Grab bag of thinkies and happies and other stuff

[alliecat8]

I've been a busy bee. I made my user info more user-friendly. I changed my journal style, and I'm still sad about that. See, it's the first time since I got to LJ 6 years ago that I haven't had a Sawyer/Josh header. I sat down by the river Sunday night and thought about how times change. "I love you but just call it fate, you and I are gonna separate. Roll on muddy river, roll on."

Thankfully we've managed to transcend Lost and stay friends. ♥ I'm seeing more and more posts lately about y'all feeling blue, some for a reason, some just because. I have some

This is a blue week for me, in spite of the sunshine that lasted until yesterday. It's the one year anniversary of the hellish week between when Spencer was shot (9/12) and when he died (9/17), and the roller-coaster of updates about his condition. When I go to the high school football game tomorrow night I'll think of it, because that's where we learned of his death, and where we all gathered on the field as one body of grief and support. A whole year. Man.

Somehow, having surgery on my knee ten weeks ago made it worse instead of better. So I'm having a second surgery on Monday. I don't want to let it get me down like it did last time, where I stayed in my room and moped for 8 weeks (with one awesome trip to the GFG to break up the monotony). This time I'm gonna kick butt and USE those crutches to stay in choir and go to B'ham to see Les Miz 4 days after and fly off to Chicago to see Thing 1 graduate from Boot Camp. I'll stay up and around. Defying Gravity, sayeth my journal!

Y'all know all my other crap so I'm not gonna repeat it. Instead, I'm gonna switch to the flipside:

Three things happened happened almost in tandem. One of my friends, gregoria44, who absolutely glows - if you don't know her you should - left this little gem in my journal:

My life goes on in endless song
above earth's lamentations,
I hear the real, though far-off hymn
that hails a new creation.


Through all the tumult and the strife
I hear it's music ringing,
It sounds an echo in my soul.
How can I keep from singing?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RHt3ElEvHQ&feature=related

If you read my user info, you know I've invented a new spirituality for myself called Christian/Pagan, in which I leave the religion behind and live by a simple concept. Yet I still go to church because of the karma I sometimes find there, such as the message in this week's Sunday School lesson:

Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

And then later I heard this, in reference to 9/11 but wow, did it apply to my psyche right then:

Where there is hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darknes light and where there is sadnesss, joy. May we not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; it is in loving that we are loved.

Three gifts, to pull me out of my ownself and set my mind to rights.

Moving on, yes, I am THAT GIRL who can't make a post without cute kitten pictures.

OK, who can make their bed when THESE are curled up there? (yes, it's the Tandie Kate and Elsie Show again)







And finally, a meme generously bestowed upon me by crowgirl13:

Comment with a number and I will reply with my answers.

1 Five ways to my heart.
2 Something I feel strongly about.
3 A book I love.
4 Things I want to say to an ex.
5 Five pet peeves.
6 What I ate today.
7 How important I think education is.
8 I'll put my music player on shuffle and write the first ten songs that play.
9 Five people whom I find attractive.
10 My opinion about my body and how comfortable I am with it.
11 What I wore today.
12 My zodiac/horoscope and if I think it fits my personality.
13 Something I always think "what if..." about.
14 Something that I'm proud of.
15 A problem I have had.
16 Five items I lust after.
17 My fears.
18 What I hope my future will be like.
19 Something that I miss.
20 Five words/phrases that make me laugh.
21 Something I'm currently worrying about.
22 Things I like and dislike about myself.
23 A quote I try to live by.
24 Somewhere I'd like to move to or visit.
25 Five weird things that I like.
26 One thing I'm excited for.

Comments

[eponine119.livejournal.com]

KITTIES!!!!

Give me #12 please.

[alliecat8.livejournal.com]

I wish you could see my kitties while they're babies. I think Elsie will look kittenish her whole life with her little prim white paws and curly tail, but Tandie Kate is gonna be a bruiser. In a very feminine way of course - I AM her mother!

Wow, how in-depth do you want me to go on #12? I guess I'll use my falling-apart book that conbines my Western and Chinese zodiac.

