Free Books

These are probably not the only books I've gotten for free this month, but I don't feel like hunting down all the past transactions on the different websites and such. So, we'll just say that I've gotten at least 5 free books just this month. I don't normally order this many books in one month, but I did this time because I had a lot of people recommending various books. Four of the five pictured books are self help books (mainly related to family issues). And the one in the middle (this is just a tad ironic) is a book on American Indian legends. I'm a Heinz 57, but more Native American than anything else, closely followed by German (what a combo, eh?).



I've mentioned this before, but it's been awhile. I get most of my books from paperbackswap, but this time around bookmooch had a lot more of the ones I was looking for. Both sites have their own interesting systems (very different from each other), but they're both really cool. Paperbackswap gets more traffic, but bookmooch is international. It's so fun to see which one will have the book I want...or which one will have it first (I have most of my wishlisted books on both sites).

I love free stuff, and being such an avid reader, these sites are two of my very favorites. Of course, it's not entirely free...when someone wants a book from you, you do have to pay shipping. But that's usually no more than a couple bucks. Oh, and on paperbackswap, they have a really nifty box-o-books option where you can swap more than one book at a time. You look at someone else's list of books, pick out a few you like, and make a straight trade, book for book. That option costs a few bucks a year, but it is SO worth it. I made a lot of good trades that way. It's a very nice way to get whole series so that you don't have to use up your credits to get individual books.

Happy reading!

Outdoor Altar

This post was inspired by Dani over at Magickal Mommy. I really enjoyed her post about her outdoor altar, and it reminded me of one of my favorite places to gather for ritual. I have a friend who lives nearby, and we used to get together every now and then for ritual. She has the most beautiful altar in her back yard. I have a few very fuzzy pictures of her altar all decked out for Beltaine in 2005...this is the best one I could find.



Her altar is made out of a log holding up a wooden pedestal, which displays an enormous crystal. During this ritual, we used this as the main altar, and placed all the ritual items around the huge crystal.

I don't have an outdoor altar. The #1 reason being that whenever it's warm enough for me to be doing rituals outside, my back yard is invariably infested with thousands of spiders...and I'm extremely arachnophobic. I do, however, have a lot of little outdoor things here and there that honor the Gods in various ways. I have a couple little stone plaques. One says, "Goddess Dwells Here", and is displayed right outside the front door. Another says, "Blessed Be The Trees", and this one is stationed below the twisted willow tree.



If there were a place where I felt comfortable communing with the Earth in my back yard (without being accosted by creepy crawlies, which would send me screaming across the yard), it would be below this tree. *sigh* Maybe the next home I live in, I will make sure to have a back yard that I can actually enjoy.

Why Parents Drink

A Mother passing by her son's bedroom was astonished to see that his bed was nicely made and everything was picked up. Then she saw an envelope, propped up prominently on the pillow that was addressed to 'Mom'. With the worst premonition she opened the envelope with trembling hands and read the letter.

Dear Mom,

It is with great regret and sorrow that I'm writing you. I had to elope with my new girlfriend because I wanted to avoid a scene with Dad and you.. I have been finding real passion with Stacy and she is so nice. But I knew you would not approve of her because of all her piercings, tattoos, tight motorcycle clothes and the fact that she is much older than I am.

But it's not only the passion.......Mom she's pregnant.

Stacy said that we will be very happy. She owns a trailer in the woods and has a stack of firewood for the whole winter. We share a dream of having many more children.

Stacy has opened my eyes to the fact that marijuana doesn't really hurt anyone. We'll be growing it for ourselves and trading it with the other people that live nearby for cocaine and ecstasy. In the meantime we will pray that science will find a cure for AIDS so Stacy can get better. She deserves it. Don't worry Mom. I'm 15 and I know how to take care of myself. Someday I'm sure that we will be back to visit so that you can get to know your grandchildren.

Love,
Your Son, Paul

P.S. Mom, none of the above is true. I'm over at Dustin's house. I just wanted to remind you that there are worse things in life than the report card that's in my center desk drawer. I love you - call me when it's safe to come home!

Who is this Goddess?

Anyone know? She was in my email. At first, I thought she was Kali.

ETA: I think she's Lakshmi.

Mysterious Skin, and Enchanted

I completely forgot to check in today (well...now it's yesterday). This is going to be another of those quickies. I spent the day doing fun coupon stuff. Went to Albertson's and saved about $40...that was nifty. While I was looking through the paper and clipping coupons, I watched two movies on the computer.

The second movie I watched, Mysterious Skin, I had already watched yesterday. I popped it in the dvd player after the first movie just to have something to watch...and besides, I usually like watching movies more than once. I catch a lot more the second time around.



I first heard about it on a support forum for sexual assault survivors when someone asked what films were healing to watch. This movie was very tough to watch and extremely triggering. But on the other hand, it had some really good acting. I was pleasantly surprised by Elisabeth Shue's performance. I like her as an actress normally, but I always have a bit of an issue with little tics or personal habits (having a hard time describing this one). In all the movies I've seen before with Elisabeth Shue, her speech was always very breathy...every time she said something, she'd empty her lungs before she started talking again. It just struck me as weird*. At any rate, she didn't do that even once in this film. She was very "real", and it was a great role for her. Not the goody-goody she usually plays, but a very likeable character nevertheless.

Ugh, I'm rambling. Anyway, this film probably would appeal to a rather narrow audience. It's very graphic, with numerous sex scenes, some of them violent; the language used is pretty off-the-charts vulgar; and it could be offensive in many other ways. If you're sensitive about pretty much anything, don't watch it. But if you have an open mind, and if you can be emotionally safe while watching, I'd highly recommend it.

The other movie I watched today was much, much more family friendly. I've been wanting to see Enchanted for awhile now because it looked so cute. It certainly lived up to what I expected. I don't really have much else to say about it...I got a few good belly laughs out of it, which was much needed after seeing Mysterious Skin the day before.**



So yeah, it was a good day full of good movies. Oh, I completely forgot, I watched most of The Matrix with Jason while we ate dinner, too. It was a very movie-ful day.

*I think the reason I have an issue with habits like this is that when I'm watching an actor who has the same habit in every movie, it's a constant reminder that this is (for example) Elisabeth Shue, not the character she's playing. Neve Campbell has a similar "breathy" thing she does in all her roles, and I can never get completely into a film she's in. Is anyone else like this?

**Of course, it didn't help much that I went and watched it again right after watching Enchanted, lol.

Am I the only one who isn't able to choose a font size anymore? And if not, is anyone else annoyed by this? I liked getting to choose a font size.

