A Cat Meme By Darly

Guest Blogger Darly:

Thanks to Catzee for tagging me. This is a kitty meme, but I’ll do my best even though I'm not a cat. It's so you can get to know me better. Here it is.

A) Four places I have lived:
1 - Wyoming
2 - Korea
3 – Grandma house
4 – My house

B) Four things I love to watch:
1 – Good Eats
2 – House of mouse
3 – Dirty jobs
4 - Butterflies

C) Four places I have been outside my home:
1 – Museum
2 - Gym
3 - Mall
4 – Girl Scouts

D) Four websites I visit daily:
1- www.americangirl.com
2- http://www.barbie.com/
3- www.pbskidsgo.com
4- www.kids.nationalgeographic.com

E) Four of my favorite foods:
1 - Pizza
2 – Arby’s roast beef sandwich
3 - Steak
4 – Kraft macaroni & cheese

F) Four places I would rather be right now:
1 – American Girl Place, LA
2 – Watching TV
3 – Walt Disney World
4 – Kurse of the Dark Castle – Busch Gardens VA

G) Four toys I have owned and played with:
1 - Sandy – my American girl doll
2 – Coconut – Sandy’s dog
3 – Emma – my fake American girl doll
4 – Fifi – Emma’s dog

H) Four nicknames my staff have tried to assign me
1 - Darlypoo
2 – Darly
3 – DJ –wah wah wah! snort!
4 – Hearty –silly girls at my gymnastics class tried that one.

I) Regarding Catnip: ya gets to choose one
1 - Love it
2 - It's nice
3 - Could take it or leave it
4 - Don't like it or can't have it
2,but I’m not a cat

J) Regarding Cat Grass: here's another one to choose
1 - Love it
2 - It's nice
3 - Could take it or leave it
4 - Don't like it or can't have it
2, but I’m still not a cat


K) First four things I'd buy after winning the lottery:
1 – A bunch of stuff for my doll Sandy
2 – a Torti Cat – would try to rescue one from the shelter first of course!
3 – rescue a kitten from the shelter
4 – buy a play tower for the cats

Catzee said this: Lottsa Temptations fur all my furrends (Darly I hope ya likes Temptations in case I win the lottery.) Ummm Catzee, I don’t know about that. I could give them to my cats though.

L) Four things I do besides eat, sleep, and litterbox:
1 – play with dad
2 – play with Sandy
3 – my school work
4 – attack Lilly

M) Four things I want to do this summer:
1 – be a flower girl
2 – go to Girl Scout Camp
3 – go to American Girl Place, LA
4 – go camping

N) My four most prized possessions that have limited value to anyone else:
1 – my huge collection of art made by me
2 – squashed pennies
3 – my special rock collection
4 – my two calendars in my bedroom

O) What I’m going to do before tomorrow is over:
1 – take a shower
2 - eat
3 – play with dad
4 – watch TV
she better clean up her mess!

P) Which of the following is your favorite place to hide and play?
Paper bags
Plastic bags
Boxes
Other (please describe)
Other – bedroom. I don’t actually fit in paper bags or plastic bags and we don’t have any boxes that I fit in either.

Q) Four other "pets" your staff have kept with you: Lilly, Trina, Trudy, Misty

R) Four friends I tag to respond: Mom says I’m not allowed to tag anyone. But if they wanna play along that’s fine.

Torti Tuesday

Darly wanted to be sure that we posted this today for Torti Tuesday. She made this special for one of her favorite Tortis.

I've had a few folks ask "What is a Torti?" So here's your answer... Torti

Torti is short for Tortise Shell...which refers to her coloring. Isn't she pretty?

I used to have a Torti Persian when I was in High School.

What books have you read?

I got this meme from Chickadee

Look at the list of books below.
* Bold the ones you’ve read
* Italicize the ones you want to read
* Leave blank the ones that you aren’t interested in.
* If you are reading this, tag, you’re it!
**If there are any books on this list that I didn't italicize and you think I should read, let me know in comments! Also, what other books do you think belong on this list and why?

1. The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)
2. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
3. To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
5. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien)
6. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
7. The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)
8. Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)
9. Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
10. A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
11. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)
12. Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
13. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
14. A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
15. Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
16. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Rowling)
17. Fall on Your Knees (Ann-Marie MacDonald)
18. The Stand (Stephen King)
19. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Rowling)
20. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
21. The Hobbit (Tolkien)
22. The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
23. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
24. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
25. Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
26. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
27. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
28. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
30. Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom)
31. Dune (Frank Herbert)
32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
34. 1984 (Orwell) required reading for the class of '84 but not the class of '85!
35. The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
36. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
37. The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
38. I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb)
39. The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
40. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel) actually, I'm not sure if I read this.
42. The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
45. Bible
46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)
47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
48. Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt)
49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
50. She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
51. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
52. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)
53. Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)
54. Great Expectations (Dickens)
55. The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
56. The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
57. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)
58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)
59. The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
60. The Time Traveller’s Wife (Audrew Niffenegger)
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
63. War and Peace (Tolstoy)
64. Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice)
65. Fifth Business (Robertson Davis)
66. One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
69. Les Miserables (Hugo)
70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
71. Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding)
72. Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)
73. Shogun (James Clavell)
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
75. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
76. The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)
77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
78. The World According To Garp (John Irving)
79. The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
80. Charlotte’s Web (E.B. White)
81. Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley)
82. Of Mice And Men (Steinbeck)
83. Rebecca (Daphne DuMavrier)
84. Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind)
85. Emma (Jane Austen)
86. Watership Down(Richard Adams)
87. Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
88. The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
89. Blindness (Jose Saramago)
90. Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
91. In The Skin Of A Lion (Ondaatje)
92. Lord of the Flies (Golding)
93. The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)
94. The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)
96. The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)
97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
98. A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
100. Ulysses (James Joyce)

I like historical fiction. I've read a ton of books that have to deal with the English Royal families. I have to be careful with those because I sometimes get the fiction confused with the facts. oops.

