the holy temple of izzard

ah yes... here we are...

Mon, 10 Dec 2007 18:44:26 GMT

So, Gage and I have moved to New Jersey. At least for a little while. I’m gonna get into school and get myself a marketable skill so that when we go back to Colorado there will be some employment options for me. That would be a good thing. I’m also gonna work on acquiring a vehicle. Nothing perfect, but definitely something that would be able to handle the drive out there. Preferably without blowouts or an emergency transmission rebuild. Although that particular trip WAS an adventure, it’s not an adventure I’d be interested in re-living without the previous company. It just wouldn’t be the same. Especially if I have that kind of adventure with a small child along for the ride.

Being back in Jersey is rather surreal. So much is different, and yet the same. Apparently the grocery store has been 3 or 4 different stores since I was last here. Now it’s a shoprite. I dunno what all it was before that besides an IGA. The Peking Wok is still there, so my favorite place for scallion pancakes is still about. Excellent. There used to be a chinese place near here in another strip mall that I go delivery from all the time. They had no minimum order. I actually ordered 1 egg roll once, just to see if they’d deliver it. They did. And it was SO good. One of the best egg rolls I’ve ever had. I haven’t called anyone local yet, but we’ve only been here since Saturday evening. The flight was… interesting. I’ll post about that later though. Not in the mood to get into the details at the moment.

...

Sun, 25 Nov 2007 02:39:24 GMT

Thanksgiving was ok. Lots of food for one person to eat. Gage didn't touch a bite of Thanksgiving food. No, that's not right, he did TOUCH the cranberry sauce. He just didn't eat it. It was more of a "what exactly is this mom?" touch. Not a "I think I'll give this a try" touch. At the moment he's laying on the floor in a pile of pillows and rearranging the CDs. Nice. I didn't alphabetize them or anything. Didn't want them to be in any particular order...

So I've just watched the Avs lose to Calgary. It wasn't thrilling, to say the least. It's a shame I missed much of the pre-game show. Apparently there was a bit of an on-ice scuffle before the game even started. They showed a little of it during the 1st intermission, but not enough to see what might have caused it. I'm rather curious.

Gage has piled up the pillows from his bed, my bed and one of the couch cushions on the floor (the aforementioned pile of pillows). He's relaxing in the pile at the moment. It looks comfy, maybe I'll join him in a few minutes, LOL.

Joe would dig that...

Sun, 25 Nov 2007 02:32:44 GMT

When Joe and my mom first got together, the basement of the townhouse we lived in contained 2 or 3 rolling tool cabinets. Seriously, this is a man who loves his tools. Every tool had his name engraved on it. Not etched on crudely with some random tool, actually engraved. He either spent the money when he bought them to have them engraved, or he knew someone who could do engraving at home and had them do it. Either way -- he loves his tools. My younger sister and I got him a new toolkit, the ones they sell at Sears at the holidays, for the holidays 3 or 4 years in a row and he loved them. He didn't pretend to love them, he genuinely loved these toolkits. I'd love to be able to get him a brand new, custom took cabinet for their new place sometime. I think that would be the perfect gift for him.

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we have snow...

Wed, 21 Nov 2007 18:22:37 GMT

It’s really not much. Nothing to write home about, as they say. But it’s still snowing lightly. Who knows if it’ll get heavier or if it’ll just stay really light. I noticed it was snowing last night when I went out for a cigarette before bed. It wasn’t sticking anywhere except on top of cars and things like that. The ground was too warm for it to stay. The cement is still too warm for it to stick to, but it’s sticking everywhere else. Gage was enjoying stomping through the yard a little while ago. It took clever coaxing and Star Wars to get him back inside. Tiger wasn’t particularly fond of the coldness on his paws, but he was having fun running around and kicking up the little bit that’s on the ground. I’d say we’ve got about 2 inches give or take half an inch.

