This speaks for itself. Enjoy!
8.20.2009
8.03.2009
Ted Nugent Has It Right
What do you think about the Second Amendment? I think this clip just about sums it up (though it only mentions self-defense against criminals, and not against a criminal government which was the other basis for the 2nd Amendment).
7.24.2009
History Channel Documentary Validates Chemtrails and Weather Warfare
Only 10 minutes long, but informative - especially if you aren't already aware of the spectre of chemical warfare in our skies.
Red Explains Their Tatts
One of my husband's favorite bands is Red - and I'll admit myself they rock hardcore. Awesome messages in their music, and the "Death of Me" video is intense.
Here, they talk about the messages behind their ink.
Here, they talk about the messages behind their ink.
7.17.2009
Imagine the Potential; Astronaut
How many children aspire to be astronauts these days? (It was one of mine in 2nd grade, by the way). How many will get the chance to even have that dream?
5.15.2009
The Final Push for World Government
There are many who believe this NWO coming to fruition is the one-world government of the Antichrist predicted so long ago in the book of Revelation. I highly encourage anyone interested in what's going on today to get a Bible (preferably a New King James or Geneva Bible) and study Revelation and some of the Old Testament prophetical books; Daniel, Zechariah, et. al. Also google El Shaddai ministries; they have some great insights on what is going on right now in regards to biblical prophecy and the timing of the Jewish feasts and observances.
4.29.2009
Feeling Icky
Bear with me - I'm sick (I've been for about a week now, unfortunately) so I'm feeling a bit negative right now. Just skip over if you don't need to hear my crap. ;P I promise to write a feel-good post sometime soon. Promise! :)
I haven't written anything in a while, so it's time for another rambling post. We've had a lot of ups and downs recently, in regards to things working and more often - not. Ironically, I did a wordle recently with my blog as the url input, and one of the biggest words that showed up was "bathroom". (Incidentally, if anyone knows how to get two words to stay together in a wordle - like "Jelly Belly" - I'd appreciate if you'd share. I made another wordle later, using quotes to see if I could get the phrase to show up together and was less than satisfied.)
The reason it's ironic about the bathroom, is because once again one of our biggest issues with our new place is the plumbing. I don't remember if I wrote about this yet in my plumbing/toilet post, but we have had several incidences (incidents?) of flooding in our big main bathroom. This isn't the typical, plugged-toilet-overflow issue; rather, this is a water-bubbling-up-out-of-the-holes-in-the-floor-where-the-toilet-is-bolted-down problem.
Wha? Yeah. I think the place we're living used to be all one house; and the piping would seem to prove that. Not to mention our water heater supplies the *entire* building; that's fun, trying to take a warm shower in between other people's laundry loads and such. I should've known or asked when we moved in, because our water heater was so luxuriously large; but it wasn't till I did try to take a shower and had nearly 5 minutes of warm (not hot) water before it ran out that I began to suspect. When I got out (freezing!) and discovered the upstairs people were doing their laundry (you can hear it quite clearly through our back door - which opens to the inside back of the building where their machines are located). Given that I hadn't used *any* hot water up to that point, it was the only explanation. Talk about a huge frustrating let-down. *sigh* I got it confirmed when the plumber was here finally fixing our flooding issue; more about that now.
So when we moved in, the bathtub was filthy. Ew. I cleaned it out, and gave the girls a bath (whereupon I found out the bathtub holds water like a sieve) and within a couple days, suddenly the bathroom floor was wet and the tub had something nasty in it. Later that day, I heard water running, went in, and found it literally bubbling up through the holes where the toilet was bolted down. Yikes! I couldn't shut it off; even with the water to the toilet off, it was still flowing up and out all over the floor. I could hear the water coming through the pipes in the ceiling and wall, and could see it coming in up through the drain in the tub too. Great!
So I told the guy who heads the maintenance for our rental-management company, and he said he'd have someone come look at it. Didn't happen. :/ No phone call, nothing. So, I waited. Cleaned up the bathroom, of course, and hoped it wouldn't happen again. Well - it happened again - several times. I finally called him one evening last week, after it happened several times in one day - and he promised he'd have someone come the next morning. Then, days go by, the weekend comes... nothing. I found out later, the plumber was vacationing in Cali with his family. That's totally cool - but to not hear anything at all - I was unhappy about that. I was almost panicking, to be honest. My girls' room is on the other side of the bathroom, and they have to walk through there to get out of their room. Not knowing the next time it might flood, and getting tired of cleaning it up, I didn't know what to do. Then I get a letter from a property management company, saying they were taking over management of our unit. Huh? I hadn't heard a word of this from our current landlord.
So with this change looming, and several issues still unresolved with regards to where we live, I figured I'd better fire off an email. Besides the bathroom, our shed/storage area leaks like... well - it just leaks. Apparently the whole structure is full of cracks (we *didn't* know this when we moved in) and the water pools like crazy in there (something else we didn't know. Lot of good storage will do us with all our stuff getting wet and possibly ruined - I just hope everything else in there doesn't get all moldy!) We were told they were going to do something about the leakage once it dried out - which it was for a good couple weeks-ish - as in, paint the roof to seal it somehow. The other thing is the pile of broken-up concrete, bricks, wood, and other crap in our front yard. They came and tore out the old sidewalk and put in an awesome new one - worked really hard on it - but they left all the rubble behind! Even a soda can that one of the workers drank out of - just crumpled on top. :/
Well, the response I got was that he'd forward my maintenance issues to the new company. Oh. Ok...
So, with me being sick the last few days (not just icky but lay-in-bed, don't-want-to-move kind of sick) I thought, well - at least I don't have to worry about anyone showing up to my house. I mean, I wanted the stuff taken care of, but at the moment I just wanted to sleep. Of course, with 5 kids, that's not really an option. But a girl can dream, right? ;)
So guess who shows up right before 5pm? Without calling or any forewarning? Apparently, he'd been working allllll day, and only found out right before that we were having this bathroom issue. I know it's not his fault. But geez - where is the communication here? It's apparently non-existent.
He took a look, but couldn't do anything because it was too late in the day. So he and his assistant came back yesterday and spent a good while trying to fix the problem. They had to take the toilet out, and use a snake - but it wasn't big enough, apparently. So they had to go get a bigger one. They snaked that thing all *through* the house. I could hear it working at the complete other end, in the pipes. They were finally able to shove whatever the blockage was out to the city pipes, but wow. I don't have a clue what it was, but it sure gave them trouble. I just hope it never happens again. :/ And they did a great job re-attaching the toilet. This time they sealed it down, and put covers on the bolts and everything. It looks a whole lot better. And we'll actually be able to use that bathroom again!
I don't know what's going to happen with the piles of crap in the front yard, or the wet storage shed, but at least we won't have a wet bathroom floor anymore...
And now, to counter all the negative in my post; I'll leave you with what I *do* like about the house; I think we should always end on a positive note. :) So... it's big enough for all of us. It's affordable. It has lots of windows; I love natural light. Our kitty loves the window sills too; and so do the hyacinths and tulips I bought right before Easter. :) It has two bathrooms (an absolute essential when you have this many people in the house ;) and they will now both work properly! It has lots of wall space for my pictures - when I finally get them unpacked and/or framed. I did buy a couple cute wooden wall plaques already - some distressed-looking veggie ones for the kitchen, and seashell ones for the small bathroom. I love seashells, sailboats, ocean glass, surfboards; all types of coastal stuff. And living in a land-locked state, I'll take any seashore-type imagery I can get. ;) Unfortunately, our seashell and surfboard bathroom rugs got ruined at our last place. :( But anyway...
And even though we have a small kitchen, with no diswasher or garbage disposal; it does have awesome light and a window looking out on the back yard. :)
Ok, my head is getting fuzzy again. I have to get out and get some baby supplies and lunch stuff, because - being at the end of the pay period, we're getting low on some things - so I need to stop now. I have other things I want to write about, but not now. I haven't even done any photography for several days; no taking pictures, no editing, no posting... and I've not commented on anyone's either. I'm so horrible. *sigh*
Oh - one last thing. It was snowing this morning. Snowing!!!
