As Seen in Martha Stewart Living

As Seen on The Other Side

Two beautiful photo-sites:

Sensitive Light
Two Muses

NANO -18 hours.

NANO's almost here, the National Novel Writing Month. And these brave souls on my blogroll have signed up for the challenge. Susan, bryn, kat (ART), Mz (who has a great post on finding time for NANO), Roscoe, Onyx, susan on the other-side-of-the-world (susan is calling it the INANO, which makes sense, and I think it's November 1st over there now), LDH (modified), Pandora, Aimee (ART), Claudia, Patti, Ali, and Shirl.

Wow.

Have I missed anyone?

Well, we're still up, so lets do the Unconscious Mutterings:

I say ... and you think ... ?

1. Right now::this instant
2. Halloween::trick-or-treat
3. Provider::health care
4. Rescue me::Aretha Franklin
5. Confidence::Lack of
6. Fungus::among us
7. Candy corn::Autumn Mix
8. Reunion::Family
9. Winner::Takes All
10. Tradition::Fiddler on the Roof

Sob!!!! Sob!!!!! Triple overtime, but we (MSU) lost it at the end.

Holy Moley Part the Second!

We're going to overtime! Oh man!!!!

Holy Moley!

4th Quarter, and we're up 27-10. Without Drew Stanton in the second half.

Fingers, arms, legs, everything is crossed!

Eek! Which isn't working. UM just scored 10. Logging off now to give them my full attention!!!

Random political thought:

I was looking at my copy of the Constitution the other day. It's one of those plasticized things you buy at school bookstores. The Constitution fits on four pages.

The contract for the presidential debates was 32-pages.

Umm. This is progress?

There is blue, and there is Green!

There are two big ten universities in Michigan. There is "The University of Michigan" as they officially call themselves, and then there is Michigan State University. Two different universities, two different mindsets, and today we meet on the football field in Ann Arbor.

Go Green!

Added 5:17 p.m.
Good news and bad news.

Good news, MSU is up 17-7.
Bad news, Stanton may be hurt.

W R I T E

I suspect I'm a little stressed. I just ate a fortune cookie . . . and the fortune! The part I could salvage said something about "Your (indecipherable) will come". And how was your day?

Here we are at Friday. YAHOO!

Short on time this morning, but will catch up with y'all later!

Whew! I finally escaped the Gold Yard . . . after over TEN MINUTES wandering around. Yikes!

Congratulations . . .

To all the Red Sox fans!

Survivors Ready?

It's time to pick your bootee!

Blogger.

I see reports of blogger crapping out. Will this post?

P.S. I see another NANO'er. This thing is really catchy!

Okay, here I go. Hitting the Publish button now.

Happy Hump Day!

Whew. The week is going fast. NANO starts Monday. Roscoe has a great post telling about his preparations. Ali's hubby is offering some NANO utilities here.

My NANO project is seven inter-twining stories of women who lived in Michigan from 1813 to 2005. Each story will be about 7000 words, with the narrator's being about 8000. Before the kick-off date I need to:

• Set up a time-line.
• Name characters.
• Write a brief notecard for each character.

And how are you preparing for the big day?

Oh! Full Moon Alert tonight! Gail has a good link to information about the lunar eclipse here.

Scott's Caption Game is here, going until October 31.

Ack! Anne always finds the best games. Right now I'm playing in the Gold Yard.

The End of DST.

We go back to regular Eastern time this weekend. I'm a little melancholy about that. Today our sunset is at 6:38 p.m. Next week that will put it at 5:38. I usually work until about 6:00 p.m., so that means we're entering the tunnel of darkness. Yesterday was a sunny day, so I got a (perhaps last) chance to check out the deer playing in the forest meadow. There will be weekends, but . . .

On the other hand, NANO starts next Monday! Yes, bring it on!

Tonight's Project

Tonight I'm decorating mini-pumpkins. It's something I saw in Martha Stewarts Living. Glue and glitter and the mini-pumpkins is the general idea, but of course, I can never do things quite the Martha way. So I have some covered in glitter, some half-glittered, some glued and confettied, and one . . . well one has a green puff-glue face topped by tinselly hair. This is what happens when you have too many art supplies around. *smile*

So how or are you decorating for Halloween? (And if you haven't stopped by Aimee's Halloween countdown . . . go now!)

