Little Bit of This, Little Bit of That

rthstewart, I saw this today and all I could think about was Jalur. Thought you might like to see. ♡

Also, forgive me, I can't figure out embedding at the moment.

https://sosharethis.com/pregnant-mom-takes-selfie-tiger-watch-happens-notices-bump/?utm_campaign&utm_source=shrd&utm_medium=paid

*frowns*

All right, we'll try this again. Note to self: Copy entire post before hitting the "post" button, just in case the entries page eats the damn thing again.

FLIST! It's been a while! I've been coming and reading entries, and keep telling myself I'm going to post "as soon as I have some time," but that never seems to happen. *rolls eyes at self*

( Cut for length. )

I am sure there a million and one more things I could put here, but am drawing a blank. I find myself doing that more and more often...which is kind of sad, considering that two weeks from today, I will only be 34.

If you want an update on anything I haven't rambled about in this post already, please don't hesitate to ask! I want to get back into the habit of posting again, so hopefully it won't be so long a wait. ;)

EDIT: Dreamwidth People: Does anybody know why, when I move the mouse out of the entry box on the create entries beta page, the text in the box leaps upward? I don't mean the words switch places or anything, but the whole text body itself scrolls up each time I move the mouse out of the box, and never just stays where I left the damn cursor. I can even stop typing, move the mouse out, then back in and back out a couple times without typing at all, and it will keep scrolling up a bit with each movement in and out. I'll check the bug list thingy later, of course, but thought I'd pose the question here, just in case anyone has a quick, easy answer. ....I wonder if it does this from home. I'll have to check; at work I'm forced to use IE8, but use firefox at home.

1. Nothing too new from Friday's post. I went to the doctor; I am showing signs of "ulnar nerve compression," and have been referred for physical therapy and possibly an EMG. I don't want the EMG because it requires sticking my arm with several sharp things, so we'll see if PT helps, first. The only thing that didn't fit with the UNC diagnosis was the swelling, so they're going to keep an eye on it.

Also, it has been recommended that my workspace have an ergonomic evaluation by the safety education coordinator - who will have a field day because none of these workstations are ergonomically correct in any way whatsoever.

So now I have a wrist brace thing, which I have discovered I hate. Passionately. But I wear it most of the time. I have to take it off here and there because DAMN, it is irritating - and a little painful - but I'm mostly behaving myself.

2. Boychild had his very first school dance on Friday. A Halloween dance, of course; he and one of his best friends, Thing 1 (Thing 2 is one grade behind them in another school), went together to eat free pizza and see what exactly a "dance" is all about. Neither of them danced apparently, but they played pool and ate pizza and drank soda and ogled some girls they don't want to admit to finding attractive. I am assuming this is typical 13-year-old boy behavior; both are interested in the possibility of more dances.

I feel bloody OLD. Didn't I just get home from a junior high school dance five days ago? *sigh*

3. Hubby and I killed time while the boys were at their dance by first hitting up Trader Joe's - they have so much great stuff. We picked up some pumpkin cream cheese and gingersnap cookies (dip the cookies in the cream cheese and ZOMG, autumn treat heaven, I shit you not), some chai mix and cereal, and "toscana cheese brushed with cinnamon," which is the reason I wanted to go in the first place. SO. GOOD.

After that, we spent the rest of our time in Barnes & Noble, ogling books. superbeffie, I picked up The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, and proceeded to devour it. I still need to read the other two, but I read the first and am willing to discuss it with you if you want!

4. Made cheeseburger chowder for dinner yesterday, and the crock pot just wasn't big enough. Had to move it into a huge canning pot to finish cooking the last couple hours. Our crock pot has served us very well for 11 years, but we're going to need to pick up another for bigger jobs, I think. Regardless, the soup turned out great and I have leftovers for lunch. Nom.

5. Boychild has not yet decided whether he's going to trick-or-treat tonight. We've left it up to him, but whether or not he goes, this is his last year. He carved a pumpkin last night (after getting Grandma to clean it for him, the wimp), and it's on the balcony now.

6. Huh. I don't think I have a six. Guess that means I'm done for now!


HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Yowser, it's been a busy few weeks. It never seems like it, though, till I get down to the wire (aka Three Days Till We Leave For The Lake). This is when it seems like there are a million and eighteen things to do.

