Willkommen, Bienvenue, Welcome!!!

First off, let me just say welcome to my new followers and to my friends that I made come check out my site! Blogger shows me where the traffic comes from (don't worry, it just says the country, feel free to stalk and read all you want, I don't know who you ACTUALLY are!! Or do I? No, really, I don't!!!) and I've noticed that I had new readers from the UK and Germany!!! Wow!! I am delighted!! I'm guessing you're here because of my Multiple Sclerosis posts and will hate all of my, "Wow, it's supposed to be 80* again in SoCal. Bummer for us..." posts. I kid, I kid. I'm so amazed that something I wrote was read by someone so far away! May I just say, I've always wanted to go to Europe. Where, you ask? All of it. Maybe because I'm a European mutt; I'm English, Welsh, Irish, Scottish, German, Dutch (?, maybe Danish? Mom, Dad?), and French! I'm also part Native American (Blackfoot). Go America and Europe! Go World!! I'll get there one day. Any rich men reading this.... Can't hurt to ask. ; )

So, anyhoo...
Willkommen, bienvenue, welcome!
Fremde, etranger, stranger.
Gluklich zu sehen, je suis enchante,
Happy to see you, bleibe, reste, stay!

What? I didn't tell you I am HUGE dork? I should have... you're right. Oh well, too late.. You're already reading. Might as well stick around. ; )

Real quick: re-reading my past posts, I've noticed how many typos I do. I apologize after the fact and before I do it again. Because I will, in all probability, do it again. And again. As I said before- It's the plaque!!

But truthfully everyone, it's a very overcast, gloomy day here in SoCal. I'm doing my laundry, procrastinating on my cleaning, and just was truly amazed that I had someone read this from Germany and the UK!! So cool!! It makes me want to watch my Pride & Prejudice DVDs with Colin Firth instead of clean. Of course, I'd always prefer to watch that than clean, but you get the idea....

I have to tell you that I am a huge fan of Harry Potter (books and movies), Jane Austen (books and movies), and Monty Python (books and mov... wait a minute...). I knit and crochet. Because we like, totally like need scarves, for like those cold California nights. ; ) It actually does get cold here in winter. Not Europe, Charles Dickens' winter cold, but it's not always warm. I'm just sayin'. I wish I could go see Top Gear tape live. The real British Top Gear. Not the crummy American version. Sooo not funny. I am also reading currently reading Possession by A.S. Byatt. Oops, I just realized I totally forgot to update my reading list. See, it's the MS plaque!! Grrr. :) I already owned it and had just never gotten around to reading it, so I'm feeling very English at the moment. I'll have to start spelling everything that we Yanks spell with a "Z" with an "S" (I apologise instead of apologize). Ohhh, it's going to be so much fun! I'll pretend I have a horrible Eliza Doolittle accent. That's the only one I can do... :(

So, all European readers, I just wanted to say, "Welcome!". I hope you found something that might have helped you. Please feel free to leave me any comments with questions, I will answer. I have to figure out how you can contact me on here. I'm still a total newbie at this. I would also love to hear if you are experiencing the same thing. Well, I would hate to hear that, that sucks, but I would love to know if you, yourself, are blogging and I can in turn follow you.

To all my beautiful friends who I asked to come check this out, thank you. Again, you're all awesome.

Any other readers who are here in the US that might possibly feel left out, please don't! Welcome to you too! If you're actually here... are you? I have no idea who reads this unless you sign up to follow. Welcome to my followers! Amazing people one and all. Friends and those who are strangers who are friends that I just haven't met yet.

I hope you have a wonderful day. The sun is trying to peek it's head out. I guess it time to clean. In my Labyrinth shirt. What? You didn't know I owned one? Oh yes, I am that AWESOME!! (Haven't seen the movie? I suggest reverting to your childhood innocence and enjoying David Bowie and crazy Jim Henson puppets. You're welcome.)

Take care all, and here is my quote for the day, courtesy of the amazing man who wrote Winnie the Pooh:
"Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think."
-A. A. Milne

Some days, I hate Facebook...

And no, it's not the new layout. It's the fact that every time I log on, I have a couple of friends who apparently have AMAZING husbands who do WONDERFUL things for them like buy them flowers because it's a cloudy Tuesday or make them dinner because they (the girls) have had a rough day. I know, in my heart of hearts, I should be very happy for these old friends, right? But when they post every other day about how WONDERFUL their husbands are, how BLESSED their marriage is, I can't help but wonder: "Are you full of shit?". Do you realize that you're bragging? I'm not talking about the girls that post every once in awhile. I'm speaking about a few who do this every other day. Are their husbands really THAT AMAZING?!?!? I can't help but feel that the rest of the time their husbands are pretty crummy or boring and they have to post these things to make up for it. Or why don't they post the AMAZING things that they themselves have done? They are my friends for a reason! They have more interesting lives than what their hubbies have done for them lately, right?

