Drill Here, Drill Now, Ex-term-i-nate!

July 31, 2008 at 11:06 am (Rants, Raves, and Internet Hate, Tales, Anecdotes, and Observations)
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Two posts, one day.  You know the laundry is piled high.  As I sit here contemplating what to feed my kids for lunch (spaghetti, beans and rice, or crab cakes), I’ve been reading online about the economy, gas prices, etc.  Yes, I ama masochist, why do you ask?  You see, my husband might not like me sharing this, but we’re flat broke right now.  Yeah, I’ll admit a big chunk of it was improper money management, coupled with an odd pay-period, but there are a few other culprits to add to the mix.  First, this phony news of a recession (along with the sub-prime mortgage clusterfrak) has caused the housing market around here to stagnate.  So we’re stuck with a house that we can’t pay people to take.  With Tim being stationed in Maryland, it falls to me to stay at home with the kids to save money and improve the house.  He drives home on the weekends to give me a break (and spend time with the kids), but this leads us to the big issue: gas prices.  We simply cannot afford gas anymore.  I’ve been putting $10 in the car to run emergency errands, but that gives me barely 2.4 gallons of gas, so I’m stuck at home with the kids (which drives me cuckoo).  I gave up a few meals to save money to ensure Tim spent his birthday with us (a rare event), but that has left us pretty high and dry until tomorrow.  The little food I did buy for the kids has gone up in price, even at the commissary, due to rising fuel and produce costs.  Why am I bitching about this?  Well, stay tuned!

Still with me?  I’m sorry.  Good.  Look, I’m not an economics person.  I’m good with languages and my hands, not numbers.  However, even if I don’t understand the principles behind it, I do understand the day-to-day effects of high gas prices.  I’m a day-to-day person, you see.  High gas prices are doubleplus ungood.  I do not want to wait a million years for fairy dust and unicorn fartsfaecal plumes to run my car and electrify my home.  I want oil, now.  No more hedging, no more stalling, no more grinding up corn to add to my pricey gas (and muck up my poor car’s engine).  Drill for oil, damnit.  Corn is for my dinner table, and I’d like to be able to drive to the farmer’s market and buy it, thankyouverymuch.  Of course, I know it’s going to take some time to actually get that oil into my Passat, but I can wait.  I know that the very act of drilling will bring prices down – it already has. 

I conserve energy in my home (I have to, my bill just shot through the roof due to price increases), I drive conservatively, we live (and vote) in a conservative fashion.  So, government officials who ignore people like me daily, conserve your rancid hot CO2-laced breath, and just start drilling.  I’ll get started on collecting those unicorns right away, just in case.

About the ex-term-i-nate, I got Daleks on the mind.  Oh, and Tim finds out if he made chief tomorrow.  He’s not keeping his fingers crossed, because he doesn’t want to make it.  He feels he doesn’t have enough experience.  I think a Dalek needs to whap him upside the head with its toilet plunger.

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Is it Friday Yet?

July 31, 2008 at 8:58 am (Tales, Anecdotes, and Observations)
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This entire week has slogged by, each minute feeling slightly longer than the one before, culminating in me waking up this morning not sure if it was really Thursday because I was so sure my internal clock was still on Tuesday.  We have a nasty leak in the ceiling/roof in the twins’ room, which prompted me to move their bed out of the corner to stick a ladder there.  Silly me had forgotten why they slept in the corner – the sun shines full force directly into their wee sleeping faces at just before 6 am this time of year, precisely where their bed currently stands.  Too bad it took me until this morning to figure this out… granted, I haven’t slept period, so a bit of mental stoppage is allowed.

