Saturday, December 31, 2011

New Year's Eve blog



See I can look human!

Friday, December 30, 2011

New Year's Resolutions

I don’t make New Year’s Resolutions. It always seems pointless. If you want to start something, why give January 1 such magic power? You should start it now!
On the other hand, resolutions seem to be something that you “must” talk about on a blog.
I think I’ve talked on here before that I want to find time for everything. I’d say that means I need to do a better job of making priorities, but I know that will never happen.

Become organized. I’m actually almost there with the stuff that bugs me the most, but I know as soon as I say that I’ll get a cold or have meetings a couple nights in a row, and it will go bye-bye.

Become healthier. I’m trying really, really I’m trying. Honestly, right now it seems like I have no energy to do more than get more steps for 6 months than I did the previous six month time frame and to try to choose better food to eat. I need to eat fast food less, but that just doesn’t fit into my schedule.

This sounds like a lot of excuses, which gets back to my point. Make a change when you are motivated to change. Not when the calendar tells you to do so. I think when you do that you are setting yourself up for failure, and then you always fail – so why try?

Do you make resolutions? Do you have a resolution? What is it?

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Friday, December 23, 2011

Thursday, December 22, 2011

What do I do all day?

I thought I might explain why blogging doesn’t get done as often as it should by sharing my to-do list for today and what’s gotten done so far.

I’ve got dressed and written down in my Planner all I had to do for the day.
I revised the Accomplishments memo for the Department for the execs, checked the department’s mail, been through my work e-mail, updated my timecard for which projects I worked on today, ate lunch after a meeting about the new system. Now I find that I’m working on Monday to cover an inventory. Hopefully, all the teachers who are enjoying their day off will note that the next time they complain about how many hours they work. To fill in some time, I’m the person cleaning out the file cabinets and convincing people they need to cut the cord as they can request it back from storage. We found out from the external auditors that we need 9 more samples of some Accounts Receivable. I need to pull those.
When I get home, I need to find a box of tissues to bring in here tomorrow.
I make sure that I touch base with my friends so I have a list that I rotate through daily, monthly to make sure I contact people. I may be OCD, lol.
Check my personal email.
Christmas gifts – must get them wrapped, the ones I’ve received and the wrapping paper put away.
I’m doing a cross stitch for my cousin and his wife who just had a baby. Must finish it before the baby is to old for a nursery.
Clean my bathroom – mirror, toilet, shower, scrub the floors/vacuum the whole room
Clean my bedroom’s Baseboards, dust my furniture, pick up all my stuff that is laying on the floor, and finish changing the sheets on my bed.
Put away all the clean laundry in my closet and lay out tomorrow’s clothes
Paint my nails – pink isn’t as Christmas as red
Decorate my room for December – or at least finish putting away the November stuff.
Try to make time to put together a journal entry – of course mine is a prayer journal/diary so that’s not good, but I try and hope that counts. I have a page a day devotional, yes I know it’s been a year and a half since I started and I’m only on August, but again trying!
Make sure I’ve walked the number of steps that I should today. Upload them and record them in my spreadsheet.
Dye my hair (should I share that?)
Clean my contacts and take a Bath
Brush Blitzen’s teeth. He had bad breath for awhile so I’m trying to see if this helps.
Move stuff in my bedroom that belongs in the house there.
My aunt gets me a subscription to People and passes others on to me and I get a lot of catalogs, so I try to get one read and pitched or returned every day.
One of my friends loaned me some books when I was looking for a job, and I’m still trying to get through a chapter a day of the last book.
Oh yeah, find a permanent job and go through my email account I use for it.
Transfer the files from my old computer to my new computer or at least figure out how the program works. Also, call the Dell people about getting the crack in the screen fixed.
I have so many CDs that I’m trying to combine on to less CDs or onto my phone so I moved a picture off my phone to free up some space and so I don’t get a new phone and have a bunch of pictures stored on a phone I can’t use. When I get home, I will take a CD out of my “to-go-through” pile and copy to my computer so I can get them organized.
With the youth group, send in the volunteer hours and update my spreadsheet for the driving the youth director and I have done as I’m trying to do a budget for us. It could be more complete, but it’s part of trying to convince her that we do need to let the church know how much we are spending out of our pockets.
I’m helping out with a project to provide free tax preparation for low income people. This means going through some books and passing a test on the IRS site.
I was doing Toastmasters for awhile and dropped out because I didn’t love the local group. There’s one I want to join near work, but I want to finish a speech before I make the commitment, so I need to finish the speech.
I have an idea for a research project to start to network at Laurapalooza 2012 with an eye towards presenting at 2014, so I need to plan/research as well as another idea to develop to submit to the Beyond Little House blog.
I know I’m not in the insurance industry anymore but I’d love to complete my A Re so that I can take credit for it. 2 more tests and I have the books for the first one. Need to go through it.
It would, also, be helpful in looking for a job if I had a MBA, so I need to study to take the GMAT, I’d like to get through a chapter of it each day.
I got a car wash now I need to clean the inside of the car out.
This is silly but I started a Sweet Valley High fanfiction on fanfiction.net. I started a chapter earlier today. I’d like to finish it and upload it.
As well, I like to contribute to the 1Bruce1 LiveJournal page and update my stuff on Goodreads.com Now I have a stack of books as I’m taking forever on the one recap, but if I could get passed it the next week will be easy.

