Unexpected day off!

One of the gals who works in the office called this morning to let me know that there was no electricity in the building, so we have the day off. (We don't want baby-cicles, after all.) It should be back tomorrow, though.

The last time we had a day off for no electric was after that storm last summer, and that was only for a day, too. Oh well, it's nice to have an extra day off.

So it's a day or so late...

Yesterday Mira took me to Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery to visit the graves of my mom's parents and my dad's mom. (By the way, Moueska and Athene, I saw your grandfather as well. He says hi. ^_^) I hadn't been there since nana's passing, and that was almost four years ago. I didn't think about it until after the fact, but we were there the day after Dia de los Muertos, which is celebrated on the first two days of November in Mexico and Mexican communities. It's basically a celebration that honors the dead.

I know that my grandparents aren't at the cemetery, even though their mortal bodies are, but it's a nice way to reconnect with them and think about the lives they led. My grandfathers fought in WWII, Papa in the Air Force and Grandpa in the Army. Nana was a communications worker in Ireland and Grandma worked in an ammunition factory (which was recently torn down). My Grandpa is still alive, and the next time I visit JB will probably be after he's gone. But I hope to visit more often.

Overdue Date Night

We haven't been out on a date in a long time, and with Mira's health being rather poor for a couple weeks (more so than usual), we decided we needed some time away from home.

We hadn't been to the Chesterfield Mall yet, so we went to check it out. He noticed that they had a Cheesecake Factory restaurant, and decided that if he were going to be in pain, he might as well do it with some cheesecake in him. We checked with the manager and found that the regular cheesecake did not have soy in it, so he got a slice of the sugar-free version and I got the chocolate coconut cream. Oh. My. Goodness. I've never had a better piece of cheesecake in my entire life! It was like an orgasm on my tongue! We also had a makeshift dinner of salad from Subway and pizza from Sbarro's. When we got home we had a snack and watched some shows we'd recorded this week.

We used to go out before he got sick, and we didn't really think anything about it. But since he got sick, going out together has become something so much more special than it used to be. If I could give any soon-to-be or newly married couple any advice, I would say, "Do stuff together. Go on dates, watch TV together, go to a museum, whatever it is that you like to do, do it together. You might find yourself in a position where one or the both of you won't be able to do it, and you'll wish you could have had some time together." That's one thing fibromyalgia has taught us. That, and not to take things like your health for granted.

Squee!

Another preview for Tim Burton's newest movie: Sweeney Todd.

Fall has unofficially begun!



I noticed it last night after a trip with the family to Spirit (the Halloween store). When we left, the wind was blowing cool and crazy. This morning we were able to air out the house, and the kids at work had their jackets with them. They needed them this morning, but not so much this afternoon. So far, it looks as if the temps won't get over 85° this week. I'd say cooler weather is here to stay! (At least until winter, at which point we'll be hoping for spring.)

Hmm, could be good...

I just saw a preview for a new Tim Burton movie starring Johnny Depp (sorry, music not by Danny Elfman). I've only heard of this musical and know vaguely of the premise, but with a director and lead actor that I like, I'm hoping my first viewing of Sweeney Todd will be a good one.

Only three more months!

It hit me the other day that there are three months left until Halloween! I should decide early if I'm going to do something different or don my Renfaire garb again...

Well, it happened...

We lost our Soot baby yesterday. We bought him and Pinky together about a year and eight months ago. I wasn't so sure how long Soot woud last after his tankmate died, but he held on for another three months, and it looks as if he passed peacefully in his sleep.

We'll miss you, baby.

P.S. We've decided we won't get any more pets for a long time. Does anybody want some leftover bedding, seeds, etc.? We might also get rid of the tank. Let me know and I'll get a list together of what we have.

At roughly 8:00 this evening, my not-so-little brother Polarbear became a high school graduate. After he gets home from the lock-in tomorrow, he leaves on a road trip to Colorado with his girlfriend Gummibear and her family. After that, the world is his oyster.

Congratulations Class of 2007, and good luck in the future!

(Using my married name) I have discovered that...

HowManyOfMe.com

There are 5 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

Funny video!

For all you Captain Jack fans. Enjoy!

Musings on Moueska's Birthday Bash

My lovely friend Moueska celebrated her birthday last night at the Royal Dumpe Dinner Theatre surrounded by family and friends. There was great food, a great show, and tons of fun to boot! She and other celebrants got pulled up on stage because of birthdays, graduations, etc. They wanted a lady to help the jester do a magic trick, a guy to be Lord Keeper of the Salt, and a guy to help King Henry VIII raise the royal cheer. They also needed a lady to be Lady Keeper of the Garter, and the pianist pulled me up to the stage! The king was surprised to hear my age (I get that a lot), and jokingly said I must have been a child bride to be married for four years and to look so young. He put a pretty red and black garter on my leg to everyone's amusement, which I got to keep. ^_^ They also pulled up a teenage kid to put in the stocks that could only be freed from the kiss of a pure maiden (Grandma B). When that didn't work, all the ladies went to kiss him so he could be set free.

There were three serving wenches (I only remember Amanda and Polly), a jester (name escapes me), a guy named Itchy, Seymore the pianist, and of course, King Henry VIII. Jess took pictures of the king placing the garter on my leg that I'm sure will pop up everywhere. ^_^ In short, it was a blast, and I'd love to do it again.

Happy Birthday Moueska!

~Lady T, Keeper of the Garter and Supposed Childbride

Tell them how much you care

This Friday is Provider Appreciation Day, so let your kids' daycare providers know how much you care about them!

We're celebrating all week at work. To all the other daycare providers out there, keep up the good work! ^_^

Bye-bye birdies

Our little cardinal babies fledged on Wednesday and we haven't seen them since. Mira got some pictures from when they were just eggs, to pre-fledglings, to one of them before they all left. I watched another little guy Wednesday evening practicing his little heart out *jump* *flapflapflapflapflap* *jump* *flapflapflapflapflap* Haven't seen them since and wish them the best of luck.

Now we have the robins under the deck to contend with until they fly the coop.

Harr harr!

New 30 Second Bunnies parody! Presenting: "Pirates of the Caribbean 1 & 2". Enjoy! ^_^

Impending triplets!

Not for me though. We have a small fake tree on our front porch, and some cardinals thought it would be a great place to build a nest with three eggs in it. They've been there for at least a week, and I read that the incubation period lasts from 11-13 days, which means we might get to see some baby birds sometime this week!

I like to look out the window and check on the nest when I go up and down the stairs, and momma bird is usually there keeping them warm. If she gets startled (which usually happens when we use the front door), she flies off and comes back after a few minutes. I've only seen daddy bird a few times, but I know he's still around. I'm hoping once the eggs are hatched, they don't get defensive when we use the front door. We can't always use the garage while they're still around. I guess we'll see.

And if no one's heard yet, we got a new car! Well, new to us, anyway. Phil lost his little teal egg in an accident, so he has our red egg and we have a 1994 Honda Civic. We haven't driven it extensively since we just got all the stuff we need squared away, but we intend to soon. I'm so excited!

Bittersweet birthday

Well, looks like Soot's an "only child" now. Our other hamster Pinky passed away sometime Friday. Soot seems to be handling it well, although I do notice that he tends to stop running in his wheel, like he's waiting for Pinky to jump in the wheel and try to take over. They used to do that a lot. I've decided that after Soot goes, I'd rather not have any more pets for a long time. It's a waiting game that I'd rather not play.

