New Year's Day

1) Where did you begin 2007?
Waking up next to two of the people I love.

2) What was your status by Valentine's Day?
Married.

3) Were you in school (anytime this year)?
Yeah.

4) How did you earn your money?
By babysitting, McManaging, eBaying, Teacher's Aiding, pape grading. . .

5) Did you have to go to the hospital?
Only for a birth and a kidney stone.

6) Did you have any encounters with the police?
Yeah, I got pulled over for registration on the van while on the way to get its paperwork for retirement.

7) Where did you go on holidays?
Either the Taylors' or stayed home.

8) What did you purchase that was over $1000?
Nothing.

9) Did you know anybody who got married?
Yep

10) Did you move?
I move daily.

14) What concerts/shows did you go to?
Saw Bandito play a few times, both in his regular band, Fingers of Passion and his girl group cover band, whatever it's called.

15) Are you registered to vote?
Yep, Socialist.

16) Who did you want to win Big Brother?
I dont watch that show

17) Where do you live now?
Home.

18) Describe your birthday?
My birthday was probably fairly uneventful because I lack any recollection of it.

19) What's one thing you thought you'd never do but did in 2007?
That thing I did this morning.

20) What has been your favorite memory?
That thing I did this morning and the happy upswing in my relationship with Denise and the arrival of Tasmia and the visit of Drew are the top four memories, almost completely in order.

21) What's something you learned about yourself?
That happiness takes a lot more work sometimes and that patience is perhaps more valuable than gold.

22.) Any new additions to your family?
Tasmia.

23.) What was your best month?
December. Half of my top 4 happened than.

24.) What music will you remember 2007 by?
I don't know, something indie or emo.

25) Who has been your best drinking buddy?
Bailey

26) Made new friends?
Yep

27) Best NEW friend?
Cammie, though we met in '97 and she perhaps doesn't remember it.

28) Favorite Night out?
I have more fun staying in (at home or at their home) with friends than I do going out.

29) Favorite movie saw at the theatre?
300

30) Was 2007 a happy year for you or sad?
It was a downward dropping parabola.

One

Books 28 and 29 of the 50 book challenge: Anita Blake Vampire Hunter, books 7 & 8: Burnt Offerings and Blue Moon (I'm about 1/3 of the way through book 9 right now, and now have all of 'em through book 14 or 15...) by Laurell K. Hamilton. They continue to not be great, but still be entertaining. Rarely is there a slow, dull stretch (like say half of Harry Potter's finale). Endings still feel a wee bit rushed, and every book has the occasional typographical error that makes me wonder how poorly her copy editors do their jobs. So far, Burnt Offerings has been my favourite of the books, finally bringing a decent amount more detail into the vampiric aspects of her make believe universe.

In other news:

For the past couple weeks Shel has had a photo montage depicting her weight loss on her blog. She looks awesome. Congrats on how well all the hard work's been paying off for you.

Last weekend we enjoyed some tequila shots and I've decided I really need to not enjoy tequila shots again.

Tasmia is growing well and healthy. Though she does seem to poo a good deal more than I remember my other three kids pooing. Against all expectations, Rael is, rather than being extremely jealous of the baby, very friendly toward the baby.

McWork has its good moments and its bad, as does most any job. Today I got verbally reprimanded for the number of t-reds (transaction reductions) that happened under my watch yesterday (on three different occasions of 30-ish dollar orders, the guest'd cards were declined and I had to reduce their orders significantly down. The computer tracks this when it occurs and gets me yelled at.), ah well. Tomorrow we undergo an across-the-board price change and as the vast majority of our morning to midday customers are regulars, who always buy the same things and usually have exact change, I imagine dealing with a lot of pissy elderly folks tomorrow.

I think I have the new Katamari waiting for me (I've yet to open an amazon box, and have been expecting this game since I preordered it some time last summer) and I dread it a little because Brian's spoken a lot of smack about it ahead of time for me. That aside, I hope to enjoy it a bit in the next couple days.

Those who are somewhat in the know and are keeping track, aside from a few hiccups here and there, things are much better with Denise and I.

My McFeet are still killing me.

Sunday Bloody Sunday

Not a lot of great and interesting things to blog about (wait, no, there's lots and lots; don't want to suggest that y'all won't enjoy my ramblings); part of me is blogging at the moment because I want to shuffle that last post on off of the main page here (and I may just temporarily change my template settings to do so). Not that I regret saying any of it; I just don't want the drama overpowering the reading experience here at casa Peterson on the internets.

