bearshorty (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
bearshorty) wrote2015-12-20 09:10 pm
bearshorty) wrote2015-12-20 09:10 pm
Entry tags:
Sunday, December 20, 2015
The rest of my week was so much better than Monday. Tuesday and Wednesday were quite ordinary, which was nice. Not that the days were perfect - Tanya is a toddler whose new favorite word is "no" and who really wants to steal my phone to see pictures and to watch Elmo all the time that she possibly can (although she is only allowed 5 minutes of video of Elmo a day right now and 5 minutes of "Masha and the Bear" cartoon), and she doesn't want to eat her soup unless papa distracts her with a puppet show - but those are perfectly normal things that don't really make me upset or sad or anything. On the contrary, we had quite normal happy days.
On Thursday morning, my Mom picked Tanya and I up since I wanted to go to my hairdresser's on Friday for a haircut and coloring and highlights. Which is what I did. It took all morning, and the day was quite gloomy and cold, but it was nice to just to walk and enjoy the crispiness and to listen to music. My Dad got the new Adele album for my Mom and me, so I've been playing that - I really like it. My favorite song is "Million Years Ago". Bear can't stand to listen to it as he feels it's pretty depressive, but I like it.
On Friday afternoon, I also went to do some Christmas shopping for Bear's family. My family doesn't celebrate Christmas. We celebrate New Years and Tanya will get presents from me and my parents on New Year's morning. But only kids get presents then, so I don't have to get anything for my parents. Bear's family, on the other hand, is big on both Christmas and presents for everybody. Not big expensive, all out presents, just small presents, but there are a bunch of people. I got presents for Bear already and some small gifts for others but I needed more. So while Mama and Tanya went to the playground, I went to Home Goods where I found small varied things like coffee and lotions and kitchen jars with chickens on them that added up to about $60. I think I'm done and I'm quite happy with what I got for people.
On Thursday, my Remus/Sirius Small Gifts story was posted. It's called How to Find a Bloke at Holiday Parties . This is the summary: "Sirius really should have gotten Remus’ last name during Lily’s holiday party or some way to contact him. They were just too busy making out to get to all the important details. But Sirius is not one to give up. He will find the mysterious gorgeous stranger, maybe in time for another party. AU where Remus never went to Hogwarts." I incorporated a little bit of the Russian New Year traditions into the story because the wild card asked for unusual holiday traditions.
I did a little dance of joy on Friday morning because I saw that it got recced as an Editor's Choice on the Daily Snitch, which is a first for me!
I also finished watching Jessica Jones .
I really enjoyed it as a series - I don't mind the overall focus on just one villain. I did think the show slowed down a little in the middle and got much darker with a really high death count than I usually like but in the end, I found Kilgrave a pretty terrifying villain and was excited for Jessica to finally get him. I absolutely adored the relationship between Jessica and Trish and the "I love you" code - it fit so well and was very satisfying. Many side characters seem interesting like Malcolm. I wanted to keep watching to see what happens. I also liked that Jessica called out Kilgrave about what he was really doing and was able to be a survivor. I was certainly rooting for her. I'm really looking forward to Luke Cage show now since I really enjoyed his character too and his relationship with Jessica. And now I also want to finally catch up with "Daredevil" because Claire was fascinating to me. I'm really focusing on female characters more and more I find.
Supergirl S1E8 Speaking of female characters. I liked the fall finale. I like the show in general and I will keep watching but it's not on level of love yet. The show still needs to find it's voice but that usually takes a bit of time (like Agents of Shield, for example). I absolutely adored, however, that Cat figured out that Kara was Supergirl and that the writers acknowledged how smart that character is. That reveal will bring in a great dynamic. I'm not a big fan of big secrets anyway - I like when the characters are allowed to talk to each other and to figure out things. I'm curious about the Allora story too and what the ultimate plan is. And I hope after the show comes back, the romance subplot can just fizzle off a bit. It's really not necessary. The show does need to improve but I think it has potential.
