I need to find another spot to sunset watch, but the views from this park are always so amazing. (SOOC)

For more skyscapes from around the world, visit SkyWatch Fridays.

I love, LOVE my bloggy pals. Jen (Huckdoll) nominated me for Best Individual Blogger and Best Small Blog over at the 2009 Weblog Awards.

(Thank you, Jen!)

Honestly, I can say that just being nominated is very cool. And that someone else did the nominating is icing on the blogger cake.

If you feel so inclined to help me get into the finals, you can go click on my name (ifmomsaysok) for Best Individual Blogger or over at Best Small Blog.

While over there, check out some of the other nominees and categories, there are a lot of fabulous bloggers represented. If you don’t see your favorite’s name, make your own nomination.

Nominations continue through Nov. 20. Finalists will be announced on Dec. 28. You can vote for nominees early and often…

… and I thank you for your support.

Check out more Wordless Wednesday photos

I’ve waited the requisite time, have finally gathered all the requisite paperwork, now all I have to do is fill out the requisite forms.

This week I am filing for unemployment compensation. I’m a bit intimidated by the process… the online form actually states that I have 72 hours to complete my claim. Past that time limit the information will be cancelled and I have to start over again.

What could possibly take me 72 hours to fill out?

I’ve been paying into unemployment insurance for years, so I look at this as cashing in on those benefits. Too bad they won’t last as long as I’ve contributed. There isn’t a lot of up-to-date information about how much or for how long payments will be. I guess I’ll find out all that once my claim is processed and approved.

Wish me luck, I’m going in…

In my dream I was on an amusement park ride, one based on the board game Life. The ride was configured just like the game, except instead of cars, we were in several boats on a huge water flume.

In my dream, I remember thinking, ‘What a cool idea! This should be fun, not like Monopoly.’ If the ride had been based on that game I know I would’ve been afraid. I played that game with my brother as a kid. He was good, tournament good, but he was also ruthless and mean. Taunting the losers (most often, me) until they cried and quit in abject humiliation. It sucked all the fun out of it for everyone else ~ I digress, but all of this ran through my mind as I slept.

In my dream, I was riding in a large boat with two other people. I didn’t recognize them as anyone I knew in waking life, but in my dream it was clear that we were all friends, laughing and joking together.

As we floated down a wide canal, passing through and under a series of waterfalls, I kept saying, ‘I don’t want to get wet, I don’t want to get wet.’ I would brace myself for that expected, yet unexpected, downward plunge that never came.

Instead we began a long, upward climb until we leveled off and entered an enclosed structure with a platform beside the canal that was the actual ride start. Here everyone exited the larger boats to board individual, kayak-like vessels.

We were all given overshoes (think: Jellies from the 1980s), except there was something wrong with mine. Is it of any consequence that my overshoes were yellow?

The ride operator was yelling at someone I couldn’t see for not culling out the defective shoes. After a bit of a struggle, I was finally able to get my shoes covered and in my kayak.

Then… I woke up.

Scruffy felt that 2 am was a good time to play his favorite game of sleep on Tara’s head.

I’m one of those people who can go back to sleep and finish an interrupted dream, pick it back up where it left off, even on a different night. But, last night I didn’t want to.

It wasn’t that I was worried about the ending, or being on a nightmare roller coaster. I like roller coasters and water rides, I just don’t LOVE them. And, yes I know that it was a metaphor for something else. But, I was dead tired. It was a convoluted dream and promised to not be very restful.

That it still stuck with me this morning, was unusual. I often remember dreams, but they don’t stay with me long unless they are significant or I write them down. This one stayed with me, so I have to believe it was important.

So, dreamweavers… what does this oddity mean? Nothing in my Dream Dictionary even comes close to deciphering all this. Should I try again to finish the dream, or simply spin the wheel and move on?