I need to go to the grocery store. I’m not looking forward to that. For one, people go a little weird when it snows as far as groceries are concerned. Gotta have their milk, eggs and bread, you know? Think these people are feasting on french toast during snow storms? I’ve always wondered about that. Milk eggs and bread? Why? If the power goes out you can’t do anything with the eggs. Milk and bread are nice, but doesn’t it make more sense to get bread, mustard and lunch meat? You know, something you can eat without cooking. Just in case you lose power. Of course our stove is gas, so even if we lose power, I can cook. I just have to light the burner manually. Oh yes, the second reason for not looking forward to the grocery store… Thanksgiving is tomorrow. Everyone is rushing around to get the stuff that they forgot to pick up earlier. Someone forgot the cranberries. Someone else is in desperate need of some turkey size oven bags. There’s probably someone out there who decided at the 11th hour that they want to make ham instead of turkey for Thanksgiving dinner, and while we’re at it, let’s do the bread from scratch and bake a pecan pie instead of pumpkin.

Let it snow (x3)

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 18:57:07 GMT

It's supposed to snow later today. I kind of look forward to it. Gage will certainly like it. He absolutely loves the snow. Tiger will probably enjoy it to a degree, but he gets so cold. Poor puppy's got no body fat and he's not a fluffy long haired dog with lots of fur to keep him warm. I've noticed that he gets all shivery as soon as he gets outside on a cold day. As much as I loathe putting clothing on dogs, there are times in the winter that I wish I had a coat for him, and maybe something to cover his paws when it snows. I know, I'm a freak.

Another plus of the whole snow thing is exercise. Assuming it sticks and doesn't melt 20 minutes later, I can get some good exercise shoveling. I've been so stressed the past few months that I haven't paid much attention to diet and exercise, even though I was trying to lose weight. I doubt I've lost much since May or so. Stress and lack of funds haven't helped me eat very well.

So, I signed up for a site called grocery game and looked over the list of current sales for my local store and compared them with the coupons that I've got. Looking at the site, I can definitely see how people manage to buy $100 worth of groceries for 50 cents. I know part of it is that those people are never buying fresh produce or meat. But if I can get all the "prepackaged" stuff I need for just a few dollars, I can spend more on fresh produce and meat. It would be a win-win situation.

bring your coo-puns

Sun, 18 Nov 2007 21:44:58 GMT

If you got that... well you're as big a dork for Ron White as I am.

Actually, I was sorting coupons about 15 minutes ago. I'm not done. I need to get an organizer for them. One with a few sections I can customize. I always have a few coupons when I go to the store that I plan to use that day, usually because it's something that I use regularly. Having a section to put those into would be good. Along with somewhere to put the ones that I "might" use that trip.

Gage is being very cute today. He's reading his "I Spy" book. I'm not sure if he's actually reading it or if he's memorized parts of it. But he's on the floor with one of the couch cushions looking at the book and saying "I spy..." and saying what some of the stuff in the book is. It's incredibly cute.

I need to go to the grocery store. I needs to get me a turkey and stuff. Of course, I also needs to find me a couple thou just lying around, LOL.

Start spreading the news...

Sun, 18 Nov 2007 21:36:16 GMT

My best friend might be moving to New York next year. Her boyfriend is transferring to a different college, and one in NY is his first choice. Wherever he goes, she's going with him. Most likely they'll find something to rent while he's in school, but I have a feeling that Carrie's going to fall in love with New York and they'll be looking for a permanent home. While I doubt that when the time comes they'll be looking at North Fork real estate properties, I have no doubt that PrudentialElliman.com can help them find something wherever they're looking. The site even has listings in the city for rentals -- which is nice. Once they find out if the transfer to NY is going through, I'm gonna send her the link. They can get an idea of what to expect, at the very least.

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it sank. people died. it was expected.

Sun, 18 Nov 2007 02:15:02 GMT

So I'm watching Titanic on TNT. No real reason, it's just on and I wanted some background noise while I did some cross stitch. It got me thinking... when the movie came out in theaters, my sister and my friend Mare went to see it several times. They came to visit me in Virginia and took me to see it. I didn't cry at the end. The boat sank, people died. I expected that. It's how history happened. Jack died. I expected that, too. He was in the water. I didn't cry. They said that I was a heartless bitch. They were only half serious, of course. Watching it now, I'm again not crying. There are some movies that make me bawl no matter how many times I see them. Mr. Holland's Opus... waterworks as soon as he walks into that rally honoring him... it never fails. Titanic. Nope. No tears. No, that's wrong. There was one time that I got teary eyed. The only time Woody and I watched the movie together. We were cuddled up on the couch and I was pregnant. Maybe it was the hormones.

a bit of the random...

