Christmas Day Sunset

The Gift

A poor orphan girl named Maria
Was walking to market one day
She stopped for a rest by the roadside
Where a bird with a broken wing lay
A few moments passed till she saw it
For its feathers were covered with sand
But soon clean and wrapped it was traveling
In the warmth of Maria's small hand

She happily gave her last peso
On a cage made of rushes and twine
She fed it loose corn from the market
And watched it grow stronger with time

Now the gift giving service was coming
And the church shone with tinsel and light
And all of the townfolks brought presents
To lay by the manger that night
There were diamonds and incense and perfumes
In packages fit for a king
But for one ragged bird in a small cage
Maria had nothing to bring

She waited 'til just before midnight
So no one would see her go in
And crying she knelt by the manger
For her gift was unworthy of Him

Then a voice spoke to her through the darkness
"Maria, what brings you to me?
If the bird in the cage is your offering,
Open the door and let me see."
Though she trembled, she did as He asked her
And out of the cage the bird flew
Soaring up into the rafters
On a wing that had healed good as new

Just then the midnight bells rang out
And the little bird started to sing
A song that no words could recapture
Whose beauty was fit for a king

Now Maria felt blessed just to listen
To that cascade of notes sweet and long
As her offerings was lifted to heaven
By the very first nightingale's song

Hi All. Stopping here for a moment to pass along something. Below is a quote from a show I watch (Bones) and the scene was someone asking a therapist about Christmas spirit. She didn't understand why adults "lie" to children about Santa and why we must have a Christmas tree.....stuff like that. This was the answer she got and I think it's really insightful.

"As adults, we’re imbued by the pragmatic routines of life, which makes it difficult for us to regard anything with child like wonder. But, you know, it’s alright for us to try. We put on silly hats and drape trees with sparkly lights and wrap gifts in garish paper and that’s good for us. It’s not only alright to allow children the transient experience of innocence and joy – it’s our responsibility."

Take care and Merry Holiday to all.

We’re Home. After 14 days, and as nice as it was, it’s good to be back home in our own bed and see our babies….the cats. Greg missed his precious Abby. My Mom was checking in on them once a day and when Greg called to check in on the 3rd day, she told him Abby was missing. She said she was sure she was in the house, but had not seen her at all. So Greg was fretting about this…thinking little Abby had gotten out because my Mom tends to be forgetful about the door at times and leaves it standing wide open while she is getting in with her cane and her 500 pound purse. I’m not kidding….her purse feels like it has bricks in it. And it’s huge and she has everything in there. I’d be willing to bet I can find something in there that is as old as the purse and that she will never use and has no idea why it’s in there. Actually, that’s probably too easy because I bet that’s 90% of what is in there. Anyway….she did find her under the bed so it all turned out ok.

So between loads of laundry and sifting through the giant pile of mail, I uploaded select photos you’ll see throughout my post.

Here’s how it all started. On 11/9 at about 1:45pm, we were sitting in the living room watching the TV waiting for our 2pm shuttle to arrive to take us to the cruise ship terminal. That’s when we saw a black limo pull up outside. We looked at each other and our vacation officially started. The limo was just a courtesy upgrade on their part….and it sure made us feel special. It was still decorated for Halloween inside, which I loved. I love Halloween.

Once at the cruise ship terminal, check-in went smoothly, but the wait to get on the ship was long. It took about 40 minutes in a long line to get on the ship. Once onboard, we realized the ship is exactly the same inside as the sister ship we sailed on to the Baltic. Even all the rooms are named exactly the same thing….Michael’s Club, The Rendezvous Lounge, The Waterfall Café…etc. The good thing about this is, we already knew where everything was! Our stateroom was pretty much the same as last time, too. We were on the Sky Deck last time and this time we were on the Panorama Deck. Every day we had fresh fruit, flowers and, at 4pm, we got h'orderves delivered to our room. The only thing we didn’t like (and this is the same for the Baltic cruise, too) is our bed was HARD. They need to do something about those mattresses.





Then it was time for the life jacket drill. I never remember to take my camera for this. People could see us from the boardwalk and we all must have looked like total fools lined up on the decks with our enormous orange life jackets on.

Once back to the room, Greg’s luggage had been delivered and was sitting at the door, but mine was not there. This was a little alarming, but we asked around and found out that luggage was still on it’s way to the rooms. It was 6pm and that’s dinnertime, so we headed to the dining room. When we got back from dinner, we turned down the hall and I didn’t see my bag at the door. I was worried. Greg flagged someone down and the guy asked if it was red and blue?

“Uh….yes…..it is”
“Ah, very good, Sir. I put it in your room for you”

Oops. Next time we will look in the room before we assume it isn’t delivered.

By now we noticed how rocky the ship was. On the Constellation (the last cruise) there was very little rocking. This does not mean we were stumbling down the halls, but there were times when you did stumble. Before we left I had read some reviews on the ship and there had been some notes about Celebrity Cruises in some kind of litigation with the company that they got the stabilization…..uh….mechanism (?) from. This made more sense to me once we were onboard and I felt how rocky the ship is compared to the Constellation. So they must have corrected that when they constructed the Constellation.

The following day we went to the Aqua Spa…..ahhhhh. I got a mini facial (my first facial ever) and a collagen eye treatment. I was leery about the eye treatment….they always sound too good to be true, but this one really did do what it claimed. Greg also went and he got a pedicure with an ankle & foot massage. We were both happy.

The next morning I got spice pancakes at the buffet. Ohhh…..they were good. But I’ve been having some trouble with breakfast the last few years. All I can really manage to eat in the morning is toast & tea. Anything more than that really does not sit well with me, so I’ve been trying to watch things at breakfast. But they had everything you could want…..healthy to hash. Lunch was the same kind of thing. Tons of options.



They made everything (except the sugar free ice cream) on the ship. Everything. Isn't that amazing? The kitchens were going 24/7. Here are some of the baked goods:





I have much much more to tell - I'm not even to the good stuff! But it will have to be later. Maybe tomorrow if I get a free moment.

Cheers for now!

Sorry, I know I've been absent for a while.

I've been really busy at work and have been skipping lunch a lot and not taking breaks (which is when I usually blog). I'm really looking forward to Hawaii, but it is actually coming at a bad time.....we "bon voyage" this Friday and will be gone until 11/24.

At work we are in the middle of a huge project and my work load is just going to pile up while I am gone. The deadline for it to be done is 12/14 and I come back to work on 11/26, so there won't be a lot of extra time for me to get my work done. I will be even more busy when I get back :( But I just need to deal with it I guess. We planned this vacation a year ago and I had no idea I'd be in the middle of a project like this or I would have considered going at a different time of year. Everyone says I will come back refreshed and ready to tackle the work, but they only say that because......I mean....what else is there to say? I might be refreshed the first day back, but I know by the 3rd day it will be like I never left. Work just does that to you.

Anyway, I can't wait to just relax. However, I have not even packed! I still have some clothes I have to wash! Very behind on things.

So given all that, don't expect to see much from me until next year. I will post vacation photos on Flickr and if I have the time, I will post a synopsis of our trip.

Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving in advance!

*Waves goodbye and you hear the theme from "The Love Boat" playing in the background*

happy halloween

Happy 16th Anniversary

To Greg...

"What are you doing the rest of your life?
North and south and east and west of your life?
I have only one request of your life
That you spend it all with me....
All the seasons and the times of your days,
All the nickels and the dimes of your days,
Let the reasons and the rhymes of your days,
All begin and end with me....
I want to see your face,
In every kind of light,
In fields of gold and
Forests of the night;
And when you stand before
The candles on a cake,
Oh let me be the one to hear
The silent wish you make....
Those tomorrows waiting deep in your eyes
In the world of love you keep in your eyes,
Ill awaken whats asleep in your eyes,
It may take a kiss or two...
Through all of my life,
Summer, winter, spring and fall of my life,
All I ever will recall of my life
Is all of my life with you..."

-What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life

Beautiful Things

Legends say that hummingbirds float free of time, carrying our hopes or love, joy and celebration. The hummingbird's delicate grace reminds us that life is rich, beauty is everywhere, every personal connection has meaning and that laughter is life's sweetest creation.

misc stuff

Check out Lockwasher on Flickr. He makes stuff out of.....well....stuff.

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I happen to love the song "Kiss You All Over" by Exile. I was listening to my iTunes and it came on. As I was listening, I got to wondering what the guy singing looks like....he's gotta be really good looking, I'm thinking. So I hunt down the viedo on YouTube.

Folks, this video is hard to watch. It's.....bad. And the worst thing.....the singer is not at all attractive. I had a 70's sexy Tom Selleck pictured and this guy is not even close. Seriously....yeesh.

