Flag Cake

I forgot to post photos of my flag cake! I make this every year for 4th of July. I took it with us when we spent the day with my mom, and we all totally demolished it :D

I turned these ordinary ingredients...

Into this delicious cakey goodness

The Wedding Dance Video

Here's the video that made the Today Show. Even if you don't agree that this should have been done in a church, I think it's still a great idea for weddings in general, and everyone is so happy :O)

4th of July Weekend

Bill and Cassandra wanted to camp, but I didn't. Our compromise was they would spend the night out on my mom and stepdad's property Friday night, and I would stay home by myself. Did you hear that? BY MYSELF!! *happy happy joy joy* I think the last time I spent the night by myself in this house was September 2007. Anyway, the plan was for them to camp overnight, pick me up on Saturday morning, and go back up there to keep my mom company while my stepdad and his crew worked. By "crew", I mean his son and another random worker.

Anyway, they left around 3:30pm Friday and got to the site around 4:30pm. My mom and stepdad were already up there in their big-ass motorhome. Bill didn't want Cassandra to be dependant on grandma and the motorhome, so he chose a spot further down. My stepdad is turning all this property into a subdivision, and one road has been pushed through to where it will intersect with the cross road. Bill decided to set up camp at the end of that road...

Here's the tent smack dab in the middle of Seneca St.

Bill set up an awning in case it rained

The fire pit

Bill used bits of dry wood as well as dryer lint for kindling

Cassandra working the flint

Success!!

Frying up some bacon for breakfast on Saturday the 4th

The rocks kept tumbling down the bank, and Bill said it sounded like animals tromping through the campsite all night. I was blissfully sleeping in my own bed in my own house, so was not concerned with this in the least.

Cassandra and my mom wondering what they are doing up so early on a Saturday

This is the road they were working on over the weekend.

Coming into the subdivision. You can see the big-ass motorhome directly in front of the green shop building

My stepdad's plan is to build their home on top of the hill. A few trees still had to be cleared. They want to buy a house in town as well, so this smaller house will probably be built next summer, or possibly the summer after that.

My stepbrother, stepdad and Bill unloading my mom's cool new grill. Can't have 4th of July without grilling something :D

It was very hot outside, so my mom's dog, Samantha, tried to get comfortable in the shade...

Maybe this position?

Ahhh, this is IT

My mom grilling our lunch. I highly recommend Costco's Kirkland brand sirloin hamburger patties, along with the Kraft fake cheese slices :D

Heading down to the previous night's campsite where it's nice and cool. It was almost 90 degrees, and we were getting pretty hot.

Kind of like "Where's Waldo", but you have to find Samantha. Can you see her? She's slightly to the lower right of the center of the photo.

The blue thing with hair is Cassandra. The small white horizontal thing on the left is Samantha. Apparantly, they were tired of us, LOL!

Random Info

Cassandra went to the dentist yesterday. Still no cavities. *yay*

Another year, another round of "Prove to the Social Security Administration That I Actually Save Cassandra's SSI Benefits Instead Of Supporting My Crack Habit". I have to fill out a form and everything. This year I can do it online *woohoo!*

I hate exercising, but I seem to be getting better at it. I alternate between my two DVD's, and I find myself doing the movements more completely without having to stop. Not that I'm ready for the triathalon circuit, but I'll take it.

I have discovered the awesomeness that is making homemade tortillas. The ingredients are something I always have on hand, and Cassandra loves mixing up the dough. The only glitch is I don't have a tortilla press, so when I roll them out they look like the state of Florida.

Our summer has been extraordinarily beautiful. It makes up for all the crappy rain we had last year. My lettuce is thriving, and I've been picking leaves off the bigger heads for the past three weeks. The celery is starting to take shape, and I'll probably be able to pick some early stalks this week.

Martha Stewart had DVDs on different things like Organization and Cupcake Decorating. I'm seriously thinking about putting those on my birthday/Christmas wish list. I'm a visual learner, so these sound pretty cool.

