O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

Here is a little look at the baby tree at our house. I just love this little guy...need to make sure I keep him watered so he doesn't dry out...am excited to put him in the ground in the spring!!

Isn't he just cute???

Full view

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 Seven Years Ago on In My Words...The Trees and Snowflakes

Jingle Bell Hell 2012 Race Recap

Borrowed from Jess

Distance: 3.27 miles or 5.26K
Elevation Change: 200+ft
Weather: 37 degrees, 11 mph winds, hail
Time: 47.5 mins
Laughed: Yes
Hell: Yes!!

This year I have been really terrible about my running (even terrible about my walking for that matter), so when I heard about Jingle Bell Hell 2012 from XLMIC and RunWithJess, I just knew I had to commit and see if it would help me get back on track with my outdoor exercising.

Reading Blog Update

Finally got around to updating my reading blog with my reads from November! Check it out when you get a chance!

Only read 4 books in November but they were really great reads and highly recommended.
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Last Year on In My Words...Last Year's Tree

Productive

Yesterday was a pretty productive day, even if I didn't find everything I was looking for. I had putting off the errand running I needed to do, but the lack of food in the fridge forced my hand and I figured if I was going to do it, I would try to hit as many other things I could.

I started out by treating myself to breakfast at a local restaurant (making sure to stick to the diet), and then I was off. I managed to hit two home improvement stores, three groceries stores, and one birthday gift stop. I got the truck oil changed, vacuumed and washed. I made an appt for January that I have been putting off. Stopped to check the mail and discovered my first a little surprise from a friend before heading home for the night.

Obviously, there are still things that need to be done errand-wise, but at least I made a dent. I am going to head out after lunch and see if I can find a small potted tree so I can finish our Christmas tree decor, and make a visit or two to folks I haven't seen in a while.

It was a nice feeling of accomplishment knocking out some small things that have been hovering.
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Six Years Ago on In My Words...Countertops

At Least One Thing

So I posted on one of my other blogs yesterday about how I am trying to focus on getting one thing off the "to do" list a day rather than procrastinating my life away because I can't get it all done today. Yesterday's thing was to replace a outlet in one of the bathrooms with a GFCI outlet, which I did. I managed to accomplish other things yesterday but that one thing was the "absolute have to".

Today, the "absolute have to" was to finish Christmas cards, and work on a scarf that I want to get in the mail. I knocked out the Christmas cards this morning, however not in time to get them sent since the mailman had already come. I also managed to watch a movie that I have had from Netflix for ages while doing it, which was great since keeping two movies for months at at time is not efficient use of my Netflix dollars.

I plan to catch up on The Walking Dead tonight while working on the scarf if I can. I know I have more than an hour's work left on it but it will at least be something. I will probably check in with the help forums for Blogger that I volunteer for as well just to see if any of the users I am currently helping have updated the thread. How is that for an exciting plan?

I don't know for sure yet what the "absolute have to" is going to be, but I am thinking it will entail a larger electrical project (6 switches and 3 sockets), mostly because I think they are all on the same circuit so if I am going to turn the power off, I might as well knock them out all at once. We'll see. If not, there is tons more on the list that can be the "absolute" for tomorrow.
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Eight Years Ago on In My Words...Bathroom Kitty (another great Chase story)

Is It Just Me

or does this gel shape light have a bulb that looks like a p3n1s? The middle part comes out completely and that is even worse. I left it in so that from afar the bulbs just look like bulbs.

I put a "string" of these faux lights along the top of our sliding glass door since putting lights up from the inside would limit the use of the door and there are no outlets on the front deck to use for powering lights on the outside of the door. If you want to see some of the other outdoor decor (except the lights), you can check out my post on The Bamboo Lagoon where I blog only about our house and the adventure it creates in itself.

Still have to get a small tree and carve some pumpkins (yes, that is what I said) to be finally done but it is coming along.
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Three Years Ago on In My Words...My Christmas

Bug Identification: Milionia basalis Kiobi-eda-shaku

This amazing looking moth lives in Japan...and we would see it every year that we lived there and I never knew the name of it...that is, until today.

I submitted the underbelly shot of it to a great website called What's That Bug? that tries, on a very small budget and staff to identify "bugs" that are sent to them via their form. I didn't have a lot of hope that they would get a chance to do this one (and I am actually waiting to hear on the inchworm I sent them too (see update below)), and was super excited to see a message from them in my inbox today.

Not only were they able to identify the moth, they wanted me to send them the dorsal image I have of it as well and I guess that means that there will be a post on their site about it too!! I'll post a link to it as an update to this post as soon as I see it.

So anyhow, the full name of this moth is Milionia basalis (Latin) Kiobi-eda-shaku (Japanese common name)　キオビエダシャク

Here is the link to the post about the moth on the What's That Bug's website!!
Here is the link to the post about the inchworm on The What's That Bug's website!!

Update: Turns out the inchworm image I have is actually the caterpillar for this moth!! How cool is that?!
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Four Years Ago on In My Words...How Often

Waiting On Christmas

Along with lots of other people, I can't stand it when people jump from Halloween to Christmas. I was irritated by the idiot companies that decided to start their sales on Thanksgiving and also by all the stores and people that put up decorations for Christmas before Thanksgiving had passed. For me, Thanksgiving is an important American holiday and it shouldn't be "jumped over" just because it is not as commercial as some other holidays.

