to save the day. Greg texted me earlier today to post for him. So here I am. I'm way behind on my nanowrimo, though after the 4,000 words I wrote today. There were space pirates, and Greek gods and evil clones. What else more can you ask for in a story? A guy named Gilbert that talks to much, which my story has! Greg should be posting something later, but he's covered for this week. Here's a video for you:

Hello

Hi, I'm posting a day late, I couldnt post friday because I had a football game that was super important and when I got home I conked out. Anyways today I started my day at 7:30 in the morn and raked leaves till 4pm. FUN. Actually even though it sucked i was still kind of fun because my group was all my friends. My next weeks are going to be really busy also. I think ill try that method that posts your post at a time set by yourself. so that will help getting post on time. Other notes
-NaNoWriMo story is really behind. I WILL catch up though
-Frank I have your turkey day music

Have a great night!
Liz

Phrank: It's just so... Cute!

Siblings, I hate to bombard you with yet another Spore creation of mine, but I can't help it. This is my all time favorite so far of my creations, the ones Lisa's made are a thousand times better, but this one is incredible. I affectionately call it Stay Puff. http://www.spore.com/sporepedia#qry=sast-500177758352 It looks vaguely familiar in a way I can't quite place. It gave me quite a few chuckles today when I made it.

If you want to see a clever spin on the election, watch this week's South Park. It's really quite funny without being disrespectful to either candidate. Certainly one of the better episodes.

Also, I got to play Fable 2 this weekend at Mark's house. It's the same silly Fable storyline and game universe, which are actually quite fun to play with, but with a pretty sweet 2-player mode added. Once I got my character to legit hero status, I was able to hop into Mark's campaign as a hireling with the same abilities and equipment slightly weaker than his. It worked out pretty sweet, and this game packs less of the fairy tale happiness overkill of the first one and more of the dark and sinister world the hero overcomes.

Anne is still MIA - Greg Is Moving

Again, filling in for Anne at the last moment.

Jess and I are right now in the middle of a move. It's across the Hall.
I'm going from 33C to 33E. Please update your address books.

We'll be moved in on Saturday. Till then...

We're moving right along

Tuesday

So I’m back at the keyboard, sorry Jess. At the beginning (when the blog was still in formation) I knew that Tuesday would be an important day which is why I decreed that I be allowed to post on such a great day. Why is it so important? Why, because the GM meetings for baseball are occurring right this very minute! Also something about people getting into an office and thinking they have power but not really because they have to run it all past the courts and the Senate. It looks like the Democrats will take the House and the Senate, but I’m not sure by how much. And for all of the mismanagement that Nancy Peloski has done she has kept national cross dressing-abortion-wedding day out of the House.

I'm not an Obama person, I don't think that he is strong enough to lead this country and his changes are too radical. If past experiences are a good sign to future indicators I believe that with him in power we should all be afraid. A man that starts his political career in the home of a man that bombed the Pentagon that sits in a pew for twenty years listening to a message of hate, and that was in a community organization that perpetrated voter fraud and lower standards for risky mortgages. To have ideas is one thing but to not be in your job long enough to enact those ideas is scary to me. While the sun will come up tomorrow, it will still be dark in the morning.
-Bill

Election Eve 2008

I still have one race which I need to do some research on. That's the Senate race up here in NH between Sununu and Shaheen. I'm still learning the playing field up here in NH. Yea, I still need some NH civic lessons. Something like the "How Amherst Works" class at UMass Amherst.

Living in NH has been an incredible experience politically. Primary Season was nothing but incredible. I've seen, even met, several of the primary canidates. I was able to see Obama twice during the Primary season. Good Old Mitt Romney was up at one Jess's favorite restaurants pulling for the downticket, that's the House, Senate, and State races. What I've thought, and how I've voted has actually mattered. And I appreciate that. It has been dark time in our country. It's okay, well be okay. It's always the darkest before sunrise. That's the symbolism in the Obama logo. If you seen the animated version of the logo, this is quite evident. It will be morning again in America soon.

