Misc. Friday Stuff

September 29, 2006 /

1st off, I’m really enjoying Maya’s caterpiller.  Yesterday, I thought it was getting ready to go into its little cocoon, so I moved it into my ‘office’ so I could watch it. (Maya was at school all day, so she wasn’t missing it or anything.)  It didn’t cocoon, though, it was just molting, but it was very cool to watch it eat eat eat all day.  It’s a VERY hungry caterpiller.  I tried to take a beautiful picture of it, but my camera isn’t up to the task, and they all came out blurry.  If you want to see a beautiful picture of what I was going for, check here. (Used without the permission of Ms. Mama, but it’s such a stunning pic, I’m sure she won’t mind. 😉 )

I’ve been doing some housework on the new blog.  I’ve categorized almost 1/2 of my posts. A lot of the pictures didn’t come over very well.  But since I’m guessing very few people will actually go back and look at old posts, I think it’s fine. I’m just yanking some of them.  So if you go to a post that says, “Look at that coleslaw” or something, and there’s no pic, that’s why.

I’ve noticed that sometimes there’s a problem loading my page, and it LOOKS to my untrained eye like it’s related to the blogroll.  I have my blogs managed by blogrolling.com, and if that code is slow coming over, it seems to hold up the whole blog.  Therefore, I’m pulling that code, and seeing if it stops the problem.  The problem was intermittant anyway, but annoying. (Thanks, Allly Bean, for bringing it to my attention to begin with.) Since the code has now been changed, will you all let me know if the page is loading better today, or if there are still problems? (I know, many of you had no problems…I only sometimes did, but it looked like the page froze when it got to my blogroll…)

One new addition, over there near the bottom of my sidebar, I have some lyrics to songs that I love. (Got that idea from Wendy.  Thanks, W!) Well, Ted suggested that it might be cool to set it up so that when you click the song, you get to hear it.  I think he’s groovy, and that’s a cool idea.  I set it up, and you can just click the ‘listen!’ link and enjoy! 

The aftershocks of the book meme that I did a bit ago motivated me to postpone the book I was just starting (The Jump Off Creek, about a pioneer woman in Oregon…got it on vacation in Portland), and instead I’m reading The Catcher In the Rye. So far, I’m loving it.  I love that he uses phrases like, “He held my paper in his hand like a turd’. (That’s a paraphrase, by the way, I didn’t bother to look it up, because I’m lazy like that.)  Thanks again to Ms. Mama.

I went to the first of 7 3-hour trainings last night, for a program I’ll be implementing at Maya’s school.  It’s to teach kids resilliance and so on.  Really interesting, really cool stuff.  Stuff I never thought of, like how we say, “Just say no” to drugs, but we don’t give the kids the skills to know HOW to say no.  So in this class, we’ll be learning how to teach them to have the skills they will need in the future, in so many ways, beyond drugs and tobacco.

Got rid of the fish tank the other day.  Dorothy and Elvis have been dead for awhile now. 🙁 . Spotty, the fish that ate Dorothy’s fins as she lay dying, finally expired himself while we were in Portland.  Probably I wasn’t cleaning the water often enough.  I went to clean the tank the other day, thinking that maybe we could get it scrubbed out really well, and maybe get some new fish at some point.  The filter pump had fried, so I just threw it all away.  Luckily I notieced the deadness of the pump before I went to the trouble to clean the sides of the tank.  Well, Maya has had the tank as her nightlight for 8 years now, so it’s been a difficult adjustment for her.  I got her 3 nightlights, and put them around her room.  Not the same as fish, but still, better than nothing.

One more week until “Battlestar Gallactica“, and just a few days until “Lost“.  Whew.  I can hardly wait.

Ted worked last Sunday, and he’s working again tomorrow, so he’s taking today off from work.  Hope I can finish up early, or maybe go to lunch or something fun.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!  I have a yummy rice recipe I’m planning to post either tomorrow or Sunday, so if you like to cook (and/or eat) come on back. 😉

 

16 Comments

  • Lotus

    September 29, 2006 at 6:48 pm

    Love your new place, J! Will have to change your address on my blogroll. I, too, am planning a blog overhaul, but it’s quite an effort so, ofcourse, I am procrastinating! 🙂 Can’t wait for the rice recipe. Do have a wonderful weekend!

  • Kvetch

    September 29, 2006 at 7:14 pm

    Good luck with your new home – it’s fun to rearrange the furniture and paint the walls!

    Now that I’ve recovered from my parental visit and some holidays, I can catch up here at the new place!

  • jefito

    September 29, 2006 at 10:00 pm

    We (well, Leah) just did the “butterfly thing” a couple of weeks ago — pictures at the Flickr page if you’re interested. Leah was FREAKING OUT. In a good way, of course.

  • Shelliza Ragnauth-McCarville

    September 29, 2006 at 10:06 pm

    Hmm, is that what that plant is called? Milkweed? They are were common plants in Guyana. Must be interesting to watch the metaphorphisis of a caterpillar.
    J.D. Salinger’s, Catcher in the Rye is one of my all time faves. I could read that book over and over again! Have a great weekend.

  • Gina

    September 29, 2006 at 10:55 pm

    You two crazy kids go out and definitely do something fun!

    I too, loved Catcher in the Rye, and was always surprised that my Catholic school had it in their curriculum.

  • Dot

    September 29, 2006 at 11:22 pm

    R.I.P. Dot and Elvis! hahaha I need to get the second season of Battlestar Gallactica so I can catch up. I fell off the wagon on that one. Enjoy your day. Have a great weekend! Catch up with you soon.

  • Py Korry

    September 30, 2006 at 12:35 am

    I’m glad the kinks on your new blogs are being ironed out. You know how they have webmasters? I wonder if you can add “blogmaster” to your resume?
    🙂

  • Tracy

    September 30, 2006 at 1:34 am

    Have a great weekend, J!

    I noticed on your sidebar that The Scarlet Letter is on your reading list. It’s a great book. I read it in high school and remember it as one of my favorite books that I “had to” read.

  • Wendy

    September 30, 2006 at 2:11 am

    HOW DID YOU DO THAT? I have been struggling!!!! I want to do exactly as you have done with the lyrics – please help a sistah out! I love the way everything looks, J – it is such a pretty new home!

  • Heidi

    September 30, 2006 at 3:54 am

    Right on, Jelly! Thanks for the link love and yes, Catcher in the Rye is brimming with interesting nuggets like that, hee hee. Glad you’re enjoying it.