Saturday, December 30, 2006

The Kitty Rules

Cat PhysicsSleepy Syd on the sofa

  • Law of Bag / Box Occupancy
    All bags and boxes in a given room must contain a cat within the earliest possible nanosecond.

  • Law of Cat Acceleration
    A cat will accelerate at a constant rate, until he gets good and ready to stop.

  • Law of Cat Composition
    A cat is composed of Matter + Anti-Matter + It Doesn't Matter.

  • Law of Cat Disinterest
    A cat's interest level will vary in inverse proportion to the amount of effort a human expends in trying to interest him.

  • Law of Cat Elongation
    A cat can make her body long enough to reach just about any counter top that has anything remotely interesting on it.

  • Law of Cat Embarrassment
    A cat's irritation rises in direct proportion to her embarrassment times the amount of human laughter.

  • Law of Cat Gravitation
    A cat's gravitational pull (i.e. weight) will vary upward in direct proportion to the desire of the human to move the cat.

  • Law of Cat Inertia
    A cat at rest will tend to remain at rest, unless acted upon by some outside force - such as the opening of cat food, or a nearby scurrying mouse.
  • Cave- kitty Sydney
  • Law of Cat Invisibility
    Cats think that if they can't see you, then you can't see them.

  • Law of Cat Landing
    A cat will always land in the softest place possible.

  • Law of Cat Magnetism
    All blue blazers and black sweaters attract cat hair in direct proportion to the darkness of the fabric.

  • Law of Cat Mass
    The mass of a cat is inversely proportional to its desire to be picked up.

  • Law of Cat Motion
    A cat will move in a straight line, unless there is a really good reason to change direction.

  • Law of Cat Obedience
    As yet undiscovered.

  • Law of Cat Probability (Uncertainty Principle)
    It is not possible to predict where a cat actually is, only the probability of where she might be.

  • Law of Cat Sleeping
    All cats must sleep with people whenever possible, in a position as uncomfortable for the people involved as is possible for the cat.

  • Law of Cat Stretching
    A cat will stretch to a distance proportional to the length of the nap just taken.
  • Streeeeetch after a nap
  • Law of Cat Thermodynamics
    Heat flows from a warmer to a cooler body, except in the case of a cat, in which case all heat flows to the cat.

  • Law of Cat Washing
    A cat will wash itself at any time which is appropiate, which includes especially the moment after something has been jumped and escaped.

  • Law of Concentration of Mass
    A cat's mass increases in direct proportion to the comfort of the lap she occupies.

  • Law of Dinner Table Attendance
    Cats must attend all meals when anything good is served.

  • Law of Electric Blanket Attraction
    Turn on an electric blanket and a cat will jump into bed at the speed of light.

  • Law of Energy Conservation
    Cats know that energy can neither be created nor destroyed and will, therefore, use as little energy as possible.My catalog, momma
  • Law of Equidistant Separation
    All cats in a given room will locate at points equidistant from each other, and equidistant from the center of the room.

  • Law of Fluid Displacement
    A cat immersed in milk will displace her own volume, minus the amount of milk consumed.

  • Law of Furniture Replacement
    A cat's desire to scratch furniture is directly proportional to the cost of the furniture.

  • Law of Milk Consumption
    A cat will drink his weight in milk, squared, just to show you he can.

  • Law of Obedience Resistance
    A cat's resistance varies in proportion to a human's desire for her to do something.

  • Law of Pill Rejection
    Any pill given to a cat has the potential energy to reach escape velocity.

  • Law of Random Comfort Seeking
    A cat will always seek, and usually take over, the most comfortable spot in any given room.

  • Law of Refrigerator Observation
    If a cat watches a refrigerator long enough, someone will come along and take out something good to eat.

  • Law of Rug Configuration
    No rug may remain in its naturally flat state for very long.

  • Law of Selective Listening
    Although a cat can hear a can of tuna being opened a mile away, she can't hear a simple command three feet away.

  • Law of Space-time Continuum
    Given enough time, a cat will land in just about any space.
  • Syd on the curio cabinet

    Found at Flippy's Cat Page

    Thursday, December 28, 2006

    I'm Still Here...

    I got caught using the internet at work to stay awake, so no can surf or post at night anymore. *sob* Soooo, I'll have to do all that stuff from either the Mothership's place or the library.

    Let me see - what else is going on... the car.

    Oh yes, the car. Lucy has now had the spark plugs & wires replaced, the water pump & timing belt replaced & now needs some EGR valve-something-or-other replaced. That last thing is the reason she quits whenever she even starts thinking about warming up. I have to drive with both feet & have gotten rather good at sliding between neutral & drive. Most of the time. Sometimes she still just up & quits when I'm trying to take a turn or at a stoplight. Unfortunately, payday isn't until next Friday, so I can't get that fixed until then.


    Sheesh. Over a $1000 in the last few weeks & she still ain't running right... I work at a non-profit - I cain't afford this.


    Peanut went into the ER on Tuesday for severe pain & flu symptoms & ended up having an emergency appendectomy. She had lots of nurses stopping in to say hi, especially since she missed her shift there. ;) She's doing okay now & went home today.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    Not exactly a result you'd expect from a blogger, as we're supposed to be exhibitionists. Ah, well... it is pretty much accurate.


    You Are 10% Extrovert, 90% Introvert

    You avoid people at all costs
    You aren't one for social interaction
    And you limit your interaction to a select few
    Thank God for self checkout!



    I almost forgot - before all the car troubles, I ordered a few little fun things for my brothers & me. On sale of course.

    The FGX Push Blade II from Cold Steel

    Sweeet...

    Monday, December 25, 2006

    There's Only One...

    I found this on a friend of a friend's myspace page.

    HowManyOfMe.com
    Logo

    There is:
    1
    person with my name
    in the U.S.A.

    How many have your name?


    There are 38,996 people in the U.S. with the first name M----.
    Statistically the 897th most popular first name. (tied with 17 other first names)
    More than 99.9 percent of people with the first name M---- are female.

    There are 8,909 people in the U.S. with the last name Will.
    Statistically the 4079th most popular last name. (tied with 23 other last names)

    Merry Christ-mas

    I hope that you all are having a lovely Christmas and are surrounded by family & friends. May we all remember the reason for season.

    Luke 2:1-20

    The Birth of Jesus
    In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register.
    So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

    The Shepherds and the Angels
    And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them,

    "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ[a] the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

    Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

    "Glory to God in the highest,and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

    When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."
    So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

    Text obtained from BibleGateway.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    And now for a trip back into the annals of history...
    A grade school Christmas program. I'm the one with the 'toy' banner.
    I think this one was in kindergarten. I'm the one with the braids, staring the camera down.

    Don't ask me what in the world I was thinking there, 'cause I haven't a clue.

    Friday, December 22, 2006

    Cranberry Cream Scones

    I'm finally posting the two recipes I used for the Christmas Tea at church some time ago.

    Cranberry Cream Scones
    (These are absolutely awesome!)

