hey y'all.
why in tarnation am i still awake? i should be sleeping cuz i planned to get up around 6 and drop these movies off at the library so i don't have to pay the late fees.
i think part of it is excitement. why i'm still up, i mean.
mr. bliss is heading over to a county far far away for his family reunion and i'm very excited about it. baby bliss and i will have the joint to ourselves and what a wonderful thing that will be.
we thought about having a private (read: no family) cookout, choosing instead to invite a very small group of friends but it's still a thought. i like going out on occasion but i don't relish having guests much. and it would require us getting food, something i'm not feeling.
holiday weekends are not my favorite time to be getting the grocery shopping done.
speaking of food, if you really need some (meaning your budget is tight or your household grew unexpectedly or some other reason you might need inexpensive extra food), check out the Angel Food Ministrie's website.
they say that for about $25-30 bucks, you can get a box of high-quality foods worth a lot more than it costs. the blisses haven't gotten anything from them yet but i'm keeping them as an option, just in case.
they accept food stamps/EBT and cash so please don't go with your checkbook or your visa/debit card.
most of the distribution sites are churches. however you do not have to be affiliated with any particular church or religious belief to get a box (or two) of food.
but you do have to call to place your order in advance and you do have to take your own box.
they have about a gazillion distribution sites so go check for one close to you. ;-)
Friday, August 31, 2007
Thursday, August 30, 2007
213: sumthin funny
i saw this when i checked out a link from the website of another "bliss".
i'm gonna post it here cuz i happened to think it was a very witty use of words. i also think there's a lesson in there somewhere, if we look carefully enough.
i'm studying it myself. but not for the political message cuz that's kinda obvious. maybe if i print it and sleep with it under my pillow, i'll get it faster. '-)
i'm optimistic and i don't endorse any one political party over another.
without further ado, here 'tis.
As a devout FUNdamentalist (accent on "fun") dedicated to bringing about Nonjudgment Day, I try to avoid judging and blame. In fact, I think people who judge are terrible, and those who blame are the cause of all the world's problems. And as a Swami -- even a fake one -- I feel obliged to be above politics. But no matter how high I try to rise above it on my magic carpet, the smell is unavoidable. The perpetrations of this Administration stink to high heaven.
Now we know the whole idea of impeachment is tinged with partisanship, particularly in the light of the Bill Clinton affair. Indeed, Clinton publicly lied about a private matter and the Republicans gleefully made his privates public. But now even Republicans must face the sad truth that America has traded one lie-about for another who will lie about anything and everything. Not to excuse cheating on Hillary, but our current lie-about has been unfaithful to the Constitution and the rule of law. Bush and Cheney have been cheating on all of us. (And yes, both must be impeached. If we want justice to be done, we have to go right up the Cheney-of-command.)
In addition to producing and directing The Iraqi Horror Picture Show -- and using G-rated trailers to hide X-rated content -- the Bush-Cheney Administration has instituted a disturbing policy of "ethic cleansing." This cleansing of ethical people from positions of power not only has caused our entire moral compass to go south, but has allowed "psychopathogens" (opportunistic organisms with a poisonality disorder) to infect the body politic, and the political discourse. Meanwhile, the "fear-gnomes" -- little gnomes of gnawing fear -- the Administration injected into the mainstream lowered our resistance to Mad Cowboy Disease, an affliction we're still suffering from.
But, as the saying goes, the truth shall upset you free. George Bush has been an enlightening rod to enlighten and awaken a slumbering body politic to an issue that is bigger than politics -- the rule of law vs. the overrule of law. And now after being abused by the abuse of power, the American people are starting to disabuse themselves. They are waking up and wising up, and that's good because we could use a good upwishing in this country. Despite a massive media impropaganda machine that feeds the public "babblum" (strained B.S. made digestible for a simple child's mind), more and more Americans are reading between the lyin's and peering behind the Irony Curtain.
We are awakening to realize that we the people are the "deciders," and ultimately we get to decide who our Decider will be ... and who to put through the decider mill. And the issue is bigger than Democrats vs. Republicans. The real issue is "buy-partisan." Parties in both parties are being bought, and our public servants are serving up huge chunks of the commonwealth to help gold collar criminals become uncommonly wealthy.
The good news is, we don't need a revolution in this country. We already had one. Now we need an American Evolution to reconstitute the Constitution from the grassroots up and reestablish the dream of our Founding Fathers -- government of the people, by the people and for the people where the government does our bidding not the bidding of the highest bidder.
How do we start the evolution? By firing the first big shots.
It's time for left and right to come front and center to stand for our highest values instead of falling for the lowest common dominator. It's time to impeach the entire impeachable system where the rule of gold has overruled the Golden Rule. And the time to act is now. Why? Because it is too late to do it sooner.
I have a dream. Imagine going to the voting booth and casting your vote for ... the greater of two goods. Oh, and impeachment has another benefit. If we are successful, we will have a woman President -- without having to elect Hillary.
(c) 2007 by Steve Bhaerman. All rights reserved. Swami Beyondananda is the comic alter ego of Steve Bhaerman and can be found online at www.wakeuplaughing.com.
i'm gonna post it here cuz i happened to think it was a very witty use of words. i also think there's a lesson in there somewhere, if we look carefully enough.
i'm studying it myself. but not for the political message cuz that's kinda obvious. maybe if i print it and sleep with it under my pillow, i'll get it faster. '-)
i'm optimistic and i don't endorse any one political party over another.
without further ado, here 'tis.
Swami Beyondananda Calls for Impeachment
"It's Time for We the People to Put the 'Decider' Through the Decider Mill"
by Swami Beyondananda
As a devout FUNdamentalist (accent on "fun") dedicated to bringing about Nonjudgment Day, I try to avoid judging and blame. In fact, I think people who judge are terrible, and those who blame are the cause of all the world's problems. And as a Swami -- even a fake one -- I feel obliged to be above politics. But no matter how high I try to rise above it on my magic carpet, the smell is unavoidable. The perpetrations of this Administration stink to high heaven.
Now we know the whole idea of impeachment is tinged with partisanship, particularly in the light of the Bill Clinton affair. Indeed, Clinton publicly lied about a private matter and the Republicans gleefully made his privates public. But now even Republicans must face the sad truth that America has traded one lie-about for another who will lie about anything and everything. Not to excuse cheating on Hillary, but our current lie-about has been unfaithful to the Constitution and the rule of law. Bush and Cheney have been cheating on all of us. (And yes, both must be impeached. If we want justice to be done, we have to go right up the Cheney-of-command.)
In addition to producing and directing The Iraqi Horror Picture Show -- and using G-rated trailers to hide X-rated content -- the Bush-Cheney Administration has instituted a disturbing policy of "ethic cleansing." This cleansing of ethical people from positions of power not only has caused our entire moral compass to go south, but has allowed "psychopathogens" (opportunistic organisms with a poisonality disorder) to infect the body politic, and the political discourse. Meanwhile, the "fear-gnomes" -- little gnomes of gnawing fear -- the Administration injected into the mainstream lowered our resistance to Mad Cowboy Disease, an affliction we're still suffering from.
But, as the saying goes, the truth shall upset you free. George Bush has been an enlightening rod to enlighten and awaken a slumbering body politic to an issue that is bigger than politics -- the rule of law vs. the overrule of law. And now after being abused by the abuse of power, the American people are starting to disabuse themselves. They are waking up and wising up, and that's good because we could use a good upwishing in this country. Despite a massive media impropaganda machine that feeds the public "babblum" (strained B.S. made digestible for a simple child's mind), more and more Americans are reading between the lyin's and peering behind the Irony Curtain.
We are awakening to realize that we the people are the "deciders," and ultimately we get to decide who our Decider will be ... and who to put through the decider mill. And the issue is bigger than Democrats vs. Republicans. The real issue is "buy-partisan." Parties in both parties are being bought, and our public servants are serving up huge chunks of the commonwealth to help gold collar criminals become uncommonly wealthy.
The good news is, we don't need a revolution in this country. We already had one. Now we need an American Evolution to reconstitute the Constitution from the grassroots up and reestablish the dream of our Founding Fathers -- government of the people, by the people and for the people where the government does our bidding not the bidding of the highest bidder.
How do we start the evolution? By firing the first big shots.
It's time for left and right to come front and center to stand for our highest values instead of falling for the lowest common dominator. It's time to impeach the entire impeachable system where the rule of gold has overruled the Golden Rule. And the time to act is now. Why? Because it is too late to do it sooner.
I have a dream. Imagine going to the voting booth and casting your vote for ... the greater of two goods. Oh, and impeachment has another benefit. If we are successful, we will have a woman President -- without having to elect Hillary.
(c) 2007 by Steve Bhaerman. All rights reserved. Swami Beyondananda is the comic alter ego of Steve Bhaerman and can be found online at www.wakeuplaughing.com.
212: thinking about re-posting old posts...
hey y'all. how's your thursday going so far?
baby bliss and i are in, watching movies. we just finished Monster House and it was good but kinda scary. who the heck wants to think about being eaten by a house? i don't... i'm just not into scary movies any more.
now we're watching Tremors with Kevin Bacon and that mucho cute guy who plays Remo Williams. i know this is an old one but i've never seen it. i guess this one might be scary too but i'm hoping it's funnier than it is scary.
so far the scenery is pretty. it's desert and mountains, and once again i'm missing my old stomping grounds.
baby bliss said we should go to the gym today. she's right but i donwanna. i'd rather do yoga and said so. baby bliss agreed so i guess it's a yoga break after the movie.
any way, on to today's topic.
i have some posts from another online site i belong to. it isn't a blogging site but in the time i spent there, i used my page as a blog. the page space was limited though so stuff rolled off the end of the page if y'all know what i mean. i've been hoarding the older posts for several years now and i'm thinking about re-posting them here.
except i don't know how to fit them in here...
in the meantime, i'm gonna organize them when i have time. they are all in word docs that are several pages long and span various amounts of time. i'm thinking 'bout 1-year file folders, 1-month sub-folders, and note pad docs for each day.
with all the stuff i need to do to get ready for baby bliss's "first day of school" next week, i'm not sure when I'll get to that other stuff.
just another thing to add to my to-do list... "-)
baby bliss and i are in, watching movies. we just finished Monster House and it was good but kinda scary. who the heck wants to think about being eaten by a house? i don't... i'm just not into scary movies any more.
now we're watching Tremors with Kevin Bacon and that mucho cute guy who plays Remo Williams. i know this is an old one but i've never seen it. i guess this one might be scary too but i'm hoping it's funnier than it is scary.
so far the scenery is pretty. it's desert and mountains, and once again i'm missing my old stomping grounds.
baby bliss said we should go to the gym today. she's right but i donwanna. i'd rather do yoga and said so. baby bliss agreed so i guess it's a yoga break after the movie.
any way, on to today's topic.
i have some posts from another online site i belong to. it isn't a blogging site but in the time i spent there, i used my page as a blog. the page space was limited though so stuff rolled off the end of the page if y'all know what i mean. i've been hoarding the older posts for several years now and i'm thinking about re-posting them here.
except i don't know how to fit them in here...
in the meantime, i'm gonna organize them when i have time. they are all in word docs that are several pages long and span various amounts of time. i'm thinking 'bout 1-year file folders, 1-month sub-folders, and note pad docs for each day.
with all the stuff i need to do to get ready for baby bliss's "first day of school" next week, i'm not sure when I'll get to that other stuff.
just another thing to add to my to-do list... "-)
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
211: mazel tov!
congrats to my blog sista Aly Cat 121 and her hubby on the birth of their beautiful daughter Asaria. this is daughter number 4 for those love bunnies.
y'all have got to check out the pics of those lil angels as babies. what's funny is that it looks like there are four pics of the same baby but it's not true. all the girls just look so much alike. "-)
y'all have got to check out the pics of those lil angels as babies. what's funny is that it looks like there are four pics of the same baby but it's not true. all the girls just look so much alike. "-)
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
209: we missed it. :-&
well y'all, we missed the eclipse.
baby bliss set her alarm to wake us at 5:30 a.m. but i think she forgot to fiddle with the notification and it woke us at 4:30.
but we didn't know it was 4:30.
what i do know is i could barely open my eyes and baby bliss was full of life. she kept repeating, "come onnnnnnnn mommy" over and over; my feet hadn't touched the floor yet.
i had only gotten in bed around 12:30 a.m. and after having been up for the preceding 39 hours, neither body nor mind welcomed the intrusion of a persistent tween.
but i knew baby bliss really wanted to see the eclipse and so did it. although it felt like i was hauling a ton, i dragged myself from the bed and got dressed.
we went down to the parking lot and there she was, our Luna, in all her full glory. and she was... un-eclipsed.
i turned to baby bliss and said, "what time is it?"
she looked at her phone then looked sheepishly at me. "um, it's 4:45," she said in an almost-whisper.
"it's only 4:45?! i said wake me at 5:30 honey. the full eclipse is scheduled for 5:52"
"mom-miiiiieeeeee! i set my alarm for 5:30. something must have happened."
we trudged back up the steps.
