Currently in Aloha, Oregon.
I got some delightful gifties for Christmas.
It's snowy as all get out here in the Portland Metro Area. I think this might be the most snow I've seen here at any one time.
Apparently Portland is all snowed in and there are only a couple of ice crystals on the cars and fence up here. This sucks.
This evening, Ben, Alex, Casey and I went on a date to the Iron Rabbit, which I definitely recommend if you want to go out to a nice meal(appetizers are all around 10 bucks, entrees 11 to 20 or so). I had a delicious cheeseburger, fries, and a Caesar salad, and we all shared the artichoke pesto dip. Yum!
A Babeland Party is a lot like a Tupperware party, but with sex toys! Our Babeland Party Presenter(s) will lead you and your guests on a fun-filled sex toy tour. Our presentation will last for approximately one hour and will include sex tips, tricks and techniques, our favorite product selection (vibrators, games, books, oils, etc.), and additional time for you and your guests to make purchases. The cost of a Babeland party starts at $150, depending on the location. Download and print theBabeland Parties brochure (pdf).I win, because I do this for FREE!!!
Babeland Party
On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, Riot To Follow Productions(run by mostly Sketch/Improv people) is putting on a play written by Amy and David Sedaris called "The Book of Liz". It's at 7 PM each of the three nights.
Well I took my computer to ResNet today and Evan installed the new fan and I am using it. It hasn't overheated yet, keep your fingers crossed.
So my friend, Hannah, creates the cutest most adorable little creatures and is a Goddess of the Fiber Arts.
She has outdone herself and made these chickens.
I stand in awe.
Next week is Evaluation Week which means no classes and people start going home for Winter Break. Ben is staying around until the 21st(Saturday) and so shall I. Although there is a possibility of a mid-week visit to Portland.
Tomorrow I would like to bake a pie. Yesterday I made Pumpkin Scones and Pumpkin Muffins.
Oh, also tomorrow I shall make Smoky Pumpkin Soup. It will be a wholesome day.
Also, you should REALLY book a Passion Party with me ASAP. There's only a couple weeks left to order Christmas presents(I can just mail you a catalog if you don't want to do a party) and parties are the best way to earn hostess credits and discounts so you can get your stuff for CHEAP! Plus, I will give you free things, like a full size Spice Lubricating Massage Lotion, just for hosting a party. Please email me at star.bjorge@gmail.com. Do not call, my phone is turned off due to unpaid bills. I can't get a new account, because my mom's and my account was randomly put under my name, so the debt is in my name too. Le sigh. But certainly, email me.
Tomorrow I register for classes for next quarter. If all goes as planned, my schedule will include these two:
Evolutionary Ecology
Winter and Spring quarters
Faculty: Karen Hogan ecology
Academic web site: academic.evergreen.edu/curricular/biohe/evoeco.html
Hannah sent me this recipe from
http://bread-and-honey.blogspot.com/2008/11/pumpkin-scones.html
Ingredients:
For the Scones
2 cups all-purpose flour
7 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
6 tablespoons cold butter
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
3 tablespoons half-and-half or milk
1 large egg
For the glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
dash of nutmeg
2 tablespoons whole milk
Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly oil a baking sheet.
Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and spices in a large bowl. Using a pastry knife, fork, or food processor, cut butter into dry ingredients until mixture is crumbly and no chunks of butter are obvious. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, whisk together pumpkin, half and half, and egg. Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Form the dough into a ball.
Pat out dough onto a lightly floured surface and form it into a 1-inch thick rectangle (about 9 inches long and 3 inches wide). Use a large knife or pizza cutter to slice the dough twice through the width, making three equal portions. Cut those three slices diagonally so that you have 6 triangular pieces of dough. Place on prepared baking sheet.
Bake for about 14 minutes. Scones should begin to turn light brown. Place on wire rack to cool.
To make glaze: Mix the powdered sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and 2 tbsp milk together until smooth. When scones are cool, use a brush to paint the glaze over the top of each scone.
Thank you, Hannah!
My mom sang to me a lot, because her mom sang to her a lot. This is one of the songs they sang/sing:
It makes me feel happy and safe. I hope it makes you feel good too.
My mom also sang me THIS song, and I never knew that it was from "Jesus Christ Superstar" until Jessie Christensen mysteriously began to sing it one day. I was stunned and asked her where it was from. Then I remembered my mom loves that musical. Oh well. I love this song too.
I made these last night and they were AMAZING. The recipe is from the Co-op monthly specials flyer.