Red Meat

Having experienced a lot of death and gore in my life (I'll explain that in a minute, don't be alarmed), I developed a pretty sick sense of humor. It's pretty common when you work in the fields I have worked in to use dark humor to get through the day. For about seven years, I worked with the elderly and disabled, and for 4 years of that, I also worked with battered women and their children. It can be exceptionally difficult to hear a close friend talk about their impending death, or to walk in on a once vibrant man who can no longer stand on his own and has cracked his head open. I'm going to cry if I keep thinking about it (I miss those guys so much), so I'll just move along.

One of my favorite sources of dark humor is Red Meat comics. My friend, Gloria, introduced me to them when she came out to Oregon for a visit. She brought a few of these comic books with her. If you don't enjoy dark, sometimes demented humor, you're not going to want to click that link above. But if you're like me...you'll get a few good laughs out of it. Click on the dude who looks like Steve Buscemi, and you'll be transported into a whole new world, full of "humor that snaps your funny bone". Enjoy!

Homemade Baking Mixes

I borrowed this book from my co-worker awhile back...I forget what it was called, but she's had this book for 25 years, and it is absolutely the most awesome book I've ever seen (ok, there are others just as awesome, but maybe this is the most awesome cook-type-book). It's a huge book full of recipes for making your own groceries at home. I'll probably post various things from it from time to time, but for today, I decided to post the baking mixes section (wish I had the stupid power cord for my scanner, I'd just scan the pages and post the picture...oh well).

BISCUIT AND BAKING MIX (like Bisquick)
8 3/4 cups flour (I used wheat flour, but wouldn't recommend it...maybe half white and half wheat, but don't use all wheat, k? Just not good...)
1/3 cup baking powder
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp. salt
2 cups vegetable shortening

In a very large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Use a pastry blender, or two knives, or your fingertips to cut in the shortening, 1 cup at a time, until the mix looks like coarse meal. Put in a covered container or plastic bag. Store at room temperature for about 3 months. For longer storage, place in freezer. To measure mix for use, lightly spoon it into a measuring cup; do not pack; level with a spatula.

BISCUITS
Spoon 2 cups of the above mix into a bowl. Make a well; add 1/2 c. cold milk, all at once. Working quickly, stir vigorously with a fork just until dough follows fork around the bowl - this should take 30-40 seconds. Turn dough onto a lightly floured board and knead gently for another half minute (about 10 folds) to remove stickiness. Roll or pat dough out to 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Dip a 2-inch cutter or an inverted glass tumbler in flour; cut dough straight down - no twisting - to form biscuits.

For soft biscuits, place dough rounds close together in a shallow, ungreased baking pan; for crusty biscuits, place the rounds 3/4 inch apart on a cookie sheet. Prick biscuit tops with a fork. If you wish, brush tops with milk or melted butter. Bake in an oven preheated to 450F for 10-15 minutes. Makes about 12 biscuits.


DROP BISCUITS
Increase milk to 2/3 cup. Do not knead. Drop dough from a teaspoon onto a well-greased cookie sheet. Bake as directed.


CHEESE BISCUITS
Add 1/3 cup grated cheese, any flavor, to dough.

ONION BISCUITS
Add 1/4 cup chopped, sauteed onions to dough.


HAM-BACON BISCUITS
Add 1/3 cup crisp bacon bits or 1/4 cup very finely chopped cooked ham to dough.

PANCAKES
In a mixing bowl, combine 1 1/3 cups milk and 1 egg. Add 2 cups of lightly spooned baking mix; beat smooth with an egg beater. If you wish, fold in 1/2 cup blueberries or 3/4 cup sliced apples. Drop mixture in 1/4 cup measurements onto a hot, lightly greased griddle. Makes 10 4-inch pancakes.

SHORTCAKES
Use a fork to lightly beat 1 egg in a mixing bowl; add 1/2 cup milk, 3 tablespoons sugar, and 3 cups of lightly spooned baking mix. Stir quickly with a fork to moisten, about 30 strokes. Turn onto a floured surface and knead well, 8 times. Roll out dough 1/2 inch thick. Using a floured cutter or inverted glass tumbler, cut dough into an equal amount of 2 1/2- and 3-inch rounds. Brush a larger round with melted butter and place a smaller one on top of it. Repeat until you have 5 or 6 double shortcakes. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet, gently prick tops with a fork; butter them if you wish. Bake in a preheated 425F oven for 12-15 minutes.

QUICK MEAT OR CHICKEN PIE
Pour 4 servings of canned or homemade beef or chicken stew into a buttered casserole dish; bake at 425F for about 10 minutes. Spoon 1 cup of baking mix into a bowl, make a well, and, all at once, pour in 1/3 cup of milk. Stir vigorously with a fork until moistened. Drop by teaspoonfuls on top of the heated stew. Bake 20-25 minutes more, then serve.

Unfavorite Things: Mother's Day

First, let me say that I don't dislike Mother's Day by itself. Second, before I get into what makes Mother's Day one of my Unfavorite Things, I should warn you, this is probably going to get a bit emotional. I'm just going to lay it all out here.

I was just kind of happily moseying along, minding my own business, not thinking about my estranged mother, when all of a sudden, everyone and their...well...mother...started talking about Mother's Day all at once. I've been doing so well in this mother-less state of mind...it was rude to jolt me out of it. Not that I can fault anyone...mothers do deserve their own day to be honored, cherished, pampered...I desperately wish I could do these things for my own mother. And it's not that she doesn't deserve it. By virtue of the fact that she willingly shared her body with me for nine whole months, went through the ordeal of labor (which I've seen twice, and I know it doesn't exactly tickle), and the fact that I survived my childhood (barely), well those are all the requirements for motherhood, and therefore, she deserves to be honored, cherished, and pampered.

I was going to explain why I can't honor my mother this year on Mother's Day...but those whose mothers are Narcissistic will "get it" without explanation, and those whose mothers aren't...just won't. No matter what I say, the response would be, "well, did you try _____? I'm sure she loves you. She couldn't have meant it that way." Yeah, she did. Trust me. I grew up with this woman, I know what she did when she had me alone, when she knew no one would ever find out. I don't have to explain it. Besides...I'm just not in the mood to revisit all my childhood trauma right now. Just a little chunk is all I can handle today.

This will be the first Mother's Day in my entire life that I will not at least make some sort of attempt to acknowledge my mother's motherhood. At this point in my life, my lack of communication with my family is necessary. I'd like to think that I will one day be able to have some sort of relationship with them, and still be able to keep myself safe...I just haven't figured out how to do that yet, and right now, I don't have the emotional energy to deal with unsafe relationships. So, as much as it pains me, I'm going to have to skip right over this Mother's Day without so much as a howdy do to my own mother.

