Wow, what a long couple of weeks. Good ones for the most part, though. I had to create a new category because none of the ones I currently had could encompass the amount of information I wanted to put into this post. I apologize for not being around.

I am alive and well. The Little Lady is alive and well and doing well in school. She's also grounded from the laptop for a month (about two weeks of that is left) for breaking my digital camera. She doens't know it, but I've already replaced it. I bought the next higher model than the one I had for half the price. Go figure.

And, thanks to my Honey, Velvet's fur is slowly growing back. Thank you catnip!

Let's see. On the 6th my Honey arrived at the airport. I went to pick him up and dragged him home happily. We had a glorious 8 days together and he's looking for work out here so that he can move. Yep. He likes me so much he's moving. I know he's going to miss his friends and family. They are all welcome to visit though, once we get set up somewhere that we have room for company that is.

I really didn't want to take my Honey back to the airport but he promised he'd be back as soon as he could. He bought me a ring ((not that kind of ring, just something special) and I'm waiting for it to be resized to fit my tiny fingers. I'll post a picture of it when I get it back. I like the design of it and there are even diamonds in it. I think it's pretty and since it suits me so well, I know he's taken the time to know what I like.

Another three days before the ring should officially be done. I called to check on the status today. I was really hoping they would say "Oh yeah.. it is done. Come and get it." but that's ok.. I'm going to be patient. Patience is a good thing, lots of breathing involved and that gets more oxygen to the brain. Yes, you can laugh!

So here I am sitting in my jammies typing away. I ate dinner and drank a tall glass of milk. I am just about ready to go pass out for the night. I was hoping my Honey would login and chat with me, but he has company. I am sure he'll call me at some point during the night. I love speaking to him when I'm laying in bed. Wish he was here to put his arms around me and keep me warm, though.

I'm thinking of going after another job. It's another receptionist position, but I might be able to actually move up to something else eventually. I've been doing this job at where I am for so long and I'm good at it but I'm so tired of dealing with the same crap every day. The people want to scream and yell, other people don't want to work, then other people want to break the rules and the people in charge don't do anything about it at all. So I think I really need to get out of there. I know I can do better. It's just that I get a little bit freaked when I think of changing jobs.

Alright, well. I am going to get to bed. I'm not tired but if I don't go to bed now then I will end up being useless to everyone tomorrow. As if it matters.

Goodnight, Sweet Dreams and all that other good stuff. Glad to be back. Hope you are glad to have me back.

So Honey is expecting to be able to come out in the beginning of February. I am having a hard time waiting, but mainly that's because I'm really cold. We are supposed to get a huge amount of snow over the next few days, too. (Rumor says up to 3 feet, but I think that's wrong.)

So I bought some knock off One-A-Day Women's Health Vitamins. Took one after I ate lunch today and actually stayed awake all day. Kept yawning when the other people did though. I hate it when that happens. Hopefully the vitamins will actually do something for me longer than three weeks.

Things have been progressing at the office regarding the processing. Although we had some major issues with the system today. It didn't get fixed until almost 5 and we had to keep remembering to make changes before going into a letter or completing a note. It was such a pain.

Somehow the site hiccupped and lost everything down here that I wrote. I have an appointment for an interview at 2 on Friday. Hope it goes well. I'm tired and I'm off. Laters!

I am SO happy that today is over. Yeah, seriously happy.

So I prayed and prayed that my car would start this morning. No go. My sister let me use her car to go to work today. I wouldn't have bothered but I have the backups to the hard drives and I'm training, The New Gal so there's really no choice in the matter.

I get to work and it's like the New Gal has completely forgotten everything I taught her over the weekend, so tomorrow I'll be typing up more notes for her to go over when I'm no longer available.

Personally, the best parts of today were: a) driving my sister's car; b) The Cursed Cubicle sucked the time away so fast that today went down the drain quicker than liquid plumber; c) I got a free toaster oven from the guy who's like a dad to me and last but not least d) two out of three assignment grades for week 4 have been posted and I am sporting 100% A's each. I'm waiting patiently on assignment 3's grade to be posted.

Oh yay.. I finally got the company who has been harrassing me for other peoples' money (yeah, other peoples', notice the plural there) to take my number off of their lists. How much do you want to bet I get several more calls this week? I swear someone out there who knows my house phone number has a grudge against me.

Ok, all in all... I gained a toaster oven, I have four days left of the job I dislike, and it's so cold the car won't start. Winter really sucks. Laters.

Still waiting for the final grade in the Digital Manipulation course. Not sure what is taking so long. I got another 100% on the discussion question portion of it but now I have to wait for the grade on the final project. So the professor said he wanted everyone to have everything turned in by midnight. There was someone late with their project and I think that might be holding him up.

The new job is working out well. Still learning who all does what so I can field the calls properly. It's a bit more difficult when you have more people working around you.

Ok, this post is unfinished, but I'm posting it anyway.

Why hello there! I hope things have been going well with everyone out there that stops by my little corner of the web to see how they are going with me. I've had absolutely no time whatsoever the last few days in order to write. Things have been a bit crazy.

So let's see.. The New Boss heads off to the other side of the world tomorrow. Yep, he's outta here for 14 days. It's going to be very strange without him there when I'm only on my third week of working there. I didn't get to ask him how to handle his calls and I don't know when we'll get to hear from him since he'll be a total of 12 hours with the time difference.

School is going well. The professor already graded the first assignment we turned in this week and I got another 100%. I love this class. Unfortunately, I completely forgot that I had homework last night due to trying to figure out car problems and discussing what to do, who to go to, and so forth with the subsitute father. He's a great guy. He does so much for me and the Little Lady. I really hope he lives to be 100. I'll need him for that long, just to repay his kindness.

The car is still giving issues. We thought we had figured it out, but it's still acting up. I want to speak with Shorty down the road to see if he will put it on the diagnostic machine to tell me what the problem is. I don't know if he'll charge me to put it on the machine, but it can't hurt to find out, right?

My Honey has promised to be here for my birthday if not home permanantly by my birthday. I'd really prefer him not leaving, but if it happens, so be it. He'll be back! That I know.

So the TechGirl invited me to a jewelry party she is having the day after my birthday in the afternoon. I laughed and told her I might be up by the that time. I will go, simply because I want to look and see what she's going to be selling and perhaps buy myself something pretty for my birthday. I don't wear much jewelry (usually just my necklace with the rose carved into it and now the ring Honey gave me) but perhaps I'll find something I like. You never know.