    2 c. all-purpose flour
    1/4 c. sugar
    1 T. baking powder
    1/4 t. salt
    1/3 c. cold butter, cut into pieces
    1 c. whipping cream
    12 oz. cream cheese, softened
    2 T. whipping cream or 1 egg white
    1 t. orange zest (I didn't have this & they came out just fine ~ LG)
    1/2 c. dried cranberries

    Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder & salt with a pastry blender until coarse & crumbly. Add 1 c. whipping cream, stirring until just moistened. Add dried cranberries as you stir in the cream. With hands, work in the cream cheese (might I suggest that you use vinyl gloves for this part - otherwise it's very, very messy.)

    Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, knead 5 or 6 times. Roll until 1/2-inch thick. Cut with a small biscuit or cookie cutter and place each scone about 2 inches apart on a non-stick baking sheet.

    Brush the tops of the scones with the remaining whipping cream or egg white. Sprinkle the tops with sugar. (I used cream & quite a lot of sugar. They came out with a lovely crunchy sugar crust on top.)

    Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

    Makes 2 dozen. Serve warm with Devonshire cream, jam &/or lemon curd.

    (Devonshire cream is also wonderful in tea - we had a toffee tea with cream in it - oh, baby, was it ever good.)

    Classic Shortbread

    I'm finally posting the two recipes I used for the Christmas Tea at church some time ago.

    Classic Shortbread
    (I'm usually not a fan of shortbread but this stuff is pretty stinkin' good.)

    1 c. butter, softened
    2/3 c. powdered sugar, unsifted
    1/2 t. vanilla
    2 c. flour

    Cream butter until light. Cream in powdered sugar, then vanilla. Work in flour.

    Knead dough on unfloured board until nice & smooth.

    Spray 9X13 pan very lightly and firmly press dough into pan. Prick entire surface with a fork.

    Bake at 325 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until lightly browned.

    Let cool in pan 10 minutes, then cut into 20 squares. Carefully remove from pan to cool on cooling rack.

    (I let one batch cool too long in the pan & they didn't come out very well at all, so make sure you take them out after the 10 minutes are up.)

    Wednesday, December 20, 2006

    Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Whoa. Look at this. Yesterday's APOD.
    So. Flippin'. Awesome.

    Well, Thar She Blows...

    Lucy is on the way out. Soon she'll be moved to either ICU or the morgue. We got her put back together after replacing the spark plugs, wires & three of the plug tube gaskets. She runs beautifully...

    When she keeps running, that is.

    She's fine at first, but as she warms up, she doesn't want to keep going. I've been learning the joys of driving with both feet - one to stop her & the other to keep the engine running.

    And that's not the least of her problems - the water pump is going out. She's leaking coolant like there's no tomorrow. I talked to Joe at the local Dodge dealership & he figured it'll cost about $900 to replace that & the timing belt. He suggested that I find someone who'll take her off my hands. Dad's going to call a buddy of his to see if he has any ideas on how to do this cheaper. Did I mention that the entire front of the engine will have to be ripped out?

    Yeah, this sucks...

    Update: Viking Dad found several places that will replace the water pump & all for $550-600. And I gotta figure out how I'm going to get to the sleep specialist in Wichita tomorrow...

    Tuesday, December 19, 2006

    The Food of Champions

    I HAVE CHOCOLATE! YAY!

    Scot from work brought over some homemade fudge. Yum yum & thanks so very, very much.

    I Vant To Suck Your Blood...

    I just watched Nosferatu, a silent German film made in 1922. It was the first ever adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula. The little blurb on Netflix said "Many horror freaks call F.W. Murnau's silent German classic the scariest Dracula adaptation ever." I didn't think it was scary at all. (Dracula movies don't get me - however, psychotic murderer movies do. Ick.) There were some very cool shots, though. My favourite part was when he hinged up out of the coffin & was stalking the two sailors on the ship. The music in that part is so awesome! I watched it several times just for the music.

    Sunday, December 17, 2006

    For Sale - Queen Anne II Dollhouse Kit

    After I got my work comp settlement from Cessna, I splurged & got my dream dollhouse. (Yes, I know it's a kids' toy - shut up) The Queen Anne II by Real Good Toys. Three floors, thirteen rooms, one a hidden tower room. I have all the rooms planned out & some of the furniture & other stuff stored.
    Only problem is, my car is likely officially dead & I have some other unexpected expenses, so the dollhouse is going to have to go. It's a kit, un-assembled (I was scared to try the assembly & wiring for electricity on something this expensive. And no, I didn't pay full price.), so it'll be fairly easy to ship in the two boxes I got it in.

    It's a sturdy kit, 3/8 inch plywood, 50"W x 24"D x 49"H and in 1-inch scale. (1 inch equals 1 foot.)

    If anyone is interested, drop me an email. The original MSRP is $1075.00, but I could let it go for probably $700. Or just make me an offer & I'll see what we can work out.

    Friday, December 15, 2006

    Grrr...

    Drat.

    Stoopid Blogger won't let me see my little bloggy page.

    Push-Button Publishing
    We're sorry, but we were unable to complete your request.


    Push-Button Publishing, my foot. I've got a button for you to push. See that big red one ever there, that says "Don't push this button or you will self-destruct in 5 seconds"? You, go push it.

    (Blogger's been behaving rather nicely lately, but sometimes... I need a few of Jayne's grenades.)

    Mal: Jayne, how many weapons you plan on bringing? You only got the two arms.
    Jayne: I just get excitable as to choice- like to have my options open.
    Mal: I don't plan on any shooting taking place during this job.
    Jayne: Well, what you plan and what takes place ain't ever exactly been similar.
    Mal: No grenades.
    [Jayne groans]
    Mal: No grenades!

    Fixing Lucy

    Dad & I have been working on fixing Lucy, my '98 Dodge Avenger. We're replacing the spark plugs & plug wires (& we have also discovered more stuff that needs a-fixin') & to do that on a 'Venge, the intake manifold has to be taken off. Dad was not amused. (That's my new axe I just got.)

    For some reason, he won't let me just drop a Hemi in her while we've got her (slightly) torn up.
    By the way, if ever you need help with your Dodge, go talk to the fellas at DodgeForum.com. They have been awesome.

    Wednesday, December 13, 2006

    How Rude!

    I am so loving the Shakespearean Insulter on my Google homepage. It pops up a different slam from ol' Bill everytime I go back.

    [Your] brain is as dry as the remainder biscuit after a voyage.
    ...
    You starvelling, you eel-skin, you dried neat's-tongue, you bull's-pizzle, you stock-fish--O for breath to utter what is like thee!-you tailor's-yard, you sheath, you bow-case, you vile standing tuck!
    ...
    Thou tottering fly-bitten whey-face!
    ...
    Thou froward clay-brained mammet!
    ...
    What a drunken knave was the sea to cast thee in our way!

    Monday, December 11, 2006

    Sweeet...

