Hi! My day job is a CMA in the Precertificiation Department (I work with insurance companies). I'm a mom to two young men. I've been married to the same man for 34 years. I have a lot to say about nothing. Lucky you.
This was originally published on my self-hosted blog on January 15, 2007
So, we’re alive.
Did you wonder where I was today? Were you worried? I know I have been.
I’ve been in the dark, literally. We’ve been without power since Friday night. It started at 10:30. We were settling in for the night when *boom*, our transformer blew and the lights went out. At first, we weren’t too concerned. After all, we’ve lost them in the past and City Utilities was very good at restoring our power. But when I tried to call, to report our outage, I got a busy signal. I knew right away, something was wrong. I didn’t realize just how bad it was until the next morning. We were in the throes of a major winter storm. We received about an inch of ice Friday night, another two inches on Saturday and finally, another inch Sunday. Our poor trees (we have, oops, correction, HAD, four maple trees) are destroyed. Limbs have snapped and are everywhere. Many of them have fallen on electricty lines and transformers have blown all over the city. Ninety percent of the city is blacked out. Temperatures are frigid and we don’t have heat.
The nights have been the worse. We were so unprepared for this storm. We didn’t have any wood for our fireplace, didn’t have any contingency heating plan. But thank God, the hubs had filled up the two propane tanks on our trailer and the propane tank on the BBQ grill. So, we brought the grill inside the house and have been cooking, and keeping warm, with that.
When my parents found out we were keeping warm with propane, they freaked out. They warned us about carbon monoxide poisoning (which we didn’t even think about!) and thank God, had an extra kerosene heater. We’ve been using that and it’s been WONDERFUL. It’s keeping us warm at night (yes, we make sure there is plenty of ventilation).
I didn’t have very many candles on hand so we’ve been very stingy about lighting them at night. As a result, we’ve been literally sitting in the dark. The boys and I (the hubs fell asleep in a chair) watched a teeny-tiny, battery-operated TV last night by the light of one candle. If you could have seen us, you would have felt sorry for us. lol
The nights have been the worse. Since most of the city is without power, it’s pitch black here. I’ve felt claustophobic (sp). The nights have been LONG and SCARY. It’s such a relief when morning gets here.
The hubs stood in single digit weather for over an hour to buy us a generator trucked in from Nebraska today. I’m posting this from my laptop running from the generator. Our gas is running out and we’ll soon be back to candlelight. No one can tell us when we’ll have power again. But things are so bad, I’m betting it won’t be until the end of this week. I’ll post pictures as soon as I can.
In the meantime, entries will be sporadic. I’ll post whenever I get a chance. I plan on going to the library tomorrow (assuming their power is restored) to get some work done.
Thanks for being patient. Please send positive thoughts and prayers our way. When I say it looks like a war zone here, I’m not exaggerating. Springfield hasn’t seen an ice storm like this in 20 years.
Why yes, this is a BBQ grill, in our house. And the husband is cooking breakfast on it. And his nose is red because it’s about 30 degrees in our house. And if you look closely, you’ll see the blanket we have over the doorway (we sectioned off the house to try and keep it warmer) and the refrigerator door? Is open because all of our food spoiled and we were trying to cook it in an effort to at least eat some of it.
This was taken during an ice storm that buried us in January 2007 and left us without electricity for 11 days. In fact, I’ll post the entries from that time period shortly, if you’re interested.
Hi! In case you didn’t know, I’m from the Ozarks, Springfield Missouri, to be exact. Springfield is the home of Bass Pro Shops, which is where this ornament came from. The Ozarkarians are famous for their appreciation of outdoor activities – fishing, hunting, camping, boating, etc. So, I thought it would be fun to give an ornament away that symbolizes my part of the country. Just think, you could have a little piece of the Ozarks hanging from your tree. 😀
If you would like a chance to win this ornament, please leave a comment. And if you can’t think of anything to say in your comment, tell me what sort of ornaments are your favorite. I ADORE unique and fun ornaments that tell a story – naturally. *smile*
I’ll randomly draw a winner December 5th at 5:00 CST. Merry Christmas!
