How did these people get here from there?

(and what happened to the post I wrote from the library today?)

I've seen this on my referrers list three times today: some webpage calling themselves "Autistic Portal". When I clicked on the link, it turned out to be a PORN SITE! And I have no clue how they got to my site from theirs. And just now, I got an email advertising a gay porn site!

WTF is going on here?

Just like all the crap I've been sent lately that I didn't ask for, now I'm getting porn ads in my inbox. I'm not in the frame of mind to laugh at someone's lame idea of a joke. And I like a good joke just as much as anyone, but this is bordering on ludicrous.

=====================

I can think of a bunch of techie stuff I'd love to have...like a scanner, or a digital camera, or a laptop so I can write while I travel and go to places that have WiFi and write there.

But, without money, that'll be kinda hard.

(Notice I didn't say stuff like an iPod, or a camera phone, or a Blackberry...I don't know what a Blackberry even is!)

=====================

We're having a freeze warning tonight, so I have to go and drip the faucets now. Seeyabye!

--MorelaterZ--

Ack!

Marc's birthday is Sunday!!!

I hate it when it sneaks up on me like that! Guess it was the same way when he decided 11 years ago to be born five days early. I'd had a whole day and a half of maternity leave when he came along. He wasn't due til the 10th.

I guess I forget how close to Thanksgiving Marc's birthday really is. You'd think after this long a time, I'd remember, but it still manages to surprise me.

--MorelaterZ--

Ooooooh. Snow.

We're expecting some snow tomorrow. Oh. Joy.

No one knows how to drive in the stuff. Last winter someone almost wiped me off the face of the globe because they were driving too fast for the conditions. This is what I have to look forward to.

Man, I'm missin' Massachusetts right now.

--MorelaterZ--

I don't think so...

I was going thru my comments last night when I ran across one from some chick who asked if I could hook her up with my 18 year old son! She even said "please"!

Short answer: no

Long answer: I wouldn't hook up anyone, especially one of my sons, with anyone on the internet. My 18 year old has no problem finding female companionship in the "real world". Perhaps this gal might want to try Yahoo! Personals, one of the many online dating services on the internet.

I am not an online dating service, and I've come to believe that the comment that was left was probably one big joke to the person who left it. Ha. Ha. Ha.

I'm not really in the mood for "jokes" like that at this point.


--MorelaterZ--

I knew I needed to go to bed when...

I realized that I had been listening to the same song on one of my Godsmack CDs for an hour.

I think I know why I've been sleepy lately; I've been taking short walks around the block for exercise. I decided that I needed to move my ass a bit; instead of complaining about how tired I am doing next to nothing, I decided that I was going to be tired for a damn good reason.

Perhaps I can finally get some decent sleep.

While I was out walking today, I thought it smelled like snow. It is supposed to snow here this week. But, dammit, if I'm going to be stuck somewhere it snows, I just wish it wasn't in Okla-friggin-homa.

It still seems weird to me that it snows here.

Okay. Whatever.

--MorelaterZ--

Jammin' to Godsmack at 2:30am

Ahh yes...that'll lull me to sleep for sure!


Things have been weird for me all weekend. I'm taking these heavy naps in the middle day, often while I'm trying to watch something on TV I really wanted to see. During these naps, I actually achieve REM sleep, something that eludes me when I sleep at night. I didn't think tryptophan had that kind of effect on me, and it's been three days since I last had any turkey...so it must be something else.

So now, I'm trying to get some sleep. Think that's impossible if I have Godsmack blaring in my ears? I'm not like everyone else in that regard. Because the music makes me wanna move, I'll be bopping around my room until I'm nearly exhausted.

Yeah, I know...I'm weird.

Night all!

--MorelaterZ--

I'm soooooo eeeeeeeeeevil...

I'm using up my ex husband's cell phone minutes by text messaging him thru Yahoo! Mess-up-enger.

But he left me no choice. I couldn't raise him any other way. He doesn't answer phone calls, didn't respond to text messages until today. I just don't get why he won't try to better himself. He'll be paying child support until he dies at this rate.

