From Sweet Grass to the Packing House

2011-07-12T16:23:00.000-07:00

You can get involved with Anonymous HERE. There is a planned event to put up stickers, posters, etc. on the night of July 30th in your local city.

Stone Mountain

2011-04-04T08:26:00.000-07:00

I went with my family to the Stone Mountain laser show last night, for the first time. They had a segment where they played music by musicians from Georgia. So, there was Sugarland, Allman Brothers, Outkast and a few others. It was pretty cool. They also had The Devil Went Down to Georgia and a music video they made with the lasers. The boys had a good time, and we had a great spot right in the center.

Other than the war machine propaganda, it was a great show. The propaganda segment, they showed children growing up to be members of our armed forces and flag worship. But, it was fairly short.

I would definitely recommend seeing the show. It is quite spectacular and free if you have your yearly parking pass.

Peace Train - Cat Stevens

2011-03-01T16:46:00.000-08:00

Now I've been happy lately
Thinking about the good things to come
And I believe it could be
Something good has begun
I've been smiling lately
Dreaming about the world as one
And I believe it could be
Something good's bound to come

For out on the edge of darkness
There runs the peace train
Peace train take this country
Come take me home again

Peace train sounding louder
Ride on the peace train
Hoo-ah-eeh-ah-hoo-ah
Come on the peace train
Peace train's a holy roller
Everyone jump upon the peace train
Hoo-ah-eeh-ah-hoo-ah
This is the peace train

Get your bags together
Come bring your good friends too
Because it's getting nearer
Soon it will be with you
Come and join the living
It's not so far from you
And it's getting nearer
Soon it will all be true

Peace train sounding louder
Ride on the peace train
Hoo-ah-eeh-ah-hoo-ah
Come on the peace train

I've been crying lately
Thinking about the world as it is
Why must we go on hating?
Why can't we live in bliss?

For out on the edge of darkness
There rides the peace train
Peace train take this country
Come take me home again

Peace train sounding louder
Ride on the peace train
Hoo-ah-eeh-ah-hoo-ah
Come on the peace train

Come on, come on, come on the peace train...

Love this song....I believe it

Do Something

2011-02-15T13:15:00.000-08:00

All organizations in the US who want change need to unite and perhaps plan their protests, pickets, marches, sit-ins, etc. to fall on the same day. The Tea Partiers, 9/11 Truthers, Libertarians, Whole Foodies, Conspiracy Theorists, people against job outsourcing and big pharma and the mistreatment of animals & crops and monopolies and baby formula advertising the Federal Reserve and the Iraq War and the Illuminati--everyone who wants change needs to demand it en mass. Why can't we unite and do something like the people of the Middle East? We know this shit's messed up, so why don't we do something about it?

100 Marriage Tips

2011-02-09T17:47:00.000-08:00

Can't remember where I got this from, but I thought it was really useful:

First and foremost, marry the person who is right in both your heart and your brain.

Look at things from their perspective.

Do something romantic on a random Tuesday.

Give compliments often.

Volunteer to do a chore that they usually do.

Say ‘I love you’ often and when they least expect it.

Send a cheeky text message at an unexpected time.

Rub things – feet, neck, back, etc. (you with your filthy thoughts!)

Hug and kiss hello and goodbye, good morning and good night.

When you’re angry, put a 5-second delay between your brain and your mouth.

Say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’.

Do things they like to do sometimes – even if it’s not your favorite.

Make the effort to remember special occasions.

Ask how their day was and really listen to the answer.

Make all big decisions together.

Don’t allow anyone to come between you.

Play fair.

Initiate sex – especially if you usually don’t.

Beware of falling into a rut. Shake things up a little.

Always keep dating (no matter how long you’ve been married).

Apologize to each other after a disagreement.

Accept their apology and let it go. Don’t keep a running list of misdeeds.

Treat them as your partner, not your boss or your child.

Touch feet under the covers.

Put your relationship above all else.

Laugh often.

Keep their secrets.

Show pride in their accomplishments.

Show compassion for their weaknesses.

Play their favorite music.

Keep your expectations of yourself and your partner high, but reasonable.

Celebrate milestones (even obscure ones).

Watch each others’ back.

Compliment them to others.

Be supportive of their career.

Don’t even think about divorce unless it’s really over.

Swallow your complaints about their family.

Discuss problems outside the heat of the argument.

When times get tough, cling to each other.

Trust.

Be worthy of trust.

Admit when you’re wrong.

Be self-sufficient, unless there’s a legitimate reason otherwise.

Get on the same page about money.

Don’t let the kids play you against each other.

Do at least your share of the work.

Be considerate – small niceties matter.

Take a couple’s retreat when you start to feel disconnected.

Be patient.

Be respectful.

Be honest.

Communicate more.

Weather the storm together.

Cook their favorite foods.

Snuggle up.

Give them a little tush pinch in the kitchen.

No name calling – ever.

When you feel wronged, say so.

Try something new together.

Encourage them to follow their dreams.

Sacrifice without begrudging.

Let them take care of you. Everyone needs to be needed.

Volunteer for a cause you both believe in.

Don’t take yourself so seriously.

Give them their space when they need it.

Remember what really matters and let go of the minutiae.

Tell them what makes you happy.

Focus on romance as much now as you did in the beginning.

Take excellent care of yourself.

Be supportive of their hobbies, even if you think they’re silly.

Get out into nature together.

Be their home base.

Anticipate what they want and do it before they ask.

Always give them the benefit of the doubt.

Get help if you need it.

Get all dolled up for them.

Have fun with other couples.

Allow them their friendships away from you.

Keep criticism fair, civil and constructive.

Make your home a haven for both of you.

Travel to new places together.

Never criticize in public.

Avoid ‘always’ and ‘never’ in an argument.

Plan surprises.

Turn off phones, e-mail, texts, etc. when you’re out together.

Be the spouse at their work functions.

Become regulars at your favorite restaurant.

Relationships take work – do the work.

If things are getting done, don’t worry about having them done your way.

Honestly believe that your relationship is going to last.

Respect their privacy.

Anything involving personal hygiene should be done in private. (Not attractive.)

Take care of them when they’re sick.

Take their side.

Cheer them up.

Cheer them on.

Remember the good times fondly and let the tough times fade.

Acknowledge out loud that your life is good thanks to them.

Golden rule – if you’re both looking out for each others’ best interests, everyone wins.

Enjoy each other!

Life is never fair

2011-02-07T10:47:00.000-08:00

My mom is really sick. She was just diagnosed with stage 6 cirrhosis. which is the final stage. She contracted Hep C sometime in the early 80's when she gave blood. Since she never went to the doctor or gave blood until last year, she never knew she had it. She donated plasma last year and found out she had it then.

She had planned on getting treatment for Hep C, and went to the doctor to see about her health. She had gallstones which were causing acute pancreatitus. During gallstone surgery, the surgeon took a piece of her liver to determine how badly the Hep C affected it. It's so bad, that it is considered stage 6 cirrhosis.

I was reading on a medical forum about a man that was diagnosed with stage 4 cirrhosis and was put on the transplant list. This makes me really worried for my mom. Sometimes a liver can heal itself, but not when Hep C is trashing it. A person with cirrhosis can't receive treatment for Hep C because the treatment is poison. So, what does this mean for mom? Transplant waiting list? I don't know.

Mom is going to see her GP this week to see where she goes from here. If it will take too long to see a Hepatologist, then mom is just going to leave The Bay and come to Stone Mountain and continue her medical care here.

