*2Flower* To You...

Saturday, March 06, 2004

Be very afraid

I thought it would be fun to blog about phobias. Charity has a book of lists, and we were enjoying ~~laughing at~~ reading about some of the unusual phobias. So I thought I would make a list of some of my past and present phobias -- just for fun. If you have Phobophobia (fear of phobias), you may want to look away! If you have Logophobia (fear of words), then you're not even here, so why am I talking to you?

Childhood phobias: (* -- ones I still have now)

Teratophobia (monsters)
Lygophobia (darkness)
*Enissophobia (criticism)
Brontophobia (thunder and lightning)
Androphobia (men)
*Scolionophobia (school)
Lilapsophobia (tornadoes and hurricanes)
*Emetophobia (vomiting)
Mastigophobia (punishment)

Present phobias:

Demophobia (crowds)
Iatrophobia (doctors)
Thermophobia (heat)
Pentheraphobia (mother-in-law)
Blennophobia (slime)
Phonophobia (telephones)
Athazagoraphobia (being forgotton or ignored)

Phobias I plan to develop in the future:

Phagophobia (eating) -- what better weight loss plan could there be?
Francophobia (France or French culture) -- they deserve it
Politicophobia (politicians) -- so do most of them
Mageirocophobia (cooking) -- will get me out of cooking
Kathisophobia (sitting down) -- will get me more exercise
Limnophobia (lakes) -- handy for not having to be seen in a swimsuit ever again

Phobias that I'm not afraid of getting:

Porphyrophobia (the color purple)
Somniphobia (sleeping)
Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia (long words)
Cyberphobia (computers or working on a computer)
Alliumphobia (garlic)
Ecophobia (home)
Sophophobia (learning)
Ailurophobia (cats)
Cynophobia (dogs)
Anglophobia (Fear of England or English culture)
Chrometophobia (money)
Hylophobia (forests)
Bibliophobia (books)
Peladophobia (bald people) -- I'd have to get a new husband
Anthrophobia (flowers)

Very Unusual Phobias:

Aibohphobia (palindromes) -- I think this is a joke
Metrophobia (poetry)
Pantophobia (everything) -- looks like a fear of pants, but then I guess pants would be included
Arachibutyrophobia (peanut butter sticking to the roof of the mouth)
Nephophobia (clouds)
Octophobia (the number 8) -- people with this shouldn't read Terry Pratchett books

New Phobias -- more things to be afraid of (I made these up)

Legophobia (fear of going barefoot -- especially in a child's room)
Snorophobia (fear of falling asleep in public -- especially church)
Parallelparkophobia (fear of parallel parking)
Polidentophobia (fear that your teeth are going to fall out someday)
Blognomophobia (fear of running out of things to blog about)

Link-O-Phobia:
phobias (Amazon.com)
The Phobia List
The Phobias

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor of any kind -- hard to believe I know, but it's true.

#posted by *2flower* | All comments have been lost. :(

Spring Springing

Signs of spring are out there, as you can see from the pictures I took yesterday. I don't know what type of butterfly this is, but he/she was out looking pretty on all the background of dead leaves. Click on the pictures to make them ginormous -- see the individual molecules. Go on, you know you wanna...

It was so warm today that I kicked out the aloe and the hibiscus. They're on the front porch, come what may. My mom gave them to me in the fall, and I haven't succeeded in killing them yet. This may do it.

We actually have twice as many daffodils as we had last spring. I counted, and we have 2! If you have my math skills, you will have already figured out that I had only 1 daffodil blossom last spring. Yep, I'm quite the gardener! If you leave daffodils alone, and if you convince your husband not to mow them down before the leaves die back, you get flowers! And not only that, I see that there will be at least 6 more blooms. Woohoo!

#posted by *2flower* | All comments have been lost. :(

Friday, March 05, 2004

The early worm gets the bird

I took this pic

today!
So I was checking my email this morning, and I got a message from my ISP, or so it seemed. But I noticed that it had an attachment, which seemed odd. Of course, I wish I could say that the subj. line made me suspicious: "Important notify about your e-mail account.", but then again, we've had the pleasure of trying to talk to their tech support in the past. But whenever I get a message from anyone with an attachment, I always check the message source before opening it. So here is what the message said:

Dear user of e-mail server "__________",

Your e-mail account will be disabled because of improper using in next three days, if you are still wishing to use it, please, resign your account information.

For details see the attached file.