Of course, the best part of this week was that yesterday, Bear and I had an actual date. We went to a few weddings together in the past year and a half but I never left Tanya overnight before. For a while this year, we were considering going to Montauk for about four days on a little vacation, just the two of us. But Tanya has been very clingy lately and I really didn't think that I could do it. So we decided to do a trial night away. My parents happily took care of Tanya this whole weekend. Bear came on Saturday morning around 10am to pick me up and we were baby free for about 29 hours. I had a great time but I did get nervous in the evening about her and bedtime, and by Sunday morning I was mostly missing her and was worried about how she was, although I knew that she was perfectly fine. It was just the longest I spend away from her in almost 17 months. I don't think I expected to miss her this absurdly much - although this weekend away was definitely needed and very welcome.
And we did have a great time. First we went on a hike in the woods. Staten Island has many nature preserves. There are some hills but mostly it's just nice wood scenery and not a lot of people about. So it's a quiet nice place to just walk and talk. The weather was cold but not that freezing, so the air was crispy and pleasant and I had a warm coat on. We walked around for about an hour and a half and it was really lovely and scenic.
Then we stopped by to get movie tickets for 3:20 show before going to our favorite Indian restaurant in Staten Island for lunch. That place is so delicious. I think only once I didn't like the food when I got an eggplant and it was too salty for me. Otherwise, their rice with saffron is just the best. And chana poori appetizers is just so tasty; we always get it. I got some lamb tikka masala (I usually get lamb since I don't cook it at home, unlike chicken) and Bear got chicken bhuna. We shared a bit - both dishes were so good. I was pleasantly full. I also got a cocktail - Tsunami, with lots of rum, so that contributed to a pleasant buzz.
We had some time before the movie, so we stopped by a comic book store (trying hard not to listen to chatter and get spoiled for the movie) and a Toys R Us. And I went to a Dollar store to get some candy to sneak in the movie theater (I don't eat popcorn nor do I drink soda and I refuse to pay ridiculous amount for movie theater candy).
And then it was time for the movie. I haven't been in a movie theater in, I think, two years. I remember going to see the second Hobbit movie with Medusa in December of 2013 but I can't remember if I saw anything after that. Bear and I both wanted to see Star Wars, although we wouldn't have been upset if we couldn't get tickets - we are not fanatical about it and we did have a bunch of DVDs at home at the ready. We had to see it in 3D, which is not my favorite but this movie theater is pretty cheap with a matinee - it ended up only $21.50 for 2 3D tickets. The trailers were pretty much for the same movie - why do action movies all look exactly the same? The movie itself, however, was very good.
Star Wars (with spoilers)
I like the series just fine, I watched all 6 movies, but I'm not a superfan and don't particularly obsess with details. I really enjoyed this movie. It really had the spirit of the original movie - it was not convoluted or weighted down by too much CGI. What really made me love this movie were the new characters - I thought Finn and Rey carried the movie very well. They were both very likable and I was invested in their fate. And I absolutely adore Rey and want her action figure. She is such a great character, not to mention a skilled pilot. I liked all the humor too - like the two Stormtroopers backing away when they heard Ren having a tantrum, or Rey questioning why Finn needed to hold her hand for her to run, or bad guys recognizing when they needed to leave instead of sticking around to die - the movie just felt fun.
And it certainly made me look forward to the next one. And Daniel Craig was the Stormtrooper in the Jedi Mind Trick scene - fun to know - I loved his line delivery.
After the movie and a phone call to my parents to make sure Tanya was fine (more for my sake) we drove back to Brooklyn. We picked up some Chinese. I wasn't too hungry after that lunch so I just got Wonton soup and had some of Bear's chicken dumplings. We ate dinner while watching "Mirror, Mirror" episode of "Star Trek". Then I drew a bath and later we had hot chocolate; both perfect for a cold winter day. It was a really lovely date and it was great to spend so much uninterrupted time together.
