Mama's don't let your babies......

I saw another Mom's post today about how she never thought she'd be a nervous mother, but come to find out she is a bit. LOL I always thought I'd be a hyper-attentive mom, but come to find out I'm more worried about the mundane than the extreme.

Maybe it's just how active the DD has always been, but it doesn't make me all that nervous when she tries some bonehead stunt.

She learned to walk at 8 months old (yes, 8 months when she took her first steps, 9 months and she was walking well, by 1 year she was almost running in a toddlerish way). She was always climbing on things (though she seems to have a sense for what is truly too dangerous, as she's never climbed on bookshelves or dressers or even the kitchen counters). When she was 18 months old, we were visiting my Dad's older brother & sister-in-law & Mom (my Mom-mom) in Dallas, TX. DD would climb all over things: the couch, a little wheeled toddler ride-on toy, and whatever else she could find that appeared safe. Mom-mom would freak out, telling me that I better get her down before she fell and hurt herself. I know part of it was Mom-mom's age prompting her to be more nervous about things than she might have been with her own kids, but I was also made aware that there were things that may have appeared dangerous to some, but with DD I just didn't worry about it. She's always been pretty well able to handle herself.

*****

Then there was the time when we went out to Tangles Lakes camping, when she was about 6 years old. All weekend we'd been watching these bone-head teenage boys attempting to extreme mountain-bike on the little walking paths around the camp area. Most of them had rather nasty spills. Then DD decided it looked like fun, and asked her dad if she could take her bike up this little hill not far from our camp-site and bike down it. He told her ok. I came out of the camper and asked what was going on, I sat there shaking my head, praying she didn't have a REAL nasty spill (as we were nowhere near any sort of medical facilities) and figuring that no matter what happened, she'd only do it once. Needless to say, she was on a child's bike with the brakes that are tied into the pedals, where one must "back-pedal" to activate them. This little hill had about a 45 deg. incline, but the path was a straight-shot down the side, no curves or winding. So, DD got to the top and turned her bike around (she walked the bike UP), mounted her bike, and waved to us. It was me, the FIL, and DH standing there in our campsite, watching. MIL was sitting in their camper reading, or she would have been hyperventelating, watching her granddaughter attempt a stunt like that, and yelling at the hubby & I for allowing DD to do this crazy thing.

So, DD heads down, and about 1/2 way she loses her footing on her pedals, and by the time she got another 1/4 of the way, she'd gone head-over-handles and was laying out on the bike path, her bike beside her. So, the 3 of us started ambling over (she wasn't screaming, but was conscious, so we knew she wasn't terribly hurt) to check on her. Sure enough, when she went over the handlebars, she'd bruised her sternum a bit, but was otherwise unhurt. And she didn't want to ever try that again. LOL Unfortunately she also popped the tire on her bike, so she wouldn't have been trying it again on this trip anyway. MIL came back as we stood around looking at the bike and asked what had happened. When we told her, she damned near had a heart-attack and started yelling at the 3 of us for allowing DD to do something so stupid. LOL

*****

When we got back from DD's hockey tournament and I took pictures to work, I had several people ask me if I wasn't terrified to let DD play hockey, much less play goalie. I quite honestly responded that I've NEVER felt nervous about her playing, as they're so heavily padded and helmeted that she's in more danger when she's out riding her bike then she is on the hockey rink. It just doesn't occur to me to be nervous of her playing hockey. And I figure that if there was some part of it that DD felt was truly hazardous to herself, she wouldn't do it.

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Yesterday, my older nephew had his 5th birthday party at a park near his paternal Grandma's house (not the MIL, the dad's parents). DD wore her Healy's (those shoes with the wheels in the heel). She was having fun skating on them on the pavement, since she's not allowed to where them almost anywhere else in town (school, stores, watching hockey games). One of her favorite actions at the smaller kiddie parks (the ones designed for the under 8 crowd) is to stand on the top, center part of the teeter-totter while kids on either side are making it rock. She's got fairly good balance, what can I say.... She never falls off those things. Well, even though she's not grandchild to the nephew's grandma, Grandma N was nervous as heck watching DD perform this feat. LOL And there was no way her grandson was going to be allowed to do the same. I was figuring it's a 1 foot drop, granted that it IS possible to break an arm in that distance, but I didn't figure it's likely.

