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Don't worry about the attack donkeys...

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(current and pending)

or anyone shopping for one...

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T13 #7: Thirteen Things I'd Want for Christmas...

if we hadn't agreed to "no presents for each other."

1. yoga mat and bag (would be nice to not have to use the community ones, not knowing how often they get cleaned)
2. iTunes gift card (would like to pick up some more "old" singles so I don't have to chase the cds down)
3. subscription to Bookmarks (have been wanting this for a while, I categorize it as "professional development")
4. 10th Kingdom DVD (been on my amazon list too long, really want it before used copies get outrageous!expensive!)
5. sheepskin slippers (my cheap fuzzy slippers got trashed quickly, hoping these would last a lot longer)
6. rose diamond ring fixed (been years since I've worn it, used to be my favorite ring. Band is broken.)
7. pearl necklace restrung (ex-nephew broke it, didn't lose any pearls. Ex-SIL never offered to have it fixed, has sat for years)
8. 2 pairs button-fly 501 jeans (high school nostalgia, don't even know if these are made anymore)
9. bag Ghirardelli chocolate carmels (probably the only thing I'll get--as a stocking stuffer)
10. 3 Desert Rose place settings (I really like this pattern, it's frustrating to have only one setting)
11. fingerless long gloves, black (I'm fixing to make myself a red pair from a dismantled sweater, but would love a neutral)
12. bottle Messina Hof port (it's good shtuff)
13. garter belt (for my v. long warm socks, my legs are still too fat to keep them where they belong)






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T13 #6: Thirteen Things in My Purse

Thirteen Things about Marina's purse Yes, as a matter of fact, I am not feeling all that creative, but at least I posted over here, since I have a book-related post for the other blog. 1. wallet: black, with metal studs. 2. cell phone: a Motorola StarTac, inherited from my husband in 2001. Glad it's still alive. 3. pen: green, found in library parking lot several years ago. 4. mirror/compact: celtic knot design, a gift from one of my son's goddessmammas. 5. camera: Fuji Quiksnap, I'm supposed to take a picture of the Governor's Mansion and send it to the next person in line. 6. tissues: blue, w/roses. Very sturdy, like a paper towel, but without the texture. 7. candy/gum: sour apple gum, icebreakers sour berry, and orange tic-tacs from having seen Juno at Alamo South Lamar. 8. Christmas money: mine and Anthony's, I need to buy a belt with his. 9. padlock and key: for a locker at the YMCA. I want to find time to go more than once/week. Maybe when Morgann is old enough for the childcare room... 10. 2 fabric shopping bags: black and red, self-containable. No excuses for taking plastic home, although I can still use them for lining garbage cans and containing diapers when we travel. 11. reading glasses: black, thin frames, 125 strength. Was surprised I needed them already. getting old... *sigh* 12. iPod: I always bring it along to listen to audiobooks. I make a lot of progress that way. 13. house keys: Technically not inside, but attached to the purse with a d-ring. I lose track of them a lot

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The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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Wow, talk about a long break...

Been a little busy, hope to post a little more often over here. I'm doing NaBloPoMo on my other blog.

Morgann Rose is almost 3 months old now. Life with 2 has been a heckuva challenge, and I'm not sure if it would be any easier if Anthony wasn't a special needs kiddo. I'm struggling, but still upright, at least.

Friday's Feast (#189)

Appetizer: What was your favorite cartoon when you were a child?

Unfortunately, I'll have to cheat and pick more than one... Underdog, Kimba, and Speed Racer.

Soup: Pretend you are about to get a new pet. Which animal would you pick, and what would you name it?

For my next pet, I have my heart set on a corgi. It will probably take a few more years before the house is really ready for one. I've liked the name "Aurora" for a dog, but I'm not sure I'd be able to pull it off with who I bring home.

Salad: On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how much do you enjoy getting all dressed up for a special occasion?

Well, if everything fits, my hair cooperates, I achieve color-coordination, and the jewelry matches, I'd say an 8. Unfortunately, I usually can't get more than 2 of those things to align at the same time, so "dressing up" (a comparative term out here on the farm anyway--unholed jeans and a v-neck tee counts as decent off-property wear) is mostly a huge pain in the butt.

Main Course: What kind of music do you listen to while you drive?

I tend to stick with one radio station (bobFM), but if I'm desperate to finish an audiobook (or if it's a long trip, say to Oma's), I'll connect my iPod.

Dessert: When was the last time you bought a clock? And in which room did you put it?

I had to actually walk around the house, looking for a real clock. My last clock purchase was my alarm/radio/disc player, sometime in the past 7 or 8 years. It is (naturally) in my bedroom. The last thing I bought that has a clock integrated, is our phone/intercom system that I found at the warehouse-type store that rhymes with bosco.