I’ve been feeling quite depressed lately, mostly due to our housing/family situation – probably why I haven’t been sleeping.  I get nightmares when I’m depressed.  Yesterday, I spent about 40 minutes tickling and wrestling with the younger twin, until I gave up from exhaustion (prompting loud screeching noises from his tantrum-orifice).  It was enjoyable, though… the kids have such delicate, tinkling laughter, so innocent and unweathered by cynicism (unlike mine), so I crawled on the pull-out couch and let them use me as a human jungle gym.  They laughed, they played, they used my kidneys and spleen as trampolines, and I went to bed with the sound of their happiness in my ears and blood pooling in my back.  I’m pretty sure one of them woke up in the middle of the night and beat the crap out of me, because I hurt this morning in places that should not hurt from playing with the kids, if you catch my drift.  I love it, though.  A nice, achy reminder to stop worrying about everything and just tumble with the kids.

My tea is done, which means I have to pretend to get to work.  I have the mother of all grocery lists to compose (we have less than 20 edible containers of food in the house, including condiments, it was one of those loooooong paychecks), a house to decontaminate, laundry to attempt… the usual things I often put off because I get overwhelmed by how quickly things snowball around here.  Oh, and toddler nails to clip. 

Dr. Who finale tomorrow night, woot!  Cannot wait.  Oh, and Tim comes home.  He had a great birthday, btw.  We all had a good day.

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Happy Birthday to my Husband!

July 26, 2008 at 9:19 am (Tales, Anecdotes, and Observations)
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Nothing big planned, no grandiose fete in my husband’s honor, not even a crumb of cake.  Simply, we are going to spend the day at the beach, have fondue for dinner, and s’mores for dessert.  It’s nice to unwind, and the last time we had a relaxed (nonscheduled) day, it was perfection.  So happy birthday, dear, and here’s to many more.

Let’s just hope today is not the same vomitfest that yesterday was… kids seem to be ralphed out.

Random thought of the day: What the frak is up with states banning trans fat?  I mean, come on California, you’re home to sins more egregious than flaky pie crust.  Gays can marry, but they can’t have trans fat at their reception?  Stupid nannyism.  Ruining my vibe – I’m going to nosh something trans fatty today just because I can.  Thank you free will!

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Reflections

July 25, 2008 at 6:07 pm (Tales, Anecdotes, and Observations)
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I’m watching my kids right now building an immense layout for their wooden trains, using wooden alphabet blocks to elevate the tracks so matchbox cars can drive underneath.  I am both impressed and bemused about this accomplishment – although I am extremely grateful that they’re a.) playing together without bloodshed and b.) they have some mad collective engineering/building skills.  That might come in handy some day.  I suppose I’m impressed because of the cooperative play, made more memorable because it can last for hours.  Seriously, my 5 and twin 3 year olds can have attention spans ranging from .00000001 of a nanosecond to 3 hours.  It’s either here or there, never something ordinary like 20-30 minutes.  The bemusement stems from wondering where they got their love of transportation management… they hardly stop to play with the trains and cars, as their attention is more devoted to building and destroying.  It reminds me of the people who play the Sims to build houses, never to actually play families.  My husband and I love strategy games, like Sim City and Civilization, and yes, we still play with Legos.  Legos rock hardcore wicked awesome (and apparently make me lose my functional English skills).  It makes me wonder if such things are innate… I mean, I have never explained engineering to my daughter, but she can balance almost anything into a tower higher than her head.  She just seems to know what she’s doing without guidance.  Kinda odd, and yet, impressive to me.

I sometimes wonder if the kids are going to turn out like Tim and I.  We’re not the most normal of people.  Okay, that’s unfair to him.  He’s closer to normal than I am.  I should say that we’re not raising our kids like most parents today – no helicoptering, no excessive scheduling, no indulging every whim.  In fact, the word “no” is the most spoken word in our household, followed closely by “frak,” “damn,” and “I said.”  We expose our kids not to Baby Einstein, but to the SciFi and Discovery Channels.  Sophie calls Stargate “Target” (we had enunciation issues apparently), and counts Deadliest Catch and How It’s Made among her favorite shows.  And to be honest, I’m too lazy busy to structure any of their playtime.  We make it a point to be factual, and sometimes downright blunt, about life.  I’m proud my daughter can know that a chick comes from the same type of egg she eats for breakfast, and not be bothered by it (she also watched a seal eat a penguin on TV, and while it took me by surprise, she remarked to me that the seal must have been really hungry).  I don’t think we’re doing anything wrong, but since the eldest starts school this Fall, I’m starting to wonder if she’s going to stick out like a sore thumb.  I hope not, because I’ve been there and done that.

