Judge Not...

A few things have come to a head this week to inspire this post.

It started on Monday, when my friend Mitch and I had some interesting conversations over coffee (well, tea) on a variety of topics, including being judgmental of others, and how we ought to refrain from it. We didn't delve into this topic deeply, but I feel like even that brief discussion opened my eyes and ears to picking up that same message elsewhere.  

On Tuesday, I read a blog post from Dan Pearce, of Single Dad Laughing fame, that summed up, quite humorously, the various ways people not only butt into your business, but judge you for the things you do and the decisions you make. I saw myself in quite a few of these, both as having been a recipient of said judgment, and in being guilty of judging others:

http://www.danoah.com/2013/02/20-things-that-aint-none-of-your-business.html/

I'm currently in the midst of reading "The Grace Awakening" by Chuck Swindoll, and yesterday I got to a chapter about letting go. The main point was that God's grace allows you the freedom to either choose to follow him or succumb to the same sinful temptations you were unable to fight off without his help. This freedom, however, also extends to others and how you deal with them. If they are to have true freedom to pursue grace, then you must let them go, and that means refraining from interfering with their decisions. It's up to God to work through those decisions and work in their lives, and it's not up to you to decide what constitutes a poor decision or a good one. In other words: butt out, don't judge, and just continue to show them love and compassion.

Then today I came across this graphic posted on Believe Out Loud's page:

I liked it because, as I've stated in previous blog posts, the whole "love the sinner, hate the sin" adage has never sat well with me. And today it occurred to me that the "hate the sin" portion is actually a form of judgment. And judgment, by its very nature, is unloving. So how can you love yet hate at the same time? You can't.

Some might interpret this to mean that loving the person without hating the sin means condoning his sin, but I don't believe that's the case. A person's sin should not be within our realm to pass judgment on-- that is solely God's domain. It's not even our business to decide what is and what isn't sin. Again, that's entirely between God and the "sinner". All we can do, all we should do, is take our fellow, fallible human being and love them.

And how best to love someone than by refraining from passing judgment on them?

Karaoke Ring of Death: Catchy Songs

This month's KROD coincides with the last day of NaBloPoMo, so I get to sign off this month of blogging with a bang! 

Okay, maybe that's an exaggeration. The theme for November was "catchy songs"-- that song you just can't get out of your head ;-) I get to host Edwin of My Adult Brain, who sings Wham's "Wake Me Up Before You Go Go". His commentary at the beginning is very apt, because that's exactly what happened to me-- was just starting to "get over" a song that had been stuck in my head for a while, and then having to actually sing the whole thing for KROD just extended that :-P

Anyway, watch Edwin reach for some of those high notes:


Catchy KROD from Edwin Schippers on Vimeo.

As for my own video, I had a brainworm that was, just like May's 80's theme, inspired by an episode of Glee. It also happened to be a duet and a song that I HAVE to lower at least 3 half-steps in key, so finding a duet partner on SingSnap, where I normally do my online karaoke, was a challenge. After a while of listening to various videos done in the normal key, I realized I had picked up enough of the harmony to just do the whole enchilada myself. So I decided to do just that.

You can catch Helly in stereo (both acoustically AND visually) at Kanriah's blog:

http://oneredwall.wordpress.com/2012/12/01/catchy-karaoke/

And of course, the main Karaoke Ring of Death website:

http://karaokeringofdeath.wordpress.com/2012/12/07/novembers-master-list-is-catchy/

Washing Delicates... With a Salad Spinner!

Although I am not, by any stretch of the imagination, a busty girl myself, I enjoy reading Busty Girl Comics, a fun blog which laments the trials and perks of a busty girl. I think reading it really drives home the old adage that the grass is greener on the other side.

One problem that is universal to women, regardless of cup size, is the ability to easily and affordably find good-fitting bras. I think this is especially problematic for women who are at either end of the spectrum-- either really small-chested, or really well-endowed. So when I chance upon the rare bra that is a combination of good fit AND good price, I snatch it up and hold dear to it :-)

But then comes the inevitable time when the bra must be washed. What's the use of a well-fitting bra if it's funky and gross, right? Yuck. However, I had seen what washers can do to the regular bras (i.e. the cheap, basic kind with no underwire, no padding, and no molding) I used to wear before I had Todd, and there was no way I was ruining my new, hard-to-find bras in a similar fashion! There is hand-washing, but how do you wring out something with underwire and padding, without ruining it? Leaving a sopping garment to dry isn't ideal, either, especially when I live in a climate that doesn't normally get hot and dry. If it's gonna take days for something to dry, it's likely gonna be just as funky with mildew in the end. Double yuck.

Enter BGC, and a post where someone suggested using a salad spinner to wash bras. I had never even HEARD of a salad spinner until then, but when I did a bit of research and found that it was simply a centrifuge device, I grew excited.