By this time tomorrow, it will be all over. I will be voting tomorrow and watching the results. I'm predicting an Obama win. And then it's going to be a break from the pol talk. Oh My, no political talk? What will I write about?

And now for something completely different...



Post Midnight Update:
The Dixville Notch results:
Obama 15, McCain 6.
The Silly Party takes a win in a Reasonable Party Stronghold.

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween. Liz is really tired.I only got 5 hours of sleep last night and had a really long day today. I'm gonna sleep. Have a fun Halloween. good luck to the NaNoWiMO participants. I will edit this to be longer later. Night.
-Liz

Phrank: Disney Movies!

I spent my shift at Kimball today talking to the freshmen workers about Disney movies. Among the many that made favorites were Lion King, Aladdin, Wall-E and Finding Nemo. There was certainly some noticeable generational gap, and almost all of them were big fans of High School Musical. Treasure Planet and Emperor's New Groove were two other Disney films that got mentioned for favorite. Tell me siblings, what is your favorite Disney movie?

Splash Woman

I just called Anne. She's okay, but has been working overtime at her job. Hence she's been dead tired when she gets home. So I'm gonna fill in Anne. Again, no Politics. Frank, I'll get back to you in my own post.

I recent picked up Mega Man 9. It's a addition to the classic series in in the style of the 8-bit games. And WOW... This is pure old school fun... And WOW... You actually have to work at the game to beat it. And that's cool. I've been able to beat 2 Bosses so far. 1 of them, I had use E-tanks to do it.

One new thing to the series... The First Female Boss Robot.
So the embed video below is hers: SPLASH WOMAN

Bill's fill-in.

So Greg tells me I can't post in colour. So this post won't be in pink, sorry for the inconvenience. L&O:SVU was good tonight, and I didn't have RCIA class since we attended a retreat on Saturday and learned about the trinity.
So, the alcohol portion of the post......Greg likes white Russians and mudslides, it seems. He has the same alcoholic preference as my sister. I personally prefer fruitier cocktails and such.
And since I'm not very political, I am very upset that the oldest Walek sibling seems to prefer John Sununu. I personally don't like either candidate, but heck,anything but Sununu! I just don't like him, and maybe Thursday I'll watch the debate.
So, since I seem pretty boring this week, I'd like you kids to check out a few songs:
~Beer in Mexico- Kenny Chesney
~the Drinking Bone- Tracy Byrd.
The second one is kind of funny, if you seem to follow Greg's lead and like Brad, I think you'll like Tracy.
So, before I run off, I'd like to thank Bill for letting me save his skin and I think he owes me a beer ;-)
Have a good week everyone!

Ackerman in '08

I've managed to keep this post itself humorous. I've added a very long comment on politics. This is a detailed response to comments posted on Frank's blog.

I've finally found a canidate we can all agree on.
Heck, even Bill and Dad would love this guy.

Meet President Ackerman


Ackerman on illegal immigration


President Ackerman on key issues


President Ackerman says do something new

Phrank: Let's Do This...

Let's talk politics. I'm deeply divided on this election. It's a tough decision, between two excellent candidates. My beliefs in this election are split between the candidates and the political parties they represent. I think the country needs a Democratic candidate. I think McCain would be a better president than Obama. This is the paradox I find myself in these days. This talk of "transformational figures" and "change you can believe in" is fluff. It's something to make you feel better without actually giving you anything. I'm interested in policies, not how many houses someone owns or what religious affiliation is implied about a candidate. They're both Christian by the way, before anyone gets offended.

I think both candidates are promising the country much more than they could hope to accomplish in four years in office. On most policies, I think McCain presents a more realistic view of what can be accomplished than Obama does. Obama's policies look wonderful, and if they were achievable, he'd have my vote. But I don't think they are achievable, given the economic crisis, our country can not afford either candidate's plan, but in my opinion, Obama's plans are more out of reach. Also, long Senate history gives McCain the knowledge he'll need to make decisions about policy that will have a chance of getting through Congress. I worry that Obama, even with Biden's help, will run into a huge problem of pushing legislation through the Congress. Nothing I have seen about Obama so far has led me to believe he can match McCain's knowledge of the Senate, which I believe is in important for passing legislation.

