I stole this from Sunday Stealing which you can link to here. I thought it was appropriate for me because I am a television addict.
Here you go.
1. Name a TV show series in which you have seen every episode at least twice: Iron Chef (the original).
2. Name a show you can't miss: Grey's Anatomy.
3. Name an actor that would make you more inclined to watch a show: Tyne Daly.
4. Name an actor who would make you less likely to watch a show: Charlie Sheen.
5. Name a show you can, and do, quote from: Friends.
6. Name a show you like that no one else enjoys: Spelling Bees?
7. Name a TV show which you've been known to sing the theme song: Golden Girls - and I never even watched the show.
8. Name a show you would recommend everyone to watch: Big Love, but I think Mormons or people who know a lot about Mormons would actually "get it" more than others.
9. Name a TV series you own: The only one we own is 24, and we never watch it when it is on tv.
10. Name an actor who launched his/her entertainment career in another medium, but has surprised you with his/her acting chops in television: Marky Mark
11. What is your favorite episode of your favorite series? I don't know what my favorite series is and I don't think I have a favorite episode.
12. Name a show you keep meaning to watch, but you just haven't gotten around to yet: New Adventures of Old Christine.
13. Ever quit watching a show because it was so bad? The Apprentice.
14. Name a show that's made you cry multiple times: I don't think I cry at television, but the show that has made a significant emotional impact on me multiple times has been E.R.
15. What do you eat when you watch TV? Chips and Dip or Veges and Dip.
16. How often do you watch TV? Multiple hours Daily.
17. What's the last TV show you watched? Brothers and Sisters.
18. What's your favorite/preferred genre of TV? Probably drama or reality.
19. What was the first TV show you were obsessed with? Good Times.
20. What TV show do you wish you never watched? The Apprentice.
21. What's the weirdest show you enjoyed? MXC on Spike TV.
22. What TV show scared you the most? Ghost Whisperer. I don't watch it because even the trailers scare me.
23. What is the funniest TV show you have ever watched? America's Funniest Videos or Friends.
Monday, March 2, 2009
WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER!
I am so very very happy because I just won something and usually I never win anything.
Actually that's not completely true. I won something at my high school graduation (20 years ago).
When I graduated from high school we had a "dry" grad. This won't make a lot of sense to my American readers who don't legally drink till they are 21, so I will explain.
Many provinces in Canada have a legal drinking age of 18 and kids are already 18 when they graduate from high school. It is typical for students to plan a graduation after party where they can drink. Parents assume that the kids are going to drink whether they are legal drinking age or not since many friends are legal drinking age and so they want the drinking to be somewhat supervised and safe. When I was in high school the kids would arrange with a farmer from out of town to use his barn to have a party and then get bussed to the farm after graduation ceremonies and drink and party all night and get picked up or bussed back to town in the morning. It has become quite controversial for many reasons, the least of which is the licensing of the events because police know that many attendees with be underage and drinking it is a liability for farmers who rent out the barns.
The year I graduated there was a big push to have "dry" grads. I don't know how it all came together for my school and I have no idea who planned it and ran it, but we all went to a local bar after hours and there was dancing, games and prizes all night for the people who stayed. There was no alcohol at this function so getting kids to stay was not an easy task.
Many local businesses donated prizes as an incentive for students to stay at the party all night.
It was at this event that I won something.
DRUM ROLL PLEASE.................................
I won a twenty dollar gift certificate for a fabric store. WHOOT WHOOT!
Last week on Poppingbubbles blog there was a competition with a book as a prize.
I am a regular follower of Poppingbubbles and as I started to read the hints I was SHOCKED and AMAZED that I knew the answer :)
I submitted my guess, and the winner was announced today.
IT WAS ME!
I won a book which for me is infinitely better than a gift certificate for fabric.
Actually that's not completely true. I won something at my high school graduation (20 years ago).
When I graduated from high school we had a "dry" grad. This won't make a lot of sense to my American readers who don't legally drink till they are 21, so I will explain.
Many provinces in Canada have a legal drinking age of 18 and kids are already 18 when they graduate from high school. It is typical for students to plan a graduation after party where they can drink. Parents assume that the kids are going to drink whether they are legal drinking age or not since many friends are legal drinking age and so they want the drinking to be somewhat supervised and safe. When I was in high school the kids would arrange with a farmer from out of town to use his barn to have a party and then get bussed to the farm after graduation ceremonies and drink and party all night and get picked up or bussed back to town in the morning. It has become quite controversial for many reasons, the least of which is the licensing of the events because police know that many attendees with be underage and drinking it is a liability for farmers who rent out the barns.
The year I graduated there was a big push to have "dry" grads. I don't know how it all came together for my school and I have no idea who planned it and ran it, but we all went to a local bar after hours and there was dancing, games and prizes all night for the people who stayed. There was no alcohol at this function so getting kids to stay was not an easy task.
Many local businesses donated prizes as an incentive for students to stay at the party all night.
It was at this event that I won something.
DRUM ROLL PLEASE.................................
I won a twenty dollar gift certificate for a fabric store. WHOOT WHOOT!
Last week on Poppingbubbles blog there was a competition with a book as a prize.
I am a regular follower of Poppingbubbles and as I started to read the hints I was SHOCKED and AMAZED that I knew the answer :)
I submitted my guess, and the winner was announced today.
IT WAS ME!
I won a book which for me is infinitely better than a gift certificate for fabric.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Bullet Sunday
For the topic of today's bullet blog I am going to write a little about adoption. My spouse and I are in the process of adopting one foster son and hope to adopt our second foster son. We have been foster parents to both children since birth (one son was in the hospital for a month following his birth but we picked him up from the hospital).
