Rambling

And now back to our regularly scheduled program!Sometimes, I think Andy has this feeling that he's neglecting me. He'll come out of the dungeon while I'm reading or blog stalking and ask "Do you want to watch a movie?" "Go for a walk?" "Play Parcheesi?"Then I feel obligated to STOP what I'm doing so he can feel like we bonded. (Also, I'm a sucker for blue eyes.)Today was one of those days. What di

Just my random twitter scribblings. Twitter helps with making a really random blog post. 06:15 I slept for almost 12 hours. # 07:05 Getting ready for work, but I HAVE to restore my iPhone before I can leave. # 07:25 On item 67 of 119 to sync # 07:37 84 of 119 items left to sync # 07:42 Had to [...]

Just my random twitter scribblings. Twitter helps with making a really random blog post. 01:14 Eureka episode this Season "Bad to the Drone" I’m having flashbacks to last season’s Doctor Who finale. # 01:49 I’ve had fun playing Wii since @lethann got home. This amused me… tinyurl.com/5pd6hx # 02:14 Burn Notice returns on Thursday. Party at SB&B. We [...]

So I got curious and looked at my ShinyStats today. I've never really looked at all they have to offer before, even though I've had that little link on the lower-right side of my blog for ages now. I glanced at the keyword searches that they list having brought people to my rambling posts. Below is the exhaustive list for the month of July (to date). So I'm big in musical searches (Addison Roa

Just my random twitter scribblings. Twitter helps with making a really random blog post. 08:10 I messed up in SL. I left the Fiends from Hell group without meaning to. That’s my land group # 13:31 @erroch these days it seems like I go in and out a lot. # 13:33 I hate orientations. # 17:15 I am getting [...]

Surgery. That is what is on my mind and about the only thing on my mind. My back surgery is set for 8AM, Thursday, July 10. Of course, it was set for about the same time 13 years ago. I didn’t actually go into surgery until about 2PM that afternoon. I was so drugged out on Demerol, I didn’t care. Demerol is some kind of powerful drug. I lost my nervousness real quick when they started

Just my random twitter scribblings. Twitter helps with making a really random blog post. 05:47 SL Fash Note: Pretty in PInk: Photo credits: Pose - {Dilemma} Beachy Stand 2; Skin - CHA.. # 09:34 @Amelia_Book Today or tomorrow? # 09:35 @Amelia_Book Ugh! # 10:09 Hmmm… @Amelia_Book said there was an Evernote update today, but I checked for updates. Nada. [...]

Just my random twitter scribblings. Twitter helps with making a really random blog post. 23:08 @demonasolace it was fun. We’ll have to do it again. # 05:47 SL Fash Note: Pretty in PInk: Photo credits: Pose - {Dilemma} Beachy Stand 2; Skin - CHA.. # 09:34 @Amelia_Book Today or tomorrow? # 09:35 @Amelia_Book Ugh! # 10:09 Hmmm… @Amelia_Book said there was [...]

Image by Clemson via Flickr Just my random twitter scribblings. Twitter helps with making a really random blog post. 02:33 McD is crawling inside my purse. Guess he wants to go. # 10:46 SL Fash Note: Zaara: Photo Credits: Poses - AnaLu fresh poses; Skin - Another skin - Le -.. tinyurl.com/5fnqgd # 11:47 SL Fash Note: Dainty Darling: This lace [...]

Just my random twitter scribblings. Twitter helps with making a really random blog post. 01:26 I wonder how close Bill & @demonasolace is to getting in. # 01:26 Upgrading Skitch # 01:28 @Amelia_Book Adium. Today? I upgraded mine yesterday I think. # 01:46 SL Fash Note: Mischief - JoJo: I saw this and thought it was perfect for the 4th [...]

Just my random twitter scribblings. Twitter helps with making a really random blog post. 04:28 Getting a snake bite vic # 07:39 I got a tourniquet(?) as going away present for my job and they made a story behind that. It’s rather longer st… tinyurl.com/3hkf38 # 07:50 [utterz] www.utterz.com/u/utt/u-NTEwNjE4Ng # 08:27 My head is hurting, I think I’m having [...]

Last night I went to Beer Garden, yes the one that is mentioned in GTA4! and drank way too much. Yes, i stumbled home drunkard and somehow found my way into the bathroom where somehow i washed my face and crawled back and passed out. Note to self, drinking Stella will give you a wicked hang over. Which was today. their version of beer garden in the game. lol apparently their version of it is much

Just my random twitter scribblings. Twitter helps with making a really random blog post. 07:47 SL Fash Note: Moondance: Love that song. Also love the dress by DG Innovations. I’.. tinyurl.com/6rjmz6 # 09:13 new iPhone video. I may like the new GPS better cause it does have tracking. www.apple.com/iphone/guidedtour/ # 13:08 Upgrading leopard # 23:12 @amelia_book are you surprised? # Automatical

Is it just me or is this year zooming by? July? Already July???? Geez, only six more months of shopping until Christmas. It seems this year barely got started and we are past the halfway point. On January 1, 2008, did anyone really believe Senator Obama would be the Democratic nominee for President? Did anyone on January 1, 2008 think they would be paying $4+ a gallon for gas? Did anyone

Sugar Ants. We get them every summer and find it virtually impossible to get rid of them. I have tried boric acid, vinegar, corn meal and an assortment of other home remedies. Nothing is working. I don’t see paying Cook’s Pest Control $40.00/monthly for a year to do this if I can find one proven way to do it. If you know of some remedies that actually work, please let me know. I've found

My nephew, at long last, received the government stimulus check in the mail yesterday. Unfortunately, it was not for the $600.00 that he had been told he would receive in a letter just last week. It was for $300.00 instead. He called the toll free number that was in the enclosed envelope in case the check was in error. They told my nephew he needed to send the check back and they would