Today, Sunday, was pretty nice too. I spent the morning wrapping all the presents as Bear was working out on his exercise bike, and then cross stitching. Then we went grocery shopping together - we haven't done that in a while - lately, I just make a list and Bear goes to the grocery story by himself. Then after coming home and eating lunch we went to get Tanya. We did try to stop by Best Buy so Bear could get a DVD for his Dad, but that ended up useless - that store was short of most things and too crowded. And in the evening, I made yaki udon since I picked up some udon noodles at the Asian supermarket a week or so ago. Tanya even had some udon noodles for dinner too, along with her veal meatball.
On Thursday morning, my Mom picked Tanya and I up since I wanted to go to my hairdresser's on Friday for a haircut and coloring and highlights. Which is what I did. It took all morning, and the day was quite gloomy and cold, but it was nice to just to walk and enjoy the crispiness and to listen to music. My Dad got the new Adele album for my Mom and me, so I've been playing that - I really like it. My favorite song is "Million Years Ago". Bear can't stand to listen to it as he feels it's pretty depressive, but I like it.
On Friday afternoon, I also went to do some Christmas shopping for Bear's family. My family doesn't celebrate Christmas. We celebrate New Years and Tanya will get presents from me and my parents on New Year's morning. But only kids get presents then, so I don't have to get anything for my parents. Bear's family, on the other hand, is big on both Christmas and presents for everybody. Not big expensive, all out presents, just small presents, but there are a bunch of people. I got presents for Bear already and some small gifts for others but I needed more. So while Mama and Tanya went to the playground, I went to Home Goods where I found small varied things like coffee and lotions and kitchen jars with chickens on them that added up to about $60. I think I'm done and I'm quite happy with what I got for people.
On Thursday, my Remus/Sirius Small Gifts story was posted. It's called How to Find a Bloke at Holiday Parties . This is the summary: "Sirius really should have gotten Remus’ last name during Lily’s holiday party or some way to contact him. They were just too busy making out to get to all the important details. But Sirius is not one to give up. He will find the mysterious gorgeous stranger, maybe in time for another party. AU where Remus never went to Hogwarts." I incorporated a little bit of the Russian New Year traditions into the story because the wild card asked for unusual holiday traditions.
I did a little dance of joy on Friday morning because I saw that it got recced as an Editor's Choice on the Daily Snitch, which is a first for me!
I also finished watching Jessica Jones .
I really enjoyed it as a series - I don't mind the overall focus on just one villain. I did think the show slowed down a little in the middle and got much darker with a really high death count than I usually like but in the end, I found Kilgrave a pretty terrifying villain and was excited for Jessica to finally get him. I absolutely adored the relationship between Jessica and Trish and the "I love you" code - it fit so well and was very satisfying. Many side characters seem interesting like Malcolm. I wanted to keep watching to see what happens. I also liked that Jessica called out Kilgrave about what he was really doing and was able to be a survivor. I was certainly rooting for her. I'm really looking forward to Luke Cage show now since I really enjoyed his character too and his relationship with Jessica. And now I also want to finally catch up with "Daredevil" because Claire was fascinating to me. I'm really focusing on female characters more and more I find.
Supergirl S1E8 Speaking of female characters. I liked the fall finale. I like the show in general and I will keep watching but it's not on level of love yet. The show still needs to find it's voice but that usually takes a bit of time (like Agents of Shield, for example). I absolutely adored, however, that Cat figured out that Kara was Supergirl and that the writers acknowledged how smart that character is. That reveal will bring in a great dynamic. I'm not a big fan of big secrets anyway - I like when the characters are allowed to talk to each other and to figure out things. I'm curious about the Allora story too and what the ultimate plan is. And I hope after the show comes back, the romance subplot can just fizzle off a bit. It's really not necessary. The show does need to improve but I think it has potential.
Of course, the best part of this week was that yesterday, Bear and I had an actual date. We went to a few weddings together in the past year and a half but I never left Tanya overnight before. For a while this year, we were considering going to Montauk for about four days on a little vacation, just the two of us. But Tanya has been very clingy lately and I really didn't think that I could do it. So we decided to do a trial night away. My parents happily took care of Tanya this whole weekend. Bear came on Saturday morning around 10am to pick me up and we were baby free for about 29 hours. I had a great time but I did get nervous in the evening about her and bedtime, and by Sunday morning I was mostly missing her and was worried about how she was, although I knew that she was perfectly fine. It was just the longest I spend away from her in almost 17 months. I don't think I expected to miss her this absurdly much - although this weekend away was definitely needed and very welcome.