So there’s all I try to do in a day? What about you? Are you better than me about making priorities?

Saturday, November 5, 2011

Laura and Rose

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A new blog I had about Laura, Rose, Ma and Pa while reading John Miller's "Laura Ingalls Wilder and Rose Wilder Lane Authorship, Place, Time and Culture"

Let me know what you think

Friday, September 9, 2011

Friday

It's Friday!!!!
Do you have any plans?
Our youth group starts meeting on Sunday. So excited to see everyone and meet the new junior high kids!
I have a dessert I want to make for tomorrow. It's made from Star Annisse. I've never tried them, though I've seen them in the grocery. If the Kroger Marketplace doesn't have them, I'll go to the one specialty store near here. Seriously, if Jungle Jim's doesn't have it, it isn't available or able to be imported to the U.S.
We're having a special service on Sunday about 9/11. 10 years ago tonight, I had arrived in DisneyWorld and was eagerly waiting to see Micheal W. Smith, Plus One, and Jars of Clay.

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Book Review



Video blog talking about the autobiographies written by the Little House on the Prairie tv show actresses.

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Update

I typed this up a few weeks ago. I filmed a video blog, and will post it just as soon as I’m done adding some links to the bottom.
What should I blog about today?
How about a reference to my Facebook post a few weeks ago about a “whirl of gaiety”? Anyone get the reference? It’s a chapter title in Little Town on the Prairie. Laura talks about how there’s church, school with a fun crowd, Friday night literaries, and a Thanksgiving New England Supper. It is the term she uses to describe a pleasant rush of activity. I felt that way a couple weeks ago, and I do again.

Monday – tennis lessons
Last night – Well, it was a movie night with friends but lately we talk to much to watch a movie.
Tonight – Toastmasters
Tomorrow – Dinner with our youth director to plan the coming year.
Saturday – Amusement park with a friend

Update: I’m starting to add a second tennis lesson to the week. Something has to give. I think it’s going to be Toastmasters. I don’t think I’m going to quit, but I’m going to focus just on me. In other words, know that my life is crazy and focus on completing my tasks and if I don’t have a task not to worry if I miss a meeting. This goes against how I usually act, but it’s that or give it up entirely.

