Dear Santa... Dear Santa, This year I've been busy! Last Sunday I gave sereneth a wet willie, then I took it back (-5 points). In April I donated bone marrow to joecarnahan in a life-saving procedure (300 points). In February I signed my organ donor card (28 points). In September I had a shoot-out with rival gang lords on the 5 near LA (-76 points). In June I stole babagannoush's purse (-30 points). Overall, I've been nice (217 points). For Christmas I deserve a shiny red ball! Sincerely, falwyn

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I think it's great that I donated bone marrow... and then had a shoot out with a rival gang. A bone-marrow-donating gang lord, that describes me perfectly...

So, have you heard of NaBloPoMo? You should.

I'm doing it. Come see me at my real blog. (Ah, I love wordpress....) I'm also continuing my NaNoWriMo story from last year, which is totally against the rules, but ask me if I care... oh, no, nope, don't. At least not till they send the Raging Monkeys of Enforcement after me.

Yeah, so come visit all. I have been in and out around here, and will continue to be, but come visit. And comment. Yay. :)

ETA: joecarnahan has been gracious enough to apply his geekiness and set up an LJ syndicated account for my wordpress blog. Check the comments below for the link or click on this (I think): http://syndicated.livejournal.com/falwyn_wp/

So now you have the option of putting it on your friends page. I think. I'm not that educated in these matters, but yeah, try it out. Thanks Joe.

1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the next 3 sentences on your blog along with these instructions.
5. Don’t you dare dig for that "cool" or "intellectual" book in your closet! I know you were thinking about it! Just pick up whatever is closest.
6. Tag five people.

Okay, I'm a big dork, and there are two equidistant (the computer desk is a sty), so...

from The Uses of Enchantment (by Bruno Bettelheim)

"Parents wish to believe that if a child sees them as stepmothers, witches, or giants, this has nothing to do with them and how they at moments appear to the child, but is only the result of tales he has heard. These parents hope that if their child is prevented from learning about such figures, he will not see his own parents in this image. In a complete reversal of which they remain largely unaware, such parents fool themselves into believing that if they are seen in such form by the child it is due to the stories he has heard, while actually the opposite is true: fairy tales are loved by the child not because the imagery he finds in them conforms to what goes on within him, but because--despite all the angry, anxious thoughts in his mind to which the fairy tale gives body and specific content--these stories always result in a happy outcome, which the child cannot imagine on his own."

from Digital Scrapbooking for Dummies

"In working with digital graphics, remember that the number of pixels per inch (ppi) in a digital image makes a difference in how the image will look on your monitor and on a printed page. Many people claim that 150 ppi is a good enough resolution for printing out images or scrapbook pages on a home printer. This is true for some printers, but the new crop of photo-grade printers can utilize a full 300 ppi--which will give you a better printout."

I'll tag, um, anyone who reads this, since they're certainly my friends whether on LJ or not.

...that would be here. Now you know. I'll be in from time to time...

Finally finished with the writing of the Christmas program (it's only on Christmas Day! No pressure!) that has been sucking my life (or at least all my mental energy) away for quite some time now. Time to breathe. And go play with flickr! Yessss....

Well, first the holiday cards.

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

I know I'm behind in NaNoWriMo (I'm not that surprised... next year we will be doing some prep work beforehand, mmhmm... but yes, I'm still working on it), but don't you love quizzes that validate your sense of self?

<td align="center">You will be famous for writing a national bestseller



You are very observant and tend to be the wallflower at parties. You are intuitive and know just how to communicate everything that you are feeling to those around you.

Take this quiz at QuizGalaxy.com</td>

So. Lots of people told me that Firefly rocks, that I should see it, etc. Ditto for the movie, Serenity. And I wanted to see both, preferably Firefly first, I just hadn't gotten around to it yet.

So Saturday, my dear N pulled up the trailers for Serenity online, and we watched them. Hee hee. And he wanted to go see it immediately. However, in the interest of a peaceful movie-watching experience, one that would not include passing children from lap to lap every five minutes for two hours, not to mention avoiding reaver-esque nightmares for the three year old, we opted for March of the Penguins that evening instead. (Which was certainly a wise choice, given that even there, the leopard seals and attacking albatross or whatever gull-ish bird that was, both were disturbing enough for her. Not to mention the penguin sex! Ha ha, just kidding. It was very tasteful. Can you tell it was certainly filmed by the French? Not because it was tasteful, but because it was included at all.) Not a big problem as far as I was concerned, but then I've always loved animal documentary type things. Then afterwards we rented the first two (of four) discs of Firefly, went home, and watched the first three hours.

Wow. Then we went to bed, and I dreamed Firefly dreams all. night. long. Which was awesome, I might add. I love the costumes, the acting, and especially the fabulous writing and language. The blend of western/1800s and scifi. Oh, and the characters. I can't even hardly go through and define all the "traditional" western genre roles, though I know they're there, because the characters are so intensely strong and individual that, at least for now, I can barely think of them separate from their names, their... selves.