I found a cheap, basic, hand-cranked model at K-Mart for $15. It's small, and it's not fancy, but it looked like it would get the job done. It came with a clear outer bowl, a spinning strainer, and a lid with a hand crank to spin said strainer.

The first thing I actually washed was not my bra, but an errant school uniform shirt of Todd's that had somehow missed its weekly trip to the washer on laundry day. So I hand-washed it and gave the spinner a test drive with his shirt. Worked pretty well! It was actually kinda fun to see the water spray against the outer container, build up, and then drip toward the bottom. It gave a good visual gauge for how much water was being squeezed out.

Next, I gathered up a couple bras that were long overdue for a washing, and soaked them in warm water and mild baby soap. Washed them gently by hand, and then rinsed the soap out as best as I could. In went sopping wet bras, and after much spinning, out came damp-but-not-soaking-wet garments! I hung them up and they were dry by the next day.

I was thrilled to see that such a simple device worked so remarkably effectively at wringing out delicates.

The big test came a few days later, when Allan washed one of his hand-wash-only Hawaiian shirts. An XL men's shirt is not exactly a small garment the way a child's shirt or a woman's bra is. I wondered if it would fit in that tiny contraption. But it did! And it worked just as well at wringing it out!

Probably the only downside to this whole deal is the fact that I got a hand-cranked model, which is definitely more labor-intensive. There are other models that feature a pull-cord or a button very much like the button pump used for a child's spinning top. But I figure-- this kind of crank is less likely to break or go wrong in the future (a pull-cord just seems so fragile!), so a little extra manual labor is well worth having a product that will last a long time.

So there you have it. A simple, efficient, cost-effective way to wash your delicates.  If you give it a try, I hope it works as well for you as it is for me! :-)

Karaoke Ring of Death: Summer Fun!

I'm looking out my window as I type this, and can't help but feel somewhat depressed by the dreary, foggy, cloudy, cool weather that hits Santa Barbara every year-- the dreaded "June Gloom". Come on, we just had graduation this past weekend, it's supposed to be SUMMER, for cryin' out loud!

Well, in anticipation of summer, this month's KROD theme was songs containing the word "summer". And yes, it was cool and dreary when I recorded my version, but I wasn't going to let that stop me! :-)

This month, I'm again hosting Kanriah of One Red Wall, as she sings "Springsteen" by Eric Church. I will have to thank her for introducing me to a country artist I hadn't really heard much of, and whose music I'll have to try to explore further.

To laugh at me decked out in summer gear despite gray skies while I belt out a summer classic, head on over to Dave's blog: http://littlearrowshurt.blogspot.com/2012/06/krod-summer-songs.html

And, as always, the master list can be found here: http://karaokeringofdeath.wordpress.com/2012/06/18/junes-master-list/

Karaoke Ring of Death: 80's, baby!

May flew by in a flash! Started off with my birthday on the 2nd, before I knew it, it was my son's birthday on the 20th, and time for another round of Karaoke Ring of Death!

The theme for May is 80's songs, which certainly didn't make it easy to narrow down a choice! There were so many I remembered from my junior high school days!

This month I'm hosting Heather of Musings of a Girl. Heather, I believe, is the one who first introduced me to KROD, indirectly, earlier this year. She left a comment on my friend Tabitha's blog about it, my curiosity was piqued, I got a link to the main KROD blog, and the rest, as they say, was history :-)

Today Heather treats us to "Lost In Your Eyes" by the iconically-80's Debbie Gibson... and a cappella on top of that! Awesome!

My own 80's choice was inspired by the recent "Prom-asaurus" episode of Glee. I'm nowhere near as good as Dianna Agron or Naya Rivera, but I had fun learning it and giving it a go. You can find my video on Jes's blog: http://jesgettingstarted.blogspot.com/2012/05/gleeking-out-to-80s.html

And, as always, the master list with everyone's songs can be found here: http://karaokeringofdeath.wordpress.com/2012/05/23/mays-master-list/

Happy listening, and enjoy your trip down memory lane! :-)

Karaoke Ring of Death: Duets!

This month's Karaoke Ring of Death theme was duets. I'm really excited to see what my fellow KROD-ers are going to come up with, since this is supposed to broaden the scope of who's singing (roping in a partner) or maybe employ some creative means to get around the lack of a partner.

Today I present to you Carolina of http://www.carolinathinks.com, traversing the high/low vocal extremes of "You Don't Know Me":

As for me-- I was all set to go solo (duo?) and sing a duet with myself, something I've actually done before, but fortunately, my karaoke buddy/partner in crime Nick came to the rescue so we could record one of our standards that we always perform at our local karaoke joints. You can catch us on Sandy's blog at: http://sandywessel.blogspot.com/2012/04/april-krod.html

The master list, with a link to everyone's blogs/videos, can be found at the main KROD blog: 
http://karaokeringofdeath.wordpress.com/2012/04/25/april-master-list/

Karaoke Ring of Death: Funny Songs

It's that time of month again! No, something more pleasant than THAT :-P I had such a blast breaking into the Karaoke Ring of Death last month that I decided to have fun with it again this month!

