Deed is done

"Senate passes health insurance overhaul" -Fox News

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/12/24/senate-poised-pass-health-care-reform/

These were my favorite lines in the artical:
* "Facing the certainty that Senate Democrats were lined up to pass the landmark legislation, Republican senators said they are resolved to fight to the bitter end to prevent the bill from being implemented.

'That's the clear will of the American people and we're going to fight on their behalf,' Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said just moments before the vote."

* "The Senate measure omits a government-run insurance option, which liberals favored to apply pressure on private insurers but Democratic moderates opposed as an unwarranted federal intrusion."

Day in the life of me...

After 1 hour and 20 minutes of profile picture taking, just for Facebook, I looked like this:
(I don't take pictures of myself for this very reason.)

Family!

Here are some pictures of when everyone was together. We had a lot of fun hanging out! =D

Here's a question...

What have you been doing lately?
Been somewhere fun? Talked to a good friend recently? I want your answers. =D

Thought provoking

Here's an opinion piece from Glenn Beck who has his own show on Fox News approximately every evening. He's a conservative who raises good points and questions about political topics and things going on in the political realm. I am glad that he is daring and bold enough to say the truth about political goings on. So here's this weeks article: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,568747,00.html

Winter's coming...

And I'm so excited! Yesterday I was finding all of our holiday recipes, and now as I think about it, I just can't wait to start smelling all the yummy spices of those wonderfully delicious treats around the holidays. But, even more so, I'm sooo happy that my lovely family will be coming for Thanksgiving! I almost can't contain it! =D We'll have splendid times of fun and adventures! I love you guys bunches!

Pianos...

"Sing us a song
You're the Piano Man
Sing us a song tonight
Well we're all in the mood for melody
You've got us feeling alright" - Billy Joel

I love pianos... they're so lovely! I like that you can just sit down, relax a little, and just play whatever beautiful melodies that you decide sounds fitting at the time. It's kind of an escape from all of the busy things that happen in a day. =)

Yankee Doodle went to town...

And I discovered that I can buy Yankee Candle Company candles in a store called Home Sense! Yay! I'm so happy about that 'cause I hadn't seen them anywhere else around here. (It's the little things in life *wink*)

MmHmmm

That is what I'm talkin' about! The Pumpkin Spice Latté is back! Rejoice, o ye coffee drinkers! =D Today, I was treated to Starbucks by my Mom, when, lo and behold! the Spice Latté was being advertised. It was the most creamy and delightful coffee I'd had for a while. Don't we all just love the fall season? =D

You Do All Things Well

Mountain maker
Ocean tamer
Glimpses of You
Burn in my eyes
The worship of heaven
Fills up the skies

You made it all
Said, "let there be"
And there was
All that we see
The sound of Your voice
The works of Your hands
You do all things well

Star creator
Wind breather
The strokes of Your beauty
Brushed through the clouds
Light from the heavens
Touching the ground

Imagination runs wild
And breathes the breath of life
Across the fields
Across the miles

Niagara

These are the places Mom, Dad, and I went this past weekend! We had a very nice time looking around in Niagara Falls and in Niagara On the Lake. There is a difference, really. They're in two different locations. Niagara On the Lake is a nice little downtown area with lots of fun boutique stores and art galleries. The town has been kept up very nicely. Niagara Falls is down south a bit from the Town, and has lots of Tourists, fun shops and places to look at. And, at night they have different colored lights shining on the Falls. I was finally able to see it! =D I took pictures, and well, as it was night, they're a little bit blurry. Anyways, enjoy!

The Prince Of Wales Hotel in Niagara On the Lake

Downtown

The Park

Niagara Falls at night

The American Falls

Tribute

I figured it has been a while since I said anything about cute little ducklings, so I though I'd make this tribute to my blog's title with this picture. They're so adorable!

(I wonder if in their minds they're creating a petition for a bathtub)

Washington!

Yay! Finally some pictures! We had a wonderful time in Washington.

Our friends! =D They let us stay at their house.

Seattle's warf

The all important Original Seattle Starbucks

Downtown Tacoma, and if you look hard enough, you'll see Mt. Rainier

Funny Quote of the Day

"B.A.! Somewhere out there in this polarized world is a plant, shrieking for help!" Howlin' Mad Murdock (A-Team)

Picture for you =)

My pictures are finally on my computer! =D Here's a fun one (I found this little guy outside of the office one day =) )

Announcing the arrival of...