My dear *rolling eyes* stepdaughter will not be coming to live with us. She's 24, has a 3 month old baby, lives platonically with baby daddy, and between the two of them only work part time. Her mother has been covering some of her bills for her. After much discussion, Bill and I decided to offer our home to her and the baby so she could live here rent-free and get herself on track. She said thanks but no thanks..."I'll make it work one way or another". This past week, they got an eviction notice and had their power shut off. Whatever. Apparantly, shelter and utilites are mere frivolities when there is a baby involved.

This Used To Be Fun

After a week of step aerobics (without the step), I needed a change of pace. I hadn't done my Cardio Salsa DVD in about a year, so I took it out and did it. It's a fast DVD, and would be more fun if my ankles weren't bothering me so much. I simply can't do the moves as completely as I want, but hopefully with time that will get better. Back in the day, I used to go dancing at latin clubs, and it was a LOT more fun than this *sigh*.

Step Lift Step Lift

I dug out my Jane Fonda Step Aerobic tape, and holy cow I'm tired. How bad is it when I get sweaty during the warm up? sheesh

The Perfect Burger and Fries

Oh my gosh, I just might have to try these! Here are the instructions.
I added her link to my Blog List as well. These are just too cute!

Lovely Day

This summer we've had extraordinarily beautiful weather. Last summer was cloudy and rainy, so I'm loving the opportunity to enjoy my deck. We spent a lot of money on it, and Bill thoroughly enjoys just sitting out there surveying whatever it is men survey when they sit on the deck.

Last Sunday Bill, Cassandra and I spent nearly the entire day outside in the backyard. Anyone who knows me knows I don't go outside too often. Even though we have beautiful summers, we also have mosquitos the size of garbage trucks. They've been known to carry away small family pets and the stray unattended child. Bill put up several tiki torches filled with citronella fuel to help keep them away (the mosquitos, not the stray unattended child). It seems to help, but then there's the weather. Usually, it's not warm enough for me to stay outside for more than half an hour. The sun has to be out in full force for me to be comfortable out there.

Last Sunday was Absolutely Perfect. We had breakfast on the deck, and I stayed out there awhile looking over the shrubs and flowers. I had also planted some romaine lettuce and celery in containers, and I checked to make sure they were doing OK. Before long it was time for lunch, so once again we ate outside. It started getting hot, so I put on my shorts and Cassandra and I played with her bubbles. We hadn't done that in a long time, and we had a blast trying to assault Bill with bubbles!

After that, Cassandra went inside to do whatever it is she does, and I stayed outside just enjoying the sun. Our thermometer steadily climbed until it got to 88 degrees. Towards 4pm, I got a pitcher full of ice water and a towel so I could periodically cool myself off. I finally went in about 5pm because I was burning up and had had my fill of nature.

I'm not overly fond of hot weather. I could never live in the South where they have heat AND humidity. When we travel South, I'm completely miserable. The air up here is very dry, and it seldom gets above 75-80. Last Sunday was a perfect combination of warmth and opportunity to enjoy it.

*Sigh*

OK, some of you know that I work for a road maintenance company. We have a rogues gallery of employees. Among them are two convicted sex offenders, a convicted murderer who was told by the state of California to get the hell out (why do they always come to Alaska?), and the assorted drinkers slash ne'er do wells. Problems crop up every now and then, but it's not really anything that other companies don't deal with. My boss keeps them because they're good at what they do, and they keep showing up for work because no other employer will put up with their crap.

We hired one such person almost a year ago. I'll call him John. John was married and had two small children. He also had a girlfriend on the side, and she had a husband of her own. He was in and out of jail three times in the last year due to various girlfriend-related events. Most of our employees work 50-60 hours a week, but John couldn't even put in a full 40. He'd either leave early to see his girlfriend, or be in court. He was trying everything he could think of to get his wife to move out of the house with the kids so he and the girlfriend could live happily ever after. His wife wouldn't, and even got a job so she could support herself and keep the house. John started "living" in his car. He used the house to shower and do his laundry, but he slept in his car. He was broke, and he lost a lot of weight.

