Everyone Gets a Teaspoon

As cranky as I was last Friday, the week actually ended on an upbeat note, which followed me through the weekend.

After work I went home, picked up the mutt & headed over to my little sister Shani's house. While waiting for some other friends to show up for dinner, we decided to go get some pictures of the veggie garden we planted earlier this year. When we got to the garden gate, Shani and her mother had me close my eyes and then escorted me into - and across - the garden. I threatened them with all sorts of dire consequences if they made me step on my carrots! They finally led me to a stop and this is what I saw upon opening my eyes:

Is this not the coolest? It's our Giant Pumpkin!!!! Whoo-hoo...then we proceeded to go mad taking pictures of the rest of the garden.

Michelle, my little's mom, was so excited that we actually have a watermelon growing. I guess we didn't realize we'd planted that...There were a few of us doing the planting, and apparently there are tomatoes as well! Although only Shani eats them. [g] I think one of the guys helping with fencing planted the tomatoes. The watermelon is quite small, as you can see.

As Michelle said,
"Everyone gets a teaspooon!"

I took home a stack of potatoes and onions, as well as some of the Kentucky Wonder Beans. We planted squash and cucumbers and more. Even some carrots that turned out pathetically small as we didn't realize they need to be thinned. Ooops. It was kinda funny how excited we were (especially me!) about eating stuff we planted and grew. LOL. It was a first for this city girl.

We had some of the corn and onions with our grilled burgers and hot dogs. Steve, my little's stepdad, kept joking about killing one of the wild rabbits so prevalent out there and make us a rabbit stew...Which made the kids shriek in dismay, of course. [g]

After dinner we played a few rounds of Jenga. Complete with our own song. See, Shani's step-dad has this habit of making up songs on the spur of the moment. Very original and creative, actually. And usually pretty funny. He and some of his friends "escaped" to the man-cave while we played Jenga. We could hear them laughing, and at one point it sounded like he was singing something about hunting...

Which prompted Josie to start one of her own (sung to a kind of blues tune):

Saw a Rabbit in my garden
And I Grabbed my pitchfork
My wife said no
The kids were screaming
"Go go go"

That last line was my contribution; she seemed a little stuck, and they seemed fitting. We couldn't stop laughing for a looooong time. And this was without any alcohol! Aren't friends grand?

On a roll today!

Goal (M-Su): 3x Arms, 3x Cardio, 1x Abs

Sitrep: 1x Arms, 2x Cardio

;( The smoke has been suhloooowwlyyyy coming back over this week, to the point I've put the AC back on at the house. I just went outside and you can actually smell it now, it's not just haze, and visibility is atrocious. So it looks like the hike tomorrow morning is off. That just makes me crankier...

As does the fact that we are not being let go at 3:30 this afternoon. Oh, no. We have to be open if our members are open. Are they freakin' kidding me? It's Labor Day weekend! The last big weekend of summer. The phone has rung once in the past 3 hours, and that was a personal call for someone here. Really. All our members (and all the companies we deal with) are closing their doors at 3:30. Like they always do. They let us go last year...

Sigh. I was counting on that time to do my workout before heading to Shanni's for the "last BBQ of the summer season". Of course, with the smoke, I have a feeling we are either a) going to end up cooking inside or b) skip the BBQ and go straight to dessert. LOL. Just kidding. We'll do both. Cook inside and eat dessert...

Someone also apparently raided Home Depot and Lowe's, 'cause when I went by nothing is in stock. Except the $800+ models. Ouch.

Ya know, I think I'd better eliminate this cranky mood. It's giving me bad karma! ;)

And no watching the news tonight!

Thar' She Blows

Apparently it's let's be cranky day, 'cause we're all cranky at work. From the coworker who didn't make it in today because her Great Dane was sick all night and into this morning (trust me, a sick Great Dane is nothing to be sneezed at) to the boss who's cranky (well, he's still dealing with his wife's unexpected death. The man has a right to be cranky.) At least he's trying to be humorous about it...

And then there's me. Unfortunately, I listened to the news this morning. Why do I do this to myself?

So the office today is full of angst, and ready to blow at any minute! Add the strange phone calls we kept getting this morning, where this guy starts by saying "Are you sitting down? Someone you know in your community is overworked and underpaid..." Well duh. Covers just about everyone, doesn't it? Our receptionist kept hanging up on him. Told her if he called back (we have a total of 3 direct lines and 4 roll-over lines) to put it through to me...I also told her if it keeps up like this I might just hand her my card and send her on a Starbucks run. [g]

So. The news this morning. Okay. Just why should the government bail out individuals that got risky home loans and now can't make their mortgage payments? Seriously. This pisses me off. I know, I know, too many foreclosures will hurt the banks and the economy, yadayadayada. The economist in me is struggling with the fiscally responsible homeowner in me.

It's just one more case of people getting bailed out by the government. Where will it end? Seriously. You can't tell me all these people having trouble because they got subprime mortgages and ARM mortgages didn't know. Not all of them. I don't buy that. Oh, sure, there are more than a few that were totally unaware. But why should they be bailed out either?

A little, and I'm talking a little bit of research would have cleared that up. One question to the banker, "What's an ARM?", would have done that. Why shouldn't people that get themselves in trouble have to deal with the repercussions? They made the stupid a$$ financial decision, why should I (and make no mistake, it is you and I, John Q. Taxpayer) that bail them out. Government funds aren't infinite. When you give to one, you take from another...

People got greedy. They saw skyrocketing home-appreciation prices and bought more than they could afford, thinking they could handle the extreme payments for a year or so, and who needed to worry about ARM's? Interest rates are historically low...they've been going down, not up. And besides, in a few months we'll be able to sell the house for a huge profit.

Banks and mortgage companies got greedy. Started loaning money to anyone that walked through their doors. And everyone forgot the reason why they started using credit reports in the first place. And the basic fact that you can't pay out more than you bring in!

It's ridiculous. Fiscally irresponsible. And totally lacking in personal responsibility. And what do people learn from this? Once more, they learn: the government will bail me out. Well, sorry. I work my butt off to pay ALL my bills. Including the mortgage. I educated myself on home loans and what it costs to own a home. There are tons of organizations out there. A simple Google search will get you all the information you could ever want. I think way too many people use the "I didn't know. Nobody told me," as an excuse. It's a bunch of bull-$&*t. And I'm tired of it.

I know. I am totally lacking in any kind of empathy this morning. But give me a break!

Today is a good day to go shopping

Goal (M-Su): 3x Arms, 3x Cardio, 1x Abs
Sitrep: 1x Arms, 1x Cardio
1 behind at this point; I'm adding to today's to get all caught up!

Yippee. ;) I got my homeowner property tax rebate today. It's all nicely direct-deposited in my checking account. Waiting for me to go shopping. And just in time for the Labor Day weekend sales.

Decisions, decisions. There's so much I want to do with this money.

1. Put it toward mortgage (extra payment on capital)
2. New window for bathroom
3. New stove
4. New sofa
5. Armchair
6. Kitchen table
7. Hire professional to strip floors upstairs (both rooms! At least, I'm assuming it's enough money for that...)
8. Replace/repaint some of the siding on the house

So what's a girl to do?

Okay. Extra mortgage payment on capital - I can set aside money every month and have an extra payment by year's end, easy. New bathroom window isn't necessary. It would be nice, but it'll go another winter. I'll just seal it up like last year to keep the heat in/cold out.

New stove. Hmm. It's gotta be from the 1980's, and when you turn on any of the burners, you hear the gas coming out and the ignition going "click, click, click, click, click" for what seems like forever before the burner lights. And you can smell the gas during this process.

New sofa. It would be nice, but the one I've got is perfectly fine. Armchair. Yeah, extra seating would be nice, but it's not necessary. Kitchen table - same thing. Upstairs floors - okay, it's hard work, but I can do this myself. I'll just finagle some people into helping me, that's all. ;) The siding. Sigh. Not sure how to handle that...I think I can replace some of it myself, and paint it as well too, fairly cheaply. Some of it might not actually be at the replaceable stage, probably just needs to be sanded, sealed and painted.

I'm going to go with the new stove for the kitchen. I'm thinking this is more urgent than the other stuff. And I just love paying cash for appliances. Makes me feel so wealthy. LOL.

So I guess I start the comparison shopping during lunch...

Oh, and the Mount Helena hike is all set for Saturday morning. I pick my little sister up at 9am, we'll be on the trail by 9:30am. :) It looks like we might be joined by a couple of my coworkers, so I'll be sure to get a picture of Shanni & I.

Can this day possibly get any s-l-o-w-e-r

My god. It's enough to drive a girl insane. Or to pass out. I think I need to modify some of my office supplies into tools that'll keep my eyes open. I even took a 40 minute nap during lunch. What the heck is that about? I know I started to drool. [g] I might have even snored a time or two. My poor coworkers...

I have plenty to do. Unfortunately, it's all that wrap-up paperwork after the seminar. Ughhh. Is there anything more tedious than entering 63 people into the database for 4 different classes? So that's what, 252 database entries, with around 12-16 clicks/selections for each entry. Total of what, 3,024+/-.

I am bored. Sheesh.

