Flash Fiction Friday #2—Totem Pole

The totem pole was the 7500th stop we'd made that day, or so it seemed. I knew somewhere along the miles of interstate we had driven that this trip had been a colossal mistake.

Was it when he wouldn't stop humming The Proclaimers' "I will walk 500 miles"? Or was it when he belched loudly, yet again, after eating yet another country-fried steak at Cracker Barrel? I shivered slightly, even though the interior of the minivan was stifling. The air-conditioning had given out a hundred miles ago. This trip was like "National Lampoon's Vacation," only without the laughs.

The totem pole was one of the last few carved by the "real" Indians who made them. I was astonished at its size as we pulled into the visitors' center. For a moment, all thoughts of escape left me. The totem loomed, blotting out the sky almost. Once we stopped, the kids (teenagers, natch) jumped out and ran off. I yelled "Meet back here in a hour!" toward their retreating backs. I'm sure they couldn't wait to get away from us--from me.

"Be right back, hon," he told me, heading off toward the restroom sign.

"Sure," I muttered, not taking my eyes off the totem. It seemed to beckon toward me, with its vaguely eagle-shaped head and wings... a thunderbird, I thought, like the phoenix.

A plaque underneath explained about totem poles and the Natives who carved them, once upon a time. My White Guilt started to seep in as I gazed out over the ridge. If I imagined hard enough, I could picture the Natives who had once lived in the valley below.

People milled about, exclaiming over this and that. My eyes were unfocused, unseeing. Not even the other tourists' inane chatter could take away my concentration. I knew what I had to do.

The spirits of place still danced here.

...I joined them.



Prompt from Friday Flash Fiction.

(315 words)

TGIF!

Six Reasons I'm Glad it's Friday

1. This cold I'm getting would be totally even more miserable if it was only Monday.
2. I have a three-day weekend, due to the Labor Day holiday on Monday.
3. I don't have to go anywhere for three days, unless I want to, thereby avoiding insane drivers and people who don't look where they're going, causing accidents in parking lots (not me, thankfully).
4. It's been a long time since my last holiday, on July 4.
5. I can finish reading those two library books I've had checked out since May (renewing every two weeks).
6. It's the weekend!

Thursday 13 #4

Thirteen Reasons I'm A Dog Person Dogs love me unconditionally. Dogs comfort me after a long day. Dogs are wonderful companions, no matter what or who else is around or not around. It's like have a kid who doesn't grow up.* They eat crumbs off the floor. They greet me with enthusiasm, even if I've only been gone 5 minutes. My dogs are couch potatoes, like me. They know I'm wonderful. ;) They depend on me for everything.* They can be guard dogs if they want to be. I don't have to pretend to be someone else because they love me for who I am. They cheer me up when I'm down. Dogs make me laugh. *Of course, some would say these reasons are reasons NOT to own a dog. :)

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Journals, Books, oh my!

Here are a few of my additional journals. I think there are about 15 altogether. I probably will give away the "Friends" one. I collaged its cover. In the top picture, on the far left, with the red sun cover, that is my special Oberon journal. Its going on its third refill and will be #65.

This is my current journal, #64, almost all used up.




Here are three boxes full of journals 1–63. :)



Below are the books I have kept over my years of book collecting. These are the books I have read over and over, and can't bear to part with—at least most of them are. I haven't culled any lately. They stretch along an entire wall (hopefully, someday I'll have them on shelves), and I had to take three pictures to fit them all in. These books do not include books on my bookshelves downstairs, or in my to-be-read pile next to my nightstand. :)

Just some of the journals I've been meaning to use this year. :) The blue one on the right has already been used. It was #60. My mom got that one for me for Christmas. It has my name engraved on the lower right corner, with the word "Journal" in the middle.

The black one on the left has also been used; it was #61. The next one I'm using is the flowered one in the middle. It will be #64. (62 & 63 were not part of this group.) I have loads more blank books to use up. Buying blank books is one of my addictions. I will have to get the other blank books corralled and take a pic of them.

(And yes, that's the dog in the background, sniffing the floor as usual.) :)

A good weekend

A Spider's Web

Woohoo! I had a good weekend for once. The Sunday Stormfront didn't pass through my mind like is has for the past umpteen Sundays in a row. Instead, on Saturday, DH, DD, & I went to a local state park. DD & DH fished from the dock, while I just sat and enjoyd the silence. Living in town, even though we live on a quiet street, kind of jangles on my nerves.

We hadn't been there since April, when it was still rather cool. I felt very sick after we got home that time; hay fever or tree pollen really did a number on my allergies. But this trip, I felt so calm and relaxed when I got home. Instead of stressing out about DD, or what was going on around me, or even about the weather (it was cloudy, with some rain sprinkles), I sat on the park bench and just was.

I had my paper journal with me and filled several pages, describing the lake and the trees. We brought a picnic lunch of ham and cheese sandwiches and chips and ate as soon as we arrived. I had also made some trail mix, and we had that for dessert. Food always tastes better in the outdoors, even simple sandwiches. It was funny that the longer I sat there, in spite of the mugginess of the day, I actually got chilled. There was a cool breeze moving across the face of the lake and the sun was hidden under the clouds.

Later in the afternoon, DD and I went on a short(ish) trail hike. Although I had been quite chilly earlier, I was sweating once we started our hike. It was very steamy in the woods, where no breeze was moving. Every so often, we heard the pittery pat of rain hitting the leaves of the trees above us. DD was a real trooper: she didn't complain too much about walking so far.

When we finished, we met up with DH and had ice cream cones at the concession stand. By that time, it was 3:30, and so we decided to head home.

That peaceful feeling stayed with me all weekend, and even into today.

Read my journal entry about the details here.

Flash Fiction Friday #1—The Abbey

The Abbey

It was called the Lost Abbey. We all knew about it, of course, having lived in these woods all of our lives. Outsiders didn't understand. Oh, we had the occasional tourist, or professor, or graduate student, who blundered into the woods to look for the home of the monks.

Sometimes, we led them up there for a few bucks. Other times, if the person was too citified, we led him on a merry chase, giving him the wrong directions. It was almost always a "him," never a "her." "Hers" were not interested in the monks or what had happened there.

Not too many people were, these days.

Only a few of us locals remain, to guard the old ways, to guard the Abbey.

I heard tell that the survivors disappeared into the World, believing their time in these woods had been a dream, almost. But the Abbey is there, for those who dare to look for it.

All I can say about what happened is that the monks' arrogance got the better of them, and Mother Nature Herself sent the storm that blew down the Abbey.

Wind can be horrendous out there on the balds. City people don't get that.

I looked down toward the foot of the bluff. The body would rot quickly in this rain.

Some people shouldn't be so nosy.

Thursday 13 #3

Thirteen Luxuries I Can't Live Without My journal—without it, the voices would consume me. Lip gloss—without it, my lips would be cracked and nasty. Eye drops—my eyes would be non-functioning. Books—I love to read! Hand lotion—my hands would look elderly. Hair color Purple ink pens My imagination ;) Leave-in hair conditioner—fights the frizz. Silk (or silk-blend) sheets Hand-dipped crème de menthe chocolates Scented candles A wide variety of nail lacquer for my toenails.

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The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others' comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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Oh, and I also wrote a new journal entry about the recent anniversary of MTV.

Blah-di-Blah-Monday Blues

TV makes me complacent. TV makes me bored. TV saps my energy.

I need a cabin in the woods.

...nah, I just need a vacation, or else I need to lower my expectations of what "happiness" and "satisfaction" mean.

Hopefully, more mindful living is in the works!

Sunday Again?

I have no idea where the time went. Yesterday was a blur of shopping for school supplies, exhaustion, and all-around feelings of tiredness. Perhaps I shouldn't have had 3 Diet Mt. Dews and a Sprite.

Perhaps I should close the bedroom door at night so I don't have to listen to the Boxer flopping around in his crate, sounding like someone is breaking into the house.

Perhaps I should turn the a/c down so that it comes on, instead of me sweating to death all night.

Perhaps I should stop trying to take naps on Sundays.

Perhaps I should get up off the couch and DO something constructive instead of watching "Amélie" and "Ferngully."

Perhaps I should take more aspirins so that my headache will go away, instead of only taking two.

Perhaps I should just quit bitching and moaning and DO something.

At least I got the laundry done. :)

TGIF!

Thank the gods it's Friday. Surprisingly, this week has passed quickly.

