just thinkin'

"They got a alligator stew and a crawfish pie
A gulf storm blowin' into town tonight
Livin on the delta's quite a show
They got hurricane parties every time it blows."

The people who would appreciate this probably won't read it for a day or two and by then Gustav will not be a laughing matter. Ehhh... so what does that make this post? Ironic maybe? Dunno.

I love my family.

Thats all. I love 'em.

I hate pollen and mold

I feel like I am leaking snot out of every damn orifice in my body. Something's gotta give.

Whew!

Hi, everyone, this is Jack! My mommy Meghan is sleepy so I'm posting an update on her behalf. She's been doing a lot of gardening, and when I see her in the garden, I usually run over to help out. Sometimes I go into the garden even when she's not there. She needs all the help she can get taking care of those plants, because some small creature has been getting in and trampling on stuff. And boy!! Its exhausting, taking care of those plants:


These are all the things she's been pulling out of the garden. On the left is an acorn squash that seems to be genetically pure, whatever that means. She told me last year the squash that came up was an acorn/spaghetti squash hybrid. But I wouldn't remember because I was only a few weeks old! The cucumbers are going crazy, and Meghan can't seem to find enough people to eat them. The beans and peas are at the end of their seasons, so the ones in the picture are going to become seeds for next year. I can't wait! More digging in the dirt and rolling and basking in the sun and catching all the bugs that she disturbs!


The bright tomatoes are a breed called Amish Paste. They are supposed to be good for sauces, but Meghan's dad has been putting them in his sandwiches. The dark ones are Cherokee Purple. Don't sit and wait for them to turn red, they won't! They will go bad before that happens, because they are ripe when they are purple. They also have a very low acidity level, and Meghan wants to plant them next year because they are so yummy and juicy!! That big one in the corner became her lunch the other day. She just had a whole tomato for lunch. Can you imagine that? No fish-shaped fiber crunchies, no liver and tuna with gravy, not even a chipmunk! Just a tomato! How does she live like that?


Meghan has dubbed this the first ever butt-pumpkin. It is one of the only pumpkins that has survived the onslaught of the groundhog. She was really tempted to put mace on her pumpkins to keep the groundhogs away but didn't know if that would mean they are no longer organic. For now, we will just have to be more vigilant. (I wonder if she means me?)


Its really shiny here because it was in the dirt, and Meghan had to wash it in case there were bugs or anything on it. Its still sitting on the kitchen table. But there was another pumpkin that the groundhog chewed into, all the way to the seeds, so she had to make a pie with it before it went bad. I hope we can find this groundhog soon, because we don't know where he's getting in. There are no holes under the fence. I don't want Meghan to start blaming me for the groundhog's mischief! I hope she doesn't expect me to kill it. Although, that would be fun.


Speaking of big game, there were two giant birds in my yard today. Meghan called them turkeys. I didn't like their clucking noise, so I puffed my tail up at them and arched my back to make them go away. Slinky and Sister, my real parents, ran and hid. But I was brave and was only about 8 feet away from them. One of the birds jumped up onto the garden fence and then flew away. The other one had a staredown with me but I won because I looked more like a lion than he did. I ran towards him and he flew away too. Meghan was sad she couldn't get to her camera soon enough.

Ok that is all. Until next time,

~Jack~

Ahh little kids...

So, today I played Esther, as I already mentioned I would be doing.

I thought the kids seemed riveted to me, but I guess not. I overheard one little girl telling her grandmother what Bible character came to Sunday School today:

Girl: "We got to meet Sylvester."
Grandmother: Sylvester?
Girl: yeah, she's right over there, with the long hair.

I was walking away so at that point I was both laughing and out of earshot. I don't know how Gramma responded. I hope she set her straight.

Michael Phelps

I discovered that if you are aware of your surroundings and current events, it is possible to turn the TV on, watch for thirty seconds, see history made, and yet another world record broken, and in under a minute, turn the TV off again.

I think the cooler race was the other relay where half their suits were hanging off and Steve made a big deal about the buttcrack and that NBC was being really conservative by not showing any of the swimmer's fronts "out of fear."

We wouldn't want the male version of Janet Jackson's wardrobe malfunction now would we?

Rolling with the punches...

So my church isn't doing VBS this year. What? A church without VBS?? Sacrilege! Instead, every Sunday, a Bible character is visiting the Sunday school. I believe I have mentioned this before. The first week we had Noah tell us what it was like on the ark, then Gideon, Elijah and Elisha, Shadrach... its been exciting.

I've been the one calling the actors, rehearsing with them, putting them in costumes, etc. We only managed to find someone to play Queen Esther about two weeks ago. Today, I re-discovered why I am not working in a professional theater.

