2007

I think this sums up the way I felt about the 2007 holiday season.

My food coma from yesterday is finally wearing off....

Better than Ansel Adam prints

Yesterday early afternoon the phone rang. It was my ex husband (Amanda's dad) calling from his office. He wanted to know if Jim and me had opened up his Christmas present from him and Amanda yet.

Well I was waiting until Christmas.

"Why don't you go ahead and open it now", he says.

Obviously HE couldn't wait for me to open it. And to be honest I was curious.

So I walk over to the tree and open it up with him still on the phone.

I throw the wrapping on the floor and lift the lid on the rectangular box. It took my breath away. It was a big folio displaying Amanda's senior pictures and they were gorgeous!

Amanda had been dropping hints all week. Saying that my present would be better than Ansel Adam prints. She was right. Way better than Ansel Adam prints.

Clam chowder

Our tree is up and the lights are shining. That's what we did after shopping on Saturday night. Andrew did most of the work. We went with clear lights and a red and gold theme. There was a debate over what would top the tree. The star or the angel? Cortney wanted a star but Andrew insisted on the angel and won. After that we had a spaghetti dinner.

(I took the MySpace Christmas tree off my page because it was taking way to long to load.)

Guess where our Christmas outdoor lights are? Tangled up in a ball and tucked away in a box. They might stay there this year. Or maybe I'll just use one string of lights, hang a Christmas wreath on the door and call it good.

Sunday we lazed around until early afternoon, then went shopping again and made a round trip to Tacoma and back. It snowed near the Hood Canal Bridge but didn't stick.

Today Jim had the day off and we ran some errands and bummed around town. We got back home at lunch time.

I think we're having clam chowder for dinner. New England of course. No one likes Manhattan clam chowder because it's not really a chowder it's a soup. A vegetable soup with clams.

Links:

More Icy weather for Midwest (600K homes and businesses blacked out)

National Geographic

Boing Boing

Slashdot

While I'm typing this Andrew is playing a video game. He has one of those headsets where you talk with other gamers. and I keep thinking he's talking to me because we're the only two in the room. So he's talking to someone else online and I keep answering him like a bonehead.

His headset reminds me of the ones they use at the McDonald's drive-thru.

====================================

It snowed on Saturday. I was excited and bouncing around because this meant we could go sledding at the golf course on Sunday. But on Sunday the rain washed out the snow. Bummer.

So it snowed and it rained. And rained. And more rain. The Northwest is flooding.


Shitty weather usually brings out the shitty drivers. Yesterday, this big Ford F-250 was right on my ass all the way through downtown and across town. I was in the right lane, the truck could of went around using the other unoccupied lane, but instead chose to tailgate me. The truck was so close I swear it was trying to mate with my back bumper. Back the F#@! off already. You know?

Wrapping presents with a cat.

1. Clear large space on table for wrapping present.

2. Go to wardrobe and collect bag in which present is contained, and close door.

3. Open door and remove cat from wardrobe.

4. Go to cupboard and retrieve rolls of wrapping paper.

5. Go back and remove cat from cupboard.

6. Go to drawer and collect transparent sticky tape, ribbons, scissors, labels, etc.

7. Lay out present and wrapping materials on table, to enable wrapping strategy to be formed.

8. Go back to drawer to get string, remove cat that has been in the drawer since last visit, and collect string.

9. Remove present from bag.

10. Remove cat from bag.

11. Open box to check present, remove cat from box, replace present.

12. Lay out paper to enable cutting to size.

13. Cut the paper to size, trying to keep the cutting line straight.

14. Throw away first sheet because cat tried to chase the scissors and tore the paper.

15. Cut second sheet of paper to size by putting cat in the bag the present came out of.

16. Place present on cut-to-size paper.

17. Lift up edges of paper to seal in present, wonder why edges now don’t reach, and find cat between present and paper. Remove cat and retry.

18. Place object on paper, to hold in place, while cutting transparent sticky tape.

19. Spend next 20 minutes carefully trying to remove transparent sticky tape from cat with pair of nail scissors.

20. Seal paper down with transparent sticky tape, making corners as neat as possible.

21. Look for roll of ribbon; chase cat down hall and retrieve ribbon.

22. Try to wrap present with ribbon in a two-directional turn.

23. Re-roll up ribbon and remove paper that is now torn, due to cat’s enthusiasm in chasing ribbon end.

24. Repeat steps 12-22 until down to last sheet of paper.

25. Decide to skip steps 12-16 in order to save time and reduce risk of losing last sheet of paper. Retrieve old cardboard box that you know is right size for sheet of paper.

26. Put present in box, and tie down with string.

27. Remove string, open box and remove cat.

28. Put all packing materials in bag with present and head for lockable room.

29. Once inside room, lock door and start to re-lay out packing materials.

30. Remove cat from box, unlock door, put cat outside door, close door and re-lock.

31. Lay out last sheet of paper. (Admittedly this is difficult in the small area of the toilet, but try your best!)

32. Seal box, wrap with paper and start repairs by very carefully sealing down tears with transparent sticky tape. Now tie up with ribbon and decorate with bows to hide worst affected areas.

33. Label, then sit back and admire your handiwork, congratulating yourself on making good of a bad job.

34. Unlock door, and go to kitchen to make drink and feed cat.

35. Spend next 15 minutes looking for cat, before coming to obvious conclusion.

36. Unwrap present, untie box and remove cat.

37. Retrieve all discarded sheets of wrapping paper, feed cat and retire to lockable room for last attempt, making certain you are alone and the door is locked.

38. At time of handing over present, smile sweetly at receiver’s face, as they try and hide their contempt at being handed such a badly wrapped present.

39. Swear to yourself that next year, you will get the store to wrap the darn thing for you.

I have an idea, how about locking the cat in the bathroom until finished wrapping ;-)

Dear Kevin Spacey

Dear Kevin Spacey,

Or can I just call you Kev? I've seen so many of your movies and I feel comfortable calling you Kev. In fact I feel like I know you. Which is why I am so puzzled to why you agreed to be in 'Fred Claus'.

Why Kev?

Did you even read the script? Because this movie is so below your league. Your better than that. I expect this from Vince Vaughn, especially after seeing him in "Dodge Ball". But not you. Not you.

Something bad must have happened for you to sign on to this movie. Are you out of money? Was your life being threatened if you didn't take this role? Maybe there was alcohol and drugs involved during the contract signing?

I'm just disappointed with you Kev.

But since we are such good friends, I'm going to give you another chance to redeem yourself. Let's see if you can choose a better movie script next time.

And Kev, if your appear in "Fred Claus 2" you will be forever dead to me.

Your best buddy,

Amy

Nipples

Lately whenever I go out of town shopping, I've noticed a new trend among display mannequins. They are sporting nipples now. I'm talking high beams here. Strolling through Norstrom's I almost did a double take when I spotted a mannequin looking like this one.

Is she excited? Because she looks visibly aroused. Maybe it is very cold inside Nordstrom's. I'm just trying to figure out why a mannequin would need nipples.

I guess nipples sell clothes. Kinda strange.

Wow! I never thought I would begin to become so conservative in my 30's ;-)

-------------------------------------

Anyway, on the home front, Andrew's baseball season is over and Cortney has 2 games left. One of them is tonight. After that we are going out to dinner and then later I have a report to fill out and send in.


Links:
Having fled Iraq, she died at the hands of her father, because of a kiss

'Sopranos' Creator: 'We Did What We Had to Do'

101 Really Useful Websites

A@W

The oldest fast food joint in the country & still going but not as it once was. This put me in full flashback mode. Remember when you could go to A&W and get a Papa Burger, a Mama Burger and a Baby Burger? In Aberdeen when I was 3 this was the very first restaurant I remember eating at with my mom and dad. We would park the car and they would come up to our window, take our order and return with a big tray of food and hang it off the car window. My mom getting the Mama Burger and of course my dad eating a big juicy Papa Burger.
On friday night we went to an A@W located in Tacoma. It was about 9:30pm when I snapped this picture and we were starving. I was disappointed to see that they only have the Papa Burger left on the menu.


Served with a frosty cold mug, I had forgotten how great these are. Yes they still have the mugs., so great. This is Cortney's root beer, she went back for refills twice. Mainly because I continually asked her for a 'little sip'. I would have bought my own, but you know...calories, ha.

the Zipper

Took the kids to the festival on Saturday. They were excited to go on the Zipper. The picture below turned out alright considering the clouds came rolling in and it was dusk. That's them in the cart on the end. I think being at the end or top of the Zipper is the best part of the ride.....

Look at me talk as if I went on the Zipper. I didn't go on at all. I use to love it. But now the ride looks old and shaky . Like it is put together with sticks and string. And the noises that thing makes. Like it's crying out in pain. I don't even really like the kids going on it, but they begged and pleaded, they made promises about chores and school work. So of I caved in, knowing the promises will last all of 2 days. I'll take what I can get.

Harley

This is my friend Harley, he likes to spend his afternoons at the ballpark watching the kids play baseball. He was nice enough to let me take his picture.

These are so much fun! Gaming consoles have come a long way and aren't just for playing video games. When its raining our gaming console provides plenty of interactive entertainment. For example:



Basically Singstar turns your PS3 or PS2 into a karaoke machine and the playlist features all the original videos. Or if your brave you can set up your EyeToy and watch yourself sing. Amanda is the singing queen around here. She's fun to battle with, even if she does always win. My voice is terrible and there should be a law against me singing. We all have out favorite songs on the list. I like to belt out Gwen Stefani's "Cool" and Rolling Stone's "Paint it Black" while Jim likes The Killer's "Somebody Told Me" and Offspring's "Self Esteem".

The playlist of songs:

Gwen Stefani Cool
Heavans Devils Dangerous and on the run
The Killers Somebody Told Me
Coldplay Speed Of Sound
KT Tunstall Black Horse And The Cherry Tree
Jordan Powell Don't Stop Me Now
Elton John Rocket Man
Keane Everybody's Changing
Marvin Gaye I Heard It Through The Grapevine
The Cure Friday I'm In Love
D.J. Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince Summertime
The White Stripes Blue Orchid
Naked Eyes (There's) Always Something There To Remind Me
B-52's Love Shack
Dusty Springfield Son Of A Preacher Man
Joss Stone Super Duper Love (Are You Diggin On Me?)
Blur Song 2
Gloria Gaynor I Will Survive
Jet Are You Gonna Be My Girl?
Hole Celebrity Skin
Thin Lizzy The Boys Are Back in Town
Scissor Sisters Take Your Mama Out
The Rolling Stones Paint It, Black
Bloc Party Banquet
The Police Every Breath You Take
The Offspring Self Esteem
Lynyrd Skynyrd Sweet Home Alabama
Scorpions Winds Of Change
Good Charlotte Girls & Boys
The Hives Hate To Say I Told You SO

NEXT:



Dance Dance Revolution Super Nova. This is one where we dance, it comes with one dance pad and we had to by a second one so we can compete. Cuz that's the whole fun of it. This is addicting and best of all there is also a workout mode. You can also dance and compete with people online and as with Singstar Rocks, you can hook up the EyeToy to this.

Playlist:
Battle Without Honor Or Humanity - By Tomoyasu Hotei
Centerfold(130 BPM move it remix) - By Captain Jack
Come Clean - By NM featuring Susan Z
Curus - By D-crew
Dance, Dance - By Fall Out Boy
Do You Want To - By Franz Ferdinand
Doll - By ÇsðüÇqÇ`
Flow (True Style) - By Scotty D. revisits U1
Fly away - By ChiyoTia
Freckles (KCP Re-Edit) - By Tiggy
Funkytown - By Lipps's, Inc
Girls Just Wanna Have Fun - By Cyndi Lauper
Heaven is a Place on Earth (German Election Mix) - By Julia
Hit 'n' Slap - By Asletics
Jerk it Out - By Caesars
L.E.F. (Loud Electronic Ferocious) - By Ferry Corsten
Let's Dance - By David Bowie
Mr. Dabada (Groove Wonder Remix) - By Carlos Jean
Mugen - By ÇsðüÇqÇ`
My Only Shining Star - By Naoki feat. Becky Lucinda
No.13 - By Taka
respect for J.S.B Peace(^^)v - By BeForU
Robogirl - By The Crystal Method
Shivers(Radio Edit) - By Armin van Buuren
Shout - By Lulu
Since U Been Gone - By Kelly Clarkson
Star Gate Heaven - By SySF. feat. Donna Burke
The Other Side(radio mix) - By Paul van Dyk feat. Wayne Johnson
True Love - By Jun
Turn On the Music(Axwell Radio Edit) - By Roger Sanchez
Video Killed The Radio Star - By The Buggles
Xepher - By Tatsh


Also:
Guitar Hero 2



This game will make you feel like a rockstar no matter who you are!
The Guitar Hero 2 playlist

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Anyway.........
This last weekend I didn't do anything that I had planned. Ever have a weekend like that? So here's what I didn't do, Cortney had a softball game and that was cancelled and after that I had planned to attend a peace rally downtown but developed a headache that stayed with me all weekend. So I didn't go to the peace rally. On Sunday, I was suppose to play tennis with Amanda, but again the headache. Jim wanted to take everyone to the baseball field and play some ball, but Roo wanted to ride his dirt bike instead and flaked out. Roo! And without calling!