Turned to my email during my break, reading my usual e-newsletters. Found stuff on politics (what, me, read political stuff? How odd, you say...). One interesting link from the N.ARAL e-newsletter. Some guy did a "documentary" at a P.ro-Life demonstration, and asked a bunch of the protesters if they thought a.bortion should be illegal. And if so, what punishment should a woman get if she had an illegal a.bortion. Well, that took a few of them aback. They hadn't considered it. I really hadn't thought about it either. I've always been p.ro-choice, even in my religious days. Interesting to watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uk6t_tdOkwo

So I got to looking around N.ARAL's site, and from there ended up other sites, eventually news sites, and then into politics as well, googling articles and getting my blood boiling. Sigh. Why do I do this to myself? Then I started reading the comments to the articles (and why do I do that?)

Okay. Time to go. Just getting myself irritated all over again!

Still Here, Still Thinking

Just not feeling particularly pithy or talkative. That mother of all migraines from Sunday reappeared around 10am yesterday, chasing me home from work. That was not a fun morning. Or afternoon.

But hey. I'm here today, relatively pain free, and get to go to my favorite local eatery tonight - The Jade Garden. I love when instructors are in town and we have to "treat them right."

This instructor is from Florida, and comes out here for this seminar every year. He's lost 48 pounds since last November. At first he sounded like that was just from changing what he eats. I found out otherwise! He also walks SIX MILES A DAY. Yikes. Okay. It's totally fair he's lost 48 pounds since last November. No whining on my part. LOL.

He wasn't able to get a flight out until tomorrow morning, and since the class was over by 1pm, he was looking for somewhere to walk. I directed him to Mount Helena, where he is right now. He made my goal of climbing to the top. :( And in just an hour and a half! I know this, because he called me on his cell phone from the top, just to let me know it was worth the climb. LOL. He said "If I knew which direction your office was from here, I'd signal you with a mirror." Once I stopped laughing, I told him I didn't think that was the best idea. It'd probably freak some people out. He laughed and admitted "Yeah, they'd probably send a rescue party."

I'm thinking, weather permitting, this Saturday I'm going to give it another try...Now. Who am I going to call from up on top of Mount Helena?

The Plank! The Plank!

Goals: 3x Arms, 3x Cardio, 1x Abs
Sitrep: 2x Arms, 1x Cardio, 1x Abs (#2)

Okay. So that's a bad punny version of Tatoo from Fantasy Island. But I am SO STOKED!

I was able to hold the plank position for the FULL ten seconds ALL THREE TIMES during the Abs Intermediate workout. Hoo-yah! I've held it the full ten seconds one time before, never all three, but last night, I don't know...I was in a zone, I tell ya! And then on the Arms workout, at the very end, that last set of REVs that you have to do. When Alden is counting down REV-REV-REV-REV-Three-Two-One (and not that fast)...I usually make it to "three" before having to stop. But not last night! Got through it the whole way.

I am FIRED UP!

Plank Explained: Sort-of a pushup, but not...You lay on your stomach, with your elbows under your shoulders, hands gripping the BodyRev in front of you. So your arms, from elbows to wrists, are flat on the floor. Then you kinda push yourself up on your toes and arms (the part laying flat on the floor) so you are holding yourself up for 10 seconds, keeping your butt down (hard part for me, lol) so that you are straight and could "lay a plank" from your head to your feet. [Not sure how well this describes, so if anyone else out there wants to jump in and help, feel free to post comments!]

(Do you think it was the oreo cookies I ate yesterday???)

Would I ever?

I've been watching the CNN documentary "God's Warriors" the last two nights (tonight is part 3 of 3), and then the episode of Larry King Live last night. It has definitely got me thinking on this topic. Which is definitely a thought I've 'met before':

Would I ever be a warrior for a cause? Would I ever be willing to sacrifice so deeply, or so horribly?

Mostly the answer I come up with is no. I can't think of anything I believe in that moves me so much, so emotionally...

Oh, there are many things I'm passionate about. Animal abuse, child abuse, tolerance, politics, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of choice, and definitely, REDUCE THE POWER OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. (That last is a new one for me. It quite scares me sometimes how we are limiting the power of the individual states and giving it to a one-size-fits-all federal government. Not how I used to feel. Aren't I supposed to be getting more conservative as I age, not more liberal?)

Some of these issues "rile me up" (as a former co-worker called it) more than others. Yet I can't imagine getting to the point I'd want the laws to be "my way or I'll blow you up"...But then again, I've never been backed into a corner to such an extent. And those times I have had the 'fight or flight' button triggered, well, I tend to flee quite well. ;)

I wonder; is this just me? Is it a positive trait or a flaw in my makeup? Is it because I've always been more likely to see the middle road than one side or the other? Somehow my parents raised me to the point it's usually very easy for me to "put myself in someone else's shoes". Most of the time. ;) Although that doesn't always come across real well when I get worked up. It makes it very - hard, sometimes. Sometimes I think it would just be easier to be able to pick a spot and just stand there. No more thinking and evolving.

If you get a chance to see the documentary, I think you should. The first part is God's Warriors: Judaism; part 2 is God's Warriors: Islam and tonight's episode is God's Warriors: Christianity.

So far it seems to have done a decent/fair job at what its intent is (stated by Christiane Amanpour in an online Q&A) "We're not comparing. We're showing that each faith has their committed and fervent believers, and we're showing how each of those are active in the political sphere in today's world."

It's not an extremely thorough report. I mean, you can only cover so much in a 2 hour segment. But for what it is, I thought it was very good. More info to add to the mix.

Anti-Social And Proud of It...

Goals: 3x Arms, 3x Cardio, 1x Abs

Sitrep: 1x Arms, 1x Cardio

...was the slogan on a t-shirt my dad got me when I was, what, ten? eleven? twelve? Somewhere around there. It was red with white writing.

See, even back then it was obvious to those who know me best that I am not a people person. I think that's why I like the bulletin board so much. I can choose when and how to interact. I partake in the fun, but there's no pressure to actually be involved. :) Not like when you actually go out to a gathering, etc, and people get uncomfortable if you just sit there and don't talk.

Although I'm actually in a good mood today, woke up quite cheery, I'm in one of those anti-social moods. It'd be a great day if there were just no people in it. I probably feel that way because there's too much "stuff" going on at work today, and since it's all cubicles here, I have no door I can shut.

The occupant of the next cubicle over is driving me absolutely bananas. Apparently someone backed into her kid's car a week ago. (The kid is in early 20's by the way.) It's going to cost just over $1,000 to fix it, but they have a $1,000 deductible. The person who caused the accident has insurance, but bought a new car and forgot to inform her insurance agent in the 2-week time period, so actually doesn't have coverage. Or that's the story she's giving. So they want her to cut a check for the deductible amount, and they'll call it good. The lady is willing to do this, but wants to make the check out to the body shop. My coworker is upset and making all kinds of threatening noises about reporting this to the lady's insurance company, suing, etc, because she wants the check made out to the kid. She even said it would be better that way because most of the damage to the car isn't that critical, and the kid could use the money to pay her bills. WTF?

Naturally, not being one to keep my opinions to myself, I spoke up. (She was unburdening all this on me at the time anyway, so why shouldn't I speak up.) I go "Isn't that fraud?" She says, "No, because we won't report the accident again, and won't try to get reimbursed by her or the insurance company for more" and so on. This still smacks as something - unethical - to me. So I say, because she is still very, very upset with this other woman, that "If it was me, I'd want to make the check out to the autobody shop too. Or have them submit the bill to me directly and I'll pay the $1000. I'd want to be darn sure the money went to fixing the car, not to lining someone's pocket." Heh. I'd also insist on them getting more than one bid, too. And I'd want to see it in writing. All of which I said.

Okay. I take it back about not liking people. A friend that's also a coworker just walked up and handed me a mini Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Ice Cream (3.6 oz. Who knew?) Yummm. Apparently it's still noticeable when I need to be "sweetened up." (She made a run up to the grocery store to get her lunch, and brought me back a treat.)

Anyway. Returning to my story...that particular coworker was less than thrilled with my comments. But really. If you don't want my opinion, don't ask. We've worked together for six years...you know I say what I think/feel most of the time.

Pffbbbt!

That's exactly what I feel like saying to the world today. Ever have one of those days where you knew the second the alarm went off that it would be best for all concerned if you just didn't answer the call?

Nothing has gone horribly awry today. Actually, nothing has gone awry at all. Just, as CrankyOtter said in her blog yesterday, "It would be helpful if I could punch something." Not sure why. It just feels like it would be helpful.

I dreamt a lot last night. I dream a lot most nights, detailed stuff I can remember. But some nights, well, the dreams are so real, so vivid, it's hard to leave them when I wake up. They linger for hours, sometimes days. Last night's has been dragging behind me all day. Makes me think about this Cultural Anthropology course I took in college. (Loved that class.) But there was a tribe in Africa (I think it was Africa) that believed our spirits left our bodies at night and traveled. Those travels are our dreams. (I realize that it's a very common belief, not just to this tribe. It's just the first time I'd ever heard it, and it made so much sense to me.) In our waking lives that sense of deja vu is because we've intersected with something or someone or someplace from our dream travels.

