Thank you to all our Veterans

I want to thank all the veterans who have fought and served so that I can speak my mind and live freely.

To my Father,
  Tommie Tallon, Veteran served during peacetime;

To a family friend,
  Lee DeGraffenried, Veteran served during peacetime;

To my uncles,
   Donald Griffith, Vietnam Veteran;
   John McMurtrie, Vietnam Veteran;

To my cousin,
  Roy (Trey) Moore, Veteran served during peacetime;

To my friend,
  Maggie Artime, Veteran served during peacetime;

To my nephews,
  Patrick Logan, future veteran serving us proudly now;
  Jason Logan, future veteran serving us proudlynow.

Because of you and those like you, I am able to say Thank You anyway I want. Thank you for my freedom.

Enough for now...

What's Next? Tsunami at Tenkiller?

I know that I have been noticeably absent from my handy dandy blog. Plain and simple, I have been burned out with technology. My Facebook activity has been lacking as well.  Since I began blogging years ago, I have always written in spurts and for that I apologize.

A couple of weeks ago I was hit with a respiratory infection of the massive kind and it really kicked my butt. Everyday I would think, I will be better and go to work tomorrow and each day I was too sick to go. When I miss a solid week of work, I am terribly ill. I kind of panic when I have to call in sick. I am paranoia that people won't believe I am sick and I end up working when I should be at home. I am currently nursing that lingering cough that makes everyone think I am still sick. Being sick also made very uninterested in being on the computer for any reason.

Now on to the bazaar, Oklahoma has earthquakes. What would Will Rogers say "If you don't like the weather wait ten minutes." I don't think he meant earthquakes!  I know what to do when the sky falls but when my earth moves I have admit I just freeze. When the 5.6 quake happened, I was in bed watching TV. I first thought that a car hit my house but when it kept moving I just laid there - wide eyed shocked. Then earthquake dawned on me and I turned the TV to the local news.

What in the world is going on here? First we are tornado alley, then we have extreme draughts, or we have massive snow storms, now this - earthquakes, really? What's next a quake under Lake Tenkiller causing a Tsunami?

Now the news is telling everyone what to do when we have an earthquake. You know what they don't tell us, what to do if you are driving when an earthquake happens?

Enough for now...

Exhausted - talk among yourselves, I will be back

Enough for now...

It's football again

It's the good time for TV again, all the shows that I watch are coming out with new episodes. The problem I have is that I am really into my book. So this means that I watch TV all evening and read all night.  I am exhausted  all day long and the cycle continues. It's kind of the fish or cut bait delima but I choose to do both.

I am one book from being done with Raymond Fiest and series for a while and I am dying to finish it.

Technically I should be working, cleaning my house and doing some work on a free-lance project but I am thinking this weekend I want to revel in nothingness. I want to watch TV. I want to read. I want to be blah! I am thrilled it is now football season and we have OU (Boomer Sooner) games to veg out to.

Last week's game however did not give the "veg" out feeling. By the end of the game I was such a bundle of nerves that it took half the night to calm down. I am looking forward to Saturday's game against Missouri but it will be another nail biter.

Enough for now...

The Pres needs an easy button

The thing that I am most concerned with is that the American Jewish community feels the way Jerry Springer feels in the above segment. Obama is against Israel and is pursuing a Palestinian state. This bothers me greatly. I believe that if we abandon Israel to the Middle East Muslim hatred, we know they will fall. So abandonment means we kill them by absence. I have a problem with that.

We are a Country built around freedom to practice any religion a person chooses and we need to support a country trying to practice its religion - a country persecuted because they are not Muslim.

Today, Obama went to the UN and decried that "Peace is hard." What? Peace is easy, "my missiles are trained on you, make a move and we will blast you!" Easy.

Enough for now...

I want to be a happy old person

My family is rocking on exhaustion right now. My 98 year old mean great aunt, fell last week at the assistive living home she lives at. The place she lived at was like Spanish Cove or the The Villages in Florida for the poor. It was really nice.

