Holy...

I'm still recovering from Saturday night... It probably doesn't help that I'm a caffiend, and haven't had a lot, but still... Holy...!

You see, apparently I can miss people's deviousness, much to my chagrin and (in this case) pleasure.

As I'd blogged earlier, my birthday was on the 20th, and we went out to Mandarin Palace so I could have my free birthday drink and hang out. I then decided that it would probably be a good idea to have those who weren't able to join me on Tuesday due to work to come by on Saturday night, as it was the 1 year anniversary of the Palace, and would be a pretty grand time all around anyway.

Unbeknownst to me, Mishu already had plans... 3 weeks earlier, she'd gotten a list of all my friends that I'd like to have invited to such things as my wedding shower and bachelorette party. From me. Unwittingly, I'd handed her the golden key to create a surprise birthday party for me.

She called everyone on the list, and had everything set up - only to panic when I posted about the 1 year anniversary of the Palace and going. Fred (who normally cannot keep a secret to save his soul when it comes to birthdays) calmed her down, saying that everything was fine, that since I was planning on being there, to simply go ahead as planned.

Fred had insisted on going late to dinner, around 8-ish. I didn't think anything of it. In fact, it made some sense in my brain - get dinner, then go into the bar and immediately start singing. Lil and Kyla showed up and had dinner with us as well, and brought pressies. Apparently, I chose exactly the *right* chair, as I completely missed Mishu coming in and out of the bar looking for Lil no less than 3 times. LOL.

I was momentarily stalled in the foyer of the restaurant asking whether Kyla and Lil were going to join Fred and I, and then Fred popped his head in and said that Mishu was there. I walked in, along with Lil and Kyla, and was completely floored.

They'd sectioned off a corner for the group, and had brought a cake, and a tiara for me, and presents... It was totally awesome, and I was completely surprised. Even Ang' and Slasher showed up, which was awesome. Slasher's one of my friends from the "bad old days", and is a great guy. I'm glad I got to see his spiky-ness.

I got lots of pressies as well, something again, I wasn't really expecting. Lil got me a beautiful pair of silver filagree earrings, and a dreamcatcher keyring. Geoffrey (who unfortunatly couldn't make it due to a cold) drew me a hedgie bursting out of a cake, and Kyla got me bath stuffs. Yay!

Mishu got me a copy of "Love Actually", a beautiful silver wedding photo album, and a set of 4 scented candles (I can make everyone hungry without cooking!). I had totally forgotten to mention in my last birthday post that Fred had also gotten me two beautiful hair clips - one a silver and leather knotwork clip, and the other a silver knotwork hair bun thingie.

I also entered the Karaoke contest and got 2nd place, which earned me a $25 gift certificate to the Palace. There were t-shirts and stuff galore to be had as well - Fred and I made out like bandits.

I also ended up getting a LOT of drinks... Some guy decided to buy me a shot of whatever - so I shotgunned Irish Cream. I'd already had a cosmo and was working on a vodka-7... then another cosmo showed up, and I had been doing half-shots of rum as well... I'm a lightweight when it comes to alcohol, so I was pretty fashnikered.

We ended up closing the bar and taking ourselves home. Luckily for Fred and I, we live within staggering distance of the Palace, so in the immortal words of Yellowbeard, we "Staggered LEFT! Staggered RIGHT!" all the way home. Thankfully we did not have to do the crawling part.

I had a slight hangover the morning after... Fred had a decent hangover the morning after (he'd had 3 hefe's, an Irish carbomb, and some rum). We both gave Speedboy some of the cake we brought home and gave him the day off from restriction, provided that he went away and was sugar-high elsewhere. *chuckle*

So, yes - this was definitely a birthday to remember, and a really good one at that. Thank you Mishu, who planned the whole thing, and to everyone else who joined in on the party and planning and showed. I had TONS of fun!

~M

Yeah - that's sounds about right...

Your Ex is Narcissistic

Your ex thinks they're the most important person in the world and couldn't care less about anyone else. Your ex definitely has a god complex. People with narcissistic personality disorder want total power, lack empathy, and are very arrogant. Sound at all familiar?

What's Wrong With Your Ex?

Birthday Goodies!

So, the 20th was my birthday. I was taken out for dinner the evening before at Sambi's for sushi (YUM!!!). The day of, we went to Mandarin Palace for birthday drinks and to meet up with everyone there. We didn't stay long, as I was planning on heading to work the next day, but we did get to see Mishu, Llama and Mylo. Llama got me a coffee grinder in TEAL (yay blue hues!) so I can now grind my own spices at home. EEEeee!

Fred got me 7 (SEVEN, count them) Terry Pratchett books, including "Where's My Cow", which I love, and the newest of the Tiffany Aching series from Discworld, which I finished in 2 days and also love.

He also got me a set of Global Santoku stainless steel kitchen knives - some of the best in the world, mind you... OMG! I was utterly stunned. Not expecting that at all... And he got me dice, as well, so I can actually use my OWN dice for gaming from now on. Yay me!

The only downer to the entire week was having to head to the dr's on Thursday. I'd stayed home on Tuesday the 20th with a migraine and what felt like a huge ear infection that was tracing its way down into my jaws. The dr felt my glands and apparently there are sinus cavities that are right near the ear canals that I didn't know about - because I have another #@$%$##@$ sinus infection. So, I'm on another set of antibiotics and am home until next Tuesday. Yay me... Fred says I need a pipe-snake. I honestly simply believe I need new sinuses.

However - the antibiotics seem to be doing better, slowly. I'm down on pain meds from 3-4 ibuprofin every 3 hours, to 2-3 of them every 5-6 hours... My ears still feel like they need to pop, but that's slowly happening as well. Pressure builds, then finally releases, then starts building again. bleh.

The good news is that we are celebrating the 1st anniversary of Mandarin Palace tomorrow evening. There should be a nice karaoke party going on and I look forward to seeing those of my friends who couldn't be there on Tuesday due to things like work happening. ;-)

And now, I'm going to go to sleep... ZZZZZzzzzzzz

~M

I'm in love...

Yes, it's true... There is something in my heart that ranks almost as high as my cat and my fiance...

Hedgehogs

They are teh cuteness!

I am seriously in love with this music box which plays Twinkle Twinkle Little Star... It's adorable.

And I totally need this broach. Ok - I don't need it... But I WANT it.

You can barely see the babies on these earrings and yet, they're there - and adorable! Not to mention, blue!

They look like pine cones, but these earrings are really hedgehogs in sterling silver.

Just in time for tourney season, there's these little babies. Of course, this means I'll need to make a new tablero table to go along with them, but hey - I can suffer this...

Anyone telling me that this is NOT cute is lying!

They have hedgie fabric there, too (though their links aren't working to give you a good look. OMG cute though!

Yup - you got it... a cassarole dish.

I'm a total sap for stuffies - and these would completely undo me! They're adorable.

This is the brother of the beanie baby hedgie that I already have... Normally I don't go in for them, but this is a hedgehog - that's different. LOL

And why not? You cannot be fully stylishly dressed without THESE... They'd go great with some hedgie pj's... You know, made from some of the nifty fabric noted above? Hint, hint!!!

And These simply canNOT be avoided at any cost... I must have!

All right, already! I'm done drooling... I shall take my obsession and share more later!

~M

Birthday Stuff...

So, it's now 5 days until my natal anniversary. I've been getting a modicum of crap from Mishu about not having a birthday party. It's not that I wouldn't want one, it's that the track record of said parties has been so piss-poor in the past...

Other than the birthday dinners that Lil held for me, anything that I've been in charge of have failed fairly spectacularly. So - I don't have them anymore. Not to mention the fact that most times, my birthday doesn't fall on an extremely convenient date to have a birthday party. Most times, it falls on Mon-Thursday, mostly falling on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. I think I've had 2 birthdays that have fallen on Saturdays, one or two on a Friday, and one or two on a Sunday.

This year is sort of different... My birthday happens to fall on Mardi Gras. SO - if you'd like to join me in celebrating for a little while, I'll be at the Mandarin Palace, doing some karaoke, having a few drinks, and eating really good chinese food.

This is the closest I'll be getting to doing a birthday party, so live it up.

Oh, and pressies are not mandatory - welcome, but not mandatory. I'm mostly just wanting to hang out with friends and have fun.

~M

Fun with OK Cupid...

The Maid of Honor Deliberate Gentle Love Master (DGLMf) Appreciated for your kindness and envied for all your experience, you are The Maid of Honor. Charismatic, affectionate, and terrific in relationships, you are what many guys would call a "perfect catch"--and you probably have many admirers, each wishing to capture your long-term love. You're careful, extra careful, because the last thing you want is to hurt anyone. Especially some poor boy whose only crime was liking you. Your exact opposite: Half-cocked Random Brutal Sex Dreamer We've deduced you're fully capable of a dirty fling, but you do feel that post-coital attachment after hooking up. So, conscientious person that you are, you do your best to reserve physical affection for those you respect...so you can respect yourself. Your biggest negative is the byproduct of your careful nature: indecision. You're just as slow rejecting someone as you are accepting them. ALWAYS AVOID: The False Messiah, The 5-Night Stand, The Vapor Trail, The Bachelor CONSIDER: The Gentleman, someone just like you. Link: The 32-Type Dating Test by OkCupid - Free Online Dating.