12. Sagittarius/Year of the Tiger:

Stubbornly but charmingly wishes to remain a child. Loves all the trappings of adventure, though children cannot realize such dramatic dreams - No, I don't believe this anymore, though I used to when I was afraid to fly. I don't dream of adventures I can't accomplish. And I plan to accomplish them, so maybe I'm growing up. :)

Not that they don't move around a lot. They are always ripe for a spontaneous trip to Abu Dhabi for Christmas [I am not quoting exactly, obviously], and they never feel homesick. But they'd rather stay with those of whom they are sure than go hunting up new friends or tryng to seduce an unfamiliar partner - That's more like it, but not exactly. Yes, I like my niche. My home and my family. But I can make a new friend in Walmart and the next time we run into each other at a football game, we can pick up right where we left off. As for the last, ask me about my fromance in email. ;)

This unevenness comes from the impetuous Tiger side forcing you out, yet as soon as you're there you'd rather be home inside your head again. - Nailed me. It's not homesickness, it's wanting to be back where I know where all the warm and cozy stuff is. And to misquote Steven Tyler, the noise inside other people's heads sometimes bothers me. 'Cause I make enough of my own.

Loves people-watching, and is fascinated by novelty and eccentricity - Hell yeah. You know how I love the eccentricities in people. *waves to Miz Gracie* For me, to really love someone, they have to be eccentric in some way. Normal people are boring.

This person is dealt a reckless and outspoken personality at birth. This makes them sometimes seem interfering when they're only trying to help. - *snort* Who, me? *innocent eyes* Well, another word for it is blunt. I've been a Southern belle all my LIFE and never learned proper tact, though I can fake it in the short run. Scarlett O'Hara was probably a Sagittarius/Tiger. And even when I know I'm being a pain in the ass I can't shut up. But only 'cuz I care!

In romance, they will not trust easily. They may be starry-eyed at first but grow cynical if disappointed. "Don't take me for granted!" should be inscribed on all their T-shirts. Manipulate deftly, and proceed with caution. They will never come right out and ask for the loving care they need. - Yes, and hmmmmm. That calls for a very intuitive mate. I wish I had one.

As a parent they won't be a disciplinarian. They think everybody - especially them - should be free. - Yes, yes, and more yes. I raised my kids to follow their dreams. Sometimes this clashed with my dreams for them, but at the end of the day I'm always there cheering them on. And they know they can tell me anything. I'd fight to the death to defend them.

They are hard-driving and tireles when at work. These are ambitious people who don't much care for what others think of the means they employ to achieve their ends. They don't much care for chains of command or hierarchic hypocrisies - I put that one in there for you. I don't think you step on anyone's heads to climb the ladder, but otherwise, accurate?

Their hope is always to escape the humdrum and somehow transcend workaday jobs - whooooo-eee. That's why I quit being a wife. Transcendence is always the goal just out of reach, isn't it?

Some famous people born Sagittarius/Tiger - Beethoven, Emily Dickinson. Walt Disney also shares my birthday but he's not a Tiger.

[elliotsmelliot.livejournal.com]

Is that the new kitty bonding with your older one? How nice?

How about #6?

[alliecat8.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I like the question mark after "How nice"! If by bonding you mean is the bigger one trying to eat her sister (at this very second), then yes. But Elsie (the younger one) instigates it and always comes back for more. If fic-writers slashed cats, these two would be the perfect incongruous couple.

6. Augh, to quote an old gospel hymn, nobody knows the troubles I've seen. Nothing solid stayed down yesterday so today I had...this is embarrassing...peanut butter and Brie for breakfast. I took a sleeping pill last night that had me feeling logy all morning so this afternoon I had a latte and a mocha java chiller, both with an extra Sonic boom of expresso. Which is why I'm still up playing on LJ and plan to clean my room later even tho it's midnight.

[joyyjpg.livejournal.com]

OMG KITTIES. They are precious! I am so jealous of all my flisters with photogenic kitties. My cat will wake up out of a deep sleep and run away if I get within five feet of him with a camera. :P

For the meme, how about #24?

[alliecat8.livejournal.com]

Yeah, ya gotta just sneak up on them, or catch them when they're too tired/lazy to run away. I'd love to see yours if you can ever catch him! :)

24. OH, how many years have you got to read this one? Or I can simplify it and say I want to go everywhere and my list is constantly expanding. Like, suddenly I might be spending Christmas in Abu Dhabi. Last week I didn't even know Abu Dhabi was a real place! Um, let's see, the next stops on my agenda are Chicago and Hawaii, and a return trip to NYC. Those are all places that're nice to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there.

To quote Dorothy, "for my heart's desire again, I won't look any further than my own back yard." For now. Eventually I'll retire to the Smoky Mountains, the place I came from and will go full circle back to.

[ellel.livejournal.com]

Eeeeeee,kitties SO CUTE!!!:D

And change is good,you know?Even such things as layout/header change-it's refreshing!

Also-#24.