The 35 Symptoms of Menopause

This list of common symptoms that occur during perimenopause and menopause was developed from the real-life experiences of hundreds of women. All symptoms were experienced by numerous women and were either cyclical in nature, or responded to treatments (both traditional and alternative) known to address hormonal imbalances.

• Hot flashes, flushes, night sweats and/or cold flashes, clammy feeling
• Irregular heart beat
• Irritability
• Mood swings, sudden tears
• Trouble sleeping through the night (with or without night sweats)
• Irregular periods; shorter, lighter periods; heavier periods, flooding; phantom periods, shorter cycles, longer cycles
• Loss of libido
• Dry vagina
• Crashing fatigue
• Anxiety, feeling ill at ease
• Feelings of dread, apprehension, doom
• Difficulty concentrating, disorientation, mental confusion
• Disturbing memory lapses
• Incontinence, especially upon sneezing, laughing; urge incontinence
• Itchy, crawly skin
• Aching, sore joints, muscles and tendons
• Increased tension in muscles
• Breast tenderness
• Headache change: increase or decrease
• Gastrointestinal distress, indigestion, flatulence, gas pain, nausea
• Sudden bouts of bloat
• Depression
• Exacerbation of existing conditions
• Increase in allergies
• Weight gain
• Hair loss or thinning, head, pubic, or whole body; increase in facial hair
• Dizziness, light-headedness, episodes of loss of balance
• Changes in body odor
• Electric shock sensation under the skin and in the head
• Tingling in the extremities
• Gum problems, increased bleeding
• Burning tongue, burning roof of mouth, bad taste in mouth, change in breath odor
• Osteoporosis (after several years)
• Changes in fingernails: softer, crack or break easier
• Tinnitus: ringing in ears, bells, 'whooshing,' buzzing etc.

Okay, I'm not going to share which symptoms I have because frankly, they're embarrassing! But I will say that there are at least 12 of them that I have. I wonder how many you have to have before it's official?

I'm excited actually. To be done with all of this...forever? That sounds absolutely wonderful! I did this quiz on one site (I was looking for a site that had you answer yes or no to symptoms and told you how far along you are in the process. I found one once and it said I was still premenopausal.) and it said that perimenopause (where you actually have symptoms) only last 2 to 5 years. That's not what I've heard...but then I know a lot of women who have been on HRT so that would probably make the process longer.

I don't want HRT. Do you know what they do to get Estrogen??? I'm not taking that! I want to do this with proper diet & exercise.

I started looking because I've had COLD FLASHES & the extreme Fatigue...and it seems to be cyclical. I would probably know if I kept better track of these things.

Sorry to the guys & gals who aren't dealing with this yet. And to that gals who are there or close, any sharing would be great. Thanks!

Wedding Woes

Well first I need to comment on the weird thing that happens when I try to post something on my blog. I click on the link and I get a posting window inside of a posting window. Since I don't know what to do with that...I put my post in the inside box...as I can't see any way to get it in the outside box. Weird.

So today DH & I were trying to figure out our plans for attending the wedding this June.

The players:
DH: dear husband
DNP: dear Niece who is getting married
DF: dear Niece's fiance
DNE: dear Nephew who is graduating from High School
SIL: Sister in Law who is their mother
MIL: Mother in Law who is the mother of SIL & DH
Darly: dear daughter who is one of the flower girls in the wedding
BIL#1: DH's oldest brother (the one with 7 kids, his one dd is the second flower girl)


Okay, I think that does it for the cast.

So SIL and her kids in an effort to have all of the family come and visit for the longest amount of time possible have scheduled DNE's graduation party on the Saturday before the wedding. June 23rd for the Grad party & June 30th for the wedding. They seriously want for the family members that are invited (more on that later!) to come and stay then entire time between those two dates. For us this would mean a 10 day trip. The airfare is the same no matter what days we are there. But for a 10 day trip we would need to add on extra car rental, extra hotel stay, extra food, extra dog & rabbit care here, and extra car parking here. Oh and then there is the issue of what to do for the 4 days between the two events...so that's entertainment costs.

So this morning DH is looking online at the prices for everything and trying to figure out what we would do for those 4 days. His Uncles have cabins that are near the area that we might be able to stay at...but we weren't really looking to go camping. We could go to Mackinac Island, but DH says it is a tourist trap that might be windy like Jamestown, VA was and Darly won't like that. So he is wanting me to decide and I really don't care. Darly doesn't want to stay for the 10 days. So I suggest that he call MIL to see if she has any preference on how long we stay.

MIL tells us that she doesn't care how long we are there and gives us the updates...first DNP's wedding location has changed as they were unable to get a location in the first city they wanted...Traverse City. It will now be in Gaylord. This is good news as Gaylord is actually on the interstate instead of having to take back roads and it's closer to Frankenmuth.

The second news is that DNE wants to invite all his classmates & teachers to his Grad party. With so many people that we don't know there, we're thinking that 1)DNE isn't going to realize that we aren't there and 2) that's way too many people for these introverts that I live with. So that makes it easier to skip the Grad party all together. YAY

So we've purchased our tickets for the flight and will only be gone 5 days. While we could stay with family for some of the time, we're thinking that it would be nicer to not have to deal with them and stay at a hotel. So we're looking into that.

Now I just have to ask around for dog & rabbit sitters.

Oh, I promised you some more on who is invited to the wedding. It's tradition in Frankenmuth for everyone to crash your wedding. Don't know who or why, it just is. MIL said they had about 10 extra people come to her wedding, some with gifts, some without...but the more the merrier.

DNP & DF don't want anyone crashing their wedding. That's why it won't be in Frankenmuth. They want a really nice and fancy wedding, but they don't want the expense of it, so they are only inviting certain people. Part of this included a request that only BIL#1, his wife & DD come to the wedding instead of their entire family. The have given each of their parents a certain number of people that they are allowed to invite. SIL accidently mentioned to her cousin some of the wedding details and the cousin was excited to go to the wedding when SIL had to tell her that she wasn't invited. Oops!
DH thinks this is crazy. A wedding should be full of family & friends and well wishers. But I think it's their wedding. Who are we to tell them how to do it? I do think they're going to have to allow BIL#1's entire family to come though. That's just silly to say that they can't.

Oh I forgot to mention that SIL#2 (she's not mentioned in the cast of characters above) is upset with DNP for NOT having her daughter be in the wedding. LOL this is so totally crazy. First of all, the daughter is 17! And she's been a flower girl numerous times before. It's time for the younger cousins to have their turn. I wouldn't be suprised if DNP didn't even want this cousin to come to the wedding at all...this kid's behavior is terrible. She's got issues.

I should quit now. Here's another dress that I found http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/ref=br_1_6/601-8791212-5094536?ie=UTF8&frombrowse=1&asin=B000MDA460

TH TH

The Thursday Thirteen may or may not be retired as of today...this one being the last one. But our Gracious Host Leanne says that folks are interested in buying the rights (did ya know it was copywrited? it is!) So maybe today isn't the end.

At any rate, I've decided to come out of semi-retirement here because I'm stuck at home waiting for my SIL to call me. *sigh* That will probably take up a few of my 13 things...

1. Like I said I'm waiting for SIL to call to arrange picking up her Girl Scout cookies and those cookies for my brother who is in Afghanistan (not her husband...my other brother...I've got 3.)

2. She emailed me last Monday while I was out for my bike ride to say we could do it then...ha ha or that we could try to hook up today.

3. But she has nap issues with nephew that MUST be worked around. I totally don't get the nap issues crap (oops did I say that?) because with Darly we just went places. If she needed to nap, she napped. She was such a good and easy baby. But apparently my nephew has to have his naps in only certain places.

4. So if he sleeps while she is driving and sleeps for the whole time, they'll consider that an entire nap and we can go somewhere...but if he sleeps part of the time, she'll have to get the cookies and run so that he stays asleep. *sigh*

5. So I wait not so patiently for her to call.

6. I need to go to the library and get a new book to read...but I should also clean my office and house. I would rather read a book.

7. Darly's clothes order from Kohls came this morning. Here I was saying that it wouldn't get here until after 5:30pm, but it showed up at 11am instead. Everytime I complain about UPS they prove me wrong. I gotta remember to do that the next time I use them. ha ha it's fun!

8. All the clothes that I ordered for her are too big...figures. But she wants to keep them because she'll grow into them. I hope so.

9. We got my car back last night. It seems to be running just fine now. I should check out the headlight though. I wonder if that vacuumed it?

10. Almost all of the Girl Scout cookies have been delivered. YAY! Now it's time for the paperwork & money. I sure hope that all goes well.

11. Darly has to come up with something to do for Presentation Club tomorrow morning. She doesn't have any ideas.

12. The place where Darly has gymnastics is thinking about offering classes for Adults. But two are in the mornings when I don't have any place for Darly to go...I don't think that she'll like waiting and watching me through the glass windows. Ha ha Then there is one at night at 7:30...that's too late. I would be too tired by then.

13. I think the idea was to do the classes when the kids aren't there so the adults don't feel silly, but they still forget that a lot of us homeschool. We live in the hometown for the Christian Home Educators of Colorado.

Okay, that's 13 things.

3WW #24 okay #1 for me on this, #3 total (i think)

Welcome to Three Word Wednesday.Each week, BONE will post three (or more) random words. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to write something using all of those words. It can be a few lines, a story, a poem, anything. This is a writing exercise. It doesn't have to be perfect. The idea is to let your mind wander and write what it will. I'll also attempt to write something using the same three words.

Be sure to leave a comment if you participate.

This week's words are:
Wilted
Drawer
Ink

You know the drill...

Tammie dreamed with all her heart that one day she would be a published author. She sent off copies of her works to every publisher she could think of and of those who even bothered to respond she received rejection letters. She would shove these in a drawer that she had labeled "REJECTION."
One would think that with all this rejection that Tammie's hopes would be wilted, but they weren't. There was a little voice in her head that urged her to "keep writing"...and so she did. She wrote about everything and anything. She also wrote anytime and anywhere.
You could see her in the subway scrawling something on the back of an envelope. Ideas just kept flooding in. If she ran out of ink she would ask everyone near her for another pen. She always meant to replace those pens...one day when she was published and could afford it, she would get them all brand new nice pens to replace the bics and other brands. She kept notes on who gave her pens...she didn't ever want to forget.

And my car still isn't done yet!

Dh called me this afternoon at 3:47 to see if the mechanic called me yet. um no so he tells me that he'll be home soon so that we can get to the shop before they close at 5:30.

