Sticky post
Wednesday, November 30, 2011 1:09:15 AM
Opera, Friends
I finally decided to create a sticky post. 
For those of you who are new to my blog and have put in a friend request with me, I must warn you: I won't notice your request. It's not a matter of me being snobby or not liking you. I simply have too many requests in order to weed through them and find yours. As a matter of fact, I NEVER even look at my friend requests. The few times I did in the past, all I saw was a bunch of horny old men lookin' for something I'm not willing to give them. Eww.
Although I've mentioned this issue in a few blog posts in the past, the requests just keep on pouring in. I'm totally not joking when I say I have too many requests to weed through. Need proof? FINE! CLICK HERE! See?!
Sooooo, if you want me to add you to my list, I ask the following:
Send me a message introducing yourself. I'm not going to add someone I've never spoken with in my life.
Do NOT get flirty with me. I am happily married and am in NO way looking for anyone to flirt or more with.
I see no humor in lurkers. If you want to be on my list, I expect you to interact on my blog. Lurkers will be removed and most likely blocked. So there.
Do not EVER - under NO circumstances post pictures of a gory nature. I will not tolerate such bullshittery and will block you immediately.
Be friendly to everyone. Even if you see someone you don't like commenting, be the bigger person and simply ignore them. My blog is not a place for your little bouts of drama. If you want that, go create an account on Vampire Freaks or some jive.
Bottom Line: I want my blog to be a happy, friendly place where we can all get along and not be douche bags. If you think you're capable of this, please feel free to send me a private message and let me know that you'd like to be added. I will say, though, that just because you request doesn't mean that I will accept the request.
I apologize if I sound ultra bitchy here. I'm actually a fairly friendly person with a decent sense of humor. I just want to make things clear ahead of time so that if you find your ass being blocked by me, you will know why.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012 12:39:34 AM
Random, Been Busy, Freebies, Photography
Proof that I'm not a zombie yet. Decent blood pressure, even.
The 2011 Dodge Charger that Lonnie and I have fallen in love with. It began as a one week rental, but now we've had it for like two months with no plans of turning it in any time soon. We're actually looking into buying it. Only 16,000 miles on it & fully loaded. It's freaking badass!
This is literally all of the change that I have found on the ground and in pay phones over the past four months. People look at me like I'm a loon when I check pay phones and pick coins up off the ground, but it clearly adds up! After a year of this, I'll have a nice little nest egg.
This new Dial foaming soap RULES. Not only antibacterial, but moisturizing as well. Smells decadent to boot!
(This is cranberry scented)
Found the Espresso machine I want. Well, there's one I want wayyy more, but it's like 500 bucks. This is my second choice.
I'd better keep saving my change!
Got this Victoria's Secret make-up kit ($35 value) for 100% free - won a contest. I love the make-up in it. I won't use lots of the colors, but some of them freakin' rule!
I want this giant Mario, but nope - not for sale. I swear, the owner of the gaming shop displays the most badass stuff just to toy with me.
Jameson & I had a lightsaber fight in the middle of Rite Aid - a local pharmacy. We don't care what store it is...if they have lightsabers, we're GOING to have a duel.
Baked another batch of Shortbread Cookies. Lonnie & the kids hate them - not sweet enough. Is that not the point of Shortbread?
Scored this IKEA bedframe w/ under drawers for FREE the other day. I surprised Sunny with it...she was incredibly stoked.
Thank goodness for Freecycle!
(Again - crappy pic. Need to tweak my phone's settings.)
This is my new best friend. I sprinkle this stuff on EVERYTHING. It's so tasty...the perfect amount of spice. Noms! (Thanks again, Dustin!)
This brand new treadmill (crappy pic) cost me ZERO. Thanks again to Freecycle. Someone advertised it & I snagged it less than a minute after they posted it. I expected to pick up a piece of shit treadmill in need of work. Nopes. This mother is in like-new condition - barely used. Retails for $565 - the people are moving and just wanted to get rid of it. SCORE!
