Retrospection, 2005

I was going to title this post "2005, the Year that Kicked My Ass." But I just wasn't in the mood for a long title today. Maybe that's because at this year's end I feel rushed for some vague reason. Is it because the kids are home and I'm hesitant to hole up in my office for too long? Or is it just the feeling that the clock is ticking and time is getting away from me? I don't know. But I do want to take a look at this year's big events, mostly from my personal perspective.

The year started with a bang. While the world was reeling from the Tsumani catastrophe I was revisited by my old health nemesis, urinary tract infections. Why this year? Why the sudden recurrence? It seemed a bad omen to start the new year of 2005 in pain and discomfort.

Then I got for my birthday the absolute best gift ever, a red Corvette convertible, my dream car. Wow, now that was great! Unfortunately, only two months after getting it a woman ran a red light and crashed into it, nearly totalling it. I just can't have anything nice. But it could have been worse. If the impact had been on my driver side door instead of the front wheel I would have been hurt. Incidentally, it happened when I was leaving the doctor's office to make sure my urine was clear of infection.

Then in June I got shingles. Not the best way I can think of to start the summer break with the kids. I did get to the doctor in time to take anti-viral medication to alleviate it and keep it from getting as bad as it could have been without the medicine. But it did keep me indoors and out of the heat and therefore away from getting to some of the garden projects I had planned. Looking back now I can see that it wore me down more than I realized at the time.

Around that same time my dad was diagnosed with melanoma. He was getting several spots cut off his back and was having to repeatedly go and have more cut out. He had to have some lymph nodes removed and that was an ordeal. And since then he's been having to have more spots cut off. This has been ongoing and I know he's worn out from it. I'm a little worn out too.

Then there was Katrina. Although I didn't personally experience any of the destruction or its aftermath I did meet a few survivors who came up here. Whenever something of that magnitude happens we all are affected in more ways than we might realize. A disturbance in the Force, if you will. It reverberates all around us. There is a collective effect on us all, psychologically as much as economically or otherwise. We would be very wrong to try to diminish to importance of this event for us all.

After Katrina there were even more destructive storms that didn't get the amount of news coverage that they would have gotten if Katrina hadn't happened. It was a record breaking hurrincane season with the named storms exceeding the alphabet. The full list of named storms for 2005:

Tropical Storm Arlene
Tropical Storm Bret
Tropical Storm Cindy
Hurricane Dennis
Hurricane Emily
Tropical Storm Franklin
Tropical Storm Gert
Tropical Storm Harvey
Hurricane Irene
Tropical Depression Ten
Tropical Storm Jose
Hurricane Katrina
Tropical Storm Lee
Hurricane Maria
Hurricane Nate
Hurricane Ophelia
Hurricane Philippe
Hurricane Rita
Tropical Depression Nineteen
Hurricane Stan
Tropical Storm Tammy
Subtropical Depression Twenty-two
Hurricane Vince
Hurricane Wilma
Tropical Storm Alpha
Hurricane Beta
Tropical Storm Gamma
Tropical Storm Delta
Hurricane Epsilon


This has also been the Year of the Spider. I've had many dreams of spiders, and there have been lots of real spiders too.

And then this year we've been dealing with school issues with my fourth grader. This is the first year that I've had any kind of problems with what's happening at school. I think we've mostly got it worked out, but it has been a big source of stress in this latter third of the year.

And it seems like this last third of the year I've been sick with one thing after another. I had that terrible case of strep throat, and I've caught every virus/bug that has been around. On top of all that I've had several UTIs throughout the year too. I think that getting shingles somehow compromised my immune system so that I'm getting sick all the time. Just my theory, anyway.

And then most recently I ran over the puppy. She's doing okay. We brought her home on Dec. 23. She looks pitiful, but she seems to be getting better. I have had to fight feelings of guilt and regret over the whole thing. It has been just another thing that has kicked my ass this year.

Of course, this year hasn't been all bad. There have been many good things too. I would like to think that somehow I've survived all the bad by trying to keep the good in view. I started this blog this year, and through it I have made some really good friends, even if we haven't ever met face-to-face. This is where I've revealed some of my innermost thoughts and to have people still like me despite those I'm very grateful.

This year has kicked my ass in lots of ways, and I'm a little worn out from it all. I don't want to sound too whiny about it, though, because despite all of that I'm okay. If this had been a few years ago I couldn't have said that. But I really am okay. And that's a big thing for me. As that old saying goes, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. I've been tested this year, and I think that I am stronger, or at least not weakened by it all (except for my immune system). Nearly everyone I know has been through a really difficult year. This has been the Chinese Year of the Wood Rooster (or Cock, hehehe), The Year of the Big Talk and the Big Reforms. I can't remember where I read it, but I do recall reading that the Year of the Rooster is often marked by lots of difficulties which gives us a lot of potential for growth. That does seem to fit with what has been happening this year, for me at least, more so than the previous few years anyway. Now that I think of it, the last Year of the Rooster was 1993, another difficult year for me.

Well, I suppose I've rambled on too long about it now. I hope we all have a better 2006. So let's all reflect on this year and what we've learned from it and take those lessons with us into next year. No New Year's resolutions for me except for a 'To Do' list of projects I want to complete.

So a Happy and Safe New Year to all!

Where Have I Been?

So what has been keeping me so busy? Well, let's see...

All day Sunday I did laundry. It was time to wash all the bed linens, and I was in the right mood to tackle that task.

Monday- my two older kids and I got a terrible stomach flu that had us all in bed for about 2 days.

Wednesday- I had to force myself to go do some Christmas shopping despite wanting/needing to rest some more.

Thursday- More shopping. It is done now. But I still have a few things to wrap.

Between all of the sickness, shopping, and usual daily tasks I've tried to rest as much as possible.

And the Puppy comes home today! I hope she is going to have an easy re-adjustment (is that redundant?) to home. I will be picking her up this afternoon, but before I do I want to go by the pet supply store and get her a nice, soft, comfy bed.

I hope to post again before Christmas... maybe with some pictures if I can. I hope everyone has had a much better week than I have!

On a side note, today would have been my parents' 44th anniversary.

Puppy Update

The puppy had her surgery on Friday. She's almost 6 months old now so is she still a puppy? Anyway, one side of her pelvis was repaired, but the other was crushed beyond repair. The 'socket' that holds the 'ball' of the femur (thigh bone) was so splintered that there was nothing to fix. Poor little thing. Maybe the car did roll over her after all. *cringes* So the vet basically cut off the 'ball' (femural head, I think he called it). But he said that since she's still young and a small breed then she should still be able to run and play when its healed. He thinks she's going to be just fine. They are keeping her at the office this weekend so they can keep her on pain medicine. I'll probably get to bring her home tomorrow. When we first got her she was named "Lovely" because she has a heart-shaped spot on her side. But as time passed "Lovely" became "Lovey". I still just call both puppies "Poopies." But now I think I'll start calling Lovey "Tough Lovey" or maybe just "Toughy" because she's a tough little thing to have been through all of this.

5 Weird Things...

I've been tagged by suzie. I'm supposed to list five of the weirdest things or habits about me. After consulting with my kids, er, children (smiling for suzie), I've been able to narrow my list.

1. I always have some strange nature-related experiment/observation set up on the bar that separates the kitchen from the breakfast area. Sometimes it's jars of caterpillars and chrysalises/cocoons. Sometimes it's some other bugs in a jar that I'm studying their behavior, etc. Once I had a baby black widow spider in a jar, and I fed it small bugs until it died. (I guess it didn't like confinement. Don't call PETA on me!) And right now I have a kind of terrarium set up with a snail (I named it Gary after Sponge Bob's pet snail) in it. I had two venus flytrap plants that I bought at Walmart and I had set this up to make it as much like their native habitat as possible. In a bowl were some snail shells that the kids had collected months ago. I put some of them in the terrarium as 'decoration'. The next thing I know there's a snail crawling all over the place. I guess they can be dormant for a long time.

2. Despite my lax and casual way of writing here I have strong pet peeves about writing. If I'm reading a 'properly' published article in a magazine, newspaper, or book I get very annoyed by grammatical and spelling errors. The kinds of things that really get to me are the confusion of there and their, whose and who's, it's and its, and so on. But the thing that really drives me insane is when people use "I" as a subject, a la 'do this for him and I.' AAAAAAAHHHHHH! You don't say 'do this for I' do you? I think people get confused by the rule that you are supposed to use 'I' after a form of the verb 'be'. Like, "it is I" or "it was she" and so on. But how hard is it to remember the difference? Editors should know these things. I know I'm totally anal about that. Sorry. But that's a weird thing about me.

