~“The Blog That Watches Back”~

Sunday, January 24

Hi! It's been a lil while.
I've been coming to terms with not having a job, my last day is thurday. The whole gamut, first the hives and the nerves, then.....yesterday morning........I woke up feeling like a kid at the end of the school year. Not getting up at 5am and having that big commute is something to look forward to. Financially this is not a nightmare, Steve and I agree on finances and are well placed for this, but it's more about not contributing to Team Gail in a $$ way. Very scary. I know I'll probably not find a job I love as much as the one I have right now. Oh, and I forgot to say....counter-offer....I was offered 3 full days a week...to equal the hours I am working now [and I said GREAT, one less commute a week I'll TAKE that] BUT...when we get busy in a few months, I'll need to go full time. Thud, no thank you. That was the irony for me, the owner was Adamant that I know I was being hired as a part timer and NEVER to expect more hours, he must have said that 4 times if he said it once.

I have my friends, who have supported me so much thru this that it makes me cry. I feel very grateful to have them in my life, I can't imagine not being able to go to them and say "I am scared shitless, talk me down!" Steve is Steve,...my best friend, and he understands how I feel before I tell him. So my motto for this time in my life, is, This too shall pass, so enjoy the time at home while you have it. And cook a lot, and practice a lot, and garden a lot, ect. And NO BUYING BOOKS GAIL!!! You hear me! Step away from Amazon and B&N, and all will be well :o)[I have a pineapple angel food cake in the oven right now,hehehe :o)]

Here is something, a little ironic. I told you, a reader/friend sent me a white blossom Christmas cactus, they are not available in my area. Well, guess what is throwing a blossom right now? Lookie here, at my "Valentines" Cactus:



January:
24th: National Belly Laugh Day
Eskimo Pie Patent Day
25th: Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day
Opposite Day


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Saturday, January 23

Ha ha

HOW TO SHOWER LIKE A WOMAN:

Take off clothing and place it in sectioned laundry hamper according to lights and darks.

Walk to bathroom wearing long robe. If you see husband along the way, cover up any exposed areas.
Look at your womanly physique in the mirror -- make mental note to do more sit-ups/leg-lifts, etc.
Get in the shower. Use wash cloth, long loofah, wide loofah and pumice stone.
Wash your hair once with cucumber and sage shampoo with 43 added vitamins.
Wash your hair again to make sure it's clean.
Condition your hair with grapefruit mint conditioner.
Wash your face with crushed apricot facial scrub for 10 minutes until red.
Wash entire rest of body with ginger nut and jaffa cake body wash.
Rinse conditioner off hair.
Shave armpits and legs.
Rinse off.
Turn off shower.
Squeegee off all wet surfaces in shower.
Spray mold spots with Tilex.

Get out of shower. Dry with towel the size of a small country.
Wrap hair in super absorbent towel.
Return to bedroom wearing long robe and towel on head.
If you see husband along the way, cover up any exposed areas.

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HOW TO SHOWER LIKE A MAN:
Take off clothes while sitting on the edge of the bed and leave them in a pile.
Walk naked to the bathroom.
If you see wife along the way, shake wiener at her making the woo-woo sound.
Look at your manly physique in the mirror.
Admire the size of your wiener and scratch your butt.
Get in the shower. Wash your face. Wash your armpits.
Blow your nose in your hands and let the water rinse them off.
Fart and laugh at how loud it sounds in the shower.
Spend majority of time washing privates and surrounding area.
Wash your butt, leaving those coarse butt hairs stuck on the soap.
Wash your hair. Make a Shampoo Mohawk.
Pee.
Rinse off and get out of shower.

Partially dry off.
Fail to notice the water on floor because curtain was hanging out of tub the whole time.
Admire wiener size in mirror again.
Leave shower curtain open, wet mat on floor, and light and fan on.
Return to bedroom with towel around waist.

If you pass wife, pull off towel, shake wiener at her and make the woo-woo sound again.
Throw wet towel on bed.
If there is anyone who did not laugh at the truth behind this, there is something SO very wrong with you. Have a great day..... and woo woo!!!

~Thank you Bren :o)~

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Sunday, January 10

Forgiveness, Gail Style.

I've been thinking a lot about Forgiveness this week. For people I Love, as well as for a person I post in public with. The "what" of what they did to me isn't so germane as, it was uncalled for by any action[s] of my own, and it hurt like hell.

I guess the crux of forgiveness for me is, HOW? When you've been wronged, how do you let it slide off of you, without closure, or even a simple apology from the person who done you wrong? And these 2 instances that I'm thinking of, they were pretty BAD wrongs, done to me. But I refuse to let them hang around my neck, that would kind of defeat the purpose of the cross and religious medals that hang there also, you dig? Once I saw the irony in that, I decided I had to do something, had to change my way of thinking, so that I could let this crap go.

I went to my friend Google. And in the course of googling "how to forgive someone" I came across this:


"......... imagine your tormentors as they were when they were babies or young children. Visualize these people one at a time, and really take time to feel the realities of their lives as toddlers. Babies are not born with a distinct desire to hurt others physically or emotionally. They are born craving love and protection. Visualize what your tormentors were like when they did nothing but crave love and protection.