And Monday is my 7th wedding anniversary. I won't even get to spend it with my husband except a few hours in the evening, because he has to work (though I've asked him to see if he can get it off... but we'll see.) We were talking last night about taking a trip to my mom's over in WA - it should only take about 12.5 hours if we drive straight through - maybe 14.5 with feeding the baby a couple times (we'd drive overnight) - and I thought this weekend would be a great time to pack up and go - but we'll see about that too. *shrug*
I haven't written anything in a while, so it's time for another rambling post. We've had a lot of ups and downs recently, in regards to things working and more often - not. Ironically, I did a wordle recently with my blog as the url input, and one of the biggest words that showed up was "bathroom". (Incidentally, if anyone knows how to get two words to stay together in a wordle - like "Jelly Belly" - I'd appreciate if you'd share. I made another wordle later, using quotes to see if I could get the phrase to show up together and was less than satisfied.)
The reason it's ironic about the bathroom, is because once again one of our biggest issues with our new place is the plumbing. I don't remember if I wrote about this yet in my plumbing/toilet post, but we have had several incidences (incidents?) of flooding in our big main bathroom. This isn't the typical, plugged-toilet-overflow issue; rather, this is a water-bubbling-up-out-of-the-holes-in-the-floor-where-the-toilet-is-bolted-down problem.
Wha? Yeah. I think the place we're living used to be all one house; and the piping would seem to prove that. Not to mention our water heater supplies the *entire* building; that's fun, trying to take a warm shower in between other people's laundry loads and such. I should've known or asked when we moved in, because our water heater was so luxuriously large; but it wasn't till I did try to take a shower and had nearly 5 minutes of warm (not hot) water before it ran out that I began to suspect. When I got out (freezing!) and discovered the upstairs people were doing their laundry (you can hear it quite clearly through our back door - which opens to the inside back of the building where their machines are located). Given that I hadn't used *any* hot water up to that point, it was the only explanation. Talk about a huge frustrating let-down. *sigh* I got it confirmed when the plumber was here finally fixing our flooding issue; more about that now.
So when we moved in, the bathtub was filthy. Ew. I cleaned it out, and gave the girls a bath (whereupon I found out the bathtub holds water like a sieve) and within a couple days, suddenly the bathroom floor was wet and the tub had something nasty in it. Later that day, I heard water running, went in, and found it literally bubbling up through the holes where the toilet was bolted down. Yikes! I couldn't shut it off; even with the water to the toilet off, it was still flowing up and out all over the floor. I could hear the water coming through the pipes in the ceiling and wall, and could see it coming in up through the drain in the tub too. Great!
So I told the guy who heads the maintenance for our rental-management company, and he said he'd have someone come look at it. Didn't happen. :/ No phone call, nothing. So, I waited. Cleaned up the bathroom, of course, and hoped it wouldn't happen again. Well - it happened again - several times. I finally called him one evening last week, after it happened several times in one day - and he promised he'd have someone come the next morning. Then, days go by, the weekend comes... nothing. I found out later, the plumber was vacationing in Cali with his family. That's totally cool - but to not hear anything at all - I was unhappy about that. I was almost panicking, to be honest. My girls' room is on the other side of the bathroom, and they have to walk through there to get out of their room. Not knowing the next time it might flood, and getting tired of cleaning it up, I didn't know what to do. Then I get a letter from a property management company, saying they were taking over management of our unit. Huh? I hadn't heard a word of this from our current landlord.
So with this change looming, and several issues still unresolved with regards to where we live, I figured I'd better fire off an email. Besides the bathroom, our shed/storage area leaks like... well - it just leaks. Apparently the whole structure is full of cracks (we *didn't* know this when we moved in) and the water pools like crazy in there (something else we didn't know. Lot of good storage will do us with all our stuff getting wet and possibly ruined - I just hope everything else in there doesn't get all moldy!) We were told they were going to do something about the leakage once it dried out - which it was for a good couple weeks-ish - as in, paint the roof to seal it somehow. The other thing is the pile of broken-up concrete, bricks, wood, and other crap in our front yard. They came and tore out the old sidewalk and put in an awesome new one - worked really hard on it - but they left all the rubble behind! Even a soda can that one of the workers drank out of - just crumpled on top. :/
Well, the response I got was that he'd forward my maintenance issues to the new company. Oh. Ok...
So, with me being sick the last few days (not just icky but lay-in-bed, don't-want-to-move kind of sick) I thought, well - at least I don't have to worry about anyone showing up to my house. I mean, I wanted the stuff taken care of, but at the moment I just wanted to sleep. Of course, with 5 kids, that's not really an option. But a girl can dream, right? ;)
So guess who shows up right before 5pm? Without calling or any forewarning? Apparently, he'd been working allllll day, and only found out right before that we were having this bathroom issue. I know it's not his fault. But geez - where is the communication here? It's apparently non-existent.
He took a look, but couldn't do anything because it was too late in the day. So he and his assistant came back yesterday and spent a good while trying to fix the problem. They had to take the toilet out, and use a snake - but it wasn't big enough, apparently. So they had to go get a bigger one. They snaked that thing all *through* the house. I could hear it working at the complete other end, in the pipes. They were finally able to shove whatever the blockage was out to the city pipes, but wow. I don't have a clue what it was, but it sure gave them trouble. I just hope it never happens again. :/ And they did a great job re-attaching the toilet. This time they sealed it down, and put covers on the bolts and everything. It looks a whole lot better. And we'll actually be able to use that bathroom again!
I don't know what's going to happen with the piles of crap in the front yard, or the wet storage shed, but at least we won't have a wet bathroom floor anymore...
And now, to counter all the negative in my post; I'll leave you with what I *do* like about the house; I think we should always end on a positive note. :) So... it's big enough for all of us. It's affordable. It has lots of windows; I love natural light. Our kitty loves the window sills too; and so do the hyacinths and tulips I bought right before Easter. :) It has two bathrooms (an absolute essential when you have this many people in the house ;) and they will now both work properly! It has lots of wall space for my pictures - when I finally get them unpacked and/or framed. I did buy a couple cute wooden wall plaques already - some distressed-looking veggie ones for the kitchen, and seashell ones for the small bathroom. I love seashells, sailboats, ocean glass, surfboards; all types of coastal stuff. And living in a land-locked state, I'll take any seashore-type imagery I can get. ;) Unfortunately, our seashell and surfboard bathroom rugs got ruined at our last place. :( But anyway...
And even though we have a small kitchen, with no diswasher or garbage disposal; it does have awesome light and a window looking out on the back yard. :)
Ok, my head is getting fuzzy again. I have to get out and get some baby supplies and lunch stuff, because - being at the end of the pay period, we're getting low on some things - so I need to stop now. I have other things I want to write about, but not now. I haven't even done any photography for several days; no taking pictures, no editing, no posting... and I've not commented on anyone's either. I'm so horrible. *sigh*
Oh - one last thing. It was snowing this morning. Snowing!!!
And Monday is my 7th wedding anniversary. I won't even get to spend it with my husband except a few hours in the evening, because he has to work (though I've asked him to see if he can get it off... but we'll see.) We were talking last night about taking a trip to my mom's over in WA - it should only take about 12.5 hours if we drive straight through - maybe 14.5 with feeding the baby a couple times (we'd drive overnight) - and I thought this weekend would be a great time to pack up and go - but we'll see about that too. *shrug*
4.26.2009
The 'New' Flu
So, all of a sudden there's this "new" flu going around; a never-before-seen hybrid/mutant swine/bird/human influenza virus. How this flu came into being is (almost) anybody's guess; I'm sure I'm not the only one who believes this could be a manufactured pandemic-in-the-making.