He gets home somewhere around 5ish. My car isn't done yet he says. What do I want to do about it? Well what can I do about it? They have my car hostage until it's fixed (I'm imagining her parts all strewn across the floor) about right at that moment the mechanic calls. DH is wanting me to tell him what I want to do about the car while he is on the phone. I'm really confused about the way men think here.

He gets off the phone. The mechanic has told him that they have been sent 3 wrong parts for my car and realized they can't find a new one...so he's placed an order for a used one (this is to straighten the headlight that was smushed in by the deer's butt!) I'm wondering what is wrong with these people who can't figure out what part to send...but anyway. Oh and DH thanks this guy. GIMME A BREAK!

So now my car is held hostage for yet another day at the Mechanic. This is why I HATE taking my car in to get it fixed. There is only one place in town that will be honest with you and say how long it's going to take them to get it fixed and 9 times out of 10 they have it done before then. I really like that garage, but even then they will try to pull one over on me. They don't realize that they are dealing with a mechanic's daughter. The only thing keeping me from climbing under the hood with a copy of Chilton's and a wrench is DH who thinks that because I'm a girl I can't do it. HA!

I get to spend another day at home going crazy tomorrow. You'll be seeing a lot of me.

UPDATE: The mechanic called Today (Wednesday) at 10:47am to say my car is finally finished! YIPPEE! But DH won't be home to drive me to pick it up until 4pm BOO! But the bill is much less than the guy originally said. YAY! But it's because he had to us a used part. BOO!

Actually I'm not that upset about the used part. It's an old car 1994 so expecting the Ford folks to make a brand new part for it is silly. I went through the same thing with my old Ford car... only with it I had cracked the headlight and I wasn't able to get any part for it at all...no new, no used... so I improvised.

I went to the auto parts store and asked the guy what I could use to seal up the headlight. He showed me the silicone sealer and then said that I would need to dry out the inside of the headlight or it would just burn out the bulb again. He didn't know how to dry it out...but I did.
I asked if he thought using a blow dryer on it would work...or if that sounded too silly. He didn't think so at all.

So I pulled out my battery (because the Ford folks put it right behind my headlight) pulled out the old bulb and it's housing. Put the blow dryer to the back of the headlight housing and let it run for a while. My blow dryer has a cool air setting, so I used that to make sure I didn't cause any more condensation in there. Once I could see that it was dry in there...I sealed up the crack with the silicone. I think I might have used a nail file to spatula the stuff in the crack. Then I replaced the new bulb in it's housing and put it back in. Put my battery back in and checked to see that I had it working. I did, it was just fine.

funny about all of that... I originally cracked the headlight about two weeks after I got the car in my one and only accident. I rammed the car into the back of the car in front of me. That was the only damage to my car...the car I hit only got a few small scratches from my front license plate holder. I was told that I should replace the cracked headlight right away because it would collect condensation and burn out my bulb. That was in 1990. The headlight didn't actually go out until 1995! I did my repair and we sold the car in 1998 with the headlight still working just fine.

My current car has been damaged by me once...I ran over a boulder that I couldn't see...(one of the hazzards of driving a vehicle that sits so high off the ground is that you can't see stuff way down there.) DH has damaged my vehicle 3 times...and he thinks I'm a bad driver.

I DIDN'T DIE!!!

How's that for a title to get your attention??? ha ha

Well if you read my post below, I am without a car today for the second day. Yesterday I had the lovely pleasure of using DH's car for all my errands, meetings, etc.

Today however, I was left to my own devices for transportation. So I use my bicycle to get from our house to the Church...here let me look up how far I actually traveled so you can either sympathise or laugh your butt off at how weak I am... it was 1.7 miles. Let the laughing commence!

Well one thing I learned on my trip is that there is a valley of sorts between my house and the Church...so yes, I had to travel UPHILL both ways. LOL

I had to first put air in my tires with the only pump I could find in the garrage...the broken one. It did work but took some convincing while the dog barked at me from inside. Then I left...it was cold so I had gloves & one of those ear protecting headbands on...I also had some sunglasses.

I walked the bike down the hill from my house to the main street (actually named MAINSTREET...there's a silly story about the name.) and then hopped on to ride to the Church. I was doing just fine until I got to where the sidewalk ends because this is also where the hill going up to the Church begins. At this point I was almost there and almost out of breath. My lungs hurt and there was a pain in my upper chest.

I decided to push the bike the rest of the way. The trip took me only 15 minutes, even with the pushing. Not too bad...but I had to "recover" from my ordeal for about 10 minutes before I could start working. The office manager was very nice about it and I was early...I had given myself 30 minutes to make the trip.

My trip home again was tougher, would you believe. I coasted down the hill by the Church and that was going well until a moving van refused to move over until the very last minute...I had actually breaked in prep for moving into the grass when he finally decided to pull over into the very clear lane to his left...yeah I was going against traffic.

But once I got to the sidewalk I pulled off the road again. That went well, but I realized that there is a slight slope...against my direction.

I made it home and I wasn't terribly winded this time...but I am terribly thirsty. I should go make some soup to heat me back up.

I've seen better days!...

Actually I wanted to title this "It's seen better days," but isn't there a song that goes "I've seen better days..." oh well...

Today being a federal holiday (President's Day) DH decided to call around and try to get my car fixed. It's been a real mess since he whacked the deer last Mother's day.

So this morning we got up early (for me & Darly) to take the car in at 8am.

