I watched the Debate

My mind is unchanged, Bush has got to go. I support the soldiers I realize we must finish this to have an honorable way out but Bush has got to go. Vote Kerry, Vote Bush but vote.

And America is safer tonight...

You can all rest easy tonight. I was selected for "special screening" at the airport yesterday. Underwent a body search, had all my belongings examined in minute detail (don't know what they thought they would find between the pages of the the latest Dark Tower book I was reading), and was asked 100 stupid questions. You should all feel good, knowing America (and the world) is safe from all the nefarious plots and plans I had in mind when flying from New Hampshire to Kansas. Isn't it good to know all our new "National Security" measures are keeping democracy safe from middle-aged Stephen King fans?

I am blogging chain mail do I get extra helpings of miracles for blogging chain mail

This is a serious question. By blogging rather than email and there by sending the chain mail to virtually the entire world at the same time. Shouldn't I at least win a new car, perhaps have 100 dollar bills float down from the heavens or am I merely warding off the evils of all the chains I broke.

And she clicked the heels of her ruby slippers together three times...

"There's no place like home. There's no place like home."
Especially with 102 degree temp, both ears infected, and a chest that feels like an elephant is sitting on it and head that feels like a rhino is tap dancing on it. And after 6 days in a hotel room with Anal Rententive daughter, hyper 4 year old boy, and cranky 1 year old girl. GOD!!! Is it ever good to be home!!!
That's the full extent of my blog tonight. Perhaps after my visit to the doctor tomorrow I will feel better and will expound on my trip to Connecticut. (Must admit that watching aforementioned 4 year old in his tux as ringbearer climbing the gazebo during the entire wedding ceremony was most amusing.)

Most of us are such wusses

Bed a little lumpy...
Toss and turn any...
Wish the heat was higher...
Maybe the a/c wasn't on...
Had to go to the john...
Need a drink of water...

Have anything else to whine about in life?


Remember how good you really have it

?

?








Count your blessings, pray for them,

when...
the other car cuts you off and you must hit the brakes,
or you have to park a little further from Walmart than you want to be,
or you're served slightly warm food at the restaurant,
or you're sitting and cursing the traffic in front of you,

or the shower runs out of hot water,



Think of them...

MOre interesting email but I am to lazy to chain mail

This man is walking the world for our troops.... Please pass him on so that he can reach his destination. Say a prayer for the troops in Iraq, and then pass him on to encourage others. It's really interesting how someone did this! He's walking around the world - via e-mail!!

Yes, it can be read...

I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht

I was rdgnieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan

mnid. Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde

Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer inwaht oredr the ltteers in

a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and

lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl

mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs

is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter

by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh? yaeh

and I awlyas thought slpeling was ipmorantt!

Good Morning Monday, And Now its Thursday

One might think that I have been really busy since all I have been contributing is link blogs which while interesting aren't exactly difficult to put up. Of course if one thought that, they would be wrong. This last week I have dedicated myself to the art of nothingness. I have list of things to do, long lists in fact, Christmas presents, (yes it is right around the corner.)housework, dragging the pottery studio to the new house and setting it up, writing blogs, redoing websites, working on any one of 3 novels, Cleaning animal cages and oh so much more if I put my mind to it. But I have done nothing pretty much for the last two weeks, except work and watch tv and read books. Reading Dona's prized gunslinger books which I have been taking very good care of. Dona is gone.

Thursday Night
Well I started the Blog on Monday, that counts doesn't it.
Gearing up for the first of the month, my busiest few days of the month. I did actually right a few paragraphs for grandmas house. It is still starting to gel in my mind sooner or later the characters will stampede and I will have to write more but the thoughts on it are coming along well. Have more pictures of Emily but I haven't posted them yet. Have new pictures of the store for the web site, haven't posted them either. Cooked good food. Recipe for sauage and potatoes to be posted soon, per Aprils request. And I did clean aniimal cages so I guess I accomplished something. Life is good, Work is mellow. Dona is home.

And let me be the first to say in the spirit of the upcoming shopping for Christmas Insanity.

Sickening thought isn't it and its not even halloween yet. Coming soon to a set of thighs near you, will be potatoes and gravy and that bag of Milky way bars the Hubby bought me to go with my box of buttermilk donuts. Lets not forget the fudge and the bread and cookies lots and lots of cookies. Turkey amd ham, thick sandwiches on homemade bread. If you don't make your own homemade bread you should and of course only real mash potatoes.

As I am officially babling now I think I should go.
Tootooloo

CBS News | Bush's Top Ten Flip-Flops | September 28, 2004�20:34:18

CBS News | Bush's Top Ten Flip-Flops | September 28, 2004�20:34:18

More military bloggers - SOme rather different view of life and war

Doc in the Box

Blog of a soldier currently in Iraq

MY WAR

Votergasm

Votergasm

More Compassionate Conservative Displays from our nations leaders

e.thePeople : Petition : Stop Terrorist Hoaxes by Federal Agencies

e.thePeople : Article : MANDATORY DRAFT FOR BOYS AND GIRLS, AGES 18-26

e.thePeople : Article : MANDATORY DRAFT FOR BOYS AND GIRLS, AGES 18-26
For a president who claims to have no intention of drafting our youth into his silly war, this bill seems to be long on intent to me. I personally am torn between thinking this idea is a good one or would have been if we had not entered a silly war and thinking it may be the beginning of the end.