Either way, you can keep from getting the flu, and you can treat it if you *do* get it. "Conventional wisdom" says you treat the flu with medication, try to get the fever down and control the symptoms. Yet we know that those symptoms are actually the body's immune system response designed to kill the virus and rid the body of it. I read an article today, written a year ago when the avian flu was the most-feared possible cause of a new pandemic; it is at least just as relevant today with this new possible outbreak happening.
Anyway, here is the article: How to Beat and Prevent the Avian Flu and Other Influenzas. It's a long but very worthwhile read.
Either way, you can keep from getting the flu, and you can treat it if you *do* get it. "Conventional wisdom" says you treat the flu with medication, try to get the fever down and control the symptoms. Yet we know that those symptoms are actually the body's immune system response designed to kill the virus and rid the body of it. I read an article today, written a year ago when the avian flu was the most-feared possible cause of a new pandemic; it is at least just as relevant today with this new possible outbreak happening.
Anyway, here is the article: How to Beat and Prevent the Avian Flu and Other Influenzas. It's a long but very worthwhile read.
2.27.2009
Random ramblings. Pretty much. Yeah.
This post really doesn't have much of a point. I just felt like blogging, because sometimes I just need to let stuff out and I guess blogging is the easiest way to do it. I can just kind of open up and let loose all the random stuff I'm tired of keeping inside my head all the time. Not that it'll make much sense, especially given how hard it is for me to keep my thoughts straight when I get interrupted often (one of the hazards of having kids ;) but it's about their bedtime anyway, and I figured I'd give it a shot while I have a couple minutes to myself. The baby will be waking up soon, and she's quite taken with the keyboard, which makes it extremely hard to type anything coherent - given she'll lunge forward and start hitting the spacebar and all kinds of other keys while I'm trying to do anything. Try to edit photos sometime while entertaining a 7.5mo at the same time. RGB levels start going all over the place. ;)
So the latest DVD to send me down memory lane lately was one I found at Wal-Mart last night. It was a 4-DVD set of the Super Mario Bros. Super Show. Weird huh? Totally unexpected to find that there. It's so funny how many things from my childhood are making an appearance on store shelves. Some things haven't come back that I wish would (Glo-Bugs for one... I *loved* Glo-Bugs and I know my kids would too) but it's amazing now that DVDs are the standard viewing device, how many old shows you can find. Netflix has a ton of them - my kids have seen Thundercats (something we won't be doing again - I totally forgot about that wicked evil scary skeleton-demon bad guy - oops) and Gummi Bears (that old Disney cartoon where they drink Gummi Berry juice and go bouncing around while the bumbling gargoyles do their nefarious deeds for that poor bad guy that you almost had to pity, he was so pathetic) and now Mario Bros. Oh wait - we also have Duck Tales, TaleSpin, and Darkwing Duck. :)
My favorite show from when I was a kid though, or at least it ranks right up there at the top, has to be The Tick. And for those of you who are thinking the live-action one (I didn't even *know* there was a live-action one till I searched for the animated one) that's not it. What is it about the Tick that is so appealing? I think it's a combination of his innocent child-like naïvete and his wildly random and weird humorous musings. (I think I know when I've been on flickr too long, when I start spelling "humor," "humour". Anywayz...) Wow, it's getting hard to type. The heater has been a bit finicky lately and when the blower turns off, it gets cold fast. Plus I think I'm starting to come down with something... Probably the same thing my 2yo has been coughing in my face the last couple days. Hm. You know how some people call themselves existentialists? I'm a tangentalist.
Back to the Tick. I am so glad they finally came out with it on DVD. When I first started looking for it, all I could find was some ripped-off-TV version on ebay. I didn't know how bad it was until I ordered it though. Half the episodes didn't work (I tried contacting the seller but he was completely unresponsive to my emails - jerk) and the other half had the TV network's logo in the bottom corner the entire time. Plus the quality was laughably horrible. But, it kept me company on many long lonely nights while I was home by myself (well, with the kids of course) while the husband was out to sea. I used to sit there and watch them while eating hot wings (Foster Farms makes killer ones) and ice cream, and then fall asleep on the couch. Even now whenever I watch the Tick I get cravings for hot wings. ;) One of my all-time favorite episodes is the Tick vs. Santa. I don't know what tickles my funny bone about it so much - but I especially love the end when the Tick swims up the river of Santa clones - and later when they're disposing of the santa clones with static electricity. They go grab a santa, start rubbing, and say some silly typical Christmas phrase, then "pop!" santa disappears. And always at the end, Tick has some profound knowledge to share that he gained during his adventure...
One of my other favorites is The Tick vs. Science. Can you get any funnier than a bunch of superheroes, supervillains, and innocent bystanders (including "Tongue-Tongue", a disgusting huge slobbery walking tongue) getting their minds switched around into random other characters' bodies? At one point, Arthur and Tongue-tongue switch places, which makes for some pretty hilarious dialogue. Tongue-tongue (in Arthur's body) cries forlornly with his tongue hanging out of his face, while Dr. MungMung laments "He weeps for he has but one small tongue with which to taste the whole world." while Arthur (in Tongue-Tongue's body) is freaking out because, "I can taste the floor! I can taste everything!"
Classic. :)
Well I guess I should end the ramblings for now. The kids are all ready for bed, and the girls are playing a little too rambunctiously in their room. I look forward to when we can separate the 2yo from her older sisters again. *sigh*
So the latest DVD to send me down memory lane lately was one I found at Wal-Mart last night. It was a 4-DVD set of the Super Mario Bros. Super Show. Weird huh? Totally unexpected to find that there. It's so funny how many things from my childhood are making an appearance on store shelves. Some things haven't come back that I wish would (Glo-Bugs for one... I *loved* Glo-Bugs and I know my kids would too) but it's amazing now that DVDs are the standard viewing device, how many old shows you can find. Netflix has a ton of them - my kids have seen Thundercats (something we won't be doing again - I totally forgot about that wicked evil scary skeleton-demon bad guy - oops) and Gummi Bears (that old Disney cartoon where they drink Gummi Berry juice and go bouncing around while the bumbling gargoyles do their nefarious deeds for that poor bad guy that you almost had to pity, he was so pathetic) and now Mario Bros. Oh wait - we also have Duck Tales, TaleSpin, and Darkwing Duck. :)
My favorite show from when I was a kid though, or at least it ranks right up there at the top, has to be The Tick. And for those of you who are thinking the live-action one (I didn't even *know* there was a live-action one till I searched for the animated one) that's not it. What is it about the Tick that is so appealing? I think it's a combination of his innocent child-like naïvete and his wildly random and weird humorous musings. (I think I know when I've been on flickr too long, when I start spelling "humor," "humour". Anywayz...) Wow, it's getting hard to type. The heater has been a bit finicky lately and when the blower turns off, it gets cold fast. Plus I think I'm starting to come down with something... Probably the same thing my 2yo has been coughing in my face the last couple days. Hm. You know how some people call themselves existentialists? I'm a tangentalist.
Back to the Tick. I am so glad they finally came out with it on DVD. When I first started looking for it, all I could find was some ripped-off-TV version on ebay. I didn't know how bad it was until I ordered it though. Half the episodes didn't work (I tried contacting the seller but he was completely unresponsive to my emails - jerk) and the other half had the TV network's logo in the bottom corner the entire time. Plus the quality was laughably horrible. But, it kept me company on many long lonely nights while I was home by myself (well, with the kids of course) while the husband was out to sea. I used to sit there and watch them while eating hot wings (Foster Farms makes killer ones) and ice cream, and then fall asleep on the couch. Even now whenever I watch the Tick I get cravings for hot wings. ;) One of my all-time favorite episodes is the Tick vs. Santa. I don't know what tickles my funny bone about it so much - but I especially love the end when the Tick swims up the river of Santa clones - and later when they're disposing of the santa clones with static electricity. They go grab a santa, start rubbing, and say some silly typical Christmas phrase, then "pop!" santa disappears. And always at the end, Tick has some profound knowledge to share that he gained during his adventure...