I finally got my treadmill...and for free!!!
This is an actual place. How could I possibly resist taking a picture of it? One day, Lonnie and I will have to go inside & check it out.
That sums it up for now. My time is limited as Lonnie & I are still sharing a monitor. That is going to change very soon, so I'll be back on here regularly in approximately a week or so.
'Til then, take care & have a lovely day, everyone.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012 12:26:57 AM
Bwahaha!, Snow, Oregon
This whole "snow" thing is crackin' me up something fierce!
The people on the news are seriously acting as though the end has come.
ANY time we get snow - even a minor dusting, they refer to it as "Arctic Blast 20__"
I figured I'd go outside and snap a few pictures just so you can see what it is
that everyone is freakin' out over. Man, this kills me.
Here we have a news reporter who's out in the "blizzard"...
telling us how horrible the conditions are:
Just to give you an idea of what we're dealing with here,
take a look at my feet in the freakin' slush that they're calling snow:
Here's a shot I took looking down my street.
Looks ever so treacherous, doesn't it?!
All of this just cracks me up SO hard. I mean, really. I understand that they're not used to snow here in Oregon, but gimme an effin' break! The way they're overreacting, you'd think that people are having to shovel their ways out of their front doors or something. Good God...if we ever get REAL snow, I would hate to think of how they'd handle it...or not handle it, actually.
Monday, January 16, 2012 7:31:51 AM
Random Randomness, Lonnie, Update, Friends
Well, my laptop finally bit the dust. This time it's beyond repair. The screen went kaput. Since we only paid 100 bucks for the stupid thing through Craigslist nearly a year ago, it'd cost more to replace the screen than it would to simply get another laptop...so that's what we're gonna do. Not sure when, but I'll eventually get a new (to me) laptop. As for now? I've got my desktop PC hooked up. The only problem with this is the fact that we lost a bunch of monitors in storage, so Lonnie and I are having to share the one I'm using to write this. When he's not working (which is seldom), I then have the opportunity to use my PC. I still have my phone, but blogging from it is simply not gonna happen. I haven't the patience for that kinda jive.
I hope everyone had a lovely holiday season! Our Christmas was awesome. Jameson got the big-ass LEGO Star Wars ship he was hoping for, Sunny got everything she wanted, and gifts aside, it was simply a lovely holiday. The kids woke us up at 7AM and the shenanigans got underway. I got some pretty awesome gifts this year. I've posted pictures of some of them on Facebook, but have yet to do so over here. Updating my Facebook page with my phone is SO much easier than updating my blog. I'll eventually get some pictures from Christmas posted...maybe.
My buddy, Robert has moved up here to St. Helens! He got here on the 1st of January and has been staying with us. He's in the process of looking for housing and all that fun jive. In the meantime, we're really enjoying having him here. Not only is he really good company, but he's a freakin' amazing cook! The fact that he loves spicy food is flippin' killer...'cept for my Mom. She's not one for spicy. That's okay, though - it's all working out just fine. We're not sure if Robert will find a place here in St. Helens or if he'll wind up in Portland, but either way, he'll be close enough to hang out with regularly. This pleases me greatly.
Lonnie re-proposed to me the other day. He took me down to Pixie Park - a beach off of the Columbia River, which just happens to be one of my very favorite places in the area to go. He surprised the heck out of me when he got down on his knee, pulled out a ring box, and asked me if I'd marry him. Of course, I said YES! He'd proposed over 8 years ago and I said yes at that time as well, but he decided to get me a brand new engagement ring and re-propose. HERE is a picture of the ring on my hand that I took about 15 minutes after he proposed and we got back in the car. Not the best picture at all...doesn't do the ring justice AT ALL and I look like I have old lady hands. (Compulsive hand washing tends to dry skin out like a mo-fracky) I'll post a better and more clear picture of the ring ASAP. Anyway, we are planning on getting married next month - February. We're currently considered Common Law, but we want it to be truly official, not only in the eyes of the law, but in the eyes of God. It'll be a very small ceremony in our church. Our pastor has already said that he'd be honored to perform the ceremony. My Mom and the kids will be there...along with Robert (I assume...and hope). We'll try to get Lonnie's parents here for it, but doubt that'll happen. Lonnie's Dad is on Dialysis, so he doesn't have the freedom to just pick up and take off on a whim. We'll see what we can do, though. It'd be awesome to have them there. Other than that? Nobody else. We don't want a big shindig. Just a small ceremony. Lonnie and I mutually agree that we'd rather spend very little on the wedding part of things to be able to save up for a killer honeymoon. We have no plans for a honeymoon yet - we're not financially at that point yet. Our main concern is being man & wife. (My old engagement ring is nestled safely in my jewelry box, btw.)
