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 Life, Adventure, Family, Writing what else is there? Random thoughts. |
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WELCOME TO: GEMINI RISING   UPDATED INTRO 30 JUNE 2025: Just a little about me. I've been married for 33 years this past NOV and currently live in Southern California, but I grew up in New Hampshire.  me in my 20's I've got 2 boys who are young adults.  I work as a 911 dispatcher for LAPD. I enjoy my job a lot. Still. If you can believe that. I love to write. Thankfully both of my boys achieved Eagle Scout. My Scouting days are over and I'm back to focusing on my writing. I like to get out in nature, drink coffee and watch football. Here's a little bio about my zodiac. GEMINI: Gemini, the sign of the Twins, is dual-natured, elusive, complex and contradictory. On the one hand it produces the virtue of versatility, and on the other the vices of two-facedness and flightiness. The sign is linked with Mercury, the planet of childhood and youth, and its subjects tend to have the graces and faults of the young. When they are good, they are very attractive; when they are bad they are more the worse for being the charmers they are. Like children they are lively, and happy, if circumstances are right for them, or egocentric, imaginative and restless. Their good qualities are attractive and come easily to them. They are affectionate, courteous, kind, generous, and thoughtful towards the poor and suffering - provided none of the activities resulting from expressing these traits interferes too greatly with their own lives and comforts. Geminians can be successful in many walks of life though their general characteristics tend to make them unreliable. They are often skilled manipulators of language, in speech and writing, and may be: debaters, diplomats (though in politics they are more interested in theory than practice), orators, preachers (brilliant rather than profound), teachers, authors, poets, journalists, or lawyers. BLOG ACCOMPLISHMENTS: DECEMBER 2025: I participated in:
this was a great challenge and I would highly recommend it if comes up again for next year. The blog earned the following merit badge: ![Merit Badge in Seasons Winter
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Congratulations on successfully completing 12 Poetic Days of Yule.
Enclosed is the bonus gps for trying the Terza Rima Sonnet successfully!](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/general-Seasons_Winter.gif) SEPTEMBER 2025:
Merit Badges collected and earned: ![Merit Badge in Writing.Com Birthday
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Thanks for rockin' WDC's birthday with me.
*^*Heart*^* Lyn](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/WDC-Writing.Com_Birthday.gif) Awardicon earned: The blog earned the Green 50K Awardicon for 1st Place. SEPTEMBER 2025:
Merit Badges collected and earned from "Earn the Badge 2025" ![Merit Badge in WdC Supportive Friend
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Thank you for participating in [Link To Item #2133333] . Congratulations on completing the September
2nd Daily Task.](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/community-WdC_Supportive_Friend.gif) ![Merit Badge in Earn the Badge
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Thank you for your donation to [Link To Item #2133333] - from Purple Princess.](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/group-Earn_the_Badge-2093257_1.gif){kind=icon} ![Merit Badge in Music
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Thank you for participating in [Link To Item #2133333] . Congratulations on completing the September
3rd Daily Task.](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/genre-Music-1050.gif) ![Merit Badge in Contests
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Thank you for participating in [Link To Item #2133333] . Congratulations on completing the September 1st daily task.](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/genre-Contests-235.gif) ![Merit Badge in Growth
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Good job earning the Growth Merit Badge in [Link To Item #2133333]](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/general-Growth-1150.gif) ![Merit Badge in Word Searches
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Great job participating in [Link To Item #2133333] and completing the September 5th task.](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/type-Word_Searches-19000.gif) ![Merit Badge in Teamwork
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Great job for picking a teammate and completing the September 6th Task at [Link To Item #2133333]](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/general-Teamwork-210.gif) SUMMER 2025:
Merit Badges Collected from Virtual Blogging &Virtual Blogging Friends: ![Merit Badge in Let Dreams Take Wing
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To my upcoming virtual traveling blog companion. Dream big and fly high!](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/group-Let_Dreams_Take_Wing-2335469_1.gif) ![Merit Badge in Normal Is Boring
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here's to another week of creating adventures!](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/Kudos-Normal_Is_Boring.gif) ![Merit Badge in Blog Camping
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Thanks for completing [Link To User elusive4lyn] July 2025 blogging vacation!! Great job!!](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/group-Blog_Camping-1788309_13.gif) ![Merit Badge in Travel
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Woohoo! We’re halfway through!](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/genre-Travel-1975.gif) ![Merit Badge in BCoF 2
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Thank you for your participation in BCoF's 50 States Virtual Blogging adventure.
