<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?><?xml-stylesheet href="http://www.blogger.com/styles/atom.css" type="text/css"?><feed xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom' xmlns:openSearch='http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/' xmlns:georss='http://www.georss.org/georss' xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4902404603558557890</id><updated>2012-02-01T06:06:25.046-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Home of the RS Spud</title><subtitle type='html'>A place to put day to day thoughts, ideas, misconceptions, and odd things streaking through my head.</subtitle><link rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://oreidaspot.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4902404603558557890/posts/default?max-results=100'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://oreidaspot.blogspot.com/'/><link rel='hub' href='http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/'/><author><name>OreIda</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10439871852709376438</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://tkfiles.storage.live.com/y1pkcwEqQnQxaz0WPTCEk7XccdfPN5NFWQ4QXYWT291FdHJrWoVuh3Oq2JPDSdFMZjSNqbkLbNqrX4'/></author><generator version='7.00' uri='http://www.blogger.com'>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>26</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>100</openSearch:itemsPerPage><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4902404603558557890.post-8631296237332105568</id><published>2008-09-04T15:46:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2008-09-04T15:52:24.532-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Gone Daddy, Gone</title><content type='html'>Whoa, I totally didn't see &lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;that&lt;/span&gt; coming.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The kiddo flew the coop, ran off to look for a place down in Cali.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;OK, I mean I &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;DID&lt;/span&gt; know he was going to be moving.  He accepted a job down there and obviously he needs to find a place to live.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;And buy furniture.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;And...and...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;but I was totally sideswiped to find out he cashed in his CD and just took off without letting his dad or I know what his plans were.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I found out in a text message.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Bummer.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4902404603558557890-8631296237332105568?l=oreidaspot.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://oreidaspot.blogspot.com/feeds/8631296237332105568/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4902404603558557890&amp;postID=8631296237332105568' title='45 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4902404603558557890/posts/default/8631296237332105568'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4902404603558557890/posts/default/8631296237332105568'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://oreidaspot.blogspot.com/2008/09/gone-daddy-gone.html' title='Gone Daddy, Gone'/><author><name>OreIda</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10439871852709376438</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://tkfiles.storage.live.com/y1pkcwEqQnQxaz0WPTCEk7XccdfPN5NFWQ4QXYWT291FdHJrWoVuh3Oq2JPDSdFMZjSNqbkLbNqrX4'/></author><thr:total>45</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4902404603558557890.post-6619467056521949132</id><published>2008-09-02T12:36:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2008-09-02T12:45:02.925-07:00</updated><title type='text'>A Too Brief Respite</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CYAIlKDxwkM/SL2WZyDdZcI/AAAAAAAAAAk/hTVa3qKfOMg/s1600-h/lower+falls+1.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CYAIlKDxwkM/SL2WZyDdZcI/AAAAAAAAAAk/hTVa3qKfOMg/s200/lower+falls+1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5241510911006303682" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So the 3-day weekend was a much-needed respite from the last couple of weeks at work.  Especially the visit to the lower falls near Mt St Helens.&lt;br /&gt;Absolutely GORGEOUS.&lt;br /&gt;There is nothing more soothing than the sound of water flowing over rock.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We're gearing up for another long &amp;amp; tedious travel period for work.  I get upset just thinking about it, with so much other stuff going on right now.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The kiddo is going to move to California for work reasons and we won't be here to help him move, because of work.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;My best friend in the entire universe is getting married and I can't be there, because of work.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;My brother is having a change of command ceremony and we can't attend, because of work.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sheesh, one common thread in all of those.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Discontent.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4902404603558557890-6619467056521949132?l=oreidaspot.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://oreidaspot.blogspot.com/feeds/6619467056521949132/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4902404603558557890&amp;postID=6619467056521949132' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4902404603558557890/posts/default/6619467056521949132'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4902404603558557890/posts/default/6619467056521949132'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://oreidaspot.blogspot.com/2008/09/too-brief-respite.html' title='A Too Brief Respite'/><author><name>OreIda</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10439871852709376438</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://tkfiles.storage.live.com/y1pkcwEqQnQxaz0WPTCEk7XccdfPN5NFWQ4QXYWT291FdHJrWoVuh3Oq2JPDSdFMZjSNqbkLbNqrX4'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_CYAIlKDxwkM/SL2WZyDdZcI/AAAAAAAAAAk/hTVa3qKfOMg/s72-c/lower+falls+1.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4902404603558557890.post-6215798694422506253</id><published>2008-08-29T14:15:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2008-08-29T14:27:18.035-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Blowing Off The Dust</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4902404603558557890"&gt;&lt;img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4902404603558557890" alt="" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Whoa, been a long time since I've kicked around in here.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Lots of dust bunnies blowing about, guess I'll have to do something about that.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It's not that I don't want to blog, it's just that I can't seem to find the time to stick to it.  I enjoy writing and sometimes I find myself with something to say long after I've logged off.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://images.travelnow.com/hotelimages/s/035000/035090A.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://images.travelnow.com/hotelimages/s/035000/035090A.jpg" alt="" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;The view from Hotel Monaco at the moment is almost that of a fall day instead of one of the waning days of summer.  It's breezy and something like 71 degrees.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The room is cozy and inviting with a great overstuffed chair that's just perfect for me to curl up and enjoy my latest reading material -- The Night of the Gun, by David Carr --&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I'm torn between wanting to stay in and veg out for another hour or venture into the life and breath that is Seattle.  The light crisp breeze isn't all that bad and I did bring a sweater.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;On the other hand, another cup of peppermint tea and the book are playing siren at the moment.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Decisions, decisions...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I suppose it's time to head out and see what's going on.  The book will be here when I return.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4902404603558557890-6215798694422506253?l=oreidaspot.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://oreidaspot.blogspot.com/feeds/6215798694422506253/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4902404603558557890&amp;postID=6215798694422506253' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4902404603558557890/posts/default/6215798694422506253'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4902404603558557890/posts/default/6215798694422506253'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://oreidaspot.blogspot.com/2008/08/blowing-off-dust.html' title='Blowing Off The Dust'/><author><name>OreIda</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10439871852709376438</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://tkfiles.storage.live.com/y1pkcwEqQnQxaz0WPTCEk7XccdfPN5NFWQ4QXYWT291FdHJrWoVuh3Oq2JPDSdFMZjSNqbkLbNqrX4'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4902404603558557890.post-602503616947476380</id><published>2008-05-09T10:47:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2008-05-09T11:03:56.284-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Just another day in Paradise</title><content type='html'>I love Portland. Really, I do.  