Let's see. I haven't gotten to read any new books, started one, haven't touched it in awhile. I did finally get to see Into The Blue with Jessica Alba and Paul Walker... DROOL over both being sexy, often wet and barely dressed, and well, their amazing acting skills of course.

The Little Lady and I are waiting to receive Accepted in the mail. Should be here, at the latest, monday. I'm sure we'll enjoy that movie. It looks hilarious.

Ok, well. I'm gonna go to bed soon. Laters!

So life is good, for the most part. There's lots of arguing and stress lately, but it's expected with the major changes that have been made in the household.

Jack is doing well, Velvet is doing well. The Little Lady and the Honey are slowly figuring out how to get along and make things work. It's a lot of give and take and biting of tongues on all fronts, though. Blending takes time.

School is going well, mentioned that in my last post. This post is mainly just an attempt to update people since I'm hardly on the messenger programs anymore.

I've been extremely exhausted lately. I think they are trying to kill me at work with the air conditioning. It's barely 40 degrees outside and they turn the freaking air conditioning on. I wear a tank top under a sweater at work and cover up with my coat. If anyone touches the heat to turn it up they start hearing complaints about how hot people are and how they need to turn the heat down. It's stupidity at it's best.

- - - time passes - - -

See, now I'm at home, fed and sitting on the couch with my honey, pretty relaxed and talking with two people through aim. All is good, now.

I'm off. Laters.

So here I am sitting at my desk doing nothing much but paging calls. Which is fine. I like it when things run smoothly.

Unfortunately, there are so many days here when things done run smoothly let alone start that way.

Yesterday I felt like I walked into a hornets' nest and got stung all day long.

I'm getting a solid B in the flash class. I have three weeks off of school (that info is for those of you who have been missing me sorely the past two months) for sommer break.

Ok, gotta go. The boss will be here soon.

Ok so all but a few of my books are packed up (other than one school book and one pleasure reading book), the kitchen is mostly packed, the bathroom is mostly packed, the kid is mostly packed and the bedroom is mostly packed.

The reason for this is that we are still trying to live and move at the same time and that is difficult to do. I can't pack up the entire kitchen and be able to cook, too. So it's kind of a wash dry and ... then what?

We still have to cancel the cable, electric, gas, phone and tell the office manager that they can have the trailer to sell. Yeah, have the trailer to sell. Because if they won't buy the place back then they'll hold it until the lot rent equals the value, tell us they couldn't sell it and then turn around to sell it for a profit to themselves.

Hopefully I'll get lucky and they'll buy it back. I'm leaving the washer, dryer, refrigerator, two bookshelves, a dvd shelf and the tv stand. We are taking the couch, the coffee table, the stands we bought, the dresser and probably my bed frame even though it isn't going to be needed.

This move may be all the way across the country but it will probably be the easiest move ever.

And I just found out that one of my loveable friends from the true east coast might be moving to the west coast! How could this get any better? Oh yeah, if a lot of people I love could come, that would be great, too!

Yeah.

Things are going really well out here in the sunny land of California. I'm really enjoying it here. I love the fact that at night I can walk outside, look straight up, and SEE the stars. I mean really see them. I don't recall ever seeing them so clearly in Ohio. I can see the actual 'web' of stars around us. It's so beautiful. I am going to attempt pictures, but I doubt it'll work.

The Little Lady had her first day of school today and it went ok. She's in classes that are mostly beginner classes but I think that's because they didn't receive her transcripts from her former school yet. They don't start until August 27th, but that doesn't mean they are going to hop right on it or anything.

If they don't send her transcripts by then I'll give them a nice phone call. They won't like me very much, but I'll be so sweet to them they won't know what hit them.

Other than that things are going fairly well. We are almost unpacked. I feel like I've been unpacking forever, but we've been running around a lot making sure we have everything we need (like a cookie sheet) and we've got people scavenging for a car for me so that I can start working.

Well, I have to get to bed. It's after 10:30 - I may have to change my posting time on here yet - and I need to be in bed before 11 so I can get the kid up properly. Laters.

Wow I've really got to get posting, don't I? Schoolwork has had me so frustrated and flustered that I haven't taken the time to post. Car shopping is the same way, but that's over and done with. Yes, we found my car.

Things that have happened (that I can remember) since my last post:

1) The Little Lady started school and is doing really well, she has made a few friends. She's much happier lately and she's enjoying the beauty of northern california aka norcal.

2) I started my PHP class. Truly dislike my teacher. Truly dislike the book we were told to buy. Completely dislike the online reading assignments. They are more confusing than helpful.
But I did get all 100% As the first week. I don't think I did so well this week.

3) After two weeks of searching we found me a car. Which means I can update my resume and go job hunting. It is a 92 Nissan Maxima, yes auto transmission and it's in pretty good shape for being 15/16 years old. It drives really nice, the interior is in decent condition. It's got a better stereo and speaker system in it than it originally did. It doesn't have a cd player, but a tape player and a plug for an ipod. Honey told me he's going to steal it. I really don't want the car torn apart. I have a feeling there's no choice in the matter.

4) I've been invited on a girls day trip with Honey's mom and sister to San Francisco! We are going on the 19th and I will be taking my camera. It's going to be great.

5) Since we now have a nice car with AC and it's reliable (we are going to have it doublechecked by a mechanic before going anywhere major) we will get to go to the coast! The Little Lady and I will finally get to see an ocean! The Pacific Ocean! Woohoo! I can't wait, and yes I'll be taking my camera.

For those of you who want to see some pics and don't care, I have uploaded a whole bunch to myspace: http://myspace.com/swtlyevil/.

For thsoe who won't go to myspace I will try to upload pics here, soon. I'll have to create thumbnails and have them open in a popup window because of their size. They are worth the wait though.

Ok, well I am off. I can't think of anything else at the moment. Laters.

You know you do it, too. You hesitate about buying that extremely expensive warranty on the electronics you buy. They aren't always worth it (seriously) and when you don't need them you feel the amount of money that you wasted.

Well when I bought my laptop, I wanted the 4 year warranty. I knew I was going to have the computer for quite a long time and that things go wrong on occasion (especially when people in your family and yourself is kind of klutzy) and something may happen as to where you regret not getting the warranty.

