the State of Indiana

math

2009-11-08T00:38:00.000-08:00

(yeah, not an Indy post...)
So, i am having this conversation about how math is harder for me to score well in not because i am incapable of learning the material, but because it is not subjective. Math is always one answer. you are either right or wrong. and one thing builds upon another in such a very logical linear way...
Writing and communications and other classes of that nature have so much leeway (and even more when you think comparatively).
I do well with leeway.

Gimmie an inch and i will take a mile.
It's true.

I never thought of myself as subjective before.
Objective, usually.
Objectified, well, not lately.
But "subjective"... yeah the more i think about it. It's hard for a scatter to be anything else. I like to be where-ever-able.

So, what do i do to become less subjective? I plug away at this math over and over and over until all the sudden, something in my brain wiring makes a connection and i score a 93% on the pretest. i'm very good with a 93. i am beyond very good with a 93.

this is better than in high school. in high school i was embarrassed by my grades. my friends never did as well as i did, i didn't want them to think i was some kind of brain freak. some of my friends i still cant really share the grade stuff with, but most of them, well, most of them dont care but at least i am not ashamed to show them how smart i am turning out to be.

pumpkin pi...

2009-11-04T18:43:00.001-08:00

The annual pumpkin massacre went well... pumpkin pi was my favorite of the year.The begging candy from strangers thing went well also.
Although my valiant little knight fought Darth Vader all day long.
I think i prefer the family afternoons of rock band, though.
Ok, this is disturbing and just happened as i was posting the last picture... Indy comes dancing out of his room, nekkie except for his hat, singing "some people call me the space cowboy, some call me the gangsta of love... wooo wooo" .
wow.

finley...

2009-11-01T18:57:00.000-08:00

In the day to day struggle not to flunk out of community college like some kind of moron, i often don't take the time to truly enjoy my Valley. Some of you have been reading here for a while and know how much i truly love my home. I enjoy showing it off; i enjoy just looking around me and showing it off to myself.

Today, we took some friends and family and off we went to a place called William Finley National Wildlife Refuge. It's an amazing local place.

So without further ado... pics: (no particular order)

I promise i will get halloween pics up soon....

community college continues

2009-10-29T20:42:00.000-07:00

school continues apace. i seem to be doing well so far. its getting more difficult, learning new stuff. Indy's chilling in preschool, life goes along smoothly for now.

i made a movie for school, that was fun. i applied to student government as well.

haloween is coming, so hopefully i remember to charge the camera batteries :)

education

2009-10-19T23:14:00.000-07:00

just a quick hello.

with everyone in our household in school 4-5 days per week, time seems to slip away from me. halloween is coming, we have indys costume... he even tried it on. i got no pictures yet, but i will. eventually.
school is going well for all of us. indy hates enforced nap time twice per week, but he will get used to it or get over it, since he has no choice. im doing well. 5 classes... one is pass/no pass. so far im looking at 3a's 1b and pass. not bad. the b is in math, again. but i am pulling an a out of a class with an instructor famous for not giving a's! chris has like 2a 2b, same with Nate. i hope chris can get one of his b's up to an a, i would love to see him on homor roll. i think it would do wonders for his confidence. i hope none of my grades slip me off of the honor roll, i like seeing my name in the paper outside the arrests section =P

anyhow, hope you are all well...

ciao

wow, so school and other stuff

2009-10-06T16:26:00.001-07:00

so, school is going well. i feel a little old. between classes i found myself chatting with some younger students, one was Xanadu... its weird to find myself randomly chatting with Duck's ex-girlfriends older sister. i like her though. and am glad to see she's in school. other wise, its just start of second week so who knows if i am doing well or screwing up... seems ok so far, really.

indy has the flu (confirmed by the docs at the hospital) so he's on tamiflu and out of school for the week. so we are scrambling and his grandma is taking over babysitting duties while we are at school (chris's mom already had her flu shot so she feels pretty safe).

homework to do and not much else to say...

ciao

Seventeen and too lazy to be God:

2009-09-21T11:07:00.000-07:00

A conversation with Indy went like this:

Indy: are there wildflowers?

me: yes.

