Off the Wagon

I did it. I went back to World of Warcraft. So did the fi. I like it so far, though I feel a bit left out as all our old friends are already 80 and raiding. Well, I'm not going to worry about playing catching up; I'm just going to enjoy myself.

I'm going to try really hard to not get totally sucked in by the game. I didn't work today and I haven't played yet either. I did some shopping. I cleaned and decorated (and had a huge mirror fall on me when I tried to bedeck it with garland!). I then worked on my studies. Finally, I came here to blog and check some websites. So, I'm hopeful that I can keep WoW something I do for fun on the side.

Here's hoping!

Its even more embarrassing for me.

Wil Wheaton is cool. Cool in that geek way anyway. I follow his blog on semi-regular basis and would welcome the opportunity to hear him speak.

But then I'm a bit of a rare breed of geek. Most geeks I know hated Wil Wheaton for the longest time because of Wesley Crusher. They got over it when they found out what a cool geek he was. But me? Well, because I was slightly younger than him and of the opposite gender--I had the hugest crush on him when he was on TNG!

Why bring this up now? Because I was playing catch up at his blog and came across this post. Why is it embarrassing for me? Because I had that exact picture in my collection of "like guys I'm like so going to marry someday!" cut from the pages of Tiger Beat.

Still, its funny--of all the celebrity "crushes" of my youth, he's the only one I still like. No, I have no plans to marry him anymore--he's happily married, I'm soon to be happily married. The rest of them seem like shallow pretty boys, but Wil--he had substance. Hence proving my theory once again that the sexiest part of a man is his brain.

Randomnosity!

• My brother let me play a death knight on his account in WoW. I feel like an addict whose been given a shitload of their drug of choice. I kid you not, 20 minutes later and I'm shaking with withdrawal.
• Can I say that this makes me so fucking happy! Stupid dolls.
• Damn it all! Will Congress get over it already and just give the Chrysler and GM a bailout. Yes, we know--you fucked up with financial industry bailout. Not giving one to them is just going to fuck over more people. Maybe if you hadn't fucked up with the banks, the banks could be giving them loans right now instead of you.
• And on something slightly tangential--will everyone stop saying "The Big Three". In case anyone noticed, Ford has stepped out of this whole mess.
• What the hell is going on Canada?
• My house is clean. Very very clean and ready to decorate for Christmas.
• Viva la Revolucion
• Yes, I've been wasting a lot of time lately. I haven't been writing as much as I should. I haven't been working as much as I could. But I've devoted myself to my studies and they are going well. Baby steps mind you, but I think I'm at least standing now.
• Honestly, life is good right now. I count my blessings and thank the Goddess!

Discord....

Beware of golden apples. And whatever you do, make sure you aren't the one throwing them.

Congratulate Obama

This seems like a nice idea.

Prop 8: Let Freedom Ring

A good friend sent me a link to the blog Eating Out Loud and in particular, this post. I encourage you to go read the whole thing, but the part relevant to my blog follows

I welcome supporters of gay rights to snap your own photo showing your
wedding ring on your middle finger. Spread the word that this fight isn’t
over. Whether you’re gay, straight, bi, white, blue or tan — show your
support by letting freedom ring on your blog then
go here to log it for everyone to see!

So yeah, I know this is just my engagement ring, but knowing that friends of mine can't share in the same right as I disgusts me. So here it is:

History

Obama's acceptance speech highlights @ Yahoo! Video

And tomorrow...

Go out and VOTE!

Fangirls, Catgirls, and Halloween. Oh My!

Awesome weekend! Friday was Halloween and other than maybe hitting a construction barrel and knocking off my passenger side rear view mirror (um...oops?), it was a great day. The Pumpkin was home since there was no school that day (I wish they did that when I was a kid). We cleaned up the house and mostly chilled for the day. She was a vampire ninja (pictures below). Originally, the fi and I were supposed to take her out Trick-or-Treating while my parents passed out candy. Well, my mom went over to my grandfather's to help him pass out candy which meant my dad would be sitting there by himself. And since I was still a bit shook up about the whole taking out my mirror thing (we had gone out to dinner and just gotten back), I asked my dad if he minded trading.