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Seed planting versus Harvesting

Our youth group went to the Ichthus Festival a couple months ago. I can't tell you how much I enjoy this festival each year. I mean you can tell as each day goes by that week, I get more and more hyper until I was driving myself crazy about how random my thoughts were.
One of the biggest things at Ichthus is that everyone takes communion together on Saturday evening. There's, also, a speaker.
How can I put this? The speaker this year bothered me. He said that we all belong to one of four chairs. 1. Growing Christians. 4. Not Christians. 2. Lukewarm Christians that will be people who are spit out of God's mouth. 3. People who believe they are Christians, but aren't, they may have prayed a salvation prayer and believe they are saved but they aren't. This bothered me because I'm not comfortable telling someone who believes themselves to be a Christian they aren't. Help grow together, yes, but not that.
Today the lead pastor from the main campus preached. It answered so many of my thoughts. I am so a Methodist, the marketing campaign a few years ago was Open doors, Open hearts, Open minds. Meaning that we would not judge and meet people where they are. Exactly! He talked about how Jesus preached a parable about a man who planted good seed, but the enemy planted weeds at night. The man told his workers they shouldn't pull out the weeds because it would disturb the wheat. They were to tend to the field and help it grow, but then the harvesters would seperate the wheat from weeds. We are not the harvester, we are the tenders. It is God's job to judge.
This helped me to understand my issues. The speaker was to me saying that we needed to judge others and we aren't, we are to help them grow the best we can and let God sort it out in the end.
Lord, help me to remember that I'm not the judge, I'm just the worker. Amen.

Friday, August 5, 2011

Video blog with Koti's help

Thought I'd give another try to a video blog. Koti helped.

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Dogs rule, humans drool

Blitzen here. I thought I would respond to a post my Mom was talking about dogs and silent fences.
A long time ago, Grandma & Grandpa and Mommy had Red and Dandy.


This picture is Mommy and Red winning a jr. handler trophy at a fun match. No one's ever taken me to one. I would so show them.
Here's one of Dandy and Panda (Panda's standing and the star of the story.


Anyway, we have a five foot chain link fenced in back yard. It's pretty nice, and I hear there aren't many Beggin Strips and Airconditioning vents on the OTHERSIDE of the fence, so why go there? But one night, Red and Dandy decided to go out. They dug out around midnight, but no one knew until 4am. Mommy stayed home from 9th grade to help Grandma look for them. They found them very muddy around noon. So everyone put some concrete blocks around the bottom of the fence. Like a concrete block is going to stop a husky! Grandma found some of the blocks moved. (See unlike what Grandma and Panda told me, Dandy wasn't the most wonderful creature to walk the earth.) So then Grandpa cut up some rebarb and put an 18 inch stick every three inches around the fence and the blocks, then they added barb wire around it. One day Grandma looked out and saw Dandy half under the fence! See Siberians are unstoppable!
They decided to get a silent fence and place it under the fence so that doggies couldn't get to the fence to dig out. It seemed to solve the problem. Red died, and Mommy chose Panda to come live with us. As Panda always informed me, she was the Princess (and I'm the court jester, according to her, she always acted like I was annoying and I wasn't. I'm nothing like that pipsqueak Koti.) Anyway, Panda as a Princess didn't like being told where she could and couldn't go. She didn't want to leave the yard because she didn't want to go through the trouble of training new humans, but hello? the people were infringing on her rights! She realized that there was a beeping sound before the shock, but the more beeping the less the shock since the batteries were worn down. She laid down at the edge where it started beeping until it stopped beating since the battery was dead. She was free to go where ever she wanted to go! Grandpa replaced the batteries, like he's in control around here or something. Panda was stunned that someone would try to upsurp the Princess's power so she decided to solve the problem forever. First, she killed the batteries again. She tells me this was fun as well to watch the people spend $15 on batteries that would be dead within the work day. Panda realized the collar had to be receiving a signal from the wire under the ground, so she dug up the wire in 3 or 4 places. Now she had to remind herself that she was doing this for the good of Siberians everywhere - humans are not the superior species, there was some current going through the wire, but it wasn't that strong on her gums. She chewed through the wire so that it couldn't tell the collar to shock us.
It worked and the humans decided to just put us in the kennel when they are asleep or leave the house. It has a tree by it, our houses, some grass, it's concreted in, and we get a treat if we have to stay in it. Much better.

