Queen of the Universe

Seriously peeps...

2011-08-13T19:08:00.000-05:00

I am not here anymore, I am over here:

http://www.qoftu.com/

Time to change your linky dos!

Alrighty then!

2011-06-24T12:42:00.002-05:00

So the new place is up...still under construction but working as of now. If you landed here, go over there and check it out. I will have more loveliness to put up as I chug along...:)

www.qoftu.com

Catastrophic #FAIL or Why Texas Weather Hates Me

2011-06-14T21:23:00.000-05:00

if you look closely, you can see the bug who met his maker after eatting all my leaves

Admitedly, it has been a crazy weather season. I think anyone who may watch television any where could say this year has already been nuts. This has wreaked havoc with the Beekman seeds I planted. While my onions and potatoes have done well (except for in this picture where you can see a nasty fat catapiller stripping the leaves) but in the bins further out, the Beekman seeds, well, they got the hell beat out of them. We, for several odd weeks, alternated between ridiculous hail storms out of no where, then tornados, culminating in a storm that combined the two. The first four seeds planted, grew to various heights and one by one died a glorious death. Only the French Breakfast radishes eeked out tiny little bubbles of what they could grow to be...sad indeed.

Now we are facing record breaking temperatures and severe drought. I am debating planting the next four batches. We have been trying to move for some time to a more moderate climate and lately, there is finally a bit of action on that effort so I may hold off. Surely there is some where on the planet thats not over 95 degrees everyday?

For next year, regardless of where I am, I know I will need some sort of shelter, even if temporary to keep them safe. So the experiment continues!

I Am Partial to the Fifth

2011-06-10T18:57:00.000-05:00

This is brilliant. The End.

Happy June!

2011-06-01T07:39:00.001-05:00

Cutest Cat Twins in the Universe

This is the official anniversary of my time here on Blogger. It has been a long strange trip these past three years for sure. I am hoping this month that the great nuggets from this blog are archived in my Volume 1 over on Blurb.com and then I will be moving to QofTU.com. I am shivering with antici...pation. I hope you move over there with me and I am working on all sorts of odds and ends to make that experience so much richer. Forever grateful that some of you tend to stick around. You rock.

I am a Millionaire...again!

2011-05-28T08:43:00.001-05:00

For some unexplained reason, I am still surprised when I get these kind of SPAM scam emails. I assume because of the failing economy over the past two years, these have increased and it seems the Yahoo filters don't stop them. ANNOYING. At any rate, its just amusing to me that they keep trying and in case you want to collect the cashier's check for me, here is your chance:

FYI

I have been waiting for you to pick up your Cashier Check of $1,759,000 USD (ONE MILLION SEVEN HUNDRED AND FIFTY NINE US DOLLARS) before I leave the Federal Republic of Nigeria, but you did not show up as I did not hear from you. I am writing to inform you that I have deposited your cashier check with UNITED PARCEL SERVICE there in Nigeria.

For your information, I'm now in Dubai to resume my new job offer and will not go back to Nigeria till next year. Please you have to contact the United Parcel Service of Nigeria to know when they will deliver your package to your resident address in your country.

Note that I have paid for the security keeping fee. The only money you will have to pay is the shipping/handling fee which only cost $95.00 US Dollars to receive your check parcel as agreed with them.

Please contact the company with their below details:

Name: Abu Richard
Tel: +2348181477003
E-mail: ups-express.ng@rdwang.com

Thanks for your attention.

O'Hagan Ceila

Should you decide to collect my cashiers check for me, I would be happy to split it with you minus the security fee. That seems fair to me, right? LOL

Dallas Comic Con 2011

2011-05-23T08:42:00.000-05:00

My favorite thing ever from Halo

WOW is the only appropriate word to describe the feeling walking into this years DCC. Living in a household decidedly on the geeky side, it is surprising that we have not attended one previously. I have long lusted after the potential of heading to San Diego one year, but this was a nice substitution for a few hours.

Little Monkey has oft requested a trip to a comic store over the past year and expressed her desire to start a series and collect on her own. Boy did she get a great start! She bought for her first book a Fantastic Four #44 The Gentleman's Name is Gorgon. She was pretty excited. After that, she met the great guys at Red 5 Comics and fell in love. These guys have a series called NeoZoic featuring a strong female lead (of which she bought the first series) and one called Atomic Robo (of which she got four) who is a robot created by Tesla to fight evil. I will say the issue in which he fights Edison's ghost is greatness. This morning, she burst out of her room, exclaiming:

"Mom! I was reading one of them last night and it was MADE JUST FOR ME! There is a character named Emma AND a dinosaur with GUNS! How cool is that?"

I think they have a fan...LOL The have a great app if you are interested in checking out first issues of their titles for free. You can locate it here at Comixology.

After that, Little Monkey scored the sketchbook and autograph of the great and wonderful Todd Nauck. He was quite kind to the 10 year old and that would make every geek mom happy. Little Monkey keeps drawing, writing and creating her comic strips so who knows where that will lead one day!

Mandatory Spock ears when entering DCC

Meet Joe Dalek

While Little Monkey was going comic crazy, Middle Monkey was loading up on all things Doctor Who. I have been a fan most of my teen to adult life. This is a habit I firmly planted in the minds of my children, mostly because they see me wrap up in my Tom Baker scarf every time its a little cold. They snagged the card for Kevin Leen from whom they intend to amazing purchase sketches from online. We bumped into The Brother Gromm and their Farbis Tardis that bordered on brilliant. Middle Monkey wanted to buy it. When meeting D. Wilborn from Urban Gallery, they commissioned sketches of the 11th Doctor which turned out great. He was incredibly kind to them and graciously provided two sketches for them of their beloved Matt Smith. (IMHO this should be Peter Davidson but what do I know?)

From the great and wonderful Oz, oops, I mean David Wilborn

Both girl monkeys loaded up on buttons from Kristin Hogan who was so sweet to my girls as well as Halo. As you see the first pic in this post is Halo's and too good to wait until the end. As a food geek and Doctor Who nerd, I can not imagine a more perfect combo in a piece than this. I am frame hunting today and this is going some where in my kitchen. I will throw shit out to make a space if I have to...she happens to be super cool as well. All in all, an awesome experience for the girls and them getting to witness kick ass girl power in action. Even Kman loaded up on Zombie t-shirts and Conan comics and I scored a Wonder Woman pendant (priorities right?).

Thank you so much Dallas Comic Con for making it such a great experience for girl nerds! There are a lot more of us out there than you think...:)

Consorting with the Dark Side

One person CAN make a difference

2011-05-11T11:17:00.000-05:00

I was watching TV this morning and again, energy company commercials are running trying to scare people into forcing elected officials into keeping subsidies in place. Seriously, people, get with it...an industry that posts BILLIONS in profits can afford to pay their taxes! Jobs won't be cut from it but if they do, I would be okay with it being this guy:

Chairman and CEO, EXXON MOBIL CORP (XOM), Headquarters: IRVING, TX

In 2010, R. W. Tillerson received $28,952,558 in total compensation. By comparison, the median worker made $33,190 in 2010. R. W. Tillerson made 872 times the median worker's pay.

Seriously, its time for Americans to be outraged. Click here and search for ANY of the corporations that operate here and see what they are paying the guy in charge and then explain to me why they can't pay taxes. I just don't believe it. Vote for candidates willing to end corporate welfare. This is a way to help our country by ending subsidies that could pay our debt! Tell a friend, write a letter to your Congressman, DO SOMETHING!

I submit a much better way of spending a tiny amount of money...feeding people:

The Comforts of Home

2011-05-02T10:17:00.001-05:00

Cross posted at Vet Voice and Daily Kos

I love my home. Although I wished I owned my own, no matter where I live, I make it my own. After years of living in large places, downsizing allowed me to choose only the things I love and cherish them. In today's society that thrives on reality television, I think the idea of this has diminshed a great deal. So many people need crisis as a distraction and things as comfort. I hope that people wake up this morning and look at this squarely in the face and recognize the shift that needs to occur, both in themselves and this country.

Last night, I received a call from my brother and I was instantly transported to a call from my sister on 9/11. Living in Hawaii at the time, I was not yet awake to have knowledge of the most horrific sight I have witnessed in all of my 42 years. That day, it took me eight hours to get in touch with my brother, who was to have been working in the Pentagon on a contract. I can not ever remember being more frightened in my life. My entire family worked in Federal or Local government buildings at the time and the lines to all of them were jammed. Waking up to another call, yet on the other side of the emotional spectrum, was surprising. I can honestly say, I never thought I would see this in my life time.

Most of my life I have lived as a military dependant and now, sharing my home with a combat disabled Veteran and former Gitmo guard, I have never more acutely aware of how much I love my home and its comforts. The love of my life lost much of his hearing, his ability to sleep at night and friends he worked along side. Outside of being an operator myself, I believe I am supremely aware of the sacrifices made by service members as well as the greatest asset we have; I am so grateful for our intellegence community and special ops groups. THIS is how you get something done. This is the best of the best and it is great to see when it works. I also am thankful that our Commander in Chief was willing to commit to the decision and its execution.

Too often Americans go through our lives, focused so narrowly that we do not do enough. I know I am not one of those. I work to feed and clothe the homeless, to help facilitate elections and educate the populations. I have given up days of my own to ensure fair and accessable elections, I write letters to members of government, corporations, and organizations. I say the things that other people are frightened of. One day I hope that in some small way, I inspire others to do the same. As impatient as I can be, I am not going to sit around waiting for that to happen. In the spirit of some peoples new found patriotism today, I ask you to do something, anything, to make your country a better place. If everyone would pitch in, even just an hour a week, we could restore our country to its former glory. This cannot happen without all of us. Stop relying on someone else to fix our economy/community/government. Do something. NOW.

Need a suggestion? Too easy:

Volunteer--Teens can get busy right now. Go to Do Something and sign up today!

GOTV--No matter your political party, you can help get people to the polls on Election Day. Just one day to volunteer is not a lot to ask. Contact your local Party office or Candidate of choice and tell them you want to participate in the GOTV events in your area.

Register to Vote--If you aren’t registered to vote, please do so now. As a grown up that lives in this country, there is really not an excuse for not being responsible enough to exercise your civic duty. If you still don’t, then please don’t complain. You sign away your rights to complain about any politicians when you decide not to elect responsible representation.

Give money--Not everyone has millions to give to charity, however did you know that 40 meals can be provided by a food bank on approximately a $10 donation? Each pay day, I find the extra $5 or $10 to give, even when times are so tight for us. There are many charities that could do so much even with such small amounts, find one in your area.

Teach--Change the world. You could be the teacher that inspires a child that cures a disease, develops cheap renewable energy or engineer’s world peace. It could happen.

Write a letter or Make a call--What is an issue that is important to you? It takes less than 20 minutes for most organizations to make a call or write a letter of support/complaint/request to legislators that can be influenced by their constituents. Many causes will have letters that auto-populate so that you don’t even have to write the text which takes less than 5 minutes. While it may seem trivial, even in 2011, this is how things get done. Don’t believe me? Ask the folks in Wisconsin who are slowly getting recall petitions filed against many of their state politicians. This started one signature at a time and now it’s in the thousands. Each one makes a difference. You can make a difference.

You already do stuff? You got this covered, you are on top of this? Consider sharing then with people that don’t. Information and education. We can change the world this way, I believe it!

Ch-ch-ch-check it out!

2011-04-24T06:20:00.000-05:00

My love for this can not be described but the shear number of stars in this video make me believe wholeheartedly in how awesome everyone thinks these guys are. I have missed them so! ENJOY!

Good Hair Perry

2011-04-23T07:21:00.000-05:00

My disdain for Repub Governors goes way back. This year, between failing to coming up with a solution to our education issues to now misusing his position to push a religious solution for wildfires burning out of control not far from me, I can say that I continue to be furious that we can not get people in this state to vote against him. I would very much like to win the lottery and move very far away from here.

Check out his latest move of utter stupidity HERE.

2011-04-22T19:04:00.000-05:00

I love this man. That is all.

eat local: CSA week 2

2011-04-20T06:25:00.002-05:00

nom nom nom

On my second week of CSA, the farmer brought to me:

U choy, Bok Choy, Pok Choy, Pole Beans, Parsley, Red onions, Tomatoes, Red Leaf Lettuce, Fingerling Potatoes, Squash, my Egg Share and I bought a Cantaloupe

It’s been a weird week. Because of the storms, they have had issues with any of the greens that normally would have been available and a large portion of this list, I would never have used. Nonetheless, we got busy. I failed to get the name of the squash but one of the volunteers told me that they are best used like cucumbers and boy was she right! I have used the mandolin to slice them for salads and some nights we have had them drizzled with balsamic vinegar…YUM. The parsley, tomatoes and one of the baby onions were used up in my favorite bucatini recipe from Rachel Ray that you can get here. The choys have freaked me out but at the suggestion from the CSA, we opted for grilling them. I took the baby bok choy and split them down the middle, rubbed them with garlic, sprinkled with salt and pepper drizzled with olive oil and threw them on the grill. I didn’t leave them on long and turned them back and forth frequently until the leaves just began to wilt. Pretty tasty business…some where in between celery and lettuce in taste and texture. I think I would actually use them again.

I feel like the Iron Chef and I am enjoying my cooking challenges. What are you cooking this week?

Guest Post: The Disaster

2011-04-18T10:02:00.000-05:00

This is a first for me so a big HUZZAH for the first guest post here. The author is quite serious about this "using the imagination" thingy and since this blog was started because of her, I feel an obligation to provide her a format whenever it tickles her fancy. I was quite surprised to find this waiting for me when I got home last night and have transcribed it here. Minus the auto correct, I will advise I have made no corrections for syntax, punctuation, etc. because, well, that just wouldn't be right. In case you haven't read her bio, the author is 10.

Enjoy!

The Disaster

I live on Cemetery Dr. It’s not the ideal place to live for a 10 year old girl. My street, I am the only kid on the street, the rest of the houses are abandoned it’s only me and my brother. My mom and dad are in the airforce we try and video chat with them every night, but something has been happening lately. They haven’t been video chatting with us but the sergeant has, he has been saying there are strange figures coming out of the mist and they are hovering figures over them and soldiers have been disappearing. He says our parents are still at the base but are very sick, and the sick soldiers have been the ones disappearing. He says blue lights have been coming from the mist and paralyzing the soldiers when they are well and they get sick, very sick. When I heard the news I started crying after we heard about mom and dad. Strange figures out of the mist started happening here in California, along with earthquakes, tornados and tsunamis, and this doesn’t make sense, SNOW. Strange figures, strange weather, what is happening to the world? I heard a “crash” slammed the window. “JASON,” I screamed. Jason came running into the room “What is that?” screamed Jason. “How am I supposed to know?” I exclaimed. He got shot with blue light from the strange figure. “I don’t know how to take care of you,” I said with tears running down my face. So I turned on the TV and tried to find any information but the TV wasn’t working now. The next thing you know, the computer isn’t working so I never find out what condition my parents are in. 5 years later, my dad walks through the door along with a broken arm and leg, with a crutch and says “I’m here.”

The End

Good Morning

2011-04-17T08:37:00.000-05:00

In greeting the sun,

I find my day begun,

It’s just as well.

Resolute in my plan,

Where previously I ran,

It’s just as well.

Do what I must,

My decisions I trust,

It’s just as well.

I know that I am okay,

My vision no longer gray,

It’s just as well.

eat local: CSA and Cooking

2011-04-12T21:32:00.007-05:00

This week was our first pick up from our CSA share. I wasn’t sure what to expect or how we would like it but overall I am mucho impressed. Aside from being a foodie and loving to cook with fresh stuff, I found the quality far better than the organic I buy in the store. I also calculated out how much we are spending and this came in as cheaper for us (a family of four). Definitely will be doing this again!

Bubble, bubble...

I have some pics to share and some ideas for what to do with the things we picked up. I love to cook so this isn’t a big deal for me but I recognize everyone needs some inspiration from time to time. My biggest piece of advice is it isn’t really that hard. Some things you get right, some things you mess up. I am constantly evaluating “how can this be better” when I eat. Don’t be afraid, branch out.

A pasta sauce is always a great place to add loads of veggies or use up some you may have over ripe or wilting in your "crisper" drawer. You also don't have to always make it from scratch. There are a couple of great canned sauces and a few jars of them that make acceptable bases for whatever you can dream up. For these meals I was looking for both fast and incorporating fresh ingredients. My leftover sauce became topping for home made pizza another day!

This was more tasty than I can describe!

TURKEY BOLOGNESE

One pound of ground turkey, browned

One jar of your favorite marinara (I love Mario Batalis!)

One red tomato, chopped

One yellow tomato, chopped

Two Tablespoons of chopped garlic (yes, I add extra to everything)

Through all of this in a pan, stir; simmer on low for 30 minutes with the lid on. Stir every couple of minutes. This can stay on as long as you need if you want to throw together a salad or finish a load of laundry. When you are ready to eat, heat water in another pot to boiling, adding a couple of teaspoons of EVOO and a pinch of salt to it. Once the water is at a good rolling boil, drop in the fresh pasta (bought a couple of packs at the pick up), stir to coat with the olive oil and boil for two minutes. Drain and plate. YUM! (Yes, it’s that easy)

Love the color of free range eggs!

OMELETTE

The secret to good omelets is one Tablespoon of cold water per egg you are using. Have anything you want to go on the inside chopped in advance (at this point I also put meat and veggie ingredients on a small plate in the microwave for 20 seconds to take the chill off from the fridge). Drizzle the pan with EVOO and let it heat up on medium for a bit. I pour in the beaten eggs when I can feel that the bottom of the pan is warm. You let this coat the pan, swirl it a bit and when it begins to look cooked around the edges, use a small spatula to pick up the edges. Once the omelet is released on the edges, shake the pan a bit and the entire piece should be able to slide back and forth because of the EVOO you put in. At this point, I break small holes with the spatula into the base and let the remaining runny egg fill these places so it will cook. Once it begins to look cooked BUT NOT DRY I put the contents on. Using the handle of the pan as a guide, place your meat/veggie/cheese combo along one side of the egg base. When this is done, use the spatula to gently fold over the empty side and cover the contents with it. Leave it in for a bit to heat/melt it through and slide it out on a plate. This also takes practice and if you want a super stuffed omelet, sometimes it breaks. This doesn’t matter because it’s tasty and you can use some extra bits of the stuffing to cover any tears. Eat up!

In progress, wild boar sausage and fresh made pasta

Finished product, weird color but SO tasty!

