Beltane looming

(graphic courtesy of http://www.crystalinks.com/maypole.html)

Where HAS the time gone? Seems like yesterday I was putting together the material for the Ostara class. I blink and this coming Monday is May Day.

I follow a calendar of astrology and convenience so I'll probably be celebrating Beltane on Cinco de Mayo this year, since a) the sun enters 15 degrees Taurus that day, and b) it's just easier to perform rituals on a Friday than a Monday. Though Beltane's supposed to be more of a dawn or daytime ritual than night, so with them both work days, it's kind of a crap shoot.

Given that Beltane is a fertility festival, Les probably won't come within 3 feet of me for the next week, but I'm going to try to at least get him out for a walk this weekend--maybe we can hit one of the parks. The church and CUUPs aren't doing anything for Beltane this year; folks are too busy, so no maypole, but I'm still going to try and do a ritual outdoors somewhere. Apartment living sucks for this sort of thing; I've done rituals on my porch before, but it's really cramped, you're stuck wearing clothes, and you feel like you're being watched. For something like Beltane, when you're truly celebrating spring and the earth in all its glory, you want to spread your arms, run, jump, shout, roll in the grass, smell the leaves. I'm definitely going to a park. Still gotta wear clothes, but at least I can spread out and revel in the green.

Jacksonville's terrific, park-wise; I was able to perform my initiation ritual at one in the Southside with almost no interruptions or distractions. Next year, goddess willing, we'll be moving right around Beltane (OUT of FLORIDA!!!), so there won't be time to observe, so this year I'm gonna make it count.

Just another manic Thursday...

Let's see...

Jordan's getting his appetite back.
I'm getting my energy back.
Linus (www.snoopy.com) is just here because he reminds me of Les.

I finished the umbilical cord hat (adorable!), and I think I like I-cord; it's kinda nifty! Knitted one of those little mittens, and am planning to start another pair of booties, because I know I'll be lucky if that dress is done by the time Kylie makes her appearance, and I want to have a bunch of stuff done for the shower at the end of next month. Gonna try for 2 pairs of booties, 2 pairs of mittens, 2 hats, and the blanket for the shower. At present, that goal's still doable; those mittens take like, no time; just hard working with size 3s. I got a new needle holder at JoAnn's that fits almost all my supplies, which is sweet, because I was keeping stuff in 2 or 3 places before, which is precarious when you live in an overflowing apartment. Lay something down and if the apartment doesn't eat it, one of the cats will.

Knitting bitches tonight!!! I haven't been in, like a month; car trouble, gas prices, and health stuff have kept me away :( Looking forward to it!

Why?

(graphic courtesy of http://www.oaklandzoo.org/atoz/azemu.html)

So I've been building and editing websites for more than 6 years now, so I've gotten pretty used to the level of crap that America's willing to sell online. There's lots of normal sites out there, but there's also the folks who sell Herbalife, breed rabbits, and detail cars all in one shop. Never mind that our designers rarely look beyond their noses if something doesn't sound right; one of my coworkers got a site yesterday for a company that catered to senior citizens and the baby bomber generation. ::sigh::

I thought I'd heard it all, but I just got a site that sells health care products made from emu oil, and all I can say is WTF. I mean, my god, what's the story on this? Who was the first person to farm emus and think, "damn, they were sweaty today, but hey, my skin's never looked better!" How exactly do you squeeze an emu? They're smaller than ostriches, but still, it's not like squeezing a parakeet, I figure. Yes, I know I need help; I just had an Ally McBeal moment in my head, of trying to extract parakeet oil: "ah, shit! Crushed another one. Hey Jack, can you hand me that strainer?" I must be feeling better finally.

One of our cats is sick, so please send positive energy our way. Jordan and Figaro both had fleas recently, and when we noticed Jordan had lost weight, we thought that was the cause and took him to the vet. Now we're thinking the weight loss is more serious. We took care of the fleas and updated his shots, but he's still not eating and he's down to 9 lbs. For him, that's low. Apparently feline anorexia is rather common; cats stop eating for one reason or another and need to be trained to eat all over again. He stares at his food, thinks about it, and walks away. I'm really scared; Jordan's my first pet ever (we didn't have pets growing up), so he's very precious to me.

