halt stop forget relax

Well, I did it again. I finished another NaBloPoMo challenge, the first in November, and now February. I don't think I'll be doing this again for awhile. It's a pain in the ass trying to think of something to write about every day when you have no life. Okay, just kidding. I have a life; it's just a very quiet one. Not that there's anything wrong with that. I have tried several times to add a free hit counter to the blog. I have copied and pasted the html code to the bottom of my "edit html" page, and nothing ever shows up. If anyone knows what's going on, please leave a comment for the computer impaired. I'm going to read some blogs of my peeps, then read the paper. But first I have to convince DH that it's fucking freezing in here and time for him to build a roaring fire. Tout Suite! Good Night, TTYL (I'll be gone a couple days), and Be Well

I enjoyed these rules. I thought number six was especially good, but number ten explains it all. Ten Rules for Being a Human Being by Cherie Carter-Scott 1. You will receive a body. You may like it or hate it, but it's yours to keep for the entire period. 2. You will learn lessons. You are enrolled in a full-time informal school called, "life." 3. There are no mistakes, only lessons. Growth is a process of trial, error, and experimentation. The "failed" experiments are as much a part of the process as the experiments that ultimately "work." 4. Lessons are repeated until they are learned. A lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you have learned it. When you have learned it, you can go on to the next lesson. 5. Learning lessons does not end. There's no part of life that doesn't contain its lessons. If you're alive, that means there are still lessons to be learned. 6. "There" is no better a place than "h...

I look forward to Thursdays because of evening television. My guilty pleasures are Ugly Betty , and Grey's Anatomy , and Private Practice -- though to be completely honest with you I prefer E.R. to P.P., but since they changed the schedule this season to have the two compete, E.R. wins because this is the final season. I realize I can watch some of the shows on HULU, or ABC.com, and I have, once a month on Sorority night which always falls on a Thursday, but I prefer to see them on the television. ************************* Boy, was I surprised to see that the DVD I watched of This American Life was produced in 2006! I can't believe it's been that long since it went on TV! I thought it was just last year. Time flies when you have no life! Now I have to check to see if there are more seasons available through Netflix. I really like Ira Glass's view of the world. He has such compelling subject matter. The first episode was about a guy and his pet bull, Chance, who was ...

So it's the beginning of Lent. Ash Wednesday. Growing up Catholic, I always went to mass on this day, and after mass the priest would put a little cross of blessed ash on our forehead, and being the good catholic girl that I was, I would not wash it off and spend the day walking around with a smudge on my face. I was proud of that smudge. I wore it with devout pride. Those days are so long since gone. The more recent smudges I've had on my forehead, were also part of a religious ritual, having been placed there by Saints from India - Shree Maa and Swami Satyananda , Sri Karunamayi, and another whose name I always forget . The little red dot on the third eye that comes with their blessing. Different faiths, similar rituals. I didn't stick with that practise either, though it makes more sense to DH. I'm not going to write about my beliefs and dis-beliefs or lack of beliefs, I was just thinking that today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the season called Lent. Except th...

One of the things I like about sleeping in late is waking up Saturday mornings and listening to the radio. I listen to KUOW, the station that carries A Prairie Home Companion, Car Talk, Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me , and my favorite, This American Life. Last year, Ira Glass started a television version of This American Life, and I was really disappointed that it was on a pay cable station that I don't receive. So you can imagine how pleased I was today when I opened my Netflix and found the DVD of the entire first season. Guess what I'll be watching tonight, and probably tomorrow night too?

The first of several magazines I ordered a couple of weeks ago arrived today, Women's Day , and the thought occurred to me "When am I going to have the time to read this and three more magazines? I have enough reading to do with the newspaper Friday-Monday, and the blogs I try to keep up with. What was I thinking? I was thinking that "Gee this is such a good price! At least 60% less than I've ever paid for a subscription before ... that I just can't pass this up!" I hope I enjoy them at least 40% of the time, because if not you can stamp STUPID on my forehead.