It happened with two digital cameras, I remind you. One was dropped into a container full of ice water, the other was dropped by the little lady's friend. No warranties there, folks.

So long, long ago when I bought the laptop, I paid 400 some bucks for the 4 year warranty. I figured why not since they told me it literally covers everything, that included the screen and the battery which they used to not cover - per the representative.

So now I am getting a free (400 dollars worth) AC Adapter for my laptop. Apparently there is a short somewhere in the cord, most likely near the connection, that is causing the battery to not charge. So the battery keeps warning us that it's low because the laptop isn't reading that the power cord is connected. Blahblahblah.

So with the new power cord the battery will charge and I will once again be with laptop! Anyway. I'll be using the Honey's to do homework and check email but probably not much else. I am going to try to send out the cord tomorrow because supposedly once it is scanned as sent they are going to ship me the new one. That could take up to 10 business days. Tomorrow is Friday so I expect to have it within two weeks. Seriously.

Ok so, I am off to finish dinner! Laters.

I forgot to mention that the place that was going to fix my laptop called. Apparently there is some liquid that got into the laptop and therefore they are sending it back unrepaired. I don't know if this means the power cord/ac adapter unit as well since it was faulty and broke when unplugged from the laptop, but we'll see. I have a feeling that liquid got into the laptop because we have a kitty, and I won't mention his name, that likes to spill things and usually my laptop was either on or under the coffee table.

Then again, the little lady tends to spill when she doesn't watch where she puts her feet when she decides she wants them on the table as well.

Anyone wish to donate sippy cups, please contact me at....... heh.

So I should be getting the laptop back tomorrow and hopefully with a new cord, because if I have to go through getting another new cord from them due to the fact that they sent me a faulty one and I NOTED IT ON THE PAPERWORK I'm going to be extremely upset. Extremely.

So if they do send me a new cord and I continue to have issues with the laptop, I hope to talk my Honey into opening it up and taking a look at it.

Anyway. I am off for now.

So Honey has been trying to teach the Little Lady and I Magic The Gathering. It's a little frustrating for me since I haven't ever played a game like it, but the child seems to be getting the hang of it. He's got a ton of cards so we don't have to spend any major amounts of money to get together a collection, which is good since we don't have major amounts of money.

(Currently his kitty, Dusty, is tearing around the house like a bat out of hell, if I had batteries in my camera I'd be recording it because it's funny as hell!)

So I got today's homework done, I got one load of dishes done, I'm going to work on another load shortly, I've gotten two loads of laundry done and more to do.

We've got some errand running to do later. I know we plan to get meal worms for Jack (Jack says YUM) and crickets. I wanted to make iced tea today, so I've got to get that started, but I have to wash the pitcher it is going in first.

I am off.

Ok so I haven't done much on my to-do list at all today but that will change. I'm working on it, things are getting done, just much slower than I really want them to, but that's ok. Take the time to get it right the first time, this way there's no need to waste time on it later.

Honey is going to make a box for the Magic cards. They are everywhere. They take up two shelves on his side of the bookcase, they are on the dining room table, which is now in the living room, they are on the coffee table, too. The decks that are made keep getting slightly messed up because they keep getting knocked over a few cards at a time. My shirt was catching on them yesterday.

So we've gotten a few things done. We've moved the bed to its new location. My dresser has been moved to my side of the bed. Honey's dresser made it into the bedroom and we both have nightstands. I've never had a nightstand. It's nice even if Dusty does tend to sleep on it or sit on it and play with the blinds while I try to sleep. We've allowed him into the bedroom again. It keeps him from clawing at the door and crying while we are trying to sleep. As long as he keeps away from Jack's tank, then all is well.

Let's see. We moved the dining room table into the living room because we are going to turn the front room into an office type area. I supposed I should lay the apartment out so that people know what the heck I'm talking about.

When you enter the apartment, the first room you see is what I call the front room, the bathroom is out there and then there are double doors leading into the rest of the apartment. The double doors are great because we don't have to worry too much about the cats getting out (although Dusty did make it up to the main house one night all by his lonesome).

Then after you enter through the double doors, you are in the living room. To the right is the entertainment center (tv, playstation 2, vcr, etc.) to the left is the bookcase. After them, the dining table, the coffee table and couch, then the door to the Little Lady's room. Straight through to the kitchen and then the door to our bedroom.

I know it doesn't sound crowded, but we have a ton of stuff. Honey is trying to make his media center work, so there are speakers in the living room that can't go into the entertainment center until he cuts out the bottom of the sections they are going in so that they sink into it. The speakers are too tall and that's why he has to cut out the bottom. Then there are the boxes of electronics, books, and all sorts of things that have to be given a true home. Hence, the creation of an 'office'.

Previously, the front room was an office. And since the Honey's desk is out there, then that is obviously a good start. We have to find my laptop a home because it doesn't want to stay powered, period. So we have to set it up and leave it sit there. I'm sort of un-thrilled about this because I enjoy sitting on the couch and doing things with it, but apparently it isn't to be so again. I will miss the freedom. I don't think I can talk my Honey into opening it up though. I'm sure he's afraid he won't be able to put it back together. I understand. Although I think HP would walk him through it if I asked them to. They wanted me to take apart the laptop and check the power connection myself until I asked them about my warranty. The warranty company won't fix it due to 'liquid damage' so I am stuck.

Even the Little Lady's computer might go into the office. It'll be a good way for us to keep an eye on what she's doing and who she's talking to, etc. Eventually, when he gets the time and we get the money, my Honey is going to build me a computer. Which rocks.

I did the dishes today. I've started dinner. I read several chapters yesterday and a couple today of my book. I have homework to do tomorrow so I'm going to be lazy today and work on that tomorrow in between laundry, dishes and picking up.

I'm still waiting on PayPerPost to approve my blog. No big deal, I can wait. We'll see what happens.

And that's about it. Laters.

I couldn't sleep in, usually I can't anyway, so I was up at 8 am and booting the computer to start working on the new splash page and started doing some other things as well. Today has been fairly well productive because the apartment is looking good at the moment.

I did all the dishes. I hadn't been able to get up the energy to do them during the week from being sick and in and out of bed. So the dishes are all done and with few exceptions put away. Along with the dishes I got the counter, stove and sinks cleaned.

Kitchen-wise the floor still needs swept and the other counter needs cleaned off but I'm content with the kitchen at the time being.

