Is Christmas over yet?

GEEZ! It seems like I hove SO much to get done & not a prayer of finishing it all. My parents are comming over to our place on Christmas Eve for dinner. I was also informed tonight when DH got home that the morning of Christmas Eve the kids Godparents are stopping by. I need to NOT be sitting on the computer tyoing but this will help me keep my sanitiy.

The laundry has piled up because dryer was broken & the Maytag man only comes out to the middle of nowhere once per week. The thought of dealing with 15 loads of piled up laundry & two little kids at the laundrymat was just TOO much.

I can say that at least my Christmas shopping is finished. The wrapping of gifts isn't, but I can do that in my spare time. Right, like I even know what spare time IS anymore.

I am stressing out because althought I love my parents dearly, she is anal about housework. SHe thinks that because she was a SAHM of 4 & her house looked near perfect, that mine should as well. I stress out everytime she is comming for a visit. I still have boxes in my livingroom & kitchen from our move in mid October. She also enjoys talking about people I don't know & trying to create drama between family members. She bad mouths my DH on the phone & everyone else she can think of. For awhile she stopped doing that, but she is back to her old self.

We are going to their house for Christmas Day. Going so we can watch my Dad play on the computer & be anti social, listen to my parents & brother argue & eat overcooked, bland food. I would like to skip it but we don't live far enough away to do that. I even asked my mom what she usually spends on dinner & she replied about $75. I mentioned that she could save herself a ton of work & just pay Boston Market to make dinner, pick it up & heat it in the oven. She was absoultly completely opposed to that idea. She got down right bitchy with me for even suggesting it. I didn't even hint that I think her food sucks. Saying it sucks is putting it VERY mildly. I also offered to bring a couple of dishes to eliminate some of the work. Somehow THAT was offensive as well. I give up trying to help or please that woman. You cannot help someone that doesn't want it. I just don't want Christmas to be a replay of Easter. If it is, my DH will never return to my folks for another holiday again.

I am in the process of creating a soundtrack of my life. I saw someone do it on the My 43 things website & since I love music, I am doing it as well.
I will probably break it up into sections, but it will be interesrting to look back & see what I've choosen for my soundtrack. Will I list it? Maybe, but I have to complete it first.

My "break" has lasted long enough.

Here's to hoping Christmas goes without any drama this year.

What have you done?

( ) smoked a cigarette
( ) crashed a friend's car
( ) stolen a car
( X ) been in love
( X ) been dumped
( X ) shoplifted
( X) been fired
( X) been in a fist fight
(X ) snuck out of your parents' house
( X ) had feelings for someone who didn't have them back?
(X ) gone on a blind date
( X ) lied to a friend
(X ) skipped school
(X ) seen someone die
( X ) been to Canada
(X) been to Mexico
( X) been on a plane
( ) purposely set a part of yourself on fire
( ) eaten sushi
( X) been skiing
( X ) met someone from the Internet
( X ) been at a concert
(X) taken painkillers
( X ) love someone or miss someone right now
(X ) laid on your back and watched cloud shapes go by
( X ) made a snow angel
( ) had a tea party
( X ) flown a kite
( X ) built a sand castle
( X ) gone puddle jumping
( X ) played dress up
( X ) jumped into a pile of leaves
( X ) gone sledding
( X ) cheated while playing a game
( X ) been lonely
( X ) fallen asleep at work/school
(X ) used a fake ID
( X ) watched the sun set
( ) felt an earthquake
( X ) slept beneath the stars
( X ) been tickled
( X ) been robbed
( X ) been misunderstood
( ) petted a reindeer/goat/kangaroo/deer
( X ) won a contest
( X ) run a red light/stop sign
( ) been suspended from school
( ) had braces
( X ) felt like an outcast/third person
( X) eaten a whole pint of ice cream in one night
( X ) had déjà vu
( X ) danced in the moonlight
( X) liked the way you looked
( X ) witnessed a crime
( X) questioned your heart
( ) been obsessed with post-it notes
( X ) squished mud through your bare feet
( X ) been lost
( X) been on the opposite side of the country
( X) swam in the ocean
( X ) felt like dying
( X ) cried yourself to sleep
(X ) played cops and robbers
( X ) recently colored with crayons
( X) sang karaoke
( X ) paid for a meal with only coins
( X ) done something you told yourself you wouldn't
( X) made prank phone calls
( X ) laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose
( X ) caught a snowflake on your tongue
( X ) danced in the rain
( X ) written a letter to Santa Claus
( X ) been kissed under the mistletoe
( X) watched the sun rise with someone you care about
( X ) blown bubbles
( ) made a bonfire on the beach
(X ) crashed a party
( X ) gone roller-skating
( X ) had a wish come true
( X) jumped off a bridge

Holy crap! I didn't think I would have checked THAT many items! It made me laugh & remember things I haven't thought of in a very long time.

