MzSerena’s Garden

This just gives you a general idea of what music I like. I like a lot of things, my tastes are varied, just like the songs on my list.

Sometimes, I wonder if it’s possible to declare net-ruptcy like you can declare bankruptcy. Is there anything like debt consolidation for those of us who spread ourselves too thin? I mean, there’s blogging on whatever site like Livejournal or Blogger, Twitter, Plurk, Facebook and Myspace. There’s also Friend Feed, Flickr, G-Mail and G-Talk, plus AIM, Y!M, MSN/Windows Live and even Jabber and Skype.

With all these different social media outlets, and that’s just a few listed above, how do you keep from spreading yourself too thin? Should you ‘just say no’ to the next one? I know I’d like to. Maybe we should start a revolution? Go back to E-mail being the best form of cyber communication. Think it would work?

Nah… I didn’t think so either.

Death, a sardonic and articulate character who is afraid of humans, narrates this WWII coming-of-age story about faith, love, hope amidst tragedy.

Zusak has created a work that deserves the attention of sophisticated teen and adult readers. Death himself narrates the World War II-era story of Liesel Meminger from the time she is taken, at age nine, to live in Molching, Germany, with a foster family in a working-class neighborhood of tough kids, acid-tongued mothers, and loving fathers who earn their living by the work of their hands.

The child arrives having just stolen her first book –- although she has not yet learned how to read -– and her foster father uses it, The Gravediggers Handbook, to lull her to sleep when she’s roused by regular nightmares about her younger brother’s death. Across the ensuing years of the late 1930s and into the 1940s, Liesel collects more stolen books as well as a peculiar set of friends: the boy Rudy, the Jewish refugee Max, the mayor’s reclusive wife (who has a whole library from which she allows Liesel to steal), and especially her foster parents.

Zusak not only creates a mesmerizing and original story but also writes with poetic syntax, causing readers to deliberate over phrases and lines, even as the action impels them forward. Death is not a sentimental storyteller, but he does attend to an array of satisfying details, giving Liesel’s story all the nuances of chance, folly, and fulfilled expectation that it deserves. An extraordinary narrative.

My ISP is being a flake. I can’t load anything for more than a second.
Back whenever it fixes itself.

Every now and then, I come across cool sites that I like to share and this is one of those times. Now, I don’t have kids, but there is a brand new online clothing store that is selling designer children’s clothing. Now this isn’t a new thing, a lot of online stores sell children’s clothing, but most of them do not sell them at a discount.

Heavenly Children’s Boutique is a brand new online store with a lot of great items. They offer boys and girls clothing from designers such as Kate Mack, Sister Sam and Wonder Boy. And being a newly registered customer of the site, you will receive a coupon for an additional 25%-40% off their already designer children’s clothing.

If you have a baby, small child or even a tween and want to find some reasonably priced designer clothing, check out the Heavenly Children’s Boutique and see if they have anything you like.

Memorial Day was a pretty quiet day for me.  We had planned on Rob being at work from 1pm-9pm, but he got called in to work 4am-1pm instead.  Kind of messed with our plans, but that’s alright.  Even if we could have planned something for the day, it wouldn’t have been much since we’re pretty broke until pay day hits.  It sucks, but there are a lot of weeks when we do really well, financially.  This week, however, we have a co-pay for Rob’s doctor’s appointment in the morning.

I’ve had a lot of time to do some musing, most of which started late last night while I was plurking with some friends.  I probably shouldn’t be allowed to think at 3am, but sometimes it happens and last night was one of those nights.  I started to realize just how much more I post here for the world to see rather than what I post on my livejournal for trusted friends to see.  Now, that is far from a comment on my friends, I love and trust my friends.  I sometimes just don’t feel compelled to write multiple posts.  I plan on changing that though.  I plan on cross-posting my posts, for the most part.