There's nothing like riding your bike down Hawthorne, checking out all the people, including the lovely couples locked in an embrace while waiting at the bus stop.  Awwww, ain't it sweet?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We've been overrun with politicians lately.  Today we are graced with both Hillary and Obama, in town stumping their respective candidacies.  Ha, that made me laugh - stumping, &lt;a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stumptown"&gt;Stumptown&lt;/a&gt; (PDX's nickname).  They are staying at 2 different downtown hotels.  Just look for the paparazzi.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4902404603558557890-602503616947476380?l=oreidaspot.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://oreidaspot.blogspot.com/feeds/602503616947476380/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4902404603558557890&amp;postID=602503616947476380' title='2 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4902404603558557890/posts/default/602503616947476380'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4902404603558557890/posts/default/602503616947476380'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://oreidaspot.blogspot.com/2008/05/just-another-day-in-paradise.html' title='Just another day in Paradise'/><author><name>OreIda</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10439871852709376438</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://tkfiles.storage.live.com/y1pkcwEqQnQxaz0WPTCEk7XccdfPN5NFWQ4QXYWT291FdHJrWoVuh3Oq2JPDSdFMZjSNqbkLbNqrX4'/></author><thr:total>2</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4902404603558557890.post-7163433247623704327</id><published>2008-05-08T09:26:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2008-05-08T09:30:28.326-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Remember Me?</title><content type='html'>Yeah, so I'm resurrecting this baby so let's see what happens.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I got an email this week asking if I'd like to be listed on &lt;a href="www.VerveEarth.com"&gt;www.VerveEarth.com&lt;/a&gt; Sure, why not.  Let's see if I can do this thing!!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In the meantime, what have I been up to?  Well, mainly just working.  The show circuit is starting to pick up and I'll be traveling pretty much every weekend from now until the end of July.  Sucks to be me.  Some people think it's pretty cool, getting to go hither and yon.  Personally, I get tired of living out of a suitcase.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Until tomorrow, buh-bye.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Oh yeah, you can also catch up with me on the message boards.  I post on YUKU, so check out &lt;a href="http://oreida.u.yuku.com/"&gt;my profile&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4902404603558557890-7163433247623704327?l=oreidaspot.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://oreidaspot.blogspot.com/feeds/7163433247623704327/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4902404603558557890&amp;postID=7163433247623704327' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4902404603558557890/posts/default/7163433247623704327'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4902404603558557890/posts/default/7163433247623704327'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://oreidaspot.blogspot.com/2008/05/remember-me.html' title='Remember Me?'/><author><name>OreIda</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10439871852709376438</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://tkfiles.storage.live.com/y1pkcwEqQnQxaz0WPTCEk7XccdfPN5NFWQ4QXYWT291FdHJrWoVuh3Oq2JPDSdFMZjSNqbkLbNqrX4'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4902404603558557890.post-4563159171073864706</id><published>2008-01-31T16:05:00.001-08:00</published><updated>2008-01-31T16:05:59.721-08:00</updated><title type='text'>This or That</title><content type='html'>[size=2][b] This Or That Questions [/b][/size]&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;[b]This or That[/b]&lt;br /&gt;[b]Coke or Pepsi::[/b]coke &lt;br /&gt;[b]Juice or Water::[/b]water &lt;br /&gt;[b]Pen or Pencil::[/b]pen &lt;br /&gt;[b]Pool Table or Air Hockey Table::[/b]pool table &lt;br /&gt;[b]Blue or Pink::[/b]blue &lt;br /&gt;[b]Car or Bus::[/b]car &lt;br /&gt;[b]Orange or Apple::[/b]apple &lt;br /&gt;[b]Green or Blue::[/b]green &lt;br /&gt;[b]Braces or Not Braces::[/b]braces &lt;br /&gt;[b]Coffee or Hot Chocolate::[/b]coffee &lt;br /&gt;[b]Msn or Yahoo::[/b]Msn &lt;br /&gt;[b]Camera or Digital Camera::[/b]digital &lt;br /&gt;[b]Cds or Dvd::[/b]dvd &lt;br /&gt;[b]Gym Bag or Book Bag::[/b]book bag &lt;br /&gt;[b]Laptop or Desktop::[/b]laptop &lt;br /&gt;[b]Walk or Run::[/b]run &lt;br /&gt;[b]Sit or Stand::[/b]sit &lt;br /&gt;[b]Pizza or Pasta::[/b]pasta &lt;br /&gt;[b]Cake or Ice Cream::[/b]ice cream &lt;br /&gt;[b]USA or Mexico::[/b]USA &lt;br /&gt;[b]Shower or Bath::[/b]shower &lt;br /&gt;[b]Sandwich or Cookies::[/b]sandwich &lt;br /&gt;[b]Chips or Candy::[/b]chips &lt;br /&gt;[b]Aeropostale or Hollister::[/b]Hollister &lt;br /&gt;[b]Walmart or Goodys::[/b]Walmart &lt;br /&gt;[b]Plane or Train::[/b]Plane &lt;br /&gt;[b]Earrings or Necklace::[/b]Earrings &lt;br /&gt;[b]Books or Magazines::[/b]books &lt;br /&gt;[b]Nail Polish or Not::[/b]not &lt;br /&gt;[b]Reading or Science::[/b]reading &lt;br /&gt;[b]Math or History::[/b]history &lt;br /&gt;[b]English or Math::[/b]english &lt;br /&gt;[b]Football or Volleyball::[/b]football &lt;br /&gt;[b]Softball or Baseball::[/b]baseball &lt;br /&gt;[b]Basketball or Soccer::[/b]basketball &lt;br /&gt;[b]Tennis or Volleyball::[/b]volleyball &lt;br /&gt;[b]Coke or Spirte::[/b]coke &lt;br /&gt;[b]Sunkist or Coke::[/b]coke &lt;br /&gt;[b]Mountain Dew or Sunkist::[/b]sunkist &lt;br /&gt;[b]Dogs or Cats::[/b]dogs &lt;br /&gt;[b]Fish or Snake::[/b]fish &lt;br /&gt;[b]June or August::[/b]august &lt;br /&gt;[b]Lime Green or Pink::[/b]lime green &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;[url=http://www.bzoink.com/S93838/This_Or_That_Questions.html]Take this survey[/url] | [url=http://www.bzoink.com/surveys]Find more surveys[/url]&lt;br /&gt;[url=http://www.bzoink.com]Bzoink[/url] - The Original Survey Site&lt;img style="visibility:hidden;width:0px;height:0px;" border=0 width=0 height=0 src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/CIMP/JnB*PTEyMDE4MjQ*MzExMjUmcD*4OTIxMSZkPSZuPWJsb2dnZXI=.jpg" /&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4902404603558557890-4563159171073864706?l=oreidaspot.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://oreidaspot.blogspot.com/feeds/4563159171073864706/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4902404603558557890&amp;postID=4563159171073864706' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4902404603558557890/posts/default/4563159171073864706'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4902404603558557890/posts/default/4563159171073864706'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://oreidaspot.blogspot.com/2008/01/this-or-that.html' title='This or That'/><author><name>OreIda</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10439871852709376438</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://tkfiles.storage.live.com/y1pkcwEqQnQxaz0WPTCEk7XccdfPN5NFWQ4QXYWT291FdHJrWoVuh3Oq2JPDSdFMZjSNqbkLbNqrX4'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4902404603558557890.post-3879982616651906813</id><published>2007-12-20T09:01:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2007-12-20T09:14:44.085-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Truancy!</title><content type='html'>I have been neglectful in my blogosphere realm.  I guess the hollydaze can do that to a person.  I've been remiss in gift buying and so I've spent the better part of 2 weeks caught up in the crowded shopping malls frantically playing catch-up. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://moneyandfinance.theamericanmind.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/12/christmasshopping.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://moneyandfinance.theamericanmind.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/12/christmasshopping.jpg" border="0" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I find it increasingly difficult to really get into the spirit of the whole present exchange thingy.  Why was this tradition ever started in the first place?  What does Santa Claus &lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41082000/jpg/_41082486_santa_afp.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41082000/jpg/_41082486_santa_afp.jpg" border="0" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt; have to do with me feeling obligated to bestow a token gift upon someone?  I dread it when someone asks me what I want for Christmas.  Aside from being outlandish and asking for a Ferrari or a million dollars, what do I want that I already do not have or can't obtain myself? Likewise, trying to find gifts for family members and friends is becoming increasingly harder.  My dad and his wife are in their late 60's and have everything they need/want, so I invariably end up sending the Harry &amp; David gift basket  &lt;a href="http://www.freshtrend.com/images/harry_and_david_christmas_basket.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://www.freshtrend.com/images/harry_and_david_christmas_basket.jpg" border="0" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;they have come to expect year after year.