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November 30, 2004
Odd Behavior
I am witnessing a new phenomenon when it comes to Christmas lights. This would be the people who decorate outside with lights, but never actually turn the lights on or rarely turn them on.
The people who live on our corner (I have never met them) have decorated everything in their yard. They have a privacy fence that encloses their pool. Even this fence has been decorated; not only with lights, but with Christmas decorations. But, the lights are everywhere. I bet if they were lit they would look beautiful. They did this same thing last year: decorated and NEVER turned on their lights. My question is: why bother? They’ve spent countless hours decorating for what? Are they too cheap to actually turn them on? I just don’t get it.
I have seen other people that are this same way. They may turn the lights on occasionally, but for the most part keep them off. Once again my question is why? Oh, and not being at home doesn’t count. If a person knows that they won’t be home at dusk, then they should turn them on before they leave. If you think you have a reason for this odd behavior I would love to hear it.
Posted by tami at 7:55 AM Comments (7)
November 29, 2004
The Gunslinger: Take Two
I started reading The Drawing of the Three last night. This is the second Dark Tower book. The first thing you read in this second book is the “argument”. This sums up what the last book was about hitting the high points. When I read this I realized that I am actually in good shape. I remembered and understood everything that the argument went over. And here I thought that I was totally lost!
I also read the prologue and it was fascinating! I think I’m really going to like this one!
Posted by tami at 7:42 AM Comments (2)
November 28, 2004
The Gunslinger
I finished The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger by Stephen King today. If you haven’t read it, this post won’t mean anything to you so just skip it.
Here are my thoughts about this first book.
1. If I didn’t have someone asking me what was going on and where I was in the book I could have very well gotten lost. There were many places where I had no understanding of what I had just read.
2. I believe that a lot of the time the reader was supposed to have blind faith. Even if you didn’t understand something nor had a million questions you just had to read on to see what happened.
3. If Kevin wasn’t rooting me on by telling me that book two and three get much better and lots of things are made clear, I probably would cut my losses and quit right now with this book. I’m not going to do that though. I will start book two tomorrow and hope that things are made clearer – hope that the writing isn’t so convoluted that I feel I have constant questions.
Posted by tami at 3:11 PM Comments (2)
November 27, 2004
I Tried!
My body was chilled to the bone last night so I decided that I would take a nice, hot bath. Keep in mind that I haven’t had a bath in at least six months; showers are my preference.
I got in and filled the bathtub up with steaming water and laid back. It felt wonderful and warmed me right away. After a few minutes I began to wash my hair. I then had to lie back in the water to rinse the shampoo out. As I was doing this it occurred to me that everything that I just washed out of my hair was now going into the water where I lay. It was also going back into my hair as I was lying in it. As I washed my body with the soap I thought of the dirt going off of my body and into the water where I sat and how that dirt MUST be getting back on my person and into unspoken parts.
So what did I do next? I stood up and took a shower! I tried to take a bath; I really did! I just can’t do it anymore now that I think about it.
Posted by tami at 11:06 AM Comments (2)
November 26, 2004
New Pics
I’ve added some pictures to the gallery from Thanksgiving at mom and dad’s house yesterday. Here’s the direct LINK.
Posted by tami at 5:31 PM Comments (3)
November 25, 2004
Holiday
Happy Thanksgiving!
Here are just a few things that I am thankful for:
*Family.
*Our health.
*That we all have homes, jobs, food, clothes.
*We all go to church.
I am thankful for many, many more things. It would take me forever to list them all and even then I’m sure that I would forget something! I hope you have a great turkey day :)
Posted by tami at 11:27 AM Comments (1)
November 24, 2004
Sir Talks A Lot
I am posting less and less, but it’s not totally my fault. I’ll let my fifteen year old son take about 70% credit for that and I’ll take the rest. Since we now have dial-up I have to wait until the phone is clear. The problem is that the phone is NEVER clear. I either post before he gets home from school or not at all. It’s a pain trying to get him off the phone most of the time. Sometimes he surprises me and gets off immediately, but most times I get questioned. Why do you want to use it? How long will you be on? Who are you going to call? Can’t you just use your cell phone? I always answer the same: when you pay the phone bill, you can stay on longer! Otherwise get off! I know that I talked on the phone incessantly when I was a teenager, but I was a girl! I had no idea that boys had so much to say!
Ashley’s class at school walked to the movie theatre to see The Polar Express. She gave it an “8” saying that some parts were “cheesy”. I still haven’t seen it, but now that I know how she feels, I hate to make her watch it again. Oh well, I guess it will be out on video next year!
I also wanted to see Christmas with the Kranks at the theatre, but from all of the commercials I feel as though I’ve already watched the entire thing. I guarantee that I could tell you the entire story. There’s no way that I’m going to pay $7 to see a movie where I know everything that’s going to happen. These movie people should learn when enough is enough so that they don’t spoil it!
Posted by tami at 1:25 PM Comments (2)
November 21, 2004
Results!