Then DD decided she was going to skate down the spiral slide. *rolling eyes* Well, again, she'd only do it once if she got hurt! And she did it, and didn't fall, and said it was fun. LOL

*****

I don't know, things like that don't make me nervous. Instead, she called just a bit ago from her best friend's grandma's house (where they all spent the night last night) asking if she & M. (best friend) could walk over to the park. It's really only about 2 blocks from B&K's House (grandparent's house) to the park, but to get there the girls must cross a minor highway and the railroad tracks. THAT makes me nervous. I know they're both old enough to know how to look both ways and what is safe and what is not. And DD's got her cell-phone in case they've got any problem. (I didn't mention that we got her a cell-phone for just that kind of wandering about town, did I?!?!?! Just got it for her this past weekend. Figured if she was old enough to be wandering about our small town, then she was old enough to have a phone with which to contact the DH & I. But it IS prepaid & no texting capabilities. And after our initial investment, she buys her own minutes. Oh, and it's DH's old cell-phone, he got himself a new one, as did I.) But, I don't like the thought of her crossing the highway and the railroad tracks. THAT makes me nervous.

It just strikes me as rather funny how the things that would normally scare most mom's half-to-death don't scare me. The physical stunts don't scare me. It's the normal every day things that make me nervous.

Oh, and for the record, the ONLY time she's ever had stitches, it was not a physical stunt that resulted in that trip to the ER. She was wearing flip-flops and trotting up the gravel path leading from our next-door-neighbour's backdoor to his drive-way, and tripped over her own feet & gashed open her hand on the gravel. It was about 10:30 on a summer night, when she & DH got done hanging out with J&T and came home for bed. Tossed her into the bath to soak out the dirt from the gash, only to realize how deep it was, so we ended up heading in for the ER by 11 pm. That was a late night. And she's NEVER broken a bone! Even her most recent gashing of her arm was when she was bumped into a mirror at B&K's house that had a chip in the edge, and gashed her arm on that chipped spot. The mundane, every day actions are when she's more likely to get hurt. Not the physical stunts, it seems.

Just had to share some of my reminisces about s ome of DD's stunts, and how I don't seem to share the same concern over stunts that a lot of mom's do. I don't know. Maybe it's because I know that telling DD that she's NOT allowed to do something will only result in her becoming more determined to do exactly that sort of thing. I'd rather tell her ok, and be prepared to take her for assistance if needed, then NOT be there when she attempts it WITHOUT my knowledge. And again, I figure that she knows best what her body can accomplish and that if it's something that either hurts her or scares her, she'll only do it the once! LOL

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In other news, we've had some beautiful weather for most of the past month. March was windy & cold and even somewhat snowy. Then April came and the weather calmed, and the clouds went away, and we got sun, and warmth. And finally about 1 week ago the mosquitos started showing up. But they were the big mosquitos. The ones we refer to as "bombers" because they're big & slow. These are the mosquitos that we try to kill as much as possible, because the more of them killed, the less will be left to lay the eggs that produce the next generations of mosquitos. The subsequent generations of mosquitos are small & fast (so small and fast that often one doesn't even realize they've been bitten till it's too late & one starts itching), and there are loads of them. These mosquitos we call "fighters" (refering to the F16 or whatever fighter jets the military uses these days). Well, wouldn't you know it, we woke on Thursday to snow and cold. And it appears to have killed off what "bombers" were still out there. And it's sunny again, so hopefully the majority of the bombers were killed by the cold before they could lay their eggs. That would greatly reduce the number of fighters this summer. It'd be even better if, once the fighters all take to the skies, we get one more snow & freeze that kills even more of them. I love the thought of a mostly mosquito-free summer. I mean, we'll always have SOME mosquitos, but the fewer the better.

