finally!!

I'M BAAAAAAAAAAACK!!!

I would have been here sooner, but the phone company (you know, the one I work for) made a big booboo.  The person who put in for the transfer set it for 8/25, instead of 7/25.  If I had to go without phone and computer for a month, I would either be clawing the walls, or driving to the library.  But everything's straightened out now.  Anyway...

The move went okay, despite some setbacks.  We were up bright and early Sunday morning, since we still had some work to do here before we brought stuff down.  It was pretty much me and Joey moving all the stuff...his dad helped some, but had to stop and watch the kids, since mom-in-law HAD to go to bingo.  It took us about 4 trips, not bad.  Getting the stuff out of the old house into the truck was the easy part; the hill outside the new house turned out to be our worst enemy.  We dropped the fridge on our way down that hill, spilling some contents of said fridge.  Thanks to the high grass, it eventually went into the house without a scratch on it.  (Note to self: Never again let Joey talk you into leaving the food in the fridge.)

After everything was in (around midnight), we went to drop the truck off.  As I'm dropping the key into the night deposit slot, Joey says, "Did you remember the car keys?"  DAMMIT.  So here we are, tired from moving, walking to his mom's house to get a ride to the new house, then to U-Haul to pick up the car.  Needless to say, we finally made it home, around 1am.  We were starving by that point (we didn't eat all day), so Joey decided to break his no-eating-after-midnight rule (I don't follow this...remember I work nights?) and we went to McDonald's.  We have a 24-hour one here...that's a good thing.  We didn't get to bed until after 2am, then got woken up by one hell of a thunderstorm around 5:30.  But it was then we saw that we have an awesome view of the city.  So I guess it was a good thing.

So now we're officially here 3 1/2 days, and so far, so good.  No problems yet, except the ones that were here before we were.  To put it simply, we're happy.  But next time, we're hiring movers...this was just too much.

til next time...=)

my little work adventure

How do I put this...I WAS HIT BY A CAR TODAY.

I'm not kidding. As I was crossing the street downtown on my way to work (I was running late too), a girl was pulling out of a parking lot...and didn't see me right in front of her. She did hit me, but not too hard. She quickly responded when she heard me yell, and slammed on her brakes...only tapping my leg with the front bumper. I think she was absolutely petrified...she kept asking me if I was ok. She grabbed my hand and held it, and I kept telling her I was ok...I was really calm despite the fact I was almost run down. After I reassured her I was fine, I told her to have a good day. And I went to work.

I started falling asleep about an hour into my shift...not a good thing to do, since I'm on the phone with no way of stopping calls from coming in. There were a few calls that I have no idea as to what happened. Then, not too long after that, I got monitored by my manager. You know when you call some places, you get that recording that says "your call may be monitored or recorded for training purposes"? That actually happens, and that's what happened to me today. Fun fun fun. I was more awake by then, so it went well. The rest of the night went ok, and now here I am. So that's my day. How was yours?

til next time...=)

***PS--this will probably be the last entry for me until Monday...that's when the phone gets turned on at the new house...so leave me some love!!!

See ya when I get back!!!

ice cream assignment

Weekend Assignment #69: You've been hired to create a whole new ice cream flavor that's never been thought of before (so far as you know). What flavor do you create?For this assignment you can pick any flavor -- or combination of flavors -- that you like, but, you know, try to make it something that you'd actually want to eat. Also, try to give it an ice-creamy name, like how Ben & Jerry's chocolate and cherry ice cream is called "Cherry Garcia." Mmm... Cherry Garcia.

Extra Credit: Oh, fine. Create an utterly inedible ice cream flavor, too. Try not to make it too gross, and definitely don't make it a TOS violation. But it can include ingredients that you wouldn't really put into food. Usually.

Ok, here goes...my new ice cream would be my 3 favorites combined--Mint Mocha Brownie.  It would chocolate chip mint ice cream with espresso chips and brownie chunks.  Whaddya think?

Extra Credit:  Party Pooper...complete with chunks of hairballs and dog poop!!!  Dig in...

til next time...=)

almost done!

