August 09, 2007
So Very Broken
When I went to bed last night, B. and I had successfully - or so we thought - moved my blog to WordPress, fully redesigned. Oh, it looked so sharp. I spent about two hours refreshing it every five minutes, just to make sure it was all working fine. We checked it on the Mac. We checked it on the PC. All was well.
And then, overnight, all that hard work morphed into what you see here. As best as I can tell, Moveable Type (my old blogging software) got off its tired, cranky ass and whooped up on WordPress, possibly beating the code out of it with a walking stick.
Oh boy.
Did I mention that Clara Jane put herself to bed at 7 PM last night, and has been awake since 6:00? I was up until nearly 2 AM, as I become even more nocturnal when it's this hot.
Bear with us. Since we're up so early, we're going to take advantage of it and run some early-morning errands. Then we're going to spend the day at Cooperella, where I'm going to request that they pack my body in ice while I pump coffee directly into my gullet.
Posted by Robin at 07:01 AM | Comments (0)
July 16, 2007
Grrrrr
I've twice tried to blog about the past week. Twice, I've had crashes. I'm starting to not like Safari. Or I'm thinking that Moveable Type and Safari don't get along.
Too tired to see if the third time really is a charm. The short of it: last week involved a blog software meltdown, a truck break-down, a 10-hour loss of electricity, three days without phone or internet (aside from wifi stolen from the church across the street), four days without satellite, the humiliation of having a perfectly good check get declined by a company that couldn't stop an employee from stealing personal info and selling it, a visit from The Cuz, and raising a whopping $2440 via the Boob-Ha-Ha auction for Wendy's 3-day walk.
Okay, so that last part pretty much compensates for an otherwise super-shitty week. I know I've thanked everyone who donated goods and money, came to the party, spread the word, and such, but really, you can't be thanked enough. This was amazing. Truly.
I had said that if we raised $1000, I'd dye my hair pink. Give me a month to do that. I want to do it when Wendy shaves her head. That's right. She's met her $5000 fundraising goal and is going to do the 60-mile walk with a bald head.
And now I'm tired. Too tired to deal with Safari. A little blue from the post-goodtime-let-down that I always get. But that's a good reason to be let down. My house is in great shape. I got to spend time with The Cuz. The truck, utilities, check, and everything got resolved relatively fast. And we raised an amount of money we never anticipated for a good cause.
Now I'm returning to a life of changing my crappy blogging software and knitting.
Posted by Robin at 08:21 PM | Comments (4)
July 15, 2007
Poppymom Lives!
No, I didn't desert this-here blog because of all the fervor over at Boob-Ha-Ha. That's only part of the reason why I've been incommunicado. Having a week-long crash of my blogging software didn't help. Neither did being without power for 10 hours on Monday. Or without DSL for three days. That would be a flimsy excuse, since I was able to "borrow" the wifi signal from the nearby Catholic church. Yes, I'm sure I'm on my way to Hell for that one. Being without a phone and satellite didn't affect my blogging, and neither did having my truck break down on Monday morning. Or having 20+ people in my new house last night. Or raising $2400 in the Boob-Ha-Ha auction.
Basically, I didnt blog because of the software, which we fixed today after dragging our auctioned-out carcasses out of bed at noon today.
It's 7 PM. Time for lunch. Tonight, I think, I'm going to start migrating my blog to new software. Then we'll be back to normal. Promise.
Posted by Robin at 06:55 PM | Comments (4)
May 21, 2007
How Obnoxious is My Joy?
Obnoxious enough for me to spend precious packing time doing shit like this:
I also blame my obnoxious joy for leading me to drive my dogs crazy with what they think is the Best Food Item Ever: garlic naan.
I'm pretty sure that, by the time we reach, say, the 12-day mark, pretty much everyone in my life is going to want me dead.
Posted by Robin at 11:48 PM | Comments (4)
May 09, 2007
I'm Such a Bandwagon-Jumper
They call it "Twitter" because of the involuntary muscle spasms caused by addiction.
