randomly chaotic and frequently mundane

All across the country, the capitals and “special buildings” have set up their holiday light displays. I’ve seen footage on lightings in Colorado and here, and there’s one thing that has impressed me tremendously about both. They both switched to LED Xmas lights. Not just in the displays around capital buildings and major attractions, but the street displays that you see in shopping districts and such. All of the lights that are bought, put up and powered by the city. They’ve switched to Outdoor LED Christmas lights. I thought that was pretty cool. I can certainly understand the appeal. For starters, they last longer and use less power. That’s a great way to reduce the cost of the lights, which enables them to do more elaborate displays if they want to. The fact that they’re much more weather resistant than standard incandescent lights is also a great asset. They even handle moisture much better. Again, making them last longer no matter what weather they endure and reducing the final cost. They also don’t get nearly as warm, so they reduce any risk of fire. Of course LEDs aren’t just for outdoor displays or city projects. They’d be a great addition to anyone’s holiday display. Personally, I’d love to get some LED Christmas tree lights myself. Not to mention some of the outdoor lights and some strands for inside the windows.

Many years ago, I went to a restaurant in Philadelphia with my brother called Middle East. The food was good, but the thing that I liked best was the belly dancers. What can I say? The way they move is just so cool. Graceful, powerful, mysterious and incredibly seductive. I’ve always wanted to learn to belly dance. Not only for the seduction value, but also because it’s great exercise and a really great way to tone your body. Afterall, belly dancers use muscles that most of use don’t even know exist. I once bought one of those little kits you find on the “impulse racks” in stores but it didn’t do much good. I don’t think I ever got the leg movements quite right and I didn’t practice enough to get the hip motion down. Some of it I got pretty quickly, the arm movements didn’t come across on paper, either. I couldn’t do what the booklet told me to do and make it look graceful. Maybe I wasn’t reading it right. I’ve been thinking about getting some belly dance videos and giving it another try. After all, if I can watch an actual person demonstrating the technique, I’ll be able to match the movement and learn it better. Which, I think, would work better for most people. I’m not really one for doing classes, just not into that. I’d rather do it where no one else can see me, until I have it down and can wow them with my dazzling skill. Then I can get myself some belly dancing music, make myself an outfit and be inspiring like the women at that restaurant so many years ago.

Hypnosis has long been regarded as a good alternative therapy for various things. People have used it (successfully) to release themselves from debilitating phobias, to improve their self image and to quit smoking among other things. Personally, I’ve considered trying a couple hypnosis downloads from www.instant-hypnosis.com in the past. Self image would be a good one for me. There’s also a weight loss download that might be helpful in my weight loss attempts. Sometimes you just need a little something extra to keep you down the weight loss path, you know? I have to admit that they also have a selection of Adult Hypnosis downloads that I find rather intriguing. What can I say? I’ve always been a very sexual person, and I would certainly be interested in trying a few of those offerings.

I love Johnny Depp. He’s been my favorite actor for as long as I can remember. I’ve loved everything I’ve seen him in. Well, except for Cry Baby. I’m of the mind that this is the movie he should have been slapped back into his senses when he agreed to be a part of it. He once described himself as “addicted to losers” when it came to choosing roles to take. It’s incredibly difficult, to be honest, to narrow down my favorite characters he’s played or scenes he’s done. He’s just done so much and so much of it appeals to me. There are so many great scenes, too. In Don Juan DeMarco, for example, there’s this scene with Brando (one of many) where he says, “So, to answer your question, I see as clear as day that this great edifice in which we find ourselves is your villa. It is your home and as for you, Don Octavio DeFlores, you are a great lover like myself, even though you may have lost your way and your accent. Shall I continue?” There’s something about his delivery in that scene that’s just magical. Or in Benny and Joon, the “Buster Keaton” scene in the park — that’s funny and cool and just so amazing to watch. There are so many fabulous scenes in so many great movies that he’s been a part of. I’d be remiss if I didn’t consider Pirates of the Caribbean, but it’s so difficult to decide on a favorite scene in those films. They’re so beautiful and entertaining. Then there are films like Blow and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, which I love so much. Yes, that’s it. Fear and Loathing. That’s where my favorite Johnny Depp scene is. When they pull over in the desert and he looks around and says “We can’t stop here… this is bat country.” There’s something about the scene that’s comical and frightening at the same time. That’s where the movie really sucked me in the first time I saw it.

