Just some notes …

Dear Dwight,

Your friends love you, and are standing with you.  This too shall pass, and we’ll be beside you the whole way.  *hug*

 

Dear Leonie,

Once again dear, I thank you from the bottom of my heart!  The “logo” you have made for me is totally awesome!  I love my “Tigyress”!! 

Peter, Peter …

I was a little surprised when I first stumbled across Peter.  He is such a nice man, a real gentleman, and so very gallant.  He’s the kind of man who will kiss the back of a lady’s hand when he meets her, and that’s pretty rare now-a-days!  Then I found out Peter’s a vampire.  Hard to believe that vampires exist in this day and age, but there you have it. 

So I read Peter’s story and was mesmerized.  This poor man has been through hell and back!  I don’t want to get too personal here, and really, he’s been pretty open in his memoirs so I’ll let him tell his story.  He’s been more open than I will be if I ever write mine.  Recently Peter’s found a lady-love and right away I noticed a distinct and immediate change in him.  It sounds strange, but Peter actually seems happy!  I say strange because happiness and vampirism don’t seem like they would mix very well but in Peter’s case, it fits quite handsomely.  His beloved is a vampire too so it seems to be a perfect match.  And she is so sweet!  Look what she made me!  Isn’t it awesome?!  I know, I know, one doesn’t naturally think “sweet” when one thinks vampire, but I’ve come to see a new side to the whole thing, and I’m learning to set aside my previous notions.  In the past, I’d read a lot of vampiric lore and legend and I’m learning that not all of it was true.  For instance, vampires don’t turn into bats, and they can’t fly.  And they aren’t afraid of garlic either. 

And now that I’m thinking about it, vampires could serve a very useful purpose in society if we let them.  How about death by vampire instead of lethal injection, for the criminals on death row?  And there’s a guy in the middle east somewhere, named bin-Laden, that I wouldn’t mind being found by a vampire.  Just sayin’. 

Anyway, why don’t you stop by and visit Peter’s and Celeste’s pages?  They each have a site on WP here, although they’ve only recently joined so you might want to check out their DA pages as well.  And if you don’t have a DA account (and you don’t necessarily need one, only for pages marked mature) you can get one at DeviantArt.  It’s free.    But take a moment and check out the work of the vampire poet/writer – you’ll be pleasantly surprised – and his lady.  She’s a stunning beauty so be prepared to lose your heart.  They won’t bite.  *cough*    

On DeviantArt:  PeterDawes and Obsidian-Siren

On WordPress:  from the poet’s pen and Obsidian Siren’s Weblog

The Prologue to Peter’s story can be found here on WordPress and you will find more chapters over on his DA page.  Just click the link for his gallery on his main page, or better yet, click right here.  I have been honored to assist him on his memoirs and I can assure you, his story is a fascinating one! 

I’d like to leave off with a poem my husband wrote a couple of months ago, inspired by Peter. 

Peter, Peter,
Platelet eater,
Had a girl but couldn’t keep her.
It drove him mad,
Peter turned bad,
and during the day was a sleeper.

But by starlight,
under pale moonlight,
Peter is quite the slayer;
And with eloquent word,
his broken heart to be heard,
he reveals his poetic layer.

Peter is my dear friend,
true and loyal to the end,
and know that you be well advised;
to beware how you act,
and deal with him in tact,
or on your platelets he may imbibe.

A Personality Test

About a month ago, I took this personality test.  Yes, I was testing to see if I had one, because we all know how suspect that is!    Seriously though, I took this test, or one similar, about 15 years ago also.  I don’t quite recall what I scored way back then, but I don’t think it was exactly the same as I score now.  Very close, but not quite the same.  I’m not the same person I was 15 years ago either.  I suspect people would get different results if they took the test at different times during the same day.  Moods change, perceptions change – heck, missing lunch or not getting enough sleep could alter your results on any given day!  Here’s the link if you want to take the test too.  Personality Test  This link is just a general description of the test and the different personality types.  Myers-Briggs Type Indicator 

MY Results:  The MASTERmind! Mwuhahahahahaha!   and  ISTJ

I took these about a month apart.  Actually, I retook the test because after I took it the first time, I forgot that I’d taken a snapshot of my results.  I thought I had emailed myself the results so I spent 20 minutes looking through my email folders.  Yeah, not a very “mastermindful” moment.  Sigh.  Anyway, here’s my results.    What type are you? 

Links

Great info on all the the types!

Excellent explanation of what the letters mean

Descriptions of the various personality types

Career information based on your type

A Couple of Sites

I wanted to ask you a question … do any of you Twitter?  I’m really curious about it and I’d like to know more.  I know that WordPress has a Twitter theme for blogs that people can use, and I also know that FireFox has several add-ons for Twitter.  So … what do you do with Twitter?  Because if it’s cool, I want it. 

