Did anyone else spend lots of time watching the Shiba Six on the puppy cam last year? Well, there's another litter now, and the breeders have been nice enough to put a cam on these guys too! SO cute! Thanks emperor_bale  for sharing this with me!

A while back a made a rather scathing post expressing my dislike for the Twilight series and the hype surrounding it. I sincerely hope I didn't offend those of you on my f-list who are fans; you know I love you and meant no ill-will by it :-)

While I still don't care for Meyer's take on my beloved nosferatu mythology, I believe that everything evens itself out in the end. This photoshoot, I'll admit, I love. It's probably been circulating for months now and I'm late in discovering it, but I'll post anyways because I love it that much.



<3 The Big Bang Theory so much, lol.

Woke up this morning and found Walker out of his pen again. The pins had been pulled on one panel so that it could be opened wide, which it was. I'm pretty sure he's not capable of pulling these pins himself, and Dad pulled up just as we were getting the horse settled down, and he went out into the field and found footprints. To whoever is doing this, please cut it the eff out! He's going to clear the fence one of these times and you're going to get run over and killed by him.

We bought a security camera and some no trespassing signs, so we'll so how that works out. *rolls eyes* Stupid neighbor brats.

I did enjoy The Gunslinger though, and I hope to read the rest of the Dark Tower series. And OMG The Tale of the Body Thief was AMAZING. Lestat is delicious.

OMGuh . . . did anyone else catch Law & Order: SVU tonight? Mom's a longtime fan and I've been watching for a few months now as well, and I've been especially looking forward to tonight's episode with Naveen Andrews guesting. Without spoiling anything about the episode, I'll just say . . . he used his natural accent on here and his character's personality was just delicious and he was just plain YUMMY, LOL. Now, please bear in mind that at this point, I know absolutely NO Lost season 6 spoilers and I intend for it to stay that way, but if something happens to Sayid, I'd love it if Mr. Ash Ramsey became a regular character on SVU. Yes please, I'll have lots of that.



Went to the library yesterday and picked up some movies and actually quite a few books. I've already finished The Gunslinger and I plan on reading the rest of the Dark Tower series. I can't honestly say whether I liked the book or the main character much, but it was very interesting, to say the least, and I'm curious to see how it all finishes out. I also picked up FlashForward, The Hitchhiker's Guide To the Galaxy (re-read), and The Tale of the Body Thief. I really wanted to start with Interview With A Vampire, but this particular branch doesn't have it and I understand one can read Body Thief without having read the others in the Vampire Chronicles series. I'm a few chapters in and loving it so far. I also finally managed to pick up Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind to watch, I've been wanting to see this one for ages! Last night I watched The Satanic Rites of Dracula and . . . erm, wow. I really hate the soundtracks used in most 70's films and this was no exception. It was actually a pretty crummy film on the whole, but I must say that Christopher Lee was quite the looker in his day, wasn't he? Yowza.

The local weatherman tells me just now that there is a chance we may be getting "Small flurries, light snow, and freezing rain" this weekend. Around 1:30 this afternoon whilst driving down the road, nephew and I spotted a tree in someone's yard that had apparently been hit by the spray of a broken sprinkler overnight. It was still covered in icicles.

Did I mention I live in Florida? Snow or even nasty ice would be a very nice change of scenery, you know  XD

Hullo all! Hope everyone had a lovely Christmas. Ours was kind of different, but pretty good nonetheless. We ran out of propane on Christmas Eve when I was baking cookies, so Mom ended up cooking our entire Christmas dinner in the microwave. Tasted pretty good, lol. I seem to have caught some kind of nasty virus though, my little bit of a cold turned into a full-blown, double ear infection. Not sick in over a year, and I have to get that on the longest weekend of 2009! 

Saturday night, I just couldn't sleep at ALL and ended up having Mom take me to the Emergency Room, I felt like my ears would explode and I could hardly hear. Thankfully it's not too busy at the insane, pre-dawn time of the night, and I was in and out in about two hours, which really isn't bad at all. There were a few other people there, mostly kids, and everyone of them was coughing and complaining of ear pain, it was insane. The doctor  said she doesn't normally do it, but she gave me a huge shot of antibiotics in the hip. I also got a prescription for Azithromycin and bought some Mucinex. Oh, and I'm also still taking Tylenol, so it's like I'm swallowing a drug store on a daily basis, lol. While I'm hardly what I'd call normal again, I do feel lots better now, especially compared to Saturday night; I felt like I'd been hit by a semi. And the doggies are too adorable. I sat down in the recliner with some blankets when I got home, and they couldn't wait to pile onto my lap and snuggle; I think they can tell when we're not feeling well. Annie even followed me to bed.