Thanks Carolyn F.!

Pity Party. Needed to vent.

It's been awhile since I posted anything here. I haven't been neglectiong the blog. I have been sick. I still am sick. In fact, I have a raging fever as I type! Unfortunatly for me, my two gilrs are sick as well. We all know what that means...Momma doesn't get any sleep. The week of Thanksgiving my infant daughter got a cold. Since my MIL was visiting from Illinois, just staying home with the baby wasn't really an option. Well. her cold turned into a nasty ear infection. We take her to the Dr & just as she gets better then the 3 year old gets sick. No Dr required, just had a nasty cold. The 3 year old WAS feeling better but got the baby & I sick again. In the meantime the 3 year old has gotten sick again herself! Last night I was up SIX times between the baby, the 3 year old & myself. Tonight has been no better. I LOVE my DH but he actually YELLED at me because I cried while trying to open a childproof cap so I could take some medecine. Yes I KNOW he's worried about getting sick himself but guess what...I am sick & I am still caring for the girls, cleaning, cooking & trying to get better. He needs to get the F@*! OVER IT! He said he is tired of hearing ONE of cry all of the time. GUESS WHAT! I HAVEN'T BEEN CRYING...our two small children have. I'M TIRED OF IT TOO! I deal with it TWENTY-FOUR SEVEN! EXCUSE ME if I had a WEAK MOMENT & shed a few tears MYSELF! Gee, can you tell I am not myself today? Tonight he can eat leftovers, care for the girls after he gets to eat & watch two hours of TV & I am going to bed. VERY EARLY I AM GOING TO BED. Speaking of bed, my fever has broken so I'm going to try & catch what amounts to yet another cat nap.

More pictures from 2005

Bob & Liz March 23rd 2005 at the Zoo. My sister thought it was a backdrop at first!




November 23rd 2005. A display at the Santa's Village amusement park near the freeway.
Liz & her "Grandpa" Ron. Ron is my MIL's "boyfriend" of many years. Liz just started calling him that on the last visit.
August 2005. This was the photo I submitted to Human Clock for 3:54 PM.

Summer 2005 in Lizzys "old" room at the old house. The teddy bear was made by my mother for my Grandfather in the late 1980's. My Grandparents said they had to buy a ticket for the Teddy bear to get it on the plane back to Illinois with them!

These are just various pictures taken of my kids recently. The last one was taken an hour before I had to take my beloved German Shepard Mix to be put down. He was the BEST dog in the world for 11 1/2 years. I adopted him at the age of 8 weeks from the local Humane Society. We bonded instantly. He was so BEYOND good with the girls. I miss him terribly.

Wesly Sprinkel R.I.P. Haiku

It's probably not a "true" Haiku...but I'll only improve if I write probable sucky ones first. I haven't written anything since grade school. Be kind.

Uncle Wes RIP 11-2005

A World War Two Vet
My Grandmas’ youngest brother
Heaven welcomes you

Preceeding your death
your parents and two siblings
one child as wel
l
Surviving your death
are your kids and grandchildren
your wife Rita too

The eldest of four
my Grandma is in mourning
missing her siblings

You now join family
keeping watch from the heavens
as stars in the sky

A World War Two Vet
My Grandmas’ youngest brother
Heaven welcomes you

State Fair 2005

Char & her Daddy

Lizzy & a Kid
Scooter & Charlotte November 2005

Charlotte at the State Fair November 6th, 2005 Elizabeth with a look of pure excitement on her face! Nov 6th, 2005
Jumping high & flying like Tinkerbell!

I am a thief

Stolen from Aritha
1) Search your blog archive for your 23rd entry2) Find the 5th line of that entry3) Post it!

After months of begging, pleading, bitching & nagging I FINALLY got DH to paint the ceiling in DD #1 room & move the furniture I could not physically move.

Stolen from Aritha the beautiful one

Type in your name and "needs" in Google. Then post what you find.

Mary needs

.....disabilty insurnace

.....the Lamb in school

.....coverage

.....to let go of the old & prepare for the new and patience

.....prayers

Test for Dementia

I am not implying that any of you are candidates for dementia, but it never hurts to take a test like this and find out early on while there is still time to do something about it I just took this test and its too late to help me

Test for Dementia

Below are four (4) questions and a bonus question. You have to answer them instantly. You can't take your time, answer all of them immediately . OK? Let's find out just how clever you really are....Ready? GO!!! (scroll down)



First Question: You are participating in a race. You overtake the second person. What position are you in?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Answer: If you answered that you are first, then you are absolutely wrong! If you overtake the second person and you take his place, you are second! Try not to screw up next time.Now answer the second question,but don't take as much time as you took for the first question, OK ?