I was looking forward to voting Democrat this election, till I saw the candidates in the primaries. The Democrats were dead-wrong about the surge in Iraq, something they still have trouble admitting. Obama ran in the primaries on his inexperience, he was an outsider who was bringing "change you could believe in" because he wasn't tainted by business as usual Washington politics. If you buy that argument, tell me why he picked the quintessential Democrat Washington insider as his running mate? I felt the Biden pick was a smart political move, but also undermined Obama's credibility. I see the Biden pick as a blatant about-face of everything Obama ran on during the primaries.

I like McCain, he's always been more on the moderate side of the Republican party, a side he has not shown during the general election. His pick in Sara Palin is one I defend, even though I disagree with it completely. It was a clever move, but the Republicans squandered it. Palin is inexperienced, and probably not ready for the big time. Palin makes Republicans feel better about voting for McCain, while making moderates and liberals cringe. I think the media(mainly controlled by liberals) has crucified her and McCain and the Republican party. They deserved some of it certainly, and Obama has received more than a fair share of slander from conservatives. However, during the last presidential debate, McCain repudiated all negative ads and claimed he always has, Obama did not repudiate any negative ads his party ran. Obama spent more time attacking negative ads sponsored by Republicans than dissociating himself from his own party's negative ads. That bothered me, a great deal.

They are both excellent candidates and I agree with Colin Powell, either would make a fine president. I think based solely on the candidate's, McCain gets my vote. Unfortunately, it's not that simple. I think the country really could use a Democrat in office. I think the focus needs to be on education and taking care of American people struggling under debt and oppressive social systems. On issues of social justice, Catholics should mainly vote Democrat. The Democratic Party has the problem of being pro-abortion and pro-gay marriage, which are increasingly complex issues that should be major stumbling blocks for Catholics. Unlike what Nancy Pelosi says, the Church is quite clear in its opposition to abortion.

I don't know how I'm voting yet. If I can find reason to believe a McCain administration will be more moderate than conservative, it might be McCain. If not, I may vote Democrat, despite serious misgivings about Obama's ability to do as good a job as McCain. I tried to keep this respectful while clearly laying out my political thoughts, I hope this doesn't dissolve into a shouting match with anybody. Please feel free to respond if you like, I'm always up for discussion. Not arguing, but discussing. Can't wait to see some of you here on the Hill for Family Weekend this weekend!

Brewing Days

I'm stealing a bulletin that I did on MySpace.

I finished up the last of the strawberry blond that I wasn't to fond of but people liked it and sucked it down, not bad. It almost time to open up the Oktoberfest that needs another week and I have an IPA fermenting now. Not sure how pale it will be or the oak taste, but it still should be fine. I still have to make a Belgium Ale to get Jon "drunk like a high school girl", a sweet stout, and start the mead all before the holidays. If you got any other ideas let me know and i'll try and squeeze it in the brewing schedule.


Cheers and bottoms up on your glasses.

That is more than the five required so you should all be happy and sing the praises of me. And Jessie for some smooth posting she did last week. So Jessie you get a tip of the hat everyone else gets a wag of the finger cause they don't have this lifesaver.

Colin Powell on Meet The Press

I have to step back and post about a serious topic this week. Yes, it's about Politics... but feel I need to talk about this.

Colin Powell was on Meet the Press this week.
Yes, he's supporting Obama.

That's not the story. It's WHY he's supporting him and the reasoned rationale behind it that blows me away. It's a moment of clarity which is badly needed in this country at this point.

Liz, I'm entrusting to you to make sure Dad sees this.

Whoa!

My post is late this week. But I am still posting ( I have so much to tell you!), Friday was actually pretty crazy so I wasn't able to post.


