The Posts Are Appearing

I'm slowly getting all my posts recovered. I have completed through part of 2009... only three more years' worth to go. It's taking longer than I expected to go through every post to make sure the links and images still work. I still can't believe so much of my journal went poof. So glad I had a back-up!

Happy Thanksgiving!

A very happy Thanksgiving to all! I hope you have many things to be thankful for this year. I am thankful for my beautiful family, our health, our home, and our continued prosperity.

Poof! Recovering...

I had a major issue with my blog. All of the posts pretty much just disappeared. I am slowly recovering them from a back-up, but I have to re-do all the pictures and videos to prevent broken links. I'll be publishing each entry as I update it, so you'll see the archives slowly expand back to what it was. It will probably take a few days... I've kept this journal since 2006!

Bugged

This flu bug is more than welcome to go the hell away now. Just sayin'. Xander and I have been barely above functioning level for over a week now. Ross has been coughing and sneezing for a few days. Judging by the rub-down he was giving his back as he got out of bed and the fact he turned the heat down, he's getting the horrible aches and fever now. I hope, for all of our sanity, that he recovers faster than we are... he is horrible as a sick person.

Beautiful Witch

Discovered a great new artist. I'm sure she's been around awhile, but I just came across her work while browsing in a signature-making group. Her illustrations make me smile and she has a great eye for photography. Check out Linmida.

Xander's one year NICU follow-up appointment is coming up on Wednesday. We only go for his sake... to keep an eye on any possible developmental delays from the lack of oxygen at birth. They seemed so convinced he wouldn't do well if we took him out "before he is truly ready to leave," but we were confident he was more than ready and would actually progress faster in our care. There was more than one time I wanted to slap a smug look off a doctor's face, so I take a bit of joy in showing off our beautiful son... but not enough to want to keep up these appointments the whole three to four years. Frankly, I can't wait until they tell us they don't think we need to bother coming back. We will be so happy to wash our hands of the whole place.

Halloween Makeover

A little Halloween makeover for the blog courtesy of Cutest Blog on the Block. They truly have some of the cutest designs I've seen!

Random Book Quotes: Redux

Found on KSpot's Blog. Decided to do this again, because it is fun.

Instructions:

1. Grab the nearest book. * 
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the next three sentences on your blog along with these instructions

* 'nearest' means you can't rummage around for a 'cool' or 'intellectual' book.  Really, whatever your hand falls on first.  Let's hope it's not porn.


The nearest book to me is Poison by Sara Poole:

And then it was over; the attackers were gone. There was only the damp cobblestones hard and sharp under me, the stink of the street, and the cool breeze on my bared skin. That and the old woman looking at me from the terrace of an apartment above a shop from which everyone else had fled at the first sign of trouble.

Home Sweet Home?

On the Move

I moved my blog again. I've been trying to find the right place for it. I know a lot of people knock Blogger, but it is conveniently connected to Picasa and YouTube... the places I store my photos and videos. I also like the much wider range of free customization. How else could I annoy my lovely readers with this wonderful script-y font? (Seriously, if it's hard to read let me know. I will change it.) With the new look and options behind-the-scenes, it's much more user-friendly also. I also know that Blogger comes with its own community of writers... and who doesn't like a little more viewership? I'll be adding my archived posts as time allows, so check back to read the past and the future.

Some Great Fitness & Diet Sites

I'm definitely getting better and better at getting back on track for fitness and diet. I have joined a few sites for support, encouragement and workout variety. I was using SparkPeople (tell them Earth-Whispers sent you and add me as a friend)... and still do for most things... but I have migrated my main tracking over to MyFitnessPal because the iPhone app is much better. I'm finding that I track more consistently with their app. I love the barcode scanner feature for adding foods. It's so handy! I also joined LifeKraze, I found the site through MyPoints. I got points by signing up through MyPoints and I've found a great motivational tool... and they also give awards for points! I'm also seeking out sites that have exercise videos and tips. ExerciseTV is really great because I can access it from my computer and our SmartTV. I've found the free full-length videos are more than enough for me for now, but it's nice knowing there is a subscription option if I need more. It just feels great finally finding the motivation I have been lacking.