"well i'm not sure i'll be able to get back up in time but set the alarm again."
we got in her bed.
when we woke up again it was after 7 and full daylight out. baby bliss began crying.
she sat up in bed. "oh no! mommy we missed it!"
i felt sad for her. "what time is it? maybe we can still see... something. come on, let's go."
we ran out to the parking lot again but there was nothing to see except pale skies.
oh well y'all. *shrug* maybe God/Goddess/Universe has other plans for our astronomical endeavors this year.
good Lord willing and the creek don't rise, we'll see the next lunar eclipse in february 2008.
we're hopeful.
baby bliss set her alarm to wake us at 5:30 a.m. but i think she forgot to fiddle with the notification and it woke us at 4:30.
but we didn't know it was 4:30.
what i do know is i could barely open my eyes and baby bliss was full of life. she kept repeating, "come onnnnnnnn mommy" over and over; my feet hadn't touched the floor yet.
i had only gotten in bed around 12:30 a.m. and after having been up for the preceding 39 hours, neither body nor mind welcomed the intrusion of a persistent tween.
but i knew baby bliss really wanted to see the eclipse and so did it. although it felt like i was hauling a ton, i dragged myself from the bed and got dressed.
we went down to the parking lot and there she was, our Luna, in all her full glory. and she was... un-eclipsed.
i turned to baby bliss and said, "what time is it?"
she looked at her phone then looked sheepishly at me. "um, it's 4:45," she said in an almost-whisper.
"it's only 4:45?! i said wake me at 5:30 honey. the full eclipse is scheduled for 5:52"
"mom-miiiiieeeeee! i set my alarm for 5:30. something must have happened."
we trudged back up the steps.
"well i'm not sure i'll be able to get back up in time but set the alarm again."
we got in her bed.
when we woke up again it was after 7 and full daylight out. baby bliss began crying.
she sat up in bed. "oh no! mommy we missed it!"
i felt sad for her. "what time is it? maybe we can still see... something. come on, let's go."
we ran out to the parking lot again but there was nothing to see except pale skies.
oh well y'all. *shrug* maybe God/Goddess/Universe has other plans for our astronomical endeavors this year.
good Lord willing and the creek don't rise, we'll see the next lunar eclipse in february 2008.
we're hopeful.
Monday, August 27, 2007
208: the moonlit skies...
hey y'all!
whatcha got planned for the wee hours?
y'all know i'm a night owl of the worst sort (i'm still up from yesterday morning; yes, y'all read that right) but tonight i'm going to bed at a decent hour.
baby bliss and i are planning to get up around 5:30 a.m. so we can go check out the lunar eclipse.
y'all know we're jonesing to see a real live natural phenomena in the sky, having missed the annual Perseid meteor shower--that i discussed here and here, in such great detail and being careful to use accurate scientific jargon--earlier this month.
so nitey nite my friends cuz a sista is dogggggg tired.
whatcha got planned for the wee hours?
y'all know i'm a night owl of the worst sort (i'm still up from yesterday morning; yes, y'all read that right) but tonight i'm going to bed at a decent hour.
baby bliss and i are planning to get up around 5:30 a.m. so we can go check out the lunar eclipse.
y'all know we're jonesing to see a real live natural phenomena in the sky, having missed the annual Perseid meteor shower--that i discussed here and here, in such great detail and being careful to use accurate scientific jargon--earlier this month.
so nitey nite my friends cuz a sista is dogggggg tired.
207: the gas stations you meet on your way to...
we've noticed (baby bliss and i) that the citgo and petro express gas stations have been or are being replaced by texaco gas stations.
has anyone noticed this in their travels?
any information/ideas/theories/conspiracy theories about what it portends?
i remember how a few years back all the amoco stations were replaced by bp...
206: sunday at church
i love our church y'all. i feel welcome there and i learn something new and wonderful every time we go.
what i really love is how one of the ministers (or someone else who gets up to speak) always speaks about something that had manifest itself in my life, right close to sunday.
this sunday was no exception. i received guidance on some of the deeper issues that had come to play in my life just this past week. (i'll tell y'all about this challenge one day but not right now. it's still on the front burner and it's fixing to boil over on some of my other simmering pots. so i'ma watching it real careful and waiting for the day when i can fil y'all in on this dish.)
the funny part of sunday's service was when one of the minister's said "namaste y'all".
now that would be synchronicity except that we say "namaste" in our church all the time. and like i said in that other post, we're in the south so the "y'all" part ain't outta the blue either. it still tickled me tho. '-)
oh, before i forget, i'm shouting out a "thank you" to baby bliss for making sure i got up sunday morning. i'd gotten kinda lazy on sunday mornings and become somewhat nonchalant about whether or not we made it to church.
we've had so many out-of-town guests this summer and some of them arrived and/or left on sundays. it's thrown me off schedule and i'd gotten out of the habit of church for a month of sundays, at least.
but we're back in the saddle and i'm happy. baby bliss and i signed up to attend some other-than-sunday events with our church family and we're both excited about it. "-)
what i really love is how one of the ministers (or someone else who gets up to speak) always speaks about something that had manifest itself in my life, right close to sunday.
this sunday was no exception. i received guidance on some of the deeper issues that had come to play in my life just this past week. (i'll tell y'all about this challenge one day but not right now. it's still on the front burner and it's fixing to boil over on some of my other simmering pots. so i'ma watching it real careful and waiting for the day when i can fil y'all in on this dish.)
the funny part of sunday's service was when one of the minister's said "namaste y'all".
now that would be synchronicity except that we say "namaste" in our church all the time. and like i said in that other post, we're in the south so the "y'all" part ain't outta the blue either. it still tickled me tho. '-)
oh, before i forget, i'm shouting out a "thank you" to baby bliss for making sure i got up sunday morning. i'd gotten kinda lazy on sunday mornings and become somewhat nonchalant about whether or not we made it to church.
we've had so many out-of-town guests this summer and some of them arrived and/or left on sundays. it's thrown me off schedule and i'd gotten out of the habit of church for a month of sundays, at least.
but we're back in the saddle and i'm happy. baby bliss and i signed up to attend some other-than-sunday events with our church family and we're both excited about it. "-)
205: not in front of grandma!
baby bliss had a question about conception the other day y'all.
grandma was riding with us so i'm guessing b.b. thought she should moderate her choice of words.
i think b.b. was asking if it was possible for a woman to give birth to a set of triplets and a set of twins when giving birth to five babies at once.
the other part of the question was how a woman got pregnant with five (or more) babies at once. she wanted to know if the same sperm did it, if there was a separate sperm for each egg, or some other combination of workings.
but she didn't want to say the word "sperm" in front of my grandma so she said "the creamy white stuff".
well i didn't like the way that sounded and i tried to get her to pipe down until after we dropped grandma off. but wouldn't y'all know it, grandma heard her too and asked baby bliss what creamy white stuff was she talking about.
at that point baby bliss dissolved into a mess of convulsive giggles and grandma saw fit to interject her medical expertise about the subject of multiple births.
which means we'll have to do our own research some time this school year to undo grandma's good intentions.
grandma was riding with us so i'm guessing b.b. thought she should moderate her choice of words.
i think b.b. was asking if it was possible for a woman to give birth to a set of triplets and a set of twins when giving birth to five babies at once.
the other part of the question was how a woman got pregnant with five (or more) babies at once. she wanted to know if the same sperm did it, if there was a separate sperm for each egg, or some other combination of workings.
but she didn't want to say the word "sperm" in front of my grandma so she said "the creamy white stuff".
well i didn't like the way that sounded and i tried to get her to pipe down until after we dropped grandma off. but wouldn't y'all know it, grandma heard her too and asked baby bliss what creamy white stuff was she talking about.
at that point baby bliss dissolved into a mess of convulsive giggles and grandma saw fit to interject her medical expertise about the subject of multiple births.
which means we'll have to do our own research some time this school year to undo grandma's good intentions.
Saturday, August 25, 2007
204: namaste y'all
okay, the "y'all" at the end of the greeting/goodbye phrase is not really correct because the translation ends with the word "you".
but i'm a southern gurl so "y'all" is there cuz it sounds good to me.
y'all know what i love about the internet? it connects us to so many and so much.
without the internet, you and i probably wouldn't know each other in any capacity.
but on to what i was supposed to be saying in this post...
that last post ended with the word "namaste". and in looking for a site to link to so some could get a feel for what the word embodies, i came across another "namaste" site.
now go check it out y'all and tell me, how cool is this?
here's a hint: if you knit, you might like it more than some other folks. i've never seen needles like their's.
but i'm a southern gurl so "y'all" is there cuz it sounds good to me.
y'all know what i love about the internet? it connects us to so many and so much.
without the internet, you and i probably wouldn't know each other in any capacity.
but on to what i was supposed to be saying in this post...
that last post ended with the word "namaste". and in looking for a site to link to so some could get a feel for what the word embodies, i came across another "namaste" site.
now go check it out y'all and tell me, how cool is this?
here's a hint: if you knit, you might like it more than some other folks. i've never seen needles like their's.
203: back to school
hey y'all!
how's your weekend going so far? mine is going... i've been sleepy most of the day. maybe cuz i went to bed with a headache last night. i'm not sure...
the chaps in our county start school on monday. lucky baby bliss, being homeschooled, her momma decides when she starts back to school. i've decided to go with the traditional day-after-labor-day for our official first day of school.
in preparation, i'm relaxing and she's trying to cram as much fun as possible into her last days of summer. i don't know why cuz home schooling allows her to learn at the pool if she so chooses. maybe it's her way of commiserating with her friends who attend "regular" school.
in my travels on the web, i've come across some interesting home schooling/unschooling resources that i'd like to share.
the first is the NW Unschooling Conference. it's being held next year, in the NW united states. go
here for more info. thanks to Amanda for posting a link on her blog. although i probably won't attend, i'd like to spread the word. :-)
oops! i was gonna post more stuff but it would actually be links to the presenters and other info for the above-mentioned unschooling conference. y'all can go check that stuff out by following the link for the conference.
even if you don't have a clue what unschooling is or have some kinda bias against the granola-eating/pierced-nose/hippies/save-the-earth/hybrid car-driving people who educate their children at home, go check out the conference stuff any way.
trust me when i say you'll see something that interests you on the website.
and if you don't, please let me know so i can tell you how you if you're willing to expand your horizons just a lil teeeeeeeeeny bit more, you'd be surprised at what new things you'll come to enjoy.
namaste. '-)
how's your weekend going so far? mine is going... i've been sleepy most of the day. maybe cuz i went to bed with a headache last night. i'm not sure...
the chaps in our county start school on monday. lucky baby bliss, being homeschooled, her momma decides when she starts back to school. i've decided to go with the traditional day-after-labor-day for our official first day of school.
in preparation, i'm relaxing and she's trying to cram as much fun as possible into her last days of summer. i don't know why cuz home schooling allows her to learn at the pool if she so chooses. maybe it's her way of commiserating with her friends who attend "regular" school.
in my travels on the web, i've come across some interesting home schooling/unschooling resources that i'd like to share.
the first is the NW Unschooling Conference. it's being held next year, in the NW united states. go
here for more info. thanks to Amanda for posting a link on her blog. although i probably won't attend, i'd like to spread the word. :-)
oops! i was gonna post more stuff but it would actually be links to the presenters and other info for the above-mentioned unschooling conference. y'all can go check that stuff out by following the link for the conference.
even if you don't have a clue what unschooling is or have some kinda bias against the granola-eating/pierced-nose/hippies/save-the-earth/hybrid car-driving people who educate their children at home, go check out the conference stuff any way.
trust me when i say you'll see something that interests you on the website.
and if you don't, please let me know so i can tell you how you if you're willing to expand your horizons just a lil teeeeeeeeeny bit more, you'd be surprised at what new things you'll come to enjoy.
namaste. '-)
202: i reply! (redux)
okay y'all, until i figure out how to get that set up where y'all can comment and get an e-mail when someone follows up on your comment, i'll just say this:
go here to get more info and know that from now on, any time you leave a comment, i will reply to it right there under your comment. i'll also drop by your blog and comment on your most recent post(s) if i've been there before. if i haven't i'll take my time to look around and probably comment on some old stuff (as well as some new).
so y'all feel free to leave as many comments as you like. and know that i reply!
go here to get more info and know that from now on, any time you leave a comment, i will reply to it right there under your comment. i'll also drop by your blog and comment on your most recent post(s) if i've been there before. if i haven't i'll take my time to look around and probably comment on some old stuff (as well as some new).
so y'all feel free to leave as many comments as you like. and know that i reply!
201: potty dreams
i had a really weird dream in the wee hours.
this might be kinda gross for some of y'all so this is your warning.
i dreamed i was in a bathroom (or several bathrooms; that part isn't clear). every toilet stall i went into had a used panty liner in the toilet. and there was a used panty liner in every trash bin i looked into.
i don't recall anyone else in the dream, just me, finding used panty liners here and there.
i've dabbled in dream interpretation for the longest time. but i'll tell y'all, if i dabbled in it for another 20 years, i don't think i could figure out the meaning of that one.
maybe it was meant to be comic relief. like, maybe it was sandwiched in between two other dreams that weren't so good? if that's the case, it sure did work. i usually have several dreams per sleep session but that's the only one i remember from last night.
.
this might be kinda gross for some of y'all so this is your warning.
i dreamed i was in a bathroom (or several bathrooms; that part isn't clear). every toilet stall i went into had a used panty liner in the toilet. and there was a used panty liner in every trash bin i looked into.
i don't recall anyone else in the dream, just me, finding used panty liners here and there.
i've dabbled in dream interpretation for the longest time. but i'll tell y'all, if i dabbled in it for another 20 years, i don't think i could figure out the meaning of that one.
maybe it was meant to be comic relief. like, maybe it was sandwiched in between two other dreams that weren't so good? if that's the case, it sure did work. i usually have several dreams per sleep session but that's the only one i remember from last night.
.