One of our neighbors had all their gaudy Christmas decorations lighting up the end of the block days before Thanksgiving, and every time I drove by, I just wanted to roll down the window and scream "It isn't even Thanksgiving yet!" You don't even need a flashlight if you walk by that house in the evening because it is so bright, I am sure you can see it from outerspace. Now, don't get me wrong, I am not a bah humbug, but I don't think that decorations need to be a competition.

So I have refrained from putting up our Christmas decorations yet. I am determined to wait until at least December 1st, which means I have a day or more left to enjoy my fall. We still have beautiful pumpkins on the porches that I don't want to throw away...I might even decide to carve them with Christmas or winter themes so we can leave them out a bit longer. I have gotten most of my decorations organized (minus the little potted tree I still need to buy) and ready to go but I am using my will power to refrain...LOL.

We have a fresh swag for the front door and 15 ft of cedar garland to put on the balcony rail when the time is right along with lights for some of the windows...nothing too crazy but enough to bring a smile to my face when I see it.
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Seven Years Ago on In My Words...Steve Terrill

Most Fun On The Internet In A Long Time

I discovered this cool ass site because Jenny, The Bloggess posted about it after much consideration over racism and my sister saw it before I did and shared it with me. This was after she ran my blog (yes, this blog here) through it. So I did the same thing and had a great laugh about it.

Today, I went to Jenny's blog to read her post and the comments there before commenting myself and ran across this awesome comment by David Cutler (commentor number 175) and I thought he said it so well that I needed to repost his words here. He didn't provide a link to a site so I hope that giving him credit for these words by name is enough. This comment was in response to Jenny's inquiry on whether the site linked above or a post about that site would be considered racist.

I find neither the website nor linking to it racist. Calvin Broadus (Snoop Dogg) is a singer, lyricist, writer, actor, and general entertainer. He has also invented his own rather unique brand of slang. Many people are highly entertained by Mr. Broadus. Others are slightly entertained. Still other people find him somewhat annoying, and others find him highly offensive. The EXACT same can be said of Jenny Lawson. The linked website is, I think, a loving homage to Mr. Broadus’s slang, exactly as it claims to be. As a result some will be highly entertained, others less so, and others annoyed or offended by it. As would be true of any homage work to Mr. Broadus or Ms. Lawson.

The only aspect of this that could be considered racially offensive is an assertion that Mr. Broadus represents ANYONE other than himself or those who actively claim him to be their representative. Mr. Broadus does not represent African Americans, any more than Jenny Lawson represents white people. Many people reading this website (myself included) would say Jenny Lawson represents us. Not because of her race, but because of her writing and humor. We identify with her and are entertained by her, and it has nothing to do with the color of her skin. Similarly Mr. Broadus entertains many people and I am certain many identify with him, and presumably they do so for the same reasons I identify with Ms. Lawson. It IS racist to argue that African Americans identify with Mr. Broadus because of the color of their skin, just as it would be racist to argue that I identify with Ms. Lawson because of her skin color. It is not racist to be amused by either of them. It is also not racist to think either one of them are offensive or unfunny. That is a matter of taste.

Personally, I think the site is akin to a humorous translator such as the Pirate Speak on Facebook is....it is meant for humor and not to be cruel and/or degrading. Note too that if you read the page that explains why the creators made the site, you will see that they did so out of fanship of Snoop Dog and nothing else.

I had a ton of fun using the site last night to view other sites....serious sites like Wikipedia and excerpts from serious works of literature, to see how funny they would sound translated. It was hilarious. If you have time, run my site here, http://mishkaop.blogspot.com through the http://gizoogle.net site and see how it translates...and then check out some of your other favorite sites.

NOTE TO THOSE FAINT OF HEART: The translations contain swear words so if you can't handle or don't like to be exposed to swear words even in a humorous setting, it is best that you avoid using Gizoogle at all.
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One Year Ago on In My Words...Brand New Place

Jingle Bell Hell 2012

Image borrowed from Jess

So I have been terrible about exercising lately. Part of it has been due to busy-ness and part of it due to sickness and then of course part of it is just plain laziness.

In the course of reading a few blogs, I discovered a couple of running blogs. One of them is organizing a virtual 5K in December called Jingle Bell Hell 2012 and I have committed myself to doing it. I have to run at least a 5K locally, between December 8th and 16th. I have to post why it is "hell" for me and I have to laugh at some point during the race (that might be hard to pull off). Then I need to recap the race, post a link to it and call it good.

There aren't many local races, so this virtual option gives me the opportunity to race (myself) and have the motivation to get out there get running again. I mapped out a route on MapMyRun the other day, and I plan to try to walk it tomorrow if I can, so I am sure of it before I do it "officially". I will probably do it more than once during that time, and hopefully will get a better time each time.