But when she fell, it meant that she needed more attention than she was getting at the assistive living home. So from when she fell Wednesday night, mom and dad went to work and found her a nursing home and move her in Saturday at dinner time.

Let me tell you, that's moving fast. They did the leg work and paper work on Thursday and Friday. On Saturday, we all went over to her new place and got it set up as best we could and then went to her old place and picked up the stuff that would go to the nursing home (which is not that much).

Dad and I took the stuff from the old place to the new one, while mom dallied around her old place with her. That way, Aunt Lorene didn't see us move things in and try to start demanding where things went or get upset that people are touching her stuff. Her nursing home room is very limited and we really only could put things in one or two areas. Another problem is that her sight is fading fast and her hearing is almost gone, we were stressed enough making the move we didn't need her trying to move things in weird places because she can't see the whole room.

Poor mom was stuck with her the majority of the time because we wanted to move her into a fully furnished room. She really left one place fit to live in and move to the new one fit to live in without seeing much of the move. I believe that made her more calm in the transition.

The crazy nasty woman was okay with the move because she didn't like the assistive living center. Ironically, I think she didn't like it because she doesn't know how to live well. It wasn't a deteriorating trailer, it was the nicest place she ever lived. It was brand new and she was the first person to live in her apartment. The common areas where very nice and there was a lot of activities she refused to participate in.

She told mom and dad after they said she was moving to a nursing home that it was okay because they (meaning mom and dad) moved her into the wrong place first. She thinks this move to a nursing home is her idea. When actually the assistive living home wanted her gone after she call 911 when she fell. What she should have done was press the "help I have fallen and can't get up" button that was supposed to be around her neck but wasn't because she wouldn't follow the rules.

All of a sudden at 11 pm an ambulance shows up at the home and they didn't know why, I am sure that did not make her popular with the administration. But that is who Lorene is, she call 911 in Atoka because she got mad at the nephew who she was staying with. She burns bridges every where she goes. She thinks she rules everyone and everything and if you won't be dominated or manipulated she is angry as all get out.

The sad thing is that she used to be my favorite aunt on my dad's side of the family and what it really was was Uncle Eude, her husband. He was funny and nice to us and a real talker. I don't think we knew her at all. All the kin folk in California warned dad about taking her, but we really had no choice. We were her only blood family in the state and we thought she was in crisis. She wasn't, she was just mad at her nephew and manipulating all of us.

When we learned how she operated it was too late. She was living with mom and dad waiting to be admitting to the assistive living home. I did learn one thing. Because of the level of cruelty and lies, she has dished out, will cause her to be ward of the state if anything were to happen and she out live dad (her power of attorney). I will not care for her. I will help my parents care for her because they are better people than me.

Her Oklahoma family ends with dad. I fear she will live to make the Willard Scott birthday shout out for being the oldest woman in the world.

Enough for now...

This is not suiting me at all!

I hate this time of year. It is the time that my body violently mutinies against me. I have be dying with extremely itchy eyes, runny nose and a headache to top all headaches. I wake up every morning in so much pain and nauseated to the point of frustration (if I am going to feel like hurling then just do it and get it over with). I would have called in sick yesterday but it was Monday and I don't like to call in on Monday.

I would have called in sick today but I have an appointment  with a program that I am trying to get the staff happy again and I fear they would feel slighted if I rescheduled.

Why does this have to happen?  We have sent men to the moon and no one has found a cure for allergies? I don't buy it, the flu and sinus people want us buying all those drugs that don't work for beans. I bet there is a cure they are not telling us about!

The biggest problem with calling in sick is that until the weather changes there is no guarantee that I will feel better tomorrow.

