Just Sayin'

Today I share just a few of the observations I've had in the last week...


If one donates blood and is advised not to engage in heavy exercise for at least five hours, heading off to a yoga class a mere 90 minutes later will prove the wisdom in aforementioned advice.  It will prove it quite effectively, thank you very much, enough that you may still feel the lesson the next day.


I made Greek Avgolemono soup and Turkish red lentil soup on the same day.  I ate a bowl of each on purpose.  The nerdy history geek part of me that also engages the bizarre imagination had fun envisioning an epic battle in my digestive system.


Is there anyone out there who feels completely at ease if they wind up in traffic behind a giant car carrier?  Personally, I always have visions of an SUV breaking loose and flattening me.


Even though children may reach the ages of 19 & 17 they will still fight over who gets to put the star on top of the Christmas tree, even if one of them doesn't want to do anything else to decorate.


I am the mom who has had sex ed. conversations at the dinner table since the kids were quite young.  It sometimes causes a bit of dyspepsia in Mr. Lime.  I have discovered when the topic of bloody stools comes up at dinner, even if it's only theoretical, that is my personal limit.


Who decided potted flowers with a nice wrap on the pot were not pretty enough and thus needed both spray on dye AND glitter applied to the actual flowers?  It's official.  We've gone completely nuts as a culture if even live, healthy flowers in full bloom aren't sufficiently lovely and need cosmetic enhancement.

Just out of curiosity...

...I was looking around in the stats section of the new Blogger interface.  Interesting the things one finds there.  Let's consider shall we?

I decided to check on the whereabouts of the folks coming to visit me in a virtual sense. (I see you Bobby.  And you Janet.  And there's Billy and Mary.....the folks I greet next may or may not get the Romper Room reference.)  Although I already know and appreciate that folks in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia read me (also waving hello to the known reader over in New Zealand as well, even though he's not showing up on the big stats numbers).  Nor is it a shock to have readers from Trinidad & Tobago, that's an honor. (Thanks, all yuh).  I was surprised to discover folks coming here from

Russia
Germany
Indonesia
France
Netherlands

I don't know what brought you here but добро пожаловать, willkommen, selamat datang, bienvenue, and welkom!  Nice to have you here.

I figured I might check to see what brings people my way.  It seems the all time most popular search terms causing people to land on my doorstep (once you eliminate obvious thinks like "lime" or "house of lime") are the following:

Rollercoaster
Busupshot (Trini food)
Fausnacht (Pennsylvania German food)
Peter Minshall Costumes (A world famous costumer most noted for Carnival and Olympic ceremony productions)
Penis Gourd
Chicken Gravy and Waffles (Pennsylvania German food)
Buljol (Trini food)

Apparently, I attract really hungry, thrill-seeking people with a fashion sense tending toward near nakedness but with eye-catching detail in the few items worn.

Yep, that sounds about right...

Brain Dump

Just some crap cluttering my brain today...


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I recently purchased the above bucket for a whopping $3.  Calypso needs one for next year.  The sign said the regular price was $12.99.  The thought occurred that perhaps that "regular price" was  merely inflated as a way to make the sale price look even better but I had seen them sold at that price in the past.  Now you know they are still managing some sort of profit at $3 so why do they ever need to jack it up to $12.99.  Feel free to answer but I'm sure it can't possibly boil down to anything other than sheer greed.

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Calypso: Did someone fart?

Mr. Lime: It doesn't smell like one of mine.

Isaac: Mine smell like rainbows.

Mr. Lime: You fart Skittles?

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And just because it made me wonder....

You Are a Yellow M&M

You are a mystery to those around you. You're happy-go-lucky but also quietly enigmatic. You live in a very individualistic way. You're doing what you love, and that varies from day to day. You are very self-aware and introspective. You know who you are, and you're good with that. You have an ironic view of life. You can be both serious and funny at the same time.

What Color M&M Are You?

Blogthings: We Have a Quiz for Almost Everything

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This is what it looks like when a follicularly challenged man decides to attempt a mohawk on himself.  A few moments later her presented me with a handful of hair, which represented ALL he had removed from his cranium.  He asked, "Do you think Locks of Love would want this?" 

Stream of Unconsciousness

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I have realized that any time use of a public restroom necessitates obtaining a key from a manager it's most likely because they are afraid someone will sneak in and clean the bathroom.  This is a given with regard to gas station type facilities but when in a groovy little boutique in a downtown shopping district it seems one ought to be able to reasonably expect a low likelihood of contracting hepatitis when one is emptying one's bladder.

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Expectations are premeditated resentments...or so I'm told.  Someone ought to put that on a button or something.

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I bought two buttons this weekend.  One merely had a picture of geek glasses on them.  I got it for Calypso (because she begged me for glasses like these) and snuck it onto the lapel of her coat.  I'm still waiting for her to discover it.  The other button was for me.  It reads, "Moderation (and plausible deniability) in everything."

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They are now making Chocolate Cheerios.  In spite of my ever so slight addiction to the fruit of Theobroma cacao, I find this disturbing.  Cheerios were one of the few cereals my mother allowed us to eat as children because it was healthy.  Cheerios are a cereal you can purchase with food stamps and WIC vouchers because it is healthy.  I can live with all the other flavors of Cheerios they've come out with but chocolate ones are just wrong.  If I'm going to have chocolate cereal let's not pretend it's something healthy.  Just go for the most horrid stuff you can find.  Cocoa Puffs.  Count Chocula.  Cocoa Pebbles.  Cookie Crisp even.  Seriously.  Little chocolate chip cookie shaped cereal nuggets don't even pretend to aspire to being healthy.  They just say, "Hey, you like to dunk your cookies in milk, right?  What better way to start your day than saving you the trouble of dunking them.  Just let them swim and shovel them in your face!"   Cheerios, please don't pretend to be something you're not.

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Likewise, oatmeal cookies with raisins in them?  Cookies should have no nutritionally redeeming qualities.  All that fiber and fruit is just a little too close to being healthy to be allowed to be a cookie.

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I've lived in my current house for 7 years.  Until this Friday all I had on my walls, in the entire house, were 2 deer heads (because Diana and Mr. Lime claimed the wall space), a wreath, a very groovy 3D metal sculpture, and a painting my grandfather did.  This has been something which has annoyed Mr. Lime greatly for at least 3 years.  This weekend I put things on 3 more walls.  He said when he came home he thought he was drunk and wandered into the wrong house because our walls have been bare so long (I contend they are not  bare...refer to the above list).  He seems to be functioning under the misguided assumption that snark will motivate me.  I will do more but it's due to momentum.  Part of me wants to snidely inform him that such comments will cost him another 7 years before I tackle the next 3 walls because really, this is not a thing to be rushed. 

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I used to think November was  not a very aesthetically pleasing month.  Everything is just brown and dying.  the beautiful leaves have fallen.  there is no snow yet to make everything glistening white.  In the last few years though I noticed the slanting golden light and the way it hits the frost covered grass in the morning or yellow stalks of dried plants.  It has it's own sort of beauty...something akin to watching someone sleep and seeing how peaceful they look

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This made me laugh.  I want one.

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What I Did With My Weekend

• Transferred title of a car into my name, a car with no working gas gauge and cross wired power windows (our cars have such awesome personality!)
• Delivered several hamsters into the jaws of a ball python
• Went out in public wearing curlers in my hair, a flannel shirt over a baggy dress, and saggy knee-hi stockings with purple crocs
• Made 5 lbs of German potato salad for a party
• Threw away the delicious leftovers after a dog got into them
• Attempted to unearth my desk with only a slight degree of success
• Sorted through 10 months worth of medical claims and explanations of benefits  (Hey, at least my drawers are organized now.)
• Oohed and aahed over a large pig
• Sat on a panel which impartially judged a vigorous debate over the important question of which is the best cookie; Nutter Butter, Oreo, or Chips Ahoy (you know it was impartial because we awarded the debate to the Chips Ahoy team in spite of the entire panel agreeing Chips Ahoy are barely edible and the efforts of Team Oreo to influence our decision with bribes)
• Barged into the kitchen of the youth pastor, flung open the door of their fridge, and demanded, "Whaddya got to eat in here?" (What??? I was just returning the favor!)