I hope this will ultimately get my butt moving and get me started back on my fitness routines.
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Four Years Ago on In My Words...Mission For Fitness

My Birthday

So my birthday is today...Black Friday...lovely, huh? It is almost always during the week of Thanksgiving, in fact sometimes on Thanksgiving. This year just happens to be Black Friday. Since I don't do Black Friday, going anywhere seemed out of the cards so I spent the day at home chilling out.

I actually had the HVAC guy come out to do the fall service on the furnace in our house, and I called one of my cousins to get some painting advice for somewhere down the line and I am ready to start on painting projects around here.

My MIL came over in the afternoon to drop off a present from my grandpa that he sent to her house as a surprise. When I was in Nebraska last month, we played golf a couple of times. I used a driver he made for one of our cousins, and I was able to hit it pretty well. So Grandpa decided to make one for me...without me knowing. It was such a treat to get a completely unexpected gift on my birthday.

While mom was here, she hung out for a while and we worked on a puzzle I have spread across the table in the dining area. She really helped me make a good dent in it.

Tomorrow, one of my cousins is having a birthday party for her son who is turning one so I will get to see a lot of family then and it should be a ton of fun to watch the traditional chocolate cake mess!
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Five Years Ago on In My Words...A Fix I Could Live With

Knee High Socks!

Finally got around to ordering some fun knee high socks from one of my favorite sock stores...thankfully they are online since they only have one brick and mortar store and I am not near it.



I am wearing my first pair today and I am loving them...yeah!
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Four Years Ago on In My Words...Beautiful Moon

Losing It

Yesterday, I left the house without a bra on....that NEVER happens. I was uncomfortable with it, so since we were at the mall, I found a bra at the first store we stopped in and tried it on, wore it out of the fitting room, and paid for it. I felt much better after that.

Do you know how hard it is to find a bra in my size these days....I am one of those oddball girls that has a decent size across my back because I exercise regularly and have good upper body strength which makes me a 36, but I am small breasted and wear an A cup...finding a 36A is almost impossible for some reason. I am not sure if it is because women are just bigger breasted these days or if it is just that smaller breasted women don't lift weights anymore...but whatever it is, it makes finding a bra in my size very difficult.

I have no idea how I even left the house without a bra...hence the title. I must just be losing it....LOL
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Five Years Ago on In My Words...A Fix I Could Live With

Observations

Just some tidbits that are too small for a post, but just have to be noted:

-why does finding a old dried piece of renter spaghetti on the ceiling of the kitchen piss me off so much?

-does everything taste better with blue cheese dressing on it? I just ate left over chicken veggie soup (with no broth) with blue cheese dressing on it and it was glorious!

-how, if the toilet is being flushed repeatedly during the day, is there even time for a mildew ring to grow?

-why did my favorite used/new book store on the net stop supporting all types of ebooks except Kobo? Who even owns a Kobo reader?

-why does a head cold always end for me with a big nasty tasting chunk of snot finally falling from the back of my sinuses?

-how is it that my cable company (who will remain un-named) doesn't have On Demand for the Fox Network? This has pretty much guaranteed my dropping several programs from my list.

-how is it that gaining two pounds is so much easier than losing it?

-isn't going e-everything supposed to create more time in the day? Seems like I spend more time doing backups and updates than I ever did filing and shredding.

-how come the list of movies I want to see means having to read the books first?

-am I really getting my money's worth if I keep DVDs from Netflix for more than a few days?

-is is possible that I am so out of shape right now that I pulled a muscle playing the Wii?

Guess that is it for now...heading to the kitchen to get a salad put together with more blue cheese dressing on it.
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Three Years Ago on In My Words...Me, Myself, and I

Maru, Fat And Happy

I just had to have a Maru fix after this week of intense political BS. Even just watching this fat and happy kitty chase a toy makes me smile. His look on his face says he had to work for it...LOL


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Seven Years Ago on In My Words...What Happened To The Classics?

Catching Up And Cold

So the last two weeks have been pretty busy...left last Tuesday for a family visit in Nebraska. Weather was decent and the visit was awesome. Gpa and J are doing well and I throughly enjoyed my time there. Was able to get in two rounds of golf with Gpa at his favorite golf club. Flew back on Monday afternoon.

On the way home from the airport (and enroute grocery shopping trip), I got a call that my mom had hurt herself at Gma's. Turns out she broke both of her ankles, from tripping on the wrinkled carpet at Gma's. She had surgery on the left ankle (which was broken in three places) the next day and is now home recooperating. She can put weight on the right leg if she has the boot on so she is not stuck in a wheelchair, which is good. She has a two week appt with the doctor to have the surgery leg checked, and might have more mobility at that time (we hope).

I started feeling icky right after the flight back and over the course of the next few days, I developed a full blown head cold that I am still fighting today. I have been taking it easy for the last 3 days and might add on tomorrow too just to be sure that I am on the mend. Would hate to have anything like I did this spring happen again, if I can avoid it.