Also, I wanted to tell you about a web site I found.  It’s called Stixy.  It’s really cool – it’s sort of like having your refrigerator on the web.  You know how you have all kinds of notes, messages, and pictures on your fridge?  Well, you can do that on Stixy.  You can upload pretty much any kind of file you want – picture, text, music, and probably movies too (I haven’t done that one), arrange it any way you want, and invite whoever you want to check it out.  So you can use it as a meeting room for business stuff, make another Stixy board for friends so you can keep in touch, share your favorite songs with them, show them the latest pictures of your kids without having to email them, post a copy of the story you’re working on to get their feedback – it’s pretty limitless.  Best of all, it’s FREE!     It’s a virtual bulletin board.  Why don’t you check it out and tell me what you think?  I’d love to hear your thoughts on it.

Politics and Religion

It’s Sunday.  So I thought this little quiz might be good today.   

Christian Denomination Selector

If that doesn’t interest you, how about something political? 

2008 Presidential Candidate Selector

Compare the Candidates

There, I’ve done it!  I’ve gone and mixed religion and politics!  Woo! 

For other fun quizzes, try this site, SelectSmart,

and have a great finish to your weekend!

I’m a Yankee!

Know what’s funniest about this one?  I was actually born in CA.  And it’s not cool enough for me.  :p

which state should you live in? Your Result: Your most deff the Yankee type   You’ve never enjoyed a bowl of grits or been to a nascar game have you? Perhaps New Hampshire is the place for you. Maybe head out west to Californa (not sure if you are cool enough to pull that one off tho.)
Yee Haw
which state should you live in? Create MySpace Quizzes

I have a new card!

A friend of mine over on DeviantArt has gotten into the hobby of making stamps and pictures for people to post on their DA accounts.  She made a Craig Ferguson stamp for me that I put up on my “Meet Vanessa” page.  But only people with paid subscriptions can post them – lowly members like me who only use the free accounts can’t.  I only got a DA account in the first place so I could harass my husband over there too – let’s face it – artist I’m NOT.  I still can’t quite get the hang of stick people!  And I’m not a writer, but I do love to read, and there are a lot of great writers and artists over there so I can get my fill.    I’ve met some really great folks over there and I’d encourage you to pop over sometime and just browse around. 

So anyway, I got an email a couple nights ago, and Leonie is still making stamps and cards for people, and she made one for me too!  Isn’t that just the sweetest thing?  And isn’t this the most bad-ass card you’ve ever seen???  See, over on DA I’m known as MrsDarcKnyt, so the whole Batman and Dark Knight thing is a pretty big deal.  I am so in love with this card!  I bet my husband will want one too!  Thank you Leonie!  You rock!  In stereo! 

Birthdays and Baby Girls

She finally decided to make her fashionably late appearance at the party – about a week or so past due.  It was early on a Sunday morning and I was at my desk playing solitaire since I couldn’t really sleep.  The pains started – again, just like they had been for the previous week.  But this time, I knew.  I went to draw a bath and that woke up my husband, who came out of the bedroom and asked, “Is this it?” 

“Yes, this is it.” 

I eased into that tub and didn’t move.  It was a painful 90 minutes but at the end of it I had a beautiful baby girl.  She was just the balm my sorrowing mommy-heart needed, a 10lb 22” blessing.  She was God smiling at me and I held her to me for all I was worth, like she was the life-line and not I. 

We have something special, her and I – just like my son and daddy have something unique between them.  She’s my girl, my precious baby-one.  And now she’s 3 and it’s hard to believe the baby years are over.  There’s something about 3 that kind of makes a mommy sad in a way.  You hold onto and cherish the baby times, and while they’re still 2, they’re still somehow the baby.  But not at 3.  Three, they’re little kids and putting their baby ways to bed.  The nursing is over, and diapers will be soon too.  The funny speech starts giving way to more articulation, the awkward running becomes more graceful.  Things like forks and spoons are more manageable and it seems like everything is something they “can do it by myself!” 

It’s a growing, a separating from mommy, a start on the road to independence.  It is the beginning of the letting go, one breath at a time.  And as painful as it is to watch, it’s just as much, if not more-so, joyful to behold.  Three is hard for mommy though, especially the very last 3.  Everything is harder when it’s the very last one.  As though having your heart walk around outside your body was easy! 

These days, she will often run to cuddle with me, snuggle her curly head into my shoulder and sigh, “You’re my best friend mommy!”  And I squeeze her tight and tell her she’s my best friend too.  She’s really more than that though.  She’s my heart, my joy, and my peace, all rolled into one.  And today she turns 3.

Happy Birthday princess!!   

Watermelon – it’s what’s for dessert!