As for that last post, thanks for the responses, on and off line. Drama has increased as I expected it would.

A lot of energy on the job search this week (as much as can be had with Rael in tow). I've apps and resumes at jobs ranging from working in a funeral home, as a personal secretary and even a return to bad old Round Table Pizza. Brian mentioned trying to get his dad to hire me and I'm hoping that pans out actually, as I'll still have weekends and evenings free.

The kids are all doing fantastic. Did I ever blog about how I once ran into Lash's 2nd grade teacher (who was just done being his 2nd grade teacher as it was summer and shortly before my surgery) out at the bars and that it really disturbed me because it forced me to see and interact with him out of context? If I haven't I won't elaborate this time, but let me know and I will later. Anyway. Friday night I went out with Chrissy, Chris and Brian in order to further celebrate Chrissy's birthday with her and while we were at the Banshee, we ran into Lash's 2nd grade teacher, who is now one of Aeia's 2nd grade teacher's and that same uncomfortable teacher out of context feeling came out again. Chrissy, bless her, tried to save me by letting him know we had to go, and as we turned to leave he grabbed my arm and drew me back in. All he does in these run-ins is gush about how great my kids are, which is very nice to hear--I'd just rather not hear it at the Banshee.

Saturday we skipped HeroClix so that Denise and I could spend a little extra time together and then we spent more time with the Taylors than we usually do on Saturdays. I over-broke my new diet to eat two of the most fantastic burgers with swiss, mushrooms and alfalfa sprouts I've ever tasted. That night was Dark Tower Deadlands and I pulled off getting John's character killed (I actually didn't want to kill the character, as I enjoyed GMing it, and more so because right before the game I'd joked to John that I was going to kill his character because Chris had commented that Deadlands wasn't as deadly as he'd expected it would be).

We also played spoons, which is lame.

Today was Denise's D&D game. Chris had a new character because his last one got itself killed by Drew during his visit (grin) to California. Chris kept inadvertently shooting the party members with his bow instead of the monsters (blasted cover bonuses!), bringing them to near death many times (not me, as I do my best to refuse to engage in combat at all, even from the back of the group). Despite (or not?) all this, Chrissy's character got eaten by a frog (as she was going down she said I could eat her, so after helping kill the frog by beating it with a towel-wapped bar of soap I did just that and then made myself a pretty new halfling skin coat).

That's the extent, mostly, of the fun excitement for now. I got season one of Dexter in from Netflix thi week so I'm hoping to spend a few hours enjoying that over the coming week.

Pride (In the Name of Love)

Today I was doing a little ruminating on the seven deadlies, particularly pride, on my way from the van to the taco shack before class (which I am still being: before class). Maybe it's just because I'm just not a good enough Christian (heh), but I just don't see the problem with having a bit of pride in your life (everything in moderation, mind you, see later).

I'm proud of the fact that, through both hard times (of which we're having now) and easy times Denise and I have persevered these past ten years despite all predictions to the contrary and despite absolutely no support from her family and almost none from mine.

I'm proud of how intelligent and articulate my children are, and I'm so proud of Lash for his bravery in facing Bryan in court and doing his best to make sure justice is handed down his way.

I'm proud of Chris because, while I am so vehemently anti-military and anti-war, I can see the impact Chris' enlistment has had on his life and the positive personal changes it's brought his way and will bring his way in the future.

And so on.

I don't get what's wrong with that. And anyone who actually would tell me that it's wrong to feel proud of these things can stick a thick splintery broom up whichever orifice would be least comfortable (and that, my friends, is wrath, coming your way later).

I get the idea of how it's wrong to be prideful over such trite things as materialism or how very awesome I am. But I don't think pride and humility are necessarily mutually exclusive.

While I've got your attention, I don't have a lot of problems, so long as laws aren't broken and people aren't harmed, with lust, envy or wrath either. Avarice (though I love the word), Sloth and Gluttony are pretty lame, sure. So I'll give you yur three deadlies.

Without lust there wouldn't be people. Without envy, most of us would be so unmotivated as to be slothful and without wrath we'd care a lot less about the wrong things people and governments do against us. So I'll keep 'em too.

Now, what are you proud of?

And a moment of avarice. . .I so want this shirt: