Tuesday, September 30, 2008

The End of The End (A New Beginning)

All right. Is two years a long enough mourning period? Is one year the typical amount? Then I doubled it to accommodate two parental losses within four months, and since Mother went last and today marks two years since her demise, I'm done, right?

As of 11:42 AM, I'm officially done. Out of mourning. Finished with the Black Period. Through with being in a lifeless limbo.

My life must go on now. I love my parents, I miss them every day, but I cannot continue playing the role of "that poor girl who lost both of her parents four months apart, so sad". I cannot continue living in the limbo of inheritances that have yet to materialize, of estates that languish and lollygag around, of waiting for things to fall into place before making crucial life decisions, of time standing immortally frozen in a house that still resembles a storage unit/memorial.

My role is being redefined.

Who am I now?

I'll let you know as I figure it out.

Mother, please rest in peace now, along with Dad, knowing that I am safe, learning to be happy, and will eternally hold you both in my heart. Until we meet on the other side...


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Monday, September 22, 2008

DARKNESS!

Oh, My, GOD, it is not even 8:00 PM yet and it is already effin' dark outside!!!!

NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!

Where has my lovely summer gone? Where are the long, lingering evenings in which I could ride and ride and ride?

Alas... Autumn has arrived.

Tomorrow, there will be even less daylight in which to ride.

I suppose I'll have to start getting to the barn earlier and earlier. Pretty soon I'll have to forego looking for a job because a day job will seriously interfere with my ability to be able to see my horse. I mean SEE him. As in have him be visible. Because it's dark? Can't see the horse in the dark?

Not much fun to ride when you have no idea what's in front of you.

Siiiiiigggghhhhhh.

OK, on the upside, the bugs are gone. Almost. Um, it's less sweaty. Uh, crisp fall air, pretty leaves... hey, I'm TRYING.

When I win the lottery, I'm building an indoor arena with really good lighting so I can ride 24/7. Whether my horse likes it or not.

So long, Summer. See you next year.

Welcome, Fall.

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Sunday, September 21, 2008

The MASH Game

OK. I saw this on Mrs. Quimby's blog and decided it would be fun to play.

Oh, what havoc have I wrought? Please note, I was hoping to marry Keith Urban... but because I felt wacky, I tossed in a couple of my girlcrushes. See what good it did me? LOL! (Kate plays Shane on the L Word). It looks like we'll be foster parents of Aborigines.

As long as there are horses... it still looks like fun! (And I don't know why you have to scroll down, Mrs. Q had the same issue and I can't figure out the HTML code making it do that. Sorry.)




































Behold... My Future

I will marry Kate Moennig.

After a wild honeymoon, We will settle down in Australia in our fabulous House.

We will have 69 kid(s) together.

Our family will zoom around in a cherry red Hybrid.

I will spend my days as a spiritual guru, and live happily ever after.

whats your future

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Saturday, September 13, 2008

More Quizzes! I'm Feeling Testy Today

Me, I am beside my selves... ;-) We're getting grammatical again.

Your result for The Commonly Confused Words Test...

English Genius

You scored 100% Beginner, 100% Intermediate, 100% Advanced, and 93% Expert!

You did so extremely well, even I can't find a word to describe your excellence! You have the uncommon intelligence necessary to understand things that most people don't. You have an extensive vocabulary, and you're not afraid to use it properly! Way to go!

Take The Commonly Confused Words Test at HelloQuizzy


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Your result for The Absolute Language Test...

The Rain In Spain Stays Mainly In The Plane

60% Eloquent, 54% Well-Versed, 21% So-So, 19% Amateur and 23% Ignoramus!

The statement above is a play on words, it's supposed to be "plain."

You are a master of the art of language! You probably speak more than one language and are very well cultured because of it. You also get annoyed with people who don't use proper grammar and constantly correct them. Give yourself a pat on the back! You're ready for the Embassy Ball!

Take The Absolute Language Test at HelloQuizzy

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ReinCarnation Instant Drink Mix

The truth hurts sometimes... apparently I basically just want to coast through life. How depressing to think that. *sigh* At least I'm not a LOLcat like some folks. Ironically, I am also fluent in chatspeak, which is odd since I rarely, if ever, chat or text. Hmm. As for the last quiz, considering that this was MY genre, I would expect no less.

Your result for Reincarnation Placement Exam...