    I forgot to mention that on the way to Worldview Weekend last month, I passed this funky tank-looking thing, just cruising down the highway. It was preceded & followed by trucks with weather-y stuff on the backs, so I figured they were storm chasers. The picture I took with my camera phone was rather crappy, so I'll not post it. I finally remembered to look it up today. It was this here thing-a-ma-bob.
    The TIV, or Tornado Intercept Vehicle

    The TIV is essentially a large, mobile, armored tripod for an IMAX camera. Its purpose is to allow filmmakers to record footage from very close to -- or even inside of -- a tornado.

    The two trucks are the ones I saw with it.

    Sunday, December 10, 2006

    Does This Mean My Brain Is Moldy?







    What Color is Your Brain?




    GREEN:
    At work or in school: I work best by myself. I like to focus on my ideas until my desire for understanding is satisfied. I am easily bored if the subject holds no interest to me. Sometimes, it is hard for me to set priorities because so many things are of interest.
    With friends: I may seem reserved. Although my thoughts and feelings run deep, I am uneasy with frequent displays of emotion. I enjoy people who are interesting and of high integrity.
    With family: I am probably seen as a loner because I like a lot of private time to think. Sometimes, I find family activities boring and have difficulty following family rules that don't make sense to me. I show love by spending time with my family and sharing ideas and interests.
    Take this quiz!








    Quizilla
    Join

    Make A Quiz More Quizzes Grab Code

    With a curtsy to Kermit coloured CalTechGirl...

    Kitty Pictures! (Finally...)

    From the camera phone:
    I started to take a pretty profile pic & then I was spotted. The phone was then on the receiving end of many cheek rubs. (Sorry about the quality - the cream curtains in the background glow too much.)
    Sydney was so sweet yesterday. She crawled in the bed & sprawled out next to me, just her front half sticking out from under the covers.
    Syd keeping an eye out for the dog from one of her favourite guard-spots.

    Christmas Tea

    We had our Christmas Tea at church last Sunday. After second service, all the chairs were picked up in the Worship Center & we set out 29 tables. Each lady had one table to decorate (Mom had two & another lady helped set everything up & hostessed for her). There were so many beatiful tables. One lady even had the same china pattern (Old Britain Castles by Johnson Brothers) as me, except in red. Hers were even vintage.

    Here is my table. I didn't have enough place settings to do them all in my Castle plates, so several were sets of Mom's. I put an oil lamp of Mom's in the center, filled with blue oil (of course), surrounded by a strand of blue & gold beads & blue Christmas ornaments. I even managed to prop up a blue glass peacock. It was very stubborn little bird. I had my little teaparty teapot (similar to this one but a lot prettier) there & the creamers were little kitties.

    "Every well-bred petty crook knows that the small, concealable weapons always go to the far left of the place setting." ~ Inara Serra, Firefly Heart of Gold episode

    The gun is a little butane lighter. Unfortunately, it doesn't work extremely well. Actually it hardly works at all, but it's good for some laughs. A tea table just wouldn't have that LG touch if there wasn't something wacky on it... *grin*

    Update: The recipes I made are posted here & here.

    More Nameless Pictures

    Fwd:

    Here is Nameless (for now) with his doting Auntie LG.

    Fwd: ethan

    Ramone & son

    Fwd: ethan

    The whole shebang - Ramone, Kat & little boy

    Friday, December 08, 2006

    *sniff*

    Lawrence Simon, wifey Gina & kitty-kids Nardo & Frisky (Fwisky) have lost a member of their family - pretty little Piper. I for one will miss seeing the spunky little girl on the catcams & in the Carnival of the Cats.

    (Is it messed up that I'm tearing up over a kitty I've never met?)

    I've not lost any pets for several years now, but I have lost dogs, horses & lots of cats. I think the horses were the hardest to handle, especially my old man, Pal. And pregnant Pebbles.

    Thursday, December 07, 2006

    Pics

    Scroll down a bit for pictures of Nameless (for now).

    Great Googly Moogly

    I was playing on Google Earth the other day & thought I'd share a couple shots.

    Irrigation circles around the college farm I used to attend/work at.

    That gray spot - my roof. Don't I have a cute little house? This was taken before I bought it. The trees & bushes right close to the house were all torn out before I moved in. The mulberry tree was growing up right at the foundation, so that one absolutely had to go.
    Love Google Earth.

    Firsts

    Do you ever start wondering about odd stuff - like who the first person was to ride a horse, or who first came up with the wheel, or who first decided to domesticate a cat or dog & bring 'em in the house/cave/abode of some sort?

    I do.

    Haven't a clue as to why or why it even matters, I'm just like that. I got to thinking the other night when a client was gargling with salt water for her sore throat & wondered who came up that gloriously yummy *slight sarcasm there* idea.

    Anyway, have y'all ever wondered who was the first to come up with something? If so, and if you feel like admitting to it ;D, put it in the comments.

    Nameless

    I keep forgetting to post that my so-far-Nickname-Less Nephew (heretofore known as Nameless, for now) was born by C-section at 8:34pm on Sunday, Dec. 3. Momma (Kat) & baby are doing fine, as is the new Daddy (Ramone). I'll post pictures when Ramone remembers to email them to me (hint, hint ;D).

    Here he is! Love the first "pose"!

    "Hi!"


    "Aw, shucks..."

    "Mom, there are some strange people staring at me. It's making me nervous..."

    Little gangster baby. Heh.


    By the way, Kat & Ramone, if you come up with a good nickname for the little feller, let me know.

    A Date That Shall Live In Infamy

    December 7, 1941


    The Japanese Army attacks the United States at Pearl Harbor


    Dead - Navy 2,008 Marines 109 Army 228

    Wounded - Navy 710 Marines 69 Army459

    Civilians - At least 57 were killed and approximately the same number were wounded




    Eighteen ships were either severely damaged or sunk as were 263 planes.
    On December 8, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt addressed Congress and the American people:


    Always will we remember the character of the onslaught against us.

    No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory.

    I believe I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost, but will make very certain that this form of treachery shall never endanger us again.

    Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that that our people, our territory and our interests are in grave danger.

    With confidence in our armed forces - with the unbounding determination of our people - we will gain the inevitable triumph - so help us God.


    Through the courage of many, many Americans, we did gain the inevitable triumph, maintaining our freedom and giving freedom back to many others who had lost theirs.
    ...
    We are in the same situation again.
    Hostilities exist still. The same form of treachery is endangering us again. Three thousand lives were lost on September 11, 2001. And we are once again at war. Not one entered into lightly, not one entered into falsely, but one that needs fighting, lest we lose our freedom, our heritage, our very nation. We need the same resolve the Americans had back in 1941. I fear that too many in our great nation have forgotten what freedom takes.


    From time to time, the tree of liberty must be watered with the blood of tyrants and patriots. - Thomas Jefferson

    To all who have served and are serving still in our military, thank you from the very bottom of a grateful American's heart. You are the reason this country is the greatest in the world and, Lord willing, shall remain so. Again, thank you.


    Pictures from the Naval Historical Center.

    Monday, December 04, 2006

    You Know You're From Kansas If...

