February 2005 Archives

Not a whole lot to say today. I didn't do much of anything either. I decided to take the day off, other than doing the normal sweeping, cooking, dusting, and dishes. I simmed a bit, though not as much as I would have liked. I hadn't simmed in a few days so I felt I was due.

Tomorrow is bills and shopping. The rent, phone, cable, and insurance has to be paid. I need to get me a few more items for the quilt I am planning and pick up a few tolietries. I also have to buy some new living room curtains.

I am about as exciting as a wet hen, ain't I? :laugh:

Oh! By the way, is it just me or does anyone else despise Nancy Grace? What is up with CNN giving that woman so much air time? I mean, for real, she looks and acts like a TV evangelist except she is supposedly reporting the news. I don't know why she irks me, but I cannot stand to watch her.

Anywho ... lata y'all!

I don't have a lot of time this week to get together an extensive Friday Jams for your listening pleasure. I am in the middle of cleaning the house from top to bottom and various other projects that I have going right now. So ... I decided to share with you my Ray Charles box set, The Birth of Soul.

The first CD is a collection of songs from 1952-1954. Now, if you are a Ray Charles fan than you are already familiar with many of these songs I am sure. For those that are familiar with his music, but not a real fan, you may find some gems in here that you were not even aware that Ray Charles authored. These songs are from his Atlantic days, which are the best in my opinion.

Enjoy! :P

• The Sun's Gonna Shine Again - Ray Charles
• The Midnight Hour - Ray Charles
• Sinner's Prayer - Ray Charles
• Roll With My Baby - Ray Charles
• Ray's Blues - Ray Charles
• Nobody Cares - Ray Charles
• Mr. Charles' Blues - Ray Charles
• Mess Around - Ray Charles
• Losing Hand - Ray Charles
• Jumpin' In The Morning - Ray Charles
• It Should Have Been Me - Ray Charles
• I Wonder Who - Ray Charles
• Heartbreaker - Ray Charles
• Funny But I Still Love You - Ray Charles
• Feelin' Sad - Ray Charles
• Don't You Know - Ray Charles
• Blackjack - Ray Charles

(Click here to go to my Radio Blog instantly.)

Spring cleaning is a pain ... especially when one has done something to their foot and it hurts everytime weight is put on it. A few days ago I opened the freezer door and a 20 oz soda bottle came spilling out full of frozen water. It decided that my foot, right above my toes, was a good place to land. Three days later it still hurts.

Today I am cleaning some of the walls. I know I won't get them all done. I also want to get the floors swept, scrubbed, and polished. I am also making a huge pot of homemade vegetable soup. Later I will make some cornbread to go with it.

Oh ... my new graphics card came yesterday and it rocks! It is amazing what 64 MB more will do for a game. I can now see the game as it was meant to be seen ... all the finite details, facial expressions, and animation. No more hanging up when it goes from day to night or one story to the next. It plays so smoothly. I can have as many sims in the yard as I want and play the stereo and the TV at the same time without it locking up. And, all those clothes I downloaded are so pretty. No more fuzzies! I played for a few hours last night and had a ball.

Now it is back to cleaning walls. Oh what fun.

I got this from my sister ...

• COWS

  Is it just me, or does anyone else find it amazing that our government can track a cow born in Canada almost three years ago, right to the stall where she sleeps in the state of Washington. They can also track her calves to their stalls. But they are unable to locate 11 million illegal aliens wandering around our country. Maybe we should give them all a cow.



• CONSTITUTION

  They keep talking about drafting a Constitution for Iraq. Why don't we just give them ours? It was written by a lot of really smart guys, it's worked for over 200 years and we're not using it anymore.

• TEN COMMANDMENTS

  The real reason that we can't have the Ten Commandments in a Courthouse: You cannot post "Thou shalt not steal", "Thou shalt not commit adultery", and "Thou shalt not bear false witness" in a building full of lawyers, judges, and politicians. It creates a hostile work environment.

Come and see what my wonderful husband got me ...

The Birth Of Soul: The Complete Atlantic Rhythm & Blues Recordings

Oh yeah. I am like so excited and so very happy! And, I so wish that man was here because ... well, that is none of your business. But, I will say that I would definitely show my appreciation. Most definitely! :)

It will wait until he gets home, though.

I am going to tell you ... I love Ray Charles. I most especially love Ray Charles when he was recording for Atlantic. In my opinion, that was his best work. It was amazing and that music makes me happy. It makes me dance; it makes me sing; it makes me joyful. And, now I have three CDs of nothing but his Atlantic recordings. :music:

I am so happy! And, I am all alone. No kids, no husband, no company. Which means I am off of here. I am going to go dance, sing, and by happy with my Ray Charles!

