a few memes for fun

More Emotional


You have:
70% SCIENTIFIC INTUITION and
77% EMOTIONAL INTUITION The graph represents your place in Intuition 2-Space. As you can see, you scored well above average on emotional intuition and above average on scientific intuition. Your emotional intuition is stronger than your scientific intuition.


Your Emotional Intuition score is a measure of how well you understand people, especially their unspoken needs and sympathies. A high score score usually indicates social grace and persuasiveness. A low score usually means you're good at Quake.

Your Scientific Intuition score tells you how in tune you are with the world around you; how well you understand your physical and intellectual environment. People with high scores here are apt to succeed in business and, of course, the sciences.
Try my other test!
The 3 Variable Funny Test
It rules.

My test tracked 2 variables. How you compared to other people your age and gender:
You scored higher than 71% on Scientific
You scored higher than 80% on Interpersonal

The 2-Variable Intuition Test written by jason_bateman



Yeah, I know I'm very intelligent and very empathetic. I've gotten less empathetic over the last few years because I was so empathetic I was having trouble functioning. I kinda wish when the test was finished they'd have shown us what the correct answers were, though - I'm curious. The other thing that occurs to me is this: does anybody that takes this test and gets a result somewhere in the "stupid" circle actually post their results?




Test Results

Extroversion |||||||||||||| 56%
Emotional Stability |||||| 30%
Orderliness |||||||||| 33%
Accommodation |||||||||||||||| 63%
Inquisitiveness |||||||||||||||||| 73%

Your sloan type is SLUAI

Your primary type is Inquisitive

You are moderately social, moody, unstructured, accommodating, and intellectual, and may prefer a city which matches those traits.


The largest representation of your personality type can be found in the these U.S. cities: New Orleans, Albuquerque/Santa Fe, Greensboro, Memphis, Providence, Washington DC, Pittsburgh, Orlando, Salt Lake City, Portland/Salem, St. Louis and these international countries/regions Puerto Rico, Iceland, Kazakhstan, Luxembourg, Turkey, Ireland, Ukraine, England, South Africa, Greece, Wales, Brazil, Switzerland, South Korea


Well, New Orleans may be wiped off the face of the map after this hurricane. I had wished that J & I had had time to go back there again, so we had more happy memories of the place - but in looking through our pictures last night, I realized that there were a lot of happy memories to be had, and that they were only tainted if my memory let them be - so I'll erase that picture of a hummingbird I took for her while we were there, and in time my memory will probably only cover what the photographs cover, which will be nice.

J's dad just called - he's been holding off on our birthday presents to see if we got the house, and now that everything is official, he's going to get J a lawnmower (how sexist!) and me one of those big portable gazebo things that are screened in, so the kids & I can play outside without getting eaten alive. Eeeeeeeee! I'm so excited! Joan is going to help us decorate and paint and everything - I can't wait; I finally get to say "you know, I think I'd like this room to be green" and I CAN DO IT! WOOHOO!!

Okay, must stay focused. Lot of packing and sorting still to do. J & I spent many hours in the garage yesterday, sorting out keep/trash/garage sale, but there's still a lot to do. Dad brought down a bag full of newspaper, so I'm starting to pack the china and crystal. Mom has more boxes for me to pick up at school today. M woke up eeeaaaarly this morning, and was very excited about going to school, and C is in a GREAT mood, I keep playing kissy monster with him because he's so adorable and cheerful I just want to eat him up! He did the COOLEST thing last night. I was on the bed reading, and he came and laid down next to me on his stomach, and looked into my face, and put his hand back to touch his bottom and said "di?" Sure enough, he needed a clean diaper! How I managed to get such amazingly awesome kids I still don't know, but they're a blast.

Off to pack and clean and do laundry and play with C until it's time to go pick up big sister - I hope everybody's summer is going as well as ours is right now!

Man, some people are such LIARS!

Okay, so my parents and I decided to sell the four acres I grew up on that we've held on to all these years. For years I'd planned on at some point moving back there and building a house... but my life is totally different now, and my desires are different. It's not that I don't still love the land - I do, ticks, giant spiders and all... but I'm not particularly fond of the neighbors.

Anyway, so, love my parents though I do, they're not very good at breaking personal inertia (I can sympathize) so I introduced them to my realtor (If anybody wants to buy or sell a house around here, I gotta say Kathy Reardon has MORE than earned her commission with the house we're buying - she's a great sweetie) and basically held their hands through most of the proceedings... and there were interested buyers willing to pay full price. Woohoo! So they had an inspector go up to check on the well and septic tank that's already out there.

Let me tell you the history on this well. When my parents first moved to this land, they couldn't afford to have a well drilled. Mom was 7 months pregnant at the time. Their neighbors said that when THEY moved in, they had a similar problem, and THEIR neighbors let them run a hose to the house until they could save up to dig their own well, and that they were willing to pass it forward, so to speak. My parents very gratefully said thank you, and took them up on their offer. However, when I was about 4 months old, right before christmas, the water suddenly stopped. When dad went over to check to see what was wrong, he discovered that the couple had evidently been having marital problems, and one or the other or both of them had left, and nobody had paid the electricity bill for a while - so, no power, no water from an electric well. So I'm 4 months old; mom's doing cloth diapers, it's almost Christmas, and they have no water - she starts going down the list of well drillers in the phone book. Everybody says "Sure, we can do it.. in six months." When mom calls Mr. Cox, he took pity on her, and said that they were planning on taking christmas week off, but that they could come out and get a well drilled for my parents. He and his 19 year old son came out during their vacation... so dad cashed in his army life insurance policy, and the family had a well. (Best tasting water ever, too. I miss that water.)

So this well was put in 30 years ago this Christmas. After hurricane Kate knocked 3 trees down on the trailer up there in 85, we moved into town, and the place has been vacant ever since. J & I had been up a few times, and we'd checked the well - still worked, amazingly enough. Well, whomever the buyers had go out there to look at the well said that it had collapsed in, and quoted them $10,500 to take off the old tank & pump and get them a new well. So I called Mr. Cox's son, who was now running his father's business (his father having passed away). Not only did he remember us, he said he'd be more than happy to come out the next day and take a look at it. He explained that the reason for the high estimate was because to close up the old well, they'd have to pull out the pump, and then pump concrete down the hole to seal it off, etc (new regulation) and that most well drillers now use a rotary drill, like they do for oil drilling, only slightly modified. They charge a flat rate down to 150 ft or so, and then $12 each additional foot. Because oil drills were designed to seal off surface water above oil pockets, rotary drills for water frequently don't register any shallow water that they find, and frequently have to go as deep as 350 ft. He said they go fast; they can do that much in a day, but the way he does wells - by punching - that distance would take him 4 or 5 days. However, because of the way he punches wells, he's aware of what's happening inch by inch, and frequently doesn't have to go as deep. My parents' well was only 165 ft deep, for example.

This morning we met Mr. Cox out at the property. I think it was kind of an emotional reunion for mom, so I was glad she was there. I wish dad hadn't been feeling so poorly, I think it would have made his day too. Mr. Cox fiddled with the wires a bit, and within about 5 minutes had water gushing out. (Caved in well my aunt patootie.) He said that the wiring needed to be redone, and that the pump MIGHT need to be replaced, particularly with a slightly more powerful one, but that the well looked fine otherwise. WOOHOO! I can't wait to send his written report to the guy that the buyers had run out there & check - I think his name is Mills. He's either incompetent or dishonest - he said that he'd checked this well 4 years ago. I told the realtor that the guy was on crack or the wrong road, because nobody's been living there for forever, and certainly nobody asked to have the well checked 4 years ago! Mom joked that we should tell them if they actually WERE out there checking the well 4 years ago that she'll have them arrested for trespassing.

I'M SO GLAD IT'S FRIDAY!!!

{bounces about happily}

This has been one of the longest two weeks of my life - but it's actually been wonderful, and just about everything is looking up! I've felt so close to J lately; even through all the stress - it's been really great to have my best friend, my partner, right here. We even came up with the same idea for dinner independently yesterday, which was kinda creepy but cool at the same time. (And it was REALLY yummy.)

Gotta go - it hasn't slowed down yet.

Who Will Say 'No More'?

By Gary Hart

Wednesday, August 24, 2005; Page A15

"Waist deep in the Big Muddy and the big fool said to push on," warned an anti-Vietnam war song those many years ago. The McGovern presidential campaign, in those days, which I know something about, is widely viewed as a cause for the decline of the Democratic Party, a gateway through which a new conservative era entered.

Like the cat that jumped on a hot stove and thereafter wouldn't jump on any stove, hot or cold, today's Democratic leaders didn't want to make that mistake again. Many supported the Iraq war resolution and -- as the Big Muddy is rising yet again -- now find themselves tongue-tied or trying to trump a war president by calling for deployment of more troops. Thus does good money follow bad and bad politics get even worse.

History will deal with George W. Bush and the neoconservatives who misled a mighty nation into a flawed war that is draining the finest military in the world, diverting Guard and reserve forces that should be on the front line of homeland defense, shredding international alliances that prevailed in two world wars and the Cold War, accumulating staggering deficits, misdirecting revenue from education to rebuilding Iraqi buildings we've blown up, and weakening America's national security.

But what will history say about an opposition party that stands silent while all this goes on? My generation of Democrats jumped on the hot stove of Vietnam and now, with its members in positions of responsibility, it is afraid of jumping on any political stove. In their leaders, the American people look for strength, determination and self-confidence, but they also look for courage, wisdom, judgment and, in times of moral crisis, the willingness to say: "I was wrong."

To stay silent during such a crisis, and particularly to harbor the thought that the administration's misfortune is the Democrats' fortune, is cowardly. In 2008 I want a leader who is willing now to say: "I made a mistake, and for my mistake I am going to Iraq and accompanying the next planeload of flag-draped coffins back to Dover Air Force Base. And I am going to ask forgiveness for my mistake from every parent who will talk to me."

Further, this leader should say: "I am now going to give a series of speeches across the country documenting how the administration did not tell the American people the truth, why this war is making our country more vulnerable and less secure, how we can drive a wedge between Iraqi insurgents and outside jihadists and leave Iraq for the Iraqis to govern, how we can repair the damage done to our military, what we and our allies can do to dry up the jihadists' swamp, and what dramatic steps we must take to become energy-secure and prevent Gulf Wars III, IV and so on."

At stake is not just the leadership of the Democratic Party and the nation but our nation's honor, our nobility and our principles. Franklin D. Roosevelt established a national community based on social justice. Harry Truman created international networks that repaired the damage of World War II and defeated communism. John F. Kennedy recaptured the ideal of the republic and the sense of civic duty. To expect to enter this pantheon, the next Democratic leader must now undertake all three tasks.

But this cannot be done while the water is rising in the Big Muddy of the Middle East. No Democrat, especially one now silent, should expect election by default. The public trust must be earned, and speaking clearly, candidly and forcefully now about the mess in Iraq is the place to begin.

The real defeatists today are not those protesting the war. The real defeatists are those in power and their silent supporters in the opposition party who are reduced to repeating "Stay the course" even when the course, whatever it now is, is light years away from the one originally undertaken. The truth is we're way off course. We've stumbled into a hornet's nest. We've weakened ourselves at home and in the world. We are less secure today than before this war began.

Who now has the courage to say this?

The writer is a former Democratic senator from Colorado.

I hate summer

I've never dealt well with heat. Today the heat index was up to 105 - and we went downtown to see the caribbean festival. I wonder how many people got medical attention for heat stroke... needless to say, we didn't stay very long. I've been feeling weird for a week or two now anyway - J thinks I've developed IBS from the stress. I think I'm hormonal. Or something. It's weird, I have days (or parts of days) where I'm on top of everything; organized, with it, on time - and then days like today when my brain just doesn't seem quite connected to the rest of the planet, and my emotions are either absent or very well buried.

Happy Birthday to us!

For our birthdays this year, J & I decided to give each other a house.

Not too shabby, eh? So we're moving again. But probably for the last time in a loooong time.

Haupt, casero, à la maison, domestico, 家, 가정, 家庭, fàrdach, dachaidh, oayll, thie

Be it ever so humble, there's no place like it, no matter what you call it.

WOOHOO!

What a day

I have to agree with Khang, I think I like this one best as well. Having a kick-ass camera pays off!

I love The Straight Dope. Threadspotting is always good, and this thread sounds like a conversation my friends and I would have. Or have had, come to think of it. I remember J & Bill comparing the Hundred Acre Woods characters to WWII countries/leaders. Very entertaining; it's things like that that make me miss Bill. I have an anniversary card to send him - they got married sometime in August, I don't know when. I'll have to do that tomorrow.

Uncle Patrick took both J & I out to dinner tonight - we had a WONDERFUL time. The food at Clusters & Hops is divine - I'd never eaten there before; had always just bought cheese or wine or somesuch. Mom watched the kids for us, which was really nice of her, especially since it had just been the first day of school and she was tired. I'm not going to tell her that I'm planning on going to Mass this weekend; I don't feel like getting into an involved conversation with her right now.

We put the contract in on the house today. Our realtor called us an hour or so later and said "You won't believe this... somebody put in a contract on the house last night." Months of no action, then bam! out of the blue. So, we're hoping that they decide they don't want it, but we know the likelihood is slim and are continuing to look for a house to buy. All the ones I've seen so far & called about have been "sale pending."

Today was the orientation at Moira's school - I think she's going to really enjoy it. Miss Elizabeth, her teacher, seems really sweet.

And I am really tired and am going to go to sleep.

wow I'm tired

We didn't get back from Tampa until 3am - but Tori was wonderful. I got to hear Hey Jupiter live, and during her "Tori's Piano Bar" time (where she plays requests people have sent in to the website) she played Burning Ring of Fire - I couldn't stop laughing, but it was really well done. Then she played I'm On Fire (by Springsteen) and I cracked up again. Khang got some really good pictures, it looked like (we've got our sneaking-the-camera-routine down pat now. heehee) and I can't wait to see them. I've gotta lose some weight; I was looking at what she was wearing and thinking "hrm, that looks comfy and like something I'd like to wear...' but if I tried to wear it now, I'd look like a lumpy pillow that got caught in a wheat thresher.

We were behind the cutest gay couple (actually, we were pretty much surrounded by gay couples); these two guys were really sweet. Khang & I skipped the opening acts to have dinner - thai food! Yummm. He was nice enough to help me look up Alessi bakery - my mom grew up in Tampa and said their cuban bread was amazing - but they were already closed, so I couldn't bring her back a loaf.

Logan was sweet enough to watch the kids for me from 3 until J got off work yesterday; we made really good time on the trip down, thank goodness.

I forgot my mantra

Hopefully it'll come to me.

WTF is up with MSN's popup ad thing blocking what I'm trying to read about the Today show? No, I'm not going to download your stinking MSN popup blocking toolbar crap; I don't have Windoze and I don't use that POS Internet Explorer... once I've clicked on it once, you should darn well remove the stupid thing! {grumble grumble} I wonder if firefox would do something different than safari does...

Wrote a long post and then deleted it. Rationality wins for the night.

Maybe it's a sign...

I have a little quote-a-day flipbook thing that I usually forget for a week or two at a time. I happened to see it as I was walking past today, and went ahead to flip it to the correct day - and the quote for yesterday caught my eye:

"To thee I'll return, over-burdened with care;
The heart's dearest solace will smile on me there;
No more from that cottage again will I roam;
Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home!"
- John Howard Payne



Yesterday we went and saw a house that we're going to make an offer on. I'm very excited.

Today's quote? "Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be." - Abraham Lincoln

Oh, and if the world gets any nuttier or I can't stand our government any more, I've decided to start saving up money to move. It's not nearly as expensive as I thought it would be...

rejoice and be glad, for the iBook hast returned home!

Your Mood Ring is Purple

Sensual Clear mind Purpose is known

Mood Ring Generator

But no, that would have been TOO EASY...

Well, fudge. A week or so ago, our landlord called and informed us that they were selling off all their single-family properties, and we had first dibs on the one we're in. After discussing it, J & I decided that yes, it was about damn time we became homeowners and stopped throwing money down the rent hole, and went forward, doing research, etc. We had a market analysis done by a realtor that told us we should pay about $150,000 for the house. The landlord, when he had called, had said that he'd not had an appraisal done, but that he guessed the house would go for about $160,000. He wanted to get J & I on a conference call to discuss who was going to do what. When I called him back with a good time for J to be in on the call, he changed it so that we were coming by their office. The next time I talked to him, he mentioned our meeting at the office and signing a "letter of intent" to purchase. I told J about this new development, and we researched letters of intent, and were on our way to the meeting when the landlord's secretary called us; he'd had some emergency come up and couldn't meet us, and was going to be out of town this weekend, could we meet Monday? Sure. We called Monday morning and asked what time we were meeting, and then asked if we could do it Tuesday instead. Sure. So last night we go over there. I've looked up the 2004 Market Value of every house on our street, and what they last sold for... one house on our cul-de-sac with the exact same square footage sold 3 months ago for $115,000. So we walk in, and the landlord opens up his file folder with stuff printed out, and right on top of one side of the pile is a printed up "contract of sale" - J & I never said anything about it to the landlord, but I was pretty pissed. We'd gone from a phone call, to an office visit, to a letter of intent, to a contract of sale, and the bastard hadn't even gotten an appraisal done. We could tell that he was less than pleased that we'd been so diligent about our research, and told us that HIS market analysis came out at $169,900, and that they were willing to give us $5000 off of the closing or appraisal value, whichever we preferred. The jerk said he would not pay for an appraisal unless he had a contract of sale. J & I discussed it afterwards, and decided no WAY were we going to sign some stupid contract for the house when there hadn't even been an appraisal yet. *sigh*

So we doubt they're going to come down on their price, and so we're probably moving again. I'm house-hunting. Anybody know of a 3br in a nice neighborhood for sale that's not too expensive?

And I need boxes again. *groan* At least I can have a big garage sale and get rid of a bunch of CRAP before moving this time.

And I still don't have my laptop back! WAAAAA! Thank goodness my husband is so sweet as to set up a computer in the office that I can log in to... The painter's house usually gets painted last, but he's been doing a really great job of keeping our network up and happy.

Is it Friday yet?

searching for info...