I feel worried and angry. Angry because life isn't fair. All of mom's brothers and sisters are either alcoholic or drug addicted, yet my mom is the one with the fucked up liver. And, because she donated blood before Hep C was really discovered. I feel guilty because we left her on the west coast, and she's homeless. She's needed more help than my mother in law, which is the reason we came to Stone Mountain in the first place. My mom needs me 3,000 miles away, and I can't be there for her.

Tales of the Breastpump

2010-08-18T15:11:00.000-07:00

So, I was reading these horrifying stories of pumping at work at the Working Moms Break blog, and I thought I would post one of my own.

I worked the 3rd shift as a security guard in an office building 5 years ago when my son was born. I was completely alone in the building, and I wasn't allowed to leave the concierge desk for more than 5 minutes at a time. I chose to pump in the fire control room directly behind the console so I could hear the doorbell when the newspapers and garbage truck came. I never bothered to tell my single boss since he was also OCD and had a serious phobia of germs. So, after the janitors would leave for the night, I'd go in there and hook myself up to the machine. Sometimes, I would leave the door cracked so I could lean over and peek out to monitor the CCTV.

One night, the garbage truck came early, so I jumped up, yanked the cones off my breasts and squirted (full-stream) all the fire control equipment, elevator controls and the stereo system. I was like an industrial lawn sprinkler, but in slow motion in awe of the mess I was making. I look back and wonder what would my OCD/germaphobe boss have done if he had found out about that incident. He might have vomited and went into convulsions. LOL

Another time, a field inspector for the security service company showed up. Their job is to make sure we are not sleeping and that we are in full uniform, and also to make sure we are doing OK. Well, he snuck up on me sorta. He used his card to get in the building and his key to open the fire control room to make sure I wasn't sleeping. I definitely wasn't sleeping. The look on his face............

New tenants were moving into the building which meant loud construction that couldn't be done during business hours. They came on my shift, which cut into my pumping time. There was a new guy delivering papers who delivered them at a different time every night. Needless to say pumping was getting harder than it already was with my crappy supply. I took fenugreek, Reglan, mother's milk tea, but none of that helps when you can't really pump, and you need to sleep during the daytime when the baby eats most. After fighting my supply for 4 months, I stopped nursing Timmy at 7 months old.

I have no resentment for the company I worked for then. I didn't even tell them what I was planning to do. Since the client required that the guard not be away from the desk for more than 5 or 10 minutes, I could not expect UN-reasonable accommodation from them like being able to break that rule, or have the field inspector come relieve me at the same time every night. People who are blind or deaf are not allowed to be security guards at all because reasonable accommodation is not possible, and I don't see this as any different than my situation.

Fortunately, I was a housewife when my second son was born. I nursed him until he was nearly TWO! :)

Miss my grandpa

2009-06-01T22:58:00.000-07:00

August 3, 1931 to May 31, 2003

Yay!

2009-05-05T10:29:00.000-07:00

Timmy ate a boneless pork chop last night with Creole seasoning.

So, I guess we'll be using that creole seasoning on a lot of things now. Thanks Zippy for suggesting the spice idea. He really likes it, so I'll be cooking with it a lot. He did not eat his red potato salad with dill, but he did try one bite. He actually looked excited to try it, "Mmmm yeah! Potato salad!" is what he said before taking a bite. But, turns out he didn't like it. Well, at least I know he genuinely doesn't like it, and he wasn't just being stubborn.

He tried two peas and picked the corn out to eat and left the peas. Oh well. I'm just happy he ate some lean meat.

Too chubby?

2009-04-29T19:36:00.000-07:00

I've been concerned about Timmy's weight for quite some time and the things I feed him and his refusal to eat healthy things I make for dinner. He loves breakfast and lunch, but when it comes to dinner it's only buttered noodles, mac n cheese, burritos, fries n dogs and quesadillas.

I think it's taking it's toll on his body now. My mom got him some jeans and khakis for Christmas, and they no longer fit him around his waist. We got him some size 6/7 adjustable waist shorts from Walmart, they are way too long and way too tight around his waist. The elastic waist shorts we got him make him look like a cholo because they are too long, but they fit him OK around the waist. At bedtime he wears pull-up diapers because even size 6 diapers are too small for him now.

I'm afraid if I don't do something now he will be one of those boys who won't take his shirt off in the pool because the other kids will make fun of his boobs. Or, worse, the doctor will diagnose him with high cholesterol or something. Robert says if we put him in football as a linebacker they won't tease him, but what if he doesn't like football?

Robert and I were both "the fat kid" and it's not fun. Kids can be so cruel...the pointing and the whispers were the least of it. Getting detention after P.E. class everyday for coming out late because I didn't want to change in front of the other girls was not fun either. I was referenced as "fat Christina, not shorthaired Christina" so as not to get mixed up with the other Christina in my school. I do not want my children to have to go through that.

Beginning tonight Timmy will eat what he's served at dinnertime, and if he doesn't eat it, then he doesn't get anything else until the next meal (which is breakfast). I served rice with chicken broccoli curry cream of mushroom sauce tonight, and he managed to get three bites down. I let the hunger pangs set in (if he had any), and then gave him some milk before bed.

A lot of parents do this, but I didn't really want to. I didn't mind the extensive planning ahead to make sure he was going to have leftovers that he liked when I was making something he didn't like for the rest of us. I didn't mind using an extra knife or pot to make something he would actually eat when I made something I knew he didn't like. It'd be different if he liked carrots or brown rice or zucchini or something healthy. I'd continue to make sure he had those few healthy things he liked until he grew out of this stage. But, when he will only eat pasta, tortillas and dairy, it's not good. I've tried disguising healthy foods sometimes (hiding veggies in his burritos), and that works, but I can't do that every single night. Unlike me, he gets tired of rice, beans & tortillas.

So, that's that. We'll see how things go and if he starts dropping weight because he's eating less or because he'll start to enjoy the healthy dinners I make.

Thunder Thighs Strikes Back!

2009-04-27T09:53:00.000-07:00

So, for my work uniform, I wear gray trousers. Guardsmark provides the uniforms, but I was having trouble finding pants that fit me properly. They fit me fine in the waist and hips, but they were snug in the thighs. No big deal right? I'm a woman, who cares if my pants are too tight in the thighs. All my pants are too tight in the thighs. Well, I noticed after a couple weeks, my trouser started to come apart at the inseam. So, I went downtown and got another pair. They didn't have any larger women's sizes, so I looked through the men's trousers and found a pair that was made of a different material and seemed more sturdy.

Saturday morning comes and I'm dressed and ready to walk out the door. I bend over to tighten my shoelaces and RRRRRIIIIIIIPPPPP! Out goes the inseam from crotch to ankle. Mind you I work two days a week and have only ONE pair of pants. What the heck am I going to do, I thought to myself. I hurried to the closet and found my old navy blue trousers I had when I worked for ABM. They have always been tight in the thighs, but they are a very well made trouser, maybe they use sturgeon line to sew the inseam. Fortunately my blazer is navy blue also, so it looks nice together, but still not my proper uniform. I went to work and no one noticed until I told them. My supervisor even relieved me that day and didn't notice I was wearing navy trousers.

The following week I decide to buy my own pair of gray trousers. I hit up Goodwill first, and no luck finding charcoal gray trousers with belt loops. (I have to wear a belt for my radio and cell phone at work.) No problem, maybe I can find some for $20 at Sears or JCP. No such luck. I went to Sears, JCP, Macys, Nordstrom and Gap. Found lots of pinstripes, light gray and no belt loop trousers. Some of these department stores are no longer sorting section by Juniors, Misses, Women's, Plus Size, Old Lady anymore, they sort by brand name. It took me hours to go through all these sections in all these department stores and not once did any employee offer to help me. I was almost in tears walking through the mall back to my car when I passed by Lane Bryant. I guess I'll try one more store, hopefully they sell my size.