Another thing that I’ve been musing on is going back to the gym.  Rob and I went once last summer and it was not good for me.  I had a hard time, but I think that the major problem was that I tried to do too much by using the elliptical rather than starting out slower on something that I’m already comfortable with.  The thing is, however, I know my body and I don’t think it could handle it.  I need to make an appointment for a doctor’s checkup.

The problem with making a doctor’s appointment is that I want to find a different doctor.  The one that I’m seeing currently refuses to acknowledge that I have a problem with my back.  She continues to tell me that when I lose enough weight, it will go away.  It won’t.  There is something wrong.  My spine shouldn’t sound like rice krispies with milk poured on them.  Oh well, I’ll just continue on the way I am and life will not end.  I am definitely in a better place than I was a year ago.

I think, however, that it’s time for me to go to bed.  I’m cold, which sucks since I had to sleep with a fan on last night because it was too hot.  Crazy weather.   Extremely crazy.  It’s been in the 80′s.  Now it’s going to be in the 60′s with rain.  My garden will be happy, at least.

So, today was spent quietly living life away from the computer. I cooked a lovely dinner of bbq ribs ‘n dressing. I crocheted a bit. I played in lovely dirt. I planted my veggies today. I have cucumbers, zucchini and yellow squash all in the ground. Tomorrow, we’ll dig up the tomato patch and let that sit for a bit. I can’t really get my tomato plants until after the 3rd for various reasons, mostly monetary.

Tonight, I watched Roz Savage begin the second leg of her journey across the pacific. She launched from Hawaii tonight and is well on her way. She is one amazing lady, I say. She has rowed the Atlantic solo. Now she is on stage two of three of her solo pacific row.
* Stage 1, 2008: San Francisco to Hawaii. 2,324 statute miles, course 247 degrees (completed)
* Stage 2, 2009: Hawaii to Tuvalu. 2,620 statute miles, course 224 degrees
* Stage 3, 2010: Tuvalu to Australia. 2,324 statute miles, course 252 degrees

Now? I’m waiting for Rob to get up and listening to this week’s episode of TWiT and chatting a bit. Contemplating setting up my Linksys router so that my network stops flaking out when my internet goes down. I got highly annoyed last night when it was going in and out multiple times and making it damn hard to listen to anything off my server, which is where all my music is hosted.

One story that caught my attention on TWiT was about Twitter. I know everyone is sick of Twitter news. I know that I am. But I find it amusing, yet a sad state of affairs when someone like Lance Armstrong would rather tweet than talk to the media. Now, I like twitter, and I follow a few celebrity accounts, some really are the celebrity, some are their representatives, but why would you disrespect those who made you celebrity?

They say that people online have this attitude like they can say or do anything they want and it won’t matter to anyone. This is not the case. There are are real people with feelings on the other side of the screen. I don’t know why people seem to think that the person on the other end is completely unaffected. I don’t know how many people can understand that, though, unless they have been around the Internet for as long as some of us have. Sure, it’s all about social media these days, but there’s more to social media than just sharing your story, there is reading the stories of those you choose. That means that whatever I write, someone is reading. It may not be millions of people, but someone is out there reading it, whether they comment or not. With that being said, I’ve been online on a regular basis since 1995, so I’ve seen a lot of people come and go. I’ve seen a lot of services come and go. I’ve also seen a lot of circles of friends shift and change and it somehow still surprises me when people are so willing to toss aside their circle of friends so easily.

Another part of the Internet that gets me is how many people seem to think that social networking is a new thing. For instance, I watch and listen to Leo Laporte’s TWiT Netcast Network body of shows. I don’t watch his live stream as much as I did a while ago, but I still download and listen to his podcasts daily. In fact, I’m listening to him today. He has been on the front edge of technology for many years, he’s been doing things for years that just now coming into the mainstream. For instance, he has done shows that have guests from multiple countries using Skype for as long as he has had his netcasts. Now it’s starting to become mainstream because Oprah is using it on her shows to be able to accommodate guests from different locations without sending out the satellite trucks and whatnot. Skype is a lower cost solution for networks to be able to get their guests on their shows. One thing that Leo needs to do, though is get some life insurance at Wholesale rates for the next time his stability ball bursts while he’s doing show.