Wat did you do?

Weekend Ramblings

• In some ways my sense of humor never evolved past that of a 14 year old boy's. Every single time I go to BJ's Club (a discount warehouse like Sam's or Costco) I laugh at the name.
• I think it is perhaps very sad commentary that I spent Friday night at BJ's.
• Sleeping in on a Saturday morning is such a simple pleasure which I thoroughly enjoy.
• I hate wearing make-up. I don't even own any to wear. But I really do enjoy taking time to give myself a facial or a pedicure on a Saturday morning while listening to Car Talk on NPR.
• Yes, I know that is a bizarre juxtaposition. I'm cool with that. I'm all about bizarre juxtapositions.
  
• Partly, I like being able to use the letters X ans Z in close proximity and the way the words feel on my tongue.
• I bet you had no idea I'd start with a sideways reference to fellatio and move on to linguistic pleasures that are entirely phonological.
• Can you just imagine the weird Google searches that will land people on this page? I think I'd rather not. Moving right along....
  
• It really sucks (and not in the gratifying manner referred to previously) when someone makes light of your dreams, especially if that person had a hand in crushing some of them.
• It's really very lovely when a very sweet master's student from Texas who is a long way from home takes a big sisterly type interest in your middle child who is...well...a middle child.
• I think Isaac grew about 3 inches while he was out Saturday. It's very weird to have to look UP to make eye contact with my 13 year old....and to hear a low voice from him...and to see a fuzzy upper lip on him. Where did my goofy little boy go?
  
• I miss getting the daily newspaper because online versions don't offer the same sensory experience. I like the crinkle of an undisturbed newspaper when you open it the first time.
• I savor the Sunday paper, even the ads. If you mess with the comics before I get to them or you try to abscond with the crossword/jumble/cryptoquip/super sudoku before I get to them I will be more than a little annoyed. I will gladly scan the puzzles so we both have a copy to work on but don't freaking deprive me, ok????
• I feel similarly about Orange Juice. I have no interest in the evil bean juice that holds so many in its sway but don't be messing with my OJ supply.
• I know I shouldn't be but I am utterly astonished by how quickly a hungry horde of teens can eat through a cart of stuff from BJ's. Holy moly!! Keep your hands back or you could loose a finger!
• Potatoes fried with onions and garlic and then some eggs cracked over them with cheese mixed in really hits the spot when you don't feel like fussing over anything major.
  
• The only reason I watched the Oscars was to see the ever delectable Hugh Jackman. I'd do him in the middle of Main Street at high noon given the chance.
• It's not about his physique. It's the glint in his eye and the devilment in his smile. He also seems like a really decent human being who doesn't take himself overly seriously...and I kinda like that we have the exact same birthday....and his accent. I'm a total sucker for the accent. *Swoons*
• I was most disturbed during the Oscars to realize Sean Penn is a dead ringer for the former sailor I once dated. The sailor had a high creep factor. There were some hard won lessons there. *Shudders*
  
• The sailor did teach me about antiques though and, um, one other thing...
  

