I started this one originally as a post called Brighter Days, because at the time they were. Things have taken a bit of a left turn and I suddenly find myself sitting upon the fence without a clue which direction life's going to take me. I seem to be facing some of the same situation as before, with the twist of dealing with it with someone I really love who loves me in return. It doesn't make me feel any less on edge though. I've already told darling that we need to start weeding and boxing in preparation. Anymore than this I cannot say, only that there will be a change coming and more than likely by the year's end. No, NYBro, I won't be able to discuss it when you call this week so please don't ask. Know that you're welcome in October as planned, but it just might not be in the same location as the last visits.
I've still been on my reading kick. Although, it's slowed down just a bit. Mostly because I'm antsy, but also because I tackled a couple really large reads. You'll notice that I started an account over at Good Reads and I can be found there under this pseudonym with Dharma's picture attached to my profile. I loaded all the books I've recently read into the account, but couldn't remember exactly when I read them so they're kinda mish-moshed right now. The 2 most recent are in proper order though. Each of those two bigger books (The Mists of Avalon and The Lord of the Rings) took 4 weeks to read. Once I have a few more read, I'll be shrinking that bookshelf widget on the right down to the recent 5 or 6. Here's what I've read since my last decent posting:
Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson & The Olympians series (5 book series)
Cornelia Funke's Dragon Rider
B.E. Maxwell's The Faerie Door
J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings
Marion Zimmer Bradley's The Mists of Avalon and The Forest House (the prequel)
New total (counting TLotR as one because it's in one volume and not split up like they did when the movies came out) : 34 books since September
Half way through all I planned on reading... another 33 or so to go. Haven't decided if I want to keep going with MZB or not. There are 2 sequel books to The Forest House that fall as prequels to The Mists of Avalon. Part of me wants to keep up with the story but I don't have the last 2 books yet and I'm starting to get burnt out on the genre, so I may jump to something else tonight when I pick my Nook back up.
Other than reading, I've been painting a bit and almost have the one project one. Not sure where it's supposed to be headed but I know it's not meant to stay here. Although I ended up choosing the colors I used in my wedding for it, I suspect it's actually headed to a friend in Michigan, but I'm not 100%. I'll be painting its twin afterwards. This one WILL be for me and I'll be using blues and silver on the trim.
I have a couple other projects lined up. The one is nearly done, I just need to do a final sort and then get it all bindered. After that one I need to start going through my trip bin and sorting what's what, pick out some pictures from my Flickr that I really like, and start putting the albums together. I'd like to thank my NYBro for the starter album, that was much appreciated! I'd also like to thank iggy. He'd taken a few of his favorite pix of mine and had them made into a calendar for me for Christmas. Seeing my work in print, as opposed to online all the time, really gave the the drive to dig out the bin of stuff and at least queue the project up.
Other than that, not much is going on here. SSDD and all that rot, ya know?
I know, I know... I owe everyone an entry in that medical blog too....
Oh and before I forget again (although I remembered it where it counts)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY NYBRO!!!
It's Just a Number...Really
It's Just a Number...Really <3
The Number on this scale will NOT tell you:
*What a great person you are.
*How much your friends & family love you.
*That you are kind, smart, funny & amazing in ways numbers cannot define.
*That you have the power to choose happiness.
*Your own self-worth.
I found this one on my Facebook Newsfeed last night and thought I'd share it here as well.
A couple of new things
Although I'm not in here nearly as often as I should be, there have been a couple minor adjustments to the page.
First and foremost, you'll notice that the Weight Progress bar has been removed. This is because I've been fighting and fighting but most of the weight's returned thanks to a pair of legs that don't want to cooperate. Plus with my dr appointments so few and far inbetween lately, the bar doesn't get updated as often as it should (I was using the drs visits as the official weight check for the tracker) and most of the time it would lock up because I hadn't added to it in forever. No sense in keeping it up at this point.... mostly because I was finding it depressing.