This must seem very confusing. I want so much to talk to my mom, to love her, to hold her, to be in her presence...and yet, I'm fuming angry with her, can't stand her, don't want anything to do with her, and cringe at the thought of my phone ringing and seeing her number pop up. I would love nothing in the world so much as if I could give my mom a Mother's Day card and mean every word of it from the bottom of my heart...but I also know that no matter what I say, it will be used against me. (I gave my mom a card once because she was really down on herself, and I was trying to make her feel better...she turned every word around until it was so twisted and deformed that my original message was unrecognizable...and she convinced my dad that I had given her the card just to tell her what a horrible person she is. I still don't even know what to do with that information...how do you react to something like that? This was years ago, and I'm still at a loss about it.)

So, if this seems confusing...well, it is. During the holidays, I was angry that my mom didn't even bother TRYING to call me. However, if she had tried, I wouldn't have answered, and I would have been angry that she had violated my boundaries after I specifically asked for no contact. Nothing makes sense anymore when it comes to my family. Not that it ever did...but at least the dysfunctional, abusive, narcissistic, crazy patterns of my youth were consistent (well, they were inconsistent, but I could count on the inconsistency, as much as I could count on the dysfunctionality, and everything else).

My point to all this is that this Mother's Day is weighing heavily on me. Just thinking about this upcoming holiday is difficult. I wish I could just move to some foreign country where they don't celebrate Mother's Day...just until it's over. I'm glad everyone else is honoring their mothers this year...I just can't handle being reminded every day for the next few weeks that I'm not honoring mine.

Productivity

These days, productivity is rare for me. I've had some fairly major back pain issues for the last few years. I refuse to take medication for it unless I absolutely need it because when my pain is dulled, I can't tell how bad it is, and I continue to put more and more strain on my back, which just makes it worse.

Also, I've had some minor depression issues all my life, and I've been in "that" mode for a few months (maybe the winter weather affected me more than I thought it did). So, it has been increasingly difficult to have those productive days.

I have often sat and wistfully dreamed of the days when I could clean my whole house in one day...now I can't mop the floors. Or the days when I could make it to the top of Pilot Butte...I couldn't even make it from the parking lot to the foot of the Butte these days. I dream of the day (some distant, foggy day far in the future) when I might be able to do these things again.

Yes...I dream of mopping and hiking...two things I loathe, to be truthful, but I'd like to have the OPTION to do those things.

So, yesterday was a bit of a shock to me. I spent almost the entire day being productive. What changed, you ask? Well, my back has been hurting non-stop for days. It didn't matter if I was sitting, standing, bending, scrubbing...it just HURT. So I thought, well, if it's going to hurt no matter what I do, I may as well just suck it up and get moving. I felt like I had been run over by a tank by the time I fell into bed last night, but I was proud of myself in a way that I haven't been in over a year. This list may look puny to those of you who lead less sedentary lives, but allow me my pride...here's what I got done yesterday:

I rode on my "new" exercise bike...granted it was only a few minutes, but a few minutes is better than zero minutes.

I cleaned the entire kitchen, aside from the floor. It needed it, too. The sink is empty of the 4 days of dishes that had built up, the faucet and porcelain have been shined, counters cleaned (except a few spots), stove scrubbed. I cleaned and cured all my frying pans, AND my teapot (can anyone tell me how on Earth that thing gets so filthy every week? It's covered in grime an inch thick, and all I use it for is water! I think I need to store it on the other side of the kitchen...it picks up too much grease from cooking).

Oh yeah, and I actually cleaned the kitchen three times. Once for the big mess, and twice more after cooking and making a mess. It had better stay clean, I tell ya! (Had a little chat with hubs, and myself, to say that dishes are to be washed and promptly put in the dishwasher, not built up over days, and if you're going to cook for yourself, you're going to wash up your own dishes and clean up after yourself...I'm worse at this than he is, so I gave myself a much sterner talking to...heehee.)

I did all the laundry, which is huge. In the last few weeks, I've been getting most of the laundry done on Wednesday...to the point where I just have one last load in the dryer, and I just have to fold that and put everything away...and then I peter out. Well, last night, I didn't peter out (or, more accurately, I was already petered out by the time I woke up yesterday, so I just sucked it up and did it anyway). I even washed my blankets, since they were getting too heavy and warm. Hopefully that wasn't a mistake, since the weather is now cooled off again.

I cleaned the bathroom...counter, litter box, toilet (easy peasy, since I do the "swish" part of Flylady's swish and swipe at least every other day, so it wasn't that dirty to begin with), and the floor.

Organized cupboards, fridge, freezer, and a bunch of other stuff

Made bread

Made fudge

Wrote two blog posts...one about previously mentioned fudge, and one about cleaning supplies (which had to be edited about 15 times because I kept messing up...jeez).

Seems like there's more, but if I think of anything, I'll come back and add. I think that's enough bragging for now anyway. ;-)

Know what the best part is, though? That doesn't leave me a lot to do this weekend. Might have to find something fun to do with my spare time...

Easiest Fudge In The World

I have my mother in law to thank for this recipe. It's awesome. All you need is a bag of chocolate chips, a can of sweetened condensed milk, a double boiler or something similar, and a pan to put the finished fudge in.



Now, being domestic doesn't come easily to me. I've always had to work at it. Not that I don't love my domesticity...I'm just not a natural. So, just in case someone like me runs across this blog, I'm going to show every single step...even how to use a double boiler. Besides, this post would be so short if I didn't explain every step. This recipe is insanely easy.

So, step 1, fill the pot 1/2 to 3/4 full of water.



Then, put the double boiler (or another pan, whatever you've got handy) in the first pan, making sure the double boiler is sitting in the water, but the water isn't spilling out of the pan.



Dump in the chocolate and the milk.



Turn on the heat, and in a couple minutes, your chocolate will start to melt.



Give it a good stir every minute or so. It takes maybe 10 minutes to melt it all together.



When it's all melted, pour it into a pan to cool.



Put it in the fridge, and you'll have some delicious fudge in a half hour or so. I like to embellish it when I have stuff...add nuts, marshmallows, butterscotch chips, whatever tickles your fancy. This time, we're just having plan ol' fudge. Enjoy!

Homemade Cleaning Products

I try to keep my house as environmentally friendly as possible. Some of these aren't as Earth-friendly as I'd like, but it's an improvement.

CHEAP "FEBREEZE"
Take an old spray bottle (I used the leftover Febreeze spray bottle), fill it half way with fabric softener, and fill it the rest of the way with water. This is the only thing I buy fabric softener for, since I use vinegar in the rinse cycle. I buy the phosphorous free softener.