For security purposes the attached file is password protected. Password is "05520".

Kind regards,
The "___________" team

So anyway, that seemed even too unprofessional for them. I got on their website and found out that someone is forging their email account and sending a virus out to their customers. They had the name of the virus and a link to McAfee.com. What was funny was that the name of the virus was spelled wrong on my ISP's site. They said it was the "W32.Beagle.K@mm" worm, but it's actually "W32/Bagle.k@MM" worm.

does not =

Can you now see the high level of professional competence I have come to expect? How could I ever have doubted them?

Oops, Pam found "beagles" on Symantec's site. Thanks for nothing, McAfee! I thought they were supposed to know about beagles. No one is allowed to look for beagles in McAfee just in case I missed them. I am not the incompetent one here! (yeah, right)

Update update: Let's just face it, I don't know about computer viruses. Beagles, bagels, weasels... whatever they are -- I'm completely clueless except that I was smart enough not to open "what's his name". I need to stick with topics I know about from now on. Nah, that wouldn't be any fun.

And my ISP still employs a few tech support people who have poor communication skills -- if you are willing to wait on hold for an hour for that privilege.

#posted by *2flower* | All comments have been lost. :(

Thursday, March 04, 2004

The stench was great -- a rant

We woke up this morning to an extremely pungent odor of male cat. We have a male outdoor tom cat (Kramer) that disappeared last year, and was gone for several months. When he showed up again recently, we could hardly believe our eyes. He was huge, and had certainly fared well -- wherever he had been all that time. Well, it didn't bother us that he was back. We ~~have~~ had nothing against him -- you just can't pet him or anything. He's not even a "pet", really. All we do is feed him when we feed Tipper -- our ancient outdoor male (fixed) cat. Tipper didn't care. He just eats, and then naps the rest of the day.

But now that Gammie (our indoor female cat) has gone into heat, he must have noticed. I guess he thought the prudent choice would be to spray the entire underside of our house -- especially near the ventilation ducts so we would all be aware of his existence. And I think he must have sprayed the outside of the house by the doors and underneath the front porch as well. So it has been almost unbearable to be here today -- almost as bad as when skunks get under the house.

So now I come to a very controversial topic. What does one do with nuisance animals? It becomes very foggy in these times of "animal rights" activism. Don't get me wrong, I love animals. But sometimes there are those animals that are way more trouble than they are worth to keep. The answers used to be simpler. If you read older books, you realize that these problems are not new. Here is an excerpt from L.M. Montgomery's Anne of the Island:

"We must get rid of him," agreed Anne, looking darkly at the subject of their discussion, who was purring on the hearth rug with an air of lamb-like meekness. "But the question is -- how? How can four unprotected females get rid of a cat who won't be got rid of?"

We must chloroform him," said Phil briskly. "That is the most humane way."

"Who of us knows anything about chloroforming a cat?" demanded Anne gloomily.

"I do, honey. It's one of my few -- sadly few -- useful accomplishments. I've disposed of several at home. You take the cat in the morning and give him a good breakfast. Then you take an old burlap bag -- there's one in the back porch -- put the cat on it and turn over him a wooden box. Then take a two-ounce bottle of chloroform, uncork it, and slip it under the edge of the box. Put a heavy weight on top of the box and leave it till evening. The cat will be dead, curled up peacefully as if he were asleep. No pain -- no struggle."

At that time, it was perfectly acceptable to chloroform a nuisance animal. It was a fact of life. Now you would probably go to jail for it. But how is it that shelters can kill a huge percentage of the animals brought in, and that's okay? How is that any different?

But I personally see no point in taking a cat to a shelter. Dogs are a different story, of course. But Kramer obviously can survive quite well in the wild. Actually, most cats can unless they've been de-clawed. So as much as it may irk someone to read this, Kramer has -- shall we say -- become part of the "Kitty Relocation Program".

#posted by *2flower* | All comments have been lost. :(

More changes

I needed something different. I'm still working on it...

Later...
Blogger finally started cooperating again, but I kept Notepad open and copied my template to it frequently to be sure I didn't lose anymore of my hard work. It seems like when I want to make changes, it takes up my whole day. I'm concerned that it's going to take too long to load with the graphics and scripts that are accumulating once more. I'm just never completely satisfied. I get bored too easily.

#posted by *2flower* | All comments have been lost. :(

Wednesday, March 03, 2004

Wictory Wednesday

I'm almost out of Wednesday, but there's enough for a quick post for W. Vote for him or face the ugly consequences.