Damn ache came back. Not the candida aches, the baby ache. My friend Steve has his son here (at work) today. Lukas is 18+ months old, sandy brown hair, brown eyes, shy face. Those eyes just shot an arrow through my heart. I joked that thanks to him, I'd be hearing this ticking in my head the rest of the day, but was surprised to find that after they left my cube, I had to take a second because the beauty of that little boy was still hanging around my heart and bringing tears to my eyes. I guess maybe it's more acute because a) I'm hormonal, and b) one of my pseudo-kids is sick, possibly starving. Jordan's appointment is at 4 today. It can't come fast enough.

Goddess...a little help here...

Patience.
Patience.
Patience.
And did I mention, patience?
Remember, you don't want to start trying to get pregnant until after the walk in October.
And Les being employed would help too.
And you need a new computer first, so that you can work from home.
And...

I don't want to whine. I really don't. But I'm aching a little right now. Just found out one of my cousins is pregnant again. Now granted, I have so many cousins on my mom's side, it's a wonder that that's not a permanent sitch; all the ones around my age have performed the requisite spawning of the herd in the last couple of years. I guess I relate to this cuz a little better; she and the hubby spent some time together before trying, and she's a bit of a granola. For some reason, this is hitting me harder than my sis-in-law Kara's impending mommyhood, probably because I don't envy her sitch one iota. She's not married, there's zero plans toward that (that we know of), and her partner is financially irresponsible and an alcoholic in training. She's got her work cut out for her. But it's all moot, because the responsible part of me doesn't want to get pregnant (as I've said, multiple times) until a) Les is employed, b) I'm in a little better shape, and c) we have a new computer at home so I can work from there. These are all things that can and will happen between now and the end of the year, in all likelihood, so I just need to relax and deal.

Tell that to my biological clock.

Where the hell'd April go?

I'm not complaining, mind you. I tend to have off months; for me, February, April, and July just don't fit as well as the rest for some reason. I'm used to it. Still, as we trudge on toward summer, Avon walk, and other things I'm not yet prepared for, it's enough to make a girl go ACK!

Well, there's a nice thing about April, I guess. The Annual Butterfly Festival is this coming weekend at Tree Hill Nature Center here in Jax. (graphic courtesy of http://www.treehill.org/) Lived in this area 10+ years now, and never been to Tree Hill; probably can't drag Les out for it, but maybe some of the knitting gang will be game. I think Green Lynn and Izzy handed out info for Riverkeepers there last year.

Granted, I couldn't quite help the last two weeks of inactivity. My health sitch gave me all the energy of a wrung-out dishrag. I mean, you know something's wrong when you're too tired to knit! I seem to be on an upswing, but I'm still getting tired easily, which sucks, because when you're lazy to begin with, it's harder to distinguish feeling better from feeling normal. Not sure that makes sense, but that's how it feels. We went to the flicks on Saturday (Ice Age 2, very sweet!) and then took in some shopping, and by the time we got home, I was all in, as the Southerners say. Ticks me off when the most basic shit tuckers me out. I don't need any help feeling out of shape; my big belly does that for me.

Anyway, enough about that...making progress on the umbilical cord hat for Kylie. I'll probably plow through that until it's done. It's my first time trying I-cord, so that should be interesting. I'm giving myself til her birth on the dress, I'm 2/3rd done with the blanket, and I still want to do a pair or three of those little mittens they wear so they don't scratch their faces. And I bought point protectors for the SSS, just for grins.

Happy Monday!

I will not go quietly...

(graphic courtesy of http://www.speedysigns.com/decals/graphic_decal_14180.htm)

Removing "bad" carbs from your diet is an interesting trick. Screw that line; it completely blows. You hem and haw, and rationalize. And I've gotten pretty damn used to the "bad" carbs: I love me some bread with my pasta, some potatoes with my fries, some corn with my corn chips. I bypassed somebody's birthday cake at work the other day, then went home and hoovered a bowl of popcorn. The carb crave becomes physical. Like it was so hard to tell why I was fatigued to my very bones the next day, so bad that I actually played hookey from work. Another example is eating a bowl of Cheerios because I convinced myself that that's better for me than picking at a bowl of red beans and rice, because I'm so unused to the blandness of that type of dish that it'd take a gigantic effort to get excited about it, and then I'd probably have eaten the Cheerios anyway. Yeah, I know, discover spices. Not the same.

The thing I have to reconcile myself with, is that I have to get used to bland for a while. Not forever, but the fact is that yeast feeds on sugar, period. From junk food to simple carbs to OJ and even Splenda™, I have to limit my intake if I ever want to get my system back in check. I'm going to be bored to death with the blandness, but the upshot is I'll start feeling better. That's worth the effort; just gotta keep reminding myself. And reminding myself. And reminding myself. Bought root beer earlier without even thinking, it was this automatic response.

