I has a cold.

Achoo. I am not happy. I am an emotional, snotty mess. Oh and my head hurts too.

I Wants One!

 When the kindle came out I thought "cool", but it was the first of its kind and had limited options for buying books, and the different types of titles available to begin with, and well it was just kind of fugly. I knew with the advancement of the kindle more companies would start to make more e readers in the coming years and if I was patient (which I am NOT!) one would come along that had more options and was better suited for me as a consumer and a reader. This year Barnes and Noble have released their e reader. It is called Nook and the more I look into owning one the more I want one. They are quite spendy but with the added benefit of not only being able to read your entire library anywhere, but also being able to buy any e book where wireless access is available, and cheaper new release titles the idea keeps sounding better and better to me. So, now I have to wait until I save enough money to buy one…I hate waiting

I Can't Be The Only One!?

Please tell me I am not alone when I say that every year I buy myself a Christmas present from me-to me. I mean here I am out in all the stores, sales galore are going on, shiny things abound and prices are slashed for the holiday shopper! How can I not get myself the one thing (or two or three) that I know I will love getting for the holiday season? I know, I know, Christmas is not about gifts it is about the meaning behind the holiday. Jesus’ birth, the feeling of being with loved ones, giving to those who have little…BUT! Yeah, I don't have a reasonable explanation... I just like stuff, and I know it is horrible! I know I have so much more stuff than I need, so much more than a lot of other people. Yet, every Christmas I just see something and I am like “oooh, it was so nice of me to buy this for me! I shouldn’t have, but I did!” So tell me, am I really in a minority here? Do you buy yourself Christmas presents, Hanukkah presents, birthday presents, etc for yourself? Cause I sure do!

Turn Offs 1-10 In No Particular Order.

1. Spitting. I have never liked this! Will never like this! I can't stand when men, for no reason,walk outside of a building and suddenly stop talking, turn their heads and spit. Eh. Gross.
2. Pants that hang so low they look like they defy the laws of gravity. I just don't get this.
3. Facial piercings. Nuf said.
4. Skinny jeans- there are VERY FEW women who should wear these and I don't think any men should!
5. Chuck Norris Jokes.(or any stupid repetitive jokes for that matter) It was (not really) funny last year. Now you are just obnoxious.
6. Men that ALWAYS have to be right and or have the last word.
7. Poor Grooming habits- Yeah, women will tell you that sports stars are sexy and hot when they are sweaty, but on a daily basis we prefer our men washed and dressed in clean clothes. Don't even get me started on the smell of unwashed male... makes me shudder just to think about it.
8. Dressing like a slob- Now to be fair there are times to dress like a slob and times not to. The difference is to know when to throw on some sweat pants and when to dress it up a little more.
9. The Not-So-Courteous-Approach. The whistling, using slang terms, grabbing a woman’s arm, or snapping at her in order to get her attention. This makes my eyes roll so far back into my head I should probably fall over. Not only is it juvenile, but it is disrespectful, and just plan a dumb.
10. The dumb pick up lines- If you have ever used one on me, I am sorry, because I probably laughed in your face thinking you were joking, not realizing until later you were trying to pick me up. Whoops. They are just too cheesy for words, just go up and ask the girl out!

Bah Humbug!

So I was really excited about Christmas about a month ago. Ya know, in October when we had those days of snow, and cold. I was completely ready for the holidays, excited to go Christmas shopping, get together with friends and family, listen to Christmas music, and see all of the decorations. Now, however, since the weather has become nice and the sun has returned…I am not so much in the Christmas mood anymore. In fact I can’t imagine that now that fall finally got here that we are supposed to just rush through it to the Christmas season! I vote more fall!

The Next Doctor Who Special-Nov 15!

Uh oh!

Okay I am not happy with the blogger upgrade, and because of this new upgrade you are all going to suffer. Unless I am wrong, there is no freakin spell check! Now, I am a horrible speller and tend to just get worse when i am typing fast. Letters get left out, transposed...you get the idea. So because of this over sight on Bloggers part we shall all have to suffer. I mean now I can access all sorts of fancy things with the click of my mouse (pretty sure I could before too) I can strikethrough  change the size and the font depending on how i feel ;P be bold or slanted, but I just cant spell things correctly.

Fall Events Check Off

So with the approach of Thanksgiving and Christmas things always seem to get a little hectic, and I wanted to take a moment and look back at my list of fall outings and see how many I actually got done.

1.Go to the Minnesota Harvest apple orchard and gets some apples, some apple butter, oooh and some honey.
2.Go to the HUGE!!! Autumn Festival craft fair at Canterbury Park on November 12-15. (this one I am going to on Thursday and am super excited for!)
3.Find my way through Sever's Corn Maze in Shakopee.
4.Go on some hikes in the nearby area now that it will start to get cooler out.
5. Make a trip over to the "local" Betty's Pies in the fall for food and pie.
6. Go to the science museum to see the Titanic exhibit.
7. I haven't decided yet if I want to do a Halloween scare myself silly kinda of Soap Factory event or not but I will not rule it out yet. ( this one I decided I didn't want to do).

So I did half of them so far. I don't know if I will get the hiking in. Betty's pie changes their hours for the winter, so I will have to do some investigating into that, but I would like to get back there soon. As for the Titanic exhibit, that runs through January and I would like to save that for some weekend when it is a little colder out and not as nice to be hanging around outside. I will be extremely disappointed if I don't get out to see it.

Not Quite A Year Down

But only one more to go and even further from my goals than last year:(

On Valentines Day last year I wrote a Blog about my goals for the next two years. Looking back I thought I would have achieved or be a little closer to one or two of the goals.
Not so much.
I also thought some of the goals may no longer apply anymore. It has been almost a year, maybe something I wanted then I might not want any longer.
Not so much.
I have committed quite a bit of time to working on one of the goals at the cost of goal #1. Goal #1, in case you didn't follow the link, is to graduate college. I have stopped school for the moment to focus on the more pressing need of focusing on goal #7 (spend more time being happy with myself as a person). This is a trickier goal than I thought when I originally wrote it down. Just when I think I have part of it mastered it comes back around and trips me up with some new lack of confidence, or self esteem issue I never realized existed.
#6 (lose more weight) was well in hand at the time that I wrote these goals but shortly after I spun out of control and have had a horrible time gaining control again. It is like I have been slowly turning back into the person I used to be when I first started working at the barne. Someone with little self worth, self motivation, self esteem, and all she can find comfort in in her life is what she eats. I know I have come too far to return to that unhappy girl, but it is like I see it happening and am unable to stop it.
Where do I go from here? I have from November to February. The rest of my first year to turn some of these goals around. I am going to start with working on goals #6, and #7. I am also going to focus on saving some of every paycheck into one of my accounts as I have been spending in order to distract myself from how I feel.
We will see what four months brings.
Wish me luck.

