Annother Meme
Topic: Stuff & Nonsense

GRUB-OLOGY
• What is your salad dressing of choice?

Bleu Cheese

• What is your favorite fast food restaurant?

 None really, I'll eat subs or pizza over any chain- type McDonalds restaurant

• What is your favorite sit down restaurant?

Here in VA: Kabukis

In Mass:  Top of The Hub

• On average, what size tip do you leave at a restaurant?

at least 15%, sometimes more

• What food could you eat every day for two weeks and not get sick of?

Chocolate! on a more realistic note, pasta, with different sauces, toppings, etc. I could eat it daily for weeks.

• Name three foods you detest above all others.

Peanut Butter,  Chewing Gum & Ham

• What is your favorite dish to order in a Chinese restaurant?

I like the appetizers, all we ever get is pu pu platters to share

• What are your pizza toppings of choice?

Mushrooms, Sausage & Extra Cheese

 • What do you like to put on your toast?

Butter & cinnamon sugar

• What is your favorite type of gum?

Don't like it at all.

BI-OLOGY

• What do you consider to be your best physical attribute?

Hair

• Are you right handed or left handed?

Right 

• Do you like your smile?

Not really

• Have you ever had anything removed from your body?

Babies!

• Would you like to? 

Oh yes!

• Which of your five senses do you think is keenest?

Smell

• When was the last time you had a cavity?

Just recently

• What is the heaviest item you lift regularly?

my son is about 45 pounds, I pick him up to hug him regularly

• Have you ever been knocked unconscious?

Nope 

MISC-OLOGY

• If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die?

No. probably not.

• If you could change your first name, what would you change it to?

Jemima, an old family name which my mother was going to use but my Uncle talked her out of it.

• How do you express your artistic side?

Crafts, Beaded Jewlery, Embroidery

• What color do you think you look best in?

Emerald Green or Teal- conveniently my favorite colors.

• How long do you think you could last in a medium security prison?

Pretty long, I'd try to read a lot.

• Have you ever swallowed a non-food item by mistake?

Yes.

• If we weren’t bound by society’s conventions, do you have a relative you would make a pass at?

Nope- not really

• How often do you go to church?
Seldom

• Have you ever saved someone’s life?
No.
• Has someone ever saved yours?

DARE-OLOGY

For this last section, if you would do it for less or more money, indicate how much.

• Would you walk naked for a half mile down a public street for $100,000?

Sure,
• Would you kiss a member of the same sex for $100?

Absolutley

• Would you have sex with a member of the same sex for $10,000?

Yes 

• Would you allow one of your little fingers to be cut off for $200,000?
Probably, you don't use pinkie fingers that much do you?

• Would you never blog again for $50,000?

It would probably take more like $100,000.

• Would you pose naked in a magazine for $250,000?

would I have to read/hear, complaints & comments about my pictorial? I'm pretty fat after all... If I could be oblivious to the response I'd probably do it for $500,000.

• Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1000?

Sure
• Would you, without fear of punishment, take a human life for $1,000,000,00?

I don't think I could take a human life at all

• Would you shave your head and get your entire body waxed for $5,000?

more like $50,000 & someone else would have to pay for the shaving & waxing.

• Would you give up watching television for a year for $25,000?

Sure- as long as I could still watch dvds & use the computer no problem. 

The 100th Post
Topic: just letting off steam

Does it really matter that this is my 100th post? Probably not, I only just recently noticed that in the create area they're numbered & so it shows how many entries I've posted here & in other places.

Yes I have a lot of free time right this minute & so I can just write at my leisure but I have found that there's never enough time for everything you want to do & so I have stopped even trying to post on my heavy work nights (those are the ones where I work - often overtime- & come home needing to go back to work the next morning, unlike most people that only occours 2 days of my week but I do work a 10 hour day minimum so I take my sleep pretty seriously if I have to go back to work the next morning!)

 So,  100 posts, considering how many memes I do it's probably more like 60 posts, I love mems, but I don't consider them posts really, more like a game or a fun thing to glance over. Not actual writing, of course being a reader I don't consider my blog entries to be actual writing either, more like whining with a little (I hope) introspection thrown in. 

