imdb top 100 (i like lists)

1. 9.1 The Godfather (1972) 221,731
2. 9.1 The Shawshank Redemption (1994) 263,564
3. 8.9 The Godfather: Part II (1974) 126,082
4. 8.8 Buono, il brutto, il cattivo, Il (1966) 67,373
5. 8.8 Pulp Fiction (1994) 226,086
6. 8.8 Schindler's List (1993) 155,037
7. 8.8 Casablanca (1942) 103,311
8. 8.8 Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) 165,113
9. 8.8 Shichinin no samurai (1954) 56,866
10. 8.8 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) 203,231
11. 8.8 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) 113,312
12. 8.7 Star Wars (1977) 203,293
13. 8.7 Rear Window (1954) 66,552
14. 8.7 12 Angry Men (1957) 51,548
15. 8.7 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) 240,556
16. 8.7 Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) 141,415
17. 8.7 Cidade de Deus (2002) 70,580
18. 8.6 Goodfellas (1990) 119,968
19. 8.6 The Usual Suspects (1995) 160,899
20. 8.6 C'era una volta il West (1968) 34,949
21. 8.6 Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) 97,888
22. 8.6 Psycho (1960) 82,676
23. 8.6 Citizen Kane (1941) 89,782
24. 8.6 North by Northwest (1959) 55,346
25. 8.6 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) 194,497
26. 8.6 Memento (2000) 150,379
27. 8.6 The Silence of the Lambs (1991) 141,458
28. 8.5 Lawrence of Arabia (1962) 48,487
29. 8.5 Fight Club (1999) 198,297
30. 8.5 Sunset Blvd. (1950) 28,602
31. 8.5 It's a Wonderful Life (1946) 62,083
32. 8.5 The Matrix (1999) 222,171
33. 8.5 Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain, Le (2001) 103,138
34. 8.5 The Departed (2006) 106,659
35. 8.5 American Beauty (1999) 171,637
36. 8.5 Taxi Driver (1976) 81,879
37. 8.5 Apocalypse Now (1979) 102,967
38. 8.5 Vertigo (1958) 52,959
39. 8.5 Se7en (1995) 148,890
40. 8.4 Léon (1994) 97,789
41. 8.4 Laberinto del fauno, El (2006) 55,466
42. 8.4 Paths of Glory (1957) 24,182
43. 8.4 American History X (1998) 111,025
44. 8.4 Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) 110,989
45. 8.4 To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) 48,833
46. 8.4 Chinatown (1974) 42,775
47. 8.4 The Third Man (1949) 29,775
48. 8.4 M (1931) 21,431
49. 8.4 The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) 17,470
50. 8.4 A Clockwork Orange (1971) 107,311
51. 8.4 The Pianist (2002) 62,938
52. 8.4 Alien (1979) 100,172
53. 8.4 Untergang, Der (2004) 36,868
54. 8.4 Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) 96,722
55. 8.4 Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi (2001) 50,918
56. 8.4 The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) 34,829
57. 8.4 L.A. Confidential (1997) 103,508
58. 8.3 Boot, Das (1981) 44,125
59. 8.3 The Shining (1980) 89,571
60. 8.3 Double Indemnity (1944) 19,613
61. 8.3 Requiem for a Dream (2000) 93,348
62. 8.3 The Maltese Falcon (1941) 30,806
63. 8.3 Reservoir Dogs (1992) 116,870
64. 8.3 Saving Private Ryan (1998) 157,287
65. 8.3 Metropolis (1927) 21,052
66. 8.3 Hotel Rwanda (2004) 41,679
67. 8.3 Raging Bull (1980) 48,067
68. 8.3 Rashômon (1950) 20,919
69. 8.3 Aliens (1986) 98,182
70. 8.3 Sin City (2005) 125,821
71. 8.3 Modern Times (1936) 17,980
72. 8.3 Leben der Anderen, Das (2006) 15,626
73. 8.3 Singin' in the Rain (1952) 32,313
74. 8.3 Forrest Gump (1994) 154,292
75. 8.3 Rebecca (1940) 19,162
76. 8.3 Grindhouse (2007) 32,848
77. 8.3 The Great Escape (1963) 33,766
78. 8.3 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) 96,518
79. 8.3 All About Eve (1950) 20,501
80. 8.3 Some Like It Hot (1959) 39,498
81. 8.3 Touch of Evil (1958) 18,523
82. 8.3 Amadeus (1984) 57,113
83. 8.3 Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) 123,544
84. 8.3 Sjunde inseglet, Det (1957) 17,815
85. 8.3 The Manchurian Candidate (1962) 21,897
86. 8.2 Vita è bella, La (1997) 60,234
87. 8.2 On the Waterfront (1954) 22,372
88. 8.2 Jaws (1975) 77,694
89. 8.2 The Prestige (2006) 67,538
90. 8.2 The Sting (1973) 37,627
91. 8.2 Strangers on a Train (1951) 18,165
92. 8.2 The Elephant Man (1980) 29,077
93. 8.2 Nuovo cinema Paradiso (1988) 24,113
94. 8.2 Full Metal Jacket (1987) 79,864
95. 8.2 Batman Begins (2005) 123,486
96. 8.2 City Lights (1931) 13,290
97. 8.2 Braveheart (1995) 143,633
98. 8.2 The Apartment (1960) 18,619
99. 8.2 Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) 18,970
100. 8.2 Blade Runner (1982)