Good Monday Morning!

Query: do you say autumn or fall?

Good Stuff!

We visited Busy Bridges, an East Jordan gift shop, on Friday. They had a special going on, and they had snacks set out made from products from Robert Rothschild Farm. Oh my. I just found the recipe for the lemon bars here. They are SOOO good.

Autumn "Up North"

What Classic Movie Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

and this one swiped from J-Mo.

It's Sunday, we're up, so here come the Unconscious Mutterings!

I say ... and you think ... ?

1. Blackout::Baby Boom
2. Platinum::Gold
3. Leather and lace::Texture
4. Court::Queen's
5. Mind your own business::MYOB
6. Gambling::Proposal 1
7. Lily::of the Valley
8. Evasive::elusive
9. Turn-on::oops, a stupid evil grin just appeared on my face. Now if I say "light switch" you'll know I'm lying
10. Suspect::crook

you are PRINCESS FIONA! you're kind and
compassionate, and see people for who they
really are.


what shrek character are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Swiped as I stopped at LDH's!

More NaNo'ers spied:

WittBitts. (Yep, I think your project qualifies, Mz!)

I'm Baaack!

Back, in one piece, but without a brain, I do believe. I left about five disks of pictures "UpNorth" on my niece's dresser. *sigh*

We had planned on canoeing this morning, but we forgot to consider one thing: the weather. It rained this morning, and while I had back-up clothes for falling into the river, I didn't relish the idea of being rained upon for an hour. So my brother Grizz and I took a ride over to the Pigeon River State Forest area and did some two-tracking in his truck. It rained, as you can see by the picture, but lovely countryside and some once-a-year philosophy chit-chat with a brother made a great morning.

And how is YOUR weekend going?

Good Friday Morning!

It sure is funny how a vacation Friday is much different than a workday Friday! Can't believe how fast time flies.

It's been years since I've been in a home where there is the "get up and go to school" routine. My brother and his wife are both teachers and have three kids. They have such a busy schedule, and it's fun to hear them get the kids up and everyone go about their morning business. Great fun, as I can stay snuggled in bed. (And special thanks to niece Petunia, who has let me use her bed.)

Yesterday was a gorgeous day, with fog rising from Lake Charlevoix and Walloon Lake as we started out, and the sun breaking through as we made our way up to the Mackinac Bridge. I just checked a couple of facts about the bridge: It is the world's 4th largest suspension bridge (right behind Golden Gate). The straits of Mackinac are where Lake Huron and Lake Michigan meet. These are the 4th and 5th largest lakes in the world, respectively. Though we've been coming here since the bridge was under construction (1956) it never fails to impress.

Hope you're all having a great day! If I knew how to work my sister-in-law's editing program I'd slap up a couple of pics, but . . . that will have to wait until tomorrow! Take care!

We Made It!

Mom and I had the most delightful drive "Up North" yesterday. Color was perfect in some places, waning in others, but it was just a pretty pretty day.

Have a great day, and we'll type more later!

Packing up.
Almost packed and ready to go. We're taking the backroads "Up North" this time. We'll try to pick up a couple of covered bridges with autumn color, drive through Cadillac's fall color, maybe catch a lighthouse, and arrive at my brother's house sometime around 6 tonight.

Tomorrow we'll visit Mighty Mac.

Friday we'll visit my brother's classroom. That's always fun.

Saturday, canoeing down (or maybe it's up, I'm getting confused here) the Jordan River, and then head home in the afternoon.

So:

• County maps - check
• Cameras - check
• Binoculars - check
• Extra clothes for when I fall in the river - check

Next post will be from "Up North". (Do you say "up north" where you live? I think know I asked this once before, but hey *smile*)

See ya!

Quiz time.

This is a ____________ leaf.

Laundry detergent: liquid or powder?

John or Paul?

Favorite female actress actor.

Favorite male actress.
Edit: I should make it a rule to NEVER post after 11:00 p.m. Sheesh.

Eye color.

Can you tell??? I'm on vacation for three days!!! This blog will be coming to you from "Up-North" tomorrow.

Darling, it seems that you belong in Gone with the
Wind; the proper place for a romantic. You
belong in a tumultous world of changes and
opportunities, where your independence paves
the road for your survival. It is trying being
both a cynic and a dreamer, no?