First thing, they have all these....lips....on the floor around them. Must have seemed like a good idea at the time.

At :45, looks like he has some kind of death grip on the keyboard.

At 1:09, can the drummers pants be any tighter?

At 1:55, that guy has a nice face....but that hair....um, no.

At 2:01, notice the dancing. I don't need to say who because only one of them moves through the whole thing.

At 2:34, more dancing...

At 2:41, he looks thrilled.

At 2:56, dancing....

At 3:04, not even sure I can call it dancing....and what are those pants he has on?!

Needless to say, the song has lost a little bit of it's sexy after seeing all this.

Cottage cheese, a vampire kiss and eye candy

I love cottage cheese.

Love it.

Imagine how excited I was to see a cottage cheese muffin recipe on 101cookbooks.com! I'm making these on Sunday I think. Can't wait to taste them :)

Cottage cheese not your thing? How about a vampire kiss?

**Note to the ladies**
If you're not watching Big Shots on Thursday nights.....you are missing the ultra fine Dylan McDermott. Serious eye candy. Soooo good to see him back on TV. Yum.

Kitten's quote of the day: "Any man that gives a woman a camping stove for a gift (unless she asks for one) has a long road ahead of him"

I heard this song over the weekend and had to download it. An oldie but a goodie.

Save Your Love

I wake in the night
to find you on my mind
Deep in a dream,
you'll always be
until the end of time
I look in your eyes
They touch my soul
My love is hard to hide
I'm never alone when we're apart.
I feel you by my side

And here in my heart,
where no one else will ever be
I know who you are,
so lock the door
and throw away the key
Save all your love
Save your love for me
When I'm alone at night,
you're all I see
I wake from a dream
and see you by my side
How could I belong to someone else,
when holdin' you feels so right?
And here in my heart
where no one else will ever be
We've made it so far,
so lock the door and throw away the key (YEAH)

Save all your love
Save all your love for me
When I'm alone at night,
you're all I see
Save all your love
Save your love for me
Don't turn your back on me
You're all I need
(guitar solo)
I know who you are
we've come so far
so baby stay with me yeah
save all your love
save your love for me
dont turn your back on me
you're all i need
save your love save
your love save all your love
save save all your love
save your love baby
save all your love save all your love

-Save Your Love, Great White

My Day In Julian {in photos}

Current Goings On

There are a few things going on at work.

First, there was a department lunch today on campus that I chose not to attend. I think of all 100 or so people, I was 1 of 7 who didn't go. Fact is, a free lunch does not lure me into doing work things when I'd rather do my own thing. So I bought my lunch and ate at my desk and surfed the net while they all sat and listened to the mucky mucks talk about things no one really cares about. However, I have a feeling not going is going to bite me somehow. Like I will get "talked" to or I will be looked at like I am not a team player. We'll see what happens.

The other thing is we are having a pumpkin decorating contest. I got really excited about this when I saw the email. I got two other people together and we came up with a theme and got started. I took it home and did the foundation of the decorating. Yesterday at lunch the 3 of us worked on it and 1 of them made a negative comment about what I'd done. So....that started things off badly. I will post a photo Monday and you all can see the finished project. I'm less excited about it now. Just takes one bad seed...

One month until we board ship and sail to Hawaii!

Can't come soon enough.

USS Indianapolis

History Lesson

After repairs and overhaul, the USS Indianapolis received orders to proceed at high speed to Tinian, carrying the component parts and uranium projectile of the atomic bomb "Little Boy" which was soon to be dropped on Hiroshima. Due to the urgency of her mission, Indianapolis departed San Francisco on July 16, 1945 foregoing her postrepair shakedown period. Touching at Pearl Harbor July 19, she raced on unescorted and arrived in Tinian on July 26, having set a record in covering some 5,000 miles (8,000 km) from San Francisco in only 10 days. After delivering her top secret cargo at Tinian, Indianapolis was dispatched to Guam. From Guam she set course to Leyte. From there she was to report for further duty off Okinawa. Departing Guam on July 28, Indianapolis proceeded by a direct route, unescorted. Early in the morning, at 00:15 on July 30, 1945, two heavy explosions (some say three) occurred against her starboard side and she capsized and sank in 12 minutes. The ship was silhouetted against a low moon, which made it easy for the Japanese submarine to target.

Delayed rescue: Four days in the water

This was a top secret mission, so there was no notice sent to the port of destination or about their estimated time of arrival, as was the usual naval procedure for normal missions. Thus, with no ETA they were never reported late at the arrival port. Also, the Indianapolis did broadcast two distress calls that were received at two separate locations on Leyte, though they were dismissed in both cases as being bogus transmissions due to the Navy's protocol of the time. The subsequent delay of the rescue mission led to the loss of hundreds of sailors. About 300 of the 1,196 men on board died in the attack. The rest of the crew, nearly 900 men, floated in the water without lifeboats until the rescue was completed four days later. 321 crew came out of the water alive, with 317 ultimately surviving. They suffered from lack of food and water, exposure to the elements, severe desquamation, and....shark attacks. The most fatalities from shark attacks in history by the oceanic whitetip shark species.

When the ship did not reach Leyte on the 31st, as scheduled, no report was made that she was overdue. This was due to a misunderstanding of the Movement Report System. Thus it was not until 10:25 on August 2 that the survivors were accidentally sighted by pilot Lieutenant Chuck Gwinn and copilot Lieutenant Warren Colwell on a routine patrol flight. The survivors were mostly held afloat by life jackets. Gwinn immediately dropped a life raft and a radio transmitter. All air and surface units capable of rescue operations were dispatched to the scene at once. The men had waited for assistance while floating helplessly for 4 days. Many men watched their friends die from shark attacks.

Upon completion of rescue operations, August 8, a radius of 100 miles had been combed by day and by night, saving 317 of the crew of 1,196 men.

Captain Charles Butler McVay III, commander of Indianapolis since November 1944, was wounded, but survived the sinking, and was among those rescued days later. In November 1945, he was court-martialed and convicted of "hazarding his ship by failing to zigzag." Several circumstances of the court-martial were controversial: there was overwhelming evidence that the United States Navy itself had placed the ship in harm's way. The Navy had ordered McVay to "zigzag at his discretion, weather permitting." Also, the commander of I-58, Mochitsura Hashimoto, testified that zigzagging would have made no difference; and although 700 ships of the U.S. Navy were lost in combat in World War II, McVay was the only captain to be court-martialed. The military court knocked him down 100 places on the seniority list.

However, Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz remitted McVay's sentence and restored him to duty. McVay retired from the service in 1949 as a rear admiral. While many of the Indianapolis survivors asserted McVay was not to blame for the loss of the ship, the families of some of the men who died blamed the captain. The guilt and shame mounted until he committed suicide in 1968 :(

In October 2000, the United States Congress passed a resolution that Captain McVay's record should reflect that "he is exonerated for the loss of the USS Indianapolis." President Clinton signed the resolution.

The exact location of the Indianapolis is unknown. In July and August, 2001 an expedition sought to find the wreckage through the use of side-scan sonar and underwater cameras mounted on a remotely operated vehicle; four Indianapolis survivors accompanied the expedition, which was not successful. In June of 2005, a second expedition was led to find the wreck; National Geographic covered the story and released it in July. Submersibles were launched to find any sign of wreckage. The only thing ever found, that has not been confirmed to have belonged to the Indianapolis, is many chunks of metal found along the reported sinking position.

Many have claimed that the Indianapolis cannot be found. She was carrying quite a few explosives on board and was reported to have gone down burning. Many believe that she perhaps exploded after sinking beneath the waves. On top of this, the area in which she sank has some of the deepest spots in the world. The expedition led in 2005 found no actual bulk of the wreck, no deckhouses, turrets, or hull. This has not discouraged some shipwreck hunters who are bent on finding one of World War II's most famous ships.

All information is from Wikipedia

this isn't funny....but it is

You'll get to the funny about half way in.

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Authorities Chase Chihuahua At Crash Scene

A four-vehicle pileup injured at least one person Tuesday afternoon at Vista Way and Hill Drive in Vista, authorities said.

A fifth car, a Mustang, swerved to avoid the crash and smashed through a chain-link fence, stopping just short of plummeting to state Route 78 below.

One passenger in a blue sedan had to be cut from the wreckage and was taken to a hospital with serious injuries that did not appear to be life-threatening, said a Vista fire battalion chief.

The 1:30 p.m. crash was apparently caused when the blue sedan driving east on Vista Way turned north onto Hill Drive in front of a white van carrying elderly passengers, said a sheriff's traffic investigator.

Adding to the chaos was an upset Chihuahua that was in one of the cars involved.

A community service officer from the Sheriff's Department placed the little dog inside his van, where the dog went to the bathroom and then bit the officer.