Then I got to drive DH's car (OH JOY!) to my LLL meeting. It's not that DH's car is bad or anything, but after driving from up high in my Explorer it feels like I'm sitting on the ground in his Camry. Meeting went very well.

While I was gone the mechanic called and listed out everything that is wrong with my car. It seems that the 4x4 was stuck and partially engaged...which would explain the weird noises I've been hearing. The 4x4 that we just had replaced 2 years ago has to be replaced AGAIN! The mechanic recommends the manual version this time because he hasn't ever had any luck with the Automatic types. So now if the weather is yucky and I want 4x4, I get to hop out of my nice warm car and turn the hubs by hand.... can't you tell how excited I am? :p

They also need to fix the alignment, rotate the tires and straighten out the front headlight.

Oh and they won't be done with my car until at least noon tomorrow because they don't have the 4x4 parts. YIPPEE!

I'm only supposed to be somewhere tomorrow morning...

So I looked online to try to rent a car for me to use tomorrow. We have 2 car rental places in town and the one has no cars...the other wants $47 a day to rent their car???? :o

Since it's cheaper for DH to take off from work to drive me around, that's what he's gonna do. So I get the pleasure of having him home again.

UPDATE: DH didn't stay home to drive me. I get to ride my bike. I hope I don't pass out from altitude sickness. I should be leaving now.

duh

Drop in smoking means less tax revenue
By MARTIGA LOHN, Associated Press WriterThu Feb 15, 1:52 PM ET
Roland Henkel quit smoking in September and has been doing the math ever since: A week added to his life. More than 2,100 Marlboro Lights he hasn't smoked. And more than $400 he didn't spend on cigarettes.
"It does add up," said Henkel, 53. "You don't think about it when you're smoking so much."
The state of Minnesota has been doing the math, too, and isn't quite as delighted.
Because of quitters like Henkel, Minnesota's tobacco tax revenue is expected to go into a gradual slide later this year — a drop that may grow even steeper with the expected passage of a statewide smoking ban.
Across the country, states are putting their treasuries under pressure by adopting smoking restrictions as well as higher cigarette taxes, which appear to be discouraging people from lighting up, as many health activists had hoped would happen.
State Sen. David Tomassoni, a Democrat who opposes a statewide smoking ban, said he worries about the lost tax dollars.
"The taxes on smoking are being used to fund education, they're being used to fund health care, they're being used to fund real things. Now, if we eliminate smoking, does it mean that those things go away?" Tomassoni said.
Opponents of smoking don't mind if the take from smokers falls.
"The wonderful thing about tobacco revenues is when they go down, there's less smoking," said Eric Lindblom at the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids in Washington.
It is clear that states could see some medical savings from reduced smoking, but it is difficult to say how much, and whether those savings might offset the lost tax revenue. Minnesota's Department of Human Services estimates it spends $295 million a year to treat smoking-related illnesses for 647,000 people on public assistance.
The downturn in revenue won't necessarily cause states any immediate major hardship, since the decline is slow and cigarette taxes represent only a small portion of state budgets.
But up to now, they have been a reliable and politically expedient way of raising revenue to solve budget problems. Sin taxes on things like cigarettes are "the most socially acceptable form of taxes you can raise," said Bob Kurtter, a state budget watcher at Moody's Investors Service.
Just over a fifth of U.S. adults smoked in 2005, down from about one-fourth a decade ago. Because of the downturn, states levied taxes on 2.8 billion fewer packs in 2005 than they did just five years earlier.
In 2005, tobacco taxes contributed $13 billion to state budgets. But cigarette tax collections that year were down in 15 states compared with the year or years before, according to a study backed by the tobacco industry. States such as New York, Massachusetts and Illinois are all forecasting a drop in revenue.
Similarly, the federal cigarette tax has been bringing in less money each year since 2002. The amount dropped from $8.1 billion in 2002 to $7.7 billion in 2005, according to the same study.
Cigarette taxes are now "a lousy way to fund your government," said David Brunori, who teaches tax policy at George Washington University. "The government is not letting you smoke anywhere."
Thirteen states, including California, Colorado and New Jersey, prohibit smoking in bars and restaurants, and Arizona will make it 14 in May. An additional six states do not allow smoking in restaurants, according to the American Lung Association.
Also, all but a few states have jacked up their cigarette taxes in recent years. In many cases, lawmakers did so with a combination of motives: to raise revenue, at least in the short term, and to discourage smoking by making the habit more expensive.
Minnesota slapped an extra 75-cent charge on a pack of cigarettes because of budget problems two years ago. The state expects to collect about $451 million from smokers this year but is projecting a drop of about 1 percent a year, or $4 million to $5 million — and that is does not even take into account the potential effect of a statewide smoking ban.
California banned smoking in bars and restaurants in 1998 and raised its cigarette tax 50 cents a pack in 1999. Tobacco tax revenue boomed, then started to decline. It has leveled off at about $1 billion a year in the past few years, thanks to a crackdown on counterfeit tax stamps, said Anita Gore, a spokeswoman for California Board of Equalization.
Henkel, a security company supervisor, kicked the habit after 35 years out of concern for his health. He regularly checks a Web site that tracks how long it has been since he quit — "Four months, 22 days and maybe about 20 hours," he said last week — and the effect on his wallet and his health.
"It told me that I've gained seven days of life," he said.

As for me, this is something I'm willing to risk. I really hope that smoking rates drop. Darly knows how I feel and for right now she feels the same...we both cough loudly when we smell cigarette smoke. I hope that she doesn't fall for any peer pressure.

Oh MY Goodness!!!! What a day!

