Expression is hard!

Ok, I am not the best person around tech stuff. I am more likely to look at the person who is good with the tech stuff and say "Please....I don't know what I am doing?" and that person is most likely my husband or the tech guy from the college (Hi Wayne!) and I am in full supplicant mode. Not full learning or taking notes for the future mode. Why, then, do I sign myself up to learn how to build a website? It is hard to build a website! All I've got after hours of staring at the training video, clicking buttons and then the undo button a million times, and whining is a website that sorta looks
like this. Not good.
I will say that this program seems to have brighter possibilities than the free one I took a class for, Nvu. It was literally tables, and repeating graphics or solid background color, and HTML wasn't even lurking in the corners it was staring me down. The instructor for the class was very nice, and a good teacher, but he looked bored as shit; heavy sighs and dead eyes except when he looked at the monitor. He's a professional web designer (from what I gathered) whose vocabulary was limited to computer jargon, and the words cool and geek. He was a portly man with a ponytail who wildly gesticulated his fancy opinon in front of a class of women, save one old man. Needless to say I was a little put off by the aesthetics of the setting, but I thought I was doing a good job retaining information until I got home and then gone....all of it gone. I remember the exact pinkness of the instructor's shirt (salmon),how the old man sitting next to me would not stop talking about the stock market of all things, that it was a windy day and I had chicken soup for lunch, but every pertinent bit of knowledge about web design has fled. Hmm.
Nevertheless I shall persevere. I will have my husband look at it.

It's Sunday: Just for fun

The Ladies:
Liv Tyler for Givenchy
Eva's Ass is everywhere!
I'm bored of Paris, aren't you?
Obligatory Britney; Maybe she's comin' round the bend
The Gentlemen:
Becks....Falsetto in Armani
I used to have a Tom Cruise poster in my bedroom, now my therapist does
The film is goofy and overlong...but I love this Englishman

Let the reign of holy Electric Light finally come…

Sweet God my power is back on. So cold and dark for so long....
The boys and I were stationed at the home base during the power loss from the ice storm for five days. We had it better than many. I've heard stories of people dying from carbon monoxide poisoning, from fire started by candles, from risking the Russian Roulette that is the Tulsa four way and losing. We were cold, put out and bored, but we made it through.
I tried to make it a game for them called Pioneer days. The food was kept in our garage and as it hovered around freezing everyday nothing was spoiled. It was novel to have food outside of the fridge for them. We stocked up on what candles (our house smelled like a florist shop!) and batteries that were available to purchase, and bought more minutes for the cell phone that was recharged at Mike's workplace (why doesn't the car charger work?). And everyone got his own flashlight, two lucky finds from the bottom of the Big Lots barrel. We have a gas fireplace in the living room that kept the house moderately warm, and a gas stove top and water heater so we were able to cook and bathe.
It was most tedious at night. What sunlight we had died around five o'clock leaving us in the relative darkness, save candles and flashlights, for hours. I brought out the Geotracks box from the garage which I am loath to do because there are hundreds of little pieces to this noisy little train set, but it kept the boys occupied which saved some of my thinning patience. During the day, once the streets were clear of the fallen tree limbs, we went to the mall, the aquarium, any where that was lit and warm; everywhere we went we met others in our situation. Literally everyone was affected.
Our power came back on during a trip to the laundromat. We ran around the house turning things on as if it was a miracle. Now there is snow on the ground, and we are barred inside again, but we have television, and computers, the coffee machine, microwave, and lights, lights, lights! Bless the power service people from Oklahoma and beyond who have been working 24 hours a day to restore us to electricity, and the tree people for helping us to clear the colossal mountains of branches and debris from our property.

When a Couple Dozen Eggs and a T-Bone isn't Enough

This Texas man really, really likes sausage. And not no goddamned 12 ounce sausage, but a 16 ounce sausage. Oh, and he knows about your little conspiracy Jimmy Dean Corporation. You've got over six hundred pounds of men and plump Scottish woman awares now! Stand up for your sausage, Texan.