This month's theme was "funny songs", which can range the gamut from songs that personally tickle your funny bone to outright parodies!

And this month I am fortunate to feature the lovely Kanriah of One Red Wall, singing "Mood Rings" by Relient K. I will admit-- I had never heard (of) this song before, so I Google'd the lyrics so I could follow along as she sang. And OMG-- I laughed. Because that song really captures the puzzlement I often feel about women whose emotional roller coasters and lack of straightforward communication leave some very befuddled men in their wake. In most situations, I wind up sympathizing with the man when that happens, so hey-- I'm all for mandating a universal "mood ring" that can help decode what some of these women are thinking!

Oh and also-- doesn't her hair look great? She reminds me of my friend Amanda, a natural redhead whose lovely locks were just one of her many assets :-)

To hear my take on the "funny songs" theme, head on over to Dave's blog: http://littlearrowshurt.blogspot.com/2012/03/make-me-laugh.html

And to see the master list, check out the main KROD blog: http://karaokeringofdeath.wordpress.com/2012/03/20/march-master-list/

Karaoke Ring of Death: Legendary Singers

A few weeks ago I read a comment on my friend Tabitha's blog about something called the Karaoke Ring of Death, and my curiosity was piqued. Tabitha sent me the link to their main group blog, and I was further intrigued by the concept.

Basically, every month a group of bloggers records themselves doing a song based on that month's particular theme. For February, the theme was "legendary singers". After that, we all get assigned to host someone else's video on our blog, which leads my readers to that person's blog. That person, in turn, hosts yet another blogger, and so on. By the time you follow all the links through the karaoke postings, you will end up back where you started, hence a Karaoke Ring. Neat concept, isn't it?

It sounded like a lot of fun, and since I love doing karaoke both online and offline, I decided to hop on the bandwagon and dust the cobwebs off my trusty Blue Snowball mic.

And, without further ado, I present to you Dave from http://littlearrowshurt.blogspot.com/, doing Ray Charles, whom I agree, is quite the legendary singer!





To hear my song, head on over to Edwin's blog: http://myadultbrain.com/?p=186

And if you want to see the master list, check out the main KROD blog: http://karaokeringofdeath.wordpress.com/2012/02/19/februarys-legendary-master-list/

Enjoy! :-)

Crazy Baby Names

One of my favorite comic strips is "One Big Happy" by Rick Detorie. Little Ruthie is always full of witticisms and keen observations that only the pure, innocent mind of a child could come up with.

A long time ago, I remember reading a strip featuring the arrival of a babysitter. The teenager introduced herself at the door, and while I can't remember the exact words, her speech bubbles went something like this:

My name is Typhanni. Just like "Tiffany", but with a "ph" instead of an "f", 2 "n"s and the "i" and "y" switched.

I thought it was hilarious that she had to go into such a long spiel to explain how her name is so different from the original spelling.

Little did I know that this innocent little comic strip would be a foreshadowing of the recent trend of parents trying to conjure up "unique" spellings of ordinary names for their children. Things like "Madysynn" instead of "Madison". Worse yet, totally newfangled, weird names! This trend is made fun of a lot in a blog that I read regularly: STFU, Parents!

If you haven't read that blog, I highly recommend it. The blog owner posts screenshots (along with some funny personal commentary, which really makes reading it worthwhile) of parent overshare on Facebook-- pictures of dirty diapers, children's injuries, placentas(!!), mama drama, you name it, it's on there. It can make for effective birth control! And lest you think it's a child-free, child-bashing forum, it's not. I'd venture to say that most of the readers are parents themselves. We're just shaking our heads in wonder and disgust as we marvel at why on earth fellow parents would feel the need to overshare the less glamorous parts of parenthood. Strangely enough, a lot of the oversharing parents featured on the blog name their children something out of this world.

It's getting to the point where seeing a common name, spelled in an ordinary way (like "Katherine") is something of a rarity!

Which brings me to another "One Big Happy" strip that I came across recently, and enjoyed enough to share with the STFU, Parents site. It certainly sums up how most of us blog readers feel about this onslaught of unique (or should that be: "yoo-neek"?) baby names, and not just from celebrity parents!

Right on, Ruthie! Those kids are gonna need those blessings!

Day 30 of NaBloPoMo! (a look back)

Well! I wasn't sure if I'd make it this far, but I did! I managed to post every single day for an entire month as part of NaBloPoMo. My very first effort at it. Given that November is probably not a very good month to do it (with the holidays-- I imagine only December would be worst), I'm actually quite pleased that I was able to keep it up every day.

Now, I will admit that there were a couple of days when I had to pre-write a post the day before, and then schedule it to be posted the next day, simply because I knew I would not be anywhere with Internet access all day long. That was fraught with its own frustrations, as apparently Wordpress does not actually post your blog entry at the time you specify. No, it waits until someone visits your blog before it kicks off the cron job that posts the scheduled entry!

Still, posting every single day (sometimes even twice a day, as explained above), proved to be quite a challenge. I found myself becoming more alert to things around me-- from things people posted online to things that happened in the offline world (I don't like using the term "in real life", or "IRL", as the popular acronym goes. That implies that the people I interact with online are somehow not "real". And that's simply not true!) I found myself keeping my eyes and ears peeled for any interesting tidbit, and then expanding it in my mind to see if I could dedicate a whole blog post to it. It's happened a few times. Like a visit to Todd's pediatrician. Or when I saw links to NUD or to Costco's funeral section on FB. Or coming away from a particularly frustrating interview session. It was amazing to me how ordinary, mundane little things that I would ordinarily forget within the hour could develop into topics that I could craft into a post.

So, I'm pleased that there was rarely a shortage of topics, even if inspiration sometimes didn't hit until about 11:00pm, with only an hour to spare ;-)

I'm pleased that there were really only 2 times when I resorted to an "I can't think of anything to post, and I'm pressed for time so I'll just throw in some stuff" post, and even though they were both diary-like in nature (a weekend recap, and some random tidbits), at least there was something unique to tell. Like my first venture into cutting my own hair! O.O

I'm especially pleased that I was able to throw in some deeper, more meaningful posts-- a departure from my usual blatherings or rants about less important things like Paypal's sucky user experience ;-)
I had not intended to create a mini-series of sorts, but my posts on loving thy neighbor in the context of "Christian" views on homosexuality (and yes, those quotation marks are intentional) evolved from a variety of sources that all seemed to happen simultaneously: the link to the post on the little boy dressed as Daphne, a friend decrying passive discrimination, and an interesting lunchtime conversation with a friend from church. I am sure that this won't be the last time I'll be writing on such a topic.

In short, I had a great time with NaBloPoMo. It was a lot of work, but it is exhilarating to make it to the finish line. I am not sure if I will be doing it again in future years. Work and family keep me too busy to even *think* about posting, most days, and I've sacrificed what little personal time I have in the evenings, to do this. It's not really worth it when hardly anyone reads the posts regularly, anyway. But it was nice to get the creative juices flowing and keep them flowing for an extended period. I hope to be able to continue this trend on a smaller scale-- certainly not every day, but maybe a couple times a week. And I hope I continue to be able to keep an eye out for interesting tidbits that I can transform into blog posts.

In the meantime... Happy end of November! Here's to a wonderful holiday season and continued fruitfulness in the blogging world!

Website Woes

You know, it always sucks when a site that you're a member of suddenly changes things and actually takes away features. I know that when we make changes to our software, we're cognizant of the fact that a feature that many people may not like are actually appreciated by a small handful, and if we're going to remove it, we should at least make it optional. Same goes with things on Facebook-- features that I'm sure very few people use but that I've come to rely on, are suddenly gone. And it's annoying. And frustrating. Especially when things are already buggy and now I no longer have a fallback fix (i.e. manually refreshing the RSS feed for Notes when it doesn't do so automatically). But hey-- it's free, I don't pay for it, it works for the most part, so I don't have much in the way of complaints.

But when it's something I DO pay for, then I'm going to be a little more picky about it :-P

I'm a little disappointed with Myspace karaoke these days-- the new layout is extremely buggy (of course, that is nothing new for Myspace) and now they have it set so you can't even VIEW member recordings unless you're signed in. I can understand restricting the ability to rate/comment to members only, but simply VIEWING it? That's ridiculous. So now I'm contemplating Singsnap. I've got a free account there, but lately it means nothing because they've been moving all their good songs to members-only. Plus, it's twice as expensive as Myspace membership (only because I got a great deal on Myspace and snagged a membership when it was on sale, nearly 50% off. And when it came time to renew, they gave me the same discounted price! Props to Myspace for THAT, at least!). On the other hand, they make it easy to embed their video player onto websites, making it easier to share than Myspace recordings.

That, however, raises the question of where I would embed such a video-- on my blog, right? Hah. That opens up another can of worms:

I'm really starting to regret moving from Blogger to Wordpress a year ago. The only things Wordpress had that Blogger didn't were:
1) built-in nested comments
and
2) per-post privacy settings.

