Ringin' In The New Year In My Pajamas

I got invited to a New Year's Eve party. Great...I love to party. And I'm going to like this party even more because he'll be there. Then my friend calls me to tell me that the party has been changed to a pajama party.

Just great.

First of all, C has seen me in my pajamas so that's no big deal. Unfortunately these are mostly her friends and I don't know them as well as I know her...bottom line...I'm not comfortable showing up in my current sets of pajamas. Second of all, yes I wear pajamas. Just those comfortable kinds that aren't always appropriate for wearing out in public...the mixed variety kind of public. Third of all, did I mention that he'll be there and I'd like to make a good impression.

So, tonight after supper I'm off to buy some trampy pajamas. Okay not trampy as in I'm trying to spotlight my bedtime activities, but trampy as in hey-she-looks-hot-in-her-pjs kind of way. (Umm I feel that I should clarify that my bedtime activities only include things like washing my face, putting on hand lotion, and snuggling up to my body pillow.)

I wonder if flannel bottoms are trampy enough?

Deck The Halls (With PICTURES...Finally)

This is a picture of my baby, Sophie. She's been through numerous Christmas trees so I just posted this one of her in her sweater! Doesn't she just scream Merry Christmas?!

Anyway, I only posted my favorites. I hope that you enjoy them too. And I just have to toot my own horn...I figured out how to do this without having to bother fellow blogger Hick!!!

To see the pictures go to:
Deck The Halls Part I
Deck The Halls Part II
Merry Christmas

I'm slowly recovering from the holidays so I consider this a great start. At least those few that were asking about my pictures can see what I kept going on about.

I hope that everyone enjoys the last few days of 2005 and is looking forward to all that 2006 holds!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Oh it's nice to be back home...though it won't be for long. We're leaving for my grandparents this afternoon after I get off work.

I had a fantastic time in New York (well with the exception of the transit strike) and I will be posting probably more details than anyone will want to read shortly. Also, I figured out how to add pictures!!! I'll catch up with everything.

Anyway, I wanted to wish everyone that stops by this little spot of blogland a very Merry Christmas!!!!

Live From DFW

Haha....who said the internet wasn't everywhere? We have about 25 minutes until take off! I am so ready for vacation!!!!

Tis The Season For Busyness

I have a confession...I shouldn't be blogging...I should be working on the million and one other things that are on my list of things to get done today. But I believe that blogging is kind of therapeutic so I'll continue.

The Christmas season (well it actually starts right after Thanksgiving) brings many wonderful things, but it also brings an incredible flurry of busyness. I think that this year has been the worst one I've had (in terms of being busy) in many years. My friend S was saying that she was having a hard time getting into the Christmas Spirit. Well, it also works the other way too. Sometimes I find myself just wishing the entire season was over so that things would settle down and return to normal.

My December started out with parties planned (a record setting 7 parties in two weeks) for every day it seemed. Don't get me wrong...once I was there with the required pot luck dish or snack item and wrapped present it was great. It was just getting everything ready. Yesterday I had a delightful time with my friend B. We went out to dinner to catch up and enjoy the Christmas season. And her new sports car inspired a little trip down memory lane for me too. Oh the joys of driving a standard. The world goes fuzzy as I remember back to my first major car accident where I totaled my first car. Then my aunt graciously let me use her old car...her old standard car. Now I can laugh about the stalling, flooding the engine, peeling out. Then it wasn't so funny, but I eventually learned how to control the clutch and get everything to go at the same time. Like I told B, I think I'm a better person for learning how to drive a standard. And it also made me appreciate my automatic too. Fuzzy as we return to the here and now. I have a party tonight and also I need to wrap gifts, work on a packing list, balance my checkbook, those kind of things. Oh the joys of a packed December.

I'm sure there are probably only a handful of people (and they probably only care a smidgen) out there that might miss my posts or my comments on their blogs, but blogging will have to be regulated to the back burner for the next few weeks. I think I'm already having withdrawal symptoms. I must get ready for my New York trip. I must wrap presents. I must finish shopping for presents to wrap. I must pack. I must attend my final Christmas party of the season. So for those of you out there that I might not get a chance to write to again before Christmas I hope that you have a great Christmas and enjoy all the delights of the season!

