A Glimmer of Hope

Today I actually got a semi response to some of my questions from my lenders. It's not everything that I asked and there are still questions but it's a start and I can start faxing over more paperwork... yay, finally feel like we are moving forward again.

AWWWWWWWWW

OMG!!!!! the past few weeks I have been dealing with our rate lock.. I was getting a notice that our rate lock was going to expire on June 26th which would have sucked because we are still in escrow for another month. When I locked the rate I told them it was a 60 day escrow and assumed they would lock my rate for 60 days... well I was wrong. I sent email after email to the lender and they kept saying they were going to looking into it.. but nothing every came of it.. finally on the day of the expiration I emailed them one last time and get a response that they extended the rate lock at there expense for another 30 days.. so I was happy. Well I checked this morning and it looks like they extended it for only another 15 days so now it expires on July 15th which is two weeks short of our escrow closing... now it's back to emailing them and trying to figure out what the heck is going on.

An Old Guy

Talk about getting through as the gate closes!

James Parker, that inimitable artist from Texas has his own challenge blog. For the month of June he decided to post 'Wrinklies' and what a wonderful subject! Nothing like the character in those facial lines of old folk, and because I'm heading in that direction, I like the idea of trumpeting those face maps.

But the deadline for sending it to him is TODAY. Luckily I'm quite a few hours ahead of the States, so I should just make it.

From tomorrow he will posting pics of doggies - one of my favourite subjects - check it out.

Here's my June 'Wrinkly' with a bit of a glare from the wet paint.

Where Do You Volunteer?

Volunteer work.

It holds a special place in my heart (as corny as it sounds). And I'm not trying to brag or anything, but people who know me are always questioning how I'm able to volunteer so much. People act like it's impossible to find the time to volunteer, but it's honestly extremely easy to do.

Each week, I volunteer a few hours of my time to help out my local hospital. And it's not difficult to do! I simply help by doing little assignments here and there that greatly help the staff in the long run.

But one thing I think that people misunderstand about volunteer work is that they believe it's boring and a waste of time. But here's the catch: It doesn't have to be! It is so easy to find a volunteer niche that is perfect for you! For me, volunteer work isn't a chore, but a pleasure!

I have volunteered time at my school with my fellow friends and classmates as a part of an organization talking about the effects of bad decisions while on the road and why people should choose to drive safely and filled with awareness. And I would really like to think that it made a difference.

There are so many different ways you can volunteer in your community. For a teen, like myself, there are many options available for you to volunteer in your community.

-Volunteer your time at a sibling's school helping out in the classroom. It really does help the teacher to have an extra helper!

-Volunteer at an afterschool program, such as the Boys and Girls Club, to help kids with their homework. It is so important that kids receive the help that they need in school!

-Volunteer to help clean up your park sometime! It's important that kids have a safe and clean environment to play in!

So, as you can see, there are many easy ways for you to volunteer! And if you don't want to be alone, bring a friend with you! Not only will you have someone to talk to as you clean up the park, but double the amount of work will be done!

And, as I finish up, I know that there are endless possibilities of ways you can volunteer in your community. How do all of you volunteer?

Alyssa Montgomery
http://amontgomery99.blogspot.com/
Author of Where Are You?, Mr. Mysterious, and 9:53 PM (from the Heat of the Moment Anthology).

Update on the House Adventure

Still struggling with the lenders (Bank of America). Both of my contacts at BofA don't seem to be in any hurry to answer my questions. It's very frustrating as I just want to get all this paperwork into to them but can't since several numbers are wrong on the paperwork because of price change and other stuff they are requesting I have no idea what they are asking for... so I'm at a stand still as the clock keeps ticking away towards our closing date. All I know if I had to do it all over again I would never pick Bank of America, I've banked with them for over 18 years and never had many issues.. but they lack any kind of customer service in there loan department. Once this is all over I'm going to be sending them a "nice" letter letting them know how I truly feel.. until then I have to be nice since they hold my house in their hands... uggg..

Blue Duck Tavern

To celebrate two years of married bliss, we recently hit up the West End's Blue Duck Tavern--you could walk to Georgetown from Foggy Bottom hundreds of times and not realize this restaurant at the first floor of the Park Hyatt at 24th & M Streets NW.

First, I had the spring pea soup with cuttlefish ravioli, and J had the warm asparagus with mushrooms and a poached egg. Both were good, mine was better. There's nothing like peas in the spring/summer time. The servings were very nice, and the food was delicate. Every flavor was accessible and pleasant.





For dinner, I ordered the duck breast. Ever since we went to Farrah Olivia, I’ve been trying to order that well again. When I got that quail, I’d never even had quail before. But it sounded delicious and I went for it, and it was amazing. So even though the duck was okay (maybe better for someone who loves duck breast from the start), it wasn’t a Farrah Olivia quail situation. I’m trying not to get the same old white flaky fish + side vegetable when I go out—I can make that at home! (And I do...).



I liked J’s dinner. He had the braised beef rib. Reviews online were mixed on this, some liked it, others said it was ok but nothing special. I thought it was delicious. I liked the sauce a lot, and it was so darn tender. I like how it was served “on the bone,” as in literally just sitting on top of a bone. Chewing was pretty much unnecessary, the meat was melt-in-your-mouth buttery. If your birthday falls on the week you get your wisdom teeth pulled, go to BDT and get this dish.


Also: online there are mixed reviews about the fries. Some people are like, “I don’t get it. What’s the big deal?” or “Maybe I’m not a fry person, but I just don’t know what’s so special...”