If you would like to volunteer and/or donate to the Bush campaign, please do. Get involved. Here is where you click to find out more about Wictory Wednesday if you're interested in joining. The other Wictory Wednesday bloggers will reside in my right column from now until the election, as Blogger is persnickety about this script in my posts.

#posted by *2flower* | All comments have been lost. :(

What'd I miss?

I made an avatar at this site, also via LeeAnn. I figured it fits me so well since I'm both sleepy AND inattentive. I made a few different expressions, and then played around with them in PSP7 and Jasc Animation Shop. It was easy, and a lot of fun.

So then I couldn't leave well enough alone, and I had to turn it into a new patch for my friendship wall. I should really get a life, huh?

#posted by *2flower* | All comments have been lost. :(

If I were a Lego...

I would probably look a lot like this. This is where I made my Lego likeness. Notice the wooded area I'm in -- well, it looks a lot like that outside last time I checked (I think the leaves are gone now), but I have to admit I'm usually inside at my desk. I have a book in one hand because I love to read when it's quiet (so not very often), and a wand in the other hand because I wish I had one that did housework and yard work for me.

Of course I wouldn't be completely honest, up front and above board if I didn't post this picture. Occasionally -- er, monthly -- my family sees a different version of me. Fortunately for them, I usually don't let her out.
via the cheese stands alone

P.S. Pam has a lego-chick that may "beat" John Kerry.

homicidalManiak's lego-self is surprisingly weaponless...

Hey, if you make one of these, let me know in the comments and I'll link you.

#posted by *2flower* | All comments have been lost. :(

Tuesday, March 02, 2004

What I did today

I thought I would post about my day -- boring, but I have to write something. From what I can tell, that seems to be the whole point of blogging.

I got up at about the usual time -- 6:45 am. I hardly ever hear the alarm, but I usually wake up when Scott's getting out of the shower. I got up and made him a bologna sandwich for lunch, cleaned the kitchen a little, and went back to bed. :) I didn't do that as often before I started taking Lexapro, but now I love to sleep in late -- a side effect that is not supposed to happen, but I have a friend who takes it with the exact same result. Hey, but I don't mind so much. Being sleepy is so much better than being depressed.

At a little after 9 am I was awakened by the phone. It was Cassandra calling to gripe about the situation with her friend (whom I've never liked) and how she's dumping her little 16 mo. boy off on her to babysit all the time while she goes and "parties". I listened for awhile, and was finally able to extract myself from the conversation because I had to visit the ladies room. ;) Cassandra doesn't intend to do anything about this problem of being taken advantage of -- she just wants to complain.

And so then I was up for the day. I made some more patches for my friendship wall, read a few blogs, listened to some random music (including Weird Al), downloaded a few songs for myself and Charity, brushed Padi and Obi (my shelties) and waited for Rush to come on. Oh yeah, and you'll be really glad to know that I pulled 2 dog ticks off of Padi's head -- which I hate to do, but Scott waits until they're gi-normous. I listened to Rush, and continued to work on some graphics. I fixed a few things on my template to include a different e-mail address (left column). I use a script that prevents it from being "harvested" -- we'll see. I'm tired of hotmail, which I never remember to check. I also researched how to spin fiber into yarn with a spindle, and found some instruction on how to make and use one. If I enjoy it enough, I may have an excuse to get some Angora rabbits. I think I'm getting way ahead of myself, LOL. I have a way of doing that.

This afternoon I watched Clean Sweep. I didn't really enjoy this episode all that much, so I made dinner (beef stroganoff with rice) while watching it. But I did love the idea that they did with vinyl tile on the floor. I didn't really like the colors or the pattern, but I liked the idea. I want to plan and shop now to redo my bathroom floor in vinyl tiles, because I can do it myself and it's very cheap. I'm tired of the lovely plywood since we ripped up the carpet -- long story involving kids using the bathtub as a swimming pool. I'm going to find out what colors are available and then draw up a plan using a few different colors in a pattern. Scott likes the idea too.

When Scott got home we watched Seinfeld and Law & Order. I crocheted on the baby afgan. I'm about halfway done now.

Then Scott and I got on our computers for awhile. The kids tried to watch Whose Line Is It Anyway? -- which I don't like them to watch without us, as some of it is inappropriate. Scott and I could hear it tonight, and we had to tell the kids to turn it off. We decided tonight that no one's watching it anymore. Well, you can, but we're not watching it here anymore.

