Meri

Thu, 27 Jul 2006 23:36:05 GMT

You Are a Peacemaker Soul

You strive to please others and compromise anyway you can.
War or conflict bothers you, and you would do anything to keep the peace.
You are a good mediator and a true negotiator.
Sometimes you do too much, trying so hard to make people happy.

While you keep the peace, you tend to be secretly judgmental.
You lose respect for people who don't like to both give and take.
On the flip side, you've got a graet sense of humor and wit.
You're always dimplomatic and able to give good advice.

Souls you are most compatible with: Warrior Soul, Hunter Soul and Visionary Soul

What Kind of Soul Are You?

Tired, tired mommy here... 8)

Mon, 23 Feb 2004 00:53:36 GMT

Loving the overnight shift, lots of fun people to work with and the customers that come in are nice as well. Still getting used to the change in sleep cycles.

My kids are helping greatly but are sick, so I've been up a little more than I would like. I am definitely getting older, I really need consistent sleep and about 7 hours of it at least. 8) Oh well. I have a set schedule finally, Tues and Wed off so that's nice. Nice having a set schedule as opposed to having it change weekly. Also thankful to get two days off in a row.

Somehow managed to get cast in the role of family mediator, yet again. Two years from now I fully expect to have my parents living up the road from me. The parental units are upset at my brother and sister this time. My sister-in-law is working on her Master's so my brother and nephew came down from Palo Alto to visit my sister in Fontana. My parents, who live in Vista, thought my brother was going to visit them. They then wanted my sister and her family and brother and son to come visit them. Problem is the kids are all sick. Sister's kids one has cold and ear infection, the other bronchitis and turns out my brother's son had a fever and cough upon arriving at my sister's place. They invited the parents to come stay there (lots more room and they could avoid travelling with sick kids). My parents had a bad visit with my sister over Christmas and are still holding a grudge. My sister isn't budging, my brother is tired and irritated, and I have fielded more phone calls and whinging than Dr. Phil. lol Oh well, they'll get over it eventually or not and I'll be handling all communications between various family members.

I knew we were functionally dysfunctional for a family, or I thought we were, thinking we're steadily slipping closer and closer to disfunctional. God bless the US for having thousands of miles between KY and CA so I have some buffer. 8) Love the family but they can cause premature graying and frown lines.

Anyway, my youngest won Honorable Mention for his science fair project. WTG to the kid as science is a less than favorite subject for me, unless it's science fiction or computer science. lol

Husband has been totally awesome helping with the kids and new schedule. What a sweetie. Sometime when I'm conscious and we're both home I'll have to do something special for him. 8)

Hope the weekend was a good one for everyone.

It's been forever and a day I know...

Fri, 20 Feb 2004 07:18:37 GMT

Wow, forever and a day since I've logged in. I've been taking classes and started a job as an overnight cashier at Wal-Mart. I think I may have lost my mind somewhere in the planning stages of this. lol

Loving the job, 10pm - 7am hours so I can put the kids on the bus when I get home, go to class, sleep, get up do homework and after school stuff, make dinner and put them to bed before work. Also get to see the hubby, which is always nice. :) But the classes are eating into my sleep time and free time....yikes, what's that. lol Anyway, I like the job. Not at all difficult, fun people to work with, and get to talk with all kinds of people as they come through my line. My mother is not real impressed with my job choice. I think she thought I'd do something else when I went back to work, Wal-Mart cashier seems to be not quite to her standards. Oh well. It allows me to spend time with my children and husband and gives us extra money, low and behold we actually have a savings account with money in it. (Real money, not the five dollars necessary to keep the account open. lol) Anyway, nice benefits with the job and hoping I can stay on and move up. Would be nice to be firmly settled there when my hubby retires from the Army in a couple of years. We'll see what happens.

So, taking the time I have now to catch up on the mounds of FB I'm behind in. Thankfully the schedule is beginning to come together. :)

A new week...

