I think no matter how old I get I think I'm going to be the weird kid.

People may "like' me but in the way you like some bizzare little shivering rat dog. You may think its fun, but you don't want one of your own.

This weekend was SUPPOSED to be a fun family weekend put on by Casey's Naval unit... it wasn't fun... it was a nightmare.

Day 1

We get up, get dressed, Casey's Mom and Aunt meet us at our house so they can follow us to the base in San Diego... Problem 1... Casey's Aunt was driving in her car rather than his Mom driving hers... despite having given his mom's info to the Chief for all the legal stuff.

We drive for however long it took... girls are alternatly cranky, napping, or playing quietly...

We get to the base... pull over to the side entrance so that Casey's Aunt can get her pass to drive on the base... but... she didn't have her insurance info... so, they had to wait for someone to help... but Casey and I had an appointment.

Casey has wanted me to get an ID so I can get on base for what ever reason... so we go to the office for the appointment to do so... there is a line... the girls are really hungry... cranky from sitting so long and want to run around... Em screams bloody murder and keeps repeating "I WANT TO GO!" over and over... Someone comes out of an office and throws candy at her... so she was quiet for a few minutes.
BUT... we finally get our turn for the IDs to find out... I CANT GET ONE! Casey was not informed of the process or that we had to have our marriage certificate or that I had to enroll in some program first... waste of time... poor screaming kids... and Em with her black eye from falling at day care... we looked great I'm sure.

So, we go back to Casey's mom and aunt... still waiting at the car.. in the heat... stuborn as mules... Casey tries to help, and tells them to call the insurance and have them fax over the info... which only gets him yelled at "They won't be open its the weekend" "I don't have the number, it's on the card" (PS... the Navy has internet and can get that info... der...) and best yet, Casey got blamed for the whole thing "You didn't tell us we'd need proof of insurance..." Which was just insane considering that if you drive you NEED IT ON YOU AT ALL TIMES.

Finally, we drive to a public parking area and they all shove into Casey's truck so that we can get on the base and he can report in on time... and also meet up with Eric (an old family friend of his, and retired Navy... he's in his 70s... and feisty.) and Maggie (Eric's god-daughter)...
The girls are really cranky... and they're talking about touring the base... I go along with it for a bit... but at one point Em wants to climb the amphibious unit that everyone else is getting on (parked on dry land... thank goodness) so, she runs... right over a pile of canvas... snags her toe... and BANG... SCREAM... her knee gets scrapped and is bleeding... So I have to leave the group and carry Em to the Medic... who wasn't there... so then we walk to a rest room and the woman that was guiding us around gets us a band aid... that Em refuses to wear...

So, Em is screaming and crying and in owwie land... and they are still walking... so... I just haul off and leave and go to the McDonalds that is on the base. So the girls and I sit in the AC and I get them happy meals and myself an iced coffee... and we wait...

Casey comes to get us... and we go back to the group... but it's not picnic time yet.... no... its fancy crazy speed boat time. Its this crazy amphibious unit that can go super fast and make 90degree turns... and the kids are too small to go on... Casey wants me to wait on the dock while he goes on with everyone else.... NO! for one thing... CRAZY HOT... for another... watching two cranky girls on a dock IN THE HEAT with one of those girls wanting to RUN every three seconds... Em would be in the water in the blink of an eye... So I took his keys and sat in the truck with the AC on...

Casey came back to the truck and asked if I wanted a turn... but by that time... I hadn't eaten much... was over heated and knew that I would puke on a crazy boat... so no... he went back and told everyone that we were all going to go back to the other base and check into our room so the girls could unwind and watch a DVD.... so we leave... thank goodness... BUT

On our way back to the base Casey's mom calls... Eric refused to sit in the boat... and even though they weren't going fast yet, they were just taking it out to open water and everything was calm... they hit an unexpected wake from another boat... everyone bounced into the air... and Eric, not sitting down... fell and split his head open... So we turned around and went back...

We get back and Eric is loaded into a Navy van and we follow it to the naval hospital... and the girls and I sit in the truck again... Casey goes in with them to make sure Eric is OK. The Navy guys promise to stay with Eric and make sure everything is fine, and then... we go back to the first base, because the picnic is finally going on... and we will need to get Casey's mom and Aunt anyway.