200: i miss my life in the desert
once upon a time y'all, i lived in the desert.
i was there for a little less than 2 years but in that short time, i came to love that place. not so much the heat (although i loved my coatless winters) as the scenery.
we lived in a beautiful small town with mountain vistas on every side.
i moved away because i left my (ex) husband and with baby bliss being a year old, i felt it would be best to raise her back home near my family. so she and i moved back east.
if i had built up a strong network of friends out there, i would have stayed. i had a few friends there but i didn't feel i knew any of them well enough to leave my small child with them while i worked. and some of them were already working moms.
fast forward to now...
i've had countless days of wondering what our lives would be like if i had managed to stay out there. today was one of those days.
i was driving home from the bank this morning and something drew my mind out west, to the desert. as i turned onto the main street that would bring me back here, i found myself scanning the horizon for mountains that i knew weren't there.
and i felt like crying.
i was there for a little less than 2 years but in that short time, i came to love that place. not so much the heat (although i loved my coatless winters) as the scenery.
we lived in a beautiful small town with mountain vistas on every side.
i moved away because i left my (ex) husband and with baby bliss being a year old, i felt it would be best to raise her back home near my family. so she and i moved back east.
if i had built up a strong network of friends out there, i would have stayed. i had a few friends there but i didn't feel i knew any of them well enough to leave my small child with them while i worked. and some of them were already working moms.
fast forward to now...
i've had countless days of wondering what our lives would be like if i had managed to stay out there. today was one of those days.
i was driving home from the bank this morning and something drew my mind out west, to the desert. as i turned onto the main street that would bring me back here, i found myself scanning the horizon for mountains that i knew weren't there.
and i felt like crying.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
199: it's been a long time...
hey y'all!
i feel like i've been on an extended vacation.
i've missed y'all. what's been going on around here? :-)
my life has been busy, busy, biz-zeeeeeeeeeee!
saturday was the court-ordered parenting education class. it was an interesting and challenging four (4) hours. i learned a few tidbits that i'd heard before but just didn't sink in until i heard them from our facilitator. the challenging part was admitting that some of my parenting skills are in need of overhaul and promising myself i'd grit my teeth and dig in, for the good of baby bliss. it was also challenging to stay awake for four (4) hours cuz i'd stayed up into the wee hours flitting off nervous energy the night before.
sunday we drove down to my sister's. that's a whole post of its own. '-)
yesterday i had an interesting conversation with a telemarketer. i forgot his name and the company he claimed he was calling from. some sweepstakes place or another, he said.
it's my own fault really. i've been a sweepstakes entrant for many years now. i never use my first name, only my first initial and my last name. i do give my phone number (cell) because i enter sweeps from "reputable" companies. but sometimes i forget to check the box (or uncheck it) that says they can't give/sell my info to anyone else.
i also forgot to register my new cell numbers with the national do not call registry.
the guy who called yesterday was a fast talker. and he had an accent. so it was a little difficult to understand him. add to that the fact that i don't like telemarketers.
he asked if he could speak with (first initial, last name). i asked who was calling. he said he was _____. i asked, "who is _____? do i know you from somewhere?"
he said no, he was calling from XYZ sweepstakes company and i had been selected to blah blah blah. oh, okay...
baby bliss and i were watching telly while i braided her hair and i was kinda bored so i thought what the hell. i decided to talk to him. for as long as it took.
he: hello (first initial). um, what's your first name?
me: it's (first initial).
he: oh, you only have an initial for your first name?
me: yes
he: oh... okay.
then he starts asking me questions about my hobbies, our eating habits, if we use coupons, how many children i have, am i married, etc.
i gave what ever answers popped into my head. he kept 'em coming and i kept thinking up off-the-cuff responses that sounded like good ole functional-family-living-in-middle-america stuff. (the total opposite of our family...)
then he got to the part where he tried to fool me.
first he said i'd been chosen to receive a free ladies diamond watch, free subscriptions to so-an-so magazines, and some other crap. then he tried to sneak in a subscription to a-nuuuuuther magazine but i noticed he didn't say the magic word: free.
aha! i thought to meself. he thinks he's got a dummy on the line.
i said, "oh no _____, we don't pay for magazines. we get all our reading materials free from the library."
_____ goes, "oh, so you're saying you're foregoing this wonderful offer because you like to go to go to the library to read for free?"
i said, "no. i'm foregoing the offer because i don't know who you are or where you're calling from. i didn't initiate this call and all i know is what you're telling me but that doesn't make any of it true."
____ digested that then he said, "well, we're a legitimate company and we got your phone number when you entered the sweepstakes."
"well _____, you know, you never did tell me which sweepstakes i entered. and how do you know i'm really (first initial)? just because you got this number from a sweeps entry doesn't mean the information is real. the person who entered the sweeps could have given you false information. i might not even be (first initial). i could just be a person who likes to talk to people who call me with wrong numbers."
___ thought about that for a bit then he said, "okay ma'am. you have a nice evening."
at least that's what i think he said.
i feel like i've been on an extended vacation.
i've missed y'all. what's been going on around here? :-)
my life has been busy, busy, biz-zeeeeeeeeeee!
saturday was the court-ordered parenting education class. it was an interesting and challenging four (4) hours. i learned a few tidbits that i'd heard before but just didn't sink in until i heard them from our facilitator. the challenging part was admitting that some of my parenting skills are in need of overhaul and promising myself i'd grit my teeth and dig in, for the good of baby bliss. it was also challenging to stay awake for four (4) hours cuz i'd stayed up into the wee hours flitting off nervous energy the night before.
sunday we drove down to my sister's. that's a whole post of its own. '-)
yesterday i had an interesting conversation with a telemarketer. i forgot his name and the company he claimed he was calling from. some sweepstakes place or another, he said.
it's my own fault really. i've been a sweepstakes entrant for many years now. i never use my first name, only my first initial and my last name. i do give my phone number (cell) because i enter sweeps from "reputable" companies. but sometimes i forget to check the box (or uncheck it) that says they can't give/sell my info to anyone else.
i also forgot to register my new cell numbers with the national do not call registry.
the guy who called yesterday was a fast talker. and he had an accent. so it was a little difficult to understand him. add to that the fact that i don't like telemarketers.
he asked if he could speak with (first initial, last name). i asked who was calling. he said he was _____. i asked, "who is _____? do i know you from somewhere?"
he said no, he was calling from XYZ sweepstakes company and i had been selected to blah blah blah. oh, okay...
baby bliss and i were watching telly while i braided her hair and i was kinda bored so i thought what the hell. i decided to talk to him. for as long as it took.
he: hello (first initial). um, what's your first name?
me: it's (first initial).
he: oh, you only have an initial for your first name?
me: yes
he: oh... okay.
then he starts asking me questions about my hobbies, our eating habits, if we use coupons, how many children i have, am i married, etc.
i gave what ever answers popped into my head. he kept 'em coming and i kept thinking up off-the-cuff responses that sounded like good ole functional-family-living-in-middle-america stuff. (the total opposite of our family...)
then he got to the part where he tried to fool me.
first he said i'd been chosen to receive a free ladies diamond watch, free subscriptions to so-an-so magazines, and some other crap. then he tried to sneak in a subscription to a-nuuuuuther magazine but i noticed he didn't say the magic word: free.
aha! i thought to meself. he thinks he's got a dummy on the line.
i said, "oh no _____, we don't pay for magazines. we get all our reading materials free from the library."
_____ goes, "oh, so you're saying you're foregoing this wonderful offer because you like to go to go to the library to read for free?"
i said, "no. i'm foregoing the offer because i don't know who you are or where you're calling from. i didn't initiate this call and all i know is what you're telling me but that doesn't make any of it true."
____ digested that then he said, "well, we're a legitimate company and we got your phone number when you entered the sweepstakes."
"well _____, you know, you never did tell me which sweepstakes i entered. and how do you know i'm really (first initial)? just because you got this number from a sweeps entry doesn't mean the information is real. the person who entered the sweeps could have given you false information. i might not even be (first initial). i could just be a person who likes to talk to people who call me with wrong numbers."
___ thought about that for a bit then he said, "okay ma'am. you have a nice evening."
at least that's what i think he said.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
198: more fish tales
hey y'all.
just wanted to share another sylvia tidbit.
shortly after we added it to her home, we put a flat/smooth/oval rock in the bottom of sylvia's bowl-in-a-bowl.
i've noticed she likes swimming down into the bottom and sitting on top of the rock.
i wonder what she thinks about when she sits on her rock. i also wonder if we should put another one in. we don't have any more large flat rock, only small ones. maybe we'll go to the dollar store monday.
i want to find some paper lace doilies for a project i have in mind.
and now i'm off to bed cuz we're going to see my sis in a few hours. :-)
just wanted to share another sylvia tidbit.
shortly after we added it to her home, we put a flat/smooth/oval rock in the bottom of sylvia's bowl-in-a-bowl.
i've noticed she likes swimming down into the bottom and sitting on top of the rock.
i wonder what she thinks about when she sits on her rock. i also wonder if we should put another one in. we don't have any more large flat rock, only small ones. maybe we'll go to the dollar store monday.
i want to find some paper lace doilies for a project i have in mind.
and now i'm off to bed cuz we're going to see my sis in a few hours. :-)
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Friday, August 17, 2007
196: thank you, thank you, thank you
hey y'all,
i'm just taking a moment to say a heart felt "thank you" to everyone who reads my blog.
even if you don't comment, i still appreciate you dropping by.
and for those who do comment, i heap more thanks upon your head.
i've learned so much about the world from the internet but i've learned so much about people from blogging. being a blogger has connected me with others who blog and it's been fun and exciting as well as informative to meet my brothers and sisters in the blogger-verse.
for all who do respond, i'm taking a cue from this cool chick (thanks DSB!) by getting a system in place that will allow me to connect more and better with people who take the time to respond to my posts.
please bear with me y'all cuz although i'm computer savvy and html literate, i sometimes get befuddled by all the web has to offer.
in the meantime, please keep reading, please keep commenting, and keep the e-mails coming. i look forward to meeting all of y'all!
arrigato!
dank je wel!
danke!
dhanyavaad!
grazie!
mahalo!
medassi!
merci!
obrigado!
shakkran!
sukran!
thanks y'all!
wado!
i'm just taking a moment to say a heart felt "thank you" to everyone who reads my blog.
even if you don't comment, i still appreciate you dropping by.
and for those who do comment, i heap more thanks upon your head.
i've learned so much about the world from the internet but i've learned so much about people from blogging. being a blogger has connected me with others who blog and it's been fun and exciting as well as informative to meet my brothers and sisters in the blogger-verse.
for all who do respond, i'm taking a cue from this cool chick (thanks DSB!) by getting a system in place that will allow me to connect more and better with people who take the time to respond to my posts.
please bear with me y'all cuz although i'm computer savvy and html literate, i sometimes get befuddled by all the web has to offer.
in the meantime, please keep reading, please keep commenting, and keep the e-mails coming. i look forward to meeting all of y'all!
arrigato!
dank je wel!
danke!
dhanyavaad!
grazie!
mahalo!
medassi!
merci!
obrigado!
shakkran!
sukran!
thanks y'all!
wado!
195: i feel silly, oh so silly...
but happy too y'all.
check this out...
how stupid am i? me--the internet queen, lady laptop, online fanatic...
why in the world did i not think to look up my sister's info online?
actually, i did it when we first lost touch and couldn't find anything but the old info.
but good ole sis. her new number is listed (along with her two old numbers) and i was able to reach her yesterday.
she's doing okay. i'm a little concerned about some things she said but i know she's doing the best she can. (aren't we all?)
i'm happy to say that we're all are driving down this weekend to see her. baby bliss will meet her cousins; i'll meet my nephew; mr. bliss will meet his sister-in-law, 2 nieces, and 1 nephew; we'll all meet my sister's significant other.
thank you God/Goddess/Universe for the nudge and for being persistent with it. i know i miss it sometimes Divine One, but this time i got it in a timely manner. '-)
of course i can't go without bearing gifts. as i was looking through my stashes of goodies for things i know my sister would love, i came across something i've been actively looking for--and agonizing over--for a few weeks. the information--if accessed by the wrong person(s) would allow someone to literally steal my life savings. i had no idea where it was and believe you-me when i say i tore this place up looking for it.
somehow it managed to hide right where i'd looked a hundred times before. :-&
i also came across some other things i hadn't seen in a while, wanted and missed, but was too tired to look for them.
there are so many reasons linked to the word "why"...
i'm thankful for them all.
amen.
check this out...
how stupid am i? me--the internet queen, lady laptop, online fanatic...
why in the world did i not think to look up my sister's info online?
actually, i did it when we first lost touch and couldn't find anything but the old info.
but good ole sis. her new number is listed (along with her two old numbers) and i was able to reach her yesterday.
she's doing okay. i'm a little concerned about some things she said but i know she's doing the best she can. (aren't we all?)
i'm happy to say that we're all are driving down this weekend to see her. baby bliss will meet her cousins; i'll meet my nephew; mr. bliss will meet his sister-in-law, 2 nieces, and 1 nephew; we'll all meet my sister's significant other.
thank you God/Goddess/Universe for the nudge and for being persistent with it. i know i miss it sometimes Divine One, but this time i got it in a timely manner. '-)
of course i can't go without bearing gifts. as i was looking through my stashes of goodies for things i know my sister would love, i came across something i've been actively looking for--and agonizing over--for a few weeks. the information--if accessed by the wrong person(s) would allow someone to literally steal my life savings. i had no idea where it was and believe you-me when i say i tore this place up looking for it.
somehow it managed to hide right where i'd looked a hundred times before. :-&
i also came across some other things i hadn't seen in a while, wanted and missed, but was too tired to look for them.
there are so many reasons linked to the word "why"...
i'm thankful for them all.
amen.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
194: the library police
yesterday y'all, i learned that we have library police.