Is anyone else still behind on buy Christmas presents? Has anyone else saved wrapping until the very last minute? Was anyone else crazy enough to plan a major trip for five days before Christmas? There should be professional help available for people like me!

Here's A Freebie!

Tonight for dinner we had Taco Bell. Now normally I'd prefer to have Taco Bueno, but The Bell is constantly redeemed by their taco sauce packets. Has anyone noticed that they now put little sayings on their taco sauce packets?

Well they do and it is darned entertaining!

Here were a few of my favorites from tonight:

Nice palm. I see a lot of pleasure in your future.
Bike wheels scare me!
My sauce is on the A honor roll at Taco Meal School.
You can say it. I love you too.

So for my $0.49 taco I get a meal and a smile....what a deal!

Bath Time Brrrrrs

I firmly believe in the importance of being clean. I bathe on a regular and frequent basis. I have all of the showertime goodies a girl can be expected to have sitting on the tub. I have two kinds of shampoo, a conditioner for regular hair days and then an extra one for the days when my hair feels a little frizzed. There are various bottles and scents of body wash and, of course, a well loved loofa sponge and bath puff.

I enjoy shower time too. I got made fun of a lot when I was a freshman living in the dorms. I had a three tiered shower cart that I'd roll down to the bathroom each time I went to shower. It held most of the above mentioned items along with my bath robe and shower shoes...a necessity when you shower with 35 other girls. Okay not shower with but use the same shower as 35 other girls. I have to make the clarification because some of you have minds that need to borrow some of the above mentioned soap.

Anyway, I heard it all, but I'm not apologizing for enjoying my shower. Just this past summer I was regulated to the-last-one-to-shower status because they said I took too long on a camping trip. I think it can safely be assumed that you get the point that I enjoy the shower.

Well, lately I dread stepping into the shower. Okay so it's not the shower so much as the cold that seems to be hovering over the shower. Haven't you ever noticed that the shower floor is so cold and no matter how hot you set the water that when you first step in it's freezing cold? And just about the time that you've really started to move around enough to get warm you have to open the curtain and step back out? Winter really makes showering the pits.

I've developed a plan that hasn't seemed to cause too much of a rift in the family. Thank goodness that I'm an only child as I'm sure if I were sharing a bathroom this might not always work. We have a heater thingy that is in the ceiling so I turn that on when I first get up (or about five minutes before I'm ready to get in there) and shut the bathroom door so the heat doesn't escape. Sometimes this can cause trouble as others think that I'm in there when I'm really not. Oh well. I also let the water run for a few minutes so the bottom of the tub is not like a block of ice when I step in.

Other than showering in my bathrobe this seems to work...kinda. Thankfully Winter doesn't last too long down here in Texas.

Deck The Halls (Part II)

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. At least the boxes are gone! This morning the head elf was in a happy mood so I grabbed some spare minutes and snapped a few pictures to post. Yes, I know...shock...I'm going to attempt something technical. The pictures are currently still on the digital, but I promise they will be coming shortly. The pictures are mostly of things on the good list from Part I.

This Christmas is Dexter's (kitten that will now find his name on Santa's naughty list under tree distroyer) first Christmas. Tuesday (when the tree actually got decorated) Dexter was napping on my bed during the morning. When he came into the living room in the afternoon he started to walk past the tree and then stopped and stared. I could just picture the little wheels in his mind...wow...that's the biggest toy I've ever seen! Those of you with pets (especially of the kitty variety) proably know what I'm fixing to share.

At first it was funny to see him look at all the low hanging ornaments and gently tap them with his paw. When he discovered that they wouldn't bite back he started to play a little more rough. (Side Note: each year my parents and I each get a new ornament for the tree. We have a fully loaded tree.) Apparently the Christmas tree is just too much of a temptation for the little guy. First it was the ornaments. Then it was the pom poms on the tree skirt. Finally it was the lights. And here we come to the main part of this little tale.