Thanksgiving Morning Organic Pumpkin Muffins
2 1/2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
3 eggs
one 15-ounce can organic pumpkin (i substituted 1 3/4 cups pumpkin puree)
3/4 cup oil
1/2 cup raisins (i left these out)
1/2 cup walnuts (left these out too)
Cinnamon/Sugar Topping
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Sift together flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, allspice, and cloves. In a separate bowl, beat eggs until well combined. Add pumpkin and stir to combine. Add oil gradually, stirring to mix well. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix. Do not over-mix. Add raisins and walnuts, stirring just to combine.
Grease and flour or line 12 large muffin cups or 16 mini-muffin cups 3/4 full or two mini-loaf pans and sprinkle lightly with cinnamon/sugar topping (to make tops hard and crunchy). Bake 30 minutes or until tops are firm.
I've been doing a research project about the Mixtec of Mexico. They are most famous for their Codices, which are books of pictographic writing that tell stories of their history.
These are the signs for the days in the Mixtec calender:
And this is the coolest pictograph I've come across so far :-)
I think I'll write more when I'm done with my project.
I just made Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies and they are delightful.
In other news, Evan and I discovered that the reason it seemed like the overheating had gotten worse is because it has. My computer's fan isn't running at all, which explains a lot. So I've ordered a new one for $50 and Evan is almost certain he'll be able to install it for me. The intense heat of the computer killed my hard drive so I just had to buy a new one of those for $100 and have Evan install THAT. Also, my battery is pretty much shot, so unless I want to use my computer plugged in all the time, I'm gonna have to invest in one of those too. The heat killed that part too. Evan is pretty sure that the rest of the computer should be fine. He was saying that if it doesn't work, it generally won't turn on, there's no gradual for the rest of the parts(sort of). But he doesn't know if it's affected the life of the computer, so it might not last as long as I'd like it too. I'm still going with fixing it though, because a couple hundred bucks is a lot cheaper than a grand, which is what a new one would cost(i'm not buying some shitty PC again, I'll buy a new Mac and take better care of it for my next computer). The good news is that my new hard drive is 3 times as much memory(320 GB) so that'll be nice to have.
Other things I've baked lately:
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins but I substituted brown sugar for white, butter for the oil, did a whole cup of pumpkin(which I baked and pureed myself the other day), and heavy cream for the water. I also didn't have any cloves, so left that out, and I forgot the chocolate chips but didn't even realize it until I'd eaten two of the delicious delicious muffins.
I also made Pumpkin cookies the other day but now I can't find the recipe I used. Oh dear. The people who were at my Halloween Party will vouch for their deliciousness.
What else have I been making...? Oh! I made Chicken Tikka Masala from scratch on Tuesday night! I got the recipe from the Co-op monthly advertisement. I'll type it out so you can make this too! I'm sure it would work just fine with tofu, or just leave the "meat" out of it, and pour the sauce over rice and veggies.
To make the marinade:
Combine 1 cup of plain yogurt with juice from half a lemon, one teaspoon of fresh chopped ginger, 2 teaspoons of black pepper and one teaspoon each of ground cumin, ground cayenne pepper, cinnamon, and salt.
Place 2 pounds of boneless chicken breast or thighs, cut into one inch chunks, into a glass or metal bowl, add the marinade and refrigerate overnight.
To make the sauce:
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 serrano pepper, diced [i substituted some jalapeños from my garden]
2 tablespoons garlic, peeled and minced
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1 teaspoon each of garam masala [i found this at the co-op in bulk, so I'm sure you can find it wherever you live, too!], ground cumin, paprika, and coriander
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 cup tomato sauce, plain
1 cup heavy cream
In a 6 quart sauce pan [or 5 quart soup pot, in my case], heat 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil and saute the onions until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger, serrano pepper, garam masala, cumin, and coriander and saute 3 minutes more. Add the tomato paste and simmer 3 minutes. Add the tomato sauce and heavy cream and simmer 15 minutes.
While the sauce simmers, in a heavy skillet over medium heat, heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil and saute the marinated chicken, stirring often. Add the cooked chicken pieces to the warm sauce and mix well. Serve over basmati rice.
Palin Protests Federal Listing of Beluga Whales as Endangered
Fuckin' BELUGA WHALES the cutest goddamn things and she doesn't want to protect them. Everybody's for protecting cute animals, right? Wtf?
If you sign up to host a Passion Party on October 24th, 25th, or 26th, I will give you a FREE Cremesicle Edible Massage Lotion in Orange!
The smooth consistency is prefect for massaging into your lover’s skin and the fruity smell and flavor will add imagery and excitement to foreplay. Not only does this product assist in massaging but also this product’s ingredients provide numerous other benefits. While you massage and play, Shea butter is a healing product and aiding in retaining elasticity in the skin and healing skin ailments. Shea Butter contains essential vitamins A, E, and F. Leaving your skin softer, healthier, and looking vibrant.
ZUCCHINI CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
(Makes about two dozen)
1 egg, beaten
1⁄2 cup butter, softened
1⁄2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup honey
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
Combine in large bowl.