Adoption and foster care are hot topics for my spouse and I. I found some interesting information on people who were adopted on the blog of Buck and Mike.
Many successful people in our history were adopted. Oprah Winfrey, Steve Jobs.
Adoption and foster care are hot topics for my spouse and I. I found some interesting information on people who were adopted on the blog of Buck and Mike.
Many successful people in our history were adopted. Oprah Winfrey, Steve Jobs.
- U.S. Presidents Gerald Ford, Herbert Hoover, and Andrew Jackson;
- poets and writers Maya Angelou, Rudyard Kipling, Patricia Cornwell, Truman Capote, Herman Melville, Jonathan Swift, Joseph Conrad, John Keats, Rita Mae Brown, Ruth Westheimer, Edward Albee, W. Somerset Maugham, J.R.R. Tolkien, Leo Tolstoy, Arisotle, Dante Alighieri, Edgar Allen Poe, William Wordsworth, Jean Genet, Richard Wright, Langston Hughes, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau;
- composer Johann Sebastian Bach and singers John Lennon, Seal, Charlotte Church, Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Sarah McLachlan, Ella Fitzgerald, Willie Nelson, James Brown, Eric Clapton, Deborah Harry, Little Richard, Nat King Cole, and Louis Armstrong;
- actors Jack Nickolson, Anthony Hopkins, Ice-T, Ted Danson, Charlie Chaplin, Marilyn Monroe, Ray Liotta, Dean Cain, Eartha Kitt, Ingrid Bergman, Melissa Gilbert, James Dean, Pierce Brosnan, Dylan McDermott, and Steve McQueen;
- world and national leaders Nelson Mandela, Simón Bolívar, Moses, Muhammad, Alexander the Great, William the Conqueror, George Washington Carver, Frederick Douglass, Eleanor Roosevelt, Nancy Reagan, Sacagawea, , Joseph Fielding Smith, Orson Hyde, Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, Newt Gingrich, Alexander Hamilton, John Hancock, Jesse Jackson and Sam Houston;
- athletes Babe Ruth, Greg Louganis and Mike Tyson;
- naturalists John James Audubon and John Bartram; movie directors François Truffaut and Miloš Forman and producer Samuel Goldwyn.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
thursday thirteen: thirteen things happening in my world today
Today I am blogging about thirteen things happening in my world today. It has been a week from where Satan dwells and I cannnot wait for it to end. The only problem with it ending is another one just like it starts Monday.
1. My boys are beginning the third night of their stay in the hospital. Max is getting better but CJ is getting worse. I say Max is getting better - he slept most of the day, so really he is far from being himself, but he is out of the woods I think.
2. Every Thursday I am responsible for hosting a student social in residence. Every Thursday for the past two years my process for preparing for this night has been altered because of what i believe to be a power play by a staff member in another department. I have dealt with it, even though it is a huge pain in my behind. I don't start work until 4pm on Thursdays and I have to meet this staff member to collect things I need for my evening. I went today, as I have for 2 years, and this person was gone. Left. Gone home. I now have to deal with having NOTHING for my function. I took care of it, of course, but the whole situation has me intensely frustrated.
Apparently this person told others that I was "unreachable" all day. Funny thing was - I got no calls on my cell phone, no messages on my office phone, no emails, and no calls to the other two people in my office who WERE here. Just to add fuel to the whole situation, I WAS in the office today before 4pm - putting together something this person had called for at 9am this morning because it was SOOOO important to them that I turn it in.
3. Hosting my student social and planning March activities.
4. Attending class online for my masters class that I am currently enrolled in -from a computer that doesn't give me the full access I need. I can't move to a computer that DOES give me access because of #5 and #6.
5. My assistant is on vacation this week. I was on crack when I said it was an o.k. week to go. I am short staffed in the rec center. I have close to 100 people checking out tomorrow and have to do assessments with no help. 9 I asy "no help" with tongue in cheek. Someone has volunteered to help but this person has done so once before and it was more pain that help). I have a check in on Sunday which will be the 4th weekend I have worked out of the past 5. My sons are in the hospital (which has absolutely nothing to do with my assistant but has made my life this week increasingly complex).
6. I have been on the phone twice today with angry parents who should not be talking to me at all. I would say more on this topic, but I DO like my job. I have not been able to accomplish things I NEED to do because I am putting putting out fires I neither started, nor should I be responsible for putting out. OH WELL! I can't leave my phone when I am talking on it to take care of #4.
7. I am trying to put together an exit survey which will take care of two things...
a) information from other departments regarding how this department is run. Do these people not have enough time in the day to worry about their own garbage that they have to worry about mine? I certainly don't have the time to worry about theirs.
b)Some stuff in my department DOES need to change and this will be a great catalyst to get er done. .
8. Sleep deprivation. An example of my sleep deprivation would be that i walked out of the hospital into a running van and began to drive it away. My spouse told me she left the van running for me outside. When I noticed a cell phone I thought wubby had left hers behind and thought I would take it in for her. When I picked the phone up I realized it was not her phone, and looked around. Not her phone, not our van! I drove the van back to where I got into it and found my van in the parking lot a little way away. Once in my van driving away I realized that the van was neither the same make, nor the same colour as ours. How could I have explained THAT one to the police do you think?
9. Covering for shifts where I have no staff.
10. Completing month end tasks before month end... because they are "DESPERATELY" needed by other departments. I will never understand this. I still have to do the same thing for them next week because month end happens on Saturday, they will need all the info again on Monday. Nothing like doing the work twice.
11. Freezing my @#^%*&()!@!( **& % off because the temperature is - 3000000000000. Usually I go outside a handful of times a day and I park very close to my destination. This is not possible in the parking lot of the hospital and I can't find my coat. I thought I moved to Canada, but I really moved to Uranus. There is no groundhog in Uranus to predict an early spring. (maybe there is a groundhog in UR Anus, but please keep that info to yourself and your groundhog).
