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January 31, 2006
A meme a day ...
FBL tagged me. So here we go:
4 Jobs You Have Had In Your Life
This is a tough question. I have had a *lot* of jobs in my life. More than most, I believe. Where on earth do I start?
1. Right out of college, I worked for the Missouri Division of Family Services. After a happy year or so of working with elderly folks, I was forced into the Child Protective Services department because our then governor of Missouri, Kit Bond, wanted to make some political hay by putting children first. Don't get me wrong, the State of Missouri was not watching out for abused and neglected children, and Bond did was needed to be done. I just didn't really want to do that. I was happy working with my old folks, even though one or two of the old men were a little on the forgetful side (I'll never forget Seymour - he would answer his door with his weenie hanging out, and then at least pretend to be embarrassed when I pointed it out).
Working with abused and neglected children was awful. My supervisor was awful, my caseload was horrendous and I quit the day that a crazy lady who refused to let her kids go to school because she was a paranoid schizophrenic and was convinced that all the teachers had sex with the children (though looking at it now, perhaps she wasn't too far wrong) got out a kitchen knife and threatened my life.
2. The day after I quit that job, I went to the local offices of Quik Trip Corporation. Right after quitting the job from hell, I had to convince the interviewer that a woman was indeed tough enough and strong enough to unload trucks, fend off evil doers and balance the books of a convenience store.
I was their first woman hired to work in one of the stores. I was their first woman manager. It was interesting, but they paid quite well for those days, so I put up with the odd stuff. I was flashed numerous times - one guy hid his penis under about 4 or 5 girlie magazines he had put on the counter, and as I was ringing them up, I realized what was going on, picked up a large (huge) wrench and suggested he be on his way. If nothing else, that job provided me with a lot of very bizarre true stories about convenience stores and the people who hang out at them - and yes, there are convenience store groupies.
3. I sold waterbeds for several years. Once again, I was the only woman. Back in the '70s, there were all sorts of misconceptions about women and what we are capable of doing. I got fired from that job by a cocaine sniffing idiot district supervisor. I remember his name was Chuck. About a year later, they fired his ass and they hired me back. I was a manager of one their stores for awhile, but then I got demoted because the guys didn't like doing what a woman asked them to do. I was deemed too bitchy.
4. After being a stay at home mom with Andy, I ended up divorced. I made ends meet by cleaning houses. Oh. My. You learn a lot about people when you clean their house. That's one reason I hesitate to have anyone come and clean my house now. Anyway, as you know now, I have a really interesting job doing technical stuff and I travel all over the place.
4 Movies You Would Watch Over and Over
1. The Princess Bride
2. Monty Python's Holy Grail
3. Any Harry Potter movie.
4. Animal House.
4 Places You Have Lived
1. Creve Coeur, Missouri
2. Kansas City, Missouri
3. Olathe, Kansas
4. Leavenworth, Kansas
4 TV Shows You Love to Watch
3. House
4. NCIS
4 Places You Have Been On Vacation
1. Arizona - Grand Canyon, beautiful Flagstaff, ruins, cool stuff in a hot place.
2. Salisbury, UK. My first trip overseas.
3. Las Vegas, Nevada. Bestest restaurants and shows. Oh, but wait, New Orleans has had great restaurants.
4. San Diego, California. Got to meet lotsa bloggers there!
4 Websites You Visit Daily
1. Day by Day
2. Argghhh!!
3. Ebay
4. Google
4 Favorite Foods
1. Cheese Blintzes with Strawberry preserves, sour cream and a side order of link sausages.
2. Eggs Benedict (only instead of the ham, spinach and artichokes and cheese)
3. Rib eye steak.
4. At the moment, I'm on a sweet potato kick. Go figure.
4 Places You Would Rather Be Right Now
1. Riding one of my horses in the mountains, only in the summer, not in January!
2. Touring Europe.
3. In a pottery class.
4. In bed with John!
4 People to Tag
1. AFSis (via Argghhh!)
2. Pam
3. Triticale
4. Punctilious
Posted by Beth at 8:27 AM | Comments (7)
January 30, 2006
Oh, for goodness sake!
Cindy Sheehan is thinking about running for US Senate against Diane Feinstein.
She seems to be of the impression that Diane Feinstein is a hawk.