Which is better ... Radeon or nVidia graphics cards? I want to get me a new card to play The Sims2 better but I have no clue which graphics card is best and I want a really good graphics card. I want one that can handle the 3D effects and let me play my game the way it was meant to be played. Especially without the dang thing crashing.

So which is best and will 128 MB be enough?

The Sims 2 University Expansion Pack will be out February 28th! If you haven't already pre-ordered it, you might want to ... especially if you know it will be hard for you to locate or get a copy. I already have a copy paid for and I cannot wait to get it!

Also, you might want to remember that once you have the expansion pack installed, some of your custom content will no longer work if it is not expansion pack ready. Some sites have already redone all their downloads to fix this issue and you will just need to redownload the custom content. If you don't know if your favorite Sim site is expansion pack ready, you need to ask before installing The Sims 2 University Expansion Pack.

This week, I am going to show you another side of me. It is not seen that often. It was months before my husband heard these lyrics blasting through the house. It takes something ... some memory, some new song that hits home, some spark to get me to put on this playlist. But, when I do ... when I do put this playlist on ... I am living in a memory, a feeling, and I am taking strength from it.

Some of these songs are songs I heard and they touched me. They reminded me of a situation, a time in my life, they just fit. Some of these songs are songs that close friends of mine dedicated to me. They felt they were "me" and/or something I was going through.

Enjoy! :P

• With Arms Wide Open - Creed
• White Flag - Dido
• When I'm Gone - 3 Doors Down
• Unwell - Matchbox 20
• She Talks To Angels - Black Crowes
• Perfect - Simple Plan
• Losing Grip - Avril Lavigne
• Jaded - Aerosmith
• It's My Life - No Doubt
• Ironic - Alanis Morissette
• Iris - Goo Goo Dolls
• First Cut Is The Deepest - Sheryl Crow
• Don't Close Your Eyes - Kix
• Bring Me To Life - Evanescence
• Bitch - Meredith Brooks

(Click here to go to my Radio Blog instantly.)

Trackback check for ISOU.

I really like this lady. I really, really do.

Go on. Check her out. :)

Just checking to see if my macros work now ...

:Iki:

:fishing:

impatient

Update: I am so da bomb! Not only did I get my macros working ... but I installed the "Compare" plug-in as well and it works too! Thanks, Donna, for the help with my macros. It was what you thought it was.

I don't have much time to blog this morning as I am on a rampage around here! I got the cabinets and fridge cleaned out yesterday and today it is laundry, a few dishes, floors, the bathroom, and I have a doctor's appointment too.

My youngest daughter is home sick for the second day in a row as well. I think she has a stomach flu. Poor baby. She has felt so bad and her stomach is hurting her pretty good.

I went to Wal-Mart this morning and picked me up a new toaster, coffee maker, and tea kettle. Does anyone know what is up with all these white appliances? Whatever happened to black or silver ... or even tan and brown? Why do they have to be white?! Thankfully, the tea kettle was blue. I know I am going to hate keeping a white coffee maker clean. That is just gonna suck.

Oh ... did you know that I have been quit for 1 Month, 2 Weeks, 9 hours, 29 minutes and 57 seconds (45 days)? Yep. I have saved $99.86. I have not smoked 1,815 cigarettes. I have saved 1 Week, 6 Days, 20 hours and 45 minutes of my life. It dawned on me today. I have been so busy of late, I hadn't even kept up with how long it has been since I smoked.

It's official. I don't smoke. :P

Well ... it has not slacked off here at all. Yesterday, I went shopping at two different grocery stores and then spent over an hour putting all the food away and putting meat in freezer bags for meals. And, when I grocery shop ... I mean ... I grocery shop. I spend hundreds of dollars and buy for the month. I like it that way too. It means I only have to shop for bread, milk, and the occasional forgotten ingredient.

Yesterday afternoon we went to Union City to get the girls and then came home to a quiet evening here. We watched a little TV and talked to the kids. They love to tell us about their time away from us and we like to hear what they were up to ... so it all works out. :)

Today has been busy as well. Our outside water hydrant decided to bust and cause much damage and chaos around here. So, there was much cleanup this morning and repairmen were called in to fix it. It was so bad that water was coming through my bathroom wall. Luckily, it was coming in right above my tub.

Now, we are about to go buy a truck. I already have it insured and we are titling it here shortly. LM has decided that he is tired of working for everyone else and wants to work for himself. I am already ordering him business cards and making up flyers to get him started. It will be nice seeing him busy with something he really wants to do.

Anywho ... I am outta here. I want to get my cabinets cleaned out today as well. I should have done it yesterday before I shopped, but I didn't. I didn't have time. I also need to clean out the fridge too.