Esther called to say she couldn't make it, and she's sooo sorry. Fortunately I have to say, I really really had a strong gut feeling that she would bail. So, I didn't call her back, I didn't even call the Sunday School director. Why? Because I listened to my gut and I've spent the past two weeks studying the part. Why didn't I just give the part to someone else? Cause we've exhausted our resources as far as actors are concerned.

So yeah. Cool. I have a day and a half to prep myself for a performance (I didn't memorize lines, I just studied the story so when I get up there, I'll have to improv). Now you know why, if I did this professionally, and it was the only thing paying my bills, I'd kill myself.

Just rolling with the punches...

Oh yeah, PS. I get the nicest costume for myself... why? Cause I CAN!

Ahh memories...

While I worked at the Nordstrom Espresso Bar, and not Starbucks, it is my belief that they are all virtually the same: the same neurotic caffeine-addicted customers wanting their daily fix at the same time every morning at the same hectic pace and the same rush at the same time every morning. A friend of mine works at Starbucks and posted this in her blog:

"We have a long line out the door, 2 people on bar, 2 people (including me) on register, and one person in the lobby getting everyone's order. We're all huring getting people in and out with our legendaryyy service when I get this guy:

[My Friend]147xxxx: Hi, what did you order?
Cell phoned jerk: Yeah, well that's what I reported to Grady... yeah, exactly...
147xxxx: Excuse me, sir?
Cell phoned jerk: at around 8 or 9 I asked- ...yes... no, no, I agree wholeheartedly on tha- ... right,
147xxxx: Sir, I have to know what you ordered to ring you up
Cell phoned jerk: Yeah... haha oh of course
147xxxx: SIR
Cell phoned jerk: Well, I think she faxed it around 10
147xxxx: (to another partner) DO YOU KNOW WHAT HE ORDERED?
13xxxxx: I don't remember...
Cell phoned jerk: right...ha... At starbucks. STARBUCKS
147xxxx: ...if you want something you have to tell me what you ordered or get out of line.
Cell phoned jerk: grande cappuccino

He tossed a $20 at the counter while continuing his phone conversation, and I slammed the change down on the counter and wanted to shove that god damn phone in his mouth. When there isn't a line and I get customers like this I usually try to take my sweet time in punching in their ordering and getting their change. We should have someone not affiliated with the company stand outside and kick them in the groin after they leave. Eh, just a thought."

I know EXACTLY how she feels!!

Quotes

I often post quotes in my Xanga account, more for my benefit than anyone else's. I thought that today I would switch it up and post here instead. Usually, I post the original author of the quote. But most of these, I have no idea where they originated.

"Everything will be OK in the end. If its not OK, its not the end."

"The best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other."

"A woman should be so lost in God that a man has to seek God to find her."

"One of the first things a relationship therapist learns is that couples argue to burn up energy that could be used for something else. In fact, arguments often serve the purpose of using up energy, so that the couple do not have to take the courageous, creative leap into an unknown they fear. Arguing serves the function of being a zone of familiarity into which you can retreat when you are afraid of making a creative breakthrough." ~Gay Hendricks

"He doesn't make my dreams come true. No, when I am with him, I find myself giving birth to new dreams."

Celebrity Morph

Yay, I like Rachel Weisz!

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebrities

gas prices

I'll admit... my heart leaps a little when I see that the local gas station near me has dropped its prices to $3.65 (from $3.97). I've always loved them because they do have the cheapest gas around excluding Raceway (but I don't go to Raceway... my car doesn't like the gas there) and when everyone else went over $4/ gallon, Mr. Thrifty Gas made it a point not to (probably because you pay the same whether you use cash or credit).

And I'll also admit, I have at times called Anissa or Steve before visiting Nanuet or New Brunswick to find out the price of gas where they are... should I fill up here, or wait?

But I do have to say, I like the ideas in this article. I also, on occasion, have to drive on 287 during rush hour. And when gas was over $4/ gallon in places, "rush hour" meant there were enough cars on the road that crazy people had to slow down to 70 rather than their usual 80 (speed limit on 287 is 65, 55, then back to 65). I like it when less people drive. Seriously, our gas is not taxed as heavily as in other countries, we do pay less than other people, the Brits are still envious of our gas prices (I know, I talked to one!), and it is possible to get by despite high gas prices. You just have to know how to make a budget. See my August 8, 2008 rant on that.

I think gas prices hit Americans hard because most of them don't know how to manage their finances or do simple math.