Lonnie, the kids, my Mom, & I are all doing really well. I can say with 100% honestly that this is the happiest I have been in many, many years. Lonnie's got two good jobs, the kids are both healthy and happy, I have my Mom with me, my good friend, Robert, is now here...I just feel very content. I've not been feeling physically up to par lately (lower back pain plus a cold), but that's no big deal at all. I feel mentally at peace. My Dad & I rarely talk anymore, and when we do, it seems that we just don't get along, but even with that being a fact, I'm still just SO happy. The way I see it is: Shit happens. It's unfortunate when it happens, but oh well. I refuse to let it drag me down, and I'm certainly not going to let ANYONE affect me in a negative way. I give things in life my best. Sometimes they work out great, while other times they simply don't work out. Such is life. I'm surrounded by people who love me, live in a house in a town that I love, and feel free to be myself without being judged for it. ....OH! Back to the marriage topic. (sorry...it's been so long since I've blogged that my brain's going 23984372 miles per hour) Jameson said that once Lonnie and I are officially married, he's going to change his last name to Lonnie's. Lonnie is also going to start the process of legally adopting Sunny. Both of these things make us all soooo happy!!!
I pretty much loathe these stupid little icons I'm using in this post, but I have a limited amount of time, so I went with whatever was easiest. Lonnie's going to need to get back on his computer soon. He's been working SO hard. I feel shitty seeing him slaving away, but he seems to be holding up well. I'm very, very proud of him, and I certainly appreciate everything he does to ensure that we all live a happy and comfortable life. I'm not going to nag or push about my laptop situation. The last thing I want to do is make Lonnie feel like he needs to spend even more time working just so we can hook me up with a laptop. That'd be pretty freakin' selfish of me. I'll just have to make due like I have been for a while now.
My Mom got me a Sega Genesis for Christmas! w00t! I'm still SO stoked about it! Jameson and I played a lot of Mortal Kombat II today. Man, that's a freakin' fun game. We had a total blast. My Mom got me the Lion King game that I've been wanting to play again for so many years. Wow. A bunch of years go by and then you play a game you used to kick ass at and BAM! You suddenly suck ass at it! I remember going through the Lion King game in no time. I've lost my knack for that particular game. I'm doing okay, but nothing compared to how well I used to do. Mom also got me Sonic. Love that game, too. The other day, Lonnie came home with Phantasy Star III, Mortal Kombat II, Aladdin, and a pretty cool Mickey Mouse game for me. Playing all of these retro games is so awesome!!! It really makes ya' realize just how dumbed down games nowadays are. In the retro games, you're left to figure the crap out yourself. All of these newer games tell you what to do every step of the way. I never even realized it'd transitioned like that until I got the Sega. I mean, I play my NES and whatnot, but it just never occurred to me 'til now.
My Mom's car had some issues and had to go into the shop, so we wound up having to rent a car. We still have it...it's hard to bring it back. The car's just so effin' badass that we don't want to part with it! It's a 2011 Dodge Charger. Holy Hell...I knew that I liked the look of the new Chargers, but damn. That is one hell of a sweet ride. It has EVERYTHING. It's even got a USB port built into it. Yeah...USB. *nerdgasm* You can check your freakin' email right through the dashboard! I took a shitload of pictures of it (of course), but I figure nobody really cares, so I won't bother boring you with them. If you're in the market for a new car, though? Seriously consider the Dodge Charger. Not only is it loaded with all the bells & whistles, but that mother can flat haul ass! It's no wonder all the cops around here drive Chargers! I now know why!
