it's Saturday now but why waste a perfectly good image... let's break out of the box and play with code...

Learning code with Mandarin Design is fun. Instead of using the 200 wide graphic, I used a 100 size and with the repeat code, it made four of them on the 400 wide box. I don't know exactly WHY things turned out this way, although meg explains it very well. ADHD and all, I'm afraid. Anything with over two steps, and I'm so lost. Shirl has picked up this project and run with it. Happy Blue Moon, everyone!

Job Predictor
Are you kidding me? It says my ideal job is Porn Star. Oh, no.
via: Chapel Perilous

Oh, Blogger, why did you jackpot me once again? Sometimes I just don't think you respect me anymore and you take me for granted. Yesterday you disappeared and took 95% of my template with you, leaving me to scrape and fend for myself. No note. No nothing. Nada.

Blogger, you're a fickle little dude. But as usual, I'll forgive you and take you back after you remind me of your free service, easy push-button publishing, recent upgrades and promises of "It'll never happen again. Honest".

I go to my room to sulk and soon begin thinking about the new guys in town. Classy Word Press just moved in down the street. He's got possibilities. And there's the sleek and polished Typepad. Everyone thinks he's mighty fine. So lookout, Blogger. There may soon be a new pair of boots under my Blog bed.

{Kittens & Plan B}
I've had this Felix download program for four or five years and Skyler and I used to get a big kick out of it. So the new kitty was on my desk and began chasing the cursor around on my monitor and I happened to remember I still had this interactive Felix The Cat Desktop Toy. Most definitely NOT the Felix the cat X-rated cartoon version. As soon as she wakes up, I'll show it to her. She's sleeping on the desk near the mouse. How appropriate.
JCrew's HR department contacted me to say that the Offices and Call Center are no longer in Asheville; it's moved to Lynchburg, VA. All that's left is the Distribution Center where all the clothes, etc, are shipped out. (If you call the catalog to order, they ship from there.) So Plan A, aka 'the JCrew Job' is gone, since I'm really not your Shipping & Receiving kind of gal.

Bele Chere weekend is upon us. That means for the next three days, downtown Asheville will be the scene of the South's largest free outdoor festival. One of the best things about Bele Chere is that it has something for everyone. Loads of crafters come from all over, and vendors supply all their best food. Raft rides, helicopter rides, and of course, music, music, music! There's probably a dozen stages with various types of music offered. Alcohol is served except on Sunday, which is Family Day. Shuttles are best for getting in and out, I've found. The people I run into are probably the best thing about Bele Chere, and the vendors with their handmade silver jewelry and clothes are usually where most my money goes. I'm sitting it out this year, but this is Skyler's 16th Bele Chere in a row. Does your town have a big event? Please tell me about it.

"...Is Paved With Good Intentions"

Breakfast: 1 plum, 1 bowl of Cheerios w/2% milk, coffee
Off to a good start
Mid-Morning Snack: 1 banana, 1 glass water
So far; so good.
Late Morning Snack: (And here's where the healthy eating takes a mean u-turn;) 1 Ice Cream sandwich, and looking around for something else to eat. It's just 11:00 am -- too early for lunch, and I know from previous experience that my attempt at totally healthy eating today is sure to be shot to hell. Does this ever happen to you?

**Updated to add: Just as day turns into night, I've just enjoyed a delicious cup of coffee that Sweeney made--chocolate/hazelnut which was better than expected. And what's a cup of specialty coffee without a decadent pastry to accompany it? A lovely cheese danish made a lovely companion piece. Healthy eating day shot to hell. Attempt #8744 begins at 0700.

You send artwork that's been done on a box or on a section of a box.
Box Doodle Project - via: All This Chittah Chattah

Skyler's kitty is really aggitating me today. When Sky is on the pc, she let's her come up on the keys, etc, so she thinks she can do it with me. Still doesn't have a name. Seth made the best fruit salad last night. It was huge and had kiwi, strawberries, bananas, apples, grapes, pineapples, canteloupe, watermelon, tangerines. I cut a slice of veddy sharp cheddar and had a nice dinner. I realy like summer suppers. I will leave you with a tip of the day I heard once upon a time: When grocery shopping, try to buy the bulk of your groceries in the perimeter of the store; all around the edges. That's your fruit/veggies, fresh meats and dairy. The inner aisles are where your processed foods are, so buy wisely in there. Thanks for stopping by. I know how busy you all all and I really appreciate you taking the time. =P

Skyler and Samuel are watching the movie, "Half-Baked" for probably the 15th time and I'm trying to catch up on blog visits. Shirl is back from vacation.

I faxed my resume to JCrew, a company I used to work for today. In Western North Carolina, there's not a whole lot of job opportunities. I was going to school in the day and working at JCrew at night. You tell them when you're available and they work with you. JCrew was a weird stop on the job carnivale of my life, but they loved my freaky self. And after climbing up the ladder a little, I no longer had to deal with customers, just the other folks who worked within the hub of the company. They have a Call Center and Distribution Center here in Asheville.