I'm talking about John in the past tense because he shot himself in the head last Monday, and died instantly. He and his girlfriend were sitting in his car around 5am in a National Park parking lot. A policeman came to the window to tell them they had to leave the lot. John asked the policeman to please give him a few minutes, and as the policeman was walking away, John shot himself. We can only theorize why he did it. We're assuming he didn't think he had much of a life. After all, his wife wouldn't leave her own home to allow him to move the girlfriend in.

Yes folks, that was my coworker. What a pisser.

Lots of Daylight

In Alaska, we get a LOT of daylight in the summer. Of course, we have to put up with a lot of darkness in the winter, but all the daylight makes it very hard to want to go to bed. Today we're getting 19 hours and 15 minutes of daylight! How can I even think about going to bed at 11pm when it's not dark??

The first photo was taken from my front porch on May 14 at approximately 10pm. The second photo was taken on June 6 at the same time. The first thing I noticed was how much greener the grass is, lol! The second thing is that the second photo is showing a shadow across my grass, so the sun is noticeably higher, and above the tree line, at 10pm.

Thursday Thoughts

I miss smoking. I quit three years ago, and now they cost $9.17 per pack at the chain gas station. Alaska has one of the highest cigarette taxes in the country. Alaska sucks.

So, I sort of had an issue two weeks ago. Simply put, I couldn't take another bite of the pre-packaged food. I just couldn't. The food itself is fine, I just reached my saturation point. I got a bit hysterical when my consultant called, and I was ready to give her the "I can't do this anymore" speech. Thankfully, she adjusted Bill's and my program, and now we can eat real food that I cook without feeling guilty. All in all, I've lost about 10 pounds, so that's something.*sigh* I haven't been mall-walking since April, so we're going to start again on Monday. New month, new start...yeah...

Speaking of new month and new start, I think I might start participating on Sig Showcase again. I still make sigs and blinkies, but don't post to the social threads. I'll start with the next Roll Call.

I'm wicked fast on a 10-key calculator. Every February there's a 10-key contest as part of our Fur Rendezvous. Is it sad that I'm thinking about entering?

I don't think the NBA playoffs will ever be over. Really.

This is Mt. Susitna, otherwise known as the Sleeping Lady. Can you see her sleeping? She's lying down in profile, with her head on the left. She's a very popular sight in Anchorage. I've lived in Anchorage my entire life, but never knew the legend. Here is what I found

Native Alaskan Folk Tale
Source: http://members.tripod.com/~sleepinglady/susitna.html

The story of Sleeping Lady has traveled by word of mouth throughout the region since at least the 1930's. The source of the original story is unknown. Here is the folktale retold by Ann Dixon, a librarian at the Willow Public Library in Willow, Alaska.

Once, long ago in Alaska, there lived a race of giant people along the shores of Cook Inlet.

The land then was warm and covered with fruit trees of every kind.

Woolly mammoths and saber-toothed tigers roamed the forests and beaches but did not harm the gentle Inlet people.

Peace and happiness ruled the land.

Especially happy were a young man named Nekatla and a young woman named Susitna, for they were in love and soon to be married.

As the wedding day neared, the Inlet people eagerly prepared for the celebration. But the day before the wedding a stranger burst into the village. "Danger!" he cried. "Warriors from the north are coming! They roam from village to village, killing people, stealing from them, and burning their homes!" "Stranger, how do you know this?" someone asked. The man's face clouded with pain. "They have destroyed my village, my family...everything," he answered. "Only I escaped. Beware, these people are cruel and crazed for blood!"

All plans for the wedding were forgotten.

The villagers gathered in council. First one person spoke then another. Some thought they should quickly fashion weapons and attack the warriors. Others thought they should prepare to fight the warriors when they came to the village. Still others wanted to hide in the forest until the warriors passed them by.

Nekatla and Susitna listened in silence their hearts deeply troubled.