It's weird, because I can tell the difference between what I call "traveling" dreams and "filing" dreams. Filing dreams are dreams made up of snippets of information my brain is processing. Almost the equivalent of the "filing" basket I have on my desk at work. I keep piling stuff in it, and several times a week I sort and file. Filing dreams are made up of info that my brain sees as I rifle the filing cabinets of my mind to put things away. Or clean them out. I can usually pick out where the different elements of the dreams came from.

Last night was, I think, one of those traveling nights. Too real, too vivid, too gripping. My spirit wasn't ready when the alarm went off this morning. Not all the way back, maybe. It was a good dream, I was having fun. I should have stayed. LOL. :)

Gator Patrol

Weekly Goal (M-Su): Arms 3x, Cardio 3x, Abs 1x

Last week I did fairly good. Even though I skipped my workouts on Wednesday and Thursday. I moved those to other days, doing 30 minutes 2x instead of just 15. It wasn't too bad, really. I love the flexibility of REVing. Those 15 minute increments really work for me.

The goal for last week (Monday through Sunday) was to do Abs 2x, Arms 2x and Cardio 2x. I did the following:

Abs = Beginner 1x, Intermediate 2x (one weight)
Arms = 2x (one weight)
Cardio = 1x (one weight)
Legs*

* 50 minutes of weeding in the yard on Saturday = 1 legs workout. These weren't just any weeds. They were BIG. We're talking up to 5 feet tall, with stalks about an inch in diameter at the base. They were all on the back end of my property, lining the alley. Technically on the city's property, which is why I've not tackled them before. But they were taking over the parking space next to my garage, and encroaching in front of the garage itself. So I pulled them all up. Thank goodness they're shallow-rooted, and you can pull them up by the roots. The backs of my upper legs were hurting yesterday morning. So I'm counting it as a Legs workout. Definitely felt the squats when I did Cardio yesterday. [g] They still hurt today. I was moving like an old lady this morning!

I'm going to change my goals for this week. Still aiming for 15 minutes a day. But I'm going to stop focusing on Abs. I think I did something wrong on the first Abs workout last week, as each one after that I got this weird spasm/twitch in my mid back while doing crunches. I think I used my back instead of my abs on the hip lift. Oops. So I'm going to give that a bit of a rest. And going to ramp up the cardio and arms.

One thing I've noticed; I miss the gator patrol. And Alden's posts. I know it was only going to be for a short time that Alden posted, and that he is a very, very busy man. Which is great, I'm glad the business is going good. Saw him on CNBC's show The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch. That was fun; it was midnight my time and Alden almost had me fired up enough to REV right then and there. He's a really good motivator. He had Donny Deutsch giving the Perfect Pushup a go right there!

But the Gator Patrol has gone missing. Mostly due to summer, I think, and I've hardly been starting any posts myself. Maybe I'll do that later this week on Suz's BB, when some of the talk on the book dies down some. :) But that sense of comraderie is missing. I really liked reporting in each week, and learning something new, getting support. Seeing how many of us were taking charge of our lives! Ah, well. There's still support out there, from several sources (you know who you are!!!)

If the smoke from these darn fires would ever ease up, I'd tackle Mount Helena again. I really want to make that end-of-summer goal with my little sister. And get out on my bicycle. Smoke was really bad again yesterday. We've been getting several clear hours early on Saturday & Sunday mornings, but it's bad again by afternoon. Visibility was down to 1.75 miles by 5pm on Sunday. I'll just have to shift that goal to end of Fall, instead.

I'm going to stay FIRED UP and do 15 minutes a day this week. Yay Me!

Well, I'll be a Monkey's Uncle (edited)

****FORCE OF NATURE SPOILER ALERT****

YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!

Just in case you didn't believe me
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I just have to get my thoughts down somewhere, so, here we go.

After work yesterday I went home and immediately fixed dinner (sorry REVvers)...while reading. Ate dinner...while reading. And read until midnight, when I finished the book. What can I say. She hooked me.

This was a very very satisfying read. Because there were no loose ends at the end of the book!!!! Can you believe it? I can hardly believe it. I was just over halfway through it when it dawned on me what she was actually going to do in this book

What a surprise. I had no idea that Jules & Robin were going to get their happy ending in this book. It was supposed to be about these two new characters, Ric and Annie. Well, we briefly met Ric in one of the other books, Gone Too Far, I think...But they were rather eclipsed in this book because of Jules & Robin. Who only got strung along for 4 books, not 6, and only Jules was in two of them. Not that I'm particularly thrilled that Robin was Jule's happy-ever-after. A little disappointed. Once I overlooked the "when did he get a grip and accept that he's gay" question. (Maybe I need to re-read? I could have sworn last time we saw him he was still rather in denial, even after the whole sleazy Adam thing). And when I forced myself to forget the Adam thing.

But I am so thrilled that that is finally over!!!!!! So this book ended with Ric & Annie together, and Jules & Robin together. So. I'll probably be flamed for this (if I ever post in on the BB, that is) but I'm rather relieved she wasn't as descriptive with the love scenes with Jules & Robin. I'm just not that...comfortable...reading that kind of scene. And honestly, she's been dialing down the heat/sex scene quotient book-by-book as she gets more mainstream. Not sure why hot steamy sex scenes are great for the female dominated romance market, but not the general public? What, like guys don't like to read about sex? But I digress.

Back to the book. Jules & Robin were emotionally satisfying. I can see how the events of this book would force both of them to make the decisions they did.

Ric & Annie were cute together. Lots of snappy repartee. But the thing is, like in a lot of the last few books, they were a bit overshadowed by the story-arc characters: Jules & Robin. They lose out in comparison, because J&R have such a built-up story already. Their characters are very well developed, very fleshed out. They were major secondary characters in Cosmo & Jane's book. Frankly, almost over-shadowed them in that book as well.

Here are my issues with Ric & Annie. They were the secondary characters. Lots of page time, probably as much as Jules & Robin. But they were the secondary ones. Less character development. So to make their falling in love in a few short days believable, she had them know each other from childhood. For about 20 years. Yeah, okay. But all of a sudden he's so over-protective, etc. Going crazy trying to keep her safe. It's an over-used device in my opinion. Very tired. Geez. Find something else to cause tension between the hero/heroine. Some other issue they need to resolve before they get their Happy Ever After. But. Okay. And then all of a sudden he's loved her since they were teens? Umm, that wasn't really brought up until well into the book. But okay.

And what about how Ric just quit the police force and opened his business. Then all of a sudden at the end he was dissatisfied with his career for a long time? Doesn't like his new business? Where'd that come from? Did I read too fast? Skim too many scenes? Miss something? I didn't think so...made myself read slower than normal. Geez, it took two days for me to read the book.

Then there's the quintessential sex scene where - ooops - you make me so crazy I forgot the condom. She does this in just about every book. And in this book, like the others, she makes the heroine be okay with this. Well, I don't think so. Especially in this book. Ric is quite the womanizer. Maybe not quite as much as Annie thinks, but he's no saint. So. he's had this "girlfriend" in Ohio for years. Who visits him in Florida every couple of months (or something like that, anyway) and then all of a sudden calls up and says she's coming down with her fiance and please get your stuff out of her condo? Obviously she's not been monogamous. But okay. I can deal with that.

But early on in the book Annie finds him seconds away from having sex with a woman he's just met after already seriously making the moves on Annie and then they find out this woman he was going to have sex with was a FORMER FAMOUS P.OR.N S.TAR???????? But hey. That's okay. Let's not use a condom and I won't freak out. And then after this talk about blood tests, etc? What the...

And is it just me, but how likely is it that everyone they meet has the same sense of humor, etc?

Anyway. I guess I just focus on the irritating stuff, huh? But seriously. This was a very satisfying read. More like how I felt when I'd finish her earlier books. Before she started the whole Sam & Alyssa torture-fest. Which she is apparently wanting to continue. Sigh. Because I know she's still got Decker/Sophia lined up for this. Frankly, I don't like either of those two reoccuring characters. Some major ICK factor there for me. And then she started dangling Izzy and Tracy in the last book, Into the Storm. So she's not stopping with this story-arc stuff.

I wonder how newbies to her books react? I can't imagine reading Force of Nature as my first book by her. How lost would I be? Would Annie & Ric be totally drowned out by Jules & Robin? Or would they not appear as strong because they've not been burdened with the past history and drama. Hmmm. Never thought of that. Maybe Annie & Ric would be very fleshed out for them, because they haven't read the other books.

Anyway. I didn't mean to go on and on like this. I'm sure there's plenty more I'll think of to say. Maybe I need to do a re-read of the series. But that will definitely have to wait until I get the next Microsoft certification exam done. Hopefully in September. Maybe October. Well. I'd better get to work.

Oh! Just remembered something. Can I just say that I was a little irritated in this book at the almost stigmatizing attitude toward someone who has sex without being in love? For Pete's sake. It's 2007 here! If two people decide to have sex because they want to have sex, and they're both unattached consenting adults, what's the problem???? It felt like being lectured to me. Just because someone has sex with someone they aren't in love with, it doesn't make it a bad thing. Forgot to post about that earlier.