Posted by Robin at 05:18 PM | Comments (7)
December 30, 2006
Work in Progress
You might have noticed some things amiss around here today. Thanks to the delightful Cuz and Supergenius, all is well once again. At least, for a few minutes. I'm finally taking the Wordpress plunge after wishy-washying about it for months. The 80+ porn-related comment spams I recieved today finally pushed me over the edge.
Things might look a little wonky around here for the next few days. It either means I'm breaking my blog again, or you're drinking too much.
I had started a real entry today about books, but I didn't finish it before I turned this mother out. So while Wendy and Jodi slaved, do you know what I did with my blogless self? I read about albinism and Vivian Wheeler, who interests me on many, many levels. Perhaps you should save those links in case I burn the blog house down.
Posted by Robin at 10:06 PM | Comments (0)
November 16, 2006
Day Sixteen - This is My Post
This is all you get today.
I spent 30+ minutes writing a post, only to have it vanish when I accidentally hit whatever key combination on piece of shit Microsuck keyboards that makes windows vanish.
Too bad, as the entry I was writing involved $6 candy bars. I was going to give them away to readers, had the keyboard not fucked things up for everyone.
Send your complaints to the Microsoft Corporation.
Thank you.
Posted by Robin at 05:35 PM | Comments (5)
November 12, 2006
Day Twelve - Lazy Day Dots
This is the first day of NaBloPoMo that I haven't been chomping at the bit to post. Why? Laziness. I didn't have the best night's sleep last night, and I've wanted nothing more than to have a lazy, do-nothing day. But I committed to post, and post I must. But what's there to say on a lazy, do-nothing day?
- Did you know that I almost always respond to comments in the comment section? So, if you leave a comment, come back in a day or two and there might be a reply.
- I'm a thumb away from finishing my first Fetching fingerless glove.
- I have acquired a used bread machine. I've become everything I loathe. All those years in culinary school, kneading my own dough, and it's come to this. I feel dirty. Want a slice of oatmeal-whole wheat?
- I spent a chunk of the day reorganizing my music in iTunes. This included editing a bunch of really bad mix CDs and trying to recall the tracklists for the entire Indigo Girls discography through 1999. My head hurts.
- I have a date on December 2 to see the Black Keys with my 17-year-old boyfriend. Okay, that's not true. I don't have a 17-year-old boyfriend. He's only 16, but he'll be 17 in time for the show. And he's not really my boyfriend; he's my pal PKB's oldest son, The Big One, as opposed to his 7-year-old brother, The Little One. Trust me, it's all legal.
- If the world was perfect, I'd spend New Year's Eve in Chicago, catching The Features opening for The Raconteurs. In this perfect world, I'd also have an IQ of 195, a photographic memory, and an ass that just won't quit.
- Eating salsa mixed with light cream cheese at midnight? Not smart. It will interfere with sleeping and lead to lazy, do-nothing blog entries like this.
Posted by Robin at 05:21 PM | Comments (10)
July 18, 2006
A Smidge of Summer Housekeeping
Since it's too damn hot to do anything else, I did a little updating on ye olde blogge this morning. I realized I hadn't updated my big, long list of blogs on the right sidebar in forever. For God's sake, I didn't even have links to Summer or Katya. How the hell did that happen?
So, if you need some new reading material, take a glance to the right.
Posted by Robin at 09:39 AM | Comments (10)
February 21, 2006
Thank you!
For all of you who voted for me in the Share the Love Blog Awards, thanks! I'm a finalist in three categories: Best Writing, Most Inspiring, and Most Thought-Provoking. So, um, can you go vote for me again? You've got one week to vote in this final round.
So, how am I celebrating the recognition of my inspirational, thought-provoking writing? By not having a damn thing to say. The Scarlet Tide continues, and Clara Jane's got one of those colds that makes it sound like I'm hiding a colony of sea lions in my basement. Between her sinuses and lungs, and my uterus, we're living in a biohazard zone. There is no inspiring or thought-provoking writing here today.
