Expensive Trip

This weekend, J and I went to a nearby town to do some shopping and get his watch band adjusted. On the way there, we got this in our windshield...
I had it looked at yesterday and it is too big (about 1 1/2 inches across) to have fixed, so we will need a new windshield on our less than a year old truck...fortunately the comprehensive deductible is only 100 bucks.

U.S. obesity rates on rise-report - Yahoo! News

I don't understand how anyone can be surprised by this when most schools only require physical education 1 out of every 5 days. The media always comes out with these reports like it is big news that if you eat crap and don't move enough, you will get fat...don't we know that already? Why aren't we doing something about it?

When I went to school, we did PE everyday all the way through high school. And as far as the blame being put on having fast food restaurants close to the school....we weren't allowed to leave our school grounds until we were juniors in high school. These restaurants should not be a factor if the schools are requiring students to remain on campus (which we better hope elementary and middle schools are).

Here is a break through thought....eat healthy, and move around some everyday. Do I get extra points for putting it in writing?

U.S. evangelist calls for assassination of Chavez - Yahoo! News

Okay, can we say that Pat Robertson is an idiot?

I know Chavez is not a nice guy either but this statement is just the latest in a string of idiotic things that Robertson has said over time. I find it amazing that he calls himself a religious person and that anyone listens to him.

Krispy Kreme

Today while working my ass off on the elliptical machine, an overweight guy walks by me with a TShirt that reads "Eat Krispy Kreme"...don't know if he was trying to help us all out, or making a statement...regardless, I thought it was hilarious.

Chicago Bears Yeah!!!

Chicago has been my favorite football team since I was little. I don't know why exactly, I have never lived near Chicago but I do have a fascination with the town (which I am sure I would be totally over if I ever spent a winter there).

Anyhow, they beat the Colts on Saturday in preseason...and I am hoping this means a better season for them (and me) than last year.

Both J and I are a bit turned off of some professional sports these days with all the crying about contracts, drug abuse and arrests, but I can't help but be excited for Chicago. Let's hope their season ends up being one of a kind.

In Memory

The second of the original batch of fish I got at Christmas time died today. It was the male of the silver lyretail mollies I had. He was one of my favorites but was never one of the healthiest fish in the tank. I am bummed...I will have to find someone new for the female to hang out with soon.

Stereo Clarification Revisited

Had to revisit this one from March 2005, because it has resurfaced in my life and I didn't find any answers then. Thought perhaps I might find some now....
_________________________
Could someone more hip than me answer this question for me? Is having your license plate rattle because your car stereo is so loud, a good thing or a bad thing???? I think it sounds and looks horrible but maybe I am just not getting it.

It seems to me that if you are playing your stereo loud enough to share music with all the cars in a 1 mile radius, the motivation is to impress people. I don't find the rattling license plate impressive, just hysterical...(I don't find the loud stereo impressive either but who am I to judge, I played my stereo loud in high school too).

Squirrel Aftermath

I posted a few days ago about this grey squirrel I saw dragging a huge pine cone up the tree to eat it.



Well, yesterday, I guess there was one in the tree near our front door and when I opened it to go to soccer, I startled it and it dropped the cone half eaten and then jumped on to our roof with a huge thump and scampered off. I didn't mean to interrupt its meal but since the cone was still out there this morning, I thought I would get some shots.




The other day, we found two of the completely eaten cones in the front yard with all the remanents around...at least now we know how they do it, right?

The Order of Sandwiches

It wasn't until I was in high school that someone mentioned a "right or wrong" way to put toilet paper on the roll, and it wasn't until 13 years of marriage that my husband informed me that there is a rule to the order of sandwich making.

I guess I knew that I had preferences to certain things on a sandwich being near other certain things, but I didn't realize that there was an order. I was putting a sandwich together for the two of us for lunch recently and he came over and started correcting the order of items. I laughed and said "it's not like there is an order" and he looked at me like I was out of mind and not living in the current century. He said "of course, there is an order, everyone knows that"....so everyone, do you have an order, and if so, what is it?

Generally, I put the cheese on the mustard side of the sandwich because I like the taste of mustard and cheese. If I am making a sandwich for J, I don't put mayo on both slices as he doesn't like mayo that much. If I am making a hamburger, I don't put the ketchup and tomato next to each other (sortof defeats the purpose). Oh, and I usually build the entire thing on one piece of the bread so that I can just cap it at the end with the other piece of bread and not have to try to flip two pieces of bread together that both have stuff on them. That is it, I don't have any more rules for my own sandwich making and I don't really consider any of them rules...I'll eat a sandwich regardless of how it is put together anyhow.

Out of Control

You know when things are getting out of control when you will pay more (it was only a 6 dollar difference) for a plane ticket to avoid connecting in an airport named after someone you don't like. I know it is silly but I just couldn't make myself connect there.

Ends up, I didn't have to pay more. After Travelocity, Expedia and Hotwire couldn't give me the flights I was looking for, I went directly to the airline, and ended up with the flight and seats that I wanted and 5 bucks cheaper because I didn't go through a "travel agent"...I might have to try this again sometime.

Workman's Comp

See my "on the job" injury? This is a blister on my right thumb from the shovel and rake while trying to fix my easement...I know, it is taking a long time, but it keeps raining and therefore thwarting all my efforts...I have been wearing gloves even...so that shows you how hard I have been working.

Anyhow, I am off the shovel and rake for a few days so I can heal up a bit. Gross, isn't it? It is exactly in the wrong spot too. It seems that I use that part of my thumb for just about everything...who knew? Oh, except for golfing...I can still hit a golf ball without hurting it...guess I'll just have to do that instead...haha.

Led Zeppelin

I just finished watching a show on VH1 on the top 100 hard rock artists and of course Led Zeppelin was the top and considered the grandfather of all other hard rock, metal and alternative to come after it. You're probably wondering why I would even stop on a program like that, but there are quite a few bands on their list that I either listened to as a teenager (Van Halen, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest) or listen to now (Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, AC/DC). My musical taste runs the gambit from HipHop to Classical composers. I like a little of just about everything out there and then some more of certain genres.

Music was an intricate part of growing up in our household. My parents introduced me and my sister to music at an early age. I remember listening to Sonic Seasonings by Wendy Carlos (aka Walter Carlos), when I was a toddler at bedtime. We lived in a commune in So Cal at the time and everyone in the house sang or played an instrument. Music surrounded us, and many of my earliest memories can be triggered by just hearing a song from those times.

As I got older, music continued to be an important part of our lives. We listened to music more often than we watched TV. My dad worked for a while as a board operator for a college radio station in Oregon. He worked during their Classical music broadcast and I was exposed to another genre through that. American Folk, Blues, Rock, Classical, Country, you name it, we listened to it at our house. We all sang to music, cleaned to music, and studied to music. Whenever we would be turned on to something new in the music scene, my sister and I would share it with our parents and get their view on it. We had them dancing and enjoying bands that they had never heard of and watched them knowingly smile when we would "discover" something from a band that had been around for ages.

I think that I am able to appreciate the broad range of music out there today because of the early influence music had in my life, and the fact that my parents were open to so many types of music. I don't think I ever heard them yell "Turn that crap down" like so many of my friends experienced. I am so thankful for that.

Owens Leaves Eagle Camp After Spat

Doesn't TO realize that people are forgetting what a great player he can be because he makes more news being a jackass?

It has a lot more to do with how well you can catch the ball...you have to be part of a team...duh!!!!

S. Korean man dies after 50 hours of computer games - Yahoo! News

Why would you do this to yourself?

Pine Cone

I saw a grey squirrel pulling this up a tree to eat the other day. The cone it had was almost as big as the squirrel itself. I guess it felt safer 60 feet up in the tree, rather than eating it on the ground.

Hilarious to watch...but you have to give them credit, when they get their mind set, there seems to be no changing it.