I have always felt that some type of mandatory national service would help young people become more involved in their community and country. I would have preferred the program go into effect during a time of peace when our young people could be used to rebuild the infrastructure of our country. To volunteer in local communities and to learn what it is to participate in a life different from what they grew up in. I feel that a program like this would form them into a smarter and more cohesive force of good for our world.

Programs similar to the WPA or the Peace Corps could do great good for our youth. Unfortunately if implemented with Bush at the helm I believe it just means a great many of our children will die.

Help Defender Bear Save the Forests Vote for Kerry

Defender Bear

President Bush: Flip-Flopper-In-Chief - American Progress Action Fund

President Bush: Flip-Flopper-In-Chief - American Progress Action Fund

Sometimes the flip-flop is on the other foot!

General Cartoons by Bunches

General Cartoons by Bunches

Great cartoons spent an hour going through them and all I have looked at so far are the general one. Have to study the science ones tomorrow.
As a preview here is one cartoon, And to think I found this site by typing santa claus

whos the real terrorist

whos the real terrorist
Good question!!

News from NASA - Cool Stuff

Contour 2002

Men really are from a different planet

iWon - News: "Man Tries to Sue Wife for 5-Day Sex Denial
Sep 17, 11:11 am ET

MADRID (Reuters) - A Spanish man tried to have his wife charged with domestic abuse because she refused to have sex with him on five consecutive days, Spanish newspaper El Sur reported on Friday.

The middle-aged man from Seville -- the city of Don Juan and Carmen -- said her refusals amounted to 'degrading treatment' and domestic abuse, a term used more often to describe wife-battering."

Mishy ramblings

Unloaded a beautiful glaze load the other day....getting ready to put more pieces into the gas kiln and glaze fire...things were kind of backed up (propane folks wanted their money before they'd give me more gas...finally paid them)... and WOW what a gorgeous firing...always nice when that happens. Too bad nothing in there was mine. Happy customers are always good though, so it's okay. Am working on a few things now, so next couple loads will have some of my stuff in them.

My life has been kind of crazier than usual here, Brandy has heard some of what's gone on with me, but I haven't really shared much of the 'big stuff' here... It was really big stuff....and I wasn't really able to sort it all out in my mind as it was happening, still having some trouble with figuring it all out but got a bit of perspective with time and changes and decided it's damn time to start blogging about it.

Not quite sure where to start...but I guess I'll begin with early June...right before I went to China. I got a message from this guy, via Yahoo personals...he wanted to say hi, but couldn't send his profile (under review, he had a pic where he was flipping the camera off and they censored that)..I guess I didn't reply (had gotten SO many replies to my ad), but he saw I was online on yahoo messenger and private-messaged me. He has it all archived and has remembered the exchange in detail but I only vaguely remember the gist. Apparently I was 'busy' when he first PM'd and didn't respond very warmly so he was about to move on...but then I asked him to stick around and chat and warmed up some... He was really friendly and sweet and not-challenging or 'piggish'...I liked him. We talked music (he is a musician and works in the concert biz), and I sang, via yahoo messenger...for him (this works EVERY time...guys cannot resist a song...LOL) .

Turns out he is a concert rigger, has done it for 33 yrs and knows lots of big name artists, has worked with them ALL. This is a tough job, climbing waaaaay up high on four inch wide beams and pulling up motors to hang large heavy objects such as lights and sound equipment, or apparatus for elaborate stage tricks... in a safe manner. He is proud of his work and is considered one of the top ten in the biz. I went to China, and we typed on Yahoo more, and he left me messages on my phone voice mail. Upon my return home for the two weeks I was back before going to Omaha... he invited me out to see the No Doubt/Blink 182 concert, which coincidentally, I was able to take him up on (it was class night but no students signed up). I got to meet him and go backstage and stand just stage right watching the performance and it was awesome. We also walked around back in catering and outside, talking and getting to know one another.

I really liked him a lot, from the beginning...and when we met in person he was very respectful and attentive, but not clingy or demanding... he is a Leo, born July 31, and has the noble, loyal nature of the king of beasts. Self confident, independent...so...I saw him again...and we clicked...and spent more time together...I went to Omaha, we talked on the phone and on yahoo every day, several times...upon return to Phoenix, I wanted to spend as much time as I could with him...yikes! He felt the same, and was spending some nights here...by then.

The most confusing part of all this happened in late July. He was here, on July 21 and sort of 'fell asleep'...or at least that was kind of what it looked like to me, that or a seizure...I called the paramedics, it just seemed really serious to me...they arrived and told us that it might have been a heart attack, he had some uneven heartbeat rhythm and they were not able to tell for sure. They said if it were THEM, they'd go into the hospital for sure...but he was able to muster up enough energy to refuse and to sit up, and move around some...they couldn't force him, so they left.

I decided, after a short time, to call his buddies, to get THEM to force him to go in, when I couldn't talk him into it after they left and he was obviously getting worse. Two of his buddies came over here and finally got him to go into John C. Lincoln, near my place...he was BARELY able to walk and in horrendous pain by then, saying it was a pinched nerve and holding the back of his neck. John C. Lincoln did a ctscan and found bleeding on the brain, they gave him morphine and flew him to Barrow's Neurological Institute in a helicopter...that evening. On July 23, they did a seven hour surgery for the bleed, and clipped a large aneurysm behind and above his right ear and discovered a small stroke (the kind that is a hole in the vein).

