Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Happy New Year! (Blog- 1 year old)


If this photo looks familiar, it is one of my first post. The difference is that many more of you are seeing it now. I want to thank all of my readers. Your companionship, ideas, interaction, advice, and yes sometimes friendship has meant more to me that I ever thought it would!

Wishing you the best year ever!

THANK YOU,
Awake

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

The Best Christmas Greetings!

It's Christmas Eve and I'm trying to find a wonderful Christmas Greeting for you, but can't seem to. However, I have found some exceptional ones from my blog buddies, and thought I would share them with you. If you want to laugh, be amazed, see something very cute, even something sexy, then click on the links below. These are my-

Top 5 Christmas Greetings

A Voki Christmas by DrowsyMonkey

Merry Christmas Around The World by LadyBanana

(Has Several) - Dear Santa Define Good is my favorite by Liquid Illuzion

(Semi) Wordless Bra Tuesday by Olga The Traveling Bra - (I would just LOVE to see this on a certain someone! (Don't ask, I wont tell. tee hee!)

A Christmas Miracle by Caroldee of And So It Goes On

"Snowmageddon" (Seattle WA Storm)

These past few days every time I turn on the National new I've heard about the terrible weather in Seattle. It's always the first place mentioned, so I asked my blog buddy Kim to write about it, and this was her response.

This is my 1st guest post so please help me to welcome her by visit Kim at http://asthepumpturns.com

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"Here's the thing about native Northern Californians, there are two breeds. The first being the kind that get snow and the others that don't.

I am from the land of No Snow. It's a nice place filled with grapevines and mild temperature winters. Basically, heaven.

Then I moved to Seattle, Washington.

Now, maybe I am blowing this out of proportion, this Seattle Winter Snow Storm. People in Chicago and other mid-west states are getting it far worse then I am, but this is my blog post and I can whine if I want too. Not to mention on twitter it has it's own hash tag, so it must be important, right? Agree with me people.

So here's the lowdown on the Seattle Snow Storm or for my twitter peeps #seatst, yes it's snowing, in Seattle. So far, by my estimates about a foot overall, however, I am not a meteorologist, so don't quote me. The way that downtown Seattle is laid out, is that, well, there are a lot of hills, like First Hill, Beacon Hill and Capital Hill, and the hills are, well, steep. Imagine, if you will, San Francisco, then add a foot of snow with a nice layer of ice underneath that. You have SNOWMAGEDDON. Yes, I named it Snowmageddon, it's catchy, huh?

Snowmageddon as struck and caused chaos in my city, meaning, people don't know how to drive in the snow/ice. I drive a Jeep Grande Cherokee with 4 wheel drive and believe me 4 wheel drive doesn't work on ice, don't kid yourself. Driving slow and in control does, which is what I have been doing, while also avoiding the crazy idiots who think it's okay to change lanes just as they would if it was overcast outside and also trying to drive 80 miles an hour with chains on, yeah it doesn‘t work. Also, if you see an ambulance sliding down a frozen over hill, I would suggest you and your Dodge Neon not attempt it, just sayin'. There is also the small little fact that the roads aren't very well maintained so driving down the main arterial streets is similar to four wheeling in the backcountry, I'm not exaggerating.

If you can't drive in it you might as well grab your skis and ski down the hill, right? Yeah, I've heard reports of it, haven't seen it yet, but heard about it, I have seen people taking plastic dinner trays and sliding down on them. Also, if you live in the ghetto, a freezer door works well too, interestingly enough.

Seattle was so not prepared for Snowmageddon 08, side streets are stuck in feet of snow, the main streets are filled with divots and almost impassable surfaces, yes, I know only a foot and a half of snow. Silly, right? Not to us, Seattleites, we have not gotten this much snow in many, many years. Some say the last big storm was five years ago, some say it was nothing close to this, who knows, really.

