28 year old
Pagan female who lives in Florida with her guy and
two cats,
loves Disney, reads fanatically, tinkers in
photography and
believes growing up is overrated.
Help support
Pet Cancer Awareness
I lost my beloved cat,
Kush, to cancer
in 2003. Cancer is the #1 disease-related cause of death for
cats and dogs. With your support, together we can find a cure
Noah's Wish
Noah's Wish is a not-for-profit, animal welfare organization,
with a straightforward mission. We exist to keep animals alive
during disasters.
ASPCA
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
There are people on the net that have nothing better to do
with their time
then be nasty to other people online. They post rude comments, spend hours
a day talking about sites they hate so much, that they well, spend hours a
day talking about them. (lame) They mock the owners and posters for their
opinions and their right to free speech. They expect everyone to fit into
their narrow-minded little world view or else they throw a temper tantrum.
To these people I say grow up.
Here's a bit of info people...the web is
a HUGE place. If you don't like what I say here, or who I am, or what I
do, or talk about, or what I look like, or the color of my hair, or
whatever asinine thing you dwell on, go somewhere else. It's
really, really easy. Honest. You just click the little "x" in
the corner of your browser and *poof* the offending, big, mean and nasty
site has disappeared.
I pay for this site. It's mine. That
means I can use it for whatever the hell I want to. Don't like it if I'm
bitching about something in my life? Oh fucking well. Go somewhere else.
Think I'm stupid for expressing my thoughts? Too fucking bad, don't read
them. Somewhere along the line, someone forgot this simple fact: Live
and let live Don't like me, cool, fine, whatever, I don't care.
This journal is NOT for you. It's for me. I'm not in it for popularity or
fame or anything stupid like that. I write it because I need to write and
express myself and get things out of my head sometimes. So read or don't,
it doesn't matter, but don't waste my time (or yours) bitching about it.
*gets off soapbox*
Tooth Drive: I
raised $550 of $850 I need for my dental work when the
other shoe dropped. One of my teeth now needs a critical
root canal - over $2,000 in costs. There's no way
I can come up with this on my own in the next 2-3
months. So I need your help. Please consider using one
of my links below. Pass my
jewelry link along to others.
Help spread the word. If I were able to get $10 from 200
people, I would be there. I don't think it's that much
or that hard. But I need help. Thank you.
Dreamhost is a great webhost with a TON
of bandwidth and features. I use them myself.
free sterling silver & gemstone jewelry.
not a scam, lovely stuff use
my link and I get 50 cents
my handcrafted jewelry, wearable horns
and more! all hand made
donations through paypal with balance,
check, savings or credit card funds
Snail Mail
M. Turner
Po Box 1484
Elfers, FL 34680
blingo is a google-based search engine
that you can win prizes
Given Eyes To See - The Calender I just finished what I hope is well received. It's a 12-month calender featuring twelve of my scenic, nature photographs.
I'm really proud of how this looks. * Full bleed dynamic color * 100 lb text weight high gloss paper
I themed out the images so they fit with the months. You'll find beach photos in summer and flowers in spring. I've had so many compliments on my photography over the years and many inquiries into purchasing prints. (Which I do!) I thought this was another fun way to enjoy images all year long.
Please consider picking up one for yourself or as a unique holiday gift. Funds from the calender, like all my items, are going into the Tooth Fund. As you know, I need to raise over $2,000 for a critical root canal. Every dollar helps.
M Recommends - MigraGard Feverfew I've been meaning to post this for weeks now and I keep forgetting. I have to pass along the best find for migraines in a long time: Feverfew.
Feverfew is a natural herb that was used for centuries for digestive problems, headaches, arthritis and more. Recently, it's made a large re-entry into public awareness because of it's helpfulness in preventing migraine attacks and lessening the intensity of attacks when they do occur.
I first got some several months ago from GNC. Each night, I tried to choke them down. Some nights, I couldn't even do it. The gel coating on them was so horrible, it stuck and lodged in your throat and esophagus where it would start to disolve and leave the worst heartburn and taste in the back of your throat. It was painful. One night, I got stuck so hard, I couldn't breathe. After that, we chucked the bottle and went looking for another form.
Love found MigraGard at a local health foods store. (You can also find them online if you don't have a store near you. Amazon sells them as do a few other sites.) These things are amazing. Absolutely no issues with swallowing them; they are just like a tylenol gelcap in size and texture. The amazing part is that they work. And work damned well.
It takes a few weeks for it to really start helping. You've got to keep taking it every day (I take mine after dinner) and give it time to start helping. But it will. My migraines started coming less frequently. And when they did come, they were less intense and didn't last as long. It's now been over a month since I've had one. A month! Anyone who gets migraines will appreciate how long that is. And, not to be too personal, but I didn't even get one during my last cycle - a time notorious for women in general and myself personally. I went from having upwards of four and five days solid of migraines in the cycle to none last month. None.
I can't recommend them enough. This brand specifically is a lifesaver. I know rescue meds are important. And I wish I could afford to have some. But it's even more important to prevent them as much as possible before they start. This is where the MigraGard comes in. It won't help once you get an attack, but it should help keep you from getting so many attacks to start with. It's around $10-15 for a 30-day supply and it's the best money I've spent in a long time.
Baffles the Mind I know every year there are bad Halloween costumes. The 80's were exceptionally bad for this. But, oh... Target. You've fallen so low.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't these the kinds of cheap-ass things you do when you don't want to spend money? Why in the world would you buy a costume this tacky?