Five Reasons I Love Fridays

1. No work for two days--no driving, no getting up early, no having to decide what to wear.
2. The weekend is time to spend with DD.
3. I can stay up as late as I want because I don't have to get up.
4. Sci-Fi Fridays on the Sci-Fi channel (I'll be glad when "Battlestar Galactica" returns.)
5. I don't have to do anything or be anywhere.

I don't have anything much planned for this weekend, other than the usual: laundry, maybe dusting and cleaning off my desk. I will have to go shopping at some point; I haven't been school-supply shopping for DD and I told her that we'd go this weekend. She starts school on Tuesday.

There will be a new journal entry as well. Stay tuned.

What's that on the Floor?

"Mom, there are two piles of something in the kitchen," DD tells me in a funny voice earlier this evening.

"Two piles of what?" I ask, puzzled. DH had just left to go to work and the dogs had just gone out before I got home. I'd only been home long enough to change my clothes and eat supper, so I thought surely one of the silly creatures couldn't have had an accident--or could they?

"I don't know what it is! It's brown . . . and ewwwww!" She wrinkled up her nose.

I sat there on the couch for awhile. Did I really want to go in there and see what was waiting for me? Not particularly. But if it was poop, then I needed to clean it up ASAP or it would stink up the whole house. So I got up off the couch and walked slowly toward the kitchen. The Husky was in her crate already (she goes in there of her own free will now). The Boxer had been in the living room with me the whole time.

I look in the kitchen. Over by the sink, next to the portable dishwasher, are two HUGE piles of something chunky.

It ain't poop.

I sighed. "Looks like puke, DD," I said. "Apparently, the Husky's food didn't agree with her." DD has followed me into the kitchen, making comments the whole time. So I put her to work. I grab a plastic shopping bag and tell her to hold it open. Then I get some paper towels and set about cleaning up the mess by picking/wiping it up with the towels and putting them into the bag. Once I was finished, I tied the bag shut and took it outside to the trash.

All I can say is that I was glad it was chunky--It was easier to clean up.

Thursday 13 #2

Thirteen Things Marital Communication Tips The other person can't read your mind, so you should tell the person what you are thinking. Approach the other person when you are both calm and relaxed, so the other person will be more likely to listen to what you have to say. Speaking of listening, perhaps the best way to communicate is to just listen, without being judgmental, and witholding all comments until the other person is finished talking. If you cannot tell the person something face-to-face, try writing a letter, but be prepared for the other person to bring it up in conversation. You really should not be afraid to tell your partner anything. People who marry should be the best of friends, and should trust each other unconditionally. If you have doubts about your partner or his/her behaviors, talk to your partner first. Then seek outside help from an unbiased third party. (Your family and friends might not be the best choice to give you relationship advice.) Arguing is not communicating. Although the old adage, "Never go to bed angry" is a good one, it may be impossible in reality. If you do have an argument that extends into the next day, try to work things out when you are both rested, relaxed, and calm. Clearly describe your expectations. If you expect your spouse to pick up after him/herself, be sure to tell the person that is what you expect. Otherwise, you'll be picking up after the person and resenting it. If you have an agreement on splitting the housework, do not go nuts when the spouse "gets around to it eventually." If you want things a certain way, then do them yourself, but don't get mad or resentful that you have to do them all the time. Again, communicate your expectations. Learn to compromise. Don't expect to get your own way all the time. If you are frustrated and can't seem to find relief, seek therapy. A spouse cannot make you happy. You have to be happy within yourself. Don't repeat things over and over. Your spouse probably heard you the first time. Forgiveness goes a long way.

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The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others' comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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11pm, later...

So I FINALLY loaded all the old journal entries from my now-defunct online journal (http://cassanndra.diary-x.com) to my new(ish) online journal here. I also wrote a new entry, but it's nothing new, really, for you long-time readers. I've been thinking a lot about re-design of this site, plus getting back into journaling online. There's no time like the present!

This evening, DD & I visited my mom at her workplace (a place that sells gourmet food). She needed to give me a wedding invitation from my cousin. Even though she sent his family my address, they were STUPID and wrote my parents' address on the invitation. DD & I spent about an hour talking with Mom. She wasn't too busy this evening, but while we were there, her coworker dropped a bottle of martini mix on the floor and it broke--and it stank to high heaven.

We came home and watched "Mama's Family." I hadn't seen that sitcom in years. I used to watch it all the time. DD made me laugh while we were watching it. Eunice (Carol Burnett) was wearing a really ugly flowered and flowing dress, and I asked DD what she thought of the dress. She said, "That dress is hideous, Mom!" I said, "Hideous, huh? Do you know what that means?" "No," she said. I laughed because it's funny to hear the word "hideous" come out of the mouth of a 6-year-old, especially so spontaneously. I think she will have a large vocabulary when she gets older, in spite of all the sailor talk around here (too much cussing--yet another failure of my parental skillz).

Expect more frequent updates from me--and bug me if I don't! :)

The Stuff

It's been over a month since our yard sale. Guess where the majority of the leftover stuff is sitting? Yep, you guessed it. On the front porch. Some stuff I did get put away, like breakable stuff. DD goes out there to play sometimes and I didn't want her to accidentally break anything.

This blog was getting to be like my front porch--cluttered and dusty.

I didn't really do much of anything in July. In fact, I sit here wondering where the time went. DD starts first grade on Aug. 22. I feel like the summer just started, though. July was so hot temperature-wise that I didn't want to be outside at all. My SIL gave us a pool and we got that set up, but then we didn't use it but once or twice. I did read a lot.

The Rape of Nanking by Iris Chang
Our Lady of the Forest by David Guterson
The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd (awesome, awesome book!)
The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger
The Englisher by Beverly Lewis
The Moth Diaries by Rachel Klein
Marriage, a History by Stephanie Coontz

My youngest sister got engaged. Don't know when the wedding might be.

It was my middle sister's birthday on Saturday. DD & I took her some happy birthday balloons. We were going to sing "Happy Birthday" to her, but we ended up forgetting to sing. DD played with her cousins while my sis caught me up on all the family gossip. One of our cousins is getting married on Sept. 16 in Evansville, IN, so we'll probably be attending.

Crazy Mag woke me up last night, crashing around in his crate. I don't know what that dog does, but he flops around more than any dog I have known. I do wish he communicated better with us. This past Saturday, he followed me into the kitchen where I was getting some water, and he suddenly decided to pee--nearly on my leg! WTF was up with that? So I had to clean that mess up. Some days, he's really obvious about needing to go out. Other times, he just lets fly with no advance warning.

More later.

New Look

How do you like it?

It took forever for me to find an imageless template that I liked. Blogskins has tons of templates; some of them look amazing. A lot of hard work went into creating them. However, I was searching for something that was simple, yet elegant, and I found this one. An added bonus is that the template is three columns, and green. (Green is my favorite color!)

I still probably need to fix a few things, but for now, it's looking pretty good.

Hopefully, this new look will inspire me to write more often. :)

Thursday 13 #1

Thirteen Things I wish I had known about Marriage The other person can't read your mind. There will be a lot of compromises. Happily ever after is a lie told in fairy tales. Kids change every dynamic in a relationship. Marriage won't solve whatever problems are in a relationship. As the years pass, sometimes you take each other for granted. People change over the years. You will have highs and lows. Communication is the key. It's easy to fall into a "same stuff, different day" mentality. It's easy to lose yourself for the needs of the other person or the kid(s). There are no happy endings. Why you got married may be completely different from why you stay married.

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others' comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Yet another Survey

Yet another survey from Amanita. I haven't had anything worthwhile to post lately. It's kind of long.

Grub-ology

What is your salad dressing of choice? French

What is your favorite fast food restaurant? Subway

What is your favorite sit-down restaurant? Texas Roadhouse

On average, what size tip do you leave at a restaurant? usually around $5; depends on the service.

What food could you eat every day for two weeks and not get sick of? oatmeal

Name three foods you detest above all others. liver/organ meats; nuts (except peanuts, almonds, & cashews); ham and bean soup

What is your favorite dish to order in a Chinese restaurant? sweet & sour chicken or pork

What are your pizza toppings of choice? It’s all good.

What do you like to put on your toast? butter or cream cheese, sometimes jelly

What is your favorite type of gum? Juicy Fruit

Tech-ology

Number of contacts in your mobile phone? um, maybe 8 people?

Number of contacts in your e-mail address book? 10 people

What is your wallpaper on your computer? at home, it’s a pic of DD; at work, Stonehenge

What is your screensaver on your computer? don’t use a screensaver

Are there naked pictures saved on your computer? No

How many landline phones do you have in your house? 1

How many televisions are in your house? 2—living room and bedroom (but the bedroom one is non-functioning)

What kitchen appliance do you use the least? bread machine

What is the format of the radio station you listen to the most? top 40 rock

Bi-ology

What do you consider to be your best physical attribute? eyes

Are you right-handed or left-handed? Right-handed

Do you like your smile? usually

Have you ever had anything removed from your body? Does a baby count?

