My niece.

Been through so much - her father's suicide, the trauma of that....and now is in modeling school and an absolute sweetheart.

Where the hell did fifteen years go?

---

One more swimming lesson next Saturday morning. They pretty much tested today so next week should just be fun stuff, or last chance at passing if you didn't today, and we don't really know until next week.

Pulled the luggage and since we have access to laundry facilities, planning on only bringing 3-4 days worth of clothing. All three kids, except for underwear and PJs, are packed in the second largest suitcase, fully expanded. Same for us - Roy hasn't put any of his stuff in yet but I've put in mine (not like I'm wearing anything summery yet...) and it'll be perfect to still put the bathroom bag in. The kids have their minibackpacks for the plane and the park, and I think we'll be golden! Now what did I do with my S&H luggage tag....

Picked up a copy of Angels and Demons at the library - was hoping I was picking a paperback version to reserve but I got a hardback. bleah. I wanted to take it with to refamiliarize myself with the story before the film releases (OMG EWAN IN A CASSOCK!!) but I am not relishing (HOT DOGS!) the idea of hauling around a big old hardback book. I did pick up a bargain paperback book at B&N yesterday when we got Karl's book set, some "Wisteria Lane" knockoff set in Ireland, so maybe I'll just take that by itself, along with my precious Glinda. Must peruse the Tagging Bay City listings to find gems I've missed.

And right now, I've got a vid working, and Jayne, upset that she didn't get to spend hardly any time with daddy today ( I guess the half-hour sitting at the pool with him while waiting for her lesson to start after the other two were done didn't count, lol), cried ALL THE WAY HOME from Vancouver after realizing that the reason daddy drove his own car was because he was going to Gilbert and Steve's for poker. He had taken Katie with him when he stopped there first on the way to the party (gotta drop off the beer!) and so Jayne thought she could go home with him. Pur wee ting. So she's in my bed behind me, asleep. I think I spoil the baby...

Got to see my stepbrother, which is silly because he lives down here and he's at the house behind me all the time. I can never quite pin him down on how he's feeling. He can be snotty and reticent and other times acts like we're the closest siblings in the world. I just kinda follow his lead. His third daughter is my special little friend and I got to cuddle her and her little sister, too. The older two give hugs but they're not wee ones anymore....sigh....

Back to the vid...am on a flow-roll, so better go with it. :)

I've got a friend (off LJ) who is having a hard time with her hubby. Suffice to say, he cheated on her, told her in December, layoffs happened in his job last month, so he's doing more work for no more pay and must do it or risk losing his job, too, and he's hardly home and she's feeling like she can't trust him and geeze she feels like without him she's nothing (she has three GORGEOUS children who are acting up without him there like he should) and I'm sure he's stressing over the work but since he blew it, she is stressing that she can't just trust him again.

Anyway. She pulled the "kill myself" and I got a little mad at her. I don't really think she would do it, and she promised someone else she wouldn't but she has the thoughts and so I stressed kids to her. And that things would get better one way or another. She just has to take it one day at at time.

Anyway. It upset ME and now I'm stressed and on edge.

---

IF YOU ARE ONE OF THOSE FOLKS who have read Provocateur> and Sacred and Profane by our own Alex - splix and are not yet aware of the OMG VID! that sue_chose_this made for that story - OMG you must go see: http://sue-chose-this.livejournal.com/146768.html

holy cow. Wow.

I am now so totally wanting to reread and am so glad I own the zine...which, of course, I can't find...it's here somewhere, dammit! Nancy, you don't have my zine, do you? **ponders** Maybe it's under the bed. I'll look tomorrow. Or maybe I packed it into my hope chest. It didn't GO anywhere, unless I loaned it and with that inscription I can't imagine having done so...hmph!!

Now that I can't lay hands on it, I want it reallllly badly.

---

Katie got her trip to the doctor. She is now also on the ABs and the cough meds (so THAT's why the doc got us the big bottle, lol!) and her temp went to normal after one dose of Tylenol, so I'm thinking she may well make it to school tomorrow. No piano, though, I've already cancelled that. Last thing I want to do is expose a four-month-old baby and his mother to this crud. Karl still had a bit of a temp at bedtime but it was much lower. We'll see about tomorrow. He got homework today and did that so he's keeping up, I hope. And Jayne is such a bright ball of energy, she wears me out.

So, because of the doc trip and the pick up of scrips, I missed two different meetings. And I had to finish the colleens. I roped in one more helper and finally got all 370 out. There's got to be a way to mail-merge the info - I just can't remember how to do it, but damn, that would make things easier the next time.

At any rate, alll the colleens have been assigned, although I do have to shake my head at some people. "How do I still post if I'm using this log in?" Um...log OUT of that one and back into your real one? And then I get "it says invalid log in." In two cases, it surely was a dud registration, but the rest have all been resolved by clearing the cookies. Go figure.