Oliver, Sebastian, and Percival, my new three friends! I got my fishes today! =D I think that Gregory and Cecil are going to be good buddies with them. Now I have five little finned friends!

Hm

I feel like I should write something profound, as I sit here in my warm, breezy room. But, alas and alack, it's just not comin' to me. So I guess you'll just have to be satisfied with my random thoughts I've had in the past 20 minutes as I looked around my room. Hehe.

1) Katie's bought me some CDs and is sending them up to me! Jars of Clay, and Jeremy Camp. Woohoo! Thanks Katie! =D

2) Man, Dr. Pepper is just too good!

3) I love those songs that remind me of the fun times with my friends and family.

4) Wow, I have lots of Tolkien books. Wonder how many?...

5) Soon I'll be able to put some pictures I've taken on my blog! Yay!

Well, there are my musings for the evening. =)

It's the simple things

There's nothing else that needs to be said. Right? *wink*

Yes, right now on this cloudy, drizzly evening I'm resting my weary feet, and mind, with a nice cup of frothy homemade hot chocolate in a wonderful Starbucks cup that was made just right for comfort. =) What better way to end a long day, I always say.

(Oh and, I thought it needed to be mentioned that I did adjust my "needs said" to "needs to be said", just for Josh. Aren't ya proud?)

Going to Buffalo..

To see the Cowboys. =)

Cowboys, buffaloes... western things.. going to Dallas. You're trackin' with me now. ;)

Hehe! I had fun coming up with that... Anyways, yeah! I'm gonna visit my family and friends tomorrow! I can't wait. I'm already pretty much packed up and such. Thanks to a wonderful sister Patrick and I are able to visit. Props Katie!

"Land of the free and the home of the brave!" (You can hear it in the background, can't ya?) ;)

Happenings

Sorry I've not posted recently. Things have somewhat been busy, or just uneventful. Hehe.

For a while now I've been preparing for Barb to be in Ireland. She'll be gone on Tuesday! So I'll be the Mailroom person for about 2 weeks, then she'll be back. Hope it goes well. =)

Mom's working full time at the office now. I've been able to help her at home by keeping things cleaned up and nice, and I've had a few opportunities to make yummy dinners. =D I enjoy that.

It's almost Easter! It'll be nice to have a bit of a break from work, it'll be busy in the Mailroom I bet. The weekend after Easter, the family will be going up to Pinewoods 'cause Dad's got a meeting there. We'll be going with the Harris's 'cause they have supporters there too. So we'll all have a fun time up there, next to a lake. =D

So there's a bit of an update to you guys, hehe. Hopefully I'll have some fun things to post soon!

Song

I was listening to this song today:

Strong Tower -Newsboys

Strong and mighty
Strong to save us
Like a fortress
Never failing

Strong in battle
Strong in kindness
When we stray, Lord
You're strong to find us

When the winds come hard against us
You are steadfast, You are true
When the ground beneath us trembles
Your foundation never moves


Strong tower, high and glorious
Strong tower, mighty in love
Our refuge, our defender
Strong tower
Lord above

Strong to lead us
Through the shadows
Strong to carry
All our sorrows

When the enemy surrounds us
Closing in as darkness falls
Though his armies rage against us
They can never scale these walls

You are my shelter, my shield
You are the home I could never deserve
Here I will serve, ever under Your gaze
Here I will serve, ever singing Your praise

Strong tower, Lord above

Oh, to be an Anthropologist...

Haven't you ever had that small (or large, whichever), inkling or desire to just learn about the old cultures and people? To almost touch, taste, and experience the many things there were to see and hear? I guess that means you would need a time machine to actually fulfill this desire. Kind of like Mr. Whittaker's time machine he built in Odyssey. =)

As I think about it, I think I know where this desire has been created. Over time, I've read many historically set fiction books, listened to Odyssey on the radio (7:30 pm, every evening!), read many of Tolkien's books, Greek myths, some things on Plato and Aristotle. I've seen a movie or two set in the Old World, watched Shakespearean plays put to film, and have seen most of the Jane Austin movies. Oh, and let's not forget the fun favorite Wishbone!

