okay, i need a little help here. i'd like to share a video but i can't figure out how to embed it. the media icon just tells me to enter the embed code, and the lj help center says to get embed codes from the place i'm wanting to get the media from.. but it doesn't tell me how to find the codes.

>_<

help? 



edit: problem solved! thanks, kth! ^_^

Current Mood: sneezy

i'm not sure why this is being kept quiet, but in case you haven't heard yet., there have been 64 cases of salmonella connected to consumption of raw TOMATOES in Texas and New Mexico. 

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/texassouthwest/stories/060508dnmettomatoes.5f252f52.html?npc

the affected tomatoes are plum, roma, and red round tomatoes. cherry, grape, on-the vine, and homegrown are safe for the moment.

although this is currently limited to Texas and New Mexico, they still haven't figured out *where* the contaminated tomatoes are coming from. it doesn't hurt to be careful, ya know?

if you have any raw tomatoes that you're worried about, check for broken skin and wash it thoroughly. well, if it has broken skin, it's probably best not to eat it. that's an open door for the bacteria to move in. 

~mia

even though we aren't moving until the start of july, i've started to sort and pack things. my goal is to set aside what i want to sell as i pack, so it isn't overwhelming at the end.

unfortunately, i've found a few things that neither steven nor i want to keep.. but they're a bit too adult for a yard sale open to the neighborhood. *^_^*

SO! if anyone wants these items, they are currently for SALE. if you want them mailed to you then i'll have to up the cost to cover postage.

2 Girls Gone Wild DVD's, $5 each
1 carved wooden fertility statue with crazy raffia hair and loin cloth. $10
2 VHS tapes of Demon Beast Invasion. covers episodes 1&2 and 3&4, respectively. $5 each. if you've never seen DBI dubbed, it's great for a laugh. ^_^

if you want pictures of the fertility statue just lemme know and i'll set some up. i may uncover other gems while packing. steven has a lot of strange things that were given to him as gifts. the skull freaked me out until he told me it wasn't real. *^_^*

a few other things that will be for sale include: the fake skull (it still freaks me out, alright?), assorted gargoyle figurines and one gargoyle candle, and whatever else i can dig up.

we have a lot of crap. >_< oh! and i have oodles of brand new still-in-the-box pampered chef products that i'll be selling at a discount.

*wanders off to clean out a cuboard*

~mia


edit: oh! i had to get blood drawn today and they said it was "first come first serve." since i didn't know how long i'd have to wait, i brought a book. the last thing i read was The Hand Sculpted House, and i think that was mid-march. the last time i read a fantasy book was in january.

anywho, long story short, when i got home i kept reading. i read the entire book today. *^_^* it felt so good to let my imagination have fun with something other than dreams of houses.

Current Mood: accomplished

for my birthday i picked up two excellent books. ^_^ one is called, "The Hand Sculpted House" and it's all about building with cob. cob is made of straw, sand, clay, and water. it's a material i've been investigating for a few months. the second book is called, "Building Green" and it's about different building methods. it's a much larger book because it's FULL of pictures to explain the techniques.

i got the "Building Green" book first and so i've been devouring it for about a week now. and i'm still not through with it. @_@ so much information...

anywho, before they even begin to cover the building methods, they go over the basic principles of siting, drainage, foundations, and structure. siting is CRUCIAL when building (or buying) a home. careful siting will take advantage of passive solar heating and keep your energy bills lower.

now, how does the title of this entry apply? well, the house that i'm in right now is an oven in the summer and a freezer in the winter. it's better in the basement because most of it is built under ground, which means we can take advantage of the earth's natural 50-60 degree temperature year round. but upstairs... it's horrible. and i was trying to figure out why.

to start things out, the back of the house faces south. this contains their living room and kitchen which has HUGE beautiful windows. generally you want your south walls to have the most windows, but you still need to consider the landscape and the roofing. in the summer when the sun is higher in the sky, there are NO trees blocking it's rays. the roof doesn't create enough of an overhang to provide any shade either, so that living room becomes a veritable oven. in the winter when the sun is lower and you WANT the rays to reach inside, well.. it's path is blocked by the neighbors house and their evergreen privacy bush. these southwall rooms still get light in the winter, but it's not enough heat to make up for what they lose through the glass.

