Not Gay!


What Kind of Gay Stereotype are You?
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Gosh! You're a Boggan! You are a simple,
practical changeling, and you enjoy having a
quaint and well-kept home to dwell in. Gossip
is your middle name, and you are quite adept at
determining the social dynamics of any group of
people. You are adept at handicrafts, and if
no one is looking, can do quite a lot of work
in a short period of time. Those in need you
must help, however, even if it can be to your
possible disadvantage.


Which European Changeling Kith do you belong to?
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Surprises

So, my older brother and I have never been especially close. We competed in everything growing up. So, it is always rare for us to spend any time talking, except at family events, birthdays, holidays, etc. This week he called me for my brithday, and we talked for 30 minutes. That was very cool. I love my brother, and would like to get to know him better, but we often piss each other off, and end up not talking more. Anyway, he called me again today, and is thinking of buying the house. He wants to own it as a rental property... How strange is that? Of course, he has talked about rental properties for years, and never done anything about it, but having the chance to buy it commission free he may well jump at it. That would be very cool.

Disney movie! What the HELL are you doing taking
this quiz, Goldilocks?! You're not a very
sexual person...in fact, you're probably a
virgin. You'd be better off trying your hand at
voice-overs for a Saturday morning cartoon.


What kind of porno would you star in?
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Today

So, I find myself with surplus time today. Not that there isn't stuff going on here at work, just a lull really. What do I find myself doing in this lull (God don't ya hate it when your boss' boss walks in and you are blogging...) I find myself craving communication. I am going to all of my friends' blogs and only one is really getting updated today. Thanks Kristen! So, I find myself finding things to do around here. Tidying this. Putting away that. Wanting to munch on something. (Now that is a bad habit...) So, I broke a $5, and went down to the pop machine for a diet coke. I figured it was better than cookies, popcorn, or something of that ilk. *sigh* Loosing 25#'s is going to be tough....Incidentally, I have decided that is my goal. 25#'s... Now to set a deadline. How long should it take? How long will I allow myself. I am a VERY deadline oriented person, so they help me a lot. Having a nebulous goal does nothing for me. Must set goal this week.

Blogs

I am confused. I think of my Blog as a Public Journal. Someplace for me to enter my thoughts for the world to see, and disseminate information. Apparently some people get upset if their Blogs aren't read, are read by people other than whom they intended, or in general get used differently than they, the owners want... Why put up a Blog if you want complete control of it or it's contents? Isn't that what a diary is for? Sorry, this may seem extraneous to everyone who reads this, but I was just thinking back over about 3 conversations with people about Blogs in general.... Had to comment on it.

Health

Kristen commented below that she is up for more gym time, for class or other. Me too...we shall have to make plans. Anyone else?

Health

So, rather than once again talking house stuff, I thought I'd try a different topic today. My Health. Every year, work has the U of M, Worksite Wellness group come in. Participation is voluntary. They check blood sugar levels, cholesterol, blood pressure, BMI, heart rate, and triglycerides.

Here are my results, and what is normal. (Some of them scared me.)

Total Cholesterol: 237
Less than 200 is desirable, but I am not yet in High Risk which is 240 or more, but I am borderline.
LDL vs. HDL, unmeasurable due to my very high Triglyceride level. More on this later.

Blood Pressure: 128/98
Desirable is 120/80. This puts me into Borderline as well.

BMI: 32.1
Desirable is about 25-26. This puts me firmly in High Risk, which is 27.8 or higher

Glucose (I was very worried about this one): 90
Acceptable is 73 - 115. I am in the good range here.

Triglycerides: 650 (Yes, that is 650.)
Acceptable range is 30 - 150. I am into outerspace here. This number being so high didn't allow the machine to accurately determine HDL or LDL cholesterol, just the total. She ,the nurse, indicated that this is reflective of someone who is consuming more calories than one is burning. In other words, eat less, and exercise more.

So, it looks like I might make my gym trip more regularly. Anyone wanna workout?

The Day

So, I am sitting here at work today, and just don't want to be here. I want to be home, in bed, sleeping. Not an auspicious start to the day.

Beef - It's what's for dinner

Patrick and I are placing a beef order this week...hopefully, if they ever call us back. Let us know if you are interested in participating.

House

Well, we have now met with all realtors we were considering, and it is unanimous, we can't use a realtor to sell the house if we want to have enough down payment to meet 20% of the new place. So, we bought some For Sale By Owner signs over the weekend, and those should be going up this weekend, hopefully. It looks like we are going to ask for the low 170's, and be willing to negotiate some. We shall see for sure once the flier gets put together.

We are trying to pick out our siding, countertops, and flooring this week. We also need to meet with a Mortgage Broker to get pre-approved.