The end of the year is coming and it’s time to pay property taxes. Taxes in general sicken me, but property taxes? On items you already own and have paid off?
*Eff that*
Anyway, it makes me really cranky to have to fork over even more cash, especially this time of year when we’re spending so much on Christmas anyway (parents with little ones? Just wait until they become teenagers – that cute little wish list they give you now? Not so cute, and cheap, when they get older).
Merry Christmas to you too, Mr. Government. You suck.
And in pure Onion style, here is a video about how we’re just throwing our money away.
As usual, The Onion’s satirical humor is spot on.
ADDED: The husband just figured up how much the government has taken out of his checks this past year. This includes: federal, state, social security, medicare and sales tax (and anything else I’ve forgotten) …
Over half of his income was handed over to the government this past year.
OVER HALF.
That is beyond sick, folks.
When are we going to put our foot down on taxes? When we’re giving 75%? Eighty percent? All of it?
Wow, this makes me angry. I need a shot of happy, soothing Christmas music to calm me down.
Bonus Christmas Song Silver Bells by Martina McBride
One minute I plan on sending out Christmas cards, the next minute I’m all, meh, I don’t want to. (No reason really, I just simply don’t feel like it this year – can we say “bah humbug?”) But I’ll confess, I ADORE cute and unique Christmas cards. I usually order mine from Miles Kimball, and in fact, I have a box of cards I haven’t used yet (see? No excuse this year – just feeling lazy), but if the kids were smaller and you know, not teenage boys who look at me like I’m crazy if I even HINT at anything to do with crafts, I’d be all over these adorable cards.
As usual, these gems came from Family Fun. And no, they don’t pay me to advertise for them, I just love their crafts.
This first one has got to be one of my favorites. Wouldn’t this be a hoot to put together? It might not work for you though if you don’t have a snow picture, but maybe you could substitute something else?
Recipients will get a kick out of these pom-pom snowballs headed their way.
CRAFT MATERIALS:
8 1/2- by 11-inch sheet of card stock
Photo of your family posing with arms cocked
Glue stick
Tacky glue
White pom-poms
Time needed: 30 Minutes or Less
1. Use a glue stick to glue the photo to the card stock. Use tacky glue to adhere a white pom-pom over each throwing hand. (Fits A9 or 6- by 9-inch envelopes.)
Here’s a fun card that’s perfect for those special people on your list. It holds up to five photos of your family members — recipients just pull the tab to see who’s wishing them good tidings.
CRAFT MATERIALS:
Photos of your family
Scissors
8 1/2- by 11-inch sheets of card stock in white and blue
Clear tape
Glue stick
Craft knife
Orange, black, and red markers
A9 or 6- by 9-inch envelope
Time needed: Afternoon or Evening
1. With photo editing software or a color copier, enlarge or reduce your photos so your family’s faces are about 1 inch tall. Print the photos and cut them into 1 1/2- by 1-inch rectangles.
Tip: School photos work well here.
2. Cut an 8 1/2- by 2-inch strip of white card stock. Tape a 1 1/2- by 1/2-inch piece of white card stock to the left end of the strip, then fold it over the edge of the strip to create a hook. Glue your photos side by side on the strip (on the same side you taped the hook to), lining up the subjects’ eyes and leaving at least 2 inches at the right end of the strip uncovered.
3. Fold the blue card stock in half widthwise. Cut a snowy hill and a snowman with a 1 1/2-inch head from white card stock. Use a craft knife to cut a 1-inch circle from the snowman’s face, then glue both pieces to the card, placing the snowman so his head is 1 inch from the right edge and 1/2 inch below the fold.
4. Open the card and cut a matching face hole in the blue card stock, as well as a 2-inch-long vertical slit parallel to the snowman’s head and about 1/2 inch from the edge of the card.
