Drain Bamage?

I feel like I should be making some fabulous post - some grand gesture for the last day of NaBloPoMo. And yet nothing earth shattering is coming to mind. Mostly I'm just out of words.

Though I am entertaining a ridiculous idea. Contrary is looking for other suckers friends to join her in doing Holidailies (posting every day from December 1 to January 1). Now, you know I'm a joiner, and I can state with all honesty that I was dropped on my head as a small child (a couple of times actually), but I haven't decided if I'm actually dumb enough to do this? The answer might be yes - cause I can be that dumb from time to time! Besides How much more do you really want to hear from me?!

For now I'll just say "woooooo hooooo!!!!!!" NaBloPoMo is D-U-N done! If I post tomorrow and the next day and the next day maybe I'll go ahead and join up for the Holidailes.



Current Music: Oi to the World - No Doubt

photo courtesy of Subversive Cross Stitch

A Litlle Bit of Everything

Ok, if I could just start with a bit of a rant. I would like to know why I am expected to come home from work and make dinner ever night, but somehow Scott doesn't have to do dishes every night? I came home to three days worth of dishes in the sink - I couldn't even make dinner because I didn't have any clean pans! And I really hate having dirty dishes in the sink. He gets all pissy and surly if I don't make dinner in a (which is a whole other topic) and yet can't manage to find time to do the freakin' dishes!

Ok, I'm better now. On to the Q&A - obviously I was a bit too vague with the 100 things, and inquiring minds want to know. So here's more detail for y'all:

Laura
George is an insane beast, but she should mellow with age. They don't shed much, but they do have a wiry coat - they don't have a soft coat. Take a peek at the post I did for her b-day - it becomes clearer!

The reason that my Mom calls me "Wiz" isn't for the obvious reason - at the time I had a necklace with a wizard charm, and I was kind of into the whole unicorn thing. So she called me Wizzer or Wizzy or Wiz.

Not sure what I would pick for a prize, but wouldn't it be funny if it was a paper thing?!

KimmyK
The sailboat was moored in a marina that was way out of the way and in a no wake zone so there wasn't much rocking. Periodically there would be someone in a power boat being a jackass, but mostly it was smooth. The bigger problem was storage - boats are not big places!

We kept the boat in Redwood City, CA, where the weather is much more temperate. It's not like back here where you have to pull the boat out of the water in winter.

Katie
I'd love to like coffee - I love girly coffee drinks like lattes and cappuccinos and I love the smell of coffee, but I just don't like plain coffee.

Did you know that the Grey's website has a whole music listing by episode? Oh yeah, I am that addicted! I check out the songs then down load them - it's awesome!

Scoobers and KimmyK
Glad to hear that others don't do the checkbook thing! I felt like a bit of a looser writing that, but I'm feeling better now :-)

Ok that answers everything I think!

Also, an update on the wine thing, I met with the guy and I may do it! The deal is this, they need someone to do wine presentations in the restaurant. That means bringing the wine to the table, opening it, etc. Also talking to people about the wines or helping them pick up the right wine to go with their entrees. So it sounds interesting - it would only be weekends, so maybe it'll be cool. Anyway - I'm meeting him again on Monday, so I'll no more then.

Just one more day to go - take that NaBloPoMo!!!

Current Music: Happy Endings - The All-American Rejects

100th Post...

... was actually a while ago. I had most of it typed up and ready to go, but I was in California and didn't have easy access to a computer and a bunch of other excuses. Anyway here it is, the much awaited One Hundred (and twelfth) post.

I guess I should thank NaBloPoMo - it would have taken a lot longer to get to the magical 100 if I hadn't. But come to think of it, I'm not so sure what's so spiffy about the 100th post. Does it make you a real blogger? Is it a rite of passage? Do I get a prize?

Anyway, way back when Scoobers did her 100th, I told her I was going to steal her idea for 100 Things About Me, so here it goes...

1. I am a kitchen designer

2. I graduated with a degree in Psychology, but I went back to school for a degree in Interior Design

3. My first car was a Mazda 323 and I cried when I sold it

4. I have know Scott since I was nineteen

5. I am a Pisces

6. In my family we are all twin signs, two Pisces and two Gemini

7. I was born in the Year of the Rat

8. George is the sixth Airedale I've had, but the first that wasn't a "family" dog

9. I stared First Grade early, so I was a year younger than all my classmates

10. I failed my first driving test

11. I am a scrapbooker

12. I can be very creative, but rarely have the opportunity

13. I think my feet are seriously ugly

14. Because I think my feet are ugly, I keep my toenails painted almost all the time

15. I have a stuffed animal that I've had since I was 10 - and sometimes (when I've had an incredibly bad day) I will sleep with him