So Friday was the home coming pep rally. I was decked out in Green and Orange, my class colors and my face had "SOPHOMORES" written across it too. The rally was SO much fun ( I love rallys!) and my class actually kicked butt. We had the kickball tournament and my class won against the frosh, juniors, and seniors. I don't think any of our team got hit. I was in the band, and we got to play our fieldshow, and it ROCKED! Everybody loved it (because everyone loves Queen). It was so much fun. Then I went home and got all prepared for the home coming game! North won obviously. We did our field show which needs a little work. We definitely have played it better. But playing in the stands was super fun. We have this new sweet system on figuring out what we're going to play next which made everything so much easier. My lips were still pretty strong even after playing in the stands, playing the entire field show (which I play constantly in) and playing our boys (fight song for NA) a billion times. My throat however...well I don't think I've screamed so much in my life. When I got home I was so tired I could barely move. So I thats when I decided that I would post all of this today. Because if I had done it Friday night it would have been crap and today I'm awake enough to actually make it pretty lengthy


So Today (Saturday) was also very exciting. I woke up wicked early to take the PSATS, then after 3 awesome adrenaline packed hours I went and did POINSETTIA SALES! Woot! I walked around for 5 hours selling those awesome Christmas plants. My group did really well for only having a half of a day to sell. We sold 50 plants and got about 3 donations. We had the best route!! We went to a yard sale and sold some plants, we went to this house which literally looks like Ireland and sold some plants, we even went to the Bubble house in NA and got the guy to buy a plant. We also met this amazing women on our route. We walked to her gorgeous house and her door led into her painting studio. She was actually painting this wicked awesome piece when we got there. She had paintings ALL OVER the room and they were awesome, I was so jealous. One of my favorites parts was when my friend and I went down this really long driveway and got greeted by three little dogs halfway barking like crazy. They acted tough but I knew they really weren't so we kept going but the tinniest one totally tried to scare us off. I honestly thought he was a beanie baby dog until he moved. He was just adorable, I almost stole him. His owner bought a plant and was actually really nice so I didn't. But I swear to you I almost did.


Today is Bills little party, so happy birthday Bill. Also if any of you guys want to come to one of my games, just comment saying so and I'll find a date for ya. Oh and is anybody going to do the Frank challenge with the story thing? I think I'm going to.
-Liz

Oh and I'm joining the CHESS CLUB!!

Phrank: Happy Birthday!

Yesterday was Lisa's birthday! She's now 22, which is not one of her favorite numbers, but still, Darwin would be proud of her survival. I spent all of Tuesday with her, where we watched the last five episodes of Heroes, and did some more wedding planning. We also picked up her birthday cake and ice cream cupcakes, which was delicious.
Tomorrow, I'm going to take her to Roger Williams zoo for her birthday, so she can see the polar bears, if they are still there. I also get her an awesome birthday present, but I can't say anything about it since it's a surprise. We're gonna go out to eat after the zoo and probably catch a movie back at her house.
This Saturday, my friend from home Kent is getting married, so we're going to that as well. The following weekend is family weekend, so hopefully I'll see some of you up here at Holy Cross.

It's a Sibling Bailout

Is this week the bail-out the sibling week?
Frank, Liz... if you don't want to post, you'll get taken care of.
I am your Big Brother after all...

Anyways, Tomorrow is the 16th. Happy B-Day Bill.

And for my emuation of Anne moment:
I'd normally pad my post with politics, but you all don't care about it.
So here's Beetles' B-Day Song instead.

A Post-- not by Bill!

Hi future sibling-in-laws! I'm covering Bill's rear by posting in lieu of him.
So, L&O:SVU was very good tonight. It even enthralled Greg! Speaking of the little pumpkin-poo he got me the special edition of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

So, I was to mention beer, this being Bill's post, and I was going to refer to Brad Paisley's "Alcohol", but seeing that the oldest Walek sibling has the hots for Brad and like to monopolize him, well, I can't compete with Greg and Brad's one sided "BROMANCE". So I had a few options. Instead of embedding a video, I'm going to suggest 2 to check out.....
a.)Beer for my horses---Toby Keith and Willie Nelson
b.) Keg in the closet--- Kenny Chesney

Yes, I know they are cheesey country, but at least you don't have to yee-haw!!!

Well, kiddos, I'm off to take a shower and watch Jay Leno interview detective Stabler.....
Take care :-)

Everyone Drink up...

