Girl In The City

That to me in which that Sarah Palin that which has that officially lost her mind. That.

Tuesday, October 21st, 2008 | Anna, Babbling, In the News | No Comments

Sarah Palin has officially come out and said that she supports and wants to “take action against” gay marriage stating that she’s FOR a constitutional ban on gay marriage.

You can watch her response to the question yourself here or read a follow up article here that includes the entire transcript of her answer. You’ll need the transcript since, once again, she has trouble using her big girl words and falls all over herself trying to get the point across.

And in case you have a lazy finger here is a repost of her answer:

“I am, in my own, state, I have voted along with the vast majority of Alaskans who had the opportunity to vote to amend our Constitution defining marriage as between one man and one woman. I wish on a federal level that that’s where we would go because I don’t support gay marriage,” Palin said.

“I’m not going to be out there judging individuals, sitting in a seat of judgment telling what they can and can’t do, should and should not do, but I certainly can express my own opinion here and take actions that I believe would be best for traditional marriage and that’s casting my votes and speaking up for traditional marriage that, that instrument that it’s the foundation of our society is that strong family and that’s based on that traditional definition of marriage, so I do support that.”

I guess I’ll start at the beginning as her first stumble happens when she states:

I’m not going to be out there judging individuals, sitting in a seat of judgment telling what they can and can’t do, should and should not do

Then, without even taking a breath follows it up with:

but I certainly can express my own opinion here and take actions that I believe would be best for traditional marriage and that’s casting my votes and speaking up for traditional marriage that

Okay? I’m left walking away wondering what the hell exactly it is she’s saying here. She’s not going to judge The Gays from her awesome Seat of Judgment™ (probably upholstered in moose hide with a fabulous wolf blanket draped elegantly across the back) but she is going to tell us her opinion (the one where she judges) and if give the chance would vote to rip The Rights Rug™ right out from under people who (in her judgment) don’t deserve the rights GIVEN TO US IN THE SAME DAMN CONSTITUTION SHE’S TRYING TO CHANGE.

The rest of it is just… well, this… errr, that:

that, that instrument that it’s the foundation of our society is that strong family and that’s based on that traditional definition of marriage, so I do support that.

Since it’s one big word vomit sentence that should have been summed up in about five words I can only assume that she had previously entered into some kind of contest where you win a big prize, perhaps that Seat of Judgment™, by saying “that” the most times in one sentence.

Seriously now.

Hopefully all of those elusive and much talked about “undecideds” out there are seeing these things and are paying attention. I wish more people were willing to set their feelings of sex aside and see people for, well, exactly that; people. To me this entire subject should be a non-issue because there should be no distinction made between the sexes and love. People love people. There is so much time and effort put into making gay marriage such a negative thing while all around there are heterosexual marriages falling apart. Do you see gay people pointing out how many marriages FAIL? Because chances are, half of you reading this either have had or will have a failed marriage. So if you are one of those 50% then I ask, who the hell are you to judge what SHOULD and SHOULD NOT constitute what a marriage SHOULD be?

Do you think that Sarah Palin has sat down and NOT JUDGED her sister for having a failed marriage? Does Sarah Palin think that her sister has made a mockery of marriage as a whole? Does Sarah Palin think that her sister is going to hell for not serving her husband the way her coveted Bible told her to? I highly doubt it.

I’ve told Ben this before and I honestly believe that in 100 years people are going to look back on this issue and wonder what the hell we were thinking. The same way we look back now and find it hard to believe that at one point women weren’t allowed to vote and that white people owned black people. This issue, people not being allowed to get married, is the same kind of fundamental right that both women and african americans have been afforded and gay people deserve no less.

Tags: election 08, gay rights, issues, prop 8, Sarah Palin, vise president, vote

NaBloPoMo?

Monday, October 20th, 2008 | Anna, Babbling | No Comments

I’m thinking about attempting NaBloPmMo in November. Are any of you going to attempt it? It sounds SO EASY right now to sit here and say that I’m going to post every single day for the next MONTH but I know it’s gonna be a lot harder to DO than SAY. This is the third year and the first two years they had themes to give people something to write about but this year they aren’t doing that. I know there was a book out there somewhere that listed good topics to blog about, I’ll have to see if I can find it. That and some diet pill to keep me awake and I’ll be all set!