I did get a chance to check out the farmers market and stayed for 3 minutes. It's just not time, no one had anything interesting for sale. There was a guy selling homemade honey and beeswax candles, but I already have enough honey. Ya know, I saw this lady that was totally macking on the old guy selling the honey. Just outragously flirting.

I don't like your girlfriend

Hey! Hey! You! You!
I don't like your girlfriend!
No way! No way!
I think you need a new one
Hey! Hey! You! You!
I could be your girlfriend

Somehow I drifted off my regular radio station and found myself dancing and singing to that dumb "Girlfriend" song by Avril Lavigne, and I was liking it! When I see these lyrics written without the music I find them obnoxious. But put music with them and its fun to sing.
The video. She looks great in the video, but I hate the video because its so fucking annoying. If she does get that guy in the end he'll be sorry because she is a 'bossy bitch', but then again I like that. So now you can see that this song has turned me into a walking contradiction.
"Girlfriend" video.

...somebody get me a spoon so I can gag myself.

Yeah this post is immature...I'll shut up now.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Last night we waited and waited (20 min.) to be seated at Shari's Restaurant. I became so bored I took a photo of the 'Please Wait To Be Seated" sign.


We go to Shari's because it's free for kids on weekends. I'm cheap. Seriously, look what we got for free.



Way better looking than the pancakes I posted last week.




LINKS:
My journal almost a year ago

10 Tips For The Lazy Environmentalist

Blue-ray Laser Shortage Ending; Could Lead To PS3 Price Cuts

What Does $456 Billion Buy?

TWiT 96: 09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 58 D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0

DVD Shrink and DVD Decrypter

Among some of my favorite software is DVD Dycrypter and DVD Shrink. I've been using these programs for well over a year now and best of all they are FREE.

I generally use DVD Decrypter because I prefer its interface and overall speed, however this week I began to play around with DVDFab, and I really like what I'm seeing. Easy to use. Okay, back on track......
Awhile back, DVD Decrypter's official download site had been removed due to legalities. Even though it's been shut down a person can easily download the program from mirror sites. Like here.

I downloaded these programs with the intention of renting movies and burning them. DVD Decrypter rips encrypted dvd video files onto your harddrive for further processing and removes region code protection. The DVD Shrink can do some of that but is mainly used to compress my data (movie) so it will fit back onto a standard DVD-R as the files would otherwise be too big. The results were great, but is it legal? That's the question here.

I did some research last month and found some conflicting sides to this and here is what I found, manufacturers state that making copies for any purpose is illegal because to do so is a copyright infringement. But there is also the Fair Use Act and the Audio Home Recording Act of 1992 which seems most of the public is in favor of. This states that you may legally make a copy of your DVD/CD for personal backup if you were the one who bought (and still own) the original.

So renting and copying is probably illegal *sigh* and backing up DVD's that I already own is legal. Backing up DVD's isn't a bad idea, my kids have scratched alot of movies and it's been nice having a master copy for when this happens.

I still have a few previous copies of rented movies, so I guess when I see men in suits by my door I better hide and bury all copies of "Charlotte's Web" and "Ice Age" in the backyard along with the buried treasure and bodies I have hidden back there.

How to Rip DVDs

DVD Shrink Guide (this one got me started a year ago)

Side note:
I forgot to mention that DVD Shrink can't rip Sony movies. I think DVDFab
does, but I haven't tried it. Another thing about DVDFab is the newest version can decrypt HD DVD and Blue-ray movies. I have a PS3 that plays Blue-ray, so I'm kind of curious to how that works. Maybe that can be next week's project.

Amy

Check out these two sites
Doom9
Afterdawn.com (great site!)

We all scream for ice cream!

Hey if you are looking for a sweet deal, tonight Baskin and Robbins is having 31 cent scoop night from 5-10PM. This is in honor of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. Baskin Robbins is donating $100,000 to the foundation.

Rasberry Swirl here I come!

Stuff thats going on:



Lots of baseball stuff. Yesterday the munchkin had a game and hit the ball 4x, all singles and came in for a score everytime.She's pretty dramatic about it though. Everytime shes on deck, she waits until after her 2nd strike to hit the ball. The suspense!