Rescued another baby tonight

[yes, I'm too lazy to type it all in again, and upload pictures, etc.]

click the link for story and pics

Fireplace eggs, and real rain

Last night's cold front (which stretched from Oklahoma to south central Texas) brought us some real rain (just over .5") between 10:30 and 1 last night. Luckily, I'd brought home a new rain gauge (the donkeys destroyed the other one) from the local big-name farm supply store, so I could actually report the good news. My son and I were there to pick up an incubator and an auto-turner that was being held for us; we also bought the gauge and a bag of scratch grains for the chickens since they were handy. We've been out of the scratch for at least a week, but not for lack of effort to obtain it. DH had done a feed run last week, and did not realize until he unloaded everything that the scratch hadn't been included. We weren't able to go back to the feed store in a timely manner, so we had to eat the loss. I really hate to not support the local businesses, but this is not the first time they've held back goods or given us the wrong item.

Anyway, we are now incubating 2 dozen eggs in our fireplace (it really is the safest and most convenient place in the house, with 3 cats and a toddler to worry about), and we'll find out if we'll have chicks in at least a week and a half (if not sooner). Part of me is hoping that we don't get the full two dozen out of this venture, as we really don't have the room (in the henhouse) to triple our flock.

This is where I'd be posting a picture of the strawberry I just picked from one of the two plants in our garden (as I was out looking for the rain gauge), but none of our digital camera battery packs are charged (I think they are losing their ability to charge fully), and I could not find the cord for the dc adaptor. So, I had to settle for taking a picture with my Fuji dinosaur, and I'll post it after I've found 10 more shots to snap, and have the film developed/digitized. Anyway, it was a good breakfast *wink*

Thursday Thirteen #6: 13 Places You Can Find Me Online

Thirteen Things about Marina



1. Marina’s Den
Unless you’re a friend, you won’t see much but memes and news items that catch my attention.

2. Momma Writes About Books
Mostly reviews, some memes, challenges and goal-setting, and other extra-special news that may explain why I have large time spans between entries.

3. Tales of a Texas Farmwife
Adventures in the Texas hill country, with animals we weren’t ready for, and land that isn’t manageable given our stage in life.

4. where I blog about my son
For the most part, this is locked to friends and family, so if you’re a friend that I haven’t invited yet, let me know.

5. My very-bare myspace page
I signed on mostly to keep up better with a few people, and perhaps to find a few high school buddies. Not much content, but who knows when that may change?

6. I’m MarinaWolf on twitter
I think I have only one real follower, but I don’t know who else of my friends may have an account. Let me know if you are! You’ll hear a lot more from me.

7. 43 Things
This is where I track my personal goals.

8. All Consuming
Book and movie consumption, not complete, but working on it. I crosspost reviews here when I’m diligent.

9. Book Crossing
Have scaled back on my activity here, but I try to keep the basket full at Panera, and my goal is to have all owed books out of my house before my daughter’s birth.

10. del.icio.us
Interesting websites and articles I come across.

11. Amazon wishlist
You can get an idea of what I like to read here, also.

12. care2
Joined this environmental site a long time ago, and used to be fairly active with signing petitions and submitting the occasional news item.

13. Photos
My flickr profile. Since most of these are of my son, I keep them available to friends and family. Let me know if you’re a friend I haven’t invited yet!





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The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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Friday's Feast (#185)

Appetizer: What does the color dark green make you think of?

Clear Lake, in California. Our family lived in a triple-wide right next to it for 3 years (2nd through 4th grades). This was during a bad drought, where we had water coming up over the lakewall the year before we moved into the “house proper” (we spent my 1st-grade year in the office building in front), and we were able to step off the pier into sludge by the time we moved away. One corner of our (rental) property actually had to be boarded off, as the ground gave away after the water had receded. Anyway, Clear Lake was a very dark green when viewed up close, apparently due to algae.

Soup: How many cousins do you have?

Assuming this means first cousins only, not cousins of parents nor children of cousins, I have 9: 2 girls and a boy (all older) via my mom’s sister, 2 boys (one older, the other younger) via my dad’s younger brother, and 3 girls and a boy (2 older, 2 younger) via my dad’s older brother. My father has two half-sisters, but I don’t know how many (if any) children they have.

Salad: On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being highest, how honest are you?

Close to a 7. There are some things that I absolutely have to take to my grave unspoken (dishonesty by omission). Other utterances I may be tempted to make do not need to be shared for the sake of politeness. There are also things that I may not mention because I truly believe that no one gives a rat’s patata about them.

Main Course: Name something that is truly free.

Oxygen/air. For now, thank goodness.

Dessert: Using the letters in the word SPRING, write a sentence.

Start playing regularly in night garden.