Dear Naysayers: Stop wasting the calories on what you aren’t enjoying, and bring them to me. I am wanting your fries now thxkbye. We seriously mention them at least once a week. Especially when we see crappy skimpy fries. We're like, "HAH! They are no Blue Duck."

The fries are HUGE square cut characters that are well-seasoned without being salty and SUPER potatoey. I loved them.



BDT is sort of family style. I say sort of because the dishes are large enough that they are easy to share, but not huge enormous platters or something. This is important to know for the desserts. You don’t get a slice of apple pie, you get a little mini pie. Ours was cinnamony and gooey and delicious.



Overall, BDT is a touch pricy, but with generous servings, good food, and really fantastic service. You will not be rushed.

Blue Duck Tavern
24 & M Sts NW
Metro: Orange and Blue Lines to Foggy Bottom

Armed with a Weed Wacker

A couple summers ago, my daughter Lauren received an invitation to be a student ambassador for People to People, an organization started by President Dwight Eisenhower for the purpose of inflicting American teens on the rest of the world.

Of course, texting, IPod, MTV, Reality shows and all that didn't exist back then, but that wouldn't stop our teens from invading the rest of the world and serving notice why the US shouldn't be messed with, now, or when our teens grew up... mostly because we'd have a new crop of teens by then.

Before Lauren's particular group of ambassadors jetted off to England, Spain, France and Italy to commit mayhem not seen since the Huns, they decided to do a group building volunteer expedition at Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie.

Lauren, of course, immediately volunteered her father to come along ... mostly because she knew, a) I'd do it, and b) no way Mom would go if there was a chance of ticks, mosquitoes or deer flies.

I figured, no sweat. Tall grass, right? I'm pretty handy with a Weed Wacker.

Ha, little did I realize.

Midewin is the first natural tall grass prairie in the country (rumor has it there are a few short grass prairies). It's located on the former Joliet Arsenal Plant, and is crisscrossed with rail tracks connecting a series of huge concrete bunkers. The concrete bunkers are still there, great mounded buildings buried under earth and grasses with heavy doors that would likely withstand a two year old's tantrum.

They needed volunteers to move old dynamite off the grounds. And since teens are disposible, who better?

Just kidding, we were going there to move railroad ties.

Now if you know anything about railroad ties, it's this. They're heavy. Even more than normal wood because they inject chemicals to make them weather resistant. Some of them were under water in ditches, so they were waterlogged to shoe, er, to boot.

We had a tractor and a dump truck, and we weren't allowed to drive either of them. Silly them. But we could wrap chains around the railroad ties, and maneuver them into position. So that's what we did all day.

Did it build character? I dunno. I know it built a hurt spot in my back. And it was particularly thrilling when I discovered a tick climbing the bathroom wall during my shower afterwards.

But Lauren learned something about the world, some history of nearby Joliet, and spent time with strangers who would later become friends during three weeks in Europe.

And I learned you can't pick up a railroad tie with a weed wacker.

Norm

http://fangplace.blogspot.com

Guild Shoot

Today was one of the best times I have had on the Guild shoots.. and I have had many fun times but this day was the best so far. I can't share any details of what we shoot but man fans are going to go nuts. So until that time I can't say anything but I have some fun stories, pictures and video to share once everything is revealed.

Two Donkeys

Four months ago I took a two month break from watercolour painting. That was the last thing I should have done as I am now really struggling with my watercolours.

I love the medium but freely admit that oils are my preferred choice. But the discipline and clarity of watercolours will always attract. As a result I have spent ages on paintings, only to tear them up in frustration. Overworking again and again, even though I know I'm doing it but can't help it!

But if nothing else, I'm stubborn and will persevere until I get better at it. After all, isn't that what art is about?

This comes from a photograph taken in the Baviaanskloof area - there was a handler in the picture, but I just concentrated on the donkeys.

Kenobi

Since today was a short shoot day Harry and I were finally able to go see my new nephew Kenobi Michael. He's been home from the hospital for two weeks and I have been dying to go see him and this was the first opportunity that I have had. When I got there he was sleeping and I didn't want to wake him up. But after few minutes he was awake so I picked him up and held him. He is super small.. but gaining weight up to 6lb and a few ounces.
Lora (sister-in-law) asked if I wanted to feed him as he was starting to cry. I said sure and sat down on the couch and feed my nephew for the first time.. it was alot of fun. It's amazing holding your own flesh and blood. I have held babies before but this one was different, this one was apart of me. I feed him for a bit then burped him. I think I did a pretty good job and told Harry I could do this if we had one of our own, he gave me a look. Of course they then asked if I wanted to change his diaper and that's when I handed him back to his mommy.. wasn't quite ready for that.. :) But it was a fun visit, hung out with my brother and sister in law as my dad was sick and upstairs. After that Harry and I went and pick up some Chinese food from my favorite place in Corona called Hong Kong Restaurant and then went home and had a good night eating Chinese food and watching some TV.

Embarrassment is Relative

Mary C. had it right in the previous posting: I didn't have any embarrassing relatives. So I decided to pick one event where a few relatives got to be temporarily embarrassing. That would be my sister's wedding.

My older sister had one of those huge wedding receptions, where my dad invited everyone he worked with and apparently, everyone he knew. You know the sort of wedding where you only recognize approximately 40% of the people coming at you in the reception line? That kind of wedding.