But, it's back to sunny & beautiful for now. And only 1 more day left in the month, then we'll be into May and we should start seeing REALLY warm days coming, and the trees hopefully finally greening out. They've all got buds, but we haven't had much moisture to prompt them to leaf out finally. It's looking like, after a cold winter, we're going to have a beautiful early summer.

Have a Blessed Day!

What a week....

It's just been a pisser of a week....

But first off..... Anybody want a mutt??? We've got two of them..... They're both housebroken, sweet dogs.... Rather insistant on not being ignored when one is typing on one's blog or reading the blogs of others.... In fact, in the last minute & a half, I've had both of them come up beside me and push their noses up under my arm (one each side, Puck prefers the left, Jenny prefers the right) and remind me how much they want my undivided attention. As I said, sweet dogs..... Anybody want one???? ;)

And thanks for all the funny & sweet comments over the last post.... Yes, I do feel the urge to put a brick on DD's head, sometimes. Gotta say, that was never something I was threatened.... Instead it was jokingly (thank goodness) proposed that a stretching rack might do me some good. ;) Not only does she need new shoes, of course, but she's also going through clothes like nobody's business..... As the bus was pulling up just a minute ago, DD ran up to the computer-room window motioning at her leg, so I pull up the sash, and she's yelling that she can't feel her leg (she RAN across the drive to the window, from where she'd been tossing the football around with some of her buddies) and she's torn her pants..... Sure enough, good khaki's, torn in the knee now and all smudged up with dirt. Told her that there was NOTHING I could do about it at this point (the bus was stopping right in front of the house, as we were "discussing" this) and to get her hind end on the bus. *wry smile* Good night.... That kid is one rough & tumble tomboy. I suppose I should at least be grateful she's not a prissy-missy who's afraid of breaking a nail. ;)

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Anyway, so back to the "pisser of a week".... Obviously the V-Tech massacre tops the list, and I won't dedicate this blog entry to discussing what went wrong and what could have been done better. That's been done to death. I had the chance to explain to DD this morning about what happened, as soon as our moment of silence at 8 am (Alaskan time), I was asked WHY we were keeping quiet for a minute and remembering college kids in a University across the country. (Evidently it was origionally proposed in VA by their governor for noon Eastern Standard time, and as we're 4 hours behind, we observed that moment at 8 am to be sharing that minute with others across the country and possibly the world.) Anyway, so I did have the teaching moment with DD, explaining to her about all the people who's lives were lost, who's children were killed, who've had their lives abruptly altered in ways not even possible to imagine unless you've been in that kind of situation.... Tried to explain to her that this Cho was in so much pain that he decided death would be the only way out, but not only did he kill himself but he also took the lives of other people, those he imagined as a threat to himself. That as sad as one should be by the pain he must have been in to do this, we shouldn't forget that in his pain he's caused innumerable amounts of pain for others. And while war, it appears, will always be with us, we must do our best to not ADD to the pain of others, but to help where we can, and to teach other options when we can.

On Monday, also, my Mom found out that her best friend has Multiple Myeloma (cancer in the plasma of her blood, if I understand correctly) and was given 3 years to live. J. is only 50 years old, with a 21 year old daughter, and also lost her hubby to cancer 3 years ago. Maybe this isn't tragedy on the scale of V-Tech, but it's a tragedy nonetheless. She will be undergoing chemo, from what I understand. And evidently "3 years to live" is an old number, 5 years is closer to the average now possible, and some with this form of cancer have lived 10 years past their diagnosis date. J. has already suffered 6 or 7 (mom couldn't remember the precise number) broken ribs.... Broken in activities one would not generally assume very strenuous.... Like the rib broken while J. and Mom were sunbathing, when J. rolled over on her beach-blanket and heard her rib crack. So, any prayers and/or positive thoughts, candles lit, etc, for a recovery for J., and for more time for J & her daughter S. I'm sure would be appreciated.

