Lhokseumawe, Indonesia

On a lark, I decided to look up Lhokseumawe on Google Satellite imagery. The picture above shows the camp we lived in and I've put a box around where our house was. The green rectangle to the right was an olympic size swimming pool. The biggest decisions we had to make was whether to go to the beach or to the pool. It is kind of sad to see all the houses gone. The beach is also very different. If you zoom in you can see this round thatched building in the treeline. The hut was mostly surrounded by sand. The refinery is still operating because you can see the smoke from the stacks. It is also funny to see that there are houses and buildings all along the main road. There was nothing but a few shack houses there when I lived there. It doesn't look like much got torn away by the tsunami.

If you want to play with the zoom, the link is maps.google.com/maps

Sex and The City Purse-nality Quiz

Hmm...and here I thought for sure I'd be more if a Charlotte (not!)...

Lisa believes...

This was an interesting exercise that I read about on another forum. Go to Google and type "(your name) believes" and then copy the first 10 hits. Well I couldn't find anything that Ysabeau believes (because you know I have this natural sense of distrust!) but Lisa believes a lot of things:

1. Lisa believes starting out casually was the key to having such a great homeschooling experience.
2. Lisa believes him, until Nelson unwittingly lets the truth slip.
3. While many think that successful marketing is about communicating through words and images, Lisa believes it’s about recognizing an opportunity in the marketplace and immersing people in an experience they will remember.
4. Lisa believes it is not only her duty, but a privilege to introduce people to the League City area.
5. Lisa believes that everyone can manifest their own reality and take control of their life.
6. Lisa believes herself to be human, albeit one with some seriously strange talents.
7. Lisa believes that all of us were born with intuitive ability and the capacity to read energy fields.
8. Lisa believes that by sharing messages from the light with one, she is sharing it with everyone .
9. Lisa believes you should write what you know.
10. Lisa believes that building healthy relationships is a 2 step process: The first step is helping you to become the person, friend, or family member you wish to be with. The second step is helping you to accept nothing less than you give.

Is it War yet?

I can't believe how fast the time is going until War...I also can't believe how much it is draaaaagggggginnnggg! I have so much to do before war...but I am so ready for it!

My bed will be almost finished for War. It will be usable so that is one goal accomplished. I'm still working on new garb but a wonderful friend has offered to loan me some of her incredible garb so I am excited about that!

I have a major deadline at work before I can go to War. It is going well which is giving me panic attacks (yes, I'm wierd that way!). I wake up at 3 a.m. thinking it is the day I'm supposed to go to War and realize that I forgot this HUGE part of my project and I can't go until it is done. Or the other nightmare is that I somehow forgot about a huge bill that I didn't pay and I now have to spend all my War money paying it and have no gas money! Or that I get there and discover that neither the stove nor the oven in the condo works and I have to cook everything over a grill or in my crockpot.

So, right now, I'm in anticipation mode. Lots of incredibly fun things planned that will make this the Best War Ever! but also trying not to get too excited because you never know what can happen...best laid plans and all that.

Oh...and my jeans are now officially "baggy". I can take them off without unbuttoning them...Woohoo! I think I'll have to put them through the dryer a few extra times to shrink them down a bit. You know it is time to buy new jeans when you reach down to pull them up and give yourself a wedgie!

Okay, those are my random thoughts for now...hope you enjoyed!

Ysabeau's Spring Progress

Well, we are heading into the spring tourney schedule so I thought I'd post my schedule, just in case anyone wanted to hang out and party with me...

- Feb. 23-24 - Coastal Invasion in Seawinds

- Mar. 1 - home for my daughter's B-day unless I can talk her into celebrating in Bjornsborg
- March 8-16 - Gulf War!!!! (and my birthday)
- March 29-3- Emerald Keep

April 5-6 - Crown tournament in Elfsea
April 19-20 Stargate - tentative
April 36--27 Bonwicke - tentative

May 10-11- Loch Sollier Squires and Cadets
May 24-25 - Steppes Warlord
May 31-June1- Lysts at Castleton

Contemplating Lilies but ony if I take my daughter with me. It might conflict with a family vacation that we are planning. If anyone knows of fun family things to do between here and there, that might help - a cool museum or activity.

I'm also in "training". I've signed up for something called TEAM Fitness at my gym. It is at least three days a week - two days on weights and one day cardio crosstraining and I'm supposed to do one day of cardio on my own. I haven't had time to do that yet. It is all I can do to get in to the gym three days a week right now. But...I'm in my skinny jeans again!

Can't wait for Gulf War...I'm determined to have my bed finished in time. I feel like the SCA version of Scarlett O'hara - "I will not wake up on the ground from a deflated air mattress again!"