Mon, 26 Jan 2004 13:40:03 GMT

Another Monday here and none of us want to be up and moving. The husband snapped at me for waking him up...after I snapped at him for the alarm clock going off for the fourth time. I really hate whoever invented the snooze button. :) The dogs went out, came back in, and flopped onto the dog beds snoring away. My boys finally made it down the stairs, dressed for school, only to flop on the couches and stare mindlessly at the cartoons. I think the only thing keeping them moving is the thought that this is a short week for them. No school Friday as the teachers have a professional development day. Now I know this makes me sound old but...I don't remember having so many days off when I was in school. Don't know if that's because my memory is shot or if we really went to school more days though. lol

Found a picure of Johnny Depp at the Golden Globes that I saved and used as my new icon. Hmmm, pictures of Johnny Depp...there's a good way to start off a new week. :)

Hope everyone has a great Monday!

I need a real break from real life...

Fri, 23 Jan 2004 14:54:32 GMT

It has been one of those times in real life where I can almost understand why people go catatonic. Every now and then the real world gets to be more real than I'd like to deal with. Major ranting about some rather depressing stuff I really want to get off my chest somewhere.

Some time ago my husband's old CSM was killed in Iraq. He was a really great guy. My husband and another man he works with were tasked with going to his house to retrieve any Army issued equipment and then later to supervise the packers and movers. He's having a hard time with it.

My neighbor's 13 year old daughter died last Friday of cancer. She had been diagnosed, treated, and seemed to be doing well. She had finished her last radiation therapy. She was getting ready to go on her Make A Wish trip to Disneyworld, which she picked so her little sister could see Winnie the Pooh. Then she started getting dizzy, they thought it was vertigo. She became more ill, they found the cancer had spread to her brain and spine. She has been slowly declining, she didn't make her trip to Disneyworld, they thought she wouldn't last to Christmas or the New Year. She was a bright, beautiful girl and she'll be missed.

My great aunt died earlier in the week and my father couldn't make it to the funeral. She was as much a mother to him as his own. She lived with my dad's mom in a condo together. My dad feels bad about not being able to make it to the service, about not seeing her recently while she was ill. He had been in the hospital himself recently though. But he still feels bad. Things between him and my mom are strained although they live together I get multiple phone calls with two sides of the same story. As much as I love my mother, I think she's having that break from reality I'd like. She made Christmas a living hell for my sister and now is saying things about their visit there that I know aren't true. Right now I'm the good daughter, that will change next visit to our place...if it hasn't when I disagreed with her about my sister.

My sister who's best friend just had a liver transplant. She went into liver failure and the doctors' don't know why. She is in Chicago. She asked my sister to come and see her. She's out of the hospital, just, and has a three year old. Her husband is a surgical resident (intern?). Anyway my sister and family went to Chicago, have a hotel room and have taken her son, gone grocery shopping for her, sis has gone with her to a support group meeting...nice stuff. My sister called and checked with friend's husband and family before going to visit, even though friend asked. They all thought it was a great idea. My mom on the other hand, after telling my sister yes she should go, called me to say she thinks it was a bad idea for them to go because this was major surgery and she was just sent home. Here comes the disagreement...I told her that she had been invited, she called to make sure it would be okay, they've been helping, and that my sister is very considerate and wouldn't be going expecting her friend to paint Chicago red with her,even if my sister was a partier and she's not. That had my mother on the defensive and back tracking and pretty much ended that conversation. I assume my brother now knows I'm suffering from some mood disorder and am unreasonably snapping at people and that our sister is rudely forcing her company on her friend. Oh well.

To top it all off before my sister left I found out she has a copy of the letter our other brother left for his girlfriend when he committed suicide 5 years ago. I flew to CA and then drove with my parents to AZ to clean and pack his apartment after we were informed. We knew he was suffering from manic-depressive disorder (bipolar) but he had been on meds and seeing a doctor. Things had been a little rough but he didn't want to come live with any of us. At his apartment found evidence of non-prescribed drug use that my parents seem to have blocked out and definite evidence of paranoia. Anyway, no note, no message...nothing. Just a mess. Found out after everything, after I'd gone home, there was a note the police found addressed to the girlfriend and they read it for my mom but would not give her a copy. My mom wouldn't tell us what he said. At the time I really wanted to know. My sister and the girlfriend had met and evidently she sent a copy of the letter to my sister. We had been talking and my sister will send me a copy if I want it. It's been a little more than 5 years now and as much as it's something that will never go away, that we will never get over...I'm not sure I want to read the letter anymore. I obviously don't have to, just not sure what I'm going to do. I kind of want to know, but it won't change anything now. It's not something I'll ever get over, any of us, but just talking about it made it fresh again and I don't know that I'm up to the letter.

