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Monday, May 5th, 2008
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8:39 am - Sweeping up the scraps ...
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* Music Sunday is over, and I'm both relieved and pleased. The adult bell choir did pretty well with our 3 pieces. The kids bell choir stayed together and did well. The youth choir did great with their song and solos, and the collective piece for all choirs at the end was energetic. I'm so glad that the season is largely over. My 3 seventh graders want to do a trio piece for Father's Day, so that's the only practice that we've got left. *whew*
* Elliot and Carissa's picnic was fun yesterday afternoon, and the weather was beautiful. Craig came with me, which was a rarity. In the short time we spent there, we got to catch up with Karl, Tom, and Maggie, support Elliot and Carissa, and chat with Bob and his dad for a while. (Marie, I hope to catch up with you next time, but it seemed that you had your hands full without the extra distraction. :) )
* On the other hand, I will never get that garden in if I don't take some more vacation time. I've done nothing, and it should have been in 3 weeks ago. Argh!
* We went to see Ironman on Saturday, and it was a great movie. I will only tell you that if you go, you should stay through the credits.
* We're in the process of moving my mother to Quakertown this summer. She's closing on a little place about 10 minutes from us in late June, so we're trying to get her house ready to be shown so she can list it. It sounds like there are several people waiting to see it, so that's promising. Hopefully, this will go smoothly and quickly. Apparently, it's a seller's market in Selinsgrove right now, unlike the rest of the country. How fortuitous.
* As for work, I'm trying to take it easy for now, since the next insanity will no doubt rise up and overtake us again soon. We used to get longer lulls between projects, and I'm sort of making my own lull at this point while I wrap up my last responsibilities. With the current political climate, I'm sure that I shouldn't do it for long, but I think I can eke out another week or two grace period. :) Long enough to take some vacation time to put that garden in, I hope.
* My sister got engaged on Saturday, and is very excited. She's planning a fall wedding, so I'm sure she'll be on manic overdrive for the months in between. Her fiancee is a really great guy, and I think that they suit each other very well. I hope she'll be as happy as I expect. :)
* My little brother is now in California being trained to head to Iraq in another month or two. He expects to be there until January of next year, but with the current length of deployments, it may be longer. He's in Navy Intelligence and has been trained in Arabic, so presumably he'll be at a listening station or translating for someone. He's happy to be able to really use his years of training now, and I hope that he sees little combat and comes home safely. It's an exciting year for the Carter clan, it would seem.
current mood:  busy
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| Friday, April 18th, 2008
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10:41 am - It never rains but it pours ...
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So, our well pump went bad about a week ago, and we had it replaced to the tune of about $1K. Ouch. But, hey. I like running water, so we coughed it up.
Yesterday? The washer overflowed in the basement. Twice. Argh!!! Coincidence? I have no idea. But, I like the ability to wash my clothes by machine, too, so we're having someone out to tell us if it's time for a new washer/dryer or if it's a simple fix. (These are old machines that we got with the house. They're just like my mom's, which she also got with her house ... when I was 9.) I'm hoping for easy fix, but who knows.
That's enough, OK house? Enough. No more can go wrong right now. *shakes finger*
current mood:  aggravated
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| Wednesday, April 9th, 2008
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1:56 pm - Stuck in my head today ...
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*sings*
Aaaaas I was walking down the street one dark and dreary day,
I came upon a billboard, and much to my dismay,
The sign was torn and tattered from the storm the night before.
The wind and rain had done its job, and this is what I saw:
Smoke Coca-Cola cigarettes. Drink Wrigley's Spearmint beer.
Ken-L-Ration dog food makes your wife's complexion clear.
Simonize your baby with a Hershey's candy bar.
And Texaco's the beauty cream that's used by all the stars.
Soooooo, take your next vacation in a brand new fridgidaire.
Learn to play the piano in your granny's underwear.
Doctor's say that babies should smoke 'til they are three.
And people over 65 should bathe in Lipton Tea.
With a flow through teabag .... *jazz hands*
current mood:  amused
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| Wednesday, March 19th, 2008
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9:00 am - Very nice, government ...
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AMD has been ordering lunch in for us since the chip came back, and I'm about to switch back to normal packed lunches. Being a good person, I decided that maybe I'd look at the food pyramid to see what I should be eating. I know I'm overweight, and this sounds like a good thing to try to do properly without having to count calories or anything. Makes sense, right?
So, I go to the government website for it, and find out that now people have customized food pyramids based on their own information. Sounds good. So, I put in my information. What do I get?
"You're very overweight and should see a doctor. Would you like to see the pyramid for someone in the ideal weight range?"