DISH SOAP
3 tbsp liquid castile soap
2 cups warm water
2 tsp. vegetable glycerine
2 tbsp. vinegar
My favorite thing about making dish soap (this will show you what a dork I am) is putting in the first three ingredients, mixing them up, and then pouring in the vinegar. It's way cool. All the ingredients are clear, right? You've got crystal-clear, water-looking stuff in a jar...and then you pour in even more clear stuff, but it looks like you just poured in creamer...it's way nifty. (This coming from a chick who loves lava lamps, so take that for what it's worth.)

LAUNDRY SOAP
1/2 cup liquid castille soap
1/2 cup borax
1/2 cup washing soda
Put these in a gallon jug, fill the rest of the way with warm water, and mix it up. I also like to add some shredded fels naptha (not much, though...it makes the soap clumpy). And I've been putting a teaspoon of seventh generation laundry powder in the wash to give it that extra kick, and it works wonderfully. I use a downy ball with vinegar in it for the rinse.

On a side note here, I used to use just plain baking soda in the wash (did that for about a year), and aside from the cost, it worked fabulously. Going through all my trials and errors with making laundry soap, I've often contemplated just going back to the baking soda days. But since I started adding in that teaspoon of commercial soap, I finally found a formula that works the same as the baking soda. And it's cheaper.

ALL PURPOSE CLEANER
2 parts water
1 part vinegar
Yep, that's it. Put it in a spray bottle or mop bucket, and off you go.

I've got plenty more where that comes from. I actually printed out a whole book of recipes for different things that I'll pull out when one of these won't do the job I need done.

And now, I'm off to clean the house...

Menu Planning Again

Oh, this saving money thing completely rocks. In case anyone's wondering, I don't make my menus on a set schedule. Generally, I wait until payday, after paying bills (so that I know if my budget is off), and then whenever I have time. Well, I had the time today. (I only worked 1 hour today, and I worked from home). This time, I'm going to show you my menu and my shopping list. I only planned 28 meals this time because I ran out of ideas. But it won't matter, we'll have plenty. Also, we were out of town quite a bit and Jason is now working nights, so a lot of the food I planned for last month never got cooked. About half the menu is being carried over from last month as a result. Without further ado:

KABOB'S
Stew meat (have)
Mushrooms
Peppers
Onions (have)
Tomato

CHICKEN ALFREDO
Sauce Mix (I looked up a recipe for making my own sauce mix)
Pasta (have plenty, but I'm buying more with double coupons at Albertson's today, making them free)
Chicken (have)
Veggies (I just put random veggies with this meal, whatever sounds good...we have some frozen veggies from when the Steam Fresh veggies were on sale, and I got them for 50 cents each)

ALFREDO SAUCE MIX PACKETS
Dry milk (have)
Parmesan
Dried onion (have)
Garlic powder (have)
Salt (have)
White pepper

SPAGHETTI
Pasta (have)
Sauce mix packet (have)
Tomato Paste (have one but will need 3 more)
Meatballs (we have some of these, and might be able to get more free...if I can't get them free, we'll do without)
Veggies (have)

CHICKEN CURRY
Chicken (have)
Curry (have)
Coconut milk (have one can, need one more)
Rice noodles (have)
Spring rolls (we like a certain kind of veggie spring rolls...we have 2 boxes, but will need more)
Oriental veggies (we have enough for one meal, but we'll need more)
Soy sauce (have)

ENCHILADAS (have a meal kit)
Beans (have, will make a big pot of refried beans)
Cheese
Sour cream (have)
Veggies (have)

CHICKEN STRIPS AND FRIES
Chicken (have)
Potatoes
Bread crumbs (have)
Condiments (have)

CHILI AND CORNBREAD
Kidney beans (have)
Dried veggies (have WAY too much)
Chili Seasoning (if we don't have a packet, we have the spices)
Onion (have)
Diced tomatoes (have)
Cornmeal (have)

RAVIOLI
Frozen pasta (have)
Spaghetti or Alfredo sauce (whatever I'm in the mood for, and we have on hand...we have plenty of both)

BURGERS
Patties (have veggie burgers)
Buns
Condiments (have)
Lettuce, tomato, onion (have onion)

TUNA CASSEROLE
Pasta (have)
Tuna (have)
Cream mushroom soup (have)
Peas

CORN CHOWDER
Potato soup (have)
Corn (have)
Evaporated milk (have)

SOUP AND SALAD
Tomato soup (have)
Salad (we have some, but we'll need to grab more whenever we want this meal)
Dressing (have some, but will need more)
Crackers

CHOW MEIN
Chow Mein noodles (have)
Rice (have)
Bean sprouts (have)
Soy sauce (have)
Chicken (have)
Veggies
Sauce packet (have)
Spring rolls

MEATLOAF AND POTATOES
Ground turkey (have)
Ketchup (have)
Bread crumbs (have)
Egg (have)
BBQ sauce (have some, might need more)
Onion soup mix (have)

We'll be having multiples of a lot of those, so it adds up to 28 meals total. Here's the grocery list I have so far:

Fresh mushrooms
Bell peppers
Tomatos
Parmesan
White pepper
Cheese
Potatoes
Ranch dressing
Burger buns
Peas
Spring rolls
Oriental veggies
Crackers

That's it. For the whole month. I haven't looked through my master list yet, so I'm sure I'll add a few things, but I'm pretty well stocked up on the regular items. Did you see how much stuff I already have on hand??? Wowza. And that's not even including canned fruits and veggies, snacks, etc. I rearranged the cupboard this afternoon to make more room, and holy cow we have a lot of food. Time to add some shelves!

Live Music

I LOVE live music so much. Where I grew up, we didn't have many concerts easily accessible, so the only live music I got was hometown bands and neighbors who play a little guitar and sing too loud when they're partying and drunk. I still prefer that type of completely un-polished live music over typical concerts. But in recent years, I have finally had the opportunity to see some real concerts, and they have each been an experience to remember.

I've seen Gaia Consort live three times.

The first time was at the Faerie Festival in 2006, and then I saw them again at the Faerie Festival in 2007.

I don't have any pics of the last time I saw them, which was at a grange hall in front of a small audience. (FYI, they give away their music...every single song of theirs is available to download for free from the link above.)

I also got to see Kan'nal at the Faerie Festival. Granted, I haven't seen much live music, but I don't think anyone could top these guys for their live shows. I'm at a loss for words to describe what it's like listening to them play...there just ARE no words.

Last October, I went to see Apocalyptica with my friend Nancy and her boys.

And last night, I went to see Judgment Day. I was so excited to see these guys were coming to Oregon, but man, this was BAAAAAAD timing. I didn't think I'd be able to go, but Shannon gave me a late birthday present of $20...and you know what folks? I figured I'd better MAKE that $20 stretch into enough for tickets (it didn't, but the extra $16 was worth it...I didn't want to go by myself).