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 23:57:11 GMT

So, I got some cross stitch kits from someone on one of the boards I'm on. She wasn't planning on doing them, so she sent them to me. Would it be unethical if I do the cross stitch and then sell the finished products? I've done a couple of other kits I got already. Ornaments. I haven't done cross stitch in years, and I've never tackled a project as big as the two I have left, but I'm enjoying the challenge. Believe it or not, the person who taught me to do it was a guy I dated in high school. I thought it was funny as hell the first time I saw him doing it. I mean, cross stitch? A teenage boy? I have to admit that it's quite relaxing though, and passes the time nicely. The two projects I have left (one that I'm working on now) are both holiday patterns. One's a banner with some snowmen that says "Snow place like home for the holidays" and the other is a cabin in a woody area with snow all around. I'm a little nervous about that one. It looks pretty intense. but it'll be fun to do. Gage has started picking it up when I put it down and trying to do it himself. So I got some extra fabric and put it in a hoop for him to play with. He did a cute little bit of just putting the thread through back and forth. I just have to figure out what to do with it. Maybe I'll stitch on some backing and make a little pillow.

Anyhoo... There's not a lot going on today. Got some cleaning done, did some cross stitch, read a little bit. I'm getting woefully low on the TBR pile. Actually, I think I'm out of new reading material. Alas, I'm down to 2 credits on paperbackswap, so I'm looking for a good 3 for 1 deal. There are always deals, but they don't always apply to books that I'm interested in reading.

I'm waiting to hear back from Alpine Access on rescheduling my interview. Hopefully I'll be able to get an interview soon and get the job and start working and all that good stuff. I bought a headset on ebay so I can be prepared and not have to wait a week or two before I can start. I have to find my list of other call center from home companies and apply with them as well though... improve my chances.

Holiday Savings

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 23:31:00 GMT

Some folks on one of the boards I'm on have been posting various links to sites to help save money on holiday shopping. Among them were several recommendations for sites like NCNatural Coupons, which has a selection of online coupons for use at e-retailers all over the internet. NCNatural's page is one of the easiest to navigate and is updated every day. The codes are for obscure retailers either, you can find savings for anything from Amazon to Hickory Farms, and a bunch of places in between. A nice little discount on the perfect gifts and you don't have to leave the house at 4 in the morning to get them.

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Gage says the darndest things...

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 03:50:13 GMT

Ok, I just have to post about this stuff... Gage is adorable (I'm sure I've mentioned that), but even more so while he's discovering language and trying to talk more. Much of what he says is repetition, but sometimes he babbles on and on and I just KNOW he's trying to tell me something. Lately he's taken to trying to get me to repeat after him. I'm doing it, because maybe if I say what he's saying it'll start to make sense. If I can understand what he's trying to say, maybe I can correct the way he's saying it and then we'll be on the road to better communication.

Anyhoo... Gage likes to count. He'll sit there and count to 30 over and over again. one... two... three... through the single digits to the teens, fourteen... fifteen... sixteen... and into the twenties, where it cracks me up, twenty seven... twenty eight... twenty nine...

twenty ten.

I don't know where he gets it. He's said thirty before. As a matter of fact, I've heard him count as high as thirty five. Maybe he got it from one of his classmates. I dunno, but it makes me giggle (although I DO correct him).

Today he repeated some phrases from one of his sign language DVDs, descriptionss of the signs to help remember how to do the sign. The first one was milk. To sign the word milk, hold your hand in front of you and squeeze. Like you're squeezing an udder, get it? Milk. The description is "Like squeezing milk from a cow." Gage was signing milk and said "like squeaking milk from a cow." That brought a good giggle.