The amazing part of this whole ordeal is the sense of community one feels, we are not alone in this crazy snow. As I drove to work this morning, I see groups of people helping each other dig cars out of snow banks. I see people helping each other walk on icy sidewalks and laughing and throwing snowballs. It's an amazing sight among all the havoc. I guess this is what makes this place so special, to me, anyway."

~~~~~~~~~~~
Thank you Kim! You did a great job!

Sledding down Denny on Capitol Hill

Monday, December 22, 2008

How Do You Do Christmas?

I found this holiday meme at Momma Mia, Mea Culpa blog, and really liked it! I got permission from blog owner Meleah Rebeccah to use it. I will use a condensed version. Meleah is trying to figure out which new profile photo to use for the coming year. She is looking for feedback. It was a difficult decision for me because she is drop dead gorgeous, and highly photogenic. What do you think? Click here to vote!


How Do You Do Christmas?

1. Real tree or artificial?
Artificial.

2. Favorite gift received as a child?
I was a spoiled only child so hard to say. Mini pool table maybe.

3. Worst Christmas gift ever received?
For me it might have been the first year when I was almost an adult (16ish) and hardly got any gifts after being lavished with them all my life. Bummer!

4. Mail or E-mail Christmas card?
Mostly snail mail.

5. Favorite Christmas movie?
It’s a Wonderful Life.

6. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
Lots - Shrimp, home made pies, mixed nuts, eggnog. Black olives are a tradition. I use to love them as a kid & put them on my finger tips & eat them. Got to have black olives!

7. Clear lights or colored on the tree?
Colored!

8. Favorite Christmas song?
Bing Crosby: White Christmas. Bing is one of my favorite top 3 singers of all time.

9. Do you celibate Christmas at your home, or do you travel?
I usually go over to both Aunts houses, (Rochester).

10. Open presents Christmas Eve or Christmas morning?
Both. I usually go to one Aunts on Christmas Eve & open up presents. Then the other aunts Christmas day & do the same.

11. Most annoying thing about this time of year?
When Santa gets his tummy stuck in my chimney. You think he would have learned by now!

12. If your from another country - How do you celibate differently then Americas?

So tell me in the comments…How Do You Do Christmas?
.

Friday, December 19, 2008

Rochester NY 1st Real Snow Storm


Rochester NY is going to have it's 1st significant snow storm of the season. "A winter storm warning is effect from 8 AM this morning to 10 PM EST this evening." "Snow will develop later this morning. The snow will become steady late this morning through the afternoon when it could be heavy at times. The heavy snow be accompanied by some thunder. Accumulation 6 to 10 inches. Windy with temperatures steady in the mid to upper 20s. Northeast winds 10 to 20 mph becoming east and increasing to 25 to 35 mph." This storm is considered a moderate one for the area.

The Rochester city school district is closed, which is a big deal here. Many other schools are closed as well. See link below for the latest information.

The good news for Rochester is that it will be all snow and no ice. I hate those mixed precipitation storms that are so hard to clean up. Rochester can handle this, but today will be messy and a good day to stay home. I'm going out soon to do some shopping before the storm hits. I will put one of my snow shovels in my car, and leave it there all season. Then I will stay home safe & sound. It's a good day to make out Christmas cards to send to the relatives. ;o) The next storm is Sunday. It won't be as bad as this one. Click on the link below for the latest weather information.

This post was based on info from rochesterhomepage.net

UPDATE: Generally the Rochester area received 8" to 12" of snow. The official snowfall at the airport was 8.4". The next day many schools remained closed. Digging out was difficult due to the amount of heavy snow, and the cold. The road salt didn't have much effect because of the cold. 2 smaller storms would follow yielding 1'-4" each. As of 12-24-08 snowfall for the season was 43.8" normal average is 23.7. Buffalo had 42.9". Syracuse had the most with 64.3". Click here for snowfall stats.

D&C Local Paper: First snowy round slams Rochester region

photo credit

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Wordless Wednesday - Victory Canner

Hey, not a bad idea! How to can anything.

Photo credit

I'm Baaack! (On-line)

I'm back on-line, but still working out the bugs. I don't know how to turn of the pop-up block which makes it difficult to go to your blogs from my reader. I can circumvent it, but it's time consuming. I'm way behind in reading blogs. I sill need to pay my old server, but at least I'm on-line. ;o) Please be patient with me. It might take me awhile to get to your blog, but I'm coming. I also will be applying for more on-line jobs.

Sunday, December 14, 2008

I'm TEMPORARILY Off-line

A funny thing happens when your virtually out of work and can't pay bills. Yes, they have cut off my Internet service. But please don't take me out of your reader or forget about me. I'll be baaaack!

P.S. I'm on a library computer that has a time limit. :o( I miss you guys!

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

It's December 10th SOB!

Dear Mom,

I knew the date, but the significance of it didn't hit me until tonight. My reaction was to say SOB out loud. And you know I don't swear much. You died today. How many years has it been? You died in 1981. I almost forgot. I almost made it though the day. But I didn't. I remembered. SOB! For a second a few memoirs of the night you died swept in, and I began to tear up. Another year has gone by without my mother, and best friend.

Sometimes I wonder how my life would have changed if you were still in it. I probably would have gone on to more college. Would I have been open about my sexuality with you? Would I have suppressed it for a longer time? I don't know how my life would have changed, but I bet it would have changed mostly for the better.

Yes, it gets easier with time. Most days I don't even think of you. Then other days I really wish you were still here on earth. I've come to realize that I've suppressed some of the memoirs I've had of you. Subconsciously, I've taken some of the best memories and locked them deep in my mind. Somehow I know that. I would not be as sane as I am if I remembered you well, and knew that I'd never see you again on earth. Seems like a sick, cruel, joke. So I remember your 10 year fight with cancer. I remember several surgeries, several bouts of chemo, and radiation therapy. Told in the hospital room to be careful not to knock over the glass bottle and brake it because you just had part of your lung removed, and your lung would collapse if I got clumsy. I felt your venerability. I remember you walking with the quad-cane, then wheel chair, then bedridden with a catheter. Paralyzed from the waist down by that tumor on your spine. That last month that you could hardly eat a thing except for custard that the neighbor made. Refusing food. And that night that you died. And all through it, you tried to remain positive, enjoy your loved ones, believing God would heal you. I remember mostly the bad times because It would hurt to much to have a clear memory of the good times.

When you died a part of me died with you. I can't name the part of me that died, but it was something good, vital that is now gone. Maybe forever. So be it! Maybe in heaven it's not so easy for you to be without your only child. Maybe you needed that piece of me. That's fine! You keep it mom. When we are reunited it will all workout, and be clear.

Your loving daughter forever...


Coldplay 42

"Those who are dead are not dead They're just living my head"

Comments is now closed. I have to move on. Thank you for caring!

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Wordless Wednesday - Don't forget

Please don't forget them!



photo credit and here

Monday, December 1, 2008

Coupon: $5 Off $25 at Walgreen's

Dec. 1st & 2nd ONLY. Walgreen's has a coupon deal. It's $5 off a purchase of $25. To print out the coupon click here.