Happy Boo Day!

Here is The Boy this weekend, waking up to go to a Halloween party.

Here he is playing with the dog

This is the costume for the party, he will be a Power Ranger today, more pictures later:

And here is my nephew and son, with their costumes getting ready to go to the party. They didn't want to be ninjas anymore so they told everyone they were Ninja Storm Power Rangers!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Halloweenies

I love Halloween. Everything about the season makes me happy.

I love the brilliant reds, yellows and oranges of the trees, the crisp, crackling leaves on the ground as you walk. Pumpkins and gourds in all shapes and sizes.

I love costume shopping with the Boy and watching the kids get excited about candy and goodies.

I love Autumn baking and pumpkin pie. I love how the air is crisp enough to need a jacket over your t-shirt (except this year when it is like 30 degrees out!!).

I love that the year is winding down and that Christmas is around the corner.

I love haunted stories, haunted hay rides, haunted houses.

I love that ear to ear smile my Boy gets when he gets a piece of candy!

Oh, and I love candy . . .

Now, though, with the days growing shorter, so too is my time with my family. The hours I work are so incredibly long, I might as well take up residence in another city until the weekend. I see my son off to bed only to hear him sob that he doesn't want me to go to work the next day, and even the bribes with halloween candy don't get him to calm down.

So, I have found myself at a bit of a crossroads, albeit of brilliant foliaged trees. I have been here before. Do I sell my soul to the $, the one I need desperately to support my family, make the house payment, bills and other sundry needs.

Or do I chuck it all? Sell the house, the cars, the dog, live in a box but have time for my kid? There is no middle ground. No one is knocking on my door with offers of employment at 6 figures. I didn't win the Powerball, hell I can't even win a free fry at McDonalds, and the President still hasn't called about the Supreme Court, so I am still a slave to my position.

While being fired is definately on the horizon - the explanation for that is that I often opt to leave at 7pm to make it home by 8pm in order to put my son to bed at 9 pm and I don't come in on weekends - what shall I do?

Hell, I even took a day off yesterday, only to work all day from home. Not much me time there either!

My other jobs don't pay a dime (mom/firefighter) and my body wouldn't get much on the open market.

So what's a girl to do? Welp, the only thing I can, back to the daily grind. Whoreing myself out to whoever has a legal matter that needs solved, and not seeing my son till bedtime.

Blodging may be light for a bit while I sort out how to sell my soul to the devil and still be able to enjoy one of my favorite holidays.

The Weather, She Is A-Changing

Well, as I sit here looking out at the dreary day from my 41st floor perch, it occurs to me that the weather is changing.

Why you ask?

Well because at this very moment, on Tuesday, October 25, 2005 it is snowing. Yep, you read right. It is snowing, big-ass puffy snowflakes too!

In case ya'll forgot, I am in Pittsburgh, PA. It is roughly 40 degrees out and it is snowing. Last night just southeast of here, 8 inches of snow fell. Yep! They had a winter weather advisory in October. It isn't even Halloween and we have had our first snowfall of the season, albeit a slight snowfall here.

Someone please pass the hot cocoa!

UPDATE: It has stopped snowing, and is now simply raining. Yuck. The forecast for my neck of the woods till Thursday is 40ish and rain mixed with snow!

King of the Cotillion Winner!

We have a winner! It is BC of the Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler:

Go congratulate him! And a big thank you to all the yummy classy guys who participated!

Now, on with the Cotillion . For you newbies, it is a roundup of the thoughts of some very lovely ladies in the 'sphere. You really shouldn't miss these ladies as they almost never disappoint.

This week the lovely hostess is Right Girl she did a splendid job!

Pumpkins!

Took the Boy to a hayride yesterday to enjoy some fall fun. The ride took us to a pumpkin patch where we disembarked to find the perfect pumpkin.

My son said "mommy! I have to find one IIIII can carry!" With that he was off running. What he returned with was the cutest, smallest, most perfect fifty cent pumpkin a mom could ask for. Everyone thought it was perfect.

After, we did the hay maze and fed some goats. I must say is was well worth the $7 I spent for the whole day, food included!

And, fall is just beautiful here. The leaves are turning and when it isn't raining it is so pleasantly chilly!

Ok, now that I am refreshed, I will go back to hating my life after the first nasty phone call of the day!

Today Is Not That Day

Every now and again I pull something intelligent out of my ass very large and oft-used brain *wink, wink*. Today is not that day.

I am sickened by politics of late. I am saddened that we have mothers who kill their children, and fathers who shouldn't have children among us.

