We had a very sad death in our family last week. My grandfather passed away after a battle with Alzheimer's disease. He started transitioning into the late stages of Alzheimer's less than a year ago and in December fell and broke his hip. He never walked after that. The fracture healed, but was such a huge mental setback that he was unable to recover. Last Wednesday, my mother drove him around in the car and he even asked to go a few places. That night he got very sick and began vomiting blood. He was taken to the hospital where he died the next day.

My mother was very young when I was born so I was raised by my grandparents. I called him 'Dad' my entire life. I have many lovely memories of him including sitting with my grandfather listening to his old records, playing with harmonicas, and sitting on the back of his pick-up while he sliced apples for me.

My grandfather was in his late 70s and in very good shape physically. He retired from the coal mines just a few years ago. Some of the things he enjoyed were riding his four wheeler, taking care of his cows and chickens, playing with the kids, fishing, collecting scrap metal, and mowing the grass on his riding lawn mower. He was also very frugal and loved to save his money. He was a veteran of the Korean War and had 3 children, 5 grand children, and 3 great-grand children.

We will all miss him terribly, but I know he is in a better place now and no longer suffering from the dementia that overtook him this past year.

Goodbye Dad.

Hey look, SBS is still alive! :)

So last Monday I was greeted with a surprise Monday morning. I tried to log into my computer at work and was promptly told that my account no longer existed on my computer. Turns out the 'tech refresh' I have been waiting so long to get (I have been working on a 512MB processor that would barely compile a project) was finally taking place. The big problem at that point was that the internal switch was done before the physical machine got switched. It took me 3 days to finally get back up and running and able to do work. Monday was a waste because 90% of the people I work with were off for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The people I work with are from various companies and mine was the only one working that day. Tuesday I managed to get the actual new machine and then spent most of the day on the phone with the central IT guys getting them to remotely control my old computer and copy my files over since I could no longer log in. Had I known all of this was happening I could have done that before being locked out. Then Wednesday I spent most of the day getting my software packages reloaded on the new machine. It took most of Thursday to figure out what in the world I was working on before all of that happened and then I was off Friday.

Obsession of the Week(s): Garden Preparations!
The past two weeks I've gotten really into starting seeds and planning out my garden. I made a spreadsheet based on info that I found on a few different websites to figure out when to start which seeds and when to put the plants in the ground relative to the date of the last hard freeze. It's pretty neat because the way I set it up I can change the freeze date and all of the other dates will adjust automagically. ;D

I ordered some oddball seeds from all over the world off of a website and I also got this seed starting rack to keep all the little pots in. It's got a plastic 'greenhouse' cover to keep them toasty and wet. At the moment, it resides in the kitchen, but I plan to move everything outside once the weather warms up.

I can't wait to get working on my gardens outside. I don't have much space, and my gardens are technically more like 'flower beds' so I have planned out what I'm going to plant where to make it look all pretty and landscape-like so my neighbors don't complain too much. The front-right side (as your facing it) of my house gets the most sun so that's where I plant my veggies. Some people don't think that's appropriate, but I don't really care much about their stuck up opinions anyway so I will go on planting and try not to make it look too horrible.

Here's a sampling of some of the things I'm planning to grow...
Hyacinth Beans:

Calabash Gourds (or Bottle Gourds): There's no point of reference here, but these things are huge. Like 2-3 feet long.

Kohlrabi:

Red Carrots:

Oriental Eggplants:

Thai Eggplants:

Japanese Cucumbers:

There's lots more, but I've got to stop some time. I could go on and on about gardening. ;D I think I will dub garden preparations as my obsession for the past two weeks. I've had a few other interests pop up, but really this has been my focus.

Oh, if anyone is interested in the site I orderded the seeds from it's called Evergreen Seedsand there's the link. :D

I missed the beginning of the week, but I'm still going to post this.

Obsession of the Week: Drawing Fan Art

I never in a million years dreamed that I would be drawing fan art. I had never even tried up until last week and then all ofthe sudden it's an obsession. I've uploaded a few things on my DeviantArt account - which was sitting idly until a few days ago. I'm gonna put the thumbnails here, and if you want to see the full size versions just go to my Devaint Art account. These are chronological btw. The first one I drew is first and the most recent last. I'm up for suggestions as to who/what to draw next.

Hey everyone! Sorry I have been kinda MIA lately. I just couldn't find the right inspiration for a blog last week. I've been thinking about making a blog format for a while and today seems like a good day to start. I can't really make it a strict format though because then I will feel too confined. You see, I have a problem with following rules - even ones that I make for myself. My idea so far is to have a recurring blog section called "Obesession of the Week" at the beginning of the week. Probably Monday/Tuesday-ish. I'd like to make a little graphic as a section header, but I'm going to start out today with just some fancy text. So here goes....

