My Blog

Priorities

Jadzia — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 16:31:41 GMT

so little time these days, I can't keep up with the tribes, or the blogs, or the pictures... I'm cutting back on some tribes and some of the folks on my friends list. About half of each will feel more like when I log on I can see what's happening in my much smaller slice of the world.

I swear I will puke!

Jadzia — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 01:18:18 GMT

If I hear one more uneducated person exclaim "OH! did you see Doomsday? She looks just like a belly dancer!!!!" um... no, she looks like a Maori, or a North African tribesperson FROM WHOM American Tribal Style and ITS belly dancers have borrowed the facial tattoo. She's wearing pants, a vest, wields a sword... doesn't look a thing like a belly dancer. And yes, I did see the movie. Yep she's hot. Yep, she's cool looking. Yep, I'd do my face like that. But, seriously, I'd kill for those arms! nuff said. I'm going back to work now.

Gothla - one woman's reaction

Jadzia — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 06:49:54 GMT

I am not a member of the Goth sub-culture. In fact, I live on a farm in Kansas with my husband, cats, guinea fowl, chickens, ducks, geese and what have you. I wear jeans and sweaters to work. Within me, it seems always, is a heightened comfort level with darkness. As a child I was exposed to the pre-Raphaelites, read all the Rosetti’s, saw/fell in love with Howard Pyle’s Marooned long before such things became popular. I came to know despair far more intimately than most people think possible whilst maintaining some semblance of sanity - my mother suffered a burst brain aneurism right in front of me (I was all of 13), later a brother brutally murdered, a sister who chose to stick a .38 in her mouth and pull the trigger... no, I’m not a member of the Goth world, but I have reasons to love Gothic belly dance. Whoa! Where did paradigm shift that come from? During the weekend of February 9 and 10, I was thrilled to be able to attend the first ever American Gothic Belly Dance Festival - Gothla. About a year earlier I’d gone to a workshop in KC and met a woman who has literally changed my life. Through her I discovered that I could take an art form that I was learning and use it to express some of what goes on in my warped little mind. I can dance and express my rage, I can dance and pour my sorrow over the audience, I can dance and draw energy from those who are watching. Or, I can dance and send my energy into the room, feeling powerful and raw. Only Ariellah could give me that gift, and each time I am fortunate enough to study with her I receive another piece of the puzzle. I am honored to know her, truly. And so, this, then... is what gothic belly dance represents to me. That being said, I approached Gothla with interest and a huge amount of trepidation. I had met Sashi at a terrific workshop in Springfield, was excited to be taking my first Tempest workshop and, indeed, looked forward to meeting all of the teachers (I signed up as a glutton.) BUT... I’m 50 (was that old?) I’m blond-ish (should I dye my hair black?) Am I going to be the only person there with no tattoos or piercings? I wear workout clothes to workshops (um, erm, is that too nerdy?) I’m not a very good or very experienced belly dancer (are people going to roll their eyes?) I have spinal issues that make my flexibility suck. Etc. Etc. Etc. I had no idea what to expect. So I pulled on my Marine Corps Sergeant inner strength and walked right in. I was blown away. I met the most delightful women on the planet Earth, I swear! The enthusiasm and excitement was palatable in the festival hall. There was no one looking down their noses at me, no one judging me. I was part of a festival (such a good word!), we were all celebrating and having a wonderful time. Friday’s meet and greet was fun, albeit short. The workshops were wonderful. My only real criticism is that attending the workshops meant that I saw almost none of the day-time performers. That saddened me more as I got to meet and “know” a little of some of the women I could not see perform. Thank you to all the organizers, teachers, volunteers, vendors, performers and everyone who made this event possible. Gothla - the weekend that proved that, yes, Goths DO smile.

How do I love thee?