    1. You no longer associate bridges or rivers with water. True...
    2. You have never met any celebrities. (Bob Dole isn't a celebrity; he's your neighbor.) I sat behind Rosie O'Donnell at Sea World. I was upset that the one time I see a famous person, it was just her...
    3. You know the meaning of Rock Chalk Jayhawk. Yeah, but I kinda prefer K-State...
    4. Your closest neighbor is more than a mile away and you can still see him from your front porch. Can't everyone do that?
    5. You can properly pronounce Salina, Basehor, Cimarron, Schoenchen, Kechi, Olathe and Osawatomie. Of course...
    6. Going on vacation means going to Hutch to the fair or to Abilene to Ike's museum. Yup & yup...
    7. A traffic jam involves two cars staring each other down at a four-way stop, each determined to be the most polite and let the other go first. Been there, done that...
    8. A Mercedes Benz is not a status symbol. A Ford F10 4x4 is. (Except in Johnson County) Dodge, man, DODGE... with a Hemi. A lovely, lovely Hemi... or a Cummins. Man, now I'm drooling...
    9. You discover that in July it takes only 2 fingers to drive your car. Fingers?!? Doesn't everyone drive with their knees?
    10. The terms Sooners and Huskers cause hairs on the back of your neck to stand up straight and your blood pressure to rise. Mom's family is from Nebraska, so nope...
    11. You have owned at least one belt buckle bigger than your fist. I'm proud to be able to say yes...
    12. You think people who complain about the wind and weather in their states are SISSIES! 70 mile an hour winds, folks...
    13. You are not surprised to find movie rentals, ammunition and bait all in the same store. Why would I be surprised?
    14. You know that the true value of a parking space is not determined by the distance to the door but by the availability of shade. Oh yes, indeedy...
    15. You have been asked, "Where is Toto" more than once. I shot Toto... :D
    16. You had at least one summer job that was bucking bales or custom cutting. Does stacking hay on the college farm count?
    17. More than once you've made a beer run to another state. Can't say as I have...
    18. You learned how to shoot a gun before you learned to multiply. Unfortunately, no... my brothers had the guns - I played with knives...
    19. Your school classes have been canceled because of the cold. I was homeschooled, so not really...
    20. You know in your heart that K-State can beat Oklahoma in football. Gotta say I don't really care *dives for cover from my football(?)-loving friends*
    21. Traffic congestion is ten cars waiting to pass a combine on the highway. Oh yeah...
    22. You have had to switch from heat to A/C in the same day. All the freakin' time...
    23. You know everything goes better with Ranch. ???
    24. Your school classes have been canceled because of the heat. See #19...
    25. You have ridden the school bus for more than an hour each way. Uh-huh... (before the homeschooling days)
    26. In August, you break a sweat the instant you step outside at 7:00 a.m. I wouldn't mind just a wee bit of that heat right now...
    27. You instantly know someone is from Johnson County when they call everything west of Topeka "Western" Kansas. Lol!
    28. A tornado warning siren is your signal to go out in the yard and look for a funnel. Or to hop in the car & go find it...
    29. You know the real way to pronounce the name of Clinton's state and the river. ar-KANSAS
    30. You think the opening day of pheasant season is a national holiday. Not really...
    31. "Vacation" means going to Kansas City or Wichita for the weekend. Sad to say, but that is a rather big day around here...
    32. You measure distance in hours. Yup...
    33. You know several people who have hit more than one deer. Or pheasant, or calves, or...
    34. You see people wearing hunting clothes at social events. Sad to say, but yes, I have...
    35. You install security lights on your house and garage and leave both unlocked. I slept with my front door open in college...
    36. You think of the major food groups as beer, beef and beans. Beer = gross, beans = gross, dead cow = yum yum...
    37. You carry jumper cables in your car and make sure your better half knows how to use them. I have no better half, I do have jumper cables but as far as using them - haven't a clue...
    38. You design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit. No kids, but it's not a bad idea...
    39. You know the 4 seasons as: summer, road construction, still summer, winter. Are there other names?
    40. It takes you 3 hours to go to the store for one item even when you're in a rush because you have to stop and talk to everyone in town. Not here, but up home, yeah... Only problem was they knew me but I didn't know them...
    41. You lock the doors to your truck but leave the windows rolled down. Not here - the kids from work might run off with Lucy, but in college & up home, of course...
    42. You call sodas just plain ol' "Pop"!! Yup...
    43. You feel safe leaving your truck running while you go in the gas station. Yup...
    44. You had at least one field trip in grade school that went to a dairy farm or one room school house. Yup, & Mom went to a one-room school house...
    45. FINALLY..... you are 100% Kansan if........... You actually understand these jokes. Yup...

    Found on a KS Facebook page...

    New Arrival?

    Kat's water broke at 3am yesterday & she was induced at 10am (I think.) I've not heard if the new nephew has made his grand entrance yet, but I'll put up a pic when I can. (I still need one of Sugar Plum.) Now to come up with a nickname...

    By the way, his initials will be EEW. Heh.

    Saturday, December 02, 2006

    Carols & Crumpets

    It's that time again - tea time! Woo-hoo! (Real lady-like, ain't I...)

    This year it's a Christmas Tea, hence the title "Carols & Crumpets", & is a fundraiser for the Women's Ministry. I've spent today baking scones & shortbread & going through china with the Mothership. I'll post recipes later.

    By the by, Mom is now a murderer of... Furby's! Twice today she bumped the Furby's in the closet & woke them up. The next several hours we heard odd mechanical voices emanating from said closet. Just as they shut up the first time, Mom had to get in the closet & bumped them again. This time, she knocked one off it's shelf (an accident, or so she claims) & killed it. The best part was as that happened, the other one said "Ooooh, scary!"

    Another quick Furby story - Viking Dad is notorious for giving rather lengthy devotions. One day, (I was in college & so unfortunately missed it) Dad was once again getting long-winded, & in the midst of a pause, one of the Furby's, who was playing hide-&-seek, announced "BO-RING." I so wish I had been there. I heard Dad was not amused.

    Anyway, back to the point of the post. Uhh, what was the point? Oh, right - tea. Yeah, okay...

    Lost my train of thought here... Oh! Mom & I were both pretty worn out earlier, not awake yet or something & I went back to her room to see her flopped on her bed. I was cold so as we talked I crawled in the other side. We decided to nap & Mom said "We can tell Dad we're having a committee meeting." I like committee meetings. Napping is one of my favourite hobbies.

    The tea is tomorrow afternoon, it's now 11:07pm & we ain't done yet. Good thing I took the night off at work...

    Thursday, November 30, 2006

    Any Emergencies In The House?

    Have a (very) minor medical emergency? I'm your girl. I am now recertified in CPR & First Aid.

    Finally. After the last four classes were cancelled with little or no warning.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Nothin' like getting to clean up vomit from the carpeted stairs first thing after arriving at work. Yech...

    Wednesday, November 29, 2006

    This Could Be Interesting...

    I put up my Christmas tree last evening when I couldn't sleep. Sydney the Psycho Cat was 'helping'. One time I pulled her out of the top foot of the tree. I guess we'll see how long it lasts. So far Rummy doesn't seem to be very excited about it. I think that's probably a good thing...

    Scary...