reminded me of that stephen king story but i was still happy to see him here. '-)
did i tell y'all about the gang banger incident here at the library a few months ago?
it wasn't a shoot out or anything serious like that. but it was unsettling just the same.
baby bliss was looking for videos in the kid's section and i was checking out the CDs over on the other aisle.
she came and said, "mommy. there are some guys sitting in the children's section and something ain't right about them."
i asked her what she meant and she said she didn't know, just something. baby bliss ain't scared of much so i sashayed on over to see what she was talking about.
sure nuff, something was strange about those guys. i played it cool and strolled over to the videos with baby bliss. we acted like we were looking for movies but i was actually checking the guys out.
the first thing i noticed was the looks on their faces. they all looked spacey. not in a drugged way, just in a dog-tired kinda way, or like they were in stand-down mode and waiting for orders. weird...
second, i noticed their clothes. the clothing was typical urban teenager/young people type of gear: baggy pants, over-sized tees, and thick-soled footwear. the clothes looked obsessively clean and pressed, maybe brand spanking new.
what made them stand out was the red bandanas. one guy had one hanging from his lower pants pocket. another had his hanging from his back pocket. the third guy had his tied around his neck. they also stank. like they'd been sleeping in abandoned houses or dirty places.
just so happened that they left when we did. i told baby bliss to hang back, so they could go out before us. they got into two black SUVs with california tags.
scary.
reminded me of that stephen king story but i was still happy to see him here. '-)
did i tell y'all about the gang banger incident here at the library a few months ago?
it wasn't a shoot out or anything serious like that. but it was unsettling just the same.
baby bliss was looking for videos in the kid's section and i was checking out the CDs over on the other aisle.
she came and said, "mommy. there are some guys sitting in the children's section and something ain't right about them."
i asked her what she meant and she said she didn't know, just something. baby bliss ain't scared of much so i sashayed on over to see what she was talking about.
sure nuff, something was strange about those guys. i played it cool and strolled over to the videos with baby bliss. we acted like we were looking for movies but i was actually checking the guys out.
the first thing i noticed was the looks on their faces. they all looked spacey. not in a drugged way, just in a dog-tired kinda way, or like they were in stand-down mode and waiting for orders. weird...
second, i noticed their clothes. the clothing was typical urban teenager/young people type of gear: baggy pants, over-sized tees, and thick-soled footwear. the clothes looked obsessively clean and pressed, maybe brand spanking new.
what made them stand out was the red bandanas. one guy had one hanging from his lower pants pocket. another had his hanging from his back pocket. the third guy had his tied around his neck. they also stank. like they'd been sleeping in abandoned houses or dirty places.
just so happened that they left when we did. i told baby bliss to hang back, so they could go out before us. they got into two black SUVs with california tags.
scary.
193: say WHAT?!
if i wasn't the type of momma that i am, i'd be waiting for this boy with a baseball bat y'all.
the other day we were at the library. baby bliss was hanging out at a table in the kid's section, with a girl she met here monday.
i was standing at my friend V's desk, shooting the breeze. out of the cornea (LOL) of my eye, i saw a young man plop himself in a chair at their table. i didn't think much of it but i did keep one eye on them while i continued gabbing.
next thang i know, baby bliss and her friend come running over to me and V, giggling like mad hyenas. baby bliss had a piece of folded paper in her hand.
"mommy!" she giggle-shouted, "look at this!"
i took the paper, unfurled the gazillion folds, and here's what i read:
HAY my is ____ when i fast saw you
I have a crush on you do you a boyfriend
I love you will you go out with me
I like your sister the one in the pink
I love you babygirl call me at _____________
I love you I will miss you babgirl
(first name last name)
I love you
baby girl
my first observation was that mr. ________ either flunked elementary english or he was so smitten with baby bliss that he just couldn't get his thoughts together. i had to give him points for style and suave maneuvering tho. the note was typed, not handwritten and he delivered it himself. but he got demerits for failing to ensure that the note was delivered to the correct recipient.
baby bliss said he sat at the table, struck up a conversation with her and her friend (the one wearing pink), asking about school and how old they were. then instead of giving baby bliss the note directly, he put it on the table, looked up at the ceiling and said, "that's for you".
the friend grabbed the note, they read it, then got confused as to who it was really for. hence bringing the note to momma for further clarification.
after i read the note to V, the friend asked me to give it back to her. i told her no, i was holding it for evidence, just in case.
i'll admit i was a little miffed when baby bliss said the boy told them he was 15. then i had to remember that young ladies usually mature sooner than young men (mentally, at least) and how older guys were always interested in me when i was young. (but not 10!)
i later learned the young man in question was part of a group of mentally challenged young men who are brought to the library periodically by an adult who may be their case worker.
i showed mr. bliss the note when we got home and gave him all the particulars i knew. initially he was up in arms about it all.
but he checked the young man out when he stopped by yesterday and thought the guy was harmless. he said, "he would probably be a better friend to her than some of the friends she has now".
mr. bliss is just too trusting at times.
.
the other day we were at the library. baby bliss was hanging out at a table in the kid's section, with a girl she met here monday.
i was standing at my friend V's desk, shooting the breeze. out of the cornea (LOL) of my eye, i saw a young man plop himself in a chair at their table. i didn't think much of it but i did keep one eye on them while i continued gabbing.
next thang i know, baby bliss and her friend come running over to me and V, giggling like mad hyenas. baby bliss had a piece of folded paper in her hand.
"mommy!" she giggle-shouted, "look at this!"
i took the paper, unfurled the gazillion folds, and here's what i read:
HAY my is ____ when i fast saw you
I have a crush on you do you a boyfriend
I love you will you go out with me
I like your sister the one in the pink
I love you babygirl call me at _____________
I love you I will miss you babgirl
(first name last name)
I love you
baby girl
my first observation was that mr. ________ either flunked elementary english or he was so smitten with baby bliss that he just couldn't get his thoughts together. i had to give him points for style and suave maneuvering tho. the note was typed, not handwritten and he delivered it himself. but he got demerits for failing to ensure that the note was delivered to the correct recipient.
baby bliss said he sat at the table, struck up a conversation with her and her friend (the one wearing pink), asking about school and how old they were. then instead of giving baby bliss the note directly, he put it on the table, looked up at the ceiling and said, "that's for you".
the friend grabbed the note, they read it, then got confused as to who it was really for. hence bringing the note to momma for further clarification.
after i read the note to V, the friend asked me to give it back to her. i told her no, i was holding it for evidence, just in case.
i'll admit i was a little miffed when baby bliss said the boy told them he was 15. then i had to remember that young ladies usually mature sooner than young men (mentally, at least) and how older guys were always interested in me when i was young. (but not 10!)
i later learned the young man in question was part of a group of mentally challenged young men who are brought to the library periodically by an adult who may be their case worker.
i showed mr. bliss the note when we got home and gave him all the particulars i knew. initially he was up in arms about it all.
but he checked the young man out when he stopped by yesterday and thought the guy was harmless. he said, "he would probably be a better friend to her than some of the friends she has now".
mr. bliss is just too trusting at times.
.
192: observations
i'm sitting at the library in the kids section, looking out the window at parking lot activities.
i've noticed (and not only today) that a lot of people tend to let their small children walk behind them. i've seen both men and women do it, tho mostly women. (but i'm sure that's cuz there seem to be more women than men bringing the kids to the library.)
even tho she's 10, i'm careful to have baby bliss walk beside me or in front of me. i feel it's safer in case we need to run or something. that way i don't have to look behind me to see where she is or if she's paying attention. i can just snatch her up and explain the particulars as we haul tail outta the sich'ation.
mr. bliss dropped by for a surprise visit. i let him use my laptop while i got up to check on baby bliss in the computer room and tend to a few assorted library activities. when i came back, i came the long way, which brought me around from behind mr. bliss.
lo and behold, i saw a man who appeared to be watching over my husband's shoulder. our respective tables were located on opposite sides of a vee that's formed where two window walls meet, kinda like this: ;V; (the 'V' is the wall and the dots are the tables; the commas represent air, really but i needed to use the semicolon to better show where the tables are.)
if the guy had been sitting at the table correctly, he would have been facing two other tables, a small lounge area, and another window wall. but he wasn't. he had pulled the chair back from the table, so it was closer to the edge of the V. then he sat so he could see our table (and anything beyond it as well.)
when i noticed him, he was leaning forward, perched on the edge of the chair as if he was trying to see what my husband was doing on the laptop.
when i returned to my seat, i leaned in as if i was going to nuzzle my husband's neck and i whispered "somebody's watching you". mr. bliss turned around to check the guy out. a few minutes later, he turned around to look at the guy again. eventually the guy turned his chair to face his own table.
wow.
.
i've noticed (and not only today) that a lot of people tend to let their small children walk behind them. i've seen both men and women do it, tho mostly women. (but i'm sure that's cuz there seem to be more women than men bringing the kids to the library.)
even tho she's 10, i'm careful to have baby bliss walk beside me or in front of me. i feel it's safer in case we need to run or something. that way i don't have to look behind me to see where she is or if she's paying attention. i can just snatch her up and explain the particulars as we haul tail outta the sich'ation.
* * *
yesterday i noticed a high percentage of men in the library. some of them were kinda creepy too. i think one was clocking mr. bliss. (to 'clock' means to watch someone's activity very closely, sometimes for purposes of getting to know them in the romantic sense; sometimes to vic them. 'vic' is short for 'victim' and when used as a verb, in the lingo of the ghetto, it means to make someone the victim of a crime.)mr. bliss dropped by for a surprise visit. i let him use my laptop while i got up to check on baby bliss in the computer room and tend to a few assorted library activities. when i came back, i came the long way, which brought me around from behind mr. bliss.
lo and behold, i saw a man who appeared to be watching over my husband's shoulder. our respective tables were located on opposite sides of a vee that's formed where two window walls meet, kinda like this: ;V; (the 'V' is the wall and the dots are the tables; the commas represent air, really but i needed to use the semicolon to better show where the tables are.)
if the guy had been sitting at the table correctly, he would have been facing two other tables, a small lounge area, and another window wall. but he wasn't. he had pulled the chair back from the table, so it was closer to the edge of the V. then he sat so he could see our table (and anything beyond it as well.)
when i noticed him, he was leaning forward, perched on the edge of the chair as if he was trying to see what my husband was doing on the laptop.
when i returned to my seat, i leaned in as if i was going to nuzzle my husband's neck and i whispered "somebody's watching you". mr. bliss turned around to check the guy out. a few minutes later, he turned around to look at the guy again. eventually the guy turned his chair to face his own table.
wow.
.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
191: what's going on?
hey y'all.
this synchronicity thing is getting eerier by the day.
don't get me wrong now. i've always prayed to be in the Flow of Abundance, to dance in the swirl of Life's Unseen, and kept abreast of Things I Need to Know. and i'm not saying i'm a Sylvia Brown or a Madame Cleo '-) but God has been good to me with the intuition thing.
i've been a just-miss no-show for more shoot outs, bank robberies, and knife fights than i care to remember. i've managed to come across long-lost documents right before they were needed, i dreamed my daughter's birth at a time when i was adamant about not having children, i've advised people to make seemingly questionable business moves that have served them extremely well, etc.
i can't recount all the wonderful incidences of coincidence/fate/human revolution/karma/synchronicity that i've experienced in my life. and i'm sure there are some i've missed out on cuz i was somewhere doing something i had no business and therefore blocking the necessary download of information from God/Goddess/Universe to my brain.
but the past few weeks have been eerie in a way that has me worried.
i told y'all about the bad dream where i thought my sister was calling to tell me her son had died right? i think that was last week.
any way, we were at the library yesterday (where else? LOL) and i was talking to my friend V who works here. (yeah, i'm at the library right now.) V's brother came to drop off her car and she introduced us.
after he left, she and i started talking about family. i told her about my sister, how we hadn't seen each other is sooooo many years, and how i don't have any contact info for her now. then i was talking about the small town my sister lives in and how it's not too far and i was thinking about driving down to see if i could find her.
well how about this: while we were talking, a man came up to V's desk and asked for a pencil sharpener. he sharpened his pencil while V and i continued talking. when he heard me say my sister lived in ______, he laughed and said he was going to ______ very soon for a special event for a college friend. we all laughed then V and i listened to him talk about his upcoming visit to _____. he even told me how far the drive i from here. (and no, i don't think he was trying to pick either of us up. i got the feeling that women weren't his type.)
when he left, V was the first to say how weird it was that he was going to _____. she knew nothing about my dream so she didn't know how much more weird it was to me.
then today... a few hours ago, i met the step-mom of one of my daughter's new friends. and doggone if she didn't look like my sister.
so what do y'all think? could all this be pointing me to get in my car and drive on down to _____ to find my sister? i haven't seen her since the first time we met (11 or 12 years ago) and haven't talked to her in over a year.
maybe something is wrong and God wants me to see my sister. i'm gonna pray about this tonight.
this synchronicity thing is getting eerier by the day.
don't get me wrong now. i've always prayed to be in the Flow of Abundance, to dance in the swirl of Life's Unseen, and kept abreast of Things I Need to Know. and i'm not saying i'm a Sylvia Brown or a Madame Cleo '-) but God has been good to me with the intuition thing.
i've been a just-miss no-show for more shoot outs, bank robberies, and knife fights than i care to remember. i've managed to come across long-lost documents right before they were needed, i dreamed my daughter's birth at a time when i was adamant about not having children, i've advised people to make seemingly questionable business moves that have served them extremely well, etc.
i can't recount all the wonderful incidences of coincidence/fate/human revolution/karma/synchronicity that i've experienced in my life. and i'm sure there are some i've missed out on cuz i was somewhere doing something i had no business and therefore blocking the necessary download of information from God/Goddess/Universe to my brain.
but the past few weeks have been eerie in a way that has me worried.
i told y'all about the bad dream where i thought my sister was calling to tell me her son had died right? i think that was last week.
any way, we were at the library yesterday (where else? LOL) and i was talking to my friend V who works here. (yeah, i'm at the library right now.) V's brother came to drop off her car and she introduced us.
after he left, she and i started talking about family. i told her about my sister, how we hadn't seen each other is sooooo many years, and how i don't have any contact info for her now. then i was talking about the small town my sister lives in and how it's not too far and i was thinking about driving down to see if i could find her.
well how about this: while we were talking, a man came up to V's desk and asked for a pencil sharpener. he sharpened his pencil while V and i continued talking. when he heard me say my sister lived in ______, he laughed and said he was going to ______ very soon for a special event for a college friend. we all laughed then V and i listened to him talk about his upcoming visit to _____. he even told me how far the drive i from here. (and no, i don't think he was trying to pick either of us up. i got the feeling that women weren't his type.)
when he left, V was the first to say how weird it was that he was going to _____. she knew nothing about my dream so she didn't know how much more weird it was to me.
then today... a few hours ago, i met the step-mom of one of my daughter's new friends. and doggone if she didn't look like my sister.
so what do y'all think? could all this be pointing me to get in my car and drive on down to _____ to find my sister? i haven't seen her since the first time we met (11 or 12 years ago) and haven't talked to her in over a year.
maybe something is wrong and God wants me to see my sister. i'm gonna pray about this tonight.