I found several books at the library that hopefully are on the shelves and can assist in this transformation; used to own a Candida guidebook, but it seems to have gotten sucked into the fourth dimension apartment vacuum.

Today's the first day in two weeks that my limbs aren't throbbing; instead my back is in spasm. I'll take it. I was too drained to even knit yesterday...woke up to call in, slept til noon, napped from 3 to 7:30, in bed by 11. Yuck! I'm surprised I'm even feeling better, since dessert last night was 2 ice cream sandwiches. Ok, I'm through whining about this. Yeah, right.

I lied, I did do a couple of rows of the baby dress that's probably too complex for me to be attempting for the shower. So screw it, I'll save it for when the kid's born in July and let up on myself.

Gotta go refill my water. yay.

Quickie

Looks like they're having an outage at Blogger in about 20 minutes, so this one's quick...

Pilates.

Neat concept.

Sat down and really watched the 20-minute workout the other day. Incorporated just one of the moves into my yoga stretching that night and noticed something the next day. I think they call it posture.

So I played the Step-by-Step basics disc last night and followed along best I could. I've got too much body for some of the moves. They emphasize grabbing your ankles for support because your knees are the weakest joints below the waist, but that's laughable to a big girl. And while that spine massage move is a blast, I can't begin to think about rolling back up from it so I just kind of roll back and then giggle and sigh.

Today, again with that posture thing. And a desire to suck in my belly to stand taller. Also pulled a muscle in my bicep, so I'll walk tonight instead of trying some more Pilates right off. Probably cool down with yoga after the walk. But the point is, hot damn! I've found a form of exercise that makes me feel better about myself. I wasn't ready to like it; depending on what you read, it's not exactly based in anatomy and physiology. But the Basics disc clearly showed how your body should be positioned in each move, what areas it's targeting, and there's a chick modifying the moves for folks who can't handle the whole thing.

Past the halfway mark on B4 (yea!), and did some baby hat in the doc's office today. Doc reminded me of how fertility stats decrease as age increases, so I'm a little restless today (should probably ask Terra if I can come babysit, so that I can come to my senses, but I'm so jonesing for a kid right now, might do more harm than good. Should probably offer to watch Draken instead; that'd be more of a wakeup call, considering how skittish he is around me) and will probably do some thinking and planning with Les in the coming weekend as to how we want this year to play out.

Hell has frozen over...

Ain't she a beauty?

Well, she got a pass from me. I'm very pleased with myself. Now granted, it's a tad easier to pass up that warm, yummy deliciousness when the outcome could be a splitting headache, but still, we're talking Melanie never-met-a-carb-she-didn't-love Johnson here. And I do have Advil at my desk and I took my acidophilus this morning. Could've easily rationalized that sucker right into my mouth.

Test #2: I'm grabbing soup and a salad at Panera for lunch, instead of a sandwich and cookies. Though admittedly, not splurging on the cookies is probably more of a money issue than a carb issue.

I think I finally hit halfway on the B4! I'll double check tonight, maybe give it one more row, and then do the pattern switch. Yea! Walked on both breaks yesterday and did yoga last night. I'm hoping to take a short walk after work today if the weather holds. It should; we don't get the crazy thunder and lightening for another month or so usually, and I don't give a crap about plain rain. Kind of hard to, when the entire NY walk was performed in the stuff. Makes me all proud of my fortitude n' stuff. :)

New week

"Today is a new day with no mistakes in it yet."
Anne Shirley
Anne of Green Gables, L.M. Montgomery
(graphic courtesy of http://www.anne3.com)

Figured out why I was so mopey last week. Actually I take absolutely no credit for figuring it out; I was describing the symptoms to the darling husby around Fridayish and the first words out of his mouth were, "sounds like Candida." The man's a genius. I'm a dink. My body, in recent years, thanks to the horrific diet I've eluded to maintaining, has developed a penchant for the occasional bout of hypoglycemia and an influx of intestinal flora. That's a yeast infection for you folks who don't clue into my annoying tendency toward $5 words. The good news is since it's intestinal, it doesn't have the obscenely aggravating itchyness of a regular yeast infection. The bad news is it causes blinding headaches, all-over body fatigue, and depression that plows right through that medication that I so happily tote as my savior. So I've gotta lay off the processed foods, I switched back to Splenda ($ issues put me back on sugar a few weeks, which certainly didn't help) and acidophilus supplement, and I HAVE to get exercising. The headaches waned Sunday, but I slept too much that day and thus couldn't get to sleep on time that night, so I'm still a little dragged out.