    I stopped at the local Mickey-D's on the way to work last night & there was a 1/2-ton Chevy sitting in the parking lot, half in the drive-thru lane. The lights were off & I couldn't see anyone in front of them in the line, so after a minute or two I pulled around them & back into the lane. It was then that I saw a guy on a bike was at the order-dealie. The lights on the truck flashed on & they gunned it forward to my bumper & started yelling & cussing at me. They continued with that until after I was at the pay window. Every time they pulled forward, they gunned the engine & then screeched to a stop right at my bumper. That's not fun when you're in a little bitty car & they're in a jacked-up 1/2-ton pick-up.

    I probably should've explained to them that their lights were off, they weren't really in the lane & there were at least two car lengths of free space in front of them with no movement from them, so I assumed there was something wrong with their vehicle. I didn't say anything because it didn't sound as if they were the most rational folks on the planet & I didn't want to be late to work.

    Tuesday, November 28, 2006

    Sheesh...

    Nothin' like doin' somethin' stupid & then getting mad at everyone else when you get caught.

    A girl at work got back from her Thanksgiving home pass & had to do the mandatory urine analysis. It came out positive for meth & opiates. Girl completely flipped out, said the results were wrong & retested the next day with the same results. Then she tried to convince staff & the therapist to keep the results from her case worker & her mom was saying she doesn't understand as they were together the whole time. Uh-huh.

    When the worker came for a visit, the girl started crying & yelling because she lost her chance to go on home passes due to this little bit of brilliance. And now, she's wanting staff to do a hair follicle test & a lie detector test so she can prove she didn't do any drugs.

    Here's a novel idea - don't do drugs & then flip when you get caught. Difficult I know, but it just might be worth a shot. *rolls eyes*

    Monday, November 27, 2006

    I'm Late, I'm Late...

    But the very important date is long past. Oh well.

    Happy (very belated) Thanksgiving everyone.

    The parental units, Rumsfeld & I went up yonder to the farm for Thanksgiving. The shin-dig was on Friday. My Aunt, Uncle & cousin Roo from Wyoming were there, as were my little cousins, one of whom I'd not met since he was born last summer. Rummy had to be tied in the back yard after he jumped the retaining wall/fence. At least he had lots of company, what with the five little boys (all under the age of six!) running around out there. I had at least four people say "That's not a dog - that's a horse!" in the first half hour.

    Roo & I spent part of the discussing the family reunion we are planning for next summer. Holy. Cow. Do y'all realize how difficult it is to plan something that will accomodate the older folks & the little babies, the men & the women, plus allow us to get some important family business done as well? Every time we thought we had something worked out, another option would be brought up or we would be informed it wouldn't work. And this is just Grandma & the families of her four boys. Ah well, it's all good...

    Hope all y'all had a lovely & blessed weekend with your families.

    Kitty Litter Cake

    Hey look - I'm kitty blogging! (kinda sorta - I'll get back to showing off my Sydney when I get more pictures taken) I've not made this yet, but I'm forever running into people who mention it & think it would be a hoot to do for the munchkins sometime.

    Kitty Litter Cake

    CAKE INGREDIENTS
    1 box spice or German chocolate cake mix
    1 box of white cake mix
    1 package white sandwich cookies
    1 large package vanilla instant pudding mix
    A few drops green food coloring
    12 small Tootsie Rolls or equivalent

    SERVING "DISHES AND UTENSILS"
    1 NEW cat-litter box
    1 NEW cat-litter box liner
    1 NEW pooper scooper

    1) Prepare and bake cake mixes, according to directions, in any size pan. Prepare pudding and chill. Crumble cookies in small batches in blender or food processor. Add a few drops of green food coloring to 1 cup of cookie crumbs. Mix with a fork or shake in a jar. Set aside.

    2) When cakes are at room temperature, crumble them into a large bowl. Toss with half of the remaining cookie crumbs and enough pudding to make the mixture moist but not soggy. Place liner in litter box and pour in mixture.

    3) Unwrap 3 Tootsie Rolls and heat in a microwave until soft and pliable. Shapethe blunt ends into slightly curved points. Repeat with three more rolls. Bury the rolls decoratively in the cake mixture. Sprinkle remaining white cookie crumbs over the mixture, then scatter green crumbs lightly over top.

    4) Heat 5 more Tootsie Rolls until almost melted. Scrape them on top of the cake and sprinkle with crumbs from the litter box. Heat the remaining Tootsie Roll until pliable and hang it over the edge of the box. Place box on a sheet of newspaper and serve with scooper. Enjoy!


    Thursday, November 23, 2006

    Lovely...

    Well, I got to make a lovely little jaunt to the ER the other night.

    I was at work Tuesday morning, packing meds for the girls' home passes & decided to pop a couple of multi-vitamins as I had forgotten mine at home. Ten minutes later, I noticed my arms were bright red & starting to burn. Itching started in & then it started spreading to my hands & up toward my shoulders. Took several Benadryl & waited to see what would happen. I eventually called the ER & then my boss & the Mothership as my throat was starting to constrict. I kinda figured that wasn't good. By the time I got to the ER the redness & burning was gone but my throat was still feeling tight. The doc said I caught it in time with the Benadryl but we have no idea what the reaction was to. Spent the rest of that night & the next one in a Benadryl fog & nursing a rough throat.

    Went for my consultation with the sleep specialist yesterday & have free samples of Requip - for Restless Leg Syndrome - and an appointment for a sleep study early next month. Guess we'll see how that goes...

    I called Viking Dad to see if he could take Rumsfeld out since we were in Wichita a lot longer than planned. He called me later to say that the dog must be hollow as he had peed & peed. I asked if he was still going & about died of laughter when I heard "No - he's taking a dump the size of my truck!" Hey, he's a big dog, he can't help it. Dad keeps saying I should've gotten a chihuahua. I always reply with "I wanted a dog, not a noisy little rat."

    Thursday, November 16, 2006

    Fluffiness

    Your Expression Number is 7

    Very intelligent, you are usually thinking, introspecting, or analyzing.
    You have a good mind, and you are especially good at finding out the truth.
    Very little ever escapes your observation and deep understanding.

    You tend to obsess over wisdom and hidden truths.
    You are likely to become a authority on any subject you undertake.
    Operating on a different wavelength, most people don't know you that well.

    Very logical and rational, at times you tend to lack emotion.
    So much so, that you often have times coping with emotional situations.
    You are not very adaptable - you may tend to be overly critical at times.
    Okay, now that's just creepy...

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Your Quirk Factor: 72%

    You're so quirky, it's hard for you to tell the difference between quirky and normal.
    No doubt about it, there's little about you that's "normal" or "average."
    Normal is just a setting on your dryer...

    Rings

    The other morning at work I was reading over a girl's Mastery paper (to move up to the next level) & one of the girls asked if I was married. Another girl said "No, she's engaged."

    Huh? When did this happen? Turns out she was confused by the ring I wear on my left ring finger. They wanted to know why I wore it & I said it's my purity ring. None of them knew what that meant, so I explained that it's a symbol of the vow I made before God to remain sexually pure until I marry. All but one girl went "Huh? What's that mean?" The one girl's jaw dropped & she practically shouted "You're a virgin!?!"

