Random Health Problems (update)

Well, for any and all who might be interested (skip this one if you aren’t). I am up to 3 Benadryl about every 4-6 hours and am now waking up with hives. It’s bizarre. And a little worrisome. I have never in my life had an allergic reaction to anything. I mean, I’m allergic to cherry tree blossoms now, but I have never had any allergies to anything ingestible. I can eat just about anything (pork notwithstanding, but I think that’s it).

So, this morning I wake up and my palms are itching. And anyone who has ever had itchy palms for any reason knows how annoying that is, because you can’t really scratch your palms. Then my shoulder started itching. I looked at it, to see if it was red, it was and it also looked like one of the WORST mosquito bites I have ever had. And I am pretty sure that we don’t have mosquitoes in the house, let alone in my bedroom. And now my ears are burning, which prompted me to take 3 Benadryl a few minutes ago. I was hoping that I wouldn’t need any today. But my ears started itching, then they turn bright red (and bright red on me is very red indeed), and my inner arm and a few other places. I don’t have enough hands to keep up with all the places that are just crying out to be scratched. Not to mention that scratching just makes the area redder. As it is, I have had to stop wearing my watch and the ring that goes on my right hand because of the irritation. My left hand, well, the palm itches a little, but so far my ring finger has been spared. It’s kinda cool (gross, amazing) to watch my skin erupt in all these little (large) bumps and welts. But then the itching gets to me again. Benadryl is my friend …   though I guess I should start popping an Allegra in the morning. One of my docs suggested that, and Bendryl at night.

Oh yeah, the other random thing. I didn’t even have a UTI!! So I shouldn’t have been on antibiotics in the first place!!! But there are some other things that showed up in a subsequent test, so now my OB/GYN has referred me to a urologist. He thinks that I need to have my kidneys checked out. I guess I will make that appointment tomororow.

Supposed to take Joy shopping for clothes today, but she would rather goof off. I told her we aren’t leaving till she changes (she dressed herself, but is still wearing a wet pullup rather than putting on underwear) … so, I think I have a ton of housework to catch up on. In fact, I KNOW I have a ton or three to catch up on.

Hasta.

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I hate not having time to blog/write. This morning I have yet another doctor's appt., but hopefully they can figure out *which* med I am allergic to and get me off of it. Rashes, welts, red skin, and itching since Friday is NO FUN!

Time to get dressed. Appt. is in an hour, in downtown Portland. *sigh*

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Magazine says Orenco Station best new 'burb

Magazine says Orenco Station best new 'burb: "Magazine says Orenco Station best new 'burb
Thursday, January 19, 2006
By Kurt Eckert
The Argus
Because of its people-friendly atmosphere and superior access to mass transit, a major western lifestyles publication names Orenco Station the 'Best New 'Burb' in its February issue.
In the article, Sunset magazine, published since 1898, describes Orenco Station as the best 'new housing development that feels like a real community.' "

My neighborhood made it into a popular magazine

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You have the Goya girl look. A Goya girl had an air of extreme elegance and sophistication. They liked richness of every kind. The artists excelled in painting brocades and tapestry, cloth of gold and silver, gauzy fabrics and black lace. You could have modeled for the great Spanish painters, such as Valasquez and Goya. Both were painters to the royal court of Spain.


'Pretty As A Picture' - Which Artist Would Paint You?
brought to you by Quizilla

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Work sucks @$$

Ok. This is a vent. My workplace is so fricking disorganized, it makes *my* mind boggle. There are so many hoops to jump through, and some I can understand, and some I can't.

Like the dress code. The week I was hired it was (for the ladies) white top and dark pants with shineable shoes, (half the girls still wear boots or suede or some other material that isn't "shineable"), a professional looking dress, or a pants suit. Then, because people were abusing the dress code (throwing a plain white t-shirt over say, a bright red one), Those On High decided to change the dress code and gave employees about 3 days to come into compliance. New dress code, white blouse (as defined by button-up and collared) with pants (not just dark pants, any pants), dress, or suit. So, I ran out of white shirts (now remember, I have been a SAHM for the last 4 years and don't have a lot of "professional" clothing, and when I went shopping for my first week, I bought lots of white tops/sweaters, but only two blouses). I did however have some suit pants (the jacket is too tight so I didn't wear it), show up to work in shades of blue. Told to go home and change or go buy a white blouse at Target. I was a little steamed, a LOT steamed, and really tempted to just go home and blow this joint. And Audioblogger wouldn't work to let me post ... I digress ... so anyway, I spend about an hour at Boutique Target because the one in Wilsonville DOESN'T HAVE ANY WHITE BLOUSES! I almost bought a skirt, tights, and another blouse to change into when I had a lightbulb moment and went into the men's section. They were also incredibly low on affordable (remember this is a min. wage job) white dress shirts. HELLO! Don't men still wear white dress shirts? But I was able to find some on sale (yay!) and grabbed two. Changed in the car and then went back to work and tried to put on a happy face. When I clocked back in from shopping it had me clocked in (I know I clocked out, so my time card is going to be all screwy) so I had to have a supervisor change that so I could clock in again. But hey, if they don't mind me shopping on company time, so be it :)



The other vent is from this morning. I woke up with a sore throat and last night had a really funny allergic reaction to some antibiotics I am on. I started itching at work and thought it was dry skin, but by the time I got home I was itching so bad I wanted OUT of my skin. I put lotion on EVERYWHERE and it didn't help. Till we looked at the little sheet of "warnings" the pharmacist gives out ... and rare but considered serious (serious to deadly) reactions was ... you guessed it! Itching!!! I was nearly out of my mind, called the pharmacist (Tim did) and it was ok to take Benadryl. I took two. Still took almost an hour before the urge to scratch my skin off subsided. And no, Bendryl does NOT make me sleepy. I'm weird that way.


So back to this morning: Tim was even surprised that I couldn't talk above a whisper. So ... I ask Tim to talk to the DSC (Department Supervisor in Charge) and let them know that 1) I had an allergic reaction to my meds, and 2)can't talk so won't be in today. Whoever answered used a condescending tone of voice and told him that I had to BRING IN A DOCTOR'S NOTE!!!! Hello!!!! I am almost 30!!!! I haven't had to bring a doctor's note since HIGH SCHOOL, though most of the employees are just out of HS .... *groan*clutch head* Even Tim was offended at the idea and the tone of voice. I should have just been a no show. Less ..... stupidity from those in charge that way. Try to be a good employee and get treated like a child. Aiya!!!!

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Outsourcing Big Brother

Yesterday on the way home from our friend's house (said friend watching our daughter while my wife works the closing shift), something came up about Garrett, one of my wife's former daycare kids.

She said "Garrett's my little brother, and I'm his big sister."

So I asked "What about Josh?"

Darling Daughter: "He's not my brother. He's somebody else's brother."

Raised eyebrows..."Oh? What, are you outsourcing Josh now?"

"Yeah!"

"To where?"

"Fry's!"

The conversation then turned to Mickeldonalds (McDonalds), and how she wanted regular fries, chocalate milk, a hamburger and a toy.

My daughter...the corporate CEO addicted to McDonalds....

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Darth Vader

The other night my wife wasn't feeling well, so I was trying to negotiate with our daughter over bedtime, because she really wanted mommy to read her stories. So I told her "How about I brush your hair, then read you three stories, and then put you in mommy and daddy's bed with mommy?"

She gave me a thumbs up and said "That's my daddy!"

So then I replied with "Yep. Just call me Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Negotiator."

Which I then followed up with (in my best Darth Vader voice....James Earl Jones I am not):

"Obi-Wan never told you what happened to your father, did he?"

