Alive and Well

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I was admonished by my mom this morning for posting nothing. She was worried and said others might be, too... So, I'm here. I just really had nothing to say. Totally blank.

Alive, well and ... blank.

Hopefully I'll have words tomorrow.

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You Are Blessed

You believe that everyone should be given space to do their own thing. You certainly need it! You have no desire to lead or follow. Anyone is welcome to join you on your journey for a while. You are shy at first but talkative with people you know extremely well. You open up over time. You are naturally quite spiritual. You see the bigger picture and where you fit in.

The Sushi Chopstick Test

About 75% right.

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Happy Halloween

From ghoulies and ghosties
And long-leggedy beasties
And things that go bump in the night,
Good Lord, deliver us!
~Scottish Saying

First a quick reminder: You can enter to win a $50 Amazon or BN.com GC and just TONS of books here (that dancing skeleton makes me grin every time):



Why do I just LOVE this picture?



We aren't doing anything special here -- as I've mentioned in the past, trick or treating is forbidden by my in-laws and it's one thing DH really put his foot down about. So, really, for us it's a day like any other day except tomorrow I take DD to choose a bag of candy (for 50% off *G*) to make up for not going trick or treating.

I leave you with some more cute pix:
















Have a great day!

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You Are Sweet

You tend to be more of a quiet type, and sometimes people can overlook how great you are. You are kind and considerate. You enjoy giving to others, and you always treat your friends well. You love that Halloween is a time for treats. You get a thrill from handing out goodies to friends and strangers. Beyond having a sweet personality, you also have a sweet tooth. You love tasting and sampling as much Halloween candy as possible.

The Halloween Cupcake Test

HAHAHAHAHA ... no.

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The Faster I Pedal...

.... the behinder I get.



Yesterday was one of those days that zips past and you look back and wonder what they heck you got done because you can't figure out how you just spent the fastest ten hours of your life.

I feel like I accomplished nothing. I'm sure I got SOMETHING done, lol, but it wasn't a terrifically productive day.

The cat woke me up this morning before the crack of dawn, throwing up. I think it must be the soft food. I'd run out of the stuff the vet gave me, and put her back on her old food. It's the only change... so, today, whilst I make dog food, I'm also going to make wet cat food -- it's similar (cats don't get grain/starch is all)-- and see how that settles in her tummy.

I suppose I could continue feeding her the stuff from the vet, but I have a very real issue feeding her something that has, as its first two ingredients, two kinds of grains and it's only "protein" is chicken-by-product meal (from Wikipedia: Poultry by-product meal is a high-protein commodity used as a major component in some pet foods. It is made from grinding clean, rendered parts of poultry carcasses and can contain bones, offal and undeveloped eggs and from Flint River Ranch: Animal by-products are ground, rendered, and cleaned slaughtered meat carcass parts such as necks, feet, undeveloped eggs, bones, heads, and intestines ... In many cases, by-product meals are derived from "4-D" meat sources — defined as food animals that have been rejected for human consumption because they were presented to the meat packing plant as "Dead, Dying, Diseased or Disabled." ).

She prefers fish to chicken, though, so I will most likely get her some tilipia to add half and half to chicken and chicken livers (along with a few veggies). Tuna is too high in mercury to feed her on a daily basis, though sardines are also an option.

It's a good thing she's cute.

As a side note, DD and I were watching Animal Planet last night, and an ad for Meow Mix came on. At the end, their big claim as to why you should by it? "contains real chicken and fish FLAVOR" ... I turned to DD and said, "Contains real 'flavor'? Why can't they say it contains real chicken and fish?" Probably because the first two ingredients -- according to Pet Health -- are Ground yellow corn, corn gluten meal -- two things your cat really can't digest and actually doesn't need for nutrition.

Okay, I'll step down off my soap box, but pet food companies make me crazy. They are unregulated and, for the most part, feed our animals stuff that may keep them alive, but isn't really good for them.

/rant

Anyway, time to start my day for real... hopefully I'll actually accomplish something today!!

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You Are Massachusetts

You are smart, serious, and quite traditional. You don't have a lot of time for junk in your life. It's likely that you're well educated and hard working. You live a very goal oriented life. You are probably socially liberal, but personally quite conservative. You would never be described as wild. But you're more diverse than people give you credit for. You're equally comfortable at a business meeting and at a rowdy sports game!

What US State Are You?

Ugh... I do NOT like Massachusetts. However, the answer is about 75% correct.

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It's Saturday

The cat does not offer services. The cat offers itself. Of course he wants care and shelter. You don't buy love for nothing. Like all pure creatures, cats are practical. ~William S. Burroughs

Mary sent this to me last night -- I think it's just perfect, don't you?



Anyway, the cat spent all day sleeping ... she didn't even want to eat, which surprised me. Fact is, she didn't eat for two days!! This a.m., I scooped out a pile of her canned "bland diet" and thought I'd let her eat whatever she wanted since her appetite has been off.

