Yes, I am alive and well. I've been reading voraciously, again, and getting laundry and cleaning done as well. I've finally started on the bedroom. A little at a time and it'll get done. Don't believe me? Go check out Kate's newsletter at I Think Therefore I Blog. She'll set you straight.

Other than trying to keep up with housecleaning and reading I've taken some new photos. The ones with the focus on the crescent moon did not turn out. I don't know why, I thought I had set the camera on top of the car or truck for balancing purposes so I wouldn't shake, but they turned out horrible. Very blurry and very shaky.

Here are other photos that I have taken:

Well that's all for now. Be back soon.

For whatever reason Web Design jobs are pretty scarce around this area. You think California, you think Silicon Valley, you think Technology. Well, since I don't live any where near Silicon Valley, Web Design jobs are hard to find. I found one today during my search and have sent them my resume. Wish me luck, I really need a job. Hopefully I will get (at the very least) an email from them. I put in my email that I'd be happy to speak with them through email or over the phone if they wish to do that before a face to face interview. Perhaps I'll actually get a reply.

I tried looking up jobs at the one temp agency's website that I am signed up with and no matter what I do, even leaving it blank, there aren't any results. I don't understand that at all. There's either something wrong with their database or some miracle caused them to have all jobs filled and they are waiting for more employers to seek their services. I highly doubt the latter.

Well I am off to attempt working on the portfolio site. I'd love to get it officially 'done'. Laters.

So summer has been here for a whole 5 days (school for the Little Lady ended on the 30th) and I was quite on top of my chores. This week things are falling apart because it's that time of the month again. Yesterday I was so fatigued that I passed out on the couch and didn't hear a thing for like 3 hours. After that I was still tired but decided to read instead. My book was very heavy feeling even though it isn't heavy at all. Today I am feeling a bit better but nothing is going to get done again. My fault, I know. I should put money aside for Midol but I don't. Perhaps I should look into something a bit more natural to help me with my issues. Fatigue and some emotional distress (a touch of depression and sometimes more)... shouldn't be hard to find something to counter them.

So the Little Lady is having her going away party tonight, featuring brownies. Mmm.. brownies sound so good right now. Anyway, she is abandoning mommy and going to Ohio and Alabama for the summer. She'll spend a month and a half in Ohio and then a couple of weeks in Alabama. She is flying to Ohio and will be getting a ride to and from my sister's in Alabama.

I have no idea what we are going to do while she is gone, but I'm sure we'll figure something out to do.

I also have to figure out information regarding the pay out of life insurance policies in California. In Alabama it turns out that anything over $3,000 has to go through probate court and you have to have a lawyer to represent you (so with a $10,000 dollar policy, you have to have a lawyer - cheapest is between 3 and 4 thousand - then court and filing fees) and then with the costs of the funeral home there'd be nothing left. I have to find out if there is anything like that stupid law in California. I asked Honey's mom but she didn't know and I've done some Googling but I don't think I am using the right search terms. I thought of asking someone who I worked previously with but being as she no longer works in insurance I don't know if she can give me any good information. I've thought about calling local insurance agencies and asking who I would call for such information. I just don't want to take up someone's time when I am not a customer though. We always had issues with people calling and asking questions and legally we couldn't answer anything because they weren't our client.

Well I am off to go work on the portfolio some more. Try to anyway, I feel like crap. Laters.

I am still working on the main portfolio, but I have gotten the blog up and running. There is only one entry and I was having some layout issues that (hopefully) are now fixed. Using IE 7.0 at 1280x800 resolution everything works. If anyone has issues viewing the blog on another browser or resolution, holler and I'll see what I can do. I know that I am supposed to test on all resolutions, monitors, browsers, etc, but everything looks horrid in any other resolution. Unless it's a game meant to be played in a different resolution. So I need your help.

Again, there is only one entry, but the blog will basically contain information about what I am working on, include step by step changes made, tutorials used, and more. When the portfolio itself is up it'll contain everything that is worked on in categories, my resume and other information pertaining to things that are to be contained in a portfolio.