I gotta tell you, if California Democrats elect Cindy Sheehan in the primary, they will get everything they deserve.
I have a co-worker, a staunch Democrat in everything but Cindy Sheehan and the War on Terror. He is terribly embarrassed by her anti-war and anti-troop actions. I'm sure he is not the only non-moonbat Democrat who feels that way.
Posted by Beth at 7:39 AM | Comments (1)
January 29, 2006
My Wardian Case
Here is a picture of my Wardian Case with plants in it before I set it up:
Here it is - almost finished:
I am waiting for the moss I bought on eBay to arrive, so the ground is mostly potting soil right now.
Here it is without moss with the top on:
I still want to find some miniature things to put in it - not sure yet what I want.
I did leave the tiny little African Violets in their tiny little pots, and just sank them, pots and all, into the ground.
The little water fall was a Christmas gift from John's sister. It fits in pretty well, I think.
Posted by Beth at 8:52 AM | Comments (12)
Hal the Cat
Hal was very interested in watching me plant stuff in my conservatory:
Posted by Beth at 7:15 AM | Comments (6)
Darn!
I woke up this morning totally exhausted! Unfortunatly, the exhaustion did *no* come from a wild night of raucous monkey sex, but from dreaming that I was running up and down the block - like a zillion times - whoa - my knees hurt!!!
Hopefully, after a mug of steaming hot coffee, I'll be better able to face the day!
Posted by Beth at 5:06 AM
January 28, 2006
Rainy Saturday
It's gonna be a rainy day. Naturally, it can't rain when I'm out of town, or when I'm in town but working - it rains on the weekend!
Actually, I don't mind. I have lots to do today. John bought me my Wardian Case that I spoke of a couple of weeks ago, and I have been scouring eBay in search of miniature plants for it. They have arrived! So .. I will spend the morning building my miniature garden in my beautiful Wardian Case. I will take pictures. I even have a little waterfall that will fit in it.
I know, it seems silly to be so excited about houseplants - but you have to understand. We have 8 kitty cats. They like nothing better than to tear up houseplants and flowers. Once upon a time, before kitty cats came into my life, I had something of a green thumb. I once had many beautiful African Violets that grew so profusely, I had to divide them once or twice a year. But that was then - this is now. I have kitty cats.
Don't get me wrong - I would not give up our feline family for a million houseplants. But, after seeing the Wardian Case that John later purchased for me, I realized that I can have plants again - only they need to be kept under glass. I'm not talking about those old '70s plastic terrariums (which I thought were the coolest things on earth at the time), but glass conservatories.
I found a book
I bought a couple of miniature African Violet plants on eBay, and they arrived yesterday. Oh, my, they are so teeny tiny and precious! I'll have to take a picture of them, also.
Then, John and I need to go shopping to find him a new chair for his desk. The old, nasty, gross, disgusting chair broke last week. John is inconsolable, but I am thrilled! I really hated that chair. It was a light blue fabric that showed every bit of dirt from the cats and dogs and - dare I say it - John. You see, John will go out and work in the yard, and have dirt all over him, and have an urge to blog, so he will come inside, sit down on that nasty chair and type away.
I'm absolutely thrilled that we can go buy him a decent chair today!
And then, of course, I have to go to the barn and clean the horse's stalls. Then I have to do laundry and cook and clean a little.
Posted by Beth at 6:54 AM | Comments (3)
January 27, 2006
That Joel Stein Thing
I know I'm late to talk about this, and with everyone else putting in thier opinion, I was tempted to just forget about it, since I probably don't have a whole helluva lot to add to the commentary.
But then, I went back and read his stupid article again.
The guy admits he is a rich kid who 'did well in school'. Is that an indication that he thinks people in the military did *not* do well in school? Or is he just bragging that he lives the American Dream and doesn't owe the country anything for it? Heck, he even brags that he has never had jury duty.
I dunno. The guy is a jerk - I read some of his past columns, and he appears to be terribly wrapped up in the superficial silliness of so many Southern Californians. He wants to be popular with the "stars", I suspect.
He is right, though, he does not care about or support the troops. He cares about himself. He insults all of us who have ever served in the US Military.
Perhaps it is the attitude of columnists like Joel that have caused the LA Times to lose money and circulation.