Okay, a loooong time ago in another lifetime, I was reading a webcomic. It was about a girl who had left her city, and somehow the city had disappeared - it was like the city was a legend to the people outside it. Anyway, she's walking through the forest trying to find her way home, and hooks up with a hunter of some sort that she runs across - I can't remember much more, but I wanted to know if the artist continued the story, and for the life of me I can't find the damn thing. Anybody have any help to offer?

Is it friday yet?

I am at the moment enjoying a much needed mental vacation. My mom offered to watch the kids (bless her) and I'm at a local coffee shop taking a break from reality.

I'm in that emotional slump where I've lost the ability to enjoy being a parent temporarily. It's probably because J & I have been running non-stop lately; neither one of us has gotten our alone time in two weeks or so, I think. Anyway, I sit here at a coffee shop... some weirdo in the corner just answered his phone and is talking to "Pastor Nick" and asking "so did he pray about it?" You know, I've been having a real crisis of faith lately - I do think there is something, some creator type thing or somesuch, but to be honest Christianity isn't really appealing to me right now. Maybe I'm just turned off by the followers rather than the religion.

Our landlord called this afternoon - they're selling the house we're renting from them. They're giving us first dibs on it (which is really nice of them) and will take five grand off either the closing costs or the appraisal value, whichever we prefer, and they'll be credit references for us - but they'd like to have it done in the next 60-90 days max, and while our lease is up in February and we're allowed to stay until then, if we're not the ones who buy the house, there's no guarantee the next owner will rent it to us. So we get to either buy a house or move in February - neither of which I was prepared for. I wonder how much it will appraise for?

Gotta run... reality beckons insistently. I think I'll use my gift card to buy myself a new book. I blew through the new Harry Potter already (who the heck is MAB? ARGH! I hate having to wait to find out what happens! It's the only downside to reading so quickly - the books are over so fast!) and I could use an entertaining read. Maybe I'll go re-read Eats, Shoots and Leaves.

I know I go overboard.

I don't know if it's the borderline personality disorder, or if it's my desire for the romantic, elegant, victorian, etc. side of life... nine times out of ten, I could care less if my shoes match my purse; I dress for comfort and utility, not for style... I don't wear makeup.... I do something with my hair maybe once every 4 months or so... and the only jewelry I've worn in the last year or more (with a couple of special occasion exceptions) has been my wedding ring. I hate being hot, but when it's not this time of year I like to be outdoors, getting my hands into things... I miss being in good enough shape to climb trees (gotta work on that), and I miss having a garden.

That being said - there's the frilly, girl side of me that rears its head every now and then. The part that looks at costumes in period movies and wistfully thinks of silks and brocades and elaborate embroidery and gold and jewels and occasions to dress up for... the side that likes to make edible works of art (I miss decorating cakes, and I love watching those pastry competitions on Food Network).... the side that wants to throw elaborate parties with champagne fountains and twenty different kinds of hors d'oeuvres, seven courses, and for dessert chocolate fountains with myriad things for the guests to dip in them.

So what's my point in all this, you ask?

We're throwing a party tomorrow. Only 20 people are coming (and that includes all the kids) and it's only friends and family. It's my son's first birthday party. The theme? Miniatures. (He's tiny and adorable. So it's girly; sue me.) Here's the menu:
mini corndogs
mini tacos
mini pizzas
mini cupcakes (I'm planning on decorating them with letters that spell out a birthday message; one letter per cupcake)
mini waffles with J's homemade chicken salad (you have not LIVED until you've had his chicken salad)
mini quiches
mini vegetables to dip (baby carrots, broccoli & cauliflower heads cut into small florets)
teddy grahams
mini pineapple upside down cakes (Uncle Mike is making these, and I cannot WAIT, it's been so long since I've had pineapple upside down cake!)
mini eclairs
mini ice cream bites (vanilla dipped in chocolate, chocolate dipped in chocolate, and vanilla dipped in Drumstick coating)
mini oreos
mini nutter butters
mini brussels & mini milanos (Pepperidge Farm, *drool*)
I found coke & sprite bottles that are almost half the size of the regular plastic bottles (so cute!)
I'm also doing something with jello, but I've not decided what.


Am I silly, or what? We have almost 100 mini cupcakes.
I was going to do mini hamburgers - like Krystal or White Castle - and slice up cherry tomatoes and pearl onions and quarter american cheese slices to put on plates next to them. That would have been so cute! But I'm trying to not go overboard. I'm really trying. I managed to talk myself out of making mini flowerpot cupcakes (make regular size cupcakes, put enough icing on top to make it sticky, cover sticky icing with blended up oreos, stick a lollypop in it, cut petals & leaves out of sticks of gum or fruit roll-ups and stick to lollypop & stick, and stick the head of a gummy worm out of the 'dirt' - and voila, mini edible flowerpots) because I just knew that was nuts. (Maybe for one of Moira's parties when she's older.) I kept hoping we'd find those champagne grapes (they are DELICIOUS, and so cute!) but I don't believe they're in season yet.

And if it rains tomorrow, then the whole play outside thing is shot - the inflatable jump-in thing Megan lent me, the kiddie pool, the tigger sprinkler and the slip 'n slide - but you know, come to think of it, if the kids are going to be playing in the water anyway, if it's raining it doesn't really matter... but if it's anything like the storm we had today, the lightning makes it a no-go.

Okay, time to get off my butt and go clean the kitchen (now that we've wrecked it with dinner and party food prep)

ARGH

Drives

Me

Crazy


I've gotta start locking my door.

So dad calls; we're napping so we don't answer the phone. We get up, and I call dad back. No answer. No answer on cell. No answer at home. I hope he's not trying to work outside in this heat! So I head for the utility room, where my bras are hanging up drying after doing laundry - and there he is, sitting on the love seat. I'm glad I saw him before I got too far into the room, as I was naked. *sigh*

Getting dressed now. Just had to vent. Thanks for listening.

where there's a will, there's a way...

I missed both Wait Wait Don't Tell Me and Says You this past weekend... the first I can listen to online, but the second I can only listen to at audible.com if I pay for it.

However, I discovered a california radio station that plays it Tuesday nights (tonight!) that has an online simulcast! WOOHOO!

I'm SO glad J is coming home tonight. It's actually not been as hard as I thought it might be - of course, I've had company and help.

Stick me with a fork, I'm done.

Hopefully I just sweated off a pound or so - a couple of biiiiiiig pine branches laden with muscadine vines came down on my parents' doorstep during the hurricane, and I've just spent several hours cutting stuff up and stacking it at the curb. It was kinda nice to do some physical labour. I just wish the insect world weren't out to get me today. Between the weird ant-bee thing that bit me on the way to my counselor's appt. to whatever the heck it was that stung me on the finger at my parents' house to the ants that covered the pine branches and mosquitos...

I wish I could figure out what the heck that thing was that bit/stung me. It was freaky looking.

Dang! I gotta go print & mail the invites!!!

WOW

I knew my daughter was gorgeous, but... wow.





I've ALWAYS wanted one of these dresses. I should have bought one back in the day when I was skinny enough to wear it.

Well, I'm not dead yet!

Note to self:

do not put just-boiled-in-the-microwave water and Better Than Bullion goop into a plastic container, put the lid on, and then shake vigorously.

Especially while unclothed.

The resulting explosion coated my front with boiling chicken broth.

I'm fine now. Please continue to laugh amongst yourselves. Yes, I learned the "don't fry bacon naked" rule the hard way too.


In other news... mom-in-law is back from China (yay!), my sweetie left this morning for San Diego (wah!) and I'm a single mother for a few days. Hurricane Dennis looks like it's going to miss us to the left; we'll see how much wind we end up getting this far out. Unless it slows down dramatically, it looks like it won't interfere with J's flight home on Tuesday.

I have to say, I was relieved to hear from him when he landed in Houston - the recent fun in London made me worry a lot more than I usually do. I'm waiting for the phone to ring again to tell me he's in California safely.

As soon as Moira wakes up completely (Christian is messing with her right now) I'm hoping we can go play with cousins et al. Logan & Mike are selling their house and buying another one... I can't wait to see it. More room!

Okay, going to hit the shower. Hey, any of you want to come visit & keep me company in the next few days, PLEASE feel free. I've got cards & games galore, and would love to see you.

I'm a what?

stolen from ClicheMonster who stole it himself.

A cywydd llosgyrnog; I'm one. "A what?" Well, quite. There'd be no fun In being understood; I Thrive upon obliquity. Don't comprehend or follow me, For mystery's my ally. What Poetry Form Are You? (If I were not a Cywydd Llosgyrnog I would be a Haiku.)

Yesterday was bizarre. Or was it the day before? I wish I had a housewide computer (like the one on the enterprise) to keep track of days for me. Had dreams the night before about my first husband; we were having a gigantic fight, and he had dumped me and I was suicidal. It's been a long time since I've been suicidal, but the dream brought back the feeling so exactly that when I woke up I was a little discombobulated. When you're that depressed it's almost physical, you can FEEL the despair running along your nerves like a shiver. We're turning thirty this year... J & I were talking last night about how glad we are that we're past a lot of our callow youthful stupidity and immaturity - I was telling him that I don't feel like I'm 30; I don't know that I'm all THAT much more responsible and less immature than I was say, 5 years ago or more. He pointed out lots of things, saying he thought I was much more mature than I had been, and wasn't I glad I wasn't in the same place I was back then, mentally and emotionally? In spades. I think we complement each other pretty well.