Anywho, yeah. It was a slim budget kind of holiday, but I <3 my presents. I came away with -

From Charles - Interview With A Vampire, Ice Age 3, and The Phantom of the Opera, yay!

From the parents, Star Trek (2009) and two very nice button down shirts. Mom is getting me some pants to go with them as soon as I'm feeling better and can try them on. We were gonna hit the day-after sales Saturday, but as I was feeling like poop and she had a headache, we stayed home.

Dad and Charles managed to start the Mustang on Saturday, Charles was very happy, lol.

Well, that's it for now. We have a freeze warning tonight, so I might bring Strider inside to sleep in my room. I've done it a few times recently, and he's very good! Last time he even slept through the night.

Oh my, I've really neglected this thing, haven't I? I have a few minutes though, so here goes a quick list.

1. School is done. All I need to do now is get a cashier's check so I can apply to re-take my stupid CNA boards exam. The skill portion, anyways. Blasted manual blood pressure . . .

2. Had a great couple of weeks; Mom, Charles and I saw Avatar last Friday. We only saw it in 2D, so sadly I didn't get to experience all the glorious 3D stuff people have been creaming themselves over, but it was highly entertaining nonetheless.

3. All my shopping and wrapping is done, and Mom took me out yesterday to the mall because she wanted to get my clothes for Christmas, but only if I could be there to pick out and try them on, since she knows our tastes are very different, lol.

4. Baking lots and lots and LOTS of cookies at the moment. Hoping Dad and Stephen will be able to make it here tomorrow. Dad should be here sometime late tonight or tomorrow morning, and Stephen is trying to get his car fixed and may or may not make it. We're supposed to get lots of rain tomorrow but I guess that's alright, since we usually spend most of the day inside, anyways.

I hope everyone has or has already had a wonderful time with loved ones! Be safe if you're traveling and responsible if you're indulging in the drink ;-)

Indeed, I love putting up our own and seeing what other people have as well. For as long as I can remember, Mom wouldn't let us put up decorations until the Saturday before Christmas, even if Christmas was on a Sunday! Sometimes she'll bend and let us do it a week or so before hand. But this year she told me I could put up the outdoor lights the day after Thanksgiving, and they went up yesterday. A little early? Yeah, but I felt like doing them, and I find it's better to do that kind of thing when I'm genuinely in the mood or it doesn't get done, lol. We'll probably put up the tree in a week or so, whenever we feel like digging out everything and rearranging the living room. I'm not fussed about that going up a little later because it really is a little bit of a hassle to have a big tree in the room for a month.

We usually take stuff down sometime between December 26 and January 1.

. . . but I don't care.

I really frickin' fucking hate the fucking stupid Twilight series and I want to smack up my idiot nephew with a clue-by-four for fankwanking hard enough to go see New Moon this Friday, ALONE. Gawd.

I think this alone made up for 8 weeks of mediocrity. Please, please, whoever is in charge of this show, give these guys more screen time, especially together!



Thanks to takohiko for this .gif!

I am now officially addicted to Muse. ABC was playing their ads for V ad nauseum with Uprising in the background and I kind of liked it, so I naturally had to find out what it was. So thanks for that, ABC! And V isn't really all that bad, either, which surprises me, since I wrote it off as likely crappy when they started running commercials for it. I hate to say it, but I have to admit, I like the character and plot development in this one better than I do for Flash Forward. I'm still watching FF, and I really enjoyed tonight's ep, but I still think they could seriously do a lot better than this. And they need to just go ahead and let Simon and Lloyd dominate an episode for once, instead of all the random FBI crap. Dom and Jack have wonderful chemistry together, and I especially like the little face pats at the end of the ep, LOL. That was great. I wonder if it's too much to hope for a canon pairing between them . . . I don't think they like each other very much though.

Yep, random entertainment update, but what can I say? No bites yet in the job department and I am *so* close to finishing clinicals. Just one more 6-hour ER shift Tuesday and that'll be it. For real this time, too. I did one on Tuesday and while the timing killed me (up at 5am, UGH!), I had fun. My preceptor was a 67 year old man who'd been in the medical field for over thirty years and he was incredibly un-PC, which was awesome, lol.