I guess I'm just in a crappy mood and I'd rather experience that evil schadenfreude feeling at times like this. Maybe it's just a day where I woke up on the wrong side of the bed. I better get back in and get back out on the other side.

On another note, I'm back in school. I did not get my Terminology class even though I was up early and then up late to petition it. I am taking computers. If my posts are less frequent, that's why. I've been fairly fatigued. Happy Hump Day. I hope you are feeling less evil than I am today. ; )

Just as a late P.S. to this... this is NOT directed to any of my followers! I am speaking about a few particular people (whom I do actually love! Did I use "whom" correctly?) that I have not told about this blog so please friends DO NOT think, "Hmm, is she referring to me?". I'm not. :)

Oh, no, I gotta go, back to school... Again!!

Really? Already? Didn't I just finish my last class? Well, if I must, I must. I have class tonight... and looking online at my schedule I realized that instead of my wait-listed class being tomorrow night like it was supposed to be.. they've moved it to Thursday. That's my cleaning day. I do better with an order to my life. I also signed up to be wait-listed for a Wednesday class, but it starts at 9:00 a.m. That's really, really early when you have MS. So, we'll see. I might just have to change my cleaning days. I really hope I get added to this class. If I don't, I don't see the point of even taking the other one. Keep your fingers crossed for me! And this first one is until 9 at night, let's hope I can stay up that late!!

Illegitimi Non Carborundum

That Latin phrase that is the heading of this post? It's my quote of the day. I'll translate it at the end. Even though it's kind of a fake Latin phrase, it's one of my favorites. It has to do with how I feel about my blog subject today.

First, I'll explain that I LOVE a good quote. About anything. Life, love, books, learning, dogs, basically anything brilliant that someone has said in the past, I'll write it down in my journal (or now this blog) or on a Post-It note and refer to it as needed. I love brilliant minds.

Today is pretty darn hot for a Southern California day. My Internet says 79*, but it's muggy and gross outside. I think it's wrong and it's hotter. Thank you Jeebus for A/C and my momma for letting me run it. And no, Jeebus is not a typo. Google it if you have time. My fellow Simpsons fans will get it. So, I'm chilling inside, watching some 30 Rock and decided to write. Ahhh... 30 Rock. Good place for quotes. Not necessarily inspirational, but amusing and they make me happy nevertheless.

Now to today's blog entry: I really don't love talking about my Multiple Sclerosis. It brings up bad feelings. It makes me remember that I have it. I like the whole, "Out of sight, out of mind" motto. Maybe in my case it should be, "Out of mind, out of my damn brain!". Even if it doesn't make it true. I don't even like to really read books about MS. I will, but I'd prefer to read a nice novel and get swept away to another life. However, I was just speaking to someone about my MS and I thought I'd just write a quick note about how I, personally, deal with it. I did okay talking about it. I hope! It has taken a looong time. Six years. It's still no picnic. But I can do it. That, in itself, is a victory. It's also nice to be able to tell someone something that might possibly help them. Multiple Sclerosis is a disease that doesn't have a lot of support. I do not mean to belittle other diseases. They ALL suck! But we really don't have a lot of places to turn to. That can be really hard.

First, I try not to think about it. Sound stupid? Probably. You know how they say that there's the power of positive thinking? I know I feel better when I do not focus on it. I'm not saying to ignore it, or to not educate yourself. I've read tons of books on the subject. I just try to not let it rule my life. I do better when I wake up not thinking, "I have MS." but rather just waking up and thinking, "What am I going to do today?". The more days I have where I can forget for awhile that I have MS? The better I feel.

But, when you do have to think about it and read those books and do that research, stick with uplifting things. Montel Williams is a hero of mine. A fellow MS patient, he is so optimistic. I can read his books and be inspired, not depressed.

I play with my rescue puppy Sid. I saved him from the pound. He had a tough life before he came to live with me, but now there's no more spoiled dog on this planet. Maybe Paris Hilton's dogs. But he has a better mom than they do. In my very biased opinion anyway. ;-) He makes me smile like no other. He relieves stress when he grins at me and flashes his Billy Idol toothy smile. Yep, he's a recurring theme here.

I do yoga or I meditate. I try to find my center in my wobbly world. I am a weeble. But remember! Weebles wobble, but they don't fall down!!

