tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88575562024-03-07T03:18:22.651-06:00The Journey Begins With One Step"ALL GREAT MASTERS ARE CHIEFLY DISTINGUISHED BY THE POWER OF ADDING A SECOND, A THIRD, AND PERHAPS A FOURTH STEP IN A CONTINUOUS LINE. MANY A PERSON HAS TAKEN THE FIRST STEP. WITH EVERY ADDITIONAL STEP YOU ENHANCE IMMENSELY THE VALUE OF YOUR FIRST....THAT WHICH WE PERSIST IN DOING BECOMES EASIER FOR US TO DO; NOT THAT THE NATURE OF THE THING ITSELF IS CHANGED, BUT THAT OUR POWER TO DO IS INCREASED."
~RALPH WALDO EMERSON
<br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15740562889506321916noreply@blogger.comBlogger49125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8857556.post-14158734974461834342008-07-24T11:02:00.011-05:002008-07-24T12:19:55.314-05:00Thursday Thirteen #16--Favorite Snapshots<div align="center"><img src="http://intricateart.com/blog/thursdaythirteen300.jpg" mce_src="http://intricateart.com/blog/thursdaythirteen300.jpg" /></div><div align="center"></div><br /><br /><br /><div align="center">Thirteen <strong>Cool Snapshots </strong>from my trip to San Antonio, Texas!!</div><p>It's an easy squeezey list this week since I started my new job and haven't gotten into a new routine yet!<br /><br />Here are 13 of my favorite shots off the camera from the trip to San Antonion last week. And no, we didn't do ALL of those things, but we did do the ones we felt like doing once we got there; and by goodness, we enjoyed the time away!<br /></p><ol><li><strong>The view from our hotel room (17th floor!) facing west down Commerce:</strong><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5226621761495850658" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9xrbeWuWRYtvAyQQWyEukvIl54er8HIrScQqKiYM_vjKdAQyAE0V0otP-q6ifXEeN8AMIZ4mI_Jno9nsyjGd9MF3JsLNMQFZ0dfn31ioV_0iovD8Wry6_LWFRSPEDFIxcI2rq6Q/s400/P1010374.JPG" border="0" /></li><br /><br /><li><strong>The lovely and luscious Riverwalk boat tour scenery:</strong><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5226621742104615250" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5xjp_R84aQeRrAWyhPxrm93wPLma951el86t-g5RblS_iOhIkcQk8kZFos_fH7yzvuQbQ300i3aa6Rzl3-v-n_7GB2q2mtNL567ZBBphTp_Wr8dsVznoQoRM4_GcnTT3kbZ62eQ/s400/P1010333.JPG" border="0" /></li><br /><br /><li><strong>Just one photo doesn't do it justice:</strong><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5226621748307989410" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJte_c9FtIL5EY-tTQLTC7ZdOMxNbc6Y_-v9V2qyJdLxeKigXYQKNYGbev-gf4TGLwWZGCGOZjm3ZD6URyvJD3EruU6U1izAvCZi80EWDvZ1_Eh7vw_pi5v7HV-R-Vg5TeelTwuQ/s400/P1010335.JPG" border="0" /></li><br /><br /><li><strong>This really great-looking building across the way from the Alamo:</strong><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5226621961562461394" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqMyFkPI3pY-Z8m5WeRWCMeQkCCQyMDjzukLRt5NqBrzIAhLa7wJMtBIjR7CeUhmJq3JeU18IEI-P2LRGl81mUAhLzdl3L_oE9x7JGoVhquU5ZgZWkgQb2KGua1oMrTLEHEs66iQ/s400/P1010392.JPG" border="0" /></li><br /><br /><li><strong>The chapel door at Mission San Jose:</strong><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5226622297170779362" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh22ckYEJx2ZeXBsG0JpnwtCXzJIlUSwakBw-iS_0xnEY4tEPZrS1YxRqkX3m427bbdkysWdq16MnLzOCiPPmW1lv_2Hoc3Plb5TctAA4COKdKUVuPUNgGQYhYpG2ZIBz2yc0hG0Q/s400/P1010504.JPG" border="0" /></li><br /><br /><li><strong>A view of the mission I would love to paint:</strong><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5226622290441342354" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ2bQ-6NKdRDq7bsSWr7sIZSjdsmkJQ46QPweHOxmwmYfiixtnh8o7WcLv1eZEJ2-Xlc5XUxK7jQgaB1kJBFZ1tPi5OlE0yCrTeYynTkekeNl2RXG00Jjz-hZtxDw_3I5E8doFaQ/s400/P1010498.JPG" border="0" /></li><br /><li><strong>A view of the Alamo enclosure wall I would also love to paint:</strong><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5226621967765991618" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJZAFUv2oFKvkQMmwXSTEDeCVyY8p6LAEQSoExqwb4CvArWD6YgJShjOZDQsEVpv3J6r409s-JaPCzD-UztLu40KRvCqPU-3KCWh4t2j1wKUwX8af_F6STVY-UHjxWHLELPICKkw/s400/P1010396.JPG" border="0" /></li><br /><li><strong>The fountain in front of the Crockett (yes, as in Davy) Hotel:</strong><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5226621966425162818" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv-JT8ZWX2kI0FsEL93oy2cNgGgoz549NforZOgJ12TGoVHHBmCMzWJURqzXjNdCnbtE47jU6g0I9EjC6xoGF6z8SuBfUCYan6rgR6zm_ETRic6eX75pEjEW6SV8jDrlYlfItYYA/s400/P1010395.JPG" border="0" /></li><br /><li><strong>The best dessert of the weekend--tres leches with meringue on a carmelized disk of sugar:</strong><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5226622300135756338" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5EEsyI30UTDJfuJEIumvPyzrC99hMY1foDySvAn-N-vdVwwKEBUsR-cFdhXJ4v6U51mMSw69sNLyhu8CHdkO3RX_NRPpFmNBfnxX4PuQiWe3MyYEkMubdOafE9dFtEdOa_zEb4w/s400/P1010506.JPG" border="0" /></li><br /><br /><li><strong>The Tower of the Americas (wow was it windy up there!):</strong><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5226622157690388162" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVyWEAks7v16ozuy_VslBkfMQIIe1PKpTet1-Trz4WkRoEvp4agmbNbICMW2zXdpwrK5EwzIwlLEL46a-P6MC0dm_MrOaeZ4qUlg6vpzakYGns1WUR1tqSlkjLyWKu83FB7J5T6w/s400/P1010463.JPG" border="0" /></li><br /><br /><li><strong>Me and Mr. Rex...believe it, or not!</strong><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5226622155154901858" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIsdMwCAeww51xIO04uo3o0S2gEn-vahZcXbjUMmzjWXfZCac9sWlC6vJq8xZ7ALsj7XREHfrVfTij6akRJ2WF3HICOpjiECFP1w_vzlGltRNvOpZUSPFKE9epx0xRmlbB8bxofQ/s400/P1010436.JPG" border="0" /></li><br /><br /><li><strong>Me and the man who made all the fun possible (and yes, we did ride all the big coasters, including the largest wooden coaster in the country!):</strong><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5226629410818397250" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcrsQuryaRbC-1bwU820cZohrCIlWprZJZSg93Tlbqi6a-SCaco0i-v0ZAr3doXo9ESve-UJFAUOU7THXrRa1qP5sjy5FOmKqdi4HP4TYXGWazImBsNN4nelc2L8qrFN57p3VNTA/s400/Image0001.JPG" border="0" /></li><br /><br /><li><strong>And for all the blogger ladies out there who love him....Mr. Johnny Depp:</strong><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5226621970322328994" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijUjoWAxCc6_CiPp7e24uxCQIFfkEs9EL7lxDunidhonjP3FzbzLNObdDRBBKCqurSrivsH6EZ3qoF6vqFwABarE45tnXBJORD0J6-D48H0FTVVATNuDVnA0sl8sxVnFqTasw_NA/s400/P1010416.JPG" border="0" /> </li></ol><p>Thanks for stopping by!!! </p><p>Muah! =) </p><br />© Nicole J. Williams, 2008, all rights reserved.<br /><div align="center"><br /><br /><a href="http://thursdaythirteen.com/" mce_href="http://thursdaythirteen.com">Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!</a><br />The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!<br /><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/thursday+thirteen" rel="tag" mce_href="http://technorati.com/tag/thursday+thirteen">View More Thursday Thirteen Participants</a></div>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15740562889506321916noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8857556.post-55932322720955567132008-07-16T09:05:00.013-05:002008-07-16T10:15:56.014-05:00Thursday Thirteen #15--Goin' to San Antonio<div align="center"><img src="http://intricateart.com/blog/thursdaythirteen300.jpg" mce_src="http://intricateart.com/blog/thursdaythirteen300.jpg" /></div><br /><br /><br /><div align="center"></div><div align="center">Thirteen <strong>Things To Do and See in San Antonio </strong>This Weekend!</div><br /><br />Yes, that's right. I'm off to San Antonio with my hubby this weekend and this girl just wants to have FUN! Let's just get right to the photos of the places I plan to go then, shall we?<br /><br />Oh, and let me just apologize ahead of time for the dinky thumbnails. They were not displayed that way when I saved them, and I just didn't have time to go back and figure out what I did wrong. (yes, I pack at the last minute too!) So perhaps I'll have MY OWN pictures next week and we'll just call this a preview! =))<br /><br /><br /><ol><li><strong>I hear the mission bells....</strong><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5223622791792479746" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQcilGo5RErng_N_fUI2ANN5kT3di8qva6ORscfXBGlSOnNqyt6e3F1Fd9HTAfVawZnXeMrQ0iEv6qtzaIqsnir61JRmG-a0iWE1wDUbttQwk8X9UCMscd1r2YoTvlG6ETun6-2Q/s400/mission+bells.jpg" border="0" /></li><br /><br /><br /><li><strong>Mission San Jose:</strong><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5223623050934359602" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl1LbEHJa0_RV3ydlL9YOg5973-KlriW9pZw2064elKxtcMcdQQBCOujv1_51WqUmyjhpVR_nXRQs9YDBArgNylEC3SpWsseGrmm02omVXwSiZ7kAr8FWhsrW4ZngpRK-X_GkTJQ/s400/mission+san+jose.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5223623047378791298" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpzf9T5HalWXqAsqSG665KMhQCht-otKYN8N7EWvYPbAM7-jE_yuu-oHNe5tanhmdJY4WWkCtc39W3yQnqsj06CYuEd1VzDAZc-uOB8rKU-p2QpgHnfYNuZC-zZfVDGi0v5dbw7w/s400/mission+san+hose.jpg" border="0" /></li><br /><br /><br /><li><strong>Mission San Antonio de Valero:</strong><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5223622793898801218" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_7o2cAC2PQC9Gv7M4PU6recrG8lOmNhKDjTv9UeDtsih_uwS7HjUgoEZTIzapRI89FIwJHngXneh6M9-LQr5Lcu3qXMENK9PtcteYTcONZRq4U71Gua0JdUytqGlC0HR77KNgtQ/s400/Mission+san+antonio+de+valero.jpg" border="0" /></li><br /><br /><li><strong>And, of course, The Alamo:</strong><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5223628517070405970" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZCsj1LfhwVdQNHI2fI2NVtIXTrm2Z3nuc3QpYdahQZ2oUKI6EyhN3OUTTQDx7jX_7kXnuz1-WdkyR-8CdVL02Yxl1nOarMWSZtglHN0O83yTAPFtqCbmFKf1d6Idd6Gzp5MBq5w/s400/alamo.jpg" border="0" /></li><br /><br /><br /><li><strong>La Villita:</strong><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5223622791041809538" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvzMCM2kfp0bZ40Yb-rudtRbmYTkp_9GWS8yWO3wG7Pm2xtaGx7jGpKU-7iT4f63mJLZKDeLoKyTEScCsJmwycR6SGonWpQiajM3V4GtfiYM3wyivsC1ucOtcfH-pg84hmaMkRlQ/s400/la+villita+sign.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5223622413479358450" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAJuoRijVvOjSgHsrA1VnxL_qlyUDNHZjQatqTiyiN3WvbDEzfV1gI9XsKesr7x7oNsRW7NyfddbGMacPyWc4PBQ2FTGOJcjn9G78PCgs_mecPSEJuHSxwZPyjQgUhIA58VrKC5Q/s400/riverwalk+greenery.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5223622786512983378" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihEVDQVQIQh7IWxKBquOnpZNmMzfdKcm9PzMBbdg78-ldi0MaUoCbPC9YorDBiw_bk5bvlQWp76Slap1xqEvcDuAAc8H55PzpWkUThpItdZrNei5otJiqwbG9M7NPhc0uxV2Ut-g/s400/la+villita.jpg" border="0" /></li><br /><br /><br /><li><strong>The Botanical Gardens:</strong><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5223622784101420578" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_bisovo0yFzgZ9BJ8IekYhgaJ7swOyoBoSqr_ygSbb0TkAZW9rCdU3x8snUjPgfBaokTpVgDV74jpLwdy33KvNpT4UV_8sKJMyO6HlMMUqfkC8Uc_ONKD160EoZuqwZeJOuDqmA/s400/botanical+garden.jpg" border="0" /></li><br /><br /><br /><li><strong>The Japanese Tea Garden:</strong><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5223625500305424802" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip-3EiJQsJc_y6d0_7S8A24kG8igDrY25o5rdKIhVr2qYdYVmRDRUvoYdjT7Il0ki9QXhzIGZGu73aHTgDRURSfDkYdWuepd07x6k5ORa_TLokUbfMfFrIguJzZ_Q2v8rLvA1bMQ/s400/tea+garden.jpg" border="0" /></li><br /><br /><li><strong>The Riverwalk (complete with boats to avoid walking...):</strong><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5223622608143589906" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHhNFm1tPkGq93YCmt-N1sfBgh5oZefkgnMoJLePya9dtFWqK4v9f92Ssj-1enDjXCZ7ACCB_qaYpmIzC_X-YW-mwv9IySp8kvUXWyCE1jHH_syFpnqFPoFVpRnCyx5sZ4bH3UGw/s400/river+walk+boat.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5223622606494376114" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5Vv8qvbh65vJ7U0qeB4SttP0kl2xXolrGw2iuZ5B_pUjj1-XaAlPNgEB_bmJ6Qm0nbjeUxeyAd52MIlyW3h4tyRYFRnQpPLcVQvkJ9PoGZLsnPwMbSBRGLY4-q_MU195JXJ86QQ/s400/riverwalk+bridge.jpg" border="0" /></li><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5223622409652975922" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxFH5vqzEU1yKbHJA6xyGnn6eXeeGzNAYhyebWotCqiKjllg_0FIGCSaoTk5tiyaCMraf72bVS1WVRXJgwuIA2wsQmrptUZcuDgzuVkJJAaN5u7glRKbkZPhqFwb-3w-mvANkatg/s400/riverwalk+panorama.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br />Did I mention our hotel abuts the Riverwalk? Perfect for a nighttime stroll (when it's possibly cool enough to be walking)....how romantic, no?<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5223622609770978770" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh62wYp4m0oSt9Qec0E4KTVY2Mmy58zt5h_R8Ow1CtuHDVZ10JaxPUpN4XiwYByMRDm4oe5UGIHrkRVprmToh0ZQCxAaut8uDy6CYWevKtuv-gb2GnaB3iP3luePz-mGdfia8leDw/s400/river+walk+at+night.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5223622410662340946" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIs1Kf_IgAn9FPpYzNzJ26s_5TZSD1M3PUHTGEq4DTlEY6DK7pj2zx3vlrdIQtu8J19illgLizjs9yKkO-csRUZ_5-RdkAOw9piPJc0sPnnjBUeUeBpBivjPe6YwNQ-crLCVTNHA/s400/riverwalk+nighttime.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><br /><li><strong>The Streetcars (again with the no walking):</strong><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5223622399715288930" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBdBvwAhuP-JhoF7rBzYzIvnCirb42hhBdnrvt_q5eL6yXRilPK4gs5CHryvhDJWX_mmyrc8NZ9a-BWx6iT7ORPsCBseANXDXxeBWqII8KNyaV2cRivNT4XfGOYjLfCInX1DQywQ/s400/sa+streetcar.jpg" border="0" /></li><br /><br /><li><strong>The Rollercoasters at Fiesta Texas (oh yeah baby...never been...can't WAIT!):</strong><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5223622173021365682" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrC0lnEsaXdzCXp0dQzaa_7FJtUlcm5RBlit4wh5tAWX7dzbhWcF_v-gVnwTCCbzJ-LtgMEPgc_b0fA7d6_YQ6eaZAvmel65jNUh4X44BJWndkieLr9RjvHr9qO1ro8MGHlbvqDQ/s400/which+rollercoaster.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5223622178227368418" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw1S4LwwKeieb7n2JQ6MAu-NHuCOC0Jsy6w6D8jNqIsUVPWccay3KohQhr-9_R98ja-7L6anq_1YnNrOtVrsY3zLrCiM2kVI2niSd5auE1nUoRNPdImwqIjwQTfBpj3hGfrnaZdg/s400/goliath+rollercoaster.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5223622171504243170" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi39jUTbabORabbeO_QYo_3Q8B02Hl_mGIW__zOdu9N-n4cfJpoJANi7dJpYMDz_ZRjsXKQlpXMjiEBEEWThQSX8dX-49x4GfycmhDpuun1xuecWemx-3ck4nm54LKw1BaF5HeUJA/s400/superman+rollercoaster.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5223622169000233890" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Ow3c_GWoqgK7SWsG60MGnWQ71TQKe_Ix8XfoCnoyOcIHZkRzpgl_oG8A1BH9XJI-UK8FzMrKXyzxoBQV2EIwl9uWAOnbpeb4RtObu6bj1UfuT_RZR_z9AJloFVOLlFtesCBpCw/s400/the+rattler+rollercoaster.jpg" border="0" /></li><br /><br /><li><strong>Ripley's Museum:</strong><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5223622177708044322" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI3PvuGWQVnOyABnIbeXixBMAKTzXRXD_l_07ie8NFX3Ug0hzaI1hgzmH-RGwdhjtxeKx9c65neUTye3UtjlZ93vG4hgCK2tm1Jqj3dcxYak4gnk-FW6Z9CsO93fWYgnEFlWOA3g/s400/ripleys.jpg" border="0" /></li><br /><br /><li><strong>The Tower of the Americas:</strong><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5223627674120818162" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUMtqZlO0C2iLFHnfQtJdqOguBznkV_Pzknkr9TwblLMPj26oC5NBX5rnU_ibyabLn89RDLYa6e5gLWHMnU1wFCCF3zqUK8kY6EoV3vwxqz25CVDLwu4GqOWQoxDpMf4ou0kmsiQ/s400/tower+of+the+americas.jpg" border="0" /></li><br /><br /><li><strong>The Rivercenter Mall (oh, the shopping--I'm excited about it and I'm not even what you'd really call a "shopper"!):<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5223627674627682594" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbaXS5SKrxUtfmFq4FuhwfbTNJNvcm1y0lljIm5A_zkvTtLPsxqyl0Lxx-dUxQr7fQwJn72WgttFXXokDIe21cYPsCQXjlqwt0Gi-cUm6xpww5X-hSn_m4r6tF4I1650PtZAkY6Q/s400/RiverCenter+mall.jpg" border="0" /></strong></li></ol><p></p><p>Well, off to go pack now! Hope you all have a great weekend! </p><p><p>Muah! =) </p><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p>© Nicole J. Williams, 2008, all rights reserved. </p><p></p><center><a href="http://thursdaythirteen.com/" mce_href="http://thursdaythirteen.com">Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!</a><br />The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!<br /><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/thursday+thirteen" rel="tag" mce_href="http://technorati.com/tag/thursday+thirteen">View More Thursday Thirteen Participants</a></center><p></p><p></p><br /><div><div><div><div></div><div> </div></div></div></div>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15740562889506321916noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8857556.post-25054055473027310592008-07-11T10:10:00.006-05:002008-07-11T11:20:04.551-05:00Thursday Thirteen #14--A Random List<center><img src="http://intricateart.com/blog/thursdaythirteen300.jpg" mce_src="http://intricateart.com/blog/thursdaythirteen300.jpg" /></center><div align="center"><br />Thirteen <strong>Random Snippets from Last Week</strong></div><div align="center"><strong></strong></div><div align="center"><strong></strong></div><p>What do you mean it's Friday? </p><p>It can't be Friday yet because I haven't even typed up my Thursday Thirteen for this week!<br /><br />*sigh*<br /><br />This is what happens when blogging is only in the top ten of a girl's priority list. You see, life happens, and then blogging gets bumped!<br /><br />Really...grading papers happened. Ninety of them suckers. In five days. All at least 600 words long. A significant portion of them requiring helpful comments to explain the grade of B, C, D, or F.<br /><br />I stopped explaining the A's. Now I just say thank you for following my instructions. Because honestly, that seems to be all it ever really comes down to. There's some kind of correlation between a student's ability to process complicated instructional material and the ability to produce readable (and enjoyable!) prose. That said, of course I am overgeneralizing. But nobody could convince me of that as I yelled, "No, no no! Why didn't you listen to what I said in class about this very type of thing?" at more than several of the papers that kept me company over the Fourth of July weekend (and beyond).<br /><br />So yeah. There was that. And getting a new job at my favorite health food store! Woohoo!<br /><br />So here are a few random tips or, at least, some things related to the grading/teaching I did last week that kept me so busy I look like a dork being late with my Thursday posting...and also a short list (can't come up with 13 yet) of substances to avoid if you want to start changing your diet from the Standard American Diet (SAD) to the Gorging Lusciously American Diet (GLAD). Ok, so I made up the second one, but it works I think.<br /><br /></p><ol><li>When you are asked to perform a specific task in a specific way, it's usually not a good time to decide that the way you've always done it before must be better. Learning is changing, so be brave enough to change. At least a little. Ok? Please?<br /><br /></li><li>Blowing "word smoke" at the person who must evaluate your actual performance only makes you look like a smoke blower in the end. And most people aren't particularly keen on smoke blowers. Actions speak louder than words, as the pat expression goes, so if you say you are going to make something better, please be certain that you do.<br /><br /></li><li>When someone tells you up front that the next five weeks or so are going to run "like a freight train" (ie. rough and fast), and that if you don't keep up, you'll feel like you were run over by it, chances are, you should keep up with the task schedule. Getting run over by the freight train and then complaining that it hurt is kind of like whining. And whiners are appreciated about as much as smoke blowers are.<br /><br /></li><li>Oh, and similarly, don't wait until the very end of the line to acknowledge that you have been run over, expecting your injuries to be miraculously healed (is this analogy getting old yet?). I'm not Jesus. Take this valuable, yet painful lesson and go and sin no more, ok?<br /><br /></li><li>When you catch yourself complaining that the world runs as it normally does, you need to take a step back and stop taking everything so personally. That's my lesson. I know that there will be casualties on each train ride, er, semester, but it still isn't any easier to watch it happen just the way I say it will. I have to remember that it's merely a matter of cause and effect. I'm responsible for so few of the causes in a student's life that I just can't make it all better, all the time.<br /><br /></li><li>Grading sucks. As much as it sucks to be graded sometimes, I think it sucks worse to be grading. Thirty nervous people hand me their work, and now I have 30 chances to say the just the right thing that will enhance learning. Or not. Ugh. I'd much rather just help them write better and give them a pass/fail at the end. I'm not strong enough to be the gatekeeper (or the keymaster...hehe), and so, I now have a new job.<br /><br /></li><li>Let's be GLAD now. Please, please, please stop eating these things. They are so not good for your body, and many of them are linked to the current epidemic in diseases like: obesity, diabetes, cancer, and the big one...heart disease (which kills more than all other diseases combined). Ok ready? It's a short list, but when you start checking your labels, you'll be hard pressed to eat much that comes in a package. I tell you only because I care.<br /><br /></li><li>Partially-hydrogenated oils. This is in almost EVERYTHING in a box or bag. Start reading those labels! There are a few brands of crackers and chips that don't use these. That's IT!<br /><br /></li><li>High fructose corn syrup. If it doesn't have partially-hydrogenated oil in it, your packaged food probably has this instead. I only found one...ONE...kind of bread in a bag that didn't have HFCS in it: Mrs Baird's Sugar-Free whole wheat bread. And that included all those fancy $4 a loaf breads that LOOK like they are better. So, know that there are certainly more like the Mrs. Baird's, but be sure to look. This stuff is a sign that you're being manipulated into eating something that is no good for you.<br /><br /></li><li>Sugar (processed), Aspartame, Sucralose, Saccharin...you know...all that "unnatural" sweet stuff. Try raw sugar, honey (local), agave nectar, real maple syrup (have you read the ingredients in the fake stuff? oy vie!)...you know...the "natural" sweet stuff.<br /><br /></li><li>I know I'm going to be called unpatriotic for this one, but I'm not saying you can NEVER have the stuff...it's just that the quantity in the SAD(iet) is so so so high. Ok, so, carbonated beverages? As in soda? (Just think though, it's got that "unnatural" sweet stuff in it too!) It's just a suggestion. And one my husband, who used to drink nothing but Diet Coke, has finally taken (and it only took me ten years to convince HIM!)<br /><br /></li><li>Table salt/sodium. This is one nobody really talks about anymore, but all signs still point to it being something your body doesn't process well because it's no longer in its "natural" state. Try some sea salt instead (it really does taste better, and your body does need some salt...your insides are bathed in saline solution after all).<br /><br /></li><li>And lastly, the two substances that are the most beloved: caffeine and alcohol. Yeah I know. Now I'm a quack. Alcohol seems much easier to regulate than caffeine. And I really have nothing against them, although I can't have caffeine because I have some super-sensitivity to it (in other words, if you wanted to kill me, you might try pouring Red Bull or Monster down my throat), but I'm just sayin'. These two are just not that "healthy" for you in large doses. AND, if you're megadosing while eating the other stuff on the list, well, it just all works together to cut down your health and longevity.</li></ol><p>Well that may not be the most satisfying list. Kind of a downer I suspect. But hey, when that's what the week was like, what's a girl to do? I guess I'm still in "teacher mode," only, that's starting to feel like "stick-in-the-mud" mode. So onward and upward and maybe I taught you something new, maybe you sympathized with me (or my students), and maybe I just got to blow off some steam and you were kind enough to be a friend and listen. </p><p>Now that thought makes me smile. Hope you have a great weekend!</p><p></p><p>Muah! =) </p><p></p><p></p><p>© Nicole J. Williams, 2008, all rights reserved. </p><p></p><center><a href="http://thursdaythirteen.com/" mce_href="http://thursdaythirteen.com">Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!</a><br />The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!<br /><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/thursday+thirteen" rel="tag" mce_href="http://technorati.com/tag/thursday+thirteen">View More Thursday Thirteen Participants</a></center><p></p>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15740562889506321916noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8857556.post-2959097436614130292008-07-02T19:02:00.007-05:002008-07-02T20:26:02.001-05:00Thursday Thirteen #13--Fabulous Quotations<center><img src="http://intricateart.com/blog/thursdaythirteen300.jpg" mce_src="http://intricateart.com/blog/thursdaythirteen300.jpg" /></center><div align="center"><br />Thirteen <strong>Fabulous Quotations</strong></div><br /><div align="center"></div><p>As I've <a href="http://stepofaith.blogspot.com/2008/06/first-day-of-school.html">mentioned recently</a>, I've been teaching freshman composition at the local community college this summer. Since I began teaching college classes in 2001, I have yet to teach during a summer session. Part of the reason was that my kids were too young to be left unattended, or that I had to take wondrous summer trips to Cape Cod instead. But the other part was that I just didn't believe that I could accomplish in just over five weeks what it normally took me fifteen weeks to do. </p><p>I have three more days of class left, and I have to say that I'm amazed at what can be accomplished in five weeks. But I'm certain that the list of things I normally do, that I wasn't able to do, are still important and I miss them. All told, though, it was more of a success than I had hoped. </p><p>Why am I introducing quotations with my thoughts about summer school? Well, I thought I would "teach" one of the things I learned in college that was minor to most folks, but major to those who spend their days, nose to the student essays. </p><p>It's one of those <em>stuffy grammatical things</em> that English teachers have to know to show their true street cred. I jest. Well, a little.