1 cup white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1⁄2 tsp baking soda
1⁄4 tsp salt
1⁄4 tsp cinnamon
1⁄4 tsp nutmeg
Combine in a separate, small bowl and blend into liquid mixture
1 cup finely shredded zucchini
12 oz chocolate chips
Stir these into other ingredients, mix well. Drop by spoonful onto greased baking
sheet, and flatten with the back of a spoon. Bake at 350°, 10 to 15 minutes.
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
It's fall again and I'm baking some cupcakes. Ok, so right now I'm sitting here waiting for things to be room temperature as the Joy has instructed me to do. Ben is recording the songs he's written lately so everyone is tiptoeing and whispering so we don't mess it up :-). I got some pastry flour and am hoping it will yield similar results to cake flour, but that was all the Co-op had.
Anyway, I'm using the 4-Egg Yellow Cake from the 75th Anniversary Edition of The Joy of Cooking. I plan on making Quick Chocolate Butter Icing. Wish me luck!
Events this month at the Thomas Street house:
Saturday, October 4th:
Housewarming Party/Celebration of the fact that Ben was born
Bring a snack or refreshment if you can
6:30 pm
Saturday, October 11th:
Passion Party
couples and singles of any gender welcome
6:00 pm
Friday, October 31st:
Halloween Party
Wear a costume if you have one, prepare for good times
7:00 pm
Hannah posted this video and I thought it was worth repeating:
Then there's the now famous, Anne Kilkenny letter:
Dear friends,
So many people have asked me about what I know about Sarah Palin in thelast2 days that I decided to write something up . . . Basically, Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton have only 2 things incommon: their gender and their good looks. :)
Thanks,Anne
ABOUT SARAH PALIN
I am a resident of Wasilla, Alaska. I have known Sarah since 1992.Everyone here knows Sarah, so it is nothing special to say we are on a first-name basis. Our children have attended the same schools. Her father was my child's favorite substitute teacher. I also am on a first name basis with her parents and mother-in-law. I attended more City Council meetings during her administration than about 99% of the residents of the city. She is enormously popular; in every way she's like the most popular girl in middle school. Even men who think she is a poor choice and won't vote for her can't quit smiling when talking about her because she is a "babe". It is astonishing and almost scary how well she can keep a secret. She kept her most recent pregnancy a secret from her children and parents for seven months. She is "pro-life". She recently gave birth to a Down's syndrome baby.There is no cover-up involved, here; Trig is her baby. She is energetic and hardworking. She regularly worked out at the gym. She is savvy. She doesn't take positions; she just "puts things out there" and if they prove to be popular, then she takes credit.
Her husband works a union job on the North Slope for BP and is a champion snowmobile racer. Todd Palin's kind of job is highly sought-after because of the schedule and high pay. He arranges his work schedule so he can fish for salmon in Bristol Bay for a month orso in summer, but by no stretch of the imagination is fishing their major source of income. Nor has her life-style ever been anything like that of native Alaskans. Sarah and her whole family are avid hunters. She's smart.
Her experience is as mayor of a city with a population of about 5,000 (at the time), and less than 2 years as governor of a state with about 670,000 residents. During her mayoral administration most of the actual work of running this small city was turned over to an administrator. She had beenpushed to hire this administrator by party power-brokers after she had gotten herself into some trouble over precipitous firings which had given rise to a recall campaign. Sarah campaigned in Wasilla as a "fiscal conservative". During her 6 years as Mayor, she increased general government expenditures by over 33%. During those same 6 years the amount of taxes collected by the City increased by 38%. This was during a period of low inflation (1996-2002). She reduced progressive property taxes and increased aregressive sales tax which taxed even food. The tax cuts that she promoted benefited large corporate property owners way more than they benefited residents. The huge increases in tax revenues during her mayoral administration weren't enough to fund everything on her wish list though, borrowed money was needed, too.
She inherited a city with zero debt, but left it with indebtedness of over $22 million. What did Mayor Palin encourage the voters to borrow money for? Was it the infrastructure that she said she supported? The sewage treatment plant that the city lacked? or a new library? No. $1m for a park. $15m-plus for construction of a multi-use sports complex which she rushed through to build on a piece of property that the City didn't even have clear title to, that was still in litigation 7 yrs later--to the delight of the lawyers involved! The sports complex itself is a nice addition to the community but a huge money pit, not the profit-generator she claimed it would be. She also supported bonds for $5.5m for road projects thatcould have been done in 5-7 yrs without any borrowing. While Mayor, City Hall was extensively remodeled and her office redecorated more than once. These are small numbers, but Wasilla is a very small city.