=================

I'm watching the halftime show of the Bayou Classic in New Orleans. It's a battle of the bands between Grambling State and Southern University (same two teams are playing in the football game). I love marching bands! And the ones from the historically black colleges really know how to put on a show!

=================

Guess Jon gave up...I've gotten no more text messages from him. Turkey.

=================

--MorelaterZ--

43 Things

I compiled my list of 43 things. You can do the same at 43things.com.

This took me a while to complete. There are things you can chose from, or you can add your own life goals to your list. It made me think about what I want to do with the rest of my life. Puts things in perspective...

--MorelaterZ--

I feel like a Teddy Bear

...cuz I'm stuffed!


--MorelaterZ--

Giving Thanks

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you, wherever you are!

This hasn't been the greatest year for me personally. I've had, and to a certain extent, still have, some personal issues that I have to resolve. I am the only one in charge of my life, my destiny, so the job of getting thru this trying time is all mine. However, I have had some help along the way in finding the best way to handle things as they come along.

What are you thankful for today?

I am thankful for my friends, both those I know in real life and on the internet.
I am thankful for my family, who took me in when I found myself at loose ends.
I am thankful for having reasonably good health.
I am thankful for having a sense of humor about things. I think that without it, I may have given up a long time ago.
I am thankful for the talents I have, and that I have an outlet for them.
I am thankful for my faith in God. If you've read my recent post about comforting words, you'll notice that there are a few Bible verses that bring me comfort.
I am thankful for each new day that God gives me.
I am thankful for the beauty of nature.
I am thankful for being alive.
I am thankful for the soldiers who serve the United States at home and abroad. Thank you for your sacrifices, your courage, your sense of duty. You are in my prayers everyday.
I am thankful for so many things that I cannot think of right now. They'll come to me after I press that "publish post" button.

I hope your day is filled with family, friends, food, and memories.

--MorelaterZ--

Family Day at Oakdale

Mom and I went over to Oakdale, where Scott, Marc, and my niece Amalia go to school.

We first went over to my sister's house, where she was on the phone with a colleague of Dean's when we arrived. Joey was playing with a plunger nearly as tall as he is out in the hallway. Tori got off the phone and told us that this colleague was sending Dean a turkey, a ham, and a pie as thanks for Dean's sending him patients during the year. Looks like they got Christmas dinner all wrapped up LOL...

Anyway, we all went in Tori's van over to the school, where Scott was one of two greeters at the door where we entered the school. He looked so mature, but remember, he is a 13 year old boy.

We went to Amalia's classroom and met her teacher, then we got in line for the turkey dinner (at 11am, no less!). Marc joined us while we were in line. The meal consisted of the usual Turkey Day items: turkey, dressing, a roll, green beans, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie. We had chocolate or regular milk, water and iced tea, and very polite 8th grade girls who asked if we needed a refill or to take our trash. And, I learned that Scott (?!?) can flirt! Eeeek!

Only setback was that the cafetorium was cold as an icebox! Brrrr!

Scott was doing all his goofy things, the things that boys his age do (besides the flirting, that is). His dumbest thing was eating packets of sugar. The last thing that kid needs on top of his ADD is a sugar rush! I had to take the sugar containers out of his reach, or he'd have eaten them all!

Later, before we left (the kids got to leave school early), we went back to Amalia's classroom where her teacher took a group picture of all of us. She also took one with Tori's digital camera, and I'll see if I can get her to email it to me. I may or may not post it.


========================

My friend, JC, has a new part of his personal website where he is selling some of his art. He sent a mass email about it to about a zillion (ok maybe not that many, but it looked like it LOL!) of his close personal friends. Even an old email of Jon's was on that list. Go take a gander at what JC has. He is, IMHO, one of the best artists I've seen in a long time; and I am not just saying that because he's a friend of mine, but you be the judge.

========================

--MorelaterZ--

Boy, do I feel like a dumbass...

There was a post on Habitatgirl's blog about the Indiana congressman who wanted to change the name of Interstate 69 because he'd been convinced by religious folk that it was the "moral" thing to do.

It's shown up on Snopes.com. It's a hoax, folks.