So, like any self-respecting journaler, I am putting it off for a little longer in order to recap here. Duh.


( Boychild Went to Camp )

( I Finally Pamper Myself )

( We Make Cookies )

( I Kick Vacation Planning Into High Gear )

( I Find My Muse )

( Speaking of Reading... )

( We Drive A LOT )

I'm straining under the weight of so many things to get done before we leave on Saturday, but I know that once we leave, it's going to be a great week.

1. So I'm lagging behind again, as per usual, but that makes this no less heartfelt. To all the moms on my flist, whether your children are human or otherwise:

Happy Mother's Day!!

On Saturday afternoon, the boychild decided to get a subtle hint across:

Boychild: "Mommy, you can sleep in as long as you want tomorrow."
Me: "I can? As long as I want?"
Boychild: "Yup." ... "But you should sleep on your BACK."
Me: *trying hard not to snicker and giggle*

Now, I would say that maybe only moms might understand the reasoning behind that suggestion, but my cousin's wife, who is a mom herself, didn't get the implication, so I can't assume everyone reads into it what was so easy to see. It was his way of ensuring that I would be in the proper position for him to set a tray on my lap in the morning, brimming with "breakfast." ROTFL.

I got scrambled eggs with cheese melted on them, pancakes nearly drowning in syrup, bacon too crisp to eat and burnt toast slathered with butter and strawberry jam. Despite some of these unfortunate things, it was still the best breakfast ever. And he was so excited to have done it. ♥♥♥

Hubby made a fabulous roast beef with potatoes, carrots and celery for dinner, and Yorkshire pudding to go with it, and there was ice cream for dessert. We invited my parents and sister over to join us and had a lovely evening.

2. We didn't go to the church yesterday. We'd planned on it, quite forgetting that it was going to be Mother's Day. So we intend to aim for NEXT Sunday. Hubby already has another church picked out to try after that one. He's leaning hard toward a United Church of Christ church, because based on what he's read and his growing-up-experiences, they seem to be most closely aligned with what we both believe.

I have a hard time in the whole church/religion department. Do I believe in God/Jesus? Yes. Do I subscribe to one set of rules for how best to follow Him? Hell, no. I don't always have the greatest amount of faith, I don't habitually - or even easily - pray (though that's a whole other kettle of fish), I don't believe that to be a good Christian, you have to go to church every Sunday. From any church I attend, I expect to be accepted however I choose to arrive, whether I am in formal attire or rags. I expect that my thoughts and opinions are respected, whether or not they are agreed with. I expect that ANYBODY is welcome to join in, regardless of age, race, religion, sexual orientation or anything else that I'm currently forgetting to include. I expect that questions are accepted and considered thoughtfully, if not encouraged, and I expect that should I choose to regularly continue attending the church, I am not required to TAKE A CLASS.

I know I'm kind of all over the place with this whole discussion, I haven't exactly thought my points through very clearly, so bear with me, here. This whole "You have to take a class before you can be a member of this church" thing...NONONONONO. I want no part of any church that requires me to attend a class in order to be fully welcomed. That's not acceptance, that's not CHRISTIAN. My parents' church made them take a class in order to be members. My dad said it was "to make sure they believed what the church believed." *snorts haughtily* I was so offended on their behalf, because God knows they didn't have the sense to be offended themselves. *rolls eyes* I love my parents, don't get me wrong; I simply despair over their version of "Christian."

So to sum up: If I'm attending a church, they need to accept me no matter how I look or what I believe, as well as any other human being. If they can't or won't, then it's not the church for me.

Reading back over this whole section, DUDE. Help me flesh this out. Ask me questions. Make me think about it. It feels like random points with no concrete frame, no solid foundation. Wait, scratch that last bit - my foundation is simply that we are all human, and all of us are worth the same, regardless of choices we make throughout our lives. But still - point out my wobbles, ask questions, help me firm this up into something that makes a little more sense. Or tell me if it already does (but I don't think so).