et cetera, et cetera, et cetera

More garage sale today. It's done now though, yay!

Brianna left me a bunch of comments... i was so confused when she asked Rodrigo was, because i did not know myself... but then i went to the page and saw that it was someone who had left me a comment which i later deleted. I don't know, it was in Spanish, something about personalized t-shirts.

I would love love LOVE a cup of tea right now but i don't have any decaf except for herbal tea and i'm just not in the mood for that.

Took Laura home after the garage sale, and ran out of gas on the way from her house. :( Ten mile and Haggerty.. so i went into Dunkin' Donuts (i made it to the parking lot) and asked where the nearest gas station was, and the guy told me. But then another guy asked if i was out of gas (since i was carrying a gas can) and offered to drive me there. It was just at the next intersection, but it's not all that close when walking. At first i was like "thanks but umm..." but then he said his girlfriend could take me while he bought the "stuff" (frozen coffee, i think it was). So i went with her. They were both very nice. Her name is Julianna and her birthday is tomorrow. So happy birthday Julianna and thank you for the ride!

So with that little gallon of gas i made it to the next station, and then home. So now i'm home. And i'm glad.

shokku

Anna Sui is from Detroit...

(My yukata is designed by her, and Michiyo's mom gave me handkerchiefs of hers when i first visited. She seems quite popular in Japan but i've never heard of her in the US.)

more meta

it's sale time. i'm certainly not going to buy anything but i wish i could buy this and this (or maybe in red; it'd be a hard decision). also this jacket is kind of cute.

What does the city have to offer me?

More garage sale-ing today. Yesterday i got a little sunburn on my shoulders even though i wore sunblock, boo.

Today i wore my new "oops wrong Lolita" sunglasses. They look funny on me but i like things that are heart shaped.

If anyone doesn't know, it's the second image i'm shooting for (despite its unfortunate name, and despite the sunglasses i just bought).

After the garage sale i went to a movie with Brianna. Nancy Drew!! It was fun. I liked to look at all her outfits and i liked how she always carried a brownie or something around a little tin in her bag. And i liked the lunch she spread out at school. Before i noticed the vegetables it looked very much like Momoko's lunch. (I just looked everywhere for a picture of Momoko's lunch, but couldn't find one. But i know i've seen one online somewhere...)