Friday, July 29, 2011

Continuing Education

One of the most important things as an auditor is to participate in continuing education. It's not unimportant as an accountant either.
I've come to the point where I need to get something more. I have a few choices, but I'm having trouble focusing on one thing.
MBA - I could get one in Accounting or Marketing. Accounting would probably be more useful, but Marketing might be easier. If I did, I pretty much know where I would apply. I'd need people to write me letters of recommendation and my former company won't let people do that, so it's an issue. I'd also need to get a good score on the GMAT. I'm studying for that, but am trying not to psyche myself out. I hope it would be useful, but I already have an odd education/experience mix.
ARe - Associates in Reinsurance. This is an insurance industry designation that I'm over 60% completed. I'd like to get it finished just to have it. It's a little unusual so I think that would pay off - but what if I never go back to the insurance industry.
CPA - A lot of work to study for the test, but probably something that everyone recognizes and I don't know if there's an accounting/auditing job where it wouldn't help.
CIA - Pretty much the same as a CPA, but certified internal auditor. Equally as prestigious though less well known.
CFE - Certified Fraud Examiner - not really a must have, but useful in auditing, and I hear one of the easier to get.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Schedules

I hope everyone enjoyed Blitzen’s day yesterday!
I’m writing this out long hand at work because my computer is scanning for a virus. I don’t know what I clicked wrong, but something happened so I’m running MacAfee with the hopes of fixing it before I have to tell anyone. Anyway, I’ve had problems with Blogger erasing all that I have typed – so frustrating. They are usually awesome blogs that I don’t have the patience to retype. How doe you stay motivated when this happens?
How well do you rest? I’m sitting here trying to find other ways to do things. I don’t mean rest as in play on Facebook. I usually do that. I mean – be satisfied that you are getting enough done each day. I’ve completed 9 things on my task list and have three others started, but I have thirty-six more to start. I break things down into little pieces so I can feel accomplished, but I can never feel that it’s acceptable to give anything less than a top priority because if I don’t work on something it goes out of control so that then I’m non-stop fighting fires. What do you do to feel like you have accomplished your goals each day?

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Blitzen's Day

I thought I would follow a friend's lead and turn the blog over to Blitzen today.




Here I am enjoying my airconditioning vent on Sunday. Mom took this picture. She likes to take pictures of me. I like to have my picture taken. I know I am sooo handsome. It comes with being a Snowborn. We are the sweetest, cutest huskies around. I sound arrogant, don't I? But not really, I just know who I am. My parents were ch-am-pi-ons, or at least that's what Mom tells me all the time.
She picked me out when I was four weeks old. I was living with my Mom and sisters in this house full of doggies. I was the only boy in the litter, and boy did I love bossing all those girls around. One day, these lady and her parents and this doggie came to play with us. I grabbed the lady's shoestrings to play with, and she thought I was adorable. Here's a picture of me then


I tried to shake hands with the doggie but she dove under the coffee table! How could she be scared of me? But hey, I had attitude then. Ever seen that movie Lion King where Simba sings "I just can't wait to be King"? That was so me.
Four weeks later, the man who lived in the house with the doggies took me and some others to a dog show. The lady and her parents came again. This time they took me home with them! I liked my new grandpa, even though he didn't think they needed another dog. The doggie was named Panda, and she was now my sister. She told me how she used to live with Dandy, who was her uncle and that we were all related somehow. Dandy was an awesome uncle who showed her how to behave. Evidently, I needed a lot of help. I still think it's fun to splash my feet in the water bowl no matter what she said, "EEWWW, my water tastes like feet!" She was a sweet sister, but after two years she went to live with Dandy over the rainbow bridge.
A little while later, my grandparents brought home Koti. They said we're brothers because both of us have Glory as a Mom. There are so many stories I could tell you. Maybe Mom will let me have the blog again to tell you more. I'll just leave you with a picture of the two of us.