There’s so much more that I could say about people and the new ‘net-itude, but I think I’ve blathered on enough.

Steve Martin performing LIVE on American Idol FINALE Season 8 5 20 2009 HQ VIDEO

If I gave you pretty flowers
If I took you out to dinner
If we walked on by the river
Would you invite me in

If we sat down on the sofa
If I told you funny stories
If I moved a little closer
Would you put your hand in mine

If told you, you were lovely
If I put my around you
If I touched you on the shoulder
Would you rest your head on mine

If I took you out to dinner
If I moved a little closer
And I touched you on the shoulder would you make love to me

Oh my darling I have loved you since you took me out to dinner
Since we walked down by the river over 30 years ago
When you told me that you loved me I hadn’t felt so lovely
Since the day I decided that I would marry you

Well I took you out to dinner
And I told you funny stories
And I moved a little closer
And you made love to me

If I gave you pretty flowers
If I took you out to dinner
If we walked down by the river la la la la la la la

Summer is coming fast, which means that it’s time for gardens to be planted, flowers to bloom, and the ever hated, swimsuit season. Why is this significant? It’s because it’s also the beginning of the biggest dieting time of the year. So, with that being a fact, it’s the time that everyone starts seeking out diet pills. No, I take that back, a lot of people will be seeking out diet pills, while the rest of us deal with our weight naturally.

The irony of it all, my husband has to go to the doctor’s again Tuesday and most likely will be told that he needs to fill the prescription he was given for diet pills. Why? He’s diabetic and it seems like he doesn’t really care enough about it to do something about his weight. He eats complete crap at work that he’s not supposed to be eating. How do I know? I caught him eating crap one day when I stopped in with my sister. He sits here and eats a ton of carbs and acts like it’s no big deal. He did well at first, I will say that. But he doesn’t want to do anything of value to help himself any more. He doesn’t even want to do stuff around here other than read. It’s nice enough and warm enough that he could be going for short walks every night.

I just don’t understand why the people who need to be aware of their weight don’t seem to care about it, when those who don’t need to care so much are the ones who are always on the newest diet or freaking out if they gain a pound.

I love to cook. I also love kitchen gadgets. Yeah, I’m not joking. I make stupidly easy things like Hamburger Helper to Spiedies. I also make stuff out of my own imagination. One of the things I want to get is a NuWave Oven. Ms. Kat has been raving about hers. The only thing is, I am running out of counter space! Seriously. I have 2 indoor grills, a bread machine, a wok, a rice cooker and a pressure cooker. Oh, and I have a small convection oven/rotisserie that I hate.

I love my laptop (and my computer), seriously. I just wish that I had thought ahead when I got the laptop and known more about Windows Vista. If I had done my research, I would have known that I needed more computer memory than I got. I went with the bare minimum and it bogs down so hard that it’s not even funny. One of the other things that I need to keep an eye on with my next laptop is the weight of it. I want to get a new laptop next spring, but I don’t want one that’s super heavy. I also want to make sure it doesn’t get super hot either.

I love my cameras. Yes, that is plural. I now own 2 fabulous cameras. They aren’t DSLR’s but they will do just fine for me. I have a Kodak Easy Share C530 that I got as a gift in 2006. I also have a GE A950 that I just got. I love my Kodak, but the optical zoom wasn’t enough for some of the events I attend. The GE has better optical zoom, which will make it easier to take pictures at sporting events.

The thing is, they are just THINGS. I’m not materialistic. I could live without all of the items. What I couldn’t live without, however, is those people I love and whom love me. They are more important than things.