(Whiny Luke voice) "He told me enough! He told me you killed him!"

"No, Joy. I am your father."

My daughter's response?

"Don't copy Darth Vader!" :)

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My ever-lovin' daughter

So, this morning I slept in till about 8:30, then got up and processed my hair and did all that making myself presentable type stuff. It's now about 10:30 and I came downstairs to see if I could hunt up some food worthy of the crock-pot since my family has not had a proper home-cooked meal in about two weeks. I look in the living room and what do I see?  The tub of butter (ok, margarine, Country Crock Churn Style) sitting in the middle of the living room floor with a knife sticking out of it and the lid placed precariously atop. And not more than 6 inches away a crust of bread and a smear of butter on the carpet. Well, I know what she was up to before she came back upstairs to keep me company (and wonder about the green stuff on my face). =)

{Annette}
Genius might be described as a supreme capacity for getting its possessors into trouble of all kinds.
- Samuel Butler

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My ever-lovin' daughter

So, this morning I slept in till about 8:30, then got up and processed my hair and did all that making myself presentable type stuff. It's now about 10:30 and I came downstairs to see if I could hunt up some food worthy of the crock-pot since my family has not had a proper home-cooked meal in about two weeks. I look in the living room and what do I see?  The tub of butter (ok, margarine, Country Crock Churn Style) sitting in the middle of the living room floor with a knife sticking out of it and the lid placed precariously atop. And not more than 6 inches away a crust of bread and a smear of butter on the carpet. Well, I know what she was up to before she came back upstairs to keep me company (and wonder about the green stuff on my face). =)

{Annette}
Genius might be described as a supreme capacity for getting its possessors into trouble of all kinds.
- Samuel Butler

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FW: Little Suzy,very short but cute!!

Yeah, nothing better to do than post forwards to my blog.

Annette
===========
I find it interesting that the meanest life, the poorest existence, is
attributed to God's will, but as human beings become more affluent, as their
living standard and style begin to ascend the material scale, God descends
the scale of responsibility at commensurate speed.
--Maya Angelou, 1970

---------- Forwarded Message ----------

Little Suzy was in the garden filling in a hole when her neighbor peered
over the fence. Interested in what
the little girl was up to, he politely asked, "What are you up to there,
Suzy?"

"My goldfish died," replied Suzy tearfully, without ooking up, "and I've
just buried him."
The neighbor was concerned, "That's an awfully big hole for a goldfish,
isn't it?"

Suzy patted down the last heap of earth and then replied, "That's because
he's inside your stupid cat."

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chocolate .....
I need chocolate....

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APOD: 2006 January 24 - New Horizons Launches to Pluto

This photo rocks!

APOD: 2006 January 24 - New Horizons Launches to Pluto: "
New Horizons Launches to Pluto
Image Credit & Copyright: Ben Cooper
Explanation: Destination: Pluto. The New Horizons spacecraft roared off its launch pad at Cape Canaveral in Florida, USA last week toward adventures in the distant Solar System. The craft is one of the fastest spaceships ever launched by humans, having passed the Moon only nine hours after launch and is on track to buzz Jupiter in early 2007. Even traveling over 75,000 kilometers per hour, the New Horizons craft will not arrive at Pluto until 2015. Pluto is the only remaining planet that has never been visited by a spacecraft or photographed up close. After Pluto, the robot spaceship will visit one or more Kuiper Belt Objects orbiting the Sun even further out than Pluto. Pictured, the New Horizons craft launches into space atop a powerful Atlas V rocket. "

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FW: Jamie Foxx show

I got this from my aunt, who rarely forwards anything. I have not checked the veracity of it, but I can believe it.

Annette
===========
I find it interesting that the meanest life, the poorest existence, is attributed to God's will, but as human beings become more affluent, as their living standard and style begin to ascend the material scale, God descends the scale of responsibility at commensurate speed.
--Maya Angelou, 1970

-----Original Message-----

From an informed TV/media industry member:

Let's support him!!!

Please take the time to forward the below message to everyone in   your address book. NBC is not doing any marketing & publicity on Jamie's Music Special on NBC because he stood his ground and wouldn't have any white guest   as they requested. To make it even worse he had two controversial guest stars,that do not fit the "NBC profile" on his show. Tune in to find out who they are.
 

They are purposely putting his show up against the second week of American Idol in hopes that it will fail. This will give them the excuse to never   give another black person a music special because "it doesn't work".   Let's show them that it does work, and that we support each other. Tivo Idol, and   watch Jamie. I saw the taping, it is a good show.  J Foxx making history on NBC. This is the first time NBC has ever aired an entire young urban African American cast on a music special. We need to show support. This was not an easy sell for Jamie and he stood his ground to make it happen the way he saw fit.

 

JAMIE FOXX MUSIC SPECIAL WILL BROADCAST WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 25TH @
8:00PM   PST on NBC. PLEASE MAKE IT A POINT WATCH! There will be surprise special guests.

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Good morning, good morning (that song)

Well, I said that I wouldn’t start blogging today till I got some chores done, but hey, it’s before 9AM and I am up, dressed, and hair done. That counts, right? It’s my day off. I still need to eat some breakfast, and wake Madame (who I think needs to start getting up at 7AM again), but other than that, I think it’s been a good start to the morning. I am enjoying the relative silence of my home after the hustle and bustle and noise of working 6 days in a row. I know God did, and rested the seventh, but my goodness! I surely appreciate the labor movement of the late 19th and early 20th century that gave us 5 day work weeks. I had to come home early yesterday because I felt like I was going to pass out. I think I had a touch of exhaustion. I got home around 7:30 (instead of 11, I worked till my lunch break then told a super that I wanted to puke and pass out at the same time. That was enough for her to tell me to pull. It took me 45 minutes to count out, and I had gotten it down to under a ½ hour…) and was asleep by 9. Probably a little earlier, but Tim and Joy came in. She was so sorrowful and only wanted to sleep with me. I think she’s had the worst time adjusting to me working outside the home. (I know, a well duh moment, but SHE’s the one saying she’s ready to go to school, “where’s my schoolbus?”)

Well, I should eat a decent breakfast (Krispy Kreme Raspberry filled donut, eggs, and chocolate milk), take my meds, and finish up the kitchen. So far Tim has done a wonderful job of upkeep, but it’s the little details that get to me, you know, the ones that have to be done my way ;) . And then it’s off to run errands and what-not. Have a good day!

Mood: Feeling the possibilities of accomplishing a lot today. Happy.

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time

There never seems to be enough time to do anything these days. This morning I woke up and took Josh to the bus stop and got home and immediately thought of all the things I have to do today. I really need to straighten (or something) my hair, volunteer and Josh's school, and then go to work. I'll leave the house around 11AM and not get home till sometime after 11PM. Mondays have always been long, but now I am feeling it. They've never been this long. And I am missing Bible study. Actually, I should leave earlier than 11 since I need to exchange some work shoes.

Speaking of shoes, I miss the casualness of being a SAHM (stay-at-home-mom). This morning I slipped on my sheepskin boots and my feet went "Ahhh!" I could practically hear the sigh of relief from them. I wish that if I had a black pair I could wear them to work. As it is, I think I will wear them to work and change to work shoes when I get there and change back into them after work. The other night (Friday or Saturday) I drove home barefoot. They have me working 6 days in a row, so I am going to try to give a shift to a PT girl who needs extra hours. I am already earning OT from being a closer. We NEVER get out of there on time. Last night was the closest ever, only 15 minutes late. And to hear it from some of the "veterans" (those hormonal 18-21 yr olds) some nights are even worse. One time half the guys didn't get to leave the store till just after 1AM. And the closing shift officially ends at 10:15PM.