3. thefourthvine posted a FABULOUS rant Here. Fanfic lovers, enjoy. ♥

4. Speaking of fanfic...I have so many ideas, but so little motivation. I have chapters in my head for my next-gen, but the first sixteen need some overhauling before I put any of it down. I've been going round and round with some founders fic in my head, as well as a Rowena Ravenclaw one-shot that's trying to form. On top of all that, I've been reading a little bit of Narnia fanfic, and now have a couple one-shots in my head! I've never written fanfic outside of HP, so if I ever manage to sit down and just write, it should be interesting.

I think part of the whole motivation thing is not really knowing who - beyond myself, anyway - would want to give reading it a go. I mean, why bother penning it out if I'm the only one who cares anymore? *sigh*

But also, part of it is just knowing I have to overhaul what I have before moving on. I could write it down, but I just can't let what's come before sit there and continue eating at my brain - I have to fix it. asdf;lkj

5. I'm having an aversion to cuts, lately. Sorry.

6. I finally - just this morning, actually - found out what "tl;dr" means ("too long; didn't read"). And I have to say, I think sometimes my own entries get like that! *snerk* But oh well. If you regularly make it to the end of my entries, kudos to you. If you don't, well, at least it's still here for my own perusal. :)

7. My books are all due in 3 days. Boo. Now I have to gather them and go back to the library because I'm out of online renewals for all of them. *sad face*

8. That must be all for now. You know me, I'll post again if I feel the need. I hope you all had a good weekend!

1. Happy St. Patrick's day, flist! I haven't got a drop of Irish in me - and no, I don't particularly want any at the moment, thanks - but I'm wearing green anyway so as to avoid being pinched, because DAMN, people pinch hard! And as everyone is generally aware, I am pain-phobic. Because they always go for my upper arms! WTF is up with that?! God, those are the worst place EVER to poke me, pinch me, even TOUCH me with anything smaller than an entire hand. Ahem. Sorry, rant over.

2. It's Wednesday, but it feels like Tuesday. I want to say the time change is at fault for this, but it's really because I stayed home with Mike yesterday and it's apparently thrown me off. *rolls eyes at self*

3. A little bit of promo: the forum I participate on, Obliviate, is sorely in need of members. So few of our people go there now, and we've been contemplating shutting it down, which none of us really want. It's really not Harry Potter-oriented anymore - we discuss many various things, although it's harder when the four or five of us who still go there have said most of what we think already. We would LOVE some new blood in there, and I especially would enjoy it because I truly love it there and think that others would, too. We are friendly and welcoming and open; there's a serious/debate section and sections for books, movies, general lives and silly games. There's also an arcade with some fun games that are great for loosening the tension when you have a few minutes, and a market as well. Please feel free to check it out!

4. I went to Half-Price Books last week and found about twenty Betty Neels books - she's one of my very favorite Harlequin romance authors. I managed to narrow it down to four that I ended up buying, and I've now read every one of the four and added it to my swiftly-growing Betty Neels collection.

5. I also went to the library last Saturday and picked up The Screwtape Letters (CS Lewis) and The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho) since I never got around to picking them up the last time I had them on hold, Bridget Jones's Diary (Helen Fielding), What Jesus Meant: The Beautitudes and a Meaningful Life (Eric Kolbell), a website-building-for-dummies book, and Ballad: A Gathering of Faerie (Maggie Stiefvater).

I've gotten a few pages into Bridget Jones and been giggling, and last night I opened and read several pages of The Alchemist, which is lovely so far. I also have What Jesus Meant in my shoulder bag because I really do want to read it and will be more inclined to do so if there's nothing else in there to distract me while I'm out.

I've got maybe a chapter or two left of Born Round and still have From the Kingdom of Memory and The Golden Compass to be getting on with, as well.

Why, oh WHY do I keep checking out so many books? I'm telling you, it's a sickness. Can I just please move into the library?

6. Huh. I think that's everything for the moment! I hope you all have a wonderful day!

Been doing a bit of reading lately, mostly because several of my books are coming due at the library and I've run out of renews for a few of them. *sad face*

( Updated Reading List )

1. I love lazy days like this. No place to go, nothing pressing to do. It's 11:21 A.M. and I'm still in my PJs. Yes, most certainly a lovely day.

