Archives for September 2007

My new blogs are starting to look pretty

September 30, 2007 by Leave a Comment

I’ve had a migraine all day, that I’ve been keeping at bay with medicine, but, I still haven’t felt totally up to snuff. Blogging just wasn’t really in the cards today, although I do have some reviews that I wanted to get done. They will just have to wait.

It sort of turned out to be a good thing, though, because I worked on some of the design elements of my two new blogs. And I had a super-cool blogging buddy, Loretta, helping me! She totally rocks!

Aren’t they starting to look nice? Why, thank you, I think so, too!

Have a good evening – and I’ll blog at ya tomorrow!

Filed Under: blogging, migraine

Two slumber parties, one tired mama

September 29, 2007 by Leave a Comment

Tonight is Shawn’s slumber party – my thirteen year old. He has four boys over and they are all juiced up on sugar, caffeine, and video games! I threw some hot dogs in there for good measure. This definitely would be a good day for me to try a hoodia patch, with all this junk food around. They are all outside playing right now, which I imagine I’ll have to call a stop to soon, as they are not doing that ‘quiet thing’ very well. It is 9:30PM here and I don’t want to upset any of the neighbors. All in all, they are nice boys, so it’s a good party, but, whenever you mix an odd number of kids, candy, caffeine, and slumber parties, there are bound to be little issues here and there. They seem to be handling them nicely, though. Thank goodness, because, I am sitting here at my desk, trying very hard to keep myself awake. I am just no good in the evenings, anymore. Around 8pm, I start fighting off the ‘sleepies’, so this is getting a bit too far past my bedtime. I am hoping my husband will be home soon to take over. He needs to probably blow up an air mattress for them, anyway. The floor in the basement doesn’t have any padding under the carpet, and there is only furniture enough for three boys to sleep on. (A couch, a big sidechair, and a loveseat.)

Last weekend Patrick had his birthday slumber party. He turned 14. He had two boys spend the night. It was definitely quieter, but, those boys were pretty darn sweet, too.

Uh oh, the boys are starting to yell a bit too much – I better go hush them up.

Filed Under: Parenting

No President Left Behind

September 28, 2007 by Leave a Comment

What, I mean, what, could I possibly even say to that? Oh, I don’t know, maybe I could tell you about something “nuke-you-ler”, or maybe I could tell you that I, too, “do the Google” – but, I don’t know.

I know I certainly don’t want to get on my No Child Left Behind soapbox, because, I’ve got work to do. No, I don’t have no time for them dang praisedents that cain’t even speak no Ainglish krect.

Filed Under: Education

Rushing, gushing, spectacular waterfall

September 27, 2007 by Leave a Comment

Those are the words of my sweet 10 year old daughter. She had to write a paragraph at school about a beautiful garden, and those words just really struck me. Are you just experiencing that waterfall with her upon hearing those words? I know that I am!

It’s funny, because, a group of friends and I have been having a lot of discussions lately about just this sort of thing. Taking your readers there with you, right into the scene, and letting them wholly experience it with you – like you’re looking at it on a viewsonic monitor – or even better, like you’re actually there! And here that concept is so beautifully demonstrated by a fifth grader! That’s just awesome!

I would love to share with you her whole paragraph, though, as I found it really sweet:

Designing a Garden

My imaginary garden is beautiful! In my garden I have all kinds of flowers. Also my garden has a rocky path leading up to a stream of water comeing from a rushing, gushing, spectacular water fall! With fish, tadpoles, and frogs. Next to the stream is a open field with a gazebo in the middle. In the middle of the gazebo is a swing. Sometimes I will move the gazebo and put a beautiful mahogany picnic table. Surronding the field is all kinds of trees and flowers. Some of the trees are: pecan, oak, apple, and Maple. Some of the flowers are: Daises, roses, and daffodils. Also I have fruits and vegatables.

I left her mistakes in place, because, they are cute, and I wanted to you read it as I see it on thepaper. (I’d scan it if it wasn’t in pencil and my scanner wasn’t fussy.) And the colorations were my doing, so I could emphasize that beautiful use of ‘taking your audience with you’. And also so that I could point out that, yes, that child’s father is a carpenter – how did you guess? Winking 2

Filed Under: Education

Today looks a little brighter

September 27, 2007 by Leave a Comment
Dancing

Because we made it! We made it! We got that stinkin’ freakin’ bill paid! Woohooo!

So today I’m happy and feelin’ ten pounds lighter. Now, I’m sure I’ll be just as grumpy next month when it comes time to pay our next bill PLUS the loverly extra $250!! If only we had some Scottsdale real estate to sell! Ah well, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it, eh? I’m sure you guys can help me through the stress of that one, just like you have this one!FriendsI just loved hearing that we’re not alone and that other people are outraged at the outrageousness of life sometimes, too!

So today – let’s just be happy! Woohoo 2

Filed Under: finances

You don’t have enough money…

September 26, 2007 by Leave a Comment

…to pay us what you owe us, so, we would like you to pay us even more Money Money Money Money Money Money Money Money

What the heck?! No No I’m late on my electric bill, because, the darn 100 degree days just did. us. in. Our darn bill is $359! And I guess I had a slow blogging month, or maybe I would do better to say, an unproductive blogging month. Things have just been so busy around this house, that it has been really hard to get much work done online! But that is a whole ‘nother sack o’ potatoes! (I need an office with a door, to lock the family out, so I can get some work done!)