Friday, July 15, 2011

Online Friends

I was noticing something the other day. When I talk to my friends and family, I’ll always be mentioning that’s like So-and-So said or she’s doing that as well. Everyone looks at me blankly, and I realize it’s someone from Idita-support, Northern Breed funstuff, or one of my Laura friends. So many I “talk” to on the site, but then are Facebook friends with me, so then I talk to them even more and about our lives – not just Almanzo and Rose’s lives. I’ve come to the point where I consider them to be friends. Maybe not bare my soul friends of my deepest troubles, I’d had people for that already. However, they are definitely people who I would call if I was going through their town to meet for dinner. I hope they would do the same for me, if not they are more than welcome to do so!
I did notice that this was unique among my friends. Maybe because they think Facebook is pointless. (I’m not sure why. Yes, there are a lot of time wasters there, but there’s also knowing how friends from different times and places are doing without mass effort.) Anyway, they don’t have online friends. They look at me askance when I say that I’m going to fly to Mankato to spend the weekend with people and think I’ll be safe. I know that there are safety precautions to take and that there are people out there who are totally different than they present themselves. However, why not take the chance?
Last year, I was talking to a cousin. She had gone to visit a woman she had met while playing a game online. She commented to me that it’s acceptable to talk to someone you just met in a bar – why not in a similar interest group online?
I think it brings people together. I know that one of my junior high friends had a baby girl a few days ago. I know the (now former) Swetna, Alaska postmaster’s wife opinion on the Hamilton Little League Team. A woman was missing in Alaska about two months ago, and I shared the link. A friend who used to go to the same church as me but now lives in Kansas responded that her sister lives in the same town as the woman. Small World! I had updates from nearby people what items were needed by all those struck by tornadoes earlier this year. I know that my comparisons to Laura Ingalls Wilder aren’t nearly as odd as some people think they are. “Whirl of gaiety” comes to others mind when they have several social things that keep them busy.
I just think that this is an awesome thing that people should try to experience. Find something you have an interest in learning more. Look it up. Talk to people, don’t be stupid, get excited about participating in small gift exchanges at Christmas.
I very much appreciate all the friends and acquaintances that I have made online.

Saturday, May 28, 2011

A Circle

I had finished this and then it didn't save and so much of what I did was erased - grrr.

I know most of you have heard that I started a new job last month. Finally! I can appreciate the money. I really want to get my car paid off. I hadn't had a car payment since October 2000, and I wasn't really looking to add one. I had wanted to pay my first car off in one year. My second car was cheaper, but life hasn't allowed me to do the same. I fight the feeling that I'm going backwards. However, there were other things I wanted this blog to be about.
I have a temporary placement. It's through December/the end of the year. I'm still looking for a job because I feel like I'm going to be in a worse place come December. That's not exactly true because my placement ended is a better explanation than "I was fired" or however I chose to phrase it on a given day. The job is in a different city. Or rather my suburb is about half the distance between where I associate myself and this slightly smaller but good sized city. It feels a little like a foreign land because the neighborhoods and shops that you talk with you co-workers - I don't get the connotation or they what I say. But I want to learn more. It's just as easy to go there for activities or flights.
The company is in the medical field, which is good to expose me to a new industry. It's a non-profit and has a lot of shift workers. I always thought I'd like to work for a non-profit because I like the idea of doing good wihout looking at what the stockholders want. Now I'm finding this place doesn't seem to aspire to be the best. For example, they pat you on the back if you get a designation. I congratulations at a meeting is great, but a check would be greater encouragement. Therefore, I find that the chances of this job going permanent slim and that's okay with me.
I compare it every day to my previous job. I know I shouldn't, but it's my only comparison. I do compare some of the things I'm auditing to Walgreens, but really that's task oriented. This organization touches so many different things that it can be nuts to think about. I have a feeling that it's going to end just when I'm getting a handle on the acronyms.
But back to my original point, they do almost require managers to recognize someone in front of the department when theg accomplish an education goal. I can appreciate that so much. When I received my accounting degree, my manager forgot about it though he did remember that his favorite did complete her first semester of college. Some others found out and were upset on my behalf, but there was little we could do about it. The head of the department has never seen how manipulative the manager is. I like being required to acknowledge people's accomplishments as it makes them accountable.
My new boss has complimented me on my thoroughness, my ability to understand auditing as well as some quirky auditing things. She has sent me to represent the department at some meetings. The one project head has called me a rock star and passed on the compliment to my boss. I find it so interesting because those very things were why the last manager (after the guy in the last paragraph) wrote me up as reasons to fire me. I know it can only go back to a personality conflict or rather I am a woman who doesn't drink a lot and that didn't fit in with the boys. The company won't provide references, but two people have offered to provide one. If it was a true performance issue, I doubt they would have done that. I realize that I gave my all to a company that paid me back by removing me rather than moving me to a department that I could fit in. That was really harsh.