Posted by Robin at 04:42 PM | Comments (4)
February 14, 2006
Whoring for Love
Today's the day! First round voting has begun in One Woman's World's First Annual Share the Love Blog Awards! Thanks again for the nominations. I'm truly humbled and thankful to be nominated for deep breath
- Best Humor
- Best Writing
- Most Inspiring
- Makes Me Want to Have Kids
- Most Thought-Provoking
I'm also nominated for Best Site Design, but I don't think that's hardly fair. My "design" consists of a Moveable Type template and a fab banner that I had no part in creating. Mindy designed my banner, and her blog, "The Adventures of Converse Girl" is also nominated for Best Site Design. And her blog looks way better than mine. So, if you were thinking of voting for me in that category, I'd appreciate it if you'd give the credit where it's due and vote for Mindy instead.
Real, non-vote-whoring content later, hopefully.
Posted by Robin at 01:27 PM | Comments (1)
February 11, 2006
I Have a Headache
My sinuses are hollering at me in a big way this morning, but I wanted to take a minute to mention that I've been nominated in two categories of One Woman's World's First Annual Share the Love Blog Awards! Some kind soul (whoever you are, thanks!) has nominated me in the categories of Best Humor and Best Writing.
If you're so inclined, voting begins on Valentine's Day and will be open for a week. Take a gander at the categories and all the nominees. There's some really great reading material in there.
Later: monkey clocks and chainsaws!
Posted by Robin at 11:08 AM | Comments (2)
November 13, 2005
Not All Who Wander Are Lost
You must, must, must go read my pal Anne's new blog, "Are We There Yet?". I've known Anne for years and I'm absolutely thrilled that she's putting her atrociously funny wit to screen. Of course, I'm a little biased. I shared a room with her in Vegas last week. When I woke up Sunday morning to find that she'd already brought me a latte, I think I fell in love a little.
I'll let her speak for herself:
When I'm not making my poor kid learn the Napoleon Dynamite dance, or reading a book, or hugging a tree, or traveling to wildly exotic locales, or canoodling with my goofy-ass husband, I actually do work. I am the Communications Coordinator for a regional nutrition program for low-income and minority communities. Exciting, huh? It actually is a pretty cool job, especially since I only have to work half time. Which still leaves much time for making my child do ridiculous things. Or helping him learn to read. Whatever.
Posted by Robin at 10:04 AM | Comments (3)
September 01, 2005
A Challenge
I'm feeling pretty helpless, like so many others, watching the situation along the gulf coast, and I'm trying to find as many ways to help as possible. So, I'm going to issue a challenge. If you make a donation to America's Second Harvest or Red Cross, forward your reciept to me at poppymom @ gmail . com (delete any delicate info, please) and your mailing address, and I'll send you a little something. Even if you only donate $5. I figure, there's around 200 people a day who read this. If everyone give $5, that's $1000. Of course, give more if you can.
Also, not a challenge per se, but an idea. A friend of mine in Shreveport has taken in some pets from her local shelter who have been left homeless by the storm. This got me thinking - there are a lot of animals in shelters because of this tragedy. I know I've got a bunch of knitters who read. This is what I'm thinking - get your knitting pals together and have an evening of knitting pet squares - just simple, cheap acrylic (must be washable) squares that animal shelters can place in the cages. If my friend gets the info to me, and there is a need for this, I'm planning to harrass all my local knitting friends to come over one night next week to knit pet pads and eat gumbo.
Posted by Robin at 12:45 PM | Comments (4)
August 30, 2005
The Absentee Blogger
Kara's mom has taken a turn for the worse. Clara Jane's suffering through her first ear infection. I haven't slept in two days. Expect me to be out of pocket for a bit.
Do something good in the world right now, because the world sure could use it. Give a few bucks to America's Second Harvest Hurricane Katrina Fund or National Stroke Association on behalf of Kara's mom.
The only way to overcome devastation is to counter it with love and generosity.
Posted by Robin at 12:06 PM | Comments (1)
August 17, 2005
Porn & Fireworks
Thanks so much for indulging my ego yesterday. It was much-needed. I have the nasty habit of occasionally thinking, "Goddammit, I write my ass off for two measly comments. Ingrates!" And then I remember: "Hey. I'm not doing this for pats on the back and such. And if I start doing this for pats on the back, it'll suck for everyone." So, apologies for the whining. But I'm glad I did it because I love seeing who crawls out of the woodwork.