Side note: Anybody else out there like to make up new languages (complete with alphabet and functional grammar) in their free time?  If it’s no, don’t tell me.  I’m weird enough already.

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My Best Internet Smackdown Evah!

July 25, 2008 at 12:08 pm (Rants, Raves, and Internet Hate, Uncategorized)
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I swear I’m not a troll, really, I’m not.  Okay, let me back it on up a bit.  I surf the ‘net like it’s going out of style.  Seriously.  It’s a way to explore the world outside my dining room (location of computer) without having to dress and pack up the kids, only to cut everything short because they’re whining and bitching and moaning about how bored they are.  Uh, ahem, back to the matter… Because money is super tight right now, and let’s face it, we’ve never been rich, I like to peruse environmentally friendly blogs to get tips about saving money.  Thrifty sites often focus on clipping coupons, and 99.9999999999% of what we buy will never, ever have a coupon.  So anyway, there’s one through AOL called Green Daily, and while it’s not much for legitimate tips, it is entertaining. 

You see, most of the contributors have a major leg tingle for Al Gore.  And they don’t hide the fact that they’re all left-wing, anti-Republican/Bush Administration hippies.  However, yesterday one of the writers, Cat Lincoln, took this to a new level.  “Sexy Greenius?”  Give me a break.  Now, back to the trolling thing.  The vast majority of the time, I keep my mind shut and my fingers idle when I see such idiotic drivel.  I simply could not help myself this time.  Like a fly to horse shit, I was suckered into a civilized yet scathing (in my not humble opinion) reply.  I credit a few different commentors from Hot Air for adding to my knowledge and giving me the link I used.  They are RightWinged, MrLynn, TexasJew, and VolMagic (for reminding me of the term ‘watermelon,’ though I don’t know where I first came across the term).  Of course, the vast majority of people there supplement my worldly knowledge daily, which is why I hang out there.  I thank you guys and gals for that!  So, for posterity, and in case my comment disappears, it’s copied in it’s entirety below.  Off to make lunch for the zoo!  Oh, and I corrected my spelling errors here.  I suck at typing when I’m all worked-up and all.

More and more scientists are jumping off the Gorebal Warming bandwagon as they come to terms with the facts. Here’s a wonderfully written article by an Austrailian scientist who was a believer: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24036736-7583,00.html

He explains why it’s so easy for scientists to go along with the AGW crowd (money, influence, a feeling of importance), but when the facts are examined, they fall dangerously short.

Now, I’m all for conservation. Recycling makes sense, and so does reducing the amount of consumer goods that buy/use. I have faith that if the market is left to do its thing, we will have usable solutions in the future. Alternative energy is smart, but give me a nuclear plant rather than a solar panel (I heard that it would take 50,000 square miles of panels to electrify this country. New York state is 50,000 square miles. You see how this is problematic, right?)

However, I think we need to collectively move beyond Gore-worship here and realize that he is being deceitful and greedy here. His only true interest is in his indulgences trade… and he seeks power over us by trying to force government regulations down our throats (that would control everything about how we live). He, among others, is what some of us refer to as ‘watermelons.’ Green on the outside, red on the inside.

I like this blog, because I do have an interest in being environmentally conscious. I have also learned to expect a certain amount of subjectivity here, a non-too-subtle bias for the political Left, a dismissal of most conservatives and Republicans (not the same thing always). This abject idolization of Gore, though, leaves you looking a little kooky. He is not our saviour, his is simply a man. All your misplaced fawning does is leave your other reporting to be suspect, but I do appreciate that you’re open in your refusal to be objective at all. That would be fine and dandy of this were your private blog, but this is a public blog. A return to a more factual point of view would be most delightful.

 

 

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Back to Our Irregularly Scheduled Program

July 23, 2008 at 9:15 am (Tales, Anecdotes, and Observations)
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I took a break from the Internet recently.  It was sorely needed – a fellow commentor at a site I visit was getting under my skin, and I realized I was getting too sucked into the vortex here.  I feel better now, but still… It’s hard to keep up my armor all the time online.  Moving right along…

Routine matters to clear up: I have finished Atlas Shrugged.  The book got scarier, and although the ending was happy for the main characters, I was left with an apprehension for the non-uber-rich people of the book.  I also think it would be fun to run a “Who is John Galt?” campaign – I’m starting to think we need our own to help us through the times ahead.  Segue.  To answer a question, I moved to WordPress for two reasons – to test it out for when I set up my business site, and because Blogger pissed me off with the whole anti-Obama blog snafu.  If I ever want to rail on Obambi, I’d like to do it without fearing getting flagged.  Segue.  This is my first visit to my site in a few weeks, and as I have some more pressing matters in actual reality, it’ll be some time before all of my previous posts are properly tagged.

And now for something completely different.  Last Saturday, I sat and took the National Certification Exam for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork.  A bit of blunt honesty: I studied the night before the test, thinking I was about to flush $225 down the toilet.  What can I say, I have ADD when it comes to studying.  Nervous as hell, I sat at the computer and swallowed my fear.  Forty minutes later, after reviewing it twice (160 questions), I clicked ‘finished.’  I passed.  I don’t know how well I did (they only tell you what you missed if you fail), but it was a helluva lot easier than I ever thought.  Now that I think about it, though, my school wouldn’t have made me valedictorian if I didn’t know my stuff.  So now, I can officially call myself a Certified Massage Therapist.  Booyah!! 

Random bits from my brain: Today is my mother’s birthday.  Yay.  I gave her a text message this morning, that’s all she’s getting.  She’s been blowing me, Tim, and the kids off for years in favor of her VFW friends, and I’m particularly bitter today about it.  Three years ago, she had a VFW meeting on June 6th.  I was in premature labor for the second time in three weeks, in the process of birthing her twin grandsons.  She left mid-day to drive from Bethesda to Bethany Beach for this meeting; I gave birth at 3:25/3:45, the second twin being an emergency c-section.  I almost died on the operating table (cut artery, low supply of my blood type), but she got to her frakking meeting on time.  Bitch.  Happy Birthday Mom.

I’m deciding whether to go to the grocery store for sorely needed supplies, or to paint the cabinets so that our kitchen looks normal again.  Money is tight, but so is my attention span.  It’s supposed to be hot and sticky, and the kids are iffy today, but I do have to buy stuff for hubby’s birthday on Saturday.  Or, I could surf the net all day, until Tim calls and I get my ass in gear.  Choices, choices.

It’s good to be back. : )

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Moving In

July 1, 2008 at 2:13 pm (Uncategorized)
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I’ve successfully imported my old blog into this new one.  However, because I did not use tags and categories before (and I guess I will now), nothing is really labelled.  It’s a long, laborious project to tag and categorize all my old posts, one which my ADD-Mommy Brain cannot undertake in one setting.  Also, I have a post that I’ve been working on in my head since last Friday, but I tend to procrastinate my procrastination, so it’s still in the embryonic stage.  I have yet to set a date and time to delete my Blogger page… I haven’t finished moving out yet, I suppose.  I was there for two years, and only posted 50-odd times, but it’s been mine the entire time.  And it’s not even like I have any readers anymore.  Me blogging on the Internet is like having an online conference with my (nonexistent) multiple personalities… I do it to me, from me, for me.  Good times.

Speaking of moving, I cannot wait to move out of our current house.  But I get ahead of myself here… that’s a post that’s barely been conceptualized.  And keeping with the pregnancy theme I’ve got going, I’m trying to conceive a post in a week or two about the actual subject of pregnancy.  Heh.  I dream big, and then I put these things off because I’m lazy.  Or I have to get my ass up and fold laundry/do dishes/attend to the house.  Your pick.  Which, by the way, I should get to doing.  Or not. 

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