Ok. Thats all. End rant.

pillar of salt

Genesis 19:26 But Lot's wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

I finally get it. As cool as it would be to discover a medical condition transforming the proteins in the cells of the body into sodium chloride, its not necessary. If you enjoy your memories while looking forward, you can bring yourself to a safe place. If you look back at your memories, you are frozen there. There's no moving forward. Good, you may think... I will sacrifice myself to become a standing monument to my memories. Well thats no good. A monument of salt will last as long as there's a drought. After that it will wash away to the ocean. The monument to your memories will be gone. Better just to look forward and remember your memories; that way you won't lose anything.

Simple Math

I have spent 17 months working at a cash register. In all that time, the following conversation occurs repeatedly and it never ceases to amaze me:

"Ok that will be $41.72 ok and that's out of a $50? ok."

Pause as for one reason or another a glitch causes the computer to neglect to print what the customer should receive as change.

"OH NO! What do I do now???!"

Why? Why does nobody know how to give the correct change anymore? Did your 1st grade math teacher make you use a calculator instead of brains?

It is really sad that I, a self-confessed math hater, must comment on this. I hate math, and a lot of the time I can't be bothered, I am too lazy to do it. But at least when I HAVE to do it, I know how and can do it quickly, silently, and without panic.

This article seems to be pointing out a growing trend of mathematically challenged people.

Champagne in my veins

The number 8, in certain ancient symbolism, is supposed to represent the start of something new. I wonder what 8-8-'08 will bring.

So far, 23 minutes in, it has brought a poem about myself. I have not written a poem since May 2006, so it is very interesting to me that I am beginning to see life in catchphrases that I can expound upon like I used to do. I wonder if this burst of creativity will be the start of something I haven't experienced yet.

(If you were wondering about the title, that's the catchphrase that triggered the entire poem.)

Roughing it...

I love cooking. I love it so much I make Steve cook with me. In the mood for fish recently, we stopped at the Asian food market to see what was available. The Asian food market is incredible. They advertise many different types of animals and animal parts, including a wedge of shark meat that looks like its been chiseled away with a hacksaw, and "sheepshead" which we saw on a sign but... they must have been all out. Thank goodness. At other times you can go browse the rotisserie and see things that are clearly not fowl, the usual occupants of rotisseries. After much debate, we finally settled on red snapper, since my neighbor, an Italian cook, raves about red snapper.

I come from a predominantly white neighborhood, where you can go to the store and buy fish fillets, fish steaks, mollusks and shellfish. The latest novelty which they just installed about a year ago is a sushi bar which is manned for about 3 hours a day by the employees of the Chinese/ Japanese restaurant down the road. Its a big thing. One thing you do not see in our store is whole fish. So naturally, I didn't quite know what to do with this red snapper that we got. I went to Barnes and Noble with a gift card and a gift certificate for a free smoothie from the cafe. Steve settled in with a comic book, I sat down with a whole stack of cookbooks. I didn't end up buying the cookbook dedicated to fish, but I learned how to clean, fillet, skin, and cook a fish. I got a delectable recipe as well. But I ended up actually buying a green tea cookbook.

So now I feel prepared and more educated. I feel like if Steve were to come visit covered in war paint and dragging dinner behind him with a spear through it, I would be able to take it without blinking an eye or asking "what do you want me to do with this THING?" As long as it breathes with gills that is. Perhaps I will find a book that teaches how to get the meat from a larger creature, like a deer. Then I will be prepared for any sort of guy dragging dead stuff to my kitchen.

Next item: Learn how to make fish stock from a meatless carcass.

Three things

1. I am starting to hate Blogger. They made some kind of a deal with Google that makes logging in a nightmare from hell.

2. It has been a long time since grappling with someone resulted in them tapping out. Tonight, I discovered sutemi that can lead to my opponent tapping out. As I was grappling, I could hear Rod's voice in my head yelling at me not to hold back, but just go for it and mean it. I finally figured out how to do that. We were near the edge of the mat, and getting the tap required me to relinquish my comfort, and allow my head to press into the pavement. There was no other way. Grappling is not usually like that for me. I either win rarely, or I give up and tap out (more common). It is not often that I must make a sacrifice to reach my goal. I can over analyze this: I wonder if perhaps I have had this love-hate relationship with jujitsu because I have been allowing myself to give up my goal rather than make a sacrifice.

3. I have a little secret that I briefly thought about sending to postsecret.com but then decided its not necessary for me to be anonymous. Here it is: I love looking at myself in the mirror after Jujitsu, and seeing my hair mussed up and falling out of its braid. When my hair is mussed, that's when I feel the most beautiful.