Later on we all played baseball at another field, just goofing around. I hit the ball backwards over the backstop and onto a busy street, oops.



Also lately we have been eating healthier. So yesterday I made some healthy oat bran pancakes. Then I thought they would be really good with pre-sweetened strawberries and I thawed out some frozen ones. Then one of the kids got out the whip cream.



They didn't look very healthy anymore. Somewhere under all of that is the healthy oat bran pancakes.







Hmm what else? Oh, remember the freaking car alarm fiasco on Easter? Well we had finally decided to just have the car towed back here (50 dollars), and the very next morning Jim figured it out. It was something really stupid. BUT, the car is in motion and running again, that's the important thing.











Other things:







I still haven't found my wedding ring and I lost an expensive money order. Today I refinished an old shelf that really need it, after that we totally spring cleaned, windows, shampood carpets, the works and I still didn't find the ring or the money order but the place looks fantastic.(On the inside). The outside is mowed and cleaned up, but still ugly and I hate the outside of this place with a thousand flames of passion!







Some good stuff:



A few days ago I joined a tennis club, really looking forward to that. They just raised $23, 231 and counting towards new tennis courts.



I'm throwing around the idea of getting a job outside the house.



I finally beat Marvel's Ultimate Alliance.

----------------------------------------------------------------



LINKS:



72% of Troops Want Out of Iraq, 29% Now!



Google scrambles to restore deleted homepages



Why are there so few women on digg?

6 weird things or habits:

1. I like to jump on top of my cat and annoyingly say "midnight midnight midnight" as fast as I can, it's soothing. Not so much for Midnight though.

2. My hand writing changes with my moods.

3. My desktop is always spotless, inside my desk is a whole other story.

4. I've never lived in one place for over 5 years.

5. Once when I was alone, I spent the whole entire weekend watching a "Real World" marathon on MTV. Never left the house.

6. When I was 17, while dining at "The House of Hong" located in the international district of Seattle, I ate a fried 'chickens foot'.

This household has made it without cable TV for over one year now. However we didn't do it without cheating. We have aquired DVD box-sets. Like:

The Soprano's 4 and 5th seasons
Nip/Tuck season 2
The Office 1st season
Survivor
Big Brother
Dave Chapelle Show
24 sesason 4
Lost season 2
Scrubs

So those have kept us busy. But not up to date. I'm so far behind. I'm missing the latest Survivor. We are throwing around the idea of getting cable again. I just don't want to see the kids so zombied out on it like they use to be. I know its all about moderation, so we'll see....

------------------------------------------------------------------------..>..>..>..>..>..>

Favourite *Action* Films?
1.	Point of No Return
2.	Terminator 2
3.	Indiana Jones
4.	Kill Bill
5.	Goodfellas
Favourite *Comedy* Films?
1.	There is Something About Mary
2,	The Graduate
3.	Breakfast at Tiffany's
4.	Airplane!
5.	Clerks
Favourite *Thriller* Films?
1.	The Silence of the Lambs
2.	The Sixth Sense
3.	Seven
4.	Kalifornia
5.	12 Monkeys
Favourite *Family* Films?
1.	Jurassic Park
2.	Jumanji
3.	Old Yeller
4.	Willow
5.	ET
Favourite *Sci-Fi* Films?
1.	Matrix Trilogy
2.	Star Wars
3.	Blade Runner
4.	Alien
5.	Planet of the Apes
Favourite *Horror* Films?
1.	The Exorcist / The Shining
Take this survey or other MySpace Surveys at PimpSurveys.com

OUT, out

"Did we go out at all last month?" I ask my husband. I usually have a memory like a steel trap, and I don't recall getting out last month. 'getting out' haha I say it like I'm breaking out of prison

He closes his eyes thinking..."No" he says slowly, " I think we went out to dinner for our birthdays, but not OUT, out."

Hmmm.....
I think I may need a break, and I don't mean a night at the symphony and at the same time I also don't mean a 'Britney Spears' night either, with the runny mascara smeared all over my face, tramping all over town with my gross party sweat, while showing the world my lack of underwear.

Isn't she cute? I have some photos like that.

I just need a rated-R night, without the kids. One where the hubby and I get to hang out with other adults, play poker, swear, tell off color jokes, maybe go out dancing, talk loud and have some drinks.

Catching a concert sounds like fun too. Or maybe hanging out at Pioneer Square in Seattle. I'll be checking in with different venues to see what's going on where in the next couple weeks.

