Random Thoughts and Musings

Today, my BFF’s daughter is the big oh-five! We’re having a small party for her with the daycare, and a cute little PINK cake! She LOVES pink. She loves pink like it is her JOB. Her room is pink. She has the pink strawberry shortcake bedspread. She likes to wear pink every day! She’s the pinkest pink girl I have met since I met Christy 20+ years ago, and even CHRISTY wasn’t this pink fanatic!

So, Happy birthday, sweet Kaitlyn. We love you and all of your pink princessness, and hope you have the best 5th year EVER!

xoxo

This cake took Christy less than an hour - she’s getting better and better! And Kaitlyn LOVED it. Plus, it was strawberry. YUM!

On another note, yesterday I completed day 2 of the 30D(S)Challenge. I felt great immediately afterward … but then as the day wore on I was increasingly sore. By last night, I couldn’t move. Seriously. I was on my big, comfy chair, I had put away the dinner stuff, cleaned up a little bit … and was going to sit and watch TV for a couple of hours before bed. At about 2 a.m., I realized I was tired … but couldn’t get motivated to move. Every time I tried, my muscles screamed and stabbed me. HARD. So, I relaxed back into the chair, and decided to watch one more show. Then, one more. By then, it was nearly 4:30, and I knew I should get up, so I lay back & closed my eyes, willing myself to gather my strength.

I woke up at 7 a.m. in a very painful, awkward position. Apparently, I had TRIED to curl up into my chair, but my cats had gotten in the way, so I worked myself around them. And got stuck. I got up (slowly, painfully…) and moved to my bed, and promptly passed out, again. I didn’t move til 9 a.m., when my (triplet Mom) friend sent a text to say the babies are sick, and she was on the way to the doc with little Pop (Sophie). I rolled over, grabbed a book I’ve been trying to finish since last month, and read. Until Christy sent a text saying she’d be over soon.

Yes, I know I should have exercised. I couldn’t. Seriously. My muscles are just now loosening up, and it is 3:30 in the afternoon! Tonight, though, when I get home from helping Christy with the daycare, I will Shred it up. And then I think I need to do some extra stretching. In fact, we’re looking for my Yoga DVD now, because I’m stealing it back … yoga should help me loosen up a bit. I hope. I can’t feel like this again tomorrow!

And no, I’m not whining. I’m actually laughing at myself. I’m bummed out that my Shred partner has backed out and is doing other stuff … but I’m still gonna Shred, regardless. I know it is giving me more of a workout than the other things I could be doing, and in the long run, I know I’m going to meet my goals! I just hope tomorrow I don’t feel like such a wimp! *grins*

I hope all of my 30D(S)C partners are exercising, and enjoying their exercise! I know if you’re not used to it, you’re probably hurting too. I also know that if I can do it - and I’m obese and a very lazy person - then you can, too!

xoxo

So, a couple of weeks ago, I went with Christy & her daycare kids to the local strawberry fields. Christy takes the kids every year, but this is the first time I was able to go, too. I was especially excited, since I’d recently started flipping through Our Best Bites for recipes, and found this one for Strawberry Freezer Jam. It isn’t their original recipe (although they have many of those), but without seeing this I would not have known how easy it is to make strawberry jam at home, nor would I even have had the idea to do so!

(Quick side note - if you like to cook, or if you are trying to up your kitchen skills with creativity, healthy ideas, or even a few simple go-to tricks, check out Sara & Kate’s website. When I found my way to their website from a link my cousin posted, I spent a few hours just perusing their website when I should have been sleeping!)

Back to the topic at hand.

We had a bus full of people with us (only we brought 3 vehicles): Christy & her children plus her daycare children, her Mom & 2 nephews, and her cousin & her three boys. It was quite the crew! I grabbed a box and took the 4 month old in her car seat, little Ava (nearly 2), and nephew Cole (4), and the middle cousin (2 or 3?). Later, Seralyn joined me, too. I’m not sure how I got the youngins, and as afraid as I was of what they would pick, they did mostly get me ripe-ish, whole-ish berries. In the long run, I was able to use most of what was in my box.

One of my pretties:

We had a great afternoon, picking berries. Then, we got the kids fresh strawberry yogurt (they make it on site), and Christy & I ate strawberry shortcakes (the cake is also made on site). Everything was amazingly delicious, and it was a WONDERFUL afternoon! We were even able to do it on a day that all of the elementary school-age children had an early-release day, so we had the whole gang with us!

This was my box:

That weekend, Rena and I sat down and started cleaning berries. We washed them, cut the stems off, then cut off any areas that looked bruised or had lumps. We piled them up into an 8-cup batter bowl, a 16-cup serving bowl, and an 8-cup serving bowl. We had A LOT of strawberries! (YUM!)