3. I like a little (well, maybe a little more than a little) clutter. A completely stark, sterile, and uncluttered space makes me very uncomfortable. I need familiar and favorite things around me. Maybe it's because I'm such a visual person and because I orient myself by my visual environment. If someone moves my stuff it totally screws me up. Eventually, I'll clear out my space to remove the old stuff and start accumulating new stuff. David says that I really am like a mouse the way I'll gather stuff to build my nest.

4. Whether you 'believe' in it or not, I have a certain amount of 'psychic' ability. I just know things sometimes. The older I get the more it happens. Sometimes I think it's just that I'm very perceptive of my surroundings. But isn't that what ESP means anyway? Extra-Sensory Perception? I'm no John Edward or Edgar Cayce though. But finally after living with me for over 14 years David (a big sceptic) has acknowledged that I really do perceive more than the 'average'. Maybe it has to do with variations in individual sensory thresholds or something like that. But my kids think it's pretty weird.

5. And finally, I just like weird stuff. I'm not interested in the 'typical' things that society tells me to be interested in, like oh, I don't even know, stuff like Manolo Blahnik shoes and shows like Sex and the City and Desperate Housewives. Some of the weird stuff I like is somewhat dark and disturbing like Rob Zombie's music and movies. I love House of 1000 Corpses. I have a real definite dark side that I'm not too afraid to shine some light on. I like the Jolly Roger and skeletal images and bugs and snakes and bats and other things that are commonly seen as 'bad.' But I'm not all gothic or anything. Most definitely not because I also love the other extreme of frou-frou stuff like sparkly pretties and fluffy accessories that you'd imagine a typical 13 year old girl might like. My children know that I'm not like most other moms. But maybe I overestimate my weirdness?


Okay, so now "tag" you're IT... (apologies if you've already done this or if you don't want to, no pressure, of course!)

kat

rainypete

kristi

One time at band camp...

pilfered from ddot the king:

RULES

If you read this, if your eyes are passing over this right now, (even if we don't speak often) please post a comment here on my blog with a COMPLETELY MADE UP AND FICTIONAL memory of you and me. It can be anything you want - good or bad - BUT IT HAS TO BE FAKE. When you're finished leaving your comment, post this little paragraph on your blog and be surprised (or mortified) about what people DON'T ACTUALLY remember about you. I think this will be fun for all; like a bowl of Skittles and M&M's mixed; a color and a flavor for everyone!

Nice!

Saw this over a kat's. She finds the coolest stuff!





Try it!

Puppy Update

I just got back from the vet's. After they got her more stabilized and doped up with pain medicine they were able to do more x-rays. It turns out that her pelvis is broken in two places. They think it can be repaired, but they wanted to show me the x-rays and make sure that I wanted to spend that much money. Well, I never thought I'd want to spend a lot of money on a pet like this, but I don't really care how much it is. I just want them to fix her up if they can. They said the surgery would be around $600, but I think it's worth it to have her back. Her internal organs seem to be fine, so it's just her bones that are damaged. She looks so sad, and I could tell she was in pain. They will probably do the surgery on Friday. She needs a couple more days to get stronger before having a major surgery like that. Poor little thing. I feel so bad for her.

Lyrics...

I'm taking requests and dedications for the lyrics blog. You can make your request here or there.

Rules of the Road (or just shoot me)

I got to take a quick weekend trip to Durham, NC, to see one of my best friends that I hadn't gotten to go visit for nearly a year. It was great to get away for a little while and not have to worry about taking care of anyone. She spoils her guests so I didn't have to do anything but relax. It was great!

However, it is a long drive there, about 5.5 hours but usually longer for me since I stop at nearly every rest area along the way. But I'm not complaining about getting to spend nearly 12 hours in a Corvette. That was fine with me. And that was part of my relaxation. Except for the idiots on the road.

When will people figure out that 1) getting all up my ass isn't going to make the cars in front of me go faster? Hello, dumbass trying to buy the rear-end of my car, I can't make the people in front of me speed up, and I'm not about to tailgate them to try. So BACK THE HELL OFF! And wait for the flow of traffic to speed up. Your time is no more valuable than anyone else's.

When will people figure out that 2) just because I'm in a Corvette doesn't mean I want to race? Just about every jerk in a suped up Toyota thinks he wants to race me. Sorry, but in case you haven't noticed most people who drive Corvettes are older and more mature and don't need feel the need to demostrate their virility by driving 95-100 mph. I could blow your f*cking doors off if I really wanted to, but I've got the maturity to let you get the speeding ticket. I don't need to prove anything to you.

If I sound a little agitated, well, it's because this morning I ran over one of the kids' puppies. It ran right under the moving car (not the Corvette), and I coudn't stop before it was hit. I'm not sure if she'll make it. She's at the vet and they will call when they know what is wrong and if she can recover. I'm sick over it. I know the kids will be devastated if she dies. What a great way to start the week, eh? Kind of reversed any benefit I got from my weekend trip. Typical.

It's getting extreme....

This whole Christmas and Freedom of Expression issue continues to provoke debate. Please read suzie's post on the Hanging of Santa.

Here is my comment on her post:

Well, it is freedom of expression, but so is pornography which we have deemed unsuitable for children. People should be more sensitive on BOTH sides of that issue. A gagged (blindfolded, actually, but same difference) and hanging Santa could be considered harmful to children in the same way that certain books, films, games, etc. are. How are parents supposed to protect their children from violent displays if there are no regulations? Yes, we have Freedom of Speech, but it is regulated to protect certain groups. There are laws about not placing Adult stores, liquor stores, etc. within certain proximity to Schools, Day Cares, Churches, etc.

As for paint color and grass height, there are MANY neighborhood associations that regulate those things and fine homeowners for violations.

I have never seen a Halloween lawn display that is this gruesome/offensive. Not that there haven't been somewhere, but most people are more considerate of others than to do that. When exercising our Freedom of Expression we HAVE to be more considerate of other people, esp. children.

If my neighbor did this I'd go over and ask him nicely to take it down because it is too violent for my kids. Do you think that most cities would allow a billboard with this picture on it?

Again, I find it ironic that it's the same people who find this offensive (borrowed kristi's link to this picture- I'm not picking on kristi here)


















but not this (borrowed suzie's picture)











who are the first to cite First Amendment rights of free expression to defend their offensive actions. The Freedom of Expression is not a free pass to say or do anything you want regardless of the consequences.

Would we tolerate a person passing out pictures to our children with this image? Do the people who have no problem with the Hanging Santa have a problem with pictures of aborted babies that protestors carry around? Do people not care about how things affect children?

Look-Alikes

Sometimes Brit Hume looks so sad. I can't find a picture that shows just how droopy he looks sometimes, but don't you think he resembles Droopy Dog? Do you think he needs a hug?

Recycling...

I've decided to delete my aol journal, but I'm recycling some of the entries first. Here is my 'review' of Star Wars Episode 3 from May 29. Not that it was all that great, but I didn't want it to be sent to internet oblivion just yet.



Speaking of Star Wars

I might as well see if I can put down my thougths about it. I loved it, of course. I've loved all of them. I'll start with listing my favorite parts.

R2D2 totally kicked ass! He was always my favorite and to see him in his prime was just the best. LOVED IT when he jumped around and stuff. Very cool.

Haden C. was totally HOT, HOT, HOT, especially in the shirtless scene. Thank you George Lucas for not cutting the gratuitous eye candy scene. And he has that evil, angry look down pat. What a hottie. But I did find myself feeling a little like a dirty old woman drooling over him. How old is he anyway?

I always wondered how the Emperor's face got all messed up. I was glad to see that it was shown.

The flying lizard thing that Obiwan rode was very cool. I do believe that many of the dinosaur species that didn't go extinct evolved into birds. Not every single dinosaur was killed by the comet or whatever that hit the earth. There have been fossils found that have shown 'dinosaurs' with feathers. I really like it when that kind of thing is incorporated into movies.

Likewise, Gen. Grievous was cool. I liked that he was an 'organic droid' with organs and stuff. I was going to be bothered by his coughing if it hadn't been shown that he had organic insides.

Now, moving to things that I didn't like that much. Natalie Portman, please, stop it with the lip collagen. You don't need it. Bleck. And what was with that crazy outfit that she was trying to sleep in (same scene as the shirtless Anakin)? No one could sleep like that. And the pregnant belly seemed to constantly be changing in size, shape, and location. And not in a natural way. I really hate when they make pregnancy look so fake. Oh well. I guess they have to scrimp on the budget somewhere. And what was with that delivery scene? With all their technology didn't they have any pain relief? Sorry to focus all my complaints on Padme, but that was the weakest part of the movie.

That's all I can think of right now. I'm sure there is more, but I had a big distraction throughout the movie with [my four year old at the time] squirming and talking and whining about 'where's Dark Fighter*?' I will definitely have to go see it again.