Ah, summertime!  Potato salads, cold fried chicken, watermelon … know what I read about watermelon?  Check this out!  Watermelon Said to Have ‘Viagra-Like’ Effects  Well I knew it was popular but I had no idea why!  I love articles that make me chuckle!  Do you think the companies that make those commercials will change their scripts to now say, “Eat watermelon!  No side effects like you can get with our pills!”  Yeah, I didn’t think so either. 

I wonder if it matters whether or not it’s seedless or seeded watermelon?  I hate seedless watermelon, it’s not nearly as sweet as the ordinary variety.  And did you hear about the girl who was stung by a scorpion while picking through a watermelon bin?  *Shudder*  That’s almost as bad as tarantulas in the bananas!  Yikes!  That was sort of a big thing when I was a little girl – you always heard about someone who knew someone who had a tarantula crawl up their arm while picking through the banana bin at the grocery store.  I know it’s really uncommon now, but I still kind of give the banana bin a fairly wide berth.  And somehow I got from Viagra to tarantulas.  Go figure! 

Anyway, a short one from me today – I have an important day tomorrow and I need to make a cake.   

Incest? So what!

That’s what the dad said anyway.  I kid you not!  Just read it here! –>> Australian Father, Daughter Reveal Sexual Relationship That Led to Birth of Two Children  I was more than a little sickened by his attitude.  Does it matter that his daughter was a “consenting adult” when they began their sexual relationship?  To that I say, “So what!”  It’s just wrong – in so many ways, wrong!  And after their first child died from – guess! – congenital birth defects (big surprise!) they went on to have another child!  And how sick do you have to be to end your marriage so you can have sex with your parent/child? 

And their poor child!  When friends come over to play, will he/she say, “This is my mom-sis, and that’s my dad-grandpa”?  After their first child died from birth defects, do you think they gave any consideration to maybe preventing the possible birth of another child so it wouldn’t be born with birth defects too?  Apparently not!  Apparently just having sex with each other was of prime importance – the hell with birth defects!  The hell with psychologically scarring our child for life!  The hell with creating an impossibly awkweird social situation for our child!  We just wanna have sex and so what!

And they want “respect and understanding”?  Did they have any for the potential offspring they might have?  Did they have any for other family members who might be horrified by their behavior?  Did they have any for the law?  I just luuuuuve the father’s statement to the host of the talk show they were on: “I knew it was illegal.  Of course, I knew it was illegal but you know, so what." 

Respect and understanding?  Sure dude, that’s what folks usually give people who deliberately break the law, without regard to the consequences.  I got your respect and understanding, right here. 

To be or not to be … an idiot!

As we were returning home from some errands this weekend, my husband said, “Why are we surrounded by idiots?”  He was frustrated, because he was trying to turn left through an intersection, and the oncoming driver couldn’t decide if he was going to race through the light or not, causing us to have to wait until the light turned red, and oncoming driver decided to stop after all. 

“Maybe that’s their payback, their dividend,” I replied to my husband. 

“What do you mean?”

“Well, that they know they drive us crazy, and that’s how they get their fun.”

He laughed then, and I was reminded of a silly little blurb I’d seen a few weeks ago over on Blame it on the Voices, that declares, “Working with idiots can kill you!”  I didn’t know where the article came from, but it cracked me up.  I did a little bit of research – you know me – and I found that the “article” in question was never an article at all.  It was a joke from a pretend “news source,” according to Snopes. 

Joke or not, I do know this – being surrounded by idiots is indeed stressful.  Hang with one long enough, and they’ll bring you down to their level.  It’s impossible to lift them up to yours – they simply aren’t capable.  I know this from personal experience.  And I think they do get a thrill from driving the rest of society crazy.  They know they’ll never be as smart, so they get their revenge by being as idiotic as possible.  How powerful they must feel, leaving the intelligent person blinking in speechlessness at their stupidity!  “You think you’re so smart, but I fooled you!”  I’ve actually heard an idiot say this. 

So, while the article may have been a joke, I think there’s a lot of truth to it.  I’ve had to live on antacids because of the idiot I once had in my life!  I see how frustrated my husband gets because of idiots he deals with on the train and in traffic.  I worry he’s going to have a heart attack because of the stress.  I have friends who are the same way as us, daily trying to cope with the aggravation that idiots cause. 

To you who are also dealing with that kind of stress, vent here and relieve some of it!  And if you are an idiot – just stop!  For the love of God, please just stop!

May I have your attention please?

I wanted to take a moment and plug someone.  No, not plug like bullets!  Plug like promote!  Many of you are aware that my husband has a blog of his own.  But how many of you know he’s a writer too?  And not just any ordinary writer, but a horror writer.  You should know that horror is not my genre, but I’ve really loved everything he’s written.  And not just because he’s my husband, but because the stories are amazing.  It’s not often that a writer can make me actually laugh until I cry, or just cry because I loved the story that much – but he does.  If you like horror stories, and if you like funny stories, then my husband’s work is the stuff for you! 