Second Question:If you overtake the last person, then you are...?(scroll down)



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Answer: If you answered that you are second to last, then you are wrong again. Tell me, how can you overtake the LAST Person?
You're not very good at this, are you?


Third Question:Very tricky arithmetic! Note: This must be done in your head only .Do NOT use paper and pencil or a calculator. Try it. Take 1000 and add 40 to it. Now add another 1000 . Now add 30 .Add another 1000 . Now add 20 . Now add another 1000. Now add 10 . What is the total? Scroll down for answer..... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Did you get 5000? The correct answer is actually 4100. If you don't believe it, check it with a calculator! Today is definitely not your day, is it? Maybe you'll get the last question right.... ....Maybe.

Fourth Question: Mary's father has five daughters: 1. Nana, 2. Nene, 3. Nini,4. Nono. What is the name of the fifth daughter? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Did you Answer Nunu? NO! Of course it isn't. Her name is Mary. Read the question again!

Okay, now the bonus round: A mute person goes into a shop and wants to buy a toothbrush. By imitating the action of brushing his teeth he successfully expresses himself to the shopkeeper and the purchase is done. Next, a blind man comes into the shop who wants to buy a pair ofsunglasses; how does HE indicate what he wants?



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



He just has to open his mouth and ask... It's really very simple.... Like you!


KEEP THIS GOING TO FRUSTRATE THE "SMART PEOPLE" IN YOUR LIFE

I dated Eddie Van Halen!

I didn't actually date EVH, but I DID briefly date a kid in High School that looked like EVH. Since I graduated nearly 20 years ago, what makes me write about him you ask? I received a quicknote from him through Classmates.com recently. I have thought about him every time I hear ANY Van Halen (not Van Hagar) song.

He was a sweet kid, intelligent, good looking (obviously) & kind. He would walk to my house to see me in the dead of winter. HELLO! In Northern Illinois it gets VERY cold! I also laugh every single time I hear "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" by Elmo & Patsy. I laugh because I remember hearing it when we went out with a kid named Don. We were in the Pizza Hut parking lot & I fell on my butt because I was wearing penny loafers & slipped on an icy patch outside. OMG! I laughed SO hard I thought I was going to pee my corduroys! I can't imagine what I must have looked liked, laying in the PH parking lot laughing like a loon. Those were good times.

I also remember after he broke up with me, I saw him with Becky. I admit that didn't know her, but I remember thinking "OMG! What can he possibly see in THAT bitchy dog!" Like I said, I never knew her, it's just the impression I got from her....even BEFORE I dated Burke.

The following year every time we ordered pizza from "Happy Joe's", Burke would deliver to our house. Just pizza (Get your mind out of the gutter!)

He ended up marrying a nice girl that played the Flute in the band. She was always nice to me but I didn't really know her either. They have kids & are still married. How cool is that! Being married to your HS Sweetheart!

I had to date MANY, MANY flakes before I found the love of my life. I'm just glad that I finally found him. How lucky am I! I have a wonderful man in my life, two beautiful little girls, a new home & have been doing TONS of self-improvement work. I'm feeling more content & am regaining my self-confidence little by little. My dear sweet husband loves me & all of my baggage. Like I said...I am a lucky lady.

Elizabeth was so excited to be Tinkerbell tonight that it was nearly
impossible for me to get her to take a quick nap. The last thing I
wanted was a grumpy Tinkerbell! She did FINALLY go down for a short
nap about 4pm. She only needed about 30 minutes to be pleasant tonight & thankfully she was.

ANYWAY, we took the girls into town for Halloween tonight. I had
wanted to make Charlotte's costume SOOO bad but with everything being such a hectic mess this pass month....on top of both girls being sick the past week & me STILL being sick....the Mermaid costume I was so excited to make just didn't get finished.

Instead, Charlotte wore Elizabeth's cheerleader costume from her first
Halloween. I was expecting it to be WAAAAYYY too big for her, but it
fit her well enough. I was disappointed that I wasn't able to finish
the Mermaid though.

Back to tonight, we did some door-to-door Trick or Treating right
around the park that we went to. The park was the site of the 32nd
annual Halloween Carnival. Organizations come & set up booths with
games & activities while the city supplies all of the carnival
participants with candy. Well lit AND safe. That is a winning
combination. Toss in FREE & it's unbeatable!

The booths surrounded the outside edge of the football field at the
local high school. This was no small carnival. We didn't have time to
see it all. She got to play games, have her hand painted & got candy
at each booth. She also got to meet Chester Cheetah, Twinkie the Kid
& Cracker Jack.

Her costume was turning heads left & right. I heard people of all ages
saying "Look! It's Tinkerbell! She is SOOO cute!" She was so busy
pointing out all of the Darth Vader, Spiderman, Batman, witch &
animal costumes she didn't even hear most of the people saying she was
cute. Several people even had their dogs with them & in costume.

