Our new addition....

David and I have a new addition to our family due to the cruelty of someone out there.... yesterday I came home from work to find a severly matted half starved kitty on my doorstep. This poor little creature had been dumped on our street so this moring I took him tothe vet and had him checked out and cleaned up. unfortunately, they had to shave his long beautiful hair because it was so matted, but he feels so much better. When his hair grows back out it will be about 3" long and he will look a lot like my Merlyn. You can't tell from the picture but he has beautiful pale blue eyes just like the love of my life.

Meet Alistar Blue.....

I'll post more pictures of him in a few months, when he's less naked.

A Look at the Headlines of the Future....

More fun forwards:

Ozone created by electric cars now killing millions in the seventh largest country in the world, Mexifornia, formerly known as California.


White minorities still trying to have English recognized as Mexifornia's third language.

Spotted Owl plague threatens northwestern United States crops and livestock.

Baby conceived naturally! Scientists stumped.

Couple petitions court to reinstate heterosexual marriage.

Iran still closed off; physicists estimate it will take at least 10 more years before radioactivity decreases to safe levels.

France pleads for global help after being taken over by Jamaica . No other country comes forward to help the beleaguered nation!

Castro finally dies at age 112; Cuban cigars can now be imported legally, but President Chelsea Clinton has banned all smoking..

George Z. Bush says he will run for President in 2036.

Postal Service raises price of first class stamp to $17.89 and reduces mail delivery to Wednesdays only..

85-year $75.8 billion study: Diet and exercise is the key to weight loss.

Average weight of Americans drops to 250 lbs.

Global cooling blamed for citrus crop failure for third consecutive year in Mexifornia and Floruba.

Japanese scientists have created a camera with such a fast shutter speed they now can photograph a woman with her mouth shut.

Abortion clinics now available in every High School in United States ..

Senate still blocking drilling in ANWR even though gas is selling for 4532 Pesos per liter and gas stations are only open on Tuesdays and Fridays..

Massachusetts executes last remaining conservative.

Supreme Court rules punishment of criminals violates their civil rights.

Average height of NBA players is now nine feet seven inches with only 3 illegitimate children.

New federal law requires that all nail clippers, screwdrivers, fly swatters and rolled-up newspapers must be registered by January 2030..


IRS sets lowest tax rate at 75 percent..

Floruba voters still having trouble with voting machines.

Book Reviews

The following books were all provided by the authors.

Langata Rules: Pirates at Lat 10 by Ken Miller
When one thinks about a story about pirates, we generally envision the historic swashbuckling characters and adventures. Even though there is the occasional hadline, we don't think of igh seas pirates as a modern problem, yet it is. In Langata Rules, Ken Miller brings to life the modern day pirate tale. His story is a fast paced action pact story that evolves as it progresses. The author does a good job of showing all sides of the picture, including the circumstances that produce the pirates that terrorize the seas. Miller also gives a view of the political climate in Africa and how business and politics are impacted by pirates and how they all impact each other creating an endless cycle.  Starting out, there are numerous characters, which can be confusing for some readers, but if pirates and political intrigue interest you, stick with it. A well written book that will appeal to many, although it is geared more toward a male audience. 3.5 out of five stars.

Web of Deceit by Darlene Cox
Web of Deceit is the story of Peter Brock and how he goes through life manipulating others until things begin to unravel. Cox has assembled and interesting cast of characters in this murder mystery/crime thriller. She weaves a tale of greed and corruption with multiple characters, flashbacks and twists. While I found the story well written and easy to read, I can't say that I liked any of the characters. Everyone seemed to have deceitful and unlikable qualities. For me this made it hard to care about what happened to any of them. Where Cox did draw me in was with the complexity of the plot. I liked the fact that there are  multiple murders as well as other crimes and just when you think you have it all figured out, she surprises you. 3.5 out of five stars.

Universal Truths

Words of wisdom from a forwarded email:

1. I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.


2. Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.

3. I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.

4. There is a great need for a sarcasm font.

5. How the heck are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

6. Was learning cursive really necessary?

7. MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. I'm pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

8. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

9. I can't remember the last time I wasn't kind of tired.

10. Bad decisions make good stories!

11. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.

12. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blu Ray? I don't want to have to restart my collection...again..

13. I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten-page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.

14. "Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this - ever.

15. I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Dang it!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What did you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?

16. I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.

17. I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

18. I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

19. I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Budweiser than Kay.

20. I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.

21. Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what the heck was going on when I first saw it.

22. I would rather try to carry 10 plastic bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.

23. The only time I look forward to a red light is when I'm trying to finish a text.

24. I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

25. How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear or understand a word they said

26. I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars team up to prevent a jerk from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers and sisters!

27. Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty and you can wear them forever.

28. Is it just me or do high school kids get dumber and dumber every year?

29. There's no worse feeling than the millisecond you're sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.

30. As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what the mode of transportation, I hate cyclists.

31. Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what times it is.

32. Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, finding their cell phone, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey- but I'd bet my behind everyone can find and push the snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time, every time!

Latest Update.....

For those who read Update Part 2 last week... you know I recently found my soulmate. Well he is now officially my future husband as well. For anyone out there that has ever said "never" or "I'm done with romance" or "I'm happy being alone"... yep not to long ago that was me and now I'm blissfully eating those words, so never say never.

In other news... at the risk of making others annoyed with my new found bliss.... it is so awesome to work for a great company with wonderful people. Not that I didn't like the people (the majority of them were great) I worked with at my last job, it's just that things had gotten a bit unpredictable for the last 8 months or so of working there. It's nice to be at a place where I know what is expected and there is consistancy. My wish for the co-workers I left behind at the last job is that things will get back to the way they were before. For those of you ot there who are still looking or who feel stuck, hang in there, the right opportunity will find you when you least expect it...