Anyway Hannah Gruen was super German (i guess) which was interesting; Nancy's dad was a little different, and their economic situation. Ned was more like Ted from that 1939 movie (i admit he has little personality in the books, but how come he's never even close?); i really liked seeing George and Bess brought to life, even though they were only in it for a few minutes. George was blonde but other than that it was fun seeing them... they're pretty two-dimensional in the books. They did okay with Nancy's character -- she's perfect at everything, but in the books she's perfect in every social situation as well and everyone likes her. But anyway Brianna and i want to film our own Nancy Drew movie now.

One more day of the garage sale. The only thing i regret about signing up for every day is having to wake up every day.

Today i bought a book about needlework, some embroidery hoops, three Smiths tapes and one Weezer tape. Tapes haha.

The early youth get the newspaper interviews

Hannah is famous. And andrew and kevin too.

Lucky Pack Lucky Pack Lucky Pack!!!

It came this morning while i was out helping do garage sale set up! I was surprised to find it packaged simply in a taped up Metamorphose bag! Anyway it was a supercute package. I opened it very carefully to preserve the bag and....
YES!! BEST LUCKY PACK EVER!!! I've seen pictures of a few others...i didn't want the blackXwhite one piece, and i didn't want the crazy pink pants...they're cute, but... i don't know if they'd work for me....

So i was very pleased to see WHITE when i opened the bag. But, not just white...
I got the white one piece. It looks a bit like i'm going to my first communion, but i think it's cute.
I was thrilled with a GINGHAM skirt. But it will never fit me so sell sell sell.
And i got two pairs of bloomers! Other people only got one... (???) Anyway, i got white ones and blue ones with white polka dots.
Yay! Lucky lucky lucky!!

Look it's summer

Youth group tonight was mostly a pool party and i'm still here for some reason in fact i'm going to be here most of the weekend for the garage sale too bad it's so very far stay tuned for the great questions of the evening brought to us by hannah

Victorian Lace Elegance

On monday hannah and i got lemonade at mr. Shwarma and explored farmington which you'd think would be done and done by now and it is but there's always some new oddity or if not new at least previously unnoticed

this is superficial but...

since i can't really buy anything (although i did sort of buy a pair of sunglasses yesterday oops), i thought i would just post here various things i would like to buy if i could. sometimes that gets it off my mind and then i find i don't "need" it anymore. but sometimes not. either way....

loli shoes (in white i think though i also want some to go with straw-hat-basket-purse country loli perhaps with pink gingham...)

french press (having dropped, cracked, and eventually thrown away the travel mug french press i got at einsteins.)

in other news that makes me flail and squeal a girl on EGL who lives on the east coast got her lucky pack already!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i have to go babysit now.

Green Tea

And other ghost stories

cute

tiny cravings

kyo

Today i walked to the mailbox (not ours, one of the blue ones) and also took the bottles back to the store and bought a few things we needed. Really that's about it. I was thankful that i could drink tea again. In fact i think i'll make some now.

circle tour of the western suburbs

We didn't have electricity all day, and not being able to make a cup of tea or use my computer was frustrating. Finally it came on at 4:45, and i left at 5:00 to go get Brianna and go over to Jim's to help paint. Lanka and Hannah joined us and we ate pizza and listened to the CDs i had burned in the car on the way there.



Between the first and second coats we got ice cream. You can see the shade of blue we were using on Hannah and Laura's pants. That's the furniture. And you can't see it well, but the walls are the peachy coral shade on Jim's shorts.

Banana splits are only $1.99 on Thursday nights.

Afterwards i drove all three girls home, which took over an hour. I stayed up for just a little while but then slept ridiculously late...

secret conference in the quiet study room

Today i packaged some ebay things, wrote a letter, took a super long walk, wrote some story, and went to youth group. There was only one girl there and an unusual amount of boys, i thought; but the girl was really cool. It was odd to have small group with boys, though it didn't feel particularly like small group since Aaron led it and he had just taught, so it was more like an extension of his teaching. And maybe because there were boys there. Shelby and i didn't say much.