Which Classic Novel do You Belong In?
brought to you by Quizilla

Bingo! Thanks, naomi!

David, you're just TOO happy about that snow! (One of the joys of Montana I don't mind missing out on. Our snow comes soon enough.)

Mike Sanders and I got back almost three years in the blog-world. Today he has unleashed his first installment of the Sanders Family South Beach Diet Blog.

Uhoh. For some reason I can't get the Monday Madness to load, so I'm swiping it from elsewhere.

Monday Madness:
1. I have reformatted my hard drive about _0_ times.
2. I usually reformat my hard drive about _0_ times a year.
3. When I'm working in a document, I save about every _5_ minutes.
4. I've upgraded my computer by adding _. Well, I didn't really upgrade, but I added an exterior floppy drive when I broke my interior one
5. I've got about _75_ CD's/floppies with info on them and about _50_ of them aren't labeled.
6. Since I've been using my computer, I find the easiest way to organize my files is to _ put things in folders. Also, I leave a lot of stuff on my desktop.
7. I have _ 4 email accounts.
8. Whenever I have a computer-related question, I usually call look it up somewhere.
9. I usually use a search engine when looking for _answers to questions.
10. My computer is about _3_ old.

I am a hybrid of: Girl Next Door Progressive Girl Click on the pictures below to read more: Take the 'What Kind of Girl Are You?' quiz at CookingToHookup.com

Link via bryn, who is about to come onboard the NANO train. *smile*

We're walking at the arboretum and we stop at this bench. What would we chat about?

D A N C E

Okay, so when you're up at 3:30 a.m. on Sunday morning, why not do the Unconscious Mutterings?

I say ... and you think ... ?

1. Dimension::Fifth
2. Roger::Maris
3. CSI::Gil Grissom
4. Passenger::Train *smile*
5. Thankful::Thanksgiving
6. Has-been::Faded Star
7. Bambino::Ricky Ricardo
8. Wrinkles::Age
9. Cable TV::Waiting
10. Voicemail::Don't have

Okay, time to toddle back to bed. I accidentally posted the mutterings twice but I think I've got it straightened out now. Night night!

Go Green!

It's cold up here in mid-Michigan. MSU just had a 48-yard kick-off return. I bet it's warm over at the stadium!

Woohoo! Before I can even get the post up . . . Touchdown MSU!!!!

And . . . another one!!!

Final Score:

Michigan State University 51, Minnesota 17.
Absolutely incredible. Minnesota was the 20th-ranked team going into the game. I have to admit, I didn't think we could do it. John L. is a magician.

It's a TRUE Saturday morning. Susan has a post up, with the Saturday Morning Me at the end. Thanks, Susan!

And, susan on the other-side-of-the-world has joined the INANO gang. This is fantastic!!

Good Saturday morning!

Some this-and-that.

• It rained last night, so I didn't go to the parade. I did see the movie Shall We Dance, though, which is the best movie I've seen this year. (Yes, I AM a hopeless romantic. I can admit it.) Therefore, it is all good.
• Finished Blow Fly by Patricia Cornwall. An awful ending. Felt like she thought "I'm tired of this so I'm going to finish it" and bing-bang-boom, all done. Doesn't make me want to read her new Scarpetta, Traces, but I probably will, either when it comes out in paperback or the boss gets it from the library and shares it with me.
• Aha! Found another NANO'er on my blog list. Still two more weeks to sign up for anyone who is interested.

okay, time to go read the newspaper. Catch y'all later!

Added at 11:00 a.m.
There was a trailer for the movie Closer. Now, I really, for some reason, do not like Jude Law, and hadn't planned on seeing this movie. However, Clive Owen, who I had somehow missed until King Arthur this year, is also in it, so it has moved onto my "must-see" list.

Whew! We made it to Friday!

The restructuring at work continues. Feelings are tender, sides have been drawn, our lovely work "family" is splintered. But hey . . . that's life, right? And it's Friday, and this is Michigan State University homecoming weekend. I haven't snagged any tickets for this game, but there will be a nifty parade this evening. How many parades do you see that feature tractors? (One of the joys of being one of the largest agricultural schools in the country. The other joy is the day they spread fertilizer on the fields. I only live half a mile from those fields.)

Howabout your weekend?