Em and Josie finally get to run around briefly... but since we were late... we end up getting there maybe 15 minutes before everyone starts packing... Em was not happy. And I only got 3 bites of food.

FINALLY we get to the room... and get to eat something... but the girls are not tired having sat ALL DAY... and so they don't sleep until LATE...
There were funny moments, like Em using the lugage rack as a bed, and Josie trying to fit in the mini fridge... but everyone was cranky until tinkerbell was put into the DVD player.

Day 2.

Casey had to leave early to do some actual work.. so we were left to sleep and keep to ourselves in the room 'til he got back. I woke up to find mother nature left me gift a week early... and unprepared.

Em and Josie had to survive on snacks of raisins, crackers, granola bars and what was left of a donut... as we had no mode of transportaiton with Casey gone... nor did I know where the heck anything was on the base...

Casey gets back at almost noon with his mom and aunt... I find out Eric had stitches, and MRI and had to go home....Em is pissed that she has to leave the room and DVD player.... Casey checks us out and we go to get something to eat...

Then I get pissed off because Casey hasn't taken his mom and aunt to tour the ships yet... Then he gets food I can't eat... bacon wrapped cheese covered hotdog with onions... thanks Casey. So, no food in my system other than an iced coffee... hormones... and then he goes and does stupid things, I let him have it...

"Why did you check us out of the room when we could have sat in the AC and watched movies and the girls would have been happy. You know Em is going to be miserable and end up getting hurt on that ship..."

Then he goes and tells me he doesn't need "this' and that it was supposed to be a fun weekend and everything went wrong, so he didn't want me to sulk on top of it... "Sulk? I'm not sulking! And youre not the one who sat in the truck all day and will have to sit in the truck again..." and yada yada...he was having fun, his mom and aunt were having fun and I was sitting in a truck and not eating in the heat... thank you very much. Then he got sheepish and shut up.

Finally he came up with a half decent plan and I took Em to the movie theater on base and we watched Nanny McPhee. It took her a bit, but she finally settled down when I got her some popcorn and lemonade... she never would have gotten through a ship tour... I was worried about Josie going (sunburn wise, made Casey swear to slather up my little fair skined one) but she is mellow and had a good time.

Finally we left. Girls fell asleep on the ride home... then proceeded to scream their heads off half the night when we got home because they were over tired.

Casey promised not to have us go back until Josie is at least 7... (would have been nice if he had listened to me in the first place when I've said that...)

The end...



and now I'm sick...

"With great power comes great responsibility." - Stan Lee "Spiderman"

I don't mean to put it in such a comic nerd type way... but, this quote really should be taken to heart by our country these days.

Our nation is on the brink... we are at the point of drastic, unsettling change. Many are responding to this change with anger, hate and violence. One act of hate triggers a chain reaction of events, causing more and more people to be angry and disturbed. Many people are claiming freedom of expression as an excuse to release fountains of venom through the veins of the populace. One of the most recent of these, is the planned book burning of the Quran by a small church in Florida.

I'm not completely clear on the obscure reasoning behind it... other than to "send a message" that Muslims aren't welcome in our country... regardless of constitutional rights of freedom of religion, press and to congregate. I've heard reasoning that "in their countries christian religions aren't welcome." But... how is denying someone's freedom to worship the way to protest... should we abandon our core values and ethics to "make points?" Why is it not OK for other countries to do this if you do it yourself? Honestly this is a shameful display...

So, here's my two cents. As with power... freedom comes with great responsibility. Just because it is allowed from a legal standpoint to spout hate, misinformation and propaganda... that doesn't mean you should. I'm not talking about censorship. I'm talking about common sense, decency and standing up for what you believe by upholding the values you believe in. One can not expect respect when one does not give it. One can not expect people to "do as I say not as I do." What exactly happened to "putting the shoe on the other foot?" If someone, somewhere held a bible burning... I expect the outcry would be equally great.

There are also issues with possible safety risks to our troops... which seem to be answered with the "We can't show fear" arguement. Let's address that... Extreme actions often are horrid attempts at trying desperately to convince people of something.... for instance: the man having an affair that buys his wife overly expensive gifts to convince her that nothing is going on... the person that gets a much younger lover and plastic surgery to say "I'm not older"... The big flashy car... and so on. They all end up saying the opposite of what they are intending. This doesn't look to me like lack of fear... it looks like over compensation.

