Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Late night...

Okay so I found out on my way home that an old friend.. Boyfriend actually.. Passed away Friday.. Eerily I had talked about him with a friend late Saturday night. I have some fond and some definite not so fond memories of my life back then. It's not like I ever thought I'd talk to or see him again, but he died.. I mean.. He's dead now.. Really dead.. I get that everyone dies.. More in the last year or so then I have ever gotten it, but I am feeling old and sad.. Probably more sad then I should be.. Sorry I am rambling but this is my blog, and so don't read it if it bothers you. Jami.. I love you.. I've taken my trip down memory lane, and the time I spent with you back then were some of the best.. Al wasn't the greatest choice back then, but he was.... Tall.. Haha.. Jami let's get together soon..
Man, I need to work harder at keeping people I love so much in my life.

Today I was wondering what I want to be when it's all done.. What do I want to be when I grow up? I have no clue.. I keep taking strange paths.. If someone had told me a few years ago that I'd own a all business and that business was teaching kids how to be more dramatic.... I would have laughed.. If someone had said that I'd be entering the masters program with no clue what I actually want to do after.. I wouldn't have believed it.. If someone had told me I was going to want California,. Yeah I might have believed that..

Strange paths.. I think I love that about me.. I keep myself guessing for sure..
Hey so u know what is true.. You can really only love someone else after you love yourself.. So I've been thinking about all this Damn love I have for all of mankind and of course I love you most.. But I am so glad I'm at peace with how wonderful I am, so that i can love you this much.. Heehee

Yeah I know... I'm just messing.. And now you're thinking was she really writing that for me.. Or was it for.... Hmm.. Don't worry I do realize I'm not the only person that loves me this much.. You keep coming back so you must love me too..

Yeah so now this is getting mighty ridiculous.. I should try to sleep
Gnite

Yes! My new favorite fruit. . .


I know, right?  The pluot is one of those weird fruits where the name pluot still doesn't even have a place in most spell checkers, yet, I love it SO much.  They have also been called "plumcots".  Pluots are a hybrid fruit crossed apricots and plums, and let me tell you they are fantastic.  I think that they should try to add grapes into the mix.  I've had about 10 different pluots now and none have tasted exactly alike, they are all a strange mix of tart and sweetness.  I haven't been this excited about a food since Chobani.  I'm gonna have to buy a bunch of these and freeze them so that I can have them all year.

Today I start reading a new book.  "Paul Apostle of the Heart Set Free" by F. F. Bruce.  I'm strangely excited about that.  I was trying to come up with plans for Sunday.  Originally was thinking the Indianapolis Rib America Fest, but it looks like there is a huge chance of rain all weekend.  I'm not complaining though. Waking up to a rainy morning is exquisite when you have no where you have to be (especially when it is cool and the smell is wafting in your window).  So maybe an afternoon small gathering at the house with some good eats and music indoors.  Regardless of what you do, as long as you're with the right people, all is great.

Okay, on to another pet peeve.  Sitting here blogging this, and hearing someone literally hacking.  If you are that sick, freaking stay home.  I do NOT want to sound like you in a few days, and besides that hacking people make me feel like puking.  It's GROSS to hear; no one likes it, so shut your door or something to make yourself STOP it.

okay - love ya all, except the hacking guy.

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Little Black Box Theatre Company First Lock-IN. . .


I have gotten enough of a response that it looks like we are going to do this. 

Theme is a Pajama Party!

Let's set the Date! 
8pm, Friday, October 12th through 8am Saturday, October 13th
This will be a 12 hour lock-in on October 12th.


Kids of ALL ages, and they can be picked up early if needed.Snack food and dinner will be provided.
Bring a comfy blanket and pillow for movie watching on a big screen.
***During this time we will play games, tell stories, eat food, and watch movies. 
The cost will be $20 for the first child and $15 for a second. 
 ##Also a bring a friend option allows for $15 for a friend that is not already someone accustomed to coming to the LBBT.##
Not on the website yet, but will be updating soon.http://www.littleblackboxtheatre.com
Adults/parents interested in staying for the evening will be free and appreciated.