For your reading pleasure, here is a meme that is all about me and my husband. Enjoy. What are your middle names? Mine is Ann and DH's is Mark, which I will give you because you don't know my last name. How long have you been together? Since March 8th (?), 1986. We married August 8, 1987. How long did you know each other before you started dating? Once we met, we started dating about a week later. Who asked whom out? I placed a $25 personal ad in The Seattle Weekly and his was one of 12 replies. The ad read: Willing to barter - if you will teach me the I-Ching, perhaps I will laugh at your jokes. SWF 29 seeks intelligent, articulate, enigmatic, open-minded man, 25-35. How old are each of you? Right now I'm 53, he's 52. Whose siblings do you see the most? I guess that would be my brother in Tacoma. Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple? His unemployment. Did you go to the same school? No. Are you from the same home town? Nope - he’s from ...

I'm back to building my own fires to stay warm and making my own dinner, much to my chagrin. DH got me into this mess by staying up all night and sleeping all day (his bad habit schedule for years), and so I changed my schedule accordingly when it became clear I could barely fend for myself - especially in the kitchen. If I wanted to eat, and dinner wasn't ready until 2 AM, well, I just had to stay up to eat it, and a little longer to digest it. But for the last week or so, DH has been going to bed before the nightly news and getting up with the chickens we don't have. Yesterday I stayed awake from about noon and all through the night and finally had to crash at 1 PM. I got up after a very restful sleep at 10 PM. Nine hours, waking to turn over maybe twice. I'm not a restless sleeper! I guess that makes sense - I don't move so very well when I'm awake! Today (night) when I got up, DH was at the store. I knew he was gone because Beulah had started whimpering and ...

You can thank Weeble Girl for this. It's a game called Googlemania, and while I, like Weebs, won't actually "tag" you - here's how the game goes: Google yourself by typing in quotes, "Webster likes to" (using your name, not mine), and then list the first ten things that come up. Simple, no? This is what I came up with: 1. Webster likes to tell stories. 2. Webster likes to run. 3. Webster likes to recreate often familiar objects (in jewelry). 4. Webster likes to call them Twits. 5. Webster likes to get people to get out of there early to make room for a dance floor. 6. Webster likes to push herself to the maximum. 7. Webster likes to make "kitty nests." 8. Webster likes to chew stuff. 9. Webster likes to set trends and be an example. 10. Webster likes to calm down by playing music. So Good Night Peeps, TTYL and Be Well - and play Googlemania!!

I am at the two thirds mark of NaBloPoMo February 2009. Today was my Sorority meeting. I went to bed at 10:00 AM. I know it's crazy, you don't have to tell me. I set my alarm for 3:00 PM, sat in bed for awhile trying to think why was it still light out, then took a shower. Before I went to bed I asked DH to print two things from my laptop so I could take them to the meeting, which he did, bless his heart. And before I left for my meeting, I asked him to tape Ugly Betty and Gray's Anatomy for me, because I haven't been able to watch them on my computer! But this he didn't do, but he figured out what I need to do so I can watch them on my laptop. I have to go into add-ons on Firefox and disable scripts there, and be sure to enable them again when I'm done watching. Even I can do that, I think. So that's what I'm going to do. I'll type up the minutes tomorrow. Good night, you know the rest

Today is a good friend's birthday, and I totally blew it off. I didn't mean to, it's just that our schedules are opposite, so when I picked up the telephone to call her, it was nearly midnight. I'm sure she was fast asleep. She and a few friends from the support group went on MSAA's Cruise for a Cause, and I wanted to hear all about it. They are all doing better with MS than I am, so my guess is that they didn't have any problems to speak of. Besides, she flies to eastern Canada at least once a year to see her sister, so is a well practiced traveller. I just wonder how hot it's been in Florida in the last month. That could be tough. Out on the water, not so bad I would think, seeing as you're moving and always have a gentle sea breeze. Anyway, Happy Birthday! I'll try to call you tomorrow. Good Night, TTYL and Be Well

Today was productive, relatively speaking. I went to bed at 4 AM and got up at 10:30 so I could wake up, get dressed, drink WATER - all because I had to have my cath. changed at 11:45. I left the house at 20 past 11 and got there just in time. I didn't even have to wait more than two minutes! I think I have found a time slot that actually works. After that, I headed to Trader Joe's for coffee (of course) and frozen dinners and cookies (a DH request). He apparently didn't like any of my cookie choices. Funny, I felt the same way about his choices last month. [We try to go to TJ's only once a month, because the store is MADE FOR impulse shoppers! Like me, when I'm hungry. And when I go shopping, 99% of the time I am hungry.] DH has not been in a cooking mood for a few weeks. This means we have been eating a lot of frozen entrees. Frozen entrees basically come in two flavors: Mexican and Italien. No matter what you name them, they mostly taste the same. Except for the ...

