Karmic Law or Me vs. the Cosmos…

January 10, 2008 By

I believe that everything that happens to you happens for a reason. I believe that, despite how it looks at the time, you never get more crap thrown at you than you can handle. I also believe that what you give / do comes back to you threefold. Karma does apply people. Trust me.

How do I know? Well, I’m working from home today. Really! I’m wracking my addled brain trying to determine how best to deliver my courses in the spring. And Bratticus had to work at 1:00. So I had to drive her since I’ve got an appointment this afternoon myself. It was then that the Gods gave me a series of signs that was impossible to ignore.

1. I was tired.
2. I had to drive Bratticus to work.
3. The low fuel light came on so I had to stop for gas on the way home.
4. Mysteriously, the pump told me I had to go inside for my receipt despite there being no problems with the card.

This meant, of course, that I was meant to buy a cappuccino.

Filed Under: Random Stuff

Prayer Request

December 30, 2007 By


Sounds dumb, but I have the most wonderful dog ever – Champ Bailey – and last night we got home from my in-laws and he couldn’t walk with his back two legs. Sarge helped him outside and he seemed better after that. He was even able to climb the stairs to sleep in his usual place on the floor closest to me. This morning, he can’t get up. He pushes up on his front paws but the back half of his body doesn’t cooperate. I’m pretty scared. Champ’s my mostest wonderfulest dog ever and he’s only seven.

EDIT: Okay, I’m a worrier right? But turns out Champ is a pretty sick puppy. He’s got an ear infection, a skin infection and lyme disease. He’s on antibiotics and will hopefully feel better in a couple of days. Give thanks with me, okay? He really is one awesome mutt.

Filed Under: Random Stuff

Poetry

December 26, 2007 By

’twas the day after Christmas and all through the house,
not a creature was stirring except the 10 year old, the dogs, the damn cat and, well… you get the idea.

The Khan was snuggled up in Papa and Mama’s bed.
Upside down, of course, kicking them in the head.
He had a bad dream at 2:05 and bolted to Mama like a well hit line drive.

Fantasy Football is over for 2007
but I won so suck it haters
and will spend the offseason in heaven
2008 should be equally great.

And now you know why I don’t write poetry.

I hope all six of you enjoyed your holiday celebrations. Ours were… meh!

Filed Under: Frivolity, Random Stuff

Big Bad Blogger Book Club

December 18, 2007 By

After this meme a few weeks ago, two really smart people and me decided that we’d give a book club a try. We’d agree to read the same book at the same time and blog about it. If you’d like to sign up, leave me a comment. Remember, a facebook or myspazz blog is fine too.

Because someone needs to make a decision, we’ll begin with A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry).

After that’s finished, we’ll select by group consensus from the following list:

A Prayer for Owen Meany (Irving)
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom)
Dune (Frank Herbert)
The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb)
The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)
The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)
Great Expectations (Dickens)
The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
War and Peace (Tolstoy)
Catch 22 (Joseph Heller)
Les Miserables (Hugo)
The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)
Shogun (James Clavell)
The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
The World According to Garp (John Irving)
The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
Not Wanted on the Voyage (Timothy Findley)
Of Mice and Men (Steinbeck)
Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)
Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
Blindness (Jose Saramago)
In The Skin of a Lion (Ondaatje)
The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)
White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
Ulysses (James Joyce)

Leave a comment (with a blog link preferably) if you’d like to take part. I’m going to start reading it one week from today. Hopefully Ian and Tal will too.

Filed Under: books, Getting Started, Random Stuff

I. NEED. A. LIFE.

December 17, 2007 By

I did not intend for this baby to become a knitting blog. I mean, I like knitting. I’m a bit fidgety by nature so knitting and its ability to keep my hands busy really suits me. However, you, my six loyal readers (yes, I fear I’ve lost a few and I may have gained some but the lurkers won’t reveal themselves – leave a comment! It won’t hurt. I promise!) are probably growing tired of my yarns about knitting. It’s finals week now and sitting in my classroom for two hours while the students write exams is so damn boring! I almost brought knitting today. I regret not doing so.

But I did say that this is not a knitting blog so I’m done talking about that for the moment. I mean we could talk about the house, right? But that’s hardly a feel good story (unless losing $30 – 45 Grand makes you feel good) now is it? No. So we won’t talk about it. I mean the good news is that we haven’t lost the money yet because it still hasn’t sold. The bad news is we know its coming and it will hurt. At this point, I look at our house as a zit. It is growing uglier and uglier and soon it will pop! It will ooze all over as our hearts break (again) over the financial devastation and then, it will heal, our hearts will heal and we’ll eventually (hopefully) recover from the damage. I just want it over so we can begin to move on.