I had a pretty good birthday though! Hubby gave me a card and some beautiful roses the day before, and I got a couple other cards. The high school was having a craft fair that we went to check out, and ended up buying some coconut essential oil that we really liked. We've been looking for some essential oils for a while, and decided yesterday to check out Pathways and see what they had. We bought two vials of lemon oil, one wintergreen, and one sweet orange. We also saw Mr. H, one of my former English teachers! I was wondering if he still worked there, and it turns out he does. He remembered who I was, just couldn't remember my name. He also couldn't believe I was 24 already. ^_^

We headed over to Michaels to get some necklace fixin's so that I could have a chain for my new necklace that uses magnets instead of a regular closer. We were pretty hungry after that, so went to the mall to have some pizza from Sbarro's, and also ended up getting a milkshake each from Sonic. Hey, it's my birthday, it's time to splurge! ^_^ We were so tired and full from the running and eating that we ended up watching TV most of the night. My parents also called me later last night to wish me a happy birthday and to talk. By the way, thank you to everyone who contacted me and wished me a happy birthday!

Since we didn't get to eat cake last night, we'll do that later tonight. Milly bought me a small German chocolate cake and some ice cream. Yay!

"Vamlumtime's Day is serious times"
(See TGS #12)

Valentine's Day was a pretty good day. All hubby wanted from me was for me to play some games with him before I left for work. Things weren't too bad at work. I was given some Valentine goodies from a couple of the kids, plus a rose from my boss (which I keep forgetting to bring home).

Hubby's friend came over, just like he does every Wednesday, which I didn't really mind. It was nice to have some me time. But I got a big surprise after he left. My sweet husband had a nice card for me, and something in a small giftbag. That something turned out to be a pretty three-stone necklace! I really wasn't expecting that. ^_^ Isn't he sweet?

And the Most Choreographically Inept Award goes to...

Yours truly. Thank you, thank you...

I just tried two of the workouts on the other DVD that Lar lent me, and it felt like I was doing the choreography from Fame all over again: a step behind everyone else and horribly wrong. I watched all five segments before deciding that the last two looked the easiest. Hah! I can't say as I was impressed with this one. I like the Pilates one better.

*wince* *ow*

If Joseph Pilates weren't already dead, I'd kill him.

I'm borrowing a couple exercise DVD's from Lar, and have done the Pilates one for the past couple days. My arms are pretty sore in spots, my legs are stiff, and my abs... oh my abs! I like this DVD though, so I'm thinking about buying my own copy. I figure if I keep doing it, it'll get easier and I'm hoping it'll pay off. Then maybe I'll get to liking Mr. Pilates and won't want to re-kill him.

Now I'm hoping the dance DVD will be just as good.

A very sad day in Hollywood

Peter Boyle passed away last night at the age of 71. My condolences to his friends and family during this difficult time. He will be sorely missed.

Yes, we're ok!

We were hit by quite a storm last week. I was off work on Thursday and Friday because of the ice and snow. We didn't lose power, but we did lose cable and the inernet Thursday night through this afternoon, which sucked, but gave me a reason to go through all my documents and stuff on the computer and organize them. I also ended up watching three movies last night because I was so bored. Thankfully everything's back to normal.

Sparkly codpiece, or Spamalot was awesome!

It was a toss-up between Spamalot, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, or Mannheim Steamroller. With cheaper seats for where we wanted to be, we saw Spamalot, and had ourselves a blast!

Myself, my family, and mom's friend Rosie saw the show on Friday afternoon at the Fox. It was my brothers' first visit, and mom wanted it to be memorable. We had good seats (Orchestra, OR05) that gave us a pretty good view of the stage. My brothers were impressed, and had fun wandering around looking at the architecture until it was time for the show to start.

One critic said he laughed from start to finish, and with good reason. All around, we thought it was the funniest thing we'd seen in a long time. It's not just Monty Python and the Holy Grail with musical numbers, they made it specifically for the stage.

They snuck in a couple references to other Monty Python sketches and even included a song from Life of Brian. The Lady of the Lake is given more than a passing mention; she performs a few songs as well. One character "comes out" (I won't mention which), wearing a sparkly codpiece and wild colors during the number wherein he reveals his true self. They even included the Black Knight, which translated very well from screen to stage. And as always, the French Taunters were hilarious! In the 2nd act, they didn't just break the fourth wall, they ripped it down!

The last night it shows at the Fox is tomorrow, but if it comes back, I definitely recommend going to see it.

Random Questions from Jess

1. FIRST NAME? Tara

2. ARE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? A family member

3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? Started to this evening (stupid PMS...)

4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Sometimes. It's unique...

5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? Turkey or chicken

6. KIDS : Just my boys (Pinky and Soot)

7. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Sure!

8. There is no 8

9. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? Yup, and a couple blogs

10. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yup

11. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Nope, too chicken

12. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? I don't eat cereal

13. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? More often than not

14. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? I can bench 50, but not for long...

15. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? Something with chocolate

16. SHOE SIZE? Depends, 6 1/2 - 7

17. RED OR PINK? Either

18. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? I procrastinate too easily

19. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? No one, really

20. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? Nah, I won't worry about it

21. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Blue jeans and blue socks, no shoes

22. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? The air cleaner

23. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Aqua

24. FAVORITE SMELL? Lilacs, honeysuckle, and rose

25. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Lar

26. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO? Eyes

27. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Of course!

28. FAVORITE DRINK? Water

29. FAVORITE SPORT? Does yoga count?

30. EYE COLOR? Hazel

31. HAT SIZE? Dunno

32. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? When I leave the house

33. FAVORITE FOOD? Chocolate

34. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED AT THE MOVIE THEATER? I think POTC:Dead Man's Chest

35. SUMMER OR WINTER? I like warming up in winter

36. HUGS, KISSES OR BOTH? Both

37. FAVORITE DESSERT? As long as it has chocolate

38. WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Dunno

39. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Dunno

40. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? "The Last Continent" by Terry Pratchett

41. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MOVIE? Phantom of the Opera (2004)

42. WHAT DID YOU WATCH LAST NIGHT ON TV? Since it's technically Monday, last night I watched Scrubs and Parental Control.

43. FAVORITE SOUNDS: Laughing babies

44. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? I think I've heard more Beatles songs

45. WHAT'S YOUR SPECIAL TALENT? Do I have one?

46. WHEN AND WHERE WERE YOU BORN? 3 March in St Louis

47. WHO SENT this to you? Jess

48. The one thing you like most about yourself? My eyes

49.Who is the one person who knows you better than anybody? Either my mom, my sister, or my husband

50. One thing you would like to say to those you are sending this to? Hello!

Cool band alert!

Thanks to a video on You Tube, I've been introduced to a band called Within Temptation, and the song on the video is "See Who I Am" from their fourth album The Silent Force.

As far as I can tell, they're doing pretty well in Europe, but haven't set foot here in America. If someone actually stumbles onto this group in any music store, let me know ASAP! ^_^

Happy Spooky Season!

Ch-ch-ch-changes!

One of the things we need to do to get m'hubby better is get him on a better sleep schedule. With our bedroom in the basement, and no windows where we were, we decided to move.

Well, sort of. Not out of the house, but we did switch things around at home by moving our bedroom into our living room, where there is a big window, and putting our living room in the bedroom. It worked out really well, and it took the both of us just a few hours to move everything. We left some of the stuff out to sort out where to put it the next day (books, movies, etc.), but we got the majority of the moving done in one night.

The sun comes in through the windows in the morning, making it difficult to sleep in too long, but that's what we're going for. The bedroom really feels like a bedroom now, and the living room really feels like a living room now. I like how this has turned out!