Jadzia — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 18:54:55 GMT

let me cite 3 ways.... 3, simultaneous ways! ALERT 1 - WINTER STORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM LATE TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY AFTERNOON Urgent - Winter Weather Message National Weather Service Wichita KS 1057 AM CST Wed Jan 30 2008 Snow Will Develop Across The Area Late Tonight And Become Widespread Overnight Into Thursday. The Snow May Be Heavy At Times. Storm Total Snow Accumulations Of 4 To 6 Inches Are Possible By Late Thursday Afternoon. ALERT 2 - WIND ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM CST THIS EVENING Urgent - Weather Message National Weather Service Wichita KS 1054 AM CST Wed Jan 30 2008 Strong Southerly Winds Of 25 To 35 Mph... With Gusts To 40 Mph Will Affect South-Central Kansas Today. Winds Will Diminish By Early Evening. A Wind Advisory Means That Sustained Winds Of At Least 30 Mph And/Or Wind Gusts Over 45 Mph Are Expected ALERT 3 - Fire Weather Warning RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM CST THIS AFTERNOON Red Flag Warning National Weather Service Wichita KS 1051 AM CST Wed Jan 30 2008 The National Weather Service In Wichita Has Issued A Red Flag Warning... Which Is In Effect Until 6 PM CST This Afternoon. A Red Flag Warning Means That Critical Fire Weather Conditions Are Either Occurring Now... Or Will Shortly. A Combination Of Strong Winds... Low Relative Humidity... And Warm Temperatures Will Create Explosive Fire Growth Potential. Kansas, gotta love it.

MUAHAHAHAHAH!

Jadzia — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 14:27:36 GMT

it says 50 now!

I truly am.... flypaper for freaks

Jadzia — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 14:36:47 GMT

Why does it always surprise me when people are untruthful? Seriously, at my age I should know better. It is my experience that the majority of the people I’ve met are, sad to say, REGULARLY untruthful. Not scam old people for their life savings dishonest, although some are outright bald-faced liars. Most are so small as to fall into the “sin of omission category”… this month’s specials have been: 1 - those who take credit for other people’s work 2 – those who try to derail other people’s work by indicating little things that are wrong with it - things that were not wrong at all. But, they're always little, teeny-tiny things.... insidious shit that. 3 – those who have boring lives and make things up to help themselves seem important or seem exciting. I'm sorry your life is lame, oh wait, no I'm not! pftftftf! 4 – the ones who haven’t a clue what your talking about but can’t be honest enough to say “No, I’ve never heard of ….” 5 – the offerers. You know the type, offer to help with something ONLY because they are confident you won’t take them up on it. I’ve got a family full of these. 6 - the deflectors. "I did *this* because YOU said/did/wrote *this*" No, YOU did that because you're a dumbass who wasn't listening when I explained something, saw something you wanted to see, and/or didn't read the entire thing. If you can't pay attention don't blame ME! And today’s favorite – the deliberate mis-quoter. Or would that be delusional mis-quoter since I wasn’t even remotely talking about you when I said what I said? Hm? Maybe tomorrow's rant will be on ingrates or mean people! Then again, perhaps you will be returned to your regularly scheduled broadcasting and I'll go back to being my usual mellow self. 3:>

Better late than never, eh?

Jadzia — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 18:49:10 GMT

I've had a lot of questions about this year's Ren Faire bra (detail photo). I promised some of you some details. Yes, I did make it. And I learned more from this one than the others I've made. 1 - Burnout velvet is a great look, but when the FRONT of your bra weighs 1 pound 9 ounces, be prepared to put a soft liner as the burned-out part is really scratchy with weight on it! I used good quality panne velvet - a single layer took the scratch out. 2 - I used 3/4 inch wide black, non-roll elastic in the shoulder straps. They never bit in, nor did they budge! I also lined the shoulder straps with the panne. 3 - I also made this a cross back bra and I am going to convert all of my “real coin” bras to cross back! I was in this bra for nearly 12 hours and it was perfectly comfortable the entire time. http://people.tribe.net/jadzia/photos/ee759248-685b-48ce-8803-422c32ea5718 4 - the beadwork (grey strips) is removable. I left permanent room so that, as my WONDERFUL HUSBAND looms strips for me, I can change them out. 5 - I completely removed the back support strap from the original bra. I’ve never done this before. I lettuce leaf-ed the burnout straps with a nice thick rolled hem width and, again, it was comfortable and never moved. Another change I’m incorporating into my existing bras - none of them can hold a candle to this one in terms of comfort. http://people.tribe.net/jadzia/photos/c4bbe90f-1781-4e25-b2a6-72bc530989d6 Between design, redesign and sew time I spent about 2 months on this, probably couple of evenings a week. I hand sew all ornaments and each coin or bauble is attached as a separate entity so it a thread breaks I only lose the one. That may seem slow, but I did have elbow surgery in May, after all!