Posted by Beth at 7:56 AM | Comments (3)
January 26, 2006
Worried
Between the crazy Iranian President's announcement that " Israel must be wiped off the map" and a terrorist organization (Hamas) winning many , possibly the majority, of seats in the Palestinian Parliament, I'm worried.
Posted by Beth at 5:08 AM | Comments (2)
January 25, 2006
Bad Commercials
So, what TV Commercial do you hate? Which just irks the heckydarn outta ya?
My favorite bad commercial is Amigo - the commercial for the program that will teach you Spanish. If I see that in the morning, I think of museeka all day long.
John and I hate a lot of commercials, and we mute them as quickly as possible - but the damn Amigo commercial just makes me crazy!
UPDATE: I can't believe I forgot about the creepy Burger King commercials. That 'Burger King' gives me nightmares - how creepy - a mask for a face...
Posted by Beth at 5:10 AM | Comments (13)
January 24, 2006
Good Morning
Had to get up early for a 6:00 am conference call with an English client. Hope I was awake enough to make sense!
I'm in Florida this week. Our clients here are great to work with, so it will be a much less stressful week than last week was.
I have the nicest suite at a Hilton Garden Inn. It even has a guest 1/2 bath!
I'll probably never use it, but it is there.
Now, to get ready for work.
Posted by Beth at 5:43 AM | Comments (1)
January 22, 2006
Imagine ...
The screams from the EU, the UN and the Left if the United States of America put into law what The Netherlands has just approved:
Dutch Introduce Exams for Immigrants, Consider Army Drill for YouthsFrom the desk of Paul Belien on Sat, 2006-01-21 20:46
This week the Dutch Parliament voted a bill which obliges immigrants to pass a compulsory exam. The Dutch Parliament is also in favour of a proposal to have troublesome youths disciplined and drilled by the army.From 1 March onwards people who want to settle in the Netherlands (e.g. to join family members or to marry someone living there) will have to pass a preliminary test at the Dutch embassy in their country of origin. In this so-called “integration test” the immigrants have to prove that they have sufficient knowledge of the Dutch language and the geography, history and political system of the Netherlands. The fee for taking the test is 350 euros. Those who do not pass are not allowed to enter the Netherlands. Those who do pass have only taken the first hurdle. After their arrival in the Netherlands they will have to pass a second – more difficult – exam.
The exams are part of a bill proposed by Rita Verdonk, the Minister for lntegration. The Dutch House of Representatives approved the bill on Thursday. The Dutch Senate had done so last month. The Netherlands is the first country to subject immigrants to exams. Last year the Danish government, too, announced plans to significantly curb the flow of immigrants from third-world countries.Dutch Prime Minister Jan-Peter Balkenende’s government of Christian-Democrats and free-market Liberals is also considering other measures. One of these might be to establish military camps to discipline troublesome youths. There are 40,000 jobless youths in the Netherlands, who have left school without degrees. The majority of them is of foreign origin. Many become involved in criminal activities. A majority of Dutch parliamentarians, including members of the Socialist opposition, supports a plan to discipline them in military style.
Italics are mine.
Discuss among yourselves. . .
Hat tip - The Corner
Posted by Beth at 7:59 AM
January 20, 2006
Justice Department
The Justice Department wants to force Google to release records of everyone's searches. Why? To find and prosecute anyone who may be viewing child pornography.
Okay, child porn is evil and bad and rightly illegal. However, what is some child porn purveyer uses tags that do not indicate that the site is porn and Google lists that site when someone is searching for dolls or toys? What if someone clicks on a link that appears to be ok but it ends up being a porn site? I think that has happened to must of us. If that porn site has an underage 17 year old or something on it, does that mean that it's illegal to inadvertently click on a search result that does not appear to be porn? I don't know about this.
I have problems with this kind of broad demand - apparently they want "ALL" search records.
Wouldn't that kind of be illegal search and seizure? Or am I all concerned about nothing? Or, if I want to search for guns, will some justice guy get all hot and bothered and investigate me?
I'd rather they go and investigate foreign nationals who hail from countries that are not friendly to us.
I want us to get rid of terrorists as soon as possible.
I'm glad that Google is saying no.
Posted by Beth at 6:25 AM | Comments (5)
January 17, 2006
Pompous, Pandering Politicians
Damn. I've been trying really hard to stay away from political discussions, but Martin Luther King Day was apparently a day of pandering instead of reflection.