If you work at realizing how pure and innocent your tormentors once were, you may come to a point where it becomes clear that their hurtful acts as older children or adults likely stem from their own wounds."

DING DING DING! Now, THAT I can understand. And THAT led to, maybe I can't forgive them, maybe it's not in me, but I can certainly Understand, someone speaking out of their own pain and wounds, we all have enough of them. And I can let it go. I never believed in the concept of "Forgive and Forget" on the whole. When you are put in a bad situation, you need to learn from it, the very first go-round, to avoid repeating it. Growing up hard, you learn that lesson early and well.....Not to let history repeat itself. Don't EVER forget. But I discovered, inside of me, that I can learn the lesson without hanging onto the textbook for it. The emotional garbage. And THAT made me happy and gave me hope. Who said an old dog can't learn new tricks? I have a thing or two to say to them :o)

I got a sign that Karma thinks I'm on to something, too. The town we moved to is divided into two parts...the town and the city. I live in the town, and the library is in the city. My beloved library. I have not found my way there since me moved, hence the occasional book order. While I was typing this up just now, Tone went out to get the mail. And in that bundle, was a informational flyer and schedule from our library....the very first one we've received since we bought the Shack.THAT is powerful karma talking...find a way to let it go, and your library will find You, woman!

Two pics, taken today, of the Amaryllis that I closed a window on last year, breaking the blooming cycle. Here is proof that you should keep trying, Amaryllis are hard to kill:




And to my friend/reader Tracy...here is a pic of the amaryllis bulb you sent me last summer, the one that was being a brat for you. You'll notice, it's a wee bit of a thing, I am thnking it's a hybrid that has gone bad. I'll keep trying with it every year as long as I see life in it, I'm a never-say-never kinda gal when it comes to plants:



And a follow-up,...... I *did* give notice last Monday morning. I got the impression my boss was really pissed at me. I told him, you all have been very good to me, I have no job on the table right now, so tell me how much notice you would like, and I'll work it out [fully expecting to be escorted to the door right then, the opportunity to frig with huge accounts is not something they take lightly] He asked, can you do a week I said Sure! He stomped off, I guess to talk to the owners. He came back with, "can you give me 2 weeks" and I said Sure! Then his "final offer" was, can I work thru the end of the month" . And I said Sure! So, I will start looking for a new job on the 18th, thinking, it will be 2 weeks until the end of the month, so I won't be messing with employer the old or employer the new. Make sense? Hehehe :o) So keep them crossed that I can find a position closer to home, I'd appreciate it.

Something else I wanted to put here, I need to mull it over a bit before I yell at someone. Today on Facebook, a relative announced that there was heartbreaking news about another relative. Steve and I were shocked, WTH? Why don't we know what is going on? And Steve was upset about it. He called another relative, who gave him the 411, and true... it is not good, and it is heartbreaking, we love that relative too. So, word up, certain people. Do NOT announce in a public venue, bad family news, let ALONE be vague about it, unless you are sure that all your relatives actually know the score. I realize, with all the public venues [and I dig the irony of blogging about it, but everyone who should know knows now] available, that mistakes happen, but I personally will jack the ass of anyone that messes with Steve, he didn't deserve that.


January:
10th: Stephen Foster Day
13th: Happy Birthday Lynn!
13th: Happy Birthday Tracy!
13th: Rubber Duckie Day
15th: International Fetish Day





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Sunday, January 3

Haiku and Hunting

What a wonderful holiday! I thoroughly enjoyed my week off, I wish it could continue.

A lot has happened over this week. We discovered IBM isn't inhabited by fools. Boo was told a while back her last date of employment was 12/21. I guess they didn't want to let her go..... they kept Boo on in the midst of the layoffs, and she goes full time with benefits in April, we did a DANCE when we heard that :O) YAY Boo!

Stevie completed the course [s] he was taking toward his masters and wound up with 3.9 GPA! YAY Stevie!!

Tone's computer classes start next month...YAY Tone!

We had our first Christmas in the Shack, and it was everything we hoped for and more. Also, we have decided that I am giving notice tomorrow morning. We found an on line calculator that lets you know how much you actually make when you figure in all your expenses, and when Steve and I saw the bottom line we laughed our asses off, and decided the commuting was done. I'll give them all the notice they want, I really do like the job. And the the hunt will begin up here. So the bloggie will be a lil jagged, but it will be here. Here's to job hunting :X

We are all healthy and happy, you can't get better than that.
I had thought to make New Year Resolutions. I think that every year. And then I find something better to do, like show you this. Straight from an e-letter I get. You know how I LOVE me my midnight haikus. Well, this selection is a LOT better than that :o)

----
Microsoft Haiku. In Japan, they have replaced the impersonal and unhelpful Microsoft Error messages with Haiku poetry messages. Haiku poetry has strict construction rules. Each poem has only three lines, 17 syllables: five syllables in the first line, seven in the second, five in the third. Haikus are used to communicate a timeless message often achieving a wistful, yearning and powerful insight through extreme brevity - the essence of Zen.

-

Your file was so big.

It might be useful.