We’re trying to save money for Rob’s vacation and it’s pretty damn hard. Especially since I am getting a new camera Wednesday. I love my camera, but I need a better one for a lot of the stuff we do, especially for sports. Need a better zoom for the project I have planned for fall. Meh, anyway. I’m trying to figure out a day trip for during Rob’s vacation, but it’s damned hard to find any decent travel deals for a day trip. I don’t know that I’d want to drive somewhere, especially if the price of gas is going to stay up where it is.

I’d kind of like to take a bus trip, maybe, but I’m not sure what’s going on when Rob’s off. *ponders* Looks like the only bus company I know of in the area is only going to New York City and, despite having friends in NYC, I don’t really want to go there. Especially for $50/person. I can take $100 and drive down and not spend that much.

Maybe we’ll drive upstate for the day. Maybe we’ll drive to Harrisburg. Who knows. Hell, we probably won’t go anywhere. We’re boring like that.

This is what we dealt with in my area today. Luckily, we’re up on a hill, we had no problems, other than one good crack of lightning hit close enough that it knocked a clock off my bedroom wall.

It seems like every spring I go through a severe case of ‘net apathy. Not sure why, but I get to the point where I’d like to completely shut down my computer and Internet and walk away from it all. Spring Fever? Maybe, but it goes away after a while. The thing is, this year, it started early. I’ve been slowly building up to the point where I’d like to put my fist through my monitor since February. I’ve been spending a lot of my time reading or listening to audio books. Mostly to keep my brain from being able to think too much. I think I need something more going on when I’m at home.

I have a lot of things that I should be doing, I’m just apathetic about doing them because they involve sitting here looking at the computer screen. Meh. I think I’ll feel better when the weather is decent enough that I can go dig in dirt and plant my garden. I want to grow peppers, squash and tomatoes. I’m also thinking of planting a small patch of rhubarb and I’d also like to grow asparagus, but I keep getting told that it’s too difficult. Meh.

There’s a lot going on in my brain, but most of it, I’m not willing to share. It’s hard and it’s frustrating, but it’s life. So until I feel like sharing, I’ll just babble on about stupid little things like getting the car inspected yesterday or buying 1st birthday supplies and getting hugs from an old friend.

Until next time.

Lesley-Gore:You don’t own me

Lesley Gore – You Don’t Own Me Lyrics

You don’t own me, I’m not just one of your many toys
You don’t own me, don’t say I can’t go with other boys

And don’t tell me what to do
And don’t tell me what to say
And please, when I go out with you
Don’t put me on display, ’cause

You don’t own me, don’t try to change me in any way
You don’t own me, don’t tie me down ’cause I’d never stay

Oh, I don’t tell you what to say
I don’t tell you what to do
So just let me be myself
That’s all I ask of you

I’m young and I love to be young
I’m free and I love to be free
To live my life the way I want
To say and do whatever I please

A-a-a-nd don’t tell me what to do
Oh-h-h-h don’t tell me what to say
And please, when I go out with you
Don’t put me on display

I don’t tell you what to say
Oh-h-h-h don’t tell you what to do
So just let me be myself
That’s all I ask of you

I’m young and I love to be young
I’m free and I love to be free
To live my life the way I want

Lindsey Haun – Broken

Wake up to a sunny day, Not a cloud up in the sky
Then it starts to rain.
My defenses hit the ground, and they shatter all around
So open and exposed
But I find strength in the struggle
Face to face with my trouble

Chorus:
When you’re broken, in a million little pieces
And you’re trying, but you can’t hold on anymore
Every tear falls down for a reason
Don’t you stop believing in yourself
When you’re broken.