12. Giving breathing treatments to two very unhappy boys. Max wanted me to put the mask on so I thought if I put it on for a second it would show him there was nothing wrong with it and then he would put it back on. No way Hose. I put it on and that was good enough for him. He covered his head with his blanket.
13. Getting ignorant emails. People, please read what you write before you send it and GET OVER YOURSELVES.
1. My boys are beginning the third night of their stay in the hospital. Max is getting better but CJ is getting worse. I say Max is getting better - he slept most of the day, so really he is far from being himself, but he is out of the woods I think.
2. Every Thursday I am responsible for hosting a student social in residence. Every Thursday for the past two years my process for preparing for this night has been altered because of what i believe to be a power play by a staff member in another department. I have dealt with it, even though it is a huge pain in my behind. I don't start work until 4pm on Thursdays and I have to meet this staff member to collect things I need for my evening. I went today, as I have for 2 years, and this person was gone. Left. Gone home. I now have to deal with having NOTHING for my function. I took care of it, of course, but the whole situation has me intensely frustrated.
Apparently this person told others that I was "unreachable" all day. Funny thing was - I got no calls on my cell phone, no messages on my office phone, no emails, and no calls to the other two people in my office who WERE here. Just to add fuel to the whole situation, I WAS in the office today before 4pm - putting together something this person had called for at 9am this morning because it was SOOOO important to them that I turn it in.
3. Hosting my student social and planning March activities.
4. Attending class online for my masters class that I am currently enrolled in -from a computer that doesn't give me the full access I need. I can't move to a computer that DOES give me access because of #5 and #6.
5. My assistant is on vacation this week. I was on crack when I said it was an o.k. week to go. I am short staffed in the rec center. I have close to 100 people checking out tomorrow and have to do assessments with no help. 9 I asy "no help" with tongue in cheek. Someone has volunteered to help but this person has done so once before and it was more pain that help). I have a check in on Sunday which will be the 4th weekend I have worked out of the past 5. My sons are in the hospital (which has absolutely nothing to do with my assistant but has made my life this week increasingly complex).
6. I have been on the phone twice today with angry parents who should not be talking to me at all. I would say more on this topic, but I DO like my job. I have not been able to accomplish things I NEED to do because I am putting putting out fires I neither started, nor should I be responsible for putting out. OH WELL! I can't leave my phone when I am talking on it to take care of #4.
7. I am trying to put together an exit survey which will take care of two things...
a) information from other departments regarding how this department is run. Do these people not have enough time in the day to worry about their own garbage that they have to worry about mine? I certainly don't have the time to worry about theirs.
b)Some stuff in my department DOES need to change and this will be a great catalyst to get er done. .
8. Sleep deprivation. An example of my sleep deprivation would be that i walked out of the hospital into a running van and began to drive it away. My spouse told me she left the van running for me outside. When I noticed a cell phone I thought wubby had left hers behind and thought I would take it in for her. When I picked the phone up I realized it was not her phone, and looked around. Not her phone, not our van! I drove the van back to where I got into it and found my van in the parking lot a little way away. Once in my van driving away I realized that the van was neither the same make, nor the same colour as ours. How could I have explained THAT one to the police do you think?
9. Covering for shifts where I have no staff.
10. Completing month end tasks before month end... because they are "DESPERATELY" needed by other departments. I will never understand this. I still have to do the same thing for them next week because month end happens on Saturday, they will need all the info again on Monday. Nothing like doing the work twice.
11. Freezing my @#^%*&()!@!( **& % off because the temperature is - 3000000000000. Usually I go outside a handful of times a day and I park very close to my destination. This is not possible in the parking lot of the hospital and I can't find my coat. I thought I moved to Canada, but I really moved to Uranus. There is no groundhog in Uranus to predict an early spring. (maybe there is a groundhog in UR Anus, but please keep that info to yourself and your groundhog).
12. Giving breathing treatments to two very unhappy boys. Max wanted me to put the mask on so I thought if I put it on for a second it would show him there was nothing wrong with it and then he would put it back on. No way Hose. I put it on and that was good enough for him. He covered his head with his blanket.
13. Getting ignorant emails. People, please read what you write before you send it and GET OVER YOURSELVES.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
letter to Max, 29 months
Dear Maxie Man,
I am writing you this letter while you are laying in a hospital bed. At least, when I left you were laying in a hospital bed and I hope you still are (for your moms sake). We had a very scary night with you last night. You were breathing over a hundred breaths in one minute and your heart rate was over 160 beats in a minute. You were in rough shape.
It turns out you have viral pneumonia. You had us worried there for a moment - and the doctors and nurses also.
You were SO good getting your IV put in. As soon as you started to feel a bit better you were very curious about how you were attatched to a pole and beeping monitor.
Of course last night when you happened to be smiling and giggling for the first time in many days, the doctor came in and suggested that you were too sick to be laughing. He was right, but it made me sad not to be able to make you smile.
I just got off the phone with your mom and you are having a tough time. I have to make some arrangements at work to escape from here for the rest of the night and go back up to the hospital. You are being grumpy. Imagine that! Sick and grumpy.
I love you buddy. I hate that you are so sick.
I'm on my way to hang with you.
Mom
p.s
I just got back from seeing you. Unfortunately I have to be at work tonight. You are not very good at being sick - though I don't know who ever IS good at being sick. You are grumpy, grumpy, grumpy. you want to be picked up, then put down. You want to walk, then be carried, then not by me, then not by your mom.
