only the beginning

One thing I'm thankful for....

My scale is broken.

AND since DH is looking for work, we shouldn't be spending money on "non essentials"

Between Thursday, and having leftovers on Friday, and a Chinese dinner at MILs on Saturday ---

Ah yes -- it's the beginning of the holiday eating season (which I enjoy much more than the holiday shopping season).

Methinks fuzzybutt will be needing a few more walks.

QUITE a few more LONG walks.

Blew it before I knew it....

I didn't know there was such a thing as a "buy nothing day" but I found out it's today.

Of course, by the time I found out, I'd already bought something.

BUT I was a "good" girl about that purchase. I was meeting Crem at the dog park -- he insists that he's addicted to Starbuck's (not coffee in general -- Starbuck's in particular) so I picked up a cup for him *BUT* I brought my own coffee from home. So I didn't spend more than I needed.

I wonder if it could cease to count if I get the $1.98 back? I wonder if he gives me $2.00 if I'd have to put in my $0.02 (2 cents)?

And how will I do the rest of the day????

Stay tuned to the blog to find out. I'm not thinking it will go strong -- I'm almost out of milk, and I haven't yet figured out what's for dinner.

Hey - I'm a classic

Took a classic dame test ... Unfortunately, I don't feel very quirky and independent today.

My score on The Classic Dames Test:

**************************************

Katharine Hepburn
(You scored 23% grit, 14% wit, 57% flair, and 14% class!)

"You are the fabulously quirky and independent woman of character. You
go your own way, follow your own drummer, take your own lead. You
stand head and shoulders next to your partner, but you are perfectly
willing and able to stand alone. Others might be more classically
beautiful or conventionally woman-like, but you possess a more
fundamental common sense and off-kilter charm, making interesting men
fall at your feet. You can pick them up or leave them there as you see
fit. You share the screen with the likes of Spencer Tracy and Cary
Grant, thinking men who like strong women.

Find out what kind of classic leading man you'd make by taking the
Classic Leading Man Test."

**************************************

Take it!
http://www.okcupid.com/tests/take?testid=4621123663119520922

Science Fiction book meme

A Science Fiction book meme -- and I'm DONE for the day :} I'm really tired - I should train my children to SLEEP IN on school holidays.

This is a list of the 50 most significant science fiction/fantasy novels, 1953-2002, according to the Science Fiction Book Club.

Bold the ones you’ve read, strike-out the ones you hated, italicize those you started but never finished and put an asterisk beside the ones you loved.


The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien*
The Foundation Trilogy, Isaac Asimov
Dune, Frank Herbert
Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert A. Heinlein*
A Wizard of Earthsea, Ursula K. Le Guin
Neuromancer, William Gibson
Childhood’s End, Arthur C. Clarke
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Philip K. Dick
The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley
Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury
The Book of the New Sun, Gene Wolfe
A Canticle for Leibowitz, Walter M. Miller, Jr.
The Caves of Steel, Isaac Asimov
Children of the Atom, Wilmar Shiras
Cities in Flight, James Blish
The Colour of Magic, Terry Pratchett
Dangerous Visions, edited by Harlan Ellison
Deathbird Stories, Harlan Ellison
The Demolished Man, Alfred Bester
Dhalgren, Samuel R. Delany
Dragonflight, Anne McCaffrey
Ender’s Game, Orson Scott Card
The First Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, Stephen R. Donaldson
The Forever War, Joe Haldeman
Gateway, Frederik Pohl
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, J.K. Rowling*
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams*
I Am Legend, Richard Matheson
Interview with the Vampire, Anne Rice
The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula K. Le Guin
Little, Big, John Crowley
Lord of Light, Roger Zelazny
The Man in the High Castle, Philip K. Dick
Mission of Gravity, Hal Clement
More Than Human, Theodore Sturgeon
The Rediscovery of Man, Cordwainer Smith
On the Beach, Nevil Shute
Rendezvous with Rama, Arthur C. Clarke
Ringworld, Larry Niven
Rogue Moon, Algis Budrys
The Silmarillion, J.R.R. TolkienSlaughterhouse-5, Kurt Vonnegut
Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson
Stand on Zanzibar, John Brunner
The Stars My Destination, Alfred Bester
Starship Troopers, Robert A. Heinlein
Stormbringer, Michael Moorcock
The Sword of Shannara, Terry Brooks
Timescape, Gregory Benford
To Your Scattered Bodies Go, Philip Jose Farmer

Once again, ahead of my time .....