16. I feel exceptionally lost without my cell phone

17. My first job was busing tables at a local restaurant

18. I have two bad knees, but not bad enough to operate on

19. I play too much computer solitaire

20. There are days when I miss my two cats that died so much that it hurts

21. I watch way too much TV

22. I'm addicted to the music on Grey's Anatomy

23. I was born and raised in Oakland, California (but you already knew that)

24. I use the snooze button way too much

25. I'm better at reading and writing than math

26. I never really wore flip-flops until I moved to Michigan and had to deal with very hot summers

27. I have a minor shoe addiction, but my lack of money helps me keep it in check

28. I've always wanted to have a funny nickname (besides the crappy ones that my family call me)

29. Some of the crappy nicknames my family call me are: Man, Manny, Meanie, and Wiz

30. My Dad has always called me Pooh Bear (sometimes it's Pooh-Ba-Looh) and I actually like that one.

31. I still watch cartoons

32. I dislike being cold

33. I can't sleep if my feet are too hot or too cold

34. I love yellow sports cars - but it has to be the right type of yellow

35. I was once a dog person, I have since turned into a cat person (though I do love my dog)

36. I would love to live abroad

37. I prefer to have some type of background noise (radio, tv, etc.) - especially when I'm home by myself

38. I want to be cremated

39. Brownies are probably my favorite dessert

40. I love what I do, but I don't always love my job

41. I have been (and still am) a registered Girl Scout since I was four

42. I have a pretty good collection of Barbie Dolls

43. I am a licenced Optician

44. I had to rent the largest Penske truck when we moved across the country

45. I played the flute for nine years

46. I am addicted to diet coke, but in a good non-12 step kind of way

47. I am allergic to fresh pineapple, which is sad cause I really love it

48. I am allergic to most furry animals (including horses), but I have pets anyway

49. I love listening to opera on rainy days

50. I have been to 19 of the United States

51. I have one brother-in-law and one sister-in-law, but no parent in-laws

52. I've been to most of western Europe

53. I only knew one pair of my grandparents

54. I don't like to camp, but I have and probably will again

55. I got laid off from a software company when the dot com bubble was bursting

56. Then I took an eight week cooking class

57. I am seriously afraid of snakes and spiders

58. I am overcoming my fear of spiders because they're everywhere in Michigan - all summer long

59. I am fairly computer savvy

60. Most people would consider me an Extrovert, rather than an Introvert

61. I really am an Introvert, but being an extrovert is part of my job

62. Scott is my best friend

63. I do counted cross-stitch and am not 100 years old

64. I have made a couple of quilts, but am not much of a quilter

65. I have a weakness for gummy frogs

66. I have one sister

67. I am the oldest child in our family

68. I have a bunch of typical "first-born" traits

69. I have three cats

70. I was in a sorority in college

71. I graduated from UC Santa Cruz

72. I went to a Catholic high school, but not because I'm Catholic

73. I prefer baking to cooking

74. My cell phone ring is "Barbie Girl"

75. I do not have a good face for hats

76. I hate cleaning house

77. I also dislike laundry, not doing it so much as folding it

78. I love new books

79. I've been to three Barenaked Ladies concerts

80. I have a ton of lipsticks and glosses but rarely wear any of them

81. I like making Christmas cookies, but rarely do it

82. I like traveling for business, when I used to do it

83. I used to work in the dot com industry

84. I have to read at night to fall asleep

85. I fall asleep better if I'm in bed alone, but I sleep better with someone in the bed

86. I really loved the Harry Potter series and cried when I finished the last book

87. I lived on a sail boat for 4 years

88. I dislike drinking water

89. I love getting mail (but not bills), email counts

90. I love going through open homes or model homes

91. I like to turn the music up really loud and dance around the house

92. I get flushed and blotchy when I get mad, stressed or drink too much

93. My Grandmother and I used to dance all the time - and it's something I miss all the time

94. I would love to work for the World Wildlife Federation or something like that

95. The last time I balanced my check book was at least 15 years ago

96. My ideal life would be working full time, but having two months vacation

97. There are very few sports I like to play or watch

98. When ever I've had a really bad day I like to curl up in bed and watch Mary Poppins

99. I don't really like coffee

100. I changed my middle name to my maiden name when I got married

Current Music: A Little Less Conversation - Elvis

HRH

I know that you are intrigued by me, so I thought I'd give you just another little tidbit of info about me ('cause you know, I never share!).

My real name is:

Marchioness Mandy Lou the Lush of London by the Bow

Now you all can just call me Mandy Lou, it's all right, we're all friends here - but if you met me on the street it's best to use my full title.

If you want to find your true title, you can find it here.

Current Music: London Bridge - Fergie

(I sooooo need to have November be over!)

Wine-o

Here's a new fact about me that you didn't know. I am a wine-o, that is I like wine. I've always liked wine. I used to work for a wine company. I'm no expert, but I know my way around a wine list.

"So what" you say?

Well I had an interesting offer today. My friend is opening a new restaurant and he wants me to be the "wine consultant". I'm not sure what that is, or if I'm even the right person for it, but it's intriguing.

I'm not sure what will happen, but I'll know more on Wednesday - I'll report back then.

Current Music: Alcohol - Barenaked Ladies

And the Gross Goes On

Ok, just when you thought it was safe to go to the Tiki bar again! One of my friends that also gave out her business card got this email on Friday...

"How are you? This is ***** from the Tikki bar few days back. Just wanted to let you know, ***** and I had a very good time. You were all very mellow down to earth...solid people. Hopefully we can do it again (I think we are going there tonight actually)."

The good news is that this guy was one of the single guys, the bad news is that she was one of the married girls (the even worse news is that he was one of the least attractive of the bunch).