There Will Be Snow

When I was in grade school, one of the things we did in gym class in the winter time, while snow covered the ground, was to go snowshoeing. It would get us outside and allowed us to try something that not many kids got to try. I always enjoyed snowshoeing more than any of the other winter sports they made us play (except broom ball). Skiing was never really my thing, I didn't have the balance for it, downhill was never really an option as I had trouble staying upright. Cross country I didn't mind but I found it awkward to have something so long attached to my feet. With snowshoeing, you have the ability to walk, run and the ability to walk in the snow where your boots would normally not allow you to go.
So, I finally bit the bullet and invested in some snowshoes this year. They are easy to take on and off which was a must as per my gracefulness, and there is no upkeep. None. Nada. I thought that was a nice bonus. They can be used with any boot, so there is no extra equipment to buy, just the snowshoes. Now all I need is a cute warm hat and I am all set! Oh, and the snow.

National Novel Writing Month

November is National Novel Writing Month and some people at work have joined this craziness for the last couple of years. Basically the rules are that you have to start of novel from scratch that is 50,000 words in a months time. You have from the first of November until midnight on November 30th.
I have never really felt the need, nor really had the time to devote to join them in their writing pursuits. However this year I have decided to join, in my own way, as I am not in school this semester and have had something chewing at me wanting to be put on paper.
I will be writing something but it will not be a novel, or any work of fiction. Novels take more imagination than I can summon right now. We will see how it goes, even if I get some of it down I will be happy.

Addicted!

I am addicted to this game for my Nintendo DS!

One is the Loneliest Number

I used to like being alone. Taking walks by myself, going shopping by myself, running errands alone, but now I have trouble being by myself. I don't like doing it! If I want to do something I find myself trying to think of someone that I can invite to come with, someone to partake in the activity with me (it usually doesn't work, because everyone is usually busy when i am not). Yet, I wonder when I started to not like my own company? I have always been somewhat of a people person. I like hanging around with people, but have always needed time by myself to recharge, alone time to recoup my thoughts, and energy after hanging out in a group. Now whenever I am going someplace as simple as target, or even Walgreens I try to tempt someone in to coming with me!

OMG! OMG! OMG!

One of my favorite authors, Diana Gabaldon, is coming to town to do a signing and reading on October 1st. SO EXCITED!!!

Thursday, October 1st, 7:00 PM
Minneapolis, MN

B&N Roseville
2100 North Snelling Ave.
Roseville, MN 55113
Contact: Janet Waller,
651-639-9256
*This will be a reading/signing.

Fortunes.

I went out to get Chinese food tonight and I got several fortune cookies, so I thought i would share my fortunes with you all.

"An unexpected relationship will become permanent"
"Happier days are definitely ahead for you"
and
"Someone you care about seeks reconciliation"

Not bad, not bad at all.

Confessions

1. I use my parents as an excuse.
2. I have come to the conclusion that I will probably never get married or have children of my own.
3. I get sick of listening to myself whine, yet the whining itself never seems to get old?! Go figure...
4. I am scared that I am going to get CADASIL. Nothing scares me more than the thought of losing my mind like my dad is doing. Of losing myself.
5. This part of my life does not feel like part of the journey it feels more like the destination...sadly.
6. Sometimes I am afraid I am turning into a drama queen in order to get attention.
7. I really don't care too much for myself right now.
8. I don't know when I got as mean or as obnoxious as I am now.
9. I have only recently discovered that I am a jealous person.
10. I have recently discovered that I can hate and love someone at the same time.

Nice Doggy.

So a little while ago i went to the fair, and at the fair they have a pet building with dogs of all different breeds in it. I always had dogs growing up and always knew that when I got out on my own I was gonna get a dog (even though i am allergic to them) :( So I thought that when it came time to chose my own dog I would have to pick one that had hair instead of fur, plus I have always loved West Highland Terriers so that would not be that hard of a decision.

But at the fair there was these German Shorthaired Pointers and he was SO SOFT and so nice and so sweet i just fell in love with the breed. He was so pretty and his eyes were so happy to see everyone! Now I want one of these too!!! I have always preferred big dogs, but have always thought Westies were fun, they have big dog personalities in little bodies. But now I am torn! I have quite a while to make up my mind, and lets be honest I will probably adopt a mutt if I ever get a dog again. I love mutts:)

Fall Events

So now that I feel summer is over and fall has begun I have started to think of things that I want to do during Autumn. Here are some of the things I have come up with so far.
1.Go to the Minnesota Harvest apple orchard and gets some apples, some apple butter, oooh and some honey.
2.Go to the HUGE!!! Autumn Festival craft fair at Canterbury Park on November 12-15.
3.Find my way through Sever's Corn Maze in Shakopee.
4.Go on some hikes in the nearby area now that it will start to get cooler out.
5. Make a trip over to the "local" Betty's Pies in the fall for food and pie.
6. Go to the science museum to see the Titanic exhibit.
7. I haven't decided yet if I want to do a Halloween scare myself silly kinda of Soap Factory event or not but I will not rule it out yet.

Those are just a few of the ideas I have come up with so far that I thought would keep me busy until it gets too cold to play outdoors for extended periods of time:)

Getting Around To It.

The following is a list of books and authors that I have always meant to read but have just never picked up for one reason or another. I know one day I will read them, i have sold them to plenty of people knowing I would be interested in these books. Yet, I have never taken the time or money to invest in reading them. So I am putting it down here hoping someone will keep me accountable for at least one of them, or tell me if you think one or another would be a waste of my precious money and time:) Or let me know if there is something awesome I have overlooked.
Everything Is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer
The Book of Illusions by Paul Auster
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
Paradise Lost by John Milton
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien

September Already????

Where did the summer go. It seems like just yesterday I was celebrating the warmer weather and now it's September, the beginning of fall in my mind. Fall is my favorite time of the year, not too hot, not too cold. The changing leaves, the brisk winds and the moody skies. But a little part of me still mourns the passing of every summer, all the picnics that could have gotten planned that didn't, all the watermelon and corn on the cob that could have been passed around the picnic table from one friend to the next will have to wait for next year. It is now on to the season of sweaters, long pants, warm drinks, and soon it will be time for Thanksgiving.

Fair Season.

I am so excited. It is time for the Minnesota State Fair. Our State fair is quite large compared to some other state fairs and I have gone every year of my life except the first year. It is not just the fair itself that is so exciting to me, but what it represents for me. It has always been a part of my life as far as I can remember, something to look forward to as a family tradition. It means fun, family, togetherness, gooey tasty food, and a fun end of summer family event before school started. The fair is imprinted as a place where only good times, and happiness has occurred in my life, that is what the state fair represents to me.

It's that time again.

Tonight is my first day of school for the new fall semester. While I am not excited to be returning to class, homework, tests and studying. I am happy about my classes that I have signed up for this semester. Tonight I have Shakespeare and tomorrow night I have American Lit. After I finish this semester I will only have two more semesters...three more classes and I will be done. It doesn't seem real that I could be that close. I could possibly take all classes in one semester and kill myself:) But that is a thought for another time.


I have:
American Lit
Shakespeare
A Literary Criticism Course
My Capstone Course
and some sort of elective of choice
-then graduation.
I wish I was able to go full time I would just take them all and be done with it.