---

Third year in a row of our Portland Raptor Cam, detailing the lives of two redtailed hawks and the TWO eggs in their nest! The nest is on a fire escape on a building and the fella who has that office space loves being that close. Every year a camera gets set up and we watch. It's so cool!

---

And, I think I am just going to have to wipe and rebuild my poor laptop. Now the problem is, it can't seem to keep the connection with my router.

We have a closed router - we don't broadcast the SSID signal, so no one at all can even see it unless we turn it on. But my laptop has lost the ability to hold it. We can open the SSID again, I can re-enter the code AGAIN, and it will connect...sort of. Actually, the little icon down in the tray? says I'm not connected to anything, but I get around quickly and fine. But it doesn't hold. After a few minutes, it will drop the connection and pick up The _Beast again. And his i nternet connection is horribly slow. But Roy thinks maybe he has an N router and that it's overpowering our G. I don't know. But Roy's ready to do the wipe-and-load. Problem is, I gotta work job #2 and I need better speed than his service, plus I don't WANT to be on his connection (although I am right now.) I guess I could do it on the desktop while we take the time it's going to take to redo Firedancer here.

Unless mrshamill or jedi_diplomat have a solution? *sigh*

---

And, finally --- JAYNE'S HAIR!!!

I got the detangler comb.

I got the Potion #9 leave-in conditioner.

Except that she ran herself a bath and got in and laid down and swished her hair, I think we would have avoided tangles altogether. However, if last time's tangles were a dollar, tonight's were a dime. I used the comb while rinsing out the shampoo (applied only to the top of the head! and that is when we had to deal with the only tangles in her length and they came out very easily.) I used the comb to dispense conditioner. I used the comb while rinsing OUT the conditioner. I used the comb to dispense the leave in conditioner, and I used the floursack towel to carefully squeeze her hair dry rather than towel it.

OMG.

IT WORKED.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. Jayne asked, "Can we bring all this to Florida?" Hell, yes, baby. Oh, yes.

I don't think I have ever seen one before, that wasn't from a picture of a microscope detail. But this morning, I experienced it three times.

Yes, it's snowing. Yes, it's March.

Karl stayed home today, coughing and a fever. Katie, turns out, still has a fever, too, so she also is staying home. Jayne didn't want to walk to the bus stop alone and I was in the mood for a Human Bean coffee drink, so I opted to drive her to school.

Snow barely fell at the point we left the driveway. Evidence of overnight dustings lay on the barkdusted, landscaped yards, on rooftops, and on rhododendron leaves. After dropping her off, I came to get back on Main and waited for a school bus to swallow the long line of kids waiting for it, to be delivered to another school (ours sits close to the confluence of three borders for three different elementary schools). Then snow fell a little faster, but still made up of tiny little flakes.

Once I got on Main and pointed west to get my precious coffee, I waited at a traffic light. Three little friends came to visit my driver's side window - attaching themselves a few seconds apart, displaying to me their full glory of crystal and symmetrical perfection. I could see the little bars that made up the crystal pattern, the outside edges, the armed roundness made up of so much lace, in such a tiny, tiny flake. Little lace doilies, crocheted with ice.

Three of them. And then the snow began to clump and fall more heavily, in bunches and glops and my three perfect little snow fairy friends were gone, showing themselves to me and then melting away.

I will not forget them. Today is already starting off a bit difficult, and I will have to drive in snow to get my child to the doctor, my boss is on vacation, and I have "Secret Shamrocks" to assign.

And yet today I was given those three perfect little gifts. They remind me of my children. My perfect little gifts. Unique, special, and open to me.

Oh, they were beautiful.

And now I know my period is about to start, because I'm CRYING over snowflakes.

---

In entirely different news, my puter has lost the SSID connection to the router AGAIN. This is getting ridiculous. "The_Beast" is not connected to FiOS service. It's SLOW.

Must stop reading "The Week" again...

Must....stop....

gaahhhh......

Swimming lessons. Alone time. Movie and dinner with hubby - early anniversary out for us since next week we have a bday party and poker night, and the following weekend, we're outta here....

IL's gave us cash towards the trip. Holy schmoley. We feel rich, lol.

Had YUMMY zacatecas burrito for dinner. sauteed chicken, onions, peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes in a tortilla, with both the red sauce and the verde sauce, and sour cream.

MOUTHGASM. with beans and rice, I couldn't finish it. Put it in a box with what Roy didn't finish, and yay, lunch!

and, of course, the Killer Margarita. GOD I love tequila....

And before that, we saw Slumdog Millionaire. My heart hurt over those poor little children.