Until then, I am a work at home employee, part-time chauffer, cook, nurse, dog bathing, mom who wouldn't want it any other way.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

These champagne glasses grew on me,



My husband calls them "The Cat in the Hat" champagne glasses.

They were given to me by my sister, she had regifted them to me because she absolutely hates the stems.

I'm saving them for a time when I'll have a 'Mexican' themed party with festive music and everyone will want champagne instead of margaritas and tequila. When that times comes, I'll have the perfect glasses.

Probably not going to happen. But I do have them just in case.

My journal one year ago today "Fake Bake Junkie"

Saturday was spent at the baseball field for my son's jamboree. He hit a double, caught a couple pop fly balls and scored everytime he was up to plate, so that was cool. While he played, the munchkin made repeated trips to the always popular concession stand and came home with a tummy ache. Here's a list of what she consumed:

One hotdog
Cheetos
3 chocolate chip cookies
a pack of sunflower seeds
Gatorade
Pepsi

It might have been the Pepsi/Gatorade mix , but next time she'll eat before we leave the house.

-------------------------------------------------------
Midnight



One thing that has been going on around here is Midnight's huffy attitude every since I forgot to drain the tuna can into his food bowl. Most of the time he is such a gentleman and sweetheart. But the other night I was wanting to turn on my PS2 and he wasn't having it, and sometimes he scares me when he looks at us like this.




That awful day when I made the tuna fish sandwiches and forgot to drain the juice in his bowl, he got pissed off and jumped on a shelf and was deliberately looking at me while knocking stuff down. He can get this mean calculating expression.

Most of the time he makes me laugh because I'll come into a room and see him doing this.....

or this........


and a lot of times this!


Wonder how long it takes for a cat to forgive?

Sunday's pictures





The rest of Sunday's pics

VT massacre

In the aftermath of the VT massacre it didn't take long for everyone to start playing the "blame game" and point fingers. I've heard it all, some say it's video games, others say lack of gun control, music, society, bad parenting, the teachers. So who or what is to blame? Because there is plenty of blame going around.

This is who's fault I think it is....

You know, Cho Seung-Hui, the shooter.

Sometimes a person is just plain bad. Rotten to the core. I mean what kind of video games was Hitler playing when he decided to kill Jews? What type of music was King Henry the VIII listening to before he had his wives beheaded?
They were evil, plain and simple.

Move it Katie!

"Come on, outta the way Katie" I say. Last night I was trying to go down the stairs and she was laying at the bottom like a lump. She wouldn't move. (My dog)

"Hey lazy get up! I'm not tripping over you!" She's not suppose to be sleeping there anyways.

My husband switches on the light. "Who are you talking too?"

I look down. "I guess I'm talking to the backpack"

Yep it wasn't Katie, but my nephew's backpack.

It was dark.

Maserati Red PS3

Holy crap! Last last week a $12,100 winning bid yielded the world's only Maserati Red PS3.
The 60GB version features everything you would find on the normal black version, only this one comes with two red wireless controllers too.

Man, some idiot must have a lot of money sitting around. Maybe I should paint ours and throw it up on Ebay .
I'm thinking that it's possible that this could be a hoax by two friends. One the seller and the other the buyer.

I have a box sitting high on a shelf in the back utility room. It contains old love letters and memoribilia. Things like ticket stubs, a few photos and other odds and ends. I ran into it yesterday and wondered, if now that I'm married should I get rid of all that stuff?

Last time I was married (18), I threw away all my love letters from childhood thru high school, therefore proving my love for my new husband.
In the end I regretted it. Not the marriage but throwing out pieces of my life and links to my childhood and teen years.

Later on in life at a time when I was single, I did it again. But on my terms, the idea was that I was purging myself and shouldn't think of the past. Once again, I ended up kicking myself. What's wrong with my past? Or for that matter, memories? Good or bad?

After that I promised myself that I wouldn't do it again. For anyone.

Now that I'm married again, even if they are tucked away out of sight in a dusty corner I'm wondering if its appropriate to have them around? Jim tossed out everything that reminded him of his ex before we were married.

Hmmm.......



