My 200th blog entry and....

Rachel on her third birthday

...it just so happens to be a very special person's 14th birthday today.

Happy Birthday, Miss R., my creative, gentle and sweet little bull!

1 May 1995

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You were born on a Monday

under the astrological sign Taurus.

Taurus is a Fixed Earth sign, ruled by Venus. As the second sign in the zodiac, the Taurus individual is a stable, conservative, home-loving individual who will always make a loyal friend or partner. Famous and historical figures sharing the Taurus traits include Ulysses Grant (April 27), Harry Truman (May 8), George Clooney (May 6), and Audrey Hepburn (May 4).
The Taurus personality is one of the most easily recognizable of the zodiac. These are steady, reliable people who only rarely get frazzled or upset. Like a bull, the Taurus personality will almost never lose course and will remain level no matter what chaos surrounds him. Taurus knows his own strength but usually handles situations with dignity and self-control. Push her too far, though, and the Taurus individual can suddenly turn into a raging bull, and once this happens, she will be difficult to calm. And oh yes, lest we forget, the Taurus individual is stubborn - the most stubborn of all the zodiac signs.

Taurus likes the good life, but tends to be careful with money, slowly building up wealth as she goes. Not all Taureans are rich, but you won't find many at the very bottom of society.
*For those with a Taurus child, one thing to remember from the start is that you will never, ever be able to steer this child in a direction in which he does not want to go. Taurus children will generally obey the rules and will follow a steady course in school., usually somewhere in the middle of the class. The child will appreciate comfortable surroundings in his bedroom and consistency in his schedule. Don't rock the boat by changing things around too much in the Taurus child's domain. Encouraging social interaction is good for the Taurus child, as he is quite comfortable being alone, and will generally not seek out friends and playmates on his own. There's a definite selfish trait in these children, so teaching sharing and concern for others from an early age is essential. These children like material possessions from day one, so provide as many quality toys as possible, and you will have a happy child who does not get lonely or need excessive attention. Watch out for a lazy streak in the Taurus child - they may be slow to walk or crawl, and they may be content to play in one spot in their room for long periods. Find stimulating activities to get this child out of his chair, as he probably won't motivate himself in this respect.

Taurus in any relationship is stoic, stable, and dependable. These are the folks we go to for support when we are in a crisis. However, as the most stubborn sign in the zodiac, you will find that your Taurus friend can often be maddeningly inflexible and unable to see any view but his own. However, if you can avoid those types of situations, the Taurean friend will be a loyal one who will enjoy nights out on the town in nice bars and restaurants, and who is good with his hands and will be willing to help with any tasks you are unable to do yourself. His house and yard will be well-appointed and comfortable, and he will likely be well-set financially, if not overtly wealthy. Just remember, that with Taurus, the by-words are stable and reliable, and you can hardly go wrong by choosing a Taurus friend!

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You are 14 years old.

You are 168 months old.

You are 730 weeks old.

You are 5,114 days old.

You are 122,742 hours old.

You are 7,364,564 minutes old.

You are 441,873,843 seconds old.

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Top songs of 1995

Gangsta's Paradise by Coolio featuring L.V.

Waterfalls by TLC

Creep by TLC

Kiss from a Rose by Seal

On Bended Knee by Boyz II Men

Fantasy by Mariah Carey

This Is How We Do It by Montell Jordan

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Your lucky day is Friday.

Your lucky number is 6.

Your ruling planet(s) is Venus.

Your lucky dates are 6th, 15th, 24th.

Today is one of your lucky days!

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There are 365 days till your next birthday on which your cake will have 15 candles.
Those 15 candles produce 15 BTUs,or 3,780 calories of heat (that's only 3.7800 food Calories!) .You can boil 1.71 US ounces of water with that many candles.

**************

Your birth flower is LILY

Your birthstone is Emerald

small dead rodent, Russell Brand

Here I go again. Another nonsensical dream that I had last night.