Kim: I had no idea you were reading! That makes me happy!
Dixie: You can always send me love. And absinthe pralines.
Andrea: Hey! You! Good to see you!
Lin: No cleaning lady. Just me and my dishpan hands.
Mina: Yeah, you're a lurker. If I haven't heard from you in, oh, a month or two, you return to your lurker status. Didn't you read the rules? Oh, wait ... there are no rules. Never mind!
Haus: I took a peek at your blog last night. You grew up in the opposite direction from KC than me. Did that make sense?
Ragged: Wow. I'm the inspiration.
Miss Banshee: I'm working on getting the archives back up. They'll be gradually appearing. And if they don't, feel free to give me a nudge.
Big Daddy B: You missed your chance to see my tits nine years ago, and I can guarantee I will not be drinking enough tequila to return to that condition anytime in this lifetime.
And everyone else: I love you and want to have your babies. And if you get me drunk enough, I promise I'll show you my boobs.
Now back to regular bidness...
We made it home from KC relatively unscathed. I'm a bit sad that Kara and I drove all the way across the Big MO just to go to Barnes & Noble and Target. But, it was the massive four-story Barnes & Noble on the lovely Country Club Plaza, which had the new issues of Brain, Child and Paste that I haven't been able to find in St. Louis. And the Target was actually a
Clara "Thank God I'm a Country Girl" Jane enjoyed her trip to Mimi and Papa's. We met them at the closest interstate exit to my hometown, an exit where the only businesses are a year-round fireworks stand and a porn superstore. And you know that, as soon as the child was out of the car, Kara had to go buy some M-80s and a few issues of Spank Weekly. No, not really. But she did want some fireworks. But who doesn't?
On our way back to St. Louis, we stopped in my hometown to get Clara Jane, since my truck was already full of porn and fireworks. Kara has now experienced The Wrath of the Wild Dingo, who attached himself to her before she was out of the truck. She also got to meet a load of my relatives. My aunt and uncle are in the finishing stages of building a new house down the road from my parents, so we paid them a little visit.
Before I go any further, let me tell you a bit about one of my aunts. She's not good with haircolor. Not good at all. She tends to grab whatever dye catches her fancy. You know how the instructions tell you to discard any unused portion of the hair dye? She doesn't. When she has enough dye, she mixes them all together and uses that. Why yes, she is that cheap. Her hair color rarely veers into the Manic Panic hues (unfortunately - that would be so rockin'). Instead, it's always a different shade of not-found-in-nature brown. Sometimes with green overtones. Sometimes purplish. Occasionally ashen. The only constant: it's bad.
When Kara and I pulled into the driveway of the new house (built by the hair-aunt's sister) and in the distance I saw a woman with slightly brassy white hair. Who is this? One of the new neighbors? A stray little old woman who's wandered away from her home? Wait ... no.
That can't be. That's not my aunt.
Um, wait. Yeah. It is my aunt.
What the hell?
Did she get frightened or struck by lightening?
Oh crap! She sees us. Must ... close ... unhinged ... jaw ... and ... pretend ... nothing's ... wrong.
Goddammit, why didn't Mom warn me about this? Thank God and Super Target that we saw her from a distance, giving me time to adjust and accept the albino possum that has died on my aunt's head.
I don't think I was successful in conversing with my aunt without staring at the white-blonde atrocity perched on her head. Luckily, she's pretty oblivious. This is the same aunt who thinks my husband Brian's name is Byron, and seven years of being corrected hasn't changed that. So I doubt she noticed that I was staring at her head and weeping.
When we were leaving, I immediately called my mom. "Why in the hell didn't you tell me about her hair? Why? I needed some warning for that!"
"Well, it's better than all those shades of brown she usually has," Mom said.
No. The brown was ugly, but it never struck anyone blind. My eyes hurt. I don't think I want to see ever again after seeing that.
And now you understand why I have been feeling so touchy lately.
Posted by Robin at 10:13 AM | Comments (11)
August 16, 2005
I give and give and give ...
...but do I get anything in return? Of course not.