Uncle Patrick came over for a bit last night - I'm so glad we're living in town again. As much as I liked the place in Monticello, moving here was worth the extra rent if he'll drop by more often. He didn't stay long enough for us to break out the cards, unfortunately, but we had fun just chatting. I worry about him sometimes; I keep thinking I'm going to get an SOS in a bottle from his liver asking for rescue.

M's speech therapist came this morning - I really like Renee. After the evaluation today, it looks like Moira is only behind in a few of her sounds; not bad at all. It's nice that she's getting this one-on-one work; I wish we could afford to hire teachers like in the old days.... I think I'll try to work that into the budget.

Hrm. Power outage. I love having a laptop. However, the ups will only work for so long, so my net connection will drop any minute now. *sigh* And just when I'd gotten the kids down for a nap, too.

That's okay; god knows I have enough stuff to do OFF line - like clean my house, or finish sorting through my fifty million digital pictures in iPhoto, or working on my website, or doing laundry...

Any excuse for a get together!

Saturday, July 16th we're throwing a party. Christian turns one on the 18th, so it's sort-of a birthday party, but it's more just an excuse to get everybody together to eat and let the kids play in the backyard. I got a slip & slide! Adults aren't supposed to use it, and if I tried I'd probably burst a breast, but it'll be fun to watch the kids do it. I remember loving slip & slides as a kid. Kiddie pool, sprinkler, Aunt Megan is bringing one of those inflatable bouncy things... and I think I'm going with a miniature theme! I love miniature things. And my son is pretty petite, so it fits. *grin* So, if you wanna come hang out with us and our crazy family, let me know! I'll send you an invite with directions.

Random conversation

I rarely have less than at least five things on my mind. If you were hanging out with me right now (and why aren't you?) here are some of the things we might be chatting about.

I recently decided to stop shopping at Wal-Mart. For a great explanation as to why, read this. I've decided that the convenience isn't worth the long-term costs. I'm going to try to read Always Low Prices on a regular basis, as it seems pretty fair - includes news both flattering and not so.

I heard on the news today that Sandra Day O'Connor is retiring from the Supreme Court. *sigh* Rhenquist was given 6 months to live, 9 months ago... so I'm assuming President Bush is going to be able to put two Supreme Court Justices into place. I wish I had faith that the people he picks would be good justices, but I really just don't.

I've been sick for a week now... sore throat that comes & goes, chest congestion, some sinus congestion, and a low-grade fever I just can't shake. I'm at 99.something right now. I would just suck it up and go to the doctor so he could make sure it's not bronchitis, but until the COBRA people finish processing our paperwork, according to the system we don't have insurance and will have to pay out of pocket, and then wait for a reimbursment. I swear, if I'm ever wealthy, I'm going to have a separate investment account/savings account for medical expenses, and I'm not ever going to give another insurance company a dime. I'll pay the doctors in cash.

Moira has a split uvula, which is evidently in the same diagnostic category as cleft palate - of course, not nearly as serious. The speech therapist (who has managed to see Moira once so far) thinks that this might be interfering with Moira's soft-palate, which is supposed to close off her nasal passages when she says K, amongst other things - which might be part of why Moira doesn't say K. The ENT says that short of sticking a scope down her nose (which would be pretty traumatic) there's no way to be sure; to go ahead with the speech therapist's diagnosis - because even if that is the problem, they'd not be able to do anything about it until she was 4 or 5, and then she'd have to go to Shands or somesuch - nobody here in town handles naso-pharengeal insufficiency (at least I think that's what he called it). But it looks like due to her evaluation, Moira will be able to attend Nana's school for free! That'll be amazingly cool. She'll have peers to play with daily, daddy can take her to school in the morning, I'll have time alone with Christian (and to myself when he's napping), and Nana is there!

Having visited Premier with my friend Diane, I'm looking forward to joining - provided, of course, somebody joins with me. AHEM. I've got about 5 months to lose some weight and tone my arms - it's a sleeveless dress. (top 8087, bottom 8090, color apple) And Erin's dress, btw, is absolutely stunning! She has great taste.

Too tired to keep writing. Besides, I have laundry to do.

WTF????

I'm speechless. Totally speechless. I'll be angry when I've had time to think about it, but right now I'm in that disturbing Eddie Willeresque position of total gobsmackedness.

The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that local governments may seize people's homes and businesses -- even against their will -- for private economic development.

Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who has been a key swing vote on many cases before the court, issued a stinging dissent. She argued that cities should not have unlimited authority to uproot families, even if they are provided compensation, simply to accommodate wealthy developers.

"Any property may now be taken for the benefit of another private party, but the fallout from this decision will not be random," O'Connor wrote. "The beneficiaries are likely to be those citizens with disproportionate influence and power in the political process, including large corporations and development firms."

Emigrating keeps getting checks in the "pro" category...

The King and I

I love this movie, but I'd forgotten how sad it is.

I've found a new addiction - Scotland Yard! J played it as a kid, and I ordered it online for him for father's day - I've played it three times, and I kick ass! I can't wait to play it again! The first time, J was going easy on me (and he'd not played in a long time so he was very rusty), the second time Uncle Patrick had never played before, and the third time, I think the travel tokens got screwed up - so I wanna play another game, while the children are asleep, now that everybody knows how to do it!

Btw, I used canoed in a scrabble game today! heehee

I have to say, I got the most wonderful phone call last night. Our friends Matthew and Erin, who are getting married in January, called us up while they were both on speakerphone - Erin's asked me to be a bridesmaid!!!!! TOTALLY blew me away. I even got a little teary; it's so flattering to be asked... I've never been a bridesmaid before! Been a bride 3 times; I figured that was fate's freaky way of making up for it. ;) As Erin put it, "Always a bride, never a bridesmaid, huh?" heeheehee. So now I have a WONDERFUL incentive for losing weight. And a deadline! SO, who's going to come work out with me, huh?

I wish I could talk. I don't know what freaky bug I came down with - the first day J was afraid it was mono, but now it just seems like your normal run-of-the-mill respiratory illness, except it might have gone to my sinuses and chest, which is very unusual for me. I must be getting old & decrepit.

Got the kids down for their nap - I think I'll take advantage of this time to sleep as well. As much as I need to clean, I need to get better faster more, or the house will REALLY fall apart.

Okay, I always knew I was different...

I'm not as different as this woman, but I gotta say, I find her Capricorn


really fucking cool. The winged cat is nifty too.
(I like that she uses leftovers rather than hunting things.)

Wanna make your own? (Online, not real one, aren't you relieved?) And then send me a picture!

Things I do while waiting for my husband to finish working in the middle of the night...
This made me laugh until I cried, and all silently so as not to wake the children.
This is amazing, and I know a few people that could benefit from it, I think.

Stuck at Prom

In the tradition of Highly Recommended Thing Of The Moment

An oldie, but goodie. I never get tired of looking at the designs. I particularly like the guitar one.

**edit**
oooooh, and the Starry Night couple is cool too!

Men, sit up and take notice

I dropped by Cyborgirl's blog (like I do most days) and read her latest post... and it really got me thinking. I've been married three times now. I've dated quite a few men, before I lucked into J. And I have to say, men should take lessons in foreplay. So few of them have even the slightest clue about how to turn a woman on! My first husband - lord, what a nightmare. Only time I've ever fallen asleep during sex.

Here's a hint. If we women think the only reason you're initiating sex is so you can get off, we're usually a whole heck of a lot less likely to be into it. So men, here's some advice. Approach your woman with the intention of making her feel good. Plan not to get off yourself. In fact, TRY not to get off yourself. Make that session all about her. If she tries to return the favor, unless she's just uncontrollably horny & turned on and is jumping you, tell her no, to lie back and relax. If you do this often enough, guys, then I would bet the percentage of times the woman initiates sex would go up. Because then we know that you know that sex isn't all about you - it's a mutual pleasure thing. All you women out there - how many times have you & your man been having sex, and when he orgasms, it's over, whether you've peaked or not? Guys, you've got a tongue and two hands; if your penis is done for the night, that doesn't mean you're done! Do you not realize that that behaviour implies that you don't care if we orgasm or not? Which extrapolates to the whole "one woman is pretty much like another in the dark" idea and can make us feel pretty much like a convenient hole for you to fuck?

So now I'm wondering how to teach my son this when he's older... I think that's probably a conversation I should leave to his dad.

Okay, I've not gotten around to sitting down with a notary...

but here's something that should carry some weight.

Having just read the autopsy report of Terry Shiavo, I'd like to make it known that if I am a vegetable, I do not wish to be kept alive on life support of any kind. If the chances of me ever recovering are low, go ahead and take my organs and give them to somebody who needs them, and what's left of me can be cremated (please don't embalm me, ew). My husband knows how I feel about this, and now the rest of you do too.

WOOHOOO!

I've always been a weird mix of introverted and extroverted. This Wednesday night I get to exercise my extroverted side, for the first time in a long time. It's Girls' Game night at my place! J is taking the kids to the grandparents' house, so we're planning on a manless, kidless evening of board games, or card games, or whatever! So, if you wanna come, drop me a line!