Fuzzy Logic

Shady update here... She's doing SO much better in the last 5 days since we started her on the renal therapy. Granted, she's completely unpleased about the sub-q injections and the squirts of laculose - but she's getting used to it, and at least doesn't struggle in the morning when I end up giving her shots.

She's been eating like a fiend in comparison to what she had been doing, and is generally perkier than she had been. She's glossy, and starting to lose the washboard that had been her backbone. I'm hoping she ends up gaining a pound by the end of this month.

I'm so very happy that she's feeling so much better. While I know that I can't have her forever, I really didn't want to have to put her down if it was something treatable, and something that won't negatively impact her quality of life.

She's gotten to a point now where she's pretty much accepted that whatever I do is going to make her feel better, even if she doesn't like it. She gripes about it, but won't struggle too much - though she hasn't been snuggling with me too much since the injections started. I'm hoping things will be better once they stop - if they stop... We'll see.

I have to take her in again around March 9th. Hopefully things will be MUCH better by then and she will be healthier.

I have to admit - I was totally terrified to go back to the vet on the 9th to get the news of what was wrong with her. I've had her since she was itty bitty - she turns 21 in July... It's difficult for me to face the eventuality that she will be gone, and it got smacked in my face on Friday how close she is to saying goodbye.

I have decided that, if we cannot give her a good QUALITY of life, where she is not in pain and no longer enjoys herself, then it will be time to say goodbye and let her go. Until then, however, I am going to work as hard as I can to give her the best of everything.

I love my puddin' tat.

~M

Recipes!

Tasty Turkey Ragout

2 - 3 turkey thighs, skinned
2 20 oz cans diced tomatoes
1 can mushrooms
1 medium red onion, diced
1 large shallot, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 zucchini, diced
2 Tbsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp white pepper
1 Tbsp garlic salt
2 packets spaghetti seasoning mix

Place all items into a crock-pot, stir, and set to high. Cover, and let go 6-8 hours.

Remove bones, stir again, shred pieces if necessary.

Serve over ravioli, potatos or polenta.

This makes about 8 servings, so there's sure to be leftovers... I recommend baked potatoes or cheese ravioli. You can make a creamy rissoto to put it over, though, or polenta. Yum!




Pork, Beans and Barley

1 lb pork carnitas (specific cut of pork - see below)
1 c dried black beans
1 c dried white beans
1 c dried red kidney beans
3 carrots, peeled and diced
4 stalks celery with leaves, cleaned, and diced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and veined, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
6-8 cups water (enough to just cover the ingredients by 1 inch)
1 tsp white pepper
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp dried rosemary
2 chicken boullion cubes
2 beef boullion cubes

1 small package barley

Carnitas is a specific cut of pork - Normally it's the fattier portion of the cut known as a "fresh ham". It's an incredibly flavorful portion of the meat, and cooks up equally good both in stir-fry's and in slow-cooking. You will need to trim a little more on this cut, but the flavor is worth it, as is the price - about half what you would find per pound for a normal cut.

Jalapenos are hot only if you do not vein them. You can control the heat based on how much vein you leave in. Remember - you can always add, but it's fairly hard to take away.

Combine everything except the barley into the crock-pot, and set to low for 6-8 hours. About 1/2 hour prior to being ready to serve, pour in the barley and stir. This will be your thickener, and will serve to really pop up the flavor.




BBQ chicken

8 pieces of dark meat chicken, skinned, left on the bone
1 red or sweet onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
24 oz of your favorite bbq sauce (enough to cover the chicken)

Combine everything and set to simmer 6-8 hours. Best served on sandwiches, or over mashed or baked potatoes.

This is great with turkey or pork as well.

News of the Fuzzy Kind...

Well, there's good news, and not so great news...

Shady was taken to the vet yesterday because she's been rather listless, not eating very well, and having hard stool. As she's 20, I got worried about her and decided since I got 3 basic wellness plans with my job, I should take advantage of it for it's free check-up.

I had to drop her off for 3.5 hours so they could do blood, urine and fecal tests on her, and check her out in general. They also ended up doing a thyroid test and a feline leukemia test on her as well, which weren't covered under the plan, but I figured it was worth it.

Turns out, she's dropped 3 pounds in the last 2 years - yikes! While not such a big thing for humans, she's 2/3 the weight she should be for her bone structure.

Her thyroid and feline leukemia tests came back ok, and negative for issues. Her blood work came back fine - no infections and no high white cell count, which means no cancer, either. Her stool showed no parasites, but they did a de-worm just in case.

The issue is with her kidneys. Turns out, she's in the beginning stages of renal failure. Thankfully, we caught it in a period of time that it can be reversed, if I do everything that the vet tells me to.

We've changed her diet over to Royal Canin renal LP for wet food, and Hills Science diet K/d renal for dry. We've gotten rid of all her treats for now, since they're not designed for kidney issues, and I don't want to ruin the treatment at this point.

I also have to give her sub-q injections of a solution to help clean out her system of the excess protein she's had that's causing her kidneys to work so hard. Poor baby has to deal with being poked each day with 50 cc's of it.

She's also getting Laculose and Lactalace to help with the hard stool issues. Her colon's enlarged because she was flushing out all her liquid through her kidneys to try and process the protein. Poor thing.

I did find out that her right eye is partially discolored, but partially it's due to the renal failure - her eye doesn't contract so well anymore, so it messes with her judgement.

The one thing I did NOT like was the doctor I had that day. She didn't seem pleased to be treating a 20 year old cat, and continually talked down to me even when I explained exactly what was going on *in fairly technical terms* to her. She didn't do any better when we were checking out, either. She actually asked me if doing a sub-q routine and taking care of her was something that I *wanted* to do - like I'm going to say no! She's my baby, and she's not in pain, and still feisty. There's no reason for me to say no and decide to put her down. I was really unhappy with that, and I think next time I'm going to ask to see someone else.

I'm to bring her back in in a month, and hopefully by then we'll have fixed it. Meanwhile, I am hoping that everyone sends good thoughts her way.

~M

Thorn in the side...

So, recently, as I'm sure you noticed from a prior post, I've been a little on the political side. I've done so for a number of reasons:

*I was molested when I was 4 and had no recourse as my mother didn't believe me.
*Exploiting minors for sex is not only taboo, it's against the law.
*I currently have a 13 year old son that I want to protect.
*I would like to have another child in the future, and want to procect it as well.
*I have friends who have children, and they need a voice, too.

I have never had an issue with people having sex with other people. I don't have an issue with gays or lesbians; hell, I'm bi... Why on EARTH would I have a problem with sexuality? The fact is, as long as it's between CONSENTING ADULTS, I have no problem with it.

The issue, however, is that there are some people out there, like this asshat, who thinks that because his sexual perversions run against the law and exploit minors, he's a sexual minority and deserves the right to go after little boys. He has used the same argument that those within a gay or lesbian pairing have used - that he has the right to find love where he wants to.

Uh - that's all fine and dandy when it's another adult. I'm sure that most everyone will agree that if there are two adults involved in making the decision as to what they'd like to do in bed, it's all good.

When the law states that someone is too young to know their own mind about a sexual encounter, or starting a sexual relationship, you'd better believe I'm gonna get up in arms about it. There's a reason for the laws - it's not just because they are written by uptight legislators who haven't had sex in years (as he's said over and over). No, it's because on average, teenagers and pre-teens (not to mention small children) cannot make logical, thought-based decisions about sex that are good at that age. Period. End of story. And even if you're lucky enough to FIND one of the few teenagers who understands *exactly* what they're getting into, the law says NO. Therefore, you, as the adult, should be the one to stand up and let them know that it's not ok until after they are of legal age.

MySpace took down his profile. As they are closely linked to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, I'm quite happy that they saw the potential for disaster there and removed it.

Blogger has removed the content, but not the profile, twice now - and he's pissed about it. He is of the opinion that his rights are being mashed up into pulp, and he's being stepped on by "the man" for his being a "sexual minority"...

As Fred says, if by "sexual minority" he means "wanting to, and following through with, having sex with little boys who are either barely old enough in Canada - or underage - and generally being a sick FUCK", then yeah, he's a sexual minority.

The following is the email that I have sent to ALL of the hosts of his known profiles and web addresses. I am wanting to make DAMNED sure that they understand what it is that they are allowing to be posted, and by whom. I also linked their own TOS to each of the emails (they're not on here, but they're easy enough to find by going to their websites) to remind them of what they do and do not allow on their websites. I also included all the links to his other sites to the rest of them, so they can look for themselves and see what it is they are allowing into their midst.

If you would like to follow suit and copy and paste this email, please feel free to do so.

The person I'm speaking of has the following profile on your site:

http://www.meetmeinto.com/profile.asp?id=380285

He is a Canadian who has chosen to openly admit that he is a pedophile, under the usage of the words "boylove" and "ephebiphile" (they apparently sound better than pedophile).

As you know, pedophilia is illegal both in Canada and in the USA. He has many different profiles on different blog sites, and feels that it is his right to support pedophelia and those who would target young children for sexual activities.

He is currently embroiled in a battle with those of us on the web willing to support the National Center for Missing and Exploited children, and have him and his rhetoric removed from the web. MySpace.com has removed his profile already, and we have notified both National law enforcement and the media to let them know of his whereabouts.

The following are the current known links for this man. He is, we believe, a danger to underage people on the web everywhere. He specifically targets boys between the ages of 11 and 15, and has admitted such on his blogs.

