12 January 2010

what's with today, today

thank you for the good words. you make me happy. and make blogging worthwhile. i have so many words on this subject, but none formally formatted, so i will continue on. however, i will note that an excellent idea came to me while showering yesterday. all my good ideas come in the shower. i hope it comes to fruition. i'll need your help with it. however my slump isn't helping. will postpone it until my act comes together.

with my slugisch slump in tow, i threw myself a pity party today. the clouds did their white glaze over the sunshine and blue skies. my hair was tied up in a knot while i folded laundry and watched pushing daisies. i love that show. it really is quite clever featuring cute as a button kristen chenoweth and darling anna friel, whose wardrobe channels zooey deschanel's. i know i'm very late in the game, but if you haven't seen it, it's very worth watching online or putting it in your queue. speaking of queue–the vocabulary word of the day–do you netflix? i don't, but wonder if i should. please advise.

i forced myself to get on with my life and stop being a drama queen about my blogging slump. so i made chocolate chip cookies. and shared cookie dough with benji. am in a rut, am baking my way out. and filed cute paper into piles. and cut out lots of hearts for february. and made my bed. and cleaned up all the pie tins and tupperware lids that got carried over to the coffee table. so i suppose a slump isn't so bad if it's productive. now onto my manicotti. first time's a charm, i hope.

on another note, i wonder if you've noticed my use of the em dash as of late. will have to ask amy, the PhD student in dan's family, if i'm even utilizing it correctly. after her convincing argument about using them–preceding my soliloquy of hatred against them–i decided to give them a go. as a resolution of sorts. and indeed, i find them not so lame afterall. they are quite useful. and fun. see. am turning over a new leaf. am branching out. am slumpifying my slump.

p.s. if you know where the title of this post comes from, you can enter to win. marta{at}martacards{dot}com

my dearies, whit and anneliese, you've won something valentiney - arriving soon to my shop. and the answer, for those of you still wondering. the quote is from a must-see movie from my teenage years. empire records. it has so many quotable lines.

-Yesterday you were normal and today you're like the Chinese guy from the Karate Kid. What's with you today?

- What's with today, today?

38 comments:

whit said...

Empire Records my dear..I hope that you are hanging in there..give me a call. I've been trying to reach you all day. Love you lots

Monika Wright | I Love It All said...

We netflix in the winter months and try to get caught up on what we've missed and let it go once the warm weather arrives-not enough time to watch tv then, you know. Still dying to try your Mom's rice pudding...I think tomorrow's the day!

Anonymous said...

Don't worry about where you're at right now. You're refilling your creative well - everyone needs to do it, and now it's your turn.

The good thing about refilling your creative well is that you get to do all sorts of cool stuff to help yourself get on the horse. I can't wait to read more about your adventures!

Miranda said...

oh man I love the em dash! am glad you're coming around.

amber, theambershow said...

M., I'm loving the Netflix! Even if you get one of the cheaper plans you can watch the instant streaming movies any time day or night by logging into your account (and you can watch on your TiVo if you have one - so exciting!). Instant streaming is not available for every title, but there are a lot of good ones, including TV shows. I'm currently catching up on Lost.

Christine said...

baking one's way out of a slump is always the best solution! but sometimes, we all have off days... they'll pass!

and as for netflix, do it! i do the plan where you have one movie at a time, but can order unlimited movies a month. plus all netflix plans allow you to watch a whole bunch of movies/tv shows instantly on the netflix website... love it.

Hil said...

mmm... cookie dough! that always seems to do the trick. haven't had that in a while, which is strange for me. i hope you were able to have a good day regardless of the pesky rut.

i'll have to watch my first episode of pushing daisies tonight since the hubs has started school up again. it will give me something to look forward to! so thanks. :)

oh, and we netflix. love it for the winter months. instant play has become my best friend. well worth the $10 a month that i pay. at least for now.

Eileen said...

I find that dreaming up new ideas helps me get out of slumps, too. The shower is definitely a source of lightbulb moments; another source is during my walks to/from the train. There is something about being in a situation where I can't write anything down that seems to prompt the best ideas to pop into my head. :)

on Netflix - yes. We do the one-at-a-time rental plan and it is great. We don't watch much TV and have considered eliminating cable, since the availability of shows on Netflix is so good - and best of all, no commercials! Netflix + library = great source of winter hibernation mode entertainment!