Well, I should eat breakfast. I keep taking all my meds on an empty stomach. Not a good idea. And I want COFFEE!!! It’s still coffee even if it’s flavored. I don’t think I am going to get to my hair this morning. Anyone know ANYONE who can do Black hair in the west side of Portland? Preferably braids!

OMG! Tim is going to work and I just said "Good night" instead of "Have a good day" Oi!!!!

Music: VeggieTales - I Want To Dance (A Snoodles' Tale)
Mood: Exhausted just thinking about my day, but actually in a good mood right now

{Annette}
Genius might be described as a supreme capacity for getting its possessors into trouble of all kinds.
- Samuel Butler

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Restlessness

Exhaustion does a lot to combat the weird insomnia type effects of the WB. The last few days I have been exhausted and had my usual trouble waking up in the morning, though the body aches could have something to do with it. Everything hurts from the base of my neck to the tip of my big toe. And I really don't want to go to work today. I honestly don't have the servants heart that one of my friends does. And it's getting late this morning. I want to get to worship today and have like 15 minutes to shower and dress. I think I'm going to have a bad hair day :)

More later. Have more important things to do than babble aimlessly ...

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Shopping

According to Tim, Joy is quite the little shopper. They did some grocery shopping today and she kept reminding him of things that we needed. While at Costco she was quite happy to try and get her own 10-pack of tissues (we’ve been going through a lot) and while getting dairy products she reminded him that we need yogurt and ice cream. They then went to WinCo and I have a feeling that she helped him pick out the fruit (and ice cream).  Tim told it to me better, but for some reason he doesn’t like to contribute to Joy’s blog =)

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Working girl

WHAT A WEEK!!!!!!  Joy’s first week away from me, it was weird for both of us I think. Ok, actually second, but last week Tim played Mr. Mom since she was sick. I thought a closing shift would be fun, not practically murder (on my feet). And I never close with the same people. I have closed 6 days in a row counting tomorrow. Oh yeah, I get to work tomorrow (today) instead of having it off. And then work on Monday, Wed-Saturday. At least it’s already approved OT. I need to get certified so I can start making commission. This week would have been a good week for it, especially yesterday. I made more than some of the cashiers who have been there for a while. That was cool. And got some kudos from a few of them. That felt better. Some of my co-workers are really nice and some of them show their age. Most of the cashiers are under 25. Quite a few are under 21. At least a few of them thought I was around 21-25. That felt good too, especially since listening to them I remember (sort of) of what it was like to have the energy to go clubbing after working 8-10 hours. Though being surrounded by all the raging hormones is a little distracting. You can practically smell them. And there is this one girl I want to take aside and say “Chill, you are soooo acting like a desperate slut. Let the guys come to you instead of hanging on them when they show minimal interest”. Most companies I have worked at have very strict sexual harassment policies, but I don’t see any of that in evidence at this place. Some of the cashiers are quite friendly with the supervisors too, pet names and such, though I think for most of them it’s all good-natured. You have to be good-natured for this job.

The sucky part. I’ve seen Tim this week because he waits up for me and we try to do a Bible study before passing out. Right now we are using the NIV 3 Track Reading Plan to cover some basics that we have forgotten (or never learned, or never absorbed, you get the picture). You might have read that Tim is doing his own study in Ephesians, but because of some of my own stumbling blocks, I am not that ambitious. I digress, Tim waits up for me, Joy gets me for about 3 hours in the morning and I have seen Josh for about a  ½ hour this whole week! This schedule was supposed to give me time with my family, and yet with the commute and the late nights, I hardly see them at all. Not to mention slacking on my matronly/wifely/motherly type duties. Tim’s been real good about it all though. Laundry is done, the house is clean and the kids fed, and he even went grocery shopping for some of the essentials that we had run out of. It’s been a long two weeks.  Why did I want to go back to work?

And did I mention that Tim is a better wife than I am? I'm just the better cook :)

3 comments family, work

laughter

Laughter is good for the soul. I've laughed a lot in the last few hours, mostly stuff I read on "Jeff's Japanification" but also one of my friends. She's now reading my DH's blog and quoted me while teasing me. It made me have a great big belly laugh. I need more of those. Is laughter cleansing? Or does it just make you feel better to see the humor in something?  A lot of the customers I have been in contact with lately have told me that I seem to be a person who enjoys my job. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't, but smiles are easy enough, and it puts the customers in a good mood when there is a long wait. I need more humor in my life, lately it's matched the weather, dreary and gray and cloudy -- stormy is an apt description. And today the sun is peeking out, so maybe it will be a good day after all. Time to get ready, I promised Joy new shoes "with laces" from my first paycheck.

On another note, have you ever been down and then laughed till you wanted to cry?

Emotional constipation sucks, no matter if you are male or female.

{Annette}
Genius might be described as a supreme capacity for getting its possessors into trouble of all kinds.
- Samuel Butler

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Sleep is good mmmkay

Last night I got some of the BEST sleep I have gotten in a LOOOOONG time. I got home about 11PM, after getting off work about 10:30 PM (yay! no traffic) and my poor body was sore, and I was tired, but not grumpy. Tim had drawn me a bath, so I got in that lickety-split after taking a Tylenol PM, something I had never tried before. But hey, I was in pain, and I wanted to get more than 4 hours of sleep. I slept through the alarm!!! Not usually a big deal, but my alarm gives me a headache if I don't turn it off or hit snooze in the first 30 seconds. And I had trouble waking up in general, but it was good. Tim gave me another wake-up call at 9AM and Joy woke up about 45 minutes later. She slept almost 12 hours. I feel well-rested.


Garbage Detail
So, I was so tired yesterday because I did more garbage hauling than I have done in my life! Apparently the Customer Service department does most of the nightly clean-up for the store. It took me over an hour to do the safety sweep and clean out all the garbages. My totals didn't even amount to $1000 yesterday. But my main complaint is that if we are supposed to do garbage detail, can they tell us in advance so we can dress appropiately? I was supposed to go back on the register after doing garbage compacting and baling cardboard. And oh yeah, some genius decided to fill a cardboard box with gravel, so I had to find a shovel and shovel it into the trash compactor. I was so glad I didn't wear my contacts yesterday. There was dust everywhere!!!! After I finished in the back, washed my hands throughly (they need more gloves!) Checked back in and then went to lunch/dinner. I got back to the registers and rang up customers (my coolest and nicest one shared the name of a famous suspense/horror author) for about an hour before doing the safety sweep. My poor feet and back. Some days I swear you do need work boots. Some of those garbage bags were damn heavy. And of course, I eneded up being the last one to pull my till :(

Well, time to get ready for another day of grunt-work.

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Samuel Butler quote

Can I make this my sig line???
"Genius might be described as a supreme capacity for getting its possessors into trouble of all kinds.
- Samuel Butler"

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We Live

"We live we love
We forgive and never give up
Cuz the days we are given are gifts from above
Today we remember to live and to love
We live we love
We forgive and never give up
Cuz the days we are given are gifts from above
Today we remember to live and to love"

This is the chorus to one of my favorite songs right now (like I want to make it my ringtone). I am currently debating buying it online through SongTouch, or buying the CD at work. You can hear the song at Superchic[k] homepage (track 10). I also want the new Third Day album (Wherever You Are).

