VAMP'S WORLDVIEW

Bubba says:

2011-08-09T16:15:00.000-07:00

"Ya'll got a pretty mouth" to Warren Jeffs:

I hope he'll be crying like a little girl when his chili ring gets invaded.

He deserves whatever he gets in prison for pretending to be a prophet and molesting little girls.

Sick bastard. Yeah! I hope you rot mother flicker.

Gearing Up for a New School Year

2011-08-09T12:44:00.000-07:00

We've had an enjoyable summer. We just got back from a 3 day Disneyland Trip last Friday, visiting friends from England while at the land of mouse. Then Saturday we went to the Hollywood Bowl to see Hairspray. Harvey Feinstein as Mrs. Turnblad. Drew Carey as Mr. Turnblad. Nick Jonas as Link, Mo Gaffney as Mrs. Pinkleton, Diana DiGarmo (American Idol runner up) as Penny, and John Stamos as Corney Collins. We had a blast. I don't know who the rest of the folks were, but whoever played Tracy was spot on. Her looks and voice were perfect.

School starts soon. I think we're ready. Today we picked up schedules. Halo is cheezed because she asked for French, and they stuck her in Spanish. We'll get that changed soon. Juju's schedule is perfect, she has gym first period; good thing too in this heat here in California.

Now me...let's see now...hmmm, I've had four jobs since last October. So I can get a job, I just can't keep it. Some have not been a good fit, some are out of my control. Like the prison job I had for a few weeks. Govenor Schwartzenegger signed the private contract to reopen a prison as a women's facility, but after training us all, Govenor Brown took the contract away because of our wonderful lack of a budget. I was going to be the Admin. Asst. to the Warden / HR Specialist. There were other reasons that job wasn't going to work out, but that's my business.

Then I got a job as an Office Mgr. for a Saddlery & Feed store...it was way over my head since I suck at numbers. The whole job was A/P & A/R. Not my thing.

Next I got a job at a Stationery Story and I thought it was going to finally be the ONE. After the 4th of July holiday, they let me go. I had only worked there 3 days and I thought it was going well, until they had me on feet at the front register and I complained that I couldn't stand on my feet because I've had 3 surgeries on my ankle. I guess they didn't like that, and I had no idea I would have to do that. My understanding was it was a sit down job doing customer service on the PHONE. Oh well.

Then I got another Office Manager job at an oilwell company. I took it without thinking. I had just gotten back from the doctor, who had given me a shot of prednisone for LUPUS. I was laying down when I got the callback that I had the job. I said yes, and when I started the next day, he told me I'd be working from 7am to 6pm on regular basis. I said, I'm sorry I didn't realize that would be required. I apologized profusely and told him I had just been diagnosed with Lupus, and considering how tired I feel all the time, I didn't think it was going to work out.

When the kids get back in school, I'm going to try and find something part-time again. I need to be a contributing part of the family. We are lucky in the fact my husband makes a decent buck at his job, and it seems stable at the moment.

I miss the folks I use to read quite a bit. I should get back to what I started this blog for, and that would be raging on crazy religious zealots and the like, but I really am just so tired.

Summer

2011-06-14T09:32:00.001-07:00

Feeling a wee bit old now that both my kids are in high school. My youngest started high school this summer, taking health class to get it out of the way. So I now have one Freshman, and one Junior starting this fall. Wow, where did the time go? Considering my age, I should feel lucky....I do have a step son who is 23. But I know the next 4 years are gonna fly and then we'll be empty nesters. I just can't imagine that thought.

I'd really like to enjoy this free time right now, (because I quit that last job, it SUCKED!) but it can't be done sitting here. And the only thing I really need to do, and it's NOT fun and doesn't really give me any kind of enjoyment, is cleaning. The only time it's enjoying is when it's done.

You wouldn't believe how many big ass hairballs are upstairs in our bedroom under the furniture. I dropped some jewelry and saw under my dresser, which hasn't been moved since we've lived here (since 2003). There's such a layer of dust that it said "hello"!. How the heck does it get under there? This is why I don't wear my glasses. If I do, I see a whole lot of things that need to be cleaned.

Okay, okay, gotta go and take care of some of this, and hopefully I feel some satisfaction. Do you think anyone will notice? Ah, maybe it can wait just one more day.

I GOT A JOB!

2011-05-16T11:00:00.000-07:00

Funny isn't it? I thought I'd come back to this blog since I lost my job. I've been away for quite sometime, and the job market SUCKS! We'll this morning I dropped my resume off and they gave me an impromptu interview.

I thought I didn't have a chance because the lady told me her name in the beginning of the interview, and when it was over, I asked, "What's your name?". I left thinking, oh great, I just blew it, I can't even remember someone's name. I even called my husband, whining that I had a great interview, but blew it when I had a memory lapse.

She called me before I even got home. I laughed and told her I thought I'd blown it because I had forgotten her name. She said, "don't sweat it, I do it all the time..." WoW, I'm still in shock.

So, I start tomorrow, just half days for the rest of the week and then we'll see where it goes after Friday.

Jeepers, I can't believe I haven't been here for 2 yrs.

2011-05-13T12:11:00.000-07:00

You turn 50 and it all goes to shit. Just kidding...but in less than a month I'm gonna be 52, and THEN it'll all go to shit. Kidding again...it's been feeling like shit since I quit my job, and in this economy. Shit, it's been shit for about 6 shitty months now.

Shit!

Okay, I think I feel better now..no wait, SHIT! I don't...I still feel shitty.

Did I say "Shit"? Oh, sorry I meant "FLICK". Flick yeah, I said it. HA!

Mother Flicker.

You know, I'm starting to feel better. Seriously? Yes, Seriously. Oh great, now I'm talking to myself.

What does it all mean? I dunno. Oh crap, now I just realized I'm answering myself. Shit, Mother Flicker.

Sang this Song at the Xmas Party Tonite

2009-12-05T00:04:00.000-08:00

Good News, Bad News

2009-10-27T07:55:00.000-07:00

Good NEWS: My job has asked me to start working FULL-TIME, starting this Monday. They wanted be to start yesterday, but I needed time to digest all this. And this is a mixed bag for me, I knew it was possible when I interviewed for the job, they did tell me it would, at some point, go full time. The only thing is, it's not sitting very well with me. My stomach is in knots. I actually called in sick yesterday, but I think that had more to do with some bad chicken than my nerves. I'm feeling a bit out of control since this was hoisted on me, and it has to do with my kids more than anything.

You see, I've been extremely lucky to have a husband who makes a decent buck (side note, his job is still not very secure yet either, no one has bought the refinery yet, and he's still in a limbo state, but still employed), and I've been able to raise our wonderful girls (now in Jr High and High School) only working part time jobs, and perfect ones that would let me be home with them after school.

The thing is, most folks I know would've loved to have had what I had, so I feel like a big ole baby worrying about how I'm gonna handle the change. It's certainly not the actual work part, I do love the company. It's my kids. These are the years they really don't need me as much, but at the same time, they may start getting into mischief when I'm not home.

I also have the questions of how the heck can I get it all done. Again, all the other parents who both work and raise a family, aren't gonna give me any sympathy here. And I don't want it, I just want to know, HOW THE HELL DO YOU DO IT ALL? Cooking, laundry, cleaning, oh, and my dog...I forgot about her. I usually walk her every morning, I don't know how I'm gonna squeeze that in too.

Back to the job, the funny thing is, I asked my company for more money if they wanted me to go full time. They said I would be getting more, since I would be working an extra 10 more hours a weeks. Whoopdedoo. I wasn't thrilled about that either. Our company has a frozen limit on raises of a whopping 3% and my year review is in February, so I'm not gonna be thrill to get an extremely small raise either. But in this economy, I'm freaking lucky to even have a job.

One thing is for sure, I'm getting a gardener who not only cuts the lawn, but does it all. I use to trim the bushes and handle the flower beds, weeding and racking. Nope, not gonna do that anymore, I won't have time, besides I'm just feeling to old to do that anymore.

Okay, now the BAD NEWS, this may very well be my last post. You guys know I don't post that much anymore, since I've started working just part time. The kids hog the laptops when they're home, and I know I've said this before, but I'm on a computer at work all day, and I don't feel like being on one when I get home. So, I bid you all farewell for now. I'll still be lurking, but posts will be far and few between.

Vamp's Worldview OUT.

[EDIT] Oh man, and here's a Scientology fraud case on CNN too, that I don't have time to rant on. I'll just make a comment on the very last line of the article. "I fart in your general direction."

Most Emailed CNN Story this Morning...

2009-10-22T08:03:00.000-07:00

...is an article about billboards promoting reason being posted in New York's subways. Here's the link.

I'm know from living in a very large city that discussing religion is not the same as it is in the small town I live in now. There were so many different groups of faith, that not having faith was a helluva lot easier, because I bet larger cities have a higher population of atheist...I'll have to see if I can find some stats.

I'm just wondering why it's the most emailed post on CNN, not the most viewed, the most emailed. Are the supposed religious right already up in arms about this, possibly planning hitting the NY subways, on October 26th, to tear these out?

It makes me go hmmmmm. I'm sure it won't cause as much uproar as:

A year ago some unease was caused by advertisements that ran inside subway cars promoting Islam. While the ads themselves weren't controversial, they were partially funded by an imam of a Brooklyn mosque who served a character witness for convicted 1993 World Trade Center bombing mastermind Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman.

I think people are more afraid of Islam than they are atheists. What do you think?

One After 909

2009-09-09T19:53:00.000-07:00

Today, 09/09/09, my Jeep turned 99,999 miles. Please ignore the check engine light.

And this day wouldn't be "the day" without The Beatles!

"Sucked" from Joe's Big Blog

2009-08-29T11:34:00.000-07:00

Thanks Joe, this kills me too.

Pics from Pink Floyd Laser Light Show featuring Alan Parsons

2009-08-28T15:37:00.001-07:00

...and a picture that made me think of Green-Eyed Momster's tattoo.

Sup?

2009-08-19T19:25:00.000-07:00

Yep, been busy. I'm on a computer at work everyday and I really don't feel like getting on the "net" when I get home. I'm missing a lot of blogs. One of my friends from the blogs got a postsecret on the website this week. Congrats to them.

Anyway, school is starting this Monday. I got one entering the harrowing part of life called Junior High. The other little vampiress is starting High School and hates having to start all over after being at the top of her game in Junior High. Still, I keep telling her, these will be the best years of your life...then you can have the next best years of your life in college. And with the way she's been rolling, she should get a pretty good scholarship *crosses fingers*. Just four more years.

Me, I still have to download the camera with pics from the Alan Parsons Project laser light show in LA we went to a couple of weeks ago. The band, called "Any Colour You Like" did an awesome job, with Alan doing the show from the "booth". Alan & band took the stage afterward, and sent me back in the way back machine to a song I had completely forgotten about.

I'll also have to post a pic of the t-shirt they had for sale, that looks exactly like Green Eyed Momster's tattoo. I also have a great shot of Alan with his bi-focals on too. Oh well, when I get "around tuit".

Plus I got some pics on that same camera of us having our last hurrah before school starts. All of us went to Pismo Beach and rode horses ON the beach. Pure heaven, yeah, I said heaven, because that's heaven to me. How can we afford to do that you might ask? We had a bitchin' yard sale and sold our useless crap in the garage and made $400. So, a hotel a block from the beach, with a two room suite, midweek: $139/nt. Horseback riding, $50 per person for a family of four: $200. Actually riding a horse on the beach: PRICELESS!

I won't post again, till I download those pics!

ONLY 10 months in Jail for $200,000....Hell YEAH!

2009-07-27T20:02:00.000-07:00

How 'bout this...a pastor from Virgina Beach (where I got married 16 years ago, but on a Navy Base...) is gonna spend ONLY 10 months in jail for pilfering $200 GRAND from insurance scams and blank church checks.

Wow, I would almost do that for that much money...that would pay off our house free and clear. But he's going to hell NOW, right?