[alliecat8.livejournal.com]

My kitties said "thank you!" Well, they said it in Cat, but you and I speak that language fluently, don't we? ;)

I do like my layout, even though it isn't custom-made (like the lovely ones you made me, which I still have!). It reflects where I am at this time of my life, I think, and fits in with my journal's name and theme, so I just went for it. It's...different, but I miss my pretty boy(s).

OK, joyyjpg gave me #24, too, but I can always talk about my travel dreams. Here's some of my "Bucket List" of places I want to visit:

>Hawaii. I told hubby that it's in the marital contract that, should a spouse take a job in the Middle East, he is obligated by law to take his wife to Hawaii when he gets vacation time. For at least two weeks, so I can enjoy the Big Island (and stalk H50) and also do a complete Lost-locations tour on Oahu.

>Cruise the Greek Isles. You did it and I'm still green with envy. You're my go-to girl when the time comes that I need travel tips.

>Visit YOU! And I want to see the Holy Land, but I especially want to meet up with you somewhere and get our groove on. :)

>South Africa. Because giraffes are my favorite animal.

>Australia. I'll be sure to take Flight 815 home. Or would that be a bad idea? Hmmmm.

>Return trip to Ireland and France with Megan, because when I went to Ireland with my mom, and France with Thing 2, they wanted to see certain things, and there was no time to do the dreamy exploring that I like to do, so yeah, I shall return.

>Abu Dhabi for Christmas. Crazy much, Allie? It's just that, as it stands now, hubby will be working there and since he can't come home, we'll bring Christmas to him. I hear they decorate the malls and have Santa there and stuff, plus it's the perfect time to enjoy the beach. So what the hell.

>Explore Europe in general. Especially Switzerland, since that's where my kid's roots are (on their dad's side). Thing 2 got all the Swiss genes and none of my Irish genes, I think. And we've traced their family tree on hubby's mother's side and it's fascinating, so I'd love to see their "old country."

>All of the U.S. that I haven't been to yet. Just so I can color in all of the states on the map I'm keeping. I think I still need 7 or 8, all of them up North with the exception of Hawaii.

>Canada. The small portion I tasted of it (Vancouver and Victoria) was delectable, so I'm intrigued. Plus I've got friends all over the place there!

Now, moving on to somewhere I'd like to move. Right now I'm content where I am, and I can't re-build my house in the Smokies, even though the land is mine, until my mom leaves me the money for the house. And I don't want my mom to die - what would I do without her?

So in lieu of that, I dream of buying back my grandma's house that her kids sold when she got Alzheimer's and went to the nursing home. Her house and mountain view and gardens and fields and acres of piney woods were a fairyland to me as a child, and even though the people who bought it have trashed it, I would love to get it back and restore it to its former glory.

Hi, Elle, I talk a lot. ;)

[ellel.livejournal.com]

Oh,I don't mind you talking a lot-especially when we're talking travel!;)

And yes,your husband should definitely take you to Hawaii!That was my original destination for this year trip,you know.But when I found out that it's over 30 hours of flying in over 2000$ in one direction-I sort of decided to give up and go to Hong Kong istead.And hey,it'll be Christmas there too!

Abu Dhabi for Christmas?Now thats interesting.I'd never go there,but from the second 'Sex and The City' movie it looks like quite a place!And I bet your husband will appreciate you coming to visit.

Holy Land is not a very safe land,especially these days-I do hope that you'll get to visit one day,though.Our country is beautiful and warm and full of many great places!I wish you'd come visit me!

*luvs u*

Greek island are FABULOUS.Seriously,everything is gorgeous and food is great and sea is breathtaking.I wish we could go together,because one can never have enough of Greek islands-so much history and mythology and beauty there!

And hopefully,we'll meet next year-I plan on coming to US again!Of course I don't know anything yet,but I hope!:)

Her house and mountain view and gardens and fields and acres of piney woods were a fairyland to me as a child
Wow,that sounds lovely!

[haldoor.livejournal.com]

Hallelujah, sister!

Kitties are bee-oo-ti-ful!

Can I have #9 please?

[alliecat8.livejournal.com]

Amen! ;)

Right now one kitten is sleeping peacefully on the bed, one huge cat who thinks she is a kitten (she was the youngest for 8 years til these new ones came along) has staked out her territory on my lap - making it hard to type - and the other kitten is walking around with an empty Carnation Instant Breakfast bottle on her head. Because she found it in the garbage and it's her New Favorite Toy and when she carries it around in her mouth it sticks up like a giant hat. Hmmmmm...I wonder if the princesses Beatrice and Eugenie have thought of this....