Second, you'll find a couple new links on the right. One is for the music I'm digging at the moment. This way I'm not junking up this blog with nothing but videos. Not much writing goes on over there, unless I decide to do another music meme, then who knows. The other link is for the book I'm in the middle of reading. I seem to be on a reading kick these days. It started in early September sometime. Since then, I've read the following:
James Patterson's Maximum Ride series (all 7 books, there's an 8th coming in February so I'll be re-reading them after the top of the year again)
Throwaway by Heather Huffman
The Last Dragon Chronicles by Chris D'Lacey (all 6 books, a 7th is expected in April)
Shanna Swendson's Enchanted, Inc series (4 books, unknown if a 5th will be out)
The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger
The Inheritance Cycle (Eragon, Eldest and Brisingr) and now into the last book of the series, Inheritance, by Christopher Paolini
I'm nearly 200 pages into Inheritance right now and will be headed to bed in a few to get another few chapters read. I've been averaging a 200-300 page book in about 2 days or so (considering I'm only reading a couple hours or so a sitting). This one I expect will take a bit longer as it's got nearly 850 pages....
First and foremost, you'll notice that the Weight Progress bar has been removed. This is because I've been fighting and fighting but most of the weight's returned thanks to a pair of legs that don't want to cooperate. Plus with my dr appointments so few and far inbetween lately, the bar doesn't get updated as often as it should (I was using the drs visits as the official weight check for the tracker) and most of the time it would lock up because I hadn't added to it in forever. No sense in keeping it up at this point.... mostly because I was finding it depressing.
Second, you'll find a couple new links on the right. One is for the music I'm digging at the moment. This way I'm not junking up this blog with nothing but videos. Not much writing goes on over there, unless I decide to do another music meme, then who knows. The other link is for the book I'm in the middle of reading. I seem to be on a reading kick these days. It started in early September sometime. Since then, I've read the following:
James Patterson's Maximum Ride series (all 7 books, there's an 8th coming in February so I'll be re-reading them after the top of the year again)
Throwaway by Heather Huffman
The Last Dragon Chronicles by Chris D'Lacey (all 6 books, a 7th is expected in April)
Shanna Swendson's Enchanted, Inc series (4 books, unknown if a 5th will be out)
The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger
The Inheritance Cycle (Eragon, Eldest and Brisingr) and now into the last book of the series, Inheritance, by Christopher Paolini
I'm nearly 200 pages into Inheritance right now and will be headed to bed in a few to get another few chapters read. I've been averaging a 200-300 page book in about 2 days or so (considering I'm only reading a couple hours or so a sitting). This one I expect will take a bit longer as it's got nearly 850 pages....
Couldn't resist
I generally don't like Jimmy Fallon much, but leave it to him to find a way to make a song from an artist I don't particularly care for... actually tolerable.
Jimmy's take on Baby
I originally had the video embedded but the account I grabbed it from had it ganked from their page. The link above will take you to another page with the same video.
Jimmy's take on Baby
I originally had the video embedded but the account I grabbed it from had it ganked from their page. The link above will take you to another page with the same video.
Happy Birthday Iggy!!!
Boy what a time I had trying to find just the right one. There wasn't one with traffic cones singing, sorry. I even checked out the Spongebob one, but considering what you've been through this month, I didn't find it terribly appropriate. No squirrels, I didn't want to substitute the chipmunks in... but I wanted something to put a smile on your face...
This week's favorite
Ok... she's not my favorite artist. She's next to the farthest thing from a favorite (the farthest being most rap crap). There are ~maybe~ one or two songs of hers that I actually like. Definitely NOT enough to warrant getting her album. However, if she was to do a cd of standards (ala Dana Owens), I would definitely have to pick it up. As it is, this song and 2 others were enough to make me want Tony Bennett's second Duets cd (I like him, but not enough to have a cd of his work on my cd shelves).
Today's fav
I'm not really a Chris Brown fan... don't really like him at all. However, I'm diggin this cover. Mike so needs to put a cd out and soon....
Checking in!
5.9 earthquake hits Virginia, jolts N.Y. and Carolinas
I'm fine. The "kids" are freaked. Gotta still inspect the house. Gotta find the cat too... havent seen her since it hit. The epicenter, depending on who you listen to was anywhere from 80-94 miles south of DC and since we're 35 miles SW of DC, well it was a bit closer than I care for comfort. I'm startled, but ok. Coulda been worse. Coulda been stronger and happened on this last weekend... that's fodder for another entry.
No need to call. Save the bandwidth for the emergency crews.
I'm fine. The "kids" are freaked. Gotta still inspect the house. Gotta find the cat too... havent seen her since it hit. The epicenter, depending on who you listen to was anywhere from 80-94 miles south of DC and since we're 35 miles SW of DC, well it was a bit closer than I care for comfort. I'm startled, but ok. Coulda been worse. Coulda been stronger and happened on this last weekend... that's fodder for another entry.