Well, that didn't work

Goals: 2x Abs #2, 2x Arms, 2x Cardio
Sitrep: 1x Abs #2, 1x Arms

So much for my big exercise motivation idea. I was not going to allow myself to buy Suz' new book, Force of Nature, unless I worked out 15 minutes every day this week. It came out the 14th. I bought it yesterday. I have no willpower. I was doing my monthly grocery shopping at the h-e-double-hockey-sticks that's Wal-Mart, and there it was. A hardback at $14.46 is hard to pass up...

Especially when you live in a town where you buy at Wally World or Costco (another nightmare place to visit) or Hastings (which rarely has good sales).

So FON went home with me. But hey, at least I managed to feed the dog and myself, and put all the groceries away. There's still a pile of plastic grocery bags on the counter, though. And unwashed dishes. Good news is, I did go to bed at my normal time. Bad news, I didn't REV. I'm a weak, weak, woman. (But that's not news to me!)

So today I have to do 30 minutes as soon as I get home. No eating, no touching the book. I am woman, hear me roar. ;)

DON'T READ FURTHER IF YOU'RE AVOIDING ALL DISCUSSION OF THIS BOOK UNTIL YOU'VE READ IT

Preliminary thoughts on FON:

It was hard to get started. The first couple of chapters are set-up, introducing (or reintroducing) you to the main characters. She has to do that now because there is so much back story from other books...I think that's one of the things I'm liking least about the books. Usually I like back story, and the connections...but these are getting so, I don't know, weighty, somehow. There are a lot of characters, and I'm so scatterbrained I'm losing track of who has what characteristics/voice. But that could just be me. :)

TAADMC.

The.Abbreviations.Are.Driving.Me.Crazy. Not much fun, is it? I blame that on two things. One, the military/government community uses a lot of abbreviations. So when writing in the "voice" of people in those arenas, to sound true, you have to use abbreviations. Two, we've become a world of text-messaging and instant-messaging addicts. All that short-hand texting. KT (little sister's sibling) texted me once and I had to call her to ask her what the heck she was saying! There are too too many words in my life to be able to do that.

The drawback is that not all the readers are going to know the meanings. And the ones I did know, I had to think on for a few seconds. They stopped the flow of reading for me. Jarred me out of the story. Like POTUS. What the heck is that? Okay, take a second, what's this character thinking about? Re-read last few sentences. Oh, yes, President of the United States. Now back to your regularly scheduled programming. And then in one of the paragraphs the heroine described the hero as "TDH". Hmmm. The Defiant Hero was all I could come up with. (Title of one of her previous books.) I must have sat there for 5 minutes trying to figure out what she meant when it hit me. DUH. That's shorthand for "Tall, dark, handsome". Sigh. I could just be me. And once you get past those "introductory" chapters, either she's not using the acronyms as much or I'm getting used to them...or I'm - finally - getting sucked into the story and not noticing them.

No WWII subplot. I miss those the most. I just loved how she wove those into the modern day story. They were great. But again, there's just too much back story now with the secondary characters that they WWII plots have been abandoned.

But see, they're not secondary characters anymore. There are now multiple main characters in all these stories. Which I dislike the most. I like secondary characters to be secondary. Their storyline/presence should not be as important as the hero/heroine. And for Pete's sake, if you build them up, finish their story in the next book!!!! I guess what's already bugging me about this, is the secondary characters are getting lots of buildup already, and I know there's not going to be a resolution for them in this book.

Only that's why I read romance. It's for the guaranteed happy ending. I really hate this dragging out stuff over three or four (or more!) books. And the move away from Romance to Romance/Fiction to Fiction. Which is where she is heading. A lot of the really great Romance authors seem to do this. I'm not sure why. I know they change over time like the rest of us, probably get bored, too. Maybe there's lots of pressure from the publisher, or there's just more money to be made...who knows.

Funnily enough, so far it's still a good book, and I'm anxious to get home and read some more. I'm just such a whiner! [g]

Two Happy's Today

Weekly Goals (M-Su): 3x Abs #2, 2x Arms, 2x Cardio
Sitrep: 1x Abs #2, 1x Arms

Happy One:

Happy birth-day to you, hap-py birth-day to-o you, happpppyy BIRTH-daayy dear brooooo-therrrrrr, hap-py BIRTH-daaay toooooo youuuuu!

Aren't you glad you can't hear me singing this to you? Love you lots and hope you have a great day. Wish I was there to celebrate with you. :)

(Uh, I'm sure it's no surprise, but your present will be delayed. This time, however, it's not because I haven't gotten it yet. I've been having a few...difficulties...with it. but I did mail part of it with your card. The rest'll be in the mail by this weekend, hopefully!)

Happy Two:

Happy BodyRev Anniversary to Me!!! Today is the one year mark for the first time I used the BodyRev. First workout: Legs. Ahhh, I remember it well. Eight minutes, yes that's the number 8, into the Legs workout, I sat down. [g] And boy did my legs hurt the next day. And the day after, I had to force myself to sit down and pull myself up, all from the squats in the routine. I think my muscles were in total shock I'd required them to do something other than walk between car and building. :0

But it's been a good year. Hit it hard the first 6 months, which is where I lost the 20-25 pounds (it fluctuates, darn it, why won't it just stay at the 25 pound mark!). It's also where I lost those inches and started to tone. I dropped from a high-end size 16 to a 14 and then a 12. Yep. Today I am wearing size 12 slacks. Un-be-liev-a-ble. At least, that's what I used to think! And my arms, wow, I have muscles! When I do the "muscle" pose, you can see 'em, and they even feel firm when poked!!! Now, I'm not winning any arm wrestling contests, but for my arms they are darn impressive!

Insert happy dance here.

And I'm feeling great. Even though the last 6 months have been less committed (I think the slacking off time outweighs the REV time, ackkk) I still feel good, and have kept the weight from creeping back. I'm eating better, sleeping better, and life is just, you guessed it, better!

My goal for the next year of BodyRev is to get to the point where I can do all 4 15 minute workouts together. I actually got there once during this last 12 months. It almost killed me, but I did it. I can do it again. :) And the rest of the goal is to graduate to BootCamp.

The sun is shining, some of the smoke has cleared out, and it's a Two Happy Day today. :)

Out of Thoughts

Sitrep: (Since last Wednesday)
2x Arms, 1x Abs #1, 1x Abs #2

Surprisingly. [g] Okay. Maybe more like I'm out of mental energy.

I'm trying to get back into my "FlyLady" routine. It worked wonderfully for me when I was in the last rental. The move just threw me totally off track. Then I started REVing and that was enough of a project. Now I'm incorporating REVing into my FlyLady routine. Sad that I need to do this, but oh well. Whatever works.

Yesterday was nice and mellow, both at work and at home. Not too much going on I feel like musing about. Politics, weather, economics, books...my brain is on vacation apparently!

So here's some fun/bizarre stuff for today:

Battle at Kruger (some of you may have seen this on TV)

Pardon me, is that a Monkey on your head?

What is with this Monkey on the Head thing?

Or is it just Monkeys in general taking over? 'Cause there's a Monkey on the Loose.

And if you get one of these, you'd Better hope it doesn't rain.

And just because I think this is an awesome picture, and am so jealous I didn't shoot it myself:

Smoky skies make for a brilliant sunrise over the Capitol dome Wednesday.

- Martin J Kidston, Helena Independent Record photo

Alden is Scary, and Thank You VW Bozeman.

Yup. Alden is scary per my little sister Shanni. And this is only the Abs Essentials DVD. [g] She and her older sister KT went with me to Bozeman Monday when I took my car in for repairs. We had to return Tuesday because the part wasn't in stock.

So Monday night the girls stayed at my house. "Slumber Party" they squealed. Yeah, right. I crawled into bed at 9:30 pm. Driving takes it out of me. As well as 5 hours at the mall with 2 teenage girls.

Tuesday morning I got up and was determined to keep going with REVing. It was an Abs day, so it wasn't too hard to make myself do it. But I moved on to Abs Essentials workout #2, because that's where I was and I'm not letting myself go backwards! Shanni spotted me, and was very disappointed that when I pulsed up toward her hands it didn't make the same clicking noise as on the DVD (Alden spotting for Sarah). I had to point out it was his wedding ring hitting the Rev. So she used her finger nail to make the noise. LOL. But she goes "he's scary". I'm like, "What? No he's not!" Her 16 year old sister (still curled up on the couch under a blanket) rolled her eyes and said "No he's not. It's motivational."

Then I said, "He's a Navy SEAL you know." Shani then shot back at me "That makes him scarier." [g]

But when I was done, she wanted to try. So I let her do the original essentials workout with no weights. She did it. Some of it was a bit of a struggle, but she did the whole 15 minutes. Said she could feel her abs. She swears today she doesn't feel a thing. I'm not sure if she's telling the truth or not...

Anyway. Our second day in Bozeman was just as fun as the first. VW went ahead and covered the repair to the catalytic converter under warranty since it expired 2 days before I called in. And probably because I was there in May for the 50k mile checkup which was a pretty extensive one.