Even more funny, this guy has already been convicted for grand theft and burglary in 1994. Now who in the hell would hire this guy as a pastor for a church, when he already has a record for thievery? I'm mean really. Oh, we forgive him, because God gives everyone another chance, blah, blah....

BLAH!

Wedding

2009-07-18T20:25:00.000-07:00

I'm a wee bit nervous...I'm shooting a wedding tomorrow, in the daylight *hisss*. It's my first wedding shoot. I'm okay with it, because it's a backyard wedding, and that's right up my alley, I do love natural light *hisss*. Plus I have an awesome camera, a Sony Alpha 300a, and I invested in a pro flash. But I bet I won't need since it's in the DAYLIGHT. *hisss* But I felt I better have it on hand. I have a tripod and a backup camera, which is my little Canon, which I've taken some masterful shots. So I think I'm set. I'm just really nervous.

If anyone gives a shit, here's my photo blogspot with some stuff I've done, like pets and senior portraits. www.photographybydiverl.blogspot.com

Wish me luck. The easy part is taking the pics, the crap part is processing.

In Islamic theory....

2009-07-13T17:53:00.000-07:00

I saw this today:

In Islamic theory, are spirits that can harass or possess humans and animas and are often said to be motivated by revenge or jealousy.

This was the last paragraph from an article in the Telegraph about a Saudi family who apparently took a "genie" to court.

It's Certainly not the Finger of God...

2009-07-12T09:30:00.001-07:00

...or is it?

A couple of days ago, hubs and I laughed when I pulled out a potato chip that looked like it was flippin' me off.

Yesterday, he made eggs, but this one's yolk broke and it looks like someone's trying to flip me off again.

If I believed in the almighty skydaddy, I would really think he's trying to tell me something?

And Now for Something Completely Different.

2009-07-11T20:40:00.000-07:00

Complaints from Japanese monks from the eighth century Todaiji temple in Nara have prompted a figurine company to take a grinning Buddha with a bulge between its legs off the market.

HN and Associates voluntarily withdrew the Marimokkori character after a request from the temple because the firm didn’t have the temple’s approval of the Buddha’s design beforehand, Adelaide Now reports.

The monks felt that the statuette had an inappropriately large bulge between its legs.

A company representative said they understand the monks’ view that giving a bulge to a Buddha statue is “imprudent.”

The Marimokkori character, which originated in northern Hokkaido island, is a word play on “marimo,” a type of moss ball found in lakes, and “mokkori” which means bulge and is a slang term for an erection.

Stay off your knees, please.

Sucked this from APP.com

As Joe says, "This Kills Me"

2009-07-11T20:20:00.001-07:00

Sucked this from Joes Big Blog.

Wow, I just discovered, I made 300 posts...woot!

This is what really pisses me off...

2009-07-09T21:30:00.000-07:00

....people who use God as a fake shield of morality. Except for this nut job, he's an epic fail when it comes to his lawd tattoo from the tat parlor.

Here's the headline (and the story):

Texas man gets 'Only God can judge me' tattooed on his arm, then skips out on paying bill.

Well, since the only real people "judging" him are the cops and the pissed off tattoo artist, I think it's pretty hilarious, since his tattoo should have said "nobody can judge me". C'mon, he didn't just dash on the tat, he bolted on the lawd.

I know some religious types, who act like little children, will feel compelled to say, ahhhhhh, ummmmm, god's gonna punish you for your sins. When really it's not a question of morality, it's a common sense issue of ethics. Knowing right and wrong, just like kids learn, and god ain't got nothing to do with it.

ONLY I CAN JUDGE ME. Boy, and I do it best or worst...whatever.

Game show to Convert Atheists?

2009-07-05T18:48:00.001-07:00

Surfin' 'round on a Sunday and I just came across this on Rueters. Imagine being on a game show that'll try and convert you from disbelieving in God. Wow. The kicker is the prize:

The prize for converts will be a pilgrimage to a holy site of their chosen religion -- Mecca for Muslims, the Vatican for Christians, Jerusalem for Jews and Tibet for Buddhists.

Geez, I'll bite...what if I pretend to be converted. Does that mean I get a free trip to Tibet? Because I could easily turn Buddhist in a heartbeat for a free trip, y'know.

Oh crap, I still have a chance after reading the last paragraph:

Some 200 people have so far applied to take part in the show and the 10 contestants will be chosen next month.

A team of theologians will ensure that the atheists are truly non-believers and are not just seeking fame or a free holiday.

What are they gonna ask?

Creepy Life Form? WTF is IT?

2009-07-02T09:52:00.000-07:00

I found this on Third Eye Concept (dot.com) What the hell is this?

Funny Quotes About Religion

2009-06-26T16:44:00.001-07:00

I loved the one from Peter O'Toole best!

Funny Quotes About Religion

View more documents from Doina .

HA - Narcoleptic Angels - HA

2009-06-24T21:59:00.000-07:00

Stolen from Joe's Big Blog.

Finding Jesus

2009-06-24T16:54:00.000-07:00

Well bitchin' 'bout religion is way more fun, huh, Infidel? And was that pessimist post for me too? Because I swing between the two, still always trying to be on this side of optimism.

The Cartoon is from Third Eye Concept....there website is about my speed.

Check out the baby who doesn't grow old. Sounds too "Believe it or not" for me. But still extremely interesting in the way of the possibilities for mankind.

YEAH I GOT SICK

2009-06-23T22:39:00.000-07:00

I dunno, I think I got some viral thing. I was thinking maybe it was meningitis. Y'know, stiff neck, bad headache, nausea, ummm, real, real bad. Could've been West Nile Virus, for all I know...just no fever. Of course I tried, just in my head, to blame those nasty ass chemical laden uniforms I had to inventory, for my overall malaise.

I dunno. Today, I'm finally better. I missed a couple days of work, tried to get a doctor's appt., but since I hardly ever get sick, I don't have a general practitioner. I usually just see my OB/GYN. Oh, I just LOVE those appts. *sarcasm*

Yep, stupid huh? A Nurse at the dog park recommended a walk in clinic, and when I called and told them my symptoms (because they asked, duh!) they told me to go to an urgent care. Nope, not gonna do it, I said to myself. That's too expensive, LUCY. An easy $500 for something I can look up on a symptom checker.

Believe me, though, I would have gone, had I had a fever.

Anyway, I was just getting tired of seeing my last post, bitchin' 'bout those dang uniforms, but here I am again, bitchin' 'bout something else. Whatdaya gonna do?

Dirty Work

2009-06-09T08:10:00.000-07:00

It's almost impossible for me to believe I've been at my new part time job for 4 months. For the most part, I've been pretty happy being a glorified paper pusher. The small extra income has been a welcome, since hubs income is slowly being eaten up by rising bills. We are still dealing with the uncertainty of his oil refinery closing.

The thing is, I came close to quiting yesterday.

Yesterday, I had to do the most insulting work in my entire administrative career. You see, I have no problem getting someone coffee, although I haven't had to do that, I would do it in a heartbeat. I would even empty someone's garbage can if asked. That doesn't bother me. What does bother me is having to go thru the dirty, chemical laden coveralls and smocks for an inventory count.

This, I believe, was a one time thing. What pissed me off was my concern for having to tally each and every item clean and DIRTY. I work at a silicone chemical plant. Of course I can't go into what chemicals are used at the plant, but I've seen the list and I did sign a waiver saying I was aware of these chemicals on the premises and that I'm okay with it. Of course I'm okay with it, I work in the front office building, away from those chemicals. I know they are in the air, but not so concentrated as I had to deal with yesterday tallying the stinky smocks and coveralls.

If I wanted to do laundry, I could do that at home. I was insulted that I had to go thru the dirty laundry of the smelly asses that work in the plant. I'll tell ya, my own husband was pretty perturbed that I had to do this when I called him in a snit to vent about it.

My boss came in the room as I was unwillingly trying to complete the task. I had latex gloves on when she walked in and said, wow, it stinks in here. I said, yeah, I'm not really happy about doing this. She said, "What do you mean? I told here I don't feel comfortable handling these chemical laden dirty work wear. It's making me anxious. I didn't want to tell her I was in the midst of having a full blown anxiety attack.

I'll say this, she DID pull someone else from the plant in to help finish the count, because I think she finally GOT IT. But it had already been half done by then. I went home feeling ill at the end of my shift.

Call it psychosomatic if you want, but this morning, I've woken up with a full blown headache and I'm feeling like I want to call in sick today.

Am I out of line on this one? Am I being a primmadonna?

Rest in Peace Koko Taylor

2009-06-03T19:40:00.000-07:00

I just found out Koko Taylor passed away. Bein' a former Chicagoan, this is a great loss to the Blues Community.

My best wishes to her family in their time of loss.

Here's an excerpt about her from The Chicago Tribune:

"Born Cora Walton in 1928 in Memphis, Tenn., Taylor literally got up off her knees to become a blues icon.

Growing up on a sharecropper's farm outside Memphis, young Cora and her three brothers and two sisters slept on pallets in a shotgun shack with no running water or electricity. By the time she was 11, both her parents had died. She picked cotton to survive, and moved to Chicago in the early '50s to be with her future husband, Robert "Pops" Taylor, who died in 1989. She found a job working as a domestic, scrubbing floors for rich families.

She had sung gospel music in church while living in the South, and on weekends would attend the blues clubs on Chicago’s burgeoning South Side scene, the heyday of Chess Records and such stalwarts as Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf and Willie Dixon. She would occasionally sit in and caught the ear of Dixon, who approached her in the early ‘60s about recording one of his songs, “Wang Dang Doodle.”

"I didn't know Willie Dixon from Adam's house cat," Taylor recalled in an interview with the Tribune. "But he says to me, 'I love the way you sound' and, 'We got plenty of men out here singing the blues, but the world needs a woman like you with your voice to sing the blues.' ”

I've had the pleasure of seeing Koko Taylor and Muddy Waters....Please enjoy some "Wang Dang Doodle":

We'll miss you, but we still have your remarkable style to remember forever.

Finding a New Direction

2009-06-02T09:42:00.000-07:00

Yesteday, my big Five-Ohhhh, we were joking around about how next year I'll say this is the first anniversary of my 50th. Then I decided, since my favorite number is 33, I should start saying this was the 17th anniversary of my 33rd birthday.

We had a great time up at the Little Red Lodge, up in the Alta Sierra Mountains. Except, I forgot shoes. Shoes for hiking around the mountain trails. Ugh! The only shoes I had on where the ones I had worn from after work. A kind of flip flop with a kitten heel. Ugh! I still walked around in them, but certainly no hiking. To tell the truth, I wasn't really feeling that good when we went, but I won't go in my, ummm, let's just say tummy problems.

The cabin had quite the selection of movies. And quite the collection of the Monty Python series. The first morning I woke up wayyyy tooo early at 4:30am, made a pot of coffee and watched Python till everyone else got up. Then I was jittery as hell and couldn't take a nap later. UGH! again!

And how 'bout this...when we got home, there was a message from my oldest daughter's 8th grade DC trip coordinator saying we forgot to fill out some form and that she could do it tonite. Meaning on the 31st of May. AHHHH! I thought she was leaving on my birthday, June 1st. Shit, it was a good thing I didn't take the scenic ride home on Sunday. We got home about 1:30pm Sunday and she had to be at school for the bus to LAX by 4:30pm.

We had her packed, for the most part. And to top THAT off, the dress she wanted to wear, that we'd bought a week ago, still had the theft detector on it in the armpit. We had to run out to Kohl's to have it removed. That all worked out.

My baby was gone before I turned 50. She did call me from DC, and she reminded my husband to get flowers sent to my work for my bday, wink wink, thanks Halo.

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

Crap, I gotta get to work, but I wanted to say that I've been fooling around on google, and for some reason I looked up the Urban Dictionary's version of the word "vamp" and found this one to be my reason for being around here:

"vamp"
"intrans. verb: to kill time on the pc by allowing oneself to follow tantalizing distractions, e.g., to google overmuch
A novelist, being interviewed on "Fresh Air", NPR, said that he used to try to compose on his pc but has now returned to writing his drafts in longhand on a legal pad because it was too easy to "vamp" on the pc."