An easy post for a late Sunday morning

Snitched from Monster


Ceara is...
Ceara is fom the Old Irish name, Cera, the meaning of which may be "bright red."
Ceara is also Irish for "spear."
Ceará is one of the states of Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic coast.
Ceará is in the zone of droughts.
ceara is the goddess of the forests and the wild things
ceara is 650 000 tonnes
ceara is now issuing a international call for bids
ceara is forbidden
ceara is affected by the south east trade winds which blow relentlessly towards the equator
ceara is aloof and dignified
ceara is amazing at two and a half
ceara is the daughter of the scottish cheiftan tearlaich and his irish leymen
ceara is a powerful jedi
ceara is quick and agile
ceara is great
ceara is involved with the drama club
ceara is given to luke skywalker and adopted by him
ceara is attractive
ceara is kinda busy and will be for at least another month
ceara is determined and strong


Ceara is tired.

I'm opinionated

Here are a few of mine. Read at your own risk.

I believe that a fertilized egg is a potential human life, and whether it lives or dies is not up to me. I cannot imagine ever having an abortion, and I hope I'm never put in that position. That being said, I firmly believe that abortions should NOT be illegal. Historically, when abortion was illegal, the AMA decided to push for its legalization because it was a health issue - women were dying from infections, complications, etc. due to "back alley" abortions performed by unqualified practicioners. I believe that a woman who has been raped should not be forced to carry a child as a result of that rape - while I doubt a day would go by that she would not remember the rape in the next 9 months, there is no reason to make that memory a physical fact. I believe that if you are against abortion, you should be standing up and screaming for better, more available birth control. If people that don't want to get pregnant don't get pregnant, the number of abortions will go down dramatically, DUH. OH - and for god's sake, EDUCATE YOUR CHILDREN. It never ceases to amaze me in today's day and age of information availability what some of the misconceptions about sex are. Yes, you can get pregnant while you are on your period. Yes, you can get pregnant if you have never had a period before. Yes, you can get pregnant if he pulls out. I can't even remember some of the stupider ones; my brain has blocked them out for self-preservation. I'd start getting trigger happy if I were surrounded by that much idiocy. I think I'm going to make a bumpersticker that says "YOU CANNOT LEGISLATE MORALITY"

I believe that 'creationism' and 'evolution' are not incompatible. I think people that interpret the bible literally are doofuses (and that's being polite). I personally don't believe that Genesis says HOW God created the earth - it says he did, and briefly mentions how long it took him. (About that, by the way: the Hebrew word translated as "day" is yom, which can mean "a length of time" as well as a "day".) Anyway, I consider anybody who argues that God did NOT use evolution to create everything is a raging egomaniac. How dare they presume to know the methods of God? They weren't there! And, if you want to get spiritual about it, doesn't the enormous complexity of evolution make the existence of God more believable? And as for what gets taught in schools - oh, give me a break. We don't teach religion in school (unless it's a religious private school, like the one I went to) and creationism is religion. Would Christians like us to also teach that the world was created when the Divine Turtle rose out of the primordial ocean with mud on its back? That too is a creation story. If you argue that evolution is 'just a theory' then you need to understand the meaning of the word 'theory' when used scientifically. There's a whole hell of a lot of data, found independently by many people over many years, that supports the idea of the process of evolution. Scientists are not out to destroy religion. I know a lot of scientists with very strong faith. A lot of them actually consider what they do to be somewhat spiritual, as they look at it as learning about God's creation - and they understand that science has nothing to do with faith, and that the existence of God is not the purview of science. So why can't religious fundamentalists understand that?

I believe that drugs should be legalized. Dammit, people, haven't you ever heard that saying about not learning from history and being doomed to repeat it? Look at Prohibition! It was widely ignored, and its existence helped organize crime take hold in the United States. I need to track it down again, but I once read about a study that said if a percentage of the population wants to do a certain act, then making it illegal is pointless because it will not dissuade people from doing it. Make drugs legal! Then regulate them. That eliminates people having trouble because the coke they bought was cut with rat poison. Tax drug sales. Think of the revenue! And then use some of that revenue to fund rehabilitation programs and education programs. Legalization eliminates the black-market demand, thus lowering the price of drugs, and eliminating the need for violence in the distribution system. This also eliminates the incredible amount of money this country is wasting on the "War on Drugs" both at home and abroad. This would allow other poor countries that currently produce a lot of the current drugs (Afghanistan, Columbia) to develop in a more free-market way, and would hopefully end the rule of armed despots in those countries as well. After all - nicotine and alcohol are chemical substances that affect the body, just like cocaine, meth, etc - why should those two be legal, and all others not? Because we grow tobacco & grain here in the US? I wonder if drug dealers paid as much money into our Congress as the Tobacco lobbyists do, if legalization would be heard more often.

Our policy on Cuba is stupid. Look at the USSR: we refused to interact with them - they endured. We open up our markets, culture, etc. - and bam! They open up. Think of Cuba as a battered wife to Fidel, the abusive husband. We're basically trying to keep her isolated from everybody else, providing only the most basic of necessities (and sometimes not even that) and yelling at her to leave her awful husband. Well, hell, it's not like you've shown her a better alternative! Take her out, show her how caring people interact with her, show her what she's missing - give her the means to leave, and don't you think it's much more likely that she will?

Illegal immigrants - the phrase should be retired. I think we should open our borders completely. You wanna come work in the US? Fine! Great! We'll pay you and take Social Security & all other taxes out of your pay. If you're willing to do for $8/hr what another worker is unwilling to do for less than $30, then I don't blame the employer for wanting to hire you. Let's just make sure the employer does it above the table, rather than under the table, as is common now. Come on in and work! And unions - consider this a huge influx of potential members. Decent working conditions, fair wages, etc. should be universal. Companies that remain in the US can even get tax breaks, or something. (Let's just please close all the damn tax loopholes that so many of them are currently jumping through, okay?) Looking around the world today, I'm anticipating a huge crash when things start to equalize - a person in Detroit making automobiles is paid a whopping amount compared to what a person in, say, Korea is. We are all interconnected, and at some point our pay and standard of living is going to have to come closer to other countries' pay and standard of living - and wouldn't you rather attempt to bring their levels closer up to ours, rather than ours crashing down to theirs? Make it a requirement that American countries have to pay a decent minimum wage to employees regardless of where those employees are (Alabama or Thailand) and that companies on foreign soil that an american company buys from must pay a decent minimum wage and provide a safe working environment.

As I've drifted into economy, here's a pet peeve: People, learn to boycott. If you don't like what a company is doing, DON'T BUY FROM THEM. They pay attention to you when you cease handing them money. I know it may make your life a little inconvenient or complicated, but that extra time you take shopping could be saving a little foriegn child from slave labor.

I think our dependence on fossil fuels is awful. I think the government should be encouraging conservation in all areas - giving tax breaks to companies that build 'green' buildings, or energy/water efficient fixtures... Build your houses with solar panels! Use grey water reclamation systems! Got a big factory? Plant stuff on the roof! Use recycled materials! Give tax breaks to people who use biodiesel cars! Give tax breaks to car companies that design more fuel efficient vehicles! As a government, the only way to encourage behaviour is by the reward system.

Education - my god, don't get me started. It's 2:30 am. I'll finish this another time.

stolen from meta

You scored as Cultural Creative. Cultural Creatives are probably the newest group to enter this realm. You are a modern thinker who tends to shy away from organized religion but still feels as if there is something greater than ourselves. You are very spiritual, even if you are not religious. Life has a meaning outside of the rational. Cultural Creative 88% Existentialist 88% Idealist 75% Romanticist 56% Modernist 44% Postmodernist 44% Materialist 25% Fundamentalist 25% What is Your World View? (updated) created with QuizFarm.com

AAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUGH

I think fate is toying with me.

Okay, so I meet another human that looks like he & his wife might be worthwhile friends, and then I go to ZGeek and read this.

A bit of an excerpt:
*************************************************************************
By Kevin Corcoran
kevin.corcoran@indystar.com

"An Indianapolis father is appealing a Marion County judge's unusual order that prohibits him and his ex-wife from exposing their child to "non-mainstream religious beliefs and rituals."

The parents practice Wicca, a contemporary pagan religion that emphasizes a balance in nature and reverence for the earth.

Cale J. Bradford, chief judge of the Marion Superior Court, kept the unusual provision in the couple's divorce decree last year over their fierce objections, court records show. The order does not define a mainstream religion.

Bradford refused to remove the provision after the 9-year-old boy's outraged parents, Thomas E. Jones Jr. and his ex-wife, Tammie U. Bristol, protested last fall."
*************************************************************************


What the hell??!! What country do I live in again? Let's all make as big a stink about this as possible. I'd LOVE to test the people that lately have been screaming about "activist judges" be forced to either call THIS judge an activist and support the wiccan parents, or reveal themselves to be total hypocrites.

wow, sometimes when you ask fate for an answer, you get a prompt response...

Okay, so Sunday mornings are my morning out - J watches the kids, and I usually go to some coffee shop with net access to drink froofy drinks and play on my iBook, or read, or whatever. So I'm sitting in the coffee shop, organizing my email, surfing the web, and reloading music on my iPod, when a guy comes in with a backpack and sits down next to me.

