Saturday, March 31, 2007

Sunburned Baby & Tribulations

The first tribulation... I lost my cards of definitions for my word of the week. I have no clue where it can be at this time. Must have been misplaced when we were moving things around. But be aware when I find it (or the time to do another) I will be posting the word of the week again.

Onto the poor sunburn baby. Bombshell, the Princess and Indy went to the beach Thursday. It was a nice enough day and Bombshell said the water was warm and they had a grand time. She also said she got some pictures, but like me most of Indy's were of his back.... Ohhhhh.... Maybe if Pan doesn't work tomorrow (like he is now) then we can head to the beach and get some pictures of the Princess in her princess dress, circlet and new fairy wings. Will have to see. Pretty overcast here today so may not be worth it.

Anyway, poor Indy got sunburned. Not bad; but enough to make him uncomfortable if he came across something rough. He wouldn't put a shirt on and stayed on the bed between the sheets all day yesterday, watching noggin and playing Legos Star Wars (I have found that if I let him play the chapter with the ships fighting, he'll go to sleep. Pan says he is like his Tink. Needs explosions to be able to sleep).

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The second tribulation involves this trip to the beach. Both Bombshell and Indy stepped on oyster shells and cut the bottom of their foot. Bombshell definitely needs to get down and get a tetanus shot; but we are unsure about Indy (probably wouldn't hurt). She called the doctor's office who told her to call the health department, because tetanus shots were very expensive. So she tried; but ended up calling me to get the number because the only ones she could find were for Tallahassee. Finally find both the Immunization number; but quess what? The health department and immunization office are closed every Friday for training. And then they are open only for about 4-5 hours Monday through Thursday. So I call the doctor's office back to see just how much tetanus shots are. They couldn't tell me because they were short staffed with one person answering the phone and another taking care of the incoming patients. I felt sorry for them, really I did.

Guess we will have to wait until Monday to make sure Indy's shots are up to date and schedule an appointment for Bombshell to get a shot.

Friday, March 30, 2007

Photography, Indy and Tribulations

Indy doesn't like to have his picture taken so I have to be sneaky if I want to get some. Although sometimes just asking helps, like the tinman or darth photos. But those are special. But the other day I wanted to play with the camera and its settings and he was the only subject I had available so 300+ pictures later (thank goodness for digital cameras), I came out with some I thought were pretty good. I even managed some close ups.

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Now I am off to see if I can get some more photos of him and his first sunburn. Poor baby.

Birthday Party Tribulations

Friday 3/30 Blog Prompt: Describe one of your childhood birthdays. Compare it to your current birthday celebrations, what has stayed the same over time?

A childhood birthday, huh? I don't know if I remember that far back. I am presuming you mean between the ages of say.... 5 and 11. Not that I would remember any between the ages of 12 and 20 either. I do remember my birthday when I turned 16, yeah me.... I remember because a friend of my parents and his wife gave me a poster with 16 pennies, 16 nickels, 16 dimes, 16 quarters, 16 half dollars and 16 "silver" dollars attached to it. Then some of my friends took me to my favorite restaurant (there is a theme here....); I believe the name of it was Sakuro's and it was a teppan style Japanese restaurant on Guam.

My current birthdays are trips to (usually) my favorite restaurant. Yep you got it, a teppan style Japanese restaurant. I feel a rant coming on... I have the name right, it is teppan; not habachi. A habachi is a small grill; a teppan is a griddle. I know they both start with "g's" but that is as far as the similarities go. Most of the Japanese restaurants go with the flow and call them habachi.

What has stayed the same? Well I keep getting older each year don't I?

Thursday, March 29, 2007

Partying Tribulations

Thurs 3/29 Blog Prompt:
Are you the partying type?

I enjoy them from time to time; but am more inclined to smaller group dinners.