The pictures that you'll get to see will be special ones because the entire tree is lit up. Tonight while we were at church Dexter had free access to the Christmas tree...our fault. We came in and the first thing we do is plug in the tree. That's when I noticed that only the bottom half...no the bottom fourth...wait...the bottom row of branches were the only ones lit up. What the heck? That's when we discovered that a string of lights had been chewed in two. Yep folks, Dexter just broke the Christmas tree. Tomorrow my dad said he'd go about trying to wire them back together but you know how impossible a task like that will be. I'm afraid that our tree may not recover from Dex's first Christmas.

Anyway, check back for the final installment of the Deck The Halls mini series where the pictures will be up!

Deck The Halls (Part I)

The following account is what happens at my home every December...well except for the last five years when I was blissfully away at college.

First, I should mention that I love the holiday season! I love turning out all the living room lights and just looking at the Christmas tree all lit up. I like seeing holiday decorations in every room of the house. I love the glittery gaudy ornaments and I cherish the old porcelain nativity that sits in the hallway. I love Christmas.

I hate putting the decorations up. Saturday while I was at work, yes...it was on purpose, my dad got all the Christmas boxes drug in from the store room in the backyard. Just to let you get the whole picture...there were 20, twenty, 2-0 boxes of stuff to be gone through. The last few years my parents only put up the bare minimum since I was away at school and only home for a few weeks. Anyway, this morning my mom and I got started bright and early. Well, to be exact...she went through the boxes and I did the leg work. We have a lot of stuff...too much stuff. Thankfully, my aunt was over today so my mom pawned off three boxes of stuff to her and me. Basically today we just opened all the boxes and made piles of things around the living room. There is a basket pile, a snowman pile, an ornament pile...well you get the picture.

Tomorrow we will once again hit the decorating trail. Hopefully, it will much less time consuming since we boxed up normal decorations and there are a lot of blank spaces within the house. At least that's my prayer. You guys know how much I love lists so here is a run down of the good, the bad, and the ugly.

The Good
1. The porcelain nativity - this has been around ever since I can remember. My dad's sister sent this to my parents many years ago. For a long time, it was set up in the living room. For the last few years, we've been putting it in the hallway. It's simple and fairly plain, but for me that makes it even more meaningful as it represents the cornerstone of my faith.
2. The Christmas tree - we've had a Charlie Brown tree the last few years. My mom bought it because my dad said he couldn't find our huge almost-touch-the-ceiling tree. It's tiny and just a little bit shorter than I am. This year we have the huge tree out! Right now it only has the lights on it, but the ornaments are coming.
3. The advent calendar - every year there is some sort of an advent calendar out. When I was little it was one that had been made from fabric with little pockets. There was a mouse as the counter. And in the pockets my parents had always placed small little gifts (usually candy or quarters...I'm an only child and make no bones about being a little spoiled, but a good spoiled and not the snotty kind of spoiled...can anyone tell I have a slight complex?). Counting down to Christmas Eve was and still is one of my favorite traditions.

The Bad
1. THESE DANG BOXES!
2. Tommy: The Talking Snowman - my mom loves snowmen. She'll pretty much buy anything that resembles a snowman if it's cute. She fell in love with Tommy the talking snowman. He's about 3 feet tall and has a little motion sensor in his hat. Every time anyone walks by they set him off. He has about four different sayings and it's in that saccharine sweet little boy voice. It's annoying as heck and after the second round of Tommy talking I put him in the corner so he couldn't sense any motion. I hate that dumb snowman.
3. DID I MENTION ALL THESE STUPID BOXES?!!

The Ugly
1. Elf figurines - my mom has this set of three elves that are ugly and kinda creepy too. She normally sets them in the bathroom. I'm telling you that ugly, creepy elf figurines are not what you want to see during a midnight trip to the bathroom. Thankfully, they are part of what is not going to be put out this Christmas!
2. The boxes...it looks like Santa barfed all over the living room, the dining room, the hallways, well basically the whole house.

Look for at least one more update on decking the halls. All this work, at least until it's completely finished, just makes me want to shout Merry frickin' Christmas.

I Want Nuts

This afternoon I found myself in a serious quandary. I was running a little behind and only had about 20 minutes to get to work. Here comes the quandary...I hadn't eaten since breakfast and I was pretty hungry. I had run into Hobby Lobby to pick up some stickers and as I was waiting in the line to check out I noticed these bags of nuts. I love nuts (now all you dirty minded individuals need a mental bath) so I was trying to decided between the chocolate covered peanut clusters or the chocolate covered raisins. I was a winner either way as chocolate was involved.

