I Done been Tagged!

Let's see...
1. I'm left handed but play guitar right-handed.
I also play all sports right- handed.
2.I don't like soda of any kind, and never have.It's the carbonation.
3.I don't like lying. I mean, I reeaally don't like lying, and will stop talking to someone if I think they've told me a lie. I try to give everyone the courtesy of being honest to them. My tolerance for bullshit is low.
4. Profession:I was a Counselor for a long time. Worked with predominantly teenagers.
5.My favorite color is royal blue, or other medium-dark shades of blue.
Bonus*
6. I had a rough childhood/young adult experience, hence my career choices.
7.I don't like whipped cream.
8.My middle name begins with a C.
9. I'll talk to just about anyone.
10. I once found the Golden egg during an Easter egg hunt when I was 5, and gave it
to a girl that lived down the street. I felt sorry for her,she started crying when she saw me pick it up -I knew her family was poorer than mine, and she didn't seem to have a dad like we did.The prize was a live rabbit.Wonder if they ate it? Either way, I don't regret it.

That's about it. :) And I'm not tagging anyone else, much as I may be curious! You are off the hook!

Wow, you guys!Ok, this is rough in spots, but check it out!
I was experimenting with harmonic notes, to see what would fit best with my new song, and it actually came out kinda cool! Check it out!One minute, 43 seconds...

Finally got some words for this guitar song!One of my longer clips - One minute and 46 seconds. :)
I'm happy about this! Even if it's brand new and as raw as it gets, there's potential...

3 Pounds Already! Wow! :D

It was more of a lark, stepping on the scale just now. I just woke a few minutes ago.
I'd forgotten to weigh myself the other day, when I began the dieting. Was feeling better about stepping on the scale this morning, simply because I know I really have been dieting and trying my best. Figured it would be the same weight as the other day, that it was too soon to have lost any. But 3 pounds already! Surely some of that had to be water weight gain or something(though I didn't take any diuretics or anything). That was fast! I was hoping for the 3 pound loss at the end of the week, not 2-3 days into it! Wow!
Well this was a nice wake up, I can tell you!I hope the rest of the day is this way, and I hope everyone else has a good day, too. :)

Neglectful Blogging...

So day one of dieting has passed, doing ok. Feeling good about it. There can be a sort of pleasure in that self-denial, a feeling of satisfaction. And I actually starved less yesterday, because I ate breakfast. Last night I didn't eat any dessert,fat, no-fat, low-cal, nothing. I didn't want anything, imagine that! I guess when one has that firm resolve, it really does help.

I am actually needing to mention that I realize I have been a neglectful blogger when it comes to some people's blogs. It's not intentional! That's what I wanted to say, I am neglecting certain people's blogs out of forgetfulness, being caught up in other things, being busy. It's been hard for me to keep up with everyone! But it's not some sort of intentional um, bad feelings or dislike or whatever one might imagine. Simply just overwhelmed with trying to keep up with everyone!
So I'm really sorry if I haven't been to your blog lately, I don't mean to be neglectful or rude. I will try to do a better job of catching up! xoxoxo
BTW, in a freakish twist yesterday, I got in and out of the DMV in 15 minutes, not kidding. That has never once happened to me, ever. People even got mad when they
saw me take the number, go walking over to pick a seat to wait, and right as I was
going to sit down, they called my number! I looked at the hoards sitting near in surprise, they looked at me the same way, if not a little indignant. As in " Hey! I've been waiting for a half hour! She didn't even get to sit down!" Heheh...
So I was unable to people watch like I'd been planning. But hey, that was a new record, possibly an all-time record for everyone at the DMV. Someone got in and out of there in 10-15 minutes. Wow. :)

Today Is The Day...

It begins, but I feel good about it, I feel strong. Part of it is the reminder that I didn't have this 23 pounds a year ago.That helps a lot, it's not like this is weight that was on me forever, this is newer fat, so I feel like I should be able to get rid of it easier. Dunno if that's true or not, fat is fat. But it does help to remind myself that it's newer weight gain.
BTW, for the record, what was I thinking with 2 patty melts! One was plenty! Goes to show you how my eyes were too big for my stomach, heheh.
Ate the ice cream, etc. Even ate homemade french fries. Yep. Royal pig-out. I put double cheese on the patty melts, lol. I don't even normally do that, but I was on a binge.
This morning I am going to weigh myself for an offical number to start with. We know it was 23 the other day, but we'll see what it is now.