now on the northern side you want evergreens to help cut down on the wind. though in truth, i'm not certain how important wind is in a suberb. i'm sure it's path is dramatically changed as it blows between houses. at any rate, here the north side faces the street, and there are no trees or bushes to provide windbreaks.

i used to think that the heating and cooling issues of this house stemmed from the vaulted ceiling in the living room. i thought it was just a lot of air space to heat and cool (which it is.) but now that i know more about passive solar heating, i see how this house isn't utilizing the sun properly at all. i wish it was possible to plant a leafy tree near the living room.. i may mention it to smalley and see what she thinks. we probably wouldn't be here long enough to reap the benefits, but it might help add to the backyard appeal as well.

trees make such an incredible difference. my parents have a large house and mom said that their heating and cooling bills have always been much lower compared to their friends. my grandmother helped them figure out how to situate the house on the land to take advantage of the sun and surrounding trees. i know my dad gets tired of raking the leaves each year, but those beautiful oak trees provide wonderful shade in the summer and evaporative cooling to keep the air temp lower as well. and in the winter when the leaves all drop, more sunlight can reach the roof. ^_^ it's brilliant.

what's my point in all of this? if you've purchased your home already, look at what rooms the sun shines in and plan ways to utilize it. you can't move the sun, but you can add plants to soften lighting and add shade, or add ceramic tiles to hold heat in the floor.

if you haven't purchased a home yet, read up on passive solar heating and design. most "modern" homes don't even try to take advantage of it, and thus they're energy ineffecient.

or... look into building with cob. it's a lot of work, but very inexpensive compared to a "modern" home. last night i found pictures of people mixing cob with a bobcat and using the same bobcat to raise cob to the wall levels. that's the first time i've seen that and i think it's genius. with most cob homes you have to shape the material into overgrown potatos and then reform them into the wall. but that's only to make the cobs easier to move. a bobcat is a perfect idea if only a few people are available for working on the home.

i've had lots of ideas of how i want my house to be. i'll write them out in another entry one day. this is probably enough for now. ^_^

~mia

Tags: home sweet home
Current Mood: creative

gawd, i love twolumps!

Current Mood: cheerful

i was standing in front of a massive sheet of light yellow paper. the paper was so big i couldn't see the edges of it, but from the ripple and sounds i knew it was a paper.

an older man was using it as his canvas, painting a landscape. i looked closely at a painted tree and i saw leaves swirling as if blown by the wind, and glittering with hints of gold. nearly everything in this painting moved, save the outline of mountains in the distance.

as i investigated his painting, he grabbed a large round brush and dabbed three splotches of blue on an empty spot of paper. as i watched, the splotches changed colors and shape. then the painter spoke up. "A man died yesterday."

i was shocked, but my eyes stayed focused on the splotches. as i watched them stretch into multi-colored clouds, i said, "i'm sorry. was it anyone you knew?"

the painter paused for a moment, then revealed, "We lived under the same sky. And in that, we were brothers."

~mia

Current Mood: calm

warning! i ask a lot of questions in this entry, and i'd appreciate it if you took a few minutes to give honest answers. it will help me a ton. thanks! ^_^


i've been looking at candlemaking and i've decided i want to give it a shot. i haven't purchased ANYTHING yet, so if you have a particular color or scent you'd like for christmas, now's the time to tell me. ^_^ your options will be either a pillar candle or a glass container candle.

after investigating different waxes, i've decided to go for palm wax. it looks beautiful on it's own and supposedly is easy to work with. *happy dance*

oh! i found a GREAT site for glass containers, and i would love your input on what containers you like! unfortunately they only sell a case at a time, so i can't pick and choose. i want to try and find one container to start with that will appeal to the most people.

http://www.jarstore.com/GlassJars.html

my favorites are Metro and Bulb jars. the Bean Pot is my 3rd favorite. the rectangle is flat out because it would need double wicking to burn cleanly, and i don't want to mess with that yet. >_< i hear it's a total pain in the ass.

which ones do you like? what sizes do you like?

if you'd like to buy candles for family/friends/work, i'll be selling them AT COST to those who are interested. since i haven't purchased anything yet i'm still estimating, but here's a rough idea of what the prices would be.