Stolen from Qamar - Jadziaology

Jadzia — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 17:47:22 GMT

Let others know a little more about yourself. Repost this in your blog with your name followed by "ology". MOUTH-OLOGY Q. What is your salad dressing of choice? A. Blue Cheese Q. What is your favorite fast food restaurant? A. Burger King Q. What is your favorite sit-down restaurant? A. hmm... I like food too much to pick just one. Q. On average, what size tip do you leave at a restaurant? A. 15% Q. What food could you eat every day for two weeks and not get sick of? A. Turkey Chili Q. What are your pizza toppings of choice? A. black olive and onion Q. What do you like to put on your toast? A. my homemade pear butter TECHNOLOGY Q. What is your wallpaper on your computer? A. our beloved Polar Bear Baby, who passed away in August Q. How many televisions are in your house? A. hmm... 1 that's on all the time, 1 I use for BD practice, 2 more that are plugged in - hope they still work! Q. What color is your iPod? A. Chrome BIOLOGY Q. Are you right-handed or left-handed? A. Ambidextrous Q. Have you ever had anything removed from your body? A. like parts? or did you mean foreign objects? Q. When was the last time you had a cavity? A. 2005 Q. What is the last heavy item you lifted? A. a tortilla chip with salsa Q. Have you ever been knocked unconscious? A. years ago RANDOMOLOGY, pt 1 Q. If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die? A. Something were meant to be unknown, that's one of them in my mind. Q. If you could change your name, what would you change it to? A. Meg Q. What color do you think looks best on you? A. lol, I can hear my friends laughing - burgundy Q. Have you ever swallowed a non-food item by mistake? A. the occasional bug. Q. Have you ever saved someone's life? A. Literally? I doubt it. Q. Has someone ever saved yours? A. nope DAREOLOGY Q. Would you kiss a member of the same sex for $100? A. I wouldn't kiss anyone for money Q. Would you allow one of your little fingers to be cut off for $200,000? A. No, I like my hands. Q. Would you never blog again for $50,000? A. Darn tootin! Q. Would you pose naked in a magazine for $250,000? A. No. Q. Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1000? A. Been there, done that on a drunken dare years ago. That just isn't enough money. Q. Would you, without fear of punishment, take a human life for $1,000,000? A. It would completely depend on the designated victim. Sorry if that offends you, reader, but there are people on this planet I would gladly plant 6 feet under for free. DUMBOLOGY Q: What is in your left pocket? A: Nothing Q: Is Napoleon Dynamite actually a good movie? A. Never saw it, never will. Q: Do you have hardwood or carpet in your house? A: carpet on our hardwood Q: Do you sit or stand in the shower? A: stand Q: Could you live with roommates? A: I lived with 51 other women in an open squadbay - sure I can put up with a roommate or two! Q: How many pairs of flip flops do you own? A: None Q: Last time you had a run-in with the cops? A: I've never had a "run in" with the cops Q: What do you want to be when you grow up? A: An Astronaut! Q: Who is number 1 on your top 8? A: My husband, always. LASTOLOGY Q: Friend you talked to? A: Pat Q: Last person to call you? A: Sheri Q: Person you hugged? A: My husband FAVORITOLOGY Q: Number? A: none Q: Season? A: I have moments in each that I think "Ahhh.... xxxxx is just my favorite season!" Q: Book? A: Out Of The Silent Planet Q. Website? A. ebay - it's a love/hate thing :) Q. Month? A. Whenever the first daffodils pop out Q. Alcohol? A. Wine CURRENTOLOGY Q: Missing someone? A: Occasionally - those that have gone before me Q: Mood? A: Iight Q: Listening to? A: The Secret Meeting, Shooting Laser Beams Q: Watching? A. not Q: Worrying about? A: my boss who is very ill RANDOMOLOGY, pt 2 Q: First place you went this morning? A: The kitchen to put on the coffee pot Q: What can you not wait to do? A. Ariellah workshop this weekend Q: What's the last movie you saw? A: Resident Evil Extinction... I love Mila Q: Do you smile often? A: No, I hate my teeth Q: Are you a friendly person? A: Moderately Q: Someone you wish you never met? A: The person who murdered my brother

