Thought of the Day 2010 #211 - Healthcare Reform

The "Obamacare" plan recently became law, but I must confess I know no more now about it than I did when it was signed by the President. So, is it just me, or is the 2500 page plan being kept quiet? Or does no one really know what it means? I watch and read a lot of news, and this *thing* is hidden behind a veil if some sort. I went to and the official site just a few minutes ago and...again, *blank stare* it seems filled with generic platitudes. Maybe I should just read the full bill. Uh, sure... Bwahahaha.... That will never happen.

Do you end up answering all of the "Go Ahead, Ask Me" questions or do you pick and choose?

I answer all the questions. Some I sit on until I can come up with a decent answer. Comments sometimes get replies, too, but not all of them.

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Thought of the Day 2010 #210 - Survival

I've read my pee leaves, and it appears that I may well survive. No visible blood for a couple of days. Woohoo!

From 30 Rock: Would you rather start every sentence you say for the rest of your life with Urkel's catchphrase, "Did I do that?," or be Siamese twins with Sharon Stone for a year?

Definitely talkin' like Urkel.

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Have you lost weight recently?

(checks around my tummy and other fleshy zones) Nope, not that I'm aware. The fat sticks to me like...ummm...fat!

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Thought of the Day 2010 #209 - Dexter

Season 5 of Dexter started tonight. No room for other thought.

This screams fall...

These are so cute! I need a fireplace, lovely blanket, and these cute bowl mugs, and I may thoroughly enjoy autumn.

Thought of the Day 2010 #208 - Slime

Just found a recipe for glow in the dark slime. Clearly everyone needs this! http://chemistry.about.com/od/chemistryhowtoguide/ht/glowindarkslime.htm

Why do you think the world has gotten as messed up as it has?

Growth in greed, ignorance, self-interest, lack of personal responsibility, and lack of empathy.

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I just handed you a can of "Glow-in-the-Dark Slime", the toy ooze. What is your reaction and what would you do with it?

Oooh, my question has come back to me. Nice to see you again, question! Buffie, if you were to give me a can of GID slime, I would squeal with delight and promptly charge the slime in a bright light, then turn off all the lights and fake sneeze with my hands at my face while the slime oozes out of my hands. Good times and run-on sentences!

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I saw your pictures on the photography thread- what brand of camera do you use, and what lens were you shooting with? They look just brilliant =]

Thanks! I use a Canon Rebel XTi. I believe all of the recent shots were taken with a Canon EF-S 55-250mm zoom.

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Shut up woman get on my horse.

hehehe. Not a question, but this made me laugh.

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What is your worst habit?

If I'm really anxious, I tend to chew the sides of my fingers, right near the nail. Luckily, I don't do that very often.

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What would you say is the best thing about where you live?

Hmmm...lots of good things. I live on a hobby farm, so there's lots of fresh produce, fruit, and even some fresh air. I also like the mountains to the west and east of me, both visible from the yard. Thinking a bit larger, I think Utah has a lot of natural beauty: mountains, desert, national parks like Arches or Bryce. The crime rate is pretty low, too. I've not seen a "bad neighborhood" at all in the Salt Lake Valley. The toughest neighborhoods here would get their nards kicked by a "bad neighborhood" in Minneapolis or Chicago.

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Movie? Well The Wizz of Oz of course. If I only had a brain I'd come up with something better.

I kinda think the Wizard of Oz doesn't count as a current indie flick. Maybe that's just me.

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What is your favorite article of clothing?

Swimsuit, 'cuz I know that any time I'm wearing it, I'm in a watery spot surrounded by warmth and, hopefully, sun or moon beams.

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Are you going to the Vegas Bash in 2011?

Probably, but I rarely make plans that far in advance. I'm not even sure what I'm doing this weekend yet.

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Desert Goodness

Blue Skies and Sunny Days

Just a peek at a few of the photos I took last week (or was it the week before?) with ideal conditions -- sunshine, sunflowers and some pollinating action.