Now there is Sweeny Todd. Well, let’s be proper, it’s Sweeny Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street. A former co-worker used to sing me songs from the musical all the time. We were discussing favorite musicals and Sweeny Todd was his favorite, I hadn’t seen it before so he sang me a couple of songs. Hearing Johnny Depp sing these songs is great. He’s got a good voice for it. I’m about to head off for to visit the official Sweeney Todd movie site. You can hear some music from the move there. It’s awesome. I’ll probably also pop by and visit Sweeny Todd on Myspace. This is one movie that I really want to see in the theater. Here’s hoping.

Ever since they came out, I’ve been thinking how much I’d love to get one of those select comfort adjustable beds. You know the ones that you can make firmer or softer with the press of a button? Oh, I just think that would be so perfect for me. As much as I love a good firm mattress, every now and then, my back yearns for a nice soft mattress. To be able to change the firmness of my bed on a whim would be nice, especially when my back is bothering me. Or maybe I’d be able to find a good mid-range setting that would help prevent the back pain altogether.  Looking at the prices at SleepBetterStore.com, the prices aren’t nearly as bad as you would expect them to be.  I always figured that they’d cost upward of $5000, but they’re not nearly that expensive.  Actually, one of the queens is only about twice what I paid for the queen pillowtop that I have now.  That’s really not bad, especially since the mattress that I got about a year ago is already starting to sag in the areas that we slept on.  It’ll probably need to be replaced in a few months, actually.  Considering the 5-year warranty, I have no doubt that these mattresses will last more than twice as long as the one I have.

It’s that time of year. Actually, it’s coming down to the wire, isn’t it? There’s only about 28 days left before Christmas. How scary is that? Well, close as it is, there are a lot of people out there still looking for the perfect gift. One of the reasons that CollectiblesToday.com has a page of Top 2007 Christmas Gifts for Daughters. Daughters are difficult to shop for, at least that’s what my mom tells me — she’s got 3 of them. CollectiblesToday.com has a lot of great gift ideas for daughters. A number of things that I know I wouldn’t mind getting, whether from mom or from a friend. In particular, they’ve got a really great Eeyore necklace that has Eeyore upside down and it says “some days are better viewed upside down.” There are even matching earrings. I love Eeyore, he’s my favorite character from the Hundred Acre Wood. They also have a precious blossoms teacup and saucer collection that I would love. I know it’s an incredibly girly thing, and there are probably some of you reading this and saying, “Maggie? Girly? No way!” But yes, I’m quite girly when I want to be. I’d love to receive some lovely girly things for Christmas this year — or anytime, really. After all, the site isn’t just for Christmas gifts, some of them can be used all year ’round.

In 2002, shortly before Gage was born, Woody and I decided to step into the “digital age” and get a digital camera. Our first one was a refurbished Sony Mavica. Not a bad camera, to be perfectly honest. We bought flopping disks in boxes of 100 because it took those instead of a memory card. We took pictures of Gage and pictures of some local bands performing. I even got a photo pass and took some photos with it at a Poison concert. Eventually, the size and the need to keep changing the disk every 10-25 pictures, depending on resolution, lead us to buy a newer digital camera. Something smaller that came with a memory card with lots of storage. I don’t remember the model, but it was a good little camera. We liked it so much we got a second one, actually. Now I have an Olympus Camedia. I love it, and I try not to leave the house without it. A little difficult right now, since I don’t have batteries for it. I keep thinking that I’d love to get my mom and Woody’s mom some digital picture frames to load with photos of their grandchildren, Gage in particular. I think they’d like that. The one for my mom could scroll through photos of all her grandchildren, and the ones for Woody’s mom would scroll through photos of Gage. It would be a great gift either way.