So, here I am experiencing another gift from God and I don't know what to do with it. I sorta feel ungrateful and at the same time ... I don't know. Lots going through my head. There are things I can do to make my living space more comfortable (and I should). And at some point I need to get ready for work. I am tired though. This 4 hours of sleep and then 2 hours of self-flagellation and reflection makes me more tired than 8+ hours on my feet at work. And I so want to go back to sleep right now, though madame should be waking up soon. Maybe I can take a nap on my lunch break, which isn't until 5:30 pm today. YIKES!. Maybe I should get in another hour. Nah. Time to eat some breakfast, put on some loud music and clean house for an hour. Who needs sleep?!

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Stress is bad mmmkay

So, my heart does this weird thing that makes me breathless now and again. The doctor's can't figure out why, and my only sure-fire cause is stress. I think I got a little stressed this afternoon. And by evening it had really taken it's toll. Either that, or I have had it up *here* (finger under chin) with my willful daughter. I was losing my breath and my chest felt all funny and she just WOULD NOT lay down so I could read her the bedtime story. And I told her that "I don't feel well, so would you PLEASE lay down and LISTEN to your story or I will leave". I have no idea how many chances I gave her before I mentally said "F it" and said "Goodnight" and walked out of her room. You should have heard the fit she gave then, with declarations of behaving, which she had given 10 minutes before.

Now we know that sometimes she isn't ready for bed, so she IS allowed to play or color or whatever till she's ready. But she kept saying that she WAS ready. But then totally did not act ready. I got fed up (gee, is this an object lesson?).

Sometimes it is better to walk away, get some tea, and let them bawl it out rather than loose your temper -- and I was certainly close to losing mine. I need a punching bag. That would be nice to have around the house.

Mmmm tea, and quietude. I feel better now. Marginally. My heart is doing it's thing again. Grrrr.

Annette
===========
I find it interesting that the meanest life, the poorest existence, is attributed to God's will, but as human beings become more affluent, as their living standard and style begin to ascend the material scale, God descends the scale of responsibility at commensurate speed.
--Maya Angelou, 1970

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W-H-I-N-E

I wanna chat!!! I don't wanna clean house!!! I don't wanna ... whatever else needs to be done. Besides, I hate cleaning house at night. I'm much better at doing it in the morning. This has been a long and confusing day, and after counseling I just wanted to crawl into bed and sleep. But you can't do that when you are a parent of a preschooler.

My house is in CHAOS, and so is my marriage. Go figure. Well, back to my crossword and listening to Dumbo. There was more I wanted to bitch about, but I have forgotten it.

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A Pilgrim's Progress

My hubby *finally* started blogging! His will be much more in-depth than the fluff you get here.

"'I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.' (Revelation 3:15-16, NKJV)

I recently told my lovely and beautiful wife that I had come to realize that it is infinitely better to be either 100% for God, or 100% against. If you sit on the fence, eventually God will allow something to happen that will force you to make a choice, one way or the other. I have had such an event happen in the last 3 months, and I decided to get off the fence (lukewarm) and side 100% with God. I've seen the other side of the fence in all it's ugly, scary reality, and want no part of it." [snip]

read the rest at his blog

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Lying & Cheating [x-post]

Lying Cheating little ….

Sigh why do they pick up on our bad habits? Josh has, until recently, been a fairly honest kid. But in the last two weeks we have caught him in at least two huge instances of lying. First, he lied about his age to get onto MySpace (at the suggestions of one of the girls from youth group!!!!) and also NeoPets (I didn’t know that one had an age restriction, bad mommy) and then he was caught cheating on an assignment at school. He got detention for that one. I still think it should have been lunch recess instead of morning, but I digress.

Did our conversation last night get through his thick skull? I let Tim lead so that I wouldn’t rip into him. But man, how much has he learned from me? Right now he blames peer pressure for both the cheating and the MySpace fiasco. We had to explain that COPPA was in place for a reason and that if he had asked first we probably would have let him get an account. Most sites have a “if you are under 13 you need parental permission” and MySpace’s minimum age allowed is 14. Though, I think there are other communites out there that cater to the tween crowd.  MySpace has a “hook-up” section and you can look for just about any kind of person and orientation … a bit worrisome, but anyways.

AND HE KNOWS CHEATING IS WRONG!!! He came home looking sick about it. But yeah, never takes responsibility for his actions. He takes the punishment without blinking (in this case, no more internet access for an undetermined time) but almost never says “I’m sorry I did this. I won’t do it again. I know what I did was wrong.”  Ok, so maybe he did learn that from me cry.

The kids have chosen Beauty & The Beast as this morning’s movie. I really should get in the shower.

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Insomnia?

Insomnia? [x-post]

I am either becoming slightly insomniac, or the WB is really screwing up my sleep cycle. Last night I woke up at 4 am and could NOT go back to sleep. And my mind was going a mile a minute about all sorts of topics, things that need to be thought about and things better left alone till I am more … sure of myself, more protected, more something. Joy’s cough finally woke her up around 4:50 AM, so I gave her some more cough medicine with codeine (good stuff that!) but it doesn’t knock her out. So we were awake till like 5:30 when she quietly, finally fell asleep. I was awake till about 6. And her fever was back. So I decided to let the fever ride out and just use cold cloths and see how she was in a few hours. I think the uninterrupted sleep helped. She woke with nary a fever and her cheeks are white again. YAY! Hopefully this is a full breaking of the fever. 7 days is quite worrisome. Tim and I are doing the split-shift parenting thing today since Josh also feels icky and it’s MLK Day so no school and no daycare. He’s at work right now till about noon, then it will be my turn to go to work, from 1:30 to 10:15 PM. I hope the lack of sleep doesn’t affect me too much. But, back to the kids. They have been sick for going on almost two weeks now. I will be so glad when they are better. And me too, I think being coughed on constantly in the last two days has given me whatever Joy has. Sore throat and ears. Here’s to Airborne.

Ok, I’m just babbling, and you think I could get out all those interesting and captivating thoughts that I had in the middle of the night, but right now I can just remember the mood they created, frustrated and uneasy and torn.

Time to take meds, shower and entertain kids.

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Insomnia?

I am either becoming slightly insomniac, or the WB is really screwing up my sleep cycle. Last night I woke up at 4 am and could NOT go back to sleep. And my mind was going a mile a minute about all sorts of topics, things that need to be thought about and things better left alone till I am more … sure of myself, more protected, more something. Joy’s cough finally woke her up around 4:50 AM, so I gave her some more cough medicine with codeine (good stuff that!) but it doesn’t knock her out. So we were awake till like 5:30 when she quietly, finally fell asleep. I was awake till about 6. And her fever was back. So I decided to let the fever ride out and just use cold cloths and see how she was in a few hours. I think the uninterrupted sleep helped. She woke with nary a fever and her cheeks are white again. YAY! Hopefully this is a full breaking of the fever. 7 days is quite worrisome. Tim and I are doing the split-shift parenting thing today since Josh also feels icky and it’s MLK Day so no school and no daycare. He’s at work right now till about noon, then it will be my turn to go to work, from 1:30 to 10:15 PM. I hope the lack of sleep doesn’t affect me too much. But, back to the kids. They have been sick for going on almost two weeks now. I will be so glad when they are better. And me too, I think being coughed on constantly in the last two days has given me whatever Joy has. Sore throat and ears. Here’s to Airborne.

Ok, I’m just babbling, and you think I could get out all those interesting and captivating thoughts that I had in the middle of the night, but right now I can just remember the mood they created, frustrated and uneasy and torn.

Time to take meds, shower and entertain kids.

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Free Quick, Cryptic, & Themed Online Crossword Puzzles

Free Quick, Cryptic, & Themed Online Crossword Puzzles: "Here at Puzzlers Cave you will find a never-ending supply of free crosswords for you to play all supplied by our members. All the basic features are completely free and require no subscription. And remember whilst you're here, you don't just have to play crosswords, you can also create them. Using the free Puzzlers Cave Crossword Compiler, which you can download here, you can quickly and simply create your own crosswords and upload them so that the community can play them too. Click here to see a tutorial demonstration of the Crossword Compiler and see how easy it is to create crosswords."