I always figured I could maybe go back to work for them, even though I left to take a better paying job and a more prestigious position, I still wish I'd never left. It's a young company and I worked in a variety of positions: Supervisor, Trainer, Ran Work Flow(--Directing calls to associates and doing the scheduling, vacation and benefit times). I later felt they were pushing us older folks out when they started downsizing. Many middle managers were cut and I left before my job got cut and also a good job opportunity arose. Of course, I gave them the 2 week notice and trained a replacement.

Didn't mean to turn this into another resume, but let me go, won't you? You know how hard it is for me to talk about myself. We'll see what happens. I hope to hear from them in the next few weeks. If it's meant to be.....Thanks for listening.

Courtney Deserves Better From Feminists
Margaret Cho, feminist, standup comic and champion of the underdog, has a post today about Courtney Love. She asks why feminists haven't come to her defense and why this hatred is casual and unquestioned. Why do some find it so easy to hate her? Courtney continues to be media fodder and is a rising star in the latest Celebrity Death Pools. (paraphrasing)

As someone in recovery, I can see her pain. She appears to be hurting all the time. As in some type of emotional pain. I think she deserves our support and maybe some professional help to bring her some peace of mind. [more�]

To My Daughter On Her Birthday

Love & Broken Hearts - It was long ago, but I do remember when I was 16, too, so your feelings will always be valid. Love is as deep an emotion at 16 as it is when you're adult. Some emotions attached to love may not yet be mature, but the feelings and emotions surrounding love run strong and true. I will always honor these feelings of yours.

Privacy - I have never read your diary or journals. I've never been tempted to peek. Some day I may, but for now your privacy is important to me and I will always do my best to honor it.

Trust - Trust is so important between children and parents. I trust you, Sky.

As Your Mother - I have no need to play the role of your 'Best Friend'. Hopefully as Mother and Daughter we can be good friends, too. Being your Mother foremost will have and have had me making choices or decisions that aren't always popular. Sometimes you will even hate me. But I won't take it personally. I will understand and wait for you to come around. That's part of what my Unconditional Love for you is all about. Unconditional = No Matter What.

My Mother once said this to me and I'll pass it on to you: When you're out away from home and faced with some decision, ask yourself, "Is this something I'd do in front of my parents?" If your answer is "Yes", than I'll consider my job as a Mother well done.

Happy Sweet Sixteen, Skyler Laurel!

Coach K staying at Duke! Yippee!!

Who's John Kerry going to choose for his Vice Presidential running mate? I really wish it would be John Edwards, but I don't think it will be. Will it be someone that no one's even talking about? Maybe. Dick Gephardt is also a top runner, but sure lacks pizazz.

He's made up his mind, but has yet to announce it. I heard he's going to tell all his internet supporters first. I take that to mean all the people on his email list. Stay tuned.....!

For commenting on these Blogger comments, I think you have to be signed up with Blogger. You don't have to have an actual active Blogger account, I don't think. Just sign up with them. Or you may still have the option to post anonymous. If so, just type your name at the bottom of your comment. Sorry it's so much of a hassle. I may end up switching back to HaloScan. Happy Monday!

I hate to be sick and hate to talk about being sick, but still feel like I need to say a few things.

Years ago when I was extremely vain, I was bulemic. I was hospitalized with it once. After probably 15 years of this abuse, I was finally able to get it under control years ago. But just because you no longer throw up, doesn't mean your internal self is fine. During that time, the acid from throwing up ate all the enamel off my teeth and I found myself with dentures at a young age. To say I have a hiatal hernia is a joke, but it helps pinpoint my problem in a nutshell when needed. That's just one small part of the problem. My esophagus and the lining leading into my stomach is scarred and there's a hole in the flap leading into the esophogus from spasms. That last time I saw a doctor about this, we decided to see if medicine could treat it alone. But I stopped taking it after I stopped hurting. After days of not digesting very well, I threw up violently for two days.

It's always a chore for me to digest something. Sometimes after each bite I have to walk it off. I've still not eaten anything solid since Monday. Simon made fruit salad and a small piece of pineapple got stuck, so I better stick to lots of liquids, maybe soup and jello and ice cream for now and ease into crackers, toast. It just takes so much out of me. I'm like a limp noodle with no strength at all.

I did some light blogging today and hope to get back up to speed real soon to see what's going on in your lives. Yea, I'm nosey like that. And I miss you, too.

I made it to the keyboard and thought I'd better touch base to say I'm still alive. But I've not felt well since Monday evening. It felt like the onset of a stomach virus, but it isn't getting much better. As soon as I feel a little better, I'll swing by and check in with everyone. But now I'm going back to bed.