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The kiddo wants cash &lt;a href="http://artfiles.art.com/images/-/Money-Print-C10055084.jpeg"&gt;&lt;img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://artfiles.art.com/images/-/Money-Print-C10055084.jpeg" border="0" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;which, while practical, seems out of place as a Christmas gift.  The only fun I actually have in the whole gift-buying frenzy is picking out things for my two adorable nieces who are 8 and 3.  I am prone to getting the toys that make the noise and in the past have somewhat annoyed my sister-in-law --- which actually is part of what makes it fun to shop for these two.  And I do the same on their birthdays.  I am so naughty, I know.  But my brother encourages me and actually thinks some of my choices have been "outstanding"!  I love him.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So, what do I want for Christmas?  World Peace? The War to END? Lower Gas Prices? Food &amp; Shelter for All Mankind? Sure I do.  But mostly, I want a quiet day just spent at home with good food, family, and friends.  Cheers to you and yours.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4902404603558557890-3879982616651906813?l=oreidaspot.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://oreidaspot.blogspot.com/feeds/3879982616651906813/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4902404603558557890&amp;postID=3879982616651906813' title='4 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4902404603558557890/posts/default/3879982616651906813'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4902404603558557890/posts/default/3879982616651906813'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://oreidaspot.blogspot.com/2007/12/truancy.html' title='Truancy!'/><author><name>OreIda</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10439871852709376438</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://tkfiles.storage.live.com/y1pkcwEqQnQxaz0WPTCEk7XccdfPN5NFWQ4QXYWT291FdHJrWoVuh3Oq2JPDSdFMZjSNqbkLbNqrX4'/></author><thr:total>4</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4902404603558557890.post-2148522359373130693</id><published>2007-12-04T12:58:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2007-12-04T13:20:34.192-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Home again, Home again, jiggity-jig</title><content type='html'>Well I made it home from Long Beach in one piece, albeit a very tired and worn out piece. &lt;a href="http://gentscaninesociety.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2006/12/dog-tired.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://gentscaninesociety.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2006/12/dog-tired.jpg" border="0" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I rode back on the plane next to a guy who looked a lot like Eugene Levy &lt;a href="http://www.strangerinegypt.com/images/footballplayers/EugeneLevy.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://www.strangerinegypt.com/images/footballplayers/EugeneLevy.jpg" border="0" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt; and who had enough ear wax to seal window.  He also had very bad dandruff and smelled vaguely of cheese.  He told me he was afraid of flying and he had the death knuckle grip going on the armrests.  I had the aisle seat and he got up and down to go to the bathroom 5 times.  &lt;a href="http://www.extrapackaging.com/airsick/images/sqbottom/paper-sqbottomjpg.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://www.extrapackaging.com/airsick/images/sqbottom/paper-sqbottomjpg.jpg" border="0" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;   At least he didn't puke in his seat, so I do have that to be thankful for.  The flight out of LAX was delayed 3+ hours because the plane was coming down from PDX via San Fran and it was delayed because of the awful weather we've been having back home.  I took full advantage of the situation though and drank myself into a uncaring state, courtesy of 3 pints of Stella. &lt;a href="http://www.dezwaan.sk/listok0302/napoje/stella_artois3.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://www.dezwaan.sk/listok0302/napoje/stella_artois3.jpg" border="0" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The show itself was thankfully uneventful and if you don't know (or don't care) about who went best in show, I'll tell you. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.akc.org/nationalchampionship/index.cfm?section=gallery_category&amp;cde_category=20070312054726835&amp;text_event_number=2007277106"&gt;It was the lovely Sealyham Terrier.&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Best of all was getting to catch up with a dear friend whom I just don't get to see often enough.  &lt;a href="http://www.webdesign.org/img_articles/9282/Heart.gif"&gt;&lt;img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://www.webdesign.org/img_articles/9282/Heart.gif" border="0" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Worst of all was coming home to the &lt;a href="http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004051751_webweather04m.html"&gt;severe rainstorms,&lt;/a&gt; closed roads (including 20 miles of I-5!) downed trees (including 2 of my own), flooded yards, etc.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4902404603558557890-2148522359373130693?l=oreidaspot.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://oreidaspot.blogspot.com/feeds/2148522359373130693/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4902404603558557890&amp;postID=2148522359373130693' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4902404603558557890/posts/default/2148522359373130693'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4902404603558557890/posts/default/2148522359373130693'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://oreidaspot.blogspot.com/2007/12/home-again-home-again-jiggity-jig.html' title='Home again, Home again, jiggity-jig'/><author><name>OreIda</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10439871852709376438</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://tkfiles.storage.live.com/y1pkcwEqQnQxaz0WPTCEk7XccdfPN5NFWQ4QXYWT291FdHJrWoVuh3Oq2JPDSdFMZjSNqbkLbNqrX4'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4902404603558557890.post-2711921733768569567</id><published>2007-11-27T09:40:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2007-11-27T09:51:16.017-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Another Year Older...</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="http://www.zefrank.com/theshow/gallery/d/6556-1/BDayCake.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://www.zefrank.com/theshow/gallery/d/6556-1/BDayCake.jpg" border="0" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So my birthday came and went - #42.  I don't feel any different.  Are you supposed to feel any different when putting another notch in that getting older belt?  I dunno, maybe when I hit 50 I'll feel differently.  No one believes I'm older than mid-thirties, so I should take it as a good sign I'm aging well.  I do miss being carded at bars, I used to get that up until I hit around 33-34.  But my hair was longer and I was about 10 pounds lighter then.  *sigh*&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;For numero 42 I spent most of the day curled up on the couch, sick to my stomach, watching the episodes of &lt;a href="http://www.sho.com/site/dexter/home.do?source=shocom_nav?sourcepaidsearch=snipsgoogle"&gt;Dexter&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="http://agcblog.files.wordpress.com/2006/11/2777_article.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://agcblog.files.wordpress.com/2006/11/2777_article.jpg" border="0" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;I had missed over the last couple of weeks.  No birthday dinner for me, except scrambled eggs and wheat toast.  Happy birthday to me.....&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4902404603558557890-2711921733768569567?l=oreidaspot.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://oreidaspot.blogspot.com/feeds/2711921733768569567/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4902404603558557890&amp;postID=2711921733768569567' title='3 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4902404603558557890/posts/default/2711921733768569567'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4902404603558557890/posts/default/2711921733768569567'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://oreidaspot.blogspot.com/2007/11/another-year-older.html' title='Another Year Older...'/><author><name>OreIda</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10439871852709376438</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://tkfiles.storage.live.com/y1pkcwEqQnQxaz0WPTCEk7XccdfPN5NFWQ4QXYWT291FdHJrWoVuh3Oq2JPDSdFMZjSNqbkLbNqrX4'/></author><thr:total>3</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4902404603558557890.post-6614765897534959052</id><published>2007-11-21T10:03:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2007-11-21T10:36:28.004-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Gobble Gobble</title><content type='html'>Wow, here it is the day before Thanksgiving.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.blessed2bless.us/images/by-others/thanksgiving-dog-cat/thanksgiving-dog-cat.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://www.blessed2bless.us/images/by-others/thanksgiving-dog-cat/thanksgiving-dog-cat.jpg" border="0" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I can't believe the year has gone by so quickly.  For the first time ever, we won't be having dinner at our house.  No rising at 6 a.m. to preheat the oven, chop &amp; dice the celery, mushrooms, onions; no melting butter, no smell of turkey permeating the house.  Worse yet, no leftovers to dine on for the 2 days following so I'll actually be forced to cook.