Saturday night we were on our way to Wal-Mart when "Mr. Incredible"
pulled up in a convertible & jumped out to get $ from an ATM. She went
NUTS when we yelled "Hi Mr. Incredible!" & waved. Then he waved back. She was jumping up & down yelling "Mommy! Mommy! Mr. Incredible WAVED at ME!"

I hope you all enjoyed "Halloween" or as some call it "Samhain".

Moving = STRESS

OMG! I've had the absolute WORST moving experience I've ever had! I have moved to apartments, etc 19 times in the past 20 years. I only know because I figured it our recently. ANYWAY, I made sure the boxes were all CLEARLY marked on EVERY side except the bottom, numbered the boxes & kept track of what was in each & even put signs on the doors telling the "movers" where the boxes were to go. The "movers" were my DH & my BF DH....they paid no attention to where the boxes went. They literally just dumped them ALL OVER THE NEW HOUSE! When I saw what they did, I was PISSED! I was however too tired to complain. I did appreciate the help...but I will NEVER let MEN make a trip to a new house WITHOUT me going with them.

Let start from the beginning shall we?

First the closing date omn the sale of our house changed THREE times! Okay, I can deal with that.

Next we call Budget moving trucks to confirm our reservation the night before....they say no problem. When we call to ask them if we could pick up our truck an hour later....due to circumstances beyond our control, they say they received a fax from us CANCELING our truck. In the same conversation they claim to have received an E-MAIL canceling as well. Here we are thinking that we have no moving truck on moving day. One hour later I call, & ask them if they have ANYTHING available....they say if we can get there within an hour they have a 15 foot truck. We get there in 20 minutes. We originally had a 25 foot truck reserved.

Our 12 hour move turned into a 24 hour move for DH & I. It took us THREE round trips of 110 miles instead of the two we planned on because of the 15 foot truck. Needless to say, we were getting punchy.

Our realtor STILL has to tell us which two rooms we are to paint. The telephone installation took the phone company SIX hours to complete. Our new home was SUPPOSED to have been cleaned by a cleaning crew...they never showed up. I had to do it instead. That was no small task as the inside of our house was covered in overspray, plaster, nails, SUNFLOWER SEEDS! Come on WTF already!

In addition to everything (I haven't even listed all of the problems), both of the girls & myself have all come down with nasty head colds. This morning I wake up to find ANTS coming into our new place & getting into the pets food bowls. I will be so BEYOND glad to turn the keys over to the new owners so I can unpack & make our new home livable.

At least our new neighbors are nice!

I need to go & do some laundry while I am cleaning our soon to be "old"house. I just want to get the "F***" out of here! I will miss my neighbors here in CB, but I won't miss the stress this move has caused me.

We finally got a closing date on the sale of the house. It is Wednesday October 12th.

We finally got a closing date on the sale of the house. It is Wednesday October 12th. I have been packing like crazy! I still have a LONG way to go. We are going to rent back our house for one week to get the inside painted, cleaned & fix one interior door. We will be shampooing carpet, touching up knicks in the paint on the walls, repainting two rooms (at the new owners request) & weed our backyard once more before we turn the keys over.

This weekend my husband is installing the AC in our new place. Next weekend my best friend & her husband are helping us move. We will have all of boxes in the U-Haul already. My friends DH will help mine with the big stuff. You know, the couch, recliner & the king size mattress. My lower back just hasn't been the same since the birth of DD #2 this Spring. I am hoping that stregthening my abs will help with the back problems.

The dishes are packed, with the exception of few items we use for cooking. We are eating & drinking on paper dishes & plastic utensils & cups. It makes doing the dishes easy! I'll be packing most of the clothes today. I'm leaving 2 weeks worth out because when we get to our new place we have to buy a new washer & dryer. Since we are ordering them I'll be headed to the laundry mat for a couple of weeks.

Monday I have a Dr appointment for Charlotte. She is getting shots & Elizabeth REALLY doesn't like to hear her baby sister cry & scream when she gets them. I did tell her that Charlotte is going to cry & scream because it hurts to get shots. I asked her to help me out by being quiet. I am NOT looking forward to dealing with that on Monday.

On Tuesday I have to drive to Casa Grande (54 miles one direction) to do the walk through on the new place. The walk through is no big deal...it's the drive with an infant that seems to HATE riding in the car that I am dreading. When DH drives I can turn around & give her a bottle, but with just me...I think I'll go deaf. I have two choices, either drive with an infant screaming at the top of her lungs OR stop every 15 to 20 minutes to get out, console her, feed her, change her or all of the above & the drive will take TWO hours instead of just one. What fun!