Types of Games We will be playing:

Two Truths and a Lie
The premise is simple: each student stands up in front the group and tells three bits of information about himself or herself. Two of the facts are true and one is a lie. The group as a whole must then try to figure out which fact is untrue. Some leaders also allow group members to ask a random question of the person, which must then be answered truthfully.

Story Story
Six to eight players line up shoulder to shoulder across the stage. The instructor starts the game by pointing to a player. The selected player begins making up a story. When the instructor feels like it, he picks another player by pointing at her. That player picks up exactly where the last play left off, even if it was in the middle of a word or sentence. Players whose contributions don't make sense leave the line. The last player finishes the story. "Story, Story" engages the imagination while teaching listening, concentration and quick thinking.

Assassin
There are five types of people in the game: a medic, an assassin, a police officer, townspeople, and a moderator. The ratios can be adjusted depending on the number of people playing, but for ten players there should be one medic, two assassins, five townspeople, one police officer and one moderator. Write the roles on index cards and secretly disperse them to the players. Aside from the moderator role, each role should be kept secret.
The moderator instructs the players to close their eyes: then he or she will instruct the assassins to open their eyes and choose two players to "kill." Once the two players are chosen, the medic will then open his eyes and choose two players to "heal." The medic can choose to keep himself safe and heal himself if he wants. If the medic is unsuccessful in healing one or more of the victims, the moderator will announce their deaths. At this point, the police officer will open his eyes and choose to arrest one person. Repeat until either both assassins are arrested or the townspeople are all "killed." If both assassins are arrested the game is over and the townspeople win. However, if the assassins are successful in eliminating the police officer and medic, the assassins win the game by default, as there is no way for the townspeople to fight back.

What Was The Question?
Two people will be asked to stand in front of the others. The activity requires that the participants talk to one another only in questions. Giving the children a theme, such as going to the doctor's office, facilitates the situation. The activity is an exercise in dialog.

Accept, Change, Pass
A student pretends to take an imaginary object from a box. The child uses this unseen object and passes it to the next student who pretends it is a different object. The activity helps to kick start the imaginative process for the children.

The Teacher's Cat
Ask the players to sit in a circle. Give the sentence example, "Emily's cat is an _______ cat." The adjective should start with the letter "A." Explain to the players that the next adjective letter should start with "B." Have them use the sentence around the circle. This is an ice-breaking game.

Mirror, Mirror
Group the students in sets of two. If you have an odd number of students, one group can have three. The teacher asks the students to face each other and mimic what the designated lead student is doing. The students take turns being the lead or mirror. This gives everyone an equal role in the class.


***We will bring in a bunch of age appropriate kids movies to choose between.  We'll ask for a permission slip on the movie titles to be signed by the parent dropping off the child.****

Monday, August 27, 2012

If it's Love. . .

If it's love
And we decide that it's forever
No one else could do it better

If it's love
And we're two birds of a feather
Then the rest is just whenever

And if I'm addicted to loving you
And you're addicted to my love too
We can be them two birds of a feather that flock together

Love, love
Got to have something to keep us together
Love, love
That's enough for me


- Train

My favorite lyrics this week...oh yeah, and it just happens to be by my favorite band.  I don't think I talked about the Train concert on here.  Freakin' fantastic show.  There is no one I'd rather listen to lately.  Patrick Monahan is wonderful, just saying. 

So, I am a little crazy about grades, I've noticed.  Is it wrong to bribe Zach to do good in school?  I dunno.  I know he doesn't enjoy math, but I want him to do well.  I want him to give his all.  If I had done as well in HS as I do in college, things probably would have been much easier for me.  I know he's not in hs yet, but he will be and I want things to flow for him easily.  He wants a drum set, and I want an A in math, so .... not sure if it's crazy for me to get him one if I get what I want or not?  I also want a soundproof room before a drum set though.  Can't get everything I want.

I am still trying to figure out the Twitter thing.  I know that I'm a techy geek and all that, but I have never Tweeted until recently, actually pretty much after the Train concert.  So maybe some can explain to me how you tell if someone is real.  Like how do I know if I'm following the real "Peyton Manning".  And why do people follow me and then drop off?  Do people just keep adjusting lists?  Total confusion, it just seems to hard to me to keep up with.  