*^*Heart*^* Lyn](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/group-BCoF_2-1901868_14.gif) ![Merit Badge in Endurance
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51 days of blogging takes commitment, and you rocked it.
*^*Heart*^* Lyn](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/general-Endurance.gif) SEPTEMBER 2024: I participated in the
![Merit Badge in Nonfiction
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Congrats on your Honorable Mention in Blog Week Birthday Bastion 2024](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/type-Nonfiction.gif) Big thanks to WakeUpAndLive~lifestyle change   for hosting the contest! OCTOBER 2024 & 2025 : I participated in the
![Merit Badge in Halloween
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Congratulations on completing the 13 Poetic Days of Halloween.](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/group-Halloween-2026567.gif) ![Merit Badge in Determination
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You rose to the poetry challenges in 12 Poetic Days of Halloween in grand style.](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/general-Determination-2500.gif) ![Merit Badge in Ghost
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Thank you for your successful completion of 13 Poetic Days of Halloween *^*Heart*^* Lyn](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/genre-Ghost-700.gif) Big Thanks to Witchy Yule Woman  for hosting the contest!NOVEMBER 2025 : ![Merit Badge in WdC Positive Influence
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Thank you for all you do on WdC. I appreciate your encouragement and support *^*Hearto*^*](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/community-WdC_Positive_Influence.gif) from Tiggy ❄️  Find me at: WEBSITE: http://www.stephanieburkhart.com FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/StephanieBurkhartAuthor GOOD READS: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4031660.Stephanie_Burkhart YOU TUBE CHANNEL: http://www.youtube.com/user/botrina?feature=mhee  WARNING I intend to be open, honest, and forthright. No topic is off limits from religion to you name it, I'm going there. If you think you might be offended...back up now - this blog isn't for you. For those who "dare"  check out the "Gemini Rising..." 
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| MISC THOUGHTS I was quite surprise to log into my account yesterday and find Stephen.Ret gone - Account deleted. I ABSOLUTELY LOVED interacting with him. He was so engaging and so involved, especially in several of my groups. I really enjoyed going on the 50 State Travel Tour with him this past summer. He always had interesting Blog posts and YouTube videos to go with his content. And he did such a wonderful job with his Winter Wonderland Contest. Just want to send out the Good Vibes that he's back soon. He'll be missed in my Hive, for sure. I tried an Oil of Oregano soft gel tablet yesterday. It was okay. You need to take it with food. It's supposed to help with gut health and weight management. We'll see. It was oregano concentrated. I might skip a day before trying it again. I just realized next month is coming up fast. Gotta get the Veterans Group and the Bee Hive ready. Yikes! And the Bard's Hall. I'mma going to be a busy bee this weekend! Just started reading Alison Arngrim's book, "Confessions of Prairie Bitch." It's another wild one. Her parents were crazy! I wish I had more to say, but honestly, this past set of days has been a tad rough. It's been work, sleep, eat, repeat. I should find some time Friday/Saturday as I have Saturday off. Hope to accomplish more around here and reflection on some more meaningful thoughts for the blog. Last night at work was very busy and I didn't have a lot of down time, so hopefully tonight, I'll have some down time. |
| It's that time of year for colds and viruses, but honestly, I don't worry. I take zinc on a pretty consistent basis. Steph, what's this about Zinc? Zinc is AMAZING when it comes to VIRUSES. Zinc hates Viruses and KILLS THEM DEAD. But you're no doctor, Steph. Nope, I ain't. But I got a story for you about zinc. When Joey was in 4th grade and just diagnosed with ADHD, I went into Mama Bear mode and started researching everything I could to help him. One the things I found was zinc. I learned the majority of people/children who have an ADHD diagnoses typically have a zinc deficiency. "Normal" people, without the diagnosis only need about 9 mg a day of zinc, but someone with ADHD needs about 25 mg. Zinc can help curb impulsivity in children so it was important to me that Joey get his 25 mg a day of zinc. But, typically, the pill comes in a 50 mg dose. So I cut the pill in half and gave him half and I took the other half. Tip: Don't take zinc on an empty