(Oh, and these guys have made their first album available for free download, too. If you can't find it on their site, linked above, let me know and I'll hunt down the blog post for ya.)

30 Second Bunnies Theater

I love these. Here are a few of my favorites:

Chili Rerun

Still whittling down those huge posts. I think this is the last one, but I'll have to check.

Ok, now on to the chili. Since I messed around with this recipe so much, I'm not going to put the actual recipe up, I'm just going to explain what I did. I soaked enough beans last night to make both recipes (the other was Cabbage Steup), so I threw in the beans, dried veggies (the ones I'm using up), a packet of chili seasoning (or you can use cumin, pepper, chili powder, and salt), and one onion before my first picture was taken:
Then I added 2 cans of diced tomatoes:
And some water (about a cup, give or take), mixed it all up, and set it to cook, too (should cook for 6-8 hours):
This recipe could easily be doubled even in my little crock pot...I just keep forgetting to actually do it.

I forgot to mention, we're "mostly" vegetarian, so instead of ground beef, I'll be adding TVP to the chili later on. You can add ground beef or whatever meat you want to this. The recipe I used that had ground beef in it was not for the crock pot, so I don't know whether you should add raw ground beef at the beginning, or cook it separately and add it at the end.

Thanks to Casey for letting me know I need to explain what TVP (Textured Vegetable Protein) is. Have you ever seen those "veggie crumbles" in the grocery store freezer section? Morningstar farms has them in a green bag. They are YUMMY! And they are made from TVP. But you can also buy TVP in the bulk section and flavor it yourself.

The chili is done! Yippee! We decided to have the chili over baked potatoes with some cheese, and it is GOOOOOOOD. Funny, though...I forgot to add the TVP...oh well, it's still delish!

Cabbage Steup Rerun

Continuing on with the whittling down of enormous posts, I'm breaking down my Crock Pot post into the two recipes I blogged about.

Cabbage Steup (it's kinda like stew, and kinda like soup...)

32 oz. vegetable broth (or chicken broth)
1 medium or large cabbage, chopped
2 - 28 oz cans or 1 - 56 oz can of chunky tomato sauce
28 oz water
14 oz can kidney beans, drained
1 can sliced carrots, drained
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
1 can cut green beans, drained
1 6 oz. can tomato paste

Optional ingredients:
3-4 chicken breasts
3-4 medium/large potatoes

Add broth, cabbage, tomato sauce, and water to a large crock pot (you need the biggest crock pot possible - I think mine is 6 qt. - or two smaller crock pots) (add potatoes and chicken at this time, too). Cook in crock pot until cabbage is 3/4 cooked (looks somewhat transparent). Add remaining ingredients and salt, pepper, garlic, and bay leaves and cook for another 1-2 hours or until cabbage is soft (and chicken and potatoes are cooked).

Now, I personally do it a little differently. I apologize that I didn't get pictures from the beginning, but I didn't think about it until I already had a few ingredients in the pot. So, here's what I did. First, I prefer to not use canned stuff if I don't have to, so I soaked some dry kidney beans over night, and put a couple cups (give or take) in the crock pot. I also have this enormous stockpile of dried vegetables that I like to throw in everything so that I can use it up. I also add an onion. So, here's the cabbage steup that far, along with the first half of the cabbage:
Now it may not look like there's a lot of cabbage in there, but when you add in the second half, it nearly fills up the crock:
I also add raw carrots at the beginning instead of canned (and I'd put in raw corn and green beans, too, if I had them):
And of course, I didn't have tomato sauce (I could have sworn we had a couple cans, but whatever), so I just used 2 cans of diced tomatoes and 2 cans of tomato paste:
I also didn't have any broth, so I used vegetable bouillon cubes and added some water. So, once everything is in the crock, mix it up as well as you can without spilling stuff all over (because at this point, it's VERY full), and set it to cook:

Aaaaaaaaand, here's the finished steup! I haven't broken it down yet, but it will make at least six meals.
We ended up adding noodles to it this time. Very yummy.

Garage Saling

Ok, so I haven't been to a garage sale in years. I'm living vicariously here, people. Work with me.

I talked to Shannon earlier, and she was telling me all about her fabulous garage sale finds. I'm jealous. We might scrape by this month, if we're lucky, so to think about having that extra $20 to spend on cool stuff at a yard sale, garage sale, or even a thrift store, is the stuff of my dreams right now.

Then, I'm looking through the recent posts for the blogs I subscribe to, and I saw this one. Oh man...that link went into an email to Shannon faster than you can say "way cool!". I love the monkeybox blog. Window shopping/vicarious living at its finest. *sigh*

Bein' Lazy

Oh my, I have been such a lazy bones lately about my blog. Posting reruns...psh, what's wrong with me? But, there is something to be said for laziness. I don't know if any of you do this, but I have "pajama days". I don't get out of my pj's all day long. I used to plan a day every week to do this. That day was always Saturday. I would pop in Mystery Science Theater 3000 (need to do an entry about that, too), which my dad would video tape for me every week since I hate tv and refused to pay for it...and during the commercials, I would rush around the house cleaning. By the end of the day, I had gotten my exercise (running around cleaning, up and down the stairs to do laundry, and of course, laughing my buns off...literally), AND had a nice, relaxing day to boot!

Maybe part of the reason I've been taking so many "pajama days" lately is because I don't plan them anymore. It was much easier to do when I was single, had my own place, and didn't need to schedule my activities around another person. I keep trying to get back into a routine, and I just kind of putter along, and eventually my engine dies...again...

Man, this is turning out to be a depressing blog entry! It's not intended to, I promise! The point is, I love being lazy sometimes! Just for giggles, here are my favorite clothes to wear on my pj days:
(I know, I know...my pictures are horrible...but unless I can get Shannon to start taking my pictures for me, they're just going to keep on sucking.) On the left are my blue plaid big dog pj pants, which have an enormous rip right down the outside of the left thigh, and I just don't care...and on the right is a tank top I've had for right around 10 years. Do you ever have those clothes that you just don't understand how they're still around after so many years of hard use? This shirt is one of them. This is one of my favorite pieces of clothing, so I've worn it - and washed it - thousands of times. In the Summer, I practically live in this shirt. And it does not have a single hole in it, it's not faded, and for some reason, it fits me perfectly whether I'm a size 16 or somewhere pushing 30 (all of which I've been since owning this shirt).