Let's start with Hillary.
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, speaking yesterday at a ceremony honoring the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., compared the Republican-controlled House of Representatives to a plantation where dissent is not tolerated.Source
Her comments, made before a predominantly black audience at the Canaan Baptist Church of Christ in Harlem, drew a harsh response from national Republicans, but black leaders came to her defense.At the ceremony, Mrs. Clinton, the junior Democratic senator from New York, said that Democrats were largely responsible for much of the nation's progress in areas like civil rights and women's rights.
Apparently Ms. Rodham-Clinton has forgotten that there were many, many Southern Democrats who did everything in their power to prevent the Civil Rights Act from passing. Next thing you know, she is going to say that Abraham Lincoln was a Democrat.
Not only that, but she goes on to bitch about the fact that Democrats can't get their way when they are in the minority. Well, la de dah, Ms. Hillary. How do you suppose Republicans feel when the Democrats are in power.
And then, the Mayor of New Orleans, Ray Nagin, is blaming God for Katrina - that is is punishment for our going to war with Iraq. What a loon! That's as nutty as Pat Roberson.
And then, to make things worse, he says that New Orleans has to be a Chocolate City again. Huh? What the heck does that mean? Why should color come into it at all?
And, can you imagine the uproar if a non-chocolate person said "... God is upset at black America also."
"We are not taking care of ourselves. We are not taking care of our women, and we are not taking care of our children when you have a community where 70 percent of its children are being born to one parent."
And lastly, of course, there is the media whore, Gore.
Ugh. He has apparently forgotten that the Clinton Administration did lots of wiretapping.
Well, I have got to get ready for work!
Posted by Beth at 6:35 AM | Comments (2)
January 16, 2006
Customer Service is hard to find
I'm sending this to Midwest Airlines:
SUBJECT: FLIGHT # 61 ON MONDAY, JANUARY 16TH, 2006
This is the 3rd or 4th time I have flown Midwest Airlines. In the past, the flight attendants have always been very nice and friendly. However, today, I’m afraid that my error caused your flight attendant, Suzi, to be quite perturbed with me. I ordered a breakfast and handed her what I believed was $6.00 in bills, 3 quarters and 2 dimes and a nickel. Because I was running late this morning, I did not get to the ATM before my flight, and I truly though I had enough money for the $7.00 meal.
Suzi and the other flight attendant noticed that I had inadvertently given her 3 British 10 Pence coins instead of 75 cents. She angrily rushed down the aisle to my seat (fortunately, I had moved to a seat with no one sitting next to me, so my humiliation was mine alone) and pretty much accused me of trying to cheat her.. I apologized profusely, but she said to me – what are these? 10 cent coins? I did tell her that I had not intended to cheat her, but her facial expression certainly indicated that in her judgment I rated just above street bum – maybe.
Anyway, as my bad luck would have it, I could only find more British coins in my carry on bag. Suzi was quite upset over that 75 cents and said she would pay it out of her own money. I did run to the ATM when I got off the plane and gave $1 to the gate attendant to give to Suzi.
I fly nearly every week for work. I normally take Southwest Airlines because of the friendly, kind people. If I am seventy five cents short for a drink, no one throws a fit. I supposed I’ll continue to fly on Southwest, not Midwest Airlines, because I can’t imagine anyone being so rude over a customer (me) being short 75 cents.
I thought that you should be aware of how you lost a potential regular customer.. Yes, I erred and temporarily cost your company 75 cents, and I apologized profusely to Suzi – but she glared at me for the entire trip. Once this trip is over, I will never make reservations on Midwest Airlines again.
Posted by Beth at 12:05 PM | Comments (3)
January 14, 2006
Tastes can change
When I was a kid, I never liked oatmeal. I also absolutely hated sweet potatoes and lima beans.
I still hate lima beans.
A couple of months ago, the doctor said my cholesteral was getting too high (they changed the limits of acceptable). He wrote me a prescription, but after reading all the possible bad things the drug could do, I thought I'd maybe try changing my diet first. So I tried some Quaker Instant Oatmeal - and surprisingly, I kinda liked it.