I visited him in John C Lincoln ER and again at Barrow's, every day...while he was there, compelled to be with him, and sing to him...played music on a cd player... He responded to the surgery amazingly...I spoke with the surgeon after the surgery, and he seemed pretty confident that he can expect full recovery. Considering his recovery so far, I would have to say it is possible. He was in Barrow's for five weeks, he is now out of the hospital for three weeks...and is walking, talking and behaving pretty much like he did before, with challenges such as pain from stiff muscles that locked up from too much bedrest (five weeks in bed), and headaches (no shit, the mother of all headaches!), a bit of short term memory loss, dizziness and balance problems but really not too much of that, and he is on bigtime high blood pressure meds and vicodin for pain, so the dizziness and balance may just be from the meds (memory loss too...who knows).... He is an amazing man, strength of will and strength of body...wow...and his heart is made of gold, despite a pretty rough exterior... He and I talked a lot, in the hospital, and he has been staying with me, since he was released...and has really talked at length with me, about his childhood and his life-view. Obviously...I am intrigued, impressed and in love....sigh...

This is getting too long so I am going to post it now and continue in another....

Now all Lydia's problems are solved! If only I would have heard about this sooner./Female Saliva Hormone Home Testing From TestMyHormones.com

Female Saliva Hormone Home Testing From TestMyHormones.com

PMS

I began an email to Cristal today and I intended it to be a sympathetic piece in which I would commiserate with her on the fact that we often do not get to see our spouses. It evolved into my complaining about being an overworked and underpaid domestic goddess. So I scrapped it, saved it as a draft. Probably won't send it to her. Well I have severe PMS and feel like crying. My children are inappreciative and my husband is acting like an idiot. This morning as I tried to explain something to Kelly he snatched the paper I was holding out of my hand and wouldn't listen to me. He was paying bills on line and was about to pay something using the wrong account number. He was so sure that he was right that he would not even listen to me. I felt so frustrated that he was not listening to me so I yelled at him, "Your an idiot!. Not a nice thing to say and usually not my style. I'm more apt to come up with far more creative insults that usually just confuse him. Well I was sorry immediately and I said so. I told him that it was wrong and that he did not deserve to be spoken to like that. Thirty seconds later he realized that I was right about the account number. He did not apologize to me for not listening, but I really did not expect him to either. Well he was in bed nearly the entire day. While I ran around getting bids on a property and talking to contractors on the phone. By the time it was the children's bed time it dawned on me that Kelly was acting more mean and depressed than usual. Every once in a while I ask him if he's mad at me. Just to reassure myself that it really isn't me that is the cause of his miserable attitude towards life. He said he was mad at me for calling him an idiot earlier. I apologized again and reminded him that I apologized instantly after the phrase left my mouth. I also told him that I was frustrated because he wasn't listening to me and that I wanted his attention. I also added that you would think that someone that is continually rude and insulting to me would be a little more forgiving. I shouldn't have added that last part. (but Kelly brings a whole new meaning to insensitive) It is almost amusing that someone that could give me verbal lashings and reprimand on a regular basis could act like a little baby over one stupid thing. I try to treat people well, especially those I love. My only excuse for my actions is that I'm human. Is there any real need for Kelly to torment me when we see each other so little?

Time Is Fleeting, Lets do the time warp again

"Its just a lump to the left. And then a jump to your right," Okay Okay I never promised to make sense. I thought I would have time to write this week but I was wrong. Barely had time to breathe. So many things to do and so little time.
Lunch today. 1 Slice, fairly thick of Frenchbread, mayo, shaved ham, lots of swiss cheese. slices of artichoke hearts and green olive.

Take bread & spread with mayo, add ham then artichoke hearts cover with slices of cheese and top with sliced green olives, pimentos included of course. Broil till warm and bubbly eat. If you are lucky you will get lunch before 5PM. I was hungry.

Coffee \ Small Talk and Yippy Mish Is Back!

Okay I admit it I am addicted to caffeine and I am not even going to attempt to cease imbibing my favorite dark liquid. I like it hot, I like it lukewarm, I like it cold, I like it over ice. This is for the benefit of all that come in personal contact with me. I am just much more relaxed and nicer after I've had a cup of joe. Luckily for me my drug of choice is cheap, plentiful and most importantly entirely legal! I was thinking about small talk. B says that she is no good at it and I feel the same way about it myself. On some level though it is something that is necessary to build a rapport and relationship with someone. Sometimes small talk actually leads to friendship. (Imagine that!) Since I am no good at small talk you will likely find me avoiding acquaintances in public places such as the grocery store, or Dr.'s office. I would categorize most tenants, and former coworkers as acquaintances and I find myself acting engrossed in something and avoiding eye contact to ward off the uncomfortable experience of the superficial exchange. Maybe I just have no manners (never really considered that before). I saw Deb and her husband in the grocery store today and I actually approached her and had a conversation. Hooray for Lydia! I might be making some progress. I invited her to write with us again, as it turns out she never received my first invite. So I'll shoot it to her one more time. Kelly just called and said that he'll be home in an hour. So I'm about to start cleaning faster than the speed of light!!! Got to run! How do you erase a weeks worth of filth in 60 minutes. Close your eyes! Maybe if I'm really nice he won't notice! Okay I'm back. I bribed the children to help me. Mostly this involved them not making any new messes for Mommy to clean up and watching me. Which was of course was fine by me. I am super woman! Lil Kel did some unmentionable thing in the stairwell and at first I thought that it would take the entire hour to desanitize it but I'm a pro so it only took fifteen minutes. Then I took the trash out barefooted and got attacked by fire ants but I recovered quickly. I even mopped and vacuumed. Well all accept our room which is pretty much disgusting. It is the room that I just never get to. I managed to get so much done because I called Kelly and asked him to pick up chocolate milk for Lil Kel on the way home. I figured that this would add at least an hour as he has been to the grocery less than half a dozen times during the entire course of our marriage. In his defense, we have only been married 4 years. So glad to hear from Mish!