I figured at some point he was going to talk to me, as he sat down at the table right next to me, and sat down facing the same direction as I was - when there were other tables available, etc. But then, maybe he was there because it was relatively close to the outlet on the wall next to me, so I didn't think any more about it until he asked me how long I'd had my iBook.

So we started up a very nice conversation - what do you know, an intelligent person! His name is Adam, he's married (good), he's in med school and is looking to start a practice in the panhandle... we had a nice long chat about technology issues, amongst other things - I think he might be a kindred spirit! Here's to hoping. *makes toast with my leftover iced chai*


OH, and if you need a laugh, go watch this - if I hadn't had an asleep baby on my lap, I would have been on the FLOOR. It's hard to laugh that hard and try not to move or make any noise...

being cynical

I really hope the human race rises up and proves my cynicism wrong. I do. Honest. I would love to learn that most people are not, in fact, lazy, apathetic shitheads who aren't interested in living to their fullest potential or helping the following generations live to their fullest potential. I would love to wake up one morning to discover that people are not, in fact, greedy selfish asses who don't care what happens next year or next decade or next century because it doesn't affect them anyway, and whatever doesn't benefit them personally isn't worth wasting time on...

I am so tired of idiots. I'm not saying I don't do idiotic things - I do, and I have. I belive I've learned a lot from them, too - something some other people seem congenitally incapable of. But I try not to live the unexamined life. I try to be honest with myself, and with others. I try to remember that A is A, and no amount of wishing or ignoring will change reality. I've grown a lot in the last five years (no, not just around the middle) and have become I think a more mature, caring, worthwhile human being.

The only problem is that I'm running out of sympathy.

I can really sympathize with Frank (whom I think I'll ask out for drinks or coffee or something sometime soon) - I'm beginning to feel positively homicidal when it comes to a large part of the population of meatbags that call themselves humans. (I personally don't think a lot of them qualify at the moment.)

heeheehee

canoecanoecanoecanoecanoecanoecanoe
canoe
canoe
canoe
canoe
canoe

I'm intrigued

What do you think?

Bizarre, but engrossing....

I REALLY need to learn flash. Really really really.

Oh, and I forgot to mention....

I am a totally awful slacker.

Those of you who know me are saying "No shit, Sherlock" but I have a particularly egregious example.

Poor Patrick - he was flying in from San Antonio and I have a key to his apartment - I was supposed to go drop off his key so he could get in, and I TOTALLY FORGOT. Not only that, but I didn't hear the phone ring when he called us to ask us where the hell we were...

I'm such a schmuck.

I'll make it up to you, man.

And don't worry, I'm never going to ask you to help us move again. ;)

What an absolutely crappy night/morning.

So, my two 1/2 year old isn't sleeping well at the moment; J & I are discussing plans. I need to find my sleep solutions book and start working with it.

J's first day... we have to return a 300 lb mud-pump at 8:30 am... neither one of us got much sleep...


ugh.

Teh stoopid, it hurts...

You know, some days I feel like Robert Stadler - stupidity just has a way of sending me over the edge.

Take, for example, a recent news story:
Evidently while Saddam Hussein was in the US's custody, pictures were taken of him. Including pictures of him in his tighty-whities. Which has now been published on the front page of the Sun in Britain. Bad guy or not, many people are saying this was inappropriate, demeaning, and possibly against the Geneva Convention. And the quote from our president is this:

Speaking to reporters himself, Bush did not condemn the photographs and said he doubted they would stoke the anger of Iraqi insurgents.

"I don't think a photo inspires murders," Bush said.


What? He doesn't think a photo inspires.. holy god, I know he wasn't at the top of his class in his Ivy League school, but he did supposedly get passing grades - I think I'm going to send him a letter.



To President George W. Bush:

I recently read your response to journalists regarding the photographs of Saddam Hussein that have been published, and would like to ask you a question. You were quoted as saying "I don't think a photo inspires murders", is that correct? I am a 29 year old stay-at-home mother who has a two year college degree from my local community college. In less than five minutes I pulled up the following stories online:

Photo on a phone leads to shooting
A 27 year old man has reportedly shot his older sister in a so called "honour killing" after he saw a picture of her on a friends mobile phone screen. The shooting occurred in Jordan's second city, Irbid last week. The brother turned himself into the police shortly after the shooting.
"The man told police he shot and killed his sister to cleanse his family's honour because he saw her photo on his friend's mobile," the source told The Jordan Times.
The suspect told interrogators he was sitting with his friends on Sunday evening and started playing with one of their mobiles when he saw his sibling's photo, the source said.
The suspect left immediately and headed home. He reproached his sister about the photo and her alleged "immoral behaviour," according to the source.
This is the 5th person killed in an honour crime in Jordan this year.
(from http://www.cellular-news.com/story/12678.shtml)

A good lesson from history: Remember the Maine! Now, in this case, the pictures on the front of the newspapers were drawings, not photos, and they had a lot of bombastic words to go along with them - but pictures helped turn an unfortunate accident into a causis belli.

From their own administration: General Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, sought to delay release of the photos of the abuse at Abu Ghraib. "What I asked CBS News to do was to delay the release of the pictures given the current situation in Iraq . . . because I thought it would bring direct harm to our troops. It would kill our troops."...


If a photo doesn't inspire murder, then the whole rationale behind wartime propaganda kinda falls apart, don't you think? Take World War II - I mean, if you're not putting up a picture of a Nazi murdering defenseless gypsy children in order to inspire your troops to fight harder in the war (of which a large part involves killing Nazis), what ARE you putting up the picture for?



Okay. I have real work to do. I can't do George Bush's job (as much as I sometimes feel like attempting to take over) so the least I can do is do my job well.

I'm choking on laughter here

Trying not to wake up C with my mirth - have you guys seen this? Some of the comments are PRICELESS.

My favorite: "Which one is Bush?"

The only sad thing is that I don't live in place where I could do this.

I am never opening a pool cleaning business.

Geez, what a day. I find out yesterday that my parents' next door neighbors have called the Health Department to complain about the mosquitos in the pool. (In actuality, my parents have been putting in those bacteria discs that destroy mosquito larvae, so there are actually no mosquito larvae in the pool. The mosquitos in the neighborhood are probably coming from the drainage ditch/creek that runs past the end of the cul-de-sac.) However, me not realizing immediately that the Health Department could come test the pool water and see that there were no larvae, figured that my weekend was now going to be blown by cleaning the pool (something I'd planned on doing this summer anyway, but after school was over so mom could watch the kids - not on a 3 day deadline from the Department of Health.)

Aside from the normal stress of dealing with my parents, being amazingly grumpy to begin with (because yesterday was J's last day at his old job and nobody said SHIT - the owner of the company hasn't spoken to him in a week or so; nobody said good luck, thanks for everything, see you soon, no goodbye from all of us card, no taking him out to dinner - he's worked with these people for 2½ years, is it unreasonable for me to think this is kinda crappy of them?) Anyway, I was short tempered to begin with, and renting a mud pump (which some moron before us had put kerosene in; poor man had to clean it out before we could take it) and figuring out exactly how we were going to do what... oh, raging pain in my a$$.

There was one redeeming part of the day.

I scooped out 101 bullfrog tadpoles from the pool. Yes, I said ONE HUNDRED AND ONE. And I'm nowhere near done. These things were huge; their heads were anywhere from 1-2 inches long, and the tails were 2-3 inches longer than that - big honkers! OH, and the most pleasant surprise was pulling two of these out:



Allow me to introduce you to the Central Newt - a subcategory of the Eastern Newt; we pulled out two in their super-nifty adult aquatic mating phase! Now that I've looked them up, I wish I'd kept them - they were probably a breeding pair, dangit. I'm really hoping that they'll make it in the pond we released the tadpoles in. *sigh*

I am now going to take some painkillers to ease my aching, itchy body.

Jeez!

Like I NEEDED to find another online comic that I like...

*sigh*

but Catharsis is fun!


Oh, and the 1097 hearts, 156 of them with reasons on them? They were a huge surprise (which is hard to do; J is not easily surprised) and no, he hasn't actually read all of them yet. :) Dinner at the Melting Pot was a big surprise to me!

Both children are asleep in their own beds, J's last day is tomorrow, and my mood is improving with every passing minute. Hope everybody out there in internet-world is having a good time as well.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, BABU!

Sorry... who knew that 200 candles took that long to light?

Three years, and it's nice to hear that he'd do it all over again. I would too.

Or, as he said, maybe not ALL of it....

*contented sigh*

Listening to the news...

A judge refused to allow a divorce because the woman is pregnant. WTF?

Brooke Shields, after trying everything for two years, finally has a baby - and suffers post-partum depression. I'm really impressed that she made it public; and in listening to the interview was reminded that most people still have a stigmatized view of depression. She herself refused to consider she might be depressed, and when the medication helped her, she decided that it was just time healing all and stopped the medication - and crashed badly. She said that she was ashamed, and that she felt like she should just be able to power through it...

*sigh*

At some point we'll know enough medically & scientifically to show exactly what causes depression, and maybe then people will accept it as an illness, rather than a character flaw.



In other news, to aid in interrogations in Guantanamo, american soldiers have been defiling the Qur'an (by doing things like dropping it in toilets, etc.) to encourage prisoners to talk. Seven people so far have died in the protest riots in Afghanistan, and Pakistan has filed a formal complaint against the United States.

