Oh, Stop it!!

I don't know what I'm bumping to cause those OLD entries to show up as my latest, but I swear, really, they aren't - I'm just strolling down memory lane.

In 2007 news - holy fuck, it's OCTOBER???!?!?!!?? I mean, okay, obviously that happened about 11 days ago, but DUDE! This year feels like a blur - WHooooosssshhh! Which ya know, is one of the reasons I'm strolling down memory lane - it's amazing how much has happened (and hasn't happened) over the few years I have in OD. Okay - I've BEEN here for seven years, but I've winnowed down my diary a couple of times between now and then.

I'm totally not ready for it to be cold yet - I don't have many inbetweeny clothes (because I'm HUGE! Oh my god, I'm soooo fat), and it's still too warm for winter clothes.

I'm in love with skirts (floorlength ones) but none of my winter skirts are long enough. Can you make nice skirts out of pillproof fleece? I'm thinking they might look like wool.

I don't have any shoes - I've (finally) released my addiction to heels (I think it's been the long skirt thing - I don't care so much about how my legs look *laugh*) and I've been wearing thongs/crocs all summer (when I'm not barefoot altogether) and - my toes are getting cold! I think I'm going to do ballet slipper type things....

Gahhhhh! I need to go clothes shopping (or sew) and I so don't feel like doing EITHER.

As I've been meandering down memory lane, I've stumbled across the two (or three - maybe four??) different weight loss/health efforts I've made, and ya know what? I suck. *lol* I mean - seriously, I'm literally the EXACT SAME WEIGHT I was 5 years ago. Which, I suppose could be a good thing, if that weight wasn't so damn overweight that it's insane, AND if I hadn't lost close to 90 pounds inbetween there.

*sigh*

I finally broke down and ordered the full price treadmill - It's hate to walk around the yard as I have to coat myself with OFF. It stinks.

Speaking of stinky - I've stopped using deodorant! *l* I use this bar from Lush (www.lush.com - beware, you will fall in LOVE) and it's WONDERFUL. I smell - good. Human, rather than some chemicalized version of a spring rain coated with baby powder.

Urm. What else?

I have about another 200 books I need to add to my LibraryThing - I love bookclosests.com and the thriftstore - oh, love! And I refuse to shelve them, so they are scattered alllll over the place - *headshake*

I should most likely do that this weekend.

So, how are ya'll?

I are Nerd

Okay, I haven't even FINISHED taking the test, and I must say - this is the hardest. question. EVER.

Fuckkkk. ME!

If you could only pick ONE of the following items in the next six groups, which would it be? (i.e. by picking the ONE, you can no longer have/possess the others, EVER)
...Group 1...
a)Your collection of books
b)A computer
c)Your DVD collection

*weeps* But - it didn't say you couldn't USE one. Yeah.

Yeah.

That's it.

Anyhow.

Here's the test.

NerdTests.com says I'm a Cool High Nerd. What are you?

Rock on, with the coolness, and the highness. I am Duchess Nerd, ya'll.

Quick Fun Facts:

36.6% of all test takers would choose the Internet over sex, and
29.2% of married test takers prefer the Internet over sex.

*ROFLMAO*

---

And, in sadder news - Madeline L'Engle is dead. I think the next book I will pick up to read will be one of hers - and they are shortish, so I might squeeze it in before I finish all the books I'm reading.

Life

I feel like I should write. Not for you guys (though I'm certain you're hanging on my every word), but for me.

I feel like I should be taking pictures and singing in the rain and dancing for no apparent reason - like I should be doing these things, you must understand, not that I want to.

I don't want to be at work - only 48 minutes left, and I don't want to come back tomorrow, despite work having been - well, for the job that it is, it's been pretty darn sweet.

My life is dull, I think. It's wonderful and it's peaceful and it's lovely and it's occasionally (more frequently than I would like to admit) lonely, but - in general - it's dull.

No. Dull isn't the right word. It's dull like the ocean on a still day. It's dull like a perfectly cloudless sky. It's dull like a dead tree, carved and sharpened by sand.

The little things perk me up - like C bringing home meatloaf, or finding the perfect pair of earrings or hearing my favorite song.

And it's not like it's a rut either. And for once, I can say it's definitely not limbo.....it's just my life. And perhaps I've gotten to used to it - but I not (looking around for the tricksy hand of the gods) ASKING for it to be shook up, just to be clear. A wee shake-up would be very nice, and much appreciated, though.

I'm going to get a tattoo this weekend, I think.

I can't remember if I mentioned this before, but I realized (in one of those melodramatic flashes of insight), that I'm unbalanced - tattoo wise, and being wise. I - I can't walk that delicate middle line - social, but not to social, open but not too open, wise but not a smartass, silly but focused, eager but cautious. And I want to walk that line - I'm not asking for it to be easy - but I would like to feel a bit less like a drunken sailor.

Anyhow. The only tattoo I have right now is fire.... and to balance it, I'm going to get three more - water, earth, and air. Water is going to be my next one - perfectly balancing fire (which is on my right hip) by being on my left hip. After that, I suspect me & C might finally get our 'matching' tatts, if I can ever finish designing them.

Then Earth, low on my back, right over my spine. Then Air, on my shoulders.

I don't know how long it will take me, but I know it feels enourmously right. I got fire first, oh so many moons ago, because I felt like I lacked passion. I've learned, over that time, that I don't lack in passion in the least - I just wasn't trying to bring my passion to bear on the RIGHT things. Now, I feel like I'm ready to accentuate ALL of my aspects.

My hair, she is growing.

My ass, is shockingly enough, staying the same damn size (too large) without me fighting to keep it there. Even MORE relieivingly, my 'stable' weight is ten pounds LESS than it used to be. Go figure. We have almost finished putting together the fitness room - I need to order another packages of matting, and we need some fans and an A/C unit, and then I can start working on reducing the size of my ass.

My garden, she is growing like wild things - the cukes and the pumpkins are plotting on how to take over the world, the sunflowers are taller than me, the strawberries are finally producing (though, I don't think I like them, and might buy a new strain next year) the peppers are moving slow, and all of the tomatoes I PLANTED flipped me the bird - but a volunteer from LAST year showed up. It is green, and glorious, and dear god, I'm never going to want to eat another cucumber again.

(left side is pumpkins, right side is cukes). At least I can freeze pumpkin puree.