Just 1/4 of our catch:

At this point, I sent Rena off to do other things because our kitchen is tiny, and I cannot stand to have more than one person in there at a time. I got started mashing our berries. I was very upset to discover that I didn’t have a potato masher (I have since purchased one, but that is a post for another day), so I had to get creative. I also do not have any fancy kitchen gadgets, like a food processor. So, I mashed some berries with a fork. Others, I dropped into my Magic Bullet (I have found the MB doesn’t get any of my blended items as smooth as I’d like, so I figured it would be perfect for leaving my berries lumpy). The berries I ended up with were juicier than Kate’s from OBB, but I decided to run with it anyway. After all, she’s already talented in the kitchen. I’m still learning.

My berry mash:

I measured out 4 cups of sugar for each of the two batches of strawberry jam I was making, and folded it into the berries.

Then, I mixed the pectin and water over the stove,

… and added it to the mixture.

I divvied each batch into 4 medium-sized containers, then labeled them carefully.

After a full day in the kitchen, I had 10 containers of strawberry stuffs. We let it “set” til the next day, then started distributing to a few people, telling them to put it in the freezer for a few days before eating it. I have only a couple left, for me and Christy; they’re waiting in the freezer til either of us runs out of our store-bought jam/jelly.

I found that some of the containers “set” better than others - even within the same batch. Odd. Personally, I’m not too worried about it being a little extra moist - I plan to use at least one batch, maybe two, in a secret project for Christy’s birthday next month. It’s another recipe I found on Our Best Bites, and I’m SUPER EXCITED to be making it for her. But Christy reads my blog now, so I can’t tell you what it is until I’ve made it for her! *grins*

Next time I decide to get this ambitious, I won’t refrigerate my berries first. I’ll have to make sure I pick them earlier in the day so I can bring them straight in and crush them while they’re still warm from the sun. I’ll also have my potato masher to help out, so they shouldn’t get quite so juicy. Maybe then ALL of my containers will “set” properly. Then again, maybe not. I’m not exactly talented in the kitchen.

Have YOU ever made strawberry freezer jam? What about any other kind of freezer jam? Do you - or have you - canned/jarred your own foods the traditional way? How did you get started, and why do you continue (or not continue)?

xoxo

1) I am finally getting around to re-entering names/addresses/birthdays/phone numbers in my new phone. If you have been in my phone before and want to ensure you are again, or if you would like to be in text/phone contact with me … text me, IM me, send me a private message via Twitter/Plurk/Facebook/Whatever, or email me and give me your mobile or home phone numbers (specify which one you are giving me). Alternatively, leave me a comment asking me to email you, and I can send my number to you. Thanks!

3) May is a big birthday month for my family too: My BIL’s birthday was the 4th. One of my Uncles has a birthday on the 4th, as well. Two of my Uncles were born on the 5th, several years apart. Crazy!

4) Tween is doing fantastic with softball, improving every game. I am kind of impressed with her. I am absolutely thrilled for her!

5) Several of my friends are having a rough time at work, for various reasons. I wish you all a happier, healthier, more productive work environment. Having to work in a place that makes you unhappy every single day is an awful way to spend nearly 40% of your life. xoxo

6) One of my friends recently had to fix her car AGAIN - marking the second time this year she has had to spend over $1500 on her vehicle. Without the vehicle she cannot get to work, so for her I hope the mechanics have completed the job properly & that the car gods do not pick on her anymore. I <3 you, sweetheart.

7) Love, relationships, and marriages across the nation are suffering from the financial crises brought on by the economic downturns we have been experiencing for the last several months. Otherwise strong relationships are put to the test because the participating parties are dealing with undue stress. All of you, please, remember what truly matters in life and try to focus on the good more than the bad. I understand it is ugly out there … just think about where you want to be, and who you want to be with, when things start improving.

For all of my friends who I have not been in proper contact with over the last year … please forgive me. I am trying to do things right and reach out to each of you individually … I am finding it hard, since I am not in a good place and it is incredibly hard having to tell you all separately how rough life is at the moment. I prefer to touch base when I have happy news.

9) Thank you to those of you who have been offering me a few hours’ worth of work researching, typing, and proofreading. I have enjoyed it, and it is helping me get by now that my unemployment has run out. I am still looking for work, but I am also allowing myself to work from home as long as it continues to benefit, because I am enjoying being able to go to Tween’s games and practices and choral performances. This time with her is priceless!