This morning, I ran a whole mile.May not seem like much to most of you but for a walk-two, run-one lap kind of girl it was quite an accomplishment.And you know what the funny thing is? I didn't plan on doing it. I went to the track this morning with thoughts of business as usual. Do my time and go home. But when I got there and started running something in me said, "A little farther. Just one more

Hillary, you finally admitted defeat. Actually, I was quite surprised that she conceded. It’s not the Clinton way of doing things. The Clinton way of doing things is do what you have to do to win, legal or illegal. It doesn’t matter to this power “couple.” By dragging this campaign out for so long, she may well have cost the Democrats a chance to win the White House when everything ha

Some of you my loyal readers may be wondering why are there two categories of Blog listing on the right-hand side of this page, the one called pals n’acquaintances and another called blogroll. Well, the blogs listed on my blogroll are basically those that I like because of their quality of writings alone, though I may not be personally acquainted with the blog’s owner. On the other hand, you

It seems I will be forced to go to the “Sex and the City” showing this week. My girlfriend (I feel strange calling her that at my age…I guess we’ll be going steady next) is either refusing to answer the phone, can’t meet me for lunch, blah, blah, blah, real busy right now, blah, blah blah. I get the message. I would rather walk barefoot over hot, burning coals than be caught at this m

Don’t people know gas prices are skyrocketing and we will be at a national average of about $4.00/gallon in two weeks or less? You wouldn’t know it by the number of people at nearby beaches and parks yesterday. Gulf Shores was, quite literally, wall to wall people. Parks? Good luck trying to find an RV hookup if you own one. It was unbelievable. There were signs, however, the gas crunch

Time seems to go rather slowly in the close season, sort of like in a Hollywood action film when time is slowed down to allow the hero to get his gonads in between the President and the flying munitions, it's just not quite as exciting watching the close season. There are those of us who are optimists who enjoy dreaming of winning every game next season and maybe even Eboue shinning one in,

The mug in the coffee photo this morning really has no deep meaning other than the fact that it really is the coffee mug I am drinking out of this morning so you can visualize my morning coffee it you want. I haven't been online since yesterday morning and for me, that's weird. But I ended up showering and getting my makeup on and starting on errands yesterday morning, not making it back home

Why is it so difficult for people to use their car’s turn signals? If they have a disability, I can understand (although I’m sure there is a way for disabled people to be able to do this). I can’t tell you the number of times I have gotten behind people to suddenly see brake lights and then they just run right. It seems to be the same no matter what town, city, state or region of the count

Mother's Day was a little quiet around here -- but that's just the way I like it. Apparently, Logan (1) did not get the memo that all children are to be healthy and easy on Mother's Day. There was quite a bit of crying and whining going on. It wasn't really his fault though; he became horribly pained and sad any time he tried to eat, so clearly he was battling some mystery ailment. Perhaps a

it's about 10am in the morning. am I awake? no, not really. but for some reason I woke up even though I only had like 5 hours of sleep. is it old age? who knows...over to the left of me is this pineapple that da brain gave me before he left. it's been like a week now. and I still haven't eaten it yet because it hasn't ripen yet.pineapples take a long time to get ripe, it seems.so, do you know when a pineapple is considered ripe? ..one of the lounge lizards in told me the secret. the guy with no name told me. he didn't want me to give him a nickname on my blog. so, I will call him mr. no name.mr. no name told me that a pineapple is ready to eat when you are able to pluck out one of it's leaves on the top of the pineapple easily. can't wait. the pineapple is slowly turning from

Ooh, I told you I was going to tell you about the woman who came to my class on Wednesday!So I started class and there were only like four or five people. Then a few more straggled in during the warm up. One woman came in who...well, she just looked like a fitness instructor, you know? And then as we go through songs, she starts taking notes in between songs. I'm kind of freaking out a little bit because why is she taking notes?! Am I in trouble? Did someone say I'm a terrible instructor and now my boss, who conveniently wasn't in class today, is sending someone to check on me?My next thought was that it was a new Zumba instructor coming to steal my moves--but that thought was quickly squashed by the realization that, hello, I use all ZIN stuff anyway so it's not like its a secret. Hehe. B

Karli is always sifting through my underwear drawer like she is looking for something. I have a pair with yellow smiley faces all over them and she calls them my Nick Jr. underwear. She gets pretty upset that I never want to wear the Nick Jr. ones. The other day she was doing [...]

~~**~~**~~**~~Vox Nova has a most interesting post about the economy, and how people do vis a vis the two parties. It's an eye-opener to be sure, well no, it's rather to be expected. It seems that when the Republicans are in office, only the rich benefit, when the Democrats run the shop, all groups benefit. Of course, given that this is a Catholic site, and that always gets us to abortion, you can imagine the hoops some jump through to negate the value of the research. Can't have good Catholics voting for Democrats now can we? Of course, most Catholics ignore this and vote as they see fit, and more are going democratic this cycle than ever before.~~**~~**~~**~~I discovered the wonders of kohlrabi a few years ago, and find it a delightful vegetable. Great in salads and eaten raw, I was not

I’ve been waiting for the moment to come where I feel like I have something spectacular to blog about, but it just isn’t coming. I kind of don’t like my blog right now, but I have PMS, so no surprise there. I don’t think I’ve missed blogging about anything big the past several days. [...]

I keep thinking that someone has confused me with someone else. Rambling Rose with Laura Dern came on a moment ago. I watched her and recognized her as someone from Hollywood who I felt early on [Why Me? search] seemed to have a negative opinion of me and or this situation. It [...]