Urgh, just another valley between the peaks. Thankfully my husband is safe and not deployed, my kids are safe, happy, and blessedly healthy. I really need to focus on the blessings in my life.

I just love Saturdays...

Sun, 04 Jan 2004 02:38:27 GMT

I love sleeping in, even a little bit. Lazy breakfasts, visiting friends, the Titans winning their game today didn't hurt either. :)

I went shopping with my best friend up from Spring Hill for a visit with her family. Hubby's stayed with the kids at the house while we went to the needlework store and the mall. Have I ever mentioned how much I adore gift certificates? Shopping without spending money, it's a wonderful thing. *BG*

I fed some of my biggest addictions today: new specialty flosses from the needlework store, I'm working on a dragon pattern. A new book from Borders as well as Rod Stewart's As Time Goes By: The Great American Songbook Volume 2. I had the first one already. I just love the classic songs and Rod Stewart's voice. Have to say I really love his duet with Queen Latifah on "As Time Goes By". Ah music to be romantic with the hubby with. I just love music, all kinds. Finally fed my kitchen addiction with a trip to Linens and Things - accessories for the new Espresso machine from my sister. Cups, a frothing pitcher, a small measuring cup for flavored syrups - so much fun. We came home and tried it all out. I am so wired on caffeine now. lol

Had a great time yelling at my tv and cheering on the Titans. I'm terribly hooked on football and am so enjoying our team making it to the playoffs. We have a great team, they play well together. We have some star players, but no one showboats, no large egos, they pull together and play some great games. I just love team sports when the team is just that - a team. :) Lots of good teams this season, lots of great games. I just hate that football season is almost over.

Great day, great friends, great game, great music...I just love Saturdays. :) Hope everyone else is enjoying their Saturday as well.

Happy New Year!!!

Thu, 01 Jan 2004 04:28:06 GMT

Happy New Year! (Almost anyway, lol)

This has been a wonderful year. I've met some amazing new friends online. Found some amazingly talented writers to feed my reading addiction. People I am blown away by as they write purely for our and their enjoyment, receive no money, often get plagued by flamey trolls and plagarists, not to mention odd website restrictions to postings (*coughff.netcough*) I just wanted to say thank you to all of you that entertain us with smart plots, witty dialogue, great characterization, and wicked fixes righting the wrongs in the Buffyverse as well as other fandoms. I have to say I am awed by the talent out there and thankful for the technology that allows me access to so many stories, great stories.

As for resolutions...
1) the treadmill will be used as intended rather than a convenient place to hang clothes and sit my shoes on.

2) learn to belly dance. It looks like fun, would impress the hubby, and helps with the whole exercise and lose the weight thing. Of course this will be a lot more attractive the less belly I have to dance, so no preformances until video footage can't be used as a jello commercial.

3) plan and take a great vacation with my family. We never seem to go anywhere. This year we need to leave the state, and I don't mean the 10 minute drive over the border from KY to TN I can do on post. lol

4) not add to my pet collection. Two dogs and two rats are plenty. lol

5) appreciate my husband more vocally. He's a great guy and I don't think he hears it enough from me.

6) appreciate all the blessings in my life more.

I hope everyone has a blessed, happy, prosperous, and peaceful 2004.

Belated Presents - Yay!

Tue, 30 Dec 2003 01:28:59 GMT

I got a belated Christmas package delivery today. Things from my brother and sister-in-law. Games for the boys and walkie-talkies for them as well. My husband got a copy of "Bruce Almighty" and best, best, best present ever - I got a copy of "Pirates of the Caribbean". I watched it once. The hubby is working late this week...I'm watching it again and again and again. lol

Hope everyone's Monday is treating them well.

Ah Time to Post, Time to Read...no dishes, no cooking, no more thank you notes....

