lilpyrogirl

I'm 27 (soon to be 28) and most of my friends have myspace accounts and I access it daily. I have a blog there. But, it is searchable by my name so people (employers) could find me and read what I have to say. Thus, my blogs that are more controversial (I have blog about dating...kind of carrie bradshaw style) is on a different site with an ambiguous 'name' attached to it. I think it's great for kids to be able to use the internet as a virtual 'diary' but encourage them to do so anonymously. I explained this to a friend's daughter recently. I asked her if she kept a diary when she was in elementary school and middle school and she said yes. I asked her what she thought of it now when she went back and read it. She said it was hysterical. I asked her if she'd be embarassed if her friends now read what she wrote back then, she said yes and I asked her how she thought she'd feel in 20 years with her 'diary' online where everyone could read it. She now has an anonymous blog. You can set myspace so only 'friends' can contact you and to become a 'friend' they have to enter some sort of information like your email address or your last name, etc. They're working on beefing up security some but honestly, all the instant messenger programs and news boards and stuff like that offer the same kind of thing. I get contacted all the time by sleeze-balls. Even though I'm young and still considered 'hip' by some teeneagers that obviously don't know any better yet, I would definately be tracking my kids online. I was sneaky as a kid. I had a webpage that mom and dad knew about and tracked...so I made a second one too...that they didn't know about. I knew how to erase my 'footprints' online and I definately was pushing the limits of what was safe. That being said, if I had kids, I'd install keystroke monitoring on the computer. I know many of you are thinking what an invasion of privacy that is but you can install it to only tag certain words that are risque or word strings like "let's meet" or "LMIRL" (lets meet in real life). The reason I don't feel like this is too big of an invasion of privacy is this. Before the internet, we all had our diaries and we would have flipped if mom or dad read them. But mom and dad had a much smaller world to deal with. You were exposed to your community and your school and church and maybe a few other areas but really, your world was small. You probably never talked to anyone out of the country and probably rarely anyone out of state. The world is HUGE today for kids. With one click of a mouse, they're off in California or Florida or Mexico... You can't control their 'environment' if you aren't completely sure what they're exposed to. I have a good friend that has started a pretty sucessful uh...'test'. People with teens online come to her, give her info about their kids, pictures, etc. and she spends a significant amount of time trying to contact them online, if she's able to make contact, she spends time trying to 'get to know them' and then tries to get them to agree to meet her (this is all with their parent knowledge). Out of all the kids she's tested, only 1 passed. She poses as a young girl or an older man or a runaway or whatever it takes to get into the kids' head (it helps that she has a psych degree). Anyway, my point is that monitoring their websites and internet usage is good but don't be afraid to invade privacy on this one. They don't need to know you're doing it until you have to reveal it to head off a potentially catastrophic event.

I've been a little out of the loop this week with my CRAZY schedule but I just had to pop in and share. My cleaning crew comes on Mondays and I did my usual check of the family heirlooms as soon as I got home. They're not in with the rest of the jewelry so they'd be hard pressed to happen across them but still. Anyway, I pulled out great grandma's diamond ring which hasn't fit me for about 2 years and I was admiring how amazing the diamond is and I slipped it on my finger and IT WENT ALL THE WAY ON! I almost fainted. So, I decided to really test the theory and I dragged out a pair of jeans I haven't worn in about the same amount of time and same thing. Didn't even have to suck in to get them zipped. very exciting... No idea how much I weigh anymore, I refuse to start weighing again but just knowing I can fit into clothes from 2 years ago was reason to celebrate in my world. :-D

Someone was talking about oven frying. I have another tip. When you oven fry something, line your pan with foil so that clean up is easy and then put a cookie rack in the pan to hold the meat up off the pan so the bottom doesn't get soggy. Then right before you put it in, spray the item with non-stick cooking spray (I use Pam) after you bread it and that'll help it get crispy. Oh, and don't buy ready-made breading (like shake-n-bake) too much salt. Buy plain bread crumbs and add your own seasonings and herbs and even parmesan or ramono cheeses. Just a tad will get you a lot of flavor.

Oh it's SOOOO BEAUTIFUL! I'm in awe and drooling all in my keyboard...

drooling (oh i want one...)

Did someone already mention this...I kind of did a quick skim so if so, my apologies... but you can find little tiny mirrors in michaels in teh jewelry making section. Some people embellish shirts or something with them (dunno) and I took some super thin silver cord and glued it around the edges of the mirror and used that as a tray for a vanity set. I just used glass beads and jewelry findings for perfume bottles and for the brush, I used velcro for the bristles. Not the fuzzy side but the 'hooked side'. Cutting out a piece that small will make you nutty but I finally used a hole punch and just made the top of the brush round. Then I used tiny little clear beads to make the brush look like it had a glass handle and I embedded some beads in the clay on the back of the brush so it all 'went together'. I used a larger bead as a sort of cup for makeup brushes. I don't even know how to describe how I made these, I 'borrowed' some wire crimp thingies that are teeny tiny (I think they're used in computers) from the electrial engineering department. :-D Then I put in cut bristles from an old makeup brush and crimped the thingies (technical term) closed. I know that last part there wasn't too helpful but i seriously dont know what they're called or how to describe them... Anyway, check michales for the tiny mirrors. Oh and since this is a 'lady's' room, you probably wouldn't need this but it cracked me up so I'll share. I found a website where a guy figured out how to make um...'adult protection devices' He took jump rings for jewelry and dipped them into liquid latex and let them dry and they looked just like teeny tiny little ... uh... trojans (not to be brand specific...just don't want to offend anyone).