I so totally fell for it when I read it on Habitatgirl's blog, because it sounds like something someone like a Pat Robertson or a Jerry Falwell would try and convince a legislator to do. After all, Pat Roberston suppsedly prayed to keep hurricanes out of Virginia Beach, where his media conglomerate is located (and so huge it has its own freakin' zip code!).

So, who knows what's real and what's not anymore? That's what snopes.com is for...LOL

--MorelaterZ--

Scooby doo, where are you?

or should that be DOCTOR Scooby Doo, because I've got a mystery illness.

I don't know what the heck I've got. All I know is that it makes me feel cruddy. This is on top of all the other things I've got (FMS, RA and all their attendant symptoms).

We had Joey over here again today. He definitely goes thru some separation anxiety when his mother drops him off (or on Saturday when Dean dropped him off here). On top of all this, he's got a cold, so on top of his thinking that mommy and/or daddy is never coming back, he's full of temper tantrums and crying and sitting right by the door, waiting for, today, Tori to come back from her dental appointment.

I picked him up and told him that every time Mommy leaves him with Nonni and Auntie Stefie, Mommy always comes back. That seemed to calm him down, and he spent most of the time he was at the house playing with his ball, or stealing Pinky's toys, or tearing even more pages out of Nonni's books.

Tomorrow, Mom and I are going to the younger boys and Amalia's school for "Grandparents Day". Since it's usually more than grandparents who show up, it really should be called "Family Day", but, then, no one asked me.

I just hope I sleep well tonight. Last night was a disaster. I slept maybe 4 hours.


--MorelaterZ--

The headache's gone (yay!!)

But I still don't feel great. If I'm going to be sick, then dammit, let me be sick and get it all over with! None of this feeling *bleh* jazz. I can go to 5th and Littler for that (jazz, that is).

I guess the cinnamon rolls Tori and Dean and the gang brought over didn't help much. They were much to sweet for me. If I'm gonna feel funny after eating one, I'd rather it be a fat, gooey Cinnabon. Mmmmm...LOL. I don't think they have Cinnabon in the Oklahoma City area. The last ones I had were in Salem, NH, when Saon was still living with me in Lawrence, MA.

I wonder how he is doing. I hope he is okay. He gets kinda weird about the holidays (and knowing his history, I can sort of understand why). I hope he knows he can call me anytime if he needs someone to talk to...

I wonder who won the NASCAR race I was watching earlier?

Blogger was acting up when I tried to post this earlier from home, so I hope it posts this time. This is the first time in a couple of days that I have felt like writing anything!

--MorelaterZ--

I feel like crud...

I've done nothing today...

Nothing but sleep.

I don't know what it is that I have. It's not really a cold, and it's not the flu. I just feel *bleh*. All I can think about is sleep. I don't even want to eat anything.

So, if I don't update for a couple days, it's because I'm busy trying not to be sick for Thanksgiving.

--MorelaterZ--
(maybe)

If you support a woman's right to choose, or gay marriage, are you a bad Catholic?

Apparently, a priest in Andover, Massachusetts, thinks so.

State representative Barbara L'Italien (D-Andover) was asked by her parish priest to step down from her leadership role as a cantor and choir leader because of her political views (which may or may not be the same as her personal views) on abortion and gay marriage (same sex marriages are legal in Massachusetts as of May of this year). To her credit, L'Italien refused. She was quoted this week as saying "that church should be a sanctuary, apart from (her) work".

L'Italien was quoted in the Eagle-Tribune that she is not going to step down unless she receives a written request to do so.

In this article, the author writes: "The Catholic Church would have more credibility if it also came down on individual legislators who support the death penalty, which is also a violation of church doctrine. But while the church has long opposed capital punishment, it has not sought to punish individual lawmakers who are in favor of it."

Is this a case of the pot calling the kettle black?

I am not a politician, but I am a Catholic. I support a woman's right to choose (though I personally would not), and I support same sex marriage (though I am straight). In this way Rep. L'Italien and I are alike. And, because of my views, would I be considered a "bad" Catholic? Could a priest, knowing my views, refuse to give me (or my children, for that matter) Communion? Didn't God give me a brain and free will to think for myself? The Church doesn't support women using birth control, either, but I have. If I didn't, I'd probably have eight or ten children instead of only four.