2. Mom's surgery went well; it took just under an hour, and it only took that long because the node was wedged right up against a nerve. The biopsy came back and the growth was benign, so all is well. And I can already tell Mom's moving better. Thank you for any prayers and thoughts that were sent her way - she appreciates them.

3. Mikey has a retainer now. He has to wear it all the time except while eating and brushing his teeth. He hates it and complains about it, but is pretty good about not arguing too much. It looks like a slice of watermelon - he got to choose what it would look like - and even after two weeks, we can see the difference. We still don't think he'll manage to get out of having braces, but this is definitely helping. The first few days were amusing; we couldn't understand a word he said. ;)

4. Also, what IS it with this kid and his ability to lose crap?! I have lost three separate pair of gloves this season alone because he's lost three pair of his own, and mine in replacement! He's also lost two hats and a "burglar" hat, and a couple of scarves.

5. At work, Blanca taught me how to say "kiss my ass" in Spanish! *LMAO* She's so funny, she was like, "But it's REALLY bad, so don't tell anyone I told you!"

6. I MADE MY OWN HOMEMADE CHAI MIX. No more paying ridiculous prices for it in the store! Now I can heat up a mug of water and put in a few spoonsful of my homemade mix! Message me with your email addy if you want it, I've got it saved in Word format.

7. Finally made my oatmeal blueberry pecan cookies yesterday. SO. GOOD. I used my mom's oatmeal raisin recipe, but substituted blueberries for the raisins and used pecans instead of the usual walnuts. herminia wanted me to post the recipe, so here it is:

( Oatmeal Blueberry Pecan Cookies )

8. Went to the library yesterday, picked up The Love of a Good Woman (Alice Munro) and Artemis Fowl (Eoin Colfer), as well as One for the Money (Janet Evanovich), which is the first of the Stephanie Plum novels. I've read through nine or ten, but want to start over so I can remember everything, as it's been a while.

9. That's about all - I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend!

1. So. Work is stressful. Friday night was... Let's just say that I have not been THIS stressed in a VERY LONG TIME. So many things are so very messed up, so very confusing and so very irritating; we get told nothing but are expected to be happy to keep producing while they dink around with this and that. Changes are one thing, but when you don't keep your people informed adequately or flat-out ignore them, their desire to just do the work wanes significantly.

On top of all this, my new manager? Her father suddenly passed away, so now she's gone in South Africa for a month. I feel horrible for her, because I'd probably lose it if that happened to me - but also, what horrible timing on the part of fate!

And there are people here who are already suspicious of the timing, wondering if she got a better offer from another place and jumped ship, since this particular ship is so wrought with holes. *rolls eyes*

2. I updated my reading list; I took a few books off because I don't know that I want to read them all. I'd rather just start with the first and see if I'm interested enough to move on to the others.

( Updated Reading List )

I had The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho) on hold at the library, but never got there in time to pick it up, so it'll have to wait. Currently, I've started A Wind In The Door (Madeleine L'Engle), and I still have both The Stolen Child (Keith Donohue) and Letter to a Christian Nation (Sam Harris). I also picked up A Swiftly Tilting Planet (Madeleine L'Engle), since A Wrinkle In Time went so quickly.

3. Vikings play the Packers this Sunday at 3:00 P.M. I'm making a big-ass pan of tater-tot hotdish and inviting people over to watch the Vikes kick Packer ass...or lose miserably, as the case may be. I love me my Vikes, but I am not delusional about their abilities! BETH - you and Dana and the girls are invited - we hope you can come! Let us know.

4. I've gotten more done at work yesterday and today than I have in the last two weeks combined. Is that sad? I'm just not into this whole supervisor thing. PAY = YES, PEOPLE = NO.

5. HALLOWEEN!

Made for me on request by xsprite at nightbreeze_gfx.

What are everyone's Halloween plans this year? We're spending the afternoon at Bunny and John's place, since that's where we'll be taking Mikey around for trick-or-treating. Mikey's going to be...get this...a WHOOPEE CUSHION. I shit you not, he has the costume already and everything. As soon as I get a pic, I'll put it up, I promise.

6. That's all for now, methinks. ;)

( AAARRRGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! )

I know my tag says good books don't bite, but this one is currently doing exactly that.