Well, here I sit in drought ridden Southern California up to our eyeballs in RAIN. We Southern Californians don't see much rain and we are always hoping and praying for it, then we get it and we can't stop Complaining about it. Maybe it is the fact that when we do get it, It comes down in Buckets for days. Of course we DO NOT know how to drive in it either. Our already crowded freeways become waterfilled parking lots. Other than our pool needing to be drained I am thrilled to have the change. Less watering and more growth for the spring. I actually put down some flower seeds in my side garden a few days ago, anticipating the upcoming downpour. Hopefully my whole side yard will have differn't colored Assylum growing around the stone walkway! We are all sick here yet again, Mr. Elij

Coffee is Folger's Gourmet Supreme - Coffeehouse Series - Dark Roast. And it's good. _____________________________ Thanks for the comments on I Was Almost a Kept Woman... for a Day - I still smile to think of the offer and I'm sure Anna Nicole Smith would have taken him up on it (or any of the chicks from Jerry Springer...) but accepting the coffee and lunch was enough for me. Yesterday was one

I've been waiting all year for this time to come. It's a time to rejoice. A time to celebrate. A time to relax. And I'm not talking about Christmas. I'm talking about my winter break. My employer provides us two weeks off in December, PAID. Very few employers do that these days. I'm very fortunate.So Today is my last day of work before the break. There are very few people here today as many took extra days off to extend their vacations. It's very quiet. So what am I doing today? I'm just wrapping up a few things and tidying up my office so when I return in 2008 it'll be a fresh start. I've got my iPod blasting music in shuffle mode, without bothering anyone. So far, I've listened to everything from Sublime to My Chemical Romance to Jack Johnson to Eric Hutchinson to Snoop Dog to Matt Costa to The Killers to John Legend to Green Day. Yes, I like variety.I think I'll close shop early today and get a head start on my much needed break. Grace and I already have plans for the com

Ok first and foremost - Hi Haters! If you are a loyal reader then this does not pertain to you - but to the new readers that came to yesterday’s post and criticized my strategies. It was criticized so much I had to remove the post. I had some comments on the positive end and most and all were all mad because of my tactical way of making money online. Yesterday’s post was a little of Black Hat Marketing - which is frowned upon on the internet. Search Engines, users, readers do not like the way Black Hatters make their money. Though my strategy I think was not fully Black Hat - it was still criticized and had to be removed. I think this is the reason why there are little black hat blogs out there - they are criticized on too much. Yesterday’s post was about increasing the profitability with a users’ Build a Niche Store. It gives a better chance of earning some income, isn’t that suppose to be good. I wanted to share a strategy that I was doing to help me ear

I am sitting at my desk in front of a large picture window in the Family Room. We have faux wood blinds on this huge window, but rarely raise or move the blinds as they are heavy and look best when left down. Just now, with nothing to blog about and finding myself staring out through the slates I decided to raise them a bit and get a clear view of the sun rising over the houses. Gag... cough!

i have been with my boyfriend for nearly 7 months, and it is my longest relationship by far, but since august he has been in hong kong for a gap year. i managed to raise the money to go see him for 2 weeks, and im going in about 5 weeks but i get irrationally scared sometimes the past 3 months have been so hard already, and recently we nearly broke up because we kept arguing, but we solved it the day after luckily i get scared because if these 3 months have been this hard, what about when i come home and have to be away from him for another 7/8 months - over twice the time ive struggled though to date and i get scared that it will changed him. hes in the year group above me so im doing my last year at college - high school for american readers - living with my mum, without a job etc, hes working nearly everyday, in a foreign country with completley different cultures im afraid that when he comes back he will be a grown up while i’ll still be a child im afraid that he’ll out

I previously mentioned TravelBlogs in my article, How to Find Good Travel Blogs. The site features narrative travel blogs and includes links to current stories on those blogs.When Eric first asked if I would be willing to do an interview for TB, I was a little nervous. What would he ask, and would I be able to answer his questions in a reasonably articulate manner? As it turned out, my first ever interview was painless and is now posted on the TravelBlog site. Check it out and see what you think.For TravelBlogs readers who are coming to Rambling Traveler for the first time, Welcome!*The above picture was taken 4 1/2 years ago at Six Flags in Denver. I'm posting it because it makes me smile. And yes, my then 6 year old is wearing socks with his sandals. He insisted.

My name is Ozymandias. I’ve always wanted to be able to put those words down but have not had the chance until now. Having done so it seems almost excessively cheesy, but I stand behind it for the moment. When I introduce myself to others it is always Oz but here I’ll be completely honest. It started out as a shortening of my name but I’ve noticed more recently it has become a commentary on certain habits. If this seems disjointed it probably is. I am thoroughly rattled by the events of each day now, though it wasn’t always like this. I got out. Escape, of course, was not my intention, curling up and dying was. I make no apologies for being a coward, if that’s what I should be called. I’m no fighter. I’d never held a gun before just a few days ago. And guns, if the talk I hear is to be believed, is the least of the things I carry that the Bane need to worry about. I’m a Receptive, which meant just about nothing when I was fir

http://www.buckhollywood.comHere is a rambling Monday vlog! I preview the shows this week, read some emails and show some Halloween party footage! Trick or Treat!Love,BUCKPS HOLY SHIT MY BROTHER IN LAW looks like themightythor1212 from You TUBE! (more…)

It's a testament to just how much I love my caffeine that I'm sitting in a darkened hotel room and sipping some hot java right now. I've managed to maneuver through a strange hotel room and make a pot of coffee completely and utterly in the dark, by feel alone. I only had two moments of hesitation. 1. I could feel the coffee pot was not plugged in and I couldn't find the wall plug in

But first, a winner--three to be exact, for books 3 through 7 in the The Fairy Chronicles series. If you won, I would recommend buying the first in the series, Marigold and the Feather of Hope, because it explains the world of the girl fairies that J.H. Sweet has created. If you didn't win, of course you can check out book one as well. The link will take you to amazon, and I've seen these at