WILD BOAR ITALIAN SAUSAGE AND PESTO PASTA

Aside from being a hunter extraordinaire, my man tends to load things on the grill for me once or twice a week because he is awesome like that. I find if I have everything selected that I know I will use as ingredients during the week, the actual cooking during the week is faster AND gets done instead of reverting to the “eggs and toast anyone?” This week, he grilled 6 chicken breasts and 6 wild boar Italian sausages in advance. The chicken breasts were consumed with a great salad and I took two of the sausages to prepare with the pasta. For the sausage, I sliced these in circles and put them in a pan with a bit of EVOO on medium low with the lid on. Periodically, I flip the slices over. This allows them to heat through and get a crusty exterior while waiting on the pasta. I put on water in another pot to boiling, adding a couple of teaspoons of olive oil and a pinch of salt to it. Once the water is at a good rolling boil, drop in the fresh pasta, stir to coat with the olive oil and boil for two minutes. I grabbed two plates and divided the sausage between them, returning the skillet to the eye quickly. I used a pasta fork to pull the pasta from the boiling water and put it into the skillet with the drippings, adding about 2 Tablespoons of pasta water. I dropped in 3 Tablespoons of basil pesto (Whole Foods 365 brand is great to have in the fridge but you can make your own). Stir quickly here to incorporate the pasta water with the pesto and coat the noodles. I divided this between two plates and got to the eating part. This whole process was about 10 minutes since I had pre-cooked the sausage.

All in all, it was a great experience and I am looking forward to future boxes. This is just two days of stuff so I will have another post later with more stuff. I think this has made the eat well and in season thing MUCH easier. Find a CSA in your area and try it out. Remember, cooking is not about being perfect, it is about experimenting and learning about things you didn’t realize you could do! (And you can do it, I know you can!)

Enough Said

2011-04-10T07:25:00.000-05:00

Mr. Harvey Pants

The Soundtrack of My Life...So Far

2011-04-05T08:18:00.001-05:00

     It’s no secret that we are music people. Aside from all three monkeys playing instruments, Little Man and Little Monkey both are performers. I hope that in some measure, it is because music has always been a requirement in my house, whether in the car driving to the store or at home in full “clean the damn house” mode, there has always been something blaring for everyone to dance and sing their hearts out to. Recently, I was having a conversation with Middle Monkey about an old episode of Ally McBeal where it was discussed how everyone has a soundtrack song, something that defines them, their go-to melody but as much as I love music, and all types of it, there is no way I could pick just ONE song. Songs tend to define periods of my life…it seems impossible to pick just one. For that reason, I present the soundtrack of my life so far…

Bad Bad Leroy Brown (1973) My parents where music people in their youth. This is the first song that I can remember singing at the top of my lungs in the backseat of the car and getting in trouble because I said “damn town” in the lyrics. What can I say, I was a rebel early in my life. Later I would find that this was the anthem of the Redcoat Marching Band because of the line "junkyard dog"...I felt vindicated sitting next to Granddad in his seats in Sanford Stadium.

You Sexy Thing (1975)/Play That Funky Music (1976)/YMCA (1978) These songs began my life long love affair with funk music and disco. With Earth, Wind & Fire, The Bee Gees, and all things Village People, I learned that shaking my groove thing was something I loved to do. It also made roller skating pretty damn cool too.

Heartache Tonight (1979) This song is why I love all things Eagles. I was 11 and the cool teenager down the street (Angie) who drove a T-Top Trans Am told me every time she heard this on the radio, she knew she was going to get into trouble before the night was over. She was grounded from using her car often and had to take the bus so I knew this was both true and the greatest thing I had ever heard. Later in my life, many times I would use the same excuse when Rock Me Like A Hurricane came on.

Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough (1979) First album I every saved literally every piece of spare change I could find around the house until I had enough to go to the record store. This is the memory of Michael I retain, along with that of long gone record stores. I miss them both.

Rappers Delight (1979) My first pirated song. I would sit at the radio with an old school tape recorder, wait for it to come on and record it over and over again until I got the whole thing. I knew it backwards and forwards and still to this day, LOVE THIS SONG.

Black Out (1982)/Photograph (1983)/Shout At The Devil (1983) This started my Freshman year in high school and pretty much defined where I was headed for four years musically. While I still threw in Beastie Boys and Run DMC while rocking my fat laces, this is what I bought and these are the concerts I went to see. This music was particularly helpful in drowning out the family when you wanted to pretend they were not there...LOL IPods now make it much easier to use any music to do this.

Your Love (1986) Every time I hear "Josie's on a vacation far away..." I can't help but be transported. This album marked the beginning of me trying to figure out what being a grown up was. I am not sure I did very well at that but post-graduation, you do what you can with what you think you know.

Kiss (1987)/Brass Monkey (1987) Who doesn't love Prince and the Beastie Boys? These were my favorite getting ready to go out to the disco songs. Greatness.

Silent Lucidity (1990)/Jeremy (1992-video) These songs became significant because of my oldest two monkeys. One loved Silent Lucidity as a lullaby and Middle Monkey would have been named Jeremy if she had been born a boy. Two great and theatrical bands from the Seattle sound.

Come to My Window (1994)/Longview (1994)/Fly (1997)/Slide (1998)/Happy Day (1998) This string of albums represent a period in my life where I struggled to find my footing as an adult and make decisions solely based on what was best for my kids. I am not sure that they were always the correct decisions but it's what's made them what they are (and they are pretty damn awesome) so I will take it. (I don't care who you are, Johnny was smoking hot in that Slide video...:) To this day, Better Than Ezra remains one of my all time favorite bands and I continue to see them in concert at least once a year. As a side note, though its not the best recording, I put that video up for Happy Day because we were at that show. Middle Monkey texts me from the front row simply with "Happy Day!!!" As a mom who has tried to give my kids great musical experiences and positive songs to embrace, this made me very emotional...

Happy (2003)/Ugly Side (2003) Another of my all time favorite bands and I was sad to see Socialburn fall apart and Blue October not really regain the epic feeling generated with the History for Sale album. I cross my fingers on both. This marked a transformative and largely painful part of my life that lingered for another six years. Still looking for the sheet music for Ugly Side because that's a tattoo I am still waiting to get.

So What (2008) This is the anthem for my resergence. I think this was when I conceiously decided I was entitled to a great and glorious life. Many Pink songs have this feeling and she is one of my favorites.
Breathless (2008) Another great BTE song, these were lyrics I sent to a wonderful man. I felt I knew him my entire life (even though I was 19 when we first met) and to be reunited in our advanced age seemed impossible. Despite the odds, that broken soldier came back into my life and we are both much better for it. He was so touched by the lyrics that he went out to buy the album and we have been together ever since. It was a glorious day when I could take him to his first BTE show. This band continues to by my road trip music, my need-to-feel-better music and my in general go to band. Lucky for me, they have tons of material and all of it great!

Hot Chocolate (1970's) What goes around, comes around. I play Hot Chocolate's Greatest Hits in my car, open the sun roof, crank it up and make my kiddos sing at the top of their lungs with me. It feels good. Here is hoping the music and art of being silly rubs off on them. I would be so happy to hear, years later, one of them does the same with their kiddo in the car.

     While certainly not comprehensive, this is a list of those songs for which strong emotional responses are produced. They are so ingrained in my life, it is impossible to hear one and not be transported back to those times, both good and bad. Music is powerful in that way.

     If posed the same question, what's your soundtrack? Can you put it on just one song? I hope some of you have the same wonderful problem as I!

Dark Matter

2011-04-05T06:22:00.000-05:00

For you, I have this dark and grimy thing to reveal.

It floats and consumes me,

so quietly that I put my hands to ears to muffle the unbearable.

This place that hides the pain of my life so quietly I have put this away.

This place that bears the brunt of my screams.

This place that never lets me wander too far from its grip.

This dark, quiet, echo in the place where I sometimes hide.

I bring this to you for your help.

Your light.

I am frightened no longer of the dark and grimy thing

but of what happens when you see all of it

and I can no longer hide the pain from you.

Road Trips and Grown Ups

2011-03-30T21:14:00.001-05:00

Grandma's House

I got to go home this last week. It has been a while since I have visited and it is something that always makes me think, I want to move back to Georgia. Much like anyone who feels a connection to a place, it is really hard to put into words how it feels.

Valdosta State University

When Middle Monkey decided to go to college there, it was an even bigger deal. Now my desire to move is even greater than I could have anticipated. I scheduled a trip and her and I set out with for a visit to campus. I expected her to enjoy it but the level in which she did surprised even me. My old man processed the transition much like anything in his life, without barely a passing concern. Middle Monkey, however, has embraced this next chapter with a joie de vivre that even I could not have imagined. A couple of times during the tour, I placed my hand on her shoulder and asked if she was okay. Once I had to ask "Are you going to cry?" To which she quietly responded "I might." It was a beautiful day and a gorgeous campus. I too kept thinking "I want to live here!" I can only imagine how it feels to be her right now.

It was good to see Grandma, the azaleas and the furry babies. The sunshine was pretty spectacular too!

Uncle Sam

Today

2011-03-30T18:32:00.000-05:00

Today I exhale
I have no more worries
because my path is clear

Today I exhale
my mind turns from restless wander
to one of focused calm

Today I exhale
and breathe deep the wind
the light, the rain

Today I exhale
marrying my purpose
with my joy that fills my heart

Today I exhale
resolute in my path
and viewing happiness as a welcomed friend

Beekman Seeds, Week 2

2011-03-20T12:40:00.000-05:00

This past week, we finally got everything started for the garden with my Beekman heirloom seeds. Considering what it looked like before, I was happy how it turned out. Since we are in a rental and potentially moving this year, we wanted something portable that could go with us if we move. I also have not spent time learning to cultivate container gardens (other than herbs) but I have read so much lately of the ridiculously amazing things people are doing in small spaces. (A wonderful book that I found for a resource in making these things amazing is Gardening In No Time by Tessa Evelegh.)

We found these great bins at Costco that we altered by drilling drainage holes in the bottom. I put a layer of rock in the bottom to assist in drainage and then filled with dirt. Of course, I had some help:

Jack approves the dirt selection

Once everything met Jack’s approval, we planted four of the heirloom seed packets that were ready (carrots, turnips, spinach and radishes) as well as one bucket of garlic and onions and one of potatoes. Many moons ago when my boyfriend was a child, he described to me a manner of growing potatoes inside a stack of old tires. While it seems odd, the pinching off of some leaves and cover with dirt in multiple layers over time made a lot of sense. We are trying this in a container this year to see how it works.

I already have some sprouting and will put those pictures up next week. Have you planted something yet? It’s good for the soul, try it!

It does help if you have some help...even if that help is kind of
lazy for the most part. :)

Mango supervises the project

Have a great week everyone! Peace to you.

All Things HBO

2011-03-16T18:33:00.001-05:00

I can remember the first time I saw the letters "HBO" together and it actually meant something to me. It was the fall of 1981 and my parents had cable. The concept of cable didn’t really make sense to me and I was blissfully unconcerned. The TV was one of those big console monstrosities that ::gasp:: we had to crawl over and flip channels with a knob. It was awesome. Somehow that year I got to piece together Jaws and Orca for the first time and it continued to fuel a lifelong monster obsession that HBO still continues to satisfy.

I have not concealed the fact that I have become ridiculously attached to True Blood. I know you have heard this before here, here, and even here so I will not take up the space and time to annoy you with continued details except to say that it is slated to premiere June 12, 2011. WOOT!

This is the part of the post where I admit, I just don’t seem to ever get enough HBO. This year is the end of one of my FAVORITE shows, Big Love. I have watched every single episode in all these years, in the beginning because I just could not fathom how I could find it interesting or become involved in the story. I do not mind saying, HBO knocked me upside the head with that one, whew! I have been on the edge of my seat, all these years, watching how things unfold. It is one of the few shows I can say without question is just as good in its final stages as it was in the beginning. I share equally the love for Barb and watching her discover her life as the hate for Nicki. Oh, how I wished Nicki had left the family for the prosecutor…such a GREAT story line for a character I really have disliked (in this respect, Chloe is brilliant!). I will be so sad to see the last episode and my life will never be the same. I can only hope one day there is a movie so that we can really see where the Henrickson’s end up.

My newest and possibly my worst obsession to date is Game of Thrones. When I saw the first teaser over a year ago, I had a meltdown. The sets, the costumes, the language were music to my ears. This led me to a dangerous obsession to the great George R.R. Martin’s series that has resulted in the inability for me to read anything until I finish this series. I am on book four and book five comes out in July. I am just screwed; I may never read anything else. I swear it’s more addictive than the Harry Potter books. So sophisticated and elegant, I mean HBO cast the glorious Sean Bean as one of the main characters. Are you kidding me? My head might explode.

Game of Thrones debuts on April 17. If you haven’t read the books, get started. If you haven’t been to the blog, go here. Bow at the feet of HBO and tell them how great it is…you are going to just freak out when you get into the first couple of episodes…I promise. Check out the trailer here.

OMG.

I need to sit down and rest now. The thought of it is overwhelming.

Winter is coming bitches.

Spoiled Rotten

2011-03-09T06:54:00.000-06:00

Yes, she eats turkey burgers and sleeps on a heating pad. That's just rotten.

The Bad Mother

2011-03-06T10:28:00.002-06:00

Society is fickle. What most has amused me this recent news cycle is how fast we have gone from talking about the Tiger mom to Tiger blood.

While I have just a little to say about either, it has made me think about the way I parent. I will admit that I did not read Amy Chua’s book but also that I have no intention to. The sound bites the news has provided gives me enough information to sort out that I don’t care about the context; much of it seems, well, abusive. I really would not care how often my elementary age child forgot her mittens, locking her outside to stand in the cold so she would remember NEXT TIME just doesn’t seem right. It doesn’t matter to me if she was really nice just before this event or recognized her error just after and apologized, Amy is just mean. That is the kind of thing that will scar a child and as Bear will tell you, possibly physically as frost nip can set in FAST. Maybe the Tiger mom watches the temperature and only undertakes such extreme measures when it WON’T produce such results. Regardless, as I said, that’s mean and I don’t care how great your kids grow up to be.

The over saturation of Mr. Sheen as late has also saddened me but quite honestly, it has given me an opportunity to parent. See kids; see Mr. Sheen and how he is behaving? This is not normal. This is not something to aspire to. This is not a role model.

Mainly, in both examples, I have recognized that I have tried to raise my kids in a way that will make them functional adults. Don’t get me wrong, I have babied them when they needed, spoiled them unnecessarily but provided structure that children desperately need. So far, my children have managed to be relatively normal, without the rampant sex, drugs and rock and roll lifestyle that seems to be reflected in the media as appropriate for their age. It makes me laugh when I hear people complain about their kids not going to bed or sleep and how at 11 PM at night, they are begging and bribing to make that happen. Since I had my first child, quiet time has been strictly enforced. At 8 PM every night, the television and computers are to be turned off. When they were too little to read on their own, I would spend that time reading to them and as they learned, they read to me. Even as seniors in high school, the oldest still head to their rooms with the youngest. Sometimes they read or the older ones web surf but the intent is still the same, they are to be quiet as not to disturb their siblings. Having this kind of pattern in the house allowed them to adjust and calm down from a full day of playing and over stimulation. I have never had difficulty getting children to go to sleep because they understood that the routine of quiet time was intended to provide this. Now as they are older, occasionally on a Friday or Saturday night, they will stay in the living room later when we are doing family movie time, but not every time. This means at 8 PM, I also get my own quiet time to read or spend the time distressing from the day.

Having that kind of parenting philosophy, I have a hard time understanding the parents that freak out when their children start Kindergarten or go away to college. These are milestones to celebrate! Not once do these parents think of the burden they are placing on the child? If you are despondent and crying when a child does something that is supposed to be great for them, you are setting them up to feel that in some way they are responsible for your feelings/crying/sadness. I would be mortified if I put that kind of emotional baggage on my kids. Don’t get me wrong, I miss each and every one of them when they are not here but I also so carefully guard and cherish the time I get without them. You cannot parent so wholly that you forget who you are as a person. I think this is the greatest contributing factor to “empty nest syndrome” because people put so much into the children and make them the center of everything that they forget they are their own human beings.

It is sad really. There is a high rate of divorce at this time in life because I think there are parents who then blame the other one for how crappy they feel minus children in the home or they never cared to nurture the relationship with their spouse. This is a disservice to your children. As I said before, I have tried to raise my kids in a way that will make them functional adults. They should be able to do their own laundry. Mine each took over that responsibility for themselves between the ages of ten and twelve, which ever coincided with the age that they were tall enough to reach the controls and empty the washer. They also have known by the age of thirteen how to cook a few basic meals, scramble an egg, make a grilled cheese, an omelet, bake cookies or muffins, how to read a recipe and how to use coupons. Each saves their own money and knows how to calculate tax when purchasing items with cash. Frankly, I am constantly surprised and saddened when I hear of the college age kids that have no knowledge of how to do their laundry or iron. This tells me they had parents that continued to do their laundry and ironing until they were 18, really? How are you preparing a child to be an adult if you can’t teach them the basic skills they need to know to survive without you simply because you don’t want them to be without you?

My oldest is almost done with his freshman year of college and my middle child heads to college in August. I have seven more with the last one and then she heads out. I think that is exciting for them. I will miss being able to talk to them each day and being involved in their decision making processes but that is what helps them detach and grown up. Will they get everything right? NO. Did you? NO. Do I think I have prepared them as best as I can, YES. You don’t have to be a hard ass Tiger mom and you don’t have to be a push over either. My son went to college with a skillet, a cookbook or two and the knowledge of how to use them. He wields an iron better than I do and I am sure he still needs to clean his room but I don’t worry about that stuff. I taught him how to take care of himself. That is what a parent is supposed to do. Not belittle a child and make them into your own ideal and not to make them so dependant that they can’t function as an adult without you. I have a great sense of pride and joy in every single thing they do because some little part of every accomplishment is a foundation that I helped create. I look forward to the last one getting out and doing her own thing. That means I have even more time for books, great food, travels, movies and adventures yet to be written. I have hobbies and interests that have nothing to do with my kids or being a mom. I am grateful in that way that I have parented myself just as well. I do not feel less a person without them here. I am not depressed or worried that my life will be empty. Some people think this makes me a bad mother. But I believe I must rejoice in every single part of my life because it is mine, and I just happen to be a kick ass mom.

When all else fails, I remind myself that no matter how bad their decisions are so far, none of them are warlocks with fire breathing fists.

Go me!

The Good Life

2011-03-03T07:37:00.000-06:00

I hope I live my life as well as my cats. If I can be this happy, I have done something right!

Woo hoo, it's Oscar time!

2011-02-26T14:55:00.001-06:00

Woo hoo, my favorite time of the year! For our Oscar party this year, instead of our typical appetizer menu, we are opting for a full sit down menu on the fancy dishes (cue the applause and screams of delight from the girls). We are going with a deep fried Camembert served with raspberry preserves and hunks of crusty bread, followed by Cordon Bleu with an accompanying soup. YUM!

This year is probably the first one where there are a vast amount of nominated movies. I am on a self- imposed refusal to see Black Swan because, I will be honest, I hated Requiem for a Dream. I may pay to rent it on DVD just for Vincent Cassel because I adore him but I think it is sad that everyone just went crazy for Natalie (in part for her willingness to the lesbian route) and are sort of neglecting some of the other brilliance around. I think it is a foregone conclusion that she will win, but I will say I wish it was Jennifer from Winter’s Bone.

I think the decision to have James Franco and Anne Hathaway host is a good one. James has been putting many a tease out on Twitter and I am looking forward to seeing them together. I find both of them equal parts funny and very relatable.