I have decided to take this semester off for personal and health reasons, I will return in the spring and most likely attend summer courses. Right now I have too many balls in the air that I am trying to juggle and one of them is going to drop and take me with it so I have opted to make the decision of taking something temporarily off the table until I can get some other pieces of the balancing act that has become my life under more permanent control.

How does a person go about getting a goat?

So when I went to the zoo we went in to pet the goats, and I made friends with this guy here.

He is SOOOOOOOOO cute!!! He followed me around and kept trying to eat my pants and bag. I want to go back and pet him again!

The Zoo.

Yesterday my friend Kris and I took the two oldest children of one of our mutual friends (Steve) to the Minnesota Zoo. We all had a great time. For me not only did I enjoy the Zoo, but I also enjoyed the kids, who are amazing, and the experience of hanging out for an entire day with people who don't expect anything of you other that to see "the big fish", or the shark, and the zebra. Children have no agenda the way that adults do. They don't look to emotionally drain you with the drama, blame, guilt, and manipulation, but in fact yesterday had the opposite effect filling me with energy while I was with them and hope. Spending the entire day with people (albeit short people) who just want to have fun, enjoy things, get what they can out of the experience and have a treat or two while they are doing it,was a gift.

September Wants!

So it always seems like whenever I go back to school all the books that I want to read come out, and I am too busy with homework and stuff to read them:(

I have been cruising websites and a bunch of stuff that I want to buy comes out in September!

An Echo in the Bone- by Diana Gabaldon
Jamie Fraser, erstwhile Jacobite and reluctant rebel, knows three things about the American rebellion: the Americans will win, unlikely as that seems in 1778; being on the winning side is no guarantee of survival; and he’d rather die than face his illegitimate son — a young lieutenant in the British Army — across the barrel of a gun. Fraser’s time-travelling wife, Claire, also knows a couple of things: that the Americans will win, but that the ultimate price of victory is a mystery. What she does believe is that the price won’t include Jamie’s life or happiness — not if she has anything to say.Claire’s grown daughter Brianna, and her husband, Roger, watch the unfolding of Brianna’s parents’ history — a past that may be sneaking up behind their own family.

The Big Bang Theory-Season 2


Temp Me at Twilight- by Lisa Kleypas

Catching Fire-By Suzanne Collins
Book Two of the Hunger Games Triliogy!!!
Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has won the annual Hunger Games with fellow district tribute Peeta Mellark. But it was a victory won by defiance of the Capitol and their harsh rules. Katniss and Peeta should be happy. After all, they have just won for themselves and their families a life of safety and plenty. But there are rumors of rebellion among the subjects, and Katniss and Peeta, to their horror, are the faces of that rebellion. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge.

Just to name a few, and if you have not read The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins I highly recommend it.

Happy Belated Birthday Mom.

So during the whole moving thing was my mom's birthday...it kinda got lost in the shuffle. I wanted to do a birthday post but I didn't have my printer to scan any pictures, didn't have any pictures to scan...they were all at the new place. So I have decided to do a belated birthday post for my mom. She hates having her picture taken, so finding a picture of her with both my brother and me in it was hard. I had to go back to the good old days when Jase and I were both still cute:) So, Happy Birthday Mom! Lubs YOU!

Gettysburg

The next trip that I want to take is to Gettysburg. When I was younger my family took a trip out east and we stopped there for a day, but it was so hot and humid that we were not able to walk around or see much. I would love to be able to walk around the battlefields, the museums, and the town.
I have always been interested in The Civil War with an extra interest in the Battle of Gettysburg. The National Park located there is huge, and I would love to go and just wander and take in the experience of being there.

The Tripping Point

I am not the most graceful person you will ever meet, but i am also not the most clumsy. However, the other day I fell, on my face! I was basically standing there then I moved one foot and my ankle gave way and I fell to my knees, caught myself on my hands (and my camera, boo!), and finally stopped my fall with my face and my sunglasses (may they rest in peace, they did not make it through this ordeal). After a little screeching, some dusting off, and checking for injuries, I found i had totalled my sunglasses, scraped my camera, scraped my hands and knees, hurt my bad ankle, racked up my knee a little and my arms have been sore ever since...my face however came away without a scratch:)

This is what I "tripped" on... where the path is all jagged is where my ankle twisted.

This picture I actually took when I was falling! I have skills!!!! This is the ground and my shirt:)

New Neighbors

So, at the same time we were moving in, there was a cre...I mean a man moving into the same area of the building that we were moving into. No biggy. We can share the elevator, well we would have, had we moved at the same time of day, but this man decided that he wanted to move in, in the middle of the NIGHT! So, he was unloading his car in our parking lot courtyard, into a shopping cart, and running the cart back across the parking lot (insert sound effect of cart going back and forth across parking lot in the broken stillness of the night)until 3 am! Never mind the poor people who live right by the door that he must have repeatedly slammed. He did this from about 10pm to 3 am one night. The next night at around 1030 we heard to dulcet tones of the cart clanking across the concrete again and proceeded to yell at him out the window. (we just asked if he was planning to move again all night) He said that he was on his last load, it was totally his first for the day/night! From then on we started calling him the creep, as he creeps around doing strange things at night.
He looks like he is in his mid thirties, and fairly successful at whatever it is he does (besides creep), leaves in his expensive car for some sort of work everyday in a suit. Very fraternity stereotype kind of image here.
The next day we came upstairs to move things to the new apartment and the hallway was full of empty boxes outside of the creeps apartment!! WTF?! Now I live in an "adult" building which in my town translates to mostly seniors who have canes, walkers and wheelchairs. You cant go around blocking hallways in this building let alone creating such a mess! (creep). Then the next night the creep was sitting in the party room wrapped up in a blanket on the couch watching tv like he was in a dorm house(our party room lies between our apartments and you walk through it as if it is part of the hall when it is not being used).
And finally last night when I was coming home I walked past his apartment, most people have decorations such as wreaths, signs, etc outside of their doors to decorate their doorways. When I came past his door he had put a Vikings schedule poster on the outside of his door! Number one, like we all care??, number 2 this is not a dorm room, I mean come on A POSTER!!!, and number 3 wow the depth of this person...a vikings poster...that's what he wants people to know about him. Deep.

Yesterday was stressful, and so I needed a good laugh...

This makes me giggle just thinking about it. When I need a good laugh all I have to do is pop in a episode of the Big Bang Theory.

Thought Provoking and Eye Opening.