I have a ton of stuff hanging over my head that needs to get done around here, but I am trying to focus on getting better and not getting stressed out. One day at a time...LOL
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Seven Years Ago on In My Words...Thievery

Reading Blog Update

I track all my reading on Goodreads.com but like to post my reviews on my reading blog. Here is the link to my most recent update for October.
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Four Years Ago on In My Words...Beautiful Moon

Oracle Leaves Fix for Java SE Zero Day Until February Patch Update | threatpost

Okay, I was waiting for the October 16th update to be released before sending out an "all friends" alert but seems that Oracle is not concerned enough to fix this vulnerability in Java until they release the Feburary update.

So my advice to all, is disable Java plugins in your browsers. Not javascript, just the Java Add-ons/Plugins. Apple has already dropped Java from its browsers because of this vunerability. I have disabled it in both Firefox and Chrome on our two computers. In the case of Internet Explorer, stop using it altogether since you can't disable Java completely in it.

In Firefox, for the most part regardless of version, the Addons manager can be access through the Tools menu at the top of the browser. For Chrome, it was a bit more complicated to find at first but I have the shortcut for you. When you open the Chrome browers, just paste chrome://plugins/ into the address bar and you will be taken directly to the Plugins page where you can disable the Java plugins.

Hope this helps everyone!
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Five Years Ago on In My Words...Chase At Home

Posting From Phone

Figured out today that I could post to my blog from my phone via MMS without having to disclose my phone number.

Hope this gives me an option for posting when I am not on a computer or near WiFi.

Just have to deal with the phone service ads until I can edit the post (which I just did).
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Three Years Ago on In My Words...Amazing Colors

Fall Is Here

Yesterday evening was the first time this year I have felt Fall in the air.

Everyone, from family to the media, has been saying "Fall is here" for weeks but I refused to believe it. I wanted to hold onto summer for just a bit longer. The evenings were cool but the days were still warming up enough for shorts and flipflops so I was taking advantage of the late summer. I even managed to sit in the sun on the deck a couple of times last week.

But this all changed yesterday evening. I am not sure what it was exactly but perhaps the clouds moving in and the extra coolness as I was climbing the porch steps did it. I remember as a kid always being completely aware of the day the season changed for me, so I shouldn't be surprised it happened again. I did manage to wear flipflops and shorts today so it is still warm during the day but right now I am sitting here still wearing shorts but have a sweatshirt and socks on as well. I imagine my days of lounging around the house in sweat shorts are soon to be over and I will be breaking out the long black yoga pants instead.

This change in the weather also is lighting a fire under me for accomplishing a few Fall things that need to be done along with some that just want to be done (like decorating for Halloween). Some of the yard stuff has to wait until winter sets in, but there are definitely some "outside" projects I would like to finish up before it gets too cold or wet but that is a story for another blog...LOL.

I have been fighting a bug for a week or so....it is just hovering in my head but not taking hold (thank goodness). So I have been zincing and drinking Vit C but this new change in weather perception makes having soup and tea even more appealing. I need to stock up on a couple of my favorite clear Asian style soups...nothing like green onion or egg drop soup to warm you right up.
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Seven Years Ago on In My Words...It's Here

Some Maru Cuteness

This is exactly how Chase was when I would trim her nails...both front and back feet. So trusting and unbothered...


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Five Years Ago on In My Words...Packing Tape Monster

Big Fish

They were having a sale over the weekend...and I managed to get three new games, three free games, and filled a punch card which means another free game. I have already played one of them, and plan to make time for more. I have been really bad at time management the last few months and I need to get it together.

I want to see improvement in my body, in my house and in my job situation...and there is nothing stopping me on any of those accounts but me. At the end of the month, I have a short trip to see family in another part of the US and then it is back to the hard core job hunt. The body and house stuff will get tackled even before that. Getting on the plan is the hardest part...once I get going, I am usually pretty good about staying on task.

I did start a new scarf (feeling like I needed some kind of creative outlet) and I am almost done with it. It is going to be cute and I have yarn for a different one as well. I am reading pretty much every day (which is super important to me) via the Nook at night before hitting the hay. I have also been able to do some volunteering on Google, which was being neglected for a bit.

So besides getting on the plan, singing, more writing, geocaching and studying for my computer test are on the list...time management is key.
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Four Years Ago on In My Words...Halloween Decor

Productive Day

Today was a decent day. Haven't had a lot of those lately so this was a nice surprise. Managed to knock a bunch of stuff out without finding out during the course of it that something else was wrong or broken.

Took the truck in to find out about getting the tires rotated and turns out since I bought the tires from the same company, rotations are free...I had them check the brakes since I have been hearing a squeal during a slow stop. Brakes are okay for now. Back ones will need to be done soon but not immediately (which is good since I don't really have the cash to do them right this minute). I am sure the backs are worse than the fronts because of the stupid ebrake issues I had with it last year. Anyhow, they said that even though I was over due on the rotation, the tires were wearing evenly and that the suspension looked good. They said the squeal is from the dry air and dust. It was nice to not have bad news.

Went to the paint store to recycle some old paint while I was waiting for the truck to get done, and found a few a sample cards to stare at for a bit, since we are not going to be painting anything anytime soon...lol. We do want to paint some things eventually but it isn't high on the priority list.