One film I will recommend out of all of them that you decide to check out is Restrepo. I make no secret of my feelings about how desperately we need to get out of Afghanistan and this movie gives a good glimpse into what life is like on the ground for our service members. President Obama, I know you read my blog…considering the troubles we are having here in our country and that Afghanistan has repelled invaders for 100 years, please bring our troops home. They need a mental health break and our country needs the one billion spent there every four months. Thanks for listening.

Who are your favorites and why?

My New Favorite Action Star

2011-02-17T08:57:00.000-06:00

Woot! I was surprised I liked Taken so much. Not gonna lie, I am kinda stoked to see this one too.

The Commercialization of Everything

2011-02-09T11:23:00.004-06:00

Cross posted at Daily Kos

After a comment on last night’s Glee episode and multiple conversations on Facebook over the past few days, we began the conversation in our house about holidays. Sitting here, stuck at home again on another snow/ice day, I posed the question, “As Americans, don’t we commercialize everything?” While this debate started regarding pending Valentine’s Day plans, it actually translates into more holidays than not. What I always find amusing in these conversations is that the historical fact or original tradition is somehow pushed aside to allow a condemnation of a practice that, for the most part, we all participate in. I think the biggest difference in my home is that we tend toward making things for gifts and cards on a regular basis because I want my children growing up understanding the significance of each occasion. In that same spirit, they all each also learn the historical facts available regarding said celebrations. It is funny how when we get twisted about the “commercialization” we neglect the “factual inaccuracies” of the same days. While my church is part of the UCC, we embrace the culture and celebrations of all religions because many of us came to this church from being raised as something different altogether. Because of that, even though I am not Catholic, I celebrate Ash Wednesday and give up something for Lent. We discuss in class and service the real intention of this practice of sacrifice. I am glad my children understand this and have an opportunity for such enrichment. For example, in the last youth service trip Middle Monkey took part in, they went to Washington D.C. to participate in a seminar on responsible sex education and to lobby Congress on this. They were joined by students from all 50 states and multiple denominations. Part of this was them getting to participate in and receive instruction on a Passover Seder with the Jewish students. This was a very powerful experience for her, helping her understand the history of Israel, solidifying her own faith search and bonded her with her Jewish friends. I believe each holiday, whether it is our own or not, provides these opportunities for each of us.

Think of that for a moment. Instead of lamenting the commercialization, why not becomes an ambassador for the intent?

Below I will give you a couple of examples of the historical information, how this translates in my home and how, where applicable, it is handled at our church. If just one thing inspires you to think differently of a holiday or possibly approaching a church you may belong to about celebrating in an alternative manner, I believe it would go a long way to wipe out the ignorance that so permeates our society about not just these occasions but how we look upon each other.

Valentine’s Day – This is the holiday that started this discussion. February has long been a month to celebrate romance from the Middle Ages, to Roman times onward to the Victorian times in which Valentine’s became more elaborate. The History channel has a great discussion regarding these traditions here if you would like to read more. In our home, we bake sweets, make cards and write letters for our “sweethearts.” Often we celebrate for several days in advance, watching our favorite movies or reading our favorite poems. Last night we watched Baz Luhrmann’s masterpiece Romeo & Juliet. I never fail to feel so moved by phrases like:

I am eternally grateful that such love of L-O-V-E has been inspiration for many a great literary work.

Halloween – This is one I always find a bit humorous when I get into debates with “Christians” that feel this is a satanic practice. That is completely and utterly false. While there is some belief that pagans celebrated the harvest by dressing in costume to scare away “demons” that came out at the end of summer, Celtics fashioned it to a festival meaning the end of summer. A more complete list of how these festivals have evolved over the years is found here. Our church celebrates the children’s trick or treating on the 31st, followed by All Saints Day in which we honor those that have left us and then the third day of this celebration is Dia de Los Muertos in which the children decorate goblets that are placed on the altars for their ancestors. Living in an area rich in Hispanic culture, I am glad my children have grown up learning about this practice, understanding it and even celebrating with their friends. While my cookie decorating is coming along, I am not yet to the point of being able to create such interesting sugar confections but I keep working on it.

Christmas & Easter – I lump these together because they are both debated as over commercialized and factually inaccurate. These are two dates that are simply false on the Christian calendar. Chosen by Roman Emperors to forge bonds between Christians and Pagans, each were intended to blend the customs of both into festivals that would overlap. (similarly, the books of the Bible chosen by in a way that was thought to be most effective to control the Christians as well as incorporate some Pagan traditions, but I digress). While I do not advocate everything on this site, this gives a good breakdown of how these Pagan customs were written into scripture. [As a brief side note, the movie Agora does a great job of depicting how the hostility at this time between Pagans and Christians was tearing society apart all over the known world. In that context, you might be able to understand the reasoning behind what sometimes seems a ridiculous decision.]

Just as we know there is a great amount of anecdotal evidence to suggest December 25th was not in fact the birth of Christ, Easter is not the actual day of resurrection. Though as Christians we know that this holiday is calculated by the calendar (the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox) and is traditionally depicted with rabbits and eggs, we persist in complaining about its commercialization. These traditional icons provide the closest and most obvious evidence of their Pagan counterpart as a fertility holiday (I mean how many people really think about the Christmas tree as Pagan?). What I would love to see is Christian churches advocate the study of historical documents (likely existing in the Vatican archives) and find the closest proximity to the actual birth of Jesus as well as the actual date of his crucifixion (which would have been part of public record and by which the actual date of the resurrection could be extrapolated). I recognize this will never happen. Corporate America relies on the income these holidays provide and the religions on the world rely on these fixed dates to organize the activates of their congregation. Still, it does make me get a bit inflamed when the debate rages about the “War on Christmas” starts every year. I want to scream “how about a war on facts?” Our church celebrates in the traditional way but also celebrates the Advent and talks about the historical significance and political nature of the times around the birth of Christ. For Easter, they also discuss and honor the Passover and discuss the history of the persecution of this time. In our house, we honor the birth of Jesus by having birthday cake on Christmas Eve (since this is the time our church chooses to celebrate as well) and we talk about the original Christmas story. On Christmas, we sit around our tree, which we try to decorate with handmade ornaments and exchange gifts. Each year, some of these are handmade, some are for “knowledge” and some are for joy. That can take many forms but often the cards, tags and paper are homemade/recycled/repurposed, the “knowledge” takes the form of leather bound literary classics and music and then a few something’s for each individual specific to them. I shop all year so I don’t have to get caught up in the shopping frenzy and as I have discussed at length, I strive to do so without the financial burden it would leave behind.

I could continue; the green beer on St. Patrick’s Day, the hypocrisy of Columbus Day, the factual inaccuracies of Thanksgiving and the creation of Groundhog Day and its much celebrated pageantry. I know there are a number of these incidences that can be listed and quite a few folks who will be very upset with me for pointing them out.

So that it is not subverted in any way, I would like to specifically state that my point here is this: We are in control of how we celebrate our lives and honor our holidays. Instead of being upset of the commercialization of things, be a living example of the truth. Have your friends to your table to feast and share stories, laugh and appreciate each other. That can happen any time of year on any occasion or no particular reason. Yes! You should love your “sweetheart” each and every day, but is there anything wrong with taking time out after the hectic holiday season that precede it to spend special time to honor and renew that bond? Just as you hopefully would on an anniversary? While I hope everyone celebrates their love every single day, the fact is most people get caught up in the day to day grind too often. I take it as a time to put on the breaks and say “you are so special to me and I am so glad you spend your life with me.” If anything, I think the world could use a bit more of that in a world where precious gestures of peace and love seem to be fading.

Come on, who's with me?

“One fairer than my love? The all-seeing sun Ne'er saw her match since first the world begun."
(Act I Scene 2)

I Beekman, do you?

2011-02-07T08:03:00.001-06:00

Last year, we had the great good fortune to happen upon the Fabulous Beekman Boys on Planet Green. Often the discussion in our house has revolved around dreams of having a farm. While each of us have different reasons for wanting one, Little Monkey bases this decision on wanting four fainting goats she can name Ennie, Meanie, Miney, and Moe. No, I don't know why.

We spent our extra time catching all the episodes as they popped up on our DVR and laughing along with Josh at Brent's need to channel Martha Stewart (as so frequently I do) and became big fans of the diva on the farm, Polka Spot. When they guys announced that they were taking viewer questions for their holiday special, Little Monkey was quick to offer several for Polkie. I registered her once she narrowed it down but I didn't hear back from them and it eventually slipped to the back of my mind. Imagine our surprised when, as we are watching the holiday special, once the guys head to the barn to ask Polkie a question, we hear "Emma Harris from Arlington, Texas asks...". You would have thought Little Monkey had won the lottery. She recorded it and forced everyone visiting our house over the next two weeks to sit down and watch the holiday special with her. She called her dad (who lives out of state) to inform him of her celebrity status and was dismayed to learn he didn't even know there was a Planet Green nor who the Beekman Boys were (this resulted in him loosing a multitude of cool points with her). A visit to the farm is now on the family bucket list and once circumstances and finances change, I will be getting her there one way or another.

This year, the Beekman Boys have partnered with Williams Sonoma on a package of heirloom seeds and a community gardening project. Living in a rental with very little yard, we are relegated to a small, long space currently covered in ice and snow, but I couldn't turn Little Monkey down. She is very excited about growing plants and the idea of expanding from pots of herbs on the porch to raised beds with tasty edibles. I am excited to see her have so much fun learning about something that she can use when she has her own space to grow when she is older.

Site of future most awesome garden

I am by no means a master gardener so it will be interesting to see what I can do and what I can't with what I am given. If you are interested in joining us, you can still get your seeds and sign up. If you have a Twitter, I would recommend following along with the guys and all the action.

Happy planting!

So long and Good night...

2011-01-25T21:28:00.000-06:00

This past week was a long one that ended in us saying good bye to an old friend. Oddly enough, Halloween came to live with me when I lost a girl cat that looked just like her. When I saw her, I couldn't turn her down thinking that she would fill that space up that hurt so much when Ms. Callie died unexpectedly when in quarantine in Hawaii. That was a hard few days many moons ago. Who knew the cat afraid of garbage trucks would become an old friend. She managed to keep on going even at 12 and a half when her body just started to disagree with the decision. I knew she was sick so it gave us all a chance to discuss it but when she decided she wanted to get up and walk to where I stood on Friday but couldn't make it, I felt so much guilt for letting her stick around that long. Despite her steady weight loss over the past few months, she had a spirit that wanted to keep going. She never complained, she was never grumpy. If there was chicken or fish to be had, she was quick to get in the middle of where ever it was being served. Her old age did not diminish her desire to put her foot in my cereal bowl EVERY SINGLE TIME in case she would win that tug of war and a bowl for herself. She was vocal every morning, insisting that she was always first in line and thus should always get her treats first. Every morning at 5:30 AM, she waited at the bedroom door because the alarm went off and in case I hit snooze, she began to meow and remind me that we have a routine, we must get up.

Some of those things were pretty annoying coming from a cat, I am not going to lie. Some how each of those things became a piece and part of our lives any way. All these years later, now no one is crying at the door, I can't bear to get up at 5:30. No one is knocking over the trash looking for pieces of dinner. I eat my cereal in such a quiet peace that its almost too much to bear. Tuesdays and Thursdays are making me feel like hiding behind the dryer on impulse, every time I hear the garbage trucks.

I miss you Halloween. A lot more than I could have imagined I would. I appreciate all the years you took care of me when I needed it. You were a damn fine cat.

Eat Dinner

2011-01-06T10:06:00.000-06:00

Sounds simple right? I guess I am just a different kind of parent but its seems a no brainer. How will you know much about your kids or partner if you aren't sitting down with them for a meal at least occasionally? I am not unrealistic, people are busy, but when companies start movements to encourage family dinner, I have to ask, what the hell? Everyone is stressed, rushing, texting while driving, hurrying around like their heads are on fire. Is all that stuff that important? What are you teaching your kids if you are in a mode of constant rushing and stress? SIT DOWN.

A common complaint is "I can't cook." I don't believe that anyone has zero skills, but that can happen. Stop at the grocery store, pick up a rotisserie chicken, a bagged salad, a package of Hawaiian rolls and a gallon of ice tea/lemonade/milk. Go home, put it all on the table except the salad which does require opening all the packages and dumping in a bowl and mixing with tongs or a wooden spoon. Poof. Good food that took more time to pick up than put on the table. Certainly you can add to this by picking up a great bottle of wine, a bunch of flowers for a vase and cut fruit for dessert but I don't want to confuse you.

Have a few skills? If you are looking for the proper way to bake or cook something always go to Martha. While I have stacks and stacks of cookbooks and magazines, recipes printed and on cards, if I ever need to know the proper way to do something, Martha always has the answer. The difference between her instructions and just about everyone elses is that she explains the proper way to do it. She doesn't say "cook this" she gives you specific steps to follow. For anyone that is trying to learn skills, she is the best teacher. If you can boil water and will tolerate semi-homemade, this is one of my kids favorite things:

Chicken and Rice

1 can of Cream of Chicken Soup
2 cups of cooked rice (you can use any variety)
2 chopped, boiled chicken breasts or 2 cans of cooked chicken (found near the tuna)
1 Tablespoon of Lemon and Pepper seasoning

1. in the pot of cooked rice while hot, dump the soup, chicken, seasoning and stir until mixed through out

2. eat

Don't like Lemon Pepper? Easily you can just use ground pepper, or dill or even rosemary. This is where you can impress yourself when you gain confidence and switch stuff up. I keep boiled chicken breasts in the fridge because these can be used in a multitude of ways. Buy a bag in the grocery store frozen section, skinless boneless breasts are best but the boneless skinless chicken tender strips work as well if they are on sale. At home, heat a pot of water to almost boiling and put all the chicken in it. Once it starts boiling again, set your timer to 20 minutes. At the end of 20 minutes, drain and pack these in a container for your fridge. (This can help with time during the week if you do this on Sundays.) Add this dish with the above mentioned salad and rolls, or get crazy and nuke a can of green beans and corn to go with this and you have another meal ready in less than 20 minutes. (tip for canned veggies: rinse these well before cooking and it will improve the taste, add butter pats, salt and pepper with them in a bowl and nuke for two minutes. Yes, that easy)

Feeling like cooking more or learning more while doing that? Get a great book, definitely one or more by Martha but my current favorite is by Katie Lee and her book The Comfort Table. This book has great menus done for different occasions and are quick easy ways to have a great meal. I just made her after Thanksgiving menu and it was AWESOME. Oh, and why do you save the "nice stuff" for other people? You and your family are worth it. Take it out, celebrate your life, use cotton napkins and champagne flutes for sparkling water. It will make you smile. Trust me.

Take this time to be proud of what you do for one another. Give everyone a job so its done even quicker. TALK to one another. One of my favorite things to ask at the table is what was the best and worst thing that happened to you today? You will share in small victories and be able to talk through uncomfortable situations with your family, building their confidence and providing everyone with comfort and love. Who can't use that? A new question I have incorporated is one I just heard from Diana Sawyer, what interesting questions did you ask today? You will be surprised how much your kids and/or partner will tell you if you only ask. You may discover things you didn't know!

I am thankful that there is a movement to bring people back to the table, don't get me wrong, I just don't think we should ever have left. It is a rule in my house that we eat a minimum of one meal a day at the table with each other. Period. On days when everyone will be out in the afternoon/evening, that is breakfast, otherwise its always dinner. On family movie night, we may order a pizza to eat while we watch a movie but we do it together, hanging in the living room. Its just the way it is. It doesn't matter if there are after school activities and friends, we work around that and plan for eating together.

And no phones turned on or at the table. Period.

Slow down, stop the spinning out of control and see what it can do for your life. Eat dinner together.

Set Your Intentions for 2011

2010-12-31T11:06:00.001-06:00

It’s that time of year again and I am here to ask, have you set your intentions for 2011? I have talked about this before and have had a great deal of experience with how resolutions don’t work. I just don’t think it is the right way to create a change you are looking for. I mean, you will “try” to do better? I can hear Yoda telling me now, on some far off planet that there is no try, only do. Trying admits you might fail. My solution? Set intentions!

The great thing about intentions is that it’s almost like a continuing bucket list. I have some great adventures planned (the hike to Machu Picchu) and some little victories (finally learning to sew) and some in between (being back in graduate school). I made most of my Christmas decorations and gifts (which wasn’t planned) and started a letter writing project (which I have come to adore). This has helped me set myself on a path to actual accomplishment. While 2010 started with me despising a certain fitness celebrity, it is ended with me losing weight and setting a daily exercise goal. Am I perfect? No, but I am on the path to where I want to be. This year I set and met my intentions of learning to bake artisan breads, canning and pickling and reading more. As I start on my list for the next year, I am wondering, what are your intentions for 2011?

My intentions list for 2011:

I will learn to sew

I will learn to make pasta from scratch

I will learn basic cake decoration

I will visit Machu Picchu

I will further my study of meditation

I will complete my second NANOWRIMO

12 Letters Project

2010-12-16T17:15:00.000-06:00

*Might I plant a seed now? If you like the idea, consider writing a letter or two, even better, do so and click to share with your friends encouraging them to do the same. Just a tiny pebble in the lake can make a great many ripples.

This time of year, I always notice how frantic people seem. I don’t get it really because I am one of those plan ahead Martha Stewart-ish people that decide their holiday menu sometime in late September or early October. I plan my Christmas tree and cookie baking about that time and start loading my freezer with banana and pumpkin bread. I work all year on shopping using my free cash for gifts for the children so that I don’t have the stress of what to do at the last minute. Being a graduate student, this year, my budget was unusually restrictive. There are people that I would like to do things for but what I could afford would not be reflective of how I feel about them. After much thought, it occurred to me what to do one night watching people running in and out of the mall while they were looking so miserable (waiting for Middle Monkey to get off work gives me a lot of extra thinking time). What I most would like to give to people is gratitude. We have a serious lack of gratitude in society today. Every time I have to go somewhere inadvertently during rush hour, I am consistently surprised with all of the angry people on the road. It seems like its getting worse. It was echoed in my mall observation and then when I was nearly run down by an angry shopper welding a cart specifically aimed at my shins so she could get the last ham, I realized my mission. I have to fix this mess.

Interested? This is what I started this week. Choosing the Christmas theme, I decided this year for Christmas, I am delivering 12 letters of gratitude to people that have inspired me or taught me lessons over the years. If this is too much for you, you could do one letter a month; I am only asking that you consider the option. While I have started and mailed letters, if you are so pressed for time, you could theoretically email them. I say theoretically because I think you should put some thought into it and put it on paper because rarely does anyone use snail mail any more. I am keeping track of the ripple effect, both of the folks that decide to undertake their own letter writing and the unintended effect of what happens when a letter is received. I am not sure what every reaction will be but pretty sure that I will be documenting this on a new blog as this evolves as a creation of its own. Please consider sharing and definitely let me know if you do. ALSO, if you reach out to someone from your past and have an interesting experience you will share, please feel free to let me know at qoftu AT yahoo DOT com. I hope this gratitude gift gets carried on and I am hopeful for wonderful results for everyone. Now I am not stupid enough to think I can reach the entire world, but at least affect my little part of it. If so inclined, others could join in and then like that diagram of how fast STDs spread in sex education class, POOF, we collectively change the world.