Excuse me?!? We can only help healthy people stay healthy? You're on your own because you're overweight and obviously don't follow healthy eating habits?
What a complete crock.
current mood: angry
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| Sunday, February 3rd, 2008
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3:12 pm - Buffy meme
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| Friday, February 1st, 2008
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10:07 pm - Galactica Meme
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6:04 pm - My hazy, lazy, crazy day
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I took today as a vacation day just on a whim, since we'll be getting insane in about 3 weeks, and I'll probably work nonstop for about a month. So today, I decided to learn how to make pot pie. I have to say that for a first try, it's quite tasty. I think that the half and half called for in the recipe was completely unnecessary and will omit it next time, and I forgot the peas. I even used a fridge crust from the store to make the trial easier. But, I was honestly pleasantly surprised that it was still quite good. :) I'll have to write it into my recipe box and keep refining it. It's yummy comfort food in cold weather.
Tomorrow, I've decided to try making bread bowls. If I can make it work, the next step is chili to put in them. Yum! *grin* Happy February!
current mood:  content
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| Friday, January 25th, 2008
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11:00 am - Obama and/or Huckabee '08!!
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The further we get into this campaign, the more I don't want to see many of the media darlings win the nominations. But unlike many previous elections, there are a couple of candidates that I think are just good people, even if I don't necessarily agree with all of their positions.
I think that I'd be pretty pleased and satisfied if we had an Obama and Huckabee race for November no matter how it turned out. I don't think it's likely, which is a little sad. But, I think that both of them are honestly trying to do something good and believe in what they're doing. They'd run their positions up without running each other down. They're not in it to slake their unquenchable thirst for power. They're not out to prove something. They're not hand-picked parrots of either party. They're not so slimy that they can't drink from an untapered glass. I don't agree with everything they advocate, but I don't think that either will become dictator for life, either. Neither would do as much damage as those pursuing the presidency as a trophy, as their right, or as a pedestal from which to force their draconian agenda.
God speed to the possibly misguided but fundamentally earnest nominees, and grim, white-knuckled fist-shakes to those whose selfish, bitter, and angry words I fear would sound loud upon their rise to the most powerful seat in the nation.
current mood:  thoughtful
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| Tuesday, January 15th, 2008
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8:45 am - Another Inuyasha drabble
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| Saturday, January 12th, 2008
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9:19 pm - Faddish geek work, I admit ...
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After reading about the "101 goals in 1001 days" idea in Barbara's blog, I thought it would be interesting to sit down and write them out to see what I'd do, given the time and ambition. When I got it done, I thought about how I would track it and looked online for a spreadsheet that had nifty bells and whistles for tracking goals like this. I didn't find a single one, much to my surprise. All tracking seems to be by updating a text list of the goals itself with counts in parenthesis, which didn't seem quite up to the task.
So, I wrote a spreadsheet. It has a first sheet to track 101 goals by 1 of 14 metrics (once a week, once a month, 3 times a year, etc), starts at whatever date you like, has a second sheet for tracking simple progress (just a count by month), and has a third sheet to report the tasks ahead of, on, or behind schedule based on an input for the current date.
I will say that I'm not an Excel wizard by any stretch of the imagination and I'm sure that what I did is not that efficient, but it seems like a handy tool for doing this. I don't know that anyone else is playing with the idea, but I'd be happy to send it to anyone if they thought it would be of any use. :)
current mood: accomplished
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| Tuesday, January 1st, 2008
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9:59 am - Priveledge meme
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Father went to college
Father finished college Agriculture, I think
Mother went to college
Mother finished college MRS degree ... I mean, linguistics. Then, an MA in fine arts (lots of painting and sketches, I remember)
Have any relative who is an attorney, physician, or professor An uncle is a history professor at Princeton
Were the same or higher class than your high school teachers
Had more than 50 books in your childhood home
Had more than 500 books in your childhood home No idea of the number, but plenty
Were read children's books by a parent
Had lessons of any kind before you turned 18 Piano for 8 years, baby
Had more than two kinds of lessons before you turned 18
The people in the media who dress and talk like me are portrayed positively Is anyone?
Had a credit card with your name on it before you turned 18
Your parents (or a trust) paid for the majority of your college costs Nope. Scholarships and student loans all the way.
Your parents (or a trust) paid for all of your college costs
Went to a private high school
Went to summer camp Assuming church camp counts
Had a private tutor before you turned 18
Family vacations involved staying at hotels
Your clothing was all bought new before you turned 18 Ha. Ha ha. $50/yr for new clothes, so maybe one or two pairs of jeans, and the rest were hand-me-downs from friends.
Your parents bought you a car that was not a hand-me-down from them What car? I bought one when I got my first job, at 22.