Well, as I said yesterday, today was a busy day.  We got to the new house about 7:30am, and we jumped right into the cleaning...washing down the walls, taking out the trash, etc.  At 9 on the dot, the hauling guys were there with their truck to take the junk, even some things they didn't expect to take, only because I didn't know it was there.  But they were nice about it--they didn't charge extra for it.  Not too long after that, the Stanley Steemer came and did the carpets...WOW.  Both me and Joey were impressed by the work...I highly recommend them to anyone.  If I took pics of the before and after, you'd be impressed too.  But the before would be too gross, so I decided not to.  While they were doing the carpets, the guy from DirecTV came and hooked up the dish...WOOHOO...no more yuck TV!!  We didn't leave until about 1pm, and man, you could definitely see the difference in the way the house looked.  And again, I had to go to work after all of this...but that's another story all together. 

All we have to really do now is scrub the kitchen and bathroom floors (you can see the outline of the old fridge and stove...ewwww), and vacuum and wipe down the insides of the cupboards...then we're all set!!!  Get the U-Haul, pack it up, and get the hell out of this house! YAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!

til next time...=)

it's getting there

The house is coming along...today we got some major cleaning done, and we got the furniture outside.  The bug guy came today, but only for a consultation...hopefully soon he'll be getting rid of those nasty things.  We were there for about 3 hours, but we got a lot done.  That house needs a LOT of love, and we're gonna bring it.

Tomorrow's an even busier day.  We're going down early...about 7am, so we can finish scrubbing the kitchen, washing down the walls, vacuuming the carpets, and taking all the garbage bags (about 8 of them) outside.  The bags have to be out there...a hauling company's coming at 9.  Then Stanley Steemer's coming to clean the carpets, and DirecTV's coming to install the satellite.  And to think--all this, and then I have to go to work!!!  That sucks, but I think it's going to be worth all the work.  I'll update you on it tomorrow.

til next time...=)

extra tidbit

Oh yeah--I forgot to mention that when the locksmith opened the door, he said we wouldn't have been able to kick the door in anyway.  The lock and door jamb were screwed up from someone trying to break in using a CROWBAR--you could see the marks from it.  So guess what we're getting with the rent money we're not paying this month??  Yup, ADT.  I am not taking any chances...especially with the people downstairs--you know, the ones who "lost" the keys?  Joey knows a little about them, and it's not good.  So that's that...

til next time...=)

oh..my..god

Ok...I'm starting to think we got in over our heads with this one.  I guess I should start at the beginning of the day to explain...this is gonna be long.

Like I said last night, we had to break into our new apartment and change the locks, so we bought a new lock set on our way over there, around 10am.  We went there and tried a credit card to open it...no such luck.  Then we tried just plain kicking the door in...nope.  We gave up, went home, called the owner and told him we're going to need a locksmith to open the door.  I gave him a few numbers to call for local ones, and he said ok.  Called back a few minutes later, said one would be there around 2 or 3pm, and he'll call before he comes.  Cool.  Around 2:45 we start wondering, so I call the locksmith to ask where he is.  He tells me the owner hasn't called him back with his credit card number.  After a few minutes of phone tag, everything's good.  We head over to the house.  When the locksmith gets there, he starts trying to open the door, but originally can't do it...somebody's been trying to get in with a screwdriver or something, and the lock's all bent out of shape.  He goes out to his van, comes back with this thing that takes the lock out of the door.  He has a hard time, but eventually opens the damn door. 

When he does, it wasn't a pretty sight--it still looked like it did when we saw it last week--atrocious.  There's still a stove, dryer, and living room furniture in the house.  There's food and beer bottles all over the kitchen counter.  The floor's an absolute mess.  The vanity in the bathroom's broken.  The toilet seat's broke too.  As the locksmith leaves, he says, "have fun cleaning"...hahaha.  Ok, I thought, we can do this.  I picked up a garbage bag, and started loading things from the counter.  I mean this was pathetic--there were glasses with stuff in them, and mold too...it was as if when these people were kicked out, they were in the middle of lunch or something.  It can't get any worse, I thought...I was wrong.  As I was throwing things away, I noticed something crawling...OH MY GOD...ewwwww.  The last tenants left more than their stuff...they left their "pets" too.  When we saw those, me and Joey looked at each other, said "HELL NO", and left.  No way am I dealing with those.