One of my other favorites is The Tick vs. Science. Can you get any funnier than a bunch of superheroes, supervillains, and innocent bystanders (including "Tongue-Tongue", a disgusting huge slobbery walking tongue) getting their minds switched around into random other characters' bodies? At one point, Arthur and Tongue-tongue switch places, which makes for some pretty hilarious dialogue. Tongue-tongue (in Arthur's body) cries forlornly with his tongue hanging out of his face, while Dr. MungMung laments "He weeps for he has but one small tongue with which to taste the whole world." while Arthur (in Tongue-Tongue's body) is freaking out because, "I can taste the floor! I can taste everything!"
Classic. :)
Well I guess I should end the ramblings for now. The kids are all ready for bed, and the girls are playing a little too rambunctiously in their room. I look forward to when we can separate the 2yo from her older sisters again. *sigh*
2.26.2009
Disorder
Like, omygosh! 2 posts in one day, how can that be?!?
Ever have one of those days where everything seems to spin out of control? When it seems like the harder you try to hold it all together, the more it flies apart? One where as soon as you get done cleaning something up, you turn around to find an even bigger mess somewhere else. And you have so much that needs to be done, that you can't do, because you're doing so much just to try to catch up to what you needed to do before.
I'm having one of those days.
Ever have one of those days where everything seems to spin out of control? When it seems like the harder you try to hold it all together, the more it flies apart? One where as soon as you get done cleaning something up, you turn around to find an even bigger mess somewhere else. And you have so much that needs to be done, that you can't do, because you're doing so much just to try to catch up to what you needed to do before.
I'm having one of those days.
Toilets Hate Me
Kind of an odd title, I know. I thought about getting a photo of one to illustrate this post, but first I thought that would be kind of crude; and then the thought of what might come up in my search for a cc-licensed photo to post with this scared me. So, no pic. Just a bunch of words that hopefully make sense in my pre-coffee ramblings.
I'm not kidding though; I think they have it out for me. Since moving out and getting married, I've only lived in one place that had a properly-functioning toilet. We lived there for about a year-ish; and it had these industrial-type toilets with a push-button rather than a lever - that could've sucked a small child down into its vortex, it was so powerful. It was odd too, the shape of the seat and bowl. All elongated and narrow. Really weird. But I digress.
I honestly don't know what it is. We can't seem to find a place that doesn't have something wrong with its piping. The very first place I lived after I moved out and got married was this pathetic apartment in Silverdale, WA. First of all, it wasn't the apartment we were supposed to have. The one we were going to rent, the tenant changed her mind and decided not to move out. So we got a different one, sight-unseen (as many Military wives will attest, most places you end up moving into are sight-unseen. And that is reeeealllllly unfortunate, given the condition of some of the places you end up. I can regale you with stories of the places we lived growing up, when my dad was in the Navy... especially Virginia. *shudder*) Turns out this place was infested with black mold. The entire bathroom wall was covered in it. In fact by the time we moved out several months later, the mold had come through the wall to the bedroom that was on the other side. I truly believe I'm lucky to have survived living there... though I didn't know why, my asthma was so horrendous that I literally was gasping for breath almost all the time. I had to suck on my inhaler after climbing up the flight of stairs to the main level where our car was parked, just to keep from passing out. I was also pregnant at the time, and my blood pressure was sky-high (I normally have very low blood pressure - think 90 over 55) and I was always exhausted. My poor son who was only 3 1/2 also had to deal with it. I am so glad we didn't live there any longer than we did. You wouldn't believe how many of our possessions had mold on them after living there.
But I've completely gone off on a tangent. Heh. :) The toilet. Yes, the toilet. (Sorry, my kids are watching "Flushed Away" for the first time, and it's just kind of ironic; here I am getting distracted again.) Again, as many Military wives will attest, everything goes ka-boom when husband leaves. The first day he left with the sub for a week and a half for some exercises, my poor child went to flush and *WHOOOSH* the toilet overflowed. 'Kay, not just a little bit. It *flooded* the bathroom. I had never had a toilet overflow before, and I panicked. My brain finally kicked in and I shut off the water, but not before there was at least an inch of standing water in the bathroom. (I'm sure that helped the mold problem, right?) I soaked it up with a bunch of towels, which I then put in the bathtub, and decided to go to my mom's house. And of course, on the way, got pulled over by a cop with an attitude for having a headlight out. Just what I needed, right? :)
The next place we lived had the super-suction toilets, so I didn't have to deal with any plumbing problems at all. No, just having some unknown person looking in my window at night when I was home all alone with my new baby and my son. That was exciting. Thankfully, I had good friends for neighbors who were very aware (they were the ones who noticed the guy looking in), and the husband came over and gave me some dowels to put in the window frames. Talk about a completely freaky feeling. Our back window looked into the woods after about 10 yards of grass, so it's not like someone couldn't just hide out there and sneak up whenever he wanted. I was on edge for pretty much the rest of the time we lived there. In fact one day, it was all bright and sunny, and I was walking past my window and noticed someone out of the corner of my eye. I gasped and froze, and then realized it was just a landscaper. But it nearly gave me a heart attack.
After we moved from there, we lived in another place on base... and at the moment I can't think of a whole lot of problems with the plumbing. No, wait. The kids' bathroom. We had 3 bathrooms in that place (3!!! I think my entire growing-up life we never had more than one) and for some reason, the kids' toilet never seemed to work right. It never overflowed, but it would never flush right either. I spent more time plunging that thing... It got to where the kids just weren't allowed to use it. Period.
Fast-forward to a whole bunch of stuff happening to where we got transferred across the Sound to the Everett area (north of Seattle). I don't know what the deal was at Carroll's Creek Landing... but lemme tell you, they must think that because they have a "captive" population, they don't have to keep the place up to standard. They're part of the public-private venture the Navy decided to undertake in regards to housing, and IMO it's failed miserably. Anyway - I don't think one toilet worked right in that house. As soon as we'd get one working again, another would stop. We couldn't use the bathtub in the kids' upstairs bathroom either. Whomever lived there before had somehow allowed so much water to accumulate on the floor that it had soaked in to the linoleum and caused it to start peeling up around the edges. When we first moved in, I said something about water damage on the ceiling of the living room. We weren't able to be there when the maintenance people showed up (I had to finish cleaning the other place we were moving out of) so I couldn't point it out and demand something be done about it. When we came back, the maintenance sheet said it was a "bad patch job" and had something to do with a sliding door. (In the middle of the living room?!?) I never pursued it, but I wish I had. Because all it took was one time for my son to splash enough water out of the tub by accident to cause water to suddenly start dripping from the ceiling. You know in the Secret of Nimh where the animal's house is being submerged in mud, and it's starting to drip in? (At least that's how I remember the scene... something that has given me a life-long morbid phobia of mudslides and being buried alive) Well, it was reminiscent of that, though on a much smaller scale. I know it sounds almost humorous to compare the two, but you didn't see my oldest daughter's reaction. She was *freaking* out. She thought the house was going to be flooded and the ceiling was going to cave in. Finally, the water damage on the ceiling made sense. When I investigated further, I found the entire edge of the floor in the bathroom was actually sunken, and there was a crack running up the wall in the hallway that matched up with the edge of the bathroom wall. Just so happened, that this part of the floor was right above the living room, and the cracked wall looked over our stairwell.
Though I again said something to the management, they didn't do anything about it, and we even got charged after we moved out to replace the damaged linoleum. I sincerely hope whomever is living there now doesn't get a bathtub in their living room one day.