I love when cities do artwalks. Especially when they’re free. Personally, I think starting a St. Augustine Artwalk every week is a really good idea. Especially in Florida. No suffering from the cold while you browse the 20 participating galleries. Art, music, entertainment and refreshments in a nice city with beautiful weather and it’s free. It’s something I think is worth checking out when you take a vacation — so many cities do it, and it’s a nice way to expose your family to artwork and culture that they might not normally get exposed to. I’ve been to many first Fridays myself. Checking out a city I’m visiting’s local attractions and seeing if they do a first Friday or similar event is something I love doing. I’ve some lovely artwork that I might never have seen otherwise. St. Augustine appeals to me because it’s such an old city, so rich in history already. It’s also a really beautiful city.  Another added benefit  of the St. Augistine artwalk, is that they have free parking as well as a free sightseeing train and a trolley.  I have to say, they’re the only city I’ve heard of that does that.  It’s a little extra something to make it friendly to any budget.  Why should the only people who get to experience beautiful artwork, photography and other works be people who have a lot of expendable income? It’s a great attraction for locals as well as tourists.

I’m obsessive when I get a printer about knowing exactly which ink cartridges it takes. Have you seen how many options there are? I’ve seen people standing in front of the ink catridge display at stores for an hour at a time trying to figure out which one their printer takes. That’s where a handy tool like Cartridge Finder could come in handy. Especially if you’ve purchased a printer used and it didn’t come with ink cartridges (even empty ones) or a user manual. It’s certainly a site that could come in handy for someone trying to figure it out, or looking to buy new cartridges.

I’ve been wondering for a few months if I could qualify for a Business Loan to get my NAAW business going. It would be tremendously helpful to have stock on hand. I could do craft fairs and events like that, as well as last minute parties and activities. One of the other reps on a yahoo group I participate in mentioned getting a call from someone whose son didn’t have school one day earlier this month because of weather and wanted to invite her son’s classmates over for an activity. She turned a nice profit by simply having the stock on hand. I’m thinking it might be worth it to visit EZUnsecured.com and see about whether I could qualify for a business loan in that regard. The site is pretty easy to navigate, and looks like it would certainly be an easy application process. The quick answer is a good thing, too. A business loan is really the only way I’m going to have the means to get the business built up well enough for it to be full time income.

I love the holidays. Especially decorating for the holidays. When I was a kid, Thanksgiving weekend was the weekend that the decorations started going up. Among my favorites were the ceramics my mom painted. While there’s a special kind of magic to those decorations, I have to admit that there’s something about Thomas Kinkade Christmas Decorations. I was just browsing the Kinkade collection at CollectiblesToday.com, and came across an absolutely precious animated snowman figure with a 3-D Christmas village inside and a train going around the base. I must say, it’s me. I bet even my older sister (who is the pickiest person on the planet) would also really like it. It’s certainly something I’d consider giving to her at the holidays if I could.  I’ve always wanted to get one of those little Christmas Villages and set it up for the holidays.  I think it would be better to wait until Gage is older, but when I have the money to spare I’d love to start collecting the pieces for it.  I just think that things like this just bring the holidays into the home a little more.

Like a lot of people, I love candles. I also think that a nice candle or a pretty candle holder makes a nice gift for anyone who’s fond of candles. It’s always good to know a little something of the persons tastes, of course, but they do make good gifts. Personally, I think some of the candle holders at WroughtIronHaven.com are absolutely gorgeous. Like this one, the ivy is just so pretty.  They have table top holders as well, of course, and holders for more than just votives — actually, they’ve got holders for just about every kind of candle you could buy, even jar candles.  Personally, I’m a very big fan of wrought iron candle holders.  I think they add something really special to the ambiance of a room.  I love the way that the light from a candle casts onto them, the way that shadows dance on them.

Even better, WroughtIronHaven.com has a secret back door on their website that leads to a discount, which I happen to know.  Just visit their main page and find the sentence that reads “Our Store now has over 1,300 home & garden items for you to choose from!” You’ll find it about halfway down.  Click on the comma and it’ll take you to the secret wrought iron garden gate (backdoor) and you’ll get yourself a nice discount, perfect for your holiday shopping.  Or why use it for holiday shopping?  Use it to buy yourself something pretty for Christmas.  Don’t you deserve a nice gift after all your hard work?