Would you like to? No. No on any kind of elective surgery.

Do you prefer to read when you go to the bathroom? not really

Which of your five sense do you think is keenest? All of my senses are equally poor.

When was the last time you had a cavity? jr. high

What is the heaviest item you lift regularly? groceries

Have you ever been knocked unconscious? No

Misc-ology

If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die? No. I’d worry too much.

If you could change your first name, what would you change it to? Cass, of course!

How do you express your artistic side? writing, doodling, collaging

What color do you think you look best in? green, since it’s my favorite color

How long do you think you could last in a medium security prison? ‘til I got out

Have you ever swallowed a non-food item by mistake? No

If we weren’t bound by society’s conventions, do you have a relative you would make a pass at? Ewww. No.

How often do you go to church? For weddings and funerals—so basically, never.

Have you ever saved someone’s life? No

Has someone ever saved yours? No, afaik.

Dare-ology (For this last section, if you would do it for less or more money, indicate how much.)

Would you walk naked for half a mile down a public street for $100,000? Yes

Would you kiss a member of the same/opposite sex for $100? Yes to both

Would you have sex with a member of the same/opposite sex for $10,000? Probably

Would you allow one of your little fingers to be cut off for $200,000? No. I need all my limbs.

Would you never blog again for $50,000? Ouch. That is a hard question. Possibly, but probably not.

Would you pose naked in a magazine for $250,000? No

Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1,000? No

Would you, without fear of punishment, take a human life for $1,000,000? No

Would you shave your head and get your entire body waxed for $5,000? Possibly for $50,000 I would. $5,000 doesn’t go very far these days.

Would you give up watching television for a year for $25,000? Yes, as long as someone fills me in on what happens on “Battlestar Galactica.”

A forgotten holocaust

Perhaps you remember this mention I made of Iris Chang's death. Well, I finally got around to reading her book, "The Rape of Nanking."

You must must must read it! She tells the story from three perspectives: the Japanese, the Chinese, and the few foreigners who were still in the city at the time of the invasion (1937). She used diaries, interviews with survivors/soldiers, and records of the era to tell what happened.

And you don't want to even imagine what happened. There is a section of photos included in the book, so be aware of that if you decide to read the book and are the least bit squeamish.

In some of the wikipedia articles, Chang's book is said to be controversial with some inaccuracies. Whatever the case may be, the pictures don't lie. The diaries and papers she used in her research are (I believe for the most part) available in various university archives.

The book is very readable, and I felt she was as objective as possible, describing how the Japanese army could have committed such atrocities, as well as discussing how the Chinese army abandoned the city (in order to fight another day, apparently). However, I am no scholar on this holocaust, nor have I read much else on the subject. But the book is worth reading.

Unlike the Jewish Holocaust victims, there are few who are willing to speak up for these Nanking victims. Iris Chang was brave to do so.

I dare you

to read this story without crying. (link found via)

(**okay, so you didn't dare to read. It's about a pet shelter's worker's daily work.)

Local Attraction

A few weeks ago, we went to Rockome Gardens. It's under new management this year, after having been on the market last year, then sold.

This is me, in the giant rocking chair.



This is me, in the gazebo.




The face in the wall:

The Moving Wall

... visited our town over the weekend. Check out the site for more information.

Here's a couple of photos:






Just as moving as the real Wall, only smaller.

Wikipedia has everything

... even an article on a local university.

Blogathon's back

Blogathon 2006

From the site:

On July 29, hundreds of bloggers from around the world will put their endurance to the test for charity, blogging every 30 minutes for 24 hours straight. This is the Sixth Annual International Blogathon, an event that creates a worldwide community for a day, serves up fascinating content, and most importantly, raises tens of thousands of dollars for dozens of charities. Bloggers choose the charity and collect sponsorships. At the end of the event, those sponsors fulfill their pledges directly with the charity. It's not too late to sign up if you'd like to blog! You can also help by sponsoring a blogger, just check out the List of Bloggers at the site. Stay up late, make a difference.

Yard Sale Aftermath

Lessons learned from having a yard sale:

1. Always check that cds/dvds/videocassettes/games are in their proper cases.
2. People prefer to look through clothes when they're organized by size.
3. A lot of people just come to look.
4. It doesn't seem to matter if you advertise.
5. People think that they can wait until late afternoon and then see if you'll give them something for free or at a way reduced price.
6. As a buyer, you should test items like strollers for all working parts before buying them, only to return them later, in the middle of the night, because the strap to buckle in the baby was supposedly broken (when I know for a fact that the strap was not broken).
7. Get tables to put EVERYTHING on. It will save older people from having to kneel down to look at books placed on a sheet.
8. The VA hospital appreciates donated books.
9. Older folks read a lot.
10. Setting up for a yard sale doesn't seem to take that long; it's the taking down and putting away of one that is the real challenge.

Re #1: A man came to the sale to view one of the aquariums, but he ended up buying approximately 4 Playstation 1 games we had for sale. Stupidly, I did not check to make sure the game disks were inside the plastic cases, and he emailed me on Monday to say that two of the games weren't in the cases. I managed to find one of them, and he came by to pick it up. I fear the other game is long gone, stuck inside the Playstation itself, which sold to someone else. I offered to give him his $2 back, but he said to keep it. As a buyer or seller, you should always check.

Re #6: Woke up today to find the umbrella stroller on the front steps, with a note pinned to it. DH came home last night at midnight, and we were up today at 7am, so somewhere between midnight and 7, the person who bought the stroller (who lives down the street) brought it all the way back to the house. Now, first of all, she bought it Saturday, for $5. No biggie, right? She even had her granddaughter (20 months) ride in it all the way back to their house. Today is Thursday--why wait until today to figure out it wasn't working? WTF? I would have given her the $5 back, but why leave it there with no explanation, other than the strap was broken? I looked at it, and it looked like it had either been torn, cut, or chewed through. The umbrella stroller has been in my car for about two years, hardly used in that whole time. As far as I knew, the strap was fine. So, I'm wondering if the granny put the other kid in the stroller, a small baby who could hardly hold his head up, and something happened. I hope not! Anyway, it was just weird.

We earned about $181. I was hoping to sell 90% of the stuff we cleared out, but it was more like 10%. What I thought would sell, like the baby clothing and baby stuff, did not sell. I had about 10 boxes of clothes, and only about 1 box sold. I guess people just didn't want to pay $1 a bag for practically brand-new stuff. (I started out at $5 a bag, but as the day wore on, I came down in price.)

What sold was weird stuff, like a few old cassette tapes from the 1980s that I no longer wanted. I couldn't get rid of the wok, the electric grill, some Hallowe'en stuff, stuffed animals, a box of free toys, &etc. The books sold well, however. I had over a hundred paperbacks and hardbacks, about five boxes worth, and I got rid of three boxes. My MIL suggested donating the rest to the VA hospital, so I boxed up the other two boxes and she said she'd take them to the VA. So at least they didn't have to go back in the house!

The aquariums didn't sell, not even the little ones. I guess that people can get them anywhere nowadays for free, so why buy one.

If I ever hold another yard sale, it will be during the citywide garage sale weekend. More people will come, most likely.

What cracked me up was all the people who said, "I'm getting ready to have a yard sale myself." Well, if they are having a yard sale, why buy more stuff that will probably just end up in their yard sale? Hehe.

The Daily Puppy

Check out the The Daily Puppy. They are sooooo adorable!

World Refugee Day

World Refugee Day is today. CNN has some in-depth coverage on its website, and Angelina Jolie is going to be on Anderson Cooper 360° to highlight the plight of refugees throughout the world.

My Trash Can Be Someone Else's Treasure

The ever-expanding mass of clutter in our house is now seeking new owners.

We decided to have a yard sale on June 24. This is our first-ever such sale. Both DH and I are packrats, although I am somewhat reformed, and I was always more packratty than he was. When we first moved into our 4-bedroom house, with full basement, I thought that we would never fill it up. However, clutter abhors a vacuum.

For starters, we have wedding gifts that haven't been used in 9 years (on July 5), and will never be used--like glasses, salad bowls, and canisters. We have kids' clothes that DD has outgrown, ages 0-5yrs, plus outgrown shoes and coats. We have toys, stuffed animals, two bouncy seats, a walker, a carseat--all outgrown. I have stacks and stacks of romances and mysteries that my mom keeps giving me to read. However, I usually just list them for sale on half.com. But since I haven't had a sale in about six months, they're going in the yard sale.