No spoiler....

Jadzia — Sat, 22 Sep 2007 03:36:38 GMT

MILLA just ROCKS!

There can never be enough gratitude... or sorrow...

Jadzia — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 01:32:43 GMT

Today we lost one of the loves of our lives. Our most baby cat, Bear. http://people.tribe.net/fe41727b-b138-4c68-82fe-bf5ef3156b99 He opened up a world I did not know existed - a peaceful cat with an almost human childlike fascination with the world. My husband says it best in his blog, I can not be that eloquent right now. Thank you, my Bear baby, for gracing our lives with your sweetness for almost three wonderful and wonderous years. My heart is broken tonight. We will miss you so very much.

Egads...

Jadzia — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 04:20:50 GMT

this was probably not the best year to convert to satelite internet.... the weather really screws it up, and, of course, its been lousy bad rainy weather here in Kansas for weeks. So, rare moments when I get on to tribe - I hope all my friends are well (and for the Texas and Kansas folks, I hope the flood waters haven't gotten any of you. Our farm is on a hill, so, water-wise, we're fine. Tired of living in my Wellies!) Anyway, I'm watching to see if it settles down once the Kansas summer finally arrives, because so far the satelite is only occasionally impressive.

One Word.....

Jadzia — Mon, 28 May 2007 00:23:43 GMT

Please leave a one-word comment that you think best describes me -- it can only be one word long. Then copy and paste this in your journal so that I may leave a word about you. (thanks to G for this... it breaks the sadness that seems to have taken over my tribe page!)

One word, eh?

Jadzia — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 03:54:28 GMT

Copy this and paste it in your blog with your one word answers. 1. Yourself: Tired 2. Your girlfriend/boyfriend: HUSBAND 3. Your hair: Brown 4. Your mother: Effervescent 5. Your father: Old 6. Your favorite thing: outside 7. Your dream last night: none 8. Your favorite drink: Merlot 9. Your dream car: DeLoriain 10. The room you are in: Bedroom 11. Your Ex: Pig 12. Your fear: Spiders 13. What you want to be in 10 years: retired 14. Who you hung out with last night: husband 15. What you're not: timid 16. Muffins: blueberry 17: One of your wish list items: jacuzzi 18: Time: sparse 19. The last thing you did: TV 20. What you are wearing: PJs 21. Your favorite weather: snow 22. Your favorite book: Perelandra 23. The last thing you ate: rice 24. Your life: Great 25. Your mood: moderate 26. Your best friend: husband 27. What you are thinking about right now: tired 28. Your vehicle: Ford 29. What you are doing at the moment: Typing 30. Your summer: short 31. Your relationship status: terrific 32. What is on your TV: scifi 33. What the weather is like: Cold 34. The last time you laughed: Today 35. Odd or even numbers: odd

