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 |  If you don't have a dream, how are you going to make a dream come true? |
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2013 Goals
Write 52 Reviews / current = 27 Read 40 books / current = 9 Enter 12 Contests/Activities / current = 4 Host/Judge 2 Contest/Activity / current = 2 Other goals:  Be patient Let go of anger/negativity Monthly bloggingSome other places you can find me: http://www.twitter.com/spidergirl502 http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1792019-tonia http://365project.org/spidergirl/365
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| Happy November, folks! Happy writing days to those of you doing NaNo this year! I've decided not to do it for a couple reasons. Just not in the mood, mostly, but I'll be happy to cheer you all on! We've had to make some changes with our website/'zine lately. We're suspending the print magazine for a bit. We paid out of pocket to print anyway, and with the declining economy... it's just not feasible for us at this point. So we're trying to put all our efforts back into promoting the online 'zine. We're also moving away from a monthly format. It gets too difficult to keep up with things, especially when bands don't let you know about events until a few days before... this way we can distribute news as soon as we find out about it, and there's less pressure to get tons of work done for the 1st of each month. I'm on vacation from my other job at the moment. It feels great! I know the upcoming holiday season's going to be crazy, so I'm enjoying the break now. Mr. J and I had a fun anniversary yesterday. We watched Freddy's Dead with our new 3-D glasses just before we went to bed! I thought it might influence my dreams, but it didn't seem to do so...  So if you're doing NaNo, let me know! I'll be happy to be your cheerleader!  |
Happy Halloween It's been a weird day so far. I had to have a 'fasting blood sugar test' this morning, so I went 2 hours without coffee!  It was terrible! Mr. J had a blood pressure check: 128/70! That's really good compared to what it's been! (at the ER, it was 178/107!) I won't have the results of my blood test for a few days probably. The one thing I like about the doctor's office I go to is that they have lab results on their website! I just log in and get the results! (They're checking to make sure I'm not diabetic or pre-diabetic) *crosses fingers* Anyway, it's Halloween and my anniversary! Yay! We handed out candy to halloweenies last night, but we only got about 10 kids! I was shocked! Last year we didn't get many, but it wasn't that few! We heard there was a bus full of kids driving around town, but they didn't come to my street.  Yesterday I dressed up in my skeleton costume, and today I'll be Alice from Alice in Wonderland. Mr. J is the Mad Hatter! I'll try to post some pics later or tomorrow!I'm watching Lady in the Water right now. I know a lot of people didn't like that one, but I love it. It feels magical, which is the mood I'm in today.  Happy Halloween! {e:pumpkin} |
I realized recently that a good percentage of the time that I drink soda, I get the hiccups. Talking with a few others revealed that they, too, often have food-induced hiccups. So I created a poll.
Please vote and email me specifically what food causes your hiccups! |
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| I get the Sunday newspaper every week (mostly for the coupons), and this week's cover reported the death of our state Senator. Senator Rhoades was in a car accident Friday night and died Saturday morning. His wife is still in the hospital, but it looks like she'll be okay. I don't think I've ever met Senator Rhoades... I did have the chance to meet Rep. Goodman and Congressman Holden on several occasions. That was one of the things I loved about working for the local newspaper - I got to meet so many interesting people. I went back through my photo album this morning to see if I had ever taken a photo of the senator. I remember each photo and each event I covered for the paper. I can't help feeling proud when I see my name in the by-line of articles I wrote. Maybe someday I'll have that again... I know my husband and sister (who drove me to my assignments since I still don't drive) probably don't miss the job, but I do. http://www.republicanherald.com/articles/2008/10/19/news/local_news/pr_republica... |
| I'm a big fan of Sim and sim-like games. I love Diner Dash, Cake Mania, etc., where the goal is meeting the needs of customers and completing tasks in an efficient manner. I had the thought today of a game like those dealing with a cemetery owner. As the owner, you'd have to see to landscaping and keeping up with maintenance, preparation & burials. Get rid of dying plants, deal with grieving families, sell plots of land, etc. Plus you could make sure trucks carrying toxic waste keep away so your corpses don't turn into zombies! What do you think? |
| Okay, let's hear 'em - hiccup remedies. And I'll share with you the one I just learned. It worked so fast! Normally, I hold my breath, take sips of water, eat sugar, etc., until they go away, but this one worked instantly! Wanna hear it? Block your ears and nose at the same time and take a sip of water through a straw. It's amazing! (I really hate hiccups...) |