ABC News anchor Peter Jennings dies of cancer - Yahoo! News

I guess I had no idea that he was even sick...what terrible news. With him, Brokaw, and Dan Rather all gone from the news...an era has passed. How sad that he died so young.

Now I know how my parents felt when Walter Cronkite left the scene. You get used to seeing the same face every night. I remember seeing Walter on the news when I was a kid (especially during the Iran hostage period).

I am just sitting here in shock. It is so unexpected for me, because I didn't know he was even ill. Where have I been? Wow...

Signs

You know when gas prices are high when radio stations are offering gas cards as prizes rather than concert tickets...

Urgent 2nd Class

As I have mentioned in my reading list, Nick Bantock is one of my favorite authors/artists. I was turned onto his work by my dad who had discovered "The Egyptian Jukebox" and the first three "Griffin and Sabine" books. The art alone is what drew my dad to him at first.

At our dad's house the weekend he introduced us to Bantock, my sister and I spent a lot of time working on the puzzle in the Egyptian Jukebox. It was great fun. You can't find the Egyptian Jukebox new anymore, but sometimes you can come across it used. I bought a copy for my sister not too long ago from Powells.

I fell in love the Griffin and Sabine books because I have always been a corresponder and I loved the art, the story and the reader interaction with the story (the postcards and letters that were really there).

The thing that prompted this post was that I just finished up Urgent 2nd Class, which is another Bantock book where he explains how he finds the stuff he uses in his work and how he goes about getting it to work. As I was finishing up the last chapter about collages, I realized that I don't see the message (if there is one) in each piece. I just find the mixture of textures, color and items interesting but I am not sure if I am getting the whole picture or not.

I guess I have felt that way a lot of times when experiencing art (in all forms). For instance, in books or movies, the whole concept doesn't have to be perfectly pulled off for me to enjoy it. Sometimes the idea of the story behind it is interesting enough and sparks my brain enough for my own ideas that I still consider it good when others might think it was crap because overall it failed. I think in a lot of ways, this can be good because it means that I am able to enjoy more that is out there than someone that might only be looking for the perfect composition everytime, but at the same time, I probably miss the big picture a lot because I am not hunting for it, lost in my ideas.

Traditional art is the same way for me. There are some artists that I just enjoy because they are interesting, not because I really understand the message or idea, that overall, they might be trying to get across. I don't know if that is good or bad, but that is how it is for me. Nick Bantock is one of those artists for me. There are probably plenty of pieces that are supposed to be sarcastic or ironic and I have never noticed it, I have just enjoyed the physical aspect. I wonder if that frustrates the artist or if they are just glad you enjoy it, regardless of the aspect causing that enjoyment.

Microsoft BS

This is how stupid MS thinks home users are...

I had to go to their website to look for an update for a language program I am trying to use. You can't just look for what you want these days, you have validate your existence and then they tell you what you need even if what they think you need is not what you are looking for.

So anyway, one of the things it thinks I need is this security update for jview profiler (which I have never heard from). Mind you, I don't have my computer set up for automatic updates, never would, never will. So I just go to their page once a month or so after turning on all the required services on my PC and download what I need. Sometimes they have things I don't need and I don't download them. This is why I unclicked the jview profiler... I didn't know what it was, Microsoft didn't bother to explain it in their little blurb, so I wasn't going to download it unless I found out more about it.

I do a search on Microsoft's site, and all it comes up with is the same security download about a million times...not exactly what I am looking for. Anyhow, I finally did find the actual bulletin that might explain better what the jview profiler was.

They have two versions of the bulletin. One for home users and one for IT professionals. I clicked on the home users website first (thinking that this probably just explains it in less technical terms). Wrong!!! This is the website....http://www.microsoft.com/security/bulletins/200507.mspx It doesn't tell you anything, it just basically says "here dumbass...download what we tell you and don't ask any questions!!!". And if you notice at the bottom of the first paragraph it even says that if you are an IT professional, you should go to the page so that things will be explained. I am amazed that they have the gall to pretend they put this little "bulletin" together every month.

Hmmmmm....see? They just think we are all idiots and don't need to know what is going on with our computers.

By the way, I did a google search (too bad MS's own site doesn't search adequately for their own shit) and found that the jview profiler is part of a javascript component in IE, so I do need it. Why couldn't they have just told me that in the first place? Jackasses...oh, and I have yet to find what I actually went there for.

How Nerdy Am I

I am not sure if it was because I was a math/biology major in undergraduate school (therefore took much math and science), I am currently in a computer systems management program in graduate school (requiring many hours on the computer), I built this computer I am using or some mixture of the three that pushed me into the middle ground of nerdiness.

I know that because I didn't retain much from college (too many extra curricular activities), and I didn't notice the elf ears kept me from being "very nerdy"...hee hee.
Thanks to PM at The Peevery for this one.

Book Hound

Yep, that is what you can call me. When I find a book that I am really into (good characters, easy to fall into), I just can't stop reading it.

Last night I read the book at the top of my August list right now, until I finished it at 3am in the morning. I think I started reading at 10pm. What was I thinking?

Of course that meant that today was off schedule from the get go but oh well,...its a disease people, nothing I can do about it.

I started the second one on the list today (but only let myself read for an hour, since I have other things on my schedule) but I think I have read it before. Ugh!!!

I hate that, now I need to put two more on hold at the library so I can pick them up when I return these ones next week...ha!

Speed Limit, People, Speed Limit

I don't understand people that drive 50 in a 45 and then that same 50 in a 55....if you aren't going to speed, at least go the limit...or get out of my way.

Father holding baby slain in US road rage attack - Yahoo! News

A perfect example of stupidity.

This person just threw their entire life away over a traffic incident. This does not even touch on what the victim's family now has to face in its future.

What a jackass.

The Heat Drove Them Away

It's the only thing I can think. Since we went into heat index land a couple of weeks ago, my yard has been vacated of most birds.

I still have a few gold Finches hanging out at the thistle feeder and drinking out of the birdbath, but otherwise it has been lonely.

For a few days, we have had a break in the weather (the torrential rains I mentioned before), and that seemed to bring back some of the Red Cardinals, and I actually did see the male Eastern Bluebird the other day (but I don't think they are doing the third nest this year). I even noticed on my walk that there is just not much going on in the bird department. Usually the Blue Jays and Red Cardinals are everywhere and if you can't see them, you can hear them all over.

I wonder if they have all gone to cooler climates for a change...do they do that?

Pillows

I was watching a movie last night and it struck me that on TV and in the movies you always see the beds with tons of pillows on them. This in itself is not odd necessarily, I have 5 pillows on my bed right now, but that is only during the day. I do not sleep with all of them.

Thing is, that during this movie, they were in bed with one pillow each beneath their heads but behind their heads (between the top of their heads and the headboard) there were two more pillows each. That is like an extra two feet of space at the top of the bed being taken up by pillows.

So do beds on the big screen have extra leg room? Because if I had that many pillows above my head, my feet would be hanging off the end of the bed for sure, and I am of average height. Why is it that no one ever calls them on this stupid stuff that just doesn't make sense?

Multiple License Plates

Did you know that 19 states in the US do not require license plates on both the front and back of a vehicle?

Does this make sense at all? I just recently traveled in a state that only requires the back plate and it just seems stupid to me to not have a plate in front (can you tell I am from a state that does require two?).

It drives me nuts if I look back at the car behind me and they don't have a plate. What happens if they are a nut and hit my car, or they're a road rage person, or if they are beating their children and I can see it in my rearview mirror? In most cases, I would not be able to tell the police the make and model of the car as I have only seen it from the front, but if they had a license plate, then I could identify them. Doesn't it make sense that it is a safety issue?

What am I going to say? "Sorry officer, all I know is that it was a tan car with a rebel flag on the front where the LICENSE PLATE should have been."

Bleach

I love bleach...there is just something about that smell that says clean. Of course I hate it when I get it splashed on my favorite t-shirts while using it but that is a different story all together.