Well the day started off pretty well. I had picked up Girl Scout cookies last night for our troop to sell...but I was required to go back today to return them between 6 & 7 pm. Ut Oh! Darly has gymnastics class at 6:30 and the cookies place & the gym are about 30 min (with good driving conditions) apart.

So what to do? Last night I decided that it was silly for us to drive all the way back home from Girl Scouts (which is closer to that side of town) and then try to get to the cookie cupboard sometime after Darly's gymnastics class started. So I made plans to stay on that side of town at Jen's Hoard for the hour or so inbetween....

Well let's start off by sorting out our cookies. I took from the cookies the ones that we needed to fill our orders. While I was out there sorting, our neighbor was out and I asked if he wanted any (we missed him for the orders...and yeah, this is the neighbor with all the cars!) He did and bought 6 boxes. YAY!

Then I got everything packed back into the car to take to our Girl Scout meeting... I even remembered to bring a "tea cup" (really a coffee mug) for Darly to use for our "tea party" really served cocoa. We had to go over to our good friend at Woodstone Prairie's house to pick up and drop off a few things. And then we were off to Girl Scouts.

I got there early to try to deal with the cookie business and did with one mom...the other mom wanted to wait until after the meeting which was fine with me cuz I had to kill some time between the meeting and the cookie place.

We had a great Girl Scout meeting. The girls learned about manners. And we got all the cookies off to the girls who needed them. Then we headed over to Jen's where I sorted all the cookies back so that I could count them all and fill out my paperwork for the cookie cupboard.

I left Jen's at 5:45 and got to the cupboard in going home traffic at 6pm on the nose. Well the cupboard lady had not even put my order together yet. I don't know why. She had a larger order that she was still trying to take care of and I would have to wait to get my cookies. I offered to help her and she said that I couldn't. I really couldn't wait and I couldn't come back because my family's dinner was already being messed up for this.

So I asked if I could just keep the cookies that I already had and use them for my sale tomorrow. She said that would be fine. Any paperwork? No. so in reality I didn't need to come there at ALL today I didn't say that last part...but I was sure thinking it as I fought my way back to our town to get Darly to gymnastics class on time.

I didn't make it to gymnastics class on time. By the time I reached the accident scene all that was left were two police cruisers talking about something. Couldn't you guys move off the road to say the doughnut shop to talk about this? Of course I didn't get to say this either.

Darly was about 10 min late...and only missed a little stretching. Her class was otherwise uneventful.

I had placed an order for a pizza earlier and we got that on our way home. So that took care of our very late dinner.

But the good news is that I got a check from Nana to send some cookies to my Brother in Afghanistan and one of our homeschooling friends bought some cookies for herself & our neighbor in Iraq. J in Iraq & R in Afghanistan are our hometown heros.

Yeah, I caved...

I tried and tried but there was no way that Blogger was going to let me post another day...they had had enough of my nonsense. So here I am. *sigh*

Oh well. I guess I'll live. It was fun while it lasted.

Well, I've given myself a royal headache for tonight. I've got to figure out how to feed my family and drive over to HR (next town over) at the same time to pick up Girl Scout cookies. Wish me luck everyone.

Oh yeah, and I've also got to do a survey tonight as well...hopefully I make it home on time because there's a chance I won't get allowed to do the survey if I'm late. UPDATE: I missed the survey...there goes $25! bummer

Introducing the book

ROTFLOL!

Kimberly said: Because I work with literally a "bunch of Danes" in my job, I was able to recognize some of the simpler words "I, and, yes, no" and looked up the video's history on YouTube. Guess what? It is a Norwegian commercial with Danish subtitles!

funny cats

another attempt to outsmart blogger. oh and I like the cats too.

I've gotta remember how I did that!

perhaps it was just a fluke? I don't know. I'm in.

I noticed on Uisce's blog that not everyone is all that thrilled that some of us are holding out on making the switch. Does this really cause a problem for you? If so let me know. I'm just holding out to be contrairy and to try to win whatever it is that Uisce says he'll give me for holding out the longest.

Seriously though, some of the folks on his holdout blogroll haven't been posting much. I don't think that should count as I am actively trying to post without making the change and others are just not bothering.

Anyway, more fun and games with the Girl Scout cookies. The girls in our troop continued to take orders for cookies after we turned in our cookie sheets...this is fine and normal. But to get those cookies we have to wait. However, I discovered a loop hole for that and we can get cookies on Thursday. But the cookie lady thinks that my goals for this are too big. Really we want to check out the cookies for the entire weekend but she wanted specific hours. so when I told her she told me that I shouldn't expect that much out of the girls and I don't. We just want the cookies and at this point, I'll do whatever I have to get them. ha ha ha

I'm just in a defiance mood today.

Darly is upset with me for sparing her a noisy Valentines Day party. She hates these parties as it's a bunch (40+) of kids locked up in a room at the library making all kinds of noise with not much to do. She doesn't like noise. Sure she might like the valentines, but usually noise trumps everything else. And I don't really want to go either as I'll be expected to try and keep these kids in line because their moms will be too busy socializing. So I get to put up with the grumpy kid.

Oh about our shopping trip yesterday...it was mostly a bust. Darly wears a size 7slim pant and you can't find that in the stores. But I did find it on their website and bought her 4 pair...she doesn't know yet, so she'll be excited.

But I did find yesterday a great deal. I first noticed this skirt a while back when it was $40, but they didn't have it in my size. Boo!
Yesterday I find my skirt on the clearance rack...in my size and now it's $8.00! KaChing! I tried it on and it fit so nicely. I'm a happy girl.