Please take the steps necessary to block this man from utilizing the web for his personal trolling ground.

Thank you.

http://viamund.blog.com/

http://viamund.wetpaint.com/

http://viamundtherake.blogspot.com/
http://www.blogger.com/profile/13022153

http://viamundarchives.blog.com

http://blog.com/profile/?userid=760861

http://www.meetmeinto.com/profile.asp?id=380285

While I don't normally get involved in such hyped-up political stuff, I gotta say - when I do get involved, I get INVOLVED - and I choose my arguments wisely.

~M

Neener

HA! I find it amusing that the asshat pedophile was complaining about how his "rights" were being violated, and how Blogger/Blogspot was going against their own TOS... Seems someone didn't read their TOS agreement very well...

This is what I found when I decided to go ahead and review said TOS for blogspot users (those with "blogspot" in their address). It's paraphrased and I picked out the pertinent bits. If you don't want to wade through the technical jargon, you can read the stuff in italics - it's the "translated" version of it that's specific to the asshat...

BlogSpot TOS -

4. MEMBER CONDUCT - You agree to not use the Service to: (a) upload, post or otherwise transmit any Content that is unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, tortious, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, libelous, invasive of another's privacy, hateful, or racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable; (b) harm minors in any way;...(k) promote or provide instructional information about illegal activities, promote physical harm or injury against any group or individual, or promote any act of cruelty to animals.

You agree that, by clicking "I Agree", you won't be writing and/or posting ANYTHING on your blog that is considered unlawful or obscene, or harm minors IN ANY WAY, or give information about how to commit illegal activities.

You acknowledge that Pyra does not pre-screen Content, but that Pyra and its designees shall have the right (but not the obligation) in their sole discretion to refuse or remove any Content that is available via the Service. Without limiting the foregoing, Pyra and its designees shall have the right to remove any Content that violates the TOS or is otherwise objectionable.

You understand that we can remove any content that is against the TOS or is something we think is objectionable.

9. TERMINATION You agree that Pyra, in its sole discretion, may terminate your password, BlogSpot Site, use of the Service or use of any other Pyra service, and remove and discard any Content within the Service, for any reason, including, without limitation, for lack of use or if Pyra believes that you have violated or acted inconsistently with the letter or spirit of the TOS. Pyra may also in its sole discretion and at any time discontinue providing the Service, or any part thereof, with or without notice. You agree that any termination of your access to the Service under any provision of this TOS may be effected without prior notice, and acknowledge and agree that Pyra may immediately deactivate or delete your BlogSpot Site and all related information and files in your BlogSpot Site and/or bar any further access to such files or the Service. Further, you agree that Pyra shall not be liable to you or any third-party for any termination of your access to the Service.

You agree that we can terminate your account at any time, without notice, if we believe that you've done something against the TOS, either in the spirit of the TOS or the actual written portion of it.

So there - he can sit and spin with his accusations of Blogger or BlogSpot going against its TOS. They did exactly what they promised to do.

~M

No Child Held Accountable?

I remember when I was growing up, each school year was punctuated with a test showing how well we were learning the curriculum. It was something that happened from first grade through 10th (11th grade was for the SAT's and the "who do you want to be" test).

We had our number 2 pencils and a brain full of information, a few scraps of scratch paper, and fingers for counting - no calculators until 10th grade, and then it was only if you happened to be taking Algebra 2-trig (polynomial curves weren't much fun to figure out on two hands...).

We sat in rows, head down, pencils held at the ready, and broke the seal on the test once we were told to. Slightly distracted by the occasional shuffling in our seats, we dutifully went through all the questions that we could. There were two parts to the test for grade school that I can remember. There was the grammer and language arts, and then there was the mathmatics. Not much on history, though we were getting taught that as well. Mostly it was grammer and language arts - the basics, so we could get into history and the like later on.

Sometimes the tests were times - usually there were two timed tests and two that weren't.

We would hear the minutes tick by and we would know that as we were taking this test, it was helping determine whether we needed help in certain areas, and what our teachers would do to help us. And then, the time would be up, and we'd put our pencils down.

Tests were normally given on Thursdays, and then Friday was a sort of free day, as it were. We would be allowed time to read our favorite books, or color - a reward for doing so well in taking our test quietly and following the test-taking rules.

We understood that, if we didn't do well we could end up in a special class. Not something we really wanted, but it could happen. If we really messed up, there was the option of the school holding us back. Even if we did all of our homework, if we couldn't deliver the information onto the test from what they'd been trying to teach us, they'd hold us back - it wasn't a punishment; it was more a determination that something was wrong, and the school needed to fix it.

Sometimes it *was* our fault, especially when we got older, and it was a consequence for not turning in our homework repeatedly, and/or skipping school too many times. The general attitude was, if you can't prove that you've learned it, or if you're not HERE to learn it, you get to repeat it.

I'm now learning that things have changed in school, and not necessarily for the better...

My stepson, Speedboy, is in 8th grade. He's on that delicate edge between junior high and high school, and has had the rush of testosterone running through him for a good 2 years... It's a heady time to be a kid, and an even more difficult one to be a boy at times...

The worst part, he's not doing well in school. And when I say he's not doing well, that's a nice way to put it. He doesn't care about whether he passes his classes or not. He doesn't even care if he's punished by us if he fails his classes. Why?

Because the school is refusing to make him own his decisions and reap the consequences of his actions - even when we, his parents, are insisting otherwise.

Schools are now apparently full of rainbows and sparkles, "the world is a gentle, loving place, my child" attitudes. Lots of platitudes, lots of "You just need more positive support and less negative consequences in your life".

Oregon and Washington have both decided not to do anything further than what they call "level testing" until 10th grade. These tests don't do anything other than prove whether the school has reached it's yearly academic goal under the "No Child Left Behind" statute. According to the info on it, Oregon is doing quite well in it's goals to meet federal academic standards - yet, the curriculum is still being taught the same way, but without the consequences... See, apparently flunking a child is bad for the school, and means they won't meet their goals and could lose their funding...

Of course, we have been told now for two years (Speedboy has, on average, a 1.9 GPA) that holding him back would be bad for his moral well-being, and he would not be able to achieve his full potential if he were to be forced to stay behind... Being held back is such a negative thing, they can't possibly do that - unless, of course, there's such a severe disability that he is unable to meet the federal academic standards...

We have also been told that he will be held accountable for his inability to attend to his responsibilities (ie. turning in homework, paying attention in class, keeping out of fights in school) - he'll be held back in 10th grade if it is deemed necessary, based on his test scores at that point.

Of course, the problem then is that he won't have enough time to get his credits together to graduate... He'll already have had a year under his belt where, if he wasn't doing what he needed to, he would have less than he should for 9th grade... But he won't be held account able, since 9th grade is "such a tender, new time for students"...

No child Left Behind is due to go back up to the legistlature again for a renewal vote... If it happens, this same tack will continue with other children. They won't be held accountable for what they learn until it's too late to fix the issue. The uneducated of today will end up being parents to the even less educated of tomorrow. And the Bush administration will be rolling in the dough, because they've gotten a lot of support from Mama Bush to help this little enterprise continue on.

~M

Amazon's response...

This is the response I got from Amazon regarding my email:


Thank you for writing to Amazon.com with your comments about the
listing of "Octaevius Altair."

I realize that you have been greatly inconvenienced by this
situation.

Please know that you are a valued customer of Amazon.com, and I am
very sorry if the listing of this product has caused you any offense.

Please note that, customer service is not in a position to make
changes to web site features or functions. Likewise, we cannot make
promises that other departments will make changes at our request.
The most we can do is to be sure that your comments are forwarded to
those who have these responsibilities.

Rest assured that we have forwarded your comments to appropriate
department in our company for consideration to remove the item from
our web site.

Please know that we do take the feedback very seriously. Strong
customer feedback like yours helps us continue to improve the
selection and service we provide, and we appreciate the time you
took to write to us.

Please let me assure you that we have done so. I hope you will
understand our limitations in this regard.

Thank you for your understanding. We hope to see you again at
Amazon.com.


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My Wish List...

It's the newly improved and updated wish list. As the hubster and the gf got me some AMAZING stuff this year, I've found it necessary to fall back on the basics - books and dvd's... The list ranges from the reasonably inexpensive to the OMG! I'd love to have them all - on the other hand, I must remember that I live in a 2 bedroom apartment and we don't have the room right now. Le sigh... Eventually I will have a house (note that this is NOT on the list - I think it's silly to have a wish list that includes more than 3 things that I know I won't get ever), but since I don't right now, I will dream...