So we had finally moved and gotten the old apartment all cleaned, but we still had several pieces of furniture that we were not planning on moving as we are now in a smaller apartment. We had a recliner, a lamp, and two dining room chairs that we just didn't need anymore. We really didn't have any idea how we were going to get these out of the apartment before the first of the month. My mom had called 1-800-junk and they want anywhere from 100-200 dollars to pick up what we had! Um, no! So, she then decided she would ask around the building to see if anyone was in want of these few pieces of furniture. It turns out that there was a woman who had moved in just down the hall from our old apartment that had almost NO furniture. She had a bed, a desk, and an ironing board. That was all. So when my mom asked her if she wanted the pieces she was very happy to take them. It turns out she was in the process of getting divorced, and had left everything behind as she just needed to get out of her house. Her adult son still lives at home and is Bipolar and schizophrenic and wont take his medication continuously and has threatened to kill her and her husband several times, she had to leave in fear for her life. Her husband refuses to do anything about the situation with their son, and she refuses to live in fear any longer.
As we had an abundance of furniture, including some in our store room (an extra table) we were able to give her a head start on at least furnishing the beginning of her new start at life and she was able to help us clear out our apartment with very little effort. A good ending, or beginning.
However, it made me think about all of the things that I surround myself with, and all of the things that I think I NEED. This woman was living with a bed, desk, and an ironing board. So little is actually needed to sustain us, yet I think I NEED all of these things to make me happier. WHAT IS THAT ABOUT?! Don't get me wrong there is something to be said about comfort, do I want to sleep on the floor? No. But just watching her look around our apartment and then walking into hers... We are still trying to find places to fit stuff in our apartment and she couldn't decide which empty space to put the table and the recliner into...So how much of the stuff we surround ourselves with is actually stuff we need?

My Mommy

This song reminds me of my mom, who has been ill for several years. Several times I have been in the position of being able to do nothing but hold her hand and cry with her as she endures so much pain and agony.

Moving aches and pains.

So, we have almost made the whole switch from one apartment to the other, today will bring the last load I think. Yesterday was a whirlwind of moving, shifting, carrying, putting, cleaning, dusting off, and I am soooooo sore today! Even sleeping last night hurt. Today the agenda (heck the whole weeks agenda) is full of cleaning the old apartment from top to bottom. I hate cleaning apartments from move out. It is very satisfying when you are done but the whole process leaves me with a big ol "hey isn't it nap time!?" feeling. I am planning to head over there with a CD player, some good mixes, and a positive attitude as soon as I find one (the attitude, the cd's and player have been located).
Although this apartment is quite a bit smaller than the last apartment so far this one seems to be a little more homey-er. We have put more work into making this one more comfortable than any place we have lived in the last ten years because my parents have to spend so much time in the house now that they are both disabled. We also put a lot of thought into making this accessible as well as attractive and homey (my mother can not lift heavy objects or put her arms over her head, OR bend over). So far the worst thing is the lack of a laundry room (we now have a laundry closet) and that we went from two bathrooms down to one. :(

Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock.

Sheldon, Sheldon, Sheldon...

When do you realize that you are losing it?

When you become jealous of a fictional rat. Why you ask? Because he is better read than I am. I have been reading Firmin: A Tale of Exile, Unrequited Love, and the Redemptive Power of Literature, by Sam Savage over the past week. A book about how -

"In the basement of a Boston bookstore, Firmin is born in a shredded copy
Finnegans Wake, nurtured on a diet of Zane Grey, Lady Chatterley’s Lover, and
Jane Eyre (which tastes a lot like lettuce). While his twelve siblings gnaw
these books obliviously, for Firmin the words, thoughts, deeds, and hopes—all
the literature he consumes—soon consume him. Emboldened by reading, intoxicated
by curiosity, foraging for food, Firmin ventures out of his bookstore sanctuary,
carrying with him all the yearnings and failings of humanity itself. It’s a lot
to ask of a rat—especially when his home is on the verge of annihilation."

Strange, you say, a book about a rat who not only eats books but can read. Oh wait didn't i see this movie??? you ask "Tale of Despereaux"? No, this is not a child's book, not at all, this is not some heroic mouse bent on saving the princess, this rat has some serious social and behavioral issues, even for a rat. But that's all well and good, (you know what I mean), what caused me problems was that within the first year of this rats life, he had read more of the classics then I had in all of my *mumble mumble* years! He has 'devoured' books such as"Oliver Twist. Huckleberry Finn. The Great Gatsby. Dead Souls. Middlemarch. Alice in Wonderland. Fathers and Sons. The Grapes of Wrath. The Way of All Flesh. And American Tragedy. Peter Pan. The Red and the Black. Lady Chatterley's Lover" (p. 20). Not to mention"...the Bible, The Koran, the Bhagavad Gita, the Book of the Dead...Kant, Hegel, Swedenborg..."(p.18). I WAS JEALOUS OF A FREAKIN FICTIONAL CHARACTER....AND IT WAS A RAT!!!!

So, after coming to grips with this I have decided I really need to read more classics and maybe less books about animals who read faster than I do.

Apollo and Daphne

Apollo and Daphne Carrara's marble cm. 243 Gian Lorenzo Bernini

"Gian Lorenzo Bernini created an unpreviousd masterpiece for Cardinal Scipione Borghese depicting the chaste nymph Daphne being turned into a laurel tree, pursued in vain by Apollo god of light.
This life-size marble sculpture, begun by Bernini at the age of twenty-four and executed between 1622 and 1625, has always been housed in the same villa, but originally stood on a lower and narrower base set against the wall near the stairs. Consequently anyone entering the room first saw Apollo from behind, then the fleeing nymph appeared in the process of metamorphosis: brak covers most of her body, but according to Ovid's lines, Apollo's hand can still feel her heart beating beneath it.Thus the scene ends by Daphne being transformed into a laurel tree to escape her divine aggressor.
The presence of this pagan myth in the Cardinal's villa was justified by a moral couplet composed in Latin by Cardinal Maffeo Barberini (later Pope Urban VIII) and engraved on the cartouche on the base, which says: Those who love to pursue fleeting forms of pleasure, in the end find only leaves and bitter berries in their hands.
In 1785, when Marcantonio IV Borghese decided to place the work in the centre of the room, Vincenzo Pacetti designed the present base by using the original pieces, adding plaster to the plinth and another cartouche bearing the Borghese eagle, sculpted by Lorenzo Cardelli. "

This is one of my favorite sculptures, I am a big fan of the Greek myths and had recently read Ovid's Metamorphosis. Just as the title implies it is full of myths that include people changing in one way or another. In the story of Daphne and Apollo she changes into that of a Laurel tree right in front of the pursuing Apollo. The artist Bernini has captured not only the grace of the transformation, but I also like the fluid movement in Daphne's hair as it turns to Laurel leaves, the wrap that is around Apollo that although made of stone seems to float on a wind that blew long ago, and the way he has carved it so that you could walk around it so many times and still see something new.

Is it time to say goodbye?