Yet, my time on the internet lately has been sparse, at best. Because, now, I don't seem to have the time, or care to be on a computer, for that matter, since I'm on one at work all day. I think this may just turn into an online journal, I dunno.

Bitching about religous idiots bores me now. I gotta run.

Milestones...

2009-05-27T22:24:00.000-07:00

Eh, I'll feel a wee bit older tomorrow. No it's not my birthday. Yet. That's a few days later, and I don't want to talk about the number 50. No, I'm talking about my babies. My youngest, Juju, is leaving elementary school. She's passing sixth grade, but no graduation. We are getting a limo for her and a few of her friends. Twenty-five bucks a kid for a lime ride, not bad huh? Anyway, still it's sad that I have to say good bye to my little baby girl. You think of any child in elementary school as little. She's growing like a weed and so are her FEET. Size 8? Wow. But, I digress...my oldest daughter, size 9+ in the shoe dept., is graduating 8th Grade tomorrow. Pomp and circumstance abound. She's giving a graduation speech and will be the second one to graduate, she'll follow the class president. She's quite the scholar, and I'm personally in awe of the absorbsion of knowledge, as a matter of fact, I'm envious.

Good bye my little baby elementary school girl. And say, HELLO to my Junior High student.

Good bye my Junior High 4.0 young lady, and HELLO to my new High School Freshman.

I love you both more than you'll EVER freaking know.

We're cramming a lot in this weekend. Graduation tomorrow, and I get to take my first paid day off to go. Then I should make it too see the youngest one do a singing talent show. And after school, lots of pics when she and her friends get in a limo.

Friday, I'm celebrating my "birthday weekend" up in the mountains at a nice cool cabin for a couple of nights. Did I mention it was 101 today? It should be a weeee bit cooler up there, I hope. *crosses fingers*

I'm still thinking of going whitewater rafting for the big 5-Oh. May not be able to squeeze that in, but gotta do it sometime while I'm, ummm, OLD!

Monday, my real stinkin' d-day, my baby, (the oldest one, she'll still be my baby forever, y'know) is leaving for Washington DC for a week. *sob*

And thanks Joe's Big Blog (too lazy to add link, he's in my sidebar) for your lovely pics on your DC trip, it's a great preview for what she has to look forward to seeing.

Happy Summer, here it is...and it's HOT!

Adam Lambert is hiding...

2009-05-19T22:01:00.000-07:00

... a big fat black women in his body. And I mean that in a good way. You talk about diggin down deep into the guts, or some would say "soul", with a powerhouse voice, shit that boy can sing.

Yes, me and the girls watch American Idol. I absofuckinlutely loved Adam Lambert's version of Mad World, originally done by Tears for Fears. It was redone, by Gary Jules for the movie Donnie Darko. I've never seen the movie, but I love Gary's version too.

Aww, I just had to add my two cents on it. Good Luck Adam.

New 47 Million Old Ancestor Found

2009-05-19T08:43:00.001-07:00

Before I get into that, has anybody watched the "Life After People" series on History channel. It shows how the world would exist after people, and only if people, for whatever reason, no longer existed. It shows in time lapsed animation how buildings would be enveloped in greenery. Or how they won't last more than 300 years without humans to do maintenance.

I've always said, who's to know we haven't developed largely at some point in time and then it all just disappeared. I mostly thought about this after Sept 11th, when those buildings came crashing down, the equipment etc., like phones, computers and desks, were just obliterated. Nothing left.

Then I watched the Life After People series. It states almost nothing man-made will survive more than 300 years, except some carving in a large exposed granite mountain in Georgia, called Stone Mountain, which has a carving of horse riding famous people of our early years here, with Jefferson Davis, Jackson and Lee. It will last, pretty much, forever. Then I thought, when we are all gone, future intelligent life finds it, they'll think, we thought those people were Gods.

Yeah, yeah, I know, the pyramids, and some other things have been hanging around for longer, but that's because we have humans to do the upkeep. Or they were made out of an indestructible material.

Anyway, I'm rambling, back to the point. This came out today about "Ida" an early ancestor of ours from 47 million years ago. She was found at the bottom of a shale pit in Germany. What seems remarkable to me, are the bones very similar to our own:

"Opposable big toes and nails rather than claws confirm that the fossil is a primate, and the presence of a talus bone in the foot links Ida directly to humans."

So that defuncts my idea of intelligent humans having modern conveniences a millenia ago, because, well, hello, we hadn't evolved yet. But it does destroy creationism, yet again, kind of like Lucy did. But we people of reason know, religious groups just put there fingers in their ears and go "lalalalalalalalalala".

It takes a millenium to evolve.

National Day of Prayer

2009-05-07T07:12:00.000-07:00

Pray? PFFFT! They should all say, "Let me THINK about it", because that's all you're really doing.

Actions still speak louder that prayers, but, let me give it a try. I "pray" someone finds my wallet that I lost last Friday with my ss# number and credut cards in it.

I "pray" that someone won't steal my identity, because I also had an ID type birth certificate from So. Carolina in it. I, stupidly left it in there, why I don't know. C'mon folks, "pray with me". Friday, I contacted EVERY possible agency. I even did a police report online and a report with the FTC I put a security alert/freeze on all three credit reporting agencies, called and cancelled my cc cards. I even had the bank review their tapes to see if I left at the "deposit station"...it wasn't there.

So I PRAY it was just some kid who took/found it when I might have left it at the drug store. I had gone there right before the bank. I've been so distracted.

I "pray" that I won't be so distracted anymore. (*ohh look, a squirrel*)

I "pray" that my best friend from the dog park will go to that special place that atheists go when they die. He passed away on Sunday.

To add to my drama, my mother is considering moving from Texas to California. She said she would put me back in the will if I took care of her in her old age. So, for that one, I "pray" Postsecret.com puts the postcard I mailed out Tuesday on their site for Mother's Day this Sunday. I really "pray" she understands there's no amount of money in the world for me to ever trust her, since I feel she's trying to emotionally blackmail me.

Another Major Step in Life

2009-04-22T19:14:00.000-07:00

Today, I went to register my oldest daughter in High School. I think I was more excited than she was. Even more funny, I was constantly watching my husband for signs of nostalgia, since he went to the same high school, almost 30 years ago. *WHEW* I actually broke out in song:

Memories,
Like the corners of my mind
Misty water-colored memories
Of the way we were
Scattered pictures,
Of the smiles
we left behind...

All of a sudden my daughter is a walking a block ahead of me.

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

News on my friend is not good. He's in critical condition with a breathing tube and still under sedation. They told me he's not getting worse, but he's not getting any better either. I broke down, and lost it. Hw is a well educated man, and an atheist too. He was an officer in the Navy with John McCain, on the same ship even...he use to say he didn't like him AT ALL. I'll try and visit him this weekend, so I can get his brother's phone number, who lives in NY.

Hug your loved ones...you just never freaking know when life will take a weird turn like this. We were just laughing and singing show tunes in the ER a couple of Fridays ago and now, I just don't know.

Absence due to Illness

2009-04-21T19:32:00.000-07:00

...not that anyone cares...but I've had the flu. Hit me like a ton of bricks, right before Easter. I had to take a friend to the ER the Friday before, and that's a guaranteed wait of 6 hours minimum. And also a guarantee, that if you weren't sick going in, you certainly will be coming out.

Yes, a week before that, I was braggin' how I hadn't been sick yet, and this was the first year that I've made it thru without a cold bug. *knock on wood* But nope, didn't make a year, oh well.

To top all this off, I found out a dear friend I walk with at the dog park has AML. He's the one I had to take to the ER, to get some antibiotics before he went to Cedar Sinai to have his chemo, the Monday after Easter.

His is the type of leukemia you can happen to get if you survived Lymphoma from using intravenous cytoxan after 3-5 years. How fucking crappy is that? I found out Thursday, when I thought he'd be back from his 4 day chemo session, that he never had it and was instead in the ICU with probably the same gawd awful flu bug I had, and it's gotta be even worse for someone without an immune system. He was heavily sedated with meds, only so he wouldn't see what he was all hooked up to, with tubes and wires. That was the report I got from this friend anyway. He said he thought he was going to die, he looked so bad.

And now, I sit and still don't know what's going on with my friend, and no call back from his companion, and I left a message today. I'm afraid to call the hospital...I know that's silly, but I'm just plain scared to hear what's going on. So I sit and wait.

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

This afternoon, trying to keep occupied, I had to giggle about when I came home and changed outta work clothes and put on a clean t-shirt, that happened to be stained. I said to myself, looking in the mirror..well that's good, I can't get it any worse...and left it on and went down stairs. I had to pull out some generic "PAM" cooking spray, from over the stove, and it, for some reason, spills oil all over my shirt and my face. Not to mention, after that, I pulled out some country style ribs from the crockpot, and splashed the "juice" on my now even more stained shirt.

If there were a God, that was a time I thought he was messing with me for making a snarky comment about having to wear an already clean stained shirt. Nope, just a coinkydink...that is the randomness of life.

'

In the words of Kirk Douglas...

2009-04-09T08:08:00.000-07:00

A couple years back I had to go see a ankle surgeon in LA for a 2nd opinion. On the way back home I stopped at Westwood Memorial Park Cemetery, right in the middle of lala land. It's literally surrounded by buildings and quite small. My reason, I want to finally see Marilyn Monroe's grave (we share a birthday). Which I did, and I have a pic of it somewhere...ANYWAY, I also got to see Kirk Douglas --- ALIVE --- visiting his son Eric's grave. I observed him from a distance...while standing by legend Jack Lemmon (grave).

I read this this morning on CNN about Kirk Douglas' One Man Show. At the age of 92, he's survived a helicopter crash, a couple of broken knees, and a stroke, he reflects on his life:

CNN: I was surprised at how much humor there was in the show. One of the lines that got laughs was when you described talking to an old actor friend of yours. You told him, "I'm doing a one-man show," and he said ...

Douglas: "Is there any part in it for me?" You know, actors are pathetic. We are desperate, you know, and an actor -- instead of like a writer, you can criticize their writing, an actor, you criticize him. It's very personal. It makes you very vulnerable.

CNN: You speak of a long life and of your brushes with death, and you say it in a humorous way in the show, like, "does God hate me?"

Douglas: I have so many things that were happening to me: the stroke, the helicopter crash, a broken back, I broke two knees, then I thought maybe God is mad at me.

CNN: But in all seriousness, did you take any of this as a message from above?

Douglas: Well, I don't know. I have studied religion, and I have concluded that there is some power. We don't understand it. Nobody really saw the Pearly Gates or hell.

But I feel affected by nature. If I look at the trees, or the other day we got a bouquet of roses, and there were white roses tinted red, and I thought, "How does that happen?" So if you look at nature, you begin to think that there is some power behind everything. I don't know what it is, and I don't think anybody knows. You either have to believe that there is, or you don't.

CNN: You've had a really interesting spiritual journey in your life, and you have explored your Judaism much more as you got older.

Douglas: I studied Judaism a lot. I studied religion in general, and I have never imposed my Judaism on my kids. They are what they want to be. I think ... you must care for others. That's the correct religion, I think. You have to learn eventually to care for other people. My mother said once to me -- and we were very poor -- but my mother said, "A beggar must give something to another beggar who is worse off than he." And that has stuck with me. ... If people give whatever they can give to help other people, we will solve all of the problems of the world. ...

If only more people got "it". I'm the same way about nature. I'm not sure I believe in any power though. But, I am most certainly amazed at the wonderment in nature.

The REASON my Daughter doesn't believe in GOD

2009-04-03T08:21:00.000-07:00

Halo showed me this video and said, this is why I don't believe in God....

It's No Effing Miracle...C'mon, Really?