My friend says she thinks my idea of creating an intranet for families is a great idea. She is very tech-friendly and is one of those who wants a digital calendar on her refrigerator so that everyone can enter their schedules and have them readily available. I may be inclined to make her an intranet and she can help me work on issues with it (if she has time) and give me insight into what to expect. This could include everything from her work schedule (she works like 3 jobs, sometimes more, plus being a mom of two and a wife), her husbands work and school schedules, the kids' summer, school, activities schedules and account user names, passwords, bill paying information such as scheduling, amounts and possibly budget forms.

With help, such as her testing and giving me feedback, I could definitely make a go of such a thing. The issue would be families taking the time to enter the information into the intranet. I suppose I could offer that service as well and sign a non-disclosure agreement of some form and charge a small fee for updating it.

Anyway, this post is mainly regarding the Portfolio Blog. Here is a link: http://blog.mcmwebdesign.org. I am off again. I need to fill this with projects and graphics and other things. Laters.

This is a post regarding those pesky explainations that shouldn't have to occur, but because in these oh so 'modern times' of ours, parents are required to know what's going on with their children even more so than they were when we were children ourselves.

My daughter is 13 for those of you who don't read often. I tend to listen to music on the radio so I know (or try to anyway) what she's listening and being subjected to. I trust my daughter enough to let her listen to pretty much whatever she wants as long as she doesn't start singing it in public and gets into trouble.

Well she is leaving for Ohio in a few days to visit the man I call my 'father-figure' because he's been there for me since my own father passed. He loves the Little Lady like his own grandchildren and spoils her shamelessly. Yesterday I heard her singing a song that she was listening to (this post was thought up because it was just played again on the radio station we all listen to) and it occurred to me that she really shouldn't be singing this song and she should be made aware of what she is singing and that it is not to be sung outside our home.

The lyrics I heard her singing:

"I'm so addicted to
All the things you do
When you're going down on me
In between the sheets
All the sounds you make
With every breath you take
Its not like anything
When you're loving me"

Addicted by Saving Abel

After hearing her singing it I walk into her room and just let her know not to sing that when she's around 'father-figure'. She asks why not. She didn't really even realize what she was singing, so I repeated the lyrics to her in a normal voice instead of singing them and then she realized what it was she was singing. These bands and music producers seem to be pretty dang good at their jobs if they can get kids singing the lyrics to songs (the music is great, the words are sung in an easy to replicate way) and they don't even notice that they are sexually explicit.

So it's safe to say that my daughter realizes now what this particular song is about. Unfortunately I don't think it's going to make her pay attention any better in the future to the music she choses to listen to. One can only hope she doesn't start singing outloud and end up in trouble for the lyrics. I could just kill her internet connection and empty her ipod and revoke her listening to any radio stations except the Disney station but I have to trust that she'll make better decisions regarding her music and what she sings around others. She's seen worse due to others out of my control and she is still a pretty decent kid. I also think she has enough common sense to know what I'd approve of and what I'd disapprove of.

Any comments?

So tomorrow my lovely daughter will be escorted, by me, to the gate at the airport tomorrow in order to fly to Ohio. Why on earth she wants to go there with all that humidity is the question I keep asking. Her friends are there, school is out, she wants to go. "Grandpa" is more than willing to keep her for a couple of months, and even take her to and from Alabama to visit the cousins.

Did you know that it costs $150 bucks extra to send a 13 year old across the country alone? $75 on the way there and $75 on the way back because she is an unaccompanied minor. It's not like they are going to assign a freaking flight attendant to her or anything though. No one who isn't schedule to be working the flights will be drafted into coming in order to take care of her. Everyone will be doing their normal schedules and duties that they always do. They may keep their eyes open around her to make sure she isn't harrassed. I think that's pretty much it. I may ask more questions regarding the 'services' provided for her and then ask them why it's so extremely expensive. I'll post any answers I receive. If anyone knows, let me know.

People ask me what I am going to do with myself when she isn't here. Probably what I do when she is. Post entries, do the house cleaning and laundry, cook food, read and play games and continue to job hunt. Oh yes, and put money aside for when school starts.