My greatest wish for each of you this time of year is the unexpected happiness that just takes your breath away. May your new year be full of hope, peace and gratitude!

Sincerely,

The Queen

My Funky Tree

2010-12-02T08:21:00.000-06:00

While admittedly behind the norm for me in a holiday season, we finally got the tree up! I have used an artificial tree for much of the last ten years out of convenience and the quality of them has so drastically improved, however, while shopping at Whole Foods (possibly my favorite place in the ENTIRE world) we saw their selection of Frasier firs. If you have never used one but like live trees, I highly recommend them...the smell is superb and they hold ornaments quite well. Whole Foods is supporting a family farm with their effort and you gotta love that. Over the last five years, I have been doing a great deal of simplifying, so for this tree we opted to make a large portion of what would go on the tree. Our one rule that stays the same every year is that things from previous years must be repurposed/reused/recycled. What we don't use is either passed on to someone else I know that can use them or it is donated to Goodwill for someone to buy them while supporting a great charity. From last year, we kept the background of natural items consisting of grapevine garlands, pine cones, pecan garlands and various pieces of primitives to include rusted star garlands and rusted jingle bells. We also had filler bulbs that are chocolate brown and brown glitter snowflakes so that went on first with the twinkle lights. On top of that, we added knitted garlands by middle monkey in turquoise and orange and glass ornaments we got from Michael's. On these we painted the interiors with blue, orange, white and glitter paint. This is a super easy and cheap way to customize your tree! We added two beaded orange garland we scored at HomeGoods super cheap and constructed a topper from blue beaded picks we found at WalMart. Obviously, these are not item handmade items but they do look like it and add to the over all funky vibe of the tree. Underneath the tree, we added the two orange wool blankets we have collected from thrift stores and Army/Navy supply stores over the years.

Normally these spend the year in the baskets for the cats to sleep on but for Christmas they become our tree skirt. Previous to this incarnation, we did a Mardi Gras theme that was a ridiculous number of colors and this orange option underneath is a carry over from then. Though each blanket is different (one is a Danish Army officers blanket, they other knitted by someone and abandoned) it adds to the spirit of repurposing we believe in greatly. Here in our town, we will be able to recycle the tree at a drop point and pick up bags of mulch in exchange from others that did this last year. It makes me feel better that buying at Whole Foods, we got a tree from a family farm and it helps me feel like I am contributing directly to someone to keep their business rather than buying something faux from a big box retailer.

Middle monkey had some difficulty with the photographing...she is not a fan of twinkle lights because it is hard to get a picture with everything lit. Little monkey told her that she would get over it...in true little monkey form. We put on our fireplace DVD and listened to Christmas music in the library while putting everything together so we are all very much ready for present time! Now I just need to get shopping...

50463 FTW

2010-11-29T21:14:00.000-06:00

That is all. :)

DIY Done Right

2010-11-28T11:30:00.000-06:00

One of our favorite things to do, besides art projects is to decorate. Always having more ideas than money, this was one of those times to use both skills. After a long marathon session of 9 X Design episodes, we fell in love with Ann Carrington's work. While I am confident it will take winning the lottery to afford one of her pieces, the girls and I decided we were going to try an art project INSPIRED by the great and wonderful Ann. We started by taking a large piece of denim we already had from another project and used a bleach pen to do the outline of a peace sign. From there, using primarily vintage buttons from Ebay, we started (or rather I started) sewing buttons onto the fabric. This monster task illustrated to me why Ann has a great team...GEEZE it was time intensive. As days melted into weeks, we decided both to switch to various glues and add multi-media elements. My wonderful boyfriend added his carpentry skills by building a frame and stapling it on. When completed, there was actually a section of the project that represents each person in the house. We incorporated old keys, foreign and domestic money, political buttons and sheet music just to name a few things. Little Monkey (who is a great fan of Nate Berkus, as am I) decided this would also be a great I Spy piece and constructed a list of items and a key. Despite all the work, I think the finished product came out well.

Paired with lamps I scored on serious clearance at Target, a clearance bowl from Pier 1 and a ten dollar orange platter I found at Walmart it looks great. Both kitchen table are made from old doors. The white buffet table, one I scored in a Galveston Island junk shop for 35 bucks and the other, the former front screen door from my Grandparents house in the 70's. The legs came from Ikea (both sets on sale) and a local glass shop provided the tops. My chairs and bench on the other side I already had in a previous kitchen incarnation and I painted these from red to beige. Even the light fixture was a clearance item from Home Depot and the baskets under the white table, Longaberger that I purchased 10 years ago. They have served me well for the cost and have gone from living room toy catchers for little ones to comfy cat bed for our aging flock of furry babies. The vases/candle holders on the kitchen table are punch cups from a pottery punch bowl set from Thailand. Not too bad if I do say so myself!

I Would Change

2010-11-16T10:49:00.001-06:00

As I am still horribly ill, I decided to do a repost of something from a couple of years back. This spawned many a long conversation in our house. Since New Year is fast approaching and the thought of resolutions is in the air, I think this is a good place to start. Enjoy!

I WOULD CHANGE

*nothing about my life because it’s how I got where I am now. (but that being said...)

*the shape of my body so I could confidently walk, completely naked, into the street and think nothing of it. :)

*the color of the paint on my walls every six months if that were not horribly inconvenient.

*the time I lost away from old friends because they complete my life in so many ways.

*how easily I stop talking when I know that the thing I am about to say is likely going to hurt someone.

*the perception that I am uber-strong and confident all the time so that people will realize sometimes, I just need a hug.

*the fact that we live in a world where too many people are not afforded basic human rights, whether it due to famine, bigotry, homophobia, religious fundamentalism, our own government…

*the fact that children go to bed hungry in one of the wealthiest nations in the world.

*that I neglected to tell important people how much they meant to me when I had the chance.

BLECH

2010-11-12T16:13:00.002-06:00

I have a cold or sinus thingy and I feel AWFUL.

That is all.

It's Nano Time!

2010-11-07T20:48:00.003-06:00

Another year begins and so does another Nanowrimo project. While I tried (kind of) in 2008, this year was the year I decided I would beast this thing. I have tons of shorts I write in various genres and have expanded into short stories but I just keep thinking I have something else in me...hence the literary torture. So far, I am a bit behind where I wanted to be but this week affords me three days of 8 uninterrupted hours that I can capitalize on. Honestly, from a mom perspective, getting anything done over the weekend is a miracle so I am a happy camper. It is still not too late, come do the Nano dance with me!

WOW

2010-11-03T20:27:00.001-05:00

Seriously. I have no words for what happened last night. Best explanation I saw was as follows:

BorowitzReport

You know when a friend goes back to a shitty ex despite a million red flags? The country did that last night.

about 1 hour ago via web

Pray for the Lost

2010-10-23T07:37:00.001-05:00

today a prayer for family, friends and strangers

be with them whether they notice

comfort them whether they need it

angels, sinners and soldiers

doing the things they believe they must

without help, hope, love

happy, sad and angry

show them the light of honesty

the warmth in happiness

save, believe, dream

bring them inspiration

conquer their fear

Amen

START YOUR CHRISTMAS SHOPPING

2010-10-21T12:32:00.000-05:00

I am just getting to my Martha Stewart episodes on DVR for the past couple of days and this is a GREAT item. Triwa is a company out of Sweden and they have so many amazing colors and are affordable! Check them out...the minute I win the lotto, I am buying one in every color! Woot!

Today is a GOOD day

2010-10-21T08:42:00.001-05:00

A little cynical, politically incorrect funny for you today. Go out and make the world a better place today, I trust you to!

My Urban Flock

2010-10-16T16:23:00.002-05:00

Darby, 8 years old

We have kicked around the idea of housing

an urban flock, sometime in

the next couple of years, primarily because

we use a ridiculous amount of

eggs. The secondary reason for that

is that the kids get some

responsibility for helping take care of the food they eat and we know what

kind of diet the chickens would have. Of course, this will likely

only happen when we no longer house our feline urban flock.

Halloween, 11 years old

Darby and Halloween are our oldest in the group and none too happy

when others arrived. Despite the sudden acquisition

of the badly abused and homeless Devil Cat (Masa), some

how everyone has figured out how to negotiate territory

and sometimes, just leave each other alone.

When I took her in, it was interesting to discover Masa was pregnant

and subsequently she tried to kill Darby. No, not

kidding here, threw him down a flight of stairs! To say it took

Darby a while to adjust is an

UNDERSTATEMENT. Enter Jack and Harvey,

twin boys to Masa that were to go to a family that later reneged, and

you have a house hold that is never short on drama.

Yes, sometimes its crazy but its home!

Jack, 4 years old

Harvey, 4 years old

Masa, 6 years old

Best of the Web

2010-10-15T09:14:00.002-05:00

It's been a while since I have done one of these so I am thinking "here you go." For those of you thinking "this isn't the best of the web" I say "suck it."

One of my favorite blogs for my daily dose of gratuitous violence, dish, all things vamp and more, I check in with True Blood Dallas on Twitter. Check out the blog as well for a posting on the potential new CBS show based on the Harris novels. True Blood continues to entertain so this should be interesting.

A long time fan and contributor to the big orange Daily Kos (I blog there as DFJtoo) I advocate their front page for a lively, daily conversation on all things political. While working as a progressive format, I am constantly surprised what a BIG TENT that involves. My favorites on the blog continue to be Bill in Portland Maine and DarkSyde. Go check them out, expand your thinking or hell, just start thinking.

I am a foodie. There, I said it. I am not sure this was a secret but there you go. It has gotten so bad, I volunteer at Central Market just to earn credits to turn around and take more classes. GOOP is making this much more difficult for me as I am now completely unable to stop printing recipes, cooking and trying new things. Check out Smitten Kitchen and Stay at Stove Dad that I found as a result of Ms. Paltrow. UGH. So much further down the rabbit hole now...

Now that gift giving season is upon us, I will reiterate my plan to purchase a large volume via Amazon.com with my gift cards earned with Opinion Outpost and Swagbucks. In times of economic hardship, this has allowed me so much more flexibility than I thought possible before. For more unique purchases, my top three sites (in no particular order) are Etsy, Think Geek, and Tanga. Etsy is amazing, handmade unique items for such great prices! Think Geek is pretty self explanatory. Whether you have a geek in your house or someone that just likes Family Guy, this is the site for you. Tanga, a recent find, has great daily deals but I go to them for the amazing deals on funny t-shirts. The one down side is if you want multiples, you have to place separate orders, but the ridiculously low price makes it completely worth it.

So there you go. Head out into your respective worlds and do great things. Peace out!

Eat local and Learn to Can!

2010-10-12T18:45:00.001-05:00

In our ever increasing quest to eat local, eat healthy AND on the cheap, we decided to check out a local only farmers market in our area and it was AH-mazing! the kids had a great time and we spent very little to come home with arm loads of tasty things.

I was lucky enough to win a canning book over at one of my favorite sites and quickly bookmarked a million things to try. I started with Peach Butter and Pickles (though not in the same jar)!

I will say, to get the right consistency took FOREVER, but man were we rewarded! This stuff is summer in a jar. This will definitely be something we make to give away as gifts.

*makes mental note to get busy for Christmas

The pickles were fun. Leave it to me to have NO IDEA there are a million different recipes for this. They turned out great but they are not the crispy Vlassics I am accustomed to. Also unknown to me until I started the process but to get this crispy pickle you have to put an additive in the mix. Since I was trying to do the local and organic thing, I opted not to do this. I guess I will have to decide next time if that is the way I will keep it. I think a pickle recipe without the additive would probably be better done as thick slices. But that just the foodie in me over thinking it...

Fun stuff! Think about finding a place in your area and try it!

Princess Emma turns 10

2010-09-07T14:58:00.001-05:00

Monkey just keeps growing and growing...it's just WEIRD. I keep thinking of her as the baby but truthfully, sometimes she says things that make me think that she is more mature than the rest of us. I was reminded today of the reason I started this blog and figured with school starting and her elevating to "intermediate" school, it was high time to celebrate! Here you go...have a FABULOUS week!

Emma Delaney and the Old Toad

In a very hot place, in a very tiny house, the Princess of frogs, toads and all creatures that hop was having a bit of a crisis. Emma tried very hard to be kind to all of the little hoppers in her kingdom, but admittedly, she was not a big fan of toads. They farted a lot and had bad breath, which according to her mom, the Queen of the Universe, were not very good manners. When going about her business this morning, Emma noticed that there was a slight ruckus in the hall closet that did not seem to be working itself out on its own. So, as ruler of all things that hop, she knew she had to do something. Emma stood at the door for a long time thinking she wished she could turn off her nose when there were bad smells around…this was NOT going to be good. Shortly after the last ‘bang’ and ‘crash’, she was joined at the door by Miss Halloween, Queen of all Actual Cats.

“Good morning Princess Emma.”

“Good morning Queen Halloween.”

“What seems to be happening in the hall closet here? It doesn’t sound good.”

“Well, Miss ‘weenie, I was just trying to decide what to do about it. You know that dealing with toads has, well, side effects.” Emma wrinkled up her nose to demonstrate.

“Yes, love, I know, but being the ruler of all hopping creatures, you are obligated to help in difficult situations. What can I do to assist?” Halloween purred.

“Any creative ideas for smell control?” Emma asked, pinching her nostrils closed.

Halloween sat back on her orange and black haunches and took off her backpack. She rummaged around with one paw until presenting Emma with two clothes pins.

“I have these left from my unfortunate meeting with the skunk clan of Pearland. They keep applying for honorary acceptance into the actual cat clan but they are, well, nothing like actual cats. It doesn’t make sense. Anyway, put one on your nose, it holds pretty tight.”

Emma gratefully accepted the temporary solution, put the clothes pin on her nose and looked back towards the door. The occasional ‘bang’ and ‘crash’ continued in the hall closet along with mumbling of some sort. It sounded like Old Toad’s language might be as bad as his breath. She looked over to see that Halloween had put on her clothes pin, righted her backpack and had given her the paws up sign that all was ok. Emma put her hand on the knob and turned ever so slowly and opened the door at the same rate. A huge, warm cloud floated out of the door. Although her mouth was covered, Emma thought it burned her eyes as much as it would her nose hairs and waved quickly to try to disperse it.

Halloween coughed. “Good grief little girl. This is some foul air for sure.”

“Yes, I agree. I need to look into better ventilation for the closet dwellers; this is not good, not good at all.”

Emma leaned her head in, squinting her eyes and tried to figure out what was going on. She saw little tiny houses on every shelf amongst the chenille bedspreads, cotton towels and comfy sheets. When she finally adjusted her eyes, she realized there was a hopping washcloth on the floor of the closet. This is the maker of the crashing noises. She leaned down to pick it up and saw, underneath, a befuddled and hopping mad Old Toad.

“For the love of all things brown and bumpy! Could not one good soul in this closet come to my aid?” He was breathing heavy and looked quite upset.

Emma sat on the floor in front of him. “Hello Mr. Toad. I am sorry you were having a hard time.” She looked amongst the shelves above to see every door and window buttoned up tight. “There doesn’t seem to be anyone about that could have helped. I heard your crashing from my room this morning so I came over to see what I could do.” She motioned to Miss Halloween at her side. “This is Miss ‘weenie, Queen of all Actual Cats. She graciously agreed to assist.”

Old Toad bowed to them both. “Thank you for rescuing me. I was making repairs to my roof, accidentally hit the stack of linens on the shelf above and down one came, like a trap. I have never been more frightened or embarrassed in my life.” He looked at her, over his spectacles, “Good grief girl, what is that on your nose?”

“It’s a clothes pin.”

“What’s it for?”

Emma looked up at Halloween and then back and Old Toad. “Well, it’s because you…well Mr. Toad, you are a bit smelly.”

Toad hopped up high, laughing as he went. “That I am child, that I am. I forget sometimes because I live with myself and I think my nose stopped smelling about the time I was 5 years old. I burnt out my smeller you know.”

“Smeller, that’s funny Toad.” Emma and Halloween laughed.

“How would you ladies like to join me for a cup of tea? I promise it tastes better than I smell!”

“We would love that Old Toad. Thank you for that generous offer.” Halloween said, giving Toad a curtsy.

Toad disappeared into his little house and after much banging, crashing and breaking came back outside to the front porch table with a tray of cookies, a pot of tea and a sweet pea blossom in a vase.

“My, my Toad. What a beautiful tray of treats!” Emma exclaimed.

“Only the best for royalty, my dear.”

Once he was done pouring, Miss ‘weenie, Queen of all Actual Cats and Miss Emma, ruler of all Frogs, Toads and creatures that Hop, picked up their tea filled thimbles and drank with Old Toad. Toad took a long time. Emma and Halloween were done quickly and moved on to the tiny button sized cookies.

“Toad, I am glad I came to see you today. You bake tasty little cookies.”

“Thank you Princess Emma. I am sorry you have to wear a clothes pin on your nose.”

“It’s okay. If you don’t mind, I would like to come by for tea more often.” Emma licked her fingers after she put the last sugar covered nugget in her mouth.

“I don’t mind at all. I don’t really have a lot of friends. Maybe I should pass out clothes pins?” Toad chuckled and held his belly while he laughed.

“Not a bad idea, Mr. Toad. I will also spread the word to my kingdom so that the traveling cats that come your way know you have time and tea for them all.” Halloween said in her most official sounding voice.

“Maybe I should open a Bed & Breakfast in the closet?” Toad pondered.

“Yes, but be sure they get their clothes pins in advance.” Emma said, laughing so hard until Halloween and Toad laughed with her too.

So the Princess, Queen and Old Toad giggled and gobbled and had a wonderful time. Sometimes it’s just better to take a chance. You will never know where you will find a friend, even a stinky one, but it may be under a washcloth in the hall closet in a tiny house, in a very hot place.

The End

Hells Bells

2010-08-28T19:44:00.001-05:00

AC/DC doesn't have shit on this.

Two weeks ago I started the Kettleworx program. As many of you know, I'm not really a fan of Jillian nor her methodology. I was in terrible pain most of the time I did the workout (which was nearly 60 days straight) and though I had some results, it wasn't enough to make it worth it. BF actually ended up with a knee injury the only time he did the program with me that later resulted in surgery. He is THE most physically fit person I know which makes it SCARY that it could injury him. I consider myself lucky.

My experience with Kettleworx has been dramatically different. Don't get me wrong, its definitely kicking my ass, but in a very different way. It pushes you so hard, yet doesn't cause the same intense pain that the Shred did. I still can't complete three sets but my muscles are feeling so good (in a worked out hard kind of way). It requires a day of rest in between each day and its a six week program. I am walking a mile and a half the days I don't work on it and the days I do, I walk a quick half mile after to stretch. I think I am going to remain on week one until I can complete each sections three sets before moving on to week two. The coolest part is that its a different workout each week so you don't get too accustomed to anything or bored. So far a big thumbs up!