I picked up all the magic cards that Dusty scattered (he even got a few under the couch) and put them back in the front room. I picked up the living room and cleaned it out. I ran the sweeper and even sucked the crap out of the couch cushions and off of the cat tree. After running the vacuum I tore it apart and cleaned the various pieces of the filtration system so that it can clean better the next time around. I haven't done that in at least six months and it needed cleaned badly.

In the meantime of creating the new splash page, working on the layout for a new blog and the living room I started doing laundry as well. I think I am on load 4. It's all neatly folded on the couch right now as I really don't feel like putting it all away at the moment. I'll do that in a bit. I also stripped the sheets and pillowcases from the bed so I'll have to find some to throw back on it because I think I am going to stop doing laundry, too.

I also checked into the online classroom and replied to a few posts and to doublecheck the assignments that are due Tuesday (to make sure I had done everything I needed to up to this point) and I'll work on those tomorrow as I want to spend time doing personal stuff today.

For a couple of hours now I've been digging through 1001freefonts.com for more fonts. Since I am going to be using Honey's laptop a lot longer than we figured I am making it more usable for me. This means downloading a shitload of fonts so that I can be creative in both school and personal projects.

I will be tearin apart (possibly today, I am not sure) Movable Type's templates on here because I am fed up with it. I don't feel I can be creative with such huge constraints so I am going to make an attempt at creating my own. I mean, sheesh, that's the point of doing web design on my personal site anyway, right? I don't think MT meant for us to be constrained to using their layouts and their styles and the rigid forms they introduced anyway. I think MT basically did things the way they did so that more designers could create for more blogs. Besides, in order to show the blog anyway, all I have to include are the MT tags. I don't have to have any other stuff from them but that.

Wish me luck, I may need some serious counselling afterwards. Laters.

Today I've been extremely lazy. I have to put clothes away from Saturday and Sunday's laundry fest. I did most of the dishes so far, some are soaking, and I've started dinner.

I've got four loads of laundry to put away, although it doesn't look like it. I have to fold the towels that are in the dryer because the Little Lady didn't do it when asked and therefore forget as her brain reintegrated with the internet. Putting clothes away isn't much, it's just a pain.

The dishes will get done and they'll be washed, dried and put away. I'm just being lazy at the moment because I was doing some school and disillusioned stuff in between soaking sinkfuls. I don't know how we use so many dishes! I just did ALL the dishes on Saturday and today I feel as if I didn't do any at all.

For dinner today I wanted to simmer a roast in gravy (the water just started boiling so I am going to add the gravy shortly), make mashed potatoes and probably corn. I have actually wanted for a couple of days now, wanted to make beef stew with a whole roast - I prefer it that way. But I didn't buy carrots or anything else that I would need when I went grocery shopping. I had a limit on funds and did quite well - I spent 87 and change and saved 30 bucks. I have started cutting coupons recently but haven't found any yet that we can use right away.

I have been working on the new design for Disillusioned, which will be put up after I rip apart the MT templates and make my own. Don't worry, I'll back all the stuff up this time on here, I swear.

I posted a few things for school, had to upload the page I am working on (it wasn't specified so I didn't do it and neither did anyone else), plus I had to look up some information for a previous assignment that was due yesterday (I did day 2 and 3 assignments on day 1 - last Thursday). I've been attempting to do my assignments early so that I can get them done and turned in and make any changes that need to be done turned in on the due date itself. I did part one of the html foundation that isn't due until tomorrow, part 2 is also due tomorrow and I want to work on it today as well. Pain in the ass that it is!

Ok I am off. Got to add the gravy, put clothes away and then start on the other pages for the site i'm working on for school. This is what happens when you accidentally sleep in until 10 am! Laters.

So I was on kitchen duty today. I hadn't done dishes for about 4 days and we were almost completely out. We were out of cups and silverware but now it's all washed and dried. I have the cake pan soaking along with a bowl.

The kitchen is looking much better. I wiped off the stove and washed the burners and the rings that hold them in place. I wiped off the counters. I didn't use clorox like I had planned, but I will tomorrow while Honey is working. I wanted to sweep and mop the floor but I'm going to wait on that for tomorrow as well. I did four loads of dishes and a load of laundry for the child, who pretty much threw the clothes I had washed her yesterday onto the floor. I had even folded them and put the ones that needed to be right-side out. Note that I am a little peeved. I haven't been doing her laundry because I needed one less thing to do and I figure she's 13, she can do her own laundry. She's been sick, so I volunteered to do it since we don't want her outside much, even though the laundry area is in the greenhouse not more than three steps away, I was kind enough to do her laundry. Now that she's so lovingly thrown it on her floor, I refuse to do anymore. What's in the dryer will stay there. I'm not even going to bring her hamper in as there are still a few things that need to be done.

Next.

I started picking up the living room. Honey was a huge help with that because he picked up all the magic cards. There are still some on the dining table but I am waiting to see where they get put. I still need to run the sweeper and finish washing the stuff that is soaking in the sink. I will be getting to that here in a minute or two.

My neck has been bothering me a lot lately. I don't know why. And I've been having major issues typing. I've been having to correct myself a lot more often lately. I think all that crocheting screwed with my rhythm, heh. Alright, well I am going to finish the dishes and perhaps sweep the kitchen floor so I have one less thing to do tomorrow. Laters.

There are two new blogs that I have been working on. I can't figure out how I want to do the other one, but I have finally set up Chelle's Reading Corner. I'll be reviewing books starting with the ones on my bookshelves. This includes different authors and genres. There are books that I've read more than once and books I haven't read or haven't been able to get through (for whatever reason - life can get in the way) along with books that are as old as I am.

So feel free to visit, comment, contribute in some form of way. I currently only have one post up regarding my favorite female author, Laurell K. Hamilton. I will be starting the reviews soon, but I am not sure which author to start with. I listed a few that I have on my shelves in the Categories and as I find more the names will be added for reviewing.

Anyway, check it out and let me know what you think. Here is the link: Chelle's Reading Corner. Enjoy.

I miss having a slow cooker. In fact, I plan to find one when I am working again. Something simple, no need for anything fancy with me. Just something that I can put a roast in on low and let it simmer all day long. Although I would probably want to put a lock on it because I know the Little Lady and Honey may end up eating it before I get home.

