Pseudable Bliss

Sickos

2009-10-20T13:01:00.001-05:00

Hi Everyone,

I have several children sick right now, so am not keeping up on my blogging. Will be back when they get better.

Liz

Sadness

2009-10-18T14:23:00.001-05:00

Instead of Sunday Funday, I'm sharing this - and I'm asking you to share it, too. Put it on your blogs, forward it in email, do whatever you can to get this crime against humanity out into the open. (pun intended)

http://asknicola.blogspot.com/2009/10/trembling-with-rage.html

Thank you.

Liz

Saturday Silliness

2009-10-17T20:54:00.005-05:00

Here's some pics of a fun family outing today. My daughter Maggie at Union Station West getting her "snakebites." She's wanted them forever, but we made her wait a year to make sure it was what she really wanted. She was so brave. She didn't even flinch or make a sound! Just held on to Daddy's hand. They look great. Her lip will be swollen tomorrow. In 2 weeks, she can take these long studs out and put in some that hug closer to the lips. The long ones are to accommodate for the swelling. She's such a cool kid. She can shred a mean guitar, too.

Liz

Friday Top Five

2009-10-16T11:13:00.002-05:00

Hi Bloggers,

My internet went for long visit to Suckville Wednesday and Thursday, so I wasn't able to do Wednesday's Woe ("Yay!" they shout) or Thoughtful Thursday. My apologies. I know you were hanging on the edge of your seats for it. Today, however, we're back in Cybertown, and I'm ready with my top five. Came up with this one Wednesday and Thursday while impotently banging keys in a futile effort to get some kind - any kind - of connection with the information super highway.

Top Five Songs To Listen To When You're VERY Pissed:

1. This Love, Pantera

2. Break Stuff, Limp Bizkit

3. Whatever, Godsmack

4. Fucking Hostile, Pantera

5. Seek and Destroy, Metallica

What are your top five Don't Fuck With Me Right Now songs?

Liz

Two-fer Tuesday

2009-10-13T11:09:00.004-05:00

Two great recipes that take under 15 minutes:

Chocolate Pudding

4 heaping tablespoons unsweetened cocoa

4 heaping tablespoons flour + 1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 cup sugar

4 cups skim milk

1 tablespoon butter

2 tspn vanilla

dash of nutmeg

combine: cocoa, flour, cornstarch, sugar in medium sized heavy sauce pot. stir with wire whisk until well blended. put on burner on low-medium heat. stir in milk slowly, one cup at a time until smooth. continue cooking until light boil and pudding thickens. Once thick, remove from heat, add butter, vanilla, and a dash of nutmeg. stir and serve. Oh, yum.

**********************************************************

Lushie Slushies

1 can frozen orange juice concentrate

1 can frozen white grape juice concentrate

1 can peach juice concentrate

1 can apple juice concentrate

(you can use ANY flavor frozen juice concentrates, as long as they're 100% juice

and you use 4 of them, play with the flavors and see what you come up with)

8 cups water

2 cups vodka

2 liter 7 up, Sprite, or Sierra Mist (can use diet sodas, too)

in large stock pot combine juice concentrates and water over low heat. stir until

concentrates are well mixed. don't get it any hotter than luke warm. remove from heat,

stir in vodka. pour into LARGE tupperware container (I find the empty plastic gallon

ice cream containers work great for this). allow to cool 30 minutes. put in freezer. stir

every half hour or so for the first two hours, then let sit in freezer over night. It will not

freeze completely. more like the consistency of lumpy ice cream.

to serve: using ice cream scoop, put 2-3 scoops in tall glass. top off glass with 7 up (or

soda of your choice). Oh, yum.

Monday Book Review

2009-10-12T13:40:00.003-05:00

Hi All,

I don't have much time today. Busy, busy, busy. 1 & 1/2 chapters written, two edited, and it's 1:57p.m. in the big country. Have to haul wood to the garage, cook a chicken, and grade three math tests before 3:00. I can't write a detailed review. But, if you haven't read The Thief of Always, by Clive Barker, please do! It's an amazing adventure. Dark and sad, mysterious and funny. It seems to be geared toward younger readers, middle grade or so, but the undercurrents are definitely for older readers. It's an old book, but still on my top ten list, and I can't recommend it enough!