When is it time to acknowledge the death of a family tradition? My family has been going to the same lake every summer, for as long as I can remember, for a family reunion. My aunts, uncles, cousins, great aunts and great uncles, cousins removed several times, second cousins...you get the idea. We all gather to eat, look at each other across the pavilion and realize we have never ever ever talked to each other in our lives.
This is what it has evolved into.
When I was little the reunions were a blast. My grandpa would arrange games that were played by everyone, especially the kids. Water balloon fights, sack races, three legged races, pinatas every year, swimming, watermelon seed spitting contests (we only had this because my aunts are wicked good at this, I suck), Frisbee games, baseball games, stuff like that was arranged every year. Now that my grandfather is older and not able to handle the arrangements, nothing gets done. I tried to make some fun stuff happen last year, but no one was interested in helping me.
So as the family reunion rolls around again this year I find that I have less than zero interest in going, and I am not the only one. Most of my great aunts and uncles don't feel like driving up for the reunion, the only one of their generation attending is my grandpa. This means most of their (great aunts and uncles) children probably will not attend. Yeah, that leaves my aunts, uncles and cousins, all of whom I see on a regular basis. Not so much a family reunion as a family get together. I feel no real need to go, add the fact that it is over an hour away and I feel even less need to go.
So the question is when do you declare a family tradition dead, and not worth carrying on as a tradition anymore? When half the people stop showing up for it. When it is no longer the joyous occasion it used to be and has turned into a hassle? When the many generations seem to just not care about getting together anymore it just doesn't seem worth it. Any thoughts?

3 Doors Down

I am not known for being the girl that seeks out new music, concerts and musical experiences and the like. If I hear something i like, fine, I know what I like when I hear it, tend to have varied taste of what I enjoy when it comes to the music that I like. The music I grew up with, the music my parents grew up with and the music my grandparents grew up with...it all appeals to me.

When I was around the end of my High School years or so the band 3 Doors Down came out. I have fond memories of driving around with their tunes blasting on the car radio and singing at the top of our lungs. Their lyrics have always reached a certain place inside of me that I rarely acknowledge and feel free enough to let it out for the few minutes it takes to belt out, sway along with or just listen to one of their songs.

So when I heard that they were coming to town, and my friend Jess (who also really enjoys them) asked if I wanted to see them I knew I had to accept or regret missing the chance to see the band that has represented not only a piece of my life, but keeps doing so by speaking my thoughts before I can realize them.

The concert was awesome. They played every song I hoped they would, including the song Kryptonite, the song that as a teenager I belted out of the car window, into the sunny summer days and forgot, briefly, all of my worries.

Plus the opening band was Tim Mahoney (sp?) So there was even a non sucky opening act!

Too Much Junks

So we are moving, and we are moving to a smaller place. This is an excellent time to go through things and get rid of anything that we no longer want/need. However, as I put things into boxes and bags to head to the Goodwill it makes me wonder why I have kept these things as long as I have. Some are sentimental, some because i might someday need whatever the object was, and some i kept just because i had no real reason to get rid of it. Well now I do, so I am going through all of my things and wondering WHY?! Why I have held on to things I didn't even realize I owned, didn't remember I kept. Why, when we have moved so much over the years did I take the time to pack it every time, move it, unpack it only to forget about it before the next thime we moved only to repack it again?!
My parents are not the worst pack rats that I have ever seen, but my mother has sentimental attachments to things, keeps things that she doesn't know what they go to- because we might miraculously discover what it belongs to one day and need it, thus creating the whatnot drawer. My father is like a squirrel or a ferret, he has little places all over the house that he puts little pockets of his collections of stuff. You will open a drawer and there are all of his old eyes glasses, another drawer holds all his old belt buckles. Well not after we are through this time.
We have gone through the ceder chest, our linen closets, my parents closets and the storage room and we are on our third car load to the Goodwill.
Although we are only moving a little way away this might be the hardest move we have made to date as far as workload.

You Know it!

Movin on Up.

So yesterday we decided to move. It was just that fast. Usually we hem and haw for about 4 months about if we should move, where we want to live, what kind of area, what kind of building..etc. But it wasn't that hard of a decision as we are only moving up a floor and down the hall this time. It is a two bedroom unit- but smaller, and with only one bathroom instead of two.

So for the next couple months we will be moving things upstairs and going through what we own and deciding if we REALLY need to keep it as the space is smaller. We do have a storage room and can store some of the stuff, but in order to get some of the stuff we want to keep into storage we need to clean the store room out of all the junk we don't want as you can barely stand in the room right now. *sigh* I hate moving.

Anyone know anyone who wants to buy the BIGGEST tool box i have ever seen filled with tools??

The Good old Days

Remember when you were little, in elementary school, and it was the last day of school? A certain feeling would come over you as you left school that day, a feeling that I have never felt since and I think only belongs to children in the years of youth before responsibilities, worry, and anxiety take over their lives. It was the feeling of freedom, because for the rest of the summer anything was possible. The world belonged to you and your friends for the summer and all you had to do was set out on your bike and discover new parts, pathways and adventures. There was no homework, no school buildings, or schedules to get in the way of the simple agenda of being a child during the summer. That was the best feeling, complete freedom to just be yourself with your friends and have three months to just be a child. It is a feeling I don't think that adults recapture enough, I don't think enough adults remember to play. They get too caught up in being adults and forget what it is like- not just what it is like to have fun, but what it was like to just enjoy life without thought, to just sit in the moment and enjoy.

I often find myself waiting..."oh i cant wait until this happens" "I cant wait until this day". Many times passing over weeks of my life, missing many enjoyable things in my rush to get to something that passes in the blink of an eye. My goal is to start enjoying smaller pieces of life, everyday so they don't pass me by, smaller moments as I am in them instead of after I have experienced them.

And I thought I had too much time on my hands.

The word of the day is...

Snarky!


Snarky -
Adjective - Any language that contains quips or comments containing sarcastic or satirical witticisms intended as blunt irony. Usually delivered in a manner that is somewhat abrupt and out of context and intended to stun and amuse. Origin: Snark="snide remark".

Snarky ( which is a blended word ( snide + remark), yea for my Anthropology of Linguistics class) has been brought to you today by the letters S-n-a-r-k-y!

Use it!
Abuse it!
Embrace your inner snarkness.

Stuck

This song has been in my head for about 2 WEEKS! Sing along you know you want to;)

Along with this one...

Wild Beast

So the other night i was driving home minding my own business when out of nowhere this wild creature tried to cause me to drive into the ditch. I know what you are thinking Raccoon? Deer? No, no my friends this was something much more horrifying. This was a HUGE spider IN MY CAR!! I know! GASP! (right?) I was just driving along when suddenly illuminated in the lights of the car behind me I could see this huge spider crawling across my windshield, ON THE INSIDE!! My first urge was to squish it before it could crawl on me, but i soon realized, as i reached to do just this, that it would then cause me to swerve severely into the ditch, especially when i would miss hitting him and freak out. So i then had to wrestle with, "do I pull over and kill him because I know where he is", "do i wait until the next stoplight (pretty far away)", or do I "just hope he will crawl out of my car TONIGHT on his own"? I decided to keep driving and keep an eye out for him and make sure he didn't pull any sneaky spider tricks. When I got on my road. I stopped in the middle of the road, turned on my dome light and found the wee...ah I mean HUGE!!! Beast and smushed him with the first available thing that was not my hand. Or my purse. Or my phone. Okay so i looked around a bit and found a piece of paper, but whatever he was dead! And my car was once again safe to travel in! Seriously he was about the size of a quarter. UGH!

9-1- what?