I am beyond upset at all the attention that New Orleans and its useless politicos and residents get while 300 residents of towns like Pearlington, Mississippi are still sleeping on the ground in their football stadium! Here is the time when you ask "Where's FEMA?". And the answer? Busy defending their actions after Katrina.

Oh wait! I have more. I am disgusted that we get no stories, no pictures, not even a mention of all the help the U.S. has sent to Pakistan since the earthquake, but the MSM knows no shame!

So, to escape from all this crap floating out there, I am going to take the advice of my beautiful 2 year old who said "mommy smile, if it hurts I can fix it!"
He can. He and I are going to enjoy the weekend despite the garbage that infects my mind during the week. I'm going to let him make me smile (it doesn't take much) and attempt to fix it, although I am quite certain he isn't sure what he is fixing.

Have a good weekend, I will be indulging in these! Jealous? You should be!

WTW - Amusements

We built this here Amusement for the chillins cause we couldn't afford us no tickets to Disney World! Click to make it big.

Check out what my noisy naybors here in this here traylor park have to say while I go whip up some jello shots!

basil's blog
BOBO BLOGGER
Cranky Neocon
Dangerous Logic
Fistful of Fortnights
HECTOR VEX
It Is What It Is
Mean Ol' Meany
Merri Musings
MY Vast Right Wing Conspiracy
Riehl World View
Rightwingsparkle
Six Meat Buffet
Sortapundit
The Ebb & Flow Institute
The Jawa Report
The Nose On Your Face
The Therapist
Vince Aut Morire
Feisty Republican Whore

Cotillion Plus Blogger Babe Competition!

It's Tuesday, and that means it is Cotillion time. For you newbies, it is a roundup of the thoughts of some very lovely ladies in the 'sphere. You really shouldn't miss these ladies as they almost never disappoint.

This week the lovely hostess is Zendo Deb and she did a splendid job!

I forgot to post one for this weeks Cotillion, again, the stress is getting to me!

Go check out these lovely ladies.

And don't forget the King of the Cotillion Competition, aka Blogger Babe, Cotillion Beefcake . . .

We have the top four candidates in the final round, ready for
objectification! Some of the photos will have changed at their
request, as you will see, but you can still ogle check out the pictures
from last week at My Vast Right Wing Conspiracy.
Let the objectification begin!




First, we have MacStansbury, proprietor of the
excellent MacStansbury.org blog. MacS says he hates this picture
because he was exhausted and "covered with sand," but we like that he
was showing his USM pride in the middle of a live combat area:

Next up, and also dashing in his desert camo, is
Thunder6 from 365 and a Wakeup, beamed in from the front lines
in Iraq where he is now. In this photo he is showing us girls his "guns":

B.C. didn't dig up his photos with him in his flight
suit from his days in uniform, but he provided a more current photo,
this one showing him enjoying the good life--beer-drinking on a
boat--and looking not so torturous away from the Imperial Dungeon™ at
the Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler:

Also in a sunny paradise is Bullwinkle from Random Numbers.
Bullwinkle may be a big ol' moose, but he likes little furry animals
other than just squirrels. Here he's feeding a baby coati mundi that he rescued, now just a couple weeks old.

Thank you from all of us in the Cotillion to all the guys who
participated last week--we consider all of you our Princes for
participating and for supporting us!

I Ate Ogre!

Stole this from VW:

Weekend Madness

I am a firefighter with a volunteer company in PA. We don't get money from the state or the federal government (usually) and so are primarily funded by donations. This weekend is one of our biggest money making events. We are having our annual fire auction. We'd make more money if we auctioned off the guys and girls but instead we are auctioning off other people's junk. The sale usually lasts all day Saturday - we have a lot of junk!

So, wish us well, and don't forget to donate to your local volunteer fire department.

More On My Trip To Korea

One aspect of my trip that was bitter-sweet was finally meeting my uncle. The one who my mom didn't know until her teen years.

I didn't think I could love and miss this man so much after just 10 days with him. It was as if I had known him my whole life. His English is pretty good so we were able to talk about most anything. His days were devoted to carting me around so I could see what Korea was like.

Now, my uncle is 71 and not in the best of health. I learned just before I left Korea that he had been diagnosed with a fatal liver disorder and would likely not live much longer. Even though he was very ill, he made sure that I learned about my roots. - where I came from!

It really is a tragedy. No one longs for the Unification of Korea more than he. He wants to learn what happened to his father, his brother, his sister - 54 years ago. Are they still alive? What have they been doing all these years, do they remember him?