DVD's

Amira's Belly Dance 101 DVD, a quality instructional workout video of Oriental Bellydance basics
The Heartbeat of Bellydance: Rhythms & Belly Dance combinations for Drum Solos - Starring Jenna and Raqay
Learn 21 Shimmies and 1001 Variations Belly Dance Instruction (2005) - with Leyla Jouvana - made by the International Academy of Middle Eastern Dance
Bellydancing: The Sensuous Workout with Shamira
Bellydancing: The Sensuous Workout 2 "Pure Technique" with Shamira
Learn Drum Solo Technique & Choreography with Sadie - Belly Dance Lesson DVD
American Tribal Style Basics - Belly Dance Instruction with Kajira
American Tribal Style Beyond Basics - Belly Dance Instruction with Kajira
Azar's Belly Dance Workout: Level 1
Learn Lavish Layers with Ansuya - Belly Dance Lesson DVD
Learn Finger Cymbals with Ansuya - Belly Dance Lesson DVD
Ultimate Combinations Vol 1 Belly Dance Instruction
Ultimate Combinations Vol 2 Belly Dance Instruction
Beautiful Hands and Arms Belly Dance Instructional DVD
Learn Classic Cabaret Floor Work Belly Dance DVD
Belly Dance Basics
The Incredibles
Lilo and Stitch
Alladin
Wall-E
Sleeping Beauty
Cinderella
The Last Unicorn
Anastasia
Monster’s Inc
Antz
A Bug’s Life
The Aristocats
The Iron Giant
Treasure Planet
Shrek
Wizards
Muppet Movie
Muppet Christmas Carol
Muppet Treasure Island
Muppets and Jim Henson Christmas
The Muppets Take Manhatten
The Wizard of Oz
Nightmare before Christmas
The Storyteller
Indiana Jones Trilogy collection
Adventures of Robin Hood (1938 – Errol Flynn)
Glory
Big Night
The Piano
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Singin’ in the Rain
My Fair Lady
Sweeney Todd (2007)
The Music Man
An American In Paris
The Court Jester
Brigadoon
White Christmas

KITCHEN STUFF
Pizza stone
Large griddle (preferably plug-in with removable trays)
Food storage containers (Costco has great ones!)
Better pantry system…
Small deep freezer
Cutco “Ultimate” set – or the “Homemaker 18 piece” set, with a pair of scissors
Decent Cheese cutter…

BOOKS

Garrett, PI(Old Tin Sorrows/ Dread Brass Shadows/ Red Iron Nights)
Angry Lead Skies (Garrett P.I.)
Garrett Investigates (Deadly Quicksilver Lies, Petty Pewter Gods, Faded Steel Heat)
The Garrett Files (omnibus of Sweet Silver Blues, Bitter Gold Hearts and Cold Copper Tears)
Cuisine And Culture by Linda Civitello
The Flavor Bible
Festivals, Family and Food
Enchanted
Enchanted, again

Boycott Amazon.com!!!

I have deleted my Amazon.com wishlist. It's really crappy that I had to do it, but I couldn't, in all good conscience, keep it open. I still have the wedding registry there, but that's because apparently there isn't a way to remove it. *sigh* I am asking if you purchase anything for me, DON'T do it through Amazon.com.

Why?

Because they apparently are of the opinion that they can sell whatever they want. The book in question?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product//0973818808/ref=cm_rv_thx_view/105-2964934-1452437

This is the email that I have sent to Amazon as to why I have deleted my wishlist, and why I won't shop there anymore:

Octaevius Altair is a pedophile and predator - and yet, your company, and a company OWNED by Amazon.com (per the front page of BookSurge.com), is publishing his work. I have deleted my wish list, and am advising all of my friends to boycott as well. I will not be using Amazon's services further, unless and until Amazon publicly apologizes and advises that they have removed "Viamund the boylove vampyre says...Poetry & Haiku's" and refuse to publish its ilk from this point forward.

Be aware - it's not just me who feels this way. We have alerted Blogger.com and MySpace.com, both of whom host a site for this person, and at least one has strong ties with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. I have now seen banners on over 10, well-read blog sites stating to boycott Amazon.com until pedophelia is no longer supported by you.

Think I'm overstating? Check it out: http://absolutezerounited.blogspot.com/2007/02/hes-rake.html

I hope that you realize that the First Amendment is for those within the US (not outside - he lives in Canada), and both in Canada and in the US, pedophelia and its connected forms (kiddie-porn and books regarding the acceptance of such) is ILLEGAL and cannot be sold.

Thank you.

There's been a question of Rights and Freedoms being guaranteed by the first amendment, etc...

Per Wikipedia.com:

The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees the rights and freedoms set out in it subject only to such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society. (emphasis added)
This section is double edged. First it implies that a limitation on freedom of speech prescribed in law can be permitted if it can be justified as being a reasonable limit in a free and democratic society. Conversely, it implies that a restriction can be invalidated if it cannot be shown to be a reasonable limit in a free and democratic society. The former case has been used to uphold limits on legislation which are used to prevent hate speech and obscenity. (like pedophelia or kiddie porn...)

FURTHER - Wikipedia says:

In the United States freedom of expression is protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. There are several exceptions to this general rule, including copyright protection, the Miller test for obscenity and greater regulation of so-called commercial speech, such as advertising.

Obscenity in specific is difficult to define under the First Amendment, and is often used in a legal context to describe expressions (words, images, actions) that offend the prevalent sexual morality of the time.

The Supreme Court has found that, when used in the context of the First Amendment, the word "obscenity" means material that deals with sex. In the United States, the 1973 ruling of the Supreme Court of the United States in Miller v. California established a three-tiered test to determine what was obscene - and thus not protected, versus what was merely erotic and thus protected by the First Amendment.

By definition then, the First Amendment will only cover those things which are deemed LEGAL within an obscene context - Child Pornography is specifically NOT on the legal list, and has been known to be illegal for some years now. While legal debates will rage on about whether other forms of pornography or erotica are acceptable or not, child pornography and pedophelia is NOT legal, either in Canada or in the US.

So... I urge you, dear readers, to include the following splat sign on your blogs, and spread the word. Boycott Amazon, and let the world know how much you hate child pornography. Be the voice for the child in the dark.





~M

Update, update, update...

You may have noticed a new link on the lower left hand side: Confessions of a BBW Porn Goddess... Go check it out - kind of new, but good stuff.

In other news, I've started the trek through the Dream Catchers. We have 80 of them to do, and so far about 25 of them have been done. I can get through about one per hour. Should have most of them done by next week. Yay!

Next Sunday, hopefully will find me going through the last of them, as well as hopefully (possibly) going fabric shopping? Don't know - we'll have to see.

Anyway, am heading home now.

~M

Still?!

I'm still sick. I don't care what the doctors tell me, there's something just not quite right about what's going on. UNFORTUNATELY, since my current insurance is not much better than NO insurance at all (I have to hit $1250 to get them to cover ANYTHING besides just the visit to the dr's office), I'm going to simply have to suck it up and deal.

I'm tired, and feel as though someone kicked me all over. My muscles feel like they haven't gotten enough air so they're cramping, and my shoulder is totally boogered up. Overall, I'm not in horrible shape - especially when compared to Mishu, whose venom sacs- er, I mean tonsils- are acting up again and may yet again need milked for their pus-like substance... Urg.

On the other hand, it's getting kind of silly. If I were a hypochondriac, I'd be worried. As it is, I'm annoyed. I should just be OVER this crap by now.

Symptoms?

headache
backache
muscle cramps/spasms
muscle aches
dizziness
sleepiness
sinus pressure/pain
nausea (mostly from the phlem)
congestion
chest compression

It's been this way for actually 2 months now, off and on, and neither dr I've been to has been able to tell me anything. They've given me antibiotics and steroids, but nothing's really gotten rid of it. I'm assuming that this is just a really bad flu, and I need to take it easy for a while. So, no more OT for me. I'm also taking Melatonin so that I can get a good night's REM sleep, and hopefully that will help as well.

I've finished "The Six Wives of Henry VIII". It's an extremely impressive book, and sheds a lot of light on the women who had been queens. They're all so different, and each ended a different way due to different reasons. And while neither his wives nor Henry are blameless about creating their respective ends, both their actions were at least partially due to political intrigue common in the day. It's a really good read, and gives a much fuller picture of what happened, and why.

Tomorrow I get to go meet with Speedboy's teachers - again... We'll see what happens with that. The meeting is bright and early at 8am. Thrilled, really... Then it's off to the pet store for more food for the brat-cat, and over to pick up the rest of my anti-psycho pills, then back home where apparently we're supposed to have a "snot-in". Mishu, Fred and I are all going to sit on the couch, watch movies, eat comfort food, and generally be sick at one another. LOL.

Tomorrow night we're headed to Salvador Molly's for dinner. YUM. I lurves me some tex-mex/carribean/pirate food!

~M

More stuff updated...

LOTS of things going on right now... I've managed to get a Wedding Scheduler booklet for both Mishu and myself... Her's is a notebook, as she is my Best Bitch and needs a place to jot down info for her regardless of the date.

Mine is a datebook with the entire year up through Dec set out, and everything pretty much set almost to the minute from tomorrow through June 23rd... LOL.

On the up-shot, when I found it, I also found Happy Bunny stickers, so I put one on the front. It says "It's all about me - deal with it!"

I'm writing down pretty much everything that I need to do, and days that I need to do it by. It has an additional Notes/To Do list every other page, which is nice - allows me to jot down stuff that I need to remember to do that week, or that may or may not be pertinant depending... Also has a place for "priority" items, and a check-list. NICE! I'm organized! At least, in one aspect of my life. LOL.

I learned with the last wedding that one cannot be TOO organized, and I'm figuring out this time around that it's easier with input from my S.O. as well. I cornered Fred last night and got some ideas nailed down about the cake flavors.

I'm figuring that the dream catchers, once shaped, shouldn't take that long - as long as we have a few hands to help out. I have 3 days set aside for creating them - the 11th, 12th and 16th of Feb. Again, if anyone is willing to help me do this, I'd be REALLY thankful...