So we came home, and immediately called the owner.  He had no idea about the condition of the apartment...he hadn't been in there since who knows when.  I told him about the garbage, the bathroom, and the...ewww, I even hate to type it...roaches.  I said if he wants us to clean it, he's going to take at least half of next month's rent off, and he's gonna have to get a dumpster or something.  And we want an exterminator there ASAP.  He agreed...and apologized.  He said the other tenants haven't complained about the pests...and I told him that maybe they don't mind them (or care), but WE DO.  I'm sorry, but I left that shit behind 7 years ago--I'm not going back to that now.  Again, ewwwww.

Joey mentioned to me earlier, "what else could go wrong?".  Who the hell knows...the house could collapse onto itself??

til next time...=)  <~~trying to, really!

more about today

By the way, the old landlord's not happy that we're leaving.  Joey told him we're out this weekend, and he had nothing to say.   He just walked back in his house all pissed off.

Also, the mom-in-law was literally crying this morning after we signed the lease, saying she'll never see "her kids" anymore...I have 2 things to say about that.  Number one--last time I checked, it was ME who popped them out of my you-know-what.  Second, it's not like we're moving across the country...we're a 10-minute drive away!!! 

Ok, I'm done ranting...for now.

til next time...=)

almost out of the woods

Update on the house situation--WE GOT IT!!!  WOOHOO!!!! 

  

The owner drove up here this morning from upstate New York where he lives, and came to our current house to have us sign the lease.  That wasn't the plan, but when he tried to call us, the phone was busy (stupid puter never got offline last night).  So since he had our address, he came here.  Now most people wouldn't do that...but this guy was REALLY nice.  We gave him the money for the security and the rest of this month, and he was on his way.  He told us to call the tenants of another apartment in the building, since they had the keys.  Now here's the catch.....THEY "LOST" THE KEYS.  Can you believe this??  When the owner found out about this, he wasn't too happy (of course not).  He told us to break into the house, then change the locks.  Damn right we're going to...from what I hear, these neighbors can't be trusted.  Just wait until they see Princess (our dog)...I don't think they'll want to bother with us then...lol.

So tomorrow we'll be there cleaning up the place, since the last tenants left the place a mess...they got kicked out, I think.  They pretty much left everything behind, so it's up to us what stays and what goes.  Fun fun fun.  That's okay though--that way we know the place is clean before we move anything in, which will be on Sunday.

<~~~Me on moving day...lol

I'll let you know if anything happens.

til next time...=)

if you can't stand the heat...

I loooove Hell's Kitchen...but I don't usually get to watch it, being that I work nights.  But today, I actually came home early so I could catch it...that and I didn't want to be at work anyway.  Joey can't get enough of it.  I told him he should try to get on there next season...he can coook!!! 

I'm rooting for Jessica, because she's the only girl there now, since Elsie got booted this week...Joey's going for Michael.  I dunno...it's a good show!!!

til next time...=)

scavenger hunt #33

Category:  Something That Comforts Or Consoles You

This week take a photo of something that comforts or consoles you.  By the way, a family member or pet doesn't count.  So don't run and take a photo of your spouse.  I know you may want to do this, but I want you to think hard on this one and come up with something else.

I would have picked Little Guy, but that's against this week's rules...so here's mine...

Yes, it's the computer.  When I'm down, I can read mail from my friends, other people's journals, or write in my own journal about what's making me feel like crap...and it makes me feel better.

til next time...=)

grrrrrrr

 I want to do an audio entry!!!

 but I can't...AIM members aren't priveleged yet.  

til next time...=)

saturday six #66

here's my answers to Patrick's Saturday Six...

1. What is the last thing you either camped out or got up unusually early to be able to buy?

I never did that...yet.  Oh wait...does that include Black Friday shopping?  If it does, I did that once--actually, I stayed up from the night before...I was working 3rd shift at the time.  NEVER AGAIN.

2. If you had to give up one of the following for a full year, which would be the easiest to do without?  Which would be the most difficult to give up?
    a) Your personal vehicle
    b) Your Telephone (both cellular and land line)
    c) The Internet
    d) Meat (all of it:  Beef, Poultry, Pork and Seafood)
    e) Television

Oh man, this is a tough question.  I think the easiest would be the vehicle, and the phone would be the hardest.