Last night, Aliya went to Kim's with me...Kim's is the shop where I teach pottery (I also teach here in my studio but I love going to Kim's, she has a great little shop with lots of traffic from people painting on pottery and handbuilding, besides my throwing students)... Aliya is my daughter, 11 yo, she is a cutie pie with a great personality who charms the entire world and she hangs with me there at Kim's most of the time when I teach. Anyway...a little Aliya-ism from last night is her new idea for a great invention that kids everywhere will want to buy....it's a button on your ear, to turn off your hearing, whenever parents lecture... We all laughed, and I said, well, we need to come up with a name for it! And my student, Keith (high school teacher, obviously gay, funny guy) said... A "nag gag"! I thought it was pretty cute... Aliya got a cell phone, about a week ago, called me four times in the first 24 hours and every day since... I LOVE IT!

I promise I will blog more about my incredible life very soon... I'm a happy camper at the moment, busy with studio stuff and my new sweetie pie... I am ready to blog!

This is the read this Lydia reccomended - It was now in Hippis archives so I made it easier

This Modern World by Tom Tomorrow: September 05, 2004 - September 11, 2004 Archives

I want to sleep!

I want to sleep and I need to sleep but I just can't so here I am tappin these keys at this wee hour. I'd really like to read the blog but alas it is unavailable and that is bummin me out. The phone rang at midnight and I really shouldn't have answered it because who calls at midnight other than my crazy mother. It was a tenant who's electricity went out. Actually it was Deb's husband and I do hope that she will write with us. Tonight I saw fireflies in my front yard and I thought that this was strange that I had never seen any in my whole life up until Mo Ranch and now here they are in my front yard. Maybe they had always been around and I just never saw them. Maybe there are a lot of things that I am missing. Then again they could be fairies. You never know with fairies. I did not thank them for the lilies. Sometimes I am not very gracious but not because I do not want to be. Only because sometimes I am oblivious. I'm becoming more attentive lately and I don't know what I would attribute this to, but it is a good thing. I've caught myself almost doing some really goofy things and when I catch myself doing these goofy things I'm not shocked that I'm doing them I'm shocked that I realized that I'm doing them. That last sentence may only be comprehendable to myself or a similarly natured person. Note that I did not say someone else with ADD. I do not care what anyone says Attention Deficit disorder does exist. Actually I've come to the point where I am actually grateful for it. It certainly makes my life more interesting. Okay that's a lie. I'm not really grateful for it. Short term memory is overrated anyway. I think that my three year old son has a better memory than I do. I was looking at an ice chest at Sam's club and lil Kel said, "We have that it's blue". Now I knew we had an ice chest but I had no idea what color it was. Details sometimes escape me.

And GOd Appointed Who?????

The Free Press -- Independent News Media - Bob Fitrakis

The Old Hippie's Groovy Blog / Read the blog entry titled Read This

The Old Hippie's Groovy Blog


Okay guys definately go read this. I read the read this and everything else. Lydia what a great pick and I will certainly give this old hippy a permanent link soon. Thanks for helping to reaffirm my belief that Bush is Evil, That violence begets violence, and that power corrupts those who enjoy it.
Brandy

Paint Fairies would be cool

I did not get to shower in the rain or go camping but Les did manage to take some great pictures of this awesome cloud that was over our house last Friday. So here they are as seen from my back door. They made me homesick for Kansas with their spinning darkness, but they melted and went away leaving me nothing but rain.

Obviously other countries are now smarter than we are

Boston.com / News / Politics / Presidential candidates / George W. Bush / Foreign polls give Kerry a big edge: "The first worldwide survey of preferences in the US presidential race found that John Kerry is a heavy favorite over George W. Bush, with only three out of 35 countries -- Nigeria, the Philippines, and Poland -- supporting Bush."

Paint Fairies

Kelly loves the mural, how could he not? Right now we are working on a scheme to get Cristal to paint each room of the house. I am slowly but surely finishing up the detail painting inside of the house. We have lived here around a year and it is far from done. I finally realized that while fairies may make beautiful flowers appear on my lawn seemingly overnight there are no paint fairies that paint your house while you sleep. So there is paint on my 10 month old baby and there is paint on my weener dog but that's ok because it is water based and non toxic right!

Shame on me

So sorry I did not keep my blog sisters updated. We are leaving this a.m. for Tishomingo, OK, on the OK/TX border. My sister and her boyfriend work for and live on the National Wildlife Refuge there. We are a bit peeved at my sis's beau right now (for a variety of reasons I won't go into right now) so we are not real enthused about the trip at the moment. However, we made these plans months ago, so I am going to try to wipe all negative thoughts from my brain on the 4-1/2 hour trip there. I going to "think upon" enjoying all the nature we'll be seeing/experiencing. Spending tomorrow on the lake on their boat.
I am adopting Lydia's flowers as my own, as I AM the Faerie Queene!
I have NO social skills - had them when I was younger, don't give a damn now that I'm older.
Have a great weekend all!