Time sure flies when you have no life. Today went by in a flash, and all I did was got up and dressed, folded some clothes that were washed (finally), fed Beulah and put her out, read the paper, made a cup of coffee, and read my blog roll . Oh, and I posted a recipe that uses goat cheese for Robyn in her comments. Tonight I'm going to blow off Medium and watch instead The Curious Case of Brad Pitt as a Fetus . Or maybe The Changeling , I don't know which. DH was able to down load them from NinjaVideo - or some place like that, which comes up on my computer as untrusted. He knows of all these geeky sites. I don't. With my luck, I'd get infested with a case of computer pox. Whatever. Good Night, TTYL, and Be Well

I can't think of a thing to write about today. I got the bill for my house taxes yesterday. They are a little less than last year, but not much. But it's better than a kick in the teeth. No planes crashed in my neighborhood last night, which is a good thing as I live directly under a flight path. (Actually, the only plane that ever crashed on a landing at McChord AFB that I know of happened on a foggy November night in 1952, so that was mentioned only because of what happened in Buffalo NY a few days ago.) It turns out that the one fatality on the ground that was mentioned was a resident of the house the plane landed on. I figured that out on my own. What wasn't mentioned in any of the news reports that I heard was that two other residents of the house survived the crash, with just one broken collar bone between them. The husband who died had just gone to the part of the house that was destroyed. How's that for Karma? I have been craving chicken lately. I'd bet if ...

St. Valentine's Day. In grade school I loved it; in high school and college, not so much. I wasn't popular with the boys, and didn't date - much. The expectations of Valentine's Day were awful for the chubby girl without a boyfriend. Now that I'm married, it's nice to be remembered with a card and, this year, a box of chocolates. It's about all we can afford (and if truth be told, I wouldn't have spent the money on it as our budget is that tight, and we just had to buy a new microwave oven.) Still, DH did. And I know he would have made me a card if our printer wasn't nearly out of ink. Lord help me, I love that man. Good night, TTYL and Be Well

Friday the thirteenth. Hmmmm. Wonder what bodes for me today? Well or Ill? There is a support group that meets at 11 AM today, and I'm not sure if I am going. It was my intention to go, but I got up at 9 PM thus have been awake for nine hours already. If I go, I'll have to stay awake past "my bedtime." Hmmm. The weather is predicted to be fair and dry today, starting out cold and getting up to the upper 40s. I can live with that. I have to figure out what to wear as DH hasn't done laundry in awhile. Sometimes I feel guilty, and just want to do it myself - then I try, and it is such.a.chore that leaves me completely exhausted so I don't do it, and try not to nag for clean clothes to wear. It's times like this that I want a chore helper. I applied for one to DSHS last year, and was determined ineligible. It's as hard, or harder than getting on SSDI! Maybe I should try again, and think "worst case scenario" before answering any question! In the...

For days now, I've been trying to remember the name of my favorite cat. I was thinking of him when DH buried Radagast, because he is buried right next to him, but I can't think of his name. I can remember my other passed (past) pets. I remember Galadriel, our first pet together. We rescued her from Concern for Animals , a rescue organization in Olympia. She was an abused Buff Cocker Spaniel we named Lady Galadriel (from LOTR), but we called her Stinker Doggy, or just Stinker, ever since the night she was sprayed by a passing skunk right outside the door to her doghouse. That was the night we learned that tomato juice does not get the stink off - but fortunately I found a product called Skunk-Off that did. And Thank God for that. She got old and sick and I took her to the pound, with the help of a friend, and they let me be with her as they gave the shot. It was a good death, an easy death. We were both ready for it. Then there was Mayday, so named because it was the da...

