*blend

*Note. This post is much more personal than any others, and doesn’t apply to either technology or blended families, but it does highlight some of the wonderful things that can come from being part of family and community. Not everything in a blended family is work and struggle!

My family and friends threw a birthday party for me Friday, July 27, 2007. It was awkward being the reason all these people gathered together, but we all had a great time, especially with the Thumpin’ Puppies providing the music for the night. They have a whole slew of new songs not on any of their CDs that I absolutely love, and we tried recording them playing, but with all the kids there that night, and dancing in front of the camera, neither the audio nor the video does the band justice. I wanted to take a moment to thank everyone who came, you won’t know how much you being there meant to me. I hope you all enjoyed the night as much as I did, and to the band: THANK YOU. You guys are unbelievable, and I can’t wait to start hearing your music played on the radio!

If you are reading this and have not heard of the Thumpin’ Puppies, check out their web site and sample some of their music. They are original, talented, and down-right awesome.

As for me and the party, I have never been so flattered. My better half, Brian, never ceases to surprise me with all the things he does to make his family happy. This party was all his idea to begin with, and he took care of every detail, from making sure we had a cook, to getting the band equipment down to the hall. While I sat in a lawn chair at 2 am wishing I had stopped with the third glass of wine, he cleaned up, packed up, and got his whole family home safe and sound. I wish I possessed the verbal skill to express to him, and to all of my friends, how much this event touched me. Thanks for the gifts, but you being there was all I asked for!

And even though we were outnumbered 3 to 1 by kids, I am REALLY glad all of you came, too. My girls made some new friends, and got to spent time with old friends.

H and J: Thanks for letting me step on your toes on the dance floor!

And to Brian: What can I say to Superman? “Gettin’ Riggy wit it!”

2007-07-06 Tinkerbears frst time outside, originally uploaded by westxrenee.

Coming outside to play for the first time was too tiring for this little 3.5 week old terrier-shepherd mix.

I was goofing around and somehow, don’t know exactly how, but somehow, I came across this page about a UFO sighting in Fort Stockton in 1972, complete with mockups of what was seen. I couldn’t help myself, I had to look, and here’s what I saw:

Okay. Gee, that looks like the school right down the street… why do I get such a kick out of seeing a photoshopped alien ship hovering over it? Who knows, but seeing how there is so little ‘out there’ about my community, this was a fun find. Too bad it’s so, um, well, ‘out there’ !

Original images and sighting info can be found at HBCC UFO Research.

This evening while watering my front yard, I saw what I first thought was a young hummingbird. But unlike most hummingbirds, it stayed at the flowers as I approached, and even flew around my head. When I got closer, I found it to be a Hyles lineata, or “Hummingbird Moth”. Here are some pictures and video I captured before it got too dark to see.

Video Description: Cool footage of a White-lined Sphinx Moth (Hyles lineata) in my front yard the evening of 2007-04-11. It’s often referred to as a hummingbird moth because it can easily be mistaken for a young hummingbird because it resembles hummingbirds in size and behavior.

Art Buchwald died at the age of 81 last night.

He turned his wonderful wit onto his own failing health in his last book, Too Soon to Say Goodbye, and had me both laughing and crying at a talk he gave in DC late last year. I recommend you watch the program over at CSPAN’s Book TV. I have to admit I never really gave him much thought, and by sheer chance was able to see his talk. It only took a moment for him to capture my attention, and he’s someone I won’t forget.

So, goodbye, Mr. Buchwald, I’m glad to have met you, even if I was little late to join the parade.

The Mint on Monday revealed the design of the new U.S. $1 coin, which will be issued in a series that will eventually include the faces of each U.S. president. It will release four new presidential dollars each year, starting with George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in 2007. The Van Buren dollar will be released in 2008 and the Fillmore in 2010. Richard M. Nixon, who resigned in 1974 in the wake of the Watergate scandal, will appear on the coin in 2016.- Reuters . They are working on getting “In God We Trust” off…now it’s very much less prominent on the side edge of the coin. This is a new feature…I don’t think any other US coin has had this edge-imprint.

The following images make me feel like my cat isn’t so strange after all, as far as cats go, I mean, face it, all cats are strange…. Read the rest of this entry »

“Looking to decorate your living room with a touch of the macabre? Well here’s a piece of furniture that both horror and crime show fans can truly appreciate. The Dead Comfy - Body Bag Bean Bag is quite simply the most evil twisted bean bag chair ever invented. The Dead Comfy looks just like a real body bag with a body inside, except this body is actually a bright pink inner bag of comfy beans. There’s nothing better than a spooky rainy halloween night, a good scary movie and relaxing on a dead corpse.”

hee..ok…

I hate telephones…of all types. headsets, portable, cell, corded, speaker. Hate them. Always have. Because I hate talking on them. I can’t hear very well on them, and I have a horrible compulsion to walk around in circles while on them. (Which, from what I hear people around me tell me, extremely funny to watch when I have the misfortune to get stuck on a corded handset…)

This dislike of one of the most popular communication devices of the past 100 years led me to write a VERY long email message to every person I know with an email address in which I addressed my reasons for resigning from the library, how I and my family are going to handle things, the fact that I’m not actually GOING anywhere…everything that could possibly be wondered, and consequently, asked of me regarding this situation. Why? Because since Thursday my phone has not stopped ringing. And my feet are really really tired from all that pacing.

Please don’t call me if an email or waiting to see me in person will do. Please?

Countdown continues: 23 more days…

The music, the clothes, the hair…the…librarians?

Check this video at youtube… Betty Glover Library Workout Tape ad

From deneui: This was a project I did in college at A This was a project I did in college at ASU for class. Yes, I also worked at the library, and Betty Glover (an incredibly sweet lady) was my boss. This was way before non-linear editing. It’s a bit dated, but still holds up pretty well, I think.