Garden of Eden

41% Intrigue, 39% Civilization, 46% Humanity, 19% Urbanization.


It's the Garden of Eden for you!

Well, this is about as cozy and simple as life can get. We hope you like it here. The real estate is not well developed, but the garden is top-flight.

Your answers indicate that you basically want to just coast through life. You don't want any trouble, and you don't want any special privileges either. That's fine with us. It's entirely possible to live a pleasant life without trouble or strife, and Eden is the perfect spot for it, as long as you don't... well...

Just try to behave better than the previous tenants. Evictions can be rough.

Take Reincarnation Placement Exam at HelloQuizzy

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Your result for The GR8 txtspeak Test :-)...

Txtspk GNS!

You are 70% fluent in chatspeak!

You are a textspeak genius! You scored in the highest realm of fluency. I'm sure your friends and family must be very proud of your accomplishments. But be careful! If you want to remain at the zenith of your ability, make sure you take time each day to carefully stretch your phalanges. Cramps, sore muscles, and arthritic dactyls could someday lead to ruin.

Take The GR8 txtspeak Test :-) at HelloQuizzy

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Your result for Name The Heavy Metal/Hair Band Who Hit The Charts With This Monster Ballad Quiz...

100% Teased!

You scored 100% Teased.

High School was great, wasn't it?

Good Job! And don't forget to give me a great score! :)

Take Name The Heavy Metal/Hair Band Who Hit The Charts With This Monster Ballad Quiz at HelloQuizzy

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Friday, September 12, 2008

My Blog is Mad at Me

That's right. My blog is mad at me because yesterday was our second Blogiversary, and I completely forgot about it and went off riding my horse instead of paying attention to it.

I'm terribly sorry, Dear Blog, and I hope you will forgive my oversight. My humblest apologies. *kiss kiss*

I suppose if it lets me post this entry, all is forgiven.

It's really not a surprise that it slipped my mind, though. This isn't my first blog. It's my second. The first one was started six years ago and it's dedicated to my PNH adventures. But it was abandoned for a long time due to loss of horse, loss of interest, then the parental stuff. In fact, if any blog should be mad at me, THAT one should, because I neglected it for so long. Oddly enough, it was as forgiving as a horse and just let me hop back on and ride without so much as a sniffle.

Anyway, that's all for now. Happy Second Blogiversary to me. I'd give away yarn or something, but... that would entail organizing it first to see what I have to offer. And we all know how I am about THAT (organizing). *snort*

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Sunday, September 07, 2008

Song Title Meme and Blather

I know, I'm meme-happy lately. All I've been doing is riding my horse and playing with him, and trying to convince my mare that I'm really still her friend (she's decided to be elusive again). Unless you are as horse-crazy as I am, my escapades aren't all that interesting. And they aren't related to knitting.

But it's going well. Now that we've broken the cantering fear issue, we're cantering all over the place, and yesterday, I found I can break into a canter from a dead stop, rather than work up to it from the trot. Working up to it is actually harder than I thought! I had it in my mind that it was like changing gears—walk is first gear, trot is second, canter third, gallop fourth. Nope! It's like going from smooth four-beat walk to bouncy two-beat trot to smooth three-beat rocking horse. MUCH easier to just smooch and canter off into the sunset.

In other news, Jupiter finally went direct after several months of retrograde, which is GREAT news for anything that has been stalled out because Jupiter is the planet of expansion and growth, so the stagnation should lift now. I fully expect to be hearing from my realtors this week about house sales. I checked back, and the timing of the slow-downs and fall-throughs coincided with Jupiter going retrograde. HMMMmmmmm. There is another planet that was off-kilter for two years and just changed direction, too.

I'm tellin' ya, this is the week. On to the memes. Do it if you wanna, consider yourself tagged.
  • Choose a singer/band/group
  • Answer using ONLY titles of songs by that singer/band/group
  • Tag 7 more people. Or not.
I choose: Journey

1. Are you male or female? Walks Like A Lady
2. Describe yourself. Happy To Give
3. What do people feel when they’re around you? Don't Stop Believin'
4. How would you describe your previous relationship? Separate Ways
5. Describe your current relationship. When You're Alone (It Ain't Easy)
6. Where would you want to be now? Still They Ride*
7. How do you feel about love? Faithfully
8. What’s your life like? Sweet & Simple
9. What would you ask for if you had only one wish? Change for the Better
10. Say something wise. Be Good To Yourself

*Well, I had to work in some sort of horse reference and this was the closest thing.

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Friday, September 05, 2008

Falling

I'll have you know, today is the first day I'm wearing sweatpants rather than shorts around the house. Legs is cold, peeps! But the thermometer says 73—WTF? Cloudy, grey, a little rainy at times—

Oh, that explains it. Black Swamp Arts Festival is this weekend. (Swamp. I do live in one.)

Oh, My, GOD. My local paper finally got with the program and went online. Bully for them.

Do I have any non-Meme news? Oh, nothing substantial just yet. Just waiting expecting and dealing with occasional uncertainty. But that could be a good thing. Deepak Chopra says that if you're experiencing the uncertainty, it is a sure sign you are getting closer to its manifestation.

Good.

The majority of my activities of late have been horse-related. OKAY. FINE. I ADMIT IT.

I'm wishy-washy. Please don't ask me what I want to be when I grow up because chances are it will vacillate between Rock Star, Professor and Horse Trainer. I committed to Horse Trainer in April. Then I changed gears this summer. Then I entered a 45-day challenge online, chose my music career to focus on, and lasted about 7 days before I lost interest. Now I'm back to the horses. (Professor finally went away when I realized I was just trying to live my parents' lives for them and that it would take 6 years to get a PhD in Philosophy and then get a job and, well, bleagh.)

Truthfully, all I wanna be is a multimillionaire lottery jackpot winner.

You think I'm kidding.

I'm not.

I believe the Ohio Lottery debuted the year I turned 10. Around age 6, I'd declared my wish to be a horse trainer. My Mom snorted in disbelief and said "well, you'd better have a really good job then, because horses take a lot of money!" I put 2+2 together and realized if we couldn't afford one on Dad's very good salary (as I was often told was the reason rather than the complex adult fact that Mom's worst allergen was horse hair, she had terrible asthma, and since Dad worked full time she'd be the one taking me to the stable...), I'd better figure out how to be a millionaire.

Somewhere between 6 and 10, I noticed that the people who sang on TV variety shows were rich, and I could sing, so I determined I should exploit my musical talent and I'd be a shoe-in for fame and fortune.

Then I heard about the Lottery. I distinctly remember hearing about it—TV, radio, newspaper—forget which. But when I realized it took 50 cents to buy a ticket and you could win $10 million dollars, that was IT. I KNEW. Without a single doubt, I KNEW that THIS was the way I'd become rich one day. When I was old enough to legally buy the ticket, that is.

Wide-eyed, I turned to my Mom and Dad and said with absolute conviction, "THAT is how I'm going to get rich. I'm going to win the lottery."

Guffaws.

OK. Be skeptical. But, it does happen. Someone just won $133 million last week (not me, yet), and on average, five people win the $250,000 5-of-5 every drawing. That's twice a week. So, why not?

What if I did win?

Even the current cash option of $9.8 million would buy a lot of horses and hay. I think I'll go dream about it for awhile.

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Music Meme

From Erin's blog :

Interesting. I wasn't really genre-specific, was I? I just liked the songs I liked, regardless. But Journey was MY ABSOLUTE FAVE, and AOR was my preference. (Where are Iron Maiden and Judas Priest? Where? Or Kansas and Boston?) Surprised at how much Top 40/R&B I liked.

"It has a beat and I can drink to it. I give it a 10!"

The rules:
  • Go to musicoutfitters.com
  • Enter the year you graduated from high school in the search function and get the list of 100 most popular songs of that year
  • Bold the songs you like, strike through the ones you hate and italicize your favorites. Do nothing to the ones you don’t remember (or don’t care about)