Apparently we won't be frequenting the Forbidden Island for a while.

Current Music: Famous Last Words - My Chemical Romance

Yet Another Meme

I told Contratry I'd pick this up, since I'm always looking for NaPoBloMo fodder

So here are the rules for this meme:

List one fact, word or tidbit that is somehow relevant to your life for each letter of your first or middle name. You can theme it to your blog or make it general. Then tag one person for each letter of your name.

Here we go:

M - Mean. You know those bumper stickers "Mean People Suck" - I've always wanted one that says "Nice People Swallow". That's right, I'm a mean person - I only play a nice person on this blog.

A - Animals. I've got a bunch of them and I love them!

N - Not a bad Cook. I'm not saying I'm about to show up on "The Next Food Network Star", but I can hold my own in the kitchen.

D - Dumb. Sometimes I am just dumb as a box of doorknobs, it's not an all day, everyday thing, but sometimes...

Y - "Why? Because we like you!" Can't really think of a "Y" one.

L - Late. I'm always late and I hate it. I wish I could be one of those together, on time people - but I'm not.

O - "Oh my Sweet Baby Jesus!". That's my catch phrase, Homer has "D'oh" and I have that. The alternatives are "Oh, sweet Mary mother of God!" or "Oh Jesus, Mary and Joseph!"

U - Underpaid. Sad but true, over-valued but seriously underpaid. Unfortunately the "Hooters" in town closed, so my back up job is off the table.

As for tagging everyone else - you're on you own, feel free to pick it up or not!

Current Music: Working on clearing out the Coupling marathon off the Tivo.

Lazy...

I know that I'm supposed to be all pumped up for the day after Thanksgiving - but I'm not (aparently my sister was up for 5am door busters). Of course it could be because I'm working off a NyQuil hangover and I've got a serious buzz going from all the Sudafed I'm taking. I'm also happy to blame the fact that I was up cooking all day yesterday instead of resting like I should have been (though dinner was quite good).

I've done all I can today - I've got no more gas in the tank. I watched a little TV, did a little scrapbooking, I went out and did a bit of shopping (but only at the uncrowded stores) and I stopped by the office for a bit. So now I'm toast.

Anyway - all that adds up to the fact that I'm too lazy to blog.

Current Music: Passenger Seat - Death Cab for Cutie

Happy Turkey Day

Watched the Thanksgiving Parade - check
Looked at all the Black Friday ads - check
Pies made - check
Snowing outside/Warm and snugly inside - check
Fire going in the Fireplace - check
Football on TV - check

Ok, with the exception of a massive head cold Thanksgiving is off to a good start. I'll get the turkey in the oven in a couple of hours and we'll have a nice quiet Thanksgiving for two!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Current Music: nope - currently got the football game on, though I'll be on to the Coupling marathon soon (love that show).

Not a Genius

I blame my over use of the words "Dude" and Grey's Anatomy "Seriously". I'm probably also penalized for trying to bring back "Hella" (but I refuse to apologize for that one!).

Current Music: Barbie Girl - Aqua

Eeeeewwwwww

Creepy-Gross Stalker moment!

Wait, let me set the story up right...

Friday night was our Girl's Night Out. As seen in the picture, there was a fair amount of drinking involved. We started off with dinner and Mojitos then we walked to a really fun (and very busy) tiki bar for the rest of the evening. We were into our first round of cute umbrella drinks when we finally managed to get a table. The table happened to be on a long bench, and there were other tables along the bench - we had been hoping for a booth, but on a Friday night you take what you can get.

A couple of guys were sitting at the next table over, so we stuck the single girl on the end (the rest of us are married so we sacrificed her!). As the evening wore on, they joined our party - it was fine, they were fun enough and a couple of them were single, we were all feeling no pain and enjoying the evening. Later in the evening the married guy starts hitting on me a bit - nothing I couldn't handle, but eew! I mean I'm married, he's married and he wasn't even close to cute enough to get over either of those hurdles. So I head out side for a bit, try to get a little fresh air and get away from him - and end up getting hit on by the bouncer! At that point I went back in and kicked my sister out of her seat so I wouldn't have to fend off the creepy married guy or the bouncer for the rest evening.

Not long after, (around 1 am) we called my brother-in-law to pick us up, it was getting late and all the drunk guys were getting a little hand-sy. As we're leaving, all the guys were asking us to stay and for our numbers - so I gave one of them my card. I figured, I'd be home in Michigan before any of them realized that I didn't live in the state!

So here's the creepy-gross part - I get in to the office this morning and my boss says there was a message for me from a name he didn't recognize (we both work with most of the clients here - so he usually knows the names). After staring at the name and number for a bit - I realize that it's the creepy married guy calling me!!! Yuck! Not only did he take my business card from his cuter single friend, but he actually called me here.

Feeling all kinds of gross now - I'm heading home to take a shower.

Special Musical Treat: (cause it's just sooooo very appropriate!):

I Came, I Saw, I Went Home

So happy to be home! But so very, very tired.

The time change is kind of hard, and the red eye arriving at 5 a.m. is no picnic, but the real problem is that I am getting too old to stay up till the wee hours of the morning for five days in a row. Stupidly enough I had planned to go to work today - I really had the best of intentions, but I couldn't do it. Plus I figured that working with clients on fewer than an hour of sleep was a bad I idea. So today I snoozed, worked from home a bit, did some laundry and caught up on Tivo.