Snack was scavenged ice cream. Hannah came with her parent(s) to pick her brother up (weird having him there!) and ended up leaving with me. We went to Plymouth. There were far too many uninteresting people there but we did have a minor adventure with sneaking onto a balcony and also an interesting time in the library.


I look goofy in that picture.

Anyway I also got a cute picture of a baby on my phone today. I'm usually not very interested in babies but i like that one.

Big lunch for a little girl?

Clam chowder grilled ham and cheese and corn. Everything eventually ended up in the soup.

2 minutes till lucky pack

made here

a very hot day

had einsteins for lunch, ate at this restaurant for dinner, and had a chocolate chip mint ice cream cone at the dairy king for dessert.


and then watched this movie!

fathers day

laura and bethany

carol and dad (yes that's a stethoscope)

Parfait

This is the tree under which i spent most of my day.

lucky pack

dear everyone

how are you
i'm fine
i love you
please send money

♥melissa
p.s. hurry

Super Sleuth mishka®

or perhaps she should be Super Senior Citizen mishka®?

i'm no good at diapers

I sure can't imagine that that's what every day is like for Jamie.

Not that it was bad, it was just...tiring. I got there at 7:00, and Jim got the girls up before he left. They played quietly on the couch for a bit while i enjoyed their coffee maker and had some toast. Then i got them dressed and gave them breakfast and they watched Barney. We went for a bike ride to the libary(?) (Sophia said "whatever it is, it sure looks library-ish." i've never heard a 4? year old use a word like "library-ish") and played on the "Hill" on the side of the building. Then Sophia had to go to the bathroom so we went back home and they got their swimsuits on and we went and played by the pool, but neither of them got in and mostly they took turns (under threats haha i'm such a great babysitter) on the swing. Then they watched The Brady Bunch while i made lunch, played rather peacefully for a while and i took Cordelia up for her nap. Sophia apparently doesn't take naps anymore so we did puzzles and watched the Cosby Show. I suppose we watched too much TV (on DVD) but i just go so tired playing all day long. Moms don't play with their kids all day long, do they? But i guess babysitters are different and more exciting or something.

So it wasn't like they were bad much, just...always wanted me to play. And sometimes it was pretty fun, but i can only play "i'll hide the old dried up leaf and you look for it" so many times. Anyway Sophia has gotten old enough to know that my name is not The Lissa, so now she calls me by my first and last name together, always.

♥ Let’s Learn the “Maiden’s Way” ♥

Translated by murasaki_kaze, 2006
Takemoto, Novala. "Let's Learn the 'Maiden's Way' from Mr. Novala Takemoto." Gothic & Lolita Bible Vol. 18. 2005: 83-86.
from here.

No matter how much you wear cute clothing, or how much time your makeup takes, if your inner self is remiss then true beauty will not be yours. In other words, from morning to night, even at times when people aren’t looking at you, you cannot forget to continuously make an effort to be beautiful. Loafers do not have the capacity to become a maiden.

For whose sake do we light the fire of obsession for beauty? To be frank, it is for your own sake. If you make your number one priority coming closer to your desired ideal of a maiden even a little bit, or becoming the “you” that you want to be, then no matter how the people around you react you won’t be able to let it go. First of all, I want you to hold onto preferences, specific to you that you will never let go for anything in the world, and pursue those preferences completely. In doing so, you should naturally come to have confidence. Those people who make use of their aesthetic senses in fashion and everyday life are satisfied with themselves, and that’s why they appear to shine so brilliantly.

I often take the question, “How does one become a lovely maiden?” However, the answer is only within you. The one who spoils you the most is you. That is why the only person who you must strictly connect with is no one else but you yourself. If you discover your own style, then no matter how mixed up an outfit you make, it is something that will inexplicably be realized.