*'Dark Fighter' was what he called Darth Vader.

The previous post was His variation of Rock a Bye Baby...

"...when the tree breaks the baby will fall and get messed up and made into a robot..."

We did just see Star Wars on Friday night. I guess through all of his whining and fidgeting he did get the point about Darth Vader at the end. Ah, the mind of a four year old. Amazing.

What a Surprise!

You scored as Penis. You are attracted to the: penis. You are a penis man/woman. Penis 100% Boobs 58% Face 58% Abs/Stomach 42% Butt 33% What Body Part Are You Attracted To?(pics) created with QuizFarm.com

True enough....

saw this quiz over at kat's:


you're the midnight fariy
always gazing at the stars wondering how the world
can be made better


What kind of fairy are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Did you know?

(this is from a forwarded email)

As you walk up the steps to the building which houses the U.S. Supreme Court you can see near the top of the building a row of the world's law givers and each one is facing one in the middle who is facing forward with a full frontal view ... it is Moses and he is holding the Ten Commandments.

As you enter the Supreme Court courtroom, the two huge oak doors have the Ten Commandments engraved on each lower portion of each door.

As you sit inside the courtroom, you can see the wall, right above where the Supreme Court judges sit, a display of the Ten Commandments.

There are Bible verses etched in stone all over the Federal Buildings and Monuments in Washington, D.C.

Every session of Congress begins with a prayer by a paid preacher, whose salary has been paid by the taxpayer since 1777.

Thomas Jefferson worried that the Courts would overstep their authority and instead of interpreting the law would begin making law. An oligarchy .... the rule of few over many.

How, then, have we gotten to the point that everything we have done for 220 years in this country is now suddenly wrong and un-Constitutional?

Bad Blogger! (and a Constitutional Study)

Man, I've been a bad blogger the last couple of weeks with all the sickness going around (and now I've caught a freakin' cold) and holiday busy-ness. I've de-volved all the way back to a multicellular organism. Damn. I was an amphibian before Thanksgiving. Maybe I need to slather that Lip Explosion all over and see what happens. Maybe it would turn me into some kind of super-species. Maybe not.

I'm sorry that I've gotten behind on reading and commenting on all my favorite blogs. I will try to catch up this weekend. And I thought of a good post to work on. Fox and Friends were talking about the Separation of Church and State and how so many people don't understand what that really means. Well, I might as well go ahead and say what I was thinking since I'm here anyway.

Here's what the Constitution says:

Article I (First Amendment)

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

We have to remember that our founding fathers were reacting to England's struggles with the establishment of an 'official' religion. There was tremendous persecution done on behalf of religious differences. This was one of the main reasons that the colonists came here. This is why this issue is put first in the First Amendment. It was that important. It still is.

Let's look at what it says exactly. "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion..." What that means is that there will be no law that establishes an National Religion of any kind. What it does not mean is that there can't be laws that respect religious establishments. But to hear some people talk you'd think that's what they think it means. They are totally misreading it. They want to think it means that the government can't have any religious expressions. But that's NOT what it says. People who object to "In God We Trust" on our money and "Under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance and any other phrase that mentions God or any other religious concept are actually VIOLATING the First Amendment. They want to conveniently forget that "or prohibiting the free exercise thereof" part. Hello? Free exercise thereof. That means that I have every right to say Christmas, and so does my kids' school and the courthouse and any other person or place that wants to. Calling a decorated tree in a government building a 'Christmas tree' is NOT establishing a religion. It is only the free exercise thereof.

I know some people will say, "Oh, but what about other religions? Why can't they have whatever to celebrate their holidays? If you have a Christmas tree then you should have a Hanukkah tree or whatever too." Well, no one is stopping someone from doing that if they really want it. If you have a town that is mostly Jewish then they would probably focus on their own traditions. If a Christian minority there felt left out then they could do something of their own. Big deal. With freedom comes the responsibility to respect other views. That's what the whole First Amendment is about anyway. And that applies equally to atheists, fundamentalists, and everyone else. If someone is offended by a Christmas tree then they need to reread their history and the Constitution.

Our founding fathers were very spiritual people. They believed in God, and they believed that Divine Providence guided them in creating our nation. People need to go back and reread the Declaration of Independence. For your convenience here are the first two and the last paragraphs:

The Declaration of Independence of the Thirteen Colonies

In CONGRESS, July 4, 1776

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. --That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. —Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain [George III] is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

...

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by the Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

There is a lot of mention of God in there. In today's political environment if we were trying to establish our Independence from Britain it would never happen because of all the dumbasses who can't understand plain English and who refuse to try. That really scares me and bothers me.

File under WTF???

Lip Explosion. Yeah, that's right. Lip explosion. I was watching Animal Planet (about man eating tigers, btw) while eating lunch and this commercial came on. Sorry, but whoever named that product needs to get kicked hard in the nuts (and fed to the tigers). In fact, whoever invented that product needs to get kicked hard in the nuts (and fed to the tigers). I'm not about to spend $29.95 to explode my lips. Since when did the just-punched-in-the-mouth look become so desirable?

And with Christmas coming up I'm sure the parents of little girls everywhere are hearing pleas for Bratz Dolls and their many accessories. I've discouraged those and the My Scene Barbies. I grew up playing with Barbies and don't have such an issue with them. But these Bratz and My Scene dolls are ridiculous. I don't want my daughter growing up thinking that she's supposed to have giant, artificially puffed up lips and eyes that look like a really bad facelift. It's bad enough with the traditional Barbies and girls thinking that they are supposed to have giant, artificially puffed up breasts. Whenever we see these weird-looking dolls I mention how creepy they are. But they do make really cute accessories for them though. And at least the Bratz make big feet fashionable.

Regardless, it's just another example of the ideal female form being decided and promoted by some queers in design and marketing departments somewhere. No offense to gays. But I don't agree with the image of femininity that gay men prefer. They seem to want all women to look like drag queens. Sorry, but a real woman doesn't need all that artificial stuff (that a drag queen needs) to look feminine and pretty. And real women have curves that drag queens don't naturally have.

This is my rebellion. I am the younger of two daughters. Traditionally, the baby of the family is the rebel. Much of our lives my sister and I had the opposite roles from the usual birth order stuff. She was the rebel. But now I've found myself living a more rebellious life than she. I don't conform to many of society's expectations. I'm keeping my gray hair. I'm not getting cosmetic surgery. I'm not obsessed with my figure. And I have no desire for lips that look like I've been on the business end of a fist. I'm not injecting a toxic poison into my skin to paralyze my expression lines. I'm not getting silicone balloons put into my chest. I'm not having a huge needle jabbed under my skin to suck out the fat. I'm not having my eyes lasered so I don't have to wear glasses. I'm not bleaching my teeth down to the dentin so that they glow blue-white in the dark. I'm not interested in getting fake nails glued onto my short, real nails. If that makes me a freak then I'll just be a freak.

Because You Asked...

Here are some of the first answers. Keep the questions coming...


Mr g asked: "If the Jews really have all the money, where the hell is my share? I'm feeling left out."

Mr g, are you sure you are really Jewish? I've always thought that you were my long lost brother. And that would make you poor White Trash. lol

Chris asked: "Why can't I think of anything naughty to ask you? ;)"

Chris, maybe you don't really want to know. lol

Kristi asked: "Why is it when I go on a diet, only my husband loses weight?"

Kristi, they sabotage us. They don't want us to look too good because they are insecure.

Kat asked: "Why do I only like my husband when he isn't here?"

Kat, absence makes the heart grow fonder.

Sylvana asked: "Why do I always get the 12 letter+ all smushed up word verifications?"

Sylvana, me too! I think blogger likes to play with us that way. Oh, and the pump is broken on the washer. This is the third time it's happened.

Nick Danger asked: "What was the original purpose intended for rubber bands?"

Nick, my first thought was that they were invented to hold those sheep intestine condoms on better, but then I looked it up. Here's what I found...

On March 17, 1845, Stephen Perry of the rubber manufacturing company Messers Perry and Co, Rubber Co Manuf London patented the fist rubber bands made of vulcanized rubber. Perry invented the rubber band to hold papers or envelopes together. (taken from http://www.versteegde.nl/Bambustic/RubberBands/)

Monday Misc.

We had a good Thanksgiving. I'll write more about that soon. But today I'm just putting down some random thoughts.

1. Why doesn't Saddam Hussein wear one of those head dresses like the others on trial with him?

2. My washer is broken again.

3. My throat is getting sore again.

4. A friend was here on Saturday and started singing 'Cherry Pie' by Warrant when she saw one of my plates with a cherry pattern. Not 5 minutes later that song came on the radio. Freaky.