During the course of the evening, which involved a lot of celebrating, my best friend, also a member of my sister's bridal party, came up to me and confided in a horrified whisper that a dreadful old man kept inviting her to sit on his lap. My friend was drop-dead gorgeous, 19 years old, and somewhere between appalled and terrified. I asked her to point out the old man, and of course it was my Uncle Vernon after a little too much champagne. Then there was the groomsman who followed some of us into the lady's room to let us know we were needed for pictures. We stopped him before he started banging on the stall doors. Uh, a little privacy here? And my older brother was seen to be hanging by his fingertips from some construction scaffolding outside the hotel later that night. Sigh. Big get-togethers with all the relatives. What would life be without them?

So why is Paris Hilton at the top of this post, you might be asking? Well, it comes down to this. My family can get a little nuts during happy occasions but, I'd still rather be related to all of them than related to --

Dairy Godmother - Sweet Chair

OK, but what if I want to sit where Sasha sat?!?!


Dairy Godmother
2310 Mount Vernon Avenue
Del Ray
No, you can't take the Metro there (but you can take the motorcade)

More Guildie Goodiness

Today there was a three hour Guild thing (can't say what.. I hate not being able to share with you guys, as it's way too cool) but I went to shoot some BTS of it. It was a lot of fun and hopefully when it's announced I'll be able to share more.. got lots of photos and video.

BTS with Greg

Today was my last day of my shooting BTS with my new buddy Greg. It's been a lot of fun and I'll miss hanging with him every night. The footage I got is going to be AWESOME and this BTS is going to be very cool. I plan on working with Greg on other projects as well and when I'm able to tell you about this BTS and Greg I'll be sharing some very cool stories. Thanks Greg for making this such a fun week of shooting BTS.

Mening Of Tender Breat

Death of Michael Jackson on Twitter

Losing a star has its downside, but when it is a cuadrazo as Michael Jackson, twitter burn but bad thing. Here is a compilation of tweets about the death of (Michael Jackson, Jacko for children). Michael, your surgeons do not forget.

add me as I go out there.


Alakazaam Gone are the huge bags of candy in Neverland.

ricardo_bpm finally face to face, Michael Jackson and the Duke of Feria! The battle of the millennium! San Pedro trembles! First round - go! fight!

pamplinero If Michael Jackson was "the Peter Pan of pop" and had that look I do not even think of how it should be "Captain Hook's pop."

Dhaunae: RT Police Investigating the death of Michael Jackson Have Ruled out the sunshine, the moonlight, and the good times Blame it on the boogie.

culoman As my partner says, "What danger! Michael Jackson is in heaven, where angels have sex but have no ass!"

culoman REIOs what you want, but he had a monkey and we do not: (

lawinehouse @ niñojesús hide behind the cloud and pray all you know.

MiMesaCojea Michael, white, at last .

TheOnion BREAKING: Last Piece Of Michael Jackson Dies

Pamplinero Antena 3 has announced it will produce a TV movie about the life of Michael Jackson with Pepon Nieto Michael and Kira looked like Macaulay

laquintacolumna Michael Jackson is not dead, has returned to his planet.

PunkQueen also now be happy in heaven, seated at the right of Mickey Mouse.

PunkQueen was not dead, it was Farrah.

MissKiddo I think long worms that decomposers were moved to Michael, so we danced so well.

elfuegoamigo From a Liverpool fan: 'You'll Never Moonwalk Alone "

Laquintacolumna The Yonkyo of my people have read that we've run out of Jacko and has been nervous.

Tyrexito Do you remember when the canard that he was dead Ana Torroja came to TV news? Is not there a youtube of that?

Risingson "no one else was amazed how many friends you survive mariliendre Hollywood, Elizabeth Taylor?

laquintacolumna I guess the coroner Michael Jackson-"Time of death?-August 1992.

MissKiddo with children who go to bed, stiff rises.

laquintacolumna RIP The king of rock, the RIP king of pop .. For when the king of fried chicken?

pamplinero is not dead, this is a trick to Macaulay out of his hiding place and prepare an ambush at the funeral.

Juanpi With Influenza A Jacko stabilized and ousted the actions of companies on the stock market collapse masks

laquintacolumna The Yonkyo of my people have read that we've run out of Jacko and has been nervous.

Guerraeterna Leo LaToya Jackson left the hospital with his face covered. Luckily

Juanpi expected to begin distribution of inheritance: the carousel pa ti, pa my little train chu chu Jar pal rok white socks ...

abarbero Come on, Michael, go out dancing, that you do it great, your body moves like a palm, soft soft, su-su-soft!

Battery TxarkoTxarkez Jacko jokes, please.

_M_I_A_ MICHAEL JACKSON the first 2 words i eva spoke Inglés. sucx the future! Vigalondo

the end, instead of Coto Matamoros Michael Jackson has died. Do not know about you, but I do not believe in coincidences.

pushpull @ lawinehouse Farrah, Michael ... you just in case, a bed and orfidal

♫ @ lawinehouse Pintoor / you paint with amooor / Michael Jackson paints a neee ... White "? Gray? ♫

@ lawinehouse Another falling. If the end I will enterreraros everyone. Know.

Goodbye to the King of Pop

Today while I was at lunch with some co-workers one of the best entertainers was dying. When I got back from lunch I jumped on my computer and started to check twitter. I was seeing a bunch of twitter saying "Michael Jackson is dead". I then went to CNN to see if this was a rumor. On there website it said he had suffered cardiac arrest. Only TMZ was reporting his death, and TMZ isn't the most reliable news source. It then was a media blitz as different places were saying different things and for the next hour no one really knew what was going on.

The world was mourning the lost of Farrah Fawcett earlier in the day and this new news was unbelievable. But as the time pass and we got more news it was looking bleaker and bleaker until most of the major news studios were reporting his death and finally the LA corner came out and official announced he had died.