While they worked on the car, we spent the day at the mall - again. Their service dept didn't even ask the second day. Just picked up the phone and called their "shuttle" driver and said "We've got some ladies that want to go to the mall." [g]

I "made" the girls spend the first several hours at Barnes & Noble. Monday was their first ever trip to a bookstore like Barnes & Noble. They loved it! It was funny. They kept running up to me to get my cell phone so they could type in book names into the "notepad" feature using the full keyboard. Right now there are 3 book lists going. Me, KT and Shanni. ;)

We also did the "girl" thing. Both days. sigh. Spent more time than I care to admit in Claire's. The cosmetic jewelry store. Eventually I ended up outside on one of the benches, staring longingly down the concourse to B&N. [g]

The girls were great. Only one time did I have to get on them for squabbling. I got a few amused looks from other women in the mall when I said (apparently louder than I was planning to) "Hey! You've both spent the last 2 days in the Mall! NEITHER ONE OF YOU gets to cop an attitude!!!!"

Did you know the 80's were coming back in style? Seriously. KT is so into this; fingerless gloves, fishnet, etc. One of the stores was, like, a total flashback. When we finally left the store, Shanni goes "I didn't like that music." KT responds, "oh, I love retro." To which I yelped "Hey! No calling music I grew up on as RETRO!" Which made both of them start laughing.

The drive was actually fun. On a whim, I put in the unabridged audio book of To Kill a Mockingbird. I figured it was safer than finding music all of us would like, and age appropriate for both girls. Except I forgot the mouth Scout has in this book. But both girls absolutely loved it. The were both really getting into it and laughing. Even Shanni, who was the one I really wasn't sure would enjoy it since she's 11, almost 12. They ended up borrowing my paperback copy to finish the story, since we only got halfway through the book on CD (and that's with total car time of 4 hours).

Anyway. We had a good time, the car is fixed, I'm back on track with BodyRev, and my little sister is now impressed even more with my workout. Even if Alden is "scary." ;)

Timing, as the saying goes, is everything..

A few months back, I started hearing this kind of rattling noise from my car when I'd start it. Or while accelerating or braking. But no one else ever heard it. I figured I was just being paranoid as I have a tendency to do sometimes, and since even I didn't hear it consistently, brushed it off.

Around that time (end of April/beginning of May) I had to go out of town for work to a city where there's actually a VW dealer. So since it was time for my car to be serviced, I made an appointment and took it in. The AC wasn't working well either, so I had them fix that. (Just needed to be recharged). But see, I didn't mention the rattling thing to them.

So. They serviced the car, fixed up the AC and sent me on my way. No mention of any rattle, etc.

By June I started to hear that rattling noise again. Then more often. The second week of July, I had a couple of people tell me they could hear it and I should get it checked out. But by then the convention prep was in full swing and no way was I going to have any time to get the car in to the dealer.

FYI, my car is a 2000 VW Jetta with just over 55,000 miles.

So. I called early this week and scheduled an appointment. The soonest they can get me in is this coming Monday. So I've taken the day off of work and will be going in.

A friend that "knows cars" came by this week to see if he could pinpoint the problem. He said it sounded like the exhaust system, possibly the catalytic converter, which wouldn't be covered under my power train warranty. So I went to the local mechanic he recommended. Who says my catalytic converter needs to be replaced. [I probably shouldn't drive my car so much off-road. lol.] He'll fix it for me, parts & labor, for $340.00. Which I can do, without too much struggle. Irks, but oh well.

Just to be sure it wasn't covered under warranty, I called the VW dealer. The service department guy says there's an emissions warranty that includes the catalytic converter: 8 years or 80,000 miles. I'm good on the miles part. But can you guess when the 8 years was up?????

JULY 29, 2007!!!!!

The technician couldn't believe it...he said to bring it in, and if that's what the problem is he'll call VW and see about getting it covered under the warranty.

So I called VW myself, and they confirmed that it was up on 7/29. Crazy unbelievable. lol. He started the process, but of course wouldn't guarantee that they would cover it under warranty. Sigh. There's a chance, though, but slim. But I definitely have to get it diagnosed by a VW service department. So I'm off to Bozeman on Monday. Definite bright side - they have a Barnes & Noble AND a Borders. :)

Anyway. I'm not freaked or upset. It's just ironically funny. Next time I'm just gonna go with my instincts...I drive my car every day. I know if it sounds off or not...

And also for timing - sometime next month the state is sending out $400 property tax rebates to all property owners. Whoo-hoo. So even if I don't get it covered under warranty, I'm getting money back that'll cover the cost....

Timing, as the saying goes, is everything. ;)

And speaking of timing. These people are leaving just in the nick of time, don't you think?

Someone Stole My Mountains

Sitrep: 15 minutes BodyRev Essential Abs #1

Thank-you to my brother for his call yesterday. After that, how could I not workout? And I still want to know what my SIL was laughing about in the background. You sounded like you were having way too much fun without me! And thank you too Trudy! :)

Now. On to my mountains. Apparently the Meriweather fire about 40 miles north of town is now the nation's #1 firefighting priority. Isn't that nice? It's been burning for almost a month now, and it's just a matter of waiting for rain and/or snow to put it out...

But we've been dealing with the smoke from it, and it definitely got worse yesterday. Here's a picture from my back door, looking south (the fire is north of my house!):

Can you see my mountains?












They're there, I swear. Somewhere I have a picture of this same view from right after I moved in. Janet W might remember it. I posted it on the BB once. Can't find it now. Smoke is still pretty bad this morning.

This fire's up to 31,000+ acres now. Most of it in the Gates of the Mountains Wilderness area and the Beartooth Management area. Not a lot of permanent homes up there. Some, and some campgrounds.

Anyway. Here's a picture I found of the fire from Tuesday afternoon's "run". (Seems like the fire makes a run for it every afternoon.)

A mountainside erupts into flames as the Meriwether fire burns near
Holter Lake on Tuesday.

Great Falls Tribune Photo/Robin Loznak

It's beautiful in a wild and elemental sort of way, isn't it?

Sitrep

AKA "Be Mean to Me Day".

I'm in one of those moods today. Not sure why. I'm tired and sore and ganging up on myself. I can use any excuse I want (and have quite a few) for not exercising the last month. I've been sleeping poorly, eating poorly, and exercising not at all. And my little forays into gardening and mowing the lawn don't count, not really! I mean, it's good to be moving, but my lawn is so tiny, I just get going when it's time to stop.

And I know that the not exercising makes my sleep worse which makes me tired which makes me eat worse which makes me tired which makes me not follow through with exercising.

Sheesh. It's not like REVing is that impossible of a task...I actually enjoy it when I REV, at least, as much as I enjoy anything called exercise. So why have I hit a brick wall? What has switched off in my brain that switched on last August? Because August 15 (yes, B, your birthday!) is the day I started REVing. I'm still down the 20 lbs, but that won't last for long if I keep this up.

And it's not the heat, it's not the smoke, it's not Grandma dying or LM dying...It's me using anything and everything as an excuse to not do what I know I should do. What I need to do. Like cutting my nose off to spite my face!

I'm disappointing myself, my family, my friends (especially those other REVin' Ladies who've given me such support), my little sister, and Alden (who I owe a testimonial to, and have been procrastinating writing because I've stopped REVing.)

So. What to do.

1) Make large red sign saying something suitably motivating & hang it in kitchen above where I make breakfast?

2) Place BodyRev on sofa on top of TV remote control?

3) Stop whining and just REV! Fifteen lousy minutes a day. For Pete's Sake. I've spent more time typing this blog entry!

Sigh. Okay. I'm going to do 15 minutes tonight. I'll start with Abs since it's my favorite. I'm going to do this!

Why is it

that kids who grow up in the same family with the same parents end up so different? It's got to be something in our genes. Or maybe it's just the friends/times for us are different enough, even if we're only a year or two apart? We remember different things, and common memories in different ways...It's as if we had different childhoods sometimes!

I just wonder at my brother, sister and myself. We are very different. My sister is very much a Generation X California Yuppie. (Love you, sis, and that's not an insult.) My brother is a down-home, laid-back, family man type - dare I say a bit of a redneck? (Love you too bro, and that's not meant as an insult either!) As for me? I'm not quite sure. I used to say I'm a redneck yuppie wannabe. Mooner, my little's stepdad, calls me an "educated redneck." [g]

How did I get off track like that? I was originally meaning to talk about the differences in our reading habits!

I love to read. Live for it sometimes. I prefer romances and some sci-fi fantasy. Mixed with biographies of famous and not-so-famous people (mostly women, I'm fascinated by women in history), history, political history, religion in history, regligious studies, economics...

My sister has always loved to read. She reads less now, but that's a side-effect of having a child, I think. Especially one as precocious as my niece. She mostly reads fiction. But growing up, oh, the books we read! We actually had a system at night, of different knocks on the wall between our rooms. Meet in the hall, going to bed, finished my book...Our secret code...

And our brother, who was never very into reading. Oh, he had his moments. But this photograph we have of the three of us as little kids says it all. The three of us are sitting on our front porch swing in Oklahoma. M's about 6, I'm about 4, B's about 3? Something like that. M & I are sitting there so prettily in our dresses and ponytails. B is lunging off the porch swing toward the camera. [g] Always in motion my brother. ;) Too restless to sit still I think.

But there was that summer we spent in Spain with our maternal relatives where he read. Out of desperation, boredom, not sure which. And there was the time he tried to smuggle a book into church and dropped it in the parking lot.