Erica said...

marta-
i have been in a rut all day too. mine wasn't productive though. kuddos to being productive while in a rut. i so wish you lived closer and we could be in a rut together. i can just imagine you showing up with cookies and i'd bring out the milk and we could let our boys play!
- hoping tomorrow is better!!

J, K, L, and D said...

Today was a slumpy day for lots of people, I'm thinking.

I loved Pushing Daisies. What a creative & beautiful (visually & story-wise) show. I was devastated when they cancelled it...

Here's to sunnier days! Although I like your idea of baking your way out of it. I should have tried that today. Note to self - self, use M's suggestion in the future.

Dee said...

whats with today... on the today show....

Anonymous said...

Allow yourself just to have an off day, I had the exact same issue of bloggers block the other day.. so I blogged about my block like you did.. sometimes we just need to be.. That is how the inspiration will keep coming, give yourself a break..

talesofahummingbird said...

a good sluggish rut day is in order every once in awhile, i don't know where mine ever come from but they seem to go as quickly as they come, thank heavens. good idea on the cookie dough remedy, never met a problem cookie dough shared with a darling boy didn't solve! the cutting out of cute paper hearts also sounds like a lovely rut day activity. as for the netflix, yes yes i love it. i do. i loathed wandering the video store looking for something that wasn't bad. that was the criteria. netflix let's you search the entire-existence-of-all-movies-ever-created and find long lost films you never knew you wanted to see. once you've made your queue you can change it on a whim and netflix starts making recommendations based on the movies you are loving. also love getting to catch up on tv shows that i never watched while they aired without buying the $50 per season dvd box set. we are canceling our cable in february and saving $100 a month because of our $7.99 monthly netflix plan. so yes, i do netflix and i heart it. with big beautiful papery hearts. and on slump days, you can totally waste your childs naptime building and perfecting your queue. :) i will be sure to put pushing daisies on my hubbys-on-deployment-queue. thanks!

talesofahummingbird said...

just had a baker's twine sighting i thought you might enjoy-VERY cool:
http://joyfulweddingsandevents.com/blog/2010/01/12/melissa-and-bryans-wedding-at-rancho-las-lomas/

Missy said...

dr. seuss (in oh the places you'll go) says "unslumping yourself is not easily done" but I think cookie dough might be the number one deslumper (word?)

my main reason for commenting (besides wishing you a happy day tomorrow) is to netflix! love, love it. you will too. I'm sure of it.

Krista said...

of course empire records. good memory.
we LOVE netflix. quit for a bit...but happily returned and got a roku to go with it for instant watching. makes for cheap date nights which is all we do. also nice for sid since we don't have cable with kid shows.

p.s. love the table runner and its bright happy colors!

Whatever Dee-Dee wants said...

I love Empire Records, I will have to Netflix it.
I am a huge fan of Netflix! I especially like it for watching TV series.

Melissa A said...

Sorry about your slump Marta. I think it's normal to go through that sometimes. I think all this technology can really wear us out. We feel the need to get back to the basics. Just live life, be domesticated, create, sit, dream, read and write in a notebook the old fashioned way. It's a time for thinking, for comtemplation, for rest, renewal of the mind. When you come out of it, you'll have so many ideas, you won't know where to begin.

the mama monster said...

ahhh empire records. love. and pushing daisies double love. glad to see you over the slump...me every time i go to post i am in slump, so i don't post often.

AmberLee said...

so lovely to spend time cutting out hearts.

i admire how you've thrown yourself into using the em dash. how bold. i have to hold back myself. i try to go with more commas.

i went back and reread some bits from your mother huddle visit today. some of it has really been sticking with me. such good stuff.

Abby said...

I'm glad you're blogging even if you aren't feeling it. I am also glad you're baking your way out of it! We netflix or did and really like it. Our problem was we got to the point where we didnt' have tons of time so we had 1 movie for over a month...if you have the time to watch the shows, its a great thing to have. Hope you start feeling better soon...let me know if you need anything.

Travelin'Oma said...

Love Netflix, love the em—and love the m. How could I have missed your blogging slump?

[eeny] said...

Oh I love Pushing Daisies. Just finished the first season - again - since I am sick in bed. But everytime I watch it I am craving for pie. And now I am thinking about baking all the time... By the way, baking gets me out if a slump everytime, too. And if there is any chocolate involved anyway =)

Tiffany said...

Glad you are feeling better, though I can understand a slump! And congratulations on your new relationship with em dashes. I use them liberally, scattering them like pixie dust.