However, if you try to acquire your own style, then, regardless of fashion, you should also touch upon lots of different things like music, movies, books, art, etc. Sometimes, there may even be a necessity to get close to things you have absolutely no interest in, or things for which you have no aptitude. When doing that, you’ll naturally understand what is necessary to you and what isn’t.

Ultimately, the important thing is intelligence. It’s impossible for stupid people or people with no curiosity to become maidens no matter how hard they try. Even if you have no money and can’t buy the clothes you want, you can still refine your senses by going to the stores and checking, or even just looking at magazines. Of course, in the beginning, you’ll repeat a lot of mistakes and it’ll be really embarrassing.

However, don’t forget that the path to being a correct maiden opens only to those who aren’t afraid of that and push forward.

Five Articles for Becoming a Lovely Girl
1. Neglect not your inner self. Be warned that God grants no beauty to loafers.
2. If you long to be a maiden, then define yourself as your own rival.
3. Style is not something granted unto you. Indeed, it is because you made it, that it has value.
4. Stylistic sense is refined according to intellect. That is the maiden’s greatest weapon.
5. Keep snacks to under 500 yen. If you get carsick, then sit in the seat near the window.

I made crepes today

This one has strawberries, banana, and whipped cream in it.

candy+pop

This morning i made a sort of itinerary for the day and i'm surprise at how closely i stuck with it. Of course i did a few things i hadn't planned, like stopping at the market and planting herbs out front; but there were also a few things i didn't have to do. For example Grandma got to the dishes before i did, and she ended up finishing my laundry. The only things i did not get to, which were last on the list, were things i meant to spend the majority of the day doing.

I saw Valerie this morning, which was nice. I had not seen her for a while. She filled me in on all the Einsteins news. Then Stacie was going to stop by this evening, but i wasn't sure when i'd be back from Nana's recital so we postponed till tomorrow morning. I got home at 9:00 (after stopping at 7-11 to buy candy bars haha), so that was probably a good plan.

I'm having much more fun with 43 Things than expected. It's interesting to me how working on one goal can cause me to work on other goals i didn't think were related. If i work on my reading list, i can't help but spend less time online because i'm spending it reading. And if i write in my diary every day, that gives me a chance to practice my terrible handwriting.

I hate those ads on myspace that look like webcam videos, for some dating site. There's one guy that looks a lot like the boy my sister dated in middle school. If i change my gender to male, will there be girls on the videos? Maybe i'll test it.

high stakes put put

1. fun in the van with paper products 2. another pirate themed event to enjoy 3. the winning team 4. posting self-photos in one's blog is en vogue in korea (even bad ones?) 5. kevin tries to make a come-back

i offered him my dress... but i didn't mean it. i'm sorry... (or perhaps "you're welcome.")

Anyway Deb C. gave me an envelope after i got to church and i opened it after i'd sat down, and she's moving to Philadelphia. Kind of sad, but she seems really excited about it. She called me her "obscure soul sister sort of friend" and said she'd like me to keep her updated on my life and various possible events including "mysterious happenings." haha... anyway it was sweet and the card was really cute. I'm really far more social via mailboxes than i am in most other situations, so i'll for sure write to her. She wrote me a couple nice letters when i was in AK and even sent me some money once! I think i bought used books with it. DEB HAS A SUBARU♥♥♥

bunny girl

Last night i couldn't sleep. I don't know why, aside from drinking a bottle of diet coke in the afternoon. I guess that did it. Anyway, i was up way too late on the internet reading about various topics, then i finally turned it off and tried to fall asleep, but before i knew it it was getting light out. I ate a melon pan and fell asleep around 7:00. Lulu called at 8 or 8:30 and i finally got up at 9:00, super confused for a while but i made it to Hannah's in fine time. I just didn't look very pretty. And that was okay, really, since i was about to spend the day sweating in the sun covered in dirt in a backyard in Garden City. I remembered to wear sunscreen and deodorant, and i think that's all that really mattered in this case.