Tags: NaBloPoMo

Hello, my name is Anna and I’m a serial series watcher.

Friday, October 17th, 2008 | Anna, As seen on WWW, Babbling, Geek | No Comments

I get REALLY HOOKED on a show, usually after it’s already either 1) well into the the season, or a 2nd or 3rd, etc., or 2) it’s already off the air. So what I do is find a way to watch them online. For a long time this meant having to download them using not so very legal means. Just about a month ago I deleted all six seasons of Sex and The City of my desktop’s hard drive. Right after the end of the last season I suddenly realized it was THE BEST SHOW EVER and then downloaded all six seasons and watched them in order and cried like a baby at the end. I still haven’t gone to see the movie because I’m worried about the emotional damage it might do.

And I don’t know if you remember that time that both Ben and I got somewhat COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY OBSESSED with 24 after it had been on the air for three seasons already? And we watched three seasons in a few weeks by watching it every single night and I actually blogged about possibly needing methadone and counseling when it was over.

Then last February we decided we should check out this LOST show that everybody keeps yammering about and: INSTANTLY HOOKED. We watched the first two seasons on DVD from Netflix when Season three had already started so we DVR’d the third season then watched them when we were done with one and two. Then we died from embarrassment and shame.

Then, dear internet, then about two weeks ago I finally took the time to take a look at Hulu and it was like I hit the mother load. Bones, Fringe, Nip/Tuck… all shows I never really took the time to watch before and now I’ve caught up on all of them… while at work. heh

But the best, BEST, OMGBEST!!!! They have all 14 original episodes of Firefly in the correct order. *swoon* I had never really gotten the chance to watch the show properly and after seeing Serenity (LOVE that movie and it still gets the most play on my iPhone) then watching some of the shows out of order, it was really confusing. But not anymore! I watched all 14 episodes in TWO DAYS, then started watching them AGAIN today because: HEART

I can’t believe this show was taken off the air. Given the massive fan base of the TV show, then the movie, it’s just a SHAME. After I finished the season I did more reading about it and Joss Whedon originally planned for it to be a seven year series and my poor broken heart aches to know what WOULD have happened. How long would it have taken them to realize River’s full potential? When were Mal and Inara FINALLY going to stop being stubborn and just DO IT ALREADY? What was the real deal with Shepherd Book and why DOES he know so much about crime and it’s major players? These are questions that I’ll never get answered! NEVER! How am I supposed to go on with no resolution!? No ENDING!? No Mal and Inara DOING IT?!

Anyway, in case you’re, like, into that kinda stuff, you can follow all my obsessing via my hulu feed. But I warn you, if you intend to be the least bit productive, DO NOT CHECK IT OUT AT WORK.

Tags: firefly, Geek, Hulu, TV

This zit’s under pressure.

Monday, October 13th, 2008 | Anna, Babbling, Uncategorized | No Comments

I have been extremely stressed out to the max lately. Like, FAMILY stress so it’s the worst kind. Not only has my exema been completely out of control, which it bad enough on it’s own, but I’ve had this massive, horrible, ugly, monsterous zit right in the middle of my left cheek. It’s like a flashing billboard that warns anybody near buy to NOT MESS WITH THE STRESSED GIRL or risk perminant damage. heh

I finally am feeling better though so I picked up some blackhead remover at the store and now people aren’t walking around me while giving me a 10 foot girth.

Tags: acne, drama, real life, stress, zit

Security within reason.

Wednesday, September 10th, 2008 | Anna, Cassidy | 1 Comment

We’ve been giving Cassidy more and more freedom on the compter lately and although we monitor her a lot and have set down a very strict set of guidelines, there is always some concern about her saftey and what she’s being exposed to.

I’ve considered stepping it up a lavel and putting a keylogger on her computer but I don’t ever want to be THAT parent. You know, the overbearing, obsessive freak that reads her email and tracks her every move. What do you think? Is putting in the keylogger taking it a bit too far?

Before and after: COMING SOON!

Sunday, August 31st, 2008 | Anna, Babbling | No Comments

I know that I keep saying that I’m going to  take some shots of the house and post them but I hate having to take “in progress” shots.  I have the living room probably 80% where I want it to be so I’ll get to taking some shots and getting  them posted.