]]> http://ifmomsaysok.wordpress.com/2009/11/02/the-dream-of-life/feed/ 14 ifmomsaysok jellies Game of Life http://ifmomsaysok.wordpress.com/2009/11/01/nablopomo-november/ http://ifmomsaysok.wordpress.com/2009/11/01/nablopomo-november/#comments Sun, 01 Nov 2009 20:05:56 +0000 Tara R. http://ifmomsaysok.wordpress.com/?p=14338 ]]>

It’s not like I have much else to do…

Last November I joined the National Blog Posting Month campaign that challenged writers to publish a new post every day for 30 days. My rationale was that since I post almost everyday anyway, making it official would be a no brainer.

Nothing makes a job harder than to tell people they HAVE to do something. Like last year, I have plans for lots of photos, maybe another field trip, some recipes, I could work up to a giveaway or two.

Who knows I might even surprise you, and of course suggestions are always welcome.

More Weekly Winners photo galleries can be found at Sarcastic Mom. While you’re there, please leave our hostess Lotus some comment love.

For Oct. 25-31
(Shot with a Nikon D60)

I started getting together items I needed to crochet a few Christmas presents. I picked up a few skeins of yarn, and pulled out my hooks and patterns books. I’m ready to begin.

Despite the warm weather, many of the birds have gone further south. I need to get the feeders ready for winter.

As the grass turns brown and slows its growth, there remain a few splashes of color ready to keep our spirits up.

Making ready for Halloween, sunsets and spiders played their part.

I’m not one to usually take a public stand and fervently champion it, proslytizing my beliefs and actions as the one and only way. I’m more a behind the scenes kinda girl.

That being said, there are certain things I am adamant about, things that for me are just not gonna happen. These may not be true for everyone, but for me, these are written in stone.

1. Eat veal – if you want to ban all animal products from your diet, more power to you… that’s great. I choose not to go that particular dietary route. I like the taste of red meat, and pork and chicken, seafood and have even noshed on frog legs on occasion, but I cannot, will not, eat veal. I know that’s hypocritical, but that’s how I roll.

2. Wear Crocs. Ugly ass shoes, worse than Birkenstocks, worse than Earthshoes.

3. Burger King – until the company completely does away with that incredibly creepy King character as a commercial model, I will not be dining on Whoppers. I haven’t been in a restaurant since 2003.

4. I made a vow, even as a young girl, that when I had children of my own I would never say to them ‘if you don’t stop crying, I’ll give you something to cry about.’ I had a prefectly good reason to cry, you were scaring the piss out of me. My kids are 16 and 20, they have never heard me utter that phrase.

5. Brussels Sprouts – need I say more?

6. Watch South Park – the idea of watching a 30 minutes cartoon about kids, and their raunchy humor is not my idea of entertainment. Not much of a bathroom joke fan.

7. Apparently I also boycott Nestlé, but wasn’t aware to what extent until I perused a product list. The pets are abstaining too.

8. Wear a thong… women over age 40 and over 160 pounds ~ and I can say this cuz I am both ~ should not rely on a teabag and dental floss to adequately cover their girlie pieces. Whale tail is not just a euphemism for a flash of fabric over her waistband.

9. The same can be said for wearing skinny jeans, spandex leggings, cropped Ts or wife-beaters, no bra and going commando. I refuse to age into a Wal-Mart person.

10. Read any of the books in the Twilight series, or see any of the movies.

Tell me, what do you refuse to participate in, what is completely off limits, even for you?

Taken at a small city park near my home on the dark side of sunset. I was standing at the end of a pier with a very large, and very bright street light behind me. I didn’t want or need any extra lighting, so I turned the auto-flash setting off on my camera. Using a pier post as a makeshift tripod, due to the slower shutter speed, I snapped this shot. This is Straight Out of the Camera. Other than resizing for publication, no other edits were made.

For more skyscapes from around the world, check out SkyWatch Friday.

Remember this little guy, the stray bundle of fur WK rescued back in May? All 2.25 pounds of him? We were worried about whether he would grow much bigger than this.

(We did find out after the original post that Scruffy was actually male.)

Well, we’re not concerned now. The manic, and he is reminiscent of the weasel in the old Foghorn Leghorn cartoons, is now a whopping 11 pounds and king of the castle.