stomach. Zinc will make your stomach upset if you take it on an empty stomach. Anyhoo...that was primary reason we were taking zinc, but zinc has other benefits - it helps to boost your immune system and metabolism. And if you have a cold. Throw a ton of zinc of it. How does it work? Viruses typically take over a healthy cell and then replicate. Cell after cell, they just gang attack. The while blood cells come on over and it's on - Replicating Viruses and White Blood cells go to war. You have a cold. Zinc kills viruses dead. Viruses hate zinc. You want to stop the replication of the virus, because if you don't the virus will get worse as it replicates. When I do get a rare cold I usually take 100 mg of Zinc plus Quercetin. It's an over the counter anti-inflamation booster. I usually buy Quercetin at Walmart. What quercetin does is open up a pathway into the damaged cell so Zinc can get in. Once it's in, it kills that Virus dead. (Dead viruses usually show up as green mucus. I know, Gross) Joey and I were never diagnosed with Covid. We never got it. I started giving Joey zinc in 2016 along with myself, and we've maybe had 2 colds in 10 years. And we got over them pretty quick by throwing extra zinc at the them. That's why I have over 800 hours of sick time in my work bank. I never get sick. If I get sick it's usually some sort of stomach ailment. I swear growing old is not for the faint of heart, but I am impressed with zinc and quercetin. I also take cortisol detox supplement as well as bromelain which helps as an anti-inflammatory because when you're over 50 inflammation skyrockets. I also take provitalize for gut health and I haven't had an UTI in 2 years. I know - TMI. There are all several over the counter tricks that can really help you out as you age. I also use caster oil and poke root on places that are swollen such as my ankles to get the blood going again. Every little bit helps. ********* I just want to say a quick word for 🌝 HuntersMoon  - Ken. I saw the message on the newsfeed, first from Schnujo  and then THANKFUL SONALI Get Well Ken  . Very unexpected. I just want to send up  and good vibes into the grid for his healing and recovery. I think iKïyå§ama  said it best - Don't stay away too long and we'll keep your port shiny and polished until you get back. I just want to thank Ken for all he's done with the Veterans Group and how supportive he was of the Group and of the WDC community in general.  - I would encourage you to offer up your well wishes on his notebook. I think he'd really like it and if you'd like to leave a message at the Roll Call over on the Veterans Group, I think he'd like/appreciate that as well.
Steph |
| My husband and I have decided to move (for me, back) to New Hampshire when we retire. Retirement, for me, is not that far off - only FEB 2027. For him - FEB 2028. I've found myself exploring places in the area of the state we'd like to retire in which is the Lakes Region. I've found some houses I like while my husband is bit more picky. I can't complain. My husband's story about accepting the move to New Hampshire is funny. We met in Germany - In Butzbach of all places. We were sent there to take PLDC - Primary Leadership Development Course . At the time, we needed it to get promoted to E-5/Sergeant. It was Oct 1990. My husband is from California - Simi Valley, not far from here. When we got together, he told me, "Steph, I can't live in snow." He'd only known 2 seasons for most of his life - Summer and Rainy-ass Autumn. Me? I grew up with four seasons so I said, "Okay, I'll move to California." I'll be honest, I've never been a fan of living in this state. When I moved in 1997, I suppose it had a lot to offer. The taxes were reasonable and the weather. And California has such a range in climates. It gets cold and snowy in Yosemite and Big Bear, Sunny by the beach, and in northern California it rains a lot. Anyhoo... This state has been going downhill for years. YEARS. So when my husband put in his paperwork to retire and go on DROP, (Deferred Retirement Option Plan) (FEB 2023) he announced we would be moving out of state when his retirement was official. I said, "Okay where?" I told him I was willing to go to Arizona or Nevada but to the greener parts of those states. He promptly told me: "Idaho." "IDAHO?" I made a face. "Why Idaho?" He replied: "All the cops go there." (can you picture my eyes rolling) I said, "You know Idaho has 4 seasons and snow." He said, "Yeah." Me: "I'm not going to Idaho. I don't know a soul in Idaho. I'm going back to New Hampshire. It has 4 seasons and snow and all my friends and family. I haven't had a meaningful relationship with my sister for over 20 years because I came out here and this is my chance to spend time with her." He was quiet. The next day he was looking at houses in Canterbury, New Hampshire. |