When we decided to go to Maryland, one opportunity I wanted to take advantage of was meeting Dave from GoBackpacking. I've been following Dave's blog as he plans and saves for his upcoming round the world trip. He is leaving the country in just a few weeks, so this was a chance I couldn't pass up. I sent him an invitation to join us for drinks before we left D.C., and Dave graciously accepted. He suggested Ireland's Four Courts in Arlington, Virginia and I'm so glad he did.Set up like a traditional Irish pub, it reminded me of our trip to Ireland and the several meals we had at pubs just like this one. Even though I ordered an Irish beer (Smithwicks), I couldn't resist the non-Irish 5 Layer Dip with refried beans, guacamole, sour cream, tomato salsa and grated provolone and cheddar cheese. It was delicious.It was great to visit with Dave. We talked a lot about travel and blogging. His eyes light up when he talks about his trip, and his relief that physical therapy is

Most of you know that I took a week vacation off from work. It started last Thursday. I thought I'd have more time to blog, but that's not happening. Well, I shouldn't be disappointed because from Thursday to last night, I spent a lot of time with my kids (G and N). They are off from school for a fall break (all week last week). I will share more about their fall break but for now I need to log off and make sure everything is ready for their 1st day back to school. I know... I know we should have done these "making sure everything is ready" last night, but hubby read Harry Potter to us and we took advantage of that reading/family time.Oh, I have so much to do... that's why I posted that photo above :)

For all my new readers from JigZone, and for all my regular readers who enjoy puzzles, I've started a new blog called Rambling Puzzles. This is where I'll post my JigZone puzzles made out of pictures featured on Rambling Traveler. My first puzzle was posted this morning. Enjoy!Related post: A Ramble about Online Jigsaw Puzzles

So I’ve been trawling the web for something interesting to say, something other than the obvious gloating that I’m-going-to-see-Neil-Gaiman-tomorrow-and- wouldn’t-it-be-a-giggle-if-I-went-in-my-casual-gear (he’s not the only Neil with a penchant for black and an aversion to brushing his hair). First I went over to Joey Moggie for inspiration but alas my digital friend has been strangely quiet of late, come back soon Joey, then I went to Mister Peace who has been taking some R and R, from thence I went to…well I talked about him already so lets move on. Next stop was Mr Fry and one of the most interesting takes on fame I’ve read in a long old while along with a valuable lesson on how to take a compliment. Joe (Hill) has been quiet and Abbi has been mainly eating ribs whilst GLP has been busy getting another story published: a darker tale but cool none the less. In the end I succumbed to the fate that awaits all bloggers at some point and went skimmin

So yeah, I'm in a hugely bad mood today.I've had pretty good news, like I don't have to wear braces anymore. (Well, that's about it now I give it some thought)You know, open letter to Pete Wentz:"Dear hot Pete Wentz,I hope you know by now that it's all fun and games till someone gets hurted.We love your stunts but we don't wanna lose your pretty face.STOP IT!"Next up, open letter to cable tv:"Dear stupid people,I WANT DISNEY CHANNEL BACK BEFORE MY BIRTHDAY WHICH BY THE WAY IS IN THE MIDDLE OF HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 2 PREMIERE WEEKEND!"And, to finnish, open letter to everyone who has been asking me to link:"Dear you guys,You've been lucky, your sites are really good.Now seriously, you guys are really sweet wanting to be linked here.The thing is, go easy on me: I have school and 3 sites to work

I'm EXTRAORDINARILY busy this time of year with my business, but definitely some thoughts that I needed to express....SPINELLI SEARCHES FOR LULU: PLEASE oh PLEASE let TPTB play this out well. We could have some absolutely beautiful scenes between these two if only Goober...er uh..GUZA let's it happen. If this really is a rehash of Luke/Laura/Scotty, then we all know who Lulu will end up with the end. But I'm not buying it. Yes, they are playing it exactly the same way, but it's obvious Lulu has it BAD for Logan. So knowing TPTB like I've known them for 25+ years, Spin is out...but on THAT front...SPINELLI AND GEORGIE: Okay, I am LOVING this. Poor Georgie. Does NO ONE see her for the gem she truly is? First Dillon, now Spinelli. Poor Spin. He doesn't know a good thing when he sees it. I'm leaning towards a wonderful friendship with Lulu and a relationship with Georgie. They are uber cute together. Sadly, it will probably be Spin's dawning realization of the awesomeness that is G

A few more thoughts, unedited, not held together by themes or good writing - just ramblings and random thoughts...Understanding, just a little, the spiritual and cultural place of the ancient people of India gives me a mental place to picture the world of Noah, of Abraham, of those written about in the Jewish and Christian scriptures who lived and communed with God before either the Jewish or Christian religions had been established. Yet there were people who followed after God, and those who did not. What did this look like, this pre-Jewish faith, culture, belief system? Might it have been similar to what we find in ancient India? The concepts of blood sacrifices, of a (G)god who belongs first and foremost to a group, a tribe, a family, and not perceived as necessarily belonging equally to the whole word. All these things seem to show up in many ancient belief systems, not only the Hebrew people, not only the Vedic people. In the Genesis account of creation, all is begun by a word. Go

So what’s been going on in Mama Kelly’s Universe recently? I have been having another peak in depression.  I was given a script for Paxil and took it for a week and stopped due to some severe tummy trouble. The tummy trouble was triggered (I think) by an anti-inflamatory medication I was given at the same time and resulted in a flare-up of my chronic abdominal pain.  The most likely suspect for my pain is the presence of many many adhesions on and around my bowels, however as I also suffer from Neurofibromatosis there is the possibility of tumors in my abdominal cavity mimicing the surface bumps and nubbies on my skin.  It is only now resolving after 3 weeks of misery. I plan to try to get back on the Paxil starting tonight for the main purpose of improved sleep quality and a reduction in my anxiety issues.  I rested mommy is a happier mommy and a happier mommy is much more able to juggle work, college, kids’ homework, household duties, a husband on disability

Even though I don't officially have time for coffee or blogging this morning, you knew I'd be here. In my jammies with severe bed-head, teeth un-brushed and needing to wash my face and go potty, but no, I'm here. Coffee and computer were of utmost importance this morning. Remember the post where I mentioned I may have taken a baby step to becoming gainfully employed again? Well... let's chat

Last night was a little frustrating. Long story made short, I ended up opening my back patio door and saying "Shouldn't you be in bed? It's 1:3o in the morning." to my 9 year old neighbor and his friend.