Hell week is overrrrrrrrr

You have all probably noticed that I have written nothing in the last week except for finishing up Jordon and putting more pictures of Emily. Its not that those blogs are more important (well maybe emily's is) but I wanted to get Jordon done so I could at least cross one item off the list. That long list that runs in my head like the dry cleaning carousel, round and round and round it goes, when it stops is when I'll go.

Last week was the first week of the month and the time when all our storage payments come due. Having 300 people pay you at the same time does have its advantages, But boredom is not one of them. It does however free up the rest of the month for other work which is nice.

Tuesday was an auction day and I was doing my best drowned rat impression in the rain which was fun. I look at auctions differently now that I run the storage unit. Storage auctions used to be a great way to make a quick buck. Now I know the people behind the units and that can be sad. I would prefer not to sell anyone's belonging but that is not possible and I do tell everybody the rules when they come in.

I think, in some strange way it can be a relief. Losing all your stuff would be hard but at the same time I would imagine it can be freeing. We routinely pack up our lives into boxes, giving each item meaning by choosing to keep it, to pay to keep it. I am as guilty as the rest of the world about saving things, as the many boxes in the garage and attic can attest to. Stuff wrapped up carefully and not seen again for months or years. Boxes that when opened sometimes make us wonder why we thought they were important in the first place.

Our things shape who we are supposed to be, the image we present to the world, even if this is not who we really are or want to be. "Things" make it harder to change, easier to accept the status quo. We carry around the baggage of our lives, The old toys, pictures of first loves, reasons for staying, reasons for hating all tucked away in a garage where they can be safely ignored yet used as an anchor to keep from changing our lives. On the other hand I think stuff sometimes saves relationships. I know the times I have considered leaving and just walking away were usually brought to a halt by the mere thought of having to go through the stuff and decide what to take with me.

Can pictures in a box I have not opened in a decade truly be as important as the memories I carry in my heart. Losing the boxes of stuff would not be the same as taking away the memories. As People we need to learn to connect more with eachother and less with our things.

The camping trip sounds like a great time. Wish I had been there. I mananged to get Les to go camping once for my birthday present well over a decade ago. His opinion is that if it doesn't have hot showers, toilets and soft beds why would anyone want to be there. He was truly not exposed to near enough animals or nature when he was growing up. I see a beautiful field of flowers and he sees bugs waiting to dine on him. I see a soft furry warm cat to keep my toes warm at night and he sees flea infested furrball. Definately an irreconcilable difference.

I have the same problem with my socoal skills Lydia. People just take themselves to seriously. Often, Ok, most always, I walk away from social experiences wondering why I opened my mouth. What did Kelly think of the Mural????

Dona is leaving me for 3 days and I know not why, she didn't even tell us where she was going on the blog. I will miss her.

Melisa are you still alive out there

Cristal Startz VIP / Ode to Laundry

Cristal Startz VIP: "ODE to Laundry
Laundry, laundry, laundry,
folding washing drying.
laundry
folding drying, washing, collecting, separating, carrying,
Laundry!
Whites, Colors, washing Laundry. Everyday....Laundry Laundry,
Laundry.
posted by cristal @ 7:19 AM 0 comments "

Space Girl

My social skills are not that refined. Some times due to my enthusiasm at actually being able to converse with another human being my reactions and comments are often inappropriate. I laugh at serious moments when others might say something like, "oh my...." Or I'll use a little inappropriate humor. I think that I do this to put the other person or perhaps myself at ease but it often leaves the other person wondering if my ship just landed on this planet. Don't ask for my advice because I may just agree with whatever you are saying or say whatever I think that you may want to hear. Then I'll actually take some time to think about it and e-mail you a retraction. Cristal recently fell victim to this and I bet she's scratching her head right now and wondering exactly who it was that she was actually talking to earlier. That was just space girl! Brandy says we all have multiple personalities and I've decided to name mine. That's my paragraph for the day.

WOW

Lately I've been feeling like Kelly is missing the boat. You know missing the scenery on the road trip of life. Well today Kelly came home and asked the kids if they would like to camp on the beach next weekend. This was a wow for me! I am reminded why I love this man so much. He may be a little slow but this guy really gets it. He expressed to me so many things that I had been feeling. We are in tune in odd sort of way. Kelly learns in his own time, and at times it is frustrating because his learning curve seems to lag just a little behind mine. At this moment I am pretty content with the progress of our relationship. That may not sound very romantic but it really is a beautiful thing.

Texas Wildflowers Information And Pictures / Lydia's white flowers are called rain lilies also known as Fairie lilies

Texas Wildflowers Information And Pictures

Can you say not a chance

iWon - News: "Even as young as seven, British girls are using make-up, mimicking pop idols and parents in a pitch for early adulthood, according to a consumer intelligence group.

More than three in five of seven-to-10-year-olds questioned by Mintel said they wear lipstick and nearly as many use perfume, it said in a survey."

I do not understand grownups who wear tons of makeup all the time and there is no way my kids were ever allowed to. This ranks right up there with the annual cheerleading competitions. When April was working at Joes Crab shack there were little girls as young as five wearing what amounted to stipper costumes and dancing very sexually suggestive dances on the table top. We wonder why women view themselves as objects and worse allow themselves to be treated as such. We wonder what pedophiles see in small children. I can't figure out if the majority of the parents in this country and others are blind, or just plain stupid.

By Dressing down and running around like a bum Lydia for everyday life, you are teaching your daughter that there is a time and a place for everything and that it doesn't matter if you get all dolled up to go grocery shopping. That you do not have to wear makeup to get along in life and that many things are more important than appearances.