Indy: so no one planted them?

me: that's right.

Indy: so if no one planted them, how did they get here?

me: I don't know, God i guess.

Indy: i don't think so.

me: you don't? why not?

Indy: because Duck is too lazy to garden.

(ok, OMG, Duck is always saying he is God... i love Indy sometimes)

Happy Birthday Dakota. I can't believe you are 17.

im the king of the brittons... the who?!?!... the brittons.

2009-09-20T22:30:00.000-07:00

So, we went to the Renaissance fair... yeah, we are white and nerdy. It was actually fun. I got a killer sun burn, but the food was good, the jousting was entertaining, and we were with David. (for those of you who are comically challenged, the above picture is two people doing the monty python bit... coconuts and all)

oh and so Indy cheered for the blue knight, and daddy cheered for the black knight... the black knight killed the blue knight, later as we were strolling the fair, the black knight was also strolling and indy hollered at him about killing "his knight". the black knight thrust out his hand and apologized. it really was a great day

ciao

pulling pork

2009-09-09T16:03:00.000-07:00

One of the many benefits of marrying a southern boy:

This man can grill! He starts a day ahead of time, dry rubbing and marinating, then grills all day, over apple wood (cut from the tree at our old house) then he pulls it all, drizzles it in sauce and puts it on buns... even with two whole pork shoulders nothing will be left tonight except 11 satisfied tummies... and one very happy dog who is currently contentedly crunching pork bones.

His amazing food always makes my pathetic contribution of homemade potato salad and fresh sliced watermelon pale in comparison.

a few glimpses of our day

2009-09-06T20:09:00.000-07:00

Well, you see, it started out innocently enough. We decided that we had been under so much pressure lately that we just HAD TO HAVE a day out. A family day. You can tell how thrilled Indy was by this idea. We couldn't get him to crack a smile. Not one. He wanted to stay home and play with his buddies, but NOOO, mommy made him sit strapped into the car, for HOURS.When we finally got to the very top of Mary's peak everything was grey, cloudy, about 45 degrees and WINDY!! it was tons of fun though, even though we all shivered.Indy noticed that Oncle Nate didn't bring binoculars, so he made his own.Then, he raced Oncle Nate back tot he truck... sticking out his tongue and taunting the whole way!

Well, here's where it gets a bit sticky... I hadn't been the Waldport way (hwy 34) in ages and ages and years; eons really. So we continued along to the beach. Indy loves the beach and was pleased to ride the rest of the way there. He didn't even get car sick on the 40 miles of twisty mountain switch-backs. It was warm and mild and wonderful on the coast:There were jelly fish on the beaches and photo-ops galore, and as per usual... my short hop, just 22 miles to Mary's Peak, became an all day thing and the sky turned red as we come into our beloved valley to end the night.

We love to wander our state, but to come back home at the end of the day... that's what its all about.

bad moon risin'

2009-09-06T11:58:00.000-07:00

looking out my backdoor...

that ccr concert influenced me, i guess... since a few days later i am looking out my backdoor at the bad moon rising. at least i wasn't down on the corner or stuck in Lodi. hehe.

actually, i am just happy to see the clouds rolling in. we might head over to Newport today... i hear 45ish mph winds, and that's always nice on the beach at places like devils punchbowl. i even heard there might be some thunder and lightening maybe even hail on our Pacific shoreline. we might not. maybe we will head off to Mary's peak. or maybe we will sit right here and do nothing.

probably do nothing. thats the easiest option. cheaper, too.

ciao

Carnage:

2009-09-04T20:18:00.000-07:00

I must warn you, the following images are not for the squeamish or faint of heart... These photographs are so vivid and graphic, I can't be responsible for any health concerns caused by viewing them... please, if you have a heart condition, turn away, now.