C is doing wonderfully, working his ass off and his heart out and really making that hotel BETTER. And he loves every minute of it. We've been together for almost seven years, and it feels like barely the blink of an eye. We still ain't perfect, but I never even pictured we would be this close to it.

The FatCat is still ruling the roost - though we think he encountered a snake a while ago, as he was skittish as all get out - he damn near levitated when I shifted the hose suddenly, and he's met a dog (and learned that the tops of cars are wonderful places to hide, much to C's dismay) but he still thinks he's the shit. And of sweet heavens, he's shedding like a..... like a.... like a double coated cat in 90+ degrees temps who spends equal amounts of time outside and in an unairconditioned house, and if I ever get into the yarn/spinning thing, I could totally make a sweater. A full body sweater.

The house... well. This has been the last thing we've worked on.

Going from this:

to this:

One thousand, four hunded, and twenty, if you were wondering how many books there were. And I still need/want/crave/desire more. I've come out of the book dragon closet, and I'm proud, dammit.

So. See? It's life. It's quiet, and peaceful, and comfortable and calm, and as much as I dance on the edge of wanting a sudden squall to sweep there - I'm happy - really happy - as it is.

How YOU doin'???

Thanks for the cold shoulder, Ma Nature...

Frigid Easter, isn't? Ostara (March 24th) was ever so much nicer.  

Over the last few days, this HORRID cold front has blown in, and overnight temps have dropped below freezing. Yes, it WAS over 80 a few days ago. In-freaking-sane.

So. Luckily, it's barely been a week since I planted, and the only thing that even looked like it had sprouted was one of the okra.

 

I used some cheap, translucent shower curtains I had gotten from the dollar store, and as it was cold as - well, it was cold out there, I took a short cut, and cut small holes for the posts on the corners of the beds, and secured the shower curtains to the bed that way.
It's loose enough that air can flow under it, but close enough that dew shouldn't form on the dirt itself, and thus, keep the dirt & the seeds a little warmer.

I considered watering, but figured that it wouldn't be worth it with the risk of a freeze, and besides, the ground was still damp - definitely not moist, but certainly damp.

That was Saturday afternoon. I planned on watering them this morning, but when I went out there and tried to turn on the garden hose, not only did the sprayer things handle break, hunks of ICE came out of the hose.

Yeah. Ice. In April. It was 85degrees four days ago.

As expected, dew had formed on the underside of the plastic, and was dripping back down onto the dirt - and it was warm(ish) because of the sun hitting the plastic. Go makeshift greenhouse! I left them on - enough light gets through them, that the tradeoff for warmth is a good one. Nothing else sprouted, though.

We are relaxing at home today - I'm thinking about setting up in the library and working on my LibraryThing - hrm. I also need to read for class tomorrow.

Boooooookkkkssss......

*twitches*
It's sad - it really is. Every - okay, 99% - of the books I currently own are still packed away nice & tight, because the library hasn't been painted yet. And yet, what do I do? I buy MORE books! Why? Because *hangs head* I have a problem....

Hello, My name is Kiya, and I'm addicted to Reading. (this is where ya'll chime in).

It started ever so innocently (this time). I was given two books on Egypt at the Midsummer Festival, and I wanted to rummage about on some of the Kemetic boards and see if there was any info on the scholary qualities of the authors. I didn't find anything, but reading about 'The Mind of Egypt' by Jan Assman (wonderful book, am still only about 1/3 of the way through it!) reminded me that I hadn't gone to bookcloseouts.com in a good little while (which was where I got the Assman book - for about 80% off cover price). Of course, that meant that I had to go to bookcloseouts - just to see what they HAD - as their inventory varies frequently.  Now, I'm going to issue a fair warning - if you're a bookfreak of any shape, size, or form - avoid this website. I've had checking accounts of friends put hits on me for introducing this website to them.  Annnyhow! I go, and I browse, and I get four books.  Total price (including shipping)? 32.something.  Orginal price of JUST the books? 99.80!! One of them (Temples of Ancient Egypt ) was originally 49.95 - they had it for 9.99!!!!! 
Seee - this is why I LOOOOVE this website.  Anyhow! Four Books:
Ancient Egypt (2nd Revised Edition) by  Moorey, P. R. S. (Textbook type book)
Pharaoh's People: Scenes from Life in Imperial Egypt by James, T. G. H. (covers the lives of the 'average' Egyptian)
Popular Stories of Ancient Egypt by El-Shamy, Hasan, Maspero, Gastpm (Oooh!! Tales and myths and bedtime stories!!)
Temples of Ancient Egypt by Shafer, Byron E. (Edt)  (*drrroooooolll* Details all the temples, the rituals that were practiced there, and the gods that were venerated). 

*delighted sigh* 

And tonight, I'm going to the Book Rack up the street and around the corner from my house, to rummage through their shelves and see if I can find any little treasures.  To balance all this delightful Kemetic reading bliss, I'm also going to dedicate this weekend to prepping the library for painting, so that we can actually UNPACK all the books we have! 


*happy twitches*

oooh, chicken!

I got all gushy over green stuff in the last one, and forgot to talk about my grandiose plans for the rest of the weekend.

So - looking for garden tools (I want to find some on Freecycle, but the plants can't wait any longer!) I started scanning the classifieds looking at yard sales - and there are a CRAPLOAD of them going on this weekend, and I merrily wrote down all the addresses that were in my necks of the woods. Then, I read another ad, and all thoughts of yardsales went out of my head.

It’s the big one—the two-day Library book sale, held at the Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library, that features outstanding bargains on books, videos, music and more. Adult hardback books are only $2.00; paperbacks are only 25 cents. The sale, which will benefit the Friends of the Library, will be held Friday, June 9 and Saturday, June 10 from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m.

*droooooooooolllllllllssssssssss* Oh my god, oh my god, oh my GOD!!! I missed it last year, as I heard about it the weekend AFTER the sale (darn it all!) but this year, I'm SOOO there. Hubby has to work tomorrow, but he is off today, so he's heading out there to see if he can find anything. The Central Library has a little 'bookstore' that's open when the library is, and I've found some real treasures there - and I'm assuming that they are selling books from ALL the branches, and - *shakes head* I'm going to have SUCH a good time.