Besides the severe lack of sleep, the trip was good. We got lots of scrap booking done, the girl's night was seriously fun (more on that later) and we even got my sister's scrap booking room cleaned up a bit. There was one major disappointment though - I did not get my tee-shirt. The store was closed by the time we got there, but I'll try to get there during our next trip out.

But as I said before, there's nothing like a visit with family to make you miss your home thousands of miles away. I missed my bed, I missed sleep, I missed the peace and quiet of my house, I missed my normal sized keyboard, but most of all I missed my little patch of Internet! Very glad to be home.

Current Music: My Patch - Jim Noir

I'm outta here

I'm sitting in the airport, waiting to catch the red eye home.

Back to normal tommorow and I can hardly wait! Nothing like a visit home to make me remember why I left in the first place.

Cropping

We're all cropping away.

If it weren't for this mobile blogging I wouldn't be doing NaBloPoMo!

Girl's Night Out

The first of many! Man I love mojitos.

I'm here!

I made it safe and sound.

Today was a pre-school field trip and mani-pedi, tomorrow is relaxing and girl's night out. About to head out for dinner with the folks.

Currently trying the mobile blogging - hope it works! Sorry for any typos, but text messaging isn't my strong suit.

My Hood

I do "Hella love Oakland" - it's my hood! Born and Raised (I'd do that gangsta chest thumping thing, but you can't see it so just pretend)!

Now you would think that being from Oak-town would give me some serious street cred, but no, the Oakland hills are not the mean streets. Though I have seen some raised eye-brows when I tell people that I'm from Oakland.

I never really liked it much growing up (always wished I was from somewhere cooler), but since moving away I've found that it has it's charms. Here are just a couple really great things about Oakland:

• It's in a good central position in the the Bay Area (so you can get everywhere easily).
• The real estate prices are still slightly lower than San Francisco or the Peninsula
• There are great views to be had when you go up in the hills and look out on the bay
• There are great little neighborhoods that make it feel like your not living in a big city, but you have all the conveniences of living in a big city

I'm sure there are tons more - but having been away so long, I'm not always up to date on all the cool things. But I am really looking forward to catching up on a few of them!

Thanks to Leah for finding this - she loves Oakland too!

BTW - I am so getting a tee while I'm home - you want one? Get them here or here.

Stalker Clock says just 1 day, 1 hour, 23 minutes and 42 seconds till I'm home!!!

Current Music: Homebird - Foy Vance

P.S. For all of you in search of my new fab mascara it's just the new Maybelline Define-A-Lash. I tried a bunch of expensive ones and they run, plus I'm a sucker for anything in such a great shade of green! It's got a REALLY strange brush (think plastic velcro caterpillar) but damned if it doesn't work!

Snow Freakin' White

Yep - that's me! Every morning I get up and feed our little zoo. Starting with the cats, then the dog and then finishing up with the birds and the squirrels.

I head out front with my mix of peanuts and sunflower seeds and toss it to my little crowd. It's a serious Disney moment, everyone gathers round - black and grey squirrels (we have both, and red ones periodically), blue jays and a wood pecker or two. They all wait at a safe distance and then hop in to chow down, though there are a few really brave ones that will get close to beg. In any case, it's one of my favorite times of the morning - Scott calls it my Snow White Moment.

I have a long history of feeding squirrels. Years ago I got my parents a squirrel feeder - and we'd put out apples, corn, fresh berries, nuts, even peanut butter. On our honeymoon Scott and I were walking through a park in London and we saw a guy feeding squirrels, he'd train them to come and climb up his pants (the outside of course) to get food. So Scott, being the good sport that he is, managed to get a few squirrels to climb him too. And of course we have two squirrel feeders in the yard, along with a number of bird feeders.

I will admit that feeding the squirrels has caused me some trouble. One time when I was feeding them peanut butter (at my parents house) one of the really brave ones came over and actually started eating off the spoon I was using to serve them. The brave squirrel was sort of holding onto my hand to get a better lick - and somehow I got bitten! It didn't hurt, but I had to go get a tetanus shot (I didn't really know that squirrels carried tetanus) - the worst part was the embarrassment I suffered at the hands of the doctor. She asked why I was in for a tetanus shot, I said I was bitten by a squirrel while I was feeding it. She started snickering and said that they usually only have to treat little old ladies for that!

I am a bit worried that Scott won't feed them while I'm gone - it drives him nuts (ha! no pun intended) that I feed the squirrels. He doesn't mind that I feed the birds so much, but the squirrels, well we'll just say he's not a fan (he says they are just rats with good PR).

Stalker Clock says 1 day, 11 hours, 59 minutes and 31 seconds - getting very excited, but I'm still not packed!

Current Music: The Sun is Shining - Bob Marley

Seven is My Lucky Number

Thanks KimmyK - you know I need the blog fodder for NaBloPoMo!

So for my seven things I'm grateful for, I'm gonna take another page out of her book and say that there are some obvious things that I am grateful for (friends, family, health, work, etc.) and give you the list of things that I really am truly grateful for:

1. The Transplant Team at Kaiser and Stanford. They have my dad on the road to recovery and in reality there is nothing that I am more grateful for.