2009-04-02T19:59:00.000-07:00

Okay, have to "betch" about the story of the guy who got shot in the head "gangland style" or "execution style" (per media reports) and survived because a priest gave him a "special" Pope John Paul rosary.

Here's my first problem: This priest, Rev. Art Snedeker, had only so many rosaries blessed from Pope John Paul. Why would he give his LAST rosary to a guy who's been shot in the head. Common sense would say the dude's a goner, I mean, c'mon, really. And then, when somehow, the doctors save this guy, the priest wants to give credit to a magic necklace, the pope and God.

The 2nd issue I have is, what about all those other people that got the "jeebus beads"??? Where were their miracles? Why didn't we hear about those? Oh, that's right, we aren't suppose to question why God does the things he does. This pick and choose crap is for the birds.

Can we go on now or what? Really this whole story comes back down to the sainthood of John Paul. Not about the guy who got shot in the head or how his friend died that night...where was his miracle....UGH!

Bakersfield Tops the list for Crazy Sex Laws

2009-03-27T19:15:00.000-07:00

Stole this one from "The Californian" blogger...amazing how Bakersfield is numero uno:

Laws are supposed to protects us, but when the government decides to get in our pants, some crazy stuff goes down!

Here are some actual sex laws truly for the record books!

1. In Bakersfield, Calif., if you're going to have sex with Satan, you've gotta use a condom. And definitely come up with a safe word!

2. Poking a porcupine is illegal in Florida. But apparently that law didn't go far enough. Just a couple of weeks ago, State Sen. Nan Rich submitted a bill that would ban peeps in the Sunshine State from being able to stick it in where the sun don't shine on any animal.

3. In Minnesota, it's illegal for any slime bucket to hook up with a live fish. Don't worry disinterested wives, a cold fish is still A-OK!

4. In Dyersburg, Tenn., it is illegal for a lady to call a gentleman for a date. Clearly no one in that town is getting laid!

5. In Merryville, Mo., no woman can waste her natural waist. Wearing a corset is illegal because "the privilege of admiring the curvaceous, unencumbered body of a young woman should not be denied to the normal, red-blooded American male." No wonder it's called the "Show Me State!"

6. It's illegal to purchase sex toys in Alabama. This law can beat it!

7. In Washington state, it's totally legal to eff an animal like an animal, as long as it weighs less than 40 lbs. What, fatty farm pets don't deserve some love?

8. While most would argue that this is place where the people get screwed many different ways, in Washington, D.C., engaging in any sexual position other than missionary is illegal.

9. In Massachusetts, you cannot recklessly consummate your love with a rodeo clown while the horses are still around. But seriously, there's a reason for the expression "hung like a horse." I doubt the animal would get jealous!

10. The biggest Internet-porn-consuming state, Utah, gets freaky in its laws too. Sex with an animal is totally cool, unless you're doing it for cold, hard cash! Hey, why buy the cow when you can have the milk for free!

I think I've had sex with Satan once...but it was in Chicago.

Chrissie Hynde

2009-03-25T15:41:00.001-07:00

A quick pic from last weeks concert...The Pretenders...I got the playlist from some wanker, I believe he was either the lighting or sound guy. He hailed from London, talked with him a bit after show, and mostly about our own kids.

Waited after the concert to try and catch Chrissie...she never came out...meaning I only waited til 1AM (an hour and a half after the concert) to try and get an autograph before I gave up. I'm a working girl now and it was on a "school" night...gotta get mys sleep. Oh well, great show, fab date nite with hubs too.

Pope Visits Africa - Says Don't Use Condoms

2009-03-18T08:20:00.000-07:00

All I can say is: IDIOT -- Although I could rant for hours, I gotta go to work.

It's Sad There's No Time Anymore...

2009-03-16T22:01:00.000-07:00

Busy, in a good and not so good way. The new "day" job, it's great, except to me there's not enough work to do. Whoopdedoo. I still gotta be happy about having a job in the first place.

Now, my "sideliner" photography gigs are keeping me really busy. It's not taking the photos, that's the easy part --- it's the processing, the touch-ups, etc. They can be very time consuming and monotonous, so no time to "catch-up".

Why the heck am I using gratuitous quotation marks? I "dunno".

Maybe it's for "Halo", my daughter, she turns 14 tomorrow on St. Patrick's Day. I have her triple fudge cake baking in the oven, right now, at 10pm....because that's the only time I had available.

We are heading to Primm, Nevada this weekend, only because the freaking hotel rates are the lowest I've ever seen in my life....can you believe a room rate of only 5 fucking dollars "mid week" in Primm at Buffalo Bills? It's on the border of California and Nevada. On the weekend it's $27/night, so we're getting two rooms. Now, mind you, it's only a two star hotel, but it has a roller coaster ride attached to it and other "amusements". And kids don't care, they just want to go out of town.

The only thing that really sucks about going anywhere in Nevada, though, is the smell of cigarettes. And I use to be a smoker...it's just disgusting.

Perfect for Halo and her friend Tiara (yes..really). They have an extremely nice outlet mall. And isn't that what all teenage girls want anyway. Plus, it's a short drive to Vegas, where the room rates where too much for my blood. There must be something going on there, I haven't seen the rates that high, either that or we just booked too late. The girls only request was to "hit" M&M World...done...no problem...can mommy go to The Venetian and have a gondola ride, maybe?

Anyway, back to my Halo...she was my breech baby, and of course I remember it like it was yesterday...but shit, I really can't believe it's been 14 years. She's an outstanding girl, straight "A" student, cheerleader, and she was just picked as the only girl in her school for an award called the Juliet Thorner Award for her all around "coolness"...lol. She rocks!

Happy Birthday "Halo"!

Trying again - TEST - Warholish Work

2009-03-09T19:51:00.000-07:00

This is the dog of a friend of mine from my morning walks at the dog park. Sammie is a Portugese Water Dog. I took a picture of Sammie and made this Warholish image. I'm giving it to my friend for his birthday.

Funny too, this is the "Presidential Dog" pick for the Obama girls. They'll love this dog because of its sweet disposition.

Anyway, just sharin' is all....

Stuff

2009-03-09T16:12:00.000-07:00

Not much going on, I love the new job -- today I've been there a month. So far so good. Husband still has his job, but we're not out of the woods yet...but really liking the extra money. Mama may start gettin' her nails done (that'd be me).

Cheers to you all.

Religulous by Bill Maher

2009-02-28T10:30:00.000-08:00

Finally, I saw the Religulous movie by Bill Maher. In my last post, I mentioned how my first copy was warped from the video store, probably from some xtian nutjob, taking a lighter to it. I took it back and got another copy, no big whoop.

Anyway, there were some interesting points in it. Starting off with telling us a whopping 16% of the nation consider themselves non-religious. But that doesn't necessarily mean they don't all disbelieve in a deity. Some people don't like the idea of a dogmatic church, but still believe in a high power, right?

Bill hits all kinds of religious places, from the truck stop church, made inside a tractor trailer, to the "holiest" of lands in Jerusalem, to Muslims and Mormons and digging into Scientology, most of these folks follow THEIR religion blindly because they've been indoctrinated from birth.

One of the funny moments was in the truck stop trailer church. This one guy use to be a Satanist turned Christian. He said he used to have lots of money and women and he gave all that up for the Lawd. Bill thought about this aloud when he was filming in his van, what could possibly be wrong with having lots of money and women.

My favorite part was when he went to the "Holyland Experience", in Orlando, Florida, and talked with "Jesus". He had some profound comments on his take on God. He said trying to explain God was like trying to explain how a TV set works to an ant. His analogy of the trinity: father, son, and holy ghost, saying that water can be steam, liquid, and solid ice, was kind of thought provoking.

He later goes to Salt Lake City, where the "Mormon Police" throw him off the lawn of the ornate temple there. One guy walked by while they were filming and yelled, "Tell is like it is Bill!".

Still another thing that struck me odd, again, was how blindly people follow THEIR religion like sheep, and without question. They won't even entertain the idea that so many other deity figures from days of old, BEFORE Christianity, were also virgin births and/or supposedly born on December 25th too. Like, Mithra, Horus, Dionysus, and Krishna...etc. Some have also been crucified and risen. The looks on their faces were priceless.

Hilarious was his interview with an Orthodox Jew, who kept saying to Bill, "Let ME finish...", because Bill kept refuting what was being said about Judaism. Another cool moment was while outside the Vatican, where a Vatican priest, who looked like he had had a couple a vinos, called biblical tales "stories." I liked that guy.

It was what I thought it would be...it showed how people throw up their hands to the lawd, without giving it a second thought or sound reasoning. One guy said, "What if your wrong?" and Bill shoots back, "What if you are?", then there's silence.

See it if you want...some of the comical subtitles and old movie clips thrown in for humor are totally hilarious too.

Majorly Pissed OFF

2009-02-24T07:54:00.000-08:00

This morning, I go to work at 11am, that part is great...I can finally watch the Bill Maher movie "Religulous". I was going to watch it on Saturday, but didn't get around to it. Wouldn't you just know it, I pull out the movie, and put it in the player...AND IT WON'T PLAY, the CD player gives me an error message. I take it out and IT'S WARPED. Like someone lit it with a lighter.

Leisure morning ruined.

I call me husband and tell him about it and then notice the other movie we rented is gone too. He said he took it to work...it's been slow...hardly anybody's there since all the layoffs. He was sweet enough to bring it back for me to watch. So here I sit watchin' Pineapple Express. Ackkkkk!

I should've gone to the grocery store instead. My priorities are a little mixed up lately....not use to the new routine quite yet.

OY!

2009-02-21T10:30:00.000-08:00

Last weekend I went with a friend to Los Angeles to get his dog groomed. Apparently he doesn't think there's a good enough groomer here in town...whatever. Anyway, when we got to the LA area, we headed thru an extremely Orthodox Jewish part of town to get to the dog groomer called Pour Le Pooch. Lots of Jewish men in traditonal dress heading to synagogue.

After dropping the dog off, we ended up having lunch on Sunset Blvd. at a restuarant called "LePetit Four"...nothing fancy, but very expensive...okay probably not that expensive for LA. My chinese chicken salad was about $18 bucks, but it was very delicious.

When we were done with lunch we head back to pick up his dog back thru the jewish neighborhood. I start laughing hysterically at the billboard wall with what I thought was the word "OY". My friend said what's so funny? I said, look! Look it says "OY", as in "oy vey", in the jewish area. He said we're not in the jewish neighborhood anymore and is says "JOY"!

Little did I realize there was a building covering up the "J" in the Pepsi campaign ad...I took a picture of it anyway...for my own amusement, and now yours too, I hope.

Oh, umm, did I mention I had had a couple of bloody marys with lunch and this was why I was so easily amused? Okay, so now you know. I *AM* very easily amused.

And this last pic was on the side of a stoplight wire box. Obama as Superman advertising an art show. WAY Cool! Although, I don't think he's saving the world, just yet.

And this is exactly what I've been working on this morning. My friend wants me to do a pop art photo of his dog...I'll probably post that another day, when I can get it all figured out.

Who's got the time?

Okay, I HAVE to Comment on Octumom

2009-02-20T20:17:00.000-08:00

Besides being extremely pissed at the fertility doctor for implanting eggs in a woman who already had a bunch of kids, I'm even more annoyed by what I just read about her dad on the Oprah Winfrey show.

"You know, she needs help," he tells Winfrey, defending the Web site that was recently launched to support her 14 children. "I say to everybody now, people, we do need help. Do not punish my daughter for what she had done and do not punish the babies, because they were given by God."

NO, NO, NO....these babies were NOT gifts from God. If there were a God, his "will" was for her to not have anymore kids, that's why she had to find a wacky quack of a fertility doc to impregnate her. It was THEIR WILL, not friggin' God's.

*RANT OVER*

TMZ Leaked Photo of Rihanna

2009-02-20T07:07:00.000-08:00

HERE'S THE LINK of the photo of a beaten Rihanna, by supposed boyfriend Chris Brown.

