My mother in law got me a pen and pencil set made from the wood of a coffin. They're hand milled and beautiful!

I just got back from my morning swim--79 minutes today, but that included a few breaks and chatting with my friend while she was doing her 12 laps and then left. I am getting tired of being the only one in the whole damn pool who ends up sharing a lane the entire time I'm in there, though. What is it about me that screams, "I love sharing a lane! Join me, please!!" and leaves the other people alone?

Yesterday's "short visit" with my friend who had her gastric bypass surgery on Wednesday ended up lasting all afternoon, and then when she ran out of steam and laid down for a nap, the three of us who were visiting all headed out to Chili's for dinner. I ordered a half-slab of their ribs, which ended up being the perfect amount of protein. I also had two bites of the mozzarella sticks that the other two were sharing--they tasted fantastically good!

Since my surgery, that little bit of fried cheese and the one french fry I had a few weeks ago are the grand total of "bad food" I've had, which isn't too bad! Next week, I'll just have to be sure to avoid all the chocolate that'll be around the office.

Today, I'm going to be damn sure to finally get my bedroom closet and drawers cleaned out!! And then, I have to run out to the grocery store. I stopped by Walgreens and picked up my multivitamins and milk, so I've got the necessities, but I really should get everything else, too.

Right! Good on ya` sister. The SO let me sleep in this morning and miss church, so I should do something with the time and join you.

I am cleaning, goddamnit. Which I mean as an expression of resolve, and not mood. Mostly.

I am moving slowly, but surely on the grading day o' doom. I am trying to console myself that this means I will be ALL CAUGHT UP!

For 7 hours, overnight. Le sigh.

Happy birthday to Maria and Kristin!

So RE: the Justin Bieber movie. My kids are both Justin Bieber fans and will start singing "Baby baby baby ooo!" at random moments during the day. But they also pop out with random Harry Potter references, and are currently playing Hogwarts with their playmobile figures.

My goals for this weekend: one paper set graded, Chamber of Secrets finished. We're almost there. I would have included the goal of getting laundry done, but our dryer is dying/dead. Badness. I think we just need to bite the bullet and buy a new washer/dryer but they just seem outrageously expensive. sigh.

Please forgive the crosspost from Bitches, but it seems more of us are awake in Natter this morning! ===

Quick question for the gaming amongst us.

I'm putting together a couple of chat-breaker exercises for tonight's game night.

The first is a series of questions, Who Among Us. For instance, Who has seen Star Wars more than 5 times? Who has a visible tattoo? Who grew up in your home state? Who is the same zodiac sign as you? Who knows the most common town name in America?

I need funnier/cleverer questions. What do you think?

Before you say it, I know that for some, talking to strangers is unappealing. I'm assuming that the folks who sign up for an event like this are at least a little bit open to the practice.

Next, I'm doing a yes/'know' guessing game where each person gets a sticker with one of a pair and must ask yes/no questions to determine who they are, then find their other half.

Pairs like: bogey/bacall, han solo/leia, leto/jessica, alice/mad hatter, hagrid/buckbeak, sherlock/watson, dracula/van helsing, lady/tramp, starbuck/apollo.

Who else should I use? I'd like to have a bunch so that, as people come in, I can pick ones that are more likely to be identifiable by the demographic that shows up. I even thought to use justin/selena, but assume most of the attendees will be older than that.

leto/jessica

I don't know what that is. Romeo/Juliet? Jay-Z/Beyonce? Lewis/Clark?

Dune

TB gets it in one.

I thought to use leto/ganima but thought that was even more obscure.