I know the link I gave you for the skirt is at JCPenney...but I bought it at Kohls. I was just checking the JCPenney site and they didn't even buy my size at all. boo again. I'm really perturbed with them for not ordering my size or having it available online. that stinks. Glad I found it at Kohls though. hee hee What I wanna know is why Kohls is selling it for $8.00 and JCPenneys still wants $30 for it.

My Hairdresser called me today. She had sent me a letter back in Dec? saying that she wouldn't be in until Feb. So now she is back and I desparately need my color done. I told her that I tried this at home "shine" kit and it made my hair so brassy. I hope she can fix it for not too much. I should look and see if I can find any coupons. so tomorrow, hopefully I'll be a brand new me.

Just wish I could find a solution for the acne on my forehead. I didn't go through this as a teenager, but now my face looks like a teenager's. It's kinda depressing, luckily most of it is covered by my bangs.

tired of my blathering along? me too

HOT DOG!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've been trying all morning to post something (not too sure what to post now) but blogger has been pretty insistant that I make the switch to the new blogger. well I don't know how I managed...perhaps it's the having a different window open to my blog...the one I was trying to post on. Funny I think I remember reading in the help section to try a new browser window if I couldn't log in. well HAHAHAHAHA! I'm posting and this still isn't new blogger.

Okay some real stuff...thanks to everyone who is sending me valentines...I can't wait to read them all on Wednesday. Speaking of Wednesday...I should be out shopping. I got DH a gift and I have a card for him already...but there is a much more important event coming

DH's Birthday is TODAY!!! I have no idea what to buy for him and he has been telling me and Darly that he doesn't want anything at all. I teased Darly that we should get him a new pet...but he would so seriously kill us for that. You should see the backyard right now...it's so full of dog crap because we haven't been able to go clean it due to the snow. but I digress... gotta figure out a birthday. We went out to dinner last night to celebrate because Darly has gymnastics tonight. First we tried to go to Black Angus...35-40 min wait. Nope! Then we drove past Olive Garden and a few other places. I suggested that we try the new steak place in town SaltGrass, but they were also a 30-40 min wait. At that point I suggested that we might have a table already at Black Angus if we had waited. DH agreed. But we headed over to Applebees anyway.
We got a table right away at Applebees and the dinner was okay... DH & I shared a Steak & Riblet combo. The steak was grizzly but not hard to chew...just hard to cut. And the Riblets were...weird. I don't know what part of the pig they came from...they were mostly bones, but tender and tasty.
Dh got a free dessert that we all shared...the Maple Butter Blondie Sunday. Very yummy!

Saturday morning I got up early and went to get the Girl Scout cookies for our troop. They have the set up down to a science...you drive up to each station and the people there load up your cookies...you verify that they gave you what you ordered and you're on your way. very easy. I spent the next hour or so sorting cookies by girl's order. Then Darly & I started delivering. We got everyone on our street done quickly. Then I called everyone at Church who had ordered.

Sunday was Mayhem!!! Darly & I had walked into the fellowship hall at Church and no sooner did we set our stuff down and we were swamped by folks coming up to get their cookies. It was crazy!
We were a few minutes late to Sunday School and even there we had to sort out cookies for another order. LOL!
Then on the way to service we were swamped again. One lady kept asking if she could help but really it was more of a bother to me to have to keep telling her no, I had it under control (in my own frazzled way!) But seriously dealing with one customer at a time works best.
We got into Church on time (I was SHOCKED) and I hid the cookies under the bell ringer tables that stay out all the time...they have a skirt on them, so folks wouldn't see the cookies.
After Church, I was trying to get the cookies out from under the table and the Pastor's wife comes over to get her cookies. I was kinda shocked because I feel like I shouldn't be selling cookies in Church...you know the whole Jesus turning over the Tax Collectors' tables in the Church thing... so we got out as quickly as possible and were approached by yet another person wanting cookies.
We sold an extra 8 boxes...that I now have to reorder because we sold out of our extra boxes before I even got the cookies.

So now I have a request in to do a Walkabout where we get to borrow cookies to sell and then can return the extras.

Darly came downstairs wearing jeans that were too short and a shirt that the sleaves were 3/4 even though they weren't supposed to be. So I had her go through her entire closet to see what still fits. We have to go shopping today so she has something to wear. So I should go before the day is gone.

No, I'm not begging for attention...

Get your own valentinr

but some valentines would be nice.

no way!

I just clicked on create post expecting for blogger to tell me that I had to make the switch and low and behold...I don't have to yet. YIPPEE!

Another day of old blogger for me. I'm so psyched.

gosh, now I don't even know what to blog about. LOL!

Oh, I guess I could ask for your opinions on this...

Darly is selling her little heart out on Girl Scout cookies to try to "win"/earn a Move 'n' Groove dance mat. The good news is that she's sold over 260 boxes of cookies...the bad news is that it takes 450 boxes to get the dance mat.

So because she's a great kid and I really need a good idea of what to get her for her birthday anyway...I've told her that we will just buy her a dance mat for her birthday. Now the problem...which one?

I see that there are a lot out there that you plug into your video gaming system. We don't have a video gaming system and I really don't want one either. We don't need another reason to be watching the tv. So out of the others there are the kind that plug into your TV and the kinds that don't. Does anyone have these kinds or have you or your kids ever tried these out? I need some opinions.

I checked at epinions but they're mostly on the other kind.