Monday, August 13, 2007
190: the value of my blog
hey y'all,
according to this guy, the value of my blog has more than doubled since the last time i checked. (several months ago but not sure of the exact date cuz i wasn't paying that much attention...)
all i know is my blog was worth this much
when i first checked it out.
and now it's worth this much:
there's all kinds of technical talk about dollar ratios, technorati, AOL, and some other gibberish on that guy's page. and not one bit of it helps me understand how the $ amounts are calculated. but that's not the most important thing.
what i want to know is how i can get that money and stick it in my bank account cuz it sure would come in handy.
with $5,645. 40, i could pay:
haha, okay, yeah. i know y'all are saying "uh huh. she sho didn't do that last calculation", as if i didn't just prove my exceptional grasp of mathematics with the numbers i did run... *rolling my eyes*
and i could do the calculation ya know. cuz i totally read "advanced math for dummies" and totally understood it. i just don't feel like it. but y'all feel free to do it. go on now. it's good to get a feel for the numbers. and what with school starting up again and all, it'll be good to get back in practice. :-)
y'all have a nice evening now cuz i gotta run.
we're at the library (where else?) and baby bliss is ready to go. she's bored with the internet and while waiting on me to say let's go, she's created enough origami frogs for a plague of Biblical proportions.
more later...
according to this guy, the value of my blog has more than doubled since the last time i checked. (several months ago but not sure of the exact date cuz i wasn't paying that much attention...)
all i know is my blog was worth this much
when i first checked it out.
and now it's worth this much:
there's all kinds of technical talk about dollar ratios, technorati, AOL, and some other gibberish on that guy's page. and not one bit of it helps me understand how the $ amounts are calculated. but that's not the most important thing.
what i want to know is how i can get that money and stick it in my bank account cuz it sure would come in handy.
with $5,645. 40, i could pay:
- my rent for 6.06 months or
- (2) cell phone bills for 53.76 months or
- my car note for 18.63 months or
- my student loan off and have $3,310.53 left over or
- invest it with ING Direct @ 5.40 % interest (or so) and have a whole lotta money in another 20 years, what with compounded interest and all.
haha, okay, yeah. i know y'all are saying "uh huh. she sho didn't do that last calculation", as if i didn't just prove my exceptional grasp of mathematics with the numbers i did run... *rolling my eyes*
and i could do the calculation ya know. cuz i totally read "advanced math for dummies" and totally understood it. i just don't feel like it. but y'all feel free to do it. go on now. it's good to get a feel for the numbers. and what with school starting up again and all, it'll be good to get back in practice. :-)
y'all have a nice evening now cuz i gotta run.
we're at the library (where else?) and baby bliss is ready to go. she's bored with the internet and while waiting on me to say let's go, she's created enough origami frogs for a plague of Biblical proportions.
more later...
189: meteor shower - part II
okay y'all.
i done been outside quite a few times now and ain't seen not one falling thing.
baby bliss abandoned the land of the wide awake several hours ago. she's sleeping peacefully on the living room floor at my feet. she's wrapped in a snuggly-soft fleece blanket with her head perched on the large throw pillow we keep for floor huggers.
she and i went out a few times, once out front and a few more out on the balcony. we did notice that the sky appeared lighter and brighter--an almost reddish glow--close to the edges. we talked about it and i thought we might be experiencing an optical illusion.
but lil smart girl that she is, baby bliss said she thought the glow was related to the meteor showers and asked me how i knew it wasn't. i told her i would check.
and sho nuff, she was right.
so did anyone see (or hear about) the meteor shower?
i done been outside quite a few times now and ain't seen not one falling thing.
baby bliss abandoned the land of the wide awake several hours ago. she's sleeping peacefully on the living room floor at my feet. she's wrapped in a snuggly-soft fleece blanket with her head perched on the large throw pillow we keep for floor huggers.
she and i went out a few times, once out front and a few more out on the balcony. we did notice that the sky appeared lighter and brighter--an almost reddish glow--close to the edges. we talked about it and i thought we might be experiencing an optical illusion.
but lil smart girl that she is, baby bliss said she thought the glow was related to the meteor showers and asked me how i knew it wasn't. i told her i would check.
and sho nuff, she was right.
so did anyone see (or hear about) the meteor shower?
188: the Perseid meteor shower
hey good people!
baby bliss and i are about to make a dash out front to see if we can catch a glimpse of this annual stellar event.
i don't recall hearing about this before but i probably have at some point.
b.b. told me an hour ago that she was setting her alarm clock to get up at 4:45 so she could see it. she said she heard it on the news (i was dozing) and really wanted to see it.
i checked the website of a local newspaper and read that we can actually see the shower for many hours between 10 p.m. and dawn. i also learned that it's an annual event that occurs on either side of august 12.
what i wanna know is why i didn't hear about it on yesterday's news?
baby bliss and i are about to make a dash out front to see if we can catch a glimpse of this annual stellar event.
i don't recall hearing about this before but i probably have at some point.
b.b. told me an hour ago that she was setting her alarm clock to get up at 4:45 so she could see it. she said she heard it on the news (i was dozing) and really wanted to see it.
i checked the website of a local newspaper and read that we can actually see the shower for many hours between 10 p.m. and dawn. i also learned that it's an annual event that occurs on either side of august 12.
what i wanna know is why i didn't hear about it on yesterday's news?
Friday, August 10, 2007
187: blog etiquette
hey my fellow bloggers.
i have some questions about blog etiquette that i'm hoping to get answers to. and who knows? maybe some others in blogville out there are wonderin' too but just haven't gotten around to asking? or maybe some have already asked and i just don't know where to find the answers?
i hope it's the former.
now on to the questions. :-)
1. when a person leaves a comment that ya wanna/needta/should respond to, where's the proper place to do it? on their blog? on ya own?
i don't wanna be rude and not respond at all cuz that's not my style.
but if i respond on their blog, how the heck will they know what i'm referring to if i don't reference it? is it considered rude to re-post some of my own material on someone else's comments, even in the name of good manners?
i also don't wanna look like i'm building up my own comments by responding to my visitor's comment(s). and i'm not sure if people come back to check cuz i sho don't remember to. that's why i like the blogs with the "notify me of new comments" thingies on 'em.
2. what's the proper amount of time alloted for said response, here in bloggerville? one week for single people? two for married? three for married with children? Emily Post, that doyenne of social graces suggests "as soon as possible" for every-day kinda thank-you's.
forgive me Miz Emily but how long might that be in calendar days? some of us need a bit more structure than you're proffering. also ma'am, might commenting in another's blog be considered as an "every day" type of event?
3. how might one correctly phrase an invitation to induce others to visit one's blog? should one offer hors d'oeuvres and spritzers as an incentive? cake and punch? or should promises of food be made only after the invitation has been accepted?
4. how long should one plan to entertain first-time guests? my personal thought is that anything over two hours for a first visit borders on overstaying one's welcome. unless all parties mesh exceedingly well. in which case i'd be willing to stretch the visit to three hours.
but again, i'm asking, so if anyone already knows the bloggerville standard time frame for welcoming one's first-time visitors, please forward this info to me.
5. in the matter of subsequent visits, when is it acceptable for one to invite the new friend to come again? (assuming everyone minded their p's and q's on the first visit and all are amenable to continuing the relationship).
6. speaking of friends and relationships, what happens if the invitee proves to be "difficult" and one regrets the invitation? should one then keep an eye out for the rude one(s) and pretend to be on vacation when/if they come by unannounced for future visits? (as rude people are known to do...)
7. when visiting another's blog, is it polite to drop by with additional people (say, mummy or best friend Lily) without asking? i probably would not, as i'm an anonymous blogger and my continued well-being hinges on keeping my identity secret. however, i'm asking the question for the benefit of those who want/need to know.
8. should one go bearing gifts when visiting another's blog? if so, what kinds of gifts are deemed acceptable? something small and unpretentious like a case of Aquafina? or would something more substantial be in order, say a bottle of Vieuve Cliquot (Yellow Label Brut, not La Grande Dame)? or a case of Badoit for those who don't indulge in the sour grape...
9. how often is too often to stop by another's blog before one has worn out one's welcome?
10. would one be considered highfalutin or showy for commenting on a large number of posts on another's blog? why or why not?
sunday, august 12, 2007
11:59 p.m.
editors's note: this post has been on hold for several days now whilst awaiting more inspiration. i've fallen asleep several times, eaten more than a few meals, drank copious amounts of liquid, and made numerous trips to the bathroom. all the while hoping to complete this post with enough humor to make you, dear reader, at least crack a smile.
if i've succeeded in doing at that, i'm happy. if not, stay tuned. i'll be back to clean this one up at a date and time to be determined...
that is all.
i have some questions about blog etiquette that i'm hoping to get answers to. and who knows? maybe some others in blogville out there are wonderin' too but just haven't gotten around to asking? or maybe some have already asked and i just don't know where to find the answers?
i hope it's the former.
now on to the questions. :-)
1. when a person leaves a comment that ya wanna/needta/should respond to, where's the proper place to do it? on their blog? on ya own?
i don't wanna be rude and not respond at all cuz that's not my style.
but if i respond on their blog, how the heck will they know what i'm referring to if i don't reference it? is it considered rude to re-post some of my own material on someone else's comments, even in the name of good manners?
i also don't wanna look like i'm building up my own comments by responding to my visitor's comment(s). and i'm not sure if people come back to check cuz i sho don't remember to. that's why i like the blogs with the "notify me of new comments" thingies on 'em.
2. what's the proper amount of time alloted for said response, here in bloggerville? one week for single people? two for married? three for married with children? Emily Post, that doyenne of social graces suggests "as soon as possible" for every-day kinda thank-you's.
forgive me Miz Emily but how long might that be in calendar days? some of us need a bit more structure than you're proffering. also ma'am, might commenting in another's blog be considered as an "every day" type of event?
3. how might one correctly phrase an invitation to induce others to visit one's blog? should one offer hors d'oeuvres and spritzers as an incentive? cake and punch? or should promises of food be made only after the invitation has been accepted?
4. how long should one plan to entertain first-time guests? my personal thought is that anything over two hours for a first visit borders on overstaying one's welcome. unless all parties mesh exceedingly well. in which case i'd be willing to stretch the visit to three hours.
but again, i'm asking, so if anyone already knows the bloggerville standard time frame for welcoming one's first-time visitors, please forward this info to me.
5. in the matter of subsequent visits, when is it acceptable for one to invite the new friend to come again? (assuming everyone minded their p's and q's on the first visit and all are amenable to continuing the relationship).
6. speaking of friends and relationships, what happens if the invitee proves to be "difficult" and one regrets the invitation? should one then keep an eye out for the rude one(s) and pretend to be on vacation when/if they come by unannounced for future visits? (as rude people are known to do...)
7. when visiting another's blog, is it polite to drop by with additional people (say, mummy or best friend Lily) without asking? i probably would not, as i'm an anonymous blogger and my continued well-being hinges on keeping my identity secret. however, i'm asking the question for the benefit of those who want/need to know.
8. should one go bearing gifts when visiting another's blog? if so, what kinds of gifts are deemed acceptable? something small and unpretentious like a case of Aquafina? or would something more substantial be in order, say a bottle of Vieuve Cliquot (Yellow Label Brut, not La Grande Dame)? or a case of Badoit for those who don't indulge in the sour grape...
9. how often is too often to stop by another's blog before one has worn out one's welcome?
10. would one be considered highfalutin or showy for commenting on a large number of posts on another's blog? why or why not?
sunday, august 12, 2007
11:59 p.m.
editors's note: this post has been on hold for several days now whilst awaiting more inspiration. i've fallen asleep several times, eaten more than a few meals, drank copious amounts of liquid, and made numerous trips to the bathroom. all the while hoping to complete this post with enough humor to make you, dear reader, at least crack a smile.
if i've succeeded in doing at that, i'm happy. if not, stay tuned. i'll be back to clean this one up at a date and time to be determined...
that is all.