What we didn't do was move our computer desks; they stayed where they were (mine in the now-bedroom and his in the now-living room). As it is, we each have our own "fortresses o' solitude", so he can play on his computer, and watch movies and play video games when his friend comes over. I like that I can listen to my music without having to put on headphones when he comes in to watch TV.

We also wanted to get some more work done yesterday, so I cleaned all the curtains downstairs, which I had wanted to do for a long time, but never had the gumption to do (yes, gumption ^_^). We also cleaned the sliding glass door downstairs, and cleaned the "patio" (really just a big slab of concrete, but whatever), so it looks a lot nicer now than it used to.

It almost seems like we're starting to be more... responsible. Actually, I like it.

(Thank you gothfaerie4evaicons for the icon)

I finished the book "Phantom" by Susan Kay last night, and was very pleased with the way it turned out. The story is pretty much one big phanfic, but it's better than that because of the extensive research she did in order to write it.

I liked how the book was divided into the different perspectives, specifically his mother, himself (thrice, once in counterpoint), an original character named Giovanni, the Daroga (given the name Nadir), Christine (in counterpoint with Erik), and Raoul. Giving it the perspective of the characters in the book was a nice touch.

I have a tendency to root for the underdog, and he is the ultimate underdog. His face was beyond deformed, his mother never kissed him, he was beaten and humiliated, and anytime he was shown a little bit of respect, something got in the way and heardened his heart even more.

He lacked a normal face, but the rest of him sort of made up for it. His mask gave him an air of mystery. He was a musical genius, with a beautiful voice, talented hands, an expansive imagination, and an amazing mind.

I really don't know what else to say. I really liked this book, and wouldn't mind having a copy for my library, along with the original book by Leroux. Kay is a good writer and her research really helped to bring the 1800's alive. I'd recommend that Phantom phans read it just once. It's definitely worth it.

Updatedness

Well, the clinic called today with the results of Mira's blood tests, and everything that is supposed to be high is low, while everything that's supposed to be low is high. The first things we need to take care of are his pain and our sleep schedule, then we'll work on everything else.

I got to meet my grand-niece on Sunday, and she is so cute! She's a little thing, with big eyes. We're going to visit with their family next Sunday and go to church with them.

I decided to see if our library had a copy of "Phantom" by Susan Kay, which they didn't, but another branch did! I picked it up yesterday and got to over halfway through it this morning. So far it's really good. Sad, but I think it's needed to see why he was the way he was. I'll do a review when I'm done with it, which will probably be Friday night or so, depending on how much time I set aside each day to read it.

I've been working 1-6 for a couple weeks, which has been kinda nice. I get there at naptime, so I read a book until they wake up (I'm reading "Pyramids" by Terry Pratchett, another good book; I'd read "Phantom" at work, but it's a big book and won't fit in my purse very well), then go next door just in time for snack. I also noticed that I got a raise (a whole whopping 50¢) in July. Woo!

Already?!

Just on a lark, I decided to see when my brothers go back to school. Can you believe that they're going back this Thursday? I know that other schools around the country have been in session for a week or two now, but still!

I still can't believe that Polarbear is a senior this year! I remember when he was born, and now he's a senior. On top of that, my "baby" brother is a sophomore this year! Man time flies! *sniffage*

Anyway, good luck to all you kids out there that are headed back to school already (especially those already there). Have a great school year!

While the cat's away...

M'hubby is in Utah for a few days with his dad. There's a clinic out there that specializes in fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue, so he'll get some tests done and we'll hopefully find out what's wrong with him.

Meanwhile, it's just us girls in the house (me, Milly, and her mom). I've got some candles going and some music playing, and I'm singing off-key whenever I get the chance. I love it. ^_^ But I do miss coming home from work to a big hug and a kiss from m'hubby. As much as I enjoy being semi-solitary, I can't wait for him to come home on Sunday.

What a storm!

We're all ok, no bodily damage during the storm, but we did lose a tree in the backyard that might have smushed part of the house, had it not been for the shed. We lost our power about eight or so Wednesday night, then got it back Thursday morning about four. Our A/C was making noise because it was covered in tree branches! So Mira and I stayed up until five in the morning getting the branches off the A/C so it would work better. I didn't work Thursday or Friday because we didn't have power. Good thing I had been going in an hour early the three days before, which covered Thursday and part of the Friday I had lost time. Unfortunately, we didn't have cable or the 'net, so things got rather boring around here very quickly.

Things were going fine until Friday afternoon about 1:30, when we lost our power again. Thankfully one of my brothers-in-law had cut away a majority of the branches in the backyard before that. Mira wanted to get out of the house, so we went out for about six hours (some places had power, some didn't) and got home to a cool house that night. Our power came back at six this evening while Mira and I went out again (Milly called to let us know we had power). Thankfully Ted Drewes had power and wasn't to busy so we could get some frozen custard. I have discovered that strawberry and Oreo make a great combination. Even the husb liked it! He also got some lemon and mint so he could have some at home.

My family still doesn't have power, so they're staying elsewhere for a while. But they're ok, Lar and her family are ok, we're ok, and my in-laws in the area are all ok. We still have our homes and our lives, which are very important.

Thursday and Friday were really good days this week! Thursday was a girls night with Jess, Von, Kristen, and Lar. Lar got me from our parents' house and we got to Jess's about the time Alicia and Rhema got there. I hadn't seen Alicia since Lar graduated high school and had visited with Rhema earlier this year. Moueska was there, but had to leave for another outing, and Rhema had some dental work earlier that day, so she and Alicia left before the rest of us did.

We ended up going to a pub & grill called McGurk's, and sat outside, which was really nice. There was a very pretty fountain behind our table with what looked like koi. We sat around for more than two hours talking and having a drink. We got there after the kitchen closed, so we stopped on the way home for chickenburgers, went back to Jess's, then Lar took me home.

My mom had called Thursday to see if we wanted to go see Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest the next evening, and I was surprised that Mira actually wanted to go! So he picked me up from work, we stopped at Taco Bell for something quick to eat since we needed to be at the theatre before seven, and off we went! Mom met us inside to give us our tickets and to lead us to our seats. (Review later) I had to rub Mira's back a few times, but he sat through the movie and even decided to go out afterwards!

We splurged on Ted Drewes; he got one raspberry and one mint, and I got chocolate Oreo. He requested a lemon flavor, since it wasn't listed, and sure enough, they said they had it! So he had the lemon and mint which actually taste good together, and I had the chocolate Oreo and the raspberry, which also makes a good combo. We stopped for gas afterwards and went home.

He had some energy from all the sugar, so we set some hamburger patties out to thaw and went on a long walk. When we got back, we made our burgers and watched the season premier of Psych that he taped earlier that evening. It was a great show! I'll definitely want to watch more of it.

Now on to my POTC:DMC review. Let me start out by saying that it was a pretty good movie, which means I didn't feel like walking out and never coming back. It had its moments, but most of the jokes were built off of the jokes in the first movie, and it seemed too silly. The CGI was pretty good and the action sequences were well done, especially with the appearance with the Kraken. Some parts were predictable, but there were other scenes where what I thought would happen didn't even come to fruitition. I didn't expect it to end the way it did. By the way, stay through to the end of the credits for an extra scene. So I liked it, but it's not the best movie I've ever seen. I'm waiting for the third installment next year, so we can get all those loose ends tied up.

The flames at last consumed us!