In place of a slow cooker, I use the stovetop. Any roast I put in the oven comes out undercooked or tough as rubber, so I had to figure out some other way to make it as if it is in a slow cooker.

I put it in a pot with about two cups of water and add a season-all type of seasoning to it. I found the season al I've been using at CostCo and it's kind of like a mix you'd find from Mrs. Dash but it's a huge bottle.

Another thing I plan to make when I start working is home made beef stew. In doing this I throw in carrots, celery, potatoes, other vegetables as needed and two or three packets of brown gravy along with the roast and walk away again. No, I don't use beef stew meat, I don't see a reason as to why I should, it's roast anyway.

Today I am making Three Cheese Rice with the roast and mixed veggies. Everything is about done so I am going to go eat. Laters.

No, really they do. Ever see a site with a negative rating? Well, mine has one. I never even had a chance at a PR0, I am a PR -1. You see it, believe it. Go to a PR site that does rankings and check it out. Everything I have ever seen tells me I am a negative one. NEGATIVE.

I know I don't have a lot of linky-love out there and that I now do sponsered posts but once upon a time I was the fourth site listed when you'd enter the word 'disillusioned' into Google's search bar. I miss those days, not that I got a lot of link-love then either, but still, people came, saw and went. And hopefully went away with some form of change in them whether I was ranting and raving about the people at work who wouldn't work or about the girl who kept falling asleep, or the client who yelled at me after calling five times because I couldn't get their representative on the phone. Sorry, I tried. I really did.

But this post isn't about work or customers or even anything. I am simply here to complain about Google's recent change. This is probably the longest running this blog has ever been. The server is paid up until 2010, I have to renew the domain name every year, but it's only 7.50 a year, so it's good to go. PayPerPost will help me pay for that, easily.

I don't think Google had a right to slap all of us bloggers around simply because we wanted to earn money doing something we enjoy. Hell, I didn't want to monetize this blog, but I didn't have a choice. I have a child to feed and bills to pay and I don't earn enough to even do that from sponsored posts.

Google did it to be petty. I enjoy Google. I would've torn my heart out before turning away from them, but now what do I do since they have turned their back on so many people? I still have an iGoogle page. I have three gmail addresses, two for personal needs and one for my resume. I have used Google documents and spreadsheets. The spreadsheets gave me access to keep track of my bills anywhere. I put every penny I spent and what it was spent on in there in order to keep track. Now I don't make money worth putting into a spreadsheet.

There was a time or two I enjoyed GoogleEarth. I used GoogleMaps and their 'drive it' feature to show me how to get to the airport to pick my Honey up when he was coming to Ohio to visit, and then to live. Google has completely infected my life. I feel as if it's a virus that I need a cure for.

I don't like Yahoo. I don't like MSN. I can't stand AOL. That left Google and they dazzled me and then as soon as I'm sitting around merrily enthralled with all their lovely gadgets, they stab hundreds of thousands of people in the back simutaneously. It was all planned out. They wanted to kill us but we are still here. We will thwart them somehow. I still have hope.

So tomorrow I officially restart school after our holiday break. I have 12 weeks to go starting tomorrow and I will be finished with school. Well, at least with the Web Design Diploma course at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. I do plan to continue my education. I do not know if it will be with them or not. The Junior College in Santa Rosa is one of the best colleges around. Once I have lived here for two years I think I'll be able to take courses at the cost of local residents. They may even offer courses online, which I honestly prefer.

I know that going to a school and networking with other students and teachers is probably the best way to get a job, good education, contacts, etc. but the problem I have is that if I end up in a class with people my age acting as if they are in high school, or worse, then I won't be able to handle it. And I think I may end up getting the balls to tell them how they are acting. Or perhaps not. I've put up with childish antics so much over the past 6 years that I just close my eyes and shake my head. But then I had no choice, part of my job was to deal with the childish coworkers and clients.

Still waiting patiently for the temp agency to find me work. I did better than I thought I would on the tests they wanted me to take, I didn't do the best on the Excel test but they asked me questions that I had no idea how to answer. I did try, but I ended up having to skip them. I only missed two on the Word test and one of them was because I accidentally hit the next question button twice and it skipped a question. The other I had gotten wrong.

The Little Lady starts school on Tuesday, instead of Monday. I don't understand why, but that's how the schedule is. I would love to send her to school when there isn't any, that would be wonderful.

Honey is going to take me to the library tomorrow. I really was hoping there'd be a copy of the book I need for school, but they don't have it on the catalog online. Perhaps I'll get lucky and it'll be hidden away in some dark corner. If anyone wishes to send me a copy of Multimedia Communication Systems: Techniques, Standards and Networks by Rao, Bojkovic, Milovanovic Copyright 2000, please contact me and let me know. I'd love to borrow it, yes I'd send it back to you if I weren't going to be paying for it.

I got most of the dishes done today. Honey is cooking dinner. Tomorrow we are going to scrub the kitchen down with Lysol. I know, it's not enviromentally friendly, but I am going to do it anyway, even if my lungs flee my body.

Alright, I am off. Laters.

So I got up at 6:20 this morning to wake up the Little Lady for her first day back to school having having something around 3 weeks off. I was quite shocked at the amount of time they gave off for the holiday because of the simple fact that most schools back east only give two weeks. But then again, they do need those extra 5 days for snow days or they end up having to add days on at the end of the year. Since it doesn't, or rather it's quite rare, for it to snow here, they don't have to worry about it.

There has been so much rain the past week or so that I thought the sun would never come back. It did come out for a little while yesterday but when Honey looked at the weather gadget it said 80% chance of rain today. It rained this morning about 10 minutes after the Little Lady got on the bus, and I remembered to tell her to take her umbrella, otherwise it would still be raining.

It's not raining right this minute, but it could start up again any time now. The fog was rolling in last night and it was quite thick, which kept it from getting below freezing here. I like fog, it holds in the warmth and keeps it from being almost true-winter cold.

I started school yesterday and already turned in the assignment that was due today yesterday. I kept thinking it was day 2 for some reason, when that is today. So later this evening I'll be working on tomorrows assignment and try to get that turned in today. We have to write a 1 - 2 page summary on the benefit that IPv6 is going to bring over IPv4. I'm wondering what happened to IPv5?

I still haven't gotten the book for school, but I am hoping to get it this week. Unless someone out there graciously wants to share their copy, that is. The library doesn't have any copies of the book, which kind of shocks me. Makes me wonder if the library I went to in Ohio would have it.