    When I answered in the affirmative, the rest of the jaws dropped & they wanted to know how old I am. What's sad is that they all said they wished they were still virgins - 14-17 year-olds who are so jaded & have never been taught another way. Even worse, the ones who never had a choice, having been raped by fathers, uncles, mom's boyfriend, etc...

    I normally don't share this kind of info with clients, but I think that they need to know that it is possible to live another way. Having a boyfriend all the time is not a life or death deal like they seem to think it is. I don't know if it'll have any real effect on their lives but maybe it'll stick in the back of their minds & come through someday when they need it.

    Yeah Baby!


    Sunday's National Ammo Day! Whoo-Hoo!
    More info at jimmyb's...

    Wednesday, November 15, 2006

    The Good Ol' Days..

    ... When the men were men & the women were glad of it. (Sorry - that's a Viking Dad quote.)

    I recently watched two Fred Astaire movies & loved loved LOVED the top hats, ties & tails. And of course Ginger's gowns - all frothy & covered in feathers (I'm not big on sequins). They looked so snazzy & elegant. Of course, Fred can't compare to Cary.



    Cary2

    Ahh, Cary - my dream man. *sigh*


    Cary

    I love suits & the whole dressing up thing. (This coming from someone who wears t-shirts, lots & lots of t-shirts.)

    And Cary is so debonair. And handsome. And... I'd better stop drooling now.

    Cary *big sigh & fluttering lashes*

    Sunday, November 12, 2006

    I Don't Have An Accent, You Do...

    What American accent do you have?
    Your Result: The Midland

    "You have a Midland accent" is just another way of saying "you don't have an accent." You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri) but then for all we know you could be from Florida or Charleston or one of those big southern cities like Atlanta or Dallas. You have a good voice for TV and radio.

    The West
    Boston
    North Central
    The South
    The Inland North
    Philadelphia
    The Northeast
    What American accent do you have?
    Take More Quizzes

    Back when I showed horses & listened to country music all the time, I had a fairly twangy Okie accent. (Born & raised in NE Kansas.) That's pretty much gone away & I even have a hard time doing a country accent after only playing around with British accents for so many years. Mom & I occasionally speak in our fake British accents when we're out & about, just to see the reactions we get. The girls at work really get a kick out of it too.

    Voice for TV & radio - perhaps, but my face was definately made for radio...

    Snitched from the Queen of the Castle...

    Wednesday, November 08, 2006

    Sleep Is A Luxury

    Since the sleeping thing hasn't been working out particularly well, I'm going to see a sleep specialist. Before I go in for the consultation, I have to keep a sleep diary, including all napping, sleeping, waking the middle of the night/day & caffeine...

    Want a peek at my life? Here ya' go...

    11.4 - Woke at 6am, in bed at 7:30pm, didn't sleep at all, up at 11pm for work.
    11.5 - 12am-large Mountain Dew, 10 & 11am-1 cup coffee, 1:30pm-1 glass Diet Coke, 2:45pm-50mg Trazodone, in bed at 4:15pm, 45 minutes to fall asleep, up at 11pm for work, had been awake for 35 hours by the time I went to bed.
    11.6 - 1 & 3 am-1 cup cocoa, accidental 10 minute nap at 4:15am, 5am-1 can Diet Pepsi, 9am-50mg Trazodone, in bed at noon, asleep after 30 minutes, awake at 5pm, dozed off & on until 11pm.
    11.7 - 12am-large cappuccino, 7am-1/3 cup coffee, Noon-1 cup Diet Pepsi, to bed at 5pm, asleep after an hour, awake several times (can't remember times) before getting up at 11pm.

    Wow, that's a lot of pop. I'm back to my decaf green tea with honey now...

    Tuesday, November 07, 2006

    Those Crazy Kids

    I got a little note from one of my clients this morning. She had one for each of the staff. Mine is below. The spelling & punctuation are all her.

    Dear, Ms. W---
    I would like to express my emotions towards you to you. You make mornings fun, “Yes,… Ya” I lov that I know its you on the other side of the buzzer. Your witch laugh cracks me up, You always put a lil smile on my face manley (mainly ~ LG) cuz its so early that I am half asleep still and trying to laugh at you or wit you. And when you braught your dog that was so much fun! Tell him I said “woof woof” lol JK! (just kidding - I'm guessing here ~ LG)
    The “Yes,… Ya” thing is something that I didn't realize I did until she started laughing about it one morning. When I answer the buzzer, I say "yes" & then when I answer their request or question in the affirmative, I always say "yeah". I'm glad it makes her laugh & some of the other girls have started commenting on it as well.

    I took Rumsfeld in to work one Friday afternoon to let the girls see him. They had a blast running around the circle with him until my boss came out & said that her boss told her he can't be on campus until he's a certified therapy dog & I've set up a schedule. Well, another lady there has an experienced, certified therapy dog & they don't let her bring him in, but they let one of the therapists bring her puppy in. And there's no way he's a therapy dog 'cause they have to be at least a year old to be certified & he's only 3 months. Some of the management people - really nice people, but they haven't a clue as to what they're doing or supposed to be doing as management. There have been so many times they've said we're going to start doing something, then either don't follow through or someone has to tell them what they want to do is illegal. Frustrating. And they wonder why there's so much staff turn over...

    By the way, the spelling & punctuation are scary, but pretty much par for the course around there. It's actually not that bad compared to a lot of the other kids' writing I've seen.

    Monday, November 06, 2006

    Needy Children

    I finally remembered what else I was going to say in my last post. I'm doing two boxes for Operation Christmas Child this year & got everything the other day at Wally-World. They're all ready to go, except for the pretty beady edging I need to sew onto the bag for the little girl. I don't do the shoe boxes like they say - instead I put use hard plastic storage boxes. Our young adult ministry group did this last year & it works great. I line the box with a handerchief & then fill 'er up. I'm including a Kansas post card with my address in case the kids who get my boxes want to write.

    I also adopted a little girl from Burkina Faso through Compassion International yesterday at church. (This was our missions themed weekend & I even got to see Teri again. I was kinda surprised that she remembered lil ol' me.) My little girl is Kabore Pegwende Clementine. From her adoption page:
    Clementine lives with her mother. She is responsible for helping in the kitchen, running errands and cleaning. Her mother is sometimes employed.

    For fun, Clementine enjoys jumping rope, hide-and-seek and playing group games. She attends Bible class regularly and is in primary school where her performance is average.

    She lives in an HIV/AIDS affected area, so that means that there are extra expenses, if not for her then for others in that area - meds, extra care, more orphans, etc. Malaria & meningitis are also common.

    Sponsorship allows her to be provided with Biblical & hygiene education, recreational activities, socail clubs & academic tuition, as well as reading & writing education. Clementine's mom will also be able to attend educational meetings. Forty-four percent of the kids in her area are not in school due to a lack of economic resources.

    Anyway, if you want to do something that will make a difference in a life, check out both of these charities. When you see a red ribbon on the Compassion site, that means that child is in an HIV/AIDS area.