I just added this to my google homepage and had a lot of fun doing one. There were some that I had a lot of trouble with, but thank goodness there are sites that have info. And a few I just needed a few letters to figure out which word to use. I haven't done a crossword in forever. I'll probably spend more free time doing them.

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Good morning!

Well, good morning again. This is so weird for me. After 6, almost 7 years of hardly being able to wake up in this state, I find myself awake and alert, before the rest of my family. And it is soooo weird to be before the kids. I mean, what I am supposed to do? They are usually waking me up with demands for breakfast. I guess I can actually get dressed and finish the laundry I started last night. I actually got my work pants out of the dryer before they wrinkled. And hung them up!!! Yes, getting the clothes out of the dryer and putting them away where they belong is a REAL challenge for me. I can sort, treat, wash, and dry. But for some reason, getting them out of the dryer and putting them away is the real challenge. And it’s not just my laundry either. It’s mine, Joy’s, the linens and towels, whatever I may be washing. Tim started doing his own laundry and I started having Josh do his about a 1 ½ ago. He’s still getting the hang of it. Especially getting his clothes out of the dryer. He seems to like getting dressed out of the dryer each morning …. Go figure :)

Ok, this is bizarre. I can’t seem to focus on writing, I keep clicking on things in IE to go surf and go look at. And I was really moody last night. That’s what I meant to write about. Maybe it was the full moon. Sometimes I really do act like a lunatic.

Well, now it’s a quarter to 9 and I have wasted a good 30 minutes surfing, procrastinating and writing. Time to get dressed. Church in 1.5 hours. Man, I really miss my friends :(

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I Stand Corrected

So I told Joy that I disciplined her because I love her, which is a concept she probably won’t understand till she has her own kids, after she gets married in 60 or 70 years. Joy says, “I don’t want my own kids! I want to watch other kids while their mommies go to work”.

--Tim

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Here comes the rain again

Looks like I might get to experience a flood in OR after all. Or maybe not. Record rainfall since Dec. 18th and the Tualatin River has risen in enough places to cause roads to close and make the news. I’m up fairly early on a Saturday morning for me. I think it’s the WB. I woke up and had no desire to go back to sleep. And the dreary morning doesn’t bother me so much. I came downstairs, opened the curtains, and started flipping channels. I really want some coffee though. Before I knew the effects of WB + caffeine, I bought a Costco sized General Foods International Coffee for work. And Tim got me a Coffee People card. (I like them a lot better than Starbuck’s).

I really wanted to enjoy the idea of just chilling this morning and not being rushed. Watch a little news, drink my coffee, have some breakfast, then get to the chores. And there are a lot. Tim THANKFULLY cleaned the living room. Joy can trash a room thoroughly if you don’t keep an eye on her. The kitchen isn’t so bad, but definitely needs a mopping. The Christmas tree and decorations need to come down. And a lot of trash and recyclables need to get taken out of the house. And stuff to take to Goodwill. I was going to try to sell some of Joy’s clothes on eBay, but don’t have the time to catalog them, picture them, and put them up for sale.  I might still sell some of the big stuff though. We need the income. Ugh, I have never worked for minimum wage, and here I am, almost 30, …. Gotta get my resume updated. I went looking through open rec’s at Intel and there’s at least one job that I am qualified for. Tim gave me feedback. One job that looked really cool though is a Grade 6. If I got that I would make more than Tim, so it’s not likely that I am qualified for it at all.

Ok, enough babbling. I feel like a brook, and I don’t think I talked about the things I really wanted to talk about. “Focus, focus, FOCUS!!!!” Besides, Joy is up. Now that girl DEFINITELY has a princess complex or something. Came down,  I was watching TV (and typing) and she went right over to the DVDs, got Bambi, moved the computer chair, loaded it into the DVD player and proceeded to start it. All without asking permission. I was mostly in shock. Gotta work on that girl’s manners. I could have sworn that they used to be better …. I want coffee!!!! Maybe I’ll make it with milk and just a little coffee, and I’ll eat too. Food oughtta help ….


Music: 1. Here Comes The Rain Again - Eurythmics

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Jobs, Joy, and other stuff [x-post]

In case some of you actually saw Joy on the webcam, she’s been sick all week and Tim has been an absolute DOLL by staying home and taking care of her so I can get my new- hire training done. I did miss one morning and this afternoon, but my supervisor understood. I mean, I told her the truth, my husband NEEDS to go into work. He can telecommute when he needs to, but he does need to get in for a bit. He’ll probably be working late, but that’s ok. Probably working this weekend too … ah shizz, I need a sitter. He wants to take me out as a celebration for getting a job ( (aside, I am going NUTS without chat this afternoon. I have no desire to clean house and boy does it need it! I have a raging headache. Been getting one every afternoon. I think it’s the WB (not the channel, the med.)

ANYWAYS!!!! Joy and I are just hanging watching Little House on the Prairie and PBS Kids. Lots of cuddling and hugging, and nose-wiping. Josh has a sleep-over tonight and went there right after school, so that helped. I wonder if I can get another snooze in …..

Please pray that Joy gets better, she’s been sick since Monday night, and this thing only had Josh down for 4 days. She’s had a fever off and on the whole time ( and that I don’t get sick. I get to work on Monday. I have the WEIRDEST schedule. I have Sundays and Tuesdays off. Well, at least this coming week. I was told that your schedule is usually set with very few changes. Our family schedule is going nuts, but if my work schedule doesn’t fluctuate too much, we should be able to work things out. Oh yeah, I have a afternoon/closing shift, so I get mornings with Joy. YAY! The manager was a tad upset when I changed my availability hours from what I had on my application, but gave me the schedule I want. And from this week, even though I like the morning customers, once I am certified, I will make more money (read commission) from afternoon and evening customers. There’s more of them than in the morning. I wanted the later hours so I wouldn’t have to deal with the commute, takes just over 30 minutes with no traffic and almost 1.5 hours with morning traffic. I hate traffic. It gives me a headache. And I am already taking Bayer to deal with the WB headache. Though the other day when I took Aleve before the WB and my morning headache wasn’t so bad. But I don’t want to be taking pain killers everyday. My liver and tummy might start to get mad at me. When I was in high school, one of my friends used this Chinese balm on my temples and my headache went right away. I need to find some of that stuff. Love stuff that I don’t have to ingest and works practically immediately. Like magic ( (gab gab gab gab someone talk to me!!!!!) Oh yeah, a job is a good thing. A job OUTSIDE the home, with adults. Long hours, long commute, but no need to search out people to talk to. I get my fill. Sigh. Missing some of my friends though. Y’all give me a shout out and let me know how you are doing!!!!

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Jobs, Joy, and other stuff

In case some of you actually saw Joy on the webcam, she’s been sick all week and Tim has been an absolute DOLL by staying home and taking care of her so I can get my new- hire training done. I did miss one morning and this afternoon, but my supervisor understood. I mean, I told her the truth, my husband NEEDS to go into work. He can telecommute when he needs to, but he does need to get in for a bit. He’ll probably be working late, but that’s ok. Probably working this weekend too … ah shizz, I need a sitter. He wants to take me out as a celebration for getting a job (  (aside, I am going NUTS without chat this afternoon. I have no desire to clean house and boy does it need it! I have a raging headache. Been getting one every afternoon. I think it’s the WB (not the channel, the med.)

