reservoir dogs and pulp fiction

What? No Bordello of Blood, or Inglorious Basterds?

Folks, can anyone here in the USA imagine how loud would be the HOWL from the blue-hairs if Quentin Tarantino's works formed the basis of a curriculum for high-school students?

well, it's not like i didn't consider grindhouse, lol. i haven't yet seen inglorious [censored].

yes, kiwi folk are much more relaxed about these things. though it does make my hair stand on end when my younger students regularly get to watch the crap on mtv (ugh) and other adult fare like sons of anarchy, nip/tuck, and, shudder, californication. all of these are on free-to-air tv, unedited. (gack, even things like 2-1/2 men airs at 7.30!) sons is a favourite of mine, but my own dd wasn't allowed such things until she was 18. sometimes i feel like the only one who remembers the major kerfluffle over sharon gless and a certain word...i feel like a real oldie when i hear some of the stuff on usa network tv these days.

on a side note, i'm introducing my H to breaking bad this weekend. i watched it on netflex over there last year, and finally broke down and got the dvds.

and on a super-side-note: i am in the middle of watching hope springs. has anyone else seen it?

Wow .... What an interesting class yours must be!

I haven't watched any of those shows so I can't comment much. I don't really like blood and guts or dark stuff much. I much prefer fantasy over realism! Lol. I will confess to being a bit of a nerd though: love Lord of the Rings and stuff like that! I like happy endings - and Disney movies., lol.

I start classes next Monday. Should be an interesting semester. Taking Geology, Astronomy, and Psychology of Adjustment. I was thinking of adding a 4th class but with 2 sciences/labs I don't think I am.

Have loved my time off bit it's time to get back to the grind!

Our 22nd anniversary is Saturday! Can't wait!

(i feel like arnold horseshack,lol) ooo, ooo, sunny, what are you plans for the big day?

you must be very good at maths & science. i remember taking astronomy for a general elective a long (long) time ago (in a galaxy far, far away, haha). i had to drop the class when:

we spent the majority of the time learning about the planets, stars, and especially the moon. so imagine my astonishment when the questions on the first exam were like this one: if you are at xxx longitude and xxx latitude, what time is is in ethopia? WTH?

on a side note, i follow the ISS on twitter, and it tweets me every day when it's going to go past nz. H and i go out and have a look most of the time!

sunny, have you read the song of ice and fire? i'm not a fantasy girl, but i really enjoyed the series (except the last one). i also love the tv show, which sticks very close to the books.

needless to say, LOTR and the hobbit are huge here. i can't understand why, since peter jackson screwed over every worker in the country to make the three hobbit films. in case you haven't heard, he showed up down here with a couple of guys from sony (sony? i think sony), and the three of them met with the prime minister. in a matter of days, they had changed employment law! it now stands that employees aren't protected, and the studios make out like bandits. as if their millions of dollars tax breaks aren't enough. seriously? talk about forgetting where you come from! he's on my crap-list, lol. for once, (kiwis tend to be apathetic) a whole bunch of people, lead by some big kiwi name actors, protested at parliament, but our PM is a teflon money man who does what he wants at the expense of everyone (in every way).

i finished watching hope springs yesterday. i feel a little shystered - the adverts showed it as a comedy, but there was little (if any) comic relief. it was really sad, but had a happy ending. i liked the soundtrack though! the last song was one of my favourite lenny kravitz tunes: it ain't over. they also used that haunting annie lennox song, why, and marvin gaye's let's stay together.

in the extras, the director talked about how the actors had such a range, it was hard for him to choose what take to use in the final film. he then played some scenes with several takes, where the dialogue is spoken differently every time. i promptly copied that bit, because it will be a good teaching tool!

just fyi for anyone seeing it: there is no infidelity. it is "safe" to watch w/your spouse. be prepared for tears, though! one of the things i liked about it is that is showed how both of them played a part in the breakdown of the marriage.