The book starts out introducing Harvey Swick, a ten-year-old who's bored (surprise!) with his life, school, etc...until Rictus literally blows in on a storm and lures him to Holiday House. Naturally, Holiday House seems to be a place where kids' wildest dreams are fulfilled. Harvey falls in love with the place and decides to stay. After a month, he realizes everyone's in a trance, he's trapped, and all at Holiday House is not what it seems.

This book is at once exhilarating and terrifying. I've loved it for as long as I can remember, and I'm reasonably certain that you will, too. You can probably pick it up at the local library.

Two thumbs up!

Liz

Sunday Funday

2009-10-11T19:57:00.001-05:00

One minute and seventeen seconds of your life you will not regret wasting on watching this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAoZ1p3nA3U&feature=PlayList&p=601BDB772CB892A4&index=0

Saturday Silliness

2009-10-10T13:18:00.003-05:00

For those of you who don't know, this is my future son-in-law. My daughter Maggie plans to stalk him until he marries her as soon as she's old enough.

I love this kid, anyway, so it's all good.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w69q3k5PeHs&feature=channel_page

His name is Destery.

Friday Top Five

2009-10-09T10:42:00.003-05:00

Top Five Foods To Eat In Bed While Watching TV And No One Else Is Looking And You're Wearing Your Bugger Pants* And A Sweatshirt (Or When Someone Is Looking, But They're Eating It Too)

1. Nachos with jalapeño slices

2. Fruity Pebbles

3. Strawberries and cream

4. Rolos

5. Chicken Wings

*Bugger Pants: Any exceptionally comfortable long, soft pant with elastic waist which one would not wear in public, but one is comfortable using as napkin to wipe food and/or buggers from one's hands and/or fingers. TV pants, Couchin' It Pants, Sleep Duds

Your turn, people. Give me your top five foods to eat in bed.

*disclaimer* Gary's upset that I say (and spell) boogers as buh-gers. He would like me to notify you all that he says (and spells) it the proper, non-Iowan accent way: boogers.

Liz

Thoughtful Thursday

2009-10-08T16:19:00.004-05:00

Today the thoughts that are most on my mind are of my husband. How hard he works so we can have the things we need. Really, he's like a super hero. He works anywhere from 70-90 hours a week, but when he comes home, he always has time to play guitar with the kids, juggle oranges to make them laugh, change a cat litter box, drive me to doctor appointments, help with dinner...and he always does it with a gentle smile.

I think husbands and/or fathers everywhere these days have to work harder and longer just to put food on the table. I wonder if it's giving them less time with their families. I wonder if the stress has effected the quality of the time they get to spend with their families. I wonder what the stress of the economy has done to marriages this year.

Today, I'm thinking about other husbands. Husbands that weren't as lucky and lost their jobs. Lost their houses. Lost everything. There are so many out there.

We've been lucky so far that my husband still has his job. Don't think that I don't know that. I'm so grateful. But whether you're a husband and a father, or just a husband, or just a father, I'm thinking about you - and all you do for your families - today, and sending you a great big virtual hug. Thank you, fathers and husbands, for all you do.

And a BIG thank you to my husband. You are amazing in so many ways.

Everyone, tell me something amazing about your husband, boyfriend, brother, or father.

Wednesday's Woe

2009-10-07T09:28:00.003-05:00

I'm going to reserve Wednesdays for rants. Not that I won't rant any other time *snort*, but Wednesdays will be my special day to vent.

Today's rant: Women who do not dress anywhere NEAR their age.