I also wanted to mention that Venomous Kate has a new blog out. It's called Blogging for the Money. I strive to write like she does. She's amazing, beautiful and talented. If you are interested in learning from one of the best bloggers in the blogosphere, I suggest you check out this new blog of hers.

Hope the day is going well for everyone out there, I'll be back later!

So it's that time of the month again and I am just extremely stressed between school and finding a job and keeping the house clean and watching my cat fall off the windowsill. At least this time she made it to the back of the couch before sliding down.. she didn't slide down this time, she actually made it! So proud.

I've been attempting to read Burnt Offerings, which is the book after the Killing Dance, by Laurell K. Hamilton, and haven't been able to get into at this time. I think I'm full of Anita Blake right now, blasphemy I know! I can't get enough of her, normally, but I think reading several books back to back the way I did sort of burnt me out.

So I have been working on Honey's afghan, which I changed the pattern again. I know, I know, I need to make up my mind. I have. It's quite an easy pattern, a lot easier than I thought it was going to be and it was one of my first picks. I originally didn't choose it because I couldn't find a visual demonstration of two of the stitches needed and now that I have, I can do the pattern. You can view the pattern I am working on here. I am using midnight blue and kelly green in alternate square rows. Every nine rows I change colors and stitches, so far it looks really well. I have about 2 and a half rows left before I switch back to midnight blue. I am going to need three more pounds of each color to complete the afghan, which I'll eventually get. I'll post a photo when I am done making it.

I am off for now, but as always, I shall return.

And I am happy. I can still talk and text who I want, as much as I want and not have to pay a ton of extra money. We finally got local phones! Honey loves the local MetroPCS, has used them forever, and since they have increased their towers we get good service where we live, so we decided to go for it and drop our phones with the company taken over by AT&T. Everything seems to be getting taken over by them again. Cingular is the new AT&T and then Cell One is the new AT&T. We can't afford AT&T so we ditched, sort of.

My Ohio phone was no longer under a contract and had we known this we would have dumped it when we moved here, as soon as we got here. Currently there are 29 days left of my Ohio phone life and no, I won't be using it. Honey's phone, unfortunately, has until March of 2009 before the contract expires. We dropped the phone down to the cheapest plan they have, which is 20 bucks a month plus tax. We took off all extra features that were paid for. Then we shut the phone off. We'll pay the 20 bucks a month plus tax until we can afford to shut it off for good, currently that's $280.00 bucks. And if the Little Lady does go to Ohio this summer to visit her friends, we'll can always give her the phone for use there if she no longer has her track phone, which has an Ohio based number as well.

My new phone is called a Huawei (I think the guy pronounced it Who-Way) and even though it doesn't have any games or decent ring tones, I like it. I bought it because it's a flip phone and the Nokia they had wasn't. Yes, I like Nokia, they make excellent phones. My last two were Nokia brand and they were capable of taking a beating. My previous phone actually ended up sitting in snow for about a half an hour before I realized it was missing. It worked just fine. So I definitely recommend the study Nokia phones if you are the type who tends to drop their phone, or it falls out of your pocket, or it gets left in the snow. Whether it will survive the washer or not like Little Lady's Motorola trac phone or not, I don't know.

So we'll see how well this phone stands up to the test of time with me. I don't plan on putting it through the ringer, but things do happen. Laters.

Dear readers, this post includes words like Cervix and Speculum and Pap Smear. If these words offend you, please don't bother reading or commenting.

Ahhh so yesterday was the oh-so-hated and feared Annual Female Torture Session. For those of you who aren't doing this that are female you had better start. I got yelled at by my previous doctor for avoiding it for ten years. Perhaps I was just in the need for a doctor with gentle hands.

Yesterday was absolutely amazing. I honestly love Planned Parenthood. Yes, I mentioned their name. There is no better organization out there and yes, I honestly do believe that. I am not working at this time and they still take care of me, take time with me, spend time with me, even though I have no income and can't pay them for their time.

Please note that this post originated on January 24th, 2007 and in order to keep it at the top I have edited the authored on date.

Family inside didn’t know home was on fire

By MARGIE TRAX PAGE - Staff Writer - mtrax@starbeacon.com Star Beacon

— GENEVA — Jeff and Tiffani Foss were playing with their 5-year-old daughter, Angelena, Monday afternoon when they heard an urgent knock at the front door.

“My neighbor said, ‘Your house is on fire! There is smoke out here,’” Jeff Foss said. “We had no idea. There was no smell inside and the smoke detectors never rang.”
Smoke poured from the gable of the house at 729 Eastlawn St., even as Foss emptied two fire extinguishers into the wall of the upstairs bedroom.

“My neighbor brought a third fire extinguisher and we used it. The firefighters got here just as it ran out,” Jeff Foss said. “We ran for the door and all we thought about was the (pets).”

The Fosses son, John, will turn 2 this week. He was not home at the time of the fire.
“I ran to my son’s bedroom and all I could see was a hole where the outlet should have been. I guess we didn’t smell the smoke because it was all blowing out the gable,” he said.

The Fosses grabbed Angelena and their pets and stood in the driveway as firefighters broke windows and carefully climbed the ladder truck extension to ventilate the roof. Smoke poured from the attic vent and seeped out of the window frames as flames shot from the roof point.

“I just can’t believe this. Everything is ruined,” Tiffani Foss said. “This is unbelievable.”

No one was injured in the fire and the Geneva Fire Department received mutual aid from Saybrook and Harpersfield township fire departments with medical assistance by Northwest Ambulance District.

Firefighter Dale Arkenburg said the fire originated in the chimney where the Fosses had a fire going.

“This fire spread fast. We arrived to a working fire from a bedroom wall to the attic and all the spaces in between,” Arkenburg said. “We had to break through walls and the ceiling and the roof to get to the flames. Fire and smoke damage was extensive in three rooms and there was water damage throughout.”

Arkenburg said the house is a total loss and estimates damages at $100,000.

“There were a lot of salvageable belongings,” Arkenburg said. “But in interior of the house is a mess.”

During the fire, neighbors surrounded Jeff and Tiffani Foss, bringing a blanket for Tiffani and embracing her in strong hugs as she stood in the snow.

“We don’t know what happens next, but we have homeowner’s insurance and we have family for support,” Jeff Foss said. “This isn’t what you expect out of a quiet day at home. This isn’t what you expect out of any day.”