Well, I learned why my mom goes all out with the Halloween decorating--it just brings joy to everyone. Its fun passing out candy at the "cool" and "spooky" house. The weather was great too--a little chilly but nice. My daughter made it all the way around the neighborhood this year (a first) and got tons of candy! Afterwards, I did a ritual to honor those who have passed, in particular my Mimi.

The next day was Youmacon! This is my first year going and I can't believe that such an awesome con was going on so close and I didn't even know about it. After the ex came to pick up the pumpkin, I headed up with the fi and a couple of friends. I was the only one of us to cosplay (just a goth Lolita type get up, I wish I took a picture) and as it turns out I blended right in. Almost everyone there was in some sort of cosplay get up. My cosplay outfit morphed into a goth Lolita catgirl when the fi bought me some cat ears and leather collar with a bell (MEOW!). I also got a beautiful purple Chinese style dress. And the best news--it was a medium! That's right, I've actually lost more weight!

But there's even more! Youmacon was just bubbling full of events and panels for a fangirl like me. I did sit in on the Sailor Moon panel (I've never been in a room with so many senshi cosplayers before!). We went and watched a new anime in one of the screening rooms too (To-Love-Ru). But since this was a first trip, it was mostly exploratory t0 what was there. I think to get the real Youmacon experience you need to go for all four days (the thing runs 24 hours, as lot of the more adult stuff happens "after hours"). We (me, the fi, and our friends) are thinking of trying to do whole thing next year (even getting a hotel room to crash at for downtimes and at night). We'll have to see what next year brings, but it is a definite possibility.

Oh...and beware of Vampire Ninjas (not Geishas as they are often confused by people handing out Halloween candy).

Oh and I forgot. The Pumpkin's birthday was the 28th. She is on an all things Asian kick right now (as you may have guessed). Originally she wanted to bring in Chinese food for her snack, but I didn't think that'd go over well with her classmates. So I made homemade cupcakes and decorated them with the kanji for friendship (well, at least that's what the Internet said). Here they are (though not all decorated yet):

A Change is Coming?

I've had the weirdest feeling? Impression? I'm not even sure what to call it. It's rather like a hyper-awareness The world around is going through a change, a major change. Well, I should say semi-global change--I don't think this change extend much beyond our planet. And I know just how crazy I sound when I say stuff like this, but the feelings been there for some time now, getting stronger as the years have passed. It was faint when I was college, but now it seems almost dizzying and I'm not sure what to make of it.

I can't help feeling that everything that's happening right now is part of it--elections, the economy, the environment. I could be wrong. I don't know...

What I do know is that I've been rather lax with my craft for some time now. I've put behind other things like getting my life back together. And while things are going swimmingly now, I think its time to nurse some of the lingering spiritual wounds. For the longest time, I had to practice my craft in complete secrecy in fear of what the person who was supposed to be my spiritual partner would do to me. Even when I was free from him, there were more pressing matters to be attended to, so I put my craft to the side, practicing when I could but not really advancing any.

So, I'm a student once more, but this time a student of the Craft. I'm working out a course of study for myself. But I know I am the point where I need teachers, people who can guide me to the next step. Lacking any local resources in this area, I've decided to enroll at witchschool.com. I'm aware of the controversy about the school (ie its all for profit), but they do offered structured courses within a set curriculum. And there are several courses offered for free, which I am currently taking now. If I find their courses to be worthwhile, I can see investing the money ($30 for lifetime membership seems very reasonable) to take other courses through them. At the very least, I'll have been initiated into a tradition.