It's amazing how much someones death, that you have never met, can effect you. At first it was shock and disbelief, then turned into sadness and loss. Michael Jackson was such a huge part of my life. I have listened to his music from as early as I can remember. He will always be one of my all time favorite performers.

Michael Jackson broke down the racial barriers, generational barriers, and cultural barriers. He touched the lives of so many people. I was watching the news tonight and there were white, black, Asian, Indian, Mexican, old, young, female and male people crying at the loss of the King of Pop. He was loved by the world. I won't deny that he did some bizarre things that were unexplainable, but who are we to judge. I'll always remember the man that brought so much joy to my life.

His life will live on in his music and videos and I am so grateful for all that he has given us.

Thank you Michael for touching my soul.

Does A Slightly Embarrassing Cousin Count??

My most embarrassing relative...

This week's topic is a tough one for me because I can't remember any embarrassing relatives! The closest I have is a cousin, two years younger than I, who was a holy terror when we were kids. No secret. Even he admits it. Neighbors would flee when this six-year-old stalked the sidewalks, slingshot in hand.

I remember one particular bus trip when "Bobby" (not his real name), his mother, my mom and I were going "uptown" to shop. (I should explain that "downtown" was the shopping district in our small hometown. Shopping "uptown" meant traveling about an hour by bus to Louisville, the largest city.)

Anyway, when "Bobby" wasn't thoroughly annoying every single passenger by running up and down the aisle sticking his tongue out at them, he was hanging out the bus window, thumbs stuck in both ears, fingers waving, giving the, naaaah-naaaah-naaaah salute. For you younger readers, this would be equivalent to one of the more disrespectful gestures of today. I still remember my mother's shock and embarrassment, but I thought it was pretty funny.

Amazingly, "Bobby" grew up! Especially considering, when he was about 8, he wrapped a bath towel over his shoulders, climbed onto the roof of his house and did a Superman impersonation. Results? Six months in a leg cast.

I'm not sure if it was that incident or divine intervention, but before he got into high school, he changed. The brat was gone; replaced by a quiet, studious teenager. He still had a funny side and was a great practical joker, but the jokes were all in good fun. He went on to become a successful businessman with many lifelong friends.

So, that's all I've got. A slightly annoying younger cousin. I don't know if I simply don't remember being embarrassed by my relatives, or if I was just too busy being embarrassed by myself.

Mary Cunningham is the author of the award-winning series, "Cynthia's Attic," and "Ghost Light," 'tween fiction/short story (Kindle).

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Special BTS

Though the crew is off for a week or so I continue to shoot BTS. Today once again I played hooky from work and am hanging out with Greg all day. We are working on a very cool DVD extra that fans are going to love. We hung out all day and chatted about geeky things and got some great work done. Man you Guild fans are in for a real treat.. this TOP SECRET project is going to blow your socks off and the BTS is going to rock as well. You just wait...

The Embarrassment Was Mutual!

by Pam Ripling

My brother told my friends that I lived in a closet. No lie. He was, at 17, already a great cartoonist, and he drew a picture of me with the heading, “MOLE HOLE” and taped it onto my bedroom door. Later, he thought better of it, and moved it to the hall closet door. Oh, my friends thought it was a riot!

He once tried to trade me a silver dollar for a plush bunny I’d received for Easter. No dice! I wouldn’t have given it to him for all the tea in Chinatown. I wanted that dollar, but no way was I negotiating with my arch-nemesis.

I got back at him, though. He had a little record player in his room, and although I wasn’t technically allowed to play in his room, I would. Sneak that I was. I turned on that record player and gave Barbie the ride of her life. Grew bored, left it going. Brother came home from high school with friends, had to explain Thrill Ride Barbie. Snort.

He was a pen-and-ink artist. I was fascinated by those little black bottles of India ink. So fascinated that I once dumped one on his bed. Oops. But he delighted in telling everyone that I was in love with Bobby Sherman or David Cassidy or whomever was my current heartthrob. So I wrote on his car. With paste.

Today, we are the best of friends and hardly ever embarrass each other. I think the teasing, razzing and pranks actually brought us closer somehow. Still, I do bring along a jar of paste when I visit him, just in case. You never know.

Pam Ripling is the author of middle-grade mystery, LOCKER SHOCK! Buy it at Quake, Fictionwise or Amazon today! E-book version now available for your Kindle! Visit Pam at www.BeaconStreetBooks.com.

Courthouse Farmers' Market

So that sign is new. Or last year I totally walked by it every Saturday and didn't notice?

What's new with Courthouse Farmers' Market: Quail Creek Farm has joined us recently! Yummmm. The brioche is AWESOME (ahem, three of us downed a loaf during brunch. "Just one more slice with a little more jam," we promised ourselves.) I think if you made French toast with it, you'd immediately be transported to a magical land of happiness. The pain au chocolat and chocolate chip cookies are divine. Pain au chocolat for breakfast (pairs well with some Euro Market iced coffee, I promise), and for dessert a chocolate chip cookie. The cookie was fluffy and cakey, not thin and crispy like LPQ. Both good, but totally different. You couldn't dip this one in milk, because it would fall apart.



Everyone loves these people already. It's only been a few weeks, but their absence was much mourned a couple Saturdays ago when they were absent. I overheard several inquiries to the egg/dairy tent in QC's place.



And, as per us[ual], the line at the Westmoreland Farms tent snakes around the truck and down the sidewalk. One half of each couple swears they "aren't going to wait in this ridiculous line just for some berries" but then, alas, pouting ensues and everybody waits. Every year they have unbelievable blackberries, although I haven't seen them yet (it's a little early, and I was gone this past weekend), but recently it's been all about the strawberries. People bring back their Westmoreland crates week after week to fill up on the great-looking and great-tasting produce. The most hilarious thing about Westmoreland is that when you walk a few blocks back home with your purchases, you will either (a) be stopped at least once by someone asking "where did you get those berries?!" or (b) overhear one person say to another "holy @*%$, did you see those berries?"