</p><p>I just thought I would share because nine out of ten people who ask me what I do then say, "Oh no! That was my worst subject in school. Yuck." So I wanted to share how yucky it can be to have to lug around all these rules in my head; rules most people would live normal, happy, healthy lives without ever having to worry about. </p><p>Oh heck. It's just a silly way to introduce this list really. So on with it I say! </p><p>Ok. So a lot of folks call quotations, "quotes," but I was told, by a very precise professor or two, that "quote" is the verb and that "quotation" is the noun. In other words, if I were to <em>quote</em> you, I would write down what you said. And then, what I had written would be a <em>quotation</em>.</p><p>I know. Boring. (any wonder then why I'm looking to change careers?) </p><p>On with the show! Here are some good ones that I've gotten in my daily quotation emails.</p><ol><li>“A human being is only interesting if he's in contact with himself. I learned you have to trust yourself, be what you are, and do what you ought to do the way you should do it. You have got to discover you, what you do, and trust it.” —Barbra Streisand </li><br /><br /><li>“Creativity comes from trust. Trust your instincts. And never hope more than you work.” —Rita Mae Brown (b. 1944), writer, social activist </li><br /><br /><li>“A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.” —William G.T. Shedd (1820-1894), theologian, teacher, pastor </li><br /><br /><li>Whatever you're thinking about is literally like planning a future event. When you're worrying, you are planning. When you are appreciating, you are planning...What are you planning? Abraham-Hicks </li><br /><br /><li>“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity...It turns problems into gifts, failures into success, the unexpected into perfect timing, and mistakes into important events. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.” —Melodie Beattie; motivational author </li><br /><br /><li>“We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.” —Thornton Wilder (1897–1975), playwright, novelist<br /><br /></li><li>“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work. ” —Thomas Edison (1847–1931) inventor, entrepreneur<br /><br /></li><li>“Better keep yourself clean and bright. You are the window through which you must see the world.” —George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) playwright, political activist </li><br /><br /><li>“Wisdom is knowing what to do next; virtue is doing it.” —David Star Jordan, (1851-1931) educator, author, peace activist; exerpt from "The Philosophy of Despair" </li><br /><br /><li>“Always dream and shoot higher than you know you can do. Don't bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself.” —William Faulkner (1897-1962) author, winner of the 1949 Nobel Prize for Literature </li><br /><br /><li>“Most people never run far enough on their first wind to find out they've got a second. Give your dreams all you've got and you'll be amazed at the energy that comes out of you.” —William James (1842-1910), psychologist, philosopher, author </li><br /><br /><li>“ The best way out is always through. ”- Robert Frost (1874-1963) American Poet Laureate 1958-1959</li><br /><br /><li>"All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better." Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) American poet, lecturer, and essayist </li></ol><p>Hope you enjoy those. I love me some good ol' inspirational quotations. </p><p>Muah! =) </p><p></p><p></p><p>© Nicole J. Williams, 2008, all rights reserved. </p><p></p><center><a href="http://thursdaythirteen.com/" mce_href="http://thursdaythirteen.com">Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!</a><br />The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!<br /><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/thursday+thirteen" rel="tag" mce_href="http://technorati.com/tag/thursday+thirteen">View More Thursday Thirteen Participants</a><br /></center>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15740562889506321916noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8857556.post-76297505560871885992008-07-01T15:50:00.009-05:002008-07-01T16:38:46.044-05:00I Like to Call It HollywoodizedEver since the <a href="http://derfwadmanor.blogspot.com/2008/06/heart-of-home.html">open house </a>last Thursday, I've been looking around my office at all of the other things I've accumulated or put on display here. It's interesting to see what I surround myself with and the little things that make me smile and reminisce.<br /><br /><div>I have postcards, photos, and prayer flags; fortune cookie messages, refrigerator magnets, and tiny stuffed animals; CDs, bookmarks, and handcrafts made by my kids. There are typed, handwritten, and "plaqued" quotations, magnetic poetry in a box, and even a pearly white curly ribbon "bow" from a recent birthday present.</div><div></div><br /><div>I even noticed, with new eyes, my collection of refrigerator magnets.<br /><br /></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div>But then there is this picture that I keep at eye level, tacked to the corkboard just to the left of my computer monitor. Any idea who this couple is? (There's a clue in the photo.)</div><div></div><br /><br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5218154699538728898" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTmDdHmq5CnhLSxzfWQgYHSZ_IWW9dph0wmwJV1p93iRbM9f_RM0QrZjLYfxbQYSzBovgVLlc4KTnSvSMqtWseD1YB_YDEiX6TR6OvirTM1lvEIspv9Cb0hWjZli5VQoMG-5TJ3A/s400/Scan10005.JPG" border="0" /></div><br /><p></p><p>Well, if you haven't guessed, I can't tell you just yet, so let me tell you why I keep this photo first. (I promise to tell you by the end of the post!)</p><p>I keep this photo to remind me, more than any "stars without their makeup" or "stars at the beach after firing their personal trainers" photos have ever been able to do, that, well, we're all human...all average...all just regular people who can go unnoticed without all the fuss that it takes to create a more glamorous, camera-friendly, audience-appealing version of a regular old everday human being.</p><p>You see, I've been cursed with the desire for "feminine beauty" ever since I was a young child (like, preschool?) when people would say to my mom, "Oh what a cute little boy." </p><p>Dammit, people!? The dress should have been a clue...I don't care if it was pale blue! And I couldn't help it that I didn't have hair long enough for pig tails, pony tails, or even those cute little colorful barrettes with the flowers or animals on them. And that was long before my mom cut my butt-length hair (sorry Mom, don't mean to bring that up AGAIN!) into a Twiggy-esque "pixie" because either there was no such thing as detangler or she wasn't into the stuff. Oh yeah, and the whole tomboy thing after that. </p><p>So, all that to say that I had a gender-unspecific childhood and was always curious about the feminine beauty techniques that never got passed down, for whatever reason, and it made me insatiable to understand how "beauty" was made. And I suppose there's a lot more going on in there, but that's a book in progress I think, so suffice to say that I always felt like I was being measured by a standard that I neither understood nor was certain I cared to understand. And yet. There it was. An undercurrent of confusion in my self image that persists until this very day.</p><p>I still remember the first time I did happen upon one of those "stars without their makeup" tabloids in the checkout line. (I don't know if you remember, but for a long time, celebrity beauty was wrapped up in the mystery. Now there's a relentless push to "catch" stars looking, "ewwww....normal!"...a sort of backlash from the old Hollywood glamour I suppose.) It was at that point that I became aware that the flawless beauty ideal that was all around me in the consumer world was just an illusion...slight of hand, tricks of lighting, and camera angles; oh, and air brushing. What a relief.!</p><p>But still this nebulous idea of "feminine" beauty persists in my psyche, not nearly as dramatically as before though I suppose. At any rate, to combat this ghostly sense of not fitting in, I keep that couple's picture where I can see it every day. And I look at it. And I think, "If Sharon and Ozzy were normal before they were Hollywoodized, then all any of us is missing is a trip to Hollywood where the imagicians could work their magic on us too. And who needs that? Really." </p><p>(Who am I kidding? Just knowing it's a possibility is enough.)</p><p>But seriously. Just knowing that, without the imagicians, even Sharon and Ozzy would look like anyone else I know, is always a relief.</p><p>Call me crazy, but it's how I get around one of my weaknesses. =)</p><p>© Nicole J. Williams, 2008, all rights reserved. </p>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15740562889506321916noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8857556.post-86232107170807869172008-06-27T09:23:00.008-05:002008-06-27T13:32:54.045-05:00Thursday Thirteen #12--My Heart on Display at Home<center><img src="http://intricateart.com/blog/thursdaythirteen300.jpg" mce_src="http://intricateart.com/blog/thursdaythirteen300.jpg" /></center><br /><div align="center">Thirteen Things about <strong>My Heart on Display at Home</strong><br /></div><div align="left">I may have just missed out on a fabulous opportunity provided by Mrs. G. over at <a href="http://derfwadmanor.blogspot.com/2008/06/heart-of-home.html">Derfwad Manor</a>, but I'm going to press on and hope that folks will still stop by from her home and visit mine too.<br /><br />So this was supposed to be my Thursday Thirteen as well, as you can see, but Thursday, when I thought I would have time to do this, turned out to have other plans for me.<br /><br />Without further adieu, then, I present to you the room in my home where my heart is. It's not the hub of the family, but it does house the spirit of the woman who is the hub of the family.<br /><br />May I present....my office:<br /></div><ol><li>The full view:<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5216610059646604674" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEChUx14MUPrPLknbnF30bfHDqjsZTvTsKNvUPHREld2eWMg9GYLKepTaX-vIeQsfOWjtXPv_te_jYI9KVOV0f1kZVtoYjFNUG6uIonv_dfGyxheGsGIMKbkSfYiSU2YFuCfRiEw/s400/P1010232.JPG" border="0" /></li><br /><br /><li>The painting section. Painting is wonderful. It's one of my favorite things to do, but I still have hangups about doing it. You know. That perfectionism thing. That and the thing about doing things that are just for your own, individual, solitary pleasure? But when I let myself, gosh, I just can't imagine why it took me so long to give myself permission again. But I'm working on this issue. Oh, and ssshhhhhh...this is what I've been working on for a while now:<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5216610078658586946" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqYybr-yr8LbuNXvPpSQuSXgxl2MxZ9MaO9taVxGbDwS-ZqDkEerO8RojsQ8jojqGF3feF2rX_dD1a0JDon_Xsu_gGBV156ltTjztUtxydj4ajLd3d-IfiMfn4eXiZMzeWK0xE_Q/s400/P1010235.JPG" border="0" /></li><br /><br /><li>A close-up of my painting supplies, that probably need to be dusted at the moment, unfortunately. Like I said, I'm working through this. Once I have finished summer school, I'm going to be all about painting. Having to grade papers all the time has really kicked my yearning to paint up a notch. Make that about five notches. Ah....a pallette and paint and brushes, oh my:<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5216610071602547426" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhds7-2b8_sayH26ck8MH_-t7C7RaJ22JUO6ZrTuJ6RmhR44USDsuC59OWvDAnweWMtlq46D6Iq4-ACNcmD2yJW-bChWy_Tiuni7W8nhDWZKV9BBnCJ_0rOGWWb8oFXF54TtLEI9A/s400/P1010234.JPG" border="0" /></li><br /><br /><li>The <a href="http://www.trailofpaintedponies.com/">painted pony </a>ornament I bought on my solo trip to Albuquerque in the summer of '06. This one is called "War Paint," and was the one, out of the available ornament ponies, that I felt captured my Native spirit...not the war part though...well, I just think warrior...as in warrior of Life. <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5216610083123615970" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbXbfikmYyLRL1OXXerU7WhqpvPFZ8sSDRysu-wSPY9WLKl0iQOQTOiObhO8Te6b-lWX8zqvfK1kWy_P64IhZAUKHGxlUbjf_szX7QMgxNa3felyxkweRAm104ZfzzaBsUdu_4Kw/s400/P1010242.JPG" border="0" /></li><br /><br /><li>The carved <a href="http://www.willowtree.info/">Willow Tree</a> angel by Susan Lordi, titled "Thinking of You." Oh the expression. The hand on the heart. The ear to the shell. This is me, dreaming of love and the ocean.<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5216610083549738690" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGImFlWdp_bOTQJWXdtB-fFPnjhNcvka-4BN-yrCglUvuexfFpnvsbFI5eKN56yrpNbqYwcy8cpqXp8hVCN_BUqZVd8Ly8Ch7DU7vcmv7lxH3ZsarAWaU36xE9U8NHvUQ1H-vdRw/s400/P1010245.JPG" border="0" /></li><br /><br /><li>My hand gathered cotton bole from Mississippi. Cotton is the most amazing plant. I couldn't believe it when I saw it for the first time. It proved to me that there just had to be a Higher Power taking care of us little naked human beings. Cotton. On. A. Plant. Now it reminds me of the idyllic days I spent in college in the Mississippi Delta, meeting the people who would change my life forever...for the better. And it's where I discovered poetry. And not just literary poetry that's been put in a book with a halo over its head. The poetry that is the kind that makes life worth living. Really, it was a recognition of the poetics of life. Call me a Romantic. I won't be offended.<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5216610391535831138" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8RpFyNkUJTq8nITp2s2uTya6cqD41Hc2331GL3695vmCyk5nxzRKRza452m0UyAqOcZKSojwZoFmi-ek-CigD5Uj0T8M9I0UoldrAiVYtwc01JkshbppLaWvFlgSJqA0Z3WRBlQ/s400/P1010246.JPG" border="0" /></li><br /><br /><li>Ah, my Cape Cod shells (some of them) and my Walden white birch bark, right in front of Thoreau, Emerson, The Transcendetalists, and so forth. This is home. I grew up in Massachusetts, but didn't discover the Transcendentalists until I made it to Mississippi. That's when I learned who I was and where I fit in...and how the transition between those two geographical locations was like a birth canal from heaven to seeing the light for the very first time.<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5216610404836983442" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg82FJNriqiVdDp-gzZZwhbV7ZGD9UmN2Cv59X9CoXJ8WYSEw3RaKF4T4PMtYgf_X3Qra0SO9P7WxtlOI-6eBP-SWXYJqPtbyGWo_NEcj8T1si4yGUs69nsPb60ifK7vJoKs8ifQA/s400/P1010247.JPG" border="0" /></li><br /><br /><li>This hand made oil lamp was thrown and glazed by <a href="http://www.shadyoakpottery.com/about.html">a friend of the family </a>who I always admired. I've never used it because I broke the oil holder one day trying to get it ready to put oil in it. Now it sits and looks lovely in front of my grandmother's collection of Rudyard Kipling volumes.<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5216610411127853666" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt8GYlwwBClxjTIRCODP0JQTrQrMoBqwt8C65l6CXEoCdcSHhxMGRa4fBtZt4kicNH1MSjz2ng2jpMRn7npADzDam748KnCFdTYZFqd0AMRVSOA3kSlFl8KXM0Nqy7LhdLDIiG7g/s400/P1010253.JPG" border="0" /></li><br /><br /><li>And now that I've mentioned a few of the books on my shelves, here are some close-ups of my favorite sections. This is the feminist section. Everything from <em>Lizzie</em>, written by <a href="http://www.shs.starkville.k12.ms.us/mswm/MSWritersAndMusicians/writers/Shawhan.html">my journalism professor</a> at Delta State, to Susan Faludi's <em>Backlash</em>, to a really cool compilation of woman-centered science fiction called, <em>Women of Wonder: The Classic Years</em>. (And that's my <a href="http://www.queenpower.com/">Queen Power </a>tiara sitting atop the lot of them--my <a href="http://freefallingtoday.blogspot.com/">wonderful friend from Mississippi </a>sent it to me as a gift.<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5216610415697524114" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwIT73K7N0ANpgwaJiPBCGyNCZMGqhdjpwoxQfI1Anq2M2R_fMEeAJ4nTRcq_0GCHpJB89PJqebcLe_gn2LqdFG1-qc3mMNBPtEvUUUxCuO6W8OyOnksyiWh2oO_AokyzSSsmx5w/s400/P1010254.JPG" border="0" /></li><br /><br /><li>And here is my Native American collection, as well my Latin American, Asian American, philosophy, Romanticism, and others that seem to fit here. The book <em>Spirit Walker</em> came from an undergrad class in, you guessed it, Native American Literature, but it was like taking a philosophy and religion classes (heck, all the literature classes I loved were like that though), but what happened was that I fell in love with this book. It's gorgeous. It made me want to paint. I made me want to write poetry. It made me feel like Native American philosophy must transfer in the genes (felt like home). And it made me want to visit New Mexico, where both author, Nancy Wood, and artist, Frank Howell, were living at the time. And so I did. Quite a few years later, and not Taos, where they lived, but I did go to New Mexico. Alone. And I had an amazing experience with a mountain and a town called Albuquerque that is still one of the best things I've ever experienced in life. I just have to remember the trip to smile and feel peaceful. Like nothing in this world is big and bad enough to make me forget how big and beautiful this life and this planet really are. The trinkets from the trip are all in front of the books (still no picture in the adobe frame!):<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5216625230542742130" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihCVB8V009SRLybk5p2DoKCOvLB1UY2TvE4oqrG_WvBKG5qHKXJ3cKqhj-dtd_BOqeFwVK1OFrcyJSn6INglBNC-R3KP6veX_O1ahUvp_fQ9MdgQbmkeZQFiRn3aW5aN1msL-n6w/s400/P1010255.JPG" border="0" /></li><br /><br /><li>There were a whole lot of other things I could have taken pictures of I suppose, but this one makes me smile and actually feel like I've accomplished something outside of the home. No, not the diploma hanging on the wall (it was in the first picture with a flash reflection on it!), but this nifty little plaque that a student anonymously recommended I should be honored with. Being that it was anonymous, I wondered if it were a scam, or a joke, but then I found out how the nominating process worked, and so I figured I could at least take it as a sign from the Universe that I was on the right track. Most days I feel like I don't know enough to be teaching, but then I remind myself that if I teach everything I know, including how to be nurturing to the mind, then I can feel good about my abilities. And as the saying goes, I've learned more as a teacher than perhaps my students do. It's the wonderful two-way exchange that makes teaching such a blessing. (That I have trouble remembering only when my eyeballs are falling out, I'm tearing my hair, and mumbling to myself about, "Is anyone <em>listening</em> when I talk?" But hey, I remember eventually.):<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5216610760825956402" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGzzEtsb54fBduVpc5N8rUFm4hrEltB1l4mAmRZBHj_l1zi-JyN4QxYo6s9WMK0m88lv4oJ2bS_7M8Sy0rUi7BXm_MdlEuAt3HKyaMFvtf0LBqdanEdjTwPUVSrAMCF7u2hiW0Hg/s400/P1010257.JPG" border="0" /></li><br /><br /><li>My life just wouldn't be the same without vanGogh's work. I've mentioned before that when I see his paintings in museums, I am overcome with emotion and cry. It's like seeing a soulmate across the distances of time and space. I just understand something when I look at them. And I feel what he's expressing. I really believe that his emotions are still in the paint, at least, that's what I feel I pick up on when I regard them. So, since I don't have enough money to buy the real things to gaze at around the house, I settle for prints, notecards, and whatever else...like this box that the notecards came in...and yes, vanGogh makes me want to paint too:<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5216610767805295202" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-u2nQ_NhLPEChicrU5PyXDbQJlnVsGmYaxg0r_dYz5LYWp7r9dF5by4YkJfUqFVyyjvCfEyFSUB_q0tHG0Mq4l46FS9BgC9TZJNf5WAibs5hSv77O00GIGp6gvjrixtZnnK3teg/s400/P1010258.JPG" border="0" /></li><br /><br /><li>This is the only living thing in my office, besides me, and this little thing is just a little bundle of personality. Really. The picture shows that she is just a loyal friend to a human who spends way too much time facing a monitor these days. Normally, like right now, she's gruffing out the window at the FedEx or UPS trucks, people walking by, birds, squirrels, stray dogs, butterflies, and the elusive nothing, running back and forth from one window to the other and back to her spot and then back down again. Sometimes it's annoying, but when I haven't heard anything for a while, I turn around, and there she is, waiting:</li></ol><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5216610770157396322" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-Q49VWK6-khZmvepV10Z6uzBJ7gs7mzyrKYMLpxPujhagtw4gA-lYF2UbajQDLE34tcEzAVfeRTqQSenVNp7dOQtnW-d-mujF_iLJDlFCtPvfd2DXtlME4c_y1Ix9XuaduwVibg/s400/emily+paint+this.JPG" border="0" /></p><br /><p>So thanks so much for stopping by today! I have a million other things I need to go do now, but seeing these 13 pictures of the place where I spend most of my time, second only to the kitchen (a girl's gotta eat, right?) or the bed (and sleep?), well, I just feel all warm and fuzzy inside. It was nice having you over and showing you around. Hope you enjoyed your visit!</p>Hope to see you again soon! Muah! =) <p></p><p> </p><p>© Nicole J. Williams, 2008, all rights reserved.<br /><br /></p><center><a href="http://thursdaythirteen.com/" mce_href="http://thursdaythirteen.com">Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!</a><br />The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!<br /><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/thursday+thirteen" rel="tag" mce_href="http://technorati.com/tag/thursday+thirteen">View More Thursday Thirteen Participants</a><br /></center>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15740562889506321916noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8857556.post-86793590395065904682008-06-19T15:35:00.007-05:002008-06-19T18:29:44.280-05:00Thursday Thirteen #11: Home Remedies?<center><img src="http://intricateart.com/blog/thursdaythirteen300.jpg" mce_src="http://intricateart.com/blog/thursdaythirteen300.jpg" /></center><br /><div align="center">Thirteen Things about <strong>Home Remedies I've Used</strong> <br /><br /></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="left">I just spent the last week and a half with "The RhinoVirus from Hell." Hence, no TT last week. I was teaching that Thursday morning/afternoon, thinking it was all but gone (after three days of the stuff). But then I came home, felt instantly exhausted, went to bed, and woke up three hours later with a fever and the chills. <br /><br /></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left">I still haven't kicked it out of me completely, only farther up into my sinuses it seems like. So today I was thinking that I actually had a moment, and I could breathe properly, and it was Thursday, so, what the hay, I'll write a blog! And since I was just so darn grateful to be able to breathe, I started writing about that.<br /><br /></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left">Well that turned into a diatribe of home remedies from my childhood and I hadn't even started anything that looked like a list yet, so I decided to put all the remedies and their accompanying stories in list form. I used a piece of paper to jot some down and got up to nine, so bear with me. Even I don't know yet if this is going to get to thirteen or not! I'll give it the ol' college try though!<br /><br /></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left">Oh, you want to know where this penchant for the mundane came from? Well, in a family full of nurses and "health-nuts" and chiropractor visitors, we were all about the diagnosis, the prognosis, and the best remedies God, Mother Nature, the Pantry, or the Medicine Cabinet had to offer. You could say it is a bit of a family tradition.<br /></div><ol><li><div align="left"><strong>Flat gingerale and dry toast. </strong>Sometimes it was fun to get sick. I mean, I have always, always, always loved ginger ale, but soda wasn't something I could have just any old day. In fact, the bottle of ginger ale was usually around for mixing into cocktails on very special occasions. But if I got sick to my stomach, I knew that once I stopped vomiting profusely, the ginger ale would follow. (I didn't HAVE to throw up to get it, mind you, but if I did, it was always a consolation in mid-heave to think about warm ginger ale--yep, flat and warm and I still loved the stuff!) These days, I drink extra ginger, ginger beer when I'm sick and it always makes me feel happy, even if I don't have a tummyache!<br /><br /></div></li><li><div align="left"><strong>Vicks Vaporub--on my chest, neck, upper lip, inside my nostrils,</strong> and even a little spot on my pillow case to sniff, just because I loved that stuff. I've always been a sucker for an upper respiratory virus it seems, and the Vicks would come out right away so that I could breathe enough to get to sleep at night because nobody likes to be up all night with a whiny, sick kid. Those were the days before OTC decongestants remember. To this day, the smell of Vicks just makes me feel safe.