And since when did the Catholic Church get the right to pass judgement? This is an institution that turned a blind eye to pedophile priests for decades! Cardinal Law, the former Archbishop of Boston, had to resign because of that. And what does one's personal beliefs have to do with leading a choir? Nothing that I can see.

Perhaps if the Catholic Church gave its parishoners a little credit for brains... after all, Barbara L'Italien wasn't standing at the cantor's lectern preaching her political views. She was leading the choir, for cryin out loud! Let her continue to lead the choir at her parish. As long as she keeps her job and her church duties separate, which she has done, I don't see the problem here.

Some people need to get a grip!


--MorelaterZ--



NOTE: the preceeding is the opinion of the author, and does not represent the views of the websites/blogs listed here. Quotes are from two articles from the online edition of The Boston Globe. Please see the disclaimer at the very bottom of this page regarding comments. Thank you.

This is just sad. I have get out of Oklahoma

Another black eye for the Sooner State. They're going to run out of eyes soon.

Oklahoma was listed 47th out of 50 states as to the best places for women to live. Rated 47 of 50. Sad.

"According to the study by the Washington D.C.-based Institute for Women's Policy Research, one in seven Oklahoma women are not making enough money to make ends meet, and one in five have no health insurance. "

Can you see my hand raised up high, Gov. Henry?

ONE IN SEVEN WOMEN IN OKLAHOMA ARE LIVING BELOW THE POVERTY LINE!!!
What's wrong with this picture?

Once again, a New England state, Vermont, ranks number one.

I have to get out of Oklahoma! It's just not good for me to live here under the conditions I am at this point in my life.

Maybe Mom was right when she said that if I had still been in Massachusetts, I'd have Disability by now.

Stuff like this really pisses me off! And I'm in no mood to be pissed off (see previous post).


--MorelaterZ--

History is threatening to repeat itself

Fever, cold, congested, sleepy, achy...

I'm not going there willingly.


--MorelaterZ--

Wordz of Comfort

23rd Psalm

1 The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want

2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside the still waters

3 He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake

4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over

6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.


Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.


Blessed are the hearts that can bend, they shall never be broken --Albert Camus


2 Timothy 4:7
I have fought the good fight, I have stayed the course, I have kept the faith.


You will find as you look back upon your life that the moments when you have really lived are the moments when you have done things in the spirit of love. --Henry Drummond

You will be rewarded for your good deeds in the Kingdom of Heaven. --Tank, October 2002
===================

These (and others I haven't mentioned) really help me get thru the hard times. I find a kind of comfort in these words. Good friends help, too. I really don't know how to explain this (I know, I know, The Mouth in the South is speechless. Hard to believe, huh?), but I felt I had to say something about this in my blog.

When I'm done being philosophical on y'all, I'll get back to rants, raves and reports about my day.

--MorelaterZ--

Stuff...and more stuff

Jeff asked me this evening: what's new? -- and I told him.

1. Saon called-- he called me from work and we talked for about ten minutes. He then had to go on a run and said he'd call back in an hour. He didn't.

2. I made four trips to WalMart today-- personally, I think it was three too many. Especially the last one!

3. We got three days worth of mail-- as if it was a big, fat chore to deliever it Friday and Saturday? I got something from NaNoWriMo, a bill for a magazine I don't want, and two things about alternatives to Vioxx (which I have never taken, BTW).

4. Daniel came over to the house after work-- to sleep! He works at the grocery store from 6am til 2pm.

5. The van needs gas-- and oil, a tune up and new brake pads...all things Mom says she can't afford right now.

6. I have a big, freakin' headache-- so, I'm done for now.


--MorelaterZ--

Not unexpected: Powell resigns as Secretary of State

From FoxNews.com:

Colin Powell announced to his staff this morning that he is resigning his post as Secretary of State. Powell has not been happy at State for the past two years, so this move wasn't unexpected. Among the people being considered for replacing Powell are Assistant Secretary of State Richard Armitage, and National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice.