Next time I went to the grocery store, I looked at all the different varietis of Quaker Instant Oatmeal. I found this Quaker Oatmeal Supreme, and I tried it, and I absolutely love the stuff. Go figure - I've spent over 50 years thinking I despised oatmeal (except in cookies) and I love the stuff!!
And then ... sweet potatoes??? I despised the damn things - but then last year, at a hotel restaurant in Springfield, Mass, I had a salmon dish with fried sweet potato straws on the fish, and I really liked it.
A year later, John and I went to a comedy club and I ordered sweet potato fries - oh, my, I loved them!
And then, when I was in London right before Christmas, there was a pub on my way back to my hotel that had the British equivalent of cheese fries - big chunks of roasted white potatoes and sweet potatoes with some kind of white cheese melted over them and some kind of mayonaisse based sauce to dip the taters in. Oh, my - it was good!
So now, I take a sweet potato, cut it into big chunks, sprinkle some salt and olive oil over it and bake in the oven at about 400 for 30 minutes. You don't need butter on sweet potatoes, they are creamy and yummy by themselves, but if you feel like dipping the pieces in mayonnaise, well, that's pretty good, too.
I have tried lima beans again, thinking maybe I could stomach them, but no. They still suck. Biting into a lima bean just is icky -squish, if you know what I mean!
Posted by Beth at 8:23 PM | Comments (11)
Carnival of the Recipes #74
The 74th Edition of Carnival of the Recipes is now available at The Common Room.
Yum.
Posted by Beth at 5:30 PM
January 12, 2006
Hey!
My good friend Punctilious would like to remind you that it's time to write down and post your favorite recipe and send it to Carnival of the Recipes:
recipe-dot-carnival-at-gmail-dot-c0m before noon Central time on Saturday.
Do it!!
Posted by Beth at 8:54 PM
January 10, 2006
Do you ever ...
get an idea that you can't let go? A silly thing - like a Wardian Case
The nice thing about being my age is that I can go ahead and just buy one! And next, I'll have to start looking for the miniature plants to put in it.
I think there is a part of me that never really grew up. I was pretty much a tomboy as a child, but I always loved pretending that my model horses were real, and I built miniature paddocks and pastures in the back yard out of twigs and clover chains. I always wanted to build a big Victorian doll
But I figure that crating a miniature garden in a Wardian Case is a little like building a doll house, and might be a bit more acceptable for a grown up woman to do.
Fortunately, I have a wondrous husband who supports whatever I want to try out, no matter how often I decide to try something different!
Posted by Beth at 8:33 PM | Comments (5)
January 9, 2006
Harry Belafonte
Ok, this guy had one big song in his life. Now, he tells Hugo Chavez, dictator of Venezuela, that millions of Americans are rooting for Chavez.
Then he says that George Bush is a terrorist.
I'm sorry, but I think Harry really needs to get some medication to get him out of his delusional stte.
Posted by Beth at 7:52 PM | Comments (3)
Carnival time!
Technogypsy has a Russian Christmas Carnival of the Recipes this week - lots of good stuff!
Posted by Beth at 5:26 AM
January 8, 2006
Airport Blogging
Oh, my - I have a 90 minutes layover, and everywhere I go in the Nashville Airport, I am within earshot of CNN and Wolf Blitzer talking to How Weirdard Dean - who still think the economy sucks, we have lost the war and that no Democrats got any money from Abramhoff.
John - remind me to buy some earplugs before my next trip!
Posted by Beth at 11:52 AM | Comments (2)
The Internet can be a wonderful thing
I got an email from my best friend from high school today. We have not seen each other for probably 30 years. Mostly because I'm a lazy slug and my handwriting stinks and I really hated to write letters. (Our son is lucky - he keeps up with friends via email and IM - I know he would be as bad as I am if it meant getting out paper and pen).
Anyway, her cousin (who grew up down the street from me) came across my blog and my 100 Things About Me post of last January. #16 of 100 things mentions that Nette Harris was my best friend in high school.
So I got an email from my best high school friend. I hope I'll hear from her again soon. I googled her married name and found that she is a Special Education teacher and even found her picture. And she looks just like she did in high school!
Well, I really need to go and pack now. I leave for Ohio at 10:00 am, so we need to leave home around 8:15 or so.
Posted by Beth at 6:44 AM | Comments (3)
Today's Helpful Hint
If packing for yet another trip out of town, it's a good idea to remember to pack your underwear. If you don't, you better have some credit cards with you to purchase more.