Whoa! Awesome pictures of Yosemite here.

It's great to see all the enthusiasm for NANO in the comments. Too cool! So far, Ali and Pandora and Susan and Roscoe and Onyx are coming on board to write a 50,000 word novel in the month of November. Kat, a super artist, is doing her second year of Art Each Day projects. (Amazing work!)LDH, have you decided to give it a go this year??? We've got some possibles yet to convince. So here's a bit more of my experience.

In 2002 I signed up cold for the NANO. With my usual bull-in-a-china shop approach I charged forward, only to get stymied at about 15,000 words in the middle of the month. Well. That's cool, though, because that was 15,000 more words than I had written in 2001.

In 2003 I came to the program with a plan. I'd read some novel-writing books, and had sketched out a basic three-act outline. I think it's key to keep it basic, because you're writing at such a rapid speed that you'll find at least in one spot you'll see where your story should veer or add or do something you couldn't have imagined with an orderly outline.

Now here's where I get a little nutso, but it works for me. (I've since seen other people share this method, so there's more than one nut on this tree.) I write in microbursts. I set the timer for ten or fifteen minutes, and then wail away on the keyboard. Timer rings, I IMMEDIATELY stop. I get up from the keyboard. I come back, log amount of time and words produced.

This does two things:

• I have not only a constant word total, but a word per minute total. At any time during the month I can figure out how many more hours I need to finish the project. For me that was very helpful in budgeting my time.
• By stopping immediately, I'm always leaving an idea surging. Starting up is easier. (I'll give E. Hemingway credit for this idea, he always stopped mid-sentence when he was writing. Of course, he also stood at a counter for writing. That I'm NOT going to emulate.)

The other two things you have to do for NANO:

Turn Off the Voices. Turn off the negative voices both inside your head and out in the real world. That may be the toughest thing to do.

Have fun.

So Happy It's Thursday, as Susan would say. I'm late today, catch y'all later!

NaNoWriMo coming up soon. NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month, where participants attempt to write a 50,000 word novel (oops, I almost said page instead of word) in the month of November.

This is my third year doing it. 2002 I hit about 13,000 words. Last year I hit the total. This year I have another 50,000 words that want to get put together.

From the website:

Because of the limited writing window, the ONLY thing that matters in NaNoWriMo is output. It's all about quantity, not quality. The kamikaze approach forces you to lower your expectations, take risks, and write on the fly.

So if you want to take a risk, sign up. Yes. I'm talking to you!

Happy Hump Day!

Cat seems to have my tongue, and my fingers, so I guess I'll go over to Karen's and see if she has the hunk posted for the week. Not up yet.

Susan on the other-side-of-the-world is experiencing spring/summer.

Survivors Ready?

Who are you going to boot this week?

As always, playing with stuff from MandarinDesign . . .

. . . 'til you find your dream.

R E A L

Which internet subculture do I belong to? [CLICK] You are a Conspiracy Theorist! Holy cow! You actually did an online quiz? Little did you realise that the information you gave us is being sent to an unknown government agency for evil use against you! Don't try to leave, we are already watching. More Quizzes at Go-Quiz.com

Swiped from White-Pebble.

Call for information.

My Cyber-bro Jeeem is asking: Can anyone explain blog-snob to him? Even if you can't, go visit the boy. He's been busy posting lately!

Monday Madness here.

Name 3 things....

1....your ideal salad has on it. onions, peppers, and bad bad me . . . bacon bits
2....you do religiously in the morning. brush teeth, bathe, check blogs
3....you look forward to doing in your spare time. reading, walking, picture-taking
4....you've never done before, but think you will at some point in your life. white-water raft, see the Pacific Ocean, learn all the vice-presidents names
5....you love to do while on vacation. hike, swim, sit around the campfire
6....you took pictures of in the last month. deer, family, fall color
7....you have to do before the end of the day. work, one load of laundry, find out if the Red Cross Soup supper is still on
8....you like about your best friend. a reader, writer and picture-taker

Happy Thanksgiving Day to my friends in Canada, and happy Columbus Day to my friends here in the States who are lucky enough to have it off. As for me, it's off to work I go!

So how was your weekend?