That said I still win the bag Lady clothing title and you can't have it.

Cristal Startz VIP

Cristal Startz VIP
Here is a link to Miss Cristal's Blog. Soon we will have her writing on ours I hope

Shorty blogs

Okay - so my last blog doesn't count. A sentence does not a paragraph make. This one will be long enough to qualify, B.
Lydia, finish your draft! I've been anxiously awaiting your tale.
We've caught 5 skunks so far and we could hear something running around in the duct work under the house this morning, so apparently we aren't done yet. (For you animal lovers, they are LIVE traps - no cruelty to four footed creatures allowed here.) Our skunk trapping is pretty much all I have to report re our holiday weekend. Didn't go anywhere, didn't do anything special.
Off to the dentist and other horrors in town this a.m. - Everyone have a good day!

I miss Lydia!

Can't wait for Lydia to return and regale us with tales of her camping trip...both real and imaginery.

Mo Fun at Mo Ranch

I added about two Mo pages to this little masterpiece but the little Rangy one pressed the escape button. Perhaps he thought that I needed a re-write. Well here it is as best as I can recall anyway. I was going to leave out all the mundane exchanges but I thought that they added something real to the entire experience. So this may end up being quite lengthy. My shoulders are sunburned and you would think that this would irritate me but the sensation is an almost pleasant reminder of my superb weekend. We left later on Friday then we had originally planned. I basically waited until noon on Friday to start the preparations for the trip. Initially I had wanted to have it squared away well ahead of time. I consulted Kelly while he was offshore asking him what I should pack and he said that it was no big deal that he would figure it out when he got home. As anyone who is a regular blog reader knows I like Kelly to be responsible for those things that I would rather not do myself so I was very content to do nothing until the last minute when it became apparent things were not going to magically pack themselves. Kelly questioned why I would pack sleeping bags and canvas chairs and I thought this was strange. We eventually got rolling around 7pm and at 9:30 pm we stopped at a Dairy Queen. About five minutes after we got our food the the whole town experienced a power outage. Due to the no eating in Daddy's car rule (and apparently there are no exceptions) we ate our dinner in the pitch black darkness of Dairy Queen. I needed to visit the restroom. Chivalry is not dead as Blaze and Kel volunteered to go with me as my protectors. They did not seem to take their knighthood very seriously however. They kept turning off the flashlight,kicking the stall doors, going Woooo... Wooooo. and asking me if I was scared yet. Several times during the ride to the ranch Kelly expressed concern that I did not have written confirmation, an itinerary or a cabin number. He mentioned this so many times that I finally said. Quit torturing me! He still kept on it,lecturing me on how next time I needed to be more organized. I have not seen hills in so long that I nearly wept when we got to the hill country. We spotted lots of deer on the ride up to the ranch. Our cabin which we found only because I remembered a funky sticker on the back of Cristals vehicle was surrounded by cedar trees. Upon arrival Kelly was a bit shocked because apparently he did not realize that we were camping. This was actually sort of funny. I'm positive that I mentioned the word cabin several times but this would explain why he looked at me like I was an idiot when I suggested that we take a lantern. Perhaps he thought that cabin was a cute little name that I had for beautiful hotel as this is where he has stayed in the past when he has visited the ranch. I guess the Christmas lights sort of threw him off. Day 1 Kelly cooked breakfast on the camp stove, Bacon, sausage, eggs, and coffee. Then we drug our younguns through rough dirt trails for hours trying to make our way to the Guadalupe River which could be heard but not seen. Kelly got pissed and abandoned us literally by heading off in another direction and yelling come back to camp when you find it. He took the Ranger and Kel with him. We finally found the correct trail that took us back to the river and the ranch. I left Lindy and Blaze with Cristal and walked probably a couple of miles back to the cabin. I wouldn't have went back but I was imagining Rangy crying his little head off. Fetched the hubby and the younguns and we drove the truck to the River which was really only a stone throw away from the cabin. We just weren't very good navigators. Caught up with Cristal and the rest of the brood. I jumped off a rope into the frigid liquid ice of the Guadalupe River. Okay so there was no ice but it was pretty damn cold. Since I was already numb and most likely my brain was frozen and not working properly. I hauled a wooden sled up this very high coaster track and plummeted into the water once again. Up until the very moment I hit the water it was pure excitement. Once I hit the water my limbs were powered only by the adrenaline rush that was my bodies my great desire to get out of the water and I had to push the sled back while I swam! If the top of my (modest) bikini would have landed a foot past me I would not have tried to retrieve it. Admitting to ourselves that we were just not tough enough for the River we headed to a large beautifully tiled Olympic sized pool. I took Cristals four year old son Davin to the potty at the pool and there was a large yellow moth in the bathroom. It was about half the size of my hand and it was pretty cool if you ask me. I showed it to all the kids and they concurred but I think that some of the adults may now think I am a bit weird. The whole playing with bugs thing. Cristals husband Aaron made a great barbecue for our first nights dinner. His barbecue method did however involve a hair dryer and this amused me as I do not even own a hair dryer. If I did own a hairdryer I probably would not have thought to bring it camping. After dinner we went back to the Ranch to meet up with the rest of our church family for a campfire, songs, and smores. Their were a ton of fireflies and they really knocked me out. I was more impressed by those little glowing creatures than the children were. I guess that I'm easily impressed. We didn't make it to the smores as Lindy and Blaze were abusing one another so we had to call it a night. The other half of our montage stayed for the party and they said that it was muy bueno. We called it a night shortly after we got back to the cabin. I had a hard time sleeping though. I was comfortable enough, I was still awake when Cristal and her family returned to the cabin. I could hear her and Aaron lying in bed and trying very hard to whisper quietly as to not disturb us. Now I know that I am straying from the story here,but it is worth mentioning that Lydia believes that late night talks in bed are highly underrated. In any case it was a very sweet thing to have witnessed. Day 2 Aaron cooked breakfast and was either amazed or disgusted by the amount of bacon that was consumed by my children. I told Aaron that my children would probably naw on a live pig. We went back to the lake and Aaron swung off the rope and did the slide thing and dared me to do it again and I would have if Kelly would have watched the Rangy one for me. Cristal watched Ranger for me as he slumbered as Kelly, Kel 2, Lindy, Cristal's little girl and I canoed down the river where we saw many fish in the clear water and we also spotted a turtle sunning himself on a rock. We also spotted some children playing in some shallow rapids and it looked like great fun. On our way back I though that i heard the Rangy one crying and indeed upon my return I found him screaming his head off. He is such a Mamma's boy. We spent the next few hours chillin out in the shallow rapids. Sitting in the warm clear water and it was a delight. Cristal said that we were sitting in fossilized dinosaur footprints and I don't know if that is true but it was a neat thought. That evening we worshipped God outdoors atop a high hill. I missed most of the service yet I was moved. It was not the words that were spoken but the awesome view from the cross. A tear came to my eye and I felt so close to God as I gazed upon the expanse of green trees as far as the eye could see and the outline of the river. It was amazing! I have seen many beautiful sights but this one truly took my breath away. My God is the greatest Artist and Architect ever. God is a divine sculptor. My God is an awesome God. We stayed up late talking with Cristal and Aaron near the campfire. It was a little too warm to sit around the fire. Got the best sleep the final night. Day 3 I did not want to leave. I kept closing my eyes and imagining the view from the cross. Trying to make it indelible in my mind. Recapturing the awe and I am still doing it. We packed up and left in the rain. I was sad to leave. Kelly teased me about selling all the houses and moving to the hill country. I would do it in a minute. In a second. I would live in an unfurnished cabin to be so close to something so grand. That is a whole other story in itself. I'm home now but I know where I would like to be. The natural landscape of the area was beyond words. I was feeling a bit depressed to be back home and I went in the backyard and the lawn was filled with hundreds of white flowers that seemed to have sprung up in the short time we were gone. They are fragrant and delicate. I will have to find out what kind they are. It was definitely a very sweet welcome home. I am usually not one to pick flowers but I did pick about fifty of them and put them in a vase. The End.