186: scary...
that's what it's like at #2 Auntie's house at night.
she lives in a rambler, her floors creak, there's a wooded area right behind her house, none of her neighbors leaves their porch lights on at night, and all the windows in the front of her house are a few inches from the ground.
baby bliss and i both agreed it's kinda scary to sleep over at #2 Auntie's.
she lives in a rambler, her floors creak, there's a wooded area right behind her house, none of her neighbors leaves their porch lights on at night, and all the windows in the front of her house are a few inches from the ground.
baby bliss and i both agreed it's kinda scary to sleep over at #2 Auntie's.
185: my hair!
or maybe i should say "my scalp!"
a few hours ago, i thought i would scratch my scalp bloody.
i know it's not the "dirty scalp" itch cuz i washed my hair yesterday.
this is the "dry scalp" itch, the one i hate the most. i do NOT like putting anything oily on my scalp and it's been a long time since i've done it (or felt the need to).
i washed my hair with the same soap i've been using, although i recently bought a new batch from an unfamiliar source. maybe the ingredients have changed. or maybe i used the wrong soap...
i love auromere soap. it comes in two types: one for oily/blemished skin and one for dry/normal skin. i buy both.
i used the oily/blemished skin bar for my shower and shampoo. i guess i shouldn't have used it for the shampoo as my scalp tends to be dry.
:-(
my scalp was fine last night and is better now (after an hour of intense scratching). i think i am gonna have to put a lil sesame oil on my scalp after all. i'm afraid i'll be bald very soon if i don't.
a few hours ago, i thought i would scratch my scalp bloody.
i know it's not the "dirty scalp" itch cuz i washed my hair yesterday.
this is the "dry scalp" itch, the one i hate the most. i do NOT like putting anything oily on my scalp and it's been a long time since i've done it (or felt the need to).
i washed my hair with the same soap i've been using, although i recently bought a new batch from an unfamiliar source. maybe the ingredients have changed. or maybe i used the wrong soap...
i love auromere soap. it comes in two types: one for oily/blemished skin and one for dry/normal skin. i buy both.
i used the oily/blemished skin bar for my shower and shampoo. i guess i shouldn't have used it for the shampoo as my scalp tends to be dry.
:-(
my scalp was fine last night and is better now (after an hour of intense scratching). i think i am gonna have to put a lil sesame oil on my scalp after all. i'm afraid i'll be bald very soon if i don't.
184: #2 Auntie's house with grandma
baby bliss and i are at #2 Auntie's house with grandma. we're still up. (yeah, what a surprise, right?)
i'm doing this and b.b. is watching That's So Raven. she's in tween heaven cuz we don't have cable at home.
earlier, my grandma was watching one of her religious programs. it was interesting but we could have done without it this time. Clifton Davis (the actor/songwriter) is now a minister and he was the host. now, i don't have a thing against gay people at all (some of my best friends and all... LOL) but i think he's a lil sweet. even baby bliss (who knows my gay friends) got a ding on her gaydar.
she even asked my grandma if he was. my grandma said no but what does she know? sometimes the signs are very subtle. and sometimes the most overtly feminine man may not be gay at all. not in the truest sense of the word...
grandma wanted to see the program to the end but i knew she wouldn't make it. it was already going on 11:30 and i've never known her to stay up that late. baby bliss saw her nodding off and kept trying to get my attention from the other side of the room so i could laugh at grandma with her. now y'all know that ain't right.
and i know something baby bliss don't: every shut eye ain't sleep. no way would i want my grandma to open her eyes and see me clowning her. she might whack me with a wet dishcloth cross the back.
when she realized she couldn't catch my eye, baby bliss--that little minx--began texting me about grandma: mommy look! grandma is sleep!
did i set a bad example by texting her back? i sho hope not. y'all know how hard i struggle to set a good example for the girl, to be a pillar of virtue and what not.
any way, by the time Cliff was doing the goodnight prayer, grandma was in full tilt nod. baby bliss nudged her and sweetly said "grandma, don't you wanna hear the prayer?
grandma's eyes flew open and she looked at the clock. "what time is it?" she asked. i told her it was midnight. she retrieved her keys from the kitchen then stopped back in the living room before she headed down the hall to her room. (she has her own whole house but a room here too.)
"are y'all staying up?" i said yep, we'd be up a little while longer. i expected a comment like, "don't let that baby stay up all night" or "y'all betta get back on a school schedule soon". but she didn't say anything. maybe she was just too tired?
i'm doing this and b.b. is watching That's So Raven. she's in tween heaven cuz we don't have cable at home.
earlier, my grandma was watching one of her religious programs. it was interesting but we could have done without it this time. Clifton Davis (the actor/songwriter) is now a minister and he was the host. now, i don't have a thing against gay people at all (some of my best friends and all... LOL) but i think he's a lil sweet. even baby bliss (who knows my gay friends) got a ding on her gaydar.
she even asked my grandma if he was. my grandma said no but what does she know? sometimes the signs are very subtle. and sometimes the most overtly feminine man may not be gay at all. not in the truest sense of the word...
grandma wanted to see the program to the end but i knew she wouldn't make it. it was already going on 11:30 and i've never known her to stay up that late. baby bliss saw her nodding off and kept trying to get my attention from the other side of the room so i could laugh at grandma with her. now y'all know that ain't right.
and i know something baby bliss don't: every shut eye ain't sleep. no way would i want my grandma to open her eyes and see me clowning her. she might whack me with a wet dishcloth cross the back.
when she realized she couldn't catch my eye, baby bliss--that little minx--began texting me about grandma: mommy look! grandma is sleep!
did i set a bad example by texting her back? i sho hope not. y'all know how hard i struggle to set a good example for the girl, to be a pillar of virtue and what not.
any way, by the time Cliff was doing the goodnight prayer, grandma was in full tilt nod. baby bliss nudged her and sweetly said "grandma, don't you wanna hear the prayer?
grandma's eyes flew open and she looked at the clock. "what time is it?" she asked. i told her it was midnight. she retrieved her keys from the kitchen then stopped back in the living room before she headed down the hall to her room. (she has her own whole house but a room here too.)
"are y'all staying up?" i said yep, we'd be up a little while longer. i expected a comment like, "don't let that baby stay up all night" or "y'all betta get back on a school schedule soon". but she didn't say anything. maybe she was just too tired?
Thursday, August 9, 2007
183: dreams...
hey y'all.
how's the weather in your neck of the woods? it's hot as hell here. well, maybe not that hot. but it 'pends on who you ask and who you b'lieve, i guess. but it is sho nuff hot here. over a hunnert degrees in the shade. baby bliss keeps talkin' bout it's our fault (my generation) cuz we killed the ozone layer with all the hair spray we used back in my day. i keep telling her it was my mother's generation, not mine. but baby bliss is a non-believer.
we have been managing to stay cool, thank God/Goddess/Universe. i am thankful for air conditioning, electricity, mr. bliss who works to pay the bill, and living in an area that doesn't see too many black outs.
as usual y'all, i was up til the wee hours. but not too wee. i crashed around 2 or 2:30 in the a.m. guess my clock is naturally slowing down and winding back the other way in preparation for the coming school days.
some semi-scary news: i remember three (3) distinct dreams from sleepy time.
the first was baby bliss and i in FL. the dream was a hybrid of an actual trip i took for my high school graduation and a conversation i had with a friend in e-mail the other day.
the other was weird-er and sad. it was actually two dreams in one, i guess.
i was checking into a high-priced hotel with a sista-friend i grew up with, her husband (who in waking life is a heroin addict), and a girl who (in real life) grew up in the projects across the street from us. we were all attorneys in town for a conference.
the man who checked us in was Mr. L. (an ooooooold man who in waking life was the door man at a building i worked in almost 20 years ago. he was old back then so he might be dead now.) while my friends were checking in, i got a phone call. Mr. L. wanted to know who i was talking to and he kept asking my friends if they knew who it was and what we were talking about. when they wouldn't give him any info, he threatened them.
as we were on our way to our rooms, my sista-friend was in tears and told me she could no longer be affiliated with me because she'd worked too hard to get where she was. i tried to find out what Mr. L. had threatened them with but she wouldn't tell.
(by the way, the phone call was secret intel about a recently-deceased, well-known attorney. i was told he'd been killed because of information he had that would cost the US govt. a whole lotta $$)
we all piled into one room (don't ask why. i don't know... dream stuff...) and began talking. then i got a 2nd phone call. it was bad news.
a voice -- that i assumed was my sister's -- told me "A." had accidentally hung himself. in real life, my sister has a son i've never met. (she and i have different mothers and haven't seen each other in over 10 years.) i thought she was telling me her son was dead and i realized i would never meet him. of course i burst into tears.
but when i called my sister's name, the woman said no, she wasn't my sister. then i caught the voice and realized it was my sista-friend V. from home. (a real friend, who i've known almost 25 years)
then i realized who she meant: "A.", my ex-boyfriend. (another real person; she and i dated brothers when we were in high school; A. was my boyfriend, K. her's.) she said he and his brother (not K.) had gotten into a tussle and A. hung himself later.
i really began boo hoo-ing. in fact, i woke up crying.
the first thing i did was call V_____. but i had to leave a message cuz she was at work. she called me back this afternoon. she said A____ and K_____'s family was mostly fragmented now. some of the siblings no longer come to family events and some no longer call other members at all.
i'm pretty sure the cause is their mother. most of the children were adopted and their mother was more like a wicked step-mother. she and i didn't get along. primarily because i opened A_____'s eyes to some things he wasn't aware of. monetary things...
V___ and I had a lot of catching up to do. i'm 'sposed to call her back tomorrow cuz she called while we were at the library so we couldn't really dish like i wanted to. '-)
i have to set the alarm on my cell or else i won't remember to call her.
.
how's the weather in your neck of the woods? it's hot as hell here. well, maybe not that hot. but it 'pends on who you ask and who you b'lieve, i guess. but it is sho nuff hot here. over a hunnert degrees in the shade. baby bliss keeps talkin' bout it's our fault (my generation) cuz we killed the ozone layer with all the hair spray we used back in my day. i keep telling her it was my mother's generation, not mine. but baby bliss is a non-believer.
we have been managing to stay cool, thank God/Goddess/Universe. i am thankful for air conditioning, electricity, mr. bliss who works to pay the bill, and living in an area that doesn't see too many black outs.
as usual y'all, i was up til the wee hours. but not too wee. i crashed around 2 or 2:30 in the a.m. guess my clock is naturally slowing down and winding back the other way in preparation for the coming school days.
some semi-scary news: i remember three (3) distinct dreams from sleepy time.
the first was baby bliss and i in FL. the dream was a hybrid of an actual trip i took for my high school graduation and a conversation i had with a friend in e-mail the other day.
the other was weird-er and sad. it was actually two dreams in one, i guess.
i was checking into a high-priced hotel with a sista-friend i grew up with, her husband (who in waking life is a heroin addict), and a girl who (in real life) grew up in the projects across the street from us. we were all attorneys in town for a conference.
the man who checked us in was Mr. L. (an ooooooold man who in waking life was the door man at a building i worked in almost 20 years ago. he was old back then so he might be dead now.) while my friends were checking in, i got a phone call. Mr. L. wanted to know who i was talking to and he kept asking my friends if they knew who it was and what we were talking about. when they wouldn't give him any info, he threatened them.
as we were on our way to our rooms, my sista-friend was in tears and told me she could no longer be affiliated with me because she'd worked too hard to get where she was. i tried to find out what Mr. L. had threatened them with but she wouldn't tell.
(by the way, the phone call was secret intel about a recently-deceased, well-known attorney. i was told he'd been killed because of information he had that would cost the US govt. a whole lotta $$)
we all piled into one room (don't ask why. i don't know... dream stuff...) and began talking. then i got a 2nd phone call. it was bad news.
a voice -- that i assumed was my sister's -- told me "A." had accidentally hung himself. in real life, my sister has a son i've never met. (she and i have different mothers and haven't seen each other in over 10 years.) i thought she was telling me her son was dead and i realized i would never meet him. of course i burst into tears.
but when i called my sister's name, the woman said no, she wasn't my sister. then i caught the voice and realized it was my sista-friend V. from home. (a real friend, who i've known almost 25 years)
then i realized who she meant: "A.", my ex-boyfriend. (another real person; she and i dated brothers when we were in high school; A. was my boyfriend, K. her's.) she said he and his brother (not K.) had gotten into a tussle and A. hung himself later.
i really began boo hoo-ing. in fact, i woke up crying.
the first thing i did was call V_____. but i had to leave a message cuz she was at work. she called me back this afternoon. she said A____ and K_____'s family was mostly fragmented now. some of the siblings no longer come to family events and some no longer call other members at all.
i'm pretty sure the cause is their mother. most of the children were adopted and their mother was more like a wicked step-mother. she and i didn't get along. primarily because i opened A_____'s eyes to some things he wasn't aware of. monetary things...
V___ and I had a lot of catching up to do. i'm 'sposed to call her back tomorrow cuz she called while we were at the library so we couldn't really dish like i wanted to. '-)
i have to set the alarm on my cell or else i won't remember to call her.
.