Stopped at the hardware store to recycle some alkaline batteries and got to talking with the electrician there and got a ton of great info. Found out I can still get the little clips for the pool pump timer so that task everyday will be minimized, which is nice since the pumps will need to run all winter. Managed to come home and figure out how to make the pool light come on, yeah!!! Then immediately took the switch apart since it needs to be replaced. You have no idea how excited I was to see that light come on though.

Potted three bamboos this morning and they all look great in their new pots and new locations. Also finally got two small lavendars put in a new pot for the front balcony. I'll post pics when I get them on the blog for the house.

Have a bit of running around tomorrow morning before an appt and of course still have a million more things on the To Do list (as usual), but at least there are a few less.
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Five Years Ago on In My Words...Coming Along

Maru Strikes Again

This is new Maru...somehow, he just doesn't seem that satisfied with this less compact version...

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Five Years Ago on In My Words...House
So weird that it was five years ago...feels just like yesterday!!

Help Forum Time

I managed to get some time logged on the Blogger Help Forum today. It is the first time in a long time that I have had the time to sit down and concentrate on it in a while. It felt good to feel like I was helping someone.

It looks like we are going to be switching permanently to the new User Interface. I have not been a fan of the new interface, in fact still do not use it, but it looks like they might have addressed some of the major things we brought up in the past so I hope it won't be too painful of a transition. I expect that the Help Forum will be very busy that day though...

This is really the first time in a long time I have been able to spend any kind of time on my computer...kind of a nice change. I need to get some updates done on all the blogs and on both my systems...and of course backups done. Always do your backups people...you won't regret it.
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Seven Years Ago on In My Words...Blogger Comment Problems

Typhoon Bolaven

Looks like this one is going to be a straight hit...haven't had one like that in a while. We had SuperTyphoon Saomai that hit a week after we arrived on island in 2000, but we were still living in a hotel at that time and it was more exciting than anything else. I actually went up the outside stairwell so I could get footage of it.

I feel for my friends that are still there, waiting this one out. Hopefully it won't get to SuperTyphoon strength, and they won't lose power or water. The island is built to handle these kinds of storms so I am not worried for anyone's life, as long as they stay away from the beach.

Hunker down friends, and we'll see you on the other side.
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Five Years Ago on In My Words...Now Super Typhoon Wipha

MCP Project August

These are my submissions (so far) for the MCP Project August Challenges. I was able to complete two of the challenges without too much trouble, but need to focus if I am going to get the next two done in time.

This was for Challenge #2 which was to take an image that reflects Sports of some kind in honor of the 2012 Olympics. Walking has been glorious recently, especially with all the visiting family. I couldn't help but step back and get this shot of everyone. I used a filter script in GIMP 2.6 to border and sepia this image after I had already done a color and light auto balance.

This was Challenge #4 for the month and it too was pretty easy to do. We had to capture Gold in our image. I had this great macro from the same walking trail in the previous image and the gold in it just stood out. This challenge was also in honor of the Olympics this year. I kept waiting for a breeze to come and change the shape and look of these guys but it never happened and I am glad or I wouldn't have gotten the shot. I only did an auto balance and black fuzzy border in GIMP 2.6 to enhance this image. Once again, great morning light!
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Eleven Years Ago on In My Words...Seawall

Shutter Sisters For August

This is my submission for the month of August to the Shutter Sister's One Word Project. The word for the month is Elevate and I thought this tree nymph looking down on us from above was a great expression of that. The light was just gorgeous so I only did auto balance and then added a black fuzzy border in GIMP 2.6.
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Thirteen Years Ago on In My Words...Goodbye

Makita Rocks!

Loving the new cordless compact drill. Just got it and already in love!! This one comes in a holster (which I won't have to use since I won't be using it for work), and with an extra battery pack, and a case to store it in.
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Four Years Ago on In My Words...Chatan Summer Festival

Two Favorite Things

I was turned on to these cracker/cookies during ikebana classes I took the last few weeks of my time in Japan. Our sensei brought them and I was really surprised at how much I enjoyed them. I found these at an asian store I visited a few weeks ago and have been thrilled to have a packet of them (2) as a treat once in a while. I believe they are rice crackers and they are a mix of sweet and salty, and they don't make me feel too guilty.
I also found this green tea, which was another favorite of mine while living in Japan. I had to pay about 1 1/2 times as much for it than I would out of the machine on my street, but it was nice to have one bottle of it for memory's sake. Combined with my cracker/cookie this afternoon, it was a nice little taste trip down memory lane.
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Four Years Ago on In My Words...Musubi
Another one of my favorite snacks from Japan!

Reading Blog Update

I have been bad about knocking out the books over the last few months...but I do have the moving excuse. Anyhow, I updated my reading blog today with the June reading. Didn't even have any books to list for May, I think I started some but didn't finish them until June so they went into the June list.

I read almost every night before bed but lately, I have been so tired at night, that I only read for a few minutes before my eyes start to shut on me. I need to devote some hammock time during the day to some reading as well and that would get me back on the road. I am behind in my 50 book challenge for this year with Goodreads, so I really do need to get on the ball. Feel free to follow me on Goodreads if you want...there is a link to my profile on the sidebar.
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Six Years Ago on In My Words...The Culprit

Bad Blogger, I Know

I have been so busy lately, I can barely breathe...this is a good and bad thing at the same time. Bad part of it means I haven't had time to write or blog or exercise, and that sucks but the good part of it is that I have gotten tons of stuff done, and have been able to help out family as well.