Ruined a good thing for M & I. LOL. Mom used to let us sit up in the balcony at church as long as we behaved. So I'd sneak my book in in my purse - ah, the days of big purses! - and stick it in the bible. Did all the stand-up, sit-down, kneeling stuff while reading. Everyone thought I was reading the bible during Mass. Ah, such a devoted girl! We had to sit downstairs with Mom & Dad after that. :( I'm not sure which was worse. Getting busted for reading during Mass, or having the priest ask what my sister and I were signing to each other during the service. Man, he had eyes like a hawk! Mom hadn't even seen that!

Anyway. My brothers kids like to read, but aren't as fanatical from the little I know (I don't see them often enough!) as my sister and I were/are. My sister's little girl likes to read. But she's so young now, it's hard to tell if it'll stick.

My little sister loves to read. The older she gets, the more she wants to read. It's fascinating to watch. Sometimes I feel like I'm seeing myself at that age discovering books; the possibilities are boundless, worlds to discover and explore...

Books, Books, Books, and Books

Can you guess what I want to talk about today? [g] I promised a post on books last week and just didn't get there.

Saturday I went to the library with my little sis and her sister KT. We spent almost 2 hours there. I'm not sure who was more reluctant to leave. And we all came away with a handful of books. Plus we'd gone to the library the weekend before...We also take lists from their mom with us. [She's started calling me her personal librarian.]

She's gone through my TBR & storage piles to the point I don't have anything else for her to read. I got her hooked on Elizabeth Vaughan's trilogy - Warprize, Warsworn, Warlord. She'd call me every morning to "gripe" at me that she stayed up late reading them. She couldn't put them down. Mooner, her husband, picked the first one up the other day making comments about "romance novels" but actually stayed up late to read the first one. Which is - literally - a first for him! Or so he says. Next we'll get him reading Suzanne Brockmann's books.

So here's what I've been reading lately:

Never Lie to a Lady by Liz Carlyle
*****Fabulous. Loved it. Stayed up late to finish it. On a week night. Want more. And whaddaya know, the next book in the trilogy is apparently already out! Yippee!!! 2 Carlyle's in one week. How'd I get so lucky?

Web of Love by Mary Balogh
****It's a Balogh. Must I say more? Good read, follows Gilded Web. Not my favorite Balogh, but enjoyable.

The Fated Sky: Astrology in History by Benson Bobrick
*Would have been great if the author would have stopped trying to use every big word he knew in every sentence. For pete's sake!!!! Returned to library unread.

Into the Wilderness by Sara Donati
*I could not get into this one. It was a BB recommended read, and I'm surprised I don't like it. Maybe it's my dislike of books that pull characters from other books the author didn't write. This one pulls in the characters from the book the Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper. I don't like that. Too jarring for me for some reason. I also didn't like the writing style. Irritated/aggravated me somehow. I know it's her first book, and there you have it. :) Felt to me like a first time author attempting to write in the style of one of the literary greats. I'm just too picky. So I put it down (spent several hours trying to get into it yesterday afternoon.) It seemed a poor attempt at copying "Shanna" by Kathleen Woodiweiss. But not really. It wasn't similar at all. Bizarre, but I couldn't get that thought/book out of my head. Or my favorite The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare. Anyway. This book is now in the "return to library" pile.

The Raven Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt
TBD - just started last night. So far so good, but I'm only 5 pages into it.

Multiple papers on Legal & Illegal Immigration in the U.S.
***because it powered up my brain and I'm just freaky weird in that I enjoy this stuff. ;)

Sooooo. My TBR pile is small, mainly because the mood I'm in lately nothing really sounds good. And then when I read stuff by good authors, like Carlyle and Balogh...well, nothing else works afterward. [g] Good thing Suz is having another book out on August 15th. But what I'll do after that is the question. I'm probably good until the 17th. Then I'm in trouble...

Too Smart for My Own Good

Well, that's me in a nutshell. See, I really didn't want to go home this Christmas. Not because I didn't want to go home, but because I really don't want to travel. Especially at Christmas. Combine stress over winter weather and then the record number of flight cancellations going on, it just seemed like it would be no fun at all. And then there's Scully. I'm really too paranoid to leave her for more than a few days anymore. Every day when I go home, there's a little part of me that freezes for a few seconds, as if holding it's breath, until she comes padding out of the living room or bedroom to greet me...it's like I expect to come home and find her dead. [Sigh]

So, during a casual conversation with my little sister (one I'd forgotten, ackkk) I apparently told her I'd think about taking her to Florida to visit her "grandparents" next summer. Well, she took that to mean we're probably going to go, as in 99% sure. And you know, that would be cool. A road trip, stopping to see some sights along the way. I could bring the dog with, so no worries there.

So I mentioned that to mom and she seemed thrilled. And we could time the trip with my brother and SIL's annual trip home, so I could see them and the nieces and nephew. So when I went to pick up my little sister Saturday, I mentioned it to her Mom. Who apparently knew all about it already. [g] So I said it would be around 2 weeks, if my little could stand to be away from her mom that long. And her mom could stand to be away from her...She (the mom) got this funny look on her face, and said, "oh, I didn't think it would be that long." [Heh, like we're gonna drive to FL, visit and return in one week!] KT, the older sister and quite the level-headed teen for a 16 year old, is standing there with this totally pleading look on her face saying "wow, Florida, that would be fun..." So my little sister pipes up to KT at the exact same time I pipe up to her mom with "You can come with us..."

Uh-huh. Next time, keep your mouth shut. LOL. They jumped on the idea, but I thought it was one of those casual conversations, you know, pie-in-the-sky dreams. Well, that evening I got a call from my little's mom. Wanting to know if New Orleans is on the way to Florida, and if we can stop there to see a haunted plantation or something, and why don't I look that up online and start planning the trip for next June?

It's going to be a blast, it really is. (Assuming we actually make it to Florida.) Now I just need to tell Mom & Dad. Isn't it funny how, for a single and childless person, I'm coming home for the summer with as much family in tow as my brother and sister with their families? It's kinda my equivalent of "child and in-laws". Too funny.

Me

So I've rediscovered some stuff about myself lately that I hadn't even realized I'd forgotten! The debate on the BB about immigration, and my subsequent wading in and researching has made me realize how much I've missed discussing politics and economics and international affairs.

I mean, there was a reason that's what I majored in, and why I got my B.A. in Economics & International Relations in the first place.

Especially the economics stuff. I'd forgotten how much I really, really like this stuff. :) It's like my brain has woken up again.

Anyway. A few things in the news have gotten me going, and I'm just gonna post a bit here before going on to BOOKS.

1) Obesity is Contagious. Heard it on the news this morning. Uh-huh. Apparently, according to a new study,

Our ideas about what's a normal amount of food or exercise, and what counts as a normal body size, all seem to be influenced by the people to whom we're connected. And researchers believe these "norms" ultimately shape our weight.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12237644 Well, duh. Coulda told you that.

2) Housing Market "Slump". Now it's not just subprime mortgages defaulting. Another "well, duh."

When I took the first time homebuyer's class out here in the beginning of 2006, they brought in a bunch of banks/mortgage companies to meet with us individually. I met with 3 of them. One of them was Countrywide. All three of them looked over my credit report and credit score (I'd already obtained them, it was part of the class to get them for the bank meetings). I have excellent credit (yeah, I'm boasting. It was hard work to get that credit score) the highest my banker said she's ever seen. Anyway. ALL of them said I qualified for $120,000 to buy a home. Countrywide was even willing to loan me up to $140,000 for a mortgage. WTF?

See, I'd already done my homework. There was - still is - absolutely no way for me to afford that. Not and buy groceries, put gas in the car, pay the utilities, keep a little set aside for house repairs/emergencies. Not to mention cable and phone and internet. And entertainment (for me, that's my book budget.) Or clothes. What the hell do these people think? That people will live without these things? Hardly. Life isn't worth living otherwise! (Or possible if you have no food!)They absolutely did not take into account any of that. Crazy.

Most I could afford is $80,000. That's $40,000-$60,000 less than what they were willing to give me. That's a big difference when it comes to mortgage payments. So I am not surprised that people are defaulting, even those with good credit. Not with the way gas prices and other prices are rising...seriously.

We live too much on the premise that "bigger is better." And appearances mean everything. Must have the biggest and best of everything. I shake my head as I watch the HGTV shows "Househunters" or "Designed to Sell". A lot of the time these families are saying "We have to get a bigger space because we've run out of room." And as the cameras pan through their homes, I almost inevitably think, "Geez, get rid of some of that stuff and you'll have tons of room!"

Most people I know are appalled at my little house. It's tiny and old and needs work. But it's just me. What do I need with several thousand square feet and four bedrooms and three baths? I don't even use the upstairs space - that's about 600sq feet used on storage. Oh, I have dreams of a craft room and guest room. But all my time is spent in the living room and kitchen.

All those people who are appalled at my little house, are struggling now. But I've absorbed the increased gas prices and other prices (including property tax increases) into my budget. Oh, don't get me wrong, money is tight, but not that tight. I was able to pay Scully's vet bill of $125 in cash this month. Bought that new storm door with pet door in it and paid it off in 2 months. So. Anyway. I just want to know: what the heck happened to personal responsibility? Everyone let the apparent "richness" of the housing market go to their heads. Short term thinking. Hel-lo-o-o. What goes UP must eventually go DOWN.