We are being incredibly indulgent of you - which I do not regret, but I am not looking forward to the days next week when life is "back to normal" and you want life to be as accomodating as it is now.
I am writing you this letter while you are laying in a hospital bed. At least, when I left you were laying in a hospital bed and I hope you still are (for your moms sake). We had a very scary night with you last night. You were breathing over a hundred breaths in one minute and your heart rate was over 160 beats in a minute. You were in rough shape.
It turns out you have viral pneumonia. You had us worried there for a moment - and the doctors and nurses also.
You were SO good getting your IV put in. As soon as you started to feel a bit better you were very curious about how you were attatched to a pole and beeping monitor.
Of course last night when you happened to be smiling and giggling for the first time in many days, the doctor came in and suggested that you were too sick to be laughing. He was right, but it made me sad not to be able to make you smile.
I just got off the phone with your mom and you are having a tough time. I have to make some arrangements at work to escape from here for the rest of the night and go back up to the hospital. You are being grumpy. Imagine that! Sick and grumpy.
I love you buddy. I hate that you are so sick.
I'm on my way to hang with you.
Mom
p.s
I just got back from seeing you. Unfortunately I have to be at work tonight. You are not very good at being sick - though I don't know who ever IS good at being sick. You are grumpy, grumpy, grumpy. you want to be picked up, then put down. You want to walk, then be carried, then not by me, then not by your mom.
We are being incredibly indulgent of you - which I do not regret, but I am not looking forward to the days next week when life is "back to normal" and you want life to be as accomodating as it is now.
ten on tuesday: ten favorite ethnic foods
You can click on the logo above to see what others posted.This weeks topic is my favorite ten ethnic foods.
Here goes.
1. anything Mexican
2. anything Mexican
3. anything Mexican
4. anything Mexican
5. anything Mexican
6. anything Mexican
7. anything Mexican
8. anything Mexican
9. anything Mexican
10. anything Mexican
Needless to say I have a hankering for Mexican food. There is no good Mexican way up where we live and the last time we were in California we ate Mexican food every single day we were there. I can't wait to go back.
Here goes.
1. anything Mexican
2. anything Mexican
3. anything Mexican
4. anything Mexican
5. anything Mexican
6. anything Mexican
7. anything Mexican
8. anything Mexican
9. anything Mexican
10. anything Mexican
Needless to say I have a hankering for Mexican food. There is no good Mexican way up where we live and the last time we were in California we ate Mexican food every single day we were there. I can't wait to go back.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Stolen Meme
This week the meme at my two cents is all about sex. And though I am tempted to copy it and answer the questions, it may scare away the two people who acknowledge that they follow this blog. So instead I stole a meme from Stealing Sunday.
Here you go.
1. Is there someone you'd like to be kissing right now?
Yes. My sons.
2. When you're being extremely quiet, what does it mean?
I am either sleeping, reading, or mad.
3. What are you listening to right now?
Indigo girls, Leaving.
4. Are you a big fan of thunderstorms?
HUGE fan.
5. Do you believe in perfect?
Yes. My sons are.
6. Are you a jealous person?
I think so. i was extremely jealous of my spouses friendship with a dude named Jon. But when I met her I thought he was her boyfriend and I don't think I ever got over it.
7. What was the first thing you thought this morning?
This morning started for me at 12.01 am and I knew it was the beginning of a LONG day without sleep.
8. What do you think about when you are falling asleep?
What I am reading
9. Are you satisfied with what you have in life?
Yes.
10. Do people ever think that you're either older or younger than you actually are?
I think people think I am older than I am.
11. Do you think men truly understand women?
No.
12. How about women understanding men?
No.
13. Did anybody ever call you handsome or beautiful?
yes.
14. What is one fact about the last person that called you?
um.. she speaks extremely loudly into the phone. Yells in fact, and she never leaves messages which is VERY annoying.
15. Other than your current one, what’s the longest relationship you have had?
I have had a relationship with my parents for 37 years. Is that my current one?
Here you go.
1. Is there someone you'd like to be kissing right now?
Yes. My sons.
2. When you're being extremely quiet, what does it mean?
I am either sleeping, reading, or mad.
3. What are you listening to right now?
Indigo girls, Leaving.
4. Are you a big fan of thunderstorms?
HUGE fan.
5. Do you believe in perfect?
Yes. My sons are.
6. Are you a jealous person?
I think so. i was extremely jealous of my spouses friendship with a dude named Jon. But when I met her I thought he was her boyfriend and I don't think I ever got over it.
7. What was the first thing you thought this morning?
This morning started for me at 12.01 am and I knew it was the beginning of a LONG day without sleep.
8. What do you think about when you are falling asleep?
What I am reading
9. Are you satisfied with what you have in life?
Yes.
10. Do people ever think that you're either older or younger than you actually are?
I think people think I am older than I am.
11. Do you think men truly understand women?
No.
12. How about women understanding men?
No.
13. Did anybody ever call you handsome or beautiful?
yes.
14. What is one fact about the last person that called you?
um.. she speaks extremely loudly into the phone. Yells in fact, and she never leaves messages which is VERY annoying.
15. Other than your current one, what’s the longest relationship you have had?
I have had a relationship with my parents for 37 years. Is that my current one?
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Bullet Sunday
- Patience: I have heard all my life from my mother that patience is a virtue. I have been thinking about it this weekend because my sons are sick - both of them are quite sick now but it all started with Max. I had to take him to the emergency room on Wednesday night because of an allergy attack he was having. I think that allergy attack completely drained the poor kid of every hope he had of fighting off any bugs and he got the flu. I would not describe myself as a patient person usually, but then I started to give it some thought.