I have tremendous support for the US troops in serving in Iraq. It’s heartbreaking everytime I read about more deaths over there. For a couple of years, some friends and I sent care packages to some Marines while they were deployed out there, and it felt really good to know that we were doing something for them. I haven’t been able to do much lately, haven’t been able to afford it. I’ve sent a couple of letters, but that’s about it. It truly warms my heart to see other people doing things to show their support for the troops. Apparently, The Gallery Collection, a company that does Business Holiday Cards, recently donated cards that say Happy Holidays and Thanks to be sent to the troops in Iraq this holiday season. They also donated blank cards and elvelopes to Troops to Write Home, to be included in Soldiers’ Angels packages this Christmas. I love Soldiers Angels, if I have the money this Christmas, I hope to donate a little bit to them. If I were a business person, I’d use The Gallery Collection to send out cards to business associates — why not give a little back to a company that gives so kindly, you know?

When I was a kid, my parents did a lot of country dancing. Not line dancing, two steppin’ mostly. I remember watching them get ready, absolutely in love with the clothes. They always wore denim pants and skirts, mostly pants. My dad would wear those plaid western shirts with the mother of pearl over the snaps. My mom was more likely to wear a t-shirt, she didn’t like the way those western shirts looked on her. The hats were a thing of beauty, they had those feathered bands with a spray of feathers on the front. I would hold my mom’s hat and pet the band while they got ready. My favorite part though was the Cowboy Boots. I’ve had a thing for boots all my life, and cowboy boots are no exception. There’s something about the style of a nice pair of western boots that is really appealing. I remember when I was a kid, when I got my first pair for Christmas. I was in 2nd grade. They were brown and black leather and I was so happy. I put them on as soon as I opened the box. I must have looked funny running around in a nightgown with cowboy boots on all morning on Christmas. it was one heck of a good Christmas morning, that’s for sure. Of course they make great gifts for adults, too.

Yes, that is a picture of an elbow.  My left elbow, to be specific. Doesn’t look quite right, does it? The first doctor I saw about it said that it was “misplaced,” when I saw the second doctor he asked where I left it and said that it was dislocated, but had never been repaired. It happened when I was 5 years old. We noticed that something was wrong when I was 10 years old. You might ask how I managed to go 5 years without noticing that my elbow had been dislocated — it’s a reasonable question, I get it all the time. Actually, it didn’t hurt. It just popped. You know how your joints do every now and then? Yeah, it was like that. There was no pain, just a pop. My cousin Willie and I were playing a fun little game, where you twist someone’s arm behind their back and they have to try to get out of that “hold.” This particular incident, I was the twistee and he was the twister. I thought I’d be slick and just straighten out my arm, which is when it popped. We discovered that there was an issue when I went in for a regular check up and the nurse was trying to take my blood pressure. My forearm wouldn’t rotate so that my wrist was turned up. As a matter of fact, it only has about half the rotation that my other (normal) arm has.

The worst part is that the bones rub together. There’s no cartilige in between, so it can get painful. Anytime it’s wet out it aches tremendously, and if I use my arm too much it can get excrutiating. Have I mentioned that I’m left handed? That’s why I consider the day I got some Freeze It Gel samples to be a great day in elbow history. It’s the only thing I’ve ever used on this elbow that actually took the pain away. Not only that, but it takes the pain away FAST, and when you’ve got a 5 year old who constantly wants to be lifted, thrown in the air, etc., fast is a blessing! Can you say love? Cause I love this stuff. It’s good for more than just my elbow, too. I tend to have a lot of back pain because of the child lifting, among other things and it takes that away faster than you can say “chiropractor.”  Winning a years supply of Freeze It would make me so happy.  Especially since we get a lot of snow in the winter and that just kills me.  The aching and the throbbing and that “oh I’m just not going to move my arm for the winter” feeling would go away, and that would be such a blessing.  Last winter, I endured a lot pain to play with Gage in the snow.  It’d be nice not to have to contend with that pain this winter and be able to just enjoy the fun.