I was cruising my bloggers that I like to read and I always try to pop into JACE  blog
Here's a segment on Sammy Hagar I thought was interesting: I've done amateurish genealogy sleuthing myself which has been very interesting to say the least and I wish I could do more: My Dad's Side: Dad - Paul Jr. - born Kansas Grandpa - Paul Sr. - born New Hamsphire G-Grandpa - Leo aka Emelio - born New Hampshire 2x Grandpa - Anthanese - born Quebec, Canada Granny- Gloria - Married Paul Sr - born in the midwest - maybe Iowa? Colorado? Her mother - Ethel - born in the midwest Ethel's parents - born in Germany - I suspect the Nord Rhine Westphalia area. My sleuthing kinda runs cold here only because those Cardin had A LOT of kids and now I'm into Canadian records and I'm not sure who Anthanese's dad was but if I had the time I could suss it out. My Auntie Sue who has done some sleuthing as well has determined that the Cardins can trace themselves to the Daughters of the King who settled Canada in the 1600's. Fascinating. From there it's off to France. My Mother's Side Stephanie - born New Hampshire Esther - born Massachusetts Her parents - born in Ukraine. William - married Esther - born in Massachusetts His parents? Names? - born in Poland In fact, the Ukrainians and Polish fled their countries between 1910-1914 because they knew World War I was coming and they wanted to be far away from it. If I had much more time - especially if I was retired, I would dig deep, but sadly, I don't have the time I'd like. Then there's the mysterious Dispatch Driver from World War II I talked about a couple of weeks ago. She's either British or ... Canadian ... something I didn't consider until recently as Canada did have dispatch drivers and I have STRONG Canadian roots.  Genealogy is the mystery we don't mind investigating. Maybe I'll write a story one day... And if you don't think Genes are just genes think again: Me: Boy #1 Andy:  big fat Mini-Me. as for Boy #2 Joey: big fat Daddy mini-me. |
| It's EGG watch time!! Jackie and Shadow are fluffing up the nest and Jackie is pancaking. She laid her first egg last year on 1/22 so the time is ripe for an egg. Any bets on when Jackie drops the egg? By the 24th? By the end of next week? By the 28? Gimme your guesses! If you guess right, I'll pass along a merit badge your way! -- for you do be eligible for the "eggiclious" Merit Badge you must guess a specific date. I finished my book by Charlotte Stewart. You know her best as Miss Beadle on Little House on the Prairie or you might recognize her from Twin Peaks. For being 85 nowadways, she's still pretty spry. It was a pleasure meeting her at the fan event in Simi Valley when I went in December. Her memoir has a nice conversational tone and it's really easy to get into the storytelling. There are a lot of takeaways but I think the big takeaway that warms her heart is when you tell her that what motivated you to become a teacher was watching Miss Beadle on TV. I don't want to really ruin anyone's impressions though - Charlotte was a wild child and did wild child things. But it was a life lived with some endearing memories. I was never a Little House fan growing up and only really discovered recently how influential the story was. Meeting Charlotte in Dec, I hardly remembered Miss Beadle, but Charlotte was warm and engaging when we chatted and just hearing her tell stories I was enthralled. I'm happy she's got her happy ending.  Not much is going on. Sprinkles here in SoCal this morning and today has been cloudy. Just catching up on my daily before going to power nap before work tonight. |
| I am planning on retiring in a year - March of 2027, but I've never done "Baker 2 Vegas." What is Baker 2 Vegas you ask? It's a 120 mile foot race between Baker, California and Las Vegas, Nevada. The race started in 1985 and it's primarily geared toward law enforcement. Your station/division, etc signs up as a team. There are 20 legs to run, so you need 20 runners. There all kinds of prizes for: fastest team, fastest mixed team, etc.. My Division, Communications used to run as a team only but the past couple of years we've pair up with security services. We usually in the mixed category (males and females). Last year we won 5th place in the Mixed competition! Wow! Mind you, I don't run, so that's why I never signed up to do it. I hate running. That said, there's plenty of support roles and I signed up for a support role. I'm not sure where the team captain will put me, but I'm game for anything. Right now, I've been working trying to fundraise for the team. The entry fee per team is $2,500.00 dollars. Then you need equipment, etc... So far we've raised about $10,000 but we need another $5,000. Here's a video about Baker 2 Vegas: |
Welp, I'm editing