Anyhow, I always keep bleach drop-ins in my toilet tank (we don't have any pets that would drink out of the bowl). It keeps the bowl and water looking fresh and keeps me from having to scrub it all the time.

Thing is that when you first drop them in, the aroma each time you flush is much stronger than it is after it has been in there a while. I just dropped one in each of the toilets recently.

The intake for our A/C is right across the hall from the guest bath (which I just used and flushed) and now the A/C has kicked on and is sending a bleach smell through the entire house...how is that for air freshening without effort?

Modifications

J left this morning on a business trip for a couple of weeks so even though I have tons of things on my "To Do" list, I made some changes around here.

I logged onto Netflix to get a bunch of the movies that I know he won't care to see moved to the top (especially since my queue is at 98 movies right now), and I getting ready to hit the library for some reading.

When the cat is away, the mice will read, and watch movies, rather than attack the "To Do" list with vigor...

Note: I also plan to make and eat all the dishes that he doesn't like as much as me....hee, hee.

Length Issues

I finally just watched the Aviator, which I have had from Netflix for some time now. I just couldn't find 3 hours in the evening when I could sit down and watch it. It seems like movies of this length are becoming a trend and finding the time to watch them is hard for me to do (especially in summer when it is light out late).

I guess that it is good that I can have three movies from them because the other two were getting watched and returned pretty regularly but finding those 3 hours was just too hard. At least now, I am done with it and can return it today....let's hope I don't get another marathon movie anytime soon.

Oregon anti-meth law would require prescriptions - Yahoo! News

What idiot thought this one up?

For Oregon to make Sudafed, Nyquil, and any other cold/allergy medicine that contains pseudoephendrine in it, illegal without a prescription is like forcing people to have a police authority to buy fertilizer just because a few idiots use it to make bombs.

This does not fix the problem and only ends up hurting the masses who largely are only using the medicine for colds and allergies. They just created a black market for Sudafed in Oregon, and who needs to make meth if they can just sell pharmaceuticals.

Have they even thought how they will deal with visitors that might not have a doctor in the state to get a prescription from? Am I going to get searched the next time I fly into Oregon because I might have some Sudafed in my bag?

The Oklahoma law sounds much more like what needs to occur in Oregon. It makes sense to require ID and limit purchasing (just like they do for fertilizer in a few states, by the way).

Next Blog Please

Apparently, late night blogging is the trend.

I was getting ready to call it a night and decided to check my blog one last time (I just recently put a new counter on it that gives me lots of info and I find it cool to see who is reading). I also just put a little thing that tells me how many people are on it at one time....

I have refreshed twice now in five minutes and it still says there are 5 people on my blog. So I went to my counter and refreshed the details a few times and each time I do, a new person pops up.

Looks like most of them are just doing the "next blog" button because the referring websites are sometimes those annoying advertising blogs and some are just other blogs that are not related to me in any way.

Anyhow, I didn't realize how much the "next blog" button gets used late on Saturday nights....very interesting...

Beano Works

Last week, I made this easy recipe a friend gave me for Taco Soup. Unfortunately something in it gives gas to individuals in this household that shall remain unnamed.

So when I took the second half out of the freezer (the recipe makes a lot so I end up freezing half right off), I decided to give Beano a chance. I have used it in the past in a precautionary capacity but didn't know for sure if it was working or if whatever I made just wasn't gas producing...you know how some things affect people in different ways.

Anyhow, knowing in advance that this recipe would cause "toots", we did the Beano and I have to say the house remained gas free....so if you ever wondered if it works, it does.

By the way, this is reference to the liquid version that you put on your first bite...I don't know how well the pills work.

Physical Evidence

Well, here is evidence of what our easement looked like again this morning after a late afternoon and all night rainstorm...looks a lot like the before picture on the other post, huh?

I talked to J last night about it, and funny because when he got home, he thought to himself that I just didn't get to it...little did he know that I did and it was all for nothing.

We figured out that the water has to cross our street somewhere, and so today, I am going to try to force it to start crossing before it hits our property but I am not putting any vegetation back until I am sure how it is going to go, so I will just be piling it in our yard for now. Fortunately today, not as much sand was moved so I don't have as much heavy reconstruction to do but I do plan to some.

I have to head out to Lowe's to get a round point shovel as the square point shovel I used yesterday is great for what I used it for but not so great for digging trenches (which is what I have to do on the undeveloped neighboring easement to get the water to cross early. I might pick up some extra pinestraw to dress up some other areas in the yard as well.

J might have at least part of tomorrow off, and even though I have a soccer tournament out of town, he might be able to devote some time to finish up or make changes depending on the results from today.

I wish we could just build a retaining wall, level our yard, and fill the ditch with big rocks....but I don't think that is in the plan or budget at this time.

___________________
Update: I did finally get my ass outside to work on the yard after purchasing the shovel. I made some progress, found a bunch of rocks that were hidden under sand (some of which I used to build a little dam and shore up the side of our driveway), but didn't get enough done to take any pictures. When I stopped, the sky had clouded over and I could hear thunder in the background so we will see how much rain we get tonight...

What Not To Wear

Is it just me or do the hosts of this show on TLC really have no fashion sense...today the lady was wearing an animal print shirt with kelly green shiny elbow length gloves...

Work Wasted

Right now I am so mad I can barely type.

This is what the easement in front of my house and my driveway looked like this morning after a completely awesome (house rattling awesome) lightening and thunder storm (that included way too much rain) last night at 1am. I was awake for it because it was so awesome and I could see during the lightening that it was going to be a mess this morning but I had no idea that most of our easement would be in the street.

So I got out nice and early (thankfully it was only super humid today and not super hot as well) and proceeded to work my ass off for 3-4 hours fixing the mess and cleaning our gutters out. Fixing the mess entailed, raking the vegetation all to one area to use later, shoveling all the sand out of the road and back to the easement and then covering the sand after spreading it, with the vegetation. I also managed to save a large amount of our driveway gravel that had been washed into the road, and replaced that as I came across it.

After completing that, I moved onto the gutters that I saw were overflowing last night during the storm. That entailed getting a step ladder out, so I could bring down the attic ladder so I could get to the extension ladder that we keep in the attic (don't ask, it is a discussion we don't even want to go into). Once I got the extension ladder down from the attic (which is a death defying trick in itself), I proceeded to repeatedly put it up against the gutter along the house, climb it, clean the gutter I could reach, climb back down, and then move it along. I was doing it this way because getting on my roof when it is wet from torrential rains will kill you.

All of this (there was some sweeping involved too) took, like I said, about 3-4 hours. I was pleased with myself and my industriousness and went inside to take a shower and eat lunch.

It is now just after 6pm my time, and it has been torrentially raining for 45 minutes and all the work I did on the easement and driveway was for nothing. It is back the way it was this morning if not worse....I am so pissed I could spit nails. Of course it is also lightening and thundering so I can not even start to work on it without a chance of electrocution.

You can bet I will be out there first thing in the morning cleaning it up again (even though it is supposed to continue this weather through the weekend) but I will be diverting my plan a bit. This stupid town we live in, does not have storm drains but I plan to put a ditch into city property tomorrow regardless. The only thing I am hoping, is that the construction crew does not work Saturdays or they will be watching me fix it all over again, laughing to themselves I am sure.

Passing In The Night

I think I saw J for a total of 20 minutes in the last two days. He is just working crazy hours and it seems when he is home, I am at soccer for some reason...hmmmm.

It won't last, it is a temporary thing, but it is still frustrating because he is the only one I have to spill all my exciting daily happenings to (they aren't really that exciting but he knows that I like to fill him in on what happened, what I did and didn't do and what I think about all of it).

I have always been that way, and I am just lucky that I found someone that can tolerate it. I remember when I was a kid, I would jump my parents the second they came in the door to tell them all the stuff that had occured during the day. Many times I was told to wait until they got their coats off, and settled in before blasting them with endless chatter....yep, I was and probably would still be considered a chatterbox.