Have you figured out yet I have a hard time sticking to one subject? ;) Ok back to the glorious main subject. ;P Would you care to guess how many times the toilet (the single only toilet in our one bathroom we have now) here has overflowed? Just the other night, when the idea to rant about it in my blog first hit me, I spent a good half-hour trying to fix the stupid thing. We don't know where our nice heavy-duty plunger (that we got so much use out of at our last place) is at the mo., so we've had to use the old fashioned, wooden-handled plunger the last residents so generously left behind. I can tell you, by the time I got that stupid thing working again, my arms were sore and my hands were nearly raw.
Besides a big kitchen, a dishwasher, and lots of windows... if we ever buy a house, my major prerequisite is that it have working toilets.
I'm not kidding though; I think they have it out for me. Since moving out and getting married, I've only lived in one place that had a properly-functioning toilet. We lived there for about a year-ish; and it had these industrial-type toilets with a push-button rather than a lever - that could've sucked a small child down into its vortex, it was so powerful. It was odd too, the shape of the seat and bowl. All elongated and narrow. Really weird. But I digress.
I honestly don't know what it is. We can't seem to find a place that doesn't have something wrong with its piping. The very first place I lived after I moved out and got married was this pathetic apartment in Silverdale, WA. First of all, it wasn't the apartment we were supposed to have. The one we were going to rent, the tenant changed her mind and decided not to move out. So we got a different one, sight-unseen (as many Military wives will attest, most places you end up moving into are sight-unseen. And that is reeeealllllly unfortunate, given the condition of some of the places you end up. I can regale you with stories of the places we lived growing up, when my dad was in the Navy... especially Virginia. *shudder*) Turns out this place was infested with black mold. The entire bathroom wall was covered in it. In fact by the time we moved out several months later, the mold had come through the wall to the bedroom that was on the other side. I truly believe I'm lucky to have survived living there... though I didn't know why, my asthma was so horrendous that I literally was gasping for breath almost all the time. I had to suck on my inhaler after climbing up the flight of stairs to the main level where our car was parked, just to keep from passing out. I was also pregnant at the time, and my blood pressure was sky-high (I normally have very low blood pressure - think 90 over 55) and I was always exhausted. My poor son who was only 3 1/2 also had to deal with it. I am so glad we didn't live there any longer than we did. You wouldn't believe how many of our possessions had mold on them after living there.
But I've completely gone off on a tangent. Heh. :) The toilet. Yes, the toilet. (Sorry, my kids are watching "Flushed Away" for the first time, and it's just kind of ironic; here I am getting distracted again.) Again, as many Military wives will attest, everything goes ka-boom when husband leaves. The first day he left with the sub for a week and a half for some exercises, my poor child went to flush and *WHOOOSH* the toilet overflowed. 'Kay, not just a little bit. It *flooded* the bathroom. I had never had a toilet overflow before, and I panicked. My brain finally kicked in and I shut off the water, but not before there was at least an inch of standing water in the bathroom. (I'm sure that helped the mold problem, right?) I soaked it up with a bunch of towels, which I then put in the bathtub, and decided to go to my mom's house. And of course, on the way, got pulled over by a cop with an attitude for having a headlight out. Just what I needed, right? :)
The next place we lived had the super-suction toilets, so I didn't have to deal with any plumbing problems at all. No, just having some unknown person looking in my window at night when I was home all alone with my new baby and my son. That was exciting. Thankfully, I had good friends for neighbors who were very aware (they were the ones who noticed the guy looking in), and the husband came over and gave me some dowels to put in the window frames. Talk about a completely freaky feeling. Our back window looked into the woods after about 10 yards of grass, so it's not like someone couldn't just hide out there and sneak up whenever he wanted. I was on edge for pretty much the rest of the time we lived there. In fact one day, it was all bright and sunny, and I was walking past my window and noticed someone out of the corner of my eye. I gasped and froze, and then realized it was just a landscaper. But it nearly gave me a heart attack.
After we moved from there, we lived in another place on base... and at the moment I can't think of a whole lot of problems with the plumbing. No, wait. The kids' bathroom. We had 3 bathrooms in that place (3!!! I think my entire growing-up life we never had more than one) and for some reason, the kids' toilet never seemed to work right. It never overflowed, but it would never flush right either. I spent more time plunging that thing... It got to where the kids just weren't allowed to use it. Period.
Fast-forward to a whole bunch of stuff happening to where we got transferred across the Sound to the Everett area (north of Seattle). I don't know what the deal was at Carroll's Creek Landing... but lemme tell you, they must think that because they have a "captive" population, they don't have to keep the place up to standard. They're part of the public-private venture the Navy decided to undertake in regards to housing, and IMO it's failed miserably. Anyway - I don't think one toilet worked right in that house. As soon as we'd get one working again, another would stop. We couldn't use the bathtub in the kids' upstairs bathroom either. Whomever lived there before had somehow allowed so much water to accumulate on the floor that it had soaked in to the linoleum and caused it to start peeling up around the edges. When we first moved in, I said something about water damage on the ceiling of the living room. We weren't able to be there when the maintenance people showed up (I had to finish cleaning the other place we were moving out of) so I couldn't point it out and demand something be done about it. When we came back, the maintenance sheet said it was a "bad patch job" and had something to do with a sliding door. (In the middle of the living room?!?) I never pursued it, but I wish I had. Because all it took was one time for my son to splash enough water out of the tub by accident to cause water to suddenly start dripping from the ceiling. You know in the Secret of Nimh where the animal's house is being submerged in mud, and it's starting to drip in? (At least that's how I remember the scene... something that has given me a life-long morbid phobia of mudslides and being buried alive) Well, it was reminiscent of that, though on a much smaller scale. I know it sounds almost humorous to compare the two, but you didn't see my oldest daughter's reaction. She was *freaking* out. She thought the house was going to be flooded and the ceiling was going to cave in. Finally, the water damage on the ceiling made sense. When I investigated further, I found the entire edge of the floor in the bathroom was actually sunken, and there was a crack running up the wall in the hallway that matched up with the edge of the bathroom wall. Just so happened, that this part of the floor was right above the living room, and the cracked wall looked over our stairwell.
Though I again said something to the management, they didn't do anything about it, and we even got charged after we moved out to replace the damaged linoleum. I sincerely hope whomever is living there now doesn't get a bathtub in their living room one day.
Have you figured out yet I have a hard time sticking to one subject? ;) Ok back to the glorious main subject. ;P Would you care to guess how many times the toilet (the single only toilet in our one bathroom we have now) here has overflowed? Just the other night, when the idea to rant about it in my blog first hit me, I spent a good half-hour trying to fix the stupid thing. We don't know where our nice heavy-duty plunger (that we got so much use out of at our last place) is at the mo., so we've had to use the old fashioned, wooden-handled plunger the last residents so generously left behind. I can tell you, by the time I got that stupid thing working again, my arms were sore and my hands were nearly raw.
Besides a big kitchen, a dishwasher, and lots of windows... if we ever buy a house, my major prerequisite is that it have working toilets.
2.05.2009
Chem/Bio-warfare, or Blown-up Jellies?
Freaky stuff.
And people say there's nothing nefarious happening in our skies?
Heh.
1.29.2009
My 9 in '09
Originally uploaded by FlyButtafly
On flickr, there's a meme going around where you tag someone and then that person lists 9 things about him/herself and posts it with a photo. Here's mine:
1. I am a total introvert. In social situations, I am the last person to go up to someone I don't know and start a conversation. Even if I knew someone, unless we were good friends it's a good bet I would wait for them to notice me before saying hello.
2. I love being onstage. I could live my entire life in a theater and be perfectly happy.
3. I hate preppy and love punk. Yet I married a man who was voted "best dressed" in high school and had no tatts or piercings when I met him. (He now has one tatt I bought him for our anniversary.) I also swore I'd never marry a submariner. Guess what? ;) Love does strange things.
4. I can't stand cheerleaders. 'Nuff said.
5. I am hopelessly addicted to coffee, and am extremely particular when it comes to espresso drinks. I especially love white chocolate mochas (not too sweet) with peppermint or coconut.