ANYWAYS!!!! Joy and I are just hanging watching Little House on the Prairie and PBS Kids. Lots of cuddling and hugging, and nose-wiping. Josh has a sleep-over tonight and went there right after school, so that helped. I wonder if I can get another snooze in …..

Please pray that Joy gets better, she’s been sick since Monday night, and this thing only had Josh down for 4 days. She’s had a fever off and on the whole time ( and that I don’t get sick. I get to work on Monday. I have the WEIRDEST schedule. I have Sundays and Tuesdays off. Well, at least this coming week. I was told that your schedule is usually set with very few changes. Our family schedule is going nuts, but if my work schedule doesn’t fluctuate too much, we should be able to work things out. Oh yeah, I have a afternoon/closing shift, so I get mornings with Joy. YAY! The manager was a tad upset when I changed my availability hours from what I had on my application, but gave me the schedule I want. And from this week, even though I like the morning customers, once I am certified, I will make more money (read commission) from afternoon and evening customers. There’s more of them than in the morning. I wanted the later hours so I wouldn’t have to deal with the commute, takes just over 30 minutes with no traffic and almost 1.5 hours with morning traffic. I hate traffic. It gives me a headache. And I am already taking Bayer to deal with the WB headache. Though the other day when I took Aleve before the WB and my morning headache wasn’t so bad. But I don’t want to be taking pain killers everyday. My liver and tummy might start to get mad at me. When I was in high school, one of my friends used this Chinese balm on my temples and my headache went right away. I need to find some of that stuff. Love stuff that I don’t have to ingest and works practically immediately. Like magic (  (gab gab gab gab someone talk to me!!!!!)  Oh yeah, a job is a good thing. A job OUTSIDE the home, with adults. Long hours, long commute, but no need to search out people to talk to. I get my fill. Sigh. Missing some of my friends though. Y’all give me a shout out and let me know how you are doing!!!!

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$25 popsicle [x-post]

Yes, I know it's late, but suddenly I can't sleep. Joy has had a fever hovering near 103 when not being taken out by Tylenol since late Monday night. Tim hasn't really been able to go into work because Josh was sick on Monday and Joy has been *really* sick since Tuesday morning, and I have this frigging training. *Guilt*

Well, my dd has not pee'd since like 3:30AM yesterday, so the advice nurse wanted me to take Joy to the ER to get some fluids into her. The doc said she was definitely dehydrated, but not enough to require an IV. Unless, of course, I really wanted her to have one. So he says "You have to drink this juice unless you want a shot." No child in her right mind *wants* a shot! So we start drinking the juice, and watching Beauty and the Beast. And then another nurse offers her a popsicle. Oh yeah, Joy also got a strep test, thankfully negative. But as the nurse comes to discharge us, she looks at Joy, throws up her hands and exclaims "I forgot your popsicle!". So she get the treat and we watch more B&B as Joy contentedly and happily sucks on the wonderful coolness of a popsicle. Daddy gets to go to the store tomorrow to get more and some Motrin. They want her alternating Motrin and Tylenol every three hours to control the fever.

Ok, my Airborne is done. I have to be at work by 8. blegh. 1 hour commute. I get 3.5 hours of sleep tonight.

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St. Theresa's Prayer

Okay, I picked seven people whom I thought would DO this. You are all people
who do little things every day to help others. I hope I chose the right  seven.

Please send this back to me (you'll see why). Saint Theresa is known as the
Saint of the Little Ways, meaning she believed in doing the little things in
life well and with great love. She is also the patron Saint of flower
growers and florists. She is represented by roses. May everyone be blessed
who receives this message.

Theresa's Prayer cannot be deleted. REMEMBER to make a wish before you read
the poem. That's all you have to do. There is nothing attached.
Just send this to seven people and let me know what happens on the fourth
day. Sorry you have to forward the message, but try not to break this,
please. Prayer is one of the best free gifts we receive. There is no cost
but a lot of reward.

Suggestion! : Copy and paste rather than forward to protect email addresses
and access to e-virus. (Did you make a wish?) If you don't make a wish, it
won't come true - last chance to make a wish.

St. Theresa's Prayer:
May today there be peace within. May you trust God that you are exactly
where you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities
that are born of faith. May you use those gifts that you have received, and
pass on the love that has been given to you. May you be content knowing you
are a child of God. Let this presence settle into our bones, and allow your
soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love. It is there for each and
every one of you.

Now, send this to 7 people within the next 5 minutes and your wish will come
true. And remember to send this back...I count as 1...you'll see why.

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$25 popsicle

Yes, I know it's late, but suddenly I can't sleep. Joy has had a fever hovering near 103 when not being taken out by Tylenol since late Monday night. Tim hasn't really been able to go into work because Josh was sick on Monday and Joy has been *really* sick since Tuesday morning, and I have this frigging training. *Guilt*

Well, my dd has not pee'd since like 3:30AM yesterday, so the advice nurse wanted me to take Joy to the ER to get some fluids into her. The doc said she was definitely dehydrated, but not enough to require an IV. Unless, of course, I really wanted her to have one. So he says "You have to drink this juice unless you want a shot." No child in her right mind *wants* a shot! So we start drinking the juice, and watching Beauty and the Beast. And then another nurse offers her a popsicle. Oh yeah, Joy also got a strep test, thankfully negative. But as the nurse comes to discharge us, she looks at Joy, throws up her hands and exclaims "I forgot your popsicle!". So she get the treat and we watch more B&B as Joy contentedly and happily sucks on the wonderful coolness of a popsicle. Daddy gets to go to the store tomorrow to get more and some Motrin. They want her alternating Motrin and Tylenol every three hours to control the fever.

Ok, my Airborne is done. I have to be at work by 8. blegh. 1 hour commute. I get 3.5 hours of sleep tonight.

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Wherever you are

You can listen to samples of the new Third Day CD here

“Wherever you are, whoever you are, whatever you are going through, God is ready to meet you right there. No matter where, no matter why, no matter when, there is hope.”

Over Third Day’s career, the band has tried to give people songs of encouragement and hope, blended with the band's trademark roots-rock style. Wherever You Are encompasses that mission. Songs like "Cry Out To Jesus," “Rise Up," “Eagles,” “Carry My Cross, “Tunnel,” and “Mountain of God,” all carry this central theme. The band explains “It was kind of unintentional, but as we looked back on the songs, they consistently spoke of God meeting you in times of struggle, of overcoming burdens, guilt, circumstances, and being free.”

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Frustration

I now work for a company that requires you to call in at least 2 hours before your scheduled shift if you are not going to make it. Well, Tim has an appointment this morning and Joy has the flu. Last night we knew and were kinda hoping she just had a 24-hour bug that would be gone by this morning. No such luck, her fever was at least 103F at 5:30 this morning (she didn't let the thermometer stay in her mouth the full time) ... but anyways, I called at 5:30 to leave a message. No messaging system. I have gotten there at 7:30 in the morning and there have been PLENTY of people there. I started calling at 7:30. No one answered the phone. I call every few minutes until 8:00 when someone FINALLY answers the phone. I ask to speak to my manager. "She's in a meeting" (thought bubble, I know, I am supposed to be in that meeting). Leave a message that will hopefully get to her before lunch. *sigh* I'm missing out on how to detect check fraud and a scavenger hunt. I was actually looking forward to the scavenger hunt. A little fun and game between various trainings.

When I go in today I am going to ask if there is a number for associates on the morning shift to call when they are going to be late or not make it in, because for a company to REQUIRE you to call and talk to a person at LEAST TWO HOURS before your scheduled shift ... grr.

Though I guess I could have called last night. So much for wishful thinking.