I don't get this sign, it is on the outside of the cabinet that holds the containers of Blue Rhino Natural Gas. If you look in the lower right hand part of the sign you will see an emergency number, however what I don't understand is if you are at home and have an emergency (def.-a sudden unforeseen crisis (usually involving danger) that requires immediate action) involving said Blue Rhino Gas Containers You would -A) need to call the store to go and read the number to you so you could then call the "emergency" number. B) Go to the store to get the number to call during the emergency. Or perhaps the emergency happens to the cabinet full of Gas Containers, which would in fact leave you without an "emergency" number when the cabinet itself blows all to hell. ??

Oh Brother!

I am the youngest sibling out of 2 children, the baby, the last ditch effort to get it right;). I have an older brother who is 1 1/2 years older than me and who, until we were around the age of 8 and 9, were each others best friends, playmates, and confidants. Then we moved to a new town and the world of hanging out with gangs of friends and picking on your brother and sister began. My Brother kinda has the opposite personality of me, but with the same sense of humor. He is really laid back where as I worry too much about everything.
He lives to yank my chain, and push just the right button to set me off on a verbal tirade the likes of which few outside of my family have ever seen, and which end up with him laughing himself silly, me turning bright red, hitting him, and walking away in a huff. The only other person in the world with this ability was my father. My brother is one of the few people in the world that I am more protective of than I am of myself, he is a foot and a half taller than me, and my older brother, but when push comes to shove I have the louder mouth:) Bottom line, when they were passing out brothers I got really lucky.

Even if he doesn't do what I tell him to, or believe everything I say:)

P.S. We had a Mother's Day/Birthday Party for my Grandma, Isn't she Cute!

Pandas Rock

Had to share this it made me laugh first thing this morning:)

?

Does anyone read this anymore?

Blasts from the Past.

Is it just me or are cartoons lacking something now days? I think back to the cartoons that I grew up with and the characters, plots, and even the cheesy dialogue seemed to have more to it than what I see played out for kids now days. Barney, Dora, Spongebob make me sad for the current generations lack of cartoon entertainment, and characters. Maybe it is just me but it seems like we had a much wider variety to choose from growing up.
We had:
Thundercats
Transformers
Inspector Gadget
She-ra
He-Man
Ducktales
Darkwing Duck
Anamaniacs
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Fraggle Rock
Voltron
X-men
just to name a few..

The Exterminators

I caught this show the other day on A&E, it is one of the strangest things I have seen in reality tv in a long time, yet I couldnt stop watching it. It takes place in Louisiana, and this guy Billy and his black clad, skull and leather wearing family have a family owned and operated exterminating business. It is made up of his parents, wife, brother and himself. It was so weird.




Here is a link to their A&E page and their business Vexcon website.

Book Limbo

You know that great feeling you get when you read an amazing book, you cant wait to get back to it, to dive back in to the story, find out where it is going, where it will take you, and finally end up? It is a great feeling when the author is able to so completely transport you and capture your imagination with only his thoughts written on the page. However, there is the inevitable emptiness when you finish such an amazing book that leaves you wanting another quality piece of literature. When you happen across an author, or work of literature that speaks to you, and you devour it, then what? That is where i am right now...looking for something to fill the space of the great book I just read, will I find it? Probably not right away, I will be forced to put up with mediocrity until I one day come across another book that grabs hold of my imagination and refuses to let go.

The Countdown has Begun.

After Monday's class I have one week left of class for the semester! I have one paper done(kinda) for my online class. I have to complete my paper for my Monday class then all that is really left is my final for my linguistics class-I can see the finish line!

Out of the mouths of babes

The other day I came home from work to find that my dad had gone through his book shelves and sorted through some of the books he didn't want anymore, leaving the books on the shelves that he wanted to keep. Among these books to keep was a journal that I had given him years ago that was a guided reflection journal for a daughter to write her memories of her father down and then give him as a gift. I don't remember how long ago I did this, but I decided to sit down and read it. It was amusing and truthful. The last page, well it was just sad and a little heartbreaking. This is what it said:
"Being the worrywart I am I think about 30 to 40 years from now when I am your age and your Grannies age and I can't help but think that even then I won't be grown enough to let you go. So I just pray that I won't ever lose you before we're both ready"

I included all the original spelling and punctuation errors.

Colorado!

This was one of my all time favorite trips! I went when I was...23 or 24 I don't really remember exactly, but my dad was working for Raytheon who was the company in control of Mcmurdo Station Antarctica, which was where he worked. That year my dad was the Heavy Shop Crew Manager so he had to hire the mechanics. This involved (for him) a month or so in Denver, and for me a 2 week trip to Denver and back. My mom, dad, and I drove out there and stayed in a hotel in Denver and the company paid for My parents room and part of my room.
It was in may so they still had Snow up in the mountains, this is a snow and ice covered lake up in the mountains by Colorado Springs.

This is the Royal Gorge Bridge, basically a bridge that leads to no where. It just goes across the Colorado River and the road swings back across the bridge again.
The view from the bridge, it goes down, down, down, down. And the river looks Tiny.

These were the Anastasi Ruins that we visited right outside of Colorado Springs. They were really cool. You got to walk around inside of them and through the different rooms, very cool.View from the Anastasi Ruins. To the left of this is the Garden of the Gods.


One of the formations in the Garden of the Gods. (I have no idea who that dude is, do you ever think about when you get in people's pictures you are in their keepsakes forever, like this dude.)

This was a picture i took on the side of the road on the way up the mountain. *sigh* I love Colorado.

What to do?

What would you do if you got a gift that you knew you where going to have to react to the next time you saw some one at work (or anywhere else), and you really didn't care for the gift. I know it is the thought that counts, it was nice of her to think of me, I do appreciate that, I do! But my problem is what to do when she asks "did you like it?!" Ahhhh, ummm.... I don't want to lie. It was not something I can use, or really to my taste, so when she asks (which she will), "did you like it?" What is there to respond with???

Wannabe.

So I took a nerd test because i was kinda nerdy and had nothin better to do, I was not surprised by my results:)

Thank You, Happy Birthday, Hi, Thinking of You, Get Well Soon...

I like cards, i think they are fun to get, fun to give, fun to send. I mean who doesn't like getting a envelope from a friend, there are so many wonderful possibilities that could be in that card, and it means your friend took the time to think about you. I know some people throw cards away once they receive them, that's cool, because giving cards to people is not always about the receiver but also about the giver too. I enjoy picking out cards for people, finding the right one feels like a mini jackpot. If people throw it out after I give it to them, I don't care, it is theirs to do with as they please as long as they have read and understand the sentiment inside.

I have a letter box full of cards that I am going to try to keep on top of sending cards for the remainder of the year. We will see what happens...

Some Stuffs.

I have reclaimed my car, not just from all of the breakage, but from all of the junk that has been stored in the back of it since about November. Since then there was so much junk that we needed to get rid of in the back of my car that I had no back seat (it was folded down to accommodate said junk). But now my car works with the warning that "if anything goes wrong I should bring it right back in..." I feel real confident.