I’ve done my voting, written my post over at the fuelmyblog blog, and have consumed the chocolate. There is no lack of wine, and the #3 child informs me that Mr. Fracas has a fire waiting to go in the firepit. The middle child is off enjoying a lovely evening with her boyfriend and other friends, the oldest child is off working hard in another province and so it is just the three of us fo enjoy an evening fire. #3 will no doubt entertain us with his newfound enjoyment of the new band instrument he is eagerly anticipating the beginning of the school year with, and until the neighbours call the police to beg enforcement of any local noise bylaws, I fully intend to allow him to enjoy that shiny brass thing to his heart’s desire. And yes. This is the actual fraccy firepit. So the photo was taken in winter? Big deal. We were out having a fire on Christmas Day, because we’re just cool like that.  I’m sure Rootie would be proud.

Have you ever been struggling with something, but not really not know exactly what it is. For me it took listening to a message on the computer to be able to bring my jumbled thoughts together. When Shalee wrote her post here aboutloneliness has become an unwelcomed guest in my heart, and I don’t know how to properly evict it and all its belongings.I told her that was a post I could have written lately. But I could not pin point where it was coming from. Yes, it was end of summer blues, it is hot, etc..Today I have come to realize that the lack of community is getting to me. I am not talking about blog world/computer world; I am talking about real life here. Let me ramble here and maybe I will find the point.I use to teach women’s bible study; actually I taught two different times. I use to be active in Middle School group, but stepped down due to several factors. Manly man and I attended Sunday School regularly, we were in the Pastors Sunday School class. Well something happened,

It is hard to believe that it has already been 6 months since my first post on Rambling Traveler, although sometimes it feels like I've been doing this for much longer. It seems kind of geeky to celebrate it, but I've read that the average lifespan of a blog is 3 months, so I'm proud of this little anniversary.We've had 21,000 visits with over 37,000 pageviews. Most of the traffic came from:1. StumbleUpon with 14,000 visits2. Direct with 2,400 visits3. Google with 2,100 visits4. Bloggers Choice Awards with 400 visits5. MyBlogLog with 300 visitsThank you to everyone who has visited this blog, left comments, and stumbled or linked to my articles!*Thank you to Don Cashman for the picture of the Lower Falls at Yellowstone National Park.

Due to several startling accusations that this blog is beginning to resemble a "livejournal", I feel I need to respond. Firstly, the whole point of this endeavor was for Caleb and I to write about whatever the hell we wanted to, and I'm sticking to that point. Secondly, I don't ramble on about my problems or whine about anything. Anything that I write is going to have shades of my personal experiences in it, because, well... I wrote it. But, if I did want to complain about my love troubles or how I sunk a really sweet jump shot in basketball the other day, I will. Lastly, don't take offense to any of this... I enjoyed the comments and know they were not meant with any ill will. You know, to be safe, just don't be offended by anything I ever say.I have a couple of blog links today of a literary nature. Both sites are really hilarious (at least if you find bad grammar amusing). The first is Left Behind at the Fishbowl. Paul found this somewhere and I came across the link on h

Remember the busy month of June post I did? Well, the list is only half of what's happening. We are busssssyyy! I don't think we've had any "quite" weekend since Tatay and Nanay arrived. I told them to get used to it - it won't slow down as much :)Last weekend we had some family friends come over to celebrate Father's Day. This coming Saturday we are having an aloha party for our very good friends and neighbors who are moving to the mainland. We volunteered our house for the "goodbye and goodluck" party..there will probably be 100 people coming. OK, maybe 75....So, some of you might be waiting to hear how my parents are adjusting. I think they are adjusting well. Tatay may be a little "homesick" but I think he's happy to be here with G and N and he's happy to see Nanay happy. You see, my mom has the tendency to have psychosomatic symptoms and sickness when she's depressed, lonely and problematic...but my dad told me that she hasn't complained about anything since t

I woke to the sounds of children getting ready to go to weight lifting class. It was 5:24 am. Yawn. Time to start the day! Today I'm supposed to have a date with Iowa Geek so I'll be gone when I typically take Coffeegirl to the bus that takes her to the pool. Last night I realized this and asked her about riding her bike today. She informed me she couldn't because both tires were flat.