I walk into Lane Bryant, and immediately was greeted by 3 lovely plus-sized women. Oh yeah, Lane Bryant is a plus-sized store. "Can I help you find anything?" said Tila, the LB employee who absolutely made my day. "This is the 7th store I've been to today, and I'm about ready to cry. Do you have charcoal gray trousers with belt loops?" And, guess what? They had a ton! They have some for boxy women, slightly curvy women and for badonkadonk booties. She gave me a pair to try on and kept tossing more over the dressing room door. I've never been so happy to try on clothes because they ALL fit me without having to lay down, suck it in and struggle to even get them over my legs.

This particular store didn't have charcoal gray in my shape, so Tila said she would try calling the other Lane Bryants in the area, and if they didn't have them, then she would order my pants off the website and ship them to my house for free. Fortunately, the Tualatin store had them, and Tila placed them on hold for me. I wanted to hug her, but I didn't.

HERE's my pants. I've haven't paid 50 bucks for an article of clothing since I was single. But, the pants look so cute that I would actually wear them at other times. They will also pay for themselves in 6 weeks because they are machine washable. I had to get my old trousers dry cleaned.

Weaned :(

2009-04-01T16:50:00.000-07:00

So, I guess Jimmy is weaned now. I was bringing him in the bed every morning (except work days) and nursing him just that one time a day. But, after this last weekend I decided not to anymore. Kind of sad about it since he is our last baby. He'll be two years old in May. We moved him into his own room, and he's doing fine in there. Him being in our room it was just too easy to grab him and bring him in bed with me, so it made it easier putting him in his room.

The really cool thing is that haven't had a monthly cycle since June of 2006, the month before Jimmy was conceived. That was nice.

Victory

2009-03-20T21:40:00.001-07:00

Not very high scoring games, but I beat everyone. I never win, sometimes I do very well, but never win. I won three times that night. My clanmates are very good players too, so I'm surprised I was able to beat them, including my husband!

New blog look!

2009-03-06T11:25:00.000-08:00

I love it! I didn't make everything the right size, but it still looks nice. If you push F11, you can see where I didn't make the background long enough. But, who uses F11 anyway?

I got all the images from Shabby Princess' free DLs, and then I put it all together in Flash. Looks spring-y. :)

If you want to make something like that, I can probably help you with the HTML side of it and image sizing. Those parts were pretty simple.

LOL

2009-03-04T12:38:00.000-08:00

Came across this funny video. Poor kid.

A person is a person, no matter how small

2009-02-25T15:25:00.000-08:00

Be sure to turn off my music player for this.

This young lady's speech is absolutely amazing. What maturity she shows. Good for her.

One fact I want to point out is that only 1% of ALL abortions in the U.S. are for rape, incest or to save the life of the mother.

"No children allowed in the sanctuary"

2009-02-23T10:47:00.000-08:00

There's been a discussion on a forum I go to about a policy that a church implemented regarding kids between the ages of 3 months to pre-school age not being allowed to worship with their parents in the sanctuary. The kids must be sent to the church nursery/Sunday school class or sit in the family room and watch the sermon on a TV.

You can watch the 6 minute video here Faith Promise - Pro Kids.

The way this pastor is manipulating his church is appalling. I have never even taken a psychology class but it doesn't take an expert to see how manipulative he is.

-Blaming children for sending someone to Hell who is on the fence?! I can't believe he even said that. He seriously could have used more tact than that.

-Calling the sanctuary a "war zone". Ummm, isn't everywhere else a war zone too?

-Saying that the reason mothers are with their babies is because of the mother's "separation anxiety"? Um, wrong again. Bad joke. It's called God-given maternal instinct.

If some kids are causing such a problem in the sanctuary during service, why don't the ushers have a word with those parents. Ask them to go sit in the family room or put the kids in Pro-Kids. Why make a blanket mandatory policy? The people who are really going to miss out are those families of well-behaved children who strongly believe in family worship.

My kids are loud and wild. They are the type of kids that really do need to be in the nursery/kids' church. I think most parents of energetic kids who can't sit still and be quiet know this about their kids. It's hard to believe that there were so many wild kids (with clueless parents) that the church felt they had to make this policy.

My friend Sandy blogged about it too....hope she doesn't mind I link to her blog entry.

[NWs] got hitched!

2009-02-15T21:47:00.000-08:00

Well, our server was getting pretty slow, and we weren't getting any new members. I was missing the fellowship of a clan and getting to know all my clanmates like I had with =UEC= and =|MGX|=. The most important part of a clan to me is friendship. And, we just weren't making any with [NWs]. One of Robert's friends, Sgt.1Guy from another clan asked us to merge with them. I'm really happy about it. We won't have to worry about if we will be able to pay the server bill every month, and we'll get to make new friends. The ones I met so far seem real nice too, they're even gonna try to not say the GD-word for me because it bothers me.

So, West Coast Mayhem is our new clan. They got a pretty cool website too.
http://westcoast-mayhem.com/

Robert will still be messing with the mod and stuff on the server, so that will be cool.

Ticked!

2009-02-11T15:35:00.000-08:00

Just learned that Activision will be releasing a new Call of Duty this year. I gotta say I'm pretty ticked about it. Robert and I have been playing COD since the first one in 2004, and we have always gotten the new one and had to upgrade our computers to be able to play the latest. It's our hobby. We have had friends we've made over the years through the game. But, every time a new one comes out, someone always gets left behind because the person can't afford to upgrade their machine. Whenever a new one comes out, most people have to upgrade their computers to be able to play it. That's what ticks me off the most. I'm tired of paying $50 a year to buy a new game, and I'm tired of paying for new computer parts every year to be able to play with my friends. Seriously, I wish there was a limit on how often a company can release a new version of a game.

Why couldn't they have made it an expansion pack of either COD4 or COD5? They would still get their $50, and people wouldn't have to upgrade their computers. It would be really cool if COD4 had some Humvees and flyable helicopters and new maps. Or, if COD5 had new maps, some Jeeps and flyable planes, especially since COD5 has Japs. How cool would that be to fly your plane into the Allies spawnpoint and blow them all up at once AND get a first person view of it? That would be even cooler than napalm. They released an expansion pack for COD1, and with that you could drive Jeeps and tanks. Everyone though it was great, and no one had to pay an arm and a leg for a new video card or a new processor.

If they do release it this year, they better not screw it up like they did with COD5 and its glitches. Or, they will start losing some of their long time committed customers.

Gotta brag on my man

2009-02-08T22:14:00.000-08:00

I asked Robert on the weekends if he could just do a load of dishes and pick up the toys with the kids since I'll be working. Well, Saturday when I was at work, not only did he do a load of dishes and pick up toys, he cleaned the kitchen top to bottom, swept, wiped everything down, de-cluttered the counters. He also did two loads of laundry. And, he even put some toys outside to be donated or thrown away that the kids don't play with anymore. He vacuumed the living room, his office and our bedroom. He hung the paintings on the wall that my mom loaned us. He moved our chest of drawers into his office since we both need to change into work clothes in another room so as not to wake Jimmy in our bedroom. He rearranged our bedroom furniture so we actually have floor space now.

I have much confidence in my man now regarding caring for our kids too. The only thing I told him Friday night before bed was "the kids prefer their fried bologna sandwiches toasted with mayonnaise." Yep, I didn't have to tell him anything else because he has been so attentive in the last year or so. He changes their diapers in a timely manner, and he can even tolerate poop diapers now. He's even pretty good about putting dishes and utensils far back on the counter so Jimmy can't reach them.

