Pretty Pictures

My sister and I took these pictures yesterday when the weather was threatening storms.  Lightning was flashing (awesome!) and the air smelled wet and clean (beautiful!).

So, here are the pictures we took.  Ignore the parked cars and power lines and focus on the beauty of a stormy/sunny sky.

School renewal and yummy food

School starts next Monday *cries*  I'm ready and not ready.  I love buying school supplies, so that may be where the "ready" part is coming from.  I love learning and the classes I'm signed up for this semester are going to be amazing.  But, I'm kind of dreading going back.  It's been nice having a lazy summer!  I don't want that to end.

But, alas, it will end all too soon.  Which means I need to get my butt in gear and buy *heavy sigh* my textbooks.

In other news, I made the most delicious dinner the other night.  Homemade chicken stir-fry rice.  And, because I'm awesome, the recipe is as follows:

1 cup of rice (I used brown, but it doesn't matter)
2 chicken breasts, thawed
Green and yellow pepper, chopped (I used half a green pepper and a quarter of the yellow because that's what I had)
1 1/2 cups bean sprouts
2 green onions, chopped
1 tbsp tempura sauce (or soy sauce)
2 tbsp teriyaki sauce, enough to coat the rice, chicken, and veggie goodness
1 cup Panko breadcrumbs (I didn't use any real measuring cups or anything, so this is all guestimating)
Any other veggies that float your boat
Salt and pepper to taste

I cheated and used a rice cooker which also steamed the chicken.  Once the rice and the chicken were done, I added the whole lot to my pretty, shiny new wok, and cooked everything so the flavors meshed with each other.

It didn't take that long to make and boy was it yummy.  The recipe definitely makes enough for leftovers to be had the next day.

This talk about food makes me want to run out and find an awesome lunch box/bag.  I found a 3D-like princess lunch box at Target that made me smile.  Maybe I should run back for it.

So many cool gadgets, so little money...

In the perfect world of Supernerdia, all the things that I want are free, such as a new R2D2 Xbox 360, a Nintendo DSi XL, a mini polaroid camera, and so much more.  However, Supernerdia only exists in my imagination (which is an awesome place) and in the real world, things like new cameras and gaming systems cost money of which I have little.  And I've come to realize the reason for this is because books are my drug of choice (along with caffeine) and I can't seem to quit them.

So, with that revelation in mind, I've been toying with the idea of purchasing a few new electronics.  This post is a bit picture-heavy, just FYI.

1)  Nintendo DSi XL
Price: $170 new and around $140 used.
Why I want: There are so many good games for this system!  My little brother and my niece let my borrow theirs for a day and I fell in love.  Plane trips and road trips would be so much happier with one of these little darlings.



2) R2D2 Xbox 360 bundle
Price: $450
Why I want it: Because who wouldn't want an Xbox 360 that looks (and sounds) like R2D2?  Only sad, lonely people, that's who.  And other types of people, but that is neither here nor there.  A friend of mine at work showed me this bundle and I had a nerd attack.  For the rest of that day, I kept Googling the lovely little bundle and stared longingly at the Xbox.

3) Nook Color
Price: $250
Why I want it: I've been wanting a Nook off and on for awhile.  Depending on my mood, I either really wanted one or I was mostly apathetic.  The biggest thing with the Nook is, while it would make travelling a whole lot easier as I wouldn't be lugging around ten tons of books with me, but, I love having the actual physical book in my hand.  I love the sound of opening the book, the feel of the pages.  This is something I wouldn't get with a Nook.  So, this isn't as big of a want as, say, the R2D2 Xbox, but it makes the list.

4) Polaroid Camera
Price: Fuji--$70 Polaroid Instant--$100
Why I want it: I've wanted a new camera for a good amount of time now.  The digital camera I have still works, but it's pretty finicky, acting like a moody teenager at the best of times.  A beautiful art blog I follow mentioned that she had gotten a Polaroid camera, and a tiny sliver of jealousy wormed its way in.  I'm not sure which camera I want more, though the price of the Fuji camera is way more appealing.  Anyway, if anyone has any experience with either camera, let me know.  I need some advice.