5. Ask me anything. Really. I got the idea from FoxNews. They have a segment called 'Because You Asked.' I will answer any questions fully and honestly to the best of my ability.

Hehehe....

You Are Pumpkin Pie

Even when people are full - they make room for you. Good or bad, your smell is most likely to arouse a man.

What Part of Thanksgiving Are You?

Well, I never have liked pumpkin pie, but I guess it's okay to be one.

For the Holiday...

We're having the big dinner at our house this year. David's looking forward to wowing everyone with his prowess in the kitchen. I'm looking forward to playing hostess. Ask me Friday if I want to do it again. I hope everyone has a great holiday with plenty of good food and fine fellowship (if that's what you want). Safe travels and happy bellies!

Post #250

I'm not sure if that's noteworthy, but hey, there it is. The content of this post is in no way historical or significant. I would love to have posted something terribly interesting and exceedingly witty. Oh, and by the way, Stephen King, in his book On Writing says that adverbs should be nonexistent. He says that you should be able to find one word that expresses the thought of two (an adverb that modifies a verb or an adjective). So instead of writing 'terribly interesting' I should have said 'fascinating' or 'captivating' or 'riveting' or 'gripping' (ooh, grip is a sexy word). And instead of saying 'exceedingly witty' I should have said 'clever' or 'cerebral' or 'sublime'. I suppose King has a point, but I like adverbs. I don't think we should eliminate an entire class of words. That's just wrong. I know that modern writers generally (adverb) try to be economical and not be too (redundant) wordy. This is the day of limited text space so we make shortcuts any way we know how, just to be able (redundant phrase but I'm leaving it for emphasis on the 'able' part) to express our full thoughts in as little space as possible. Well, not me. I'm wordy and proud of it. Give me plenty of space to ramble on and on from one tangent to another. And allow me to use as many redundant and/or trite words as I think it takes to make my point. This is the land of big giant and little tiny and anything that ends in -ly. I love words. If one's good then two's better. And so on. Some things are worth more when they are freely (redundant adverb) given. And obviously (adverb), I love parentheticals too (every little bit of extra explanation helps).

Parlez vous français?

I don't really, but you surely didn't think I'd keep my mouth shut about France and their breakdown. I've never been one to discriminate against or be prejudiced about entire countries or ethnic groups. I just wasn't brought up that way. The only time I start to examine the flaws of someone is when they begin to dissect mine. I'm a live-and-let-live kind of gal. I never really paid much attention to France or the French because they just weren't part of my existence. Pretty much the only French people I'd seen much of were figure skaters. And quite honestly, they didn't impress me much.

There was Surya Bonaly. In the 1994 World Championships she thought she was robbed of a gold medal, so she showed defiance by standing beside the medals platform rather than standing on it. Then Bonaly was coaxed into standing on it, but she removed her medal immediately after being presented with it, to everyone's shock and disapproval. She also rebelled by doing an illegal jump in her program. She was a spoiled, rotten brat.

And then there was Philippe Candeloro. They always talked about how popular he was with the ladies, but I always thought he looked kind of sleazy and stinky, kind of like Pepe Le Peu or something but worse. He was a good skater, just like Bonaly, but they both suffered from excess ego and inconsistent performances. Sounds pretty French to me.

Apparently, to hear the French tell it, setting cars on fire is a national passtime. Well, how can they accuse us Americans of being wasteful? There are many other blogs and articles with much better thought-out and detailed explanations as to why France has lost all of its credibility. But frankly, I never really thought they had much to begin with. They certainly did their share to help us back in the day when we were establishing our independence from England, but even then it was because they thought it was in their best interests.

I do love the Statue of Liberty though, what a lovely gift.

Parental Issues

Well, I've had my sickness induced raunchy fun this week, but it's time to turn to the serious. With all of the Supreme Court nominations and talk these days the abortion issue has become hot again. I don't think that anything I, or anyone else, says is going to make any difference to 95% of the people who have decided one way or the other. The only thing that will change most people's minds on this issue is experience. That being said, I'm still going to say my piece.

When I was much younger and the hypothetical possibility of an unplanned pregnancy was real I was 'pro-choice'. I didn't want anyone telling me what I could do with my body. I was young and selfish and impetuous in my views of the world and how I fit into it. Parental consent was an unknown term to me. If I was going to do something, I was going to do it, usually without my parents knowing anything about it. I never got into any kind of trouble when I was a teenager. I didn't drink or do drugs, but I did like sex. But as far as my parents knew I was still a virginal innocent when I went off to college. At the age of 17 and a half I had a pregnancy scare that they never had a clue about. (I hope my dad never reads this.) I went to one of those pregnancy crisis centers for a free test which they told me was positive. They made me sit through a couple of scary anti-abortion videos before I left. My boyfriend gave me the money for an abortion, and I was 98% sure I was going to go through with it. That other 2% was my conscience telling me that I really didn't want to kill a baby. I was thinking that maybe I could go live with my grandmother in tiny, rural Wartburg, TN, to finish school and have the baby (this was a time when it was still mostly unheard of for pregnant girls to be in school because of the stigma of being an unwed mother; some places even kicked pregnant girls out of school). Well, as it turned out, I wasn't really pregnant and got my period a couple of days later. I suspect that the pregnancy center lied to me about the positive result to put a good scare into me. I gave my boyfriend the money back, and we broke up shortly after that.

My views throughout college remained much the same. I never had another pregnancy scare though. And a couple of girls at college got pregnant and rebelliously decided to be single moms. I say 'rebelliously' because it was still not considered 'appropriate' for young, educated women to have babies out of wedlock. But you have to give them the credit of having the courage to face the consequences of their behavior and not taking the easy way out by having an abortion. In some small way their willingness to accept their responsibilities began my turn to my current position.

This is getting long and away from where I was intending to go, so I'll jump back to my main subject of parental issues.

This morning on FoxNews they were talking about the 'parental consent' issue with abortion. How can anyone argue against parental consent? Oh, there was a guy (sorry I don't remember who) that was throwing around 'incest' and 'abuse' and other inflammatory words to suggest that parental consent laws would put some girls in danger. Bah Humbug! There are already plenty of laws and agencies out there that are supposed to deal with those issues. My problem with these idiots, like this guy, who say that parental consent laws infringe on someone's rights is that they are really the ones who are hurting kids and parents. He even said, when asked 'what about a 14 year old', that well, yeah, that's different from a 17 and a half year old. Excuse me? Do we sell cigarettes to 17.5 year olds or let them vote, just because they are 'practically' 18? NO! I HATE that kind of inconsistency.

Now let me jump over to another subject that is related in some ways. That 18 year old boy who killed his 14 year old girlfriend's parents apparently grew up in a home full of guns. All of the Second Amendment haters are going to jump all over that, and some will probably try to insist that his parents be held in some way responsible for what happened. Bullshit. The dude is 18. The same people who are against parental consent for abortions are all for blaming parents for their child using a gun in a crime. Even when that child is legally an adult.

Okay, so this is what's wrong. By denying parents the power to decide what kind of medical treatment their daughter can get these 'liberals' are setting up a very slippery slope of taking away what parental authority and/or responsibility there is left. If my child breaks his arm at school they have to have my consent to have it treated. We have to sign papers at the beginning of every school year giving our consent for the school to act in an emergency. You'd think that would be common sense, but in today's litigious environment we have to sign papers for everything for our own and for the school's legal protection. If the doctors have to have my consent to fix a broken arm, they better damn well have to have my consent to do any other kind of medical procedure, including an abortion.

Saying that my 17.5 year old daughter is exempt from getting my consent for an abortion but not for getting her broken arm fixed is ridiculous. These people can't have it both ways. If you take away the parents' rights then you can't turn around and blame them for the problems that their kids get into. You just can't have it both ways. It's just like with the death penalty. To most liberals it's quite alright for a women to kill a baby in her body just because it is inconvenient for her to have it, but it's morally wrong to execute a murderer, even a child murderer like that Smith guy in Florida. PEOPLE!! Get it straight. Be consistent. Make sense.


(The point of my sharing my pregnancy scare story was to show that I know exactly how teenage girls think about this issue. They don't want to face the serious consequences of their actions. They want to take the easiest way out. They don't want to have to tell their parents that they are in trouble. I know that. I've been there. But I also know that their reasoning is flawed and immature, and that's why they are still considered children and under the 'control' of their parents.)

Ongoing Saga...