Obsession of the Week: The Haruhi Suzumiya light novels
As you can tell by my blog banner, I am on a Haruhi Suzumiya kick. I watched the anime twice (first the Kyon way and then the Haruhi way) and then decided to read the novels. No spoilers here btw so feel free to keep reading. I just finished the 4th novel, and I must say it blew me away. Kyon's desperation literally moved me to tears. I am pretty sure that the 2nd season of the anime is going to include the contents of that 4th novel and the parts of the 3rd novel that haven't already been shown. It was also interesting to see the author's notes at the end of the story because he seems to have based a lot of the Haruhi Suzumiya story on real life experiences.

I don't want to put any details here and spoil the novels, but I will say that if you liked the anime you should definately pick up the novels. So far:

• The first novel is the basis for anime episodes 1-6
• The 2nd novel is the behind the scenes making of the SOS Brigade movie (much more interesting than the movie itself)
• The 3rd novel is a collection of stories including the giant cricket, the baseball tournament, the remote island, and one other short that is not a part of the first anime.
• The 4th novel is new and different. I won't spoil it, but really it's sooo good.

I started reading it Saturday night and couldn't put it down. Next think knew I glanced at the clock and it was 5AM! I was a total zombie on Sunday and was having company over for lunch so I fumbled my way through that.

Here is a link to the Haruhi Suzumiya Light Novels online. I should thank Zerocrossings for posting it on the Haruhi Suzumiya forums. Thanks Zerocrossings! Note: These are fan translations. To read the original translations you must download them or if you want I can e-mail them to you. I don't have a site for downloading the originals at the moment, sorry.

I'd also like to thank Kas_Dude from the bottom of my heart for including me in his blog as the Friend of the Week. It really is a huge honor to have people care about me and appreciate me for who I am.
This one's for you Kas!

New Years Eve 1994/1995 - I was 16 years old and lived out in the country in West Virginia. The closest town was about 20-30 minutes drive from our house. I had a plan to go to someone's house to hang out for New Years. I got permission from my grandma and waited eagerly to be picked up by my bf (I'll refer to him as 'the pshcho' from here on out) and his friend. The psycho was driving his dad's small Nissan pickup truck. I was sitting in the middle and the other friend on the passenger side. The weather was cold and there was some leftover snow on the ground but the roads were clear. As we drove along the twisty, hilly, narrow road it was obvious that the psycho was trying to show off for his friend who had never been to my house before. There is a hill a mile or two from my house that has a very sharp peak to it so if you drive over it in a certain way it will cause that roller coastery feeling in your stomach. Of course if you take it too fast you will lose control and wreck which is exactly what the psycho did. As he popped over the hill and lost control, he first cut to the right and smashed head on into a tree. That's when I smashed into the windshield. Then the truck spun around and flipped over and landed in the ditch on its side on the other side of the road. When the motion finally stopped, it felt like I was buried under a pile of sand. The three of us were stacked up on top of each other with the friend on the bottom, me in the middle, and the pshycho on top. As we came to, the psycho managed to climb out of the driver's side window which was now facing skyward. When I tried to free myself, I realized that I was trapped. My right arm had gone through the passengers side window and was under the truck. The friend was also trapped under the truck and had a broken jaw. I never really figured out exactly what part of his body was trapped, but I'm pretty sure he was in worse shape than me. I tried to keep my weight off of him as best I could by wrapping my feet around the steering wheel. We were trapped there for about an hour before rescue workers were able to lift the truck and free us. The ground was frozen and covered with snow. As I was trapped, I came to the conclusion that I would never have the use of my right arm again. Amazingly, I left the hospital that evening with only contusions and nerve damage. It was several months before my arm felt normal again, and I have had back problems since that day.
Do you have a friend who drives crazy and shows off? If you do, don't get into the car with that friend. Believe me, it's not worth it.

New Years Eve 1999/2000 - The Melennium. I spent New Years Evepreparing for my wedding the following morning. So tomorrow is our 8 year anniversary. And no, I did not marry the psycho - thank God.

I feel like I should post a blog today. I realize I probably won't get many comments because I never do on the weekends, but still I've got the urge so here goes.

Life...

I am recovering from a cold. I've been sick off and on for several months now. Totally sucks.

My husband is back from his trip and doesn't have any more scheduled any time soon. He has been travelling for the better part of the last 5 months. It's really weird having a spouse come home after being away for so long. I've gotten really independent so now I kinda feel like he's just in the way. I guess we will re-adjust to each other eventually.