Famous Love Letters:

Ludwig von Beethoven - July 6, 1806

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - October 17, 1790

King Henry IV of France - June 16, 1593

King Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn - 1528

King Henry VIII - c.1528

John Keats - March 1820

John Keats - (1795 - 1821)

John Keats - Kentish Town, 1820

Catherine of Aragon - 1535

Lord Randolph Churchill - August 1873

Winston Churchill - January 23, 1935

Maybe it's the rainy weather, or maybe it's because I can't find my wedding ring and that our car is still stuck in PT. It could be that this morning 'The Battle Axe' emailed me saying that the numbers I sent her were wrong. She needs the 6 digit number on the tickets. There is only ONE number on these tickets and its EIGHT digits. She didn't believe me and I had to fax her the tickets so she could see with her own freaking eyes that the numbers are in fact 8 digits. Now maybe I can get paid. Stupid shit like that bothers me and has put me in grumpy state of mind. I took a shower and I don't feel like I took a shower, I hate that. This feeling isn't going away, in fact if I won the lottery today I would still find something to bitch about.

I don't know what I'm capable of doing today. So I'm going to save my family from me. After I finish with myspace, I'm calling it a day and I'm gonna lock myself up in my cozy room with a bag of pretzels and play 'God of War2' until this feeling passes. You know, for the sake of the family.
--------------

001. When's the last time you ran?
Easter.

002. Do your jeans have rips, tears, and holes in them?
Yeah I have a pair or two.

003. What are you dreading right now?
Loaded question!

004. Do you celebrate 4/20?
No I'm not celebrating "pothead" day

006. Favorite ice cream?
Cherry Almond Fudge and Cherry Garcia

007. When was your last doctor's visit?
Last September

008. Do you get the full 8 hours of sleep a night?
I try.

010. "First Loves Are Never Over;" is this true for you?
Nope, there are reasons my ex's are ex's.

011. Think of all your exes. Would you take any of them back?
See last answer

012. If anyone came to your house on your "lazy days" what would they find you wearing?
Boxers and a tee

013. Do you own a pair of Converse?
Not anymore.

014. Who did you copy and paste this survey from?
Shannon

015. Do you eat raw cookie dough?
I have

016. Have you ever kicked a vending machine?
When I was younger,I've smacked a vending machine a few times out of desperation after it took the last of my money.

017. Don't you hate when the radio ruins good songs by playing them over and over?
Well most stations do that.

018. Do you watch Trading Spaces?
Not for awhile.

019. How do you eat oreos?
Nah

020. Have you ever stayed online for a very long time waiting for someone?
No way, believe it or not, I have what's called a life.

021. Are you cocky?
No just convinced.

022. Could you live without a computer?
Of course, although I've had a computer since I was 15 so it would take some major adjustments.

023. Do you wear your shoes in the house?
No, Japanese style, I like very clean floors.

024. At what age did you find out that Santa wasn't real?
Forth grade

025. How many phones, house phones and cell phones are in your house?
4

026. What do you do when you're sad?
Drink some wine and mope..... play video games

027. Who would you call first if you won the lottery?
My lawyer! Just kidding, probably Jim and then I would want to keep it quiet for awhile before I told anyone else.

028. How do you like your eggs?
Egg whites only or poached

029. Is anyone on your bad side right now?
A few people I don't care for...but I rarely think about them anyway.

030. What jewelry are you wearing?
Don't wanna talk about it.

031. What's the first thing you do when you get online?
Check email and then check the Net Nanny.

032. Do you watch Grey's Anatomy?
No

033. Would you wear a boy/girlfriends clothes?
I do, his shirts smell good.

034. Where do you work?
Home

035. What are you doing tomorrow?
Road trip and dinner

036. Is Justin Timberlake becoming the next Michael Jackson?
Who cares?

037. Your favorite restaurant you don't get to eat much at?
Cusina De-Ra in Seattle (Belltown) the dining room looks directly at the Art Museum's sculpture park.

038. How do you eat your steak?
I don't.

038. Do you return your cart?
Yes, good exersize.

039. Do you have a dishwasher?
You bet!

040. What noise do you hear?
Jim opening the refridgerator and shuffling around.

041. Next concert you hope to go to?
Hoped to see Modest Mouse, but thats not going to happen :-(

042. What was the last thing you ate?
Frozen strawberries

042. Who is the youngest in your family?
The munchkin

043. Do you know anyone with the same name as you?
Yep.

044. How many shoes do you own?
about 20

045. What service is your cell phone?
Verizon ripoff

046. What's for dinner?
We are having breakfast for dinner tonight, omelettes

047. What's the last thing you purchased?
Gum, blank DVD discs and stamps

048. Do your siblings ever pay for stuff for you?
Yeah, we take turns.

049. What brand are your pants right now?
Boring but comfy Gap pants.

050. Ever been to Wyoming?
I've lived in Shoshoni, Wyoming

051. Did you have breakfast this morning?
A cinnamon apple waffle and half a small container of Yoplait

052. Do you like marshmallows?
They're okay.

053. What irritates you most on the internet
Spam, phishing and those dumbass bullitines that say you'll have bad luck if you don't repost.

