Happy Halloween Everyone! We just finished our usual Halloween Party. This party has mainly been a kid thing for years. Friends and family would bring over their kids after trick-or-treating and we would have cider and donuts and the kids would trade candy back and forth. This year they brought friends...only a couple actually went out, but the adults had cider (with a shot of brandy) and talked. There was apple dunking, but that was really it for the games. Then the teenager split up and talked and so did the adults. With everyone gone now I can come on and post the pictures I've been saving since Labor Day. You might remember the girls and I went to West Virginia for a white water rafting trip over the Labor Day Weekend. Well, one night while were down there we went on a walking ghost tour. It was a really cool tour and we learned lots about the area and the history of the Civil War battles fought there. I took the following (creepy) pictures in the old Veterans Hall in Berkley West Virginia.
Anyone notice all the orbs?! I can say that I took a ton of pictures all weekend, and since then and never had these kinds of orbs show up. Also, the hall was pitch black and there were no lights to account for the orbs, or anyone else taking pictures at the same time.
Very freaky!! So that's my little ghost story for the Halloween night. If you are ever in Beckley WV. I would recommend taking the tour.
I hope everyone had a great night! I hope the goulies don't get you while you sleep!
I was decluttering the drawer where I keep the phone books. There was various other papers and packets in there. One interesting thing I found was a packet of papers from a creative writing class I took in college. Stuck in those pages was an item I wrote all on my own back in 1994 before the writing course. I didn't really have anything else to write about so I thought I would share.
Boomerang We move out of our parent's house with the intention of never coming back, except for short visits. We are young, strong, and ready to take on the world. We look at the challenges presented to us and say to ourselves, "I can do this, this is nothing." The world looks back at is and says, "Yeah, right kid." We find ourselves in a quagmire of rent, job hunting, utilities, job hunting, car payments, job hunting, and all the other bills involved in living an independent life. Learning how to manipulate our checking accounts becomes an art. The credit cards are maxed and the dog is about to be repossessed. We learn that being an adult is not all it was touted to be. This is supposed to be the time when we could do anything and not be accountable to our parents. Now, we are accountable to our bank, our boss, our credit cards, and the utilities. So much for being carefree. The transition from our parents house to our own domicile is not always easy. There is much to be learned and experienced. But what about then the process is reversed? This should be easy, moving into a situation that we lived in for 18 or more years. Our parent's look at us and say, "Yeah, right kid." When the joint decision to move back to your parent's home, there might be problems encountered that were not anticipated. Such as where do you sleep? If your parents have turned your room into a library or possibly a exercise room, there could be a problem with the sleeping arrangements. Sleeping on a treadmill may inspire you to get in shape but it would probably not be conducive to sound sleeping. The possibility of having enough room for all of your possessions is nil. When you left your parent's house you owned a twin size mattress which has grown into a king size waterbed. Your TV and stereo system alone could take up an entire wall. The merging of two households can be frustrating and painful on both sides. Your parents think that the collection of beer cans from around the world a bit much for living room decoration. You tend to thing that the chintz furniture covers have got to go. The room you once lived in is now entirely too small, and how exactly are you supposed to fit your 5 piece bedroom suite around the ski machine that sits in the middle of the room. Your parents are wondering how they are going to find there Christmas decorations with all of your stuff now sitting in the attic. The blending of two households has more than once led to a horrifying compromise, a garage sale. You try and sell your kitchen table and 3 mis-matched chairs for $10, while your mother is busy trying to make sure nothing important has come out of the house to be sold, like her good china. The money derived for from this garage sale can be spent on pizza and beer for later that night, and co-payments for anti-depressants later. For after these sales it comes home to both parents and the child that most of the young adults possessions are now gone, they will not be leaving anytime soon.
I heard this on the TV the other night. I really wasn't paying much attention, I don't even know what was on, but this little segment stuck with me.
500 Years ago we didn't know about Pluto. 5 Years ago it was a planet. Yesterday it was not a planet. Has Pluto changed? No, just our perception of it.
So, our perception of something as large as Pluto changed it in our minds. Made us recatalog it in our brains. Now, granted, Pluto is not a huge impact on any of our lives. But can we use that same philosophy on our own lives?
How much can the problems of our lives be made better if we just change our perception of the issue. The issue itself does not change, but we can try turning it from something that controls our life to something we can control.
Sorry, that's today's heavy thought.
On a lighter note, I decided I was being entirely too serious at the office and when I got my nails done this week I had them paint little jack-o-lanterns on them. It should be fun to watch the reactions.