Okay, so I went back to the doctor last night because my throat was clearly not getting better. The doctor this time was pretty young and quite attractive. I think he was probably about my age since he had about as much gray as I do, but I'm terrible at judging age. He seemed younger than me, and I wanted to ask him how old he was but that just seemed... wrong. In the company of very attractive guys sometimes the speech center in my brain turns to mush and my tongue gets tied in knots so that I have trouble finding the words to say what I'm thinking. And I didn't want to sound rude by just blurting out, 'hey how old are you anyway?' So anyway, he looks at my throat and says, "Your uvula is blistered." Imagine the thought bubble over my head: Oh, but honey, my vulva's not blistered, you wanna check it? I obviously would not have actually said that. LOL

He prescribed a new, broader spectrum antibiotic and said that they would give me a cortisone shot to help with the swelling and inflammation to make me more comfortable. I asked where they would give the shot and he said in the hip. Oh joy, but I was thinking that it would be okay for him to see me bent bare-bottomed over the exam table. Unfortunately, he was spared that sight since the nurse gave the shot. Well, he wouldn't have given me a second look if he wasn't getting paid to, so I shouldn't have imagined that he'd want to take a peek at my nekkid butt. The nurse said that the medicine was thick, which means that it might burn a lot going in. I took a deep breath expecting a bad sting, but it didn't hurt at all. Some nurses are really good at giving painless shots. So I pulled up my pants and got my stuff and left. Dr. Hottie said 'bye and hope you feel better soon.' I just said, "Thanks." But you can imagine what I was thinking....

Sick Thoughts

I'm still feeling like crap. This is the worst case of strep throat that I remember ever having. It probably hasn't helped that yesterday I over-exerted myself trying to get some urgent errands taken care of. I can't eat. My throat is still so sore and raw that even a banana makes it burn like salt in a deep cut. But all this trying to rest and watch tv is getting old. When I find myself talking back to the people on tv I know it's time for a little blogging. So here are a few of my sickness induced thoughts.

TennCare

I'm still going to do a long, in-depth post about this monstrosity at some later time, but I just heard on the news that they are going to start paying for obese TennCare enrollees to go to Weight Watchers. WTF?? Oh, they say it's to try to reduce medical expenses caused by obesity, but come on. It's not like Weight Watchers is too expensive for someone to pay for out of their own pocket if they are really that motivated to lose weight. My mom was a lifelong member. She was never obese, but she didn't like the middle age spread. The cost was never an issue except that it was a bit of an incentive to actually stick with the program since she was paying for it. The fees to join and for the weekly meetings cost less than what most of those people probably spend on beer, cigarettes, potato chips, cookies, or whatever. BTW, TennCare, if you aren't familiar, replaced Medicaid here in 1994 and has bankrupted the state. It was designed after Hillary's healthcare plan.

More Crazy Math

My fourth grader was home sick with strep on Friday. He's all better now, but he has been working on his make-up work. He was doing a math worksheet and asked me to help him. The name of the worksheet was something like "Problem-solving: Guess and Check." He didn't have his math textbook so I couldn't look up what this 'guess and check' method was. One of the questions was something like this: There are two numbers. One is 9 more than the other. Their sum is 45. But it wasn't worded that simply. They used about 6 or 7 sentences to say that. Anyway, you were supposed to use this 'guess and check' technique to find an answer. I told him, "I'm sorry I have no idea what they want with this, go ask Daddy." (I love to say that sometimes, "go ask Daddy," parental buck-passing, lol) I don't know what they decided with it. I'm too sick and tired to think too much about it right now.

Kiss Me Deadly

I love to listen to Jack FM. You can even listen to it online . What I like about it is that it's like someone broke into my house and took all my 'dream' compilation cds. Or they've hijacked my napster playlists or something. I'd say at least 80% of what they play I really love. That's impressive to me. Anyway, I've been listening to it since it started here a few weeks ago. I haven't heard a lot of repeats, though there are a few. One in particular puzzles me. It's Lita Ford's 1988 hit "Kiss Me Deadly". That was never one of my favorites back then, and now it just kind of amuses and perplexes me. I never understood why you would want someone to kiss you deadly. Wouldn't it have made more sense to say, "Kiss me once, kiss me twice, kiss me deeply"? I guess that just doesn't have the same heavy/fluff metal ring to it. Maybe it means something like 'kiss me so that I feel like I've died and gone to Heaven'?

Deadly= Died and gone to Heaven

Well, yeah, I'd say according to today's math that's a true enough statement.

Anyway, right now kissing anyone might be deadly with this horrible, extreme case of strep throat. Hearing that song several times over that last week or so might have been some kind of sign foretelling that I was going to get this deadly feeling in my throat. I told David last night that it felt like I had that flesh eating disease. I took a flashlight and looked at it, and my uvula (not to be confused with vulva) looked like cauliflower. Not real appealing, eh?

Oh, come on, kiss me once, kiss me twice, kiss me deadly! (hey, I did call this post 'Sick Thoughts')

"Out Sick"

Blogging will probably be pretty light this week. I've got a real bad case of strep throat and am not up to much of anything. I hope everyone else is well and has a great week. To quote everyone's favorite cyborg:

I'll be back.

Miscellaneous

There's a blog I read that pushes my ability to comprehend things sometimes. But today there's a post that really hits home for me. If you are concerned about education and the strange direction that it seems to be taking in many subjects, especially math, then you might appreciate this one:

Math Wars


And for a great piece of political satire, try this:

Letter to France


And one of the funniest things I've EVER seen! Tayster always finds the funniest stuff:

I LOVE William Shatner

And another from tayster's world (this one is perfect for this blog):

What's a Hoe?


It seems many of the bloggers I regularly read are really busy lately. I am too. I'm repainting my living room, finally.

Oh, and a little update on the doctor's office and collections issue. I had decided to go ahead and send the stupid $49.50 check to the collection agency and just forget the whole thing. Well, yesterday it came back in the mail with a note that the doctor's office had requested that the account be closed and any further contact should be directly with them instead of the collection agency. Maybe I should take them off my shit list now? (the 'Bad Seeds, Noxious Weeds, and Pitch Forks' list on the sidebar) Either way, I'm not doing business with them again.

This is funny.

My AOL Horoscope for today:

You Aquarians bring awareness to others to shake up your world now. Even if this isn't your conscious intent, people respond to you today as if you are shocking them with doses of electricity. Be extra cautious and careful or you can quickly stir up too much energy. Your real assignment is to initiate change and make improvements without alarming those around you.


For some reason that cracks me up.

Whisker Biscuits and stuff

On our little roadtrip to Corvette and cave country in Kentucky we saw lots of funny things. One was Interstate "Peep" shows. We didn't go to one, but I did ask David if he wanted to since he kept mentioning them every time we saw a billboard advertising them. I had never seen that kind of thing advertised on billboards. But this was Kentucky.

Then another day we were driving on a 'back' road and I needed to find a bathroom. We stopped at a convenience store. While in the restroom I noticed one of those condom machines hanging on the wall. The sign on it said, "Gentleman's Love Kits." Well, I'd never tried one of those machines before so I figured what the heck. I put my two quarters in it and turned the knob fully expecting nothing to come out. But what did was this:













I might have laughed out loud because when I came out of the restroom the cashier looked at me funny. Maybe they had a hidden camera in there and he saw me get it out of the machine. Or it could have been the mischievous smirk on my face. But when I got to the car I showed it to David and started laughing. I don't think he knew what to think.

I didn't open it. I just put it in my purse and forgot about it. Then the other day I was looking for my lip gloss and found it again. I mashed around on it to try to feel if there was actually something in the box. It felt like a tiny balloon in there.

So this morning I decided to open it and see what exactly it was:









Yeah, that's right, some love kit, huh? If any of us needs a finger condom (blech) then we're covered. But that's the only thing it would cover. I find the whole thing totally hilarious.

Then on Sunday morning in the hotel David turned on the tv and was watching a hunting show. I heard something that I couldn't believe I was hearing. They were talking about "Whisker Biscuits." Excuse me? Did they just say Whisker Biscuits? David just laughed and said yeah, they are arrow rests for bow hunting. If you click that link you can see pictures of several varieties of Whisker Biscuits, and you'll see that they come in different sizes...

Biscuit Size Selection:
Small: Easton ACC, Axis, Slim Carbons and Aluminum shafts up to size 1816
Medium: Carbon shafts with internal components and aluminum shafts 2013 - 2117
Large: Easton Fat Boy and aluminum shafts 2212 - 2317.

Here is the Deluxe Whisker Biscuit QS:

"The Deluxe Whisker Biscuit Arrow Rest® is now available with a factory installed Quick Shot Kit. The Quick Shot biscuit will compliment any bow but is perfectly suited to enhance an expandable broadhead setup. The entry slot is tapered to allow quick and easy arrow loading while preventing brush snags when stalking or walking to your stand. The sturdy design means your biscuit will not be bent or twisted and gives you the confidence to know your shot will always be on target! Optional stick-on felt pads are provided for silent arrow loading."