As an oil producer, the high price of oil has created a budget surplus in Alaska. Rather than invest this surplus in technology that will make us energy independent and increase efficiency, as Governor she proposed distribution of this surplus to every individual in the state. In this time of record state revenues and budget surpluses, she recommended that the state borrow/bond for road projects, even while she proposed distribution of surplus state revenues: spend today's surplus, borrow for needs.
She's not very tolerant of divergent opinions or open to outside ideas or compromise. As Mayor, she fought ideas that weren't generated by her or her staff. Ideas weren't evaluated on their merits, but on the basis of who proposed them. While Sarah was Mayor of Wasilla she tried to fire our highly respected City Librarian because the Librarian refused to consider removing from the library some books that Sarah wanted removed. City residents rallied to the defense of the City Librarian and against Palin's attempt at out-and-out censorship, so Palin backed down and withdrew her termination letter. People who fought her attempt to oust the Librarian are on her enemies list to this day. Sarah complained about the "old boy's club" when she first ran for Mayor, so what did she bring Wasilla? A new set of "old boys". Palin fired most of the experienced staff she inherited. At the City and as Governor she hired or elevated new, inexperienced, obscure people,creating a staff totally dependent on her for their jobs and eternally grateful and fiercely loyal--loyal to the point of abusing their power to further her personal agenda, as she has acknowledged happened in the case of pressuring the State's top cop (see below). As Mayor, Sarah fired Wasilla's Police Chief because he "intimidated" her, she told the press. As Governor, her recent firing of Alaska's top cop has the ring of familiarity about it. He served at her pleasure and she had every legal right to fire him, but it's pretty clear that an important factor in her decision to fire him was because he wouldn't fire her sister's ex-husband, a State Trooper. Under investigation for abuse of power, she has had to admit that more than 2 dozen contacts were made between her staff and family to the person that she later fired, pressuring him to fire her ex-brother-in-law. She tried to replace the man she fired with a man who she knew had been reprimanded for sexual harassment; when this caused a public furor, she withdrew her support.
She has bitten the hand of every person who extended theirs to her in help. The City Council person who personally escorted her around town introducing her to voters when she first ran for Wasilla City Council became one of her first targets when she was later elected Mayor. She abruptly fired her loyal City Administrator; even people who didn't like the guy were stunned by this ruthlessness. Fear of retribution has kept all of these people from saying anything publicly about her. When then-Governor Murkowski was handing out political plums, Sarah got the best, Chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission: one of the few jobs not in Juneau and one of the best paid. She had no background in oil & gas issues. Within months of scoring this great job which paid $122,400/yr, she was complaining in the press about the high salary. I was told that she hated that job: the commute, the structured hours, the work. Sarah became aware that a member of this Commission (who was also the State Chair of the Republican Party) engaged in unethical behavior on the job. In a gutsy move which some undoubtedly cautioned her could be political suicide, Sarah solved all her problems in one fell swoop: got out of the job she hated and garnered gobs of media attention as the patron saint of ethics and as a gutsy fighter against the "old boys' club" when she dramatically quit,exposing this man's ethics violations (for which he was fined).
As Mayor, she had her hand stuck out as far as anyone for pork from Senator Ted Stevens. Lately, she has castigated his pork-barrel politics and publicly humiliated him. She only opposed the "bridge to nowhere" after it became clear that it would be unwise not to. As Governor, she gave the Legislature no direction and budget guidelines, then made a big grandstand display of line-item vetoing projects, calling them pork. Public out cry and further legislative action restored most of these projects--which had been vetoed simply because she was not aware of their importance--but with the unobservant she had gained a reputation as "anti-pork". She is solidly Republican: no political maverick. The State party leaders hate her because she has bit them in the back and humiliated them. Other members of the party object to her self-description as a fiscal conservative. Around Wasilla there are people who went to high school with Sarah.
They call her "Sarah Barracuda" because of her unbridled ambition and predatory ruthlessness. Before she became so powerful, very ugly stories circulated around town about shenanigans she pulled to be made point guard on the high school basketball team. When Sarah's mother-in-law, a highly respected member of the community and experienced manager, ran for Mayor, Sarah refused to endorse her. As Governor, she stepped outside of the box and put together of package of legislation known as "AGIA" that forced the oil companies to march to the beat of her drum. Like most Alaskans, she favors drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. She has questioned if the loss of sea ice is linked to global warming. She campaigned "as a private citizen" against a state initiaitive that would have either a) protected salmon streams from pollution from mines, or b) tied up in the courts all mining in the state (depending on who you listen to). She has pushed the State's lawsuit against the Dept. of the Interior's decision to list polar bears as threatened species. McCain is the oldest person to ever run for President; Sarah will be a heartbeat away from being President. There has to be literally millions of Americans who are more knowledgeable and experienced than she. However, there's a lot of people who have underestimated her and are regretting it.