Well, I guess that's enough of my crazy for one day. Tonight, I trick-or-treat!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween by smoonsilver

Steampunk

Ok....I think have new obsession. Steampunk I love the aestethic--its like the unholy love child of three of my favorite things--Victoriana, Gothic, and Geekery. And the music ain't to bad either:

Dr. Steel--World Domination and music all in one package.

And Abney Park. Airshipy piratey goodness.

Not huge news...

But polyvore has a feature that lets me add a slideshow of my sets to my blog. If you scroll all the way down you can check it out. I really like some of the sets I've done lately.

Polyvore

Ruins of Eternal Love by smoonsilver

I've been playing around on Polyvore again. I really love how this set came out.

Bleh....

I'm sick. Figures. Stayed home today because I felt so bleh. Not much in the way of news or anything interesting. Watching the election. Working on novel. There's a lot of stuff coming up, mostly family things--outings, parties, and the like.

I will say this though, as an observation. One day, I will learn to keep my mouth shut. I will learn that I don't have to be so damn nice. One day....hopefully...

Who does a better Palin spoof?

I didn't realize how dead on Tina Fey was until I saw this.

Ren Faire, Part 2

Well, we went to the Michigan Renaissance Festival again this weekend. This weekend was supposed to be the final weekend, but because it got rained out the weekend before, they've added one more weekend. I doubt we'll go as next Saturday is the Farmer's Market at Greenfield Village which I have wanted to check out.

Anyhoo, we had a really great time. Since the fi and I had had our weekend, we could really focus on what the pumpkin wanted to do. She rode rides, ate a turkey leg, and let us spoil her rotten. My fi did pick up the new Tartanic and I did get fitted for my new dress from Pendragon (which I plan to order in a few months). However, we spent most of the time fussing over our little dragon keeper. Our friend Kyle came along too as he was planning on purchasing some new garb but found that they had marked it up, so he ended up just following us. I hope we didn't bore him too much.

And while we didn't see any actual filming or celebrities, a lot of the people who worked there or are regulars had. We did see them building a set. Eh...but with no Jack Black or Carey Elwes I don't care much.

Anyhoo, onto the very cute photos:

Old poetry at dA

I put up some of my old poetry at deviantArt. I realized, I have a lot of poems about sex. I wonder what that says about me?

And I Hate When Things Are Over...

...And so much is left undone.

I keep catching that song on the radio which is odd because it an older song.

Anyways, the lyric seemed appropriate as my long term sub job is about to come to an end. My last day is Wednesday, then its back to good old one-day-at-a-time subbing. Its kind of bittersweet for me. On the one hand, once this is over I'll have more time to myself. No more grading papers or writing lessons plans or stressing out all night about what I'm doing the next day. On the other hand, I really enjoyed being a regular classroom teacher again and actually teaching, as opposed to the babysitting I normally end up doing. I guess the final straw that tips more towards sweet and less toward bitter is that I wasn't getting paid the same as a normal classroom teacher.

In other news, Warhammer Online came out....and yes, I got a copy. And yes, I'm already playing it way too much. I like it better than I liked WoW. But keep in mind, that comparison is between WoW in its current state an WAR in its just beginning state. It would be harder to make comparisons between WoW at the beginning and WAR.

Still, hopefully I won't neglect DoI. Chapter 10 is at a "good part" as it were.

Down with paper plate whores!

One of my favorite seamstreses for ren faire garb is the Very Merry Seamstress. She is on the list of those whose garb I would like to some day own. As awesome as her garb is, her blog is even awesomer.

Her latest is rant against Dixie's latest commerical. And I have to say I agree with her.

So I'm post a link here in hopes that more people will see her most excellent post that pretty much sums out how I felt when I first saw that commerical.

But just to add on to her critique (which you should go read first), the add is also just horrible sexist. It plays to such horrible stereotypes. After all, its only "moms" who worry about family time, do the cooking, and, of course, wash the dishes.

I have to go make dinner, but we will be using some wonderful china that my grandmother gave me.

That Ren Faire Movie....