Thought of the Day 2010 #207 - Antibiotics

After five days on my first antibiotic, I started on a super duper antibiotic called Cipro. One of the major potential side effects? Torn ligaments. What the junk? I think there's going to be a wrestling match going on in my body. I don't know that I am prepared for this sort of battle.

Smoke from the Flames in SLC

Thought of the Day 2010 #206 - Fire, Fire, Fire!

This afternoon, while returning home from a little ghost town hunting, we noticed a few puffs of smoke in the Oquirrh mountains. Nothing major, but the wind was blowing HARD when we were a little south, so we kind of thought the fire might get pretty big, pretty fast.

At dinner, the sunshine was an erie yellow. The smoke which had been a long way from home had entered the valley.

Jump ahead a few more hours, the smoke is thick enough to block the sun's rays and the sunset was a brilliant red-orange.

We checked out the online news, and we found out that parts of a nearby suburb have been evacuated. So, like all good voyeurs, we got in the car and headed to the west side of the Salt Lake valley.

We drove far enough west to a view clear of smoke. The mountainside flames made it look like an active volcano. The fire was advancing to homes in several spots at least five miles apart. The strong winds even spread the fire from one mountain to another, across a fairly large valley. There's not much stopping a fire so widely spread and with strong winds as well as acres and acres of brittle brush and grass land.

Returning home tonight, there is talk of several homes destroyed. Who knows where this fire will end?

Thought of the Day 2010 #205 - Movie Recommendations?

I need a good, thoughtful, indie movie recommendation. Anyone know of a recent goodie?

Thought of the Day 2010 #204 - Cholesterol

While I was chatting with my doctor yesterday about medicines and potential impending demise, I asked about specifics on my blood panel from two weeks ago. I wanted to know the numbers on my cholesterol. 161. Pretty dang good! And my LDL is 91. Again, ideal. So, I took the opportunity to explain that fat people do not necessarily eat five cheese burgers a day. I'm sure he's aware, but it's always good to refresh the memory when faced with a fat person.
I do find it curious that my cholesterol is as low as it is. During the summer I eat a lot less meat, but I really thought my blended iced mocha habit would have raised the numbers. Lots of milk in there! Since I last heard the specific cholesterol numbers, I was in the 170s...still good...but it seems crazy that it's dropped. Ah, well, accidental diet improvements are all good.

Thought of the Day 2010 #203 - Health Scare

I've been a bit absent from the blog because I have been spending a great deal of energy worrying, stressing and sleeping to avoid the stressing and worrying. I noticed blood in my urine the other day. Crap! There's not supposed to be any blood in your pee! Of course looking online provides plenty of fear inducing details of what could be wrong. Bladder cancer seemed to be my best bet since I really didn't have any pain as most people have with infections. Great. Bladder cancer. Ok, ok, more than likely i don't have bladder cancer, but the definitive test results aren't in yet. What I do have now, is some giant antibiotic horse pills in hopes that the blood is just a low level UTI. Cross your fingers!

Thought of the Day 2010 #202 - Infidelity

I believe that marital infidelity is less about sex and more about a lack of respect for their partner. Anyone who has been cheated upon knows the distinct pain of betrayal, I believe most people are aware of that potential pain regardless of whether they have the personal experience. Having no regard for that potential infliction of pain indicates that there's a lack of respect, plain and simple.

Any faboo recipes that have been in your family for generations? What are your faves?

Hmmm, there are none that I can think of that have been passed down more than one generation. I don't know anyone who makes bread stuffing at Thanksgiving the way my mom did and I do.

I also still make Parker House Rolls like she did, but again, I think it was something she discovered and I picked up. I've been influential with those things and I now know a few peeps here in Utah that make them regularly.
The recipe is here: http://blog.catay.com/search/label/recipes
On that page there's another one that is a mom-inspired recipe: fruit pizza. Super yummy.

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If Lady Gaga shows up on TeeVee next week in orange tights and a bikini, you better sue that chick for plagiarism. Have you ever been plagiarized?

Yup, a few times, but nothing too major. I've had my site slogan "borrowed" for another site, pix stolen and altered by political radicals, some pix were turned into a font, etc. I don't know if the picture usage technically counts as plagiarism, but it's somewhat similar use without prior permission.