Her appetite isn't off anymore. I finally had to wrest the bowl from her against her VERY loud protestations.

She's back, sleeping in front of the fire. Life as we know it is back to normal.

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It's warming up here. I may even take a nice long walk today as long as the wind doesn't kick up. It's in the low 40s and feels like summer. They're calling for rain here tomorrow night, and I hope they are right, because it's a LOT of rain -- and about an hour north of us has a forcast for "a massive ice storm". I really, REALLY don't want a "massive ice storm".

I think there should be two kinds of precipitation: rain and snow. That other stuff shouldn't be allowed.

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You Are Mittens

You seek comfort in your life. You want to feel as warm and cozy as possible. You are naturally nurturing and caring. And you always make sure to take care of yourself! Winter is your time to hibernate. You love to curl up on a cold night, even if everyone else is going out. And when you do venture out of the house, you bundle up. You want to feel as warm as possible.

Are You Gloves or Mittens?

Yeah.. that's about right.

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Snow Day

“Nature has no mercy at all. Nature says, "I'm going to snow. If you have on a bikini and no snowshoes, that's tough. I am going to snow anyway."” - Maya Angelou


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So... it snowed last night and is still snowing as I write this. In a good news/bad news scenario, it didn't snow as much as they'd predicted (upwards of 12 inches) but it still snowed enough to keep DH home from work. I really wanted to get back to my routine. It's been a tough weekend.

The dog, OTOH, loves the snow. She went out this morning for potty and just ran back and forth, back and forth, using her nose as a plow. Dogs are so funny. I think anyone who is depressed should get one.


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DD got two custom jewelry orders this weekend. One was for two sets of this bracelet (as Valentines Day gifts):



And a matching pair of earrings that I don't have a picture of.

And another was a request for these earrings, and for her to make a matching bracelet:



And, she got another order from someone for earrings, but I can't say who or what, because they are for someone who occasionally reads my blog and I don't want to give the game away.

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So, I met Ceri yesterday. It was fun -- for us. Not so much for our kids who came along. She brought her two daughters, and I brought mine. And the three of them sat at a table and literally said not ONE word the entire time. DD said, "We just stared at the floor."

Clearly I need to make up a list of conversation starters....

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You Are Acrophobia

You are the fear of heights. It's likely that you expect bad things to happen to you. You often feel unlucky. It would be just your luck to fall from a high spot... and you're not going to chance it. You tend to be pretty risk adverse. You rather be safe than sorry.

What Phobia Are You?

I am risk adverse, actually. I don't think that's a bad thing...

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I Haz a Bug

I reckon being ill as one of the great pleasures of life, provided one is not too ill and is not obliged to work till one is better. ~Samuel Butler, The Way of All Flesh, 1903


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Tired today... didn't sleep well last night. Sore throat, stuffy nose... blech. I hate being sick. DD and I have perfected air hugs and kisses though, lol.

Started TiVoing "Leverage". Everyone seems to like it, so I'm going to give it a go. I've caught up on all the old episodes of "Bones", so needed something new.

You know what makes me crazy? This new way TV works. Four episodes in a "season", and then a LONG break. Then four more episodes. Drives me wonky. And, if it wasn't for the fact that I have TiVo, I'd never know when anything was on. By the time it's back, I've all but forgotten it. For instance, "Warehouse 13" has been off for months... how can you gain a strong viewership that way?

:::shrugs:::

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You Are Passionate and Driven

You have a clear vision of what you want, and nothing is going to stop you from getting it. You are very confident and even a bit brash. You don't allow any self-doubt into your life. You like to push limits. You're very curious to see how far you can get in all aspects of your life. You are never satisfied. Once you achieve a goal, you set another one. You are constantly striving.

The Orchid Test

Yep... that's about right, lol...

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Dogs and Cats

Women and cats do as they please, and men and dogs had best learn to live with it. - unknown


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The relationship between my cat (Breeann) and my dog (Dakota) is both laugh-out-loud funny and a little sad.

Dakota just wants to be friends and she tries SO hard to prove to the cat that she's a great critter to hang out with. Last night (and I wish I'd had my camera next to me) the cat was lying on the rug by the wood stove (pretty much where she spends all day, every day in the winter) and Dakota came slithering over. She laid as flat as she could on her belly and extended her nose until it just barely touched part of Breeann. And then she stopped moving, except for her tail, which wagged and wagged and wagged.

The cat wanted nothing of it. She gave Dakota the most disdainful look, and when the look didn't warn the dog off, she gave a good swat to Dakota's nose. Dakota didn't even flinch. She rolled onto her side, pushed her nose closer and wagged some more.

The cat finally gave up and stalked away, tail in the air. And now, in retrospect, I wonder if being friends was what Dakota really wanted, because as soon as the cat moved, the dog curled up on the rug in front of the wood stove!

She may be smarter than we give her credit for. It was a bloodless coup.