I have several purses, mostly Liz Claiborne, that I no longer need. I have candle holders, candles, never-used hand lotions, a dvd player, and several aquariums: 100-gal., 30-gal., 10-gal., and 1-gal. They're all going. We have a matching set of sofa covers that I used a couple of times but look brand-new. I plan to weed through my stationery supplies and my mass o' knick-knacks as well. DH has several boxes of football cards he's trying to get organized to sell.

DD will be running a lemonade stand--1 cup of lemonade and a homemade chocolate chip cookie for 10 cents. Last year, we went to a garage sale and the kids at that house were doing it. She thought that was a great idea.

Slowly but surely, we've been dragging stuff out onto the front porch, which is the staging area. (We are not dragging out the aquariums. If someone wants to buy one, THEY can drag it out!) The task is monumental. Although I have DD's clothes organized by size, they are not organized by outfit. I plan to get up early on Saturday to get everything set up. Maybe I am a perfectionist, but I know that when I go to garage sales, I am more likely to look at everything laid out nicely on a table or blanket, rather than dig through a box. The problem with organizing things like clothes is that I really can't do anything in advance.

We've kind of waited until the last minute to decide for sure what we're selling anyway. We decided we were going to have a sale back in May, and put the date on the calendar, but other than talk about what we might sell, we didn't drag much of it out into the staging area. :) Nothing like two procrastinating packrats!

Part of my (continuing) packrat problem is that when people give me stuff, I don't want to part with it. But as I saw on "Clean Sweep," it's not the object that's important. It's really the thought that counts, and the knick-knacks are holding me back. All the clutter is holding us back. DD's room is piled high with so many toys and books that she has no idea what to play with. Her closet is full of clothes that are too little.

It's time to move on, time to let go.

I told DH that when the sale is over and we see whatever we haven't sold, it's all going straight into the back of his truck to take to Goodwill or somewhere. It's not going back in the house (with the exception of books and any of his FB cards, because we can resell those).

I'm not expecting to make a ton of money, because mostly I just want to be rid of the stuff. The stuff is stifling me. Now, if only I could get my desk cleaned off...

When I'm 34....

Happy birthday to me!

No Smoking Allowed

This weekend, I stopped in at the local gas station to get gas (at $2.85 a gallon). I went up to the cash register and noticed an innocuous little box sitting on the counter. The items had names like Valiant, and I thought about the movie, which we had just rented and watched the week before. Then I looked closer.

Candy cigarettes have returned. Maybe they never really left the market. However, it has been years since I saw any for sale in this area (east central Illinois). It must have been in the late 1980s when I remember begging my mom to buy me some. Which she did, of course.

I did not have my daughter with me in the gas station that day; she was waiting out in the car. However, if she had been with me, I never would have allowed her to beg me to buy them. In our household, no one smokes and we generally think it's a nasty, disgusting habit. In fact, my grandfather-in-law is now suffering from emphysema--he cannot breathe without the aid of oxygen in little tanks he has to carry everywhere; he has had a stomach aneurysm repaired; and he has had a colostomy. Back in the 1980s, the year he quit smoking for good, he saved up enough money to buy a new truck and a camping trailer. Another elderly woman I knew needed oxygen as well, but she never gave up smoking. She'd smoke through the hole in the mask.

Candy cigarettes are candy, I know. Harmless fun. However, I think that some kids will be tempted to try real cigarettes because they played pretend with the fake ones. I was never tempted, but I can only recall that one time when my mom bought us the candy. The candy tasted like crap, by the way. We were a non-smoking household growing up, so it was probably more of a case of emulating my parents for why I never smoked, in addition to the fact that I think it's a disgusting habit.

Another disgusting thing I see quite often is employees who smoke right outside in front of the establishment. When I see the employees smoking away, it makes me want to go somewhere else. If employees need to smoke, employers should set a policy on where they can and cannot smoke on work property and during work hours. Go to your car. Don't stand in front of the door, or right next to the door, and expect me to walk around you. Don't stand there and gossip idly about other employees or your boss. Even if you are just a gas station employee, it's unprofessional and rude. I have actually refrained from going to places where employees are commonly seen smoking in front of the entrance.

Smokers can smoke if they want to--if you want to kill yourself, go right ahead. Just don't expect me to keep returning to your business if I have to walk past your noxious cloud to enter the building.

Wahoo

Blogger's back.

--finally.

10 Years Ago

Was it yesterday, Thursday, or was it Wednesday evening when I realized that it's been 10 years since I visited Europe in June 0f 1996?

The journal I wrote in on that trip, the one with the Paris Métro ticket design on the cover, has its first entry marked June 3, 1996, somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean. I was not yet 24 years old (my birthday would be later in the month). This journey would be the farthest I'd ever traveled away from my small Illinois town.

It was a Monday when I departed with the tour group--to visit five countries in ten days (England, France, Switzerland, [a small jaunt into Liechtenstein], Austria, and Germany). As I reread my journal of the trip, I see that we spent most of the time traveling on buses, getting from one place to another. And I mostly remember how HOT it was that week. The temperature was 90 degrees almost every day. I got a sunburn from sitting next to the window on the bus during an 8-hour drive from Dunkirk to Paris.

Yes, that Dunkirk, and all I wrote was that we disembarked there on the ferry from England. I wrote nothing about the people, the ambience, the real details. I basically reported what we did while on tour. But I can't blame myself for not being more descriptive in that journal. I was barely a year into keeping a journal, and by no means was I journaling daily (but I did manage to journal daily for the length of the trip). I suppose I thought that my pictures from that time would tell the real story.

A lot of my perceptions have faded. I don't remember the sounds, or how I felt, other than I was overwhelmed. I do remember that it seemed like EVERYONE smoked in Europe. I could hardly walk anywhere without being enveloped by a noxious cloud of cigarette smoke. It was also hot and crowded wherever we went. Seeing Versailles when it's 90 degrees outside and there's no shade is not very much fun. You're too hot to concentrate on the details. (I should have brought a hat!) I also remember feeling disoriented in directions during the whole trip. For some reason, east and west seemed mixed up.

Alas, I wrote down absolutely no details about the countryside we were traveling through. I do remember that the northern French countryside reminded all of us of home. I remember how I practiced my French on the shopkeeper in a touristy knick-knack shop near Versailles, and when I tried to ask for an empty glass in a café, but I forgot to say "empty." She brought me a full glass of Coke--with no ice.

People complained a lot on our trip. The hotels had no ice, no washcloths. Two people had encounters with pickpockets; one woman's wallet was stolen, but the other woman screamed and her attacker ran off. We were easy targets--loud, absentminded Americans.

Touring like that is exhausting. My ankles swelled up on the second day of the trip and I was often too tired to go out in the evenings or when we had free time. In Lausanne, it rained that night, and I walked with others down to Lake Geneva--it was a goodly hike back UPhill to the hotel. We were up early every morning and in bed late every night. Most of the time was spent traveling on the bus. If and when I ever return to Europe, it will be one country, or one city. Five countries is too many.

I enjoyed my trip, but I was glad to get back home. I missed the flatness of Illinois. I missed Diet Mt. Dew. I missed the way things are done here in the U.S. I missed my family and friends. It was worth it. If I never get to visit Europe again, at least I can say I saw the Mona Lisa, Neuschwanstein, the Tower of London, and my doppelganger in King Ludwig's Beauty Gallery.

Holiday Weekend

I had a nice 4-day holiday weekend, so that was why there was no posting. :)

On Friday, DH & I cleaned the house. I started in DD's bedroom, with her help, putting away her toys and clothes, which were scattered all over the room. It was gearing up to be a really hot day. I was sweating by the time we were finished. (DH was mowing the lawn at this time.) After we finished in the bedroom, it was time to attack the upstairs bathroom. It had been awhile since I cleaned it. DD helped me by cleaning half of the sink, while I did the other half; then we swished the toilet and wiped off the exterior. Last was the mirror above the sink. DD enjoyed herself. I guess I will have to clean more often.

By this time, I was really hot, so it was time for a break. We watched cartoons for about an hour. I also made out bills. Then I told DD to start getting her stuff in the living room picked up and put away. I dealt with the weekly accumulation of papers and junk that seems to never get thrown away. DH had finished the lawn by this time, and he came inside to start working on the back porch. Let's just say it's been a long time since we cleaned out there. He did a great job, even sweeping and mopping the floor.

