A Little Randomness aka "the Stolen Meme"

I am so far behind on my reading of other people's blogs - it's redonkulous! So I am randomly going through blogs and picking random old posts and checking stuff out and while I'm at Dances With God I find this gem of a meme. It's usually one of those things that you do and then "tag" someone to do it also. Well, I'm not tagging anyone, I just thought it was fun. But hey, if you wanna, you sure can do it too!
(Thanks Pastor Sharon...by way of Reddirt Woman, who also has a lovely blog!)


1. What's your favorite article of clothing? An oversized black baggy sweater with pockets. I wear it all the time so even though it's relatively new it doesn't look like it anymore!

2. Who was the last person you hugged? The hubs.

3. What's your favorite dinner? Pizza. No- Mexican. No, wait! Italian. No...wait! Um...too many things to decide. Depends on my mood.

4. What's the last thing you bought? This bag. In red. (On sale, at least) I'm a junkie. Someone help me!

5. How's your head feeling right now? Ok. My back now...that's a whole different story...

6. What's your favorite weather? Late spring, when it's warm but not too.

7. What is your least favorite season? Winter. I'm so not a cold weather person! (S.A.M. is, but he's ca-ray-zee!)

8. What's in your purse? Oh my gosh. Everything. My wallet, emergency makeup, gum, cell phone, iPod, antacids, Tylenol, gum, old movie ticket stubs (go see Sherlock Holmes, awesome!), more gum, coffee stand cards...and I'm sure about 47 more things I've forgotten.

9. Say something to the person who tagged you. Well...since I stole this, I guess this one doesn't count!

10. What is your favorite dessert? Gobi. Oh wait, that's 2 s's, i'nt it? (Ha!) Well, I'm not much of a dessert person, but I would have to choose either Key Lime pie or pumpkin pie.

11. What did you want to become as a child? Not so much a what as a who. I seriously wanted to be Shirley Jones.

12. What do you want to be now? A full-time artist. ...sigh...

13. What is your favorite song? Oh goodness, I love all kinds of music, I don't know if I could pick just one. But some of my faves are "And Dream of Sheep" - Kate Bush; "All Will Be Well" - Gabe Dixon; "Consolation Prizes" -Phoenix; "Cobrastyle" -Teddybears; "Feel Good, Inc" -Gorillaz; "My Divided Falling" -3.

14. What is your favorite country/state? I would have to say USA. I haven't been to a lot of different states so I don't know if I would prefer one over Washington. I need to travel some more and get back to you on that.

15. If you could go anywhere in the world in the next hour, where would you go? To see my parents. Or Machu Picchu.

16. What are my most challenging goals right now? Figuring out how to make my business/art work profitable.

17. What is your five-year plan? Getting my business/art work profitable!

18. What is your favorite sport to watch? Uh...sport? What is this "sport" that you speak of? Oh, um, if I have to watch sports it would be baseball.

19. What show would you be a cast member of? Fringe. Or Sanctuary. Or CSI (the original one).

20. What is your most prized possession? Material possession? My laptop. It has all my artwork on it.

21. Name a favorite childhood memory. When I was little, maybe 3, my parents took me "ice skating" down a street next to the lake near our house. I remember them holding my hands, one on each side, as we slid down the street on our shoes, in the cold.

22. What is your favorite movie? Field of Dreams. A Walk In the Clouds. Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.

23. What is your favorite quote? "You can't have a light without a dark to stick it in" - Arlo Guthrie.

24. What is your favorite book? Yah...how much time do you have? Okay - Anything by Sherri Tepper. Dean Koontz's "Lightening". Stephen King's "The Stand". And about 400 others.

25. What sport would you compare your life to at this time? Mountain climbing!...but I'm gettin' there!

Ronald Reagan Christmas address 1981

Is there some way we can clone this guy or bring him back?

Anyway, this is the best Christmas address by a President ever.
(It takes a minute to load, but it's worth the wait. Merry Christmas, pt 2...)

Merry Christmas everyone!

May God bless and keep you and yours, and may you have a peaceful and prosperous New Year!

I'm Yelling from my Soapbox Today

So the Senate Democrats passed a "landmark health care bill in a climactic Christmas Eve vote that could ... usher in near-universal medical coverage for the first time in the country's history."

The only good news is that all our Republicans voted no. I, personally, liked Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's (R-Ky.) comment: "they wouldn't be rushing it through Congress on Christmas Eve" if the measure were worthwhile.