And yet some people will still argue that the US is doing the right thing. These are undoubtedly the same people who say "blood is thicker than water" and refuse to consider that their family/child could be in the wrong in any given situation.



Makes me think my whole urge to become a hermit in high school was the right way to go after all. Can you be a hermit if you take your husband and kids with you?

Self-medicating

Hey, if anybody out there wants to do me a good turn, surprise me with a gallon of coffee liqueur. The cheap stuff is fine, I mix it with milk and drink it over ice. I'm anticipating the next 11 days will be really crappy, and today I was in the "sit down with a romance novel and eat a pint of chocolate ice cream" mood.

For those of you who don't know me - I don't read romance novels.

Science fiction, yes. Fantasy, yes. History, biographies, even textbooks on occasion.... but I don't read romance novels unless I'm somewhere and out of reading material, which means I've already read all available labels and backs of cereal boxes and am desperate for a reading fix.

Yes, I'm a reading addict. Why do you think I've never tried drugs? If I'm this bad an escapist with literature, imagine what would happen were I to try something stronger?

Of course, I say that in a post whilst talking about my plans to drink.

Anyway, it'll be nice that the weekend after our anniversary is the weekend after J quits with JVA, so we'll maybe actually be able to spend some quality time together.

In the meantime... anybody got any kahlua? I figure there's less fat in that than a container of ice cream. And whilst I haven't really done anything towards my goal of getting slim and sexy for the wedding we're going to in January, I'd like to not screw the pooch totally on that.

I'm registered as an independent

But here's a ticket I like:




**EDIT** Although to be perfectly honest, I'd probably vote for Vinick, he's a moderate with quite a few views I agree with...

What's today again?

I'm so glad J is back home.

There's been so much going on lately; I go to post and am just too tired to want to deal with words.

Christian has a fever; hopefully he'll fight it off and be feeling better tomorrow.

Moira likes to play I Spy (since she knows so many colors).

I had dinner waiting for my husband when he got home from his out of town business trip. I don't want anybody to think that I'm not a feminist ("Feminism is the radical notion that women are people") but it was quite satisfying to surprise him with food that he didn't have to think about. I think I'll try to do that more often.

And if Khang will come hang out with me more often (if you're online, you're working, right? heehee) I'll get more done around the house. I just get sooooo bored when I'm cleaning. I can't blast the radio (don't want to damage my children's hearing) and I can't put in earphones (because then I couldn't hear my children if one started screaming because the other one had knocked over a table on it) so adult conversation is the only way I can keep my brain occupied successfully.

Maybe I'll have to just play audio books at a volume I can hear, but still hear other things.

This has been a random pointless blog entry by yours truly.

I'm enjoying the scrabble game with mamaw. She's ahead. Quelle surprise.

J has provided me with a new game addiction as well - Word Slinger. I'm on level 45.

Off to sleep.

Are you a member?

Read where it started

My Unitarian Jihad Name is: Sister Shuriken of Reasoned Discussion.

Get yours.

didn't I say I needed a personal secretary?

If I didn't, I do.

Note to self:

don't forget cool idea for generating electricity that J & I talked about on the way to the museum
Tiger ROCKS
as does Dreamweaver - finish that webpage! (and the others)
what was I in the middle of? drat.

Pummelos are delicous.

I need several of me. Anybody got a transporter pad and is unscrupulous?

...speechless...

You know, I know how to juggle.

And I've wanted to try out DDR for a little while now.

But this... this is just...


This should be a new sport


Would you watch? :)

Wheeeeeeee!

When we finally got going today, we sure went! Took the kids to the Junior Museum (okay, I know they changed their name, but that's what it was all through my childhood and dammit that's what I'm going to call it) and bought a family membership (and I got this oooooo so cute stuffed otter; otters are my FAV) and saw a BUNCH of the animals today. No guest animal at the moment, but Spider Monkeys are coming!

Eee Eee Eee! As Moira would say.

It's really a lot of fun now that she's old enough to really enjoy it. I can't wait until she can go to their preschool program.

We got some more errands run, and came home absolutely bushed and just in time to listen to "Says You" on NPR. Kids are now in bed, and I'm working on budgets, schedules, to-do lists...

I hope this gorgeous cool weather lasts!

It is way too early to be up on a Saturday.

Of course, that means I get to enjoy the post-rain chillyness and birdong... it's weird, it's almost May and it's still nippy outside - it's AWESOME. It's so nice that it's not sweltering yet.

Last night was a lot of fun. Mom came over after work on her way home, I gave her a foot massage with some vitamin E oil (yay Burt's Bees) and used the warm water massage/bubble foot bath... J made a wonderful bicolor cheese tortilini with marinara sauce that had buffalo, sauted onions, button mushrooms... yum yum yum. We listened to music; it's the first time J & I have spent an evening listening to music and singing along in a looong time. (I'd forgotten how sexy a musical man is - rowr!) It was fun, we were exposing mom to all sorts of neato things - Sting, Alison Krauss, The Pogues, They Might Be Giants, Billy Joel, Old Crow Medicine Hour, Bob Dylan, Jeff Buckley, Flying Burrito Bothers, Graham Parsons - it was wonderful. J even got his guitar out later, and picked out some songs... Both kids fell asleep in our arms.

Hell, I keep falling asleep sitting up here in the recliner.

I think it might have been the music, or perhaps the herbal tea but I had some amazingly vivid dreams last night. Vivid, dramatic, evil, disturbing, and thank goodness going away right now.

I'm going to go make myself some tea.

I love my mother-in-law.

I've had several MILs. This one, however, is one that I'd like to be friends with even if I hadn't married her son.

She called me out of the blue earlier this evening, and asked if I was able/interested in doing a spur-of-the-moment dinner with her. J said he could watch the kids, so I leapt at the chance. I really need to spend more time with her - I enjoy her company so much, but it always seems to go by so quickly...

On days when I'm feeling tired, stressed, and depressed, I need to remember moments like this. Moments where I feel so amazingly lucky to be where I am, with J, two beautiful children, family that I love (even when they're crazy, and I mean family I married into as well as my own)... I have so much to be thankful for, and for once I don't feel unworthy or guilty about it - yes, an average of 30,000 children under the age of 5 die from hunger-related problems a day. Yes, people in China are throwing away children - mostly female or deformed males. Yes, a raging conservative has been named the next pope. Yes, fundamentalists of all types are going around killing other people in an orgy of self-righteousness, and the United States government spends enough on Defense to feed the entire planet...

My mother-in-law reminds me that change for the better is done one person at a time. It's disturbingly "It's A Wonderful Life"-esque, but it's accurate: I know, at this moment, that I have made more of an impact than I realize I have, and that ANY impact is better than none. I realize that I cannot change the world, or solve the worlds' problems, or even solve my parents' problems - in fact, sometimes I even have trouble solving my OWN problems - but my day-to-day existence makes a difference I'm not even aware of.

Thanks, Kaye. I admire you greatly, I enjoy your company, and I'm glad I know you.

A MONTH? AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH

J wanted to give them two weeks. They wanted him to give two MONTHS. So they compromised.

All I have to say is they'd better realize that he's a damn nice guy to do this.

And I hope the client goes out of business and the company gets a decent client. Or hell, let's be optimistic and say they've got more than one client. And that they've got somebody who knows something about contracts going over theirs before they get raped by some other opportunistic client.

I can't wait until J starts his new job.

He's taking Moira out to a college baseball game tonight, isn't that cute? I think Daddy dates are good for little girls. Besides, she needs some time where she's getting all the attention, and not because she's sat on the cat or knocked over Christian.

I'm going to go be grumpy. Bleargh.

And another week starts

I'm trying to think of current life more like a whetstone rather than a grindstone. That way, at the end of all this, I can consider myself a sharpened blade, rather than a crushed kernel.

Last night was fun; Patrick came over and we all hung out. J made sloppy joes out of buffalo meat (very tasty; and it's been YEARS since I had a sloppy joe) and tater tots... childhood memories for the guys. While they were out getting buns, J found mascarpone cheese, so we finally made the tiramisu from scratch that we'd gotten 99% of the ingredients for weeks ago.

Wow. Totally worth the work (which really wasn't all that much anyway.) I'm going to do my darndest not to eat all the rest of it today. I'm in one of those almost compulsive eating phases; J says it might be stress.

Talked to my mother-in-law last night. The verdict is non-Hodgkins lymphoma. I don't know WHICH non-Hodgkins lymphoma, evidently there are tons of different kinds. So I'm not sure how long she's got. Other than my husband or my children, I honestly can't think of somebody that I'd want to die less. I've often told J that when my dad dies, I'm probably going to fall apart - and now I'm not sure that he's going to be the first parent to go. She's going to China at the end of June; I can't wait to hear how her trip goes.

So J wanted to take today off for mental health - he's starting a new job soon (THANK GOD) and of course today is a work day from hell; everything breaking, client freaking, the works... I wish he could just say "you know what? I don't work here anymore; go climb a tree" but he's much nicer (and more professional) than that. What sucks is that his boss is really trying not to call him, but what can I say? My hubby is hard to replace. Tell me something I didn't know.