I read. I escape to another world. I love my Kindle. My eyesight is okay at the moment, but the Kindle allows you to change the font size to REALLY BIG if you need it. Or listen to an audio book!

So, that quote for today, "Illegitimi non carborundum", it means: "Don't let the bastards grind you down."

Don't let them. Don't grind yourself down either.

My New Reading List

First off, let me thank Amazon and my Kindle for all the awesome free books I was able to download! Time to start reading all those books I never read in high school. ;-)  I am a fairly quick reader, but since these are classics, not a quick read like my Nora Roberts or even something long like a Stephen King novel that I would tear through anyway, I'm afraid I can make no promises as to how soon I'll get through these. But, I remain hopeful.


Here's a list of the books I plan on getting through. There's a lot!


Walden Henry David Thoreau
Ethan Frome Edith Wharton
Siddhartha Hermann Hesse
Winesburg, Ohio Sherwood Anderson
Dead Souls Nikolai Gogol
Middlemarch George Eliot
Madame Bovary Gustave Flaubert
Crime and Punishment Fyodor Dostoyevsky
The Brothers Karamazov Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Treasure Island Robert Louis Stevenson
House of Mirth Edith Wharton
The Portrait of a Lady Henry James
War and Peace Leo Tolstoy
Paradise Lost John Milton


I've already started on Walden, but I'd like your opinion on what books you've read and which ones you've loved. What do you think I should read next? Also feel free to tell me something that might not be free, I can always go to the library. It's on the same block as my place. Joy! Has anyone ever read Catch-22? I've always wanted to read that but never have. It wasn't a free download, so I'll have to go to the library for that one. Let the opinions flow people!

Took My Final Today!!!

I'm pretty sure I aced it too!! Even if I didn't, I know I still passed the class! Go me!

Sorry, just had to celebrate. :)

Tomorrow, I get to wake up at the butt crack of dawn to register for the new semester. But after that, I have three weeks off. Three much needed weeks off.

I've downloaded a lot of free books onto my Kindle. I'll post my to-read list later. I am WAY behind on crocheting my friend's birthday afghan (sorry girl). And I really need to work in the garden a bit. But for tonight, I'm relaxing and enjoying that I kicked some major ass in this class.

And I did it on a Monday.

Let's See If Any Of This Comes True...

Year 2011 Overview

As the consummate social butterfly of the zodiac, you'll be thrilled to hear that the major planetary emphasis takes place in your social sector in 2011. Expect your agenda to be chock full of parties and events to keep you busily buzzing without pause.


The year begins on a romantic note with Venus gracing your relationship sector. But as the year unfolds, you'll be making so many new friends and networking contacts, you'll barely have time to think about intimacy with one person. The more the merrier is one of the year's central themes. You have a knack for attracting interesting characters from every walk of life and finding what's special about them. It's your insatiable curiosity that brings out the gems in all you meet. And the more you can learn about yourself through the continuous onslaught of new personalities and alliances livening up your social scene, the happier and more fulfilled you will feel.

With Pluto still excavating the depths of your soul, your interest in psychology and desire to plummet your own depths only gets stronger throughout 2011. Asking the deeper questions about what really makes you tick can open many wonderful doors. Self-knowledge is power. When Jupiter, the planet of philosophy and expansive thinking enters your subconscious sector right around your birthday, you'll be blessed with amazing vision, renewed perspective and a series of Eureka moments and kismet meetings with amazing people. 2011 is the year for expanding your horizons, meeting kindred spirits and finally creating the community of your wildest dreams.



Gemini Month of August Love Horoscope
Sometimes you and your partner (or potential partner) just aren't on the same wavelength. If that's the case on the 1st or 2nd, don't get your feathers in a bunch. After all, if you always understood each other perfectly, where would the fun be? A relationship is about relating, and that is always a process of trial and error. You've got to be willing to make mistakes, and willing to let them make mistakes, if you really want to make this work. Go for a really long run or swim or walk or bike ride on the 5th and 6th, and something important will suddenly become clear to you. Have you always been the one pushing your partners away because you aren't comfortable setting boundaries? Don't let work rule your life on the 10th and 11th, even if it's taking up a lot of your energy. Tap into some seriously social impulses on the 17th and 18th, and see who you meet! Feeling fantastic on the 22nd and 23rd? That's because you are fantastic. And they can't wait to hang out with you! Talk it all over on the 28th and 29th. Romance has something up its sleeve on the 30th and 31st.

Speaking of love, here's my dream man: Paul Rudd.

Oh so dreamy, smart, great taste in music and he's funny. Why can't I find a Paul Rudd? Or even a knock-off Paul Rudd? Where is my Fairy Godmother and what is her deal? She's seriously slacking.