Little girl don’t be so blue
I know what you’re going through
Don’t let it beat you up.
Hitting walls and getting scars
Only makes you who you are
Only makes you who you are.
No matter how much your heart is aching
There is beauty in the breaking
Yeah

(Repeat chorus)

Better days are you gonna find you once again
Everything will find its place

When you’re broken, when you’re broken

(Repeat chorus)

Oh when you’re broken
When you’re broken
When you’re broken

Hi, I’m still alive. First things first, a belated Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers and mother figures out there. I spent most of my Sunday cooking and spending time with Mom. Made a cake and cooked dinner. My sister showed up Friday out of the blue and brought Mom a huge bleeding heart plant to add to the yard, then I sent Rob to pick out another bush for her Mother’s Day gift. He chose a Burning Bush. I can’t wait to see how well that grows.

Burning Bush
(aka Winged Euonymus or Spindle Tree)
Euonymus alata “Compactus”

Mature Height: 6-10 ft. for ‘Compactus’ (other varieties can get much larger)
Growth Rate: Moderate
Soil: Average, well-drained
Light Requirements: Sun/partial shade
Foliage: Medium green 1″ to 3″ in. long leaves, turning to vibrant red in the fall
Flower/Fruit: Small orange-red seeds in the fall
Pruning: No pruning is necessary! The most attractive shrubs are those that have not been pruned or sheared. except for cutting out older branches immediately following blooms. It can be cut to the ground following bloom time if you feel that it needs renewal.

Common Name: bleeding heart
Zone: 3 to 9
Plant Type: Herbaceous perennial
Family: Papaveraceae
Missouri Native: No
Native Range: Siberia, Japan, northern China, Korea
Height: 2 to 3 feet
Spread: 1.5 to 2.5 feet
Bloom Time: April – May Bloom Data
Bloom Color: White/pink
Sun: Part shade to full shade
Water: Medium
Maintenance: Low

I thought I had more to say, but I guess I don’t, really. Want to go to a baseball game later, but not sure Rob will feel up to it, since he had dental work done this morning. It’s likely the last chance we get to go. We’ll see, I guess.

Good lord, I wonder sometimes why I bother reading reviews for weight loss products. Sure I’d like to find a good one, which is why I was reading Clinicallix reviews. But, who needs any sort of weight loss pill when you’re sick to your stomach after eating? Ugh. I’m over being sick all the time.

So, instead of doing anything of value today, I played games all day, then finished reading Return To The Summerhouse from Jude Devereaux. Tonight, I’ve chilled, made blinkies, watched TV and played games. Now, I’m going to crochet.

By the time this posts, it will be Thursday, which makes me happier than I can put into words. I’m tired and stiff and sore and have spent far more time gone than I have at home since Monday. I’m glad to not have to leave the house again until Monday. I might go somewhere Sunday, but I’m kind of doubting it.

Monday, we decided to make a last minute trip to Binghamton to get some of our groceries. Now, for those who don’t know, I live in the middle of the freaking boonies. Really, it is. To go to Binghamton it’s approximately an hour drive one way. I’m sure most people think it’s insane to drive an hour for groceries. It is, really, but to go to Ithaca, which is a little closer, millage wise, it’s still an hour one way because of speed limits and doesn’t have much in the way of shopping choices. Elmira, which is closer in millage and time, by 20 minutes, isn’t a bad choice to shop. Usually we shop in Elmira but decided to go elsewhere to see if we can get better deals. Which we did. Sure it took longer to get there and back, but it saved money over all. Yeah, I’m the sidetrack queen. Anyway, we got meat for the month, headed the hour back home, after deciding to forgo Sam’s Club for the time being. We stopped and grabbed a pizza for dinner, which always makes me happy. I didn’t have to cook.

Tuesday was.. not fun at all. I woke up sometime around 10 and wished I hadn’t. I felt like dirt on the bottom of a shoe, but I got up and made the best of it. I ended up cooking lunch, since we were going to be gone at dinner time. I made hot dogs with homemade meat sauce and french fries with gravy. Not the greatest foods in the world, but hey, what do you want for lunch hour? What sucked was spending the rest of the day at a freaking Mall. You’d think that they’d want to make people want to stay at the mall and spend more money by having comfortable seating in the food court. Feh. They were the hardest, most uncomfortable chairs ever.