I could update you on my Seven in ’07 but that’s an easy one. We accomplished none of them. I will roll them over and add one for the Eight in ’08. At least I’m not so foolish as to attempt a Forty before 40 list. It is already depressing me that this milestone birthday looms large in the coming year. I really thought it’d be different but its not, it’s my own fault and I’ll be moving on through it.

Stay tuned. I may have a monumental announcement on Thursday. Good news? Bad news? Both! Neither. Curious? Stop back later.

Meanwhile, more gratuitous kid stuff as they provide fodder and I take pictures of it. I hope you are liking that part at least!

Filed Under: Brave New World, Knitting, Mondays, Random Stuff

Finally Done!

December 9, 2007 By

Badger Red Scarf
Originally uploaded by lisamarie51

Not that I think you’re interested in my nerdiness, but I finally finished this damn scarf for Shrek. I think it turned out pretty good even if I did hate the yarn I used. I wish I could remember the name of it. It’s some acrylic thing that was cheap. The end result is a scarf that’s thick, should be washable and kind of pretty if I do say so myself. Sarge has requested a black one (he’s already got a multi-colored one that’s really beautiful) to wear for work and The Senator now wants one too. I do believe, based on my knitting ability that 2008 will be the year of scarf knitting but that’s okay. It doesn’t take too much thinking so I’m good at that.

Why call it the damn scarf? Because I have been hit-and-miss with the knitting so this is finished object number ten or so in the three years I’ve known how to knit. I’m not prolific by any means but it’s therapy and God knows I need therapy. The Queen’s been making fun of me because I think I spent six to eight months or more working at it.

My next project is a “keyhole” scarf for La Reina. Hopefully it won’t take as long!

Filed Under: Finished, Knitting, Random Stuff

And Now You Will See How Ignorant I am!

December 2, 2007 By

And now, I give you this book meme (Stolen from Ian and Tal). This shows you the great gaps in my intellectual upbringing. I will say, however, that I would be open to reading any of them that I currently have not so perhaps someday my chronic ignorance will be cured!

Instructions: In the list of books below, bold the ones you’ve read, italicize the ones you want to read, put (#) the ones you don’t want to read, put a (+) in front of the ones on your bookshelf, and asterisk the ones you’ve never heard of. I italicized the ones I want to read the most. I’d read them all – or at least give them a try.

1. +The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown) – I’ve not read this, but Ogre loved it – a lot. This fact makes me feel like I should at least give it a try.
2. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
3. To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
4. Gone With the Wind (Margaret Mitchell) I read this about the seventh grade when all girls want a Rhett Butler ;) Love it.
5. +The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien) We have at least two full sets of this collection. Sarge loves it. I feel guilty not having read any of them.
6. +The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Tolkien)
7. +The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (Tolkien)
8. Anne of Green Gables (Montgomery) Sappy but a feel good story.
9. Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
10. A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
11. +Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Rowling)
12. Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
13. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
14. A Prayer for Owen Meany (Irving)
15. +Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden) Great Book.
16. +Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Rowling) Who doesn’t love Harry?
17. Fall on Your Knees (Ann Marie MacDonald)
18. The Stand (Stephen King) I was on a big Stephen King kick at about 15 years of age but never read this one. I highly recommend The Dead Zone.
19. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Rowling)
20. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
21. +The Hobbit (Tolkien)
22. The Catcher in the Rye (JD Salinger)
23. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott) Of course I love this book!
24. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold) Amazing. Great Book
25. The Life of Pi (Yann Martel) I really want to read this one. I’m curious!
26. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
27. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
28. +The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (C.S. Lewis) I have actually read part of this aloud to the boys. I should re-start it and maybe finish this time?
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
30. Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom)
31. Dune (Frank Herbert)
32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
34. 1984 (Orwell)
35. The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
36. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
37. The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
38. I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb)
39. The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
40. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
41. +The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)
42. +The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini) Brutal, harsh, amazing book. I absolutely loved it. Life Changing.
43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
44. The Five People You Meet in Heaven (Mitch Albom)
45. +Bible Okay, so I’ve read part of this but I think reading all of it would be beneficial over the long run.
46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy) I have Tolstoy’s Resurrection which I will read first.
47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas) .
48. +Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt) I loved this book. Teacher Man I don’t recommend.
49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
50. She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
51. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
52. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)
53. Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)
54. Great Expectations (Dickens)
55. The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
56. The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
57. +Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)
58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough) Another book I read as a teen. It was great. So was the miniseries.
59. The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
60. The Time Traveller’s Wife (Audrew Niffenegger) This book is probably at the top of my must-read list just because of Natalia.
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
63. War and Peace (Tolstoy)
64. Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice) I have read the Mayfair Witches Trilogy but not this. I highly recommend them.
65. Fifth Business (Robertson Davis)
66. One Hundred Years of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. Catch 22 (Joseph Heller)
69. Les Miserables (Hugo)
70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
71. Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding)
72. Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)
73. Shogun (James Clavell) I looked at this book once and frankly the sheer size of it scared me off.
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
75. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett) Another I read to the boys I think.
76. The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay) It’s now in the queue.
77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith) This book has intrigued me for a while too.
78. The World According to Garp (John Irving)
79. The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
80. Charlotte’s Web (EB White) I loved this as a kid. I am reminded to read it to the boys now.
81. Not Wanted on the Voyage (Timothy Findley)
82. Of Mice and Men (Steinbeck)
83. >Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)
84. Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind
85. Emma (Austen)
86. Watership Down (Richard Adams)
87. Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
88. The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
89. Blindness (Jose Saramago)
90. Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer) I was on a big Jeffrey Archer kick for awhile too. This one is good.
91. In The Skin of a Lion (Ondaatje)
92. Lord of the Flies (Golding)
93. The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)
94. The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum) I have read a lot of Ludlum because my step-dad is a huge fan. Most of his books, like Tom Clancy’s are pretty similar but an acceptably entertaining story.
96. The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)
97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
98. A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
100. Ulysses (James Joyce)