Anyway, just as I was about to wrap my fingers around a package of chocolate covered peanuts, the checker (who was pretty impatient by the way) said "Can I help you ma'am?" I looked up and just grabbed the nuts and put them with the rest of my purchases. Things moved quickly after that...she was in a hurry and I was in a hurry.

I got back to my car and started to pull out of the parking lot and figured that I'd open the nuts and munch on a few before I got to work. I reached into the sack and pulled out the bag of nuts. Now you know how most things have a little slit near the corner of the bag. Well mine was sans slit. So, as I'm navigating traffic (please refer to I'm That Driver) I begin to try to get into my nuts. The darned plastic stuff wouldn't give at all. So here I am, trying to open this stupid package of nuts, and I'm driving all over my own lane.

Finally, I give it a go with my teeth. Just a tip...it's not smart to drive and practically cover your eyes with peanut packaging while you're driving. By this time I'm just wanting my nuts!!! So finally I get it where I can use both hands and try to pull the bag open. It took a lot of might, but never underestimate the power of hunger. Now, I want you to be able to picture this. I'm in the car. I'm trying to steer with my wrists as I rip open this bag of peanuts. I'm using a lot of force. Can you see what happened in your mind?

Yep, I pulled a little too hard and chocolate peanuts went flying all over me and my car. The bag was split almost down the middle and the precious little peanuts were now rolling down my shirt and between my legs. Hey, I'm a clean person and they were only down there for a minute...quit judging me.

Anyway, I grabbed one of the escapees and popped it into my mouth. I bit down and got the shock of my life...okay not my life but I've just had an experience with these nuts. It was not a nut after all. It was some chewy something or other. ICK. I soon discovered that it was caramel...I don't do caramel. A red light gave me plenty of time to look at the now nearly destroyed package of what I thought was nuts. It was bridge mix. That's a mixture of chocolate covered nuts, fruit, caramels, and filled centers.

I was a little disappointed...I only found about four actual chocolate covered nuts. Perhaps the rest are rolling around in the floor board. Anyway, the moral of this story is to take your time when picking out nuts. Hey, this is advice that works in a variety of situations!

Various Updates

Just to start this off right...someone sent me the funniest Thanksgiving card. It is as follows:
Front: History tells us that the Pilgrims never drank, never messed around, and were always in bed by 9pm.
Inside: Kinda makes you wonder what they had to be so thankful for.

I'm just one of those people that loves to send and receive mail. I'd rather spend the $4 it takes to buy the card and stamp (and you know what a thoughtful gesture this is because of my habit of not getting mail to the PO in a timely manner) than have to sit and type out an email. Anyway, I laughed for a good minute and I still get a little chuckle.

Okay...updates.

Morty: I mentioned to a few people that I thought we'd found Morty. There was a picture in the paper of some lost animals. One of the pictures looked just like Morty...right down to the stripe that comes out from his eye. I tried to not get my hopes up but it happened anyway. I waited outside of the animal control center for 15 minutes waiting to get in. I walked into the cat section and asked to see the animal that was in the paper. It wasn't Morty. My heart broke all over again. I tried to keep it together and did okay until I looked at the lost and found board and saw that the little thing I'd typed up and his picture were missing from the board. I asked why it wasn't up there and she said that they had taken it down to see if it was a match. I then demanded (listen people...I was barely hanging on) that it be put back up. The lady wasn't all that nice. Anyway, I got in my car and cried just like I had the last time I'd come out of the shelter. I hate that place and can't go back. I can't be the one to walk out of that barely humane place without my baby. We still have Dexter so the days are getting easier. Sometimes I'll catch myself looking for him and I'll have to stop and just hope that someone took him in and is loving him half as much as I did. We've discussed the possibility of getting another kitten, but we've decided to wait. It's just too soon.