When I got home from work, I was pretty tired from tossing and turning the night before (and apparently I was getting sick too) that he helped me with dinner.

Tonight since I am sick, he made dinner with very little assistance from me. He made fried chicken from scratch in the fry daddy, rice in the rice cooker and steamed veggies.

Called in sick today :(

2009-02-08T19:28:00.000-08:00

I feel terrible. I had to call in sick to work on my second day because I was puking this morning. I felt alright last night, just really tired because I tossed and turned the night before my first day. I was getting cold sweats, and I felt dizzy and nauseous this morning when I woke up. I called my site supervisor at 5:50am today to tell him I was sick. I could tell he was really disappointed, probably even annoyed since it was so early on a weekend. I assured him that I'm not a flake and really want the job. I told him that it wouldn't happen again and he said "You're right it won't happen again." I'm kinda scared I might get fired. Guardsmark is really strict, but that's a good thing because they really do have the highest quality service. I just hope they are understanding.

One thing I've noticed working in security is that a lot of the people who get jobs as guards are REALLY flaky. When I worked for my last company, I had to train 4 people before I could go on maternity leave because the first three either didn't show up for the second night of training or they were terrible. When I went on maternity leave with Timmy, the first gal I trained fell asleep at the console. She kept nodding off when I was training her, and she kept trying to do her schoolwork during slow times instead of reading the training materials. The second guy I trained straight up told me half way through the night that he really didn't want to do this job and left at 4am. The third guy I trained seemed slow and overwhelmed by all our duties, and he didn't show up for the second night of training. The 4th guy, Dennis was great. He was in Vietnam and has also worked security before. He picked up on everything really quickly and didn't mind all our duties. He still works graveyard at that site now, almost 4 years later. I was happy to hear he wanted to stay after I returned from maternity leave because I only wanted to work part-time. I'm happy we got him when we did because I went into labor with Timmy 3 days after I trained him.

There have been other events that my last company called me to at the last minute because people didn't show up. So, all that kind of gives you an idea at what kind of people work as security guards. You gals have probably had your own negative experiences with power-tripping security guards or stupid ones.

Guardsmark doesn't put up with that though. Every guard I've met seems to be really on the ball. That's one of the reasons I know I will like working for them. I just hope I still have a job.

I know I would have gotten dizzy or fainted at work today even though I sit at a desk. Better to faint at home than at work and make the company pay for an ambulance, since a fellow guard would be required to call an ambulance. Not to mention one of my fellow guards would have had to write an Incident Report if I fainted. Everytime I got up today I got really dizzy and had to sit back down. I pretty much laid in bed most of the day and Robert took care of the kids.

More parking drama!

2009-02-03T22:47:00.000-08:00

Seriously, almost feels like someone has it in for me!

I knew I wouldn't be able to feed the meter today for orientation and training, so I decided I would drive to the MAX (lightrail) which has free parking and take the MAX into downtown. So, I got there, and guess what? Yeah, the lot was full! Not one parking space! So, I thought, OK I'll just jump back on the freeway and park at the zoo and catch the same train there since the zoo has free parking too. Well, there was so much traffic on the freeway that I didn't make it in time to catch the MAX at the zoo, so I just drove to downtown and paid to park in a lot. $10.50 to park in a lot!

Fortunately, I won't have this drama on the weekend when I work. On Saturdays I'll park at the Port of Portland lot which is open to the public on the weekends and free. It's about 10 blocks from my site, so I can just jump on the streetcar which is free in Fareless Square or walk if I have enough time. And, on Sundays I can park on the street since we don't have to pay meters on Sundays.

My site is so nice though and close to Powell's Books which is like two square blocks and three stories high of used books. The neighborhood I'm working in is really cool too. It's called the Pearl District.

New car

2009-02-02T10:03:00.000-08:00

It's a 1992 Honda Accord LX Wagon! It only has 120k mi./193k km. on it. It's very clean and it drives really nice. We got it for $2700 from a guy on Craigslist. Most of the other Hondas on craigslist for that price had closer to 200k miles on them, so I think we got a good deal.

Getting there but more car and parking drama

2009-01-23T14:15:00.000-08:00

Went and brought all my paperwork in today, and HR lady says it looks really good. She was impressed with my thoroughness and honesty, so that's good. I watched a video there today about the company, and it really seems like a great company to work for. They give bonuses for certain things, and everyone I've met seems really nice. Sounds like I will learn a lot more about security, safety and whatnot too. Today I learned about fire extinguishers and each type and which one to use in different types of fire. I didn't know that before, so that was pretty cool.

My car is broken broken though. I had to rent a car today because I can look underneath my car and see the oil squirting out. I've done our taxes already, so our return should be coming January 30th. Problem is that I have to go back to the office on the 29th to renew my license and get my uniforms. We really don't have the money for me to rent a car again. It was $32. But, I think we will probably just have to make do.

I got two parking tickets today. One was for not putting the sticker in the driver window, I put it in the windshield. I thought the meter maids drove around in small cars, so I figured it would be good in the windshield so they could see it from the street. But, apparently they ride bicycles on the sidewalks these days. The other ticket was for parking over the line blocking a garbage can. The line was really faded, and I didn't think it really mattered, but I guess it does. $24 each. Ka-ching! You're welcome, City of Portland! Maybe you can afford to paint the parking lines with that money and the faded yellow zone in front of the garbage can!

I'm pretty excited to start my job though. Not looking forward to getting up at 5am. But, I'll get used to it I'm sure.

Got it (I think)

2009-01-13T21:18:00.000-08:00

I had my interview at Guardsmark today. Can you believe my battery was dead when I went to start it?! Just my luck to. Then when I finally got to Portland, the street Guardsmark is on was closed! I drove around and around in circles looking for a parking spot. I called the HR lady I was supposed to interview with at 2pm, my interview time, and told her that SW Washington was closed and that I would be there soon. Finally, I found a parking spot...but it was between a gigantic F-350 and a full size van! And, my car is a Crown Victoria, so it's not very small either. It took me ten tries before a Marine walked by and saw me struggling. He asked if I wanted him to guide me in, I said "thank you so much, would you mind just parking it for me?" LOL! He laughed and said no problem. He parked it perfectly in one try! So, I ran to these new fangled machines that spit out tickets to stick to my car (rather than each parking space having a meter), and it stole a quarter from me! Fortunately, I had an extra quarter.

After that, I ran 3 blocks barefoot carrying my 4 inch heels with me. I got into the office and fortunately HR Lady was very busy. I explained what happened and promised that I'm usually only late for work once or twice per year (which is true), and she said she's glad I was late because she was swamped and I would have just had to sit there wasting quarters.

We interviewed, and it went great. She gave me this gigantic stack of paperwork. I have to give my references a piece of paper they have to sign with info about me, and I have to bring it back to her. I also have to three notarized letters from people I know (not family) explaining why I had such a large gap in employment (staying at home). 3 notaries will cost me $10 each I think, not to mention I have to bring the people I know to the Notary Public because the signatures have to be witnessed by the Notary Public. So, I'm thinking my BFF Melissa and her husband, and maybe my old neighbor John, or maybe my Bible study friend, Pam. Plus, there is this HUGE packet of questions I have to choose on a scantron. I hate scantrons because they only allow 8 letters for the first name and not much more for last names! I've had a beef with scantrons since the 2nd grade! And, then my test results come back "Christin Bazaria" or something, not Christina Bazarian. Well, I don't care that I have to do it, but I do hate scantrons. It's for the personality test that gets evaluated by a psychologist. But, one thing that I am really happy about is that I can renew my DPSST through Guardsmark, they will pay for it upfront and then take the $50 out of my first paycheck. What a relief. Especially since I wasn't planning on that Notary Public bill.