So far, several members of Bush's first cabinet have been resigning in droves. Powell is definitely a biggie after Ashcroft bailed earlier this month.


Why doesn't this, the resignation of several key cabinet members, surprise me? Because Bush is a doofus who doesn't listen to the advice his advisors give him. Bush made Powell look stupid when he went to the UN before the war began with "proof" that Saddam had WMD's, proof that was based on flawed intelligence.

Read the article hyperlinked above and come to your own conclusions. There will definitely be more on this story as the day goes on. It's stories like this that make me wish that I still had cable TV.

Now back to your regularly scheduled non-political blog surfing... I'll return to my regular content in the next post.

--MorelaterZ--

My computer mouse, R.I.P.

I have this message I occasionally have on my Yahoo! Mess-up-enger that goes: There are some days I hate my computer, and this is one of them. I was having one of those days yesterday. Nothing on the computer seemed to work right, and the big problem was the mouse. Apparently, it was about to die. Right in the middle of writing the latest installment of my NaNo novel, the mouse just quit working all together. Needless to say I lost about five pages of text. Nothing I did seemed to revive it, so I called it DOA and hied myself down to WalMart about half an hour ago and bought a new mouse.

Now, all the stupid crap it was doing yesterday seems to have stopped, and my pages are loading a wee bit faster than before (I don't know if that has anything to do with replacing the mouse or not. I figure Hannie or Keith might know that).

Weird though...I'll never figure stuff like this out without a lot of help. I need my own little tech support crew.

A techie nerd, I'm not. Some days I'm lucky just to be able to turn the damned computer on! Okay, I'm not that clueless, but you get the point. I can get around most anywhere on the internet, but when it comes to the techincal stuff, I'm lost. I can build a simple web page, but that's about it.

Woe is me...

--MorelaterZ--

Hit me up?

WTF? That's a new one on me, "hit you up".

Had this guy IM via the handy li'l Yahoo! Messenger thing at the top of the page. We had a convo about pretty much nothing...

He asks me if I have any pictures and I told him that I only had a couple online, then he asks

Him: how old are u
Yours Truly: 40
Yours Truly: and you?
Him: i gotta go
Yours Truly: ahh...


Had this guy read my blog, he would have found out that I wasn't exactly a twenty-something year old college girl. C'mon, 40 ain't fatal, it's just 40. I'm thankful I made it this far! LOL

I've made no secret of my age. If he'd read my Yahoo profile...well, my age is listed there. If I were really paranoid about my age, I'd have not listed it there. This guy talked to me like I was about his age (whatever that is), with the hip hop jargon that I've only thus far heard Saon use...and I'm used to hearing it from Saon (when I hear from him, that is).

So, if you're thinking of chatting me up, just a few things you need to know, such as:

Age: 40
Marital Status: Divorced
Children: yes, 4 sons, ages 11, 13, 18, and 21
Do I look my age: I think I look damn good for my age, thank you very much.

I didn't make it to 40 years of age by acting like a 12 year old. Hell, I didn't look 12 when I was 12! I had high school seniors asking me out when I was in eighth grade! Thirteen and fourteen year old girls still look older than they really are. I'm glad I don't have daughters that age, because I'd have them fitted for a chastity belt and lock 'em in their room until they're 30!


This is what forty looks like:

Get used to it.

=>end rant<=

--MorelaterZ--

Hello, Joe? Whaddya know? Just get back from Kokomo?

We had Joey here today, and he wasn't feeling real good. He's at that age that when his mother leaves, he has a fit. Tori literally had to sneak out of the house when she left.

He was tired, but like all the other boys were at that age, he fought it. He got into all kinds of mischief...he stopped the dishwasher, took all of the kleenexes out of the box and threw them all over the house, tore up a few more of his grandmother's books. Fun stuff like that.

===========

I've got an unintentional science project going on up here in my room...did you know that if you leave a cup of soda sit for a long while, it will grow mold? I didn't know that. It's kinda gross, but fascinating. I should throw it away, but I'm kind of curious to see what else happens to it.