I am thankful that we HAVE a houses to move out of & into. I am thankful that we have both of our girls. I'm just not looking forward to the actual move & everything that goes along with it.

I need to go feed my screamer now.

http://www.43things.com/person/Mrymerry

I have been spending too much time on this site the past week or so. The rest of my time is basically spent packing for the big move to our new home & caring for my girls. You can check it out & list your own 43 things if you want to.


http://www.43things.com/person/Mrymerry

http://glwarner.narrowgate.net/haiku/

75 things...

1. I am fast approaching my 36th birthday.
2. I married a younger man.
3. I am a proud Mommy to two beautiful little girls.
4. I am married to the love of my life.
5. I met my husband through a dating service.
6. I knew within two weeks of our first date I would marry him.
7. My divorce from "husband" #1 wasn't final when I met my current & last husband.
8. I left a mentally & verbally abusive first marriage.
9. 6 years later, I still am recovering from that marriage.
10. I am thankful I had no children with "DH" #1.
11. I am and always will be Pro-choice.
12. I am Pro-Stem cell research as well.
13. I am a Democrat.
14. I vote my conscience, not my party.
15. I have never voted a straight ticket..
16. I tell people the truth, even if it will hurt ones feelings.
17. I will warn them the truth will hurt before I tell them & make them promise not to get mad at me, then ask them if they still wish to know the truth.
18. I am a pet person
19. Until I had children, I would have NEVER evacuated without my pets.
20. When my apartment caught on fire in my early 20's, I refused to leave until I found my cat.
21. My dog was smarter then I when she ran out the door with my mother.
22. The EMT's gave me crap for looking for my cat instead of leaving my apartment.
23. I told them thanks for their opinoins but they could go take a flying leap off the nearest bridge.
24. I probably wasn't that nice about it just then.
25. The fire was contained to our patio.
26. Now that I have children, I would die protecting them.
27. I now know how my mother felt all of those times when I heard her say "Just wait until you have kids, then you'll understand"
28. I never knew complete unconditional love until I held my own innocent infants in my arms.
29. I am undeceided about having anymore children.
30. I believe in God.
31. I haven't been to church since 1999.
32. I don't miss church.
33. The holy Rollers that roam my neighborhood streets every six months annoy the living $hit out of me.
34. This "list" is much harder to compose than I thought it would be.
35. I have been doing a lot of work on myself in order to understand some of the choices I've made in my past & how I could have made better ones.
36. I have been doing alot of deep emotional healing lately.
37. I have been forgiving myself instead of beating myself up about my past.
38. I had to understand some things about myself before I could forgive myself for actions in my past.
39. I am AMAZED that such a wonderful man had & does accept me...even with all of my emotional baggage & screwed up family.
40. I am not as close to my family (parents & brothers) as I originally thought.
41. I am much closer to my sister than I ever realized after her visit in August.
42. I call my grandparents & grandmother every weekend.
43. I have been doing that for the past five years.
44. I met a lady in Wal-Mart today with a 1 month old baby girl named....Charlotte! We were both a little "surprised".
45. Today I was feeling pretty good about myself & it must have showed because perfect strangers kept walking up to me & starting conversations with me!
46. It felt good.
47. DH even noticed that I seemed very relaxed & happy for the first time in many months.
48. I am beginning to think all of this work I've been doing on myself is beginning to show on the outside.
49. I purchased the material to make a mermaid costume for Charlotte today.
50. I am actually looking forward to sewing for a change.
51. Since I have been taking time to relax before bed, usually go to bed a decent hour & rediscover my love of reading...I have fewer scowl lines on my face.
52. I am talking more & yelling less.
53. I am using self hypnosis to destress & release some of the baggage acquired from my decesions & experiences.
54. I have been successful in my efforts to stop my mother gossiping about other family members.
55. I truly am finally learning to love myself again.
56. My postive changes have shown up in Elizabeths actions & reactions.
57. Since I have relaxed, my infant Charlotte is sleeping better & is a much happier baby.
58. I am happier since I don't talk to my mother or brother more than 3 times per week anymore.
59. I am beginning to think my relationships with certian family members was toxic.
60. I watch too much CNN.
61. I love all shades of the color green.
62. I am having fun planning the landscaping of or soon to be new property & home.
63. The soon to be new owner of our current home likes the way I painted our girls bedrooms & wants to keep them that way!
64. It is surprising because he is a late 50 something single man with no grandchildren...yet.
65. I still take too much comfort in comfort foods.
66. Mount Washmore has reappeared in my hallway.
67. I don't feel guilty about it at all.
68. It's liberating not to put so much self worth in my house keeping skills (or lack thereof)
69. Just because my mom was Suzy Homemaker doesn't mean that I have to be.
70. My house isn't a health or safety hazzard so who cares!
71. I will be stopping this list at 75.
72. I am getting VERY tired.
73. This list has actually helped me get many things off my mind.
74. I often think too much.
75. I am a Libra...100%.