Now, I give a lot of room for interpretation here. I don't mean that women shouldn't wear sexy clothes beyond a certain age. I don't mean that women with children shouldn't wear band concert shirts. I don't mean that women shouldn't wear cute things after their twelfth birthday. We all have our own ideas of what's appropriate. We formed our opinions throughout our lives by the women we knew, the women who were central to our lives, the women we watched on television, read about in magazines, and women we admired. I'll say again, I leave A LOT of room here. But here are just a few things that irk me:

Women beyond age thirteen that wear large bows in their hair. We've all seen this. Typically, she's a nice woman at the office or down the street or in the post office or whatever. Point is, she pulls the sides of her hair back and clips it to the back of her head with a bow the size of Cleveland. I'm sorry, folks, but not only does that scream I can't get over the 90's, but it looks ridiculous.

Girls under the age of twenty that wear clothes that are WAY too alluring. I don't mean tight jeans. I'm okay with that. I don't mean tight shirts, I'm okay with that after a certain degree of maturity has been reached. I'm talking about the girls, oh, say, fourteen to eighteen range that wear a cammi with their boobs popping out, their inappropriate for their age bras visible, holes in their jeans WAY too close the danger zone.

On the same note as above gripe, what is it with mothers these days letting their EIGHT, NINE, TEN, ELEVEN, TWELVE YEAR OLD DAUGHTERS WEAR SHORTS SO SHORT THAT THEY DO NOT EVEN PRETEND TO COVER THEIR ASS CHEEKS???

Women old enough to have teenagers wearing their hair/clothes/makeup/accessories borrowed or copied from their teenagers. There's a mother that does this in our town. Several, actually, but one takes it to the extreme. She often shows up at games wearing her thirteen-year-old's shorts, shirts, headwraps, etc...with her hair done exactly like her thirteen-year-old's. Now, I'm not one to gossip about other mothers, but this lady's a bitch, and a ho, and she tramps around at games half-sauced hitting on everyone's husbands. Not mine, she knows better, but everyone else's. She talks just a little louder, laughs just a little harder, and has to be the center of attention. I watch her kids (and her poor tool of a husband) during her escapades, and they look so humiliated.

Oh, crap. I went off on a different rant. Should have saved it for next Wednesday.

Carrying on...

Women who are 27+ look much sexier in clothes that are made for women 27+. Low-cut shirts, sure. Why not? Tight jeans? Hell yeah. Sexier-than-necessary suits, etc...oh, yeah. If you got it, flaunt it. Hell, even if you don't got it, flaunt it. But your thirteen-year-old's Aeropostle cammi and spankies? Get a fucking clue. The days when you are the prettiest girl in the room might not be over for a long, long while, but the days when you don't look ridiculous trying too hard are upon you, dear.

That's all I got. For the most part, I'm reasonable. I hang out in jeans and t-shirts. There are just a few things that tick me off about women's clothes, and I thought I'd share them with you today.

So tell me, what are your gripes about the stuff you see women wearing?

Liz

Two-fer Tuesday

2009-10-06T12:51:00.003-05:00

Two things you don't know about me:

1. Twenty years ago, I worked in a bar called The Mai Tai West lounge in Omaha, NE. There, I met my husband Gary, but back then we were only friends. I was dating his best friend, Mike. Mike and I broke up but remained close friends throughout the years until he passed away recently. Gary and I saw each other now and then, but both went off to marry other people. Ten years later, we bumped into each other at a bbq. We hooked up (we were both divorced by then), fell hopelessly in love, and the rest is history!

2. The Mai Tai West (bar mentioned in #1) owner, Carol, sold the bar. A guy named Dan bought it, divided into two bars (the place was HUGE). One side, he called Bahama Beach Club. The other side, he made into a male strip club. I stayed on working. I bartended occasionally at Bahama Beach Club and waitressed frequently on the male stripper side. The strippers were all very sweet, handsome guys. I think there were about 30, but only two or so were not gay. I considered each and every one my brother. I often helped all "the boys" with their hair and make up. Those were some of the funnest times of my life back then.