well, it's so bloody hot here today, i'm going to hit the gym and then just try to find a cool spot to vegetate. it was soooo hot last night, and with no a/c, it was so hard to sleep. between the heat and the darn curtains flapping (heavy winds, which kick up my allergies), i hardly slept at all, and then i started with the nose and a cough. i finally got up and read at 4am, then went into a light sleep from 6-8. thank goodness it's not a school day. i can't imagine trying to wrangle a roomful of boys with a head fulla snot and exhaustion! there'll be plenty of time for that in february, when i'm stuck in a 15x15 room with 27 nearly grown men and no a/c!

oh, thanks. i like to think my classes are interesting! i do try to meet both needs: interesting and fun for me, interesting and valuable for the students. at the end of last year, our headmaster told me that he was walking across the field behind two maori boys, and one said "what do you have next?" the other said "english. i've got mrs letty, so it's pretty good." that was high praise indeed! (maori are the native people in nz. they only make up 15% of the total population, but have a horrendously oversized failure rate. i've been participating in a maori outreach programme for 3 years that integrates maori-based teaching principles. i'm pleased to see some results, even if they are anecdotal!)

(this is more of a bloggy post)

today we are getting a bit of a break from the heat with some cloud cover. it's still hot though - was 26/82 at 8.30am. i think it might still be too hot to do any baking i bought vanilla ice cream last weekend to make ice cream cookie sandwiches, but it's been too hot to make the cookies. (no, i won't get store-bought cookies.)

last night after the sun went down it really cooled off and we were able to get a good night's sleep. today i am going over to a few canvas places in the industrial park to see about getting a sun shade sail made for our bedroom patio. our new neighbour's new house/patio looks right into our bedroom, which is making sleeping with the patio doors open a bit more voyeuristic than i like! what would i give to have a/c! or rather, the ability to pay the power bill if we had a/c. our last two bills have been over $400/month

i am so geared up for our dunedin trip. yeseterday i rented a car, and we're planning places to visit, though i want to spend one day just on the beach. we are staying at this very romantic hotel.

we're going to check out the cadbury factory, tunnel beach, the wall street mall, for Hs shopping needs; he's a shopper, and the otago peninsula, which, apparently, CNN has named as one of the 10 most romantic spots in the world.

whoops, hit submit rather than preview! i guess i'd better get off my duff. my kitty is having a cocktail hour of cicadas. gross.

I don't do store bought cookies either. I have my favorite recipe for our favorite cookie and if I can't have that, nothing else will do.

I love your idea of the canvas sun shade for your patio door to your bedroom. A/C is such a wonderful luxury, but when we lived in southern CA, we made do most often with ceiling fans because of the high energy costs. Cool showers just before bedtime help a little. Now that we live in TX, the summers are hot hot hot: 102* in the daytime at the peak, and about 85* at night, we breathe a sigh of relief that we have A/C.

Enjoy your trip. Safe travels and lots of love bank deposits wished for both of you.

lol, having been brought up in gorgeous southern california, and having spent most of my life there (mostly in palm springs and los angeles), i had never lived in a house without central air/heat! here, houses here are typically not insulated, so it's freezing in the winter and steaming in the summer. and damp at all times. having bought a spa pool last year has helped a bit. hot in the winter, cool in the summer. yesterday, it was so hot that i french braided my hair right out of the shower. later, when it was all dry, i was horrified to see that i had a mini-afro going with the frizz! i simply cannot do humidity.

i'm still thinking about the cookies. it's 11am now, and not too bad with a breeze. i might pop some in the oven when i make dinner tonight, since i'll have to stove going for risotto. but for dessert tonight i'm making this sorbet & raspberry dessert, so the ice cream cookies will at least have time to freeze.

I never buy store bought.

That's crazy about Peter Jackson, Letty! I had no idea. Not nice of him!

Sorry I haven't responded sooner. My computer is on the fritz and I'm having to use my phone or H's when he gets home. I don't type very fast on my phone and have been pretty busy the last few evenings.

I'm glad to hear things are going so much better for you this week!!!

