Skeet Shares

Dinner on the hoof

2007-05-11T10:34:00.000-10:00

My neighbors frequently go pig hunting and most often they manage to get at least one. Fishing and hunting provide an important part of the local diet. There's sport involved too, of course, but he food is never wasted. This fellow is in freezers all over the neighborhood by now.

Dogs are used in the hunt, but not this one. I was afraid to approach him because I though the carcass might have gotten him overly excited, but his mistress assured me that this was not the case. Since he's not a hunting dog he had no "sport" context for the pig, so he was merely curious about the goings-on. He and I have now become pals.

Revival!

2007-05-09T08:46:00.000-10:00

Yawwwwwwwn! Steeeeeeeeeeethch! It's time to wake this place up!

The original Skeet's Stuff has been resting for a few months, but has somehow managed to nag me lately into paying some attention. It holds a soft spot in my heart, being my first-ever effort at blogging, so I've had to listen to what it wants.

Watch this space! I'm working on getting some redecorating done and will be adding new content even while the remodel is ongoing. I've learned a little about adding fetures since I was here last, so I hope I'll end up with a blog that is exciting and dynamic as well as offering worthy content. I hope you'll take the journey along with me!

What do you think of the new name?

My new blog

2007-02-09T11:30:00.000-10:00

Come see me at my new address! I'm at Skeet's Stuff.

All of the content of this blog has been moved to my new address. This blog will stay active for a while for various reasons, but new posts will only be made in the new blog from here on out. Comments will be disabled here, so I hope you'll drop into the new digs to say hello and share some aloha!

Advertisers: Per PPP protocol, your posts are still here, but are also on the new blog, which is on my new domain. You will not lose traffic because of this move. Mahalo for all the opportunities you've given me a chance to post for you. I look forward to being of service again at my new "home!"

Send skeet some lovin'

2007-02-08T13:39:00.000-10:00

I don't have a sweetheart this year. Actually, I haven't had one for many years. I'm grateful that my son sends me greetings for every occasion, but it's not quite the same thing, is it? Kinda pathetic, I know, but it's true that choices I've made in the past mean that I will likely grow old alone. Am I tugging on your heartstrings yet? Poor old skeet, destined to a life of solitude. Are you weeping for me? Well, weep no more. The fact is that a solitary lifestyle suits me and I don't mourn what might have been. I have lots of friends and know that I am loved, so the alone part really is not something I think about much.

I'd still like to get greeting cards this Valentines Day, though, and there no reason that I shouldn't, is there? I know there are plenty of folks out there who are fond of me, and I'm pretty sure they all know that they could send me free, funny Valentine's Day eCards, right? Everyone qualifies for a free 30-day trial membership at E greetings.com, and it's quick and easy to order the oh-so-perfect card to keep an old maid from feeling lonely. You don't have to go to the store & paw through finger-smudged paper cards, you don't have to remember to buy stamps and you don't even have to do it on some particular schedule. You can order a whole slew of ecards right now and have then sent on any date you want. So, say you want to send me a birthday card. While you're over there deciding how to ask me to be your Valentine, you can also select a birthday greeting and schedule it to be delivered on July 21st. Pretty cool, huh? You'll probably like the site so much that you'll want to send unlimited cards throughout the year, and full membership is only $13.99, so why not?

So skip the hot, sexy cards ...

... and go the the funny greetings ...

... cause your friend skeet could use some positive affirmation.

Even though she doesn't mind being alone.

Much.

For the Home Office Woman

2007-02-07T21:29:00.000-10:00

I'm amazed at how savvy young business women are today. I'm very good at providing a professional service to my clients, but am well aware that I run the business end of things poorly. I visited my friend Doris at A Meeting Place for All Home Office Women and was very impressed. Doris gathers information from around the web and gives her fresh voice to information on operating a business effectively and profitably. I was very diappointed to discover her invitation to join eWednesday Chat a few hours too late to participate in a session on Negotiation Skills for Women, a weak point for me. I'll make it a point to take in some of these chats when I can. Networking is a wonderful way to make friends and discover new, creative voices to learn from. Doris has recently featured Blogtripping, an endless circle of blog visiting and critiquing and also reminded us Don't Stop Bloging. She also runs the Birth of a Home Office blog carnival, a wonderful roundup of different voices that can contribute to your home office experience. Doris is full of wisdom and I need to make her a regular stop on my rounds. I think it she can help me be a better business woman.

While you're in the neighborhood, make sure you sample Doris's personal posts, too. She collects Barbie Dolls, but the living doll in her life is Clayton, who gains great benefit from Mommie working at home.

Flucidity

2007-02-07T08:41:00.000-10:00

I got so fascinated reading about flucidity that I almost forgot to come back over here & write about it. I've been wandering around the website and following one link to another, trying to wrap my head around the idea. It's not difficult to understand, but it does require a different way of thinking. Everyone is familiar with some very basic concepts like the power of positive thinking and using visualization techniques to see your goals, right? Flucidity is the next level. It is The Universal Language and says that everything exists in one of the following ways:

Representation
Potential Energy
Measurement & Structure
Interaction & Association

No, that's not geek-speak. It actually makes a lot of sense and can bring focus and clarity to your thought processes. Obviously the Theory of Everything can and does explain it much better than I can, but I'll take the first one just to give you an idea of the thought process:

Representation is proof of existence. A name, a photograph, a fossilized bone, a souvenier from your last vacation. It's the starting point for your thought processes. You can see, visually or in your mind, this focal point. And every representation is filled with potential energy, leading you to the next step. See how easy that is?

I like this very organized way of thinking. I've been going through a lot of changes in my life recently which have led me to restructure some short- and long-term goals. I think that the Theory of Everything can help me clarify those goals and achieve them. I'm glad this sponsored opportunity came my way so I could investigate it myself and share it with you.

Icky sick

2007-02-07T08:35:00.000-10:00

I thought I was just having allergy problems because of my ti plants blooming. Sneezing, runny nose, watery eyes, puffy face & all that stuff. Got up this morning with all of that still going on plus & my chest is croupy & my head is aching & I think it will explode any minute now. Guess I'll have to abandon the benedryl & go get some real cold meds after I wake up a bit more.

I think I might make a big pot of chicken soup later today too. I've been making it for years, of course, but if you have a recipe you want to share I'd love to see it. Other home remedies for a cold? I usually try other stuff first & then end up resorting to Nyquil. It works but it's just so nasty & knocks me out. If you have a secret cure, now is the time to share.

Belisi Radio

2007-02-06T17:28:00.000-10:00

I grew up listening to an eclectic mixture of contemporary, top forties, country and jazz. What else would you expect from a child of the fifties and sixties, born in small-town Texas and raised on the outskirts of New Orleans. Local Hawaiian music has been added to the mix in recent years. I guess you could say my tastes are all over the chart. I still love the nostalgic oldies that I fell in love with as a teen, and I think Billy Joel is one of the best songwriters of the last century. Nora Jones is, to me, a magnet drawing me back to jazz. The nice thing about music is that you don't have to agree with me. It's deeply personal and helps us define who we are. Our tastes may converge on the raucous renderings of Phil Harris, but we'll be miles apart if you're into heavy metal.

Peter Belisi, whose name is synonymous with beauty, also seems ot have ecletic tastes. He's launched Belisi Radio, showcasing top contemporary artists, legendary stars of the past, smooth jazz and hot new artists. “Belisi Music is my attempt to take the same qualities I look for in fashion – sophisticated, classic, beautiful – and take it to music,” says Peter Belisi, founder and creative director of Belisi.

Anyone who will put Billy Joel, Dido and Coldplay into the same playlist is at the very least adventurous. I'm looking forward to Belisi's foray into broadcast music. I know he'll be presenting artists that I already love, and I look forward to perhaps discovering some new favorites. Belisi's luxurious and sophisticated scarves, ties and handbags first drew me towards him, and his company mission of giving back to the community has earned him my respect. I'm looking forward to seeing where his music takes me. He sponsored this post so I could invite you to give a listen, too.

Ch-ch-ch-changes

2007-02-06T16:45:00.000-10:00

So the big changes rolled out at Payperpost overnight. I think it's all going to be good, but there is much confusion at this point, so it's really hard to tell. The advertisers now have a mechanism in place to rate the bloggers who write for them. That's good. It's will weed out those who find it perfectly acceptable to write rubbish around the required link(s) and call it a post. The door is open for bigger and better opportunities for the posties who work hard and creatively to give the advertisers what they need. The only thing that really bothers me at this point is the technology. Put this code into your blog's html and that on the sidebar & oh, look, google & alexa are messing with your page rank. I've done most of it wrong several times and there are still a couple of tasks I havent' even tackled yet.

Still, I think it's going to be good for all of us - advertisers and posties - in the end. I certainly hope so!

Yum! Take a look at this!

2007-02-05T16:55:00.000-10:00

I don't know a lot about English football. I know that it's not the football we watch religiously in the US. It's soccer, right? Anyway, a couple of years agao my son asked for a Manchester United jersey for Christmas. That was when I discovered he's been following the game for quite a few years. No, I'm not a terrible and neglectful mom (at least I hope I'm not!) My son lives thousands of miles away and the subjcet had never come up in our frequent phone conversations.

Today I found the Cristiano Ronaldo fansite and I'll have to admit I'm ... um ... interested. Cristiano is a Portugese fellow who plays for Manchester Limited. So, see, there's a connection already, because my son follows the team. That makes it okay for me to be interested in him, right? Nevermind that he's serious eye-candy. I'm gonna soak up everything about him because I owe it to my son to show an interest in his hobbies. Yeah, nothing to do with those abs. Nothing at all. ;0)

You can find out all about Cristiano Ronaldo by visiting his fansite. You'll find his biography and the latest news about him, plus some action-packed videoes that will show you why he's so popular. You know you want to, right? And it's got nothing to do with those pecs, hm? The Cristiano Ronaldo fansite sponsored this post so serious fans and silly old ladies could know everything they want to know.

Lucky we live Hawaii?

2007-02-05T16:21:00.000-10:00

I walked into my screened lanai last night (that's the room I showed under construction in my last post) and was overwhelmed with a cloying sweet fragrance. Within less than a minute my nose was running, my eyes were itching and I was sneezing. I did what I needed to do (the laundry is out there) and dashed back into the house, shutting the door between the house and the lanai. My allergy symptoms continued until bedtime. I know that benedryl will control this stuff, but I already have problems with extreme dry mouth from my tummy meds, so I decided to try to ride this one out. When I go up this morning I knew I'd made a mistake. My entire face was puffy, the area around my left eye disproportionately so. The sniffles and sneezeing started up again as soon as I walked into the front of the house. I've been taking benedryl all day. It makes me sleepy and saps my energy and there's the whole dry mouth thing also.

I've been assuming something was blooming in my neighbor's yard across the fence. I went outside a few minutes ago to see what it is that is making me so sick. Darn! Can't blame it on the neighbor. I usually trim the stalkes off of the top of my ti plants as soon as they appear. I found out my first year here that they attract massive quantities of bees. I'm allergic to bees, too, so I try to minimize the attraction. I hadn't been out in that yard in a while and the stalks had shot up and are covered with spikey purple balls. Little white blossoms open up when darkeness falls, which is why it was so strong last night. Unfortunately, darkness is falling now and it's a little late to start trimming. I'll have to take care of that when I finish work tomorrow.

While I was out there I realized I've been horribly neglecting my herb garden. The birds have planted wild tomato plants again, the sort that make little tiny, bitter tomatoes. My Dad liked them on his salad, but I don't at all. I guess I need to spend a few hours out there tomorrow. I pulled a few small ones the last time I was out there. Today I discovered one growing into my rosemary bush. It's large enough to already have little pea-sized green tomatoes showing. If I can just stop sneezing long enough & open my eyes fully behind the puffiness I'll take care of all that.

No, I didn't get a new camera yet. I have possession of the homeowner's association camera for a few days. Maybe I can sqeeze in some time tomorrow to stock up on fresh photos for my blog!

Learn from my mistakes

2007-02-05T09:41:00.000-10:00

My regular readers know that I've recently found myself in a financial mess. I was very fortunate that secured loans are available to homeowners and I was able to rescue myself. What's so embarrassing to me is that I should not have gotten into such a mess in the first place. I had a very good business year a few years back. Never having had a lot of money on hand, I handled the excess very poorly. I re-roofed my home. I bought my first ever brand new car to work out of. I upgraded some worn-out features on my home and added a new room. And I paid for it all in cash. The expenditures were all appropriate and needed, but paying cash was a huge mistake. I found myself with nothing left in the bank when other expenses came due.

I've learned a lot from the mistakes I made. As my readers know, I got a remortgage quote and was able to bail myself out. I even borrowed a little extra against the equity in my home to catch up the bills that accumulated when I ran out of money. It really feels good to be back on firm financial footing. And now that I have a better understanding of loans, I know how to handle the additional work my house needs. When I am ready to remodel my kitchen and bathrooms, my first step will be to find out about getting a home improvement loan for the work instead of using up money that should be going into a retirement fund and savings.

I love my new room and the other changes I've made to my home, but the entire process has been very painful and stressful for me. It doesn't have to be that way! If you're planning on remodeling or upgrading your home, your first step should be to fill out a mortgage application so you can borrow the money that you'll need. If what I went through serves any purpose at all, perhaps it's to be the bad example for you so that you won't have to repeat my mistake! UK Personal Loan Store sponsored this post, and you can learn all about doing it right on their site.

Amost ready!

2007-02-05T09:32:00.000-10:00

I hope to be launching my new blog on my own domain later this week. I'm excited and nervous & more than a little scared. This is a huge leap for me and the technology just seems to get more and more muddled in my head.

I got a huge surprise yesterday morning. A friend has gifted me with a custom design for the new site! I doubt that it will be in place when I start redirecting you there, but then, I have no clue how these things work. I've been trying to figure out why my friend would do something so wonderful and the only conclusion I can reach is because that's just the kind of generous and warm-hearted gal she is. I don't know if she wants her name exposed, but if she does I'll tell you all about it later.

Back to studying how all this works. Wish me luck!

I chose pepper spray

2007-02-04T17:00:00.000-10:00

It's amazing how often I find guns in the attics of homes I inspect. Homeowners buy them for protection. Their kids get old enough to find where the guns are hidden, so Mom and Dad decide to consign them to the attic. I guess they're thinking that they can always get the gun out if they need it. I certainly wouldn't count on that. If you need a gun, you need it now. You don't have time to drag out a ladder and serach behind the the Christmas decorations in the attic. A gun stored out of reach is no good to you. Call your local police department and find out how to get rid of it safely. Then think about other ways to feel safe at home.

I chose pepper spray. I had an intruder a few months ago. I filed a police report after my dogs chased the man away. The officer I spoke to understood how frightened I was, and that I no longer felt safe in my own home. He recommened either a stun gun or pepper spray. A stun gun can only be used with direct contact, so I chose mace pepper spray for my own safety. I'd much rather stop an intruder before he is close enough to touch.

I'm very fortunate to live in a state where both stun guns and pepper spray are easy to get. Some states and municipalities make them harder to purchase than firearms. I feel more secure at home now, because I know I can stop any future intruders. My pepper spray is portable and lightweight, so I can take it with me when I'm working. Feeling safer while I go about my day-to-day routine, I'm better able to focus on getting my job done and enjoying life. Check out Brickhouse Security, where you'll find non-lethal personal security solutions starting at around twenty dollars. That's not much at all to pay for peace of mind.

Need a credit card?

2007-02-03T18:43:00.000-10:00

How many credit cards do you have? If it's more than one or two you're a candidate for out-of-control debt, but you probably don't need me to tell you that. They're very handy things to have, especially if you're traveling or if unexpected expenses arise, but they need to be used wisely. you've heard the horror stories about people getting into deep debt with credit cards, so I won't belabor that point anymore.

If you're looking to open a new credit card account, what kind should you choose? There are many features to select from. Some offer 0% balance transfers, which might be a good option for you if you're considering closing out another account and transferring the balance. Some offer cash back on purchases or reward points each time you spend. The most important thing is to compare credit cards and the programs they offer before you make your decision.

Where would we be without friends?

2007-02-03T18:28:00.000-10:00

Those of you who are involved with PPP know that owning your own domain means you can make more money. The rest fo you will just have to take my word for it. So I, of course, have been planning to do just that, but procrastinating because the process is so intimidating to a newer blogger like myself who also happens to be a technophobe. This week PPP made some announcements that made it imperative for me to do it NOW.