2. My Tivo. Seriously, without it I would be forced to choose which shows I watched, I wouldn't be able to sit on my butt all weekend and watch an entire week of shows, and I wouldn't be able to burn out my brain cells one sitcom at a time.

3. This Blog. I say things on here that I don't say to anyone else - and I think that being able to get it out of my system helps. Although I suppose some of it really does need to be said out loud to the appropriate people.

4. The Beauty Industry - giver of nail polish, hair color and my spiffy new mascara (with cool packaging too!). I admit it, I'm a girly-girl! And as I've said before, nail polish is "calorie-free happiness in a jar".

5. The end of Daylight-Savings Time. I do love the long evenings of summer, but I really hate getting up in the dark. So now that the clocks are back an hour I'm not so late to work everyday.

6. My Job. I know I said that this was one of the obvious ones, but I'm grateful for a different reason. As much as I'd like to stay home everyday, with Scott sick and not working very much, I'd have to kill him if I didn't go to work. Really, it was a long weekend that he almost didn't survive (he does seem to be on the mend though).

7. Diet Coke. I love it, I need it - many years from now they will pry it from my cold dead hands.

Ok - this is the point when I am hugely embarrassed by my lack of readers - I may actually have seven readers to tag, but since one of you tagged me, well - just work it out amongst your selves! (Just Laura, this means you ;-)

Stalker Clock says 2 days, 9 hours, 41 minutes and 31 seconds till I'm stuck sleeping in my parents basement for four nights!

Current Music: Sun Comes Up - John Legend

All Quiet on the Northern Front

It's a dreary, rainy day here. Not too cold, but not inviting either. All the animals are asleep, Scott's downstairs watching as many war movies as he can manage (Veteran's Day and Memorial Day are two of his favorite holidays - non-stop war movies). I'm here pondering what to do with the rest of the day.

I've got to clean the house, get started packing, go shopping to make sure there are enough TV dinners for while I'm gone, and I was hoping to get some real work squeezed in there as well. Even with all the things I have to do, I'll make sure to find time to call my two favorite Veterans, my Dad and my Uncle.

It started off as a good morning though. I was awakened by a small purring puff ball trying to get under the covers. Pearl is a very independent cat, and rarely wants to snuggle - so I equate this to a teenager hanging out with a parent. You have to enjoy the moment thoroughly. So I lay back and listened to the purring and the rain falling - a good start indeed.

Sadly all bets are off once you get out of bed...

Stalker Clock says 3 days, 11 hours, 28 minutes and 46 seconds until I give my long weekend to weekend to my sister (seriously, she's got every minute planned).

Current Music: Stay - Michelle Featherstone

Sick, Whiny Boy

I seriously hate it when Scott gets sick.

Apparently when he was young his mother managed to make the earth stop spinning and time stand still if he got as much as a sniffle. Because that's exactly what he expects me to do when he gets sick now.

Usually he wants me to stay home and take care of his whims. When I do go to work (which is purely for his safety) he calls 27 times asking me to bring home any number of random things (more cold medicine, a new book, cookies, "something fun" - grr). Once I get home it's umpteen-million requests for "something to drink, my throat hurts" or something to eat. I was unaware that the common cold had such a devastating effect on the man's legs.

Now I was raised by a different type of mom. You pretty much had to be near death to get out of school, and if you were that sick well then you were going to the doctor as well. My mom's response to a cold is to give you the right medicine and some tissue and send you packing. If I get a cold I get up in the morning,take my medicine and go to work (I do try to quarantine myself so as not to infect everyone).

Many of my married friends say that their husbands behave similarly when they fall ill. So that makes me wonder - is this a nature vs. nurture thing? Does it depend on the early parenting?

To answer the question we have a case study - JJ. He is 5 years old and consistently blows any illness or injury out of proportion. JJ is our dear friend's youngest and only boy. Now M and I have discussed how similar our mothers parenting styles seemed to be, and that her parenting style is very much the same (as mine would be were I a parent). She guarantees that not a lot of babying is going on.

So I think we can say that by nature men (and boys) are big whiny babies!

Stalker Clock says 4 days, 9 hours, 24 minutes and 26 seconds till I'm "wheels down" in Oakland!

Current Music: Shut-Up and Smile - Bowling For Soup

Cop-Out

Ok, yet another meme to take up blogging space! What was I thinking to sign up for NaBloPoMo - the pressure?!?! Well really, I'm just not that creative, and I really am kinda busy - I gotta pack for next week, I've got to pack scrapbooking stuff too and I've got actual work to do. Blah, blah, blah...

Enough whining, let's get on to the meme! I found this on VeryContrary and thought it was pretty cool. The idea is this, go to Wikipedia and type in your birthday (leave off the year, cause as Contrary puts it "it’s very likely that the most notable thing that happened on your birthday the year you were born is that, well, you were born"). You'll be presented with a bunch of things that happened on your birthday, as well as interesting people that were also born on your birthday.

The list is insanely long, so here are some of the highlights of history for February 23 (besides me being born, which somehow didn't make the list). Sadly many of the things aren't particularly happy, but...