This is so true.

What little of it they have made the general public aware of sounds good on paper.
"The legislation would ban the insurance industry from denying benefits or charging higher premiums on the basis of pre-existing medical conditions, beginning in 2014 in the Senate version, and 2013 in the House measure. The Congressional Budget Office predicts the bill will reduce deficits by $130 billion over the next 10 years"... BUT they are going to do it in part by implementing massive cuts to the citizens who need it most: senior citizens, by cutting Medicare benefits. And that's just to start!

As House Minority Leader John Boehner says"Sen. Reid's health care bill increases premiums for families and small businesses, raises taxes during a recession, cuts seniors' Medicare benefits, adds to our skyrocketing debt, and puts bureaucrats in charge of decisions that should be made by patients and doctors."

What most people don't realize is that this is intentional. Why do you think "they" are cutting health care for senior citizens? Because they are "on the way out" and the Dems don't want to pay for them. Why do you think "they" are saying that women don't need mammograms until they are 50? Because a lot of women will die from cancer that was undetected, and "they" won't have to pay for their health care then.
You think I'm being extreme? There are Democrats who are all for euthanasia, especially for the elderly and for babies born with birth defects. They just keep it hush hush because they don't want you to know. Seriously! The liberal left in my own state passed such a law, and it's not a very big step from assisting elderly or terminally ill patients in dying to mandating it for all terminally ill, or "defective" infants, or people who have injured themselves to the point they are not "productive citizens". Sound like a sci-fi movie? Well, you just wait.

I am serious. Do you think Joe Blow down the street, who's working a minimum wage job (at least he has a job and isn't on the dole) can afford to buy health insurance for his kids? What are "they" going to do - put him in jail? Fine him? Yah, that's productive.
Do you think McDonald's can afford to give their workers health care? Do you think ANY restaurant can?! Really? And how's that going to jack up their prices? You'll have to make over $150,000 a year to buy a Big Mac! (Okay, I'm exaggerating, but you get the point...)

Our health care should not EVER be in the hand of the government. They can't even run this country correctly, appropriately, or productively! What makes you think they can handle your health issues???!!!

And you know what the real kicker is? What no one is telling you unless you really dig, and know where to look? ALL THE GOVERNMENT TROLLS ARE EXEMPTING THEMSELVES FROM THE HEALTH CARE BILL!!!
So how "good" can it be!!??

"Government of the people, by the people, for the people" has become "of the few/rich/powerful politicians, to screw the people, for the money the few/rich/powerful to put in their pockets." You think the people pushing for this have not figured out how to get kickbacks of some kind from all of this? Right...

So Merry F*'in Christmas from your Government, everybody.

Maybe I'll be in a better mood tomorrow.

More Logos

In an ever expanding search for more opportunities to make money...my dear hubs, Secret Agent Man, has found a website called "Worth 1000" for me. As in "a picture is worth a 1000 words..." This site is great for people who want to brush up on their Photoshop and Illustrator skills. There are photography contests, photo manipulation contests, illustration, and my personal favorite - corporate logo contests. There are even contests for writers! (Hey, Otin, you should check it out!) Some of those are really fun to read.

The majority of the contests award points, which you can use to "buy" credits so you can enter more contests. I haven't looked into them closely enough, so I don't know if you actually win money or just credits. The contests vary from beginner to expert.

The logo contests are sponsored by companies who are looking for logos because they either don't have one or they are re-doing their websites or images. The companies pick a winner and there is a cash "prize" for the logo, which they then own the rights to. The entries are also voted on by members, which may or may not have any bearing on what the company chooses.

It's worth checking out if you are interested in such things. There are literally hundreds of contests all the time.

I have been entering the logo contests, because I love logo design, and because they pay actual money. I haven't won anything yet, but it's good practice at the very least.

So far I have entered for a real estate company called "The Home Spot":



and a science laboratory product called "Titan":



I just entered one for a legal search firm called "Moses Legal Search" but I can't post those until the contest is over. So you'll just have to wait.

Still working on jewelry, too, but you know...it's been a hectic couple of weeks, what with work, Christmas, the in-laws coming, the cat having to go to the "v-e-t", my car breaking down, and...well, you get the picture.

Sigh.

I hope you all are doing well and set to have a Merry Christmas. And here's hoping for a better New Year!

Hugs to all!