On to brighter things (you can only gripe about allergies so long), the new fall season will start soon and this aimless clicking of the remote hoping to find something worthwhile on the TV will end. I am excited to see new shows coming out but hate the way the cable channels handle their seasons. Suits is a show that I absolutely love but after the season finale, the little announcer guy on the commercial said "see what happens next summer on Suits." Next summer?

Stargate Universe did that and by "next summer," I had a new routine and kept forgetting that it was on and I loved that show too. Shows should not end and have a return date of nine months later, that is ludicrous.  Come on cable step it up!

Enough for now...

The games have begun

Tomorrow I head to Tulsa for an advocacy conference with Co-Worker Linda. Yeah, not only will the information be good but it will be nice to be able to catch up with Linda. This week has be insane and I don't feel like I have left my office for more than five minutes at a time.

I am looking forward to the trip because we always have fun on road trips. I only wish that this one didn't have to start at 6:45 a.m. That's real early.

On the new web work, I am starting to convert my work website to HTML 5 and I am very happy how it simplifies the code. I just now have to convert everything, yeah....

The President spoke tonight and I just couldn't watch. I am so tired of his empty rhetoric. When Charles Krauthammer says that this is nothing more that a "set up," I can't bare to listen. I am also exhausted with the Presidential debates/campaigns. Let just hurry up get Mitt nominated and join forces.

This election process won't be pretty this year.

Enough for now...

Read the Book!

I should be rejoicing in this beautiful weather we are having, from 110 degrees to 80 over night is a glorious thing.  But I feel like crap. I think the radical weather change has my allergies on over drive and making me feel all around blah.

I should be well rested due to the fact that Mom and I watched 13 episodes of "To Serve Them All My Days" an show made from RF Delderfield's book. The book was much better and has me scratching my head at some spots, causing me to think that I need to re-read that book. Reading my post, in my book blog doesn't help much, but my title says a lot: Another Book I Couldn't Put Down!

The fact that show was shot in the early 80s probably didn't help much. Unfortunately, I cannot recommend the show as much as I do the book. Nor, do I recommend watching 13 episodes over a three day span.


Enough for now...

Surprised Nine is Fine

I am now coding my websites with HTML5 and have upgraded from Internet Explorer 8  to Internet Explorer 9. Actually, I haven't cared much one way or the other about IE, I have just always had to use it because JAWS users must use it. I have to design for IE.

I am surprised that I really like it. It seems real fast and HTML5 components and CSS3 tend to behave the way they are supposed to.  What really amazes me, are the people who don't upgrade their browsers and some are still using IE 6. It was introduced in 2001, why would you still use a browser that old. People, your browsers are free, upgrade for every web designers sake.

What was difficult at first was that the tabs are on top of the browser above all the menus and kind of transparent. I keep having to hunt for them before I remember they are up there. I don't like that the favorites are in the right corner now, my mother will never find them on her computer (I may not upgrade her browser and ten years from now she will still be using IE 8).

Just for a little comedic relief, I thought I would add this Toyota commercial. I love her line "I am an only child, [dramatic pause] except for my sister." It just cracks me up!



Enough for now...

Lost in the Abysis of Nothingness

The weekend goes well but the big dog is such a bed hog. I am sleeping with my legs curled up, Winston at the top of the bed and Seamus encompassing one third of the bottom of the bed. We have been very lazy and messy these last two days. We watched Jane Eyre and Pillars of the Earth Part II, now I am watch Losers.

I was disappointed with the new Jane Eyre. The second Jane Eyre movie was better. I think if I had not read the book and watched the other one, the new one would have confused me with all flashbacks. Plus, Mr. Rochester in the other movie was more like the Mr. Rochester of my imagining. The new Mr. Rochester didn't give the impression that he truly loved Jane, I didn't believe him.

The Pillars of the Earth was good and worthwhile but fours hours is a long time for a movie. I had to separate it watched a couple last night and a couple this morning.

I then threw in Losers. Jeffrey Dean Morgan is truly one of the most macho men out there in the movie world (if he has played anything less macho please do not tell me!). He is quite yummy!