I started back in Februaury & I wasn't too sure I'd keep with it, I used to write a lot when I was a teenager but after my ex & I moved back to VA in 1997 I burned all my writings from the teenage years (it was partly a practical thing, we couldn't afford a newspaper subscription & needed paper to burn to light fires in our wood stove- man I do NOT miss those days) I still have my diaries from back then & once, on annother blog, considered putting some excerpts out there but being homeschooled back then & only having a couple of friends I led a pretty boring exsistence so after browsing through one or two of them for a few hours one day & coming up with about 2 lines I felt I could use I gave up on that Idea. (I was also pretty spoiled, selfish & hateful- at least in my diary if not in public back then & my kids would have raked me over the coals. I had intended to put the whole vacation to Mass on the blog & it is in the works, but I'll be past posting it, slipping it in as if I posted it at the time I was doing the things on the blog, my private blog has that info already on it, I wrote blog entries by cell phone & posted with pictures each day either early in the am while the kids were asleep or late in the evening when they were bathing or asleep again. Cell phone posts are ok, but they advertise my cell phone company & they also somehow get all these little mistakes, either I'm transposing letters or for instance every post ends with the last word broken up with an '!' in the middle of the word! So I'm working on combining posts (you only get a thousand words on a cell post) to make a diary of the vacation on here. (working on it means I've copied all the words out of the private blog onto notebook & have 1 line written in my 'retranslation' of what I was trying to say there!- I'm very slow) 

Back when I started the blog I wasn't really set on any one thing I wanted out of it. I knew I didn't want it to be a place where I just bitched about work or about the kids etc. though I do a fair share of bitching about both of those subjects, along with my annoyance with Tripod though really, since I'm not paying for this I shouldn't really bitch too much. But no spell check? how can they do that? I'm just a really poor speller is most of the problem. 

I also didn't really want to be too political, I do put stuff which is interesting to me on here occasionaly. that Peak Oil thing the other day still has me thinking in depth about what I'm going to do with the rest of my life. For the most part though I try not to put too much on here one way or the other, I notice that Tripod 'tries' to tailor the ads they put at the top of your blog to what you're writing about, mine has been surprisingly religious, I'm not religious, I'm Unitarian, brought up in that church & would go weekly if I didn't a) live 40+ miles from the nearest church & b) work on Sundays most weeks (I understand the current head of my religion would be annoyed to hear me say that being Unitarian means I'm not religious, But Unitarianisim as I understand it to be is that whatever speaks to me, personaly is what it is to me, wasn't that what all those years of learning about other religions in sunday school was for?)

I'm always interested to read what other people my age are saying & thinking though, probably due to my parents not ever talking down to me & being homeschooled I didn't fit in too well with most kids my own age & most of my friends both as a child & an adult are older than me by at least 4 years & much more in some cases. (except Chrissie & my Cousin Jen they're both 68 babies just like me) Then there's the fact that my ex is 5 years younger than me & so I hung around with a younger crowd for nearly 10 years while with him. Not a lot of exposure to people my own, exact age & so I'm always interested to see what they have to say on their blogs. I have to say though, that I'm a born lurker, I hate to comment & rarely can think of anything to say which doesn't sound stupid to me in retrospect!

I love posting pictures, mostly of the kids, I admit, but it's a fun thing to do & they get a kick out of seeing themselves on the computer, Miss 16 comes on here & reads what I've written occasionaly then yells a lot but I ignore her, she's got myspace, I have this, it all works out in the end. 

So, maybe after 100 posts it's time to change the format or the color? I've been feeling restless, Look out! 

Picture is from Friday when I relaxed in my hammock for a few hours hanging out with miss 10 & then miss 16 when she got home an hour after the little ones.  I was planning on reading but visiting with the kids is much better. 

Yes, Yes, annother Meme,
Now Playing: Dreams by Fleetwood Mac
Topic: Stuff & Nonsense

With Apologies (thanks?) to http://ben-gal.tripod.com/

1. Yourself: Worried

2. Your husband/wife: None

3. Your hair: Needs Washing

4. Your Mother: Depressed (as always)

5. Your Father: Deceased

6. Your Favorite Item: Item? The Computer or my bed

7. Your dream last night: Can't remember.

8. Your Favorite Drink: Water or Diet Coke

9. Your Dream Home: Log Cabin on a back road right here in my area

10. The Room You Are In: Dim, we need lightbulbs!

12. Your fear: One of my kids dying

13. Where you Want to be in Ten Years? Here, with more money or better yet an unlimited supply of money!

14. Who you hung out with last night: My kids & Chrissie

15. What You're Not: Outgoing & gregarious

16. Your Best Friends: Chrissie, Ann, Jen.

17. One of Your Wish List Items: Unlimited Cash

18. Your Gender: Female.

19. The Last Thing You Did: Washed the Dishes

20. What You Are Wearing: Nightgown

21. Your favorite weather: Warm & Sunny

22. Your Favorite Book: Too many to begin to list

23. Last thing you ate? Steak, Rice Pilaf & Summer Squash & Zuchini from my garden.

24. Your Life: Needs Less Stress

25. Your mood: Calm

26. The last person you talked to on the phone: Chrissie

27. What are you thinking about right now?: Wether to stay online or go watch tv for awhile

The End of the World as we Know it?
Now Playing: Hungry Heart by Bruce Springstein
Topic: Rambling on