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Oh how I adore those leftover turkey sandwiches made on dinner rolls and filled with turkey, dressing, and cranberry sauce.  Fare thee well.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Not that going over to feast in the company of a friend's house is necessarily bad.  It's just...strange.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I do have to bring a pumpkin pie, but that's it.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4902404603558557890-6614765897534959052?l=oreidaspot.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://oreidaspot.blogspot.com/feeds/6614765897534959052/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4902404603558557890&amp;postID=6614765897534959052' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4902404603558557890/posts/default/6614765897534959052'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4902404603558557890/posts/default/6614765897534959052'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://oreidaspot.blogspot.com/2007/11/gobble-gobble.html' title='Gobble Gobble'/><author><name>OreIda</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10439871852709376438</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://tkfiles.storage.live.com/y1pkcwEqQnQxaz0WPTCEk7XccdfPN5NFWQ4QXYWT291FdHJrWoVuh3Oq2JPDSdFMZjSNqbkLbNqrX4'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4902404603558557890.post-4555023670825862686</id><published>2007-11-14T09:13:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2007-11-14T09:47:17.819-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Something to look forward to...</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="http://www.consumer-review.biz/free-movies/sexy-eyes-right.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://www.consumer-review.biz/free-movies/sexy-eyes-right.jpg" border="0" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So I'm counting the days until I leave for the &lt;a href="http://www.akc.org/invitational/2007/index.cfm?text_event_number=2007277106"&gt;AKC/Eukanuba National Championship&lt;/a&gt; in lovely &lt;a href="http://www.lbcrentals.com/Downtown%20Long%20Beach.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://www.lbcrentals.com/Downtown%20Long%20Beach.jpg" border="0" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;Long Beach, Cali.&lt;br /&gt;Blue skies.  Puffy white clouds.  Lots of sunshine.&lt;br /&gt;It beats the heck out of our grey winter gloom here in PDX.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://cache.marriott.com/propertyimages/l/lgbrn/phototour/lgbrn_phototour15.jpg?Log=1"&gt;&lt;img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://cache.marriott.com/propertyimages/l/lgbrn/phototour/lgbrn_phototour15.jpg?Log=1" border="0" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;And yes, even though it's more travel (which by this point I have grown ever so weary of) at least I'll be doing it up luxury style.  Booyah!  Last year my room had the most amazing view, especially at night.&lt;a href="http://cache.marriott.com/propertyimages/l/lgbrn/phototour/lgbrn_phototour11.jpg?Log=1"&gt;&lt;img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://cache.marriott.com/propertyimages/l/lgbrn/phototour/lgbrn_phototour11.jpg?Log=1" border="0" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt; Of course, it &lt;strong&gt;is&lt;/strong&gt; work and I'll be putting in loooooonnnngggg hours, but the trade off is totally worth it.  I need a break from what's become a tedious rut and what better place to break out of a rut than beautiful Cal-i-forn-i-A.  There will be beautifully dressed people and well-groomed dogs, all out for a couple of nights on the town. &lt;a href="http://www.ourdogs.co.uk/News/2006/December2006/081206/images/akc1.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://www.ourdogs.co.uk/News/2006/December2006/081206/images/akc1.jpg" border="0" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  What's really great fun is seeing many of the top dogs out for their nightly stroll on a major city street.  It's truly a sight to behold and a simple explanation does not do it justice.  I will have to try and capture the moment digitally this year.  It's really quite the weekend in the dog world, even eclipsing that bastion of shows known as &lt;a href="http://www.westminsterkennelclub.org/"&gt;Westminster.&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;And what's my favorite breed of dog, you might be asking?  Well, there are so many to choose from and some I've had and really loved.  Our Labrador Retriever, Sadie, was the fourth family member for 14 years.  To us, she was the epitome of man's best friend.  However, traveling so much has precluded having a dog at this time so I get all the fun of playing with dogs at the shows and none of the mess to pick up afterward!  If and when it's time to have a dog enter my heart, I am torn between a couple of breeds but these are my top three:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://ashcrofterriers.com/images/cocoa%20moving%205x7.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://ashcrofterriers.com/images/cocoa%20moving%205x7.jpg" border="0" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;Bedlington Terrier&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://terrificpets.com/images/uploads/dogbreedsadv160.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://terrificpets.com/images/uploads/dogbreedsadv160.jpg" border="0" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;Tibetan Terrier (a very dear friend has a great breeding program)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.beinnein.com/mag1.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://www.beinnein.com/mag1.jpg" border="0" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;Scottish Terrier&lt;br /&gt;and of course, another Lab.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.dog-breeds-explained.info/images/labrador-retriever.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://www.dog-breeds-explained.info/images/labrador-retriever.jpg" border="0" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4902404603558557890-4555023670825862686?l=oreidaspot.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://oreidaspot.blogspot.com/feeds/4555023670825862686/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4902404603558557890&amp;postID=4555023670825862686' title='5 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4902404603558557890/posts/default/4555023670825862686'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4902404603558557890/posts/default/4555023670825862686'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://oreidaspot.blogspot.com/2007/11/something-to-look-forward-to.html' title='Something to look forward to...'/><author><name>OreIda</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10439871852709376438</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://tkfiles.storage.live.com/y1pkcwEqQnQxaz0WPTCEk7XccdfPN5NFWQ4QXYWT291FdHJrWoVuh3Oq2JPDSdFMZjSNqbkLbNqrX4'/></author><thr:total>5</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4902404603558557890.post-7101849551632209003</id><published>2007-11-06T13:24:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2007-11-06T13:50:37.615-08:00</updated><title type='text'>It's Like Chain Mail, Only Blog-style</title><content type='html'>You know how you get those emails telling you to include your answers and then forward it on to 5 of your friends?  Yeah, this is like that only I'm not forwarding it on.  Aren't you glad?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Things about me that you may/may not know:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://cache.eb.com/eb/image?id=64495&amp;rendTypeId=4"&gt;&lt;img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://cache.eb.com/eb/image?id=64495&amp;rendTypeId=4" border="0" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;4 places I've lived&lt;br /&gt;1. Oklahoma City, OK&lt;br /&gt;2. Tuttle, OK&lt;br /&gt;3. La Puente, CA&lt;br /&gt;4. Naples, Italy&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.tifaux.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/10/dexter1.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://www.tifaux.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/10/dexter1.jpg" border="0" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;4 tv shows I watch &lt;br /&gt;1. Dexter&lt;br /&gt;2. CSI (the original, NOT NY or Miami)&lt;br /&gt;3. Survivor&lt;br /&gt;4. Mad Men&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://cache.eb.com/eb/image?id=93450&amp;rendTypeId=4"&gt;&lt;img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://cache.eb.com/eb/image?id=93450&amp;rendTypeId=4" border="0" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;4 movies I've seen more than one time &lt;br /&gt;1. Star Trek II - The Wrath of Khan&lt;br /&gt;2. Rear Window&lt;br /&gt;3. Anchor Man&lt;br /&gt;4. Live &amp; Let Die&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;4 jobs I've had&lt;br /&gt;1. Carhop @ Sonic&lt;br /&gt;2. Accountant&lt;br /&gt;3. Secretary&lt;br /&gt;4. Dog Show Superintendent&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;4 places I've been&lt;br /&gt;1. Hollywood, CA&lt;br /&gt;2. Rome, Italy&lt;br /&gt;3. Puerto Vallarta, Mexico&lt;br /&gt;4. Dennisport, MA&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;4 people who email me&lt;br /&gt;1. Laurie&lt;br /&gt;2. Patti&lt;br /&gt;3. Dee&lt;br /&gt;4. Bill&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;4 fave foods&lt;br /&gt;1. Spaghetti Carbonara&lt;br /&gt;2. Peel-n-eat shrimp&lt;br /&gt;3. Fuji apples&lt;br /&gt;4. Lamb chops&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;4 places I'd rather be&lt;br /&gt;1. A sunny, tropical locale&lt;br /&gt;2. Camping just about anywhere&lt;br /&gt;3. the gym&lt;br /&gt;4. Getting a massage&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;4 things to look forward to &lt;br /&gt;1. Work bonus&lt;br /&gt;2. Thanksgiving dinner spent w/family &amp; friends&lt;br /&gt;3. Christmas in Hawaii&lt;br /&gt;4. Losing those last 7 pounds!