Hey, I posted this week... on time...
Though Rays are up 2-1 in the ALCS...

I managed to pick up several old and rare games today. Among them is a complete copy (all 7 disks!) of Phantasmasgoria, Dungeon Keeper 2, Messiah, and a Babylon 5 game that requires a 486/33, Win 3.1, and has a RSAC rating on it. Woot, Go me.

So I'm gonna stop rambleing about and finish off in bill style and talk something about beer related. I'll just stop now and just embed a song. It's Alcohol.

Everyone Drink up...
Except you Liz, you get ginger ale.




Here's the music video... it can be embedded... again!

Magic

So I just came back from a magic show, which was AMAZING! At the moment I'm having a movie party which is also excitiing. My first game is comming up soon, which reminds me
Frank or Anne or Lisa: For the Thanksgiving game this year Mr. Rizzo is going to try to get music department alumni to play in the stands. And if we get enough people possibly a Queen song to go with out show which will be just standing on the field. But still, very cool. (I'm assuming colorgaurd is welcomes aswell) So if your interested that would be really cool

Thats pretty much it at the moment, Have a great weekend!
-Liz

Phrank: Let the Good times roll, in case...

God does show, in the end, but that's not really what my post is about.

First and foremost, a non-binding resolution for every member of the Walek estate to participate in National Novel Writing Month, this November! Basically, the point is to write 50,000 words which is 175 pages, from November 1st till midnight of November 30th. The goal is quantity, not quality. Now we can all be novelists! I'm signed up and I'm pretty sure my fiancee, Lisa, is going to be signed up as well. It'd be cool to have a bunch of us siblings doing it to. Just sayin'
Speaking of Lisa, she's moving to Uxbridge! That makes her about twenty minutes closer to HC! Lisa and I are going to be featured on the Kimball dining room menu for Family Weekend which is Oct. 25th, I believe. Perhaps you'd like to attend HC for this crazy weekend. I know I'm going to be nonstop busy, but it'd give you a chance to see what HC life is all about.
I'll be home at some point for Columbus Day weekend, not decided on that quite yet, I have a football game on Saturday, but after that, who knows! Speaking of football, I bought Madden 06 for $2.99, having a blast playing it and Spore.

One other crazy thing I'm doing during the month of Movember is letting my mo grow to raise money to combat prostate cancer. Quite a month coming up!

Whee!

So, I don't have a whole lot of news. Except that last week I broke up with the "internet kidnapper" as you named him, and I'm going out with someone else. His name is Andrew. We had a great 1st date in Boston, and I can't wait to see him again this Sunday!

Happy Birthday to Mom & Jess!

Work sucks, but it seems to be improving. AND I might be getting a pay raise. Which would be pretty sweet, let me tell you. But I'm working all kind of crazy hours, and I haven't had time for stuff at home. So my dinner tonight is a bowl of cereal, some twizzlers, and a glass of wine. Maybe I'll have time and energy to cook tomorrow, but if anyone feels like dropping off a casserole, you would make my day.

I'm not too worried about the economy yet, as I am still able to pay my bills. When that changes, THEN I'll freak out.

Two weeks

So two weeks in a row, wow I must be good or something. I really don't have much to say except that with the stock market going down I'm getting poorer by the minute it seems. But it will pick back up and when it does I'll be all set. I'm not in trouble now but it would be good to have my money actually making money, instead of making a giant sucking sound. I'm going to go see if the debate is still on. talk to you all later.

Who Watches the Sox Win?

Sox just won with a close play at the plate.
It's official... Sox vs Rays in the ALCS.
Bay did it too... Thank God we ditched Manny.

It's official.... I'm gonna beat up Chuck Wicks.
Sorry Chuck, I love your music, but Jessie is all mine.
Speaking of which, it's her b-day this Wed
Tomorrow is Mom's... Bill... is sometime later...

I picked up the Watchmen trade back.
(a volume of all 12 issues for the non comic type)
I'm reading one chapter at a time.
The book is highly lauded so it more like reading The Great Gatsby than a normal comic book. So the movie is gonna suck.