A friend of DD's called and wanted to know if she could come over for awhile, so DH took her over there. I needed to run errands, so I left DH cleaning the back porch while I went to the grocery store.

At 2pm, when I got back, we took a break and had lunch. DH had finished with the back porch and started on the kitchen, so he worked on getting the stuff put away after we ate. At 3pm, he picked up DD. I gathered a pile of magazines to donate to the library. I thought about cleaning off my desk, but decided I'd had enough cleaning for one day. DD was off again at 4pm, with DH's mom, to spend the weekend. I had rented a couple of movies so we watched "Big Momma's House 2" (mediocre) and "When a Stranger Calls" (somewhat scary but just weird at the end).

On Saturday, DH & I went to see "X-Men: The Last Stand." It was a great movie! Both he and I thought it was the best out of the three films in the series. There were a lot of surprises that we didn't see coming, and the special effects were fantastic. I highly recommend it if you like this kind of film.

Later in the evening, we watched "The 40-year-old Virgin." That movie was HORRIBLE. DULL. BORING. Not even very funny. I didn't get it, especially the end. What was with the singing of the "Age of Aquarius" song? The characters were trite and one-dimensional. The few funny parts were only mildly funny. I think I've seen this movie before in like some teen comedy. *shrugs* DO NOT rent this movie.

The second movie we watched was "Aeon Flux." Most critics did not like this film. I used to like the Liquid Television cartoon but didn't really understand what it was all about. I don't know if the movie and cartoon have the same plot, but DH & I liked the film. It wasn't nearly as bad as what the critics said. I didn't think it was too predictable or boring. Although it could have been an episode of "Andromeda," or some other sci-fi series; it also needed a little bit more plot development/characterization. Maybe that was why the critics didn't like it.

Sunday we did nothing. DH went fishing and picked up DD on his way home. I was going to clean off my desk, but basically didn't move off the couch. They took a nap in the afternoon. I watched BBCAmerica's marathon of Gordon Ramsay shows, "Boiling Point" and "Beyond the Boiling Point." And some of the Indy 500. DH grilled out, and we had hamburgers and hotdogs for supper.

Monday we also did nothing. DD had a cold and she and DH took another midday nap. I wanted to spend some time reading, but instead watched "Kitchen Nightmares," another Gordon Ramsay show on BBCAmerica.

And today it's back to ye olde grind.

Addendum to Waking Up

First of all, I guess I should surf BlogExplosion more often. Thanks for all your comments on my last post.

Grokodile suggests to schedule explicit time for activities. Thanks for that great suggestion! I think I will have to schedule our fun stuff, especially the stuff like camping and if we go to the zoo. Otherwise, it will never happen. Like others out there, I just figured quality time would occur magically, but it really doesn't. You have to make the time, and that was a difficult--yet stupidly simple--thing for me to realize. Yesterday, after her kindergarten graduation, DD and I played outside. She rode her bike on the sidewalk and we blew bubbles. I had forgotten how much fun blowing bubbles could be. I guess I thought that "someday" we'll do the stuff that parents and kids do, but someday never comes, unless you specifically plan for it.

Sasha found my post to be inspiring. Thanks, Sasha, for commenting. I like to know that what I write makes an impact on others.

EverydayEconomist suggests flylady.com. Heh. I like Flylady's ideas and I have tried to implement them, but her system doesn't exactly work for me. I've implemented them in my own way, such as using baby steps to get things done and I keep a calendar. The problem is that I am a semi-reformed packrat who is married to a somewhat materialistic-type person. We have a bunch of junk that we can't bear to part with (yet). DH does most of the housework, actually, because he only works part-time, while I work full-time. Plus, housework is not important to me. I could care less. I am just self-absorbed, wanting to do my own thing. Good thing I realized it, though!

FragileIndustries, thanks for saying my blog is fun and thoughtful. That is the best compliment I've received yet! :) I started scrapbooking about 6 years ago, right after my DD was born. (My aunt had a Creative Memories party.) DD has a semi-completed scrapbook of her first year. :) Although I have other photos in albums, I have not taken them out to scrapbook them. They are in non-magnetic albums, so I figured there was no point in re-doing them. Now we have a digital camera and we only print the ones we like, so there is less waste--but since we've had it, we haven't taken many pictures! I love scrapbook supplies, which are overrunning a corner of the dining room. I think I would enjoy the hobby more if I had a specific place to do it in. I just haven't gotten around to cleaning out part of the computer room so that I can put my craft supplies in there. I have an altered book in progress, with a flower motif, but the problem is that what I do never looks as good as what I see on the Internet or in Somerset Studio magazine. Sigh.

Orikinla Osinachi wondered if I was satirically addressing non-involved parents. Sadly, Orikinla, no I was not. I was being honest. I plan to work on the scrapbook together with her; she is always begging me to do crafts. Part of it will be written by me, and I definitely want to include her handwriting and artwork at this age, so it will be a labor of love by both of us. I love your suggestions for titles, especially "How Many Summers More" before my daughter is a woman. :) There is a commercial on tv, a Visa commercial I think, where the guy marries the woman, they get their first home, then they have kids, and watch them grow up, etc., and it brings me to tears every time. Time flies.

Cityflowergirl says it's not too late to start enjoying time with DD. Thanks for the encouragement!

And thank all of you who read my blog recently!

Waking Up

I'm a terrible mom. My darling daughter is six years old and I look at her, wondering who is this stranger? When she was born, I wanted to keep a journal of her first years of life, but typically, that journal sat on a shelf to rot. When I did write about DD in my regular journal, it seemed to be me complaining about her crying or her behavior.

Where were the fun times? I rarely made note of them. I have somehow become remote and distant to her, even though I swore I would never treat her like that.

Time flies and here I am, six years later, still remote, still confused.

She begged me to play a game this past weekend, a beautiful gorgeous weekend when we should have been playing in the yard--but instead, I wanted to take a nap. I made her take one, too.

Sunday night, I went to bed feeling guilty that all my daughter wanted was a little bit of my time, and I was too self-absorbed to give her any. Self-absorption should be my middle name. I let myself get bogged down in the daily grind and forget the important things, like taking time to play Candyland or Go Fish. I wanted her to play by herself, to entertain herself--she has a million toys she never even plays with--but then I realized later that she has no idea how to play pretend or to play with Barbies because I never (or rarely) bothered to do that with her. I guess I thought she would automatically learn.

Her entertainment comes from Nickelodeon and Disney cartoons. She does not know what to do with herself when the tv is off. On Saturday afternoon, I shut off the tv, and instead of playing, we took a nap (although, we had gotten up around 5:45am that day). Too much sleeping, all the while life is slipping away.

Thankfully, every day is a new day, and I can work to make our lives more full of joy and fun things. I decided that instead of wallowing in self-pity this summer, I would make a conscious effort to do more activities as a family. For instance, last night we made up a list of ten things we will do this summer:

1. swimming
2. camping
3. fishing
4. go to the library
5. go to grandma's house
6. go to the zoo
7. play
8. go to the park
9. go on walks
10. go to bible school

Then after she went to bed, I thought of another list of things:

1. ride bikes
2. play dress-up
3. do crafts
4. hopscotch
5. paint
6. redecorate her bedroom
7. watch movies
8. go to summer festivals
9. sing
10. dance
11. play with a Frisbee
12. go to the local state park

That's a lot of stuff to pack into one summer. At the end of the summer, I will collect all the photos I take of our activities and compile them into a scrapbook. I will write about the fun things we do, and DD will contribute her own writing and artwork as well.

I have to wake up to my life, instead of sleepwalking through it.

Books I've Read so far this Year

My 50 Books in 2006 list

At the library, I checked out four more books: "The Constant Gardener" by John le Carré; "I Know This Much is True" by Wally Lamb; "The Year of Magical Thinking" by Joan Didion; and "Our Lady of the Forest" by David Guterson. I am also reading "Saving Fish from Drowning" by Amy Tan.

My most recent finished book is "Anansi Boys" by Neil Gaiman. It was an interesting book, much easier to read than "American Gods." If you like myths brought into a modern day setting, then you will most likely enjoy reading "Anansi Boys."

TGIF! and No TV Night

Yay for Fridays!

Not that I have anything exciting planned for the weekend. I will probably venture out to the library and the grocery store. I have laundry to do. I desperately NEED to clean various rooms of the house and my desk.

So last night was night one of my turning off the tv. It felt weird at first, to be sitting in the living room with the blind eye staring at me. DD and I played a few rounds of Candyland and after she went to bed, I dug through a pile of stuff from college and found my old fill-in word puzzle book from 1992. Yep, from 1992. I had completed 17 of the 68 puzzles in the book. Last night I did 6 more. I had forgotten how much fun and how challenging they could be. However, I am better now at picturing the possible combinations of words than I was then, so maybe they were a bit too easy for me.