Monday Book Review

2009-10-05T09:30:00.003-05:00

*She shifted her eyes left, then right, and tried to ascertain whether anyone noticed her trying to carry on on as if nothing had happened...as if she hadn't abandoned the blogosphere and all her amazing blog buddies. Crickets chirped. Planets spun. Otherwise, all was silent. Shaking her shoulders, she continued.*

Today's pick:

Mama Flora's Family

Alex Haley and

David Stevens

***

Mama Flora's family follows Flora (who'da guessed) who, born to poor sharecroppers in Tennessee, is forced to raise her children alone after the murder of her husband. The authors portray four generations of Flora's family through struggle and hardship, life and death, friendship and betrayal.

Flora, as a young teenager, meets a smooth-talking high-born young man from the only black family who own land. He woos her, then convinces her parents to let Flora come to his house to care for his ailing mother. Soon after, it's clear what he wanted her there for. He uses her, then discards her like yesterday's newspaper. The result is a baby who is ripped from Flora's arms at birth whisked in the night to be raised by the father's rich family. Flora is sent away by her family. Her destination is Memphis, but a kind stranger on the train convinces her the city is no place for a young girl from the country. She departs the train at Stockton, instead.

Flora doesn't trust men at all until years later, when she meets Booker. After a brief courtship, they are married and move into small house - little more than a shack - but Flora makes it into a lovely home. The couple have a son, Willie. The depression strikes, and Booker cannot provide for his family. He sneaks into the night, but Flora knows what he's up to. He's stealing cotton from the fields before the harvest, a crime for which landowners can and do kill. Booker stumbles into the house hours later and dies in Flora's arms. She vows to fulfill his dreams for Willie, an education and better life than they had. Flora's sister dies and wills Flora custody of her 2 yr old daughter, Ruthann.

But Willie isn't any good at school. He has big city dreams. After years of emotional tug-of-war with his mother, he leaves her and his girlfriend, Ernestine, behind and moves to Chicago. There, he falls into a life of drugs, drinking, and gambling. But then, he meets Abe, a black Socialist and civil rights activist. Abe straightens him out, and when "colored" men are finally allowed in combat, they enlist to fight in WWII. After the war, Willie returns to Stockton a hero and marries Ernestine. To Flora's dismay, he drags his wife to Chicago, but keeps close contact with his mother. Meanwhile, Flora pins her hopes on her daughter, Ruthann, who excels in school and has dreams of college. Flora doubts a colored girl could ever go to university, but she encourages the girl.

Willie and Ernestine have three children. Diane and Don are twins, and their youngest son, Booker, keep Ernestine busier than she can manage in an unfamiliar city far away from her family. Flora heads to Chicago to care for her. There, she realizes the teen Diane and Don are falling in with a crowd of radicals. Flora feels a mixture of fear and pride, but later, when Diane and Don get sucked into a world of drugs, only Ruthann offers any hope of saving them.

***

I enjoyed this book. At times, I would get so lost in the story, I'd lose track of time completely and end up getting only an hour of sleep. Any book that can take you there is worth two thumbs up to me. The authors weaved many historical facts into the story, making this a wonderful tribute to both black families, the strength of women, and the civil rights movement.

Some things I didn't like:

There was a little too much narration for my taste. It was all interesting, but I do like to have it broken up with more dialogue.

The book has a great voice, but it wasn't consistent throughout. There were times while reading that I got the feeling we'd lost the narrator completely and ventured off into someone else's head. That could be due to the fact that this was a collaborative effort. In any case, it wasn't disconcerting enough to detract much from the story, just happened often enough that I noticed.

With a book like this, a family drama or epic, I'd expect to feel strong emotions throughout. Maya Anjelou's work never fails to bring me to tears, for instance. But in this book, I felt curiously detached during many of the scenes that should have devastated me. I attribute that to the heavy narration and minimal dialogue. I didn't get as attached to the characters as I like.

However, even with these issues, this is a strong read. Satisfying throughout, gripping at times, it pulled me right into its world. I give it two thumbs up. A recommended read.

Liz

Yeah....

2009-09-16T12:43:00.002-05:00

Yet another reason I love this guy...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScdUht-pM6s

Okay. Worship over. Carry on.