I asked HR Lady what were my chances of getting this position, and she said, when I give out that gigantic stack of paperwork, that means we want you. So, if all your background check passes then you get the job. I am so happy about that. I stopped at Terrace Tower (my old site) and dropped off a reference paper with Glenn, my old supervisor, so he will fill it out and fax it to HR Lady. I also stopped by ABM and talked to Susan. She said she was sad I wouldn't be working for them, but she'd be happy to give me a reference, so she filled one out too. Now, I need 4 more references to fill out that paper. My BFF Melissa and maybe her husband. I'm not sure who else to ask though. Maybe I can fax one to my old boss in California. It's been like 8 years since I've talked to him though. Or, I might be able to find my old colleague from Dex since I think my old supervisor doesn't work there anymore.

Well, this all has to be done by Tuesday the 20th. The job starts February 4th. It's Saturday and Sunday 7am-3pm at a building in the Pearl District. She says I'd be a "receptionist security officer" whatever that means! She said I'd be answering a multi-line phone. It pays $11/hour so we should be fine until Guardsmark has a full-time position paying as much as Robert made.

So, you know what this means?! No more doing dishes on Saturdays and Sundays!

Thanks for all your prayers. Hopefully this fog will be lifting soon. I hate being so antisocial because I know it's even worse for me. I love you gals for sticking with me. :)

Another Update

2009-01-09T08:33:00.000-08:00

Went and filled out an application at Guardsmark yesterday. Can you believe it's like $10 to park in a lot for 1 hour?! Fortunately, I found a parking spot on the street which only cost me $1.50 for an hour and 15 minutes.

The gal who interviews was there and looked at my application and resume right after I was done, and she wants me to call on Monday to schedule a formal interview. She asked me a few questions about my computer skills. For some reason, I totally forgot to put my computer skills on my resume, so I'm glad she asked.

She asked me how much I want to get paid, and I told her if I was working full-time I would at least need to make as much as Robert, and that I would settle for less if I were working only on the weekends.

She said there is another positioning opening for either day shift or swing shift on Saturdays and Sundays for $10/hour, and that there will be a full time day shift position opening later on for $13/hour which is a little more than Robert made. She said the full-time position was for a receptionist. I hope she doesn't mean like not a guard and sitting at a desk all day. I should have asked her. I've done 6 years of office work, and I really don't like it. LOL.....But, the cool thing about security guard companies is that if you don't like the site you're working at, you can simply ask to be put somewhere else. And, if you're a good worker, then they will place you first.

So, it looks pretty hopeful. Lets just hope I have enough gas to get to the interview and back.

ABM hasn't called me back yet. I'm wondering if I should call her and tell her to hold off for a bit because I may have another job offer. I would only be making $9/hour with my old employer. If I don't call her, I will feel really bad if she went calling around like crazy switching people around to accommodate me because she wants me back with them. So, I'm not sure if I should call her.

Update: Scary News

2009-01-08T08:48:00.000-08:00

That exterminator job in Salem is low pay, plus commission, so it doesn't sound very good. Robert is not good at sales and that would make it kind of stressful for him.

So, I called my old employer to see if they had any days or swings on Saturdays and Sundays, and she's gonna call me back. They only pay $9/hour, so I can't just work there full time and have Robert quit his job. But me working 2 eights or 2 twelves would help a lot.

Also, gonna head up to Guardsmark today or tomorrow, depending on what time Robert gets off and fill out an app. They having a position opening in February.

Talked to my friend who's dad is a sheriff deputy and her friend is a correction officer about the physical fitness test for deputies and corrections officers, and she says it's very difficult, and she doesn't think I can pass it being out of shape and a smoker. So, I don't know if I will apply for the corrections officer job. It's a 1234 foot obstacle course that has to be done in less than 9 minutes for corrections officers and less than 8 minutes for sheriff deputies or something like that. I think if nothing comes through by close to the application deadline, then I might apply. It would only cost me $10 to get a form notarized, so that's not too much.

My unarmed officer's license expires next month. It's $50 to renew it. Not sure where I'm gonna come up with the money for that.

Too much going on. I'm not scared of starving to death or freezing to death, I'm scared of losing our lifestyle. It's not like we ever had much money, but we live in a nice place and have a 4 door car. I don't want to lose that. And, I don't want to share our place with cockroaches again, or have drug addict neighbors.

Scary news

2008-12-30T08:22:00.001-08:00

Robert just got news from his boss yesterday that he would now only be able to pay Robert by the hour. Prior to this, Robert was salaried at 40 hours a week. It's understandable with so many clients canceling and decreasing their service because of the economic state. But, that's not good news for us since Robert only has about 25 hours of work a week now. There is no way we can survive on that. I imagine Ed & Jessie feel terrible about it. When Robert first got hired, we were living in the projects practically. Then we moved into a little bit better place, and now we live in the 3br duplex with a yard. It must have made his boss proud to be able to contribute to our quality of life and be mostly responsible for our American dream in action. Robert is such a hard worker, and Ed is so generous that Robert started at $4 less an hour than he makes now.

We looked on Oregon's Employment Department website to see if either of us could find work, as we cannot survive on the hourly salary. I found for myself Corrections Officer Trainee. That means I'd be working at the county jail in Hillsboro. No college education necessary. And, since I have my unarmed officer license already, maybe they'd be more likely to hire me. I REALLY want that job. Only problem is the written exam and physical fitness test isn't until March 14. I'm not sure if we can wait that long for a job I might not even get. If Robert can't find work first though, the deadline to turn in an application isn't until February. Government job means excellent benefits though.

I was also thinking of applying at Guardsmark. More than likely, I'd work near downtown Portland, so we'd have to move closer to the city again. Guardsmark pays about a dollar more an hour than Robert made. They also offer FREE benefits, so it probably wouldn't cost too much more to add Robert and the kids.

Robert found another Exterminator position in Salem. That's really far, so we would move there probably. It doesn't list what they pay, so I wonder if that means the pay is lousy. Robert would have to make at least how much he makes now.`But, it shouldn't be too bad because they require the employee to have experience and to already have the pesticide applicator's license. He really likes the line of work he is in. It's really good for him because it's not strenuous but it's still active and not boring.

So, please pray for us. The decrease in pay begins next week, so this Friday's check (the rent check) will be a full one, but the one after that won't be. I'm thinking Robert should ask Jessie, his boss' wife if she can try to work on his W-2 as soon as she can in January, so we can get our tax return as soon as we can. Or, maybe Obama will be able to get that stimulus check through like he wants to. I'm really scared though, that we won't be able to make it to then.

I'm really hoping I get a job first, so Robert can stay at home and go to school part time. School is just not for me. You know what else that means? No more doing dishes for me! I'm sure I would still cook though. I'm not a big fan of chard well done. LOL!

Pwned those noobs!

2008-12-28T22:24:00.000-08:00

Well, OK, they aren't noobs, but I always wanted to say that.

I put a new perk on tonight called Sleight of Hand, makes you reload faster. Also put the Aim perk on, and look what happened! I haven't had a score like that since COD:UO!

Also got our first recruit tonight. His "name" is Sefh. He's been playing on our server since we set it up I think. Anyway, he seems nice and he plays often. And, he's not a camper so that's good. Yup, I had been trying to ask him to join our clan, but I think sometimes he's concentrating in game so much that he doesn't see what people type to him. So, finally tonight he saw what I asked. :)

Getting it back!