Absolute panic ensued on my behalf. A blogspot blog is pretty much self-generating. The only thing the blogger needs to input is original thought. Go out into the world where you actually have to know stuff and skeet's gonna be shaking in her boots for sure. But then a funny thing happened. As soon as I realized I needed to do this, posties started lining up to help! Posties are those wonderful folks who blog along-side of me for PPP. Well, Cass got there first and she's amazing. I will be forever in her debt for moving all of my content to my new place & then insisting that I help her with everything else so I could learn how things work.

This is the same Cass who took it on herself to run the Southern Fried Carnival which I've just realized I've missed because I was so caught up in other stuff this week. Sorry Cass! She also runs Self Portrait Sunday which I hope I'll be playing with once I get a new camera. Oh, and I should mention that a pipe broke and flooded her kitchen while we were working feverishly to get my blog in order. She didn't miss a beat. Just dumped the dirty laundry on the floor to sop it up & carried on with coding & copying & pasting & whatever else we were doing just then.

I'm telling ya, Cass is amazing. Go visit her & you'll see for yourself. I stole the above copyrighted picture from her. Dont' tell her that!

Need a laugh?

2007-02-02T16:02:00.000-10:00

Oliver Gaspirtz is a little bent. Maybe more than a little. If his work looks familiar, you may have seen his cartoons in The National Enquirer, The Sun, Saturday Evening Post or Funny Times.

He also contributed some of his bizarre cartoons to The New Breed, a King Features syndicated cartoon panel, back before he decided to distribute his work exclusively on the internet.

Go check out his funny cartoons and if you see something you like, take it! It's okay; he wants you to. Next time your blog or site needs a little dark humor or a comic for comic relief, pick up an Oliver Gaspirtz cartoon and post it. Just make sure you give him the linky love, because stealing is not nice.

Quick chocolate fudge

2007-02-01T18:23:00.000-10:00

That last post has me thinking about chocolate and candymaking. I don't do as much now as I did when my son was little and we lived near plenty of family to share with. Every now and then, though, I want homemade candy, and I always turn to my old reliable Karo Cook Book on those occasions. Here's one I've made many times.

Quick Chocolate Fudge

1/4 cup margarine
3 squares (1 oz each) un-sweetened chocolate
1/2 cup Karo light corn syrup
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 package (16 oz) confectioners sugar
1/2 cup chopped nuts or 1 cup miniature marshmallows

Grease 8 x 8 x 2-inch baking pan. In 2-quart saucepan melt margarine and chocolate over low heat. Stir in corn syrup, water and vanilla. Remove from heat. Add confectioners sugar and nuts. Stir until mixture is smooth. Turn into prepared pan. Cool. Cut into squares. Makes 1 3/4 pounds.

Quick Brown Sugar Fudge: Follow recipe for Quick Chocolate Fudge. Omit chocolate and water. Melt 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar with margarine. Use dark corn syrup.

It's quick, easy and tasty, and the kids can help! Enjoy!

Baker's delight

2007-02-01T17:48:00.000-10:00

I enjoy spending time in the kitchen creating special treats. I've even shared a few recipes with you here, through my blog. What kind of friend would I be if I didn't share a great deal on one of our favorite ingredients? Chocolate Source is "The Premier Source for Gourmet Chocolate" and you can get 10% of of your order, thanks to the fine folks at couponchief.com who sponsored this post. Take a look around at some of the other merchant pages while you're there. You'll find coupons for almost anything you want to shop for online. Valentine's Day is coming up and you're going to be shopping for gifts, aren't you? Might as well get them at a discount, don't you think? No need to thank me. Just send chocolate!

My network is growing

2007-02-01T17:22:00.000-10:00

I just spoke to my friend Jennifer. She's a realtor and uses my termite inspection services for all of her transactions. I contacted her a little over a week ago in a panic when I got the IRS letter. I asked her which lender had, in her experience, been the most willing to work with someone whose credit was not stellar. This was after striking out with my own bank and several other lenders. She immediately gave me a name and said if anyone could work magic, he was the guy. I spoke with her contact the next morning and, as you know, he arranged for me to refinance my home, at a very good rate, in less than a week. To take such a transaction from opening to closing in such a short period of time is virtually unheard of. I will, of course, be recommending him to others in the future.

All of the money that I make from doing inspections for real estate transactions comes through escrow. While I was in the title office for my signing, I met several escrow officers who have been sending me checks for years. They introduced me to others in their office who were not yet familiar with my services. While it is most normal for realtors to contract for my services, many of them ask the escrow transaction coordinators to do it for them. The folks I met today can be essential in helping my business grow. Lenders sometimes require that their clients to get a termite inspection when they apply for a loan. My lender has a stack of my cards and inspection order forms. We've been added to each other's networks.

So what's the point of this? I met Jennifer through a networking opportunity a few years ago. I don't know how long she's been referring her clients to my lender, but he's part of her network, too. Each of us has our own network of individuals and companies that we do business with and serve as referrals for. Those networks overlap and new associations are made. The escrow officers who "knew" me, though we had never met face to face, increased my own network by introducing me to their fellow officers. I didn't ask them to. They did it spontaniously because I've provided them with excellent service.

This particular networking opportunity came about because of my personal business. Each of us needs to recognize and capitalize on such opportunities whenever they arise. With a business like mine (and perhaps yours) personal referrals account for more than half of my new business. To waste such opportunities would be tanatamount to shutting the door in a potential client's face.

Jewish Singles

2007-01-31T18:36:00.000-10:00

I've done a lot of joking about online dating sites lately (y'all knew I was kidding, right?) but the fact is that they serve a good purpose. I know a number of couples involved in long-term relationships who first met as online matches. I even know a few who have made successful marriages after meeting on a dating site. Not everyone has the good fortune to just happen upon the right person in the course of their daily lives. This can be even more problematic for those who have very specific criteria in mind. What I'm thinking of in particular is ethnic and religious considerations. People can live a life completely free of bias and still feel that their best match for romance is with someone who shares historical, religious or cultural ties. If being Jewish is more than just a lable to you, you might want to see what this Jewish Dating Site has to offer. Membership is free, so it won't cost you a thing to wander around the site and see if it's a comfortable fit for you. In addition to possible matches for your love life, you'll also see some well-written articles that you may find relevant to your situation. Jsingles.com sponsored this post so you would know.

The other shoe dropped

2007-01-31T18:32:00.000-10:00

I survived.

A while back I spent a little too much money on my home remodel project and found myself unable to meet my tax obligation at the end of the year. I tried very hard to get caught up, but the real estate market took a dive, which means I was getting much less business than in the past. Last week I got a letter from Uncle Sam saying time was running out and they wanted to take my house. As you know from a previous post, I succeeded in finding a lender who agreed to help me refinance my home. Uncle Sam will be paid off tomorrow.

Big siiiiiiiiiiigh of relief here! Mahalo for all of your kind thoughts when you knew I was facing a problem.

Vacation getaways

2007-01-31T18:08:00.000-10:00

A lot of the properties that I inspect are condominiums that are used as vacation rentals. Many people are choosing condominiums these days for Vacation Rentals instead of having to put up with the hustle and bustle of a hotel. Condominiums offer more privacy and full kitchens, and many of them are more spacious than a typical hotel room. If you're planning a vacation, look into an experienced management team that can help you find just the right accommodations for your needs. Whether you're taking the entire family to a theme park or want a romantic getaway on the ocean, a qualified affiliation of condominium owners will only offer properties that they have screened and that they know will give you a wonderful vacation experience. Encyclocentral.com sponsored this post so you could know there's an alternative to high-priced, plain vanilla hotels for your next vacation.

Thirty-six years

2007-01-31T00:16:00.000-10:00

I remember being terrified. Not of the pain so much, though that certainly frightened me. The terror, though, came from my feelings of total inadequacy. I wasn't old enough to do this. I wasn't mature enough to know where to start. What if I didn't love it enough? What if I didn't know how to meet its needs? What if I dropped it? I was so unprepared. We didn't have parenting classes in those days. I knew how to change diapers and prepare bottles. I had done enough babysitting to know I could handle bathing and dressing and cuddling, but this? This was so much more. This responsibility was so awesomely huge, so much bigger than my clumsy skills could handle.

Sonograms and scans were not the norm at that time. I didn't know the gender of the child I carried. Everyone in the family had an opinion. I wanted a girl. I didn't want a little image of me. I wasn't looking for a pretty little doll to dress up in frilly clothes, or a daughter with whom I could one day share makeup and wardrobe. I wasn't biased towards girls or against boys. My feelings rested on something much more fundamental. A girl would be easier to raise without a father to help. What did I know of little boys? I didn't know how they felt or what they wanted or needed or thought. Yes, a girl would definitely be better. I had some experience with being a girl.

Then I met you. What I had thougth I wanted was forgotten. I knew that this was perfection. This was what was supposed to be. This was as right as anything has ever been from the beginning of time. This was the part of me that I had never known was missing. My beautiful and amazing son.

There are gaps in my memories of my own life. Time periods that I just don't recall in any detail. But I remember your teachers and your friends, and what places they filled in your life. I remember which ones you genuinely cared for and which ones you merely tolerated. I remember the few years of Cub Scouts and the many of Little League. Zoom and Speed Racer and The Fonz. The years that rushed by too quickly and that one that was so terribly slow. The coaches and friends and Brother Rowden and Alan who stepped in for those things that a boy needs a man to share. Woven through it all, the love of sports. The endless statistics, the rosters, the jersey numbers, the trading cards. Of course it was a sports biography that finally convinced you that reading was something more than an assignment to be completed by Monday. My favorite portrait is still the one above. You sit relaxed, confident, groomed and neatly dressed, LSU laces clearly visible in your shoes. The epitome of you-ness.

The miles between us now seem so vast and cause an ache in my heart. But the ache is a small thing because I know that gap is easily bridged. It is heavily outweighed by my pride in the man you have become and the joy I have in knowing that you've built a happy life for yourself. I love the boldness you've shown in making your own way and choosing your own path. I've forgiven the girl who broke your heart and I hope that you have, too. Grudges are too heavy and ugly a burden. I love the "best friend" woman who now shares so much of your life. I'm touched that you worry about me being way over here alone. Those are choices we've both made, so don't allow yourself to regret them. I love the card, inscribed in your hand, reminding me that I will always be your first Valentine. You are mine, my son, because I never really knew what love was until the day that I met you. The day I knew I would never drop you. I think we've managed it all pretty well.

Happy Birthday, my son. I wish you love and happiness and fullness of life.

Consolidate your student loans

2007-01-30T18:49:00.000-10:00

I have a friend who graduated a couple of years ago with a very prestigious degree. She's carrying three student loans and living like a pauper, having to sqeeze her budget for the basic neccessities of life. I know that a quality education costs, but it bothers me greatly that it costs so much that folks who get one can't make enough money to pay their debt and live decently. One solution that can help lower the debt is Student Loan Consolidation, which will shrink her three mothly payments into one lower payment. I'll be passing this info on to her because I think it's possible that Student Loan Debt Consolidation can make her life a lot easier. She's young and independent. This is the time for her to be enjoying her life and the rewards that she's worked so hard for. I'd like to help her do that by pointing her in the right direction. A big thank you to SecureLoanConsolidation.com for sponsoring this post.

Compare savings accounts

2007-01-29T18:39:00.000-10:00

Wouldn't you just love it if you could go to one place to comparison shop for rates before you open up your next savings account? I just found a site where you can do exactly that. Instead of going to the yellow pages or tramping around town, now one easy click will take you to Savings-Accounts.com a guide to finding your new high yield savings account without all the hassles! We're not talking little no-name banks, either. Bank of America, Chase, Capital One and ING Direct are just a few of the financial institutions you can select from. You won't have to click on each one and try to remember what you saw on the last page either, because they're all right there on one list so you can do a true comparison. Savings-Accounts.com
sponsored this post and just made it easier for you to find the savings plan that's right for you!

Hokulea

2007-01-29T14:55:00.000-10:00

I would not have thought it possible to post anything on this site that combines the beauty and wonders of Hawaii with matters relelvant to my working life. Well, except silly anecdotes like my gecko-in-the-bra story. Today I feel privileged to share with you some news about a man-made wonder and how my industry came to her aid.

Hokulea has been called the pride of Hawaii. She is a double-hulled Polynesian voyaging canoe, built and navigated in the ancient ways. Her path is calculated by the stars; no modern navigational aids are used. Her accomodations are rudimentary; there are no luxurious cabins, no breakfast buffets and no bathroom facilities to speak of. Hokulea has traveled throughout the Pacific since 1974. Her story provides proof to the old oral traditions, handed down through many generations, of Hawaii being settled by Polynesians traveling in great canoes. Thor Heyerdahl proved in 1947 that such journeys were possible when he sailed Kon Tiki from Peru to Raroia atoll. Holulea continues to fill in the blanks in Polynesian history. She is currently out to sea. You can stay abreast of her progress via the Polynesian Voyaging Society weblog. Do go to there and look around. You can spend hours viewing photos, reading the crew's logs and tracking Hokulea's progress. Her journey is being used as an educational experience for school kids throughtout Hawaii, but in truth, almost every man, woman and child in the state is following along in facination. She is at the top of our headline news almost daily. I guess the broadcasters are wise enough to know that all of our hearts are with her.

So what does this have to do with my work? Well, way back in the '80s I took my first pest control licensing exam, and I have had the privilege of renewing about every four years since then. When I've transferred, first from Louisiana to California and later to Hawaii, I had to take the exams in my new home state. I've always worried to the point of making myself physically ill in the days leading up to exams. In California and Hawaii the test is mostly fill-in-the-blank and multiple choice, with a lot of math to keep me on my toes. In Louisiana, where I was first licensed, a good portion of the test was in the form of questions to be answered with essays. Having worked myself up into a frenzy in the days preceding that first exam, I was relieved to find that most of the answers rolled smoothly off of my pen. Then I got to the last question and drew a total blank. You see, while it is necessary for me to understand all of the available remedies for a given pest control problem, I have never carried the separate license required for fumigation. I know the basics, but the question posed a problem I'd never even heard of, much less performed corrections for. After excusing myself to upchuck my breakfast into a toilet, I returned to my seat and felt my doom descend upon me. The essay required that I describe every aspect of how one would fumigate a boat in water. Treatment materials to be used, procedures to be followed, safety equipment needed, precautions to be exercised ... everything. After much time spent in fruitless thought, an answer came to me. "To fumigate a boat in water, I would call the Department of Agriculture (licensing agency) and request that they provide advice and direct supervision." This was not, of course, the answer that was sought. It was, however, deemed appropriate in the end, with a few points subtracted for lack of detail. I should have rememberd that fumigant gasses, being lighter than air, will not penetrate water. No contamination can occur. The proper procedure requires that tarps be affixed to the structure (a ship or boat) to contain the gas, and that they extended into the water. Well, duh! Of course it does.

I got my most recent online edition of Pest Control Magazine today. Memories of that horrible first exam came flooding back when I saw that it featured an article entitled Historic Hawaiian Ship Rescued By Fumigation With Vikane. I was disappointed that I somehow had not known that Hokulea had had a drywood termite infestation (for what other ship could it be?) I would have known how to handle the problem, having had about twenty-five years to correct my past ignorance. Irrelevant, of course, since I still choose not to be involved in fumigations, but, by golly, why had no one shared this worthy news with me? Anyway, while the article makes me proud of my industry, it didn't actually relate all that well to my exam dilemma. Those wimps waited until she was in drydock to fumigate Hokulea. HA! If they'd only called me first ...

Still, it gave me a springboard to tell you a story that combines two of my passions, so I guess it's all good.

Tea

2007-01-29T07:37:00.000-10:00

I gave teapots to both of my closest friends last year for their birthdays. I selected three teas that I thought each would enjoy and added some pretty but rather bland cookies that wouldn't interfer with the taste and aroma of the teas. Their little gourmet baskets were lovely, even if I do say so myself. For Grace's basket, I had to buy the tea and cookies twice. I was sick the week of her birthday and had to postpone our lunch. I drank her teas that week, and bought fresh ones for her when I knew we would be getting together. Stale tea would have been a terrible insult.