Flower Girl Update

Well I last reported that I had been searching for a flower girl dress for Darly to wear for her big day. I've found lots of cute dresses, but I also found a pattern that I thought would make an excelent dress.

Yesterday we went to MIL's house and showed her the pattern. She thought it looked very good, but said we had the wrong color. Luckily SIL called while we were there. She gave us the style number of the Bridesmaid dresses...



The color of this dress is Pistachio (this is where MIL was confused by the color.)

So I started snooping and found this flower girl dress...


I think that this is the dress that Neice wants for the flower girls. I know that DH is not willing to spend that much and I doubt that BIL (other flower girl's dad) will be able to spend this much...which is probably why Neice was being so evasive when I spoke to her.

So I found this pattern:



SIL is an excelent seamstress. She made the flower girl dress for Neice #2 to be in my wedding. It looke very much like a little girl copy of the Bridesmaid dresses that I had picked. She was so perfect.

So I suggested that perhaps if SIL has the time she might make the dresses. According to MIL, SIL was thrilled that I suggested this. I thought this would be a way to make Neice happy and make the "perfect dress" more affordable for BIL & us...and the girls would be sure to match. I also feel that the pattern I picked out will make a very close copy of the dress that Neice wants...however, I'm not married to it LOL. If Neice & SIL pick out another pattern that is closer to what Neice picked out, that's fine by me. I'm just thrilled that SIL seems so far to be excited about sewing the dresses. I also think that SIL could cut out cousin's dress first (as she is bigger than Darly) and then cut out Darly's dress from the same pattern.

Now a call to SIL is needed to confirm that she is indeed thrilled to do the sewing...and some negotiations for the money involved. A check on shoes and we're set. Oh and I have to tell them we most likely will not be staying there for 10 days.

Sliding under the radar...

Am I like the very last old blogger out there? Everyone else it seems has been FORCED to switch over to the new blogger...but me. I'm just waiting until they say I've gotta switch.

Watch this post wakes them up... that would be really sad as NO ONE likes new blogger. Didn't all the blogger beta folks say that they didn't like it??? I don't understand why they would switch if the beta didn't work. Beta is where you work out the bugs.

Oh well. I'm sticking with old blogger as long as I can. neener neener neener!

I'm sure that did it!

UPDATE: This morning Blogger is wanting me to make the switch! I managed to sneak by the page though...it says I can only do this once... we'll see about that. hee hee hee

one down...two to go

one situation all worked out...two to go and they're looking better too.

hanging in there

Nope, I'm still mad. Probably because they're still doing what was making me angry. There aren't any Christian songs about being really mad at anyone. Go figure.

Funny thing though about 11 or 12 years ago my favorite songs were about being really angry. I don't think that we put those CDs in the CD player...I sure hope not. I should try to get rid of them...don't need Darly hearing that junk.

Not too long ago our sermon was about waiting for God. I wrote on my bulletin to Darly this song...she didn't get it. I had to explain it to her in the car later.

MercyMe - Hold Fast
From the album Coming Up To Breathe

To everyone who’s hurting
To those who’ve had enough
To all the undeserving
That should cover all of us
Please do not let go
I promise there is hope

Chorus:
Hold fast
Help is on the way
Hold fast
He’s come to save the day
What I’ve learned in my life
One thing greater than my strife
Is His grip
So hold fast

Will this season ever pass
Can we stop this ride
Will we see the sun at last
Or could this be our lot in life
Please do not let go
I promise you there’s hope

Chorus:

You may think you’re all alone
And there’s no way that anyone could know
What you’re going through
But if you only hear one thing
Just understand that we are all the same
Searching for the truth
The truth of what we’re soon to face
Unless someone comes to take our place
Is there anyone
All we want is to be free
Free from our captivity Lord
Here He comes

Chorus:

Label: Integrity Music


This evening Darly reminded me that my "New Year's Resolution" was to Smack Stupid People In The Head. LOL!

Valentines Goody Swap!~~ Sticky post

Scroll down for newer stuff.



Head on over to the Islands to sign up for the goody swap! You might get some good goodies...or at least some chocolate. Tell Island Girl that I sent you...thanks!

Come On Folks! You KNOW you want some Chocolate for Valentines Day!!! Please sign up...there's some extra chocolate in it for me if you do and tell her I sent you...and if you're nice, I'll share.

Don't forget to check out The Extreme Makeover - Home Edition

What the hay...

It seems that everything that I'm involved with right now is trying to make me the grumpiest person on the planet. Is it the full moon? Is it PMS? I suppose it is lucky that DH isn't here to grump me out too. LOL

In one group, I've got folks who don't understand the words "NO! We don't have the money for that."

In another group for someone who doesn't want to cause "any drama", actions seem awefully dramatic and petty.

And in the last group fears confirmed.

All of this is making me wonder if perhaps it's time to rethink my committments in these areas. Well the one group I will be leaving at the end of my term, but there's a lot more stuff to deal with before that happens. The other two should work themselves out soon.

Ever wish that you could fast forward through stuff like in that Adam Sandler movie?

I've been Nominated!!!!!

Oh Wow! This is such an honor! I've never been nominated before!

I would like to thank the academy, the judges (that's you!), God who without him nothing is possible, my family...SCEECH! Okay reality check this isn't the academy awards.

Oh yeah.

So I've been nominated for the Share The Love Blog Awards in the catagory of Best Commenter. You'll have to scroll down a lot as there are a lot of other wonderful blogs nominated for different catagories and you'll see a lot of your other friends there too... If I saw your blog on there, I voted for you!

BUT PLEASE VOTE FOR ME! Thanks!