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| >> Campfire Creative >> Other >> Community >> ID #921163 |   |
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[Introduction]
...And now we return to:  Long Live Barney II, The Sequel... If you'd like to see what we're all about, read
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 catty WDC since 2003 Whew!  Hi, Everyone! Welcome to the new Dinosaur!!I hope everyone had a wonderful 2004, and I am looking forward to 2005. In going over past topics, I was trying to come up with something new and interesting to kick off the new Campfire. Many people make resolutions, many wish for world peasce and hope and/or pray to miraculously get rich, but realistically speaking, goals are pretty easily swept aside as the months and weeks roll by. So, my thoughts turned to something less serious than the new year, holidays, resolutions and bills. I want to know what you obsess over! What is the one thing that you can't pass up when you have cash in your pocket? What little thing has crept under your skin and taken hold of your senses? As for me, it's all about pens! Yep, doesn't matter if they're cheapie little Bics, nice expensive Schaefers or something in between. I love pens. All colors, all shapes, all sizes, fat, skinny, long, short, fine point, medium point whatever! I love pens! So, what's YOUR obsession? Niteowl Gum, teen magazines, fantasiy novels, VH1, and the three writing sites I am active in. I obsess over pretty sad stuff pretty easily. I am strange. Deal with it. Actually, once you watch VH1's Totally Obsessed or MTV's True Life the I'm Obsessed with my Dog episode, you will not think I am strange at all. One guy is so obsessed with the Klingons, he's convinced he is one, he's learnt the language (he can say Hamlets soliloquy in Klingon), dresses like a Klingon, has the Klingon name Leutinant Ri'Par, and even planned a Klingon wedding for his friends. It wasn't all out, the "mere mortals couldn't handle an all-out Klingon reception." He is planning to make his house look like the holodeck of the USS Enterprise. And this other guy is so obsessed with Disney, he's the only person granted license to tattoo himself with 456 Disney characters. Mickey and Minnie showed up at the wedding to his sixth wife, his ENTIRE house is covered in Disney stuff, and his motto is NBD Nothing But Disney. And this one lady is obsessed with being Anna Nicole Smith. She does bear a pretty good resemblance...people on the street actually think she's Anna Nicole Smith, she signs autographs, and even has a makeup artist! All on a dental hygienist's salary. She still needs to use "Trimspa baby!" One guy is so obsessed with Miami Vice, he'd choose it over his wife! "Tubs" showed up at their wedding and ended up being the main focus. And this other guy is obsessed with sewing and wearing Madonna's costume. From the Like a Virgin 1984 VMA's dress to the Drowned World tour outfits, he's got them all. He shows up at her concerts wearing the costumes for that tour. She acknowledged him once on some show on MTV. This other lady has over 200 rats, and she lets them take over her living room. She even kisses them! How does her poor husband live in that house? And on True Life: I'm obsessed with my dog, this model has a little poodle she dyes pink and has her toenails painted pink. She carries him in her bag and she HATES being without him. She couldn't stand it when he had to be groomed and she wasn't able to take him to this one shoot. This other guy had his dog tattoed on his body (I can't remember where). He let his dog sleep in the bed and his girlfriend (who had to go back to India or wherever she was from pretty soon) sleep on the couch. That's all I have to say for now. Steve Ellen Hahahaha! That's a lot of strange obsessions. I was going to say that compared to that I don't have any obsessions, then I remembered how my bed is constructed. Boxes of books, each a foot square by a foot deep, 36 of them in two layers of 18. On top of the books - my mattress. Fortunately, I am over my book buying obsession now. I have about 5000 of them and it has finally dawned on me that I won't live long enough to read them all, so I refrain from buying any more books.My current obsession is checking DVDs out of the library. See, I don't have cable TV and I didn't have a DVD player until a couple of months ago. Now I am watching old cable series like the Larry Sanders Show, Sex and The City, Curb Your Entusiasm, etc, at the rate of an entire year's worth of shows in a week or two! I'm a speed viewer! And when I run out of those, there are all the movies that I haven't seen. My other current obsession is pizza. Have you ever seen those Presto Pizza Makers that sit right on the kitchen counter and revolve like a record player? Well, I just got one and now I love to cook pizza. It's right there in front of you cooking! Very entertaining.  dreamteller When I was little I had all sorts of collections. I collected rocks, and then as I got bigger that turned to crystals. I still love crystals, but it's not like it used to be. For one thing metaphysical stores don't seem to be "in" right now here, and that's where I got most of them. Also I've been giving away a lot to my friends and family. I also collected minatures and cat figurines for awhile as a kid. I collected strays too. That was called to a halt when one stray snuck in, and stole my sister-in-law's $50 bird out of her cage and ate her. I'm not a bird fan myself unless they are wild. Plus you have to admire how sneaky the cat was to get in right then, and figure out how to open the cage. She crept out, and we didn't know anything was wrong until we saw a trail of feathers...For many years I didn't collect anything, or really obsess over anything (unless you count my vampire phase as a teenager). When my son was about 1 though, I started reading the Harry Potter books to him to make him go to sleep, and then I really got in to them myself. I read the whole series maybe 7 times! I was almost as impressed that she was a poor, single mother before her success as I was with the quality of the books. I remember thinking how crazy people were being over the whole Harry Potter thing before this time, and I didn't even want to read them. Then I became one of them! I even started getting Harry Potter stuff. I'm thankfully done with that now. What is bad though, is that it opened up a new obsession for me. I have always loved to read. For many years though, I hadn't read very much. After finishing up the Harry Potter thing I started thinking about all the books I loved as a child. I began rereading them to Orion, and now there is barely room in my bedroom for all the books I've purchased. He's really probably not even old enough for them yet, but we have a system. I read him about 3 preschool sized books, and then start where I left off on a bigger one. He loves it. The other problem is though that I've bought him his favorite kid's ones at the same time so it is book central at my house much like Steve's. I started selling books on eBay, and that only made it worse because when I go to find inventory, I end up keeping most of them. My dream is to one day have a little library, and then my space issue won't be a problem. That doesn't help me with the spending though. I'm in 3 book clubs. I need to stop! Now that I've revealed the depths of my craziness (and I didn't even mention how I am about movies), I had better let the next person go. Fionnrua Wow! What interesting obsessions. Some of them were real eyebrow-raisers!  If I have extra money I will buy books or music. For a couple of years I was in an Irish phase. I was studying the language, and I found a couple of great Irish booksellers websites. So, I have many Gaelic books on my bookshelf ranging from preschool level stories, dictionaries, Irish mythology and hero stories to Bram Stoker's Dracula. Lately, I have been buying memoirs and true stories, etc. For example, I have a copy of Geronimo's memoirs published in 1909, the memoirs of an army Lieutenant who helped orchestrate Geronimo's surrender published in 1925, and I have just purchased a book containing misc. true accounts of survivors of Indian captivity ranging from the early 1700's to the later 1800's. Fascinating reading! For a while I was collecting blue glass - anything as long as it was blue and made of glass. My husband is the big collector - coins, nutcrackers, lighthouses, military stuff, model ships and cars. Our place is packed with stuff! next! PastVoices Well, maybe I am not as weird as I think I am. I have spent the entire afternoon and evening up to my neck in filing. I have an obsession with not taking the time to put things back when I am done with them. (Papers and documents at the desk that is!) Everytime we had company over the holidays I packed papers in folders, bookbags, even my laptop case (laptop isn't in it) and put them in my room. After I took down the tree, I emptied two bags that were almost taken out with the trash, two laundry baskets and now I am working on the three foot piles (two of them that were on the desk. I have decided it is vital to my getting published this year to put things where I can find them. The fact that I am sitting here looking at a part of the desk I haven't seen in six months is blowing me away. Besides in about three weeks my husband will ask me for the deductions for the taxes and I haven't put one thing in the program that figures them since January (last January). Also, my daughter asked for a total of what she owes us on a loan from 2 1/2 years ago and I am looking for the folder. Have any of you seen a blue pocket folder with a bunch of copies of bank checks in it???? I think it is part of the procrastination problem I have. Another obsession I have had since I was in high school is kind of part of what I do (speaking, writing and chaplaincy). When I was in high school I was told I had a morbid fascination with death. Actually, I am drawn to the grieving. I can feel their pain as though it were my own. It is a gift from God. Sounds morbid? Not really. I lost a niece when I was 14. I lost a nephew when I was 15. My best friend (and the first man/boy I ever loved) was killed halfway through our senior year. When I was 24, my 21-year-old brother was killed in a freak accident. While I was in the hospital in 1982 trying not to have twins, my favorite grandmother died. When my brother died, I was taking a course in the Psychology of Death and Dying. It is the ONLY course I finished that semester. I make a good chaplain and a good hospice worker because I understand. Have you read Tuesdays With Morrie"? My summer with my friend that I wrote,
Now that I have had a few more strokes for my mates here in the writing community and stretched my legs out after terminal filing, I guess I should either get back to it or go to bed and start over in the morning. I have insomnia. Instead of tossing a coin, I just wait to see if my medication will kick in tonight (luck of the draw). Obsessions brings to mind an image I have of my neatness obsessed sister (she is 12 years older than me). They transferred to Ohio when I was newly married and there kids were in grade school. I went to visit them. She scrubbed her concrete garage floor. I have never scrubbed a garage floor in my life -- Never! The first thing I noticed though was her running after her children with a wash cloth. She had white woodwork and they were touching it and "smudging" it. I couldn't see it. Then we had a "picnic." I put that in quotes because the picnic table was in the garage (she could control the contact of flies with the food or so she said). My nephew knocked over his milk glass. No harm done except that it hit the concrete floor and broke and milk went everywhere. For crying out loud, it was a concrete floor. I thought she was going to beat the child senseless. That is when she got out the bucket, mop and sponges. Sheesh! I didn't have kids yet, maybe that is why I have paid more attention to my kids than to housework in the past 30 years! Next!! Sherri I can't think of one think I obsess over to the point that I have to buy it if I see it, or that I think about it all the time. I go through phases of slight obsessions, but it's more like taking an interest in something. I'll learn more about whatever it is, get involved a bit, and then drop it, either because I lose interest or it costs too much to keep going.And I guess if I have to think this hard about something I obsess over, that must mean I don't.  It takes so much to hold my attention, that I'm not sure it's possible for me to obsess...at least not for too long!I might be obsessed with making sure my mom doesn't get an upper edge or run my life...and that's a terribly long story! But, that particular obsession caused me to marry a guy I didn't even like, much less love, just to prove I could make my own decisions (we divorced 1.5 years later). And it causes me to say things I wouldn't normally or become angry and irritated quickly with her. So, I guess if I have an obsession, that would be it! Next! Suze nearly 1000 reviews given I'm a furniture mover. Well, if you are going to vaccumn--you might as well move it and then see if it looks better over there....I don't think that is strange, although some of my friends and family members have whispered straight jacket around me. My mother and I are living together now (she's 81) and when she goes in to take a nap --well, you guessed it. I change the living room around. She told me to stop it or she would send me to my room, then she quickly added, never mind--you will hurt yourself trying to move that dresser!! She's a sweetheart, my mother. She clicks at me. When I say something that upsets her--she puts her tongue at the roof of her mouth and clicks at me. Sometimes, when I'm bored, I'll do something diliberatly so she'll click. catty WDC since 2003 Whew! And I thought my pen obsession was funny!Well, this is the new order, basically it follows in the order each person accepted! Welcome Suze nearly 1000 reviews given  , to our purple home away from home! terrilee won't be able to come and join us right now, but if anyone would like to invite someone, just let me know!I figure three days is fair enough for each turn before I skip someone, this way each member should add a turn twice or three times per month, unless everyone responds quickly! Right now, the weather outside is cold, wet, and windy, and this got me to thinking about another subject for us to think on. I personally enjoy listening to the wind and rain and it's a perfect excuse to light the fireplace, grab a lap robe and read a good book. I don't know how many times people look at me like I'm nuts because I say I enjoy weather! I like fog and mist, it reminds me of my childhood. I enjoy lightning storms and booming thunder, grey days and harsh conditions, it just invigorates me! So, what are things some of you all might enjoy that others would say is crazy, insane, nuts, etc? Niteowl I enjoy history, in fact I probably should have written it under obsessions. A lot of people think I am just a tad crazy for this reason. I go through different phases. First in second grade, it was Abe Lincoln/Civil War, then Greek mythology, then ancient Egypt, then the Incas, Aztecs, Mayans (I don't remember the exact order of these.) I still enjoy most of these subjects (except for the first one. That was the worst.) I sometimes like to watch stuff on the History and National Geographic Channels. There was this one on the other night about Stonehenge...Ooh, I also forgot my fascination with astrology, psychic stuff, the afterlife, basically anything related to the occult. I practically memorized Astrology for Dummies and The Complete Idiot's Guide to Astrology. I even tried to interpret my birth chart, but the aspects make no sense! I can do signs and houses though. Which reminds me of a funny story. I was in the 154's (the occult section) when I saw this book about spells for prosperity and such. I was intrigued, but I wasn't planning on doing any spells. I flipped through it, and this girl walks up and says something like "I wouldn't mess with fortune spells if I were you." Whatever! I also enjoy the night. Some people are afraid of it. Not me. I love it. It's just so...peaceful. I especially like twilight when it's still pretty bright in one part and it's really dark and stars are coming out on the other. Next! Steve Ellen Catty, I don't think enjoying the weather is crazy at all. I am sure many people share that pleasure with us. In fact, since there are so many different pleasures, I am just going to stick to the weather. Maybe there will be a chance to discuss other pleasures later.Some years ago my neighbors had a young son who I was friendly with. We would play ball or tag or whatever. When it was raining I would knock on his door and ask if he wanted to play in the rain. He had a raincoat and cap, but no boots, so I would give him a pair of my old hiking boots to wear. To make them stay on, I would stuff newspapers in the toes. Off we would go admiring the water in the street forming small rivers. A piece of styrofoam would become a sailboat by piercing a piece of paper with a stick and inserting that into the styrofoam. Our boats raced each other to the drainpipe where they disappeared under the street. As we ran to the other side of the road, we each hoped that our boat would emerge from the drainpipe first. In hot weather, I walk barefoot on dirt roads feeling the sun on my back and the sand between my toes. In snow I go crunching through the silent woods listening to the ice tinkle when it breaks loose from frozen trees or I fly down a hill on a makeshift sled. Once at the beach as a rainstorm came up I stayed in the water. The beach was completely emptied of people except for one teenage boy who also stayed in the surf. Out beyond the breakers in the dark clouds, lightning flashed. "What would happen if it strikes here?" he asked me. I looked at him with a devilish grin. "It would kill us." So yes, weather is pleasurable.  Although now that I read what I wrote, maybe you are right that enjoying it can be crazy! dreamteller Most people I know are used to my interest in Feng Shui, but it may seem weird to others. It is the Chinese art of placement for those of you who have never heard of it. There are certain ways to arrange things that are supposed to benefit your life, and increase your Chi or life force. I rearrange my house all the time like Suze. I think Feng Shui has some very practical advice in it. Such as not having broken things all over your house. If you've had some thing for a year or more, and haven't fixed it, it is time to toss it. Otherwise you waste energy thinking about it all the time.I also love the weather and nature. Walking in the rain, and watching storms is the best. I love camping too! I've set up the tent in the house for me and my son when we weren't able to go real camping before. Last summer we camped at the beach with some friends. It was wonderful! Back to that obsession topic: Besides my recent obsessions, I am usually more like Sherri Q. I get excited about a new interest, and then I just get bored with it and abandon it. Talk to you all again soon. Fionnrua Hi Everyone,I have a book on Feng Shui decorating. If I lived alone, I would probably incorporate some of the ideas as well as move my furniture around periodically BUT, my husband's obsessions prevent that! My husband sees a bare spot on the wall and he is compelled to fill it. If I move something on an end table or the coffee table a bare millimeter out of place, he notices and moves it back! I am not kidding, either! He likes organized clutter. I like to see some bare space here and there. When we married and I moved my piano in, it immediately became the home for several of his collectibles. He considers any flat surface to be "real estate" (his term) to be used to display things. On the plus side, he is very neat and I don't have to clean the house very much. He does most of it and I love it. He is very even tempered too. I steam cleaned the carpet yesterday and water got on the kitchen floor and unfortunately, I didn't see it and he went into the kitchen and he fell. Even more unfortunately, he has had periodic pain in his back since Christmas. He didn't even yell at me, although he was upset and in more pain than before. He just said "I'm done." and he sat in a chair until I was finished and then he continued with his cleaning routine. I left to play the Mass at church feeling very guilty, even though it was an accident. Weather? Yes, I like the feel and smell of the air during and immediately after a summer thunderstorm. I think it has something to do with negative ions in the air. I like watching a gentle snowfall from inside the house, with the smell of something good cooking in the kitchen. On the other hand, during certain parts of the year I can accurately predict when we are getting a major change in the weather. I can feel the barometric pressure changing (ever since I had a minor auto accident in 1992 or 1993 and I hit my head against the windshield) and I know in 2 days we will have rain. OK, I have rambled on enough. What was the topic???lol PastVoices There are a great many things that get me labeled as nuts. But since the weather came up, my whole family qualifies my weather proclivities as just that -- strange! I am convinced that the stork got lazy carrying me or misread the tag. Wherever he originated, his intended destination was Montana, Canada, the Yukon anywhere much further north of the St. Louis Metopolitan area. Winter is my season!! You got it! The colder, the snowier the better I like it. Last year, winter here was a huge disappointment. This year isn't shaping up so good either. We did have snow for about 36 hours this weekend. But I didn't get the chance to go crunching through the woods (as Steve perfectly described it). I am still filing. As long as my living room floor is newspapers, important papers and filing cabinets, I have to avoid pleasure (at least when hubby is home). I did have to make a trip to Wallyworld last night. Running out of toilet paper and cat litter are options even this eccentric writer can't let happen (again)! Too much noise the last time (yelling and screaming). While I was there I got three calls from home regarding milk, theraflu and vitamins. He is a great deal crankier when he is sick. I had to preach this morning at the nursing home associated with the hospital where I am a Chaplain Assistant. (I am also a Certified Lay Speaker.) I would like to say I wrote a killer sermon, but I would be lying. I fell asleep here online getting snippets I needed (or thought I needed). I woke this morning and did my devotions and built my message around today's devotional page. Seniors are such a forgiving bunch. They loved hearing my once professional quality voice so much, I could have had us (a few humming, me singing) sing hymns the entire 45 minutes and they would have been quite happy. They were delightful and I had a wonderful time. Then I come home. 'nuff said on that subject. My snow was gone this morning when I woke up, just as quietly as it had come on Friday night. But, Saturday morning! Whoa! I have a description of the view out my window in a September piece in my portfolio. It was frosted when I raised my head Saturday morning. I didn't have to do more than raise up on my elbows (and my stuffed animal - long story) to hear the silent hush I knew was there. I could hear cars crunching in the street. I stayed right there for almost an hour, just taking in the beauty and the awesome wonder God alone can paint. While I am praying for a snowfall of more than three inches, my husband is praying for no more at all. (He didn't want what we got, but since it fell on his day off, he let it slide.) In 2001, I was convinced my stork theory was correct because I was doing my senior paper on the restoration of the gray wolf to Yellowstone. I had been doing book research for more than a year. I heard about a winter wolf watching excursion. My "brother-in-law" (another long story) gifted me with a plane ticket and I couldn't not go. And, I went alone. (Got classified as nuts for that too.) The wolf watching was two and a half days with a three night stay in the Mammouth Springs Lodge (one of the oldest ones in the park). The first two nights I was there and the last two nights I was there were in Bozeman, Montana. For me, it was heaven. I didn't rent a car as the shuttle from the park picks you up from the local hotels for the long trip to the park. I walked all over Bozeman before and after the park trip. It was 10 to 15 degrees below zero. When we went out wolf watching at 4:30 a.m. the first morning of ww, it was 22 degrees below zero. I was in heaven. Later that morning we climbed a ridge to see a kill sight and then later snowshoed three and a half miles to and from an abandoned wolf den. My written finished paper is 28 pages and in my port under Canis Lupis. I adore Spring and Fall, but Winter is heaven on earth. I am going back to Montana in my mind right now. AND, the tylenol cold (wonder where this cold came from since I slept here last night) and my other medicines must be a one-two punch as I am getting pretty foggy. Have we ever considered that what we (here in this campfire) think to be strange or obsessive is really normal and it is all the other people that are strange? Let's think about that. But now, I just wish there were snow and woods I could quickly go crunch through in the moonlight! Maybe next week. In the meantime if anyone wants to gift me with a trip to the Sierra Nevadas, I'll dust off my boots and I AM there!! Next! Sherri "So, what are things some of you all might enjoy that others would say is crazy, insane, nuts, etc?"For some reason my friends think I'm crazy because The Beatles are my favorite band. I don't find it odd at all, but my friends give me weird looks. Especially when I was in High School (I graduated in '93). I also love ghost stories. Every time there's something about ghost sightings on TV, you can be sure I'm watching it. I never have decided if ghost are real, and if they are, what they are exactly. But, I think they might be real. I'd love to see one. On my wedding night, we stayed in a hotel that was supposed to be haunted on one floor. We didn't get to stay on that floor, but we did visit the floor and talk to a bell hop who told us ghost stories. I took pictures, but nothing unusual showed up on the film! And the thing that creeps my family (and many of my friends) out the most is my love of reptiles, amphibians and somewhat "unlovable" animals. I'm crazy about lizards, frogs, snakes, bats, mice, tarantulas and other spiders...should I go on? I love playing with my co-worker's tarantula, who I named "Ruthie" after my supervisor at work who is pretty spider-phobic.  And I will stop and rescue frogs from the street and help them cross the road...as well as turtles too. Hubby and I have relocated many a frog and turtle! We even rescued a tarantula from hubby's parents who were trying to kill it by suffocation (or starvation - whichever came first). Oh the cruelty! We've also wrangled snakes out of the aparment breezeways back into the woods. A bat has shown up at my doorstep a few times, and we have a gecko family living on our porch that we love to admire (and yes, I've named each one of them). And I guess the last thing is my intense love of stuffed animals. I name them all and have a very hard time parting with them! I still sleep with a teddy bear (well, not so much anymore now that the baby is here).NEEEEXT! Suze nearly 1000 reviews given I don't know if all that's weird--but you should would make an interesting character in a story!!!Don't you think that writers are different? I think we are. I think we see, feel, and expierence things differently than others. It would be like a painter, or a singer-song writer, or a dancer--artistic people see the world differently than others. I think that's why it's so hard for me to work a 9-5. I have been a pizza saucer on an assembly line, a waitress, a hotel maid, a secretary, a switchboard operator, and one job I worked for all of a half hour--they sent me to take out the trash and I kept going. IT's hard to live in the 'real world' when you are amazed by the sound of rain on a tin roof, or you marvel over the smell of fresh cut grass--it's like we are storing all these smells, sights, sounds to be used in descriptions for our stories. How can anyone unartistic understand that? catty WDC since 2003 Whew! Now THAT'S a great question, Suze! I never really thought about me the normal one and most others as abnormal, but I suppose it could swing that way!I don't mind snakes and rats, lizards and geckos, but I draw the line at spiders! We constantly have to spray around here for Black Widows *shudder* and we are always checking shoes for rattlers and scorpions! That wolf expedition reminded me of when I was in High School, we used to traipse through the woods of the Sierra Nevada Mountains (where I lived) and sometimes on the way to the school bus stops, you could see bobcat prints, bear prints, deer prints, raccoon prints, etc all around the trails. It was a great place to grow up! (Even if it was awful keeping the trash picked up after the animals would scatter it everywhere!!!) I also like to watch the Discovery Channel, anything about nature-Whales, sharks, corral, carabou, skunks, doesn't matter! It's the only kind of reality TV shows I'll watch! My kids are really into the Science Channel and shows like Science of the Deep really interest them. So, new topic: What shows, if any, interest you on the old "Boob Tube"? Or if none interest you, what really turns you off on TV? For me, it would have to be the "Date" types of shows, who's marrying who, who is the biggest sleaze, who can gross out who the most etc... Those to me are just absolutely tasteless and I just can't watch them! Next! (Is it just me, or are the turns going by rather quickly?) Niteowl I am sadly obsessed with VH1, especially the Surreal Life. I also  The Bachelorette. (I don't like the Bachelor. Too many girls all PMSing at the same time, apparently)I also like Forensic Files, iDetective, and similar shows. I also like some things on The History Channel (I am quite picky when it comes to that) and National Geographic. And sometimes, on half days I watch Ripley's Believe it or Not. Does that ever come on at night? I don't like the nature shows. Just too boring for me. No offense, Catty. Not that I've had any time this week to watch TV. Three words: Finals next week  . At least it is a)half days and b)only a three day week.I gues I have nothing else to say so...Next! Steve Ellen I think we all sometimes forget how much pleasure the internet gives us. I spend at least two hours a day online, often more, and not for work purposes. It's all fun and games. Here's to you, internet! Thanks for the pleasure. I just fell in love with a computer - the new Mac mini. It's a tiny little thing as cute as a puppy. I once had a Mac before Windows seduced me away. Now I feel so fickle. We all love our cats and dogs (and lizards, Sherri)(and spiders, Fionnrua) and maybe sometimes our automobile, but is there anybody else in here who has a romance with an electronic device? Does this make me a true geek? Okay, who is snowed in? Not me! But it's getting colder. Brrrrr.... dreamteller It's chilly, but no snow yet! Last year it snowed more than it has in about 20 years. Of course I wasn't here for it! That's o.k. though because there was about 3 feet of snow where I was. I love all kinds of animals too. I had a ball python, an iguana, a savannah monitor (they are related to the Komodo dragon), and albino corn snake. As I said before I also had many stray cats, and rescued my share of frogs and garter snakes. I will never own a snake again although I still love them. I had my ball python, Otanashi for 4 years, and she was so sweet and calm. She died one night just because they don't live very long in captivity. I wish the pet store would have told me this, or I never would have gotten her. I felt guilty because I hadn't been paying her as much attention then since I was pregnant. I also made the decision to get rid on my Savannah Monitor shortly after. That was due to the fact that he was testy with anyone that wasn't me. He bit my ex-boyfriend a couple of times which I should feel more bad about. I was starting to have those protective mother instincts. I was concerned for my baby safety, since monitors can grow to up to 6 feet long. Another case where I wish pet store people would tell you more about what you were getting into. I should have done more research myself, but I was pretty young when I got them. I wasn't going to just give him to anyone though. I found the most wonderful lady, who was like a Humane Society for lizards. She had a huge place to keep reptiles until she could find the perfect home for them. If I ever get any kind of reptile in the future I may get a bearded dragon from her after talking with her. They respond much better than other reptiles to captivity. My snake's death was very sad though. As for spiders, no thank you! I knew a guy who had several poisonous ones. I couldn't figure out why you would keep them. You can't take them out to play with, and they could really hurt someone. I've had my snakes get out of their cages before when the lid didn't get on just right, but at least I knew they wouldn't go kill someone! Spiders freak me out though! If I see them out in nature I don't mind in the least. I'll even examine their webs with them on it, but it's a different story in the house! I don't like to kill anything, but I don't want them inside with me looking at me. You never know if they are the jumping kind of spiders. Besides, I believe it is bad luck to kill a spider in your house. If you want a laugh you should come over one day, and watch me sweep one into a dustpan, and run screaming to get it out of the house before it gets me. I not fond of many creepy crawlers. My step-brother has a tarantula. It's so sick! I didn't know they shed their skins, but he has one preserved in a glass apothocary lid. It looks exactly like the live spider! It still standing and everything... As for t.v., I am a movie addict. I can't stand most of what is on t.v. Reality shows are the worst, and I've always hated them. I think they insult our intelligence. The only t.v. shows I ever do start to like usually get cancelled. I loved this kid's show called MythQuest. These kids were trying to find their father who was trapped in a virtual reality world. Every show would tell a myth from a different part of the world during their search. It had a lot of wonderful guest stars. Of course, they only ran thirteen episodes of that on PBS. I do like BBC television though. I used to have it, but I can't afford deluxe cable anymore. I love the British sense of humor. I watch a lot of different kinds of movies, and I spend a good amount of time on the internet too. The internet has ridiculously stupid things, but some great stuff too like this site! I guess I've babbled long enough this time. Fionnrua Hi Everyone,I love my computer and spend many happy hours using it - many of those hours right here at Writing.com. I have a love/hate relationship with the keyboard workstation that I play at church because it can do so much, but I am using less than 1/10 of it - I am learning to program it but it is slow going because even though the instruction book (all 3 of them!) is written in English (I think by a non-English speaking person!) it is hard to follow and understand. Many of the changes that you can make are so subtle that after awhile, your ear can't distinguish any difference in the sound. I love animals too, but I prefer the more commonplace ones as pets - such as dogs, cats, fish and birds. I like pets that make eye contact and can relate with you. MY HUSBAND is