I was at work.

Sadly, a lot of my dreams are of me at work(sometimes trapped working there after hours with the lights off, but customers keep coming in anyway, because someone forgot to lock the door--a real nightmare!)

It started out with my boss being in a good mood(which is rare these days), but I can’t remember that part much, now that I am writing it all down. Then it morphed into my boss being...Russell Brand.

Whom I hardly know much about aside from what he looks like from magazine photos and that he is a British comedian and that I heard an interview with him on the radio not too long ago(found out that he was a drug addict for a long time and seemed very intelligent. How do those things go together, tell me?)

Anyway, there was some kind of game going on with even this stupid song and at first I was thinking I had things to get done and I wasn’t going to play along. People were being made to do things like walk around all day with a paper bag over their head --things that had to do with the rules of the game. But then I decided in the dream, that I should lighten up and go along with it too.

So, when it came to MY turn, I was informed by Russell(he was barely Russell Brand anymore, now, but some vague participant and head of the “game”) that I would have to walk around all day with a dead MOUSE BALANCED ACROSS THE BRIDGE OF MY NOSE.

I was repulsed by it, of course, but decided to bear it with bravery and show everyone I was tougher than they thought(there was some vague “audience” around me). As it turns out, this dead mouse was black and kind of shiny and wrinkly—sort of flattened out. Like a cured, pickled black olive. It didn't smell—only that it was embarrassing and disgusting with that little dead thing on my face.

Already, the rest of the dream is gone and I don’t even know what the conclusion was, but apparently I passed the test and finished my trial of “dead mouse on nose”.

So, that is it...Russell Brand, wrinkly dead mouse on nose, and some mild public humiliation.

10 Words People Would Use to Describe Me

A little late in the day to do this-- the Ten On Tuesday list,
since I have been deep cleaning and decluttering my daughter's room. With her permission--I told her beforehand I couldn't stand it any longer looking in there and would clean it for her on my day off (a gorgeous, sunny day in the 80's out there, too when I could have been doing some things outside) as an early birthday gift. (she turns 14!! on Friday).

I figured I would tell her I was going to clean it in case there was anything private she would prefer me not to see--I know she keeps a journal and sometimes writes down declarations of her undying love for her crush, David Archuleta(no comment--this too shall pass) and I want to be respective of her privacy to some extent(I am a private person myself).
Anyway...I saw the list for this week,
'10 Words People Would Use to Describe You' earlier today and asked J and R at the breakfast table today to describe me, so I could add to a short list of descriptive words people have called me lately.

1. nice (husband told me not to put this word in my list, but there you go..I am boringly "nice")
2. guarded (I guess some friends know that I keep my innermost emotions to myself most of the time )
3. artsy (got this from the postal worker in the post office recently)
4. creative
5. cranky (# 4 and #5 from my daughter--yeah, I am cranky after cleaning up her mess of a room....)
6. sensitive (have heard this one all my life, sometimes preceded by a "too")
7. intense (husband's euphemistic way of saying moody?)
8. thoughtful
9. beautiful (thanks, Mr. F)
10. loyal

Of course, I can always count on a Blogthing quiz to give me an accurate personality assessment.

You Are a Mullet

You are a total character. You're quirky, unique, and there's no one quite like you. Your idea of style is doing your own thing and defying expectations. You're eclectic. At your best, you are funny, observant, and a bit sarcastic. You see life's ironies clearly. At your worst, you are a bit weird and creepy. People sometimes take you the wrong way.

What Hairstyle Are You?

Don't Stand So Close To Me

Being an American, when in a public place, I like to have and am used to my allotted “personal space”.

That 8 inches or so radius of space between me and another stranger. When you are in line, you expect to not have someone breathing down your neck and heaven forbid—never actually bumping into you and touching you!

I just had an afternoon where I had two encounters where my personal space was “violated”.