Bottom line: Bad idea on all counts.

I'm begining to think that "discrimination" may be bandied about a bit too much these days.

As everyone I'm sure knows, a young woman was sent home from her job at the Storytellers Cafe for not removing her head scarf which she wore in religious observance. Now when I heard the story I was indeed horrified, the initial story of course screams discrimination. What made it 100 times worse was the Disney representative that compared the religious head covering to a fan wearing a baseball cap... AAAHHH! SAY WHAT NOW?!?!?! I screamed at the woman through the TV for insinuating that the hijab was akin to an Angels cap... I hope THAT woman gets a severe lashing for that one.

HOWEVER that being said... I've never been one to take things at face value... so I went ahead and looked up the Disney dress code for employees and company policies. These are things not only easily Googled, but things that the young woman would have received upon getting her job... Disney is not a company to forget to give people company handbooks.

Heres what I found out... not only must employees be clean, trimmed, fairly natural, without visible tattoos or body modification... but NO religious iconography is to be worn. NONE. NO crosses, NO Stars of David... nothing is to be visible. Not only that, but when it comes to scheduling, no one is given special consideration to attend religious service... If you need to attend an observance, you need to find someone to cover for your whether you are Christian, Jewish, Muslim or... anyone.

It's not discrimination if NO ONE can do it... Of all the companies out there... this sounds the most fair and balanced I've seen. REALLY IT IS. So you didn't get special treatment for your beliefs... boo hoo... NO ONE ELSE DID EITHER. Put on your big kid pants already.

So, I guess the question becomes... Why not? Well, think about it, the answer is really very simple. People from ALL backgrounds and walks of life visit Disneyland... People from ALL religious beliefs...  None of the employees bear religious icons, and it puts visitors at ease. Even if it is only in the back of a persons head... sometimes a giant diamond studded cross is off-putting.

Well, there it is... my mind changed. I know better than to trust an exploitive news media... And I wish everyone else did too. You know this case won't go away too soon... But heres my two cents... I prefer my Disneyland to be the happiest place on earth... Nothing to kill or die for... and no religion too.

Well, I've decided to do a series of illustrations using Disney characters to represent the cards of the major arcana in tarot... HOLY CRAP THATS 22 ILLUSTRATIONS! I know I know... like I don't have enough to do... I just keep building my list.

But anyway... I want to do this series... and I don't want to pick characters on surface value looks to represent the card... but rather, the archetype that the character represents. The problem is some of the cards are proving REALLY DIFFICULT to pick someone for. So, I need some help... I don't want to repeat one film too many times either... and that seems to be happening... yarg. HELP.

Heres a list so far: ( and some basic reference http://www.learntarot.com/cards.htm) I'm completely open to alternate choices

The Fool: Pinocchio

The Magician: Merlin (?)

The High Priestess: The Evil Queen (?) or  Maleficent (?)

The Empress: Pocahontas

The Emperor: ?

The Hierophant: Merlin (? not sure what best suits him)

The Lovers: Ariel and Eric

The Chariot: Gaston

Strength: Beast

The Hermit: Quasi Modo

Wheel of Fortune: The fates from Hercules, or Maleficent

Justice: ?

The Hanged Man: ?

Death: Facilier (Princess & the Frog)

Temperance: ?

The Devil: Frolo

The Tower: Prince Navin/Frog (?)

The Star: The Blue Fairy

The Moon: Fairy Godmother (?)

The Sun: ? (Initially I said Phoebus... but it seems OBVIOUS... and I have two hunchback options already)

Judgement: ?

The World: ?


BAH! I think I'm just insane... 22!?!?!?

For this blog...




This guy came up for a lot of others...




And my poetry....

I'm sick.
Not swine flu sick... not food poisoning... not allergies... no... pain and in need of surgery sick.

Well.. its not 100% confirmed... but every doc says "It's probably your gall bladder"

My gall bladder... which I've wondered if I could be having a problem with it after having gained 100 pounds when pregnant with Em... which is hereditary... which I have asked about considering the HORRIFIC heartburn that wakes me up to vomit... But no... When I was puking my guts out from the bile building in my throat the doctors said "Its common for pregnant women... take antacid... it'll go away when your hormones regulate"...