Other than that I'm not sure. I'll definitely write about any adventures, you can be sure of that. I am off for now.

So the Little Lady has arrived safe and sound in Ohio. She raved about how much she loves Continental. I did as well when I flew with them. I didn't read anything about them having planes grounded due to the false inspections so I trusted they were really going through with them and not bribing the inspectors to look the other way.

I signed her up for the One Pass Elite (according to their website I had to since she was going to be an unaccompanied minor) and she got paged to board the plane before anyone else and was also the last one off. She got her meal for free and they watched two movies, one which she slept through. All in all, she had a great flight. Nothing like what she went through with US Airways (not that they were bad, but she ended up with horrible ear issues and was in pain for all of those flights).

She also told me that it started storming, which it wasn't supposed to storm until today, as soon as she stepped off the plane. She was safely delivered, in one piece, and I am happy about that.

It also turns out that my oldest niece decided she didn't want to be alone in Alabama so she decided, if it was ok with the 'father-figure', that she would come up to Ohio and stay with him and the Little Lady. He was fine with it and I know darn well that if they cause any trouble they'll be sent home. It'll be hard to cause trouble at his house since there really isn't much for them to do other than swim in the creek. The other house has all kinds of neighbors and kids (the one we rented years ago that he is now remodeling) and they could get into trouble there but I hope not.

With all of the kids being in Ohio for most of the summer, who knows if the Little Lady will even want to go to Alabama. She may decide to stay in Ohio instead and that's fine with me. For those of you who are traveling by plane this summer, be careful and have fun!

The worst illness experience ever is waking up at 3 in the morning with a migraine. Moving causes pain, not moving causes pain, the glimpse of a sliver of the kitchen night light is even unberable. I almost thought I had more than just a migraine because I was hot one moment and cold the next, I couldn't get into a position to make the pain go away and even waited an hour and a half for Excedrin Migraine to kick in before taking a no-name medication.

I was kind enough to move from the bedroom to the couch, still experiencing hot and cold flashes and writhing because I couldn't stop moving due to being hot, then cold, and I didn't want to wake up my Honey. I finally wet down a wash cloth with cold water and put that over my eyes and wrapped up in a blanket. There is no telling how good it felt to be able to cool off my head and still be warm. I've never had those issues during a migraine before, but things do change. Let's hope I can remember it if I have another (here's to hoping I never experience that again, yet I know I will).

I hate having a migraine. Even if I haven't eaten in hours I still end up getting sick in the bathroom, which makes my head hurt worse and that makes me want to cry, which I can't do because that will also make my head hurt ten times worse than being sick. So yesterday I could barely eat even though I hadn't gotten sick for hours. There was still some residue of the headache left but I didn't want to take anything unless it was going to get worse. I ate some cereal and a slice of bacon in the evening. I haven't eaten yet today but I have been able to hold down my coffee. That is a good sign. I was able to drink tea, milk and juice, in small amounts and spread over a few hours. I think that kept the migraine from coming back.

Today I have been struggling with LinkWorth and I don't know what the issue is. I have all kinds of keywords on both blogs approved for sale at extremely cheap prices yet I don't know how to go any farther than that. I suppose I have to wait for advertisers to say 'oh, hey I want to buy that keyword' and then it'll go from there. Otherwise, I have no clue and their FAQ isn't any help and neither is their support group through the ticket section. I am thinking of actually emailing the person who created the thing and say 'hey, could YOU take a minute and tell me what needs to be done for this, this and that?' and see what happens. Not knowing what I'm doing, and their help seeming very vague to me, makes me feel incompetent. I don't like feeling incompetent. I've actually debated on deleting the account, removing what I have here and starting all over again, not that I think I would learn anything new or figure it out any better, but it would be a fresh start and maybe I'd have some sort of revelation. Since I haven't had one yet I highly doubt it.

Well I am going to find something to eat. It is almost noon but I think a bowl of cereal will do me just fine after all of the nasty feeling I went through with my stomach yesterday. Laters.