Anyway Happy Monday!  and...my lyrics apply to all.

Sunday, August 26, 2012

My birthday mug . . .

Have been struggling with what to put on this mug for a few weeks now, but I finally decided today that it gets to be my 2012 mug, and has a lot of important stuff from 2012 listed on it..



I couldn't list all of my individual friends, the list would be too long.  But Friendship is on there.  Also  Nanette and Will got me the mug, so thanks for the awesome gift.

Love you all.....

 Just added Lucy kissing her reflection because it was too damn cute not to put on here.  I sure love that kid, and I remember when Zach used to kiss his reflection too.  I purposely kept a mirror on the floor for that. 

"Eewwee Yuck"...

I'm sorry this week has been kinda hectic.

Monday - work
Tuesday - Endoscope and Colonoscopy
Wednesday - Work and travel north
Thursday - Move jenn in to NIU drive home and then to LBBT.
Friday - work
Saturday - time with Bro and Sis and Luce. and then a late night with Laura at the LBBT.  Laura is painting windows for us, totally excited, and I'll post pictures and her business info soon.
Sunday - Homework - laundry - cleaning - looking forward to Zacheriah coming home.

Okay - so I'm feeling a little better, but not complete yet.  I am going to start my workouts again this week, which I'm super stoked about. Next week starts doubled up classes again, so I want to take advantage of this week's lunches for workouts.

Wednesday night on our trip up to Dekalb, we were talking about rich people foods.  The kind that are written in English, but you don't know what it is by the name and description alone.  The kinds that Chef Ramsey goes on and on about.  Actually really, I was the one talking and Gary was thinking 'I wish you'd blog this stuff, and not talk about it.'  But here's a thought that I have shared a few times this week with a few people, NOTHING great has been on TV lately, so Gary and I were watching like "ultimate chef" or something like that the other night with the Ramsey guy and a few other chefs.  Well one of them supposedly made a tuna dish that President Obama ate, and he went on and on about how the president liked his dish.  Well, what the heck is the president supposed to say, even if he hates the dish..saying "eewwee, yuck" would ruin a chef, and he knows that so..even if he was spitting in the napkin, he probably would say "yummy this is good".  Anyone one of the chef hopefuls on that show thought he'd improve on the dish by adding mango..who knows if it made it better or not, but it apparently was offensive to the original chef that made the dish. (get over yourself) I'm fairly certain that the president doesn't give a shit.  Anyway, I started rambling to Gary, much like I am right now, about how ridiculous that is to think that the president liked the dish so much, also I talked about how I feel that caviar type dishes and such are weird and so not necessary.  Little DID I know, that we were staying at a hotel with one of "those" types of restaurants in it.  Yeah, so...I ordered a yucky crazy dish that was Oxtail.  It was freakin' horrible.  I would describe the dish, but it might make me gag a little, so NO.  And I very much felt like the president probably did when  he was eating yucky tuna.  I was polite and did what he probably did, puked later.  This was truly one of these moments that felt like a foreshadow to what was to come.  Anyway the Mai Tai was good.


Monday, August 20, 2012

Silly Sandal wearers. . .

So, some people are just WAY different than I am.  I get that actually. I'm actually really good with it. What kills me though is how some people truly think they are better than others for weird reasons.  I am not going to elaborate as to what happened or why I felt this way, but I'm going to share my thoughts around it.
This weekend, well yesterday, while I was still laying in bed in the morning, I was thinking about the one thing that all of these people (the ones I know that I feel put themselves on a pedestal above the rest) have in common.  They all wear sandals.  Not flip flops, but the sandals that you have to sit to take off.  I think from now on if a person wears actual sandals I might have to avoid them.
I also feel that the people I'm thinking about live by a code, and it's an untruth.  They act like they're good, but under it all they're not that good.  I like real people.  Why can't we all just be real?  Why can't everyone just be honest with themselves and those around them?  Our world is not a fantasy, it's reality.  Where we are is really where we are, so don't avoid it.  Live it.  Feel it.  Know it.  Don't act like you're too good to be a part of it but secretly wish for a different life.  That's lame.  Really lame.  I love; it's something I do.  I love so many people so completely and it messes with my mind and my heart for sure.  I don't hide this or act like it isn't there, I embrace that part of me.  I am not better than anyone, and I don't claim to be or even think it at all.  I do wish that sandal wearers from all over would think a minute though about why they chose to be fake.  It's almost as though they're hiding something by covering the tops of their feet.
I know all of this seems strange, but I am sharing my thoughts, and guess what - THEY are weird at times.  If you wear sandals, do you think maybe that this is true about you?  I'm up for debate if anyone would like to.  :)

