Wednesday, December 31, 2008

I keep rolling on down that road

The other night, I had the scariest dream I've ever had. I saw the Grim Reaper standing beside my bed, and I got this really bad feeling, I tried turning on the light but it wouldn't go on and then I ran outside my room into a hallway and into another room that was filled with zombies. That part after getting out of my room wasn't what scared me. When I saw Death standing over my bed, it felt like it was really happening and then the light wasn't working. After waking up my heart was pounding (at least it sure felt like it, I felt my pulse and it was pretty much normal, nothing really fast) and I had to lie with the light on for at least 15 minutes.
But now, I feel as if something's going to happen to me, and when i close my eyes I see that robe and scythe.
FREAKY

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Where you are is where I belong

Here's hoping y'all had a good Christmas and aren't planning to party too hard tomorrow night.
Christmas for me was pretty good. I got plenty of new snowmen, some Fareway gift cards (those will help out immensely), a new DVD player (I was really hoping for a VCR as my DVD player works somewhat and my VCR is totally down for the count), 2 toaster ovens (this is becoming a tradition, last year I got 2 vacuum cleaners), some frogs, 2 new coats (I'm favoring the one Kevin got me), new gloves, and a plaque at the new alumni hall on campus. Like I need a plaque, if you're gonna spend that much money (I don't know how much it is, but I'm guessing a pretty big chunk), spend it on something I need.
I'm trying to continue what I started last year, going to Kevin's parents' for Christmas and celebrating with them. I really hope that will be a lasting tradition.
I had my family Christmas on Christmas eve.
(Ya know I had this nicely planned out an hour ago, I don't know what happened to it)
A couple years ago, I received a Toshiba Gigabeat MP3 player as my graduation gift from ISU, the battery has become shot on it, and now at full battery power it lasts 30 minutes. It's so nice that things nowadays are built not to last, are built so you have to buy a new one every few years.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Idiotioc people

What kind of person names their kid Adolf Hitler, and then wonders why people are upset over it. Way to set up your kid for disappointment for the rest of his life. He's going to be teased or not liked at all, all through school. No one's gonna wanna date him, I think it'd be wise of him to change his name when he's old enough.

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Thanks A Lot

Thank you old guy that decided to walk into the store with a lit cigarette hanging out of his mouth and not thinking that was bad. He realized it when I glared at him and now the store smells like cigarette smoke. THANK YOU SO MUCH.

HELP!!

For all of my two readers, I have a question:

Am I required to get presents for my co-workers at the store I work at?
When I was in college I worked at the library and while we weren't asked to get presents, I always made something for my bosses (they also gave each of the student workers a basket of goodies). Last year, I wasn't going to do presents, but my boss told me she got a present for me, so then I made something for her and for my coworkers. I don't know if I'm supposed to do anything for my coworkers this year. Any advice?

Also, remember this post? Well, here are the pictures.

Tuesday, December 09, 2008

ugh

So, I've figured out that my mother thinks I know nothing. I think part of the reason I got my degree in CJ was because my parents didn't know much about it and I could speak my mind and be right, or at least listened to. But my mom always talks down to me, even when we're talking about opinions, there's always a tone about how she says things and she implies that I don't know what I'm talking about.
Like today, she leaves me a note on a container of ice melt not to use it, like I don't know you don't use ice melt on top of snow. It was because we got a 1/8 inch of ice last night, and I sprinkled it with ice melt and some sand. We have a new piece of concrete at the bottom of our driveway, and we're not supposed to use ice melt on it, something about the chemicals reacting with the new concrete.
Stole this from one of the blogs I read:
1. Started your own blog.
2. Slept under the stars.
3. Played in a band.
4. Visited Hawaii.
5. Watched a meteor shower.
6. Given more than you can afford to charity.
7. Been to Disneyland.
8. Climbed a mountain.
9. Held a praying mantis.
10. Sang a solo.
11. Bungee jumped.
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch.
15. Adopted a child.
16. Had food poisoning.
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty.
18. Grown your own vegetables.
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France.
20. Slept on an overnight train.
21. Had a pillow fight.
22. Hitch hiked.
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill.
24. Built a snow fort.
25. Held a lamb.
26. Gone skinny dipping.
27. Run a Marathon.
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice.
29. Seen a total eclipse.
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset.
31. Hit a home run.
32. Been on a cruise.
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person.
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors.
35. Seen an Amish community.
36. Taught yourself a new language.
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied.
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person.
39. Gone rock climbing.
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David.
41. Sung karaoke.
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt.
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant.
44. Visited Africa.
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight.
46. Been transported in an ambulance.
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing.
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person.
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling.
52. Kissed in the rain.
53. Played in the mud.
54. Gone to a drive-in theater.
55. Been in a movie.
56. Visited the Great Wall of China.
57. Started a business.
58. Taken a martial arts class.
59. Visited Russia.
60. Served at a soup kitchen.
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies.
62. Gone whale watching.
63. Got flowers for no reason.
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma.
65. Gone sky diving.
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp.
67. Bounced a check.
68. Flown in a helicopter.
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial.
71. Eaten Caviar.
72. Pieced a quilt.
73. Stood in Times Square.
74. Toured the Everglades.
75. Been fired from a job.
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London.
77. Broken a bone.
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle.
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person.
80. Published a book.
81. Visited the Vatican.
82. Bought a brand new car.
83. Walked in Jerusalem.
84. Had your picture in the newspaper.
85. Read the entire Bible.
86. Visited the White House.
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating.
88. Had chickenpox.
89. Saved someone’s life.
90. Sat on a jury.
91. Met someone famous.
92. Joined a book club.
93. Lost a loved one.
94. Had a baby.
95. Seen the Alamo in person.
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake.
97. Been involved in a law suit.
98. Owned a cell phone.
99. Been stung by a bee.
100. Read an entire book in one day.

Sunday, December 07, 2008

I want a Designer frisbee

What is a designer frisbee you may ask. Well, my friend, Loretta's dogs cross bred to create one. Neither one of us thought it would happen, but I guess that's what you get when you have a female Burmese Mountain Dog in heat and a male Bichon Frise knowing this. I'm rather intrigued to know how big they'll get and what they'll be like.

I'll post a picture if she ok's it.

Sunday, November 30, 2008

UGH!!

Why do the people in my neighborhood seem to be so stupid? Originally I was just going to complain about the people and thier stupidity in parking, but now people with dogs get included (and if you happen to be one of the people I'm complaining about, tough, since I know the things I'm saying are true, too bad for you).
So, I get the wonderful job of shoveling snow today, because we got about 2-3 inches of snow between yesterday and today and it's still coming down. My mom called me and told me there was snow shoveling to do. NO SHIT!!! Like I wasn't outside with you yesterday and I didn't walk through the snow last night, so I didn't know there was shoveling to do.
So, I'm shoveling and while taking my short breaks or just noticing stuff around my neighborhood, I notice 2 illegally parked cars. One being a van down the street that's parked in the parkway (that's the part of your driveway that's between the street and the sidewalk), that's illegal. And two, the jeep that's parked on the wrong side of the street, now they couldn't say they didn't know because there's a no parking sign 10 feet in front of them. If you can't read, you really shouldn't be driving.
DOGS:
In the city, it's code (or law) to have your dog on a leash at all times while you are outside and it's not in a fenced in yard. The guy down my street decided to take his dog on a walk while he was bicycling, and then let it run wild to go to the bathroom after they got back. And then as I was going to buy some pop, I run into a chick talking on her cell phone with her dog not on a leash. So, I tell her it's law to have her dog on a leash within city limits. Her response: "I'm not from Iowa", and I tell her she should research laws if she's going to live somewhere. She says her dog's very well behaved and that "she lives 2 blocks away" so it's ok. I love it how people always say their dog is well behaved when you tell them it's supposed to be on a leash. SO FRICKIN' WHAT???? Just because it's well behaved doesn't mean it might accidentally run in front of a car and get hit, to which point you would blame the driver. Or maybe someone has some really good food in their pocket and the dog really wants it, it could attack them because of this. And, some people don't like dogs running through their yards, I don't mind it until it starts shitting in my yard. I may look like just a normal citizen, but that doesn't mean I don't know city code. If I was a cop telling you this, you'd probably give me the same reasons and then something about I'll put it on a leash next time, because you obviously don't have a leash with you now. I think she was just really pissed that not only did I tell her the law (which she may or may not have known), I interrupted her phone call. BOO FRICKING HOO!! If I knew where she lived I'd call animal control and say that she was letting her dog run loose, they would most likely say they got a complaint and go have a chat with her.

The more I know about city code, the more I see people not obeying it and it drives me nuts. In some situations, too much knowledge sucks.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

I am so disgusted

I was watching this show on ABC today, called the Dr's. and they have a segment on a 5 year old who weighs 135lbs. The mom "is desperate to change him". How is this not the parents fault? They weren't too thin either, but he's five, you control what he eats, he doesn't control it. She says when he doesn't get what he wants he throws a tantrum and tries to hit his parents. How hard is it to control your child, let him throw that tantrum, maybe he'd burn off some calories doing it. You hear of people saying things are not their fault everywhere you turn, but when you say you 5 yr old weighing over 130 lbs, his problem of being overweight isn't your fault, that is total BS. Try not giving him pop tarts and pizza and food whenever he wants it, make him go outside and play. When walking makes him breathless and you're afraid he's going to be diabetic by the time he's a teen because of his overeating problem, do something about it.
These dr's give them a book, a membership to a whole bunch of physical activity places and tell them they have to get rid of all the junk food. I'd be surprised if they actually did it, what's to get them motivated now that hasn't motivated to keep the kid healthy in the past?

And then they have this lady who believes she's so hideous she needs a total makeover and of course they do the surgery for her. She's not a hideous person, try starting with a little self esteem makeover and go from there.

They also had a segment of this chick that thought she had a gummy smile, her gums showed too much in her smile. So, they do this procedure on the show, and we watch them burn off her gums. That was nasty.

Monday, November 17, 2008

Stupid Hollywood

****CAUTION CSI: MIAMI 11/17 SPOILERS****
On CSI: Miami tonight, they had a baby kidnapping. At the end, they figure out the guy that planned the kidnapping was selling the child to a couple flying in from somewhere else. Horatio (head CSI guy) pulls up in his Hummer with his lights and sirens going when the kidnapper’s making the deal with the “adoptive” parents, so the kidnapper jumps in his SUV and they go on this chase through this tiny airport, and then the kidnapper hits a pile of boxes and flips his SUV several times.
That would never happen in real life. The cops would never attempt a car chase in that small of an area when they know (or are pretty certain) there is a child in the car because something like that could happen. If my child were kidnapped and that happened you can bet to hell I’d sue the PD, and I’m guessing with how people view cops, I’d win. Now you all know I love the cops, but if anyone would put my child at risk like that, I’d be throwing that love and appreciation out the window.
Also, if the cops actually knew where the people were flying in to, they would never show up in their lights in sirens. I won’t be watching CSI: Miami anymore.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Karma's a bitch

This is to the idiot in the blue car that ran the red light at 6th and Clark at about 8:10 tonight. I hope the next time you decide to be too impatient to wait 3 seconds for a green light, a cop catches you, or something.
If I were close enough, you can bet I would have crossed the street in front of you very slowly so you would have had to wait.
Maybe next time you do something because you're impatient it'll come back to bite you in the ass.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

I'm getting old :(

I used to laugh at a former roommate of mine because she had white hair.
Guess what, I'm getting white hair. Karma? I don't know but it sucks, I'm 25 years old with some white hairs, they all stay in one little place.
Here's my question, is there any other way than dyeing my hair that I can get rid of them? Obviously, I can continue to pull them out, but I've been doing that, but I finally decided to stop doing that, and Kevin was yanking some out the other day.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Venting

I am a hostess of an ATC (Artist Trading Cards) Yahoo! Group. I received an email of someone saying how they had been ignored when they asked questions in the past. I apologized and informed them why they were unable to join a certain swap that they had inquired about. Then I went to the group website and found that when this person asked questions, I responded to all of them.
This is the newest in the problems I've had with this group (and I guarantee it won't be the last). The drama of some certain members of this group make it not so fun to deal with, but I know that if I kick them out then they'll get to talking to each other and will drop out. I've had that happen.
I had one member that got their card posted on the homepage (I pick one of my favorite cards from the swap and post it on the homepage), and had asked if they could have that card. I happened to be the one who had that card, so I emailed her privately and told her that I was holding onto it. And that in the future when she complained about someone else's cards/items, that they should try NOT responding to the whole group (I just happened to be the lucky person she was complaining about). I did the better person thing and did not strike back at her through the group, I didn't respond at all and let it slide. After this email (about the homepage card), she sent an angry email to the whole group about how mean I was and how she shouldn't have been treated a certain way and ended up making (at least I'm guessing, as I never got to explain what happened) someone leave because of it, and then she unsubbed. A month or so later she emailed me again, and profusely apologized for her behavior and asked to join again. Once again I did the bigger person thing and let her join.
Then I had one person take a card that I had made for a certain swap and use it for another swap. Instead of making her own background, she chose to use my card as the background and add her stuff from that swap to it and make it into her own card. Imagine if a big artist had done this with someone else's work, would it be considered flattery? I don't think so, as this was my original art, maybe (only maybe) if it were a photocopy. To which I told the group this was unacceptable, and she apologized to everyone for making that so. In my mind you should always make your own backgrounds, whether out of paper that you altered or even just using a magazine page.
I can't say I'm a fan of all the art that comes in, but everyone has their own idea of art and I try to keep an open mind when I see the artwork. I made the mistake of raising a stink about someone's artwork in the past and received a blown up answer from her and she got quite upset with me and left the group in a huff. Now I realize that everyone is trying their hardest and if they see it as fit to send in and that they are proud of it, I use them all.

Just curious is anyone that reads this blog a hostess of any art groups on Yahoo! or otherwise that I could chat with? Let me know in the comments section.

Saturday, November 08, 2008

Don't need no credit card to ride this train

I decided last night as I was walking past the PD on my way home from work, I miss the cops (no, not in that way). I miss going on ride-along's, I miss seeing them at work, and most of all I miss chatting with them. Wonder what that means.
We got our first snow yesterday mornin, Kevin said he had about an inch on his truck when he got off work at 6AM. And later when I started off to work about 4:30PM, it was snowing again, as well as when I left work at 8. But, because the ground is still pretty warm, it didn't stick. Though I'm glad I don't live in the Dakotas.

OK, so I'm disappointed about who won on Tuesday, but what really bothers me is I was talking to my dad last Sunday, and I was chatting about how much the store had made on Sat.
Me: one woman wanted to get her Christmas shopping done before Thanksgiving.
Dad: She won't be doing her American duty to go out and shop on Black Friday
Me: It doesn't matter how many times you say that, I'm not going to believe it.
Dad: But your president said it.
Me: I don't believe everything he says either.
Dad: Well, Sarah Palin will kick you out of the country for that.
Me: No, she won't cause I'm voting for her.
Dad: You shouldn't waste your vote on Tuesday then.

That really bothered me that he said that, I know he was kidding (maybe), but it really bothered me, and after hearing the results Tuesday night (I kept hoping it would be like the Truman election, where they predicted Dewey won, and then the next day said it was Truman), it kinda felt like I did waste my vote. This year was the first year that I voted for president where I didn't agree with my parents. The last election, I voted for Kerry because that's who my parents were voting for. That is one of the most horrible reasons, I know. And I hope that everyone does their homework and researches the candidates before they pick anyone. But it would have been really cool if McCain won. Just because this was a big election for me, because I had researched McCain and decided that his stance on the Iraq War lined up with mine pretty well, and that was the biggest most important thing to me.
Argue with me if you want to, but I will not engage in a conversation about politics. It's usually two people trying to convince the other person of their side, but neither person is going let go of their beliefs and it turns into a screaming argument where people are hurt afterward, and nothing is resolved. Politics is one of the main reasons people do not get along. I choose not to talk about it and I get along fine with people.

Thursday, November 06, 2008

Just curious

A couple questions for my readership:

1. Does an engagement ring have to be a diamond?

2. Is it possible to get a nice ring for under $1,000?

Tuesday, November 04, 2008

VOTE

Please go out and vote today. We've been hearing about this election for over a year, there's no way you didn't know it was coming. I don't care who you vote for, just vote. The only people I don't want voting (this may come back and bite me in the ass), are the people who are only voting for someone because they are black, because they look better than the other candidate, because you're parents are voting for that candidate. If you're going to vote, make sure you have done research on the person you're voting for, make sure some of their ideals and platforms match up with your beliefs. DO NOT vote for someone because you flipped a coin and they were heads. DO the research.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

I need some help

Does anyone know anything about the software Photo Loader? When I got my digital camera, it came with the software Photo Loader to copy the photos from my camera onto my computer. Today, I went to do that and after it starts (or attempts to start) copying the files, it gives me this error message: An error occurred while writing library. Proccess will be aborted.
I tried uninstalling and reinstalling the software, but that didn't do anything. I'm wondering if it has something to do with the date stamp, the last time I uploaded photos to my computer, they were stamped January and February of 2006, instead of September and October of 2008. I changed the stamp on my camera, and renamed the folders in my computer, but I'm wondering if for some reason, Photo Loader isn't able to process past August of this year, kinda like how everyone thought the computers would mess up when we switched over to 2000.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. If it makes a difference, my camera is a Casion Exilim Optical 3x, I run Windows XP on my computer and the software is Photo Loader 2.3

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

More updates in my apt

I envy the guys in my living room.
My living room ceiling has been sagging for awhile, and lately if you push on it, it moves quite a bit. So, mom hired someone to rip out the old ceiling (plaster attached to lathe boards, they're not pulling off the lathe), and put up a new ceiling, (drywall), and paint the ceiling. The guys got here this morning and pulled off the old ceiling, now it sounds like their measuring, cutting and putting up the new drywall.
How come my mom always hires people to do the fun stuff, and all I get to do is paint? She hired Kevin and I to paint the stairs last summer, because of the crappy winter and all the ice we got last year, we had to retouch the steps, so she asked me to paint our north ones. I got to sand and varnish windows, paint my bedroom door (which I didn't need), she asked me to scrape and paint the porch floor, the railing and the spindles on the railing, and she's asked me to paint some benches.
I wanted to rip out the walls in the old bathroom, I want to rip out the ceiling in my living room. I'm pretty sure I could do it. Yeah, I'd have to be careful around the corners where the ceiling meets the wall with the old wallpaper and stuff, but it's not that hard. Why pay someone else when I could do it (especially after she's all wary of people being in the house when we're not here).

GUYS GET ALL THE FUN STUFF :(

Friday, October 17, 2008

How annoying is this? I listen to a radio station that usually has 80's Friday Nights, from 7:00pm until Midnight. I look forward to Friday night all week for these. Now, I find out, they changed it so it only goes until 10:00PM. Now, they have some talk program about what's going on in "stars" lives. Like that's any better than relaxing to great music destressing from the week. As if I give a damn about movie stars lives.

2 Annoyances and 1 good thing in my life

I may be upgrading something in my life soon. I'll let you all know when I get it.

UGH!! My dad just called asking if I wanted to earn some money, when I asked doing what, he said cleaning up leaves. Apparently they got a quote from someone else and decided I could earn that much doing it. Thank you sooo very much for thinking of me, but no thanks. Which is pretty much what I said, to which he replied, when do you want to work on it. I'm so glad my word means nothing to my parents. It's really nice to know.

Also, I had decided to go with them to Hawaii this winter, but since the stock market sucks so much, we're not going anymore. Paying for 4 people to go down there is pretty expensive, I bet paying for 3 people to go to Rome last year was pretty expensive too, and going on a cruise 2 years ago in July for 2 people was pretty expensive too, but you guys didn't think that much in the future about money. So, when I finally decide to go on vacation with you, we can't do it.

Tuesday, October 07, 2008

All night long

Here's a question for y'all, do you get nervous talking to really hott people?

So, I'm on a bread pudding kick. I love bread pudding, and some of the restaurants that have it here, are cutting it out of their menu, so I decided that in order to really get good pudding, I'd have to make it myself, I've been saying that for a couple months. Well, my grandmother's 90-something birthday party is on Sunday, and when we were planning it out in September, I said I'd make bread pudding and bring it. My mother said I needed to try 3 recipes and figure out the best one. I made one recipe a couple weeks after that, and got all bummed that it didn't turn out too well. Sunday, mom brings me 3 more recipes and a gift card to Fareway for $25.00. I looked at all my recipes, decided what I needed and went and bought stuff today.
I made a 2nd attempt today, and barely got it out of the oven before I had to run off to work. I did taste it, and it tasted pretty good even without the Rum sauce they suggest serving it with. I also prepared a 3rd one and it's waiting in my fridge to be cooked when I get home.

I'm gonna post the recipes on here, so other people can enjoy them. I'm also gonna tell you what went wrong (it's a given something will go wrong, it always does when I'm cooking)

FIRST ATTEMPT:

Cinnamon Peach Bread Pudding

8 slices white bread
1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon margarine
2 Tablespoons peach spreadable fruit spread
1 1/3 cups skim milk
2 eggs
2 Tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Toast bread. Spread with margarine and peach spreadable fruit. Cube bread. Pour skim milk into 4-cup glass measure. Scald, but DO NOT BOIL MILK in microwave about 4 to 7 minutes on HIGH. Let cool. In a large bowl, stir eggs with a wire whisk. Add sugar, cinnamon and vanilla extrat. Stir in scalded milk. Mix well to combine. Add bread. Mix well. Let set about 10 minutes for bread to absorb milk. Pour into an 8-by-8 inch microwave-safe baking dish. Bake at 50% or MEDIUM power in microwave for about 10 minutes.
(from Healthy Exchanges Cookbook by JoAnna M. Lund, page 187)


I felt that peach should not go with bread pudding, so I eliminated that. By doing that, the pudding was a little bland. Kevin suggested I dump some apple pie filling in the next recipe, so I bought some.

SECOND ATTEMPT:
Donut Bread Pudding

1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
2 (4 1/2-ounce) cans fruit cocktail, with their juice
2 eggs, beaten
Pinch salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
24 donuts, cut into cubes (recommended: Krispuy Kreme)
Butter Rum Sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all ingredients except for the donut cubes and Butter Rum Sauce. Add the donut cubes and toss until they have absorbed as much of the liquid as possible. Pour the mixture into a casserole dish and bake for one hour. Serve with Butter Rum Sauce.
Butter Rum Sauce
1 stick butter
1 (1 pound) box confectioners' sugar
Dark Rum

In a saucepan, melt butter and gradually stir in the confectioner's sugar. Add rum and heat until bubbly. Pour over each serving of Donut Bread Pudding.
(from the food network, Paula Deen's recipe)

For this one, I used a store brand donuts, it still tastes good. But I found that 24 donuts were too many, by the time I got 12 donuts cubed and into my mixing bowl, all the liquid had been soaked up. Like I said, I haven't made the rum sauce yet, but looking at the recipe now, I wonder how much rum I'm supposed to put in.

THIRD ATTEMPT:
Rum Raisin Bread Pudding

3 cups milk
3 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons rum
1/2 cup raisins
7 (1/2-inch) slices brioche bread, cubed or torn
4 eggs, beaten

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large saucepan, add milk, butter, vanilla, cinnamon, brown sugar, rum and raisins and heat until war. simmer and stir until sugar dissolves. Into a large bowl add the cubed bread and pour in the hot milk mixture. Let sit for 30 minutes so the bread absorbs the milk. Add the beaten eggs to the bread and milk mixture and stir. Pour bread pudding into a buttered 1 1/2 quart baking dish and bake for 50 minutes.

(from food network, The Neely's recipe)

This one is sitting in my fridge waiting to be baked, I wonder if that will make the bread really soggy. HMMM. I learned to mix the ingredients first and then warm them on the stove, because that rum really boils over.

Saturday, September 27, 2008

It's gonna end

It's so sad to see a show go into the ground. I was all ok to see the end of Supernatural with Dean being eaten by Hell hounds at the end of last season (ok, not OK, but I could handle the end, it kinda seemed fitting), but now that an "angel" has pulled him out of Hell because of the coming war between Lucifer and God, I know this show's gonna be ending soon.
When you add a war between good and bad, the show always goes to hell. I used to watch Joan of Arcadia and when they injected in the guy that was supposed to be against God and that a war was coming with Joan being the leader of the "troops", that show didn't come back for another season.
And Tru Calling when we decide there's an alternate force whose trying to keep the people dead, when Tru is trying to save them, and it ultimately becomes a war between them, that show came back for a very short 2nd season, I know it's on DVD but I've never seen it. It sure didn't last long after creating the War Between Good And Evil.
It never works, and it really sucks to watch as people ruin a show.
We all know I love those boys and that sweet Impala, but I guess I'm gonna have to find me a good job (working on it) and buy all 3 seasons on DVD, cause that's the only way I'm gonna be able to see them soon.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Accessories for life

Taken from the book: Swim Naked, Defy Gravity & 99 other Essential Things to Accomplis Before Turning 30. by Colleen Rush

For the ladies: how many things have you done before turning 30 (or whatever age you are now)? I've bolded the ones I've done (good thing I have 5 years to get the rest done).

Swim naked.
Break all of your parents’ arbitrary rules.
Grow something.
Dump toxic friends.
Speak a foreign language.
Buy a kick-ass mattress.
Draw and frame a self-portrait.
Stop chronic over-apologizing.
Create your own sisterhood.
Travel solo.
Develop a Plan B.
Know your friends’ family tree.
Embrace your inner eight-year-old.
Read: Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom by Christiane Northrup, M.D.
Build a raging campfire.
Make the first move.
Know the other mouth-to-mouth.
Be your own muse.
Master a signature recipe.
Quit something.
Find the perfect red lipstick.
Negotiate for something expensive.
Google yourself.
Hold your booze.
Track down your best friend from kindergarten.
Masturbate.
Write a complaint letter.
Claim your granny panties.
Make brownies from scratch.
Exercise the words “like” and “you know” from your vocabulary.
Find your religion.
Write thank-you notes for everything.
Perfect you’re A.M. stretch.
Declare your birthday a national holiday.
Stock an emergency disaster kit.
Accept compliments.
Minimize pointless drama.
Unplug your TV for awhile.
Dye your hair an outrageous color.
Invest in seriously frivolous undies.
Own your mistakes.
Take your hobby more seriously than your job.
Talk to strangers.
Get health insurance.
Hook up something high tech by yourself.
Live through a blind date.
Be a gracious guest.
Escape creeps and kick criminal ass.
Invest in earplugs.
Lose your virginity. Again.
Know your blood type.
Confront someone who’s done you wrong.
Walk in heels.
Write a body manifesto.
Watch the sun rise and set on the same day by yourself.
Disagree. Out loud.
Memorize your ring size.
Have a mantra.
Research your family’s medical history.
Do it somewhere risky.
Open a bottle of champagne.
Make more money than you spend.
be a nudist for a day.
Adopt an awkward teenager.
Eat soy.
Dress for longevity.
Kick one habit.
Defy gravity.
(meaning get a great bra)
Own a cashmere sweater.
Use a great dermo.
Get over yourself.
Sleep in a hammock.
Own a toolbox with all the basics.
Jettison your “skinny” jeans.
Collect correspondence with friends.
Get a massage.
Memorize your favorite smells. Surround yourself with them.
Fall in love (or lust) without blowing off your friends.
Dub the “Greatest Hits” from your childhood.
Care about where your food comes from.
Fly first class.
Cultivate your own style.
Carry something to read, a notebook, and a pen at all times.
Forgive your parents.
Be a dork.
Stop slamming other women.
Get waxed down there.
Adopt another motherland.
Tell someone your deepest darkest secret.
Make a killer cocktail.
Read your old diaries.
Tie a few knots.
Have your fortune told.
Cry often.
Give yourself flowers.
Stop looking for a soul mate.
Give props to a teacher.
Learn how not to be a flake.
Give yourself a make-under.
Be notorious for something.
Bounce back.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

I need a little help here...

I hate my feet. Most people have one foot slightly larger than the other, mine are like that, only my right foot is a whole size larger than my left foot. So, I have to buy shoes in 8's, I was wondering if anyone knew of anyway (other than buying a 7 and and 8 size shoe) that I could help my left foot not be so small in size 8 shoes.
I've been looking for flats, because as I'm working constantly at the games store, I was hoping for a selection of shoes in the winter other than my black dressyish boots. So, I bought a pair of really cute blue flats yesterday at Walmart. My problem (ok I have more than one) they're wide, my feet are pretty narrow. That isn't quite a big deal for my bigger foot, by my smaller foot just slides around in the shoe. I've tried heavier socks, and other than wearing a big heavy wool sock on the smaller foot that doesn't help. I'm considering going back and buying the same shoe in size 7 for the smaller foot, because they are soo cute.

Monday, September 22, 2008

Question

If you overheard a cop saying this, what would your reaction be?

"Drunk people are going to drive, and they're going to get into crashes, and they're going to kill people, and there's nothing we can do about that"

(No a direct quote, overheard by someone who heard someone else reiterating a story)

I must complain.

I know it probably won't make any difference to the higher-up people on the channel for one lowly TV viewer to stop watching, but I'm still complaining.

On most evenings, I have to work at 5pm, so I sit and watch a half hour of Reba on KCWI before leaving for work at 4:30, but today, they massively, changed their schedule. I have no desire to watch The Wayans Brothers. So, I commented on their website and told them I wouldn't be watching them in my free time anymore. Screw it, I don't have to watch the crappy movies on Saturday afternoons, or the random show on any given day of the week. I will only be tuning in for 3 shows now. Hell, I may even just watch my shows online, but not through their website.
That's the first time I actually go so pissed at a channel that I complained. But I guess we just don't wanna continue the good-natured humor of Reba in the afternoon. Oh well, it won't take much for me not to watch TV. I might get some things done in my life.

Oh, and please cross your fingers that I get this Executive Secretary job with the Correctional Department here.

Sunday, September 21, 2008

I don't like to hear I'm wrong when I'm right

This morning, I would've asked y'all what the deal was with guys and guns. Well, Kevin took me shooting this afternoon, now I get it. I'm not quite as gung-ho as he is, but I get why it's so cool.
He went to a gun show in DM yesterday and bought himself an AR15, so he was giddy all last night and today. So me, him, and his roommate went out shooting today. I got to shoot his roommate's .22 and that got me all giddy, especially after hitting a clothespin after aiming at it the first time. I also got to shoot through a couple shotgun shells, unfortunately I got those after about 4 shoots, but I'm still excited about it. I wish I had taken my camera and gotten a picture of me shooting. I also asked Kevin if I could have one for Christmas (have to hide that from my mom, I'd probably get kicked out of the house for having a gun).
So, yeah, it was a good day. (And if anyone's thinking about breaking into Kevin's house, he is VERY heavily armed)

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Remember

Never Forget
Let's not forget the 2,974 people who died in the attacks.

Tuesday, September 02, 2008

Welcome to the party

So, last week was busy as hell. Worked 8 - 4 at the book store, and then Tues, Thurs and Fri worked 5-8 at the games store. Got off from the book store, hurried across the street, caught the bus, got off by the games store, bought my pop, went into the back of the games store, changed my clothes, ate my supper and had about half hour break before working the 3 hours.
I was beyond tired every night after getting home. Saturday I slept in til 10AM, which for me is majorly sleeping in. I liked the work, don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed it, it was just really tiring. Sure didn't like getting up at 6:30 every day, catching the 7:45 bus and getting to work where it was dead for about 1.5 hrs, but I really enjoyed working there. On Friday, the credit/debit service went down, so we were just running people through who were paying with cash and check. Then to reboot the system, we shut all the registers down (there's about 15 in the whole store) and were working on one register in the whole store. It was a portable register and was on a totally different system. It was like that for about 45 minutes. Personally I thought it was fun, no one else shared my sentiment.

Yesterday, being Labor Day, both Kevin and I were off, so we went to see the windmill farm, those wind things are HUGE. Then we went over to the Ledges and wandered through there. The road's still closed as they haven't scraped off the road, it's covered in 2-3 inches of mud at least all on the bottom road. It was interesting to see what had been cleared away by the flooding and how the creek had changed.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

I don't think you know

I got the job at the bookstore, and I'm ecstatically happy about it.
I have magnetic poetry on my door (it's a steel door), and sometimes I like to put messages up where I hope certain people will find them. Last night, I stuck the message up "my ma thinks I'm a failure" today she came up and talked to me about going to Okoboji (I won't be going this year because of jobs), money (typical) though she wasn't yelling about me about the porch floor (thank God), surprisingly. Anyways, after she left my dad came up wanting me to look at some things with him, so after locking my door to go downstairs, I notice my mom changed the message to "u must expect from yourself! failure never" What the hell does she know about what I expect? I expect stuff from myself and I meet those expectations, but I guess since I don't expect the same things that she does, I don't expect anything from myself. What the hell does she even know about me? It's not like she takes the time to learn about me, and when I do share things, it always seems she's got some way to knock those things down, or put me down.
Now, I'm pretty sure she doesn't think I'm a failure, but if she would act toward me that she doesn't that would be really nice. Following my brother, who got out of college in 4 years (I took 4.5) knew exactly what he wanted when he went in (I was accepted into the Design College, switched to the Business College before starting, and ended up getting a Bachelor of Science in Criminology and Sociology from the Liberal Arts and Sciences College), got himself a great paying job when he got done (I still haven't), is living on the 19th floor of an apartment building in Chicago with a view of the lake (I'm renting from my parents), making nice money (I'm barely making enough to pay my bills), and knows what he wants to do with his life if he doesn't he's sure putting up a nice facade (me I have no idea and I show it every day). I'd love for my parents to harp on him about not having a girlfriend, and praise me for having a boyfriend (and someone I would love to spend the rest of my life with, they don't know that part though). But I never hear anything bad about him, all the disappointment is about my life and my lack of a job and my lack of money.
If I went their direction, and stayed in business and somehow made the grades to graduate and get a good job, I guarantee I would be very miserable, I wouldn't have met Kevin (I know that for sure), and he is a huge part of why I'm happy with my life.
I love telling people that I don't care what my mom thinks, but it still hurts when I let her down (if I didn't truly care, it wouldn't make a difference). I think somewhere deep down I really do want to please my mom, actually I know I do, as much as I love to say I don't. I wish someday she could tell me she's proud of me, but those words are few and very far between, I don't think I've heard it since I graduated college, and before that I don't know. And that hurts.
I've been listening to Hate Me by Blue October a lot lately (partly cause I bought the download on Amazon not so long ago), and I realize some of it explains how I feel about my mom. Bolded parts are what i relate to

Hate Me
by Blue October

I have to block out thoughts of you so I don’t lose my head
They crawl in like a cockroach leaving babies in my bed
Dropping little reels of tape to remind me that I’m alone
Playing movies in my head that make a porno feel like home
There's a burning in my pride, a nervous bleeding in my brain
An ounce of peace is all I want for you. Will you never call again?
And will you never say that you love me just to put it in my face?
And will you never try to reach me?
It is I that wanted space

Hate me today
Hate me tomorrow
Hate me for all the things I didn't do for you
Hate me in ways
Yeah ways hard to swallow
Hate me so you can finally see what’s good for you

I’m sober now for 3 whole months it’s one accomplishment that you helped me with
The one thing that always tore us apart is the one thing I won’t touch again
In a sick way I want to thank you for holding my head up late at night
While I was busy waging wars on myself, you were trying to stop the fight
You never doubted my warped opinions on things like suicidal hate
You made me compliment myself when it was way too hard to take
So I’ll drive so fucking far away that I never cross your mind
And do whatever it takes in your heart to leave me behind

Hate me today
Hate me tomorrow
Hate me for all the things I didn’t do for you
Hate me in ways
Yeah ways hard to swallow
Hate me so you can finally see what’s good for you

And with a sad heart I say bye to you and wave
Kicking shadows on the street for every mistake that I had made
And like a baby boy I never was a man
Until I saw your blue eyes cry and I held your face in my hand
And then I fell down yelling “Make it go away!”
Just make a smile come back and shine just like it used to be
And then she whispered “How can you do this to me?”

Hate me today
Hate me tomorrow
Hate me for all the things I didn’t do for you
Hate me in ways
Yeah ways hard to swallow
Hate me so you can finally see what’s good for you
For you
For you
For you

Friday, August 08, 2008

in ways hard to swallow

I was watching Dr. Phil the other day, and something he said so applies to my mother. The show was focusing on spouses that abuse their larger spouse. And they were all calling the other one degrading names because they were fat, and they kept saying they were encouring them to lose weight. Dr. Phil said that if what they were doing wasn't encouring the spouse, maybe they needed to change their tactics. That applies to my mother, I think she thinks she's encouraging me to find a job by whining at me about jobs and money, and maybe she needs to realize that she should back up and let me deal with it. She also has me doing random things around the house, and she has the tendency to check my work at the end of the day (or at random times), and then she goes back and do more at it. Like right now, I'm scraping and painting the porch. Well last week, she kept checking every day and scraping (on the most weathered piece of wood on the porch that's going to continue to peel until the end of time) and then she went and painted part of it, and whined at me cause I actually had other things to do. Now today when I get home from the library she's out there scraping away on it (on the other very weathered pieces of wood). DAMN!! I wish I had money.

I know too much

I'm loving Flashpoint. I've found out it's hard to watch a cop show when I know so much about law enforcement, so then if they do something different than what I know, I don't think it's realistic and I'm always critiquing the show. With Flashpoint, I have no idea what it's like to be on SRT or SWAT (or ERT like it is here), so I don't know what procedure is and I don't know if they're doing it right or wrong. TV shows are so much more enjoyable when I don't know much about what it's about. Like Bones, I don't know much about forensic anthropologists or FBI agents, so the less I know the more enjoyable a show is for me. Course that also kinda sucks, because I loved Third Watch when it was on TV, at least it's a mix of police, paramedics and firefighters, so that will help, but I'm afraid if I go buy it on DVD and rewatch it, like I did with 21 Jump Street, I'll point out things that don't really happen and will ruin the show for me. Like when I watched Category 6: Day of Destruction with Kevin, he kept pointing out things that were wrong and it ruined the movie for me. (I'm never watching Twister with him).
It's kinda weird that the less you know about some things the better it is.

Wednesday, August 06, 2008

I hate my mother. Plain and simple. It's 9:00AM and I'm seriously thinking about going and getting drunk because she pissed me off so much this morning.
I'm very glad I got this job because now I won't get to go on the family vacation and listen to her whine to me about money and shove it in my face how much I could buy and what they are buying for me because I don't have money.
Thank you mother for making my life hell right now, when I have enough things to deal with. I shouldn't have to worry about you on my ass all the time. I know I need to find a job and start making money, I know you don't need what you're proposing to me. I know you're just being the bitch you always are and are doing your best to upset me, because that's what you do.

Thursday, July 31, 2008

My mother's driving me nuts. Nothing new there, right?
Anyways, I'm scraping and painting the porch for her (she keeps saying I'm staining it, but I agree with Kevin, if I have to scrape it off, I'm painting it), and every day she comes out and rubs her finger on the wood, and if even a miniscule sliver of paint comes off, she decides I haven't scraped it enough. It's a porch, it sits out in the annoyingly hot weather (god awful humid lately) it's been rained on lately, and just normal wear and tear makes it so it keeps flaking. SO IT'S GONNA FLAKE ESPECIALLY IF YOU RUB ON THE PARTICULARLY WEATHERED SPOTS.
I just looked at the weather and it might rain. Crossing my fingers that it will, beause then the porch will be too wet to paint.

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Good News

Just an update for y'all. Got me a job at a Games store here (and as before, I WILL NOT blog about work), tomorrow have an interview at a bookstore (crossing my fingers majorly for this one), they will both be part time. And in case anyone is wondering, when dropped a porcelain plate shatters (or at least the one I did, will, course it's about 10 years old)

Sunday, July 27, 2008

But what's my purpose?

For The Money by Montgomery Gentry

Ah, let me tell you a little story about my family

Daddy almost made a living with eighty acres and a plow
He could've bought that place twice over working for someone in town
Ah, but you should've seen him in his fields at harvest time
He'd swear the gates of heaven opened and he was standing first in line

You can't be in it for the money
Money comes and money goes
You can't be in it for the money
Oh, you got to satisfy your soul

I grabbed the world when I turned eighteen
I turned it over and I shook it hard
I filled my pockets up with money
But it burned a hole right through my heart

You can't be in it for the money
Money comes and money goes
You can't be in it for the money
Oh, you got to satisfy your soul

You know everybody's got a purpose
From mending bones to tending farms
You might say that I found mine
When I wrap my hands around this guitar

And I still wonder if I'm crazy
Trying to bring a dream to life
But I look forward to tomorrow
And I sleep pretty good at night

You can't be in it for the money
Money comes and money goes
You can't be in it for the money
Oh, you got to satisfy your soul

You can't be in it for the money
You can't be in it for the money

Nice to know the US Media doesn't consider this news

Winning Isn't News
By INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY Posted Monday, July 07, 2008 4:20 PM PT
Iraq: What would happen if the U.S. won a war but the media didn't tell the American public? Apparently, we have to rely on a British newspaper for the news that we've defeated the last remnants of al-Qaida in Iraq.
---------------------------------------------------------------
London's Sunday Times called it "the culmination of one of the most spectacular victories of the war on terror." A terrorist force that once numbered more than 12,000, with strongholds in the west and central regions of Iraq, has over two years been reduced to a mere 1,200 fighters, backed against the wall in the northern city of Mosul.
The destruction of al-Qaida in Iraq (AQI) is one of the most unlikely and unforeseen events in the long history of American warfare. We can thank President Bush's surge strategy, in which he bucked both Republican and Democratic leaders in Washington by increasing our forces there instead of surrendering.
We can also thank the leadership of the new general he placed in charge there, David Petraeus, who may be the foremost expert in the world on counter-insurgency warfare. And we can thank those serving in our military in Iraq who engaged local Iraqi tribal leaders and convinced them America was their friend and AQI their enemy.
Al-Qaida's loss of the hearts and minds of ordinary Iraqis began in Anbar Province, which had been written off as a basket case, and spread out from there.
Now, in Operation Lion's Roar the Iraqi army and the U.S. 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment is destroying the fraction of terrorists who are left. More than 1,000 AQI operatives have already been apprehended.
Sunday Times reporter Marie Colvin, traveling with Iraqi forces in Mosul, found little AQI presence even in bullet-ridden residential areas that were once insurgency strongholds, and reported that the terrorists have lost control of its Mosul urban base, with what is left of the organization having fled south into the countryside.
Meanwhile, the State Department reports that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government has achieved "satisfactory" progress on 15 of the 18 political benchmarks - a big change for the better from a year ago.
Things are going so well that Maliki has even for the first time floated the idea of a timetable for withdrawal of American forces. He did so while visiting the United Arab Emirates, which over the weekend announced that it was forgiving almost $7 billion of debt owed by Baghdad - an impressive vote of confidence from a fellow Arab state in the future of a free Iraq.
But where are the headlines and the front-page stories about all this good news? As the Media Research Center pointed out last week, "the CBS Evening News, NBC Nightly News and CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 were silent Tuesday night about the benchmarks" that signaled political progress.
The war in Iraq has been turned around 180 degrees both militarily and politically because the president stuck to his guns. Yet apart from IBD, Fox News Channel and parts of the foreign press, the media don't seem to consider this historic event a big story.

Friday, July 18, 2008

Hello hotties

I'm watching Flashpoint tonight (right now), and something really bothers me. The dad in the hospital grabs the cop's gun, but if this show was realistic, he wouldn't have been able to do that, because cop's gun holsters have this little strap that snaps over the handle of their gun and prevents things like that from happening. EDIT: Kevin has informed me that if the cop has a crappy cheap holster, there wouldn't be a strap, and that it has happened because of that. (I hate being wrong, but I will admit it)
Another thing that bothers me is they show the scenario they're in (the SRU guys) right at the beginning, and then they rewind to how their day starts (person that starts the scenario and SRU guys day).
And, Goddess failed to mention how HOTT the SRU guys look in their uniform. You'd think that would be the first sentence on her blog.

Monday, July 14, 2008

Trying to make it on my own

I'm meeting with a business coach to figure out what my passion is and what I really want to do with my life. This week I had to fill out some worksheets: my ideal day, week, and year.
This is all I could come up with:
My ideal day
Waking up naturally and not to the buzzing of an alarm clock.
If I wake up early, not having to be anywhere/do anything extremely important (where I have to do deep thinking) until 10 AM.
Doing something to make a difference in someone's life and actually witness their joy/pleasure in doing that.
Working with my hands.
Wearing something that I'm comfortable in, whether it be causal or a little dressy.
I'd love to work in an office, most likely a small one where I'm interacting with the same 5 or 6 people daily.
I'd need some place to work away from home that doesn't have the distractions of TV or the mess of my house, but I'd need to be able to listen to music at least sometime during my day.
I'd like a 10-6 day then after having a half hour for supper, go and cart/shelve books as a volunteer at the library for a couple hours.
I'd want to end my work day about 8, so I could spend the rest of the day (2 or 3 hours) cuddling/hanging out with my boyfriend/friends.

My ideal week:
Monday:
No work. The day when I get all my errand done when businesses are open. The day I go to the post office at the beginning of each month for my collageatc's group, as well as mailing anything I sell online.
When I go to the grocery store, but don't have a set agenda for what I'm buying (when I get to treat myself)

Saturday:
When I make my trek to the bank and the grocery store with my list. Also when I have lists of things to get at other stores

Sunday:
My lazy day to spend doing something physical outside with my boyfriend

My ideal year:
Summer:
To go to my condo in Arnold's Park with my boyfriend for a week, relaxing.

Winter:
Not being in a place where I have to shovel the sidewalks.


What are some of your ideal days, weeks, or years?

Saturday, July 12, 2008

If I could walk on water

I hate my life.
My phone rang this morning, I'm in the living room, it's in the bedroom, but I knew the only person that would be calling me would be my mother, and she'd be pissed cause I ignored the 2 calls from my father yesterday. I didn't see the point of going in to see what the message was about, so I'm expecting my mom to come pounding up the stairs and yell at me. When I did go to check my message, she was saying how she had a window for me to get started work on, and that she wanted to deal with my light bulbs in the kitchen (they're those big long flourescents and they went out a couple weeks ago, my mom thinks its the light bulbs, Kevin says its the ballasts, I'm more apt to believe Kevin, I'd love for my mom to buy new light bulbs and then have them not work), I don't know why she's so bothered by the fact they don't work, she's not living up here, she doesn't use them, hell I don't even use them.
I hate not having money. I spent all the money my parents gave me for my birthday on bills and I'm pretty much back where I was before I deposited it, and I have more bills coming up on the 15th. I'm guessing I'll be walking down to Target today and applying there. I just wish every job that I applied for hired me. I may not really want the jobs, but I don't show that when I go in to the interviews. I hate this, I know it's part of the job process, but this is the first time (ok 2nd) that I've applied for jobs, gone through the interview process and not been guaranteed the job. Honestly I have no idea how I've lasted this long without a constant income.
I wish I could just leave and never come back here. If I didn't have Kevin, I'd seriously look into leaving here. I know I've loved living here, and it works great for me, but pair the tension of my parents and not having a job, it's really getting to me.