Ok, so I know I'm not very political, I used to be, but after my ex left just making it through the week became my focus, I was worried much more about having enough food for the kids to eat & how we were going to keep the power & the phone on than what was going on in the wider world, I still voted in the presidential & gubenetorial (is that how you spell that?) races & I watch the nightly local & national news every night. But spending time worrying about what was going on & actualy reading newspapers was lost to me (I actualy gave up the newspaper when I moved from Mass to VA, the Roanoke paper is ok, but when you're used to the Boston Globe, well, I'm a snob!) Then there's the fact that I'm a liberal independent person & I live in a staunchly republican, conservative state. Keeping a low profile is just a good idea, but I was blog surfing (Via Micheles, I just pick a few titles on the blog roll & open them up to see what's there) & I happend on a site which had the following link on it. I didn't read too much of that blog because I got sucked into this link & never looked back:

lifeaftertheoilcrash  

go check it out, at least skim the first page, there's enough there to get you worried to say the least.

To say it was absorbing reading is an understatement, I immediately began trying to figure out what I would DO if the world collapsed like they're descibing, I live in a house with an electric stove, electric water pump & very little self sufficiency! We have a propane powered furncace but my credit wasn't good enough to lease a propane tank last year & so last winter we heated with a round kerosene heater. It actualy worked out ok, not too cold but they say the winter was unusualy mild, I thought it was the difference between the trailer we were living in & an actual insulated house.  But Kerosene is a non renewable resourse. I have to go to the store & buy it & it's made from chemicals which oil is used to process. After reading that site I have made all these mental connections about how we/I live which add up to what the hell would I do if this happen(s)ed? 

Not to mention the implicit, depressing, 'what will my kid's lives be like?' question! I talked to my 16 year old about it & she just shrugged & said 'J (current boyfriend) & I will just build a self-sufficient home off in the woods & live independently' I was hard put not to point out the multile flaws in this plan but I didn't want to depress her too much since she's pretty depressive in general & we've been arguing lately about that- How she's always depresive & moping & surly. I made a concious decision When my ex left me in 2000 that I was not going to live my life that way, that I was going to try to be as optomistic, upbeat & cheerful as possible & try to look on the bright side of everything as much as humanly possible. Which is not 'normal' in my family, my mother & all of her brothers are moody, mopey, depressive people & I have watched them all drag through their lives & I don't want to live like that! (the st. Johnswort helps this too!- but I couldn't take it while with the ex because it can interfere with birth contol pills they say) So she's going exactly the same way I was & my mother & uncles are & I'm trying to give her the mental tools to help combat it - it's not all herbal, you have to choose to look at things as positively as possible too...

Anyway, I'm just floored by this article & am actually considering a change in jobs to eliminate my 50+ mile round trip commute. (I want to telecommute but all the stuff I'm finding looks like scams) & there's the length of service thing to consider, I've been at my job for over 5 years & make more than any starting wage job is going to give me- especialy in this area! Rural areas, while better suited for a 'back to the land approach' are not too great for working outside the home for cash to pay the taxes & the mortgage type thing!

Enough of this depressing stuff, I'm off from work & relaxing at home with out any kids, it's been lovely except I slept too late & too long & have a headache. I have a half an hour left before they're back home & I have already done 2 loads of laundry, put away 2 baskets of clean clothes which I folded last night & done a ton of dishes (how we end up with so many dishes AFTER dinner dishes are done I'll never understand) Now I'm thinking about a snooze/book read in my hammock because the calendar & the weather don't know or care that school is back in session!

Site of the day! really?
Topic: Rambling on

I am so thrilled that I was Michele's site of the day!

 Thank you so much Michele! I'm really flattered, I don't get as much time to write as many people do & so I never expected to have anyone important take any notice     

 (the mentions of Micheles should be links, I know this, However, Tripod does not allow links currently, or maybe it's my computer! anyway, cut & paste this & go see Michele!)  http://micheleagnew.com/

 

In other news, I did all my Mandatory Overtime today & am annoyed because, of course, I have to do it again next week, 4 hours every week, I usualy try to do it while I'm already there but the past week I couldn't bear the thought, at 8 pm, that I needed to stay annother 1 or 2 hours to make up my overtime & so since they were offering for daytime (which is rare) I took the offer & worked today instead. It wasn't that bad really, except for driving all that way there & back again & the sneaking feeling that I should be at home with the kids because they're going back to school tommorow.... Oh well, Saturdays coming up after all, we can be at each other's throats then! 