Oh, girl, you're asking for trouble with #9 if you want me to write about RL people. But I'll bet you can already name my TV people, so...let's go outside the lines a bit:

1. Ryan Gosling. Never so much as when he built a house for his True Love in the Notebook, but I'll take him anywhere and everywhere I can get him.

2. Tyler Bray. He's Tennessee's football quarterback and DAMN, he's FINE. I'm angling for Thing 2 to transfer to TN so she can hunt him down and marry him. She's totally on with that plan!

3. Adam Pascal, the original Roger in Rent. Who can resist that smile (and all his onstage angst)?

4. Staying with the Broadway musicals theme, and also with a nod to Lost - Blake Bashoff. He is just a sweet, sweet boy who looks adorable when he's not being tortured by adolescence (Spring Awakening) or the Others (Lost). And he's such a hell of an actor that I'll use my favorite icon of him for this.

5. Adam Lambert. Yeah, he's still my gay TV/singer-boyfriend. I've never seen anyone who's less afraid to be himself, wild and crazy as that may be. He's the only person I know who can wear purple rhinestone platform shoes and still look hot.

[haldoor.livejournal.com]

Thanks for sharing! I don't know #4 either (which chara was he on Lost?), but thanks for sharing the links for the other ones! I won't squee over any of them, but I can say it's good we all have different tastes! I do admire Adam too, though, it has to be said. ;-)

[alliecat8.livejournal.com]

I don't know #4 either (which chara was he on Lost?)

I'll use a different icon of him and see if you can identify him from it!

[haldoor.livejournal.com]

Nope, doesn't look familiar, but let me guess - Karl? I'll assume he's grown up a bit since Lost! ;-)

[gregoria44.livejournal.com]

Oh, my! I'm glad that version of a little folk song helped to do the job :)

Thank you ♥

#20 would be fun...

[alliecat8.livejournal.com]

I actually have the Enya version (I'm an Enya fan from way back) but I haven't listened to it in so long, I was really happy when you reminded me of it!

#20, hmmmmm, okay:

1. Abu Dhabi. I know it's not funny that my hubby is going there to work for a year, but I can't say the name without giggling. Maybe just because that's always where Garfield mailed Nermal to and I didn't think it was a real place.

2. You'uns. I know how we Southerners love to say y'all, and I'm the worst offender, but you'uns is HILLBILLY. Like, from back in the mountain holler where they make corn pone likker with three xxx's on the jug. Being an East Tennessee girl, though, I've known plenty of people who said it.

3. Warsh and Orn. See: hillbilly, above ^^^. Embarrassingly, my mother's best friend, who's from the mountains but oughtta be too cultured by all her years in the city, still says that. See if you can figure out what those words mean. (hint: it has to do with clothes)

4. Thing 2 is helping me with this, and she contributed "Uranus." I hope this doesn't mean that she's a closet slasher! ;)

5. "Well, I won't keep you any longer because I know how busy you are, so I'll say goodbye now." That is Southern Belle-speak for "I'm tired of talking to you so shut up now." I should probably someday write a dictionary of Southern Belle phrases like that and expose their true meanings!

[hendercats.livejournal.com]

*waves*

Seems more and more people are changing their journal format and moving on/away from Lost (mine could be called Lost-related with the jungle-y greens and the default icon [used here]). :( 'Twas a wonderful time and I miss it.

I have that how-can-I-possibly-make-the-bed problem occasionally myself - no way am I disturbing the sleeping kitty.

How 'bout #13?

[alliecat8.livejournal.com]

Hi there, stranger!!! ♥

Yes, I figured I was one of the lone holdouts with my Josh header, and you know how I hate being out of style. ;) I miss him and the whole experience terribly, though. (Is that waterfall the one from Lost?)

Sounds like you've figured out what all cats know - that THEY own YOU, not vice versa!

#13, 'k:

What if LJ was a coffee shop instead of an Internet journal, where we could all meet to chat about the things we talk about here. Would our relationships be different? Would I discover lovely new friends amongst the ones I never really talk to? And wouldn't it be great to have a place to go to talk about slash without having to take the time to type it all out (like ZZ and I did that time in Seattle when she and I were in the front seat and my mom, who is hard of hearing, was in the backseat, totally oblivious!). OR, what if LJ was a bar? What kinds of TMI would we find out about people we *think* we know after they'd had a few drinks? (Matthew Fox wine and cynthia_arrow's mojitos come to mind....)