However, these days, nested comments aren't really useful anymore because hardly anyone comments on the blog itself, and there are simple ways around the privacy settings. Some other disadvantages: I have to actually PAY to customize the theme to my liking, I can't embed anything but YouTube into my posts, and I can't put in JavaScript anywhere in the page. Blogger allows you to do all that-- for free. Sigh. And now my one-year subscription to the CSS editing capabilities is about to expire. I bought it last year on sale-- Black Friday ;-) I think I'm going to hold off on renewing this year to see if they offer the sale price again after Thanksgiving ;-)

Actually, I think I'm going to first re-examine whether or not I even want to remain on Wordpress.com. I know, I know-- I had really hoped that last year's move to Wordpress would be my final one. Seems like I've packed up and hauled off to different blog forums as often as I've physically moved within Santa Barbara. Feels rather flighty, and really-- needs and priorities change, as do the different sites and what they offer. Maybe I should consider registering and hosting a domain name of my own, that way I can change the underlying blog app whenever I feel like it. Hmm, something to think about.

Decisions, decision... any input from you, dear readers?

Things I love (and don't love)

Over 5 years ago, I blogged a list of things I love, in the context of the 5 senses. I thought I'd revisit that list and update it, as well as add a little twist: things I *don't* love.

I love the taste of ripe strawberries, soft-boiled eggs with a sprinkling of salt, peanut butter with Nutella, liverwurst-and-lettuce sandwiches, coffee-flavored ice cream, batter-fried squid, soft, chewy dinner rolls, and crisp bits of tender pork fat that melt in your mouth.

I don't love the taste of ginger, processed coconut, black licorice, beer, black coffee, and most spicy... well, spices.

I love the smell of pages in brand-new books, freshly-brewed coffee, barbecues, freshly-baked bread, and clothes laundered in Tide.

I don't love the smell of vanilla/cocoa butter, most perfumes (because they're too overpowering), vinegar, smoke, and black licorice.

I love the feel of (the outside of) velour clothes, my bed after a long day, baby's soft skin/hair, smooshy pillows, my soft and cuddly stuffed tarantula, and stepping out of the shower onto a freshly-laundered bathmat.

I don't love the feel of clothes tight against my armpits, my unruly hair getting in my face, warm, dry wind, earbuds in my ears, dirty hands (I'm mildly OCD about washing them), jewelry on my hands (especially rings), and not having my neck and shoulders covered by a blanket as I sleep.

I love the sound of the pitter-patter of falling rain while I'm snugly indoors, the bustle of city life, upbeat country music, frogs croaking, my son's giggles, and heels clicking on a hard floor.

I don't love the sound of kids screeching, Santa Ana winds blowing, dogs barking incessantly, Harleys cruising by, and just about anything when I'm trying to sleep ;-)

I love the sight of big city skylines at night, neat and newly-cleaned living spaces, my son's smile, Rottweilers sitting regally, the views of cities from an airplane, and tropical beaches.

I don't love the sight of cluttered spaces, baby drool (not even my own son's), animal abuse, crooked parking jobs, and blatant grammatical errors.


How about you?

Won't Somebody Please Think of the Children!?

A friend on Facebook posted a link to this blog, which has apparently been making the internet rounds. Before reading on, have a gander:

http://nerdyapplebottom.com/2010/11/02/my-son-is-gay/

Back yet? Or did you skip the link? If you did-- oh go on, click it!

Too lazy or link-phobic? Fine, here's the synopsis: when the author-- whose 5-year-old son dressed as Daphne from Scooby Doo-- dropped her son off at their Christian preschool, she was met with horrified looks and backward attitudes from some of the so-called Christian mothers. This blog post was her defiant response against ignorant and bigoted attitudes toward people who don't fit the "norm", whatever that may be, and I enjoyed reading it.

I could really relate to the things she was saying. I bristle when my own mother expresses concern about Todd's choice of playthings-- that boys should be playing with trucks or Legos or other "boy-like" things, not cuddling with stuffed animals the way I did (and still do :-D). Todd does indeed favor the stereotypical "masculine" toys, but even if he didn't-- what's the big deal? If my son enjoys building things, I'll buy him toys that exercise that interest. And if he grew up to be the type of boy who wanted to wear makeup, I would teach him how to put it on properly, same as I would a daughter that age. Why all these gender-specific hangups?

When Proposition 8 was on the ballot here in California, I remember having more than one heated discussion (to put it mildly) with my mother about it. I was shocked to learn that my normally rational, critical mom had bought into much of the anti-gay rhetoric fueling support for the passing of Prop 8. Her highlighted point?

Think of Todd.

Ahem.

To which I respond: I AM!

I don't want him to grow up in a world where he could be treated as a second-class citizen because of his sexual orientation. As the recent teen suicides evidence, this world can still be a harsh and ugly place for someone who doesn't fit the majority "norm". And I want to do everything I can to try to make that world a *better* place for my son, not be a part of enacting laws that make it *worse*.

I think most sane, rational people would agree on the patent ridiculousness of the idea that a 5-year-old boy choosing to dress up as a female character for Halloween indicates that he's abnormal or will "become" gay. I think it would be a ridiculous notion even if that boy were 15 or 25 instead of 5. So I applaud that mother for having a sane and healthy attitude toward her son. If only more parents and influential adults treated children with that sort of love, respect, and thoughtfulness, the world would have a whole lot more healthy, happy, well-adjusted kids.