The dog was then placed inside the ambulance with its owner, but the dog again became unruly and jumped out.

The dog raced down Vista Way through the crash scene, with deputies, animal control officers and firefighters chasing after.

One Vista firefighter tripped and fell, doing an action-movie roll on the ground before popping back to his feet.

The Chihuahua was eventually caught.

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I'm sorry, but the visual image of deputies, animal control officers and firefighters running after a Chihuahua sent me into a laughing fit.

William Tell Overture For Moms

This is really creative and well done!

Chillin' in Mt. Laguna

Laura and I went camping this weekend in Mt. Laguna. I say camping, but you can't really call it camping because we stayed in a cabin. It was a lot of fun. We left Friday and got to the cabin at about 3pm. The cabins were cira 1970's and were nothing fancy but it was comfortable, clean and had a full bathroom....which was the best part, I think. The weather was perfect. Not hot at all. It was pretty cold Saturday morning when we got up at 6am to go see the sunrise, but it didn't stay that way the whole day. That morning the wind was blowing hard. I was trying to hold my camera still, but the wind was just to strong. Gloves would have been nice. My fingers started to hurt because it was sooo cold. Friday we drove to Julian and had dinner. On the way there...or maybe it was on the way back....I can't remember, we turned off onto this little road and came upon a man dressed in head to toe orange....bright orange, like a road cone. There was some kind of vehicle from the fire deparment there so we assumed he was with them. When we drove past him, he just looked at us with a very blank expression. It was kind of odd. Then we stopped and Laura noticed a man off in the distance standing on the side of the cliff. He was just standing there looking over at us, too. It was weird. I don't know what was going on, but it had that bizarre David Lynch feel to it, so we left quickly. On the way back to the main road, we passed a police car going back that way, so something was definitely happening. I guess we will never know. We hiked on Saturday morning for about 1.5 hours and then went back to the cabin and took a naps :) Laura was a really good sport and drove me all over the place taking pictures. When I got home and downloaded them, there was a total of 348 photos. All in all, it was a good time and I got to spend some quality time with my friend and I got a lot of good photos. Click below to check out the few I posted.

photos

The new iPod features a song that started growing on me. It's called "1234" by Feist.

Click here to see video and lyrics.

Quiz

I was going to tell you all about the dream I had last night. When I woke up, I laid in bed thinking about what a weird dream it was. On the way to work I started thinking about it again and I could only remember one part....so telling it would not really be that interesting. Isn't it weird that you can't recall your dreams very well?

Anyway, for lack of better things to do, I made another quiz :)

MsOktober Quiz

Only 93 days.....till Christmas! How do you like my Christmas tree widget? Cute, huh? It will keep the holidays from sneaking up on us...hopefully.

Better get shoppin' people. I'll post my wish list soon :)

we all have have our flaws...

photo kitten

Kitten's Quote Of The Day: "Whatever you do, just wear gloves and don't bleed or spit on anything"

The current recipe on 101 Cookbooks sounds out of this world good to me. It's Red Rice Salad. I can imagine making a pot of that and eating a bowl every day for lunch with a hard boiled egg. Yum. I was telling someone about this and they commented that there is no way they could eat the same thing for lunch day after day. I have absolutly no problem doing this. Back in my mid 20's I had a Cup-O-Soup every day at work for a year. Not because I really liked it or anything, it was just really easy wasn't a heavy meal. I have to eat small or light lunches or I'll get tired and won't be hungry for dinner. So this rice salad might be a something I will have to try.

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Closing with this because I think it's funny. However, I can't get with the slang on the photo. A sure sign I'm getting old.

Arrr!

Takin' me time gettin' to work this mornin'! Maybe they'll make me walk the dreaded plank if they catch me!

So this pirate walks into a bar with a big ship's wheel down his pants.
The bartender says, "excuse me, sir, but do you know you have a ship's wheel down the front of your pants?"
The pirate says..."Aaargh, it's driving me nuts!!"

Having a day. And not the good kind.

I swear, you have to watch out for people. It seems like there are people sent to test you all the danm time. To see what you are made of....to see what you can take....see just how far they can push you. If you're not strong in mind and spirit, people will just strip away the good things inside you. I don't do that. Well I don't think I do that. Lord help me if I am so blind I can't see the kind of person I have evolved into. But anyway, I was just thinking about all of this. If you don't let all the BS go at the end of the day, it will turn you into a sorry pile of goo. And it's hard to do that....let it all go and get past stuff, but you have to try. I look at people. I mean really look. I've seen some who have let their lives transform them into ugly, unhappy, weak, spineless, mean people.

It's not everyday I can see this side of things. The side that is worth getting up and going back for more. But I don't want to be mean, ugly and all that other stuff. That it's worth it to fight to keep my spirit in tact.

So today when I go home, I will leave my day behind me. Tomorrow is fresh with no mistakes in it. No bad...only good. Something to look forward to.

Pig cupcakes for Laura :-)





Laura's (aka Iron Mary) birthday card

You have to check this out.

And some girls have all the luck. To be even half that beautiful....sighhhhs

HAPPY 39th BIRTHDAY

To my oldest (*snickers*....oldest) and dearest friend, Laura.

Love you!

Happy 40th Birthday To Greg!!

Charger Power!

In honor of the Chargers winning.....I painted my toes the color of their powder blue uniforms :)

Charger toes


By the way, I think my feet look dirty in the photo, but I swear they were clean as can be. Just didn't trun out very good.

New Man Fashions

As you all know, I've moved into a new office with a ton of people I've never met before. One day I was sitting in my cube working and I happened to notice a tall guy walk past and I was pretty sure he had a skirt on. Confused and thinking I must be mistaken, got up to look at him as he continued on down the isle. Well, I was amazed. He was indeed wearing a skirt. I had to find out what the heck was going on with that. I thought maybe he'd had a vasectomy.....I know guys have to wear loose clothes after one of those. Tho a skirt at work seems extreme and he's around 25 years old, so that seemed a little young for a vasectomy. Anyway, I asked someone and it turns out it's a utility kilt.

*picture me looking confused here*

I know it's the year 2007 and there is no fashion standard anymore, but come on.....a utility kilt?

You can see them for yourself at the link below. Check out the Spartan and the Workmans. I'm just amazed that men wear these things.

Utility Kilts

hotter than a September wedding...

...and you know how hot a September wedding can be.

I feel bad for the people who got married outside in San Diego this weekend. In a wedding dress....full make-up.....guys in a tux....and those poor wedding guests sitting in uncomfortable chairs in full sun. And somewhere in there, a kid was screaming.

San Diego had record setting high temps all weekend.

Yesterday it was 104 in my neighborhood.

The only room in the house that has AC is the bedroom, so that's where I was pretty much all weekend. I got a lot of sleep. Greg will laugh when he reads this, but I think I needed all that sleep. He'll say I get more sleep than anyone needs, but it was a different kind of sleep. I didn't wake up thinking about work. Not even once. I usually wake up in the middle of the night saying something like "oh, did I do this or did I remember that"...it's like work lives in my mind at all times so when I sleep, it takes center stange. But I was stress free this weekend. I don't know why, but I was. I slept well. And sound. And it was good. I wish I could always sleep like that.

Sunday I was going to make a casserole but I could not bring myself to turn on the oven. We have really good insolation, so once it gets hot in the house, it says hot. Same with cold. In the winter, it's iceburgs in there. But I deal with the cold much better so I will take winter cold over summer hot. So since I didn't want to cook, we went to Panda Express to eat my favorite "fast food" and be in a nice cool place. Can you believe their AC unit was broken! It was as hot in there as it was outside. The manager was telling someone he called a repairman to come fix it, but the guy was so busy, he wasn't sure when he'd be there.

At 9:30am this morning, we got email from the Vice Chancellor that there is an Energy Alert. I pray they do not turn the AC off in here. That was the only reason I was looking forward to coming into the office.

So if it's hot where you are, click here for some mind over matter art. Check out all of her art, she's very good.

Redneck Recipes

Last night Greg and I went out to dinner. There were two redneck guys behind us drinking beer and eating pizza. I was trying not to listen to their conversation, but I could not help but hear everything they were saying because they were talking so loud. The conversation got to leftover pizza:

Redneck 1: "You know what I see when I look at that?" (pointing to the pizza)
Redneck 2: "Uh....Pizza...?"
RN1: "Nope. I see 4 different kind of meals"
RN2: *confused*
RN1: "I can make omelets out of pizza the next day"
RN2 *more confused* (so was I)
RN1: "And you ever had sloppy joes?"
RN2: "Yeah"
RN1: "Well I make this thing out of a can of sloppy joe mix and pizza. Some of the best shit you'll ever eat. It's like gourmet"

I must say, I was pretty curious about the pizza omelet and the....sloppy joe "thing". Not curious because I'd want to try either of them, but because I am amazed at what people will eat. Ah, but it didn't stop there. He also makes pizza goulash and day old pizza garlic bread! Lucky for you folks, he rattled off the recipes so I'm sharing them with you so you can taste these gourmet delights yourself!