- Today I investigated virtues and found there is a lot more to virtues than I ever knew. There are LOTs of virtues. Patience originates as one from the Psychomachia ("Contest of the Soul"), a poem written by Aurelius Clemens Prudentius (c. AD 410) entailing the battle of virtues and vices. The intense popularity of this work helped to spread the concept of holy virtue throughout Europe. Practicing virtues is considered to protect one against temptation from the seven deadly sins, with each one having its counterpart. Each of the seven heavenly virtues matches a corresponding deadly sin.
- Seven deadly sins: Can you name them all? Let's see if I can without looking.
pride. envy. lust. gluttony. I missed greed, sloth and wrath.
- Seven contrary virtues... humility, kindness, chastity, temperance, charity, diligence, patience.
- Of the virtues I always thought I was most lacking in patience, but I think I am actually better at patience than some of the others. I handled going to the emergency room with a two year old and waiting around. I handled sitting with him in a chair giving him a breathing treatment. I handle issues at work with unhappy people. I am giving myself some extra credit on patience. Let's see how I do on the others. I would say I am pretty diligent and do o.k. on humility - is it possible to think that and be humble at the same time? maybe not! My chastity is great, my charity fair but I have a lot to work on as far as temperance and kindness. It's just nice to know that if my mom ever says "Patience is a virtue" again, I can assure her it's one I have a handle on.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
satire?
The New York Post contains a cartoon which they call "satirical".
You say satirical, I say racist.
Yeah. yeah, I know all about free speech. I think there's a place for satire.
I believe in free speech.
Do I agree with the publishing of this cartoon?
Not a chance.
Looks like the USA just jumped back in time a number of decades... oh wait, the USA doesn't treat all citizens as equal in THIS decade.
Am I surprised the cartoon was published? I wish I could say yes, but I am not, only saddened.
You say satirical, I say racist.
Yeah. yeah, I know all about free speech. I think there's a place for satire.
I believe in free speech.
Do I agree with the publishing of this cartoon?
Not a chance.
Looks like the USA just jumped back in time a number of decades... oh wait, the USA doesn't treat all citizens as equal in THIS decade.
Am I surprised the cartoon was published? I wish I could say yes, but I am not, only saddened.
Julie needs.....
I haven't seen this before and then today I saw it twice, once on my friend RANAVAN's blog and then once on a blog of someone who is participating in Thursday thirteen so I thought I would try it out.
What you do is go to google and then put your name down followed by the word "needs".
I literally laughed out loud. Here is what my search turned up...
... a new pair of shoes.
... coffee.
...sleep.
... to get out in the fresh Eire
... a new house.
... a patient family.
... to go to bed.
and
.... to bath.
Then for EXTRA fun I tried it out with my spouses name to see what she needs. This is what turned up.
...a new crib
...help
... to see Star Wars
... a vacation to.
She will agree with every one of those!
What you do is go to google and then put your name down followed by the word "needs".
I literally laughed out loud. Here is what my search turned up...
... a new pair of shoes.
... coffee.
...sleep.
... to get out in the fresh Eire
... a new house.
... a patient family.
... to go to bed.
and
.... to bath.
Then for EXTRA fun I tried it out with my spouses name to see what she needs. This is what turned up.
...a new crib
...help
... to see Star Wars
... a vacation to.
She will agree with every one of those!
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
reading
I would just like to say THANK YOU to MC Beaton who writes books I can still read in one sitting.
I was so discouraged in my poor reading performance earlier this week when I finished only the fourth book I have read since January 1st that i picked up a fairly new MC Beaton book in despair. MC brought a glimmer of hope back into my life. I finished the book in a night and a half - which is still painfully slow for me, but a tad better than I have been doing otherwise.
It's getting pretty close to Lent, which is when I traditionally give up hope, but I was almost having to start early except for the writing of MC. Blessings on your head MC Beaton. Blessings on your head.
I was so discouraged in my poor reading performance earlier this week when I finished only the fourth book I have read since January 1st that i picked up a fairly new MC Beaton book in despair. MC brought a glimmer of hope back into my life. I finished the book in a night and a half - which is still painfully slow for me, but a tad better than I have been doing otherwise.
It's getting pretty close to Lent, which is when I traditionally give up hope, but I was almost having to start early except for the writing of MC. Blessings on your head MC Beaton. Blessings on your head.
Waiting for my spouse to blog
My spousal Unit blogs. I enjoy reading her blog. We do some things the same - like ten on Tuesday - but we have a "thing" where we don't read what the other has written until we have posted our own. That's because we want to try and be "original" which is difficult after being together a lot of years. If I read her list before I posted mine I would be influenced by what she chose. It's a fun thing for us - - except for me right now because I am ready for her to read and comment on mine and she hasn't finished hers which means she WON'T be reading or commenting on mine tonight. ARG! She is in bed right now, reading a book and falling to sleep because it is her night to sleep and my night with the baby. I am sitting here trying to think of things to do to distract me from the fact that She won't be blogging or reading tonight.
What I need to do is go and read some homework and forget this silliness.
What I need to do is go and read some homework and forget this silliness.
Ten on Tuesday: Ten songs that describe me or my life
You can check out others links if you click on the little logo above.Here are ten songs that describe me or my life, in no particular order...
1. Lion Sleeps Tonight.
My family always sang no matter where we were going. We would sing if we were in the car 5 minutes or 5 days. Lion Sleeps Tonight is a song we loved to sing and everyone had a part. If only Justin had the same falsetto now that he did then.....
2. Suddenly. Soraya
3. Ghost. Indigo Girls
I was introduced to the Indigo Girls by the first woman who ever kissed me. This song was the one I listened to over and over as I was struggling with my identity. I don't think there is any one song that I feel better describes my "coming to terms with my gay" life. It took a lot of years for that to happen. It's still a work in progress.