  1. Bette Davis Eyes, Kim Carnes

  2. Endless Love, Diana Ross and Lionel Richie

  3. Lady, Kenny Rogers

  4. (Just Like) Starting Over, John Lennon

  5. Jessie's Girl, Rick Springfield

  6. Celebration, Kool and The Gang

  7. Kiss On My List, Daryl Hall and John Oates

  8. I Love A Rainy Night, Eddie Rabbitt

  9. 9 To 5, Dolly Parton

  10. Keep On Loving You, REO Speedwagon

  11. Theme From "Greatest American Hero", Joey Scarbury

  12. Morning Train (Nine To Five), Sheena Easton

  13. Being With You, Smokey Robinson

  14. Queen Of Hearts, Juice Newton

  15. Rapture, Blondie

  16. A Woman Needs Love, Ray Parker Jr. and Raydio

  17. The Tide Is High, Blondie

  18. Just The Two Of Us, Grover Washington Jr.

  19. Slow Hand, Pointer Sisters

  20. I Love You, Climax Blues Band

  21. Woman, John Lennon

  22. Sukiyaki, A Taste Of Honey

  23. The Winner Takes It All, Abba

  24. Medley, Stars On 45

  25. Angel Of The Morning, Juice Newton

  26. Love On The Rocks, Neil Diamond

  27. Every Woman In The World, Air Supply

  28. The One That You Love, Air Supply

  29. Guilty, Barbra Streisand and Barry Gibb

  30. The Best Of Times, Styx

  31. Elvira, Oak Ridge Boys

  32. Take It On The Run, REO Speedwagon

  33. No Gettin' Over Me, Ronnie Milsap

  34. Living Outside Myself, Gino Vannelli

  35. Woman In Love, Barbra Streisand

  36. Boy From New York City, Manhattan Transfer

  37. Urgent, Foreigner

  38. Passion, Rod Stewart

  39. Lady (You Bring Me Up), Commodores

  40. Crying, Don Mclean

  41. Hearts, Marty Balin

  42. It's My Turn, Diana Ross

  43. You Make My Dreams, Daryl Hall and John Oates

  44. I Don't Need You, Kenny Rogers

  45. How 'Bout Us, Champaign

  46. Hit Me With Your Best Shot, Pat Benatar

  47. The Breakup Song, Greg Kihn Band

  48. Time, Alan Parsons Project (this was our class' theme song)

  49. Hungry Heart, Bruce Springsteen

  50. Sweetheart, Franke and The Knockouts

  51. Someone's Knockin', Terri Gibbs

  52. More Than I Can Say, Leo Sayer

  53. Together, Tierra

  54. Too Much Time On My Hands, Styx

  55. What Are We Doin' In Love, Dottie West

  56. Who's Crying Now, Journey

  57. De Do Do Do, De Da Da, Police

  58. This Little Girl, Gary U.S. Bonds

  59. Stop Draggin' My Heart Around, Stevie Nicks With Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers

  60. Giving It Up For Your Love, Delbert McClinton

  61. A Little In Love, Cliff Richard

  62. America, Neil Diamond

  63. Ain't Even Done With The Night, John Cougar

  64. Arthur's Theme, Christopher Cross

  65. Another One Bites The Dust, Queen

  66. Games People Play, Alan Parsons Project

  67. I Can't Stand It, Eric Clapton

  68. While You See A Chance, Steve Winwood

  69. Master Blaster, Stevie Wonder

  70. Hello Again, Neil Diamond

  71. Don't Stand So Close To Me, Police

  72. Hey Nineteen, Steely Dan

  73. I Ain't Gonna Stand For It, Stevie Wonder

  74. All Those Years Ago, George Harrison

  75. Step By Step, Eddie Rabbitt

  76. The Stroke, Billy Squier

  77. Feels So Right, Alabama

  78. Sweet Baby, Stanley Clarke and George Duke

  79. Same Old Lang Syne, Dan Fogelberg

  80. Cool Love, Pablo Cruise

  81. Hold On Tight, ELO

  82. It's Now Or Never, John Schneider

  83. Treat Me Right, Pat Benatar

  84. Winning, Santana

  85. What Kind Of Fool, Barbra Streisand and Barry Gibb

  86. Watching The Wheels, John Lennon

  87. Tell It Like It Is, Heart

  88. Smoky Mountain Rain, Ronnie Milsap

  89. I Made It Through The Rain, Barry Manilow

  90. You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin', Daryl Hall and John Oates

  91. Suddenly, Olivia Newton-John and Cliff Richard

  92. For Your Eyes Only, Sheena Easton

  93. The Beach Boys Medley, Beach Boys

  94. Whip It, Devo

  95. Modern Girl, Sheena Easton

  96. Really Wanna Know You, Gary Wright

  97. Seven Year Ache, Rosanne Cash

  98. I'm Coming Out, Diana Ross

  99. Miss Sun, Boz Scaggs

  100. Time Is Time, Andy Gibb

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