<br /><br /></div></li><li><div align="left"><strong>The Misting Humidifier. </strong>Another one of those magical remedy machines of old. Sure they still sell them at the pharmacy superstores, but does anyone use them for anything other than babies or older folks? Perhaps. I had one for a little while when the kids were little, but I guess they just weren't as sick as I seemed to be. (This list is making me see what a little sick kid I really was!! Good memories surrounding regular illnesses? No wonder I'm so weird!) Did I mention that the white noise of the thing was so wonderfully soothing? Yep. Weirdo.</div></li><br /><li><div align="left"><strong>Peroxide and Mercurochrome. </strong>Ok, so on to the injuries for a while. I was a wild urchin of a child. By that I mean that I spent any inside time watching Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom, or The Lone Ranger, or Grizzly Adams, or Rin Tin Tin, or Tarzan episodes, so that the REST of the time, when I was outside, I was in a state of Zen. I was one with Nature. I was in the sandbox, in the trees, hanging upside down from the swingset (and regularly knocking the wind out of my lungs when I would inevitably fall because I swung too far out), exploring in the woods, eating the local fruit (blackberries, grapes, crab apples, beans and carrots from the garden, you name it), and even--do I dare say it?--following the "call of nature" rather than have to go inside (mostly because I had a lot of room to explore and I always waited until the last second and just couldn't make it back in time!). So yeah, all that to say that I got my fair share--and then some--of cuts, scrapes, bruises, and scratches. Three out of four of those required peroxide first (loved the bubbles...) and then, if I were <em>really</em> hurt, the red stuff. Man I loved to be really hurt! The red stuff was like war paint. Bandaids schmandades! (And whose idea was it to make mercurochrome <em>CLEAR</em>??!! It's totally ruined now. I guess it must have had some horribly toxic red dye in it or something. Figures.)</div></li><br /><li><div align="left"><strong>I am stuck on Bandaids, cuz they frickin' <em>stick</em> on me!</strong> How cool is <em>THAT</em>?? Ok, so I liked me some bandaids too. This was war paint you could wear acceptably to school. And what kid isn't facinated with tape? COME ON! So something that sticks to you? Sweet. And I didn't get any of those fancy Disney character bandaids. Nope. Plain old bandaids. (Maybe Scooby Doo snuck in eventually, but maybe that was at a friend's house) And I always wanted to try the round bqndaids, but there were only a few, and it seemed like Gram always horded them "just in case." Because you know, nobody ever seemed to have a booboo that those worked on. Never. And so, I kid you not, when I was old enough to buy my own bandaids, I bought the pack with the round ones and used them the first chance I could. They didn't stick very well though. Live and learn.<br /><br /></div></li><li><div align="left"><strong>Butterfly Bandages. </strong>We've got us a theme going now! These were THE COOLEST bandaids of them all. If you had to have one of these puppies put on your booboo, you had a <strong><em>wound</em></strong>, ok? I think I had an obsession with being wounded. (Hey, in my family, it was an acceptable way to get sympathy and attention. If anything were wrong emotionally, well, sorry Charlie, go get yourself a good scrape and then we'll talk!) So the story is...I had this horse on springs. You know, the "hobby horse" I believe they called it. And it was a big contraption, and it was noisy and annoying to grown-ups (and probably came from my dad...just kidding), so it had to go outside on the patio. Well, it was exposed to the elements, and all the springs got rusty, and finally, one broke. I am here to tell you that a three-springed hobby horse is still a lot of fun; until your mother gets a bright idea to ride WITH you on it. Ok, picture this CPS agents. Mom's on, facing front, "riding" normally. I'm on behind her, facing backwards so that if I do fall off, which, we all pretty much figured I think, I can slide off and land on my feet. One problem. The broken spring is in the back. So off I slide, as we are all laughing and hooting (because it just wouldn't be dangerous fun if the whole family weren't involved--aunts and grandparents and all!) and I feel something hot on my leg, but I'm still laughing. Then I feel wet on my leg and look down. I AM BLEEDING like nobody's business. Well don't all the nurses on the floor react like, get her inside "Stat!" So then we can't stop the bleeding and the peroxide bubbles run pink for what seems like forever and people start whispering something about "stitches," which makes me freak out. "Fix me here," I plead. So then Gram says something solemnly about "butterfly bandages," and I'm yepling, "Yes! Please! Butterfly bandages!" having no earthly idea what that means but, knowing how beautiful butterflies are, it HAS to be good. Well, long story long story, the bleeding relented, the butterfly bandages held, and I still have a half inch wide scar on my right calf and a story that makes my mother cringe to this day. (No need to tell you the second butterfly bandage story here.)</div></li><br /><li><div align="left"><strong>The wild and wacky, the miraculous, the all-purpose Ace Bandage.</strong> Notice by now that we didn't have off brand items either. This was back in the day when Bayer meant aspirin and Tylenol hadn't been invented yet--ok, well at least not offered to the general public anyway. So ACE Bandage it was. Now it's something like brown, stretchy bandage I guess, but then, it was Ace, and that meant something. The Ace Bandage was like Vicks. It was a source of comfort in an otherwise uncomfortable emotional landscape. So, I pit myself against the physical landscape, <em>and how</em>, and often came out with more than just a bruised ego. I think my grandmother understood this relationship between me and the Ace Bandage, but my mother was not as willing to hand it over any time I said ouch. She was always worried that I would lose the little metal thingies that held the loose end on. I can't blame her. I'm always at least one short to this day. But hey, I'm all about if this little bandage makes you feel better then go for it sweetheart. Ouch I twisted my ankle jumping off the big rocks in the backyard; I need the Ace Bandage. Ouch I hurt my wrist hanging off the swingset; I need the Ace Bandage. Owww, my knee is bruised and sore from falling off my bike on the sidewalk; I need the Ace bandage. Oh, how I love Thee, Ace Bandage!<br /><br /></div></li><li><div align="left"><strong>The Homemade Splint. </strong>I REALLY am starting to feel like I was more of a "tomboy" than I ever thought. Like I said, I was Nature's Child. If I was not outside running around until my cheeks were red and I was salty and sticky, then I was miserable. I think this is why I always have had such trouble sitting still to read books, and why, out of everything else I've ever done, I have stuck with my dance lessons for so long (I know, a year, but STILL, this is ME we're talking about here, people!). I just LOVE LOVE LOVE to be on the go. And, apparently, at one time in my life, I was fearless. Gosh I miss those days. So, what happens when I get stuck in the house with all that energy? Well, if I couldn't have the card table to build a fort, or go play "Cherries Are Ripe" on the piano for an hour, then I would just have to jump off of the couch until I hurt myself. And oh, let me tell you, I did not get much sympathy for this one because NOBODY liked it that I jumped off the couch (it's like tape people...kids like to fly through the air to feel how cool it is to get "up high" again), so when it looked like I might have sprained my pinky finger, all the screaming in the world wasn't going to save me from the "now maybe you'll stop jumping off the couch" lecture. There were pained expressions and whispers of "x-rays" and "expensive" and "what if it's nothing and she's just making all that noise for attention." So I got the homemade splint. Colored toothpicks all the way around, held securely against the finger with first aid tape. Too cool. And no, I didn't need an x-ray. In fact, it didn't hurt after a few hours, but since it had been such a big deal, I was afraid to say anything until about 24 hours later. But 30 years later, when my daughter actually DID break her pinky finger (volleyball, not couch jumping), I was the mom who put a tongue depressor splint on her finger and sent her to school the next day. (Hey, in my defense, it didn't LOOK broken...you know, blue, swollen, throbbing, ouch ouch ouch all the time. That took a day to happen. Gosh I felt horrible. Kinda erased the whole hobby horse story, huh? CPS agents, are you still reading?)<br /><br /></div></li><li><div align="left"><strong>Teabags and Clay Masque. </strong>Let's go back to the more calm and gentle stuff, shall we? Teabags and clay masque are useful when you have something under your skin that you would like to draw OUT of your skin. In other words, a foreign object of sorts. Usually accompanied by pain, redness, and swelling. Like a huge pimple with no head in sight. Or a wasp's stinger. Or an ingrown pubic hair (Ew!). Or what you think is a huge pimple with no head, but what actually turns out to be a sebacious cyst that finally gets infected and grows to a ginormous size and hardens from all the evil bacteria and pus inside of it. That requires surgery because you kept applying mask and teabags just knowing that any day now they will work their magic. That leaves a ginormous scar on the only part of your body visible in a bathing suit that, until now, did NOT have a scar on it. So large and ugly of a scar, in fact, that you, who never even <strong><em>considered</em></strong> getting a tattoo, see before and after pictures of a woman who had a tattoo put over her tummy scar, so you start picking out one for your back. The moral of this story is, try the teabags and masque for a few days, and then go see a dermatologist. STAT!<br /><br /></div></li><li><div align="left"><strong>Saline Sinus Flush: Makeshift, Neti pot, or the Anti-Gravity Kind. </strong>I didn't know what a Neti pot was when I put salt in a plastic party cup, got in the shower, filled it with warm water, and poured it into my nostrils until it came out the other side and/or went down the back of my throat (no swallowing of course). It's the Texas Rhinovirus from Hades that made me do it I tell you. I'd never been so overwhelmed with mucous and sinus pressure in my entire life--and then again this past week of course. This time, I got the anti-gravity flush and used that. Ahhhhhhhhh. Basically it's a squeeze bottle with a hole in the top and a "straw" sticking into the bottle so that you can slowly squirt nice warm salt water (salt packets included) over your raging sinuses and clear them out without blowing your nose off. Twice a day is recommended. In the throes of the mucous, I sometimes did it once in the middle of the day as well. Works like a champ, as my husband would say.<br /><br /></div></li><li><div align="left"><strong>Two B's, Two C's, Two Cal-Mags, and an E (and sometimes a Zinc). </strong>This was the Shaklee-inspired mantra for combating the common cold. My mother got on the "natural health" bandwagon when I was still in elementary school, so there have been vitamin supplements in my world for almost as long as I can remember. Gone were the Vicks and humidifier remedies of my early childhood. Now it was up to the vitamins and forced fluids and the avoidance of dairy and wheat to cure us of the common ailments that keep OTC drug companies in business. Us, well, we kept Shaklee in business. The nice thing is that Shaklee was the all-natural solution. Back before anyone really spoke of organic food and even before "health food" became a nationwide sensation, we were walking hand in hand with Shaklee's organic vitamins, minerals, makeup, detergents, cleaners and various and sundry other items. I was the only person I knew who took Calcium-Magnesium for menstrual cramps rather than Midol or some other thing. <strong>Thanks Mom! =)</strong><br /><br /></div></li><li><div align="left"><strong>Parsley and Candida Cleanse. </strong>Ok, so we've kind of grown up here and now the scrapes of the little tomboy have evolved into the yeast issues of the grown woman. But I'm not just talking about the kind of issue that everyone is probably thinking right now. I'm talking about recurring urinary tract infections or a sluggish loss of weight (the plateaus so many women find themselves upon in the battle against extra pounds for instance). Some urinary tract infections can actually be cause by an overgrowth of yeast. With a little intuition and some internet research, I figured out that was what was happening to me (accompanied by mild dehydration from the Texas weather) and I went to my favorite health food store and got some parsley extract and the two week Candida Cleanse (Gaia Herbs) and I haven't had a problem since. As mentioned, yeast overgrowth can also keep people from losing weight AND can CAUSE <em>intense</em> cravings for sweets (those little buggers can actually make you crave the food they crave!). And I'm not talking about the yeast overgrowth that is female in nature and obvious. I'm talking in your gut. One of the surest signs is the intense craving for sweets, even when your willpower says you really don't want them. I mean, some of us have sugar "habits," but if you have a combination of symptoms, and wicked, wicked cravings, it might just be the yeasty beasties! (Check it out online!)<br /><br /></div></li><li><div align="left"><strong>Traditional Medicinal Teas. </strong>These are just lovely. When I used to smoke, I always had a box of "Breathe Easy" on hand. It's great for the upper respiratory crud too. It tastes good plain AND has noticeable effects on your breathing health. The others I have right now are "Daily Detox," for the liver and all those "toxins" everybody is always talking about; "Throat Coat," for the sore, scratchy throats in the world...soooooo soooooothing!; and "Ginger Aid," for the tummy, better digestion (or to soothe indigestion), or just for the cleansing properties of ginger...it's GREAT for you! The best way to make it is in a big Eeyore mug (ok, you can pick what's on your mug) and let it steep, covered (I use a salad plate or a saucer), for a full ten minutes. I even leave the bag in until I'm done. And don't add anything except <em>maybe</em> a little raw, local honey. Yummmm!<br /></div></li></ol><p align="left">Wow! I'm always amazed when I get to the end of my Thursday Thirteen lists. Thirteen is A LOT! And thanks for reading all the way to this point by the way because, wowsers, that one was a doozey, huh? I'd love to hear from you--anything from a "hey" to a "here's <em>my</em> favorite home remedy!"</p><p align="left">Have a great week! Kiss the booboos and stay healthy y'all!</p><p align="left">Muah! =)</p>© Nicole J. Williams, 2008, all rights reserved.<br /><br /><center><a href="http://thursdaythirteen.com/" mce_href="http://thursdaythirteen.com">Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!</a><br />The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!<br /><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/thursday+thirteen" rel="tag" mce_href="http://technorati.com/tag/thursday+thirteen">View More Thursday Thirteen Participants</a><br /></center>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15740562889506321916noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8857556.post-40732809106566610342008-06-11T16:32:00.005-05:002008-06-11T17:01:03.496-05:00For PhyllisThe <a href="http://scrappynhappy.blogspot.com/">Queen of Memes </a>has struck again! This time, she was all sly and tricky and said, "I'm not going to tag anyone, but..." And then in the actual meme there's the part where she lists two people she hopes will fill it out too, and guess what? My name was one of the two.<br /><br />So since Phyl is such a cool ebuddy, I immediately wanted to make her wish come true! =)<br /><br />This is for you, dear <a href="http://scrappynhappy.blogspot.com/">Phyllis</a>!<br /><br />Two Names You Go By:<br />1. Darling<br />2. Mommy<br /><br />Two Things You Are Wearing Right Now:<br />1. A new pair of cream colored capris with matching satin belt<br />2. My comfy, leather, Sketcher flips.<br /><br />Two Of Your Favorite Things:<br />1. The Ocean<br />2. My Books.<br />(I left people out altogether and just picked "things" to be fair to all those I've loved before...hehe)<br /><br />Two Things You Want Very Badly At The Moment:<br />1. To not have this sinus thing that is making my ear canals itch!<br />2. For someone to make me food and put it down in front of me and say, "Enjoy!" because I'm hungry and too tired/sick to want to make myself something to eat after teaching all day.<br /><br />Two Favorite Pets You Have Or Had:<br />1. A Jack Russell Terror, I mean Terrier, named Emily. (Have)<br />2. My very best friend as a kid, my loveable mutt Freckles. (Had)<br /><br />Two People You Hope Will Fill This Out:<br />1. Eeney<br />2. Meeney<br /><br />Two Things You Did Last Night:<br />1. Slept through my dance class time because I was feelin' so wretched.<br />2. Prepared for today's class...I made my students a fill in the blank outline to HOPEFULLY help them get organized to write their next essay.<br /><br />Two Things You Ate Last Night:<br />1. Green Goddess Juice (Romaine, Cucumber, Celery, Pear, Ginger and Garlic=good for colds)<br />2. Raw peanuts in the shell. Well, I shelled them first. =)<br /><br />Two People You Last Talked To:<br />1. My Hubby, to whom I was ridiculously cranky with and have since apologized.<br />2. The friendly lady working at Walgreen's.<br /><br />Two Things You Are Doing Tomorrow:<br />1. Teaching for the last day this week.<br />2. Going to swing dance club!<br /><br />Two of Farthest Trips Taken In The Last 5 Years:<br />1. NYC<br />2. Cape Cod, Mass.<br />(And there was a trip to Daytona, FL too...not sure on the mileage there!)<br /><br /><br />Two Favorite Holidays:<br />1. My oldest daughter's birthday.<br />2. My youngest daughter's birthday.<br /><br />Two Favorite Beverages:<br />1. WATER<br />2. Is tequila a beverage? =)<br /><br />It's true, all I drink is water or tequila. WAY more water of course!!!! I don't count green smoothies or fresh made juice as beverages, but maybe I should. In that case, they would be my favorites.<br /><br />Eh, voila! C'est moi!Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15740562889506321916noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8857556.post-61160544921345773012008-06-05T15:51:00.002-05:002008-06-05T16:41:39.313-05:00Thursday Thirteen #10: My Life Changed<center><img src="http://intricateart.com/blog/thursdaythirteen300.jpg" mce_src="http://intricateart.com/blog/thursdaythirteen300.jpg" /></center><br /><div align="center">Thirteen Things about <strong>My Life Changed</strong></div><br /><div align="left"></div><div align="left">Over the past year or so, I've been making changes so that my life "on the outside" looks more like what I feel like on the inside. I had an awakening, through a series of events, that made me realize just how much of my life so far had been a compromise.</div><br /><div align="left"></div><div align="left">What I mean by that, I think, is that I had given up my own ideas about how I wanted my life to play out in order to remain "safe" in some way. I had given up freedom of choice in order to be saved from my least favorite uncertainties. </div><br /><div align="left"></div><div align="left">I wrestled with this idea for a long time...still am if you want to know the truth...to be sure that I wasn't just being ungrateful or some weird version of spoiled. And really, there probably is a touch of both in the mix and that's why I can't be sure. But what I do know now, without a doubt, is that too much of my life has been a giant wimp-out in the face of challenges, commitments, and chance.</div><div align="left"></div><br /><div align="left">It's one thing to choose safety and security and to derive great comfort from those states of being, and another entirely to be angry all the time because "this isn't at all what I had in mind." </div><br /><div align="left"></div><div align="left">Wait! Don't run away! The list is positive. I promise. I'm just having one of "those" days, and I need to get to where I take action...the next step...and forsake the wallowing guilt trip. I think making myself write out this list will do the trick.</div><br /><div align="left"></div><div align="left">Ok, so here's a quick list of small steps of action I have taken to move towards what I DID have in mind for my life. =)</div><ol><br /><li><div align="left"><strong>I have changed my eating habits. </strong>I am now a near vegetarian and high raw foodist. (I have a post called "Have a Chat with Your Fat" coming up soooooon!)<br /></div></li><br /><li><div align="left"><strong>I have installed energy efficient lightbulbs in my home. </strong>I don't know that I can tell the difference yet, and now that the air conditioners run all day and all night, it won't matter a WHOLE lot, but it feels good to know they are there.<br /></div></li><br /><li><div align="left"><strong>I switched to an eco-friendly electric company. </strong>This was one of the first big steps, and it feels great knowing that "my" energy comes from wind power alone.<br /></div></li><br /><li><div align="left"><strong>I switched my kitchen and bathroom cleaners.</strong> This one is tough. I'm still trying to get the knack of it, and I still need to find something that scrubs the hard water deposits (but they were always a problem anyway). Laundry detergent and bath soap are next.<br /></div></li><br /><li><div align="left"><strong>I started taking dance lessons.</strong> Yes, I am amazed at myself! I have been dancing twice a week for a YEAR people!!! Here's one commitment I have no problem keeping!<br /></div></li><br /><li><div align="left"><strong>I have started exercising more regularly. </strong>Got a gym membership after I took that weight training/fitness class and I really enjoy going. Now that school is out for the kiddos and I am teaching, it's more difficult to get there, but I still have TurboJam for when I get stuck on this side of town and it's on the to-do list for tomorrow.<br /></div></li><br /><li><div align="left"><strong>I lost weight.</strong> This is a byproduct of #1 and #6, but it's also a state of mind that I have chosen to commit to. I've really been working through my "food issues" (i.e. addiction). I watched to see what my triggers are. I noticed how I felt when I ate. I also went so far as to have "a chat with my fat," which I'm looking forward to detailing in a post in the near future.<br /></div></li><br /><li><div align="left"><strong>I took more responsibility for myself. </strong>Ok, this was so HUGE! I mentioned this before, but it's soooooo goooooood! Here's my new mantra when I start feeling sorry for myself: "Failure is an opportunity. If you blame someone else, there is no end to the blame. Therefore the Master fulfills her own obligations and corrects her own mistake. She does what she needs to do and demands nothing of others."<br /></div></li><br /><li><div align="left"><strong>I got off my husband's back. </strong>Mostly. And using the mantra. I had to finally look myself in the eye and say, "YOU are the only person who is responsible for your happiness." It's that whole, "no one can make you feel inferior without your consent" idea (thanks Eleanor Roosevelt!). Plus, it's not his <em>responsibility </em>to make me happy. It's mine. Mine, mine, mine!! All. Mine......Muahhahhahhahaaaaaa!<br /></div></li><br /><li><div align="left"><strong>I forgave my mother. </strong>Ok Ladies, you know who you are. How many of us drag that trunk of junk from our childhoods around with us for years and years and years? And even the stuff from after childhood that resembles the stuff from childhood! Taking responsibility for yourself has a magic side effect: you let OTHER people take responsibility for THEMSELVES too! Poof! Amazing.</div></li><br /><li><div align="left"><strong>I started expressing how I really feel. </strong>Yep. Lumps and all. No more trying to nicey-nicey, smiley-smiley, it's ok, don't worry about it, no problem, your wish is my command for me. It's the difference between being my own person and being a doormat for others. What a breath of fresh air it has been to just. say. NO!</div></li><br /><li><div align="left"><strong>I am gathering information. </strong>I've been following up on anything that interests me. Organic farms in Oregon? Check. Raw food chef training schools? Check. I name it, I'm looking it up. And soon that will include hands-on investigation. I want a new adventure once my chicks are out of the nest, and I have lots of exploring to do in the meantime.</div></li><br /><li><div align="left"><strong>I am writing more. </strong>This cute little meme has gotten me thinking all the time: "Ooh, I could talk about 13 of this or 13 of that!" And it's gotten me into the blogosphere more often and I've made a few friends so far and hope to make more. God Bless the Internet!</div></li></ol><p align="left">So that's my happy list of changes. And I bet there's more, but those were the ones that came up today. I'm sure I'll have a new list before too long. There's always room for change, after all.</p><p align="left">How about you? Been changing lately, have you? Way to go! </p><p align="left">Muah! =)</p>© Nicole J. Williams, 2008, all rights reserved.<br /><div align="center"><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://thursdaythirteen.com/" mce_href="http://thursdaythirteen.com">Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!</a><br />The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!