Sun, 28 Dec 2003 17:31:03 GMT

I had a marvelous Christmas, I hope everyone else did as well. The children loved their presents and have been hiding away with their new PS2 and games most of the weekend. I'm sure I'll get worst mother of the year award for not regulating their video game time, but they're having so much fun and they're playing together.

My poor sister had my parents visiting for a week. I spent a lot of time talking to her via IM and phone trying to help her maintain her sanity. I keep trying to get her to understand the other side of the country method of surviving our parents. Keep them in CA, have my sister and family move out her closer to us. The entirety of the US in between keeps visits rare and sanity intact. :)

I was so happy all the packages we sent this year actually arrived in time for Christmas. I'm 33, about time I got it timed correctly. lol

My friend sent me the following email and I enjoyed the witty comments so much I thought I'd share them with all.

Literate Put-downs.....

"I feel so miserable without you, it's almost like having you here." - Stephen Bishop

"He is a self-made man & worships his creator." - John Bright

"He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire." - Winston Churchill

"A modest little person, with much to be modest about." - Winston Churchill

"I've just learned about his illness. Let's hope it's nothing trivial." - Irvin S. Cobb

"I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure." - Clarence Darrow

"He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary." - William Faulkner (about Ernest Hemingway)

"Poor Faulkner. Does he really think big emotions come from big words?" - Ernest Hemingway (about William Faulkner)

"Thank you for sending me a copy of your book; I'll waste no time reading it." - Moses Hadas

"He is not only dull himself, he is the cause of dullness in others." - Samuel Johnson

"He had delusions of adequacy." - Walter Kerr

"There's nothing wrong with you that reincarnation won't cure." - Jack E. Leonard

"He can compress the most words into the smallest idea of any man I know." - Abraham Lincoln

"I've had a perfectly wonderful evening. But this wasn't it." - Groucho Marx

- "He inherited some good instincts from his Quaker forebears, but by diligent hard work, he overcame them." - James Reston (about Richard Nixon)

"In order to avoid being called a flirt, she always yielded easily." - Charles, Count Talleyrand

"He loves nature in spite of what it did to him." - Forrest Tucker

"Why do you sit there looking like an envelope without any address on it?" - Mark Twain

"I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it." - Mark Twain

"His mother should have thrown him away and kept the stork." - Mae West

"Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go." - Oscar Wilde

"He has no enemies, but is intensely disliked by his friends." - Oscar Wilde

"He has Van Gogh's ear for music." - Billy Wilder

"He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts... for support rather than illumination." - Andrew Lang (1844-1912)

Hope some of them made you giggle. Don't you just love clever, witty remarks - when they aren't about you anyway. lol

I hope everyone is enjoying this last weekend of 2003 and that 2004 brings only the best for us all.

Great day today...

Tue, 23 Dec 2003 03:45:23 GMT

I just had the most fun. I drug my husband and boys to see "Return of the King" today. It was FABULOUS! Well worth the price of admission. In fact I'd go see it over and over again. :)

Even with parts of the story edited to keep the length down, it's still 3 hours and 21 minutes long, the movie was very well done. The battle scenes were amazing, the story moved well, outstanding special effects...fabulous all the way through.

My husband said it was good but "ass punishing" - wimp. lol
The boys loved it. Even the kissing parts. lol Really well done.

So nice to have an afternoon away from holiday stress...aside from the crowd at the mall. The theater was remarkably not filled to capacity, yay for us. :)

Anyway, great movie...lol, I'm sure you all got that by now.

Hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season. I think I'm going to take a bath with candles and christmas carols. For all those in CA hope the earthquake didn't affect you all.

Meri :)

Buffy Pairings

Sun, 21 Dec 2003 16:16:43 GMT

I have been sitting here at my computer scanning through my favorites, reading various stories here and there. I find it's funny that I have definite ideas about what I'd like to see on AtS, now that Buffy's finished but am much more open in my FanFiction choices.

