Here's another test I couldn't resist.








via mikey

I'm so disgusted by this. What's next? Does he try to get "In God We Trust" taken off our currency? If he's so morally opposed to the government forcing religion on us, I think he should stop using money. Wouldn't want him to go against his principles, ya know? And when there's a terrorist attack in California I have to wonder if the phrase "Oh my God" will cross his lips.

The phrase "under God" in the pledge is not condoning religion. As Ghandi said, God has no religion. "Under God," to me, means whatever God you believe in and, I'm sure the number of believers is astronomically higher than the number of non-believers in this country. I suppose the fact that this guy could get away with this kind of nonsense is a testament to how great the U.S. really is. But I think this has gone way overboard.

I'll probably write more about this later, when I've had time to think about it a little more, and when I'm a little less angry. But, for now, I'll find comfort in knowing that the 9th Circuit is the most liberal and the most overturned appeals court in the country.

We're lovin' the new house -- all 1500 square feet of it! I've spent a lot of my time in the backyard, working on the rock/cactus garden, watering plants and flowers, making sure the pond stays filled, watering and weeding the parts we set aside for grass. We could have had it landscaped, but we decided we wanted to do it ourselves because it would be more rewarding that way. We're kind of going for a faux feng shui look. Kind of. You'll have to see it to understand. *s* One of these days, when we're not on the laptop anymore, I'll post some pix.

As for the inside of the house, we're still unpacking, but we've got quite a bit done. Well, I say that, then I remember we still have a lot in storage. It's a little bit scary to think about that. Anyway, Nick and I are starting to get our bedroom the way we want it. He did a little bit of painting. It's so easy to do what you want when you're starting with freshly painted white walls. It's like a blank canvas just waiting for you to create something. He's also working on our office. Our desks are pretty close to each other, which is different. In the apartment, he worked upstairs and I worked downstairs. I'm sure this will take some getting used to, but we'll be fine. At least we won't have to yell up and down the stairs to each other (or e-mail each other) when we want something.

Did I mention how huge our kitchen is? It's big, big, big and we love it! At the apartment two of us could barely fit comfortably. Now, you could fit a whole football team in there. Well, almost. But it's big! And .... the house came with a brand new stove, dishwasher and microwave, not to mention so much cupboard and drawer space we don't even know what to do with it. There are some cupboards that have like one thing on one shelf. *s*

Well, you're probably bored by now, and I have stuff to do. I hope to be back here soon though.

I haven't done an online test in ages, and I really don't miss them. But now that I'm hooked on "Trading Spaces" I couldn't resist doing this one. I'll admit I did it twice though. The first time I was Laurie and I can't stand her. I'm pretty happy about how it came out the second time, 'cause she's my favorite.




take the which one of the trading spaces cast are you? quiz!

A few months ago, I mentioned something to Nick about hanging sheets outside to dry because I love the way they smell. He turned his nose up, looked at me like I'm crazy (this was a different look than the one he usually gives me when he looks at me like I'm crazy) and didn't really say anything. The subject didn't come up again until yesterday. I washed sheets, hung them outside in the hot hot hot Bakersfield sun, then got ready to bring them in a few hours later. I got them down, smelled them and just about gagged. I took them in the house, stuck a piece of a sheet in Nick's face and asked him if it smelled funny to him. "Just dirt and sun," he said. Then it dawned on me. Lesson #374 on Living in Bakersfield: Sheets dried outside in the desert of California are not going to smell the same as sheets dried outside in the hills of Pennsylvania.

Well, I'm kinda back. I'm still using Nick's laptop, which can be a pain. But it's better than nothing, right? We didn't expect to be away from our blogs this long, but some wacky stuff happened during the last month or so. We're hoping all the wackiness has passed now. Unfortunately, the heat has crept in and made it very hard to get motivated to do anything. Triple digit temperatures just aren't right. Thank God for a brand new air conditioner though.

Guess what we haven't done inside the new house? Smoked. We're down from 1-2 packs a day to about 5 cigarettes a day -- all smoked outside. Yeah, we rock. Actually, after seeing the gross nicotine stains and feeling the stickiness and just the overall grossness (if it wasn't a word before, it is now) of the apartment because of all the smoking we did there, we vowed to never, ever, under any circumstances, smoke inside the new house. It makes cutting down much easier. Except that I REALLY NEED TO SMOKE RIGHT NOW!!! It's been about 3 hours and I have about 5 to go before I light up again. I'll make it. I might drive Nick crazy, but I'll make it. Or, I could save Nick and just take a nap. That sounds like the best solution.