2008-12-26T20:41:00.000-08:00

Oh yeah! Getting there!

Elf Yourself

2008-12-16T10:33:00.000-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Rice A Roni Recipes - By Popular Demand

2008-12-02T21:51:00.000-08:00

I've had a few friends ask me what is so amazing about what I can do with Rice A Roni, so I thought I would post my recipes (add-ins).

When you buy box food, most of them have add-in ideas, but for whatever reason Rice A Roni doesn't. So, I came up with some myself. You only have to use one large pan with a lid. I sometimes add more rice and more liquid to make it stretch further. So, if you add a 1/2 cup of extra rice, add 1 cup of extra liquid. Sometimes, I use less meat and just cut it up into smaller pieces to make it stretch further too.

The brocolli cheese flavor:
-One box of brocolli cheese Rice A Roni
-One or two chicken breasts
-Two handlfulls of frozen brocolli
-1/2 cup or so of grated cheese like jack, colby jack or cheddar
-Appropriate spices like garlic powder and onion powder

Brown the rice in butter as directed on the box, then add the cut up seasoned chicken. The chicken doesn't have to cook all the way now because it will be simmering in water for 20-25 minutes, so it will be cooked by then. Add the amount of water the box says to with the package of Rice a Roni seasoning and cook like it says to. After 15 minutes add the frozen brocolli. When it's done put the cheese on top, remove from heat and leave the lid on a few minutes.

The mushroom something flavor (forgot the full name of it):
-One box of Mushroom something Rice A Roni
-Half a small onion, diced
-Two cloves of garlic
-A lot of sliced mushrooms
-A lot of cooked crumbled bacon

Cook bacon, remove from pan and set aside somewhere your husband won't find it. Sautee the mushrooms, onion and garlic in the leftover bacon grease. When that's almost done, brown the rice in that pan with the sautee. Follow the directions on the box.

The fried rice flavor:
-One box of Fried Rice flavored Rice A Roni
-One or two chicken breasts or pork chops, cut into bite size pieces
-Two handfulls of frozen stirfry veggies like brocolli, peas, bell pepper, onion, those crunchy weird white things, grean beans, or whatever frozen veggies you have in the freezer
-Some kind of Chinese sauce that you enjoy, like general tsao or kung pao or teriyaki

Brown the rice and meat at the same time (if you have fresh garlic and onion, cook it with the rice and meat). Add some of your Chinese sauce, then follow the directions on the box. After 15 minutes add the frozen veggies and continue cooking the rest of the recommended amount of time.

There you have it....one-pan square meals.

NWSoldiers.com

2008-11-28T21:14:00.000-08:00

Guess what? Me and Robert are starting our own clan and server again! We did once before when we first became BF & GF, and it was so much fun leading a clan. We make the rules, we mod the servers, and we decide who can and cannot be in our clan.

This month is a three-paycheck month, and we weren't planning on going overboard for Christmas, so it works out really nicely. I'm so happy the money can be spent on something Robert and I can do together as a team. This will be really good for our marriage, a hobby we can do together. Exercising our leadership skills, creativity, his knowledge and my prudence.

So, if you're looking for a good game on Call of Duty: World at War, look us up. We are The Northwest Soldiers Clan.

Broken Trail

2008-11-21T08:58:00.001-08:00

"We're all travelers in this world. From the sweet grass to the packing house. Birth 'til death. We travel between the eternities." -Prentice Ritter (Robert Duvall)

A lot of blogs are snippets of the writers lives, and most writers include that in their blog title.

Sweet grass is new life, new growth like birth. And, the packing house is where livestock is butchered and processed, like death. So, this is my life, traveling between the eternities.

This has to be one of my favorite movies. The first time I watched it was at my dad's house. I think we watched it OnDemand.

Robert Duvall and Thomas Haden Church play a couple of cowboys wanting to get livestock to Montana to sell it. Along the way, they discover young Chinese sisters are being sold as sex slaves. The two cowboys kill the guy who is transporting the Chinese girls after he attempted to rape one of the girls. Prentice and Tom soon are taking the girls with them on the open range. It shows the unforgiving conditions of the open range and the struggles the girls and two men have to go through to make it to Montana.

If you ever get a chance to watch Broken Trail, you should check it out. One of my favs!

Who woulda thought my favorite game could be ART

2008-11-21T08:44:00.000-08:00

One of my clanmates posted this on our forums!

OK, you have to turn down my music player at the bottom of my blog to hear this. I love this!

These are a few of my favorite things...

2008-11-04T09:51:00.000-08:00

So, my awesome Aussie friend Nicole tagged me for a few of my favorite things. Yeah, there's no U in favorite Nicole!

-Mexican food
-Marsupials
-Family & friends
-Watching my kids love on eachother
-Having a clean house

I tag:
Maggie
Claire
Ryanne
Stacy
Rachel

Portland Children's Museum

2008-10-30T21:54:00.001-07:00

My dear friend, Melissa got us some free passes from her library for the Children's Museum in Portland, right next to the zoo. We took Timmy, Jimmy, her son Damien and Zoey, a little girl Melissa babysits on Tuesday. The kids had so much fun, and they were perfect angels almost the whole time.

The museum is such a great place for young kids and toddlers. They had a mini-pretend grocery store, doctor's office, construction site, plumbers room. They had an awesome water room that had a lot of water activities for the youngins. They even provided cute little smocks that really only prevented water from getting on their chest and belly. They had face paints, a stage with dress-up, art rooms, a music room with drums, a xylephone and other cool stuff.

As you can see, Timmy is having so much fun in the water room. He was splashing, pumping water, turning wheels to make the water SPLASH!

Jimmy had a lot of fun on the stairs that were near the stage. He kept climbing up and scooting down backward.

Timmy "moving earth".

Jimmy fascinated with the water fountain in the water room.

All the kids had so much fun. I would so love to go there again and with Robert. It's $8 per person over the age of 1 to get in, very expensive. I wish we could go all the time!

6 Random Things!

2008-09-26T22:33:00.000-07:00

Yay, my so incredibly cool friend Sandy and her awesome hubby, Justin tagged me!

Rules:

1. Post the rules on your blog
2. Write 6 random things about yourself
3. Tag 6 people at the end of your post

6 Random Things:

1. Like Sandy, I cover my head too in accordance with 1Corinthians 11.

2. I named my children so their names would rhyme. If we have more, I would conitnue to try to make their names rhyme. Timmy, Jimmy, Vinny, Lynnie, Minnie, etc.

3. I can do amazing things with a box of Rice A Roni.

4. I can still remember my very first phone number.

5. I wanted to be an ice cream man when I was little.

6. Long story....One time (I think in 2003), coming back to Portland from San Francisco for Christmas by myself (very easy 10 hour drive I did many times alone), I got stuck on the pass at the OR/CA border for 18 hours. It was snowing, and everyone stopped. They closed I-5 for 18 hours because big rigs were jackknifing down the hill. We all sat in our cars. One man died of a heart attack up there, and another woman got picked up by a helicopter because she was going into diabetic shock. And, because I wasn't planning on getting out of the car in that area, and I had just gotten back from CA, I only had FLIPFLOPS on! I was planning to get drive-thru Taco Bell in Medford, the next town, and I was sooo hungry! I accidentally peed my only pair of pants up there, and I had a cold. I found some nice ladies with blankets, and we blocked everyone's view while each of us took turns peeing in the middle of the freeway. After 18 hours, they turned us back around to CA to go back to Yreka and Weed, where there were no vacancies in motels, so I slept in a Baptist church. I finally made it home in Portland where there was more snow than there was in 8 years. I lived on a hill, and couldn't drive anywhere because it also rained then froze! I survived those 5 days on Pepsi and Doritoes from the Shell station that I walked to in Sketchers sneakers, jeans and 50 sweaters. Not a big fan of snow anymore. Needless to say, I don't travel by car in the winter to California.