Liz

Update Part 2

2009-09-09T09:28:00.003-05:00

Hi Blogosphere,

How y'all doing? Hope everyone is having a great start to the "school" year, whether you're a student, a parent, or someone who has to keep an extra eye out for teen drivers on your way to work, the grocery store, the gym, etc...

I know I haven't updated in a long while, but I have an excuse. Remember how I told y'all a while back that I was sick? I still am. Still suffering from pseudomembranous colitis. Other two infections, happily, are gone, but this one's bad enough. Yesterday went well. I only had to take my meds once, and the rest of the day was "uneventful." I went to bed feeling so upbeat, like I was finally going to kick this thing's ass. When I woke up this morning, this thing showed me a thing or two. Major relapse. Right back to square 1, in fact.

On the bright side, while tethered to the only peaceful room in the house for two weeks, I've gotten an amazing amount of work done on my WIP. MC's character growth is rounding out nicely. I'm happy with the movement in the story. When I began the book, I knew most of where everything was going (I only outline loosely - very loosely. I like to surprise myself.), but not all of it. Now I have a rock-solid arch, I know where MC wants to go. I know what she wants to do with her schlep of a husband. I know what she's going to do about what may be the biggest decision of her life to date. And I know what's going to happen to her relationship with her sister. It's quite a bit different than what I'd originally sketched, but that's the magic of writing. It takes you places you never expected to go. It's what I love most about the craft.

So, there's that. Plus, I'm getting a lot of reading done just by leaving books in a strategic location.

The downside (other than the obvious) is that I'm tired ALL the time. I barely have energy to shower, let alone cook, clean, etc...so I'm still not very good about keeping up with your blogs.

I hope you'll stop in here every now and then until I get better and update me. I miss reading about all of your lives, your writing, your adventures, etc...

Liz

Anniversaries

2009-09-02T13:25:00.003-05:00

In honor of the anniversary of our very first kiss, my wonderful husband bought me this:

Amazing, to me, that I got lucky enough to score the kinda guy who'd remember this, let alone buy me gifts.

Liz

Still Down

2009-09-02T08:09:00.004-05:00

Hi Fellow Bloggers,

I'm still down. Downer, actually. Antibiotics used to treat original illness/infection have caused three new infections. The worst of them is pseudomembranous colitis. I recommend NOT clicking the link if you have a weak stomach. One of the other two infections is thrush. The third is unmentionable, but it's miserable and you're probably assaulted with commercials for OTC remedies while you're eating dinner.

In a nutshell, I'm screwed for a while.

Sorry I haven't been blogging and checking in on all your blogs. It's all I can do to keep up with my family and kids. I'll be on the mend eventually, and I'll visit every single on of you and catch up on what I've missed on your fantastic blogs.

In the mean while, I love this video & song, so thought I'd share. No, my husband didn't cheat on me. LOL. I've just always loved this song. Ani's a brilliant song writer. So, enjoy...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjK8zPO1HkM

Oh, if that sort of thing bothers you, this song contains the fuck word. So, you've been forewarned.

Liz

This is too funny...

2009-08-30T11:43:00.001-05:00

Make sure you scroll and check out all of them...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1208913/The-poodles-transformed-pandas-horses-snails-creative-grooming-dog-shows.html

UGH

2009-08-29T14:49:00.001-05:00

Flu going on third day. Still exploding from all orifaces. Not good. Not good at all.

If You Care About Health Care Reform...

2009-08-25T15:24:00.003-05:00

Spread truths to combat the LIES:

http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/falseattacks

Repost on your blogs, email it to everyone you know, tweet it, facebook it, fwd it, text it, do what you have to do. The right wing flat earther's are eating up everything the insurance companies are spoon feeding them, then puking it back up at town halls. The media covers this and makes it look like no one wants health care reform. Yet EVERY SINGLE PERSON I TALK TO ON A DAILY BASIS is FOR health care reform. Time for us to get off our asses. Mobilize!

I Just Have To Share This

2009-08-25T10:14:00.002-05:00

I laughed myself to tears. If you need a smile, a laugh, a good, hard belly buster...

http://www.cracked.com/blog/the-holy-bible-a-book-review/

Good stuff.