Here are the lyrics:
There's a letter on the desktop
that i dug out of a drawer
the last truce we ever came to
in our adolescent war
and i start to feel the fever
from the warm air through the screen
you come regular like seasons
shadowing my dreams
and the mississippi's mighty
but it starts in minnesota
at a place that you could walk across
with five steps down
and I guess that's how you started
like a pinprick to my heart
but at this point you
rush right through me
and i start to drown
and there's not enough room
in this world for my pain
signals cross and love gets lost
and time passed makes it plain
of all my demon spirits
i need you the most
i'm in love with your ghost
i'm in love with your ghost
dark and dangerous like a secret
that gets whispered in a hush
(don't tell a soul)
when i wake the things i
dreamt about you
last night make me blush
and you kiss me like a lover
then you sting me like a viper
i go follow to the river
play your memory like a piper
and i feel it like a sickness
how this love is killing me
i'd walk into the fingers
of your fire willingly
and dance the edge of sanity
i've never been this close
i'm in love with your ghost
unknowing captor
you never know how much you
pierce my spirit
but i can't touch you
can you hear it
a cry to be free
oh i'm forever under lock and key
as you pass through me
now i see your face before me
i would launch a thousand ships
to bring your heart back to my island
as the sand beneath me slips
as i burn up in your presence
and i know now how it feels
to be weakened like achilles
with you always at my heels
this bitter pill i swallow
is the silence that i keep
it poisons me i can't swim free
the river is too deep
though i'm baptized by your touch
i am no worse than most
in love with your ghost
you are shadowing my dreams
4. Baby Mine. Dumbo Movie.
This is the lullaby I sing to my boys.
5. My Immortal. Evanescence
This song can make me cry for the ones I have lost.
6. Everything. Alanis Morissette
7. You'll never walk alone - Liverpool FC Anthem
Liverpool FC is my team. The team I have grown up with and the anthem which is the anthem of my life also.
8. Do you hear the people sing? Les Mis
There is such a huge part of my soul which shouts out for the oppressed. Though the oppressed I am thinking of are my country men and women of Africa, this song resonates with me.
9. Say You'll be Mine. Amy Grant
I am not a huge Amy Grant song but I sing this to my spouse until she says 'I'll be your baby". It's fun. (for me anyway!)
10. Every Breath You Take. Police
I have a great friendship with my cousin/sister Tracy. I pretty much spent my entire infancy with her and her brother and when I was a teenager I spent summers with her and had immense amounts of fun. When she went on a mission I used to sing "Since you're gone I've been lost without a "Trace".
And I am sorry but it is completely impossible for me to give just ten, so I will give some honorable mentions also...
Pachelbel Canon in D
Billy Gilman. One Voice
Alabama. Angels Among us.
I believe that the people here on earth ARE the angels. You can make a choice every day to bless the lives of people around you. Sometimes you don't even know if the kindness you perform will bless another or not. But it's people - here - that are the angels. I've met one or two and I hope at some point in my life I have been one, if only to a foster kid.
Paul McCartney. This One
P!nk. Leave Me Alone.
Pass the Dutchie. Musical Youth
This is the first RADIO song that I remember. Prior to this moment in my life the only songs I knew were the songs my parents listened to or the songs from church. While I love these, Pass the Dutchie marked my own transition to musical knowledge.
I'm out of time, but I will be adding to this list for sure...
Monday, February 16, 2009
Stolen Meme
I took this from PoppingBubbles. You can check out the original here.
1. My uncle once used me to get into the squash court and open the door for him and his friends. They took me to the viewing area above the court and dropped me down inside. I think they used me for lots of things like this.
2. Never in my life have I experienced childbirth, though I have experienced the pain of child rearing!
3. When I was five my family traveled across the ocean on a ship called the Pendennis Castle. I remember the parties when we crossed the equator. My dad popped my beachball to use as part of his costume for the costume party.
4. High school was pretty good for me. I like school, so being in class was always an escape from the painful realities of adolescence.
5. I will never forget to unplug my car before I drive away - done it once, won't do it again.
6. Once I met this girl I fell in love with. Everyone knew it, including the professors who taught her classes because I would wait outside her classroom door and the professors would tell me what she was doing as they walked out. She would come out of class and be shocked that I was "passing by". It was a bit shocking I suppose since I had no classes on that floor.
7. There’s this boy I know whom I love with all my heart. I don't think he knows how much I love him.
8. Once, at a bar, I had my friends collect coins for me in a cup labeled "Julie's tooth fund".
9. By noon, I’m almost ready to get out of bed.
10. Last night I took my turn with the baby. We need to come up with a better system cause right now NO-ONE is getting any sleep.
11. If only I had a winning lottery ticket in my pocket.
12. Next time I go to church may be in a casket.
13. What worries me most is that I might let someone down.
14. When I turn my head left I see my spouse.
15. When I turn my head right I see a pile of books I haven't read yet.
16. You know I’m lying when I - tell you I'm straight.
17. What I miss most about the Eighties is the music.
18. If I were a character in Shakespeare I’d be one of MacBeth's Witches.
19. By this time next year I will one month away from finishing my masters degree.
20. A better name for me would be ... Sorry I can't think of anything that would be appropriate to put on this blog for my "g" rated audience.
21. I have a hard time understanding why some of the people who work where I do can be so completely ignorant.
22. If I ever go back to school, I’ll - be working on my doctorate and hopefully in the USA
23. You know I like you if I can be serious with you.
24. If I ever won an award, the first person I would thank would be Micheal Jackson and the children.
25. Take my advice, never jump on the ice in your water tank in the middle of winter.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Bullet Sunday
- I finally have a weekend off from work and the temperatures have not risen above -26 Celsius.
