You're so Vain, You Probably Think this LJ is About You

Okay! turns out my baked goods for the San Antonio Aids Foundation charity event are due tomorrow, not Thursday! So pies are baked and cooling as is my naked cake (only one after all, turns out I am not Betty Crocker on steroids). Will wrap everything up, including naked cake layers, and finish frosting/decorating tomorrow when I get home. JP thinks I'm crazy for spending all this time and money, but to me it's way more fun than just donating money (although they'd probably appreciate that more, LOL).

ANYWAY, meme time! I hope I remember how to do them...

30 Days of Blogging meme

1. Introduction and recent photo

So, even though all I ever do is talk about myself (me, me, me), I guess I can give a quick rundown. My name is Melissa (but I answer to Missy, Melly, and Mel). I'm 40 (ugh), work as an Operations Analyst for a huge insurance company, and live with my longtime boyfriend JP and a whole parcel of cats. He is actually the crazy cat lady, not me. I started keeping an online journal back in 2001 (holy mairde it's been 12 years), mainly because some of my fellow anime cel collecting peeps were on Live Journal so I tagged along.

I have a big, wonderful family that drives me crazy. If it were not for them, I would not still be here in South Texas, dying from the relentless oven of a climate and the never-ending stupidity of Texas lawmakers in general. My dream is to retire early and move somewhere north, where there are real seasons. I hear they are nice.

I live traveling, reading, baking, writing, and watching anime and historical dramas (combine the two and I am your slave). I love Shakespeare, Jane Austen, poetry, maps, watching sci-fi with JP, and all-you-can-eat meat at Brazilian steakhouses (the salads are good, too). Although I have been kicking ass and taking names at work, the thing I am most proud of is that over the last 5 months, I have lost over 40 pounds. It hasn't been easy, but it feels great. I can finally shop in the regular clothes section again, which is nice. I have a new-found interest in athletic gear and exercising (although running bites and you can quote me on that).

In honor of Halloween, here is a recent photo of me at Target. JP and I were trying on the foam wigs and dying of laughter. I kinda liked this one, though...who knew I could rock some blond hair?

I can't seem to do anything right this weekend...

In other news, it finally got cold here after I gave up hope and put away all my sweaters. Said sweaters have been pulled out again and are currently strewn across the bathroom. : /

Anyone else watch the Grammys? I faded in and out but had a damned good laugh at Nicki Minaj (?) singing in a British accent and getting sex-ay with a bunch of dancers dressed like priests. It's like Madonna in reverse. Maybe I am getting too old to watch this show. I did enjoy the band called The Civil Wars. Loved their sound.

Cheers to you all this New Year's Eve!



Oh, yeah and also:

Happy Mother's Day to all the mommies on my flist! Hope you have a great one!

I met up with Nay-nay on Friday night and we enjoyed watermelon martinis at Olive Garden (YUM) and then went shopping for clothes I didn't need (bought a fabulous dress, though).

Yesterday, JP and I went to see Thor and, I must say, it was pretty good! Chris Hemsworth is just gorgeous and even though I am pre-disposed to love anything Kenneth Branagh does anyway, he did a great job moving the story forward and preventing it from looking or sounding ridiculous (which is no easy task when you are talking about THOR). My favorite bits included the main character coming to Earth because I love 'fish out of water' scenarios. Oh, yes - Stellan Skarsgard and Kat Dennings are fantastic in their small roles. Highly recommended!

And now I leave you with this...JP found it and thought of me. A skinny, English steampunk rapper. Does my boyfriend know me or does my boyfriend know me??

Okay, I am going to bed in a slightly better mood, thanks to this (props to JP for showing it to me):