Wanna buy a house?

Thankfully this is the neighbor's house, not the house I'm house-sitting at. Also thankfully, one of the people I'm house-sitting for is home this weekend to help handle the rising water. Obviously it got a little wet down here along the Schuylkill river this weekend. There are a lot more pictures up at my Flickr account. It's been an interesting day. There wasn't too much to move at the house, so it was mostly just watching, waiting and taking a lot of pictures. I got some fun pictures of various strange goings on. A couple people that live in two houses down the street a bit were out canoing and kayaking in their back yards. You're only supposed to be able to canoe in the front yards here (the front yards being the river).

Outside of all this, I know I haven't posted in forever, I'm sorry. I'm not good at posting when I'm just back in normal boring life mode. But, there is something exciting, I found an apartment I really like right on Bridge street in Phoenixville. It's the main street in town, even though there's also a Main street. I will get the keys May 1 hopefully. The landlord is planning on doing a couple things to the apartment. Not really much else to talk about. Enjoy the flood pictures.

Random meme

Okay, I don't usually do memes, but this one appealed to me. I stole it off of Guinness Girl, whose blog is one of way too many that I've come to read every day. I've become particularly obsessed with hers as it's one of the few that I can actually read at work, since Big Brother cuts off most of my reading material. I really enjoy her writing and she lives in Philly so it's fun to hear someone else's take on the city.

Here’s the idea: I copied & pasted this list from her blog. Then, I bolded the things I have done, and in doing so noticed that I really should do more stuff. And then, because it was just not all that fun, I put stars next to the ones I want to do. And added my own little comments in italics.

Let’s review: bold and a different color= I have done this. * = I want to do this. Italics after the item on the list = random commentary because I must babble more about myself, really. Just plain old nothin’ = I have not done this and I don’t particularly care if I ever do.


1.Bought everyone in the bar a drink*
2.Swam with wild dophins
3.Climbed a mountain (10,340 ft elevation in UT, hell yeah!)
4.Taken a Ferrari for a test drive* (or anything with at least 300 hp)
5.Been inside the Great Pyramid
6.Held a tarantula
7.Taken a candlelit bath with someone*
8.Said “I love you” and meant it
9.Hugged a tree
10.Bungee jumped*
11.Visited Paris* (I have no strong desire for this, but for some reason I feel I have to)
12.Watched a lightening storm at sea
13.Stayed up all night and saw the sun rise
14.Seen the Northern Lights*
15.Gone to a huge sports game
16.Walked the stairs to the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa
17.Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18.Touched an iceberg
19.Slept under the stars
20.Changed a baby’s diaper
21.Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22.Watched a meteor shower
23.Gotten drunk on champagne (eeewww, gross)
24.Given more than you can afford to charity (Yay XPN)
25.Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26.Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27.Had a food fight
28.Bet on a winning horse
29.Asked out a stranger* (Oh if only I could ever get up the guts to do this)
30.Had a snowball fight
31.Screamed as loudly as you possibly can (Mostly in my car)
32.Held a lamb
33.Seen a total eclipse
34.Ridden a roller coaster
35.Hit a home run
36.Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37.Adopted an accent for an entire day (I sounded Canadian for a couple days after I spent 9 days up there)
38.Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39.Had two hard drives for your computer
40.Visited all 50 states* (I've got 38 so far)
41.Taken care of someone who was drunk (ummm.... yeah, my high school nickname was St. Danielle, Patron Saint of the Inebriated)
42.Had amazing friends (Had? How about have? I've got a lot of amazing friends, soooooo many wonderfully amazing friends)
43.Danced with a stranger in a foreign country*
44.Watched wild whales
45.Stolen a sign
46.Backpacked in Europe* (I'm currently contemplating this for my 26th birthday)
47.Taken a road trip (I am the Queen of road trips)
48.Gone rock climbing
49.Midnight walk on the beach (Maybe not exactly midnight, but close enough)
50.Gone sky diving*
51.Visited Ireland* (So freakin' jealous of Sarah)
52.Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53.In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them (I'm counting the dining car in the trains)
54.Visited Japan*
55.Milked a cow*
56.Alphabetized your CDs (This one is my dad's fault)
57.Pretended to be a superhero
58.Sung karaoke
59.Lounged around in bed all day
60.Played touch football
61.Gone scuba diving*
62.Kissed in the rain
63.Played in the mud
64.Played in the rain
65.Gone to a drive-in-theater (Some of my best memories from family camping trips)
66.Visited the Great Wall of China*
67.Started a business
68.Fallen in love and not had your heart broken*
69.Toured ancient sites
70.Taken a martial arts class
71.Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight (This is the CMU crew's fault)
72.Gotten married*
73.Been in a movie (I'm counting a high school project, but it was a pretty good movie, hehe)
74.Crashed a party
75.Gotten divorced
76.Gone without food for 5 days
77.Made cookies from scratch (lots and lots of biscotti in high school)
78.Won first prize in a costume contest
79.Ridden a gondola in Venice
80.Gotten a tattoo* (I'm still working on the perfect design)
81.Rafted the Snake River*
82.Been on television news program as an “expert”
83.Got flowers for no reason*
84.Performed on stage
85.Been to Las Vegas
86.Recorded music (not professionally, but it's probably still out there somewhere)
87.Eaten shark
88.Kissed on the first date
89.Gone to Thailand*
90.Bought a house
91.Been in a combat zone
92.Buried one/both of your parents (I don't want to think about this, they aren't allowed to go anywhere for at least another 50 years)
93.Been on a cruise ship
94.Spoken more than one language fluently (German, for a short time, but it's mostly gone now, although I really want to get it back)
95.Performed in Rocky Horror*
96.Raised children*
97.Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
98.Wondered what happened to 98
99.Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country*
100.Picked up and moved to another city to just start over (Woot! Salt Lake City)
101.Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102.Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
103.Had plastic surgery
104.Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
105.Wrote articles for a large publication*
106.Lost over 100 pounds
107.Held someone while they were having a flashback
108.Piloted an airplane
109.Touched a stingray
110.Broken someone’s heart (I hope not, but maybe)
111.Helped an animal give birth (I watched my cat give birth, but I don't know if I really helped)
112.Won money on a TV game show
113.Broken a bone* (I consider this an important part of life that I've missed out on... I know, I'm wierd)
114.Gone on an African photo safari
115.Had a facial part pierced other than your ears (Tongue)
116.Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol (When I was something like 10 or 12 years old)
117.Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118.Ridden a horse
119.Had major surgery
120.Had a snake as a pet
121.Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122.Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123.Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states*
124.Visited all 7 continents*
125.Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days (Okay, the trip lasted more than two days, I only lasted barely two days because I had 2nd degree sunburn, but I'm counting it for all the aggrevation)
126.Eaten kangaroo meat (The poor little kangaroos, that's so sad)
127.Eaten sushi (Favorite food EVER!)
128.Had your picture in the newspaper
129.Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130.Gone back to school (Not that I've finished, but I've stopped and gone back several times)
131.Parasailed*
132.Touched a cockroach
133.Eaten fried green tomatoes (So yummy!)
134.Read The Iliad - and The Odyssey (Boo High School English)
135.Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read*
136.Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137.Skipped all your school reunions
138.Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139.Been elected to public office
140.Written your own computer language
141.Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142.Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143.Built your own PC from parts
144.Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you* (I've sold artwork to people who do know me)
145.Had a booth at a street fair
146.Dyed your hair (Since I was 16, although currently I haven't done it in months and I'm thinking about maybe not doing it for a while)
147.Been a DJ
148.Shaved your head
149.Caused a car accident (Oops!)
150.Saved someone’s life