Mom called me up last week, wondering if I'd be interested in seeing Phantom of the Opera on Saturday. Need she have asked? So I stayed the night Friday and Lar, mom, Rosie, and I saw the afternoon matinee. We were far back, and not totally in the center, but just a scooch into house right. Lar and I wished we would have brought binoculars, but didn't think about it. We said last time we saw it that we were going to dress up to see it again, but ended up not doing so. Maybe next time... ^_^

Our Phantom was John Cudia. He almost knocked Ted Keegan down to second on my favorite Phantom's list (in regards to voice), but Ted keeps the #1 spot because I got to hear his sexy evil laugh before the chandelier fell. John's voice, even though a tenor, seemed a bit deeper than Ted's, and that's what got him up there. I have a thing for baritones, and while John's not a baritone, he got deep enough to keep me glued to his voice. I just checked the Playbill from when I saw the show four years ago, and found out that John was Raoul when I first saw the show, and an understudy for Ted Keegan! How cool is that?

Our Christine was Jennifer Hope Wills. I have no clue where she originally fit in, as she's not listed anywhere in the program, except on the little cast change slip, but she did a good job nonetheless.

Kate Wray was Meg at our performance (cast change). I'm used to thinking of Meg as a young girl, and Kate had a more mature voice, which while lovely, didn't really fit the character of Meg, at least in my opinion.

Originally an understudy for Carlotta, Kimilee Bryant filled in the roll at our performance. I think she had a very powerful voice.

John Whitney was our Piangi. He hit and held a really long, low note during "Il Muto" and got a big round of applause when he finished. Lar says he reminds her of Ken Page; I concur.

Adam Monley was our Raoul, and did a really good job.

DC Anderson reprised his role from four years ago as Monsieur André.

Patti Davidson-Gorbea also reprised her role from four years ago as Madame Giry.

After being serenaded by beautiful voices, we stopped over at Ted Drewe's for ice cream and hung out at home watching funny internet video until Rosie left. I found a couple by another one of my favorite male singers, Michael Ball. I first saw him on the 10th anniversary concert video for Les Misérables as Marius, and have been in love with his voice ever since. It helps that I also think he's adorably cute. ^_^

Saturday was a great day!

Is Your Obsession to Phantom of the Opera Unhealthy?

You're in love! The beauty of the musical never ceases to amaze you! You love it, but don't obsess. You manage to lead a normal life! Wow! :)
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P.S. I have 16 Phantom-themed music videos on my You Tube favorites list.

Great Phantom Video!

If you like The Phantom of the Opera and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, then this one's for you!
It's amazing how many great videos you can find on You Tube. I think I now have eight or nine fan-made Phantom videos. Have fun!

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Of bodices and bachelorettes...

I stayed the night with my folks on Friday night because they were going to the RenFaire and I wanted to go with them. They're also having a new roof put in their house, so we were up at six Saturday morning listening to all the banging and booming. I don't remember when we left for the Faire, but my sister and her family met us up there and off we went!

I brought the dress I bought last year, but only wore it half the time. It was so blasted hot outside! We had a bunch of bottles of ice that became cold water rather quickly. Somehow Whiteshark managed to keep some of the ice in his bottle the whole time. I went to Heart's Delight, where I bought my dress last year, and bought a golden-yellow bodice from them and wore my garb the rest of the day. I think my shoulders got a bit red, but not too bad. Thank goodness for the shade! My mom bought a flower circlet for herself and one for me, so my garb is about as complete as it's gonna get.

We got back home sometime after six and we had some barbecue and watched "Bill Cosby: Himself". Then Athene, Moueska, Lar and her girls met me at my folks for Athene's last weekend as a single gal (wedding next weekend!) and we headed to a place in The Loop called Saleem's. Lar and I split a grilled portabello mushroom plate and we saw a bellydancer perform. Bookie had heard us talking about going to see a bellydancer and she kept asking us when we'd see the ballet dancer. ^_^ I can't remember the dancer's name, but I think it began with an S. Anyway, she came over and wanted Bookie to dance with her, but she was too shy, so Athene danced with her for a few minutes. Even Bef danced in her highchair a few times.

After a quick stop at Bubble Tea, we headed over to Lar's to play games, but we were all so tired when we got there that we just hung out for a while and headed home. I hope I didn't get Moueska too helplessly lost when I gave her directions to get home from my place. For some reason, I had a whale of a time trying to remember how to get to my house from dropping Athene off. I think it was the heat...

I modeled for Mira when I got home and... needless to say, he's very pleased with the result. ^_^ He even took pictures! So I'll leave you with a pic of my feast gear. (I apologize for the face, as it was really late at night when this was taken.)

The Ren Faire Cometh!

Thank your provider!

Providers Appreciation Day is today! So if you have kids in daycare, whether in someone's home or at a center, be sure to thank them for all of the hard work they put into taking care of your children.

Yeah Toast!

*singin'* Call me (call me) on the line!

We finally got a new plan and phones over the weekend. My number is still the same, so don't worry about that. No, it's not a camera phone. I've thought about it since October, and I've decided that it's not that important to me. The only extra I added was texting. Once again, it's a pretty basic, stripped down phone, but at least it works. Like my old Panasonic (my first phone), I can assign a ringtone to each person and don't have to reset my alarm everyday.

My last one didn't work very well near the end because it was an analog phone in a digital world. But that's all at an end now, so if you need to get a hold of me, go right ahead! ^_^

Problems with my cell

I've been having a problem with my cell phone, as well as my mom's. I tried calling hers and I was told that it was not a working number. I tried calling my voicemail to see if maybe she left me a message that I hadn't received yet (my phone's not being very nice), and I got the same message!

I don't know what's going on (seeing as how dad's cell is okay), but I plan on getting in touch with her today (possibly staying the night). Hopefully she knows what's going on and we can finally switch to a new plan and new phones.

So in the meantime, if you need to get a hold of me, call my home number. If you don't have it, call someone who does. I'll let you know as soon as I can what the deal is.

Shopping Fun!

We had fun yesterday. Mira picked me up from work and we went to the mall to see if we could find any water distillers. We didn't, but we did end up splurging on some neat stuff.

We went to Sears first and found an ice-cream/frozen yogurt/sorbet maker, which Mira has been looking for for a long time now. We used it tonight and made a delicious sorbet from white grape juice. Unfortunately, he added way too much stevia and xylitol (alternative sweeteners), and it was way too sweet for me. Isn't that weird? I thought something was too sweet after one bite? I must be getting soft. ^_^

We also headed over to Borders so I could use the gift card one of my daycare families gave me for Christmas, and I got KT Tunstall's CD Eye to the Telescope. I saw the video for Black Horse and the Cherry Tree last month, and really liked it. I was able to listen to the CD before I bought it, which was nice. Mira also found some banana hand cream from Burt's Bees, which I got for him. I think it stinks, since I hate bananas with a passion, but once it's on for a while, the scent's very faint so it doesn't bug me.

Then we went to Bath & Body Works so I could find some hand lotions that didn't bug Mira, since he has a pretty sensitive nose. We got two hand lotions, Mango Mandarin and Black Raspberry Vanilla, and Lemon body cream. They all smell so heavenly! We also got some Lemon Verbena essential oil and a burner, and some Mentha lip balm. We used the oil last night and ended up making the whole basement smell like lemon. Next time we'll be sure to only burn it for a few minutes. ^_^

Finally, we stopped at the grocery store on the way home and bought some more groceries for ourselves, and ended up buying some frozen shrimp and some scallops. When we got home, we thawed some of the shrimp and dipped it in warm spaghetti sauce. It was so good! We decided to cook up some rotini pasta and add some shrimp to the sauce. Well, it was good, but not as good as the shrimp with just the sauce.