And I never buy store bought either! Yuck! lol

i finally got the cookies baked for ice cream sandwiches. the weather really cooled off, so i also made 2 batches of blueberry bran muffins, orange-cranberry bran muffins, banana bread, and scones. i froze everything but the scones for when school starts again. we ate the scones that afternoon i make cheesy ones for him, and whole wheat ones for me. i cheat a bit, using low-sugar preserves on mine.

this will probably be my last post for a bit. we leave for dunedin in 2 days, and i am sooooo excited! i asked my twitter followers for romantic dinner suggestions, and 100% replied platos. i've made a reservation for a patio table overlooking the beach. my only hope is that the bed in our romantic (but expensive) hotel room be comfortable. i'm so over staying in places where i wake up more sore than i was when i went to bed! my spine can't take much more. reminder: book osteopath appt!

i've been thinking a lot about PA. my H doesn't rate PA too high (middle) on ENs, but i think it's perhaps higher than that? i take good care of myself most of the time, but i think i could be fitter. i have been dedicated to going to the gym 3x/week and have been working quite hard. i met with a trainer at the gym last week. it was a young guy who didn't look a day over 16! he asked what i wanted to work on, and i said i wanted enough upper body strength to be able to protect myself in the zombie apocalypse, lol. i can already see the changes in my arms (and feel it, too).

but when it comes to clothes, i struggle. i know H is attracted to the more, erm, freer looking type of dress. however, as a teacher in a small town, going out in short skirts sans undies is not an option. i also hate (hate!) g-strings. i'm much more the librarian type than the stripper type. that doesn't mean to say i don't dress to look nice, i just don't dress like pamela anderson! also, he loves boobs, which i have an abundance of (i'd like a reduction - crazyman says the only knife that goes there will be for an enlargement! at an E/F cup, that's NOT GONNA HAPPEN). however, he likes them on display, and as someone who's struggled with large breasts from my early teenage years, i am NOT comfortable with that at all. i am, however, working to get slouching under control. i'm happy to wear anything in the bedroom, just not out. i think we need to poja some attire, and i'm going to start by taking him lingere shopping in dunedin. he did buy me that lovely dress for my bday, and i wore it to the xmas party without pinning the top closed higher up than it's cut

i think i have great legs, and i love shorts. as a classic apple, i have to work hard to keep the waistline in check (it's true, after 40 you have to work harder). i love belts! but the boobs can make you look fat in a lot of clothes, especially as my lower half is significantly smaller than my upper half. i buy everything in in two pieces, w/a v-neck w/buttons down the front, no frills! i would so love a reduction, but i've seen that surgery, and don't think i would do it anyway. last year, i found a great bra - wacoal. they make a great minimizer that i highly recommend to you other big breasted ladies. i look way better in clothes now, though they do inhibit low-cut tops. (hollywood tape is the way to go.)

and i guess that's all my thoughts for now. things here are going really well, and i'm feeling really good - better than ever, really, about our M. RH and UA are coming along nicely, and i'm very pleased with Hs progress in the RH and affection areas (and my own in RH - it's getting easier). now, i'm off to do some more research about subversive use of music in reservoir dogs

Letty,

you made me hungry in the first part of your post and then very hopeful for your trip away together, that supper on the beach sounds heavenly.
you use those beautiful legs of yours, there are a lot of ways to look sexy, look right into his eyes, little touches, be flirty.....
how could he resist......
have fun girlie!!!
can't wait to hear the update, I'm such a sucker for romance

Have you looked at Lane Bryant Cacique line? They have some really great choices for larger breasted woman that offer great support. I started shopping there when Victoria's Secret only went to a D cup, but I still wanted something pretty, sexy, but still offered the support you need. By the way, it is just not a fat lady store.

it's been a while. school starts and i fall into the black hole of work! 3 weeks in, and i've already spent a whole sunday working, as well as going in later today. between extra-curricular and administration, i barely have time to plan/mark! but my goal for this year is to come home at 4 no matter what. (what that means is i go in earlier.)