The Golden Compass

I will be honest and state that I never heard of this book before someone forwarded me an email warning me to safeguard my children against the film version. All I gathered from this little epistle was that Hollywood is corruptive, evil, and that somehow the devil had his hand in this business. I can't describe how disappointed I was in my friend for being so narrow minded and believing that I would likewise share her opinion. So many people are absolutely rabid when it comes to a perceived threat against their faith. I am rabid when I perceive a threat against my freedom from faith.
I was born here and raised here in the Christian faith (a Baptist, no less) but I have found that organized religion, any organized religion, is inherently flawed. Religions are just too human. Why would God or Goddess or whomever is in control (should such a thing exist) hold us in such high esteem? I do not believe that we humans are good or bad any more than I think of sparrows as good or bad. I don't know what happens after we die, nor where we came from before we were born. But to ask me to consider the dictates of one groups' interpretation over another in regard to a Divine Figure whose will can never be seen, heard, felt, or understood is asking too much of me.
By the by, the book is intelligent and well written. I haven't finished it yet, but I am engaged by it. You can go to the Golden Compass website and "find" your daemon (the physical manifestation of the soul). My daemon is an ocelot. Meow.

It's my birthday!?

I keep getting older! This past year was very good to me; professionally I branched out in both avenues and personally I feel I've finally ironed out some wrinkles (no, this isn't an aging face comment!). Last night my family took me out to the Mac and we had a really good time. I love the chicken marsala, and the boys like to draw on the table, Mike likes almost everything they make. When we got home I opened this gift from my boys, and this from Mike. I'm taking them both back. What I will exchange these for will be what I asked for in the first place.
I tend to look back on my birthday. I see me as a kid who thought the world was Mama and Daddy and the prairie. Or me as a young woman who wanted to know everything, once I discovered the world was fairly large. Now the me in the mirror looks older, quieter, happier, less unsure and less afraid. What an interesting thing life is.

It's Sunday. Let's look at the Celebs!

Yes, it's a silly pursuit, but....
The Ladies:
Fourfour has a wonderful, brilliant, and inspiring Beyonce montage.
Who is this Veronica Mars?
I've never been a Jennifer Love Hewlett person, enough said.
Is it me, or is every actor on the Sci-Fi channel really, really bad?
Obligatory Britney. Oh honey.
The Gentlemen:
When saying I love you means I'll sue.
Montel Williams' ego vs. a kid.
Hirsute young man!
Princely doesn't begin to describe the latest offering from Snoop and Spike.

Little Boys

One day with my children and I become Ms. Hanigan. Everything around me is....little. And helpless. And needy. And petulant. And kissy. They are good boys, but they are boys, and I'm not used to boys at all. This morning I woke up to a large toddler crawling over me and yelling WAKE UP MOMMA! Honestly by eight o clock I'm done! Please don't misunderstand, I love my children. The sense of fulfillment and happiness they give me is amazing. But it isn't easy, and it isn't free.

Dulce Et Decorum Est Pro Patria Mori

YEA I AM DONE WITH LECTURES FOR 30 DAYS!!!!!
I made with through my sophomore semester as The Person From the Other Side of the Desk! Without a doubt this was one of the most challenging goals I've ever achieved. To give you some sort of perspective, my first class was only a handful of kids who were very nice, came to class, and didn't complain. This semester I taught two different classes and couldn't have had a more difficult time (OK, this is an exaggeration). To wit:
The Banshees.
These girls were in my morning class. If they were flavors of ice cream, they'd be Bitter, Fat, and Ugly with Sarcasm sauce. Ugh, these girls.
My Wardrobe.
Inexplicably my clothing failed me on several occasions throughout the semester. Once, my wrap dress became unwrapped. Wow.
The Text
I composed the body of information for my Art class, so understandably I'm quite fond of it. However, I did not have that luxury with my Humanities class. The text for this class is, in my opinion, out of date and embarrassingly offensive. Africans are primitive animists, Mesoamericans are bloodthirsty, the Christians have never made a false step. I spent two weeks on the Greeks and only half of that time on the Romans because the Romans were thieves, and the Chinese and Japanese haven't changed at all in the history of time. Oh, and humans are not related to apes. On and on and on this list goes.