I'm also attempting to get a fabric search together on either Feb 18th or on the 23rd (when I get paid) so I can pick up the fabric and the pattern for Fred's Jacket. From that point forward, every day that I have off until April is going to be devoted to the dresses that I'm making for Mishu and I - and Fred's Jacket as well.

Sometime in Mid-March, Fred and I will be getting together with Lil to work on vows and a general overview of the ceremony. Fred and I are still working on what we want to do as far as a ceremony is concerned. Fred isn't really all that religious, and I'm not "devout", but have a strong affinity toward a higher power - so it's not going to be something that has major religious overtones. But we both want something that will reflect both how we feel about one another, and our promises toward one another...

Sometime in May, I will want to have the entire wedding group out to look at the site and walk through a preliminary set-up of how the whole thing will be set up.

Then I'll also be getting the marriage license...

Apparently, according to Mishu, I'm also going to be having a Hen party during May... not sure when exactly, but it should be interesting.

The week of June 17th, according to Mishu, I'm to have my bachelorette party - which will give me a week to recover prior to the wedding. Thank heavens.

I'm also ordering the cakes that week from Costco.

We've decided to rent a car/wagon for the wedding weekend. I think it's only practical, since we're going to need to travel around and get places within decent periods of time, and it's not going to work quite so well if we're constantly having people wait on us. The night before the wedding we're going to have a dinner rehersal - which is just a formal way of saying "get-together" with all the pertinant members of the wedding and close family. I'm looking forward to meeting Fred's side of the family - though every time I say that, he looks at me like I'm nuts. LOL.

So, that's about everything that I have currently listed in my schedule, other than the "normal" stuff like SCA events and Speedboy's birthday... I'm hoping that it will make things easier for me to track, as well as give a sort of history that I can look back on and remember when I'm older...

~M

Gamer Geek!

I am a gamer geek. I've come to this conclusion after this last weekend when I played D&D 2nd ed. Fred's decided to GM a serious power-game, and it's got a great twist: We're evil characters (or at least, we're morally challenged), and it's a custard pie campaign! Yay me!

My character is a Ranger elf, who is randomly color-blind, has no sense of direction, and has an anger-management problem.

Windsong's character is a Wizard, who has a 50% chance of narcalepsy if he casts a spell, and a 50% chance of narcalepsy if he gets touched by feathers... Oh, and he has a thing for cross-dressing.

We're wanting to add more characters onto this, so if you're interested in a Saturday night game starting around 8:30pm, at our house, and you have a distinct lack of propriety, come on by!

We've already managed to hurt Fred's head several times - and he had to take a few puffs of his inhaler (the first time in WEEKS) because he was laughing so hard.

~M

Wedding Update...

**I need your mailing addresses! If you're known to me, and you are wanting to come to the wedding, I need to have your mailing address. Please send it to me in a private email (that way I don't have to monitor my comments and quickly delete information after I've copied and pasted it - LOL) by no later than Feb 20, since I'll be (hopefully) mailing out the invites soon afterwards.


**The rings arrived! They're beautiful, and fit great. I'm so happy with them, and Fred is, too!


**Mishu, my Best Bitch, has received phone numbers from me of those people in my circle that I'd like to have come to a Hen Party, and then my Bachelorette Party. If you get an odd phone call, it's most likely her. She's harmless - mostly. Think of her as a younger me, without the tact button. You'll LOVE her! I promise!


**I've gotten the vine cut, I have the beads, and I have the embroidery floss. This means, of course, that there's a dreamcatcher party coming on February 11th at my house. If you're interested in helping me create my wedding favors, please come by. I'll have munchies, soda, and tea, and directions on how to make them, as well as movies playing in the background. All of the vines will be pre-shaped into the teardrop that they need to be, so it's just a matter of lacing through and creating the actual dreamcatcher web inside of it.


**The potluck idea is still on for the reception. Fred and I will be providing a fish and a roast for everyone to munch on - everything else is up to them to get.


**I'm having issues finding fabric for my dress - apparently, I'm pickier this time than I was last time around, and the blues that I want in my palatte aren't as popular this time around... If there's a point where I can pick up a ride from someone either on a Friday, Sunday or Monday, and head to different fabric stores, please let me know. I've been to Fabric Depot, and wasn't impressed at this point - but there are two more that I need to get to - Fabrics for Less and Jo-Ann Fabrics - to see what they have.


**If you would like to donate time, energy, or even money to the cause of our wedding, please contact me. :-) I'm trying to do this without asking my family for help this time. Since the last wedding was rather expensive, and Mum fronted the bill, I want to be able to take care of it all this time - or as much as possible.


So, that's about all I have at the moment regarding the wedding updates.

So much to read about!

So... I've decided to separate them out into different posts, so I can label them all - for those who'd like all their news in one chunk, sorry - my sudden Piscean OCD has kicked in and I must separate the information into the componants that they need to be in. LOL.

First up - In the past 40 days, I've gotten some pretty good books that I think others would like... At least, if they're history freaks like I am. *chuckle* See, I adore history. I specifically love world history, and the times that literally shook the world into a new era - like the Tudor era in England. Amazing stuff, that.

I had been realizing that while I've been blowing through books lately, they've been of the brain-fluff kind. And while that's enjoyable to blow through while riding for an hour on the bus to and from work, it's not conducive to any sort of brain function. And I was spending WAAAAY too much money on brain-fluff that wasn't lasting NEARLY as long as I'd like for it to. SO - what I have currently to go through are the following 4:

The Six Wives of Henry VIII - Alison Weir: Three Katherines, Two Anns and a Jane - If you're interested in the Tudor age at all, or why Elizabeth was SO amazing, this is a good book for you to look through. Alison Weir, known to be one of the foremost writers on the Tudor era, looks at each of Henry's six wives in turn, as well as the changes being made within the political, social, and religious forum of the day due to Henry's ever-changing appetites. It goes into immense detail of their daily lives, their interactions with Henry and the other courtiers, and includes pictures as well. The book also contains a really good time-line of occurances, from the Tudor takeover from the Plantaganets up through the ascension of Elizabeth to the throne. It's a fascinating look at how each of the women were both treated by Henry, and helped him shape their own "known world" with their actions. I've only gotten through most of Katherine of Aragon, Henry's first wife - but it's exceptional reading.

The Honest Courtesan - Margaret F Rosenthal: This is a more "realistic" view of Veronica Franco's life than that of "Dangerous Beauty". The back states that it goes through Franco's cultural, social, and economic world, and combines the resources of biography, history, literary theory, and cultural criticism to present her life. I have not yet read it, but I am looking forward to it. Veronica Franco is one of my heros (thus the name of my blog, here), and while I thought that "Dangerous Beauty" was lovely, I knew there was SO much more - and so much different - about her life than what Hollywood chose to create. I can't wait to chew through this one.

Unsolved Mysteries of History - An Eye-opening investigation into the most baffling events of all time - Paul Aron: I've been browsing through this book as I feel the need. It's a great factual account of 25 different mysteries witihn history, from ancient to contemporary times. It includes factual information, questions previous suggestions made by others who sought to "solve" the mystery, and leaves it open in the end to draw your own conclusions. Quite well written, and recommended as a fun "bathroom" or "coffee-table" book.

What Are The Seven Wonders Of The World? And 100 Other Great Cultural Lists - Fully Explicated - Peter D'Epiro and Mary Desmond Pinkowish: I am always looking for new and (most likely) useless trivia information. If you're one too, you'll like this book. It's separated by the number of the answers you'll be looking at within the subject, and then breaks down each of the individual answers and gives detailed information regarding them... For instance: The children of Adam and Eve were? (The Chapter of 3's, question 1) Cain, Abel, Seth... It then gives detailed information regarding each one based on biblical accounts from the Old Testament, with comments from each of the authors regarding why (and why not) the information had been included in the bible. There's a great forward that is also worth reading, as it explains why they chose the format of the book in the way they did. I have been going through this book since I picked it up just before Christmas. It reminds me of something my father would have LOVED to have had, if only to spring random trivia on people.

So, there you have it - those books which I am currently reading... There are more that I'd like to get, but they're on my Amazon wish list, so they'll have to wait.

~M

WW

1. Do you wear any religious symbol jewelry/clothing? If so do you wear it openly in public?

Not normally - I had a necklace at one point, but it broke. I don't tend to do well with jewelry, as my skin is very acidic and tends to eat metal. But I do occasionally wear long pendants if it matches what I'm wearing, normally of semi-precious stone. I don't actually own any religious symbol jewelry, but I do have a t-shirt that I go grocery shopping in - it's black with gold printed people dancing in a circle, with the title "Wild Witches Don't Get The Blues".


2. How do you feel about the issue of wearing religious symbols in schools and how some young teens are forced to remove their religious fashions?

If it's ok for a "mainstream" religon to wear their symbols, then it should be ok for a non-mainstream one to do so. As long as the symbols or images aren't violent, then there shouldn't be an issue with it.


3. Have you ever experienced a confrontation about wearing your jewelry in public? How did you handle the situation if so?

Yes, I did... It was rather amusing, actually. I was wearing the one piece I designed and wore for a while - a pentacle in brass, on a choker necklace of tiger's eye and black jet.

I wore it to work when I first started working in a call center. I had 3 cubemates, and one of them was a Jehovah's Witness. Unfortunately, she was quite distressed at the symbol, and said that I needed to remove my "devil's symbol". I asked her what she was talking about, and she pointed, horrified, at my necklace.