We've been going to the theatre and having lunches together on a regular basis for quite a while. When we go to the theatre, we always try to make a day of it. We have lunch and then stroll through Chinatown. Sometimes we buy little trinkets or pricey imports, but our favorite stops are in the tea shops and herbalists. We buy tiny little packets of different teas. When one of us finds one we especially like, we buy it again and again. When we see something unusual, we have to buy that and sample, of course. It's become almost a ritual with us. The only problem is finding a favorite when we go for a return trip. The varieties available are always limited and some make only one appearance in the shops. I've never trusted buying teas online because of the freshness factor.

We won't be giving up Chinatown strolls, but I've found a new source for the teas we enjoy. Grand Tea Stand ships all of their teas in air-tight metal containers. If it weren't for that I would not have given their site a scond look, because stale, dried-out teas are not worth bothering with.

Shopping with them will also solve the problem of finding favorite varieties on a consistent basis, and their wide selection means I can taste and sample to my heart's delight. My own preference is for flavored teas, with subtle hints of fruitiness that don't overpower the taste of the tea itself. I'm especially looking forward to trying their Forest Berries and almond blends. I know that Grace enjoys the more traditional Green Teas, and Grand Tea Stand has a number of varieties to choose from. Jane, the third member of our group, prefers tisane, herbal teas that can be completely caffeine-free. Finding the perfect gifts won't be a problem this year, because I know now where I can find their favorite teas, fresh and at very reasonable prices.

I was really pleased when Grand Tea Stand offered to sponsor this post and I discovered that it is possible to get fresh teas in many varieties online. I'm looking forward to my first order!

Keeping your pets safe

2007-01-28T20:30:00.000-10:00

A couple of months ago one of my dogs ate a whole bottle of antacid tablets. We love our pets and try so hard to take good care of them, but stupid things happen. Today I was surfing around and landed on the ASPCA site, which I remember visiting when I was trying to find out if Tums are poison to dogs. The first thing I found today was an article about how dangerous potpourri can be. Who knew? Who thinks about these things? I've got little pots of the dried stuff sitting in every room in the house. I have several of the little potpourrri burners that are mentioned in the article and I use them frequently. I need to patrol my house yet again and make sure I'm not putting the furkids in danger.

As I was reading about how dangerous it is to make my house smell nice I noticed what appeared to be a flash game. I was killing time while waiting for the laundry to finish & I'm all about games, so of course I checked it out after I finished reading. I wouldn't exactly call it a game, but it's a very nice flash presentation about dangerous or poisonous substances that many of us have in our homes. Look for the little pup image above while you're still on the potpourri page & take a tour of your home.

Oh, and one more thing while you're there. You'll see a donation icon. You're an animal lover right? Worthy cause? You bet. You know what to do!

Memorial bracelets

2007-01-28T09:00:00.000-10:00

My high school years were a time of great turmoil. The war in Viet Nam was raging. We underclassmen watched as, one by one, the older boys who graduated went away to do their military training and then ship out to Viet Nam. When I was a junior and senior I belonged to a fraternity/sorority circle that partied together every weekend. The parties ended as, one-by-one, the boys went away. Most waited to graduate. A few were eager to serve their country and dropped out of school so they could enlist as soon as they were eligible. We were so very fortunate in that all of our particular group returned relatively intact. Still, the losses were high as several of my friends lost fathers, brothers and cousins.

I was pregnant when I graduated. I had met a wonderful man with the bluest eyes and a mysterious charisma about him. When I told him I was pregnant, he disappeared from my life. He came back a few months later, apologizing, saying that he had been overcome by panic at the thought of having a baby. He loved me, wanted to spend his life with me and our child. We happily set about the business of arranging to be married. A few days before the big event, he vanished again. We did eventually marry, but the same pattern repeated yet again. I was incredibly naive at such a young age. I know now that his problems are all too common among Viet Nam Vets. He enlisted and went over prouldly to do his duty. That terrible war left him and so many others with deep emotional scars that made it impossible to live a "normal" civilian life.

My entire generation was devastated by the Viet Nam War. We will never forget. So many fallen, so many maimed, so many still missing to this day. That is why I've chosen a name from Memorial Bracelets and ordered my own bracelet to wear as reminder that so many were lost and so many are still unaccounted for. The name I have chosen is SGT JOHN H. BAILEY, USMC, from Alabama, who died in Viet Nam on May 1, 1967. His body was never recovered to be returned to his loved ones. After I get my bracelet I will update you on whether I've been able to learn anything else about Sgt. Bailey, on why I chose him, and on the reaction people (including myself) have to the bracelet and his memory. I hope you'll go to MemorialBracelets.com and consider choosing one for yourself. I thank them for sponsoring this post and making this opportunity availabe to all who know that we must never forget those who have served so honorably. You can make your own selection based on whatever criteria are foremost in your mind.

The bracelets memorialize victims of the wars that have affected you, including the current War on Terrorism. You may choose a victim of the attacks of 9/11 if that is the event that resonates most deeply for you. Let the person you select be a symbol to you, and to all who see your bracelet, that we all are indebted to so many who have paid the ultimate price for us.

Do check back with me in a few weeks to see my update.

Update - 2/20/07: I've only had my bracelet for about a week. I've had two reactions. A young woman who was checking my groceries asked if it was one of those "bracelets for a cause," because she'd never seen one like it. I explained to her that the cause was to honor the memory of a young man who gave his life for all of us in Viet Nam. Her eyes glazed over. I guess the younger generation considers that ancient history, best forgotten once final history exams are over.

The other reaction was more intriguing. My dearest friend waxed eloqent about what "Our War" did to our generation. Her experience was much like mine, watching all of the young men go away, fearful for each of them, watching in horror the reception they received when they returned, more horrified still at the emotional anguish that ovewhelmed so many of them. She also gave me her perspective on the role that fate played. One of her dearest friends in those days was a young man who went over as a med-evac copter pilot when he was nineteen. He would have seen the full horror of that war as he hauled out mangled bodies, listened to the screams, tired his best to comfort and save each one ... and watched so many die, despite his best efforts. Yet he returned, not only uninjured, but apparently emotionally intact. He is now a professional med-evac copter pilot for a private company, thoughtful, intelligent, compassionate, living a full life with a family he loves. His story continues.

My Marine, Sgt. John H. Bailey, died at nineteen when the helicopter that was evacuating him crashed. His life story ends there. Fate had played her hand in his life. Click that last link on his name to learn more.

Postie Carnival!

2007-01-27T20:06:00.000-10:00

The Posties Carnival will publish on Monday, January 29th at my friend Marcus's blog, My thoughts. To submit your blog go to Blog Carnival and get yourself registered. There's still time to post your blog if you hurry.

Remember that this carnival is only open to posties - that's the folks who get paid to blog about the things they love at PayPerPost. If you're not a postie and you'd like to join the fun (and make some bucks while you're at it!) go jiggle the PPP affiliate icon over there at the top of my sidebar & it'll take you where it all happens. If you have questions about how it all works, you can post them here or send me an email & I'll fill you in.

A success story!

2007-01-27T19:09:00.000-10:00

I rarely watch the news or read the newspaper just lately. There’s so much bad news that I prefer to catch the headline or lead itmes and just let it go. Much too depressing. Give me some feel-good news & I’ll be your fan forever. Here’s a good news story that’s so great it seems like you ought to look it up on snopes.com, but I think you’ll agree with me that it’s a real success story.

We all know how tough life can be for college students on a budget. The fortunate ones are able to scrape up financing for all of their needs. Some can’t afford university housing or rent, like the young man I’m thinking of. He also couldn’t afford a college meal plan and his diet consisted mainly of ramen noodles while he spent his nights sleeping in the library. His time there was not wasted though. Having exhausted him self searching for his needed textbooks across campus and all around town, he decided to use his adversity to help solve all of these problems. Working from the university library, he set up Walamu.com- The World's Largest College Classifieds Network, Student’s can log in to list or find the books required for their classes, to search for housing or even to find a hot party for the weekend. I don’t know if he’s making a living off of his network, but I certainly hope he is. Such creative entrepreneurship deserves that kind of recompense. Check out Walamu.com for your college needs. They’ll ship your books for free and, hey, if you hurry you might even get a free tee shirt!

Posties rock!

2007-01-27T15:18:00.000-10:00

The more I hang around PPP, the more wonderful people I find to enrich my life. Here's some of my new friends.

Homeschoolzoo is in the spotlight today. She's an Arkansas woman and jill-of-all-trades, who grows much of the food her family consumes, preserving it herself. She’s currently growing herbs and dehydrating what she can’t use fresh. She bakes bread, and grinds her own wheat for it! And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. This Christian home-schooling mom also crochets, sews and does crafts. We’re not talking the sloppy little projects that I frequently start and abandon. Take a look at her Painted Glass. I’m telling you, this lady is a pro at all she does. I can’t pick one of her blogs to send you to, so here are several: Homeschool Zoo was the first of her blogs that I read and has a great family bio on the opening page. In Zoo Talk she talks about “God, life, job, politics, opinions, cooking, journal, and more.” Plain Book of Homeschooling focuses on Christian Homeschooling, and Homeschool Zoo Annex offers more homeschooling advice plus some great bargain-shopping tips. Check her out at any of her sites, but be forewarnd: you’ll be there a long, long time. Wonderful links on evey page will suck you into a marathon session at your computer!

My friend blm03 has just started a new blog to replace her old one. Go visit her at My Thoughts, Ideas and Ramblings. She’s going through a stressful time right now, so show her a little love while you’re there.

Scorpy is another of my postie friends. She and I have a place in our hearts for pit bulls and we’ve talked together a few times about them. Go see her at Marisa’s Danelion Patch, and see what she has to say about legal intervention in the parent/child realtionship, too.

Tess Jones has recently been thinking about the way her relationship with her dad has changed over the years. Go on over to Musings from Me to see what else is on her mind. Her recent thoughts about bathrooms stirred up some memories for me.

Amy Jo hangs out at Bellclapper’s Garden. She’s crowing and happy these days because she’s gotten her own domain! Since I’m bracing for the same move, I’ll have to pick her brains about how to do that. She's got one of those funny blogs that won't let you link to specific entries, but they're all good, so go get to know her. Make sure you read Where I'm From. I'm sure there's a story about each of the places she's from, but I kind of like not knowing what all of them are, because her phrasing makes my imagination soar!

Spiritual Tools

2007-01-27T12:55:00.000-10:00

My dearest friend is one of the most spiritual people I know. She spends at least a half an hour, but ususally closer to an hour, in meditation and spiritual study at the start of each day. This habit allows her to enter the day in a peaceful and thoughtful frame of mind. She is Catholic, but such habits can feed the spiritual side of all of us, whether we follow the path of Christianity, The Eastern faiths or some other road towards enlightenment. Encinitas Imports has Spiritual books, gifts and CD’s to assist those seeking to live a spiritual life. They sponsored this post to help you find the tools you can use on your own journey of faith and exploration.

Hassles

2007-01-26T19:28:00.000-10:00

So everyone who has read my blog lately knows that I've been thinking about taking out a loan, right? I've finally taken the leap. I found a great loan broker (no, this isn't a paid post) and he hit the ground running. My original mortgage has a high interest rate, so we've decided that re-financing is the way to go. Dealing with money (especially big money) makes me nervous. When he asked when I wanted all of this to happen I said I'd like to just do it and get it over with. That was this afternoon. This guy is some kind of a miracle worker, because he opened escrow for me already, and I just got a call from the appraiser who wants to come tomorrow. Wow! I'm impressed, but when I said "do it now" I thought I'd have at least the weekend to get ready. You know the clutter problem that I've gone on and on about? I'd like to crawl in a hole right about now. I guess I'll just do what I can between now and ten-thirty tomorrow and then put on some bronzer so he won't see me blushing in embarrassment. What else can I do?

Fundraisers

2007-01-26T18:33:00.000-10:00

Have you ever had to help put together a fundraiser? I was "volunteered" to do it several times when my son was young. Little League uniforms and equipment don't come cheap, and schools have ligitimate needs that aren't always figured into the budget. It's a fun thing to do, but it can be a real headache finding just the right project. Next time you're called on, check out the charity fundraising tips on this site. You'll find lots of interesting and easy-to-promote items, and a great prize program to get the kids motivated.

Make sure you check out their unusual options, from window clings to scratch cards to healthy snacks and more. Candy, scented candles and cookies practically sell themselves, and you'll find them here. Keep FundRaising.com in mind and make them your first stop next time you need to organize a charity fundraiser. They sponsored this post so you'd know where to turn.

Southern Fried Carnival

2007-01-25T23:40:00.000-10:00

It's Southern Fried Carnival time again! Get on over there and pick up on some tasty recipes from down home! Last week's inaugural issue hit a home run. Can this week top it? Well, get on over there & see for yourself! Napkin and drool-bib recommended!

Weird dude, but ...

2007-01-25T18:34:00.000-10:00

I admire eccentrics. People who live their lives differntly and don't apologize for the little quirks that make them stand out from the crowd. Not everyone can wear the title "eccentric" well. If you insist that your pet duck serve as interpreter in every conversation, you're not eccentric, you're a little (or a lot!) undone. But if you channel your weirdness creatively and make it work for you, you can claim to be eccentric. Have you heard about the weird dude who created a huge buzz when he convinced the town of Halfway, Oregon to rename itself Half.com? Now that's eccentric, crafty and, incidentally, helped him make a lot of money. He did it to publicize eBay's Half.com, and it shot from zero to 8 millionm registered users before being sold for 300 million bucks. I'm pretty sure someone like him ebraces the title "eccentric." I would if I were him.

He's still creating buzz while sharing the method to his madness. He wrote a book about that and other phenomenal business experiences and is now a professional speaker. I won't knock the keynote speaker at the last convention I attended, but I sure would like the opportunity to hear Mark Hughes next time around, talking about his book, Buzzmarketing, and his unusual take on business. We pest control professionals have a natural inclination towards eccentricity ourselves. I'm thinking he could teach us a thing or two about how to use it to our best advantage.

A little nostalgia

2007-01-25T18:09:00.000-10:00

A while back I posted an old Cosby Show episode, the one where the family performs the Ray Charles classic, Night and Day. I'm not one of those folks who moans about TV programming these days. There's some mighty good stuff out there, regardless of what genre tickles your fancy. I'm not ready to retire all the oldies, though, because that was pretty fine, too, and now comes with a bucket-load of nostalgia when watched. The Cosby Show aired from September of 1984 through April of 1992. There was never a bad episode, and with 201 of them, that's saying a lot. I was going to school at night for much of that time, and holding down one, two or three jobs at any given time. Still, I managed to watch most of the episodes that aired, and my son watched a lot of them with me. We didn't have to worry quite as much back then about what our kids were exposed to on television, but The Cosby Show was the best of the bunch where family programming was concerned.

I dip into YouTube every now and then looking for various things, and almost always look for Cosby clips while I'm there. This one was posted in August of last year and is still being viewed regulary, based on the comments that continue to flow in. If you need reminding that Bill Cosby is one of the funniest men alive, and that Raven started off cute and just kept getting better, here it is. Enjoy!

Belisi, Belisi, Bellissimo!

2007-01-25T11:38:00.000-10:00

Fashion has never been a huge item on my agenda. I told you recenly that my wardrobe is built around classic pieces. My efforts in the past to add variety and flexibility to my basics have centered around accessories or multi-purpose pieces. A jacket and sassy shoes can take a very low-key daytime outfit into the evening hours. An outfit for shopping is classy enough for doing lunch with friends when I add a scarf and hat.

Fashion as a hobby was never my thing until a few years ago. The sudden upsurge in televison programming on the subject has changed that somewhat. I'm addicted now to a couple of shows in particular. I'm slowly learning what I shouldn't wear, and I love seeing fashion novices vie for their own design houses. I've recently added another resource to my own personal fashion-watch. Have you checked out the Belisi blog yet? First of all, he's incredibly good looking and makes my little heart go pitty-pat. Is it scandalous for an old gal like me to admit that? Well, so be it, but Peter Belisi is not just another pretty face. He, too, understands that "just right" accessories are a must for every wardrobe.

His scarves are soft and feminine and totally elegant. I love his handbags because they're so classy. I really want design 21 red, because my look sometimes need something hot and spicey to wake it up!

What's most interesting to me about Belisi is the heart and soul that permeates his blog. I told you recently about his What's Beautiful to You? campaign. He makes his living in fashion, but he knows that the clothes you wear are not the most important thing in your life (or his.) He also used his blog as a platform to publicize charitable events worthy of support.

Peter Belisi is an all-round guy who has his priorities straight. I like that about him, and I like tht he sponsored this post so I could introduce you to him, too.