I am not a city girl

Okay, obviously I failed at NaBloPoMo. Oh well. I kinda figured it wouldn't last, but I was going to try anyway. But, that's not the point of this post. The point of this post is to state how much I truly dislike cities.

Tonight I took the train down into Philly (because driving on the Schuylkill Expressway would have made me want to jump off one of the buildings downtown). I went into the city on a mission that I can't get into because it's a surprise. But, suffice it to say I had to go to a store that only exists (locally anyway) in center city Philadelphia. The train ride wasn't too bad, except there were more people than I'd like, meaning I had to share a bench seat with a total stranger. I'm not comfortable with that, because I feel like I'm imposing greatly on this other person. But, I survived and got down to the city. I made my way up to street level and then had to figure out which way to go. The one thing I REALLY loved about Salt Lake City was that there were reference points for directions. The really big really close mountains were to the East, which gave me a reference point for every other direction and made getting around really easy. There are no reference points for me in Philly. I get up to street level and generally head the wrong direction first and get to the first corner and have to turn around and head the right direction. Tonight I got lucky though and headed the right direction first. But, the streets are too crowded, I don't like all the noise (honking, shouting, more honking), I am very uncomfortable with all the people begging for handouts and the whole experience just stresses me out and makes me neurotic. But, obviously I survived. I also had a very successful shopping trip. Well, actually, the success of the shopping trip will be proven or disproven later this week. I'll try and update then.

For now a song quote... "oh give me land, lots of land and the starry skies above"

PSA-for-the-day, etc....

I just have to rant momentarily. The problem I was having yesterday with the travel booking site at work turned out not to be a problem with the program, but a problem with my computer. ARGH! My computer is old and defective and has an old and defective operating system on it. I have troubles with creating FedEx labels and troubles with the travel site and it's stupid. Stupid company and their stupid lousy cheapness. BAH!

Someone posted a comment to my request for ideas with a couple suggestions and a couple of things one should never blog about. I would just like to tell the internets that I promise you I will never blog about bodily functions of any sort, particularly not anything specifically feminine. I will also never blog about laundry, because I don't mind doing it and therefor it is not something that I would ever feel the need to write, or complain, about.