    (I'll put up a picture of Clementine sometime when I'm around a scanner.)

    Sunday, November 05, 2006

    What I'm Up To These Days

    So, I've not been posting much. Big loss for all y'all, I know. *rolls eyes*

    Anyway, I've started helping out in the tech department at church. I do the PowerPoint slides of the announcements. It's a good chance to exercise my artistic side, just have to keep a firm rein on the goofiness. Some is fine, but not every slide. So I spend a couple hours every Friday doing that.

    Last week was my first week in several months where I only worked 5 days. Yay!

    This coming weekend I'll be at the Worldview Weekend conference. I went last year & heard Ken Ham from Answers in Genesis, Sean McDowell (son of Josh McDowell, a former atheist who set out to disprove Christianity & ended up becoming a Christian) & David Barton of Wallbuilders. This year the speakers are Jason Carlson, Kirk Cameron, Ray Comfort & Bob Cornuke. I'm really excited about hearing Bob Cornuke speak - he's called a modern day Indiana Jones & archaeology is a small obsession of mine.

    There was something else I was going to mention, but my brain is a wee bit deadish, so I'll let it go for now...

    Interesting...

    (Dad - you'll like this one... and Mom, if he gets riled up - sorry...)

    Go on over yonder to SWWBO's place to read about Phill Kline's challenger for Attorney General Paul Morrison.

    Why yes, I would like a scumbag for AG. /sarcasm off/ Ick...

    Weird...

    I don't know if it's the caffeine or the old anxiety attacks making their presence known, but I've been having these weird episode things where I feel like a faint electrical shock is going through my whole body. (A quick tip - never grab onto an electrical fence. Not a very good idea...) It leaves me with a headache & feeling like my legs are going to go out from under me. My heart feels like it's going to pulse out of my chest, just for two beats & then it's back to normal until the next one. My arms & hands go all numbish, except for the carpal tunnel pain that jumps up into my elbows.

    It's been happening a lot lately - after my pie-making class Thursday, Rumsfeld & I went for a walk & that happened at least every couple of seconds. At Cessna, I remember one day where it was like this the entire day. I just made sure I stayed clear of wings & moving forklifts because when one would hit, I'd kinda black out for half a second. (Ooo, I guess I'd better clarify - when an episode deal would hit, not a forklift. :D)

    Anyway, I wish it would stop, 'cause it's really starting to annoy me...

    Friday, November 03, 2006

    Snicker Pie

    The Mothership & I went to a pie-making class lat night at a local kitchen store. We got a good pie crust recipe plus lots of recipes for fillings - sugary & more filling, meal-ish pies. The best. ever. pie she showed us was a cheesecake-y Snicker pie.

    Oh. my. gosh. Was it ever good...

    Snicker Pie

    1 - 9" baked pie crust - bake only until light brown - this will be baked again with the filling

    Filling
    5 (2.07 oz.) Snicker candy bars
    1/2 c. sugar
    12 oz. cream cheese, softened
    2 eggs
    1/3 c. sour cream
    1/3 c. creamy peanut butter

    Topping
    3 T. whipping cream
    2/3 c. milk (or bittersweet - she used Ghiradelli ~LG) chocolate chips

    Cut candy bars in half lengthwise; cut into 1/4 inch pieces. Arrange over bottom of partially baked crust.
    Beat sugar & cream cheese until smooth.
    Add sour cream & peanut butter.
    Add eggs 1 at a time, beating after each addition (the best trick for cheesecakes is to mix very little after the eggs are added - this helps keep the cheesecake from cracking on top - however if it cracks it's okay since you are putting chocolate on top)
    Spoon over candy bar pieces.

    Bake at 325 for 30-40 minutes or until center is set. Cool 2 hours.

    Warm whipping cream in microwave.
    Add chocolate & melt.
    Drizzle over pie.

    Refrigerate 2 - 3 hours before serving.

    The lady noted that you need to cut the pie after it has cooled for about an hour & most definately before you put it in the fridge. Otherwise it is extremely hard to cut. The chocolate topping was warm when she drizzled it right before the pie was served. This pie is to die for.

    I also picked up a butane lighter that's shaped like an ol' fashioned Peacemaker & a partial set of pink martini glasses (all 3 of 'em are the square-y one in front) for 50% off.

    Monday, October 30, 2006

    Farm Fun

    It appears that Dr. Phat Tony has exacted his revenge on Jack for cheating him out of his plan to kill Jill.

    His post reminded me of some of the fun I had growing up on a sheep farm. Mind you, if you're city-folk, you'll likely find this more disgusting than fun(ny).

    My family had the largest sheep farm in the county - Jackson Co, KS to be exact. I used to help with castrating the lambs & my job was to give 'em the shots after Dad used the nippers & before Grandpa banded their tails (to make them fall off).

    I always liked to "help" Grandpa butcher. My idea of helping was playing with the innards after he gutted the sheep. See, you hang em up by their back feet, cut the throat & let the blood drain out before slicing them from stem to stern. The internal organs would fall out onto an empty feed sack where I'd get to learn about anatomy by cutting them up. The four stomachs were always cool but my favourite was the liver. Not sure why, but boy, they sure taste good fried up with onions & topped with a little mustard - yummy!

    My cousins (all girls) & I would pretend to cook when we were younger, using mulberries, dirt, leaves, water, a little feed &, of course, placenta from recent births. My friend Pooky has taken to calling that concoction "placenta pie".

    Mom used to open the freezer to find snakes, frogs, etc in ziploc bags that I had found on the dead on the road & saved to dissect. And of course, there were the frog legs & the time Flanders & I got a bunch of frog eyes in a jar...

    Ah, good times... ;)

    Friday, October 27, 2006

    Happy Blogiversary To Me!

    I almost missed it! Today is my first blogiversary. For those of you who wish to torture yourselves by reading some very crappy writing, my very first post is here.

    It's Time For A Little Culture, My Dahlings

    Right now, I am sitting in the back of the church during a performance of The Hiding Place by Ballet Magnificat.

    The Hiding Place is the true story of Corrie ten Boom & her family from the Netherlands. During WWII, they hid numerous fugitives - Jewish & Dutch underground - in their home before being betrayed in 1944. Corrie & Betsy's father Casper died quickly in a prison & Betsy, Corrie's sister, later died after 10 months in different concentration camps.

    I've not read the Corrie's book The Hiding Place for years, but after this, I'll have to make sure to do that.

    (Heh - most people live-blog elections or sports stuff. I live-blog ballet. Always gotta be different...)

    Tomorrow night I'm off to the Wichita Symphony. The first chair trumpet used to be our Worship Pastor & our family helped him move this past summer so we all got free tickets.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I'd forgotten that Corrie later met one of the guards from Ravensbruck & was able to forgive him, after a little prayer.

    If you ever get the opportunity to go see these dancers, do it. It is truly awesome.

    Tuesday, October 24, 2006

    Extra! Extra! Get Your Kalashnikitty T-shirts Now!