- We are in a recession. (The spiralling effect of lower income and low spending dampens confidence in the economy, contributing to a recession.) Only it doesn't make sense to me because my family has spent more money since January 1st of this year than we have in the first 6 weeks of any other year I can recall.
- According to the Montreal Gazette, the recession is keeping tourists away from Antarctica. Believe me, there are other reasons keeping me from visiting Antarctica. You can link to the story in the gazette here .
- When the temperatures where I LIVE do not rise above -26 during the second week of February, there is no way you are convincing me to spend money to visit a place where temperatures on the Polar Plateau range from -115 to +6 F. The average temperature is -56. That has NOTHING to do with the recession!
Pyromaniac
I have to admit I am a bit of a pyromaniac. I love fire. I love lighting fire, I love playing with fire.
As a result of this I have been very careful in my life not to light fireworks. One reason is because I KNOW I will fall in love with them and spend LOTS of money on them.
The other is because I tend to be as much of a klutz as I am a pyro. I know my luck and I know that I am likely to set a field on fire or something with my fire making tendencies, so I try to "reign them in" as much as possible.
Last night I had some fireworks. I have been ITCHING to set them off for ages and finally I thought I would do it.
The instructions on the first said to light it and then start 15 meters away. I lit it, but I don't know how far 15 meters was so I was running away (trying to be very diligent about following the instructions) but and unfortunately my back was turned when it went off and I completely missed it.
The second set of instructions said to stand 30 meters away and to bury the firework half way up in sand or dirt. Because it is the middle of the winter I don't have any sand or dirt readily available I thought if I buried it in a snow bank that would work just as well.
The first one went off without a hitch and it was great. The snowbank didn't hold it upright though and the thing fell over and started shooting fireworks at the house. I thought it was quite funny - I was just a "little" nervous that one would explode in the back of the van where my souse was unloading groceries. Somehow she didn't think it was funny to be unloading groceries with fireworks going off all around her. The snow made them look cool though.
When we came inside I explained that the snow hadn't held up the canister. My spouse pointed out that the heat from the fireworks probably melted the snow all around the canister.
OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. Of course! I didn't even think of it!
I will admit it was fun though. I might have to look into getting some more.
As a result of this I have been very careful in my life not to light fireworks. One reason is because I KNOW I will fall in love with them and spend LOTS of money on them.
The other is because I tend to be as much of a klutz as I am a pyro. I know my luck and I know that I am likely to set a field on fire or something with my fire making tendencies, so I try to "reign them in" as much as possible.
Last night I had some fireworks. I have been ITCHING to set them off for ages and finally I thought I would do it.
The instructions on the first said to light it and then start 15 meters away. I lit it, but I don't know how far 15 meters was so I was running away (trying to be very diligent about following the instructions) but and unfortunately my back was turned when it went off and I completely missed it.
The second set of instructions said to stand 30 meters away and to bury the firework half way up in sand or dirt. Because it is the middle of the winter I don't have any sand or dirt readily available I thought if I buried it in a snow bank that would work just as well.
The first one went off without a hitch and it was great. The snowbank didn't hold it upright though and the thing fell over and started shooting fireworks at the house. I thought it was quite funny - I was just a "little" nervous that one would explode in the back of the van where my souse was unloading groceries. Somehow she didn't think it was funny to be unloading groceries with fireworks going off all around her. The snow made them look cool though.
When we came inside I explained that the snow hadn't held up the canister. My spouse pointed out that the heat from the fireworks probably melted the snow all around the canister.
OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. Of course! I didn't even think of it!
I will admit it was fun though. I might have to look into getting some more.
reading
Today is February 15th 2009. I have just completed reading my fourth book of the year. FOURTH book. I am stunned, appalled, saddened, and if I could think of any other adjectives right now I would add them here.
I know it has been a busy year and I KNOW I have loads to do as far as writing my thesis, so I expected that my reading for pleasure would be slow this year. I just cannot believe I have only read four books. I only wish they had been riveting books. I doubt I will even remember what they were about in another 6 weeks.
I know it has been a busy year and I KNOW I have loads to do as far as writing my thesis, so I expected that my reading for pleasure would be slow this year. I just cannot believe I have only read four books. I only wish they had been riveting books. I doubt I will even remember what they were about in another 6 weeks.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Friday Fill In
Friday Fill In. Link to it here.
1. It seems like I am never going to be done.
2. Turn off the lights when you're done, please?
3. If I thought you liked me just a little bit I'd feel much better!
4.Opportunity is what I think of most when I think of you.
5. To me, Valentine's Day means my niece's birthday.
6. Being loved gives me strength.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to picking up my boy from daycare, tomorrow my plans include doing something for my spouse and Sunday, I want to laugh at Funniest Home videos!
1. It seems like I am never going to be done.
2. Turn off the lights when you're done, please?
3. If I thought you liked me just a little bit I'd feel much better!
4.Opportunity is what I think of most when I think of you.
5. To me, Valentine's Day means my niece's birthday.
6. Being loved gives me strength.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to picking up my boy from daycare, tomorrow my plans include doing something for my spouse and Sunday, I want to laugh at Funniest Home videos!
Friday, February 13, 2009
music memoirs: top five songs that horrify you
I found this meme courtesy of the Bumbles blog which you can link to here.
I LOVE music, and this seemed like a perfect way to incorporate music into my blog each week. Thanks Bumbles!
You can link to music memoirs here.
This week the topic was to list the top five songs that horrify you and explain why.