An Inconvenient Truth is being released on DVD today. In an effort to seem intelligent and timely, I'll say something seemingly incredibly environmentally friendly.


A columnist in The Daily Telegraph wrote on an article in The Idler magazine. I never read the original Idler article, but I must say I find myself in agreement with the basic premise.

I'll put in a link to the original article, but I'll pull some comments.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2006/11/13/do1303.xml

Do nothing, save the world: it's the only option By Jim White
Last
Updated: 12:01am GMT 13/11/2006

It is one of the favoured management-speak clichés of our times,

...

And most of all you hear it from politicians, anxious to display their anti-pollution credentials even as they sanction the use of depleted-uranium bullets on the streets of Baghdad.
"Doing nothing," they all tell us, "is not an option." We hear it so often, it goes without challenge.

...

What if, however, it turns out that doing nothing is the best thing we could possibly do? What if within the mere act of doing nothing lies the solution to the most serious problem we face? This is the intriguing thought laid out in the latest edition of The Idler magazine: when it comes to global warming, doing nothing is the only option.

...

Its understanding of the causes of global warming, for instance, is acute. We have, the magazine suggests, come to this because of an insistence on being busy. This avowal of busyness has gained ascendancy not because it achieves anything, but because the act of being busy is seen as morally superior to the act of doing nothing.

...

But there is a solution. Don't just insulate your loft and install a composter in your garden – when it comes to most of the activities of modern life, take the idle turn. Instead of jetting off on holiday, walk down to your nearest stretch of river and spend time reflecting on your own reflection. Instead of switching on the television, read a book. When it comes to Christmas, don't busy yourself buying tat nobody needs that has to be shipped in from China on a giant boat; buy nothing at all. These are three simple acts of doing nothing that would save far more carbon than installing a David Cameron-style wind turbine on your roof. And the neighbours wouldn't complain about the vibrations.

...

SEE, I don't deny my children from having endless classes and experiences because I'm lazy or a cheapskate. It's because I'm OH SO GREEN!!!!

Must dash -- time for my nap.

I am 26 today

NO -- it's not my birthday - I took an online quiz ...

I consider myself open to the views of many different philosophers. And, I am also open to what I consider philosophy. (HEY -- Cookie Monster has a LOT to say).

TODAY -- I think I can show that I do follow a belief of one of my favorite philosophers .....

[cue music]

I'm growing older but not up

my metabolic rate is pleasantly stuck

let the winds of change blow over my head

I'd rather die while I'm living than live while I'm dead.

--- Jimmy Buffet

[music off]

I took this quiz and according to the quiz I'm 26.

I highly suspect it's because of two of the questions. One of them being my ideal career (hey -- video game tester sounds like FUN). The other being something about flipping through channels and what show do you stop at. Well, I don't really watch tv - so I picked the only show on there I've ever seen.

Can *I* help it if my kids watch Spongebob???

Under 12: You are a kid at heart. You still have an optimistic life view - and you look at the world with awe. 13-19: You are a teenager at heart. You question authority and are still trying to find your place in this world. 20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences. 30-39: You are a thirtysomething at heart. You've had a taste of success and true love, but you want more! 40+: You are a mature adult. You've been through most of the ups and downs of life already. Now you get to sit back and relax. http://www.blogthings.com/whatagequiz/

all creatures great and small

A few weeks ago, our family made one of our semi-annual treks to one of the fundraisers for one of our favorite organizations The Critter Corral, a guinea pig rescue.

http://www.crittercorral.org/

YES -- I said a guinea pig rescue. And yes, my sister, and my friend Crem have both informed me that Guinea Pigs are bred for food in Peru. I think they're trying to gross me out, but considering that they are prolific breeders and need very little space, this makes sense.