Now, I know nobody wants a twisted or bent biscuit, right? Especially, not their whisker biscuit.

Important Links!

Here are some very important links for parents, grandparents, or anyone who is concerned for children's safety:

http://www.familywatchdog.us/Search.asp Enter your address and get a map of any sex offenders in your area.

http://www.ticic.state.tn.us/SEX_ofndr/search_short.asp This is the official State of Tennessee site that allows you to search by offender's name, city, county, or zip code.

Brief thoughts...

As opposed to boxer thoughts. Sorry that was really lame.

1. I like Camilla. Why does everyone have to be so mean? So what if she's not a beauty queen? Diana was pretty screwed up, and it just goes to show that outer beauty doesn't guarantee happiness.

2. Check out the hilarious pick-up lines over at suzie's. I don't think I've ever heard any of those. Actually, I can't think of any pick-up lines that I've heard. I'm a little disappointed about that. I don't usually attract that kind of attention when I'm out.

3. I've got to get a bunch of stuff done today. Everyone have a great Friday and weekend!

Magic Carpet Ride

Usually at night, after everyone else has settled into bed, I go into my 'secret room' and listen to music and write or work on artwork. Usually I'll start with the radio to see if anything good is playing. If not, I'll put on a cd. Last night I turned on the radio and the first song I heard was "Mary Jane's Last Dance" by Tom Petty ('last dance with Mary Jane, one more time to kill the pain'). I thought that was interesting. Then Steppenwolf's "Magic Carpet Ride" came on. I thought, 'What a funny sequence of songs.' I'm posting those lyrics on the lyrics blog because I really like them even though I never really paid much attention to them before. And then ZZ Top's "Gimme All Your Lovin'" came on, and that one just cracked me up. It's just so 80s, you know? But I have to confess that when those ZZ Top videos came out I wanted to grow up and be one of those trashy girls. Obviously, that didn't happen.

Just when I thought it couldn't get any funnier Def Leppard's "Pour Some Sugar On Me" came on. When I heard 'Lookin' like a tramp, like a video vamp' I thought, 'wow, whoever put all these songs together is funny.' I have to say that "Pour Some Sugar" is probably one of the most pornographic songs that's been widely popular. 'I'm hot, sticky sweet'? That's nasty! 'You gotta tease a little, squeeze a little, tease a little more'? Whoa! 'You got the peaches, I got the cream'? That sounds like a scene out of 9 1/2 Weeks. Nasty, nasty, nasty! But I love it! LOL Talk about a magic carpet ride. Then "Magic" by the Cars came on. 'I know you're getting twisted And you can't calm down'? Yeah, really. I had about as much as I could take so I decided to put on a nice soothing cd so I'd be able to get to sleep later.

Who comes up with those playlists anyway?

Comet the Spider

Have you ever watched a spider run across an entire room? They run, run, run just as fast as their eight little legs will go. But they'll only go a few feet and then stop for a few seconds and then take off again. Don't you think they are stopping to catch their breath? Surely bugs and spiders have metabolic limits like we do. And I wonder if that metabolic threshold varies by individual like ours do. Sometimes you can see bugs breathing if you watch their abdomens. They expand and contract just like ours do when we breathe. I've never noticed the way spiders breathe though.

I've been dreaming about spiders so much this whole year. And especially in the last few months I've dreamed about this same spider. I missed my 'extra hour' of sleep on Saturday night because I was dreaming about this spider and woke up because it surprised me by jumping on me in the dream. I actually screamed out loud (and woke up David too, but he fell back to sleep). The clock said about 5:30 am, but it was really an hour earlier because I hadn't reset the clocks yet. I couldn't get back to sleep so I just got up and made some coffee and watched tv.

In that dream this spider had built a huge web all across the living room ceiling. Every time I came into the room it would run towards me, like it recognized me. This had been happening in some previous dreams. In this one someone (can't remember who now) was there with me, and I was telling them about this spider's behavior. I was telling them that I've named it 'Comet' because it runs so fast, and that is when it jumped on me. I don't think I screamed from fear but from surprise.

Then Monday night I dreamed about Comet and three other spiders. Comet is a large orb weaver. One of the other spiders was just like him but a little smaller. The other two were writing spiders. They were fighting, and it looked like Comet and his friend were winning. But it was hard to tell. And they were hissing, but I think that is purely fictional. There may be hissing spiders somewhere in the world, but I've never seen or heard one hissing in 'person'. I can't remember any more of that particular dream.

I told David about it, but he said it doesn't mean anything. I just can't accept that. I've been dreaming about spiders all year, and this is something new. I just don't believe that it means nothing. The dreams have escalated in intensity and in the spiders' proximity to me. I've looked up in some 'dream dictionaries' what spider dreams might mean, but I'm not sure those meaning apply to me. I wish I could tell Carl Jung about it and see what he would say.

What's Your Design Style?

This is a fun little quiz from Thomasville furniture:

http://www.classictastemodernlife.com/

My result:



Your Design Definition is "romantic". In your home, you love to surround yourself with antiques, books, pieces that bring back memories and lots of black-and-white photos of family. Your tub has feet and your bed has four posters. Your favorite part of preparing for a dinner party is mixing pieces from your different china sets and lighting all the candles. When you travel, you like to stay in bed-and-breakfasts or small inns, and you always find the perfect, out-of-the-way restaurant that is tourist-free. Work with your Thomasville associate to discover pieces in the Ernest Hemingway(R) Collection from Thomasville that reflect the old-world European romance of Paris and Venice. The elaborate carvings and decorative metals on these pieces will add a touch of whimsy and romance to any room.



But actually, I would describe my style as more eclectic or even exotic. That bed in the picture looks a little too 'delicate' to me. Good for sleeping maybe, but well, you know. Here's one that I like better from the same Ernest Hemingway collection:



I'm not really into too much frou-frou in most rooms. But I do love touches of crystal in unexpected places and mixing old and new.

Just Listed!

I've just listed my blog on blogshares. There's a link on the sidebar just under the TTLB Ecosystem stuff. Honestly, I'm not sure what it all means, but it did recommend that my blog is a good buy right now. Go figure. LOL

Happy Halloween!

Buy Me!

My blog is worth $16,936.20.
How much is your blog worth?

(saw this over at sylvana's)

Pure Politics (and some rambling)

Hillary gives a speech and criticizes Bush.

That's certainly no surprise, but I really hate when politicians give speeches like this one that throws out all kinds of statements with no real thought or substantiation.

"Borrow and spend, borrow and spend, that's all we've done the last four years," Clinton said.

Well, Ms. Rodam Clinton, you fail to recall that much of the spending that's been done is due to the tragedy of 9/11, in your own 'home' state. Instead of blasting Bush for it, perhaps you could show a little gratitude. But, no, that won't do since you don't want to give ANY credit where credit is actually due. You same people who want to blame the federal government for the fiasco in New Orleans turn around and complain when the federal government wants some money to 'help'. Make up your damn minds.

I realize that politicians make speeches like this to get people fired up and rally support, but it seems to me that it is so much more effective to present real and valid issues than to make up inflammatory crap. Are the speech writers in control here, or what? Everyone is bellyaching about the divisiveness in our country these days, but no one seems to want to change the way they interact and speak of each other. Where is someone who will tell it like it is but not be afraid to give the 'other side' some credit? If I could make a wish for our country I would wish for a leader to emerge who can truly bring our country out of this divisive funk. We have so many reasons to come together and support each other instead of tearing each other down.

It looks like the 'Me Generation' has reemerged in their mid-life push to make some big impact on the world before their time is up. Isn't that what the midlife crisis is all about? People realize that their youth is gone and they have only a few more years to really enjoy life before their bodies begin to fail. (I'm not dissing anybody in the midst of a midlife crisis because I'm in the beginning stages of my own.) Unfortunately, it seems that Me Generation has learned little in their time that has changed the way they want to impact the world. It's still all about the 'me' and screw everyone else.

I'm not a BabyBoomer. I was born just a little too late for that. And I'm not really a Generation X. I was born just a little too early for that. I have some in common with both groups. I don't really know that many people who are my age exactly, so I don't really know how other 36-38 year olds feel about things. We seem to be strangely scarce. I should look up birth rates to see if that has anything to do with it. Most of the people I tend to connect with are either 28-34 or over 40. Maybe I'm just weird and have been left out of the mid-thirties loop? Maybe most mid-thirties people are too busy to be 'seen.' I don't know.