10) Thank you my darling Twitterhubby for introducing me to the singer Shannon Curtis. I was browsing some of her songs, and ran across one that was especially meaningful today. The song is called “Rainy Day” (click to listen) and the lyrics are below. P has been on my mind lately, in and out of my dreams … but we’re not really in touch properly. A gyrl can dream … even when she knows the dream is not likely to come true, and is probably not even plausible. (And he sent me a text the other day with this picture of orchids - and nothing else. Orchids, as all of my friends know, are my favorites.)

NAMG over at NotAMeanGirl named me in this fun tag!

I find myself being a follower when it comes to questions and answers, so I have jumped on the “Interview Me” bandwagon. The trend was started by Immortal Matriarch, who was interrogated by Avitable (apparently twice). (O.k., maybe it started with Avitable? I dunno. We’ll go with my story for now.) Anyway, Immortal Matriarch interrogated my favorite sugar mama, over at Fear And Parenting in Las Vegas (she makes divine chocolates!), who forced dragged invited all of her readers me to join in on the fun.

So, here are the questions that my personal chocolatier friend FandPinLV came up with for me:

1. Why did you start your blog in the first place?
I have attempted blogging before, but had not made it past three entries on any of those previous attempts! As I explained when I first began Random Thoughts and Musings, a classmate dragged me to Twitter one day, and I was eventually sucked in by the awesome people there. After a few months of them asking me where my blog was, I gave in and started one. A few months after that, Mark Davidson offered to put me on my own domain, so I moved here, and the rest … as they say … is history (being made).
2. It appears that you have bonded, in some cases quite deeply, with some people online. Do you find it easier to open up to people you’ve never met in person or people who you’ve met?
My childhood was … interesting. As such, I am what I consider to be an anti-social person. I do not care what anyone thinks of me, but I fear outright rejection. It is a complicated state to be in, so it is even harder to explain. I am who I am, and I expect people to accept me or walk away: I will not change for anyone but myself. When I meet rejection, it does not really bother me. However, I fear the rejection anyway. Ok, this is not making sense even to me, so I will just leave it alone now.
Anyway. Online, I do not have to *see* the reactions people have towards me. I do not have to read it in their eyes, witness their body language, or hear the inflection in their voices. I can move around my world, completely oblivious to anyone else, for as long as I want. I never rarely put in a “friend request” to someone … I let them come to me. When I do bond with people, however, it is for the long term. I do not move whimsically in and out of friendships. An online relationship is just as important to me as one I have built face-to-face, because the person is still real, and I expect people to be just as honest with me as I am with them. When I find out differently, I simply walk away. Vengeance and grudges are for someone else. I prefer happiness and joy.

3. You have to be one of the most unselfish and thoughtful people I’ve ever met. While I think you’re fabulous, the glare of your halo is getting a bit blinding. So, what’s the most selfish thing you’ve ever done?
I am not unselfish. I am quite greedy, in fact. I do, however, like to share whatever I acquire. This is a matter of choosing happiness, and has nothing to do with being unselfish. Sharing brings happiness to others, and their happiness increases my happiness, so sharing is, in fact, a very selfish thing for me to do.
One thing I have done that is very specifically selfish is going to Jamaica with friends. I have done it twice - in 2006, and in 2007. I will be going again in 2009. Going to Boston for a working vacation was NOT satisfactory to my “recharge” and I will not make the mistake of skipping this few days of complete and total bliss. This is not a trip my Tween will ever make with me, as much as she wants to go to Jamaica. This is MY TIME. My completely, totally, selfish time to be a woman … a single woman … and not a mother. It sounds horrible even to me, but I will not give it up anytime I have the option of going.

4. You lost your job in 2008. That sucked. No doubts there. If income, location, education, and other restraints were removed, what career would you pursue?
I would love to be part of a nonprofit of some sort. I want to do something that helps people in a big way. I want to be a part of something far bigger than me. I would love to work an administrative job for a nonprofit, then go on missions with said nonprofit to less-than-wealthy places and work for a couple of weeks every year. Even a couple of months out of the year. Hell, even half the year. Maybe more. I am pretty selfish though, and I like to be pampered with things like massages and manicures and pedicures and soft curly hair and smooth skin and white sandy beaches and pretty clothes and jewelry (although I do go costume, not expensive) and tv and movies and nifty electronics and sweet appliances like the french door refrigerator. I would like to say I could live in Asia or Africa or China and be a full-time mission, but I do not think that would be truthful. I *could* do a rotation of one month there and one month home, one month there, one month home, etc …

5. So, I may be coming to Florida sometime in 2009 or 2010. What would we do if I showed up on your doorstep?
Hit the beach, chick! We have the BEST beaches in the US right here! Soft white sandy beaches, emerald green waters that allow you to see the bottom even in deep areas, sunshine, warm weather … Oh, and we would go to HelenBack for a pizza lunch, then go back to the beach. We could bring our own cocktails, relax … enjoy the day talking and watching the children splash in the water. Then, Tween could watch yours at home so that us adults could go to AJ’s for cocktails … then go back to the beach. For dinner we’d go to McGuire’s Irish Pub (there is one in Destin now) for a steak dinner. Yes, then go back to the beach. I am sure if you wanted to do something else, we could plan a perfectly reasonable day … but why? The beach here is an example of Mother Nature’s perfection!