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Monday also brought a verbal ass-chewing by my coworker, KO, over how many "windows" I had opened up during my shift at the check-out desk. We've recently gotten receipt printers, and are no longer stamping books with the due-date, unless specifically asked. Well, at the same time, it is harder to see if a book has been previously checked out by a patron, so we must actually zap the book under the laser to get a glimpse of the book's status. If the book's barcode reads "on shelf" we know that the book is NOT checked out and must be checked out before that patron can take it from our library. If it reads checked out to so-and-so, then we know that it IS indeed safe to let the book leave with the person. So, I keep my check-out window (the one used to charge books to people's accounts), my check-in window (used to check in books on the ever-present cart of books in a lag between patrons), and my "check item status" window open, each in their own little corner of my screen. It works for me, and I'm well accustomed to using multiple windows here at home. I'm not a complete imbicile when it comes to computers, and I've got no qualms about using that knowledge at work as well.

However, KO is not terribly computer savvy and completely shuts out of her windows each time she has to open a new one. It takes her forever (esp. considering she's nearly blind and has to hunt for the correct key to open the correct window). So, she came out at the end of my hour to relieve me of desk duty, but even though I was actually still helping a patron, KO started closing out my windows and ranting at me (in front of said patron) over having too many windows open. I kinda laughed with CM (another coworker) about it when I got back into the work-room, and let it go. It was funny, but it wasn't a real problem.

At least, _I_ didn't think it was a real problem. I got in Tuesday and had desk-duty immediately. Not 10 minutes after I start my desk-shift, Boss Lady comes out and, observing my 3 open windows, told me that KO had complained that I was using my "check-item-status" window to spy on people's records and steal their information. *SHOCK* EXCUSE ME?!?!? (Now, Boss Lady wasn't being a byotch about it, but she was following up on KO's accusation, which is just fine.... I have no problem with Boss Lady following up on some question like this, but I do have a problem with being accused of information theft by a coworker.) I told Boss Lady that I am NOT interested in taking a patron's information, but having all 3 windows open makes it simpler for ME to check the item status on a book when a patron asks to have it passed around the gate, saying that it's already checked out to them. I reminded her that we were instructed to do this, as we no longer have date stamps to look at. She was fine with that, but then made the comment that I need to remember to shut all my windows out at the end of my shift, before handing over the computer to a coworker. I told her that I usually do that, but that KO came out as I was still helping a patron and started closing out my windows before I'd even finished with them, pushing in front of me and ranting at me in front of patrons for doing what I need to do my job efficiently. Anyway, so no lasting problem with Boss Lady over this, she accepted my reasoning that multiple windows is easiest for me and that I DO shut out of my windows when I'm done with my shift. But, it still pisses me off that KO is spreading rumors about my intentions while I'm at my job.

I understand about identity theft and all, but sometimes I think the privacy issue is taken too far. We're not allowed to acknowledge our patrons by name, even our regulars who we wind up seeing on a very regular basis. I'm not supposed to remember the name of the woman who comes in EVERY night, 5 minutes before closing and returns 5 audio books and checks 5 more out. I mean, I'm not going to keep track of what she's checking out, that's none of my business, but I can't help remembering her name and face when I see it and her day after day. Or, having conversations with patrons when they're so friendly and see the library as a part of their community, and they BELIEVE in community and knowing your neighbours & those you interact with. Isn't that what we're taught even as toddlers, by Sesame Street.... Who are the people in your neighbourhood???? Why, there's Kati, the library girl. There are Merry & Dana & Sue, the grocery store ladies. And Terry, the guy from Burger King. And oh that's, Miss Robin from the craft store.....

And that kind of thing was appreciated and encouraged when I worked out here at my local library. The librarians were always asking me "Kati, what's Joshy's Mom's name???" and "Who is that little boy with the striped shirt & green eyes, what's his name???" And the conversations & knowledge that these are the people you share your town, your life with. That we all live here and therefore all kind of share our days & our lives & our business, and that's what makes a small town work.