How should you pick stocks for a swing trade when the market is down three days in a row? Marlyn has an idea and it makes sense to me. If a stock goes up when the market is down, then it's logical that it will usually outperform the market when the market starts rising again. Unless it's an inverse ETF, of course.The Old Prof makes some excellent points about personal savings rates and debt levels. To hold the amount of debt someone has against him without taking into account the value of their assets is just silly. Debt, especially mortgage debt, can obviously be your best friend, especially in a lively real estate market.Should I be worried about my MSFT puts? Barron's Tech Trader Daily blog writes about betting on a Vista surge (or Vista escalation if you prefer). Oh wait, they don't think buying MSFT is the best way to play the surge. Personally, I can't fathom what motivates millions of investors each day to say to themselves "man I gotta get me some MSFT at $30 a share". I j

It pretty well sucks to be sick. I've been feeling very odd for the last week - weak, poor vision, sensitive skin, some fever. The docs say I have a virus, and it is slow getting over it.I'm headed to Norway again this Sunday, so I sure hope I get over this sickness before hopping a transatlantic flight. I'll be gone for a week, giving a paper at a conference. For those interested, they have some strange ideas in Norway - one of the most environmentally conscious nations and they love their cetaceans (for dinner). They have a couple of slogans: "Whales: Intelligent food for intelligent people.""If we had dolphins, we'd kill them, too."Norway also includes portions of Lapland, whose people actually retain their own language. Lapland is known as a traditional home for reindeer (but they've not yet found Santa's workshop). While I'm there, I plan on eating me some Rudolph!The Norwegians eat a lot of fish - breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I will as well, while there. The Norwegians I

It pretty well sucks to be sick. I've been feeling very odd for the last week - weak, poor vision, sensitive skin, some fever. The docs say I have a virus, and it is slow getting over it.I'm headed to Norway again this Sunday, so I sure hope I get over this sickness before hopping a transatlantic flight. I'll be gone for a week, giving a paper at a conference. For those interested, they have some strange ideas in Norway - one of the most environmentally conscious nations and they love their cetaceans (for dinner). They have a couple of slogans: "Whales: Intelligent food for intelligent people.""If we had dolphins, we'd kill them, too."Norway also includes portions of Lapland, whose people actually retain their own language. Lapland is known as a traditional home for reindeer (but they've not yet found Santa's workshop). While I'm there, I plan on eating me some Rudolph!The Norwegians eat a lot of fish - breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I will as well, while there. The Norwegians I

I figured I had not done a rambling post in a bit, one with no real point or direction, so here it goes.I am in SUCH BIG TROUBLE, my son goes to a reading tutor 3x's a week. The place where it is located is to far to drive there, come back home and then drive back to pick him up. Not to mention the cost of gas, and I am one of those people ruining the environment with my big SUV (anyways I digress). So I usually end up killing 2 hours at Kohl's or Target (they have a Starbucks I say with a big grin), or Wal-Mart or whatever is close by. Well there is a new Business center going in across from where I take my son, what is the first store that JUST opened up. A store called, HALF BOOKS. It is good condition used books. I walked in thinking, oh I am not going to like it, it probably won't have a great selection (ok so I was hoping so). THEY HAVE A HUGE CHRISTIAN SECTION. Oh my goodness. I am in such big trouble, I have to go by this place 3x's a week, with two hours to kill

Warning: The lemon cheesecake bars I posted below? Highly addictive. You've been warned. Now don't come complaining to me when you've eaten (literally) half the pan after you've made them. (You think I jest. You would be wrong.) This week is 'dance recital' week. The big huge busy crazy week of insane practices downtown in the 'city' - you know, the place I hate to drive because

Tuesday Tasting is a regular feature of Lyke2Drink that explores some of the best beers, wines and spirits on the market. This week we visit three Virginia wineries nestled among the Blue Ridge Mountains.Visiting a winery is one of those great simple pleasures that puts you back in contact with the facts that wine is an agricultural product and that real people work hard to tend vines, harvest grapes, bottle and market a product. Returning to North Carolina from Upstate New York over the weekend, we jumped off I-81 for a couple of hours to visit three Virgina wineries located among the Blue Ridge Mountains not far from Route 151. The setting was spectacular as were a number of the wines.The Virginia wineries we visited all offered free pours of multiple wines. You could also purchase a bottle or a glass of your favorite and enjoy the wine right on site with a million dollar view of the surrounding vistas. Our first stop was Veritas Vineyard & Winery in Afton. Veritas offered pours of

Because I am totally lame, I often find myself amused by completely inane activities. One of which is going to dictionary.com and playing with the translator there. Type any story or whatever in, translate into a different language, and then back to English. What you end up with is often hilarious! Due to a complete lack of creativity today, I am presenting you with a description of our day:

Plans change. And then they change again. In such a fashion that’s how I found myself back to Atlanta. Though it’s quite necessary. I have been looking at a list of the largest metro areas in the country. When it comes to just driving through I haven’t driven in almost every major city through the first 31 states. Impressive. And it’s good timing too as I caught just the end of a radio story that announced the rudest and most courteous cities in the country to drive in. Even with all my travels I really don’t think there is a big difference from state to state or coast to coast (actually, there aren’t many difference at all when it comes to people, we’re pretty much the same everywhere), but I did notice that a lot of people pulled out right in front of me when I was in Louisiana. Atlanta was short lived, but it was good. There are some people I would of liked to see, but didn’t get to. And there are lots of things I would have liked to see, but didn’t get to. Now t

Sorry for being a bit late with my post today. We kind of slept in… (that can happen when you don’t go to bed until …oh, like 5 in the morning! *giggles* …and I even missed the appointment with my Doctor today!!! That make me very very angry at myself. I even had a note attached to my computer and still missed it obviously. ##%¤&/&/&/. This visit was because that medicine I got for the Fibromyalgia, does not work. Even made me worse. My Doc. is very difficult to get an appointment with, I can’t even phone him until next Monday to book a new appointment. Still, I’m glad if I get one, because the other doctor I had was terrible, so I gladly wait for this new one…. So, this day went by very fast. Some heavy grocery shopping, then cooking dinner and now we have our Swedish cinnamon buns in the oven, smelling really good!!! Tomorrow we’re visiting my Mom in the elderly home, so that’s why the baking. She loves home made