I'm going over to my folks' tomorrow to hang out, which will be fun. I haven't been there in a couple weeks, so it'll be good to see them again. Have a great weekend all!

Cute Overload!

The title says it all...

Update!

I had a great week before my birthday, so I told Mira that he didn't need to get me anything. We were able to go to the mall on Monday, eat pizza and ice cream, and I bought some new shirts. We also went out Thursday and I got some new shoes. Could you believe that we checked out seven or so different stores in the mall and couldn't find a simple pair of black pumps? WalMart had 'em though! We also visited with my folks on Friday, and my mom gave me the Corpse Bride DVD for my birthday. Yay!

Mira was able to go out because he started drinking distilled water and has been using baking soda instead of toothpaste. He read that fluoride can cause fibro-like symptoms, so we've stopped using as much as we can and he's been feeling better! He's not totally well, but he's getting there. We also noticed that my lactose intolerance symptoms weren't as apparent when using distilled water, so I'm gonna have to test it out sometime. Woo!

Now for some fun. In January, I posted a site called Aria, a website dedicated to Phantom of the Opera fanfics. I found another one this morning that was just too freakin' hilarious to pass up! If you like Phantom of the Opera, and you like Young Frankenstein, this'll rock your socks off!

Your Birthdate: March 3

You are more than a big ball of energy - you are a big ball of hyper. You are always on the go, but you don't have a type a personality. Instead of channeling your energy into work, you instead go for fun and adventure. Witty and verbal, you can have an interesting conversation with anyone. Your strength: Your larger than life imagination Your weakness: You tend to be pretty scattered Your power color: Lime Your power symbol: Lightening bolt Your power month: March

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

Hollywood mourns the loss of

Don Knotts, who passed away Friday night due to "pulmonary and respiratory complications". He was 81. Our condolences to his family and friends during this difficult time.

My brother turns 17 today...

Can you believe he'll be a senior next year? Man, that's scary!
Happy Birthday Polarbear!

Phunny Phanfic

I found a website dedicated to Phantom of the Opera fanfics, and thought this one was a riot. Enjoy!

Fun Site O' The Day

I would like to apologize to my two bridesmaids. I'm so sorry I made you wear those less-than-attractive dresses at my wedding. But let me assure you, others have had it worse.

Thank you 1A families!

I think we got at least one thing each day this week. As far as I know, we all got the same things. The G's gave us each a scarf (see previous post), the C's a candle (cranberry, yummy!), the H's a lotion and body spray set (smells good!), the M's a cute little bunny with some perfume, the R's a gift card for Panera, the F's some homemade cookies (so good!), and the L's (their daughter moved up this month) a Borders gift card. Thank you all! We also got a goodie bag (candies and a 2-month pocket calendar) from the guy who owns our building and a Schnuck's gift card, which Mira and I used last night. I guess I have some thank you cards to write! ^_^

I feel so special!

One of my babies gave me a Christmas present today! Well, it was probably more like her mom, but her name was on the card. ^_^ She gave me a new scarf! It's very pretty, orange and red mixed in, and so soft. I can't wait to wear it. ^_^ Thank you G___ family!

They have a name for that...

I am a movie stalker. When I hear about a movie that piques my interest or is based on something I'm familiar with, I scour IMDb and raid Dark Horizons for whatever info I can find on it. I may even Google it or find another way to satisfy my thirst for knowledge. I did this with The Pantom of the Opera, Hitchhkier's Guide to the Galaxy, Corpse Bride, The Chronicles of Narnia, and many others. I check the movie news and watch trailers at Dark Horizons and search on IMDb to find trivia, goofs, quotes, release dates, whatever I can find. I especially love to follow casting. I was agog when I heard Alan Rickman would provide the vocals to Marvin in Hitchhiker and Liam Neeson for Aslan in Narnia.
I hope there's no cure for this. It might annoy people, but it's so much fun! ^_^

Pay no attention...

...to that previous post. I just found all my documents and pictures! They weren't there when I clicked on the "My Documents" icon on my desktop, but I found them when I searched my hard drive! I'm so ecstatic! *raising my hands to the heavens* Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Ack!

My computer decided to turn against me, so I had to have Windows re-installed, and as a result, I lost a lot of stuff. So it's back to the drawing board... This sucks!

New Arrival

Well, Lar delivered a beautiful, healthy baby girl this morning (2:11 am, 8 lb 6 oz). I was at the hospital with her and the grandparents, plus JR’s friends Drac and Chuck. We're all so happy for her.

Here's my sister, with her second baby, the second grandchild, the second girl, and she's just beautiful. Her husband's there, holding his new daughter in his arms. “Hello, baby girl” he coos. He probably even told her, “I’m your daddy” when he first held her. Lar looks tired; I guess she would be after about twelve hours of labor. But at the same time, she marvels at the little person she’s housed for nine long months, the one she and JR created together. Bef is quiet, but lets out a fuss to let us know she’s there, even though she’s the center of attention. She looks like our side of the family; I imagine her hair is dark like her mommy’s.

Everyone gets a chance to hold the new arrival. The grandparents get first dibs. Even Drac and Chuck get a chance. Drac is nervous, but Chuck holds her like a pro; having two kids of his own, he’s had the practice. Then it’s my turn. Being about the same size as her mommy gives me an advantage; she fits into my arms almost perfectly. She gives a slight cry, and she’s handed off to JR so she can snuggle right next to her mother. We decide to leave the little family by themselves. Sandy will bring Book by later that day to meet her new baby sister. I wonder if she, like her aunt with her mother, will look at her new sister and exclaim, “Baby!”

Regrets

(Warning! To your right, you will read my ramblings about the “what if’s”. To your left, you will read my ramblings about the “what might have been’s”. Do not read if you don’t care about other people’s regrets. You have been forewarned. Thank you and have a nice day.)

You ever have the feeling that you might be good at something if you just knew what you were doing?

In search of something to do, hubby and I watched the dance scenes from the movie Center Stage (it’s about ballet). I love to watch dancing, especially ballet. It’s more than just moving gracefully; you also have to be strong and have endurance, among other things (as I’m sure Athene could attest to). It’s amazing what some people can do with their bodies.

My sister and I never had any lessons as kids (neither did our brothers). We never took dance lessons, swimming lessons, singing lessons, karate lessons, or anything like that. I would have loved to take a dance class when I was younger. Lar says she wants her girls to take dance lessons. Mira and I know we want our kids to learn how to do things like dance, art, music, sports, etc. Even if they don’t totally get into it, we’d like for them to have a basic knowledge of how to do things like that.

I’m not very coordinated. Just watch the video of my senior year production of Fame. I can’t tell you how often I was at least a half second behind everybody else, and it wasn’t just nerves. [So why did I try out (and become an extra)? Because I did the musical the previous year (Groovy), and it was really fun, plus the dancing was easy (what do you expect for a dinky junior high-type musical?). Turns out Fame was not just a step higher, it was a complete leap higher (a grand jeté, if you will), and that included the dancing.] What they were thinking when they cast me, I don’t know.

Maybe in another life (if I had one), I was a dancer, and I wasn’t supposed to bring that talent with me into this one. Who knows? All I know is that I suck at it. I’d like to take a dance class some semester. Maybe I’ll take a ballet class to see what I think. After all, one of the best ways to know, is to try.

Rawr, baby!

I had a blast last night! I went with my mom, Lar, Rosie, Von's mom, Lar's MIL and two SIL's to see Celtic Tiger. What a show! We went to dinner at a Mexican place near Lar's house called Chimichanga's, which was really good. All but Lar and her MIL and one SIL got to the show about ten minutes late because they went the wrong way, but the rest of us sat down just as the show began.