Black Friday: Thanks Rachael...I survived. I dragged myself out of bed at 5 o'clock AM. Gosh, that was awful. I made it to work...minus breakfast because I couldn't make myself get up any earlier. There were crazy ladies lined up outside of the scrapbook store ready to shop. I felt like propping up my eyelids with toothpicks...that couldn't be anymore painful than being awake before the sun even was. Anyway, it was a crazy madhouse for the first three hours. At least the time went by quickly. I did hear some women say that they had been up at 3am to be at Target when the doors open. Some people need medication for their silliness.

Thanksgiving: The day was great...the weather was perfect. The turkey was a little dry and my rolls did fall when I put them in the oven but other than that we had a great day. My great grandmother was well behaved. I didn't over eat so I didn't spend the football game wishing I could vomit. We were able to go to my grandparents on Friday afternoon and again, it was great to spend time with my family. I hadn't seen my grandparents since my graduation back in May. I love Thanksgiving because it's the start of my favorite holiday season!

Well, there you go...now you're updated.

Coming Soon....

...the festive recap post.

It's 10:40pm and today has been wonderful.

Tomorrow I have to be at work at 5:40AM...yes, apparently it does come twice in one day. Who knew? Anyway, since I work retail I will be assisting crazed Day-After-Thanksgiving-Sale shoppers. I'm not a morning person exactly. I can get up and get going, but sometimes I'm not always nice when I first wake up. Hopefully these people won't be expecting too much from me. Then when I get off, my family and I are going to my grandparents for the rest of the holiday weekend. I'm not sure what I'll do without being able to check my email and my blog for three days.

Miss me...I'll certainly miss you.

Happy Turkey Day!

Considering that it's 11:45pm and I'll have to get up at least by 6:50am to put the rolls out to rise, I think I'll keep this short and sweet. Besides, there will be plenty of time tomorrow afternoon for festive recaps.

For everyone that stops by my little piece of blogland, HAPPY THANKSGIVING! May your turkey be moist, your mashed potatoes lump free, and may none of it stick to your thighs (or insert body part here).

I think it would be really nice if everyone that reads my blog would post at least one thing they are thankful for. Whether you are a regular or never posted before, you are welcome to comment. (Thanks Linda! I'm thankful for people that let me steal their ideas :op)

Queen Of The Flakes (Post Script)

Flakiness is one of those things that I barely tolerate in others and absolutely despise in myself. And unfortunately, flakiness has been running ramped lately. Well, one can't just go up to another person and tell them "You are being extremely flakish lately."...especially when one's been pretty flaky herself. Dang...don't you just hate it when reality ruins a great self-righteous trip?

I define flakiness as someone who just can't get it together or keep it together. I worked this summer with someone that I really liked. She was friendly and funny, but bless her heart she just couldn't get it together. I began to just expect it and kinda got a little completely selfish pleasure from watching her try to keep it all going. Well, lately I just can't get it together. Oh how the mighty can fall.

A great example of my personal struggle with flakiness is the fact that I lose everything! I can never find anything. My keys...I swear it is not hard to drop them in my purse after I unlock the door but they usually end up dropped on the table or my bed...never in my purse. I lose mail too. Mostly it's the mail that I'm going to mail. Several weeks ago I bought a card to send to my best friend D. I wrote in it and got it ready to mail (stamp included!) and then just never got around to getting to the post office with it. Oh I went a bunch of times to the PO for different things, but did I have the card with me...nope.

So, to help combat my bout with flakiness, I've put together a few ways to keep myself flake free.

1. Stay up to date with my calendar. This may seem like a simple thing, but I'm a big believer in writing things down and making lists. Lists just make the whole day flow easier. I know several of you will probably roll your eyes, but yes, if I do something that's not on the list and it's productive I'll write it on the list so I can cross it off. Anyway, back to my point. Keeping track of the many places I need to go and the people I'm supposed to see helps me not be flakey because I'm not forgetting important things.

2. Keep my room clean (okay...keep my room in a state of organized clutter). I'm one of those people that just think better when I'm in a clean and straight environment. I can't tell you how hard this one is for me. I'm kind of a slob...hey I'm working on it. I could never do my homework or concentrate on studying if my apartment was messy when I was in college. It's kind of the same thing now. I'm sure I'm forgetting something or that I've over looked something if I can't see all of the floor.

