FEAR ANTS: WWWWWAVESSSSSSS

I'm totally in the grips of Winter right now. Everyone, including myself, is crazed & cranky. But, take heed! March is less than two weeks away! It is safe to begin daydreaming about sunshine and daffodils and grilling and camping. But, please, no shorts. Too soon.

A natural side effect of turning into a winter bear is neglecting a whole lot of things including, but not limited to, grooming, laundry, dishes & other housework, remembering to feed the felines in a timely manner, and grocery shopping. And blogging. Even so, I feel I've been very busy lately. However, all other free time is spent under the covers and on the couch, watching the Winter Olympic sports. I've been enjoying them so much. The Olympics are the greatest sporting event of all time! I totally turn into a fiercely freaky-deaky U.S. team supporter. Like in a scaring-the-kitties-from-shouting kind of way. They are such a comfort for me during these trying times. All of that good will (and the hilarious catty rivalries) and competition makes me feel good. Too, wow, Olympians! The literally break their bodies to fine tune their performance and it's amazing to see the competition sort out the best of the best. I tune in any chance I get. My favorite events are ski jumping, aerials, biathlon & speed skating, but I do love to tune to EVERYTHING.

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02-02-2010: About a *fortnight ago, KMHD, Matt W. & myself went to UALR to watch RNC Chair Michael Steele and likely NY Senate candidate Harold Ford, Jr. debate, although I would hardly call it a debate. Essentially, both men gave the audience their talking points, which is pretty damn insulting to those of us who actually keep up with politics. The "highlight", or, the part when I was most incensed, was when Michael Steele said that a million dollars really isn't a lot after taxes. Oh, Michael, don't! After the moans, groans, and the mocking laughter died down, Howard Ford, Jr. asked the audience if anyone had a million dollars? Of course no one did, but Michael Steele then queried, "Who wants a million dollars?" As expected, a few people raised their hands. But, I was pleasantly pleased by how many people did not. I won't get into my views & thoughts on money. Besides it being a rude topic of conversation, it isn't lost on me that my views may not be relatable. It's such a touchy subject, much more than politics or religion, because unlike politics and religion, everyone must deal with money (or a lack of it). Anyway, the scariest part of the whole Steele v. Ford, Jr. charade was the Q&A with the audience. Oh. My. Word. I don't even know where to start. The craziest of the crazy stepped up. Enraged baby boomers (DO NOT GET ME STARTED ON THIS LOT), Libertarians (ugh) & people who start their diatribe with "I stand here in fear of God..." all got to step up to the mic. We didn't get any substantive questions or comments. It was fright.en.ing. Although Harold Ford, Jr. gave good talking points (but, they're STILL talking points), I can't say I'm a fan. I am of the opinion that he needs to stay in Memphis to work & not try to run for Senator in NY.

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02-07-2010: Happy New Year! This is Year of the Tiger! A week before the actual holiday, we hustled on down to Bauxite to celebrate with our cousins & aunt from Ft. Smith. I look forward to a few things at new year celebrations: 1. pho 2. the dragon and 3. egg rolls 4. prayers at the temple . The lady who makes the pho used to own Van Lang, the (former) best Vietnamese restaurant in town. For some reason, she sold it to some Koreans who have tampered with the recipe, so it's not as good anymore. But, I get to eat it at least once a year. We didn't get to say prayers this year as we had our cousins in tow.

Worth the wait:

I've tried & tried, but I don't know how to correct this. Tilt your head & enter the dragon:

KMHD, Loc, An, Vi & ATM:

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02-07-2010: We hosted Super Bowl Sunday @ our home this year. Super Bowl usually isn't my steeze, but the New Orleans Saints, for me, represent the ultimate underdog in a city who has suffered a complete beat down with no meaningful recovery in sight. Or, it would probably be more accurate to say that they are suffering an achingly slow recovery. New Orleans needed this win, so we grouped together to cheer them on. Now THAT was a fantastic game! There were so many high-fives, whoops & hollers, and endless waves in our living room. And if I needed another reason to stand behind the Saints, it would be because of linebacker Scott Fujita. He's got quite the background story (He identifies himself as culturally Japanese!) and firmly stands up for equality for the LGBT community & hot-button women's issues. A football player! He pretty much blows that stereotype out of the water. People amaze me everyday!

The major distraction from the game was the grilled cheese sandwich bar that I set up. My objective was for folks to make their dream grilled cheese sandwich. I bought an obscene amount of cheese of many varieties:

We used only the finest ingredients: bakery-style sourdough & French miche and real garlic butter. But, the key to our success was Leigh's panini press. ZOMG! We had previously given the bar a test run on the waffle iron and it gave similar fantastic results, but the panini press was harder, better, faster, stronger. I'm sad to report that I didn't take a lot of photos. But, I did take a cell phone snap shot of the prototype. It tasted better than you can imagine:

I managed to squeeze in lotsa cuties into our living room to watch the game. We totally watched Puppy Bowl instead of commercials and half-time tomfoolery. Puppy Bowl!:

For the record, I know the nicest, smartest, funniest, coolest, most talented people around! And they're cute, too. The best thing ever is to go to bed, exhausted, with a smile, from having too much fun.

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02-08-2010: I thought ATM was pulling my leg when he woke me up the next morning to report that there was a healthy blanket of snow on the ground. Either the weathermen goofed or we were too distracted by the game to notice any warning of a snow storm. But, yeah, we got a bit of snow, didn't we? I adore snow. And frankly, I don't mind having to stay home for a couple of days because the roads are unnavigable. I got to do some cooking & reading, but, I mostly suffered a toothache. I have TMJ & currently cannot afford treatment, even with the best dental insurance plan. (Hello, healthcare reform!). Despite preventive measures, I suffer a random toothache every once in awhile. It's so painful & I'm rendered useless for a few days. I didn't get to truly enjoy the snow. No sledding, snow(wo)men, snowball fights or snow angels. I just nested on the couch & watched from the window. At the very least, it was very pretty and soothing.

Ghost cat & camelias:

ATM attempted to go to work, only to return a bit later:

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02-12-2010: I visited with the Peeks; we eated homemade pizza & watched the Olympic opening ceremonies. Oh, Canada! (Note: Plan a trip to Montreal and/or Vancouver soonish) LP is one of my favorite things at the moment. Lil pooper:

With dad:

Big sister, Negi:

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02-14-10: Happy Valen-what now? Pish. ATM & I went to down to Hot Springs to wager on the ponies and to get some badly needed R&R. Heather & Zach met us @ Oaklawn for the day. Muchas gracias to them for making the drive & helping us have an ideal afternoon.