the one who also likes the unusual ones - such as the iguana, the lizard and the tarantula. I have a 12 year old piano student who has a pet tarantula and she lets it sit on her shoulder and she says it will comb your hair for you!! She brought her pet cockatoo in one time for her lesson and the bird sat contentedly on MY shoulder as I gave the lesson. He amused himself by hiding under my hair periodically. I told her I draw the line at the tarantula. I don't usually watch much in the way of tv, but I DO like "Monk", "Faith & Hope", History channel and once in a while a movie. I don't watch the reality shows but I did watch the last "Bachelor" and I got hooked on the Byron & Mary love story. I cried during his proposal - it was beautiful! I like to watch a little bit of football (The Browns)and a little bit of basketball (Cleveland Cavs)with my husband. next! PastVoices  }}}It seems I am always on here late at night the past several days. I am almost done filing 2002, 2003 and 2004. I have the files for 2005 ready and waiting and the pile to put away already. I just had to take a break and what do you know, it's my turn, again. I don't watch as much television as I used to. I hate the reality shows, I think they are ridiculous and have absolutely nothing to do with reality! If anything turns me off on TV, that would be it. I have been watching ER since it began. I watch CSI, NCIS, Crossing Jordan, Judging Amy, Cold Case, Third Watch, JAG and sometimes West Wing. I hated it that they canceled The Guardian after last season. I miss the good sitcoms such as I Love Lucy, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Mary Tyler Moore, Facts of Life, MASH andGimme a Break. I watched Rosanne all the time it was on, but it was to watch Laurie Metcalf who played Rosanne's sister Jackie. I graduated from high school with Laurie. She was in all of the productions in high school and I take any opportunity to see her act. She is just as good as whe was in high school - actually better. I try to spend my days on the internet. Since school has been out though, my son acts as though it is his personal videophone with his girlfriend who doesn't live around here. Right now, I know the camera isn't on but I have it pointed at the computer screen anyway. I certainly hope he gets his money straightened out so he can start school on Tuesday. I really want him to go back to school on Tuesday. I do NOT like spiders, snakes or creepy crawly creatures of any kind! When we lived in South Carolina, those little lizards or whatever they were drove me bonkers. I don't know how they got in the house without an open door or window, but they did. I have dedicated my life to avoiding such things ever since a spider bit me under my eye my freshman year in high school. I can't hardly see the scar any longer. Lately, I have been taping movies off of TiVo. I got such a kick out of Calandar Girls. I rarely see movies in the theatre. I don't feel like I am coherent this evening so I will give to ... NEXT... Suze nearly 1000 reviews given I like some of the reality programs. I think they are a hoot. The Amazing Race- people under stress- now that's interesting. Big Brother- I'm convinced I could do Big Brother- living on peanut butter for a week -what's there to moan about on that one? But, they always do! I love Survivor. It's very interesting how people will give up their principals to win that money-- to justify their actions. And then, there are a few that come along who stick to their principals no matter what and come out looking good. It might not be reality, but it's very entertaining. After writing all day, it's like a non-committal mindless drift to unwind. I root for the ones I like and scowl at the TV set when the nasty ones are getting ahead. Who said TV had to be honorable? Just fun. Take the new American Idol- just starting. I was watching it last night, laughing my head off for the poor souls who thought they could sing and obviously they can not. But, they are convinced they can. Their families told them they could. Their families even told them they sounded like Whitney Houston. Suddenly, I wondered if I could write? My family told me I could. But, maybe I'm just one of those pitiful souls who believes with tone deaf ears that they can sing. Simon tells them not to waste their money on any more lessons--and they leave crush, but still announcing to the world that they Know- and no one will convince them otherwise- that they can sing. Sometimes he tells them they can carry a tune but they will never be better than a Cruise Ship Singer. Maybe I can write, but I'll never be better than a internet storyteller? Remember that poster from the eighties--the ballet slippers and the caption below it says- You Are Never Given A Dream Without The Means To Fulfill It. Is that really true? There are plenty of people who reach for stars they can not touch. I'm waiting for the realtiy show for writers. Put sixteen writers in a house and a have a write off while living on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches! Now that's entertainment! catty WDC since 2003 Whew! Hey, I'd consider watching that show, Suze! We have a new member this round, lostinapaprbag, WELCOME!!Just a quick FYI, we try to come up with something interesting or offbeat for a general topic of discussion, but you don't have to comment if you don't feel like it. Use this space to vent with all of us, get to know each other, copy and paste in your journal, whatever you'd like, we're pretty laid back! I happened to notice this week (because I'm still out of a job) that in my house, the tide has finally turned. It used to be my hubby, three sons and me in the household. LOTS of testosterone back then. It just occured to me, the advantage has swung back to the hormonal side of life-oldest son moved out, Mom moved in, daughter-in-law moved in (with twenty-month old grandson) and it's sort of three and three. We don't count the baby yet because he doesn't much care who wins as long as he's fed and has toys! So, this got me to wondering, what's your household like? Or what was it when you were growing up? Again, I was surrounded by brothers everywhere, a definite male-type household! Sports on the weekends, no figure skating during the Olympics-you know what I mean? So, this campfire is mainly composed of the fairer sex, not intentional of course, but still, interesting! How about yours? Niteowl I live in a house of women. Me, my mom, my little sister, and my dad. And one male cat (the other cat and the dogs are female). And everyone tries to take the computer from me. My mom yells, my sister says "I just need to check my email really quick" which turns out to be an hour of playing Disney Channel games, and my dad says he needs to use it for something "important" He often ends up playing Solitaire or something. At least now I'm doing something a little more worthwhile on the computer. I'm in three writing sites, it gets hard to keep track of them all! It can take a while, esp. when I get absorbed in chat or something. But anyway... I wish I didn't have to have a life outside the computer and writing/reading. Wouldn't that be just great! I'm reading "Abarat:Days of Magic, Nights of War" by Clive Barker. It's the sequel to Abarat. It's so cool! I have nothing else to say so... NEXT! Steve Ellen Niteowl, don't give up your life outside the computer because that's the one where you eat, sleep, and reproduce. It will be hard to write if you starve to death. Suze, you certainly raised some heavy-duty issues. Self-doubt and personal appraisal vs public appraisal are serious problems for artists of all types (writers, musicians, actors, singers, etc). Just remember that the serious dedicated artist is the one who maintains his own appraisal of himself regardless of what anyone else thinks. Unfortunately, the price of such single-minded dedication can be poverty and lack of public respect. I guess most of us know about all the artists who weren't really acknowledged until after they died. And even more dishearteneing is all the ones who will NEVER be acknowledged. But then on the other hand, there were plenty of people who were considered great in their day but who are not admired by the people of today. Times change and tastes change with them. It's quite possible that one of those singers we laughed at on American Idol will someday set a trend for a new generation. I doubt that most of us at writing.com consider ourselves as "great" artists but you don't have to be "great" to be serious and dedicated. It really all boils down to perseverance. As Woody Allen said: "90 percent of success is just showing up". We don't know who will be admired as a writer and who will not be, but we do know this - all the people who NEVER wrote anything will NOT be in the competition. In other words, there is a certain respect due to anyone who tries anything and the longer they work at it, then the more respect they deserve. It's not a question of "Is she good?" or "Is she bad?". It's a question of "Did she do what she wanted to do and not give up because she compared herself to others and decided she might not be as good as they were?" "You are never given a dream without the means to fulfill it" What does it mean? I don't think it means that you are handed your dream in a gift-wrapped box and everyone smiles as you open it up. I think what it means is that you have the inner strength to make the effort to fulfill the dream and the wisdom to see if a dream requires more of you than you are willing to give. For instance, although I would enjoy being a jazz sax player (because I like jazz) and I truly believe that if I practiced playing sax many hours a day and then endured a life on the road playing at small clubs, that I would then one day become a recognized jazz sax player... Although I believe all that, I know in my heart that I don't want to make the effort. I don't want to make that the focus of my life. I will listen and I will play in an amateurish way at home, but I will not make the committment such a dream requires. Like most people, I have chosen a life that is not dedicated completely to any one thing. I admire the people who live such lives, but I am not one of them. Am I still writing this? Catty, maybe you better put some limits on how many words we can write? Fionnrua Hi Everyone!My growing up years were ok. I was safe and secure, had plenty of books, got interested in drawing and painting, did ok in school - would have done better if I had gotten more sleep. I loved to stay up late reading, drawing, listening to the radio - consequently getting up early to go to school was hard. I have one brother, 4 years older. It's like the Smothers Brother's line "Mom always liked you best". He "took after" her side and I was like my father. (Which in her eyes is not a good thing) My mother has turned her apartment into a shrine for my brother - pictures of him everywhere! This Christmas, she commissioned a local artist to do a charcoal drawing of my brother at the age of 5. She bought a 5x7 and also a giant 24x30 of the same picture which now hangs on her living room wall. She wonders why I don't like to go visit. When I'm there, I am surrounded by pictures of my brother (who is alive and well, by the way)and caustic criticism from my mother. We currently are not talking due to an incident stemming from Christmas Day. OK, enough pity party - the home was not sports dominated - my Dad worked most of the time and when he WAS home, he liked to watch westerns on TV. My husband is a big sports fan though. He's a Cleveland Browns fan and a Cavaliers fan. next! PastVoices what was it when you were growing up? Again, I was surrounded by brothers everywhere, a definite male-type household! Sports on the weekends, no figure skating during the Olympics-you know what I mean?Sundays when I was growing up consisted of every sport known to man. When there were no sports we watched Charlie Chan and old Vincent Price movies. (One of the reasons I still go to bed with covers up around my neck.) At least during Olympics, we watched all the events. I had three brothers and two sisters. The older three were 12, 10 and 9 when I was born. My brother Steve was two and a half years younger than me. My baby brother Brian is seven years younger than I. Dad and the boys tried to bond over sports. I took many a Sunday afternoon nap laying on the floor in front of the TV. Holidays were crowded and fun. Steve died in 1979. We were never the same. So, this got me to wondering, what's your household like? My husband and I both adore Cardinal baseball. If the Cards are playing, we are watching. If by some fluke of nature, the St. Louis Rams make it to the Super Bowl, we will watch. And the only Olympic event we watch is the figure skating (pairs, dance, solo). I feel so fortunate to not have to ever watch golf unless it is Happy Gilmore or Tin Cup. Fionnura, I connect with you though one difference. Mom could care less that I exist and the five remaining children can't live up to the dead one. (at least the shrine is for a dead person) That's all I have tonight, I have been off the computer for three days. Lots to catch up on. Next: Sherri Wow, things have been busy in my life as of late.TV shows: I don't watch much tv anymore, because I'm back at work full-time and the little time I'm home, I'm caring for Zoe. But, I like The Daily Show and Chappell's Show on the Comedy channel. Sometimes I like MAD TV, depending on my mood. I love Whose Line is it Anyway, which is improv comedy. I like Gilmore Girls for it's wit, and also love watching the MASH reruns (I'm collecting the DVDs as well). As far as reality shows go - the only one I like is American Idol, and that goes beyond liking into obsession. I cannot miss a show! I root for my favorite by yelling at the tv and booing the people I don't like. I've been known to get my blood pressure up if someone I like gets voted off. And yeah, I vote! So far, I've not been wrong. I predicted Kelly in the first season, Ruben in the second and Fantasia in the third. I've always also gotten the runners up correct. I LOVE that show. I draw the line at buying any merchandise, though.What's your household like? Or what was it when you were growing up? Growing up was pretty calm. Mom stayed at home with my and my brother. Dad worked a lot. Blah Blah. Now I'm married and have a 3 month old. House is pretty quiet because hubby works a lot. Worse - 24 or 48 hour shifts because he's a Paramedic. So we don't see a lot of him, which can be a good thing, depending upon my mood. *smirk* Right now our marriage is in the dumps, so him not being around is actually a good thing (I feel like a heel saying that). We are working on it, though. Slowly but surely. Maybe it will work out. I have about a tear drop's worth of hope. Yeah. NEXT!! Suze nearly 1000 reviews given My mother is eighty-one. She claims that she will live to be a hundred. I’m not sure that would be kind. She is wracked with pain. When she was twenty-two she jumped from a moving car to avoid the unwelcome advances of a boyfriend. My mother is a lady above all else. The incident left her with arthritis throughout her body, even in her head. Every movement is a painful experience. On the other hand, I pray that she lives forever, because I adore her that much.She has shrunk over the years, and her five-seven frame has bent to a five-two compaction. Her hair is snow white and her eyes used to be as brown as mine, but now they seem faded. There’s a silver tint to them that catches the light and shines back like a reflection. That’s the cataracts. But, each day my mother rises she thanks God for a new day. Her positive attitude towards living is amazing, a true inspiration for all. She likes Bob Barker and every time his show comes on, she repeats the story of her friend Ethel. I’ve heard it so many times now, I feel I know Ethel, and I’ve never met the woman. My mother’s friend, Ethel, would make sure that she was up early each morning so she could shower and dress before The Price Is Right came on. She would never watch the show in her nightgown and robe. Ethel would not answer the phone during the hour-long program, nor answer the door. Mom told her one time, that it was quite obvious that Ethel was sweet on old Bob Barker, because she ‘dressed for him’ each morning. When she tells the story, I smile politely not understanding the joke involved. In their day, being ‘dressed’ for a man meant courtship or something, I’m not really sure. But between Mother and her friend, Ethel, there was an understanding because Ethel enjoyed the comment and repeated it often. Ethel passed away two months before Mom and I moved in together, and every morning I hear the story again. I think she is watching the show for her friend, to keep her close. I can’t help but wonder what Mom will do when Bob Barker leaves this world. It’s so sad to be eighty and say good-by to so many of your friends. It’s a hardship I wish she didn’t have to bare. I live with my mother because I love her, and because she needs me. I try to make her life easier, at least that is my quest, whether I achieve that or not—I’m not sure. There are days when she gets very frustrated with me. Yesterday, she gave me a lecture on finding a job. It took twenty minutes for her to lay out her plan, and there were times when she referred to handwritten notes—an aide to her memory. She told me, I needed to get ‘all fixed up’ and not go out when I haven’t had enough sleep that my ‘eyes looked like dreary slits’—it was hard hearing my mother’s description of what I call my morning face, but it was accurate. Furthermore, she told me, I had to smile during interviews. I sat patiently and listened to her ten-step plan to finding a job, wanting to scream that it had nothing to do with smiling—I haven’t even gotten an interview! But, I do not scream at her. She is too precious for anything more than a hug. So, I endured and then went to my room to cry. I need to find a job. It is worrying her. That just won’t do. But, I’m afraid to find a job. I’m afraid to leave her alone. Afraid that she will fall. She tells me not to worry, that if she falls she’ll send Maxwell for help. That’s meant to be funny, because Maxwell is a lazy, black cat that rises only to move to another spot. You want to know about my household? It is a home filled with love, encouragement, fear, patience, tolerance, pain, and frustrations. catty WDC since 2003 Whew! Wow, great additions this round, everyone! If you all haven't heard already, I'm a grandma once again!My new granddaughter couldn't wait to be born like ordinary souls, nope, she made her grand entrance right into my waiting arms. In the hallway. Without paramedics. Without pain killers. Without a squeek of warning! Yep, messy though it was, I actually delivered her in my home, just before one AM last Saturday. She's gone through several different names, (Mom was nervous about naming her). She started out as Meadow Lynn, the Lynn is my middle name, then that was changed to Meadow Janet (after the other grandma's middle name, after all, I got to deliver her!) But, alas, that name went down the road when Mom couldn't think of a nickname for Meadow....so she decided to call her Madison Meadow, but that didn't stick and she moved on to Madison Lynn, but it didn't sound right either. On Tuesday, we had to go to the hospital so I could sign the birth certificate and (drumroll please.....) my new granddaughter was legally named.......... MADISON LYNET Whatever comes next in her life, I think she's just beautiful! So, this was an amazing event in my life and I want to know about your memorable, amazing (good or bad) event and I could also use some suggestions for topics--though my life seems to be providing me with plenty for now !!!NEXT! Niteowl Can't really think of any momentous, amazing events right now. Well, maybe getting my first dog Ginger because she changed our lives forever. Don't know how I lived without her. My life has been pretty boring as of late. Which is just fine with me. Wow I'm such a great conversationalist. Not. NEXT! Steve Ellen Go get drunk, NiteOwl. That will loosen your tongue. Not that that is what I do.  