1455 - Traditional date for the publication of the Gutenberg Bible, the first Western book printed from movable type.
1797 - French Forces launch a failed invasion of Britain.
1836 - The Siege of the Alamo begins in San Antonio, Texas.
1870 - Military control of Mississippi ends and it is readmitted to the Union.
1883 - Alabama becomes the first U.S. state to enact an antitrust law.
1893 - Rudolf Diesel receives a patent for the diesel engine.
1898 - Émile Zola is imprisoned in France after writing "J'accuse", a letter accusing the French government of anti-Semitism and wrongfully placing Captain Alfred Dreyfus in jail.
1903 - Cuba leases Guantanamo Bay to the United States "in perpetuity".
1904 - For $10 million the United States gains control of the Panama Canal Zone.
1909 - The AEA Silver Dart makes the first powered flight in Canada and the British Empire.
1917 - First demonstrations in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The beginning of the February Revolution.
1919 - Benito Mussolini forms the Fascist Party in Italy.
1941 - Plutonium was first produced and isolated by Dr. Glenn T. Seaborg.
1945 - World War II: During the Battle of Iwo Jima, a group of United States Marines and a commonly forgotten US Navy Corpsman, reach the top of Mount Suribachi on the island and are photographed raising the American flag. The photo would later win a Pulitzer Prize.
1945 - World War II: The capital of the Philippines, Manila, is liberated by American forces.
1947 - International Organization for Standardization(ISO) is founded.
1954 - The first mass vaccination of children against polio begins in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
1974 - The Symbionese Liberation Army demands $4 million more to release kidnap victim Patty Hearst.
1975 - In response to the energy crisis, daylight saving time commences nearly two months early in the United States.
1980 - Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini states that Iran's parliament would decide the fate of the American embassy hostages.
1983 - The United States Environmental Protection Agency announces its intent to buy out and evacuate the dioxin-contaminated community of Times Beach, Missouri.
1991 - Gulf War: Ground troops cross the Saudi Arabia border and enter Iraq, thus starting the ground-phase of the war.
1995 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average gains 30.28 to close at 4,003.33, closing above 4,000 for the first time.
1997 - A large fire occurs in the Russian Space station, Mir.
1998 - Kissimmee Tornado Outbreak: Tornadoes in central Florida destroy or damage 2,600 structures and kill 42.
1998 - Osama bin Laden publishes a fatwa declaring jihad against all Jews and Crusaders.

There are a bunch of births and deaths too, but it was getting long enough!

Stalker Clock says days, 6 hours, 3 minutes and 11 seconds till I get home for my visit.

Current Music: From the Morning - Nick Drake

Wile E. Coyote, Super Genius

I take forever to get ready in the morning - I need at least an hour and a half to get out the door. Now I don't use all that time to get dressed and made-up, a fair amount of the time is spent checking the news or playing with the animals or talking to Scott. I just need a bit of time to wake up. If push came to shove, I could get out of the house in a timely fashion, but I choose not to.

Once the cold weather sets in a few things need to be added to the morning routine. You have to add for time to make a cup of tea to-go and go out and start the car a few minutes before leaving. Since it was chilly this morning and my little old car needs a bit of time to collect it's self, I ran out about ten minutes before I was planning to leave to start the car.

As I ran our the door to the car Scott yelled at me to grab the paper when I came back in. I replied that there was no paper (otherwise I would have tripped over it on my way to the car - duh!). He yelled back that it was half way up the driveway.

Now you've seen my driveway it's long, and it was 37 degrees out, and I had on a pair of thin PJ bottoms, a nice sweater and my hair still in a towel (oh yes, it rocks to be my neighbors!). My solution was simply to drive up the driveway to the newspaper, open the door, grab it, and roll back down. I knew that I was bound to get me a ration of crap from Scott, but I thought it was pure genius!

So I did it, grinning like an idiot the entire time, giving myself mental pats on the back for being so smart. By the time I got back to the house, Scott was practically peeing in his pants laughing, saying that I was perhaps the laziest person in the entire world, but that I was seriously funny.

Of course I didn't plan to be that amusing, but perhaps that's part of the curse of genius?

Stalker Clock says 6 days, 10 hours, 36 minutes and 5 seconds

Current Music: Going the Distance - Cake

A Day in the Life

Well, not much happening here today.

I got a crappy night's sleep because it was so cold and I had 30 pounds of cat on me (they were cold too). Scott refuses to put the big comforter on the bed, so I just pile extra blankets on to no avail. I slept in a wee ball in the upper left quarter of the bed. So very sleepy.

Work was crazy busy today, no time to read read blogs or ponder future posts. Do these people have no respect for my personal time - oh wait...

One week till I visit my beloved city by the bay, not sure what to pack, or when I'm going to do it. But the Stalker Clock says 7 days, 4 hours, 46 minutes and 59 seconds - and I'm very excited about that! And I'm trying to figure out how and when I'll be able to post - since my sister has planned every minute of my time.

Dad called and the biopsy results are back, he's at the lowest level of rejection - which is great news. Of course his immune system is in the toilet, and he's not feeling great - but he's on the mend and that's all that counts.

Sorry for the crappy laundry list of a post - the dang NaBloPoMo. I'll do better tomorrow - I swear.