Dirty Rice

2007-01-25T10:05:00.000-10:00

By popular demand, I present one of my favorite recipes. I was about seven or eight years old the first time I made this. Mom was insistent that all four of us had to learn self-sufficency, starting at an early age. She stood over my shoulder the first few times I tried a new dish, of course.

I've never had a "real" recipe. I pinch & dab a lot in the kitchen. I'm not a pro at translating what I do, but here's my best try!

DIRTY RICE

giblets from 3 or 4 chickens, chopped into bite-size pieces
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 or 3 stalks of celery, chopped
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon red pepper
1 teaspoon thyme
1 or 2 bay leaves
2 cups rice
water or broth as needed (1 - 2 cups)

Chop the pepper, onion and celery. I like mine fine-chopped, but chunky is good if you prefer. This was called the Holy Trinity of the Louisiana kitchen long before Emeril came along.

Heat olive oil in a dutch oven or large pot over medium heat and add the giblets. Cook until brown but not done, stirring frequently. Remove the giblets from the pot, using a slotted spoon. (When I make this for myself, I like it "meaty" so I ususally puchase a package of chicken liver to add in. "Normal" people use what they've saved and frozen from the last few whole chickens they've purchased.)

Stir the chopped seasoning vegetables and garlic into the pot. Stir and cook until onions are translucent and the vegetables are beginning to brown. Add the meat back into the pan and add the rice.

Cook for another ten minutes, stirring frequently, until rice is brown. Add the remainder of the seasoning.

Drizzle a small amount (about 1/4 to 1/2 cup) of liquid into the pot (less its better!) Stir, turn burner to low and cover the pot. Allow it to cook until the liquid is absorbed, about eight to ten minutes. Add another small measure of liquid and repeat the last step. Continue in this manner until the rice is done, about half an hour. Stir throughout the process, but not so often or so vigorously that you break down the rice.

The last step is the hard part. If you add too much liquid too quickly you'll end up with mush. Take your time & add the liquid gradually to achieve perfection.

That was my Easter dinner last year. The flash and the blue plate did terrible things to the color of the carrot salad. What can I say? I'm no pro when it comes to photography. The pile of goodness at the lower left is a sauteed mushroom concoction. At lower right is a garlic chicken breast.

I used to make this much spicier. If you've got a cast iron stomach (mine's worn out!) add additional pepper & Tabasco to hit your perfect spot on the "hot" scale!

Daydreaming

2007-01-24T17:21:00.000-10:00

My son is coming to visit next month. His visits are always a good time for me. He lives in California, you see, and I'm out here on a little dot in the middle of the Pacific called Oahu, Hawaii. Neither of us can hop in the car and dash over for a visit on four-day weekends. It takes advanced planning and more than a few bucks for us to get together. It's been about a year since I've seen him, so I'm really anticipating his visit. When I pick him up at the airport and bring him home, he'll see something like this stretched across the driveway:

Don't recognize it? It's a Trade Show Display, and I've handled plenty of them in my time. In a past life I was employed by a large, national corporation that did trade shows almost monthly. I didn't go to all of them, but I usually did three or four a year. Our Trade Show Booth would start off looking like much like the one above. Then we'd install panels that pictured our services.

Part of my job was to arrange our displays and set up samples and brochures on a table . Then I'd spend two or three days meeting and greeting the public. It was a fun and very effect way to get our message out to a widespread audience. I don't work for that employer anymore, but my son's impending visit got me to thinking about how an attractive display can be a very effective way to catch someone's attention and have a big impact on their thought process. They see the display and realize that they just have to have whatever is being offered, even though they had never before given it a thought.

So here's my plan: I'll start with a twenty foot Trade Show Display. That will fill the entire driveway from gatepost to gatepost. In the middle I will have a much-enlarged photo of sonny boy and his girlfriend. I have just the right picture, but I'll have to doctor it a little. I'll fix it up so they can see how wonderful they'd look as a bride and groom. All around them I'll put pictures of the wonderful future they'll share: a lovely home, romantic dinners and such. My primary goal with this campaign will be featured also, of course. Lot's of pictures of kids. Chubby little babies, beautiful miniature beauty queens, kids in baseball and soccer uniforms, maybe a few pictures of moms and dads beaming in great joy at their newborns. The piece de resistance will be features right over the heads of the bride and groom: A collection of condom and oyher birth control packages with that universally recognized "NO" emblem placed over it.

I'm so sure it's going to work that I've already got the rocking chair, and a room full of children's books, toys and videos. I even have a great nursery design in mind. I'm so glad that Smash Hit Designs sponsored this post and ispired my daydream. Mahalo nui loa (thank you very much!) for supporting my campaign.

Expectancy

2007-01-24T16:56:00.000-10:00

I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop on a really bad situation that can only get worse. Is the waiting harder than just getting it over with? Right now I think so, but maybe I'll long for this horrible slow crawl of time soon. The difference between hurricanes and earthquakes, I guess. Hurricanes give you warning, those terrible days of anticipation. Earthquakes blindside you, leveling everything in their path with no warning. I'm waiting for the hurricane when I'd rather have an earthquake, please.

It's a woman's prerogative to change her mind

2007-01-24T11:03:00.000-10:00

Sure, I told you quite recently that I wasn't in the dating game. I'm old and I'm tired and men can be such high-maintenance pets to keep. I can barely keep up with the care and feeding of my furkids, so my thinking was that I just don't have the energy to keep up yet another constant distraction sucking away my time and patience. If there was a way to get around all of that, sure, I'd love to have another companion who would adore me the way the boys do. Who wouldn't? That was the gist of my reasoning a month ago.

Things change.

It's come to my attention that I may have been hasty in my judgement. Suppose I've been looking at this the wrong way around. What if I could find someone who had the wherewithal to make me a woman of leisure? Without the distraction of a nine-to-five grind, perhaps I'd be able to devote myself to someone? Let's further suppose that my prospective Prince Charming had enough of the green stuff that he, too, had the time and leisure to spend his days seeing to my every need, romancing me, making my pleasure the central focus in his life? Suppose I could find a way to meet Millionaire Singles, who could certainly meet the above qualifications. Could I change my whole perspective on this thing if I had a way to meet a single man with the means to treat me like royalty? Do you think that under those circumstances, it might be appropriate for me to start dating again.

Could be. ;0)

Now that I've explored their site, I'm glad that Date a Millionaire sponsored this post and gave me the opportunity to consider relationships from another perspective.

That's what friends are for!

2007-01-23T18:52:00.000-10:00

A big mahalo to two posties who gave me a hand today. I spent many hours putting together my two new blogrolls, only to have the script corrupt into an unclicklable mess. I posted this morning that I would look for the bugs when I got off of work, and then fretted about it all day while I was in Waikiki.

When I got home this afternoon I opened up my computer and went first to the blogrolls. Nope, it wasn't a bad dream. They were still just long lists of links that wouldn't link. I was more than a little afraid to go to the thread at PayPerPost where I'd offered to share my work. I noticed that I had PMs so I checked them out first. I was halfway expecting to find either sympathy or curses. What I found instead was a cure for what ailed me.

The first was from Mooger who explained why I'd had a problem and then gave me step-by-step corrections. Do you know Mooger? He's a tech whiz who seems to pop up every time a postie has a code problem or other technical gremlins to deal with. He's got two great blogs where you can get to know him better. In Just Some Thoughts he opens up his head and blogs about whatever falls out. Fun, funny, interesting and entertaining. Most of the posts contain links to interesting things he's found while wandering around the net, like this very unusual Zebra Calendar from a recent entry. His other blog offers reviews of all things musical. Check him out for the latest in guitars, amps, software and more at Todos Music Gizmos. His reviews are direct and factual and seem to me to be unbiasd and fair. Mooger seems to be an expert at finding the offbeat and unusual. Who knew that you could have an amp in a vintage toaster?

After I finished reading Mooger's advice I moved on to the next PM, still wearing my flameproof big girl panties and expecting some not-so-pleasant words. Instead I found that my friend CyberCelt had not only offered the same corrections I'd just read, she'd done them for me! Strangely enough, I had written some stuff about her a few days ago & had saved it for a final polish. Here's what I wrote before she bacame one of my guardian angels:

I’m a Texan, you know, and spent a lot of my youth exploring the great outdoors. That’s why I got hooked on CyberCelt’s Texas RV Travel Blog the first time I visited. She loves to brag about Texas and (don't we all?) and her pride comes through as she tries to entice you into checking it out youself. She did a wonderful job of decribing some wonderful fishing spots in the Texas Hill Country River Region recently. She’s also generous of heart and has reminded her readers about our obligation to help those in dire need. Make sure you also check out her Click and Comment Monday on CoolAdzine for Marketers and her blog monetizing strategies at Advertising for Success.

I hope you'll go visit my friends Mooger and CyberCelt and tell them how wonderful they are!

Beautiful Bulgaria

2007-01-23T18:20:00.000-10:00

Bulgaria has become a tourist mecca in the last several years. Attractions include first class skiing, sunny beaches and historic archaelogicial sites. Tourists are flocking and the low cost of living makes this an excellent market for real estate investments. Whether you are considering a move or looking for a fast-growing ivestment market, you might want to put Sofia property on your list of prospects to investigate. You can check out this recent article to find out smart investors are looking to Bulgaria these days.

Aren't you glad that Bulgarian Dreams sponsored this post so you could know these things!

My new blogrolls

2007-01-22T16:42:00.000-10:00

My blogrolls are complete and can be accessed from my sidebar. Clicking on either Postie Blogroll or Good Folks to Read will take you where you want to go. If I've inadvertantly left you off, give me a shout. Feel free to copy either one from here if you like, but I find I get corrupted links that way. I've saved each as a Word document that will give you a result that should look just like mine. Leave a comment here or send me an email if you'd like me to send it to you. You can save that, then copy and paste it into a fresh post on your blog & you should be good to go. Installing your blogrolls inside your blog (instead of a sidebar list) will give you genuine incoming and outgoing links, so they're good for your PR. If you'd like to be included, send me the name of your blog(s) and the link(s.) I'm not going to promise to add every one that comes in, but most of you should be able to meet my high standards. ;0)

Note: I will NOT add abusers or violators of PPP TOS. You know who you are, so don't ask. If anyone notices that I've added someone that shouldn't hang around in good company, I hope you'll let me know ASAP!

EDIT: Sorry folks! I scrambled the whole thing when I edited last night. I'll find the bug and fix it when I get home from work!

Do you think I could stand the cold?

2007-01-22T12:01:00.000-10:00

Are you a ski buff and ready for a vacation? Meribel, convenient to the 3 Valleys, the largest ski area in Europe, has ski courses that are perfect for everyone from beginner to expert, and English-speaking ski instructors to get you started or help you improve your style. If you're up to a real challenge, take a turn on the 1992 Olympic Women's Downhill Course. Snow, sushine and luxury accomodations await your pleasure at Chalets Meribel, where you'll relax in comfort after a day on the slopes. Supertravel sponsored this post to help you plan your vacation. Check them out!

My celebrity look-alikes?

2007-01-22T02:49:00.000-10:00

I think not! I sure hope this isn't the same technology that our national security forces are using to pick mad bombers and terrorists out of a crowd.

I tried it with three different photos of myslef. The first time it gave Martina Navrotilova.

The second time it couldn't find anyone. The third time I got the result you see in the collage above. Little hinky, wouldn't you say, that they allowed me to pick my favorite look-alikes from a whole slew of them?

The link at the bottom of the collage will take you there so you can try it yourself.

Bowling

2007-01-21T18:04:00.000-10:00

I used to bowl in a league. Most of the other bowlers were members of a Mardi Gras krewe. They didn't have enough bowlers in their krewe so they invited me to be a member (of the league, not the krewe.) It was pretty embarrassing, really. It was back in the seventies and my memories aren't as vivid as they once were, but I think I remember that my average was in the nineties when I joined and about 120 by the time I left the league. I've never been much of an athlete and was already dealing with a pinched nerve in my spine, but the other teams members were pretty supportive & I don't think they laughed about me behind my back. I was always very self-conscious when with them, though, and finally got the nerve to bow out at the end of year two. They didn't beg me to stay.

The bowling I did enjoy was midnight bowling with family and friends. The price was ridiculously cheap, so we'd fill a couple of cars with folks and head on down to the Bowling Lane. The staff was lax about rules for the scanty midnight crowds, so we'd crank the jukebox way up and dance between our turns at the pins. I had won a personalized bowling ball in a drawing and had my own shoes. The blue ball and shoes were carried in a blue bag. I always wore jeans and either a blue or black top when I bowled. I wasn't a good bowler then, either, but at least I looked hot and was with friends who didn't make me nervous.

I loved everything about that experience: the music competing with the sound of balls rolling down the lane and pins flying, the smell of the oiled-wood lanes and sweaty shoes and, mostly, the comraderie of a group of folks who knew each other well and were having a grand old time.

I was disappointed to find out recently that the lanes are no longer real wood. The synthetics used now are supposed to be better for ball control, but I'm pretty sure I would miss that old oiled wood and the sound of a ball thunking down on the wood lanes if I were ever to take up the sport again. I thougth bowling in the seventies was a wonderful passtime. I think I would feel that something was missing if I were to walk into a bowling alley these days. Some things should stay the same, don't you think, for the sake of tradition and nostalgia?

It's unlikely I'll ever bowl again anyway, what with the effects of aging on a back that was damaged in my youth, but still I'm glad that encyclocentral.com sponsored this post so I could drag our some more memories to share.

Housekeeping for my blog

2007-01-21T17:41:00.000-10:00

Sometime in the next day or two you will see your link disappear off of my sidebar. Don't worry - I'm not erasing my friends. I'll be replacing those unwieldy lists with a couple of links to lists that will be tucked away neatly inside. This will hopefully make my pages more appealing, and will also be better for you and for me, page rank wise. Search engines tend to ignore sidebars when determining ingoing and outgoing links. By placing links in the body of my blog, we'll all "get credit" for our own links. I'm working on my PPP postie links today and will do my other links once this list is finished. If I'm doing it properly (I think I am) my postie list will be available as a word document when I'm done. Drop me a PM if you'd like a copy. You can install it too, and you won't be giving me PR credit every time you link to another postie.

A procrastinator's dream come true!

2007-01-21T09:23:00.000-10:00

You know I love sending ecards! I send paper greetings from time to time. Most of them have something on the front like "Happy Belated Birthday" or "Ooops! I missed your big day." It's not that I don't think about my friends' special days until they've passed. I know what those days are. I'll find myself thinking, way ahead of time and with warm fuzzies attached, about friends celebrating forty years of marriage or about how proud I am of a cousin who is graduating from high school Those are really special occasions, so I want to take my time and find just the right words to tell them so. The procrastinating side of me always thinks I have plenty of time, and then suddenly it's just too late. Really shameful, I know.

I'm working on that, I honestly am, but until I get it right I'm really glad there are so many wonderful animated ecards to choose from. I can schedule them ahead of time when I first think about an occasion, and, of course, they don't cost nearly as much as paper cards. For those that I just don't remember until the last moment, I can send the same day without having to select from the "belated" catagory. American Greetings ecards on msn offer all of those benefits, and they have a wonderful selection of cards for every occasion. Yearly membership is only $13.99, and you can try it out FREE for thirty days. Free is good always good, but membership has its privileges, you know. You can even go through your address book and select and personalize ALL of the cards you want to send out for months to come, then just insert the date you want them delivered. I also like the option of creating and sending paper cards. I could do that, but, of course, I'd set them aside until mailing time and then forget to send them. I'll probably just stick to the ecards option for now. That way everyone will know I'm thinking of them on or before their special days instead of having to wait to see an "oops!" from me.

I'm a huge fan of humorous animated ecards for happy occasions. I'm glad that American Greetings ecards on msn spnsored this post so I could share Chin Music with you. I didn't notice the name of the card when I clicked on it, so it took me a moment to realize what I was seeing. Hilariously funny! Make sure you watch the bloopers at the end!

A long, long time ago

2007-01-20T16:49:00.000-10:00

How far back can you remember? I have some memories of the small town I was born in: the fire station with the donut shop next door, the orphanage with a farm where we visited most weekends, the rodeo practice grounds and the route I walked to school to take my older brother and sister their forgotten lunch money.

I don't remember when I was the baby of the family.

I remember making mud pies, but not that I was constantly getting in trouble for eating them. Everyone says it was so.