<br /><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/thursday+thirteen" rel="tag" mce_href="http://technorati.com/tag/thursday+thirteen">View More Thursday Thirteen Participants</a> </div>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15740562889506321916noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8857556.post-43620272061708533462008-06-02T15:27:00.003-05:002008-06-02T15:37:05.958-05:00First Day of School...I haven't taught college English in a year and a half, but the summer session started today. Gosh it was fun to be back up in front of those bright, shining faces again! And, as usual, I gave "The Sponge Theory of Success" demonstration, showing them what they already know to get them focused for a rip, roarin' 22 class meetings in five weeks.<br /><br />In honor of today, I thought I would "reprint" this entry I wrote the year I formulated the sponge theory of success. Hope you enjoy!<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">S—P—O—N—G—E--!!</FONT-SIZE><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">What’s that spell?<br />Sponge!<br />What’s that spell?<br />SPONGE!<br />What’s that spell?<br /><span style="font-size:130%;">SPONGE! </span></span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span>Doesn’t that word look weird now? Isn’t it funny how looking at a word too much can make it look like gobbledygook—or at least like it’s spelled incorrectly? When that feeling of assurance that the word you are looking at is indeed the word you understand it to be disappears and your mind hesitates and questions—you second guess yourself.<br /></span><br />I started back as a face-to-face teacher last week. I make that distinction because I also teach in the highly unsatisfactory online environment. Really though, it isn’t the environment that is so unsatisfying—it has more to do with being caught between the corporate, money-making administration’s minions and the disgruntled students who have been thrust into an online writing course against their will—it’s required. But I digress, and I won’t be talking about the very different issues that those students face. No, instead, I thought I would share my newfangled approach to teaching.<br /><br />I’ve been asking myself the “difficult” questions lately—What do I want out of life? Why? How can I get more of it now?—and one of those question and answer sessions had to do with teaching. It’s what I have been doing for the past four, going on five, years now, and it hasn’t been an incredible source of inspiration and joy; I needed to know why. What am I drawn to and what repulses me in relation to teaching?<br /><br />Well, for starters, I love the first day! It’s like giving birth. Shiny new faces, assumed potential, a wellspring of love in the heart for the challenges and the nurturing and the growth to follow. I get to have that “new baby” feeling twice a year. It’s addictive. I have to say that I pastor my flock through my courses. I break down previous mythologies, assuage fears, release past guilt, and lead them to the Promised Land.<br /><br />The rest is good parenting. I am compassionate and I care and I praise and coach and cheer and sing halleluiahs to move them from point A to point B. I set up clear boundaries of expectation, blow on and bandage boo-boos when they fall, reprimand them when they should know better. I have multiple roles: pastor, shepherd, care-taker, boundary setter, locater of the lost…surrogate mother.<br /><br />That brings me to what I don’t like. I don’t like wiping noses or changing diapers or spoon-feeding. After all, these are adults—or at least quasi-adults! When they ask for too much, which is often, I balk, and rightly so of course. And sometimes, parenting or shepherding 50+ quasi-adults can get downright exhausting! My “good-naturedness” spills over into enabling. Or their quasi-adult status plummets to infancy. Whatever the case may be…they push, and I fall over.<br />So I thought I should have better boundaries. More enforceable guidelines. More logical consequences and fewer exceptions to the rules. But what to do? I mean, this is a life theme…not just a teacher theme…and it’s THE BIG ONE.<br /><br />But still, I thought that teaching would be the place to start experimenting. I had a clear external motivation for change, a captive audience of guinea pigs, and any tangible results might spur me on to a more personal success in the same problem area. Basically, I was looking for insight into this condition, and because I recognized myself in my procrastinating, detached, overwhelmed, and forlorn students, I thought that if I could convert them, then I could do the same for myself. This might be backwards, and it’s definitely a conservative approach, but I thought I would do well to practice “on camera.”<br /><br />I have to perform as a teacher. It’s my job. It’s what I do. I am accountable to at least 50 other scrutinizing people. Here is where I can prove to myself that it is possible to succeed. So I asked myself what differentiated the successful students from their unsuccessful counterparts. We all know that the answer is never as simple as “intelligence.” In fact, we all know that sometimes, the smartest folks are the ones who just can’t seem to move forward at all. So. I came up with the general stuff...prepared for class, plans (and works) ahead, has drive, is committed…did I mention “doesn’t procrastinate”? Yeah…that’s the big one. Slow and steady wins the race.<br /><br />All this thinking led to a metaphor or analogy that I “acted” out for them on the first day. These are children of the visual world, so I must be a visual Girl. I set three clear plastic cups on the desk. I produced a bottle of water from my bag and said:<br /><br /><em>I am this bottle. The water represents everything I know about writing and teaching writing. The cups are your learning environment—the classroom, if you will.</em><br /><br />I poured some water into the cups. I set another cup off to the side and told them that this cup represented the “real world”—the world out there that they were striving to get to by going to college. I continued:<br /><br /><em>I create the classroom environment by sharing my knowledge with you. You bring yourselves. There are three basic kinds of students—Student Rock, Student Sand, and Student Sponge.</em><br /><br />I showed them the students in representative form and asked them to guess which student was most successful in the classroom environment. They knew! Just like you do. Student Sponge. So I demonstrated to reinforce the point.<br /><br /><em>Student Rock comes to class and is hard-headed and impenetrable. I don’t need this class. I’ll never have to write once I’m out of here, so I just need to pass and move on. I already know how to do all this anyway. Hmph!</em><br /><br />I put Student Rock in one of the cups. Nothing happened. I took Student Rock out, shook it, and said:<br /><br /><em>You see. You can’t even tell that Student Rock was in the class. Nothing has changed. And when I put Student Rock into the “real world,” it brings nothing to that environment. It is the same rock it was before and has nothing new to offer.</em><br /><br />Then I picked up the bag with Student Sand in it, and explained that it was made of the same material as Student Rock, with opposite properties.<br /><br /><em>Student Sand can’t get it together. It comes to the classroom in scattered pieces that can’t find their way back together in the classroom. Student sand is bewildered, fears failing, believes that it cannot accomplish the goals of the course, for whatever reason. I swirled Student Sand around in the water. Student sand is overwhelmed by the environment—it can’t make use of the environment because it has no form, no discipline, no consistency. It may try haphazardly, but fails because it is constantly at odds with itself. </em><br /><em></em><br /><em>It rarely makes it out of the classroom into the real world intact. It can’t synthesize and utilize the knowledge it is exposed to.</em><br /><br />Student Sponge appears in my hand and everyone is ready to be a sponge. They are imagining sponge-ness. Who wants to be a rock, or sand? (Students may peg themselves, but they may vow to be more sponge-like; after all…most people don’t set out to fail on purpose!) I smile at Student Sponge and hold it up, examining it.<br /><br /><em>Look! Student Sponge comes to the classroom PREPARED to soak up the learning! It’s READY before it gets there. It’s function…it’s purpose… is to learn.</em><br /><br />In goes Student Sponge. It swells with water.<br /><br /><em>“Look!” I say. It’s taking knowledge out of the classroom! And when I put Student Sponge in the “real world,” it has something to use, to share, to draw on…something to show for its time in the classroom.</em><br /><br />I squeeze a little water out of the sponge into the real world cup.<br /><br /><em>There! It’s contributing to its new environment! It’s obvious that Student Sponge has learned something and taken that knowledge with it into the new environment! So what makes Student Sponge ready?</em><br /><br />It is…<br /><strong><u>S</u></strong>erious,<br /><u><strong>P</strong></u>recise/Prompt,<br /><u><strong>O</strong></u>pen-minded,<br /><u><strong>N</strong></u>ot willing to quit,<br /><u><strong>G</strong></u>enuine, (and)<br /><strong><u>E</u></strong>nthusiastic!<br /><br />I won’t go on about how those qualities translate into the composition classroom exactly…you can pretty much guess…but I will say that I linked those qualities to the expectations inherent in my syllabus so that they could see that I wasn’t just spouting rules at them. Oh no. I was showing them what to do in order to be a successful student.<br /><br />And now they had this visual in their mind’s eye of a sponge taking water from one cup to the next. And every time I see them, I can say: “I hope you are all feeling like sponges today because we have a lot to learn in the next 80 minutes!” And they will be immediately transported to the visual center of their brains and remember and understand what I mean in a primal, limbic way.<br /><br />It’s already working for me. I use the sponge mantra on myself. “Are you feeling like a sponge today, Nicole? I hope so! Because you have a lot to learn today! And you need to take it with you in order to get to the next level…to reach those goals of yours!”<br /><br />How about you?<br /><br />Of course we’ll all have rock and sand days from time to time…but OH! to be a sponge most often! That is my goal.<br /><br />Hopefully it is working on my students too. I’ll keep you posted!<br /><br />© Nicole J. Williams, 2005, all rights reserved </span><br /></span>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15740562889506321916noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8857556.post-34457583065260752572008-05-22T13:30:00.004-05:002008-05-22T13:40:10.034-05:00Thursday Thirteen #9: Life Is Precious, Life is FragileHere I sit, not having started this list, not starting much of anything yet today. I am so ashamed that I can't discipline myself to even get up and go PAINT for crying out loud. And then I see this headline in my surfing stupor and I am shocked wide awake: "Steven Curtis Chapman's Daughter Killed in SUV Accident."<br /><br />So in lieu of any silly list I might come up with today, I invite you to <a href="http://chapmanchannel.typepad.com/inmemoryofmaria/">go and read </a>what the Chapman family's day was like yesterday and get down on your knees and thank God that you're here and that you still have time to get around to doing what you would like to do with your life, and I'll do the same.<br /><br />The video on <a href="http://chapmanchannel.typepad.com/inmemoryofmaria/">Maria's page </a>is also very sweet. What a lovely snapshot of a family that lives life to the fullest, all the way down to the youngest member of that family.<br /><br />May you all have a blessed day of gratefulness. Perhaps you can make a list of 13 things you are grateful for today and meditate on it. I'll be doing that. It's the least I can do.<br /><br />My condolences to the Chapman family. Steven's music and example were always an inspiration to me when I was paying attention. Thank you and may God bless you and keep you through this time of trouble and make your hearts glad again one day soon.Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15740562889506321916noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8857556.post-88030224405517491392008-05-15T10:22:00.008-05:002008-05-15T12:30:29.118-05:00Thursday Thirteen #8 -- I Found Out!<div align="center"><img src="http://intricateart.com/blog/thursdaythirteen300.jpg" mce_src="http://intricateart.com/blog/thursdaythirteen300.jpg" /></div><br /><br /><div align="center">Thirteen Things <strong>I Found Out </strong>This Week</div><br /><br />I've actually started getting things done in my real world space, so this week's list <del>after much brainstorming for something "brilliant" to say to the world!</del> will just be another random look at what's going on in my world (I paused for about ten seconds wanting to say "in my head" while I tried to convince myself that it wasn't JUST in my head, but was, in fact, part of my observable reality!). Ok, so if that introduction doesn't give you a clue about what my life is like when my kids go stay at their dad's house for extended time, maybe the list will help you understand what life without any major routine looks like! =)<br /><br /><br /><ol><br /><li>I found out from a couple of bloggy friends that not only does my favorite flower flourish in Oregon, but that they are blooming RIGHT NOW! Lilacs, how I love thee! Here I come! </li><br /><br /><li>I found out just how many people (or should I say how few?) on my notification list actually <em>want</em> to read my blog regularly when I asked them to sign up for email subscriptions instead of getting emails from me. Alas.</li><br /><br /><li>I found out how the raw foodists were right when they said that changing the way I eat would change my whole life...for the better! Everything. From how I look, to how I feel, to how I behave, to how my connection with others and even life itself would change. I'm so glad I started in the spring, too, because my new blossoming is right in line with the seasons and it's truly a joyous combination!</li><br /><br /><li>I found out that we have Jimmy Buffet's "Boats, Beaches, Bars, and Ballads" box set on MP3 and I am listening to it today as I get things done. Jimmy is definitely a contender in my stuck on a deserted island music list. He's such a poet philosopher. Really. I think he's also one of the people I might say I would be if someone asked, "If you could also be anyone else in the world, who would you be?" (I'm a big fan of thinking it would be really cool to get to life swap to see what it's like...we all live vicariously from time to time, no?)</li><br /><br /><li>I found out that I CAN live without animal protein every day. I <a href="http://stepofaith.blogspot.com/2007/10/food-for-thought.html">used to think </a>I could not. In fact, I thought about making this list into thirteen new things I have learned to eat since "going raw," but the general concensus of my readers is that it's <em>just too weird, </em>so I'm going to probably just post that on my new <a href="http://myrawjourneynjw.blogspot.com/">raw food blog </a>instead! </li><br /><br /><li>I found out that after about two months of eating mostly fruit, vegetables, seeds, and nuts, no dairy, no wheat, and very little meat, and exercising more regularly, that I have lost about eight pounds and have tons of energy! </li><br /><br /><li>I found out that what I like most about my new lifestyle (eating really is a lifestyle) is that I don't feel bloated and swollen and droopy-eyed tired anymore. And I love the food I get to eat! See, I love food, so this really works for me because I get to eat "dessert" for dinner if I want to. Last night, I had four jumbo fresh strawberries cut up and sprinkled with hemp seeds (they taste like moist sunflower seeds but have the highest protein of any nut/seed) and topped with banana "ice cream." That means a frozen banana, four dates, a swirl of agave nectar, a dash of vanilla, and a handful of ice cubes (and a little H2O for mixing purposes since I don't have the best blender). It was luscious! And filling. And good for me.</li><br /><br /><li>I found out that I've finally hit my stride and can eat much less than I had when I first adopted this style of eating. I know...this is the last one...but I was really worried at first because I just felt so empty eating just raw food. And then I had to go through all kinds of withdrawal feelings and actually DEAL with my emotional eating patterns to get here, so I'm really excited about it!</li><br /><br /><li>I found out that focusing on being the change I want to see in my marriage is a miracle of Biblical proportions. (hehe) Seriously though. And now I'm reading <strong><em>The Mastery of Love</em></strong> by Don Miguel Ruiz, and it all makes perfect sense because of the revelations I've been having in my own life lately. I recommend his books. I also just checked out his book of Prayers and have the companion (handbook?) to <strong><em>The Four Agreements</em></strong>. Ancient wisdom. Funny how things don't REALLY change...just new faces and new gadgets!</li><br /><br /><li>I found out that my computer doesn't respond well to power loss. I was halfway through the last item and the power went out. It was rather funny, actually, because I finished typing a sentence at the same time that a Buffet song ended and them BAM! out went the lights! So, now, about 30 minutes later, I'm back to finish this list that is STILL taking way too long! =)</li><br /><br /><li>I found out that I still love Turbo Jam. It's fun. Like dancing. In fact, cheery Chalene Johnson actually gives little breaks between sets to just "get your groove on" freestyle. She's a lot of fun, and very encouraging. I can't watch people who are just making a tape, you know? This lady has a heart you can connect to in her <a href="http://www.beachbody.com/product/turbo_jam_maximum_results.do?code=GOOGLE_TURBO_JAM_CONTROL">videos</a>. (I liked that about Billy Blanks too, but I like Chalene more!)<br /><br /></li><li>I found out today that Blogger's wacky glitches have a whole lot to do with why blogging takes too much of my time. Three times now I've had to close out the browser completely (this last time using alt+F4!!!!) because the dang link button gets stuck in the "on" position and keeps popping up a window no matter WHAT I click on....save, exit, anything!!!! GRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!! Guess I'll have to use html AGAIN to bypass the mess. Oh, and need I even mention the crazy addition of spacing everywhere when I have to leave and come back?????? Hmph!<br /><br /></li><li><div align="left">I found out that I really love my life. I'm really learning to stop beating myself up for being a housewife who "needs a job/career" and started just being grateful for the fact that my husband works hard and likes it, that my kids have me around to take care of them since we don't live close to many family members, that I can go and work part time teaching and make some money if I need to, that I have this wonderful time to find my <em>next</em> true calling. I read something about "life's work" on a friend's blog yesterday and thought, "YES! That's exactly right!" Being a mom has absolutely been my calling all this time and when I haven't seen that, it's because I've been thinking I needed to be someone else for someone else (not just one person!) and that's just not who I am! So thank you Zenmomma for <a href="http://zenmommasgarden.blogspot.com/2008/05/my-lifes-work-is-feeling-pretty-good.html">your wise words yesterday</a>!!!! =)</div></li></ol><p>And thanks to YOU for reading my Thursday Thirteen! </p><p>I've also found that I can do this once a week blogging thing without TOO much trouble. It gives me a focus and just enough incentive so that I don't walk away from my blog for too, too long.</p><p>Like I said, there's been a lot going on here lately, and I am preparing my life to be conducive to writing about it more often. Needed to get some things taken care of first, though, and I'm happy to finally be making some major progress. I guess I literally had to start from the inside out and learn to fuel my body so that it will cooperate with me in getting things accomplished! </p><p align="left">Have a great day...weekend...and week! May you be grateful for your life--it's the only one you have, and not everbody gets to stick around as long as they would like, so enjoy every day, even if you only enjoy MOPING for the day, ok????!!!!!<br /><br />Muah! =)<br /><br />© Nicole J. Williams, 2008, all rights reserved.<br /></p><p align="center"><br /><a href="http://thursdaythirteen.com/" mce_href="http://thursdaythirteen.com">Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!</a><br />The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!<br /><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/thursday+thirteen" rel="tag" mce_href="http://technorati.com/tag/thursday+thirteen">View More Thursday Thirteen Participants</a><br /></p>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15740562889506321916noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8857556.post-18033351375357537862008-05-09T16:31:00.005-05:002008-05-09T16:58:32.917-05:00Thursday Thirteen #7--Favorite Romantic Comedies<center><img src="http://intricateart.com/blog/thursdaythirteen300.jpg" mce_src="http://intricateart.com/blog/thursdaythirteen300.jpg" /></center><br /><br /><center>Thirteen of My <strong><span style="color:#ffff00;">Favorite Romantic Comedies</span></strong></center><br /><p>Ah yes, I know promised a blog more like the old days, waxing philosophic on some random topic perhaps. Well, then this week happened, and this is all I have for you. A break between a crying smile-fest that is compensating for my feminine slump in front of the television. It's just been one of those days. This is my life.<br /><br />Without further adieu, thirteen of my favorite movies to watch when I'm in, shall we say, a <em>Lifetime</em> or a <em>We</em> kind of mood--the catch is, they have to be on my movie shelves:<br /><br /><ol><li><span style="color:#ffff00;">The Wedding Singer<br /></span><li><span style="color:#ffff00;">13 Going on 30<br /></span><li><span style="color:#ffff00;">Must Love Dogs<br /></span><li><span style="color:#ffff00;">Say Anything<br /></span><li><span style="color:#ffff00;">Enchanted<br /></span><li><span style="color:#ffff00;">How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days<br /></span><li><span style="color:#ffff00;">The Princess Bride<br /></span><li><span style="color:#ffff00;">You've Got Mail<br /></span><li><span style="color:#ffff00;">When Harry Met Sally<br /></span><li><span style="color:#ffff00;">Never Been Kissed<br /></span><li><span style="color:#ffff00;">Forget Paris<br /></span><li><span style="color:#ffff00;">My Best Friend's Wedding<br /></span><li><span style="color:#ffff00;">The Wedding Planner</span></li></ol><p></p><p>Yep, I just watched <em>27 Dresses</em> and that's what gave me the idea. I didn't feel up to writing anything at all, but then I thought, "Oh, surely I can make a list of 'chick flicks' that fit my current mood...I'd hate to TOTALLY miss a Thursday 13." The theme this week was gross, using any interpretation, so let's just say this is what I like to watch when I'm feeling <del>like a wretch of humanity...ok, how about </del>a little blue. (Oh look, it's my very first strikethrough!!! =) </p><p>Gee, I just realized that "wedding" is in three of those titles. (Oh, and a bride too!) Revealing, no? Hey, the tradition of the comedy is to end with a wedding, so it's no surprise really. Humanity has always loved its "happy" endings!</p><p><br />Enjoy the weekend, y'all!<br /></p><br />© Nicole J. Williams, 2008, all rights reserved. <p></p><p align="left"></p><p align="center"><a href="http://thursdaythirteen.com/" mce_href="http://thursdaythirteen.com">Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!</a><br /><br />The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!<br /><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/thursday+thirteen" rel="tag" mce_href="http://technorati.com/tag/thursday+thirteen">View More Thursday Thirteen Participants</a><br /></p>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15740562889506321916noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8857556.post-75306390292768945402008-05-06T14:30:00.002-05:002008-05-06T14:36:38.869-05:00Meet Pepe!This post is a completely lighthearted tribute to my favorite Muppet I mentioned last week. For me. For fun. Because he makes me happy, and I was bored the other day and found all these cute YouTube videos of him.<br /><br />I also posted last week about slowly moving away from my meat eating ways, but I don't know that I could completely give up seafood...forever???!!!. Tuna for the dolphins' sake? No problem. But what about raw oysters? And what about shrimp? No offense Pepe.<br /><br />But wait! Pepe is not a shrimp! He's a King Prawn, ok?<br /><br />Watch him and see if you think he's cute too! (If you feel like it. I know at least one person out there who doesn't like Muppets, and I apologize for yet another reference to them!)<br /><br />A video personal dating ad...<br /><object height="355" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZmCp8rvXbdU&hl=en"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><br /><br /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZmCp8rvXbdU&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object><br /><br /><br />A few scenes of <em>Muppets from Space</em>, where I first met Pepe...<br /><object height="355" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Fz8-YqDb9tw&hl=en"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><br /><br /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Fz8-YqDb9tw&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object><br /><br /><br />Pepe auditions for a Long John Silver's advertisement...