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Ever been in trouble with the law?

I got pulled over for speeding, immediately confessed and apologized and I didn't get the ticket. Yay!

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Wear only the new tights and a bra or maybe even a bikini. You used to wear less clothing in your photos. What happened? Wait, don't answer that. Just wear less clothing. Please.

Orange tights...and a bikini. Now that sounds like a stylin' outfit! ;-)

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Have you noticed that Asian people are not good drivers? They seem to be very unsure of their actions out on the road. If you notice this too, why do you think it is this way? I know it sounds like I'm stereo-typing but I do notice this a lot when I dr

Nope, never noticed or even heard of such a thing.

I find that most races drive poorly in pretty equal ratios. Maybe you live in a spot with more Asian drivers, so the numbers of bad Asian drivers has grown proportionately?

I suggest you get your eyes off of the drivers and focus on the road, signs, and the bumpers...'cuz those cars are out to kill you! When someone hits you with their car, the police will have an easier time finding the car by description, than finding the driver by their description.

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Thanx for camera suggestion. Canon EOS Reble does indeed look to fill my need quite well :)

Happy to help.

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Thought of the Day 2010 #201 - Phone Books

It's phone book season here in SoJo. I have five new phone books on my front porch. I don't want them, so I keep them there until I get them in the recycle bin..no sense bringing them in.

It seems that in these days of easily retrievable information via the Internet, that the phone book's days are over. It seems excessive to have one out on my porch, much less five.

I think the phone directories should be delivered and printed on an opt-in basis ONLY. Perhaps postcards could be sent to homes that would have prepaid postage on which a resident could mark with an X and drop in the mail? Oh, the forests this would save if only the wanted books were printed! Think of all of that stinky ink that would be eliminated, too.

Soon...soon...the wasteful books will be a distant memory....

If I ask nicely, may I request that one of the "Pics of the Week" showcase you wearing your new coloured tights? Oh, wearing one colour of tights at a time ;).

I'm glad you clarified that each color should be worn separately. And yes, you may request it. :-)

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Who is your favorite singer and your favorite song?

Oh, I really have far too many to narrow it down.

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What is one of the best dig cameras for portraits up to $1,000 cost?

Portraits? Hmm...not sure. I don't take a lot of portrait photography. For regular photos, candids, scenery and the like, you can't go wrong with a Canon EOS Rebel model.

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Thought of the Day 2010 #200 - Rebellious Spirit

From today to Memorial day 2011, I shall wear white shoes.

Thought of the Day 2010 #199 - Annoying

I really, really hate driving in a car with a dirty windshield. It's just so annoying. It's like having dirty glasses or having goo floating on your eyes that you can't rub out.

Thought of the Day 2010 #198 - Plums

More bad garden and orchard news today. There are very, very few plums on the plum tree. Tragic, really. The plums are the dark purple to almost black variety called Damson. So good. It changed me from a plum hater to a plum lovah! The tree normally produces buckets and buckets of fruit. I guess next year, I won't take it for granted.

Thought of the Day 2010 #197 - Tights

I wear dresses almost exclusively. With dresses, I wear tights a lot come cooler months. Usually black, brown and navy in coloration. Nothing too exciting because they are...or were the only available colors in my size. Tonight, however, I now have bright blue, red, teal and....ORANGE! The latter I have never seen in super sizes. So exciting!!
If you are interested, check 'em out here: http://www.womanwithin.com/clothing/Opaque-Footed-Tights-by-Comfort-Choice.aspx?PfId=114641&DeptId=9447&ProductTypeId=1&PurchaseType=G&pref=ps

What is it like being a fabulous sister? Love ya!

Not sure I'm so fab, but thanks!
Love ya, too!

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you dont like sexual intercourse? why not? a woman your goddess-like size is a symbol of infinite fertility, and you ooze sexiness.

Saaaay what? I never said that. I'm fully in favor of sex. I recommend it to anyone who asks.

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Thought of the Day 2010 #196 - Oh My Heck!

It is September already!