I don't remember when I quit being "the baby." I only remember when we were four.

I don't recall the puppy, or knowing that we were poor. I remember that the steps were scarey and broken down, and that I was often told to go out, then come back in without slamming the screen door. I wasn't raised in a barn, you know!

I don't recall the doll and highchair, but I remember sleeping in pin curls every Saturday night, and on the eve of every special occasion.

I don't recall when Mom was young and slim, but I can recall a lot of identical dresses that she made for me and Sis.

I remember how lucky I felt to get the hand-me-downs and wear those special dresses an extra year or two, but it took a stroll through old photos to remind me that mine always drooped off of my right shoulder.

I remember the year Mom made detailed costumes, too, and how lucky I was to get a Patty Playpal and a nurses bag to go with mine. It must have been the same year that Sis discovered Laura Ingalls Wilder. I can't recall those stairs ever being uncarpeted.

There are bad memories in there, too. The world didn't know much about manic-depression back then, or understand the terrible impact it could have on children whose mother could go from blissfull happiness to whacking off your hair in a frenzy when you said you wanted to have a pixie haircut like your friend. I know I quit wearing her homemade dresses about that time. I was old enough to notice that they had become bizarre and clownish.

Everyone's father drank, so we probably assumed that everyone's father passed out in the living room or the yard or the car each evening. We probably thought he was just tired because he worked so hard. There are no pictures of that, of course.

What we did understand, and what I choose to remember the most, is that we were four, and that we always knew we were loved.

I remember that year when I got my first bike. It was the same year that Mom told me the big secret that I was never, ever to tell anyone. I had always been her favorite. It was many years later that I realized that, despite whatever failings she may have had, she was wise enough to tell that same secret to each of the four of us.

It sucks having tummy troubles

2007-01-19T19:19:00.000-10:00

Carbonated beverages have been out of my diet for twelve years now. I buy one every now and then, but it causes me so many problems that my craving is cured for quite a while. I used to drink Coke and Dr. Pepper, but A W Root Beer and Cream Soda were my favorites. I think I probably kept A & W in business for quite a few years. Now I buy an A & W Root Beer or Cream Soda about once a year. I love both poured over good quality French Vanilla ice cream. Few things in this life can compare to the taste and sensation of a good root beer float, and a cream soda float runs a close second. I'd like to find some decent noncarbonated versions, but the selections available in Hawaii are limited. I've tried a few and they were just nasty. I've abandoned my search for now, but I'm sure I'll be tempted again some day. Then I'll just have to deal with the whole I-can't-eat-ice-cream-either issue.

Did you know that A & W Root Beer was first served at a parade for returning WWI veterans in 1919? Roy Allan originally sold it for a nickel a serving from a roadside stand. It earned it's name when he paired up with Frank Wright and opened a restaurant. It's big business now, owned by a huge corporation, but it's got a long and honorable history. I'd ike to go back to supporting it. Guess that's not gonna happen anytime soon.

Today is a first. encyclocentral.com sponsored this post so I could whine about my sucky life. Check out some of their listings and see what you think.

It's semi-official - I quit

2007-01-19T18:42:00.000-10:00

I've been on the board for our homeowners' association for ten years now. A few weeks after I bought my house, a stranger came to my door to tell me that the annual meeting would be starting shortly. As a brand new resident, I wasn't even on anyone's mailing list yet, so I hadn't known about the meeting until that moment. I walked down the street to our little park, expecting a crowd. There are sixty homes in our community, but the meeting was attended by only about half-a-dozen of them. I was asked to fill a position on the board of directors. I explained that I didn't even know how to own a house, much less how to help run a community association. The existing board explained that if all positions weren't filled, another annual meeting would have to be called, at great expense. I caved in and was elected, the board having collected enough proxy votes to represent a quorum of homeowners. I served as a director that year, and was named vice-president the following year. During year three our president retired from the military and moved to the mainland. I was named president.

We've done some good things in the last ten years. No one had overseen maintenance fee collections for many years and a number of residents took advantage of that. Now we have only one or two who are allowing their neighbors to carry their financial burden for them, and we have a system in place to deal with them. We installed new streetlights throughout the community and repaved our streets. Our park has safe playground equipment with a protective fall surface underneath, and we have a gazebo with picnic tables and benches. Almost everyone in the neighborhood has been persuaded to maintain their homes and keep their properties clean, though there is one who seems to obsessively collect junk cars and rats. Almost everyone has replaced their old shake roof with something more fireproof. All homeowner have seen a significant rise in the value of their property.

I'm tired and I'm frustrated with the way things have gone for the last two years. The board has turned into a committee that talks about and studies many issues, but never accomplishes anything. We've been trying to get potholes filled and the pavement re-topped on our streets for almost a year. The rainy season is on top of us. The potholes will be beyond patching after a few months of monsoon-like rains & we'll face a cost of $50-80,000 to re-do the entire job. The fence that keeps kids in the playground from tumbling into the stream was supposed to be replaced this year, but the contract bids languish while board members bicker. The list goes on and on. Whenever the board does anything concerning house rule enforcement, my home is vandalized and I recieve threatening notes in my mail box. My dogs no longer have access to my front yard because strange foods were thrown over my front fence and I feared they would be poisoned. The board feels that these are "my" problems and has allowed it to continue and escalate.

So I'm tired and frustrated and buned out. I told our property manager today that I want to step down at our annual meeting next month. He was quite alarmed at this. "But you're the only one who does anything." Um, yeah ... that's the problem. I'm done.

I'm shopping for a new cell phone

2007-01-19T15:35:00.000-10:00

I still haven’t replaced my cell phone. I’ve been shopping around, but there are so many options it makes my head spin. I still have a few months on my contract, so at least I have the luxury of finding the right phone before my deadline.

The first thing I noticed about the Motorola Z3 is that it’s pretty. I didn’t realize phones could be fashion items when I was buying my current cell phone, but I see now that they can. That being said, I need more than good looks, so I’ve checked out some of the features of the MtorolaZ3. It comes with all of the usual functions, of course. I really like the slide open feature, allowing for more compactness than my old flip style. The Z3 is Bluetooth compatible, and an optional memory card allows you to carry music, photos and videos wherever you go. There’s a side camera key, too, of course. Looks like this one definitely belongs on my short list of phones to consider.

Another "pretty" phone is the MOTOKRZR1. It has a 2 mega-pixel camera and is also Bluetooth combatible, but mostley, well ... take a look for yourself. Did you ever think you'd see a sexy cell pnone? Sure it's a flip-phone, but so much more slender than my current old clunker that I know it won't bulge and be uncomfortable in my pocket while I'm working.

I've bookmarked the site so I can I look at both of these again. Thanks to http://www.motorola-mobiles.co.uk/ for sponsoring this post so I could go phone-shopping!

Southern Fried!

2007-01-18T20:21:00.001-10:00

Cass has posted the first edition of the Southern Fried Carnival. Go take a tour of ten blogs that will remind you, in the words of the immortal Phil Harris "That's what I like about the South!" You'll also find instructions for submitting your own Southern Fried post next time, or you can click on the Blog Carnival box in my sidebar & click on it there.

Go. Read. Have your heart warmed. But don't forget: Y'all come back, now!

Just for laughs

2007-01-18T17:39:00.000-10:00

I don't really need another time-sucking way to spend time online. Between my daily message boards, blog-hopping and game playing (and sometimes even work)I spend way too much time at the computer already. I can't seem to help myself. So I'm a little upset that Jokeroo.com sponsored this post. They made me look! Yeah, that's my excuse. Hours and hours of funny videos and other entertainment. I admit I've watched the guy do 100 impressions in five minutes, um, several times and it's still making me laugh.

Oh, and they've got lots of pictures that are pretty funny, also. I'm thinking this isn't the background scenery that the bride and groom had in mind.

Go check out Jokeroo.com ... even if you don't need another timesuck!

Seamless Pictures

2007-01-18T17:28:00.000-10:00

I've had the picture above as my desktop wallpaper forever. It's by Ron Gonsalves and is part of his Seamless Pictures series. It's amazing art, with literally seamless blending of fantasy and reality in many of his pictures. I've been a huge M.C. Escher fan for as long as I can remember, so perhaps I was pre-conditioned to love this guy, too. Go, Browse. Be amazed. Fall in love with Ron Gonsalves.

Where is beauty?

2007-01-18T07:51:00.000-10:00

Fashion style, to me, has always been expressed in the details. In my wardrobe you'll find classic pieces. My skirts are classic, whether gored for flare or straight for simplicity. You won't see excessive zippers, toggles and baubles on my slacks. They are understated and chic. I like elegant crepe blouses and crisp button-front shirts and have three nearly identical cream-colored, light-weight silk sweaters. The lines of my dresses and suits would be recognizable to a fashionable woman in the fifties, though they have been updated for the new century. I’m still searching for the perfect little black dress (aren’t we all?) and jeans that truly compliment my shape. I know they’re out there. When I find them I’ll have the foundation of the perfect wardrobe … for me.

Accessorizing is what brings my wardrobe to life and allows me to express my mood. I have several dozen scarves that I use creatively to add fun or elegance to my classic wardrobe pieces. Shoes and handbags can take my look from “all business” to “kicking up my heels.“ A change in hairstyle or a piece of jewelry may tell you the mood I’m expressing today.

Peter Belisi gets it. He understands the joy I take in expressing my own style. His designs bring elegance and sophistication to those sweet little pieces that let me tell you who I am. I think it’s because of his philosophy. His fashions help me find the finishing touches that let me know that I can project a beautiful look. More importantly, Belisi knows that beauty is not found just in glossy fashion magazines and on billboards. Belisi asks, "What's Beautiful to You?", is his new campaign that asks you, the true beautiful people, to help him define beauty. Check out his blog and post your definition of beauty. The answers so far are thoughtful and eye-opening ... and beautiful. Your comment could win you a $100.00 Belasi gift card, so go; tell the world what is beautiful to you. Belisi sponsored this post because he wants to know what you think.

I HATE this kind of excitement!

2007-01-17T17:36:00.000-10:00

I heard the what was unmistakably a firetruck coming up my street. Just as I stepped out the front door it stopped in front of my house. That was because the house they were going to next door already had an ambulance blocking the street. The crew from the fire engine jumped and ran up my neighbor's driveway. When they move that quickly after the first responder is already on scene, it brings up all sort of scary thoughts. I had to go back inside for my keys (I keep the gate locked since my recent intruder scare,) and as I stepped out into the street another fire engine pulled up. I though I was smelling smoke then, but couldn't see anything on fire. (That may have been paranoia on my behalf, what with our history in this neighborhood.)

The neighbors are an older Japanese couple. I think she's in her late sixties & he is probably well into his seventies. He takes care of their little four-year-old grandaughter every day. I approached one of the medics coming back out of the neighbor's yard and asked if I was needed to tend the little girl. He said "Nope. All over now, but thanks," then told the other crews they could leave. I still have no idea what is all over but I'm glad it is.

UPDATE: Dot (next door neighbor) had extreme shortness of breath, but responded well to whatever the medics did & would not let them take her to the hospital. She saw a doc yesterday & was given antibiotics for strep throat. This might have been anaphylaxis from an allergic reaction to the meds. She and I had a talk with the little girl, who knows it will be okay to go with auntie skeet for a little while if grandma or grandpa ever needs to go to the doctor in a hurry. She knows her mother & big sister's phone number & we will call them to come get her.

Whew! I feel much better. And I guess the "might be smoke" was just my paranoia, lol!

Helping your teens reclaim their lives

2007-01-17T15:29:00.000-10:00

I've watched many families deal with their teen's addiction problems. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that it's pretty much impossible to do it alone. Kids today are overexposed to segments of society that support their addictive lifestyles and they're not likely to choose to walk away from it themselves. Your own loving support is much needed, but is not enough by itself to break the cycle of addiction. The kids I know who have truely ended their addictions did it through an
adolescent treatment program. If you're facing these problems, I urge you to consider a tretment program that specializes in helping teens face up to and walk away from their addictions to drugs and alcohol. The first step is making the call, and it's you who needs to do that. I wish you peace, fulfillment and total success in your mission.

Echo Malibu sponsored this post and the call is free.

Some good free stuff!

2007-01-17T14:56:00.000-10:00

THIS IS NOT A SPONSORED POST. I JUST LIKE 'EM!

Everybody likes free, right? I found these two sites a few weeks ago and I have been visiting them almost every day since. Sometimes I forget, which is a shame, because the free downloads change every day. We're not talking about those "30-Day Free Trial" gimmicks that some sites use to lure you in. This is genuine, first-quality, licensed stuff that you get to keep. I'm gonna go take a peek right now and tell you what each site is offering today!

Okay, I'm back! Giveaway of The Day is giving away a download for for Global Clipboard Here's some stuff about it:

"Global Clipboard is a multifunctional clipboard manager. The program saves all the information that is copied to the clipboard. Therefore, you can restore any data used during your work. A flexible interface and convenient viewing make it possible to receive all the information on each data fragment." The retail price is $19.95, but you get it free!

You read that right! Software that usally sells for $19.95 is free, just a mouseclick away. It's not a contest where you have to jump through hoops. It's just there for you to take!

Their sister site is Game Giveaway of the Day. Same deal as above. One game download a day is featured. You want it, you downoad it. No strings. Today the freebie is Lines Deluxe:

"A vibrant remake of the old classic Lines game. This totally brand new version is literally full of life! The balls interact with the player and numerous realistic bonus features make the game exciting and loads of fun."

I'm here to tell you it is addictive. I downloaded it last night (they're in a different time zone than me) and suddenly it was two hours later, lol. It, too, sells for $19.95 but is free to you today.

Both sites sell software, of course, and invite you to browse their sites the next time you're looking to buy. But let me stress again: there is no obligation to buy anything in order to get the free daily downloads. They really are free! That's a price you can't beat! The clock is ticking. The sites tell me that their giveaways will change in six hours and thirty-four minutes. Get going!

Getting ready for your SATs?

2007-01-16T18:11:00.000-10:00

I have several friends who have children in high school and who are trying to help prepare their children for college. There are a lot of hoops to jump through along the way, and the SATs are among the most important of those. I’ve known a few people who aced their SATs without study or effort, but they are the exception to the norm. For most it takes a lot of studying and hard work. Algebraic formulas tend to become fuzzy within a few months of finishing the class that made us learn them. Words that we learned in a history class might be hard to define once we move on to a different era. Everyone needs a little help when it’s time to study for SATs. You can prepare (or help your child prepare) for the SAT Vocabulary test by using an innovative learning site that provides unique ways to enhance memory. Look at this word-picture tip for recalling the meaning of the word APEX:

Looks Like: Ape
Remember This: King Kong (the ape) climbs up to the top of the Empire State building, which is the highest point in New York.

You’ll find that SATVOCAB.COM has a comprehensive list of standardized test words with definitions and tips to help you keep them in your memory. There is also a feedback system in place so you can get answers to all of your questions about test preparation. They have study programs available for other standardized tests, also. I’m passing the link on to my homeschooling friend who also has a wonderfully informative blog for other homeschooling parents. She can use this SAT Vocabulary method for helping her daughter and her readers prepare for their SAT vocabulary test, and I know she’ll be glad they sponsored this post so I could share the site with her.

Learning the language

2007-01-16T17:07:00.000-10:00

This post has been submittd to the Postie Carnival for Monday, January 29, 2007.

The company that brought me to Hawaii twelve years ago provided quality assurance for DOD housing. Under the master DOD contract we inspected military housing for the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard. We were called in after subterranean termite ground treatments had been done by other pest control operators to evaluate their work. We looked for evidence that every area that should have been treated had been. We analyzed the treatment documents to make sure that the materials used had been appropriate to the job, and that the correct mixture of the chemical was applied. We measured the distance between holes drilled in slabs to ascertain whether the application complied with label requirements, and we noted whether holes had been properly filled after treatment. We applied **bio-technology** to determine whether the treatment had been effective. If work seemed dodgy, we took soil samples to send off for high-priced analysis that would prove definitively whether or not effective ground barriers were being applied. We evaluated fumigation efficacy also. The gases used leave no residues, so the only ways to determine if an effective kill had been obtained were to tear up the structures looking for live termites or to apply our bio-tech device. Our method was less costly and more aesthically pleasing. :0)

A lot of the local pest control operators resented us, understandably so. No one likes a competitor to be given the power to prove that they're doing lousy work. There were a few operators who took a different view. They realized that they could use our services to evaluate and improve the quality of their own work. One company signed a contract for us to provide quality-assurance monitoring for every job they performed. Others had us spot-check a few dozen jobs a month.