I thought after the hurricane, we could us a little humor.
What's the worst costume you've ever worn? What's the worst you've ever seen?
Wilma the Pooh and The Blustery Day I just realized I hadn't posted yet today. And I didn't want anyone worrying that was a sign something bad happened. We're all fine here in the Bay Area. Some parts lost power this afternoon, but ours here thankfully didn't even blip. I'm really tired though since I've slept all wonky last night, this morning and this afternoon due to various reasons. Let me give you an abridged report of the day chronologically.
4am - When I finally decided to go to bed. I kept trying to find info on morning weather conditions for Love since he hadn't heard any info on work closure or late opening.
6am - When Love woke up. Turned on the news and watched live reports from Naples as they got pounded with 125mph (201 km/hr) sustained winds. Poor Naples. The situation there looked pretty bad, even early into the landfall.
Love got up and started getting ready for work. It was quite rainy but in that steady, drizzle way, not in a downpour way. But we were eerily calm as far as winds went. The air was asbolutely freezing though. It was the crisp, sharp, thin air of winter, not the normal, thick, heavy, tropical air you get during hurricanes.
6:45am - Love deicded to head in early (normally starts at 8am) to try to miss the approaching winds and bands. They hadn't updated the emergency status number all night or morning.
7:15am - Love calls (safe) from work saying that they just updated it. The company was closed until 10am. He decided to stay since he didn't want to drive back home, only to have to drive back in again in a few hours. By now, the winds were howling. Absolutely howling.
8am-11am - I try to get some sleep. The winds keep waking me up though, they're so loud. I don't think it overly poured in this area but it did rain. It was more wind then anything around here.
Noon-1pm - The storm was already clearing the state (having crossed in a little over five hours) but our winds were still wild. We were getting 20-30mph sustained winds with gusts up near 40mph. (See the palm tree in front of my apartment whip around. Quicktime/3.3megs) And the gusts came every ten seconds or so. Our daytime temps peaked around 70F and by lunchtime, the sun was out around me. Other areas, however, continued to get rain through the afternoon.
Rest of the afternoon into evening - I napped a little more in small, fitful stages. The wind continued through the day. The winds have now calmed down to more like 20-25mph and are expected to continue in that range over night. It's cool out. And tomorrow should be another nice day with a high near 70F. Overnight tomorrow should see us get in the upper 40's! Damn, that's cold.
So, all-in-all, a very blustery day in my region. Not as much rain as I would have expected but beautiful winds. A lot of wind and flood damage to the south where it made landfall though, and five reported deaths for the state thus far. We're fine here and doesn't look like anything in the immediate area had much in the way of damage.
Hope my south Florida friends and neighbors are doing ok as well. It hit some areas pretty hard, and I'm sure the next couple days will see some reports of damage. Thoughts with everyone and thanks for everyone who left their thoughts for me.
More on Wilma - 11pm EDT Our area has been upgraded to a Tropical Storm Warning. (From "Watch" which means potential TS conditions. Warning means guarenteed TS conditions.) It's strengthened to a strong catagory three with sustained winds at 115mph. We're locally expecting sustained winds in the 30-50mph (48-80km/hr) overnight and into tomorrow morning.
HURRICANE FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 85 MILES (140 KM) FROM THE CENTER...AND TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 230 MILES (370 KM.)
Most of the state is under a severe tornado warning through 11am tomorrow morning. We've already had some scary waterspouts on the news and a handful of possible reportings on land as well.
Making landfall around 8am tomorrow morning, there are major closures across the state. Schools are closed in ALL counties around here. (Pinellas, Hillsborough, Pasco, Sarasota, Hernando, Citrus, Manatee, Polk etc.) Many other things are closed as well. (If you need Bay Area closure updates, check out this)
We don't know yet the status of Love's work, but seeing as he'd be driving in just as the storm is hitting, I already told him whether they're closed or not, he's not leaving the house if it's bad out there. No effin way.
Other major closures include Orlando-area attractions like WDW:
Walt Disney World® Resort Operations Update
Due to Hurricane Wilma, Magic Kingdom®, Epcot®, Disney-MGM Studios and Disney's Animal Kingdom will be closed on Monday, October 24.
Typhoon Lagoon, Blizzard Beach, Downtown Disney® and Disney's Wide World of Sports® will also be closed on Monday.
All Walt Disney World® Resorts will remain open, with the exception of Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground.
Please check Disneyworld.com for updates during the day.
If you have any questions about your upcoming stay, please call 407-W-DISNEY or your travel agent.
The bands are already our way though.
I'm somewhere under all that. In the educated guess general arrow area.
Local areas are preparing even though they're not in the direct path of the storm:
Pasco, Hernando, Hillsborough, Manatee, Polk, Pinellas and Sarasota counties have issued states of emergency in anticipation of Wilma and any possible effects it may bring to the area.
Of course, the weather is bipolar this week because directly on Wilma's heels, we're going to have our first cold front. And a pretty big turn-around at that:
A strong cold front for October will be right behind Wilma, switching our winds to the northwest and bringing in the coolest air since April. Citrus and Hernando counties could have lows in the 40s and 50s later this week.
So it's humid, rainy, tornado and at least sustained tropical storm winds tonight and tomorrow and coats and scarves for us the day after!
I just hope the power doesn't go out. That always sucks. It went out last year and man, it's boring, hot and frustrating not to have power. Hopefully, with it being only (ha! only) TS winds, it should stay on.
So there's the latest from here. I hope all my friends in south Florida hang in there through this storm.