Thanks for the questions, darlin! I always enjoy answering questions, although I am not ever quite sure what I will answer. Sometimes, the answer simply depends on what kind of mood I am in at the moment!

Well, Ramblers and Thinkers and Musers … do you want to play along? If so, here are

The Rules….

1. Leave me a comment saying, “Interview me.”
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. I get to pick the questions.
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

December was a crazy month for me. More on that later. The relevant parts of the story are:

1) My ex-husband and his family promised my Tween a trip to Cali, and promised me to cover her Santa gift (the Nintendo Wii) this year since it has been a tough year for me. They then backed out of both of these plans, and said they weren’t sending anything. Later (much later), it turned out they sent her a camera (the camera they had previously promised her for her birthday in 2007, Christmas 2007, and for her birthday in 2008) as a Christmas gift for 2008. The camera is awesome, so please do not think I am complaining they sent it. I am just disappointed it took them more than a year of broken promises to do so.
2) I was laid off from my job, and had to return all of the gifts I had already purchased for Tween, family, and friends. Anything non-refundable was set aside to send out later in Jan or Feb, when I know I have the money to spare for postage.

Tween has been asking for a Wii since they came out, but as a Mom I thought she needed to wait a while before getting one. I would not typically get game systems for her, but my Dad & Stepmom Connie purchased her a Gameboy Advance SP in 2005 when they purchased the same thing for my new step-sister (Connie’s younger child, who is 2 yrs older than Tween). In 2006, I got her a few games for it, and in 2007 (because she had taken such great care of the SP, but mostly because I found it on sale at 75% off), Santa brought her a Nintendo DS Lite. The SP and all of the games she had outgrown were donated, as per our custom, and she now takes great care of the DS. She began talking about getting a Wii more and more frequently when one of my friends started inviting us to come over and play his Wii. Unfortunately, I do not agree with the way he leads his life, so I will not take Tween to his house. I have also been looking for something else for she and I to do together, and since we are only home together in the late evenings, I wanted something indoors, that could be picked up at any time. The Wii fits all of these requirements.

Due to both of the afore-mentioned circumstances, a group of six people banned together to provide Christmas for my Tween. They sent an amazing set of gift cards, so I decided she would get her Santa gift after all: a Wii. The gift cards were sent with that intention, but with the option of using it any way I felt necessary. Besides the large gift cards to be used on the Wii, there were also smaller gift cards for stores that Tweens like to shop in: a bookstore, a jewelry store, and a clothing store. These three I saved for a later date & time.

Several other friends (who I also consider Christmas Angels) provided much-loved gifts to Tween: a gift card to JCPenny, which was one of the things she had requested; the latter three Twilight books, because she loved the first one so much; a small set of candles; and a photo frame.

I am grateful to everyone who helped make my baby’s Christmas special. It is one of the few times I allow her to feel so utterly spoiled, and I was VERY bummed out about having to return all the things I had purchased for her over the last six months.

I can not ever repay my Christmas Angels for their generosity. Financially, I hope to be able to do so someday in the near future. The value of their gifts go far beyond their monetary value, though, and I only hope I can be half as good a friend to them as they have been to me.

As promised, I am sharing the pictures from when Tween realized she is getting a Wii. Santa’s Elves sent her a letter via Santa & Mrs. Claus telling her that since she was such a fabulous child, she was receiving a special gift this year. It also mentioned the actual system would arrive in Jan (they have to build it, yanno!).

Thank you again to all of you who have shown your love and support through various methods. You are appreciated, and I treasure each of you.

xoxo

Devyl

Anyone who knows me knows I love brainiacs of any nature. My guy is a super geek dynamics engineer who works on amazing projects out west. My friends are mostly techies. My sister is an education major with a Master’s degree - literature being her strongest focus, tho right now she’s teaching High School ESOL students. Her new hubby is a software developer. My stepfather is one of those people that is knowledgeable on just about any subject … and if you ask him something he hasn’t studied yet, he’ll study it and get back to you on it.

Surrounded by geek … the way I love it.