people think that teachers have it easy. that we work banker's hours and get lots of holidays. nothing could be further from the truth. i teach a university-level scholarship class at 7am that i am not paid for. i have three extra-curricular groups that i see lunchtimes (also not paid for). our school day runs from 8.30 - 3, and i am at school from 7-4 (sometimes later if there's meetings), without a lunch break 4 days a week (on fridays i go OUT!). my holidays are spent attending professional conferences and/or designing new units and/or national marking panels. then there's the night-time stuff - parent/teacher conference night, meet the teacher night, shakespeare festival night...have i mentioned that the govt contracted with an overseas payroll company, and nationwide teachers have been overpaid (a few), underpaid (lots, like me) or not paid at all for the last 6 months? that's no BS - just google nz & novopay. thanks for nothing, nopay. that's right - in a recession, our govt paid $10M to move our payroll system to an overseas company, when the local company worked just fine the way it was. way to go!

ok, i think i've got that off my chest!

our holiday was wonderful and we had a great time. the restaurant was not what we expected, but the food was good. H didn't enjoy the cadbury factory, but loved the train trip. we drove round the peninsula and visited larnach castle. very sad story there (about the larnachs). did some shopping at Lush, my fave bath shop. the hotel was wonderful!

i'm pleased to say that things are going very well, and i'm feeling really good about our M, not plagued with doubts like in the past. i'm even starting to feel really good about doing things to surprise him. does that sound odd? what i mean is that before, i guess i was resentful, and doing special things for H seemed a real chore. but now, i *want* to do special things for him. i am happy with this new feeling. this year for valentine's day i thought we'd do a male version. instead of the usual fancy dinner at a restaurant i like, we had junk food and went to see the latest die hard movie! we had a good time.

UA time is going good. it seems a lot more natural now, not forced. and he hasn't wanted to spend time away at drag racing, so my fears there were unfounded. all in all, i have no complaints, can you believe it?

jessi, i bought a new dress (a dress!) to wear for dinner. it was low-cut and i didn't pin in like i normally would also wore strappy heels that showed off the legs.

logan, i am familiar with LB. i have some LB tops, but not bras.

good news! we are going to meet my family in hawaii this year for xmas! and, since we are going that far, H said we may as well pop over to LA as well! needless to say, that met with super-enthusiastic agreement! we are taking DD with us to HI so she can spend time with grandparents, then will go to LA & vegas on our own. buying the airfare really sucks, because it's twice as much due to the holidays, but i'm so glad we're going! i love having something to look forward to, and a big trip like this makes the year simply fly by.

well, that's the news from this end of the globe. i hope you all are actively working the recovery programme. it will get you there. once, i thought that after 2 years we'd D anyhow. now, i can see that with time and effort, you can truly rebuild. keep up the hard work!

Glad to hear things are going well, Letty! Sounds like a fabulous little vacation and an even bigger one to look forward to for Christmas.

You're right about teachers. I suppose it all depends on where you teach but I doubt anywhere you go any are paid what they should be or treated as they should be. Crazy.

thanks sunny. recovering is going well, thanks to the MB programme. if it weren't for MB, i think that we would have ended up as one of those stats where the M defaults back to the pre-a state, then withers, dies, and results in d.

that is not to say that recovery is easy - it is hard even for the bs. affair aside, facing up to our side of the street and making changes so that the M comes first and is benefited isn't easy. how many times have i been resentful of not having my time to myself, not doing what *i* want to do on my own, resentful, even, of spending time with my H? but, i collected myself and committed to recovery - not 75%, not with a contingency plan, but 100%. and that's when recovery really started to work for us.

all my life i thought that whole "if you treat him this way, he will treat you that way" was a bunch of bull pucky. that's because i went into that scenario with resentment and greedy expectations. but when you are able to give freely, it turns out that the other person will also give freely. seriously! i honestly did think that was a load of crap - it's not!

a very simple example. i once heard someone say that a goodbye/hello kiss should never be a peck. it should last at least 7 seconds to be meaningful (remember, we MBers are trying to build/maintain romantic love). now, the old me would have presented this in the least attractive way: "you never kiss me the way i like." or "that's it? why even bother?" (geez, i was kinda a witch, eh? no wonder i never got what i wanted. duh.) but, knowing about MB and wanting "added value" to my M, when i said, "when you come home, i would love it if you would kiss me like this (sample kiss)," i ended up with a husband who kisses me the way i (and apparently, he) likes, every time!

