I had a really good post for this week, but we’re leaving Cedar Falls this morning for a 5 – 6 hour drive home. So, the festivities will just have to wait for next Friday!

We just returned from seeing The Men Who Stare At Goats, but since Robin, who’s a huge Kevin Spacey fan hasn’t seen it yet, I won’t write a review but I’ve included the trailer. And I will say this: though based on a true story, the movie spoofs the Jedi Order, which is especially funny because Ewan McGregor, also in the movie, plays young Obi-Wan who’s a Jedi of course (see right), in TPM and AOTC. But you don’t need to be an SW fan or know anything at all about SW to appreciate the movie.

Also, there was a bunch of teenagers, mainly girls, sitting in a line outside the theater, and I was like, “What the fuck?” Brian said they were camping out for the new Twilight movie, which I’m not even bothering to link to. Turns out they’re showing it at like midnight or something. Barf. On our way out, Brian wanted to ask them if they were waiting for the new Harry Potter movie.

photo [via]

Brian and I just returned to our hotel after having lunch with a good friend (“Kurt”) who teaches at the University of Northern Iowa (where Brian went for undergrad), Kurt’s wife (“Amy”), and his colleague (“Ted”). We haven’t seen each other in at least 5 years, so it was a really special time and lots of fun, even though we’re pretty sure the 2 ladies sitting near us at lunch disapproved of our scatological conversation. Inappropriate talk at the table most definitely, but it all started after Ted visited the men’s toilet. Let’s just say that if a play is ever written about shitting and pissing and things that you just shouldn’t be doing while shitting or pissing, then you’ll know that the seed for that as-yet-unwritten play began with us.

After several trips up and down the aisles of one of the campus lots because Ted couldn’t remember where he parked, we wished him goodbye and a safe trip to Minneapolis where he was headed immediately after lunch for a John Fogerty concert. We then took a tour of the greenhouse on campus and saw a monkey cup or, pitcher plant (scroll down after clicking link), which is a carnivorous plant I never knew existed (see pic — they look like organic condoms, don’t they?). I dared Kurt to stick his finger inside, but he wouldn’t. We toured more of the campus while walking Amy back to her office, and afterwards, Kurt took us on an extensive tour of the various new and remodeled buildings since Brian’s time there.

I wish I was able to take pictures, but it was too cold and sprinkling out. The campus, while certainly not as large as Ohio State’s, is very pretty and has many neat sculptures sprinkled throughout the grounds. We even walked on the field of the UNI-Dome, which was the highlight for me. I touched the end zone with my finger! We took a couple of pictures there, but they were with the point-and-shoot, the cable of which is lost, and the gadget to upload pics from the memory card is at home. Kurt also took a picture of Brian and me under the conference titles sign and I’ll post those later. I wanted them to take a picture of me lying on the UNI Panthers logo on the 50-yard line, but we continued our brisk pace. As we walked back through the football field after visiting the Wellness Center, I noticed that the football players were just coming out to start practice. Kurt suggested I have my picture taken with them but Brian thought it was inappropriate and was basically a spoilsport.

All in all, it was a wonderful visit and I regret not being able to take pictures. That just means we’ll have to return during the summer and prowl the campus again.

photo [via]

These 2 things do not go together. While I love having pretty toes, once it gets below 60°, maybe even 70° because I get cold easily, I stop wearing flip-flops or sandals. Lately, I have considered not getting color during the colder weather because first of all, no one sees my toes except for Brian, the cats, and me. OK, I suppose the ladies in the gym locker room might notice them.

Second, it takes way too frickin’ long for the polish to dry and even when the nail tech assures me that it’s safe to put on my socks and clogs (which is what I bring even when there’s a foot of snow, because I will not pull on snow boots after a pedicure), even when she assures me that it’s safe, well, sometimes she’s wrong. As soon as I get home and pull off my socks, what do I find? Ruined polish.

It just so happens that there’s a salon a block away from our hotel. Though I already have my next pedicure scheduled — you know how they get busy with the holidays and all — and my nail tech has warned me against getting pedicures while on vacation because you pay a lot more and might get a decent pedi, I wanted pretty toes. Besides, my nail tech did recommend getting massages while on vacation and again, since there’s a salon a block away, I scheduled one — which was fantastic, by the way. But I couldn’t resist asking about a pedi because I. Want. Pretty. Toes. Plus, we’re in Cedar Falls, IA, so how expensive could it be, even if they do a shitty job?

And as you can see from the picture above (click to see the large image and the wonderful new OPI color I decided to try called “Dear Santa”), my toes look great. The nail tech talked to me, unlike that one time I made the mistake of getting what turned out to be a shitty pedi at a spa in Mesquite, NV, where they didn’t even use soap in my tub — gross — and I was completely ignored. In fact, the lady today, it turns out, went to high school where my father-in-law used to teach. Just before she put on the polish, she put these lovely disposable pedicure slippers you see here on the left. These soles are 5mm thick, though I’m pretty sure the ones I wore were the 3mm ones.

Show ▼

Mom is an avid quilter and made me this quillow — a combination quilt and pillow. In this picture, it’s in pillow form. You can click on each photo to see larger versions. And when you do, you should be able to see the detail on the fabric, which consists of hockey pucks, shoulder pads, skates, jerseys, sticks, and helmets — even goalie sticks and goalie helmets. Hmm…. This quillow can be opened up and…voilà — it’s a quilt!

I absolutely love it! But part of me wonders if this is Mom’s way of encouraging me to play hockey again. Perhaps, but mainly she knows how much I love the game.