I was very impressed. It was pretty loud and there were a few flashy moments (strobe lights, etc.), but it was thoroughly enjoyed. During intermission, I went with Lar's married SIL to buy the soundtrack, and when we got back, everybody was moving eight rows down because nobody was there during the first part of the show, so we got a better view of the stage.

My favorite number was "Capone", the one where the ensemble is dressed in pin-stripped suits. And the guys in the audience were drooling during the "Fredom" number, because the woman did a striptease and went from an Irish-styled flight uniform to an American flag-print bikini. And there was one number where the Redcoats were burning down a cottage and some of the cast members dressed as Irish peasants were running out, coughing, falling, etc. While this was going on, the screen on stage that was used as a background had some ghostly faces rising from the smoky flames behind the home. I had chills the whole time and almost cried when they showed the face of a crying baby rising from the flames.

I listened to the soundtrack with Mira when I got home. The soundtrack lacks the costume change numbers and omits the "Yankee Doodle Dandy" number, but it's still good. All in all, I had a fun time and I loved what I saw. If I see it on DVD, I may get it. Or just borrow it from my mom when she gets it, because I know she will.

The world mourns the passing of...

Rosa Parks. The civil rights activist died today at the age of 92. My thoughts and prayers are with her family and friends during this difficult time.

Rambling on about nothing in particular...

I was snooping around online to see if I could find a picture of one of my favorite shirts. It's got that little cat that Pepe Le Pew's always chasing after, with a caption that says, "Paws off". I didn't know she had a name until I found one site with a design that was close, but not exactly the same. Her name is Pussyfoot. I had no clue.

I've been looking for ideas on what to add to my Halloween costume. I was hoping that I could find any information about the dress I bought at the Renfaire, but the closest I could find was a 16th century dress that had the same basic idea to it that mine did. The difference is the pattern (celestial v. fleur de lis), the neckline (V-necked v. square), and the back if my dress does not tie like this one does. I have a blue "peasant" blouse I can wear, and I guess I can borrow the bodice/corset thing that came with my mom's tavern wench costume she wore last year. I'll probably just put my hair in a braid, and wear sandals or something. This costume is going to be just like the ones I've worn in the past: mediocre. Oh well. Maybe at next year's Renfaire I'll get some more garb and do this again next year...

Speaking of new babies...

What a day today was at work! We started four new babies and another new one starts tomorrow (three girls and two boys). We have two girls that were gonna move up next week (Sunshine and Iris), but it looks like they'll be moving up this week instead, and we'll still be one baby over. How they'll work that is beyond me, so we'll just have to wait and see.

New babies!

Mira picked me up from work yesterday, and we went to Petsmart to look at hammies. At first we saw a couple cute hammies; one even looked like Popcorn. But after a while,we started wondering whether or not we should get gerbils. The pros of hamsters and gerbils were tied, but one thing made me wonder. When we'd let Popcorn run around, he was kinda quick, but we could always catch him before we got too far. I noticed that the gerbils were very quick, and wondered if it would be harder to catch them if they were let out. So we got two hammies.

The first one we knew we wanted was a little gray one, and we decided to name him Soot. The other one is white, and we had a hard time trying to come up with a name for him, and we wanted to give him a name based on his personality. Well, he's very energetic, but a bit clumsy, so we named him Pinky. ^_^ We picked them from the same cage at the store, thinking they'd get along. They did okay last night, but we noticed that they did get into tiffs, but it didn't look serious, so we figured maybe they were playing.

Fast forward to this afternoon. I'm on the computer, checking the sites on my favorites list and waiting for Mira to get up (we were up pretty late), when I hear this squeaking coming from the tank. They were fighting again! I'd seperate them, and they'd be okay for a while, but then one would bump into the other and they'd start up again! I eventually gave them each a pellet, and they've been preocupied ever since. I'm wondering if we'll have to seperate them somehow. I'll have to talk it over with hubby.

Anyway, here they are. We'll wait and see how this pans out.

Rest in peace, litle guy

I felt Mira get up earlier than usual this morning.

"Well, I'm awake" he said, and went into the other room. I was hoping to get back to sleep, but then he came back in.

"T, I think Popcorn is dead. He's lying on his side and not moving."

For the longest time, I've held my breath when I've gone to see him, just in case. I wasn't sure how I was going to react, since he'd always been alive when I'd seen him. There was no mistaking that he had passed on when Mira brought him into the bedroom in his tube so I could see him.

I must have held him for a half hour or so, stroking his soft fur and talking to him, telling him how much I loved him, and reliving some of the moments I remember with him. Like when we took him outside this summer and let him run around.

We buried him in our yard in his cardboard tube, not far from the sliding glass door so I can look out and see his grave if I want. We may or may not get another hamster. I have a big bag of bedding, a wheel, a waterbottle, and a bag of seeds and a bag of pellets. I used to say that when he died, if I had a lot of stuff left (which I do), then we'd go ahead and get another one; but if I had a little bit left, I'd give it to Jess or somebody else with hammies. But now I'm not so sure. I think I want to wait a while to get another, but I don't want to wait too long so the food doesn't go bad. I guess we'd better decide soon.

Goodbye little guy. The year and almost three months we had together were fun (9 July 2004 - 3 October 2005). I'm gonna miss you.

Daddy, it's spooky!

Said one of the little girls down the hall at work as she saw the bulletin board with Halloween decorations on it.
Happy Scary Season!

There's an eye... in me soup

That being said, go see Corpse Bride. ^_^ Terrific movie!

When will there be a cell phone plan where you only pay for what you use? It'd be nice if there were a plan where all calls made (not received) are, let's say, 5¢ a minute, and however long you talk each month, you only pay that much at, let's say, the end of the month.
For instance, I've talked for almost 14 hours in the 11 months that I've owned it. That's almost 840 minutes, which would add up to almost $42. If I talk for 15 hours the whole year I have it, I'd end up paying $45 the whole year, about $3.75 a month. Who wouldn't want that?
If anybody knows of a company that has a rate like that, be sure and let me know! That'd be awesome.

I'm good for something!

I've finally figured out something I'm good for. You want useless trivia? I might be able to help you out. This coming from the woman who reads trivia about movies everytime she sees a new one. I love IMDb! ^_^ That being said, it's mainly movie trivia, but every once in a while I pull out something else.

Useless trivia for the day (from IMDb.com): "When Ben Wright got the part of Grimsby, Prince Eric's butler [from The Little Mermaid], the current Disney folks had no idea that he had been the voice of Roger in One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961). He had to tell them."

Spirit of the Thunderbird

I had a good weekend. I stayed at my mom & dad's on Friday and went with dad to the Spirit of the Thunderbird powwow at Cahokia Mounds on Saturday. Mom had to work, the boys had an Army group thing (they spend a weekend a month experiencing Army life or something to that effect), and Lar had to work, so it was just the two of us. JR and Drac were going to go with us, but got there soon after we left.

I hadn't been to a powwow in a few years, so it was good to go again. I could probably fit all my Native American blood into my pinky finger, but I liked being able to connect, in a way, to that part of my heritage. They had all sorts of neat art, music, drums and flutes (very tempting!), shirts and other clothing, and a myriad of other objects. I found a t-shirt with the founding fathers on it, and one woman had the design on a totebag, but I didn't see it being sold anywhere, and I didn't ask her where she got it. Oh well. Two t-shirts had us laughing. One was similar to this. We also got a kick out of this one.