Very Quick Update on Nothing at All
Now Playing: Something by Staind, I Just Can't think of the Name of the song!
Topic: Family Business

Yes, so I don't have a lot of time today, I should be doing a lot of things & I haven't done much of anything, mr 7 took some scissors to his head yesterday while his sister was (not) watching him & I was at work. So among other things I have to shave his head. He & his older sister also both need some more clothes to start back to school in. ( Miss 10 is more than prepared thanks to hand me downs & Goodwill!) The pictures are new, cute & take a bunch of space, well the
 one of the younger 2 is cute, miss 16 is cute but moody & has not been pleasant the last few days, mostly because of school coming up & the boyfriend thing. He's away, she's here. Work is work as always, I'm STILL having trouble getting back into the swing of things there, but at least I'm not having nightmares about the computer programs anymore (well, at least not more than once a week!) It occoured to me yesterday that the last 2 days were the first time I went to work & did my job with out really thinking on my way in there, 'damn, I have to use that stuipd computer program' I just went in, did my job & accepted that the program we use now is what I'm using to do it. I consider that a breakthrough of sorts & it helps that by the end of the year everyone in the whole call center is going to be using the computer program from hell- Comfort in the misery of others- yes, that's just Lovely!

 Something Miss 16 could totaly get into I'm sure. 

In other news everything is quiet, Chrissie's scheduled to be moving next week, I have mixed emotions about the whole back to school thing (August 17 here in SW VA - my county is always the earliest of the early!)  On the one hand I will miss the kids company, if I feel like going somewhere on my days off I have to go alone (NOT always a bad thing- my kids don't belong in antique or craft stores) or wait until they get out of school in the afternoon. Also I do enjoy getting up on my days off in the morning to quiet & wandering around doing what ever I want with out any concern for what the kids are doing or how it imacts what I want to do (ie: waiting for the computer or the tv or the BATHROOM!) & I like knowing someone else has care of them, once they get on the school bus I don't have to worry about if they're punching each other, need to go to the bathroom or need a drink of water, I get a BREAK from fulfiling all their needs, wants etc. Heck, as for the drawback, where they're not available to do stuff while they're in school that's the best reason for having Saturdays off like I do- that's what Saturdays are for!

   1. What curse word do you use the most?
   Did this already, Damnit!   

   2. Do you own an iPod?
  Nope but I'd like one!
      
   3. Who on your MySpace “Top 8” do you talk to the most?
  I just got a myspace & I only have a top 3 so far! I would have to say my daughter
      
   4. What time is your alarm clock set for?
  7:15 am on work days, I use no alarm on my days off, that's what the kids are for!
      
   5. What color is your room?
  Pink rose wallpaper which was there when I moved in.
      
   6. Flip flops or sneakers?
  Flip Flops because they're easier to take off so I can be barefoot which is my true preference
      
   7. Would you rather take the picture or be in the picture?

  Take it every time.
     
   8. What was the last movie you watched?
  Pirates of the Carribiean 2.

   9. Do any of your friends have children?
  Yes, most do.
    
  10. Has anyone ever called you lazy?
 Yes, lost a Mother's helper job when I was 14 because they thought I was lazy
    
  11. Do you ever take medication to help you fall asleep faster?
 If you call Valerian root medication. it certainly helps me sleep though!
    
  12. What CD is currently in your CD player?
 Living room: Tori Amos, Little Earthquakes,
 Kitchen: Limp Bizkit, Chocolate Starfish
 Car: Audioslave Out of Exile
 Computer Hard drive Bruce Springsteen Born in the USA

    
  13. Do you prefer regular or chocolate milk?
      Chocolate

  14. Has anyone told you a secret this week?
  I think the Fact that one of my co-workers called in sick when she was just not into going to work was a secret, I did the same & I kept her secret too!

  15. Have you ever given someone a hickey?
  Of course.   

  16. Who was the last person to call you?
  Chrissie.
      
  17. Do you think people talk about you behind your back?
  I doubt it, but they might, I don't really think I'm on anybody's radar enough to be discussed behind my back, after all I never do anything but go online, watch tv, hang out with my kids, garden & read,
    
  18. Did you watch cartoons as a child?
  Anytime they were on, there was no cartoon channels when I was a kid, they were only on saturday morning & on a couple of fuzzy uhf channels on weekday afternoons.
     
  19. How many siblings do you have?
  1. a brother, deceased.
     
  20. Are you shy around the opposite sex?
  I'm shy around everyone I haven't known for at least 6 months! Though I do have occasional outbursts of outgoing-ness.
      
  21. What movie do you know every line to?
  At Close Range
  Con Air
     
  22. Do you own any band t-shirts?
     Now Just a Rush shirt from 1995, I used to have a huge collection as a teenager, I lived in them.

  23. What is your favorite salad dressing?
  Depending on my mood Italian or Bleu Cheese.

  24. Do you read for fun?
  All the Time!

  25. Do you cry a lot?
  Nope but I used to, Now I strive not to cry & fail to understand people who like movies & tv shows which make them cry, I try to avoid those shows.