and what i'm really appreciating is the increase in affection. H has never been particularly affectionate, which we all know is a top EN for women. well, now he holds my hand all the time, kisses me - willingly! - anytime, and puts his arm around me (he'd never been an arm-putter-arounder). he touches me now. no, not for SF, just...touches. turns me on no end.

that said, the SF stakes aren't quite where i'd like them yet. it's a work in progress. we have SF on a regular basis, though not as often as i'd like. however, it's improving, and that makes me happy. heck, remember, it wasn't that long ago when SF was a total suck-fest for me, so where we are now is thrilling

and PA is coming along, too. i'm really tightening up at the gym. i've made a big point of taking H to shops, asking his opinion, and dressing (and accessorising - hair, makeup, nail polish) the way he's indicated he appreciates. today, when we were in town for a cuppa, i felt very proud being out with him, knowing that i was attractive to him. i should probably add here, that although H is kind of a tightwad, he's made no mention at all of the increase in spending on PA. remember, this is the guy who said i should discuss any purchase over $50 with him! i guess it helps that he's picking the clothes, etc.

anyhow, i've got to run, but wanted to update, especially for those who are new to recovery - as an avid reader here before i ever started posting myself, seeing others' stories and knowing there's hope - that MB really works - is sometimes the only light in a dark tunnel.

happy weekend everyone!

Thank you for this great update. It is an inspiration.

AM

Yes it is indeed. Thanks Letty.

X2 (or is that X3?)

I agree - always good to be able to look at success stories for hope and inspiration!

I can really relate to all you said in your post. I know how much I now love the fact that my H is proud of me - and loves to shop with me! I think he loves the fact that I care about his opinion about everything - down to my shoes. Before MB I never really thought much about how every little thing needs to be "us against the world" and his opinion counted MOST. It wasn't so much that I didn't care what he thought - that wasn't it. I was just too busy trying to make sure everyone else was happy with me. I took his acceptance of me for granted. The #1 thing I try to remember now is that when I make sure he is happy first, everything else falls into place. It seems so simple yet I feel it's the biggest cause of growing apart in a marriage.

Reading your post makes me smile, Letty. I especially love that you are getting the affection you need - and that you feel your H is proud of you. It's a great feeling. And I totally agree with the kissing part! I read that somewhere too...although I thought it was 10 seconds. lol

hey everyone, just popping in. we've had the longest indian summer, and this weekend went straight into winter, no autumn to speak of! funny though, because it's cold enough to bundle up, but not so cold i need to bring out the merino wool. time to start wearing my hair up, 90+% humidity, whooee!

things are going well here; my dd and her bf were just down for the weekend, and H was actually (for him) gregarious. we all went bowling, and shopping, and he even gave her gas money without me having to prompt it! we also rescued her cat from a tree in our backyard with no griping. i cannot tell you what an incredible change this is. H was one of those typical "before" types - gruff, jealous of not having a monopoly on my attention, rarely speaking to any bf/friend of dds. and to go out and do an activity together - never! what a lovely, lovely change. now, if only i could get dd to ditch the bf! getting her a copy of buyers, renters and freeloaders. the poor thing knows she needs to, but isn't ready, yet.

i've done such a turnaround on PA that i've surprised myself. i was always one of those "you love the person, not the appearance" types, who felt that women kinda deserved to, as some say, "let themselves go" after childbearing - after all, they did all the work, and childbearing is hard on the body! (please note i don't mean gain 100lbs) and why should women have to keep trying to look 20 as they age? etc, etc. ridiculous, i said!

but now i understand a LOT more how PA is an EN, and how important it is to meet it to help generate those LB$s and reciprocal behaviours, and i feel a bit like a dolt for not "getting it" before.

in that vein, i've recently started personal training. i'm kinda interested in body sculpting, but i want to see how the training goes, how my body responds, and if i can keep up such a schedule with my job. frankly, with all my health issues, i'm amazed that i've been able to do as well as i have up til now. as term 2 & winter approach, i'll really have to work at it. you should have seen my face at my last session: red as a beet! but it feels good to be working hard.

anyhow, no real news. sunny, i had an important Q for you, but now i can't remember! next time.