I am slowly making way on a few different things I have on several different burners. I am trying to take things one day at a time so I don't get myself completely overwhelmed because it would be really easy to do that. The AC is working as it should and actually it is not needed today because we have a bit of overcast (which is a nice turn). The pool is working as it should (minus the problem with the solar panels), and that is great news because it would be nice to enjoy it at some point (and the solar panel should be an easy fix once I get the part and time). The unpacking is slowly happening, partly due to complications and partly due to other things taking priority but I hope to make a big dent in that today. There is still an issue of the sprinkler system with means I am continuing to water by hand or above ground sprinkler.

We still don't have floors in the rooms damaged by the water leak in May, and all those same rooms still need paint on the new drywall, but we can live with it for now. No laundry facilities for now, but Grandma lives near by. No vanity or sink in downstairs bathroom, but upstairs is complete so that works for now. Yard needs some serious attention, but that is a work in progress too. I have a blog about the house and the adventures it leads to, you can check it out at the Bamboo Lagoon if you want. I am still in the process of adding in old posts from when we first bought the house.

Anyhow, that is the gist of things going on in this part of the world.
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Seven Years Ago on In My Words...Carpet Freshener

Predator Quail

In the process of moving and due to a family emergency, there have been a lot of trips to my hometown area in the last six weeks. During that time, I have been able to see the transformation my aunt and mom are making at Grandma's house in terms of outside decor and construction.

They have been able to remove a raised bed that wasn't functional and move all the dirt to the other side of the house to fill in where it was needed. They have pavers, and plants and it is really starting to come together. Over Mother's Day weekend, new flowering plants were gained from purchases and gifts, and our bird friends started coming over for snacks.

Turns out that there is an entire flock of quail that seem to make the rounds each day throughout the neighborhood...and the flowering plants at Grandma's are just one of the stops at this time. One morning as we were getting ready to start on the To Do List for the day, we found this sweetie hanging out waiting for the coast to clear for landing near the closest flowers...
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Seven Years Ago on In My Words...Lights Out

Big Kitty Door

My friend has this wonderful cat that is rightly named "Big Kitty"...she lives up to this name, not in the way that Sissy, my other's friends cat did, but she definitely could lose some pounds. I saw this kitty door just for "larger" cats at Lowe's today and just couldn't pass up the opportunity to send a pic of it to my girlfriend and then post about it here...LOL.


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Three Years Ago on In My Words...15 Books

Newish Maru

Just makes me smile like riding the scrambler does!


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Four Years Ago on In My Words...Why Don't We?
I was just thinking about this today....makes so much sense!!

Bug From Hell

I haven't posted in a while, mostly due to the fact that I caught a nasty chest cold a few weeks ago and have not been able to function much other than the basics. It turned into bronchitis (which I have never had before) and I have now been coughing for 4 weeks.

Fortunately the antibiotics have knocked out most of it...at this point, the lungs are clearer but the urge to cough when breathing deep is still there. I can't really do anything remotely active without going into a complete coughing spasm. My upper ribs on both sides feel like they are out of place, however I am sure that the muscles are just pulled from the coughing.

I am hoping to be back at normal activities soon, to include exercise!
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Seven Years Ago on In My Words...10 Years Of Mishka

MCP Project April

These are my challenge submissions for the MCP Project for April. There is a fourth one but I am not sure if I will get it done in time.


This was Challenge #2 which was Bloom and at this time of year, it was harder to select one image from all the "blooming" image possibilities there were out there. I only did an auto correct for light and color, and then added the fuzzy border. The afternoon light was already so great and the flowers speak for themselves.


This second image is one that screams Spring in these here parts...growing up I would just zip my pinched fingers up the step and pop all the little blue balls off. I am sure my mom and Aunt just loved that...LOL. Anyhow, this one also had great afternoon light so I only did an auto correct to balance light and color and then added the fuzzy border. This is for Challenge #3, which was for a Shallow Depth of Field.


The sun peaking through these flowers was awesome and I couldn't help but take advantage of this challenge. This one falls under Challenge #4, Taking a Shot from Below. I tried not to let the sun into the lens itself because it would have wiped out all the detail in the flowers. I only did an auto correct for light and color balance and added the fuzzy border.
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Six Years Ago on In My Words...Utterly Ridiculous

Reading Blog Update

Here is my update for my reads in the month of March. Didn't get as much read as last month and definitely not that great of quality but am slowing knocking out some of the downloads to the Nook Color...
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Six Years Ago on In My Words...Golfing

Photo Projects for April

New month, new photo projects....for MCP Project we have the "challenge plan". For April we have the following four challenges:

* Challenge #1 – Illustrate the following in a photo: Showers/Wet
* Challenge #2 – Take a picture using a shallow depth of field
* Challenge #3 – Interpret the following in a photo: Blooming
* Challenge #4 – Get Low. Lie Down on the ground and shoot above

And for Shutter Sisters in April the words are: Sparkle and Shine.
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Seven Years Ago on In My Words...Me, Myself and I

Twelve Year Old BooBoos

Unbelievably, I fell down like a little girl the other day when we were hiking/geocaching...and I skinned my left knee through my jeans. It took two full doses of OxyClean to get the grass and blood stains out of my favorite pair of 501 jeans.