So now, I'm waffling. The moeny for the yard sales and the book sale was to come out of my allowance, and - I don't KNOW!! I know how I am with books, and I know that I can (and most likely will) spend an absurd amount of money on books for a woman who has not ONE bookcase set up in her house yet - but - EEE!!!

So - I think that I'm going to go and BUY the tools (from Big Lots, most likely - they seem to have the best balance of cheap prices and better quality) and mark it against our house stuff fund, then go and be all orgasmic among the books.

Another thing that I was really hoping to pick up at a yard sale is a sewing machine - to go on the desk that doesn't yet exsist, in the room that isn't yet painted - but first I want to find either a good convertable table or plans for one. I'm sure ya'll have seen them - the sewing machine is screwed onto a board that can be flipped over to provide a flat uninteruppted cutting/crafts surface? It's going to be the sewing table AND the crafts/clay table (I'm already thinking of what kind of moveable covering I can put on the table so I don't get bits of clay in the cloth) so I would like to be able to both use the machine AND store the machine at the same time - without having to lug it around the room. I don't know what that KIND of table is called though, so - eh.

Um. So that's Saturday - library, then yard - or more likely - yard til it gets ugly hot, THEN library. Cuz, I think that the kind of books I get all gushy over aren't usually the ones that just FLY off the shelves. And Sunday, it's going to be all yard, all day. *wipes the thought of sweat off her forehead*

So much fun, so much!!

Interesting Book....

The Book of Household Management
Comprising Information for the:
Mistress, Housekeeper, Cook, Kitchen-maid, Butler, Footman, Coachman, Valet, Upper and under house-maids, Lady’s-maid, Maid-of-all-work, Laundry-maid, Nurse and nurse-maid, Monthly, wet, and sick nurses, etc. etc.
also, sanitary, medical, & legal memoranda;with a history of the origin, properties, and uses of all things connected with home life and comfort.
By Mrs. Isabella Beeton

I grew up wanting to be an English Gentlewoman (and honestly, still have thoughts of being one today) and this book is just - amusingly delightful. Besides, I might learn something.

HandyDandy

So, like I said I would, I've been focusing on the library. I went to Home Depot yesterday and scooped up - hundreds of paint chips. I mean - seriously, I grabbed one of the little thingys for every. single. color. Plus a buncha color books, and - this CD thingy that you can use to 'test' out the colors of paint in a room. I also scooped up a couple of plastic putty scrapers as I figured that they would be less likely to gouge hunks out of the wall than a metal one. I tested the wallpaper in one corner last night, and it peels off pretty easily. Besides for a reformed scabpicker like myself, it's - WONDERFUL *pickpickPullllllrip!* Hehehehe.

I've been thinking about colors too. So far, the two rooms that we've settled on colors for (the game room and the family room) have both been based on paintings/art. The game room is going to be red, black and chrome - inspired by a Scarface poster my husband has, and loves. *shakes head* The family room is going to be themed off of a matching pair of beach pictures that I got in the Dominican Republic - golds and browns and bronzes and rusts - which also nicely matches our furniture set.

The library is on the north side of the house, so it probably should be - warm colors.  I was thinking of a turquoise/royal blue/gold theme in there - but I'm thinking that maybe a rich reddish violet or maroon would be better to warm up the room a bit. Also, the paint color under the wallpaper is a pale blue - and it looks - funny. Also!! Why - oh why - is the paint textured on the wall? I'll have to see what it looks like once the wallpaper is totally stripped - but if I want to get rid of the texture, what would we have to do? Sand the walls? Sheeesh.

There's beige wall to wall in there, but it's on top of wood like in the main section of the house - so that is TOTALLY getting ripped up. At first, C wanted to keep the carpet (in case we wanted to read an the floor - which would most likely almost never happen) but last night he said he didn't care, so - it's getting ripped up. I don't know what state it's in, but - *sighs* I'm assuming it's going to need to be refinished and all that jazz - ooohh!! With the dark color of the wood, we'll definitely need something light on the walls to brighten it up. Maybe do the gold as the primary color, and use the turquiose as accents (on the walls) and drop the royal blue all together, and then the accents in the room could be mainly turquiose.

Also!! I've been rummaging around looking for cool bookcases (plywood/NOT particle board) and considering building our own once I saw the outrageous prices people wanted for bare freaking wood - and I found this on this ULTRA cool website.

And based on the directions, it sounds not only REALLY straightforward to build, but also something that I could get precut wherever I get the wood from. Also - it's light! It's not super heavy and blocky looking (as most of the other handmade/unfinished wood bookshelves did) and if we painted those the same color as the walls - the books would almost look like they were floating against the wall. :)  I was also considering getting some of the edge molding stuff and finishing off the edges of the shelves so that it looks a little - classier, I suppose. So, I'm happy with that!!

Tonight, I'm going to go home and do some studying (hopefully I'll be able to have some outside time before it starts pouring rain) and then move everything that is in the libray to either the dining room or the exercise room so that I can have unobsturcted access to all the walls.

Hmm.... what should we do first - paint the walls, or finish the floor?? If we have to sand the walls, we should do that at the same time that we sand the floor. Hmmhmmhmm.... I'll have to ponder that for a while - as soon as I look up refinishing a floor, and stripping textured paint off the wall.

 

---

 

 In other non-library related news, today is the Third Wednesday of the month....and the thrift store up the street from me sells EVERYTHING for 50% off on the 3rd Wednesday of the month. *swoons* I walked out of there with like 4 books (all about home repair/do it yourselfishness), a buncha magazines (landscape/decorating ideas) about 15 wooden picture frames that we plan on painting to coordinate with the rooms, and but black and white pictures in. None of them had glass, but at 23 cents each, I figured that I could figure out some sort of thin cuttable plastic that I can fit to each frame for WAYYY under a dollar each - as our original plan was to go to the dollar store and get them. Soo - Sqqquueeee!! And, I got a big picture frame for a poster of C's of the last day of some Cincinati staduim that he got signed by some baseball dude - he has two, but I could only find one frame, so we'll have to figure something else out for the other one. I also got another pyrex loaf pan for 3 bucks, and......I think that's it. *sighs* Soooo pleased with myself I am.

Reading List

I wanted to make a 'sticky' entry to keep track of the books I'm reading and owning and want to own and so forth and so on. An (r) after something in the list means I've already read it, (pr) means I've partially read it. A (b) means I got it from the library. A person's name behind it means I borrowed it from that person....