I have been living on Apple Jacks, coke and cold spaghetti this weekend and I don't feel very good. I think getting back on a diet and eating right sounds good. Food is not really my friend, more often than not if I eat badly for an extended period of time, I end  up sick. I have reached that point.

I have all afternoon and this evening to be down right lazy (don't tell anyone, but I am kind of bored with it). I don't understand but sometimes I have a hard time turning off.  Don't get me wrong, I can waste time like everyone but I am usually busy wasting time. Just doing nothing, especially when I plan on it, gets old quickly.

Enough for now...

Boredom and Movie

This weekend I plan to do nothing of important. NOTHING. I need peace and calm. I need to be a drama-free as possible. I plan to get the new Jane Eyre movie. I may even pick up my book again. I will not make my bed, hang my clothes or put up my dishes. I will be a total complete bum.

Seamus will be with us all weekend, which I cannot wait. Since the vet has put him on thyroid medicine his fur is soft as velvet. I plan to have that boy on the couch right next to me, it is so amazing how great his coat feels.  I need to veg out!

Then I will surf the web on how to cleanse my aura, find the right zen spot and try to hypnosis to never get stressed, or care or cry again!

Bring on nothing! Feel free to send me any tips on what nothing to do.

Enough for now...

Zoom Zoom

Notice I have been absent lately? Well, I am not such a good blogger if I have to blog from my desk. I will ramble quite nicely from my couch but not so good from my really cool desk. That's a place for work and I really don't want this blog to be work. See I ramble... anyway, my wireless router died and I just got my replacement router. The new toy is fast! I am liking it.

My house had it appraiser test today and I am hopeful that it past. In order for me to get to refinance my baby the appraisal has to come in at the right price. I can't imagine that I wouldn't get credit for Travertine tile in the bathroom, new vinyl siding instead of wood, ceramic tile throughout the whole house, full kitchen renovation, oh please, oh please, nice appraiser lady give us an A.

It's really funny how much work we did in anticipation of the appraiser coming. She barely looked at the house, she measured, looked at appliances, the things we worried about I doubt she noticed. She did give me credit for having a three bedroom house even though my office doesn't look like a bedroom just a few renovations and it could be a bedroom again. Whew!

I have had a lot of stress this week and I am glad to this one thing over with. I have been living very neatly AND I AM A SLOB. It was hard picking up after myself everyday for a week. I made my bed everyday for a week and a half. Ironically, Mom said that they won't come on the same day they call. Well, yes, she did. She had a cancellation and came the same day she called. I really worked to my favor as I didn't have to leave work to met her, it was my telecommute day.

If anyone out there prays, send a little prayer my way. I need strength and courage to make need changes.

Enough for now...

This little piggy went wa wa wa all the way home

Lordy, lordy, lordy! I have to say I have worked my toes off or at least worked them numb. Me and my parents have been cleaning the house and making it look as pretty as it can before the appraiser comes to grade all our hard work. We worked all weekend making the place look great.

I am amazed that my ity bity house could be so hard to clean and get ready for scrutiny.

Friday night after work:
I was ready for a change so we  removed all the Harlequin and Poirot dolls and Mardi Gras masques from my bedroom and packed them up. I cannot give them away so I just put them away.  Mom and I packed the dolls and removed the shelves that held them. Dad Spackle all the holes and found a problem with my new window with the dry wall and caulking. Mom washed the windows in the bedroom and I dusted everything (three hours on only one room?!?).

Saturday:
I scrubbed my tub and shower walls. I Windexed my over-sized shower doors and cleaned the toilet and sink and hid all my toiletries in the linen closet (two hours of pain). I painted all the walls that had spackle and mom repainted the bay window where the dogs sit and watch the world go by.  Mom and I washed all the wood work in the bedrooms, hallway and bathroom. Mom dusted the guest bedroom and washed all the inside windows. I scanned all paperwork waiting on me while mom dusted the office and books. Dad touched up some grout in my bathroom shower and added about three feet of cedar in the top part of my bedroom closet.