Small (2-2.75 inch tall) UNscented Container Candle: $1.90
Small Scented Container Candle: $2.50

Medium (3-3.5 inch tall) UNscented Container Candle: $2.50
Medium Scented Container Candle: $3.50

Large (4-5 inch tall) UNscented Container Candle: $3.75
Large Scented Container Candle: $5.75

Pillar Candle (4.5' tall, 3' wide) UNscented: $1.75
Pillar Candle Scented: $3.75


so.. if (hypothetically) you were to buy a candle for a friend/family/coworker, what sizes would you go for? what colors might you choose?

it amazes me how much the scent costs!! @_@ these prices are clearly not set in stone as different scents may cost a lot more. but hey, i personally like that i can make colored unscented candles. ^_^ ever tried to find an unscented candle that isn't white? it's nearly impossible. ugh.

my mom is a candle fiend and probably has close to 100 (or more) pillar and container candles in her house. she has trouble with conflicting scents now and then, but she wants me to make her something scented anyway. *rolls eyes*

to recap on the questions i've asked you, here's a handy little form. if you answer "other" to anything, please just say what "other" is. thanks. ^_^


when purchasing (or receiving) a candle for yourself:

1. do you prefer a container, pillar, or other?
2. what size(s) do you like?
3. what colors do you look for?
4. what colors do you hate?
5. do you prefer a solid candle or one with many colors?
6. would you rather have a scented or unscented candle?
6a. if unscented, why?
6b. if scented, what scents do you enjoy?
7. what is your "perfect" candle like?


when purchasing a candle for someone else:

1. do you look for a container, pillar, or other? and why? ^_^
2. what size(s) do you look for?
3. what colors do you look for?
4. what colors do you avoid?
5. is a multicolored candle more likely to draw your interest/purchase?
6. would you buy an unscented (yet beautiful) candle for a friend?
7. what scents do you consider "neutral" for gifts?
8. what do you consider a reasonable price for candles?
(i know there are many factors in that last question. just answer as best as you can.)


and just for my own info:

from the following link, what are your favorite container shapes/sizes?
http://www.jarstore.com/GlassJars.html


okay, so that was a lot of questions. *^_^* if you don't feel like answering them all, that's fine. i just need some input here. and if you feel like passing these questions on to your friends... well, that would be quite kind of you. *curtsies*

i'm a bit excited. ^_^ i'm not planning on this being a huge business. it's just a new hobby, really. but i realized that with christmas around the corner, this is a GREAT time of year to try it out.

wish me luck!

~mia

Current Mood: bouncy

scene:
it all started in a restaurant. i was eating with steven and the guy in the booth behind us came over and sat next to me. he asked if i wanted to marry him, and i said that i was already engaged. he said that didn't matter and he smiled at me. my heart fluttered a bit, and then the scene changed.

now i was walking around in my neighborhood. it definitely wasn't the one i live in now. the streets were flatter, the houses smaller, and the weather was much cooler. quite a few people were out picking up mail or tending their yards. i waved and spoke to them all. ^_^ very friendly community.

it turned out the guy from the restaurant lived in the neighborhood too. i had no idea until i turned a corner and saw him in his yard, smiling at me. i waved and felt a little tremor of excitement. *^_^* i hoped that he would walk with me though the neighborhood, but he didn't.

i walked out of the neighborhood and down a path lined with small trees. the leaves had turned colors and were absolutely BEAUTIFUL! ^_^ the path led to a long arched wooden bridge across a lake. the bridge was barely wide enough for 2 people to walk side by side. the weather turned colder and i saw winter storm clouds building in the sky. a fierce wind started to blow. i thought about turning back and going home, but i kept walking across the bridge instead. i passed a few people on the bridge that apparently i knew, but i don't remember them now.

after i crossed the bridge i entered another neighborhood. some guy was hanging around outside a friend's house, and he asked me to tell her something for him. i nodded and smiled, and got him to go away. i knew she had a restraining order against him.

i walked up to the front door and handed the girl two nameplates i'd found in the driveway. that was how he'd known she'd be there. *shrugs* she brought me inside so i'd be out of the incoming storm.