The reason I bring this up is because both my kids listen to their music. I love "Disturbia", although I've never seen this video, nor have my children, I believe -- it is kind of disturbing. Anyway, my oldest daughter (about to turn 14 on St. Pat's Day), for some reason or another, *HATES* Chris Brown. This was BEFORE this happened. Did she have some kind of intuitive reasoning for disliking him? Here's my point. He does a song about Doublemint gum, and she loves the gum. Again, before this happened, she would spit out her Wrigley gum when he came on TV to do the ad. That's how much she vehemently disliked him. I've asked her why, she said I don't know, I just don't like him.

Well, I HATE him now too, especially after this incident. Sorry to my oldest daughter for mistrusting her intuition.

Hmmmm, What to DO with MY First Paycheck

2009-02-19T09:06:00.000-08:00

Well, I get my first paycheck tomorrow. It'll only be a weeks worth of pay. And I'm rubbing my hands together in anticipation of what to spend my "mad" money on.

We're still on the edge with Hubs job...so far, it looks like he's staying on as a skeleton crew. *whew* So any mad spending is kind of dampened by the need to save, just in case.

But I'll entertain some ideas. Selfishly, I'd love to get a mani-pedi. I can count on my hands how many times I've had this done...it is a real treat, and here it's only about $30 bucks for both...so I may just do that.

What I want (need) most is my dog to be washed by the mobile pet groomer. I use to take her up to Petsmart, for a whopping $50 bucks. But I always hated that they would tell me she'd only be in there for a couple of hours, then four hours later they'd call and say she was done. The Mobile Pet Groomer (Moondoggie's) is $65. AND, it's done right in front on my house. My dog, Ginger, is literally done in an hour. Love that!

Next, I have a great cheap carpet cleaner "dude" (the last time I used him...maybe his rates have gone up, I dunno), and I'd love to have my carpets clean. Hell, I'd REALLY, REALLY love new carpet, but we're not quite there yet. *dreams - someday*

I feel pretty lucky in general, I want for nothing. I'm pretty content with what we have, and I like the simple life. I, of course, will probably blow some money on my kids, since that brings me the greatest joy. Maybe we'll go shoe shopping at the mall. For the record, I HATE mall shopping, but they love it. Teens, what more do they want than to go shopping at the mall?

My husband and I have one credit card each with a fair amount of balance on them. This morning we discussed having a contest to see who can pay their balance off first. We didn't discuss what the prize would be for doing so. (ideas?)

Once things feel safe again, we are definitely going away, maybe a weekend a month, with some of my money. That would be way cool.

Crap, the buzzer on the dryer just went off, gotta get it our before it all wrinkles. Hope to catch up more with you all when I can. Where's my damn free time?

For Infidel...Space Junk

2009-02-15T12:55:00.000-08:00

Well, what I was already afraid of is already HERE. We' were just talking about this. I just never knew it was this many.

The image is stunning....and all I can think to say, again, is Sha Doobie, Skylab, Skylab...

Then this was also in the news today. A flash in the sky and a sonic boom. Satelites colliding.

This all started when Infidel showed me THIS - Climate Engineering. He reminded me that the moon hasn't fallen out of the sky yet, so we SHOULD be safe.

Happy Darwin Day

2009-02-12T21:28:00.000-08:00

Would love to someday visit Shrewsbury to see the birthplace of Darwin. Learn more about that here.

For some more fun, check out Devolve Me, upload a pic and see yourself in a more "natural" light.

Here's "ME"...ah, ah, ah! But click on the "different types of man" to see other perspectives. Wow!

Snow on the Grapevine

2009-02-11T19:36:00.000-08:00

I think it's a real hoot to see palm trees and snow in the same picture...click the pic for a closer view...if you like.

The Job

2009-02-11T08:15:00.000-08:00

It's all good, so far. The last two days have been orientation. Today, I get down to work. I like it, there's some nice people there and I'm still pretty nervous --- I've already disconnected someone on the phone...it'll come eventually and they're so understanding, all of them telling me about when they first started.

Gotta run...it's so hard to catch up on everyone else's blog.

I've Been Everywhere Man...

2009-02-08T15:20:00.000-08:00

This is a map of all the states I've been too, so far, in my lifetime. I did this just for shits and giggles...I didn't realize I'd been to so many states. I've lived in five different states, and traveled quite a bit, as I see really see now. Wow!

create your own personalized map of the USA

Ahhh, it looks like it rolls off my page...oh well, I'm leaving it. I haven't been to the upper states like New York, or Vermont etc. Just the lower states, starting with DC.

LAST DAY OF VACATION

2009-02-06T08:59:00.000-08:00

The house is quiet, no husband, no kids...just me and the dog, and the cat. Solitude, my ole friend, it will be awhile before I see you again. *sob*

It's blood letting Friday at my husband's job. They're laying off quite a bit of staff today. He saw the meeting's admin. list on Wednesday for the meeting today -- it'll probably be - the hand shake from the boss -- and hopefully they'll get some severance pay. Thank the FSM, he's not on that hit list. He gets to keep his job --- for now --- and that's whats making it so emotional (not something I see too often) for him. He's having to see these good people, he's worked with for quite awhile, leave the company. *sigh*

Anyway, here's my cheezy mug and new vintage Gucci purse. I'm usually not into "labels", I wear what I like, but sometimes, just having something of quality is nice, I guess. The stitching on this purse is impeccable. I've never spent so little to have a thing of this kind of quality. Heck, I've spent the same $25 bucks on a purse from Target. But, instead, I got this one, with quality workmanship.

Now the mug, don't ask what made me buy that, it was purely impulsive. I had seen it at another table at the same antique Woolworth's store last week. I'll probably wait till the end of the week to bring it in, if ever...depends on the sense of humour these chemists and scientists have. Yep, I'm going to be working at a silicone chemical plant. That's safe, right? Silicone is inert, right?

So we're all hangin' in there. I'll try to keep posting, hopefully once a week..and maybe get back on topic of finding the humour in religious atrocities. I've strayed away, 'cause I just haven't cared lately. I haven't wanted to waste my breathe. And there's some doosies out there. And I'll try to catch up on everyone else's blogs too.

So I end this post with what's gotten stuck in my head this time...thanks to my husband saying he thinks the new mug looks like Dr. Zaius.

WOOOOoooooooOOOOT!

2009-02-04T17:36:00.000-08:00

I got the fucking job! I start MONDAY! WOOT! *does happy dance* PLUS, out of 30 people interviewed, I was the chosen one....lol. I can't believe I passed those funky Wonderlic tests.

I also bought a cheezy coffee mug for the office after I heard the news. It's a, ummm, a pompous monkey head, in a suit....and now I have this song below stuck in my head...c'mon, c'mon, c'mon...

Plus, a couple of weeks ago at that same Woolworths, there was a cheap vintage Gucci purse that I've wanted, but couldn't plop down the $25 bucks for it. We're in the save every penny mode, but I'm justifying it with, y'know what, I deserve it...pictures to share soon.

It's Snowing In England!

2009-02-02T07:57:00.001-08:00

PFFFFT! Global warming, huh? It's freaking snowing at Stonehenge.

Bad News and it ain't about Ted Haggard

2009-01-28T21:11:00.000-08:00

You see, I won't waste my breath discussing scum of the earth like that tool Ted Haggard. He just ain't worth my time and I'm already sick of hearing about him.

So anyway, I thought my job interview went well. I had to take the "Wonderlic" test, just like I thought I would after hearing "verbal and quantitative skills testing". I did okay, I think. I do suck at math, like algebra AND fractions, so I stumbled a bit on that. The interviewer told me, before the test, to not sweat it...she said, we all use calculators around here...so that made me feel at ease.

I won't find out until next week sometime - cross your fingers for me, I'm really interested in this job, it sounds like a great company, that is actually expanding in this economy...must have something to do with the healthcare end of it...that never dies, even in a crappy economy, right?

BUT, here's the real bad news from the company my hubs works for:

The Big West company announced late Wednesday afternoon it is, "winding down operations" at its refinery on Rosedale Highway.

Big west filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization a month ago.

A statement from the company said it has been trying to buy crude oil to refine into gasoline, but has been unable to find a steady source

The company said it still hopes to find a source of crude, but in the meantime has to shut down the refinery.

The statement says, "We hope this suspension will be short lived ... And we're working very hard to find a solution that will allow resumption of operations."

This sucks...he may get to stay on while it "shuts down", but, I'm not counting on it....the first things to go with be cable and internet, of course...so if I'm not around, you'll know why. Bye.

It's Official: I'm OLD!

2009-01-27T08:25:00.000-08:00

Yep. Got bad news in the mail. I knew it was coming. I have heard tales of folks getting this exact same thing and how painful it was at first. But I didn't think mine would be coming this soon. I got my first piece of mail from AARP.

How do you say you laughed and cried all at the same time? I'm not even 50 yet. And you can freaking bet I'm certainly not counting down the days like I did when I wanted to turn 21, either.

Let's not talk about that, okay?

Switching gears...the other thing that have been bugging me lately is my kids are starting to kick my ass in Scrabble. I shouldn't say "starting", because my oldest has been kickin' my tooty at it for a long time. Either I get the crappiest letters (a vowel movement) or the brain can't form five letter words anymore. Eh, I'm happy for them...they get the satisfaction of beating their mom at a good game.

Aren't these cute! Cheez-it Scrabble. Smart marketing pointed directly at folks like us...they're all GONE!

I try to keep foods like this to a minimum. Y'know, the salt, etc...but, on some occasions, it's all good. I've made my kids take out sandwich bags and put in a serving sizes for years. It avoids them from eating straight out of the box. When they're gone, they understand that they've had a full serving and that should be enough for anyone. *mom comes down from pedestal*

Tomorrow is the job interview. I've been doing online Wonderlic quizzes and I'm not that uptight about it anymore. AND, I'll be honest here, I'm sure there's someone out there that really and truly needs this job more than I do. Someone struggling to get by.

My main purpose for wanting this job is to get the hell out of the freaking house. I'm not making any money doing freelance photography right now and the extra coin would be great for things like braces and saving for their college. The other reason is, one I really don't want to dwell on. Is my husband's job going to go because the refinery he works at has to close it doors, after possibly not being able to come out of Chapter 11? When I think about that, I think I really do need this job, just to help out, in case...

So I shift gears and think of other things. I've been thinking about some of the jobs I've had in the past. I'd like to play a game, if you will...I'm going to list a few of these jobs, from the, ummm, almost 50 years surfing this big ball of a planet. The catch...see if you can tell which one's a lie out of all these.

In no particular order...

1) Auto Parts Delivery Driver

2) Bartender

3) Commercial Voiceover

4) Model for print ad campaign

5) Waitress

6) Security Guard

7) Magician's Assistant

8) Secretary

9) Travel Agent

10) Freelance Photographer

Duggars on The View in the Morning

2009-01-21T22:30:00.000-08:00

And you know I'm gonna have to watch it. I never, ever wished for two baseball teams when I thought about having kids. Geez, how the heck are they going to fit all those Duggars on The View's couch? *shakes head*

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

Anyway, I'm scarce. I'm working on boning up on some skills for a job interview next Wednesday. It's a job where I'll work 9-3 M W F and 11-5 Tues and Thurs. I can still have time with the kids after school. They possibly could get into some trouble only two days a week.

And it's amazing how much I thought I knew Microsoft Office. HA! I've taken some pre employment quizes and I've realized how LITTLE I really do know. Iz got mad google skills, and awesome typing skills, but those don't count, I bet. My problem, I don't know DICK about EXCEL.

So folks wish me luck.

THESE SCARE ME TERRIBLY

2009-01-18T10:47:00.000-08:00

Last night my husband told me that North Korea NOW claims to have weaponized plutonium. He was reading this article on CNN. First, it was, no, no, we're NOT making weapons, we're generating power. Now it's, oh hell yeah, we've got working nukes of mass destruction so we think we are on the same playing field as other powers like the USA? I've been freaking scared since they tested a nuke in 2006. I got a bad feeling about this.