I'm still on a hiatus from freelancing. A part of me feels guilty that Lonnie is the sole provider, but the other part of me is just so happy to have a break from all that crap. I felt so taken advantage of by a couple clients. They were paying me pennies in comparison to what they were making from my work. It ate me up inside every single day. It feels nice to no longer feel like I'm basically selling my soul (so to speak) just for a few bucks. I still tweet for money once in a while, but that's nothing. Takes like 30 seconds, and I make over 2 bucks per tweet. The more I do it, the higher my rates will go. I started at 44 cents per tweet, so I'm doing pretty well with it. I can cash out at any time, but I'm keeping money in my tweet account as sort of a savings account. I don't have a bank account, so what the hell? (I detest and do not trust banks)
My ever so amazing and lovable Woolly Bear Caterpillar, Hermie is still doing great! He's got a roommate now, too. Charleston has been his roommate for well over a month now...probably closer to two months. They get along well. I know that sounds odd, but they really do get along. They seem to enjoy snuggling. I've posted a picture of said snuggling on Facebook (like I said, it's easier to update FB with my phone), and people seemed to enjoy seeing my boys being so snuggly. Of course, some people said, "Are you sure they're snuggling and not screwing?"...but even if that were the case, more Woolly Bears? OKAY! I'd love that! I still go foraging everyday for their food/stuff to climb on. They both seem to adore Rosemary. I'm thrilled that we have such a big thing of it in our yard. During the Christmas season, I even put some pine sprigs in there so they could have their own Christmas tree. My Mom realized that I have truly lost my marbles when she saw that. I didn't expect that they'd like the pine too much as it's not something they eat, but they really dig climbing around on it. I clean out the pine about every four days and give 'em freshies. I almost got busted breaking a branch of Rhododendron from a neighbor's yard the other day. The bush/tree thing is close to the street, so I figure that it's fair game.
We watched "Contagion" with Matt Damon last night. Whew...bad idea. Lonnie and I are already total freaks about germs. Now we're REALLY freaky about 'em. Why do I insist on watching things that make my issues worse? For example, I watched "Infested" on Animal Planet the other night. This family's house was infested with cockroaches. *shudder* I have a MAJOR phobia of those little bastards, so watching the show was really stupid on my part. I wound up having roach nightmares and everything. Duh. I'm thinking that I'll never learn my lesson, but whatever. Maybe one day watching this type of stuff will help me get over my issues. You never know. Yeah, it's highly doubtful, but stranger things have happened.
I guess I'd better get off of here now. I don't want to hold Lonnie back from doing his thing. It's just been so long since I last blogged, I figured I'd better do so. I had a full inbox with people asking me where I was...now you know! I'll do my best to blog again as soon as I can and also check on other people's blogs, comments, and whatnot, but cannot promise anything. I've gotta just go with the flow for now. I hope everyone is doing well! I miss all of my MyOpera friends a lot...if some of you weren't so stubborn about Facebook, we'd be in much closer contact, though. Nah - I understand. Facebook simply isn't for everyone. Anyway, take care, everyone, and I'll be seeing you when I see you!
Sunday, December 18, 2011 9:43:22 PM
Lonnie, Anniversary, Thankful, I'm In Love
On this very day ten years ago, I met the man who I'm in love with, adore, admire, and respect wholeheartedly.
A decade is a long time, and we've had plenty of ups & downs along the way.
One thing has always remained consistent: Our undying love for one another.
I genuinely look forward to spending another decade with Lonnie...
...and then another, another, and so forth.
He's not perfect; I'm not perfect. Our imperfections compliment one another,
and we love each other unconditionally. Can I ask for more? Nope.