  26. Who was the last person to text message you?
 Miss 16

  27. Do you have a desktop computer or a laptop?
   Desktop.

  28. Are you currently wanting any piercings or tattoo?
  Sure, who's paying? No really, I'd love a pretty Rose tattoo, I have 3 which I did myself & I'm curious as to wether the professional ones hurt as much as the homemade.
 
 29. What is the weather like?
 Right now Warm & Dark

  30. Would you ever date someone covered in tattoos?
  Probably Not but it would depend on their personality

  31. Is sex before marriage wrong?
  Heck, I think Marriage is wrong!
   ( I like sex pretty well though- when I can remember what it is!)

  32. When was the last time you slept on the floor?
  When we went to MA on Vacation

  33. How many hours of sleep do you need to function?
  Nine, though I've found I can do it on 6 as long as I only do it 1 day & get the full 9 the next night.
    
  34. Are you in love or lust?
   Not really
      
  35. Are your days full and fast-paced?
  That's debatable, work is always fast paced but not in a good way!
      
  36. Do you pay attention to calories on the back of packages?
  yes, & the sugar & carbs, but I don't always listen to it.
     
  37. How old will you be turning on your next birthday?
      38

  38. Are you picky about spelling and grammar?
  Very picky just lately    

  39. Have you ever been to Six Flags?
  Nope, but I have been to riverside park in Agawam Mass before it was a six flags!

  40. Do you get along better with the same or opposite sex?
  Depends on the person, I think I tend to prefer men to talk to because we don't have to get all in depth on our emotions, we can just have a conversation.

  41. Do you like cottage cheese?
  Yes.

  42. Do you sleep on your side, tummy, or back?
  Lately I sleep sitting up to aid my lungs in staying clear, about 3 am I roll onto my side though & alternate sides the rest of the night.
      
  43. Have you ever bid for something on eBay?
  Yes, I lost because I didn't check it often enough, I've bought 2 cell phones thry the buy it now setup & the first was ok, 16 is still using it, the other was a crock, it was supposed to be the right company but wouldn't work right, it just roamed & roamed & roamed.
      
  44. Do you enjoy giving hugs?
  I used to but now I just want it over, unless it's my kids. I figured out that guys just want to do the hug thing so they can feel your boobs too which soured it for me a little.

  45. What is your favorite TV show?
  Don't have one, well, maybe Hexed on BBC.
      
  46. Which celebrity, dead or alive, would you want to have lunch with?
      Johnny Depp

  47. Last time you had butterflies in your stomach?
 in July before leaving on vacation July 10-25  
     
  48. What one thing do you wish you had?
  Unlimited Cash, (it says 1 'thing' If it had said 1 feeling I'd have said love but it says THING)
     
  49. Favorite lyrics?
  It depends on the occasion... Just now: "hate me today, hate me for always so you can finaly see what's good for you" from Blue October's Hate me.
  Because that's how I have to feel about an awful lot of people in my past & it is a hard thing to do but I know they're toxic.

Random Musings
Now Playing: No Excuses by Alice in Chains
Topic: Rambling on
Man I'm telling you, when I get the credit card un-maxed & complete the school shopping (that second one will be before the first!) The firt thing I'm going to get is a scanner, I've wanted one for awhile, but a monitor was a bigger need, For the moment I have Chrissies monitor & when she moves (it's looking like soon now) I have an old one my mother gave me from her computer which died this year (miss 16 moved heaven & earth to fit both that & the little computer my uncle let me have for miss 16 into the car on the trip home from vacation this year) So the monitor is taken care of & we also have 2 printers, 1 with ink & 1 with out so all I really need is a scanner, the reason I want a scanner is that I want to post pictures from the past on here. You see I had a stack of pictures about 2 inches thick on my shelf, all loose pictures which the kids have used for timelines at school or taken out to show someone somewhere, & have been accumulating on the shelf for most of the last year & today I put them in order & put them back in my albums. So I'm enthused with the idea of putting some of them online eventually back when I was'nt just a ball of flesh & actually had a waist (well, that hasn't been for quite a few years- but I did have one once!) & then there's the kids as babies pictures, I look at them & can't belive they ever were such little, tiny, dependent creatures who smiled all the time & cried when they were hungry instead of angry at me because I won't let them do exactly what they want at all times! I Don't really need a scanner after all, it's an extra which I can think of a thousand uses for though (at least, when I'm not sitting here trying to justify getting one)

I don't know what to do on the changing the blog thing, I've started a new one, But I have some of the same problems there, no linking enabled & sometimes slow to load But there is spell check which they seem to have done away with here & which I need desperately. I admit, a lot of the problems I didn't like on tripod are seeming to smooth out now, a few weeks later.