Here are my top five horrific songs. (usually I would leave a link so you could check out the songs on youtube or some other site, but in this case, because they are horrifying, I will not subject you to the pain)
1. John Mayer "Say what you need to say"
Do I really need to explain why this song is horrifying? I believe the song was written for the movie "The Bucket List" and it appears as though John was asked to write a song, given a title, and couldn't come up with any lyrics so he repeats himself a thousand times. Pain. Pure pain.
2. Leona Lewis. "Keep Bleeding"
I think Leona is talking about her bleeding ears after listening to John Mayer Say what he needs to say. Only Leona suffers from the same lyrical constipation and can only repeat the same words over and over.
3. Jordin Sparks. "Tattoo"
"You're on my heart just like a tattoo". Now I am not usually so critical of song lyrics that don't make sense. I am a fan of Corey Hart for crying out loud, so I have tolerance for bad lyrics. The idiot wears his sunglasses at night, but somehow this line by Jordin Sparks -"You're on my heart just like a tattoo" ANNOYS the ink right out of my own tattoos.
4. Anything by Billy Ray Cyrus. The man completely horrifies me.
5. La Bamba. I have nothing else to say about that one.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Thursday Thirteen: thirteen things I love about my spouse
Today is time for Thursday Thirteen at the same time as it is 12 of 12. How lucky are YOU blog readers to get two posts in one day? Seriously, if you are that lucky, go out and buy yourself a lottery ticket RIGHT NOW. (or just link to other participants HERE)
Since this week is Valentines day, here are 13 things I love about my spouse:
1. She takes awesome photographs. We have a daily photo journal of our lives and I could look at her pictures for days and days. Unfortunately I am in a LOT of photos and I need to take more of her to balance the equation.
2. She has a perspective on the world that is insightful and refreshing. She is a "glass half full" person.
3. She has a great blog, she is an excellent writer and this week she posted one of my all time favorite posts which you can link to here: http://byrningbunny.wordpress.com/2009/02/10/heads-or-tails-tuesdays-a-love-story/
4. She is very intelligent and a voracious reader. She is always seeking new information and has a wealth of knowledge.
5. She is amazing with animals. I think you can tell a lot about a person by how they interact with animals and children. Shel is a "feed the animals before you feed yourself" person.
6. She has a wonderful sense of humor and we laugh together. I love the sound of her laughter. We have recently started to watch America's funniest home videos together on Sunday nights and I look forward to this laughing time together.
7. When I am reading and I don't know what a word means, I can ask her and it is quicker than getting out a dictionary.
8. She is amazing with children. Yesterday we went to a new friends house so our kids could play together. The little girl went right up to Shel to talk to her. Kids sense how loving she is and are attracted to her right away. Our kids are completely in love with her - and how could they not be?
9. She is way, way, way more organized than I am. She can get a task done in 1/3 of the time it takes me. She has a way of breaking things down and getting them accomplished while I am still thinking about it. She will say - "You clean the basement because I can get everything done in the time it will take you to do one thing!"
10. She finds the beauty in life. One of the things she blogs about are "three beautiful things". I look forward to this post of hers and I look for beautiful things more because of her. Wherever I am I think "Shel would love this". She also CREATES beauty around her. She attracts things that are beautiful to her. We have a yard full of beautiful birds and the yard and home will look more and more beautiful the more time she has to spend in it. She stops to smell the roses and I am learning to! When we are driving we will stop so she can check something out that she has seen along the way. This is a picture of her "emerging" from an exporation into the woods.
11. She is brave. She will go to the door to look and see what's knocking, while I look for a baseball bat or hide under the covers. She will also rescue me from mice (which she takes outside and frees).
12. We make a great team.
13. She has good taste in women!
Since this week is Valentines day, here are 13 things I love about my spouse:
1. She takes awesome photographs. We have a daily photo journal of our lives and I could look at her pictures for days and days. Unfortunately I am in a LOT of photos and I need to take more of her to balance the equation.
2. She has a perspective on the world that is insightful and refreshing. She is a "glass half full" person.
3. She has a great blog, she is an excellent writer and this week she posted one of my all time favorite posts which you can link to here: http://byrningbunny.wordpress.com/2009/02/10/heads-or-tails-tuesdays-a-love-story/
4. She is very intelligent and a voracious reader. She is always seeking new information and has a wealth of knowledge.
5. She is amazing with animals. I think you can tell a lot about a person by how they interact with animals and children. Shel is a "feed the animals before you feed yourself" person.
6. She has a wonderful sense of humor and we laugh together. I love the sound of her laughter. We have recently started to watch America's funniest home videos together on Sunday nights and I look forward to this laughing time together.
7. When I am reading and I don't know what a word means, I can ask her and it is quicker than getting out a dictionary.
8. She is amazing with children. Yesterday we went to a new friends house so our kids could play together. The little girl went right up to Shel to talk to her. Kids sense how loving she is and are attracted to her right away. Our kids are completely in love with her - and how could they not be?
9. She is way, way, way more organized than I am. She can get a task done in 1/3 of the time it takes me. She has a way of breaking things down and getting them accomplished while I am still thinking about it. She will say - "You clean the basement because I can get everything done in the time it will take you to do one thing!"
10. She finds the beauty in life. One of the things she blogs about are "three beautiful things". I look forward to this post of hers and I look for beautiful things more because of her. Wherever I am I think "Shel would love this". She also CREATES beauty around her. She attracts things that are beautiful to her. We have a yard full of beautiful birds and the yard and home will look more and more beautiful the more time she has to spend in it. She stops to smell the roses and I am learning to! When we are driving we will stop so she can check something out that she has seen along the way. This is a picture of her "emerging" from an exporation into the woods.
11. She is brave. She will go to the door to look and see what's knocking, while I look for a baseball bat or hide under the covers. She will also rescue me from mice (which she takes outside and frees).
12. We make a great team.
13. She has good taste in women!
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