I found five Sidney Sheldon books at The Book Cellar yesterday and I couldn’t be more thrilled. I paid $3.50 for them all! Here’s the list:
*The Stars Shine Down
*Morning, Noon & Night
*The Sands of Time
*The Sky Is Falling
*The Doomsday Conspiracy
They had more, but I already own six of his books so I didn’t need them. These books will have to wait for quite a while though. Kevin has convinced me that I must read all of The Gunslinger books by Stephen King. I would have started on them sooner, but the series was just completed with the seventh book this year. I have learned from experience that it’s hard to read a series when the series is not yet complete. When this is the case, you end up waiting a year in between books and it’s very hard to remember what went on before and what people were doing. The Left Behind series is a perfect example of this. One of these days, I definitely want to read through that series again now that they are all complete. I’m sure that I will get a better perception of what is happening.
I will start on The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger tomorrow. When I’m finished I will let you know if I liked it.
Posted by tami at 12:19 PM Comments (3)
November 19, 2004
Smell The Life!
It’s November 19th and I put on a pair of shorts this afternoon! I can’t remember very many November’s when I was able to wear shorts, but I’m glad.
I caved in today and am getting Juno Internet for $9.95 a month. Want to know why? Well, the free service only allows you to have 10 free hours of service per month. When I logged on today I was told that my 10 hours were up for the month. Now you know that I couldn’t live without visiting blogs and updating my own blog for another two weeks. I would have gone insane! I came to the conclusion that $9.95 is worth it to get the Internet. Hey, it’s still way cheaper than what we were paying!
I can hardly wait until tomorrow. I plan to go to one of my very favorite places. It’s a place filled with used books, magazines, records, CD’s, and video tapes. I mainly stick to looking through the books, but I love it all. I love being around books, but I especially love the smell of an old book. Some people would think I was crazy, but the first thing that I do when I buy a good old book is to open it up and stick my nose right up between the pages. It excites me just thinking about it! Ah, until tomorrow …
Posted by tami at 3:58 PM Comments (5)
Great Quotes
GREAT QUOTES BY GREAT LADIES
Inside every older person is a younger person -- wondering what the hell happened.
-Cora Harvey Armstrong-
Inside me lives a skinny woman crying to get out. But I can usually shut the bitch up with cookies.
The hardest years in life are those between ten and seventy.
-Helen Hayes (at 73)-
I refuse to think of them as chin hairs. I think of them as stray eyebrows.
-Janette Barber-
Things are going to get a lot worse before they get worse.
-Lily Tomlin-
A male gynecologist is like an auto mechanic who never owned a car.
-Carrie Snow-
Laugh and the world laughs with you. Cry and you cry with your girlfriends.
-Laurie Kuslansky-
My second favorite household chore is ironing; my first being, hitting my head on the top bunk bed until I faint.
-Erma Bombeck-
Old age ain't no place for sissies.
-Bette Davis-
A man's got to do what a man's got to do. A woman must do what he can't.
-Rhonda Hansome-
The phrase "working mother" is redundant.
-Jane Sellman-
Every time I close the door on reality, it comes in through the windows.
-Jennifer Unlimited-
Whatever women must do they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good. Luckily, this is not difficult.
-Charlotte Whitton-
Thirty-five is when you finally get your head together and your body starts falling apart.
-Caryn Leschen-
I try to take one day at a time -- but sometimes several days attack me at once.
-Jennifer Unlimited-
If you can't be a good example -- then you'll just have to be a horrible warning.
-Catherine-
I'm not offended by all the dumb blonde jokes because I know I'm not dumb -- and I'm also not blonde.
-Dolly Parton-
If high heels were so wonderful, men would still be wearing them.
-Sue Grafton-
I'm not going to vacuum 'til Sears makes one you can ride on.
-Roseanne Barr-
When women are depressed they either eat or go shopping. Men invade another country.
-Elayne Boosler-
Behind every successful man is a surprised woman.
-Maryon Pearson-
In politics, if you want anything said, ask a man. If you want anything done, ask a woman.
-Margaret Thatcher-
I have yet to hear a man ask for advice on how to combine marriage and a career.
-Gloria Steinem-
I am a marvelous housekeeper. Every time I leave a man, I keep his house.
-Zsa Zsa Gabor-
Nobody can make you feel inferior without your permission.
-Eleanor Roosevelt-
Posted by tami at 11:46 AM Comments (3)
November 17, 2004
Blow Out The Candles
Ashley was about 2 and Andrew was 9 when I took this picture for my aunt. Today is her birthday. Happy Birthday Aunt Patt!
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Posted by tami at 12:11 PM Comments (4)
November 16, 2004
I Will Hide Them In My Heart
I wrote a long post this morning. It was over a page long, but I knew when I started on it that it could never be published on this site. Too many people that know me personally read this site. 99% of them have never left a comment, but I know that they are there in the shadows reading me and even enjoying some things that I have to say. That’s a good thing for me to know. I just have to curb my words sometimes.