<br /><object height="355" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/8VPu841BmOs&hl=en"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><br /><br /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/8VPu841BmOs&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object><br /><br />See you Thursday for a more spiritual, philosophical version of the Thirteen meme! =)Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15740562889506321916noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8857556.post-22097815685641453402008-05-05T13:13:00.004-05:002008-05-05T13:52:13.193-05:00I got tagged by Phyl!My pal, <a href="http://scrappynhappy.blogspot.com/">Phyl</a>, tagged me for this meme! She's the queen o' memes! This one's for you girlfriend! =)<br /><br />Here are the rules of the game (post these first).<br /><br />1)Each player answers questions about themselves.<br /><br />2) At the end of the posting tag 5-6 people.<br /><br />3) Post their names and then go to their site and leave a comment telling them that they have been Tagged. Then ask them to read your blog.<br /><br />4) Let the person who tagged you know that you have completed your posting.<br /><br />LET THE FUN BEGIN!!<br /><br />WHAT WAS I DOING 10 YEARS AGO: <br /><br />Let's see. At the beginning of May of 1998, I had been officially divorced for about two weeks. I believe I had just had my first bout with Houston influenza that had me dizzy with my head in hand while my kids hunted for Easter eggs outside in the super hot humid weather! I had quit working for Merry Maids because of said flu, that I came down with on Good Friday, WHILE AT WORK, cleaning one of those horrible first time houses that the supervisor would say, "Oh, it should only take y'all a few hours." After four hours, with much more to go, a fever, aches, and the chills coming on hard and fast, with dog hair lodged in my sinuses from the NASTY house, I knew I'd had just about enough of that job. I can STILL see the inside of that house. I think my mom was coming to visit. It was a pretty crazy time in my life. In fact, I have a picture of my kids from when my mom was visiting on my fridge, and I looked at it last night and cried. I could see my little babies on the left and then look up and to the right and see my teenage girls at Disney in December. They looked so much the same, but so different. I just cried the mommy cry. So yeah, ten years ago. Wow.<br /><br />WHAT ARE THE 5 THINGS ON MY "TO DO" LIST: <br /><br />Literally on a to-do list:<br />1)Organize my office: bookshelves, drawers, cabinets, filing. (Can you say ugh?!)<br />2)Mop the floors.<br />3)Clean the bathrooms.<br />4)Organize the kitchen still better to accomodate my new style of eating (i.e. RAW!)<br />5)Prepare to teach summer school classes next month. (eeeegads, I have less than one month now to get ready!)<br /><br />On an inner-personal level:<br />1) Read and take notes on the books I have accumulated on inner growth.<br />2) Get this office organized so I can read, write, paint, and teach from it with peace of mind AND the ability to find what I need and use the space effectively!<br />3) Complete to-do list to eliminate stress (SAME AS PHYL ON THIS ONE!)<br />4) Start walking daily (AND HERE TOO!)<br />5) Find a source of income that works with who I am inside, and not just as a paycheck to get by and create more stress in my life.<br /><br />3) SNACKS THAT I ENJOY: Carrots and guacamole; celery with raw almond butter; and yes, ok, chocolate...but I don't feel good AFTER I eat it! <br /><br />4) THINGS I WOULD DO IF I WERE A BILLIONAIRE: Oh the money I could give away!!!! One dream I have always had is to create some kind of program for teenagers to become more involved in society...obviously, teenagers who do not have the resources to do so. Ultimately, I would want to help motivate them scholastically, politically, environmentally, emotionally, spiritually, and ethically...all at the same time. Hey, if I'm going to dream about being a BILLIONAIRE, it's got to be BIG, right? I truly believe that teenagers are one of the largest untapped markets of creativity and change. Really I think it all goes back to feeling so useless as a teenager myself. And not feeling like I had anyone to show me the way to BE useful. I know there are plenty of things out there that teens can do, but I want to reach the ones who don't have access. Oh sigh, I just want to change the world, you know? Like, let's just revamp the entire education system and make it community oriented instead of consumer and convict oriented. Again, there's so many MORE kids who are left out than who gain from it all. I would love to change that. So there. =)<br /><br /><br />5) PLACES WHERE I HAVE LIVED: Uxbridge, Douglas, Sandwich, Hyannis, and W. Yarmouth Massachusetts; Vicksburg, Cleveland, and Greenwood, Mississippi; Houston and Humble, Texas. Oregon and California, here I come!!! =)<br /><br />6) BAD HABITS THAT I HAVE: Refusing to believe in myself more often than not; being a little bit late almost all the time; making to-do lists and then blogging or surfing the internet instead of accomplishing my goals; avoiding household chores more often than ever before; buying too much food; avoiding routines that would make my life less stressful.<br /><br />7) JOBS THAT I HAVE HAD: restaurant worker (register, food prep, food service--fast-food style in several restaurants), hardware store cashier, factory worker (packed the styrofoam trays that grocery meat etc. comes on), kennel worker, office aide, writing tutor, high school English teacher, (not so) Merry Maid, college English teacher. And my calling so far has been motherhood, although now that the kids are almost "done," I am sad that I didn't do more. Ah well, that good old hindsight added to a perfectionistic bent...what else is new? <br /><br />Ok, so let's see, I have to tag some folks....um....well, maybe I'll let this one end here for now. I didn't have much luck last time with the tagging part! <br /><br />Have a blessed day my readers!<br /><br /><br />© Nicole J. Williams, 2008, all rights reserved.Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15740562889506321916noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8857556.post-49255142511984594722008-05-05T10:38:00.004-05:002008-05-05T11:28:12.059-05:00Voters, Delegates, and Superdelegates--OH MY!I read <a href="http://derfwadmanor.blogspot.com/">Mrs. G's </a>blog this morning, and then the comments, and then followed a link in the comments to <a href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=167429&title=festival-of-wrights&tag=generic_tag_barack_obama&itemId=108470">Jon Stewart's Daily Show site</a>, and then kept watching related videos, until I saw this. Goodness, what a mess! Maybe the Democratic electoral convolutions ARE what keeps getting in the way of Democratic progress when all is said and done?<br /><br /><embed FlashVars='videoId=166850' src='http://www.thedailyshow.com/sitewide/video_player/view/default/swf.jhtml' quality='high' bgcolor='#cccccc' width='332' height='316' name='comedy_central_player' align='middle' allowScriptAccess='always' allownetworking='external' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' pluginspage='http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer'></embed><br /><br />Hillary's changing take on voters, as demonstrated in this video at least, is exactly why I just can't vote for her. She accused Obama of dismissing the frustrated voters of Pennsylvania (and elsewhere) by his statements, but here, she sees them as even LESS than frustrated voters who turn to their comforting principles to decide their votes. To me anyway, it seemed like she pretty much called them ignorant, or at the very least, uninformed?<br /><br />Oh Democrats...will ye ever get elected to the Presidency again? Do ye deserve it?<br /><br />All I have to say is, "Barack the vote!"Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15740562889506321916noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8857556.post-79532408814780966002008-05-02T16:33:00.005-05:002008-05-03T09:34:29.227-05:00"Meet Your Meat" Changed My LifeA little video, available at YouTube, called <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIjanhKqVC4">"Meet Your Meat," </a>changed my life, although, the transformation took a little time to percolate.<br /><br />I've been mentioning raw food lately, and it's been an interesting path that has led me here finally. It started a long, long time ago when my mother became, what many friends and family members jokingly (for the most part) referred to as a "health nut." But that story is too long for today, so I'll cut to the chase.<br /><br />Somehow today I came across Pam Anderson's video (honestly, I think it was a link from a link from a blog or some kind of internet surfing scenario) about "<a href="http://www.kfccruelty.com/index.asp">Kentucky Fried Cruelty</a>." It seems PETA is after KFC to change it's torturous treatment of chickens. If you love animals at all, you'll agree it's torturous.<br /><br />See here:<br /><embed pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" src="http://www.kentuckyfriedcruelty.com/swf/pam_kfc_320.swf" width="335" height="255" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" quality="high"></embed><br /><br />Watch more videos at <a href="http://www.kentuckyfriedcruelty.com/?c=petastreamvids" target="_blank">KentuckyFriedCruelty.com</a>.<br /><br /><br />But something bothered me. Why was it only KFC?? What about Chick-fil-A? Church's? Popeye's? Yes, the South runs rampant with chicken "joints" that serve up lots and lots of chicken. (In fact, my husband brought some Popeye's home the other day, much to my dismay, and yet, I was weak and I ate of it and am ashamed.) So I did a little searching, and REALLY, it's the chicken processing plants that are doling out the torture, the biggest offender allegedly being Tyson. Now, all I could think of were all the people who made their living at the Tyson plant down the street from where I lived in rural Mississippi! People or chickens, people or chickens?<br /><br />Ok, so chicken "farmers" and processors are to blame. So again, in my searches to find more answers, I came across the "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIjanhKqVC4">Meet Your Meat</a>" video that I had stumbled upon two years ago. I tried to make myself watch it again, but after about four minues or so, I was in tears. And then, I heard a line I had forgotten. Narrator Alec Baldwin said, "If you drink milk, you are supporting the veal industry." And that made me come here to just get this off my chest.<br /><br />I've lived my whole life feeling guilty if I ate veal, and have only done so about 3 times (a couple of the parmesan variety, and a picatta). And I've heard BUNCHES of folks say, no, they don't eat veal because, awww, it's a poor baby. Well guess what? Apparently the milk is making the veal, so to speak. And it makes sense, but I never thought of it (and apparently didn't remember it after the first viewing!).<br /><br />To keep milk production going, cows are routinely impregnated. The calf is taken away almost immediately and "raised," confined in a "stall," until it is auctioned off and/or slaughtered. Ugh. Now, I did finally switch to organic milk, but I don't know if this is across the board for milk production or what. My uncle's family owned a dairy when I was a kid and I loved cows, and we would visit them, and I never knew that it could be a bad thing. But this was an independent dairy that still DELIVERED fresh milk in glass bottles, so I don't believe it was anything like what is in this video. These cows roamed the fields and ate grass and hay and came home at night, so it seems to be "industrial" in nature. I would think organic dairy farms are more like those of old with cow pastures and all.<br /><br />So anyway. All those folks who don't eat veal, not because of it's price tag but because of some love for baby cows, beware the milk. Oh goodness, I digress?!<br /><br />I'm about one step away from being an ovo-vegetarian (my eggs are organic free-range--and now raw!). Before that, any meat I ate was mostly chicken, sometimes a ground turkey spaghetti dinner, an occasional Texas-raised beef steak, and an even rarer pork chop. But I slowly became more and more repulsed when handling meat. Especially chicken. And I was buying Pilgrim Farms "all natural" (no hormones or antibiotics, but not organic though). But after watching this Pam Anderson chicken video and starting "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIjanhKqVC4">Meet Your Meat</a>" again, I think I'm ready to quit (no, it wouldn't have been very kind to say "cold turkey").<br /><br />There are all kinds of other statistics out there about the amount of crops raised just to feed the "meat" being so many times the amount that could feed everyone on the planet...cutting down rainforests to do it...CO2 emissions from animals...blah blah blah.<br /><br />I'm not posting this to change your mind. I'm posting it because I'm simplifying my life and finding my connection to the Great I AM, and the common level of avoiding the truth in our "modern day society" just isn't cutting it for me anymore.<br /><br />Ghandi said, "Be the change you wish to see in the world," and so I'm practicing being the change. I'm giving myself permission to live the way I believe without worrying about what other people think. I've lived too long hoping that nobody thinks I'm "weird," or "different," or "too sensitive," or that I "think too much."<br /><br />Well, too bad, I am all of those things according to the inherent peer pressure of acceptable norms I find surrounding me on a daily basis. I would like to experience balance. And peace. In my opinion, there just isn't enough of that in the world these days.<br /><br />Love baby. That's where it's at. Love ourselves. Love each other. Love the animals. Love the planet that sustains us. For God's sake, if not for our own?<br /><br />Amen.Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15740562889506321916noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8857556.post-63951747031942720982008-05-01T11:45:00.015-05:002008-05-01T14:09:09.003-05:00Thursday Thirteen #6--My Randomness<center><img src="http://intricateart.com/blog/thursdaythirteen300.jpg" mce_src="http://intricateart.com/blog/thursdaythirteen300.jpg" /></center><br /><br /><center>Thirteen Random Things about <strong><span style="color:#ffff00;">MOI</span></strong></center><br /><br /><center><strong></span></strong></center><div align="left"></div><p>I'm hoping that this will cover the "7 Random Things" tag from <a href="http://suchlovelyfreckles.com/">Ute</a> AND this whole meme theme over at the Thursday Thirteen headquarters. </p><p>I know I blog and stuff, but specifically setting out to reveal things about me makes me a little panicky inside. All that insecurity stuff. It's easy to say "I like Oregon" and show pictures, or to talk about the things I like about someone else, or even to discuss how I feel or what I've learned, but venturing into the realm of personal stuff, well, gives me the heebeejeebees. </p><p>However, I will face this fear and insecurity and just do the dumb thing already! And remember, it's random, so that means it's off the top of my head and is probably not as significant as all the worry would suggest. </p><p>Enjoy? =)</p><ol><li><div align="left"><span style="color:#ffff00;">I absolutely love the Muppets.</span> As a kid I watched Sesame Street, and the Muppet Show, with glee. And I still can. In fact, the Muppet Show DVDs are in my Netflix queue and I had them on my Christmas/birthday list a few years back. When my kids were little, we had Sesame music CDs and we knew all the songs, which I still quote to them on occasion. ("Carribean Amphibian" comes to mind.) Here's my favorite new muppet. (Oh, and I named my daughter Zoe BEFORE there was a muppet on SS with that name! That did bug me a little bit, but I got over it.) So, again, here's my favorite new muppet, ok?<br /><br /></div><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://www.freewebs.com/hawaiisam418/pepetheprawn.bmp" border="0" /> <span style="color:#ffff00;"><center>Pepe, The King Prawn</span> </center><br /><p></p></li><li><span style="color:#ffff00;">I love books.</span> I love them in stacks and on racks. I love them on shelves or by themselves. I love them here. I love them there. I love books everywhere. Do I read them? Occasionally. And when I do I love them even more. But there's something so dang comforting about the books on the shelves in my office where I spend most of my time reading on the internet. This is a secret source of shame, and one I hope to alleviate within the next month (the time I've given myself to "get it together, once and for all"!) Here is part of my library.<br /><br /><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ3ERKrZaj44I_uU07V6EROT_9-7Ei_wMs9E5rJr9A_NKEBTC5qxfpnOXgSwy_dmZAf0Xbhspssc-55jVFl7PQxjTLRKmb_izu6p7XGHZLXSSuDOpbkVCQAseHcTDSOGTVSS2J_w/s1600-h/my+library.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5195459522492155522" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ3ERKrZaj44I_uU07V6EROT_9-7Ei_wMs9E5rJr9A_NKEBTC5qxfpnOXgSwy_dmZAf0Xbhspssc-55jVFl7PQxjTLRKmb_izu6p7XGHZLXSSuDOpbkVCQAseHcTDSOGTVSS2J_w/s400/my+library.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /></p></li><br /><li><span style="color:#ffff00;">I think I hate the Blogger interface.</span> Compose mode always messes up the spacing. Adding pictures is a nightmare. In fact, that may be the last picture you see today because I'm tired of sitting here KNOWING there has to be an easier way that I haven't learned. I haven't even searched for blog help yet, so if any of my lovely readers has any idea where the best place to go for help is, I would be oh-so-grateful for your comment to that effect!<br /><p><br /></p></li><li><span style="color:#ffff00;">I started to go off on a rant there, but I saved you. Maybe. </span>Let's see, did this work? Ah, saved. See number five for what just happened.<br /><br /></li><br /><li><span style="color:#ffff00;">Did I mention I dislike the Blogger interface?</span> I just gave up on that last one because I couldn't get the typeface color to revert back to normal, and the last time I messed with it, it ended up some weirder shade of green. Let me go check the html code. Yes, it appears that I know just enough HTML to drive myself BATTY!</li><br /><p></p><br /><li><span style="color:#ffff00;">This year marks my 20th year of life post high school graduation. </span>Did I imagine that I would be here? Doing life like this? No, reader, I did not. And so this also marks the year where I let that IDEA of a life go and just start living the one I have--and making changes as I see fit. To wake up to the reality that you have created and realize that the dream is over can be simultaneously crushing and liberating. I'm rooting for liberating to win!<br /><br /><br /></li><li><div align="left"><span style="color:#ffff00;">In light of my van Winkle-esque discovery this year, I now have a motto of sorts.</span> From the Tao Te Ching:<br />"Failure is an opportunity. If you blame someone else, there is no end to the blame. Therefore the Master fulfills her own obligations and corrects her own mistakes. She does what she needs to do and demands nothing of others." </div></li><br /><br /><li><span style="color:#ffff00;">I have a list of things I want to do that is so long that most times I become overwhelmed and do nothing. </span>Or blog. However, blogging is one of the things I want to do, I just don't want it to take over my day (see #4 and #5). Here's some of my list: Wait, better yet, let me just make it part of the 13 and be efficient! =)</li><br /><p></p><br /><li><span style="color:#ffff00;">I want to paint.</span> Every day I see my easel, holding the canvas with the outline of an Albuquerque scene on it, or the painting above my monitor that needs a few more tweaks, or the one leaning up against the file cabinet that needs another go of detail, and I think, yes. And then I come out to lock the front door at night before going to bed and I see the paintings in my office, and I think, no. Again, I have so many ideas swirling around in my head about what I want to paint, I let it get overwhelming. Or, I'm the meany and say, "Not until you get your work done!" which never seems to happen to a sufficient degree to allow for such reckless play. I am determined to make a schedule for myself that includes painting, no matter what.<br /></li><br /><br /><li><span style="color:#ffff00;">I bought myself two journals...well, a sketchbook and a journal.</span> Large, hard-bound. One for pictures cut out of my favorite magazines...places I want to visit, things I would like to do, clothing or decorating styles that make me smile. A sort of "vision" or dreams notebook. (Gotta get some new goals to work towards!) The other for quotations I like...any kind. I've started cutting out photos and I have the rubber cement. I have some quotations on slips of paper in a pile, and I have the rubber cement. Now, to make the time to do this...a little each day.</li><br /><p></p><br /><li><span style="color:#ffff00;">I am absolutely fascinated with raw food recipes.</span> I have eaten so many new kinds of things. Like last night for instance, I made "pasta" with pesto sauce. I used my handy-dandy Pampered Chef mandolin and sliced up some zucchini strips (the long way). Then I massaged some sea salt into the strips until they were soft and "noodle-y." Then, I put a dollop or two of homemade pesto sauce (basil leaves, pine nuts, garlic, olive oil) on top and mixed it in. SO GOOD! You wouldn't believe! My husband loved it! Oh, and I've sprouted my own mung beans about four times now, and they ROCK! And my kids' favorite so far are sunburgers, made with sunflower seed and flax meal as a base. Awesome! Here's a picture...breakin' all my rules about adding photos cuz it's soooooooo gooooood! That's raw corn "salsa" on the side, and on top, raw catsup and homesprouted mung beans! (No, it's not difficult to make!)<br /><br /></li><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5195468967125239442" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9eSXSpwLc8mpLxrWgjhLvPdqlwWLIf_i4Vh6Lu5kVKlXpebA-7EckA4SeXEkwdOsGRnCJOX8zWRnrS1-obd8owUVfvQUZte1oqzEU7T8uETaqDvpS85I_FATAaP5Kx57RXjGHAA/s400/P1010131.JPG" border="0" /><br /><p></p><p></p><br /><li><span style="color:#ffff00;">I have a compulsion to be super organized, but I fight the battle constantly.</span> Right now, next to my chair, there are piles of stuff that migrated here from elsewhere in the house as the last stop before being sorted properly. I cannot keep paper from piling up. I am good at hiding things in closets, and no matter how often I reorganize them, there always seems to be chaos waiting to happen. When I lived in an apartment, I didn't have these problems. I keep trying to implement that strategy here, but it's so difficult to "fool" myself into thinking, "I just don't have room for that." The garage is living proof there's room for that SOMEWHERE!!!<br /><br /></li><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5195472836890773170" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3K-ea74Y6IxQjvC6vAjXvs7_roYLDCrkns904e3VM1s6zcYxEV_T-33HrQlnoW2qdsmrEwUQtdbpsMHskOUhuUoZ9TmBrCO-Yj8LRAmbxMnFwRjVTe3kfrb5jlFOjL6PJHsntug/s400/office+pileup.JPG" border="0" /> <p></p><p></p><br /><li><span style="color:#ffff00;">My dog Emily is my constant companion.</span> Faithful. Dutiful. Under foot. Pesky. Annoying. Troublesome (She ran out the door to chase--A ROTTWEILER--when I tried to let the cat in the other night! Thank goodness it was the most mild mannered Rotty I've ever met!). Cuddly. Piggy (She eats the cat food if she doesn't have grazing food in her bowl...well, sometimes even when she does, so she can save hers just in case!). Neurotic (umm, guess that would by my fault?). But she's my girl, and she has kept me company during all those hours when I've been home alone, like now, and bumping into me as I bump into myself, trying to get organized!<br /><br /></li><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5195472832595805858" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOqlSD7wU0HxWG8bbTOFtqx8bBMNabOs5RGqZvsoEyTTcd4Q-A-4dX3WEzo67dF5qpyC1WSjYolLmEn2hqj8NSj83GnD6YcokL1aQ8hHTK9VZx480RNi0e_A5_eSrr5opTJm9IJg/s400/constant+companion.JPG" border="0" /><br /></ol><p align="left">Having said "trying to get organized" just now reminded me that I must remember Yoda's words (which are not only his, but hey, I would rather hear it from a Muppet!): <span style="color:#ffff00;">"Do or do not. There is no try."<br /></span><br />So, I'm going to go do some stuff on my list! Have a happy Thursday and a WONDERFUL weekend! (And wish me luck because I'll be making myself a schedule over the next few days! Woohoo! Baby steps of doing, here I come!)<br /><br />Muah! =D<br /><br /><br />© Nicole J. Williams, 2008, all rights reserved. </p><p align="left"></p><p align="center"><a href="http://thursdaythirteen.com/" mce_href="http://thursdaythirteen.com">Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!</a><br /><br />The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!<br /><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/thursday+thirteen" rel="tag" mce_href="http://technorati.com/tag/thursday+thirteen">View More Thursday Thirteen Participants</a><br /></p>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15740562889506321916noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8857556.post-46728403795827320072008-04-24T10:04:00.011-05:002008-04-24T13:48:02.484-05:00Thursday Thirteen #5: Oregon Vistas<center><img src="http://intricateart.com/blog/thursdaythirteen300.jpg" mce_src="http://intricateart.com/blog/thursdaythirteen300.jpg" /></center><br /><center>Thirteen Things about <strong>OREGON's VISTAS</strong></center><p>I hope I'm not starting to sound like a broken record here, but my blog is one of the ways that I work through how I feel about my life, and this Thursday seems like as good a time as any to throw out some ideas, ok pictures, about my dream for the future.<br /><br />I've been watching the weather buttons on my blog, and listening to a few Pacific Northwest bloggers, and I would have to say that the weather up there is making me a little nervous about living there. I will definitely have to visit in the winter/early spring to see what that actually feels like. But I'm still pretty sure that I can handle wearing gloves, scarves, boots, and jackets as long as I get to see the world looking like the photos below. Yeah baby, I want glorious natural landscapes!