Currently Reading: Reading Egyptian art : a hieroglyphic guide to ancient Egyptian painting and sculpture by Richard H. Wilkinson (4/25/2006)

Books I own:
Book of the Dead Trans. by E.A. Wallis Budge (pr)
Egyptian Magic (Books on Egypt and Chaldaea, V. 2.) By E. A. Wallis Budge
Maat Magick: A Guide to Self-Initiation By Nema, Samuel Weiser
Amulets of Ancient Egypt By Carol Andrews
Maat Revealed: Philosophy Of Justice In Ancient Egypt by Anna Mancini (r) (04/25)
Daughters of Isis: Women of Ancient Egypt By Joyce Tyldesley (r)


Books I want to own:
Reading Egyptian art : a hieroglyphic guide to ancient Egyptian painting and sculpture by Richard H. Wilkinson (b)
Symbol & magic in Egyptian art by Richard H. Wilkinson (b)
Egyptian religion. by Siegfried Morenz (b)
The Search for God in Ancient Egypt by Jan Assman (Mancini uses him for a lot of her sources)
Conceptions of God in Ancient Egypt:The One and The Many by Erik Hornung
Idea Into Image: Essays on Ancient Egyptian Thought by Erik Hornung
Religion in Ancient Egypt: Gods, Myths and Personal Practice edited by Byron E. Schafer

Books I want to read (maybe own, if they are good)
The complete temples of ancient Egypt by Richard H. Wilkinson (b)
The Mysteries of Egypt: Secret Rites and Traditions by Lewis Spence

Reading List

 I suspect this is going to be another one of those entries that I update repeatedly.

1) Books on Women in AE - this will most likely hold a lot of the things that the 'common' people did. It's amazing how in a lot of history, all of the important people are men and the commoners are women. 

Allen, James P., Religion and Philosophy in Ancient Egypt
Allen, James P., Genesis
Assman, Jan, The Search for God in Ancient Egypt, Cornell University Press, 2001
Betro, Maria Carmel., Hieroglyphics: The Writings of Ancient Egypt. S. Amanda George, trans. NY: Abbeville Press. 1996.
Clark, R. T. Rundle, Myth and Symbol in Ancient Egypt London, 1959
Englund, Gertie, The Religion of the Ancient Egyptians
Hart, George. A Dictionary of Egyptian Gods and Goddesses
Hart, Georges, Egyptian Myths: The Legendary Past Austin
Hornung, Erik, Conceptions of God in Ancient Egypt:The One and The Many
Hornung, Erik, Idea Into Image: Essays on Ancient Egyptian Thought.
Lesko, Barbara S. The Great Goddesses of Egypt.
Meeks, Dimitri and Christine Favard Meeks. Daily Life of the Egyptian Gods.
Morenz, Siegfried. Egyptian Religion.
Pinch, Geraldine, Magic in Ancient Egypt
Ritner, Robert Kriech. The Mechanics of Ancient Egyptian Magical Practice.
Schafer, Byron E., ed. Religion in Ancient Egypt: Gods, Myths and Personal Practice.
Vincent Arieh Tobin, Theological Principles of Egyptian Religion
Watterson, B., The House of Horus at Edfu: Ritual in an Ancient Egyptian Temple
Wilkinson, Richard H. The Complete Temples of Ancient Egypt
Wisner, Kerry., Eye of the Sun, The sacred legacy of Ancient Egypt 

The Life of the Ancient Egyptian, Inside the Temples
http://www.cartage.org.lb/en/themes/GeogHist/histories/Oldcivilization/Egyptology/LifeAncient/lifeinEgypt2.htm
The British Museum website, Temples
http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/temples/home.html
Tour Egypt, Temples
http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/temples.htm
Ancient Egyptian Temple Elements Part I: Approach and Entrance
http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/templeentrance.htm
Ancient Egyptian Temple Elements Part II: The Outer Courtyards
http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/templecourtyard.htm
Ancient Egyptian Temple Elements Part III: On the Path to the Sanctuary
http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/templehalls.htm
Ancient Egyptian Temple Elements Part IV: The Sanctuary and its Environs
http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/templesanctuary.htm
Ancient Egyptian Temple Elements Part V: Associated Elements
http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/templeother.htm
Egyptian Temples, part I: A Reflection of Heaven
http://realmagick.com/articles/39/439.html
Egyptian Temples, part II: The Priesthood
http://realmagick.com/articles/40/440.html
Egyptian Temples, part III: God's Home
http://realmagick.com/articles/41/441.html
Egyptian Temples, part IV: The Temple Building
http://realmagick.com/articles/42/442.html
Egyptian Temples, part V: Daily Rituals
http://realmagick.com/articles/43/443.html
Egyptian Temples, part VI: The House of Life
http://realmagick.com/articles/44/444.htm
Adventures in Archaeology, AE Temples
http://www.odysseyadventures.ca/articles/egyptian_temples/egyptian_temples-text.htm
Egyptology Online, Temple Glossary
http://www.egyptologyonline.com/temple_glossary.htm
University College, AE Temple Architecture
http://www.digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk/art/temple.html
University College, Survival of Temple Buildings
http://www.digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk/temple/survival.html
University College, 'Reading a Temple'
http://www.digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk/temple/reading.html
University College, Temple Types
http://www.digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk/temple/types.html
University College, Spread of the formal temple
http://www.digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk/temple/typestime.html
Conservation at Luxor Temple
http://www.digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk/temple/typestime.html
Daily Cult Rituals
http://www.digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk/religion/dailycult.html

Specific Temples

Karnak Temple
www.egyptvoyager.com/karnak.htm
http://www.egyptvoyager.com/karnak.htm
http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/karnak.htm

Luxor
www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/egypt/luxor/luxor.html
http://www.bluffton.edu/sullivanm/egypt/luxor/luxor.html
http://www.touregypt.net/lxtmpl.htm

Deir el-Bahri Temple
www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/egypt/deirelbahri/deirelbahri.html
http://www.bluffton.edu/sullivanm/egypt/deirelbahri/deirelbahri.html
http://www.touregypt.net/bahari.htm
http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/bahri.htm

Abu Simbel
www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/egypt/abusimbel/ramses/ramses.html
http://www.bluffton.edu/sullivanm/egypt/abusimbel/ramses/ramses.html
www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/egypt/abusimbel/nefertari/nefertari.html
http://www.bluffton.edu/sullivanm/egypt/abusimbel/nefertari/nefertari.html
http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/abusimbel.htm

Edfu
www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/egypt/edfu/edfu.html
http://www.bluffton.edu/sullivanm/egypt/edfu/edfu.html
http://www.touregypt.net/edfuc.htm
http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/edfu.htm

Dendera Temple
www.egyptvoyager.com/dendera.htm
http://www.touregypt.net/dendera.htm

Innnnnteresting.