I had to sit her down and explain about the actual background behind the symbol, and how the christian faith had deliberately manipulated it to be a negative symbol in order to convert people out of fear. It was all very traumatic for her, as she was such a devout believer in the anglo-saxon version of the bible. It was almost frightening to me that she was SO closed-minded.

I wore it a few times after that, and it wasn't an issue, but then the necklace broke, and I never re-created one.

~M

Relationships...

As seen at Smart At Love

What do you think of two-home, un-co-habitating, Living Apart Together (LAT) relationships?

---

And.......what are the best things, in your opinion, about Living Together Together (LTT) relationships?

Here: have a can of worms and a grenade... oy.

OK - so, before you read my answers, I'd suggest that you read the post by Dr. Annie, who asked the questions above afterwards...

First, my opinion on the article:

It's interesting, well thought out, and doesn't make me believe that she's either for or against it - a refreshing change when looking at a lot of articles on relationships and sex. Many of them start out two-sided, but by the end, it's clear that the person has a defining opinion (not bad, mind you, just not optimal for writing a non-personal article) on the subject and is wanting to sway the reader toward it.

Second, let's answer these questions...

So-called "LAT" relationships, to me, are fine for the beginning of any relationship. It's nice to be able to have your own space and, if need be, have that space to yourself when you need it. However, as the relationship moves forward, it seems to me that it would be more natural to move together as a couple, rather than stay apart.

It's something which I'm loathe to define as a herding instinct, or a "mating" instinct - perhaps it can be thought of more as a team creation. A team doesn't *need* to have something bonding them together physically (children) - they have mutual goals and thoughts which, with the two of them working toward said goals, can reach them more easily, with support from one another.

It's not so easy to have that support if you're not living together. It's a different situation than simply having a roommate - there is a deeper connection with a couple - if not, then it's probably not time for you to move in together, unless it's as roommates, with separate rooms, etc.

Yes, the excitement of being "picked up" for a date can still be there - and it is nice to have your own space at times when you need it. But the considerate significant other will take you out on dates and allow you your own space when you need it - and communication is key to both of those happening. If you're not happy with how things are going in the relationship, you shouldn't wait and let it fester. Let them know how you feel, and why - and most important, let them address your feelings and have them tell their side of the situation.

Personally, I think that if you aren't willing to communicate and negotiate, it means you don't seriously want a commitment. Part of being in any relationship is working through tempers, bad days, personal discomforts and general nit-picky issues.

I've had 2 LTT relationships so far. The first one, not so great, the current one really good. The reason it wasn't so great with the first on was, I believe, both of us started relationships *really* young, and neither understood how to communicate or negotiate. While one of us learned, the other one didn't, and after 10 years, I no longer wanted to be in it because of the growth that had happened - which while positive on my part, pushed the two of us further away from one another because he wasn't willing/able to grow as well. Too much time, not enough communication, not enough negotiation, and not enough willingness to learn from one another.

The current one is a complete 180 from my first one. We both had rocky relationships in the past, and having learned from them, started as friends before becoming involved. We have found that we can talk with one another about issues without feeling afraid of how the other person will respond because we now know how to approach a discussion - not as an attack, but showing a desire to understand and possibly correct. We share similar tastes (but not identical) in many things, but we are each interested in enough other things to make talking about them interesting.

My favorite parts? Waking up to having him next to me each morning, and going to bed with him each night. I enjoy having meals with him (my personal "intimate" thing), I like playing "devil's advocate" with him and sparring mentally, we enjoy a FABU sex life, and we snuggle.

Are there times when we disagree? Yes. But, it's not crucial that we agree 100% of the time. It's understood that we will not always agree with things, but that we will try to understand where the other one is coming from. It's also one of these "pick your battles" situation. Sometimes, it's just not worth arguing about, because it's not going to necessarily affect your relationship if you don't agree.

Are there times when we need time alone? Again, yes. But again, we communicate with one another - we take time to destress with what we enjoy doing - for him, it's computer time. For me, it's either a good book, cooking, or sometimes watching a movie. And that's ok, too. It's understood that it's a little time for us to re-group, to think about things (or not), and not allow our stress and petty work crap roll off onto one another, but instead out the door and away from us.

We've had a few disagreements, but we've gotten through them fairly well, I think. We don't yell, we don't throw things, and we don't simply not talk about what's going on. We choose to approach each thing as an adult, and with an open mind for understanding where the other person is coming from.

So - all in all? I think that an "LAT" relationship is ok for the beginning of a relationship, but if after a 6-8 months the relationship is still at that stage, you might want to either re-think the relationship, or take a hard look at yourselves and what you're willing to commit to. Fuck-buddies are fine, and are a great thing to have - but they aren't relationships.

~M

Witches Weekly

Does science play a role in your spiritual beliefs? Does it compliment or contradict, and in what ways?

Well, hmmm... That's a tough one. The practical side of me says that, since I attempt to be spiritual in everything I do no matter what, then I have to say it does - or at least, it touches my spiritual beliefs.

There's something to be said about attempting to separate church and state - but church and science is a different thing altogether. I don't think that anyone can *truly* remove science from their lives, not anymore... I think you'd have to move two generations to simply get away from the fact that we all get immunized from the get-go anymore - and most of the population ends up in a hospital just being born.

But, does it play a role in my spiritual beliefs? I suppose - I don't believe that the world was created in a ridiculously small amount of time. I don't believe that the sun is swallowed each night and given birth to the next morning... As humans, we have proven what happens, why there is a day and night, and that the earth is, indeed, round.

It's a difficult thing to answer, honestly - I don't think that it either compliments or contradicts it - it's just there. My personal beliefs simply don't reflect it, because I accept it not as a spiritual thing, but a physical aspect of my reality. It's there, I have it, I have the ability and (luckily) the luxury of utilizing what science has learned, and I accept that as we go further along, there will be new advances in both science and technology.

I believe...

that my actions have consequences, and that those consequences are created directly from my own choices.

that it's not how much you have in life, but what you do with it.

that it's up to each individual person to create the life which is good for them that doesn't hurt others.

that each person has the ability to help one another when they see someone in need.

that it is each person's responsibility to better themselves, and in so doing, they better the world.

that it is better to give than receive.

that there is a force inside of each person, and it is the reflection of whatever higher power you happen to recognize.

that I have the ultimate control over myself and my action.

that I do not have to harm others in order to make myself feel better about me.

that I need to honor those who came before me, accept that I too will pass, and try to leave the world better than it was before.

that I need to honor all things which give their life for both my physical and mental comfort.

that my spiritual comfort is directly proportional to the actions that I take in my life.

that the rituals that I do are for me to focus on what I need to do, in order to take action for myself.

that praying is good, but doing is better.

that no one else has to believe anything that I do.

that no one has the right to tell me how to believe.

I don't know that this is really an answerable question. I may not be understanding the question - then again, it could be that I'm making this much more difficult than it really is...

~M

For those who wish to know...

My birthday is coming up in the next 30 days - and no, I'm not telling how old - just that it's not older than dirt; yet... If you so choose to, please feel free to be generous and send me something nice... :-)



Also, if you haven't already gone there, here's the direct link to our wedding registry at Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wedding/1C8L2CGXBU35

So - there you are... You now have absolutely no excuse to not get me something - unless you're as poor as I am, at which point, I'm right there with ya!

Me? Nah... well... ok, you may have something there.

You are The Star

Hope, expectation, Bright promises.

The Star is one of the great cards of faith, dreams realised

The Star is a card that looks to the future. It does not predict any immediate or powerful change, but it does predict hope and healing. This card suggests clarity of vision, spiritual insight. And, most importantly, that unexpected help will be coming, with water to quench your thirst, with a guiding light to the future. They might say you're a dreamer, but you're not the only one.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

Slamming my head against a wall...

Why? Because it feels SO good when I stop!

Seriously, there are times when I honestly feel like that's what I'm doing. Speedboy came home with his progress report for the 2nd trimester...

Now, remember - back at the end of the trimester, end of November, we got his grades, and found that he'd flunked all 3 of his core classes. We told him at that point he needed to buckle down and start turning in stuff, quit futzing around, or he wouldn't be tourneying with is this summer.

His mid-term progress report is worse than his original trimester grades! It's as though he's deliberately flunking his way through school! As of yesterday, everything (and I do mean EVERYTHING) that can be remotely used as a toy has been taken away from him. All games have been pulled from his computer, and he's restricted to his room until he knocks this crap off.

According to him, his math teacher specifically has it out for him (grudgingly said that it happened to other students as well), and has lost his paperwork that he's turned in, causing him to fail his class... This would be a heck of a lot more believable if he were passing his other classes - which he's not - or turned in all of his work for said other classes - which he hasn't. So - on top of his normal homework (which honestly isn't more than an hour's worth most evenings), we're also assigning him all the chapter study guide questions in the book for each of his classes, and for math he'll be going back and doing ALL the math problems, not just selected ones, for each chapter assigned to him in class.

Overboard? Maybe - but honestly, we don't know what else to do. It's against the law to follow through with corporal punishment (much as both Fred and I feel sometimes it could be worth it), and obviously simply talking to him hasn't gotten anything. I'm going to be writing a letter to all of his teachers letting them know what's to be expected of Josh should he finish his work prior to class being over (no reading "fun" books, he's to do class-related work), and also during homework club should he finish with his normal homework.