In all of these you can at some point be taken into the time periods and experience them (remember, full imagination is the key!). You get to be apart of their world! I love language as well, so that's also important to anthropology.

So at this point in time I've wanted to learn about the Norse and Danish. Well I suppose Ancient European culture. The 1500's. The time just before the Middle Ages. This is where all of the Arthurian stories come in to play. (I do have the book La Morte D'Arthur, which is a book originally written in 1400's by Sir Thomas Malory). But I want to find books on the Ancient European world.

This is usually what happens to me when I read something or watch something in or about a people or place: I am immersed in the story or documentary, and then when it's finished, want to learn more about it.

In general, I'd like to go through the world's time line, find many books on one culture talking of their daily lives, beliefs, surroundings, and important people of their time. And any interesting fictional books set in that culture. While doing this you can learn tons of geography as well, which is a plus to me.

So this is tonight's thoughts in my mind. =) And I fully intend to read up on the Norse and Danish, in case you were wondering.

Ta Da!

I've added a new link! Go to www.deadraug.com, Patrick's website. He's got awesome photos he's taken! And, maybe while you're at it, you can check out some of my other links. =)

(Okay, so yes, this is a promotional post for people to see my links I've got *wink*)

"I've been workin' on the Rail Road.."

"..All the live long daaay!"

Well, not really. I've not been doing much recently, other than hold down the fort while Mom and Dad were in Texas for a few days last week. =) That was fun. I got to make dinners, brownies, and biscuts! I enjoyed it. Patrick was also happy about the brownies and biscuts. I finished my new staff assignment too. Yay! =)

Last night I started a drawing of a character from the SciFi show Stargate SG-1. I hope it goes well, the last attempt didn't work out so well, so I've chosen a different person on the team this time. Maybe I can find a better picture of the previous character I'd attempted.

I found my collection of books this past Saturday! YAY! I'd not been able to read them for a while 'cause I didn't know they were in the garage this whole time, in the unmarked bankers box I'd packed them in. Silly me, hehe. I have lots of books! I didn't think I had as many as I do. Several of them are very thick books too ;) I love big stories, 'cause then they last longer! Don't you agree? =D

I've also been listening to a few songs from The Fray, Smalltown Poets, and Brave Saint Saturn. Especially the ones from Smalltown Poets and Brave Saint Saturn, they remind me of all the fun times I've had with Julie, Josh, Sam, Katie, Christy, and Patrick in summer. I'd also like to find some songs from Downhere and Jars of Clay. Hehe.

So there you have the updated picture into my life. =D I hope you enjoyed it!

The City Scene

Ever wondered what the city life was like in downtown? Well.. let me introduce you to the city of Toronto! Smack dab in da center it looks like this:


These are apartments, and there were cranes around too.


One area where we had lunch sorta looked like this, lots of people, kind of like a mall.


Did you ever question (when you see a scene from NY) if there are really that many people? Well, it was exactly this at 4 pm in the afternoon on each corner! I fully believe that NY could be worse than Toronto.

Now, I didn't take these pictures, but I found these to show you a small bit of the City. Gilbert, Barb, and I were in downtown for an Adobe Creative Suite 4 class. We'll be going again next Friday.

The ground has been swept from under us

The US has no idea what will happen in the next 4 years.

But, it is always darkest before the dawn.

One Fish, Two Fish

Three fish, four fish!

Mom and Dad came home on Saturday bearing a very unexpected gift. Four little Neon Tetra fishes! And they have a nice 5 gallon tank with some aquarium accessories. Wait, there's more! I even have a PetSmart Pet Perks card! So, when I get stuff at the store, I can get it cheaper. ;) I never thought that they'd end up bringing that home one day. Now, these little fish in the picture is not my own, but I wanted to show you what they look like.

"1,2,3,4.....1,000..2,000..."

It was a cold and snowy day... Jessica was sitting on the floor in the uncomfortably chilled storage room for hours counting boxes and stacks of brochures.

Until 4pm. She had finally completed with one set of cupboards and could go in to the wonderfully warm Gym and count the book boxes! Spread sheet, calculator, and pencil in hand, she gladly left the "ice box".

This has been "A Day in the Life of a Rubberducky". Tune in next time. I am Miss Sparrow, signing off.

(hehe! =D i was happy to help Barb out, she was busy with other things. maybe on monday we'll be able to finish inventory all up)