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
182: blissfully fun
hey y'all,
Oddpodz
A global nation for creatives
express - experience - belong
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Sunday, August 5, 2007
181: meet Sister Sunshine of the Lake
Saturday, August 4, 2007
180: weekend hoo-haws
hey y'all.
how was your saturday? ours was busy.
i went to sleep around 8 this morning. real sleep, that is. i'd been nodding off for about 15 minutes before i gave up the fight. there was something i really really wanted to read but i just couldn't keep my eyes open for longer than a few seconds at a time.
mr. bliss came out into the living room and caught me with my fingers on the laptop keyboard, head hanging, and eyes closed. thank God i wasn't drooling. might not be able to use this thing right now.
baby bliss woke up shortly before the sandman dragged me under. last i heard was her laughing at a funny on winx club, one of her favorite cartoons.
after a few hours of shut eye, i re-joined the living with a purpose. too bad i can't remember what it was. maybe i was supposed to be making jewelry or writing. *shrug* it didn't happen.
aside from nosing my way along the web all night, i did a movie marathon. baby bliss was sposed to join me and she hung as long as she could but she's no match for my overnight stamina.
she watched bits and pieces of "Mrs. Harris" with me. that's jean harris. do y'all remember her? she was the woman who shot and killed her lover, the one and only "scarsdale diet doctor", herman tarnower. the movie was a bit dull but not too bad. as baby bliss nodded off, i did a bit of online research to supplement the things the movie didn't cover. i won't go into any detail but i will say that the whole harris-tarnower affair was sordid and ooogly.
annette benning and ben kingsley played the nutty lovers.
next i watched "Laurel Canyon" with frances mcdormand and kate beckinsale. that one was good good. much better than i expected. the storyline was good (a young couple moved in with the guy's too-young-to-be-old mother and their relationship suffered mightily as a result) but the outdoor shots was what did it for me. i love to watch movies and t.v. shows that show just enough neighborhood detail to draw me in. couple that with in-depth lifestyle portrayals and i'm sucked in.
my third and final movie was "Quand la mer monte" ("When the Sea Rises"), a french movie about a middle-aged woman who traveled the french countryside doing a one-woman dramatic comedy show. she had car trouble in one town and later began a bittersweet affair with the younger man who fixed her car. this one was good too. a bit surreal but still nice to watch and listen to.
i love foreign films, especially french and spanish ones. but i've found that i liks some french accents better than others. many of the actors in a film i watched earlier in the week ("Gabrielle", a film about a woman who cheated on her emotionally-stingy husband and the fallout) had accents i didn't particularly like.
and i do read the subtitles y'all because while i speak a smattering of french and spanish as well as a few words of italian, german, and dutch, i could never convince anyone to hire me as an interpreter. the one thing i don't like about subtitled movies is the time it takes to watch them. its hard to blog, surf the web, compose e-mail, and do surveys while i'm watching a foreign film.
179: tax-free weekend shopping anyone?
i think i'm gonna go shopping today y'all.
yeah, yeah, i know. the stores will be packed. but i'm not going to the regular places. i'm going to the value village across town. they always have much better stuff than both our nearby goodwills and they do color-coded discounts too. (goodwill will give you a 10% discount coupon and they have senior's discounts on tuesdays, but that's it.)
funny that we're in a "better" neighborhood but they have the good stuff "over there".
now i've gotta wait for baby bliss to come to her senses. she's beautiful and serene when she's sleeping. i'm jealous.
yeah, yeah, i know. the stores will be packed. but i'm not going to the regular places. i'm going to the value village across town. they always have much better stuff than both our nearby goodwills and they do color-coded discounts too. (goodwill will give you a 10% discount coupon and they have senior's discounts on tuesdays, but that's it.)
funny that we're in a "better" neighborhood but they have the good stuff "over there".
now i've gotta wait for baby bliss to come to her senses. she's beautiful and serene when she's sleeping. i'm jealous.
178: oh happy day
wow y'all.
i'm watching a beautiful sunrise. :-)
why didn't i know before now that i could see something so wonderful from my living room floor?
thanks God/Goddess/Universe.
i'm watching a beautiful sunrise. :-)
why didn't i know before now that i could see something so wonderful from my living room floor?
thanks God/Goddess/Universe.
Friday, August 3, 2007
177: today's good deals
hey y'all!
how's your friday going so far?
just wanted to share some good shopping sites i've come across in the past few days.
there's JungleCrazy, a site that compiles the best/lowest discounts from amazon.com. the discounts are at least 70% and there's also a 1 cent page. i wasn't surprised to see the razor phones on the 1 cent page. the ones we got from verizon wireless really sucked rotten eggs.
there's also CCO. they're the website that gets all the closeout stuff from catalogs like Chadwick's and LaRedoute. they have some reeeeeallllly good deals but of course, sizes and quantities are limited.
keep in mind that i've never bought anything from either of these places so caveat emptor y'all and happy friday.
12:06 a.m.
update...
i tried to buy a few inexpensive items from JungleCrazy.com. i guess i forgot about the crazy shipping costs when buying from amazon when the items are being sold by several different merchants on the same tab. for 8 items (2 @ $9.99, 1 @ $5.99, and 5 @ $2.99)
merchandise total: $ 40.92
shipping: $ 20.89
needless to say, i'm chucking the whole load. i refuse to pay $20 for shipping and/or handling.
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how's your friday going so far?
just wanted to share some good shopping sites i've come across in the past few days.
there's JungleCrazy, a site that compiles the best/lowest discounts from amazon.com. the discounts are at least 70% and there's also a 1 cent page. i wasn't surprised to see the razor phones on the 1 cent page. the ones we got from verizon wireless really sucked rotten eggs.
there's also CCO. they're the website that gets all the closeout stuff from catalogs like Chadwick's and LaRedoute. they have some reeeeeallllly good deals but of course, sizes and quantities are limited.
keep in mind that i've never bought anything from either of these places so caveat emptor y'all and happy friday.
* * * * *
12:06 a.m.
update...
i tried to buy a few inexpensive items from JungleCrazy.com. i guess i forgot about the crazy shipping costs when buying from amazon when the items are being sold by several different merchants on the same tab. for 8 items (2 @ $9.99, 1 @ $5.99, and 5 @ $2.99)
merchandise total: $ 40.92
shipping: $ 20.89
needless to say, i'm chucking the whole load. i refuse to pay $20 for shipping and/or handling.
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176: blissful dreaming...
hey y'all,
this week's collaboration (#42) over at Crazy Hip Blog Mamas is asking me to reveal my childhood dreams.
i know they don't mean the dreams we had while sleeping, but i'll tell y'all this any way. i had a recurring dream during childhood. a recurring nightmare. in the dream, i was always being chased by a round guy wearing black pants and a horizontally striped long sleeved shirt. he also wore a black hat and a black thingie tied around his eyes with slits so he could see.
i'm not sure but i think he was a character from a popular cartoon of my day. maybe someone out there knows who/what i'm talking about?
now on to the real topic of collaboration #42.
when i was a girl, i loved to play with my dolls. i loved to make clothes for them (from old socks), do their hair, let them have parties and what not. and whenever we went out and left the dolls home alone, i always had the feeling that they'd been moving around the place while we were gone. (call me crazy, but a part of me still believes this.)
although i loved playing with my dollies i also loved reading. i would read everything from the dictionary to encyclopedias to sci-fi. books took me to exciting places, some i'd never heard of. places i longed to see in real life... specifically, california.
at some point in my girlhood, my dream was to run away to california's bay area to become a hippy. (i'm still thinking about doing this by the way.)
i didn't want to go to college. i didn't want to get married. i didn't want to have children.
that changed when i was 16 or so. i still wanted to move to california but not to become a hippy. i'd been reading the want ads and thought i'd make a good stewardess. then later i decided i was still going out to california but to attend a school that trained travel agents. (an ad i'd seen in the back of one of those teen magazines, maybe my favorite, seventeen.)
and guess what y'all? when i was 18 i met a man and got sidetracked into a less-than-blissful marriage i won't talk about here. '-)
now that you've read about my childhood dreams, sleepwalk your way on over to this place to see what other crazy hip blogging mamas are saying about their childhood dreams.
as i am one of the nosiest people i know, i'm going right now. '-)
.
this week's collaboration (#42) over at Crazy Hip Blog Mamas is asking me to reveal my childhood dreams.
i know they don't mean the dreams we had while sleeping, but i'll tell y'all this any way. i had a recurring dream during childhood. a recurring nightmare. in the dream, i was always being chased by a round guy wearing black pants and a horizontally striped long sleeved shirt. he also wore a black hat and a black thingie tied around his eyes with slits so he could see.
i'm not sure but i think he was a character from a popular cartoon of my day. maybe someone out there knows who/what i'm talking about?
now on to the real topic of collaboration #42.
when i was a girl, i loved to play with my dolls. i loved to make clothes for them (from old socks), do their hair, let them have parties and what not. and whenever we went out and left the dolls home alone, i always had the feeling that they'd been moving around the place while we were gone. (call me crazy, but a part of me still believes this.)
although i loved playing with my dollies i also loved reading. i would read everything from the dictionary to encyclopedias to sci-fi. books took me to exciting places, some i'd never heard of. places i longed to see in real life... specifically, california.
at some point in my girlhood, my dream was to run away to california's bay area to become a hippy. (i'm still thinking about doing this by the way.)
i didn't want to go to college. i didn't want to get married. i didn't want to have children.
that changed when i was 16 or so. i still wanted to move to california but not to become a hippy. i'd been reading the want ads and thought i'd make a good stewardess. then later i decided i was still going out to california but to attend a school that trained travel agents. (an ad i'd seen in the back of one of those teen magazines, maybe my favorite, seventeen.)
and guess what y'all? when i was 18 i met a man and got sidetracked into a less-than-blissful marriage i won't talk about here. '-)
now that you've read about my childhood dreams, sleepwalk your way on over to this place to see what other crazy hip blogging mamas are saying about their childhood dreams.
as i am one of the nosiest people i know, i'm going right now. '-)
.
Thursday, August 2, 2007
175: fish tales
do y'all know sylvia? she's baby bliss's pet beta. we've had her since winter. she's our ongoing home schooling project.
she's pretty and funny. a beautiful shade of cobalt blue that stripes when she's scared or (i think) mad.
when we got her, we didn't know a thing about raising fish. she was a totally spur-of-the-moment purchase. once we got her home, we were afraid she'd die on us so i did lots of online research.
a few of the things i learned:
we had my bamboo plants in with sylvie when we had her in her first container. but that was a vase that wasn't very roomy. and the glass was frosty and so i thought sylvie might feel a lot lonely not being able to see us clearly.
we moved her to another home and put the bamboo back in their original vase.
baby bliss and i thought sylvie might want some decorations for her new home. we already had some glass pebbles here that we weren't using. they now line the bottom of sylvie's third (and final) home, an oversized brandy glass we got at walmart a few months ago.
sylvie's home could still use a bit of greenery but we haven't been able to find anything without sharp edges. i was feeling bad about that tho it wasn't my fault.
then the other day it dawned on me. sylvie could have something other than greenery if we so chose. while we were in walmart, i decided glass would be a good choice for sylvie's almost-empty nest.
it took a while to decide between several options. baby bliss thought my final choice (a small fish bowl with fluted edges) would be too big to fit in sylvie's bowl. mr. bliss agreed when he saw it.
wouldn't y'all know it? momma knows best cuz that little fish bowl fit nicely in sylvie's brandy glass. yeah, it's sticking out of the water a bit but that's good. i don't think it should be totally submerged cuz sylvie goes to the surface every so often. for air or to be nosey, one. i'm not sure which.
at first she seemed put out by the new accessory but now she seems to love it. we've seen her hanging out in her new fixture lots of times already.
she's pretty and funny. a beautiful shade of cobalt blue that stripes when she's scared or (i think) mad.
when we got her, we didn't know a thing about raising fish. she was a totally spur-of-the-moment purchase. once we got her home, we were afraid she'd die on us so i did lots of online research.
a few of the things i learned:
- betas like greenery in the bowl. usually to hide behind.
- if the fish rub against anything sharp, they can be injured and could die.
- sea salt is good for them. celtic salt is better.
- they like to eat spirulina and it's a nice treat for them.
- their little bellies are about the size of one of their eyeballs, so it's extremely important not to overfeed them.
- they can go a week or two without eating cuz that's what sometimes happens in their natural habitats (shallow puddles in Thailand)
we had my bamboo plants in with sylvie when we had her in her first container. but that was a vase that wasn't very roomy. and the glass was frosty and so i thought sylvie might feel a lot lonely not being able to see us clearly.
we moved her to another home and put the bamboo back in their original vase.
baby bliss and i thought sylvie might want some decorations for her new home. we already had some glass pebbles here that we weren't using. they now line the bottom of sylvie's third (and final) home, an oversized brandy glass we got at walmart a few months ago.
sylvie's home could still use a bit of greenery but we haven't been able to find anything without sharp edges. i was feeling bad about that tho it wasn't my fault.
then the other day it dawned on me. sylvie could have something other than greenery if we so chose. while we were in walmart, i decided glass would be a good choice for sylvie's almost-empty nest.
it took a while to decide between several options. baby bliss thought my final choice (a small fish bowl with fluted edges) would be too big to fit in sylvie's bowl. mr. bliss agreed when he saw it.
wouldn't y'all know it? momma knows best cuz that little fish bowl fit nicely in sylvie's brandy glass. yeah, it's sticking out of the water a bit but that's good. i don't think it should be totally submerged cuz sylvie goes to the surface every so often. for air or to be nosey, one. i'm not sure which.
at first she seemed put out by the new accessory but now she seems to love it. we've seen her hanging out in her new fixture lots of times already.