I grew up in Northeast Ohio. Except for 5 years in the Air Force, I've lived here most of my life. Do I like it here? No, not really. Too conservative in their politics and beliefs for my taste, but I did not want to move once my kids started school, so I got stuck here...again. Today though, I realized how funny it is to be a long time local. There was a bad accident on I-90 this morning. It was on the other side of the highway than I was traveling. The entire highway on the east bound side was closed. Traffic was backed up for miles. I was listening to the radio on the way to work and they mentioned the accident. They were recommending a detour. I wanted to call the radio station and tell them that traffic was backed up way beyond the point of where they were telling people to get off the highway. The problem was, I didn't know the name of the street or exit number of where people should get off the freeway. I've lived here too long. I just know it as the "Mall" exit. I have no need to know the name or number of the street. I'm like that old farmer giving directions..."Go down to Cooter's field and turn left, then turn right at the intersection near where the Brown's barn burned down in 1992." It's bad. I tried to remember several other exits or street and realized if I really think about it, I can come up with a few of the names, but no where near even half of them. I'm trying to decide if this is something I should correct. I've been driving these streets most of my life, do I really need to know the names? The only reason I have come up with so far is that my kids are starting to get their driver's licenses. When I call and ask, "Where the hell are you?" I might want to "really" know where the hell they are!
In the spirit of the coming Halloween Holiday I thought I would share my hubby's name for me. Most Hubby's call their wives sweetie, honey, something cute and sweet. What does mine call me...Heat Vampire! Now I have mentioned several times on here that I am a freeze baby. I am almost always cold. I have very low blood pressure (90/60) to the point of my doctor recommending I keep eating salt. Needless to say my blood does not move around my body easily. Because of this I am known for wearing a sweater and jeans in the middle of summer if the air conditioning is up too high. I keep blankets close at hand. I have a very nice sized heater for my office. My favorite way to warm up though...is to attach myself to my hubby. He is always warm. ALWAYS! He wears short sleeves shirts in the winter. I love to snuggle up in bed with him. When he rolls over, I roll over and plaster myself right up next to him. (This has promted me to try and convince him to get rid of the king size bed and go for a queen or maybe even a full size.) We go to one of the local football games, I am trying to crawl inside his coat with him. If my hands are cold I go looking for him to hold my hand for a couple of minutes. For the most part, hubby doesn't mind all of this. He does like to tease me though about being a heat vampire. So far I have found being a Heat Vampire is not all that restrictive. I cannot be out in the cold for long...and any time spent out there means I need to have hot chocolate when I come inside. So far there is no aversion to garlic and I do love to worship the sun. Sooner or later this Heat Vampire will be moving to friendlier climates...Arizona more than likely. But for now, I must go eat my popcorn with extra salt and put another blanket on the bed, hubby is out of town until Thursday!
1. A is for age: 36 2. B is for beer of choice: Ehh, not much. I really don't drink much beer. When I do I'll drink just about anything but Coors. 3. C is for career right now: Title Database Administrator 4. D is for your dog's name: Fritz 5. E is for essential item you use everyday: Face Cream, hand cream, and my iPod. 6. F is for favorite TV show at the moment: This is difficult...Umm Jericho, Journeyman, CSI, and Heroes...that;s the most I can narrow it down. 7. G is for favorite game: Dominoes 8. H is for Home town: Avon Lake (groan) 9. I is for instruments you play: Does spoons count? If not then nothing, I'm not into putting in the practice time to learn one. 10. J is for favorite juice: Any kind with Cranberry juice in it. 11. K is for whose butt you'd like to kick: I'll just say it's a family member...I'm not going to say anymore than that. 12. L is for last place you ate: My dining room table 13. M is for marriage: For 7 years now. 14. N is for your full name: Online, it's Raven. It's a nickname left over from High School 15. O is for overnight hospital stays: The only overnights I've had is the birth of my girls. Other than that, everything has been outpatient. 16. P is for people you were with today: Co-workers and kids. 17. Q is for quote: Children really brighten up a household - they never turn the lights off. -- Ralph Bus 18. R is for Biggest Regret: I didn't tell off my boss at Invacare when I had the chance. 19. S is for status: Ummm...married...mother...vetran...I need more direction on this one. 20. T is for time you woke up today: 5:45am...hubby calls me every morning and wakes me up. 21. U is for underwear you have on now: Maroon with maroon lace. 22. V is for vegetable you love: Peas 23. W is for worst habit: Bad temper...it takes a lot to get me going, but once it happens there is no stopping me. 24. X is for x-rays you've had: I've had several on my knees, one on my arm and one of my lungs. 25. Y is for yummy food you ate today: Cocoa Pops cereal. I have a soar throat so I've mainly been drinking stuff. 26. Z is for the zodiac sign: Aries
Anyone notice all the orbs?! I can say that I took a ton of pictures all weekend, and since then and never had these kinds of orbs show up. Also, the hall was pitch black and there were no lights to account for the orbs, or anyone else taking pictures at the same time. 