The back to school thing is getting me down in some ways, I'm pretty much all set with the little ones, Miss 16 has been away all week & is coming home tonight so I have to get her stuff all ready still. & She's the hardest to shop for, some classes she won't even know what she needs until after school begins (a good thing, since I get paid on the 18th which is the day after school begins) I always miss the kids when they're in school but then on the other hand I like the quiet time in the mornings on Tuesdays & Wednesdays while they're at school too. Then it really feels like Saturday is annother work day between getting grocery shopping done every 2 weeks & just generaly getting stuff done with & for the kids on the Saturday I don't get paid on! Miss 16 always pesters me to come home during her day too which I hate, I know she's the type who does not need to be there & have stuff drilled into her head multiple times & leaving school about every other week last year did not hurt her grades in the least. It's just the premise of the thing.

What I've Been Doing while not Blogging
Now Playing: Voodoo by Godsmack
Topic: Rambling on

Its hard getting back in the swing of things after being on vacation, it's even odder when barely a week after getting home you're off again. Tuesday of this week we drove to Kentucky to take miss 16 to a friends for a week (you can read about it at: chrisseas-corner.tripod.com/ I have no real impressions of the trip other than I was tired at the beginning & even more tired afterwards! I was also frustrated that I had to spend a whole day driving when my house was a mess & I wanted to be picking up & getting things straightened out.... Of course I only seem to itch to clean up when I can't do it, by Wednesday I was not interested in cleaning anymore & just wanted to have fun. After doing a little picking up & some orginization of laundry (In a house with 6 people the laundry comes FIRST no matter what) We went swimming (it was 99 degrees easily & no breeze in sight, we had to do something!) after a stop at a friends to pick up some clothes for miss 10 who is growing by leaps & bounds this summer (especially in the mouth department!) Thanks again Jody for the clothes! 

Then it was off to the river, it's not the usual place we go but a place with a couple of little waterfalls & a deep pool. On the way in we surprised a snake which jumped out of the stone wall & into the water (it was only about 2 feet long, not a big one or anything) We were also a little grossed out because on the rocks in the waterfall there were these little black worm looking things which almost looked like leeches but were too small & were attatched to the rocks on the waterfall which meant they were in the running water & also in the bright sunlight, (leeches are usualy in stagnant water & especially in darker places like under overhanging trees! Yes, I'm speaking from personal experience here!)  & there was water plants also growing over the rocks which made them not as good for sliding down as they used to be (I'm told,  The last time I was there I was pregnant with my 7 year old & did not go sliding at that time) but we had fun! we stayed about 3 hours, there's a sandy area & rocks which are just barely submerged to sit on (if you don't mind a certain slimy feeling)  

The kids had a great time running around, swimming & playing monkey in the middle with a ball. Chrissie & I sat around in the water watching the kids & talking, watching for some shy crawfish to come out, they were under a rock right next to where we were sitting & kept peeking out at us, when we'd lean over to look at them they'd immediately shoot back under the rock. When the sun had left the area (most of the pictures are so light struck from the sun hitting the area hard, they were unusable) we did too... while it was still in the mid 90's in the air, the water which is coming right off the mountains was too cold to stay in with out the sun right on us! 

  I had a roast ready to cook at home on the grille but it was so late (730) already that I didn't want to go home & cook it so we picked up pizza (thank heavens for credit cards!) & went home, after a trip to the garden (the cucumbers are running my life these days- I just wish the tomatos would turn red!) & some more laundry & dishes it was off to bed to go back to the grind!

My grind, I admit is less than most peoples, only 2 10 hour days (well, 1 was really 12 hours, love that mandatory overtime!- NOT) & then annother day off, which brings me up to today- grocery shopping & school preparation shopping, (this is VA's tax free weekend for school shopping & so its likely to be a zoo in the stores) 

Chrissie said it best...Why I'm Shopping for a New Blog Place
Now Playing: Rock on by David Essex
Topic: Rambling on

"If it Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It" see: http://chrisseascorner.tripod.com

I don't know who said it first, but it is true. Especially since I had no complaints about tripod at all before they started changing things, I'm not much of a complainer, I put up with a lot before I get upset. But continued changes, (Now they've taken my spell check away & I had only just begun using it too!) Most of them seem to be things I've seen on other blogs, like misstatements cross outs which are ok in some ways but why take away spell check? & why doesn't mozilla support my cutting & pasting out of notebook on to my draft entry in tripod? No linking? why? it's all grayed out & I know others are having the same problem!

Suffice it to say I'm shopping for a new place. The real problem is I can't see what they're like with out getting a blog on them, there's no try it out section, only a bunch of verbage 'selling' you on the site. So I'm going to try out Wordpress, mostly because someone I really like & respect's blog is on there.  I admit though, that I have a lot of reservations, there are a lot of things I like about tripod- mostly that I've figured out how to use most everything on it, even remote posts! I hate to give it up, plus I have a public (this one) & a private blog on tripod- am I going to give both up & change both over? or only this one which I use more. The one I just started is only 1, I'm not sure if I should move everything from here over there or start anew over there. It doesn't seem right to just abandon all I've written here after all....