It's a hard lesson to learn, and I probably sound harsh and full of myself. But hey. It's not like this is new. It's basic personal finance.

And now I've rambled enough...and used up so much space on these two items I'm going to postpone my book post until later. :)

It's Definitely Summer, and I got a new Toy!!!

It's unbelievably hot, supposed to be in the 100's again today. It seems sinced I moved here 6 years ago the summers get hotter, earlier. Fire season is upon us several weeks early. The valley is filled with smoke, has been since mid-week last week. They say it's not actually from any of the MT fires, but from the ones in Idaho. Much worse there than here.

But they've closed a good portion of the Bob Marshall, and quite a few other popular camping/hiking areas. Most places seem to only be under Fire Restriction 1, which means you can have a camp fire in an established campground & fire ring. There are 2 fires just north of me, the Meriweather fire and the Little Wolf Creek fire. Neither poses a danger to my town, but they are just a short drive away, and plenty of people live up in there along the Little Wolf Creek. Seems like just about everyone I know is cancelling camping trips and planning for the Lake instead. I have a feeling it's going to get ugly out there this weekend. I'll stay away, thank you very much.

I'm just so glad I have my portable A/C. It vents out the bedroom window, and now that I have the doorway from the living room to the kitchen blocked off with heavy curtains, it actually keeps the living room bearable. It's running on high constantly, which is going to kill my electric bill, I'm sure, but at least neither Scully nor I are having problems from the heat. No need for long drives in the car with the air running, or coming in to work with her on the weekends just for the A/C!!! [Did that my 2nd summer here.]

Anyway. I had an uneventful weekend. Harry Potter arrived, and my little sis was thrilled. :) Even if I did insist on reading the end. Hey, it's not like I'm actually reading the series, I'm just curious. Or was. But not going to say what I think of the ending here, not for awhile. Don't want to spoil it for others!

Went swimming in their (little's family) new pool on Saturday. That was actually nice, until I had to head inside because the smoke was irritating my allergies. Sigh. It's one of those above-ground inflatables, and at 5'2 it comes to just above my waist when standing. Kneeling, it comes up to chin. Quite nice! Then we headed out for lunch and I got a new toy. A new cell phone. LOL. I finally decided to actually get a decent one this time. Usually I opt for the cheapest phone with the shortest contract...but I was getting so tired of the battery needing to be charged after just one 20 minute phone call, so I did a little research.

I ended up with the Samsung SCH-U740. I confess, I fell for the gadgetry-ness of it. :) What can I say. I love the fact that it's a flip phone, and also has a qwerty keyboard when you flip it open sideways. It has the notepad feature, something my old phone didn't have, so I can now make lists again. :) I already started at the bookstore this weekend. My little sister and her older sister were really wanting me to get this one. It was between this one and the Motorola maxx something or other. With my $100 "customer loyalty credit" (ie, no longer on contract, sign another one enticement) plus a $50 mail-in rebate, I got this one for $29.99. Not a bad deal all around. It has a camera, and camcorder feature. Plays music and all that other fun stuff. But I got it just for the phone part and the qwerty keyboard to make those lists when I see stuff in the store. I already have a list started for my little and her sister. Birthdays and christmas are coming, doncha know.

So of course I was dying to play with the new phone yesterday once I had it all charged, and wouldn't you know it, no one was home!!! I finally got to use it in the evening for a little bit.

I'm trying to decide on the ringtone I want to download; I used to have the Empire Theme from Star Wars, but it's not available. Bummer. I always knew with that that it was my phone ringing, and never blocked it out...I'll have to come up with something else....

A Trip to the Old West

So, I'm back from the convention, and lucid. Managed to drag myself away from the BB where I've been engaging in a debate over immigration. Yeah, I know, but I couldn't help myself! Anyway.

The opening night of the convention we held our Company Appreciation Night on the Charlie Russell Chew Choo. Company appreciation night is to show our appreciation (duh) for the companies our members do business with, and who sponsor many of the events at our convention. It gives the company reps face time with our agents, and is usually a fun evening.

This year since the convention was in Lewistown, we had dinner on the Charlie Russell Chew Choo. It's about 3 hours on a train (thankfully air conditioned!) that leaves - literally - from the middle of nowhere about 8 miles outside of Lewistown.

We bussed everyone there from the hotel. That was fun. Have you any idea how hard it is to get people on buses? Seriously. I have no idea how many times I had to holler "I need FOUR MORE PEOPLE ON THIS BUS." Finally I just started grabbing people and shoving them on. :) I got quite a few comments of "You're as bad as Roger." To which I always replied "Well, I was trained by the master! Do you want to make the train or not???"

It really was a lot of fun. Dinner was fabulous, excellent prime rib and baked potato, beautiful scenery! We didn't see too much wildlife, some bald eagles and antelope and deer. That's about it. But it was a fun and relaxing evening.

Even when the young agents took over the bar car. Ooops. And one of my coworkers had to make a mad dash through the cars to the engine in order to take the microphone away from one of the more, uh, overzealous young agents that had too much to drink and started to do a one-man radio show...Yikes.

Halfway back to Lewistown, we heard all these loud noises coming from outside the train. Everyone jumped and exclaimed, especially when we looked out the window and saw we were being robbed!


They stopped the train, got on, and "robbed" us. The train provides fake $7 dollar bills. There were even old-west "ladies of the evening" that got on the train and kissed the gentlemen before robbing them. :)

It was hilarious. Once they finished with us, they got off the train and proceeded to fight over the money. The women won, naturally!

The Speed of Light

I can't believe I actually have a moment to catch my breath and get online! I'm currently out of the office running our annual convention. Obviously, my boss was unable to attend and do this as usual. He is actually doing as well as can be expected under the circumstances.

The last 2 weeks have been insanely busy. But we're here, the convention is here and the first general session is under way. All afternoon needs have been taken care of, and I am manning the registration table. Thank goodness for wireless internet. :) Even in the backwoods of MT we have free wireless internet in the hotel.

So. Not much else to say. The morning inner tube float went well. Law class is under way. Only thing I need right now is the two speakers for the 3pm program. I just realized that starts in one hour and ten minutes. Yikes. Okay, breathe, don't panic. If I can handle one of our key note speakers, the Insurance Commissioner, cancelling on us 2 days before he speaks, I can handle this. At least we got a good program set up to cover his spot.

And tonight should be a blast! We're having our annual Company Appreciation Night on the Charlie Russell Chew Choo. And yes, that is spelled correctly. I can't wait. I've got my fancy digital SLR, and both lenses. Gonna be swapping for that zoom lens, I'd guarantee. There is even supposed to be an old fashioned train robbery. Whoo-hoo...

Fireworks - the Good Kind.

Well, I had a bit of a pity party below, didn't I? Sheesh. . I'm in a better mood now. Went out back and did some Qigong from memory. Helped me center and settle down a bit.

I think I'm getting a handle on this convention. Despite finding out the bus transportation from the hotel to the Charlie Russell Chew Choo on Friday night, where we reserved the train for the 135 people we're expecting to attend our Company Appreciation Night, was never arranged. Oooops.

So about my party on the 4th. I had an absolute blast, in spite of a few minutes of guilt for feeling happy while R's world has come apart at the seems.

The day started early. Got up around 8am. The dog even let me sleep in! Probably because I kept her up late the night before. [g] Picked up my little sister S and her older sister KT. Originally it was just going to be Shani and I, but their Dad decided Tuesday night that they couldn't come to my party. The 4th is his holiday, etc, etc. Gave their Mom grief to the point that their step dad Mooner was mad. Which is unusual for him. Even though the girls were originally only coming for an hour or so and weren't going to eat and were going to his house for the fireworks. FYI, their Dad's house is walking distance from my house. Everyone who knows me knows that for me, walking distance = really close!

Aside: I'm trying to come up with nicknames for the regulars in my life, in order to preserve their "privacy". I'm calling their step dad Mooner after the character in the Stephanie Plum books, for this one reason: In a transcendental experience, Mooner discovers the meaning of life. Unfortunately, a couple of hours later, all he can remember is that it has something to do with peanut butter. The Mooner in my life is addicted to PB.

Anyway. We met at our favorite local Coffee Shack (that's the name), filled up on high test. Why the heck we let S have a double shot is beyond me. Maybe we were thinking it would last long enough to irritate her dad? We hit WalMart on the way back to my house, because of course, in spite of 3 trips the night before in a 2.5 hour period, I still didn't have everything. Sigh. Got to my house and proceeded to clean. And I do mean clean. Both girls were forewarned that we'd be working not playing. KT was a sweetie; she usually is. Pitched right in and everything. My child (Misdmeanor, my little sister's mom, often says "You know she's your child too." Usually when my little is misbehaving or being irritating). So my child jumped in. Only she had 3 tasks done while each of us was on our first. Suspicious, I went into the living room where she'd swept with the regular broom & swiffer, and dusted. Yet half the entertainment center was coated with dust, as well as the entire area below the TV stand. Sigh. So I made her redo that part. She kept saying "But I did it already." To which I replied "When you're asked to do something you can't do a half-assed job. Do it all and do it right the FIRST time." Probably not the best language to use, but I was hot and irritated. Sigh.