Mine was quiet. Went to a "Wellness" Expo yesterday, but it was a disappointment as it seemed as though the exhibitors were just trading back and for with each other. Got back to the car in time to hear the Spartans win their football game, that was a good thing. Went to the scrapbook store and spent too much money on supplies, and picked up the calendar of open crops. Dee at work said she would go if I went, so maybe this scrapbook spree will continue. (Or maybe not. I had plans for this weekend and didn't accomplish anything scrapbook wise.)

Stopped at the west side mall to check out the B&N bookstore there. (Thought of you, Rune!) Couldn't pass up the Red Hat Club and Patricia Cornwell's Blow Fly (paperback versions of both). Read the Red Hat Club this weekend (hence the no scrapbooking). Red hats always make me think of MZ.

The pop machine at the mall at some of the limited edition Mountain Dews. Well, the youngest nieces had weighed in on their opinion, so of course I had to try one. Contrary to their thoughts, I rather liked the Mountain Dew Pitch Black, which had a decent grape taste. Okay, so I'm a dork.

Made it to church this morning, Mom's for dinner this afternoon. We had a relaxing afternoon sitting in her garden, going through one of her genealogy books and feeding chocolate to the squirrel.

I haven't given up on my September 26things, they're just slightly delayed. Should be posted this week.

And how was YOUR weekend?

Better do the Unconscious Mutterings before I peek at anyone else's blog.

I say ... and you think ... ?

1. Spacious::Skies
2. Crash::Accident
3. Autobiography::of Miss Jane Pittman
4. Sparkly::Confetti
5. Wild Thing::Born Free
6. Haagen-Das::Yummy
7. Sci-fi::Star Trek
8. Voice::Sing
9. Boy Scouts::Girl Scouts
10. Grief::Sorrow, but also Good Grief, Charlie Brown

Okay, now I can come visit y'all!

Deer Season

Go Green!

I didn't score any tickets for the game (at home) so I'll probably start watching it on television, then switch to radio as I do my Saturday errands.

Edit:

It's going to be a noisy night in East Lansing. MSU 38 - Illinois 25

An awesome picture here.

Good Saturday Morning! No Three AM Eeby-Jeebies Today!

Normally I head over to Susan's for the Saturday Morning Me, but she's on vacation. It's funny how people we know by words and pictures can be missed so much when they're gone.

On the returning front, Roscoe is home from vacation. Welcome back, (kiddo)! And glad you're doing the NANO again!!

From an email I'm looking at, at different explanations for the chicken crossing the road:

GEORGE W BUSH: We really don't care why the chicken
crossed the road. We just want to know if the chicken
is on our side of the road or not. The chicken is
either with us or against us. There's no middle
ground here.

JOHN KERRY: Although I voted to let the chicken cross
the road, I'm now against it!

BILL CLINTON: I did not cross the road with THAT
chicken. What do you mean by chicken? Could you
define chicken please?

AL GORE: I invented the chicken. I invented the road.
Therefore, the chicken crossing the road represented
the application of these two different functions of
government in a new, reinvented way designed to bring
greater services to the American people.

RALPH NADER: The chicken's habitat on the original
side of the road had been polluted by unchecked
industrialist greed. The chicken did not reach the
unspoiled habitat on the other side of the road
because it was crushed by the wheels of a gas-guzzling
SUV.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY: To die. In the rain. Alone.

VOLTAIRE: I may not agree with what the chicken did,
but I will defend to the death its right to do it.

CAPTAIN KIRK: To boldly go where no chicken has gone before.

FREUD: The fact that you are at all concerned that the
chicken crossed the road reveals your underlying
sexual insecurity.

Okay, okay. So I'm a little whacko this morning. Catch ya later!

What to do when the 3:00 a.m. eebie-jeebies hit.

• Check the blogs.
• Play with the light wand, making pretty colors.
• Clutch teddy-bear and say the "Down to Sleep" prayer over and over.
• Avoid looking in the mirror.
• Move to couch. Couches can feel like hugs if you snuggle into them properly.
• Fantasize.

You?

Please don't eat me!!!


You are glucose. People feed off of you. You are
sweet, caring, and a source of energy for
everyone around you. You can inspire others
with your creativity and depth, and you can
keep people alive when in times of famine.
People love you...or at least the way you
taste.


Which Biological Molecule Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Swiped from White-Pebble.

Come on. You know you want to. It's not about quality, it's about quantity, and freedom, and . . .