The good news is I've decided not to bail on the Avon Walk (congrats to Alexa for performing perhaps the smallest guilt trip in history and having it work, LOL!). I pulled out the materials and will spend this week planning my fundraising and laying out an exercise regimen. I've decided not to give a crap about losing weight, not even gonna try; my goal rather, is to get in shape to perform this walk, period. And in a damn sight better shape than I was for the one in 2002. I do that and the weight will take care of itself. I mean, I'm not the most coordinated person and the weather was inclement, but I tripped and fell 3 times that day! And we were only walking, people! Sad. I'll be by myself this time, but I'd rather not look like a cartoon character in the process.

So I'll put the links for My Avon Page and the Avon Walk back up on this blog in the next day or two, so peruse 'em now so that when I come to you with my puppy-dog eyes, begging for donations, you'll be prepared. I trust Avon; in 2004, more than 71% of the money raised went toward breast cancer research and programs with an emphasis on helping those without insurance, underprivileged, etc. Walk's not til October. I can do this!

Another caption for the bunny pic below, in honor of those goofy Christians who celebrated Spring a month late this past weekend:
My Easter bunny can beat up your Easter bunny
or my personal favorite:
Hey, anybody seen the cat?

What the hell?

Ok, I know I just posted, but was dicking around on the Web and came across this one...(courtesy: AP)...and I gotta comment...

That fat cat from last month is one thing, but holy shit! Anybody else besides me that didn't know they grew 'em this big!

This baby's begging for a caption, something like, "Jim Bob thought the genetically engineered carrots would save him money in the long run, but . . . "

What else? Hmm..."I'm no chef, but I think the hasenpfeffer might be a little tough tonight."

There's gotta be more, but I can't think of 'em...

Yup...not right in the head...

So I'm finally able to listen to music at work again...Les and I share the discman at home, and recharging the batteries is a pain in the butt so more often than not, I just forget to bring the damn thing. But I just got a brand-new Dell XP Pro system at work, so I asked permission to use the CD-ROM for personal music. It's nice having a computer with sound and decent vid capability, lemme tellya.

Definitely in a weird place at present though, because instead of bringing up NPR or one of the local radio stations, I find myself listening to Enya, which is perfectly respectable, or.......wait for it...........Hampton the Hamster. Yes folks, way back when, Melanie invested the $6 or whatever on a single CD that contains 3 versions of the Hamster Dance. What can I say, the beat wakes me up. Still, to be 36 years old and listening to the Hamster Dance...feel free to pat me 0n the head next time you see me.

Renewed interest in SSS of late; must be due to the painful demise of our poor ruthee's SSS. That's 2 SSS disasters and no completions as yet in our little group, but I refuse to be intimidated. Of course, it helps when you give yourself a break; I've found a couple of holes in my progress--little ones--but since I'm the one that's going to be wearing it, I decided against tinking; with laceweight, it's murder anyway. Since I went with the non-mesh pattern, the holes are in st-st areas, so they won't run, I don't think...please god, let this be the case! Also plunking along on the B4...the umbilical hat's a snore, straight st-st in the round, so that's been seeing the bottom of the bag, and the same with the little dress I started, because it feels like I have too many projects going at once. Gotta finish something!

Ready for weekend...

Ramblings of a Wednesday.....

Coffee.....elixir of the gods.....

(photo courtesy of roadsideamerica.com)

Seriously, how did I make it through high school on tea? I used to wake up in the morning, fix myself a cup of hot tea in my shamrock mug, skip breakfast, and climb over the snow to get to the bus. Lunch was a small bag of Fritos, a brownie, and an iced tea. Dinner was normal. So it's not surprising that my eating habits have evolved the way they have, but still...this little train of thought came about after reading an article by Dr. Dean Ornish today, and getting back on his bandwagon. I love the look of his programs and I'm afraid I'm eating myself into an early grave, but one thing about his programs: we'd be talking major change. I've never met a carbohydrate I didn't like. But I also don't like the way my legs have been feeling this week, my absent self-image and esteem, and how easily tired I get. We humans are Borg; we can adapt to anything. Clothes don't fit? Buy the next size up. Have trouble getting up from a sitting position? Grab onto something and hoist. It isn't until you take an honest look at yourself, and say, "damn, this used to be easier," that maybe your brain and your emotions reach the point of being capable of acknowledging the need for change. Until then, it's the little things you notice, but they're not big enough for you to do anything about.