The best part, though, was when she said she was done and I asked her to mop the floors. Now, I always ask and thank them for helping me and on. And they knew before coming over the entire list of things to do and picked the items they wanted to do. Floors were hers. So she shoots back at me "No, I want to watch TV or play. I'm bored." In a very whiny voice. Her 6 yr old voice. Considering she's almost 12, I hate it when she does this. So I just turned, looked at her, and said (quite calmly, I thought) "Fine. Then go clean the dog poop out of the yard. You know where the pooper scooper is." She kinda sputtered "wha...." But went straight to do it. I don't know if it was the look on my face or my tone of voice. But it shut her up in a hurry. LOL. I have an edge over her mother. I can return her to her parents whenever I want. ;)

After getting the house cleaned and the foods ready for the party, we crashed on the couch with our lunch. KT got on the computer immediately, just had to get into her MySpace account. [Yes, we check it, yes it's private, yes she's monitored.] Then S and I went outside to decorate the fence out front with balloons. We called for KT to come help us. When she got outside we ambushed her with water guns. Heeheehee...We were kind; we set 2 filled water pistols on the ground just outside the door for her to grab. Then the melee ensued. It was fun. We dragged my sprinkler out and turned it on.

Of course, all the neighbors were looking at us like we were insane. In my opinion, they're the insane ones. It was HOT. And really. Hardly anyone out here has AC. I know my house doesn't. Except the small portable unit I run in the bedroom when it gets crazy hot. Like yesterday and today; we're over 100*F. Yuck. According to Mom on the phone last night it was 10 degrees cooler where they are in FLORIDA. There's something wrong with that!

Well. Lunch break is over. I made myself take a lunch. Needed a break from work, and if I have to I can come in this weekend to get stuff done. I'll post about the party later. :) Ta-ta.

Take a step back folks

'Cause I'm gonna get loud here:

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Do I effing care about the non-golf activities for the 2008 convention?

Do I effing care if we've booked a golf course yet for the 2008 convention?

Do I effing care why the local paper only has a 3-line obit for Laura while her hometown paper has a major write up?

Do I effing care that you disabled your wireless in your never-ending tinkering around with the computers when you don't know what the heck you're doing and now you can't get online unless you're physically connected to the network?

Do I effing care that you can't remember your password to logon for the fifth day in a row?

Do I effing care that you can't find work in your department for your part-time data entry people?

Do I effing care that we're out of coffee?

NO.

I DO NOT.

So stop pestering me every flippin' other minute! And don't ask me again if I have anything for your data-entry to do. Nothing changed since the last time you asked me - 10 freakin' minutes ago. I've got a convention starting in one week and I've got a program and roster to get to the printer; program sponsor hasn't sent me their ad for the back cover; entertainment hinted at but no contracts; no idea who is to be paid what, when and where; two hikes to arrange beverages/snacks for and I have NO sponsor that I know of for these events; one of our major prize sponsors hasn't confirmed they're donating this year and I need to go buy the prize; courses filed for continuing education credit but no approvals yet; paperwork yet to prepare for a course that must be filed today or I lose a major in-house program and source of income...

Screw the coffee. Someone get me a long island iced tea.

I lost my temper

Sigh. To those of you that know me well this comes as no surprise. To those of you just getting to know me through the luxury of distance, you might be a wee bit surprised. All I can say is it has been a rough day.

My boss's wife has been feeling sick for a few weeks. Last Friday, afraid her symptoms were pointing to a heart attack, they went to the ER. Everything was fine with her heart, but they did some blood tests and found she had Acut Lymphocytic Leukemia. She started Chemotherapy on Saturday. Sunday night they moved her to ICU. This afternoon she died.

I cannot begin to express how horrible this is. Oh, I'm glad that if she had to die, she didn't have months of agony fighting the cancer. That's no way to live. But for my boss. Who came through a nasty bitter divorce (after 20 years of marriage) and finally found a way to move past it and trust and love again. Only to have her taken from him after 8 months of marriage. (They'd been together for several years before that.) I'm just glad that they did have the chance to get married and have these past happy months.

But that's not where I lost my temper. Although it helped - a lot - in unleashing my tongue. It was a series of posts on the BB about President Bush pardoning Scooter Libby. I mean, the anger and party line crap that gets poured out of all of us. It just hit all my buttons. Especially the idea that Bush leaving office is going to bring about some kind of miraculous end to everything wrong in this government and country and world. Please. What's wrong has been wrong for generations. And will be wrong for generations to come. It's nothing new. Won't ever be new. Anyway. Here's what I posted:

contempt for the rule of law and the public

Pretty much covers every administration out there in my opinion. Past, present, future.

I'm probably going to regret posting this. All I can say is in my grief and anger over the extremely unjust death of my boss's wife, this irritates me. I'm sick to death of stuff like this. Of drawing these lines in the sand by party, and carrying on like one is better than the other. They ALL do stuff like this. It's just whichever one is in power that gets slammed the most. Switch the party in power, and we get selective amnesia. Just wait until after the next election and everyone will be slamming the democrats again.

I think what is getting people so riled up is the fact that it IS both parties. That it never changes. And just gets more blatant with each administration. It's so infuriating, we have to believe "our" party is better than that because it is "our" party. We know we're better than that, so of course any party we affiliate with must be better than that...

Add in the fact that all we see day in and day out on the news and everywhere else is endless arguing and refusal to listen to other opinions and black-and-white reporting, and name calling, and yet more arguing and talking over each other. It's insane.

I cannot truly be the only one that this did not come as a surprise too. I figured he'd be pardoned as soon as the courts said he couldn't stay out on bail. What did any of us expect? Justice? There's no such thing.

Republican OR Democrat - it doesn't matter. They ALL play the game the same way. It's how you get and stay in office. If you have money or power or both you will get away with whatever you want. Regardless of anything or anyone else. Regardless of the law.

And while I'm not an expert, and as much as I dislike Bush and the current administration, this is nothing new. Clinton is always brought up in comparison. You can look further back than that. Look at President Grant and his administration...I mean, talk about corruption and graft and blatant disregard for the law...

It's there. It's always there. No matter what we do as voters. Not even a revolution, which we tried in 1776 and look where we ended up. With the same old same old. Frankly, the only way to stop it is to remove humans from the equation.

So there you have it. I'm so disgusted with it all I could just scream. The politicians don't care. And frankly, we don't care either. Not really. Because if we did we'd change it. We'd find a way. My god. We put a man on the moon in the 1960's. Get real. We could change it if we damn well wanted to.

The things I don't know CAN hurt me.

Like how to use a weed eater. Seriously. No wonder those things come with a warning. Although "Wear protective clothing" hardly works. Not when it's 90*F+ outside. Got a nice welt on my leg from a piece of the line when it broke off. And that hit me on the upper leg on my jean shorts! Yikes. :)

As you can probably tell, I decided to do more yard work this weekend. Mowed the lawn again with my old-fashioned push reel mower. (Had a neighbor ask me where I got it, she didn't think they made those any more!) And finally used the weed eater I borrowed months ago from a friend. She doesn't use it anymore since she lives out in the woods.

It was a trial just figuring out what kind of line it uses. There's umpteen million types of line and do you just want the line or the line in a replacement spool. (FYI, get the line that COMES ON THE SPOOL). And of course, my friend has long since lost the manual to the weed eater. So I do some research online, and narrow it down to one I think will work.

Get home and realize I have to manually wind this stuff onto the spool. Lovely. Especially when you factor in my butterfingers. So I finally get the stuff wound, and put back on and out I go. Long orange cord trailing behind me like a line of fire. Turn it on and the thing goes wild. Okay, not wild, it just startled me. Startled the dog too. She ran back inside and spent the rest of the time watching me warily through the doggie door. I could SEE her there, just staring at me. Silly dog.

Then I had to figure out just how to hold the thing. But it stopped cutting after a few seconds. Darn it. Turns out I had the line wound too tightly. Sigh. Fixed that, and put it back together. Turned it on and the whole spool and cap went spinning off across the yard. I kid you not.

So I had to rewind the thing, put it back on, and go at it again. To make a long story short, it took me over an hour to get the back yard done Saturday evening, and then I spent over an hour on Sunday afternoon on the front and side. The stupid cap kept coming off and the spool would go careening all over the place. Lost the stupid ring that locks it on a couple of times...only an idiot would design a lawn implement in GREEN. Darn thing blended into the grass. Turns out the little things the cap and ring hooked onto were worn away. So it didn't have much holding it on. And the line kept sticking every few minutes so I had to keep taking it apart and pulling it loose.

By the time I was done, my legs were green from the knees down. My fault because I let the stuff on one side of the house get over knee high. Turns out it was pretty wet, not that I water that section. Must not get enough sun to dry it up from the rain we had a month ago. Wet ucky mushed up grass is not pretty. It really isn't. I had to rinse off in the sprinklers. That was actually one of the nicest parts of the day. :) That and helping my little sister and her family plant some Chinese Elms on their property. That was fun. Although my legs and arms are achy today. And my butt muscles got a workout from squatting to plant the trees.

So today I'm sore and have bruises all over my lower legs. Guess I got hit with more stuff while using that weed eater than I thought. :) And I dreamt I was chasing that darn spool and cap all night long. But my yard looks great.