inside.. the place was a mess. *^_^* it reminded me of a few college dorms i've seen, but it was bigger. there were shelves everywhere packed with glass trinkets she'd made. about 5 people were hanging out in the living room playing video games. they had two old arm chairs and a half-broken futon to sit on. ahh... familiarity...

i noticed that the guy from the restaurant was sitting in one of the arm chairs. it turned out that he was the girl's big brother! still don't know how he beat me there... anyway, i took off my shoes and settled down to talk and socialize a bit. i stayed on the opposite side of the room from the guy. i didn't want him to know that i liked him. *sheepish grin*

eventually i realized the storm had passed and it was DARK outside. i'd completely forgotten about my screwed up night vision and i started to panic that i needed to get home asap. otherwise i wouldn't be able to see a thing. >_< i kept hoping that restaurant man would volunteer to walk me home, but he didn't. hmp.

and thus began the mad search for my shoes. they had vanished from wherever i'd put them. i looked EVERYWHERE and found dozens of different shoes, but not mine. finally i found one shoe and put it on so i wouldn't lose it while i searched for the other. *^_^* the hostess helped me search too, but it was just gone. i started looking in stupid places, like inside a toilet and in the fridge. no luck.

as i hobbled around looking for my shoe, i realized that the shoe that had been on my foot had vanished. >_< just *poof*, no more shoe. at that point i figured out that something was magically hiding my shoes.

the hostess (though she shrunk down and looked very different) and a friend said they would try to use magic to find my shoe. she said she had a gift in finding lost objects. she told me to hold out my hands, and then she put her hands on top of mine.

it was one of those oddly tactile moments that stand out in dreams. i felt the callouses on her palms and fingers. as she sent her magic through me i felt electricity buzzing in my hands and i swayed a little from the intensity of it. once she saw where the shoes were she dropped my hands.

then she went into another room where there was a small mountain. it looked like a cross between a fat ent and a rock. roots swung everywhere as the creature (it was alive) tried to shoo her away.

she climbed up the front (now she looked like ellen in rome) right up to it's face. then she dove in the mouth and reached inside the being to pull something out. it was really weird to see half of her body sticking out. @_@

she pulled out a tuber that looked.. heck, it looked a lot like the screaming tubers from the harry potter movies, except without leaves. and it was bigger, and grey. she held the wriggling thing upside down until the head popped off.

i stared at the head, fascinated. ellen told me that my shoes were inside it. i just had to wait for it to finish changing and then it would crack open on it's own. so i watched.

it was.. icky.

it would fizz like a soda. then alternately grow larger and smaller. hair would sprout as it changed faces. and uh... it was yelling at me. very, very creepy. the last change freaked me out too much. it turned into a giant alien gorilla head, tinted green and with fangs. it shrieked over and over, so i started beating it with something heavy to try and kill it. this was just too creepy.

i heard a crash in the front room. i looked over and i saw a bunch of tiny jackels running around. two people were left in the house, and one of them was the guy from the restaurant. i couldn't tell if he was trying to get the jackels out or if they were cornering him. either way, i entered the room and one of them lept at me. i caught it right before it reached my throat, but it had turned into a larger white creature with thick fur. i thought it was cute until it snarled and tried to bite me. it was very heavy.. i remember it was stuck on my shoulder and i couldn't get it off. the best i could do was keep my head turned away from it's teeth.

and that was it.

~mia

for the past several nights my dreams have been incredibly vivid. they don't always make sense, but i've been remembering a lot of details lately. and something insisted that i write out last night's dreams, so here goes.

oh! there is one section that's unsafe for work viewing. it's hidden behind a linky, but it is a little explicit.


scene:
i entered someone's house to work on a school project. i'd never even heard of this project and it was due the next day, so i had to get my booty in gear. i didn't have a print-out of what i was supposed to do either. all i knew was that i had to make a story involving two characters. i didn't know if it was supposed to be a short story, play, or film. my partners were arguing that it should be either a play or a film. without any guidelines i thought a short story would be easiest.

i wish i could remember the plot now, but i loved the story i created. it was absolutely brilliant. ^_^

but i still was wondering why i'd never heard of this project in the first place. someone fished out a class syllabus and then i started getting very confused. the syllabus was for "film logistics 101," a course i KNEW i'd never signed up for.