The only thing I can say is that I think I have gotten better at it and my stories are put together better and hopefully more interesting than when I was younger and I am sure half the story was filled with me saying "uhmmmm" so that I could keep my audience while figuring out what I wanted to say next...

Back Up

I don't know how many of you do this or not...but being the computer geek that I sometimes am, I thought I would mention it.

Back up your writings...if you want them sometime down the line, that is. I just went through all my archives and backed up any of the ones that I would be heartbroken to lose should a big server in the sky go down....(fingers crossed and wood being knocked as I write).

I just cut and paste them into Word, just gives me a piece of mind.

It Is One Or The Other

How is it that my only options for getting rid of my tank top and shorts lines on my skin are to lay out in blistering hot/humid 101 degree heat or during a thunderstorm????

Roses, Roses For Sale

My husband bought me a dozen beautiful roses for our anniversary and when I was putting away the receipt, I found that they were only $6.99....how is that possible? Doesn't it cost over 30 bucks for roses if you buy them from a flower shop?

I asked him about it and he said he too was surprised how inexpensive they were (he got them at a local fresh market), but figured that they must be from local growers and that perhaps explains it.

All I know is that if that is all they cost, I am going to start putting roses in my house each week instead of the carnations that I have been paying over 8 bucks for....why not? The smell alone of roses is worth it.

White House Warns Dems on Roberts Papers - Yahoo! News

They have got to be kidding....this guy is being nominated for a LIFETIME position and I think it is completely "in bounds" to ask for all information including memos from his prior stint as White House staff as well as whether he is a member of the Federal Society.

Not asking would be an injustice to the American people who have to live with this decision long after this administration is out of office. That is like not asking if he is a member of the KKK or something. This is information that Congress needs to know to make an informed decision regardless of whether they agree with his beliefs or not..

Dishonest Practices

It is amazing how when someone is doing something that they know they aren't supposed to be doing, the minute there is a witness, they change their tune.

I have not blogged about the construction going on across the street from my house in some time but it has been progressing, and aside from having to pick up their litter occasionally, it has not been as bad as imagined.

The thing is, that they are almost done with the house now, so last week, a truck from a landscaping company came and dumped a bunch of sand on the lot to be spread at a later date. I might mention here that there was a ton of litter on the lot but rather than clean that up first, they just spread the new dirt/sand right over it...nice huh? But that is the way things are in this part of the country, unfortunately.

Anyhow, today, the little tractor came that is doing the spreading and once that was done, it proceeded to clean up some of the other areas of the yard (mostly yard waste and tree parts). The thing of it was that they were dragging and dumping all this waste onto the adjacent property (which is not developed so only contains trees and undergrowth). I couldn't believe that this was what they were doing, as the little tractor thing is tearing up that piece of property, not to mention the cost to the owner (just because it is not developed doesn't mean it is not owned) to have all that stuff removed at some later date.

So I went out to check my mail and watched for a few minutes from my driveway...as soon as I started doing that, the guy on the ground went to the guy in the tractor to let him know he was being watched and then all of a sudden he started dumping his loads in the dumpster on the property....I didn't even have to say anything. I can't believe the gall of some people. As long as no one is watching, it is okay to throw common decency and consideration out the window.

Happy Anniversary

Today is my 13th wedding anniversary and I couldn't be happier. I just wanted to tell my husband thanks for making me the luckiest person in the world.

Bluebird Tragedy

Well folks, it looks like the eggs are not going to hatch. It has been 5 weeks now, and no chicks. Thing that really made me worry this week is the fact that the parents are not to be found.

According to the website I turned to yesterday for answers, they will often spend a lot of time hoping that a clutch will hatch (rather than giving up and moving on to the next clutch) and I think that might be what happened here. More than likely, the extremely warm weather we have been experiencing was too much for them. I am so disappointed, I really wanted to see these ones take off. I guess the later summer clutches don't hatch as easily as the spring ones do...

Looking at the area schedule, their third hatching is supposed to be in August, so perhaps if I get the nest cleaned out today, they will start a new nest this season and lay some eggs for August...we'll have to see I guess.

Grand Theft Auto

Where do I start with this one....I have so many issues I don't even know where to begin.

Okay, let's walk through this...we have a game that is already rated for 17 years and older because some idiot thinks we need to play at killing cops, stealing cars and creating general mayhem. The rating is there mostly to inform retailers and parents of the content, without having to actually play the game themselves, and to let kids know that this is definitely the game they want because it has all sorts of cool shit on it, right?

So we are assuming (or the rating board is) that at the age of 17 and older (which we know is NOT the age of most users of this game) an individual will know enough to realize that this is just a game and that none of the stuff in it is not meant to actually be done or idolized in any kind of way. I agree with the fact that we have a rating system on games (except that I find it amazing that we even find fun or humor in these types of games, which causes them to exist in the first place).

So now, we find out that there is some hidden sex scenes within the code on this game. NOW we want the rating changed to adult only (thus adding only ONE year to the age that a buyer must be to purchase) and that is going to make it all better. I am sorry, it should have the adult rating for the violence and general nastiness, not the sex....because sorry to say, but by 17 the animated sex on this game is not going to be anything new to the players.

Somehow the rating board, parents and whomever are all in a snit because someone over 17 but not yet 18 might see some animated sex? But it doesn't seem to bother them that killing, stealing, and any number of other felonies are being paraded around like some kind of war medals? This is a perfect example of the major hang ups that US society has as a whole with sex.
Now tell me why is it that the retailers are taking the game off their shelves? The article makes is sound like they are taking some kind of moral highground not stocking Adult Only games. I think it has more to do with the fact that since SEX is involved, they know parents wouldn't dare buy it for their 13 year olds any longer and that means it is just taking up shelf space that some other money making item can use.

Now before anyone who loves this game starts to give me hell in the comment section, let me point out a few things.

I do not believe in censorship of any kind. I am not by any means saying that we should do away with this game or any other game like it (even though I would never buy it, play it or condone it being played in my presence). This is a free market and apparently there is a market for this game and others of its genre. It is sad that this is true but it is.

I also do not believe that garbage about "my kid did it because he saw it on TV" crap. Number one, you are the parent, so you are in charge....turn the damn TV, computer and Play Station off once in a while. Second, talk to your kids and explain to them (in case you bought this game outside of the recommended age bracket) that it is not real, should not be real and that people who do this kind of shit in real life die early or live long in prison.

I absolutely believe that parents are the number one responsible person(s) when it comes to what their children do, learn, and say. I know that it is a hard job and gets harder each day but that is what happens when you procreate, you make the choice to take on that job. It is not up to the rating board, the teachers at your school, or the sports/movie star on TV to teach them right from wrong.

My entire rant really stems from the idea that we are so caught up in warning labels and who to blame in this country for the things that happen to us, that we seem to have forgotten to look in the mirror and take some responsibility. Does changing the rating on this game really do anything "to keep children safe" and help us all sleep better at night? No, it doesn't but what it does do is cost a bunch of people money (retailers, manufacturers, lawmakers, taxpayers...etc), and makes a little sidenote on CNN, and a few blogs.

What exactly are we focusing on, the symptoms or the actual problems?

Green Anole (aka American Chameleon)

I found this lizard (look really close or you won't see him) in my holly bush this spring while trying to photograph the holly flowers for my mother. I didn't know what it was at the time.

I see them all the time around our house these days, and just now I interupted one trying to court (get your mind out of the gutter, there was no sex going on) a female. The female was a browner color, while the male was just like the pics on the title link above. The thing that was really cool was that the male was doing this bobbing up and down thing (part of the courting ritual), and the female was answering with her own bobs...but the male also had this "throat fan" that would pop out after 5 or so bobs...kind of cool.