Later he was doing the same thing with monkey. To sign monkey, well... it's basically the monkey imitation we all did as kids. Both hands making a "scratching" motion under the arms. The description is "like a monkey scratching himself." Gage signs it great, but when he repeats the description it comes out "like a monkey crapping himself." Yes, it's stupid potty humor and I should be ashamed, but I laughed for about 20 minutes the first time he said that.

Cute, no? He certainly makes every day interesting. But at least he's trying, even the lady at Conoco commented last time we were in that since he's started school he seems more extroverted than he was over the summer. Of course he was standing there babbling at her while he was trying to decide which color bag of Skittles he wanted.

Halloween picture...

Thu, 08 Nov 2007 23:59:25 GMT

Here's the picture of Gage from Halloween. It was taken post trick or treat, since he wouldn't hold still for a picture before we went trick or treating. Cute, no? Not too bad for a costume made with no pattern. I think it came out pretty good, and he made an adorable little bat. Maybe next year I can dress him up as a character from Star Wars -- since he seems to love it so much. Of course that could change by next year... still, the tentative plan for next year is Luke Skywalker or Han Solo or something along those lines. He's already got a light saber.

Teddy bears and other babbling...

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 16:44:53 GMT

Noah's Ark Animal Workshop is doing a "design a bear" contest. The grand prize is to have your design go into production, available at NAAW with a portion of the proceeds going to a charity. 1st prize is a prototype of your bear and a $500 savings bond. It's kind of interesting. I'm entering, since reps are allowed to enter. I have a couple of ideas that I think would be really cute. If anyone here wants to enter (or have their kids enter), I can email the entry form to you. I might give Gage a form to color on as well... who knows, he might do something brilliant. He's done some pretty creative things before.

I'm very much enjoying the hockey season so far. The Avs aren't doing too badly. Had a little trouble on the road at first, but they're getting it.

The cats are acting strange lately. They're extremely affectionate. Which is nice, but occasionally annoying. I don't want to have them begging for affection while I'm going to the bathroom, for example. It's sweet, don't get me wrong. But damn. They're also having some interesting nights with the weather changing. It gets cold and then it's warm again and all that. And they flip out every time the weather changes. They also keep trying to go outside. If I'm outside or if Gage is outside I let them on the porch. They like to lay in the sun when it's shining.

Rather interesting...

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 16:12:19 GMT

I took a lot of music classes in high school, we had some really great classes and teachers. In the music technology class, we had some of the best music software you could imagine. All kinds of stuff for musicians. Some of it was made to help people learn music - notation, various symbols, harmonizing, etc. Of course, my personal favorites were the programs that helped in writing music. Programs that allowed you to input and control every aspect of the music, play it back and make whatever adjustments you needed to make. Very good software. When I graduated, I was sorely tempted to swipe one of the computers from the music department along with all of the software and accessories. Finalemusic.com has some similar software available, I might have to look into making a purchase. If only for the software to create sheet music. Much easier than writing it all out by hand.

oy

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 15:13:13 GMT

Gage didn't want to get dressed this morning. It wasn't fun chasing him and getting his clothes on him. Especially since my shoulder is killing me. I don't know what I did to it but DAMN it hurts. It's virtually impossible to get into a position where it doesn't hurt although some positions hurt less than others.

I walked up to Conoco earlier to see if they have any blistex. My lips are burning with the preamble to bad chapping. No such luck. They did have carmex, so I got that. It'll do in a pinch. On the way back I found a 10 dollar bill. So I made $8 going up to get something for my lips. At some point I have to walk up to the grocery store and pick up a few things. I might splurge and get some airbourne for myself to help knock this case of neverending sniffles out.

Writer's Block: Happy Halloween!

Tue, 30 Oct 2007 20:39:32 GMT

Boo! How did you celebrate Halloween?

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Well... We're going trick or treating. I made Gage a bat costume out of my witch costume, pants a shirt and a little hood w/ pointy little bat ears. Then I made some wings with newspaper, wire and black crepe fabric that I had in my fabric bag. They look cute, though not as perfect as i would have liked to have made them. If I could guarantee that Gage would have worn a different style of wings I'd have made them a little more flowy and less stiff. I'm gonna attach the wings to the "harness" part of his "kid leash" so they won't really be on him... Hopefully he won't get upset and rip them off.