3. Stop being so critical of others' flakiness. I'm pretty sure this is why I'm going through my own flake phase. I was too impatient with someone else's flake phase one too many times so I'm getting to experience it. I'm sure there is some lesson I'm going to learn...be more compassionate and not so quick to lose patience with people. Okay...I've learned it!!!

Oh crap...I have to run. I forgot to get to the post office before the mail runs!!! So, I'm not completely through my flake phase...at least I'm in good company.

***Not five minutes after I clicked publish post, my mom called me and said "Steffany Lynn why didn't you remember to take the carrots over to Nanny!?". Gosh...do you think there is a vaccine or something I could take???

I'm THAT Driver

I'm that driver...you know the one. The one that runs through a red light. The one that incites normal people to want to commit murder because they are overcome with road rage.

I'm owning up and taking the blame. I was the driver that was careless and thinking about something else as I plowed into the intersection and then noticed the light was red. And unfortunately, while no one hit me nor did I hit anyone, there were two cars also in the intersection. Thankfully, my brakes worked and so did theirs.

I know I was saying I'm sorry as I got my tail out of the intersection. And I'm sure that several people were using profane words to describe me too. Thankfully, everyone managed to get out of that situation wholly intact.

Now here is the funny thing, I was thinking about blogging when I ran the red light. Actually, I spend quite a lot of time sitting in front of my computer. My mom jokes that I'm an email (and now blogging) junkie. And you know what...I think she might be a little bit right.

Now I'm a social person. My calendar is usually packed with places to go and people to see. I work two jobs and I hang out with my family a lot too. I'm a busy girl, but I usually make time to get my email and blog checked at least twice a day. This usually happens when I first wake up and right before I go to bed. And if I get time, I usually check sometime during the day too.

Well, they do say that admitting you have a problem is the first step. And apparently I do have a problem if it's causing me to miss traffic lights and endanger myself. Perhaps it was because I'd only checked my email and blog about 3 times this morning so I was in need of a fix. Don't worry, I won't try going cold turkey. Everyone in my hometown can rest easy!

Without A Trace (with updates)

My baby is missing.

Morty went out this morning sometime and it's just like them to stay out most of the day. But this afternoon we still hadn't seen him. I went outside and called him. I assumed he was over at Miss Jane's. It's almost 11pm...still no Morty.

Where is my baby tonight?

Friday 9:00am: He didn't come home at all last night. Both my dad and I have walked the neighborhood without any results. I also called Animal Control and they have not picked up any kittens match his description. I'm very sad this morning.

Saturday 9:30am: I think Morty is gone...really gone. We've searched and asked around the neighborhood, but no one has seen him. Though lots of people were quick to tell me that cats (especially those of the male persuasion) tend to wander and can be gone for days before they come home. I clinging to this like a drowning person clings to the driftwood, but I just don't feel it. Yesterday was really hard. I cried at everything (thanks to a little pms thrown into the mix). All I could think about was that it was below freezing the last two nights and he's just a baby. What is he eating? And it breaks my heart to hear Dex cry before he finally settles down in his bed at night. He wonders where his brother is too. I don't think that people who don't have pets can really understand how it feels to lose a pet. I'm sure there will probably be more posts about this, but for now I need to focus on something other than Morty.

Attitude of Gratitude

I just want to point out that I now have a People I Read link on my sidebar thanks to Mike. He was gracious enough to give me some pointers on how to add people. Though he probably deserves more credit because I didn't have much to bring to the table technology-wise.

And to prove that point, I'd like to recap my hour spent trying to figure this out. And if you happened to stop by during this process you probably realized that I had no idea what I was doing. First, while I was very grateful for the instructions, I still didn't get it. So I opened my settings and tried to find sidebar listed in and among the httms and <> thingys. I had only copied one name, as instructed, and put it somewhere up in my profile. And I didn't realize that I could preview before saving my changes so when I viewed my blog needless to say it was in the wrong place. Okay, back to the drawing board.