And we did have a great time. First we went on a hike in the woods. Staten Island has many nature preserves. There are some hills but mostly it's just nice wood scenery and not a lot of people about. So it's a quiet nice place to just walk and talk. The weather was cold but not that freezing, so the air was crispy and pleasant and I had a warm coat on. We walked around for about an hour and a half and it was really lovely and scenic.
Then we stopped by to get movie tickets for 3:20 show before going to our favorite Indian restaurant in Staten Island for lunch. That place is so delicious. I think only once I didn't like the food when I got an eggplant and it was too salty for me. Otherwise, their rice with saffron is just the best. And chana poori appetizers is just so tasty; we always get it. I got some lamb tikka masala (I usually get lamb since I don't cook it at home, unlike chicken) and Bear got chicken bhuna. We shared a bit - both dishes were so good. I was pleasantly full. I also got a cocktail - Tsunami, with lots of rum, so that contributed to a pleasant buzz.
We had some time before the movie, so we stopped by a comic book store (trying hard not to listen to chatter and get spoiled for the movie) and a Toys R Us. And I went to a Dollar store to get some candy to sneak in the movie theater (I don't eat popcorn nor do I drink soda and I refuse to pay ridiculous amount for movie theater candy).
And then it was time for the movie. I haven't been in a movie theater in, I think, two years. I remember going to see the second Hobbit movie with Medusa in December of 2013 but I can't remember if I saw anything after that. Bear and I both wanted to see Star Wars, although we wouldn't have been upset if we couldn't get tickets - we are not fanatical about it and we did have a bunch of DVDs at home at the ready. We had to see it in 3D, which is not my favorite but this movie theater is pretty cheap with a matinee - it ended up only $21.50 for 2 3D tickets. The trailers were pretty much for the same movie - why do action movies all look exactly the same? The movie itself, however, was very good.
Star Wars (with spoilers)
I like the series just fine, I watched all 6 movies, but I'm not a superfan and don't particularly obsess with details. I really enjoyed this movie. It really had the spirit of the original movie - it was not convoluted or weighted down by too much CGI. What really made me love this movie were the new characters - I thought Finn and Rey carried the movie very well. They were both very likable and I was invested in their fate. And I absolutely adore Rey and want her action figure. She is such a great character, not to mention a skilled pilot. I liked all the humor too - like the two Stormtroopers backing away when they heard Ren having a tantrum, or Rey questioning why Finn needed to hold her hand for her to run, or bad guys recognizing when they needed to leave instead of sticking around to die - the movie just felt fun.
And it certainly made me look forward to the next one. And Daniel Craig was the Stormtrooper in the Jedi Mind Trick scene - fun to know - I loved his line delivery.
After the movie and a phone call to my parents to make sure Tanya was fine (more for my sake) we drove back to Brooklyn. We picked up some Chinese. I wasn't too hungry after that lunch so I just got Wonton soup and had some of Bear's chicken dumplings. We ate dinner while watching "Mirror, Mirror" episode of "Star Trek". Then I drew a bath and later we had hot chocolate; both perfect for a cold winter day. It was a really lovely date and it was great to spend so much uninterrupted time together.
Today, Sunday, was pretty nice too. I spent the morning wrapping all the presents as Bear was working out on his exercise bike, and then cross stitching. Then we went grocery shopping together - we haven't done that in a while - lately, I just make a list and Bear goes to the grocery story by himself. Then after coming home and eating lunch we went to get Tanya. We did try to stop by Best Buy so Bear could get a DVD for his Dad, but that ended up useless - that store was short of most things and too crowded. And in the evening, I made yaki udon since I picked up some udon noodles at the Asian supermarket a week or so ago. Tanya even had some udon noodles for dinner too, along with her veal meatball.