3. How many items (include all bottles, boxes and containers) are in your medicine cabinet?  Which is the last one you used?

At this moment, there's nothing in my medicine cabinet, since everything that was in there is packed up...but when there was things in there, I think it would add up to about 50 items.  The last thing I used was Solarcaine for the sunburn I got a couple weeks ago.

4. What is the first source you go to for news of any kind when you wake up?  How much do you trust that particular source?

TV.  I try to stay off the web until about noon, sometimes until I get home from work--don't know who's going to call.  I trust it a lot, except for the weather segment--after all, who really trusts the weatherman these days??? ;-)

5. Take the Quiz:   What do the letters of yourname stand for?

Here's mine...

A Appreciative

N Natural

N New

 I Irresistible

E Exquisite

6. What is your favorite color and why?  If you have a journal or journals, is this color the primary one on those journals?  If not, why not?

My favorite color is purple.  It's the primary writing color on this journal, although I like to change it up a lot.

til next time...=)

caffeine fix

Saw this in the coffee shop I go to while I'm at work....

Ei! wie schmeckt der Coffee süße,
Lieblicher als tausend Küsse,
Milder als Muskatenwein.
Coffee, Coffee muß ich haben,
Und wenn jemand mich will laben,
Ach, so schenkt mir Coffee ein!

Translation:

Mm! how sweet the coffee tastes,

more delicious than a thousand kisses,

mellower than muscatel wine.

Coffee, coffee I must have,

and if someone wishes to give me a treat,

ah, then pour me out some coffee!

That comes from J.S. Bach's Schweigt stille, plaudert nicht [Kaffee Kantate] (“Be quiet, do not chat” [Coffee Cantata]).  You can read the rest of it here.  It's about a girl who won't give up coffee for anything.  That's me in a nutshell.  Just thought I'd share.

til next time...=)

slowly exhaling...

Okay...I know I haven't wrote anything in the past few days, but that's only because I have been using my hands for other things.  Like putting them in my mouth and biting my nails waiting for a phone call.  You know, the phone call saying we got the house?  Well, it came...kinda.  The owner called yesterday to get some info from us, like where we work, and our landlord's phone number.  He later called back, telling Joey that he couldn't get the landlord, but he'd try back tomorrow (today).  I heard that, and the first thing that went through my head was "there goes that house too".  Thing is, my current landlord (asshole) is never home.  He's always going somewhere, if he's in town...sometimes he goes away for weeks at a time, usually without telling us or giving us a number to reach him at in case of emergency.  But enough of about him...I'm getting pissed off just thinking about him.

I was in a pissy mood all day because I kept thinking about everything going on.  When I got home from work, Joey told me the owner called again, and he still couldn't get the asshole, and also left his phone number to give to the asshole.  He also wants us to come up to the house Monday so we can sign the lease(!).  He must want us to take it...most people would have given up and moved on to the next in line.  So far so good...

til next time...=)

holding my breath

We looked at an apartment today...it was a nice 2 bedroom, and it's a quiet neighborhood close to the one I grew up in.  It's a block away from the school (different from the one Bum went to last year).  The outside of the house looks like crap, but looks can be deceiving.  The inside looked good, and with new carpeting and a fresh coat of paint, the house should be ready by this weekend.  So why you ask, am I holding my breath like the entry title says?  If you've been reading past entries, you'd know that in the past, we haven't been having too much luck with houses.  The way I see it, when the keys are in our hands, THEN I'll celebrate.  Until then, all we can do is wait.  I'll keep you posted.

til next time...=)

photo hunt #32

Here's my entry for this week's photo hunt from Krissy...

This week's category will be:  My Hobby (or Hobbies).

My hobby is taking pictures.  I just got this camera last year, and I haven't stopped.  I'm a little bit of a perfectionist when it comes to my pics, too.  Little Guy hates it...virtually every time I take his picture, he blinks, so I do it again, and again, and, well, you get the picture...lol.  Bum's the opposite--she loves it.

til next time...=)

 

hot potato

Snagged from Kristina's journal... here's her Couch Potato.