And there are some antiques, the Cookie Lady, and some cute jewelry and dresses. To fit in, bring your reusable shopping bag, wear your running shorts, and push a stroller full of baby cuteness.

Courthouse Farmers' Market
Courthouse Parking Lot - N. Courthouse Road & 14th Street
Metro: Orange Line to Courthouse

More Guildie Fun

Today I played hooky from work so I could go out on set as it was alot of location shooting and I wanted to be part of it. The day started off rocky as my alarm didn't go off and I woke up 2 hours late.. shoot started at 7:30 and I got there around 10ish, but I did get footage of a very cool scene that I was looking forward too so it wasn't a total lose. We then went on to the second location were I did alot of walking. And by the the end of day was sore and sunburned.

I did manage to get myself into a scene for Season Three. There is a scene (that I can not mention) but they needed a few extras so I volunteered. I'm thinking I'll get a chance again in July when we start shooting again.

All in all it was a long, but fun day of shooting.. now the crew takes a week and a half off to recoup.. while I continue to shot BTS of this very cool project.

Can Driverlicense Generator

Why VALE would not exist for men? SO had learned to do a good cunnilingus, fellatio good and ... the theory of sexual reproduction.

Downtown Lunch Spot Breadline Closed for Health Code Violations

Eeek. Breadline is closed for now because of health code violations. I don't go there that often, but it can be an easy place to get a nice (albeit expensive) salad or sandwich with a friend when you are in that food-deprived area. When you're like, "No, I cannot possibly have Cosi again." You know those times!

Let's be honest, we've seen vermin elsewhere, haven't we? And did that place ever close down?

This is sort of making me re-think the time I got sick right before a big test after eating at Breadline last summer. I thought it was the nerves for the test, but maybe this violation has been going on longer than anyone thought.

Thanks to M for the tip!

Breadline
1751 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Metro: Blue and Orange Lines to Farragut West

Ranked and Razzed

When I was twelve, I found EVERYTHING to be extremely embarrassing. I was going through all those awkward dorky changes where I would put on weight for no reason at all, then shoot up twenty inches in my sleep and my jeans would be high waters before I even wore out the knees.

At the time, I lived with my dad, who was remarried—which meant I had a stepbrother. He was thirteen first, so he always rubbed that in, treating me like a baby. Ugh, nothing like a stepbrother needling you every day. (We even broke the knob on our t.v.—yeah, this was before remote controls—fighting over watching the A-team or Little House on the Prairie.)

Anyway, he had this habit of hanging out with his buddies in the kitchen while I was stuck in there doing chores. Standing at the sink, up to my elbows in suds, while he and his friends “ranked” on me, as we called it then, was a nightmare. Ignoring them was even harder. At that age, I was all oogey about boys and stuff, not knowing if I wanted to like them or hate them the rest of my life and become an old lady with billions of a cats.

Of course, when I eventually had my first kiss—there was my stepbrother, staring out the living room window and laughing at me. Talk about embarrassing. I often wondered why I was born in a time when ranking was as popular as break dancing and The Karate Kid. (You can bet I wanted my own Mr. Miyagi to teach me to kick butt!)

They almost made me choose the cats.

Well, I’m a writer now, and I get to use that stuff in my books—and my stepbrother? He is a police officer in a big city—who got razzed when he was fresh out of the academy for crashing all his cruisers. What goes around really comes around, doesn’t it? :)

J.R. Turner is the author of the Extreme Hauntings series. The first book, DFF: Dead Friends Forever is available at Amazon.com, Kindle, Fictionwise, and Echelon Press.com

More BTS

Today was another Guild shoot but I had to miss it due to having to work. But after work today I headed over to Greg's house to shoot some more BTS. I can't tell you much about this speical DVD BTS as it will spoil a HUGE surprise.. all I can say is Greg is an awesome guy and very talented at what he does. Will be spending most of the week with him.

I wish I could tell you more about what this guy does and show you some awesome pictures, all I can say is I was in geek heaven.

Dairy Godmother

You know I love Dairy Godmother. I told you so here. I follow them on Twitter, stay up to date on the flavor forecast, and even check out the custard cam to avoid lines.

So our President is at it again. He visited Dairy Godmother . Sort of like his visit to Ray's (as in, it's one of my favorite places), except this time he left ol' Joe at home and brought the girls instead. See some photos as re-tweeted from @DairyGodmother here.

The thing about both of these places is that they are ALREADY popular. They are ALREADY hits. You ALREADY wait in huge snaking lines at peak times to get what it is that you need and crave to continue living one more day (read: giant juicy not-totally-dead burger + creamy custard in interesting flavors).

So you already know you should go, but for the first time I tried something NEW at DG, and I've been thinking about it ever since I had it. Yes, have the flavor of the day (or at least a bite of someone else's). And yes, have the turtle sundae or the brownie sundae (brownie sundae is for extreme chocolate lovers ONLY). And definitely, most definitely have vanilla custard on whatever cobbler they have going on.

But also, have the flavor of YESTERDAY or maybe TWO days ago on a sandwich. This sandwich is not on cookies. Instead, it is about 2-3 inches of custard in between two slices of CAKE, frozen.

I had lemon meringue pie custard (crust and all) between two slices of yellow cake, and let me tell you...wow. Wow. WOW.

Oh, and bring your dog. They <3 the DG puppy pops.Dairy Godmother
2310 Mount Vernon Avenue
Del Ray
No, you can't take the Metro there (but you can take the motorcade)

Oh, Brother

Virtually everyone I know, besides myself, has an embarrassing relative or two. It's probably a good thing I'm off that particular list...I do an excellent job of embarrassing myself, with no help necessary from anyone else.

There does seem to be a particular demographic which is absolutely plagued with familial black sheep...U.S. Presidents. President Obama was the latest victim of a long, illustrious line of presidents with problem siblings, when his half-brother was arrested in Kenya on drug charges.

Billy Carter may be the most famous of the underachieving presidential siblings, as he used a combination of his brother's P.R. and his own self-deprication to launch a line of beer and a book, "Redneck Power: The Wit and Wisdom of Billy Carter." Unfortunately for Billy, public interest in him waned at about the same time his brother's term was up, and "Billy Beer" got poured down the drain.

There are more, of course: both President George W. Bush and President Clinton had siblings who often fell afoul of the law. Lyndon B. Johnson solved this problem by keeping his brother, Sam Houston, a virtual prisoner of the White House, to keep him out of trouble and the public eye.

So, the next time your five-year-old sister flashes your new boyfriend to show him her pretty new underpants, or your mother insists on showing your friends her collection of your early fingerpaintings, don't worry about it...it may just be a sign that you're on your way to an illustrious White House career.

Jacquelyn Sylvan is the author of Surviving Serendipity, available at Amazon and Quake Direct!

More BTS

Today we had a 6am call time, we were out in Pasadena shooting at the apartment complex that we used last season for Codex's living room. We had something like 38 scenes do shoot and a full day of work ahead of us. Everything move along, because there were so many scenes to shoot and so many set ups and lighting changes we ran a bit long and finished shooting around 8pm. I actually left before they started packing up. Normally I stay and help packing up equipment and clean up but I had to get to the other location that I was going to shoot BTS at yesterday but couldn't.

So I got to this place around 9pm and shot more BTS for about an hour and a half. (I can't wait to share this with you guys.. IT'S SO COOL!!!! ) I finally got home around 11pm, but my work wasn't done yet. Spent about an hour with the hubby then had to download the past few days worth of pictures and video that I had taken. The camera hard drive was getting full and we have a few more days of shooting this week. So it's about midnight now and I still have a few hours of work left.. then I have to get up and start my work week.

A Guildie Weekend

Today I had to get up at 4am.. yeah I didn't even know there was a 4am but I was up. Took a shower, walked the dog and ate some breakfast. I had to be up at this hour because I was meeting up with Guild crew so we could car pool to the shoot location. This location had park and pay parking and we were trying to save some money. So I had to be at Kim Evey's (Guild Producer) at 5:20am. We had a 6am start time, so we get to the location around 5:45am and run into a few snags getting in. Around 7am everything seems to be worked out and we start setting up the location. Sorry about being vague but I can't really give out any details. The shoot went very well. I got a lot of cool BTS footage. One cool thing about this place is it had a stand up arcade video games and a ping pong table. So during our lunch several crew and cast played a few rounds of ping pong. We finished up around 6pm, got back to Kim's around 7pm and then I had planned to go to another place and see if I could shoot some BTS for a very cool DVD special. But we couldn't do then so I headed home to hang out with my hubby and doggie for a few ours as I had to get to bed so I could do it all again the next day.

WALL-E Fiction or Future?

If you watched WALL-E you know the story of the dump-truck like robot, in a world no longer harvesting the ingredients to support life. Disney did a great job, but one must wonder if the
majority of our younger viewers understood the message behind WALL-E?


In the movie, even WALL-E is a robot of the past, long outdated
and forgotten. Abandoned.
His only companion, and who would have thought of that, a cockroach!


It struck me when he discovers the plant, the only natural green that recovered in the closed environment of a safe.
The world described in the movie is much like the world we live in today. "Yeah right," you're gonna mumble between your teeth now, aren't you?





You saw the red clothed people in the movie, leaned back on their hovering creepers, with legs not developed to walk? Sipping extra large sodas, chatting on monitors mounted to their hovering recliners? Then you must have noticed the holograph billboard and its suggestion to try "blue" then they all pushed a button and their clothes turned blue?


When was the last time you walked, or rode a bike to the store? Did you know your Super-charged V8 pick-up, or SUV you feel so safe in, burns twice as much gas when you fire it up just to go down to the store, half a mile away, to pick up a gallon of milk?
Most wear and tear to its internally moving engine parts, takes place when the engine is not fully warmed up to its designated operating temperature, every time you run it. I bet you didn't know that either?

I see a ton of similarities in the world we live in today and the world WALL-E lives in. Look at my last photograph, then click here to read more about abuse and destruction, committed to our planet.




Martin's blog

Martin's Myspace

A Dog called Khaya

Another painting of a young dog from DARG.

Khaya and her companion, were left to fend for themselves and were picked up wandering on the N7 highway just outside Cape Town (the main West Coast Road). Both youngsters, Khaya is a cross Husky Lab, were obviously just dumped as people become less and less able to feed and care for them.

An unusual name, Khaya is the Zulu (and Xhosa) word for 'home'. And the good news is that both Khaya and her "sister", Ujo, have just been adopted. I'm hoping that the new owners will donate to DARG for Khaya's portrait. Fingers crossed!

Plastic Power!

Okay, everyone's been on a major "Go Green" kick this week on the blog and for the past few years in the rest of the world. That's great. No, seriously it's GREAT!