The day after I arrived in Hawaii I was provided with an employee from one of those companies to help me get acquainted with local ways. He greeted me wearing shorts and a company tee shirt. I thought that was very unprofessional, but soon discovered that it's not only considered appropriate in Hawaii, it's the only way to go if you're going to do physical labor in a tropical climate. His name was Clyde and I still remember that my first impression was also impaired by his bad breath. He was "local" and I had some difficulty understanding his speech, but he was patient with me and we were communicating well before the day was over (well, I thought we were.) He took me to several vacant houses that his company had recently treated. We discussed his treatment methods and he introduced me to a few structural features that I had not routinely seen in mainland buildings. One of these features was the shallow, pre-made trusses that form the roof support for most Hawaii homes. The attics don't have much space because of low overheads and are extremely hard to navigate.

At one location I preceded Clyde up the ladder to look at an attic. As I pushed up the hatch that provided entry, something fell down my shirt. To say that I was surpised when it began to crawl around in there is an understatement. I forced Clyde back down the ladder and proceeded to paw around in a very un-ladylike manner, trying to capture what I assumed would turn out to be a cockroach. When it managed to crawl inside my bra and contacted my skin, I knew it was something else. It was soft and warm, and managed to squeeze itself into a space at the band of my bra without the scratchiness that an insect with an exoskeleton is known for. I finally managed to get a grip on the intruder and pull it out. Clyde was by then stooped over in laughter, looking like he was about to pee himself. I opened my hand and my captive leapt to a nearby wall and scurried away, to Clyde's shout of "Wooaaah! Spahk 'em!" I collected the few shreds of dignity that I had left and we carried on with our workday.

A few days later I was in the warehouse of Clyde's employer, hanging out with several of "the guys." I pointed to some activity in a corner and said "I'm surprised all those 'spockums' can live in here where all the pesticides are stored." This seemed hilarious to all of the assembled workers and most of them laughed until they had tears in their eyes. I stood there feeling awkward and embarrassed, waiting for an explanation. That was the day I learned that spahk' em is another local way of saying "look a dat!" Geckos are just called geckos.

I rememberd Clyde when I saw him a few months ago at a pest control conference. He remembered me, too. Apparently the story of the day we met has remained as fresh in his mind as it has mine. He introduced me to a fellow he was standing with. "Hey, bra, dis dat spahk 'em girl wit da **bio-technology device** I tol you bout."

Sheesh! I worked with that man for two years. You'd think he would remember me for the fine service I provided!

**This bio-technology utilized each inspector's four-footed, wet-nosed, tail-wagging partner. I'm not using the more obvious words here because I don't want old boss to stumble across combinations of keywords that would let him find my blog. ;0)

Greeting cards for dog lovers!

2007-01-16T11:52:00.000-10:00

Y'all know I'm an animal lover, right, and a dog lover in particular?

So is my best friend. We exchange cards for special occasions and even "no occasion - just wanted to say hello."

I'm always on the look out for breed-specific animated ecards for dog lovers.

How cool is it that I can insert a stock photo of the specific breed (above) or personalize with a photo from my own files (below)?

I just made a sample card featuring my friend's two breeds - beagle and weimeraner - reminding her of how well they play together with my dogs & that they haven't seen each other lately. I suggested a playdate for our dogs, lol! Membership for Sloppy Kiss Cards is only $9.95 a year and helps support Petfinder.com Foundation.

Yeah, I think I can sqeeze that much fun into my budget! Besides, they have such cute ideas:

This post was sponsored by Sloppy Kiss Cards so we could all share the fun!

Postie Carnival reminder

2007-01-15T10:21:00.000-10:00

Today's Postie Carnival features posts that will direct your attention to some great causes that are worthy of support. Catagories include supporting cancer research, helping children in need, feeding the hungry and tending to your own personal development, among others. I'm finding so many organizations and ideas that I was not even aware existed, and I haven't read half of the posts yet. Did you know you can give a cow to an impoverished family so that they can begin developing their own sustainable resources? What a magnificent idea!

Take a few minutes to check out the Postie Carnival! You'll be glad you did!

A day at the theatre - Pidgin style!

2007-01-14T22:02:00.000-10:00

My friend called me last night to let me know that our tickets for the current production at Kumu Kahua Theatre were for today. I think her call must have come while I was at the far end of the house starting a load of laundry, because I never heard the phone ring. It was too late to call her back when I found the message, so we talked this morning as soon as I was sure she would be awake. I arranged to meet her after I finished some necessary shopping. She picked me up in front of the warehouse-like pet supply place and we enjoyed a leisurely drive into town in light weekend traffic.

Kumu Kahua Theatre stages its productions in the historic old Kamehameha V Post Office Building, on the boundary that separates Honolulu's modern high-rise business district from the pungent aromas and busyness of Chinatown. On days when scheduling is not so tight, we go early for our theatre dates. We wander around the quaint little shops and garish import emporiums, sometimes buying tea and trinkets and silk shoes. We sample the street foods or find a table in a noodle shop next to Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese or Thai families sharing a Sunday dinner. Today we arrived about thirty minutes before curtain time, so we lounged in the small park adjacent to the theatre waiting for the doors to open. A homeless man, his worldly goods in bags and boxes secured to his bicycle, sat nearby playing an ukulele.

The doors opened a little late today and we joined other patrons already lined up on the broad lanai waiting to enter. It was only then that I saw the posters for today's production. Living Pidgin by Lee Tonouchi! I know that y'all know that I've recently re-read this wonderful book by Da Pidgin Guerrilla. The play was comprised of a collection of Lee's stories. His writings are personal and he was portrayed in each act. The actors, both male and female, swapped off his role so that each played him several times throughout the production. This might have been confusing had not each actor worn his trademark mustache and backwards baseball cap while speaking for Lee. Sometimes they walked into the scene prepared to play him. Sometimes they pulled a marker from their pockets and became Lee by sketching his identification on their upper lip while speaking their lines.

Audience participation is a frequent feature at Kumu Kahua, and was well-utilized today. Shortly after the play opens a videographer wanders round filming actors and audience. He asks for volunteers to provide local input for his film about living pidgin in Hawaii. I was the last of about six or eight to raise my hand. He gave me a hostile look and then addressed all of us, telling us that "hey, dey got actors to do dat. Put you ego away." In one sequence the cast wound its way through several narrow rows between seats, bumping knees and interacting with the patrons as they searched for the hidden entrance to a rumored all-pidgin world. A group of students explores what might be different in an all-pidgin world and envisions pidgin dancing. Audience members were chosen to serve as partners. Some were embarrassed and reticent. An older man sitting in front of me brought the house down with his enthusiasm. Spontaneous applause and laughter were the primary audience contribution to todays wonderful presentation. I've been going to Kumu Kahua for three or four years and always look forward to enjoying "Plays about life in Hawaii. Plays by Hawaii's playwrights. Plays for Hawaii's people." Today's production of Living Pidgin by Lee Tonouchi was da bes evah! That last link will take you to a viewer's guide and cast photos.

I spotted Lee Tonouchi on the lanai while we were waiting to enter, and he stayed for the entire play. I wanted to approach him and tell him what a fan I am. I wanted to mention my recent posts about Hawaiian pidgin, and that he is mentioned in them. Common sense prevailed. I can relate local stories, but I'm by no means an expert. He is. He's Da Pidgin Guerrilla! I don't think I want to invite him to critique my efforts! Besides, I got him to sign all of his books for me when I attended Kumu Kahua's production of Gone Feeshing a few years back!

Coffee with a twist

2007-01-14T09:17:00.000-10:00

I love my morning coffee. There’s no denying that I’m addicted. I just can’t start my day without those two huge mugs, brimming with flavor and aroma. I’m particular about the taste. I drank a dark rich New Orleans Roast for many years. These days it’s Kona for me (gotta support the Hawaiian economy, you know!) It would take something pretty special to make me switch.

I may have found one! Ganocafe coffee is special and I’m interested in trying it. What makes it unique? Well, it’s not just coffee. Gano Excel’s Ganocafe Coffee is organically grown. That’s a good start, but so is the coffee I drink today. What’s unique about the entire Gano Excel line is that all of their coffees, teas and cocoas contain an extract of Ganoderma Lucidum, aka: Red Mushroom, which has a long and honorable history in Asian medicine. I grew up in a time when Western medicine taught us to be skeptical of herbal remedies and supplements. We know now that Ancient Asian and other natural remedies can complement, and sometimes replace, harsh pharmaceuticals in our search for a healthier life.

My readers know that I have a chronic digestive disorder and have difficulty in absorbing some of the things that my body needs to stay healthy. Will I try Ganocafe Coffee? Yes, I’m ordering my free samples and information packet today. Will it replace my Kona coffee? I don’t know yet, but I’m glad Ganocafe Coffee sponsored this post so I can try it out!

Self Portrait Sunday

2007-01-14T07:52:00.000-10:00

Last week my head was stuck on the fact that my camera had died. I didn't even think about my web cam, even though other participants were using theirs. So, anyway, here you go. Me, early on a Sunday morning. Two sips of coffee inside me, hair uncombed and, if you look closely, there's probably gunk in the corners of my eyes.

Arrrrrrrgh! Next time I'll look closer before I put it out there. Pretend I fluffed my bangs so you can't see the half-inch of roots that are crying for attention, lol!

You can play Self Portrait Sunday too. Click on the link to see how.

Beautiful Biloxi

2007-01-13T20:20:00.000-10:00

I grew up in the Gulf South. Jefferson Parish, just outside of New Orleans, was our home, but the entire Gulf Coast was our playground. My family camped in state parks and saw all of the goofy roadside attractions. Each year we took several long weekend trips to play on the beaches and to fish and crab in the Gulf of Mexico. Biloxi had a small town feel back then, but had everything we needed for an enjoyable vacation. When I married, work obligations meant that my husband and I didn’t have a lot of time off of work, so we spent our honeymoon in Biloxi, just a short drive from home.

I still love that part of the country. I’m contented with the life I have in Hawaii, but the Gulf South will always be “home.” Hurricane Katrina was devastating to me, not just because of my concerns for family and friends, but because of the terrible destruction of so much that was dear to my heart and alive in my memory. It has been encouraging to watch the progress as the entire Gulf South faced the challenges and began to rebuild. The progress to date is nothing short of remarkable!

Biloxi, in particular, has made amazing progress. Biloxi Casinos and hotels have reopened and the crowds are returning. Museums, festivals and other cultural attractions are back in business. As in my day, Biloxi is a wonderful playground for family or adult vacations. The link above will take you to reviews of casinos where you can stay, and links other information to help you plan your entire visit. The casino industry has been in the forefront of the economic recovery of the entire region. Your stay in a Biloxi casino will not only provide you with a wonderful vacation and great additions to the memory books, but will also help Biloxi and the Gulf Coast continue on the road to economic recovery. Cruzino.com sponsored this post so you can see what Biloxi has to offer you while you’re getting to know my beautiful Gulf South!

Postie carnival

2007-01-13T13:46:00.000-10:00

I just posted below that I've never done a blog carnival before, and here I am telling you about another one. This one is open to posties only. That's what we PPP bloggers call ourselves. If you haven't joined PPP & want to do upcoming Postie Carnivals, click the little PayPerPost affiliate icon on my sidebar & get yourself hooked up. You'll not only be eligible for the Carnival, you'll also meet some interesting & fun folks AND start getting paid to blog about the things you love. Good deal all around!

To participate in the Postie Carnival go to the info page on Suni's blog and get yourself registered! The instructions are self-explanatory & you'll be good to go in no time!

Fun stuff!

2007-01-13T08:18:00.000-10:00

I have scads of what I call "messing around" sites in my bookmarks. These are the places I go when my head gets too full of serious stuff and I need to decompress. Don't tell my clients, but I frequently escape this way when they are on the phone with me, droning on and on and on in a conversation that shouldn't take more than a minute. They make me crazy, so I slip away for a little distraction while mumbling "uh-huh" and "yes, I understand your concerns."

Funpike.com is my newest escape bookmark. They have Crazy Funny Videos, Free Online Games and other funnies that help make my life bearable. I've found several games that amuse me, and I've watched the video about clever crows about a half-a-dozen times because it makes me laugh out loud. HINT: Turn off video sounds when you're ignoring a customer on the phone. Let them think your laughter is in appreciation of their own delightful sense of humor!

Funpike.com sponsored this post so I could share a laugh with you!

Calling all Southerners!

2007-01-13T07:52:00.000-10:00

I've never done a blog carnival before. The whole idea of other people counting on me scares me to death when it involves anything technical. But Cass is such a sweetie and her Southern Fried Carnival is so perfect for me that I've decided to give it a whirl. I'm sure that I've messed up my links or done something evil to a widget, but hey, I gave it my best shot. Don't pay any attention to the geographic definition in her call for posts. If you're Southern, honey chile, you know who you are! Get yourself over there & register your Southern Fried post. And if you would, just for me, corrupt a widget or something. I hate being all alone in my ineptitude!

Someone to watch over me

2007-01-12T21:42:00.000-10:00

Regular readers of my blog know that I had a scare recently when an intruder entered my home. I started taking home security seriously that day. My deadbolts stay locked, whether I'm home or not. My gate stays padlocked. I wish it were otherwise, but my desire to stay safe outweighs my longing for "the good old days." I've installed security lighting around my home. The next step will be installing a home security system. Security Systems, Inc. installs the Orlando Home Security System and is the type of company I'm looking for. They are an authorized G.E. Security Pro Dealer, so you know you'll be starting with a great package. The hardware is important, but it's the personnel monitoring your system who will make the difference should an emergency arise. I am very impressed with the fact that they want you to know that the person arriving to install or service your alarm is indeed their authorized representative and not an imposter. Fly-by-night operators don't stay around long. Security Sentinal Systems, Inc. has over 21 years of experience selling, installing and monitoring security systems for homes and businesses. They sponsored this post and are the type of people I want watching over me.

Little things I miss

2007-01-12T17:16:00.000-10:00

Did you know that Igloo Coolers have a foam core between their rigid, molded outside skin and their interior liners? It makes perfect sense that they do. If I'd ever been asked "What do you suppose is between these two layers?" I'm sure I would have said that I thought it must be foam. Now I know that is the answer, because my Igloo died a while back. The crew that worked on my house and built the new addition was using it. Every morning I would fill it up with ice and water and set it out on the shady carport for them. Each day someone would move it out of the way, usually several times, and it spent many full days sitting out in the tropical sun. Shortly after the work was finished I noticed a split in the outer shell. It ran from top to bottom and exposed that foam core. I threw it away. Perhaps I should have buried it instead, and erected some sort of plaque commemorating its passing.

I bought my Igloo cooler back in the seventies. I don't know the date, not even the year. It didn't seem like a significant thing to note in some journal or date book. It was used continuously when my son played Little League. Several times each week it was filled with water or Gatorade or whatever I had committed to bring to practice or a game. It must have gone to hundreds of "dinner on the grounds" and "supper in the fellowship hall" gatherings. It was dragged out for Mardi Gras parade parties, picnics and impromptu touch football games. It moved with me to Northern California and later here to Hawaii. Whatever I paid for it way back then, I certainly got my money's worth from it.

I just searched the Igloo Online Store to see if the same model is still available. Mine was white with a blue top, and I think it held two gallons. The sides were a rough, pebbly finish, except where smooth plastic formed a row of short stripes around the middle. The top was a waffle-like texture. It made an excellent stool for a child. An adult could sit on it too, but the squat body was too close to the ground, so that adult legs were splayed out uncomfrotably in front. The closest I found in Igloo's current product line is that green monstrosity you see above. That's pretty close, though there may be minor differences. Looks like they no longer offer the white with a blue lid.

That's a shame. I'd like to have another just like the one that served me so well. I'd like to pretend to myself that the new one was the origianal, and was invested with the history and memories of that old Igloo. There's one thing that I would have to do to alter a replacement, though, if I wanted it to duplicate the old one.