Weekend Report

Well, I did have my weekend alone. I was in sort of a crud mood on Friday with all my conflicted feelings about the weekend. On the orders of a geographically removed friend I organized a group of pals to go see Slumdog Millionaire on Friday night. I had wanted to see it for a while but it wasn't showing anywhere nearby. I finally found a theater within a decent distance where it was showing so 5 of us hauled on over to check the movie out. I think all but one of them was ready to pelt me with popcorn because they were expecting something light and fluffy, which Slumdog definitely is not. I loved it though and thought it was really well done. there are some scenes that are difficult to watch for some people, there is no denying that, but it's kind of hard to portray the life of a street kid in Mumbai without some tough scenes. That said, every unpleasant thing is in the movie for a reason and it has a resolution that is satisfying. I also really liked that, aside from the typical boy meets girl storyline, there is an exploration of how people in identical circumstances respond differently and make different choices. The choices reveal a person's character and there are consequences for each set of choices. I like very much that the characters have a certain complexity to them, good people do some bad things, bad people do some good things, everyone wrestles with their choices and the outcomes. It's messy like real life, but hopeful. Good flick, go see it.

So that was Friday night. Having been convinced that an entire day of hibernation would have been more of a giving in to a bad mood I thought Saturday ought to be about something I don't often get to do but really wanted to. I have been wanting to go to the Philadelphia Art Museum for a while now but it is kind of a long hike from where I am so I went to a smaller on that was closer to home. It was a little disappointing to get there and find half of the place was closed (no indication on their website that such was the case and no one informed me of that until I paid my admission....grrrr) but I did enjoy what was available for my perusal. I was delighted to be able to linger over things and actually read the exhibit text without someone trying to drag me off to the next thing or whining about how boring an art museum is. That was deliciously leisurely and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I took a bunch of pictures. I hope to share the best ones tomorrow.

If I had any smarts at all I would have chosen a different activity for after the art museum but I made an unwise choice and paid for it. There is a mall not far from the museum. In said mall is a particular store which I have avoided for a number of years but for which I was given a gift certificate. I don't get this way often, the store does not exist in my own town so I thought, "I am here I will try to use this gift card." DANGER, WILL ROBINSON, DANGER!

Now let me pause because I suspect a great many of my female readers will feel some degree of envy when I say my gift card was for Victoria's Secret. I truly loathe VS. Forgive me and let me tell you why. Let me also say I do not want to appear ungrateful because I know the gift was given with love and only the best intentions and for that I am truly appreciative. The friend who bestowed it upon me knows I don't often splurge on things for myself and she wanted me to have something special. She is a sweetheart in that regard. VS is another matter entirely. First of all, I am not very much the frilly girly sort. I don't go around in granny panties and old lady bras. I like them to match and look nice but I wear them mainly for their containment properties, not their frills. Second, If you are over 25 (check) and weigh more than 110 pounds (double check) the staff look at you askance (at least that has been my experience the few times I have braved the place).

I tried on an armload of bras in my size and not one of them fit. I asked the girl to size me and she told me I had the wrong size. She brought back several in the "right" size for me to try. They were far worse than what I started with. I tried to warn her that shoehorning "the girls" into the bra size she was suggesting was going to put significant strain on the flimsy engineering of said undergarment. In fact, we'd be lucky not to loose an eye. But who I am, a frumpish middle-aged woman who has been hefting around this particular rack since age 13 to know better than you, a highly trained fitter of boulder holders who should also be very familiar with the product line your store offers? I bow to your expertise...and pray the bra hooks don't give way. Not a single bra fit properly and I had no interest in trying anymore so I thought I'd find a t-shirt or pj pants instead. I tried XLs and not one of them fit. I left in disgust. Have I ever mentioned I hate VS? The mental scarring is not worth it.

I drove home and consoled myself at the local Chinese buffet. A plate of fried rice, lo mein, pepper chicken, veggies, and such helped remedy the trauma that was VS and insured I may require hydraulics in my next bra. The next morning I joined the pals who had accompanied me to the movie to help cook a spaghetti dinner for the church and then came home just moments before my family returned from their weekend. So all in all it was a good weekend.

Speaking of Chinese...it is Chinese New Year so may I leave you all with best wishes for the year of the Ox. Works for me...how about you all?

Good Stuff

Well, I've been planning for a little while to draw attention to some new bloggers and some fun sites and it works out well for today since a migraine laid me out flat yesterday evening. Migraines have a way of killing creativity. So without further ado.