And isn't that a *good* thing to have?

NaBloPoMo (and a call for suggestions)

It's been nearly a year since I started blogging on Wordpress. I started out strong-- it was the end of November, which meant it was during last year's NaBloPoMo (what is that, you wonder? More about it  in a sec). Which meant it was right around the time I started reading Tabitha's blog, where her daily postings inspired me to try to follow suit. Especially since I was actually *paying* to use Wordpress! As you can tell, I haven't always been successful, and by the time 2010 rolled around, I had dwindled to an average of one post a week, which dropped down to one per month in recent, well, months.

So... what IS NaBloPoMo, you ask? Well, perhaps more of you are familiar with NaNoWriMo, the National Novel Writing Month which takes place every November. A few years ago, a spinoff on it, National Blog Posting Month, was born. Its premise is simple: blog every day for the entire month of November. Yep. 30 days of nonstop blogging. I learned about it too late last year (November was already well under way), but now that it's looming again, I thought I would give it a try. Maybe blogging every day will get me back into the groove of posting more often. Maybe not everyday, but certainly more than once a week!

I've been jotting down ideas for posts that have been swirling around in my head for a while, so I'll have something to write about on days when inspiration simply won't hit.

But what I'd really like is to hear feedback from you (yeah, right-- hardly anyone comments anymore, but hey-- a girl can hope, right?).

What would you like me to write about?

There are 30 days in November, I've got about a week's worth of posts already pre-mapped out in outline form, and I'd really love to solicit suggestions from you. So bring 'em! No matter how serious, how risque, how deep, how shallow, how ridiculous or how silly you think it is. You know better than anyone how much I can ramble off on tangents, no matter what the subject ;-) So-- comment here, post on Facebook, send me an email, send me an IM, talk to me in person!

Here's to November!

Handwriting analysis... or, offline blogging ;-)

Been remiss in posting due to the sheer hecticness of my days, and so am taking a quick break from my "month of sex" theme for something a little different. And less risque!

Tabitha blogged some samples of her own handwriting, and I thought it was a nifty thing to do. So here are my samples. This is the information we were supposed to put on it:

Write down the following, snap a picture (or scan the document), post it, and tag others.

1. Name/Blog Name
2. Right handed, left handed or both
3. Favorite letters to write
4. Least favorite letters to write
5. Write: The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
6. Write in caps:
CRAB
HUMOR
KALEIDOSCOPE
PAJAMAS
GAZILLION
7. Favorite song lyrics
8. Tag 7 people
9. Any special note or drawing

A couple of notes before we move onto the scanned pages:

1. Since I doubt as many as 7 people even READ my blog, I left the tagging open-- if you want to follow, I'd love to see your results!
2. I couldn't decide whether I wanted to do this in print or cursive, so I did both. Therefore, you get 2 images :-)
3. Because it's two pieces of paper, you may have to click on the image to enlarge it enough to read it.
4. My mother always maintained that handwriting deteriorates as you get older. Evidently she's right, because my handwriting has definitely gone downhill in recent years. My cursive used to be a lot neater!

Et voila (clicky):

What I'm most curious about here is how many people will actually bother to take the time to read my old Grab blog post about the song lyrics. It's not a clickable link, so how many of you will actually type out the URL to read more on which parts of the song I like, and why I like them?

Finally, I leave you with an image captured at Dinotown in Canada, June 2007 (wow, has it really been 3 years!?): me performing the truest form of offline blogging. Pen and notepad to jot down memorable notes that I can later transform into whole blog entries.

Strippers: Male or Female?

I've gotten some interesting feedback on my previous post, in which I announce my upcoming collection of sex-related posts. If you haven't stopped by to offer your ideas and suggestions, please do!

Some of my entries will be re-posts of stuff I've written before-- such as this one.

To start it off, I thought I'd begin with a fairly tame (comparatively speaking!) topic: strippers. Specifically, in the male form vs female form sense. This old cartoon from the "Luann" comic strip reflects the post quite nicely:

A long time ago, my friend Lisa blogged about strippers and how she'd prefer to see a female stripper rather than a male stripper. She wanted to know if that made her weird. I thought about it, and I decided that no, she isn't weird and that yes, I agree with her way of thinking.

Now, don't get me wrong-- I can appreciate some good male eye candy as much as the next red-blooded heterosexual female. But when it comes to the fluid motion of a writhing stripper, the female form has a certain elegance that no man can rival. I mean, a woman has all these curves in all the right places, which make her and her dancing easy on the eyes. Women come in all shapes and sizes, and each has unique attributes that can be showcased nicely as she disrobes around the strip pole. A male stripper? Well, he'd better have a six-pack and buns of steel or he isn't going to attract many whistling viewers. (That's not to say that *I* personally am a fan of the muscled, rock-hard body, but the fact is, most women, and hence, most paying customers, are.)