Whenever I used the Igloo in California and later Hawaii, it always got comments and questions. Oh, it was rather ordinary. I doubt that anyone knew or cared how old it was and how honorably it served. That was not what stimulated so much interest. It was my identification of the contents that did that. You see, I drink iced tea. About a gallon a day. For all of those church events and picnics, I always wanted to know that a supply was ready at hand. So I drug the Igloo out, filled it with ice and Lipton Tea (brewed, never instant!) and took it to each event. There were a lot of people at these events, and everyone has their own preferences, so it was necessary to identify the contents of each of the coolers lined up where beverages were served. It seemed like just a little bit of daily life to all of us, but people in California and Hawaii were always bemused or amused by my cooler. I had marked it with an indelible marker early in its life. The letters were worn and a little faded, but still quite readable when the old cooler died. If I ever get a new one, I'll mark it, too. Just for old times sake. Just to help me remember where I came from.

******************UNSWEET******************

If you don't get it, don't even try to tell me you're Southern!

*********************************************

I don't know how to make the button below become clickable, so just click here to check out the Southern Fried Carnival!

Choosing new templates

2007-01-12T11:39:00.000-10:00

Is there anyone who doesn't know that I've been exploring the idea of getting my own domain and starting up at least two additional blogs? The idea is a bit scary for me, what with my ignorance about all things technical. My friends have been encouraging though, and I've found quite a few websites that offer tutorials and tools that will make the task less intimidating. Today Swish Templates is sponsoring this post, which gives me the opportunity to show you what I've found on their site. The skills involved in creating a template are beyond me, but I've found several that are ready made and would be excellent choices for me. I think the one below would be perfect for my book blog. Lots of tabs, so I can keep the clutter to a minimum but still post reviews, current best sellers, wish lists and TBRs. And I'm a dog person, too, you know!

I haven't found one yet for my clutter and the other blog whose focus is still my little secret, but that's only because there are so many to choose from. If you're in the market for a new look, do check out Swish Templates. The prices look great, too! Right now everything is 10% off, so it's a great time to buy.

And another kind of update

2007-01-12T01:50:00.000-10:00

On January 4th I asked you if I should start dating again. I stated that if fifty of you voted for it within three days, I would sign up for an online dating site and start checking out the prospects. My polling effort was somewhat lame, but that's okay because it was also somewhat rigged. I have, on a few occasions, gotten more than ten comments to a given post. My average is lower, and the post that received the most comments has only gotten sixteen (though they continue to dribble in, so that number could increase.) I set you up, dear friends, knowing that it was extremely unlikely that I would get fifty pro votes, along with some nays and some undecideds.

Mahalo, my friends, for not putting me through that ordeal. You showed yourself to be remarkably disinterested in my love life. Please don't be embarrassed or feel that you need to explain yourselves. That pretty much describes my own level of enthusiasm. I would have kept my word if you had rallied to the cause, but am greatly appreciative that you chose to let me off the hook. It was a workable tie-in for the sponsor I was writing about, but I'm pleased it will not inturde futher into my life.

You may return now to your regularly scheduled programming. ;0)

Unsigned Idols

2007-01-11T17:24:00.000-10:00

You're a musical artist looking for an audience, hoping to be discovered. You're good. You're confident of that, and your family and friends know it, too. They've even hinted that you should sign up as a contestant for one of the ubiquitous televised music competitions, right? You know, like American Idol or one of it's clones. That just proves that they don't understand your music at all. Pop is not in your vocabulary, and you don't want to clean up that nice. You're rough around the edges, and more than a little gritty. It's in your look and in your sound. Simon Cowell won't get it if he lives to be a hundred. Your music is too cutting edge to be fed to a mass, anesthetized audience.

What you need is Unsigned.com. That's where you'll find your fans. Upload your stuff and create a profile that tells true music-lovers what they need to know about you. Rap, hip-hop, punk, heavy meatal; doesn't matter what catagory you fit, beacuse this is all about finding the right audience for the authentic you. Unsigned.com is in beta release, so this is your chance to get on board before the full launch. Your audience is waiting. This is where everyone will be going to find Unsigned Bands and solo artists. They'll never know you 'til you put it out there. Aren't you glad that Unsigned.com decided to sponsor this post so I could give you a push in the right direction?

Alright, alright, you can still go if you're a clean-cut Idol type. Why fight the masses just so Simon can cut you down? You know you're good. GO!

Ha! Here's proof!

2007-01-11T16:54:00.000-10:00

I kinda resent y'all trying to steal my thunder. I posted below about decluttering & you each seem to think that you are better than me at burying yourself in detritus. Ah, you are so ill-informed. I was going through my photo files and look what I found! The above is dated June 30, 2005. That's the work table in my office, where I do my books, sort files, pay bills and such. Well, I used to. I haven't actually seen enough space for most of those activities in quite a while. See the large stack of files to the left? There is an almost identical stack in the same place today, just slightly larger. The heap of clutter to the right of the TV? Oh, I wish my camera worked so I could show you that today it's actually two fallen-over heaps supporting each other. That slick-looking roll of something under the left rear corner of the table? That's a large laminated poster called "Bad Bugs" that should be on my wall. It shows identification photos of the more common wood destroying insects, along with damage typical of each species. I love that poster. I really should put it on the wall. Today it's in the back of the supply closet. It's behind the old phones I want to give to the shelter for abused women, and the reams and reams of different colored paper I use when I print notices for the homeowner's association. It's not likely I could get close enough to the wall to hang my poster anyway, so I guess I'll leave it where it is for now. I don't know what the rest of the stuff under the table is. Hey, give me a break! It was almost two years ago. My industry magazines are in racks behind the stack of files, and I see pink receivables binder beside them. My purple binder for my service account log is on the front/center of the table under a single file. Maybe I actually logged that file the day I did the work. That used to happen. I probably thought about turning to my right and taking a picture of my cluttery desk that day, too. And I probably concuded that it was so embarrassingly messy that I didn't want to record it for posterity. Which, of course, means it was much messier than the work table. This was near the launch of an effort back then to tackle my messes and clean them up. It didn't work, as verifiable to anyone who should see that picture and also get a look at the same view today.

So, anyway, no more of this stuff where you come here & whine that your stuff is messier then my stuff. This is one crown I've earned for myself and you're not going to take it away. I am the champion ... when it comes to clutter!

Selling a business

2007-01-11T16:11:00.000-10:00

I own a small business. My son is totally disinterested in my industry and will have no use for my little company once I'm gone. Hopefully I'll have retired before then anyway. There's always the possiblity that I could drop dead on the job I suppose, but, whatever scenario ensues, either I or someone else will one day be faced with the task of selling my business. Marketing a business involves a great deal more than just selling the real estate or the client list. A professional business brokering firm is needed, to assess the business and prepare it for the market. Getting the right price requires someone who knows and understands the value and potentital of the business, and who has the ability to present it to the largest possible group of qualified buyers. The smart way to Sell a Business is to do it through an online database that will reach the targeted market that is insterested in what you have to offer. A good business broker will know how to handle all that pesky red tape involving taxes and auditing and such. I've never given this much thought, but my business assets include intellectual properties and goodwill. I wouldn't have the least idea how to place a value on such things. That's why I'll look for a reputable firm like KeyMergers & Acquistions when it's time to sell my business. They're the smart folks who sponsor this post.

Playing catch-up

2007-01-11T14:05:00.000-10:00

I haven't blogged about the clutter problems in a while because it would be too embarrassing to say how little I had been doing. I've been working on it the last few days. I won't claim to have made up for lost time. Years upon years of slothful behavior can not be wiped away in mere days. However:

The guest room is clean. That nice queen-sized bed is such a convenient place to pile stuff that I've bought "for later." Also a wonderful place to spread things out when wrapping gifts. We're not talking Christmas here, folks. There was gift wrap I used last summer on that bed. The gift wrap and clutter have been put in their proper places. BONUS: I have scissors! I have tape!

Need to strip the bed & launder the linens in the next few days so it will be fresh and ready in case I ever get guests.

My office is not clean, but:
All reports are in properly labeled folders.
The reports were properly date-ordered and entered into the books.
The reports then properly alpha-ordered for filing.
Filing is still months behind.
All invoices and check receipts for the last month or so were then put into the books and filed away.
New checks opened, entered into accounts and collections.
New checks stamped, added up on deposit slip and ready to deposit.
Supplies for accomplishig all of the above are properly in their place so I don't have to search under and around months of back-filing to find the stapler & the check-endorsement stamp next time.

Okay, even listed item by item it doesn't sound like much, but you should have seen how disorganized my office was. Actually, I'm glad you didn't! I'll try to finish up in here tomorrow, then will have two rooms (guest & office) completely clutter-free. That would be a good thing!

Whale watching!

2007-01-10T17:31:00.000-10:00

Winter is whale-watching time in Hawaii. I access my home via a coastal highway and it's not unusual for me to see whales spouting and cavorting off the coast as I come and go. I keep a pair of binoculars in my car so I can pull over and watch the show anytime. Most folks who live here do, I think. The minute someone with binoculars is spotted looking out to sea, other cars start pulling over and the original whale-spotter is soon joined by others who share their fascination for the behemoths. Ah, so lucky we live Hawaii.

If you've been reading my blog, you know that my camera recently died. There should be a law against living in Hawaii and not having a camera. Sure, I still need to replace my digital camera for some of the photos I want to take, but for whale watching and other situations where I can't get close to my subject, I really want Digital Binoculars to plan and shoot my pictures.

Eagle Optics carries a wide array of binocular products and accessories that will allow me to share my whale-watching adventures with you, and that's what it's all about! They also carry a full range of other optical equipment and accessories. If you're shopping for spotting scopes, digital cameras, telescopes or rangefinders, check out their inventory. Financing is free for ninety days and shipping is free on orders over $200.00. They sponsored this post and hope that you'll visit their site soon! Make sure you check out their hot deals while you're there!

Legally blogged

2007-01-10T17:06:00.000-10:00

I've seen a lot of talk lately in the blogsphere about the legal rights of bloggers. We may (or may not) think of our blogs as a journal wherein we talk to our friends and others who happen to wander by. The fact is that we are publishers and anyone can see what we write. Some people may take offense, whether because we've stepped on their own toes or because they believe we've somehow caused public harm by what we've written. Bloggers have been known to innocently place protected material on their blogs. We can get sued for that, you know. Some bloggers blatantly steal writing and images and claim them for their own. What are you supposed to do if someone else is taking credit for your work? All of these scenarios can cause us headaches, and may end up getting us dragged into court.

Someone recently gave me a link to a site that helps us sort this out. If I could remember who that was I'd thank them by name, but I've forgotten now. Please don't sue me! The Electronic Frontier Foundation outlines bloggers' rights and liabilities. Every blogger should study the site, then add it to their blogroll or bookmarks for easy access. They do not claim to give legal advice for specific cases, but provide guidlines that could keep you out of a sticky situation. I've only read a small amount of the material that EFF makes available and have already learned some very useful information. Check them out. Think about joining them. Send them a check! They're doing a good thing for all of us!

January 14, 2007 - Update! This post has been linked to the Postie Carnival. Check it out!

Uniting families

2007-01-10T12:20:00.000-10:00

I written several times in these pages about the number of nationalities and cultures that are represented right here in my neighborhood. My neighbors come from Samoa, Tahiti, Japan, Korea, China, the Philipines, mainland US and right here in Hawaii. It’s that way throughout our island paradise. We have a very fluid society, with new folks arriving on a regular basis. Some do it after months or years of planning and dreaming. Others come here for a vacation or to serve in the military and realize that Hawaii is where they’ve always wanted to live. Conversely, some island kids grow up and want to see other places.

The down side of all this is that many of us live thousands of miles from our families. My son lives in California, which is only a five hour flight away. The remainder of my family lives mostly in Texas, about double the travel time (and expense) by the time you figure in a change of flight along the way. It can be hard to maintain family ties with such distances involved. We all have active lives that can't be abandoned for frequent visits, so we look for other ways to connect.

ZOOOF, The Family Network is helping unite families just like mine. They’ve not only created a platform for family members to come together, they’ve given us the tools to share family histories, photos and more. Invite your family members to join and watch your family tree grow. It’s all done with a secure login, so you can keep your family skeletons in the closet! Nice concept. ZOOOF.Com is in beta stage right now, with a small group of forty-nine families. On February 14th the beta stage will end and everyone will be invited to join. How appropriate to open it up on a day dedicated to love. Oh, I forgot to mention - it's free! If you absolutely can’t wait to begin uniting your family, send your name, country, gender and email address to invite@zooof.com . They sponsored this post and will get you all hooked up!

Do us working folks a favor, please?

2007-01-09T17:27:00.000-10:00

I was just over at my friend Angie's blog and was reminded of something I had not gotten around to blogging about. You see, Angie has chickens and ducks. Nice to live like that, with animals around. I spent a lot of summer vacations with both sets of grandparents when I was growing up, and they all had animals. Between them and their neighbors I was exposed to chickens, ducks, geese, goats, sheep and cows as a child. As I mentioned in a previous post, one of my grandmothers raised small animals "for table," mostly chickens, rabbits and guinea pigs. That seems to me a more healthful and natural was to expose a child to the world than through malls and super-highways, the suburban world where I raised my son.

What Angie wrote that inspired me, though, was a particular aspect of raising animals out loose in ones yard. Angie recently discovered that her ducks have been laying eggs under her house. Since this does not appeal to her she's decided to block off her crawl space so egg-laying can be done in more accessible areas. Bless her! She's a gal after my own heart.

You all know (or should by now!) that I do termite inspections. Yes, this old gal crawls around under houses for a living. It's ususally "just part of the job," though sometimes it's especially interesting or fun. It's nice when you crawl out and present the homeowner with an old, cracked teacup you found. Even moreso when she bursts out crying and explains that it's the last remnant of her grandmother's china. Sometimes it's downright unpleasant. An early employer used to have me carry a pocket recorder and note my findings audibly while I inspected. I've still got a cassett around here somewhere that goes something like this: "The crawl space is dry and well-ventilated. (click) There are subterranean termite tubes extending up the foundation wall beneath the master bathroom. (click) There's drywood termite damage to the rim joist and droppings on the sill beneath OH #%@%*&! I just stuck my hand inside a dead cat!"

Through laughing yet? I've crawled around dead dogs and cats and through chicken, duck and goose poop. I've accidentally cornered skunks, possums, racoons and other critters. I've been cornered myself by territorial geese and dogs. There are actually people in this world who dispose of dog poops by raking or hosing them under their houses. I don't know how they live with the smell, but will testify that they do it!

I'm here today to voice my humble plea. If you live in a house with raised foundations, please, please, please fence around your crawl space. It doesn't really matter how you do it, whether with garden lattice, chicken wire or fancy carpentry.** Could you do that for me? And for the entire pest control industry? And for the telephone repair crew, the plumber, the electrician and the cable guy? We all hate crawling around in animal muck and over the remains of the neighbor's missing cat. We thank you!

Oh, good, you're done already! Did you read Ang.'s Chicken Coop Yet? Well, good again; you're on a roll! Now go see what else she's been up to at A Bit of This and That.

You can thank me for it later!

**I would be remiss if I didn't tell you that you should NOT create any contact between earth and wood while accomplishing this task. To do so would create a nice little bridge for termites to use to enter your house.

Do it on time this year!

2007-01-09T12:58:00.000-10:00

I have to admit that I may be the world's worst when it comes to remembering important dates. I know when my friends' birthdays are, for instance, but I lose track of time and rarely send a card that arrives on time. I think the people who created Card-List.com must have had folks like me in mind when they came up with their concept. Through their service, you can select cards that are appropriate, compile a list of the friends you want to remember (with their mailing information and appropriate dates) and then forget about it. They'll send you the selected card, in a stamped, addressed envelope, just in time for you to sign it amd mail it to your friends. How simple is that? If you're a forgetful procrastinator like me, or just plain lazy, you really should check it out!

Email forwards

2007-01-09T12:05:00.000-10:00

I get tons of email forwards from family and a friends. Some of them make me crazy. How hard is it to copy and paste the original content to your mailing list, instead of forwarding a forward of a forward of a forward? How many private email addresses have you forwarded to me (from folks who don't know me and might not want me to have their addresses?) How many have you shared my address with? Shame on you!

One of my cousins (actually she's married to a cousin) is a thoughtful emailer. She "blinds" addresses, and only sends me selections from her forwarded mail that she thinks will interst me. This post is dedicated to Kathy for her thoughtfulness! She'll never see it, of course. My blog will lose a lot of its entertainment value if my family ever finds out about it! Here's part of a forward Kathy sent me today. I hope enjoy you'll this in her place!