I'm also going to be suggesting that he, his math teacher, and his counselor all sit down and try to figure out why he feels that his math teacher is "ganging" up on him constantly, and hopefully get to the root of the issue of why he feels he doesn't have to turn in his homework.

Bah!

~M

Almost back...

After a week being sick, I'm almost back to being somewhat normal... I had sinusitis (sinus infection) and tracheitis (inflamation of the trachea). So, I got dosed up on antibiotics and some oxycodone cough suppressent. Yay me.

The bad news: my new insurance has a $1250 deductable that I have to meet before they'll cover ANY of my prescriptions - including the ones I have to take on a normal, daily basis. SO - I either have to get off my anti-crazy meds, or pay out the ass for them... It's sad when I realize that I have to find another job that has better bennies, so that I can keep from killing people. LOL.

Interestingly enough, I have not yet heard back from my mother about the addresses I asked her to get me for the family. I think she's rather upset that I'm not going to invite my sister... Then again, she could just be totally overwhelmed with taking care of both my sister and her two children to even have TIME to check email - or anything else. Gah! I swear, the woman is FAR too nice to my sister sometimes.

I'm going to keep this short, however - I get to go take a typing test tomorrow, and then check in on another prescription that I'm still waiting on (it needed dr approval for it to be filled).

~M

If it feels like I'm dying, and it sounds like I'm dying...

Am I dying? The jury is still out on that one - but I do feel and sound like I'm dying. I've come down with the same bloody sinus infection/cold that I had two weeks ago - that I had two weeks prior to that, and that everyone around me is insisting on giving BACK to me. Bloody hell.

This last weekend probably didn't help. Instead of being warm and taking care of myself, I spent the weekend at Silver Falls Campground, at Courtesan Carnival. I'm not saying it's cold, but my GRANDMOTHER was warmer in a December freeze-over than the cabin was that first night. Yee gods!

The event itself wasn't actually all that bad. I had a good time catching up with people, reading, and generally simply hanging out. It had snowed prior to us being up there, but we managed to make it up there and back with very little trouble. Thank heavens for front-wheel drive vehicles!

Saturday night was better. They'd had the fire going since Thursday night, and it was only Saturday that everything got warm enough for us to be able to fall asleep comfortably. I suggested that next year, they need to winterize the windows as soon as they arrive on Thursday, and then start the fire - that way, everything can be warmer, FASTER. They agreed - apparently it hadn't occurred to them. *rolls eyes*

Monday we turned the car in, and Fred stayed home to take care of me as I felt like crap. All I wanted to do was sleep - all he wanted to do was dig up the magic wand and make me feel better. LOL. I was hovered over, and the cat was quite upset with me being sick, so she hovered as well.

Tuesday found both Fred and I rather upset at the fact that it was snowing - and had been snowing - since around 5:30 am... Neither of us had asked for it, and Fred was rather perturbed at the idea, as he was stuck on a bike. I called into work as I STILL wasn't feeling well... Interestingly enough, at 7 am, Beaverton School Districts had not closed the school - but by the time poor Speedboy had trudged his way to school, they'd closed them, so he was back by 9 am. Fred's boss closed the company at 10:15, and it took Fred until 3pm to get home because Tri-Met had shut down all busses going into and out of Milwaukie transit center, where he normally picks up the first of 3 busses to get home. He sat there for an hour before someone from Tri-Met actually came over and told him.

This morning pretty much everything is still shut down - While supposedly the 56 (the only bus which runs up and down our street) is running, it's so erratic I wouldn't have been able to make it in even remotely on time. Since I am STILL feeling shitty, I called in again - this time leaving a message for someone else, as the phone extensions weren't working, AND sending an email in as well. I'm not sure if anyone is even there, at the moment.

While I know that those of you from the Mid-West and East coast may sneer at the paltry 2" of snow we got, we have a lot of hills, and a prediliction for ice under the snow - and on top of it - which leads to a lot of accidents. Since most people here don't know how to drive in snow at all (and freak out when rain falls for the first time in 3 months), it's normally simply safer to stay at home. Two 56 busses got into accidents with civilian drivers, and seven school busses also had accidents - three of them with trees.

I'm currently listening to Benny Hill on the BBC in one ear, and my cat yelling in the other... She's had some issues with her tummy lately, and is in need of stool softeners, poor thing. I'm loathe to take her to the vet, so am going to be looking online for something over the counter that can work for her in the meantime. She's 20, so unless its absolutely necessary, I don't want to deal with her on two or three busses heading over to the vet and back. It's traumatic enough for her, and even more so for those within hearing range - she has a mouth on her that rival's a longshoreman's.

~M

Another Witches Weekly...

I know - it's 2 in a week - but I had to catch up. ;-)

What method do you use to plan through rituals or spellwork? (such as a ritual outline, etc) Give a brief rundown of how a particular ritual for you goes.

I have a ritual outline? uhhh ok... No, seriously, I don't do "pre-planned" rituals - not even for High Holy days or anything. I don't believe that it's there for anything but show, and since I'm a solitary practitioner, I don't have anyone to play to but my inner God/dess.

My rundown is normally to decide to do a ritual outside my normal meditation, and then meditate in front of my alter, concentrating on what I want to achieve, and seeing the goal being completed positively. I will light a few candles, and possibly burn some incense if I feel the need... Most times I look on such things as extras that I don't *need* - candles and incense provide a focal point to get me meditating on what I want to accomplish with the ritual - just as a pre-planned version does. I look on it this way: If you don't already know exactly what it is that you are wanting to accomplish with the ritual, you'd best not be doing it in the first place - it'll almost always go wrong, and you'll find yourself asking the wrong questions - or worse, asking the right question for the wrong reason. Nothing like asking to live til you're 200 and waking up the next morning as a Galapagos Tortoise.

The other thing about rituals is that it's too easy to become the local "authority" in how to do [insert ritual name here]. There is, honestly speaking, no *wrong* way to do a ritual, as long as the tenats and precepts are followed that the ritual was created for. For instance - as long as it is understood that Midsummer (a.k.a. Litha) is the marking of the Summer Solstice, it is understood that it is the celebration of fertility and merrymaking prior to the harvest, and when the goddess, and the land, shows the first major signs of growth.

It's when those who feel that they are an "authority" on the subject of rituals end up making a hodge-podge of the different festivals that I end up getting really touchy. I'm not normally a picky person when it comes to how you want to do your ritual - but it still boils down to the whole "Be careful what you wish for - and HOW you wish for it". If you're simply mashing up different ideas and festival precepts because it's easier than opening a book and reading about it, then it follows that your ritual results will be equally as mashed up and indecisive. Not at all good for a quality result...

~M

Go and visit!

So, it's not the BEST thing in the world, but if you have no chance of actually meeting my dear sweet lump of fuzz, you can come and visit her here:




She's an old softie, really - as long as you keep her happy...

This morning found me listening to her as she cried plaintively at the door after I'd left the apartment - It's a wonder the neighbors don't complain about her noise. *chuckle*

Feeling a bit crispy around the edges...

I have this odd feeling that if things don't change soon, I'm going to be completely burned out on this job very soon.

It's not that the company is bad to work for - They're actually pretty accomodating in comparison to most companies. The issues are both the training (or lack thereof) and the fact that I've been on the phones now for the last 8 years. I'm tired - and unfortunately I don't seem to have the "mad skilz" necessary to move from the phones - for several reasons:

1. There's only one open position at the office currently that's off the phones, and they're insisting on a working knowledge of computer software that I have NO clue how to use - and a Bachelor's Degree in the field as well.

2. No one is willing to listen to the fact that this company *really* needs to have a training manual and at least two people strictly for training purposes, in order to have procedures written down, updated, agreed upon with legal, and disceminated throughout the entire staff, from the customer facing level and upwards.

3. No one is interested enough in actually creating a training manual because "things keep changing too much, so it's easier to just do emails" and "there are too many different ways to fix things in the system" and "eventually the software will work the way we want it to, and the manual will be obsolete".

While I know that I can do nothing about a Bachelor's Degree in the field, I do know that I have direct experience in creating training manuals and writing up "official" procedures. I also am MORE than intelligent enough to create and update procedures and policies as they are needed, and have worked with legal departments in the past regarding proper wording on procedures and policies.

I suppose that it's sort of "pollyanna-ish" to think that by getting better training materials, the calls would be miraculously easier... However, I do know that with the proper training, and proper documentation, specific calls would be MUCH easier to handle on a day to day basis.

Honestly, I worked in a call center where they thought policy changes were "easier to do by email" - it wasn't. It was difficult to remember what was going on, and hard to remember which policy changes affected your department or not... As far as there being "too many different ways to fix things in the system" - this would solve it - there would be an "official" way to do things, and only after you'd tried the "official" way would there be further options available to try. MUCH easier than a hodge-podge of different answers, given by different people each time you asked.

A great "for instance" is the following:

Apparently, there is a new set of adjustment guidelines which haven't "officially" been approved yet - BUT - one of my two supervisors has apparently been giving out the information and letting people who ASK go by the new guidelines, and the other hasn't. *NO ONE* has actually been emailed on said guidelines, and today was the first that I'd heard of it...

How about some consistancy, people?! GAH! I'm so tired of the two supervisors, it's not even funny. Mine can't stand the other one (which, honestly, neither can most of the people on the floor because of her demeanor toward us all), so decisions are predominately made based up on a combination of what's acceptable, and whether the other person would say yes or no on the decision.