===========

I've changed the title of my NaNoWriMo novel: it's now called Hearts That Can Bend. Chapter Nine was posted last night. I know it's probably not the greatest thing I've ever written, but if you are so inclined, please check it out. Feel free to comment if you'd like.

===========

Just as an aside: I told Joey today that "Bush is telling fairy tales on TV, because Auntie Stefie said so"...not that he cares, mind you: Joey's only 19 1/2 months old. Though I sang "Barbara Ann" to him and he tried sing it back to me (just the part that goes, "Ba Ba Ba, BaBaBarbara Ann") . It was really cute.

You had to be there, I guess..


--MorelaterZ--

Seems that Daniel's not the only one to get hit by a deer

If you will remember back on the 27th of last month, my son Daniel got hit by a deer on his way to work at the grocery store. Well, it appears that there's a trend going on here.

There was a column in The Oklahoman about a man who has been hit by deer (as opposed to him hitting the deer) while driving his car. Actually, this guy's been hit several times by deer while in his car. I wonder what makes deer think that they can stop a moving object weighing much more than they do that could possibly kill them? I wonder if the color of the car has anything to do with it? Is this guy's car red, like Daniel's is?

Anybody out there in my readership that has been hit by a deer? I'd really like to know.


I also mentioned in that same post that the car Daniel drives actually belongs to his Uncle Dean. The car is a crimson color, and Dean did go to the University of Oklahoma (Boomer Sooner!). How did Dean know that car was red when he bought it, since he is red/green color blind? He could have been sold a pink car for all he knew. I figured that someone went with him. Dean's Yukon XL is black. Hmmmm

(And if Dean happens upon this, I'm just foolin' on ya, man!)

Three for Thursday, Volume 2

From Eva, aka Habitatgirl. I just now got these Q's! Sorry it took so long...


1.) In 10 words or less, how do you know when to end a romantic relationship? When both parties agree it's over, for good or bad.

2.) What was your last wish? For the $$ to get my car fixed, insured and registered again.

3.) Would you rather keep your brain, but have your body deteriote, or keep a great looking body, but lose 5 IQ points a year? My brain is my greatest treasure, so I'd rather keep my brain. Look at Stephen Hawking: a brilliant mind in a virually useless body.



Thanks for the Q's Eva! Anyone else got questions for Three For Thursday? Email them to me at babydoll.beretta@gmail.com

--MorelaterZ--

Today is NOT Thursday, Stef!

So why do I keep thinking it is?

Went out this morning to get Mom coffee at 7-11 after I dropped Jeffrey off at school. I saw this kid wearing an Edmond North Seniors sweatshirt. On the back were the numbers "02". Daniel graduated from Edmond North in '02, so I thought nothing of it.

Went I went to pay for the coffee, and the cappuccino I got for myself, I was behind this kid in line. Inside the "02" were the names of members of the class. I wasn't looking for Daniel's name, it just popped out at me.

Later, I went to get sandwiches at McAlister's Deli (which I keep wanting to spell like the town here in Oklahoma, McAlester), and the parking lot was packed! Seemed like all of Faith Electrical decided to have lunch there. About five of their trucks were in the parking lot!

And I've been having this email exchange with JC about UFO's...He sent me this link to a video and an anaylisis page, and it just kept going from there. JC had figured out that the video was fake during the time we were sending emails back and forth. It was an interesting conversation. I'd never recieved so many emails from him in one day before! JC has had an interest in UFO's and paranormal occurences (probably) his entire life, so stuff like this catches his interest.

Lord, I miss him. He's a great friend!

--MorelaterZ--

NaNo: halfway thru! Damn!

My NaNoWriMo novel, Torn, is about halfway to the 50k word goal, and it isn't even the 10th of the month yet! I've just been writing like a fool.

And I don't mind telling you that I think it sucks in some spots. There were some chapters that were hard for me to write, just because they were. There's way too much minutae about why certain characters are they way they are. And I don't think Torn is going to be the title much longer.