After everyone had spoken, Nekatla rose. "I, too, have an idea," he began. "But I do not know if there are people here brave enough to go with me. I say this: I will not fight these people and neither should you. We have few weapons, for we gave up the ways of war long ago. We've learned a better way, which is peace."

Many of the people nodded their heads in agreement. "Continue," the elders encouraged him. "I will not run away from this danger, for then the warriors will kill many more. This is my proposal: we travel north to meet them. We convince them to lay down their weapons and live in peace. We will carry gifts rather than weapons so they'll have no reason to attack us. "And I am willing to go first." It was a bold plan but the people agreed to it. All the men of the vilage would go. Immediately everyone began preparing for the dangerous journey north. By morning the men were ready to leave. Sadly, Susitna and Nekatla said goodbye on a hill above the village where they had spent many hours together.

"We will be married as soon as I return." promised Nekatla. "I will wait for you at this very spot," answered Susitna.

Susitna watched thoughtfully, hopefully, until the forms of the men disappeared into the forested mountains.

Susitna made ready to wait. She ran back to the village for her needles, knife, and baskets, then busied herself gathering nuts and berries.

On the second day she tired of gathering fruit, so she cut roots and grasses to weave into baskets. This task amused her for many hours, but eventually she tired of making baskets, too.

Susitna spent the third day sewing, for she was too weary to gather fruit and cut grasses. Yet she could not sleep, wondering if the men had succeeded in their mission.

Perhaps Nekatla would return at any moment!

But many days and nights went by, each more slowly than the last. Finally Susitna could no longer pick berries, weave baskets, or even sew. "I will lie down just for a moment," she said finally. And she fell fast asleep. While Susitna slept, word of a terrible battle reached her village. "Nekatla was brave." reported a boy who had escaped. "He led our men to meet with the warriors. But as he and their leader were about to speak, someone threw a spear! Their men set upon ours and we fought until all our men were dead or dying, and many of theirs, too." The women and children wept to hear the names of the fathers, sons, and brothers they had lost.

When the women went to tell Susitna the terrible news, they couldn't bear to wake her from such peaceful sleep. Let her rest, they decided. Why break her heart any sooner than we must? And they wove a blanket of soft grasses and wildflower blossom, which they gently laid over her. May Susitna always dream of her lover, they prayed.

That night all warmth and joy left the village. As the air grew colder and colder, Susitna settled more deeply into sleep.

All around her, the fruit trees froze and died, falling like the men in battle.

The tears of the villagers gathered into clouds and, in the chill air, returned to earth as Alaska's first snowfall.

The snow fell slowly at first, one flake at a time, but soon it filled the sky, spreading thickly across the entire land.

For seven days and nights the snow fell, until Susitna and all her people lay beneath a blanket of shimmering white.

Days passed into years, and years into hundreds and thousands of years.

For a few months each summer, warmth returned to the land, allowing birch trees and spruce and willow to grow.

Grizzly bears, moose, and other new animals appeared, taking the place of the old. After a long time a new race of humans, smaller than the first, came to stay. Today Susitna still sleeps through the seasons, dreaming of Nekatla.

If you look across Cook Inlet in the winter, you can see her covered by a snowy quilt.

In summer, you see her resting beneath a green and flowered blanket.

It is said that when the people of war change their ways peace rules the earth, Nekatla will return.

Then Susitna, the Sleeping Lady, will awake.

The new season started a couple of weeks ago *yay*. I usually only watch the auditions, but maybe I'll make it through the whole season. Like other performance reality shows, once it gets to the meat of the show, there's too much talking and not enough performing. I don't care about everyone's background, inspiration, blah blah blah. Just show the dancing!

Time to Brag

I don't normally brag about Cassandra, but since this is my blog, I get to brag. Some of you may know that she goes to a private school. To get an A, she has to get 94 or above. I don't expect her to get all A's. I only expect her to do her best, and ask for help if she needs it. In the previous three quarters, she's needed the final exam grade to boost her score to above 94 in a couple of classes. This quarter, she managed to pull out all A's without the final exam! This means she won't have to take the finals, and she won't even have to go to school the last three days! I'm so so proud of her. She only asked for help a couple of times with Algebra, but she did her English Research paper 99.9% on her own.