On the show, I am dying to see a Buffy/Angel reunion. Permanent, happy ever after, no more curse, no more Cordy, Eve, and let Spike go to the afterlife. (I used to really dislike Spike but I ended up liking the friendship and support he was giving Buffy in season 7. Lord knows she needed it from someone.) Anyway, as I said definite B/A shipper for the series. I also happen to love B/A stories, go figure huh? lol There are some fabulous Buffy/Angel writers out there - a few of whom I'm lucky to have on my friends list. :)

As much as I seek out good B/A fics, I have found I'll read just about any well written Buffy pairing. I know this really squicks some people but I enjoy the Buffy/Giles pairings. (Well more before the end of season 7.) I also like Buffy/Oz, Buffy/Doyle, Buffy/Lindsey -not the biggest fan of Buffy/Xander (unless it's X from Gia's "The Xander Zone") although I have found a couple post-season 7 stories that are well done. Mainly I want to beat Xander Harris about the head and shoulders for all the flak he gave Buffy about her love life, don't even get me started on Dawn, lol. Can't really handle Buffy/Spike either, unless it's completely AU...even then it's touch and go. I've found I like stories where they're friends though. Can't at all stomach Buffy/Riley - urgh, what was Joss thinking?

I have found I really am enjoying Buffy crossover pairing stories more and more. I love, love, love Gia's Buffy/Rock stories. YUM! I think the mental visual of the huge, dark, hunky, masculinity of the Rock next to the dainty, petite, feminine Buffy is fabulous. As I said before I really like the Buffy/X pairing as well, for as long as it lasts now that Angel seems to have bought a clue. lol

I like Buffy with Methos from Highlander, although there really aren't anywhere near enough good stories involving them. I also like her with Duncan, but I really haven't seen any of that pairing. Another pairing I'd love to see (done well) is Buffy/Aragorn. I like the Buffy/Legolas stories but I see so many parallels between Buffy and Aragorn, I'd love to see that handled well.Also enjoy Buffy with what I know many consider odd matches: Severus Snape (I like Alan Rickman), Remus Lupin, Jack or Daniel from Stargate, Wolverine (although I can now only picture Wolverine as played by Hugh Jackman - like that's a tragedy, lol. Dear god Hugh Jackman is incredible. And can he sing? Watched him in Oklahoma! - yep he sings in a way to put tingles down my spine) anyway, lol...I would love to see Buffy with Jack Sparrow...(Johnny Depp, double yum and much drool). While it's difficult to think of Buffy/HP together, as I see him as so young still. I have read some great Buffy/Harry pairings, the best being Lissette's "Twist of Fate" series on ff.net.

I think I lost track of where I was intending to go with this while I was daydreaming and drooling, thank heavens the husband is running errands - I have time to dry the keyboard. ;) Although after thoughts of Aragorn, Cpt. Jack, Angel, the Rock, X, and the list goes on, lol, I may just tackle the hubby as soon as he enters the door. I can give my children one of their video game Christmas presents early and they'll disappear for at least an hour. ;)

Anyway, what I was getting around to asking for all who read and write ff - who do you enjoy Buffy being paired with in and out of canon? Any pairings that you haven't seen written that you'd like to see?

Babysitting...

Sat, 20 Dec 2003 21:14:52 GMT

My best friend's husband is deployed and her mother is visiting. The mother wanted to go shopping today for Christmas, not easy to do with four children in tow. I volunteered to babysit. I now have 7 children in my house: my three boys, her two boys and two girls. Ages range from 6-11. They are currently glutted on popcorn, chocolate chip cookies, soda and are quietly watching "Pirates of the Carribbean". Never too young to introduce the girls to the glories of Johnny Depp, lol. The boys are dying to be pirates and I'm not sure the girls would mind the pirate life either. They are planning to play pirates after the movie and are watching and plotting all the while. I really need to get my video camera fixed. I'm not sure I'll get too many more moments like this from my 11 year old.

Survived the host of school parties, only dropped one thing in the many trips from house to car to school. On the down side it was a crockpot full of macaroni and cheese for my youngest son's party. On the upside I did it in my driveway so I had a chance to clean up before heading to the store. Next time I think I'll use less cheese it would have been easier to clean up I think. :)

Received a package from my grandmother in CO yesterday. She used UPS. Inside the box was one smaller box...for my parents, who live in CA. I was on the phone with my brother-in-law, he received a box from same grandma...inside a gift for my brother and sister-in-law. Called my folks, they received our gift. Nothing like one more trip to the post office. That's what I get for exulting in thinking I was finished with my package mailings. lol

I am so glad we don't have to wake up early on Monday morning. They best part of school holidays. :) Hope everyone is having a great day.