<br /><br />And there's also the issue about how far away it is, but, well, I never let <em>that</em> stop me before. And I don't have to stay there forever, I suppose, but I do feel an intense pull to the West Coast, so I'm definitely going to go that way. I think I might find my village there. I can't tell you how many people from Oregon have started popping into my reality...authors, bloggers, drivers in front of me. Yes, it's true! I have NEVER seen an Oregon license plate until yesterday. My kids asked, "What are they doing HERE?" I looked at the big SUV and thought, "Oh, they've come to the right place if that's what they are driving around in!"<br /><br />But seriously, I just wanted to kick back and look at some beautiful scenery today, so I went to Google's image search and typed in Oregon. Here are 13 vistas I would absolutely love to witness, <em>in person</em>!!!</p><ol><li><strong>I love, love, love, love, love the ocean. And this is rugged ocean. With rocky formations for the waves to crash against! Ahhhhh!</strong><br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://www.vividlight.com/28/images/Oregon%20Coast%20V.jpg" border="0" /></li><li><strong>And here's one in a bluer hue...</strong><br /><a href="http://www.panoramio.com/photos/original/961506.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://www.panoramio.com/photos/original/961506.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></li><li><strong>And here's one after a storm at sunset...</strong><br /><a href="http://gallery.photo.net/photo/4897738-md.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://gallery.photo.net/photo/4897738-md.jpg" border="0" /></a> </li><li><strong>Oh, and this one showing the crasshhhhhhhh...</strong><br /><a href="http://www.wunderground.com/data/wximagenew/r/Rutabagas/26.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://www.wunderground.com/data/wximagenew/r/Rutabagas/26.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></li><li><strong>We now interrupt the coastal photos for the idyllic farmscape... Have I mentioned that I have always wanted to live on a farm?</strong><br /><a href="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/47/139003133_404421e8e1.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/47/139003133_404421e8e1.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></li><li><strong>Back to some water, but this is falling water... falling over lush greenery...*sigh*</strong><br /><a href="http://grandcanyon.free.fr/images/cascade/original/Proxy%20Falls,%20Cascade%20Range,%20Oregon.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://grandcanyon.free.fr/images/cascade/original/Proxy%20Falls,%20Cascade%20Range,%20Oregon.jpg" border="0" /></a> </li><li><strong>And now for some snowy mountains and flowering meadows... are we in heaven <em>yet</em>?</strong><br /><a href="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/124/417118868_4f4c1da848.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/124/417118868_4f4c1da848.jpg" border="0" /></a> </li><li><strong>Even the manmade Janpanese Gardens are exquisite, and since Japan is farther away than Oregon...</strong><br /><a href="http://grandcanyon.free.fr/images/cascade/original/Japanese%20Garden,%20Portland,%20Oregon.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://grandcanyon.free.fr/images/cascade/original/Japanese%20Garden,%20Portland,%20Oregon.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></li><li><strong>Mountains and meadows and rocks, OH MY...!!!</strong><br /><br /><a href="http://www.oregon.com/images/frontpage/jeffersonpark_100.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://www.oregon.com/images/frontpage/jeffersonpark_100.jpg" border="0" /></a></li><li><strong>A river, cliffs of rock, and evergreen forests anyone...???</strong><br /><a href="http://www.golastresort.com/images/umpqua_flyonlywaterbigwall1.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://www.golastresort.com/images/umpqua_flyonlywaterbigwall1.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></li><li><strong>A majestic waterfall perhaps? Height is proportional to "majesty" I believe...</strong><br /><a href="http://www.hickerphoto.com/data/media/171/toketee_falls_54702.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://www.hickerphoto.com/data/media/171/toketee_falls_54702.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></li><li><strong>And we can't forget the mesmerizing Crater Lake...</strong><br /><a href="http://www.sacred-destinations.com/usa/images/oregon/crater-lake/cc-llaitner.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://www.sacred-destinations.com/usa/images/oregon/crater-lake/cc-llaitner.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></li><li><strong>And finally, one more luscious waterfall for good measure...</strong><br /><a href="http://www.wadih-ghsoubi.com/Nature/1/original/Cascading%20Waterfall,%20Umpqua%20National%20Forest,%20Oregon.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://www.wadih-ghsoubi.com/Nature/1/original/Cascading%20Waterfall,%20Umpqua%20National%20Forest,%20Oregon.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.photomigrations.com/articles/0703200.htm">This photographer </a>calls the Oregon Coast "nirvana." I absolutely agree. Check out <a href="http://www.photomigrations.com/articles/0703200.htm">HIS</a> righteous photos from a week-long trip down the coastline. And, as always, may you be blessed this week--with visions of the desires of your heart. May you follow your dreams in perfect joy! (Yes, you may have perfect joy. Ask and ye shall receive. Believe, and it is so.)</li></ol><p align="left">© Nicole J. Williams, 2008, all rights reserved.</p><p align="center"><br /><strong>Links to other Thursday Thirteens!</strong><br /><a href="http://thursdaythirteen.com/" mce_href="http://thursdaythirteen.com">Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!</a><br />The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It's easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!<br /><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/thursday+thirteen" rel="tag" mce_href="http://technorati.com/tag/thursday+thirteen">View More Thursday Thirteen Participants</a><br /></p>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15740562889506321916noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8857556.post-83096868595459690342008-04-21T01:15:00.005-05:002008-04-24T13:48:26.606-05:00I've Been MUGGED!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib1yHrI-s7Kzemq-vC5PVCfVs_L_FFFhiOj-SqR_wF48BKstwtP-lzLroQ9GwQHM2sokNeYbTuZSR_7NNkl5F6khB6w0u2Xb0VW5JKH9rO-yBeB70A6Gk2IfysyckswzDiulgu1w/s1600-h/mugmemegraphic+copy.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5191581043769699522" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib1yHrI-s7Kzemq-vC5PVCfVs_L_FFFhiOj-SqR_wF48BKstwtP-lzLroQ9GwQHM2sokNeYbTuZSR_7NNkl5F6khB6w0u2Xb0VW5JKH9rO-yBeB70A6Gk2IfysyckswzDiulgu1w/s400/mugmemegraphic+copy.jpg" border="0" /></a> My new blogger friend <a href="http://scrappynhappy.blogspot.com/">Phyllis</a> tagged me for this fun little meme!<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://lowdownfromlois.blogspot.com/2008/04/lois-morning-mug-meme.html">Lois' Morning Mug Meme</a> Rules:<br /><br /><br />Most folks drink some sort of a morning beverage, be it coffee or tea, and most likely from a mug.<br /><br /><br />1. Please share a photo of your favorite mug(s).<br />2. Tell a story about how it became your favorite. Include what you drink with this mug.<br />3. Be sure to link to <a href="http://lowdownfromlois.blogspot.com/2008/04/lois-morning-mug-meme.html">Lois</a> and the person who tagged you for this meme!<br />4. Leave a comment for <a href="http://lowdownfromlois.blogspot.com/2008/04/lois-morning-mug-meme.html">Lois</a> so she can follow her meme.<br /><br /><br />Ok, so here we go!<br /><br /><br />My first favorite mug is a replacement for my all-time absolute favorite mug that they don't carry at the Disney store anymore (and couldn't find it on eBay). The original was poorly made and the bottom broke off. However, I think I forgot and ran it through the dishwasher or something. Anyway, that one was pink inside, white outside, with Pooh, Tigger, Piglet, AND Eeyore on the front of it. It was beautiful. *sigh*<br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5191581048064666834" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGGwLTeFA33FfEdkTleahobYMsY4gRakBp8on1vUyzSGLz8_aV2Bo4nXwQ6MxhvrTxiDkq7QGJJlbIXZgtqa06JYt2seuiSbI-Jd_PkocnkKL1ul-DMM2V9w9ocdO_mqV3z40Y8w/s400/eeyore+mug.JPG" border="0" /> So now I have this lovely, uncharacteristically happy Eeyore mug that I just love. Isn't he cute?? I used to drink tea out of this mug but then I started using a tea pot to steep my herbal tea, so now I just look at this one. Oh, and I don't drink hot beverages in the morning. I am allergic to caffeine, so to speak. I don't break out in hives, but my adrenal glands get completely overstimulated. I could have a SIP of coffee in the morning and still be up until 2am. Oh, and after prolonged exposure to caffeine (I got addicted to Dr. Pepper a couple of times...gosh I love that junk!), I become depressed. I figured this all out at 18, luckily, so I've been caffeine free all of my adult life (except for those two forays into Dr. Pepper's land of fun).<br /><br /><br />My oldest daughter and I love Eeyore and we each got this mug one day when we went to the Disney store. (She also got an Orlando Bloom [aka Will Turner] pillow, but I didn't think I could get away with that one!) See, we even got to meet Eeyore in person at Disney! =)<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5191585192708107506" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-FWZHNSvna73H_B8hnHxVY_rP5qNFu8rGMT1smp5Tg8bZzjvpPP4RMRe2wLTal6b5hP9fMSCcQhy64bxqW0PihAegrLcJig6JD3hcLTIGCK2_a4mF0OrZWXT5t3HajU8qbg0HEw/s400/me_zoe_n_eyeore.JPG" border="0" />My other favorite mug in the whole world, that I've had for a long, long time, has one of Gary Larson's <em>Far Side</em> comics on it. I think his are some of the funniest comics of all time and I can laugh over and over and over at the same ones. This one I loved, and it was a constant reminder that I really needed to quit smoking once and for all, which I finally did about seven months ago. (I'd quite TWICE before for three years at a time, but I know this time's the keeper because I finally replaced a bad habit with a good one--DANCING! Yay me!) So, without further adieu, here is my favorite "comedic" mug.<br /><br /><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirA9-IduWqb0wAyZClTiR36Rs5hvdnsVwGbjaRBgCGeRsUrFecVPnamp0avjzBcF_HiW1zO95lzT5RDEFztph959jsCBhgPP1zYH6Qr9v-7YtqmzW5z798yg8amcygkv3Raa7INA/s1600-h/extinct+mug.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5191581052359634146" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirA9-IduWqb0wAyZClTiR36Rs5hvdnsVwGbjaRBgCGeRsUrFecVPnamp0avjzBcF_HiW1zO95lzT5RDEFztph959jsCBhgPP1zYH6Qr9v-7YtqmzW5z798yg8amcygkv3Raa7INA/s400/extinct+mug.JPG" border="0" /></a></p><p align="center">"The real reason dinosaurs became extinct"</p><p>I've probably had a variety of beverages in this puppy, but I remember hot chocolate the most. Oh, and yes, in case you were wondering, I know for a fact that I did use it WHILE SMOKING, just to add to the irony.</p><p>Thanks <a href="http://lowdownfromlois.blogspot.com/">Lois</a> and <a href="http://scrappynhappy.blogspot.com/">Phyllis</a> for the fun meme!</p><p>© Nicole J. Williams, 2008, all rights reserved.</p>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15740562889506321916noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8857556.post-46631122723447010302008-04-17T00:00:00.008-05:002008-04-21T01:55:28.654-05:00Thursday Thirteen #4: Ryan Turns 18!!!<center><img src="http://intricateart.com/blog/thursdaythirteen300.jpg" mce_src="http://intricateart.com/blog/thursdaythirteen300.jpg" /></center><br /><br /><center><span style="color:#ffff00;">Thirteen Things About RYAN!</span></center><br /><p>I have known Ryan since he was seven years old. Tomorrow, April 18th, he will be eighteen. I just can't believe it!<br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5191588182005345538" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxNuilTeWFyMKTJ2uXa623xdjZqBXcYe-wowo8gC-SHG-gmGUiTI7zco9XUDS9JCwmQ04xhyphenhyphenvwySYmAU7mduqhjepMxTCYofiOoWsqGPLKtAsh2EOaVLgkN54wbsRzrVTQTl0d9g/s400/Ryan's+cake.JPG" border="0" /><br />Ryan is my husband's youngest son from a previous marriage and he lived with the two of us from the time he was seven until he was fourteen. We've missed him a lot these last four years, and we are grateful when he can come and visit. He is here with us this week, for his birthday, and so I thought it only fitting that this week's thirteen would be about him.<br /><br />Ryan...</p><ol><li><span style="color:#ffff00;">inherited his father's soft, sweet, sensitive, loving heart.</span> (As well as his ability to wear pink and look good! You'll see what I mean at the end!) He's just as mushy on the inside as he can be, and it's just one of those things that really sets him apart from most people.</li><br /><li><span style="color:#ffff00;">said he wanted to be six feet tall</span><span style="color:#ffff00;">, even though his dad is 5'8"</span> and his older brother topped out at about 5'6"...and he did it. I believe it was sheer force of will. (Ok, that and he took after his mom's side more and his uncle is tall too, but still, short runs in the family way more often!)</li><br /><li><span style="color:#ffff00;">earned his letter jacket in high school swimming,</span> which made me very proud because I had been there when he first started out on the neighborhood team at the age of 10 (I believe), cheering him on from the sidelines.</li><br /><li><span style="color:#ffff00;">loves people.</span> He loves to be around them, to hang out with them, to talk about the fun he has with them, to listen to them if they have troubles, to support them if they need him. He's the kind of guy who, if he sees you a half a mile away, will run up to you waving and yelling, "Hi!"</li><br /><li><span style="color:#ffff00;">loves to help people.</span> He would get up early on a Saturday morning to help the man next door make chili for the "Frontier Days" festival at the neighborhood park when most kids his age were home in bed. And he was first in line any time there were fundraisers in memoriam of James, his favorite four year old who died in a tragic accident.</li><br /><li><span style="color:#ffff00;">has a bit of a temper.</span> But that is because he feels everything so strongly. His emotions are always visible. He cannot dissemble in appearance. Even if he doesn't say out loud what he is feeling, you can read him like a book.</li><br /><li><span style="color:#ffff00;">has big brown eyes and a mop of curly brown hair</span> that make him irresistable in that cute puppy kind of way. (You just want to pinch his cheeks, even if you have to reach up to do it!)</li><br /><li><span style="color:#ffff00;">loves his family dearly.</span> He clearly values them above all things. Oh, and he is hopelessly and completely wrapped around the pinky of his adorable niece Layla. </li><br /><li><span style="color:#ffff00;">is extremely loyal...</span>to his family, his friends, his sporting teams, his country. Once you are part of his life, he'll go to bat for you any time. </li><br /><li><span style="color:#ffff00;">is a very giving person.</span> He'd give you his heart if he thought you needed it more than he did. To have Ryan as a friend is truly a gift.</li><br /><li><span style="color:#ffff00;">is also a typical teenager who has to have his cell phone and iPod with him at all times,</span> or else he feels "naked." The boy can text with his phone in his pocket for goodness' sake! Oh, and of course he can check his myspace and send email on his phone too. Did I mention video games? He also seems to have acquired a taste for brand name clothing!</li><br /><li><span style="color:#ffff00;">is incredibly responsible.</span> He goes to school, works over 20 hours a week, maintains a car, buys his own clothes and electronics, and still has time to nurture multiple friendships. When he was a kid, he used to say he was going to get a job at CiCi's Pizza...sure enough, that's where he works, and where he will probably still work once he starts college in the fall. Can you say responsible with a capital "R"?</li><br /><li><span style="color:#ffff00;">is an all around "good kid."</span> He has no vices...well, except maybe eating too much fast food. He doesn't break his curfew (I don't think!). He's not a trouble maker in any sense of the word. He'll joke around, but he knows when to be serious. He'll cut up and play, but he knows when to stop. In other words, he has really grown into a fine young man.</li></ol><p>I'm really proud of Ryan, and I'm so happy that he's here, spending time with us like the "old days" because we surely don't get to see him nearly enough now that he lives so far away and works so hard. But, I suppose that's the way it goes no matter what, now that he'll technically be all grown up. I have no doubt that he will continue to make us proud to know him as he continues finding his way in this world. I sure am grateful to know him.</p><p align="center">Happy 18th Birthday Ryan!</p><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjniLXKB_pOHejW6iI9XjNGL6JVHHlQPSpHnt-Lu15BLDTZDmEmIHQkEKbzc4Xr-I3w2Atstki8x6Lrk6c8tbofX5kCZArybiVQqKzhE9JgJBnGrEXEtl6rCPppKn_J2ywAhWhXwg/s1600-h/Ryan+prom.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5190005787242916866" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjniLXKB_pOHejW6iI9XjNGL6JVHHlQPSpHnt-Lu15BLDTZDmEmIHQkEKbzc4Xr-I3w2Atstki8x6Lrk6c8tbofX5kCZArybiVQqKzhE9JgJBnGrEXEtl6rCPppKn_J2ywAhWhXwg/s400/Ryan+prom.jpg" border="0" /></a> Senior Prom, April 12, 2008<br /></p><br /><br /><p align="left">Muah! =D </p><p align="left">© Nicole J. Williams, 2008, all rights reserved.</p><br /><p align="left"></p><p align="center"><strong>Links to other Thursday Thirteens! </strong>(leave your link in comments)<br /></p><p></p><center><a href="http://thursdaythirteen.com/" mce_href="http://thursdaythirteen.com">Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!</a><br />The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!<br /><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/thursday+thirteen" rel="tag" mce_href="http://technorati.com/tag/thursday+thirteen">View More Thursday Thirteen Participants</a><br /></center>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15740562889506321916noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8857556.post-32687785009457487662008-04-16T09:26:00.007-05:002008-04-17T09:36:16.735-05:00Twelve Months of PersonalityHey, I've been "tagged" for the first time! Thanks <a href="http://xboxwife.blogspot.com/">Mrs. Brownstone</a>!<br /><br />Now she made a really nifty couple of paragraphs out of her list of traits, but I'm going to wimp out and just highlight the ones that fit. Wait. Hey, who made this list? Is someone stalking me? Usually the descriptions of "Aquarius" are pretty close, but this "February" list is <em>eerily</em> familiar to me. Ok, so I'll comment--a bit:<br /><br /><strong>Abstract thoughts.</strong> (Um, check.)<br /><br /><strong>Loves reality and abstract.</strong> (Yes, and isn't this an odd pairing? I mean, just because something is abstract, doesn't mean it isn't reality, so what is this really saying?)<br /><br /><strong>Intelligent and clever.</strong> (So I've been told, although, often, I feel quite the opposite.)<br /><br /><strong>Changing personality.</strong> (Ask anyone who has known me for more than a year. I cycle. Don't ask my husband--he might start muttering something under his breath about "Dr. Jekyl and Ms. Hyde.")<br /><br /><strong>Attractive. Sexy.</strong> (I have moments when I believe this.)<br /><br /><strong>Temperamental.</strong> (yep)<br /><br /><strong>Quiet, shy and humble.</strong> (Often painfully so.)<br /><br /><strong>Honest and loyal.</strong> (Absolutely.)<br /><br /><strong>Determined to reach goals.</strong> (Ok, here's a sticky one. When I <em>have</em> a goal, yes. Working on having them again. Been slapped down a few times in this department.)<br /><br /><strong>Loves freedom.</strong> (It's my second middle name.)<br /><br /><strong>Rebellious when restricted.</strong> (OMG, yes. Ridiculously so I'm afraid.)<br /><br /><strong>Loves aggressiveness.</strong> (This is one of those weird ones...like, wait, yeah, I think I do. To a point. When it's used to fence me in though, watch out, it's Tasmanian Devil time!)<br /><br /><strong>Too sensitive and easily hurt.</strong> (God, yes. And this one I would love to grow out of? Please? Soon?)<br /><br /><strong>Gets angry really easily but does not show it.</strong> (Yes, the G.P. --general public--is rarely alerted to the underlying fuming.)<br /><br /><strong>Dislikes unnecessary things.</strong> (Another one that surprised me...yep.)<br /><br /><strong>Loves making friends but rarely shows it.</strong> (Um, rarely shows it because she is so "shy" that she doesn't make friends as often as she would like, perhaps? It's a slow thing. Trust issues. Wah wah.)<br /><br /><strong>Daring and stubborn.</strong> (Uh-huh. Stubborn times ten to the nth degree I'm afraid.)<br /><br /><strong>Ambitious.</strong> (Not sure. This may be another subverted trait. I know I <em>used</em> to feel ambitious.)<br /><br /><strong>Realizes dreams and hopes.</strong> (Slowly?)<br /><br /><strong>Sharp.</strong> (Ouch. Sometimes. Especially in arguments involving "logic," or so I've been told.)<br /><br /><strong>Loves entertainment and leisure.</strong> (Too much?)<br /><br /><strong>Spendthrift.</strong> (But a thrify spender. I'd rather come home with 100 bargains than one thing for 100 dollars.)<br /><br /><strong>Tries to learn to show emotions.</strong> (Gosh, ok, who the heck is in my head? Yes, it's true. It's all true. I have difficulty showing emotions. Trust issues, ok? I know. Wah wah!)<br /><br />Ok, so that felt totally revealing to me on the inside. Wonder what it looks like out there. Hmm?<br /><br />Back to the business then, and here's where it gets tricky. I think I know 12 people who blog! (yep, here comes the shy stuff) So, here I go!<br /><br />If you read this and I did not tag you, and you would like to play along, leave me a comment and let me know you are willing to accept an "indirect tag"! =)<br /><br />Have a great day!<br /><br />© Nicole J. Williams, 2008, all rights reserved.<br /><br /><br />TAGGING RULES:<br /><br /><br />1. Mention the person who tagged you and create a link back to them.<br /><br />2. Copy-paste the traits for all the twelve months (see below).<br /><br />3. Pick your month of birth.<br /><br />4. Highlight the traits that apply to you.<br /><br />5. Tag 12 people and let them know by visiting their blogs and leaving them a comment.<br /><br />6. Let the person who tagged you know when yours is up!<br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="center">The Twelve Months</div><br /><br />JANUARY: Stubborn and hard-hearted. Ambitious and serious. Loves to teach and be taught. Always looking at people’s flaws and weaknesses. Likes to criticize. Hardworking and productive. Smart, neat and organized. Sensitive and has deep thoughts. Knows how to make others happy. Quiet unless excited or tensed. Rather reserved. Highly attentive. Resistant to illnesses but prone to colds. Romantic but has difficulties expressing love. Loves children. Loyal. Has great social abilities yet easily jealous. Very stubborn and money cautious.<br /><br /><br />FEBRUARY: Abstract thoughts. Loves reality and abstract. Intelligent and clever. Changing personality. Attractive. Sexy. Temperamental. Quiet, shy and humble. Honest and loyal. Determined to reach goals. Loves freedom. Rebellious when restricted. Loves aggressiveness. Too sensitive and easily hurt. Gets angry really easily but does not show it. Dislikes unnecessary things. Loves making friends but rarely shows it. Daring and stubborn. Ambitious. Realizes dreams and hopes. Sharp. Loves entertainment and leisure. Romantic on the inside not outside. Superstitious and ludicrous. Spendthrift. Tries to learn to show emotions.<br /><br /><br />MARCH: Attractive personality. Sexy. Affectionate. Shy and reserved. Secretive. Naturally honest, generous and sympathetic. Loves peace and serenity. Sensitive to others. Loves to serve others. Easily angered. Trustworthy. Appreciative and returns kindness. Observant and assesses others. Revengeful. Loves to dream and fantasize. Loves traveling. Loves attention. Hasty decisions in choosing partners. Loves home decors. Musically talented. Loves special things. Moody.<br /><br /><br />APRIL: Active and dynamic. Decisive and hasty but tends to regret. Attractive and affectionate to oneself. Strong mentality. Loves attention. Diplomatic. Consoling, friendly and solves people’s problems. Brave and fearless. Adventurous. Loving and caring. Suave and generous. Emotional. Aggressive. Hasty. Good memory. Moving. Motivates oneself and others. Sickness usually of the head and chest. Sexy in a way that only their lover can see.<br /><br /><br />MAY: Stubborn and hard-hearted. Strong-willed and highly motivated. Sharp thoughts. Easily angered. Attracts others and loves attention. Deep feelings. Beautiful physically and mentally. Firm Standpoint. Needs no motivation. Easily consoled. Systematic (left brain). Loves to dream. Strong clairvoyance. Understanding. Sickness usually in the ear and neck. Good imagination. Good physical. Weak breathing. Loves literature and the arts. Loves traveling. Dislike being at home. Restless. Not having many children. Hardworking. High spirited. Spendthrift.