CLAIM VS FACT
"Hockey mom": true for a few years
"PTA mom": true years ago when her first-born was in elementaryschool, not since
"NRA supporter": absolutely true
social conservative: mixed. Opposes gay marriage, BUT vetoed a bill that would have denied benefits to employees in same-sex relationships(said she did this because it was unconsitutional).
pro-creationism: mixed. Supports it, BUT did nothing as Governor to promote it.
"Pro-life": mixed. Knowingly gave birth to a Down's syndrome baby BUT declined to call a special legislative session on some pro-lifelegislation
"Experienced": Some high schools have more students than Wasilla has residents. Many cities have more residents than the state of Alaska. No legislative experience other than City Council. Little hands-on supervisory or managerial experience; needed help of a city administrator to run town of about 5,000.
political maverick: not at all gutsy:
absolutely open & transparent: ??? Good at keeping secrets. Not good at explaining actions.
has a developed philosophy of public policy: no
"a Greenie": no. Turned Wasilla into a wasteland of big box storesand disconnected parking lots. Is pro-drilling off-shore and in ANWR.
fiscal conservative: not by my definition
pro-infrastructure: No. Promoted a sports complex and park in a city without a sewage treatment plant or storm drainage system. Built streets to early 20th century standards.
pro-tax relief: Lowered taxes for businesses, increased tax burden on residents
pro-small government: No. Oversaw greatest expansion of city government in Wasilla's history.
pro-labor/pro-union. No. Just because her husband works union doesn't make her pro-labor. I have seen nothing to support any claim that she is pro-labor/pro-union.
WHY AM I WRITING THIS? First, I have long believed in the importance of being an informed voter. I am a voter registrar. For 10 years I put on student voting programs in the schools. If you google my name (Anne Kilkenny +Alaska), you will find references to my participation in local government, education, and PTA/parent organizations. Secondly, I've always operated in the belief that "Bad things happen when good people stay silent". Few people know as much as I do because few have gone to as many City Council meetings. Third, I am just a housewife. I don't have a job she can bump me out of. I don't belong to any organization that she can hurt. But, I am no fool; she is immensely popular here, and it is likely that this will cost me somehow in the future: that's life. Fourth, she has hated me since back in 1996, when I was one of the 100 or so people who rallied to support the City Librarian against Sarah's attempt at censorship. Fifth, I looked around and realized that everybody else was afraid to say anything because they were some how vulnerable.
CAVEATS I am not a statistician. I developed the numbers for the increase in spending & taxation 2 years ago (when Palin was running for Governor)from information supplied to me by the Finance Director of the City of Wasilla, and I can't recall exactly what I adjusted for: did I adjust for inflation? for population increases? Right now, it is impossible for a private person to get any info out of City Hall--they are swamped. So I can't verify my numbers. You may have noticed that there are various numbers circulating for the population of Wasilla, ranging from my "about 5,000", up to 9,000. The day Palin's selection was announced a city official told me that thecurrent population is about 7,000. The official 2000 census count was 5,460. I have used about 5,000 because Palin was Mayor from 1996 to 2002, and the city was growing rapidly in the mid-90's.
Anne Kilkenny August 31, 2008
Also, my friend, Evan's current facebook status is this quote:
"Yes, I think I will see Jesus come back to earth in my lifetime." - Sarah Palin.
Woodruff Park is across the street from my house.
Found by searching "olympia woodruff park" on google:
http://www.ci.olympia.wa.us/cityservices/par/parks/Woodruff.htm
Park History:
This westside park is named after Sam Woodruff who was born in China in 1858. He returned to Olympia and made his living as a printer and bookseller. Woodruff was one of our early developers and conveyed the Woodruff Park land to the City of Olympia in 1892 for $1.00."
http://www.theravive.com/cities/wa/counselor-olympia.aspx
"Or visit Woodruff Park, once a site for Victorian flower beds and the city watertower. "
http://www.theolympian.com/120/story/482987.html
"The program is run by Olympia Parks, Arts and Recreation, which is also having SKIPP, a free drop-in playground program for ages 6 to 12 with structured activities from noon to 3 p.m. SKIPP is at Lions Park and Woodruff Park, which is close to Garfield Elementary."
Cool satellite picture
chaoscat posted this in olywa and tesc on livejournal
@ 2008-08-19 20:42:00
Kitten chucked from car in west olympia by texaco
Around 12:30-1pm today, I was driving for work, getting ready to take a left on cooper point road, when someone chucked a little orange kitten from their driver's side window. It hit the street pretty hard, dodged a bunch of cars, and ran into the ivy in front of the texaco on cooper point and black lake blvd.
I don't know what the car looked like or what the plate number was, all I could do was watch in horror as a kitten no more than 4 weeks old bounced off the pavement and dodged cars.