I present here some very disturbing images of the carnage caused by our four legged death machine:

As you can see by the extreme emotion shown by Indiana, this monster is a real felon... he stole our hearts. what?!?! you didn't see the sarcasm coming... you should know me better by now!

Our child (heck, our entire family) will probably never be the same for his close association with the chubby handicapped dog who was given a second chance at life by Waggin Inn Rescue (if you stumbled in here, and are looking for a pet please check them out at http://dogtime.com/shelters/US-OR/6319-eugene-waggin-inn-rescue )

ciao

a cell phone picture story:

2009-08-31T03:36:00.000-07:00

I played in the fountain:I decorated the dog:I discovered art (tatas!)Then i tried to hide from the parents when they said it was bed time... do you think they recognized me!?!?

Actually, mommy just stole some pictures from daddy's cell phone;

She wanted to share.

ciao

just some recent stuff

2009-08-30T10:42:00.000-07:00

i have the camera hooked up... so lets put some pictures up (captions following each pic) :

Last night: Credence Clearwater Revisited... good show (free) wish we could have stayed longer. they have a web site, i would put a link for it, but I'm not feeling THAT motivated.

Four Legged Death Machine... probably only if you tried to take his chair. Oh... this is at the new house, yeah we moved. sigh. long story.

THIS is what happens when we let Nate drive. I know, accidents happen, they just happen to him more than most.

THIS is what happens when we let Duck drive. It's his first boo boo, but his dad said is was 'spensive.

My friend Arica's husband and younger son are nearly as good looking as my husband and younger son.

before we moved, in fact its probably been more than a month since they were here, Arica, her husband, her two sons and her nephew (new son? not sure how they call it) visited and we had a bit of a pool party.

We visited the local version of the travelling Vietnam War Memorial. We did not take Indy to it, as I don't think he is old enough to understand and show the respect this monument deserves. One Day, we will take him to DC to see the real thing, when he is older. I don't know if Anyone will EVER be old enough to understand that war, really.

So, there was some more, but the camera got jostled and the connection was broken. i guess i will just have to do more another day.

ciao

it's all about the cool whip, baby!

2009-08-20T23:48:00.001-07:00

So, we're moving... trying to keep Indy happy and entertained and out from under foot as we schlup furniture from one location to another is as easy as a dish of cool whip and the great outdoors!

as always, stay tuned.

jesus loves me (at least someone does!)

2009-07-26T21:55:00.000-07:00

so, it's a regular heat wave. we have both window ac units going because our heat pump is on the fritz, the pool (which is unheated) is staying a nice constant 80 overnight. i slipped out at like 1am and floated for a while, it was peaceful. the first half of today was peaceful too:

Indy did his first day at Sunday School today. the church bus came and picked him up a little after nine, he slipped his hand into Brother Downs' hand and left like it was the next big adventure and he couldn't wait. He wants to go again next week, even though it sounded like it might have gotten a little rough... he told me that another boy called him a very bad word (which he later said was ass and that the teacher made the other boy stand in the corner) and he later still confided that he really missed me and cried. He is getting too big too fast.

I know i keep promising pictures, but i hardly ever use the PC that has the camera card reader hooked up to it, thus i really am slacking at pics. i have plenty and one of these days i will get some new ones up.

on another note... my girl Arica will be here soon for a visit, we can't wait! Teresa and Gary have moved out, over to Lebanon. I hope it works out for them. My folks bought a new truck! it is very red. Chris is working nights, still... at least its cooler for him at night than it would be during the day. i talked to Mike for the first time in several years, i had forgotten how nice he is to talk to.