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Portal by Zach Shoop

So - my boy does have some talent..he and I are thinking we're gonna write together.  ;)

                          Prologue

  Way back in the far meadows of indiana there is a shed where if u go inside you would start going down. You would then be greeted by glados, a robot of destruction. She would tell you about aperture science. Then she would make you do a lot if tests as if you were born to test. All the people died though, but there is still one more test subject named Chell.

         Chapter 1: the testing begins

   Chell had awoken from her long slumber in a electronic bed that opens once you wake up. She was greeted by glados by her saying" Hello and again welcome to the aperture science computer aided enrichment center, we hope your brief detention in the relaxation vault has been a pleasant one. To insure the safety of others, please refrain from..."She fizzled and came back online  "...and back. the portal will open in 3...2...1." A blue portal appears in a white wall. Chell walked through the portal unaware of anything. The only thing she knew was that her moms name was Caroline and her name was Chell. She also knew that she was a test subject. The first test was easy put the box on the button and go into chamber lock. She then saw a force field around the exit. Then she heard glados say, "note the particle field across the exit. This is a emancipation grill, it will vaporize any unauthorized equipment that touches it." Chell went through it and nothing happened. She proceeded into the chamber lock. The next chamber was the same concept of the first only you used portals. Chell went through the portal with the box trough it then the portal fizzed and trapped her in the room. She thought she was doomed until the portal reappeared and she went through. She waited for the portal to appear with the button in a room. It appeared and she went through quickly placed the box on the button and then back out quickly. She then waited for the portal to appear with the chamber lock in it. She went through when it did.

       Chapter 2: The portal gun

  Chell walked into the next test chamber and saw through the glass a gun that was shooting portals on the white walls. Glados greeted her to the portal gun room and said," you are doing very well." Chell felt proud of herself and jumped with glee. She jumped back in astonishment that she was wearing huge boots. Glados saw that she was looking at her feet and said," Those are the aperture science long fall boots, they will protect you from splatting on the ground when you jump from any height." Chell then walked up to the portal gun and grabbed it. " You are now in possession of the aperture science handheld portal device. With it you can create your own portals," said glados. Chell then took the device in bothe her hands and pressed a button. A blue portal came out. She walked over to it and cautiosly stepped through it. She couldn't believe it she could defy the laws of physics. She then went to the chamber lock by going through the portal. She was sad that she could only shoot one portal though, and every time she shot it on a dark surface it wouldn't work or she would try and shoot two and the other would disappear. In the next test chamber she was forced to use the portal gun and walk through it she would then have to shoot one on another wall and then go back through the orange portal. She then got to the chamber lock by walking down a hallway. The next chamber was a bit more difficult. She had to shoot a portal under a box and it would fall through it and out the orange portal. She had to place the box on the button and then it just opened the chamber lock so she just walked through. Then the next chamber was the most difficult, she had to shoot a portal under the box then go through her own Portal and throw the box on the button. But there were two buttons where was the other box she looked around and found it on another platform where you have to throw the box onto the button. She then went to the next room and the ceiling was made of glass so she could see that there was a portal that appeared and so she shot a portal on the wall next to her and went through and fell onto the glass. The next test was a momentum test. " The concept of this test is...feisbsisnshxusn...momentum," said glados. Chell was confused and she didn't know what to do so she shot a portal and jumped through it. It seemed to have worked because she landed on another platform. Then she had to jump of an overhang to shoot a portal on the ground right before she hit the ground. She soared through the air like an eagle. Then she had to shoot a portal on the wall closest to the next platform then had to jump off another overhang through the orange portal and flew through the blue one to the platform. She saw the platform withe her blue portal move forward and heard glados say," momentum a physic using mass and velocity, in langston terms speedy thing goes in speedy thing comes out." Chell jumped off of yet another overhang and used momentum to fly into the chamber lock. In the next chamber there was a ball of light flying towards the orange portal. Chell shot a blue portal at the top of a catcher thing. The catcher thing buzzed and turned blue when it caught the ball. A platform lowered and Chell jumped on it, it started going up, towards the chamber lock. Then the next chamber there was acid on the ground. She guessed it would kill her so she stepped cautiously towards the chamber lock.