Write about a party you've had or attended.
Pan and I had to attend dinner at his boss' house when Pan worked at the base. His boss was a former General and didn't let anyone forget the fact either. But anyway at this dinner party of about a dozen people; the General started going on about how dumb B-52 gunners are. He was telling us about his days up in Maine (I think, anyway it was one of those northeastern states). I was so proud of myself for biting my tongue and not saying anything.

As we were preparing the leave the General told me was a pleasure it was to meet me finally and that he heard my father had been in the Air Force. "Yes sir, he was." "Oh what did he do?" "He was a gunner on a B-52." Talk about a jaw dropping; and the other head of department that was there couldn't stop laughing. My dad really was a gunner on a 52; but also held the position of EW which you AF guys will know is a rare position for an enlisted man.

Ever wanted to be the recipient of a surprise party? Now is your chance to let your family know! Can I swear? No. Okay then very vehemently NOOOOOOOO. I hate surprises. And my family well knows this. A surprise dinner at my favorite restaurant is okay though; as long as it is just family.

A Tinman's Tribulations

Meet the Tinman..... For someone who has never seen the "Wizard of Oz," Indy is doing a pretty good imitation of the Tinman.

He ran into my computer room the other day and ran back out yelling "Tink, look at me!" He looked so funny with a tin pail on his head, I asked him if I could take a picture and believe it or not, he said yes.

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Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Darthly Tribulations

While still working in the aforementioned computer room, I happened upon a halloween costume of Darth Vader that Pan had purchased when the Princess was just two years old (she is now going on 8). Indy saw it and was enthusiastically jumping up and down to put it on. He let me take pictures but it had to be while he was in full Vader mode and putting down the vile rebel "Pan.

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On computer subjects (crossing my fingers), my computer seems to like the new room. It well should. I like it cold, really cold, but this is the coldest room in the house and I come out of it numb. But my scanner and printer don't like it. At all. HP finally came out with a driver so that my scanner would work under Vista (they never came out with one for it to work under XP). I was so excited. I would be able to scan again. All those negatives were calling out to me.

On my second batch in, I heard a loud clunk and now it isn't working at all. Arrggggg. And the printer is printing blue and red lines through everything. I bought one of those kits for cleaning a printer and still no go. Pan is suppose to be seeing if he can find someone local who can clean it professionally. Double Arrrgggg.

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Namely Tribulations

Tues 3/27 Blog Prompt: Is the name you have now the same name that's on your birth certificate? If not, what's changed? If you could change your name (first or middle, no last names for safety please!), what would it be? Why were you named what you were? (Is there a story behind it? Who specifically was responsible for naming you?) Are there any names you really hate or love? What are they and why?

Last name has changed, several times. When married to my ex, I did keep my last name and just added his with a hyphen. When I married Pan, I just took his last name. Maybe that is an indiction of how I comfortable I felt with each.

I'm not really sure, but I think my dad may have made the choice in my first and middle names. Maybe not, but either way, I really like them, along with my maiden name. They, in some order, actually meant "pure reborn peace." Of course, if names are any indiction of what type of person you are going to be then I was incorrectly named, LOL.

There is an interesting note to the spelling of my name. Dad had orders to Panama and we were getting all of our shots and passports, etc., when it came out that the spelling on my birth certificate was different than how I had been spelling it. For some reason (I think time constraints, but it could be money too, I guess), it was more convenient to change the spelling on those records at hand then to try and get it changed on the birth certificate. Well we didn't go to Panama, we ended up in Guam, so I got to start a new life with a new name. And until recently I had never seen my name spelled my way so it was unique. Now everyone is spelling it that way. Oh Well.... Not so unique anymore.

Sunday, March 25, 2007

Word of the Week - PEJORATIVE

Disclaimer: All words that I choose come from the 1968 edition of the Webster's New World Dictionary, 2nd college edition. It's close and also nearly 40 years old so we may come across some words that are no longer in general use or have completely changed definitions. But that is part of the fun.
pejorative(adj)
1. declining; making or becoming worse; applied to words whose basic meaning has changed for the worse (ex: knave; cretin)
2. disparaging or derogatory
.
And what in the world can you do with this word? Well, you could write a sentence using it. You could look it up in another dictionary or reference book. (several dictionary searches available in my sidebar for your use.) Use it as a jump start for a short story. If applicable, find a picture of it. Whatever you do, post a link in my comments so I can check it out and put a link back to your post. And have fun.