The latest news

While I much prefer Christina Ricci to Lindsay Lohan, the departure of Carey Elwes makes me sad.

I never thought I'd say it...

...but I'm kind of looking forward to going back to be normal sub. Don't get me wrong, I love that I'm teaching, and moreover teaching a subject I love. But it would be nice to be able to leave work and NOT think about it all night. I suppose if I were in a permanent position I would eventually get to that point again.

But right now, its just driving me nuts. I'm definitely in "survival mode". I can't wait for October to get here.

I want to get back to writing. I just don't have the time. Chapter 10 of DoI is burning in the back of my brain.

Pass it on!

I saw these on the wonderful simbakahn's blog and thought they were worth passing on...

BTW...Matt Damon is so drool worthy!!!!

It took him long enough...

Kilpatrick Pleads Guilty

From what I've Heard:

"ye olde times" is filming at the MRF site, the 15th of September through 27th of October.the casting company is seeking extras to fill in for crowd scenes.if you are interested & available. . .email - your age, availability and phone number to. . .

casting@thatshollywood.com

Jack Black, Lindsay Lohan, Ann-Margret, David Arquette,Molly Bryant, Orlando Jones, Cary Elwes, Matthew Lillard, are listed as being in the film http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1034090/
http://www.cinematical.com/2007/05/18/jack-black-leads-ye-olde-times/
http://www.lohangroupie.com/lindsay-lohans-new-movie-ye-olde-times/

Just in case anyone who a) reads this blog and b) lives near Holly, MI is interested. Though I've heard that Jack Black has dropped out of the project.

Bliss!

In case you're wondering what my good luck is, I've been asked to be long term sub at a local high school. It's only temporary, but for the next month or so, I get to teach Medieval poetry and Beowulf to seniors. And even AP English seniors at that. It will be lots of work, but its something I enjoy.

Well, see if I'm this exuberant in two weeks. But for now...hooray!

Good Things!

I had a good turn of luck today and things seem to be looking up in general (knock on wood). So I thought I'd celebrate with motivational posters.

Gadgets!

I've been playing around with the newer "Add gadgets" options on blogger. With my other blogs, I tried to stick to thing that were relevant to the blog. On this one, I just added things I thought were fun. So check out your horoscope, break open a fortune cookie, look at the moon, and play some mah jong!

Faire!

No pics this time, but this was the weekend that the Fi and I sneaked off to the Michigan Renaissance Festival, alone. We have another big trip there planned with the family next month. But its a very different experience with just the two of us. It usually involves a lot of dotting on each other.

Anyways, other than getting slightly lost on the way home (Damn you Mapquest!), it was an incredible day. I got a new pouch and a lovely beaded handflower, as well as some yummy honey. But the best present, was the one my love got for himself (and well really for me too but we'll get to that). He bought new garb from Pendragon Costumes. In particular, he got their Hamlet Doublet in black and silver and matching pants. Not there was anything wrong with the garb I made him, but well...when I see him in his new garb....well, let's just say it's very swoon-worthy. I love looking at him anyway, but when he's in that I can't stop looking. And as their shop person pointed out, I apparently couldn't stop blushing when I looked at him either.

I really, really like their stuff and am toying with the idea of getting myself a dress from there. I'm rather in love with their Desree Dress (you'll need to scroll down). Having seen it up close, I think I want one. Whether I get one is still debatable, as I still have my perfectly good dress I bought from Greycat Designs before she closed up shop.

I'm sure it will come down to budget more than anything else. In the meantime, I have to make the pumpkin's dragon keeper costume for our big trip. We found some awesome faux suede with a scaly pattern on it for a vest so I imagine she will look quite adorable. I'm also help my brother, possibly my sister, and another friend get some garb together in time. So, I'll be quite busy until then.

A Small Accomplishment...

I haven't accomplished a whole lot lately, but I have been writing again and it feels good because tonight, I finished Chapter 9 of my novel. It's a small accomplishment, I know, but it feels good to have accomplished something. I'm starting to come ouf of the funk that's seemed to plague me this summer. Hopefully, this will continue.