So while I sit here eating lunch with the kids, I'm trying to organize my computer/phone, researching monolithic domes, what the process is for building a house, working on a budget to get us there... it's like that dance the bunny hop, except I take 3 hops back for every one hop forward - for every thing checked off my to-do list, I add several more.

But how can you be down when your iTunes shuffles you from "Bitchin Camaro" to "When I'm 64" to "Superstition"?

I need my own project manager.

I am a work in progress. I need a project manager. Seriously! Of course, I'd probably end up resenting the hell out of the PM... Perhaps I'll create a sub-section of my personality to be PM. Here goes:

List of things to do (grouped in order of priority)

Keep kids alive (fed, healthy, etc - the daily stuff)
Keep J & myself alive & sane (daily house maintenance stuff)

Unpack & put away everything
(set aside stuff for garage sale)
Have garage sale
Throw neighborhood "Getting to know you" party
Clean parents' pool

Set up schedule - look into activities (tumbling, pottery, etc)
Finalize budget, set up savings & retirement accounts
Work on personal/family/kids webpages
Work on creating photo albums for relatives (include Mamaw's bathroom shots, framed)
Work on yahoo group webpage & pictures
Work on Multiply webpage
Work on any of the hundreds of projects I've started (corkboard, knitting, trashcan collages, Delicious Library, bookplate stamp, felt wall, etc.)


Work on any of the things I'm learning (mandolin, French, Vietnamese, Spanish, German, Italian, Farsi, Hebrew, tilework, quilting, stained glass, wheel throwing pottery, photography...)

Okay, plenty to do - I'd better get off this silly blog and go!

soooooo tired

Today was Moira's appointment with the evaluation team - she qualifies for their program, and after I talk to our insurance company, we'll probably be starting speech therapy for her. It's nice to know that professionals think she's perfectly fine (and pretty darn nifty) with the only exception being her articulated language.

The kids fell asleep on the way home, which sadly enough was enough to recharge them - so when I tried to put them to bed when I got home there was no way. Which is bad, because I'm about to fall asleep myself, and I needed the nap.

Aw, what the heck. Let's try to put at least one of them down again... oh, and take the iron pills I finally got, dangit.

You... and me...

we're the kind of people other people would like to be...

Some days I lose perspective. Hell, most days my perspective is at least a little skewed. I'm sure nobody that knows me finds that a surprise.

Wand'ring free...

I've forgotten so many things in my life... I'm not yet thirty (okay, I will be this year) and I sometimes wonder if I'm suffering from some early onset of senility.

My first husband used to say I had selective memory. If that were totally true, there are several memories involving him that I'd choose to permanently misplace in my mental filing cabinet.

However, that being said, I have managed to misplace quite a few memories that seemed to be more painful than useful. Misplace, or at least blur some.

We present the kind of picture people are glad to see

It took me about 12 years to become a part of a healthy, happy partnership. It required I do a lot of soul-searching - something I've done since I can remember anyway, but for years I did it with a filter that made most of the results useless. I learned a lot from two failed marriages and my parents' relationship - a lot of stuff to write down in the "what NOT to do" category.

That's why examples of communication problems resonate with me. Our ex-friends Shawna & Kris couldn't communicate, and when I finally reached overload with being the listening ear and shoulder to cry on, and told them that I'd been saying they should go to counseling for months now, and that I didn't want to be involved in the drama anymore - they stopped talking to us altogether. Part of me feels bad, and hopes they're doing okay - and part of me is relieved to be ignorant, as my cynical voice says that I doubt anything has changed.

Of course, looking back at MY history, I'm sure there have been plenty of people looking at me with cynical voices saying that they didn't think I'd change. Probably Erinn, most recently.

I will say this, it wasn't easy. It took almost losing marriage #3 to make the breakthrough complete, I believe.

It's why I have such a hard time watching my parents interact. Even before I could walk, I was overly empathetic. Mom tells me of times when as a toddler I would rub her head when she had a headache. I've always been an interesting mix of empathetic and egotistically self-absorbed. It made puberty an absolute hell. I want people to be happy. I ache for unhappy people. For years, I handed out girl scout cookies made of my compassion, my energy, and my guilt (thank you Robert for the girl scout cookie machine analogy) and left nothing for myself.

Going from that place, to this... it occasionally brings me to tears. How amazing life is.

And we don't care that tomorrow comes with no guarantee

My husband is a wonderful influence on me when it comes to letting go. Letting things go is a skill I'd never learned. I really think it is a necessary skill to maintain sanity, especially in today's world. Who knows, maybe after many years together, I'll be able to let go of my self-consciousness enough to learn to dance.

We've each other for company...
And come what may, you and me
Will stay together...

I'd forgotten how difficult a divorce is. The levels of anger, hurt, despair, confusion, guilt... somehow, I've been through it twice, and I guess it's like pain memory - they say people don't really remember pain to its fullest extent. Having now had two children, I have to agree - any woman that could remember pain in its entirety would probably never have more than one child. My psyche has blanked out some things. I'm left holding the empty file folder and hoping there wasn't anything important in it... because I'd like to be able to help. I've figured out where my limits are; I'm much better at being honest with myself - and others - about what I'm capable of, and where I have to draw the line. I value people who allow me to draw a line - because I've discovered that without my own personal strength and sanity, I'm incapable of being a friend to anybody. I can't make girl scout cookies with nothing left in the pantry. I've finally learned some self-respect, and have learned that people who do not respect me do not deserve my cookies. So in a way, it's a good thing that at this time in my life I have so few friends - I'm still figuring out my recipes, and this gives me time to go slowly.

year after year
Won't we my dear...

Next month is our third anniversary. Maybe we'll actually remember it this time. :)

We'll always be
you
and
me

It took me 28 years to figure out who I am. Without that knowledge, I would be incapable of even SEEING who you are. (Or appreciating you, either.)

I'm elated at how far I've come.
I'm humbled by how far I have yet to go.
I'm glad I get to do it with my best friend.

I hope everybody can get there.

I LOVE NPR

And This American Life is awesome.

Mom has suggested we start an improv group like this one here in Tallahassee - who's in? Andy, wish you were able to join us, you'd be great at this.

Improv Everywhere

It's four a.m... do you know where your babu is?

You know, I occasionally think about the minor oddity that is pet names people have in a relationship. I've been married twice before, but never really had a pet name with either previous husband... #2 tried some cutesy stuff, but there was no context, so nothing stuck. Babu, however, came as a typo one day when J & I were talking back and forth on IM. I don't remember now who did it - J might. Anyway, we thought it was cute, and it stuck. Anyway, I occasionally think of how odd it is that my husband and I use a pet name that is actually a slur...

ba·bu also ba·boo
n. pl. ba·bus, also ba·boos
1. Used as a Hindi courtesy title for a man, equivalent to Mr.
2. a) A Hindu clerk who is literate in English.
b) (Offensive.) A native of India who has acquired some superficial education in English.


I hope if we ever develop Indian friends that they have a sense of humour.

What pet names have you had? Or what pet names have you always wanted?



Oh - and about the title: my babu is still at work, bringing the new webpage and all its attendant programs live tonight for the bank client. I'm hoping he'll be able to come home in the next couple of hours. Maybe, once he catches up on sleep, we can take the kids to the FSU Circus this weekend!

AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH

Which is worse - getting no sleep, or sleeping and having non-stop nightmares?

How about being woken up several times during the night and picking up where you left off on your nightmares?

Ugh.

Does life ever slow down?

What a week

Sunday was such a high, I think my borderline personality disorder is making these recent days low. *sigh* The closing song of the Tigger Movie almost made me cry. I think I'll go take some B vitamins.

I had a great time with Khang. He's a generous guy, and paid for everything (which is the only way I really could have gone, because we're broke - moving is expensive) and the concert was wonderful. I'd forgotten how much I liked Tori's music. I had a few moments of emotional upheaval at the beginning, remembering personal history when her music was in the house quite a bit - the time before J and I got together, and what a depressing, emotionally fucked up time that was. However, I managed to get past that and enjoy the concert, for which I am supremely greatful - maybe I'm getting better at this whole mental self-control thing after all. I helped Khang get his amazingly nice digital camera in, and he actually got some good shots - I can't wait to see the rest of them.

The chaos of the house grates on my nerves. I was so focused on getting the move done last week that it didn't get to me - but now I'm having a hard time with it. J is stressed to the gills with work - not only is his current job a clusterfuck, he's been hired in all but final paperwork at another place, so he's suffering from short-timers disease to boot. I'm looking for the PERI or LEDS life stress events checklist online; I'm sure his and mine are through the roof.

Fortunately the kids are great; mom's obeying the doctor's orders (for once) and I'm slowly but surely unpacking and putting the house together and getting us organized. I just have to remember that, like breathing, it's a never ending process.

I'm never moving again

12 hours after leaving home to work on the old house, we're back home. I'm so tired, I had trouble walking to my parents to pick up the kids. I can't ever remember being staggeringly tired, but now I know what that means.

However, in most ways, the house looks better than when we moved in 9 months ago, so it was worth it. Our landlord was a really nice guy, and I didn't want to cause him any grief. I'm hoping we keep in touch, actually.

Tori Amos tomorrow! Woohoo! And J, sweetheart that he is, is going to try to let me sleep in some tomorrow, because otherwise, as he points out, I might fall asleep during the concert.