Visit my family LJ at keenfamilypics.livejournal.com.

Pictures located in the scrapbook of above LJ and at http://picasaweb.google.com/crashingwaves38

LJ Icon Journal--eumenides215, shared with clytemnestra215 and gyrutu

The weather here is absolutely gorgeous. Right now it's a nice 68F outside, with the high only looking to get another 10 degrees warmer. The lows are cool enough to cool down the house with the windows open to about 70F overnight, and the highs aren't so high that I have to turn on the AC.

Gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous. And it looks like it's going to continue for a while like this.

Black birds just invaded my yard.

They stayed for five minutes.

Then they all left.

To be nobody but yourself--in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else-- means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting.

- EE Cummings, poet

Most barriers to your success are man-made. And most often, you're the man who made them.

- Frank Tyger

For the past hour, I've been feeling like something was off. Something just hasn't been right. And it took me a while to figure out what it was.

It's raining.

Not only that, but it's storming. Lightning, thunder, driving rain, the works.

It's been so long since we've really had rain that it seems so foreign. It's just been endless sunny days with the occasional cloudy day to break things up. Very rarely, we'd have a few minutes of a light rain. But no real rain.

I'm glad that it's raining. We need it, desperately.

*sits and watches the rain and lightning out of the window*

Dear LibraryThing,

I have already begun my bid for world domination through your hallowed halls. I have entered in two of my 25+ shelves and already have over 50 books listed. It shan't be long before I have all of my books entered and can start searching through other libraries to find new authors and series, and not much longer still before I start spreading the word of all of the books that I like through reviews. I look forward to the hours that we shall spend together, spreading the good news of my love of books.

Love,
Me.

...they'd get me a full LibraryThing account.

You might ask why I need a full one. Surely 200 books would be plenty, yes?

( Oh no, dear readers, not so! )

There is one other bookshelf with cookbooks and manuals (html, php, mysql, etc) on it. This also doesn't include any of our children's books (which take up another entire bookshelf all on their own, with some left over) and none of Jason's professional books (which are all at his office).

So why do I want to a full LibraryThing account? Because I want to keep track of all the books I've read! :D If you look at my profile, you'll see that I've only got a few books entered in right now (I did that to play around with it and figure a few things out before we got all of our books organized) and that I'm working out a system to keep track of which books we own and I've read, which we own and I've not read, and which I've read but we don't own. I can't even begin to tell you all how shocked I am at the sheer number of books that have passed through my fingertips and eyes (the books in the bags on the floor alone equal at least 300, and that doesn't include all the books in the larger pile on the window seat and all the books we've given up before, which is almost double what's in the to-sell pile right now). How many hours have I spent in places that I've never been or even seen? How much money has been spent on all those books?

It just boggles my mind. Seriously.

So yes, I want to have a method of seeing all the books that we've bought and I've read and be able to look back and see what I've thought of them and all that stuff. If there was something even remotely similar to this that I could host on my own site so I could be sure that I wouldn't lose all that information in the unhappy event that LibraryThing lost all my information, I would do that. But alas, I don't think there is something that can do what LT can do.

And so I yearn for a full account so that I am not capped at a measly 200 books.

I mean, seriously. Who are they kidding? :P

I feel loved when...

The Five Love Languages

My Primary Love Language is Physical Touch

<th colspan="2">My Detailed Results:</th>

Physical Touch:	10
Quality Time:	9
Words of Affirmation:	8
Acts of Service:	2
Receiving Gifts:	1

About this quiz

Unhappiness in relationships is often due to the fact that we speak different love languages. It can be helpful to know what language you speak and what language those around you speak.

Tag 3 people so they can find out what their love language is.

Take the Quiz!
Check out the Book

http://www.freegamesnews.com/en/games/PiratenSpiel.html

I am, like, so addicted. Why? Because this sort of thing keeps me amused for hours, and because it proves to me, on a daily basis, just how much of an idiot I am and how little my brain functions.

^^

Much <3age. :D

Are there any uses for it? It's all in our front flower bed, and I'd rather use it if I can than throw it out. :P

National Novel Writing Month started yesterday. I had no idea what it was; I had been seeing people writing in LJs about it, but I didn't know what it was until Red kindly pointed me in the right direction. And I think it's a really, really cool idea. I believe that next year, I shall join in the whole thing. It will be crap. :P But it will be mine, and I will have completed it, and it will be awesome. I'm looking forward to it already.

Holy Cow.

*blinks*

There are only ten to fifteen stores open right now, but man. It is such an awesome place. They've designed it such that it has a European/Venitian feel to it. On the east and west sides there are two lakes connected via a waterway that goes under a bridge. You can go for gondola rides, or rent a paddle boat. There's a pretty carousel (which I've promised Liz we can go ride). The streets are a cobblestone-type surface. Each store has its own building, painted a soft color that you would typically find in Venice, and the varying heights form an interesting roof line. There are several fountains, and I believe there will be a water feature for kids to play on in warmer weather. There were people pretending to be statues and a man singing Jimmy Buffet tunes (very out of place, but very Southern).

Lisa, it reminded me greatly of that hotel in Vegas.

The shopping that will be there will be a large step up from anywhere else in Huntsville. Anthropologie, J. Jill, Ann Taylor Loft, DSW, Fossil, White House Black Market, Whole Foods, and many more. A lot of it is shopping that we don't have at all in Huntsville right now, which is odd given the amount of money that exists in this city. And the restaurants! PF Chang's, Red Robin, and more I've never even heard of! Here's a list of everything I'm psyched about:

Anthropologie
Ann Taylor Loft
J. Jill
Lucky Brand
New York and Company
Barnes & Noble (because you can never have too many :P)
Fossil
Francesca's Collection
Swarovski
Clarks
DSW
Walking Co.
Chocolate Crocodile (whatever that is lol)
Dolce
O'Brien's Irish Pub (an Irish Pub!!!!!)
PF Chang's
Red Robin
The Wine Lounge
Tommy's Pizza
Gondola
Carousel
Paddle Boats

I can't wait for summer to roll around, when everything is open and the kids and I can go wander around for an hour or two, meet Jason for lunch (did I mention it's five minutes away, max, from Jason's work?), play in the water features, ride the carousel, and head home.

It's really fantastic so far.

And Birma--there's gonna be a Juicy Couture going in. ;)

Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Runelords

I'm psyched. I've been playing it compulsively since I got it on Saturday. It's fabulous. It's also the reason I haven't been online as much. :P

*dances off to play some more*

Not sky high.

But big ball of flame that flung the bottom doors of the grill open.

This is what happens when Jason is gone. :P

But geez, they suck. :P

I can only be glad that I only have one pre-schooler and one toddler.

And not 2 kindergarteners and 6 toddlers.

We've opened up our windows. Most of them were painted shut, and some of the storm windows aren't in properly, so I had Jason go around yesterday and get them all in working order. So now most of the windows are open, and there's the most glorious breeze running through the house. Fresh air smells so wonderful, and it feels good. It makes the entire house feel more alive. There are so many more sounds. Of course, last night the sounds were kinda freaky, particularly as the wind make Elizabeth's door creak back and forth and it sounded like someone was in the house. :P But it's no worse than the rutting deer on the mountains that sounded like bulldozers steaming up the side of the mountain. *laughs*

I'm hoping we can leave the air conditioning/heating off for at least the entire month of October, and some of November as well.

Grey's Season Premiere, tonight!

Squee! \o/

"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work."

~Thomas A. Edison