I'm looking to have a fun weekend, this weekend. I'll see y'all Monday.

iPod Shuffle

I meant to do this some time ago as it seems required for every blog I've ever read. It's just I have a very bad habit of not plugging in my iPod to recharge (I do the same with my cell and then I am berated by everyone for constantly being unavailable.) Anyways, the idea is to put you iPod on shuffle and list the first ten songs that come up.

Only a Memory Away from the Sailor Moon (Songs From the Hit Tv Series)
Fantasmic from Wishmaster by Nightwish
Track 03 from the Magic Knight Rayearth OAV Soundtrack
Bare Grace Misery from Wishmaster by Nightwish
The End is Over from the Titan A.E. Soundtrack by Powerman 5000
Master Passion Greed from Dark Passion Play by Nightwish
Catherine Howard's Fate from Under A Violet Moon by Blackmore's Night
Dante's Prayer from Live In Paris and Toronto by Loreena McKennitt
Death of the Titanic from the Titanic Soundtrack by James Horner
The Old Ways from Live in Paris and Toronto by Loreena McKennitt

Make it so...

A Star Trek MMO?

I have to admit, I kind of lost interest in Star Trek after Voyager. I'm sure I'm not the only one. While the upcoming movie has my interest piqued (mostly because of the casting of Simon Pegg as Scotty), I most figured the best of Star Trek had come and gone.

However, I'm very interested in it as an MMO. Maybe its just the gamer in me. I've always wanted to see a "good" space themed MMO (not the fiasco Star Wars Galaxies turned out to be or how they ruined Tabula Rasa). It sounds like the avoiding one of Galaxies major pitfalls by making everyone a captain straight out of the gate. And the idea of creating your own race is very interesting....

I'd have to wait til the beta comes out to make a better judgement, but this one I'll probably keep my eye on.

Epic Fail

At least that's how I feel right. I just had a major opprotunity I feel like I blew it...

Let's Do the Time Warp Again?

Not if MTV is involved.

Denesa Smith

I had the opprotunity to meet on a few occasions Denesa Smith. She was a wonderful person who dedicated herself tirelessly to help preventing bullying in schools. She will be sorely missed by the community I'm sure.


The Tempest Smith Foundation

Sprained

My daughter came home from her father's yesterday complaining that her foot hurt. Apparently, she was running around in the lawn sprinklers when she slipped and fell. It was late, so I gave her bath hoping it would help and put her to bed. Come Monday morning, it's still hurting her, so it's off to the ER.

It's been a long time since I've been to the local hospitals ER. I park my car in what I think is close to it. But it turns out that they moved it to the other side of the building.....

Luckily, they have guys who drive golf carts who will take you up to hospital and we managed to catch one of those so I didn't have to carry her the whole way. She could walk on it, but after a little bit it hurt her.

And luckily, it wasn't broken or anything. Just sprained. But now I have cranky little girl who wants to go run around and play but can't because she supposed to stay off of her foot.

Meh

Tarot

You are The High Priestess

Science, Wisdom, Knowledge, Education.

The High Priestess is the card of knowledge, instinctual, supernatural, secret knowledge. She holds scrolls of arcane information that she might, or might not reveal to you. The moon crown on her head as well as the crescent by her foot indicates her willingness to illuminate what you otherwise might not see, reveal the secrets you need to know. The High Priestess is also associated with the moon however and can also indicate change or fluxuation, particularily when it comes to your moods.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

I'm not surprised by this. The High Priestess comes up frequently in my readings.

By the way, when doing Tarot readings it is very important to focus your question. I did a general reading for myself last night and said I wanted to know about "everything" going. Boy, did I get the most dismal, depressing reading. Then I realized I was getting a sort of "general state of the world reading". Bad news for the world I guess.

Vacation!