5. Turn over the card and tape the ends of a 2 1/2- by 1/2-inch strip of card stock to the inside edge of the hole for a guide, parallel to the slit, as shown. Slip the photo strip facedown under this guide and out through the slit.
6. Close the card and write “Pull” along the edge of the strip. Draw a snowman’s face on the white card stock that shows through the hole, then add arms, buttons, and a card stock scarf, if you like, as well as a holiday greeting.
Tips:
To make multiple cards, color-copy the completed versions of the card and the photo strip separately, then assemble them.
HAHAHA! This one is hilarious. Can you imagine grandma’s confusion? 😀
There are no yoga classes required for this pose, which was inspired by the book “Tricky Pix: Do-It-Yourself Trick Photography by Paula Weed and Carla Jimison” (Klutz, $18). It’s all about how you “wear” your snow pants.
CRAFT MATERIALS:
35mm point-and-shoot camera
Extra pants and boots, stuffed with newspaper to make them look real
Card stock
Glue
Fancy punch (optional–available at craft stores)
Time needed: Under 1 Hour
1. Push the bottoms of the stuffed pants into the stuffed boots (or pull the pants over the boots as we did).
2. Have your subjects lie down with the pant legs over their shoulders. Get down low and shoot straight on. Make sure your subjects lie with their bodies directly behind them so that nothing from the waist down is visible.
3. Once you develop your photo, glue it on to card stock, then punch decorative designs in your card stock.
Here’s another fun one the kids could really “get into.” Hehe
Between the doodles and the “gift boxes,” this card, from the Bagnoli family of Berea, Kentucky, offers plenty of room for kid participation.
CRAFT MATERIALS:
Camera and color print film
Developing service
Gift-wrapped boxes
Copy services
Rubber cement
Time needed: Under 1 Hour
1. Have your child decorate big boxes with shiny gift wrap. Pose them for an outdoor photo and order 100 prints.
2. Have your child create doodles for the border of the card, which you then glue to a master template.
3. Make copies of the card template at a print shop, then glue the pictures to the cards using rubber cement.
Tips:
Glue the photo to your template before copying. Your card won’t look quite as elegant, but you won’t have to glue copies of the photo to each card.
Christmas song #5 Little Drummer Boy by Josh Groban
I’m embarrassed to say, I succumbed to peer pressure.
I’m not proud of this fact, but there you have it.
This is especially painful for me to admit because I pride myself on not really conforming to what is generally popular; I form my own opinions, thank you very much, and if I happen to agree with the majority then it’s because I happened to agree and not because I felt the need to belong to a certain group, wanted people to like me, or I was too afraid to be different.
So, to say that I succumbed to peer pressure is, well, not exactly something I will ever admit to – at least, not very often.
But I finally caved, I had had enough. I eventually cried uncle and yes, I read “Twilight”.
When the buzz first started, I wasn’t all that interested. I don’t generally read young adult stories to begin with; I think Harry Potter might have been the last time I had even picked up a YA book SINCE my young adult years. I immediately dismissed the genre – not my bag man.
Not interested, thanks.
But the enthusiasm for this book grew to the point that it once again caught my attention. There were enough people blogging about it that I decided to give it a closer look.
And then I found out it was about vampires.
Strike two. Now I REALLY wasn’t interested. I had no desire to delve into that super natural realm. None. I don’t understand how someone can be attracted to strange, inhuman beings. It sort of freaks me out, if you want the truth. That’s the biggest reason I could never swallow the fantasy genre – the thought of being romantic with an alien being just totally grosses me out. Let me reiterate: it completely turns me off.
I simply don’t “get” it. It’s not my bag of tea. I would rather spend my time reading about flawed human beings who eventually live happily ever after than about forbidden love with a creature who doesn’t possess human DNA.
But whatever, to each his own.
So once again, I fought the curiosity.
But then, I participated in this past Bloggy Giveaway. And I thought it would be fun to give something away that people obviously wanted – the Twilight Saga books. Even though I hadn’t read them, I knew other people wanted to read them, so, I bought them and set them up to give away on my blog.