Another thing I really like to do, if I'm taking a "true" pajama day (which is always topped off by some quality self-care time) is taking bubble baths! A few years back, my brother in law gave me this awesome thing:

Now, this nifty light box has got to be one of my very favorite things. It lights up in various patterns, and it plays four different soothing melodies. I like to have this playing while I'm in the tub, and maybe have a few candles burning, too. And some incense. Before my genius brother in law gave this light box to me, I just had candles and Lenny Kravitz. Not that candles and Lenny Kravitz are bad, mind you...but this thing is just so cool, and it remains cool after 2 1/2 years of use.

After my fabulous bubble bath, I usually end my lazy days by giving myself a facial, painting my nails, or shaving. [Shaving? Yes, shaving.] My legs usually look like an overgrown forest, and I normally don't care. (I blame it on being a hippie-ish sort of chick, but really, I just hate shaving and don't care what people think of my fuzzy legs.) So, on those rare occasions when I do shave, it's always a treat, and I try to make it special by using some sort of yummy smelling lotion, or (preferably) some Earth Dragon Herbals stuff. (I tried finding a link, but apparently the site has been taken down. Due to the economy, and various unfortunate circumstances, I believe the business has gone under. Poo.)

Oh, and the very BEST part of my lazy pajama days? Going to bed whenever I darn well please...which usually means that this is my first whole day off. The next day, I'll get dressed and go buy car parts or pay bills...but that first whole day off...it's gold, if I use it right.

Vanilla Syrup Rerun

This recipe is from the same post as the Pumpkin Bread.

Aaaaaand, last but not least (and not the least of what I did today), I made vanilla syrup! My mother in law gave me these bottles of syrup that I've been using in my coffee. I knew that once they were gone, I was going to miss them terribly. My coffee has been so yummy lately! So, I looked up how to make syrup. I'm not a big sugar fan, though, so we have no sugar in our house. I wondered if I could make it with splenda? I have heard bad things about splenda, but we have tons of it, so why not use it up, eh? So, I made the syrup just like I would with sugar...twice as much splenda as water, in a pan. The splenda completely dissolved in the water without even heating it. But it seemed rather thin, and had a funky after taste. So I decided to try adding some vegetable glycerine, which is very sweet. It didn't make it any thicker, but it helped with the after taste. I used my homemade vanilla extract (2 tsp), boiled the syrup for a couple minutes to burn off the alcohol, and it is FABULOUS! Sooo much better than the storebought stuff! Here's the finished product:
Cheap, easy, SUPER yummy, and easy to store in the bottles I already had. I like that. :-)

After having used this syrup a few times, I'm finding that it still has a funky aftertaste. Not bad, per se, just...not the same as regular vanilla syrup. I might experiment with other sweeteners besides splenda, but until I do, I'd have to recommend using plain ol' sugar for this recipe.

Pumpkin Bread Rerun

I wrote a few posts awhile back that were rather cluttered, with multiple topics. I've decided to spread them out into separate posts to make them more easily searchable. So, here's the pumpkin bread recipe from this post.

Ok, now to something a bit yummier. I made pumpkin bread today! Now, I mentioned a long time ago that I like to make jars of stuff to give people every year. The pumpkin bread was from one of those jars. I love the leftovers as much as I love the gifts! They always come in handy, and give me lots of new recipes to use. Sometimes, I'll make up extra jars during the year so that I'll have quick, easy recipes on hand. Here's a picture of the first jars I ever put together:
This one was green and yellow split pea soup. Super easy, super cheap, and makes a HUGE pot of soup. Anyway, I've had these jars of pumpkin bread in the cupboard for awhile, and the only time I ever make it is around Harvest time, if I'm assigned cakes and ale for a ritual...which...well...hasn't happened in a long while, beings that I'm very super duper extra solitary right now. Which means, I haven't made pumpkin bread in ages. I've had the jar sitting on the counter for a week, so I FINALLY went for it today! Here's the recipe:

Quick Pumpkin Bread

2 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. packed light brown sugar
1/2 c. raisins
1/2 c. chopped pecans or walnuts
1 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

1. Layer ingredients attractively in any order in 1-quart food storage jar with tight-fitting lid. Pack ingredients down slightly before adding another layer.
2. If gifting (or if desired), cover top of jar with fabric, attach recipe tag with raffia or ribbon.

Recipe Tag:
1/3 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
1 c. canned pumpkin (I save and freeze my leftover Samhain pumpkin ever year, just for this recipe)
1 jar Quick Pumpkin Bread Mix

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray (I didn't have any...used olive oil, worked fine).
2. Beat butter in large bowl with electric mixer until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in pumpkin until well blended. Add contents of jar; stir just until blended. Pour into prepared pan.
3. Bake 50-55 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean (mine took 65 minutes, but I had too much liquid in my bread...it came out fine, though). Cool in pan on wire rack 15 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely on wire rack. Makes 1 loaf.

And here is the finished product:

Easy Bakeware

Have you been getting the Easy Bakewear pans for free? I don't know how to do banner links, but this blog has a banner right up at the top that will take you to the web site. So far, I've ordered two pans. I've recieved one of them, and it's quite nifty. But that's not why I'm blogging about this.

BUYER BEWARE!!!

You'll get your free bakeware all right...but you'll also get a bill for $14.95 for something else. If you're the type, like me, who trusts that everything is as good as it looks, you might want to put that whole trust thing on hold for a few minutes. When you sign up for the $1 shipping, a bunch of stuff pops up that tells you that if you sign up for the $1 shipping (effectively making your bakewear $1, which is a screamin' deal), you are agreeing to sign up for some worthless thing that does nothing for you, for which you will be charged monthly, blah blah. You have 7 days to cancel your membership. So, if you do order one of their pans, I'd recommend putting in your order and going right straight to the phone to cancel the worthless whatever you call it thing that charges you for nothing.

What? I'm not angry. Why would you think that? I'm totally fine about the fact that I only have a few bucks til payday, the radiator hose is busted, I had to buy gas this morning, and now I get to worry about the bank balance dropping below zero, resulting in $30 in overdraft fees because businesses don't give a crap about the little guy, and will gouge you any way they can JUST because they can get away with it. I'm not angry at all. See this GREAT BIG SMILE on my face??? I'm fine, I tell you! Now shut up and leave me alone!

Cleaning Up The Clutter

I just now realized that I haven't posted since the day before yesterday (beings that it's after midnight, that is). I'm so tired, and should have been in bed hours ago, so I'm going to make this a quickie.

I'm addicted to this blog. Mostly out of envy, I must admit. I was doing so wonderfully with my own clutter a couple years ago...but unfortunately, I've fallen right back into old patterns. *sigh* I'm hopeful that Barb's posts will eventually convince me to get back on that bandwagon.

Enjoy!