Monster of the Week-Zombies

2010-08-08T09:02:00.000-05:00

Zombies are awesome. Seriously. As a self described movie nerd, I could name a ton of movie creatures that I love to watch but it’s hard to beat the classic Zombie movie. For a long time, I regarded 28 Days and 28 Days Later among my favorite “newer” Zombiesque fun fests but the times, they are a changing. Aside from the blood and guts glory, especially in the grocery store scene, few things top Woody Harrelson’s SnoBall fueled freak out in Zombieland. Little Monkey liked it so much that she gave a copy of the movie, with an accompanying Twinkie, to Kevin for Father’s Day. Funny stuff.

Recently, Zombieness reached an all new level of greatness:

FOREIGN LANGUAGE ZOMBIE MOVIE. When we first heard about Dead Snow, it wasn’t even out yet. When the DVD was released, I could hardly contain myself, Zombie Nazis in the snow? Are you freakin’ kidding me? I was not disappointed. The ways to illustrate disembowelment reach epic proportions in this feature. I highly recommend it.

Now Brad Pitt is going to give the Zombie genre a turn. What is the Apocalypse coming to? I for one am stoked, and ready with my popcorn.

Doing The Right Thing, Part 1

2010-08-06T17:41:00.003-05:00

This issue has spawned such debate in my house that I feel compelled to write about my most recent experiences when I have tried to do the right thing and it has backfired. This post is about number three on that list, one and two now having to be put on the back burner so I can just figure out now what the hell to do about this one, my most immediate issue.

When I started out a few days ago, I was certain someone with the corporate office would address the issue because it’s just bad advertising for them any way you look at it. After being belittled via email this morning for several hours by a realtor and consequently a broker she forwarded the email to, I am stunned to know this is perceived as acceptable behavior by grownups. Easily, they could have ignored me and said nothing. That didn’t happen. Another option would have been to decide to do something as human beings on the planet we share for no other reason than they are professionals in the region and maybe, just maybe, I would refer them out to any and all that I know for potential business opportunities. Alas, that did not happen either. What started at 7:42 AM this morning had ended at 10:19 AM where I have to reiterate, in a second request not to contact me again, that it’s against the stalking laws in this state to repeatedly harass someone in this state. She called me “unprofessional” because I dared contact another agent of the same company and office about an abandoned property. She called me “illogical” because I couldn’t possibly understand why she and the broker in that office didn’t care about this one bit.

Well, Mindy, this one is for you.

Feast your eyes on this gem of a property in my neighborhood:

It has been like this for a couple of weeks and a few days ago someone graciously towed in a wrecked car and parked it out front. Now, while that may seem strange, clearly they know that no one in that house is going to complain, nor would the realtor who left it in this mess. SO, doing what I think most people would do, I email the corporate office for ReMax. All franchises are governed by a larger corporate umbrella, yes? They graciously dig around and find that he worked out of the Richardson, Texas office and is no longer with them as of the 23rd of last month. She tells me I can file a complaint with the state board and they will handle the “unauthorized use of their name” on their end. Taking that info, I then do a search for “Richardson, Texas ReMax office” and come up with a link for this office. When you click the “Find A Realtor” button, you get a drop down list of realtors. The second lady, I am thinking by her photo, seems perfectly nice. She is listed as a “foreclosure specialist” and I have made the leap that this was a foreclosure and would hope an owner would know what was being done to their property. Bingo. Along with the email string I have from corporate (so she would have that information) and a photo of the property, I send her the following:

Mindy-

I contacted the corporate office regarding this property. Can someone in the office take a look at this? The grass is two feet high, kids are trying to break in and now there is a wrecked vehicle parked out front. By Oscar's sign still being in the yard, it’s very bad advertising for you. I don't know if it’s a foreclosure or an owner is involved but if someone could just clean it up it would help I am sure. I didn't want to contact the police or the state if someone could just take the house over. Thanks.

Michelle

At this point, I am thinking she has read the previous correspondence with corporate, identifies an opportunity for herself if a realtor left the area abandoning houses and would want to generally make sure her office isn’t reflected upon poorly.

See, my mistake today is assuming a lot of things.

What proceeds from there is a repeated tirade of emails from her, then the broker she gets involved. At first, as she in every email continues to state “I don’t know how you got my information,” I give her credit for being slow and try to explain as slowly as I can how I came by choosing her. After the third time when she starts basically saying I am an idiot for contacting a realtor and not a broker in the first place (like I am supposed to know this automatically???) it dawns on me that she has not read one single thing I sent. She quickly evaluated that I did not want to buy one of her properties and wants me to bug off. She and the broker tell me not to “threaten them with the cops” which is hilarious because now two professionals are sending me emails like they are in some gang and they are going to bust my knee caps. I politely explained that it wasn’t a “threat” but merely I assumed (here I go again) that someone would ReMax would want to take care of the issue willingly, without me reporting them to the city or the state board.

Another mistake on my part.

Now it occurs to me to check with someone and verify I did what would be expected in the situation or probably MORE than I should have had to? Someone that is a realtor? Oh yeah! Karen (albeit a different agency and out of state) gave me her advice. This is what she said:

You are right. I am always first to be contacted on site cuz of Abbott. I get that! For every contact that does not pay, I get several that do, so it's a numbers game all independent agents should grasp. She is an idiot - EVERYBODY who contacts me is a potential client, whether it be today or ten years from today. She needs a prospecting 101 class.

As for the property - You did the right thing. It was uberkind of you, and absolutely understandable because it affects you and your family.

Every county and city, if you are in city limits, has a manager, whom should be available through their website, who should take your email and had it to the right person. It is against city, county, state health codes to allow a property to go unattended.

As for the realtors role. Every realtor who lists a foreclosure, agrees to maintain the property, even at his or her own expense, to be reimbursed at closing. If you get no help from the officials, which would be hard to believe, then you can send me the address. I can find the bank who has the note, and they can tell me who is responsible, and I can put you in contact with that person. It would be my pleasure, cuz, well, see paragraph 1. :)

Maybe I am not losing my mind but I now have to file a complaint formally with the state, call several city offices and wonder what happened to courtesy and kindness in our country. I could go mow the grass but then what happens to the sign? I didn’t put it there and what if the ReMax gang sends someone to bust my knee caps when I touch their sign? This property does not border mine nor is it in front of my house but I still have to see it every day and it’s now attracting vandals in the form of ignorant teens. It does affect me, even if that office doesn’t care. My boyfriend, having spent several years dealing with the worst of humanity in all the places the Army can send you, thinks this solidifies his "keep your head down and don’t get involved" mentality. I have tried to raise my kids to be activists, to care when there is a wrong and seek to fix it. Huge dilemma in this house today.

So, I pose a question to each of you, if this was happening on your street, how would you handle it?

Good Stuff

2010-08-06T07:28:00.002-05:00

I don't know if anyone else is ridiculously hooked on Persons Unknown but I just can't stop watching it and wondering how it will end. Hands down its the best depiction of true psychological warfare I have ever seen. When cast members incorporated lines from one of my favorite poets, I thought I would post that here as it reminded me how great that poem really is. If you haven't seen it yet, I would recommend it for any sci-fi/fantasy/weird X Files type fans there may be out therE BUT you MUST watch from the beginning.

WILDERNESS BY CARL SANDBURG

THERE is a wolf in me … fangs pointed for tearing gashes … a red tongue for raw meat … and the hot lapping of blood—I keep this wolf because the wilderness gave it to me and the wilderness will not let it go.

There is a fox in me … a silver-gray fox … I sniff and guess … I pick things out of the wind and air … I nose in the dark night and take sleepers and eat them

and hide the feathers … I circle and loop and double-cross.

There is a hog in me … a snout and a belly … a machinery for eating and grunting … a machinery for sleeping satisfied in the sun—I got this too from the wilderness and the wilderness will not let it go.

There is a fish in me … I know I came from saltblue water-gates … I scurried with shoals of herring … I blew waterspouts with porpoises … before land was … before the water went down … before Noah … before the first chapter of Genesis.

There is a baboon in me … clambering-clawed … dog-faced … yawping a galoot’s hunger … hairy under the armpits … here are the hawk-eyed hankering men … here are the blond and blue-eyed women … here they hide curled asleep waiting … ready to snarl and kill … ready to sing and give milk … waiting—I keep the baboon because the wilderness says so.

There is an eagle in me and a mockingbird … and the eagle flies among the Rocky Mountains of my dreams and fights among the Sierra crags of what I want … and the mockingbird warbles in the early forenoon before the dew is gone, warbles in the underbrush of my Chattanoogas of hope, gushes over the blue Ozark foothills of my wishes—And I got the eagle and the mockingbird from the wilderness.

O, I got a zoo, I got a menagerie, inside my ribs, under my bony head, under my red-valve heart—and I got something else: it is a man-child heart, a woman-child heart: it is a father and mother and lover: it came from God-Knows-Where: it is going to God-Knows-Where—For I am the keeper of the zoo: I say yes and no: I sing and kill and work: I am a pal of the world: I came from the wilderness.

Come on December!

2010-07-29T08:00:00.001-05:00

I live for this stuff. Can't wait for the Doctor to return. Since it's December, I will be wearing my scarf. Meanwhile, get this t-shirt from my favorite site in the world, Think Geek.

INVICTUS

2010-07-22T21:49:00.001-05:00

Recently we finally had the opportunity to see the film Invictus. Though I knew it would be moving, it reminded me how much I loved the poem. The last two lines are written on the chalkboard I have where inspiration strikes often. Here I write my favorite quotes and remind myself daily that I can rise above any circumstance. Today, I wanted to remind you. It is worth the re-read.

Slowly.

Savor it.

Invictus

William Ernest Henley

Out of the night that covers me,

Black as the pit from pole to pole,

I thank whatever gods may be

For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance

I have not winced nor cried aloud.

Under the bludgeonings of chance

My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears

Looms but the Horror of the shade,

And yet the menace of the years

Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishments the scroll,

I am the master of my fate:

I am the captain of my soul

2 1/2 more weeks...

2010-07-22T21:38:00.001-05:00

Booyah! Can't wait.

Now back to regularly scheduled programing.

Monster of the Week -- The Great White

2010-07-17T14:19:00.001-05:00

Few things can invoke an instant image as when someone starts the familiar "duh dun, duh dun, duh dun" of the Jaws theme song (or my favorite, the Mr. Jaws spoof song). Like nothing prior or even after, especially Orca, Jaws made people afraid to leave the sandy beach and take more than a couple of steps into the water. I readily admit, when I can no longer see my feet, even momentarily, I turn around and head back. Swimming or surfing in it? Not this chica. Just not going to happen.

While I was too young to see the original in theaters, I fondly remember my mom recounting the story as she and my dad went to see the movie with another couple. Upon the first of many terrifying scenes, the ladies promptly sent popcorn and Coke flying. Still it makes me giggle thinking of dad covered in that sticking mess and nothing he could do about it, because of course, it had been his idea.

Recently I have become a fan of Expedition Great White on the National Geographic Channel. Aside from the astounding scientific leaps they are making, we are treated to the visual feast that is Paul Walker from time to time. Just one episode is enough to make you realize why the reality of this ferocious predator as a movie monster is still the viable. They are both magnificent and terrifying at the same time. I'm not really sure what I think about rumors that there is another Jaws film in the making, this time with Tracy Morgan at the helm. While I respect his comedic work, it’s hard to imagine anyone better than the original cast. Thank you, Roy Schneider and Richard Dreyfuss, for steering the way through one of the scariest movies of my youth. Out of respect for the teeth, I will give the redo a chance.

BP Tries Again

2010-07-11T10:43:00.001-05:00

You can go here to check out the video feed. I don't know about you but I can stand it any more. It makes me feel completely helpless and I just want to cry. So many people don't realize how this will effect life for years going forward. Middle Monkey found a band at Warped tour with a new song entitled "Gaia Bleeds". I can't think of a more appropriate description for what's happening. I am just sick and my outrage does no good. I can't understand a company operating with no emergency plan if this were to happen. I can't understand their lack of concern in the beginning like somehow this was unfortunate but par for the course. I am glad the government is helping, but as far as I am concerned, this company needs to clean up its mess. The same conservatives that preach NO government are the same ones accusing the government of not doing enough. This wasn't a government accident, its a corporate spill that BP needs to be held accountable for. Good to see Tony Hayward is showing the appropriate amount of personal restraint.

UPDATE: I find it interesting that the GOP is pushing this line again and again. It should bother someone that if Bush I stopped deep water drilling and Bush II allowed it to restart, that would be where the "regulatory" problem lies...but maybe I am the only one that sees it that way. Sad really, that people are trying to make this an issue about this Administration and not one about corporate irresponsibility where it should be.

Mental note: Look up rules for moving to England permanently.

Monster of the Week - Predators

2010-07-09T15:21:00.001-05:00

I am not sure if it was the Arnold or the concept, but the Predator quickly became one of my favorite movie monsters. The special effects and story were compelling to me simply for the fact that it was unlike anything that came before it. I was horribly disappointed when the sequel seemed to do to the franchise what most sequels do; sending it to movie hell for what seemed it would be eternity. Flash forward to 2004, and the rebirth of this monster with my all time favorite movie monster in the AVP series. (I know, a lot of folks hated this, I was not one of those) Here I think the story managed to find its legs, pitting the master alien hunter against the most brutal of all alien prey. Brilliantly played and deepening the characters, I finally felt someone was doing the genre some justice. I don't remember the day I found out that there would be a new movie but I was in utter disbelief. Adrien Brody AND the Predator alien? Yakuza warrior? All in the same movie? Be still my heart...

Needless to say when I arrived at the theater and promptly broke into a chorus of "I'm so excited" complete with snapping of fingers and dancing, my boyfriend declared me Queen of the Geeks. There really was never a chance I wouldn’t like the movie, Oscar winning performances or B-Movie performances, it’s Robert Rodriguez we are talking about here. I trust him.

I am so glad I did.

Without giving out spoilers, the opening sequence is brilliantly terrifying and not for the reason one would think. There were at least three well placed homage’s to the original that I could find and it didn’t end the way I thought it would about halfway through. I loved it. Given the same cast and director, I will go see several more of these. I am not sure, but I think I also caught a shot filmed in McKinney Falls State Park. That was weird because I kept thinking, I STOOD RIGHT WHERE ADRIEN IS STANDING!

Good stuff. Yeah, I know I am a dork but I am okay with that.

Have a great weekend!

Yeah for Star Trek Humor!

2010-07-03T06:50:00.001-05:00

Part of the greatness of raising nerd kids is that they occasionally find stuff like this!

Monster of the Week- The Werewolf

2010-07-02T08:35:00.003-05:00

I do not hide my fascination with all things supernatural. Certainly here, I have explained time and time again how great True Blood is, if for no other reason that the beautiful warrior named Eric. While I have spent many years reading tales of vampires, lamenting Anne Rice’s on again off again decision to discontinue writing about them, and making sure I see every movie about them that gets made, I will admit, they may not actually be my favorite monster. Of course, I am the person with an alarm set to buy tickets for the new Predators in advance so maybe all monsters are my favorite.

It’s my dad’s fault really.

When I was in the third grade, we lived in a house where the den was at the opposite end of the house from the bedrooms. Logically I know I never awoke in the middle of the night because I heard something, but more because it became habit. My dad, you see, had insomnia and lucky for me, a willingness to override common sense and my mom’s rules any time he saw fit. I don’t remember my first episode of Dead Eanest and Shock Theater (rumored to have been Ted Turner), but only that a regular rotation of B-movies educated me on the finer points of Lon Chaney Jr. and Bela Lugosi’s monsters. I would watch through the fingers of my tiny hands, subduing any shrieks that would rise in my throat just to maintain the privilege of sitting on the daybed in the den. Soon I learned to love the Twilight Zone, The Night Stalker and any form of creature or intense psychological terror. No wonder I am warped. For whatever reason, despite my love of vampires today, my favorite was Lon Chaney Jr.’s werewolf.

It would be years before I would understand where the legend arose. I didn’t know lycanthropy was even a word, much less a disorder that is rumored to have existed at a time. My first modern werewolf would appear gloriously in An American Werewolf in London. The pain of the change terrified me and I remember being in utter disbelief. When Michael Jackson then recreated the change for Thriller, arguablely better by the soliloquy of the incomparable Vincent Price, it just went to solidify how fabulous a monster this was. Stephen King took a turn and as always, I love his books so much more than the celluloid reproduction. Driven by rage and moon shine, a man beast with super human strength is set loose on populations to exact his revenge. How can you get better than that? One of my favorite series of movies now is undoubtedly Underworld, which deftly combines vamps and weres in a more modern take on the tale. Regardless of glorious special effects and black leather wielded by Kate Beckinsale, I will not lie when I admit I was smitten with the newest creation by Benicio Del Toro in The Wolfman. Here was a return to the Chaney wolf I loved, a deep and moving portrait in the traditional werewolf saga. I could just eat that movie up!

Recently, I stumbled on a fantastic series. I have read all of Charlaine Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse novels (though I dislike her werewolf depictions—that is for a later post) and when I saw her endorsement on the cover of Patricia Briggs’ Mercy Thompson series, I thought would give them a try. I am so excited that fate seemed to steer me in her direction. Patricia crafts a heroine that is strong and assertive, with a keen eye to detail and the true folklore behind all her creatures. I am hooked! Imagine for a history minor how great to find when challenged by gun enthusiasts about the validity of making your own silver bullets, she not only documents the historical accuracy of such, SHE SET OUT TO CAST HER OWN. That’s my kind of research! I think these books have the perfect balance between fun and terror, interesting characters and amazing monster/supernaturals/creatures/villains. I will be first in line for a ticket when Moon Called makes it to the big screen. If you are looking for something fun and fast to read this summer, I highly recommend her novels. I just might have follow her lead and cast my own bullets just to see if I can. :)

Happy July!

2010-07-01T09:42:00.001-05:00

Geeze, June is over! Poof, like that. My little man has graduated and is getting ready to pack up for college, littlest monkey is out of state for a bit for all kinds of adventures and middle monkey is struggling through driving classes. On the home front, we are attempting all kinds of spruce up and out right redo’s of several things and I AM TIRED! Thinking summer would be a blast is not exactly what has happened thus far…hoping to make it to the beach sometime before school starts.

Ridiculous money making/saving continues, as I have mentioned here before. I had my first trip to the store where I netted $45.93 in groceries to hear the cashier say “That will be .49 please” after all my coupons. That, my dears, is better than any high from anything I might or might not have inhaled in my younger days. Woot. I just cashed in my Swagbucks and my Opinion Outpost cash and on Amazon with my handy dandy Prime account, I managed to get everything for little monkeys birthday party for under $70! Best part of that, I AM NOT PAYING OUT OF MY OWN POCKET. I cannot overemphasize the love I have for Opinion Outpost and Swagbucks. My next set I will be saving for Christmas presents and it really take the pressure off for where that chunk of cash is coming from.