6. I am a Jelly Belly connoisseur. I have tried nearly every flavor they've made since I was a kid (except for the Harry Potter Bertie Botts ones) and I don't need some little booklet to tell me which flavor is which. ;) My favorites are cream soda, strawberry daquiri, tangerine, and Dr. Pepper. I don't like bubble gum (or the ones with similar flavor), peach, or pear.
7. I am frequently pre-judged by my outward appearance. Apparently, having pink hair and facial piercings automatically makes me an ultra-left wing radical liberal (nothing could be further from the truth). Or just a freak. Either way, when people get to know me, they tell me I'm completely different than what they assumed.
8. I rarely wear matching socks. On purpose. :)
9. I love India. I'd live there in a heartbeat. I love the people (some of the most generous and warm people I've ever met), the clothes (what gorgeous colors and fabrics! And sarees are so beautiful), and the food. Especially naan, masala balls (like Cheetos Cheese balls but spicy instead of cheesy), murgh tari, samosas, black tea with milk and sugar... and ice cream. :)
1.22.2009
Imagine the Potential
Thanks to Through the Veil for directing me to this incredible video. It literally gave me goosebumps...
America's Holocaust
Originally uploaded by FlyButtafly
Today is the 36th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision making abortion legal for any reason, even as a method of birth control.
Since that ruling, over 50 million babies have been aborted.
Most people who claim the "pro-choice" moniker have no idea how the modern abortion movement started. Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, was a virulent racist and radical feminist who believed in eugenics, and promoted abortion as a way to reduce the "unfit" and "bad strains" of our population. Many in the Planned Parenthood organization are more than willing to continue her legacy. Even the medical community still practices a form of eugenics when they recommend abortion for children with Down's Syndrome.
Why does this barbaric and dangerous practice continue, in a supposedly civilized society, when it is so traumatic and there are so many other options? I believe ignorance and fear are the two biggest reasons. But it doesn't have to be that way.
I had a teen pregnancy, too. But I made the decision to keep my child. It was one of the best decisions I've ever made, and I couldn't imagine my life without him. He's 10 years old now, and is such a blessing.
I will continue to stand up for the rights of the unborn, and to educate people about the truth as long as abortion is an accepted and tolerated practice. They have the right to liberty and the pursuit of happiness, too. But it means nothing if they don't first get their right to life.
1.16.2009
Catching up
Ok, wow - seriously, I am so bad at this. I just don't have time to sit and write long things; I barely have time to write a few paragraphs on a photo on flickr. But there were a few things I just had to blog about. So here goes. :)
First of all, I didn't realize that I hadn't updated on my husband's military status. I thought I'd blogged about the latest happenings, and when I visited my blog this morning found out that I hadn't. Oops. :)
(text below copied/pasted from what I wrote under the photo on flickr)
His Next-To-Last Day as a Sailor
My 2yo is putting her dolls and multiple stuffed animals on my lap. See, I just don't ever get more than about a minute to sit down and do anything. ;) Which is why I have a Twitter account. My updates are protected, first of all for privacy reasons, and second-of-all because I got sick of spammers and weirdo/pervos following me. Yeah... But if you're not a spammer or weirdo or just collecting names on your following list, just request and I'll probably accept/follow you. I've found some really cool ppl on Twitter, and I love that I can just check in really quick and see what everyone's up to, and jot down what I'm doing at the mo. or add a link to something I found online that I want to share.
Speaking of, you have to watch/listen to these next couple videos. I don't necessarily agree with everything the Health Ranger (Mike Adams of NaturalNews.com) has to say - he's into some New Age stuff and seems a bit caught up in the "man-created global warming crisis" thing - but other than that, this guy is awesome. I read Natural News pretty religiously, and get the email updates and everything. I am so thankful that websites like this are out there - if only more people read them! Anyway, he's now made two hip-hop songs which he's licensed for non-commercial use. I'll post the videos below (please watch! :) and the links to the pages he's posted more info on (he also has links where you can download the songs and ringtones.)
I Want My Bailout Money! **Language Warning: There is one descriptive obscenity in the song**
It's humorous, but in a sad way. Sad, because he speaks the truth. Thankfully he does it in a way that will hopefully get some people's attention, and maybe spread the word. ;)
SSRIs - S.S.R.Lies
This one, while still being entertaining (in the sense that it has a great beat, and he is a surpisingly good rap artist) is much heavier. This time the truth isn't about our economy, but our very lives and those of our children. I wish more parents were wise to the facts. :( Please visit Natural News and read up on how to keep healthy in these chemically-saturated times.
On that note, have you done any reading on chemtrails? Sometimes called chaff (depending on their contents) they are part of an aerosol assault on our air and environment. Anyone who knows me knows I'm not an environmentalist in the usual sense of the word, but what is happening right above our heads is a travesty and people need to wake up and start looking up. We no longer have the clear blue skies and fluffy clouds I remember from my childhood. Unfortunately, most people are so absorbed in their personal electronic devices that they rarely look each other in the eye, much less pay attention to what's happening over their heads. Check out my Watch the Skies set for photos and more information (plus links to other websites that I highly recommend keeping tabs on).
Ok, well my 2yo needs some diaper attention, so I'd better end this for now. I'll be writing again soon - I hope. ;)
First of all, I didn't realize that I hadn't updated on my husband's military status. I thought I'd blogged about the latest happenings, and when I visited my blog this morning found out that I hadn't. Oops. :)
(text below copied/pasted from what I wrote under the photo on flickr)
His Next-To-Last Day as a Sailor
Yep, you read that right. We couldn't believe it either. He arrived home Sunday, April 20, still without a discharge date (that we knew of). Closest we knew was either July 30 (his LES still had that as his ETS date) or May 31 (for some reason, that was the date given on his flight-home orders). He was told before leaving the ship that he was to start TAP (Transition Assistance Program - something every Sailor goes through before discharge to give him information and help transitioning to civilian life) class that Monday. I was upset and confused - they recommended (stressed strenuously) that spouses should go with their Sailor because so much information is presented, and the spouse might have questions, so we were planning on attending one sometime in the middle of this month (May). But they just dropped him in one the day after he got back, and we had no clue why. But he had no choice, so he went without me. It was only four days long, so Friday he reported to the Yeoman Chief on base for his TAD assignment. But there he was told he wasn't reporting to supply, but to TPU (Transient Personnel Unit) which is supposed to basically be for people just arriving to (like from boot camp) or departing (as in, the process of being discharged from) their duty station. The chief thought somehow there must have been a screw-up, but we'd figure it all out the next Monday.
Well, it got all figured out. Heh. He was told Monday that his check-out (as in, completely checking out of the Navy) was Tuesday. Thanks for a little warning, huh?!? :)
So... next day, after running to UPS store to get his medical and dental records copied (he doesn't get to keep the originals - they're shipped off to a vault somewhere), we drive on base for the last time; get the proper forms to get copies of the kids' and my records, drop him at PSD for his check out... and a few minutes later he walks out sans ID card... the newest former Nuke EM/Missile Tech/Storekeeper US Navy Sailor.
So um... what are we doing now? Well, thanks to our tax return and the half-separation pay we received, we have money to live on until he finds a job. Though we are now paying the (astronomically high) civilian rent rate - given that it's privatized-Military housing, they obviously want to get our place opened up asap, so rent is stinking ridiculous and they're seriously pressuring us to get a notice-to-vacate turned in. However, the fact we still don't have a place to move to, nor a job to go to, hinders that for us a *little*. Thankfully, as I said, we have enough to live on for a while, and we have up to 6 mos. to use the last Navy/FISC move we get (God forbid we have to be here that long) - though we don't have any medical/dental coverage right now, of course. We're praying and trusting God (and Greg is doing all kinds of job searches, looking high and low, online and off) for a house and a job - and in the meantime we're trying to pack up what we can and then when the time comes, we'll just have the movers come and pack out the rest and move us to our "final" destination.