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;4 things I'm thankful for&lt;br /&gt;1. My health&lt;br /&gt;2. My mother ('cause the good lord knows he broke the mold when He made her!)&lt;br /&gt;3. My brother safely home from Iraq&lt;br /&gt;4. My son's continued progress against depression&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4902404603558557890-7101849551632209003?l=oreidaspot.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://oreidaspot.blogspot.com/feeds/7101849551632209003/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4902404603558557890&amp;postID=7101849551632209003' title='2 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4902404603558557890/posts/default/7101849551632209003'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4902404603558557890/posts/default/7101849551632209003'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://oreidaspot.blogspot.com/2007/11/its-like-chain-mail-only-blog-style.html' title='It&apos;s Like Chain Mail, Only Blog-style'/><author><name>OreIda</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10439871852709376438</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://tkfiles.storage.live.com/y1pkcwEqQnQxaz0WPTCEk7XccdfPN5NFWQ4QXYWT291FdHJrWoVuh3Oq2JPDSdFMZjSNqbkLbNqrX4'/></author><thr:total>2</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4902404603558557890.post-1693565707844702811</id><published>2007-11-05T13:57:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2007-11-05T14:29:54.478-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Just a Geoduck in the Muck</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_CYAIlKDxwkM/Ry-SbPX_nII/AAAAAAAAAAU/Ey2zitLr0mA/s1600-h/geoduck.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_CYAIlKDxwkM/Ry-SbPX_nII/AAAAAAAAAAU/Ey2zitLr0mA/s320/geoduck.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5129479497279577218" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Lately I've been feeling discontent.  In my personal life.  In my professional life.  A general &lt;a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=malaise"&gt;malaise&lt;/a&gt; lingers, despite my best efforts to shake it.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So many things going through my mind right now.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The kiddo.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Finances (the husband is especially fond of this subject).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Work (I can't stand going and have to force myself out of bed every morning).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Let's start with the kiddo.  He probably bothers me most and I believe he is the source of most of my tension.  He now wants to switch colleges yet again, this time headed for &lt;a href="http://www.evergreen.edu/home.htm"&gt;a very liberal school&lt;/a&gt;  where the curriculum is...how shall I say it - suspect?  He says that for someone with depression and his emotional/physical makeup, it will be the perfect school.  Nevermind the fact he's already spent his entire college fund bouncing from out of state school to out of state school.  All of it is gone, we're robbing from Peter to pay Paul just to ensure he can have that all-important piece of paper.  Now he has the brainstorm to get a $30,000.00 student loan (which we have to cosign)and shack up in a 3 bedroom house (at the cost of $1,400.00 per month, plus utilities) with 2 "friends" (unknown to us) starting in December.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Then there's the finances.  The hubby is always trying to find a better way to infuse our monthly budget with additional $.  This isn't a bad thing, so don't get me wrong.  But when he talks of refinancing, changing insurance agencies, etc. all of a sudden and all simultaneously, I want to &lt;a href="http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/thumb/a/a6/300px-The_Scream.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/thumb/a/a6/300px-The_Scream.jpg" border="0" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I don't even know that I want to discuss work.  *sigh*  I didn't want the job to begin with, but it was the right move to make at the time (or so I continue to tell myself) for the husband's sake (basically it was something like, he took this job &amp; I came too or else he had no job).  I was a happily content government employee with almost 14 years time in grade.  &lt;a href="http://members.aol.com/b29work1/tinker.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://members.aol.com/b29work1/tinker.jpg" border="0" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I was truly happy!!! I worked for a wonderful person, had great coworkers, good hours, lots of holidays, seldom worked overtime, hardly traveled.  Now I'm gone 29 weekends out of the year and I've lost track of the total number of days spent on the road.  I hate going to the office, it's the same repetitive schtick over and over again.  I'm tired of dealing with people.  I'm tired of playing boss.  I've started applying for other jobs that seem interesting, like one that caught my eye in yesterday's classified section seeking a personal assistant (but an individual, not a company) and I've signed up for a website which sends email notices of jobs fitting my description.  I just don't know what I'm worth any more, if my current salary isn't overinflated for the market.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So here I am, stuck.  Mired in indecision.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4902404603558557890-1693565707844702811?l=oreidaspot.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://oreidaspot.blogspot.com/feeds/1693565707844702811/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4902404603558557890&amp;postID=1693565707844702811' title='3 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4902404603558557890/posts/default/1693565707844702811'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4902404603558557890/posts/default/1693565707844702811'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://oreidaspot.blogspot.com/2007/11/just-geoduck-in-muck.html' title='Just a Geoduck in the Muck'/><author><name>OreIda</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10439871852709376438</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://tkfiles.storage.live.com/y1pkcwEqQnQxaz0WPTCEk7XccdfPN5NFWQ4QXYWT291FdHJrWoVuh3Oq2JPDSdFMZjSNqbkLbNqrX4'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://bp0.blogger.com/_CYAIlKDxwkM/Ry-SbPX_nII/AAAAAAAAAAU/Ey2zitLr0mA/s72-c/geoduck.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>3</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4902404603558557890.post-4290604786503815223</id><published>2007-10-31T10:15:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2007-10-31T11:25:40.067-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Happy Halloween!</title><content type='html'>OK, so it's not an &lt;em&gt;official&lt;/em&gt; holiday but it should be the way the stores hock all the crap for it.  Don't get me wrong - I decorate the house (albeit a lot less than when our son was little) and we pass out treats (until the big kids start coming, then it's lights out).  But there's just something strange about how it's so hyped.  Of course, the stores simultaneously put out Halloween decorations &amp; Christmas decorations, so what do I know.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;There's a neat website, &lt;a href="http://www.ghostsandcritters.com/main.html"&gt;Ghosts, Critters, &amp; Sacred Places of Oregon &amp; Washington&lt;/a&gt; just perfect for perusing today.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;OK, what's in my candy cauldron??  There's butterfinger, kitkat, reese's peanut butter cups, almond joy (my fave), snickers, mounds, baby ruth, peppermint patties, some licorice (red, not black), and gummy eyeballs.  Hey, naming all these candy bars made me remember this old thing:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sex &amp; Candy&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It was another Payday, and I was tired of being a Mr.Goodbar. So I saw Miss Hershey standing behind the Powerhouse on the corner of Clark and Fifth Avenue, and I whipped out my Whopper and whispered, "Hey Sweetart, how'd you like to Krunch on my Big Hunk for a Hundred Thousand Dollar Bar?" &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Well, she immediately went down on my Tootsie Roll, and, Uno, it was like pure Almond Joy. I couldn't help but grab her delicious Mounds 'cause it was easy to see this little Twix had the Red Hots. It was all I could do to hold back a Snicker and a Krackle as my Butterfinger went up her tight little Kit Kat and she started to scream: "Oh Henry, Oh Henry!"&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Soon she was fondling my Peter Paul and Zagnuts and I knew it wouldn't be long before I blew my Milkduds clear to Mars and gave her a taste of the old Milky Way. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;She asked if I was into M&amp;M but I said, "Hey Chicklet, no kinky stuff"-- and then I said, "Look, you little Reese's Pieces! Don't be a Zero, be a Lifesaver. Why don't you just take my Whatchamacallit and slip it up your Bit O'Honey?" (and oh, boy, what a piece of Juicyfruit she was, too). &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;She screamed, "Oh, Crackerjack, you're better than the Three Musketeers!" as I rammed my Ding Dong up her Rocky Road and into her Peanut Butter Cup. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Well, I was givin' it to her Good 'n' Plenty when,all of a sudden ... my Starburst. As luck would have it, she started to grow a bit Chunky and complained of a Wrigley in her stomach.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sure enough, nine months later,&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;out popped a Baby Ruth.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;And with that, safe &amp; happy trick-or-treating.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4902404603558557890-4290604786503815223?l=oreidaspot.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://oreidaspot.blogspot.com/feeds/4290604786503815223/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4902404603558557890&amp;postID=4290604786503815223' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4902404603558557890/posts/default/4290604786503815223'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4902404603558557890/posts/default/4290604786503815223'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://oreidaspot.blogspot.com/2007/10/happy-halloween.html' title='Happy Halloween!'/><author><name>OreIda</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10439871852709376438</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://tkfiles.storage.live.com/y1pkcwEqQnQxaz0WPTCEk7XccdfPN5NFWQ4QXYWT291FdHJrWoVuh3Oq2JPDSdFMZjSNqbkLbNqrX4'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4902404603558557890.post-7137249051056807324</id><published>2007-10-30T09:44:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2007-10-30T09:56:33.657-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Up on a soapbox</title><content type='html'>Life can be hard at times, so why do we put ourselves out there to endure more strife?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I'm talking about extending through the portal of the web and putting our lives online, via messageboards.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It can be cathartic.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It can be liberating.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It can be fun.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;You begin to feel as though you are a part of something, you have reached out and in the process made contact with people you'd never meet in your every day life.  They have like interests.  You begin to share things you're used to talking about with your best friend over a cup of coffee.  You open up and sometimes put your heart out there because you've come to trust most of these "friends".&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;But then, like real life, they start dumping on you.  Maybe someone doesn't like your turn of phrase or they misinterpreted your post.  Maybe they are the ones having a bad day and decide that with the anonymity the board provides, they have the power to spew hate &amp; discontent.  Perhaps, like the schoolyard bullies of old, there are just people who get their kicks from being meanies.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So why continue to post?  For me, I think it's out of boredom.  I'm usually traveling a lot for work and can't get online during most of those trips.  On the days when I'm in the office and there's not much going on, I'll hop online to see what's shaking the boards.  Sometimes there's happy news - the birth of a child, a promotion.  Other times there's sadness.  It's just like life, only we don't actually hug each other when we're happy or sympathizing.  There truly are friendships built there.  And destroyed.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The choice is up to each of us, as in real life.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4902404603558557890-7137249051056807324?l=oreidaspot.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://oreidaspot.blogspot.com/feeds/7137249051056807324/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4902404603558557890&amp;postID=7137249051056807324' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4902404603558557890/posts/default/7137249051056807324'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4902404603558557890/posts/default/7137249051056807324'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://oreidaspot.blogspot.com/2007/10/up-on-soapbox.html' title='Up on a soapbox'/><author><name>OreIda</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10439871852709376438</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://tkfiles.storage.live.com/y1pkcwEqQnQxaz0WPTCEk7XccdfPN5NFWQ4QXYWT291FdHJrWoVuh3Oq2JPDSdFMZjSNqbkLbNqrX4'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4902404603558557890.post-4628707483150808882</id><published>2007-10-17T11:14:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2007-10-17T11:36:43.741-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Home, Sweet Home</title><content type='html'>YES!!! It is SO GOOD to be back home.  Most of the travel days are over with and the next show will be 2 exits up the interstate, so NO PACKING.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The shows in &lt;a href="http://www.roseville.ca.us/"&gt;Roseville, CA&lt;/a&gt; were uneventful and the weather was absolutely gorgeous.  I didn't have time for any shopping this year, but I did enjoy eating every night at &lt;a href="http://www.claimjumper.com/hypertext/home.htm"&gt;Claim Jumper.&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;From sunny California it was on to Boise, ID (via Reno, NV) for 6 days.  This year, for the one night in Reno, we decided to try the &lt;a href="http://www.grandsierraresort.com/?gclid=CLikvM_Flo8CFQibggodmHlmeg"&gt;Grand Sierra&lt;/a&gt; instead of our usual &lt;a href="http://www.peppermillreno.com/"&gt;Peppermill&lt;/a&gt;.  Bad choice.  There was nothing Grand about the Grand Sierra and we were very disappointed.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We came home from the long sojourn to find our 20 yr old son has decided, for some still unexplained reason (other than "just because"), to sport a septum ring.  Yes, a nose ring.  I just couldn't believe it.  This from the kid who said, "I'll never smoke." (Not only does he smoke, he smokes cigarettes, cigars, pipes, hooka -- he works at a smoke shop).  "I'll never get a tattoo." (He has 3 --- well, that I know of --- including one that extends the entire length of his inner forearm).  "I'll never pierce my ears." (He has).  I know kids evolve and go through changes &amp; stages, but I honestly feel like I no longer know him.  He's a stranger among us, who only lives with us and is no longer a part of us.  He has become so cynical it's hard to be around him with all the negativity he continually spouts.  Yep, dinner time at my house is a real blast.  If it weren't for Jeopardy! there would be dead silence.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4902404603558557890-4628707483150808882?l=oreidaspot.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://oreidaspot.blogspot.com/feeds/4628707483150808882/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4902404603558557890&amp;postID=4628707483150808882' title='2 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4902404603558557890/posts/default/4628707483150808882'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4902404603558557890/posts/default/4628707483150808882'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://oreidaspot.blogspot.com/2007/10/home-sweet-home.html' title='Home, Sweet Home'/><author><name>OreIda</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10439871852709376438</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://tkfiles.storage.live.com/y1pkcwEqQnQxaz0WPTCEk7XccdfPN5NFWQ4QXYWT291FdHJrWoVuh3Oq2JPDSdFMZjSNqbkLbNqrX4'/></author><thr:total>2</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4902404603558557890.post-8821258176947462706</id><published>2007-10-02T10:01:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2007-10-02T10:12:17.880-07:00</updated><title type='text'>To HELL &amp; back</title><content type='html'>OK, so it really wasn't HELL.  It was Helena, Montana, and it was pretty damn close.&lt;br /&gt;For a capital city it sure lacks everything you'd expect - good restaurants (except for &lt;a href="http://www.silverstarsteakco.com/"&gt;Silver Star Steak Co.&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;See, what happened was our truck broke down on Friday after setting up the dog show.  We were able to drive it over to the only Ford place within 300 miles and they said they'd have it done by Monday or Tuesday.  As it turns out we didn't get out of there until 12:30 THURSDAY and we had to be in the middle of Washington for another show set up on Friday.  Should've known better with a Fixed Or Repair Daily, Found On Road Dead(aka Ford).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The "mall" is a joke, practically every store in there is closed or closing.  I asked one of the remaining kiosk workers where do people shop?  His reply was Missoula -- a 2 hour drive away!!!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I was never so glad to leave a place in my life.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4902404603558557890-8821258176947462706?l=oreidaspot.