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Five Minute Tribulations Times 2

Wed 3/21 Blog Prompt: Let's practice our descriptive writing skills. Write out, in detail, what you did for the last five minutes before you sat down at the computer. Now write a second paragraph about the same five minutes, but try to include even more details. Ambitious? Do it again, with more!

Five minutes ago I crawled out of bed; headed to the little library for a quick trip. Next I turned on my monitor. Finally I made a cup of green tea before starting this.

Five minutes ago, at the sound of Pan's truck leaving the drive, I cracked my eyes open to notice that my alarm was not going off anytime soon. Wrapping a pillow around my head I thought I might get back to sleep, but alas, that was not to be the case. Seconds later I was up and heading to the most private room in the house (unless you have toddlers) for a quick fresh-up. I am not going to regale you with a description of brushing my teeth. The next stop on this five minute journey was to my new arts and crafts/computer room to turn on the monitor and to find out that I had some 27 messages in my e-mail. Whoa.... Still before even looking at that I checked out the blog prompt and nearly decided to wait until later in the day, as I might have something more interesting to say. So off to the kitchen, where I filled my tink mug with filtered water from the fridge and emptied it into the Hot Shot turned it on. I put the mug under the Hot Shot after putting in some sugar (for the rush you know). Then I noticed that my tea strainer had not been emptied from when the Princess used it yesterday. So I had to empty that, and in doing so, I dumped wet green tea leaves all over the floor. Cleaned that up, washed the tea strainer and put in new green tea leaves. By then the water was finished boiling and I could pour it into the cup. Give it a stir and put in the tea strainer. Now I rush back to the computer room to start this blog while the tea steeps. Five minutes are done and so is my tea..... Until tomorrow.

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Improvement Tribulations & More Computer Room Pictures

Tues 3/20 Blog Prompt: Home Improvement Shows

--Home
What's the one thing your dream home must have? A huge bathroom with a bath large enough to really relax in and a separate shower. It would need someplace to sit to dry off so you wouldn't have to sit on the toilet. Plenty of shelving for towels and toiletries.

--Improvement
What's the one thing you would change about your current home? New bed, couch? New carpet or wallpaper? Or something major like an addition? We are slowly (very slowly) trying to replace all of our carpet with cork flooring and put some kind of tile on the floors in the baths and kitchen; if I could only change one thing this would be it. Although we really need to replace our stove too. Sigh.

--Shows
Do you ever watch home improvement shows? Not as much as I use to. In fact I cannot remember the last time I got to watch on. Now it is Noggin, Nick, Jr., or Disney that compete for time on the television. But I did enjoy watching some of them when I got to watch them.

For mom and Bug more pictures of the computer/craft room. The first is Zoe sitting at the other desk. As you can see there is still a lot of work to be done. The second is just like the one posted a couple of days ago except now I actually have things on the shelves. Woo Hoo.

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Monday, March 19, 2007

Motto"led" Tribulations

Mon 3/19 Blog Prompt: What would your motto would be for the place you're at in your life right now? Is it different than it would have been five years ago? 10? 20?

mot·to (n.) pl. mot·toes or mot·tos
1. A brief statement used to express a principle, goal, or ideal. A short, suggestive expression of a guiding principle.
2. A sentence, phrase, or word of appropriate character inscribed on or attached to an object.
3. A maxim adopted as a guide to one's conduct.
I guess my motto would be "every day you wake up is a day to be thankful for." For no matter how the day turns out (or begins for that matter), you have a chance to make a difference. Maybe not internationally or nationally, but within yourself. To become a better person.

I believe that is how I have felt for the last 5, 10, 20 years. At least that is how I have tried to live. Being married to Pan has made it a lot easier to live that way.

Saturday, March 17, 2007

Green Eyed Monster's Tribulations

Weekend Blogging 3/17 - 3/18: Happy St. Patrick's Day! Post here if you update this weekend! Shall we have a green theme?


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Still have a lot of work to do on the room, but my ailing computer got moved to what was suppose to be my computer/craft room. Like I said I still have lots to do. Boxes to go through (probably not my stuff); computer, cross stitch, photos, scrapbooking and sewing supplies to organize. Figure out what I want on the shelves you see; what needs to go on the shelves on the opposite wall. Move the companion black shelf from the living room to the right under side of the desk. Make room for legal papers somewhere. Build shelves in the closet and take the closet doors off.

On the wall next to the printer is another desk. Actually it is Pan's desk while mine for some reason is in his room. Another reason to take the doors of the closet. Mine won't fit there if I don't. On the wall next to the scanner is a dresser, which will be moved to the opposite wall when I get the racks cleared off and the rack trashed. Where the dresser is now, I will put the small rolling storage racks I have. You would think with all this storage space it would be a snap. But everything is so mixed up that it is going to take going through it item by item.

Wish me luck and don't be too green. Just enough to make sure you don't get pinched.

Word of the Week - TACHISME

Disclaimer: All words that I choose come from the 1968 edition of the Webster's New World Dictionary, 2nd college edition. It's close and also nearly 40 years old so we may come across some words that are no longer in general use or have completely changed definitions. But that is part of the fun.
tachisme(n)
a method of action painting in which the paint is splashed, dribbled, etc., upon the canvas in apparently random patterns
.
And what in the world can you do with this word? Well, you could write a sentence using it. You could look it up in another dictionary or reference book. (several dictionary searches available in my sidebar for your use.) Use it as a jump start for a short story. If applicable, find a picture of it. Whatever you do, post a link in my comments so I can check it out and put a link back to your post. And have fun.

Word of the Week - CLOACA

Disclaimer: All words that I choose come from the 1968 edition of the Webster's New World Dictionary, 2nd college edition. It's close and also nearly 40 years old so we may come across some words that are no longer in general use or have completely changed definitions. But that is part of the fun.
cloaca(n)
to follow (a route, etc.); travel, esp. walk along or through
-vt. to journey or travel
.
And what in the world can you do with this word? Well, you could write a sentence using it. You could look it up in another dictionary or reference book. (several dictionary searches available in my sidebar for your use.) Use it as a jump start for a short story. If applicable, find a picture of it. Whatever you do, post a link in my comments so I can check it out and put a link back to your post. And have fun.

Word of the Week - ASHLAR

Disclaimer: All words that I choose come from the 1968 edition of the Webster's New World Dictionary, 2nd college edition. It's close and also nearly 40 years old so we may come across some words that are no longer in general use or have completely changed definitions. But that is part of the fun.
ashlar(n)
1. a square, hewn stone used in building
2. a thin, dressed square stone used for facing masonry walls
3. masonry made of either kind of ashlar
.
And what in the world can you do with this word? Well, you could write a sentence using it. You could look it up in another dictionary or reference book. (several dictionary searches available in my sidebar for your use.) Use it as a jump start for a short story. If applicable, find a picture of it. Whatever you do, post a link in my comments so I can check it out and put a link back to your post. And have fun.

Word of the Week - ARRIERE-PENSEE

Disclaimer: All words that I choose come from the 1968 edition of the Webster's New World Dictionary, 2nd college edition. It's close and also nearly 40 years old so we may come across some words that are no longer in general use or have completely changed definitions. But that is part of the fun.
arriere-pensee(n)
mental reservation; ulterior motive
.
And what in the world can you do with this word? Well, you could write a sentence using it. You could look it up in another dictionary or reference book. (several dictionary searches available in my sidebar for your use.) Use it as a jump start for a short story. If applicable, find a picture of it. Whatever you do, post a link in my comments so I can check it out and put a link back to your post. And have fun.