Part of our redo here is coming from paint. For many years, the “OOPS paint” sections of Home Depot, Lowes and Wal-Mart (yes even they have one!) have been the way to find what I need and not pay $30 a gallon. I always have in mind for every project what colors I need and sometimes, they just materialize! Typically, a gallon runs $5, a pint $2 and I just lucked onto a 5 gallon bucket in the right color for my entire living areas (foyer, library, kitchen and living room) for a whopping $35. These typically go for right around $100. You would be shocked at what a simple coat of paint could do to lift up a room and your spirits. I am turning old doors into tables, working on an art project that is entirely made of buttons and painting accessories with ridiculously bright colors. I will be done in about two weeks and I am so excited to see progress so far.

Here is hoping your days is fabulous and your holiday is a happy one! Peace and chicken grease. 

Joe Barton is an Idiot

2010-06-18T07:14:00.001-05:00

This is nothing new for my district. For YEARS, I have worked to get rid of this guy, even when it effected my personal life. I nearly wept when I saw the attention he finally got over his stupidity. He has continually harmed the constiuents based on his political contributions and that will not change. Hopefully now even his own party will tire of his out of touch attitude. Please God let this be Barton's last year in office.

In Appreciation

2010-05-31T07:24:00.001-05:00

For all of those who have served, those serving now, their families and those who gave the ultimate sacrifice, I am grateful for your willingness to do so. May blessings come to your family and my prayers to those we are still waiting on to come home.

Have a safe and happy holiday!

Book Club

2010-05-21T16:16:00.004-05:00

On my quest to find a way to continue my sustainable utopia, two more books have crossed my path. While I have already been transformed into a bread making fool as a result of a friends recommending Artisan Bread in Five Minutes A Day, I have now been taken hostage by two new ones that I finished in record time. The first, a recommendation from a chef at a cooking class where I volunteered, is about cheese. The great thing that happened when I started reading Cheesemonger, however is that it is about so much more. As an unapologetic lefty I was so happy to find so much political history and as a music fiend, some punk history as well. Yeah for California! The family was subjected last night to their first tasting and I picked Taleggio. It went over pretty well considering its gone and the idea previously of stinky cheese freaked them out. The next one that just finished is Made from Scratch. I picked it up thinking it was a full on DIY book and by happy accident found it was someone, much like myself, that just really wants to check out of the conventional way of living. It was great because she was candid about her failures just as much as her accomplishments. I hope in my life I can employ a bit of that bit of "being a grown up"...just not quite there yet! We are trying her butter and pasta recipes from scratch this weekend so I will let you know how that goes. YUM!

P.S. I have no idea why the colors on some of my linky do's went all wonky. Sorry if it offends but I am totally over it.

Joyful Heart

2010-05-04T08:19:00.001-05:00

The breeze flits by as you speak
Dew drops from your lips as you exhale
Every thing you say fills me with joy
A life I never expected
Treading water so delicately
As to not cause a ripple
Sunshine on my heart
Laughter in my soul
Thank you for bringing me home

Cafe Press

2010-05-03T09:52:00.001-05:00

Working on a Cafe Press store, will let you know when its full of offensive coolness. I can already imagine my hate mail today:

MY MOM BLOGS

YOUR MOM SUCKS.

Happy Cat

2010-04-30T07:23:00.001-05:00

Harvey loves his dogs. They haven't decided what to do about him rubbing all over them but they don't try to eat him either. That's progress.

The Preparer

2010-04-19T10:40:00.001-05:00

"We would like to meet with you please. We know what you did and we would like to express our gratitude in person. "

Sitting here minding my own business, trying to work in a sea of cubicles where far too much noise was permeating the grey walls that surround each of us. I look up; look around to see if some "friend" is making an attempt at humor. I find no one looking back at me.

"If you could meet us on 13th street, we would appreciate it."

Click.

Why do I always get the weirdos?

I find myself searching frantically through my brain. Whose voice was that? What are they referring to? Actually contemplating heading to 13th street was almost as unnerving as seeing the two people headed to my desk. Straight out of a scene from The Matrix, a very serious man and woman dressed in black with sunglasses on (yeah, inside a building, see what I mean? Weirdos. What did I do?

"Greetings.” Mr. Not-Gonna-Crack-A-Smile says to me. No hand extended to shake mine. How very Howie Mandel I think. "We are here to make sure you get to 13th Street uninterrupted. "

"Can you explain what this is about? It’s a little crazy that I am just supposed to get up and leave with two strangers. "

"I understand your concern. It's about the cab ride. "

Crap.

The reality of those words sets in, heavy on my chest. Yesterday I reacted based on impulse and emotion with little thought to the outcome. I was already regretting it.

I took a deep breath, gathered my things and headed to the transport area. I kept thinking over and over "Man. You. Are. Stupid. "

Cursed really. I have what are quite possibly the dumbest super powers EVER. I can't heal the sick, reverse time, or snap my fingers and transport. No, I am blessed with two things. 1. I can immediately sense good versus evil. 2. I can make you think you are someone other than what exists in your own reality.

SEE? DUMB!

Okay, maybe not number 1 because that kind of comes in handy when dating. Number 2 causes me nothing but trouble. It was REALLY funny the day in 6th grade that I convinced my brother he was a bullfrog all day, not so funny when my parents got a call from his kindergarten teacher because he was sitting in the water fountain asking for flies with his Kool aid for snack. They grounded me that day until I turned 18 and did the same many times after.

So when random people jump in my cab when I am trying to get to work, you can probably understand how bad habits quickly surface under stress. Just as I am about to give my destination to the driver, a fat, old guy jumps in the front seat babbling about some radio DJ he just met.

“Excuse me, this cab is taken.”

“So sorry miss, he was my favorite baseball player back in the day and now he has a show I love. I got his autograph, look!” He shoves a baseball with Sharpie scribbles in my face.

“Nice. Okay, I don’t mind sharing but…”

Slam, the back door closes and I look over and a man has joined us in the backseat. Older, fair skin, hair, eyes and a black suit. My heart races, he is a preparer.

“Sir, if you will just step out of the cab, I will get you to your destination safely.” He gently whispers, attempting to influence him and gain control.

I respond without thinking, pushing ahead of his thoughts and effecting an immediate change.

“Oh thank you, are you a fan? I just arrived at work but for your generosity, here is a baseball I just signed.” He promptly hands the ball to the preparer and jumps out of the car on his way to what he thinks is his radio show job.

“You will regret this.” He whispers to me on his way out of the backseat.

Not the people I want angry with me. Ugh. Most people have powers; most people don’t have powers that would directly result in pissing off the other side.

Of course, I hadn’t thought, just reacted, at the time. Now these people are escorting me to the transport system and thanking me.

“He was one of our greatest scientists and advocates for learning to block the other side from influencing humans. They have been targeting him for a long time but we lost him when he ran into the building. We didn’t know he was a fan, or that he would ever break routine. Your flip in the cab allowed us to catch up with him when he came back in the lobby. This however, created another problem. One for you.”

“Me? I am low man on the corporate totem pole, how do I have a problem from the other side?” Shock and panic spread through my mind quickly. I didn’t like the way this was going.

“They see you as a threat to their progress. They have sent a preparer to kill you.”

Sweet Old Girl

2010-04-15T11:07:00.001-05:00

Sometimes, stretching out in the sun is the best way to go.

More Money Saving

2010-04-09T07:07:00.005-05:00

As I mentioned before, the sites Opinion Outpost and Swagbucks continue to produce well for me and are worth repeating again. Currently my budget on books/cookbooks/CDs/DVDs is gone, I don’t get them if they aren’t free. Since both sites allow you to purchase Amazon gift cards (where I found the Prime deal to be too good to pass up) I get everything shipped for free. I am also finding Amazon to be a great place for deals on cookware and other kitchen stuff so if you have never compared prices before, it may be your quickest way to save a few bucks with virtually zero effort.

While we talked a bit about couponing, I have had questions, often followed with the “I just don’t have time” statement. I am busy too but I promise, once you learn how it works, it will take no time at all. To help, I thought today I would provide an example of my effort yesterday. While I tend to go straight to Coupon Geek or My Dallas Mommy (great for local stuff in DFW but A LOT of little kid stuff that doesn’t really apply to me), I have learned to do searches weekly as well. Yesterday it took me roughly 20 minutes to go through the list of three stores, opting instead to get everything at Target that I needed this week because the price was comparable. I do a search for “Target weekly deals 4/4/10” and get my list. First rule of thumb, if something is free, grab it. (Even if you don’t use it nor know someone that will, it can always go in a box for food bank/shelter donations). Second, if it’s cheaper than $2 and you have enough for multiples, stock up. Currently, I am stocked up on cleaning supplies and Lysol from sales several months ago. This is important for items that are at times pricey or stuff that you use ridiculous amounts of. The great thing about Target these days is they offer their own web coupons in addition to the manufacturer coupons you may already have. This was my haul yesterday:

2 lbs of Butterball Healthy Turkey sliced fresh at the deli
4 cartons of Tropicana 50
3 pints of Archer Farms Ice Cream
4 GE Energy Smart compact fluorescent bulbs
1 No Touch Lysol soap dispenser
1 Air Wick I-Motion oil dispenser
1 Dove antiperspirant
1 Right Guard antiperspirant
1 Fusion razor

If you are a regular grocery shopper, you will notice that those are some of the most expensive items at the store. My total came to $78.96 before I handed over my coupons. My only error in this trip is for whatever reason I did not have a coupon for Butterball deli purchases (I try to never buy anything that I don’t have even a small coupon for). After coupons, my total was $36.84.

Basically, I got $42.12 for free. So let’s add this up and calculate it in terms maybe everyone can understand—20 min of time researching deals and pulling coupons in advance, 5 mins of drive time each way, 30 mins in the store paid me $42.12. How many people do you know that make $42.12 an hour? Just imagine if you can pull that kind of savings in on each trip to the store? I don’t know about you, but I don’t think I can afford not to. It allows me to have things that normally would be out of the question on my budget and allows me to spend more time with my kids than if I was working 10 hours a day out of the house. The benefits are endless.

Along the same idea is saving money by taking care of yourself. If you haven’t heard about the NeilMed sinus nasal rinse, go get one. If you can tolerate the sensation, you will have no allergy issues this year and get rid of colds as soon as you feel them coming on. I cannot overemphasize the effectiveness of these. The idea of going drug free through allergy season is reason enough to try them. To complement that, I would highly suggest the addition of supplements to whatever you are already taking in the form of garlic capsules, Emergen C and chamomile tea for the same reasons. We escaped flu season in this house, I believe as a direct result of the use of these products which is always remarkable to me with a little monkey still in elementary school.

For women and your business and professional development, the best singular source I can mention to you where you can get tips and free, quality advice is from Tory Johnson. A long time contributor to Good Morning America, Tory has a great site and social networking that’s out of this world. I participated in a call I found out about on LinkedIn this week in which she handed out GREAT information for a 45 minute session. Of course, she has a great book and retreats that you can participate in but for your initial bump of information and inspiration if you are looking to start or expand business, you can’t get better information anywhere.

Finally if you are still part of the “I must eat out every week”, My Dallas Mommy has a great list of places where kids are free or half off on a regular basis.

Save a few bucks this week, you will feel better and it gives you room to breathe!

Good Morning!

2010-04-09T06:15:00.002-05:00

Kiwi says hello...:)

Middle Monkey Returns

2010-03-24T07:53:00.005-05:00

To say that I was very proud to see the child I sent to D.C. last week return would be an understatement. Rocking her newest HRC t-shirt and barely able to keep her eyes open, she ran out to greet us full of a glow that could hardly be contained. Aside from the cool "I get to lobby Congress for a return of sex ed to schools" stuff, she was inspired, energized and feeling so much hope from the core of her being. It was a great and wonderful thing to see given that in her absence, I have had more arguments and debates with people over health care reform this week than ever in my life. I am a bit shocked that it has served to draw a line in the sand, making people say things they can not take back, and making me stand and take the barrage as I have. I am used to this. Looking at this child rattle off all the amazing experiences she had I also think, wow, she is gonna have an uphill battle. For people that don't work in a political or activist arena, it is hard to grasp, but for us left wingers, its brutal. She mets some Tea Party folks whom she describes as having "the worst energy" and really creeped her out. I tell her they won't be the first of many intense opposition groups she will encounter. They will tell her that people she loves will go to hell because they are gay, they will tell her feeding the hungry and giving shelter to those in need is not important if they have to pay more taxes to do it, they will tell her that sex education is not a priority and kids should listen to their parents. It will hurt. It will almost break her some days, how I have pushed through this long I just cant really figure out on my worst days. Then she tells me something...for a change, she shocks me:

She keeps talking, they were invited to participate in a Passover Seder, she asks if I will take her to a Buddist temple ceremony, says she thinks she is going to take some Theology classes as electives. She wants to travel and meet more people from other cultures. She keeps talking but I am stuck on one thing she said:

We are supposed to take care of people.

All of my babies have been walking blocks and stuffing envelopes since they were knee-high to a grasshopper so to speak. Middle Monkey is the only one so far that wants to seize this life as part of her own. I am worried for her but at the same time so confident that she gets it. You go girl! I will be right here to help stuff your envelopes and walk your blocks. :)

Today is a great day in America. Let's hope for more fired up teens doing grassroots organizing in their communities. It is the way to ensure a permanent shift in the priorities of this country and certainly, it's what I pray for every day.

Peace and chicken grease!

"Mom, I think this whole experience has just strengthened my faith. We are doing what we are supposed to do. We are supposed to take care of people."

Diary of a Bleeding Heart Liberal

2010-03-22T06:36:00.006-05:00

Cross posted at Daily Kos
*if you have a moment and would like to help Middle Monkey today, I would appreciate you picking up the phone just once today and making this call at the bottom of this blog.

From Wikipedia:

John F. Kennedy, a self-described liberal, defined a liberal as follows:

“ ...someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people — their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties — someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a 'Liberal', then I’m proud to say I’m a 'Liberal'."

I cried last night. A deep, long cry of relief. I recognize that it’s something most people can’t possibly understand. I get that. You would have to walk a mile in these moccasins I think, but today, I just don’t care. This bill, this elation we all get to experience on our side of the fence, this was just for me.

I have never really fit in. I had to cultivate my own group of friends, I had to gradually avoid conversations with family members, and I had to stuff down opinions. When you grow up in a conservative family, have to hear racist comments from people you grew up loving, it is a hard and difficult water to navigate. Most of my friends have always been either of color or GLBT so I stuck out like a sore thumb. I was the freak magnet. My life in politics did not begin in a grand, decisive act. Through many tiny shifts, I came into my belief like a caterpillar that spent far too long in a cold, dark cocoon. It was great to feel the sun on my wings as I tentatively stretched them and after a couple of tiny flutters, I flew head first, no concern for what it might do to me, how it might feel. This was something I had to do for the children I would bring into this world. This was something I had to do for the children that were already here. I felt a new sense of responsibility.

When I was around 16, growing up in what was then West Germany, I remember receiving an invitation from some mysterious lottery that came to town. I was chosen to go see the President. Initially, I had no understanding of what this meant, what this was going to mean to me, only terribly excited that I got to miss school. One morning, very early, we were herded on a bus. It occurred to me briefly that there were no children on this bus whose parents were not high ranking officials or Officers, save one that was the Sergeant Major’s daughter. I didn’t understand about elitism. Back then I didn’t care. We drove for what seemed like forever, to a location in the hills, then walking uphill for a while. We navigated through check points and metal detectors. I saw my first sniper team, stationed above. That was cool. Still, we hadn’t been introduced to the President. I thought that was weird since they picked us, driven these American kids so far, but surely there was time for that later. Once we got all the way through, I saw the stages, the mass of German teens and the excitement that was building across the crowd. We were given American flags to wave and directed to what I thought would be front row, center stage…only it was middle of the crowd, center stage, right in the camera line. Weird. The Reagans and the Kohls hit the stage; everyone roars and claps, President sitting with the Chancellors wife and vice versa. Nancy is laughing like Helmut said something really funny OR he is hitting on her. I found this exchange fascinating. They finish. They leave. No one seemed to care when I asked why we were the only Americans in the crowd and not meeting the President. It didn’t matter because remember, we got to miss school for this so it is most awesome.

Welcome to the politics of the orchestrated photo op.

Years later, living outside DC and upon the occasion of the Inaugural parade for George Bush, a friend asked me to accompany her into town to witness the spectacle. We stopped at the beginning of the parade route and I seized the opportunity to stand with the protesters from NOW. With their large round signs and girl power, I finally exhaled.

Welcome to the first political emotion I ever articulated.

The next Presidential election for which I was both old enough and registered to vote for came a few years later and officially landed me square on the side I will remain the rest of my days. Pregnant with my first born, the realization of what I was doing hit me hard. It was life altering. How could I possibly bring a child into a world that existed in the manner it did? What was I thinking? I picked up a copy of Time that year, the one that lays out the numerous contenders each election cycle. I read for days. I researched. I took very seriously my first opportunity to vote. Hands down, I only had one option from the beginning. Governor Clinton.

That as they say, was all she wrote.

After that election, I went on to volunteer and serve as Precinct Secretary and County Delegate, in 1996, Precinct Secretary, County Delegate and State Delegate in 1998, served as Bell County Coordinator, Richard Raymond campaign for Texas Land Commissioner, 1998, became a Public Speaker on Activism for political groups, college classes, grassroots training events since 1998, and managed to graduate with a B.S in Government in 1999. In 2004 I because Precinct Chair in Tarrant County through 2007, served as an election judge and County Delegate, State Delegate, and National Delegate to Boston in 2004. I was blessed and fortunate enough to serve with Win Back Respect, as a BAND OF SISTERS member, 2004. (A Gen. Wes Clark endorsed group-Participated in events and interviews, including a debate reaction commercial shot in NYC, BBC Radio panel discussions and block walking in conjunction with the America Coming Together organization in New Mexico). I scored DEMOCRATIC GAIN training in Boston in 2004 (Training in all levels of political activism and campaigns to include seminars with Donna Brazile and James Carville). The highlight of my professional training was with TOUGH AND SMART National Security Training in April 2006 ( A Gen. Wes Clark endorsed group, Rep. Jane Harmon PAC affiliation Washington DC based conference that included research, speaker forums and intense media training on messaging and rapid response). I ran a congressional campaign in TX CD 6, 2006 who was a Member of the Band of Brothers group, running for office, producing an award winning website and selection for entry into Vanity Fair shoot for Veteran candidates seeking office post-deployment for initial invasion into Iraq (Along with Tammy Duckworth, Patrick Murphy and Andrew Duck, TomKat issue, 06). I put my life on hold and suffered immeasurable harm as the man I supported and worked for, also at the time my husband, turned out to be capable of the greatest dishonesty and web after web of lies that still have yet to completely unfurl. I stayed; I stood by and issued press releases as the voice of the campaign to focus and move forward. I stood for one reason: loyalty to my Party. If by some stroke of fate he were to one, his one vote for my side could tip the balance. Maybe that seems strange to you, but last night, four votes made the difference.

Just four.