Here are some things i learned about, instead of sleeping:

Freezing Dairy Products (i was particularly interested in heavy whipping cream)
The history of the tale of Little Red Riding Hood, and here for a little more cultural commentary.
The differences between the original 1930s Nancy Drew and the Nancy of later revisions

And, although i'm typically not a goal-oriented person, i played around on 43 things for a while. This site keeps coming up when i google various things, so i decided to investigate. These goals, some rather... what's the word? There's a word... like spontaneous, not very thought out, sudden, random. Whatever that word is. Some are things i'd been thinking about lately (like writing mysteries and learning to sew), but others are more along the lines of "sure, why not learn French?"

Anyway, these goals greatly influenced my afternoon. Because i thought it'd benefit me to take on this rather ambitious reading list, i skipped the shower i needed and went to the library before they closed to get a few of these books. Despite my college degree in ENGLISH, i've only completed 5% of this list. I could inch that up a little, if for example i checked off books i think i read but don't remember anything about, or "read" for class but never actually looked at. For example i know we read Beowulf in Brit Lit I, but i'm not so sure i did. And we read Lolita in American Lit II, but i never even had a copy (i figured i could get it from the library but apparently didn't quite get around to it that term).

It's odd...but i think i remember the books i didn't read that i was supposed to better than many of the ones i did read... guilt perhaps?

But i also left unchecked books i have read -- like most of the Jane Austen ones on there and Alice in Wonderland -- that i figured i should read again and don't mind too much. I did however check off Lakota Woman, which i read in 8th grade at the suggestion of my 25 year old sister. I don't think i quite got to the end, but i did do a book report on it.

So true to character i checked out way more books than i can read in the time allotted, but i was having a good time finding them. I've discovered (just today...) that the difference between me hating certain public libraries and me loving them might come down to knowing what i'm looking for. Anyway that's not really interesting to anyone but me so i won't continue to elaborate.

There are two other goals on that list of mine that shaped my day, and putting those into action led to the unexpected completion of a third, separate goal.

I ended up in the extra bedroom, where all of my stuff i want but don't need for my daily life ever has sat in boxes since before i lived here. I started going through these boxes for things i could live without, or things someone else might pay me for. I ended with a few bags of things that are mostly too small to bother much about, but we'll see. And naturally, old diaries and the like surfaced during the search. I embarrass myself, but they also made me think that i should really keep a diary. I'm inconsistent and most of them are left blank after the first half or so, when i obviously got a new one i couldn't resist starting. But i wish i would write regularly... i should add that to my 43 things. It can be a double; i'll practice my penmanship while i write. They were always sort of that anyway.

I also decided to get out my record player! I tried to set it up in my room when i first started living here, but the plug was not compatible. When i got my printer i bought an adaptor, which came in a two-pack, so now i can have records as well as printed documents♥

Now, lately i keep coming across bags or boxes of clothes that i put away at some point, like winter clothes or clothes i wanted to keep but didn't want to take to Alaska, etc. I came across such a box today, and found many delightful things i'd occasionally wondered about, like my Holiday Music hoodie and another Japanese English t-shirt, a lot of pajamas, a coat i got a thrift store once and have never worn (it's shiny!), and...................................... a sweater with a red hood. Who knew i already had one? It has black and white stripes on the inside of the hood and i can't recall at the moment how it fastens -- a zipper, i think -- but i was not asking for anything specific beyond "red hood" so voila. That's not to say that i might not try and purchase other red hoods i come across, such as hooded red capes or red hooded sweatshirts like Tomoko Kawase's, etc. Wait. I just remembered a red hooded sweatshirt... it's not mine but i bet i'd be allowed to wear it...

Once i was quite done with that task and had put everything basically back in order, i ate a boiled egg and then sat down to my fruit danish from Pastry House Hippo. This time, i remembered to take a photo! I look weird and extra pale and as if i hadn't slept, so i let RB model this time. He's cuter anyway, being a teddy bear and all.