And now, chat for a bit longer and off to bed. I just washed my sheets, and my legs are also freshly shaved and my hair washed. Smooth legs on clean sheets is one of the loveliest feelings, isn't it? And tomorrow is grocery/errand day so we'll go out to either breakfast or lunch, yum! Mom also says she wants to buy Up, which we haven't seen yet, so tomorrow should prove to be a pretty fun day. Oh, and I also saw V for Vendetta for the first time ever yesterday. Loved it.

Ta!

For the simple reason that there was nothing else interesting on, Mom and I watched Extreme Home Makeover tonight. Overblown, fluffy, emotional porn, but whatever. It makes for somewhat entertaining TV when you're bored. But a commercial for a new show came on towards the end, and I've actually got half a mind to apply/audition for it.

"FROM THE CREATORS OF EXTREME MAKEOVER: HOME EDITION AND SECRET MILLIONAIRE.

Were you adopted? Did you make the difficult decision to give a child up for adoption? Have you been searching for a parent, child, or sibling and exhausted your resources? If so, award-winning producers want to hear about your experiences for the new ABC show, Find My Family.

The show will explore the profound issues involved when families separate and the lengths some go to reunite, find answers, and discover lost family. Are you searching for a loved one? Do you know someone who is? If you or someone you know is seeking answers, please consider sharing your story with millions who might benefit. We can make a difference.

For more information or to apply please contact us at missingfamily@rrstaff.com. "

For those of you who don't know, I was adopted and the people I've called my parents for 25 years have had me since I was 5 days old. I wouldn't have it any other way, but I've gotten more and more curious as of late about my biological family. I know I have at least three siblings/half siblings, possibly more. Pretty much all I know about my birth mother is that she was 36 when she had me and apparently brilliant when she was younger, but blew her mind on drugs in college and started living in the streets.

What say ye?

You know, for as much of a hopeless romantic as I'll admit to being, I'm not big on seeing it in films, simply because it's often done very poorly. But there is definitely one that I love and never get tired of watching, and that's the exchange and first kiss between Han Solo and Leia Organa in The Empire Strikes Back. They're my favorite on screen couple because they're just so believable and fun, not cheesy and soppy like certain other couples in that universe. Padme and Anakin, I'm looking at YOU. Han and Leia have the kind of relationship that I'd like to have; someone I can have a good fight with but always kiss and make up later, you know? LOL



Not enough scoundrels, indeed. *swoony*

A very close runner up would be the scene in Sense and Sensibility where Colonel Brandon is reading to Marianne.

Seriously, it has to be. Last night I had a long, hormone-soaked dream in which I was the Marquis DeSade's personal chambermaid, and it was in a really nice mansion instead of a loony bin. And then for some reason I was lying around, using Joseph Fiennes' thigh for a pillow and we were both naked O_O

 Remember when I crashed the truck I hadn't had for two months back in February? And my parents had to pay a $500 deductible to have it fixed? And the other moron's insurance company said it was MY fault? Well, a check from Progressive came addressed to me and Dad, paying back $475 of what they shelled out earlier this year. While they still think they should have gotten back the entire five hundred plus interest, I am simply ECSTATIC that we won the claim at all. It's been so long, I'd given up on it. And this means that they did in fact find the other person at fault, I didn't do anything wrong! I've been beginning to wonder if I wasn't being a ditz in denial and it really was because of me that I smashed my fender up and blew out a tire. My only regret is that I couldn't see this guy's reaction, as well as his boss', lol. It was his work truck that I ran into when he cut me off, not his own. Then he had the utter gall to try and impress the female cop with his amazing knowledge of who was at fault because "He works for the DOT and knows how roads work". Haha, sure you do, SUCKER! Karma's a bitch, ain't it? Mind you, I still avoid that particular intersection if I can help it, and I am very careful how I enter that turn lane when I do use it, but I can't tell you how good it feels to know that I wasn't the dunderhead in this case . . . ahhhh. 

( My thoughts of Flash Forward and a sexy picture behind here )

Well, I need to get off my rear and go help make lunch and bake a cake. Spice cake, and I'm going to put pumpkin flavored instant pudding in it for an autumn/Halloween touch. Trust me, this makes a box cake so incredibly moist; it's delicious. Dad is supposed to be home later this afternoon, I'm going to see if I can get him to help me wash the truck and maybe spend some fun time with the horsies. Just me and him and Mom, since Charles is at a friend's house and then going to the county fair with them later tonight. It'll be the first time I haven't gone in pretty much forever, but it's lost so much charm for me. The exhibits in the buildings are boring and my poor head and stomach can't take the rides anymore, so it gets old fast. I'll probably just stay in tonight and watch Sweeney Todd or Bram Stoker's Dracula or some other incredibly mild movie :-P

Hope everyone is having a fun and safe Halloween, for those of you who do it. 