I had over 200 people put their name into the pot. The response caught my attention and I finally gave in to my snooty attitude and bought my own copy of “Twilight.”
It took me nearly a month to finish it. Not because it was a terrible story, but because I was in the middle of NaNoWriMo. I actually had no intention of even starting the book until after the challenge was over, but I had to take my oldest son in for an orthodontist appointment so I grabbed the book to pass the time.
It immediately sucked me. (Pun intended).
And I’ve been sitting here wondering exactly why.
A. I don’t care for YA stories in general. They are, well, juvenile, for lack of a better term. Not only in premise but in the writing itself. And that’s okay, they are supposed to be – the target audience is 13 to 18 year olds after all.
B. I don’t really like vampires. They are creatures steeped in evil and I tend to avoid evil-based premises.
So, the fact that I ended up liking this book? Was puzzling to me.
The majority of responses to this book have been positive. People loved it. But there are a few who didn’t care for it at all and the reasons they cited are certainly valid, but I think they’re missing the bigger picture here.
Two of the biggest reasons were:
1. The writing was too simplistic and rife with slang.
True. But the story is being told from a 17-year old girl’s point of view. And even given the fact that Bella is pretty intelligent and ends up using words that some didn’t think was appropriate for a 17-year old (for example “absurd”… I can see a teenage girl saying this, especially if she was trying to appear older than she really was) it worked for me.
The writing itself was pretty good, I thought. It flowed. Meyer does a good job keeping the story moving so that I never really got bored or found myself skipping whole sections to get to the good parts.
2. They didn’t have sex.
This was the biggest complaint among those that didn’t care for the story. And even though I too ended the book feeling frustrated for our heroine, I believe that was the whole point. Again, this was a YA book. What sort of moralistic message is Meyer sending if she has her characters have sex?
True, it might not have been very realistic given the activities of our youth today, but really, it was the only option open to Meyer given the genre she wrote the story in. I believe she would have received a lot more flack if she had allowed them to do the deed.
I’d like to point out that Meyer did an EXCELLENT job of building the sexual tension between these two. I found myself tensing up and really wanting them to give in to their desires and do the deed, and yes, I was disappointed when they didn’t, but I ended up admiring Meyer’s writing style even more because she accomplished what she set out to do – establish several levels of tension between Bella and Edward.
Sex wasn’t Meyer’s goal here. She set out to tempt us into the unknown. This story was about passion, about an all-consuming love, about controlling our baser instincts and about dealing with forbidden love.
Hence the very clever cover – an offering of a red, juicy apple – the forbidden fruit.
I’ll be honest, I bought this story. There was something deliciously decadent about reading a story filled with darkness, seduction, temptations and dangerous attractions.
I think Meyer did an excellent job balancing the various elements just mentioned with the stringent guidelines imposed upon her when deciding to write this story in the young adult genre.
I think, in some ways, this story wouldn’t have been as powerful if she had chosen to write it for a different genre. The fact that she left us thirsty for more Bella and Edward is a testament to how well she succeeded in tempting our baser instincts.
I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the series.
********************
As I mentioned, I’m done with the book, so I have a copy to give away. However, given the fact that I currently have two sticky posts on my blog and it’s confusing enough, I’m going to wait until next week to give it away.
So, if you would like my copy of Twilight, (it’s been carefully read once so it’s in excellent condition), keep checking back or better yet, subscribe to my feed or Twitter me.
Christmas song #4 Happy XMas (War is Over) by John Lennon
All I can say is *takes a calming breath* my husband KNOWS and AVOIDS the doghouse, people. You can’t be with someone for 18 years and NOT know about the dreaded doghouse. 😀
And guys, if you still don’t get it? Do not buy your wife the following items (unless she’s cool with it. And you better ask, just to make sure):
photohunt
But I finally caved, I had had enough. I eventually cried uncle and yes, I read “