I'm used to editing and editing is a process. At work, I had a lady who used to be a court transcriber who loved editing. She was my beta reader for a lot of stories which I appreciated. She would do the technical stuff with the grammar, punctuation, and spelling and missed words, but she'd also read for content. For example: Why did that character do that? That makes no sense. Then we'd kind of talk about, parse it out and flesh out something that worked better. Nearly 99% of the time, my beta reader always identified something that didn't work or something that worked better. Grr... she retired last NOV!! She did say she was available for edits, but I know she's got her hands full with her mom's dementia so I don't necessarily want to trouble her, so I've been working on edits myself. I think a very important aspect of editing involves the editor being open to the edits. If you're not open to constructive criticism, then it's really hard. I got a WONDERFUL review from Amalthea  that was beta reader quality and I was so excited!! That said, I finally caught up on all my other WDC stuff and I've been working on these edits for the above story and I'm WICKED excited about them. Bet you never heard anyone say they were excited about edits, huh? Writing is 50% writing and 50% editing - at least in my book. I know a GREAT edit can make a good story even that much better and I can see these edits really growing into themselves. Ultimately, we'll see what shakes out with the story. I just completed a set of edits and I'll proof the story tonight for more, ie, spelling, grammar, puncutation, content, etc... Just kinda juiced to see how they are shaping up. |
| So today, I thought I'd go a little nature on you. I've got a soft spot for sea otters and I found this great video about an otter and cat who made friends. Remember the Eaglets from last year? Sunny and Gizmo? Well, they flew off to parts unknown but it's mating season for Jackie & Shadow. I do know they've been fluffing up the nest. Yesterday they were caught doing the bang-bang. I tried to link the video but it wouldn't link. Hopefully soon, we'll have some Eaglets this year, though I think it might be a tad early for Jackie to lay but who knows. Maybe she'll plop an egg out tomorrow. Ain't nature grand? |
| The question struck me: What do you do with Leftovers? When I cook, I generally strive to have no leftovers or if I do, I have a small portion of leftovers. I just try not to have leftovers because, personally speaking, I honestly don't think leftovers taste that great. I see leftovers hanging out in the frig and I frown. I want fresh! Mind you, I'll eat leftover steak. That's good, you can't mess up meat. BUT when my husband cooks, he cooks like he's feeding 12 people. Me and Andy will eat, but Joey is picky and sometimes he'll have something different. That said - There's usually 8-10 portions left over after my husband gets done cooking and the leftovers get put in the frig in like 2-3 big glass containers. Sigh... My husband is part Italian so he makes all this left over Italian food, too. I am not Italian so I'm not big into Italian leftovers. My Italian is not his Italian. He'll have 2 big glass containers of just marina sauce. I can't. It's like he has no concept there's 4 people eating, not 12. Honestly, I think he makes so much because that's just how it was growing up. Still... I try to eat a serving a leftovers. It's hard when I'm not motivated. And usually by the end of the week he ends up dumping the leftovers in the garbage disposal. Me and Andy try to tell not make so much but there's no reigning him when he's behind the stove with a wooden spoon in his hand. Today I took some leftovers and I'm going to dump them in the work garbage can. Gotta have strategies. How do you cope with leftovers? |
| Score!! I did it! I scored tickets to the Sound of Music at the Pantages WITHOUT buying a MINI PLAN!! How did I do that, you ask? Well.... I checked my "other" folder in my email and as I was perusing it I found an email that said, Sound of Music Presale! Of course I opened it and it gave me a code to unlock tickets! YES!! That said, the show is coming in May for 3 weeks I think. I thought a early weekend show would be the best so I got Tickets for the 1 pm show on 10 May, which is a Sunday. Andy will come with me if he's available. Don't know if Brent will - he's not much for crowds or trains, and his hearing still sucks. I doubt Joey will so I may have to hoodwink a co-worker. Tickets were $69.00 each. I was willing to pay $85.00 each, but the GOD seats were $199.00 each. HARD PASS. Though sometimes they do a 'last minute' lottery for unsold good seats so I'll be on the lookout because I'll buy them and go. I did that with Frozen. I got $248.00 seats for $50.00 once.  Enjoy the preview! |
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