Happy Birthday Bombshell, Oddy and Oddy Son

Actually it is tomorrow, but since Pan is preparing to shut down my computer, move it to another room and add a ups to it, I may actually be completely without a computer if it decides not to come back up at all. Right now it is a sporadic thing which is why the Bug is posting for me. (Besides she hates it when I do this)

But back to birthdays.... Bombshell will be 27 tomorrow. It's hard to believe that she was once this cute cuddly little girl and now she is a gorgeous woman. Yep that's pictures of her on the slider.

So Honey, although I know you have to work a double to day and work on you birthday tomorrow... HAPPY BIRTHDAY, baby. Pan and I love you very, very much.

And speaking of birthdays, I completely missed Oddybobo's birthday and her son's. So HAPPY, HAPPY, belated birthday from Tink and Pan.

Friday, March 16, 2007

fritz, bonkers, broken, faulty

Seems Tink's computer is on the fritz, bonkers, broken, faulty, haywire, in disrepair, inoperable, kerflooey, and all those other adjectives. She finally started posting again and something else happens. She will be back soon... and I'm sure with lots of interesting stories.

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Meaty Tribulations

Picked this up from WritersBlock who got it from CalTech Girl

You Are Fish

You have a well formed palate and a daring appetite. If it's served to you, you'll at least try it.
People are pretty scared of your exotic ways. But once they get a taste of you, they're addicted!

Sickly Tribulations

Wed 3/14 Blog Prompt: Which is worse, being sick or having sick kids/loved ones? Which is worse, throwing up or having sick kids/loved ones throwing up upon you? Which is worse, being up all night because you're sick, or being up all night because someone else is sick?

Having sick loved ones is definitely worse. I tend to empathize with them.

But when it comes to throwing up, it is worse when it is me or any adult for that matter. Cleaning up after a sick child is not so much of problem. They really can't help it if they can't make it to the throw up basket or toilet.

Being up all night with sick children is worse than being up because I am. It is draining on the body and mind because you are so worried about them; then you end up fatigued and sick yourself.

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Loopy Tribulations

Tues 3/12 Blog Prompt: Courtesy of the blog Thursday Threesome: Out of the Loop

Out-- Are you getting out and about lately? ...or is school/the weather/work/illness keeping you cooped up inside?
Been so so on the getting out. The weather is fine every other day. Still the best time out has been going to the Ren Faire with Pan, Nuke and the Princess. But pretty much it has been an inside issue.

of the-- Blue? Does the Winter season 'get to you'? ...or do you handle it as well as you do Summer?
I like winter, actually better than summer, when we have one that is. The last couple of winters have been pretty depressing due to the fact that most of the time the temperatures were in the 70's or so. At least give me the illusion of being winter by going in the 40's or 50's for a month or more.

Loop-- Hey, Spring is coming; do you have a loop you drive or walk to check out the scenery? What do you see when you're out and about?
We do try to check out the scenery at some of the parks in town 2 of our twin cities; sometimes we even check out the beach. And when the boat is in the water there is the loop from the gulf to several bayous to loop around.

Monday, March 12, 2007

Vacations, Ren Faires and Tribulations

Been a while since I posted, I just noticed. Whoa, life has taken a real turn for the... ummm. Not exactly worse, but not the best either. Maybe it has just taken a turn. I haven't even been keeping up with the blog prompts, so bad. What it amounts to is that I have just taken a break from the computer for a while. Wrap my mind around other hobbies and necessities that have been plaguing me daily. Spend more time with Pan. Actually I had been sitting and watching him play his x-box games while I knitted a pouncho for the Princess.

But all that changed when he finally broke open the Legos Star Wars Original Trilogy game. You have heard some of how Indy is with it; but now that is what he wants to play during the day. Which means, of course, I learned how. Although I have figured out why I am no good at them. I am too methodical. I start at one end of the room blasting each and every wall panel; then move to the middle of the room and don't go to the next until I am absolutely sure that I have eliminated everyone and everything that is possible to eliminate.