There was original art in your house when you were a child
Had a phone in your room before you turned 18
You and your family lived in a single family house
Your parent(s) owned their own house or apartment before you left home Yup, mom bought it with the divorce settlement money.
You had your own room as a child
Participated in an SAT/ACT prep course
Had your own TV in your room in High School
Owned a mutual fund or IRA in High School or College
Flew anywhere on a commercial airline before you turned 16 Visited my father in Asia 3 times
Went on a cruise with your family
Went on more than one cruise with your family
Your parents took you to museums and art galleries as you grew up Mom was an art nut, so many day trips to the Met and the MoMA in NY.
You were unaware of how much heating bills were for your family This is an odd question. How many kids would know that?
current mood: thoughtful
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| Tuesday, November 13th, 2007
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11:47 am - A story
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I read Inuyasha fan fiction on a regular basis and follow some of the blogs where people submit small stories of all kinds. (Inuyasha is a manga/anime series set in Japan following the adventures of a girl who finds herself 500 years in the past fighting demons (youkai) with friends she makes there. Demons aren't all evil, though.) One of the LJ communities had a challenge last week, and for once I thought I'd try it out. I'm no writer, and I didn't submit my story, but I thought I'd put it in my blog just for fun. I think only Jeff watches/reads Inuyasha, so it's mostly for myself. I'm OK with how my first story went, and I think I kept things in character.
( Theme: Busy Work )
current mood: satisfied
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| Friday, October 26th, 2007
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7:29 pm - An open letter to the USPS
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Roses are red
Violets are blue
YOU SUCK FOR LEAVING A PACKAGE OUT IN THE RAIN IN A PAPER BAG!
current mood: angry
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| Friday, October 19th, 2007
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5:44 pm - Temperment quiz
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Ruth was telling me today about a different personality profile method, and I found this tiny, 12-question quiz. I thought I'd check it out.
( Result: Melancholy Choleric )
current mood: thoughtful
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| Tuesday, October 9th, 2007
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9:03 am - Seen on the way to work ....
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Board = $12
Paint = $4
Everyone knowing
that Lisa's 40
Priceless.
*grin* I loved it. It was a little 4x3-ish sign tied to a stop sign in the back roads of Newtown.
current mood: amused
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8:54 am - Marie's home meme ...
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| Monday, August 27th, 2007
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3:08 pm - If I didn't know better ...
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... I'd say that the person who adapted The Three Musketeers to the silver screen (for Disney, mind you) never even read the book. I'm about a third of the way through it, and it bears no resemblance to it other than that there are a Cardinal and a King; three musketeers of the names Porthos, Athos, and Aramis; and one aspiring guard named D'Artagnon. Other than that, the scripts have never met. It's astounding.
Maybe the same guy was hired to do I, Robot. [Disclaimer: I have not seen the movie, but that fact is based on the knowledge that the trailers reflected a film which bore no resemblance to the book at all.]
current mood:  discontent
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| Sunday, August 19th, 2007
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1:23 pm - Neat idea
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I heard of a neat organization the other day, and I wanted to share it with you guys.
Kiva is a company that allows people to help others by offering a loan to an entrepreneur in a developing country. Each individual contributor can offer some contribution ($25 minimum) toward a small loan that from what I can tell can be in the range of a few hundred dollars to a little over a thousand. The loaners receive updates on the progress made by the business owner, and they report a >99% repayment rate. When it's repaid, you have the choice to either take the money back or recycle it back into another loan.
I will say that I haven't done a serious amount of research into this, but it sounds like a really great opportunity to make a difference in someone's life that has a good chance of being a gift that keeps on giving. :)
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| Thursday, August 2nd, 2007
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1:28 pm - No, really?
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| You Are 20% Girly | 
Um... you're a guy, right? If not, you're the most boyish girl in the world.
And for you, that's probably the ultimate compliment. |
current mood: amused
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| Wednesday, August 1st, 2007
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11:48 pm - A question of law
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I was told today that two older people I knew years ago are currently refusing to eat in the assisted living community where they live. The community is a Quaker one with a medical staff, and I was actually a little surprised that this is something they are OK with. I had expected them to equate refusal to eat with suicide, and be against it. Part of this is my assumption (based on reasoning only) that one can hook someone up to an IV to supply nutrients to anyone lacking them from not eating. I assume they do it with coma patients, but for all I know, the process is more invasive than that.
If attempted suicide is illegal (I think it is in PA?), is refusing to eat illegal, too? Or is this something that is allowed because it's a non-action as opposed to an action (like it being illegal to kill someone, but it's not illegal to let someone die through inaction)? Does anyone know?
current mood:  curious
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artistic