What's infuriating though, is that I've had these thoughts for years longer than I should have. I just had a flash of memory from a good 12 years back. I was home visiting, Meara was in elementary school. I was living in Tampa, I remember because I'd promised Meara we'd go to her school down the street and play at the playground, but I was only about 2 weeks healed from fracturing my coccyx so I certainly wasn't moving at full speed. We went anyway, and I tried to keep up, but I remember thinking how out of shape I was and how when I had kids, I certainly didn't want to be this out of shape--I want to be able to keep up with them, play hard, run hard, give them a good outdoor lifestyle. Now the kicker: injury notwithstanding, that was 75 pounds ago! I was in a job that kept me on my feet the majority of the day, so I was in decent shape, just a shade overweight. I wasn't nearly as bad off as I thought I was.

Perspective.

I tellya, though, knitting centers me when I need it to...came home yesterday in a grump for no particular reason, just the blahness of life coupled with a serious lack of funds. Dove into the baby blanket and did a couple rows, switched to SSS for 2 rows...didn't accomplish much between TV (House in a tux...aaaahhhh!) and other stuff, but definitely had an improved mood as the evening wore on.

I absolutely need to start walking again, weather and pain be damned. I bailed on the Avon Walk when we almost got evicted, because it was a wake-up call that I needed to take care of things better here at home before I can give of myself to good causes. But it also gave me permission to let the very idea of exercise slip to the wayside again. Again, what am I saying? It's never been high on my list of activities. What's it going to take for me to take care of me?

Sorry, gang, little whiny today...either that or having a major breakthough...kind of hoping it's the latter, 'cause I'm damn tired of me as is.

::snickers...giggles...ROFLMAO::

Just reread my last entry.....relaxation without guilt.....that's a good one!

See, I'm a type A personality trapped in a lazy person's body. Used to be quite the neat freak, quite organized, always had 10 things going at once. Now that I'm medicated, I still have 10 things going at once, but I'm much more relaxed about it. Which means it feels like less is always getting done, there's this carefree, I'm-not-getting-graded-on-this attitude that allows me to go at my own pace, with the side effect of never being happy with that pace. Perpetual butt-dragging. Frustrating as hell.

The little dude up top here is Bucky Katt, courtesy of Get Fuzzy, by Darby Conley (graphic courtesy of http://www.comics.com). Bucky's another favorite of mine; he's a sarcastic Siamese who torments his roommates: human Rob, an ad exec, and lab/shar-pei mix Satchel. Bucky's attitude makes Garfield look like a pussy.

I've often thought of writing a memoir about my experience with depression and lithium deficiency. I think it could help people. I have an entire novel written that's semi-autobiographical, that deals with my issues with artistic license. Part I is the way I want it; Part II needs some work. But watched a repeat of "House" on Friday, and it reminded me of something damn scary, that could easily have me 86ing the memoir idea for good. Main sickie that week was a bulimic who needed a heart transplant, and House ends up lying to the transplant committee in order to get her a heart, because her condition would've been enough of a reason to consider her high-risk. Like she deserves it less because she has an eating disorder. Now certainly I realize that there's other criteria that come into play, that "House" is fiction—my friends have taken to teasing me because I'll make points in conversation with "yeah, but on Law & Order last week, there was..." But the point is that gods forbid, something were to happen to me requiring a new organ, the last thing I want any transplant committee judging me on is the fact that I'm a self-abuser. Because that doesn't go away. And it ain't my fault. The medication helps, but it's like alcoholism, it's a one-day-at-a-time thing. I've grown so much in the last 10 years; I'm an entirely different person from who I was in college. Judge me on who I am now, not who I've been. Crap, I think I just made the argument for why a memoir would be such a good thing, so important toward promoting more open criteria on things like transplant boards. Someday I'll turn these ideas into a book of essays or something. In the meantime...

Finished baby booties, started an umbilical cord hat (from SnB) and a little dress from Zoe Mellor's Nursery Knits (sweet patterns! also planning another pair of booties probably and a couple pair of those fingerless mittens that small people wear in the early months to keep from scratching their faces). Poor SSS is getting neglected, but I'd rather get to the halfway point on the baby blanket right now; still plenty of time til the shower, but if April goes half as quickly as March did, then I need to use my time wisely. They're naming her Kylie Kincade...not bad. Not a clue where the Kincade is coming from, but I was half expecting something hideous like Christine, so...