I also got to meet Bradford Smith, which was really cool. Dad bought me his third cd Dream Your Dream a few years ago, which I really like. He had a sound system set up with all his cd's, and I got his new cd Spirit of the Wind after he played me a sample of the third track. I've already listened to it a couple times since, and I love it. Forever is my favorite song. ^_^ (Thanks for making great music, Mr. Smith!)

All in all, it was fun. It was really hot and my allergies were killing me, despite the allergy pill I took before we left. Dad wore a t-shirt that he made the night before. He had the name of our tribe (Kaskaskia) on the front, with "Illinwek" underneath, and the meaning underneath that. On the back was a picture of the Piasa bird with the word "Piasa" underneath. So if you saw a guy wearing that shirt, then you probably also saw the cute girl in the red shirt with him. ^_^ If you did, nice to see you there!

Halloween Season Begins 16 September !

Yep folks, the scary season gets a proper kick-off when the haunted houses open that night. Until then, you can get a head start on your costume and decorations at Johnnie Brocks Dungeon (the Hampton location is always ready) and the Spirit Halloween store (when it opens up).

"A person must always chose a costume which is in direct contrast to her own personality".
~Lucy Van Pelt, It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

Updatedness!

According to The Movie Insider, there is a remake of Mad Monster Party in the works, but they have about as much info as IMDb did, so we'll still have to wait. As long as they don't screw it up, then I'll be interested in seeing it.

I finally went and got my permit renewed this week, so the practice should begin soon. Everybody be on the look out for a young woman driving at old lady speed! ^_^

What a day today has been so far. Mira and I were up at 5:30 this morning and couldn't go back to sleep, so we decided to get up and watch the sun rise together. So we got up, grabed a quick bite to eat and some towels, and headed off to the White House Retreat, not far from us. There's a wonderful view of the river there, and it's very peaceful. Unfortunately it was pretty foggy this morning, so we didn't see the sun, but it was a beautiul morning and we did get to spend some time together.

We needed to get some stuff at Walgreens, so we headed there as well. I had been thinking about getting an electric shaver, and finally did that. That being said, it's time for a product review! I bought the Remington Smooth & Silky (model WDF-1100), but thought I'd better check some reviews before I opened it. I found four, and they were half and half, so I figured I'd better see for myself. It has a money-back guarantee, so I could take it back if I didn't like it.

I hadn't shaved in almost two weeks, so I had hair about 1/4 inch long (I know, eww). It has a pop-up trimmer, so I used that first. It can be used wet or dry, so I used it dry. I might try it wet later.
I got the hairs trimmed so that it felt like day-old stubble. So far so good. The foils made quick work on the stubble, and it turned out smooth. There were a few spots that had pant leg creases, so they didn't get totally smoothed out, but all in all, my legs are pretty smooth. I recommend it.

Have a good weeekend!

Oh my crap!

I was being nosy and looked at Amazon to see if they'd have the soundtrack for Mad Monster Party. Well, they did, which is awesome. Then somebody said something about the DVD. Could it be? Yes, it's true! They had it at Amazon! If I could get the two of them together, that would make this year's Halloween complete! I'll have to see if Johnnie Brock's has them there. Oh what happiness if they did!

IMDb has a listing for a movie by the same name scheduled to come out in 2006, but there's not a whole lot of info on it. Matter of fact, they have names of writers, but that's about it. No idea if it's a remake or something entirely different. It will be interesting to see how this develops.

Hollywood mourns the loss of...

Brock Peters, best known for his role of Tom Robinson in the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird, who passed away yesterday at the age of 78 due to pancreatic cancer.
My condolences go to his family and friends during this difficult time.

Then again, maybe not...

I thought that the new rule for renewals and such was an either/or type of thing. I knew I needed proofs of ID, but I thought that you could use either the proof of lawful residence or the proof of identity or the proof of residence. The lady asked me if I had my birth certificate, which I didn't per reason above, so I couldn't get my permit renewed. I guess that's what I get for waiting until the day before it expires to have it renewed. I did have my SS card with me, but fat lot of good that did me. Thank goodness I have to do the lawful residence and identity thing only once. The residence, however, will need to be presented with every renewal. Ick.

But I did get something done today. I got my TB test done, will get the results on Thursday, and will get an appointment made for that physical I need for work. Turns out that I can go to the chiropractic office that Mira goes to for my physical. How cool is that?

Already?

I heard the first commercial of the Halloween season earlier this evening. Haunted houses open next month, and they're rolling the commercials out already.
Happy Scary Season! ^_^

That's it!

Tomorrow I go to get my permit renewed for the last time. I fully intend to not slack off this time around, and hopefully I can get my license by my next birthday. That gives me less than seven months. Hopefully by then I won't be chicken anymore...

Finally figured it out?

Mira thinks he's finally figured out what was wrong with me. I may be lactose intolerant!
No, I don't have gas (well, maybe a little bit) or bloating or cramps. What I have is bad breath, which I get from consuming some dairy products. He read online that it is one overlooked symptom of LI. Basically, a person with LI lacks lactase, the enzyme that breaks down lactose found in dairy products. It ferments in the intestines, gets reabsorbed into the bloodstream and is exhaled out through the lungs. While my breath isn't bad enough that flies drop dead within two feet of me, Mira can smell it whenever he gets too close, which makes kissing not so fun for him.
So we're going to try some Lactaid to see if that will help. It's really meant for the other symptoms of LI, but we read about a woman who says it works for her bad breath. It can't hurt to try!
Wish me luck!

Product and Book Reviews!

Just for fun, let's do some reviews.

Product reviews

First up: Veet Rasera. When I first tried it out, I hadn't shaved in almost two weeks, so my leg hairs were about 1/4 inch long (I know: eew). I bought the Aloe scented one, and it didn't smell too bad, but not too good either. Mira thinks he's allergic to one or more of the ingredients because when I was near him with it on my legs, his throat got tight and he had a horrible headache. I kept it on for the alloted 3 minutes and tested it, but I didn't see a lot of hair gone, so kept it on for the limit of 6 minutes. A lot of hair came off, but there were a couple spots where it didn't do too much.
I showered afterwards, but didn't want to use my loofah with body wash on my legs just in case there was irritation, so I put a little in my hands and rubbed it on my legs and rinsed. In the process I noticed that some of the longer hairs would break off close to the skin. My legs felt like I had shaved two days beforehand. After using the loofah and body wash on my legs the next night, I noticed that more hairs were whittled down. I tried it on my armpits and legs again a week later, but it didn't help much.
It did better than any Nair product I have ever used, but it was like I had shaved regularly, except there was no smoothness after I used the Veet versus a regular razor. It might be good for others, but it wasn't for me.

Next up: Sally Hansen Nail Prisms nail polish (in Purple Diamond). I love this stuff! The color looks great, and I love the prism effect. It almost makes the polish look like it has texture, like a velvety shirt. At least, that's the first thing that came to my mind when I put it on. What amazed me is that after a week, it had only receded near the tips of my nails a bit. No chipping or anything! With just about any other polish I wear, I'm putting on a different color or reapplying after a couple days. I thought it was great, considering I had also washed my hands a lot at work (lots of diapers changed). I really recommend this polish.

Now for the book reviews.

Both books are by Dan Brown. I actually read The Da Vinci Code first. I had read the SparkNotes version, and I liked it enough that I would read it if somebody let me borrow it. So I borrowed the illustrated version from my mom a couple weeks ago, and read it in roughly two days.
I don't know why some people are up in arms about it. I thought it was very good. Good characters, good plot, and it was nice to see the places that he talked about and the different paintings and other forms of art that fill the pages. It beat having to look them up online.
The theories were very intriguing, and you learn something new along the way. I won't say much, since I don't want to slip and spoil anything for those who haven't read it yet. All I can say is I liked this book, and I recommend it.