Check out these new bloggers who I think have something interesting and worthwhile to share.

Luann Dunkinson has a whole website as well as a blog featuring her watercolors. A mutual friend showed me her site and I think her paintings are really very lovely.

Misticblu is another brand new blogger who has already shared some interesting observations from life and her job. She said I inspired her to start blogging. Whoda thunk it? I'm flattered, and glad to introduce her.

Lulda is our third new blogger and although I know she is making the rounds through institutions like Friday 55 I wanted to draw attention to her. She's written some marvelous 55s and shared some terrific insights.


If you need a chuckle these sites do it for me.

Totally Looks Like is a collection of side by side shots of celebrities who either look like each other or celebrities who look like strange objects. The Phil Spector entry cracked me up.

Lolcats is animal pictures, mostly cats, with ridiculous captions. Ok, like the previous entry it is for those who are easily amused but I like it.

Cakewrecks is for those looking for baked horror. It's a fairly new site but has taken off like wildfire. Who knew there were so many professional cake decorators completely lacking in any ability?


Other regular haunts...

Here's a game I am compelled to play every day. I have a deck of Set cards at home but no one will play with me anymore because I'm too fast. In addition to Set, I play the Quiddler game on that site as well.

Postsecret is part of my Sunday morning ritual. It's a confessional in art. Some of the secrets shared are silly, some are sweet, some are heartbreakingly sad.

Finally, when I am really trying to avoid any kind of productivity I head over to Mental Floss. It's got trivia, quizzes (not of the "which underwear style is my soul" variety though those sorts at Blogthings can be fun to shred like I shred memes), snarky t-shirts, fun articles.

EDIT: Published it hours ago with the wrong date so it's been sitting several posts down the line...that's what a headache does for me...

Busy Weekend.

Arg...ok...so I just spent the morning going around thanking all the lovely folks who left me birthday greetings over the weekend. Then I downloaded pictures from the weekend so I could document how busy it was. Next I spent time resizing the pictures so I could upload them more easily in non-ginormous sizes. Now I can find the darn things on my computer. In the interest of just getting a post up here since it is already after 11 am and I have a few other things that need doing today I am not going to have the pictures I intended to have. Instead, here is a boring, mostly pictureless recap of my weekend.

Friday: Mom arrived in the morning to take me out for my birthday. She decided I needed some new clothes for my birthday. I know I am weird but clothes shopping ranks just above taking out the garbage in terms of giving me pleasure. I was in need of a pair of dress pants and a half decent coat. We found a coat, a blouse, and a pair of pants on sale 50% off. I was able to use Diana's employee discount card for another 30% off. I got all three things for about $80. I LOVE a bargain! (she imparted a spirit of thriftiness in me, if not a love of clothes!) Mom took me out for a very lovely lunch too and we had a nice time together. Oh she also brought me a very cute birthday cake. See? Cute, huh? She baked the thing in a mug. She found some recipe for a single chocolate cake in a mug...in the microwave, which gives it kind of a funky texture. But the idea is for a chocolate cake fix in a pinch. It was fun and we had a good giggle over it.

Friday night: Homecoming. Mom stuck around for the parade so we could see Diana's float. Each class had to do a float related to a Disney film from the 50s. Diana's class did Alice in Wonderland. They really did a terrific job. Sorry about the lack of pictures. Trust me. Their float was awesome.

Saturday: Calypso and I worked at the Harvest Festival at a living historical farm all day where I kneaded 35 pounds of flour into pretzel dough over the course of the day. I posted about doing the same thing last year. We had beautiful weather once again and the leaves are approaching peak color. Just gorgeous. But man, I was exhaustimacated when I got home.

Saturday night: I went to shower off the grime of the day and when I came out of the shower the girls told me I was not yet allowed to leave my room. Diana had baked me a cake which just came out of the oven before I got home. When she heard the car pull in she ran the hot cake and icing ingredients into her bedroom to finish assembly. Very cute. She was a little unhappy that the cake was kind of caved in and the icing was sliding off it but I was very appreciative of the sweet offering and tickled at the efforts made. I enjoyed the tasty chocolate fix at the end of the long day. She decided I should have my cake a day early because she thought she had to be out for most of Sunday afternoon.

Sunday (the actual birthday): The commitment the girls had to an afternoon rehearsal was cancelled and they were happy. Calypso mentioned to a college aged friend at church that it was my birthday, at which point the friend insisted we come up to their house. The friend builds sounds systems that can rattle the teeth out of your head and wanted to show the latest additions. It was apparent that no other plans existed so I accepted the invitation to take the brood and Mr. Lime to watch Iron Man with the tweaked system in use. I am glad to report all our teeth are still in our respective heads. Let me just say, I was given a seat on a futon that was about 6 feet from the screen and 3 feet from the speakers. The futon bounced so violently with the sound waves that if I were in a car that bounced that much I'd take it in for work on the suspension system. Holy Moses on a pogo stick! I fear for the foundations of the house. Fun movie though. I give it 2 thumbs up.

Sunday night: The girls had a long awaited social engagement so we dropped them off. On the way home my van's brakes started making very bad grinding noises. Upon arrival home and attempted engagement of the garage door opener the door itself broke. Mr. Lime engaged in a fair bit of sulkitude. (It may not be in the dictionary, but it should be). By now I was hungry and it is well established practice that I don't cook or clean up the kitchen on my birthday or Mother's Day. I grabbed my new coat and Mr. Lime's keys and took myself to dinner at my favorite restaurant since he preferred to remain wallowing in sulkitude (and had already spent most of the day doing so anyway). Isaac was happily munching leftover birthday cake and snacks while watching a football game...nutritional rules are suspended on birthdays. You only turn 40 once.

Thanks once again to all of you who took the time to offer special greetings.

Friday Stuff

• It's 3:30AM. Mr. Lime and Diana just left for 6 weeks in Louisiana.

• 12 hours ago a migraine from the depths of hell climbed out of the pit and began eating the top of my skull. I've taken stupid amounts of drugs to kill it and in the couple of hours we had a truck I went to the chiropractor. It is still killing me.
  

• Less than 24 hours ago both Mr. lime's truck and my van were back at the mechanic's.

• We have spent over $2000 trying to make both cars roadworthy in the last 2 and a half weeks.
• My van is still in the shop.
• I wanted to make a nice dinner for everyone before they left but I was too busy trying not to puke from this headache and then laying in bed crying because it hurt so bad.
• I got up to say goodbye.
  
• I'm going back to bed now and praying my family stays safe on the long drive and while they are away.
• I don't know if this is 55 words or not and I don't care. My head hurts too much to count words.
• As for Da Count....I'll be thankful migraines aren't fatal even though this one feels that way. Mr. Lime should be thankful I didn't feel well enough to hurt him when he declined to give me a goodbye kiss and only did so after our daughter insisted he did.
  

Bits and Pieces

Cue the music..Queen's We Are the Champions. If you recall this post you'll know that waaay back in October Yahoo arbitrarily terminated my account, which included my access to Flickr. It took 3 months, many calls, and finally having a bit of a freak out on both the lowly peon in the pits of the customer disservice department and on the voice mail of someone at corporate offices. Yesterday I actually got a return call from someone who seemed interested in fixing the problem and did so in short order.


Diana's boyfriend broke up with her this past week and she wanted to retrieve one of her items from the ex. I told her to text him and ask him to bring it to youth group when you'll both be there.

She huffed, "He doesn't have a cellphone... or a job, or a life, or looks, or self respect, or a life, or a brain..."

Calypso added, "or a girlfriend."


Yesterday, Isaac was watching some ridiculous Z-grade movie about man-eating locusts and came upstairs to tell me about it. He even gave his own rendition of death by locust, several times as a matter of fact, just so I could record it and share his brief but powerful performance with all of you.