Monkey!

So a lovely Etsy seller, "2nJoy" contacted me a while back about my "M is for Monkey" alphabet print. Her son likes sock monkeys, apparently, and she bought a digital file from me to use on a mug for him.
It turned out way cute!

I have to say I never even thought of doing something like that...I might have to look into that a little further. In my opinion, you can never have too many coffee mugs! Especially cute ones.

Anyway, she agreed to let me put a picture up on my blog:




Also, while you're at it, check out her shop. She makes jewelry, too, completely different from mine. It is very pretty. I love these earrings!

Tuesday and Home Sick

While I am waiting for another shipment of promotional stuff from Artbeads.com to play with, I am going to rant. I have been absent for over a week, and here's why:

It's been hell week here. Secret Agent Man came down with something nasty about half-way through Thanksgiving Day and now I have it, so I'm home sick today and blogging.

On Thanksgiving we had my brother here, with his wife and 3 kids, and one of SAM's single friends from work. It was a nice day, but goodness! I think the dishes multiplied when we weren't watching.
(It sounds so bad...but I think we finally got the dishes all done last night...)

Then Thursday night SAM says his throat has been hurting. By Friday morning he was down for the count. He felt well enough to go to work yesterday but was going to come home early -however, it was not to be. Too many meetings and TPS reports...
And about half-way through my day yesterday...I thought I had just talked to one too many crazy persons and was starting to get a headache, but no...by the time I got home my throat hurt and by about 8pm I knew I had "it"...whatever "it" is. So I'm home today so I don't spread the love to everyone at my work.

On top of all of this fun stuff, it has come down the pike that the Government (which has turned into the nastiest of 10 letter words in my book) has decided they don't want to pay for the contracts they have with SAM's company anymore. They want to take the jobs from the guys who actually know what they are doing and give them to low-paying government flunkies instead. So they are eliminating hundreds of jobs. I'm sure they will count the jobs they give to their government guys as "new" jobs that "they" have created, and never mind the guys they just put out of work.

(As an aside, did you SEE the story on the news about how the Government (recovery.gov) HAS FLAT OUT LIED about how many "jobs" have been created (a little bit of an "accounting error" my ass) and that their numbers are off base by THOUSANDS but they are NOT GOING TO FIX IT!!?? What a crock of reindeer dung!!!)

So anyway, SAM's been dealing with a lot of crap over the past couple weeks. His shop is undergoing pretty big changes, not the least of which his job is being eliminated.
!!!
Yep. So, he's either going to take a demotion, including a big pay cut (thanks so much Mr. Obama), and then demote his guys on down the line, or have to take a job elsewhere in the company, which will still be a demotion and pay cut, most likely.
Merry Christmas, eh?

But I am thankful that he still has a job. For now. Who knows what will happen once the Government really sinks it's teeth into companies like this. You need to start paying attention to what's going on around this place...they are not only messing with things like health care and education, giving away money and houses (yes, they are!) to illegal aliens, screwing the American-born-job-holding-tax-paying citizens right and left, taking money out of our pockets to give to the uneducated (often by choice), drug-using, welfare abusing, lazy layabouts, but they are also making this country one very unsafe place to be by messing with our military and our contractors like SAM's company, who do stuff you can't and don't want to know about, to keep us all safe in our beds at night. It makes me shudder. And maybe throw up a little. (Although I'll admit that could be my cold...)

So we're feeling a little overwhelmed here.

But -
-we have tried to put things into perspective. At least SAM has a great education and would be able to find another job somewhere, if all else hit the fan. And we have played the "what if" game and done that "what's the worst thing that could possibly happen and what would we do" thing...and figured that we would be able to survive it regardless. So it's ok, I guess. I still don't understand how we, as a country, got to this place, that thousands of people are losing their jobs right and left and the economy is going into the toilet and still so many people are wearing their blinders and ignoring the real problem: Our government sucks. I don't care what party you think is to blame, or what party you back, or what you are "for" or "against". We are in some real trouble here, folks, and it's only going to get worse.
Wake up! Before it's too late. We as a people, need to figure out some way to get back on track. If anyone has a great idea, especially a feasible one, I'm all for hearing it.

In the meantime, hope you had a nice Thanksgiving. I hope you and yours are happy and well. Thanks for letting me rant. And if you've read this far, I promise I will be funnier, nicer, and/or more artsy tomorrow.
Really! :)