Pizza Omelet

Remove pizza topping from crust. Make omelet and stuff with pizza toppings.

Enjoy!

Sloppy Joe Pizza Thing

Split some hoagie rolls, pour a can of sloppy joe mix over them, peel off pizza topping from pizza crust and lay over sloppy joe drenched hoagie rolls. Broil until "bubblin' and gooey".

Enjoy!

Pizza Goulash

Again, remove pizza topping from crust (he's not a big crust person.....well, at least not pizza crust). Put pizza topping in a pan and heat until all "bubblin' and gooey".

Enjoy!

Day Old Pizza Garlic Bread

I'm going to give you this recipe just like he explained it:

"Go to the store and ask for the day old (he called it 24 hour old) garlic bread loaf they make there in the store. They'll sell it to ya for .75 cents because it's old. Scrape off the cheese and everything from the crust and put it on the garlic bread. Put it in the oven for.....oh, 20 minutes, and I tell you what man, that's some good shit".

Enjoy!

Name That Tune

Selected lyrics are posted below. Just a few of my most favorite. They are all on my iPod.

DO NOT CHEAT AND LOOK THEM UP.

Try to name as many as you can.

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#1
How long...
How long must we sing this song?
How long? how long...

#2
you don't know me, you don't even care,
you don't know me, you don't wear my chains...

#3
I'm 15 for a moment
Caught in between 10 and 20

#4
When he first came to the mountains his life was far away
On the road and hangin' by a song
But the string's already broken and he doesn't really care
It keeps changin' fast and it don't last for long

#5
Like a song of love that clings to me
How the thought of you does things to me
Never before has someone been more

#6
All day
Staring at the ceiling
Makin' friends with shadows on my wall

#7
all of the things that I want to say
just aren't coming out right
I'm tripping inwards
you got my head spinning
I don't know where to go from here

#8
But there never seems to be enough time
To do the things you want to do
Once you find them
Ive looked around enough to know
That youre the one I want to go
Through time with

#9
and so you're back
from outer space
I just walked in to find you here
with that sad look upon your face

#10
When Im with you
I shake inside
My hearts all tangled up
My tongue is tied its crazy

#11
Gonna wrap my arms around you
Hold you close to me
Oh, babe, I wanna taste your lips
I wanna fill your fantasy, yeah

#12
Why cant you see
What youre doing to me
When you dont believe a word I say?

#13
I hope you know, I hope you know
That this has nothing to do with you
It's personal, Myself and I

#14
Nobody said it was easy
It’s such a shame for us to part
Nobody said it was easy
No one ever said it would be this hard
Aww take me back to the start

#15
You see it all around you
Good lovin' gone bad
And usually it's too late when you, realize what you had

this and that

Update on Michael Vick

The video is hard to watch because his teammate is an idiot...in my opinion.

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This morning I've been listening to John Cougar Mellencamp's "Scarecrow" CD. Shoots me right back to the 80's. Good times.

"Days turn to minutes and minutes to memories
Life sweeps away the dreams that we have planned
You are young and you are the future
So suck it up and tough it out
And be the best you can"
~Minutes To Memories, John Cougar Mellencamp

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Crispy Smoked Mozzarella with Honey and Figs

Before you say ick, just try it with the honey and figs!

6 sheets phyllo dough
6 ounces smoked mozzarella, cut into 6 equal pieces
Vegetable oil, for frying
8 ounces dried figs, stemmed and quartered
3/4 cup honey, plus more for drizzling
3 teaspoons black sesame seeds
In a large pot, heat the vegetable oil over medium heat to 350 degrees F.
Place 1 sheet of phyllo on a dry work surface. Place one slice of cheese about 5 inches from the top of the narrow end of the sheet. Fold the top of the narrow end over the cheese, leaving 1 inch between the fold and the cheese. Next fold over 1 of the long sides then the other, again leaving 1-inch between the folds and the cheese. Then fold the cheese over, again leaving 1-inch between the fold and the cheese. Continue folding to make a package about 3 1/2 by 4-inches. Continue with the remaining pieces of cheese and phyllo.

Fry the phyllo and cheese packages, 2 or 3 at a time, in the oil until golden, about 2 minutes per side. Drain on a baking sheet lined with paper towels.

Meanwhile, heat the figs and honey in a small saucepan over low heat until the honey is warm. Set aside until the cheese packages have finished frying.

To serve, place 1 cheese package on a plate. Spoon some figs and drizzle some honey over the top of each cheese package. Sprinkle with black sesame seeds and serve immediately.

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Have a lovely weekend.

Today has been hard. Sometimes I just don't know how I keep coming back to work day after day.

My vacation is in November. That seems like a very long time from now. Somehow I need to try and get thru these next few months and not let it get me so down, but it's hard.

Astrological Signs And Car Crashes

ARIES-You are at fault 6.6% off the time. You are most likely to crash between the hours of 11am and 5pm.

TAURUS-You are responsible for 6.2% of crashes. Be cautious driving in the dark.

GEMINI-You cause 9.3% of crashes. You are most likely an over-aggressive driver and like to cut other drivers off.

CANCER-You cause 8.8% of accidents...most often at intersections.

LEO-You cause 7.4% of crashes...and most of them are rear-enders on a straight road.

VIRGO-10.7% of car crashes are your fault. You have tendency to speed.

LIBRA-You are the cause of 6.1% of all car crashes. You are the lowest of all the astrological signs. Call your insurance company for a discount.

SCORPIO-Your sign results in causing 6.8% of crashes most of which are head-on collisions on straight roads. So, be careful when passing.

SAGITTARIUS-Watch out, you cause 6.8% of all car crashes. These are usually broadside collisions at intersections.

PISCES-Responsible for 8.4% of crashes usually because you are not paying attention when you should be.

CAPRICORN-You cause 13%...you are the most crash prone driver in the zodiac. You tend to ignore traffic signs and tend to do "your own thing."

AQUARIUS-This sign is involved with 9.9% of mishaps. Most collisions are involved with smaller vehicles...so you might want to drive a "land yacht."

~~~
I'm a Libra ~ we rock :)

On my recent adventure...

Back when Ina Garten was dating her husband and he was away at collage, she would send him these brownies. She says it was the culinary equivalent to a low cut dress. it worked....they have been married for 40 years!

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Peanut Swirl Brownies

1 pound unsalted butter
1 pound plus 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips, divided
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate
6 extra-large eggs
3 tablespoons instant coffee granules
2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided*
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup smooth peanut butter

*Does not seem like enough, but it is.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 12 by 18 by 1 1/2-inch sheet pan.
Melt together the butter, 1 pound of chocolate chips, and the unsweetened chocolate in a medium bowl over simmering water. Allow to cool slightly. In a large bowl, stir (do not beat) together the eggs, coffee granules, vanilla, and sugar. Stir the warm chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and allow to cool to room temperature.

In a medium bowl, sift together 1 cup of flour, the baking powder, and salt. Add to the cooled chocolate mixture. Toss the remaining 12 ounces of chocolate chips in a medium bowl with 1/4 cup of flour, then add them to the chocolate batter. Pour into the prepared sheet pan. Spoon the peanut butter over the top of the chocolate mixture and using a knife, swirl it through the chocolate mixture.

Bake for 20 minutes, then rap the baking sheet against the oven rack to force the air to escape from between the pan and the brownie dough. Bake for about 10 to 15 minutes more or until a toothpick comes out clean. Do not overbake! Allow to cool thoroughly, and cut into large squares.

The Kiss Mistery Solved

See the story and the interview here.

Talk Dirty To Me, Baby

This dedication goes out to my best friend Laura. As soon as I heard this song, I just thought of us. Hot young things running around the city. She's the one I loved to get into trouble with ~ taught me everything I know! Love you. ;-x

---
You know I never, I've never seen you look so good
You never act the way you should
But I like it...
And I know you like it too
The way that I want you
I've gotta have you
Oh yes I do
I never, I never ever stay out late
You know that I can hardly wait
Just to see you
And I know you cannot wait
Wait to see me too
I've got to touch you
Cause baby we'll be

At the drive in
In the old man's Ford
Behind the bushes
Til I'm screamin' for more
Down in the basement
Lock the cellar door
And baby...
Talk dirty to me!
You know I call you, I call you on the telephone
I'm only hopin' that you're home
So I can hear you
When you say those words to me
And whisper so softly
I've gotta hear you
Cause baby we'll be
At the drive in
In the old man's Ford
Behind the bushes
Til I'm screamin' for more
Down in the basement
Lock the cellar door
Talk dirty to me!

C.C. Pick a bad guitar, and-a-talk to me, yeah!

Whoo! Whoo! Whoo! Whoo!

Cause baby we'll be..

At the drive in
In the old man's Ford
Behind them, bushes
Til I'm screamin' for more, more, more!
Down in the basement
And lock the cellar door
And baby, talk dirty to me, yeahhh
And baby, talk dirty to me......yeah yeah yeah
And baby...
Talk dirty to me

Uh!
Whoo!
That's the way I like it, baby
Ooh, yeah

~Talk Dirty To Me, Poison

With the exception of the fact I have blonde hair and my kitchen is not that hideous, The Simpsons version of me is kinda accurate.

Me Simpsonized

Simpsonize Yourself

Weekend Report

I went to the movies with my Mom on Saturday. It's a long story, but she found out I was interested in seeing "Rattatoulli" and has been inviting me to go with her and my nephews for the past 4 weekends. I've had other things to do (I might have lied a little bit about having other things to do) so she kept putting off seeing that movie on the off chance I'd be free another weekend. I went Saturday I went since I was running out of things I had to be doing every weekend. They were going to the 11:20am showing and she told me to be at her house at 9:30am.

9:30am?

Yeah, 9:30am. It takes her 2 hours to get the kids and get to the theater but it only takes me 45 minutes if I'm driving. So what are do they do for the other 1 hour 20 minutes?

"If we're early, we go to the .99 cent store" she tells me.

Hummm.

I offer to drive thinking this will fix me not having to be at her house so dang early....but she still thinks leaving at 9:30am is still necessary. Okay, fine....I didn't want to aruge with her.

So 45 minutes later we are browsing the .99 cent store....

It was a long day. But I think it is really sweet that she takes the nephews to the movies. She buys them whatever snacks they want and let's them run around inside the theater like wild monkeys until the lights go down. And they are good kids. Even tho they are were running around the theater, they were not screaming or being totally obnoxious. She even let's them sit anywhere they want. I looked over at her when they took their sets and asked her if they were just sitting by themselves because I was there or do they always do that?

"No, they always sit by themselves. I understand they don't want to sit with an old woman" she said.

That made me sad. And I started feeling really bad about not going with her to the movie sooner. She usually has zero interest in seeing the movies they want to see, but she takes them no matter what the movie is because it's their fun time. After the movie she gives them money and they play video games in the arcade. She makes it all about them even though she is tired and would rather be napping. Then they go home and she feeds them and they run around like wild monkeys until dinner. Then at 6pm she takes them back to their Dad.

What I got out of this was perspective. If you can read between the lines, you understand what I mean when I say that.

Me in my new cube

Wanna Make A Memory?

I am in love with this song. The lyrics get me right in the heart. And those first few taps on the panio a minute or so into the song....man. I just love it. And he sings it so well. The YouTube video is at the bottom. Pretty good video, too.

Interesting morning so far at the new office. I walked in and could not find my desk. Murphy's Law. Finally found it and thankfully my network connection worked. I could hear some people talking and one of them was having network issues and the two others had the wrong phone line setup....so they were getting each others calls. Another person is off in the corner and the AC has been turned off in that area for some reason. She she is sweating.

Thankfully the only real issue I have is the light panel above my desk. It is sooo bright that I think I will have a tan by the time I leave today. Something will need to be done about that, but I'm going to keep my mouth shut until the bigger issues are taken care of :)

As I was unpacking, I realized I have an enormous amount of junk. I took inventory:

2 stands of Christmas lights
3 mugs
Picture of Greg & Calvin
Picture of Calvin & Abby
1 fortune from a forture cookie
Various business cards plus my own
1 desk lamp (which I don't need due to the fact my cube must have been used as a tanning booth before I moved in)
2 light bulbs for desk lamp, one of which I think is burned out
tape
stapler
earphones
hair clip
Kleenex
Box of rubber bands
Lip balm
Nail file
Orange scented lotion
3 buttons
2 needles and various thread
Far Side desk calendar
Key chain
5 magnets
a rock (don't ask)
2 glue sticks
1/2 of an eraser
Exato knife
2 eucalyptus leaves (don't ask)
6 highlighter pens
2 pink
2 light blue
1 green
1 purple
3 post-it note pads
1 staple remover
1 liquid paper pen
2 Sharpies
5 pencils
22 pens:
1 orange
1 pink
1 baby blue
2 red
2 green
8 blue or black
Themed pens:
1 snowman
1 santa
2 Easter (1 egg & 1 rabbit)
1 giraffe
1 Chococat
1 Jack Skellington

Phew! That's it. Well, there is other stuff, but it's all work kind of stuff that makes no sense to you all. I could open a store and sell pens. And the funny thing is, I don't use pens ~ I use pencils. I just like pencils better. So I have this overabundance of pens I never use and only 5 pencils that are not even close to being as interesting as my pen collection.

issues of the pumpkin variety

My pumpkins are green.

They look like watermelons.

Are they supposed to look like watermelons?

I think not.

The ones I planted a few years ago were orange from the begining. There was one that did start to turn orange....only I discovered that was because it was dying!

I looked around on a few websites to see about colors of pumpkins and I saw this.

Did you see that big ole green one? Not a good sign. I want orange ones.

These are 3 of mine. I have 6 total:

Mr. Big. From the name I guess you can tell this is the biggest one I have.

This one has no name yet.

Meet Scar. He gets his name from that scar he has. Looks like stitches to me. I've always wondered how pumpkins get those marks on them. As you can see, the vines have sharp little thorns on them. The thorny vines rub on the young pumpkins and leave those marks. Now you can tell people that when you shop for pumpkins. Maybe they will be impressed.....or maybe they will just think you have too much time on your hands.

Anyway, not a speck of orange on them! Hummmm. Well, if they never turn orange, I guess green will have to do. During my web search, I did find a recipe for "Green Pumpkin Pie" so I guess I could make that. I can just see Greg making the "eeewww!" face. He does not like pumpkin pie (*Pumpkin Pie!). I can just imagine the thought of a green pumpkin pie would make him shudder.

Oh, and the other thing I read was if you plant them too early and leave them on the vine past harvest time (120 days), they will start to rot inside. So if they are ready October 1st and and I leave them on the vine for 31 more days.....I'll be screwed.

* I'm 99.9% sure only Laura and Greg will get this.

I got this bright idea a while back to start another blog that was solely for crafts and photos.....a crafty blog. Of course, that was before I knew about all the changes at work. Now I have no idea if I will ever do anything with it. Aside from not having time to update a second blog, I have not been good about creating anything. It's not that I don't want to....I just can't get "in the mood" to create once I am home from work. All I want to do is sit and veg watching Food Network. Watching people cook requires very little in the way of thinking.

However....maybe if I had a craft room that looked like this, I would be more inspired. Seriously, if that were my craft room, I'd want to be in there even when I wasn't crafting! It's so pretty. I have craft room envy.....big time.

Memories

Have you ever been somewhere and you suddenly are hit with a memory so vivid you are taken right back to that place in time? It doesn't happen to me a lot, but every once in a while stuff like this just hits me.

