My Time, My Dime

Lately, I've been spending my time in World of Warcraft. I love the bubbly, cartoonish look the characters and landscape have. I like how the quests are so much easier to find than any of the quests available in EverQuest ever were. And I like how there is no drama of any kind there. Tuesdays are a lot of fun. Mark joins Terry and I, and the three of us run the land as Taurens. This is my first Horde character and I think it's hysterical my character actually moos, cause... she's a cow. Terry and I usually play our Night Elves. He has a rogue and I have a hunter. Or we play our paladin and mage. The mage is a lot of fun, even at a low level.

I play CoH now when I plan things with Lela, Steve or Mike. Sometimes I want to log on, cause I haven't played with any of them for awhile, but things happen. Like tonight, Terry and I spent a lot of time with the kids. We taught them how to play a card game Terry and I have enjoyed ever since we married. Derek was reluctant at first, but after the first game, he really got into it. We had a lot of fun.

And I didn't miss CoH or WoW.

Basically, the point of this is, for those of you who think I'm avoiding CoH because of you or something that was said, or boards being opened up for the world to see... Well, sorry to disappoint. I just don't care. I play with who I want, when we have something planned and I'm not working or spending time with my family or playing tabletop.

Star Chasers is fun. Honestly I'd like see how my Warshade will progress. Blood Nights are hysterical. Shayanna cracks me up with her lust for blood. I'm surprised I haven't macroed something to say "Runs her hands through the blood and then over her face." Probably wouldn't surprise anyone if I did. Mavericks are fun. Sweet Revenge so needs to find something to distract her from shopping for clothes that irritate her brother. And getting Solitaire closer to 50 gives me a satisfaction only a few understand.

Yep, having fun doing what I want.

The Dogs

Licorice - half bassett hound, half labrador, all pain in the ass. Despite how Terry tries to tell me that Licorice is everyone's dog, this dog definitely belongs to him. He's about the only one who can bet the dog when he wants to, play with him and keep him in place. This dog has a bedtime that is more strict than the one we have for the kids. By 10 p.m., Licorice becomes the biggest jerk ever created. He growls at everyone. If I go near Terry and Licorice is laying near his chair, he growls. If we even talk to him while we're going to bed, he growls. My favorite quote for the dog is "he's an asshole." It's definitely a love/hate relationship. There are days I absolutely love to hate the dog.
Amira - About 75% wolf, 25% siberian husky. Amira is Anceint Egyptian for Princess and she is definitely a princess. She is very lovable, talks to us all the time, hardly barks, but loves to destroy things if allowed to. She will sit at her bowl of food, fill her mouth, then drop all the pieces on the floor, picking through them one at a time until she eats them all. Then she does it all again. She goes into the kids' rooms, checks on them, then sits either at the top of the stairs or at the bottom, waiting until I go to bed. Her neck is soft and she's absolutely gorgeous when she has a full coat of fur. She sleeps on the porch in the middle of winter and on the kitchen floor during the summer.
Coco - part golden retriever, chocolate labrador, australian shepherd and pig. Pig? Yes, pig. Her tail curls up like a pig's. We love her, but she has the most annoying bark. And she barks... all the freaking time. I can't take a shower without her barking at the shower door shutting. She barks at the garage door as it opens. She barks at Derek and Micaela when they go outside to play. She barks when we come home, for who knows what reason. She and Amira have an ongoing struggle for dominance in the pack, which varies on who feels like chewing on the other the most that day. The good thing about Coco, she loves the kids, she loves the family and she plays with both Licorice and Amira equally.

Winchester Mystery House

The room where Mrs. Winchester died. Outside the window, there is a crescent moon shaped hedge, with the tip pointing at the window. There are those who believe it has some supernatural meaning, with the tip pointing to the room. It's just coincidence, right?
One of the unfinished rooms on the ??? floor of the house. We walked up and down so many stairs, it was hard to tell where we were. This room was in the front of the house, which was closed off and not worked on again after the earthquake of 1906.
The front of the house. The house was painted in the 70's, thus the horrible yellow color. Currently, though the state of California has it registered in the state historic locations, it is privately owned and has been for quite awhile. Even if you ask the employees who signs their checks, the only answer they can give you is "Winchester Mystery House". I would love to own this house. The history behind it, being able to walk through it whenever I wanted, not to mention the money it brings in during October and on Friday, the 13th.
One of the two basements in the house. This one had the coal chute and when it was unlocked, there was coal still covering the floor. This basement is considered the most haunted of the two basements. With all the fireplaces (47), Mrs. Winchester had grates built into the floors of each one, which the servants would use to send the ashes from each fireplace down a chute into this basement. Instead of 47 fireplaces to clean and carry the ash from the house, the servants would only have to clean 7 chutes, which was supposed to be easier.

There are so many amazing facts about this house, so much history and information. Mrs. Winchester had the modern of all conveniences, including elevators. For further information, you can visit the official website, www.winchestermysteryhouse.com, or do a Google/Yahoo/MSN search, whichever you prefer to find out more.

Will These Photos Never End?

The family at the Redwood Forest at the top of the mountain near Brookdale Lodge. Not exactly the place I had intended to take the kids. When I was living in California with my mother and stepfather, we used to go to the Redwood Forest that had some of the largest, oldest trees on the North American continent. There was one tree in the forest that had grown so large that by the time it had been discovered, it had already fallen over and died. It was old when America was discovered. The bottom of the trunk, with the roots still in the ground, was smoothed over and finished and was once used as a place for square dancers. A portion of it, still standing next to the trunk, was used to show the rings and distinguish the age of the tree. There was also a tree that grew in such a way, cars used to be driven through it. You know, the small Model T's.

Nevertheless, this was not where we went. Needless to say, I was extremly disappointed and after we made the journey through the trail and discovered the Mother of All Trees, over 400 ft tall and the Father of All Trees, almost 400 ft tall, we left and made our way to the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose. The drive through the forest was beautiful, if a bit curvey. The small towns we came across were beautiful. And the house was worth the trip.

Despite everything....

No matter how hard it gets or how upset I get, I know that true friends know the truth. And my father will always send me an email that makes me smile, just like he knew I needed it.

Today was one of those days.

THE ROAD IS NEVER LONG BETWEEN FRIENDS

Sometimes in life, you find a special friend;
Someone who changes your life, just by being part of it.
Someone who makes you laugh until you can't stop;
Someone who makes you believe that there really is good in the world.
Someone who convinces you that there really is an unlocked door just waiting for you to open it.

LIFE IS SHORT

They say it takes a minute to find a special person,
an hour to appreciate them,
a day to love them,
but then an entire life,
to forget them.