Actually, considering what prolific breeders they are, it goes to reason that a guinea pig rescue is needed. The thing people don't realize about the little buggers, is that they can start breeding at 6 weeks of age. So if you have brothers and sisters, or mothers and sons in the same cage ......

Another reason many guinea pigs end up in the rescue is that (being the size they are) they are very difficult to sex. Quite a few babies have ended up at the rescue simply because a pet store sold "two boys" or "two girls" and a family was surprised a few weeks later.

Yes, animal rescue is a good an honorable way to contribute, and I think that it's important to teach my children to care for others (even if "others," in this case, are rodents). And I'm glad my children "know" that animals come from rescues and not pet stores.

But let's face it -- these things are *FUN* -- just look at those pictures. I think my friend from The Family Blender will really appreciate the picture at the bottom. (Hmmmm - maybe I should have saved this post -- or at least that picture -- until New Year's Eve).

Chess Mom -- the queen rules

Every now and then, you get a chance to prove your point. Hopefully for the boys' sakes I won't blow it.

Chip enjoys playing chess. He's in 4th grade now, but has been playing since Kindergarten. It's something that he has had a varying interest in. Sometimes he's a chess nut, sometimes he can go months without playing. But, tournament season is upon us.

We (and others) have, with no success, approached the principal of his school to try to encourage the start of a chess club. The last time I mentioned it I was told that there wouldn't be interest, and that there were too many after school activities and there wasn't any room (blah blah blah). (BUT -- they can manage to have 10, yes 10 different girl scout troops meet in the school).

Anyway, today Chip, and three other boys from his school went to a local chess tournament.

It was the *FIRST* tournament for three of the boys.

They came home with the *FIRST* place trophy.

So tonight I sent a letter to MissChief and told her what happened, and that since the trophy belongs to the school that the boys would love to present it to her.

As I told the Tournament Director, I just can't wait to shove shoW it to her face.

Dear George

Well, I haven't said much political :} -- and I'm strapped for ideas, I have a big, early day tomorrow, so I might as well go with something quick and on my mind.

Dear George,

Earlier this week you called for "patience" in Iraq.

That's easy for me to say. My oldest child is 10, I'm pretty sure we won't be there that long. None of my close family or friends is in the military. I'm in the middle of the country in my comfortable suburb driving my minivan. Like I said -- patience is easy for me to say.

Please don't ask *ME* for patience.

Ask for patience from the moms (and dads) of the men and women that are over there. The people that go to sleep every night hoping and praying and wondering if their children will be alive tomorrow.

Don't ask for patience from the people who have already lost children - they've already given enough. That's (at last count) 2,863 members of the military. Sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers.

I don't know - I'm lucky never to have lost a child -- but I really don't think it matters whether the child died from "friendly" or "unfriendly" fire -- dead is FOREVER!!!

And don't ask for patience from the people in Iraq. I'm not talking about the extremists, I'm talking about the everyday folks whose homeland is torn apart. It's easy for me. I'm in the middle of the U.S. I've never been in the middle of a war zone. My kids might get picked on while riding the bus home from school. They've never gotten caught in cross fire. Oh yeah -- that's what you guys call "collateral damage."

George, you seem to be very concerned about "life." Embryonic stem cells are highly valuable. But does the respect for life stop at birth?

"Collateral damage"

"Acceptable losses"

*PEOPLE*!!!!!

The Limbo Rock - How LOW can you GO

Sometimes I wondered why I signed up to post every day for a month -- but I'm bound and determined. Though today I'm having trouble figured out what to write about so I'm moan about my life ........

My kids are both good. Relatively happy, relatively healthy, relatively happy with school. My dog is the same (even happy with his school). We have a guinea pig (okay -- so my sister and Crem remind me that guinea pigs are considered a great source of protein in some countries), and I have a cat that's 19 years old and every day I say "hey cat? you still alive?". So my charges are doing good.