Jordon and his Adventures with G.O.D.

Jordon and his Adventures with G.O.D.

For those of you that care, Jordon is now complete on the blog with links to each chapter so you don't have to keep scrolling down.

Hope you all enjoy

Rain Drops, Dogs, Skunks, Politics, and Bums

Playing in the rain sounds wonderful. I love the rain! Of course, doing so nude would have been the most fun, but don't suppose that's real feasible where you are, Lydia. I could do it where I live, but somehow never thought of it. Okay - now I'm going outside to do a rain dance. Maybe I'll just think upon rain clouds...
I never made it to the barn the other day, but did get another project started. Got stopped passing the "eBay house" and decided to tackle that instead. When Darrel arrived home I had an entire pickup load of stuff sitting in the front yard, for him to haul off. Still needs more cleaning, but I've made a substantial dent in the mess.
Keegan appreciates the thoughts, Lydia. He's doing very well and I am going back to the vet's to pick him up this a.m. He had his last surgery yesterday, so I'll know more after I pick him up, but all seems well. Rascals the cat, who made himself Keegan's nursemaid after the accident, drove us crazy last night carrying on at the back door. Guess he wanted to know where the hell his buddy was.
For years (after reading the Camber books years ago) I've asked the kids to name one of their kids "Kelson." We ended up with 7 grandsons and none of them are named Kelson. All of their parents hated the name. What can I say? None of them read and none of them have any imagination. However, I did get my granddaughter named "McKenzie" after the main character in the Outlander series. (This time I just didn't tell anyone where I got the name from.)
Spent last night reading and listening to the RNC drone on and on and on and on and on in the background. Sometimes I wonder how I (a full-blown Libertarian) ended up with a staunch right-wing Republican. At least it's made for some very interesting political discussions at my house lately.
We also spent last night trapping skunks that have been living under the house. Caught 2, and have at least one more to go. Hopefully we will get the last one tonight. (Country life is sooooooooooo amusing.)
I have the same problem, Lydia. I really do want to look semi-presentable, but most days it seems like way too much trouble. Living out in the middle of nowhere makes it way too easy not to!
I started this blog with something in particular I was going to write about, but I seem to have had major brain cramp and for the life of me I can't remember what it was. Perhaps it will come to me later. Or not...

Playing In The Rain

This after noon I put on my bathing suit and showered in the rain. Lindy brought me the shampoo and conditioner and I washed my hair with the rain water. It was grand, my hair and skin feel great. Little Kel stood on the patio with his rain coat on. I tried to take him out in the yard but it only made him cry. I wanted to lay in the grass and let the rain pour down on me but I did not. I gave Rebs a bath in the rain, he did not appreciate this. Blaze waited until I went inside and then he took a bubble bath in the kiddie pool in the back yard. Lindy put her pool shoes on and found her rain coat but never made it outside.