Writing is a wonderful outlet for me; especially writing on the computer. That way I can vent out my feelings and then delete everything that I have written and there is no paper copy. Oh how I wish that I could get back some of the silly things that I wrote years ago! They would go straight into the shredder I can assure you. It can be damaging enough to say things aloud when you are in a state of anger; writing those feelings down is much worse I believe. Years later when the air has long cleared, you go back and read some of those angry thoughts and they seem utterly stupid and meaningless.
This morning I wrote out of frustration about an employer that I am getting to know through the grapevine. He has made some changes that affect me directly and I don’t appreciate them. I wish that I could have shared these thoughts with you, however if read by the wrong person, they could have gotten someone very close to me into trouble. Never fear though! That storm has subsided for now. Maybe I can tell you about it some day over coffee.
Posted by tami at 4:00 PM Comments (3)
November 11, 2004
Bloodline
I’ve received thousands of emails asking me for an updated picture of Guido (not really, but who cares?), so here you go:
How am I supposed to fold these clothes? They’ll be crushed to pieces now! Thanks Church!
I have been putting my time and energy this week into another Sidney Sheldon book. I mentioned last week how wonderful Rage of Angels was. Imagine this: this book was even better than that one! Yes, it was hard for me to swallow too, but I just completed Bloodline and it was fantastic! The plot was intricately woven to perfection, the characters were beyond interesting, and the locations abounded!
I got lucky a few weeks ago and bought a bunch of his books dirt cheap, so now I have at least three more to read not to mention the three stacks of other books on my end table. Well, at least I can say that I do try to keep up. Some people wish that they had time to read and do housework or other things instead. I like to forget everything else and read. After all, what will build my mind: housework or reading? You only go around once in this world, so take advantage of the time you have to do the things that make you truly happy!
Posted by tami at 3:57 PM Comments (3)
November 8, 2004
Q
Three years ago we bought a set of pots and pans from a well-known televised company. I won’t mention the company name, but they sell everything from toys to jewelry. I haven’t had many dealings with them, but from my experience they are very friendly and the shipping is FAST.
The cookware we bought from them is awesome! We use it every day, several times per day. The best thing about it is that it has a lifetime warranty. It has a special scratch guard coating that’s not supposed to wear off. Guess what; ours wore off after three years of constant use.
Kevin called the company and they told us to just ship the pots and pans back and they would replace them with something of equal or greater value. This could take 10 days. Luckily we do have other pots and pans to use for now. They are inferior, but they will have to do until we get the new ones.
I am writing about this because I’m sure that lots of you would order from this televised company but are afraid that returns would be difficult. Well, I’ll let you know how this turns out. I just mailed the box back today and it will probably take two days to get there. Stay tuned!
Posted by tami at 12:40 PM Comments (7)
November 4, 2004
Rage of Angels
How many icons do you have on your desktop? I just counted ours and we have 54. 54?! Yep, that’s right. There are four of us who use this computer and each of us has some of our own. I guess taking that into consideration it’s not that bad.
Anyway, I finished a great book the other day and I want to recommend it to you all. It’s called Rage of Angels and was written by Sidney Sheldon. You might have already read it since it was written in the 80’s, but I am just discovering this author. I don’t even know if he still writes today or not. I’ll have to research that. This is a great book though with lots of juicy Mafia happenings, romance, and some mystery too.
Posted by tami at 9:41 PM Comments (3)
November 3, 2004
Dead
I got a great surprise when I took Andrew to the orthodontist today. I was told that his braces would be off in four weeks! How exciting is that?! What a wonderful early Christmas present. I think Andrew has already started making a mental note of what foods he will eat first. I know for a fact that he has missed gum more than anything.
By the way, both of Ashley’s fish are dead. That was quick!
Posted by tami at 10:28 PM Comments (3)
November 2, 2004
Free ISP
The Egg Nog is out and I am happy! There’s nothing better than a big glass of Egg Nog. Don’t even try to tell me how fattening it is; we only drink it a few times a year, so let me enjoy the moment.
We made the big jump with Adelphia today. We turned in our digital cable boxes, remotes, and our cable modem. We are now using Juno which is a completely FREE ISP. Our bill jumped from $106 a month to $42 a month. So far, Juno has connected easily and it’s much faster than I remembered. My email is slower, but I can live with it for the price!
I hope that everyone voted today! This is an exciting race!
Posted by tami at 8:29 PM Comments (7)
November 1, 2004
An Extra Day
Saturday night Kevin was feeling terrible so Ashley and I went trick-or-treating alone. The time hadn’t changed, so it was still bright outside making it easy to see. Even though Kevin didn’t feel well on Sunday, he still did some Christmas shopping with me. By Sunday night, I was wrapping Christmas presents! I don’t and can’t leave anything unwrapped around this house. We have absolutely no hiding places. Every nook and cranny is filled with something, so gifts have to be wrapped ASAP. I think we put a pretty good dint in things for only one days shopping. I’m just glad we finally got started!
Today Ashley is home from school. I took her to the doctor this morning and she has strep throat and a cold. She was miserable all morning. When she’s sick, she’s really, really sick! I’m so glad that we have tomorrow off because of the election. That way she will have an extra day to rest.
Posted by tami at 3:03 PM Comments (7)