The Dragonfly said...

why, oh why did they have to do away with Pushing Daisies? It was THE BEST! I love Ana Friel. I love the piemaker. And I loved the wacky murder mysteries and ever-so-witty dialogue. Kristen Chenowith was also a gem, but man, her cleavage was getting to my man, if you know what I mean. Hope your slump continues to be productive!

jularun7 said...

don't netflix, but i think i probably should. glad you're feeling on the up and up. i will say your design skills aren't in a slump. :) i have just loved what you've come up with for me marta!! can't wait to chat.

Anonymous said...

Damn the man. Save the Empire!


;)

Katy said...

Em dashes rock! En dashes are ok too. Being editors at work we have long geeky discussions on how to use these things. I still don't get it so I just put what feels right. They do give your text z nice airy feel.

Sigh. I'm a total font snob too. I got married in December and admit I did have a little private shock horror moment when I saw that the registrar had the vows typed on Comic Sans - the most hated font in design kingdom. At least my husband thinks me being a font snob is cute!

caitlin said...

Love Empire Records. It's one of those rite-of-passage movies.

"You haven't seen Empire Records?" "I'm sorry, but until you do, you will have to leave the secret tree house and turn in your slap bracelet." "And while you're at it, watch Girls Just Wanna Have Fun"

Oh Marta, I am so glad to hear I am not the only one in a blog slump. I blame January. But if someone as creative as you is going through it too, I know I am not alone and sometimes that helps. Y'know?

Sorry for the lack of comments as of late, I am just feeling slumpingly slumpish.

Laura said...

Netflix is so, so, so, so worth it if you don't have either (a) unlimited funds to buy every DVD you might ever want to watch OR (b) a cheap place around the corner that has a majority of the types of things you like to watch. A favorite feature -- you can put your account on hold (and not get charged or have to sign up again) -- so if you traditionally don't watch anything in July and August, you can put it on hold and have it jumpstart again in September.

summer said...

so fun to hear about your slumpy day, miss. watching a show while folding clothes is one of my faves. and as for netflix- we've done the free trial- twice! and loved it. we're planning on doing it again with our new address. classics for me, documentaries for the g.

ps. note: the dashes i just threw in. woohoo.

anna jo said...

marta, here we go again being movie twins. that was my most favorite movie ever when I was in high school. I probably watched a bazillion times (no hyperbole here) and can quote the whole thing. it makes me smile.

Anonymous said...

You totally just made my day quoting my *FAVORITE* movie of all time. Empire Records completely inspired me as kid. I wanted to work in a record store (and I would have given anything for a date with Ethan Randall).

*sigh* Thank you. :)

Petit Elefant said...

totally netflix in the winter! it saves my bacon.

{natalie} said...

i knew the title right away.

empire records is one of my favs. reminds me of high school. i wanted to work at that record store.

hope you are out of the slump soon, baking is the way to go.

Lovely Lindsay said...

oh - em dash. i love thee. too much probably. i find that i write the way i think and this doesn't always lead to proper puncuation but instead lends itselt to prettier blog posts.
this post of yours sent me on a little hunt. wiki says,"it can show an abrupt change in thought or be used where a full stop (or "period") is too strong and a comma too weak"
ah. love that.
and love a good slump, too. which usually means amazing creative juice is just brewing. can't wait to see what spills over in this space.
love, lindsay

am loving the am's over here. have caught myself doing this in real life. funny how that works.
love, lindsay

Kaileen Elise said...

love your blog & love you even more with the empire records reference. a great mid-90s film. xo, kaileenelise

suny said...

I second (or twenty-second) Netflix. I find it quite handy to have. For instance, I'll read a blog entry - then will open a new browser tab, sign in to netflix, put Pushing Daisies and Empire Records into my queue, close the tab and go back to reading the blog entry.

I also find it handy when watching DVD's. There are always previews for movies I missed in the theaters or didn't even know existed, so I'll pause the DVD, run to the computer (no laptop for me yet), look up the film on netflix, reserve it, keep the window open, then go back to the DVD - because i may run back to the computer momentarily.

I also use netflix to look up all the movies of an actor I like...and select movies they've done that I haven't seen. The reviews at each DVD's page can be helpful as well.

I hesitate on cancelling netflix because I have over 200 movies in my queue and I don't want to lose those. Didn't know I could put netflix on hold. Great idea for the summer!

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