Even more scary than that? The Saudi Cleric saying it's okay for 47 year old man to be married to an EIGHT YEAR OLD.

AND THEN, IT'S HAPPENING IN MY OWN BACKYARD. Here in California, in Greenfield, some mexican sold his daughter for beer and cash. The funny part is, he was stupid enough to call the cops when the guy didn't pay up.

Martinez is a member of an indigenous Mexican Trique community. Greenfield police Chief Joe Grebmeier said the case highlights an issue confronting local authorities in that arranged marriages with girls as young as 12 are not uncommon among the Trique.

These cases of arranged marriage involving underage girls have become increasingly common in small farming communities. It's just not right to be considered PROPERTY. Hello, 21st Century here.

"Nyoinyoinyoin, Indeed"

2009-01-16T12:17:00.000-08:00

I vant to suck the blog of [edit] YUNSHUI over at Right To Think. YUNSHUI has a post about this guy John Crowder, one of the leaders of the Sons Of Thunder movement. From their website, he says, "I met Jesus on an acid trip, and what a long, strange trip it has been ever since!"

Trippin' for Jeebus. WOOOOT! A chemical imbalance is the only way to see Him anyway, right? Y'know there's nothing more fun that watchin' a drunken putz stand up in front of his "congregation" and say things like, Nyoinyoinyoin. C'mon really, this is hilarious.

As YUNSHUI said, Nyoinyoinyoin, indeed.

Should these make the Hawaiian Album?

2009-01-15T11:01:00.000-08:00

Y'know, I'll take a picture of just about anything...these two are from the model building of The Ala Moana Hotel, in Honolulu. The hotel model was inside the hotel, of course, down by the girft shops. We all started laughing at the two drunk guys who had fallen down at the "model" pool. Too many plastictini's, maybe?

When we went to the actual pool we finally understood...there was a bar at the pool, that's why they had to add those figurines like that. So we'd know. Thanks, Ala Moana Hotel.

Another Boring Sunny Day in California...

2009-01-14T10:41:00.000-08:00

...right? Today, I decide I'm gonna get the hell outta the house to take pics. I live in California and I'm trying to feel like the lucky one after seeing the weather across the nation this morning. It's COLD, freaking COLD EVERYWHERE, but HERE in sunny CACA. It's so cold that last night I watched some guy in Mankato, MN throw a cup of water in the air, and watched it freeze before it hit the ground.

I remember making very sure that every part of my skin on my body was NOT exposed, except the slit for my eyes to see thru, when I lived in the Midwest. Just don't forget that after a few years. *shivers*.
Ohh, and I say to myself, yeah, let's go try out that new lens you got for Christmas. I take my Jeepy down to the mouth of the Canyon, which in only 10 mins from my house. Then I forget I have the dog with me, who has on occasion gotten car sick. Well, anyway, I thought I'd share a couple of shots I did take this morning, after only driving in a ways.

Come to find out when I got back home, my daughter had called from school, again, on the one day I decide to even leave the house. She's forgotten a report and wants me to bring it to school. I can't find it. I go upstairs, go to "documents" and the power goes out. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. All those things happened - except inbetween I playing with my own photos -- shhhh! I also saw she called my cellphone, but it was on the table when I left to shoot pics. Yep, great place for it, huh...?

She's a 4.0er, who still needs to get organized. I've always been the mom to bring them something from home to school if they needed it. Today, I'm not going to do it. Lesson needs to be learned here.

Okay, blah, I decide to go to Target while the power was out. I threw on "a face", but poked myself in the eye with the mascara. Not good. And what is it with getting older and eyes seems to get hurt so much more easily now than ever. Or am I just a clutz, because just this morning I had poked myself in the OTHER EYE pretty badly too. I'm partially blind now, everythings a blur. I hope the pics aren't...

I'm not going to Target now to make a return for my daughter either. I think I need to lay down....rest my eyes.

Don't forget, you click on pics to make the bigger....and I'll have some more on my Greenery Lover blog soon too. And yeah, I know you folks "back east" are really feeling sorry for me right about now, huh? You're all welcome to come to out to Chateau Vamp anytime then, okay?

No God did NOT do it

2009-01-11T20:49:00.001-08:00

Oh how I love to find scientific stuff to put the creationists in their place. I discovered this one today after reading Infidel's blog.

Now this one's from Life Science.com. Who knew about RNA? I sure didn't. RNA is DNA's older brother who somehow got ignored once DNA took the forefront.

More accurately, RNA is thought to be a primitive ancestor of DNA. RNA can't run a life form on its own, but 4 billion years ago it might have been on the verge of creating life, just needing some chemical fix to make the leap. In today's world, RNA is dependent on DNA for performing its roles, which include coding for proteins.

If RNA is in fact the ancestor to DNA, then scientists have figured they could get RNA to replicate itself in a lab without the help of any proteins or other cellular machinery. Easy to say, hard to do.

Can you imagine that? RNA replicating itself? Fascinating. This changes a lot of things in my book. No God didn't do it.

Honest Scrap Award

2009-01-10T19:58:00.000-08:00

Yeah, I got another meme to do. This one, the Honest Scrap award, was given to me by Tracey Treasure. This one's perfect, because I hate liars. I'm really big on honesty, and anyone, especially my kids, know they'll be in big doodoo if I catch them in a lie. LOOK OUT!

Anyway, this is what I'm suppose to do:

A) first list 10 honest things about yourself - and make it interesting, even if you have to dig deep!

B) pass the award on to 7 bloggers that you feel embody the spirit of the Honest Scrap.

Ya'll know I'm not going to comply with "B"...but if you're reading this YOU'RE TAGGED! So here goes:

1) I have no memory of events before I was 9. Call it repression or being brainwashed after my parents were divorced. My dad remarried my step mom from hell and my life with my birth mother was somewhat erased. I just know I didn't miss her at all when she left. We did meet up again when I turned 18, but that's a story (book) for another day.

2) My birth mother was from the United Kingdom (Yorkshire) and my step mom was born in Possum Kingdom....I shit you not, there is a Possum Kingdom, Texas. He traded down, in my opinion. Dad was in the Air Force at the time, and he picked her up in a trailer park or something like that. All I remember is she lived in a trailer park. I remember before we left for Illinois, the lady my stepmom sold her trailer to was pissed because, the day after the sale, a tornado hit it. Really, I'm not kidding.

3) When my dad retired from the Air Force, I was about 12 and in the 7th Grade. We moved from Texas to Chicagoland. It was the most difficult time of my life, leaving behind everyone I ever knew and starting anew in the middle of Junior High. UGH! I was heavily picked on for having a Texas accent. I don't have it anymore, I can guarantee you that. Nothing against folks from Texas now, ya hear?

4) By the time I reached 10th Grade in High School, my stepmonster had become Bi-Polar and would beat me for nothing. I use to be afraid to come home from school because I never knew what kind of mood she'd be in. Very scary. I truly believe she caused the anxieties I still carry with me today.

5) I ran away from home at the age of 16 after my step mom had beat me with a vacuum cleaner cord. Me and another girl hitchhiked across the states, trying to make our way to California...the year, 1976. Most people were nice to us, feeding us, letting us sleep. The most positive memorable thing about that was going from Illinois to Minnesota (my grandmother lived there, but I didn't stop because I thought she'd turn us in) to South Dakota and seeing Mount Rushmore. It was snowing in MAY, in the Black Hills. It was magnificent, and the feeling of freedom, wow. I remember getting on one of the school buses there, trying to find food and instead finding a half pint bottle of Southern Comfort. Well, no need to say what happened then. It burned going down, but it felt good. Later on our trip, We eventually got busted for shoplifting food in Utah. I sat in jail for four days because MY parents drove out, while my friend's mom flew out.

6) I blew a whole semester of High School and had to take summer school. I had left home again (more like crawled out the window, when my step mom said to my dad "It's either her or ME") my Senior Year, living in the hallway, yep, the hallway, of my friend's house. Her mom was the cat lady. She had show cats in the basement and the house SMELLED like cat urine. But, anything was better than living with my dad who worshipped the ground my step mom walked on. I always felt dismissed. I then worked as a waitress at the Big Boy and got an apt I shared with my boyfriend's buddy who looked like Billy Idol and loved KISS. I still went to high school too, and I even graduated. It wasn't till years later, that my dad told me he was there. I thought I had graduated ALONE - meaning none of my family was there to see me.

7) As you can see so far, I can pretty much dwell on the negative and I hate that about myself. I have to work real hard to be positive.

8) Being an only child, I have lived a life of solitude. I finally got my own apt by the Burlington Northern Train tracks in the suburbs. I worked downtown Chicago for 10 years, mostly at advertising agencies. I use to take the train to work and sing Bachman Turner Overdrive's, "Taking Care of Business"

You get up every morning
From your alarm clock's warning
Take the 8:15 into the city
There's a whistle up above
And people pushin', people shovin'
And the girls who try to look pretty
And if your train's on time
You can get to work by nine

but my train was the 8:16...but who's counting?

9) The only thing left of my days of working in Advertising is the Corona Beer commercial for Christmas...I even saw it again this year, the one with xmas lights on the palm trees, yeah, I had a hand in that, if only to be the travel coordinator for the Creative Directors, copywriters, and art directors to fly to Cancun to shoot it. Rough, real rough.

10) Here's a good one, still relating back to the Ad Agency days: I knew the guy who invented the Pillsbury Doughboy. His name was Rudy Perz. I met him 20 years after the fact, and he was still working as a copywriter. That was his big claim to fame, they even called him "one idea Perz" (that was so cold to me). He was a gentle older man, with a kind face and some good advice. I wonder whatever happened to him...if he's alive, he's gotta be in his 80's.

All that seems a lifetime ago, well, because it was a lifetime ago. My step mother died of cancer two weeks before I gave birth to my first daughter (now almost 14), so I didn't get to fly back for her funeral, to be there for my dad. I didn't have closure for the longest time, so she would HAUNT ME in my dreams (nightmares). My dad is remarried AGAIN, (at the age of 70) to yet another Texas woman, who I think (know) is a bigot. He moved from Illinois back to Texas where he then had a stroke and is now left with vascular dementia, and she's now his caregiver. Serves them both right. Especially when my dad said they were going to get a new house together so they could be between her kids (all in south Texas) and me (in CA). Meaning they'd try and move to Arizona. Nope, guess where they moved: San Antonio, so she could be close to HER kids. DISMISSED all over again. I'm fucking invisible.

(yeah, I got some issues, huh?)

Shit, I'm in a mood, huh? Tracey, so sorry it took me so long to do this...lots of things going. I finally got all the xmas crap put away, and I actually planted some daffodils and narcissus bulbs. I've started with some tulips too, and I hope to finish those tomorrow. Then there's the stuff with the kids lately, like projects, book reports, science fair crap, ack!

From My Oldest Daughter

2009-01-06T14:59:00.000-08:00

Homework, blah, blah, blah, throw in some humor and this is what you get while playing with Merriam Webster's dictionary, with sounds, online. My daughter came up with this funny clip, by making a little modification, and it made me laugh so I had to post it. Credit is totally hers.

Please click on Christianity

She's so talented! My baby, she's growin' up so fast.

....

[edit] Did you know there's two different pronounciations for "shit"? Shhh, don't tell the kids, the second one is my favorite.

Atheists in Heaven?

2009-01-03T10:22:00.000-08:00

Surfed this morning and landed on Examiner.com about atheists going to heaven and the shifting of moral zeitgeist. But what struck me the most, was not the long boring Pew Forum report, it was the comment at the end of Trina Hoak's article, by Duckphup: (though I thoroughly enjoyed what he/she said, I read it as if it where Sheldon from the Big Bang Theory, lol)

DuckPhup: I used to think of religion as an integral aspect of human culture, that evolved right along with it. But a recent insight suggested a more useful paradigm (a way of looking at, or thinking about something)... the perception that religion is NOT an integral part of humanity... it is a parasitic meme that PREYS upon humanity. It evolved ALONGSIDE humanity, sucking its life-blood... debilitating it... weakening it... sickening it... holding it back... but not killing it... YET.