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://oreidaspot.blogspot.com/feeds/8821258176947462706/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4902404603558557890&amp;postID=8821258176947462706' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4902404603558557890/posts/default/8821258176947462706'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4902404603558557890/posts/default/8821258176947462706'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://oreidaspot.blogspot.com/2007/10/to-hell-back.html' title='To HELL &amp; back'/><author><name>OreIda</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10439871852709376438</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://tkfiles.storage.live.com/y1pkcwEqQnQxaz0WPTCEk7XccdfPN5NFWQ4QXYWT291FdHJrWoVuh3Oq2JPDSdFMZjSNqbkLbNqrX4'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4902404603558557890.post-4843850811525825414</id><published>2007-09-16T11:34:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2007-09-16T11:41:17.925-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Big Love</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="http://www.mormonsexposed.com/"&gt;Lanky &amp; Damn Sexy!&lt;/a&gt; WOW, who knew Mormon men could be so *HOT*.  It makes coming to Utah take on new meaning.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In other news, congrats to the OU Sooners for kicking Utah State butt, &lt;a href="http://proxy.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=272580201"&gt;54-3 blowout&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4902404603558557890-4843850811525825414?l=oreidaspot.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://oreidaspot.blogspot.com/feeds/4843850811525825414/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4902404603558557890&amp;postID=4843850811525825414' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4902404603558557890/posts/default/4843850811525825414'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4902404603558557890/posts/default/4843850811525825414'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://oreidaspot.blogspot.com/2007/09/big-love.html' title='Big Love'/><author><name>OreIda</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10439871852709376438</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://tkfiles.storage.live.com/y1pkcwEqQnQxaz0WPTCEk7XccdfPN5NFWQ4QXYWT291FdHJrWoVuh3Oq2JPDSdFMZjSNqbkLbNqrX4'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4902404603558557890.post-7708476806846438603</id><published>2007-09-15T08:23:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2007-09-15T08:26:20.596-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Weekend!</title><content type='html'>Here I am, still in the land of Mormon.  I'll leave tomorrow evening for Montana, where the weather will be much cooler.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Not much going on, it's been a very quiet set of shows thus far.  I'll probably have time today to put on the OU/Utah game and watch while I work.  GO SOONERS!!!&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4902404603558557890-7708476806846438603?l=oreidaspot.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://oreidaspot.blogspot.com/feeds/7708476806846438603/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4902404603558557890&amp;postID=7708476806846438603' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4902404603558557890/posts/default/7708476806846438603'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4902404603558557890/posts/default/7708476806846438603'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://oreidaspot.blogspot.com/2007/09/weekend.html' title='Weekend!'/><author><name>OreIda</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10439871852709376438</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://tkfiles.storage.live.com/y1pkcwEqQnQxaz0WPTCEk7XccdfPN5NFWQ4QXYWT291FdHJrWoVuh3Oq2JPDSdFMZjSNqbkLbNqrX4'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4902404603558557890.post-9178085669696056599</id><published>2007-09-13T09:49:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2007-09-13T10:01:32.392-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Who turned on the heat?</title><content type='html'>So it's going to be another warm (make that HOT) day here in Utah.  I guess I forgot how warm it can get.  And how dusty and smoggy.  It's smoggy enough to pass for L.A.&lt;br /&gt;Of course, the fires burning out in Ogden don't help.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://saltlakecity.about.com/od/attractions/p/templesquare.htm"&gt;Temple Square&lt;/a&gt; is beautiful, though.  I never got the courage up to ask anyone there if they'd ever watched &lt;a href="http://www.hbo.com/biglove/about/index.html"&gt;HBO's Big Love.&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Today should be an easy day.  I didn't have to get up until 6:30am and the show should be over by 4:30pm.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4902404603558557890-9178085669696056599?l=oreidaspot.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://oreidaspot.blogspot.com/feeds/9178085669696056599/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4902404603558557890&amp;postID=9178085669696056599' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4902404603558557890/posts/default/9178085669696056599'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4902404603558557890/posts/default/9178085669696056599'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://oreidaspot.blogspot.com/2007/09/who-turned-on-heat.html' title='Who turned on the heat?'/><author><name>OreIda</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10439871852709376438</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://tkfiles.storage.live.com/y1pkcwEqQnQxaz0WPTCEk7XccdfPN5NFWQ4QXYWT291FdHJrWoVuh3Oq2JPDSdFMZjSNqbkLbNqrX4'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4902404603558557890.post-4670331910020667509</id><published>2007-09-11T15:35:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2007-09-11T15:42:23.362-07:00</updated><title type='text'>On the road again</title><content type='html'>So busy season is back with a vengeance.  :(&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;As I write this I am on the second day of a fifteen day work-related roadtrip.  Current location - Farmington, UT.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Far too many days ahead of hotels, restaurants, USA today, and miles of blacktop.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The hotel "gym" is little more than one stationary bike and some 5lb dumbbells.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The pool is outdoors (which is nice, given the temps in the mid 80s) but there is lots of construction nearby, choking the air and coating everything with thick layers of crud.  If I wanted to suffocate poolside, I'd head down to LA.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Anyway, I'll be here until Sunday and then it's off for Montana.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4902404603558557890-4670331910020667509?l=oreidaspot.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://oreidaspot.blogspot.com/feeds/4670331910020667509/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4902404603558557890&amp;postID=4670331910020667509' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4902404603558557890/posts/default/4670331910020667509'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4902404603558557890/posts/default/4670331910020667509'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://oreidaspot.blogspot.com/2007/09/on-road-again.html' title='On the road again'/><author><name>OreIda</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10439871852709376438</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://tkfiles.storage.live.com/y1pkcwEqQnQxaz0WPTCEk7XccdfPN5NFWQ4QXYWT291FdHJrWoVuh3Oq2JPDSdFMZjSNqbkLbNqrX4'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4902404603558557890.post-7918650775730472034</id><published>2007-09-07T12:09:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2007-09-07T12:12:22.752-07:00</updated><title type='text'>In my head today</title><content type='html'>&lt;em&gt;Sunlight fall down on the fields&lt;br /&gt;Sunlight fall down over me&lt;br /&gt;Work all day, be all that I can be yeah-heh&lt;br /&gt;Say I can say words only simple&lt;br /&gt;Say I can say words only clear&lt;br /&gt;But, oh, I can feel your heart is beating near. Yeah-heh&lt;br /&gt;Haunted love is all that I feel, when you're passing by&lt;br /&gt;Haunted love is all that I see, it's there in your eyes&lt;br /&gt;And I say&lt;br /&gt;No, no, no, don't pass me over No, no, no, don't pass me by&lt;br /&gt;See I can see good things for you and I&lt;br /&gt;Yeah, good things for you&lt;br /&gt;Give I can give love and attention&lt;br /&gt;Give I can give all time away&lt;br /&gt;Only to one heart I can give today.&lt;br /&gt;Be I can be man full of color&lt;br /&gt;Be I can be man black or white&lt;br /&gt;But only to one heart I can be tonight&lt;br /&gt;Haunted love is all that I feel, when you're passing by&lt;br /&gt;Haunted love is all that I see, it's there in your eyes&lt;br /&gt;And I say&lt;br /&gt;No, no, no, don't pass me over No, no, no, don't pass me by&lt;br /&gt;See I can see good things for you and I&lt;br /&gt;Yeah, good things for you&lt;br /&gt;Haunted love is all that I see, it's there in your eyes&lt;br /&gt;And I say&lt;br /&gt;No, no, no, don't pass me over No, no, no, don't pass me by&lt;br /&gt;See I can see good things for you and I&lt;br /&gt;Yeah, good things for you&lt;/em&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I once heard someone sing this song in a melodious and deep voice.  I was charmed.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So, you ever get those thoughts in your head you shouldn't have?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Yep, today's one of those days.