Not the worst thing in the world—just two events that happened in the space of an hour or so at two different places that made me wonder what was going on. ?????

First off, I was in line at a store (Job Lot, Erin!)

—where I went in for one thing and came out with ten, because that is the Job Lot way,

and was finishing paying and then gathering up my purchases into my bag, when I had a feeling of being almost pushed along and out of there by the next person behind me—a man I saw out of the corner of my eye, standing now very close to me.

Even, though, like I said, I had just finished up and was still not done and not quite ready to go. (he was already inching up right beside me before I had even gotten the total from the clerk, now that I think of it)
Even the clerk had to tell him to “wait” (he had already swiped his debit card in the machine and apparently she wasn’t ready for that). And there I was still gathering up my things and not even ready myself. Right, this man was so annoying standing so close and in such a stupid hurry.

Then, as I was putting my key into the ignition once I was out of there and in the parking lot, I noticed that same man jumping (hurriedly) into a car parked right alongside the entrance. Obviously, whatever rush he was in and so badly needed at Job Lot meant that parking in a normal parking spot was not for him. He was off and out of the lot before me, even.

What was the rush? Well, he was one of those rushed and therefore rude people.

I was still a little ticked off by his inching his way into my “space” and rushing me along. The noive of him!

After Job Lot, I had one more errand—needed to get some things at the market near our house— some cheese at the deli counter in particular.

I went to the back of the store first and waited in front of the deli counter. They weren’t too busy, with one other person already standing there and being waited on. I was next, once that man was done getting his order. As I am standing there, I notice out of the corner of my eye, a woman—short whitish curly hair, a little older than me—come along and stand right near me. And I mean NEAR me—as in almost shoulder to shoulder-- she was so close.

Did I mention there wasn’t a huge rush of people there? And plenty of room? At first I thought she was about to tell me something or that she was getting a closer look at something in the case and then would move away after a bit. But, er, nooo..she stayed right there.

A little disconcerting, to say the least.

But, again, not the worst thing in the world—she seemed a nice person and didn’t smell or anything. But, still—strange that she had no concept of “personal space” and was so close to me. Even the woman behind the case was confused when it came time for my-um, “our” turn. She asked if we were “together”!! I said, “no, I’m next" and moved apart more than slightly to reclaim my “space” and get my cheese and get out of there.

Maybe it’s my perfume?

Good Things, "Last Sunday in April Edition"

"It isn't the big pleasures that count the most; it's making a great deal out of the little ones." — Jean Webster


Things that made me happy,
--made me smile...
............this weekend.

*beagles (I can't not smile whenever I see a beagle with it's white flag of a tail waving, and it's total doggie cuteness --even better when I see one, ears flapping in the wind, hanging it's head out of a car window)

*little boys(or girls) walking around with capes and/or cowboy hats

*the sight of my dog sleeping in the sun on the back deck, looking like a tired old hound dog

*kites flying over the beach

*Sipping chilled Bellinis on the back deck on the first truly warm(make that hot) day of the year

* walking barefoot in the grass for the first time this season

* Jewel zooming across the wet beach sand along the water's edge

* a tan(!)line I discovered when I stripped down for a shower (it was sunny all weekend and reached a high of 88*F/31*C)

* the smell and taste of a perfect, greasy clamcake, sitting by the ocean

* Jewel lying beside me on the blanket I spread out under the pine tree when I was reading a book--so right and so comforting.

* "One Pair Of Hands" by Monica Dickens made me smile to myself all throughout the book. I just re-read it for the second time over the weekend (and sometimes outside, lying on a blanket under a pine tree with a close canine companion). She was the great granddaughter of Charles Dickens and an excellent writer(so funny and had a way with words-definitely a family inheritance) and wrote several books throughout her long life(I think she passed away in the 90's). This one is a description of her experiences as a "cook-general" for hire back in the 1930's. It is the kind of book that was so much fun and I wanted to read aloud so many parts to whomever was nearby.