So. My boss quit. Yeah, her hubby got a good job in another city, and thus she is upping and leaving.

This is my jealous face.

What else? The weather is warming up, but I'm treating Mother Nature like the wanton tease that she is, and I'm not paying it ANY attention. Last year I think it was, one of my favorites wrote this WONDERFUL entry about Spring and Summer as if they were sisters. Fully Caffienated, maybe? I might go and rummage about her OD and see if I can find it. It was HILARIOUS.

Edit: I rummaged, but I couldn't find the one I'm thinking of - the only one I could find was this one: Coaxing Spring out of Bed. I'll have to leave her a note and see if she wrote another one.

I might actually have an assignment at work soon! Just - imagine! Something that takes all of my time to do. I really don't wanna sound *thinks* boastful - but I realize that I a large part of my problems with work are quite simply that I'm overqualified for what I'm doing. I could be doing SO much more STUFF - but that stuff just isn't part of this project. Or - at least not part of the part of the project that I'm on. So - I have to demonstrate some of that 'patience' stuff, and simply excel in whatever is given to me - no matter how dull and repetitive and just downright EASY it is.

I really should be working on my short story - but I still haven't figured out how to make it all tricksy like I want it to be. It's about an elf without power trying to get back at her evil, rude, uncouth ass boss - without losing her job. *shakes fist at Dallandrah* And I actually need to FINISH this one.

Lunch today was fabulous, I went out and brought four new books (with the money I had leftover from C's bday gift), three of which are the last three in the series I've been reading for like the past two weeks. The fourth one was the lastest Anita Blake book - I'm kinda upset at Laurel Hamilton though, because she knew damn well that it was a novella, but they are selling it as a full length novel. I'm sorry, but anytime there is an ENTIRE blank page (both sides) between each CHAPTER - you're padding the thickness of the book. And the book ain't even that danggone thick anyhow. *sigh* She's getting more into the sex and less into the gore, and I might have to just let this series go. Her later books have been written lazier and lazier.  

The Saga of Recluse though (that's the series I'm working my way through) it's like - 13 books? 11 books? some outrageous number like that - and they are really good. Next time I read the series, I'm actually going to read them in chronological order rather than published order - I think that will be even more fun.

Hah! This entry burned through about 45 minutes. Let's see what else I can get into to waste a lil time. ;)

The best book I've ever read

"What is the best book you've ever read, and how did it change you??"

The answer, which oddly enough instantly popped into my head considering how MANY books I've read in my life, is Dune by Frank Herbert.

I read Dune for the first time as an 11 year old. Who was I then? I could speak Arabic almost fluently, and could read it easily. I was a wonderful student, writing and reading at a sophmore (in college) level. I was a skilled cook and babysitter, and just barely approaching that line of puberty, which in the Islamic world that I grew up in, meant a radical shift in my freedoms and options and - more importantly to me - my learning.
Then, I picked up this book of one of my mom's friends, and from the first page I was hooked. I'm not sure if it was the Arabian 'feel' that wound all through the book and therefore connected it to where I was at that moment. I'm not sure if it was reading about the Bene Gesserit, and how a group of WOMEN were silently controlling the world in the background in an attempt to lessen war. I'm not sure if it was the proud free independence of the Fremen, where the men & the women were equally fierce and proud. I'm not sure if it was the power of prana and bindu, where you learned how to control your involuntary reactions, and thereby determine the face that the world saw. I honestly can't put my finger on ONE thing in this book that shook my world, and officially made it the best book I've ever read. I can't even tell you how it changed me - but after reading that book - the world itself was new, and fresh, and clean, and I KNEW that I had the option of controlling it - and I believed (and still do) that "Fear is the mind-killer".

It was the truest book I've EVER read - and every time I re-read it, it's still true. Herbert broke through into inner motivations and reasonings and subtle reactions of people - and described them so cleanly/purely that - it was truth - and it taught me more about how to READ people than - than anything else, ever. Like Paul, reading Dune, I could sense the truth of what he spoke. And 17 years later - I still quote from the book. I still pick it up and read it....and while it doesn't draw me in (largely because I know the whole damn thing by heart) as much as it used to....these words still resound as true as anything I've ever read - written by man or God.

I must not fear.

Fear is the mind-killer.

Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.

I will face my fear.

I will permit it to pass over me and through me.

And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.

Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.

Only I will remain.

The Ethical Slut

I've gotten a couple of notes on this book, so let me go into a little more detail....

The Ethical Slut: A Guide to Infinite Sexual Possibilities (this is a ever so convienent link to it on Amazon - it opens in a new window - read the reviews!)

Soo....what's this book all about?? It basically starts out with (looks around for it-damn, it's in the car) an explanation of how the authors (two non-mongamous women who grew up in the 70's) discovered the fact that they weren't rally wired for monogamy - and how they came to realize that it wasn't necessarily a BAD thing.

It then continues with talking about the sex-negative thoughts that we grow up with, the concepts/internal assumptions that we make about love and sex, and how to 'get over them'.

The book is full of interesting insights, and things that made me go - OH MY GOD!! This is soooooooooo me....it talks about how to handle jealousy, how to fuck up a non-mongamous life, and ideas on how to make sure that everyone you are dealing with is happy. I like the book, because if gives me insights on how to build the BEST relationship possible - not only with my hubby, but with myself, and with my friends - and potential lovers.

It's a REALLLLLLLLLLLLLLY good book - and yeah, the title is deliberately shocking, but it really is a consice description of the book - how to be a 'slut' (someone who loves and who has sex with as many people as they WANT to) and yet still remain, ethical, happy, and LOVING (most importantly of all). A couple of the reviews say that the book is rather male-bashing, and now I'm going to have to re-read it to see if I see that - I thought it was very balanced....covering both lesbian/bi/hetero relationships - with all KINDS of variations thereof.