Ceiling Fans

I love ceiling fans (except when I have to dust them) but I am beginning to think that the lowest setting is just a placebo. You see it turning so you know you must be cooler but I don't think turning that slow is really doing much of anything...

Heat Index

4th straight day of combination temp and humidity for a heat index of 105-110...with chance of afternoon thunderstorms (not really a chance, more of a guarantee), but unfortunately only once has the storm brought rain too.

My poor plants outdoors are requiring daily watering rather than every other day, and the bird bath is just barely staying full enough to drink from.

Carpet Freshener

I don't know if I am the last person on the planet to know this but I thought if I wasn't, then I should pass it on...so here goes.

We have a relatively new vacuum cleaner (6 months) that I absolutely love. This is my first new vacuum in 12 years so I was very particular when I picked it out figuring I would have it for 12 years as well.

Anyhow, it has 3 different filters on it, one of them being a HEPA filter. We chose this because my husband has developed airborne allergies in the last couple of years and thought it might cut down on dust and dander issues.

I do not know if this information will only be pertinent to vacuums with HEPA filters on them, or just any of the new vacuums out there but I have discovered that powdered carpet freshener is bad for my vacuum. It seems to clog the filters and then the vacuum overheats trying to suck air in through the clogs. We have had it overheat and shut off on us twice recently right after treating our cats room with the carpet freshener.

So I just thought I would share that in case anyone else has had problems of unknown origin with their vacuums. As much as I like those fresheners....I can't use them anymore. My poor vacuum just can't take it, and I can't spend the thousands of dollars it takes to replace all those filters every time I vacuum.

Ugh!!!

I don't know what the deal is but I have not gotten a good night's sleep in ages. I have always been a light sleeper and because of that, it seemed like I needed to sleep more hours than most people to feel rested. I am also naturally a night owl so my best sleep seems to be in the morning (which is when most are getting up).

Unfortunately, neither of those work well with real life living these days. A few years ago, I fixed the light sleeping problem by taking melatonin (which I apparently don't produce enough of naturally) and it was amazing. I could sleep and when I woke up after a normal amount of time, I felt refreshed and ready to charge ahead with my day. This seemed to fix the night owl thing as well because I was getting great sleep throughout the entire night.

I think part of my problem right now is that I get up a million times a night to use the potty...haha. This is due in part because I get home from soccer pretty late and end up drinking a lot of fluid before bed...hopefully this will stop when I am done with soccer (in two weeks). The other thing is just that I can't seem to find a comfortable position...I am a tummy and side sleeper mostly although I have migrated onto my back on occasion. I can't sleep on one of my sides much right now because it aggravates a shoulder injury...

Reality is that all of this is probably just a bunch of excuses to explain that I am just to lazy to get up when my alarm goes off like normal people....I need some will power people!!!!

Frustrated Iraqis ready to take law into own hands - Yahoo! News

Is this a good thing or a bad thing?

I guess I am glad that the people are willing to stand up for their safety but I wonder if this is also not exactly what the terrorists want. Will it make it harder to unite the country as a whole? It might be considered a step backward in some eyes.

I am not sure how I feel about it.

Swing of Things

I have finally come into my swing in golf (I am sure a pro would tell me there are a million things wrong with it) and I played my best round yet today. I don't know exactly how it happened (I have never had lessons) but lately, I have just been able to hit the ball pretty consistently. This allows me to focus on other aspects of the game and today, that paid off.

I have never really had the "competitive" drive like some players. I am usually pretty content to just hit the ball okay, and make my way through a beautiful afternoon in the peaceful outdoors, but hitting well, makes the game that much more enjoyable, let me tell you. I don't really care about "beating anyone" or what my final score ends up to be, but I do not like finding my ball in the woods or losing my ball to water hazards. So, consistently hitting better overall improves the game for me.

I have also found that confidence in my abilities directly affects how well I play. Expecting a good hit, rather than being surprised by it seems to make me less nervous when others are watching me play, and less anxious about the various hazards I might come across in the course of the game. I like knowing when I tee up that I am probably going to hit it in the direction and for the length that I want to, rather than leaving it up to chance...haha.

Anyhow, I had a lot of fun today with my new found abilities and I played much better than I expected and I am a little surprised at how nice it made me feel (although I shouldn't be surprised because I always feel awesome after soccer if I play well). I would recommend a round of golf to everyone, even if you have never played before. It is a great way to get some exercise, breathe some fresh air and enjoy the outdoors if nothing else.

Jack Nicklaus

I am so bummed that Jack didn't make the cut today at the British Open. The network got me teared up with their Olympics-like stories...it was tough. Thank goodness no one was home to witness...

USGA

Shame on you USGA!!!

Shame on you for not answering my emails regarding whether you recycled those thousands of #1 plastic bottles you forced us to buy.

Shame on you for charging so much for food after forcing us to throw away perfectly nice granola bars at the gate.

Shame on you for selling water at $2.50 for 20 oz when we were observing a heat index warning of 105+ degrees.

Shame on you for allowing the photographers and media personnel to cut in front of paying customers who had been sitting in the same spot all day just so they could get a gazillionth picture of Tiger Woods.

Shame on you for putting all the stands in the sun with no shade coverage.

Shame on you for not being prepared for the record number of spectators and running out of food, especially when you wouldn't let us bring any in.

Shame on you for treating everyone that had free passes better than those of us that paid to get in.

Raid Earth Options

Normally, I try to keep my blog commercial free, as I figure most companies are making enough without free advertising on my blog.

I have to make an exception for this product because it is one of those products that is evidence that some big companies are trying to do better for the environment. It is just like good customer service, if you don't give them a thumbs up once in a while, they will stop trying to do good because all they hear is complaints.

I try not to use pesticides if possible but there are a few things I just can't live around. Cockroaches are one of those things but wasps are another. I know, I know, bees and their families are good for many things (unlike the cockroaches) but the wasps around here will just take over your entire outdoors if you do not keep them in check. We have already found several nests around our patio and porch and it is only the middle of July. So anyhow, I was looking for something at the store for killing wasps and saw the Earth Options from Raid. It was marked cheaper than the regular Raid so I thought I would give it a try since it uses plant products instead of manmade chemicals to kill the wasps. I was fully expecting it to work, but not as quickly or well as the regular Raid, and I don't want the buggers to suffer, a quick death is better.

Anyhow, I am here to report that this stuff kicks butt. I am only using the wasp version at this time (so I can't comment on the other types of Earth Options out there), but it has a long stream so you don't have to get too close and it will knock them out of the sky. It kills them immediately without all the chemical aftertaste....

So, for those of you, like me, who care about the environment but are forced to use pesticides once in a while, this is an option that is easier to live with.

Non-Mexicans arrested at U.S. border nearly doubled - Yahoo! News

Let me start off by saying that I do not believe that the US should close its borders to immigrants (or visitors). Everyone in the US immigrated at some point back in their family history (with the exception of the Native Americans, and some African Americans that were forced here). Immigration is what makes the US the diverse and multicultural country that it is, and I am thankful for that. I would not change that we are a "freak of nature" country that manages to have so much difference and still so much peace.

I do however think that we need to get some kind of control on documenting who is coming into the country regardless of means of travel. I understand that the division of the US government that controls our borders and immigration is more than likely underfunded and undermanned, especially on our land borders, but I have also seen evidence that there is a basic lack of rudimentary documentation and organization.

I am not claiming to be any kind of expert and I, by no means, have the answer to this problem, but I hope that I am not the only one that sees that this is not working. It makes no sense to track anyone if you are only going to track selectively. It seems like to me, the Mexicans get sent back to whatever life they might be trying to escape just because their country is close, while everyone else just gets a free pass (with no documentation or accountability) into the US. That does not seem right to me, without even taking into account the "homeland security" issues that might arise.

This system has so many holes in it, that there is almost no way to stop the leaks. It needs a serious overhaul and at some point the government has to decide that it is a priority.