Words of the Day

Impeach

Main Entry: im·peach
Pronunciation: im-'pech
Function: transitive verb
Etymology: Middle English empechen, from Middle French empeechier to hinder, from Late Latin impedicare to fetter, from Latin in- + pedica fetter, from ped-, pes foot --

1 a : to bring an accusation against
b : to charge with a crime or misdemeanor; specifically : to charge (a public official) before a competent tribunal with misconduct in office
2 : to cast doubt on; especially : to challenge the credibility or validity of (impeach the testimony of a witness)
3 : to remove from office especially for misconduct -


Indict

Main Entry: in·dict
Pronunciation: in-'dīt
Function: transitive verb
Etymology: alteration of earlier indite, from Middle English inditen, from Anglo-French enditer, from Old French, to write down

1 : to charge with a fault or offense
2 : to charge with a crime by the finding or presentment of a jury (as a grand jury) in due form of law -

Refresher for Perspective

For all of the Bush haters who are salivating and creaming their britches over the Libby indictment, let's take a look at some recent history.

Bill Clinton was impeached, meaning charged with and tried for obstruction of justice and perjury. He was the President at the time, not a Presidential advisor or aide or whatever. The President.

The Senate voted on the Articles of Impeachment on February 12, 1999, with a two-thirds majority, or 67 Senators, required to convict. On Article I, that charged that the President "...willfully provided perjurious, false and misleading testimony to the grand jury" and made "...corrupt efforts to influence the testimony of witnesses and to impede the discovery of evidence" in the Paula Jones lawsuit, the President was found not guilty with 45 Senators voting for the President's removal from office and 55 against. Ten Republicans split with their colleagues to vote for acquittal; all 45 Democrats voted to acquit. On Article II, charging that the President "...has prevented, obstructed, and impeded the administration of justice"..., the vote was 50-50, with all Democrats and five Republicans voting to acquit. (this paragraph is an excerpt from http://www.eagleton.rutgers.edu/e-gov/e-politicalarchive-Clintonimpeach.htm)


I just want to remind those with short and selective memories that while Clinton was not convicted, he was still impeached and given the chance for a 'fair trial'. Let us give Libby the benefit of any other person who is charged with a crime. He is innocent until proven guilty. Yes, that rule really does apply to everyone, even conservatives. For those who might suggest that Clinton's impeachment was over something silly or frivolous, well, you could say the same thing about Libby's indictment. However, I am not excusing or minimizing the charges of anyone obstructing justice or committing perjury. Those are very serious crimes and should be punished more severely than Martha 'Cupcake' Stewart's short 'prison' term and mansion arrest. I'm just putting things in perspective here.

Confessions

Here are some of my deep, dark secrets:


1. Karl Rove gives me the creeps.

2. I'm beginning to seriously think that we are the End Times, for real.

3. I never liked Ronald Reagan or George Bush Sr.

4. I voted for Bill Clinton in 1992 despite knowing in my gut that he was an immoral liar.

5. I think Hillary Clinton looks like my mom and that's why I have a hard time hating her.

6. I think that modern Christianity has got more wrong than right. (Please be gentle, this is a serious concern for me.)

7. I'm very wasteful with water but not electricity.

8. I don't recycle paper and plastic anymore because it's 'too much trouble.'

9. I would love to be able to shoot bad drivers.

10. This list could be a lot longer, but some secrets just aren't ready to be shared.

Moon Lodges

Every time I get hormonal I think of the Native American 'moon lodges.' Some Native American groups (I'm not sure which ones and I'm too lazy to look it up right now) made the menstruating women stay in the Moon Lodge for the time that they were on their periods. It's been said that the men thought that it was bad luck for menstruating women to touch stuff and all that. I think they just didn't want to deal with the drama. But also, from the women's perspective I can see why it might not be so objectionable to hole up for that week. I know I would like to just go somewhere quiet where I can be alone and not have to put up with anyone for a while when I'm hormonal. I'd say the Moon Lodges were pretty cool places where the women could hang out and not be bothered by the men and children. Oh, I know I'm romanticizing it, but that's what we do when we look back at old traditions. And it was probably one of those situations when the women 'complied' so that the men thought they were in control, but the women knew that they were really the ones in control. I think that's true a lot of times. We do things to let the men think they are in control, but in reality we are the ones holding the reins. Don't ya think?


And apologies about not making it around to comment much this week. On top of the moon cycle I've got another UTI, so I've not been up to much.

Dear Harriet,

(I had written a different version of this letter earlier this morning, but blogger was having problems and wouldn't post it. I've modified it now that I've heard that she has withdrawn her nomination.)

Stay strong. Don't let all the mean people get you down. The media and other talking heads just talk to hear their own voices and don't seem to care that the people they put down are real, living, breathing people with feelings. If you really don't want to put up with all the crap there's no shame in deciding that it's not worth it. I was hoping you wouldn't withdraw, but it's okay that you did. Some people will criticize you no matter what you do. Some people are just that way. They will find something wrong with what you do regardless. You are damned if you do and damned if you don't. But you know all of that, I'm sure.

I know you are strong in your Faith and that will carry you through whatever happens. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

I can't help but feel a little responsible for what you're going through. (I admit that sometimes I suffer from fantasies of grandeur.) You have to admit that it does seem a little odd that President Bush would choose to nominate a non-judge after I made my little fuss about it. I'm sorry about that. But I also have to admit that I'm glad it was you and not me on the receiving end of all that vitriol. I don't mean that I'm glad you are suffering through it. I'm just saying that I'm glad that I'm not because I don't really have what it takes to handle it.

As I said earlier, stay strong no matter what happens. And know that you are an inspiration to women regardless of what people might say to the contrary. Good luck to you!

Sincerely,
Rae Ann

PS I wish I had said this before it was too late, Just remember, Sex Sells! I was going to suggest that you might want to run by Victoria's Secret and pick up a couple of lacy pink bras. They look pretty good under those robes. Oh, go ahead and go shopping anyway. A new pretty bra or something is always a good thing.

Multiple Choice Quiz

What would you do?


1. Your spouse is enamored with a display of chrome plated gears from a transmission, your response is:
A. "You are so weird."
B. "That's so cool that you appreciate that."
C. "It's just a transmission."
D. you don't say anything

2. Your spouse takes great care of and pride in something special you bought him/her so you:
A. Feel good that you've made him/her very happy.
B. Tell him/her that they love it more than you.
C. Threaten to take it away because he/she is too happy with it.
D. Don't notice one way or the other.

3. Your spouse has a recurring medical problem that might be related to your habits so you:
A. Try to do things different to help alleviate the problem.
B. Complain that spouse is too 'fragile.'
C. Blame it on someone else and imply spouse's wrong-doing.
D. Do nothing and don't care.

4. Your spouse brings home take out food that is the exact same thing that you had for lunch, so you:
A. Eat without complaint.
B. Grumble about being tired of whatever kind of food it is.
C. Refuse to eat it.
D. Make yourself something else to eat.

5. Your spouse made a big mistake in the past but has bent over backwards to make amends for it, so you:
A. Forgive and Forget.
B. Forgive but remember.
C. Pretend to forgive but make constant 'jokes' about it intended to make spouse continue to feel bad.
D. Tit for Tat.

6. Your spouse would like to improve his/her life by making some big changes in lifestyle, so you:
A. Offer encouragement, support, and praise.
B. Wonder why spouse wants to make changes.
C. Sabotage changes because you are afraid of spouse becoming empowered.
D. Do nothing.

7. Your spouse likes a neat, clean house so you:
A. Pick up after yourself.
B. Hire a house cleaner.
C. Leave all your dirty clothes and dishes where-ever and let spouse pick them up if they care so much about the house being clean.
D. Call spouse 'too picky' and criticize in other ways.

8. Your spouse is prone to letting clutter pile up so you:
A. Leave it be. It's not hurting anyone.
B. Bitch and moan about it while leaving your own piles of clutter everywhere.
C. Offer to help them get more organized.
D. Throw all of spouse's stuff in the garbage when they're not there.

9. Your spouse enjoys an activity that you don't so you:
A. Pretend to let spouse enjoy it but put it down every chance you get.
B. Try to learn to enjoy it.
C. Call spouse selfish for spending too much time doing it.
D. Find your own activity to enjoy.

10. Your spouse wants to go on a solo vacation so you:
A. Help spouse make plans and arrangements.
B. Accuse spouse of looking for 'strange meat.'
C. Refuse to allow it, period.
D. Buy spouse one-way ticket.



This is just for fun. Leave your answers and I'll 'score' them later.

NEW DRUGS FOR WOMEN

D A M N I T O L
Take 2 and the rest of the world can go to hell for up to 8 full hours.


E M P T Y N E S T R O G E N
Suppository that eliminates melancholy and loneliness by reminding you of how awful they were as teenagers and how you couldn't wait till they moved out.