I tag:
Sarah
Ryanne
Jenny
Yolanda (her blog is private)
Rachel
Claire

Inflammatory Breast Cancer

2008-09-20T09:41:00.000-07:00

I never even heard of this until my dad sent me the video.

Gamer Preparedness

2008-09-19T21:39:00.001-07:00

One of my clanmates posted this video. Thanks, VIP3R! LMBO!

Out of Practice

2008-09-02T22:39:00.000-07:00

About a week ago, I reinstalled COD2 on my computer to begin playing again. I had been taking a break since it was so hard to be able to play it with my little ones. I applied at Robert's clan, http://pmcod.com/ as Mrs. X since Robert's latest name is Xterminator. I'm glad they accepted me. They really are a bunch of great guys and girls. A friend from the last clan I was in is also a member there. My scored are looking pretty pathetic though--29 kills 56 deaths, 35 kills 62 deaths.

I really used to kick butt back in the day. This is a screenshot from an old game when Robert and I were with =MGX=.

My game really suffered when I went from a CRT to an LCD screen. I'm not exactly sure why that is, but I've heard of it happening with other players.

Another issue is my ping on the Project Mayhem server, it's close to 100 because they are out of Chicago, rather than LA. Also my video card is not really up to par. I'm confident that with a new video card when we get our tax return, I will once again pwn other players.

So, watch out, noobs. Because Mrs. X is getting her sexy back!

Timmy Peed in the Potty!

2008-08-11T21:15:00.001-07:00

Yep, that's right. My big boy Timmy peed in the potty. I have been trying for months to get him to pee in there, but he wouldn't sit there long enough to pee, and my timing must have been off.

I went to library to try to get a book I've been wanting, and ended up looking in the kids' videos section and found Once Upon A Potty-For Him. So, I brought it home and we watched it together with my input. Then I brought his potty out (with apple juice in it, Timmy didn't know) and I put Elmo on the potty and asked him to pee. Then I showed Timmy what Elmo "did". Then we flushed it away and rinsed it out. I put Timmy on the potty with no diaper and replayed the video. It was about halfway over, when I put Timmy's hand in warm water, and then he peed! I was so excited, and so was Timmy. I put big boy underwear on him later in the day which he had an accident in, but he peed in the potty three times that day. I'm so proud of my big boy!

It's Always Sunny Under My Umbrella

2008-08-06T22:12:00.000-07:00

See that happy woman on the box? Yep, that's me. I've been taking my Levity vitamin for over two weeks now, and I've never felt better.

That's me too! Yup, it's always sunny under my umbrella! My e-friend Jenny recommended these vitamins, and I am so happy she did.

I am cleaning my house because I want it to be clean, not just because it's in my job description. I've not been as short with my kids as I had been in my sleep-deprived, wanting-my-body-back state. I've been more patient with my hubby. I have the energy to run an arrand AND take my kids to the playground in the same day. Even pushing that giant double stroller across the uneven sometimes wet grass doesn't get me. I've even got other serious issues in my life which would otherwise be the end of the world practically. But, I cannot let other people's actions affect me in my happy Levity bubble.

Bring it!

Priceless - Part 3

2008-07-02T10:17:00.000-07:00

Another fond memory was joining Sea Scouts with my dad when I was 13ish. My dad was in Sea Scouts when he was a kid too. Me and dad would get up early on Saturday mornings and head over to the sea scout base at Aquatic Park in San Francisco. (The picture is not of the sea scout base, but one of the many beautiful views from the San Francisco bay. It might be the Dolphin Club where crazy old people would put Vaseline all over their bodies and swim in the REALLY cold water.) The sailboat we all had was The Intrepid. I learned how to tie knots, watercraft safety and to be a crew member of a sailboat. I had never felt so impressed with myself than I did back then. Sometimes, when we'd break for lunch or after scouts, me and dad would walk to Fishermen's Wharf to eat and do the tourist thing. I had my very first encounter with The Bushman there.

What I learned from my dad and our skipper, Chris were invaluable skills which I have put into practice on other boats at other times in my life.

Priceless - Part 2

2008-06-27T21:56:00.000-07:00

One of the benefits of having a close extended family was the burden of providing a rich life for me was not completely on my mom's shoulders. My grandpa (who died in 2003) used to take me camping every summer for a few weeks at a time. The picture is of Butt Lake Resevior, where my family camped every year since way before I was born. Many times I'd get to take my friends (almost cousins) Lizzie and Rosie. We would ride our bikes for hours only returning to camp to eat and check in with Grandpa. If we weren't biking, we swam in the warm water of the lake, and jump into it from a rope swing. I think the only times we weren't in our bathing suits was after dark when the mosquitoes came out. Grandpa would take us fishing, boating and on motorcycle rides on his old Honda 60. When we would drive into Chester to go to the laundromat, we often got an ice cream at The Pine Shack Frosty. If we were lucky, Grandpa would let us ride in the back of the camper on the way. When I remember my Grandpa, I picture him sitting under a shade tree, with a Pepsi in one hand, and a Lucky Strike in the other keeping an eye on me while I swim in the lake. Good times...

Priceless - Part 1

2008-06-26T14:01:00.000-07:00

My mom and I were talking the other day, and she was saying how she felt bad because she feels I missed out on a lot of things when I as a kid. I asked her, "Like what?" She said she didn't know but she wishes we would have had more money.

Money is not the key to a rich life. Having family that loves you is much more important. Making memories doesn't require much money, if any.

I have very fond memories of my mom taking me to Dolores Park (see picture above). We would pack up a picnic lunch, a blanket, jump on MUNI and head over there where I spent the whole afternoon swinging on the swings and getting blisters from the monkey bars. Mom would watch me from a shade tree for the gazillionth time when I would yell "Mom, watch this!" and flip upsidedown from the high monkey bars. On the way home, we sometimes would stop at West Coast Video where mom's boyfriend worked (and still works) and pick up a tape to watch.

MUNI fare, 1 adult/1 child: $1.25
Video tape rental: $2
Making memories with mom: Priceless

We're movin' on up!

2008-06-18T21:48:00.000-07:00

3 bedroom, 2 bathroom duplex with a carport on the north side of Newberg for only $120 more a month than we're paying for our 2 bedroom, 1 bath apartment with no yard. The new place is sooo much better. The kitchen is slightly bigger with many more cupboards. The dining is separate from the living room, and it is lenoleum. There are larger windows. We share a backyard and front yard with a neighbor. The only drawback is that they aren't completly fenced in, but it will be so nice to not have to get the kids completely dressed to play outside. If Timmy needs to play outside, all I have to do is throw on a robe and put some sneakers on him. Jimmy will have his own room until he sleeps through the night, then he can share with his big brother. Snoring and rolling over will no longer wake him up! And, then we'll finally have our family room with our computers and the kids' toys. The living room will actually look like a living room, not an office/playroom. This place is worth my time in decorating. Robert will have his tomatoes and peppers in our yard, not in my parking space. And, I might even get ambitious and plant some stuff myself. The management mows the yards too, which is good because we don't own a lawnmower or hedge trimmers. We will no longer have parking space BBQs, they will be backyard BBQs complete with patio furniture. Timmy can jump off the couch until his little heart content because no one is below us. Our downstars neighbors will rejoice! Nothing will remind me of smoking because I have never smoked there. There is a little church a few blocks away I'm hoping to check out too. God is so good! First Robert got a substantial raise then we move into a house! How can it get any better?