Wednesday, July 09, 2008

It's like rain on your wedding date

Stolen from Rain

5 jobs I've had:
1. Paper Carrier
2. Gift Wrapper
3. Office Assistant
4. Librarian
5. Ticket Taker

5 movies I can watch over & over:
1. The Rock
2. The Blues Brothers
3. Ghostrider
4. Easy Rider
5. 44 Minutes

5 places I've lived:
1. Here
2. Across the street from Here
3. Downstairs from here

5 TV shows I love:
1. Supernatural
2. Cops
3. Animal Cops
4. Men In Trees
5. Bones

5 places I've been on vacation:
1. Okoboji, IA
2. Washington, D.C.
3. Arizona
4. Connecticut
5. Florida

5 of my favorite meals:
1. Steak
2. Pizza
3. Faux Mexican
4. Club Sandwich
5. Chicken and Rice Casserole

5 websites I visit daily:
1. Hotmail email
2. Go comics
3. Gmail Email
4. Etsy
5. Bloglines

5 places I'd rather be now:
1. In bed
2. Okoboji
3. In Kevin's arms
4. In the country
5. Somewhere else fun?

What's your favorite Dr. Seuss book?
The Lorax

If you could live in any home on a television series, what would it be?
No idea

What's the longest you've gone without sleep?
23 hrs

What's your favorite Barry Manilow song?
I don't listen to him

Who's your favorite Muppet?
Kermit

What's the habit you're proudest of breaking?
No idea

What's your favorite Web site?
No favorite

What's your favorite school supply?
Folders

Who's your favorite TV attorney?
I don't watch shows with attorneys

What was your most recent trip of more than 50 miles?
probably to Vinton, IA for Mother's Day

What's the best bargain you've ever found at a garage sale or thrift store?
No idea

Where were you on September 11, 2001?
Making paper in my 2-D art class

What's your favorite tree?
Ginkgo

What's the most interesting biography you've read?
I haven't read a lot of biographies and I don't remember the ones I read

What do you order when you eat Chinese food?
I generally go to the Chinese buffet here, but I always order crab rangoon wherever I go

What's the best costume you've ever worn?
I was a ladybug one year

What's your least favorite word?
No idea

If you had to be named after one of the 50 states, which would it be?
Carolina

Who's your favorite Care Bear?
Sunshine Bear

Describe something that's happened to you for which you have no explanation.
No idea

If you could travel anywhere in Africa, where would it be?
No idea

What did you have for lunch yesterday?
I believe I had chocolate or I forgot to eat lunch

Where do you go for advice?
L, or Kevin, or Karli

Which do you use more often, the dictionary or the thesaurus?
Neither

Have you ever been snorkeling? Scuba diving?
No

Have you ever been stung by a bee?
No Idea

What's the sickest you've ever been?
Most likely when I had my kidney stone

What's your favorite form of exercise?
Walking or biking with Kevin

What's your favorite Cyndi Lauper song?
Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

What did you do for your 13th birthday?
No idea

Are you afraid of heights?
Nope

Have you ever taken dance lessons?
Other than a section in my gym class in high school, no

What's your favorite newspaper?
I don't read the paper

What's your favorite Broadway musical?
I don't know if it's a musical but, The Lion King

What's the most memorable class you've ever taken?
2-D art in HS, made the piece that earned me $50 in the senior art show and a purple ribbon in 4-H that year

What's your favorite knock-knock joke?
Anything on The Prarie Home Companion Joke Show

What's your favorite commercial?
Pedigree's We're For Dogs Commercials

If you could go to Disney World with any celebrity alive today, who would it be?
No idea

Do you prefer baths or showers?
Baths, but I rarely take one

Does your chewing gum lose its flavor on the bedpost overnight?
Eeew! I throw my gum away when I take it out of my mouth

What's your favorite breakfast food?
Blintzes (crepes filled with cottage cheese and sour cream, they sound gross, but they're really good)

Who's your favorite game show host?
Guy who plays Al in Tool Time, he used to host Family Feud

If you could have a super power, what would it be?
invisibility

Do you like guacamole?
It's ok

Have you ever been in a food fight?
No

Name five songs to which you know all the lyrics. (Better yet, sing them.)
1. Wanted Dead or Alive by Bon Jovi
2. I hope by The Dixie Chicks
3. Hell Yeah by Montgomery Gentry
4. Never Again by Nickelback
5. Hicktown by Jason Aldean

What's your favorite infomercial?
Anything about food

What's the longest you've ever waited in line?
2 hours

What's on the cover of your address book or day planner?
Blue

Have you ever taken a picture in one of those little booths?
No


This year my birthday wasn't nearly as fun as last year, course it was in the middle of the week this year. Let's see, woke up and found a sweet happy birthday voicemail from Kevin on my phone, did my online morning stuff, went to the library, met up with Loretta and her daughter Kim, and puppies, went to Hastings, went to McDonalds for Ice cream, went to park with puppies, got to open my present from them (Harley Davidson mesh shirt, frog holding bath salts), came home watched TV, Kevin came over and we went to Applebee's and I got to open my presents from him (matchbox cop cars, flamin' bicycle helmet) went to SuperWalmart so he could buy me a cute dress, went to bed. On Thurs mom, dad and I went to The Spice, came home opened gifts from them ($, Little Bit of Life by Craig Morgan, Lost Highway by Bon Jovi). Afterwards, Kevin called me and we tried to go to some fireworks, but we were too late for the night.
Friday: got up, sent Kevin to work, went to the Pancake breakfast with mom and dad, went to parade, went to Reiman Gardens (their theme was fairy tales, their conservatory was set up like Peter Pan, and part of the outdoor gardens had Moby Dick icons made out of sticks), went to Pancheros, met Kevin for supper/lunch/snack, went to Cold Stone Creamery, Kevin and I went to Target, went fishing (he fished, I walked around the lake and caught grasshoppers for him to fish with), ate supper, went to fireworks.
It was an ok week, made better hanging out with Kevin.

Wednesday, July 02, 2008

Happy Birthday to Me

This is it, I'm officially an adult. I've passed the last landmark to be an adult: 16 - get your driver's license, 18 - vote, 21 - drink, and now 25 - insurance changes and I can rent a car.

No giant plans here. Last night my brother came up and we went to Applebee's for supper and Hickory Park for dessert, I got a Target gift card from him (I just wish I could convert it into cash, that would do so much better for me at the moment). I'm getting together with Loretta today after I finish at the library, and tomorrow my parents and I are going out to supper for my mom's and my birthdays (hers is tomorrow)

And yesterday was HAPPY NO MORE SMOKING IN BARS AND RESTAURANTS IN IOWA Day!!!! If you can't tell, I'm pretty happy.

A question for my female readers: I bought a cute white shirt the other day, only problem, it's very see-through. So, do I layer it with another shirt undeneath, or do I just walk around with my bra showing? Thoughts would be nice.

Friday, June 20, 2008

I wish you good luck in whatever you do

So, I have some of my ATC's at the Ankeny Art Center (that link on that page takes you to a photo contest, I sure hope they're gonna fix that), and I told my mom I'd help her out with an ATC sewing workshop tomorrow. She calls me up last night and asks what I'm doing tomorrow night (tonight), and I said making ATC's for the swap (they're also doing a swap with the artists tomorrow), and then she complains that she needs me to help her organize for this workshop cause it's the last minute, and I said that I didn't know what she was doing. She said well you never took an interest in it. I told her I'd help out with this workshop a few weeks ago, and she never brought it up again, and somehow it's my fault???? So, now I'm seriously debating whether I really want to go along with her tomorrow (I believe I will end up doing it, because I did tell her I'd help, but being in the car for 30+ minutes there and back with a grumpy mom is not so fun).
And in this same phone call, she asks how far I'm on this 2nd set of windows (see earlier post), and I told her I hadn't been home all day, and then she proceeds to complain, saying I had to have time in there. If I didn't have to do them, I wouldn't, but I don't really have a choice.