My newest experience has led me to a major increase in things I’m following …

My friend “n8k99* dragged me over to Twitter, where I set up my profile and started chatting with him & added a few personal friends that Twitter let me know were already signed up (yanno, through the “find your friends” client). Before long, n8k99’s friends started following him to me, because they wanted to see our whole conversation & not just his side. That led to even more followers (whom I always follow, cuz I think it is silly to have followers you’re not following, or vice versa), and more conversation. Before long, a few different people kept mentioning the same websites/programs/ideas, so I started looking stuff up and following all kinds of links. One of my Twitter buds, jacklhasa, has been most helpful in guiding me around and helping me install and/or figure out various things, despite being a busy writer. So, Thanks, jacklhasa!

Now, in the last few days I have subscribed & signed up to several different services. I’ve already emailed some of you or grabbed you in chat to drag you along with me, because I get excited about sharing new things. But I figured I’d put them here too, and you can follow wherever you want.

Basically, I looked for an excuse to blog, so that I learn to make a habit of it.

These are not going to be listed in the same order I started using them, because I basically got into everything in the last 5 or so days. So a timeline isn’t that important (at least, that’s what I’m telling myself!).

The “social network” is apparently the new wave online. Several of the places I have found myself lately (including Twitter) are focused on this concept.

Last.fm (my profile) I know many of you have probably heard of Last.fm before … but have you signed up & tried it out? I didn’t sign up before, and now I wish I had, especially since I just plug my account info into my music player (Exaile) and it sends the updates to Last.fm for me (meaning, I don’t have to dl anything from Last.fm to utilize the service). I don’t know if that works for non-Linux users. But you should all be using Linux anyway.

Xoost - (my profile): The social network search tool. It searches in Google, and Yahoo, and several other popular search engines. But it enables you to share your searches & your favorite findings. It seems pretty incredible, and I hope to become more of a part of it in the near future. So far, I have only dabbled. BTW, the guy that started Xoost found me through his Twitter account.

While we’re talking about sharing information, lets talk about Digg. (My Profile.) I’m sure you’ve seen the “Digg this” tags on news & information websites. Here’s what Digg has to say about themselves:

What is Digg?

Digg is a place for people to discover and share content from anywhere on the web. From the biggest online destinations to the most obscure blog, Digg surfaces the best stuff as voted on by our users. You won’t find editors at Digg — we’re here to provide a place where people can collectively determine the value of content and we’re changing the way people consume information online.

Read the rest of what they have to say here. I’ve been meaning to get around to a Digg account for a long time, and finally signed up the other day, after I started following searches on Xoost.

Flock - the social web browser. I wasn’t sure about getting this, because I didn’t really think it would benefit me. I was wrong.
Here’s what they have to say about themselves:

Flock is a consumer Internet business which has developed a free, next generation web browser. The web, and the way people engage online, has evolved dramatically over the past decade. But web browsers - the application that fundamentally enables online experiences and services across ones’ connected life - have not kept pace.

Flock is focused on fundamentally evolving the browser, bringing a refreshing new approach to how people use and participate on the web and simplifying social and web-based applications by bringing them one step closer to the user and integrating them directly into the browser.

When using Flock, people can easily discover, access, create and share videos, photos, blogs, feeds and comments across social communities, media providers, and popular websites.

Not only does it make it easier to keep track of my current memberships, but it made it easier to sign up for a couple of things I’d wanted to sign up for anyway, because they’re built right into the browser’s tools. Woot! Which leads me to …

Flickr - Photo sharing website. Here’s Flickr’s Wiki entry to explain more. One of the things that encouraged me to go ahead and sign up for Flickr (despite already having a few Photobucket accounts) is that there is an upload tool located within my Flock browser!! (My Flickr profile.)

While I’m thinking of multiple accounts, I should mention Gmail. Email the better way. Their tagline: less spam, mobile access, more space. I can attest to two of the three … I haven’t needed the mobile access yet. I love the ease of using gmail. I love having an “archive” option. I love putting tags on things instead of filing them in folders. I love the search option. And I love the way it collates your emails so that if you send out an email and receive 50 replies from 50 people (or even one person), they all stack within the same subject, instead of cluttering up your box. Lovely. Beautiful. Wonderful. If you want an invite, lemme know. I don’t even think you need one anymore though. Just go, sign up.

Let’s see … what else was there? I can’t seem to think of anything else, tho I swear there was more. If I come across anymore ‘welcome’ emails, I’ll add to the list. For now, follow & enjoy.

And, Beav, if you don’t start following me on Twitter, I’m gonna withhold hugs for at LEAST a week! Dammit.