We had a family prayer, and Scott read us a story about faith. Then the bedtime ritual began. Why is it that no matter how old kids get, they never seem to want to go to bed or get up when they're supposed to? We go through it every night -- especially with Ian (12) and Christopher (9). We send them to bed, and they forget. It always takes several reminders. Tonight Ian went and got on a video game in the living room. He couldn't understand why Scott grounded him. We can never seem to get the kids to bed before 11 or 12 pm.

So while I was listening to Scott lecture Ian, I played on Neopets for a few minutes. I haven't played in months. Scott's asleep now, and I'm debating on whether or not to play a little longer...

#posted by *2flower* | All comments have been lost. :(

Hopeless Romantic

Yes, I am a hopeless romantic. It's songs like this that really bring it out in me.

You Make Me
by Al Yankovic

You make me wanna slam my head against the wall
You make me do the limbo
You make me wanna buy a slurpee at the mall
You make me watch the Gong Show
There's really something kinda strange about you, baby, but I can't exactly seem to put my finger on it

You make me
You make me
You make me
That's what you do to me

You make me wanna hide a weasel in my shorts
You make me wanna phone home
You make me wanna write a dozen book reports
Then pack myself in styrofoam
Sometimes you make me want to build a model of the Eiffel Tower out of Belgian waffles

You make me
You make me
You make me
That's what you do to me

(You make me) That's what you do
(You make me) That's what you do
(You make me) That's what, what you do to me

You make me wanna hang out in a trailer park
Then take my hamster to the beach
You make me wanna do my laundry in the dark
And use a recommended bleach
When I'm with you I don't know whether I should study neurosurgery or go to see the Care Bears movie

You make me
You make me
You make me
That's what you do to me

(You make me) That's what you do
(You make me) That's what you do
(You make me) That's what, what you do to me

That's what you do to me
That's what you do to me
That's what you do to me

You make me wanna break the laws of time and space
You make me wanna eat pork
You make me wanna staple bagels to my face
Then remove 'em with a pitchfork
You know there's something quite unusual about you but I can't exactly seem to put my finger on it

You make me
You make me
You make me
That's what you do to me

(You make me) That's what you do
(You make me) That's what you do
(You make me) That's what, what you do to me

(You make me) That's what you do
(You make me) That's what you do
(You make me) That's what you do-do-do-do-do to me

(You make me) That's what you do
(You make me) That's what you do
(You make me) That's what you do to me

#posted by *2flower* | All comments have been lost. :(

Monday, March 01, 2004

Shamrock City

I think I went a little hog wild on the shamrock decor, but it was extremely fun. Plus, I was more than ready to get rid of the hearts. I'm all ready for March now. What about you?

#posted by *2flower* | All comments have been lost. :(

Suz's Place, etc.

One of the reasons I didn't post yesterday is because I found some great PSP 7 tutorials here, and was busy making this jam.

I was also working on my Puffin Friendship Wall, which is looking pretty decent.

I started out by sleeping over half the day away, as I woke up with some gall bladder pain. It wasn't too bad, but I did wake up a few times with pains. It's about time to do another gallbladder cleanse. Yes, that's right -- I'm going to keep my gallbladder as long as I can. I've been doing cleanses for a couple of years now. If you want to know how to do it, do a web search. I drink over a cup of freshly squeezed grapefruit juice mixed with 1/2 cup cold-pressed olive oil. (yurgh! bleh!) I sip on Coca-Cola after that to get the taste out of my mouth. It sounds bad, but it's better than surgery, especially since I have no health insurance.

#posted by *2flower* | All comments have been lost. :(

dogwood blooms

what day is it?

reading

finished

i wish

i'm an enfp

my guestbook

bloggerrific peeps

blogroll me

i'm a blogger with bOObies

the "you know what" list

blog help & goodies

artsy-fartsy toys

blog listings

i support

blogometer

Be very afraid

Spring Springing

The early worm gets the bird

The stench was great -- a rant

More changes

Wictory Wednesday

What'd I miss?

If I were a Lego...

What I did today

Hopeless Romantic

Shamrock City

Suz's Place, etc.

referrererererers

what'd i miss?

cozy blogs

puffin peeps

radio peeps

links i likeses

memes

my webrings

right peeps

wictory wednesday

blogs for Bush