By this point we are in so much pain that we can barely see straight. Earlier this spring I had cleaned all my baseboards in the living room so I only needed to dust the nick knacks.

Sunday:
Thankfully Dad and I reworked the kitchen wainscoting and touched all the paint then so we had to clean all the wood work then. The kitchen just needed company cleaning. Then we washed the windows on the outside. Dad re-caulked the shower. Dad edged and weed eated and mowed my yard.

Monday:
While I was at work, Mom and Dad trimmed up all my dead monkey grass. Dad recaulked all my windows after the Champion Window guy came out and said to just re-caulk everything and so, Dad caulked and Mom taped all windows where he caulked and I touched up all the paint. Then Mom and I pruned all the trees that were growing saplings and suckers and weeded large gravel area out back.

We worked so hard that every night we were so exhausted and sore. Dad has bruises from crawling in the closet. Mom's legs and back hurt. I think I have to top them both; on my right foot-my pinkie toe and the one next to it have gone totally numb. This is a first for me. I probably have a pinched nerve but my back doesn't really hurt like it normally does.  I will keep you posted as to when I regain the feeling in my toes -- on day four.

Enough for now...

Rain, Rain, Don't Go Away

The glorious rain came today but why did it have to come the very minute I had an appointment across town and I had no umbrella. Somehow I didn't mind the drenching I got running to my car. I even didn't mind the ominous sky from my floor to ceiling windows in my office.  Spooky skies are kind of neat when you roll your chair right up to the edge.

I am also thrilled that it rained for longer than 15 minutes. I want to have a green yard again!

My appointment this morning was with my bank. I decided that I need to tend to my finances. I have two IRAs from my old job that I need to roll over into one or my current job's IRA. Then I need to try to refinance my house from 6% interest to 3.8% interest.

The appraisal is going to run me about $450 but if I can refinance then it will be money well spent. The whole deal will depend on whether or not my house will appraise for a certain price.

I feel so grown up!

The best thing one can do when it's raining is to let it rain. - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Enough for now...

************ My next password will be "1diotsmkmehaveastupidpswrd"

 Today, I had to enter my employee account services where my payroll stubs go and my leave accrual reports go, the important things that you need but only occasionally. So I go to log in with this arbitrary ID number that I can never remember. Then I have to enter a password that changes every 90 days so I have to write it down, mainly because I rarely go to the account services.

When I entered the password it immediately took me to the password expired page. How secure is a site that requires you to change your password so frequently that you can't remember it? I have a dedicated file on my laptop of all my passwords.

I find it odd that in trying to make everything super secure they create a compromising scenario where us users must store their passwords in something quite insecure.

Why is it that my ATM pin has not changed in since it was issued to me and I have it in my head securely. I truly think it is more about creating a false sense of job security than it is about computer security. Why is it that major corporations like Visa, Master Card and Discover allow you to create a password for your credit cards and let it be for how long ?.... EVER, for-freaking-ever! But at work I have to key in a new password every 90 days, because you know someone may hack into my computer and download a couple of press releases!

The future of the computer police.

Now, I just add the next numeral and keep the same password. Since I began my job almost five years ago, I have had to change my password 28 or 29 times. That is just plain stupidity and not secure at all. 

Pretty soon information technicians will be roaming the halls with AK47s and segways gunning for anyone with a password shorter that 48 characters including at least one upper case letter and three special characters. 

Enough for now...

It's what's on the inside that counts

New outlet mall opened this weekend and from the looks of driving by the crowds were completely insane. Just what I need a name brand outlet mall for my sister to trek down from Dumas, TX and empty my wallet.

Every October, Kim comes for the Affair of the Hearts, Hobby Lobby, Garden Ridge, Kohl's and anything else we can go to without our feet giving out. Each year, I spend about a grand without even realizing it. Now there's an outlet mall...I am so screwed.