It's pretty easy to hate the internet when you have as many issues as we have been having lately. At least on the laptop anyway. Honey's computer has decided that it can no longer access the C drive and therefore won't load windows. We are planning to get him a hard drive (10 or 20 gigs) to put the operating system on so he can access the hard drive again (it's a 500 gig hd) and to find out if it's a bad sector or something more.

So you would think that since the Little Lady is not home and his computer is inaccessible that there would be complete access and the speed of light when it comes to using the internet on the laptop.

I'm still waiting for that to happen. We are extremely lucky anymore if a page loads. If it doesn't I hit refresh three or four times and after that I either give up, or if it is something I want to load, such as one of the blogs I own, then I close the window and type the address into a new one. It's a huge pain in the arse having to go through this with almost every page I want to visit. I feel very luck being able to have more than one window open at a time, with content, of course.

I have gone from doing maintenance (disk cleanup/delete all internet files/defrag) to unplugging the router to reset it and shutting down the computer and then rebooting the router. I have done all of these things straight in a row (and defrag takes forever even though it's done every week) with no real results. The only other option would be to have Honey's parents call the cable company (which they truly dislike doing, then again who doesn't) and have them check the lines from their end and, if necessary, physically. That won't happen unless they are having the same issues and I am ok with that.

Basically we are lucky if Google loads and if we have an actual internet connection when it does. Sometimes even the lovely little blue circle indicating that we have internet access vanishes for no reason. The lights will still blink away on the router and sometimes we can load pages when it's gone. I have no idea why but it happens, even with those that aren't cached.

If we are lucky, which lately our luck has gone to hell, it'll resolve itself. Let's hope so. Laters.

Somehow or another firefox now works for ABC's Full Episode Player. I'll be trying out Fox sometime soon. Anyway, ABC had a show premiere tonight called The Middleman. Unless you like shows that aren't funny, have no sense of plot, and have really bad characters, I would suggest you avoid it.

The Middleman is supposed to be a hero that saves regular people by killing monsters and making sure bad guys (or girls) go to jail. He looks like an 'average joe' dressed up in a suit and enough gear to take on the national guard by himself. Of course you won't see all this gear until he takes it off.

Somehow or another the sidekick gets picked because she was a temp answering phones at some god awful science lab because he rescued her from a monster that they cooked up. Because she was quick to not panic and grabbed a weapon (a letter opener that came from nowhere) and tried to rescue herself from the monster when it grabbed her he decided to recruit her.

Want to know how he recruited her? He stole her lighter (a gift from her father) and blamed her for a gas explosion by planting it as evidence! Then because she's a temp it ruined her name with all the other temp agencies (since when do temp agencies talk to each other?) therefore causing her to go to his temp agency in order to get a job. Of course she turned him down.

But being as there'd be no show if she didn't start working with him she went back to a crime scene in order to assist.

And if you do decide to watch it have something around you to do. Crocheting, knitting, a book or magazine. There are parts that are basic fluff. Oh wait, the entire show is fluff. Better off not to watch it at all. Laters!

I was able to watch a show on ABC lastnight, a really horrible show that is not worth watching (The Middleman) using FireFox. I then decided to try watching something on Fox as well and it also worked. I still can't get to NBC with either. Literally can't get to the site. There is no possible way to get to the server. I don't know what it is with their site. Apparently they really don't give a hoot who wants to watch their shows. I don't even know if they have any current shows I want to watch.

So if you have Vista and can't get to FOX or ABC, try using Firefox. If you have to download it and do a fresh install, when you are finished, go to Adobe and download the latest Flash Player and Shockwave for Firefox. Then go to the website and you should be able to watch the shows just fine.

If there is anyone that can get to NBC and they are using Vista let me know how you did it. They may end up with a show or two I like (doubtful, but it might happen).

If you continually have problems try going to Hulu.com. They will (sometimes) have some of the latest shows embedded on their website and a few previous episodes, too. Although yesterday they couldn't seem to load anything I clicked on and they didn't have any answers in their support section on the faq as to why.