Enneagram Test

Enneagram Type 6 - The Loyalist
Conflicted between trust and distrust
People of this personality type essentially feel insecure, as though there is nothing quite steady enough to hold onto. At the core of the type Six personality is a kind of fear or anxiety. This anxiety has a very deep source and can manifest in a variety of different styles, making Sixes somewhat difficult to describe and to type. What all Sixes have in common however, is the fear rooted at the center of their personality, which manifests in worrying, and restless imaginings of everything that might go wrong. This tendency makes Sixes gifted at trouble shooting, but also robs the Six of much needed peace of mind and tends to deprive the personality of spontaneity. The essential anxiety at the core of the type Six fixation tends to permeate the personality with a sort of "defensive suspiciousness." Sixes don't trust easily; they are often ambivalent about others, until the person has absolutely proven herself, at which point they are likely to respond with steadfast loyalty. The loyalty of the Six is something of a two edged sword however, as Sixes are sometimes prone to stand by a friend, partner, job or cause even long after it is time to move on.
Sixes are generally looking for something or someone to believe in. This, combined with their general suspiciousness, gives rise to a complicated relationship to authority. The side of the Six which is looking for something to believe in, is often very susceptible to the temptation to turn authority over to an external source, whether it be in the form of an individual or a creed. But the Six's tendency towards distrust and suspicion works against any sort of faith in authority. Thus, two opposite pulls exist side by side in the personality of enneatype Six, and assume different proportions in different individuals, sometimes alternating within the same individual.
The truly confounding element when it comes to typing Sixes is that there are two fundamentally different strategies that Sixes adopt for dealing with fear. Some Sixes are basically phobic. Phobic Sixes are generally compliant, affiliative and cooperative. Other Sixes adopt the opposite strategy of dealing with fear, and become counterphobic, essentially taking a defiant stand against whatever they find threatening. This is the Six who takes on authority or who adopts a dare devil attitude towards physical danger. Counterphobic Sixes can be agressive and, rather than looking for authorities, can adopt a rebellious or anti-authoritarian demeanor. Counterphobic Sixes are often unaware of the fear that motivates their actions. In fact, Sixes in general, tend to be blind to the extent of their own anxiety. Because it is the constant back drop to all of their emotions, Sixes are frequently unaware of its existence, as they have nothing with which to contrast it.
Because Sixes so frequently fail to appreciate the extent of their own fear, they often mistype themselves. It is common for instance, for female Sixes to mistype as Twos, especially if they are identified with a helper role, but Sixes have a much more ambivalent attitude towards relationships than do Twos, who generally know exactly what they want. Sixes, failing to recognize their anxiety, can mistype as Nines, but Nines have the ability to relax and to trust in others, neither of which come easily to Sixes. Sixes can mistype as Fours, especially if they have artistic inclinations, but they lack the Four's self-absorption. They can mistype as Fives, especially if they are intellectual, as many Sixes are, but unlike Fives, Sixes tend to be practical. Finally, conterphobic Sixes can easily mistype as Eights, but they lack the Eight's self-certainty.

_______________________________________________
Enneagram Type 5 - The Investigator
Thinkers who tend to withdraw and observe
People of this personality type essentially fear that they don't have enough inner strength to face life, so they tend to withdraw, to retreat into the safety and security of the mind where they can mentally prepare for their emergence into the world. Fives feel comfortable and at home in the realm of thought. They are generally intelligent, well read and thoughtful and they frequently become experts in the areas that capture their interest. While they are sometimes scientifically oriented, especially with the Six wing, just as many Fives are drawn to the humanities and it is not at all uncommon for Fives to have artistic inclinations. Fives are often a bit eccentric; they feel little need to alter their beliefs to accomodate majority opinion, and they refuse to compromise their freedom to think just as they please. The problem for Fives is that while they are comfortable in the realm of thought, they are frequently a good deal less comfortable when it comes to dealing with their emotions, the demands of a relationship, or the need to find a place for themselves in the world. Fives tend to be shy, nonintrusive, independent and reluctant to ask for the help that others might well be happy to extend to them.
Fives are sensitive; they don't feel adequately defended against the world. To compensate for their sensitivity, Fives sometimes adopt an attitude of careless indifference or intellectual arrogance, which has the unfortunate consequence of creating distance between themselves and others. Trying to bridge the distance can be difficult for Fives, as they are seldom comfortable with their social skills, but when they do manage it, they are often devoted friends and life long companions.
Fives are usually somewhat restrained when it comes to emotional expression, but they often have stronger feelings than they let on. Few people know what is going on beneath the surface, as Fives have an often exaggerrated need for privacy and a deep seated fear of intrusion. Because of their sensitivity and their fears of inadequacy, Fives fear being overwhelmed, either by the demands of others or by the strength of their own emotions. They sometimes deal with this by developing a minimalistic lifestyle in which they make few demands on others in exchange for few demands being made on them. Other Fives make their peace with the messiness of life and engage it more fully, but they almost always retain their fears that life is somehow going to demand more of them than they can deliver.
Fives, especially with the Four wing, sometimes mistype themselves as Fours. Such Fives recognize that they have strong emotions and don't identify with the often extremely cerebral portrait of type Five. But, Fives, unlike Fours, always retain some degree of discomfort when it comes to the expression of their emotional states. However much facility they may gain with it, the language of emotion is not their native tongue.