lastly, i am writing this bit in just as a note to myself, i have got to talk about the latest bit of complete asinine stupidity committed by the fellow i sometimes refer to as my sperm donor (but to be nice you could say biological father) very very soon.... those who are close to me, if you haven't heard, CALL ME .... i need sounding boards on how to cope with something i have no control over, no input in, and really, no real reason to give a great gawd damn .... for those who don't or cant call... stay tuned: i have to get my thoughts together on how and what to say about the most recent bit of retardation committed in the name of family. its a soap opera writers dream (only we aren't that pretty).

escaping

2009-07-21T15:42:00.000-07:00

Indy has found that the shortest route to the neighbor girls house is out his bedroom window. Today, the dog discovered that the way to follow indy to tooti's house is also, out Indy's bedroom window. So, walking back across the street from grandpa and Tooti's, we discovered Chubby out in the front yard, looking for his boy. oops.

wow, so hi.

2009-07-16T21:54:00.001-07:00

So, i haven't been here in a while. Life gets so busy, things happen, oh and did i mention i get lazy sometimes? don't believe me? go check out two days of dishes to be washed on the kitchen counter.

So, whats up with us? Well, lots, really, and then not so much. It seems like things are go go go go go then NOTHING for a while, then back to the go go. Currently we have extra folks living with us, out in the shop we converted into a studio, so that's different. An old friend from Jr hi of mine, who's husband was a dolt. so she's here until she gets her own stuff sorted. School doesn't start until 28 Sept, so Chris is working at the local cannery until then. Indy is all enrolled for fall preschool. those of you who have been reading here a while, yeah, he really is getting big, but i am not on a computer that i can add photos. i will get some new ones up eventually (OK I've said that before); both boys... they are amazingly grown up. the big one especially!

Indiana has discovered Michael Jackson... he sings, he dances, and occasionally he realizes Michael is dead so he cries. we sing American pie together, and when the music dies, Indy cries. its sweet really. now that MJ is dead its okay to listen to his music again. all the hypocrites that called him vile names a few months ago, that would have laughed in your face for listening to his music are now saying "i always knew he was innocent" and offering up their albums on ebay for thousands... ah well, i still maintain that since about the 8th grade, i love the music, but the fellow himself was mental. i agree with Duck: Billy Mays, the guy who could sell me cancer and throw in a second for shipping and handling, is probably a bigger loss to humanity. not to take away from the music left behind of course.

otherwise, yeah, we are all alive, thriving as we can under the circumstances.
until next time

A post by Duck

2009-06-29T00:17:00.000-07:00

Hi Billy Mays, no longer here.....
..
..
..

..

This is for you, Billy Mays, may you find Peace, the great American

salesman

Billy, who was he? In the past few months we all learned
so much about the man behind the thick beard and the booming voice. He was
a kind man, even doing pro-bono work for the client from Texas with the
slippers. A man who put his family first. He was a perfectionist to
the T. He was a true believer in the products that he endorsed. He
showed us that wearing a beard was cool again! Above all, he demonstrated
that a man from humble beginnings can rise to the top, and still be humble.

And despite his meteoric success and stardom, he never took himself seriously.
Billy's parodies of Billy were sheer genius. He introduced us to
OrangeGlo, and OrangeGlo introduced millions of us to Billy, and thus, the
legend was born. The world of direct marketing would never the same again.
He was truly unforgettable! And we will never forget him. Every time
we put OxiClean in our laundry, we will remember him. There was never one
like him, and there never will be.

Where would we be today without OxiClean (now a staple of
American households), Zorbeez, Mighty Mend-it, and Mighty Putty, to name but a
few? Who could ever forget the Awesome Auger? And Billy broke new
ground in direct marketing with iCan health insurance. No matter what you
may have thought about his hearing problems (the deaf don't speak as loud as
Billy!), we all know that Billy Mays became an icon of American pop
culture, the everyman who achieved success through hard work and determination,
failure did not deter him. Someone we will never forget. He pushed
on with a drive few can match. And today, we all lost someone special.