Well, this past week my lovely fiance took off of work. It was our vacation. Originally, we had planned a different local destination everyday, rather than one big trip somewhere. Well, we all know what happens to the best laid plans. The Monday before our vacation, my fiance's mom was in an accident at work and broke her wrist. When she went to the doctor, he told her she needed surgery and scheduled it for the Monday of our vacation. So, my fiance had to take care of him mom. Well, what was supposed to be an outpatient surgery turned out to be an extended hospital stay because of some complications with his mother's wrist. So, Monday and Tuesday were dedicated to taking care of his mom.

So, we had to cut the Zoo from our itinerary, but thanks to his other family members, we still went to the Henry Ford and the Ann Arbor Art Fair.

I love the Henry Ford by the way. Its one of the coolest places to go. We had a great time. We took one day for the museum and one day for Greenfield Village. Right now, they have their chocolate exhibit going on and there is, of course, a chocolate cafe to eat at. They have a chocolate fountain where you can have various foods dipped for you. Against my better judgement, I let my daughter get a chocolate covered banana. This is the result:

Anyways, it was also awesome because I had my new camera, so I took lots of pictures. Here are some more:

From the Henry Ford Museum:

From Greenfield Village:

Oh, in case you're interested in going yourself, a link.

4th of July Weekend

I had an awesome 4th. We watched fireworks across the lake on Thursday. On Friday, we had a big dinner and my fiance's parents came over. Saturday, we went swimming at my Papa's pool and then went to the Metro Park to have a picnic and watch fireworks. We went up in the RV and had a really great spot. We were right by where they were setting them off, so it was like they were going off right over our head.

Here are some pictures (courtesy of my new camera):

My daughter took swim lessons the past two weeks and was eager to show off what she had learned.

And what's the 4th without fireworks!!!

Early Birthday Happiness

I had a great weekend this weekend. My fiance did not get called into work so I got to spend the whole weekend with him. Saturday, we went out with "the guys". We went to the Game Room in Toledo, which is big comic book/gaming store. We then hung at Franklin Park Mall. We then went to Best Buy at my fiance's suggestion. And he got me my birthday present early--a Canon PowerShot S5IS!!!

So I've been taking pictures all weekend. And better yet, we went to the zoo with my sister and some friends on Sunday. So I have some cool zoo pix too!

Dork, Nerd, or Geek?

Your result for The Nerd? Geek? or Dork? Test...

Modern, Cool Nerd

74 % Nerd, 70% Geek, 35% Dork

For The Record:



A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia.

A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one.

A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions.



You scored better than half in Nerd and Geek, earning you the title of: Modern, Cool Nerd.



Nerds didn't use to be cool, but in the 90's that all changed. It used to be that, if you were a computer expert, you had to wear plaid or a pocket protector or suspenders or something that announced to the world that you couldn't quite fit in. Not anymore. Now, the intelligent and geeky have eked out for themselves a modicum of respect at the very least, and "geek is chic." The Modern, Cool Nerd is intelligent, knowledgable and always the person to call in a crisis (needing computer advice/an arcane bit of trivia knowledge). They are the one you want as your lifeline in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (or the one up there, winning the million bucks)!



Congratulations!




Also, you might want to check out some of my other tests if you're interested in any of the following:



Buffy the Vampire Slayer




Professional Wrestling






Love & Sexuality




America/Politics




Thanks Again! -- THE NERD? GEEK? OR DORK? TEST

Take The Nerd? Geek? or Dork? Test at HelloQuizzy

Oh noes...I found a new quiz page

Your result for The Who Would You Be in 1400 AD Test...

The Lady

You scored 26% Cardinal, 36% Monk, 65% Lady, and 43% Knight!

Chaste and pure, you are a good person. You try to help others and do your duty to your family. However, this duty involves you being sold off to a local noble house in order to cement relations between your families. But you know it's for a greater good, and besides you will retain all the comforts and glamour of your position regardless of if you're your father's or you husband's property.