Whilst I must admit that originally I had to call the bug to get tips when Pan would get frustrated, now she calls me or I call to tell her some juicy piece of info about the game; like the nuke packing Ewok. That little fuzz ball is now my favorite character.

Above and beyond the Star Wars game though, there was the week the Bombshell went on vacation. The dads were to have the kids, but wouldn't you know it, that was the week of the Renaissance Faire and Nuke was making a special trip down just to take the Princess. More on this later. Indy's dad couldn't find a babysitter, guess who came to the rescue? In addition, our once weekly paper is now publishing a second paper for the base, since their paper quit printing. More work for part-time me. At least until I get back into a groove that works for me. But that was the week I had intended on finishing my craft room and getting my computer moved in there so I could do something with my living room.

Now let's talk about the fun stuff.... Nuke and the Princess' weekend at the Renaissance Faire. They went by theirselves the first day. Pan and I went with them on the 2nd fully expecting to only be there a couple of hours. Some 4 or 5 hours later we went home.

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Little John and the beautiful Princess head off in a Jeep to see what what the local happenings, but first a quick stop by Pan's parents house so they could see the lovely couple. Nuke makes his own outfits for the fairs including his boots. This is why Pan and I ended up going the next day, the only pictures were from my mom's house and Pan's parents.

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Yes, he even made his own chainmail. Side story here: I was telling one of my co-workers about it when the younger guy (M) in production asked if he had been making them for long. I told him "yes, he has." When M pipes up, "He went to my high school. I know who he is." Nuke has definitely garnered a reputation, that he is remembered 12 years later.

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I'm going a little out of order with the pics here. We didn't get any before we left as we though we would get plenty at the fair (and we did). But whereas Saturday was in the 70's; Sunday was in the 30's and the Princess ended up wearing jeans and a jacket over her Robin Hood outfit. Nuke was soooooo jealous that she looked so cute in a last minute outfit. Turned out great though.

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One of the things the Princess tried on Sat., but had no luck at was climbing the ropes. She thought it was because of her dress; actually it was because she didn't pay attention. She had good form and if she had listened to the guy manning it, she probably would have made it to the top and rung the bell.

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Another favorite was the pirate hunt. For a small fee you were given a packet with pictures of 6 pirates that you had to hunt down. As you went through the fair you could waylay other pirates and rassle information from them. As you located your pirates, you then had to persaude them to give you their autograph. This usually came with a catch though. One of the pirates she needed an autograph from (Wright) said he would give it to her if she could bring back a piece of information from Bart or Lady Katherine's map, both of which she needed to get autographs from as well. Thing here was that Wright wasn't going to be in the same place when she got the needed information. We did one better though and managed to actually take a picture of Bart's map.

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And what is a trip to a Renaissance Faire without a lesson in jousting. The princess hit it dead center each and every time and actually listened this time around and continued running forward, nearly knocking a pirate out who was sitting in the line of fire.

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And what does a fair Robin Hood get for locating and obtaining the autographs of all her pirates? What a lesson in sword fighting, of course. She was great at blocking everything but her legs. Then she was afraid to thrust so he could block her moves; but then when she did, she actually got him. BTW, this is the pirate who was in the line of fire in the joust. All in all it was a good weekend and everyone had a fabulous time.

Thursday, March 01, 2007

Happy 30th Navy Nuke

Today, yep today, marks a milestone in the life of Navy Nuke. Today he turned 30 years old at exactly 6:11 a.m. So HAPPY BIRTHDAY son. Have a great one and I will call you tonight.

Oh Where, Oh Where has My Tribulation Been

Oh where, oh where can it be?

I have searched high and low for that tribulation, but it is playing a good game of hide and seek. I have looked in the toy box, under the couch, in the cushions, under the sink, in the drawers, behind the shower curtain. Yet, it still eludes me. Maybe later I can find it and have something worthwhile, humorous or even dorky to post.