Help "Baked Potato" make it into all 50 states!!!  All you have to do is click on the link, and leave your zip code, and then tell your friends...it's that simple!

til next time...=)

some pics

Just thought I would share these pics with you...

This is what happens when a 5-year-old plays too many video games...

Actually, this is his old car seat--now video game chair, and he was leaning too far back, and well, duh.  Don't worry, he's not hurt...trust me, if he was, I wouldn't be taking the picture.

Mardi Gras anyone??

For this one, Grandma took the kids to some fair...and got her face painted.  I thought it looked so awesome, I had to take a pic.  Not bad for five bucks, huh?

til next time...=)

baby it's cold outside...i wish

Your Monday Photo Shoot: Cool down on a hot summer day by posting one of your favorite pictures from winters past.

Well, being that it was 90 degrees today, and they're expecting it to be like this for a while (Dennis is going to miss us), I think John picked the perfect time for this shoot.  Here's mine...

Some of you readers might remember this...the snow fort I built for the kids after a decent snowstorm this past winter.  It took me the better part of the day to get the mound up that high, then dig the whole thing out.  It was high enough inside that I could sit straight up.  It lasted for about 2 weeks before the whole thing collapsed.  But that's ok...it was fun while it lasted.

til next time...=)

fun...

Stole this from Brandi...after all, she said to. =)

Let's play a game.

I like games, and I so know you do too!

Here is the game : How did you find me? In another journals comments, another journals links, message board, did I find you, or even a search engine?

Leave your comment saying how you found me and post the same question in your journal, then I will and others will tell you how we found you.

Sound fun? Get to going then! lol

til next time...=)

saturday six #65

Here's my answers to this week's Saturday Six from Patrick's Place...go visit and play along!!

1. How many mirrors are there in your home?  If you could go for the rest of your life without ever looking in a mirror (but still know that you hadn't missed a button or that your hair was disarrayed, etc.) would you?

Two...one in my room, and one in the bathroom.  I don't think I'd be able to go without one, since I'm always looking in the mirror.  Not that I'm narcissistic, but I dunno.

2. What online abbreviation annoys you the most and why?

I don't think I can actually come with one of these--everyone I talk to online uses plain English, with the few abbreviations thrown in...you know, "u", "r", etc.

3. What do you hate the most in this world?

Discrimination and racism...I grew up being taught to judge someone based on their actions, not what they look like.  I see people doing the opposite, and it drives me nuts.

4. You decide to go to your next high school reunion.  What do you anticipate would be the thing most people said about you behind your back?

That is coming up this year (10th)..."She looks exactly the same."  I actually had someone who I haven't seen since school tell me that the other day, in fact. =)

5. You learn that because of some galactic mixup in fate itself, you must restart your life tomorrow in a new place.  You will emerge as a person with a unique past and won't seem out of the ordinary to those in the new place.  You will retain the experiences and memories of your past, but the people you are closest to will believe that you are dead and gone and you would be prohibited from contacting them.  Where would you go and why?

Probably someplace warm all year long...growing up here in northeast PA, I would like a change of scenery.  That and if I would be banned from seeing family, I would like to be as far away as possible.

6. What are you most passionate about in this moment of your life and why?

My kids...they're the only thing that's for sure in my life at this point in my life.

til next time...=)

worst 15 bucks i ever spent

Not much happening today.  The highlight of the day was going to the St. Patrick's church picnic...what a waste.  We walked down, since it's only about 5 blocks from the house.  That and if we drove, we'd be parking right by the house anyway.  When we got there, me and Joey looked at each other and said, "ok, we're here...now what?  Go home?"  That's how bad it was.  There was virtually nothing to do, compared to years past.  The games for the kids were expensive and scarce--only about 7 or 8.  Usually we go to the indoor flea market...not this year--it just wasn't there.  The food lines were unreal, so after the kids played what games there were, we decided to call it a night, and not to go back next year.  It's not worth wasting our time or money.  Oh well--there's other picnics during the summer.

til next time...=)

bad and loving it assignment

Weekend Assignment #67: Bad Movie Marathon! Share your favorite bad film of all time. Tell us why you love it so.