After puzzle time, I spent some time writing in my paper journal. I have been rather neglectful of late. After all, I wrote 200 pages in three weeks to complete journal #60, and now in #61, I've barely completed 170 pages out of 400. Sigh. When I don't write, I am annoyed with myself, but yet I sometimes feel I don't have anything to say, other than complaining so what's the use of writing that crap down? In reality, that feeling is just procrastination talking. Kind of like with this blog. :)

Anyway, I ended up writing for about an hour and a half. I was extremely tired for some reason (probably because of the mashed potatoes I had eaten for supper), and ended up going to sleep around 10pm.

It was weird, and quiet, not having the tv on. It was relaxing and calming, though. I didn't have to listen to the shrill calls of Nancy Grace and her pedophile of the day case, or the dulcet tones of Anderson Cooper blathering on about Warren Jeffs and polygamy, or the serious grit of Greta Van Susteren's chatter about the Duke University rape case.

DH & I talked about giving up cable tv altogether, but he doesn't think he can live without football or "Battlestar Galactica." If BSG were on one of the regular networks, I'd give up access to cable. Heck, at this point, I'd give up tv completely (BSG will eventually come out on DVD). TV really is a drain on the soul.

My friend A does not have cable tv. She has a tv for watching DVDs. When I spent the weekend with her, it was a different feeling to not have to worry about what was going on in the world, or just to have the tv on for noise. Her DH said that if they had cable tv, he'd never get anything done around the house. I had to agree with him on that point. It's way too easy to just veg in front of a movie you've seen a thousand times, or to aimlessly flick channels for three hours.

I hope that I can cut back, and then eventually cut out, my own tv watching habit. Maybe my habit will rub off onto my family. :)

One can dream.

I'll wait until DVD

The NYT says that the movie of "The DaVinci Code" is an Unwieldy, Bloated Puzzle. I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought so.

Although I haven't seen the movie, I have read the book. It took an interesting premise and churned out schlock of the highest order. This book was written for people who need spoon-feeding, and who like to be told what is happening. I felt like I'd been had after I finished reading the book. Even I could figure out the so-called "code," and I'm horrible at guessing clues in thrillers and mysteries.

I do like that it brings up the concept of the divine feminine and for people who are interested in that aspect, there are better books out there, like "Holy Blood, Holy Grail," and "When God was a Woman." I encourage people to research on their own, and draw their own conclusions.

But, "The DaVinci Code" is fiction. It is possible that the early Catholic Church did suppress the divine feminine. Draw your own conclusions, but don't just read this one book or see this one movie. And, if you're going to be critical of it, at least read the book you're criticizing!

In Heaven with the Baby Jesus

My parents' 8-year-old dog died a couple of weeks ago. He died suddenly, after a short illness. Neither of them were prepared for the gap losing him left in their lives, so they didn't wait too long to adopt another dog, the aforementioned Australian Blue Heeler.

They buried the family pet alongside the other treasured family pets in the front yard. DD and her cousins spent the night with them right after they buried the dog, and so, the kids wanted to put some memorials on the gravesite. My niece, who's 8, said some words over the grave.

As we were driving back home yesterday, DD informs me that Willie, my parents' dog, is now in heaven with Baby Jesus and starts rattling off the prayer they said over the grave, which went something like this:

"Dear Baby Jesus, please take good care of Willie. Be sure to feed and water him every day, and play with him. We left his toys on his grave. These are his favorite toys. We loved him very much and hope you love him too. Amen."

I almost had to stop the car and have a meltdown, and I didn't even care for the dog that much.

It brought back all the memories of all my other beloved pets. I don't think you ever really get over the death of a pet--a boon companion who loves you unconditionally.

Mother's Day

I almost forgot! The best part about coming home yesterday was finding the beautiful card and cake that DH had made for me for Mother's Day. Small gestures mean so much.

Wiped out!

DD & I spent a wonderful weekend visiting my college roommates. She had a great time playing with A.'s two-year-old son. She wanted him to come home with us. Although I like to travel, I prefer getting home. It was an exhausting weekend.

A. lives about 2½ hours away from me. I drove down on Friday afternoon, after work. Rain sprinkled down for nearly the whole drive, but at least it wasn't a downpour. It was cool and rainy the entire weekend. We arrived around 7pm on Friday night and it was still light enough out to see. I don't like driving in the dark. A. had had a busy week and was tired, so we didn't stay up too late. She is also 8½ months pregnant. :)

We got up early on Saturday morning. S.'s shower was at 11:30 and we had to drive over on the east side of Indianapolis for it. A. needed to buy a gift before we headed out of town. So, in spite of that, we got there about a half-hour early. S. was glad to see us, and said it made her day. For lunch, we were served quiche, salad, fruit, and other veggies. It was yummy. And there were two types of cake, chocolate and white. Then S. opened all her gifts. It was her third shower, and she got a ton of stuff--so many clothes that the kid will be able to wear one outfit every day for the first three months, with some he'll probably never wear.

It seemed like we were there forever, but it was probably 2:30 when we left. I wanted to go to a mall that we passed on our way to the shower, so A. was a good sport and took me to the mall. However, we weren't in there very long because it was hot and crowded and A. forgot to bring the stroller for her son. Not to mention, pregnant ladies tire out quickly! :)

So, then we were off to a birthday party. DD had fun playing with the other kids, having cake and ice cream and generally making mayhem. I thanked A.'s friend for letting us come to her son's b-day party. DD would have liked to stay longer, but we had to get back to A.'s house. For dinner, A. fixed pizza. After we ate, she lay down for a short nap. It had been a long day. DD & I watched "Monsters Inc." and "Madagascar."

On Sunday, we didn't get up so early, but A. got a call about her grandfather-in-law being very ill, so they were going to have to go to the hospital. We left around 9:30. Driving home, we stopped at the Honey Creek Mall in Terre Haute. I needed a last-minute gift idea for my mom. (I got her these chocolate bath truffles from Bath and Body Works.) Then we headed to Mom's house. It took about an hour to get there.

Mom and Dad got a new dog, an 8-week-old Australian Blue Heeler they named Sugar. She was a little shy, but cute. DD wanted to play with her but she wasn't very playful at first. Surprisingly, both my sisters showed up as well. So we sat and visited for the rest of the afternoon.

I finally got home around 4:30. DH had just gotten home from a fishing tournament. I was exhausted. For supper, we ordered some Chinese food. DD went to bed early, and so did we.

In spite of getting 9 hours of sleep, I am still tired today. It will take me a week to feel normal again!

Just So You Know

I have been working on getting my new online journal set up. It is currently a work-in-progress, with like only one entry, but never fear. Before you know it, I'll have it set up the way I want it and regular entries shall resume. I will also be putting up whatever old entries from "she utters not a sound" that I deem worthy of keeping. :)

It's funny how you miss something when it's not there, but when it was there, you hardly ever spent much time with it. As I might have mentioned before, I was only able to recover 38 journal entries using the waybackmachine, and a lot of those entries were not very substantial.

Kind of like this blog. :)

(Just last week, I finally passed 10,000 page views. Thanks for visiting!)

Getting Away for the Weekend

A friend of mine is having her first baby in July, and her baby shower is this Saturday, May 13. Another friend, who will also be attending the shower, is 8 months pregnant with her second child. Babies are busting out all over!

A few weeks ago, DD and I went shopping at the outlet mall to find some gifts. Both of my friends are having boys, so I decided that the easiest and best idea for the babies would be clothes. So DD helped me pick out a couple of cute outfits.

I have a million things to do, even though I'm only going to be gone for two days. The shower is in Indianapolis, so it's not like I have to go across country. It's been ages since I've visited my friends, though. It's been ages since I've traveled anywhere (last time was St. Louis in August 2005). I have to do laundry, read two library books, watch a rented movie, decide what DD is going to wear, get her stuff together, get my stuff together, &etc. I also need to buy a few groceries so that when we come home we will have something to eat. I also need to buy a birthday gift for my friend who I'll be visiting, and Mother's Day cards, and get those cards mailed.

I procrastinate too much. Hehe.

Different Concepts of "Family"

This family in Georgia was worlds apart from this family in San Francisco.

Taking care of one's family is hard work, especially if the elderly person needs a lot of care. If there's no one else to help out, do you just give up?

Turn it off

TV Turnoff Week 2006 starts today.