Rule number ONE in a call center (this is, btw, the same rule number one when dealing with children): Present a united front - it promotes confidence, understanding, and acceptance in general policies and procedures.

Duh.

The list goes on, but honestly, I have a headache and can't seem to think straight at the moment. All I know is that the call center I work in now is, while lenient in areas that are important, lacksidaisical in others when dealing with the public and our outside offices.

~M

Witches Weekly!

Hey, look! A new one! After an apparent hiatus from it, the authors of Witches Weekly got some new questions up - so I'm gonna answer them!

What musical album would you define as the one that gets you most spiritually motivated?

Oddly enough, Peter Gabrial's "The Last Temptation of Christ" soundtrack. I find it soul-searching and uplifting all at the same time... I can feel the energy that went into creating such an amazing work, and it literally boils with emotions.

There are other pieces of music that make me feel happy and bubbly, but that's not the same as spiritually motivated or uplifted. LToC has NO lyrics that are discernable, though it does have the nifty addition of a wonderful boy's choir in the midst of it. I don't know how else to define it, honestly... It's Middle East meets Middle Ages Europe meets contemporary rock - and the combination is simply phenomenal. Only Peter Gabrial could have pulled it off, too.

So - if you haven't heard it, I highly recommend it. If you happen across an extra copy of it, I've gone through (literally) 3 of them - people keep taking off with my copies and never giving them back... My birthday is in February, so keep it in mind.

~M

I feel the need - the need for merripan!

This is all Lil and Shrike's fault... See HERE for your own...

1 Houston, we have a merripan.
2 Frankly, my dear, I don't give a merripan.
3 Sawyer, you're going out a youngster, but you've got to come back a merripan!
4 I'm a goddamn marvel of modern merripan.
5 I am big! It's the merripan that got small.
6 They're here already! You're merripan! You're merripan!
7 If you are a minority of one, the merripan is the merripan.
8 One merripan's too many, and a hundred's not enough.
9 I love the smell of merripan in the morning.
10 When there's no more room in hell, the merripan will walk the earth.
11 Oh, no, it wasn't the airplanes. It was merripan killed the beast.
12 I'm looking for the Army of the Twelve Merripan.
13 I bet you can squeal like a merripan.
14 I have always depended on the kindness of merripan.
15 Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his merripan.

Pulling together as we go...

Well, I've gotten the patterns I need for the wedding, the vines that I'll need for the dreamcatchers, I've reserved the park for the 23rd of June, and I have the embroidery floss on order for the dreamcatchers. Thankfully, due to the fact that I'll need so much, I got it at 60% off at Fabric Depot. I'll have a few skeins left over, but I have no issues with that - better to be over than under.

I need to meet with Mishu, my "Best Bitch" (I adore that term - so much more fitting for her than a "maid of honor"), for ideas on her dress, and then get started sewing. First things first, however, on the 28th I have to go and copy off all the invites and get painting. SO - there will be a painting party one weekend in February, and a dreamcatcher party probably in March. I'm hoping to get friends over for munchies and to work on them so that I don't have to do everything myself, and so we can hang out... Besides, we can kvetch, which is always fun, and munch on things, which is also always fun.

I ended up being sick from the 2nd of Jan through yesterday. First it was an unknown thing, then they called and said I had a high level of white blood cells, which were most likely an infection of some sort. They call in a script for me, and it makes me sicker than before due to side effects... I've NEVER had *all* the side effects at once, but I don't recommend it, I can tell you that much. Ugh. I finally got released back to work today and am feeling much better.

We're heading out to Courtesan Carnival this weekend, though I'm not sure how that will go. Speedboy has done nothing to really up our confidence regarding his actions both in and out of school, and with how the invites were sent out this year (they sent out invites only to selected people from their list, and no one new got the opportunity to go) Fred and I are reserving our feelings until after the event is over... BUT - if it goes similarly to how it was last year, then we will not be going to another one... FAR too clickish, and there were too many drama issues last year.

There have been other issues going on in our lives of late... Such drama, however, I am not going to post about here - there has been enough of it elsewhere, and to such a degree that I am honestly tired of the entire situation and wish for deafness upon hearing any further remarks about it. Let us simply say that all parties involved really need to drop it at this point and behave, or no fun will be had at all at any of the events - and no one will want to associate with ANY of the parties for fear of the subject coming up and ruining the evening.

All in all, I'm just concentrating on getting my butt into work on time, getting the wedding stuff done, and not going crazy in the process. LOL. At least this time I have people I can ask for help who will actually *be* there for me and won't flake out... Of course, I do need to remember to actually ASK people. LOL.

Starting out the New Year in style...

You know - sick. *chuckle* I have no idea what I have, but I'm achy all over and my head hurts.

I sent text messages today saying Happy New Year to people. My brother, K, called me back and we chatted for a good two hours. K and I have never been what you would call close, but we have similar outlooks on life, and tend to leave well enough alone as long as the people in our lives are happy and healthy.

The last email I'd gotten from Mum was rather unflattering regarding him, saying that both Mum and our sister M had pretty much written him off since he'd "refused" to come up and help M move out and settle into the new apartment she'd gotten south of where Mum lives. Turns, out this was yet another case of both miscommunication and sibling bickering.

M had to have her foot pretty well re-created after she'd busted it several months before. She was in hospital for a good week, and then was told not to be on it at all for 10 weeks - a tall order for even the most patient of people. She was doing a sort of "princess and the pea" thing with Mum, causing M to be rushed to emergency care at one point just after being released - because her foot "felt weird". Turns out, nothing at all was wrong with it, other than a lack of attention. *sigh*

So, she decides she's going to move in the midst of her recovery, and calls up K to help her - she's wanting him to come up Christmas Eve and spend the whole weekend there. He's just gotten a new job, and has 3 dogs to take care of on a daily basis (two get medications daily to maintain healthy weight - it's a thyroid thing). He lets her know that he can help, but it would be limited because of said new job, and also the dogs. Her response? "Well, why don't you just put the dogs down, if you can't trust anyone else to take care of them?" He then lets her know that his new girlfriend had invited him down for Christmas Eve dinner at her parents house, so he'd already made plans for that evening - but offers to come up late that evening and spend the night, or just come up early Christmas morning.

His offer is brushed aside with rant from her about how he *always* demands help from them whenever he needs it, but this *one* time, he can't help her out, and goes on further with other stuff that supposedly he's done but hasn't - or that he hasn't done but really has. She finally says that she doesn't really even want to deal with him anymore. His response is natural, and he says "So, what, you want me to drop everything and let my dogs die and lose a job for you? Go screw", and hangs up the phone.

She then turns around in a petty fit of pique and tells Mum that K is going to show up on Christmas Eve. K, meanwhile, ends up heading down to visit his new girlfriend's parents for the evening. Neither M nor Mum call him when he doesn't show up that day, and when he does call to let them know that he's on his way up, both are really snotty with him... Basically ends up telling him that he can do whatever he wants, since obviously he doesn't care about the seriousness of the situation and how much M needs help.

K calls them up the next morning and wishes them a Merry Christmas, and that has been the last that he's really heard from them at all. He basically feels as though the family has pretty much disowned him because of M and her petty bullshit.

People wonder why I have an abandonment issue... This would be why. M has pretty well cornered Mum to a point wherein her entire life is surrounded by M. Mum, feeling guilty about all the things that went on in M's life - that were NOT Mum's fault, nor anything Mum could have ever controlled - allows the guilt to control her and ends up cutting her off from the rest of her children because she's so focused on what M "wants" and what M "needs"...

While talking with K, I found out what happened to my car - the one that M asked to have so that she and the kids could have a fairly decent "tootle-around-town" car that was fairly inexpensive. I handed it over to her, not knowing what else was going on there, since K and I hadn't talked about anything.

Turns out, my car is rusting next to two vehicles that K gave her - a Toyota 4-runner she'd jacked up, and a Cabriolet that ran fairly well, though it was older. M, I'm sure I mentioned this in an earlier rant, after all 3 of those cars were handed to her *free of charge* talked Mum into purchasing a brand new 2006 Kia Sedona minivan, and is "paying her off, when she can". Then, since Mum was using the minivan so often (her own vehicle having had some issues), and the dualie she's been pretty well permanently borrowing from Mum apparently wasn't good enough anymore, she talked her father into purchasing a brand new Nissan Pathfinder for her as well - because, of course, she needs the 4-wheel drive to get her on and off worksites...

Of course, if I should ask for help paying off the student loans, Mum will undoubtedly say she doesn't have the ability to do so. Why? Because she has so much tied up right now already in helping out M and all of the things that have been demanded.

I got off the phone with K and just sat there for a few moments, too stunned to really think straight for a few minutes. Then I couldn't help it - I ranted at Fred for a good hour or so, and burst out crying because I realize now that I really, honestly HATE my sister. I don't just despise her actions anymore - I hate her, and I hate what she's turning Mum into as well, with her constant brainwashing and conditioning of what is and is not the truth...

I feel as though I've lost my mother pretty well completely at this point, as I can't talk with her anymore without M being a party to the conversation - unless I email her. I haven't seen Mum since she came down in September - not for lack of anything but money and time (new jobs tend to take a lot of both at first) - and the visit was quite stilted now that I think back on it.

It's not that I think she doesn't love me anymore, or that she loves me less than she did - I think she's just gotten to a point where she's forgotten that she has anyone else in the family at all...

I hate my sister.

~M