Afterward, there will be movies... I'm hoping to find "It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown" for Gage to watch. And maybe a little candy before bed.

poor baby...

Mon, 15 Oct 2007 02:05:22 GMT

I think Gage will be staying home from school tomorrow. He's been throwing up since Friday. He made it most of the day today without throwing up, but then he woke from a nap and tossed his cookies. Of course the fact that he napped is also indication that he's not feeling well. He never naps. Ok, rarely.

Hockey season has begun, but this year you'll all be spared the endless series of posts about the Avs, how they're playing and my commentary on various games. I'll be doing all of those posts somewhere else this year. I'm sure that some of you are breathing a sigh of relief. That doesn't mean that there won't be any hockey/Avs posts here this season... just so ya know.

We went about 6 hours without power today. That was fun. Apparently the storm knocked our our power for awhile. All the neighbors went out. Gage and I played on the couch and cuddled under a blanket. It was nice. Fortunately we have a gas stove, so when the power goes out I can still cook. I'm not sure if I've got the guts to light the oven manually, but the stove I can do.

Winter Approaches...

Mon, 15 Oct 2007 01:56:51 GMT

I was thinking about the last winter I was in Jersey. I was at Mare & Eric's a lot, and we all went downstairs to the garage to smoke. I don't even recall if there was a car in the garage at the time, I think it was mostly storage to be honest. Even though it was out of the wind, it was always freezing in the garage. A garage heater would have been nice. We could have stayed down there and chatted for hours if we wanted to, if the garage had been heated. They wouldn't have had to move things out of the garage that is effected by extreme cold, either.

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interesting... and cute!

Tue, 09 Oct 2007 22:57:24 GMT

Gage is addicted to A New Hope. To the point that the tape is wearing out. Of course, these aren't new tapes. We got them at a pawn shop 5 or 6 years ago, and it's the box set of the original theatrical release (digitally remastered) that was released 10 or so years ago. So definitely not new.

Anytime I've tried to put Empire Strikes Back or Return of the Jedi in the VCR he's ejected the tape and given me A New Hope to put in. So today I mixed them up, put the wrong movie in each case to see if I could get him to watch Empire or Jedi. He got home, pulled out A New Hope, looked at it, and then pulled the other two movies out of the cases and put them back in the correct cases.

Now I just need to figure out if he's actually reading the title on the tapes, or of he's just memorized the shape of the letters. Probably the latter, but the former wouldn't surprise me. I did manage to get Empire in the VCR while he wasn't looking. When the George Lucas interview started he gave me this look like "Do you really think you fooled me?"

le sigh

Mon, 08 Oct 2007 20:44:03 GMT

Browsed the classifieds today. Marked all the possibles and looked up the locations. All too far. I wish they put addresses in the classifieds. That would make things easier. I tried to make sense of the bus system here, and I'm confuzzled. I know "it's just a bus system," but it really makes no sense to me.

In other news, I just need to make the wings for Gage's Halloween costume. I'll probably start gluing later today. Gonna glue layers of newspaper together to make the wings out of, with some wire to support. Then I have some black crepe fabric that I can stitch over that to make em black. I wanna get some of those glowing neckaces to glue to the wings for the bones, or some glow in the dark paint to just paint the lines.

Tiger almost jumped over the fence the other day. Him and the neighbors dog (a GORGEOUS German Shepherd) keep trying to get at each other. On one hand it's kind of amusing. On the other hand, it's a little frustrating.

Nice Clothes...

Mon, 08 Oct 2007 20:33:35 GMT

I love period clothing. Especially Renaissance and Midieval clothing. I love the style, the lines, the way the dresses flow and make a woman feel more stunning than she's ever felt. 18th century clothing is easy to find online these days, and it's great for all kinds of events. Period parties complete with costumes (and a game of human chess if you have enough guests) are a lot of fun. There's also Renn Faires to be attended in garb, which makes the experience that much more fun. RenStore.com is a great online shop with lots of different styles of 18th century clothing for men and women. I've actually never seen a few of the styles that they have available, like their dresses for viking women. They also have gorgeous table wear, so if you wanted to have a Renaissance dinner party, you'd be able to set your table appropriately. Although you might want to hire someone to clean up the turkey leg bones on the floor afterward.