BUY IT!! It's only 12 bucks!! Buy multiple copies of it! Read it - I think I'm on my third or fourth reading of it, and I'm STILL getting new insights/suprises/confirmations. Even if you AREN'T poly/cheating/in love with more than one person/trying to figure out your root sexuality - it's a great read.

*blinkblink*

Wow. Tuesday already? Huh - that was quick.

Let's see - the weekend was loverly.  Did some stuff around the house, made another trip to Home Depot, finally planted some stuff, generally relaxed.  My heart made some sexy legs (ya know how they have hot wings? Well we had sexy legs. *LOL*) and we ate like kings and queens.  Used the remains of that poor pork shoulder and he made a lovely corn chowder. I don't even LIKE corn and it was scrumptious. Slept til 4pm on Saturday, then, of course - woke up outrageously early (11!!!) on Sunday. Generally, a fantabulously relaxing weekend. Made even more so because it's his last free weekend! Poor baby. But!! I have the house to myself one day out of the week again! Rah!

Put in the order for the furniture yesterday - haven't heard back on how much we are going to get poochscrewed with shipping, but figure it's well worth it.

Relaized that one of the reasons I'm going OUT of my gourd at work is that I have no music.  I have a hard time focusing without music - I get distracted and start doing other things (like reading OD) when I realyl should be working. I've been here for about a month now - hell, almost two, and I figure I'm now allowed to listen to music at my desk. Plan on going to Target to get headphones and MAYBE pick up a CD of the latest music. Ohhh! And it's Tuesday! Target always has new releases out on Tuesday. Maybe I'll suprise the hubby with something - he's been asking about his LONG delayed birthday gift.  Heh. I should just buy some ribbon and be done with it.

Got the book for the book club yesterday and finished it last night. Yes, I'm a VERY fast reader. It was Babylon Sisters by Pearl Cleage. Good book - I've always enjoyed her writing, but had a couple of - plot points that I just didn't understand the characters reasons for. I think it'll be a wonderful book to discuss, see what we all think of it.  I'm not too fond of stories that don't seem to hang together reasonable - no Deus ex machina for me, thank you VERY much. I DID very much enjoy the fact that the book was set in the West End of Atlanta - right up the street from my college - so I recognized the area and the stores/locations she was talking about.  Gave me a bit of melencholy, it did. Hah! Almost forgot - after I finished Babylon Sisters, I then read another book (Dhamphir? - I think that's how you spell it) that I had brought Monday afternoon with Babylon Sisters - it was good, but I doubt that I'll be getting the others in the series. I like experimenting with new authors, even when I'm not totally sucked into the world. Yes, I read very fast. And no, I usually don't skim - I retain 90% of what I read - fiction is very easy for me to read, non-fiction, not so much as I have to read it slower to be sure that I fully understand.

Didn't do a damn thing creative this weekend besides determining where the carrots shold go.  Ah well. My brain is making up for it in spades with various fevered dreams. I've been having deep INTENSE dreams for - weeks it feels like now. Hm. My aunt was alive in that one, and once again, we were in the House.  I'm not sure where the House is, or where its come from, but I can remember having dreams in the House that were so real even NOW they feel like memories as far back as high school - my best friend was in several of the early ones, and I didn't meet him until sophmore year.  The House morphs - adds a few rooms, hallways start to lead to different places, but there are a few things that remain constant.
1) The steps - there is a HUGE staircase in the House that leads literally everywhere. There are a couple of dead stops - where the steps just stop against a wall, or where there's no way to continue down them without a jump - but they are everywhere.
2) The Attic - it's a completely finished attic - odd because it sometimes morphs into another house of it's own.
3) The people - not always the same people, but the House is ALWAYS full of people. Even in the scary dreams, I'm just in a solitary SECTION of the House - it's never empty.
Hmm...I never really realized this before - I'm not sure if its a conglaboration of all the houses I've ever been in, or some house that I was in and was too young to remember - but the House is - comfortable. It's OLD and half falling apart and outrageously huge, but it's - safe. Even when I'm scared shitless - it's safe. Wow.
Anyhow - almost all of the recent dreams have been either in the House or - someplace else. Hah. Of course, as soon as I try to think of what that other location is, it slides away. I guess I'm more awake than I thought I was.  C is in most of them lately - along with a bunch of other people - it's like the House is my mind......hmmmmmmmmm....dammit!! I shouldn't be allowed to come up with new book ideas until I finish the ones I already have - but what a wonderful setting for a series of short stories.  Yeah, I know it's been done - many, many times - but I'd like to write the House out. Not that I  want to stop dreaming about it - but - ahhh.....I don't know.

Tsk. Only 10:13.......I suppose I really SHOULD start digging into my work. Bah. Me not challegened = me bored = my tendency to procrastine expontentially increased.  I guess I should check the email once more.

Edit: *GASP* I just gave myself a PERFECT bloody reason to get an Ipod!!! Perfect!!!! Note Paragraph Four. Holy Cow! And it wasn't until I went to Yahoo! to look up the latest music releases that it hit me. Holy Shamolies BatMan!  Oh! Oooohhh! Ohohoh!!!!!

Banned Books - continued....

I got a couple of notes about why some of the books were banned - and I figured, hey - why not dig around and find out?? My comments in italics...

James and the Giant Peach by: Roald Dahl
A frequently banned author, this book was banned in a Florida elementary school because "it promotes the use of drugs, tobacco, and whiskey."  Umm... okay? I really need to read that one.

Leaves of Grass by: Walt Whitman
Banned in Boston in 1881 for "explicit language".  Like DRAT?  Though Jules did give another reason why it was banned.

Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
censored/banned where: Virginia, Alabama, Germany, the Netherlands
censored/banned because: descriptions of sexuality, anti-German sentiments, discussion of "the mistreatment of the Jewish people," rebellion against parental authority, "a real downer" Anti-German sentiments....in a book written by a JEW during WWI? Hmmm...... I wonder wny?

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
Some critics found his novel pornographic, sexually explicit, and irreligious. Hmmm.... yet another one I need to reread, as I don't remember ANY of that!

Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
contains material racially offensive to Native Americans. Innnnnnteresting.

Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, by William Steig
The characters are all shown as animals; the police are presented as pigs. *ROFLOL* It's a KIDS book for heaven's sake! It's not like the rest of the characters were human and ONLY the police were pigs. Sheesh - how fragile do these people think their children are?

Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Alexandaer Brown
Literature Suppressed on Political Grounds Humph, no real suprise there....I would like more detail though....

This list seems to be all correct - a lot of the books there were banned in various states and schools - I don't think the Federal Gov't CAN ban a book - so it's all going to be local stuff. Still... *shakes head* based on the books they are banning, I sure hope those poor fragile kids aren't watching TV!  

Banned Books (or my new booklist!)

These are apparently the top 115 most banned books. If you have read the whole book, bold it. If you have read part of the book, italicize it. If you own it but haven't gotten around to reading it yet, underline it. If you own it AND have read it fully, bold and underline it.

1. The Bible
2. Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
3. Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
4. The Koran
5. Arabian Nights
6. Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
7. Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift
8. Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
9. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
10. Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
11. The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli
12. Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
13. Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
14. Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
15. Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
16. Les Misérables by Victor Hugo
17. Dracula by Bram Stoker
18. Autobiography by Benjamin Franklin
19. Tom Jones by Henry Fielding
20. Essays by Michel de Montaigne
21.The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
22. History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon
23. Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
24. Origin of Species by Charles Darwin
25. Ulysses by James Joyce
26. Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio
27. Animal Farm by George Orwell
28. Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
29. Candide by Voltaire
30. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
31. Analects by Confucius
32. Dubliners by James Joyce
33. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
34. Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
35. Red and the Black by Stendhal
36. Das Capital by Karl Marx
37. Flowers of Evil by Charles Baudelaire
38. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
39. Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D. H. Lawrence
40. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
41. Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser
42. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
43. The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
44. All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
45. Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx
46. Lord of the Flies by William Golding
47. Diary by Samuel Pepys
48. The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
49. Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy
50. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
51. Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak
52. Critique of Pure Reason by Immanuel Kant
53. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey
54. Praise of Folly by Desiderius Erasmus
55. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
56. Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X
57. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
58. Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
59. Essay Concerning Human Understanding by John Locke
60. Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
61. Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe
62. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
63. East of Eden by John Steinbeck
64. Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
65. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
66. Confessions by Jean Jacques Rousseau
67. Gargantua and Pantagruel by François Rabelais
68. Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes
69.The Talmud
70. Social Contract by Jean Jacques Rousseau
71. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
72. Women in Love by D. H. Lawrence
73. American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser
74. Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler
75. A Separate Peace by John Knowles
76. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
77. Red Pony by John Steinbeck
78. Popol Vuh
79. Affluent Society by John Kenneth Galbraith
80. Satyricon by Petronius
81. James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
82. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
83. Black Boy by Richard Wright
84. Spirit of the Laws by Charles de Secondat Baron de Montesquieu
85. Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
86. Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
87. Metaphysics by Aristotle
88. Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder (okay -WHY was this banned?)
89. Institutes of the Christian Religion by Jean Calvin
90. Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse
91. Power and the Glory by Graham Greene
92. Sanctuary by William Faulkner
93. As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
94. Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin
95. Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig
96. Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
97. General Introduction to Psychoanalysis by Sigmund Freud
98. Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
99. Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Alexander Brown
100. A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
101.Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman by Ernest J. Gaines
102. Émile Jean by Jacques Rousseau
103. Nana by Émile Zola
104. Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
105. Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin
106. Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
107. Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein
108. Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Peck
109. Ox-Bow Incident by Walter Van Tilburg Clark
110. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
111. Are You There God, It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
112. The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
113. The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare
114. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle
115. The Witches of Worm by Zilpha Keatly Snyder

BARGAIN BOOKS ALERT

I've rummaged through this site, and the prices are freaking OUTRAGEOUS.  www.bookcloseouts.com
If you like to read (even just a little) or are trying to build any kind of library (like me)- GO.  You can click on the link and it'll open a whole new window - just to give you an idea.....

Giving Birth List Price $14.95 BC's Price $3.00
Baby Catcher List Price $26.00 BC's Price $5.99
Respect List Price $17.50 BC's Price $5.49
Rediscovering Birth List Price $29.95 BC's Price $9.99
Hard Labor (Updated) List Price $17.95 BC's Price $5.99
A Holistic Guide to Embracing Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Motherhood List Price $15.95 BC's Price $5.99
The New Experience of Childbirth List Price $19.99 BC's Price $3.99
Preparation for Birth: The Complete Guide to the Lamaze Method List Price $14.00 BC's Price $6.99
Pregnancy After A Loss List Price $14.95 BC's Price $4.99
Joyful Birth: A Spiritual Path To Motherhood List Price $29.95 BC's Price $9.99
Conquering Postpartum Depression List Price $25.00 BC's Price $5.99
Mind Over Labor List Price $14.00 BC's Price $3.99
The Spirit of Pregnancy List Price $16.95 BC's Price $6.99
Having a Baby, Naturally (Mothering Magazine) List Price $17.95 BC's Price $6.99
The Practical Art of Baby Massage List Price $16.00 BC's Price $5.49
Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within List Price $10.00 BC's Price $5.99

I'm trying to figure out what other books I need/want to buy......I've already spent a hunnerd bucks - but still for 18 books - shhhiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitttttttttttttttt................it's worth it!

Doula'ing Updatin' (3rd entry for today!!)

Soo..... I got the notice that amazon.com shipped three of my books today - 
"The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth" Henci Goer 
"Labor Pain: A Natural Approach to Easing Delivery" Nicky Wesson
"The Doula Book: How a Trained Labor Companion Can Help You Have a Shorter, Easier, and Healthier Birth" Marshall H. Klaus, MD
and also, in unpacking the books I realized that I have MORE than I thought I did. I do own Ina May's Guide to Childbirth, and I need to reread Hearts & Hands as well. I realize that most of my books focus more on midwifery than doulaing - which is understandable - but still, I think that it can go both ways.

I'm also considering trying to become a Chilbirth Educator (does that takes big ol balls considering I've never given birth??) because Birthing From Within just sounds - HOT! And - *grins* I could actually have classes in my home (wait till you guys see this place - it's SOOOO made for entertaining!!!) and it would be something that would give me an 'in' to the birthing community.