Jimmy's Birthday

2008-05-22T09:52:00.001-07:00

Wanted to post this video of us singing to Jimmy. He enjoyed eating his cake on Grandma's lap.

Vivid Dream #3 -A Penny for my tip!

2008-05-16T21:40:00.000-07:00

Last night's dream was pretty weird and stressfull. I dreamed I was a waitress on my first day. The restaurant looked like some small town dump. The walls peeling, tables needed refinishing. For whatever reason the boss gave me a party of 20 table on my first day. I went around and got thir orders for drinks and rushed into the kitchen to get them. I didn't know anyone in this dream, I didn't recognixe anyone including y fellow waitresses. For whatever reason we didn't have a fountain at the restaurant, we used two-liters for pop. So, I went into the fridge to get them but there were none left. It seemed like it took hours for me to find these two liters. The other waitresses were tryin to help me get the drinks and then we finally found some two-liters. So, I ran out and back and forth to bring the drinks but it had already been an hour, and then when I came back into the kitchen Gordon Ramsay showed up our of nowhere and started cussing at me saying I couldn't even get the drinks out to them on time, and he was throwing two liters around, so by the time I got back out there, that party left! They l;eft a penny ont he table for me. So, I went back into the kitchen and my boss was in there and he and Chef Ramsay were juggling two liters bac and forth like a circus act, and all of a sudden I was in a clown costume. All the waitresses and my boss and Chef Ramsay were looking at me and laughing, and I realized I peed my pants, and then I woke up.

I don't know what's up with the circus stuff in my dream. But, me and hubby do watch Hell's Kitchen, so that's probably how Gordon Ramsay ended up in my dream.

I've never had dreams this vivid before except when I was a little kid.

Vivid dream #2

2008-05-13T08:13:00.000-07:00

Last nights dream was pretty cool. I dreamed that I was an entertainer on a cruise ship. But, the cruise ship was in port. I was like a dancing clown sort of, but kinda like a fly girl at the same time. When we were practicing a performance, a recruiter came and we all auditioned for fame. They needed 20 people for a music video. It was kinda set up like American Idol except we all danced at once and then some would get kicked off and the rest would stay. I remember feeling worried about Jimmy and Timmy if I got famous and who would watch them. I don't even remember who was babysitting Jimmy on the ship, but I remember he was there on the ship and Timmy was at home with Robert. Out of 100 people 50 made it to the next round, and I was one of them. Our boat left and went to Germany or Austria or someplace around there. I made it to the third round of 25 people. I didn't make it to the forth round, but the recruiter offered me a full scholarship to a school of dance. We started back home, and then I finally saw Jimmy in the dream. I still don't know who it was babysitting him, but he was a brand new baby in my dream like a month old. Then I woke up. The weird thing about that dream is that I haven't done any organized dance (except line dancing and two-step) since 2002. I wasn't even really good...I got an A in the class, but I definitely wasn't the best in the class, so I'm not exactly sure I landed that job on the cruise ship as a clown/dancer. LOL

I miss you. Joe Camel

2008-05-10T23:03:00.000-07:00

Dear Joe Camel,

I'm feeling pretty depressed today. I feel like I lost an old friend. I miss you. We had so many good times together. And, now you're gone. The best years of my life were spent with you and the Marlboro cowboy. You were with me through thick and thin. People let me down, but you never did.

I'm sorry to say that we can never see each other again. I'm moving on to bigger and better things. I'm relying on God. Like you, He never lets me down, but He'll never give me cancer like you would have eventually.

I'm sure you understand that my family and faith are important to me, so please don't call on me anymore. Goodbye old friend. You will truly be missed.

Sincerely,
Christina
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I'm not actually craving a cigarette, just the habit I guess. I'm so thankful for these patches because I couldn't imagine how I'd feel craving nicotine and the habit at the same time. I do feel pretty depressed though. I'm hoping this goes away soon. Ecverything is making me cry. Maybe I'll pick up some b vitamins or something.

Goodbye, old friend/Dreams

2008-05-10T09:57:00.000-07:00

Last night me and hubby said goodbye to cigarettes. We broke up the last two we had leftover. I will miss them. They have been there for me for 11 years. Mostly they've just caused me problems, but I still feel like I lost a good friend. Kinda strange. I woke up like an hour ago, so I don't feel too bad yet.
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Both me and hubby put the patch .. bed, and I had some vivid dreams (a common side affect of sleeping with the patch on). I only remember one dream. But, I was walking in the desert with Moses (yeah, THE Moses who God used to free the Isrealites from the Egyptians). We were talking about illegal immigration. I don't really remember what was said totally. We came to a cave where we were going to rest and catch some shade, and Osama Bin Laden was in there. He was almost dead from thirst/starvation. So, we gave him some Gatorade and beef jerky. Moses was wearing my high school purple leopard print backpack. That's where he got the Gatorade and beef jerky from. Osama spoke English (and so did Moses). Osama asked me why we gave him the drink and food, and then Jimmy woke me up. Kinda weird.

The Trinity?

2008-05-09T12:01:00.000-07:00

Don't get me wrong...I'm not questioning my faith. I believe every word of the Bible is "God breathed". I believe Jesus was brought to earth by his Father ([i]The[/i] God) to teach us the truth and to die for our sins. I believe we are saved by God's grace, and I believe faith without works is dead. However, I am questioning the Trinity. Not sure if I'm even supposed to capitalize it. I don't really know where in the Bible I can find proof of the Trinity, and I am amazed at how many people blindly follow this doctrine. Maybe not blindly, but with more proof of it not existing than proof of it existing. Everywhere I read in the NT thr writers (inspired by God) imply they are all separate. Even in verses not directly saying they are separate.

John 17:3 Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.

John 15:11 "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.

1 Corinthians 11:3 Now I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.

Matthew 16:13-18
13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?" 14 They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets." 15 "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" 16 Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." 17 Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.

Sounds separate to me. God is God, The Almighty, The Creator of all things, The Alpha and the Omega. Jesus is the son OF God. The Holy Spirit is the spirit OF God living within us. All sounds separate.Does this mean I'm not saved? I don't think so. Jesus said that if we believe in him that we shall have everlasting life.

Intersting findings:

The Trinity doctrine is not taught anywhere in scripture, but trinities were common in Paganism and were prominent in Egypt and Babylon.
The beginnings of recognition of this doctrine started at the Council of Nicea approximately 325 AD. Hundreds of years after the last book in the Bible was written.
The Council of Nicea was organized by the Roman Emperor Constantine and he had the final say on matters that he had little understanding of.
Creed followed creed, and eventually idols were accepted as forms that we can worship God through, and Mary was exalted to be the Mother of God and worship of the saints was sanctioned.
The organized church was built on top of these creeds. The creeds were and are the foundation for many of today's churches/denominations. These denominations are different to the Body of Christ spoken of in the scriptures. This shows us that most denominations are still rooted in a creed and in particular the Trinity doctrine. Most denominations still have the Trinity doctrine as a foundation and this doctrine originally came from Babylon.
The mother of these denominations the Roman Catholic Church murdered approximately 50 million people, had armies and banned access to scripture to Christians. This time is known today as the Dark Ages.
Some relief came during the Reformation where the teachings and authority of the Catholic Church were challenged. The Reformation restored many truths back to the Body of Christ.
As a result many new denominations started up and unfortunately they held onto some of the creeds and in particular the Trinity doctrine.

Let's blame it on the Catholics! LOL, J/K!