Strange Bedfellows

I never thought I'd agree with Bill O'Reilly, the commentator of "The O'Reilly Factor" on Fox News. Usually I think he's a pompous ass. However, I caught a bit of his memo last night, and then went to his website to read his current article, Gas Pains (or the column of 4-20-06, if the link dies), in which he talks about the rising price of gas.

Please read the memo linked above and the column, even if you detest the man. He has some great points. If we all banded together and hurt these companies where they are vulnerable--their deep pockets--maybe the prices would lower to a more comfortable level.

I know that we Americans can't complain too much. After all, we could be paying what they pay in Europe for gas, and it's not cheap there, if it ever was. However, we need to quit buying gas-guzzling vehicles and use our cars less, if we can help it. Even a little thing, like not buying gas on Sundays (which O'Reilly proposed in his memo) can make a difference. Just try to use less gas, period.

In searching out oil boycotts, I came across this site, which has a list of companies that import Middle Eastern oil.(The site started up due to the "war on terror"; it may be somewhat out of date.) There are other people trying to make a difference as well. Here's a yahoogroup link. Snopes says that oil boycotts don't work, and the article is probably correct. However, choose to vote with your pocketbook--spend less, drive less. Don't be Fuelish! :)

In a related link, check out the wikipedia article about the 1973 oil crisis. Also this wikipedia link on the current oil price increases is interesting. Under the "Supply" heading, it states that the U.S.'s oil operations in the Gulf of Mexico supply most of its domestic market. So, if that is the case, the turbulence in the Middle East and in other oil-producing countries should have no effect on the consumer market here at home, in my opinion.

But it never works that way, does it???? :)

In fact, this Fox News article says that gas shortages have already hit the East Coast.

More Movies

"Deep Rising" stars Treat Williams and Famke Janssen. He is the captain of a boat hired "with no questions asked" to take a group of men to a specific location out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. She is a beautiful thief aboard a cruise ship, the Aeronautica. The men on the boat were hired to hijack the cruise ship and sink it, so the cruise ship's owner could get the insurance money. Anyway, what no one bargains for are the deep sea monsters that attack the cruise ship and eat all the passengers. It was a fun Sunday afternoon movie to watch.

"The Rescuers" is a Disney movie that first premiered in 1977. I believe I saw this movie in the theater when I was a kid. Bob Newhart voices Bernard, and Ava Gabor is Miss Bianca. The International Rescue Aid Society receives a message in a bottle from a girl named Penny. She has been kidnapped by the evil Madame Medusa (Geraldine Page), and forced to look for a diamond called the Devil's Eye. This is one of my favorite Disney movies.

"The Wedding Crashers" ran a little bit too long. Perhaps that was because we were watching the uncut version. Vince Vaughan is fantastic as Jeremy. He was constantly making me laugh. I enjoyed this movie but there were a lot of clichés and it was kind of predictable. Two guys decide to meet girls by crashing weddings. They are successful, but then they both end up falling in love, much to their surprise.

"The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" is not a children's movie. I thought it was pretty violent. I don't like seeing animals hurt, and even though the animals were mythical and/or computer-generated, I didn't like to watch the battle scenes. DH really liked this movie and wants to buy it. I thought it was just okay. I liked the book better. I thought that it was almost like watching "Lord of the Rings." Liam Neeson did the voice of Aslan, and Tilda Swinton was great as the White Queen, but I think she could have been even more evil. I suggest that you see it if you like this kind of movie or have fond memories of the book.

United Flight 93--The Movie

A new movie premiering this month strives to tell the story of United Flight 93, the flight that crashed over Pennsylvania on Sept. 11, 2001. (It's rated R and you can see the trailer at the link above.)

Recently there was a tv movie on A&E about the same flight. I didn't watch that, nor will I choose to spend $7 to see a feature-length motion picture. I can't bear to watch news footage from that day. In the Massaoui trial, the prosecutors played news reports and 911 calls from victims for the jury. I couldn't watch reports of the trial either.

I know what happened. I listened to nonstop radio coverage that day, while I was at work. I remember.

What I think is that this film will inspire propaganda and jingoism. "OMG, look at all the Muslims! They're terrorists! OMG! Let's go to war and kill them all!!!!" Then, as now, I don't believe we made the right choices in the aftermath of pursuing those responsible. There are already enough myths and conspiracy theories out there about the towers falling and the flight crashing. I don't suggest that we forget what happened on that ordinary day, but I don't see how this new fictional film will "make things all better."

There are no easy answers. What happened was horrible. We shouldn't forget those who died. But why exploit them? Haven't they been exploited enough?

Bring back Dan

PLEASE.

Movie Mania

I watched several things this weekend, instead of doing anything constructive.

First, we rented "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire." This movie was fairly faithful to the book. Remember that this book was longer than any of the three that had preceded it so unfortunately, the moviemakers had to cut quite a bit of it out; otherwise the movie would have been six hours long. It was long enough as it was. I prefer the book over the movie version, but DH enjoyed the movie. He has liked all the HP movies. I thought that the main characters are looking a little too old for their parts, though.

Next, we watched "Saw II." What a disappointment. I was read for something chilling and creepy like the first "Saw" but this movie was not even close. Other than gore, there were very few scary parts, and unlike the first movie, this movie did not leave me thinking.

The third movie I watched was "House of 1000 Corpses." A few years ago, critics raved about this movie, saying it was brilliant. I found it to be a tedious ripoff of "Texas Chainsaw Massacre." It wasn't even scary. It was just stupid. I don't know what the point was. Perhaps you have to be a Rob Zombie fan to enjoy it. There was a lot of just plain mindless violence. *shrugs*

Last weekend, I saw an 1960 movie called "Sons and Lovers," starring (a very young) Dean Stockwell. It was based on the D.H. Lawrence book of the same title. The movie tells the story of a young man who is trying to break free of his mother's control, and find his place in life. The young girl he thinks he loves offers up her virginity, which he accepts and then realizes that she can't love all of him. The second woman was a married woman, but she still loved her unfaithful husband, so they couldn't be together. Finally his mother dies and the movie ends, with him having the whole world before him. But he wonders if he'll ever be happy with a wife. Now I need to read the book.

Snow

Old Man Winter (hopefully) breathed his last gasp on us yesterday. We had six inches of snow here. Visibility was quite poor in the morning, so I took a vacation day. There was no way I was going to drive thirty minutes north, when the snow was coming almost horizontally out of the north, on an interstate that would be snowpacked. Good thing, too. I saw several cars in the ditches today when I drove to work.

DH saw a semi jackknifed off a bridge yesterday morning when he went to his workplace to pick up his paycheck. It had almost jackknifed right onto the road below.

DD bugged me to play outside all day but I ended up falling asleep on the couch. :( This morning, DH let her play while he was clearing off my car. I think she had fun. The sun is out today and the temperature is predicted to be in the 40s, so this snow won't last too long.

Spring can't come soon enough, in my opinion!

Yet another Survey

A) Four jobs you have had in your life:

corn detassler

nursing home dietary aide

library aide

college tutor


B) Four movies you would watch over and over:

"Tremors"

"LOTR: Return of the King"

"Star Wars"

"Mermaids"


C) Four places you have lived:

grew up on a farm

Terre Haute, Indiana

Peoria, Illinois

Champaign, Illinois


D) Four TV shows you love to watch:

"Battlestar Galactica"

"Lost"

"Invasion"

the CBS Evening News


E) Four places you have been on vacation:

South Dakota

Florida

Europe (England, France, Switzerland, Austria, Germany on a tour)

St. Louis, Missouri


F) Four websites I visit daily:

Yahoo

Writing.com

CNN.com

Metafilter


G) Four of my favorite foods:

chili

hamburgers and fries

pork chops

grapes


H) Four places I would rather be right now:

asleep in bed

somewhere warm

Paris, France

Glastonbury, UK

Had any interesting dreams lately?

If so, you can post them here: dreamsbox.com: a place to "read other people's dreams or share your own." (may be NSFW [not safe for work])

A sister site, sinsbox.com, is a place to post anonymous confessions (definitely NSFW).

Weather Madness

The bad weather missed us, heading north as it came our way. Thankfully, the whole system missed us. We got a little bit of rain in the early morning hours. I watched some of the tv coverage of the devastation last night before going to bed, and I think it gave me nightmares.

On Saturday morning, around 5 a.m., a huge thunderclap shook the entire house. That was scary. DD woke up and didn't want to go back to her bed.

We had a quiet weekend. I watched "Murderball," a documentary about quadriplegic rugby players (I highly recommend it!), and "The Constant Gardener," a movie about drug trials by a pharmaceutical company in Africa, and a woman who tried to expose the company. Rachel Weisz won a best supporting actress Oscar for her role as Tess. It was an interesting movie, but LONG.