I turned around to go look for it, but when I got there, me and two other people at the texaco searched for it and could not find it.
If anyone saw what happened, or who has seen the kitten, PLEASE get the kitten to the shelter or to a veterinarian and call the police!!! Any information would be great.
If you haven't seen the kitten, PLEASE keep an eye out for a small orange kitten around a month old, which may or may not have injuries. Feel free to call me at 360-556-2933 with any information. THANKS!
I've become a Passion Parties consultant. This is new and scary but I think it's going to be a good thing. I don't have a lot of information to give yet, I'm still learning.
This is the main website. This is my lame and almost completely uncustomizable website. If I give them $25 a month I can customize it and have people order things from me online. Alas. Please don't click the "shop online" link on the main site and order things there. It goes to a random consultant's page(one who's payed the $25) and gives the commission to her. If you want to order something, tell me!!! I have catalogs and order forms and such.
If you want to host a Passion Party, please contact me! I'm trying to figure all this stuff out but the best way for me to know if I'm learning anything is to try it out! I promise it'll be fun :-).
I just bought an Amtrak ticket for a train to Portland leaving Olympia at 3:44 PM tomorrow. I'll be back in Oly at 8:03 PM Sunday. I plan on spending Friday with my mom, Saturday with my dad, and Sunday with my friends. So Essie, I will be at your party!
Ben and I finally met our landlady last night and things are looking good for us getting the house! For people who are confused:
Currently, Ben and I live with John and Jessie. John is the only one on the lease for our 4-bedroom house. He and Jessie moved in about a year ago, when they signed said lease. They agreed to be responsible for finding other roommates so all Joanne, the landlady, has to worry about is getting a check from John every month. So officially, Ben and I don't have any claim to this house, and the only agreements we have are with John. So when John and Jessie move out in August, Joanne could kick us out too. So our hope is that we'll pass all the rental check thingies and get to sign a one year lease with Joanne so that the house will be ours to live in and fill with roommates. Yay! The end.
Oh, and I got the go-ahead to garden wherever and however I please and some suggestions for composting. And I slept for 12 hours last night, beginning with falling asleep without brushing my teeth and with all the lights on. Classic exhaustion.
Thanks to Hannah for this link: Green Porno: Isabella Rossellini demonstrates how invertebrates have sex...with costumes.
Last night Ben and I watched about an hour and a half of "The Elegant Universe" which I watched on tv several years ago. It's Nova and Nova rocks.
Also, it's summer and I'm lazy and overly warm. I've been spending a lot of time sitting near fans and forgetting to eat. I have my first day of class on Tuesday, 9-5. Yay, intensive summer classes! Then on Friday morning(the 4th) Ben and I are riding the train down to Portland. That day will most likely be spent with my familia, but I'd love to hang out with friends on Saturday!!! Pwease?
<3 Star
I'll be in Aloha from Thursday the 19th until Sunday the 22nd. Email me if you wanna hang out!
<3 Star
Lately I've been having trouble getting my ass out of bed and accomplishing anything once I have. Depression? Laziness? Stress? Who knows. Also, Ben is intensely busy and the only time we get to spend together is right before we go to sleep and right after we wake up. This is stressing us both out. We got to walk around and do errands together yesterday and we both felt really happy and were sad when he had to go to rehearsal for his play and then he had another rehearsal at noon today so he had to leave first thing. But we did get sushi to go and eat it together and hang out last night because it was our 1 year and 3 month anniversary and we have a pattern of doing something every three months. Generally in between we just give each other kisses and smile when it's the 14th.
Harvest Mooning continues. And Groc Out has delicious Crunch ice cream bars right now as well as these frozen pizza stick things that you bake and are wonderful. I recommend a trip over there.
Oh! And tomorrow it's supposed to be over 90 degrees! Today it was over 80!
Saturday something is happening in the field called "Geoduck Fest" which as far as I can tell is a bunch of people selling crap on blankets while others play with a dunk tank or throw water balloons at eachother. Then that night at 8 is Ryan(Hitchcock) and Miguel's comedy show "Space Brothers". Then after that Ben and I are going over to Alex and Ryan(Butler)'s house for a get together of sorts. THEN Sunday night is the improv show! Busy weekend!
Oh yes, and Ben and I have been watching "Invader Zim" as a respite from the intense amounts of "Dead Like Me" marathons we'd previously been having. We also watched the movie "This Film Is Not Yet Rated" and were informed that "But I'm A Cheerleader" was given an NC-17 rating before they cut a few scenes. Then we had to rent "But I'm A Cheerleader" to shake our heads in disbelief at the MPAA (plus, dude, lesbians).
And I just played Katamari for the first time. Super cute.
I haven't been posting lately because I didn't feel I was doing anything worth posting, but then Ben suggested to me that I post about what I've been doing anyway. So here it is.