Cool weather! Cool weather! I am positively euphoric. Now all I need is a nice warm body to snuggle up with . . . but I digress. This is the weirdest class. We have the simplest assignments ever, and I've got 100% on everything I've taken and turned in so far. Next week our assignment is a 'Time Management Project' and all she wants is a one week schedule of what we do all week. She said copying the calendar/planner we have for daily use and giving it to her would be fine. I'm not gonna complain! I seriously hope this weather sticks around for a while though. My skin is drying out, my lips are starting to crack, but I am SO happy. It's really hard to get me in a bad mood when it's like this. Although, on the note of wanting a warm body to cuddle with . . . yeah, that's the dumb thing about the cold. It turns me into a sappy, hopeless romantic. Of course, me being pretty much a recluse doesn't help much, but I've yet to find my new 'niche' in the community. Not working, I don't really see people like I used to, and I don't belong to any local churches. They're all so . . . wishy washy? I guess that would be the right term. And I'm tired of most of them hyping up their bands and musicians and selling all kinds of CD's and concert tickets, as well as dressing like thugs and drug dealers for Sunday service, all behind the guise of 'Awesome worship!' There is nothing awesome about a bunch of teenagers playing in a band and leading the congregation in a chorus of 'Thank you God, you are so awesome' for 20x. I guess it's all a matter of opinion, but I had to get on that soapbox for a bit. We've been going to the church I was in from the time I was 15-20 and it's alright, even though ALL of my female friends are married with kids and some even divorced and raising the fruits of a one night stand. And the guys? The ones that aren't married are scattered everywhere, so I don't see any of them anymore either. Oh well. Time will tell, I suppose.

I promised new Echo pics last post, so here we go! Being a September baby, his coat is really weird. His face is trying to shed out it's baby coat, but since it's coming up on winter, the rest of him is as fuzzy as ever. I love to touch and kiss his little nosey though, it's unlawfully soft. It was a rainy day when I took these last week, so excuse how sloppy he is.

Yeah, that second one is a total Dr. House impression, LOL! See how dark his coat is underneath though? Cool!


"I'm so ticked off that I'm molting!"

^ That would be why they are called the 'baby fuglies' at this stage. We still love him though. And look what I found in Sweet Tart's old baby book (Yep, you read that right! We have a lock of her hair in it and everything). Though you might enjoy seeing this - It's Spunky! AKA Sweet Tart's Daddy-O and Gramps to Sawyer and Echo. He was such a good horse. Not sure what he's up to these days, we sold him to a certified John Lyons trainer in '00 and last I heard, his son had started him barrel racing.   Handsome bugger, no?                             


*hugs everyone* Hope you're all having a good week!

Oh, and the last 30 seconds of Flash Forward last week? Freaking EPIC. He seems like such a self-important asshole and I'm loving it XD

Life is life here, nothing new in the area of job opportunities, but I did apply for 11 different ones at three of the Shands locations here. Hopefully I'll hear something! Four horses is an incredible amount of work for one person, but at least it keeps me busy. No idea why I am *still* doing all of Charles' work on Walker, since he's his horse, but I don't mind too much. I like Walker to look nice and sharp. He actually let me do his tail yesterday; I hadn't tried in forever. And the worst thing that happened was that he passed gas in my face, LOL.

We're hoping to get all three of the boys gelded as soon as possible, gosh that would be so nice. Then they could all four be turned out together without us having to worry about stallion fights, unwanted babies, and mother/son matings. We're keeping Sawyer separate right now and the lack of pasture and companionship has made him kind of grumpy. Baby Echo is doing great though, and getting much friendlier. He'll come up to us on his own now to get scritches and rubs. His baby coat is also starting to shed out and the hair underneath is really dark, almost a chocolate color. I'll try and get some pics later today for my next post.

Oh! And we are actually going to have the temperatures dip into the 40's (Farenheit) this weekend. Hu-freakin'-ZAH! I know all you northern people are rolling your eyes at me, but come on . . . this is Florida. Anything below 60 makes me giddy; I utterly loathe heat and humidity. Really, 90 degrees plus 98% humidity in October? That's just wrong. And that's the kind of weather we had last week.