Saturday, May 14, 2011

To Tell the Truth

I saw a story the other day that Bill Clinton thinks that there should be a place where the government helps stop rumors.
I don't think the government would work as there's no way to make it non-partisan.
I do like Snopes and enjoy their weekly updates. I know there have been rumors that they are biased but here's what I found. Yeah, not true at all.
But what really annoys me is the people who say they are just passing something on, that it's not their place to check. YES it is! Would you just pass along something about a friend, but then deny that you were gossiping? Maybe you would, but would you want to be known that way? Seriously, it's wrong. It doesn't create a good impression of yourself. I love how it's the same people who complain about the number of emails they get that they delete them because there's no point. Then why are you contributing to the problem?
Consider telling the truth.

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Laura Ingalls Wilder meets Sweet Valley High

I thought this exchange I had on 1Bruce1 about the Sweet Valley sequel would amuse my Laura friends.



Sunday, March 13, 2011

One Life to Live

I spend most days working around the house; looking for a job, cleaning, etc. Usually while I do this, I have the tv on. And not to be the unemployed person who spends her day watching the soaps, but yes, I do have them on while I'm going about my day. One of the ones I watch is One Life to Live, so I thought I'd break down my thoughts on the characters and what should happen next or should stop.

Vicki, Charlie, Echo, Dorian - Vickie needs to find out that Charlie slept with Echo, pronto. Yes, she has a lot to deal with right now with Jessica, but that should be wrapped up soon. We need to know if Echo will be a long term character or if she is just passing through. If she's not just passing through, maybe she would like a job at the Sun? Working for Todd, would allow her to stick her nose in everyone's business. Dorian needs her own plot, possibly taking a page from Sami and Lucas's book on Days and planning a green wedding to David. I heard that Charlie has been fired, so I assume he's going to leave town with his tail between his legs.

Shane, Jack - I'd like this to end before something big happens like a suicide attempt by Shane. I can just see how it's going to reach that point and then we are going to have an Afterschool Special about how bullying is wrong. However, what if Jack would realize the problem before then? His sister's boyfriend was punched out by his father at Thanksgiving. His father was abused by his father. What if they both opened up to him about how bad it is, and Jack realized his problem before it became an Afterschool special and mined into the shows history.

Todd, Blair, Tomas & Tea - What are truly the odds that One Life is going to bring back the original Todd? I don't believe it. Roger Howarth had been quite insistant that Todd not have love scenes and that is a basis for Todd and Tea's relationship, so I don't see that happening. I don't see Tomas as a long term character - he's the new version of Elijah Clarke. Here now, to be arrested/killed during November sweeps.

Langston, Robert, Jessica, Brody, Star, James, new girl, Nate, Dani, Inez - I assume Langston is going to go out of town to college or to Paris with Arianna because the writers writers want Robert to be the hero. I don't want Jessica and Robert to be the new Nash and Jessica. Boring. I'd put back with Brody, but I, also, think that Brody could be interesting with Star. I do think James is cute, so I'd like him to stay on the show. Maybe the new girl will be interesting and they can get together. I'd like to see Brody be the hero cop, or develop some male buddies. I remember how much a disliked the Rappaports when they came on and took over the town. The Fords are quickly reaching that point. OTOH, maybe Robert could get a job on Access Llanview, and Inez could go simper at someone far away. Nate and Dani - please don't let them have sex, and please don't let them be the new Star and Cole. I do know think Dani may be onto Jack. That would be a good use of her to build a relationship with her brothers.

Destiny, Darren, Matthew - Matthew needs to realize some truths about his uncle and quickly. How long can he be clueless? Maybe have a love triangle between him Darren and Destiny. It would be interesting if it pulled Shaun and Theo in while they help Brody investigate, say Tomas.