I’ve been pretty busy lately, with various projects. In fact its now 3:29am and I’ve just finished illustrating a book I’ve been working on with a client for the last few weeks. It’s a great feeling when you add the last pen stroke. (until you remember that you still have to scan the damn thing into the computer, and edit it, and get it sent off), but still, when you finish its a good feeling. DOIK…. Anywhoo, busy, yes indeed. Firstly gotta mention whats going on with the disclaimer at the top of the page, and on my homepage. Well, it’s just as it says, some brainless doik has been using my details in an e-mail scam. I won’t say exactly what I think of him/them because I know kids occasionaly read this blog….’doik*’ will have to do for now! * (a Doik is a bottom breathing creature that dwells in damp, musty offices or bedrooms. Usualy questionable social skills and/or odour, and a tendancy to feed off their own waste…

"You can comment on the Vikings NFL draft pick!"That would be Coffeehusbands comment when I said offhandedly "I don't know what to write about...." Um, yeah. I think most of you know me well enough by now to know how stupid that comment was, right?"Cheese is one of my favorite foods. It's a meal all on its own." - BabyGirl"Talk about what I said I would do if I was asked to join a gang by the gangsters.... remember that?" "No." "Yeah.. remember, the rubber band around my waist thing?" "Um... no." "Oh." - CoffeekidWell, it looks like I've got nuthin.

TGIF!! I am so happy today is Friday, and I am so happy today is the last soccer game of the season for my boys. We now take a sports break until August. August is when football begins, and my life becomes consumed with all things related to football (whether I like it or not). The good news is they moved where they practice closer to my house, so I don’t have to drive far each day.I am getting excited to head to Phoenix on Tuesday. I will not be blogging next week. I will be having too much fun, loving on my niece. Staying at my brother’s house while they are touring Italy, eating their food, and feeling like I am living it up! I will also be having too much fun meeting Iris!! I will let Iris blog about our meeting, I will blog about it when I return home =)You know some days it is just hard to parent. I have an official teenager in the home; things are happening that I am not ready for. Teenage hormone changes and curiosity of the opposite sex. Why can’t my children just stay i

Here I go again griping about the relative valuations of Google and Yahoo. If it isn't a dead horse that I'm beating, it is at the very least near death:Google's Q1 profit up 69%! Revenue up 63%! An earnings "surprise" of 10%+! The market's reaction? A 2.5% increase in the share price as I'm typing this. Woo hoo! I regularly see more enthusiastic reactions when crappy companies beat by a penny. I can't quite explain the muted reaction, but it is another example of the lack of love the street inexplicably has for this stock. I half expect the market to take back a good chunk of this 2.5% gain over the next few days...Personally, I just want to know what they're going to do with the $12 Billion of cash on their balance sheet. And I'm hoping for something a little splashier than DoubleClick. Hey, why not just buy Yahoo already? Don't laugh, it could happen. GOOG has a market cap 4X that of YHOO and no debt on its balance sheet. And, I actually see their respective strengths as be

What an elation it is to complete a Friday as a 3rd grade teacher.  I got into this job partly for the weekends and the breaks.  The next two weeks for most teachers wil be Spring Break, but not for me.  I accepted the job of teaching “Spring School,” that’s right.  I’ll be teaching a group of 33 kids standards and test prep 9-12 M-TH.  Why did I volunteer for this seeming insanity?  Simple . . . I want my class’ scores to be high on the Califiornia Standards Test in May.  As a teacher, we don’t work with dollars or bottom lines.  For us, the bottom line is the human product, and . . . thanks to “No Child Left Behind,” (NCLB) the test scores.  I used to be bitter about it, but after 7 years of teaching, I’ve learned that it’s simply a target.  Unfortunately, we as teachers don’t get to make our own targets anymore.  Once you let that go as a teacher, you can get excited about hitting the target the state has s

Barbra and Iris tagged me on the Wikki Meme, I have done the post twice only to lose it when I hit publish or save. So I will wait until I don't throw this computer through the window. =)Well our house if officially on the market (wanna move to Florida?), this the first time I have ever sold a house. I am thinking it might be my last ;) I have been painting, spackling, painting, laying carpet, painting, organizing, vaccuming, painting.... do you get the picture?I told hubby my fear in all this, is he is going to get to use to having the house this clean all the time, hehehe. My oldest son asked me this morning, "has anyone even looked at the house, why do we clean so much?" (the term "we" is used loosely). I said because when you are finally sitting in your new house, in your own room, you will think it was totally worth it. But just like everything in life, you have to put effort into something to get the reward. Then he said, "I dont know Mom." Well fortunately for him, that I do kn

Sadly, that is not my kitchen on the left. That is this other totally cool kitchen I've had favorited on Flickr for forever and since I haven't uploaded any pictures from le camera yet, I have nothing to share with you. But I promise I'll get them up soon!I'm sorry I've been so absent lately. I've been so excited about the move/painting/having a little house of my very own (sort of) that I've not wanted to look at other people's house--I want to be at mine, working!Since yesterday was my day off, I ran a bunch of errands, including a haircut (I have bangs now!) and then rounded up le sisters-in-law and went to the new house to paint. Hooray paint! We weren't able to get started on all the rooms, because we had to wait for the varnish to dry in the living room. However, we did get the kitchen completely done--it's pale, pale pink. About halfway into the project I started having misgivings and convinced myself that the whole thing is going to look like a nursery gone mad (it h

This morning I was surprised by an email from Iraq with a few photos of my brother. As I sit here in front of the keyboard my brain swirls with all the things I want to say on that topic, but can't... it would just come out a rambling mess. His 'job' over there includes missions and being attacked. Sometimes they have to sit and stay awake for up to three days at a time as they are surrounded and on alert. My parents send Rock Star Energy drinks over for him as the Marines back at base (who DON'T go on any missions at all and basically are there currently playing video games and sitting around 'just in case') buy it all up within an hour that it hits the PX. The guys that could really use it don't get it. My parents are going to send him 2 cases of it this time. I was happy to hear that.I also found out someone got my brothers id and bank account number. Made a withdrawl from Montreal, Canada on March 2nd and a few more on the 5th. My brother happened to check his