The Mural Is Done! / My Mind Is A Garden/ and Lydia Is A Bum

Even though I was hoping that it would never come to completion and that I could just watch Cristal paint in my house for ever. Cristal informed me that I need to bring Christmas lights on the camping adventure. Who ever heard of such a thing. Must be a Texas tradition! The kids are really going to dig it! I hear that it is 72 degrees at our intended destination. I just can't wait! The mural is fantastico, marvelous. Kelly is coming home today. I can't wait to see the look on his face when he sees the mural. It's going to be a big smile, I just know it. At least I hope so. The mural is a big hit with the rest of the family so even if it makes him want to hurl he is just going to have to live with it because everyone else thinks that it is awesome. This house is only a democracy when everyone agrees with me! I will change the office doors if he does not like them (since they are the doors to his office). I should probably be cleaning something or folding laundry. I'm inviting another woman to blog with us. I may have mentioned her before. Her name Deb and I don't know very much about her(but I'd like to :) What you think upon grows. I whole heartedly agree. This is Kelly's philosophy in life. The power of positive thinking. Think and grow rich! I only want good things to grow in the garden that is my mind. Never really thought of my mind as a garden before. A cellar maybe but not a garden. I am turning over a new leaf. Mish wrote something a very long while back about making her home exactly the way that she wanted it. I am doing that now. There is really nothing to prevent me from it. The husband has no taste. If he likes it, he will praise me. If he does not he will live with it. Here's a funny one for you. I put on a little make up today and put some clothes that fit (a recent purchase). All this is honor of Kelly's homecoming. A tenant (Debs husband) came to the door to pay the rent and he did not recognize me. At first I took this as a compliment and then I thought that it was sad actually. I need to quit taking the casual bum thing to the extreme that I do. I really prefer to be well groomed it is just so easy not to be.

Democratic Underground

Democratic Underground This blog is for Doris!

Chimps, Lions, and zoo animals too..

I returned tonight from 2 days with Janelle, Cj, and Kenzie. Had a ball, but it's great to be home. Discovered my granddaughter is a brat, but as a woman, I'm not sure this is a bad thing. Just turned 1 on August 24th and she knows exactly how to get whatever she wants. While I spend way too much time with brats to really enjoy this, I'm thinking it may serve her well in the future.
Was too brain dead to continue this blog last night and expound on the virtues of brathood, so as you can see by my last blog, I simply roamed the web in search of things to inspire me and blatantly plagerized something. Glad it could at least make Doris smile, now I'm going to try practicing it myself... Barn cleaning is fun. Barn cleaning is fun. Barn cleaning is fun. Barn cleaning is fun. Barn cleaning is fun. (Guess what I'm off to do this a.m.??)
Lydia, your life sounds as full as ever. I happen to like that you are self-centered (I'm not really sure that's the word I'd use, but it's too early to access the part of my brain that stores the Roget's Thesaurus) and I don't think the aim of this blog is to aid society. If it is, I'm in the wrong place. Don't know why I even asked if anyone had any ideas about helping the baby sleep through the night - it's not like my daughter would take anyone's advice, anyway. Amazingly, Miss Jaden McKenzie slept completely through the night in the hotel Monday night, from 10 p.m. until 9:30 a.m., and even laying in a Pack 'N Play, something my daughter INSISTS Kenzie will not sleep in at all at my house. Hmmmm........... Of course, we did spend a couple of hours in the pool with the kids Monday evening ("Nana" in her cow...er..bathing suit was not a pretty sight), and then I took them all out to eat and stuffed lots of food into Ms. Kenzie's belly. Also, while she had been taking tentative "walks" the last few weeks, Kenzie decided Monday night that walking was cool and put miles on her legs around the hotel room. I'm sure she was only waiting for me to be there so she could show off for Nana.
We spent Tuesday at the Rolling Hills Wildlife Refuge/Zoo. Even after my traumatic and emotional day at the Wichita Zoo with Darrel a couple of weeks ago (maybe someday I'll actually blog that event), I enjoyed Tuesday. All the animals seemed very happy at Rolling Hills, and they had all been born into captivity or had been rescued injured or abandoned, so they all seemed content with their plight. And seeing them all through a 4 year old and 1 year old's eyes was sheer joy.
I'm intrigued by Lydia's hints of a dark and scary tale. The books Brandy sent me haven't arrived yet, so I really need something good to read, Lydia!
Well...I'm off to see if what I thunk upon grew and if cleaning the barn is really fun!

Laws Of Mind - What You Think Upon Grows

This is a total rip off of another site and Eastern philosophy, but hit home so much I had to share. Hope you see the truth it in it, as I did:

What you think upon grows. This is an Eastern maxim, and it sums up neatly the greatest and most fundamental of all the Laws of Mind. What you think upon grows.

What you think upon grows. Whatever you allow to occupy your mind you magnify in your life. Whether the subject of your thoughts be good or bad, the law works and the condition grows. Any subject that you keep out of your mind tends to diminish in your life, because what you do not use atrophies.

The more you think about your indigestion or your rheumatism, the worse it will become. The more you think of yourself as healthy and well, the better will your body be.

The more you think about lack, bad times, etc., the worse will your business be; and the more you think of prosperity, abundance, and success, the more of these things will you bring into your life.

The more you think about your grievances or the injustices that you have suffered, the more such trials will you continue to receive; and the more you think of the good fortune you have had, the more good fortune will come to you.

This is the basic, fundamental, all-inclusive Law of Mind, and actually all psychological and metaphysical teaching is little more than a commentary upon this.