Current Music: no music, watching Brothers and Sisters - in constant need of Tivo space, of course that could be because I Tivo more shows than any one human should really watch.

Kindness

"Three things in human life are important.
The first is to be kind.
The second is to be kind.
And the third is to be kind."
— Henry James

I found that quote in Real Simple this month and it's really stuck with me, I've even put it on my screen so I can be reminded of the need to be kind in my day-to-day life. What really gets me is that not only is it very true, but we humans are so very bad at it most of the time.

An example, I got this magazine last night - it's called allanimals and it's a newsletter from the Humane Society of the United States. Reading all the things that happen to animals, I was crying by the time I got halfway through it. Now I know that I have a weakness for animals. I love them, I have too many of them, I feed strays, I brake for ones in the street, I cry when I see a dead one on the side of the road. I think that the animals in our lives make our lives better - that even goes for the wildlife in the back yard.

So as I'm reading this magazine looking at all the cruelty we inflict on animals it makes me wonder how we, as a species are doing. I have a bit of a problem with animals as food or clothing (I'd love to be a vegetarian in theory, but in reality I love my quarter pounder with cheese too much). At least there is some purpose for their deaths. But when I read about Adam the kitten who was set on fire by two girls for no real reason, or Miracle a puppy also set on fire but happily rescued by a Detroit police officer, or all of the Dog Fighting. I just don't get it.

Who does this? Who among us values life so little that somehow it's okay to harm another living creature (I must make a note of my own hypocrisy here, I will kill any insect that gets in my way)? Perhaps these people are sick and I should be happy that I don't have a brain that "gets it". No matter what the reasoning or excuse, it breaks my heart that we can't be kinder - to everything.

Current Music: New Day - Kate Havnevik


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Going Back to Cali

My sister buys everything she needs (how she does this on their limited budget I don't know, but she does) - and that makes it incredibly difficult to buy her gifts. So my mom gave her the thing that she usually wants most, a visit with me (awww)! Well. she actually gave her a ticket for me to fly out for a long weekend.

Last year I made five trips out to California and had vowed that this year I was only going to come out once - for Christmas. I figured I would go out early next year for this birthday ticket, but my sister (being the force of nature that she is) decided that she wanted me to come out sooner. And given my dad's health and the fact that I'd really like to see him, I gave in. So now I'm heading home next Wednesday for a long weekend of visiting with my nieces and family, scrapbooking and girls nights. I should be toast by Monday!

The best part is, Mer found a Stalker Clock, well countdown clock - and my nieces can watch the countdown till I get there. They're pretty excited, which makes me pretty excited too!

Current Music: Falling or Flying - Grace Potter

October Round-Up

I know these are silly - but I do love recapping the month . It's also great for scrapbooking later on (not that I ever get around to it, but there's hope). Sadly it's a bit late, hopefully I'll remember everything. Anyway, on with October!

What books and/or magazines did I read this month?
Let's see, magazines are easy Creating Keepsakes, Blue, National Geographic, Memory Makers, Entertainment Weekly and Real Simple.

The books are a bit tougher, I read so fast that I tend to forget what I've read. There was Zoology, The Feasting Season and a bunch of forgettable mystery novels.

What movies and/or TV shows did I watch this month?
Ah fall TV - so far I'm loving all my old stand-bys, on the new show front, I'm liking Women's Murder Club, Big Shots, Reaper, Journeyman and Chuck.

Movies, as usual we didn't see many - I did see Rent, which was great. Can't remember any thing else.

What special days did I celebrate and how?
October is a slow-ish month. We've got Scott's birthday and Halloween. I usually enjoy Halloween more lately. Scott gets harder and harder to shop for, plus with money woes it makes shopping less fun (I don't get to run out and buy him a PS3 or anything!).

For his birthday we had dinner at J & M's with the kids, had lots of martinis and some fun "Birthday Brownies". For his actual birthday I made a coconut cake that he had been requesting.

What gifts did I give and/or receive?
For his birthday I got him a bunch of clothes (most of which he liked), a pair of slippers and a couple of used video games. He seemed to like everything and had as good a birthday as you can have as an adult.

What illnesses or health concerns did I have?
Neither Scott nor I had anything health wise to complain about besides the standard aches and pains.

What fun things did I do with my friends and/or family?
J & M moved back to the river house, so it's nice to be able to just walk down the street to spend the evening with them! But October is kind of a transitional month, so not a lot going on.

What new foods, recipes or restaurants did I try this month?
Since Fall is upon us I'm just getting back to cooking. I've pulled a bunch of new recipes to try, but haven't gotten to them yet.

What special or unusual purchases did I make?
We bought some cool paver/edge thing-ys for the garden. We really needed to get my super cool hydrangeas in the ground before it got too cold. So we created a new garden bed by the garage and we needed a border type of thing, so that's what we bought.

What were this month's disappointments?
We were supposed to celebrate Dad's one year anniversary with his new heart, but he went into the hospital on the 16th, in serious rejection. We thought everything was going so well.

What were my accomplishments this month?
Sadly, none. I made some cards at forget-me-not and I did get some scrapbooking pages done (6 I think), but it was a quiet month for us. Spent most of the month worried about Dad.