But, at the library where I work now, it seems as if I'm discouraged from being a real person. I'm discouraged from seeing anybody else as a real person. And I hate that. I've got coworkers at the library I'm at now who don't allow any personal interaction, they limit it solely to their job. But, they also tend to get grumpier attitudes from the patrons, they get grumpier WITH the patrons, they don't get any respectful reactions from the teenagers when the teens are asked to bring their volume down a notch. I find that people respond SOOOOO much better when I'm a real person, and remember that they too are real people. The teens know that I'll wish them a good day, with a smile, just as I will any of the adults. When I ask somebody to stop shaking the trees, I generally get a chagrined look, an "I'm sorry" and I thank them in return and smile. It helps to remember, and be reminded, that NONE of us go through life alone, and we really DO need human interaction in order to function properly. Ironically, nobody likes the answering systems where one types in 1 for this option, 2 for this option, 3 for the next, and so on.... And yet we do away with casheers at the grocery stores. We seem to expect the people that DO handle our daily business to be completely impersonal automatons. And I can't stand that. And too many businesses realize that the best impersonal automaton is in fact a computer scanner and not a human. What a shallow, sad life it will be to go through our daily business without making any human contact unless we absolutely must. What a colorless existence...... Makes me dread the next 50 years, if automation becomes the norm, instead of the exception. Makes me hope for the sort of economic collapse suggested by those in the most fervent Peak Oil circles. At least we'll have to rely on fellow humans and learn to be nice again, instead of just computers for all our daily interactions.

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Tuesday, got home to find that Puck had once again pulled the carpeting up, outside DD's bedroom door, and shredded the padding underneath. And he'd evidently shoveled all of the food OUT of the dog dish, into the water dish, decided he didn't like it THERE either, so he proceeded to dump it back out of the water dish, all over the floor..... So, now he's back to spending his days outside in his kennel. When nobody's home, that is. And thankfully it's getting warm enough that he can do so. Of course he gives me an utterly pathetic "I'm so neglected & unloved" glare as I pull out of the drive on my way to work. But, if he's going to tear the house apart while I'm gone he's not going to get to stay in the house. That's all there is to it.

And of course, Jenny must go into her kennel as well. At least Puck's got the outdoor kennel & room to get out and move around. Jenny has her indoor doggy kennel. Which she seems to not mind. But it kinda annoys me that we must keep them cooped up so long on some days.

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Wednesday, my coworker AH left. She's decided to take a position as airport security, so Wed. was her last day. She'd only given notice on Monday (as far as I can tell) so we didn't know that this was in the works. We had a small party for her, though, as a farewell.

And my coworker ME will be leaving in the next couple of weeks as well. She's decided to get her Masters of Library Sciences through an online course, and realized that she'd have a full enough plate between her schooling & raising her daughter, that she would be best off quitting her job. So, we're going to be left short-handed by two until we get some new people in those positions.

Also, one of my other coworkers interviewed for a Library Assistant 1 position that'd come up in the Reference/ILL department, so she may be leaving us as well. (Really, I hope so. I think she'd do good at that position, though I DO like her, so I'm not just wishing her to be out of my hair. And another of my coworkers who only has 14 hours a week, at this point, would like EC's 40 hour position, if EC gets that reference/ILL position.)

So, a lot of changes taking place at work. And more to come as we get into summer.... One of the Tech assistants will be retiring in June, which means another Library Assistant 1 position will be opening up. I'm getting in on that one. The job entails purchasing books for the library's collection. Even though I don't get to pick the books to be purchased, I certainly don't think I'd have a problem doing that kind of job. It also entails 2 nights a month of Circ-desk-duty. Which is something I REALLY want, as it'll help if I ever have a chance to work back out here at the NP library. And I've made it known to Boss Lady, my former boss out here at NP, and even the boss of my former boss that I'd love to be working back out here closer to home, if and when the option arises. They all seem amenable to that possibility, and I get along well with G (NP Boss Lady's boss), and with the librarians out here at the NP library. So, we'll see. With a new library building being built over the next few years, it may open up more options for more employees out here. (Currently there are 2 librarians, 2 library assistants who do pretty much the same job as the librarians anyway, and 3 pages. With a bigger library, there will likely be need for more staff.)

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So, it's been a busy, somewhat turbulent week, all around. But, also been some small good things. Like the ham I made last night. *drool* We'd gone in on a pig from a local butcher/processor this past winter, with our next-door-neighbours. Well, we got a couple of good size (BIG!) hams and roasts out of it, as well as bacon (which I don't care for the flavor of), and pork chops & steaks, and sausage. So I finally got around to making one of the ham's yesterday.

First I put about 1/2 c of orange juice into the bottom of my slowcooker, put the (smoked) ham in next (wanted to have liquid cover the bottom, first). Drizzled a few drops of liquid smoke over top of the ham, then more orange juice. Then I mixed up some orange marmelade & dijon mustard together and slathered that all over the top & sides of the ham. Then cooked for 8 hours on low...... *sigh* Oh dang was that a good ham!!!!! And, I'm not generally big on ham. It's usually too fatty for my taste. But this stuff...... *drooling* I even had to have a ham-sandwich with it while we were watching ER last night. LOL Of course I made mashed potatoes (instant) and asparagus (fresh, barely simmered in lightly salted water) to go with the ham. Just a very yummy dinner. And with all that ham left over and a bunch of asparagus still to be used, I'm thinking I'll pick up some swiss cheese & make a quiche or two. I haven't made a quiche in a year, so it's time. *grin*

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Other than that, it's looking like it's going to be a nice slow weekend. I've got some tv shows pre-recorded that I need to watch. I'm going to walk over to the school today to pick up DD, instead of driving. We may or may not be going to get DD new shoes this weekend. (DH doesn't seem to think she needs them, I do. We'll see who wins this one.) I hope to do some baking, besides that quiche. It's been a few weeks since I've made bread. I think I'm due. *wink* Maybe some garage saling tomorrow morning as well.... We'll see. The weather's been beautiful, so I'd be suprised if there aren't a couple of early-season garage sales this weekend. Then DD and DH are going to go to the Outdoor show (bazaar in Fairbanks featuring hunting, fishing, boating & camping goodies for the upcoming summer in Alaska) on Sunday while I'm at work. I like hunting, though I'm less thrilled about camping, and don't like fishing at all, but I rarely get to go hunting, so there's really no point in me going to the outdoor show. It's mainly DH wandering around and signing up for all the fishing charter sweepstakes. Although I did instruct him to buy more Spicy Garlic Mustard if "The Garlic Gourmay" is at the outdoor show again this year. We ran out a couple of months ago, and that stuff is fabulous. Hell, I'll have to tell him to get 2 jars this year, so we have extra and we don't run out. LOL

Wishing everybody a quiet, slow, calm, sunny weekend. Think about the things that make your life blessed, pray for those who's lives aren't so blessed, enjoy the small things, do something nice for somebody (including yourself), and take some time to appreciate the everyday things going on around you.

Have a Blessed Day!

Big ol' puppy-dog feet.....

You know how it is, when you see a puppy with big ol' feet.... First you think how increadibly large they look on such a small body, then you wonder how danged big that dog's REALLY gonna get...... Have had a similar experience here the last couple of days..... But not with a dog. Nope, here ya go.....

The bottom foot is my big ol' size 8-1/2 wide. The top foot.... That would belong to my 9-1/2 year old darling daughter. She's now just barely over 4-1/2 feet tall, but she's got size 8-1/2 (regular, not wide) feet. Just..... DANG! I mean, the kid's 9-1/2. She's in THIRD GRADE!!!!! I just can't help but feel astonished over how darned big her feet are. And even more incredible is how quickly they've grown. Last year, this time, she was wearing size 3's. In fact, she'd just STARTED wearing size 3's. By mid-winter, she was into a size 6 women's. Mom & Shelli will remember me & DD telling them about how she was now wearing a 5 in boys, a 6 in womens. And all the sudden she's gone up 2-1/2 more sizes. And it's funny, too, because all of a sudden the complaints she was making late last week about how bad her feet were hurting her, make sense. And she's been complaining about her ankles & shins & knees and even her back hurting her lately. That would be growing pains, I'd guess..... *shaking head* Just in awe, over the astonishing rate at which kids grow, sometimes. The only time I recall ever having a noticable growth-spurt (at least from my point of view) was in 5th grade, when I shot up 4 inches (it was actually 9-1/2 centemeters, which was the unit of measurement we were using). I was still the shortest kid in class, but I'd had the biggest growth spurt from the beginning of the year to the end of the year.

Ok, enough rhapsodizing about growth spurts. This picture is purely for the fun of seeing this goofy mutt of mine enjoying DD's bed while she's off to school. He doesn't seem to get that this is where SHE sleeps, not where he's supposed to sleep. But he looked so danged cute, I couldn't resist a pic before shooing him off. *wink*

Ok, I think that'll do for today.

Have a Blessed Day!

I'm back!!!

Actually, I was back yesterday, but didn't have more than a couple of minutes to check in on things..... And that's hard to do without my favorites list. LOL But, everything is up & running, and now it's just a matter of reorganizing my favorites into their proper categories for easier browsing. *grin*

To my friends in the path of this nasty storm through the mid-west & east coast.... Stay safe!!!! You're in my thoughts & prayers.

Have a Blessed Day!

Might be scarce....

Ok, just to give everybody a head's up..... We'll be setting up our new PC in the next day or so, and it'll probably take that long to get back up and running, so I'll be scarce the next couple of days. Darn near done transfering my favorites links. Just some kid's links, a few blogs, and some favorite online stores. That'll be it.

Have a Blessed Weekend!

Needing some computer help.....

Does anybody know how to save one's favorites list, so when we get our new computer set up we don't lose everything on our old computer??? We've got a new computer, and will be setting up this weekend, but I've got loads of links in my favorites list that I don't want to lose. HELP!!!! LOL

Unfortunately our old computer is SO old (going on 7 years!) that it's completely incompatable with our new computer (a compaq presario), so any tips on linking them will not work. (Besides, we've got a couple of viruses we don't want to transfer from one to the other, so hooking one up to the other is really, really not an option.)

Help is appreciated!

Have a Blessed Day!

Happy Easter!!!

Hope everybody's having a good Easter today! Got up at nine and got started on the coffee & maple sausages, tossed a flat of Sweet Hawaiian Rolls in to heat up in the oven, and then made DH and DD some eggs (I can't eat fried or scrambled eggs, just hardboiled). The DH is kinda grumpy as he fell asleep on the couch last night watching TV and didn't wander in to bed till 6 this morning. Then DD woke up at 9:30 and we all sat down & had breakfast, some of us more awake then others. *grin*

DD is pretty well pleased with her Easter goodies. I made her a crocheted cotton net swim bag in a verigated blue color aptly titled "Swimming Pool", and tucked the goodies inside. She got some American Girl -Molly- books and a mini Emily doll, and a Pet Vet Nintendo DS game. DH figured as she talks frequently about wanting to be a vet when she grows up (if the professional hockey career doesn't pan out, of course) that the Pet Vet game would be one she'd appreciate. She's gone over to her best friend's house to retrieve her DS, where she forgot it when she FINALLY came home last night at 10 pm. *rolling eyes*

The DH is grumbling that there's no Nascar on TV this morning. LOL And I've gotta head to work at 11:45 or so. Later DH & DD will be heading over to the inlaws for an early Easter Sunday supper with them, and then I'll go over after work and have some of the leftovers & hang out with the inlaws for a bit. As active as it seems, it's really looking like a pretty laid-back day. I love working Sundays, as it's generally rather relaxed at work, and it's only a 4-1/2 hour day anyway, so it's like starting the work week very gently. Monday is my only 8 hour work day, so working Sundays (during the winter only) gives me a chance to start out with a calm, easy work-day before the true work-week sets in.

Um, let's see.... Break-up is well & truly here and the yards are mushy snow & mud. The road, thankfully paved, is only slightly wet around our place, but down at the end of the street it's the usual lake. The way the road-construction company worked the drainage means that until the snow melts back a good ways, enough to let the water drain into the ditches properly, we STILL have a lake at the end of the street. Somewhat annoying, as one can't walk through it comfortably and has to make one's way around the block when going for a walk.