Look at Christianity... a criminal business enterprise that specializes in fraud and extortion... a supernatural 'protection racket' that uses mental-manipulation tricks and indoctrination techniques that have been developed, perfected and refined over the past 1,700 years or so.

Christianity suffered a setback a few hundred years ago, when the widely embraced humanist ideals of the Enlightenment and the Age of Reason (heretical, satanic ideas such as 'human rights') stripped them of the political power which had previously given them leave to torture and/or kill dissenters, or people who betrayed impious, non-canonical thinking. But modern marketing techniques and communications technology have allowed them to recover from that, to the point where they once again are in a position to alter the fabric of society... to the great detriment of us all.

First... beginning with insidious childhood indoctrination, they instill the FEAR of eternal damnation, torture and torment. Then, they throw you a life-line... they SELL you the false HOPE of 'salvation' (from WHAT, exactly?) and the false PROMISE of eternal life. In a process that I can only think of as 'stupidification', they are creating whole generations whose world-view and false 'reality' depends directly from the myths, superstitions, fairy-tales and fantastical delusions of an ignorant gaggle of Bronze Age fishermen and peripatetic, militant, marauding, murdering, genocidal goat-herders.

To the extent that they might be 'true', the accounts of genocidal depredations in the Old Testament are most likely nothing more than an attempt to lay-out a cover-story, the need for which arose when the Hebrews realized that they might some day be called to account for their horrific crimes. They knew that they could not DENY their evil crimes... so the best that they could hope for was they might somehow be able to JUSTIFY them. I suspect that a good bit of the OT is nothing more than first documented attempt at the 'Nuremberg Defense'... "We were only following orders." God made them do it.

Christians are more less defined by the fact that they 'believe' old STORIES about supernatural entities.

What DEFINES atheists is the fact that THEY do not find those STORIES about invisible, magical, all-powerful, supernatural sky-fairies (gods) to be 'plausible' or 'credible'. That is IT... that is ALL. Atheism is simply SKEPTICISM focused upon ideas such as the Judeo/Christian myth, wherein the world/universe was poofed into existence by such an entity, to function as an environment for a race of beings (us) that it subsequently fabricated from a dust bunny and a rib for the express purpose of having them, their progeny and their descendants spend their lives believing in it, loving it, praising it, and kissing its holy ass... without ANY reasonable evidence... so that IT could 'love' them, in return. Ultimately, SOME of those beings... those few who are sufficiently ardent in their believing, praising, and holy ass-kissing... will be rewarded with eternal life... and the unfortunate remainder get to spend the rest of eternity in unimaginable torture and torment, as devised by this very same despicable monster.

Consider for a moment that human existence might ACTUALLY BE some kind of 'divine test'. If it is, then there must be some kind of 'criteria' for sorting out those FEW beings who will actually PASS the test, and be rewarded with eternal life. Well... based upon the everything that is presented to us by christ-cult delusionists, it would seem that this alleged creator has it in his mind that he wants to spend eternity in the company of 'the most stupid and gullible'.

Suppose, for the sake of argument, that there actually IS some sort of a god... but this one true god ACTUALLY rewards 'intellectual honesty'. If THAT were to turn out to be the case, then christ-cult delusionists would be ROYALLY screwed. Now wouldn't THAT be a kick in the nuts?... a God who rewards atheists with eternal bliss because they bravely, honestly and courageously dared to follow the evidence no matter where it might lead... and all the available evidence tells us there there are no compelling (or even credible) reasons to think that there is a god? If you think about it, it seems MUCH more plausible than a god who selects on the basis of the christ-cult criteria, and ends up with the 'most stupid and gullible' as his companions for all eternity. What kind of a god would want THAT?

Damn right Sheldon, I mean, Duckphup, you hit the flaw right on the head! So it's sounds like only dumbfucks go to heaven. *hears "deliverance" being played in my head*

I <3 You Dick Clark, but Time to Retire....

2009-01-01T00:09:00.000-08:00

...I made it up past midnight, with a bunch of preteen and teenage girls in the hizouse. We saw Dick Clark ring in the new year too. I know the guy's an iconic legend fixture for NY, but since his stroke, it's soooo hard to watch him. Or should I say listen to him? I gotta say, he looked pretty good, and he's an amazing man.

I love you Mr. Clark, but it's time to pass the torch. Yes, he IS a GREAT advocate for stroke survivors, and for that I totally applaud him, but I can't understand what he's saying anymore, and it just looks bad...sorry.

Because I Truly Miss this Town

2008-12-31T09:08:00.000-08:00

I completely had forgotten about this song, until last nite something jarred it from memory....nope, not gonna tell ya what jarred it, cuz I don't remember. But I still got a story...I dated the brother of one these guys (Aliotta) when they lived in Berwyn, IL - for about a minute. Back in the 80's when you could call going to The Car Show at McCormick Place a date.

Merry Mithramas

2008-12-30T13:34:00.000-08:00

Better late than never...this is from American Atheists --- Other gods born on December 25th. I saw this on Joe's Big Blog.

I know I've seen this before, but I loved the look on my youngest daughter's face when I pulled it up and she read it. She was stunned and enlightened all at the same time. Excellent.

"Thus Sayeth the Lord, learn not the way of the Heathen (that's us)... for the customs of the Heathen are vain, for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with an axe. They dect it with silver and gold; they fasten it with nails and hammers, that it move not...Be not afraid of them, for they can not do evil, neither is it in them to do good" Jeremiah 10:2-5."

Happy New Year everyone. I'm gonna have a houseful of teenage and preteen girls partying --- oh joy!

There Will Be Blood

2008-12-27T21:03:00.000-08:00

We watched "There Will Be Blood" again tonite, but this time with Possummomma. She hadn't seen it yet, so I invited her to come over and watch it. I wanted her to see the power struggle in the movie. Twisted, just twisted. Have you seen it?

The story centers around an oil tycoon who sees God as superstition and the preacher boy who exploits God for money. Each of them humiliating the other in public. Just weird stuff set back in the early 20th century.

I DRINK YOUR MILKSHAKE --- I DRINK IT UP!

ἄθεος

2008-12-25T14:30:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to see if "ἄθεος" would show up on my blog....well it did, I think.

Today I found this from tentmaker.org:

Another century and there will not be a Bible on earth! --Voltaire

THEN to top it all off:

Voltaire expected that within fifty years of his lifetime there would not be one Bible in the world. His house is now a distribution center for Bibles in many languages. --Corrie Ten Boom

If that isn't the definition of irony.....wow.

Happy Solstice!

2008-12-21T11:49:00.001-08:00

Today is the first day of Winter. Today is also Winter Solstice. Something that is magical in itself. Celebrated from many a people of days old and gone.

Here's my Winter Solstice Link of the day from Candlegrove.com:

In many cultures, customs practiced at Christmas go back to pre-Christian times. Many involve divination--foretelling the future at a magic time: the season turning of solstice.

In Russia, there's a Christmas divination that involves candles. A girl would sit in a darkened room, with two lighted candles and two mirrors, pointed so that one reflects the candlelight into the other. The viewer would seek the seventh reflection, then look until her future would be seen.

The early Germans built a stone altar to Hertha, or Bertha, goddess of domesticity and the home, during winter solstice. With a fire of fir boughs stoked on the altar, Hertha was able to descend through the smoke and guide those who were wise in Saga lore to foretell the fortunes of those at the feast.

In Spain, there's an old custom that is a holdover from Roman days. The urn of fate is a large bowl containing slips of paper on which are written all the names of those at a family get-togehter. The slips of paper are drawn out two at a time. Those whose names are so joined are to be devoted friends for the year. Apparently, there's often a little finagling to help matchmaking along, as well.

In Scandinavia, some families place all their shoes together, as this will cause them to live in harmony throughout the year.

And in many, many cultures, it's considered bad luck for a fire or a candle to go out on Christmas Day. So keep those candles burning!

And for a more indepth scientific look into Winter Solstice, read up on this LINK.

I just remembered, the past couple of years, a tradition I've started with the kids is to find mistletoe. It's growing all over the place here in CA.

Mistletoe, which was sacred because it mysteriously grew on the most sacred tree, the oak, was ceremoniously cut and a spray given to each family, to be hung in the doorways as good luck. The celtic Druids also regarded mistletoe as sacred. Druid priests cut it from the tree on which it grew with a golden sickle and handed it to the people, calling it All-Heal. To hang it over a doorway or in a room was to offer goodwill to visitors. Kissing under the mistletoe was a pledge of friendship. Mistletoe is still forbidden in most Christian churches because of its Pagan associations, but it has continued to have a special place in home celebrations.

Okay, if you really want to get your Winter Solstice ON, I think you should check out the Winter Solstice Planning Guide.

However you choose to celebrate the solstice, celebrate with love. And that is my wish for you all. Happy Solstice!

The END of our trip...back in LA

2008-12-19T16:28:00.000-08:00

It was a long flight home from HNL and we had to pick our car up at the Embassy Suites near LAX before we drove home to the San Joaquin Valley. Here's what we discovered when we got there on their shuttle bus. The whole family got a good giggle out of it.

Pics from Hawaii that Won't make our Album

2008-12-19T09:48:00.000-08:00

This was a drive by shot while touring around Honolulu area.

Yup, Phuket....mmmm, Thai food.

From Honaruru

2008-12-19T09:33:00.001-08:00

So-o-o...why do YOU think the "Funnel Cake/Nails/Day Spa went out of business? Too much powder sugar was ending up in wet nail polish?

YES, I took this pic. We were driving down thru Waikiki.

The "Spirit" -- It Slowly Comes

2008-12-18T13:33:00.001-08:00

Here's my last installment from Wrongcards.com. I see many others have enjoyed this sense of humor...good...we all need it.

And speaking of dolls.... anyone heard about that nasty fight goin' on between Barbie and the Bratz dolls? Looks like those ho's are going to be gone from the store shelves after Christmas.

The concept of the Bratz doll came from a Mattel employee. And Mattel sued and won....after four years.

Have You Excepted Cheeses Into Your Life?

2008-12-17T12:24:00.001-08:00

On my Feedjit yesterday, someone googled "cheeses loves me atheist song" and I came up fifth one down...wow...I'm wondering what that song is about, because I started to look for it too...huh?

Instead, I found this, a holiday card from cafe press...okay, not really your typical holiday card...it's just something to piss off the masses (or people who go to mass). Inside it says "HAVE YOU ACCEPTED CHEESES INTO YOUR LIFE? IT'S THE REASON FOR THE SEASON. MERRY CHRISTMAS"

Wait, That's Not All...If You Order Before Midnight.....

2008-12-16T20:47:00.000-08:00

Humour, the best medicine.

Reasons to become an Atheist via Uncyclopedia:

But wait! There's more!

If you become an atheist today, as a SPECIAL ADDED BONUS you will get this additional reason (a $100 value) ABSOLUTELY FREE!

Wrong

2008-12-16T15:32:00.000-08:00

WrongCards.com

2008-12-15T21:01:00.000-08:00

Don't ask me how I found...or should I say, stumbled upon this website, but it's amusing me quite well. I'll do anything to get out of this funk. So for the next 8 days 'til Winter Solstice (or ten days 'til xmas), I'll entertain myself (you too maybe) with some of the funniest ones.

Gawd, I Got The Blues BAD

2008-12-15T09:35:00.000-08:00

And, I have this song STUCK in my head lately. It's Harry Nilsson. The song is originally from Midnight Cowboy...the film was shot in 1969 in a small town in Texas where I was living at the time.

I've been watchin' the movie trailer on You Tube and thinking a lot about my time in Big Spring, Texas as a kid living on an Air Force Base. I was just 9 years old.