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The more you try to shake them, the longer and stronger they linger.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Perhaps I should change my tune to something more like&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;No, you can't always get what you want&lt;br /&gt;You can't always get what you want&lt;br /&gt;You can't always get what you want&lt;br /&gt;And if you try sometime you find&lt;br /&gt;You get what you need&lt;/em&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4902404603558557890-7918650775730472034?l=oreidaspot.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://oreidaspot.blogspot.com/feeds/7918650775730472034/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4902404603558557890&amp;postID=7918650775730472034' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4902404603558557890/posts/default/7918650775730472034'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4902404603558557890/posts/default/7918650775730472034'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://oreidaspot.blogspot.com/2007/09/in-my-head-today.html' title='In my head today'/><author><name>OreIda</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10439871852709376438</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://tkfiles.storage.live.com/y1pkcwEqQnQxaz0WPTCEk7XccdfPN5NFWQ4QXYWT291FdHJrWoVuh3Oq2JPDSdFMZjSNqbkLbNqrX4'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4902404603558557890.post-5006633164545533451</id><published>2007-09-06T11:41:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2007-09-06T12:00:22.806-07:00</updated><title type='text'>In the news today</title><content type='html'>Things in the news that caught my interest...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSL0648650420070906"&gt;Heaven has a tenor&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-drinking-hubs,0,7453240.story"&gt;Nome, Sweet Nome&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-teen-suicides,0,3656750.story"&gt;Female Teenage Suicide&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4902404603558557890-5006633164545533451?l=oreidaspot.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://oreidaspot.blogspot.com/feeds/5006633164545533451/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4902404603558557890&amp;postID=5006633164545533451' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4902404603558557890/posts/default/5006633164545533451'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4902404603558557890/posts/default/5006633164545533451'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://oreidaspot.blogspot.com/2007/09/in-news-today.html' title='In the news today'/><author><name>OreIda</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10439871852709376438</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://tkfiles.storage.live.com/y1pkcwEqQnQxaz0WPTCEk7XccdfPN5NFWQ4QXYWT291FdHJrWoVuh3Oq2JPDSdFMZjSNqbkLbNqrX4'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4902404603558557890.post-8788001681361002479</id><published>2007-09-05T13:03:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2007-09-05T13:11:07.804-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Workaday Work Day</title><content type='html'>So it's just another day at work.  More of the same ol', same ol'.  *sigh*&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I know I shouldn't be bitching but sometimes the drudgery of the same thing over and over again makes me want to...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;to...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;YELL OUT LOUD&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/70/176994267_fdb0e582f6.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/70/176994267_fdb0e582f6.jpg" border="0" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Of course, with hubby in the office directly behind me that's not possible.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;You see, he frowns on my bad language.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Oh well, back to the rat race.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4902404603558557890-8788001681361002479?l=oreidaspot.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://oreidaspot.blogspot.com/feeds/8788001681361002479/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4902404603558557890&amp;postID=8788001681361002479' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4902404603558557890/posts/default/8788001681361002479'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4902404603558557890/posts/default/8788001681361002479'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://oreidaspot.blogspot.com/2007/09/workaday-work-day.html' title='Workaday Work Day'/><author><name>OreIda</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10439871852709376438</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://tkfiles.storage.live.com/y1pkcwEqQnQxaz0WPTCEk7XccdfPN5NFWQ4QXYWT291FdHJrWoVuh3Oq2JPDSdFMZjSNqbkLbNqrX4'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://farm1.static.flickr.com/70/176994267_fdb0e582f6_t.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4902404603558557890.post-778038050817818776</id><published>2007-09-04T11:46:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2007-09-05T15:50:01.931-07:00</updated><title type='text'>of Tots</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_CYAIlKDxwkM/Rt8ykHNoI5I/AAAAAAAAAAM/rDexSVmdx-8/s1600-h/matt+pipe.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_CYAIlKDxwkM/Rt8ykHNoI5I/AAAAAAAAAAM/rDexSVmdx-8/s320/matt+pipe.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5106856098454315922" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;OK, so he's not a tot. More like a big ol' spud.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Our son.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;He's 20.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;and still in that stage where he doesn't know what he wants to be when he grows up.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;and, thankfully, still in college.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Unfortunately, he's gone through 3 changes of majors and lots of $$$ in the process.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I'm (we're) finding it very frustrating and no amount of family talks seem to help things.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Now he's living back at home after trying 1 year in an apartment with a room mate (whom he barely new before) who had absolutely NOTHING in common (black, gay, Jewish) with him (white, hetero, Christian). It's obvious he is not happy with the situation, but after racking up a whopping load of credit card debt he has no choice right now. (Did I mention at $8.50 per hr x 37 hrs he won't have a choice for quite a while?)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;*sigh*&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4902404603558557890-778038050817818776?l=oreidaspot.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://oreidaspot.blogspot.com/feeds/778038050817818776/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4902404603558557890&amp;postID=778038050817818776' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4902404603558557890/posts/default/778038050817818776'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4902404603558557890/posts/default/778038050817818776'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://oreidaspot.blogspot.com/2007/09/of-tots.html' title='of Tots'/><author><name>OreIda</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10439871852709376438</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://tkfiles.storage.live.com/y1pkcwEqQnQxaz0WPTCEk7XccdfPN5NFWQ4QXYWT291FdHJrWoVuh3Oq2JPDSdFMZjSNqbkLbNqrX4'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://bp1.blogger.com/_CYAIlKDxwkM/Rt8ykHNoI5I/AAAAAAAAAAM/rDexSVmdx-8/s72-c/matt+pipe.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4902404603558557890.post-1200061388079464621</id><published>2007-09-04T09:41:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2007-09-05T10:56:09.954-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Back up on that horse!</title><content type='html'>OK, so I'm NOT literally getting up on a horse. I'm just getting back into this blog thing. I used to have one when it wasn't cool - back when only geeky adults and precocious 12 yr olds had 'em.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Anyhow, janie over at &lt;a href="http://p099.ezboard.com/frealitysucksfrm13"&gt;Reality Sucks&lt;/a&gt; brought up the topic, so I thought I'd try again and see how long it lasts this time.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4902404603558557890-1200061388079464621?l=oreidaspot.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://oreidaspot.blogspot.com/feeds/1200061388079464621/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4902404603558557890&amp;postID=1200061388079464621' title='2 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4902404603558557890/posts/default/1200061388079464621'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4902404603558557890/posts/default/1200061388079464621'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://oreidaspot.blogspot.com/2007/09/back-up-on-that-horse.html' title='Back up on that horse!'/><author><name>OreIda</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/10439871852709376438</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='24' height='32' src='http://tkfiles.storage.live.com/y1pkcwEqQnQxaz0WPTCEk7XccdfPN5NFWQ4QXYWT291FdHJrWoVuh3Oq2JPDSdFMZjSNqbkLbNqrX4'/></author><thr:total>2</thr:total></entry></feed>