I have a fabulous idea of how to divvy up the $820 billion stimulus package - simply give each of the 50 States $16.4 billion, and let their individual state governments make the decisions on which needed improvements be made and/or create needed jobs. Washington State has several transportation problems that each need a few (or more) billion dollars. With 16.4 billion dollars we could replace the 520 bridge, replace the viaduct, complete several highway and road projects around the state, give a couple billion to education around the state and still have a couple billion left over for a rainy day. That is unless half of it gets frittered away by the asses who dicker around playing numbers games, and having meetings, and doing God-only-knows-what until there's only half of what was given left to spend, with the final result being that not much gets fixed, not many get jobs, and we've gone full circle. But you have to agree, it's a good idea in its simplicity. Good...

Though I didn't officially register with them, I have taken the NaBloPoMo Challenge again this month. I took it in January, and announced it, and you saw how well that went. But I am saying it now because I have just successfully completed the 1/3 mark. So okay, it is a short month - but still, for me, ten straight days of posting is a big deal. I know I won't win any essay contests; I can't type as fast as I think I can think.(?) Merely managing to stay on topic is a minor miracle, what with how MS has addled my brain. I used to be a fairly decent writer (or so I'm told, I don't believe it), but these days it's hard to find an original thought in me. This is why I turned down a request to write a "Desperate Housewives" skit for my sorority's Spring meeting. I just can't do it. I can, and will, help tweak it when the draft is sent to me, but there is no way I could come up with the bones of a skit to save my life. Happily, the MS hasn't ta...

Tomorrow is the day I actually will stay up and make it to the library. I WILL. Because I cannot abide library fines accruing. I did this two months ago, too, and have a fine on the books. This will be adding up to a total of $4. I don't have $4 to waste just like that. Really, I don't. If I allow myself to spend my hard-earned money (If you don't think being disabled enough to get SSDI is hard, think again!) on fines, how will I be able to go out to lunch with my girlfriends? I ask you? Not to mention the new microwave! So, I may have to take a nap, but I WILL get out of the house and return my books to the library. Besides, there are others waiting for me to pick up. So, Beulah seems to be adjusting to Radagast's passing. She has been sniffing around and whining for the past few days, but today has been pretty quiet. This is a macabre thought, but, I wonder if she can smell his decomposing body in the back yard. He is buried at least three feet down, but still, she i...

Things happen in threes, so I'm told. Three strikes, three outs, three wishes, third time's a charm ... you get the idea. At my house things are falling apart in threes. First, there was Radagast. Second, the microwave nearly caught fire! Third, the fan in the wood stove is not putting out much heat. Well crap, there's a Fourth - our regular Black & Decker thermal carafe coffeepot that has worked well for 19 years has lost a tiny little part for the filter basket and now makes Lousy Coffee! We're accustomed to the French Press, and use 50/50 milk + strong coffee, so it only works well in tandem with the microwave, and now our back-up doesn't work either! The cherry on top of this Sundae is the f act that I could not get my ass moving yesterday to return two library books which are now overdue. I just could not get moving; the process was onerous. I don't know if it was sleep related, or MS related. And now I have a library fine to pay! Outrageous! But, ...

Radagast named after the Brown Wizard in the Lord of the Rings , died quietly tonight of old age. He was our galumphing super-friendly Chocolate Labrador/Chesapeake Bay Retriever. His heart finally gave out. Goodbye, Buddy. You were a good dog. We surely will miss you.

Here's a game for those of you who need to get the OCTUPLETS out of your head. It's called Name That Duggar . Enjoy. I'll leave you while you try to remember all 17 kids. TTYL P.S. About Junebug - I give it a 3/5. Usual dysfunctional family angst that leaves some questions unanswered. An okay way to spend a couple of hours, I guess.