ST. M O M M A'S W O R T
Plant extract that treats mom's depression by rendering preschoolers unconscious for up to two days.


P E P T O B I M B O
Liquid silicone drink for single women. Two full cups swallowed before an evening out increases breast size, decreases intelligence, and prevents conception.


D U M B E R O L
When taken with Peptobimbo, can cause dangerously low IQ, resulting in enjoyment of country music and pickup trucks.


F L I P I T O R
Increases life expectancy of commuters by controlling road rage and the urge to flip off other drivers.


M E N I C I L L I N
Potent anti-boy-otic for older women. Increases resistance to such lethal lines as, "You make me want to be a better person. Can we get naked now?.


BUYAGRA
Injectable stimulant taken prior to shopping. Increases potency, duration, and credit limit of spending spree.


J A C K A S S P I R I N
Relieves headache caused by a man who can't remember your birthday, anniversary, phone number, or to lift the toilet seat.


A N T I-T A L K S I D E N T
A spray carried in a purse or wallet to be used on anyone too eager to share their life stories with total strangers in elevators.


N A G A M E N T
When administered to a boyfriend or husband, provides the same irritation level as nagging him.



I really need some of that St. Momma's Wort. And I'm allergic to Menicillin which makes me dangerously susceptible to getting infected by the crush virus, especially from men who say nice things to me.

A Message From a Folgers Plant Manager in New Orleans

(Somehow I got on the Proctor and Gamble mailing list. This is from an email they sent out last week. I didn't know that Folgers was located in New Orleans like JFG.)


Hello. My name is Emory Zimmer, and I'm the plant manager for Folgers in New Orleans, where we proudly roast, grind, and package our coffee.

Along with over 500 of my co-workers at Folgers, we and our families call New Orleans home. With the events of Hurricane Katrina, our lives, like so many others along the Gulf Coast, have been greatly affected. On behalf of my team, I'd like to thank everyone who has offered so much support, time, and energy to those in need.

Due to disruption at our plant and our rebuilding efforts, it will be necessary to temporarily package our product in our classic metal canister, but be assured our product will be delicious as always. The Folgers family is equally dedicated to contributing to the Katrina relief effort by making donations to the American Red Cross.

Thank you again for your loyalty and patience.

Sincerely,

Emory Zimmer

Monday Me Me

Your Inner Child Is Sad

You're a very sensitive soul. You haven't grown that thick skin that most adults have. Easily hurt, you tend to retreat to your comfort zone. You don't let many people in - unless you've trusted them for a long time.

How Is Your Inner Child?

Wow, I'd say that's very accurate. For all my bravado and 'laying it all out' I have to admit that deep down I really am very sensitive and easily hurt. And the retreating to the comfort zone is true too.

Our weekend road trip was great! I'll have much more to say about it soon. I'm trying to catch up on reading everyone's blogs today.

Oh, and apparently I've devolved back to a slimy mollusk. But actually, squids and octopussies are smarter than fish. So there.

See ya in a few days!

Road Trip!!

I'm so pleased to announce that I am going (finally) on a road trip. I've wrangled David into going with me. We'll leave tomorrow for Bowling Green, KY, to the National Corvette Museum (link in header). I've also reserved us a tour of the Corvette Assembly Plant which is where all Corvettes are built. After all the car stuff I'm not sure where we'll go or what we'll do for the rest of the weekend. We like to explore new areas and see where the roads take us. I'm not planning to take a computer so I won't be blogging Friday-Sunday. But I'm sure I'll be full of stories when we get back. The weather might be a rainy over the weekend, but that won't bother us. If you see a red Corvette convertible on the road it might be us!

Magic Words for Magic Wands

Corpus Spongiosum

Corpora Cavernosa


Those sound like some of the spells that Harry Potter would use, like "Petrificus Totalus" or "Wingardium Leviosa." But they're not. I guess you could adopt them as incantations though. The results might be interesting.

Monday Madness

Hoe in the City

This morning I had to go downtown to our accountant's office to pick up our tax return. Today is the deadline for second extensions. His office is on the 19th floor of the tallest building in Knoxville (27 floors). The elevators always make me really dizzy because they go so fast. Every time I go downtown I get a little pang of anxiety. I'm just not a city girl, not even a small city. But I do harbor fantasies of having a loft/studio downtown because that seems so cool. If I ever win the lottery maybe I'll buy a loft apartment or a whole building to renovate.

Lunch Date

Since I needed David's signature on the tax return we decided to have lunch together. We don't do that often because he usually eats lunch en route to a job instead of taking time to stop somewhere. He was working in West Knoxville so I drove out there to meet him at the Ice Chalet where he was dropping off some bills. I picked up some brochures on lessons so maybe I will take the kids if they are interested. We decided to go to the Olive Garden since we hadn't been there in a very long time. By the way, the Olive Garden is at the intersection where the red-light runner crashed into my Corvette in March. When I thought of that (we were in the Corvette) I told David, "Well, we'll be driving right through the intersection of pain." We got to the Olive Garden without incident and had a lovely lunch.

Two Kinds of Women

We walked back to the car and put down the top and got in. Then I looked up and thought, "Whoa, that truck is way too freakin' close to my car." I got out and sure enough, it was mashing in the front of my car. I'll admit I was about 3 inches over the line (the space in front of me was empty when we got there). I yelled to David, "That asshole hit my car." He got out and looked and said, "Pull back and see if there's any damage." I said, "No, if there is damage they won't believe that they did it. Go in the restaurant and get them to come out here." He saw that they had a sign with a phone number (Eddy's Tile & Natural Stone) on the side of the truck, so I handed him my phone and asked him to call it. He did and I could tell that whoever was on the other end was being an asshole because I heard David say, "Well, I really think you need to come out here and see it." David has a nice, authoritative voice when he needs too, unlike my too soft and childish voice even when I'm mad. He hung up and I asked, "Well, was he an asshole about it?" He said, "She was real bitchy sounding. She said that she was having her lunch (imagine a very snobby tone), but she's coming out here." Right off the bat she said, "I didn't do that." What? I sure as hell didn't drive my car into her truck. We got there first. Stupid bitch.

She said, "There's the line. You are over the line."

I said, "Being over the line doesn't give you the right to drive into my car."

She, "I didn't feel it. I didn't hit it. I didn't feel hitting anything."

Since when do people drive by feel?

David told me to pull it back. I told the snotty bitch that I wanted her to see it before I pulled out because it was my word against here's if there was any damage.

I pulled back and thankfully the nose cone wasn't cracked or scratched. Thankfully they make them out of flexible plastic that gives a little under those circumstances.

She continued spewing her snobbish, catty remarks as I was getting out of the car to look. She asked, "Do you want to call the police?"

I said, "No, it doesn't seem to be hurt."

She was so malicious and bitchy and would not accept that she was in the wrong. She said lots of hateful things to me and David and called us 'fatsos' (she should take a look at her rear end, it was all pocked and bumpy and saggy and nasty looking). She muttered something about 'not driving a Corvette (Aha! Jealous much?)' and about 'her lunch'. David had about as much as he could take so he reared back and kicked the steel bumper of her Dogde Ram (dark blue, extra cab, short bed -- I've very observant). It did nothing to it, but it was just the 'tit for tat' kind of outlet he needed. Well, she just screamed, "I'm calling the police! I'm called the police! I saw you do that!" We just laughed and took off. She might have gotten my tag number, but I'm sure she didn't really call. And what can they do anyway? She has no proof that he kicked it because it didn't even leave a foot print. STUPID BITCH.

So, fellas, any of my married male readers, I think you know what I mean when I say there are two kinds of women. There are Evil Bitches (Pitchforks) and Normal Women (Hoes et al). And you know what your wife is. If any of you are married to Evil Bitches/Pitchforks, I pity you. I pity the man who is married to the Tile Bitch, if she's still married even. Men who are married to Evil Bitches are embarrassed by their wives' behavior, but they are so under their control that they can't speak up. Men who are married to Evil Bitches don't buy their wives Corvettes. Evil Bitches are very jealous of Normal Women and the blessings they get by being nice. Women know if they are Evil Bitches or Normal Women. I know with 100% certainty that I'm a Normal Woman. I have bitchy moments, and sometimes whole days, but they pass. Evil Bitches are evil all the time to everyone they know. Women who know they are Evil Bitches don't care about anyone but themselves (and their lunch). Men rarely admit if they are married to an Evil Bitch, but men who are married to Normal Women are happy and emboldened and quick to defend them if threatened. David is my hero. Not because he kicked a truck, but because he was defending my honor.

To any Evil Bitches out there, don't underestimate a Normal Woman. And don't tread on her Karma. It comes back to you threefold.

My last words to the Tile Bitch as we drove away were, "I hope you get sick on your lunch."