My life moved on since then. I lost people in my life that said they were my friends. I solidified friendships since that time. My work takes on different forms but still, I work. I write the letters and make the calls that other people don’t have time to add into their lives. I help feed hungry, homeless people and donate all my extra clothes, blankets and coats to a local charity. I gather canned food for the food bank, I add the extra dollar at the checkout for whatever cause is being advocated that day. I do it because someone has to. I do it so things get done even if you want to sit at home, eating bon bons and watching soap operas every day. It is America. We both get to have it our way.

Yesterday, just before the vote, I received a call from Middle Monkey, navigating her way through the political arena in D.C. this week. Sixteen and full of optimism, she talks so fast I miss half of what she has to say. She is with a group of kids, each heading in to meet with the aides of their states representatives this morning to lobby for returning sex education to our schools. Many people don’t realize but due to policies enacted by the previous administration, there is virtually NO sex ed any longer in high school. Nationwide, teen pregnancy is on the rise. It wouldn’t seem that’s just a coincidence. She started this journey the day she brought me a form to sign agreeing to allow her in the class about “abstinence education” in her school. Middle Monkey, full of promise, looked at me and said “If abstinence education worked, there wouldn’t be four pregnant girls in my class.” I told her to do something about it. After meeting with the principle and getting nowhere a year ago, now she is in D.C., screaming into the phone, telling me about like-minded individuals and how cool it is to think something in your head and meet a group of people that decide we are going to put these things into action and do something. She is giddy with the excitement. She believes she can change the world.

Geeze. Look what her mom has done. It hard to explain a process most don’t know exists but I have sat in committee meetings, pushing the platform from the precinct to the county, to the state and voted to accept it at the national level. Seeing those beliefs in writing. Changing a shall to a may. Realizing where it says “we” or “our” right there, see that? I did that. That was me. We did that. 219-212. 30 million uninsured will get coverage. I am one of those.

Middle Monkey fights today in D.C. to have sex ed returned to schools. I hope it doesn’t take her as long as it took me to get this passed. Regardless, the torch has been passed. Watch out world, here she comes.

*if you have a moment and would like to help Middle Monkey today, I would appreciate you picking up the phone just once today and making this call below.

Sadly, U.S. teen pregnancy, teen birth, and teen sexually transmitted
infections (STI) rates are some of the highest in the developed world.
In fact, one in four young women between the ages of 15 and 19 is
infected with at least one of the most common sexually transmitted
diseases. Young people of color are disproportionately likely to contract
an STI or experience an unintended pregnancy.
The Responsible Education About Life (REAL) Act would provide
federal funding for age-appropriate, medically-accurate sexuality
education programs that provide information on contraception and
condoms in addition to stressing the value of abstinence. Programs
would also discuss healthy relationships, decision making,
assertiveness, and skills building to resist social/peer/partner pressure,
depending on grade level.

March 22 is an interfaith lobby day for the REAL Act in Washington, so
your calls will support the group of youth, young adults, and adult allies
who will be lobbying their Members of Congress in person!
Calling is Easy and It Makes a Difference!

· Call the Capitol Switchboard toll free at 888-423-5983 and ask for
your Representative or Senator. Visit http://www.house.gov/ and http://www.senate.gov/ to find
them using your zip code.

· Suggested Message: “I’m calling today to ask that the Senator or
Representative support the REAL Act (S. 611; H.R. 1551) which
would provide federal funding for comprehensive sexuality
education programs. As a religious person that cares about youth,
I think it’s shameful that the United States’ rates of teen pregnancy
and sexually transmitted infections are so high. Our youth deserve
better education, and the REAL Act would help make that happen.”

For more information, please visit http://www.uua.org/socialjustice/issues/healthfamily/comprehensivesex/seat/or
contact Rob Keithan, 202-393-2255 x15, rkeithan@uua.org.

WOW

2010-03-21T22:33:00.006-05:00

I am overwhelmed.

219-212. 30 million uninsured will get coverage. I am one of those.

Blog in the morning. Gonna have a good cry now.

Oscar Roundup

2010-03-02T07:56:00.004-06:00

So it is THAT TIME AGAIN! Woot!

What did you think of the list? What do you think of the adding more films? I will admit to being slightly stoked at the Baldwin/Martin combo...terribly funny together in It's Complicated.

Check the Best Picture category:

"Avatar" (20th Century Fox)
A Lightstorm Entertainment Production James Cameron and Jon Landau, Producers

"The Blind Side" (Warner Bros.)
An Alcon Entertainment Production Nominees to be determined

"District 9" (Sony Pictures Releasing)
A Block/Hanson Production Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham, Producers

"An Education" (Sony Pictures Classics)
A Finola Dwyer/Wildgaze Films Production Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey, Producers

"The Hurt Locker" (Summit Entertainment)
A Voltage Pictures Production Nominees to be determined

"Inglourious Basterds" (The Weinstein Company)
A Weinstein Company/Universal Pictures/A Band Apart/Zehnte Babelsberg Production Lawrence Bender, Producer

"Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire" (Lionsgate)
A Lee Daniels Entertainment/Smokewood Entertainment Production Lee Daniels, Sarah Siegel-Magness and Gary Magness, Producers

"A Serious Man" (Focus Features)
A Working Title Films Production Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, Producers

"Up" (Walt Disney)
A Pixar Production Jonas Rivera, Producer

"Up in the Air" (Paramount in association with Cold Spring Pictures and DW Studios)
A Montecito Picture Company Production Daniel Dubiecki, Ivan Reitman and Jason Reitman, Producers

Now while as usual, I have only seen about half of these so far (this is the part of living somewhere other than NY or LA sucks for movie fans, we often don't get these movies until post-Oscars or not at all--thank God for Netflix), I must say I am feeling really attached to The Hurt Locker. Aside from the fabulous director being able to effectively put her ex's ego in check, I thought Jeremy Renner was phenomenal. It was nice to see a war flick depict, realistically, both the horror and the kind of personality required to be successful at the jobs in which service members are required to do. If you haven't seen it, pick it up. Totally worth the ride.

SO? Are you planning a party? I wanna see pictures! Print your ballots here.

Yes. I am a nerd. Get over it.

Cowboys at Cowboy Stadium

2010-02-25T16:17:00.005-06:00

I'm not sure what I expected when I decided it was a good idea to attend a PBR event. Most people are familiar with Ty from Dancing with the Stars and of course his lovely wife Jewel, whom I follow on Twitter. I don't think I really know anyone outside of my house that actually watches it outside my home but I will admit, its quickly becoming one of my favorite ways to pass the time. (Its carried on Versus, check to see what channel that is in your area). I have enjoyed learning all the interesting stories behind the riders, particularly all of the international riders but you gotta love a sport where some of the main character (this equals $$$) are those with names like Code Blue, Big Tex, Voodoo Child, Chicken on a Chain and Moebandy.com.

These animals are amazing. Seeing them projected on the giant screens in HD no less also highlights how BIG they are compared to the poor soul who climbs on top of one. They go out and shake their money makers and roll back through the gate for the most part. Occasionally its funny to see the ones more independent minded ones give the wranglers a big eff you as if to say "put a strap on my nads, that's what you get".

It started out as a concert by Gary Allan, who I will go on record as saying is Probably the single HOTTEST country singer I have ever seen. :). Aside from that, he's a snappy dresser and most EXCELLENT musician. As I was Twittering during that time, I did a search and found tons of other folks there doing the same. GARY! Get a Twitter! People are trying to tell you how hot you are! (Looks like they have been working on updating his site this week so maybe that's not far behind, woot!)

Afterwards, as if it weren't hot enough already, to the cry "Are You Ready to Rumble?" the top one and two seed jump a ramp and motor cross into the area. Clearly these guys are number one and two because they firmly squeeze the life out of that good ol Mr. Death Wish every day. There are explosions, flames, sparks and fireworks. "PBR" GLOWS IN FLAMES IN THE DIRT. I could not make up stuff like this. Firework inside the stadium. That's all kinds of awesome.

Their bull fighters (not rodeo clowns) are amazing athletes in their own right and Captain Enterprise, well he is something special. A man that will crawl across the dirt doing a stripper dance to "Dude looks Like a Lady" in clown makeup gets my vote every time. He made it worth the price of admission. (Because it sure wasn't the 5 dollar bottles of water, fuck you very much Mr. Jones)

Check out one if its coming to your area. I think you will enjoy it. :)

Money Making Madness

2010-02-18T10:36:00.005-06:00

So, amidst all the New Year's intentions and learning to make exercise a self-loving habit, I have also been busy learning new ways to have the things we want without the cost. The prospect of being a full time graduate student, aside from the work, brings about visions of the ridiculous expense. While it is temporary, I thought I would share what I have learned over the last six months in case you are looking for ways to afford more of what you want during these tough times:

Swagbucks This one has been completely effortless. While there are many, many ways to earn points here, the easiest is by using it as a search engine ALL THE TIME. I have begun even putting in my favorite sites or even those I book marked because it goes towards my points tally AND moves them up in the search results. These point can be traded for all kinds of "swag" as they add up but I turn them into Amazon gift cards. I started this in November along with Opinion Outpost and paid for about half of my Christmas gifts between the two. This year, I am saving both up and using them to pay for Christmas gifts exclusively. Whatever I accumulate will be my budget for those items and I will not spend out of pocket this year for that. What a concept right?

Opinion Outpost I have loved this one for several reason. Unlike Swagbucks, this is CASH folks. You can turn in into Amazon gift cards immediately (Swagbucks posts on the 16th and the 30th) but instead, you can get a check cut directly to you. I have earned $70 since November and its super easy. You will get email notifications as soon as something matching your demographics pops up and the faster you can complete them the better (once they have enough applicants, it closes). I have gotten to see preview of new movies, video games, foods, etc. and voice my opinions on my everyday purchases all the way to public policy. It allows me to contribute on a larger scale to influence the things I would use anyway. I can't gush enough about this one.

Coupon Geek This is my favorite money saving blogs. She compiles SO much good info on all the sales and where she cant, she finds the links to folks that do. I used to think I could not afford to spend the time to do the clipping and research but now I simply pick up the paper, clip on Sunday and check in with Jaycie on Monday or Tuesday. I am also on her mailing list so I don't miss any free samples! I stock my pantry and organize the weeks meals based on what is on sale. I regularly get approximately $40 off my bill each week and am working to cut my already small grocery budget even smaller. It is now a fun challenge instead of an overwhelming task.

House Party This site is cool. You can throw parties for you and 10 friends and receive free stuff and coupons for free products for you all. My first one is for Oscar Meyer Turkey Bacon. Free is always good!

Vocalpoint This site is great because it is a place where you can voice your opinion and doing so puts you on the list for special offers to purchase before items are available in stores, coupons, contests and loads of other things. I got the new Tide sticks and wrinkle release this way at a discounted rate.

W Originals This is one of my favorite magazines and most of them have a similar program so check the website for your favorite. I am part of a reader panel where I complete surveys for a variety of things. Last year I won $500, a study of Lancome eye cream in which I received a full size jar and a new skincare trial of something not yet on the market that I am currently participating in. Totally worth the time.

Recycle Bank Similar to Swagbucks this site allows you to earn points for free stuff. I am currently stocked up on pistachios for a couple of months because I combine free bag and $2 off coupons with a BOGO sale at Kroger netting me bags for 99cents a piece (these are normally $6.99). Great deal and healthy snack.

Kashless This site is great. Put in your zip code and find things in your area people are getting rid of for free. There are appliances, furniture and more, just for your willingness to pick it up. A great way to find treasures.

There are a TON of other things. I am thinking about doing this weekly. Hopefully you find something here that will help you too!

Lator gators. :)

Happy

2010-02-15T16:26:00.003-06:00

it is indeed this thing i see

making life so glorious

rarely did this breeze blow by

and now my days are a dream

it is indeed this thing i see

keeping my heart safe and whole

that you have done within your hands

and your gentle smile

Days 27-29: 30 Days with Jillian

2010-02-09T09:07:00.002-06:00

I am done.

Well, I am kind of done. Tomorrow is day 30 and I never in my life would have thought I would have made it to level 3, much less continuing for more than 30 days. My goal was to establish a routine or habit out of getting up and getting active. I have succeeded because I am way too guilty to miss more than a couple of days of exercise...Jillian seems to keep creeping into my head. I did a few more days of level 1 so that I knew I was ready to move on, by the time I got to ten days of level 2, I just found myself bored so I started level 3. I have found a couple of DVDs to substitute on days when I don't feel the Jillian. I will let you know how those go as I progress.

I bought a scale (boo hiss). This was weird for me because unlike most women, I have never been scale obsessed. I know what size I am comfortable as, I know I haven't been gaining weight since Little Monkey, just struggling to make it come off. I decided to weigh myself now at the end of every month as well as tape myself so I know what progress is being made. I regret now not doing this when I first started because I don't have a number to measure from at the end of December.

I am still doing protein shakes on the day I do a very physical exercise. Sunday has become truly a day of rest while Saturday is a day BF in the evening. Saturday AM I walked a mile with the BF, did some yoga with Little Monkey and went for a western dance class with the BF in the evening (we are moving to Latin dances after this first session of classes). I think I have managed to incorporate physical activity into my daily life and I am excited to see what this brings me.

So, tomorrow with be day 30 but I won't be blogging on it daily any more. I like to write about a lot and Jillian is driving me nuts so I am going scale back on that progress. Since I have set the last day of the month for weigh-in, I have decided that I will post my progress as I go.

Here is hoping you are all working on a happy, healthy life! It's so worth the sweat equity. :)

Peace and Chicken Grease!

Day 26: continuing with Jillian

2010-02-03T13:03:00.001-06:00

I worked out.

I still hate Jillian.

The end.

Day 22 - 25: 30 Day Shred with Jillian Michaels

2010-02-01T10:31:00.003-06:00

Geeze, time flies as they say.

Wednesday, no significant issues. Noticing I really like the second cardio set in level three a lot but it causes me to push harder so that by the third set, I am dying. Gotta figure out how to pace myself better.

Thursday was interesting. BF had to be home because of appointments, etc. he is attending.

QOTU: You wanna work out with me?

BF: Sure, you have been asking me, let's do this.

Afterwards:

QOTU: Well, what did you think?

BF: You are right, she's the devil.

Rotflmao. Okay, so if you don't know him, he's a former Army PT stud. It was nice to see that even he struggled with some of the moves. I swear she is trying to kill me with the plank stuff. Sometimes I have pulled muscles in my feet...how is that even possible?

Friday was uneventful in terms of the workout but I have dubbed this "Stripper Friday" from here on out. A couple of years ago, I took an AOED workshop and just LOVED it. This would be the same workshop that friends said they would take with me then, at the last minute (shocker) decided not to. It was great and very liberating. I bought the core moves video and have decided to pick that back up...I figured it would come in handy with the shoes! I worked through the "walk" and stationary hip rolls. This will be my little fun thing at the end of the week.

Saturday I opted for walking, which may have been a mistake. While I didn't do the over exaggerated, hip swinging walk, I walked faster than I have previously jogged and MAN did my legs hurt Sunday. Mental note there, more stretching. Sunday I took the day off because of the 100 million things I had to do this weekend...I am not sure I sat down and all. Today, I got back on it and upgraded to the 3 lb weights. We will see if that is a problem tomorrow or if its time to just go back up to the 5 lb weights that started this total fun fest.

Next weekend is Superbowl which means fatty foods and beer. This also means I can't take a day off on the weekend, UGH. Regardless, I am looking forward to it.

Have a great week!

My True Blood Party, Soundtrack courtesy of Better Than Ezra

2010-01-27T09:42:00.003-06:00

So have you started planning your party yet? While I may have to wait until summer, I am already planning the beverages, the dinner and now I am working on the soundtrack. While it is not a secret that Better than Ezra is the worlds greatest band (if by now you haven't seen them live you really really should), I am currently engaged in requesting/harassing HBO in regards to adding them to the list of musical wonder that is a great big part of the True Blood experience. I mean, just ask Jace Everett. While phone calls and letters are both ways to effectively stalk/annoy, I have enlisted the fabulous social media cocktail that is Twitter to beat them into submission. My most recent tweet fodder is as follows:

@HBO how about Lafayette's new beau takes him salsa dancing and they dance to Like It Like That by @betterthanezra?

@HBO how about playing Breathless by @betterthanezra when Sookie and Eric consumate their relationship? :) 9:32 AM Jan 21st from web

@hbo how about @betterthanezra sing "Juicy" live at Fangtasia with vamp gogo dancers?

@hbo what about playing One More Murder by @betterthanezra in the background next time Sookie finds a dead body? Excellent idea. :)

@HBO so when will we see @betterthanezra on True Blood? It's a perfect fit. :)

I am actually surprised this hasn't occurred to anyone else, but two seasons have flown by and still the greatest Louisiana ambassadors have not been represented. For all I know, this could already be in the works, but I will continue my effort. I took Middle Monkey to a show at the end of the year and getting a text from her, front row, center stage when they started "Allison Foley" that said "!!!!!!!!" was about the greatest thing ever. (And my fav song no less). You Probably know Better Than Ezra from Extraordinary or Juicy but they are also great humanitarians, advocates for rebuilding New Orleans and just about some of the funniest guys around. Even Taylor Swift thinks so! Check them out or meet me at a show, mkay?

Not on the True Blood bandwagon yet? Let me help. I submit for your perusal, Mr. Eric Northman.

Wait ladies, there is more, (as there should be)...turns out (known by his real name) Alexander Skarsgard has been voted sexiest man in Sweden a ridiculous amount of times and has provided so many options to view his intellect, his humor, and um, his man parts, that we should all bow down to the visionary Swedes. Oh yeah, thank the god of your choice for bringing him to our shores! Woot!

If you haven't been infected by the True Blood virus, check out the first season on DVD, second season is following soon, and don't forget to try some of the tasty beverage yourself.

Mmmmm mmmmm mmmm. (insert additional gratuitous picture for effect)

Right, I thought so. And read the books! Can't wait for that shower scene. Woot!

Day 19, 20 and 21: 30 Day Shred with Jillian Michaels

2010-01-26T12:02:00.003-06:00

So Friday, Monday and Tuesday I get through my work out but not without its problems. The weekends are kicking my ass even more.

Everyone has a schedule and mine is not part of their consideration so usually I am running around like a crazy person. I also tend to like to sleep in, I get off my every three hours of eating and for sure, I have no desire to push so hard. This weekend I went looking for different methods to keep me up and moving. Saturday I worked on a Tai Chi for Beginners video. I really like it a lot but for whatever reason, don't use it often. You get far more heated doing Tai Chi than you would think with the movements being so subtle. If you are doing it correctly, you will definitely feel your body heat up. Nevertheless, there definitely is a place for Jillian. My oldest is getting ready to fly the coop, stressing me to no end so the hard workout really comes in handy on those days. I added in my Sa Ta Na Ma for this reason too and I am on my day 6 of my next 40 day cycle. I know that will help.

Just wish it was moving along faster. I know, I know, I've only been at it 21 days, I am aware of this. Regardless, I am one impatient bitch. UGH.

Day 18: 30 Day Shred with Jillian Michaels

2010-01-21T09:35:00.003-06:00

This is day two on level two. There is an old Army saying that is something like if you don't puke after running PT, you didn't push hard enough.