I also had the computer run a diagnostic on the network connection/internet connection and it found something and fixed it. So far pages are loading at the speed of the cable connection again, for now. Who knows what's next. Laters.

I know it's hard to discipline kids these days. I mean, you can't spank them because that's abuse, right? Some crazy old man accused my best friend of child abuse because she tried to hurry along the little boy walking in front of her by poking him in the tushie with her foot. The kid didn't fall down, didn't cry, he just walked faster, which was the goal. She had three other kids with her in a busy parking lot so I completely understand why she did this. Once she explained to the officers who were sent after her, and showed them what occured it was laughed off. The officers apologized for taking up her time and left.

There are many ways to abuse a child, not just the kind that leaves bruises. Neglect is a huge part of abuse that no one ever notices. My sister and I were neglected quite well as children, let to roam where we wanted, when we wanted. As long as we were home for dinner we could have been doing anything and it would not have mattered and if we weren't home for dinner, well perhaps we are at a friend's house eating dinner there. If there was dinner.

I condone spanking when needed, grounding for several reasons regarding several items of interest for different periods of time. I have grounded my daughter when necessary from everything electronic for a month when the punishment is required. During that time she is also forced into slave labor, doing dishes each day and other cleaning as required. If she does what's asked the sentence can be reduced, if she complains it can be lengthened.

When she isn't grounded she's supposed to (notice the terms used) do dishes every Wednesday. It doesn't always happen and when it doesn't she gets extra chores as required to make up for the miss (usually cleaning the bathroom).

I would never tie her to a tree as a way of punishment no matter what the rules broken. I have threatned to throw her through a wall, but I would never ever do that. She knows that phrase is used for things that would seriously force me to consider putting her into the detention home to see how she likes it there. When she was tricked into stealing golf balls by two adults when we lived in the trailer park I actually asked the nice officers if they wanted to take her with them. They looked at me like I was crazy. I said "She did what? And who was involved? Ok, well... here she is, do you want to take her to the detention center?"

Yes, I did that right in front of her. I made sure she knew that I told them they could take her. The reason I did that is because I have told her repeatedly that if she does something wrong (even getting tricked by two horrible excuses for adults that need to this day be beaten with a metal bat) that she is to tell us so we are forewarned of what might be coming next. That was one of the occasions she was grounded for a month. She didn't even have any books to read at the time and I believe it was summer, too. No friends, no phone, no tv, no computer, no nothing. But I didn't tie her to a freaking tree.

There are so many people out there that have kids and don't realize that they are just that. Kids. These are kids who are going to grow up and they are either going to turn out to be a productive member of society (my goal for my daughter) or they are going to turn out to be a waste of government funds. In order to achieve my goals with my daughter I have to set guidelines and an example. Even if I was in pain or sick I went to work. Even if she was in pain or had a slight cold, she went to school (I always let her choose if she felt bad and made the decision for her if she was really bad). She went to work with me on occasion and knew what my job entailed. She knew that she had to either sit in the conference room and be out of sight (she always had entertainment) on the extremely busy days or she could help out by delivering messages and print outs to the others (she loved doing that). My daughter is a bright girl. She has high aspirations for her future. She plans on having a maid and a cook so she doesn't have to do those things (ha!) and plans on having a lucrative career doing who knows what. She hasn't decided and that's fine for now. She has plenty of time, but whatever she chooses I know she'll do well. And there hasn't been any need to instill these things by tying her to a tree!

I hope the state keeps the other two children away from the parents that did this horrible thing. They took the life of their child away by leaving him exposed to the environment, by neglecting his need for guidance when he's misbehaved. I can't think of what type of horrible thing this kid could have done to warrant this type of anger from his parents. Obviously they had to be angry when they tied him to the tree, twice. Did the kid fight back? Did he cry out for help from neighbors? I hope the parents rot.

Links:

Fox News

NewsObserver

What I did today:

1) Ran a load through the washer and hung it on the greenhouse line. The dryer can't be used because there's a lighter stuck somewhere that we can't get it, so I had to hang dry the clothes and with all the freaking smoke they'll take a day or more to dry.