Coffee: Folgers Gourmet Supreme Columbian DarkMug: Dallas, TX I'm sipping coffee and looking out the window from the kitchen. The snow is crazy but the sun is shining and somehow that makes everything all right in the world. I love the sunshine so much!Tonight Coffeekid wants to have a teen 'movie night' here at the house. Probably about 20 kids or so... and a few overnight when it's done. I agree'd to four extra boys staying the night and assuming that Coffeegirl is going to want to have a friend over too. Last night BabyGirl and ExBoyfriend were here watching Pearl Harbor. ExBoyfriend was already in town at his Dad's place for the day and even though the blizzard and white-out were in effect the crazy kid was going to walk to our home to see BabyGirl! I told her to tell him he was NOT to attempt that! I knew he would only have on his letterman jacket and probably no gloves or hat! She said he told her he had a hat and gloves.... I still said no. I was going to at

Coffee: Folgers Gourmet Supreme Columbian Dark Mug: Dallas, TX I'm sipping coffee and looking out the window from the kitchen. The snow is crazy but the sun is shining and somehow that makes everything all right in the world. I love the sunshine so much! Tonight Coffeekid wants to have a teen 'movie night' here at the house. Probably about 20 kids or so... and a few overnight when it's

Today is my one year anniversary as a flight attendant. I've had my share of ups and downs, mostly ups though. Surprisingly, almost half of my classmates from training have already quit. I guess the living out of your suitcase and being a slave isn't for everyone. I can never say never, but I don't think I would ever quit this job, and if I did, I am sure I would be quite sorry. Last week we

Day was good today, even though my hair got a mess in the wind + rain. Haha.Little Dudley [my dog] went to the salon haha. He's all soft and fluffy - it's great! My mum's planning on getting a little girlfriend for him... the groomer knows someone who has a girl Bichon Frisé who wants pups so hopefully they can hook up. Haha. But then my mum said she'll get him neutered after that. I don't agree. That's evil. He'll get fat if he's neutered and I don't want him to be fat haha.Think I'll have to order that camera again - they said because the card address and delivery address is different. Don't know what I'm gonna do.I saw a picture of Amy Winehouse with loads of hair on her face today. Real hair. Like a beard/sideburns haha. It's horrible. I couldn't find it online but. Too bad for you. Haha.Anyway... might blog again later =]

I'm busy tapping my creative resources for ListenToLeon.net right now, so I don't really have much for you all today. I'm going to ramble in type form since I have nothing else to offer of substance at the moment. Upon finally watching the Victoria's Secret fashion show that I TiVoed the other night, I must first publicly declare my love for Adriana Lima. I would corrupt those angel wings

I don't have anything in particular to write about today so I'll bore you with my thoughts and newsworthy tidbits.Financial problems with my kid's school is weighing heavy on my mind. Three of them attend a private catholic school. It's a very small school with approximately 280 students. In my opinion it is our area's best kept secret. The preschool is Montessori and the teachers are amazing. Class sizes are small. My oldest is moving up grades with a class of 13-14 students; seven boys and seven girls. The girls are very close and this has been such a blessing for her because she has Tourette's Syndrome. They knew her before she developed her tics so they are more accepting of her quirkiness. I have had to deal with a bully issue but it worked out okay and it's been a learning lesson for all of us. I'm worried because our enrollment has been down over the last five years and our 40 year old school is having financial trouble. We are not affiliated with a parish and the Sister

I have felt a bit out of the whole Christmas spirit this year. Actually, I've really enjoyed shopping (about 75% online) and feel like I've gotten some great gifts for many people on my list that I think that they will really enjoy. But, the tree fell over after we decorated it, I didn't participate in Boomama's Bloggy Christmas Tour of Homes, and I wasn't quite sure what I was going to do

In Kel's case I know she'll be grabbing her espresso shots. Jody will be sipping tea. The rest of you grab your coffee. Let's chat!So this week, with my miserable cold, I was going through tissues left and right. I came to the end of the box at my desk in the office. I was going to throw it away and was getting ready to step on it and smash it when I spied a curious thing. A hole. Cut out of my tissue box!Now, it's MY tissue box, at MY desk. Since last Fall I don't even share an office with anyone. It's locked every night when I go home except on Fridays when I have to leave it open for the cleaning crew.But during the time it's unlocked someone, at some time, snuck in with a pair of scissors and snipped my Box Tops For Education coupon from it! LOL. While it still had all my tissues in it!I couldn't help but laugh... and of course take a picture of the 'new' box of tissues (with the label still in place) and my tissues that have been ransacked for their $.10 la

Happy Monday!Here I am... at work, which is all good. Very very slow right now which is a blessing on so many levels. After all I am on week number four (4) after submitting my 2 week notice.Ever hopeful I keep expecting (daily) to receive an email or phone call from the powers-that-be telling me how the interviews 1 1/2 weeks ago went and what day someone is starting. I know nothing. Nothing! Yet, I'm more than happy to earn every last penny I can as the day I quit is the day we start to live on a very meager salary from Coffeehusband which, on the excel spreadsheet I produced, shows there is absolutely no way I can quit working outside the home and still afford to exist.(Silly little tidbit of information here; I'm on hold with Sams Club checking on the availability of a product. My office phone automatically times every call and so far the clock is ticking at 13 minutes and 15 seconds that I've been on hold. Just for comparison; I called Costco first and the entire con

I have mentioned before that I can't understand my cancer Dr. Not only that, but I don't even know for sure what language he is speaking. It sounds like he starts out talking English and then when he gets more into the conversation, it sounds like something else. Like two languages mixed together. I like him very much. He does try to make me understand. He always starts slow and talks directly