Thank you, Daddy, for making me so happy and content...
...and for taking such good care of the kids and me.
My life would be empty and incomplete without you,
and I love you with my entire heart.
Happy Anniversary to the man I've been lucky enough to spend my life with.
I Love You, Lonnie...so very much.
Thursday, December 15, 2011 2:06:00 AM
Happiness, Random Randomness, Holidays, Nintendo
Today has been an awesome day! Nothing in particular happened to make me say that. I guess I just feel really good and happy today. I suppose our days are what we make of them, though. I mean, had I just sat around and done nothing, perhaps I'd not feel the way I do. I feel like I did a lot of good and constructive things today, though, so I'm sure that's contributed to my day being a good one. Either way, I'm just happy to not feel depressed and crappy. I've felt that way far too much in my life, so it's about time that things turn around and cause me to enjoy my life rather than dread it.
Three quarters of the Gingerbread cookies I blogged about yesterday are gone! I boxed a ton of them up and gifted them to neighbors. I slapped some red curling ribbon on the boxes and also included a Christmas card that essentially wished the families a happy holiday season. One of the families are Jehovah's Witnesses, so I wasn't quite sure how to go about filling the card out. I chose to go with the phrase, "Happy holiday season"...I hope that wasn't offensive. That's a toughy, though. Jehovah's Witnesses don't partake in any of the holiday festivities, so I didn't want to say anything to make them uncomfortable. Either way, they apparently loved the cookies, so even if I did offend them, maybe the tastiness of the cookies detracted from any negative feelings. I flippin' hope so!
There are a ton of birds who stalk my neighborhood. I guess that's one of the perks (as I see it) of living in the boonies. Well, Lonnie had bought a loaf of French bread a few nights ago that didn't get eaten the night he bought it. It was one of those loaves that the bakery at the grocery store makes fresh everyday. Anyway, if you know anything about those types of loaves of bread, you know that if you don't use 'em basically the day you buy 'em, they turn into a big, long, oval-ish shaped brick. I refused to throw it away. I have this thing about throwing food away...it drives me totally nuts. There are too many hungry people out there to be throwing perfectly good food away. ANYWAY, I decided to chop it up and turn it into bird food. I threw a third of the chopped up loaf in the yard one night expecting that I'd wake up to a few birds in the yard. WRONG. I woke up to zero birds...and zero bread! Those little suckers chowed it down before I could even see them doing it. While I was sad to have missed the feeding frenzy, I was thrilled that it all got eaten. Ever since that day, I've been throwing any stale, moldy, or old bread I can find into the yard. The birds around here are LOVING it. There are a couple bully Seagulls, though, who keep chasing the Blackbirds and other birds away. Jerks. Oh well...at least my efforts aren't for naught.
I hope I won't jinx anything by bringing this up, but we've not had hardly any rain this year. It's starting to freak me out! This is the first year since we moved to the Pacific Northwest that it's dry at this time of year. Normally, it would have already been raining for a month - if not more. The days have been beautiful. Quite cold, but clear and beautiful! Is the apocalypse near, or what? Don't get me wrong; I'm certainly not complaining. I'm just feeling thrown for a loop. What would REALLY throw me for a loop is if we get snow on Christmas. I'd probably drop to the floor and do the fish. (The fish = flailing around in a seizure-like fashion) Snow on Christmas would freaking RULE, but there's no way in hell I'm getting my hopes up for that. I know better. That's a disappointment waiting to happen.
I warned Jameson that I'm going to be confiscating my NES in the very near future. I have a major hankering to play some retro Zelda. It's been farrr too long since I last played it, and I'm missing it pretty badly. I enjoy the newer versions, of course, but there's just something about playing the NES version that pleases my inner child greatly. Perhaps it's a mix of simply enjoying the game as well as it being sort of a stroll down Memory Lane. I mean, I first played it on the NES when I was in high school. Yes - they had electricity back then! As a matter of fact, the NES I have now is the same NES I had then. I've kept it in mint condition all these years. I still have the Zapper and the whole niner. The controllers that we're using are even the original controllers! Those mothers were made to last. Though, I do have a couple spare mint condition controllers in a box in my closet just in case the buttons go out on the originals. A true gamer/geek is always prepared.
I've yet to do ANY Christmas shopping. For those of you who know me pretty well, this comes as no surprise. Lonnie and I always wind up shopping during the final week before Christmas/Jameson's birthday. In the past it was because that was how our finances would work out. This year, though, it's because Lonnie has been far to busy to do much of anything but work. He's been killing himself working lately. I feel badly, but am doing everything I can to pull my own weight. He never has to worry about cleaning, laundry, cooking, etc. I do all the house stuff - that's MY job. He has his, I have mine. For quite a while there I was doing some freelance writing and Graphic Design work, but not anymore. My job is to ensure the happiness of my family. I'm way better at that job than the others, anyway. I honestly don't miss working for money. I prefer working for other things like seeing the smiles on my kids' faces, knowing everyone's bellies are full of healthy & tasty grub, and being content with the knowledge that everyone has a clean, homey, and well-kempt home that they can all be proud of. There's a lot to be said for being a good homemaker. If you were to pay someone to do all that a homemaker does, you'd be paying out the ass. Seriously. It's not the easiest job, but it's the most rewarding. For me, anyway.
My Mom, Jameson, & I were all shopping in Walmart the other day. Jameson took me over to the toy section and bee-lined it for the Star Wars isle...of course. He had me take pictures of all the toys he really, really wants for his birthday/Christmas. He wants to make sure we don't buy the wrong ones. My kids don't just supply written lists. They provide visual aides as well. Anyway, he's got impeccable taste in toys. I want all the ones he wants! There's this fairly large LEGO Star Wars item he REALLY wants. I cannot believe how much they charge for LEGOs these days. They've never been cheap, but dayum! Anyway, I'd really, really love to be able to get it for him. I just know how much he would love it. I'm thinking that maybe my Mom can go in halvsies with Lonnie & me so we can get it for him. Seeing his face when he unwrapped it would make my entire Christmas! We'll see what we can do. I asked Jameson what kind of cake he wants for his birthday this year: Cheesecake. The usual. Just plain cheesecake - none of that fruit crap on top. We normally get it at Costco (they make good ones), so we'll have to shoot for that again this year.
I've had a problem lately with compulsive hand washing. I'm fairly OCD, and for some weird reason, my hands constantly feel dirty. This has been going on for about a week now. Maybe a tad more. The skin on the backs of my hands is freakin' raw. It was actually bleeding last night. Uh, yeah. I've tried using lotion, but holy shizz! It nearly sends me through the roof. Stings like a mo-fracky! Well, my awesome Mom brought me this stuff today that she's had for a while. It's like heavy duty night cream. I was hesitant to use it for fear of the stinging issue, but nope - no stinging! It works really well and doesn't hurt! So now I can continue to be a compulsive hand-washer, and not worry about my hands molting! I think a better solution would be to stop the hand washing, but whatever. This will have to do for now. The whole hand washing thing will eventually even out. This happens sometimes for whatever reason. I don't even care what the core of the issue is...I just like to pretend I'm sane and go with the flow.
Lonnie will be home soon, so I'd better wrap this up so I can do a once-through on the house. On days when he's got to work away from home, I always like to go through and make sure everything is in place and whatnot before he gets here. I don't want him to walk in the door to any mess or stress. Pretty nice of me, if you ask me. I just figure that he's had a stressful enough day, so I want home to be basically like a sanctuary where he can come to unwind. If I were the one out there working, I would really appreciate it if someone did that for me, so yeah. The whole do unto others thing. Anyway, I hope that you're all healthy and happy! I'm happy to know that many of you have already received the Christmas cards I sent...and for those of you who haven't gotten them yet, don't fret. The postal service isn't always the most reliable service out there, but they ARE on the way to you! Catch ya' later...have a good one, my friends!
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