Computer was having fits connecting to the router. We have our wireless shut down to broadcast except to computers we've set to see it. (I think amberleewriter is still set up for it, lol!) So we had to open the SSID and boom, could see my router again. Somehow my settings got lost. Rar. All locked down again now. I kept connecting to someone nearby who has named their wireless "The_Beast". And he doesn't have the download speed I do. Now to reset the download I was trying to do when I realized it was saying it would take 16 hours....for 649mb....Uh, no.

I am a freshly red redhead again. Acquired the kids little backpacks for the plane trip. picked up some clearance summery tops to take. Still need to get karl new swim trunks.

Had a weird issue with a fellow automobile driver today. Will try to write that up tomorrow.

I'm tired and had booze and need to go to bed. ;)

Hope your weekend was good. :)

is on the radio.

Forever Hutch.

of 100.9.

better now than in two weeks, I tell you WHUT.

I have a slight fever. 98.7. Could be normal for me at the moment, but I am feeling the ache, so I am thinking, no.

Yay.

pw go-round with TPTB.

But I won! I have a working pw now and can access things, like, oh, MY PAYSTUB.

I have set up a reminder in my email to reset my password more often than they require so that I won't be inadvertently locked out again. Again.

My neck and shoulder hurt - I know it has to do with working out on the coffee table. I should really move to the dining table. Why am I not in on my desk with my work puter? Because I end up with "things I need to watch" on the DVR or from Netflix and that doesn't work in the bedroom.

The good news is that I was supposed to cover this weekend for Q as she's on maternity leave, but she's already working her way back in and is insisting on covering her own weekend as usual. I have extracted under pain of death promises that she will call if the inbox explodes and she needs help. I'm running this month's game so I'll be on and off anyway.

I found the English instructions to my rice cooker/veggie steamer, YAY!! It was where I'd put it. Only it had slid into a folder full of recipes. I found it looking for the sweet and sour sauce recipe. YAY! I was reduced to typing in the Spanish instructions to a translator and sorting it out that way. :)

I'm hoping to work on a vid and/or a story this weekend. The vid I really need to get done; the problems I had with getting my software to work right kind of burned me out. And now work...ouch. And the boss is off M-Th next week.

GLAAD is on the phone wanting money. I haven't any to give right now. I hate saying no...

I'm tired, I'm tired, I'm tired...

Acoustic songs by Dave Matthews with Tim Reynolds. .zip format, three files here:

http://www.sendspace.com/file/e6ow25

http://www.sendspace.com/file/5c8d3x

http://www.sendspace.com/file/lreu4a

I uploaded them for someone else so there they are for the taking.

I think all the songs are both m4a and mp3.

I got curious - with my memory, I have to look back and see...

( Bits and pieces. Is it supposed to be one sentence per WIP? Too bad, so sad. )

so I could do job #2, which I do on my own puter, and while waiting for the queue to load, spotted this elsewhere:

We live in an amazing, amazing world and it's wasted on the crappiest generation of spoiled idiots!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY clara_swift and temve!!! I've been with you so long....I'm so glad you're both in my life.

I hope today has been a great one for you!

Have acquired the detangler comb. And the Potioin #9 leave in stuff. And FLOURSACK towels, found at Bed Bath and Beyond.

In a couple of days we'll wash it again and employ the tricks.

Thank you again, everyone.

In case you wanted to know where David went after his little non-dinner with Paulie...

(Waaaaaaaaay near the end of the article.)

---

Much much thanks to all who have offered suggestions and advice regarding Jayne's hair. I have a direction! I feel hopeful! Thank you!

Jayne has the most fine, baby hair in the world. It tangles EVERY TIME we wash it, and combing it out again is a NIGHTMARE, full of tears and anger and sharp words from both her and myself because she puts such a drama on, but I know it hurts like a mofo, no matter how gentle I try to be.

The spray-in detanglers do not do SHIT. We use regular conditioner and then leave-in conditioner on top of that.

PLEASE does any one have any product suggestions that will stop this tangling?

OK. She's eight. She does not bathe daily (we have one bathroom.) Her hair is washed usually twice a week. We try to not scramble her hair when we dry it. She brushes it every morning. She could be doing so at night but by the end of the day I'm too frazzled to remember and neither does she.

There's got to be SOMETHING before we go to the drastic short cut - she loves her hair long but neither she nor I have much patience left!

to blucola! Hope today has been a great one!

and happy birthday to my SIL Jill.

I feel the need to post every day unless I'm not near the puter, like...on vacation.

Vacation can come any minute now...

I foresee another early night.

Apparently the tv show "Leverage", of which I've seen most of one episode because it guest-starred Kevin Tighe (It's out on the recorder; I've not finished yet! Plus I have it in the puter, lol) is going to be moving production to my precious PDX. They're going to be shooting the series here! Now, of course, we'll want to watch it for the familiar buildings and landmarks...

Who of my flist is going to Media West and might be able to pick something up for me and mail it to me?

For she had the teensy angled tweezer-pliers, and he had the skill

I have two earrings again!