I also finished reading Angels & Demons in a few days, reading on and off from Saturday until Monday. This book first introduces Robert Langdon, the main character in both TDVC and A&D. This was alsoan illustrated edition that I borrowed from my mom.
Dan Brown knows how to keep you turning pages: by using short chapters with a tidbit at the end, then a longer chapter that explains the tidbit. But even the longer chapters dangle a carrot in front of you and you can't help but keep reading. I was very impressed with everything. Again, I won't say too much for fear of spoiling it for somebody else. Let's just say that it's intriguing, and a good read. I recommend it very much.

Happy trying and reading!

Mira and his mom talked on the way to the chiro today about what we wanted to do car-wise. Originally, we were going to sell our teal Geo to one of Phil's assistants at work, then he was going to buy a new car and I was going to get his red Geo. Milly said that getting our names transfered on the red Geo would be too much hassle, so dad will probably keep his car and Mira and I could get a new car. Seeing as my mom wants to help me and Mira get a new car, we just might do that. Now to learn how to drive... ^_^

My next paycheck is going to be a beautiful one. Not only have I worked four extra hours this week, next week I'll have another six extra hours. For me, this is a big deal since I only work ten hours a week. The center's director asked me to come in next Monday and Tuesday at 2:30, where I'll be where I've been all this week, and at 3:00 the rest of the week, where I'll be with the 8 month - 1 year olds. At least the last three days I'll be right next to my room and can see my babies. ^_^ I was given a form yesterday for a physical to make sure I'm healthy and have some shots up-to-date. I haven't had a physical since before I got married, so I guess I had better get that done, huh?

This weekend sees me at Mira's family reunion. His three brothers live here and his three sisters are visiting. Two sisters brought their families, and one is flying solo. All together we'll have 33 people. (If four of my nephews were here and the other sister were to bring her family, we would have 43 people all together.)
Usually the reunion is in Utah; it's been there for years, since it's easier for most of the others (grandmothers, aunts, unlces, cousins) since they live so close. It was decided that we'd have it here this year, but all but Phil and Milly's kids could make it this year. Oh well, it'll be nice to have a reunion for just close family.

I misses my babies!

Since we have a couple gals on vacation, all this week I've been down the hall instead of where I usually work, and will be there tomorrow and Monday, too. That means that I have been with the 1 - 1 1/2 year olds instead of the 6 week - 8 month olds. It's a change of pace, but I miss my babies.
I've also been asked during this time to get there an hour early, so I've been working 3-6 instead of 4-6. I get there during snack time and help them eat and clean up. We also play with them, then lather them up with sunscreen so they can go outside for a while. The gal that works there leaves at 4:30, so I get an hour and a half (sometimes less than that) with them until their parents come to pick them up. We've been spending that time inside with toys a while, then I've been taking them on a ride down the halls in our bye-bye buggy at about 5:00 or so. They love it and it gives them a chance to get out of the room again.
I realized the other day that my "expertise" with children goes from 6 weeks to four years. At work, I've spent time with the 6 week to one year and a half olds. At church, I'm currently in the Nursery, which goes from 18 months to three years, and I've also done the three to four year old class in the past. I think I'll do okay for a while when we start our own family, at least from six weeks to four years. ^_^ Before and after that, I'll be on my own.

I actually did something to my homepage today. I hadn't updated it since March of last year, and decided to work on it some today. I read the Terms of Use over at Internet Bumper Stickers, and I decided to get rid of my bumper sticker page, since I had a collection of over 25 and didn't get permission to use so many. I also didn't want to transfer them all to Photobucket to get hosted, then put them back up, so I saved only those that I used all over the site, which I will eventually host on PB, just not yet.
I also decided to make Tripod kind of my starting page with links to other networking sites I frequent. I guess I'm slowly bringing the real me out into the open, but not totally. I guess I didn't want to be too scattered around the web. Who knows?Anyway, if you haven't seen my site in a while, mosey on over and tell me what you think. Tell me if I need to lose something, add something, whatever you think, and I'll do what I can.

Today's best quote

While flipping through channels, we landed on an episode of Will & Grace, with Gene Wilder as a guest star (as Mr. Stein). I don't know how Will helped him out, but Mr. Stein said, "I want to thank you from the heart of my bottom..." He paused a second, then said, "Strike that. Reverse it." He even did the hand motion!
And that was the highlight of my day. ^_^

You cover. Recover. You lovely.

Apparently, I talked in my sleep last night, and that's what I said. So Mira, thinking I was still awake, asked me what I said. So I repeated, "You cover. Recover. You lovely."
He said, "What?"
So I replied, "Nevermind!"

The next thing I know, I'm waking up and he tells me we just had a conversation. I'm thinking, how could we have just talked? I just woke up!

Ok, maybe it's not funny to you, but it is to me.

Feelin' extra-crispy

I went to the annual family reunion on my grandma's side of the family (dad's mom), and spent too much time by the river, resulting in some very irritated shoulders and slightly less irritated arms, chest, shins, ears and back. Work today will not be fun. I've been slathered with aloe vera gel since Saturday afternoon, which I wouldn't need if I'd been smart enough to slather on some sunscreen before I went (novel concept). But I didn't think about it, and I didn't think I'd be there long enough to get pink.
What's funny is that you wouldn't have noticed I was burned by looking at my face; my nose is slightly pink, but you'd think I was blushing. Then I stayed home from church yesterday because something I ate didn't agree with me. So I've been in a long-sleeved polyester/lycra-spandex dance shirt and yoga pants since Saturday night since it's light and breathable and covers pretty much all of the burned areas. I've also had to wear a bun so my hair doesn't get in the goop when I baste myself in aloe, which I should probably do again soon. That oughta learn me...
But it hasn't been all bad lately. We switched our offices last Monday, so now his computer is in the bedroom and mine is in the living room. It's nice, since I can go and be on my computer in the living room and not have to wait for him to wake up to use it, which is especially good for laundry day (Monday). And work hasn't been too bad, but not always that great. We only have four babies (Moe, Webby, Tweety, and Strawberry), which isn't too bad. At one point we had five, but the youngest one (at the time, a 6 week old girl named Iris) was only there a few weeks while her dad was working as a teacher. But he has the summer off, so she'll be back in August when school starts up again.
It's nice to have so few babies, but at the same time, they have a tendency to leave early sometimes. On Friday, I had two by myself, and they were gone by 5:00, so I needed something to do for an hour! (I only work two hours a day.) So I took my time closing up my room then helped the gal next door with her last two, and we were out by 5:40, so she took me home. Since Mira and his friend from high school hang out on Tuesdays, I've been hanging out with her on Tuesdays too. I know her from church, and I teach her daughter in the 18 month to 2 year old class there.
Anyway, that's been my excitement for a while. Hopefully things don't go too bad with this burn at work today. The last thing I need is to pick up a baby and have him or her thump on my tender shoulders.

Crazy?

I've recently discovered "blinkies", those cute little snippets of picture and text that now adorn the top of my page. There are thousands of sites dedicated to these tiny wonders: some are people's collections and others are about the people that create them, along with collections of their works.
I was first introduced to them at the message boards on iVillage. Seeing them everyday, they wormed their way into my heart and now I think they're great. The "waiting" one came from Blackhearted Wolf, and the rest are from Pinky Blinkies. I'm tempted to have somebody make me a siggie while I'm at it (colorful signatures using one's name or nickname; some include pictures and/or other graphics).