I have to go to the DMV today. Yuck. Although you know, I have to admit, I like looking at people. All the different people. Sometimes I have to control laughter that threatens to burst out of me, such as last time at the DMV when I saw this blonde kid wearing a black T-shirt that said " I Hate You". I'd started laughing when I saw it,the look on his face, his hair,the whole picture. The Mexican family sitting next to me had looked to see what I was laughing at, not understanding. I think they thought I was nuts. :)
So the DMV can be interesting. Les Claypool wrote a funny song once about the DMV.
Mentions things like " I sit and fight back the urge to scream, if I had my druthers I would screw a chimpanzee, call it pointless!" The song is called what else?DMV, if you want to hear it. I specifically pulled it out this morning for inspiration.

Oooh! I just remembered something funny to me, another DMV story: There was an Asian
man with a very cute baby boy, I keep smiling and looking at the baby. The baby
is looking at me and smiling, and he's making this funny little noise : "He...he...he..." It's hard to describe. It was like he was trying to say something.
He kept doing it, that's the thing. Looking at me, smiling, and saying "he...he...he." sort of monotone. I don't understand, but it's cute. A minute later, the man carrying the baby boy laughs at something that someone said to him. " He! He! he!"
It was such an odd laugh! Never heard anythiong like it! And suddenly the baby starts doing it again, " he...he...he" Well, I just started laughing really hard,
because it all made sense suddenly. But everyone got quiet and looked at me. I said " He's just so cute!" And everyone relaxed again.
But it was hilarious. Yep, DMV stories. :)

The Diet Begins Tomorrow...

Keeping that in mind, I walked up to the little market here and bought some ice-cream to have for dessert tonight. I'm also going to fry up a couple of hamburgers for patty melts, put mayo and cheese on them and everything, and use the last of this really good bread that I have.I LOVE patty melts. Tomorrow the self-control begins. I can do this. The best part is knowing what I have to do, as I've said before. Knowledge goes a long way when it comes to dieting.
For example: did you know just how much fat and calories are in things like mayo and margarine? It's incredible. You could literally eat a bowl of beef barley soup with a few pretzels on the side, OR you could have two tablespoons of margarine or mayo. Yep. Eat some margarine or mayo, or eat a meal?
So educating oneself is really key in things like this. Another example: Did you know that when you starve yourself you are actually slowing down how fast your body burns fat? Because apparently when you starve yourself by skipping meals, you shock your body into holding onto the fat more.It's like a self-preservation thing the body does.That's the best way I can put it.
But I realize a lot of you know this stuff. But some of you might not, so this is good info here! :)
Anyway, I'm making the most of today as my last chance to pig out for awhile.
But if you know how to eat while dieting, you can actually eat more! It's just a matter of what! And I really need to stop skipping meals, I do that every single day.

Some chords for Purple Haze. My voice is thrashed today, I don't know why! But I can sing this, normally. Today I sound like I have laryngitis even though I didn't strain my voice or anything! Feels scratchy. Anyway, that's why I didn't sing along to this. And I also skipped the intro.I haven't played this in years. :)

A Santana song that I can't remember the name of. It's funny,but cool too.
As usual, unedited and screwups included.I'm having these damned amp/sound problems still:)

23 pounds in 2005!!!

My grand total for weight that I gained last year is 23 pounds! :o
OMG! It was the combination of various things, depression and sorrow being a big factor. And living near the ocean. I swear my appetite improved when I moved here to the beach!Something about the salt air? No excuses, obviously it's my fault.But I've just been so damned sad for so long!
That's when I had stopped weighing myself every week or so. If I weigh myself all the time then I can keep it under control. I've been kind of compulsive about it in my past.
So I'd stopped weighing myself, and then when I was going to be brave and assess the damage I discovered the scale needed new batteries, a special kind.
By the time I got on the scale again finally today I'd gained 23 pounds. 23 pounds in one year!
That's horrible. I'm so bummed about it, I can't even tell you. :(
So Monday I have to start dieting and get the 23 off. I would feel ok if I could just get that off. I know I can do it if I try. All this past year I've been eating such crap, ice cream and fries, fried chicken, etc. So bad. But at least
it's clear what the problem is!Things like that, you can fix. Stop eating the crap.
It's other kinds of problems that bother me more, things that you can't see how to fix. Or things that you can't fix no matter how hard you try.
Anyway. I'm just rambling on because I feel like I'm confessing. I'm weak, and I blew it this last year, bigtime.
Well, at least I exercise every day, even though I eat junk. It would've been so much worse if I didn't.
But right now I'm kinda I'm sad and disappointed in myself. :(