Marty - have her transferred to an insane asylum away from Saint Ann's and let me never see her whine onscreen again while I'm being told how strong of a character she is. No, she's not she has never moved out of the past, and she's easily the character I would gladly sacrifice to a serial killer.

Rex, Gigi, Christian - Rex and Gigi need to find out about Shaun again before it turns into an Afterschool special. They need to plan a wedding, but perhaps in the meantime, Christian and Gigi should move closer together - possibly having an affair themselves. Christian needs a woman though I'd like to explore him and Blair after he helps Brody bring down Tomas - he comforts her and they grow closer.

David, Nigel - David is going to leave soon, but using him to help knock some sense into Matthew might be interesting. Nigel needs to learn that he's a long lost Buchanan or maybe that Kutter is his long lost son. Yeah, I like the second one better. It could bring him into an actual plot rather than just serving the brandy.

Kutter, Aubrey, Joey, Kelly, Kevin, Natalie, Clint - I do agree with bringing Kevin back. It might be interesting to see him come back as Aubrey reforms. We know she's going to really fall for Joey. I assume right before he finds out the truth. Joey gets back together with Kelly. Kevin comes back to Llanview to take over BE as Clint has to step down to solve his problems. He falls for Aubrey. Natalie comes back to BE as she doesn't want to keep working along side John after he realizes he will always hold a grudge about Liam. Natalie is drawn to Kutter as he reminds her some of Jared. He has to struggle between working Dorian over for money while being drawn to the strong single mother.

John - becomes the skeptical cop, goes over the top on something and has to take a leave of absence. Possibly opens a PI agency with Rex. Maybe has a one night stand with Blair before she ends up with Christian, and has to be the one with a broken heart for once.

Austin Peck/Roxi - It's not been announced who he will be playing, though the last preview showed him talking to Rex. I assume they don't want Joey to look like the dumbest guy on the show. Maybe he's related to Roxi and together they will have the brainpower to tie a pair of shoelaces. I know a lot of people like Roxi, but I have a low tolerance for people who are that stupid. Maybe it's because she's drunk a lot. Have her and Echo bond at AA, and then Roxi can not be an idiot because she's sober and previously she must have been drunk 24/7.

Renee - BTW, where is she? Maybe Renee and Nigel could fall in love and end up running the Palace together. That could be fun. Afterall, Victor and Maggie are the most popular couple on Days right now.

Bo, Nora, Vimal and spouse - Bo and Nora must nail Clint for something, though he escapes jail time by stepping down from BE. They deal with issues stemming from Matthew's conception, which we saw aren't really over. Bo decides to run against Dorian for mayor.

Do you have any suggestions?

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Count Down to the Iditarod: My experience with Dog Sled Racing

I put several childhood pictures on Facebook the other day.