But it's all over now. My students have their presentations to give (I'm big on the presentation, if only to get people unafraid to speak up), I've got a couple of study guides to make up, and then the finals. Still, next semester I shall return a changed bee.

Of Eating and Indians

Oh, Thanksgiving. The splendors of cream cheese, the dance macabre of salt and sugar. Actually I really like Thanksgiving. I like the idea of doing nothing but eating, and nowadays, shopping as well. I suppose it's what people have always done around this time of year. The native Americans don't celebrate Thanksgiving and why should they? I grew up with Indian kids; I love their cultures and sympathize with their misgivings. The Indians are so wild and lovely and intelligent and the European immigrants have treated them unfairly. These peoples continue to share what little possessions they have, they give their time and effort to anyone who asks, they are honest. I wish our mutual histories could have been different.

Contextualizing Context

I'm enjoying George Trow's Within the Context of No Context although it is not the walk in the park I thought it would be. I do like the way he creeps up on the subject as though it was a wild animal, which is fitting. American culture can be so difficult to pin down. It's not as though we as Americans are invited to consider ourselves to be joined in a unified identity. The institution of rights or freedom begs disparateness. There are exceptions, of course. War unifies Americans very quickly if only for a moment. Joy in triumph, because Americans like to win. But our culture? Trow is either right or wrong on this one, but I can't judge him just yet.
Some favorite quotes thus far:
The most successful celebrities are products. Consider the real role in American life of Coca Cola. Is any man as well loved as this soft drink is?

The message of many things in America is "Like this or die". It is a strain.

Pho Bo

I am in love with this soup. I literally want to carry a cup of it around with me all day long and sip, sip, sip. After one minute of research, however, I was disheartened to find that the secret ingredient is "labor". The good people of Howstuffworks.com have an easy version of this recipe that I'll try tonight.

Vietnamese Beef Soup

by the Editors of Easy Home Cooking Magazine

Vietnamese Beef Soup

Yield: Makes 6 servings

Ingredients:

3/4 pound boneless beef top sirloin or top round steak

3 cups water

1 can (14-1/2 ounces) beef broth

1 can (10-1/2 ounces) condensed consommé, undiluted

2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce

2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger

1 cinnamon stick (3 inches long)

4 ounces rice noodles (rice sticks), about 1/8 inch wide

1/2 cup thinly sliced or julienned carrots

2 cups fresh bean sprouts

1 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil

2 jalapeño peppers,* minced or 1 to 3 teaspoons Chinese chili sauce or paste

Preparation:

1.

Place beef in freezer 45 minutes or until firm. Meanwhile, combine water, beef broth, consommé, soy sauce, ginger and cinnamon stick in large saucepan; bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low; simmer, covered, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove cinnamon stick; discard. Meanwhile, place rice noodles in large bowl and cover with warm water; let stand until softened, about 20 minutes.

2.

Slice beef lengthwise in half, then crosswise into very thin strips. Drain noodles. Place noodles and carrots in simmering broth; cook 2 to 3 minutes or until noodles are tender. Add beef and bean sprouts; cook 1 minute or until beef is no longer pink.

3.

Remove from heat; stir in red onion, cilantro, basil and jalapeño peppers. To serve, lift noodles from soup with fork and place in bowls. Ladle remaining ingredients and broth over noodles.
Note: After trying this recipe I would try the following the next time I make it: less noodles, a better stock and consumme

The Internet

This internet thing is like everything else; it is good, it is bad, it is nothing at all. But I need to write more so I thought to myself, if they can do it with a picture why can't I do it with a bar of chocolate?