Well, I could blather on, but I won't. Just do it.

Oops.

Did you ever try to visit whitehouse.org but goof and put the .com ending on the URL? (You end up at an adult site.)

Dick Cheney had a slip in the debate. He directed viewers to factcheck.com, when he meant factcheck.org. FactCheck.com forwards visitors to an anti-Bush dude.

Big oops.

Note: This is not a political statement, just a joy of internet statement. Really.

Oh boy. Visiting Montana views over at Tom's. Yum.

Survivors Ready!!!

Who do you think will get booted this week? Guesses in the comments.

Maybe this is part of the answer to blogger's issues lately.

Ev is leaving Google/Blogger.

Swiping from Mandarin. Again.

A C C E P T

Happy Birthday, Susan!

You caught up with me again!!!

If you haven't met Susan at EBC, now would be a good time to go visit and wish her a happy birthday!

Monday Madness.

Using the letters in the word 'AUTUMN' describe your favorite season.

I'm drawing a blank here.

TAN leaves.
NUT(s) on the trees, squirrels harvesting.

Oh wait, I just peeked at someone else's answer. *sigh* I really messed up.

My favorite season is Spring, which would be:

An Unusual Time Under Mellow Nights.

Try again? Nada.

It appears that blogger is hiccuping today. (Should that be two p's?) *sigh*

IN THE GAME OF LIFE . . .

Taking a break from the scrapbook. 13 pages down, 6 more to go.

Unconscious Mutterings. I'm up and working on a scrapbook for my brother and sister-in-law which should have been done a week ago. How do you spell procrastination????

I say ... and you think ... ?

1. Courage::Profiles in
2. Stamina::Strength
3. Leader::of the Band
4. Idea::Lightbulb
5. Rockstar::Mick Jagger
6. Dew::Mountain
7. Guards::Defends
8. Lenny::Bruce
9. Alliance::Survivor
10. Cigarettes::Smoke

Swiped at bryn's: (And I really need a smiley. Michigan State lost.)

You Are a "Wink"

What Japanese Smiley Are You?

oops.

Go Green!

Away game, Iowa, starts at noon.

Edit at the half.

MSU 6
Iowa 17

Oh no!

Also, Cassie-B has October dates posted. Check them out!

What's your color? Mine is toast. Hmmmm.

John and Michael. You are young and
impressionable. Your naivety is charming and
you are always on the lookout for an adventure.
Your best qualities are your willingness to go
along and your enthusiasm. Your biggest flaw
is that you can get so wrapped up in what you
are doing that you may momentarily forget
everything else.


Which Peter Pan Character are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

I think it must have been the Teddy Bear questions. Swiped from naomi. And no, I won't grow up!

Ladder 49 was the movie last night. Predictable, but nice to see all those alpha-males running around.

oh yeah! It's the weekend!!!!

Thanks for all the comments and the encouragement yesterday and the day before. The joys of lay-offs are manifold. There is:

• The loss of friends.
• The worry if you'll be next.
• The redistribution of work and prioritization of pending projects.
• In a non-union shop such as ours, there is the concern over how people were chosen.

There have been a few positives to help balance this bleak time.

The boss has been supportive. "I know we can't maintain everything we've got going. We'll get through this."

One of the lay-offs was my part-time assistant. She was so classy when we told her, concerned about how we would handle things. She also told this story. "When I started here, I went home and told my boyfriend 'What am I going to do? They're all older and know each other?' But you guys made me feel right at home and it was an awesome experience." Sheesh, she had me bawling.

Dee has offered to help me with my projects. "Hey," she says. "I can stay later. Just let me know what you need." Great friend!

On the down side, Carol, the bookkeeper's assistant, was a close friend. Close enough that she is one of the two people who have read my last year's NANO thingee. I...well, we'll see what happens.

The car turned out to be affordably fixable and I got to ride with Sam, my mechanic, a couple of times. (Unfortunately, it was from and to work and his shop, Susan. *wink*)

So thus ends the week. Time to work on some fun projects and leave the fretting for another day.

I am thankful this is Friday and hopefully I can stumble through it without totally falling apart. Two people were cut from our staff yesterday. My car is sick and on its way to the mechanic. (One positive: Sam is a hunky dude.) Catch y'all later!