Spouse and I -- not so well. We own a business that was a bad plan at the time -- but hindsight is always 20/20. We're trying to sell and I'm a bit stressed about when/if/whether that's going to happen.

Also - Spouse recently lost his job. And while I'm sure that something will come along, I'm a bit stressed about when that will happen and what it will look like.

*I HATE LIMBO*

It's like not my best place to be. So here I sit with so many parts of my life doing "The Limbo Rock"

Our church has 4 services a week, one "casual" (I've never been, it's on Saturday late afternoon and is a very small relaxed service), two "traditional" and one "contemporary." Roughly once month I run the computer for the contemporary so I have to sort of set it up to go with the theme of the service and have to plan things out.

This week's theme

Darkness before the dawn!!!!!!!!!!

Good to know that God has a sense of humor.

Chip off the old block

#1son (henceforth to be known as "Chip") is a regular chip off the old block (making dad a "blockhead" :}). This boy has inherited many traits from both his parents. He's bright, funny, attractive, and charming - just like his mom. He's a procrastinator, frugal, and has a wicked temper (just like his dad).

Okay - he didn't get ALL his good traits from me, and he didn't get all his bad traits from his dad (actually, his temper comes from BOTH sides of the family :} ).

We had Chip's parent teacher conference last week. It was no surprise to find out that he had a practically excellent report card. The only two places that could use work are him getting motivated to work (oh yeah -- he gets his procrastination skills from BOTH of his parents also) and his reading comprehension.

We did have an issue with his teacher though -- we got Chip's report card 3 days LATE!!! Seems his teacher didn't have time to get the report cards ready on time. Something about being at the hospital with his wife who was having a baby that was 10 weeks early. Like that's some kind of an excuse or something. Well, I set him straight -- I told him that I would not let him off the hook for that ... unless he showed us pictures of the precious baby.

She's a beauty. If you're the type - keep her in your prayers. Let's hope she's home for Christmas. What a wonderful present for mom & dad.

Movie tag - I'm it

MLL tagged me with movie questions.

1. Popcorn or candy? Popcorn -- butter. My favorite theater gives free refills.

2. Name a movie you've been meaning to see forever. Seriously, it usually takes me a couple of weeks to watch a Netflix video. I'd have to say there are NONE. What with Neflix, my local library, and Blockbuster and Hollywood video, if I'd REALLY wanted to see something, I'd have had the opportunity.

3. You are given the power to recall one Oscar: Who loses theirs and to whom? There has never been a time that I've seen all the movies in a single category - so I'm not one to judge.

4. Steal one costume from a movie for your wardrobe. Which will it be? Okay this is going to sound weird -- I'd really LOVE to be Molly Weasley for Halloween one year, so I'd love to steal some of Julie Walters clothes from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

5. Your favorite film franchise is... To quote MLL Harry Potter, without a doubt

6. Invite five movie people over for dinner. Who are they? Why'd you invite them? What do you feed them? J. K. Rowling, so I can ask her about RAB and Crookshanks and Snape and what is happening in Book 7 (hmmm though I wouldn't want to keep her away from her writing for too long). Michael J. Fox so I could commend him on the wonderful work he is doing for Parkinson's. Steven Speilberg who has done not only great fiction, but also great documentaries. Peter Jackson, because he blew my mind with the Lord of the Rings triology and Robin Williams (because who doesn't need a laugh).

7. What is the appropriate punishment for people who answer cell phones in the movie theater?

When my 5 or 10 year old uses one of their items in an inappropriate manner, they lose use of it. The time they lose use for is in proportion to the level of their misuse (or my frustration). SOOOOOO if a person answers a cell phone in a movie theater, they can lose the use of their cell phone (and ANY cell phone so they can't borrow one from family or friends) for the length of the movie *TIMES* the number of people in the theater. (Let's see, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire -- run time 157 minutes, Tivoli Theater seats 1,012 so let's say 150 x 1,000 = 150,000 minutes let's also assume 6 hours of sleep a night so that time doesn't count toward the punishment so about 4 months and 3 weeks without a cell phone. )

And then they have to pay for tickets for ALL the people in the theatre to see another movie.