English - 97
Science - 96
Bible - 99
History - 98
Math - 98
Band - checkmark (whatever that means?)
Study Hall (checkmark)

Happy Mother's Day!

Today is Mother's Day. At its most basic intent, it's a day for the child to acknowledge all the love and caring the child receives from his/her mother. That seems pretty simple, yes? Please don't turn it into a track and field meet...

The 100 yard dash - Dad suddenly remembers it's Mother's Day, and scoops up the kids to get to Target before they close.

The High Jump - What the aforementioned dad has to do to reach the last box of Godiva chocolates on the top shelf. If he comes home without chocolate, he will have to dodge the....

Discus Throw - This is what will be thrown at hubby by an angry chocolate-less mom. Usually the discus takes the form of grandma's china, which is also the husband's fault. (Look what you made me do!)

The Shot Put - This is the shape and consistency of mom's breakfast when she decides she needs it prepared by the Others in the house, and presented to her in bed.

Folks, you're putting far too much dependence on the man-guy for your so-called special day. For some women, this is their first Mother's Day. That means their child is less than a year old, and unable to contribute to the festivities. The woman then turns all her expectations on her poor husband. He has to make her first Mother's Day a special one. Why this is I don't know, but if it's not special, heads will roll. Anyone who reads IVillage Pregnancy and Parenting boards knows what I'm talking about.

I'm pretty sure the mom is a mom only to her child(ren), not her husband. Sure, some men act like children and can be the biggest babies on earth, but that's beside the point. She's not her husband's mother, and I don't think he should be expected to make anything "special". Don't get me wrong, I don't think it's fair if the husband expects his wife to remind him to call his own mother, or make sure a card/gift gets sent out. It goes both ways. My point is that (finally, right?) we shouldn't depend on someone else to magically make us happy. Meaning, if we want our Mother's Day to be special, we should be prepared to make it known what we want. Most men aren't mind readers, they need to be told what we want, and they're usually more than willing to do it.

By the same token, if you're not already reasonably happy with your family, then the fact that it's the second Sunday in May won't change that.

Funny

A study conducted by UCLA's Department of Psychiatry has revealed that the kind of face a woman finds attractive on a man can differ depending on where she is in her menstrual cycle.

For example, if she is ovulating, she is attracted to men with rugged and masculine features. However, if she's menstruating or menopausal, she tends to be more attracted to a man with duct tape over his mouth and a spear lodged in his chest while he is on fire.

No further studies are expected :D

Twist my ARM - I like it

I'm one of those losers who has an ARM - Adjustable Rate Mortgage. Before you all pelt me with tomatoes and burn me at the stake, let me explain.

After buying two houses, I still have no clue how it's done. When Roy and I bought our first house, I didn't pay much attention to the financing because it was done through Roy's VA loan program. All I had to do was show proof of income, sign the closing documents, and voila we owned a house. After he died, I sold the house and moved into a rental townhouse with the intent of buying another house after a year. Since I was single, I could only apply for a loan with one income (that was probably the only part I understood). That made it harder for me to qualify for a conventional 30 year mortgage, and the bank would only lend me $170,000. Sounds like a lot, but that would only get me a townhouse-type dwelling. No thanks, I wanted a house, not a shared-wall situation. In December 2001, my realtor and I found an empty lot in a really nice neighborhood, and she found a builder with a houseplan I liked. Next thing you know, 6 months later I'm writing out a check for the down payment, signing more closing documents, and voila I have another house. My realtor did tell me I had an ARM, and that in 5 years it would adjust according to the blahblahsomethingorotherfederaldeweycheatemandhowe index. (ok ok, I looked it up, and it's the Index Rate plus 2.25%.) She recommended in 4.5 years I look into refinancing to lock into a 30 year fixed rate. No problem, that was 4.5 years away, and I would worry about it then. I assumed that the ARM loan made it easier for me to qualify, and I did end up having to borrow $175,000. With my 20% down payment, I was in a sweet house in a sweet neighborhood, but without the mondo mortgage and payments.