But now it's gone.

The Website you seek

Cannot be located, but

Countless more exist.

-

Chaos reigns within.

Reflect, repent, and reboot.

Order shall return.

-

Program aborting:

Close all that you have worked on.

You ask far too much

-

Windows NT crashed.

I am the Blue Screen of Death.

No one hears your screams.

-

Yesterday it worked.

Today it is not working.

Windows is like that.

-

First snow, then silence.

This thousand-dollar screen dies

So beautifully.

-

With searching comes loss

And the presence of absence:

"My file" not found.

-

The Tao that is seen

Is not the true Tao-until

You bring fresh toner.

-

Stay the patient course.

Of little worth is your ire.

The network is down.

-

A crash reduces

Your expensive computer

To a simple stone.

-

Three things are certain:

Death, taxes and lost data.

Guess which has occurred.

-

You step in the stream,

But the water has moved on.

This page is not here.

-

Out of memory.

We wish to hold the whole sky,

But we never will.

-

Having been erased,

The document you're seeking

Must now be retyped.

-

Serious error.

All shortcuts have disappeared.

Screen. Mind. Both are blank.

-

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Thursday, December 24

Merry Christmas !

Steve and I are home. In our Love Shack. We know where all of our kids are, and they are healthy and happy. We have everything we need, and quite a few of the things we want, and so we are blessed. I wish the same for all of you.

I wish for each of you a holiday season filled with special times with family and friends, lots of good food, and an overabundance of love and laughter.





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Sunday, December 20

Bathroom Redux

We don't eat bacon here a lot, it's just not a body friendly food. Most of the time. But, there are 3 times a year where I bust a bacon move, in a big way. Christmas, Thanksgiving, and a summer reunion party we host. Some of the dishes require bacon. I am of the opinion, if you are gonna cook a messy food like bacon, then why not cook a lot of it,....say, 3 pounds of thick cut bacon....and have done with it for a while, instead of cooking a pound at a time, and cleaning the kitchen 3 times to boot?

In theory, this is a GREAT thing. Cook 3 pounds of bacon before Turkey day, freeze 2, and then you have bacon for Christmas and the Summer reunion all ready to go, thaw and use. Except. This equation doesn't figure in Team Gail. The SMELL of bacon will drive my crew wild, and if they have reason to suspect there is cooked bacon in the freezer, my poor freezer will get torn apart by multiple family members, at different times, all of whom are convinced THEY have secret knowledge as to where *I* would stash the bacon. They can usually find it, damn them. So today, I made my "3 pounds of Bacon for 3 holidays and-if-I-believe-it-will-last-that-long-I-have a-bridge-to-sell-myself" annual bacon pilgrimage. I know though, as sure as I am telling you all about it, that I will get "2-Stripped"

Oh Hon, just 2 strips with my waffles/bagel/grilled cheese
Oh Mom, I haven't had bacon in so long
Oh, Mom, my budget won't cover bacon
Oh Mom, no one cooks bacon like you do....that ALWAYS works

to DEATH, and that bacon will be gone before the snow we're getting today is.

Sunday. Less than 2 inches of snow, Yay Team Gail! Steve didn't even need the snowblower, so as soon as the guys were done shoveling, Steve and I went to the mall [Yes, I know...I HATE shopping. UNLESS,..I have a 30% off any one item coupon at Old Navy, then I'm all in]
Which brings me right back to my train of thought.

Do you like getting your picture taken?

Because, I HATE it. I didn't realize it til we started having kids, but there it is. My niece made me a scarf, and asked that I FaceBook a pic of myself wearing the scarf. I have been putting that off since Thanksgiving, and decided today was time to man up. I've been looking at pictures of other people, trying to find out how they can pose comfortably, it's just not in me. Steve must have taken 10 pics, and then the fun started. He figured if I was laughing I wouldn't mind having my pic taken. All I have to say about Mr Steves' method of photography is "Thank God".


Thank God no kids were around
Thank God he wasn't standing in front of the living room windows.

Also, I have been informed that I am supposed to have an actual PIC of myself, as opposed to something I found humorous, as my avatar at said FaceBook. Who the hell made all these rules? Once again, Steve took lots of pics, but screw it, that's over my comfort level today. If people don't like that "I'm a lumberjack and Im OK" then it's all on their heads. Only one person picked up the Month Python reference anyway.

The Bathroom! I promised pics. There area few things still to be done, and they need to be left for when we have open windows and adequate ventilation [painting and flooring, they desTROyed the floor] but the 78" long shower:



is gone, and the tub:





is in place. A girl has Gotta have a bubble bath, and the Love Shack feels more like ours now.

This from my friend E, although I took it back to the beginning of the episode. All in the Family, when Edith is going thru the change. I can't tell you how much I enjoyed it, and how many memories I have of watching this show.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_cUVfYUuf0&feature=video_response

December:
21st: -Look At The Bright Side Day
-National Flashlight Day
-National French Fried Shrimp Day
-Hamburger Day
23rd: -Festivus
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Sunday, December 13

Am I here? Really??

Typed it all in,and published. Nada. Pissed. Will try again later. Oh MY this sucks.

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