8. Choose a female bodyguard: Ripley from Aliens. Mystique from X-Men. Sarah Connor from Terminator 2. The Bride from Kill Bill. Mace from Strange Days.

I've only seen Aliens from that list, so I guess I'd choose her. But I reserve to change my vote to Tonks after Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix comes out.

9. What's the scariest thing you've ever seen in a movie? Seriously, some of the facts and charts and information in An Inconvenient Truth http://www.climatecrisis.net/. I mean Hollywood can throw us dazzling special effects, and documentaries (like Schlinder's List) but *THIS* is my kid's FUTURE we're talking about here. And it is truly scary.

10. Your favorite genre (excluding comedy and drama) is? I'm excluding comedy under duress (I need to laugh). Probably fantasy.

11. You are given the power to greenlight movies at a major studio for one year. How do you wield this power? Anything that doesN'T follow the typical Hollywood formula.

12. Bonnie or Clyde? Bonnie - she never shot anyone.

13: Who are you tagging to answer this survey: Life:found (now how do I tell him?)

boring day

What a boring day ...

Got up early, took a train into the city. Spent the train ride reading Crem's paper over his (quite comfy) shoulder. Got off the train and took a ride on a rickety old CTA bus. Wandered around a very large complex of buildings on the UIC (University of Illinois Chicago) campus and spent almost too much time sitting in a very uncomfortable chair. After spending time sitting in a uncomfortable chair, I went, got 1/2 undressed, and sat in a small room.

Then, I rode an L train, had lunch in a Greek deli (with Crem) wandered about the city a bit more, and then rode another train out.

All in all it was quite expensive - $8.50 for the round trip train ticket, $4.00 for bus/L, about $10 for lunch, and $3 for coffee and $25 for the copay.

But -- as the MasterCard commercial would say -- peace of mind PRICELESS!!! I've been carrying around this stress since Sept. when I talked to my Midwife - it's nice for it to be lifted. My shoulders feel about 1/2 as tense.

(And it's nice to know that one part of my body is normal :} )

(Though I think the next time I get a hankering to have a lunch date with Crem -- I'm going to plan for it to involve a LOT less travel, no copays, and no uncomfortable chairs.)

sleep

Some nights my spouse snores - and sometimes that doesn't bother me too much. Some nights #1son decides to crawl in with mom or mom and dad and some nights that doesn't bother me too much (it's nice to snuggle). Some nights princess decides she needs to be near mom and she crawls in and kicks me 1/2 the night. Hopefully she'll grow out of it someday.

And some nights - I just kick them ALL OUT -- lock and barricade the door.

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree

We had our parent/teacher conferences this week. No major surprises from either kid (except of course, for the answer to the question "WHO ARE these well behaved children, and what do you do to MY kids once they walk through the door."

Yeah, sometimes either of my kids can be a pain at home, but they are both remarkably well behaved at school. I guess I'd rather have it that way round than the other.

We met with the teacher of Princess (5). Princess is in Kindergarten. She is doing spot on average in most things, she's a little behind in her reading skills. Suddenly I remembered (I really do forget this sometimes :} ) that for the first 2.5 years of her life, she NEVER heard a word of English and she very likely had nobody read to her.

I can't find any pointers to the research, but I know this bears out what the research says.

Now, I don't think this will put her 2.5 years behind -- but it does put her behind her peers.

Another issue -- and this comes as NO surprise -- her teacher mentioned that two of her classmates (male) mentioned that she kissed them on the bus.

SIGH!!!!!!!!!!

A couple of weeks ago she was talking -- she's 5 so she figured that she can have 5 boyfriends. She said that she had one boyfriend when she was one. I said "well, what about when you're 16?" If you guess that she said "16" you are CORRECT!!!!!

That's *MY* daughter.

And I'm SURE I'm in for a LOT of trouble.

bedtime issues

You'd think that a 40+ year old guy could manage to get a 5 year old into bed. But mom gets home at 11 p.m. and the kid is just getting into bed after dad let her stay up and watch tv.