Second attempt. I got it put in the right place and successfully changed the name. I also discovered the preview button which made things much simpler. About this time I realized that Mike and I don't read the same people so I had to minimize all my screens and find out who I did actually read. Okay, ready to continue. Everyone seemed to be in their place with the right name attached. I hit save changes and republished my blog. The new blog came up with my links in the right place. It was time to try this baby out. So I clicked on Mike and it took me to my email inbox. Thinking this is a fluke, I tried the other names. All of them took me to my inbox. Knowing this probably isn't good I headed back once again to the drawing board (aka: template design).

Third attempt. Now just as I decided to try and remove the part of the link that said inbox, my mom called me to come help her mix up some cornbread (a long standing tradition of getting ready to make dressin' next week). I tried to explain that my email was out there for anyone to read, but this apparently didn't warrant me missing the whole cornbread making experience. So, if you stumbled across my email I hope you remembered your manners and didn't peek.

Okay, cornbread was in the oven and I finally got all the inbox links removed and I used the preview button and everything was working fine. So, after much trial and error, I think I have it fixed. I'll probably continue to add people the more I get around blogspot. But anyway, for now I am extremely satisfied.

So thank you Mike!

By the way, I probably broke a few rules by linking without asking for permission from everyone (most of you I've asked before I link you in a post and this isn't much different) but, if for some reason you'd like to be removed let me know and I'll take you off of there.

Steffany Needs....

I've seen this a few other places, but I'm giving credit to Linda.

Apparently, for a bunch of chuckles you can go to your favorite search engine (I used google...not my favorite one but the one that everyone seemed to be using) and typed in steffany needs and hit search. Listed below are some of the results...along with my responses.

Enjoy!

Steffany needs a strong manly shoulder to lean on...preferably an alpha one. (okay...this sounds just about right)
Steffany needs a bed! (yes the ! was included...hmm a bed huh?)
Steffany needs to find a mature person to marry who's man enough to handle her. (I'm starting to see a pattern. Which is funny because I taught little first graders about patterns today. Now as for this handling thing...hmm)
Steffany needs rhinoplasty surgery.
Steffany needs to find a missing mother and child.
Steffany needs to move to Omaha. (where is Omaha?)
Steffany needs cash fast. (hallaluja!)
Steffany needs Ranger's savvy and expertise. (his expertise in what I wonder)

Well that was fun.

Sugar Mamas

Sometimes it amazes me how many people I know that are in serious, committed, long-term May December relationships. And now, the phenomenon continues into the pet world.

I have two kittens. Two boy kittens. They are only 9 months old and are completely taken with the older female cat next door. At first, it was cute to see Morty jump the fence and head across the alley to see Miss Jane. He'd stare at her (and of course she'd hiss and try to scare him away...you know playing hard to get) and try to snuggle up close. Then after a few minutes he'd come home and start playing with his brother in his own yard.

Ahhh sweet young love. Now, Morty leaves the house each morning after he's licked himself everywhere imaginable (yes, folks I can't break the habit of public self-licking in my cat) and heads over to the neighbor's yard. My mom jokes that he should have been named Romeo.

Well, it appears that Miss Jane doesn't just appeal to the young hearted...she also appeals to a old big Tom from across the street.

I told Morty one night that Miss Jane just spelled trouble. I tried to reason with him that I could see where this was headed and it wouldn't be pretty. (It wouldn't be pretty because Morty has been neutered and declawed...they are house cats for all of you out there that think I've done something evil...I have furniture to protect.) But I think Morty is in love...or at least in awe of the neighbor lady cat. He did what most young males would do...he was anxious for some experience (though he's neutered so I'm not sure where this comes from) and he left out early one evening. His direction - over the fence and into Miss Jane's territory.

(Now this next little part I'm having to guess at, but I read romance novels...I'm sure I've got the gist.)

Morty is probably assuming that he's the hottest new thing on the block and he's amazing all the other neighborhood animals with his ability to turn the head of one older woman. So imagine Mort's surprise when Miss Jane is "entertaining" a Tom more her age. His shocked little heart tells him that despite his not having claws he can fight for Miss Jane's affections. Poor little Morty.

I'm sure he strutted on up and that Tom took one look at this little baby and flicked out his claws. There would have been a flash of light off the tips of those sharp claws and he would have smiled that you-are-dead-now look. Then Morty would realize that he was just a baby playing in a game he was too young for and also realize that nothing comes out of his paws.