P.S. If you like the picture, it is by an artist named Emily Balivet who has wonderful work. Check it out at: www.etsy.com/shop.php

QuirkyAlone

I must be very strange. I enjoy being single. I have friends and relatives who spend a good portion of their lives trying to find a man. They think I'm wierd because I'm really okay with being single. I really don't feel a ~need~ or necessarily want to have a full-time man in my life. I'm quite happy having one that visits for an afternoon or a night then goes home. I don't need another person to take care of. I have a daughter who is a challenge and takes up most of my time right now. I don't have time to date. When she was younger I started asking myself "Is he babysitter-worthy?" before I would go out with a guy. By the time I make babysitter arrangements and pay a babysitter, it is a major hassle and I want to make sure it is worth the effort.

The other issue is closet space. You laugh but one of the first things I did when my ex moved out was take over his closet. I don't think I could go back to one closet. So any guy who wants to get serious with me needs to be able to either keep all his clothes on a single shelf or build his own closet...or better yet expand mine and I can give him the smaller one ~grin~.

I do know that I'm not alone. There is a group/movement called Quirky Alones ( www.quirkyalone.net/qa/peoplelikeus.php ). "Better to be untethered and open to possibility: living for the exhilaration of meeting someone new, of not knowing what the night will bring. We quirkyalones seek momentous meetings."

So, yes, that is my philosophy. It has taken me a long time to embrace it but it is the path that makes sense to me. Although it is really annoying to always be asked when I'm going to get a boyfriend at family gatherings or people assume I'm a lesbian (what's up with that?). The other annoying thing is that I always get the last choice for a bed and usually end up sleeping on the couch...just because I'm single. Even my 18-year-old cousin got a bed before I did because she had her fiance with her! That sucks. I'm 40 something and shouldn't have to sleep on the couch!

But still, it is better to be in no relationship than the wrong one...and I can always look forward to the excitement of meeting someone new for that brief explosive encounter...and get out before it turns into a domestic drag.

10 Things that I've done that you probably haven't done...

Idea stolen from Chiara:
1) Trekked the Himalayas to the Annapurna base camp (because the Everest airport was fogged in for three straight days)
2) Faced an angry water buffalo in the middle of the North Sumatra jungle
3) Watched the 8 seater plane in front of mine cartwheel on the small jungle landing strip that we were making final approach on (no one was hurt more than bruises and cuts)
4) Been held at Uzi-point by a Indonesian (muslim) soldier while he demanded beer (and we'd just drank the last one)
5) Crashed a party for Princess Margaret while covered in mud from a mud football game (long story but they should have locked that back door!)
6) Run into my 12-year-old crush at an SCA event 20 some odd years later
7) Visited an Asian brothel at age 13 or 14? Freshman year in high school at any rate.
8) Partied with a bunch of sailors/soldiers who were on their way to attempt to rescue the Iranian hostages...I still wonder if any of them were the ones killed
9) Asked Prince Charles to take my picture...I didn't recognize him and he was just a random trekker with a British accent who very nicely obliged. It wasn't until later that I realized who he was!
10) Go from being the best mom in the whole wide world to the meanest/worst mom in the whole wide world in less than 2 minutes

Dance with me...

Okay, if you are trying to keep up with me...here's my tentative fall schedule. Come dance with me!

Aug 31-Sep 2 - Gothic Wars

Sept 7-9 - my mom's B-day at Hilltop Lakes

Sept. 15 - I have three party invites in town, have to decide

Sept 28-30 - Bryn Gwlad Baronial

Oct 5-7 - my sister's wedding at Enchanted Rock

Oct. 19-20 - day trip to Bjornsborg because Kat has a Girl Scout campout that same weekend.

Oct. 26-28 - Seawinds Defender

Nov. 2-4 - Three Kings

Dec 7-9 - Ingleside Ren Faire

Dec 15 - BG Yule Revel

I'm also cookie mom for my daughter's troop this year (again!) so I have to squeeze training into this somewhere.

Cleaning for the Housekeeper

Sometimes, I wonder if it really is easier to have a housekeeper. I have so much prep work to do before she gets there that it is incredibly stressful! You may laugh, but it is a lot of work...the dishwasher needs to be emptied because she will gather the dirty dishes and put them in there if it is empty, but not if there is anything in it. I need to have the bedding ready so she can change the sheets and make the beds. I have to have the sewing stuff cleared out of the living room so she can vacuum and dust.

It is getting easier, though. Every time things get a little bit less cluttered and cleaner. Instead of doing things like cleaning the toilet or scrubbing the shower, I can sort through the two-foot high stack of magazines that have collected in the corner of the bedroom or reorganize my sewing area.

I'm also trying to take advantage of the those 10 and 15 minute increments that seem to eat up my day. While 15 minutes isn't enough time to completely organize a sewing project, it is enough time for me to pull out the pattern or material... or clean off the sewing table in preparation for the project. Or I can put just a few dishes in the dishwasher instead of waiting until I have a sink full.

Some day...I will be organized and have a clean, uncluttered house...and hopefully, it will still be hot in hell when that happens ~grin~