I've been playing Harvest Moon: Back to Nature like there's no tomorrow. It's a game for the original Playstation(yes, I still own one of those, as well as an N64 and a Super NES, though the last two are home in Beaverton). It is very simple and very addicting. You are a little farmer dude who decides to fix up his grandpa's old farm and try to succeed in this little village. You can plant crops, raise animals(cows, chickens, and sheep for profit, a dog and a horse just for the hell of it and for entering in races), forage in the wilderness, fish, etc. You also can choose to court and marry one of five girls in the village. As far as I can tell the game goes on forever. In the N64 version(yeah, i have that too) I've played for seven "years" and had a wife and a toddler but ended up giving up on it for one reason or another. I always get tired of it and then start a new game the next time I pick it up. I've married all the girls at one time or another and my current conquest is Karen. She's the sassy one and I dig her styles.
Today is the Procession of the Species Parade! It starts at 4:30 in downtown Olympia. I will be there watching!!!
As a follow-up to my last post, here are the Commodore and First Mate of the Olympia Yacht Club.
That's really all I need to say.
Ben and I have been enjoying the yard at this house by cleaning it up a bit. The other day we weeded the front where there is a sort of rocky terrace with some planned plants and mostly dandelions. It looks amazing now sans weeds.
Today we mowed the lawn with the manual push mower and Ben did some weeding in the back. Go us! I'll take pictures as things continue. More bulbs keep popping up, some really pretty tulips. I can't wait to plant more! Also we fixed my bike up and I just need to adjust the seat a little more and I can ride it! Just need warmer weather.
Last night we walked downtown and it snowed on us. It was really beautiful. Ben thought it was more hail than snow but he is wrong. They were little snowflake shaped ice crystals. Snow! We went to Plenty and got milkshakes and artichoke dip and then rode the bus home. We stopped in that little park on the west side of the 4th ave bridge and walked around the boardwalk on the other side. The Olympia Yacht Club was having a bumpin' party. Limbo music was being played by a DJ and a bunch of old people were whistling and laughing. Van Morrison came on as we got to a place where we could see inside and count about 20 middle-aged to elderly people wearing leis. Thank you, Yacht Club.
The Spring/Summer 2008 issue of "Talkin' Trash" from Thurston County Water and Waste Management (which can be found here) gave me an interesting tidbit of information that has convinced me to try composting again, especially now that I'm in a house.
"Organics in Landfills: It's a myth that yard and food waste decompose quickly in landfills. Organic materials stay intact for decades in landfills because the items are sealed away from oxygen and moisture. University of Arizona Professor William Rathje and his students found hotdogs, pastries, and other recognizable foods 15 years after the foods were buried in a landfill. Nearby newspapers (still readable) were used to identify when the items were buried."
Monday:
6-10pm: Chemistry for Everyone (every other week)
Tuesday:
10am-12pm: Introduction to Beekeeping
1-3pm: Ceramics: Studio Projects
7-9pm: Principles of Economics
Thursday:
1-3pm: Ceramics: Studio Projects
7-9pm: Principles of Economics
Friday:
2-5pm: Introduction to Neon: Shaping Light
Hannah posted her personality type on her blog, so I am following suit [it's just the standard Meyers-Briggs(sp?)].
Monster.com Quiz
People of this type tend to be quiet, reserved and kind; deeply passionate, sensitive and easily hurt; loving and dedicated to those close to them; creative, original and imaginative; curious and flexible in small matters; nonconforming.
The most important thing to INFPs are their deeply held beliefs and living in harmony with their values.
Great careers for INFPs
Here are just a few popular and often satisfying careers for people whose Personality Type is INFP:
How to Love an INFP
Tips for Communicating with INFPs:
I've been working on some interesting things. Interesting to me at least.
To start out, here's Ben being a good boyfriend and putting together my bed on the day I moved in:
Equals Mit Mit Bowl!
Also, Canvas Works is an AWESOME store!
Ben's post about the Giant Inflatable Colon makes me laugh. There are excellent pictures. You should read it.
http://tomtomklondike.livejournal.com/4078.html
Sorry I haven't updated but I don't have any pictures right now and I wanted to wait.
I finished a scarf, it's the blue and orange striped one for Ben. I saw Candice yesterday and we went to Sushiland, Powell's, and a yarn store on NE Broadway called "Twisted" and I got a yarn needle and she showed me how to tuck in the little tails on the scarf.
My mom got a puppy. We haven't named her yet, but she is very wee, a mix of Pomeranian, Pug, and some sort of Terrier. She is gorgeous and adorable. I didn't bring my USB cord, but I'll take pictures and upload them when I get home.
Also, my room is pretty much set up back in Olympia. I'll take pictures of that soon too.