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Stop don't stare

And the countdown has begun: 6 days, 7 hours and 43 minutes.
Found in this week's Sgt Grit Newsletter:
Sgt Grit, I found this on www.downrange.tv a forum for shooters and gun owners Thomas B.
The USMC in Afghanistan.....
This provides a little insight into the modern Marine Corps fighting terrorists. This is from a Reconnaissance Marine currently in Afghanistan. He talks like a Marine in the field- and he is worthy of our thoughts and prayers as are all of our military deployed in some God-forsaken place.
It's freezing here. I'm sitting on hard, cold dirt between rocks and shrubs at the base of the Hindu Kush mountains along the Dar 'yoi Pomir River watching a hole that leads to a tunnel that leads to a cave. Stake out, my friend, and no pizza delivery for thousands of miles.
I also glance at the area around my a$s every ten to fifteen seconds to avoid another scorpion sting. I've actually given up battling the chiggers and sand fleas, but them scorpions give a jolt like a cattle prod. Hurts like a b*stard.
The antidote tastes like transmission fluid but God bless the Marine Corps for the five vials of it in my pack.
The one truth the Taliban cannot escape is that, believe it or not, they are human beings, which means they have to eat food and drink water. That requires couriers and that's where an old bounty hunter like me comes in handy. I track the couriers, locate the tunnel entrances and storage facilities, type the info into the handheld, shoot the coordinates up to the satellite link that tells the air commanders where to drop the hardware, we bash some heads for a while, then I track and record the new movement.
It's all about intelligence. We haven't even brought in the snipers yet. These scurrying rats have no idea what they're in for. We are but days away from cutting off supply lines and allowing the eradication to begin.
I dream of Bin Laden waking up to find me standing over him with my boot on his throat as I spit a bloody ear into his face and plunge my nickel-plated Bowie knife through his frontal lobe. But you know me. I'm a romantic. I've said it before and Ill say it again: This country blows, man. It's not even a country. There are no roads, there's no infrastructure, there's no government. This is an inhospitable, rockpit, sh!thole ruled by eleventh century warring tribes. There are no jobs here like we know jobs.
Afghanistan offers two ways for a man to support his family: join the opium trade or join the army. That's it. Those are your options. Oh, I forgot, you can also live in a refugee camp and eat plum-sweetened, crushed beetle paste and squirt mud like a goose with stomach flu if that's your idea of a party. But the smell alone of those 'tent cities of the walking dead' is enough to hurl you into the poppy fields to cheerfully scrape bulbs for eighteen hours a day.
I've been living with these Tajiks and Uzbeks and Turkmen and even a couple of Pushtins for over a month and a half now and this much I can say for sure: These guys, all of em, are Huns. Actual, living Huns. They LIVE to fight. Its what they do. Its ALL they do.
They have no respect for anything, not for their families or for each other or for themselves. They claw at one another as a way of life. They play polo with dead calves and force their five- year-old sons into human cockfights to defend the family honor. Huns, roaming packs of savage, heartless beasts who feed on each others barbarism. Cavemen with AK 47's. Then again, maybe I'm just cranky.
I'm freezing my a$s off on this stupid hill because my lap warmer is running out of juice and I can't recharge it until the sun comes up in a few hours.
Oh yeah! You like to write letters, right? Do me a favor, Bizarre. Write a letter to CNN and tell Wolf and Anderson and that awful, sneering, pompous Aaron Brown to stop calling the Taliban 'smart.' They are not smart. I suggest CNN invest in a dictionary because the word they are looking for is 'cunning.' The Taliban are cunning, like jackals and hyenas and wolverines. They are sneaky and ruthless and, when confronted, cowardly. They are hateful, malevolent parasites who create nothing and destroy everything else. Smart. Pfft. Yeah, they're real smart.
They've spent their entire lives reading only one book (and not a very good one, as books go) and consider hygiene and indoor plumbing to be products of the devil. They're still figuring out how to work a Bic lighter. Talking to a Taliban warrior about improving his quality of life is like trying to teach an ape how to hold a pen; eventually he just gets frustrated and sticks you in the eye with it.
OK, enough. Snuffle will be up soon so I have to get back to my hole. Covering my tracks in the snow takes a lot of practice but I'm good at it. Please, I tell you and my fellow Americans to turn off the TV sets and move on with your lives.
The story line you are getting from CNN and other news agencies is utter bullsh!t and designed not to deliver truth but rather to keep you glued to the screen through the commercials. We've got this one under control. The worst thing you guys can do right now is sit around analyzing what we're doing over here because you have no idea what we're doing and, really, you don't want to know. We are your military and we are doing what you sent us here to do.
You wanna help? Buy Bonds America.
Saucy Jack
Semper Fidelis
ANSWERS to the astronomy quiz:
1. Since 1976 NASA has been landing spacecraft on which of the following planets?Mars NASA's Phoenix Lander just set down on Mars in May 2008. There were a number of prior missions, starting in the 1970s.


2. Which of the following is no longer considered a planet? Pluto In 2006, the General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union decided that Pluto didn't meet all the criteria for a planet. Now there are, officially, eight planets in our solar system: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.


3. What is considered essential for life on any planet? Liquid water The search for water is a major reason for the current mission to Mars, which is looking for evidence of water and other conditions that could have supported life.


4. What is a blue moon? The second full moon in a calendar month The expression "once in a blue moon" comes from the fact that blue moons are rare.


5. Which telescope is currently orbiting in space? NASA's Hubbell Space Telescope The Hubbell telescope is in orbit around Earth. The Mt. Palomar telescope is near San Diego, California, and the twin Keck telescopes are at the top of Mauna Kea, a dormant volcano in Hawaii.


6. A comet is made of which of the following materials? Ice and dust Comets have a head composed of dust and ice. They are often described as "dirty snowballs."


7. What is a constellation? Stars that just look like a pattern from Earth but may have no relationship to one another Constellations are named patterns of stars. Many cultures, including the Babylonians, Greeks, and Romans, named the patterns after animals and objects.


8. The Big Dipper is part of which constellation? Ursa Major (Big Bear) The tip of the Big Dipper's handle forms the Bear's nose! Even though the Big Dipper isn't a constellation, it's one of the most widely recognized configurations in the sky.


9. How many stars are believed to be in a galaxy? Millions, billions, or more stars A galaxy is a big system of stars, gas, dust, and other elements that are gravitationally bound to one another and travel together. It consists of millions, billions, or more stars.


10. Our solar system is in which galaxy? The Milky Way Our galaxy, the Milky Way, consists of about two hundred billion stars. The word galaxy derives from gala, the Greek word for milk.


11. Which constellation includes five stars that form the letter W? Cassiopeia Cassiopeia can be seen in the Northern Hemisphere near the North Star. In Greek mythology, Cassiopeia was Andromeda's mother.


12. Which planet is known as the "evening star"? Venus Venus, while a planet, is brighter than most stars, Sometimes it is visible after sunset. At other times it is visible before sunrise. Then it is called the "morning star."


13. What is a shooting star or falling star? A meteor The bright streak of light created when a piece of rock or metal falls to Earth is called a "meteor" or "shooting star." The light is caused by heat created from air friction.


14. In 1962, who became the first American to orbit Earth? John Glenn In 1962, John Glenn orbited Earth three times. In 1969, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin became the first people ever to walk on the Moon. In 1983, Sally Ride was the first woman to orbit Earth.

Kicking your ass would be a pleasure

See how much you know about astronomy. I will post the answers either: tomorrow (or next time I blog) OR when someone has comented with their answers.

1. Since 1976 NASA has been landing spacecraft on which of the following planets?
A. Mars
B. Saturn
C. Mercury

2. Which of the following is no longer considered a planet?
A. Earth
B. Jupiter
C. Pluto

3. What is considered essential for life on any planet?
A. Salt
B. Liquid water
C. Rock

4. What is a blue moon?
A. A moon that looks blue
B. A moon that appears sad from Earth
C. The second full moon in a calendar month

5. Which telescope is currently orbiting in space?
A. Mt. Palomar
B. Hubbell
C. Keck

6. A comet is made of which of the following materials?
A. Ice and dust
B. Flaming gas
C. Satellites

7. What is a constellation?
A. Stars that are close to one another
B. Stars that travel together
C. Stars that just look like a pattern from Earth but may have no relationship to one another

8. The Big Dipper is part of which constellation?
A. Ursa Major (Big Bear)
B. Ursa Minor (Little Bear)
C. Tres Ursae (Three Bears)

9. How many stars are believed to be in a galaxy?
A. Fewer than 100 stars
B. Approximately 100, 000 stars
C. Millions, billions, or more stars

10. Our solar system is in which galaxy?
A. Andromeda
B. The Milky Way
C. The Sombrero Galaxy

11. Which constellation includes five stars that form the letter W?
A. Cassiopeia
B. Aquarius
C. Pisces

12. Which planet is known as the "evening star"?
A. Saturn
B. Venus
C. Mercury

13. What is a shooting star or falling star?
A. A fast-moving ring around Saturn
B. A meteor created from burning rock or metal
C. The sparkling buckle in Orion's belt

14. In 1962, who became the first American to orbit Earth?
A. John Glenn
B. Sally Ride
C. Neil Armstrong

I got 13 out of 14

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

You're just a child with a temper.

Replying to Carrie's comment on my last post. Just make sure you don't tell my mom that, because she'll just blow you off. Kevin and have decided that she can't handle it if someone knows more about something than she does, or if they prove she's wrong. Like this weekend, she was commenting on how the weather people can't really predict a week in advance about the weather, and Kevin (who storm chases so knows these things), said meterologists can predict large storms about a week out, and she pretty much just brushed him off. I've noticed this when he gives us advice about certain things around the house, like the messed up job the guys did cementing the driveway, and about the large crack in the end of the driveway. Mom will basically change the subject. I wonder if she feels that way about my knowledge about criminal justice, come to think about it, she does like to argue a lot when I mention something about CJ and stuff in my textbooks.
It sure makes me think about her when I start thinking on my own. Bet she hates that. Wouldn't want her daughter to have her own mind and say in her life.

Monday, June 16, 2008

Father's a name you haven't earned yet

UGH!! So my mother's having me do some work around the house for money. One of the projects I'm doing is sanding, staining and varnishing windows. She and my dad have decided it's $50.00 per window, I'm guessing if they were paying someone professional to do it, it'd be at least $100 a window. And if I didn't have to do this, these things would never get done.
We had a conversation about my lack of cleanliness (OK, she talked, I kinda tuned her out. I've found that's the only way to keep her words and tone from cutting into me so much that she makes me cry), and she said if I was living in some other landlord's apartment that I would get kicked out. When I mentioned this to Kevin later in the day, he said no landlord would kick someone out for being messy. It's not like I have food sitting around collecting bugs or anything. I'm just a little slow at cleaning some stuff up, my floors need some vacuuming. I should bring up the fact that if you go into the first floor bathroom, you can see spots all around the toilet, I'm pretty sure you can all figure out what they are. And I'm the one who has sick habits? I don't think so, just because you can't handle the fact that my floors need vacuuming, doesn't mean I'm living in a house full of crap. She happens to vacuum like its religious, you may not be able to see anything on the floor, but dammit she has to vacuum all the damn time.
And once again, I say, If I had the money I wouldn't be living here.
I kinda wish I had the relationship with my parents and brother that Kevin has. He called his dad yesterday, and ended up spending 45 minutes on the phone with his mother, at least that much time with his dad, and then later in the day at least that much time with his brother. I don't know if it's because I live so close to my parents, that I'm their little girl, that I am so different than my brother, or what. But I wouldn't mind having that relationship with my family.