Long story short, I don’t want to see that mall again for a LONG time, if ever. Today, I finished the rest of the grocery shopping, including all the fixings for taco night. Mmm taco… I even made a homemade mango-lime salsa (with NO recipe). Surprisingly, it was liked by the hubby creature, who I really didn’t think would like it, since he doesn’t like tomato unless it’s on a burger or made into tomato sauce. I will include the recipe I came up with down further, since it’s something I created.

It’s now 3am – I started at 11:30pm.. It’s time for a brief reality tv commenting list

American Idol – Feh! Wrong one went home
Dancing With The Stars – Another wrong one went home
Biggest Loser – Missed it, will watch it Saturday
Hell’s Kitchen – Hope Paula Wins
Amazing Race – Great Final 3 teams
Celebrity Apprentice – Predicted that final 2. It should be good.

Now the recipe.

Bella’s Mango Salsa
1 fresh mango, peeled and diced
1 fresh lime
1 small onion diced fine (variety of choice. green onions work too)
1 small tomato diced
small amounts of olive oil, salt and pepper

Mix mango, onion and tomato together with the juice of the lime. Add a small amount of olive oil just to add a bit of cohesiveness. I used about a teaspoon at most. Add salt and pepper to taste if you wish.

If this is incoherent, blame it on lack of sleep.

Classic Construction builds decks in Richmond and their outstanding quality and affordable pricing make them the perfect candidate for your next home improvement project. They also offer sunrooms in Richmond that offer year-round comfort and value to your home. I came across them while looking for a dealer that offered siding in Richmond for a friend of mine and I was very impressed with their commitment to providing professional service and craftsmanship.  Now, the fact of the matter is, I do not live in Richmond myself, but I know a few people who do. I always check around before posting about any business or service and have had absolutely no complaints, so I feel comfortable recommending them.

Your online nursing degree can take you places you never imagined.

You might be surprised to learn that an online nursing degree qualifies you for more than just nursing jobs. Are you interested in the latest drugs to hit the market? Are you a natural at getting people to do what you say? Then a pharmaceutical sales job could be for you. Your nursing degree will come in handy when you have to explain the details of a specific drug to doctors and pharmacists. You’ll travel a lot, but you’ll have a lot of flexibility in your job and may even get to work from home.

Maybe you have a passion for writing. Then take your online nursing degree and turn it into a career as a medical writer. You’ll be writing about anything medically related and will have to know the specifics of different diseases and their treatments. You may end up writing for a hospital or perhaps starting your own blog. Just make sure you like writing and don’t mind doing a lot of it.

If you love being a nurse, but want to work at more than one hospital, consider being a travel nurse. Travel nurses work anywhere from teaching hospitals to cruise ships on temporary assignments for a few months at a time. This job pays very well and your housing is usually paid for by your employer.

There are a number of interesting careers that an online nursing degree qualifies you for – learn more now.

I’ve heard it said that the new homes in Virginia from Fawn Lake are absolutely stunning. They feature stunning lakeside retreats, wooded estates overlooking the Palmer golf course and charming cottages. Also there is an almost endless list of activities available including walking trails, golfing, water skiing, kayaking, fishing, sailing, swimming, and much more. This is a beautiful place to raise a family or retire, either way the setting is fantastic. Take a look at Fawn Lake in Fredericksburg if you get a chance.

It definitely sounds like my kind of a place.  I’m not sure about anyone else.  I could take living somewhere that’s like where I live now, just a warmer climate.  As much as I love New York, moving south a bit to somewhere that’s warmer during the winter wouldn’t be bad.  I know it’s not much of a difference, which is why it’s so appealing to me.  Same type of area, just not a billion degrees below 0 in December.  They get snow, sure, but not like we get.

Come on get Higher-Sugarland