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Bewitched

Tonight is a night where I wish fantasy and witchcraft were real. That time-travel was real. That I could twitch my nose and make things out to everyone's satisfaction. Or even better yet, freeze time in one area, fix things in another, and then go back to the frozen time. But that only happens in TVLand. Unfortunaly for me, I live in the real world. Consequences suck. Actually, what sucks is that I recently seem to have lost the ability to see consequences before they happen. Or how my actions and words affect other people. But then, I guess it helps to actually know a person on multiple levels so that you can see how a thoughtless word or deed might affect them.

I don't try to be thoughtless, in fact, I try to consider things before I say or do anything, but that seems to make me even more thoughtless. Does that make any sense? Actually, my words and deeds aren't always thoughtless, but because they hurt the feelings of another person, they are deemed thoughtless, careless, and hurtful. And doing it on purpose. But I'm not. I'm beginning to see the value in speaking as little as possible. But that also leads to misunderstandings. Can't win for losing.

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Wellbutrin+coffee=speed

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An alternate reality

An alternate reality: " I had to see which Goonie I was ...

New Age Goonie You scored 52% Mouth, 23% Mickey, 52% Data, and 33% Chunk!

You are your own Goonie! Many strive to act like their fave from the beloved movie, but not you! I would like to congratulate you on your independance from the sway that Mickey, Mouth, Data and Chunk had over the multitudes! You love adventure, and by adventure you mean something completely new! Have fun going wherever the map of your life leads you just "don't slip!"

Link: scarletphreak on The Which Goonie Are You? Test written by Ok Cupid, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

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Free sterling silver jewelry. Free offers from SilverJewelryClub.com

Free sterling silver jewelry. Free offers from SilverJewelryClub.com

A new addiction!!! Silver jewelry for $6 a pop! and they have some BEAUTIFUL earrings!

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A quiet night

Tonight Josh is watching The Goonies which used to be one of my all-time fave movies, and I think a lot has been cut ... but I can't get into it. I've had more fun reading the reviews at IMDB than watching the movie. Mainly because of the commercials. They totally kill the flow. Josh is kinda stoked because it was filmed in Astoria, which is only about an hour and a half from where we live. It's been a long time since I watched it, maybe I'll get around to buying it on DVD. It IS a good family movie. I don't think Tim has ever seen it ... just a little out of his age range when it came out (1985).

What were you doing in '85?

I was in 5th grade and getting used to the idea that my parents were now divorced and I had to start all over (again) in a new school. '85 was a hard year. Goonies were good. Comedy, adventure, and a touch of romance. And it was one of the few movies my dad let me watch. Josh thinks I'm strick now about viewing policies, he should have been in the house that I grew up in!

And now Chunk is being tortured by the Fratelli's. "Now tell us everything" and Chunk proceeds to tell his life story .... I think I'll stop for now.

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Wellbutrin

Well, I did an audiopost that hasn't shown up yet, but the gist was that I was in and out of my doctor's appointment in like 20 minutes with an Rx for Wellbutrin XL, starting at 150mg and next week going up to 300mg with a follow-up in 3 weeks to see how I am doing on it. The rest of this month should prove interesting.

On another note, I need to go shopping for new clothes, for my "uniform". I don't have ANY white dress shirts. Not sure that I would look right in Tim's, either. Nor many dark slacks for that matter. And "shineable" shoes. I have gotten way casual it seems when I think about my wardrobe. YAY! JOB! still stoked, even though I have to leave the house at like 6:30 in the morning to get to Wilsonville by 8 AM. I hate morning traffic. I'm padding it just in case. With NO Traffic it takes 45 minutes to get there. I can see my caffeine intake increasing exponentially. Ah well, back to RL. Do ya like the minor reorg I did over there on the left?

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Imagery

I have an image that I just need to get out of my head. It's been in there for weeks. Some wonder why repentance is so hard for me. I wish I could draw this, but words will have to suffice.

Imagine a heart and brain so encrusted with dirt, scabs, crap, oozing pus, scabs growing all over the place, mud caked on, cement in some places, and any other sort of gross thing you can imagine. You only know that they are a heart and mind because that's what you have been told. They barely retain their true shape, more blobs than anything else. Enclosed in bulletproof glass. Now imagine that you have been told to clean them. And you can't use anything as caustic as bleach or lye, though those would do the trick in a pinch. No, you have to use elbow grease and loving care to scrub the crap off, sometimes picking at it with your hands and nails. You just want to find that one crack, which if tapped with just the right pressure, will make all the crap fall off and the heart underneath become completely clean.

That's my heart and brain. All I wish is that they could be taken out of me, scrubbed clean, and put back in, good as new, better than new. I know that Christ can wash me clean as snow, but that glass wall needs to be broken too. How to get around that?


More later, I have a doctor's appt. and Joy is either entertaining herself or still blissfully asleep. We had a late night last night.


AGH!!!!!! No Trillian!!!! Who's on???? I haven't been this cut off EVER!!!!!!.

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Where oh Where has the Nanner gone?

Some of you may (or may not) have noticed that I don't seem to be online that much anymore. Well, there's a valid reason for that. I agreed with Tim and our MC that I need to stop the chatting for a bit. Some of you have seen me get off(line) before, sometimes for months at a time. Usually that was because I saw that I had had enough, or got busy with life. Actually, it was usually because I got busy with life. Some of you know what's going on and can understand why I need to at least stop chatting. So, *deep sigh*shakes*etc*, I'm UNINSTALLING Trillian, Yahoo!, MSN, GoogleTalk, and Skype. Did I miss anything? Who knows when or if I will be back. I still get to do email, and I will blog as often as I have time. I got a job! One that takes me away from a puter for at least 6 hours a day, possibly more if I get FT. Can you see me in a job not around computers? It's been ages since I did something like that! But it's a job with lots of people interaction. And for those of you who love to shop at Fry's, come by and say "hi".

"So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, goodbye/I leave and heave a sigh and say goodbye -- Goodbye!"

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Conditional Expression of Women’s Desires and Men’s Mate Guarding across the Ovulatory Cycle

ABSTRACT
Thirty-eight normally cycling women provided daily reports of sexual interests and feelings for 35 days. Near ovulation, both pair-bonded and single women reported feeling more physically attractive and having greater interest in attending social gatherings where they might meet men. Pair-bonded women who were near ovulation reported greater extra-pair flirtation and greater mate guarding by their primary partner. As predicted, however, these effects were exhibited primarily by women who perceived their partners to be low on hypothesized good-genes indicators (low in sexual attractiveness relative to investment attractiveness). Ovulationcontingent increases in partner mate guarding were also moderated by female physical attractiveness; midcycle increases in mate guarding were experienced primarily by less attractive women, whereas more attractive women experienced relatively high levels of mate guarding throughout their cycle. These findings demonstrate ovulation-contingent shifts in desires and behaviors that are sensitive to varying fitness payoffs, and they provide support for the good genes hypothesis of human female extra-pair mating. The daily assessment method used provides an important supplement to existing studies using scheduled laboratory visits, as the purpose of the study (examining cycle-related variation) is not known by participants.

KEY WORDS: antagonistic coevolution, attractiveness, evolutionary psychology, extra-pair sex, mate guarding, ovulatory cycle, sex

Very interesting paper that was featured on one of the morning TV Shows. It's published in Hormones and Behavior by Martie Haselton and Gangestad, S. W.

I'll probably finish reading it when I have the need to excercise my brain. It's a lot harder to read than say Wicked

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Which Chronicles of Narnia character are you most like?

You scored as Edmund Pevensie.