<br /><br /><br />JUNE: Thinks far with vision. Easily influenced by kindness. Polite and soft-spoken. Having ideas. Sensitive. Active mind. Hesitating, tends to delay. Choosy and always wants the best. Temperamental. Funny and humorous. Loves to joke. Good debating skills. Talkative. Daydreamer. Friendly. Knows how to make friends. Able to show character. Easily hurt. Prone to getting colds. Loves to dress up. Easily bored. Fussy. Seldom shows emotions. Takes time to recover when hurt. Brand conscious. Executive. Stubborn.<br /><br /><br />JULY: Fun to be with. Secretive. Difficult to fathom and to be understood. Quiet unless excited or tensed. Takes pride in oneself. Has reputation. Easily consoled. Honest. Concerned about people’s feelings. Tactful. Friendly. Approachable. Emotional temperamental and unpredictable. Moody and easily hurt. Witty and sparkly. Not revengeful. Forgiving but never forgets. Dislikes nonsensical and unnecessary things. Guides others physically and mentally. Sensitive and forms impressions carefully. Caring and loving. Treats others equally. Strong sense of sympathy. Wary and sharp. Judges people through observations. Hardworking. No difficulties in studying. Loves to be alone. Always broods about the past and the old friends. Likes to be quiet. Homely person. Waits for friends. Never looks for friends. Not aggressive unless provoked. Prone to having stomach and dieting problems. Loves to be loved. Easily hurt but takes long to recover.<br /><br /><br />AUGUST: Loves to joke. Attractive. Suave and caring. Brave and fearless. Firm and has leadership qualities. Knows how to console others. Too generous and egoistic. Takes high pride in oneself. Thirsty for praises. Extraordinary spirit. Easily angered. Angry when provoked. Easily jealous. Observant. Careful and cautious. Thinks quickly. Independent thoughts. Loves to lead and to be led. Loves to dream. Talented in the arts, music and defense. Sensitive but not petty. Poor resistance against illnesses. Learns to relax. Hasty and trusty. Romantic. Loving and caring. Loves to make friends.<br /><br /><br />SEPTEMBER: Suave and compromising. Careful, cautious and organized. Likes to point out people’s mistakes. Likes to criticize. Stubborn. Quiet but able to talk well. Calm and cool. Kind and sympathetic. Concerned and detailed. Loyal but not always honest. Does work well. Very confident. Sensitive. Good memory. Clever and knowledgeable. Loves to look for information. Must control oneself when criticizing. Able to motivate oneself. Understanding. Fun to be around. Secretive. Loves leisure and traveling. Hardly shows emotions. Tends to bottle up feelings. Very choosy, especially in relationships. Systematic.<br /><br /><br />OCTOBER: Loves to chat. Loves those who loves them. Loves to take things at the center. Inner and physical beauty. Lies but doesn’t pretend. Gets angry often. Treats friends importantly. Always making friends. Easily hurt but recovers easily. Daydreamer. Opinionated. Does not care of what others think. Emotional. Decisive. Strong clairvoyance. Loves to travel, the arts and literature. Touchy and easily jealous. Concerned. Loves outdoors. Just and fair. Spendthrift. Easily influenced. Easily loses confidence. Loves children.<br /><br /><br />NOVEMBER: Has a lot of ideas. Difficult to fathom. Thinks forward. Unique and brilliant. Extraordinary ideas. Sharp thinking. Fine and strong clairvoyance. Can become good doctors. Dynamic in personality. Secretive. Inquisitive. Knows how to dig secrets. Always thinking. Less talkative but amiable. Brave and generous. Patient. Stubborn and hard-hearted. If there is a will, there is a way. Determined. Never give up. Hardly becomes angry unless provoked. Loves to be alone. Thinks differently from others. Sharp-minded. Motivates oneself. Does not appreciate praises. High-spirited. Well-built and tough. Deep love and emotions. Romantic. Uncertain in relationships. Homely. Hardworking. High abilities. Trustworthy. Honest and keeps secrets. Not able to control emotions. Unpredictable.<br /><br /><br />DECEMBER: Loyal and generous. Sexy. Patriotic. Active in games and interactions. Impatient and hasty. Ambitious. Influential in organizations. Fun to be with. Loves to socialize. Loves praises. Loves attention. Loves to be loved. Honest and trustworthy. Not pretending. Short tempered. Changing personality. Not egotistic. Take high pride in oneself. Hates restrictions. Loves to joke. Good sense of humor. Logical.Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15740562889506321916noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8857556.post-47611508106502169662008-04-09T19:23:00.008-05:002008-04-09T21:08:03.145-05:00Thursday Thirteen #3: Things I Could Have Blogged This Week<center><img src="http://intricateart.com/blog/thursdaythirteen300.jpg" mce_src="http://intricateart.com/blog/thursdaythirteen300.jpg" /></center><br /><br /><center><span style="color:#ffff00;">Thirteen Things I COULD HAVE blogged about this week!</span></center><br /><center></center><br /><div align="left">So I think I want to be a blogger. For real. Talkin' up my random life, online, and hoping that it's somehow interesting. Heck, or just to keep track of my own darn self, you know? So for two weeks, since I started this Thursday Thirteen funfest, my brain has been buzzing even MORE than usual about what to blog, to blog, to blog, or not to blog!? </div><br /><div align="left"></div><div align="left">Thoughts like, "Hey, I wonder if I've diluted my original flavor with this little list that seems to have taken over. I wonder if I really can just talk about anything. About all those things that get stuck in my head, banging around, driving me crazy. Wouldn't it be fabulous to just send them on their way and get on with thinking new thoughts? Yeah, I think so!"</div><br /><div align="left"></div><div align="left">So this list is probably more for my benefit again. It's a reminder that I have plenty of things to say, I just don't find the time to sit down and let a little randomness out on the page. </div><br /><div align="left"></div><div align="left">Here's an idea. If ANY of these sound halfway interesting, please stop by in the comments and give me a thumbs up, ok? Then, I'll work on writing a nice short and snappy (yes, this is my curse) explanation and get the thought monkeys out of my head so you can hear them. I warn you, though, it may not be pretty. </div><br /><div align="left"></div><div align="left">But it might be FUN! =) Let's see:<br /></div><p>I COULD HAVE BLOGGED ABOUT...</p><ol><li><div align="left"><span style="color:#ffff00;"><span style="color:#ffff00;">...what the first two weeks (as of today</span>) of eating an almost completely </span><span style="color:#33cc00;"><span style="color:#009900;">raw diet have been like: physically, of course, but also mentally and spiritually.</span> </span>As far as physically goes, the dirt is that I think I "cheated" with only a handful of items. Let's see, I had two BBQ chicken thighs, two 3oz. pieces of medium raaaare steak, a few Hershey's truffle kisses, a Cadbury cream egg (hello Valentine's and Easter candy...holiday candies are evil!), some yogurt pretzels (found them when I cleaned out my pantry. Gosh I love those things!), and yeah, that's ABOUT IT besides fresh fruit, veggies, raw nuts & seeds. </div></li><br /><li><div align="left"><span style="color:#ffff00;"><span style="color:#ffff00;">...</span>how much I love Mrs. G's </span><a href="http://derfwadmanor.blogspot.com/"><span style="color:#ffff00;">Derfwad Manor </span></a><span style="color:#ffff00;">and that it pained me to discover that a</span> femiNazi had emailed her anonymously with a "shame on your unfeminist blogging practices" tirade in the dead of night. It's funny how one small, ignorant voice, even in the midst of many enlightened ones, will almost always give us pause. (hrmph)</div></li><br /><li><div align="left"><span style="color:#ffff00;"><span style="color:#ffff00;">...how</span> I am slowly but surely working through Step Four on my own and in my own way,</span> learning more and more about my responsibility in creating this life I'm living. Oh me, oh my, I have been the poster child for blame!! But, better to be awakened to an ugly truth about oneself than to go on living in ignorant misery (hey, if it were bliss, it might not be so bad, but it was/isn't!).</div></li><br /><li><div align="left"><span style="color:#ffff00;"><span style="color:#ffff00;">...</span>all the new foods I have tried since starting to eat only raw food. Always wondered what</span> fennel bulbs were all about. Now I love them and have to have them. And how many of you have ever put raw spinach in your breakfast smoothie? You are definitely missing out. It RAWks! (I know, cheesy, or, in raw foodie talk, cheezy.)</div></li><br /><li><div align="left"><span style="color:#ffff00;"><span style="color:#ffff00;">...how</span> I managed to inadvertantly alienate myself from the raw food forum I joined. By</span> being myself for a change. Um, yeah. I guess it's that whole "tone in writing" issue? Thing is, usually I'M the one misinterpreting tone, and this time, even I missed the tone coming back at me. So it was an interesting tale. No suspense and intrigue I guess, but it was yet another learning experience.</div></li><br /><li><div align="left"><span style="color:#ffff00;"><span style="color:#ffff00;">...the</span> fact that I'm giving my dog parsley and megagreen supplements to help her naturally</span> through her second "false pregnancy," which unfortunately means I will most likely have to get her spayed after all. She's eight and a half years old. I know, I know. I bet I could get some serious hate mail for my pet care philosophy. </div></li><br /><li><div align="left"><span style="color:#ffff00;"><span style="color:#ffff00;">...</span>how I "grounded" myself from the internet for a whole day because I am going through</span> my addictions, one by one, and starting over one day at a time with healthy behaviors instead. </div></li><br /><li><div align="left"><span style="color:#ffff00;"><span style="color:#ffff00;">...</span>how the day I was grounded from the internet, I read a whole book on eating raw food,</span> including every recipe. The book is <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Anis-Raw-Food-Kitchen-Delectable/dp/1600940005">Ani's Raw Food Kitchen:Easy, Delectable Living Foods Recipes</a>, and it's my favorite so far. I would love to have my very own copy! She also has a few videos online that show how to prepare some of the recipes too (but I found those the next day, lol)! Check OUT this <a href="http://aniphyo.com/?p=92">raw apple pie</a>. Please? It's sooooooooo beautiful. And GOOD for you! <a href="http://aniphyo.com/?p=92">Look</a> at it. <a href="http://aniphyo.com/?p=92">Look!</a> =) </div></li><br /><li><div align="left"><span style="color:#ffff00;"><span style="color:#ffff00;">...</span>how love can surprise you, just when you think you might have given up hope that</span> anything will ever change. Well, maybe I wouldn't blog about that specifically, but maybe I could. It's still tough for me to put myself out there in plain view sometimes. But hey, I could try. After all, there's hope that we can all change, right? Ok, enough with the suspense already. My husband did and said things this past weekend that I'd been wishin', and hopin', and prayin', he would do. Woohoo, teamwork!!! </div></li><br /><li><div align="left"><span style="color:#ffff00;"><span style="color:#ffff00;">...</span>how I changed out the downstairs thermostat by myself and felt really accomplished</span> afterwards. I've had some experience with tools, so it wasn't such a big thing I guess, but it seemed so different, um, such a male-oriented thing to do? (crap, is that sexist?) Seriously though, I told my daughter I would rather do electrical work all day than clean toilets and vacuum. In my opinion, men have the brawn that gets them the better household chores sometimes. Of course, this from the woman who has painted almost every room in her home by herself (or with her DAUGHTERS), so maybe my life is way skewed on household task division; I don't know. (Ok, so I admit it, my husband takes out the trash now and everything else is mine...Christmas lights, exterior painting, lawn & garden, blah blah blah!) Not sure how that one came off. lol</div></li><br /><li><div align="left"><span style="color:#ffff00;"><span style="color:#ffff00;">...</span>how my husband surprised the hell out of me last weekend by doing things...wait...I said</span> that already, right? Wow, it was just too cool! And now he can say I mentioned him MULTIPLE times in my blog. (hehe)</div></li><br /><li><div align="left"><span style="color:#ffff00;"><span style="color:#ffff00;">...</span>how a guy from my graduating class went trolling through myspace and sent me a</span> message, not really remembering who I was, but just goin' through the list and playin' "look at me now." Well, I vote him "MOST CHANGED" since high school. Yep, this here's the year of the fabled 20th reunion, which I will most likely not be able to attend, although I would love to because I'm a curious FREAK who still remembers more than half of the kids in my class because I used to LIVE IN THE PAST and regarded my yearbook much too often during the first ten years after graduating. *sigh* So yeah, I didn't recognize him, but his age and location made me think, "Get the yearbook!" and I did, and, well, this definitely needs to be a blog, huh? (Hi Honey...didn't get a chance to tell you this story yet. I was going to though!)</div></li><br /><li><div align="left"><span style="color:#ffff00;"><span style="color:#ffff00;">...</span>how not only my husband has surprised me, but that I have done things in the last two</span> weeks that have been on MY to-do list for WAY too long and I've been ticking them off, one by one. I attribute this windfall of personal power to the #1 and #3 working in tandem. Boy, food addictions are sneaky. They are often the last reserve in our highly addicted society. In my own experience, almost everyone I know has food addiciton issues. Becoming transparent to myself and admitting my fears, foibles, and addictions is really transforming my life from the inside out. Honest authentic living is where it's at. I hope I can put some of the transformation process into words and share. I know hearing other folks talk about their revelations has helped me get to this point, so I hope I can pass on a little of that.</div></li></ol><br /><p align="left">Well, dear readers, I certainly appreciate your time and your thoughts, and your returns to my humble online abode. May you be blessed this week. Perhaps you will get to see something new in yourself or someone you love, and may you find great joy in the discovery!</p><br /><p align="left">Muah! =D </p><p align="left">© Nicole J. Williams, 2008, all rights reserved.</p><br /><p align="left"></p><p align="center"><strong>Links to other Thursday Thirteens! </strong>(leave your link in comments)<br /><br /></p><center><a href="http://thursdaythirteen.com/" mce_href="http://thursdaythirteen.com">Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!</a><br />The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!<br /><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/thursday+thirteen" rel="tag" mce_href="http://technorati.com/tag/thursday+thirteen">View More Thursday Thirteen Participants</a><br /></center>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15740562889506321916noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8857556.post-40921137419395257102008-04-01T12:17:00.044-05:002008-04-06T10:45:23.652-05:00Thursday Thirteen #2: I Heart Houston!<center><img src="http://intricateart.com/blog/thursdaythirteen300.jpg" mce_src="http://intricateart.com/blog/thursdaythirteen300.jpg" /></center><br /><br /><br /><center><span style="color:#ffff00;">Thirteen Things I Love About </span><span style="color:#ffff00;"><strong><span style="color:#ffff00;">Living in Houston</span> </strong></span></center><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5186157965759655634" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY8_bsZUh9YYSMhqUuYfO6JJOeoFEdsbhv7VBMPwfW4D1txjL8XkyUI9UK1ICGRqVv_K8h9tXZdFLxDzmg7UwPWtgCH3rYpXK-XC8M1DFxlLQHF0odpqSY1BD3BsE9bBfigubIiA/s200/city-skyline.jpg" border="0" /><br />I don't know about you, but when I start looking in a new direction, I like to spend some time reminiscing about where I've been, and how good it's been. So, now that I have officially set my eyes on leaving Texas, and The South, behind, well, I've done gone and got myself all nostalgic about it.<br /><br />So far, I have lived in Texas for almost right at (I'm using my Texas lingo, can ya tell?) eleven years. Exactly nine of those have been at the same residence. Folks, that's the longest I've EVER lived in one house. It's home.<br /><br />But that home is in the Houston suburbs. So, really, I feel more like a Houstonian than a Texan. (The only time I feel like a Texan is during an election, or when someone brings up where the current POTUS lives. yeesh!) So yes, Houston is home. And I have loved Houston all the while.<br /><br />Here's why:<br /><br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ffff00;">1. Proximity to <a href="http://www.galveston.com/default.asp"><span style="color:#ffff00;">Galveston </span></a><br /></span></strong><br />Yep, that greasy grey Limpopo version of the Gulf of Mexico coastline that made me choose Houston over Dallas, sight-unseen, when I had to choose where to live in Texas. I knew I wanted to live in "the big city" for the first time ever in my life, and, being a child of the ocean, and all things aqueous, I had to know that I could get in my car and in less than two hours, find myself toes in sand, wind in hair, surf in ears, regarding the limitless blue horizon. Ahhhhhhh! Voila...Houston!<br /><p></p><br /><br /><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQXy0rD3wN19mBTrsC85pUStcKclopb4fDWagmKhydnVzFmnnRoZ3K2Y_O2HsEqIlCW5ZTq2XATuAhBijieCbkGHK5NNGyEFum3M8G3MUifZlKXhEgGGQTkKFNoMTLh5Kl1mKGYQ/s1600-h/galveston-beach.jpg"><strong><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5185050830564928930" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQXy0rD3wN19mBTrsC85pUStcKclopb4fDWagmKhydnVzFmnnRoZ3K2Y_O2HsEqIlCW5ZTq2XATuAhBijieCbkGHK5NNGyEFum3M8G3MUifZlKXhEgGGQTkKFNoMTLh5Kl1mKGYQ/s200/galveston-beach.jpg" border="0" /></strong></a><strong><br /><br /><br /><span style="color:#ffff00;">2. <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.uh.edu"><span style="color:#ffff00;">The University of Houston<br /></span></a></span><br /></strong>Ah yes, the alma mater. She taught me much. Met way cool people. Learned SO much about writing. Read LOTS of great books. "Learned" how to teach freshmen how to write better than they knew before (this was my major goal...teaching them to learn how to write excellently caused more stress...precision was up for grabs, progress was inevitable!) Oh, and got to wander aimlessly in awe while becoming intimately acquainted with the most fabulous library I have yet to lay eyes on (this in NO WAY implies that I've been to many, but it does reinforce that "small-town girl meets the big city" thing that happened to me here!).<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgguLa1-_on2v5wMk8T-BGQmCb4D3asGh1FDCA06_sxRAXQPz67Du_O5cR9-pG0TxKTxUqoWPY6yYZMH2jdP3HF6XKit9Hio67wGGCG2Q_FwwteCbqW6liz5OxKzQdVMrVFiLVS5w/s1600-h/l_01.jpg"><strong><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5185052376753155506" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgguLa1-_on2v5wMk8T-BGQmCb4D3asGh1FDCA06_sxRAXQPz67Du_O5cR9-pG0TxKTxUqoWPY6yYZMH2jdP3HF6XKit9Hio67wGGCG2Q_FwwteCbqW6liz5OxKzQdVMrVFiLVS5w/s200/l_01.jpg" border="0" /></strong></a><strong><br /></strong></p><br /><br /><br /><p><br /><strong><span style="color:#ffff00;">3. FOOD: Vietnamese Noodle Soup</span><br /><br /></strong>Forget chicken soup. If you have anything that calls for a bowl of healing soup, THIS is the soup for you. The spicy (jalapeno or serrano pepper), pungent (ginger), fresh (basil), alive (bean sprouts), flavor of this slow-cooked force of nature will have you breathing easy in no time, and feeling fine. (Did I mention it has noodles? That's the comfort part of the soup...ahhhhhhhh!)<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikycDYM2eZHp0lQUvzv8QxR7QF7imA_QQSXE8N-8bajgBFwqfB_frfS48_aoyfdrgTzprOx1bninPdFYtG4JMAMYmgofBaChGJi-axnNynLO0l95X_zBT-97XDxIfwmyS6RfVq-w/s1600-h/IMG_2658-1.jpg"><strong><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5185054103330008514" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikycDYM2eZHp0lQUvzv8QxR7QF7imA_QQSXE8N-8bajgBFwqfB_frfS48_aoyfdrgTzprOx1bninPdFYtG4JMAMYmgofBaChGJi-axnNynLO0l95X_zBT-97XDxIfwmyS6RfVq-w/s200/IMG_2658-1.jpg" border="0" /></strong></a></p><br /><br /><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkFa8kaug9lFP7iRaqIY9pCB5Y9WOyLCcbHyuwRwVD-_jgXnnjEEzNPoefP6S3vJLB-vMkY4sYmZ3sf2OB4VHW5CFHWqrDInDrlfMW0JcjXykMygcxO2y3PmpQqFbaok9cqEyQfg/s1600-h/vn_soup4.jpg"><strong><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5185054318078373330" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkFa8kaug9lFP7iRaqIY9pCB5Y9WOyLCcbHyuwRwVD-_jgXnnjEEzNPoefP6S3vJLB-vMkY4sYmZ3sf2OB4VHW5CFHWqrDInDrlfMW0JcjXykMygcxO2y3PmpQqFbaok9cqEyQfg/s200/vn_soup4.jpg" border="0" /></strong></a><strong> </strong></p><br /><p><strong></strong></p><br /><p><strong></strong></p><br /><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><br /><br /><p><strong><span style="color:#ffff00;">4. <a href="http://www.sixflags.com/national/alert/astroworld.aspx"><span style="color:#ffff00;">ASTROWORLD</span></a> (in memoriam)</span> </strong></p><p>Oh me, oh my! We had season passes at least two times that I remember and we loved the heck outta that place! My husband and I loved the rollercoasters (and my girls grew into them all and loved them too!). But the whole family's favorite event was Fright Fest. Every year there would be a giant black widow spider mounted on the country's oldest, and largest wooden rollercoasters, The Texas Cyclone. Eerie greyish lights illuminated all the rides and ghoulish faces covered the top of the "six flags" poles at the entry gate. Blood flowed from all of the fountains, and zombies chased you (or just stared menacingly at you, while standing in your personal space) around the park. And then there were the haunted houses. Such fiendish fun! Our very last visit, before the park closed, was on a Fright Fest night. We made t-shirts for the kids to commemorate. We miss you AstroWorld! You were a most fun friend in town! </p><p><strong><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5185123209353801362" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_ILF5pFwiAgzhExQJVSpEddN8MGz8X6BG8cIketd0DXAOhZbiYBh5txnVU5V8xuUI9_sbQ_Wpj3OSDkYl-IH0AVoh_wJ6Xy2wDyXHmB_4BE8ZFBC747wCiS8IGl29HEbe3RcQoQ/s200/t-shirt+backs+closeup.JPG" border="0" /><br /><br /><br /></strong></p><br /><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong><span style="color:#ffff00;"></span></strong></p><p><strong><span style="color:#ffff00;"></span></strong></p><p><strong><span style="color:#ffff00;"></span></strong></p><p><strong><span style="color:#ffff00;">5. </span></strong><a href="http://www.mfah.org/home.asp?par1=1&par2=1&par3=1&par4=1&par5=1&par6=1&par7=&lgc=0&eid=&currentPage="><strong><span style="color:#ffff00;">The MFAH </span></strong></a><strong><span style="color:#ffff00;">(Museum of Fine Arts Houston). </span><br /></strong><br />Can you say "free Thursday"? Yep, today and every Thursday, you can view the general collections for freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. The building is located in the gorgeous, live oak tree-lined Museum District of Downtown Houston, right down the street from the lovely triple fountain, <a href="http://www.houstonzoo.org/">The Houston Zoo</a>, <a href="http://www.hmns.org/">The Museum of Natural Science,</a> <a href="http://www.cmhouston.org/">The Children's Museum</a>, <a href="http://www.mhms.org/">The Health Museum</a>, etc. etc. etc.</p><br /><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5j4UvKMe_9Nnxk6UqYZAYJitLW9nZjH7U51KuQZLMS5hFPWR9GuKPfnnvgmktO9XefXXTe2t-UXumoJg7zRZjQrTlxYa34dPpUQO-koGRRCDhBls5MjCDYYi0l8PGsU-6mhRlcg/s1600-h/p113629-Houston-MFAH_Audrey_Jones_Beck_Building.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5185056800569470434" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5j4UvKMe_9Nnxk6UqYZAYJitLW9nZjH7U51KuQZLMS5hFPWR9GuKPfnnvgmktO9XefXXTe2t-UXumoJg7zRZjQrTlxYa34dPpUQO-koGRRCDhBls5MjCDYYi0l8PGsU-6mhRlcg/s200/p113629-Houston-MFAH_Audrey_Jones_Beck_Building.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /></p><br /><p><strong><span style="color:#ffff00;">6. FOOD: Sushi/Sashimi</span><br /></strong><br />I will never eat a California roll from the supermarket EVER AGAIN! As Dr. Seuss would say "Oh the Places You'll Go" in Houston if you love sushi, or WANT to love it. My three favorite places are: <a href="http://shogungrill.com/">Shogun</a> (fun for the whole family, and the family's wallet. And they have "live," hibachi dining there too--where the chef throws his knives around to impress you while cooking your food in front of you.); <a href="http://www.sushiking.us/">Sushi King </a>(For a romantic and nearly orgasmic meal tete a tete with your schweetheart. There was much moaning and eye rolling here when hubby and I tried the waiter's recommendations. Oh, and there's a piano bar too!); and <a href="http://www.zakerestaurant.com/">Zake Sushi Lounge </a>(a hip, happenin' modern nightlife spot with low light, high music volume, and the most mouth watering sashimi--just fish, no roll/rice--sampler presentations.).<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3mHXx1uuTiHi1p2SsidJbL3HnWTkAGcSEv6KIKv1CFhwC824f5FCatg5tfSG2mogeP4lEs0WJ4Ws2n5ajfYFYb_Arv_u9dU30TBVcogCAP3b54yl30AH7lxJvfhOrws1jvdSPow/s1600-h/sashimi-main.