4.5 years later, in 2007, life had taken a bit of a turn and I couldn't really afford to refinance. I could afford the higher payments if my interest rate adjusted upward, but I didn't have the chunk of money for the refi closing costs. Of course, the interest rate did go up, and my mortgage went from 6% to 8 point something percent. Not the end of the world, but not an ideal situation. I decided to save up for a refi the following year. We planned to be in the house at least another 6-8 years, so the cost would have been worth it.

Then something funny happened. The economy started taking a nosedive.

The index that my interest rate is tied to went down. In April 2008 I got a very nice letter saying my interest rate would be 5.625%, and even after higher taxes, insurance, and escrow shortages, the total payment would only be about $20 more than when I bought the house in 2002. Whoa, what a nice turn of events. I could pull another Scarlett O'Hara act, and think about refinancing another day.

Fast forward another year to last month. I start thinking about heading to the credit union to see what they could do. Life had happened again in a big way, and some of our savings went to Alaska Airlines, Hilton Garden Inn, Hertz Rent A Car, etc. I kinda sorta have enough for closing costs, assuming it's less then $5,000. My rate is set to adjust July 1, so 3-4 months should be adequate. Oh but wait! I forgot that our economy is still in the toilet, and the Feds reduced the index rate a few months ago. Sure enough, when I opened my bank letter yesterday, my new interest rate will be 4.125%, bringing my payment down roughly $133 per month. Folks, there is probably no way on earth I'd qualify for a rate this low. I don't think conventional 30-year loans go this low. I could be wrong, but I don't have to worry about it for another year.

OK, so now I really should get cracking on finding out my FICO score, saving more money, and getting ready for next year when I have to think about this again. I don't think the rate can go any lower, so yea, I will have to deal with this next year. I cringe at all that will be involved in buying my house a second time. It's aggravating, and there are 20 million other things I'd rather be doing. But just to show you all that I CAN get stuff done, I did manage to re-register Cassandra for school :D

My Favorite Things #2

I'm going to say it. I love Milli Vanilli. I'm not ashamed or embarrassed to admit it, either. I'll say it loud and proud. I don't care if the songs were lip-synched, I love the songs! I don't care if Rob and Fab had to give back their Grammy, they were victims of the cut-throat record industry. They were young when they were discovered in a club in Berlin. They were given money, clothes, women, and all they had to do was perform on stage.

The first time I heard this album was October 1989. My mom, brother and I went on a road trip to Fairbanks, which is a 6 hour drive give or take. My brother brought his Milli Vanilli cassette tape, and we probably listened to it 3 or 4 times during the trip. There was just something about being in a pickup truck with my mom and brother for over 12 hours listening to "Blame it on the Rain". I fell in love with that album, and we still talk about that trip.

In November 2000, my brother came to visit and borrowed my mom's brand new car. I gave him my much loved Milli Vanilli tape to listen to in the car. While he was out, he called me at work in a panic. I thought he had wrecked my our mom's car. It turns out, when he put my tape in the stereo system, the stereo ATE my cassette. After I counted to ten, I asked him why couldn't he have wrecked her car!!!! The car is insured, but they stopped selling Milli Vanilli tapes ten years ago!! What was I to do? Oh but wait, I had recently discovered EBAY, so we went online and ordered not one but TWO CD's! woohoo! Life was worth living again!

I still have that CD, and I even made one of the songs into a ringtone to alert me when my brother calls me. Twenty years later, that little album has gone from cassette tape, to and EBAY CD, to an MP3 file, to my phone. Now THAT'S a classic!