Congrats to Phil Mickelson on his 2nd Masters win! We won't discuss how much of the final match I frickin' watched yesterday; sometimes I really don't know what's come over me.

Friday...it's a beautiful thing.

This is a better picture of Eduardo from Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends (courtesy of wikipedia). I was a little off in my previous entry; he has the brain of a 4-year-old, not a 3-year-old. He's a big sweetie, and he LOVES potatoes!

I'm ready for Friday, lemme tellya. Had the added stress of a flat tire yesterday :P I took care of it right after work, but it meant sitting around a Tire Kingdom for an hour and a half. No fun. But this is the first time in 2 months that my company isn't screaming for OT people on the weekend, so I'm going to be able to relax without guilt this weekend. Don't have a damn thing planned, for a change...there's a class at the church tonight on feminist goddess tradition that I might attend, and certainly the house can use some work; but maybe if I don't put such pressure on myself to do X, Y, and Z, I'll actually get A and B done in the process too. Hey, it could happen!

Elected not to frog the baby blanket...did several rows last night, actually felt like, productive. Can't wait to get my Knit Magic in; I'm thinking I can make several baby hats and bibs with that thing in the time it would take me to handknit one basketweave hat...probably not the case, especially if the thing doesn't come with the instruction booklet, but we'll see.

Coffee has NOT kicked in yet...

Yarngasmic

Graphic courtesy of a fellow knitter/blogger http://knitandtonic.typepad.com My sis will definitely think I've gone round the bend on this one, but any diehard knitter who looks at that picture and doesn't think to themselves, oh yeah, that's the stuff....isn't being honest and needs to reflect.

Alas, this self-proclaimed diehard never picked up the needles last night...I'm still stinging over the fact that seed stitch finally bit me in the ass again, creating a lovely little design flaw/feature about an inch long on one side of the border of the baby blanket, that I absolutely don't have the strength to frog back past, so I'm leaving it in. Of course, usually when I say that, it only takes another day or so for the self-pride to kick in, and since this is going to someone, it's in the denial/we'll see category.

So with no knitting to talk about, I give you a survey snitched from Lil Sis's LJ:

1. DO YOU SNORE?
Apparently like a buzz saw...the cats aren't safe near my mouth when I'm in REM.
2. ARE YOU A LOVER OR A FIGHTER?
Both, I think; hard to tell what's stronger
3. WHAT'S YOUR WORST FEAR?
Losing Les
4. AS A KID, WERE YOU A LEGO MANIAC?
Not a maniac, never needed a support group or anything. Loved building anal stuff with 'em, especially houses with the big flat green one as the base. I do love that they've just come out with Eggos that look like Legos!
5. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF "REALITY" TV?
Evil. Contributing to the downfall of TV in general. Lacking social redeeming value.
6. DO YOU CHEW ON YOUR STRAWS?
No. I do remember chewing on pencils when I had braces.
7. WERE YOU A CUTE BABY?
Well, I wouldn't throw me out of the crib. (oh, and Meara, for the record, even with your Above All scars, you could've won contests!)
8. IS THE SINGLE LIFE FOR YOU?
ROFLMAO! Um, no. The pirate's life's not for me either.
9. WHAT COLOR IS YOUR KEYBOARD?
Work: Black (brand-new Dell!:), home: beige
10. DO YOU SING IN THE SHOWER?
Umm, not really. When I sing without working at it, I can't carry a tune. Hum occasionally.
11. HAVE YOU EVER BUNGEE JUMPED?
Yeah, right. Afraid of heights and that "holy shit, I'm going to die" feeling that you get on rollercoasters. Not happening anytime soon.
12. ANY SECRET TALENTS?
This ain't me being humble, I just can't think of any...
13. WHAT'S YOUR IDEAL VACATION SPOT?
Tent camping someplace with Les, state park, ideal weather...
14. IS JAY LENO FUNNY?
Eh. I'm more a Letterman fan, but don't watch either with frequency; put myself to sleep at night with M*A*S*H*
15. Have you eaten sushi?
Not really.
16. HAVE YOU SEEN THE MOVIE "DONNIE DARKO"?
Yes. It freaked me out and baffled me and I'd like to watch it again to try to understand it better, but can't imagine being in a place in my head where that'd be acceptable. F*cked up movie!
17. DO YOU GIVE A DARN ABOUT THE OZONE?
Well, yeah, but more concerned with how we're destroying things right here on earth.
18. HOW MANY LICKS DOES IT TAKE TO GET TO THE CENTER OF A TOOTSIE POP?
Well, I don't bite my lollipops, so a damn sight more than 3.
19.CAN YOU SING THE ALPHABET BACKWARDS?
Um, no, but I can recite all 50 states in alphabetical order :) Hey wait, I've found my secret talent!
20. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN ON AN AIRPLANE?
Yeah, it's a blast!
23. WHAT'S YOUR STAND ON HUNTING?
I'm fairly against it across the board, unless you're actually hunting for food.
24. IS MARRIAGE IN YOUR FUTURE?
Heh. Yup. And Past. And Present. ::sigh::
25. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
When I work at it; thanks to computers, it's pretty messy. Oh wait, it's always been that way.
26. WHAT ARE YOU ALLERGIC TO?
Aspartame (Nutrasweet)
27. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU SAID, "I LOVE YOU"?
This morning as I was nuzzling husby goodbye to head to work
28. IS ELVIS STILL ALIVE?
Vacationing with God in Miami Beach
29. DO YOU CRY AT WEDDINGS?
Nah. I'm too busy getting drunk.
30. HOW DO YOU LIKE YOUR EGGS?
In my ovaries. ::slaps leg, giggles:: Also omelet, scrambled, hard fried.
31. ARE BLONDES DUMB?
No worse than brunettes or redheads
32. WHERE DOES THE OTHER SOCK GO?
Fourth dimensional sock vacuum.
33. WHAT TIME IS IT?
10:41 a.m.
34. DO YOU HAVE A NICKNAME?
Ember. Big Sis. MJ. LMP (Long Mountain Princess--we lived on Long Mountain Road when I was little). Rosebud (that one's from when I was little too).
35. IS MCDONALD'S DISGUSTING?
Yes, and it puts me to sleep too, but I clog my arteries with the crap anyway.
36. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU WERE IN A CAR?
This morning, driving into work.
37. DO YOU PREFER BATHS OR SHOWERS?
Showers, I guess; hard to find the patience for baths. Now if we had a tub like the gal in the graphic above...
38. IS SANTA CLAUS REAL?
Of course. Keeping those ideas alive is part of the magic of life.
39. DO YOU LIKE TO HAVE YOUR NECK KISSED?
It's definitely up there on the passion meter, though my ticklishness gets in the way sometimes.
40. ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE DARK?
Not really, anymore, though that fear didn't really leave until I was sharing my life with someone.
41. WHAT ARE YOU ADDICTED TO?
Chocolate, coffee, knitting, reading, The West Wing, L & O SVU and regular, M*A*S*H*, Panera's hazelnut cream cheese, and the list goes on........
42. CRUNCHY OR CREAMY PEANUT BUTTER?
Creamy JIF, crunchy for a treat
43. CAN YOU CRACK YOUR NECK?
No...Les can though, and it still wigs me out!
44. HAVE YOU EVER RIDDEN IN AN AMBULANCE?
In the front :( .....Dad was in back.
45. HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU BRUSHED YOUR TEETH TODAY?
::hides head:: I'll do it later, I swear!
46. IS DRUG FREE THE WAY TO BE?
We-ell, I have no problem personally with the occasional herb, but with our money problems, it's a non-issue.
48. WHAT COLOR ARE YOUR EYES?
Blue-grey, depending on the light and what I'm wearing
49. WHEN'S THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?
Indulged just the other day when I caught the end of Phenomenon on HBO
50. DO YOU LIKE YOUR LIFE?
Yes. I wouldn't mind more money, and teeth and a big dose of self-esteem for Les, but I'm patient. I look forward to kids, studying environmental science, working from home...these things/dreams make the present bearable.
51. WHO'S BETTER, FALL OUT BOY OR MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE?
::sigh:: I'm too old for this question :( Wouldn't know My Chemical Romance if the group set up and played at my work; but I heard Fall Out Boy on OTH once (One Tree Hill, for you people with lives that don't revolve around the idiot box) and they weren't bad, so yeah, them.
52. ARE YOU PSYCHIC?
Yup. Nothing honed or reliable yet; maybe in another two or three lives, it'll be sharper.
53. HAVE YOU READ CATCHER IN THE RYE?
Yeah, one of those books that I wasn't forced to read in high school, so I read it on my own.
54. DO YOU PLAY ANY INSTRUMENTS?
Still own two trumpets, I'll never pawn those. I have a small keyboard, drum, and recorder that I goof around on. I want to learn violin, six-string harp, and that wooden flute for potential Waldorf homeschool my kids in their secondary years.
55. HAVE U EVER STOLEN MONEY?
I invoke my 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination.
56. CAN YOU SNOWBOARD?
Never tried. Did ski once, but that whole fear of heights thing kept me on the bunny slope the whole day.
57. DO YOU LIKE CAMPING?
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!!! Wish I was doing it now. Honestly, only been twice, but it's lovely, in spite of the work involved.
58. DO U SNORT WHEN U LAUGH?
Rarely.....ok, occasionally.....
59. DO YOU BELIEVE IN MAGIC?
I'm a witch, what do you think?
60. ARE DOGS A MAN'S BEST FRIEND?
Yeah, though there's something to be said for when a cat wakes up enough to lower himself to pay attention to you too.
61. DO YOU BELIEVE IN DIVORCE?
Certainly. Doesn't mean I'll ever subscribe to it.
62. CAN YOU DO THE MOONWALK?
Half-assed
64. IS IT COLD OUTSIDE TODAY?
Nah, pleasant, getting up to almost 80
65. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE?
Inhaled a Cinnamon Crunch Panera bagel with hazelnut cream cheese, aaaaaahhhhhh!
66. DO YOU WEAR NAIL POLISH?
Toes, absolutely, even though it's a pain in the tush to do. Clear on fingers.
67. DO YOU WEAR THONGS?
Just say NO to butt floss!
68. WHAT'S THE MOST ANNOYING TV COMMERCIAL?
Anything with Keith Pierson's kids, the Olsen twin wannabes
69. DO YOU SHOP AT AMERICAN EAGLE?
Um, no. Or anywhere inside a mall at present.
70. FAVORITE BAND AT THE MOMENT?
Beats me, haven't listened to the radio in a while. Enjoy Kelly Clarkson still, as well as angry chick music, Enya's new one, Linkin Park, and whomever's on Garrison Keillor's show.