At first my ankle on my right leg hurt the most and I kind of just walked off the pain, not thinking anything about my left leg. Then at one point, we stopped during the walk and I thought I would check my leg. I pulled up my left pant leg and found that I was bloody and scraped underneath. When we got home, we did the whole first aid thing on it and now it has a nice shade of green added to the mix...

So I head back to workout class next week and I'll have a skinned knee to show off!
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Six Years Ago on In My Words...Getting There

Reading Blog Update

Updated my reading blog with February's books...check it out when you can and let me know if you like any of the books too!!
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Seven Years Ago on In My Words...Procrastination Has Taken Over

Shamrock Run 2012

This was my first 5K in quite some time...and I definitely felt it. Plan was for the whole family that was in town to come down to watch but it is such a huge race, that the traffic to get to it was horrible and my dad and his wife decided that they better head home. It was also drizzling out, which makes for a much worse spectator experience for anyone. So while the BIL found parking, my sis and I got out of the traffic jammed car and started heading to the start area. Time was tight so we had to move pretty quick.

Once we got to the start area, I moved up to behind the runners but in front of the strollers and most of those that were walking. This route started out similar to the one we did for First Run in 2011 but then turned and had a long slow gradual upgrade before turning again back towards the start area.

As I said before, this was a big race...I think 35000 people total (split between the 5K, 10K, and 15K) so besides the massive amount of traffic, there was a lot of activities after the event and lots of participants dress up. I don't wear my race shirts until after I have completed the race, so I wore my green Google running shirt instead. I also wore some green beads and a head band with shamrocks on it.

The route was tough but I enjoyed the scene with so many runners (biggest race for me so far) and everyone having such a good time. There were even a couple of Guiness glasses running along (and I am not sure how they kept from overheating in those costumes). Overall it was a fantastic experience and I would love to the do the race again in the future.
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Two Years Ago on In My Words...Car Crash

MCP Project March Part II

These are my submissions for the other two challenges in the MCP Project for March. They are for Challenges #4 and #1, which are Macro and From Above, respectively.



The afternoon light was so awesome, so on this one I only did a balance for light and color and then added the fuzzy border.



This one too...great afternoon light just like on the grouping I did for the Shutter Sisters project. I did the same balance of color and light and added the fuzzy border as the first picture.
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Three Years Ago on In My Words...Observations

Shutter Sisters for March

This is my submission for the month of March to the Shutter Sisters One Word Project. The word of the month is Gather and I thought this little grouping of the first signs of spring were perfect. I took this in beautiful afternoon light so I only did a color and light balance and added a fuzzy border.
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Four Years Ago on In My Words...Snail

Silent Secretary Project

I haven't posted about this here, but I am working on a project to transcribe my great great grandmother's journals (the ones that I have) onto a blog called A Silent Secretary. I named it this because that is what the diary books she wrote in are called. The blog used to be on Blogger but I had to move it to Wordpress in order to get the dates to work the way I wanted. Anyhow, I try to get a week or so transcribed over each time I work on it so I can get it all up there quickly.

So today, I decided I was going to get at least a week done (I actually ended up doing three weeks). I came to the end of a month and realized that the diary has a little section of info at the beginning of each month that is kind of cool. So I went back and added the little info sections in to each of the months I have completed so far. In the process of this, I realized that there were little mottos and/or quotes at the top of each page, so I went back through all the entries (over 100 so far) and added the little mottos/quotes in.

It took a lot of work but I am pleased with the additions and I hope the readers of the journals are too!! Please check out the beginning of each month for the new info.
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Five Years Ago on In My Words...Lunar Eclipse

MCP Project March

So these are my first two submissions for the March challenges on MCP. These are for Challenge #2 and #3 which are Natural Light and "Transition", respectively. I am going to see if I can get the other two challenges in as well, but I couldn't find the opportunity for them today.


On this one, I did an auto correct for light and color, and then in GIMP, I bumped the brightness a bit, bumped the green and blue hues a bit, and added the fuzzy border. I loved this little flower sitting all by itself and the detail in the petals.


On this one, I loved that the blooms weren't all open yet and the color went from white to green. The afternoon light was great too! I did auto correct for light and color, and then in GIMP, I bumped the brightness, bumped the green hues, and added the fuzzy border.
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Six Years Ago on In My Words...Nice and Easy

$1 Million Lotto Winner Continues To Collect Food Stamps

All I can say is WOW! How does this happen? How does she even qualify her actions? I have to wonder if there is enough brain power here to even sustain human life...now she is all over the national news...no hiding from that!
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Seven Years Ago on In My Words...Parking Peeve

MCP Change Up

So I was checking into my photo projects to find out what the theme words are going to be for the month and found out that MCP's Project 12 has changed to a monthly challenge format with several challenges to promote a bit more photo taking. I am excited about this....will give me a bit more flexibility since I already have the Shutter Sister's project that is a "once a month" thing based on a theme word.