Finally, in much more serious matters, my mother-in-law fell over the weekend (just tripped on the final step in a flight) and broke her arm and her pelvis. She lives several states away from us and is supposed to be having surgery to set the arm either today or tomorrow. She will likely spend 2 or 3 weeks in a rehabilitation hospital until she is able to walk. Any prayers or good thoughts you'd like to send her way would be much appreciated.

8 Things Copped from Cooper & Tagged by Goody and Imp

8 Things I'm Passionate About:
1. My family
2. Getting kids excited about books and reading
3. Learning new things

4. Autumn leaves
5. Chocolate
6. My complete and utter disdain for the ramifications of No Child Left Behind legislation and the barely literate boob who came up with it (good theory, unrealistic standards, absolute shit outcome). And while I am at it, have I mentioned how utterly evil I think the Patriot Act is?
7. When that thing I do makes you sigh
8. That thing you do that makes me....ooooooh....yeah....that...mmmmmmm

8 Things I Want to Do Before I Die:

1. Zipline safely
2. Visit Greece
3. Get all my kids to Trinidad
4. Meet a bunch more bloggers
5. Get my master's degree
6. See my kids find their bliss
7. Find my bliss
8. Be certified dead by a licensed physician

8 Things I Say Regularly:

1. Son, where are your glasses and why are they not on your face?
2. I love you
3. Crimony!
4. Bite me! (yes, I say this often enough my kids wanted to buy me a t-shirt that had it on the front)
5. Who took my scissors?
6. Dude!
7. Egads!
8. Well then, my nefarious plan to ruin your life is finally coming to fruition. (My response to any comment from my kids suggesting I am being harsh or unfair)

8 Books I've Read Recently (or am reading now...):
1. 1491 by Charles Mann (currently reading)
2. One Hand Screaming by Mark Leslie
3. A Time to Stand: The Epic of the Alamo by Walter Lord
4. Destination America by Greg Wills
5. Antisocial Commentary by Rob Kroese
6. The American Short Story. An anthology I haven't read start to finish but I've been picking around in.
7. The Writing on the Wall by James Goodman
8. World Art: The Essential Illustrated History

8 Songs I Can Listen to Over and Over Again:
1. The Way I Am by Ingrid Michaelson (newest earworm), the girls and I like this song but we also like to mess with the lyrics
2. Jingo by Santana, among my favorite kitchen dancing numbers
3. Dream a Little Dream of Me by Cass Elliot, how can ya not love Mama Cass' voice on such a sweet song?
4. Fur Elise, because it's the first significant piece Calypso learned on the piano so the memory makes me smile.
5. Stupid Girls by Pink, cheeky poke at inanity, I love it
6. Arms of a Woman by Amos Lee, only when I sing along I change it to 'arms of a good man'
7. Steal Your Kisses by Ben Harper, another nice one to bop around the kitchen to
8. Dimelo by Marc Anthony, again with the dancing in the kitchen

8 Things that Attract Me To My Friends:
1. Intelligence
2. Sense of Humor
3. Compassion
4. Kindness
5. Playful spirit
6. Creativity
7. Timely payments
8. Powerful magnets

8 Things I Learned in the Last Year:
1. It's never too early to begin the freak show that is presidential campaigning.
2. Meeting fellow bloggers is WONDERFUL!!
3. What a Texas turnaround is.
4. Cooking for a vegetarian in a household of carnivores is kind of a pain and generally thankless.
5. Watching Mike Rowe on Dirty Jobs slog through all manner of vileness is really very entertaining and somehow he's damned adorable doing it.
6. Spongebob Squarepants is funny.
7. Yahoo! blows goats more than I ever dared imagine.
8. What to do when a Trojan hits your computer.

And since it seems an 8 Things Meme should have 8 categories I will do the 7 Random Facts Meme Goody and Imp tagged me with, now with a BONUS fact since I have this neurotic need to make things even out.