Well, that's enough blogrific torture for one day :)

Wingnut :o

graphic from www.joshlyman.com

Nuff said.

Monday...

It's un-frickin'-real what you can find on the Web.

Since I mentioned this cartoon a couple of entries ago, thought I'd put up a pic...all I had to google was "sheepdog cartoons" and ta-da! You'd think since I work in the biz, I'd be used to just how infinitesimally significant something has to be to make it on the Web in some fashion. But since I kind of loathe my contribution to what I see as a problem with the gluttony of our capitalistic society, it's understandable I'd be in a little bit of denial. Anyway, I think the pic is from wikipedia.

Weekend was pretty ok, just not long enough. I don't know if it was daylight savings or the work I did outside, but I took a 3-hour nap yesterday afternoon, went to bed practically on time last night, and I'm still a little foggy. I'm about a day off of one of my meds too, though; will remedy that later today.

Finally, FINALLY, got outside and dealt with Sylvester, the aloe plant with the pituitary problem. All I can say is, hey, anybody want some aloe? Well, actually, I won't know for a week or three if my transplanting was a success, I figure; I haven't done much with plants yet in this life, beyond the basics, so even though aloe is a hearty plant that actually does grow in its own little sections, so that I didn't feel like I was cutting apart roots to separate them, I still won't trust my success until they're still alive a couple of weeks from now. Also downsized Jade, which isn't much more than a twig at this point, thanks to some demon neighborhood squirrels. And I cleaned out the dead stuff around Fred the fern, fed and watered everybody, and started some basil and lavendar. My God, it was nice outside yesterday! My porch catches shade until late afternoon, so I just threw on my bathing suit and some shorts, and got dirty :) Used an entire 40# bag of potting soil and assessed my supplies too—next step is a new bin for soil and some implements, like a leaf trimmer.

Knit just a bit last night, but again, my heart wasn't quite in it...will work the baby blanket tonight, I think. I put the payment in last week for the Knit Magic I bid on eBay, so that should come soon; no idea what I'll make with it, just knew I wanted one...I had one when I was a kid.

Definitely sluggish today...may have to spend some of our precious dough on sugar or caffeine later...