Then about 3 weeks ago... I thought I had caught a bug... I had chills and fever and threw up for almost a whole day... I thought my back was killing me because of wretching so much. I felt better by Sunday night... so I went to work on monday, believing it was a passing stomach bug and nothing more.

But then, Wed. night I woke up again with that horrible heartburn... so, I got up and sat in the living room to keep from vomiting... then... I started to get nauseaus... and I'm never nauseaus when I have heart burn. So, all I'm thinking is "oh great I'm sick" and I go back to bed. I sleep kind of rough... and when I wake up... my right side and back hurt, I'm nauseaus and dizzy, my head hurts, its hard to breath... not good. I look up my symptoms and see nothing but things on gall bladder and pancreas... not good. So, I call my mom... "Hey mom... what would I look for if I have a problem with my gall bladder?" I still wasn't convinced. I didn't want to panic and run to the doc only to find out I just have gas. So, against my moms advice, I went to work thinking "It'll ware of... I'll feel better when I walk around a bit"... but I didn't... so called Casey and had him pick me up from work.

I went to the doctor, told him all my symptoms... and on a fluke mentioned my horrid weekend of chills fever and throwing up with the back ache... he looks concerned... "so... no other cold or flu symptoms?" "No." "So, only the fever and chills with vomiting..." "Yeah, and all the vomiting gave me a bad back ache." "That wouldn't give you a back ache... that sounds like a gall bladder attack"

So, then came the tests. Blood tests... sonograms... pee in a cup... shove around on the belly... fasting...... oh yay.

Today was the sonogram, wasn't allowed to eat or drink for 6 hours... which meant I woke up after not eating all night and couldn't eat until after my appointment at 2:40. I knew they were looking at everything in my abdomen... but I tried to gage the techs reaction and actions when she was scanning and photographing my guts... There were things she obviously didn't see anything... so she took obligitory shots and moved on... like my kidneys and spleen (which looked kinda like a jelly fish... weird) She took a lot of my gall bladder understandably... but what concerned me was the face she made at the screen and her insistance on getting a very particular angle on something she saw. So I asked her when she was done if she could see anything weird. "Well, it probably is your gall bladder" she says "But I didn't see anything too scarey" ... ok..

So, knowing that several people in my family have had to have theirs removed... I wont be surprised if the Dr. calls me up and says "you need surgery"... but I do kinda wish someone had checked or thought of this before when I mentioned certain things. Several things should have been huge red flags really...

Then theres the crazy diet I'll have to be on after the surgery... only about 2-3 tsps of fat allowed a day... no skin on my chicken... no nuts or peanut butter (*loud sobbing*) only low fat cheese (um... gross)  no salad dressing... just basicly no fat ever unless I want to live in the bathroom.

Well... on the bright side... I'll lose some weight...

Won't call them resolutions... those are too easy to break.

1. Get back to gym.
2. Go greener
3. Go digital
    a. get giant hard drive
    b. get a kindal
    c. store new books on giant hard drive for kindal
    d. see if theres a place that would trade books for digital files
    e. get apple TV box
    f. rip movies in collection... store on giant hard drive.
    g.back up all photos and home movies onto giant hard drive
    h. get digital photo frames for photos
    i. make all this stuff wireless... no use simplifying if you have wires everywhere.

I made a Krampus! (kind of a "hello-krampus" sanrio fusion of weird) (and yes... I know his sticks are missing...)
I'm thinking of making a bunch more and selling them for a few bucks on etsy... maybe... if I have time...
Oh wait... kids... even making this took like three days...
OK... we'll see.

( Read more... )

I've been wanting to do some lomo type photos for a while. My mom had an old brownie when we were kids... and was only able to get one photo out of it. But that one picture of my brother sitting in the sand on the beach with such an oddly over blue sky intrigued me, and I've been wanting my own old camera ever since... but, as time goes... things happen... time gets in the way and we forget.... at least until the past few months, perusing various photo galleries online for inspiration for ads. The photos I'm always drawn to are the ones that look like they've been banged to hell... and they aren't photoshoped.

Theres just something about an old camera that can't be replaced.

And then there they were, while perusing etsy... Two working, excelent condition brownie cameras... one made of bakelight from the 20s and the other (the bigger one) from the 30s... And, not expensive... so how could I resist?