HAHAHA

I tried to post a comment and blogger required that I pass the "captcha" test. (If you don't know, its that picture of distorted letters that prevents spam bots from advertising on your blog.) I noticed that if you type the letters in and then discover that "that R is actually an N" you can erase the whole thing and start over. But instead of the standard button that says "clear" or "start over" Blogger makes you admit your stupidity by clicking the little handicap symbol.

Weddings

I've been planning my wedding since I was five. At 13 I narrowed my wedding dress choices down to 2. When my aunt got married a few summers ago, I decided that I, too, wanted a reception in a castle. So its only natural that today I read an article about the top wedding traditions that you can't do without. The author was witty, which is why I have deemed it blog-worthy. I've summarized a bit, but I'm quoting the four best paragraphs in the author's article.

You can do away with the Macarena, YMCA, and Electric Slide, but the four traditions your wedding must have are:

1. Write your own vows. "The traditional 'for better or for worse' vows don’t do the bride and groom justice. These people have been through better and worse. They have planned an American wedding, an event that in modern dollars and man-hours equals approximately the entire Normandy Invasion. If you can plan a wedding together, you can live together, buy a house together, invade Nazi Europe together, etc."

2. Open Bar. "You don't want to be known as a closed-bar wedding. You could host an elaborate ceremony on a scenic Hawaiian bluff with the Rev. Jesse Jackson presiding as the bride and groom parachute from a B-52 Stratofortress while Yo-Yo Ma and Kid Rock perform a breathtaking duet and, if you don't provide free booze, the only thing any guy in attendance will say about that day is, 'Dude, closed bar.'"

3. Best Man's Speech. "Here's a man who's probably a lifelong friend of the groom. This man knows in the back of his mind that their friendship will never be the same. No one in the room has more to lose by this couple getting married. But if this man who is losing his best friend and facing many a lonely weekend playing Xbox, if this man can give his blessing, then who can object?"

4. Honeymoon. "Legend has it that Northern European men in the mood to marry used to abduct their wives from neighboring villages and take them into hiding while the bride's father and brothers hunted them down. This hiding period came to be known as the honeymoon. How romantic. The name itself came from a drink the bride and groom would share — mead — that was made from honey. Couples would drink a cup of mead per day during the first 30 days of marriage, presumably to take the edge off the wife's recent kidnapping. (Admit it. There’s a part of you that longs to be kidnapped by a take-no-prisoners Norseman who never wears shirts. I know how you women think.)"

(Taken from an msnbc.com article written by Joe Donatelli)

w(sl)eepy

The sky is pretty today.

But its still one of those lost and empty sort of days.

Photo Blog

Today is day two of my body's sleep boycott. I have been falling asleep at 2 and waking up at 6, which is before my alarm. I hate waking up before my alarm. Also I have been stressed this week and when I get stressed I pick the skin away from my fingernails... without even noticing I'm doing it. It looks bad, especially because my nails are caked with dirt from working in the church's garden and the church attic, which has to be emptied because the fire marshal said so. To get my mind off those things, I took a walk around my yard with the camera, and took comfort in everything I have accomplished this summer.

I planted about three trillion dahlias, and a bush next to the Holly that has a name I can't pronounce. That day I got a nice sunburn.


In order to plant the vegetable garden, I had to remove the hydrangea. I put it in a bucket to transplant, and then I forgot about it. It seems to be happy in the bucket (its growing anyway).


I spent about half a day cleaning the old leaves out of the hydrangea (the one that is IN the ground) and pulling off the dead stems. That was another sunburn day, but it was worth it:


The overgrown vegetable garden. Note patch of red, that is a gladiolus, which just came up on its own, as well as a few others in places where I KNOW we have never had glads.


A bee in a cucumber flower.


The cucumber patch, which is producing cucumbers that are about the size and diameter of a footlong Subway sandwich.


Three foot tall lettuce.


7 foot tall tomatos. Back row, R to L: Aldo, Amish Paste, Cherokee Purple. Front rom, R to L: accidental cherry tomato from last year's plants, cherry tomato , cherry tomato, three basil plants.


12 foot tall carving pumpkins. Obviously, I am going to have to cut them out of the tree and obviously they are going to be too heavy to grow up high.


Apple Mint taking over next to the garage.


Rhubarb.


Snow peas, at the very end of their season.


The back garden, which contains my pumpkin patch consisting of sweet pumpkins and cheese pumpkins.


Random item. While cleaning out the attic, I discovered a telegraph machine. I took it home to cut down on the phone bill.


Sorry for the blurry photo. I was balancing on my heels, and was tiring of the photography and at that point, wanted it to be over quickly and didn't care about the quality.