I was going to list his training/experience/qualifications here, but if anyone's interested to know, they can flickrmail/email me and I'll get my husband in touch to discuss specifics. I will say he's looking in the electronics technician field, the security field, and the mission field. :) Yes, we both feel called to be missionaries, and have a heart for young people especially - they are the future after all, and they are the special target of those who would corrupt our society and lead it into eventual destruction. (Speaking of... I just finished reading "The Marketing of Evil" by David Kupelian, and what an eye-opening book it is. If you ever wanted to get at the heart of the matter, and see things from "behind enemy lines" I highly and heartily recommend this book.) I've always felt called to Africa, though I loved India when I was there - but right now we both feel a great urgency for our own nation - the USA. But I'll talk more about that later on.
Anyway, so that's what's new with us. Things here have just been too busy for me to be on flickr - last Sunday was our 6th anniversary so we went up to our favorite local getaway (well, local to where we used to live), Morgan Hill Retreat in Poulsbo, while my mom watched the kids - and just had time to ourselves. Talking, praying, seeking God's will for our future, and enjoying each others' company (and enjoying my anniversary present/investment for the photog business - I'll talk about that later. :) Most of the time here at home Greg spends looking for a job, trying to find a house, and trying to get ready to move when he finds them. :) I do hope to catch up a bit on my flickring, but I won't be up to speed for a while, I'm sure. Hopefully everything falls into place quickly! In the meantime, I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying some spring weather!
My 2yo is putting her dolls and multiple stuffed animals on my lap. See, I just don't ever get more than about a minute to sit down and do anything. ;) Which is why I have a Twitter account. My updates are protected, first of all for privacy reasons, and second-of-all because I got sick of spammers and weirdo/pervos following me. Yeah... But if you're not a spammer or weirdo or just collecting names on your following list, just request and I'll probably accept/follow you. I've found some really cool ppl on Twitter, and I love that I can just check in really quick and see what everyone's up to, and jot down what I'm doing at the mo. or add a link to something I found online that I want to share.
Speaking of, you have to watch/listen to these next couple videos. I don't necessarily agree with everything the Health Ranger (Mike Adams of NaturalNews.com) has to say - he's into some New Age stuff and seems a bit caught up in the "man-created global warming crisis" thing - but other than that, this guy is awesome. I read Natural News pretty religiously, and get the email updates and everything. I am so thankful that websites like this are out there - if only more people read them! Anyway, he's now made two hip-hop songs which he's licensed for non-commercial use. I'll post the videos below (please watch! :) and the links to the pages he's posted more info on (he also has links where you can download the songs and ringtones.)
I Want My Bailout Money! **Language Warning: There is one descriptive obscenity in the song**
It's humorous, but in a sad way. Sad, because he speaks the truth. Thankfully he does it in a way that will hopefully get some people's attention, and maybe spread the word. ;)
SSRIs - S.S.R.Lies
This one, while still being entertaining (in the sense that it has a great beat, and he is a surpisingly good rap artist) is much heavier. This time the truth isn't about our economy, but our very lives and those of our children. I wish more parents were wise to the facts. :( Please visit Natural News and read up on how to keep healthy in these chemically-saturated times.
On that note, have you done any reading on chemtrails? Sometimes called chaff (depending on their contents) they are part of an aerosol assault on our air and environment. Anyone who knows me knows I'm not an environmentalist in the usual sense of the word, but what is happening right above our heads is a travesty and people need to wake up and start looking up. We no longer have the clear blue skies and fluffy clouds I remember from my childhood. Unfortunately, most people are so absorbed in their personal electronic devices that they rarely look each other in the eye, much less pay attention to what's happening over their heads. Check out my Watch the Skies set for photos and more information (plus links to other websites that I highly recommend keeping tabs on).
Ok, well my 2yo needs some diaper attention, so I'd better end this for now. I'll be writing again soon - I hope. ;)
4.16.2008
I'm So Sick of This... [Follow-up to "Missing Daddy"]
Originally uploaded by FlyButtafly
You know... as much money as we pay in rent, you'd think they'd come up with a solution for their garbage problem. This really makes me mad. To be honest, right now there are a lot of things about the Navy that I'm pissed about - but for the moment, I'll focus on this "little" issue.
The Navy has a "partnership" with a private company, and they lease out the townhomes in our neighborhood to Military families, who then pay rent to the company based on how much BAH (Basic Allowance for Housing) we get. BAH is based on rank and location - though location of what, I'm not sure - because ours is based on a zip-code that neither my husband works in nor we live in. Go figure.
Anyway - so our little slice of heaven *cough cough* is out in the middle of a marshland. A place that literally looks like they found a tiny piece of property and decided to see how many "houses" (8-plexes, really - or whatever you call them) they could cram in that one area. The streets are so narrow, you're not allowed to park on them (heck, they're barely wide enough for two cars to pass each other). In fact, you are only allowed to park in your driveway or garage - the garage which barely fits your vehicle (you can't open the back of our van with the garage door closed, when it's parked in there), and the driveway which is large enough for the minivan if you park within a couple inches of hitting the garage door - and even then your bumper is just about over the sidewalk. There are a few "guest" parking spots scattered around the neighborhood, but they're just about always full, and it's a common sight to see cars, trucks, what-have-you parked half on the sidewalk or grass and half in the street; just because there's nowhere to park!
Oh, and did I mention that it is over 8 miles from here to the Navy base where (I'd assume) the majority of the Military members living in this housing work? That may not seem like much (unless you are like us who were used to actually living on base, or within 3 miles of it) except you have to take I-5 to get there. So those 8 1/2 miles take you 30-50 minutes depending on traffic. And if one of the bridges you have to cross to get there is closed, well, count on another 20 minutes of waiting. And, it just so happens that to call anywhere except (literally) down the road, is long distance. That means, to call my husband on the ship, or any office that I might need to call on base, or - well - pretty much anywhere, I have to pay either for monthly long distance service, and fees, or have a phone card that I have to keep recharging. And that may seem petty and silly to complain about; but when you have no choice, it's pretty darn frustrating. I guess I'm a little more upset about it than maybe others who didn't come from living on base - but let me tell you, the money the Navy gives us for housing does *not* go nearly far enough.
Anyway, back to this little issue. There's only one way into the neighborhood. And this eyesore sits right at the entrance/exit (well, once you drive down the long street that eventually gets you here). Looks pretty ghetto, doesn't it? Well this is what happens when you cram a huge amount of Navy/Military families into a tiny piece of property, and then tell them that the only place to throw away their garbage is in this little compactor that sits behind the fence. So they have two dumpsters you can put your cardboard in. Big deal! How fast do you think this thing fills up? I mean, it's ridiculous. I have 3 bags of garbage sitting in my house waiting to be taken out, because I'm not going to go throw them on the pile. Instead, I have to put them in my garage just to get them out of sight. And in order to throw them away, I have to either hope for a sunny day so we can put the garbage in the wagon and take my four kids for a walk down here, or put everybody in the van and throw the garbage bags in the back and drive them down. We don't have a garbage can, because when we lived on base they provided them for us, and actually came and *picked up* the garbage like a regular civilized neighborhood. Heck - we wouldn't have room to keep a garbage can anyway! And get this - there is a regular garbage truck that drives down the long road that leads here, and actually picks up the garbage of the regular people who live in regular houses on the regular street. But for us... we get the overflowing garbage compactor; that has an opening that is neck-high for me, and you have to heave the garbage up, over, and into. A 6 1/2mo. pregnant woman heaving a filled garbage bag over her head to get it into the compactor... I bet that's an interesting sight! (It also means that I can't just send my son down here to throw the garbage out, like I could if we had a regular dumpster like when we lived in our first apartment.)