There will never be another like him, a once in a lifetime character, and he
will be dearly missed by all.

not an Indiana post:

2009-06-07T11:00:00.000-07:00

the difference between men and women (ok, this is a generalization, don't jump all over me)

after three days of intense illness, bodily fluids exploding from every orifice but the ears, vomit, diarrhea, runny nose, tears of pain... you get the picture... when you are FINALLY starting to feel better, like you can sit up in bed without grabbing the plastic bucket that you had to go fetch yourself to put next to the bed, exhaustion in every limb, making it hard but no long impossible to walk from bed to refrigerator for a cold 7up, when the 3 days of body strain and lack of sleep because NO ONE lets you sleep more than two hours in a row without asking you to do something for them are finally nearing their end, WHAT IS THE FIRST THING ON YOUR MIND? i am willing to wager it isnt trying out the new warming lotion that mister insensitive jerk who isnt working, so should be able to do housework or babysit his child while you are ill, but manages to be unable to do any of this, making you GET UP out of your sick bed to vacuum, since your mother keeps coming over to take care of the child and you are humiliated because with three other adults in this house, a husband a brother and a best friend, no one does crap to help out thinking you can do it all, since you only have a part time job and full time school, yeah you want to have sex now. maybe if you lay just right you can see the unmown unruly back yard, where the grass is taller than the famous amber waves of grain and make a to-do list of all of the crap that you have to do on your own to take care of everyone that usually doesnt bother you at all, but when you are ill, you would think just one of these people in your life that you strive so hard to care for all the time could lift a gawd damned finger and they dont and you realize how little any of them really give a great gawd damn about you. excuse the language.

honesty

2009-05-23T15:23:00.000-07:00

ok lets admit it, i just dont blog the way i used to. its sporadic at best... sigh.

i have taken some new pics and i mean well, i really do, but it seems that if you want to see the new pics, as i just dont ever get around to posting them here, go to www.myspace.com/dakotajh and click the view my photos link... there are several new ones of indy, including some from the camping trip and etc.

dental duo

2009-05-08T10:53:00.001-07:00

today i am going to the dentist.

ack busy

2009-04-19T10:07:00.000-07:00

so been busy but figured i better say something quick like.

got lots of homework, school is busy busy busy, plus the house looks like those posters from high school about nuclear winter. and indy had a birthday so did all that. and now i really "should" get busy... i will post some pics of indys birthday a little later. i havent even looked at them yet and his birthday was three days ago!

phosphate

2009-04-10T14:04:00.000-07:00

I've been curious about Phosphate lately. This "thingy" pictured here is a Dragline. It digs out big scoops of dirt and rock. It walks. It is used to mine phosphate. It's pretty impressively huge.

So, why am i ruminating on phosphate mining? No idea. I had these neat pictures from when we toured the mine and i had no idea what phosphate was or why. So i looked it up. click the links if you are interested. or not.

further frustrations

2009-04-08T14:17:00.000-07:00

When it rains it pours.

Do you ever feel like if just one more thing goes wrong you will just lose it?

that's been my last few months.

the newest disappointment?
Well, i was so excited because it looked like i was going to have a job starting in July. I had to take the training (unpaid throughout June, then start work in July). So, i went and did the prereqs to get started. I had to have a vaccination (since when i was little a person only needed one mmr shot, now ya need two). I had to go get a TB test and wait a couple days for a result. While i waited for the result the class filled up and now the job i was counting on is gone. I still might be able to get in if someone else drops out, but i do not have my hopes up because life has been suckin pretty badly, so the odds are not good. the good news i guess is that i don't have TB. i already knew that, but i had to have the test and result before i could turn in my application. So, if Chris doesn't find something soon, we are totally screwed.

so. now what? i just do not know. i know this blog is supposed to be about Indy, not me and my frustrations, but i needed an outlet. i don't feel like i can talk to my usual "support structure" people. I just can't dump my overwhelmed stuff on them. I do not know what answer there is to this. Maybe there isn't one, and i am just destined to forever walk through this life screwed.

at least school seems to be going good.