Christmas partied out and still a week to go...

Thu, 18 Dec 2003 23:05:24 GMT

I can't believe how many holiday events we've already attended this year. My children have had more holiday activities...why they bothered to actually have school this week is beyond me. We've made gingerbread houses, decorations, presents for parents (I get to act surprised, lol), decorated cookies, heard the school chorus and the two middle school bands (bless their poorly tuned hearts),had enough sugary snacks to sink a fleet of diabetics, and still have final class parties tomorrow. Karaoke Christmas carols and snacks in one class, a potluck, game and movie day in another, and one class party and a field trip for my middle schooler. I know this sounds so old, but I don't remember having this many parties when I was in school. lol At least the Christmas shopping is done. Now if I could only finish my Christmas cards. Some day...maybe next year?

I did manage to take my final, pass it, and end up with an A in my Algebra class. YAY for me, no more advanced math. Well no more advanced than the household budget and balancing the checkbook. Loved the teacher, thankfully she made it much easier to grasp the subject.

I am probably going to hell, but I managed to get revenge on my sister-in-law this year for Christmas. Last year she gave my children a chemistry set, a let's play with electricity set (can't remember it's real name as I said let's not play with electricity, thanks anyway), and a real detective kit that came with real fingerprint powder. Just in case anyone's curious, fingerprint powder is remarkably difficult to get out of light colored carpet. This year she and my brother moved into and began remodeling a new home. They have a beautiful (in the pics anyway) new buff colored carpet and a 2 and a half year old. He's getting finger paints, an easel, a guess what Elmo, and a percussion set...cymbols, maracas, bongos, castanets. For his birthday I'm sending lots and lots of play dough. Not that I carry a grudge or anything; but, I have had 11 Christmases and more children's birthdays with some of the most obnoxious presents ever. It's so nice to get a chance to give back. lol

I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season. I am happily looking forward to a few days with nothing scheduled before Christmas arrives.

Baby It's Cold Outside

Thu, 11 Dec 2003 01:19:53 GMT

Snow flurries I love, I just wish they didn't come with 33 degree weather and windchills in the 20's. I'm perfectly happy to curl up inside with my faux-mink blanket (thanks to the hubby *g*) and a cup of English Toffee instant cappuccino. My kids are perfectly happy seeing how many times they can get me to yell close the door as they run out on the patio to look at the snowflakes yet again. They are praying hard for a snow day, nothing's sticking yet though. I have decided I have a large evil streak, I'm having entirely too much fun telling them sorry, they have to go to school. Oh well, something for them to tell their therapists later. I feel it's my duty as a mother to give them something to complain about. ;)

I am really enjoying the Christmas season this year. I think because the hubby is home, often the Army has him someplace else. I know the enjoyment isn't from having everything done, because boy am I behind. I haven't even bought Christmas cards this year, let alone addressed and mailed them. I still have shopping to do. Not to mention trips to the post office to send everything. One of these years I'll get organized and not run around like a chicken with it's head cut off. Of course I'll probably drop dead from shock or the world will end. I'm fairly certain having everything done for Christmas in a timely manner is a sign of the apocolypse. lol

I am off to bake gingerbread house pieces for the children to decorate later. I love the smell. (I found Pumpkin Spice scented candles by Party Lite this year...yum. My house smells like I am the super baking mom all the time now. My children and husband only wish. lol)

First Entry in LJ

Wed, 10 Dec 2003 03:32:11 GMT

My first entry in the LJ world. Thank you to Gia for the code. :) I love her stories and have more fun e-mailing her feedback and then responses to her replies. Thanks again.

I've returned to college to finish up my BS in Early Childhood Education. I was a little dismayed to find out which classes wouldn't transfer and have found myself in a college algebra class. While I am pleased to find I'm doing well and only have to get through my final on Saturday, I hate retaking a class I know I will never, ever use. On that note though, I have to finish my "practice" final for class tomorrow. I like that idea, never had a practice final before. Yikes...soon I'll be starting sentences with, back in my day.... :)