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Here is the link:

http://www.eclecticenergies.com/enneagram/test.php

Bush Takes Responsibility

Bush Takes Responsibility for Blunders

September 13, 2005 9:20 PM EDT

WASHINGTON - President Bush for the first time took responsibility Tuesday for federal government mistakes in dealing with Hurricane Katrina and suggested the calamity raised broader questions about the government's ability to handle both natural disasters and terror attacks.
"Katrina exposed serious problems in our response capability at all levels of government," Bush said at a joint White House news conference with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani.
"And to the extent that the federal government didn't fully do its job right, I take responsibility. I want to know what went right and what went wrong," said Bush.
Facing sharp criticism and the lowest approval ratings of his presidency, Bush scheduled a speech to the nation from Louisiana for Thursday evening. It will be his fourth trip to the devastated Gulf Coast since the storm struck two weeks ago.
It was the closest Bush has come to publicly faulting any federal officials involved in the hurricane response, which has been widely criticized as disjointed and slow. Some federal officials have sought to blame state and local officials for being unprepared to cope with the disaster.
Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., welcomed Bush's conciliatory remarks. "Accountability at every level is critical, and leadership begins at the top," she said.
Other Democrats were less charitable.
"The season has come for Americans to look homeward ... instead of continuing to spend billions of dollars in Iraq," said Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va.
And Louisiana's Democratic governor, Kathleen Blanco, accused the Federal Emergency Management Agency of moving too slowly in recovering the bodies. The dead "deserve more respect than they have received," she said at state police headquarters in Baton Rouge.
Meanwhile, R. David Paulison, in his first full day on the job as acting FEMA director, told reporters in Washington the government would step up its efforts to find more permanent housing for the tens of thousands of Hurricane Katrina survivors now in shelters.
"We're going to get those people out of the shelters, and we're going to move and get them the help they need," Paulison said.
Bush selected him to replace Michael Brown, who resigned on Monday after being recalled as the top onsite disaster-relief coordinator. Brown, a Republican lawyer with little previous disaster-management experience, drew fierce criticism for his handling of the crisis.
Paulison, a career firefighter with 30 years of rescue experience, said he was busy "getting brought up to speed." Bush promised him in a Monday night phone call that he would have "the full support of the federal government," Paulison said.
The storm displaced a million people, destroyed large areas of cities and communities and heavily damaged roads, bridges, canals and oil and natural gas facilities.
Bush's acceptance of responsibility came in response to a reporter's question on whether the United States was capable of handling another terrorist attack, given its halting and widely criticized response to Katrina.
"That's a very important question," Bush said. "And it's in our national interest that we find out exactly what went on - so that we can better respond."
"I'm not going to defend the process going in, but I am going to defend the people who are on the front line of saving lives," he added. "I also want people in America to understand how hard people are working to save lives down there in not only New Orleans, but surrounding parishes and along the Gulf Coast."
Also on Tuesday:
-Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said teams of federal auditors would scrutinize billions of dollars worth of government contracts. "We're going to cut through red tape, but we're not going to cut through laws and rules that govern ethics," he said. Congress has appropriated more than $60 billion for reconstruction. The Democratic National Committee accused the administration on Tuesday of "giving no-bid contracts to Bush's political cronies."
-Farm-state Democrats said they would ask for emergency money for farmers pummeled by Katrina as well as those struggling under high energy prices, drought and other natural disasters. Energy costs alone will shave farm incomes for North Dakota farmers by one-third to one-half, said Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D.
-Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said some military aircraft and other equipment may be able to move out of the Gulf Coast soon. "We've got to the point where most if not all of the search and rescue is completed," said Rumsfeld, who is attending a NATO meeting in Berlin. He said nothing will be moved out of the area without the authorization of governors, the military leaders there and the president.
-A group of Democratic senators pressed Congress for a $5 billion upgrade of communications equipment that would make it easier for police, firefighters and other law enforcement authorities to talk to each other during emergencies. A similar measure was rejected in July as part of a homeland security bill. "They must be able to communicate with each other. This is a life and death issue," said Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich.

http://start.earthlink.net/article/top?guid=20050913/43264ec0_3ca6_1552620050913-1566403208

One year anniversary of Purple Puddles

Happy Birthday Purple Puddles!