Extra Credit: Your favorite quote from the aforementioned film.

After thinking about this all day, I've narrowed it down to one.  It's my all-time favorite, too--1985's Better Off Dead, starring John Cusack.  If you haven't seen it, it's about a teenage guy that's dealing with a lot of crises, including losing his girlfriend to the captain of the ski team.  It's retarded, but hilarious.

For the extra credit, I pick the most memorable quote:  "I want my two dollars!!"--the paper boy throughout the movie.

Of course, I had runners-up...Fall In the House of Usher, Ski Patrol, and Godzilla (you know, the one where Godzilla looks like the raptor from Jurassic Park).

til next time...=)

photo hunt #31

From Krissy...

This week's category will be purple.

Here's mine...

  

The one on the left is of my comforter, which is Hello Kitty--it's covered in HK on the other side.  The one on the right is if Bum's My Little Pony.  Hope you like...

til next time...=)

typing test results

Got this from Brandi...cuz she told me I betta do this typing test.

I suck.  My WPM is only 38.  And to think, I type for a living.  Man, I REALLY suck.

til next time...=)

monday photo shoot/our 4th part two

Ok...here's the rest of the story of Monday...

After dinner (we went to Joey's mom's house for that), we watched some tv and the kids played until it got dark.  Then we borrowed my brother-in-law's car (because ours just sucks) and went to Montage Mountain to see fireworks.  We got there just in time.  Here's some pics...

     

When that was over, we got stuck in a massive traffic jam.  I mean OH MY GOD traffic...it was terrible.  What usually would be a 15 minute drive turned into 1 1/2 hours.  We almost ran out of gas too.  The only thing that was good was the Sirius radio Joey's brother has in the car.  I had such a headache when I got home, I went right to bed.  And THAT was my day.

til next time...=)

our 4th, part one

I know it's a little late for this, but for the past two days I haven't really been able to get on to write.  I almost did this last night, but my computer froze, pissed me off, and I gave up and went to bed.  So here goes...

Monday went off without a hitch...almost.  It started by me getting up at 8am and taking some chairs up to the park to save our spot.  No problem there.  However, when we got there around noon, the damn chairs were gone and someone else took our spot.  GRRRRRR.  Joey was fuming because they were his grandmom's chairs, so that wasn't a pretty sight.  We were relieved to find that the park picked them up, only because they thought the chairs were left from the night before.  So that was good...

We took back the table I got earlier, having a feeling that the other people would be back later.  Oh well--I was there first...not my fault I was there TOO early.  Then we got started with cooking.  MMMM. 

Here's the bbq chicken I had marinating since the night before...doesn't it look good???  We also had the staples...hamburgers and hot dogs.  It was all good...the kids were playing in the little playground, I was getting burned by the sun, etc.  Then the lady who claimed the table came back, and she was not happy at all that we sat there.  She started yelling and stuff, then left to get her friends or whatever, all pissed off.  Joey wanted to stay and fight with her, but I was not going to let this woman ruin my day.  So to avoid a fight, we packed up and left while she was gone.  I came here to have a good time, and dammit, I was gonna have one.

We went swimming at the pool after that--we needed something to cool us down, both physically and emotionally.  That and the kids were complaining they were hot from playing.  The water was FREEZING.  I didn't stay in, and Joey didn't really go in at all--just sat on the steps with his feet in.  The kids had fun...Little Guy going underwater, and Bum "swimming". 

Then we went down to the BIG playground.  This thing is amazing, especially the fact that a whole bunch of volunteers put this together in about a week.  It's like a little kid's paradise.

Here's just a sample of what it has.  After that, we made the long trek back to the car and went home.

More in part two...

til next time...=)

back to the drawing board

Ya know...as soon as I say something good's gonna happen, it all goes to hell.  Example:  As I said yesterday, we went to look at a house, which if we wanted it, we had it.  It looks small but nice from the outside.  Of course, we didn't know what we were in for.  The girl who we know said it was 2 1/2 bedrooms, but once we were inside, we knew that's not what it was.  It was only ONE bedroom, and they made the dining room into a 2nd bedroom.  Also, the girl told us it would be ready by July 1st...the last tenant's belongings were still there!  One more thing she said was that if we took it, they would waive the security deposit.  Nope.  So much for me celebrating last night.  So now it's back to square one.  And no more houses that the family recommends.  DAMMIT.

til next time...=)

saturday six #64

My answers to this week's Saturday Six from Patrick...