Don't even get me started on the season finale of "Battlestar Galactica." They married my Chief off to that stupid whiny Callie, and an entire year somehow passed in the blink of an eye??? I hope the writers know what they're doing. DH & I were like, WTF just happened here? I feel like they have tried to move ahead too quickly.

New episodes don't premiere until October. Sigh.

Another survey

From an email list:

Place an X by all the things you've done, or remove the x from the ones you have not. This is for your entire life:

( ) Smoked a cigarette
( ) Drank so much you threw up
( ) Crashed a friend's car
( ) Stolen a car
(X) Been in love
(X) Been dumped
( ) Shoplifted
( ) Been laid off/fired
(X) Quit your job
( ) Been in a fist fight
( ) Snuck out of your parent's house
(X) Had feelings for someone who didn't have them back
( ) Been arrested
( ) Gone on a blind date
(X) Lied to a friend
( ) Skipped school
( ) Seen someone die
( ) Been to Canada
( ) Been to Mexico
(X) Been on a plane
(X) Been lost
(X) Been on the opposite side of the country
(X) Gone to Washington, DC
(X) Swam in the ocean
(X) Played cops and robbers
(X) Recently colored with crayons
( ) Sang karaoke
( ) Paid for a meal with only coins
(X) Done something you told yourself you wouldn't
(X) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose
(X) Caught a snowflake on your tongue
(X) Danced in the rain
(X) Written a letter to Santa Claus
( ) Been kissed under the mistletoe
( ) Watched the sun rise with someone you care about
(X) Blown bubbles
( ) Made a bonfire on the beach
( ) Crashed a party

TGIF!

Yay, it's Friday! Not that I have big plans for the weekend or anything. I might need to go to Petsmart to get dog food, and Mag needs a new collar. He's just about outgrown the one I bought him a couple of months ago. I thought I bought one that would be big enough, but he's grown since then, I guess.

DD is feeling better, so that's good. She had a bath right after supper last night and then went straight to bed. You wanna know what I did? Guess...

I fell asleep on the couch at 6:15, and dozed for the rest of the night. Finally at 10 p.m., I decided I'd get up and go to bed. :) Alas, I didn't sleep well, though. It was like I dozed lightly all night. I hope I'm not getting sick!

Thursday nights are boring anyway. There's nothing on tv. I had some reading and studying on Celtic mythology I was going to do, but I was too tired to concentrate.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

March Already!?

Where does the time fly?

DD has been sick all week. We kept her out of school on Monday and Tuesday (she'd been sick with a cold since the weekend), and she decided herself that she wanted to go back to school yesterday. She brought home her papers and we worked through the things she had missed together. However, she ended up going to bed early, around 5:45 p.m. I hope this is the only cold she gets this winter!

Spring is on the horizon. The dogs have been restless, wanting to go outside all the time to try and chase the rabbits that live in the yard. Or maybe Mag wants to get those mean leaves that drift past. :)

For the past couple of days, I've been looking for a site where I can start up my diary again. The diary was always a place where I wrote longer, more thoughtful entries. The blog is where I write about the daily stuff. D-X is going to be reborn in a different way, though. It will take awhile to get everything back up and running. They need money for hosting at present, and they've gotten about half of what they need. If the new site is like the old site, then I shall definitely re-start my journal there. At the moment, I'm trying out WordPress and resurrecting my Diaryland site as a mirror. Not much there at present. (I've got to figure out where I can host some images. I'm annoyed at my avatar not showing up on the blog.) :)

Needless to say, last night I backed up all my writing from my laptop, my PC, and whatever of my D-X I could find in the waybackmachine archive to floppies and to a USB drive. I know that those storage devices can fail, but at least I bothered to do a backup. Nothing lasts forever.

Not much else has been going on with me lately. I've been watching a lot of movies, which I'll get around to posting about soon, and reading a few books, like "Night" by Elie Wiesel.

What I will Miss about D-X

1. It was a diary site, not a blog site.

2. The teeny boppers mostly stayed away.

3. I liked the ability to have complete control over my template.

4. NO ADS!!! :) No ads on any of the pages whatsoever.

5. Cheap hosting: for only $14.95 per year (started out at $12 back in 2001), you could upload photos and then link wherever you wanted to. Most people had free diaries. I paid because I wanted to host photos for my template there.

6. Decent support.

7. More thoughtful entries from diarists, for the most part.

8. Pretty much troll-free, for the most part.

9. Easy upkeep and maintenance.

10. Did I mention few teeny-boppers and no ads???

RIP, D-X. You'll be fondly missed.

Recovery

Well, I was able to recover approximately 38 entries from my d-x using the Wayback Machine. That's probably about a third of what I had written and saved there. However, beggars can't be choosers. I am lucky to get anything back. I thought I had downloaded my diary to my home computer, but I couldn't find it, so it must have gotten lost when my hard drive crashed in July 2004.

I was glad to find some of the entries, like the 100 Things About Me, and my Bio entry. I'll have to go through my stuff here at home and see what I can find. Some of the later entries from 2005 I still have saved on my laptop.

I wonder if there is a way to download Blogger entries. I would really be annoyed to lose all of these entries. Aha! A search of the Blogger help page leads me to this entry. Downloading from Blogger is possible; it's just a little bit more involved. (And of course I screwed it up. If you see any mistakes, I will have to fix them later. Make sure when copying a template that Notepad can handle the whole file. Sigh.)

I am looking at losing my d-x in a positive way. It gives me the chance to start over again. I just don't know where I'll be doing that yet. :)

Watch this space for updates!

Diary-X is DEAD :(

Sigh. The Diary-X drive that failed was unrecoverable. There were absolutely no backups of anyone's journals.

I will be relocating my online journal to a new site, but I'm not sure where as of yet. For now, I'll still be posting here.

Learn a lesson, people: what you think is safe being "archived" online ain't necessarily so. I fear I lost five years of journal entries, not only due to D-X's failure, but also my own hard drive failure in 2004.

BACKUP BACKUP BACKUP!!! :)

Massive Failure???

D-X has had a massive hard drive failure. No backups have been performed since 2004? You've got to be kidding me??? You can read more about D-X at wikipedia.

Sigh. And I just renewed in December, even though I hadn't posted for awhile. Sigh SIGH SIGH. So that is why you don't see some images linked on this blog.

I apologize.

The True Story of "Eight Below"

Read this article if you want to know more about the true story the movie "Eight Below" was inspired by.

I took DD to see the movie this weekend. The dogs are beautiful, just like my own dear Pippy (see pic in previous post). But if you're thinking of getting a Husky, please read the article I linked to, and the other links at the bottom of the article. Huskies are not for everyone, and there are so many in rescue already.

But do go see this movie. It has some gorgeous photography and the dogs are so adorable. Just bring along a pack of Kleenex. :)

The Dogs

Here's Magnus our Boxer. Ain't he sweet? He is now 13 months old.

And this is Pippy, our Husky. She just turned 7 in December.

Needing Rescue

Anybody watch the show on Animal Planet last night about Rocket Dogs? Pali Boucher, the founder of the group is really amazing. She works 18-hour days, rescuing dogs from animal shelters, finding them temporary homes, and forever homes.

According to the show, she was homeless for most of her life. Then she got a dog named Leadbelly, and having to take care of him saved her. Through him, she found her purpose in life: to rescue animals who might otherwise not get a second chance. My heart broke, watching Pali try to rescue Kischka, a beautiful older Siberian Husky from the shelter. She luckily found a temporary home, and then a permanent home for the dog. Yay! (We have a Siberian Husky; I cannot imagine losing her.)

It must be hard for Pali to have to pass up dogs at the shelters. She said that she always goes to get just the dogs she was called about, but always ends up with one more. :) She did say that she learned that she cannot rescue EVERY animal; there are just too many. But she does what she can to save lives.

I wish every animal owner was as loving and caring as Pali. There would be fewer dogs needing rescue. Maybe there would be fewer people needing rescue as well.

Support your local animal shelters and rescues! Remember, donations are tax-deductible!

Happy Imbolc!

Happy Imbolc.

I am all recovered from my recent illness. Thanks for asking. :)

However, I've been extremely exhausted lately--too tired to focus on much of anything when I get home from work. I'm so lazy.

The tail pipe of my car decided to detach last weekend. It will cost $250 to fix; we decided to wait to get it fixed. The muffler is just fine, thankfully. The car itself seems a little louder when running.

Sigh. When it rains, it pours.