Happy Valentine's Day! I hope you have a good one. :P

Ha! It is Friday and I was actually able to get up a selection for you on time! Aren't you amazed? Well ... at least a little surprised? I thought so. :)

This week's selection is what I have been listening to a lot the last couple of weeks. If you like Gospel, you are gonna love it. Even if you are not that big of a fan, you will love the artist. She is the most amazing vocalist, in my opinion, and she makes Gospel truly inspirational.

Enjoy! :P

• There Is Power In The Blood - Shirley Caesar
• Steal Away To Jesus (Prelude) - Shirley Caesar
• Steal Away To Jesus (Full) - Shirley Caesar
• One More Battle To Fight - Shirley Caesar
• Medley: There Is A Fountain/Room At The Cross For You/The Old Rugged Cross - Shirley Caesar
• How Long Has It Been - Shirley Caesar
• Holy, Holy, Holy - Shirley Caesar
• God Will Take Care Of You - Shirley Caesar
• Go Ahead - Shirley Caesar
• Come Ye, Disconnsolate - Shirley Caesar
• Blessed Assurance - Shirley Caesar
• Amazing Grace - Shirley Caesar

(Click here to go to my Radio Blog instantly.)

Passing it along ...

It's time to tell those who celebrate elections and voter participation in countries around the world that we must make sure every vote is counted in elections right here at home!

That's why I am asking you to sign on now as a citizen co-sponsor of vitally important election reform legislation.

http://www.friendsofhillary.com/CountEveryVote

Next week, I will introduce the Count Every Vote Act of 2005, co-sponsored by Senator Barbara Boxer. This comprehensive election reform bill will:

• Provide a verified paper ballot for every vote cast in electronic voting machines.
• Set a uniform standard for provisional ballots, so that every qualified voter within the state will know their votes are treated equally and will be counted.
• Require the Federal Election Assistance Commission to issue standards that ensure uniform access to voting machines and election personnel in every community. It's outrageous that some people in predominantly minority communities had to wait up to 10 hours to vote, while people in other communities often voted in minutes!

In 2004, I introduced legislation similar to the Count Every Vote Act. But it never saw the light of day. I couldn't even get a hearing for my bill before the Senate Rules Committee. We can't allow this new legislation to suffer the same fate.

The Republicans who control Congress don't want to address this issue. So we've got to build grassroots momentum to make sure they don't have any choice but to act. That's why I am determined to keep moving forward -- on the Hill, with advocacy groups, and with all of you!

http://www.friendsofhillary.com/CountEveryVote

Will you join me in calling for action to Count Every Vote? Will you sign up to become a citizen co-sponsor of this bill, so that we can demonstrate that the American people won't sit still for inaction on legislation so essential to our freedom?

Please forward this e-mail to your friends, and ask them to join us. Together, we will restore the credibility of American democracy, and make sure that we count every vote.

Sincerely,
Hillary Rodham Clinton

P.S. I thank you for all you have done to build a stronger Democratic Party. Now, as we say goodbye to the outstanding leadership of my friend Terry McAuliffe, I look forward to working with Governor Howard Dean and the new DNC leadership. Let's make sure that our hard work counts on Election Day!

Don't forget to add your name!

We have David's site restored (thanks to his server upgrade!!!) and everything looks good ... except that since they restored him no posting, commenting, or rebuilding happens. It runs the following error:

mkdir /u: Permission denied at
/home/users/xxxxx/blog/xxx/lib/MT/FileMgr/Local.pm
line 104

Does anyone have a clue what this means? I am at a loss. I have tried everything and nothing works so I think I have looked at this way too long and the simple solution that I am sure it is has not dawned on me yet.

Yesterday, President Bush released his administration's proposed 2006 federal budget. The $2.6 trillion budget projects a record $427 billion budget deficit, not including funding for Iraq and Afghanistan. It includes increases in military spending while at the same time proposes major cuts to domestic programs that benefit people living in poverty.

Budgets are moral documents. This administration's proposed budget reflects a set of priorities that stand in clear opposition to biblical values. Paying attention to the poorest among us is arguably the most central biblical imperative - not increased spending on nuclear warheads and tax cuts for the rich.

• Making permanent the tax cuts of 2001 - 70% of which benefited the wealthiest 20% of U.S. citizens.
• The elimination of block grants that aid poor communities.
• Making it more difficult for working poor families with children to be on Medicaid.
• A $355 million cut to programs that promote safe and drug-free schools.
• Cuts to housing and urban development programs.
• The elimination of 48 educational programs.

When considering a document as important as this one, it is imperative that our leaders consider its impact on people living in poverty. Urge your members of Congress to consider this budget's effect on the poor.

Click here to take action today!