My friend, Gwen, asked me about my experiences with dogsledding. With the Iditarod starting on Saturday, I thought this would be a good time to share mine.
My Dad worked nights when my parents were first married. My Mom decided she wanted a dog to keep her company and to frighten away any noises. She saw an ad for free Cocker Spaniels in the paper. My Dad went to work and a friend convinced him that he wanted a Siberian Husky. The question why might be asked since the first thing about Siberians is that they are not guard dogs, but I guess my parents were naive back then. They bought Sabra. The following year, my parents bought Koly, and Jim, a friend of my Dad's, bought Amy. In the top picture above, Sabra is the white dog, and Koly is the black and white. My Dad had enough for a three dog team! We bought Spitzi when I was three. She was my dog. I think my Dad ran a four dog team a few times, but Sabra did NOT appreciate being expected to pull someone and gave up her career.
I was born the following year. I remember more general impressions of dogsled races as a three and four year old. My Dad gave it up when I started school and trips to Cleveland or Michigan were practical. Generally when we went on vacation, and I'm showing my age here, I had a pad to lay down or play in the back of the Pinto stationwagon. This, children, was before kids were required to stay in some kind of safety seat in the back seat for the first decade of their lives, and I have to add I'm extremely grateful that I was born then. I like to stretch out and sleep while we drove. When we went to races, we had to pull the dog trailer. Because of that we took the Torino. The water jug was in the backseat as well. I couldn't stretch out as much.
We would get to the race. It would involve a lot of waiting around in the cold, and the dogs were tied to the trailer. Lesson #2 Huskies will run like crazy and have no idea where they are when they stop, so a fenced in yard and leash are mandatory. The second picture shows me "helping" harness. Koly had to be the last harnessed and the first harnessed, or he would unharness himself. Mom learned harness repair. The dogs and my Dad would take off. My Mom, I, and sometimes Sabra would would wait for their return. He was running only 3-7 miles, and I know huskies can run 15 mph. I don't remember how long it would take. It seemed a long time in the cold. I know he was at a disadvantage. He at 6'5", 200+ lbs was competing against 16 year olds a foot shorter and 100 lbs lighter on the dogs. He was never the first person to cross the finish line.
He would take the dogsled across the street to the elementary school and the 5th graders would race the dogs. I'm not sure how it started or how often he did it. We moved away from that school (though still in the district) after I finished first grade. We had All-About-Me week in kindergarten. On Friday, we could do something big! I brought in the sled and Spitzi. Spitzi didn't get along with dogs, but she was good with kids. We still have the sled in the barn. I'd love to hitch Blitzen and Koti up to it and take some pictures. We had a "rig", a type of sled on wheels that my Dad could use to train when there wasn't snow. I remember playing on it in the backyard.
I knew my "Gee" from my "Haw". I, also, knew enough to know that "Mush" is rarely to never used to get a team started. An upbeat work is used. Dad used "Hike" Imagine yelling "HI!-K" with a really hard "k". Now imagine yelling "Muuuusssshhh", yeah which gets your attention?
My Dad was then interested in the Iditarod Race. The 1,049 mile race across Alaska. We have VHS copies of the Wide World of Sports footage going back to the early 80s. Sometimes the Enquirer would publish the top ten standings during the two weeks of the race. I think my Dad liked me following the race as it truly is a sport where men and women compete equally. In most sports some sort of adjustment is given to the women. In dogsledding, the dogs are the atheletes so no advantage is given to the women. In fact if you read about it, the dogs in the race are equally males and females.
When I got to college, the Internet was just getting started. I found the Iditarod's webpage. OMG, they had near live updates. It was so addictive! There was a dog who wrote journal entries as well. I loved Zuma! One day a few years ago, I was surfing their page. I found one woman who runs purebred Siberians. I joined her mailing list. From there, I joined several others and made friends. We've never been to the race start, but a group from one list meets after the race ceremonial start every year for dinner. Last year, they collected a list of those who couldn't be there. Dad and I were among those toasted. The Iditarod offers an Insider package so that the ceremonial and official start,as well as all the finishes can be watched live along with daily updates. The race takes around 9 days for the winner to finish and around 14 days for the Red Lantern winner to finish. This is my version of March Madness to check who is currently in the lead.
The race starts on Saturday. I plan to hook my laptop up to the television and sit back and enjoy the show.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

My Laura Collection

There's been discussion on Facebook among the Laurapolooza attendees about the portion of our homes dedicated to Laura Ingalls Wilder.
Since the day was so beautiful -



I decided to upload my collection. I didn't think the screen would show this much.

First, we have my program from Laurapolooza. I had several authors and Dean Butler autograph these pages with the intention of framing it. (Amy, do you feel good that I have your autograph framed on my wall?)



On my corner display, I have the television plates that a friend so incredibly generously gave to me this fall. Also, you can see the china sheperdess that I bought in DeSmet. The corn cob doll, button string, tin pail candy are on the shelves. I made these at Laurapolooza. In the bottom corner, you can see the red and white tin that I received as part of the Frontier Girl gift exchange this year.



I have a few more books to add to the shelf. It's a long sort of OCD story about why. But the bottom shelf is all my books by and about Laura. On the next shelf, you can see my L. M. Montgomery collection. Have I mentioned that I need to order the new release of "Rilla of Ingleside"?


Here's the overall view. Sorry the lampside looks crooked.




Hope you enjoyed the tour.