Day before yesterday my dad waited until I was gone, my mother was taking a nap, and shut their bedroom door, left the TV on so that if my mom woke up she would think he was still watching TV and stole her car keys out of her purse and went down and DROVE the car to wash it, and then proceeded to wax it. When I came home the car was gone, I knew my mom would not drive it that days as she was not feeling well, so I went running up stairs and found mom, but no dad, and no car keys. WE WERE PISSED, and a little worried, okay a lot worried. Found him in the garage of the building waxing the car. Took the keys away, tried to rationalize with him, he thought it was funny. Mom came down later and told him he could either give up his licence voluntarily or the doctor would force him to. Yesterday he gave it up and applied for a state ID. I don't think it will stop him. The doctor is supposed to call today we will see what she says.

Oh i forgot that my dad, once he got the car waxed, was too tired to unwax it so i had to do it.
good times.

Doggies.

When I was little from the time i can first remember, until I was in 7th grade we always had at least one dog (and various other animals). Our first dog was Honey, she was a Yellow Lab, that I don't have many memories but she was my first puppy.

Then one day Cindy (pictured above) turned up at our doorstep, she was a runway. We took her in but she was a restless dog and would often times be gone for days before returning and resting before running again. We never knew if we would see her again. We had here during the time when my dad was getting ready to leave for Antarctica for the first time. We lived in a secluded area and he did not want to leave us without some type of guard dog and he knew Cindy could not be counted on to stick around...

So Cocoa entered our lives. Jason and I were ecstatic! We had never gotten to pick out our own dog before! Little did we know we had just picked out a Houdini dog. Cocoa was brought home on the same day that Cindy had run away for what turned out to be the last time. We never saw her again. Well it turns out dad hadn't talked to mom about getting a new dog, and he was leaving the next week for about as far away as he could get...little did he know that he had instilled a destructive force on four legs in his home. Cocoa is infamous in our family, escaping a hurricane fence, a garage, a travel kennel, a hurricane fence and a leash, trashing the house including chewing up every piece of paper she could find, shredding the toilet paper, and picking up the OPEN bottles of cream rinse and carrying them alllllll over the house dribbling cream rinse all over the carpet, but the best was when we put her in the down stairs bathroom and she shredded the toilet paper, chewed all the wood around the window, turned on the water and flooded the basement floor and SOMEHOW managed to get a ceiling tile down and EAT IT!!! She was my favorite:) She was my pal. She slept in the exact middle of my bed the majority of my childhood. We eventually worked out her behavioral problems when we figured out she was a might claustrophobic, didn't like being closed in, if we just tied her under the table she was fine, eventually we just left her in the house, and the worst she did was sleep on the couch while we were gone:)

Now our next dog, Scamper was a whole new set of issues, Scamper was part human, part cheetah.
We had Scamper and Cocoa at the same time, Cocoa considered Scamper one of life's trials to begin with but they became buddies in the end. But Scamper was also an escape artist, but in a completely different way, he liked to run. The house we lived in, in Wisconsin, had a door off the mud room that just pushed open and Scamper could push it open with his body weight so if you left the one door open...Scamper was gone and the only way to get him back was to trick him with A) food, B) a ride in the back window of the car, or C) wait for him to get tired of chasing deer, porcupines, and skunks and come home.

And just because she is so cute I put in a picture of my aunt's dog, Mandy. She is a Cockapoo (cocker spaniel and a poodle).

If I was going to get another dog I would get a white West Highland Terrier, I have always wanted one of these dogs.

Stupid Car

My car has not really worked right all winter, I have had it in the shop a couple of times doing a couple repairs but it just breaks the next time I drive it>:( So, I have been letting it go, and driving my mom's car for awhile. Well starting next week my dad needs to start out patient therapy and that means that my mom is going to need to start driving her own car, that means I need to get mine in working order again. Bummer. Stupid car.
In February I took it to a local shop because the check engine light came on and the power steering was gone, they said I needed a new power steering pump and the light was on because the gas cap wasn't tight (I didn't really believe this as I had not gotten gas recently, so the light would have come on LONG ago). So, they replaced the pump and fluid. A week later I went to drive the car and every time I turned the wheel it made a whining noise. I stopped driving it. (that is how I chose to deal with it at the time) Fast Forward to April. I took the car to Saturn to get a complete diagnostic run to find out the problem with the whining noise and the return of the check engine light!! Turns out my little 4 cylinder car had been running on 2 cylinders as the Engine coil needed to be replaced along with the spark plugs and wires. Huh, who knew. AND...by the time I got to Saturn I had no power steering fluid left, it had all leaked out! ARGH!
After much debate it was decided that Saturn would fix the coil, plugs, and wires, put in some fluid and I would drive it back to the shop that was supposed to fix the power steering in the first place! and they would take a look at it to see if it was something they had neglected. So, I have spent $700 dollars on this car since Feb. that is $700 dollars that I couldn't afford to spend. Makes me slightly angry and delusional. I dropped the car off yesterday at the local repair shop...I have NO memory of handing the man my keys, but my car is gone from the parking lot, so they either took my car into the shop, or I left my keys in the car and someone stole it along with the $700 dollars of work that has been done on it....Oh happy days, I have to go to work now and earn more money to spend on car repairs.

Happy or Sad Poem, you decide.

My Papa's Waltz
(T. Roethke)

The whiskey on your breath
Could make a small bout dizzy;
But i hung on like death:
Such waltzing was not easy.

We romped until the pans
Slid from the kitchen shelf;
My mother's countenance
Could not unfrown itself.

The hand that held my wrist
Was battered on one Knuckle;
At every step you missed
My right ear scraped a buckle.

You beat time on my head
With a palm caked hard by dirt,
Then waltzed me off to bed
Still clinging to your shirt.

The Sky is Falling.

So when I was at work yesterday i noticed that I had a sore spot on my arm, upon closer inspection of said sore spot I noticed that there was a lump that was causing said sore spot. It is on the outside of my left forearm. This bump is kinda shaped like a blood vessel and disturbing to say the least. Needless to say i ceased all bookseller type activities and proceeded to my nearest coworker and forced them to feel my arm/lump. Then I was on to the backroom where the coworkers gather, in the end 2 managers, 2 head cashiers, 1 cafe lead, 1 music seller, and a hand full of booksellers were made to feel said lump. There were several theories of what the lump could be (many had already swirled through my slightly worried mind) blood clot, tight muscle, spiders laying eggs under my skin, another human growing, a demon growing, and bad cheese. I was hoping that it would magically disappear by today but it has not, so i think I will go in and get a real diagnosis tomorrow morning.

Spring Cleaning

When i got up today I had no real plans, no ambitions other than to do some of my homework. However, my mom asked me to take the laundry out of the dryer and things got a little crazy. We started to move things around in the laundry room, my dad has jeans that were left over from his uniforms from work, they have been hanging in the laundry room ever since he stopped working over a year ago. So we went through them and got rid of some and folded the rest up and put them in his closet.
Then we threw some stuff out that had been collecting in the laundry room. Rearranged the room so his walker could fit in there, and got some clothes ready to go to the Goodwill, then we moved on to the bookshelf. We went through all of my mom's books and got some of them ready to go to the used book store. Then we moved on to my room, got some of my clothes ready for the Goodwill, I had a bag all ready in my closet, plus a bag of books all ready to go in my closet.
I decided today was the day to get rid of my bridesmaid dresses so I found a place to donate them that dry cleans them and gives the dresses to girls who cant afford prom dresses.
By the time we were done we had 2 bags of books, 3 bags of stuff for the goodwill, 1 piece of luggage, 1 vacuum, 1 desk chair, and 3 bridesmaid dresses to get rid of today. Oh and quite a bit of garbage. I cant wait to see the junk we have accumulated in the storage room.