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BLAH!

Wed, 03 Oct 2007 17:45:37 GMT

Job hunting sucks muchly. I now have apps in all over the place. I walked up to Office Max/Kmart/Albertsons yesterday -- 45 minutes each way (I guess it's good to know...) only to find that they only take applications online. So I've done those. Also done some paper applications and called a dozen business within a mile to see if they're hiring. Most aren't. BLAH I say. We seek employment! Give us a job! Anyhoo... that's all well and good and it's irritating and frustrating and makes me want to bang my head against a wall. Which would not be healthy, they tell me. Don't ask who "they" are. The voices don't identify themselves, LOL.

In other news... I believe I'll be roasting a chicken this weekend. Why? Well, because I can. I just haven't decided if I want to do it in the oven or the rotisserie.

Bad Credit?

Wed, 03 Oct 2007 17:27:45 GMT

It truly is an epidemic across the nation. Bad Credit is the new plague, I think. Not only is it stressful to deal with, but it can prevent you from achieving certain life goals, like owning a home or a new car. Which is why sites like BadCreditOffers.com are worth checking out. They help people get loans and credit cards, offer credit counseling and enable you to get a copy of your credit report. All in all, not a bad thing. Definitely worth taking a few minutes to check out -- they could help one get back on their feet.

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it's soup!

Mon, 01 Oct 2007 19:10:23 GMT

This weekend I wrote 2 new recipes. One for a creamy potato soup which was just yummy yummy yummy. The second was for a nice chicken soup made with a few chicken thighs. Also yummy yummy. I have a chicken to roast so I'm gonna do a roasted chicken leftovers soup at some point, too. I also did a pork soup a couple of weeks ago and a variation on great northern bean soup that makes enough for about 4 servings or so. I'm focusing on recipes for fewer servings that can be multiplied if needed. I have a couple of chili recipes and a couple of other soup recipes so far. I only need... oh... 100 or so more, lol. This winter there will be a lot of soup, I think. And not to be arrogant, but they will all be delicious. I'm shooting for late summer of 2008 to have all the recipes I need for a soups, stews and chili cookbook. I plan on including a lot of recipes for 2 -4 servings as well as recipes for big pots of soup and recipes for some standard leftovers (chicken, turkey, ham...).

Sailing Away

Mon, 01 Oct 2007 18:45:50 GMT

Halloween is my favorite holiday and autumn in general is my favorite season. How lovely would it be to someday spend Halloween in Salem Massachusetts? Ok, I know it sounds kind of cliche, but I've heard that Halloween is just fantastic in Salem. Besides, I hear the autumn colors in Massachusetts are spectacular. So it's something that I've thought it would be nice to do for several years. Well, when I decided it's time to start fantasizing about a perfect getaway, whether for a weekend or a whole week, I start looking at Hotel Reservations and other travel necessities at HotelReservations.com. Why them? Well, to be perfectly honest, the first time I heard of them I checked out 3 or 4 different discount travel sites and compared them to HotelReservations.com and they showed the best rates every time. Whether I was searching for a big location 2 weeks from the date of the search, or something a little less known 6 months from then, HotelReservations.com was always a good deal cheaper.

So I searched Salem Massachusetts for the week of Halloween, starting with Hotel Reservations. For a 5 day stay at Courtyard by Mariott it would only be about $800, not too bad. Mariott is a fabulous chain with lots of nice amenities. Of course, there are also cheaper hotels (local chains and such) listed that would only cost $450-500. Also, not bad. In addition to listing the rates and hotel amenities, the site gives a list of nearby attractions and how far away they are. Which is good for trip planning. Airfare through HotelReservations.com (if it was booked today) is only about $500 a person. So we're looking at a 5 day vacation $1500-$2000 over Halloween in what is supposed to be one of the biggest Halloween destinations in the country and that's if it's booked only 4 weeks in advance. As usual, I checked a couple of other sites, there's no contest. HotelReservations.com is the best deal.

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