they handed me an attendance list the professor had handed out to them. my name was on it and in big bold letters beside my name it said, "NEVER ATTENDED." my student id number was there too, so i dug around trying to find my id to see if the numbers matched. i found the id, but then couldn't find the right line of numbers on the paper to read. it didn't help that the paper had turned into a worn clothing tag that was still attached to the shirt. that was annoying. >_<

people/students bustled around me and things changed.

it was night and i was standing outside the first school i ever attended, looking at poster board stands of artwork. i was looking through them all and hoping i could find the one i colored. ^_^

i didn't, but as i was walking i remembered esther and mindy. they were my two best friends through high school. the thought crossed my mind that i hoped i could see them again soon. i turned a corner and there they both were! we laughed and hugged and it was like we were in high school again. they had chipped together to get me this awesome crate thingy that i could use for storage. it also already had some of my weekly groceries in there. i peered in and saw 1 gallon of 2% milk and a half gallon of 1%. i wondered how i was going to pay them for this since i only had a $20 in my pocket and i knew i couldn't put anything more on my credit card.

fascinating, i know.



scene:

i was hiding in the loft of a thin wooden building. a sheet covered both windows in the corner i was in and also covered something lumpy between the windows. i started singing. it was beautiful, but full of loneliness. i reached a high point in the song and yanked off the sheet. the lump was part of a tree growing through the building, and through the windows i saw leafy branches half-turned to golds and reds. i kept singing to the tree and about the tree. it was a painfully lovely song.

time passed and i looked at the branches again. most of the leaves had fallen off and only a few brown leaves remained to mark the pass of seasons. i stopped singing and emerged.

the building i'd been hiding in was only one in a cluster of buildings. some were in good shape. some were trailers. but all belonged to one family.

nearby there was a large lake with several blue dragon-like creatures watching over it. the creatures were evenly dispersed through the lake and only their head and necks stayed above the water. though their necks waved and their mouths moved, the rest of their bodies stayed in place. they were a part of a magical guard for the youngest daughter of the house.

i.. i'm not sure how i fit in with this family. i kept out of the way of the mother. she was very cruel and sought any reason to strike me. the father lived in a building separate from her. he was usually dirty from hard work. one of the trailers served as a meeting place for us, and we would make love.

however, the trailer was communal, and we had to find a new place after some of the boys found our playthings. >_<

( and here's the naughty part )

after that i flew above the cluster of buildings. maybe about 75 feet in the air. i saw how they all were joined in a circle, and i watched the different people move around. twin teenage boys played together on a deck. i saw them and knew they were their mother's treasured possessions. i saw the mother angrily stalking about looking for me; whether to give me a chore or a beating, i knew not. and i saw the little girl playing by herself. from time to time she was my charge to take care of. and in some undefined way, she was the lock that bound me to this family. as long as she was alive, i could never leave.

i made a choice.

i took the little girl to the vacant building, down to where the boilers were still active. and i left her there, knowing full well that something would happen to end her life if she was alone.

then i hurried down to the lakeshore. i concealed myself under a cluster of trees and began to search for small stones in the still waters. my intent was to fill my pockets with stones and then drown. at first i found a few stones easily. then it was like the rocks understood my intent and disagreed with me. all of the stones i found were packed deep in the mud and were larger than i could lift. at one point i realized they were sized and spaced apart like cobblestones, but under water.

i held my breath and ducked under the water to try and find more stones quickly. the water was perfectly clear but i had glasses on. i was surprised i could see through them just fine.

when i emerged (still with only 3 stones in my hands) i heard a horrible sound. i watched as all of the blue dragons in the lake thrashed, and then changed. their heads vanished and their necks split into two pointed tentacles. they still couldn't move from their positions, but it was a sign that the magic holding them had broken. the dragons were gone forever, replaced by these monstrous things.

everyone saw the change and a loud cry went up from the compound. they knew that this meant their beloved daughter was either mortally wounded or dead. a mass of people rushed to the building where i'd left her, and i knew i had to finish the job quick or i would be in for horrific torture and death.

the lake churned and became like rapids. i was swept out to the middle and violently tossed down the lake. a huge cave opened in front of me and water rushed to fill it's bottomless depths. i saw the stone maw and was filled with fear. in desperation i grasped at a few wet vines hanging down from the ceiling, but my hands held nothing. i fell into complete darkness.