I just drop my lower jaw and then breathe out hard when it snaps shut and bounces two or three times. Unfortunately, everything I say comes out sounding like "hubba hubba hubba", but that's what this keyboard is for - so I can type it instead of speak it.The following is a satire... Amazing event? Every day is an amazing event for me. I am filled with joy to be alive in this beautiful world. I give thanks to the Creator for this wonderful world He has created, so perfect in its parts and harmonius in its ways. It's like living in the middle of a marvelous symphony where every instrument is in tune and every musician never hits a wrong note. That is what truly amazes me - the awesome perfection of my life, from the compelling drama of the overall storyline to the exquisite delicacy of the finest details. Yes, my life is an amazing event. Now, excuse me while I trim my nose hairs and put some ointment on this itchy rash. I forgot to mention my upbringing previously but it was very ordinary - a brother, a sister, a dog, and a cat in a 4 bedroom, 2 bath ranchhouse in the suburbs of a medium-sized city - going to school, playing with friends, and watching TV. And I am even an average-sized person. Surely I will die at exactly the median age of death for my generation. dreamteller Lovely entries everyone! Congratulations Catty!The birth of your grandchild sounds similar the birth of my son. That was my most amazing experience. Have I told this story to you yet? (If so sorry!) I planned on having him at home with no drugs, but other than that it didn't go as planned. When my contractions came two weeks early, I thought it was false labor, and I didn't want to bother the midwife by calling her. So I walked around and around the house thinking to stop it which instead brought everthing on faster. I almost had him alone in the bathtub! I was never so happy to see my Mom. She was the main person to help him be born into this world. The midwife came when his head crowned, and he was born some twenty minutes later. I could go and on, I remember so much from that day! (But I'll spare you.) I will say that it felt like I was in an altered state. It was such an amazing experience to me. The other significant events in my life all surround nature. I have had many inner reflections while alone in a strom, or out in the woods that have truly transformed me. I think to feel connected to everything, everyone should spend time in nature. I wish I could do that right now in fact. Too bad it's freezing lately!I will also have to speak of my background and present family another time though because I need to finish dinner! I hope you all have a wonderful Valentine's day! Fionnrua Hi,It is late and I am mildly aggravated. My carkey is stuck in the ignition. I stopped for gas tonight and the gas cap door was frozen shut - I used my carkey to chip away the little bit of ice that kept it closed! So for that little thing the key gets stuck??? I have an elderly (age 80)choir member mad at me because I didn't give her a solo line to sing tonight. She hasn't sung any solo of any type for almost three years! Three years ago we had a choir meeting and at that meeting, designed to quell dissension in the ranks, I was forced to tell her that she did not have a solo quality or cantor quality voice anymore. I always use her in a supporting role in the choir. So why should tonight be any different?? I have played funerals every day this week except for Wednesday. Monday's funeral was interesting for me because I substituted at a church where I have never played before and it was an Irish funeral. The man who died - his name was Sweeney, the priest's name is Mulvanity and moi, the organist and singer, was born with the last name of Grady, so.... with all the Irish people in the church, I sang a song, in English and Gaelic, about St. Patrick's Breastplate (Christ be beside me, Christ be by my right hand, Christ be by my left hand, etc..... - it is a famous prayer). That was fun for me. Tomorrow is another funeral, but Saturday is a wedding! So now that I have told all of you about the frustrating end of my day, I will go to bed because it's after midnight now and the morning will come quickly. I just hope my car is still there in the morning! Next! PastVoices Catty, I have a niece named Madison Brianna. Brianna being a feminine form of my brother's (here daddy) name. She will be the only child they can have and our family name will end with my brother. I have been overloaded on funeral grief and attendance this week. Not really firing on all cylinders. Amazing event? Ah, that would be the birth of my twins who turned 23 the 18th of January. They were born at 28-1/2 to 29 weeks. A normal pregnancy is 40 weeks and they like to get twins or triplets (or more) to 33-35 weeks. I had first gone into labor at 18 weeks. They got that stopped and sent me home with oral medication. Two weeks later at a check up, the doctor told me it was time for maternity leave and avoiding any kind of stress. Getting maternity leave was a piece of cake. However, my 6-1/2 year old provided more than enough stress when she got mad at me and kicked me in the stomach. Bed rest was ordered, but with a grade schooler, whose middle name was trouble, I took it as more of a suggestion. January 1 was almost 23 to 25 weeks. At about 2 in the afternoon labor started again. I maxed out on my medication and put a call in to the doctor. I was admitted to the hospital the morning of January 2 (the twins weren't due until the end of March). After several hours they got the labor stopped. There is a long story here about the in between, suffice it to say on the 17th I again went into labor but was still hospitalized. After 36 hours of labor, they decided they couldn't stop it. Four more hours and I was being rolled into the delivery room crying my eyes out because I knew they wouldn't live because they could still do abortions at that point in the pregnancy (then there was a limit). Much to my surprise, Will was screaming his little lungs out and looked (3# 10 oz) much larger than pictures in books. Catherine, much smaller (2# 14 oz) was blue and lifeless. They had to "bag her" for the first ten minutes of her life. The only thing she had going for her was a faint heart beat. Twelve hours later, at the children's hospital they transferred them to, the tables turned. Catherine was off the respirator, pinked up nicely and growing toward going home. Will was on the respirator, unable to be weaned off and beginning the fight of his short life. When Will was three-weeks-old they were calling him my miracle baby and he had almost died twice. There was one more brush with death before they could tell me I would ever bring him home. That was the week Catherine came home. He came home two and a half weeks later. Amazing! Awesome! Painful, emotionally! But by grace, double blessed! Next! (Hey, with the exception of steve and niteowl, birth seems to be where this topic has gone, did ya notice?){/b} Sherri Yes...I noticed the birth topic! I agree birthing takes you to another dimension. It was very surreal for me. No drugs here. Had two midwives who were awesome. My hubby, who is a Paramedic, helped deliver the baby. I gave birth using a birthing stool that took all the pressure off of my back, which was nice. None of that lying on your back crap for me. Gees, that hurts. I don't see how anyone can give birth on their back. Your body can't do what it was designed to do - the tailbone can't swivel back to let the baby through, making everything ten times more painful. People, have mercy on yourselves. Anyway...I won't get on my soap box about that.Baby Zoe was worth it, although I believe my birthing experience was pleasant. I wouldn't trade this little kiddo for anything in the world. Now when I hear the news stories of abandoned children/babies or prego mothers being killed, my heart breaks in two. I can't hardly stand it. I want to adopt all of them, or save all of them! The stories of the babies being killed in China are tormenting. I just cannot fathom anyone killing a baby, born or unborn. Touchy subject: abortion. If anyone thinks about having one, please have the baby. You can call me and I'll take care of him/her - no questions asked! I'm serious. Ironically, before I had Zoe, I was never a kid sort of person. Funny how things change. Suze nearly 1000 reviews given That's what life is all about- change. Change produces struggle- or is it the other way around? Whichever, life is a struggle and a change. I envy people who have mundane lives. Married to the same people for years and years. Going to the same job day after day. The same routine. Raising their children, paying their bills, bar-b-queuing on the weekends. Nothing major, just life. It hasn't been that way for me. It's been a constant struggle, constant changes, and many disappointments. At the same time, I have to point out that it has also been an exchange of Good News -Bad News kind of life. I had ten miscarriages- but, I was also the foster mother to nine children. For every day I have cried- I have also laughed. So, what's my most memorable moment? I don't think I've had it yet. I think I've come close, reached out to touch it and then in fear recoiled and backed away. I met a man once-
I was heading in the wrong direction at that time of my life and this man was very strange. Something about him really frightened me and calmed me at the same time. The way his eyes shone in the rear view mirror as though a search light was picking them out and reflecting them back at me...strange...but he told me I had to be careful because I was 'an old soul' and this was my last duty on earth. That I was going to do something special. It was enough to turn my life around and I've been waiting ever since for that something special that I'm suppose to accomplish and at the same time Fearing that when it is presented to me -I'll freeze or fail. Fear is the biggest part of my life. I've been praying lately that I will meet someone strong. Someone who can help me overcome my fears and step out in the sunshine more. Take chances. Live. I hide a lot. Was that man for real? Or was it all just a crazy old cab driver? Do you believe in the set course of life? Or free will? When I was in Salina, Kansas in 1980 I was sitting in my car in a parking lot- eating lunch. I saw a little girl running along the sidewalk across the street from me. I watched her running and thought, 'she is going to stop at the corner isn't she?' I got of the car to yell at her, but when I opened my door and stepped forward--she had already entered the intersection. She was struck and killed by a truck. I was the eyewitness that he didn't have time to stop. There was no way he would have seen the child coming. Destiny? Or was that my moment in time? Did I fail to change what could have been changed? I was there. Why didn't I react quicker? Why didn't I size up the situation and do something to stop it? Why was I the witness? Changes. Life is full of them. Things change whether we want them to or not. Congratulations to Catty on being a new grandmother. And Happy Chocolate Thoughts to Past! on Valentine's Day . I have to get back to work on my book~ Georgia's Daddy. The publisher keeps asking where it is! Talk to you guys later. MelodyofMusic Hey Catty! Congratulations on the birth of your grandchild.  I do not believe in making New Years Resolutions. One~ I usually end up breaking them. Two~ I am a really bad procrastinator. I mean, MOO for President   has been waiting for a letter from me for 2 years. I sent him one a couple of years before that. I had promised to send him something for Easter two years ago...and he is still waiting. lol* I did make a vow to stay fit...and really, I do not have much of a choice in that...since I am Insulin Intolerant...and on the borderline for Diabetes Type 2.  My obsession: I'm a perfectionist. I sometimes go over board on that, though. I have a co-worker who states that this obsession of mine, drives her completely up the wall. Especially when we are in a hurry. I want to take my time to make sure everything is sent out to our Clients in perfect, harmonious balance.  I did make a goal for this year...to research for a Childrens' Publisher. I am finding that this will be a tough job to do. I am diligently working on it' but, I believe that I will be successful in my diligence and persistence. catty WDC since 2003 Whew! Hey! I didn't fall asleep at the wheel, PROMISE!New job, new granddaughter, little sleep! Really great postings this time round and if no one noticed, we have new members! Welcome to our Dinosaur-Ruled craziness! Sherri Queue brought up a good subject, about how she never was a "kid person" until she had one of her own. So how about this for a psuedo topic, what kind of person did you not used to be, but are now? I have always been a cat person, but when I married my hubby, I found that I really enjoy dogs too. Not just the "take me out and play with me" type of situations, but also the "I know you want to pet me and sit with me" types as well. I honestly didn't care for dogs much, but have found them very lovable and sensitive creatures. So, Next! Niteowl I don't know about me, but my mom used to hate cats, and then she fell in loe with a cat I pet-sat a couple years ago. That led to a trip to the Huron Valley Humane Society, where we fell in love with a little orange cat named Pinky (we changed his name to Simba.)Oh, wait! Back in the day, I used to HATE poetry, but now I am mainly a poet. How weird! Probably because I hardly have the patience for much else. Steve Ellen I didn't used to be this old. Oddly enough, I have returned to being the kind of person I used to be.When I was young I was a creative curious person. (I mean I HAD curiosity, not that I WAS a curiosity, although I suppose that then as now I was a curiosity to some people... ) But as I "grew up" I settled into a practical money-making approach to life and seldom let my imagination out to play. Now I am creative again and loving every minute of it - especially the part about having no boss. So I am once again the person I used to be. That long interlude of practical life was necessary, but I am glad it's over! dreamteller I'm also more like how I was when I was younger, or at least how I hoped to be then. A few years ago I was just hanging out, partying, and working. I wasn't thinking about a whole lot else. I didn't think about where I wanted to go, or what my intentions were. I decided to go back to school on a whim, and I got pregnant with Orion some time later on.As soon as I knew I was carrying him, everything changed. I wanted things to be perfect for him. I was already a vegetarian, but I started eating primarily organic foods and not using chemicals to clean the house anymore and things like that. Growing up I always thought I would live in a cabin in the woods somewhere or something, and be totally self-sufficient. (Does everyone think I'm crazy yet?) My dream is kind of ironic since I've spent most of my life moving to different cities. I'm not all the way there yet, mostly because of a lack of money, but I'm pretty close to the ideal I had as a child. I also always used to draw and write stories, and I quit doing that too until fairly recently when I felt that creative spark again. I wonder what the next few years will bring? Fionnrua I would like to be self sufficient too. I like canning and growing herbs and vegetables - organically, of course! And a cabin in the woods sounds great.I like animals too. Six months ago I started keeping fish on my desk at work. I have 4 bettas, each one a different color and each in his own little 1/2 gallon aquarium. They are very curious little fish. I have had 2 of them jump out of their tank!! Who would have thought that they would jump out? Peter and Corky jumped out, and although I rescued them and put them back into the water, they died. Little Simon has an intestinal infection which manifests itself as "pop-eye". - Yes, he has one eye that has popped out. It is huge and gross also. He is on his 2nd round of anti-biotics (or maybe it's a sulfa drug?) Just call me the Fish Doctor. Next? PastVoices "what kind of person did you not used to be, but are now?"My sister-in-law (my husband's sister) tells me I am different from 17 years ago. She adds that that is a good, very good thing. (She didn't like me then and she wasn't my favorite person either.) We are thick as thieves and each other's favorite Christmas shopping partner! She (who had three brother and no sisters) always wanted an older sister and calls me "big sis" and I love it. I am married to her oldest brother. I (who had three brothers and two sisters but only boys younger than me) was so devastated that day I came home from first grade and dad said it was another boy, love having someone to call "lil sis." We just got off the phone after two hours. Who changed?, you ask. Actually both, but mostly me. I like me a great deal better now, but I wouldn't recommend the road I took. See, a nervous breakdown 11 years ago was the author of my change. Actually the first breakdown was followed by a second six years after the first. Both included suicide attempts. The second would have been successful if my husband had not come home from work three hours early. {Talk about divine intervention.) You get lots of opportunities to think outloud in a mental ward. At least there I found out it wasn't all me. I have a chemical imbalance along with a faulty transmitter causing a disease known as Severe Major Depression, recurrent. Everybody and everything I was running around trying to "fix" in my life was beyond my reach. I can't change the home I was raised in or the dysfunction handed down to my parents. Undiagnosed, I was a recipe for disaster. Thank God, I had him in my life. The outcome might have been fatal. After 11 years, I am a different person. I took six steps forward and then seven back. Five more steps forward, I amaze my doctors with my ability to have a handle on my disease. See that "recurrent" part? It controls me, not the other way around. I have to thank God every morning for the pill I take and His inspiration of its author. What amazes the professionals even further is my ability to spot an episode before I am sliding so far down the glacier no one can reach me. I get in to the doctor and we play with my medications. I step up visits to the therapist and in five years have avoided at least three major depressive episodes; only by the grace of God. I have always been a Christian. One realization is that that is my brand of Faith and the religious doctrine I worship in, means little in the big picture. It is a bunch of men trying to perfect on God's rules. Let them. Religions have caused more problems than one can possibly imagine. That about me has changed also. I was a dedicated Methodist. Now I am a dedicated Christian who places more value on the Bible than the Methodist doctrine written by men. I also place more value on those around me. I don't have to like someone to love and respect them as a fellow human being. I love the song at the beginning of the television show, {i}Joan of Arcadia{/i}: What if God were one of us, Just a slob like one of us, Just a stranger on the bus Trying to make his way home? Humbling, isn't it? Humility is something I seek out rather than recognition these days. (Was that too heavy guys? Have you ever noticed when you are working on a long writing project, with a deadline, everything else, even for other publication, tends to run along the same theme?) e.g. If I write a column while working on a sermon, it has the same lesson in secular terms. This week, working on my book and a manuscript borne of a writing challenge here, everything has been introspective. Weird! Sherri "what kind of person did you not used to be, but are now?"I've gone through a lot of changes. I think that I'm constantly changing as a person. Although still quiet and reserved, I used to be painfully shy. I would not speak to anyone and I did not trust anyone. Once, when I was between 7 and 9, we went to the Grand Canyon. It was sunny and hot. For some reason, Mom and I went walking down into it without any water. We finally decided to turn around, realizing we were hot, thirsty and tired. Well, going uphill is a lot harder and I thought I was going to die. "Mom, I'd drink water no matter who offered it to me right now." As fate would have it, a nice man did offer us water. Mom drank some, but I wouldn't touch it. I was too afraid it was poisoned! Instead, I suffered all the way back up. I'm a little more trusting now!! I used to be a door mat. Now I stand up for myself and others too. I'm not afraid as much of rejection or what people think. Like I said before, I used to not like kids, but now that's changed since I have one of my own. I wouldn't say I'm Mary Poppins, but I have a lot more patience now. Suze nearly 1000 reviews given what kind of person did you not used to be, but are now?This is a hard one for me because I'm not sure who I am. I understand the question and I agree that one of the important aspects of life is growing, changing and evolving into a better person-- I am still healing from past wounds so I haven't started evolving yet. It should be very interesting to see who I become! I'd like to be more like my twin brother. He's so capable. I cry a lot instead of taking action. When he talks to me on the phone he says, "Are you crying again? Susie I can't hear you nod your head." That always makes me laugh because I am sitting there crying and nodding. I couldn't make it without him. He is my support system and my best fan. He actually believes in me and tells me often that I will make it-- I will regain my life. MelodyofMusic what kind of person did you not used to be, but are now?" I use to be a vegetarian before I got married. It's amazing how watching someone eat their food with delight (like meat) can do to someone. lol* I use to be a finatic about cleanliness and everything in it's place. Who has the time to keep it the "Martha Stewart" way now? I used to NOT want any kids. Now I do. At least 3 or 4. lol* Next please. catty WDC since 2003 Whew! As Steve used to remind us in Barney I, don't forget you can copy and paste these great additions into your Journal or port!I just had a bowl of the smoothest, creamiest, yummiest vanilla ice cream! It didn't even need chocolate sprinkles or a banana to go with it, that's how good it was! It was one of those, wierd-gotta-have-it-now-or-else cravings *biglaugh*... Not pregnant or anything, just one of those moments, I guess, lol. But it did bring to mind something from about fifteen years ago, I had the strangest desire for spaghetti and meatballs, but I wanted to smother the plate in lemon juice! Never wanted it like that before or since then, but it was hilarious at the time! Usually, I crave some kind of fruit or veggie which is most likely out of season, but that vanilla simply called to me! I don't really have a topic to suggest this time around, so I guess it's free speech time!! NEXT! Niteowl I got my learner's permit. My mom has had about seven heart attacks. The last time I over-rotated on a turn and was less than a foot away from the other van. We were both screaming. My dad's a lot better to drive with, but he's only here on the weekends. He got a job in Indiana, so he's gone Monday through Friday. My dog is really weird. She humped my cat Simba. It's pretty funny. I always have junk food cravings. Especially for the Otis Spunkemeyer chocolate chip cookies my school sells. And gum cravings. Speaking of weird food cravings, in 5th grade on Nacho Day, my classmate took another kid's cheese (he didn't want it) mixed it with a little bit of salsa, and dipped it in a Twinkie! And beef jerky! Ok so it's not a craving, but it's weird. And another weird food-related thing: I was stuck on what to make for lunch in 4th grade since everything I make turns out gross, so I made bread-and-butter sandwiches. I baby-say for my little sister's friend and her siblings last Saturday. They got a mixed puppy named Buddy, and he is the CUTEST little thing! He did try to give me a haircut with his teeth, though. Very nippy. I know it's a little early, but: HAPPY ST.PATRICK'S DAY! TOP O' THE MORNING TO YE! KISS ME, I'M 1/4 IRISH! And uh...that's enough random comments from me, I believe. If you really care, read my blog "Invalid Item" Steve Ellen Okay, my topics today will be "dogs and cats" and "food cravings" and hopefully there will be no connection between the two. When I was a kid we had a black dog and a white cat. The dog was a male cocker spaniel and the cat was a snow-white female who was deaf (as pure white cats often are). We lived on the edge of an apple orchard and there was a big brush pile full of mice. The dog would dig for the mice while the cat sat patiently watching. A mouse would run out between the dog's furiously digging paws and the cat would immediately pounce on it. Meanwhile, he dog would still be looking around with a confused hey-where-did-he-go expression on his face. And occasionally the dog would try to hump the cat. I say "try" because we kids would yell and make him stop. But God only knows what the two of them were up to when nobody was looking! Food cravings can be your body's way of telling you that you are not eating enough of something. Be careful when you control your food intake by dieting that you still get enough of each food group or you will experience cravings for foods that contain the things you are deficient in. A tip that many people don't know. It's important to eat a little fat along with vegetables because many of the nutrients in vegetables are more soluble in fat than water. If you eat them without fat then it takes 4 to 5 times as much vegetable to give you the same nourishment that you would have gotten by eating them with a little fat. Old time cooks knew this instinctively. I don't think my grandmother ever cooked a vegetable that didn't have a little piece of fat cooked in it or at least some butter on it. Another tip if you are serious about losing weight. Don't waste your time with all the "diets" that people promote. Just get yourself a little notebook and every day write down every single thing you eat. That alone will probably be enough of an eye-opener to set you on the right track. Don't be in a big hurry to lose a lot of weight or you will get hungry and start eating too much again. It's very easy to lose 3 or 4 pounds a month without ever feeling starved just by "watching what you eat". And the notebook method has got to appeal to writers. (Also appeals to anal-retentive people, but let's not go there. )Keep breathing (That's my knew sign-off phrase. I wanted something nobody could dispute!) dreamteller Hello! When my Mom was pregnant with me she craved lemons. She would buy bags of lemons every week. Maybe that's why I love sour things, and lemon drops are my favorite candy. Also, when I was pregnant, I craved lemon water. Weird.. I craved almonds then too. I ate bags and bags. I still eat them frequently. Last summer me and my friend had an artichoke kick. We ate them all summer long until we got sick of them. I don't know what that was about. Most of the time though I get cravings for something I've never had. I not the best cook, and I get bored of food a lot. I love it, but I wish there was more variety. I imagine some amazing food that I've never tried. I love to try food from diffferent countries. Right now Thai and Indian food are my favorites.Your idea for recording things you eat is a good one Steve. That's what they say to help people to budget their money too. If you keep track of what you spend your money on for a week or a month, it's very eye opening. Such as finding out how much you spend on the morning coffee on the way to work over time. I've done the money log before, and I may try the food one as well. I'm just not sure how long I'd being able to keep up with it though. I have a problem with forgetfulness. I do great with those things for the first few days, and then I forget. It's the same with vitamins. I get all excited about taking them for my health, and then I forget a few days later. What would I ever do if I had to take medication daily or die? Lostinapaprbag, I liked your random thoughts, and the way you displayed them! Happy St. Patrick's Day to everybody too! Fionnrua What kind of person did I use to be?Quiet, shy, insecure, laid-back, bookworm, artistic, sensitive, empathic, spiritual, polite, level-headed are some terms that come to mind. I am still all of the above, except I am not shy and insecure any longer. I am comfortable with who I am and I know my strengths, weaknesses and most of my limitations. I keep striving to improve and I love learning. My faith and religion are important to me now. When I was younger, I always had faith, but I was passive about it. Now I take a much more pro-active view toward it. I had liberal leanings when I was younger, but now I am quite conservative. My marriage to a former husband showed me that I can also have a hair-trigger temper when constantly harrassed and pushed. Also constant tension with him turned me into an imsomniac. I still have recurring bouts with that when I get stressed out. Re: Dog & cat & humping topic. Dogs will hump anything - another dog, a cat, a human leg, a chair leg! My cat used to jump over the dog (a Lab - as he was standing) or sometimes jump on his back, run lightly along it and jump off. I used to have a cat that would tear around the house like a maniac, but would stop, lie down and listen any time you played a slow Sinatra song! Only Sinatra, nobody else would affect him. next! PastVoices Ah, Sinatra! Well, he did it his way.We all should be so lucky. Hello again. My latest food rage is dark chocolate. This is a health food kick and I quote: "Dark chocolate, the richer the better, is not only a to-die-for treat, it's actually good for you. And just 1 ounce of a very special chocolate packs more than twice the healthy antioxidant punch of red wine or other dark chocolates...Reseachers at UC-Davis compared the effects of 1-1/3 ounces of high flavanol Dove Dark chocolate with the same amount of low-flavonol dark chocolate...reduced LDL oxidation and booseted antioxidant levels and HCL concentrations in the blood." The entire report from "Prevention," is fascinating. Also that Dove brand is the highest Catechins & Epicatechins than other dark chocolate made in the U.S. blew me away! And it is only surpassed by pure unsweetened cocoa powder (not instant hot chocolate) in the antioxidant category. However, an otherwise healthy diet and limitation of 1 ounce of the dark chocolate per day is suggested -- "just an ounce of (dark) chocolate a day increases good cholesterol and prevents bad cholesterol from oxidizing, a process that may lead to heart disease." I am not quite up to an ounce a day yet, but in two months, my blood pressure has dropped from 142/90 to 114/70. I was on the blood pressure medication before adding the chocolate and I have also added Calcium and Fish Oil (Omega-3 fatty acids necessary for heart health) at the same time. Alas, I have not lost any weight, but have gained no more either. Commiting to and executing an exercise plan are next. My other adjustments to kinds of foods served at Chez' PV, are upsetting to my family, but I feel much better since my high blood pressure diagnosis in December. Who needs fried foods when broccoli and salads are so much better for you? I know, you are groaning just like they do!! Nevertheless, I was giddy when my husband's result of high cholesterol affirmed the need for same. I LOVE affirmation by outside sources, then he can't call my ideas DUMB. Due to my Type II Diabetes, I count carbs but not by any prescribed diet and not all carbs, only the ones (I think they call them "refined") that hurt my insulin absorption. I am on an oral med and my doctor is loving my blood stick numbers. I was raised to see food as comfort and that is the hardest part for me. When I am grieving, lonely or feeling generally unaccepted is when I binge eat. Staying out of the kitchen at those times is helping that---to a point. Food -- and money -- diaries are great, highly powerful tools for shame based weight/spending loss/savings.  As for dogs and cats. I refuse to own male furry four legged friends. (Fred, the cat, snuck in as Kitty, a female until the "operation" was scheduled and we had to change "operations".) Therefore, with two female cats and an it, we have NO humping here. (NONE of any kind!) However, my parents bought a male poodle when I was in high school. It was extremely embarrassing to sit on the couch being grilled by dad with a new boyfriend and...enter the poodle.  The cats are fighting over an empty box and I must referee. Where did I leave my steel arm-length gloves? NEXT! Suze nearly 1000 reviews given Hello!  Spring is here. Last night there was a monstrous thunderstorm and pouring rain that beat against my window and threatened to force its way through the seams. When I lived in Kansas, thunderstorms frightened me because they were usually the foreplay for Tornadoes. Here, I can enjoy the excitement of the storm again. It's actually the only storm I enjoy going through, the ones that nature provides. Life's storms are still very frightening to me. Even small problems come at me as warnings that something terrible is lurking quickly behind. I try to stay positive, to not think that the worse is yet to come, but I have to admit -I do anyway. It's almost like a protective device. Be prepared- more so than being pessimistic. Heed the warning, be alert, and mind yourself-- something else is coming. Sounds like I'm paranoid? I don't think I am. I just think of it as being smart. Protecting myself. Why walk directly into a storm without the proper protection? I would not go out into a rainstorm without an umbrella, or a snowstorm without a hat and gloves- so why walk straight into disaster in life without looking over one's shoulder and preparing for the worst? How do I do that? I would never go out at night alone. I don't order pizza deliveries because I don't want deliverymen to know I'm alone. Protect yourself. So with spring comes the beginning of preparing for winter. Because winter will come again and I have to have everything stocked up and ready by then. Maybe I was a squirrel in a former life? Well, anyway to me spring is an enjoyment of thunderstorms, and a preparation for winter. Time to start filling the can goods, stock piling the water bottles, replenishing the paper goods and little by little- each payday that's what I do. It takes all spring and summer to get it done, but by summer I get lazy and just want to sleep in the sun (oh, no- now I sound like a cat!). Spring the time to plant, grow, refill the pantry, stay out later in the evening, and smell the sweet air of promises. Happy Spring to you all! MelodyofMusic I want to make everyone laugh tonight, so view the following:**You may have already heard it** Forest Gump goes to Heaven The day finally arrives. Forrest Gump dies and goes to heaven. He is met at the Pearly Gates by St.Peter himself. The gates are closed, however, as Forrest approaches the gatekeeper. St.Peter says, "Well Forrest, it's certainly good to see you. We have heard a lot about you. I must inform you that the place is filling up fast, and we've been administering an entrance examination for everyone. The tests are fairly short, but you need to pass before you can get into Heaven." Forrest responds, "It shore is good to be here, St.Peter. I was looking forward to this. Nobody ever told me about any entrance exam. Sure hope the test ain't too hard; life was big enough test as it was." St.Peter goes on, "Yes, I know, Forrest, but the test I have for you is only three questions:  "What days of the week begin with the letter T?""How many seconds are there in a year?""What is God's first name?"Forrest goes away to think the questions over. He returns the next day and goes up to St.Peter to try to answer the exam questions. St.Peter waves him up and says, "Now that you have had a chance to think the questions over, tell me your answers." Forrest says, "Well, the first one, how many days of the week begin with the letter "T"? Shucks, that one's easy. That'd be Today and Tomorrow." The Saint's eyes open wide and he exclaims, "Forrest! That's not what I was thinking, but... you do have a point, though, and I guess I didn't specify, so I give you credit for that answer. How about the next one?" asks St.Peter. "How many seconds in a year?" "Now that one's harder," says Forrest, "But I thunk and thunk about that and I guess the only answer can be twelve." Astounded, St.Peter says, "Twelve! Twelve! Forrest, how in Heaven's name could you come up with twelve seconds in a year?" Forrest says,"Sucks, there gotta be twelve: January second, February second, March second..." "Hold it," interrupts St.Peter. "I see where you're going with this. And I guess I see your point, though that wasn't quite what I had in mind, but I'll give you credit for that one too. Let's go on with the next and final question. Can you tell me God's first name?" Forrest replied, "Andy." "OK, OK," said a frustrated St.Peter, "I guess I can understand how you came up with your answers to my first two questions, but just how in the world did you come up with the name Andy as the first name of God?" "That was the easiest one of all," Forrest replied. I learned it from the song... (Are you sure you are ready for this?) "ANDY WALKS WITH ME, ANDY TALKS WITH ME, ANDY TELLS ME I AM HIS OWN." Now, my nutritious input. Ginko Biloba. Excellent for the brain. Eat vanilla and cinnamon in your Oatmeal. Both of them are Brain food. Here is something to ponder. What Lesson have you Learned? catty WDC since 2003 Whew! Now These Were Some Very INTERESTING Posts!!!Thank you all for your creative additions. I know some of you are pasting these in your journals, right? If you aren't, you should be! Speaking of journals, I have a question. I'm a journal-er, but I'm not one who journals every day, just every so often when life pokes and prods me into putting my experiences in black and white. So, who here is into journaling, and how dedicated are you? Along these lines, my husband and I share a "Loving Journal" and I admit I am more timely in writing in this one than my personal one. What's a "Loving Journal"? Well, it's something I came up with as a way to vent frustrations, express emotions, put into words our thoughts and feelings, urges, fantasies, etc...in a way which is non-confrontational for us. We respond to each other in writing and many times our passages inspire wonderful conversations and questions which have helped us to keep our marriage strong. I know it may sound wacky, but it works for us. So, other than the journaling question, is there something you do to keep the lines of communication open between yourself and your spouse / significant other / parents / kids / friends / family / ???? ......... Steve Ellen No journal being kept by me, Catty, except my food log. Although I since I am writing in it everyday I sometimes also put in things unrelated to food, like where I went or who I saw or what dream I had. Usually by the time I finish with emails, campfires, and the In&Outs - I'm all written out. Also, I feel like it would be wasting my time to write something only I would read. And if I made it a public journal, then I would not be honest in it. So I don't bother with a journal. But I have no problem writing little notes to myself - Do this. Do that. - Geez, I'm a pain. Most of the time I just ignore myself and go off and do what I want to do. I have never had any problem keeping the lines of communiction open. I don't hold grudges. A long time ago I realized that forgiveness would remove all tension, so I forgave everyone in the world that had done anything at all - even Hitler - and naturally all my friends, relatives, and neighbors, most of whom weren't up to Hitler's standard of evil. If you think the universe is a good place, then that's what it will be for you. If you think you live in hell, then that's where you live. Personally, I live in WalMart, but fortunately it can satisfy most of my cravings. Walmart fried potatoes? Mmmmm - good! And would I have ever known what "Tulapia" was if not for WalMart? I think most problems that seem to be "between" two people are really problems that one or the other partner has. If both partners agree to get their own minds straightened out while also giving the other person room to make mistakes and be imperfect, then two people can coexist just fine. I'm single, by the way, so you should keep in mind that I have no idea what I'm talking about. I guess Oprah will never invite "Doctor Steve" on her show!Keep breathing! dreamteller I have kept journals before, but only for brief periods of time. When I read the Artist's Way by Julia Cameron years ago, it encouraged you to write three pages every day of nonsense. All the stuff you worry about every day, or waste your time thinking about when you could be writing a best seller or painting a masterpiece. I know I personally can stress about a lot of stupid things, and it was a kind of release to write it down. Then I didn't have to spend any more time thinking about it, and it helped me organize my thoughts and remember things at times. I didn't keep up for it for too long though. Anything I have to do every day soon gets forgotten like taking vitamins when it loses its thrill. I started to get behind. I had to catch up and write ten pages one day, or I felt guiltly so I stopped. As for journals, I agree with Steve, I find myself writng them as if someone will eventually read them, and if not what's the point? Those three pages a day weren't fit to be read though. I just wrote them, and then ripped them up several days later.I'm afraid I don't know what "Tulapia" is, Steve. I hate going to Walmart because of the crowds, and I don't agree with their business practices. They treat their employees here terribly, and I don't even want to get into how they are overseas. I do love a bargain though so I have gone in there in the past. I prefer Target, and I hope their business practices are not as bad. I just haven't heard anything about them. LostInAPaprBag: I love Shel's poems. I haven't read any in years! Fionnrua Hi Everybody!My writing in this campfire is the closest thing that I have to a journal nowadays. I have kept spiritual journals in the past - one was a journal of prayer petitions and their eventual answers and another was a 40 day meditation journal. The meditation one produced strange visions and vivid dreams that I also dutifully wrote down and then tried to figure out! I recently put a new item in my port called "My Sketchbook" - I have begun to put in quotes and observations of people and things that I encounter, and that I might want to use in stories later (for a touch of realism?) - so that is a journal of sorts. My reasoning is this - musicians and composers have sketchbooks where they can jot down ideas for a melody on the spur of the moment to be used someday in a song. Artists have sketchbooks to sketch people, places, things or to sketch studies of someone or something - these drawings can later be re-worked into a serious composition - so I figured a writer should have somewhat of the same thing. Hey! What do you think of this?? If you got divorced, sold or lost the house,then remarried, would you rebuy the house if it came on the market and you, also, were in the market for a house? Well, regardless of how you answered that question, that is what my husband and I are doing. The closing should be next week and then we are moving throughout the month of May. I am excited because the property has 3 Shagbark Hickory trees. I saw that and said "Honey! Look! A food source!" There are shells all over the place. I wonder if you can use them for grilling instead of charcoal? He never ate them the first time around!! I am going to put in an herb garden and then a few tomato plants, and maybe a pear tree! Come Fall, I will be happily canning tomatoes, drying herbs and fighting the squirrels for the hickory nuts! I think my husband thinks my enthusiam for gathering nuts is cute. Next, please! PastVoices Sounds good to me Fionnrua! After all, you didn't move because you hated the house! Journals are all over the place in my house. I finally had to put tables of contents in them. I journal to record thoughts on life that I do intend to and do use in later writings. I am married and it is hard work. My husband and I are in marriage counseling. Not that we are on the verge of divorce, we were married 25 years in December. But because I would like to have a better next 25 years. It's my own fault, I married someone as unemotionally available to me as my mother. Funny, I was looking for someone like my dad. I highly recommend individual, couples and family therapy for everyone! I have given up on trying to communicate with the 23-year-olds upstairs. I have opened up communication with God for them to find homes of their own. I am on deadline and shouldn't be here, so I will close. I do love the interaction here in the Ins & Outs, groups and forums!! Next!! Isn't Tulapia a fish? Sherri Talapia is fish. ...is there something you do to keep the lines of communication open between yourself and your spouse / significant other / parents / kids / friends / family / ???? What a question. For those that don't know, my husband and I are now separated. My daughter and I have our own place now, and so far it's not looking good as far as continuing to be married. Hubby isn't interested in working on it, and I'm not interested in him with his current attitude. So, there's hardly any line of communication between us presently - although I do take pictures of our daughter on my phone and send the pics to him. At least there is that connection. As far as anyone else, nothing special really - a phone call here and there or an email. This might be strange, but some of my closest friends are right here on W.Com, so we read each others journals, respond, and IM each other. I do keep a regular journal. I journal every day mostly, unless I don't have online access or I just really have nothing on my mind. I have also started up a website for my daughter from her point of view, which is a way to keep my friends and family posted on her. If you want to check out her site, here's the address: http://www.babiesonline.com/babies/z/zoebug/ Neeeext!! MelodyofMusic I am keeping a journal online. It helps me to keep on track with everything. It is a wonderful tool to clear out your mind.I love the idea of keeping a "loving" journal between me and my husband. I think I am going to borrow your idea and start one up between me and my husband. The way my sisters and I to stay in touch without running up a long distance bill, we share e-mails. The idea started with me. I write an e-mail, and I may decide to post pics and stuff but, the whole idea is share every other day what is going on with each immediate family. I then send it to one sister, she adds her newzy info, then send on to the other sister. Then it comes back to me...and I get to read about each ones daily lives. Then the cycle repeats itself. What is your favorite snack. I have several. I love to eat yogurt with either fruit or pretzels. I love to eat vanilla icecream with chips. Next. catty WDC since 2003 Whew! Hmmm, new topic!!! FAVORITE SNACK!!I like Pommegranites! Frozen, jellied, doesn't matter. I sprinkle the fruit over vanilla ice cream, in 7-Up, I guess it's a good thing I have 3 trees in my back yard~! Niteowl I think I skipped my last turn so I'll comment on the last topic. I have two online blogs, one on here and one on YWS. I haven't updated either of them since Easter. Tomorrow's Greek Easter, 6 weeks later.And to claify something I said about my dog...She's female, which is what made me think it was unusual. My other dog (also female) used to hump this stuffed dog when she was a puppy. And there's this other dog we sometimes pet-sit that keeps trying to hump her. She just snaps at him. Don't you spell it Pomegranates? OK, back on track here...Favorite Snack? You mean we need to pick a fave? I have too many? On the healthy side, I like canteloupe, strawberries, apples, and pretzels. On the not-so healthy side, I like Cheetos, Cheddar and Sour Cream potato chips, this 90 calorie pudding we always seem to have, Rice Krispie Treats, and anything with chocolate in it. I also love cinnamon almonds. I also like ranch almonds, they're a good way to spice up green beans and other veggies. I'm not sure what category the cinnamon almonds would be in. I haven't had any in AGES! We're getting our dining and living room redone. It started with just getting hardwood flooring, but now I guess my mom's getting them re-painted and everything. Since my dad broke his foot, guess who's stuck helping my mom move the furniture? Yours truly! Did I mention I'm really really weak? So far, it's actually been easier than I thought. But we haven't tried moving the entertainment center to the basement yet...DA DA DUM... I also want to go to Costa Rica next Feburary with a group of Spanish students. That's real cheap. Not. So me and my mom have been job-hunting all over the place. My mom was shocked at how few places hire 15-year-olds. I was forewarned about this, so I wasn't so surprised. We tried a golf course, but I didn't get hired. Wow I've taken this WAY off-topic. But that's how I am. NEXT! Steve Ellen I agree, NiteOwl. Who can pick a favorite snack out of so many good things to eat? And I am always discovering new tasty things, so I'll just give you the latest taste sensations at the House of Steve. Horseradish sauce is in this season, kiddies. Preferred usage is in a sandwich - Kaiser roll, horseradish sauce, slice of onion, slice of tomato, fresh spinach leaves, and your choice of meat (suggestions: turkey burger, chicken, fish, or a slice of fried tofu). Did you ever have someone give you some friendly advice or a tip which you ignored until years later and then when you tried it you said: "Omigod! This is so much better!"? I do it all the time out of stubborness and inertia. I'll share this tip which took me two years to actually try and realize that my friend was on to something! Tip for artists: If you draw for online use their are several ways to get your drawings into the computer - scan them (good but slow), draw with your mouse (incredibly clumsy), use a stylus pad (draw like a pencil, but you have to look at the monitor to see what you've drawn), or my friend's simple suggestion: a dry erase board. I taped it to my desk, mounted my webcam to aim down at it, and now capture the drawings directly into PaintShopPro. Fast and neat! And the board is right next to my mouse pad so I can use it while I wait for things to download on the internet. Okay, all you non-artists found that boring, but I don't care. If I can help just one fellow artist find his way to a more efficient life, then my time here on earth has not been wasted. Keep breathing! Fionnrua Hi Everyone!Favorite snack? Refrigerated Oranges, Tostitos, frozen fruit popsicles (I forget the brand bame), yogurt, anything that has dark chocolate on it, cheese,and hot tea, to name a few. We are moving on the 19th of May. We have been moving many "small" things throughout the past couple of weeks - ever since the closing and we got the keys. The movers come on the 19th. I recently joined a Cardio-kickboxing class! My daughter invited me to go with her and I like the class - but it is HARD!!! The first class, I thought I was going to faint halfway through. REALLY, I did think so! The next 2 classes were ok - hard, but I just sweated like a pig! The last class (last Wednesday, I haven't had time to go to class this week due to moving prep and working) made me feel like I was in boot camp! Push-ups, jogging laps, kicking (shoulder height) a stand-up body bag, and punching and jabbing the same. I was ok during the class, but 3 hours later, literal exhaustion kicked in!! I still had a full day of teaching to do and boy, was that hard to last through. I finally got home, went to bed at 9:30 and slept through for 9 hours!!! Now I understand why boxers kind of hug each other and waltz around the ring after they have lasted so many rounds with no knock-outs and they are exhausted. I sweat so much in that class that I feel like Rocky in the first movie, with sweat flying off of him as he's punching and being punched! LOL Next......... PastVoices I am too sick to sit here very long. Next time. Sherri Fave snack...I don't really snack much. I like Hershey's choco bars (no nuts), but rarely do I eat them. I chew gum more than anything. I like the fresh feeling in my mouth. Thanks y'all. I feel boring now. NEXT!!! Suze nearly 1000 reviews given Favorite Snack?I don't have a favorite snack as much as I have a favorite time to snack. Like watching TV. Watching TV, especially when the characters on the show are eating dinner, I get hungry. Movies-- popcorn TV Show-- peanuts I very concerned about our friend, PastVoices  . She is very ill and suffering with pain. I don't know what's wrong but I am concerned. I'd like to ask that everyone who reads this give a prayer on her behalf. MelodyofMusic Wow! What a variety of favorite foods and a variety of different things that are taken place in peoples lives.PastVoices ,I hope you get to feeling better soon. The last few weeks have been very hectic in my immediate family. Although all four of us kids are out of the home and have families of our own, when something happens to one, it effects the rest of the gang. It has really taken it's toll on us all. That is life for you. Since I'm generally the one who starts the ball rolling on a topic, let me get started. What is the one thing that you have changed in your life, or your work environment, or your schooling, that made a difference or an impact on you as a person, or the community as a whole, or at your work place? There ya go! Food for thought!{/b} Steve Ellen That's food for thought all right! I guess everything we do changes things, doesn't it? Who knows what effect some casual remark you make might have? Have you ever read the poem about "for want of a nail the battle was lost"? And since I like to read science fiction, I know SF writers have always speculated over the effects that time travel to the past might have. Could killing one dinosaur cause you never to have been born? It's possible if the chain of cause and effect reaches from the dino to you. It's intimidating to think that whether you leave the house three minutes late or not could cause your death in a car wreck. Life is an interconnected web of millions of interlocking events, each one affecting all the others. My own belief is that you have to keep your mind firmly in positive territory, always expecting the best, and if you do, then that will guide you on a safe path through the web. Religious-minded people have a similar belief except that they add God as a powerful positive force to help. So you can see that asking me "what is the ONE thing that you have changed in your life that made a difference" no longer has an easy answer for me because the thing that I changed was to a new belief that EVERYTHING makes a difference! Keep breathing! Suze nearly 1000 reviews given Speaking about life changes and things that make a difference- You might not believe this:September 2003- I ran away from my husband and my marriage, my friends, my job, my home-everything. I had a breakdown like you wouldn't believe! For the first six months everyone (Except Steve told me to "move on", "make a new life", "don't talk to him", "there's nothing left to say". Steve was the only one who cautioned that I should talk to him- I wish I'd have listened. In December 2004 he filed divorce papers- everyone in Kansas was telling him -"she doesn't love you- she left you- move on-" In March 2005 we finally started talking to each other--really talking and we discovered something very important- We loved each other more than we loved ourselves Now it's June 24, 2005 and today he is flying in to pick me up and drive me home. We are going back to our lives, remarrying, and both of us are very excited, nervous and happy. Life is change. If you learn nothing else- learn that. There is no way to stop it. Life will change. Fight it or change with it- that's your only choice but I caution- changing with it will allow growth and the continuation of happiness. And one more important lesson: Listen To Steve- the man knows stuff!! One my way to Kansas- Back To The Future!!!{/i} MelodyofMusic WOW!! That is a lot of food for thought. lol* Well, it has been really busy month for me...and it's hard to believe that we are already in July. This is the month that I normally go to Canada in. But, I am passing it up this time. Instead, I am saving it up for January. Me and my husband is going on a Cruise. Another Topic to get the Mind going on....is: How would you own your life?{/b}{/i} catty WDC since 2003 Whew! I think most of us have been on vacation! There have been a lot of skips this round! So, what's a favorite summer past time of yours? Combine this with Melody's question and let's see what we come up with.For me, I tend to sleep most days away, simply because I work nights, but a favorite activity of mine are my horses, and swimming too! Kind of hard to do those at night. So, I take control on my weekends and fight sleep to spend time with family and pets, doing combined activities we all enjoy doing. Most of the time, though, I have to admit I'm pretty tired come Sunday evening! Next!!!! Niteowl We're always busy, busy, busy, even in the summer. I have swim conditioning every weekday from 9-11 am, my little sister has a day camp almost every week, and I'm going to a one-week camp in Newago (sort of by Grand Rapids). I go on the "Mystery Adventure" where you go somewhere in Michigan and you aren't told exactly where you're going. Last year our base camp was in Christmas, MI in the UP. We went cliff jumping! It was awesome! Lake Superior tastes like Dasani. Yes, I know that's weird. No, I don't care. Somehow we always manage to spend at least one weekend in our cottage Up North. It's really nice and relaxing to just sit around, play board games, swim in the lake, etc. I also tend to spend a lot of time with my friend Caroline. Yesterday I went up to Silver Lake with her family, Saturday we went to Art in the Park and watched movies, and this weekend I'm spending the night at her dad's house. NEXT!{/b}{/i} Steve Ellen Right on, Suze! Listen to Steve. Can I be sued if my advice goes sour? From here on I am issuing disclaimers with everything I say. My favorite summer pasttime has always been going to the beach. Nothing like the cool salt spray of the surf and then that fine ocean breeze in the evening. And if you can;t go to the beach, then eat an ice cold watermelon or some hand-churned peach ice cream. Disclaimer: All advice from Steve is given with no guarantee of positive results. Use caution when listening to Steve. Fionnrua Wow! Great news Suze! Steve...I am impressed!We are sweating buckets here in Ohio. Ice cold watermelon and ANYTHING ice cold is high on the favorite list! I am tired of having my clothes stick to me! UGH! My tomato plants are almost as tall as me...does it have anything to do with the fact that there is a leach field nearby?? Last time I skipped my turn - I was too tired and too depressed, etc. to muster up the energy to write. Now things are on an upswing, my prayers originating in the depression time are being answered and life is, once again, good! I now live a couple of blocks away from my daughter and grandsons. My grandsons and I are having fun playing "Battleship" and "Crochet". I don't know if I spelled that write - you know, the game where you hit the ball with a mallet through the little wickets. Next PastVoices Summertime, BAH HUMBUG!If there is such a thing as a Scrooge of Summer, here she is. I hate summer. The only thing I like about the season are the fresh fruits and veggies! It has been in the range of 110 degree heat index the past three days here. Here in the St. Louis, Missouri Metropolitan (East side of river in Illinois) Area, we have a saying, "If you don't like the weather, wait five minutes, it will change!" In summer, do not listen to they. Hot is hot. Scattered showers only serve to increase the oppressive humidity that comes with out summers. I have to say it was worse the two summers we lived in South Carolina, with one saving grace, the beach! Steve is right about the ocean. I worked six days a week and spent the day on Sundays (pre-cell phones) away at the beach, away from phones and any resemblance of work. That is except for the day my boss and his family almost tripped over us. Here, I stay in the air conditioning, eat ripe tomatoes, cantelope, squash, onions, corn-on-the-cob and pray for an early fall. Next! MelodyofMusic Speaking of weather...OMG! It has been so blooming hot here in Arkansas. I have been staying inside on the weekends. I have really bonded with my computer because of it. My Co-workers have been bringing veggies from their gardens to share with everyone at work. Yummy! College starts Next Monday for me...so I really will be busy. When I leave work...I have an hour to myself before going to school. Some fun, huh? When I leave work on Friday...I do not leave my house for anything. I do not talk on the phone, I do not want to even talk to people. I deal so much in Customer Service...that on the weekend...I do not even give a smile. lol* What is your favorite feature about yourself? catty WDC since 2003 Whew! I sure am concerned...I watch the awful news going on the tv, I see the cold, lifeless reports on the devastation of the hurricane and I just say a prayer of thanks that everyone in my family is safe. Niteowl Um...I'm not really sure what to say to that, except maybe the ever-popular "What she said". She said it better than I can. On another website I am a part of, the thread started about Hurricane Katrina quickly turned into randomness. Honestly, the way people were talking about it so lightly was apalling. I didn't get a chance to say anything though, because I was Up North far away from the computer over the Labor Day weekend. I am spending less and less time on the computer because, as I have already stated, with my swimming and my little sister's skating (she's leaving before I even wake up 4 days a week!) and that my dad's now working in Indiana so he can't help tote us around, we are extremely busy. On some days I spend 5 hours at the school between weight training and swim practice. I eat Subway and do homework in the meantime. And I still have homework when I get home fairly often. So don't be suprised if I can't get on here for days. NEXT! Steve Ellen Who's idea was it to build New Orleans below sea level? We need to get that guy and teach him rule number one about building cities: choose the high ground! I guess they ran into the same problems as the Dutch. Obviously all the levees need to be upgraded to a point that they can withstand a category 4 hurricane. Otherwise, one day they will have to go through all this again. I have often thought during a power outage at my house about how it seems that once your home no longer has heat or electricity it becomes nothing more than a big box with all your stuff in it. Really, it is just a larger version of the "cardboard box" that is the traditional "home" of "homeless people". And if you also get flooded, then it's not even a good "box" for your "stuff". Do you know what the wild edible plants are in the area where you live? It's good survival knowledge and doesn't take long to learn. And always keep a few gallons of clean water stored somewhere in your house. Having one of those little fold-up two-burner butane camping stoves in your house is handy for hot meals when the power is out. Let me stop before I go into a long list of "Steve's Favorite Survival Tips". Keep breathing! dreamteller Sorry I've skipped a lot of turns myself. Work, computer malfunctions, and personal issues have been driving me crazy. I've managed to slip some summer fun in between all that though. I love going to the beach. It was foggy though so I went shopping there instead ansd checked out the Undersea Gardens. I also love camping. Last year I only got to camp one night at the beach. This year I made it a point in August to do something fun every weekend, and screw the cost. I would regret not doing anything more than the expense. I am enjoying the return of cooler days though. Last night there was a lovely storm complete with booming thunder and lightening. As I went over the last posts I can't help but notice how much food is still mentioned which is perfectly o.k. by me. I would have trouble naming a favorite snack myself. I get on kicks until I find something new I like. I wish I did know the edible plants around here, I've always wanted to know that in theory, but I've never actually looked it up. I could recognize mint and blackberries which is not saying much. I'm so sad about New Orleans. It's hard to imagine such a catastrophe. I don't understand why there weren't evacuations earlier on, or more preparing. Of course you have to be careful pointing fingers, and it was a disaster of epic proportion so there is only so prepared you could be, but it seems like something else could have been done before it got to this point. This is of minor consequence of course, but I've always wanted to go there, and all the old parts I wished to see are probably gone. Fionnrua Hi Everyone,Edible plants - good to know - the much maligned dandelion is edible and is good for you besides. It cleanses the liver, among other things. I found parsley growing wild in 2 separate cracks in my driveway! Next, please........ PastVoices In the interim of posts, I have planned and pulled off a wedding documented in
In terms of the news, I have been galled at the coverage of the looting in the early days. Most were scavenging for food. Apparently, they didn't know Steve's Survival Tips (besides which everything was apparently under the dirty Mississippi River and the gulf waters), so they had to find something. In chaos, rules go out the window. However, to elude that race had anything to do with the looting. More than 50 percent of the population of New Orleans lives below poverty level and 67.3 percent of the population are black. Duh! What color do you expect the people left to fend for themselves to be! Nevertheless, I am as upset by the news as I am by the insinuation that race is the issue in the disastrous manner that rescue and aide has been handled. Clearly, FEMA should never have been put under Homeland Security! Even more clearly, someone with not disaster, fire or police experience should have ever been appointed to run it! Oops, I will get off the soapbox again. Like Dreamteller, I have never been to New Orleans and I would have liked to absorb its historic sights in person rather than in films. Nothing is ever the same after something like this. A little town south of where I live was always severely damaged by floods. The flood of 1993 was the worst. The federal government agreed to rebuild IF the residents and businesses rebuilt on higher ground. They didn't tell people they couldn't build in the flood plain, it just would not be covered nor would it be insurable against floods. As much as it would be nice to envision having the old New Orleans back, I have doubts that I want billions of dollars spent on reconstruction in a bowl below sea level. I did think of a place to get the tax dollars needed to rebuild though, the space exploration should be halted. Why go looking for more real estate when we can't take care of what we have here! Suze nearly 1000 reviews given I am deeply touched by the storms hitting the Gulf. I reached a point where I could not watch TV, or hear another story about the tragedy, and it had nothing to do with being blase' about it-- I was sobbing too much.My co-workers have all kinds of theories on the disasters hitting right now- of course, you guessed it- The End Of The World A few are even blaming the scientist for messing up our atmosphere thus creating an environment in which the world is seeking revenge. I think a lot of people forget that we live on a living planet with growing and expanding cells. And sometimes we fall into the path of those storms. I think it is very sad and I hope the people get the help they need. On the way home tonight there was a woman standing on the corner in front of Walmart with her child and a sign Victim of Katrina and 8 year old son....Five months pregnant.....need money for gas Was it real? Was the woman really in need or was it a scam? I didn't know what to do. Drive past someone truly in need? Be a fool and give money to scam artist? I had no money anyway. Pay day isn't until Friday, but still....If I had had money in my pocket....what would I have done? I'm not sure. It becomes a moral question. Wouldn't it be better to give...and be a fool...then to pass by someone who might really need help? It's great to be back on line! I have missed you all, terribly! And my creativity level went to zero. As you all probably know- Bill and I have reconciled and we are getting remarried on our original wedding day of March 12th. We are very happy. It has been hard at times -keeping the past away from the future- and we are working hard to make it work. We go to therapy- that's really good. And we go dancing. Now that's magical and I've found that really enjoy the new Country-Rock. I've become a dancing diva. We twirl around the floor in a waltz as if we'd been dancing for years. The first thing we tried when I got back home was bike riding. That didn't work well. I ran into a parked SUV and busted my cheek. It's still healing and that was July! Dancing is much better and so romantic. I really like this 'dating' stage we are in right now. And planning for the wedding is nothing but pure fun. I better get off of here so someone else can talk and I have plenty of emails to answer. So, until next time- Save A Horse- Ride A maybe I better not finished that! bye! MelodyofMusic Well, I do not have much to say tonight. I have been really busy with my life. Between birthdays and wedding showers, there has not been a moment to rest.Anyway, I will have more to say at the next entry. catty WDC since 2003 Whew! To say the very least, the storms and earthquakes and war and...well, it's affected us all. I know, I've been spending so much time at work, and little at the monitor that I sometimes wonder if I'm part of the real world at all.I wish I could help, even in some small way, but like many others, it's about all I can do to support my family right now. Hoping you are all safe, and with your loved ones for the upcoming holiday seasons...catty Niteowl The last time I was going to say something on here, my mom interrupted me to send me on my first solo driving mission: Back the Focus out so Mom could put the Explorer in the garage, then pull in on the other side. I did pretty good: nothing was damaged, and everything was in one piece (I had to back back out and retry, but that's okay). Anyway, today I'm skipping swim practice to go to a friend's Halloween party. I died my hair blue, got in a costume, and now here I am, waiting until I have to go. I'm not going trick-or-treating this year because...I never thought I'd utter these words with reference to getting free candy...I don't feel like it. Besides, it makes you fat. :P I'm just planning on stealing my sister's candy anyway...*tongue* When I was writing in one of my many journals last week, I noticed that I'd been writing more in the past month then I had for the 3-4 months prior to that. Sure enough, I counted: Total page count for 6/20-8/8 in one of my notebooks: 24. Total page count for 9/27-10/17: 27. I'm not really sure why, but I've felt really inspired lately. I would post what I've written, but I have a free membership so I can't. I guess I could post one more thing...but how would I decide? If any of you are interested, here's my portfolio on Young Writer's Society: http://www.youngwriterssociety.com/forum/search.php?search_id=usertopics&us... I'm sorry I don't remember the WritingML tags for posting a hyperlink. Catty, will you please edit this and add the tags? Also, due to the really odd system, my songs aren't in my portfolio. I am going to email the admin and see if he can change that. Anyway, hope y'all have a safe and happy Halloween. NEXT! Steve Ellen Trick or Treat, smell ny feet! Well, I certainly won't make the mistake of dressing up as myself again. It made all the little kids cry last year. I guess I'll have to wear a mask. Poor little tots... Also, sliced bananas wasn't too popular as a treat. In fact, a mom told me later that she thought it was "really stupid" that anyone would give out peeled banana chunks to put in Trick or Treat bags. Well excuse me for trying to give the kids something nutritious.  Bananas are loaded with potassium, whatever that is. Grapefruits have a lot of potassium. Maybe I'll give out grapefruit wedges this year... dreamteller Happy Haunting everyone! I've done so much this Halloween, and spent far too much money. We've been to three pumpkin patches, and countless parties, activities, and crafts. I'll be a little glad when tonight is over! I hope I have money for Christmas! Oh well I haven't been able to go all out like this in years, and I love this holiday. I'm going to be a skeleton bride tonight, and my son is going to be Scary Godmother again this year. Don't worry if you've never heard of her, you'd have to watch Cartoon Network. Other than that Ive been watching Lost on DVD obseessively. I'm terrible about remembering when a show is on t.v. so even though I loved it when it first aired I only remembered to watch part of about three episodes. This way though I can see it all without interruptions. Including eating and sleeping... I read something in the news about a landlady thinking her tenant was dead becasue he didn't leave the apartment for days, or make a sound in there. He was watching 24 on DVD with his girlfriend the whole time. Fionnrua lol! Steve - did you really give out peeled banana chunks for Halloween?? I can relate to the guy watching 24 obsessively. I got hooked on it last year. I rush home so that I can watch it with my husband. I can't remember the last time I gasped because I was shocked and surprised at something on a TV show! ie: the scene where the teenage arab kid kills his would-be-assassin with a shovel and the scene where Chloe is getting shot at in a car and then she hauls out some AK47 type gun and erupts into a female Rambo!! I named one of my fish Mar-Wan, the name of the Arab terrorist leader, (who also played the title role in The Mummy). Unfortunately, Mar-Wan, my golden, Cambodian fighting fish recently died. Next, please PastVoices Apparently we have no topic this time. I, too, have been deeply moved by the storm victims. I have done a little more than I could through UMCOR where I knew every dime of my money would be used for victims and no administrative fees. Red Cross uses so much of every dollar for administrative fees and if they decide the needs are "met" in one place will shift the money to other events.I don't get "in" to Halloween very well. I stocked up on candy and had one Trick-or-Treater. But my children and my husband are doing well at cleaning out the candy bags. The newlyweds were over for dinner tonight. The guys linked their computers and played Red Alert. My daughter and I played a DVD game, "Scene It." She brought both the TV and movie versions. It is basically visual and rhetorical trivia. It is a wonderful interactive game and made for a wonderful evening. Oh, and yeah, my piece I mentioned a couple of times ago, "Invalid Item" received Honorable Mention in the Inspirational Writing Category in the 74th Annual Writer's Digest Writing Competition (close to 18,000 entrants). The editor in her cover letter and other writer friends have told me this is a very big deal. I also won a TV station essay contest for tickets to see a live performance of Billy Joel and Twyla Tharps "Movin' Out" at The Fox theatre in St. Louis. The essay was about true friendship and I took the friend I wrote about to see it for her birthday. She had taken me earlier this year to see "Mamma Mia" (ABBA music) for my birthday at the same theatre. I do believe I am on a roll! Next... Suze nearly 1000 reviews given I get to follow Past? Excellant! Let me say C  O  N  G  R A  T U L A T I O N S! It is a big deal! Writing awards are the applause that entertainers hear. Did you ever think about that? Take singers for example- they sing their song, and the public goes out and buys it. Then the singer gets an award. When an author writes something the critics judge it, award it, publish it before the public ever gets to see it. So why is that? Why can't the people read and buy before the critics have their say so? AH! That's why we have Writing.Com! We write. They read. We glow from the reviews. Good stuff all around. Congratulations, Past- your work has always inspired better writing from me. (Steve- really! Bananas!)
catty WDC since 2003 Whew! It's that time again, when the Barney campfire becomes bulky from all our wonderful conversations and tidbits and I really need someone who is interested in taking over to step forward and create a number 3...I haven't had time lately to devote to W.com as I would like to so please, anyone interested just send an email...Thanks PS: I hope one and all are surrounded by loved ones in the coming Holiday season,,,,,catty Niteowl Hello! I really haven't been on here in a while. I have 17 new emails I really should go read. I was kind of banned for a while because I'm stupid...I prefer not to go into details. But I've managed to get online time, provided I put homework and chores and stuff first.Tonight we had the end of the season Swim Team Banquet, where we eat food, get dressed up, some lucky girls get varsity letters (not me, I'm too slow! LOL!)...yeah. Not exactly the most exciting thing in the world, but it was better than last year, which kind of provoked a mental breakdown. Everyone had to talk about their "Buddy" and I was saddled with talking about one of our senior captains. Since I couldn't think of any funny stories (I actually tought of one AFTER my speech!) I decided to take a poem I wrote about the end of summer camp "You'll Still Make Me Smile" and tweak it to be about her. Everyone loved it. Congratulations PastVoices! And um...I have nothing else to say...man I'm using a lot of ellipses, so um... NEXT! Steve Ellen That's right, Catty. It's time for Barney #3, the 2006 edition, and in our tradition of host rotation (stop spinning round and round, Catty ) we need a new host. You simply have to create a new Barney campfire in your port and link to it here and invite us. Who wants to do it? They say when you want something done then give it to a busy person. Past Voices, you seem pretty busy... Interested?Suze? Fionnrua? Dreamteller? Niteowl? BTW, I think we should invite Ravenwand to the next Barney and I am sure some of you may have other suggestions for names you see at WDC who might be interested... Meanwhile... Keep Breathing! dreamteller I wish I could take over for you Catty, but I'm struggling to even keep up with my turns posting. I'm definitely in a writer's slump right now. Did I tell anyone I am 5 months pregnant? I'm very excited. I feel like this one is going to be a girl. The house is pretty full of boys so that would be cool, but if my feelings are wrong it won't matter. I've been crazy preparing for the holidays. I just plannned a Pirate birthday for my almost step-son. That was fun, but exhausting. I had him go on a treasure hunt with clues to find each present. I hid his big ones in the dryer with a x to mark the spot at the end. My sister's birthday is Christmas day so I need to do something for that too. She's going to be 21. She is far more interested in the fact that she can go to better Salsa dance clubs soon instead of being happy about being able to go drink. I think that is great! I'm going to have a very full house this year which will be unusual, but I'm sad that my Dad might not be coming. He is very sick, and planned on coming but now he's afraid to travel. I hope we can come up with some way to still see him. I'm worried. I hope everyone here is doing well. Catty I am sorry about your loss. I don't know the details because I haven't been on the site much, but I saw your new handle. Well I wish everyone a Happy Holidays! Fionnrua I think either Dreamteller or Past Voices would make an excellent host for Barney 2006! next, please! PastVoices I would think about it if someone would get me started. I haven't had much luck with setting up this type of stuff.I am getting ready for the holidays but haven't had the excitement of the past two years. I am fighting a depressive episode. I went to the doctor Thursday and he changed one of my medications then I forgot to get another one filled today. I spent the day wrapping gifts to go in the mail tomorrow so my grandkids have their packages on Christmas morning. Looks like it will be dreamteller or me. Let me know what to do. I would like to take this opportunity to plug my blog again (if I ever did). I am seriously in need of readers!
Later... Suze nearly 1000 reviews given Merry Christmas!And A Happy New Year!(Past, thanks for the Christmas card! You are such a thoughtful person. It was a nice surprise to recieve it.) I certaintly hope you take up the challenge of hosting this forum, Past. You'd do well at it and I think it provides a great opportunity to express our thoughts and opinions of topics or just to visit with each other. I am so excited about Christmas this year, more so than I have been for several years now, and I'm sure it's because I am so happy. We have no money, mind you, much like the first Christmas we were married and in college, but who cares? It's so romantic going for drives in the snow to look at lights and decorations. Sometimes we go to the mall and watch the shoppers running around frantically trying to get everything done. Bill and I just sit there holding hands and enjoying the scene. We don't have to run around worrying about finding things to buy because we don't have any money to buy anything with! We decided to give each other homemade gifts. I'm working a pictorial of our life together- I have no idea what he's working on, but it's so much fun and with each picture I arrange in the book I feel love and contentment- even with the two years we were separated (I left two blank pages to represent the dark ages). I know, I know- how mushy. How junior high school of me. At my age to be acting so silly! I don't care! I love Christmas and I love Bill Merry Christmas to you all and I hope you find the joy and happiness that we are meant to feel this time of the year. God bless you all. Suze Steve Ellen Homemade gifts are so nice, Suze. I think they mean more than anything you can buy. (Unless it's a Lexus like in that dumb Lexus commercial. )Uh... Happy New Year? Heehee. This campfire is moving very slowly these days. I guess it's getting old and creaky. PastVoices, I didn't know you didn't know how to do campfires, but I'm sure Cattytaurus would help you out. It's really no different from creating any other item - just fill in the blanks. It will be great if you can do it. Meanwhile, I guess, Catty, you are currently our CampfireMaster. Keep breathing... Fionnrua Hello Everybody!hmmmm......no topic? Well, one of my cousins got married today in New Jersey. I wasn't able to go - and now when I see what weather the east coast is getting - I am so glad that I didn't go! Her first husband died about 30 years ago. Now she is 70 years old and getting married again. I mentioned this to one of my students (whose sister is getting married in March) and she was shocked when I told her how old my cousin is. Her response (gut reaction from a 20 something) was "Why? She's 70 for f**&%^$ sake!" Are you ever too old to get married? What do you guys think? Is this good for a topic? Or maybe a sub-topic? Does anyone have a book in the works? (Another possible topic?)I just checked out "Beyond Life's Storms" the bookcover, which was a "sponsored item". According to the author, this book has been published, but I found spelling errors in the sample chapters which were included on the web page. I would think a good editor would have spotted those errors. So I wonder if this is self-published? I have nothing against self-publishing - I plan to do it myself. Comments? Anyway, spelling errors are a pet peeve of mine, especially when they are on big signs. Pet Peeves? Haven't we done this topic before? How about the Olympics? I want to watch that red-headed kid do his thing on the snowboard. I watched an interview of him and he is so natural and, gosh darn it! so likeable!! Ok, I have listed 4 possible topics. The next person's job is either to pick one and comment on it or come up with something better to talk about! PastVoices I have been sick since right after New Year's Day. I am having a hard time getting my strength back. Later Fionnrua PastVoices, sorry to hear that you have been sick.Has anyone ever had a Meridian Balance test taken? I had one done a couple of weeks ago. It uses a probe to measure electrical impulses on specific pressure points on both hands and both feet. The probe is attached to a computer, which analyzes the data and then prints out a chart showing the condition of your general health, and where you have weaknesses that can lead to disease down the road. The chart covers things such as your skin, nervous system, respiratory, cardiovascular, digestive, liver and gall bladder, blood, lymphatic system, hormones, immune system and a few other things. I guess ideal, optimal health is getting a "1000" index number. My index number was 637!! (confirming my belief that I am beginning to fall apart) The doctor prescribed some supplements to build me up. I go back at the end of the month to see if I have strengthened my problem areas and if my index number is improved. Next Steve Ellen I don't know, Fionnrua. Sounds like there may be a little quackery involved there. It seems unlikely that a number would describe your state of being, unless you are standing on the scales and notice you have gained 5 pounds. Guess what? A new Barney campfire! I am taking on the much coveted role of campfire master. Yes, yes, I knew all of you were fighting over who would get to run the new campfire. But before anyone gets hurt in the big brawl, I thought I better step in and just do it myself. No hard feelings? Okay, let's all hold hands and sing the Barney song. Your invitations are in the mail. But first, I want to thank Cattytaurus for hosting this second edition of Barney. She wore the big purple hair suit like she was born in it. That WAS a costume, right? Thank you, Cattytaurus, for a whole year of Barneyness! Here's the new Barney...
catty WDC since 2003 Whew! Thank you, Steve!! I have enjoyed this so much, but with my husband's recent heart attack, I just have not been able to continue on as hostess of his Barneyness' romper room!I will see you all at number three, I hope!....catty The End! © Copyright 2004 catty WDC since 2003 Whew!, Niteowl, Steve Ellen, dreamteller, Fionnrua, PastVoices, Sherri, Suze nearly 1000 reviews given, MelodyofMusic, (known as GROUP). All rights reserved. GROUP has granted Writing.Com, its affiliates and its syndicates non-exclusive rights to display this work. |
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