I'll probably be gone for a while because we're in the process of moving to the new house. Yay!

It's 2 a.m. after a very stressful day so this entry may not be totally coherent. But when I read the Monday Mission questions I felt compelled to post.

1. Do you have any tattoos? If no, why not and what would you get if you did get one. If you do have one or more, tell us how you came to get it, and why you chose the design you got inked with.
No. I thought about getting one when I went to Las Vegas a couple years ago, but I chickened out changed my mind. I thought about getting a daisy yellow rose sunflower crescent moon star, but couldn't really decide what design to permanently disfigure my body with go with.

2. Has anything ever happened that caused you to believe, or disbelieve, in a Higher Power.
There have been too many things to mention that make me believe in a higher power.

3. Have you ever seriously considered, or even attempted, suicide?
Nope.

4. Has anyone you have known committed suicide?
Yes. My Uncle Jim, my very dear friend Mike and the husband of a friend/co-worker.

5. This weekend you and I are going to the nature park for a picnic. I'll bring the blanket and make all the arrangements. You pack the picnic basket. What's inside?
I'll let you know this weekend. I never know what I'm hungry for from one day to the next. There's no way I could plan for the weekend on a Monday.

6. Have you ever been mad at God for something that happened (or didn't happen)?
Yes, but I've learned that everything happens for a reason and only God knows what the reason is.

7. Post (or describe) an image of someone that is no longer with us. Tell us about that person.
Anyone who's read my blog for a while knows something about my dad -- good and bad -- so I'm not going to write anything else about him. But I will post a picture of him and my mom on their wedding day -- July 25, 1959.




BONUS: Who are you?
Come on tell me, who are you? (Who are you? Who, who, who, who?)
I really wanna know? (Who are you? Who, who, who, who?)
Tell me, tell me who are you? (Who are you? Who, who, who, who?)
Come on, come on, who? (Who are you? Who, who, who, who?)
Ah, who the fuck are you? (Who are you? Who, who, who, who?)
Who are you? (Who are you? Who, who, who, who?)
Ah tell me who are you? (Who are you? Who........)
I really wanna know (Who........)
Oh I really wanna know (Who........)
Come on tell me, who are you? (Who........)
You
You
Are you?

About a month ago I posted a few times about how great my dad was. Then a few days ago I posted that my dad was an alcoholic. I know some people probably don't understand how an alcoholic could possibly be a great dad, especially after hearing and reading so many horror stories from people who blame all their problems on being the child of an alcoholic. Granted, there were some pretty bad times because of my dad's drinking. But I choose not to dwell on those, just as I chose not to dwell on it when I was growing up. Yes, my dad was an alcoholic, but that didn't mean I couldn't do my best in school and still follow my dreams, which I did. I'm sure school, especially high school, would have been a lot better if I could have invited friends to my house without being afraid of what might be going on there. But that didn't stop me from going out with friends and getting involved in school activities. I suppose in a lot of ways I'm luckier than most children of alcoholics. My dad told me he loved me often. He managed to hold down a very good job. A lot of the money went to booze, but my brother and sister and I still got everything we wanted, we went on several family vacations and we lived in a nice big house. My mother didn't have to work unless she wanted to, which she rarely did. As I look back, I realize that the financial situation was probably worse than I remembered, but I believe that's because my mother did the best she could under the circumstances and never let on that money was tight. So, I could choose to remember the day my dad called me a bitch because I said I wasn't going to set foot in the house again until he stopped drinking. Or, I could choose to remember the Saturday nights he made homemade pizza for us or the Sunday nights he made popcorn and we'd all sit around watching The Wonderful World of Disney on television. I could choose to remember watching him stagger up the hill after work and a few hours at the bar. Or, I could choose to remember our trips to Gettysburg and Washington, D.C., where he instilled in me my love of history. Obviously, I remember both the good and the bad. But I choose to keep the good in the forefront and bring up the bad only when it's necessary.

I always forget how much I like The Philadelphia Story until I see it. It was on the local PBS station last night and I couldn't resist watching. The only thing I don't like about the movie is at the end I want her to end up with both guys.