Brutally Honest

There is nothing like having a 6 year old stay with you for a few days to bring you smashing back to reality...

Here are just a few of the gems we heard this weekend.

When returning from the restroom in a crowded restaurant..."It sure feels good to poop!"

While I am making dinner in the kitchen and she has closed herself off in the sunroom and is shouting to us through the sliding glass door on why she won't come in..."That smell!!!!".

Upon my offer to color a picture for her in her coloring book for a souvenior..."No thanks".

And what has to be the absolute best of them...while watching me put mascara on in the bathroom..."I know how to make you look younger". This is followed up by me asking, "Don't I look young?" and she replies "Not very".

First Flight

Caught this little one out learning the flying ropes with Mom and Dad today. He/She was so cute just sitting in the bush waiting for me to leave...

This is one of the Red Cardinal chicks from the 2nd clutch they have had....and no, I don't have Bluebird chicks yet...we're still waiting in that department.

Body of U.S. Commando Found in Afghanistan - Yahoo! News

Unfortunately, the news is not that he was found alive with his cross hairs on the people that are responsible for this latest mess of attacks...but at least his family now has some closure and the jackasses that were claiming to have captured him and beheaded him were just proven to be a bunch of liars.

Still Waiting

I swear that watching bluebird eggs is like watching water boil....it has been three weeks now but I have been told by someone that knows more than me, that it is possible for the hatching to take much longer than the publish "2 weeks".

I guess it just depends on the conditions and how the parents are feeling because they are able to slow the hatching process down somehow...so we are keeping our fingers crossed, but at this point....still no chicks.

Kick Ass Lightening

We are having a bit of a storm today...something about a girl named Cindy I guess. Anyhow, the lightening has been awesome...I saw one tonight near an airfield that I swear was from cloud to ground. Too bad I didn't have a camera.

I have always been a storm fanatic, even when I was little. My dad used to get my sister and I up to watch the storms in our hometown (which are primarily dry lightening storms) and I think the fact that he never tried to scare us with them, just encouraged our awe of them, makes me the storm lover I am today.

This little storm actually caused us to stop playing soccer tonight. We had a few that were far away and then a close one and that was all she wrote...everyone headed for their cars.

Thing is that after leaving the field, I headed towards the storm because I wanted to watch it...I think in another life, I would have chosen to be a storm chaser (although I am sure it is not as fun as the movies make it look). That is when I got to see the almost full strike.

Thing is that right after that bolt, I was passed by a fire truck with lights and sirens going...hope no one got hurt.

Hollaback Girl by Gwen Stefani

This song must be my soccer theme song because everyday when I am in the truck leaving my soccer game, it comes on the radio...the thing is that I don't leave soccer at the same time everyday...it varies.

Laziness

I don't know what is wrong with me. I always go to bed with the greatest of intentions and then in the morning, they are all out the window.

J had to be at work particularly early this morning, so I set my alarm for earlier than usual but, for about an hour after he left. Now that it is getting warmer and muggier here, it is easier to do my walking in the early morning. I had great plans to get walking, and the gym out of the way first thing, this morning.

I am trying to double up on my exercise each day because I am still (6 months later) carrying around the winter coat...

Well, I didn't get up with my alarm...I couldn't go back to sleep when J first left, and by the time I did, my alarm was not what I wanted to hear. So I shut it off and ended up sleeping until 8:20am....ugh...not the start I was looking for.

Now I have to get moving so I can get my walk in (in the sun, so I will have to wear a tank top so I can multitask and get some sun on my arms). I don't know if the gym will end up being this morning or tonight as I have a soccer game tonight too. I just have to get motivated, once I start, I am usually pretty good about staying on it.

Fourth of July

This has been a long weekend for us and we have tried to make the most of it.

On Saturday, we had some friends over (some we have seen recently, and some we have not) for a little cookout, some drinks and some Nascar (ha ha...don't ask me why I like it but I do). It was a great time and I am pretty sure that everyone had fun...

Sunday, J and I went to play golf in the afternoon since we had a cheap coupon for this course that is not too far from our house. He had played there once before but it was new to me. I played horrible on the front nine, but did improve on the second half. Part of that is due to the fact that my swing is finally starting to stabilize and I can consistently hit the balls these days. My drives are decent too but I would like for them to go farther (who wouldn't, huh?).

Anyhow, today, we decided to go play there again in the afternoon as we had the coupon for the entire weekend. We both played better the second time, in fact I ended up only 3 shots back from J's score....that is unusual for me. We finished up around 6pm, and headed home for showers and food.

Finally around 8pm we headed out to a local town that was having a 4th of July celebration with fireworks. We got there about 20 minutes before the fireworks were going to start and about 10 minutes before the deluge of rain started. Anyhow, we knew the rain was coming when we got there so we had scoped out an alternative option. As soon as we felt the first drops, we picked up our chairs and headed for this little pavilion nearby that we would still be able to see the fireworks from. We got to it very quickly and it started to seriously dump, along with some lightening and thunder thrown in for good measure. Fortunately for us, we got there fast enough that we were able to set up our chairs near the edge so we could see, because within seconds there were at least 100 other people under the roof with us.

The fireworks started and it was a pretty good show by all standards, but a really great show for how small of a town we were in. We were impressed. They were letting them off very close to us, so they were very loud and beautiful. The show lasted for some time, and so did the rain. After it ended, the rain slowed and we made it to our car without too much wetness.

Overall, we had as good of a 4th that could be expected without having any family close by. We hope this finds everyone else enjoying a safe and happy 4th of July as well.

Mystery Pain

A term I have adopted from my sister...I have one and it has lingered much longer than they usually do.

It is on my left side near the top of my rib cage. When I breath deep, it feels like a rib is poking me in the chest...I can't lay on my left side in bed or it hurts during every breath. I only really notice it when I am trying to sleep.

I just wish it would hurry up and go away already.

The Daily Dancer

I have just discovered, thanks to my friend Randi a fabulous new blog called The Daily Dancer. I know I might be slow on the uptake on this, but I just had to share it as well, in case any of you have not seen it yet.

I admire this man's imagination and guts. I think it is awesome that he is able to just be himself with no concerns for what anyone else thinks. I am also impressed with the number of hits his site has received in such a short time (at three weeks, it was 50,000, now, I am sure much higher).

I don't know if this is just a marketing gimmick or truly an opportunity to share the love of dance with the world (or both), but I think it is so cool either way because it is so original. I added a link to his blog to my sidebar, and I hope you will get a smile from this dude, like I did.

Severe Weather Alert

It is currently 94 degrees out but the heat index makes it feel like 100. We have about 50% humidity (which actually seems low to me but perhaps it is because of the heat).

This is what I have to look forward to for the rest of the night (and being that this kind of thing invariably means power outages...I better find something to occupy my time...haha).

...RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS LATE TODAY AND EARLY TONIGHT...

HOT HUMID AIR AND LOWERING ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE WITH A COLD FRONT APPROACHING FROM THE WEST WILL MAKE CONDITIONS FAVORABLE FOR STRONG THUNDERSTORMS LATE TODAY AND EARLY TONIGHT OVER CENTRAL ****** *******.

A FEW OF THESE STORMS MAY REACH SEVERE INTENSITY WITH THE PRIMARY THREAT BEING DAMAGING WIND GUSTS IN EXCESS OF 60 MPH. THERE IS ALSO A POSSIBILITY OF LARGE HAIL GREATER THAN THE SIZE OF PENNIES.

ISOLATED THUNDERSTORM ARE POSSIBLE BEFORE 4 PM THIS AFTERNOON. BUT THE GREATER CHANCES FOR LINE OF STORMS WILL COME AFTER 4 PM AND INTO THE EVENING HOURS. THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD MOVE FROM WEST TO EAST ACROSS ****** AND MAY LAST AS LONG AS MIDNIGHT.