What I’m really bitching about here, though, is that, for two weeks, I’ve been bustin’ my rumpus trying to get all the money together for that stinkin’ electric bill, among others….when I get this just loverly letter in the mail from them:

The electric service account at the above referenced address indicates a delinquent payment record. As a result, a deposit in the amount of $250.00 must be paid on this account.

See what I mean? “You can’t pay, so pay us some more.” That’s intelligent. Gah.

This same thing happened to me at the bank a couple of years ago – it was just like credit cards, you’re drowning, and in your dire struggle to get caught up – they push you back down under the water!Swimming

Life makes so much sense sometimes, doesn’t it? Confused 2 Ugh! I am almost there – to the original bill amount, that is! But, I still don’t have the total amount – I have until tomorrow. Wish me luck! And feel free to help out, if you’d like! Winking 2 All you have to do is click on my pretty Hippie Spelunker mug up there in the top left, and you will be taken to PayPal, where you can send me a buck or two, if you like. I only need $69 more, and I’m trying to avoid the pawn shop, but, I’m definitely not ruling that out – Mark’s got lots of watches, maybe even some Luminox watches. He loves those darn dive watches, but, they might just pay a bill this month!

I will work better this month. I will work harder this month. I will work more this month.

Work better, work harder, work more.

My new mantra. Heh.

Filed Under: finances

Curse you, Singapore!

September 24, 2007 by Leave a Comment

I was checking my stats this evening, and I noticed that someone visited this blog today from Singapore – and they came from Backlink Watch, which I thought was rather odd. So I went to Backlink Watch to investigate and see if I could find out how that happened.

And I’ve now wasted a good chunk of my life checking backlinks on all my sites and it’s all your fault, Singapore! Winking 2

It’s just so addicting – I couldn’t stop watching all those sweet linky’s showing up on the page bit by bit! I think I could watch all night.

I absolutely love watching my stats – seeing where people are coming from, and what they did while they were here. And I most especially love seeing how long they stayed. It’s market research for my blog!

I’m about to switch Statistics software to one that came highly recommended by John over at One Man’s Blog. He even used video to demonstrate the ultra-coolness of this software.

So I can’t wait to get it and fuel my stats sickness even more!

I wonder – if my blog readers are voyeurs (of the blog) and I’m a voyeur of my voyeurs – wonder what that makes me?

(Yes, I should totally have linked you to John’s post about the stats software, I’m in the middle of too many things right now – I’ll try to do it tomorrow. You could just search, you know.) Winking 2

(No, I don’t actually have anything against Singapore – that was just the ‘name’ I used for my blog voyeur.) Winking 2

Filed Under: Internet

Have you seen this man?

September 24, 2007 by Leave a Comment
If you have seen this man, and you live in the Vancouver area – you’d better call the police!
ROFL 10
…because he is a thief. A laptop thief. (Well, four laptops and 2 Macs, to be precise.)

Also – he is a Flickr account hijacker.
ROFL 10
He ‘hijacked’ the Flickr account of the man from whom he stole the computers, and…

POSTED PICTURES OF HIMSELF IN IT!
ROFL 10
You can click on his pretty little picture to go read all about it!
I bet he needed some adult diapers when he figured out what he’d done! He has to know, it’s all over the internet!

Filed Under: blabbering

Home theaters are so cool!

September 24, 2007 by Leave a Comment

Ever since the first time I saw a home theater (in person), I have just loved them! I would love to have one, with some big, comfy chairs, and a nice, dark, cozy room! It would just be the coolest! And having teens and a tween, wouldn’t they be the talk of the town? Wouldn’t that just be so awesome, to be a teenager, and have a home theater? You know the parties would always be at your house! (Yes, as an adult, that sounds exhausting…) Winking 2 But Mark and I have always welcomed children into our home, ever since they were babies! And to have our house be ‘the place to be’ when they are in those scary-teenage-could-be-getting-in-trouble years, would suit us just fine. Instead of all the kids being out and about causing trouble, they’ll be at our house having fun! And it really helps us to get to know their friends, when their friends hang out over here so much. And that, I think, is very important, too.

Leave it to me to go on parenting soapbox, when I just wanted to talk about home theaters! It would be amazingly cool, though, to have our own theater! And then when the monsters move out, it would all for me and Mark!

I wonder, though, where on earth do you go to buy home theater furniture?

Filed Under: Home

Working at home is great

September 24, 2007 by 2 Comments

I really do love working at home, but, sometimes even I long for a job out in the world. Most of the jobs that I had previously involved, in one way or another, working reception desks. And this blogging friend I have, LatteGirl, just took a job at the reception desk of a hotel. And I must say that I was rather surprised to find myself jealous and longing for a new reception job. It was really weird. But there were definitely some parts about working outside the home that were fulfilling. And sometimes even fun. For now, though – I think I’ll just stay right here!Winking 2

Filed Under: Work at Home
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