1. A stray dog wonders into your yard, obviously weak, hungry and thirsty.  He is a very friendly dog, but if you feed it or give it water, you know that the dog won't leave your yard and you'll end up keeping him.  If you don't help the animal, he might die.  What do you do?

Of course I would take it in.  I would feel guilty if I let it go.

2. You must lose one of the following:  a foot, a hand, an eye or an ear.  Which would you get rid of and why?

A foot, since I use both of my hands to type, both of my ears to hear, and both of my eyes to see...if I lose a foot, I could still get around in a wheelchair...

3. Scalzi of "By the Way" recently posted about the top unanswered questions in science today.  Click here and scroll down to the list of the top 25 biggest mysteries:  which one would you MOST like to have answered?

I would like to see "How are memories stored and retrieved?" answered.  Only because my memory sucks, and it would be nice to remember better.

4. Joe, our AOL Journals Editor, says blogs are boring:  either everyone talks about pretty much the same topics, or regular people lead dull lives, he suggests.  So what keeps you reading other people's blogs?

Hmmm...I think the ones I do read are quite interesting.

5. READER'S CHOICE QUESTION #57 from Lisa:  You are writing a bestseller book.  What kind of book is it (romance, mystery, science fiction, action adventure, historical, gothic, classic, fiction, non fiction, biography, other) ?   What is your main character's first name and the setting in which it will take place?  And give us a one sentence tidbit about the plot ...   

Good question...I think I'll make it action/adventure.  The main character's name would be Kristi, the creator of a present-day game for other people to play...a worldwide scavenger hunt.  But as the contestants play along, they don't realize that their fate lies in Kristi's hands--it's her own little game...

6. READER'S CHOICE QUESTION #58 from Mary:  Jim Elliot once said, "When it comes time to die...make sure all you got to do is die."  What do you have to do or would like to do before you die? Make a list of at least 6 things.  And since you made the list.. will  you actually try to accomplish those things?

Let's see...

1. Watch my children grow up to be responsible adults.

2. Go back to school and get a degree in...something.

3. Go to a family reunion.

4. Go one day without worrying about something.

5. Start a nest egg.

6. Do something on my vacation other than sitting at home.

I've been trying to accomplish some of these things, but circumstances keep coming up that hinder the process.  Maybe someday...

til next time...=)

celebration...maybe

Just thought I would do an update on the house thing.  We're going to look at a house in about an hour, and we know it's ours.  If we want it, that is.  It's 2 1/2 bedrooms, and it's about 2 blocks away from where we are now.  If we take it, we'll be moving next weekend.  And I'll be celebrating tonight.  I'll update on this later today, if I'm sober enough...lol.

Tomorrow, we have to go to a funeral for Joey's cousin.  I don't want to go, only because there's some controversy (sp?) as to how he passed, and I'll be biting my tongue the whole time I'm there.  Oh well...I guess I owe it to the man--I wasn't that close to him, but he helped us out when we needed him to.

As for plans for Monday, I have the day off (and get paid for it), so we're going to have a picnic up at the park.  You know, food, swimming at the pool, fireworks, etc.  We were thinking of inviting family...the more the merrier.  I want to invite my 3 nieces, but Joey has a problem with one of them (long story, maybe I'll explain another time).  We also want to invite his cousins, but he doesn't know if he would be wasting his time by asking.  I dunno.  I just want to have a nice 4th with the family.  Who knows...

til next time...=)

july 4th haiku assignment

Weekend Assignment #66: July 4 Haiku! A 17-syllable holiday poem, please! Extra credit: Patriotic pictures!

Ok...here goes...

Red, white, and blue flag

Flowing nicely in the wind

Independence Day.

Here's another one...

Picnic in the park

Family all together

The Fourth of July.

Maybe on Monday I'll get a good pic to post for the extra credit. 

Happy 4th everyone!!

til next time...=)