I'm at the end of Part Two, and about halfway in the word count, so I'm going at a good pace in that respect. Now I have to deal with two college students at different schools, different personalities, and different majors. One of the sisters has an verbally and psychologically abusive boyfriend who is just like their verbally and psychologically abusive father that their mother had the good sense to get rid of. The sister with the asshole boyfriend doesn't realize it yet, however.

I'm still going to keep up my 2k word-a-day pace. Hopefully at that rate, I will be done around Thanksgiving. At least that is the plan.

And we all know about the best laid plans...

--MorelaterZ--

Louisiana is a beautiful, historically rich state, but...

this does not surprise me.

The United Health Foundation has ranked states by how healthy they are for the last 15 years. Last year, Louisiana was 49th.

You can find the states and their rankings here.

My home state of California is 22nd
My current state of residence, Oklahoma is 40th
Massachusetts is 6th, New Hampshire is 2nd (1st last year), and Maine is 10th.

And Saon would be interested to know that where he is now (Louisiana) is dead last. Where he just left, Minnesota, is number 1. The United Health Foundation is based in Minnesota, so that sounds a little biased to me.

Hannie, Mississippi is 49th...your home state, Washington, is 15th, even with Mt. St. Helen's threatening to blow her top again.

Virginia, where I lived for 11 years, is 20th...

Very interesting, to say the least (and I never say the least...most of the time! LOL)


--MorelaterZ--

"Hey Beautiful"

Lord, I wish he wouldn't tease me like that...








--MorelaterZ--

Burning Bright --Shinedown

(Lyrics from LetsSingIt.com)

==> I can relate to these lyrics. My life feels like this sometimes.


I feel like there is no need for conversation
Some questions are better left without a reason
And I would rather reveal myself than my situation
Now and then I consider, my hesitation

The more the light shines through me
I pretend to close my eyes
The more the dark consumes me
I pretend I'm burning, burning bright

I wonder if the things I did were just to be different
To spare myself of the constant shame of my existence
And I would surely redeem myself in my desperation
Here and now I'll express, my situation

CHORUS (2)

There's nothing ever wrong but nothing's ever right
Such a cruel contradiction
I know I cross the lines its not easy to define
I'm born to indecision
There's always something new some path I'm supposed to choose
With no particular rhyme or reason

CHORUS (2)

Henry "The Bull" Del Toro

I wonder whatever happended to "The Bull" after I left Norfolk in 1999?

What reminded me of him after so long is that I heard the song, "Cocaine" by Eric Clapton on the local classic rock station today. Some years ago, Henry Del Toro and his morning show partner Tommy Griffiths ("Tommy and The Bull", WNOR-FM99, Norfolk, VA), did a parody of this song called "Cobain" after the suicide of the Nirvana frontman in 1994. Part of the lyrics were, he's all right, he's all right, he's all right...NOT! Cobain.

Last I heard, Del Toro had been busted for forging prescriptions for Vicodin to feed an addiction after a car accident he was in years before. FM99 fired his ass and he ended up at another station several months later on a part time basis. He even got fired from that station as well, though my memory's kinda fuzzy on the reasons why.

Meanwhile, Del Toro's former partner, Tommy Griffiths, got a new sidekick named Rick Rumble (and became "Tommy and Rumble").

Hell, I even got FM99 stickers on my car (the Beretta that is currently non operational) from 1999!

Hannie might know this. She keeps up on stuff like that much better than I do! When I left Norfolk in 99, I was glad to leave. I had lived there for eleven years and I'd had enough.

I guess I could go to WNOR's website, that is if I could remember right off hand what the addy was...

Lord, has it really been over five years since I left Norfolk? It seems like a lifetime ago...