This past Saturday my hubby decided we were going to go for a drive. We went for a drive alright! We were gone 6 hours! We first stopped off at Goldfield. It is a tourist trap that was built on the original sight on a gold mining town from the 1890's.
This is Elizabeth in a giant birdcage located on the street below the bordello. Why there is a huge birdcage I do not know. It was a cute photo op though.
This is picture taken at our 2nd stop in Tortilla Flats. I'm not sure of this formations name but my hubby called it "Nipple Rock". I guess it DOES look like a giant nipple huh. Kinda reminds me of how mine looked when I was breast feeding! LOL!
Here is "Princess Dribble" sitting in the one room schoolhouse in Tortilla Flat. It is filled with the history of the town, including articles, books & information about the owners both past & present.
The only restaurant in Tortilla Flat has walls & ceilings that are papered in currency both US & foreign. It is said that the last time the $$$ totaled over $80,000. They also counted currencies from 68 different countries. I can believe it because just sitting at our table I counted 27 different currencies.
This is a picture of the Superstition Mountians.

Our drive continued up to Roosevelt Lake & was very relaxing. This will be the last "drive" we will be taking before we move into our new home. I have less than a month to get everything packed up. Do you think my hubby will be any help? Surely you jest! On his days off he will be on Child Watch while I pack, toss & mark the boxes. I do manage to get a few boxes packed daily while caring for the kids, but when you have little ones it seems like everything you do takes 3X as long as it would normally.

I need to get packing now.

AT LEAST 2,985 souls lost

On September 11, 2001 at least 2,985 souls were lost in four attacks on America.

• 8:48 am American flight 11 hits the first WTC tower.
• 9:06 am United Flight 175 hit the second WTC tower.
• 9:38 am American Flight 77 hits the Pentagon.
• 9:59 am the second tower collapsed
• About 10 am United Flight 93 crashes into a field near Shanksville, Pa
• 10:28 am the first tower falls.

Here is a link to a list of the victims names.

http://www.september11victims.com/september11victims/victims_list.htm

I remember being disturbed from a deep sleep by the telephone ringing & ringing & ringing. I thought to myself "Dammit! This had better be something pretty important!" I answer to hear my mother on the phone telling me to turn on Channel 3. I do so to see footage of a plane crashing into the WTC! I was still on the phone with my mom when I saw the second plane hit the other tower & heard myself saying "Oh..no, no, no! Oh my God, Mom did you see that? Where is Crissy today? I'll call Jon & make sure she is okay" My heart was racing & I was concerned but not panicked...yet. I was trying to remain calm as I was just out of the first trimester of my pregnancy with DD #1. I kept watching the TV, unable to turn away but too horrified to fully comprehend what I was seeing. After about 3 hours of trying every 10 minutes or so, I reached my BIL Jon. He told me my sister Crissy was on base & they were at the highest security level. He didn't know when she would be able to leave the base but at least he knew she was safe. After I hung up the phone & contacted my grandparents, my mother, father & brothers I began to sob uncontrollably. I was deeply saddened, realizing that thousands of people probably died & relieved that my dear sister was safe.

In the following days, the reporting on the attacks was unending. It got to the point that I just turned off the TV & the radio because I couldn't listen to anymore. It was too upsetting & it wasn't good for the baby.

Fast forward to September 11th, 2002. Our dear sweet Baby Elizabeth was with us...happy & healthy. We attended a event at a local park. There were pictures of rescue workers, the buildings before & after the attacks & of several 9-11 related things. The number of victims was just an incomprehensible number...until I saw the flags. The small American flags placed all over the grass, each with a card & a name attatched. The white cards were for the victims of the WTC, the red cards were for the victims on the airplanes...Flight # & airline included while the blue cards were for the rescue workers. The silence was indescribable...people were treating it like a cemetery. In fact for us in AZ...it was a cemetery of sorts.

I don't need to be reminded by the media of that day. Those images have been forever burned into my mind. I know that as a nation we will never forget those that perished on September 11th, 2001. I know that I personally will never forget that day or the kind words & images of candles people burned, vigils people held & prayers people sent to America from all over the world.

Let us hope that someday...the madness will end.

http://www.911da.org/911faqs.html#attacks

http://www.time.com/time/photoessays/shattered/

http://www.september11news.com/

http://dir.yahoo.com/Society_and_Culture/Crime/Types_of_Crime/Terrorism/September_11th_Attacks/

http://911digitalarchive.org/

http://www.sites.si.edu/exhibitions/exhibits/september_11/main.htm

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/nation/graphics/attack/pentagon_7.html