Update Part 2- The soul mate principle....

When you bring up the subject of soul mates you get mixed responses. Many people don't believe in them and many who do only think of soul mates in terms of a romantic partner. The concept of soul means different things to different people depending on where and how they were raised, cultural and religious influences. I believe that the soul takes many journeys and that it often comes back to “Earth” in different lifetimes. I believe that certain souls are destined to be connected and that when one lifetime ends it is only a matter of time before they find their way back to each other in subsequent lives. I believe that we don't have just one soul mate. I believe we have many and that each serves a certain purpose on our journey. You know that connection you feel when you meet a certain person and you feel like you have known them forever, you feel an instant unexplainable bond even if you seem to have nothing in common at first. I believe this is our souls recognizing each other. I have been lucky to find several of my soul mates... many years ago, a little girl who I am supposed to watch over as she goes through life; just last fall, a sister, with whom the connection goes beyond blood and time....
Now do I believe in a romantic soul mate? Well if you had asked my formerly jaded and guarded self at the beginning of the year, I might have told you... not so much. In the matters of romantic love, I have never had the best of luck. Don't get me wrong, my often disastrous choices did serve a purpose in my life. After the last one, I decided to try online dating. Those of you who have tried it... you know. It is nothing like the warm fuzzy commercials they show on tv. I'm sure it is “interesting for both sexes... but for women, we get bombarded with pervs, psychos, stalkers, scammers, weirdos and desperate men. After many disastrous and comical “dates” I was even going to write a satirical book about the experiences but life got busy as it often does, I took a sabbatical from men and dating then before I knew it the book just wasn't me anymore and I was done with dating finding, the mythical “one”. In case you are wondering where this is going.... never say say never.... it will come back to bite you. Spring this year brought a mischievous current in it's winds this year. Before all the drama of late April begin... boredom and a little curiosity prompted me to once again venture onto an online dating site. A dear friend and fellow singleton, had mentioned a free online dating site that he at one point asked my opinion on (I have tried most of them)... so I decided what the heck, it's not like I'm going to find anyone “normal” much less compatible but I had some time to kill so why not check it out. What I found was actually a decent site, especially for a free one. Oh there were the usual suspects lurking but as I finished loading up my profile and scanning the “available” prospects I happened upon a rather intriguing profile. Don't get me wrong, it's not that there weren't many interesting profiles to choose from but this one.... had something different about it. It was relatively simple but had one line that spoke to me... so I took a chance and sent a little note. Hmmm he responded but seemed as equally guarded as I was so wasn't sure that was really going to go anywhere. Still... although others vied for my attention, his messages were the ones I looked every time I logged on. Then just when we finally started getting to know each other and communicating more, wouldn't you know I go and get sick, work/life gets complicated.... not the best way to start a romance, if that was really where that was even headed. I mean come on, this was an online guy, nothing about him was probably even real, they rarely are, and if they are once you meet you almost wish they would crawl back in the hole they came out of. Ok, that was mean, but seriously I've dated those creatures, not fun. Still, this one was different and so we continued to let the connection develop from our safe little distance until finally we decided to be brave and meet in person. Yes, I did jokingly warn him I had mace and a stun gun... and on the big day I did have running shoes on. But as I sit here typing this while grinning like some silly school girl, I can tell you that it turns out, he wasn't a troll, far from it... in fact there really are a few princes left in the world and romantic soul mates do exist...

So, dear readers... there has been another reason for my absence from the blog world... in the midst of life's little challenges of late I have been kept busy being swept off my feet by my gentle giant. At the risk of sounding like one of those sappy commercials it truly is possible to find “the one” on an online dating site... seems the fates work in mysterious ways....

Update

Just wanted to take a moment to give all my loyal followers and friends a quick update. I have only posted a few times since the end of April. In the middle of a bacterial infection I found out out my job was being downsized and I was losing my insurance. Those of you who know me well, know that put me in panic and action mode, which meant I wasn't going to have time for reviewing and blogging. I have spent a lot of the past month planning and job hunting while still giving my current albiet smaller job 100%. I also had a new preoccupation, which I will expand on later. I decided to write this post , one as an update but also as a note of encouragement for those going through similar situations in these tough economic times.


Luckily, before 2010 began I knew it was going to be a year for new things and good things. While I could look at the situation with the job and the bad timing of finding out things were going to be a little topsy turvy with despair, (ok, to be honest, I had a few moments of that) I choose to look at it as an opportunity to pursue something new and challenging. I didn't wait around and even though still under the weather, threw myself into job hunting. It paid off because this week I will be starting a challenging new job with a fabulous new company with great people, and that is closer to home. The other great thing is that the hours are almost the same as the job I've been at for the past several years. In this economy and with so many people unemployed, I recognize what a blessing this is and I hope it gives those out there still searching a little hope. Sometimes it can be as simple as keeping a positive attitude even when it's hard.

All that being said, I can't take all the credit for being able to stay positive all on my own. I have wonderful family and great friends who are there with love, encouragement, support and laughter. I know from past experience how easy it can be to shut down and shut people out when you feel like the world is closing in, but we all have to remember, that for the ones who love us, that's when they want to be there for us the most. And as we get older and hopefully wiser, we realise by letting them be there we gain the strength to face anything.

Now my lack of bloggy time hasn't been completely devoted to dealing with illness and job drama, there has also been a very surprising and wonderful new development in my life that I never saw coming.... something that deserves a post all on it's own so I will save that for later. And as this week is filled with finishing a notice at one job, starting a new one and a few other wonderful things, it may take me another week or so to get back to a regular posting schedule. I have reviews of some fabulous books and a movie or two coming, one maybe two new Ember posts on the way and a few other random things up my sleeve. Thank you all for hanging in there with me.