Sparkly Clean Refrigerator

Bill and I spent last Friday cleaning out the refrigerator because we're just that kind of exciting. I didn't take a "before" photo, so you'll just have to pretend to be thoroughly amazed at the difference. I didn't think it was that bad, but when Bill took out the shelving and took apart the bins, oh goodness it was icky! We didn't have to throw out too much because I've been pretty vigilant about getting rid of old stuff, but the surfaces took a bit of cleaning *blech*

Once we got everything back in it, Bill thought it looked a little empty. He's got to be kidding!! What all do we need? The problem is Bill tends to see an empty refrigerator as some sort of statement about our household income. I see it as a statement on our not wasting food. We had just gone to the liquor store the night before, so it looks like we have a lot of booze. There's only about half of that now, hehe. I think he thinks it looks empty because it's nice and bright in there now. Honestly, I don't know how food that's IN a container gets on the walls. Seriously, does anyone know? It's crazy! This is definitely a semi-annual job *blech*

My Favorite Things #1

I love doing the Sunday New York Times Crossword Puzzle. I started doing them about 15 years ago, and have yet to finish one. I love to get the Sunday paper, fish out the Arts section and fold the puzzle into a perfect square for my solving pleasure. I fill my big blue mug with coffee and go for it. I do them in pen, so sometimes they have cross-outs and other "oopsies". I'm proud of this particular puzzle. (click for larger view)

I don't think I have any cross-outs, and I almost finished it! I started it Sunday morning as usual, did most of it within three hours, and finally gave up Monday night. One or two answers may not be correct, but I'll find out next Sunday. This wasn't a particulary difficult puzzle, so I need to make note of the author, hehe.

Saturday Night Thoughts

Not all babies are cute. In fact, some are downright ugly

I don't like being told what to do. I'm not referring to my employer, I'm talking about anyone else who isn't me.

I think I'm going to get rid of my MySpace account. Those who want to keep in touch with me have several other ways of doing so. If they don't, then obviously they didn't mean much to me to begin with.

I can't stomach Brangelina. Creating photo ops for themselves takes time away from their Adopt-A-Child world tour. Sorry if I offended any BranFans, but Mia Farrow didn't act like that. Or did she? I'm not sure!?!? If anyone has any intel on that, please let me know so I can apologize to the BranFans.




If Clive Owen makes another movie with Julia Roberts, he's coming off my blog. Clive, if you're reading this, enough already.




All of a sudden, Bill is interested in Facebook.




I like watching TMZ on TV. How else am I going to keep up with Tom Brady and Giselle?



I'm very happy that people missed me while I was in Colorado without access to the internet. I've made several friends on IVillage...you all know who you are.

Speaking of IVillage, there's a certain board that has come to an almost complete standstill since M and I left. I'd like to think it's not a coincidence, and I'm meanly glad about that.

For all of Sarah's talk of being really excited that "we" were coming down for a visit, I didn't get a hug or even a goodbye on our last night there. OH, but I did get a "thanks for the dinners and the breast pump" Comment on my Myspace. Yes folks, MySpace. Don't worry, I didn't let the door hit me on the way out of town.

Centra Financial Holdings, Inc of Morganstown, West Virginia, has paid back it's Bailout money of $750,000. What kind of interest did we make on that loan? I'll be expecting my dividend check in the mail next fiscal quarter.

I took a political quiz, and it came back as me being a Moderate Conservative.




The school called to ask if Cassandra was coming back in the fall. It seems the office hasn't received her registration packet. I found the envelope, and it's dated February 20. Oops. I think I just blocked out anything to do with money last month. I'll get it done tomorrow.

Why is it when men take care of their children it's called babysitting, but when women take care of their children it's not called anything?




I need to tell Bill I love him more often.




I love the Geico commercial where the two cavemen ride up in their motorcycles to the club, see the two hot women, then see the billboard, and take off again. The song makes me laugh out loud. Too much, actually.




Sarah Palin has completely lost touch with reality. You know you've got a problem when your ex future son-in-law is on Tyra Banks talking smack about you and your family.

Speaking of losing touch...Signature Showcase has gone off the deep end. Blinkie Ballroom? Signature Sunroom? Request-A-Maker Reading Room? Stee-range! I've left a bunch of scuff marks in the Ballroom. They forgot to hire a maintenance crew for some of the BS that gets flung over there.

There, I said it!