Filed Under: Memes, Random Stuff

What Food Nerds Do For Fun…

November 24, 2007 By

We have a day off together – the first in forever and one of the last for awhile – and play with our mixer. Last spring, before the world imploded, we splurged with our tax refund on a Kitchen Aid Artisan Mixer and each selected an accessory. Sarge picked a meat grinder (and I threw a sausage stuffer in with it when I placed the order) and I picked a pasta maker. I used to have one of those hand crank jobs and got rid of it because it was kind of a pain in the ass. This baby makes it a whole lot easier and the outcome is, may I say? Delicious.

Filed Under: NaBloPoMo, Random Stuff

Happy Thanksgiving!

November 22, 2007 By

Cleaned.

Cooked.

Kids came.

Parents came.

Ate.

Played cards. (Euchre, lost)

Tired.

Tomorrow I shall blog better.

Have a wonderful evening.

Blessings,
Moi

Filed Under: NaBloPoMo, Random Stuff

Finally! The help I desperately need…

November 21, 2007 By

Finding things to write about is a bitch! So I did what most sensible folks do and Googled Blog Prompts. Today’s prompt:

Ten Things I’d Like To Learn:
1. Russian. I fully intend to travel to Russia again someday and I hate being dependent on a translator.
2. Spanish. Are you seeing a trend? I’m humbled and a bit embarrassed by this old joke:

“What do you call someone who speaks two languages?”

Bilingual

“What do you call someone who speaks three languages?”

Trilingual

“What do you call someone who speaks one language?”

American.

3. I’ll lump the rest of the languages here: Italian, French, Norwegian (because that’s my heritage) and whatever others I’ve an opportunity to try.

4. How to make amazing tapas. Like this place. Oh how I miss you!

5. Ballroom dancing. You know, in case I’m ever invited to the White House.

6. How to throw pots. I have a vision of this type of pottery as relaxing since it likely requires one’s entire focus. If you let the stuff that’s bothering you into your mind, the pot is messed up. The stress likely snowballs from there. It’s part of why I like knitting. You have to focus on the knitting not the stuff that’s pissing you off otherwise or your knitting becomes part of the stuff that’s pissing you off. Know what I mean?

7. How to not hate balancing my checkbook. My tenure as a personal banker created an intense loathing of this task and it has come back to haunt me more than once. Ugh. But I can’t get past how much I hate balancing my checkbook.

8. How to throw a really great party. You know, the kind people that people really feel lucky to come to and can’t wait to come again.

9. I’d love to take some cooking classes in general. Cooking is fun for me and it would certainly help with number 4 and number 8 on this list, wouldn’t it?

10. How to get my laundry done without actually having to do it. If I have to explain this to you because you don’t mind laundry, you should just come over and do mine too and help me reach this goal.

What about you? What ten things would you like to learn?

Filed Under: NaBloPoMo, Random Stuff
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