I can’t tell you how rewarding it is to be getting my hands dirty working on the house every weekend.  I’m so glad I don’t have to worry about things like mesothelioma since the house is only 10 years old. Ben has been up in the attic twice.

So, pictures soon.

Tags: Church, House

Macro Monday: Burned out.

Monday, August 18th, 2008 | Anna, Macro Monday, photo | No Comments

This is a shot I took last week but wanted to use it for my Macro Monday shot today. This is the guts of a light bulb from the master bathroom that fell and shattered when Ben was changing them out. I loved how it looked so I snapped some shots of it before throwing it away.

It kinda reminds me of the clean lines of an Oscar de la Renta watch or piece of jewelry. It’s always cool when you see something so simple but can immediately see it as a piece of artwork also. I’m loving Macro Monday for that reason, it’s causing me to look at common household items in a whole new light.

Tags: light bulb, Macro Monday, photography, photos

Five Years Later.

Monday, August 18th, 2008 | Anna, Babbling, Ben | No Comments

Five years ago tomorrow Ben showed up at my house in Bakersfield at 3AM and told me “Move now or we are going to fall apart.”

I moved, we still almost fell apart, and then I got on some good medicine and now, five years later, I’m closer to sane than ever. We still have good days and we still have some bad ones. I’m still a bit crazy and he’s still the rock of stability I cling to when I feel my outer wall start to crumble a bit. He’s SUCH AN AMAZING father to a tween that doesn’t make it easy a lot of the time.

I read blogs from that time and I think, “Who the hell IS that girl!?” I had no clue where I was going or where I needed to be. Now, we’re married, we just bought our first home together, I am in the place I was searching for endlessly back then, HERE is where I was always meant to be.

Also, he’s as hot as ever and he still makes me laugh (at MYSELF) every single day.

Happy Kinda Anniversary, Ben. (k) Maybe treat your awesome wife to a laughlin hotels trip?! *grin*

PS - That’s a picture of us in Pismo about five years ago taken by the awesome Miss Lisa.

You’re not drunk if you can lie on the floor without holding on.

Monday, August 4th, 2008 | Anna | 11 Comments

So, I’ve been really BAD about getting photos up but it PAINS me to have to take a bunch of pictures of BOXES in the NEW HOUSE because that’s not what I want it’s “first impression” to be.

I know I need to just get over it. Meh. We are nearing the finish line with the unpaking though so hopefully there will be some soon.

INSTEAD! VIDEO*! YAY!

We wanted Hans to get to go outside to smell around but neither one of us was comortable with just letting him out loose and free so we picked up a small dog halter at PetSmart. We decided to put it on a bit before letting him go out to get used to the halter and OMG it was the best 30 minutes of comedy EVER. When we put the thing on him he immediately started walking like he was drunk and would THROW himself onto the ground and grind around to try and get it off. He’d highstep his walking and rub himself against walls then just suddenly SLAM his body into the ground. It was serioulsy awesome.

That’s also the new video camera I bought FOREVER AGO from Macy’s and arrived the DAY BEFORE we moved. When I saved the video I should have used the max settings. Ah well, live and learn. I’ll probably be doing a write up of it on my review site soon.

*No animals were harmed in the making of this video, however, the humans are a bit sore from laughing so hard.

As every cat owner knows, nobody owns a cat.

Friday, July 25th, 2008 | Anna | 17 Comments

We are officially in the NEW HOUSE. I will continue to capitalize till the NEW HOUSE feel wears off because that’s how I say it in real life. “We went to the NEW HOUSE last night to unlock the gate so the guy could get into the back yard of the NEW HOUSE to work on the NEW HOT TUB.” People look at me a little odd when I say it but no more than usual so I’m used to it.

There was more NEW HOUSE drama yesterday when after work, I swung by the old house to pick up the cats and all the alcohol. I’m not sure why the most important things made it to the NEW HOUSE last.

Ben and the movers had been there and gone so the house was dead quiet and pretty empty. Both the cats aren’t really people lovers so I wasn’t surprised that they’d gone outside when their territory was invaded by several Samoans who were taking all their stuff away.