It's really just ridiculous how many issues there are with this company... Oh, did I tell you they towed my husband's car a couple weeks ago??? Apparently because it had a flat. My husband's car, which I can't drive anywhere with four kids (it's a Corolla) and he's on deployment so what was I supposed to do? He had it parked on base for the longest time, but brought it home the one Sunday he had before going back on restriction for refusing the anthrax vaccine and then being deployed. I didn't really have a chance to check on it, but the tire wasn't flat when he drove it home obviously (I assume that was the reason because when I picked it up the tire was completely flat). I got a notice in the mail from the towing company, but it was almost a week after it had been towed, because - like the garbage compactor - our mailboxes are all at the entrance and the kids and I had all been very sick all week and hardly able to get out of bed. When I did find out, it was a Friday night, so I had to wait and talk to the manager the next Monday morning. He was very kind and when I had explained the circumstances he cut the amount that I'd have to pay to retrieve it by over $100. Even still, I had no clue how the heck I was going to pick it up from the impound - but my mother graciously came up on short notice and helped me go get the car and get everything taken care of.
As it was though, it ate a big hole in our paycheck. What with that and groceries, and rent... I literally had nothing left. I haven't paid a single bill yet this month (except my insurance which comes out automatically) - and get this, our next paycheck is supposedly only going to be about $126.
I am not kidding.
Back when he refused the vaccine, my husband was threatened with a reduction in rank and a docking of 1/2 months' pay for two months. When he went for his second CO's mast, he was told that the threat was now reality - he was no longer a second class but was reduced to third class, and the fine would be instituted. He tried to get documentation for me to give the manager of our neighborhood to prove his reduction in rank, because that would affect the amount of BAH we were given and also our rent amount. Nobody could find the paperwork anywhere. (Leave it to the Navy to screw up essential paperwork...) I still don't have the paperwork, in fact.
Well, we kept waiting for the fine to show up, and everything pay-wise continued as it was before. Until a few days ago, when I checked his LES. I don't have to tell you that my jaw about hit the floor. Now, first of all, when they fine you it is in the instruction that the fine is supposed to be worded in whole dollar amounts - not fractions of pay like "1/2 of one month's pay for two months". Yet that is exactly how it was worded in the documents we have (the fraction). So right off, that's not right. How am I supposed to budget when I have no idea how much he's going to be getting paid? Do I have to go research what an E4 with his time in service gets paid and then deduct half and figure out the taxes and all myself? And as far as I knew, they're supposed to only take half a paycheck at a time. Not pay you a full check (which is one-half months' pay, since we get paid in the middle and at the end of the month) and then nothing. Or next to nothing. Except that's the problem - according to what my husband found out, the paycheck after that is going to be something like $8 and change. What??? So my husband, along with all his other duties on board ship, is now trying to figure out how and what this is all about, and get it fixed. And I in the meantime am sitting here trying to figure out how the heck I'm going to pay any of my bills, let alone buy basic necessities for the next month.
Oh, and I didn't mention that they're flying him home very soon. Yep, he already signed his discharge papers (can you believe it, they're giving him an Honorable!!! With all the rest of this crap, that is one big shining piece of awesome news!!!) and he'll be home in time for our anniversary! Of course, I have to figure out how I'm going to have enough gas to get him from the airport, and then to work, etc. etc. etc...
One of the other big things about the pay issue is they're not supposed to be allowed to touch our allotments. Things such as BAH. That is something not considered "basic pay" and so isn't supposed to be figured in to the amount being taken. So why and how are they *not* paying us??? Leave it to PSD and they'll screw it up big time. I can't tell you the number of times they've screwed up our pay through the almost 6 years of our marriage... and it always ends up biting us in the rear. Let me tell you, I'd just like to get a hold of the ear of the person who did this and give him/her a piece of my mind. When it comes to something as vital as pay, you'd think the Navy would try to be a little more conscientious and careful - but they screw that up more than anything else that I can think of. We're far from the only ones to have had issues with pay...
Oh, and to top it all off. My husband was told, point blank, that at his check out with the CO, he was "not allowed to mention anything religious i.e God, Jesus or any religious topics."
Excuse me??? Is someone forgetting that the whole reason my husband refused the vaccine was because it violates his religious beliefs??? What country is this my husband dedicated 9 1/2 years to serving???
4.09.2008
Flickr Launches Video!!!
When I first heard flickr was thinking about launching video, I was less than impressed. Like many others, I was afeared they would turn it into another incarnation of YouTube; or that the hordes who already upload *ahem* restricted content as "safe and public" would suddenly find a new playground for their less-than-family friendly video content. I was actually dreading it.
Then over time, the idea started to appeal to me more. A place I could upload the short videos I take (not very often, granted) of my kids outside or whatever. And then I got invited to take part in the secret beta testing phase and I was hooked. I've already found a ton of videos from the others who tested that I adore. And the idea that my husband (who is currently on deployment on a ship out in the Pacific somewhere) would get to watch videos of his children while he's gone - it was a dream come true.
Then I find out today he can't get flash player on the ship's computers, so bummer. :(
But anyway, now everyone *else* can see the videos, including his grandparents and other family members who live across the country, or my mom who lives across the water, or whomever I want to share them with!
Naturally there is a pretty big outcry going on in the Forum, where all sorts of things are being said, faster than I can keep up with. The regular doomsayers and "I'm leaving flickr right now as soon as I get my money back!!!" type of posts of course... but there are at least some sane people in there too. Not all of them are thrilled but at least they've got enough common sense to try to calm the hysteria of the others... though I don't know if it's exactly working. You know, when someone thinks the sky is falling...
Anyway, here is the very first video I uploaded to flickr. I hope you enjoy. :) It isn't very good quality, taken with my P&S back in '05. My daughter and husband having a "conversation" at Chuck E. Cheese's:
And a couple of my other favorite videos from around the flickrsphere:
Narcoleptic Cat - I think this is fast becoming the number 1 most popular flickr video so far. :D
I have a recorder! - a super cool pairing of lightplay, an adorable little one, and awesome editing. :)
Chicken - it's hilarity is it's pointlessness; I mean, it's just funny. Period. Ha!
Then over time, the idea started to appeal to me more. A place I could upload the short videos I take (not very often, granted) of my kids outside or whatever. And then I got invited to take part in the secret beta testing phase and I was hooked. I've already found a ton of videos from the others who tested that I adore. And the idea that my husband (who is currently on deployment on a ship out in the Pacific somewhere) would get to watch videos of his children while he's gone - it was a dream come true.
Then I find out today he can't get flash player on the ship's computers, so bummer. :(
But anyway, now everyone *else* can see the videos, including his grandparents and other family members who live across the country, or my mom who lives across the water, or whomever I want to share them with!
Naturally there is a pretty big outcry going on in the Forum, where all sorts of things are being said, faster than I can keep up with. The regular doomsayers and "I'm leaving flickr right now as soon as I get my money back!!!" type of posts of course... but there are at least some sane people in there too. Not all of them are thrilled but at least they've got enough common sense to try to calm the hysteria of the others... though I don't know if it's exactly working. You know, when someone thinks the sky is falling...
Anyway, here is the very first video I uploaded to flickr. I hope you enjoy. :) It isn't very good quality, taken with my P&S back in '05. My daughter and husband having a "conversation" at Chuck E. Cheese's:
And a couple of my other favorite videos from around the flickrsphere:
Narcoleptic Cat - I think this is fast becoming the number 1 most popular flickr video so far. :D
I have a recorder! - a super cool pairing of lightplay, an adorable little one, and awesome editing. :)
Chicken - it's hilarity is it's pointlessness; I mean, it's just funny. Period. Ha!
3.29.2008
No Chips For Me
For the longest time, "chipping" people has been touted as a "safety measure" but I've never bought into that idea. There's been much talk about privacy concerns over the RFID system - which has been used in everything from US Passports, to clothing tags sold in stores; in gas station cards and the FastPay system. And it's exactly the same technology they want to insert into people's bodies, and are already doing so - under the guise of security.
Please.
Please.
3.13.2008
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