Take The Who Would You Be in 1400 AD Test at HelloQuizzy

Not Bad Things....

Not everything has been horrible lately. I have lots of time to work on things like keeping the house clean, and my two favorite projects Dusk of Innocence and The Enchanted Cottage. My daughter started swimming lessons and seems to like them.

We took her to see Kung-Fu Panda over the weekend. Cute kids movie, nothing extordinary but not bad. Oh, and we got a Wii! I love Boom Blox and Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess right now.

So, things don't seem so bad right now (fingers crossed, knock on wood).

My sister's cat.

Taken from her site again.

An update, because in real life there are no such things as miracles.I went
up to the vets on Friday all excited at the chance of bringing home my cat. We
got there and they were super busy with other pet emergencies. Since I've been
up there almost everyday for a week, I just let myself into the back. They all
know me at this point so it wasn't a big deal. I took Diz out of his ICU unit
and sat down on the floor with him waiting for them to get to us. They still had
to give him some fluids and shots and take out his IV. We were probably there
over an hour before everything got taken care of. Like I said, they were busy
with lots of emergencies. The doctor knocked some money off the bill for me and
everything ended up being just under a grand. Still exspensive but way better
than what we were all expecting. She also gave me her cell number in case
anything happened. She told me to call if there was a problem or I had a
question and it didn't matter what time of day. Seriously one of the best vets
I've ever dealt with. Then I wrapped up Diz in a blanket and we headed for
home.When we got home, I set him down on the floor and he knew he was home. He
tried his best to walk, but without the use of his back legs he didn't get far.
He did drag himself for a couple of steps. I made him a bed in a big cardboard
box and set it by the bay windows in my room. I tried to make him as comfortable
as possible. I massaged his back legs like I was instructed. I tried to give him
some water. I stayed with him as long as I could before sleep set in.Saturday
morning, I woke up and checked in on him. He was crying a bit and I realized
that he had wet his towels. I took him out and cleaned his box up. I massaged
his legs again. I gave him some water again. I made sure he was doing okay and
then left to run some errands in town. When I got home, I went to check on him.
Something wasn't right. It was like he was having spasms and his breathing was
weird. I called my mom. She came and checked his heart with her stethoscope. She
said his lungs were filling with fluids again. I called the vet. His eyes began
to glaze. I was told there was nothing I could do. Just before noon as I sat in
the streaming sunlight in the living room, my cat died in my arms. I somehow
ended up back in my room, holding my dead cat and just crying. Eventually my mom
came in with a box. My dad was digging a hole next to where our family dog was
buried. Our dog died back in April. We got him at the same time as the cat.I
don't know what to say anymore. With all I've lost in the past two years, you'd
think this would get easier. Nothing is easy.

My Sister's Animal Woe's (more Bad Things)

The following is from my sister's web comic, 21deadmonkeys. I went with Hoss to take Cheese to the vet but wasn't there for the rest. I feel really bad and wish I could help her out more. I have a little surprised for her but it's really not going to be enough.