I was driving along in the area I grew up in and it happened. I remembered when I was about 11 riding in my Mom's tuna boat of a car on the way to K-Mart. There was hardly anyone on the road with us and it was hot. Fallen leaves from the eucalyptus trees rustled and blew around on the road behind the only car that was ahead of us.

That's it. The whole memory. But it was as clear as a bell.

I actually got a little confused for a second ~ the memory had made me forget where I was going.

I can't tell you how many times I have driven down that road.....100's.....and never had that memory. But something about the day and the conditions...just a few cars on the road....it was just like it was 29 years ago.

One of my bosses paged me and said she had found this chat conversation between us in a very old file. The names have been changed to protect the innocent. Obviously, I'm MsOkt.

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MsOkt pages: So I was thinking our department should have a Hawaiian day....
MsOkt pages: It would be kind of fun...we all could wear Hawaiian shirts and stuff
Velma pages: It could be fun...I admit this was the kind of thing that made me run screaming in high school...
MsOkt pages: Oh...
MsOkt pages: Well maybe not then. Don't want you to run from us.
MsOkt pages: How about naked day then?
MsOkt senses that Velma LAUGHS
Velma pages: you must be bored up there!
MsOkt pages: If we have naked day, I bet everyone will be here
MsOkt senses that Velma laughs and says: All the guys will come, but the women will stay home
MsOkt pages: Hey! We could email all our customers with bad debts and let them know about naked day and I bet they would all come in and pay. Kinda like the cops do with convicts.
MsOkt pages: We could have *Natasha and *Dana work the desk that day
MsOkt senses that Velma laughs so hard she is hurting herself
MsOkt pages: we could email campus and might get more signups...
MsOkt senses that Velma LAUGHS that we are still on this subject!
Velma pages: it's a thought though :)

* Our 2 best looking employees

Suspend Michael Vick

Express your feelings about Michael Vick's horrible behavior to the Atlanta Falcons management at the link below.

Email Atlanta Falcons

Feel free to use this letter:

Mr. Roger Goodell,

I was appalled to hear of the neglect and abuse of dogs discovered on Michael Vick's property. News sources reported that law enforcement officials found 70 dogs on his Surry County, Virginia, property along with paraphernalia commonly associated with dogfighting. I hope that you take Vick's indictment seriously.

Please suspend Vick immediately. Show the world that the NFL has a no-tolerance policy when it comes to cruelty to animals by football players.

**Update: I was watching ESPN and Emmitt Smith made a statement saying that Michael Vick is being targeted by the Feds unfairly.

"He's the biggest fish in the whole doggone pond so they're putting the squeeze on him to get to everyone else," said Smith.

Well DUH!

Look, if you are in the spotlight, you have to understand that there is a downside to that. If you do something wrong, they will make an example of you. That's just the way things go. People of all ages look up to people football players and it's not a good example to set. The Feds should go after him to show what he has done is wrong and there are consequences. This is part of the fame. AND, for Emmitt to say they that are going after him to get bigger fish....does he really think they do not do that with "regular" people? Come on Emmitt, start living in the real world. They do that no matter who you are.

What is it?

What is it?
Originally uploaded by photo kitten.

Back for now.

Is any one still reading me? Have I lost all my readers....or should I say...reader? My only faithful reader is Mike, I think ~ thanks, Mike!

Had to have some time away. Not sure how long I'll stick around tho. My work load is heavy and things are changing dramatically around here. As you may recall, my department has merged with another departement and we will be moving to their building next week. It's exactly like getting a new job.....that you were not looking for.

We will have all new people around us, all new rules and all new mucky mucks to answer to. We're going from having very few rules in a casual style office, to big rules in a very corporate style office. I've gone from never having meetings, to having two meetings a week starting this week. So nothing is the same, except for the actual work I do....and it sounds like that is about to change, too. The group I work with is merging with another group and I think we will be expected to absorb some of their workload. So lots more to do. And I'm an old dog in many ways.....I don't like to learn new tricks. But I'll have to. And I'll have to appear excited about it. Notice I say "appear"...meaning I'll have to fake being interested. It's just, what I already do, which seems to be a complete mystery to people other than the few I work with, is already a lot of work. So adding more to it in a new environment just isn't something I'm not looking forward to. I was pretty positive about this when they first told us about it because I saw it as an opportunity for making my work life better. But the more we move towards it, the more I see that casual to corporate is not such a fun prospect.

But as always, you can't really judge it until it actually happens. So maybe it won't be so bad....trying not to roll my eyes here.

Anyway, I will try and post if I feel like it, but once we are over there, me and my little work space will be more exposed to the masses and I'm thinking that blogging won't be something I want people to see me doing. Plus, my supervisor is being moved from an office to a cube, so she will be somewhere close ~ perhaps right next to me! I am rolling my eyes now.

I don't usually blog on the weekend or at night, so I may not be around very much after next week. We'll see tho.


All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another. ~Anatole France

Farmers Market

Greg took me to a farmers market recently and, my goodness, the stands were just loaded with fruits and veggies. Not to mention flowers galore. I got plums, peaches, stawberries, green beans, mangos, bell peppers, cucumbers....an much more. Of everything, the peaches were the very best. I've never had good fresh peaches from the grocery store. They're always tasteless. But these were sooo good. The plums were also very good. So sweet a juicy.

So this weekend, search online for farmers markets in your area and head out and see what you find! Maybe some plums and peaches to make the crisp below :)


Plum and Peach Crisp Recipe

From 101cookbooks.com

Fruit:
1 pound ripe peaches
1 pound ripe plums
1/4 cup natural cane sugar (or brown sugar)
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoons arrowroot (or cornstarch)
a scant 1/2 teaspoon orange blossom water (optional)

Crisp:
3/4 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup white whole wheat flour (or all-purpose flour)
1/2 cup natural cane sugar (or brown sugar)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
big pinch of salt
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup yogurt

Special equipment: 8x8 square baking dish or equivalent

Preheat the oven to 400F degrees.

Cut the peaches and plums into bite-sized, 1-inch pieces. I cut relatively chubby slices and then cut them again in quarters or thirds. Place the chopped fruit in a medium-sized bowl.

In a separate small bowl whisk together the 1/4 cup sugar and the arrowroot. Sprinkle over the fruit, toss gently (but well), add the orange blossom water (optional), toss again, and transfer the fruit to an 8-inch square baking dish (or your favorite equivalent-sized, deep-sided, solid-bottomed tart pan).

To make the topping combine the oats, flour, and sugar together in a medium bowl. Stir in the butter, and then the yogurt and mix until everything comes together in a dough-like texture. Sprinkle the crumble evenly over the plum and peach mixture.

Place the baking dish in the oven, middle rack, and bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until the topping is golden.

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Have a good weekend everyone!

Skinny Omelettes

I think I must make these and eat them for lunch!

Custom

I think I'm going to order a pair of custom made jeans.

A month or so ago someone at work told me that QVC makes custom jeans. I had my doubts about this. Someone she knew said she had ordered a pair. I questioned her a bit about this because it just didn't make any sense. I mean, why would QVC, of all places, be selling custom jeans? They are all about buying enormous quantities of things....so why on earth would they make a pair of jeans for someone? I had meant to check it out online when I got back to my desk, but I never got around to it. Then yesterday, my two cubemates got to talking about jeans and that sparked my memory and I poked around on QVC's website. Low and behold, QVC really does make custom jeans! And, they are only $49.50 (tax and shipping). That is less than designer jeans! I was expecting them to be at least $100 bucks.

The whole idea sounds interesting. The only thing I am not crazy about is the fabric they use...."stretch blend of cotton and Lycra". I am not a fan or stretch jeans. Just have never liked them. But for custom made jeans, I think I can over look it.

I'll let you know how it all works out. Takes six weeks to get them.

If you are interested, go to QVC and type in item number A7318.

Did you know...

Did you know those tiny silver balls on cookies and wedding cakes called dragées are illegal in California? You can see a picture of them on this order form if you don't know what I'm talking about.

You have to wonder what cake decorators in California do if they need some of those? Maybe there is an illegal smuggling ring out of Mexico that all the cake decorators know about. They meet in the alleys behind their cake shops in the wee hours of the morning and make the buy....

Is it just me, or does the girl in this look like demon? I mean, even her canine teeth are pointy!

I'm not usually one to be scared of little girls, but if that one turned and smiled at me like that, I'd run.

Not very much going on. Things at work are still kind of up in the air. We know we are moving around July 1st, but we don't know where. Things are not very clear. I suspect we will know more in a few weeks. Until then we are in a holding pattern.

I will find out tomorrow if my photos have won or been accepted for display for the SD Fair. I had a horrible dream about that a week ago. I heard through the grapevine that they got over 10,000 photos this year. More than any other year. So I'm not excited at all. I'm fairly sure I will not make it in. Not doing so good on the contest front these days.

I do have some good news tho. The pumpkin seeds I planted a few months ago have grown and this morning when I looked it the vines, I have a sprout that will trun into a pumpkin! So that made me happy. I've always thought it would be fun to have a big pumpkin patch in my back yard and at Halloween I could have a pumpkin carving party and everyone could choose their pumpkin from my pumpkin patch. Who knows....maybe someday it will happen :)