Swimming is great, when I started I could only do about 4 laps beofore I wanted to drown myself (and at the time I was only 21 so yeah...not in shape) but by the time I graduated, I was swimming 50 laps a day! So, don't get discouraged if you can only do 1 or 2 laps. Give your body a few days to get used to it and then add a lap. You'll be surprised how fast your lung capacity and stamina increase if you stick with it! I'm asthmatic and I can now get almost all the way across the pool without needing a breath...almost... Anyway, have fun!

She's about 2 now but the picture was taken when she was a few months old. I wish I had a picture of her with the other dogs. They all get tired and crash out on the floor and she uses them as big toys to climb on and chew on (their ears) and she chases their tails. One of these days, one of them is going to smack her across the room. They also have a cat and gigi is smaller than the cat. She reminds me of a little cotton ball with legs when she runs around. I'm not much of a fan of tiny dogs but she's hysterical and she fits in my purse....but she'd never actually stay in it...she's far too hyper for that.

Get polyurethane gloves. They're non-allergenic. I worked on an ambulance for 6 years and WE ALL developed latex allergies from gloves. You can go to a medical supply company or possibly even your drug store. Just ask the pharmacist, my drug store sells them (and i'm dating a pharmacist...so convienent). The poly gloves for medical use are easier to work with than those food service gloves because they do fit better and the material is actually thinner than latex so you get better tactile response. HOpe that helps!

I don't know if this is the route you want to take but it's worked for me before. I had a similar situation with buying electronics. They said they had them in stock and they were advertised for a really low price and even a sign in the store but then I was told that they weren't selling anymore stock of that item. I pointed out that because they DO actually have tehm and that they still have the sign up in the store and the sales flier said "while supplies last" and obviously, they still have supplies, that they could either bring me one from the stock room or deal with the better business bureau. If they have it advertised at a specific price AND they say that they have them available, unless they're out of stock they HAVE to sell it to you. This was a very long time ago so you may want to call the BBB before you go threatening but sometimes that's mor than enough to motivate a manager. Their 'wait until Christmas' policy is rediculous. I'd also explain that they don't need the bad publicity that you can cause.

Wow, after Saturday's performance, I was nervous but what a great game! And to be there to see it and hear it was just...wow. Definately not an experience I'll ever forget. Man am I tired this morning. :-)

So, I'm a huge hockey fan and my team, the hurricanes, is in the finals (and they were up in the series and let it get all tied up so i'm a little irked with them) but then today, I got the greatest news ever: I'M GOING TO GAME 7 FOR FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My friend, Kat works for the Penguins and she made a bet with the promotions manager for the hurricanes that there would be a game 7...and since there is, the girl had to give kat 2 tix. to the game. So, i'm leaving atlanta in the morning to drive 6 hours to raleigh to go see the game (which for those of you that aren't into hockey...imagine this is the final game of the world series) and Kat is driving down from Pittsburg! I CANNOT WAIT!!!!!! This is extra special for me because back when I found out I had cancer, I made a list of 101 things I'd do before I die (and I'm cancer free now and working on that list) and one of them was to be at a game where they give away the stanely cup. And so,tomorrow one team will be walking out of RBC center with the cup and I'm going to be there!!!!! I've been jumping up and down on my bed squeeling for like an hour...I'm just so darn excited I can't stand it!

well, knock me over with a feather...literally! Ok, maybe not literally... So, I have this beautiful dress I wore to a wedding last year that I bought one size too big and had taken in (because they didn't have it in my size and I loved it THAT much. Anyway, I have an engagement party at the four seasons to go to which will be an english style 'high tea' and that dress is perfect. So, last night I went home and tried it on and holy cow, it's HUGE on me! I used some clothes pins to sort of pin it so the top fits and see how much it needs to be taken in again and it's almost FOUR INCHES!!! The wedding I wore it to last year was at the end of august so in 10 months, FOUR INCHES!!! Luckily it has seams all around the sides so it can be taken in in 6 places. I can't wait to take it to the seamstress.

i never understood the honey thing...it's not like you have to milk the bees for it...

I have a bird feeder on the balcony so no birds will nest there...too much 'action' and other birds flying in and out. HOWEVER, my cats get a daily visitor. Every day just after lunch a squirrel gets up on my balcony and sits on the exterior window sill and the cat sits on the interior one and they play with each other through the glass. I haven't been able to get a picture of it because if the squirrel sees me and sees me moving, he bolts. But the whole thing is so funny to watch. When the fruit around my house starts to go bad, I leave it out for him. I've nicknamed him Melvin. He loves the rocking chair on the balcony too and has figured out how to sit on the back of it and rock it and he'll sit there for hours and rock...so funny.