No need to call. Save the bandwidth for the emergency crews.
I feel her pain
 |
Lil: I'm looking for a sports bra
Clerk: For what kind of exercise?
Lil: Heavy lifting
Clerk: You lift weights?
Lil: Not ME the BRA.
a new favorite
Just something to cheer this space up a little and move some of the more depressing stuff down and off the page.
*looks around*
.oO(damn. This page needs an overhaul....)
A reminder from home
And sometimes all it takes is a moment while cleaning out your email inbox to have some things become clear... I love you too, daddy.
STRESS
A young lady confidently walked around the room while explaining stress management to an audience.
With a raised glass of water, everyone knew she was going to ask the ultimate question, 'Half empty or half full?'
But she fooled them all... "How heavy is this glass of water?", she inquired with a smile.
Answers called out ranged from 8 oz. to 20 oz.
She replied, "The absolute weight doesn't matter. It depends on how long I hold it. If I hold it for a minute, that's not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you'll have to call an ambulance. In each case it's the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes."
She continued, "And that's the way it is with stress. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won't be able to carry on."
"As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When we're refreshed, we can carry on with the burden - holding stress longer and better each time practiced”.
So, as early in the evening as you can, after you have done the best you can, “your personal best”, put all your burdens down. Don't carry them through the evening and into the night... pick them up tomorrow” when you are fresh and rested. Learn how to conquer your stress by taking on small burdens at a time rather than all at once. You will achieve so much more and be even more proud of what you have accomplished!
Guidelines for Life:
1 * Accept the fact that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the
Statue! Sometimes life sucks!!
2 * Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them.
3 * Always read stuff that makes you feel good; In case you die in the middle of it, you will die happy and content!
4 * Drive carefully... It's not only cars that can be recalled by their Maker.
5 * If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague!
6 * If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it!! Count your blessings!
7 * It may be that your sole purpose in life is to serve as a warning to others.
Show them what you have accomplished since then!!
8 * Never buy a car you can't push. Remember, everything important in life may require extra work!
9 * Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won't have a leg to stand on. Never be too proud or too boastful!!
10 * Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance!!
11 * Since it's the early bird that catches the worm, then sometimes wake up early; Be sure to keep your eye on the important things in life!!
12 * Don’t be despondent if at first you don’t succeed; Despite what they say, the second mouse often does get the cheese!
13 * When everything's coming your way, are you in the wrong lane?
Be thankful and appreciative for your successes. Don’t be smug.
14 * Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live.
With a raised glass of water, everyone knew she was going to ask the ultimate question, 'Half empty or half full?'
But she fooled them all... "How heavy is this glass of water?", she inquired with a smile.
Answers called out ranged from 8 oz. to 20 oz.
She replied, "The absolute weight doesn't matter. It depends on how long I hold it. If I hold it for a minute, that's not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you'll have to call an ambulance. In each case it's the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes."
She continued, "And that's the way it is with stress. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won't be able to carry on."
"As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When we're refreshed, we can carry on with the burden - holding stress longer and better each time practiced”.
So, as early in the evening as you can, after you have done the best you can, “your personal best”, put all your burdens down. Don't carry them through the evening and into the night... pick them up tomorrow” when you are fresh and rested. Learn how to conquer your stress by taking on small burdens at a time rather than all at once. You will achieve so much more and be even more proud of what you have accomplished!
Guidelines for Life:
1 * Accept the fact that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the
Statue! Sometimes life sucks!!
2 * Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them.
3 * Always read stuff that makes you feel good; In case you die in the middle of it, you will die happy and content!
4 * Drive carefully... It's not only cars that can be recalled by their Maker.
5 * If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague!
6 * If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it!! Count your blessings!
7 * It may be that your sole purpose in life is to serve as a warning to others.
Show them what you have accomplished since then!!
8 * Never buy a car you can't push. Remember, everything important in life may require extra work!
9 * Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won't have a leg to stand on. Never be too proud or too boastful!!
10 * Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance!!
11 * Since it's the early bird that catches the worm, then sometimes wake up early; Be sure to keep your eye on the important things in life!!
12 * Don’t be despondent if at first you don’t succeed; Despite what they say, the second mouse often does get the cheese!