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You Are Falling

Sometimes things in your life feel completely out of control. You get overwhelmed. Like everyone else you have a fear of failure... just like falling in a nightmare. You may need more balance in your life. Take time to take care of yourself. And learn to go with the flow a little bit more. Falling can feel exciting if you let it!

What Nightmare Are You?

Blogthings: Quizzes and Tests and Memes, Oh My!

Actually, most of my bad dreams involve being chased by something scary. I wonder what that means?

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Hoping...

Winter is the season in which people try to keep the house as warm as it was in the summer, when they complained about the heat. ~Author Unknown

The weather folks aren't entirely certain what's going to hit and how bad it's going to be. They waffle between a total snowfall of only 3 or 4 inches to a blizzard with 40 inches... big difference (and again, I say that I'd like to be a meteorologist where you can make huge guesses and get things wrong on a regular basis and still keep your job).

The problem seems to be that the storm is going to move in and then stop and just swirl overhead dumping snow, and they aren't certain where it's going to stop and dump. I hope it goes north, where they WANT the snow, stops and dumps and leaves us poor southerners alone.

The good news is that the chimney guy came by yesterday and said our chimney was fine to burn. The cap is starting to lift a bit, and he'll fix that in the spring, but the creosote levels are not bad at all inside the chimney. YAY.


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We've picked up a few more brave souls for JaNoWriMo -- I think we're up to six now. Woo hoo!

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You Are a Sonnet

There's no way we would write a whole sonnet for you So you'll have to just believe that our love is true You are a romantic at heart with a beautiful spirit You should embrace who you are and never fear it

What Type of Poem Are You?

Hmmm... okay. Though, I have to tell you -- when I write poetry, it's usually REALLY depressing. LOL...

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Happy Labor Day

Sometimes it's important to work for that pot of gold. But other times it's essential to take time off and to make sure that your most important decision in the day simply consists of choosing which color to slide down on the rainbow. ~Douglas Pagels, These Are the Gifts I'd Like to Give to You



In honor of Labor Day, and because I'm trying to get lunch, swim bags and more ready for DH and DD to head out on the boat, I'm taking the day off blogging today.

I'll leave you with this... and what IS it with cats and sinks??

You Are Peppermint Flavored Gum

You have a sharp mind that is always churning. You are mentally hyper. You're always thinking of something. And while your mind is always on, you're not the most physically active person around. Some people make mistake you for being lazy, but the truth is: you never relax. You tend to get so deeply into your projects that you ignore everything around you. You are creative and cutting edge. You love telling people about your newest ideas and discoveries.

What Flavor Gum Are You?

Blogthings: Cheaper Than a Therapist

Huh... that's mostly right, lol...

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Chat Hangover

In its early stages, insomnia is almost an oasis in which those who have to think or suffer darkly take refuge. ~Colette


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I have chat hangover.

We had SO much fun at the chat -- I've never had hours pass so quickly. But, holy moly, the craziness!

Then, last night when we were finally officially done, and I closed the computer and crawled to bed, I could NOT get to sleep. I laid there. And laid there. And laid there.

I thought about my WIPs...

Should I add the new character to Stiller Creek, and what do I really know about police departments and forensics and crime? Maybe I should just trash the whole thing? Maybe I shouldn't have the hero be a cop? Maybe the original bad guy shouldn't be bad... but then, how does that affect the ending?

Should I get back to writing "A Jewel for Geoff"? What if Geoff leaves the law firm where he works and goes out on his own? Then how would I include info about Liv? Would he do something like that? What if he quits law altogether and does something completely different? How would that impact the story?

In "Playing House", maybe I should change the story back to where my hero isn't engaged to someone else when the story starts. Maybe he should only be dating Audree. This story is actually finished, so do I really want to change an integral plot point and then have to completely rewrite the entire thing?

What about Camilla? Is there a way I can have Jed have to live in her place without wounding him, since that's what hangs me up?

And...

... for two hours I thought about this stuff. Mulled it over. Felt like I should get up and write things down. My brain was a ping-pong ball, all over the place.

Finally, though, I crashed. Yay.

And then woke up at 3 a.m.

Yes, really. I laid in bed for an hour, certain I would get back to sleep, but the brain was awake again and singing to me. Yes, I had a song in my head ("Who Says You Can't Go Home" by Jon Bon Jovi and Jennifer Nettles, and no I don't know why) and it repeated until I thought I'd scream.

I got up. It wasn't like I didn't have work to do.

But... dear heavens I am tired.

How was your weekend?

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Today's Blog Brought To You By...

Dogs laugh, but they laugh with their tails. What puts man in a higher state of evolution is that he has got his laugh on the right end. ~Max Eastman

Facebook Pieces of Flair (why? Because I stacked wood all day yesterday -- and it's not done -- and I'm still tired... besides, laughter is good for the soul):








And, heck, for good measure -- have a little I Can Has Cheezburger and I Has A Hot Dog







Have a happy Saturday!

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I <3 LOL