I don't know-- maybe it's the fact that the female body, in all its femininity, is softer and more pleasing to the eyes. Or maybe it's the fact that there's more variety to look at. Maybe this variety allows women to dance in a number of versatile ways and still project sexiness. A man gyrating his hips and tossing his head back in a similar fashion... I dunno, that just sounds silly. It would seem that for a male stripper to project this same smoky sexiness, his movement routine would be more limited than a woman's.

All in all, while I wouldn't be averse to a girls' night out at a male strip club, a trip to a female strip club would suit me just as well.

On a side note-- one of the earlier times that hubby and I were in Las Vegas, we hit a fairly classy strip joint, and one of the women came up to us and offered me-- me! not my husband!-- a lap dance. I politely declined, but in retrospect, maybe I should've taken her up on the offer. Just to see what it entails. Perhaps even learn a few moves of my own. And to be able to tip her nicely for being so sweet and friendly :-)

(original post from Feb 8, 2006 (along with ensuing comments), is here: http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=28049135&blogId=85892940)

A Month of Sex

This month, our pastor is doing a series called "A Month of Sex". So far, the sermons have been run-of-the-mill "save it till marriage" stuff, although our pastor at least offers a more enlightened view in that once you're married, there are no holds barred on your bedroom antics! ;-) Made for a lot of winks and nudges between me and hubby in the theater :-D

Last night I was perusing some of my older blog entries on Blogger and Myspace, and had a good laugh at some of the more risque ones. Granted, at the time, which was the height of my blogging days, the comments sections often ran away with more innuendo and hilarity than the original post, but both were fun to re-read just the same.

So I thought I would likewise start a blog series here with a similar theme-- "A Week of Sex". Or two, depending on how much I wind up writing about. Only instead of making it to a Biblical focus the way it's going on in church this month, I want to write about *anything* related to sex. For example, I've already decided to re-post some of my older entries (many from 3-4 years ago) here, so I've got a few topics, such as strippers (and why I'd prefer to see a woman on stage instead of a man) and adult movies (where I question women's hangups with it), in mind already, as a start.

This is where you, dear readers, come in. Despite what some of you may know about me, I can't come up with all the topics by myself. I need ideas. I need inspiration. I need good blog fodder, and I'm opening this up to your suggestions. I know a lot of you (especially my email subscribers) read this but don't comment, so I'm inviting you out of the woodwork now. What should I write about it? Any suggestions are welcome, at any level of detail.

Don't be shy-- let's make this a concerted effort! :-)

Eating Healthfully and Frugally

Ever since the day I played SAHM a couple weeks ago, I've decided that the kitchen is no longer the alien, enemy domain I had always regarded it as. I enjoyed being inspired by recipes I encountered not only in cookbooks and cooking magazines, but home decorating magazines, Reader's Digest, random blogs and other places on the Web. I enjoyed shopping for wholesome, fresh ingredients while planning those meals. And I enjoyed puttering around the kitchen, experimenting, trying different things, trying new things, learning from my mistakes.

As many busy households are prone to do, we found ourselves ordering takeout far more often than we liked. Instead of the occasional weekend treat, it was starting to become a staple. Not only was that less healthful all around, but it was definitely making a dent in our pocketbook! You wouldn't think it made that much of a difference, but a few dollars here, a few buck there, and it starts adding up! Trust me, I settle the bills every month, I see it all!

Now we're making a more conscientious effort to eat fresh, home-cooked meals as often as possible. And since I've discovered a newfound enjoyment in the process, I thought it might be a good idea to start cataloging some of my experiments. So I started up a food/cooking blog:

http://lycheesilk.blogspot.com

If you're wondering about the name, read the "About" section of the blog to learn more :-)

Chronicling the various culinary adventures was fun enough, if only to log the various things I'd tried, for future reference. Blogging about my newest creations keeps the motivation going. Then I discovered another motivating factor: breaking down the actual cost of each meal. It's amazing how cost-effective cooking at home can be! I mean, it's always been a given that it's cheaper than eating out, but I never truly realized just how MUCH you save. $5-7 for a home-cooked meal that serves all 3 of us (plus usually enough left over for Todd's lunch at school the next day)? You'd have to order solely off the dollar menu at McDonald's in order to get 3 meals out of that amount of money. And we all know how nutritious McDonald's is :-P

This afternoon Todd came home early, feeling ill and running a fever. I had to go home early and work from there while he rested on the couch. And since he would miss his swim lesson that evening, I suddenly had free time to make dinner. This time, instead of planning out recipes and shopping accordingly, I had to make do with what already had in the house. A quick search on the Web for some recipes, and I threw together my own improvisation of barley risotto. Although it wound up more soupy than intended, it still turned out pretty tasty :-9

Here's to more fun with future culinary adventures! And if you have any simple, nutritious, favorite recipes of your own to share, I'd love to hear them!