Posted by Beth at 6:11 AM | Comments (1)
January 7, 2006
Happy Anniversary, Armorer!
Yippee!
Today is our 8th anniversary! I have the bestest husband on earth!
Thank you, John, for 8 happy years of being married and for a lot more years of loving you!
Oh, and John also hit 1,000,000 visitors yesterday at Castle Argghhh!!!!!!!!! Huzzah!
Posted by Beth at 9:21 AM | Comments (7)
January 6, 2006
Today's Helpful Hint
An easy way to deal with dinner on a Friday is to send your husband an email - ask him what he wants - if he doesn't get around to answering you in enough time for you to prepare dinner, he has to take you out to dinner.
Instant dinner date.
It's so easy!
Posted by Beth at 3:44 PM | Comments (1)
January 5, 2006
Today's Helpful Hint
Fat little dogs make for excellent foot warmers. I use mine when working at home - this way, I can be barefoot, but nice and cozy. It is considered good manners to occasionally pat the fat little dog's head and tell him how good he is.
I also find it helpful to put a nice soft blanket on the ground for the canine footwarmer to snuggle up on.
Once the little fat dog is comfy, carefully slide your bare feet under his warm, fat, furry little body.
It's easy!
Posted by Beth at 9:42 AM | Comments (6)
Good News of the Day
Coffee can greatly reduce the risk of some breast cancers!
"Those women who drank six or more cups of coffee a day on average had about a 75 per cent reduction in the risk of breast cancer," Narod said.
Guess I better brew another pot!
Posted by Beth at 7:30 AM | Comments (2)
Sunset in Florida
You just have to over to Pam's place to see the beautiful picture she took.
It would make a great calendar picture.
Posted by Beth at 6:57 AM | Comments (1)
Bill Gates better change this practice
Apparently, at the request of the Chinese Government, Microsoft MSN has removed a blog written by a Chinese dissident. The blog was hosted in the USA.
There are some reports that MSN Spaces is taking down *any* Chinese language blog with words like "Falun Gong" and "Tienanmen " in them - blogs that are hosted anywhere in the world, not just China.
So, in effect, any Chinese language blog written by a US Citizen that is at all anti-Chinese Government will likely disappear.
I do wonder about Taiwanese blogs - is MSN disappearing them, also?
Posted by Beth at 6:37 AM | Comments (2)
January 3, 2006
I had no idea!
I must have thousands of pictures in various boxes, baskets and drawers around the house. I have always been a pretty artsy/craftsy person, but my job has made it pretty impossible to do those things I love to do - paint, attempting to throw pots on my wheel, stained glass, etc., because of all the travel.
I tried to bring some copper foil and some cut glass pieces with me on a trip or two, but I found that my suitcase was being inspected on every trip - I guess that roll of copper foil spooked them or something, and then I starting missing things from my suitcase - dumb stuff, like shampoo, deoderant, etc., and I am sure it is because they forgot to put it back in the suitcase after inspecting it.
Believe me, it is very boring to be in a city by oneself in the winter. I go to work, go back to the hotel, if I'm good, I might exercise for 30 to 45 minutes (I am schlepping my yoga mat and dvd with me everywhere), if I'm bad, I sit on the couch and watch TV and get on line and vegetate.
So, I hope that perhaps I can bring some of this scrapbooking stuff with me - how do you do this - one page at a time? And I saw some pretty pricey little storage
And I finally figured out what Pam was talking about when she mentioned cutting system things - holy cow, there is so much! If I choose to try that stuff out, I think I would tend towards the Fiskars stuff
And this all started because I want to preserve my Grandmother's First Holy Communion Cards of 1905. I am going to put some of the prettiest in shadowbox frames and quill around the cards. Many years ago, I used to quill around wedding invitations and frame them for wedding gifts. OF course, that was back in the 70's and this time I want to find more formal patterns - nuns and monks used to use quilling to embellish ecclisiastical works - I think it would be quite appropriate to find a copy of one of those old works and see if I can do something like it around my grandmother's holy cards.
I am off today, but I should at least attempt to get something done around the house - like do the bills. Yechhh. So, I'll check back later.
Posted by Beth at 8:22 AM | Comments (4)