This Messical Message is For Back to the Start

My Happy Holidays - Part II

In yesterday's action packed installment, I got as far as Christmas, yes? Yes.  So, to continue...for myself, as a kind of diary entry, in spite of an outside lack of fascination with the minutia of my life :)

Sunday: Actual Christmas day felt like a regular Sunday, really. We'd had our festivities, so the day was about just hanging out.  DR and I ended up going to the park with Kick Back Dude and the kids.  It was a very pretty day out and we had a fine time enjoying an outdoors Xmas afternoon.  I got a couple of photos -

Here are Miss Personality and Love Bug. Not entirely sure what they are doing, but it may be a simple cell phone photo shoot. Glamorous!

Little Prince is pouting over something. At the same time, he is eating a chocolate. I can never manage to eat chocolate AND pout. He's an up-and-comer for sure!

Monday: We slept in a bit. I went out to have lunch with my mom and sister.  A couple of my boys joined us, and the little ones.  DR decided to go out and do some shopping. Turned into a long afternoon.  Later DR and I went out to dinner with Kick Back Dude and the kids. It was meant to be a 'Welcome Back' dinner for DR. It means a lot to me that while not everyone in my family is terribly excited about my relationship, both Kick Back Dude and his ex, Princess Diva, as well as Girlie Girl have all been especially supportive.

Tuesday: DR and I spent most of the afternoon out running little errands.  He enjoys that sort of thing. Shopping around, checking out prices, browsing. It isn't something I enjoy, as a rule. I choose to think of it more as just an activity to share in with DR and that makes it worthwhile.  
In the evening, we continued experimenting with this quesadilla maker DR brought with him.  We have, so far, made some good to excellent quesadillas! Also, we attempted to make a pinata.  It was semi-successful...but as the basis for an birthday a couple months away, rather than immediately :)

Wednesday: We accidentally slept in a little later than we planned, but everything ended up going okay. We went out towards DR's sister's house to celebrate his nephew's 10th birthday.  Several hours were spent at Boomers. Do you know this place? Arcade games, some outdoor activities like go-karts and a rock climbing wall, lots of noise.  I was happy to be there though. I finally got to meet DR's sister and her husband and three children.  Very sweet people and they were all very kind and welcoming towards me.  We were almost going to head home after Boomers, but both his mom and sister encouraged us to come to the house for dinner and cake. Ended up being a long, but really, truly nice day.

That marked the end of my long weekend of getting sort of accustomed to having DR around daily. I'm so happy it is almost embarrassing.  I can't believe that, if we are lucky and take care of each other, we can live together like this for the rest of our lives. Not sure what I did to deserve the joy I feel, but I'm certainly grateful. 

My Happy Holidays - Part I

I am back to work after five glorious days of not being back to work. Guess it does give me time to blog. I've been going around catching up on your blogs; getting to see how your holiday celebrations are going so far. We do still have New Year's Eve to get through, right? But hey, so far, so good! Mine too.  Let me dish a bit.

Thursday: DR and his mom pulled up in front of my place around 7 pm or so.  I cannot even begin to describe how it felt to finally see DR after a year and a half. It felt good. Let's go with that.  Good.
We all had a little visit, then I had to run pick Girlie Girl up from work. We had a bite to eat, watched some TV, just relaxed. I know both DR and his mom were very tired after their long trip. I put DR's mom in my room (our room!) for the night and DR and I camped out on the livingroom floor. I would have been happy to sleep on a bed of nails with DR beside me again...but luckily, the livingroom floor is not bad at all :)

Friday: DR needed to take his mom to Irvine, where is sister lives, and where his mom will be staying during her visit.  I had kind of left work up in the air, but decided to just go in since they would be busy. So, it was just another work day. But you know, a little happier!  DR stayed out there for the night so that we could each do our own family stuff for Xmas eve.

Saturday: A busy day, full of prep for the evening. The last few years, as the kids have grown up, our holiday has been focused on Christmas Eve as a time to gather our own family and the extended family together. This year, WTG (my ex) hosted in his new home.  It's just a little mobile home and the place was packed full.  With everyone counted there were 22 in attendance. When I first walked in, I was incredibly overwhelmed by the amount of people and by seeing guests I wasn't expecting to see. However, it turned out to be a really wonderful evening. There was good food, provided by everyone potluck fashion....and so many gifts!

Here are some photos of the festivities -

Girlie Girl and Social Animal cannot control their beauty and charm!

Kick Back Dude and Girlie Girl being jolly and such. Schweet!

Why, Handsome Lad! You look fabulous!

Me, me mum, Little Prince, Princess Diva, & Love Bug. We got stuff and this is some of it ;-)





I finally got home around 10:30 or so.  DR finished up with his own family and came back over.  By Christmas proper he was home...and it was probably the happiest I've been in such a long time.