71 Useless Bit and Pieces About Me

Jadzia — Sat, 29 Jul 2006 14:40:48 GMT

As copied from Etana... thanks! It was a good exercise for a day I'm keeping my nerves in - I have my public debut tonight :) [1] What is your middle name? Megeath [2] What color is your mailbox? looks like a barn, mostly red [3] Do you have a crush? my husband give me butterflies [4] Have you ever hit a deer? no [5] Do you have to drive over a bridge to get home? yes [6] Do you get the paper delivered to your house in the morning? no [7] Who checks the mail in your house? me [8] Do you have a small driveway? nope, can drive a combine down it [9] Do you know anyone with the same ring tone as you? probably not - nope, its the theme song from the original X-men TV series [10] What do you do first in the morning? tell the cat "it's too early" to get up [11] What brand is your printer? Lexmark, HP, HP [12] Do you enjoy fighting with people? depends, did they piss me off? [13] Is your hair naturally straight or curly? straight [14] Who was your kindergarten teacher? ummmmmmmmmmmmmmm.......did I go to kindergarten? [16] Are you taller than your mother? Yes [17] Do you have a favorite word? exessextraterrestialestic [18] Are you God? I won't even deign to answer that one. Only God is God altho there are many who fake and aspire. [19] What do you do to get over a broken heart? cry a lot. rescue another cat to replace the one who just broke my heart [20] Do you have a deep, dark secret? yep [22] Do you enjoy writing in colored pens? is black a color? [23] Does anything hurt on your body right now? pain is relative... don't think so [24] Do you often cry during movies? Don't make me watch Finding Neverland again, I used up all my tears [25] Do you hate your life? heck no, my life rocks! [26] Do you get mad easily? yes... and no [27] Do you drink to get drunk? no [28] What is your biggest pet peeve? people who park in handicapped parking because "they'll just be a minute" [29] What is your away message? its boring [30] Do any of your friends have kids? yes [32] Who should pay on the first date? whoever asked [33] How many years older than you are you willing to date? n/a [34] Do you have any friends? yes, very select group [35] Do you have any mean friends? Why would I keep mean friends? (keeping haifa and etana's answer) [36] What is the ugliest color in your opinion? they're all beautiful in some shade [37] Have you ever liked someone who all your friends couldn't stand? Yes, her name was Dotti, we were in High School together [38] Have you ever felt like driving off a cliff, seriously? no [39] Have you ever been fired from a job? no [40] What year was your first love? hmmmm.... I think I was about 9, his name was Hobo and he was a tuxedo dog [41] Do you have a cell? phone or location? [42] What brand are the pant/jeans you're wearing right now? NFL logo... KC CHIEFs forever [43] How tall are you? 5 foot 7 inches [44] What is the closest green object? carpet [45] What is on your feet? burgundy nail polish and silver toe ring [46] Do you like watermelon? yes [48] Do you want to have kids? furbabies are great... I stop there [49] What is the brightest color you're wearing? red [50] Who is the last friend you have that you would ever expect to be gay? that one has caught me several times before, I don't go there [52] What’s your mothers middle name? Nancy [53] Stupidest movie you ever saw? King Arthur with Clive Owen [54] Do you collect comic books? no [55] Do you like your dad? very much [56] Do you have any TV shows on DVD? Hercules [57] Are you wearing makeup? newp [58] Do you have a tattoo? no [59] Have you ever been happily in love? Yes, still am [60] If you won the lottery you would... take my husband and become a hermit somewhere [61] Is there something you want to tell someone, but you haven't? lol.... oh yeah. I might on Monday too! [62] Do you know how to draw? not a bit, not even on a computer [63] Who is your hero? I try to think of one each day. Sometimes its as simple as the pharmacist... sometimes its as lofty as Eleanor Roosevelt [64] Who'd you last IM? I don't im [65.] Do you work a lot of hours? comparatively speaking? not really [66] What do you do when you are stressed out? shoot guns, kick stuff, play violent computer games [67] Who was the last person that called you? I'll tell you next week [68] Is there anything you regret? yes [69] Do you know where your family names originated from? English and Swiss [70] Is there any animal that creeps you out? all shapes and forms of spiders [71] What was the last thing you did for fun? ate pizza, drank stawberry daquiris and watched TV in my pj's