Oddly, today's blog title reminds me of this . LOL So, go ahead and read what I added at the bottom of yesterday's entry. I still didn't name names, but if you know who they are, well then, you know who they are. What can I say? That I'm pissed? So, OK - I'm pissed. What I can't understand, and even my DH thinks I should spend time reflecting on, is why this bothers me so much. I wasn't very active there. My comments generated few responses, as I've said. I didn't find anything particularly pithy to read. I guess I'm a glutton for punishment. Enough said - really. I promise. Bibbity Skibbity = change of subject I received a new Netflix today - let's see what I got, shall we? Hmmm, anybody seen it? Do you remember it 3+ years later? I'll tell you what I think tomorrow. Good Night, or Good Day, or whatever it is, TTYL and BE Well

The forum guard is on patrol. They have effectively chased my fat ass away. I have been bad. Very bad. I didn't follow the forum rules. You can read all about it at the Carnival of MS Bloggers #28. FYI - I did not submit anything to the Carnival, it was merely believed to be worthy of the topic. I have no problem with that. At all. The forum managers did, however, so they brought out the dogs to keep themselves safe, and to keep me away. And they have taken measures to protect their future posts. They have posted a copyright on all things posted on their forum. They did this because I was bad. I guess they don't know that safety is an illusion. This is the post that caused all the trouble. http://hsfr.blogspot.com/2009/01/little-controversy.html

As I type this on my laptop, little Nishita, having finished eating, has jumped up on to what's left of my lap. If ever I wished I was taller it would be at a time like this - when more leg would come in handy. Nishita is my green-eyed black outdoor kitty who is a lover-bunny. She has curled up against me, is purring to beat the band, is kneading my leg and has put her head down upon my arm. I can see the screen, and barely, the keyboard. Too bad I can't touch type worth a damn. Last week, during a weak moment, I ordered the free magazine Living the Country Life which I heard about on Bitchypoo.com. I've been following the lives of Robyn and Fred and their cats, and more recently chickens and pigs and two Great Pyrenees, as they have made the change from obesity in suburbia to living fit on Crooked Acres. I had just received a solicitation in the mail offering O, The Oprah Magazine for $15 a year, which for some reason I found irresistable. Then following my signing up f...

Mich@el Phelps, who has the tremendous lung capacity of an Olympic swimmer, has been outed for taking a hit from a bong at a party. He's 23 years old. Yeah, pot is illegal, but common, so really - what's all the fuss about? That he didn't leave any in the bowl?? I suggest to those of you who sit in judgment of him for this: find something else to bray about. A week or so ago I ordered a polar fleece vest from Land's End on sale for $19.50. I got one in XL reg in Loden (green). The color was wrong for me, as was the size - so I reordered it in XL petite (an oxymoron if ever there was one) in Berry. It fits perfectly. It's roomy, toasty and comfortable. Now, I have to return the other vest to Sear's, and a sweater I got for Christmas that doesn't fit right back to Macy's. I think it's time to get a new bra, instead. The girls could use the support. Good night, TTYL

What's in a name? February 2nd is Groundhog's Day. The day when the residents of Gobbler's Knob, PA get up early to see if Phil will see his shadow upon emerging from his burrow. It is rumored that if he does, he gets scared and retreats to his burrow to sleep away the next six weeks of predicted winter. Well, Phil was scared this bright morning in Pennsylvania, and so we can expect the cold weather to last. I did, after all, say awake long enough to see the sun rise, and if Punxsutawney Phil was in Tacoma, he would have seen his shadow. So I guess it's six more weeks of Winter for us too.** February 2nd is also St Brigid's Day, a Christian festival of lights in Ireland, and Mexico. It also marks the midpoint between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox. That's just a fact. It is Candalmas Day on the Wiccan calendar; A good morning for a bonfire. I think I'll light a few candles instead, and dream of longer, and warmer, days ahead. I'm going to...

Today is the first day of February, and therefore another NaBloPoMo Challenge begins. Another month of daily drivel will come your way. A few entries will be read-worthy, but most wouldn't make my cut. Considering my lacks, i.e. typing skills, cognitive skillz, etc., I hope for the best because Alexander Pope told us that hope springs eternal. Speaking of cognitive issues, yesterday's entry on the babies, I completely forgot to mention the octuplets. I know. The Superbowl was today. Not only did I not watch it, I don't know who won, and I don't care. I made chocolate pudding from scratch. It was so easy . Who kn ew? If I priced it out, I'd bet it was a lo t cheaper than J3llo pudding, the brand I was raised on. Now I need to find a recipe for butterscotch pudding. Warm butterscotch pudding is delish. Now I'm going to read the newspapers from Friday through Sunday. So, Good Night then.