Anything else noteworthy to record?
Nope, see above.

Current Music: Leaving in Coffins - Psapp

Name One Thing That Is Lame

Me - that's the answer. But seriously, if I have to come up with a blog a day then I'm gonna need a crutch now and then. So thanks KimmyK!

1. Name one person who made you laugh last night? My mom
2. What were you doing at 0800? Laying in bed thinking of a way to shut the kitten up without having to actually get up.
3. What were you doing 30 minutes ago? Cooking breakfast, well I supposed it's more like brunch (but not as good)
4. What happened to you in 2006? Tons of stuff happened around me, to family members - but not much actually happened to me.
5. What was the last thing you said out loud? Okay, have fun - to Scott as he headed off for a shower.
6. How many beverages did you have today? So far only 2, a glass of milk and a Chai Latte.
7. What color is your hairbrush? Black, I didn't really think that they came in a lot of colors.
8. What was the last thing you paid for? Groceries
9. Where were you last night? Sitting here, watching TV and thinking about which pictures to scrapbook.
10. What color is your front door? White
11. Where do you keep your change? In a loose change jar at the front door.
12. What’s the weather like today? Cool and breezy, nice fall day.
13. What’s the best ice-cream flavor? Hmmm, would probably have to say Cherries Garcia, but it's a seriously tough choice.
14. What excites you? New scrapbooking stuff, going home to see my family, holidays.
15. Do you want to cut your hair? ABSOLUTELY NOT - sorry, was that a bit strong? Currently growing out the evil bangs.
16. Are you over the age of 25? yes, but only by a few years, well ten - crap.
17. Do you talk a lot? Ya think?
18. Do you watch the O.C.? No
19. Do you know anyone named Steven? Technically yes, but it's not anyone I see on a regular basis.
20. Do you make up your own words? All the time, I'm thinking about writing a dictionary.
21. Are you a jealous person? Not usually
22. Name a friend whose name starts with the letter ‘A’: Avery
23. Name a friend whose name starts with the letter ‘K': KimmyK, Kathy
24. Who’s the first person on your received call list? Scott
25. What does the last text message you received say? Missing You - and before you say "awww" it was from my evil sister, attached to a picture of her and our friends at a crop - so now I'm homesick.
26. Do you chew on your straw? If I"m drunk yes, but typically no.
27. Do you have curly hair? nope
28. Where’s the next place you’re going to? probably the shower
29. Who’s the rudest person in your life? some days, my sister - other days, anyone on the road
30. What was the last thing you ate? English Muffin
31. Will you get married in the future? I like to keep the option open - not sure how Scott feels about that though.
32. What’s the best movie you’ve seen in the past 2 weeks? Rent
33. Is there anyone you like right now? There's no one I dislike now
34. When was the last time you did the dishes? Not my job
35. Are you currently depressed? Not really
36. Did you cry today? Not yet, but the day is young
37. Why did you answer and post this? Cause a girl's gotta have something to blog
38. Tag 5 people who would do this survey. I'm not really sure I have 5 people that read my blog, but for those of you who do and don't have anything better to do...

Current Music: Rockaway Beach - The Ramones

Good News - For Real, Well...

Dad's going home from the hospital! He's not better, but he's better enough to go home. His blood pressure is still low, and they're still messing with his medication, and he has to go back for another biopsy on Tuesday. So he's not out of the woods yet -but he's going home.

Oh, did I mention that he's going home (insert goofy grin here)!

It is good news, but I know other news is lurking around the corner (good or bad we don't know yet).

Current Music: My Paper Heart - The All-American Rejects

Interesting Idea

So I stumbled upon this today. The idea of blogging every day is a bit intimidating - really how many times can we discuss the state of my bangs? On the flip side, there's always plenty of times that Scott or my family or my coworkers annoy me, so maybe there really is enough fodder.

Sure - ok, let's give it a try, what's the worst thing that could happen? The blog police will come after me?

Current Music: Why Worry - The All-American Rejects

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

The Good - All my hours of toiling over Pumpkin Lights paid off! We had a record 51 trick-or-treaters and almost ran out of candy (I did have a back up bag just in case). I'm still excited! Oh and my mom is super jealous - that's fun too (shallow, but fun).

The Bad - Of course Scott pouted all night - there wasn't enough candy for him, the kids weren't dressed up enough (he's was right on that one), the dog kept barking, etc. I finally gave up and told him to go to his basement and stop ruining my fun. In the end he was okay with the amount of candy left, plus I promised to get to the store on the way home and buy him some clearance candy (of course he'll bitch later that he's gaining weight and it will be my fault).

The Ugly - It seems like the costumes are a bit lame now. The first group of kids to arrive at my doorstep were, as near as I could figure, not actually wearing costumes (of course I gave them the crappy candy). But through the night it seemed that the best costumes were being worn by the adults. What happened to Halloween? I used to love getting dressed up, I'd spend the year figuring what to be and then the whole month of October figuring out how to do it. Most of the kids I saw last night had seriously half-assed costumes (now maybe that means that they have half-assed parents, I don't know). Whatever the reason, it takes a bit of the magic out of it.

Current Music - I Don't Feel Like Dancing - Scissor Sisters (but I kind of do - could be the song though!)