| I haven't posted in a bit -- haven't felt the desire to do so lately.
However, I did want to throw in a link to an internet-wide appeal for
donations for victims of Hurricane Katrina. Here's a site detailing
many worthy charities you can donate to:
Truth Laid Bear Katrina Relief
It really doesn't matter which charity, so long as it's legit and doing
good work. I won't bother to mention who I chose, although you can
search the logs and find out if that's something you really feel the
need to know.
Thanks... | comments: Leave a comment  |
| We got a new laptop this week. It initially hooked up to our wireless network beautifully, but then suddenly decided it didn't like us anymore and just stopped. It could see the network, but refused to connect.
I fought the damn thing for days. I shut it off & back on again more times than I can count -- because I've learned that the golden rule for anything computer-related is "when it doubt, turn it off & back on again".
Once I'd tried everything I could, I called the computer company. The guy started off telling me to shut down the wireless network. Um, but why? It's working just fine, and the other computer is connected. I had to boot Donald off his game (he did not shoot me for it, thankfully), but I did it.
BAM! Laptop connects, instantly, as soon as the network comes back up.
:::smacks head::: When in doubt, shut it ALL off!!! | comments: Leave a comment  |
| I do not watch Dr Phil. While I support everyone's right to their
opinion (even strong opinions, strongly expressed), I don't care much
for the philosophy of verbally beating someone into submission. I
also don't believe that what is right for some celebrity doctor should,
by default, be what is right for me.
As many of you know, I am an advocate of breastfeeding. I am
currently very active in a Yahoo breastfeeding group and at some point
plan to do some volunteer work in support of breastfeeding and
breastfeeding moms. So, this little tidbit from Dr Phil's website was not a welcome sight.
So Dr Phil, the ultimate authority on all things, does not care for a
debate on nursing in public. He simply wants to invite moms onto
his show so that he can bring in their embarrassed friends and family
members and hold a little intervention! What a guy! I'm
sure he also believes babies are just short, bald adults who should be
given chores and responsibilities immediately after birth.
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| From what I understand, there were some initial comments after the
announcement of John Roberts as the Supreme Court nominee that he &
President Bush had some strange looks on their faces at times during
the announcement (I didn't notice, but then I was listening more than
watching).
In case no one has heard about it....this is the cause of their expressions (this is my first time trying a cut, hope it works!)
( Dancing Jack )
| comments: Leave a comment  |
| Here we go with a few of my random spoutings:
- I wish my life was such that I could keep up with this journal
and/or turn it into a decent blog. I'm currently living
vicariously through Jo's Cafe. Thanks Jo...and I hope all my visits to your site don't cause our employer to block it!
- Our house is slowly getting organized...and at the same time
slowly driving me crazy. The huge summer rains/tropical storms
have AGAIN washed away the dirt under our driveway apron. Sigh.
- I find a nice glass of wine (or two...) very calming. Of
course, I don't drink the sort of wine many would call "good", but hey,
I like it. My current two favorites are white merlot (from the
same folks who brought you white zinfandel....it's got considerably
more flavor than most WZs) and white sangria.
- Target now sells white sangria in a box. I nearly bought a
"four-bottle" box today, but managed to regain my sanity before the box
made it to my shopping cart.
- Thomas is a big fan of Tom & Jerry. I figure shows like
that didn't warp our brains TOO badly :) And hey, it's far better
than Teletubbies! At least with Tom & Jerry I can sit down
with Thomas and explain it. I'd like to meet the person who can
successfully explain anything about four fat colored things living in a
dirt hut eating smiley face toast and pink custard.
- Then again, if you think that's bad....try watching Boobah.
I suppose it makes sense if you are two....or have indulged in a
significant amount of intoxicating substances. Given that I am an
expensive drunk and too goody-two-shoes to have managed any other
intoxicating substances, I figure I'd have to be two steps from death
to understand it....
- Sunday is my 10-year anniversary with my employer (a southern
financial institution which shall remain unpronounceable). My
manager chose to observe the occasion in our team meeting on
Wednesday, by simply announcing it and handing over a box containing my
certificate and "pick a thank you gift" brochure. I found it
rather underwhelming. One would think that in this age where
people switch jobs at the drop of a hat, a 10-year anniversary (not
just with the same company, but in support of the same department)
would be worth something. On top of that, my 10-year certificate
in its little plastic black sleeve looks sad next to my 5-year
certificate, which is mounted under glass on a wood frame.
Unfortunately, I expected exactly what I got. On the bright side,
the gift brochure is not bad.
- WEEKEND!!!
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| | Subject: | Cindy | | Time: | 05:48 am | | Current Mood: | awake |
|
| We live in central North Carolina. One of the benefits of living
here is that we are far enough inland that hurricanes threaten, but
rarely actually get to us. On the negative side, they're
typically very annoying storms when they DO get here.
Case in point: Cindy, who decided central North Carolina would be
a good place to hang out last night. Once the rain stopped (or
rather, the first big wave of rain stopped) we checked things
out. The water & mud washed away the support under our
driveway apron, and we're seeing a little water in the basement.
Most fun? We now have a sinkhole around our septic tank!
Donald says it's about a foot deep.
Luckily the builder is going to fix it....
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| We went to see a very nice fireworks display last night. On the
lake, not too crowded...and a 15-minute show, which was perfect for
Thomas. It's very boring to see a 30+ minute show where they
shoot one lonely firework at a time, trying to drag things out.
At this show they shot off two or three at a time, and it was great.
Plus, we got out of there in no time! I'm definately going to
shows that require you to park and walk rather than sit in your
car. By the time we got back to the car, the idiots ("I MUST
LEAVE FIRST!!!!!") had left. We made a quick right turn out of
the parking lot, hit the highway and were out of the busiest
traffic. Nice.
| You Are 81% American | You're as American as red meat and shooting ranges.
Tough and independent, you think big.
You love everything about the US, wrong or right.
And anyone who criticizes your home better not do it in front of you! |
| comments: Leave a comment  |
| With all the yelling about President Bush's speech the other night
(which I thought was good, if a little boring since it's stuff he's
said before), I found this interesting:
That Was Then
One would think that a requirement for being a politician (of any
party) would be the ability to remember the important things you did
and said so that you are consistent when it counts. Then again,
perhaps these guys DO remember....
| comments: Leave a comment  |
| On a lighter note, I found in one of our boxes my old Nintendo game system.
It's a "hand-me-down" (or UP perhaps) from my brothers, who each had one and gave me their old stuff when they moved up to bigger and better things. As I can't play many of the better games, I stuck with this one. I had the system, a wealth of controllers, and about 15 games.
This system hasn't been in a climate-controlled environment since the late 90s. It was in storage for a year and a half, and before that it was in our attic. I didn't hold out much hope for it, but figured if it worked even in part, Thomas would enjoy it.
I snuck it upstairs (didn't want Thomas to see it if it didn't work) and hooked it up.
It WORKED! I was completely stunned. But, Thomas had fun watching me play a few games (he'll try his hand eventually). It should be a fun distraction. | comments: Leave a comment  |
| | Time: | 06:01 am | | Current Mood: | exhausted |
|
| Yesterday, I:
- Made pancakes for breakfast
- Did two loads of laundry (would have done more but the dryer isn't heating up...)
- Did two dishwasher loads
- Rearranged our bedroom closet
- Removed all boxes from our bedroom
- Completely organized Thomas' bedroom
- Pulled a few boxes from the garage/basement and dealt with them
- Moved winter clothes boxes to the basement (where they should have been put in the first place)
- Cooked dinner (spaghetti and italian sausage)
- Made sugar cookies (from scratch, at Thomas' request. Gotta figure out why my scratch cookies never turn out right....)
Saturday we went to the apartment...got the last of the stuff
organized (and as much of it in the car as possible) and got everything
clean.
When is my day off?
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| From Friday's Feast, via Jo's Cafe:
Appetizer
What time do you usually wake up each day? If you could choose your wake-up time, when would it be?
On a workday, I get up at 5:15am (and may have to move that earlier due
to my longer drive). I rarely "sleep in"...once the sun is up I'm
usually getting up. I'm typically up by 7:30am at the latest.
Soup
When was the last time you bought groceries? What store did you go to? Name 3 things you purchased.
We just went to the store last night (Harris Teeter):
- Pepsi
- ABCs & 123s with meatballs (Thomas' favorite)
- White Sangria (for me :D)
Salad
How many books have you read so far this year? Which was your favorite and why?
My life lately has not been very "sit down and read a book" friendly,
so I've probably only managed 2-3 books this year. I hope to make
up for lost time very soon!
Main Course
What
is something you consider to be very elegant? In particular, what about
that item/place/person conjures up the feeling of elegance?
One person I consider to be very elegant is Laura Bush. She is
quiet, reserved and professional, especially when the situation calls
for it, but I just bet she's willing to speak her mind and do what
needs to be done behind the scenes. She carries herself with
pride and grace, and in doing so portrays a strength I wish I had.
Not to say this is the only way to be elegant...just that I see it in her and am impressed by it.
Dessert
Who taught you how to drive?
Hm...got the usual basics from driver's ed, more from my dad.
Learned to drive a straight-drive by signing up for school bus driver
training! I never did get to be a school bus driver (not that I
particularly understand why I WANTED to be). Maybe someday I'll
get that Class B license and drive a band bus!
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| Hooray! It's not perfect, it was very stressful, and we have a
lot of work left to do (including more moving, as we didn't get
everything out of the apartment), but we are IN our new house.
I took a picture of the sunset from our front porch, but I can't upload it yet -- will do that as soon as I can.
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