Of course I'm not a particularly decisive person, my oldest waited almost 24 hours with out a name & so did my youngest! I can't even decide what color to make my trial blog over there on wordpress- 

I haven't decided for sure either, I may just stick with it over here, there are certainly things to be said for this place, pictures already archived etc....  we shall see. probably the best thing I could do is write a note to tripod- if everyone who's on here & does not like the changes (& that's everyone I know who uses tripod) writes they'd have to do something right? 

 

 

Home again safe & sound, it's been a long, strange trip & I got sick about half way through it so I'm not really going to get into this right now, I have my usual hacking cough & a sore throat, missed work today to try to get everything put to rights here at the house & to rest my voice. We did get the kitchen clean but not much else - we watched all 4 episodes of Nightmares & Dreamscapes which I recorded from TNT & as a huge Stephen King fan I have to say they were pretty well done. (16 thinks the acting on some of them could have been better) I have a good bit written of what we did on vacation & will semble them into blog form eventually. 

Monday July 24
Topic: Vacation 2006
I always try to take the kids somewhere educational/interesting on our trips to MA.We have been to the Boston Childrens museum- Plymouth Plantation, & the Mayflower in other years. & The Boston Museum of Science on our most recent vacation 2 years ago. We were going to check out the Salem Witch museum. But it would have meant driving back up to Salem on the day before going back to VA & of course I didn't want to do that! My mother was not interested in going & I had thought she was so right after we had arrived on the 11 & discovered that she didn't want to acompany us 16 & I began tossing ideas around as to where we should go. The N.E. Aquarium was the hands down fav

orite! I was especialy exited to see an Imax film since the last time I'd seen one I was pregnant with Miss 10! However on Monday We picked the wrong day to take the subway but the right day to go to the Aquarium! It was beastly hot & the Boston subway system is not even remotely air conditioned! You are pushing it to even hope for an air conditioned train! I also had forgotten how much fun it is to go to the aquarium via subway especialy since this was a week after the airport tunnel ceiling panel collapsed. Coming from the South Sh

ore we took a redline train to Boston & then changed to the orange line a t Downtown Crossing & then, after 1 stop on the orange line to the blue line each stop required a wait of about 15 minutes in a Hot dark tunnel. Normal operations were disrupted due to the airport tunnel closing & unintelligible voices were saying that the blue line trains were not 'mmpph mmpph'it turned out that the trains were not running past the Airport which is a co uple of stops past the Aquarium where we were getting off the train- so no big deal but upsetting when we could'nt understand what they were saying.
  So off we went, the harbour seals were great- I now know more than I ever wanted to know about jellyfish! & the big tank in the center is still my favorite part! The kids enjoyed it 16 most of all I think 10 finaly got her souvenier t shirt there too! After se eing everything & some things twice We then faced a predicament- it was 430 pm we had to either get right on a train to go back to the south shore or we had to stay in Town for about 2 or more hours. My money was getting shorter & so were everyone's tempers. 16, while opinionated on some subjects is useless wh
en I actually want her input. So I finaly decided to just get on the train, we stood on the redline train all the way to the stop before the one where the car was parked. It was fun though, took me back in time & it was amusing watching the kids learning how to keep their balance, I didn't even realize I knew how to do that! It comes back naturaly though, you just do it when you're on a subway!
  Back to my Mother's we packed the car next & miss 16 proved herself to be a master packer! Mostly because she was motivated to bring home a small computer my Uncle was letting her have & my mother's old monitor which she replaced this year with a whole new setup after her hard drive crashed. Then we had dinner- can't remember where- I'm writing this all nearly a month later now! & I slept for a few hours & we drove back to VA left around 10 or so & arrived Wednesday afternoon. Home Sweet Home.

Sunday July 22,
Topic: Vacation 2006

We were supposed to get a fairly early start leaving Anns to go back to my mothers & meet up with my uncle who I have not seen in nearly 10 years. But I had developed a cold & was hacking, coughing & generaly not sleeping too well- & the kids were up late playing video games- their internal clocks are set to night owl- I try at home to get up by 10 am on non work days & am still usually the first one up! By 930 though I had to get up & get them up the re-packing of the car was hanging over my head & so I rousted every one in my family & insisted they come help at the car packing. Once this was done we said our goodbyes to Ann & family headed back to my mothers place.
The Sunday midday drive thru Boston was minimalized by taking 95 for a change of scencery I hadn't been on that road in nearly 10 years. I especially enjoy the part on the way into Boston where you are on rte 1 I remember my father telling us about all the really cool signs that were there & I also remember a few which are no longer there.
We arrived at my Mother's house around 1:30 or so & We waited for my uncle to appear. He lives on an Island & we were supposed to go to dinner. So we thought he'd show up around 4 or 5. at 6 we started to wonder where he was. By 7 my mother decided to call his cell phone. she got voice mail. She left a message & we gave him annother 1/2 hour & went to dinner at the 99 again, which the kids were happy with, my mother & I were mostly just a little worried. The next day my mother got an email from my uncle apologizing for not being able to get in touch. aparently there was a storm which took out phones etc he said he was emaling from work because he had no services at home still. The reason he didn't show up was that he just moved there & didn't have his island resident status ironed out & couldn't get a space on the ferry!He did state in his email though that we're welcome to come visit him next year on the island. I'm excited- I've barely even been to Cape Cod & have never been to the islands at all. The only Island I've been on ever is Swans Island Maine.& only for a day!