13 * When everything's coming your way, are you in the wrong lane?
Be thankful and appreciative for your successes. Don’t be smug.
14 * Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live.
Grow old with a good attitude!
15 * You may be only one person in this lonely difficult world, but you may also be the world to one special person!
16 * Some mistakes are too much fun to make only once. But improve on them each time!
17 * We could learn a lot from crayons. Some are sharp, some are pretty and some are dull. Some have
weird names and all are different colors, but they all have to live in the same box. Take pleasure in other's
oddness! Accept those who are different from you!
18 * A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.
15 * You may be only one person in this lonely difficult world, but you may also be the world to one special person!
16 * Some mistakes are too much fun to make only once. But improve on them each time!
17 * We could learn a lot from crayons. Some are sharp, some are pretty and some are dull. Some have
weird names and all are different colors, but they all have to live in the same box. Take pleasure in other's
oddness! Accept those who are different from you!
18 * A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.
Master the detours in life!
19 *Save the earth..... It's the only planet with chocolate!
20 * Have an awesome day and know that someone thought about you today.
And it was me!!!
19 *Save the earth..... It's the only planet with chocolate!
20 * Have an awesome day and know that someone thought about you today.
And it was me!!!
I guess it's official now
So Friday was D day according to one "niece". That morning I got a message from the other saying that it was confirmed that he was getting out on Sunday and heading for his folks' house. I thought it was rather weird that they'd release on a weekend simply because I'd thought that administration dealt with releases and in most businesses (even if it's in a service industry, it's still a business) the admins don't work weekends. I as much told her this but got no answer. hm.
Anyhow, here it is... the Doomsday that I had originally in the timer and I look up on that trace site and see this:
No, I didn't mistype the id number as I've had it committed to memory for years now.....
Guess I'd better find something to keep me distracted today. All I really want to do is curl up on the sofa and bury my head in the blankets.
~~comments off~~
Anyhow, here it is... the Doomsday that I had originally in the timer and I look up on that trace site and see this:
| Inmate Locator Results | ||||
| No inmate found according to the requested search criteria. Please click here to search again. | ||||
| If you have problems finding an inmate, please contact the Support Team. | ||||
| Return to search page | ||||
Guess I'd better find something to keep me distracted today. All I really want to do is curl up on the sofa and bury my head in the blankets.
~~comments off~~
It's just one of those...
days, weeks, months....
Oh I could so go on.
and on
and on
but I won't
Why?
Because I'm depressed enough as it is, no sense making myself feel worse.
A couple of you know what's going on
and it's oh so more than I've let on
and it's definitely NOT just because tomorrow's Friday and that asshat is getting out from prison.
For when it rains
it pours
and these days we've had to refresh our memories on what a cubit is, it's that bad.
An asshat getting free
another asshat from the other side of our family slinging BS and causing a Civil War in the family (it's literally brother against brother)
neither of us knowing quite how to handle it
and seeing each other in pain
because of not only our own hurts, but because we hurt for each others problems too.
~sigh~
And suddenly I'm talking, not in my usual complete sentences
but in the little fragments that one of my other friends uses
Suddenly I understand
why her communications get like this when she's upset...
This is gonna be a long battle folks
and here I was doing so well
SO
Instead of closing out this on such a shadowy note
I'm going to share a song... something uplifting
She's not my absolute favorite artist
so few of her songs I like enough to drop the money for the cd
However, I found that I like more than half this newest album...
and this song
is my favorite.
Oh I could so go on.
and on
and on
but I won't
Why?
Because I'm depressed enough as it is, no sense making myself feel worse.
A couple of you know what's going on
and it's oh so more than I've let on
and it's definitely NOT just because tomorrow's Friday and that asshat is getting out from prison.
For when it rains
it pours
and these days we've had to refresh our memories on what a cubit is, it's that bad.
An asshat getting free
another asshat from the other side of our family slinging BS and causing a Civil War in the family (it's literally brother against brother)
neither of us knowing quite how to handle it
and seeing each other in pain
because of not only our own hurts, but because we hurt for each others problems too.
~sigh~
And suddenly I'm talking, not in my usual complete sentences
but in the little fragments that one of my other friends uses
Suddenly I understand
why her communications get like this when she's upset...