Searching for a Halloween Costume...

So today I found out where I'm going for the music department trip. New York! We're going to do some tours and see a broadway show. I'm so excited! Recently I've decided I wanted to get myself a Mac laptop. But I'm going to need a really good digital camera for this trip, so bye bye Mac dreams. The fact I have to get a job hasn't changed though. I'm going to apply to Stop and Shop this weekend (hopefully). Also just in case I haven't told you yet I'm going to be driving soon! I'll be taking the classes for my permit pretty soon. I'm so excited! Thats pretty much it for now...
-liz

Oh and sorry about the missed post. I don't know why that happened.

Phrank: Nothing Much to Say

Life has basically been work, classes, Lisa and Spore. Not exactly in that order, but I really have nothing exciting going on. I work all out on classes from Monday-Thursday and work from Friday-Sunday. Any free time I do find, I spend with Lisa. Things are going fairly well, no news is good news I guess. This presidential election is certainly entertaining. Watching the Vice-presidential debate as I write this.
I did download the Spore patch and it is playing so much better now. Very exciting!

What, Wednesday?

Ok, my turn!

I broke up with my boyfriend. I didn't want to, but I had to do it. He was getting far too serious for me right now.

Bill finished Troublemaker! And mysterious Auntie said it was tasty, so I'm looking forward to getting some. :) Awesome job, Bill!

I saw pretty pictures of Jessie's Dress. I can't wait to see it for real!

Greg, I'm almost done with season 3 of Stargate. One disc left.

I found this comic book I just HAD to buy: Adolescent Radioactive Black Belt Hamsters. It's amazing. It's a great parody- the 5 Hamsters are called Arnold, Rock, Steven, Jean Claude, and Lucy (think Xena Lucy). I have GOT to show you guys it when I visit next.

~EDIT~
I knew there was something else I wanted to blog about. I found Turkish Delight in the grocery store today. I'm going to have it right now and tell you what I think.

It smells good, but the wrapping says it's "rose flavour covered in milk chocolate" Note the Briish spelling of "flavor".

First bite: not bad. The chocolate is good but- pah! ewww
rose flavor, not so good.

2nd bite: not going to happen. Can't bring myself to take another.

You are ALL getting these for Christmas, kids.

Yeah I'm Posting

Hi all remember me i'm the good son. So it's been awhile since I last posted and infrequent even then. I don't want to say i've been busy but I have been on Tuesday. If i'm not driving from one place to another then i'm busy with my beer. BTW Trouble maker is ready and the Oktoberfest is almost ready to go in bottles. I think that i'll make an IPA for people but don't worry i'll still make that sweet stout. I'm also thinking of some Belgium Ales or some Abby Ale. Some many choices so little time.

Mud On The Tires

So it's been over a year since my last concert. And that doesn't really count because that was Video Games Live at GDC... So This puts me at maybe Jon Allen's High School Band, Incessant as my last concert. Yea, that long... just not sure....

Well, I got to see Brad Paisley last week. Jewel opened for him, and like Jewel, she sucked. Chuck Wicks kicked off the show, and he was good... not great, but good. But BP's show was damm awesome. The stage had many many different screens for which different effects could take place. (some of them included what seemed to be with band members or BP). Was damm cool. If he's comming to Mansfield, I'd suggest going to it if you can get tickets.

Here's Mud on the Tires.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXEgCOjq6EA

I've already got another concert eyed to go to... NIN up here

Ouch, 2 missed posts last week? Bill, Liz are things okay at the Walek Estate?
(props for Anne for comming up with that name)

Phrank: It's Thursday?

I've completely forgotten it's Thursday and I've lost track of time a bunch of times over the past couple of days. I blame this in Spore, my new video game. It's pretty fun, not sure how much replay value there is in it, so there's essentially only three different play styles and the majority of the game is cosmetic. But having a carnivorous predator race of giant pink fairies is its own reward, I suppose.
Here's a link to my Spore account, this is the pink fairy of death

Here's the first version of this creature, fresh from the water with its brand new legs!