As you can see, in the rush to leave this morning, i did not make my bed.

ensoku

Today i picked up Lanka Lulu and we went to One World Market and Pastry House Hippo (why is their website in Japanese only when their locations are in Novi and Chicago only? i know it's a Japanese bakery but come on), then took our purchases to Hines Park and had a little picnic. Laura Lulu had her suki na Ramune (which i've never seen in Japan, isn't that strange?), and i had tea (which i have enjoyed many times both in Japan and elsewhere) and wished i had another. To eat we had potato salad (so japonaise), fried chicken, and california rolls. Plus i ate the curry pan (pictured on the right) i'd bought at the hippo house.

Now for dessert! Lanka Lulu had tiramisu (for which i conveniently had a little plastic spoon in my purse, with Peko-chan on it. It came with the pudding and i've been carrying them around since i visited Tomo in Hikone last month), and i had "fruit custard" or something like that, which was actually a cake, with a custard layer and a nice creamy frosting, and fruit on top. Very cute. And delicious!

Our picnic spot was behind the hill where Hannah and i once sat and played with our cameras and notebooks. At that time, the grass was short, like a lawn, but now it is quite long -- like a meadow. And that is what it is. But to get there -- we went a different way, rather than just walking down Hines Drive -- was the most fun part. Oniichan we should walk there next time instead of through the disc golf course. It was just a short trail, but through the woods, and came out behind the hill. I like how these two phone photos Laura Lulu took look all fuzzy and dreamlike. I suppose that's the nature of phone cameras (mine too; my mom has my real camera with her in Germany and i miss it more than i expected!) but it's fun in these foresty pictures.

We left the park and stopped in Northville. Lanka Lulu was considering buying bread, so we went to Great Harvest and i took my photo with the baker and let him hold my BABY parasol. A woman with half a dozen small children came back (we went through the back) about this time and the kids for some reason all stood around and stared at me as we did this. It's kind of too bad none of them ended up in the photo, actually. I'm really not sure what was so interesting.

We tried bread (i was given the last two slices of "Michigan Herb," and one of them is still in my purse) and, after deciding against buying any, walked around the block to a cafe i have never been to partially because of something to do with an uncle or a cousin. At least that's my perception, or invention. Anyway we got iced tea and sat outside. They had two tables in the front which was the drawing factor, the absolute maximum for my dream cafe of Tokyo; but we ended up sitting in the alley, where there were two more tables. The drawing factor here was the shade and distance from passerby.

I came home and wrote out checks for Gramma's bills. One was a day past due, oops!! Now, outside my window a boy keeps saying "all my chicken and all my french fries," or perhaps "i want chicken and i want french fries." I just thought of making dinner, though it's 7:30 already. Perhaps... pierogies and salad? Perhaps just salad. And i've been meaning to cook the edamame in the freezer for sooooooo long, i wonder if they're even still going to taste good? I guess i won't know till i cook them.

Now that it's cooled off i'd like to take my computer out on the porch, since Gramma's in for the night probably (the TVs on at least), but there isn't a plug out there. Perhaps when i find a job and catch up on bills and have a new dress (i'm so bad), i might buy myself a new battery. Will they even still sell batteries compatible with my cute PC? I bought it in 2004.

aisu, carbonara

Today is hot and windy. I ate German Chocolate Ice Cream.

For dinner, i made multi-grain Spaghetti Carbonara with mushrooms, and tomatoes and peas added. I love mushrooms and peas so much. I originally learned how to make spaghetti carbonara from Michiyo.

the afternoon adventure

featuring boba (one was free), the exploration of an enchanted park, hannah's new haircut, and a trip to the grocery store; later, cookies and coke in my backyard.

now for Baby

Alice and the Pirates... the apron thing is funny... and yet i think it's cute... but i love aprons.


This purse is cute cute cute. And the socks kind of match. But it's the purse that's cute cute cute.