I guess this is why Jillian makes me want to throw up.

It was really bad the first week I started and began to taper off a bit but then starting up on level two, I am in full trying-not-to-throw-up mode. Yikes. I guess I am pushing myself the right amount. The plank stuff is KILLING me and this plank twist stuff is nuts. A few of these new exercises make me feel VERY uncoordinated.

Adding in the protein shake after the workout yesterday seemed to really help keep my energy level up. I know that is sometimes the biggest issue when people start working out and eating "healthy" is that they are not getting enough protein. The chocolate shake Muscle Milk (you can get this at Costco cheaper and with a 1/2 lb more powder) with a teaspoon of Hershey's syrup, a little bit of banana and ground flax is perfect. Also, pretty yummy, healthy and 26 grams of protein. Working on some new recipes for those so stay tuned. By the way, the easiest way to make sure I am actually doing this is to make it the night before, pour it in a Blender Bottle and pop it in the fridge. You need the protein intake within 30 minutes after a workout and that is fast, keeping you from having the hassle of making something. In a week or so, I think I will add another one in the afternoon.

Just bought trainer Bob's yoga video. I think I am going to add this in a few days a week and use it on days when I am thinking I don't want to exercise. I think I am going to try it today so I will let you know. He seems like a lot less scary than Jillian.

I'm just saying.

Day 17: 30 Day Shred with Jillian Michaels

2010-01-20T15:06:00.003-06:00

I have proof.

Jillian is trying to kill me and I can prove it.

But let's back up a bit...teenagers are also trying to kill me of course, that is if I don't kill them first. It's been a stressful few days dealing with kid drama and today was going to be the death of me. Then lovely, supportive BF said, "You know what you need to do? Go work out and yell as loud as you can at Jillian. Scream, pump your fists and just give her holy hell." ::ding:: Brilliant idea.

Since I was so over-stressed this morning, I figured what the hell, I am gonna do level 2 today. Okay, I tried that before and swore off it but today seemed where the perfect motivation met the appropriately strenuous workout. I haven't figured out why in most of this workout, Jillian deems it necessary to have us in the plank position for various, body twisting moves but it made me sweat. Unfortunately, because I was so accustomed to level 1, I had significant problems transitioning to one or the other or figuring out what the hell was going on. Lets face it, I am either insane by this point, partially retarded or both. I looked and felt like and idiot but I sweated, and that is what I needed most today. Then, just about the time I was going to join the freakin' Jillian Michaels for President club, she said it. She said it OUT LOUD. Halfway through the very last set of cardio she said it:

"BY NOW, YOU SHOULD FEEL LIKE YOU ARE GOING TO DIE!"

Ah ha! I have told you, repeatedly about her masochistic behavior. I have provided evidence of her zombie workout infection virus thingy, I DID LEVEL TWO TODAY FOR GOD'S SAKE. But there it is...she WANTS YOU TO FEEL LIKE YOU WILL DIE. I mean who does that?

What kind of person is she? ::shudder:: She's scary, freaks me the frak out.

Day 16: 30 Day Shred with Jillian Michaels

2010-01-19T19:35:00.003-06:00

Jesus.

My boobs are missing. Like, Jillian stole them...of course I don't realize this until I am full on in the middle of dumbbell rows when it hits me. I can pull them all the way up without hitting side boob. My first impulse is "woot" and then "what a bitch." Of all the places to start loosing the weight does it have to be my boobs? Not what I was hoping for. More in a long list of Jillian's elaborate torture methods and why my life sucks. What a bitch.

Pushing a little harder, thinking of going from the 2 lb weights to the 5 lb weights by the end of the week, even if it kills me. We will see. Not sure if that is better or worse than going to level 2. Trust me, level 2 looks pretty fucking bad.

Thinking of adding yoga in tomorrow, or maybe the stripper work out. Yeah, that's it, stripper work out it is. At least we know I have the shoes...bow chica bow wow.

Little Monkey Keeps Growing

2010-01-17T18:53:00.005-06:00

Little Monkey has been gone for the weekend and despite getting her back tomorrow, I still miss her like crazy. If you weren't here for the start of the blog, this is the story here. I penned a few, number two is here, so in honor of her, I figured I would post number three.

Mango Tango teaches Dance

In a very hot place, in a very tiny house, the ruler of frogs, toads and all creatures that hop, was sticking her toes in the pond. The day seemed to be dragging, getting hotter and hotter every minute, so heading to the water was the only thing to do to cool off. Emma Delaney hiked up her fairy dress and started to wade in when she heard a big splash. She looked up to see Mango, dancer dog extraordinaire, swimming towards her.

“Hello Mango Tango. How are you today?”

“Very hot, Princess Emma. This weather can make me most disagreeable.” Mango climbed onto the shore on Emma’s side of the pond and shook furiously to get rid of every last water droplet.

Emma climbed out of the pond. “That is a pretty cool trick Miss Mango. I wish I was a dancer dog so I could do that too.”

Mango laughed. “You don’t have to be a dancer dog to shake, you just have to be all loosey goosey like this.” Mango stood on her back legs and did a hula for the Princess.

“That’s funny. Let me try.” Emma then imitated the hula, all the way down to the wagging tail. Mango dropped down to all fours because she was laughing so hard.

“I think that is pretty good, Emma Delaney. I am headed back to my studio to pick out music for my next class, would you like to come with me and help? I keep the air conditioning down really low so it’s nice and chilly. I am here only for a bit of exercise, I swim to keep my dancer’s legs.” Mango stretched out one of her big yellow legs to show off the muscles.

“I would love to join you Miss Mango. It is awfully hot out today.”

The pair walked up the hill to the little blue house with daisies out front. It had round windows and a stone path and seemed altogether like a lovely place to live. Emma followed Mango Tango to the front porch and into the hall.

“Here is my studio.” Mango pointed with her paw to the right. “If you would like to go and get started, I will go get us some lemonade.”

“Yummy, I love lemonade.”

Emma opened the studio door. It was a big room with mirrors on the wall, a bar along one side and a wooden floor. There were stacks and stacks of music to look through so Emma sat down by one pile and started rummaging through. In her house, her mom, Queen of the Universe, loved music and played it all the time. There was always laughing, giggling and dancing which made her house altogether a lovely place to live.

“Here you go little one.” Mango returned carrying a tray of treats, lemonade and a vase with a sweet pea blossom.

“This is a lovely tray Mango. I was just having tea with Old Toad the other day and he is rather fond of sweet peas too.”

“Well, Miss Emma, I rather hope they helped him smell a bit better.”

Emma smiled and then told Mango Tango about the really great idea Miss Halloween, Queen of all Actual Cats had.

“My! That is a great idea! I may have to come by and visit Toad myself now, it has been a long time. Have you found any music you like?”

“I think I like them all, that’s the problem.”

“Well, let’s start playing things and see where we end up, okay. Why don’t you look in the trunk over there and find the perfect tutu for a Princess.”

Emma ran to the trunk. This is so exciting! She stopped a moment staring at all the candy colored creations…what was the perfect tutu for a Princess? She moved the around until she saw it, at the very bottom. Pink, green, ribbon and beads, it was the prettiest thing she had ever seen. She quickly tied it around her waist and hurried back to Mango’s side.

“Okay, let’s get started.” Mango reached over and pushed a disc into the player.

‘it’s a beautiful night to be here…’

Emma recognized the song. “I know that song, it’s my mothers favorite song.”

“Well the Queen obviously has good taste in music. This is a possibility; we will put it on our list. I will be teaching a modern dance class so something a little peppy and a little rock and roll would be good.”

“Oh I know!” Emma grabbed a disc and put it in the player.

‘where would we be if we couldn’t dream’

The song played and Mango Tango tapped a paw. “This is a good idea Emma.” She turned up the sound and began to leap around the room, doing twirls and twists in between. Emma clapped and tapped and giggled too.

“Come on Princess, dance! Just do what the music makes you feel like doing.”

Emma joined Mango Tango, mimicking her twirls, trying her leaps and laughing loudly. They shimmied, slid, ran and bounced. Mango called out the names of movements but Emma was having way too much fun to hear any thing she said. She listened to the music, danced and spun, leapt and glided across the floor. When the music ended, they both fell on the floor in one tired heap of fun.

“Oh Miss Mango, that is the most fun I have had all day I think. It was so hot out and I was so bored, I didn’t know being inside could be so fun!”

“Well little one, you are welcomed to dance here any time. Would you like to keep your tutu for dancing at your house?”

“Oh could I?” Emma sat up and looked at the very tired, big, yellow dancing dog.

“Certainly you may, ruler of frogs, toads and all creatures that hop. I think you even became a better hopper today than you were yesterday!”

“You are right! I never though hopping could be so much fun. Now I have a few things to show Miss Kiwi, the silliest hopper in the kingdom.” Emma was excited to learn something new and couldn’t wait to share with her other friends.

“That will be funny, please take pictures. You will need to bring Kiwi here sometime and let her pick out the perfect tutu for a silly hopper.”

“Oh that is a great idea! Thank you again Miss Mango. I can’t wait to show my mother what I learned too.” Emma was jumping up and down, apparently becoming a hopper in her own right now.

“Please give my regards to the Queen, Miss Emma. I am going to get ready for my class now. Have fun dancing at your house.”

Emma jumped up and down more. “I will, I always do! Bye Mango!”

So the Princess of frogs, toads and all creatures that hop ran out of the little blue house with daisies, in a pink and green flash, down the stone path, turned at the bent old tree, and ran down the lane to the tiny house, in a very hot place. Eager to teach everyone what she knew, she turned up the music and told everyone in her kingdom that staying inside on a very hot day can be a good idea with the right tutu.

The End

Days 14-16: 30 Day Shred With Jillian Michaels

2010-01-17T08:47:00.003-06:00

OMG. It's been a crazy four day weekend!

Thursday: I had obligated to help my mom early in the morning which extended into most of the day so I didn't get a chance to work out until really late. I have found when I push off the workout until late, I continue to have issues with endurance and the volume of which I complete that late. Mental note, avoid that at all costs.

Friday: Up uber-early trying to get everyone packed for their various trips. Having to meet with Little Monkey's dad for her visitation with him always stresses me out. If I thought about it logically, working out EARLY in the morning would have helped get rid of some of the stress. Obviously, logic wasn't on the brain. Two hours later I pack out BF and Middle Monkey for a hunting trip. By then I am exhausted and still stressed but fortunately was meeting Psychobillygirl for a movie and try to forget some of the day. We saw It's Complicated, very funny. Totally blew off working out that day.

Saturday: Slept late. Caught up on last season of U.S. of Tara, last season of Secret Diary of a Call Girl and some Psych. Took a nap in there somewhere. Grateful for time where its quiet and I am not required to do anything for anyone but REALLY miss the BF. Work out late again. This is when it sinks in, I will not do that again.

Sunday: Set the alarm for early, get up, get dressed and work out right away before doing anything. Feel winded but get through everything pretty well. Thinking of adding another video in after my workout with Jillian. Start researching some of my old favorites to see if they were released to DVD. More on that later. Still a ton to do and its not even 9 yet. SO glad I got the workout in early. ::big pat on the back::

Have a great week!

Day 13: 30 Day Shred with Jillian Michaels

2010-01-13T08:53:00.006-06:00

So I screwed up my streak yesterday...I didn't work out. ::GASP:: I felt like crap when I woke up and thought since even God rested, I can take every 13th day off. So there. I rested, stayed pretty still and woke up this morning thinking that I did not want to get out of bed. So you know what that means?

I am insane. Officially, need to be locked up. ::mental note to call Psychobillygirl for help::

I got up and exercised. Earlier, harder, even though I felt like crap. I am too afraid to go more than one day off because I am not sure I would get back at it. I am committed or need to be committed. I can't figure out which one yet. OH! And some clarification...this is not a New Year's Resolution (I don't do those...still working my list of intentions) but actually the result of a conversation with my BF about a pair of shoes. I won't disclose said conversation but the shoes are definitely at fault because they gave me an idea. So basically, while I blame Jillian for making me miserable each morning, this is really Kim Kardashian's fault.

I will try to not gush about the shoes too much other than a few things that made me feel a great big WOW...beautifully packaged when I received them, two colors of tissue paper and a shoe bag for your new pair of super excellent shoes. Aside from a fab idea, you can choose your shoes or choose not to get one every month. I cleaned out my closet when I got them, threw out 15 pairs of my previously owned shoes to make room for many pairs from Shoe Dazzle to come. So yeah, thanks Kim. Jillian is going to make me spend money on bikinis and you on shoes...like I needed this! UGH.

WHAT I AM EATING:

I gave you my modified modifications last time and I have had a couple of questions regarding food. Over the last year, our whole house has made significant changes in our eating habits. We are trying to buy local as often as possible, severely restricting our red meat intake, fish at least twice a week, everything cooked from scratch that we can possibly handle. (This year my biggest project is learning the art of cooking bread and pastries.) One of my biggest changes has been that I now eat 5 or 6 times a day. This has been a huge boost for both how I feel and my energy levels. That being said, with working out more you have to up your intake of fuel and protein. I eat a ton of chicken and tuna but one of my favorite things is something my kids think is weird, I call it fridge salad.

It is so easy that you will use this as your go to thing. I think in America, we fall too much to stuff that goes in the microwave (and generally is NO GOOD for you. This is something that really requires very little prep and its whatever you have on hand. I do use greens when I have them but the run out or wilt so fast that I have come to use this as my preference. In this bowl I have put grape tomatoes, peeled baby carrots, green olives, walnuts, cranberries, crumbled Stilton cheese. When I have them, I chop a whole cucumber or bell pepper, add in chunks of chicken or grilled shrimp. My absolute favorite dressing is Paul Newman's Family Italian and I use a tablespoon of that then splash on my own olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Good stuff, good fiber and will keep you full for hours. This also works with cereal in the morning if you want something healthy fast. I mix some Honey Nut Cherrios, some Fiber One, whatever flavor of Special K I have, adding in chopped pecans, cranberries and a spoon of zip code honey. YUM.

Have a fabulous day and make it count!

Day 12: 30 Day Shred with Jillian Michaels

2010-01-11T12:03:00.004-06:00

Well I am officially insane.

I talk back to Jillian today...OUTLOUD.

JM: "I know you are getting tire...blah...blah...blah...big finish."

QOTU: "Yes, I am fucking tired, woo hoo! Woo hoo!"

All the animals look at me, confused as to what the ruckus is really about.

Push a little on cardio and I am dying from it now. Back to knees hurting as do my arms.

Yeah Monday! Yeah! (yes, totally faking this)

Ok, off to do all the regular Monday stuff. Have a great week!

Day 10 and 11: 30 Day Shred with Jillian Michaels

2010-01-10T17:06:00.004-06:00

Day 10:

woo hoooooooo! Never in a million friggin years did I think I would EVER GET THIS FAR! I have a very full day so I hit it early (actually for me its late because I usually get up at 4 AM) around 6 so I can get done and shower. We have errands, an outdoor show and a memorial service to attend so I won't really have the opportunity to slow down for about 12 hours. For the first time in a while, I notice that it doesn't bother me and my body doesn't ache for all the running and going.

So I will say it. THANK YOU JILLIAN. (I actually mean it that time) I celebrate with a cheeseburger. (Just cause I think it would irritate the shit out of her) Go me. :)

Day 11:

Another wicked busy day. I am up around 6 but have other things to do now. Boyfriend and Middle Monkey are headed on a hunting trip Friday and Little Monkey goes to visit her dad for the weekend so it's serious laundry time. I like to work ahead but the kids are perfectly willing to wait until the night before they leave to wash and pack. None of that since there's three people headed out on Friday. Leave at 10 for church, back around 1, cook, eat with the family, sort through camping and hunting gear instead of taking a nap like I wanted to.

FYI, working out on your period really sucks.

I mean, its annoying on many levels but it has helped me from most of the issues I would normally have. Still running a bit of a fever but it pretty much feels like working out does so no big deal. Despite a long list I developed by 4 PM of why I WOULD NOT WORK OUT JUST ONE DAY, I do it any way. Fuck it. I don't even know why I fight the urge any more. I am gonna do it and in part because I know if I take one day off, I will probably convince myself to take two. At that point, it will probably be ridiculously hard to get started again. Can't let that happen. I am looking at bikinis after all!

I know some folks do the 10-10-10 method. Maybe it works for someone that really doesn't have far to go. I am not a weight lifter, I am not a runner, and my knees are still clickety clack when I put stress on them. I think 30 days on each level is just going to work better for me. I don't want to tear anything. Around day 15, I might try to mix it up a bit by trying level 2 again, but for the most part now, I am concentrating on form and trying to get my exercises to at least mirror what the person in the modified position on the video is doing (remember I am modifying the modified position...lol).

HERE IS WHERE I HAD TO MAKE ALTERATIONS:

All abs: Jillian shrieks "Your neck is not invited to this party!" No shit, but sometimes, its like that asshole roommate that just "happens" to show up every where you do on a Saturday night. For me, I have to do ad exercises with my hands on my stomach. I look at the ceiling and concentrate on contracting my abs and lifting my chest up towards the ceiling on a crunch. I use my hands to actually feel my muscles contract and make this work. I don't know why, but any time I am told to put my hands behind my neck or on my head for crunches, somehow I always pull with my neck and strain myself. Weird, but just something I have learned to adapt to work for me.

Jumping exercises: I am able to do all the jumping jacks now (who wouldn't with Jillian bellowing "400 lb people can do this"...what choice do I have) but it still kills my knees. She has too more jumping/hopping type exercises and I have not progressed to being able to do them all the way through without pain. For her butt kick, instead of hopping from foot to foot, I alter by doing it from ball of my foot on one site to ball of my foot on the other side, kicking myself in the butt with a back kick, just eliminating the jump that is harsh on my knees. For the jump rope, I do the upper body move as she asks but either do the butt kick with my legs as I have modified it or run in place. Both are less painful on my knees that are still clicking. Hopefully by the end of 30 days that will have improved.

Push ups: I have now progressed to doing three of these on each set of reps in the modified pose. I proceed with the remainder by just being on my knees and going through the push up motion with my upper body only. This can be done against the wall as well until you build up enough strength to start doing the push ups. Eleven days ago, I couldn't do one push up in the modified position, now I can do three very shaky ones. I am excited to see what Day 30 brings! Woot!

As a result of Jillian's workout infection, my arms are now killing me.

Way to go Jillian! (I don't really mean that one...I am bitter and angry about my new toned arms).

Day 9: 30 Day Shred with Jillian Michaels

2010-01-08T18:15:00.004-06:00

Blech.

I am sleepy. Ridiculously so. Don't feel like working out so I pretty much think of anything AT ALL I can do other than workout. Ugh. I relent by 1130 because its bothering me. This is starting to freak me out.

I pretty much have never done anything in my whole life this many days in a row other than eat, sleep and pee. I thought it took 21 days to form a habit, not 9? The upside I am seeing here is that though I am in full PMS mood, I have virtually no symptoms. So, to sum it up, Jillian is so scary that PMS runs away screaming.

Zombie workout virus, I swear.