The eleventh cat

Jadzia — Sat, 08 Jul 2006 14:48:07 GMT

When you are entrusted with the care of cats it is easy to lose track of how many you have... they manage to just FIT in the nooks and crannies of one's farm. But, we seem to have a numerically controlled "no vacancy" sign that is only visible to strays. This feline visible neon lights up "vacant" when we drop to 10 cats, which is more often than I'd like... perhaps twice a year. It's amazing to both of us. We lose a cat and within 2 weeks it is guaranteed that another will appear. Socks got hit, within 2 DAYS Siam showed up. Siam dies, within 10 days we have another new kitty floating around the farm as strays tend to do on introduction - just a wisp of smoke that you know is there but can't really pause to focus on. As my father so astutely commented yesterday "out of the corner of one eye you see the cat, out of the corner of the other you see wings returning to the heavens, its package delivered". *pictured left to right are rescuees Black Kitty (with us 5 years), Siam (less than 1 year) and Myth (rescue record holder - with us for 10 years in February!)*

Dancing on the highway

Jadzia — Wed, 07 Jun 2006 15:49:23 GMT

Don’t you just hate stories that begin “so there I was”? So there I was… coming home from my temp job doing inventory at the local lumber yard. Earlier that day, in my real job’s lunch break, I had happened across five 5-gallon pickle buckets at the Burger Station. Yay! The best iced tea in Winfield AND food grade containers with lids, I was on a roll and in a good mood. Now its 9 hours later and I’m hot and disgusting, my jeans are sticking to me like I jumped in a pond an hour ago – soggy and not a particularly clean soggy to boot. I stink. My face is so sweaty that I feel like someone spread lard on it. I have greasy sawdust all over my feet and butt from sitting on the floor of the “green shed” counting hundreds of plumbing parts. If I never see another ball valve in my life I’ll be a happy woman. My car smells like hot pickles. I’ve had 3 hours of sleep. What good mood?! So there I was… being tired I took the highway rather than my normal route. I’m zipping along in the “maintenance mobile” when ahead I see a mouse dance. Ok, its dusk and I’m tired, but my mind is insisting that ahead I see tiny little bodies dancing on the highway. These aren’t light trails from being tired, these are really brown bobbing bodies. Uh, hello, Rachel. “Brown” bobbing bodies dancing on the highway at dusk? Mice are grey. You ARE tired. But seriously, as I approached they stopped bobbing and ran to the shoulder. Exit stage right. And then I see Mama. I know that God made all of me, but there is a special part within me that God imparted with some subliminal instructions. Correction, with a single subliminal instruction: “Rescue the beast that needs rescuing.” Then He blessed me with a husband who tolerates (supports actually) this behavior of mine. Anyway, this instruction has a physiological component that is a crystal clear cue that the moment has arrived to FOLLOW ORDERS: my throat tightens, my eyes get a nanosecond of grief-stricken moisture that goes away so as to not occlude my vision and my adrenaline kicks into middle-school hurdler mode. So there I was… fully cognizant that a rescue was required. And while my senses are supernaturally heightened, I no longer stink. I wonder, and have had the thought in the past during a tricky retrieval, if I even smell human right now. Mama is a beautiful mallard with a broken neck. I’m pulled over on a two lane highway with a 65 mph speed limit that is usually observed at, oh say, 75 mph. Back on the asphalt from the relative safety of the dirt shoulder are terrified ducklings. Fast ducklings. Dancing ducklings. Oncoming cars. Yikes! Hmmm… the top pickle bucket comes out with me. Ducklings dash rush toward the shoulder then into the waterway where in the twilight they are barely visible against the freshly mowed grass that stands taller than they do. The chase is on! Fifteen minutes later I have ducklings in pickle buckets. (Rather sounds like an Asian dish, doesn’t it?) So there I was… this morning looking at peaceful sleeping ducklings in a tote in our model train room. The “pond” had been used and food eaten. Another safe rescue for both me and the rescuee’s. God is good! I think I'll call them Gerkin and Dill.