Silly Fears=New Addiction

So I used to be scared of using Amazon.com for some reason I never really focused on, but I decided to get over it and order a messenger bag over Amazon a couple of weeks ago, it came quite fast in the mail..woohoo a package! Stuff, like a present! Then I decided I also wanted a second smaller bag, so back online I went and ordered a second one. Then I got another package. Another present! Now I fear I have a slight addiction. If you order it, it will come! Presents in the mail! Delivered right to your door! Gasp! This could be worse then gambling for me, a guaranteed return for my money, plus the excitement of STUFF!!!!!!!! This could be an issue people.

Vacation.

The speech therapy lady has been on vacation this week. This makes me very happy. It is a small thing, but her lack of presence in our house has been noticed and appreciated by me:)

I love The Big Bang Theory! Sheldon cracks me up no matter how many times I watch it.

One More Time.

I have to return to work today. It has to be today because as of tomorrow my leave officially runs out so I HAVE to have punched in either tomorrow or before tomorrow. I can't work tomorrow as I have school so I had to return today. I asked Dan, the scheduling manager, to just give me 3/4 of my hours at first because I didn't want to jump in with both feet to begin with. So, here we go again. I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little nervous about going back, I mean it is much easier to sit at home and do nothing. Does the idea of going back make me happy, no. No, it does not. The idea of making money again is a good one. I cant see starting a new job right now though, not with everything else. So, I return for three whole hours today, 12-3 after almost 3 months off. Lets see what I have forgotten and what they have changed in my absence.

Round Two.

So, I have finished Watership Down by Richard Adams I was worried throughout the book that some of the good bunnies would die. I was more worried about this one really cute bunny named Pipkin. He starts out as kinda the underbunny, he is smaller then some of the other bunnies and is jumpier-

:spoiler:

:spoiler:

:spoiler:

That means stop reading if you don't want to know what happens!

Yeah, I mean you!

Okay! I warned you!!!

Every bunny I was worried about made it through the story all right. I thought. It turns out that there is a sequel. According to one review it gets "gory" at one point. This might not turn out well for all of us.

So I am going to read Tales From Watership Down and hope that everyone makes it out of this one alive again. If not, well there is always therapy.

Don't like.

I don't like the lady that does my dad's speech therapy. She just bugs me. Her tone is patronizing. It drives me crazy! My dad has memory problems but he is not stupid! And today she actually shushed my mom. I mean I know that in this area she is the "expert" but you don't come into some one's home, and this kind of a situation and shush some one's whose home you are in, and who might have something vital to add about the patient you are working with! She pisses me off.

Midterm-Done.

Do you even have things that you know you HAVE to do, not things like go to work, or things that are everyday things, but things that come up maybe once or twice a year, or even once in a lifetime, and you think "if I can just get past this, things will be cool". Well that is how i think. That is how I felt about my Midterm this semester for my Anthropology of Linguistics class. I thought if I could just get past it, I would be fine. Well I took the test yesterday and it wasn't too bad, one whole short answer question I bombed on, I had no idea and just sorta wrote some nonsense down, but the test is done. Do I feel better? Well I don't have to worry about the test anymore, but now I have to finish a bunch of junk for my other class...

Bad TV! Bad Timing!

My tv is breaking. This makes me sad because I cannot afford to replace it right now. Stupid tv. i have had it since i was in high school, and I would like to get a new tv, but really i have not worked for 2 months! True i have my tax money coming, but that is going to the 90 million doctors i have seen in the last 2 months.
When the tv is on, sometimes it is fine, and then other times it makes this high pitched whine that if you listen to for too long you can still hear hours later! Not good. Plus, it might have been my imagination but I think I smelled smoke coming from it after it had whined for awhile.

Need to pick.

Okay which is better-
Brownies
pie
cake
cookies?

Nothing much to say.

I haven't written anything because not much has happened. I pretty much do the same thing every day, get up watch some TV on DVD, help my parents, read, maybe run an errand or two and then go to bed. That has been my life for the last week with some variations and a few exciting outings and a party. But nothing to really ponder over, nothing strange to extrapolate on. Nothing to tell you. So the last blog has been left stagnant. So if you have any ideas please feel free to submit them for consideration. However, i will not write a limerick or a Haiku. Or a screenplay.

10

10 number of times I usually check my email a day
9 times I will check it tomorrow- i am trying to cut back
8 doctor visits since the year has started
7 seasons of stargate sg1 I own
6 times i went out to eat last week
5 classes left before I graduate.
4 number of homework assignments i am avoiding
3 times the gas light in the car has come on in the past 2 weeks
2 weeks until the next episode of LOST.
1 midterm to study for next week

Before we start I would just like to say that about an hour after I opened that package of markers from target I found the old ones...yeah. Great. We all knew that would happen.

So I realized today that I don't really have a favorite animal, and what does someone who has grown up in this day and age do when they realize they don't know something about themselves...that's right they look to the Internet to tell them. i didn't find my answer but I found this quiz about finding your spirit animal which was kinda fun so i thought I would share it as it took up some time and I got a cool answer!

You are a Wolf! (your score: 27)
Characters: Marek, Alanka, Kerza, and Kara in the Aspect of Crow trilogy and "Storm Reaper"; Lance in "The Wild's Call"

Powers: Stealth, hunting ability, enhanced senses of smell and hearing, as well as strength and stamina

"Family comes first" could be a Wolf's motto. You form deep connections with close friends and family members, and they know you'd do anything to protect them. You're loyal, devoted, and passionate. Your worst fear is being alone, but be careful not to drown your loved ones in too much emotion.

Best matches: Swans, Otters, Crows
Watch out for: Spiders, Owls, Foxes
http://www.jerismithready.com/quiz/

But as to my favorite animals I would have to have a top ten list I guess- in not particular order...

1.Prairie Dogs -they make me laugh and when i go to the zoo i spend the most time looking at them

2.Penguins -who doesn't find them amusing!?

3.Pandas -they just rock, but people tend to think they are cute, and forget they are dangerous bears and climb over fences and end up getting attacked http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28554008/

4.Polar Bears -i wonder if I can come up with all P names!

5.Otters (guess not)

6.West Highland Terriers-and if we are talking dogs just large breed mutts also

7.Koalas-he is just so cute.

8.Tiger-beautiful when they are full grown-cute and playful when they are little.

9.Kangaroos-hippity hop-cant stop.

10. Wolves-not only are they beautiful, but their social structure is intricate and amazing. They are incredible animals.

What does your list look like?