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Know THIS. . .

You are not alone.
My heart is with you.
When you think of me
I am with you.

I will never be gone
For as long as your memory exists
I will be there with you

When you think of something you want to tell me
Just tell me and think about my reaction
That will be my reaction.

When your eyes fill with tears
And when your heart aches
Feel my presence
I will be loving you
as I always have.

Tommy - this is my blog to you.  I wrote this a while ago in response to a conversation we had, but I'm not sure you remember it.  I thought that maybe you'd like to hear it.

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Thanks for putting it into perspective. . .

So many days, I think of me and only me.  I don't think of myself as a selfish person.  Lately, I've been sick for a while.  (or again, or whatever)...Anyway, I get caught up in the "why me's".
The picture you see is of Maya, my friend's 14 year old niece.  She was in an ATV accident last weekend, and has some major life threatening injuries.  Please send your prayers and/or positive thoughts towards her and her family.
I can only imagine the horror her family is going through.

Monday, August 13, 2012

Just keeps getting better. . .

It's not enough that I haven't been feeling good for a few weeks now, but add to that the test "kit" that I picked up today.  My life has gotten so darn fun lately.  I could be mortified, but instead I'm telling you all about it.  Okay, so I've been pretty sick lately, and while it started out differently then it did last time, it has ended up being the same kind of sickness I had a few years back.  I went to a specialist on Saturday who decided it was important to do some new tests.  Of course! Cuz I wouldn't want things to be boring.
So he told me he wanted to do a stool specimen and a blood draw, and he scheduled me for a colonoscopy and endoscope for next week.  Alright, so i've already done a colonoscopy a few years ago, so I knew what to expect there, but what has me thrown is the stool specimen.  Do you know what that entails?  YUCK!

So, I went today to the lab thinking, well I probably could give a sample anytime really, and I was ready for them to just take the blood draw.  Really just wanted to get that all out of the way.  So after waiting in the waiting room for about 35 minutes when I finally get called up and he looks at my order the gentleman says, "Um, it looks like you need to do a stool collection, so come on back and I'll get you set up."  Collection?  What?  Yeah, so I apparently have to gather poo from a few different times and put them in these nice little containers to bring back. One of these containers is supposed to be frozen....REALLY? Frozen..I know I sound like a spoiled child, but I do not like poo.  I do not like it one bit.  I have a horrible gag reflex also.  This is not going to be fun for me.

On a more positive note, Zach started school today.  He's such a handsome wonderful boy.  I am very blessed to have him in my life everyday.  You too Gary Graham.

Monday, August 6, 2012

Why?

Do you ever wonder why people are the way they are?  What makes it so that one person can't tell directions and another is born with a compass in their head?  Why are some people so illogical and others filled with it?  I know that it takes all kinds on this wonderful moving ball we're on, but why?

My head is filled with crazy non-important questions today:

Why are there so many different breeds of Dogs and cats?  If it's an evolution thing, which breed is the most evolved?

Why in the Bible are the planets not mentioned?  Can you imagine what will happen to Christianity if life is discovered on Mars?

Back in the days when the planet "wasn't round" - where did the logical people think the stars were moving to?  For that matter, what were the stars?

Why do boys have nipples?  And why do they NEVER grow up?  Why must they think at 35 it's okay to play the same 2nd grade games?  And why do they all feel like they KNOW everything?