I'll be back in Oly on Saturday, my mom is driving me up. I think that's when Ben should be home too. So...that's my story.
Oh! And my Aunt Lannie gave me five Persian rugs that she's gotten from auctions and such for cheap and no longer needs AND a bunch of big jars to keep my dry goods in(flour, sugar, etc). Yay!
Today Ben and Hannah were badasses and helped me move all day. Hannah made a post in her blog about it, accompanied by pictures:
http://greenerliving.blogspot.com/2008/03/moooooovation.html
Me in front of my new house.
Ben with "Lil' Hauler", the U-Haul mascot!
It was really loud, so you had to lean in real close to talk to each other.
This girl's bun looks like a heart.
All but the "K" on the usbank sign were burned out. I thought it looked cool.
I like it in black and white too :-)
I'm moving to my new house on Sunday afternoon. So far Hannah and Ben are helping me, and I'm renting a U-Haul so I don't have to try to strap a full mattress on top of Hannah's Subaru. Also so I can get most everything in one go, especially the furniture. If you wanna help, show up at my apartment at 1:30 or 2. The plan is to order pizza when we've got most of the stuff moved into the new house. Since I have the U-haul, you can ride over to the house in Hannah's car. I hope that if you can't help on Sunday, you'll at least come visit me soon! I want everyone to see where I live, it's really easy to get to. I posted the address on facebook. You get off at the Koibito stop and then it's a very short walk. I'm super excited!
Chemistry for Everyone
2 credits
6-10p Mon, Mar 31, Apr 14, 28, May 12; 10a-4p Fri or Sat, May 30 or May 31
Through a series of learning experiences, this course will relate chemistry to everyday life in a manner suited for those with no science background. Learning experiences will focus on both general and organic chemistry. The learning experience may consist of lectures, workshops and labs. All students will be given the opportunity to make and break chemical bonds, handle glassware and chemicals and perform chemical reactions.
Ceramics: Studio Projects
4 credits
1-3p Tue & Thu
This is an intermediate to advanced course. Emphasis is on independent work in sculpture, pottery and/or related areas. Course work will include a study of glaze chemistry.
Economics, Principals
4 credits
7-9p Tue & Thu
Presented in a non-technical and logical manner, this introductory course will introduce you to the essentials of economic theory and policy. We will explore the fundamentals of economic theory and practice, and extend these concepts to real-world applications. This course will help you acquire an understanding of micro- and macro-economic terminology, concepts and principles. Furthermore, this course will help you realize the important role that economics plays in our lives, and will help you gain a greater understanding of economic policy, as well as how decisions influence the success or failure of a business.
Neon, Introduction to: Shaping Light
2 credits
2-5p Fri
This course introduces students to the basic skills in the fabrication of neon. Each student will learn to heat, bend, weld and anneal glass tubing using a ribbon burner, cannon fire and tipping torch. Students will learn the bending process for the four basic bends: 90 degree right angle, double back, "U" and "O" loop. Students will learn to blow bubbles in a tube. They will use these techniques to fabricate several creations of their own design. Students will be guided through the processes of bombarding and wiring of their individual projects to safely attach and handle high-voltage transformers to energize their neon. Instruction in the mounting and display of the neon projects concludes the course.
I'm moving, probably next week, and it's super excited! I found the place on craigslist. I'm moving into the available bedroom and then in July, the current occupants are moving out because their lease is up. Then Ben and I are taking over and it's gonna be awesome! This house is SO gorgeous.
This is the living room. I'm standing in front of the front door and Ben took the picture from the kitchen entry.
The living room from about where I'm standing in the previous pic. Those are my new roommates for the quarter, Jessie and John. The doorway behind them goes to a hallway with the bathroom and their bedroom nearest.
The kitchen from the entryway that the first picture was taken in, if Ben just turned around the other way. The room beyond is a little nook with a futon and plants in it. Those doors lead to the back porch.
The kitchen as viewed from the nook. Notice the gas stove!!!
Washer and dryer!!!!!
Very fancy stairs going up to the second floor.
Looking down the stairs.
The little purple bedroom that Josh moved out of, opening up space in the house for me!
A closet in the purple bedroom.
The space at the top of the stairs and between the bedrooms with a tv just out of the picture on the right side.
The larger bedroom where Johann currently resides. He's offered to switch to the smaller room since he's almost never there and I've decided to take him up on it, although the purple room is much more adorable.
The only bathroom in the house...
A chameleon in what's currently used as the computer room. He shares the room with two bright yellow finches.
A little add-on room where the dryer currently vents, making it unusable for anything other than basic storage. BUT it leads to a sauna!
Backyard...
Backyard...
Next to the garage with the house beyond. The garage and driveway are in a weird spot.
The beautiful back porch!!!