054. What brand is your digital camera?
Canon and Vivitar

055. What song best describes your life right now?
The TV show theme from the Courtship of Eddy's Father.

056. Do you like sushi?
Vegetable rolls and Temaki yum!

057. Do you go online everyday?
Almost, some weekends I take a break.

My journal one year ago......

I wrote an entry yesterday, but I accidently erased it and didn't have enought time to type it out again. So now I will try this again for the 2nd time.

Easter was fun, The Munchkin oohed and awwed over her colorful basket of goodies, then we drove over to my dads, about a 45 minute drive, picking Andrew up on the way there. The food was delicious.

The downside of Easter is that we left my dads house without our car, and for the stupidest reason ever. A car alarm nightmare. Our freaking car alarm went off and disabled the ignition. Its an after factory alarm and we could not find the override switch. After throughly searching the car, we tried unlocking and locking the doors, putting the key in the ignition, looked under the hood etc.

It lets out this shrieking piercing sound, loud enough to make a persons ears bleed. It's a quiet neighborhood. So yeah, my dads neighbors hate us now. We managed to find the alarm fuse and yanked it out to make the noise stop, but we still need to figure out how to disarm the alarm so we can start the car. *sigh* It's probably something really really simple. So simple that we will undoubtly feel like boneheads after this is all sorted out.

There is some light at the end of this tunnel, because yesterday we went back to try and get the car running and I found the name of the security company where the alarm was made and we also located the model number under the dash. It's CODE-ALARM. There is an 800 number we can call today during business hours. So instead of standing around and scratching our heads we'll get some answers today. Cheap answers I hope.
-----------------------


------------------------

LINKS:

You Grew Up Playing Shoot'em-Up Games. Why Can't Your Kids?
You grew up playing gory shoot'em-up video games, and loving it. But are you gonna let your kids play them?
Would you read your own blog?
If you wouldn't read your own blog, then no one else will either, so they say.
TV Shows That Should Never Have Been Cancelled
A list of shows that should have never been givin the axe.
5 Reasons George W. Bush Isn't As Stupid As You Think
Yes, it's tongue-in-cheek humor, but there's some pretty scary logic here. Has he been deceiving us all this time?

Dear Kim

A letter to Kim, not that he can read this, I doubt he gets online and surfs the net when we aren't home.

Dear Kim (The Fearless),

You and your brother were brought into our family almost 8 months ago! Wow, time has flown. You're a lot bigger now. Back then we named you Kimmie, a cute little girls name, because ahem, well, we thought you were a girl for the longest time. Must have been those huge beautiful eyes of yours. Then came the stunning revelation from your vet that you were in fact a boy. Your not the kind of fellow to hold a grudge and we were quickly forgiven. Thereafter your name was shortened to "Kim". You were probably asking your brother in a deep voice, "Dude! Why do they keep calling me a she?"

You love Christmas
and especially love getting in trouble with the Xmas tree.


You are very close to your brother. Although you two are total opposite in personality you guys love hanging out together.

Now about being the total opposite of your brother, you are the more laid back one.



You are forever curious and are not afraid of anything. You try to play with the dogs next door, walking right up to them. You bring in prizes you've caught in from outside. Thank-you.
You don't move for anyone, like when your laying in the doorway and I need to close the door, so I nudge you with it, you just lie there totally unaffected. So then I have to pick you up and move you.
You love your toys and like to sleep with them. The printer has always been a curiosity to you, man, you can watch that thing run forever. A few times you tried to grab some sheets of paper and stick your furry paw inside, but a firm no stopped you. Didn't want you to get hurt!

Your favorite human is Cortney, you love her the most. You sleep on her bed and let her pack you around. You won't let anyone else do that. You adore the sound of her voice and get excited and call out to her when she comes in from school. Sure you let us pet you, but you don't follow us around like you do her.



Backing up a little, as I said before, you are fearless. Not afraid of anything. I admire that about you. You are a terrific kitty to have around and have grown into a very handsome cat

Just one question, "Did you really take Cortney's dresser drawer out and place it in the middle of her room?" She's been blaming you for that.