Brought to you by Sojourners and Call to Renewal.

I have spent the last two glorious hours alone, except for :Lady: and Sir Jasper, playing the sims. Of course, I took a break and cut up some tomatoes, onions, and peppers for my delicious chili that I am going to make today. I have the tomatoes and peppers simmering right now. Hamburger meat and onions are draining as I type this as well. Yum!

I also got done four loads of laundry and cleaned the living room really good. I still have the kitchen to do, though. Oh ... and I really need to clean up my bedroom. It smells like LM's butt. No, really. I think that man has been eating way too much spicy food of late. His butt is just rotten.

I have decided that WordPress is just not my thing. Really. I just learned Movable Type two days ago, even though I had been using it for some time. But, I had never installed it or a plugin before that. And, while WordPress installs quickly, a lot quicker than MT ... it is not as versatile and the plugins for it (even the so-called one-click plugins) are a true pain in the butt. And, don't even get me started on customizing templates for it!

Movable Type, I love you. I will never stray. I promise.

I just wanted to let any ISOU readers know that David's site is not working properly and will disappear for a little bit. It will be back, at the same URL ... so don't think it is gone for good.

While I was upgrading David to MT 3.15, he decided he really wants to go to WordPress instead as everyone says it doesn't have half the issues of MT. So, I am now learning it as I go! Deb ... when you read this, holla! You will probably be able to help me with some of the plugins for this thing that I know nothing about. :)

Again. Yeah, I know. But ... hey ... I was getting my blog back up yesterday so I think I should be excused. :) More excuses! I told you I was getting good at them. LOL

This week's selection is what I have been jammin' to for the last couple of days. There are no gentleman in this collection. None at all. This selection features nothing but the ladies!

Enjoy! :P

• You Used To Love Me - Faith Evans
• What About - Sparkle
• Wake Up - Alicia Keys
• This Weekend - Ann Nesby
• On & On - Erykah Badu
• Me, Myself And I - Beyonce
• I Wish I Wasn't - Heather Headley
• Giving Him Something He Can Feel - En Vogue
• Girls Can't Do What The Guys Do - Betty Wright
• Everyday - Angie Stone
• Deja Vu (I've Been Here Before) - Teena Marie
• A Rose Is Still A Rose - Aretha Franklin

(Click here to go to my Radio Blog instantly.)

The site is done. I totally kicked butt. I did not lose anything as a result of all this mess ... not one tweak ... not one plugin. I am tickled pink. And, I even found a few new plugins I might add.

Life is good!

Once upon a time there was a woman who was scared to death of trying to install MT. She was scared that she would mess up the server that she had her blog on. She wasn't familiar with blogging software and just knew she would tear something up.

Well, not anymore! :)

Not only has she been able to install MT for her site on her new server ... but, she did it for someone else as well. And, she installed Notifier and Blacklist all by herself. That stuff was so simple!!! I cannot believe I was ever scared of it and thought it was such a big deal. It took me about a hour and a half for my site (that is Notifier and Blacklist included) and only thirty minutes for the other site. Once I did it the first time, the second time was real easy!

So, take it from me ... when someone wants to charge you a ton of money for an install or go on and on about how long it takes and how much trouble it is ... tell them that I said they need to quit lying and playing you for a fool! LOL

Note: This post was originally posted at my other blog.

Okay ... this will be my last post here for a few days. I have a new host and I am getting ready to transfer my domain to their servers. They rock too! I have 500 megs, great customer support, and a lot of bandwidth. And ... all for less than $10 bucks a month. A few dollars less. :)

You will definitely need to start checking http://therogueangel.blogspot.com for updates while I get MT or WordPress installed. I will enable comments over there for the time being as well.

If you need to reach me ... write me at therogueangel at gmail dot com. I am sure you know how to put that together to make it a valid email address. :)

I have a few requests to fulfill. :)

First things first ... I was dared by a witch from hades to take a picture of the main thing I told her that I needed to clean. Please note that this is a rare thingie here. Normally, nothing in my house gets this dirty ... EVER. Unfortunately, I have kids and a husband that think that my space is their space and put all their crud on my space.

Well, I am back to the dentist on Friday. My jaw is still hurting pretty bad and they think they are going to have to do some cutting. It looks like I may still have some root down in there giving me problems. In the meantime ... well, let's just say that Lortab is now one of my bestest friends.

I got some of the bills paid today and went shopping. LM has been waiting for Ray to come out on DVD with bated breath ... so, I picked that up for him. We watched it tonight. That movie is absolutely magnificent. Truly.

Anywho ... I am off to bed. Tomorrow is a busy day. I have a school meeting to deal with, more bills to pay, and shopping to do ... all while messed up on Lortabs. Ain't life just grand? :P