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5185060618795396594" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3mHXx1uuTiHi1p2SsidJbL3HnWTkAGcSEv6KIKv1CFhwC824f5FCatg5tfSG2mogeP4lEs0WJ4Ws2n5ajfYFYb_Arv_u9dU30TBVcogCAP3b54yl30AH7lxJvfhOrws1jvdSPow/s200/sashimi-main.jpg" border="0" /></a> </p><br /><br /><br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ffff00;">7. </span></strong><a href="http://www.hcpl.net/"><strong><span style="color:#ffff00;">The Harris County Public Libraries</span></strong></a><br /><br />What, you ask, am I talking about? Oh yes. I love me some books, and these libraries are just a little slice of heaven on earth for bibliophiles. Singly, they aren't large, but collectively, they ammass quite a fortune in books, videos, CDs, DVDs, books on tape, and the like. And if they don't have the one you want at the branch near you? No problem. Fill out an online request form, tell them where you'd like to pick it up, and they will deliver it for you. Gives a whole new meaning to inter-library loan. My favorite one also has an amazing set of computers available to the public. We spend a lot of homeschooling time there!<br /><br /><br /><br /><p><a href="http://www.hcpl.lib.tx.us/branchinfo/tb/images/tom-image.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://www.hcpl.lib.tx.us/branchinfo/tb/images/tom-image.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /></p><p><br /><strong><span style="color:#ffff00;">8. </span></strong><a href="http://www.thedump.com/stores_houston.html"><strong><span style="color:#ffff00;">The Dump</span></strong></a><strong><span style="color:#ffff00;">, and other stores like it</span><br /></strong><br />No, it's not full of refuse. It's a giant warehouse store for designer furniture and decor at closeout prices. All the top retailers send their remnants to The Dump, and every weekend (they only open Fri., Sat., Sun.), you can go find some amazing furniture at amazing prices. I have been once to check it out, once to torture myself with longing, and once to find a nice rug to cover the pet stains in my living room carpet that should have just been taken to the real dump! Houston has lots of great outlet retailers. It's a really inexpensive place to live, and live well, in my opinion, because of places like that.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjplOmUZsPwFd5rO0nA1j3HrACnXe7E5P4LCa-DDtI4Aershzxqntrl1rHFSRX4_u4XvLJsdcFDOE6Z5kmQu6GX0h154aIwHXZcdemmKCUVzZSMz2BxMRl4Mx-pvr6W5QkMBvJehg/s1600-h/m018.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5185062392616889858" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjplOmUZsPwFd5rO0nA1j3HrACnXe7E5P4LCa-DDtI4Aershzxqntrl1rHFSRX4_u4XvLJsdcFDOE6Z5kmQu6GX0h154aIwHXZcdemmKCUVzZSMz2BxMRl4Mx-pvr6W5QkMBvJehg/s200/m018.gif" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ffff00;">9. FOOD: South of the Border</span></strong><br /><br />Did you think I was snubbing? No, no, no! What would life be like without thin, warmed tortilla chips and fresh, roasted salsa, a salty and cold Margarita on the rocks, and some of the rockin'est food you've ever eaten? There's Cuban, Venezuelan, Salvadorian, and yes, Mexican food galore. Ole! That being said, I am not a big fan of the average stuff: enchiladas, tacos, fajitas. I love that stuff, but I can make that at home. When I go OUT, I'm gonna get specialty stuff. Ok, and fishy type things. The grilled tilapia (mild, but meaty white fish) dishes alone are to die for. Usually they have a lovely cream sauce with mushrooms, tomato, avocado, and some crawfish tails on top. Or maybe it's ceviche, with lots of lime juice and cilantro. Or maybe some fried octopus dipped in chili sauce. Yuuuuummmmmmm. Whatever you want in this category, Houston has got it all.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWYNFIB5d0vRUHMdQC5L4331vsqxbgC3xzhjiwGf713J95MiQ7P6vwsxPySApSkGg7U-woU18PTk7EQfZ-iy_4nSgdvDdrmKNy8qdj6l0h8moRLrGC_1lWHeMfoq_kG7KcZdr2Xg/s1600-h/grilled-fish-large.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5185065622432296466" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWYNFIB5d0vRUHMdQC5L4331vsqxbgC3xzhjiwGf713J95MiQ7P6vwsxPySApSkGg7U-woU18PTk7EQfZ-iy_4nSgdvDdrmKNy8qdj6l0h8moRLrGC_1lWHeMfoq_kG7KcZdr2Xg/s200/grilled-fish-large.jpg" border="0" /></a> </p><br /><p><br /><strong><span style="color:#ffff00;">10.The Weather<br /></span></strong><br />I really have loved not having a winter, in terms of low atmospheric temperatures anyway. I have missed snow terribly. Skiing. But I haven't missed having three to four sets of seasonal clothing selections, buying new winter coats ( I do have gloves for those two weeks when my hands get too cold), snow tires, shoveling--that kind of thing. My birthday is in February and it was always cold, and I was always sick. Here, once I became immune to the Houston influenza (had that the first three years), I could enjoy being outside in the warm sun with only a t-shirt on in my birthday photos. We won't mention July, August, and September. I just think of it as our reverse winter, with no shoveling. Woohoo!<br /><br />Birthday in Feb. Family Foto: <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5185123205058834034" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKhI4NxibfAApgwd3o_sZFVjcYMNzyB_qRTuG2RywnoESu_pde1WhH_ijOHwfC9QoNK8fmm_as2sxbw0I8sY3lG0pZbg3YVuLMR1Kz7jZ6Yi7Fh9ofeG0iysODv8en6Dr8t2WxKQ/s200/bday30.jpg" border="0" /><br /><p align="center"><a title="Start An Affiliate Web Site" href="http://incomestores.com/"><img alt="Best Affiliate Program" src="http://incomestores.com/Weather2/?ZIP=77024&BColor=Bold_Blue" border="0" /></a></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ffff00;">11. Neighborhood Swim Teams </span><br /></strong><br />This goes right along with the weather. Living in suburbia, there are not just neighborhoods, there are "housing developments," and those almost all include swimming pools. And almost all of those pools are equipped to become competition pools with lane ropes and portable diving blocks and built-in flag pole (for the backstrokers) inserts in the cement decking. Very nice! And my kids loved to swim, so there ya go, their signature sport, right in the neighborhood. Funny though, it only lasts about 10-12 weeks, from the end of April until the first Saturday in July usually. But it's great fun! And then the kids can swim on the school teams...starting in junior high. Amazing.<br /><br /><p></p><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5185123200763866722" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqdOtAh4WwAAuUf3-3Umf7rNmvT8dXPcgkC2UcCzjrbEacVDX24NOjtoFBvhRIIfY_KiUWEo27Z6uZFc9YtQOWW9HtUmvhAX68sh2iEDqOpdeTCsHdL63F454fkQ8siQ9kIKAhLw/s200/P6170083.JPG" border="0" /><br /></p><br /><p><br /><br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ffff00;">12. FOOD: Seafood</span><br /></strong><br />Ok, so I spent the last five years of my life in Massachusetts on Cape Cod. My family owned a seafood restaurant. I worked there. I love seafood. Needless to say, I was biased when I came to Texas. Having said that, I have to admit that I am a convert to Texas style seafood. Can you say Gulf Shrimp? Oysters on the half shell? Crawfish boil? Although nothing can beat Maine lobster, and you can't find a clam to save your life down here, seafood in Houston ROCKS my world! (Remember, I almost always get the fish dish at the "South of the Border" restaurants I go to.)</p><br /><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5185130961769770690" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW7Ma89IquPvTVybH7S2DrUMqI5bDVakJGe3_Z-DK83g6gAblEel8VKyaN3Po82WqRJOEqN_iQDA9qFDmGHWOS2nbwMBv1WzYLROWUJFqFE_Q9AC5JR1D0z16myUcWGnHL5wBH4w/s200/Crawfish%2520Boil.jpg" border="0" /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5185130832920751778" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbhKNxRH4r40cjE9DGON6rMTu_nz62f-PweHfwIkGysdXIXT0MOeRCIBBNpudQEF6zebJbH81hStoSp9vMedHrBgMSF7ZIc6aNQG8RcgEFrKPTD1mZRjRSOUElRmo9K1WGyL6aNA/s200/oysters.jpg" border="0" /><br /></p><br /><p><br /><br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ffff00;">13. </span><a href="http://northharris.lonestar.edu/"><span style="color:#ffff00;">Lonestar College, North Harris</span></a><a href="http://northharris.lonestar.edu/"> </a><br /></strong><br />Formerly known as North Harris College, the first of the North Harris Montgomery Community College District campuses, this is the place I got my first "real" job after earning my Master's degree. I will be there again starting in June, and I'm excited. I really do love to teach, I just hate giving grades and getting paid half of what a full-time instructor gets paid to do the same job. But hey, it's "home" to me too, and I am looking forward to meeting all of my new students!<br /><br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://www.cfimechanical.com/images/nhcc_library3_large.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br />So there you have it! Thirteen good ole reasons for making Houston home. Hey, by the time I skedaddle on outta here, I will have been here for a little over thirteen years!<br /><br />As one of the "fattest" cities in the country, it should really be of no surprise to you that four of my reasons are food. Honestly, I could have (maybe I should have...hmmm...) done a whole list just on food. It's just that good. And we have eaten so much of it. We have wondered if we'd like it so much if it weren't for the food sometimes, but that's why this list has other things on it--because there ARE other reasons to live here than to stuff one's face!<br /><br />Where's your favorite place to live? Please leave me a comment to let me know you stopped by, if'n you got the time, ya hea? (Ok, so I laid it on a little, but trust me, it sounds like home.)<br /><br /><br />Muah! =D<br /><br />© Nicole J. Williams, 2008, all rights reserved.</p><br /><br /><br /><p align="center">(Sorry so late again...computer issues!)<br /><br /><strong>Links to other Thursday Thirteens!</strong><br /><br /></p><br /><center><a href="http://thursdaythirteen.com/" mce_href="http://thursdaythirteen.com">Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!</a><br /><br /><br />The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!<br /><br /><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/thursday+thirteen" rel="tag" mce_href="http://technorati.com/tag/thursday+thirteen">View More Thursday Thirteen Participants</a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></center>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15740562889506321916noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8857556.post-86165488546069760022008-03-27T17:17:00.025-05:002008-03-27T23:15:46.891-05:00Thursday Thirteen #1 -- "Happies"<center><img src="http://intricateart.com/blog/thursdaythirteen300.jpg" mce_src="http://intricateart.com/blog/thursdaythirteen300.jpg" /></center><br><br /><br />Thank you to <a href="http://zenmommasgarden.blogspot.com/">Zenmomma</a> for turning me on to the <a href="http://thursdaythirteen.com/">Thursday Thirteen </a>tradition.<br /><br />This is my first installment, and already I'm afraid of commitment (no surprise!), but I've decided that blogging is something I want to explore more fully, so might as well amp it up with something that resembles structure, huh?<br /><br />For my first episode, I would like to just highlight 13 things, in no particular order, that float my boat these days, or, what I've alluded to in the title: Happies.<br /><br />Here goes!<br /><br /><span style="color:#ffff00;"><strong><span style="color:#ffff00;">1. Discovering HAPPIES !</span></strong><br /></span><br />Couldn't have the list without the discovery, now could I? (And it just wouldn't be my blog if I didn't have a lengthy intro, am I right???)<br /><br />This is a word I learned in Mississippi, and I would have to say that learning it not only made me "happy," but discovering a land where people had a name for small tokens of pleasure, most often bestowed on someone else unexpectedly (and, hence, intensifying the happy effect), made me feel like I'd finally found an oasis of light in what felt like a interminably dark life. Ok, so that's a bit overdramatic (a bit!), but it was such a ray of sunshine.<br /><br />I wish I could remember what the first happie, labeled as such, was, but now I forget. It seems to me though, that it had something to do with goodie bag items at a birthday party. Like, "Don't forget the 'happies' for the party!" And it's so true, isn't it? I love to walk down the happies aisle at party city and bounce a few balls, tousle the fringe on those little fringy thingies (happies, by their very nature are better observed than described!), slap the little clapper hands a time or two, eye the jacks, roll some oversized dice, and imagine the smell of the playdoh in the little, party sized cups! Whew. Are ya happy yet? I'm smilin'!<br /><br />And lo and behold, when googled, there's even a <a href="http://www.happies.net/">BLOG</a> dedicated to recounting some of the things that fall into the category of "happies."<br /><br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ffff00;">2. Valentine's cards still on display in my room. I mean, aren't these the cutest? Are we not thinking the same way?? Awwwwwww!</span></strong><br /><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">HERS</span> </strong></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9W5QqSGP5084eCAXawNctYkJhWRLI_0DXsogJ9n6PKAWyKPBwKz1QzBH2kfNiKNMmLKNLaM6RZ2jaQA4Zng4MGrdtZ__MLbEt7rsWCSNHLib2-lOufPw3YfwTwj7aWvWUk3gJ2Q/s1600-h/my+valentine.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5182559410230832418" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9W5QqSGP5084eCAXawNctYkJhWRLI_0DXsogJ9n6PKAWyKPBwKz1QzBH2kfNiKNMmLKNLaM6RZ2jaQA4Zng4MGrdtZ__MLbEt7rsWCSNHLib2-lOufPw3YfwTwj7aWvWUk3gJ2Q/s200/my+valentine.JPG" border="0" /></a> <span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">HIS</span> </strong></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp2SYIcczlACgmcEt8sFJnDPkXvgZJD3JF9gMxKaffeS0hoFA4qXn-eLPaDYTqN2KcWlqkKdRtNfZ9hl1rIFxarEHuHXqsPBRNIz_G44Bln4ptY-0AwUgY2Co_z3pMIJtRRG0Etg/s1600-h/for+my+valentine.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5182559414525799730" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp2SYIcczlACgmcEt8sFJnDPkXvgZJD3JF9gMxKaffeS0hoFA4qXn-eLPaDYTqN2KcWlqkKdRtNfZ9hl1rIFxarEHuHXqsPBRNIz_G44Bln4ptY-0AwUgY2Co_z3pMIJtRRG0Etg/s200/for+my+valentine.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ffff00;">3. Raw food diet testimonials like </span></strong><a href="http://www.rawglow.com/mystory.htm"><strong><span style="color:#ffff00;">THIS</span></strong></a><strong><span style="color:#ffff00;"> and </span></strong><a href="http://www.welikeitraw.com/rawfood/before_after/"><strong><span style="color:#ffff00;">THIS</span></strong></a><strong><span style="color:#ffff00;"> and </span></strong><a href="http://www.welikeitraw.com/rawfood/raw-food-before-and-after-photos.html"><strong><span style="color:#ffff00;">THIS</span></strong></a><strong><span style="color:#ffff00;">.</span></strong><br /><br /><p>My oldest daughter and I are researching how to eat to take better care of ourselves and save us from our food-related health issues. Nothing too major, but not the optimal health we both crave. My younger daughter is cautiously interested, but is still in public school, so she's leaving it up to us for right now.</p><br /><p><strong><span style="color:#ffff00;">4. Raw Food: Is this not some GORGEOUS food? Oh, I'm so hungry! =D (Thanks to </span></strong><a href="http://www.welikeitraw.com/rawfood/raw-food-before-and-after-photos.html"><strong><span style="color:#ffff00;">Raw Glow </span></strong></a><span style="color:#ffff00;"><strong><span style="color:#ffff00;">for the pics AND the recipes! Can't wait to try them all!)</span> </strong></span></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRVWtyFE4W02OqJdWuIgsFukmk3_QkGNqmVfdzn05-to9d58pniqLoTY0dgXdDlLMhBkQ2AIrsycTAjJzhp4dHICvZ7xey-UE_T35S4BGfcflZiJJw26hhQw92AUDQc7E9u-L36Q/s1600-h/alfredosauce.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5182572325197491522" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRVWtyFE4W02OqJdWuIgsFukmk3_QkGNqmVfdzn05-to9d58pniqLoTY0dgXdDlLMhBkQ2AIrsycTAjJzhp4dHICvZ7xey-UE_T35S4BGfcflZiJJw26hhQw92AUDQc7E9u-L36Q/s200/alfredosauce.jpg" border="0" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgdg2-YoQqNwQwcHfcctUJoHTkDDTdiD6Og5hZiGjhdJ7DFZ2lUXShAp-1SBVyFmZUtOQJ8FHDcJ84UAA116WFZV2BsXsF_8-lsyqOpNNYGB3Hx5pxh6GvjV-_j__QE14sC7DOSQ/s1600-h/rtomatofennel.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5182572329492458834" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgdg2-YoQqNwQwcHfcctUJoHTkDDTdiD6Og5hZiGjhdJ7DFZ2lUXShAp-1SBVyFmZUtOQJ8FHDcJ84UAA116WFZV2BsXsF_8-lsyqOpNNYGB3Hx5pxh6GvjV-_j__QE14sC7DOSQ/s200/rtomatofennel.jpg" border="0" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcep0JYvedJq_ikDbj8ZWj5AsXxJZ8cXMf_gO3uKBn4CdhJ9fzOgs6kE1FtxB5DIClO7vykJEMPSqXBXfGQ0MSVYwSpg95Y1GuaCxrMhr34EcokVwQifgBpzRy8dRc3vYkvttCgQ/s1600-h/IMG_0562.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5182572329492458850" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcep0JYvedJq_ikDbj8ZWj5AsXxJZ8cXMf_gO3uKBn4CdhJ9fzOgs6kE1FtxB5DIClO7vykJEMPSqXBXfGQ0MSVYwSpg95Y1GuaCxrMhr34EcokVwQifgBpzRy8dRc3vYkvttCgQ/s200/IMG_0562.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><p><strong><span style="color:#ffff00;">5. The idea of moving to the capital W, West, capital C, Coast. Preferably Oregon. Perhaps a good ole University town like Corvallis, in fact. (We'll see.)</span></strong></p>This is news to many, and will probably start haunting future blogs, but I'm going public now. Suffice to say, I'm ready for a change in scenery AND lifestyle, and I'd prefer to live the second half of my life, well, WHERE I choose. More later, I promise, but for now, just say, Ahhhhhhh! (Thanks to <a href="http://www.oregon.com/">Oregon.com </a>for the pics!)<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1M5bLj_aXReEmGBKTsviHWtwPs1_-8WBOnboGaXOv_bDk9W45-kBmy8OkSSFmoX6HS13-xf3_624rnDjzOp7_Xbc8yBpdxZkPl159CZ6k1c5hHTrmQXZvw8bNd1Bpat8Ql-k9jg/s1600-h/bandonb_medium.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5182557821092932850" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1M5bLj_aXReEmGBKTsviHWtwPs1_-8WBOnboGaXOv_bDk9W45-kBmy8OkSSFmoX6HS13-xf3_624rnDjzOp7_Xbc8yBpdxZkPl159CZ6k1c5hHTrmQXZvw8bNd1Bpat8Ql-k9jg/s200/bandonb_medium.jpg" border="0" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNTo1kkJVQna-XJMFUxIUAgIP61i9FExHKH6wwvvC3ABU9-1skFHfd4t3RSx36r4TDVUoG6M5TPA8Y6NxknQplCrZaMFZJKpnY8kPfmD1qJPFb3Xbbas3NQVbAFicvobikDoCdSA/s1600-h/loricurtis_AlongSweetCreek_medium.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5182557825387900178" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNTo1kkJVQna-XJMFUxIUAgIP61i9FExHKH6wwvvC3ABU9-1skFHfd4t3RSx36r4TDVUoG6M5TPA8Y6NxknQplCrZaMFZJKpnY8kPfmD1qJPFb3Xbbas3NQVbAFicvobikDoCdSA/s200/loricurtis_AlongSweetCreek_medium.jpg" border="0" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQBRqfpQBgrhj7c3YbEc94z6xEhNrdpL2cCq4QyTvxytnadKMCeCZFKa04upOS7qqMmfNNmNAEkpXRAtcC3AZw8CLp8M9nC6I9C1ReP9E56ASXTmADrQCy-MC2JZAfm-opWRk2lA/s1600-h/jandrcrater6_medium.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5182557825387900162" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQBRqfpQBgrhj7c3YbEc94z6xEhNrdpL2cCq4QyTvxytnadKMCeCZFKa04upOS7qqMmfNNmNAEkpXRAtcC3AZw8CLp8M9nC6I9C1ReP9E56ASXTmADrQCy-MC2JZAfm-opWRk2lA/s200/jandrcrater6_medium.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ffff00;">6. Hangin' out and home "schooling" with my 16 year old daughter! </span></strong><br /><br /><p>Getting to know your "quiet" teenager is a wonderful thing. Most days I believe that she finds getting to know her kooky, quirky, "quiet" mother is pretty kewl too! I won't reveal any of her secrets, but I've watched her relax and get started on becoming who she REALLY wants to be now that she's free of the public school system that taxed her to the point of despair. YAY for following her own inner guiding star! </p><p><a href="http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff12/indianshadow/Zoe10thgradeblogsize.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff12/indianshadow/Zoe10thgradeblogsize.jpg" border="0" /></a> </p><p><br /><strong><span style="color:#ffff00;">7. Watching my younger daughter blossom into a wonderful young lady, earn her letter jacket (ouch! thank goodness she lettered as a freshman so it will get some wear--although, this is the tropics, so, who knows!) in swimming, and celebrate her "six month anniversary" with her </span></strong><a href="http://stepofaith.blogspot.com/2008/02/valentine-award.html"><strong><span style="color:#ffff00;">sweet boyfriend</span></strong></a><strong><span style="color:#ffff00;">.</span></strong> </p><p><a href="http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff12/indianshadow/Aubrie10thgradeblogsize.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff12/indianshadow/Aubrie10thgradeblogsize.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ffff00;">8. </span></strong><a href="http://www.netflix.com/"><strong><span style="color:#ffff00;">NETFLIX!</span></strong></a><br /><br />Even though I looked at how many movies I had rented in the last year and realized that I'm still spending major chain prices per film. But you know what? Sitting at home, sifting through a bajillion titles, and renting independent films is AWESOME and is not part of the chain store experience (ok, so I know that one of them does this, but still.....). Not having a deadline to turn in the movie (commitment phobe that I am???)?!!! PRICELESS!<br /><br />This arrived today: <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3IS3gSM0Q1w2z85Htl1rqo3RSL7IMO0JlJLQX2ad85NpJ0rs1xdWKQJJBn74nV1LnbDUFnVCwN6aa9TTYshutAkMuUBqhwhZ1QCy0pLLuDGa9ud8b-pBIpvjf3tpxXwAwrZcBjA/s1600-h/fear+and+loathing.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5182590823621635442" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3IS3gSM0Q1w2z85Htl1rqo3RSL7IMO0JlJLQX2ad85NpJ0rs1xdWKQJJBn74nV1LnbDUFnVCwN6aa9TTYshutAkMuUBqhwhZ1QCy0pLLuDGa9ud8b-pBIpvjf3tpxXwAwrZcBjA/s200/fear+and+loathing.jpg" border="0" /></a><a href="http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj75/emyleelovesmatt/fear-and-loathing-in-las-vegas.jpg"></a><br /></p><p><strong><span style="color:#ffff00;">9. Dancing.</span></strong><br /><br />Just can't get enough of the stuff. I'm so ready to take private lessons and try my hand, and, er, feet, at some beginner level competition. Woohoo! Just need to come up with a creative way to FUNd said fun. Ah, the challenge! </p><p><strong><span style="color:#ffff00;">10. Friends.</span></strong><br /><br />Old ones, new ones, easy ones, tough ones, virtual ones, real-life ones. It's just so great to have you all (they tell me they read this thing anyway...lol)!!! My goal is to become even better at BEING a better friend and not just HAVING friends.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ffff00;">11. Painting.</span></strong><br /><br />Just thinking about painting (which is all I've done for a while, but that's ok for now...) makes me smile. I love, love, love having a hobby that lets me regard the results. I don't watch myself dance (and don't know that I would want to just yet), but to walk in the front door every day and see my paintings, well, it just makes the day feel brighter, and gives me a case of the warm fuzzies.<br /><br />I hear a lot of painters (ha...well, the ones I've met in class etc.) or should I say artists (know more of those in total) criticize their work. Like really dog it. Mercilessly. And that makes me very sad. I can definitely look at my paintings and see lots of places to improve, but I honestly just love to stare at them. I guess I still just can't believe that I've actually done it, but more than that, it's like looking at my kids. I created them and added a few brush strokes, but there they are, with a life all their own, beautiful for just having existence in the first place.<br /><br />Is it ok to love your own paintings? Perhaps it just means that I'm not a "true" artist? Or maybe I'm just an extremely forgiving one.<br /><br />I love the energy of creation. I don't need to judge the form to be happy. Looking at art , to me, is like looking at a landscape: WOW! Amazing! Look at that.<br />(Ok, so I PREFER some over others, but still, in general, I'm a live and let live kinda gal!)<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ffff00;">12. Vincent van Gogh.</span></strong><br /><br />Speaking of painters. Standing in front of this man's work has never failed to bring me to tears. The joy and the pain in those paintings is palpable to me. I love his work, not because it's acceptable so to do, but because it freakin' MOVES me, man.<br /><br />And looking at the prints around my monitor, well, that always makes me smile.<br /><br />I wrote in a guest book at an exhibit that included some of his paintings (at the Houston Museum of Fine Art), "I don't think I ever knew color before I saw a painting by van Gogh." Amen.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ffff00;">13. BLOGS!</span></strong><br /><br />I just LOVE blogs! There are SO MANY cool, cool women (and men, but truth be told, there's only one or two that I read, and they don't post all that often) out there. They are so amazing and creative and they blog so REGULARLY! Oh, I want to be like them when I grow up! Here are a few new ones that I've been reading lately (If you knew how many blogs I've read in the last month...oh boy...well, all in the name of research, right???):<br /><br /><a href="http://thepioneerwoman.com/confessions/">Confessions of a Pioneer Woman<br /></a><a href="http://derfwadmanor.blogspot.com/">Derfwad Manor</a><br /><a href="http://zenmommasgarden.blogspot.com/">Zenmomma's Garden</a><br /><br />Sorry so few, but I'm late for dinner and I'm sure you must be late for SOMETHING by now!<br /><br />And hey, please have a great week! If I can at the very least post once a week, then I'll be one step closer to taking my second and third and fourth steps in a row and making a go at having a "real" blog. I REALLY want to learn to write some SHORT posts, too! (heehee)<br /><br />Thanks for stopping by, and if you have ANY time left after this monster, please say hi in the comments section!<br /><br />Muah! =D<br /><br />© Nicole J. Williams, 2008, all rights reserved.<br /><br /><br /><BR /><center><a href="http://thursdaythirteen.com" mce_href="http://thursdaythirteen.com" >Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!</a><br /><br />The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! 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