Another change is that the images are going to be back on Flickr instead of hosted at our own blogs or third party sites. I am glad for this in some ways because it is easier for me to just have both projects on Flickr, but I also liked the traffic I was getting to my blog from the project as well so....

Last month's theme for both projects was Leap and I just couldn't come up with anything...I am hoping that this new format will motivate me to take a few more pics this month.
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Last Year on In My Words...Elmer Byrd 1911-2011
It has been almost a year since my grandfather died.

Books Can Commit Suicide Too

I saw this image ages ago on Pinterest and thought it was hilarious, and then after hearing a segment on NPR about how a study was done that actually showed that viewers were not as smart after watching the show as they were before, I just had to find the image again so I could share it...

According to the research I have been able to find, the image was part of a PSA that Random House was promoting last year.
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Seven Years Ago on In My Words...Art Dilemma

Popcorn Math

Okay...I know I didn't stick with my math major in college in favor of switching to biology but I am pretty sure the math here doesn't "add" up. According to the top of the label each bag makes 12.5 cups, and a serving is 5 cups popped, but then in the lower section, where it refers to calories, it says that a serving size is 1 cup popped....so which is it? This would seem to indicate to me that the actual calorie intake of a serving size is 100 calories if you only eat about 1/2 a bag. This of course is still super small...I just think it is funny to see the discrepency on what is by law supposed to be an accurate label.

I found this error on all the different microwave popcorn I found so it is "industry-wide". My theory is that the law regarding the labels really only applies to the item in its uncooked state and since they have no idea exactly how much popcorn will be popped out of any given bag with any given microwave, they have to estimate that part and are not held to the law. It still is fun however to make fun of the label...
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Three Years Ago on In My Words...Peek-Boo
Definitely missing our furry friend...

Pub Table Balance

Went out to a pub the other night and while coming back from the restroom, I noticed that there was a pile of coasters on the floor....at closer examination, it seems they were being used to balance a table. I just couldn't pass up the photo opportunity...
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Four Years Ago on In My Words...Toenail Woes

Contagion

Just watched this movie on disc from Netflix....can I say, I will not be touching my face as much and will be upping my sanitizer use in the next few days...LOL.

I thought it was pretty good...really opens your eyes to how fragile the human system is, and how quickly something like this could spread.

They talk about Kowloon being the most densely populated place in the world (we stayed in Kowloon when we visited Hong Kong), and they also reference the casinos in Macau, another place we visited. That was kind of cool.
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Four Years Ago on In My Words...My Soup

Off To The Gym

So, today I am back at the circuit class...which is awesome because not only do I desparately need the endorphins, I need the motivation to get back on the exercise routine. I haven't been eating badly at all, but I know that the exercise is key for my piece of mind. I have a race in less than a month too, so I really need to get some training in, even though a 5K is not that long of a run.

I have been slowly working on other projects which is good, but I think when I am getting regular exercise, I am even better at knocking out the To Do list.
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Six Years Ago on In My Words...New Digs

Google's Valentine Doodle

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Seven Years Ago on In My Words...Squirrels, Squirrels, Squirrels

Reading Blog Update

I was able to get my reading blog updated with my reads from January and also created the year end for 2011. Check it out if you have time!!
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Four Years Ago on In My Words...Ebi Filet

Healing

My leg is getting better. The heat and ice thing has really sped up the process and I know this, but for some reason refuse to follow it at first any time I hurt a muscle. I am not sure what is wrong with me on that regard...LOL.

I am hoping to exercise a bit tomorrow, probably just a short flat walk (maybe at the track), and then work back up to things. I have circuit class on Tuesday and I plan to go, but will take it easy on the leg stuff so I don't reinjure it. I am looking forward to getting back to full capacity so I can run in a 5K in March.
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Six Years Ago on In My Words...High School Meme

Frustration

Somehow, this past week, I pulled the quad in my left leg. Problem is, I don't know when I did it, and it probably wouldn't have been as bad as it has been, if I had started doing the right thing about it right off. At first, I thought it was my hipflexor and it was spasming/cramping everytime I put any weight on it, so I tried to stay off it and when I did have to walk, I would modify my gait or stance (which comes with its own host of problems). My back started hurting because I was holding my leg up off the floor.

Super Bowl Food

We had the best food for the Superbowl... homemade guacamole, queso and buffalo wings. Top that with some good beer and a fun game and you have a pretty decent afternoon.

I didn't get a shot of the buffalo wings, but I am having some of the leftovers for dinner tonight. They were awesome, and my BIL did a great job of grilling and saucing them up.

I am actually getting hungry writing this and it is making the job of coming up with anything else to say very difficult.
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Three Years Ago on In My Words...Happy Endings

Update Fail

So, I guess in December Barnes and Noble came out with an update to the OS on the Nook color...you could go to their site and connect your Nook and download it manually (which a lot of people complained didn't work that well), or you could just wait and it would update itself when you were connected to a WiFi spot. My Nook Color is on the WiFi network I set up, but no matter what I did (short of manually downloading it), nothing seemed to trigger it to update.