And finally, for all of my postie friends who are recovering from the latest scavanger hunt:

A great source for product reviews

2007-01-09T07:32:00.000-10:00

We were all reminded around Christmas-time just how tedious it can be to comparison shop. Almost all of us bought things we weren't familiar with for someone on our list. There are so many vairables for each type of product that you can spend hours or even days trying to narrow your choices down. You can't just buy "a DVD player" or "gameplayer." Whether you're shopping for yourself or someone else, you have specifics in mind. It's so much worse when your product search is for something that you don't know much about. I'm quite ill-informed about sporting goods and computer equipment, but my son is into those things, so I need help when I shop for him.

Meta-Review.com not only provides specifications, they provide thousand of product reviews in a wide array of product catagories. Anyone who has read my blog lately knows that my digital camera has died, so I'll use that as an example. MetaReview currently has 597 pages of camera and camera accessory reviews. That's pretty overwhelming, so I need to narrow it down. Piece of cake. I can select a range of megapixels that I think will meet my needs, then add other features like optical zoom capability. There are about ten cameras that have everything that I want. With just a few clicks I've narrowed my search to the products that really interest me. All products receive a Meta-Rating and consumer reviews. That's what interests me the most. I want products that others have tried and given great ratings to. I can take my time evaluating those few reviews and choose the digital camera that's just right for me.

Product catagories include PC Hardware, Sporting Goods, and Outdoor Living. Elctronics, DVDs and Video Games are among the most popular reviews. I've bookmarked MetaReviews for my camera shopping, and I know I'll be back there frequently for other products. They've sponsored this post and I hope you'll give them a try next time you want consumer reviews of the products your looking for.

Calling Crunchy Carpets!

2007-01-07T22:10:00.000-10:00

Sweet thing, I haven't been able to get into your site in ages. I get a search page instead. I know you're online & think you're okay because you've commented bunches of times. Is there a secret to getting into your blog these days? New URL? I need to catch up on you & your family! There's an email toggle here somewhere (on my profile,I think,) or you can leave a comment.

Any of our mutual friends who have a clue, I'd welcome your help!

Avoiding bookkeeping nightmares

2007-01-07T17:41:00.000-10:00

I love my job. I really do. I’ve been doing the same thing for almost twenty-seven years now and I’m very good at it. For the last seven-plus years I’ve owned my own business. I’m not very good at that. I’m fine with providing my clients with the high-quality service they expect and deserve. What I’m lousy at is the mechanics of running my business. I’m in a tight spot now with Uncle Sam because I got behind on my taxes. I never intended to do that, I’m just so sloppy with my office chores that I got frustrated and allowed myself to procrastinate. This occurred during the time that I was doing some home improvement. Since I hadn’t balanced my checkbook in years, I wasn’t keeping track of the expenses for building materials, carpenters, plumbers and electricians. About the time taxes came due last year I realized I didn’t have enough money to pay them. Uncle Sam is a really nice guy. He’s let me have a payment plan. I’ll get caught up some day. I’ve accepted the fact that my talents lie elsewhere and I'll let a professional handle my books in the future.

AccountingParadise.com offers quickbooks bookkeeping services for people just like me. They have a number of attractive packages to choose from. For a very small business like mine, the bookkeeping fees are quite reasonable. There’s no charge for initial setup of my account, and basic services start at ten dollars a month. If you carry a payroll, full service for up to ten employees starts as low as $30.00 a month.

While you’re on their site, make sure you check out their Accounting and Payroll Blog for news and tips to help you keep your business running smoothly.

AccountingPardise.com sponsored this post.

For Cass

2007-01-07T16:14:00.000-10:00

My camera became brain-damaged on Christmas Day, and I'm pretty sure it went through its final death throes on New Year's Day when I was trying to take pictures of the fire. My timing was always lousy!

My friend Cass has just started a new photoblog. She's invited one and all to join her for Self Portrait Sunday which, of course, I can't really play right now. I can cheat, though. I know this because most of Cass's friends weren't any more ready than I am, so they've posted non-self portraits. I've dug around in my files and come up with a real exclusive!

Above you see me, mid-eighties, with the ex. He was trying not to be the ex that day. He'd been out of my life for quite a few years, but he had a habit of showing up from time to time. That was fine. We shared a son. But then Mr. Ex would disappear again for another few years. Each time he came back he'd suddenly remember that he loved me madly and wanted me in his life. The first time he did this I bought it. That's when we married. Our son was three. I was young and foolish enough to think that his father and I could make a family for him. We were together for a whole five months before that fell apart. The next time I saw him was probably about five or six years later. I got a call from a lawyer saying Mr. Ex was back in town, in jail, and needed help with bail. I brought him a carton of cigarettes and we visited for a half an hour. Then I got a lawyer and had him served with divorce papers. He thought that was cold. I thought it was pragmatic, considering that it was the first time he'd had an actual address in many years.

Fast forward to the occasion above. My life had become more settled. I had entered the profession I still serve today. I was on the board of our local industy association and had committed to go to our annual picnic. Mr. Ex showed up and wanted to spend the day with our son. Son said no thanks, I'd rather go to the picnic. He was getting ready to start his senior year in high school and quite able to make his own decisions. Mr. Ex also told our son that he needed to drop out of school and go into the U.S. Army, as he, his father and his grandfather had done. Son said no thanks. So we all went to the picnic.

And why is the picture considered an exclusive? Well, because it was one of only three occassions where we were photographed together. We had a very small family album.

Cass would like you to join her and all of her friends for Self Portrait Sunday. I'll install a button when someone tells me how. Today you can just follow the link above and it will take you right there! Don't be shy now!

Ready for another holiday?

2007-01-07T15:45:00.000-10:00

It seems like the holidays are coming closer and closer together. I'm not yet decompressed from all of the madness of Christmas and New Year's, but it's time to start thinking about Valentine's Day. Yes, it's that close! Jokeroo.com has a nice selction of Valentine Cards ready to go. Silly or sentimental, you'll find something you like. Make sure you take a look at The Crystal Rose. Beautiful! Check out jokeroo.com, the nice folks who sponsored this post!

Meet my fellas!

2007-01-06T08:52:00.000-10:00

I talked about some of my gal friends a while back and promised equal time for the menfolk. Here are some of the guys who make my world go around

Steve, over at The beginnings of a Blog, is a tech wiz. He knows and understands all the gadgets that make our lives click along smoothly these days. He’s also great at hunting down links for new sites that help you stay informed. But our Steve is not a one-dimensional guy. He’s a Canadian living in New York and going to Long Island University on a track scholarship. Did I mention that he’s got a wicked sense of humor? Wonder where he finds the time to dedicate to the research that keeps his blog up-to-the-minute?

Drew and I have been visiting each others blogs & talking on a message board for a while now. He and his lovely lady Allison are both excellent photographers. He’s posted a Photo-A-Day since April 9, 2005 and has invited other bloggers to join his Photo-A-Day project. Drew is a true renaissance man. He collects Transformers, and even posts tasty recipes! Every time I prowl around in his archives I find something new that I didn’t know about this talented guy!

Osman has the heart of a poet. I’ve been reading his About the things that occupy my mind for a while now. His posts are always interesting and thoughtful. He’s a multi-talented guy who recently excitedly announced his second blog, Linguistics and Languages. Osman, you see, is a linguist and languages are his passion. He is studying at university to be an English teacher. He is multi-lingual and has installed a translator program on the site so that it can be read in twelve different languages. I especially enjoyed his round-up post of others’ thoughts and opinions on languages. I was quite honored when he asked me to be his first guest blogger.

As a newbie blogger and totally non-tech, I frequently find myself facing glitches in my posting. Techie has come running to my aid several times when I’ve had technical questions. He’s another who is a great resource for gadgets and sites to enhance your online experience. He’s recently started a gift selection site with attitude. He likes to share amusing tidbits that he finds when he's surfing around. Oh, and I should mention that it looks like his little girl is making her first appearance in the world this weekend. Congrats to Techie & wife!

In addition to all of their other sterling attributes, my fellas are all handsome and studly, and they all know how to treat a gal to make her feel oh-so-special. Drew and Techie are taken (alas!) but Osman and Steve are single guys still looking for love. Skeet's matchmaking service will, for a small fee, arrange a more personal introduction for you gals out there who are also searching.

Looking for a change? It's Vegas, baby!

2007-01-05T17:23:00.000-10:00

Las Vegas is the most popular vacation destination for people from Hawaii. I know quite a few people who go several times a year. I also know of quite a few people who have moved from Hawaii to Las Vegas. Why? Well, Las Vegas is a dynamic city, of course, a gambling and entertainment mecca. But there’s more to it than that. Las Vegas is a great place to raise a family, and Nevada is well-known as a business-friendly state. The median price of a single-family home in Hawaii is over $650,000. And that’s for a small home with not a lot of room to stretch out in. You can buy a townhouse or condominium in Las Vegas for under $200,000, and the single-family homes are not much more. Builders are offering incentive packages of up to $35,000, with zero down-payments available and very attractive rates. If you’re thinking about moving there but not ready to buy a home yet, you also find homes for rent for very reasonable prices, even in luxury golf club communites.

Find out why about 5000 people move to Las Vegas every month at Las Vegas New homes, the fine folks who sponsored this post.

I got tagged: Favorite movies

2007-01-05T15:06:00.000-10:00

My friend Jules tagged me. I have to tell you about my five favorite movies. It's hard to pick because there are so many good ones out there. I've watched each of the ones below many times, but they aren't the only ones to share that dubious honor. I love the old Lerner & Lowe and Rogers & Hammerstein musicals, but didn't include them. Brigadoon is available on DVD now, so I'm going to use a gift card from Christmas to pick that up soon. I love grainy, silly black-and-white sci-fi flics ... the kind where you sometimes see a boom descend into the screenshot and you have to laugh at the goofiness of the monsters. I adore really good kid-flics and probably have as many of those as I do adult fare. Alfred Hitchcock is still my master of suspense. But, for a general audience, here are my five:

I first watched because of Johnny Depp, of course (don't we all!) His sexiness and charisma come through, no matter what the role. He's never relied on that alone, though I'm pretty sure he could. His movies are all fresh and original, and he knows how to pick his roles. What surprised about this one was my reaction to Brando. He's always been a fine actor, but I never particularly thought about him one way or another. Surprise! He's huge in his role as DJDM's therapist - I'm referring to his physical shape - but wow! He exudes sexuality and intelligence and wit. Made a fan out of me.

This one is probably catalogued as a romantic comedy, and I certainly like that type, but I think that The American President is head and shoulders above most of this genre. Smart and sexy, Michael Douglas and Annette Benning create solid, believable characters that you feel like you really know early in the show. They're both so intelligent and strong-willed, you know there's going to be an intersting conflict. The supporting cast all carried their roles extremely well also. This one is great fun with a just the right level of tension and drama thrown in to keep it from being too sugary sweet.

A group of unemployed Irish guys decide to put on a show a 'la Chippindales. You know you're going to love it from the opening credits. I still laugh until I cry every time I watch it, still get teary over the sad parts & still want just a little more of a peek at the end. Why, oh why did they not shoot the final shot from the audience's perspective?!

Not just one of the best baseball movies ever. One of the*best*movies*ever, period. First there's Kevin Costner. Yum! Get over it and get into the story (I know, hard for some of us to get over Kevin. That's like trying to get over Johnny Depp. Not sure it's do-able, but try.) We all have a field of dreams. A seemingly impossible task that only we have faith in, and we've fought it because it's so ridiculously farfetched. This story is all about stretching, and reaching and believing and doing. Making the intagible dream become a reality. But you know that. You've all watched it and felt that stirring to drag your dreams out into the light of day. It's not about magical slippers. It's about taking that leap of faith, even though common sense says you'll never reach the other side. Field of Dreams makes us believe we can.

Perhaps one of the saddest movies ever made, certainly the saddest for our times, because it's the terrible reality we're all living with. The all-star cast is a good enough reason to watch, but it's the story that is the true star here. Political - not my thing at all. Controversial - I usually avoid that, too. Still, it sucks the breath out of my lungs and leaves me shaking, crying, feeling so helpless. Yet I've gone back to it time and again, and I know I'll continue to do so. It's too compelling to just watch once. It's too important to not share. Watch it. Get angry. Then do something. Yes, there's a special reason that I ask you to watch it, but you don't need one, trust me. If you haven't watched it, please, please do.

Now for the fun part. I tag Drew and Osman because they love good movies, too! Now I need to find one more. Any volunteers?

Ah, finally! I also tag my sweet,good friend scorpy01!

Insteresting things happen while Hawaii sleeps

2007-01-05T06:08:00.000-10:00

It's six o'cock in the morning. I'm waiting for my coffee to finish dripping so it can help my pry my eyes open. I had detoured into my home office to turn on my computer on the way to the kitchen like I do every morning. I guess it's just as well that the coffee isn't ready yet, because I'd surely have sprayed it all over the monitor when I opened my mail. See, this gal I know online recently took a European vacation. She recorded everything with her HP Camera and has been generously sharing her photos with anyone who wants to see them. But I must be very special, because she gave me an exclusive piece of a lovely collage she's making. Some of you know just why that's so special. Since you're my friends, I thought I'd share it with you also.

Coffee's ready! Y'all come on over & share a cup with me. Today's special is Kona macadamia nut.

A brief update of stuff

2007-01-04T23:47:00.000-10:00

The fire is out! We had really high winds most of the day, the kind that knock down termite-eaten power poles and make your car rock as you drive, but they've died down some now. Cute weather guy says they'll move away from the islands over the weekend. IT'S RAINING! Not a heavy downpour, but enough to soak things down pretty well. Hopefully things will be damp long enough for kids to finish up their left-over fireworks.

I got my Christmas box from my son yesterday. His habit procrastination is part of his heritage, derived directly from my ability to delay everything until the last possible moment, or sometimes beyond. Which, coincidentally, reminds me that I've been carrying my water bill around for a week. (Mental note: pay water bill tomorrow.) His talent for packing wonderful boxes full of just the right gifts came from somewhere else. Maybe his dad's family actually had a few good traits that I was never aware of? Doubtful, but I suppose it could be so.

Lancie the beagle is pawing at my feet,telling me it's midnight & I've kept him up past his bedtime once again.

Aloha ahiahi, my friends.

Poll: Should skeet start dating again?

2007-01-04T21:33:00.000-10:00

Have you ever used an online dating site? I’ve thought about it and explored some of the sites that are out there. It’s not that I don’t meet interesting people in my day-to-day life. I do, and some of them have been very interesting, but none has been the right one. I know several happy couples who began their relationships online, so I know it works out well for some folks. So here’s what I’m going to do. My regular readers know me pretty well. What do you think? Should I plunge into the dating game again? I’ve found a free Online Dating site that looks pretty good. I’m taking an informal poll. If fifty of you think I’m bold enough and ready enough to start dating again, I’ll sign up on the site and see what’s out there. You have three days to cast your vote. I won’t name any names, but some of you are among the most interesting people I know. I’m NOT bold enough to say who you are, but if I get voted in and just happen to find you there, well, you never can tell, can you? You won’t even have to whip out the credit card to sign up because Just Say Hi is completely free. Wasn’t it nice of them to sponsor this post so that I can get your input and just maybe start looking for Mr. Right?

I don't have the capabilities to set up a real poll, so just cast your vote by posting your opinion in the comments. Vote yes or no and defend your vote by giving your reasons. My (gulp) social life is in your hands!

It's smokey out tonight

2007-01-04T00:01:00.000-10:00

It's midnight. A firetruck just came down the street. There have been at least three flare-ups of our New Year's Day fire today. The problem is the keawe trees. They're kin to mesquite, that stuff that burns long and slow in your barbecue pit. They can appear to be soaked and completely extinguished while the fire still smoulders within. They have thick sturdy roots, and it's not unusual for smoke seeping out of the group to be the first clue that the tree is still burning underground.

Earlier today when I went to the post office I stopped beside the firetruck that was being reloaded with equipment after the afternoon hot-spot battle. I thanked all of the firefighters and we shared a little gallows humor about how well they know our neighborhood. The evening news reported that there were six other fires on our coast today. The captain of the crew I spoke with today was being interviewed. He looked exhausted. He said all of the recent fires are believed to have been started with fireworks.

It's still very windy. The fire could literally move right up to our homes within minutes under these circumstance. I'm sure I won't be the only one who doesn't get much sleep tonight. Hard to do when you've got your ears tuned and one eye open.