Enjoy, I'll probably post some different creature pics next week!

I have have befriended the Canadian version of myself.

Work sucks. I don't really want to talk about it here, though. Don't want to bring y'all down.

Still waiting to hear about the other job. Prayers are appreciated.

Woo! I got books and Stargate on my last visit home. I love you guys, our family is so awesome.

The Green brothers will be in Boston on Oct. 17th. Info is HERE

Ok, short post. But I'm tired, so please forgive me.

MMA Any One?

I'm getting this in late tonight as I finished up my class and then did some grading for classes.

Over the past few weeks I've been going code crazy. I'm writing a MMA fight simulator that's based on the COTG game. COTG is the game that my game card is being made for. The MMA side of things are in a separate sub-product. The wrestling side of things is a different rule set, but something I could jump in the future.

Anyways, I'm nearing the first public release. There are two pieces of code that need to be written. It's about 2 hours of work to complete them and package up the code.

I'm quite excited.

Hello!

Wow, so this week wasn't so hot for me. Nothing majorly horrible happened, it was just a lot little crappy things. Oh I did have a bomb threat at my school and I got to go home early on wednesday, so that was good I guess. I mean going home early was good, the bomb threat was just stupid. Because of this stupid kid: NO BAGS are allowed in the school until further notice. Which is just until they find the kid, but I don't think they have any good leads. The police have been monitoring our school too and will continue to on monday. It's all very irritating.
I just came back from the coffee house! I met some new people and got to talk to some other friends ect. Also happy Talk like a pirate day (extended to weekend because it's a friday). I encourage everyone to embrace this holiday! Here are my videos!
-Liz

Phrank: G.K. Chesterton

The following are two videos of an author by the name of G.K. Chesterton, who I'm studying this semester in my class on Catholic modernity. The first one is a video of Chesterton at a Worcester college, being inducted as a Crusader. Hmmm, I wonder... The video quality is pretty bad, but he's the largish fellow on the left side of the center.


The following video is a snippet from a play based on Chesterton's essays, and some slight biographical info. I really enjoyed this video, even if it was on Godtube.




The book we had to read for class, "The Man Who Was Thursday:A Nightmare" is a funny, theological/philosophical debate against Western pessimism and despair. The story was engaging and entertaining and then at the end shifts into something so deep and profound, it was incredible. Truly a masterpiece of Catholic literature.

Holy Cross vs. Harvard football tomorrow night, at Harvard. Should be a really fun and exciting game for the band!

I thinking working almost 60 hours a week is starting to take its toll on me. I'm completely exhausted. I really hope this job comes through, the hours will be SO much better.

Good news- I have Sundays off! So those in North will soon be getting a visit from me.

I started reading A Brief History of Time. It's pretty fry so far, and Hawking comes off as pretty arrogant. I'll try to slog through some more of it.

Anyone else reading anything interesting?

I think I'm gonna pass on the video thing. I just woke up from a nap, and I just want to go back to sleep.

And he's back!

Sorry that I had missed the last couple of weeks, seems that I have been sick and when i'm sick i'm not putting all that much effort into stuff. I'm still sick by the way. And after reading Greg's post from this week and last week, I saw nothing about video embedding anywhere except after his post this week. Seems like the challenge was thrown out there to be decided on this week. I choose to, VOTE NO. If you want to watch video's go see the Obama waffles. That some good eating.

Lipstick & Diets

Okay one of the most Hillarous things I've seen. (yea bad pun!)
Tina Fey is appalling. I mean she's Palin. With Lipstick.

Anyways, near the end pay attention to Hillary.

When you're done, You'll enjoy this:


Oh yea, this week post a funny video guys.
It's Video Embed Week.

Foo

I don't have much to post this week. My week has been pretty good dealing with school and all. Band has been excellent (both concert and marching) , I like it 10x more than last year. Also I'm thinking about getting a job so that is exciting. Also I'm now on Facebook so thats cool (The picture above is acually some Flair I liked). Hopefully next week I'll be more interesting. Good pictures by the way! Everyone had excellen pictures.

-Liz