Copyright © 1999-2006 cnhi, inc.

My best friend was babysitting at the time of the fire for their little boy, John. What if she hadn't been? What if he'd been laying down for nap in his bedroom where smoke was billowing and fire was eating at the wall? When it comes to a chimney fire, you aren't always this lucky. Their neighbor saw the smoke and was able to alert them. If their neighbor hadn't been home this could have ended up so much worse than it already has, but this family still needs your help.

The original article can be found here: http://www.starbeacon.com/archivesearch/local_story_021233012.html

If you are in a position to assist in any way, please visit a nearby Key Bank and ask to donate to the Foss Fire Fund. Any assistance, no matter what form, is always welcome.

If you are able to donate clothing items, they currently need clothing for a little girl the age of 4 in the sizes 5T for clothing and shoe size 12 and this can be dropped off or sent to the Light Touch Flower Shop at 220 East Main St; Geneva, OH 44041, if you wish to call ahead please ask for Darlene (my best friends' mom) at 440.466.0800.

I wish to thank each of you now for the help you provide to anyone who is in need. It takes a lot of love to help people and I know there are many of you out there.

So the past week I have been trying again to get the house in order. I started with the kitchen floor, nothing more, on the weekend. I swept and removed everything and swept it again. I got under the refrigerator and stove the best I could and swept overall again, then I mopped it twice with steaming hot water with a touch of bleach. Why I started with the floor I don't know. I just didn't like the feeling of walking on it and I had to fix it.

Then homework took over and I worked on that. The next day I washed all the dishes. Nothing else mind you, just dishes, so there wasn't any silverware unless it was in the drawer and that was depleted pretty darn quickly. Then Honey and I went out to the stores because I got my federal refund and we needed to stock up on some things. We hit JoAnn Fabrics, two stores, to get the yarn I need to finish his afghan and I got myself an assorted pack of crochet needles for a decent price at Walmart. I even treated us to Starbucks since I left the house without coffee, which I am not normally prone to do. We went to the pet store and bought Jack more bedding. Turns out that stuff that comes in the bricks is a heck of a lot of fun. You are supposed to put it in a bucket and add four cups of water and let it expand, then you stir it and let it finished expanding. Honey thought my big mixing bowl would be big enough. He was wrong. It was a mess, but he cleaned most of it up and the bowl is sitting outside waiting to be hosed off. I don't want that stuff going down the drains. I don't know what will happen.

Today I have been doing laundry and again dishes. I took the huge tote that I normally keep extra blankets and sheet sets in and emptied it onto the bed after I made it up. There was a lot more than blankets and sheets in it though. Clothes got mixed in over the months of my lazy time. So the bed is made but covered in stuff. Nevertheless I got a ton of the clothes off the floor and dragged the tote out to the greenhouse for washing. I can see some of the bedroom floor now.

There are still more clothes.

I have to figure out what to do with the stuff on the bed because I know I am not going to be able to finish all the laundry in the tote today. I used to do the laundry in the big and little tote over at mom's in just a few hours. I never ran the machines at the same time but it seems like there is a ton more laundry in just that one tote than there ever was in the two.

I got the one counter completely scrubbed and wiped down. After I did that (it was hell I swear) I decided to make myself a salad. So I took a break and ate. Now I'm hungry again and I'm debating on what to eat next.

All the silverware, knives, and cooking utensils are washed. Some are even put away. I've gotten to the last of the dirty kitchen stuff but I haven't finished it yet. I have the burners from the stove soaking in hot soapy bleach water so they come clean easily. I still haven't been able to get the crud off the stove. I let it soak in Lysol with bleach but it doesn't seem to have done any good yet.

Have you noticed the use of a ton of bleach? I swear I don't normally use so much. I use only a capful in a sinkful of hot soapy water and the same goes for mopping the floor. I open the window above the kitchen stove to let the fumes out so I don't suffocate myself, too. Smart, I know.

I'll be thrilled when the kitchen is done again, when I can do just a little a day to keep it the way it'll look when it's done. That probably won't be until tomorrow. I am so pooped. Once I finish the burners and sweep the floor I am so done in there for today. I have to figure out what to do with the stuff on the bed and that will take up the rest of my afternoon.

So I am off. Laters.

I know, I know! But I did get a lot done yesterday! And I fell asleep on the couch waiting for the dryer to be done because I was 'kitchened' out. The kitchen wasn't finished yesterday until after I woke up from my nap. I wasn't planning to take one I was just simply exhausted. I did get three loads of laundry done and most of that is put away. I got the bed cleaned off, but none of that got put away because the tote is still out in the greenhouse with clothing waiting to be washed. I would have started a load already but for some reason the water didn't start when I turned the washer on. I'm not sure why but I'll check into it a little later.

I have two assignments due today and will be working on that shortly. The kitchen stove still needs to be scrubbed. I can't seem to get the grease off in the center of it. I really wish things would get wiped up when they are spilled or messed up. I did get the one counter completely cleaned and scrubbed. I have a few dishes to attend to and the stove. Then I'll redo the floor and be done.

Tomorrow I'll start on the living room depending on how much I get done today with homework and the kitchen. If I can't do laundry, for whatever water related issue, then I'll work on the living room. I'm thinking of making a sign that says if you dirty it, you wash it and if you spill it, wipe it up. I won't be able to do the amount of cleaning I do once I'm working. And I can't afford to bring in a maid. I'd love to have a cleaning party but the friends who'd do it with me live in Ohio. I know they can't afford to come out and I can't afford to bring them out and even if I did why on earth would I have them help me clean?

I miss my best friend. She'd be over here in a heartbeat to help me clean. We always cleaned with each other. We'd have major amounts of fun and great conversations when we did it, too. She also knows I'd return the favor. I feel horrible that I can't keep the house clean, you know? It's not that big and there isn't any real storage space (no closets) and I can't figure out why it's so hard to keep clean! Other than cleaning nonstop I don't know what else to do.

Ohwell for right now. I still haven't had coffee yet. I need coffee so laters.

PS: Thanks for your comment, Kate. I do appreciate it. I replied to it but in case you don't get a chance, I find the same about you. You inspire me to become a better writer. I don't know how you manage to do everything you do. 5 blogs, homeschooling your son, taking care of your household chores, exercising and making healthy dinners. Where do you find the time sweetheart?