Have a good weekend, everyone!

Sorry for my lack of posting. It's been more than busy.

Last week I had a relapse. I was feeling so much better, then doo doo again. By Friday I was doing better. Today I feel good, but if I talk too much, my voice starts to get weak.

Also last week, the director of my department called an emergency meeting. This is a really long an involved story, so I am going to try and make it short and easy to understand.

My department is disbanding.

By orders of higher powers, we have to merge in another department on campus. I thought maybe my department would just move over under the "umbrella" of this other department, but we are actually just merging into one big department with them....and my departemnt will be gone. All our jobs have to be reassigned. We have to, in a way, interview for our current jobs. Since we are merging, there are already people *there* who do some of the things we do and they don't need a bunch of employees doing all the same things.

It's a mess. And it's scary. And stressful.

But there isn't much to do but move forward with it. It's happening and there is nothing any of us can do about it. So, say a kind word for me. I want this to work out to be a good thing. I need to be positive. It has to work out.

--

Ok so far no guesses on the L. Maybe it is harder than I thought it would be.

Let's see.....a good hint.

Ok, a hint in this poem:


Red Shirt Blue Jean Girl

Red shirt blue jean girl
Ya know she told me
To be as reckless as I please
As she looked at me
I couldn't help but see
That she sold her mind
To that which is gold
And in her hands
She held a bird
From a south bound flock
As she sang quietly
About the loss of god
And gold and glory.
To me she leaned
Upon the fence.
And to me she crooned
WIth a heart's desire
Smuggled in a breath

Okay, the L has been sloved

Weekend Review

I was under quarantine most of the weekend. Didn't really feel like doing very much and I didn't need to be passing my Snot Eye around. Greg took me to a few craft stores in an attempt to make me feel better. He's sweet :) But mostly I was home. My eye infection is pretty much gone and my ear infection finally stopped hurting Sunday. I have my voice back but I'm still on the penicillin for another week. Don't ask me how I got so sick. Maybe riding the shuttle with all those germ infested kids.

Okay, something fun.

What is this letter L famous for?



It is famous. No question. And I'd bet cash that everyone who reads me knows this L. At least every American will know it. You can't be American and not know about this. I have to choose my words carefully because if I say just the wrong thing, it will give you too much of a hint.

Greg is the only one who cannot play....because he had to help me "acquire" the L.

Hint posted in the comments

Finally had to go to the emergency room last night. My ear ache was getting pretty bad and I had snot coming out of my eye. Yes, you read that correctly. I'll get to that in a minute.

It was a mad house at the emergency room! I have been to the ER a handful of times and mostly the wait has not been too bad. Last night....there was a line to check in! Ugh. So I sat and watched TV with the other 100 people in the waiting room or an hour and then got called in. Then I sat for an 1.5 hours waiting to see a doctor. He finally saw me and told me I have:

Laryngitis (I already figured that's what I had)
An ear infection
A bacterial eye infection

So I have ear drops, eye drops and penicillin.

Ok, snot coming out of my eye. I really did seem like snot. And a lot of it. Never ending. It was this yellowish greenish mucus and it was as disgusting as it sounds. That started yesterday. I had no idea what I had done to myself when that started flowing. Thankfully it wasn't really snot. I'm only mad at myself for not getting a photo of it. After I started my eye drops, the snot is pretty much gone and now it's just puffy and really red. I could have grossed Laura out with that photo over and over. Oh well.

So during the 1.5 hours waiting in my little "room" in the ER (just closed off by curtains), I could see a man walking around with a little boy in his arms. The boy was only in a diaper and had to be around 2 years old. The father was singing to him very softly and stroking his hair to comfort him. It was touching. A while later, it was time for the doctor to look at the little boy. Oh man.....the boy just started crying and crying at whatever they were doing to him. Between the sobs, I could hear "da da....daa daaaa!". I totally lost it and my eyes watered up for that little boy. I felt so bad for him. And that poor father....must have been hell for him.

I just got to thinking about what parents do for their kids. I'm sure my Mom and Dad held me like that when I was a baby when I was sick. But I just never thought about it.

That's it for now.

Buffy is all better and running like a dream. Actually, she always runs like a dream. Even when she was sick. The only way I know something is wrong with her is when I hear that little "ding" prompting me to notice something like her coolent light is on. It might seem like I've had a lot of problems with her...does it seem like that? I'm not really sure if I have or not. These days cars have all these newfangled things on them and it just makes for lots more things to break. But....you know....can't avoid technology. I think Buffy is a good car. And just about everything that has gone wrong has been covered under warranty. Including the water pump which is what this last problem was all about. She's a 2003, so....not bad so far? I'd say this is the first major repair she's had. Other stuff was sensors and crap like that.

My other car....er, truck, has been a great to own, too. I didn't name the truck. Let's name it now. How about....Luke! Yup, so Luke is a little Toyota pickup. Got him when he was a year old. He's a 1988. Next year he will be 20 years old! Wow. He's got 178 thousand miles. With the exception of one major problem, he has run very well. He's had all the usual things....needs a new battery, new tires....blah, blah, but every car needs that stuff. So for 19.5 years, he has really been a good to me. Greg drives him now. I got Luke after I started dating Greg, so he remembers what Luke was like back in his heyday. He was handsome. Still looks good.....just a little gray around the edges.

And, of course, there was my first VW. The white bug with the plaid seats. I wrote about that car and the seats in my old blog. That post talks about another post.....and you can read it here if you so desire.

Okay, enough of this riveting post about my history with cars.

I, by the way, am still sick. I'm pretty convinced it's laryngitis.

Sick In San Diego

I'm sick.

Buffy is sick.

:(

I started to get sick Thursday night around 4pm. I was loosing my voice. By Friday, it was pretty much just a squeek here and there when I would talk. Yesterday and today, sometimes nothing comes out when I try to talk. And I feel rotten in general. I've got a sort of sore throat all the time. And at night when I lay down, I can't breath very well. So....does that sound like laryngitis? I honestly don't remember ever having that before, so I'm not sure if that's what I have or if it's just a weird cold. I think going to the doctor would be worthless.

Buffy got sick Thursday, too. She had a fever. Her coolent light came on while I was driving home. After some general medical care from us, the doctor, I mean dealer, said she had to come in for a visit. We had to have her towed because it wasn't safe to drive her in. Didn't want to risk engine damage.



Still no word on her condition yet. Poor Buffy.

Well, that's about it. Think good thoughts for both me and Buffy.

A Million Thanks

I wish I had seen this earlier. I was watching TV today and saw an commercial for "A Million Thanks". The basic idea is to send thank you cards to US military men and women. The orginization has been collecting cards since 2004. Had I known, I would have been sending cards to them often. It's just my kind of outlet to support the troops. The commercial I saw was for a special collection benifit for the month of May. You can drop off your thank you letter at any GMC, Pontiac, or Buick dealership until Memorial Day. They have special collection boxes just for the cards. I'm going to make mine today and drop them off at a dealership that's close to me.

Get involved. Tell everyone at work to make a card or buy one. Offer to gather them up and drop them off at the end of the week. Maybe put a collection box in the lunchroom at work so people can just drop it in and not have to find you. Have your kids tell their teacher about it and maybe have the whole class make cards as part of a homework assginement. It's short notice, but I think people will want to show their support.

Visit this website for more information: http://amillionthanks.org

:-)

this, that and whatever comes to mind

For years I thought the lyrics in ELO's (Electric Light Orchestra) "Sweet Talkin' Woman" was actually "Sweet Talkin' Lola". To this day, I sing it wrong beause even tho I know they are saying sweet talkin' woman, all I hear is sweet talkin' Lola. And honestly, it sounds better with Lola :)

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One of the best things in the world is whipped cream (Schlog) out of a can. Not Cool Whip.....that's totally different and not as good.

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The other night I told my mom about how to figure out her porn name (first pets name= first name and first street you lived on= last name). Her's is Midnight Six! Is that not one of the best porn names you've heard? My dad figured his out too, but I can't remember what his last name was. His first name was Smudge. Laughs!! But the best of all time is Greg's porn name. Brutus Chantilly. That just kills me. And his pet named Brutus....a parakeet. I'm Pookie Dorchester. What a pair we are.

--
The coffee cart guy at work thinks my name is Drucilla.

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pantheon: 1, the place of the heroes or idols of any group. 2, a temple dedicated to all the gods.

--
I snuck into a huge event hosted by a radio station.

I was alone and only a limited number of people could get in. People had lined up and counted, so I knew going to the end of the line was useless. Just giving up and going home wasn't an option since I had put in a lot of time and trouble to get there. So I quickly devised a plan. I went to the snack bar, bought two cups of cocoa and then acted like I was lost and could not find my husband.

"I just went to get us some cocoa and now I can't kind him anywhere..." I said wide-eyed and innocent.

A very nice police officer escorted me to the front of the line and said I could wait there until he showed up. When the doors opened, I merged right in with a man who had no idea what was going on. I was prepared to cry if I had to. Thankfully it didn't come to that. I think it was a brilliant plan.