~mia

Current Mood: thoughtful

first off, i haven't read anyone's journals in several days. if anything earth shattering has happened, please just call me. i'm having a hard time reading text since i can only see out of one eye at a time. (and that's why i'm making this post once and pasting it on all the forums i frequent. hurray for being lazy! ^_^)

okay! so, wednesday i went in for ze surgery to implant a lense in my right eye. the nursing staff was FABULOUS and had a sense of humor, which was wonderful. i learned that for outpatient eye surgery they have you leave your pants and shoes on. (shirt went off, gown went on over the bra.) the reason for this is that bending over puts pressure on your eye, and they don't want you to bend over for ANY reason the first 8 hours after surgery.

i also learned that i wasn't going to be quite as knocked out as i thought. they drugged me up, but i was awake. O_O they had me look in different directions to position the lens better, but it was still weird. luckly i didn't see anything like blades or pointy things comin' at me. i just got to see lots of pretty colors. ^_^

after they finished they said i could go eat some lunch, but i needed to return in a few hours so they could check how things were going.

*time passes*

we get back to the office and dr. kozarsky (fun name to say, btw.) takes one magnified look and sees that there's a problem. the holes from the iridotomy weren't allowing enough pressure to release from my eye, so things were getting pretty tight inside.

i was feeling fine until they started poking around trying to make the holes bigger with the laser. then i suddenly had lots of pain and nausea. (i hate nausea. i never throw up, so i just keep that horrible sweaty feeling. ugh. >_<) they gave me pills and eye drops to try and make the pressure go down, but it wasn't taking care of everything.

dr. kozarsky said that our best bet would be to go in to surgery again and use teeny-tiny scissors to cut the holes larger. i wish i'd gotten to see these scissors. he said they cost $1,000. ^_^

i had to pee before i went to surgery again, and when i pulled down my undies i discovered a lovely surprise. my period started. >_< and it appeared to have started a good hour prior, but i hadn't noticed. and of course, i didn't have any supplies with me. *smacks forehead*

i asked a nurse and she found me three pantyliners from somewhere in the hospital. sweet woman brought them back wrapped in paper towels so the guys wouldn't see. ^_^

went back into surgery #2, but this time they could only use numbing drops instead of anethesia. (i'd eaten a heavy lunch and was already nauseus. despite my record of no vomiting they didn't want to risk me puking on the table and choking on it.) i didn't feel a thing. just got to watch the pretty colors again. i swear, one looked like cookie monster..

anywho! after it was done and i was in post-op dr. kozarsky came in all smiles and said that the scissors did the trick. as soon as he made the cut he could see the pressure balancing out instead of building. he also said that i was his hero for just going in with numbing drops. apparently he'd never done that before. *^_^*

he's a really cool guy though. he gave steven his cell phone number and told us to call if we had any questions or problems. when we came back the next day for further post-op he re-emphasized that we could call if anything troubled us. he said, "you can cry wolf 1,000 times and i won't get mad at you!" ^_^ good guy.

now that my eye isn't trying to explode i haven't been in any pain, but it's annoying being able to see out of one eye at a time. the vision difference is too severe for me to try opening both eyes at once. it gives me a headache.

my right eye (the one with the new fancy contact lense) isn't 100% clear yet. it can take up to a few weeks for the eye to adjust to everything. but i'm amazed at the difference. ^_^ yeah, things are still a little blurry. but i can watch tv and read the words on the screen. that's AMAZING. i've never been able to do that without glasses before! *dances*

i'm having to lay low and be patient for a while. i can't do anything for more than a few minutes at a time without getting a headache. (the whole focusing through one eye at a time is bothersome.) so i'm bored. a lot. can't read, play games, or do anything other than listen to tv shows and watch my cats sleep on me. weeee.

it'll be worth it in the end, i know. i just hate being bored. *^_^*

that's the update for now!

~mia

Current Mood: chipper