<--Polaroid

Fuji-->

5) 64 GB iPod Touch or Classic 160 GB iPod

Price: iPod Touch--$400 Classic iPod $250

Why I want it: The bottom line is that the iPod I have is six years old.  Yes.  I own the first generation classic iPod, before the iPod Touch had even been released.  My poor little thing is definitely a dinosaur and its getting to the point where it doesn't want to cooperate.  Apparently, it's getting crotchety in its old age.  I love how sleek the iPod Touches are, but I love the memory capacity of the Classic iPod.  It's a tough decision, and I can't help but hope the iPod Touch goes down in price.  Hope springs eternal, I suppose.

And that's my current list of wants as far as gadgets go.  Oh, if only I were super rich and had this money lying around in my couch cushions.

sniffles

I seem to be coming down with a cold.  MAJOR bummer!  Colds make everything seem dreary, even dampening the joy of getting a new phone (Motorola Atrix, for those interested).  It's a fantastic new phone which I will never get tired of playing with.

Back to my miserable cold.  I sense some yummy lemon tea in my future.  Mmmm...

New Background

So, it's been awhile since it was changed, but isn't it AWESOME?  It is, right?  I mean, it's ME in my SuperNerd persona.  How could it possibly get any better?  Well, maybe if I found out where I put my stupid mask, it'd be pretty peachy.

Anyway, my lovely, wonderful, super-talented friend (you know you want to click on the link) redid my background for me.  As awesome as the other one was, it was a little picture-heavy and things seemed to get lost.  So, now I have a nice clean and beautiful new background.

So, more posts will be coming.  My next post will be a haul post.  A book haul to be more precise.  Because books are my drugs.  That and caffeine, but that's a whole 'nother story.

X-Men: First Class

I finally saw one of the movies on my list!  I'm so proud of myself.  One down, thirteen to go.  I may have to post an edited version of the movies I want to see, mainly to make me feel better about my failure.

Anyway.

I watched X-Men: First Class while visiting my younger sister in Cedar.  Now, with my nerd hat firmly in place, I had a lot of complaints about the movie; things they missed (where the devil is Cyclops?), what they got wrong (Moira MacTaggert, not Scottish?!  WTF?!), and so on.  But, when I shove my nerd hat into the darkest corner underneath my bed (I may never find it again), it was a pretty good movie.

Die-hard X-Men comic fans, I kind of have to warn you away.  You probably won't like it and will find even more to complain about than I did, and I'm pretty well-versed in the X-Men comics.

Putting that aside, it was a good movie with an interesting story-line and take on how the X-Men got started.  It was fascinating watching the characters connect and interact with each other.  It was a really intriguing look at characters such as Professor X and Magneto.  James McAvoy (Xavier) and Michael Fassbender (Magneto) were excellent.  I love both of them (the characters, though the actors aren't bad either) even more now...especially Magneto and all his badassery.  Fassbender channeled the inner rage and anguish that haunts Magneto, but he also brought a new life to a well-loved character.  You know good has been done when the villain is loved perhaps even more than the hero.

Launching from my new love/appreciation of Magneto, I have a crush on Michael Fassbender.
<-Here he is, in all his glory!->

Moving on.  There was one character that I was secretly--okay, not-so-secretly--hoping would die.  And that was Angel Salvador.  There's not one particular reason for my dislike, but the character just irked me.  I was rather disappointed when she didn't bite the big one.  Even though I was annoyed she didn't die, I didn't let that ruin the rest of the movie for me.

Oh.  Everyone (possibly still excluding the die hards) should see the movie for one simple reason.  And that reason is:

SPOILER!!!!!  Don't go any farther unless you want to be...spoiled...whatever!


Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) makes a cameo!  It was fantastic!  That alone saved the movie for me (and Magneto's hotness).  *swoon*

Failing

I just realized that I haven't seen ANY of the movies I've been wanting to see.  Why, you may ask?  Because, well, I keep forgetting and I'm kinda cheap.  Tickets for movies that have recently been released are expensive.  Throw in some popcorn and maybe a drink, and it starts to get pricey.

BUT, I've decided that I'm going to right this dastardly wrong and climb out of the whole I've dug for myself and actually see the movies.  For some, I can totally wait until they move to the dollar theater.  I don't think I could wait that long to see The Green Lantern, though.  I mean, it's Ryan Reynolds...in tight green clothing.  How could anyone wait weeks and weeks for that to show up at the dollar theater?  No one.

Oh, look.  He's giving me a ring.  He is such a precious man.  So thoughtful, giving me a ring.  I do, Ryan Reynolds.  I *so* do.