A few chords to "Over the hills and far away." Not my best effort, nor am I at my most attractive.But the chords are here for anyone that might want to learn some of them.And this is true "Reality television".:) Also I need to mention here that I'm having amp and cord/plug problems. Sound problems. I bought the amp at a pawn shop a couple of years ago. It's a little Fender "Frontman".

The chords for Dancin'Days...
Originally made this clip for Gary, so that he could see the chords.But then I thought,"Why not let anyone else see?" I'm self-conscious about my fingers because as Gary knows, when I was a little kid 1 and 1/4 of my fingers got cut off. My mom grabbed the appendages and rushed me to the hospital. They sewed them back on, and voila! I can hold the strings down.But my pinky is too short for a lot of chords. As it is, my ring finger is short, too. Remember, they were sewn back on.So it's even a miracle that I even have fingers! :)
My mom later told me that she was freaking out because it was my ring finger, that I would wear my wedding ring on.It was a stump. Good thinking on my Mom's part to grab it
and go! And the lack of ice even helped! I don't think you are supposed to wrap severed appendages in ice, just for reference.Anyway. Heheheh...

Dancin' Days It's flawed, but hey. :)

My other ghost video-short clip The one where things literally slid and fell off the table while I was playing. You can see the look on my face, I am freaked. In fact I sat there for about 10 minutes just staring. I couldn't believe it. If I hadn't been so stunned I would've grabbed the damned cam and moved it to show the damage, the table, how it had to have slid off the side of the table. My hands are occupied playing guitar. If my guitar had knocked the table in anyway, the recording would have picked it up. Turn this up asd loud as you want, you won't hear any thing from me. Doesn't it sound like it's sliding down off of something? In fact this is a dining room table. It's level. My digital camera is literally broken from this incident. I really should have panned over with the webcam to capture how it was laying on the ground with the batteries across the room. Yes, it was that hard. Whatever happened. Eeeek! It's freaking me all over again thinking of it.
This video is so old that I am still playing the Piececrappio with the new strings.
For your consideration...BTW, I have mentioned in long ago posts that I have to be very careful around here about setting things far away from the edges of things. I swear to you I said that. Because this happens sooo often around here! But never with
that force before!So I did not have things balanced precariously here! And you can hear it sliding, people!!
I had to come back and add; what you hear sliding and falling isn't even that much stuff. My table is clean, there was a very small metal tray with some beads, and the digital camera. Actually, I wrote all of this to someone, so I should have a record somewhere of what was on the table.That was about all, actually. My computer, monitor, the digital camera, and a small tray of beads that I'd set down briefly. I
don't like clutter at all. So this really should not have happened.:(

Did I capture my ghost? Stare at the area next to me,where the wall, microwave and cabinet are for the whole thing. You'll see a pinkish hue towards the end of it.It stays for a second or two, then leaves. never thought I'd post this, I was secretly working on my Stairway To Heaven cover, It's getting better. I'm doing it by ear, though. Sucks because I don't really want you to see this, but something happens on this recording,
the lights come again.
A few times now, this white flash of light happens for a split second. Not very often, but enough to make me wonder what's up. But this is the longest the light has lingered, something seems to be going on for sure.
One time when I was playing this one song 5,000 times, I was recording it, and a huge
crash happened next to me, and it was all this stuff had slid from the dining room table and fallen to the floor. I wasn't touching it. I actually sent that particular
video clip to someone, because I was really freaked out by the circumstances of that.
There was no way whatsover anything should have fallen off the table, if you only knew! It was as if "it" was tired of hearing that song and had a tantrum!
But like I said, this is the light thing that keep happening when I'm recording music, but this time it did something different. For your consideration. Ignore the song and watch for the light differences.Hmm...