Currently it is around 5pm and we are getting increased clouds...hopefully it will be a rocking storm or nothing at all, I hate the half assed ones.

No Chicks Yet

I am an idiot...today is only 14 days...I guess I just can't read a calendar..so all hope is not lost, they could hatch this weekend.

_______________________________________________
4:09pm June 28, 2005

It has been over two weeks since the Eastern Bluebirds laid their second clutch of eggs for the season. The websites all say 13-14 days so I am starting to get a bit worried. I have an email in to the person that is locally the Bluebird expert and we'll see what she says.

I Did It

Numbers

I was feeling pretty good at my 2000+ visitors I have reached (probably mostly my own PC) today until I went to new blog today and saw their meter said 32,000+ since Jan 2005 as well....wow...I don't know if I could ever get those numbers in that amount of time unless I was posting porn (which the site in question was not).

Bush Criticized for Linking 9/11 and Iraq - Yahoo! News

Apparently the PR campaign did not work this time...

Woman says finger found in Applebee's salad - Yahoo! News

I hope this is another hoax or we are facing a finger epidemic in this country and seriously need to get control of our extremities...

Can We Say Humid?

Currently 76 degrees and 96% humidity...just what I love. Reminds me fondly of a beautiful place in a far away land.

Contacts

I have been wearing contacts since my second year in college and I just only realized in the last couple of months that the letters printed on the contact themselves are there to tell you which way out they are....no more trial and error for me....whooeeee!

I'm Trying

I mean to write, really I do. I have a huge list of Blog ideas, I have just not had the time to sit down and write anything up. Perhaps tonight after I get home, I can get the laptop out and get something jotted down...hang in there.

Lights Out

The lights went out today while I was at the gym. I guess their circuit breaker must have been overloaded with all the electricity they were running to include the A/C. Anyhow, due to the fact that the entire front of the gym is window, we could still workout without the lights (at least in most parts...I am sure the bathrooms were pretty dark).

The weird thing about it is, that it reminded me of being in grade school as a kid in the late spring when it would get hot (and we didn't have A/C in our schools) so the teacher would leave the lights off and, whether it actually did or not, we were convinced it was cooler...

A. Retentive...That's What I Am

This is how bad I am....my awesome Pampered Chef peeler (looks like a regular potato peeler but works amazingly better) was in the dishwasher and I needed to peel some cucumber for salad.

I decide to look in our gadget drawer on the off chance (who am I kidding, there is no off chance) that I have a back up peeler in there (basically the old one before I bought the PC one...) and guess what? I did!!! So sad, I know.

I am sure there is medication for this, and if there isn't, perhaps there should be.

CIA has 'excellent' idea where bin Laden is -Time - Yahoo! News

Are these the same people that said we would find WMD in Iraq as well?

Bush fighting to regain confidence of Americans - Yahoo! News

You know, it irritates me when each day the news comes out with some new poll on how approval ratings are doing this or that...it really doesn't matter if more than 50% of Americans NOW think we should have stayed out of Iraq...it doesn't change the fact that we are there and that people are dying...why couldn't those people have made up their minds BEFORE we went to Iraq????

And Then There Were Four

Well the official and final egg count for the second clutch is at 4. I checked the nest yesterday to take a pic for my sis and there was a fourth egg in there. I think the pic came out pretty good if I don't say so myself....haha.

We Have Achieved Egg(s)

Update----I checked the nest this morning and there were three little eggs in there. So my first check was in the middle of the laying time...oops...

___________________________________

Well, as of last night when I was watering, there was one bluebird egg in the nest. I don't think the second and third clutches are as big as the first each year so that might be it.

You should have seen them divebomb this squirrel that ventured too close to the nest box...he didn't know what hit him.

On another note, the birdbath that we finally moved over near the feeders is getting tons of use. We have had some hot weather the last couple of days and the birds are hilarious in that thing. They get in there and just throw water all over the place with their wings until they are completely soaked. There was actually a line of them waiting to use it....

Schiavo Autopsy Shows Massive Brain Damage - Yahoo! News

I am glad this is finally out and he can rest in piece knowing he did the right thing by his wife and her wishes.

All those others that meddled should get "shame on you" fingers waved at them.

Weight Loss

If this week does not do something to push my body into overdrive, I don't know what will.

I am still carrying around the winter coat...even though the scale says I am not, the mirror says I am. I have been trying to be good about not eating too much (we eat pretty healthy, but I think I eat too big of portions most times). I have been drinking diet soda and doing some cardio pretty much everyday but no change.

This week has been a calorie burn from hell and I am hoping that I will see results, and even if I don't, I hope it will motivate me to step it up a notch to get back to the gym more and lift weights. It is so much easier to lose weight when you lift weights at the same time because the extra muscle burns calories too. The only thing is that you usually get smaller (fitter, toner..however you want to put it) but you don't usually go down on the scale much. In my case, I go up on the scale because I pick up muscle mass pretty easily.

It is only Wednesday, and I have ridden my bike for 30 minutes 4 times, have walked for about 5 hours each of the three days and played a 1 hour soccer game on Monday. I have at least 4 more of the 30 minutes rides scheduled, 4 more of the 5 hours of walking and one more 1 hour soccer game before Monday. Oh, and I went to the gym today as well....all of this in over 90 degree temps with tons of humidity...so can we say SWEAT!!!!

I hope to keep up the gym thing and that at the end of all the pain (and I am in pain, especially those little butt bones you sit on a bike with), I will have gained something if nothing more than motivation to continue.

Information?

I was at Lowe's the other day looking at different bottles of pesticides (I know....bad, bad, but when you live in cockroach land and you are afraid of cockroaches, you have to take extreme measures), and I kept getting asked by other shoppers about the products.

I don't know if I was wearing a shirt that looked like I worked there, or if I just looked like I knew something about bug spray but for some reason, I kept getting asked which product was better, what to do about red ants, cockroaches and such...it was very strange.

I was glad to help where I could, although I am far from an expert, but I just thought it was curious that I looked like I had the answers...I wish I could look like that more often.

Banned Contractor Soliciting Iraq Deals - Yahoo! News

I makes me sick that anyone could use this war as an opportunity to get rich by scheming and cheating the very people they claim to be loyal to.

I am embarrassed for all these former "soldiers" (I put it in quotations because they don't deserve to be called soldiers), and for anyone that is doing business for them.

This however is just another perfect example how the administration was not prepared. There is nothing in place to monitor all these companies that are contracted and that in itself lends to corruption and greed.

Pavlov's Dog

I admit it, I am a creature of habit.

When we lived in Japan, we would get paid in US Dollars but in order to pay our rent, and utilities, we had to have Yen (they don't really do checks there). So near the end of every month, I would withdraw the money from the bank, and take it to a superstore called Jusco. At Jusco they had two machines provided by an inhouse bank to exchange US Dollars to Japanese Yen. Everyone knew that Jusco had an equal or better rate than anywhere else locally so sometimes the line would be long to exchange money.

After exchanging my money, I would peruse the store, usually picking out some sushi and a canned sweet iced tea for lunch. This became a bit of a habit. If I didn't get sushi from Jusco, then I would head across the street to a conveyor belt sushi bar (we affectionately called "Sushi-Go-Round"), and eat my fill there for lunch with some green tea on the side.

Now it seems that every time I go to run errands, I get a hankering for sushi. Fortunately for me, the grocery store I shop at has an inhouse sushi bar so I have been able to quench that thirst each time. I have to wonder if, when I am old and tired, will running to the pharmacy for my multitude of medications will induce sushi cravings or not. Can you tell I just got home from running errands, and boy was that sushi good?!

Congradulations

My sis is graduating tonight with her Associates degree, and even though I could not be there, I wanted to announce to the world how proud I am of her...so here you go world, "I am so proud of you, sis".

I wish I could have been there, but the airlines did not cooperate with me so I am stuck here while the rest of my family is celebrating their butts off...

Congrats little sis, you are awesome.