    This is your one & only shot to order a Kalashnikitty t-shirt. Greywolf is doing a final batch. Any of my so-called family members who are interested in one, let me know. I'm ordering one for Peanut & one for myself.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    This email goes out to all those who have ordered Kalashnikitty shirts from me in the past or who have emailed me about how to get them. I have gotten a lot of emails in the past few months about people wanting Kalashnikitty shirts and have decided to do up another run. Since I first starting doing these 3 years ago, I have not had to change the pricing, even though every year my costs have gone up. For this one last time, I will keep the prices at what they were. One of the main reasons I was going to have to change the pricing was due to the fact that I can no longer advertise these shirts (or post at all for that matter) on ar15.com, where about 40% of my orders came from. So, this is the last time I can do this.

    Here's the procedure for getting the shirts (this makes it a LOT easier for me to track and ship these things ASAP)

    Email me (
    grey2112 ) - @ - ( tampabay.rr.com ) with the following:

    Number and sizes you want - sizes are Child's Medium, Child's Large, Adult Small, Adult Medium, Adult Large, Adult XL, Adult 2XL, and Adult 3XL. Sorry, ladies - no "baby-doll" tees - just too expensive to retool for the shirt-maker.

    Only one color - a light ash grey (very nice) - shirts are high-quality, do not fade or shrink, long lasting, very soft. Image is screen printed, NOT iron on or transfers.

    Any size up to XL is $20, 2XL is $21.50 and 3XL is $22.00

    Shipping via 2-3 day Priority Mail with Delivery Confirmation is $5.00 for 1-2 shirts, and an extra $2.50 per shirt after that.
    Check, MO, or Paypal is good for payments. If using Paypal, add 4% to the total payment, including the shipping.
    ***When you email me your order, include your full name and mailing address. I will email you back with the total.
    Taking orders until November 12th (Sunday night), and then the estimated ship date of the shirts will be the first week of December - usually it takes about 3 weeks from the end of order-taking until the shirts start to ship.
    Below are some pictures of the graphic (that one's above ~ LG) and various people wearing them. Thanks again to everyone and spread the word!


    http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b296/greywolf2112/agirlandhergun2.jpg

    Monday, October 23, 2006

    Fluffiness

    1. What time did you get up this morning? Went to bed at 3pm, awake at 8pm, back to bed at 9pm, up at 11pm
    2. Diamonds or pearls? Pearls, preferrably pink, black or blue
    3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Pirates of the Caribbean & Cars at the drive-in
    5. What did you have for breakfast? An ice cream bar & a brownie - I know, I know, I'm bad...
    6. What is your middle name? My mother's first name :)
    7. What is your favorite cuisine? Chinese
    8. What foods do you dislike? Ones I have to pay for... ;P
    9. Your favorite Potato chip? Plain with French Onion dip
    10. What is your favorite CD at the moment? Brian Regan Live
    11. What kind of car do you drive? '98 red Dodge Avenger
    12. Favorite sandwich? Turkey Club
    13. What characteristics do you despise? Nosiness, bossiness, being mean just 'cause you want to be... (current major problems with the kids at work)
    14. Favorite item of clothing? Do shoes count as clothing? If yes, then high heels, if not, then my long teal & brown houndstooth jacket that I got on clearance
    15. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? Scotland/Great Britain
    16. What color is your bathroom? Sky blue with white fixtures & rubber duckies
    17. Favorite brand of clothing? Whatever fits & is on sale
    18. Where would you want to retire to? A Victorian house out in the country with several horses, cats & dogs & family somewhat nearby
    19. Favorite time of day? Whatever time I happen to be sleeping
    20. Where were you born? In a hospital - I wanted to be close to my mother ;D Topeka, KS

    21. Favorite sport to watch? Drag racing or horse show stuff
    22. Who do you least expect to send this back? Pffft! (By the way, thanks Kat for the vote of confidence! :) Does this count as sending it back?)
    23. Person you expect to send it back first? Pffft!
    24. What laundry detergent do you use? Era (I think)
    25. Coke or Pepsi? Cherry Vanilla Diet Dr. Pepper or root beer
    26. Are you a morning person or night owl? Neither
    27. What size shoe do you wear? 9
    28. Do you have pets? My dog Rumsfeld & my puddy-tat Sydney Anne Bristow
    29. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with everyone? Niece # 1 was recently born & nephew # 3 is on the way!
    30. What did you want to be when you were little? A horse trainer
    31. Favorite Candy Bar ? Dove Dark Chocolate
    32. What is your best childhood memory? Riding my horses, especially Pal, out in the back 40 with no one else around
    33. What are the different jobs you have had in your life? Stable hand, fry cook/head cook/manager, retail sales person, farm hand/horse breeder, Dillon's checkout clerk - worst. job. ever., motel desk clerk, sheet metal assembler, Youth Care Worker

    34. What color underwear are you wearing? I ain't sayin'...
    35. Nicknames: Lala, Marnie, Auntie Amama (loved that one), the divine Miss M, Myrtle
    36. Piercings? 3 in my left ear, 2 in my right
    37. Eye color? Usually blue/grey
    38. Ever been to Africa ? No
    39. Ever been toilet papering? Kinda - I didn't do the TP, but I helped fork the pastor's yard
    40. Love someone so much it made you cry? Yep
    41. Been in a car accident? Sorta - a car hit me, it was already coming to a stop but it twisted my knee pretty good
    42. Croutons or bacon bits? Bacon bits
    43. Favorite day of the week? Friday
    44. Favorite restaurant? I don't know - whatever I happen to be in the mood for at the moment...

    45. Favorite flower? Poppy
    46. Favorite ice cream? Dark chocolate with more chocolate & fudge & more chocolate ;D

    47. Disney or Warner Brothers? Either, both, whatever
    49. What color is your bedroom carpet? No carpet - hardwood floor
    50. How many times did you fail your driver's test? None. Hey I'm a farm girl - we start driving early...
    51. Before this one, from whom did you get your last email? The Mothership
    52. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? Do I have to pay the bill? 'Cause if I do, I ain't gonna do it. However, if it's a freebie, Lowe's - I still need to redo my kitchen.

    53.What do you do most often when you are bored? Watch TV or play on the 'puter
    54. Bedtime? Whenever I can
    55. Last person you went to dinner with? My ratty little friends from church (that's what the Mothership calls them)
    56. What are you listening to right now? Nothin' but the wheels turnin' in my noggin
    57. What is your favorite color? Right now? Umm... teal, I guess, or red, or purple. Oooh, don't forget blue... Yes, I'm fickle.

    58. Lake, ocean or river? Probably lake. I get to thinking about all the nothingness that would be below me when I think about the ocean. Still want to go out in a sailboat though...
    59. How many tattoos do you have? Let me count - Nothin' plus nothin', carry the nothin'...
    60. Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Chicken
    62. How many people are you sending this email to? I ain't gonna
    63. Who sent this to you and what is something you didn't know about him/her? Kat. I didn't know her favourite flower was a blue iris.
    64. What is one thing about her that others wished they knew? She will be a very good mommy.

    65. What time did you finish this email post? 4:15