8 More Random Facts About Me
1. I was a very picky eater as a child. Everything I didn't like to eat got smothered in applesauce. Everything. This included such items as spaghetti, BBQ, and baked beans. I'll pause now while you gag.
2. Even though I despise the stuff, I have two large jars of sauerkraut in my pantry. A German lady in the neighborhood gave it to me. No amount of applesauce could sufficiently hide the taste of sauerkraut. I should just throw it away but...
3. One of my forefathers founded the first ironworks in my state.
4. I love the feel of brand new socks when I put them on for the first time.
5. I kept several stuffed animals from when I was a kid. I have two giant ones (a grey cat and a purple panda) who now live in my crawlspace and I feel guilty that they live in such a place. Yes, I know I am a 39 year old, college-educated woman, but didn't you ever read the Velveteen Rabbit????
6. The cat was my body guard. The panda was my confidante.
7. Like I said, I have this weird need for things to even out and balance. I'll eat an extra cookie just so there is the same number in both sleeves of a pack, dumb stuff like that. Ok, maybe it is just rationalization for eating an extra cookie.
8. I have a sculpted metal wall hanging of bamboo leaves over my fireplace. I liked the 3 dimensionality of it and because to me it looked more like mountain laurel foliage (our state flower). It also reminds me of someone who helped me get back to being creative and that I should keep growing as a person.

Random Bullets of Crap

Well thank heavens THAT is over. The Colts won, yada, yada.....can we get on with life now? A few blissful football free months...I am so happy. Now onto the randomness...

• Math problem: I went to help get some fundraising stuff together at Calypso's school. We had to prepare 1200 packets. We started and then the principal came to inform us there was a mistake in the letter that was included and we'd have to put labels on the letters to correct the problem. The secretary brought us a stack of labels in a panic. I ONLY HAVE 200 LABELS!!! I looked at her hand and it looked like she was carrying just shy of half a ream of label sheets (in case you don't know, a full ream is 500). The lady in charged asked her how many labels on a page. Secretary said 30. I said well it looks like you have 200 sheets not 200 labels so if they are all printed we have way more than we need. Boys and girls, if we have 200 sheets of 30 labels each sheet and only need 1200 labels how many extra labels do we have? I explained the math to the secretary who continued to insist most strenuously she had merely 200 labels and had rush ordered more to print out and would have them after lunch. I was getting nowhere. I just hope she types better than she counts. In lieu of that, I hope she gives good head because she's got to earn that paycheck my taxes go toward somehow. As I mindlessly labelled letters I tried to figure out how much surface area of her desk might be covered by the extra 4800 labels we already had.
• At times I think I like being part of the demographic that is now being courted by the media. It means Prince was the halftime show...and THAT was the only thing I paid ANY attention to. He rocked! It means the Police are reuniting for the Grammy Awards, which I haven't watched in ages. I am so excited. I'm not real big on hearing 'Roxanne' and 'Purple Rain' rendered as Muzak at the mall though. That's just wrong on so many levels.
• Winter has officially hit us finally. It's a frigid 5 degrees Fahrenheit. However, if it is going to be that cold we should at least have some pretty snow to look at. Yes, I know my OK and WA readers are quite sick of the stuff. I am sorry.
• If one has a wall in one's bedroom which has been gouged beyond simple spackling repair due to a particularly horrific wallpaper removal (may the inventor of wallpaper and the designer of fluorescent flowered wallpaper suffer horrifically) and one's husband states how much he hates spackling and that he is not sure he has the skills or tools to skim coat the entire wall...then if said wall sits in the gouged state for roughly a year and no progress is made toward repair, and if a friend of the wife sees said wall when the two women are bonding over quilting and the friend suggests her husband might be able to help.....if the husband with the skills offers to help repair the wall at no charge and the man with the gouged wall consents to such help does the owner of the gouged wall retain the right to sulk when the man who offered to help comes over to do so? Apparently, I have interfered with some territorial rules here by arranging to have my wall fixed at no cost. It was a coooooold night at House of Lime and I ain't talking about the mercury.