And why can't anyone just take responsibility around here for what they do wrong?  What is wrong with knowing you're wrong and just admitting it?  Just cuz someone else's dog poops on the ground, you don't have to let your children play in it.  Pick up the POOP.  (reference to the "Dog Poop Initiative" written by Kirk Weisler)  It doesn't matter who's fault it is all the time...It happened, so..get over it and fix it.

Boys voices change, why don't girls?

Why do I have such a hard time concentrating lately on anything of real importance?  I'm sure I have not been feeling well, but I seriously feel a pull to "shiny things" or someone yelling "squirrel".  I was just thinking (I'm sure it's a sickness) it sure would be nice if Nintendo would come out with another Mario game.  I miss a good Mario game..Again though...then my mind goes to Peach..If that damn girl is in distress again, I'm gonna write a vivid letter.  It's time for them to make a game without those stupid girls.

I could double blog today and talk about the Nexus Q, but maybe I'll save that for another day.  Not really in the mood to stay on topic.

You know what, I can understand someone not liking country music, but how could ANYONE not like Andy Grammer or Train?  To me this is just ridiculous.

Last and finally for this blog, why do I still not have a vampire bite?

Sunday, August 5, 2012

No Vampire Bites yet . . .

But...I did have a great day with a lot of great people.  Only wish I had felt a little better.  Thanks to all that came and hung with us today.  Finished homework, lying around and wishing Zach didn't have to leave again for the week.  I love that boy very much and I know he misses his video games more than he misses me but whatever.  He had a good day, too.
And...Do you know what is GREAT?  When your ex-husband and you can agree and get along about stuff.  I am so GLAD we've finally gotten to the point where every conversation does not feel like he's mad at me. So less stressful this way.  It's nice.

xoxo


Friday, August 3, 2012

Zombies, Vampires, Werewolfs . . .

Why NOT?  Why can't I have all these things?

I know people think I'm crazy, but I do choose to believe that Abraham Lincoln was WAY cooler than history makes him out to be.  Usually there is always some truth in a myth right?  Well I believe that to be true.
I, for one, am excited about a Zombie Apocalypse and yes, I look forward to being bitten by a Vampire or Werewolf and having amazing strength and mind control.
Really couldn't think of what to blog about, so . . .I decided..It's almost my birthday, and I'm getting older and older.  I'm thinking I could be a kick ass vampire.  Not sure about a lycanthrope (don't like wet dog smell).  I need an age defying present this year, a superpower would be great too, if any asteroids want to land in my back yard, or spiders want to bite me (well maybe not)..anyway..Yeah, so moving right along...

Have a GREAT weekend to all of you fantastic readers.  I plan on it.

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Writing a persuasive paper. . .

So most of you know, cuz i've only mentioned it like 100 times, that I am getting my BA in Management soon.  4 months..woot woot..
Anyway, I have decided that I will enter the Masters program immediately, which I really am stoked about.  I probably will try not to double up on classes as often in that program though.  So, I'm taking a class right now that is a writing class, and well, most of you also know that I'm not very conservative in my thinking.  It's really strange to go to school at Wesleyan with my mindset at times, but I kinda like it.  Anyway, back to the paper, I'm rambling. . . The topic of week 4's essay is a Persuasive paper about whatever I want basically.  So, I have went full circle on what to write about.  I started with Recycling and should it be mandatory, then I went to Toll Roads instead of taxes, then I went to Why everyone should write in Jon Stewart, then I thought, no no no...be more conservative, this guy likes you and you're gonna ruin that...So. . . I thought about going with Why Choose Google?...but you know, I've written so many papers on Google and my love for them..so . . .then I thought, maybe I should pick another mail client and say why you shouldn't go with one of them.  Then I thought, forget IT, get out of the IT world...what is fun...How about writing about which superhero is the best...then I realized that really that is just as geeky as Google in a whole different way, so then I decided..I have to just write about Recycling..I'm passionate about why we should all be made to do it..but easier.See I don't want to wash my stuff anymore and sort or any of that, I want the street departments or maybe a recycling department or trash company to just do it for me.  I realize that again this is not a conservative view.  I know the argument about the government already controlling too much.  It doesn't matter though what you or I want, in NYC you can't buy a coke bigger than 20 ozs.  We sure care about crazy useless stuff but not about something like this...