Dream Interpretation

This became a hobby for me in quite the unfortunate way. After leaving my abusive ex husband, I had vivid, frightening dreams for years, on a scale that outstripped the worst nightmare I had ever had, multiplied by ten. I decided I had to figure out what they meant. After years of writing them down and picking them apart piece by piece, I can now figure out what a dream of mine means in a matter of minutes.

I decided to take a nap this morning after I woke up because I didn't really need to leave the house until noon anyway, and while I was asleep, I had a dream that most definitely needed interpretation. I woke up about 5 minutes ago, and I know what it means already. Just for giggles (although it wasn't a giggly dream by a long shot), I'll share it with you today.

I was taking a shower in a bathroom that is rarely used in our house (in reality, this bathroom does not exist...in my dream, we had recently "rediscovered" a suite of rooms and I had decided to move in...for those who don't know, my husband and I are separated but living together as roommates in real life).

Anyway, as I was taking my shower, I was really enjoying this bathroom that we had rediscovered. It was a beautiful, sunny shade of yellow, the same color we painted the walls in the kitchen and hall way. I looked up at the ceiling and noticed that some of the paint had been pulled off...there were chunks and strips missing in uneven patterns, so I knew it wasn't painted over...it had been purposely peeled off. I assumed Jason had done this, and I planned to tell him off about it when I got out of the shower.

But when I did get out of the shower, I noticed quite a bit more damage to the walls. Someone had carved menacing words into the walls (I don't remember what they said...it wasn't threatening, just scary to read...like maybe someone had carved a curse into the wall, though that wasn't how I interpreted the words). I dressed quickly and planned to go tell Jason...I thought maybe someone had broken into the house, and we'd need to call the police.

The room outside the bathroom was my new bedroom. When I walked out of the bathroom, I noticed more carving and damage to this room. As I was walking out, I noticed that along one wall was a display case filled with frightening things, the like of which you'd see at Ripley's Believe It Or Not, or a horror movie museum. By this time, I was terrified.

I went to get Jason to tell him what was happening. He was busy talking to someone and was annoyed that I had bothered him. I insisted that it was important, and he exasperatedly agreed to go with me. As he was walking into my room, I noticed a door in an alcove outside my room. The door had been left slightly ajar. When I looked in, I could tell this was a display that was set up to be seen through the cracked door...it was a scene from a horror movie involving dolls (I don't remember which one, but in my dream I recognized it).

I nearly ran into my room to tell Jason about it. He glanced around my room, obviously annoyed, asking, "what did you call me in here for?" I showed him the walls, the display case, and told him about the paint in the bathroom. At this point, though, my memory was coming back to me. I remembered having seen the display case and the horror-scene in the alcove long ago when we first bought the house. Jason remembered them too, and just walked away. I don't remember if he said anything, but his attitude was, "We know about these things already, don't bug me while I'm busy."

That's all I can remember of the dream.

So now what it means...

I haven't seen this in any book, but what I make of bathrooms is that this is where I go when I feel dirty and need to be made clean. This is where I "keep" all my "unmentionables". In other words, all my dirty little secrets, all the dark things about myself that I don't like anyone to know. So, in my dream, I'm trying to scrub myself clean from whatever dark parts of myself I've brought out lately. This probably has to do with my separation with my husband and my feelings about that...at times, I feel that I'm being selfish and asking too much, even though I don't know anyone (Jason included) who agrees with that.

When I started noticing all this damage to the room, that was a signal that I had moved into this suite of rooms thinking that things would be very positive, but now I'm starting to notice the flaws in my plan. I have moved into another room in real life, so this correlates to me that this separation isn't all fun and games, and I'm noticing now that it's not the solution. There are just as many frightening things here as there were before we separated...I just didn't "see" them when I decided to move into this new room.

When I saw the display case and the scene from the movie in the alcove (remember, I later recalled knowing about these things when we moved in), that tells me that I knew all about these problems from the beginning (probably from the beginning of our marriage), and I chose to ignore them. In my dream, I vaguely remembered choosing to not use this suite of rooms just so that we could avoid the frightening stuff that was in there. In real life, that translates to making a conscious choice to ignore the problems we had. Now that I've "moved into that room", I can't ignore them anymore. They are right in front of me to look at every day.

I just remembered another part of the dream, at the very end. I asked Shannon (my best friend of 21 years) to come look at these things, too. She looked at them with curiousity, but just didn't see the issue. So, that's the last part of the dream to be interpreted. Neither my best friend nor my husband were able to see what the issue was here. It was as though I'm making a big deal out of nothing...but to me, these things were frightening, huge, dark, horrifying. I couldn't imagine spending another night in that HOUSE, let alone that room with all its carvings and horror film like memorabilia.

So, the significance that this dream has on my life is that I have to decide how long I can willingly stay in that frightening room. I've known about this challenge for some time now (years), but it's becoming more and more obvious to me, and more frightening as time goes on.

By the way, I want to be very clear here...Jason himself is not frightening. He is a wonderful human being, and I've been proud to share my life with him these past 8 years. It's the one problem that we have had that is frightening. Unfortunately, this one thorn in our sides has grown to monster proportions, and I don't know that either of us can tame it after having ignored it and let it grow so large for so many years.

So...how about it? Anyone have a dream they want me to interpret? If so, let me know in the comment section. Post your email address, and when we're done, I'll post my interpretation of your dream in my blog - and you can post it in yours, too. This could be a fun take-off from the interviews I did awhile back...I'd love to do more.

100 Days til Philly!

I'm going to be lazy and copy and paste...I forgot to do this earlier. Today marks 100 days until the Adoptee Rights Demonstration, to be held in Philadelphia, PA in conjunction with the annual Legislative Summit of the National Conference of State Legislators. There will be three letter writing campaigns leading up to the protest...one today, one marking 50 days til the demonstration, and one week prior to the demonstration. All the instructions are at the link listed below. I wrote five letters (one to the governor, two to senators, and two to representatives). They won't be postmarked the 13th, but they do have the correct date on the letters themselves! If you have a few minutes and a few stamps, please write a few letters. You can fax them, too, if that's easier. There are even instructions at the link below to have snail mail letters mailed online!

Oh...and here's crossing my fingers that DMC will be attending this year! Without further ado, here's the cut and paste:

Please go here:
http://adopteerightsphilly.blogspot.com/2008/12/letter-writing-campaign.html There is a sample letter there.

Write your letters and send them Monday April 13th. This marks the beginning of the 100 days to the Demonstration!

Send this out to everyone you know! Blog it, email it, Facebook it! Everyone you know should be writing a letter to their legislators, urging them to introduce legislation in their states that allows unhampered access to original birth certificates to all adult adoptees.