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I'll leave you with this from YouTube. You need to be aware that this will make you laugh, so be ready for it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnudM458uz8

At work, we have students working our help desk. They are all usually programmers in training or something. Pretty smart kids.

One problem we have is, our departnent takes up 2 floors, so we can't just walk over and ask someone a question. Because of that problem, we have a kind of messaging software in place that is like instant messenger. It makes it really easy to talk to each other. So the students page me and ask questions when they don't know something or get stuck. Virginia paged me yesterday and this is how it went:

[11:59:42] Virginia: Hi, I have a data base question. I'm trying to create an email account for someone, but when I enter in the part in the DB for forwarding, the email address has so many characters, the entire email address gets cut off
[11:59:54] Virginia: is there a limit on how many characters can be entered in the mailbox?
[12:00:18] me: how long is the username?
[12:00:38] Virginia: 8 characters
[12:00:55] me: humm. save what you have and then I'll go in and look at it
[12:01:09] Virginia: ok, you can check it now
[12:01:31] me: you are in the wrong field.
[12:01:34] Virginia: i am?
[12:01:40] me: field 5 for mail address
[12:01:51] me: you are in the middle name field
[12:02:03] Virginia: oh my gosh
[12:02:07] Virginia: *embarassed*
[12:02:43] me: no need to be embarassed. we all do these things sometimes.
[12:02:45] Virginia: well, that makes a lot of sense why it didn't fit!
[12:04:13] Virginia: good thing i asked you and didn't page the whole room
[12:05:43] me: *chuckles*
[12:07:03] Virginia: Thanks for your help!
[12:07:10] me: sure, no problem
[12:07:13] Virginia: and uhm....don't tell anyone....
[12:07:18] Virginia: I'm already picked on enough here
[12:07:36] me: you're safe. I won't tell anyone ;)

Ok, so I lied and I'm telling all of you. But you don't know her, so I think it's okay. I trust none of you will be running off to tell all the other student geeks she works with :)

Health Quiz!

I only got 7 out of 16 right. So seems I know about about 8th grade history than my body.


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On a more important subject, please look at this and email spread the word.

*Update: The email yesterday wasn't about the card contest. It was just a coincidence that I got email from them regarding something else. So that was disappointing. Maybe today....tho I don't think I'm going to hear from them. Oh well.

I'm incredibly tired today. I've been having a lot of trouble with my neck and shoulder over the past few weeks so I took a muscle relaxer last night. I should really go to the chiropractor and get adjusted, but I don't have one. Greg goes to a chiropractor and he seems to like him, but I am leery. Mostly because he seemed very interested in having me come in to see him, too. I was the one who phoned his office to see if Greg could get in to see him ASAP. He, the chiropractor, covers the phones for his desk staff between 7am-8am....so he's the one I talked to. Whenever someone seems overly happy or interested in me, I get suspicious. I am not a friendly person and I know that harms me in social ways, but I also think it's beneficial because it makes me more aware. I'm sure his interest is purely financial, but when Greg came home and told me he'd been asking what year I graduated and what high school I went to, that just sealed it for me. The question just came up in general conversation, but I think it's creepy.

Okay, enough of me prattling on and on about my sixth sense :)

Pins & Needles

UPDATE: The pins and needles have turned to nails. I just got an email from Paper Crafts that says "thank you".

That's it.....nothing else. So either they are writing to say "thank you for your entry, you have won" or "thank you for your entry, while we love your cards, you have not won".

*SIGHS!*

I wrote back and the message was retured as undeliverable. Good lord people....are they trying to kill me with suspense?

---


Today is going to be pins and needles day. If I am going to hear, today would be the day I hear from PaperCrafts if I've placed in the card contest. They say "on or about May 14th" is when we will hear if we have won. So I've been checking my email every 10 minutes. I suppose if I don't hear something today, I can still have some hope since it says "on or about" but I just have a feeling if I'm going to hear, it will be today. I'm sure they have the winners picked....the deadline to have your cards in was 4/27. We'll see.

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So Earl won the million bucks. And Dreamz killed it for Yau. I wanted either Earl or Yau to win, so I'm happy. But I do feel bad for Yau. No car, no million ~ I can't help but feel bad for him. I knew there was no way Dreamz would win so I wasn't worried about that, but I would have had a cow if Cassandra won. She was so......yuck. She'd turn on you in a second and then play Mom to you the next. In my opinion, she is no better than Dreamz where moral values are concerned. And I know the game is not about moral values, but Earl and Yau are good examples of how you can maintain character and still play the game. Cassandra definitely rode coattails and did some back stabbing along the way.

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Saturday night our neighbor had a 16th birthday bash for his son. They really went all out....had a DJ and it was catered. There were tons of people there. We're not sure, but there is a truck over there that we have not seen before, so they might have given him that has a gift. I just see that as a nightmare waiting to happen. The father is very abusive and has a very short fuse, so should this kid make any kind of mistake....yeesh. It won't be a fun day in the neighborhood.

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That's all I have for today.


"Love Many, Trust Few, Do Wrong To None ~ Yau-Man

Recipe

Alright, before you say "Ewww, I don't like that" ~ try to keep an open mind, okay?

Today I have a tofu recipe.

*can almost hear the "eewwws" now*

In defence of tofu, I don't really understand why people don't like it. If you eat it alone, it's sort of plain and not very interesting. But when you cook it in a sauce or with other things, it takes on the flavor of what it's with. My friend Laura had a curry tofu sandwich a month or so ago at a conference with me and she had some reservations about it. However, after eating it, she said she really liked it and would eat it again. So there! I have someone on record who I would say is not adventurous in the food department and she ate it and would eat it again. In fact, she recently said something to me about liking her food plain....or maybe it was bland. I forget. But anyway, if she liked it, then maybe you will too!

And really....be honest. Have you tried tofu recently? Or did you eat it once back in the 80's when all they put on it was that hideous tahini sauce?

Keep an open mind, people.

Tofu Curry Sandwich

1 firm block tofu
Olive oil
salt
black pepper
1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
1/3 cup white wine
1/4 cup chutney (recommended: Major Gray's)
3 tablespoons curry powder
1 cup medium-diced celery
1/4 cup chopped scallions
1/4 cup raisins (optional)
6 tortillas

1. Press tofu to remove excess water: Place tofu on a flat surface. Cover with a cutting board, and place an iron skillet or a similarly heavy object on top. Allow it to sit for about 30 minutes.

2. For the dressing, combine the mayonnaise, wine, chutney, curry powder, and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt in the bowl of a food processor or blender. Process until smooth.

3. Cut tofu into small cubes and combine with enough dressing to moisten well. Add the celery, scallions, and raisins, and mix well. Refrigerate for a few hours to allow the flavors to blend.

4. Fill the center of each tortilla with the tofu mixture. Fold the 2 sides of the tortilla over the filling so that the sides overlap. Roll the tortilla from bottom to top, and cut in half diagonally.

aber - aca - dabr

I'm not sure I did a good job with the title. It's a play on the word abracadabra...like in magic.

I call Abby "aber aca dabr". Like.....Abbr....rather than Abby....

See, still not sure I'm doing a good job at this.

Ok, anyway, she's a funny little thing. She hides under the carpet in Greg's office. I'm pretty sure she thinks we don't know she's under there. You know....that big bump under the rug isn't noticeable at all. Sometimes her foot or her tail is sticking out....it just kills me. And that little patch of black on her chin....I mean, isn't that the most aborable thing? I know everyone thinks their cat, dog, rabbit, ferret, parakeet, hamster, goldfish is the cutest....but come on....she is pretty darn cute.

I watched "The Interpreter" Sunday night. My reason for watching it was because Sean Penn is in it.

I think I have posted about this before, but I have a "thing" for Sean Penn. I don't really know what it is about him. Well, that's not exactly true....I do know. He resembles Greg. Tho not so much in this movie. But when I look at him, I see things that just make me think of Greg. I think it's the hair and his eyes. A lot about the eyes. They both have these piercing blue eyes. But there is something else, too. I just can't name it because I don't exactly know what it is. Maybe a mannerism or an expression he has....I don't quite know. I sat and looked at this photo from the movie for a long time and, like I said, he does not look too much like Greg here because he looks older. But there still is something about him. I bet Greg will look a lot like this in 10 years. Look at them side by side.

Aside from all that, the movie was good. Nicole Kidman is in it too and I thought she did a good job. It has a good pace and never leaves you ywaning. I have no recollection of how it did at the box office or if the critics liked it, but I can't go off that stuff anyway. If the critics hate it, I ususally love it. So either I have low expectations where movies are concerned or the critics are too harsh. Maybe a little of both.

There you have it. A kitten crush and a movie review.

I figured it would be 1950something

You Belong in 1954

You're fun loving, romantic, and more than a little innocent. See you at the drive in!

What Year Do You Belong In?

***

You Passed 8th Grade US History

Congratulations, you got 6/8 correct!

Could You Pass 8th Grade History?

Course I have no idea which ones I got wrong because it does not tell you. But at least I passed.

hello again

Been gone for a few days.....miss me?

I have been in bed not feeling well. Getting better though.

Had to share this with you. Watch the first movie. Just amazing to me.

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If you are an ice cream lover, also check out 101 Cookbooks today. She has a frozen yogurt recipe that she says may never make her go back to ice cream again. I'm tempted to try it because it sounds amazingly simple and she has me believing it is yummy.

Have a good weekend, everyone!