Hans was in the back yard and when I opened the door he was a little wary, but as soon as he saw it was me he came running and was all, “MAI HOOMAN!! I HAZ HAPPY AND REEKWIRE KEESES AND HUGZ!!” But I couldn’t find KC anywhere. I hung around for an hour and a half packing my car up and calling and calling and Hans kept looking at me like “MY GAWD I’M RIGHT HERE” but no KC anywhere. She’s usually the one that never leaves the yard, or the HOUSE for that matter, so I was a bit concerned. I ended up leaving Hans for that trip thinking that if she came back, he’d be there too so she’d hang around.

I told Ben I was worried so after dinner we drove back over in the truck to pack up a load of the smaller stuff and again we called and called and no KC. I packed up Hans to take back to the NEW HOUSE and as we drove away Ben assured me that KC was probably just hiding out somewhere still pissed off at the ENORMOUS men that had been in her house all afternoon and that she’d turn bacK up. I was pretty sick with worry. I honestly don’t know how the fat ass could have gotten over a fence… she has a hard time hauling all the weight onto our BED. Plus, she has no front claws so I had this horrible vision of some bastard male cat tearing her up. I left the back door open and her food and water dish out so she could get to it and decided to come back before work in the morning to look for her again.

So we get Hans to the NEW HOUSE and he’s not please AT ALL. He hides behind the toilet for the first hour then follows me around letting me know he’s pissed for the rest of the time till we got into bed around 11:00PM. I took a shower and passed the hell out since we’d been up till 1:30 AM that morning doing last minute packing and disassembling furniture for the movers.

For two whole hours I slept and it felt SO GOOD…

And then at 1:00AM Hans started meowing. And meowing. And meowing. And meowing.

Hans doesn’t like to use litter boxes. He goes outside like a dog to do his business but there’s no way I’m turning him loose in a new neighborhood when he’s not even used to the house yet. He’ll use the litter box if it’s NECESSARY, but otherwise he’ll hold it till somebody lets him out.

Ben: Do you think he forgot where the litter box is?
Me: *mumble*
Ben: I’m going to take him downstairs and show him again.
Me: *mumble*

OMG QUIET! *fall asleep*

Five minutes later…

Ben: I think he’ll be better now.
Me: Did he go?
Ben: He pooped and peed.
Me: Awesome.

OMG QUIET! *fall alseep*

Five minutes later Hans started meowing. And meowing. And meowing. And meowing.

At 2:00AM I put a pillow over my head to try and sleep.

At 3:00AM I put ANOTHER pillow over my head to try and sleep.

At 4:00AM he caught on and SAT ON MY HEAD and clawed at my arm.

At 4:30AM my alarm clock went off so I could leave early to check for KC and the old house.

So I got 4 hours of sleep Wednesday and 2 hours last night. And I want to strangle Hans with his own tail.

At 4:45AM Ben and I both got up… and Hans stopped meowing. He got so quiet, in fact, that Ben was worried he had gotten outside. I don’t think he did. I was REALLY careful when I was leaving to make sure that he wasn’t anywhere near the door. I think he’s just SO EXHAUSTED FROM KEEPING US UP ALL NIGHT that he climbed into a pile of boxes somewhere to fall asleep.

I got to the old house at 5:30AM, held my breath and opened the door… and there is KC. Her reaction was completely different than Hans’. It was more like, “WTF HOOMAN!? I HAZ BEEN UP ALL NITE! U R GROUNDED!” I was so overcome with relief that I walked over to pick her up and give her love and she turned her back to me and pranced away like “WHATEVER, I HAZ NO LOVE 2 GIVE.”

So now I’m at work and EXHAUSTED and frustrated and I both cats are pretty high up on my shit list. I think that part of Hans freaking the fuck out last night was that KC was missing. I mean, part of it was being that he couldn’t go out but he usually stays in all night and doesn’t go out till I get up in the morning. But it’s a new strange place and his buddy was missing and I think that had KC been there, he wouldn’t have been quite as freaked out. At least, that’s what I’m telling myself now. If he pulls that shit again tonight I’m gonna lock him in the bathroom with the litter box and food. If I don’t get some sleep tonight there’s a good chance I’LL start pacing the room meowing…

Other than all that, the house is AWESOME. I unpacked a lot of the kitchen last night and every time I walk through a room I love it more and more and more. This just feels so RIGHT. This place, this time, it’s so right for us. We are going to be really happy here.