Something else that I've done (and I hope I'm not moving too fast) was set up an appointment with one of the CPM's in the area who runs a homebirthing business, to sit down and talk to her about the general birthing culture here, as well as whether she would be interested in allowing me to volunteer with some of her clients. I'm going to slip in that I plan on using this as a stepping stone towards midwifery, and see if she has any suggestions (or if she would allow me to apprentice with her, which would REALLLLLLLLLY be cool). That appointment is next Thursday, so I'm just giddy all to pieces. I want to reread Hearts & Hands before I go, as well as the Birth Partner, so that I can have a semi-logical set of questions to ask her.

 

Also - I'm thinking about joining a Spanish class at Memphis Community College during the summer sessions - they are on Saturday's, so C wouldn't be able to come with, but he could learn off of Bellisa's CD's - so that might work nicely. There seems to be a pretty significant Hispanic population here, and while I would 'assume' that they normally have sufficient family support, they might still need doula's occasionally. So - excited. Things are moving!  

---

Busy Girl....

Soooo.......VERY productive weekend here - let's see.

We went to Pottery Barn outlet on Saturday - found the PERFECT little bookcase/cabinet for our dvds/videos/games - but the dang thing REFUSED to fit in the car. Sooo....had to take it back, and we figured that we could rent a van and pick it up on Sunday.  So - well and good.  Then we went to pierOne, and found these two GORGEOUS bookshelves - very funky looking (black & cherrywood) and got two of them. Me & C had a bit of a tiff about whether to shove them in the car and take them home immeadiately, or whether to wait til we had the van. I reeeeallllllyyyy wanted to do as UTTERLY little as possible on Sunday, and so I stomped and pouted and ended up convincing the guys at pierOne to fit both of them into the car - and I have to admit, putting them in the van would have been much easier, but I'm glad that it ended up that way because after unpacking all of our books on Sat. night, I realized that we STILL needed at least one more small bookshelf  - and I had seen one at Pottery Barn that would work perfectly.

Went to the UHaul place Sunday, picked up a van, went BACK to Pottery Barn, picked up the cabinet and found another set of bookshelves - also snagged a kingsize down comforter (as I have been accused and found guilty of being a blanket hog) shoved it all in the van. Went to HomeDepot to pick up some other little things, swung by the grocery store (does EVERYONE shop on Sunday???) got home, unloaded the van, took it BACK to the UHaul place, and finally settled back in the house.  And I'm thrilled to say that the downstairs is now FULLY unpacked. Once we get all of the empty boxes out of there, it might actually feel kinda homey. We still need furniture, as we are working with just a futon bed and an old ottaman as sitting stuff (besides the dining room set and the kitchen stools - but they don't really count) so those will hoefully be our next big ticket item. I madly want a papasan from pierOne to go in the library (has a better reading chair EVER been  invented???) but - *le sigh* that's going to have to wait.

I'm sad to say, I hardly got any relaxation in - unless unpacking counts (which it SOOO doesn't) so I guess that'll have to wait till next weekend. I'm doing my nails tonight though - hook or CROOK!

Ah! Also are going to finally get our wireless internet installed this week - next I just need to figure out what to do with my poor laptop - the screen is TOTALLY dead, and I really don't want to spend 400 just to fix it - but then, that will be much cheaper than having to buy a whole new one. And I really DO like the laptop - despite the drama that I've had with it.

Oh! Also went to the bookclub - it seems VERY cool. There are actually two published authors that are members - I have a sidenote about that in a bit - and several others (including myself) who are trying to actually finish something that might be publishing worthy. The poetic member who I had talked to through the yahoogroup didn't make the meeting - which was good, as I only had a rough draft of my poems printed out - I really need to go back through them and polish them up a bit. Reading them again after so long - I'm still rather pleased with what I've got  - even some of the old ones are still in really good shape - but they do need a little gloss.
Now - sidenote. One of the things that has ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS irked me about the African American publishing world is that it seems like most of the books are ALWAYS centered around three things - relationships, money, and family - and tend to be in a 'trashy' novel format. Not even really 'romance' genre, but rather - "Drama Queen" genre. Stuff like "Tynesha hated her baby's daddy Devon, but found herself falling in love with his best friend Shane, who is actually her mothers child that was given up for adoption 25 years ago. How will this story of love and redemption play out in the mean streets of Baltimore??" *gag* I mean - yes....could possibly be a compelling story - but it seems like most of them are - well........not good. I haven't read either of the books from the authors in the group - but they both fall into that genre (one with a lil Church thrown in) and  - *sigh* it's just - frustrating for me. I've always known that even if I do write a 'trashy' novel, it's going to be more like a Regency Romance that like THAT.  I feel like a LOT of black authors sell themselves short by focusing only on one 'narrow' aspect of the AfAm experience - like they segregate themselves - writing books that will most likely only interest blacks rather than writing boks for general enjoyment. Also - that market is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO saturated with that 'style' of book - after a while, I'm sure even the publishers think that it's getting kinda old. I might be wrong - but *shakes head* I doubt it. Or maybe I'm just snobby about books. I am excited about the Book of The Month for May though - it's a Pearl Clege book, and while Pearl can be a little oatmeally to get through - she tends to write SO beautifully.

Hmmm....... I think that's it for now. Nothing too exciting planned for the week - getting all those damn boxes out of the house (just talked to C - they are LEAVING AS I TYPE!!! YYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYY!!!), vacuuming the floors, cleaning the wood floors downstairs, cleaning out the car, finishing unpacking the books/magazines upstairs, *thinks* hmm.... that might be about it for now.
Can I do a little dance of joy that the boxes are leaving/leaving/leaving??? The house might be decent enough soon for me to take pictures and post!!! Besides the fact that the house is going to feel about 8 times bigger. *dancedancedance*

I'm SUCH a homebody. Okay - done for real for now - going to write a 'Path to Tommorow' entry in a sec - got good news there too!

Ciao kitlings!

Weekend Plans

I so desparately want to get some nice bookshelves this weekend so that I can unpack books.  I'm thinking either PierOne or the PotteryBarn Outlet....... I figure that one or the other place should have the kind of stuff that we want. Let's see - what else?? I've joined a bookclub, and am going to the meeting tomorrow - so that'll be fun, meeting more Memphitesans. *grins* I think that several of them are into poetry too, so I'm excited about that - going to take some of my collected poems there with me.

Ummm...what else? If we can get the bookshelves - we'll unpack the rest of the books, and maybe swing over library.....

oohhhh....lucnh time!