Please take part in this very very important step on the road to Philly!

Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster

I watched a documentary not long ago about a small town wanting to add "intelligent design" to science classes. It was a little while back, so I don't recall specifically if they mentioned the FSM on the documentary, but I know that, one way or another, that documentary lead me to this website. I laughed and laughed...but in all seriousness, the FSM has really brought to light an important topic...NO religion is "better" or "more important" than any other. At least not in a society like ours, where there are so many various religions. One set of beliefs just CAN'T dictate what everyone in the country should do, when a good chunk of people just don't have the same beliefs.

I'm proud and humbled (yes, all at once) to participate in a Spiritual path that does not encourage a belief in "good" or "bad", "heaven" or "hell", "right" or "wrong". I could never participate again in a belief system that would send most of the people on this Earth to a fiery pit for all eternity...just for reading the wrong book.

Anyway, that's my little soapbox. But that's not what this blog post is about. Earlier, I read the Eight I'd Really Rather You Didn'ts (a take-off on the Ten Commandments), and it really made me crack up. So, I thought I'd share it with you all today. Enjoy!

THE EIGHT I'D REALLY RATHER YOU DIDN'TS

1. I'd Really Rather You Didn't Act Like A Sanctimonious Holier-Than-Thou Ass When Describing My Noodly Goodness. If Some People Don't Believe In Me, That's Okay. Really, I'm Not That Vain. Besides, This Isn't About Them So Don't Change The Subject.
2. I'd Really Rather You Didn't Use My Existence As A Means To Oppress, Subjigate, Punish, Eviscerate, And/Or, You Know, Be Mean To Others. I Dont Require Sacrifices, And Purity Is For Drinking Water, Not People.
3. I'd Really Rather You Didn't Judge People For The Way They Look, Or How They Dress, Or The Way They Talk, Or, Well, Just Play Nice, Okay? Oh, And Get This Through You Thick Heads: Woman=Person, Man=Person. Samey-Samey. One is Not Better Than The Other, Unless We're Talking About Fashion And I'm Sorry, But I Gave That To Women And Some Guys Who Know The Difference Between Teal And Fuchsia.
4. I'd Really Rather You Didn't Indulge In Conduct That Offends Yourself, Or Your Willing, Consenting Partner Of Legal Age AND Mental Maturity. As For Anyone Who Might Object, I Think The Expression Is Go F*** Yourself, Unless They Find That Offensive In Which Case They Can Turn Off The TV For Once And Go For A Walk For A Change.
5. I'd Really Rather You Didn't Challenge The Bigoted, Misogynist, Hateful Ideas Of Others On An Empty Stomach. Eat, Then Go After The B*******.
6. I'd Really Rather You Didn't Build MultiMillion-Dollar Churches/Temples/Mosques/ Shrines To My Noodly Goodness When The Money Could Be Better Spent (Take Your Pick): A. Ending Poverty B. Curing Diseases C. Living In Peace, Loving With Passion, And Lowering The Cost Of Cable. I Might Be A Complex Carbohydrate Omniscient Being, But I Enjoy The Simple Things In Life. I Ought To Know. I AM The Creator.
7. I'd Really Rather You Didn't Go around Telling People I Talk To you. You're Not That Interesting. Get Over Yourself. And I Told You To Love Your Fellow Man, Can't You Take A Hint?
8. I'd Really Rather You Didn't Do Unto Others As You Would Have Them Do Unto You If You Are Into, Um, Stuff That Uses Alot Of Leather/Lubrication/Las Vegas. If The Other Person Is Into It However (Pursuant To #4), Then Have At It, Take Pictures, And For The Love Of Mike, Wear A CONDOM! Honestly It's A Piece Of Rubber, If I Didn't Want It To Feel Good When You Did It I Would Have Added Spikes, Or Something.

In the name of His Noodly Goodness, RAmen.

Free Stuff!

Check out what I got in the mail today!

The book on the left came from bookmooch (I prefer paperbackswap, but this time, bookmooch did come in handy).

The book on the right was a freebie from Jiffy.

The Old Spice, Metamucil, and Prilosec were from shop4freebies.

The coupons on the left came from the inside of the freebie packages, except for the white ones. Those came directly from Iams. I was hoping for the $5 off coupons everyone was talking about, but these were only worth $2.

The rest of the coupons came from Hot Coupon World; two from trades, and one Random Act Of Kindness because our dog has a cool name.

And now just for giggles, here's the story behind the RAOK. Someone posted that they were giving away a stack of pet coupons. She wanted to know the names of our pets, and she would choose who won based on the pets' names. Now, I'm sure I haven't told you all about Kreaux, so here's the story of our sooper cool dog, and how he got his name (FYI, I won the RAOK because the person offering it is a big MST3K fan...you'll find out what that means in a minute):

(That's him doing his, "I'm bored" face, resting his nose on the window. He looks vicious, doesn't he? But he does this every time he's bored...he puts his nose up against a surface and sighs repeatedly.)

Not long after I started my job, one of the teachers brought in this adorable dog who kept laying his head on my arm and looking up at me with these big, sad eyes. The teacher said that if he couldn't find the dog's owners, he would be looking for a home for him. I talked to Jason, and we decided to bring him home. Rowdy wanted a brother...he was lonely.

It took us four days to come up with a name. We wanted to honor his most prominent feature:

Look at those ears! Finally, it came to us...he looks like Crow from Mystery Science Theater 3000!

But we - being the dorks we are - couldn't just leave his name as "Crow". On one episode, Tom Servo decided that his name was no longer Servo. He would only answer to Serveaux thereafter. So, our awesome Pit Bull/Dingo puppy, Kreaux, is actually named after Crow T. Robot, and Tom Serveaux.

Rowdy doesn't care what we call him. He just likes having a brother.

Paloma Faith

Equality

This is my friend Kate with two of her four children. Her oldest two children were lost to adoption. Because of closed records in adoption, her children will not be able to request their own birth certificates when they turn 18, like ever other American citizen can. Adoptees are the only people in America who legally do not have the right to know who created them.

I'd like to know...what is the difference between Kate's oldest children and her youngest children? Why should her oldest children not have access to the same information her youngest children have? The same information every other adult in this country has a right to?

Over to the right of this post is a button to find out more information on the adoptee rights demonstration, coming up in July. Please take a moment to peek at that information, and lend your support in whatever way you can. If you have a few bucks to spare, they'd appreciate it; if you have five minutes to write a letter to your representatives, that would be awesome; and there are plenty of other things you can do to help as well.

Discrimination in this country, in all forms, is unacceptable. Please help send that message, and help my friend's children regain their rights as American citizens to know their roots, just like everyone else.