Bon Apetit!

A Letter to My Blog

Dear Blog,

Ah, how I miss you so. You sit there, looking so shiny and pretty and tempting. Thoughts float around in my mind, sometimes taking root and taking shape, sometimes only for a fleeting moment. Each time, the desire to come here and post them arises. And each time, something more pressing takes my time away, and by the time I find a few minutes to visit you in peace, the moment has often passed. I don't want to come to you without my heart fully in it, you know? I know I vowed to try to spend more time with you, but isn't quality more important than quantity? Rest assured that I miss you just as much as you miss me.

I want to write about the books I've been reading lately. I want to write about how much fun it is to file taxes... and yet how depressing it can be once I've tallied up the final total. I want to write about how much more my loathing of humanity has been reinforced, and how my love for animals deepens. I want to write about aggravating things at work and school. I want to write about silly things, funny things, sad things, thoughtful things.

And yet Father Time hasn't been kind enough to allow me the chance. Especially when microblogging sites makes it easy to share bite-sized updates without too much thought. Still, I wanted to let you know that I haven't forgotten you. Much as I love Tumblr and Twitter, you and your kind have always been my first love. You're always in the back of my mind somewhere. And when I hear about something funny or read something that gets my dander up or experience something interesting, you're always the first thing I think of.

If it makes you feel better, Todd's diary hasn't been getting much love lately, either, and I don't even NEED to be in the right mood to write there! :-)

I know you'll always be there. And you know that I'm here. Here's to seeing you around, blog :-)

Love,
Me

Friday Night Procrastination

I suppose, technically, it's Saturday already. I should be getting ready for bed, but I'm having fun updating my blog layout yet again. Usually I go months before giving the site an overhaul, but since, unlike Blogger, you have to pay to edit the CSS on Wordpress, I figured I'd get my money's worth :-) Although I'm curious now-- what will happen if I don't renew my subscription? Will my edits be reverted to the original theme? Or will they stay, and I simply can't make any more edits till I pay again? I guess I shall find out in November! Anyway, this round of editing went much more smoothly than my last one, partly because I started from an existing theme instead of the bare-bones minimum Sandbox, and partly because at work this week I've been tweaking the look and feel of some of our webpages, using-- you guessed it-- CSS. So I'm a little more familiar with it now.

So I figured, while I was here, that I would write a little something. Or a lot something. I have a tendency towards verbosity. As Lisa puts it: "Why use 10 words when you can use 100?" :-P

Our insurance claim and the business of Allan's car is behind us. The auto shop did a great job fixing the back, his car looks good as new! While it was in the shop, the sheriff who took my report called me to give an update on the case. They found the guy who did it, and although they couldn't place him at the scene of the accident without eyewitnesses (and thus arrest him for drunken or reckless driving), they could at least prove his vehicle was the one that hit ours, and so the insurance carrier on that car would take care of the reimbursement. Well, this week I got a call from USAA-- turns out that the car was not actually insured at the time of the accident! So now they're going after the guy personally to get their money back. I hope they're able to nail him. We're extremely fortunate that we suffered no monetary loss and only slight inconvenience by his actions-- he could've gotten someone killed!

In other news, I conducted my first phone interview at work the other day, and I spent quite a bit of time preparing for it. It was a good learning experience, and I get to do it again next week. I'm definitely feeling more confident about it!

I'm glad things are starting to dry up and warm up after last week's endless rain (though the snow on the mountains made for a pretty sight!). Our apartment, though it gets direct sunlight in the afternoon, stays cold all day. The bathroom gets so cold that one day I noticed the big lotion bottle kept dispensing thinner and thinner lotion. It was almost watery. Thinking it was going bad, I opened it up to investigate-- only to discover that, much like curds and whey, it had separated! I now keep the lotion bottle on the dining room table, where it's warmer. At least the place will stay nice and cool during the summer! Not that it gets very hot here in the summer, anyway.

I've been experimenting with conditioners lately, trying to find the right one. It's amazing how a particular conditioner can yield such beautiful, soft, shiny hair on my husband and son, and yet actually DRY my hair out worse than if I'd used no conditioner at all (Tresemme, in case you're curious). And some conditioners are so weak that despite lathering it on my hair, it does absolutely nothing. What I've found is that 1) I need a really thick, heavy conditioner-- the kind that's almost solid and 2) I always end up going back to Pantene. The cabinet under our sink is now littered with various sample sizes of various conditioners-- not only different brands (Garnier, Dove, Tresemme, Pantene) but also different sub-types of Pantene (Moisturizing, Smoothing, Ice Shine and Breakage Defense). It's easy to experiment with inexpensive, $1 sample size bottles, and I continue my quest for the perfect conditioner! :-D At least I know now what brand to stick to. That narrows it down some ;-)

And now that I've rambled on enough and procrastinated even longer, I shall wrap this up and go to bed. Good night!