As for the suggestions, I would like to take the one regarding a funny story from my childhood and use this moment as a PSA. With winter coming in most parts of the country I would like to warn everyone against the dangers of kerosene heaters. Okay, honestly, I'm not so sure how many people even use them anymore, but personally they scare the daylights out of me. The reason for that is, that when I was 4 or 5 I had an incident with a kerosene heater. At that time I was being babysat quite frequently by a really awesome woman named Marilyn who had two kids. One was several years older than me and the other was my brother's age, two years younger than me. We all had a lot of fun playing together, her kids, my brother and I. One chilly afternoon we were playing and, I don't remember why, but I was in the living room backing away from one or all of them. I distinctly remember the backing away part because of what happened next. So, of course, to protect myself in case of a fall, I had my hands behind me as I was backing up. Well, I managed to slowly back my hands right onto the top of a kerosene heater. Those suckers are HOT. I don't remember anything about what happened next, or the obvious trip to the hospital, but I most definately remember the thick white bandages wrapped around my hands for quite a while afterwards. My hands are fine now, no long-term damage. My recollection of it is entirely amusing, because it was a pretty stupid thing to do. But, it's also made me very wary of kerosene heaters. I won't go anywhere near the things. So, there's my PSA for the day, don't get kerosene heaters when you have kids that might, for some completely unknown reason, back into it with their hands. :)

Funky Lil Kitchen

I went to Funky Lil Kitchen for dinner tonight. It was incredibly yummy and I was reminded of how I love that restaurant so. I had incredibly yummy scallops that came with a spinach goat cheese oatmeal. I know it sounds wierd, the oatmeal, but it was amazing. I love that place.

Anyway, other than that, still not much exciting. The travel purchasing program at work today was being hateful. I tried 8 times or more to book travel for my boss, but it refused to cooperate. Then the one time I almost had it cooperating, it died on me when I was ALMOST DONE! Evil hateful internet based bastard program. I really hope it cooperates with me in the morning.

Today I had Trader Joe's organic vegetarian chili for lunch. It was good, but I really don't like how Trader Joe's frequently insists on using tofu to substitute for meat in lots of things. There was tofu in this chili substituting for meat. There are much better ways to make vegetarian chili than using tofu as a meat substitute. If I'm going to be vegetarian, I don't want meat substitutes, because I've obviously chosen NOT TO EAT MEAT! I don't need fake meat. It's not good. Creative vegetarian chili is much better than tofu vegetarian chili.

Rachel's suggestion...

So, I have no idea what to write and no one left me any comments (BOOOO on you all!!), so I'm taking the suggestions of the 10-year-old who's camped out next to me working on homework, sort of. Sort of homework, not that she's sort of working on it.

Anyway, her suggestion was to write about where I'm staying. I'm staying with her in a really cool old house. The oldest part of the house is over 250 years old, which I think is awesome. I love old houses. I grew up in one that is currently about 170 years old. I lived mostly on the third floor, which was awesome because it was quiet and had a tilted ceiling. Our house, along with the house I'm staying in now, has streaky glass windows because the glass is so old and glass is really a liquid so it moves over time. I love that the house has wood floors and old deep window sills and a huge bathroom (cause there wasn't a bathroom inside when it was first built, so some other room became the bathroom). I also love that the house has water-filled radiators instead of forced air heat or clicky electric baseboard radiators. My room on the third floor had clicky electric baseboard heat, so I never turned it on because the noise always woke me up, so my room would get to 40 degrees in the winter. I'm not kidding, you could see your breath in my room on really cold mornings.

The house I'm staying in now is really neat and bigger than the house I grew up in. It's also in the midst of some reconstruction. They just recently redid the kitchen to be more in line with a late 1700s style. It's beautiful and as Rachel told her mom "it looks like a country store". It's also got an amazing stove, which I'm greatly enjoying cooking on. There's going to be a dining room with a really old really huge walk in fireplace, but that's still very much "under construction". But, even under construction I still think the house is amazing. It's fun living here for a little while.

Okay, maybe I need some suggestions...

If I still have any readers out there I think I may need some suggestions on what to write about for the next month. Is there anything you'd like to know about me? Any story you'd like to see posted on the internet? Any burning questions you'd like answered? Otherwise I'm just going to start rambling and that could turn bad.

Today was really uneventful. The biggest thing that happened today was that I went to Tower Records (which is closing, which is awful) and got the latest Duhks album. I love the Duhks. They are completely adorable and great musicians to boot. And they're Canadian, which is a bonus in my book. Really, that's all I have to write about, getting a new cd. I know, it's sad, but I can't think of anything else. I'm sorry. I'm going to sleep now and hope that I can come up with something better tomorrow.