Random Thoughts

1. Save the whales. Collect the whole set!
2. A day without sunshine is, like, night
3. On the other hand, you have different fingers.
4. I just got lost in thought. It was unfamiliar territory.
5. 42.7 percent of all statistics are made up on the spot.
6. 99 percent of lawyers give the rest a bad name.
7. I feel like I’m diagonally parked in a parallel universe.
8. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say will be misquoted, then used against you.
9. I wonder how much deeper the ocean would be without sponges.
10. Honk if you love peace and quiet.
11. Remember half the people you know are below average.
12. Despite the cost of living, have you noticed how popular it remains?
13. Nothing is foolproof to a talented fool.
14. Atheism is a non-prophet organization.
15. He who laughs last thinks slowest.
16. Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.
17. Eagles may soar, but weasels don’t get sucked into jet engines.
18. The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.
19. I drive way too fast to worry about cholesterol.
20. I intend to live forever – so far so good.
21. Borrow money from a pessimist – they don’t expect it back.
22. If Barbie is so popular, why do you have to buy her friends?
23. Quantum mechanics: The dreams stuff is made of.
24. The only substitute for good manners is fast reflexes.
25. Support bacteria – they’re the only culture some people have.
26. When everything’s coming your way, you’re in the wrong lane and going the wrong way.
27. If at first you don’t succeed, destroy all evidence that you tried.
28. A conclusion is the place where you got tired of thinking.
29. Experience is something you don’t get until just after you need it.
30. For every action there is an equal and opposite criticism.
31. Bills travel through the mail at twice the speed of checks
32. Never do card tricks for the group you play poker with.
33. No one is listening until you make a mistake.
34. Success always occurs in private and failure in full view.
35. The hardness of butter is directly proportional to the softness of the bread.
36. The severity of the itch is inversely proportional to the ability to reach it.
37. To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research.
38. To succeed in politics, it is often necessary to rise above your principles.
39. Monday is an awful way to spend 1/7 of your life.
40. You never really learn to swear until you learn to drive.
41. Two wrongs are only the beginning.
42. The problem with the gene pool is that there is no lifeguard.
43. The sooner you fall behind the more time you’ll have to catch up.
44. A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.
45. Change is inevitable except from vending machines.
46. Get a new car for your spouse – it’ll be a great trade!
47. Plan to be spontaneous – tomorrow.
48. Always try to be modest and be proud of it!
49. If you think nobody cares, try missing a couple of payments.
50. How many of you believe in telekinesis? Raise my hand…
51. Love may be blind but marriage is a real eye-opener.
52. If at first you don’t succeed, then skydiving isn’t for you!

Fowl Joke

Do they make rubber turkeys?

I made a turkey for dinner last night. I was making a gravy from the drippings and I knew it would not be enough for my gravy-crazy hubby, so I added chicken stock. Normally I just know when it's right, but adding stock threw me off. I’m a vegetarian, so obviously I wasn't going to taste it.

So… I explain the situation to my dear hubby and comment that I don’t really know how the gravy will taste.

He pipes up, “Probably fowl.”

Hardy-har-har. I await the arrival of a rubber chicken so that I may slap him silly with it as he sleeps.

Pffft!

Pfffffffftttttttt!

I think this face expresses the mood of the past several days quite eloquently. 


That is all...


Carry on...

Happy Valentine's Day!

A very special message of love and happiness to all my family, friends and readers. Take the time today to appreciate the ones in your life that you love and that love you.

Love is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have become so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion. That is just being "in love" which any of us can convince ourselves we are.

Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident. Your mother and I had it, we had roots that grew towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossom had fallen from our branches we found that we were one tree and not two.

- Captain Corelli's Mandolin

April Fools

I'm afraid to even bother posting anything today for fear it will not be taken seriously... so I will post something that I just found amusing. You can take it seriously if you choose.

Click the photo to go to the official website.

The Business of Being Born

I was set on the idea of a midwife-assisted birth long before I saw this video (couldn't embed it, sorry), but it was still very informative for me. If you are expecting or trying to conceive, I highly recommend watching it. Being informed never hurt anyone.

Thank You

Today I am thankful for all the wonderful friends and family that enrich my life each day. Thank you all. Happy Thanksgiving!

It's a SmallWorlds After All

Kind of feeling a bit let down by House. I won't go into details... don't want to spoil it for those who haven't watched yet.

I was up early again today. I woke up before Ross' alarm first went off, so I'm guessing it was prior to 4:30. I grabbed my laptop to play a few games on Pogo. I didn't want to wake Ross by turning on the light and I wasn't quite awake enough to want to get out from under the covers. (We left the windows open last night and it was pretty chilly in here.) I got bored working on my Monopoly Slots badge, so I wandered onto Facebook to visit Yoville. Not much to do there, so I ended up on their forums to see if I could figure out why people actually enjoy the game. Haha... the first post I saw was complaining about the game being boring. Someone in the post mentioned a site called SmallWorlds. Curiosity got me... I searched and found and joined and played. So far I'm still working on the tutorial missions, which have had me exploring the "world" and playing games. It seems fun and I'll visit again.

If anyone wants to join me, let me know and I'll send an invite. You can join all on your own, but I'll like it even better if you ask me to invite because they reward for inviting. If you join, be sure to look me up. I'm there under the name Sionna Koehnae. I'll be the one wandering around looking lost.

Editing, Knitting and Big Brother

I can't believe Ross will be home in less than an hour! It has been one of those kind of days where I've done absolutely nothing substantial but been busy all day. I've been editing old posts to add pictures. I've fixed a bunch of broken links. I only got back to late last year, so I'll be back at it later tonight or tomorrow. The goal is to clean up my posts and make the whole journal easier to navigate and read.

Cookie A Socks

I think I'm going to spend some time on my knitting projects this evening. There's a pair of socks I'd like to see finished by the end of the month and I haven't even finished the first one. It would be good to get a bit further on the baby blanket project too.

Looking forward to tonight's Big Brother episode. I'm wondering how they are going to edit the fight between Russell, Jeff and Jordan. Ever since Russell got put up on the block, he's been a royal PITA. I still can't believe that Jordan was using the kind of language she was... Russell was definitely getting to her. I would be shocked if Russell stays.