<< What Miss 16 did on her summer vacation << 

Saturday 7/21
Topic: Vacation 2006
 The original plan was for us to go to the beach on Saturday but it was cool, rainy & just wasn't beach weather. So after getting washes going & after a relaxing morning. we went to the mall. The mall at Portsmouth is huge & we only went through half of it- had a pretty nice lunch though! Then a quick stop at BJ'S On the way in we got caught in a large downpour & so we dripped through the store. Ann feeds 5 + her stepson part of the time & she spends a ton to keep them fed- even at BJs! I was impressed & a little scared for my future with my younger kids!   I spend at least $150. every 2 weeks as it is - 10 & 7 are practically bottomless worse yet- they don't actually eat a lot at 1 time they eat often instead! Ann cooked out on the grille for us all 3 nights & refused most offers of help. I think, after not having to go to work my favorite thing about being on vacation was not having to cook! It's funny how little I want to cook considering how much time I spent cooking as a teenager & young adult. Now I only want to cook about 3 or 4 times a month & thats even decreased in the summer! a tomato or cucumber, tuna fish or a bowl of microwaved frozen spinach is all I really want in the summer.I have to give Ann credit. While I could feed 12 & have done so before I'm so obsessive that I'd have made a menu & bought all the food which could be frozen a month in advance & probably would have enough food for 3 extra meals! Ann made fast delicious food with only as much forethought as we had in the store buying the food!
After getting back to Anns & puting her groceries away we had annother great dinner & then hung out just talking etc.

Friday July 20
Topic: Vacation 2006
Ann lives in New Hampshire near the Maine border. also near North Berwick where my Fathers fishing club has/had their camp. I wanted to check & see if it was still there or had been sold & knocked down to make room for condos!So after breakfast we went there. I had forgotten the zen of the NH highway system in which you get on a numbered road & follow it miles & miles just trusting that you're still on the right road & maybe every 15-20 miles if you are lucky you might see a road sign with the road's # on it to confirm that you're on the right road! You just have to trust. I trusted a little too much & ended up on the wrong road. So we had to back track to get to North Berwick - we came in through Sanford which was where we used to go to get groceries when I used to go there for weekends with friends. So I got to drive back roads I hadn't been on in 10 years & was not at all sure I could actualy find my way along. I found it just fine though & the cabin looks just the same from the road- In the picture its barely visible- but its still there & still in some use.
My Mother & I aren't in touch with the fishing club guys at all any more & I didn't want to trespass so the kids & I went to the river down the road to see if the area was more built up than before or not. It wasn't, but a problem I had been upset about years ago has been resolved near this river a bunch of ATVs & Dirt bikes had been riding around in there beside the river & tearing the woods up. They have fenced it off & put up a sign saying its off limits to motor vehicles but open to pedestrians. The kids were surprised that the water was so brownish red- it is the iron content in the water- here in VA the water is brownish green or full mud brown depending on how recently it has rained! we got out & looked around & took pictures. After we were done with that we went to Kittery & checked out a few of the outlet stores, craft stores & of course the Trading Post- We checked out the gifty stuff but I didn't want to check out the camping supplies since we're not going to get to go camping this year- I'm sulking about it.
At K.t.p I also don't go to the lower level because thats where they keep the fly tying supplies & I have already spent entire lifetimes down there many times over, waiting for my Father & Brother. Though The Trading Post is not exactly chock full of stuff I want & need I don't go to Maine without stopping it's family tradition. After Kittery it was getting late & I didn't want to keep Ann's family waiting for dinner- I should have known they're more laid back about meal times than that! & a good thing too because I had not really thought about what day it was. There I was heading to the NH lakes region on a Friday night in the summer! The map book I had with me was woefully inadequate to say the least. It had roads listed which were not where they were shown & quite a few which I knew to exsist were not on the map! I suppose that for a dollar at Walmart you can't ask for much! But to find an underused road in the right general direction would have been lovely. As it was it was stop & go the whole way. Friday night at Ann's was uneventful & pleasant. We hung out, checked email & she showed me this website of really cool plus size clothes called: Torrid check it out if you're larger than a size 12.