I will take a break and you give you a break....more to come tomorrow :)











This Musical Message is For Every Mother's Child

We're Ready!

All is right in the world!  Merry Christmas to some of the best girls and boys in the whole world.  

Festivus, We Salute You!

"The Festivus Song"written in 2003 by three people who got it:
by Rockyhors (DR),
Wildblue (me),
Poppaspank,
And two people who didn't:
Lyonheart
John H. Spencer.

Now it's time for Festivus
a holiday for the rest of us
no dreidel to spin
or fat guy creepin' in
a season that quickly ends
gather your family and friends
this part is the most fun
tell each and every one
how this last trip round the sun
every wrong thing that they've done
has really let you down
but no need to wear a frown
beeeee--caaaaaause
---- now it's time for Festivus ...

Now it's time for Festivus
A holiday for the rest of us.
No big ticket items
Or games of gelt hide 'ems
It's no festival of unity
But you'll speak with impunity
Call your dad and mother
Invite your sis and brother
Tell 'em what you REALLY think
Bottoms up, lets have a drink
Spread the ugly truth around
Cry, if you must, without a sound
Beeeeeeeee-caaaaaaause
---Now its time for Festivus.....

Now it's time for Festivus
a Holiday for the rest of us
We'll gather round the festive pole
an icon of majestic length
and stretch and flex as we prepare
the challenge of the feats of strength
We'll feast as friends who hate us
are preparing to berate us
we gather for this yearly meal
with family we'd like not to see
why subject ourselves to this ordeal?
because, you putz, the chow is free
Beeeeeeeeeeee-caaaaaaaaaause (gasp)
----- now it's time for Festivus!......

Note: Goes wildly off course here ---

Now is the time for Festivus
a holiday for the rest of us
but keep us far away from mistletoe
because we really don't trust Uncle Joe
and big expensive gifts for kids are poxes
because they end up playing with the boxes
you know that you can count on sweetie's mom
to tell you why your turkey was a bomb
while in the den Ed, Bill and Walter stare
as if a football game were on the air
you're tired of each other -- that much is clear
and so you smile and wave "Same Time Next Year"
beeeeeeeeee-cauuuuuuuuuuse
---- now it's time for Festivus! . . .

And now, it is the time for Festivus,
A holiday made for the rest of us.
Blow out the pilot light and crank up the stove,
Insert your head and reunite with Jove.
Beware the cars careening to and fro,
don't sin too much, and don't eat yellow snow.
The carolers evoke a thoughtful grin--
One well aimed .22 will damp their din.
The yule log burns, it is a merry light
It's Presto scent's like smoking Samsonite.
The guests are gussied up, so no one knows
that Uncle Fred has cankers on his nose.
And all those joys abound with little fuss
Because it is the time of Festivus
************************************************************************************

And that, my friends, is the Festivus song.  A tradition here at Fresh Hell since 2005! Hope you all enjoy celebrating with your own Airing of the Grievances and Feats of Strength around the old Festivus Pole!  Festivus for the rest of us!

All I Want

Time, time, time for the final Choose and Defend Wednesday before Christmas...so one more festive choice to be made! We are almost there, people! Home stretch! And yes...of course, I am talking about DR's journey, as well as the push towards Santa's big day.  For today, though, let me learn a bit about you and the way that your family celebrates.  Which part of the holiday is the main focus in your family...

Christmas Eve

OR

Christmas Day

 
Maybe it is both, or neither, or it changes from year to year. You can tell us all about that in comments! But still. You know the rules. For the purposes of this game, you are encouraged to Choose and also, of course, to Defend. So let's have it! Make a statement! Tell a story! Make me stop yelling things with my fingers!!!! Choose and Defend :)

Counting the Minutes

Counting down to Christmas. Counting down to some time off from work. But mostly counting down, in earnest now, the return of DR.  After a series of misadventures, primarily car related, he and his mom were finally able to set off on their cross country trip earlier today.  Finally! DR thinks they should be here by Thursday. Think good thought for safe travel, would you? Thanks!

Are we there yet?

This Musical Message is For My Everything

Friday Five - Award Season

Thought I would treat myself to a little Friday 5 today! Here is what that blog's author, Scrivner, had to say -
Golden Globes nominees were announced this week, and while it should be clear by now to anyone paying attention that they are fully irrelevant, they do kick off the season for reflective retrospection, at least in certain parts of life. In that spirit, please announce your awards for the year 2011 in these categories!

1. What wins your award for Best Supporting Household Appliance? I'm sorry. THAT is a personal question. Moving on.

2. What wins your award for Outstanding Performance by Something that Comes in a Bottle or Can? It would would be cuter if I had a boozy answer for this, but I'm not really very drinky.  The award goes to Dr. Pepper!  I'm a Pepper, he's a Pepper, she's a Pepper, we're a Pepper...wouldn't you like to be a Pepper too? Come on. You know you want to. Just do it...I won't tell, I swear. Do it.

3. Who wins your award for Excellence in Poor Timing?  Since sometimes my whole life seems to be based upon the notion of poor timing this might be a hard one to narrow down. However, I am going to go ahead and announce a tie, with the award going to two great blasts from the past - Team C and Gerard...this one's for you. Maybe you should wrestle for it...

4. What wins your award for Wardrobe Newcomer of the Year? Easy. That award goes to the newest addition to my beary Sebastienesque t-shirt collection. Bear with Machete, come on down!!!

5. What wins your award for Outstanding Achievement in Stealing Time? The Internet.  More specific? Um...Blogger?  No...Tumblr?  Oh, I know...it has to be Twitter. There. You happy, Twitter, you time sucking jerk?

(bonus question!) 6. The American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences calls its trophy the Oscar. The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences calls its trophy the Grammy. What do you call yours? When you win here, you when a Fresh Hell.  Enjoy!

I invite you all to play along on your own blog or in comments. I'd love see who wins YOUR awards!

A Man Must Have a Shed to Keep Him Sane

Thought I'd go all in with another sort of festive post for this week's Choose and Defend Wednesday. I was thinking about the many things about Christmas that leave me with mixed feelings. Some of the pomp seems to be just so much filler...yet it also has that callback, traditional element that is hard to dismiss.  When I thought of "filler" and "tradition" what immediately came to mind, for some reason, are those traditional fillers that tend to go in the Xmas stocking. Follow that line of logic! Um, anyway...What is your favorite traditional stocking filler?

Fruit

OR

Nuts

All that's left to do is Choose and Defend. I will leave you to it :) Gracias!

I'm Gifted!

Here is a quick pictorial post about some gifts I've already received. I have to admit that getting things does help get me in that proper festive mood :) I guess giving things has a similar effect, but I am still waiting on my vacation sell back check so that I can really begin shopping. 

Anyway, here are some lovely things for you to admire -

This is the Sebastien print that I bought Sunday. It makes me laugh

every time I look at it.

My newest Sebastien bear tee. So true, so true.

My little bear friend, Milly, gave this to me early, because I gave her an early gift. All six episodes of Andy Barker, P.I.   I ♥ Andy Richter and still mourn the loss of this show and Andy Richter Controls the Universe.  Very happy to have this on DVD :)

Milly also gave me this cute, cute tee! Books! A cute giraffe in specs! Love it!



This was a shirt that Team C brought me when he stopped by to see me unexpectedly last week. Haven't seen him in a couple of years, but he still knows me I see!

So yeah, I am getting in the mood!  On a less festive note, it looks like DR is pushing back his departure date. That is why I took the countdown clock down.  He had planned to leave tomorrow afternoon or Thursday morning. Now it looks to be maybe Friday or Saturday. Who knows? Not me. But I guess he has to do what he has to do and I will see him when he gets here. *sigh*

Please check in tomorrow for Choose and Defend Wednesday!!! Thanks.

Renegade Craft Fair

Yesterday, my little bear friend Milly and I took the Metro into L.A. to the Renegade Craft Fair.  Our purpose was twofold - to look at all the fine artistic creations AND to meet someone I feel like I've known forever, blogger and artist Sebastien Millon!  (Note: he doesn't get a chance to blog much anymore, but check his place out anyway. Lots of great art there!)

Here I am with the handsome devil, Sebastien.

Milly was kind enough to take our picture :)

I've been a fan of Sebastien's work for a long time and own many of his graphic tees. Of course, like a giant geek, I wore one to meet him. He is just as cool and nice as I'd imagined just from knowing him online. This was one of my first opportunities to meet a fellow blogger and I highly recommend it.

While I was there I got a new tee and also an awesome print. Pictures tomorrow.  If you haven't or even if you have, make sure to check out Sebastien's Etsy shop.  You can also see his latest work on his Facebook page.

Hope you all had a good weekend too. But mine was better! 

This Muscial Message is For Hurry Don't Be Late

Tick Tock

Do you guys see my countdown clock? In about a week, DR will be back in the land of earthquakes and love :)  I'm happy,  excited, and nervous. We are planning for him to move in, which I am also happy, excited, and nervous about.

One of the first pictures I ever got of DR, from about 7 or 8 years ago!

He is planning to make the trip back by car. He and his mom will head this direction, setting out either Wednesday afternoon or Thursday morning. It isn't quite clear how long the drive will take, but probably they will arrive Sunday or Monday (the 18th or 19th).  The plan is for them to come to my place for a couple of days and then go on to his sister's place and be based there during the holidays. I think that will give us a good little transition period. I admit, however, that when he brought up having his mom with us for the first couple days of our reunion, it certainly changed my mental image of that reunion! Still, it makes the most sense, and I am glad to get to meet his mom finally. After all, he has had the dubious pleasure of meeting my parents already.

Anyway, I expect to have these butterflies in my stomach for the next few days. I have some things to do to get ready for guests...and for a new roommate, so to speak. But honestly, when I try to think of what to do, my mind goes kind of blank. That's how I roll.

What are you looking forward to most this holiday season?

Revved Up Like a Deuce

After slaving away in the darkness for the past four of my work days, I was super excited to see the lights on when I came to work today. We pulled ourselves together and opened to the relieved public by noon.

In honor of this glorious day, I dedicate this week's Choose and Defend Wednesday to LIGHT!  And, you know, might as well get specific and festive too, right?  When you are out oohing and aahing at the holiday displays, which ones really light your fire?

Muli-Color Displays

OR

Single Color Displays

Multi-color is multi-color, but for Single color feel free to imagine any one color that you like! Tell us which you prefer and why. Choose and Defend! You don't have to celebrate Christmas or decorate yourself to have an opinion either...so there is no getting out of this. Choose and Defend!

Our Weather Event

abcnewsradioonline.com

It has been an odd few days.  On Wednesday night, we had what is being referred to as a "weather event". Some very high winds came through, like 80-90 mph, all during the night. I could hear the palm trees rattling, but it didn't disturb me unduly. When I got up Thursday morning, it was clear that the winds had created some major consequences. Many, many trees had been torn apart limb from limb or uprooted altogether. Transformers had been knocked out, power lines were down. The whole San Gabriel Valley was quite a mess. 

I never lost power, but all over the place schools were closed. I have had kids in school for over 20 years and we've never had school cancelled unexpectedly. We don't have snow days here! Anyway, no school for Handsome Lad. I hadn't heard anything from work, so I headed in. It took me 70 minutes to drive the 12 miles. There was so much debris in the street and most of the traffic lights were not functional. When I got to work, I found that there was no power. 

We sat around for a couple of hours, and finally the decision was made to send everyone home.  Those of us scheduled to work the next day (Friday) were told not to come in unless we were called. Keeping up on Nixle, I knew power hadn't been restored.  So...I ended up with two extra days off, paid!  Plus, of course, the weekend.  Handsome Lad and his family spent Friday night with me, as they had lost power too. Fortunately for them, theirs was restored early Saturday.  My mom had lost power too, but the property owners had a generator! She was fortunate and was able to stay home snug.

When I went in to work this morning, I knew that there was still no electricity in the library.  I was hoping they'd send us home quick. However, they were probably sick of paying us for not working. We were told if we wanted to leave, we could take vacation time, otherwise we should find some sort of little project to work on...and maybe the power would come back on at some point.  Bah.  So we worked in the cold, dark building...mostly shifting books and straightening shelves. Always stuff that needs to be done, but tedious in the dark! They did finally let us go about 4:00, when it started to be become too dark even to work near windows.  Towards the end of the day, they also brought by a HUGE generator.  So, by the time I go in at noon tomorrow, maybe we will have some sort of power.

They have told us we cannot open to the public until we are fully functional. Meaning we have to have enough to juice, not only for lights, but the servers and such must all be up and running. I hope we can return to business as usual. The old people that come every day were lingering around the door this morning, probably unsure of where they'd spend their long day. After school the kids were all around the building...because the library is where they go! I loved having extra time off, I can't deny it. But since now they are going to make us linger in the building no matter what, I really, really hope they can get us functional.

Whew.

This Musical Message is For Y'All's Baddest Behavior

I'd Rather Drive a Truck

Here we are, creeping through the week, and we've made it all the way to Wednesday! Cheers, cheers! Let's reward ourselves with a little Wednesday Choose and Defend.  Today I thought I'd ask you about your taste in landscaping. Not anything weird...actual landscaping!  So, say you had some land, and I know some of you do, and you were forced to come up with a plan...what do you prefer? Choose and Defend from these two choices...

Formal Garden

OR

Informal Garden

What do you say?  Thought I'd get this one out here before everyone forgot what flowers look like for the winter :) Can't wait to see how you Choose and Defend! Thx.

Unscheduled Sick Day

I'm not gonna lie. I've definitely felt better than I do today.  I'm not sure what has gotten to me...something stomache-y. At first I thought maybe it was some Chinese food I ate yesterday, but no one else who ate it feels bad. So I imagine it is just my body telling me to halt for a bit. I have a big problem actually recognizing that I am unwell, though. Yesterday, when this started, I was weepy and felt uneasy...as though I was somehow in the middle of a big mistake. I couldn't go to sleep, I was uncomfortable, yet somehow it never occurs to me that I might be ill.  Eventually I had my ah ha moment when I realized I wasn't in a mood, I was not well! So. Not sure what I am going to do. I am at work at the moment and am meant to be until 9 tonight. Hoping I can maybe get out of here at 7 instead. If I go right to bed, I could feel better by tomorrow.

Since I'm sitting here I thought I'd just write a little.  Here's my stuff -

On Saturday morning, one of my friends and co-workers, AG suffered a stroke.  He's a young man of just 35 or so, I believe.  He had a gastric bypass last year and lost a great deal of weight, but he is still affected with hypertension.  The doctors said he had a pulmonary embollism that moved to his left cerebellum. He seems out of immediate danger, but his right side is paralyzed and he's unable to speak. I can only imagine how frightening this is for he and his family. He has a wife and three children of about 10, 8, and 5. I am not a person who prays, but I had an appreciation for a phrase his wife used, asking people to continue "lifting AG up in prayer". I like the idea of our thoughts helping him to rise above his injury and move toward recovery. It's all very sobering and upsetting.

Here is AG receiving an award from the Arcadia PD for his part in helping to stop
a series of thefts in the library.

In less dire news, my family members have all gotten themselves relocated after WTG lost the house.  WTG himself has gotten a little mobile home and has put it into a small park very nearby.  It is not quite habitable yet, but hopefully by tomorrow? He's been staying with his mom (except for one night with me, which was not all that comfortable for me).  The grown up boys he had living with him are situated. Although Kick Back Dude and Princess Diva are no longer a couple, he has had to move back in to their family home. They will just have to work it out for awhile, while she finishes school. When they are both working, perhaps they can afford two places.  Secret Agent Man got a 2 bedroom apartment with a friend just a street over from me and Social Animal got a little studio on his own just a few blocks away.  I feel, in truth, a lot of relief that those little birds were put in a position that made it unquestionably time to leave the nest. It was time.  Me and Girlie Girl are sitting tight, with Handsome Lad expected to continue roaming back and forth between mine and WTG's places.  So, all should be well.

Here are mah behbehs running around after their Thanksgiving meal. There were bubbles involved.
In their game, not the meal :)

I even less dire news, Dancing with the Stars has completed it's 13th season. (It has been on since 2005 and I guess runs two seasons per year.) I had a lot of fun watching it, as I'm sure you all know from reading my DWTS 2011 page.  haha! Just kidding :-)  But I did. And I can't wait to see who the contestants will be in the spring.  Sorry to report that there were no winners amongst my bloggers.  3GirlKnight came closest with his pick, Hope Solo, finishing 3rd.  But no one bet on war hero and soap actor JR Martinez, who won. You'll get 'em next time, guys!

Dancing with the Stars winner JR Martinez and his professional partner Karina Smirnoff. Yay!

 Guess that is it for the time being. Writing is very soothing at the moment, so I thank you for reading.  Feeling hopeful that the rest of the week will find me feeling more like myself. THAT should shut me right up :)

This Musical Message is For You Did

Friday 5 on Saturday - Leftovers

Hello and welcome to the moody hangover that is the weekend after Thanksgiving :) So much food!  So much family! Now back to our regularly scheduled programming...which for me means work today (Saturday). I thought I'd go check out this week's Friday 5. I thought it was particularly clever with some leftover questions from other Friday 5s getting their big chance.  So even though it is Saturday, I decided to participate. Please feel free to join in! Have I mentioned that I ♥ comments?

1. Leftover from April 17, 2009: What’s a creature comfort (practically unnecessary) you must take with you on an overnight trip in the great outdoors? Please consider a phone something that has practical necessity!  Let me start by saying I couldn't quite tell you when my last overnight trip in the great outdoors even occured. However, were that to come up, I know I would want to have a book or two with me. Practically necessary? No. But for me, reading material feel necessary on every level! It's an addiction.

2. Leftover from August 31, 2007: What did yesterday cost you? <– Thanksgiving in the U.S., but answer it for wherever you are and whatever you did! If I stick with the idea of what did Thanksgiving cost me, the answer would be nothing! I didn't provide anything except my company.  It took maybe $10 in gas to drive to my dad and stepmom's...but they gave me $40 and a roll of quarters for laundry! So, I actually made $40 on Thanksgiving.

Love don't cost a thing...

3. Leftover from January 25, 2008: What was your excuse the last time you were REALLY late for something? I'm usually not REALLY late for things. But I am sometimes a BIT late. Last time I came in to work late, my excuse was multifaceted. It included Handsome Lad having been difficult to get out the door and off to school, exceptionally horrific traffic, and the understandable need to arrive with some coffee.  And it was fine :)

4. Leftover from February 18, 2011: What was your first online purchase? I can't say, in all honesty, that I remember my first online purchase. Given what I tend to purchase though, I imagine it was either a book or a CD. Maybe it was naughty lingerie. I went through a brief flirtation with naughty lingerie that might have coincided with the beginning of online purchasing. So maybe.

5. Leftover from December 25, 2009: Which of your gifts do you think you do not put to its best, fullest use? I think I have been given the gift of empathy. I have to say though, it can be difficult and painful to use it fully. So I don't think that I do. I mute it or I'm not sure how I'd live.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving...or a wonderful past couple of days...and a good weekend as well! Now, if I can get through Xmas in one piece I can call this year a relative success.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I don't practice gratitude as often as I should. Today is a good day to remember all that we have and all that we may potentially have.  Have a great day everyone!

You Say Potato

I feel like I haven't been a really good blogger lately and I apologize. I think a lot of it has to do with having more anxiety at work for the past few months, since my new weird boss came on board. There has also recently been a lot of upheaval for my family with them losing their house and everyone scrambling to find other accommodations. Anxiety, apparently, is not this blogger's friend when it comes to writing. I am hopeful that things will be better soon. I really enjoy blogging and miss it when I can't get to it or feel unable to put my thoughts together.

Now...on to a simple Choose and Defend Wednesday. I thought since it is the day before Thanksgiving I would go with a food choice.  We all like food, right?  So here you go...Choose and Defend!  Do you prefer -

Potatoes

OR

Sweet Potatoes

As usual lately, not exactly a deep thinker...but still, I'd love to read your answers and the rousing defense of your choice!!!  Choose and Defend strikes again!

If I don't see you before....Happy Thanksgiving to my American friends and Happy Thursday to you other fine folks :)

This Musical Message is For a Face Like an Angel

Friday 5 - Moving

Had a bit of downtime, so I decided to check in at Friday 5. They've moved, but are still in bidnez :)  As you can see, this Friday 5 is all about moving, which is super relevant to my life at the moment.  Let's explore.  I hope you'll participate, on your blog or in comments!

1. When did you last move residences? I guess it was just over two years ago. And my last move was just from one apartment to another in the same building. Very simple :) A bunch of my family members are in the process of moving as we speak. Not simple at all!

2. What song leaves you completely unmoved even though it seems everyone else is moved by it?  Lately, I don't know. Things that come to mind...people saying they teared up when they heard Susan Boyle singing back whenever that was? Didn't get it. Also, Circle of Life doesn't make me cry.  And I am not some hardened heart! So whatevs.

3. On what kinds of mornings is it easiest for you to jump out of bed and get moving? Mornings when I've slept long enough that it is light out and I have something in particular to look forward to that day. Then I'm all bright eyed and bushy tailed, so to speak. Truthfully, I seldom linger in bed. Once my alarm goes off, it might not be easy, but I get on up and get going.

4. What object do you get most annoyed about when people move it without letting you know? My keys. Please. Do not make me look for my keys. Don't do it.

5. In what way are you waiting on someone else to make a move? Aw, I think most of you know the move I am waiting for. The clock is ticking! My sweetheart is making a move...and I am waiting, waiting, waiting....

Hope you all have a weekend that moves you in some good way!  Peace!

I Love Them All, One By One

Welcome to Choose and Defend Wednesday. We are deep in the middle of the Silly Season. [Note: officially Silly Season begins with Halloween and ends with New Year's Eve]  I thought it would be a good time to compare the two major Autumn holidays and pit them against one another in a brutal fight to the finish! Or, you know, we could just Choose and Defend...  Which of these two holidays is your favorite (Choose) and why (Defend)?

Halloween

OR

Thanksgiving

I know you will all tell it like it is...so tell!

PS- If you are not American, perhaps you have a similar sort of harvest festival type holiday you could use?

Thanks for participating in Choose and Defend Wednesday!!!

I'm Social. Let's Network.

There are simply too many options now! I am a big fan of social networking. I really do believe that while all of my online interactions have not been positive, the overwhelming majority have been. I have gotten to know people whom I never would have met without the benefit of the webz.  The fact that I even feel compelled to talk about it is probably partly just a condition of my age. I didn't grow up with all of this.  I called my friends from the phone in my mom's kitchen or the den. If they weren't home, the phone would ring and ring and I would call back another time.  Now, no one is every truly unreachable...well, not NO one...but most people. There are so many ways to get ahold of them.  But I'm kind of getting off track with what I started to say.  Social networking sites.  Ways to post content and receive reactions, either immediate or sometime in the future when someone stumbles across it.  I'm aware too, that there is a lot more out there that I am not even participating in, but I feel close to overwhelmed by what I'm doing now.  Let's break it down -

Yahoo Groups - Anyone remember those? I still have a couple of active ones sending somewhat regular emails (remember those?) I have a great sentimental feeling for these groups because one of them is where I met DR. Pop culture talk and my soulmate! Nice.

Blogger - Obviously. I blog here. I have met some amazing people through reading their blogs and commenting...or they came here and commented. Of the particular people I started out with, a number of them have either given up blogging or put in on hold.  But there are new bloggers all the time it seems.  As for me, I love blogging. I love a forum where it is perfectly justified that I'd be talking about myself non-stop. It's MY blog :-D But seriously, I do get great feedback when I have questions or issues or just want to have some fun. Hard to imagine giving it up.

Facebook -  Facebook came after a brief foray into Friendster and a longer stay at MySpace.  I used to play games there, but gave all that up when it became too time consuming and felt jobbish.  Now I just check in to see what people are up to.  I have my family on there, friends from high school and from work, as well as people I met at other place online, but haven't met in real life. I know the shine is kind of wearing off Facebook, but I still enjoy visiting there and engaging in a bit of back and forth with people in comments about posts...and who doesn't love looking through people's photos? (That could be just me...but I don't think so!)  Also, if you ever post a YouTube video on there because it made you think of me, my heart will melt and I will love you forever ;-) Um, unless it is, like, a monkey peeing in it's own mouth or something...don't send me that.

Twitter - Twitter has turned out to be a lot of fun for me. Some people don't like the 140 character format, but I love that part of it! Just say what you are going to say and walk away, so to speak. I get to read jokes, opinions, and just random observations from sooo many different kinds of people. I am endlessly fascinated. And when I post something and get some talk back, or a star, or a retweet, I admit it feels pretty good! The danger there is getting too caught up in the sort of competitive aspect of it. But I am a pretty laid back person in some ways, so that part doesn't bother me all that much. I just like the one liners :)

Tumblr - Just recently started participating there.  Mostly because a lot of people on Twitter are also on Tumblr and are always sending links to their posts. A lot of them I just ignore, but sometimes I want to read. Of course you can read without signing up, but I thought, why not? Now, I mostly use it to reblog things other people have posted...mostly cool images that I like. So it is kind of like a virtual scrapbook of stuff other people created or found that I like.  Can't really think of much original content to post...because I have so many other forums already!

I've also signed up at Google +, which hasn't really added anything to my life. I might have a profile or started a profile at Linked In...but I didn't follow through. Didn't seem like something I needed.  I do check my Klout every now and then. Not sure exactly what it means, but everyone likes to feel influential, right?
 
I am guessing a lot of people have lots more going on online than I do. But for me, I think I'm fully saturated! But each piece of the puzzle feels like it fits for now. Can't wait to see what's next!  I'd love to hear more about what you guys are doing. (This is participation-y part of blogging that I like) Thanks for reading and thanks for being part of my life here. It means the world to me.

This Musical Message is For Would You Like a Present Too?

A Happy Birthday

Just wanted to post a little Happy Birthday post for my Richard DR.  I am so happy and excited that by Christmas we will be able to celebrate holidays together! 

Happy Birthday to my best friend, always.

Dreams of You All Through My Head

It was a kooky day today, so here is a very quick Choose and Defend Wednesday post for you!  Had a quick brainstorm and just decided to offer up a couple of iconic cartoon critters for you to peruse.

Scooby Doo

OR

Snoopy

All you have to do is Choose who you'd prefer as your own loyal canine companion. Then tell us why.  Choose and Defend!

Not too deep...but I bet you can bring some depth to it.  Thanks for participating.  It is one of the high points of my week, seeing what you have to say.

The Long Road to Patience

Today's post was inspired by a post that 3 Girl Knight wrote over at his blog By God's Good Grace about patience.  I was almost going to write a rather political post, but that is really not my forte. I have some fairly strong feelings about some of the issues surrounding prospective Presidential candidates, but I think I will leave them alone for now.  But, I think an argument I recently engaged in about one of these issues was what made 3GK's post hit home for me.

Me and patience. It's not simple. I can't just say that I am a patient person or an impatient person.  This particular post made me think about how my capacity for patience functions though and here is what I came up with.  In the short term, I would say that I tend to be rather impatient. I sometimes react without thinking when I feel like someone doesn't or won't understand a point I am trying to make. How well I'm actually making that point is totally not the point. Whatever kind of job I'm doing, I'm not thinking of that when I get to that point of eyes tearing up and teeth / fist clenching.  It is about the other person not GETTING IT. I am also impatient, as most people are, about the bureaucratic elements that delay simple things.  I work for a city, so I am used to being thwarted on acting quickly, yet I still find myself impatient and frustrated when the expected obstacles are put up.

But there is also the big picture and the long term.  That is where I think I am able to pull it together and become one of the most patient people in the world.  It is the me with the cooler head that operates in this dimension.  Sure, I can stay married to a person who is in no way good for me for 15 years.  There is work to be done and my time will come.  Yes, I can struggle for the next 10 years and counting on my own, because, again, there is work to be done and my time will come.  I can be patient with the people in my life, not always moment to moment, but certainly year to year. I am patient like a dog who will always be there. The patience of loyalty and the patience of the conviction that I'm doing the right thing in the long run. 

Reading this over, I'm not sure how much sense it will make to anyone outside of my head :) But still. I appreciate you reading. Go ahead, try my patience. Just make sure you are planning to stick around to see the big picture.

This Musical Message is For a Wet World Aches

I Came to This Strange World

Ready for some Choose and Defend? It is Wednesday, so I hope so!  It's what we do here. 

I think I've brought this topic up in the past, but not on Choose and Defend.  I've had it on my mind, so I thought I'd invite you to join me in thinking this over.  Although, during the course of our lives we all fill many different roles...in general, do you tend to find yourself acting as....

A Giver

Or

A Taker

Again, no one is always one or the other.  But I do think we tend to fall into one category or another.  Sometimes because of who we are and as a correlating factor...who we surround ourselves with. 

Go ahead - Choose!  Then, in comments, Defend as enthusiastically as you can manage :) Looking forward to your responses!  Choose and Defend.

Boogity Boogity Boo!

Happy Halloween from the City of Arcadia.  I am not in this picture. 

It was taken this morning around 8:30 and I am lucky if I make it in by 9 :)

Hope you all get lots of treats and only the good kind of tricks!

This Musical Message is for...Antici...payshun

Friday 5 (on Saturday) - Repellent

Lately, although I have things to say, I seem to have trouble putting together a coherent blog post.  This sort of block is one big reason why I love memes like Friday 5 , which is one of my very favorites to use.  Seems appropriate that right before Halloween the theme would be "repellent". Even though it is Saturday, please enjoy some Friday 5 soul searchin'.  Play along in comments if you like!!!

1. What’s something you enjoy eating that many others would be grossed-out by? My tastes are quite non-exotic, so it is hard to imagine anyone being grossed out by my food.  Still, my deep love for ranch dressing and/or french onion dip and my willingness to put them on most anything MIGHT be a teeny bit gross to some ;-)

2. Which of your personal traits is most likely to make others want to avoid you? The french onion dip? Maybe. I wonder sometimes if my shyness keeps me from seeming approachable. I tend to look down at a book or my phone in situations where I am on my own. Yet, I do seem to attract those people looking for someone to talk to...endlessly...

3. If you could wear a bracelet that had the power to keep certain kinds of people away from you, what kind of people would you repel? I would want to repel people looking to spread their negativity and ugliness to others. I'd never again be subjected to a weird, random, bigoted rant...BE GONE!

4. We are all capable of overcoming our biases, of course, but what’s a physical trait (in others) that pretty much turns you off? Not that you run into this often, but I have to look away from those really muscle bound guys...like super body builder types.  The distortion of the musculature is unattractive to me.  Also, don't mind some extra weight...I myself am not the slip of a girl I once was! But, you know, hugely obese? No thank you.

5. When you feel a case of the blues coming on, what do you do to fend off the bad feelings? Too much solitude tends to bring on the blues.  Not that I don't love my "me" time...but too much seems to lead to darker thoughts.  If I feel myself getting kind of weepy and down, if I can't actually get together with someone, I try a phone call or even interacting with someone online. The human connection repels the blues for me.

Hope you're all having a great weekend repelling what needs repelling...and more importantly attracting what needs to be attracted! Be thee like the magnet!

I Was Born, One Day I'll Die

It is Wednesday, which means it is time once again to Choose and Defend.  The question today comes straight from the life of yours truly.  It will be no surprise to anyone to hear that people don't like to be told "no".  Today, I am running a very popular program for the little kids.  It is very simple, a brief storytime, trick or treat through the library, back for snacks and a little video.  For some reason, this community goes crazy over it.  I do the program twice and am able to allow 75 children (ages 2-6) into each program.  We have been giving out tickets since Saturday, and since yesterday afternoon both programs have been full.  You might be surprised if you could see how upset people get when they find out they won't be able to attend.  Honestly, tempers flair. But there are certainly different styles of anger, frustration, and trying to get your way.  And I thought I'd ask you how do you tend to react when you come up against something that angers or frustrates you?  Do you get...

Aggressive

OR

Passive Aggressive

Some of you are probably pretty zen and don't delve into the murky waters of aggession.  But another way to look at it is maybe...do you tend to be very direct? Or do you slide around the issue and hope for results?  Choose and Defend!  Because it is Wednesday and this is What Fresh Hell is This? !!!  Thanks :)