| It's always weird when an ex-coworker commits a felony.... Last we heard, he split up with his girlfriend and couldn't be found. His ex-girlfriend (who also works at the store) informed us that he wouldn't be back to work. Then we saw this in the newspaper today: SOUTH TAMAQUA — West Penn Township police have issued an arrest warrant for a 23-year-old man who tried to hold up Fegley’s Store on Route 309 on Sunday morning. Patrolman Melissa Johnson said John -------- was identified after he left his driver’s license on the counter of the store during the 7 a.m. incident. --------- entered the store, put his license on the counter and asked the clerk for a pack of cigarettes. After being told how much the cigarettes were, Johnson said the man pulled a knife and said “give me the money.” The clerk told ---------- that she could not open the register without making a sale and --------- said “forget it” and exited the store, leaving his identification behind. Johnson said ----------'s identification indicates he is from the Danville, but it is believed he no longer lives there. Anyone with information on the man’s whereabouts is asked to call West Penn Township police at 386-1100. (I've heard that he was arrested and that his mother paid his bail, so the cops aren't looking for him anymore.) Is attempted armed robbery a felony? I feel so bad for him! There's a good chance he's ruined his life from this incident. It'll be difficult to get a new job and to be taken seriously by many people. The part about leaving his ID behind is believable to all of us who know him, but trying to rob a convenience store? That's shocking! They hired a new girl already to replace him. Let's hope no one else quits! |
| When I quit smoking (6 years ago today), I didn't realize it was the first day of Autumn or that it was a friend's birthday. Those were coincidences. I didn't plan it ahead of time; I reached the pinnacle of my frustration. I had attempted to quit several times and failed. I had chronic heartburn, anxiety & panic attacks. I knew that quitting would make me feel better (plus, you know, greatly reduce my risk of all those other diseases, like cancer), but I couldn't succeed at quitting until I just couldn't take it anymore. I said to myself that morning, "That's it. I can't do this anymore." I threw out what was left of the pack of smokes I had (Marlboro Lights, I believe), and I haven't wavered since. That first day was the hardest, but it got easier and easier with each passing day. In retrospect, it was probably insane to quit smoking a month before my wedding and during my last semester of college. But let's face it, the timing is never going to be perfect to quit smoking. I made the decision to quit, and I stuck with it. It worked, regardless of what else was going on in my life. My husband tries to quit smoking every so often, and I try to be as supportive as I can. I don't push him, and I don't pressure him to try to quit. I don't think guilt or pressure works getting someone else to quit. He needs my support, not nagging. He'll do it one day, because he wants to quit. So, Happy Quit Anniversary to me, and  Happy Autumn to all of you! Here's a new game I've discovered recently. It's totally addictive!
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| A few weeks ago an illegal immigrant was beaten to death in a nearby town. Since then three teenagers were arrested and they've recently been released on bail, pending a trial which will probably happen next year. Yesterday, in that same town, there was a rally/protest against illegal immigrant rights. My jaw dropped several times when I read an article about it in today's newspaper. Here's that article: http://www.republicanherald.com/articles/2008/08/31/news/local_news/pr_republica... Then I read this comment in another section of the paper (where citizens can submit thoughts & comments): I stopped in the center of town for a red light in Shenandoah and two boys stopped right next to me and my husband and put a Mexican flag on a stick out the passenger-side window. They started laughing and waving it at us. We didn't want to start trouble, so when the light turned green, we drove away. These boys live in this country, so why aren't they waving the American flag out the window instead? The commentator's reply (s/he replies to some comments) was: Maybe they were just celebrating Heritage Days? See, the town just celebrated its annual Heritage Day. Which is almost a joke, really. I hear that comment a lot, way too much, actually. But the problem to me is that it's fine to wave some flags, but not others. I see cars with bumper stickers of the flags of Poland, Italy, Germany, etc., which make up for a lot of the heritage of the citizens here. But a lot of people here have a problem with celebrating Mexican heritage. Two years ago, I covered the Heritage Day parade for the newspaper, and I remember the Mexican community (the legal immigrants) were afraid to participate. This area is basically in a depression. Most people make slightly above minimum wage, and the cost of living keeps rising. They're stretched so far, and, to me, it seems like they've picked a scapegoat - immigrants. The whole thing is so unbelievably sad and upsetting. I'm tired of hearing racist comments every single day. Some highlights from that article I linked include a man at the rally who was wearing a Nazi flag, and a speaker telling people not to demonize the teenage murderers, saying the guy wouldn't have been murdered if he would have stayed in his own country. It makes me ashamed that I grew up in this area full of such hatred and racism. |
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