Does the cat really win if the mouse is still alive?

This is a question we wish to explore with Dusty, the mighty mouser kitty cat! This morning when I went to go take my shower, only to find Dusty the wonder kitty laying in the shower. Little did I know that he had a friend with him! Being as I didn't have my contacts in I couldn't figure out why Dusty was throwing fits as to me picking him up out of the shower to bring him into the living room. And then, I found out.

I thought he had decided to be mean and take a poop in the shower. It hadn't occurred to my caffiene-deprived self that he wouldn't have been laying in there if he had. So I grabbed some toilet paper and proceeded to pick it up to toss out. It didn't feel like poop and it had a tail!

I was looking at a mouse trying to figure out what it was. Then it twitched in my hand! I freaked and dropped it. Not realizing what it was and thinking it was going to run off I looked for it. Dusty had mangled it pretty good but hadn't killed it during his playtime.

So I bravely saved us from the mangled mouse and picked him up then threw him outside. The cats are currently in the greenhouse looking for mice, which we know is where that one came from.

Let's hope that Dusty has a better wake up call for me tomorrow, shall we? Laters.

So I posted my recreated resume that I did for school up on Careerbuilder and Monster and applied for a job in Santa Rosa through CB and through Manpower. It's a marketing/web design job and I'm not entirely sure that I'd be fit for the position but I'm applying anyway. I added the information for my portfolio site and decided that I am going to do all of the tutorials in the Photoshop Classroom in a Book for CS3 since we didn't touch it in class and do all the tutorials in the Flash 8 book I have since we only did a few in that class so that I can create a new portfolio. I also plan to do a bunch of tutorials that I found at Planet Photoshop. They have a ton of great video and text tutorials for Photoshop and some in Illustrator. I have watched all of the video tutorials but I haven't done any of them as of yet.

Then I'll create myself a new portfolio site (I have the final portfolio up at the site I got in order to display work) so that I can display everything I have done. I don't know what else to do regarding showing work. I plan to work on a personal intranet to assist me in keeping track of things (chores, accounts, passwords, birthdays, etc) in order to get myself organized.

So far I have gotten done two loads of laundry, which need to be put away, and the dishes, which I plan to have the Little Lady do the ones we used during the day (I did the dishes from yesterday and last night's cake baking). I also added more of the coconut bark stuff and fresh water to Jack's tank. She's in reptile utopia, I hope. The bark was still a bit moist, but we put it in there like that before so it shouldn't pose any issues. It does a great job of increasing the humidity in there for a few days. I have her pool completely filled almost to the rim and the fountain running to clean out the nasty stuff she drags in there.

Which reminds me, we need to get filters for the fountain or clean them. Either way, it needs to be done and I will probably end up doing it.

So I am going to go back to working on getting laundry put away and probably start doing those tutorials. Laters.

Before I go... (I know, I keep doing this.) For those of you who are interested in seeing the new website that is going to be displaying my work when it's officially done (since you've already seen the final portfolio I submitted for school) please leave a comment and let me know you want the url. Enter your email address and I will send it to you. For obvious reasons I don't want the new site related to this site. Ok, now I am off.

Yep....

Here I've been gone for a little over a month yet I don't feel as if I have anything to say really. I haven't been doing anything new. Watching my shows, playing a game now and then, taking walks, reading voraciously (I'll be posting new reviews soon on Chelle's Reading Corner), looking for a job, trying to figure out a way to make more money with LinkWorth, attempting to create a personal intranet for all of my information and trying to figure out in which direction to go with a professional site.

I've taken some new photos and a few videos. I'll hopefully post those soon as well. I do have photos up on my personal picasa. If anyone wishes to see it, here is a link: http://picasaweb.google.com/mnlghtrose?pli=1 - This will open in a new window.

So one of my favorite shows will not be continuing. No surprise there, a lot of them won't be and I finished watching it today (The 4400 if anyone is interested). The ending was very open and very intriguing and extremely upsetting since they aren't continuing the series. I enjoyed it and was hoping it would stick around. I wish networks who aren't geared for sci-fi would stop creating shows and then killing them. Perhaps if sci-fi was left to the sci-fi channel (yes I know, USA and SciFi are owned by the same network) they wouldn't be cancelled so quickly. I like Eureka, but I loved the 4400. That show had SERIOUS possibilities. USA screwed up somewhere and it got cancelled and I don't know why. I think if they moved it over to SciFi it would be around for another 6 seasons. Stargate SG1 made it for 10 (I wish they were around longer) and Atlantis will be around for 10 and a new leg of Stargate will be coming out as well. I understand these networks want to get some ratings from the sci-fi fans, but since they keep screwing it up (I'm being extremely nice by not using the F word) they really need to quit and stick to what they know: fake reality tv and horrible drama and comedy shows.

I wonder if Fox would have kept the 4400 around? I love House and I'm interested sometimes in Bones when I don't have any other options. I don't care for Canterbury's Law all that much, though. And there aren't any other shows I care for that Fox shows. I'll watch the Simpsons, Family Guy and American Dad with Honey now and again but I can only take so much.

I like the ideas of shows that show possibilities. I enjoyed the 4400 because it showed what the human race may become someday, but they used our current timeline and that made it all the more intriguing. I enjoy House because I like his attitude. I know, he pisses a lot of people off. I probably would as well if I didn't control myself so well.

The CW (used to be WB) has Smallville and Supernatural. I enjoy Smallville. I don't care for Supernatural anymore though. Smallville has made it this long and now they are going to get new writers on season 8. I hope they don't screw it up.

Somehow this post turned into a rant about tv and I don't know how that happened. Perhaps I'm tired of the shows I enjoy getting cancelled and reality shows that aren't real (you know they aren't, don't try to deny it) keep getting new seasons or they keep coming up with a more stupid reality show ideas. I can't tell you anything about them and I won't listen to anyone talking about them, I walk away or tell them I don't care to watch.

The job hunt is going horribly, there just doesn't seem to be anything to fit what I want or me to fit what the position is or it gets filled and I don't get a chance or I don't get called. So I will make an attempt at trying to create a great personal intranet that people can easily turn into their own personal intranet system to keep track of things. It could be anything from recipes and chores for the kids to bills and account information to photos and schedules. I was thinking it would be great for stay at home or work at home parents. Anyone out there who wants