So, we arranged for some babysitting, and went on an actual DATE last night and saw Serenity. Which was wonderful and horrible, all at once. Fabulous, entertaining, suspenseful. But so emotionally intense I'm still reeling a bit. I suppose I won't put any spoilers in, especially as I have not a lot constructive to say at this point, just general mourning. Maybe later if I think of something insightful I'll post it, when I'm not still feeling elated and yet hit over the head. I'll probably have to see it again. And I'm really hoping that N brings back the other two Firefly discs tonight, too, though I'll probably have to confine the watching to one or two episodes tonight, hard though it will be.

It doesn't feel like I only saw it for the first time three days ago. In fact, it feels more like it's always been... here. Part of my mind and memory.

To finish I'll post the fun quiz I found on several other sites. If you notice I have two three-way ties (I'm not sure how THAT works out exactly). Honestly, I'm really surprised that I didn't come up as Kaylee, because of the "cuteness" factor, but I suppose I'm not that mechanically minded. I'm flattered to have tested as such a totally gorgeous (and of course cool) character, in spite of the profession. How exactly can you have equal parts Shepherd, Kaylee and River? A religious, cheery crazy? Well, maybe that does fit.... And: is it a good thing to be more Operative than Jayne?

You scored as Inara Serra. The Courtesan. You have a job that brings comfort to people and eases their burdens. It took years of training and dedication to perfect. So why do people keep calling you a whore? You tried to get away from those people, but something keeps bringing you back. </td> Capt. Mal Reynolds 69% Simon Tam 69% Inara Serra 69% Shepherd Derrial Book 63% Kaylee (Kaywinnet Lee) Frye 63% River Tam 63% Hoban 'Wash' Washburne 56% Zoe Alleyne Washburne 50% The Operative 50% Jayne Cobb 25% Which Serenity character are you? created with QuizFarm.com

Stupid minor characters distracting me. Hmph. But anything for word count, perhaps.

I need some musical inspiration for the towering work of genius I'm running off to work on. Anyone want to send me some mp3s of Ofra Haza or something else lovely and middle eastern? Ah, we all know who I'm talking to -- babagannoush? :) Or anyone else? I'm open...

I'm probably way behind the times, but I think this is fabulous. Yay Romanian techno. The eyebrow twitch cracks me up. Every. Single. Time.

Actually, the best part of it is, no doubt, the way my baby boy INSISTS on dancing to it in his father's arms. And the way my girl requested the Dancing Guy today. Thanks to my brother for sending it over.

And yes, I did do some work, about 450 words or so. When chapter two is "finished" I'll post it.

other notes:
I love this little fox mood icon.
The baby boy is standing alone now, for up to 30 seconds or so sometimes. Actually he took four tiny little steps yesterday. I just didn't see them so I'm sort of pretending they didn't count. Just kidding. (Besides, my husband insisted on writing them on the calendar. So it's official.) You should hear the girl cheer her brother on -- such excitement! She has been a fabulous cheering section for a while now, including the time I did a wooden-whistle solo in church; as I walked back to my seat, she said, loudly into the silence: "Good JOB, Mama!" It warms the very cockles of my heart.

Babe asleep, toddler watching Maisy (for about the eighth time). To write! I have to make myself do it, even just fifteen minutes at a time..... I'll check back in ....

futzing around, as usual. but fun things, and I'm an lj newbie, I must have my time of excessive quizzes and meme-ing and such, don't you agree?


The Scottish selkie was a being who appeared to be
a seal, but had the ability to shed their skin
and roam the land in human form. If a human
were to happen upon the discarded seal skin, he
or she could hide it and force the selkie to
marry him or her. However, if the selkie were
to ever find the skin, he or she would
immediately reassume seal form and return to
the sea from whence they came, leaving their
spouse and offspring on land to forever mourn
their loss.

As a selkie, you are a very withdrawn, secretive
and somewhat sad person, and those around you
find you alluring and mystifying. People who
come into your life find it difficult to find
the inner you. You are also curious, but you
enjoy the comforts of home most of all.


Who is your inner Shapeshifter?
brought to you by Quizilla

Who knew?

And now this one: bondage warning?


You died of either old age or a sickness. You are a
kind person and are smart. You have a good head
on your shoulders. But don't think that just
because your death wasn't exciting or extreme
that that makes you boring.


How did you die in your past life? (for everyone)
brought to you by Quizilla

Definitely time for bed.

NaNoWriMo.

I must be out of my mind.

However, I'll be posting it here. Wahoo. Here's to ambition.

"Perfect is pretty, but finished is BEAUTIFUL."

Hey y'all. I mostly got an account here so I could post on some different boards and such.

My "real" home is here: quakingaspen
Should I be dividing my energies? No, I'm sure I should not, but there it is.