The only thing is- what can one person do all by themselves? What can you accomplish by putting your empty soda can or water bottle in that special green container? What's the power of your plastic?
RECYCLING:
1 aluminum can will save enough energy to power a 100-watt light bulb for 20 hours, a computer for 3 hours, or a tv for 2 hours. That same can might return to the grocer's as a new and filled can in 90 days or less after the recycling process.
1 1-Liter soda bottle is enough plastic to make a ruler for next school year.
5 to 11 1-Gallon milk jugs is enough to make a frisbee.
14 20-ounce greens soda bottles can make an extra-large t-shirt.
85 20-ounce soda bottles will make enough material to fill a sleeping bag.
96 1-Gallon milk jugs can make a 6 ft long piece of 2x4 lumber.
125 aluminum cans will save enough energy to power the average home for an entire day!
1000 1-Gallon milk jugs is enough material for a park bench.
1200 plastic bottles is enough for a 200 lb. railroad tie.
12000 plastic bottles is enough for a boat! See below...
1 ton of plastic can save 1-2 thousand gallons of gas and 7.4 cubic yards in a landfill!

What else can your plastic do for you? A Mr. De Rothschild is building an entire boat out of empty bottles! This year, he is going to try and sail it from California to Australia. Check out the Plastiki here!

What's the value of your glass and your paper? Visit the Bergen County (NJ) Utility Authority.
And just where does that bottle go to be made into all this cool stuff?
For more statistics check out Earth911.

Iris
enter Sam's Space now!
Read Just One of the Guys and find out how the band uses its water! On sale now!

Finally!!!!

This morning I got an email from my loan specialist (the one I had called and emailed) she thanked me for some info that I had faxed her. Still didn't answer any of my questions. So I sent her another email asking if she got my first email. And I got an "out of the office" reply. So she is going to be out of the office until Wednesday June 24th. Uuuggggg... she did leave an email addy of her boss and I was so tempted to complain about her customer service.. or lack there of. But since she hold my loan in her hands I figure I had to be civil so I emailed her boss and asked the same questions I had asked her about loan requirements... yep you guessed it... no response.

I did get some good news. My loan officer (the one that was out of town) did email me back and said that not to worry that my rate will remained lock and that she will investigate and get back to me. So at this moment that was what I worried about the most and it seems to be taken care of.

I have to say that I have been a customer of Bank of America for over 19 years and I have heard so many complaints but I have always enjoyed working with them... until now. They have some of the worse customer service, it would take 15 minutes of conversations with someone to clear up my questions and issues.. but getting that 15 minutes is next to impossible.

Gotta keep telling myself that this will be over soon and in the end will have a house..

Drumming Delight

Inder showed us how clever he was at playing drums. It's quite a skill keeping two separate drum beats going with both hands at the same time. Excellent performance Inder!!

Why does it have to be so Complicated

Well I finally heard from my loan specialist (this is different the the loan officer who is on vacation until Monday). I had called my loan specialist on Tuesday but never heard back. I got an email from her first thing in the morning listing all the items I need to turn in for the loan. It's a great list and very easy to read but there were a few things that I was not clear on what they needed so I responded and some questions. Also our house price is still the old number as no one has changed it in their system.. so I asked questions about that.

At the same time I emailed the guy that was taking over for loan officers while she was out. I had called him yesterday and he never returned my call (though according to his voice message he makes it a point to call back with in the hour of receiving your call).

Still haven't heard from my loan specialist and still no word on my locked interest rate. Finally around 2pm I email the guy once again and he called me back a second later. We went over a few things but he said he couldn't really help me because he doesn't understand why my loan officer would do what she did. He said it could be a mistake so he would ask his boss who was out at the moment but we get back to me within the hour.

Well the hour passed, then two hours.. finally got an email letting me know that his boss has gone home for the day and he would take to him first thing in the morning.

Still no word from my Loan Specialist.

Upside it was TV night.. watched the last two episodes of Season Four of Doctor Who with our friends..night ended on a good note.

Shocking Facts

Everyone is “going green” these days. It’s not just a fad or the new cool thing to do; this is the way of the future. We all know that right? Still, just about everyone is not “pure green” meaning you still will use Styrofoam, or you might throw away a can or two if taking it home isn’t convenient. The question is do you really know why we are going green? Sure you know about climate change, and greenhouse gasses, but let me share with you a list of facts that will make you think next time you throw away that soda can or take separate cars to parties.

Recycling one aluminum can saves an amount of energy equivalent to half that can filled with gasoline.

Every Sunday, more than 500,000 trees are used to produce the 88% of newspapers that are never recycled.

North Americans throw away 2.5 million plastic bottles every hour.

Every year some 45,000 tons of plastic waste are dumped into the world's oceans. One of the results of this is that up to one million seabirds and one hundred thousand marine mammals are killed each year by plastic trash such as fishing gear, six-pack yokes, sandwich bags, and Styrofoam cups.

Food waste includes leftover portions of meals and trimmings from food preparation activities in kitchens, restaurants and fast food chains, and cafeteria. Food waste is the third largest component of generated waste (after yard waste and corrugated boxes) and second largest component of discarded waste, after yard waste. The amount of food waste generated in the waste stream has increased by 1.2 million tons in the last 25 years; this is one of the lowest increases on a percentage basis of any component of the waste stream.

The United States generates approximately 208 million tons of municipal solid waste (MSW) a year. That's 4.3 pounds per person per day.

This information courtesy of your friends at http://www.green-networld.com
How about that for putting things in perspective? I know you all do your part when it comes to being green and no one is perfect, but the next time you think it’s a pain in the neck to take that soda can with you or you're going to get a Styrofoam box for your leftovers, think about this blog and think again.

Go above and beyond… Sound off on the creative things you do that might be a little out of the box to be green. I am always looking for that neat new tip to save energy, money and our planet.


http://nickvalentino.blogspot.com

The Saga Continues

Today when I went to check up on our Mortgage Status Report I noticed that I had a warning that my interest rate lock was going to expire on June 26th but our closing of escrow isn't going to happen until July 26th. It seems when I called to give the info my lender they gave me a 30 day interest lock instead of a 60 day lock. I guess it's partially my fault as I didn't know realize this when I read the paperwork but it's more the lenders fault as she knew we had a 60 day escrow as I told her this but she gave us a 30 day rate lock.

So I tried to contact her and found out she is out of the office until Monday June 22nd. She did leave another person's name whom I could contact for emergencies and I felt this was one. So I called this new guy and left him a message. Hours pass and I hear nothing, I began to panic as we have a really good rate right now and if it expires we would have to pay to have it locked again and there is no guarantee they rate would be as low as it was when we first locked it.

On my way to lunch I got a call but because I was driving I did not answer it. While at lunch I listened to my voice messages and it was the guy informing me that yes my interest rate is going to expire next Friday and that he doesn't know why my lender would do a 30 lock with a 60 day escrow. He said there were a few options but it will cost money and or points.

As I was backing out of the parking lot at lunch worried about losing our rate I accidentally backed into another parked car.. and of course the guy was sitting in his car eating lunch. We got out and looked to see if there was any damage but his car was already beat up and he said it looked fine. I said sorry and went on my way.

Got back to the office and called this guy and once again got his voicemail. I lift a message and waited for a call... it never came.

Going Green: Recycle and Reuse

A visit to a school got me thinking unexpectedly about recycling and waste.

The kids were cleaning out their desks as school ended the next day. Besides, the papers and assorted junk kids collect all year, they had a number of unwanted pens and pencils. They, too, went in the garbage.

I watched this and something didn't feel right. Most of the pens and pencils were in good shape, maybe they needed a little sharpening. Most weren't chewed up; the erasers were barely used. So, why throw them away?

No, big deal, right? A few cents each. No need for them in the summer. New items will be bought in the fall.

But those unwanted pens and pencils would mean a lot to some other kids who can't readily get them or don't have the money to buy them.

I remembered seeing something on TV about African schools. Many students there rely on outside organizations to pay the fees they need to attend school. Getting supplies is another matter.

So, when it comes to recycling, why not collect still good supplies to send to African schools? This could be a great school project and something that would help others. I hope to suggest this to some teachers for the next school year and see what happens.

Postage is of course costly, but maybe there can be a penny drive to help. Or some organization would cover the costs or ship the items with their goods?

Maybe there are similar programs in the US, too, where new and slightly used supplies can be donated to poverty-stricken schools. Either way, this can be another way to recycle and help those in need.

What a Day!!!!

Well this day started off like every other day. I got up, took a shower, checked my emails, walked the dog, ate some breakfast, watched some DVR'd shows then came to work. Work wasn't anything special. Got done around 7pm and headed to Kim Evey (Producer of The Guild) place as we were off to "somewhere" to shot some BTS for The Guild Season Three DVD. Along the way we picked up Felicia Day and then arrived "somewhere". And my ho hum day went from typical everyday to EXTRAORDINAIRE and AWESOME. Of course I can't say anything and it's driving me crazy. But all will be reviled soon as The Guild season three is launched. Once this happens I can go back and recall in detail the experience I had tonight. What a COOL night.

Who does Windy Pants Patrick think he is?

Freckleface Strawberry and the Dodgeball Bully is a winner from the start!

Strawberry Freckleface gets all happy when her parents go to work early because she gets to go to Early Bird at school and that is the most fun. At least most of the time. There are usually all kinds of cool things to do, except for when it rains. That's a real bummer. On those not so dry days, they have to go inside and that means dodgeball. Not so much fun.

All the kids are afraid of dodgeball, actually they are afraid of Windy Pants Patrick, who is the school bully. So on this particular day, Strawberry Freckleface has had enough and she comes up with a plan. But will her plan work or will her worst fears come true?

Okeechobee Book Reviews says, "Freckleface Strawberry and the Dodgeball Bully is a super cool book! The pictures are as delightful as the story and really make the book a lot of fun. It is so refreshing to see a superstar doing something valuable with their time. This books is an asset to kids everywhere and I hope parents will take the time to talk about the fears and solutions with their kids."

Most people know Julianne Moore as a renowned actor, but she is so much more. As an advocate for children, she is using her superstar powers for good, and not evil, by not only giving of her time with Save the Children, but this is her second picture book (with LeUyen Pham) for children and a great follow up to her debut with Freckleface Strawberry. Young readers are delighting in her fanciful stories and these books are among her greatest contributions to the development and education of children. Julianne is truly a role model for the ages.

Guild Season 3 Day Three

Today I was up at 6am to get ready to head over for the third day of shooting on Season 3 of The Guild. Only problem is it's a Monday and I have a Monday - Friday job. So I could only stay a few hours, well that was the plan.. four hours later I finally got into work an hour later then expected. The shot was going pretty good and there was some funny stuff that I had to get on BTS. I did turn my camera over to another person to take more video while I was away. The shot wasn't suppose to be done around 6ish but when I got off work at 7pm and headed over to pick up my camera they were still shooting. So I got my camera and continued to get more BTS for another hour and a half. It was a long day of work but at least I got to spend 5 of the 13 hours with my Guildies.