Edmund Pevensie		87%
Peter Pevensie		73%
Lucy Pevensie		70%
Mr. Tumnus		63%
Mr. Beaver		60%
Oreius		53%
Susan Pevensie		53%
Ginarrbrik		40%
Mrs. Beaver		37%
Aslan		37%
The White Witch		13%

Which Chronicles of Narnia character are you most like?
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I was hoping for Susan, or even Mrs. Beaver. At least I am not Jadis (the White Witch). Well, I guess not too bad since I am quiet, independent, and contradictory.

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SAD

After living in OR for almost 7 years I am finally setting up an appointment to get diagnosed (or not) for SAD. I think I tried one year, but because I wasn't too depressed my doc didn't want to give me that diagnosis. But anyone who has known me since before I moved here, to see me now, would definitely say that something was wrong. November was good because there were plenty of nice, sunny, brisk fall-like days. This month (well, December and now January) are about to drive me bonkers. Having the daycare through last winter was actually good because I was forced to get out of bed and work. But this year ... no job for the last month, no motivation to get much done and darnit, "pajammie days" sound awfully good. So on Friday I get to go to a new doctor and hopefully get something. Right now ALL the lights are on in my house, the curtains are open, and still wish there was some way to get more light into the house. My dd does not seem affected at all. We've already had breakfast, played a little Leappad, and now she's going through the movie collection looking for something to watch. Ah, Clone Wars it is. "Cartoon Star Wars". I wonder if Tim would mind if I got her Ewok Adventures....

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Joy turns to grief at U.S. mine

"TALLMANSVILLE, West Virginia (Reuters) - Joy gave way to grief and anger on Wednesday when a West Virginia coal town learnt that 12 of 13 miners trapped in a mine explosion had died, three hours after friends and family were mistakenly told that all but one had survived.

One man survived Monday's blast and entrapment at the Sago mine in central West Virginia. He was hospitalised in critical condition.

"I feel that we were lied to all along," said Anne Meridith, whose father died in the incident.

News of the 12 deaths came hours after church bells pealed and friends and family of the miners celebrated when word spread that 12 miners had survived. West Virginia's governor said there were indications within 20 minutes the initial report of 12 survivors was wrong. Friends and family were not told for about three hours."

Oh no! I went to bed after reading a ticker-tape that 12 had been found alive.

My question is -- what do we still use coal for that these people and communiites are still putting their lives at risk for in the 21st century? I mean, almost all heat is now electric, natural gas, or propane. What is coal used for?

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Work is good! Transferable skills better!

The interview wasn't a prank!! Sort of first-come, first-served, but for lots of positions. They called me in to be a cashier. There was another guy there that they called in to be a cashier (Customer Service Associate) and he got bumped up to Sales Associate. The first interviewer liked me so much and gave me my choice of sales or cashier, I opted for cashier since I said I was mainly interested in PT to get back into the swing of things. Her manager wasn't sure he wanted me, especially seeing that I was "over-qualified" for the position (his words, not mine) and asked if it would be a problem for me to work FT. But he took into account that his day-to-day manager seemed to really want me, so he ok'd it. Then I had a third and final interview that was mainly formalities, the Assistant Store Manager gave me an overview of how I could move up in the company, asked if all my questions had been answered and told me that training starts next Monday! WOOHOO!

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Good morning

Well, today is going to be busy. I woke up a little late, but have MC this afternoon and a job interview. Part of me wonders if the interview might be a prank because the company has been so relaxed. They asked if I could come in between 1 and 3 PM. Is it a group interview? A first come, first served interview?  Oh well, I don’t mind too much. I’ve been job-hunting since October and this is my first interview!!! And it’s at one of my favorite stores. My son is looking forward to the employee discount if I get hired. Tim also pointed out that benefit. BTW, what are you supposed to take on an interview? I didn’t include my resume when I mailed my application because my applicable skills are about 8 years out of date, though I think that customer service is a HUGE part of running a daycare.

Well, most people are up and functioning, not to mention dressed and have done something progressive by this hour, so I might as well too. So hard to believe that it’s after 9 AM.

“Mr. Sun, sun, Mr. Golden Sun hiding behind the tree, … please shine down on me”. -- I need to remember how to embed things… (or just steal code :) )

Just press play to hear the song. or I could have it auto start....

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The Splintered Mind by Douglas Cootey: AD/HD: Speaking without Thinking

I can so totally relate to this!!!! the intense need to get something said, because, yeah, it does go away. Not trying to be rude, but people who know me can totally agree that I lose thoughts faster than you can say "jack-rabbit". And sometimes they are really lucid thoughts!!!!!

It seems there are three driving forces behind foot-in-mouth disease. One is general cluelessness—a complete lack of awareness or sensitivity to the ebb and flow of conversation around us. Another is a fear that the idea will be forgotten in as quick an instant as it was born if it is not blurted out or jotted down at that moment. The third is simple selfishness. We share this in common with everybody from time to time, but the first two forces are usually the culprits for the AD/HD mind. Both betray a complete lack of control over impulses. Both are born of intensity. The thought is delivered to the mouth with the pressure of a fireman's hose and spoken at such velocity that all those in the room had better duck for cover or be bowled over. Things usually get awkward after that.

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Official Google Blog: A year of Google blogging

12/30/2005 05:18:00 PM
Posted by Karen Wickre, Google Blog team

This is the 201st post to be published on the Google Blog in 2005. In closing out the first full year of our company-wide effort to share news and views, we thought you might be interested in a few factoids. Since we've had Google Analytics running on this blog since June, some of these numbers reflect only half a year. In that time, 4.3 million unique visitors have generated 8.7 million pageviews. Readers have come from all over the world, not just English-speaking countries: 53,001 visitors from Turkey have stopped by, for example; so have 155,691 from France, 29,614 from Thailand and 8,233 from Peru.

The most popular posts? Here are a few that have yielded scores of linkbacks:

- Our explanation of 'Googlebombing'
- A celebration of email and Gmail -
Google Earth's partnership with National Geographic about Africa " [more on the Google Blog]

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11:59 PM

I have spent the last 20 minutes flipping through channels, watching bad musical acts, and down comes the ball and poor Dick Clark sounds so old ...


HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! (12:00) -- and I have no one to kiss because ALL 3 members of my immediate family are PASSED OUT! I haven't had a New Year's like this since ..... maybe 1998. I don't remember that one. Gee, even when I was single I managed to at least get a hug, if not a kiss (1999).

And everyone I usually talk to is offline. *sigh*

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What type of Tea are you? {-With Anime Pictures!-}

You are Green Tea!

Strong and very smart you prefer peace to violence and very rarely take action if it involves confrontation. But you make up for this with your keen insight and understanding of the world and people around you, you have a very mysterious nature. Many people see you as laid back and that may be true, but you are very intelligent and make good decisions.


What type of Tea are you? {-With Anime Pictures!-}
brought to you by Quizilla

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CNN.com - World welcomes in 2006 - Dec 31, 2005

"Londoners ignored a subway strike to welcome the New Year. Some Japanese climbed a snowcapped peak to see the first sunrise of 2006. GIs in Iraq got a year-end 'American Idol' treat.

New Year's Celebrations like these spread throughout the world Saturday and early Sunday and were generally jubilant, a contrast with last year when the devastation of the Indian Ocean tsunami led many countries and individuals to cancel festivities."[SNIP]

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Happy New Year

Tonight we are watching Disney's Dinosaur, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III, and if we get around to it, Hallmark's 10th Kingdom whilst listening to rude neighbors set off firecrackers. Some night. Ah well, fits the day so far. Actually, I guess this counts as a pretty relaxing evening, especially since Josh & Tim are already passed out and it's not even 10PM.

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