Hip Flexors

Played soccer for my second day this week. Only the one game this time...now that I have a correct schedule. Anyhow, I ate better this time so I was not too full but still had lots of energy to run around and that made my performance at least more energenic if not better (skill-wise).

Now my hip flexors are killing me from sprinting up and down the field chasing men that run much faster than me....ugh!!!!

Come On

Girls...if you are dripping enough to leave piss on the toilet rim and on the floor, you did not wipe well enough!!!!!

Soccer

I had my first soccer game last night. I was a bit nervous about it throughout the day but nothing too crazy. I showed up on time to find out that our team didn't play until the later game. I settled in for watching a game when one of the teams announced they didn't have enough players to start and would I mind filling in. So I did.

It was warm and muggy with thunderstorms looming but it started to downpour halfway through so that cooled things off a bit. I ended up playing the whole game for them. I was pretty much smoked after a few minutes as it has been 9 months since I played and I am so out of "running" shape. I exercise pretty regularly but running is not usually part of my program. I basically only run if there is a soccer ball involved.

We had started late so the team I actually play on was there when the game finished up. I introduced myself and switched jerseys to play again. Fortunately our team had extra players so I didn't play the entire second game. I am sure my muscles and feet are very thankful. We won by quite a margin, but then there are some awesome players on our team. It was a lot of fun, even if we didn't get out of there until an hour after we were supposed to due to the late start.

I have another game tonight, which hopefully will be easier on my body than last night.

Another Thunderstorm Day

We have had thunderstorms every evening for the last couple of days. We are once again in thunderstorm watch today. Last night we had a terrific storm and a ton of rain (about 1 inch an hour, the news said). Today they are saying possible marble sized hail and 2-4 inches in an hour...should definitely add some spice to the evening.

Please note that thunderstorms usually mean power outages as well. I have everything in this house of any value plugged into hefty surge protectors. Yesterday, the power went out while I was at Lowes, but apparently they have their registers on back up power because we were still able to shop and check out, there were just no lights inside the store. Good thing I was in the garden center...haha.

UPS

Waiting for UPS to come is like watching water boil...I know if I were to leave the house, they would come right away but because I am sitting here waiting for them, they won't be here until the end of the day when I won't have time to do any of my other errands...

I have to be here because I have to sign for this package, they can't just leave it, or I would be gone in a heartbeat.

Bluebirds Are At It Again

I just cleaned out the old nest from the cavity nestbox this last weekend. This is what the BB Society website tells you to do, but was still afraid that they wouldn't come back if they had to do so much work for the next clutch of eggs.

I just spied the female in my yard grabbing pinestraw and stuffing it into the nest box so I guess they are planning to return for the next clutch. I am thrilled because I really didn't want to drive them away...and after the death of that Cardinal chick, I am looking forward to something positive in the bird arena.

Forced To Do It

Well, we reached that temp where I have to turn on the AC or have warm floating fish in my tank...

It is not any hotter than the previous post about this subject but it has maintained it for a few days and that is enough to get the tank nice and warm. I have been dropping ice cubes (probably not the best thing) in there to cool it down some but it is still hovering around 84-86 degrees which is really limit of what they can take.

So I broke down, closed all the windows, shut the shades and set the AC at 80 degrees. That should be enough to keep them in the cool range without over killing my need for warmth and low utility bills...I might be able to turn it off at night since the temps are lower then and the house will already be coolish.

I am bummed because I think the AC is what makes the outdoors feel hotter and muggier than it really is. Oh well, for the good of the fish, it is okay for now. I am sure it will get hotter later and I'll be glad we have the option.

Happy Birthday Daddy

Today is my Dad's birthday. I hope he is having fun and doing something cool. Unfortunately we are on opposite sides of the US right now, or I would be celebrating with him. My brother (in law's) birthday is tomorrow and when we are all on the same coast it has been tradition to do a dual celebration the weekend of...too bad we can't do it this year.

You guys are in our thoughts and we hope you both have great days...

The Beaufort Gazette: World watching South Carolina on geocaching

Geocaching is not a crime. I came across the above article today while looking for some caches for a trip I might be going on soon.

While I do agree, that there are some bad eggs that will do whatever it takes to find a cache (trample vegetation, trespass on private property, litter or worse), the majority of geocachers are just outdoor enthusiasts who have found a new way to enjoy the outdoors.

In my years of geocaching, most of the caches I have found have taken me to places I would never have seen otherwise. It has always been awe inspiring and educational, and I can't believe that South Carolina would even consider making it against the law even just for historical or National Registered sites. That would be a shame.

I also find it hysterical that an editorial is quoted in the article to imply that only people from the South treasure and respect historical sites, state owned properties, and cemeteries. Give me a break.

Rationality would dictate that those that have broken the law by defacing a grave marker or trampling protected plants, would be punished but to make a law to encompass all geocachers is not the answer. Deal with the individuals that are committing the crimes and leave the rest of us alone.

Golfing

I currently reside in a golf intensive area of the US. Fortunately for me, I enjoy golf. It is not really about the competition or anything (although I do like to hit the ball well if possible), it is about the atmosphere.

As long as I don't have some idiot behind me rushing me along so they can play 36 holes in 2 hours, I really just enjoy being out on the course. It is like taking a very long stroll through a park that you hit a little white ball in once in a while. My favorites are courses that are in urban areas, because it is like a little green oasis that kind of blots out in your mind that you are in the middle of a city. It is so refreshing....

So anyhow, even though I live in this golf intensive area, I have not golfed in a few months. Most of the golfing here is pretty expensive and I just recently received new clubs that J's grandpa made for me. Today was the first time I got to play with them on the course (I have hit them on the range once and in the backyard a bit). They are much nicer than my old beginner clubs and the fact that I know they were made especially for me, makes them all the bit nicer to play with.

So I got out, got some exercise, used some muscles that have been dormant for a while, breathed some fresh air and enjoyed the green lush vegetation. It has been quite rainy here for a few days so it was cool, but a bit muggy and there were lots of bugs out. I still had a great time and can't wait to go again.

Kid Songs

Why is it that every new horror movie out these days has to take an innocent song or rhyme from my childhood and turn it into a theme for a horror movie?

Sad News

It seems that one of the Cardinal babies did not make it. It has been in the nest, not moving for a couple of days now. The parents have given up...they were trying to get it to come out for a while...I was so sad to see it, especially since it has been raining here and that makes it look even more sad and cold.

California appeals judge's ruling on gay marriage - Yahoo! News

Regardless of which side of this issue that you stand, the fact is that the Constitution does not cover marriage, and should not start to.

The Constitution covers in broad strokes what the government is obligated to do for its people. It is not written to "ban" things or discriminate. Then the "right" to get married gets brought up like it is in one of the amendments or something....wrong...it is not. There is no "right" to marriage for anyone. The amendments are written to limit the government's actions on the people in broad strokes as well.

I can't see where the argument for or against gay marriage falls under any kind of "Constitutional" rule. Heterosexual marriage is not covered in the Constitution. The Constitution would be ruined if it is changed to allow for discrimination. While I understand this issue is something that needs to be resolved, I don't think bringing the Constitution into it will do anything positive and may end up doing permanent damage.

The whole argument of the sanctity of marriage is a bunch of crap as well. We are talking about a history of arranged marriages, fly by the night marriages, teenage marriages, Las Vegas marriages, golddigging marriages, oopsIgotyoupregnant marriages, and immigration marriages but somehow letting two people that love each other get married is going to ruin the sanctity...give me a break.

Yeah, this really makes me want to buy chicken... - Yahoo! News

Wow, the UK is getting as bad as the US with complaints...come on, bad manners and insults to handicap people? Are they serious?

It is just a commercial people, not the letter of the law. It is called the off button, just use it once in a while, get outside and don't sweat the small shit. Life is too short as it is to worry about this kind of crap. Bitch about it on your blog and then move on....