This is gonna be a long battle folks
and here I was doing so well
SO
Instead of closing out this on such a shadowy note
I'm going to share a song... something uplifting
She's not my absolute favorite artist
so few of her songs I like enough to drop the money for the cd
However, I found that I like more than half this newest album...
and this song
is my favorite.
Update
Checked my secondary FB account yesterday and found a note from one of the ex-nieces asking if I knew when the idjut was getting out. I told her that after speaking to my source and some math I'd figured July 19th. I also suggested that she and her older sister sit down and have a chat with their mom and start asking questions (something I had been encouraging all along, mind you) about the whens and where he was headed. Looks like the time crunch finally lit a fire under at least her butt because I checked to day to find another response from her. Looks like the math was off or that he's getting a few days off for good behavior or something... Anyhow, the timer now reflects the new release date. She also let me know that he'll be headed to his folk's house to live. Not sure if this is permanent (more than likely not). As much as I am slightly relieved (for now) that he's not headed in this direction, I am now worried for my NYBro, who will more than likely end up running into him (remember, NYBro started out as his best friend...) and for the family members who have extended their hand to me. I have a bad feeling that if he finds out that these two young ladies are in contact with me, he'll try and harass them to get to me. Unless he's as changed as he professes to my mom (yeah, I don't like it much but to be honest, it's a good way to keep tabs on him).
reworked
For those of you following the Journey blog... it's been repurposed, redecorated and renamed. It seemed rather silly keeping it as it was when there's quite obviously not going to be any use for it. The new name is Falling Out of Warranty . Clicking the title will take you straight there so you can update your links. Some of the same stuff will be located there and it does have a content warning on it.
Some do play nice
While I was catching up in the blogs a few weeks back, I stumbled across an entry at Deanna's entitled b...bu...but we have squirrels! that made me think of a picture I'd snapped just a few days prior. I wasn't going to post it right away because I was in the middle of that meme and I didn't want to interrupt the flow I had going. We all know what happens when THAT happens!
Anyhow, she was discussing why we haven't seen anymore of those squirrelly stories coming from her neck of the woods. It seems that they've taken to bum-rushing the feeders meant for the pretty birdies and hogging down all the seed. The birds don't seem to enjoy this harassment and have stopped coming around.
I'm here to tell you that they can and do manage to share eating quarters very nicely, it all depends on where you're located. You see, for those who don't read Deanna's blog, she lives way out in the Boonie-docks with trees and all that lovely nature around her. The squirrels don't have as much selection in a free buffet there as they do in the middle of town, like where I live. Cul-de-sac after cul-de-sac after cul-de-sac filled with townhouses. It's much like living in a fish bowl. I hate it. Behind us is a strip mall then a busy street and on the other side of that is a big mall. Needless to say, the squirrels gotta get when and where they can and if it means being nice to the birds to get a share, then so be it. It might help that 80% of the birdies here are brown and kinda blend in with the ground... might also help that the Mourning Doves show up in a flock of 7-8 and each one is almost as large as the squirrel. Then again, it might be that one dove that I nicknamed "The Godfather" because of the way the others seem to defer to it. Just sayin'.
I've got other birdie pictures that I'll post at a later time..... more colorful ones :)
Anyhow, she was discussing why we haven't seen anymore of those squirrelly stories coming from her neck of the woods. It seems that they've taken to bum-rushing the feeders meant for the pretty birdies and hogging down all the seed. The birds don't seem to enjoy this harassment and have stopped coming around.
I'm here to tell you that they can and do manage to share eating quarters very nicely, it all depends on where you're located. You see, for those who don't read Deanna's blog, she lives way out in the Boonie-docks with trees and all that lovely nature around her. The squirrels don't have as much selection in a free buffet there as they do in the middle of town, like where I live. Cul-de-sac after cul-de-sac after cul-de-sac filled with townhouses. It's much like living in a fish bowl. I hate it. Behind us is a strip mall then a busy street and on the other side of that is a big mall. Needless to say, the squirrels gotta get when and where they can and if it means being nice to the birds to get a share, then so be it. It might help that 80% of the birdies here are brown and kinda blend in with the ground... might also help that the Mourning Doves show up in a flock of 7-8 and each one is almost as large as the squirrel. Then again, it might be that one dove that I nicknamed "The Godfather" because of the way the others seem to defer to it. Just sayin'.
 |
| There's at least 6, if not 7, assorted birds on the right. |
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