The deck is finished. I keep forgetting to call the inspector for the final inspection. I'm so forgetful at times.

Work is pretty much the same. The one guy in the cube to my right left a couple weeks ago and now the lady in the cube to my left is leaving today. I know I've joked and complained about it before, but this cube farm really does have a lot of the same qualities as a prison. It's just so depressing up here.This is a generic picture and not my actual office. My office is more depressing that the one in the picture. Lower ceilings, no windows, higher carpet walls, smaller cubes I think too.

The holidays are almost over so I don't have to think about it much longer. Maybe I'm weird, but I really don't like holidays. I don't like vacations either. I've just gotten to the point where I am pushing forward with my day to day life and I don't want distractions that show me how boring and monotonous my daily routine really is.

This whole thing is sounding really depressing. Hmm, I don't feel all that depressed at the moment. I'm just stating the facts.

I just finished a book called 'Uglies' by Scott Westerfield. My sister-in-law read it as an assignment for school and recommended it to me. I enjoyed the book, but there is some looseness in the plot. I keep finding myself saying "that's totally illogical, wouldn't he/she just do this?" The overall premiss of the book is good, but like I said I was able to easily poke holes in the plot. There are two more books in the series; 'Pretties' and 'Specials'. I'm planning to read the other two.

That's all I've got folks. Have a good weekend!

This is going to be short and sweet. I made a new profile banner. It's been a long time since I've used Gimp. I have really missed it.

A wool sweater for the first person who names the anime in my new banner.

And a pair of wool slipper to the first person who names the episode the images came from.

Take care everyone!

Hello! How is everyone? I feel like I've been away from this site for months, but it's only been a week and a half really, and I have been checking in occasionally. Work has been keeping me very busy lately. The project I've been working on finally has funding and is going into full swing. I like staying busy though, it makes the days go faster.

Home is as hectic as ever. I'm having a deck built. It might even be done by the end of the day today. I'm excited about the deck. It will give me more places to grow things. :D

My husband's brother's two year old daughter is staying with us this week. My kids are really happy they get to spend that much time with their little cousin. We live more than 400 miles apart so it's not like we can just hop in the car and go visit them on a weekend. We met half way before, but it's still quite a drive.

The cold has let up a little. It's in the 50's now so I'm back to my favorite red leather jacket again instead of the giant eskimo coat. I realize some of you are south of the equator. It seems so weird that people from half way around the world can interact so easily online. We probably correspond more in a single hour than our grandparents could have in an entire lifetime. It's mind boggling to think about it. And consider the amount of information available online. It would have taked our grandparents hours to go to a library and look up a piece of information when all we have to do is type it in a box and hit enter. Uh oh, I feel a deep question coming on....

Do you think the ease of information access and communication we have now is making people smarter than the generations before us?

One last thing. A game I like to play.

Take care everyone!!

I finally got awinter coat. It looks kinda like this...

So now I'm ready...

to cross the parking lot. :D

Happy Winter!

OMG!!! I didn't think it was possible, but they have done it again. This episode (two really but they go together) was by far the absolute best episode of Avatar yet!!!!!!!

I'm going to put the rest in spoiler tags, but if you haven't seen it yet, even if you haven't seen any of Avatar yet, you need to sit your but down and watch - even if you are starting from episode 1. This show is amazing! Better than any other anime I've seen. Better than any live action I've seen. Just watch it. You will thank me later.

[spoiler] So many people came back. The swamp people, the Earth Rumble people, the Mechanist,the Freedom Fighters, the Water Tribe, even Haru sporting a mustache. We got news on Suki andZuko's mom and it seems they are both alive. Iroh escaped andZukotold his dad off and switched sides. He is going to join the Avatar. Aang kissed Katara, like for real kissed her and she wasn't complaining.Of course Aang didn't fight theFirelord, but we knew that wasn't going to happen because there's half a season still to go. So Zuko's going to join the gAang. That should create an interestinglove triangle between Aang Katara and Zuko. And since Zukohasn't mastered firebending himself, I expect Iroh will be joining up to teach Aang firebending. I'm also expecting Mai to follow Zuko. I guess those are my predictions. [/spoiler]

I love Avatar. They give us all of the satisfaction and fullfilment that other shows just refuse to hand over.

I do have a question. Is theWestern Air Temple where the Guru lives? I get confused on the different air temples.

And I just HAVE to get a koala-sheep on my icon or banner. They are so cute! That is my mission for tonight. Watch for my profile to change soon!