I did take the dogs for a nice half-hour long walk yesterday, around the loop we live on and up to the far back of the subdivision and back, checking the mail on my way back into my part of the neighbourhood. It was incredibly sunny yesterday, so nice. Today it's a bit cloudy & overcast. But, it's already up to 50 degrees. We'll probably reach 55 or 60 today. Loving it!!!!

Ok, Have a Blessed Day!!!!!

Unfortunately.....

Seeing as some people just cannot bring themselves to be civil in this world (these worlds?) we all share, I am formally announcing that I hereby reserve the right (as if I didn't have it already) to remove comments from MY blog that I find offensive. Not saying that EVERY comment that I disagree with will be removed, but if a comment by a fellow blogger is overtly negative & foul mouthed and cruelly intended, then it WILL be removed. Don't like it??? Then don't be mean! Again, good, honest & healthy debate is not discouraged (should that come up here), but foul-spirited cruelty IS discouraged and will be moderated.

Have a Blessed Day!

A Small-minded town.....

Full of small-minded people. That's what kind of town I live in. This morning, the total is thus far at 56% voting YES for a ballot measure to restrict benefits to legally married couples, and 44% voting NO to a ballot measure restricting benefits to heterosexual married couples. I'm proud to be one of that 44%, but I'm ashamed that my community, Alaskans as a whole, are so closed-minded as to deny people their rightful earnings & benefits based on their sexual choices (and, for heteros, their religious choices, for those who refuse the option of marriage in favor of a long-term civil relationship).

Many people come to Alaska feeling that this state allows for more individuality than do many other states, and yet we see that we are no less small-minded, as a state, than many, many other states. It's sad.

It really confirms in my mind who I will NOT be voting for in the next set of elections for state senate & legislature. I won't be voting for those who would like to deny rights to others, based on their own moral compass.

Have a Blessed Day!

So, I signed a petition......

(For those that I'm in a yahoo group with, that may read this there, this is just a reposting of what I've posted on my groups, so you can disregard.)

Ok, so there's a state-wide advisory vote coming up on Tuesday that determines if state employees will be able to recieve benefits for their non-married partners. One group, of course, is calling it a "marriage protection vote" (gee, guess which one) and telling everybody to vote yes. The other group is calling it an "equal pay for equal work" vote, and telling everybody to vote no. I signed my name to a petition as a no-voter, and it turned up in a full-page ad in todays paper. The FIL just called and said to DH "did you know your wife's name is in the paper as a 'No voter'?!?!?! " Sure enough, that petition I signed at work a couple of weeks ago, got my name in the paper. FIL was somewhat disgruntled. I'm a bit nervous now, if my Dad'll read through the names and see me there as well. (I'm in the first column, towards the top, so I'm hard to miss.) I shouldn't be nervous about standing up for what's right, but I'm nervous about how this could bring so many differences of opinion with my dad out into the open. Differences of opinion that he's almost voilently vocal about, and that I've kept quiet on, just to keep the peace.

I told DH that this in no way protects (or threatens) our rights as a married couple. That nothing is going to take away our marriage vows, that nobody is saying that marriage isn't valid or in the cross-hairs. But, for those who "chose" to NOT get married, but have a life-partner anyway (no matter what sex, or for what reason they're not getting married), this gives them the same benefits as those who've made it religiously official. My coworker who's got a life-partner of 7 years (a hetero couple) and has a daughter with him. Some friends of ours who've got 4 girls together and still aren't married. This makes it OK for them to have benefits together, even if their not married in the eyes of the church. I told him that THIS is what the vote really is about, NOT protecting or threatening marriage. It's about giving 2 different couples with maybe different living situations, the SAME benefits.

Anyway, FIL was kinda grumbly that I'm voting NO, when he's voting yes. And my dad, if he reads it and sees, will be even MORE grumbly & upset, seeing as he's of the opinion that I walk lock-step with him & his church when voting.

*sigh* Wish I didn't feel nervous about this, but my stomach is now tossing & turning. Just had to share.

Have a Blessed Day!