Recently I convinced him to put all his fiction work onto its own blog, to keep it separate from his day-to-day blogging.  I thought it deserved a place of it’s own to shine.  You can find it by clicking right here. 

Start with his Ghost Hunters story.  Right from the start I was enamored with the characters and then I was caught up in the mystery.  I was laughing one minute, then gasping the next.  It’s a major thrill ride!  Right now, he’s working on the sequel, called Witch Hunt. 

He’s written a series of what he calls Childhood Memoirs.  I call them "Rockwell with a Stephen King twist."  They’re going to leave you laughing, despite the dark undertones.  If you’ve ever felt awkward as a kid, these are the memoirs for you!

Darc also has a collection of short stories, mostly written for some friends of his, based on their interests.  If you like photography, then you’ll love Picture This and Say Cheese.  Love the ocean?  Then you’ll never forget Remember Me.  If you’re a curious writer type, pack a picnic lunch and head over to The Lake.  Enjoy fishing and boating?  Then you’re primed for Getting Away From It All.  There’s even a short piece of vampire fiction called My Childhood Friend. 

So whatever you’re looking for, he’s probably written about it.  Go on, check it out!  It’s a lazy Sunday – read something!

How did they know?

In honor of National Ice Cream Month (July), and National Ice Cream Day (tomorrow). 

 

You Are A Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Girl

Creative. Expressive. Unique.

What Flavor Ice Cream Girl Are You?

Chicago Still Sucks

Special thanks to a commenter on my Why I Think Chicago Sucks post, who also comments over on my Anti-Chicago bud JR’s blog.  I found the links that RealR had provided, talking about how the crime in Chicago is so bad, the Governor wants to call in the National Guard.   And here you thought we were all just a bunch of paranoid wimps scared of the big, bad, city!  You should check out a video that JR found, showing how one family on vacation to Chicago got a rude awakening one evening when a .45 bullet whizzed through their room and into the room next door.  And this was in the heart of the tourist area, not some slum.  Statistically, crime is up in Chicago – and all those who want to berate us for criticizing the city can’t argue with those facts. 

Nat’l Guard choppers to fight crime in Chicago 

Gov. says Guard, state police may help in Chicago  

Ill. Gov: Chicago May Get Troopers, National Guard

That being said, you may have read my recent post about a little troll problem I had over on my Chicago Sucks post.  He showed up in May, then left after mild type-lashing, only to return about a week ago.  He was respectful and fairly courteous to me personally, but started lashing out against my commenters.  Well.  We can’t have that!  Eventually I asked him to leave and pointed him to WordPress where he could make his own blog and love on Chicago and hate on us all he wanted.  Know what?  He took me up on it, and then invited me over to his blog!  In the process of outing himself though, he’s lost a lot of his credibility, in terms of bashing us Chicago non-lovers.  He’s not been all around the country, as he claimed.  He’s never visited those places he claimed were inferior to Chicago.  He’s a 20/21 year old college student (big surprise!) who moved to Chicagoland just 5 years ago from Indiana and at present, just comes back during summer breaks.  But, he loves Chicago.  I say, “Give it time.”  I used to like Chicago too.  But I was struck with the level of character it took for him to reveal himself in such a way, and invite me over to see.  Most trolls don’t do that – they insult and run.  Franktown owned up to his “trollness” and I admit, I kind of feel like chucking him on the shoulder and saying, “Good one, kid!  You stepped up!”  There’s hope for him after all!

So with that in mind, I’d like to ask you to step on over to my friend JR’s blog, ChicagoWithdrawal.  He’s a nice young man, and he’s not just about Chicago.  He’s also got some interesting dietary, musical, and political thoughts too. 

And while you’re at it, say hello to Franktown too.  He’s new to the blogosphere – in terms of having his own place.  He made a big post asking me for a truce, and I have agreed.  And I’d kind of like him to see that just because we don’t like a lot of the crap that goes on in Chicago and its surroundings, doesn’t mean we’re jerks.  We can be friendly.  Sure we can! 

Define “Cuss”

Okay, I’m not sure if this is good news or bad.  So I cuss less than 27% of other blogs.  Does that mean I cuss 73% more than others?  Am I that foul-mouthed?  Really?  Because I didn’t think I cussed all that much.  Do I offend you, blogosphere, with my salty language?  I try not to use the F-bomb, but I know I’ve used others.  Do I need to clean up my act?  Please let me know, and I’ll get the soap. 

 

The Blog Cuss-o-Meter

(WordPress does not allow the html code from this website to be used on its site. 

I copied the images with Fireshot and then pasted them into my post as pictures)