Oh, how cruel life can be.I've noticed that my dog, Cheese, has had a limp
for a little over a week now. So on Tuesday, I had Hossome take him in to see
the vet. Turns out Cheesy has a fucked up knee and is going to need surgery.
Surgery is going to cost somewhere between $1600 - $1800. The x-rays alone were
like $300. This is quite the suck, but I have to take care of my dog and I
somehow have to find a way to make this work.Cut to later in the evening on that
same Tuesday. Me and some friends are about to head out to catch the new Hulk
flick. Before we even get to the car, we see my cat lying underneath one of our
cars. His eyes are glazed over and he's gasping for air. As I pull him out from
under the car, I can hear gurgling in his lungs. We nixed the theater plans and
drove to the vet's office which was already closed. We found another vet nearby
and went there. I walk into this place with tears streaming down my face and
clutching my cat. Right away they realize his breathing is fucked up and they
take him into the back. I don't even know how long we were there. It seemed like
all night. His lungs were full of fluid. His stomach and intestines were full of
air. They told me it was heart failure and he'd be lucky to make it through the
night. On the way home, I got so sick that I actually threw up all over the
floor of Denny's and then went and slept in the car until the guys were ready to
go home. I've been through too much with my cat to see him like this.Well, cut
to Thursday night. After two days of crying and not sleeping, I made the drive
back up to the vet. It had been weighing on me all day that this was the day
that I'd have to put him down. The air was out of his lungs. The fluids had
drained out. He wasn't eating or drinking. He was dehydrated. He'd somehow lost
the use of his back legs though. It was all unexplained. He'd surprised
everybody at the vet's office by living this long. I told them he was a fighter.
They found out the hard way as I saw his paws were taped so that he wouldn't
claw them. Walking into that back room, I was prepared for the worst. I thought
it was over. Then my cat sat up. And he tried to walk. He still didn't have the
use of his back legs, but he tried to walk anyways.So now I'll be going up
Friday to pick him up. They said it's possible that within a week or two he
might actually walk again. I'm not overly optimistic on that front. Still, I'm
bringing him home. I figure if he's going to fight for his life, then I'm going
to fight with him. I still haven't figured out how I'm going to pay his vet
bills (they're huge). And what's more, since I did all of this for my cat, I
don't know what I'm going to do about Cheese. Talking it over with people, it
looks like I won't be quitting the factory at the end of July like I thought I
would be. It kills me to say that too. You guys have no idea how bad I want out
of there. Just last week I basically told my boss off and that I'd be quitting
in August. Now I'm stuck there a bit longer. I have to get out soon though. I
don't want to be a lifer. I guess I can't complain too much. I'm getting my cat
for a little bit longer. Here's to miraclces. off the train,

Bad things...

I've had a bit of misfortune this week. My air conditioner is broke. Well, its not so much broke as the venting underneath the house has come loose in a few places and there's no pressure. Which wouldn't be such a big deal to fix, if it weren't for the fact that the crawl space under my house keeps flooding every time it rains. And it has rained (or more aptly stormed) nearly every day.

Luckily, I do live on the lake and there is almost always a nice, cool breeze blowing. So I've kept the windows open, the fans on, and the house is tolerable for most of the day. It's only between noon and 3 that its gotten unbearably hot. Solution--go over to my grandfather's and go swimming! Brilliant idea, only I forgot to put sunscreen on and now have a serious sun burn!

Despite all this, I am enjoying summer for the most part. I've been writing and getting things done for the most part. There are things still to do, but I've got time.

I'll be naming my next child...

...Elvendork (its unisex after all).

If you have no clue what I'm talking about, go here and read the short story by J.K. Rowling.

Go Wings!!!!!

We Got Stanley! We Got Stanley! We Got Stanley!

Web Comic of The Day

I have always hated this stupid ad.

Cleaning...

I know its a total 50's housewife cliche, but by the Goddess, there is nothing like the feeling of a having a clean house. I spent all of yesterday and most of today cleaning the one last bastion of mess in the house--my daughter's room. She helped (and surprisingly of her own free will too). She's happy because she tons of room to play in and I'm happy because its clean.

Admittedly, we have to see how long it stays this way, but I think she finally gets why its important to keep things clean.

Have you ever....

Have you ever looked back and wondered where it all went wrong, then looked around you and wonder how it managed to go all right anyways?

My Personal Blog

Well, I've been playing around with blogger for a bit now and really like it. Mostly, I like the fact that I can have more than one blog all in one account. I've already set up my summer project blog--Life at the Enchanted Cottage and the blog for my novel, Dusk of Innocence. I figured I might as well round it out and add my personal blog here too. I'm just setting things up right now. Once I've got everything set up the way I want it, I'll probably go about "announcing" my new home at all the sites I frequent.

So, yeah, this is my personal blog. It will be where I post the latest news from my own life, my rants and raves, and the occasional random nonsense.