On a side note, did they try their hardest to make the exterior look as ridiculous as possible? It has to bee the ugliest mall I have ever seen.

There are 87 stores in this mall some sound promising others not so much. Kimber, you might want to add another day to the fall shopping fest and bring Rick's wallet to boot.

See the full list:

Aeropostale, Auntie Anne’s, Banana Republic, Bass, BCBGMAXAZRIA, Bella Pizza, Bon Worth, Bose, Brooks Brothers, Carter’s Childrenswear, Chico’s, Children’s Place, Christopher & Banks,                   City Bites, Clarks/Bostonian, Claire’s, Coach, Converse, Corningware, Dazzle Nails and Spa, Disney Store Outlet, DKNY, Dress Barn, Easy Spirit, Famous Footwear/     Factory Brand Shoes,

Fragrance Outlet, Gap Outlet, Gold Toe, Guess?, Gymboree, Haggar, Hanes Brands, Izod, J. Crew Factory, Johnston & Murphy,                  Jones New York, Jos. A. Bank, Journeys, Justice, Kasper, Kay Jewelers, Kitchen Collection, Lane Bryant, Le Creuset, Le Gourmet Chef, Levi’s, Lids, Maurices, Michael Kors, Naturalizer, Nike, Nine West,

Oakley Vault, Orange Leaf Yogurt, OshKosh B’Gosh, Perry Ellis, Polo Ralph Lauren, Primo’s, RackRoom Shoes, Reebok/Rockport, Rice Garden, Rue 21, Saks Avenue Off Fifth, Skechers, Smashburger, Soma, Sunglass Hut, Talbots, Tommy Hilfiger, Ultra Diamonds, Under Armour, Uniform Outlet, US Polo Assn., Van Heusen, Vans Outlet, Wilsons Leather, Yankee Candle, and Zumiez.

Enough for now...

The bliss of the mundane

I am quite proud of myself today. I got up and picked up the entire house by 9 a.m. Then I went to breakfast with the fokes and worked on the family's photo project. Now, I sitting back watching a movie.

I haven't had one of these weekends where I feel like my house is in order and I have time to rest. It feels good. Isn't it weird that just cleaning your house, weeding your planter and working on a project actually makes you feel good.

It's the kind of weird I will take any day over the bad weird. As my reward, God has sent a little rain this way. I am so thankful. I have two mature Maple trees that have more brown leaves then green. I am praying that they will come out of it when the rains come back.

Oddly, my baby Red buds are doing rather well. I really thought I had lost them last fall but then they came out of the winter with happy green leaves.

I feel calm... I like it.

Enough for now...

Sleepy, but happy

The video below is how I wish I felt. Instead I am just plum tired. The minute I hit the bed I plan to be out cold. Half way through the video I start thinking, hey camera man please leave the room and let her sleep.



Enough for now...

The boondoogle I would want to see

If this clip does not scare you there is something wrong with you. First that crazy Russian Putin has no desire to be a friend of the United States and I do think he is crazy enough to wage war against us.

Second Biden is our Vice President and should be ever thankful the Secret Service keeps him alive. He's incredibly stupid and if he needed to save his own life - Bahner would move up the chain of command. Now we learn not only is he the dumbest VP in history, he's greedy! To have the government rent his propery so they can protect him is wrong on so many levels? [ Must not say dirty words, must not say dirty words. ]

Nudist taking over a Marine owned beach? Are they mental? Let the idiots go to their beach and let the Marines hone their amphibious assaults skills anyone stupid enough to be on their beach.  Have you noticed that nudist are always fat and ugly - come on people! That's just not right. A new slogan "Support our troops, keep you pants on!" Camp Pendleton Marines should receive hazard pay for having to endure the mind numbing site of ugly naked people. [ Mental picture ulgy nake people running like sissy girls when the Marines land. ]



Enough for now...