This Weekend

This weekend should be pretty busy. In addition to everything above, we are going to Lansing, to see Patrick's family on Saturday, and Sunday, I am meeting with Matthew to begin working on my Doublet, which has been 'in-progress' for about 4 years. He has agreed to work on it for me as a birthday gift, which I thought was both a very cool, and inspired gift.

House Sale

So, I spent some time this morning checking out information on selling a home by yourself. It is more involved than I hoped, but less complicated than I feared.... This is good. Some really surprising facts... I can hire a company to help me sell the house, without actually hiring a full realtor. helpusell.com is one I am looking at. Another surprise was the cost of selling a home, even done by owner. There is nearly $2,000 in costs through fees for Title Insurance and State and County taxes that will all have to be paid. A little daunting, but I think handlable. I think the house will go on the market the end of this month.

House Purchase
The sales representative got back to me yesterday afternoon. She was trying to get me a full-list of all information we were waiting on. I appreciate this. Of course, previously the answers came as she got them, and she let us know there would be a wait for other answers.

Sleep
The last week or so, I have not been sleeping well...I assume this is due to constant thinking about the new place, selling the old place, and in general, a high level of concern/excitement. That changed after the exercise class yesterday... I slept really well last night. I guess I just needed to burn off a little frustration and concern. I think this whole thing has my emotions on edge. In general, I am not a person who likes large change overnight. Granted, we are bringing the change on ourselves, but it is still change. I must keep in mind over the next few months that my emotions are near the surface, remember to count to ten when I am upset, and not to fly off the handle about things. Change is manageable...I just need to relax and flow with it, rather than fret over it. ............................................................................................................ Easier said than done.

House

So, we signed the purchase agreement on Monday night. On Tuesday morning, I called and left a message with a question. Normally, these calls have been returned within a few hours. Now, it is 24 hours later and nothing.... I may loose my temper...

First

We did it! We signed our purchase agreement last night. I was up all night worrying/wondering/thinking. I don't do very well with big changes. Once I get acclimated to it, I am fine, but until then.... So, our house will officially be for sale in the next few weeks, as I get the information in order. I am meeting with realtors to discuss pricing and commissions. If they have a low enough commission, we will use them, otherwise, it will be For Sale By Owner. We shall see.

Kristen
2 Things:

1....I will remember that promise of bagpipers ONLY outside!

2. I think the first website you referred to in your blog about consolidating debt on credit cards, and closing unused ones agrees with what I did, and what I have heard. Patrick may have more information though.

Which LOTR Actor Is Your Ideal Husband?
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Your ideal husband is Billy Boyd! I hereby label you a lover of boyish Scots and one of those girls who swoons in front of smiley musicians.

""Which cocktail are you?""
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So, the Holidays are officially over, and winter is firmly entrenched. I think it is time to hibernate, and avoid the cold. *sigh* if only...

Christmas
Christmas was nice. The weekend before Christmas we spent Saturday with Patrick's immediate family. That was nice, though I could have done without the "Fairy Crossing" sign his mother got me for Christmas (at his sister's urging...), everything else was nice, and we had a good time. Christmas Eve was with Patrick's extended family. Again, we had a pleasant time. Chatted, visited, opened presents, ate dinner. Home by 9:00. Christmas day... this was with my family. While, overall pleasant, it was a bit irritating at times. My nephews were spoiled rotten as usual...My brother's explorer couldn't carry all of the presents home....literally. We got there early and visited with my folks and younger brother. That was great. When my older brother and his wife and kids got there, we had dinner. The younger one was in a mood, but I guess that is excusable at 2.5 years old. I guess what I really want to gripe about is as usual, my brother. We were talking about the fact that we were going to build a new house, and he started throwing out comments about us not having researched it enough...what we should and shouldn't do, and in general telling us that we didn't seem to know what we were doing. Now, don't get me wrong, I love my brother, but he seems to think he always knows more about everything than I do. Maybe it is an elder sibling thing. *sigh*

Patrick had to work after Christmas which kind of sucks, but I got a lot done around the house that I have been wanting to do.

New Year's
We spent New Year's Eve with a little gathering of friends at Jack and Kristen's. It was a fun time, but I started getting just a little bit bitchy when I had too much to drink. Luckily, I realized it, and laid off all liquor for the rest of the night. This is a problem for me. There is a fine line between 'witty and charming' and 'witty and bitchy' for me when I drink. Which is why I always monitor what I drink... I first noticed it in college. My brother and sister-in-law suggested smoking, as the nicotine calms you down... They were right, but it then took me about 2 years to quit. My brother has the same problem, but instead of bitchy, he gets into bar fights... I suppose I got the better 'flaw'... I don't think I pissed anyone off, but if I did, my apologies... The funny thing, is that it seems to depend on what I have eaten over the course of the day, maybe a blood sugar thing? If I have had normal meals, then I am fine. If I have snacked or ate junk food...I get bitchy...

I hope everyone enjoyed there holidays...

I'm from Ravenclaw!

Hogwart's Sorting Hat Quiz

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