2/25/05: Okay, for those of you who have written to tell me what happened to Henry, thanks, but I did find out soon after I originally posted this. He died in 2002, I believe, of heart failure possibly brought on by his abuse of painkillers. He was a very talented, but troubled, man. He let his demons get the best of him, and that ultimately led to his untimely death. I pray that he is finally at peace.
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In other ramblings:

Check out the latest from my referrer's list--


Google Search: la vida loca
Google: mi vida loca
Google: polar express, sneak previews, norfolk, va
Google: vida loca
Google: bush..kerry..cartoons
MSN Search: vida loca -- More Useful Everyday
Google: my ex husband's a jerk <=====This one! AOL Web Search: Results for "Vida Loca"
Google: la vida loca



Do you have any idea how many websites are found under this search? Thousands of them! I had to clarify it further to find my website on that listing. I guess every woman with an ex husband thinks he's a jerk, or at least those who write about it on the internet! I know my ex husband is a jerk! LOL

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MorelaterZ--

So good, it should be illegal

I haven't had a Dr. Pepper in 15 years. I burned out on it because I drank it constantly.

Then, in September, I went to the Oklahoma State Fair, and got one of those little cans of Cherry-Vanilla Dr. Pepper. I almost gave it away, but I decided to give it a try. It was good! I was really surprised.

Then, I couldn't find it anywhere! I knew that it was only being test marketed in certain parts of the country, and I figured that Oklahoma City wasn't one of the test sites.

One day a couple of weeks ago, Jeff went to the store to get sodas for us, and he brought me a Cherry-Vanilla Dr. Pepper! Ahhh...

I have one on my desk right now. I still won't drink regular Dr. Pepper, but the Cherry-Vanilla is da bomb! LOL

Yum!

And now, back to your regularly scheduled blog surfing...

--MorelaterZ--

Analyze this, explain away that

Now that the election is over, everyone and his brother is speculating on why Bush won, why Kerry lost, and what needs to be done to bring this country together.

Let me tell you what needs to be done:

JOBS
HEALTH CARE
NATIONAL SECURITY
GET THE HELL OUTTA IRAQ
FLU SHOTS

THAT'S what needs to be done. We don't need any more empty promises, bogus information from dubious sources, or Dubya sitting on his hands when the hard stuff comes up.

Tell me what you're going to do to FIX what's wrong. How are you going to get the outsourced jobs back? How are you going to "fix" Social Security? How are you going to make sure the millions of folks with no health insurance get coverage? What's your plan to get us out of Iraq? Huh? huh? Whatcha gonna do, Dubya?

Well, I'm waiting....


--MorelaterZ--

Looks like it's all over but the shouting

NBC News has projected George Bush as the winner, being re-elected to a second term.

Four more years. Oh. Joy.

Four more years of lies
Of bogus intelligence
Of lost and outsourced jobs
Of having the whole world hate us because our President is an idiot
Of war in Iraq with no plan to get us out
Of having the Sword of Damacles over our collective heads
Can you say September 11th? I knew you could.

Etc., etc., etc.

As I have said elsewhere, I, personally, cannot afford four more years of Dubya. Do I feel safer with him in office?

No.

Do I feel he'll fix the jobs situation?

No.

Do I feel that he'll reinstitute the Draft?

Yes.

Do I feel that the war will never end?

Yes.

Bush has done me no favors. I have no job because of him, because he favored outsourcing the jobs I do to places like India and the Phillipines. I can't get medical insurance because I can't get a job. I can't work because of my disability and I can't get Disability benefits soon enough.

So pardon me if I'm not jumping for joy.

It amazes me that a man with a Yale education can be so dumb.

It amazes me that the American people can be so easily fooled.

Again, pardon me if I'm not shouting it from the rooftops.



God help the U.S.A. We're gonna need it.

--MorelaterZ--

No projections...

I voted. Have you?


--MorelaterZ--

Attention My Fellow Americans

Tomorrow is Election Day-- make your voice be heard!



GO OUT AND VOTE!!!

If you don't vote now, don't bitch later.

My name is Tank's Grrl, and I approve this post

--MorelaterZ--

It's that time, grrlz and boyz

Time for NaNoWriMo to begin.

You can read my ongoing entry for this year's edition here.

The goal is 50,000 words. If figured if I write 2000 words a day (which for me, anyway, isn't that hard), I should be done by Thanksgiving (November 25th) at the earliest. Of course, there will be days I write more than that, or less than that, but I will sit my ass in the chair and write every day.

This'll be fun! Just you watch!

--MorelaterZ--