YAY! Flash Forward tonight, and I'm pretty sure Dom's character is finally going to be introduced. Can't wait!

And one more thing - it's been a while since I did anything PotC or Hector related, but I saw this saddle just now on Tacky Tack of the Day and couldn't help but think that Barbossa would be proud to be seen sitting in this thing



I'll admit though, that if they only used one Jolly Roger symbol and nixed all of that sparkly crap, it wouldn't be that bad. Might look better in black leather as well.

OMG you guys, I entered an icon challenge at henrygalelovers thinking "Aww heck, just for the fun of it" and look what happened!



This makes me *squee* so badly, LOL! And makes me want to get back into the habit of making icons again . . .  *goes to put banner in profile*

Horsey-wise, I'm having fun. Getting back into the obsessive habit of going out all the time to groom and train them. Dad was home for a while on Sunday and gave me the desperately needed help in getting Echo started leading. I'd been putting his halter on him every other day or so, but it's SO much easier to start a baby leading if you have two people. One to lead mama and one to coax the baby into following on a lead and making him think it's all his idea in the first place ;-) I went out and did it again tonight, with Sweet Tart tied to a post, and this little guy walked all over the place with me, and wasn't even scared when we got far away from mama! I'm so proud of him. Though he really didn't need to slam his head into mine when I was trying to catch him . . . that hurts. And goodness gracious, did I say we were selling these two monsters? Dad is, as I suspected, head over heels in love with this baby and apparently very reluctant to sell anyone now *rolls eyes* But we are definitely NOT breeding back for anymore foals. No. No moar babies! He'll just have to drive a few extra miles each week to feed them. Silly Dads.

Also, I am a mean auntie and a woman of my word. Charles has been really piss-poor about keeping Walker groomed, especially his mane. It's really long and thin and gets tangled easily. After untangling one too many Rats' Nests of Epic Proportion©, I told him that if he didn't comb through Walker's mane at least every other day, I was going to put braids in it. I went out this afternoon (After he'd left for his GED classes) and lo & behold, there was another nest forming in that pretty white mane. Let it be known that Grace keeps her promises. And most of her threats XD






Poor guy. He doesn't look nearly as silly as I was afraid he would, though. And at least now his hair can't get all knotted up or fall in his eyes and make them water! Hopefully it'll thicken up and not get so tangled easily . . . . or *someone* will do a better job of combing him :-P I can't wait to see his reaction when he goes outside and sees him tomorrow XD

What on EARTH?  He had it hanging out off and on for like 30 minutes tonight. This is new . . . LOL!



And really, am I the only one who watched Flash Forward on Thursday night? *sniffle*

Time for me to fess up. The real reason I was so incredibly upset and antsy last time I posted was because my Dad was having an issue with a broken seal on a load he had delivered to a McDonald's warehouse, and there was a very good chance that he was going to lose his job over it. After much prayer and four or five days of him sitting at different warehouses (Un-paid, days, I might add :-( ) it looks like that's not going to be the case. I'm sorry I took it out here, but in this economy, the idea of the only working person in the household losing their job was a very scary one.

I'm also happy to report we've been making progress with Sweet Tart and the baby. Oh! He has a name now, by the way. We're calling him Echo. Echo One, Mom says, in case we're ever stupid enough to breed more of them, she'll just add Two, Three, etc to their names, LOL. I really think we've made enough babies for now though. He's a spunky little thing, that's for sure! I got a halter on him last night, so we've made it through step 1 of getting him halter broken. He's technically still for sale, but stupid me is now really hoping and trying to get a job so we'll be able to afford keeping him, LOL. Cause we really don't see Dad parting with Sweet Tart anytime soon. I actually felt bad because he came home the other night and we went out with flashlights to look at Echo, and the guy fell so totally in love with the little thing. He hinted that I could train Sawyer for harness and then Echo when he's old enough, and we'll have a matched team. Gotta admit, that'd be awfully pretty and nice.

I made a video of Echo and Sweet Tart yesterday, (with cameos by Walker and Sawyer) hope you enjoy! Oh, and don't tell YouTube I used that song! I don't want the copyright Nazis yanking it ;-P


OH! One last thing. Flash Forward last night was AMAZING. I'm definitely hooked, and I can't wait to see Dom's character and more of Jack's! Anyone else watch?