Ok, here we go...
Now we're talking.The first part, the first chords of Yes " And You And I." From the album Close To The Edge. Guitar playing Yes fanatics like myself might want to see this. :)
Unfortunately I don't know the rest. You can see in the video that I keep glancing at the words on the screen. It's hard to sing and play at the same time, you guys. At least, it's hard to sing Jon Anderson and play at the same time, let's put it that way. :D

I feel bloated and homely right now.:)But I got the urge to hear that one Zep song with that fuzz effect on. So this is it.I want to otherwise aplogize for being so lax in my posting here or anywhere else. I've been distracted lately. I'm usually pretty good about putting something new every few days.Bear with me. :)

My Little Fish Died :..(

It's silly that I'm crying over a little fish, but I had him for almost 2 years. I've been laying low the past few days because I didn't want to be on the computer near his bowl.I was too sad.:(
He took sick about 3 days ago. I hope it was just old age. I was starting to think about euthanising him, which I didn't want to do. But he was still taking a little food right up to the end, and also he seemed to be unconscious most of the past 3 days.
He was my little morning cheer boy. First thing every morning when I would drag my sleepy self into the kitchen, he would see me and get all excited and "dance" for me.
I would feed him right away, even before making coffee.
I will say that Beta's hands down are the most expressive and full of personality for their size. Of all the small fish, they are the best if you want a pet that requires little care and no aquarium setup. Except that it obviously hurts when they die, and they don't really live so long. For a beta, he was a senior citizen. I've heard that they don't live more than a year normally. So at almost 2 years, he had a good long life. I'm glad that I was able to get him to take food even towards the end.
So that is what I've awakened to this morning. He died sometime in the night, he just slipped away. So I guess I should comfort myself with these thoughts.
*note* If you don't know how to euthanise a fish that you know is suffering and isn't going to make it, it's ice water. Really icy cold water. Put them in a cup of ice water. It's humane and quick. My ex, who always had more compassion for animals and fish than he did for human beings, taught me this. It apparently deadens any nerves, sensations of pain that they might be feeling at the same time as killing them.
Anyway, I'm glad I didn't have to do it. R.I.P. little Beta-boy.:(

This Guy Is Full Of Crap...

James Frey

Don't know if you've heard of this fraud, but he is very funny to me. He didn't just tell a few little embellishments, his whole schtick is falling apart. It's always the most pathetic of compulsive liars that tell stories to make themselves look good. It's not enough to merely be a liar. I remember there was an American war hero ( he claimed) author awhile back who was found to be a total fraud.Scumbag. Never even was in the military. Really, these publishing companies should do their homework when it comes to certain kinds of non-fiction. But in this case it's particularly funny because James Frey lied to say that he was a scumbag!

A Dream I Had...

I dreamed last night that the lady that does my hair, "R's," husband, "L" died. Weird. Dreamed that I went in to get my hair trimmed,things were the same as usual except that a couple of ladies were talking about "L" having died recently.In the dream I ask "R" if it's true, she nods, looks sad, and I wake up.Hmmm...don't know what to make of it.
"L" is a jovial person, jokes and laughs a lot. I've seen him around a few times when I went to get my hair done.That's how I know who he is.
Anyway...

Short clip of potential lead for new song, improv
again.

Added some basic bass riffs...Needs work, I know. But I think
it's shaping up overall to be pretty good, if I do say so myself! :D
If I had drums or a drum machine I could add the drums myself.

Yeah! New song! I'm going to create a lead and bass
riff for it, but I'm liking it so far. I'm in my pj's
drinking my morning coffee, and rocking. A nice way to
wake up.Hope you guys like it, remember it's new.

Original revisited, this time played with the
Peavey.

Take Down The Tree, Lisa!

Yep, the tree is still up. It's a fake, anyway, bought for a few bucks at the dollar store.For the price it was a good deal, it's really a nice little tree. It's about
5 feet high! The awesome thing, too, is that the branches are already attached to the tree, It's a matter of pulling the tree out of the box, bending the branches into the proper shapes. No color-coded branches to match to the holes.It's already finished!

So it's sitting over there on a little box, which puts it at about 6 feet high. The lights are twinkling away, I don't want to get rid of them. I think they have been helping my mood.The brightly colored twinkly lights make me happy.:)
But Christmas is over. Time to pack away the santa hat, the silver star that I'd hastily made, just to have something to stick at the top of the tree. It actually came out pretty good.
I might keep the lights out and figure out some way to use them. They are probably going to look tacky no matter where I put them.
Anyway, time to take down the tree. Should've been done already.