It is a door that is not closed in his life. Before my mother left, she gave him the funds to go on a "peace" ride to a mountain somewhere in North Korea. See they have trains and buses that are allowed to go into North Korea on a limited basis for the purposes of extending the peace and moving toward unification. He is, hopefully, going to take that trip before he dies. He wants to see the land that is part of his family, as the majority of the Ubong-Kim land lies just north of the DMZ. He wants to try to find his lost siblings, or anyone who may have known them.

Part of the reason he and my aunt put a headstone at their mother's grave was if unification was ever achieved and his siblings returned to the place of their birth, they would know someone cared for their mother's grave and that three of them survived. All their names are on the stone so they can reach out to any of the siblings should it ever come to pass.

It saddens me that he may not live to try to find his long-lost siblings. It saddens me that he may not live to meet my son on my next trip to Korea. I am, however, so happy to have had the opportunity to meet him!

Cotillion!

It's Tuesday, and that means it is Cotillion time. For you newbies, it is a roundup of the thoughts of some very lovely ladies in the 'sphere. You really shouldn't miss these ladies as they almost never disappoint.

This week the lovely hostess resides at The North American Patriot and she did a splendid job!

I forgot to post one for this weeks Cotillion, flog me later!

Go check out these lovely ladies.

Don't Forget Sissy!!

In honor of Sissy also reaching the 20,000th visitor milestone, and for the instant gratification of all my female readers, I am posting a little treat, or should I say two treats in the extended!

Enjoy ladies, I did!

Prize of all Prizes for my 20,000th reader!

Well, Frank L. of Manic Viking was my 20,000th visitor and in humble appreciation for being on his lists of reads, he will find a not-quite so work safe gift. I would have put a bow on it, but didn't know where it would fit.

Now, I should say, I was going to post a similar picture of myself in my bunker gear but as that would make most of you wretch and I don't have an axe, so I thought that the following was a much better choice!

Enjoy Frank, and thanks to everyone who stops in for a looky-loo. I will have more about my Korean family soon!

100 to Go

Come on! 100 to Go!

Visit Me For Cheap Thrills

Ok, my Sitemeter is nearing 20,000 visitors. I am psyched! So, the lucky 20,000th visitor will get a virtual prize from me depending on gender as a thanks for visiting.

Oh and since I am a member of the Bad Example family, think along the lines of provisions in firesuits . . .

So, send me a screenshot if you are my 20,000th visitor! Yay!

Out of the mouths of babes . . .

I knocked over a cake, icing-side up at a dinner this weekend and my son said:

"mommy! you pick that up and then go sit in that chair, you are in time-out until you say sorry for breaking such a yummy cake!"

I promptly took a seat, so as to keep from falling to the ground in laughter. Luckily there were extra cakes!

Jo Janoski - A Must Read

I work insane hours. I never see my child, and I never get time to sit and read, but I was really excited when I received my copy of Tea and Chocolates in the mail last night.

Tea and Chocolates is a thin book with a weighty moral behind it. It is packed with simple flowing prose that draws you into the story about two young girls from different sides of the tracks in early Twentieth Century Pittsburgh, PA. I read it cover to cover in less than two hours. Through the Boy's bath and four episodes of Power Rangers!

It is a moving story. My only complaint would be that towards the end of the book, Jo needed to flesh out one character's surprise that another had been her benefactor. That isn't really a complaint, I just would have liked more to read.

I loved the book and can't wait to read Jo's other book Faithful if it is half as attention grabbing as Tea and Chocolates, I know I won't be disappointed! Oh, and I think I'll read it again and again, it is that good.

Cotillion!

It's Tuesday, and that means it is Cotillion time. For you newbies, it is a roundup of the thoughts of some very lovely ladies in the 'sphere. You really shouldn't miss these ladies as they almost never disappoint.

This week the lovely hostess resides at The Gray Tie and she did a splendid job!

Go check out these lovely ladies.

Which Pinup Girl Are You?

You're Bettie Page!


What Classic Pin-Up Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

hmmmm.

MORE PICTURES!!

So, I have been telling you about my mom and her sister these last two weeks, and I thought I would post some more pictures of my mom for you all to see.

First off, here is a picture of my mom and her sister (mom is the little one) when my mom was 5. Her sister made sure she was always part of her life.

Here is my rather hip mom in 1973.

Here is one of my mom that I have always loved. However, when I scanned it, it blurred her one eye so she looks a bit unnerving . . .

Here is a picture of my mom, dad, sister and me. I'm the chubby two year old!

This is my mom hanging out on a picnic table waiting for me to finish fishing.

And here is my mom and Aunt this year.

I have more about my mom and my trip to share, but thought I'd share some more pictures first.