And she's IMPOSSIBLE to get down when she's THAT tired.

No wonder I want to sell the business -- I can't take another season (especially now that she's in school) of getting home after 11 and putting the kid to bed.

And THIS is all I have time for to get something in by midnight.

Born in Arizona, moved to Babylonia

King Tutankhamun has been in town this summer. Some say the Irish know how to throw a funeral, but the Egyptians REALLY knew how to honour the departed. Just as a rough guess, I'm willing to bet the take from any Ancient Egyptian tomb could feed a few third world countries for a year or more. I left Princess home and just took #1son to see the exhibit. A mom/son day out.

It was interesting when we got home, and he wanted to tell his dad the details of the organ removals but I would let him describe taking the brain out through the nose during dinner.

Personally, I'm thinking good old fashioned organ donation is more my style.

Then again, perhaps some of the exhibit inspired bling can be my style. I think I'd look good in the Lapis collar. It's only $1,080. (Though I did suggest my son *NOT* buy me, as jewelry, any of the amber that had imbedded insects)

Insanity IS hereditary

Insanity IS hereditary. I now have proof. Many people have told me that I'm nuts. I've even believed a few of them.

Well, I just found out that my sister is nuts. This coming Sunday she will be doing a race for the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation. Great, wonderful, you go girl. It's November and it's Chicago so you'd think it might get cold but that's NOT an issue with this race. Nope -- it's all indoors.

And straight UP to the top of the Sears tower. If you've ever been in Chicago, and looked UP at the Sears tower from street level, you know it's quite tall, 103 stories, 2,109 steps.

At this time (more on that in another post within the next few days) we're in no position to donate to any charitable organizations, however if you are so inclined [inclined -- get it] .....

http://drcrf.convio.net/site/TR?px=1094721&pg=personal&fr_id=1080

Personally, I think she's nuts. But then she's MY sister.

AND -- this same weekend, if you feel like tossing some funds in another direction, my friend Christina from San Diego http://torreypines.blogspot.com/ is doing the 3 day walk to support breast cancer.

(For some reason - to me it doesn't seem near as crazy to walk 3 DAYS outdoors as it does to walk 103 stories)

https://www.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=131547&lis=1&kntae131547=434BA7E4DFC64538883A118E6C797199&supId=5637498

Me, I'll sit in my comfortable suburban home and cheer the ladies on. (Actually, I'll probably also hit up prayer requests in Sunday School - so ladies you'll at least have good thoughts and blister free wishes from me if not actual ca$h).

Dog of the jungle

Back in the late 60s, there was a Saturday morning television show called George of the Jungle. I honestly don't know if I ever watched it, but I do recall in the opening George always crashed into a tree (you think he'd learn - but week after week for three years).

Tonight I was out walking Fuzzybutt. There was another dog across the street, and fuzzy was walking forward while looking at and barking at the other dog.

YEP -- you guessed it -- Fuzzybutt wasn't looking where he was going and walked right into a tree.

Everything I've heard and read says that collies are supposed to be incredibly intelligent dogs. One thing I can say for Fuzzybutt. He hides it well.

By gum I think I've got it

MAJOR stress this week, Spouse is now between jobs. He formerly worked at Lucent Technologies, and they've been going through when the rest of the IT industry has been going through. Actually, moral has been dropping for the past few years, nobody knowing when or where the ax is going to fall next. Spouse seems rather happy - at least he doesn't have to worry about when it's going to hit again.

One thing I've often tried to focus on is the blessings in my life. Sometimes that doesn't work so well, but then I try to realize that I really don't have it so bad. One thing I've learned is that no matter how bad I have it, I don't have to look far to find someone who is in a worse place. At least my kids are healthy (and energetic :} ). So while I'm certainly not happy, I'm at least not totally freaking out.

Okay, I have been expressing some concerns to my friend, Cush. But as I told him - if I start freaking out in front of Spouse or #1son or Princess it would just cause more stress around the family.