*wipes eyes*

Liz

New Kittens!

2009-08-23T20:16:00.004-05:00

Who doesn't love kittens?

We welcomed two new members to the family last month...(apologies for the graininess of the pictures, these were taken on cell phone and sent to computer)

This is Sunny; she's kinda chubby in the mid-section and she farts non-stop.

This is Mary Jane. She only cuddles at night, she's very active and playful, and she has Manson Lamps (a psychoish Charles Mansonlike stare).

We love them so much!

Keep scrolling to check out our vacation pics!

Show & Tell Part 1

2009-08-23T20:10:00.005-05:00

Finally, internet running well enough to bore you with the details of our Minnesota vacation!

Tired kid, and it's only afternoon! We wore them out : )

Jack isn't what you'd call one of those water-lovin' dogs. He was not very impressed with the boating activities. You can see he's clinging to the kids for dear life. He must have clued in that they were the ones wearing life jackets. He did eventually get used to it, though, and assumed his usual position - laying down sleeping.

Here's what our fish looked like all fried up!

And here's what they look like in the frying pan at the cabin!

Here are the daredevils of the family. You can't tell by this picture, but there's a bunch of water in front of them, too, and that rock is way high up. Stay tuned for part 2 - blogspot only let me load 5 at a time...

Show & Tell Part 2

2009-08-23T20:00:00.006-05:00

Here's our day at Lake Superior...

This is Jaymes and Maggie at Lake Superior. The water was COLD!

Here's Gary, the sexiest man in the world, and our 12 yr old German Shorthair Pointer, Jack. Behind, you see the rest of the fam at Lake Superior. We had a great time. The lake is so big, we drove nearly the whole day and didn't even get to see one whole side of it!

Gary and Jack checking out the cold water. Gary tried to get Jack to go into the water on his own, but ultimately had to carry him in. Then, he ran right back out.

More pictures at Lake Superior.

This is the Northern Pike I caught on Lake Winnibegoshish. He was longer than my arm! We ate him. He tasted great!

All in all, it was a fantastic and relaxing week. We can't wait to go back next year.

Happy Birthday!

2009-08-23T12:17:00.006-05:00

Hi everyone!

My internet seems to be working great - finally. We were out of town yesterday, so I didn't get a chance to update. I will later today though. I have some fun pictures to share, but have been waiting for ISP to finish fixing their towers. Busy today, but wanted to pop in and say a few happy birthday's...

First, the sexiest man in the world turned another year older yesterday. We were out of town, so I didn't get to give him the shout out yesterday. Happy Birthday, G-Man. I love you like I love air. Though I thought you couldn't improve on perfection, you still manage to get better at EVERYTHING with every passing year. Everybody pop on over to his blog and wish him a happy birthday! (even though he hardly ever updates it)

Happy Birthday to my BFF, Marva! She turns 29 years young again this year! We keep turning 29 together each year, don't we? : ) I don't know where I'd be without you, woman. You keep me sane, you keep me real, you keep me laughing, you keep me from sharpening the axe and taking hostages. Love ya! Everybody stop over to Marva's and wish her a happy birthday! You can also find her work on Amazon and other bookish places. Look at Texas Boy Publications, also, to find some great posts on authors and writing and links to her work. Amazing writer and amazing friend.

In case I miss blogging on Monday, Happy Birthday to Rebecca (on Monday)! Wonderful photographer, wonderful at crafts, wonderful at finding treasures of all sorts, and all around wonderful person. You're one of my very favorite blogging buddies, and I'm glad to have stumbled upon your lovely blog! Happy Birthday! Everyone stop on over to her blog, baby sloth, and wish her a happy birthday on Monday! You'll find great pictures, fun links, totally cool crafts, and interesting posts, too.

I'll get on later tonight (yeah, I know, you've heard it before, but this time I mean it cuz my internet's finally working) and post some fun pics of vacation and our new kittens.

Big Hugs to all my birthday peeps!

Liz