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Rain, Rain go away

Stolen from Rain
The A to Z of Me
Accent: I don't think I have one
Breakfast or no breakfast: I like breakfast food, only I usually don't eat breakfast.
Chore I don’t care for: Dishes
Dog or cat: Dog. Totally a dog person
Essential electronics: Computer.
Favorite cologne: Don't have one
Gold or silver: white gold, cause it's not mainstream
Handbag I carry most often: I don't generally carry one
Insomnia: I don't usually have it
Job Title: NA
Kids: None at the moment
Living arrangements: Apartment
Most admirable trait: honesty?
Naughtiest childhood behavior: don't know
Overnight hospital stay: Not since I was born
Phobias: spiders,
Quote: It's your life, how do you want to live it?
Reason to smile: My boyfriend, good music
Siblings: an older brother
Time I wake up: sometime after 8
Unusual skill or talent: my art?
Vegetable I refuse to eat: asparagus
Worst habit: not telling
X-rays: had 1
Yummy stuff: anything sweet
Zoo animal I like most: lions

Thursday, June 05, 2008

I hate my body

Or at least the thing that has to come and screw up my life once a month. I was at Kevin's house tonight and I was gonna spend the night, only when I was in the bathroom, something told me that Aunt Flo might be coming for her visit early (like tomorrow), so I told him that and that I should go home seeing as how I had nothing there and I would be very grumpy and having cramps all day tomorrow. I'm pretty sure he didn't take it as the truth and that it was an excuse and took me home, he claimed (not in so many words) that he wasn't in a bad mood, but I could tell. And I really wanted to spend the night too.
So today, I woke up figuring I wouldn't see Kevin all day because of the probability of storms, I call him about 11 and he says he won't be chasing today. So, I decided to walk to his house (4 mile walk, outside town), I did surprise him with that. After going somewhere to eat and picking up a bike he bought, he convinced me to get my (brother's) bike and ride around one of the parks. I haven't been on a bike since grade school, but as the old saying goes, yeah I did take to it pretty quickly. Kevin figures we rode about 11 miles today. My ass hurts. And the perfect ending to such a good day would be to spend the night at my boyfriend's house, but we all know that didn't happen. I feel really bad about it, I wanted to so bad, and I'm so disappointed I don't get to.

Friday, May 30, 2008

Hasn't stopped raining for days

So, it's been a little wet here. Yesterday it pretty much poured from 11am to 3pm, I heard we got over 4 inches. The river here crested at 26.8 feet, flood stage is 20 feet, the creek crested at 15.85 feet, flood stage is 9.0 feet. So we got floods. People are saying in some parts of town it's worse than '93, that was considered a 500 year flood (pretty rare).
A couple pictures for y'all:
This is one of our main intersections on S. Duff, at S. 4th st looking east at the Target store.
This one is on S. Duff looking south by Old George's Pizza (used to be Gregory's), S. 3rd which the bowling alley and the Boys and Girls Club is on is behind the Pizza Hut. Here's a look at a sign in one of our parks, by s. 4th and University Blvd (used to be Elwood)
Apparently someone parked their car in Brookside before it started to flood. I have a picture that's a close up of the car, the driver's side window is smashed (most likely with the piece of road sitting on top of the car), inside the car, the water is up to the dash.
This is a picture of US 30 looking east after the water had gone down a bit. I heard around 1pm they had closed it from the east side of town to the west side of town.

Monday, May 26, 2008

OK, I'm massively tickled about this video, just cause it seems to be in a lot of places.
Here's an aol link to it.
And here's another. In this one you have 2 of them: Spotters Talk About Parkersburg Tornado and Storm Spotters Catch Tornado On Tape. See if you can guess which one's my guy (not a hard thing)

Thank you

Because I can't say it any better, I copied and pasted this from AD, word for word, so with your comments, go to his blog and comment:

When you partake in your Memorial Day barbecue today, try to remember a few things.

When the smoke from the grill blows into your eyes, try to imagine the terror of the young pilot as the smoke fills the cockpit of his F4 Wildcat, spiraling into the sea off Guadalcanal.

When you sample those pork ribs, remember the Iowa farm boy whose life blood stained the surf at Normandy.

When you eat a bite of potato salad, think of an Idaho preacher's kid who died with a prayer on his lips, asking God to forgive him for the enemy soldiers' lives he had taken.

When you welcome your niece's new boyfriend to the table, remember the black kid from Mississippi who died right beside his white buddies in Vietnam, though he wasn't even allowed to eat in the same restaurants back home.

When you scold your misbehaving grandchild, think of the little boy whose only knowledge of his father will come from stories told by family, because Daddy died on a dusty street in Fallujah while he was still in the womb.

When you fetch your wife another glass of tea, think of a young wife living in base housing at Fort Benning, as she hears the news that her husband died at Ia Drang.

When you invite Grandpa to say grace before the meal, think of young men cut down by a hail of fire from a Maxim at Belleau Wood.

When you reflect with pride on your daughter's recent graduation, think of a young woman cartwheeling into the sea in her F14 Tomcat after a failed carrier landing.

When you look with distaste at the tattoos on her new boyfriend, think instead of the former gang kid from Detroit who found a way up and out of poverty in the Army, only to die from an IED blast in Baghdad. And remind yourself that what matters is how he treats your daughter, not the ink on his arms.

When you sit at the table, think of a Navy Captain, a husband and father, who died at his Pentagon desk on September 11. His death was no less honorable.

If you're traveling today, think of the passengers of United Flight 93, for in a field outside Shanksville they became the first soldiers in our war on terror.

When your boys fight, as boys will do, remember the boys on both sides who died at Gettysburg.

If a loved one can't make it to the gathering today, think of Mrs. Bixby and her five sons.

While your kids play in the pool this afternoon, think of other kids not much older, trapped below decks as the Arizona went under at Pearl Harbor.

When you take a shower tonight, think of young men reeking of machine oil and sweat, desperately trying, and failing, to surface their wounded submarine somewhere in the Pacific in 1943.

I tell you of these things not to spoil your appetite or your day, but to remind you that the things we enjoy in our lives are made all the sweeter when you consider what made them possible.

Remind yourself also that your sacrifice is infinitely easier. All you need do is sacrifice a moment of your time every few years to pull a lever. The way to honor a dead soldier is not simply to fly a flag on Memorial Day. Vote to preserve the freedoms they died defending.

And stop by your local Veteran's Cemetery and put out some flowers on the grave of your choice. It need not even be the grave of someone you know.
Bring your children along, and explain to them why. It's important.


And while a lot of people are honoring fallen heroes, some are picking up the pieces from a devasting tornado in Iowa. My boyfriend was out yesterday following this tornado from the moment it formed. Go here for his and his buddy's video. Once you get to the page scroll down to the video module on the page and click on the video titled Storm Spotters Catch Tornado On Tape.

Saturday, May 24, 2008

2 and 2 is 4, 6 and 2 is eight

Time to celebrate. I shaved 4 minutes off my 4 mile walk, and someone said something about my ass. I'm pretty sure it was a comment by the way they were yelling it. Normally, I would buy something for myself, but not now. Can't do that until I get about $800 or so more in the bank.
I'm wondering if relocating will get me out of my rut. I'd love to be a cowgirl, that would be fun. I'd love to do anything where I'd get to ride a horse, I haven't been on one since 6th grade (that's like 12 years ago, ick I feel old), but I'm pretty sure it's not that hard to remember. I'd also love to do construction, that would be fun too. I'm thinking about seeing if I can help build the Habitat for Humanity house that's going up in my neighborhood. That way I could get experience without having to have a background in construction to get my experience, cause I'm pretty sure any construction business would look at me and laugh if I asked to be a part of it.
I had a dream the other night, that's been sticking with me. I start out in my aunt's house (not really, but that's how it was in the dream) and it's raining (cause it was pouring outside) and all the windows are leaking and everything is soaking so mom sends me up to the 3rd floor to find the problem and a tornado sucked me up and threw me down somewhere near another house, to which the old lady let me in and I ushered her and her dogs to the basement, and then she writes a will leaving the house to me if she died, and of course she did, so then I'm in this house with a cousin I haven't seen in ages. It's weird I haven't even thought about him in god knows when, but now it's like he's lurking in the back of my mind.
Another one that's been lingering is I'm working at some food place and I get in trouble with another employee and so we're sent to walk up and down stairs. When I get sick of that and quit, I'm traveling through Paris (I don't think it was, but for some reason it felt like it?) and I can change things with the flick of my hand, then I'm walking with a friend and we go into a house and find an old guy to which I procede to have sex with, and then my friend's father comes in and I tell him to get his wife and we'll have a 3-some (don't ask me) and he runs off scared and then I wake up.
The one I had last night, I was in a school and some horrible car accident happens outside, so I go to check it out and ends up in some house where there's some big fight happening outside and Kevin and someone else comes along and we all fight to get out alive.
I tell ya, I only remember the weird ones.