M3M3 from Possummomma

2008-12-05T11:25:00.000-08:00

Okay, I *AM* happy, really, overall I am a happy person. Possummomma tagged me with this meme of putting down 10 things I'm happy or thankful for. I have a pretty good life because of my immediate family. So, let's start there:

1) It amazes me how much my husband loves me (sticks finger down throat). I don't know what I'd do without my champion. He make me extremely happy. We are also extremely lucky too, that he has a job that lets me stay home with my kids, for now.

2) My girls, they are my sunshine. We have an abundant amount of humour in our house. Our laughter happens on a daily basis here, and I LOVE endorphins. Their happiness is my priority and it gives me joy to provide it.

3) My dog, Ginger, my constant companion, she brings me quite a bit of joy. She follows me EVERYWHERE. As a matter of fact, both the dog and the cat are sleeping by my side right now. I'm sitting in the middle of the couch with my feet on the coffee table. Ginny is on my left, and AshyCat (Ashley) is on my right. My husband thinks I'm a Dr. Doolittle, because I have such a weird intuitive thing with animals.

4) I love nature....see my alter ego, Greenery Lover Pic Blog if you don't believe me. I feel closest to mother earth, she provides me with great satisfaction.

5) I'm happy we got to go to Hawaii a couple of weeks ago. It was the most extravagant trip of our lifetime. Something we've never done. We had had it booked since last January. We had also stuffed our stimulus check in the bank when we got it last May, and we blew it all in Honolulu, It was unexpected money and it made me extremely happy to blow it all there.

6) I'm so extra freaking happy I can walk, pretty normally, after having had THREE surgeries on my ankle (the last one a fusion) over the last 3 years. All from an odd break in my cuboid and calcaneus. It's pretty easy to handle the broken little toe I have right now, from kicking my husband in Hawaii. No, I don't usually kick him, it was an accident when we were packing to come home.

7) Geez, I'm not sure I can make it to TEN. Okay, I'm happy I have freedom from religion. It's so nice to just try and be a good person on the planet withOUT dogma draggin' me down. Happy Winter Solstice folks.

8) I'm happy that the volunteer work I've been doing for CASA is making me feel that way. Yes, I did it with an alterior motive (to try and drum up business), but they've called me again to do some more photography (*pro bono*), and it makes me feel good to be needed outside my family. And it's a much needed boost to my ego too.

9) I'm happy to have a nice roof over my head. We live in a modest home. It was built in '77 and it has a park like backyard (yeah, I'm NOT happy about the yardwork that comes with that). It's lush with trees and greenery and has a pond with a bridge over it too. See I went right back outside in nature, didn't I?

10) I'm happy I made it to number 10. I'm also extra happy for long time friends, like possummomma. And I'm thankful for some new cyber friendships I've made right here on the blogs also.

As I've said before on other meme's, I'm happy to just let this meme die here....unless you wanna give it a shot, I'm happy to tag YOU!

The SUN is OUT - YEAH!

2008-12-04T12:48:00.000-08:00

Going from sunny and a balmy 85 degrees, to the cold FOG, has me thinking I may be suffering from Seasonal Affective Disorder, but only temporarily, now that the sun has finally arrived today. It's still cold though.

I know I won't get any sympathy for this, since I just got back from Hawaii, so I shouldn't complain that for the last 5 days it's been cold, cloudy and foggy. I know, I know. But, thank gawd the sun had come out. Yeah, boo freakin' hoo on me, huh? At least it's not 18 degrees, like where my fav Auntie lives in MSP. or with a couple inches of snow on the ground, like it is in LaGrange, IL where my old best friend lives.

I'm sure it's just the after a major, totally awesome vacation blues, right?

Now, I have no idea how to get started on getting my Winter Solstice (cultural Catholic) "spirit" going...kind of bah humbug at the moment. And that has a lot to do with how I grew up. I'm not a big fan of this holiday season. I have to keep focused on my own immediately family and surround myself with silly things and projects with my girls. Both of my parents are alive, but I don't have a close relationship with either one of them. Dad has ALZ (really it's vasucular dementia) and my Mom, well, I haven't spent any Xmasssss with her since I was 8.

The girls have gotten to the point of not believing in the big guy in the red suit. My youngest is 11. My oldest (13) still believed when SHE was 11. I've told them when they stop believing is when Santa won't bring them anything anymore. So of course, I hear a resounding, "we believe, we believe"!

My youngest, a budding chef, and I are talking about trying our hands at doing something with fondant. I heard it's play doh for adults. Now I gotta figure out what I can do with my oldest that doesn't involve shopping --- she could easily become a shopaholic, if she only had the funds, lol, typical teenage.

I Guess you CAN Take It with You

2008-12-03T21:42:00.000-08:00

Wow, I always knew "herb" had medicinal properties, but I never knew someone would be buried with a big ole stash like the one mentioned in this article. Geez, were they hoping to take some up to their maker? HAHA!

Vamp on a Bug?

2008-12-03T21:20:00.000-08:00

I'm on a roll tonite...I "sucked" this one from Protium the Heathen:

Okay, get it? Show him you're cross (mad), lol.

Sucked from a Blog from the Local Paper

2008-12-03T20:23:00.000-08:00

Prop 8 the Musical with Jack Black and Neil Patrick Harris, and other familiar faces:

See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die

I Vant to Suck Joe's Blog

2008-12-03T16:49:00.000-08:00

Check out Joe's Blog....he's always got some funny stuff. This one, as HE says, kills me:

Our First Hawaiian Sunset

2008-12-02T17:09:00.001-08:00

Something I've Never Seen Before...

2008-12-02T16:38:00.000-08:00

Do you think there will ever come a day when there'll be ONE book for all religions? No? Me, neither.

When my husband said, "Look in the nightstand...", at our hotel in Oahu, I was pleasantly surprised with TWO "Good" Books. Now, The Teachings of Buddha is more my style. So, I stole it. I wonder if I'll be charged.

I'm gonna slowly go thru the pics from Hawaii. We were all guessing how many pics I took. My youngest, Juju guessed 150, and my oldest guessed 250. Hubby knew if his camera had 300, that I'd probably have almost double that. Well, I took 843 pics. So I'm weeding thru them.

Let me start off with when we landed on Oahu. The first pitfall was our youngest daughter's luggage didn't get off the plane with the rest of ours. That put a damper on the day. We had to wait 24 hours before we could buy her new clothes.

But you know what put it all into perspective? When we got into the elevator, with the doors about to close, here comes a man in a wheelchair, rolling in and facing me, with no arms or legs. He was a total quadriplegic. He's remoting himself with his chin. It was ackward, our eyes meeting and mine darting, because you just don't know what to think. I wanted to tell him, "you're amazing", but couldn't get the words out.

WE as a family discussed him, and decided having our luggage lost was totally no big deal. BTW, she had her bag the next morning.

Creeped Out

2008-11-20T11:02:00.000-08:00

Quick note to self: It's OKAY, really, it's only a gray hair in your freaking eyebrow. BREATHE! It's gonna be okay. *sob* But, don't you even think about becoming one of those women who use a sharpie for eyebrow liner.

meme

2008-11-17T16:43:00.001-08:00

I was tagged by Country Wife to do this meme.

The rules of this Meme are:
1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them.
5. Let each person know they’ve been tagged and leave a comment on their blog
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

Ok, so here's six random things about me:

1) I'm an only child.
2) I've lived in 5 diffent states. (SC, VA, TX, IL, CA)
3) I twirl my hair a little too much.
4) I can easily find satisfaction and comfort in nature.
5) Nothing brings me more joy and happiness than my immediate family.
6) I'm one of those people who let's memes die by not tagging anyone.

Will be GONE in 7 Days

2008-11-17T11:05:00.000-08:00

*Whew* Busy, busy, busy and no time to be playing on the 'puter. Our family is heading to Hawaii for Thanksgiving THIS WEEKEND! We've had this trip planned since last January.

If I don't pop on here this week...it's because I'm packing for a family of four. That means mega doses of laundry. And a house cleaning (I always like my house in order before I travel - anal yes, but it's so nice to come home to a clean house) is in order.

Aloha and Hau’oli La Ho’omakika’i (look it up)

Damn, why didn't I think of THIS?

2008-11-12T13:37:00.000-08:00

Well, at least it's an ARTIST who did this pray booth. Doesn't he look pretty silly kneeling down at a phone booth?

(AP) "You could mistake it for a typical New York City phone booth. But instead of an image of a phone, the side panels depict folded hands — and the word "prayer" instead of "telephone." Oh, and there's a flip-down kneeler.

The Public Prayer Booth was conceived by Dylan Mortimer, a recent graduate of New York's School of Visual Arts who lives in Kansas City.

The 29-year-old said he wanted to spark dialogue about prayer.

The public installation is sponsored by the city's Arts in the Park program.

A pair of the booths can be found near the entrance to the Roosevelt Island tram in midtown Manhattan until Dec. 7.

Jackson, Tenn., and Cedar Rapids, Iowa, also have Mortimer Prayer Booths"

Here's the link to more pics of the "exhibit".

Holy Water used to Hide Date Rape Drug

2008-11-12T13:32:00.000-08:00

Some idiot, coming in from Canada to Brooklyn, used holy water to hide liquified "Special K" known as the date rape drug. I guess if looked suspiscious having l00 bottles of holy water and then some other religious items. I guess he thought he'd get away with it.

Dumbass.

Are You Ready to RUMBLE - For Jesus?

2008-11-09T18:10:00.000-08:00

In this corner-ner-ner, the Armenian clergymen-men-men. AND, in this corner-ner-ner, the Greek Orthodox clergymen-men-men. Are you ready for the fight of the year-year-year? Are you ready to RUMBLE-bull-bull?

I can almost hear them: I know Jesus better than you do, we deserve MORE access. No, you don't, we know Christ better than you do. ACK!

How much you wanna bet the cross of Jesus is a fake anyway?

Here's the link.

Cafe Press - Vamp Wear

2008-11-07T18:13:00.000-08:00

Check out Vamp Wear, bwuahahaha. (I had to fix the link, hopefully this time it works...)

Look at me, I'm on a button, magnet, T-shirts and more....Bwuahahaha! Just so ya know, I don't really expect to sell anything, I was just bored.

OMG, Just Let The Freakin' Priests Get Married ALREADY!

2008-11-07T10:17:00.000-08:00

Deep seated homosexual tendencies. What does that mean? That freakin says it all. Homosexuals are quite possibly drawn to the Catholic faith, because they aren't going to marry a woman. But I gotta also bet that there are some gay priests out there who have never touched a child. There's just gotta be. *crosses fingers*

So I read this BBC article on testing for sex drive, of future priests. (I *giggle* because I have a WHOLE other picture in my head that I'm not telling here, lol) and it's like, *sigh* it's as if they're saying homosexuals have:

"what they termed psychological defects"

Gimme a break. THE Roman Catholic Church, that I so use to admire when I was a child, should just LET THE FREAKIN PRIESTS GET MARRIED. C'MON, this is the 21st CENTURY. This out-dated vow of celebacy has got to go.

Wouldn't that be a hellva lot easier than them trying to cover their asses (*snicker*) by doing stupid evals.

Since I've seen other Folk's dinner, here's MINE

2008-11-07T09:52:00.000-08:00

This is what we had for dinner last night. It's an easy crockpot cheap chicken leg quarter meal. It's Orange Chicken. I cut up the legs and thighs. I had 6 each, so I threw them in the pot with a little extra from the recipe. Like, a whole bag of tri color pepper strips from Trader Joes, instead of a cup. MMmmm, Trader's...wish I could go there more often...but I digress...anyway, the chicken turn out pretty good.

BUT, (inside joke) taking photographs of food is always difficult. I can certainly see I didn't do a great job. Then again, I'm not shooting this in perfect light. And the four of us WERE sitting down to dinner.

I use to work for a large ad agendy in Chicago, and I always admired the photographers who could shoot food. I'll stick to flowers.