174: watermelon
baby bliss and i were seriously jonesing for watermelon in here y'all.
even though we have supermarkets in walking distance, i hate getting it from the tarris heeter, moolb, and lood fion.
we used to get it at the local farmer's market but the closest one is almost on the other side of town. thank God for our local farmers.
when we drove to #1 Auntie's house a few weeks back, y'all remember i said we rolled thru farm areas on our way up? did i say i made a mental note to go back for produce?
baby bliss and i went today. the first place we stopped didn't have watermelon. :-( the man said for us to go see "that boy up the other side of the road".
so up we went to the other side of the road. "that boy" turned out to be a man older than my momma. o.O
aside: but in the south, every male is probably called boy by someone older than himself. shoot, my grandma still calls me a girl and i'm 40.
baby bliss and i really wanted that watermelon. and the man was so nice (and the watermelon so cheap) we decided to get some green beans (also known as string beans and pole beans) when he asked if we wanted some.
when we got home, baby bliss was darn near salivating to taste the fruit. but wonderful character-building momma that i am, i made her empty and re-load the dish washer, clean up her breakfast crumbs, then wash and dry her breakfast tray.
can y'all believe that lil mermaid got an attitude and rolled her eyes at me for making her work? i kid y'all not. and then she had the nerve to flop herself on the floor and lay down with her arm across her forehead. like she was exhausted.
instigating me said, "what's wrong? are you tired?" y'all know the response was more eye rolling. i just laughed at her. makes me no nevermind if she wants to act a fool. long as she did what momma said, we're alright.
i guess it was another 15 or 20 minutes 'fore we got to taste the watermelon.
did i tell y'all we got sugar babies? i've never gotten 'em before cuz anything with "sugar" in the name was just bound to be too sweet for me. i'm the one who adds a finger of water to most of my juice.
the best thing about the sugar baby is the size. ours were just right for "personal". i let baby bliss cut and serve. she halved it expertly, grabbed two giant bowls, then plopped each half right in 'em.
plastic knives and forks were all we needed to eat our way to two big ole melon bellies.
.
even though we have supermarkets in walking distance, i hate getting it from the tarris heeter, moolb, and lood fion.
we used to get it at the local farmer's market but the closest one is almost on the other side of town. thank God for our local farmers.
when we drove to #1 Auntie's house a few weeks back, y'all remember i said we rolled thru farm areas on our way up? did i say i made a mental note to go back for produce?
baby bliss and i went today. the first place we stopped didn't have watermelon. :-( the man said for us to go see "that boy up the other side of the road".
so up we went to the other side of the road. "that boy" turned out to be a man older than my momma. o.O
aside: but in the south, every male is probably called boy by someone older than himself. shoot, my grandma still calls me a girl and i'm 40.
baby bliss and i really wanted that watermelon. and the man was so nice (and the watermelon so cheap) we decided to get some green beans (also known as string beans and pole beans) when he asked if we wanted some.
when we got home, baby bliss was darn near salivating to taste the fruit. but wonderful character-building momma that i am, i made her empty and re-load the dish washer, clean up her breakfast crumbs, then wash and dry her breakfast tray.
can y'all believe that lil mermaid got an attitude and rolled her eyes at me for making her work? i kid y'all not. and then she had the nerve to flop herself on the floor and lay down with her arm across her forehead. like she was exhausted.
instigating me said, "what's wrong? are you tired?" y'all know the response was more eye rolling. i just laughed at her. makes me no nevermind if she wants to act a fool. long as she did what momma said, we're alright.
i guess it was another 15 or 20 minutes 'fore we got to taste the watermelon.
did i tell y'all we got sugar babies? i've never gotten 'em before cuz anything with "sugar" in the name was just bound to be too sweet for me. i'm the one who adds a finger of water to most of my juice.
the best thing about the sugar baby is the size. ours were just right for "personal". i let baby bliss cut and serve. she halved it expertly, grabbed two giant bowls, then plopped each half right in 'em.
plastic knives and forks were all we needed to eat our way to two big ole melon bellies.
.
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
173: Meme me a.k.a. Five Things...
I snagged this one from Miz Susan over at Our Little Corner of the Upstate. Thanks Susan! :-)
5 things in your refrigerator:
1. rice milk
2. sour cream
3. Odwalla's pomegranate-lemonade juice
4. apple juice (which might sit awhile; we got it for our visiting cousin who said she loved apple juice. funny how she drank half a cup out of 32 ounces)
5. a bowl of basmati rice that's been in there for too long to remember (is it time to toss it?)
5 things in your closet (bedroom for me):
1. too many wire hangers!
2. off season clothes/shoes - on the shelves
3. seasonal wear - hanging
4. the linen shelves and clean linens
5. hubby's junk, waiting to be unpacked
5 things in your purse or backpack (in my case, it's the rolling laptop bag/backpack):
1. an orange mesh bag that i using as a small purse/large wallet
2. a 2-inch thick folder and a 1-inch thick folder, both holding notes from the novel i'm currently working on
3. a pack of wide-ruled notebook paper (unopened)
4. sunglasses i look at more than wear (in a cool case i found at the $ store)
5. a bunch of pens (half are red, half are black)
5 things in your car:
1. baby wipes
2. my P.E.C.K.
3. the owner's manual for my car
4. bubbles (we blow them out the window at stop lights/in traffic jams, to lighten the tension)
5. stuff that needs to be vacuumed from the flooooooooooor
5 things in the world you want to see before you die:
1. baby bliss take her first trip to Paris (she really wants to go)
2. my first novel, in print
3. any of my novels on the bestseller list
4. more of the world's beautiful beaches
5. kosen rufu! (world peace)
.
5 things in your refrigerator:
1. rice milk
2. sour cream
3. Odwalla's pomegranate-lemonade juice
4. apple juice (which might sit awhile; we got it for our visiting cousin who said she loved apple juice. funny how she drank half a cup out of 32 ounces)
5. a bowl of basmati rice that's been in there for too long to remember (is it time to toss it?)
5 things in your closet (bedroom for me):
1. too many wire hangers!
2. off season clothes/shoes - on the shelves
3. seasonal wear - hanging
4. the linen shelves and clean linens
5. hubby's junk, waiting to be unpacked
5 things in your purse or backpack (in my case, it's the rolling laptop bag/backpack):
1. an orange mesh bag that i using as a small purse/large wallet
2. a 2-inch thick folder and a 1-inch thick folder, both holding notes from the novel i'm currently working on
3. a pack of wide-ruled notebook paper (unopened)
4. sunglasses i look at more than wear (in a cool case i found at the $ store)
5. a bunch of pens (half are red, half are black)
5 things in your car:
1. baby wipes
2. my P.E.C.K.
3. the owner's manual for my car
4. bubbles (we blow them out the window at stop lights/in traffic jams, to lighten the tension)
5. stuff that needs to be vacuumed from the flooooooooooor
5 things in the world you want to see before you die:
1. baby bliss take her first trip to Paris (she really wants to go)
2. my first novel, in print
3. any of my novels on the bestseller list
4. more of the world's beautiful beaches
5. kosen rufu! (world peace)
.
172: way past my bedtime
i really should be sleep but i'm not even sleepy yet.
guess what i'm doing y'all. (besides typing this, i mean.) i'm checking out other people's blogs. specifically, i'm checking out all the blogs on the Crazy Hip Blog Mamas blogroll. i'm still on the A's y'all and i've been at it for 2 days now.
but i'm taking my time. i'm reading at least 3 posts per blog, to see if the blog touches a nerve, makes me feel some sort of kinship, or moves me in some other way. then i'll leave a comment or two; maybe more.
i really do need to get to sleep. baby bliss and i are 'sposed to make it to the 10:30 free movie later. if i don't get at least 4 hours sleep, i'll be nodding off during the movie.
on a totally different topic, my scalp needs a good scrubbing. i don't know why it's gone all itchy on me. there was a time i could go weeks without washing my hair and it never bothered me.
maybe this is cuz it got used to being shampooed every other day or so?
guess what i'm doing y'all. (besides typing this, i mean.) i'm checking out other people's blogs. specifically, i'm checking out all the blogs on the Crazy Hip Blog Mamas blogroll. i'm still on the A's y'all and i've been at it for 2 days now.
but i'm taking my time. i'm reading at least 3 posts per blog, to see if the blog touches a nerve, makes me feel some sort of kinship, or moves me in some other way. then i'll leave a comment or two; maybe more.
i really do need to get to sleep. baby bliss and i are 'sposed to make it to the 10:30 free movie later. if i don't get at least 4 hours sleep, i'll be nodding off during the movie.
on a totally different topic, my scalp needs a good scrubbing. i don't know why it's gone all itchy on me. there was a time i could go weeks without washing my hair and it never bothered me.
maybe this is cuz it got used to being shampooed every other day or so?
171: grab a holtuvit
hey y'all.
baby bliss and i were watching a documentary the other night called Okie Noodling. we turned it on halfway thru and were disgusted (me) and enthralled (her) with the practice.
the fish (ginormous, alien-looking catfish for y'all who don't know) were frightening in appearance. something that would make me never stick my foot in a puddle of muddy water ever again, i tell ya.
their skin was green and yellow, their whiskers thick and rubbery-looking, and the noodlers were pulling off the fishy skin with pliers.
nas-teeeeeee.
the highlight of the whole program? (and no, i didn't change the channel cuz baby bliss wanted to watch and it was eh-dhu-kay-shun-ul people.)
the highlight of the entire program was when one of the noodlers was showing and telling one of the researchers how to get the fish out of the holes.
he said, "... grab a holtuvit..."
baby bliss looked at me, clearly confused. she said, "mommy, what's a 'holtuvit'?"
my own amazement was authentic as well . i didn't have a clue what she meant. then she said, "is it another name for bucket?"
then the dam broke as i realized what the guy meant. and i screamed/laughed so loud that baby bliss thought i was gone off the deep end for sure. after i wiped my tears, i explained to her that "holtuvit" is just the way some people say "hold of it".
our public t.v. station showed it again that same night. we watched it and we watched it again the next day too. all to hear that guy say "holtuvit" again. :-)
we shared the story with mr. bliss and got him to watch it with us the third time so he could hear it too.
that's been our private joke over the last few days. and not to make fun of the guy. i have a thing for accents, colloquialisms, slang, etc. but only if it sounds cool. '=)
on another note, mr. bliss has decided he wants to drive down to charleston for a visit. one of my relatives used to visit charleston often and she loves it. i've never been and i'm wondering how i'll like it.
i know it's on the water. is it more humid there than non-coastal towns? are there beaches or is it swampy? i don't have a clue. i'm gonna do my research (online) soon cuz we might be going this weekend.
we haven't taken a weekend trip in ages. i'm a bit excited but apprehensive too. maybe i shouldn't have mentioned potential travel plans around grandma but i did. now it's threatening to be an extended-family road trip. which could turn into a family feud cuz one or more of the extended family members have "control issues".
and one has a dog that sometimes travels with. i love that doggie but i don't want critters on vacation with me. and i surely hope that person doesn't want to car pool y'all. we'll be taking our own car, thank you. so we can come and go as we please and not have to wait on the group.
so what's the point in us all going as a group any way? i can guarantee that we won't agree on what to see, where to go, what to eat, where to stay... there will also be dissension on how often to stop for potty and food breaks, how long those stops should be, who should get out and who should watch the vehicles/valuables.
maybe we should just sneak off without them?
but the real question -- the one that will cause the most trouble around here -- is should i take the laptop?
.
baby bliss and i were watching a documentary the other night called Okie Noodling. we turned it on halfway thru and were disgusted (me) and enthralled (her) with the practice.
the fish (ginormous, alien-looking catfish for y'all who don't know) were frightening in appearance. something that would make me never stick my foot in a puddle of muddy water ever again, i tell ya.
their skin was green and yellow, their whiskers thick and rubbery-looking, and the noodlers were pulling off the fishy skin with pliers.
nas-teeeeeee.
the highlight of the whole program? (and no, i didn't change the channel cuz baby bliss wanted to watch and it was eh-dhu-kay-shun-ul people.)
the highlight of the entire program was when one of the noodlers was showing and telling one of the researchers how to get the fish out of the holes.
he said, "... grab a holtuvit..."
baby bliss looked at me, clearly confused. she said, "mommy, what's a 'holtuvit'?"
my own amazement was authentic as well . i didn't have a clue what she meant. then she said, "is it another name for bucket?"
then the dam broke as i realized what the guy meant. and i screamed/laughed so loud that baby bliss thought i was gone off the deep end for sure. after i wiped my tears, i explained to her that "holtuvit" is just the way some people say "hold of it".
our public t.v. station showed it again that same night. we watched it and we watched it again the next day too. all to hear that guy say "holtuvit" again. :-)
we shared the story with mr. bliss and got him to watch it with us the third time so he could hear it too.
that's been our private joke over the last few days. and not to make fun of the guy. i have a thing for accents, colloquialisms, slang, etc. but only if it sounds cool. '=)
on another note, mr. bliss has decided he wants to drive down to charleston for a visit. one of my relatives used to visit charleston often and she loves it. i've never been and i'm wondering how i'll like it.
i know it's on the water. is it more humid there than non-coastal towns? are there beaches or is it swampy? i don't have a clue. i'm gonna do my research (online) soon cuz we might be going this weekend.
we haven't taken a weekend trip in ages. i'm a bit excited but apprehensive too. maybe i shouldn't have mentioned potential travel plans around grandma but i did. now it's threatening to be an extended-family road trip. which could turn into a family feud cuz one or more of the extended family members have "control issues".
and one has a dog that sometimes travels with. i love that doggie but i don't want critters on vacation with me. and i surely hope that person doesn't want to car pool y'all. we'll be taking our own car, thank you. so we can come and go as we please and not have to wait on the group.
so what's the point in us all going as a group any way? i can guarantee that we won't agree on what to see, where to go, what to eat, where to stay... there will also be dissension on how often to stop for potty and food breaks, how long those stops should be, who should get out and who should watch the vehicles/valuables.
maybe we should just sneak off without them?
but the real question -- the one that will cause the most trouble around here -- is should i take the laptop?
.
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