The rest of the details are probably just too gory to share, but I do know that Morty came home with one nasty bloody eye. He came over our fence and straight into the house. He jumped up in my mom's lap and poured out his broken heart. Seriously, there for a while, he wouldn't open his eye and we were afraid that it had been scratched so bad that he would need medical attention. Luckily, we had some eye medication in the bathroom from previous pets and doctored him up. He took himself straight to bed after that.

He's much better today, but he hasn't made any repeat visits to Miss Jane's. Hopefully, he has learned his lesson...leave the older ladies for the older men!

Proposition 2

**Note: I've broached this subject on another blog and the result was overwhelming...at least for me. I did not expect the "fire storm" as it was called to erupt. I also took some harsh critisism for my views. While I understand and respect the right of someone to curse and use foul language on their own blog and comments, I will not appreciate the same left on my blog. I do not purposefully leave trashy comments on other blogs and I think it's fair to expect the same when people visit my little piece of blogland. **

As I type this, 77% of Texans have voted in favor of defining marriage as an union between one man and one woman. I was one of those 77% that voted in favor of the amendment. This afternoon, at my polling place, there were numerous people waiting in line to cast a vote. One of the election officials said that this was one of the highest turn outs for this type of election. Apparently there were many people that felt there was something important on the ballot.

On the previously mentioned "other blog" I had asked how the readers felt about gay marriage. I'm not sure what caused such a commotion. I believe it was my reference to same sex marriage, but I realized that I should have been asking about marriage in general. Like I said, the comments were harsh but also thought provoking. Phil would be so proud! Anyway, I discovered that for me, the issue wasn't about trying to discriminate against people in same sex relationships, but rather on protecting the institution of marriage. I have always believed, and will always believe that marriage is a sacred union between a man and a woman.

Several questions were posed to me and upon reflection, I've come to some answers. These answers may not suit you, but they work for me.

1. How does same sex marriage effect you? I think that the person asking this question made a valid point. (I'd like to give credit where it is due for the questions, but I'm not sure that person will be reading this and I don't want to put the name out there for everyone to see without his permission.) Same sex marriage will not effect me or my daily life in any huge way. I don't know anyone that is contemplating a same sex marriage. For me, this is more about what I feel is morally right than finding an exact way that my life will be less or impacted more because people I don't even know are getting married.

2. Aren't you being intolerant of those people and ideas that you don't understand? Yes. There are certain things in my life that are absolute. My faith sets standards that I follow and believe. I believe that homosexuality is a sin. For me, there is no gray area. This is a black and white issue. Homosexuality is wrong. I will not support any law, amendment, or right that will portray this as anything other than wrong. Now, while we're on this topic, I do not consider myself a bad person for feeling this way. I am not cruel or demeaning to gay people. As a matter of fact, unless someone tells me that someone is gay, I'm pretty clueless. A person's sexual orientation isn't a standard by which I judge someone. For example, I do know several gay people. I like them. I enjoy their company. Do I agree with the lifestyle they have chosen...no. Does that make me like them any less...no. I'm sure that several people out there do not like some of the things that I do or base my life upon. Tolerance is about more than just well you believe this and I believe something different so therefore we can have no common ground. While I was pondering this particular issue of tolerance I came across two quotes that really made me stop and think.

Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves. - Abraham Lincoln (Thanks Linda!)
If we teach understanding then we won't have to learn tolerance.

3. How can you act so high and mighty with your religious beliefs? I'll admit that my beliefs played a huge role in my decision to vote for defining marriage as one man and one woman. And apparently I touched an open nerve when I brought God into the conversation. While I didn't mean to imply that their faith wasn't genuine, I can't help but question someone who claims to believe in God and then feels that he or she has the right to pick and choose which parts of His law they want to believe.

While I'm sure that this is an issue that will continue to be at the center of many debates, I am satisfied with my beliefs about the issue. I am also glad to know that I wasn't alone in my thoughts that marriage should remain only between one man and one woman. Like I said earlier, a lot of people disagreed with me and that's fine. We don't always have to agree, but we can disagree in an adult manner.