2) Did dishes. I have been trying to do dishes every day. So far I have done them for (I think) four days in a row.

3) Swept the kitchen floor a few times. I miss my Mr. Clean Mop.

4) Cleaned the litter boxes.

5) For the last several days I have been methodically cleaning the fridge and finished with doing the freezer today. Yay!

I know that doesn't seem like a lot but we've been having issues with the hot water tank and I have to boil water in order to do dishes. Can't even take a decent shower because the water ends up ice cold after about 5 minutes. So we are trying to figure out what the issue is without calling a repairman. The people who came out and fixed it previously did fine, we don't think that their work is the issue.

Otherwise I have been pretty much just watching shows on the laptop and working on Honey's afghan that will probably never get finished. There's a lot of work involved and it's just the same stitch over and over again. It takes 90 ounces of yarn for it to be completed and I'm nowhere near finished. If you enjoy crocheting here is a link to the pattern I am using from Bernat: Pattern Link. I am not using the yarn they have recommended and that may be why it's taking forever to make the afghan, but I think because it's done in the post is why it takes as long as it does. It looks great though. I am using two different colors and alternating (10 rows of one, 10 rows of the other) and I plan to put a border around it (possibly using both colors together) and I'll post a photo when it is completed (hopefully before his birthday even though he watches me make it).

Well I am going to make myself something to eat and watch some shows. Laters.

Quite the opposite of what I had before with all the color, huh? Yeah I wanted something quite a bit different and I think I reached it. I was working on a few other ideas that haven't quite panned out yet. Maybe they will, maybe they won't. We'll see.

Today I have done two loads of laundry which are hanging on the line and planted flower and veggie seeds with my honey. We are going to be set on food for awhile. He told me I need to start picking my lettuce. I was like.. erhm? And he reminded that it is leaf lettuce, not head lettuce. So I plan to start picking some and bagging it tomorrow. Not a lot, but some. I guess it stops producing three weeks after you start plucking. Or something like that. I'll have to take photos of the greenhouse. I think we went a little overboard with the beans, they pretty much exploded. I am hoping the carrots turn out as they are pretty much buried under the leaves and vines of the beans and cucumbers. I have a tomato that is almost ready to be plucked. Hmmm, lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers... almost ready for a salad!

Anyway, about the layout. There are some items that are a bit off and need fixing (the footer image) and I need to adjust the link color. Off for now. I'm exhausted.

So we decided a few days ago to go out and do something. We weren't sure what though. We both needed some time out of the house but usually we just end up running errands or getting something to eat and then here we are again. Basically it's a bit boring. We would like a little excitement.

We still weren't sure what to do. My suggestion was to sort of 'go get lost' for a bit driving around. Yesterday I was googling secondhand book stores and used paperbacks stores to try and find us a place to start looking for books that we are missing. I don't recall saying anything about this but Honey mentioned that perhaps we could go looking. I also want to go to WallyWorld and get a few personal items. We are also having a debate over Quiznos or Subway. Personally I'm in the mood for a Subway Meatball sub and he's in the mood for Quiznos anything. They both have the 5 dollar deal going on. Something about 5 bucks for any footlong, which when the Little Lady was home fed all three of us (she and I split one and he ate the other). I love their meatball subs. I haven't had one from Quiznos but they toast everything. I'll have to ask for it untoasted. I know, so Un-Quiznos, right? I just don't care to have the meatball sub toasted.

We found a place called Paperbacks Unlimited that we are going to check out. It's somewhere in Santa Rosa on highway 12.

-_- Update -_-

I had forgotten about this post! I got sidetracked thanks to Oscar Scott Card's Ender series. They are very good books. Humans are mad, I tell you!

We didn't have a hard time finding the store. It was a pain in the butt having to turn around though. There's a center median and you can't turn directly into anywhere except other roads. I think it would make things easier if they took out the center median and put in a center turning lane instead.

Afterwards we went to lunch at Adel's and since then we have been lost in reading land. I plan on making another post about other things so I'll be back shortly. Laters.