I'm feeling a bit discouraged and blah, so I thought it might be a good time to have a Delurking Day. Unless you're one of the dumbasses doing searches for naked pictures, or you're my mom. If that's the case, I'd rather just pretend you're not here. Otherwise, here's your chance to say hello.
C'mon. I worked hard to clean this joint up for you. The very least you can do is acknowledge my existance.
Posted by Robin at 02:24 PM | Comments (48)
June 28, 2005
Making stuff
Kara and Holley are much more scientific than me, but that doesn't mean I can't make stuff, too.
Posted by Robin at 10:53 AM | Comments (0)
June 11, 2005
Snazzy new feature
This is for the knitters. I've added a new thingie on my sidebar (that thing to the right, where I telling what I'm doing with my vast free time) that will feature my current knitting project. I don't write much about my knitting, because in most cases it would just be line after miserable line of obscenities. So instead I'll just post G-rated photographic evidence of what I'm stitching.
Posted by Robin at 01:24 PM | Comments (2)
June 07, 2005
Just in case I get quiet...
...it's because I'm having Hell Week. I've got a super-short deadline for the magazine. Reader's Poll edition is no fun. I'll be spending the next three days chasing interviews and trying to write a coherant column if I get lucky and manage to get decent interviews.
Catering today. Always makes for stress.
My child is starting to do scary toddler things. Today I stepped out of the room to brush my teeth, leaving her to in the care of "Teletubbies". They're like crack cocaine in this house. That's why we went to the coffeehouse yesterday; I was sick of Clara "Tubbyhead" Jane bringing me the remote and shrieking, "Tubbies! Tubbies!"
Anyway, I'd left her to get a fix. No sooner was I out of the room, I heard what sounded like someone pounding on the window. Not possible, since our house is built into a hill and our main living area is technically the second story. Our windows can't be reached from the outside without a ladder.
They can, however, be reached from the inside by a toddler - who still can't walk and can't quite figure out the sippy cup, mind you - who has pushed her rocking chair to the window and is pounding on it with two fistfuls of Legos.
Turns out, television really is a crappy babysitter.
There's some other crap going on. Not as bad as it was a few weeks ago, but ... stressful. I haven't had a panic attack since January, but I've had a few little ones this week. Not good. So if I don't write much, it's because I'm busy grinding my teeth down to dust.
Or my anxiety might just lead me to getting all manic and prolific on your asses. Who knows?
Posted by Robin at 01:27 PM | Comments (2)
June 05, 2005
Why I should not not allowed to tinker with html at 10 a.m. on Sunday
...because I'm completely incompetant.
I was doing a bit of rearranging on the sidebar, as I often do, and somehow managed to accidentally delete something important. I have no idea what.
Goddamnmotherfuckingsonofagoddamnbitch!
[edited to add] Crisis fixed. Whew. I can go back to being braindead.
Posted by Robin at 10:43 AM | Comments (0)
June 02, 2005
3 Ninjas
I had a bad sleep night last night. Really bad. Clara Jane had some stomach problems, which led to much screaming and crying of "Mama! Daddy!", which absolutely broke my heart and made me cry.
She finally went to bed, and I got a few hours of sleep before waking up in excrutiating pain. Excruciating. Every now and then I get these wicked pains at night. The muscles in my shoulder blade seize, cutting off the blood supply to my hand, which feels like it's being squished in a vice. It hurts. Bad. And last night's episode was one of the worst. B. woke up and tried to help ease the muscles. But by then, I was awake.
Awake to listen to my Basset hound, Chloe, as she attempted to tunnel through her flappy ear with her hind foot. Flap flap flap. I felt like I was trying to sleep under a sailboat's sail on a really windy night.
I moved to the couch, but could still hear the flappy. I moved to the basement in the spare bedroom, which didn't work because someone forgot to close the bedroom door, giving my cat Romi free reign to shed and puke unrestrained to her hearts content.
It was a short, annoying night. There was also a spontaneous nosebleed thrown in for good measure.
After a night like this, can you imagine turning on the morning news and the first story you see is about three people dressed as ninjas robbing a local Walgreens.
Ninjas. Damn.
And in case you haven't noticed, I've added Google Ads to my site. Not so much out of whoring, but so I don't have to buy a ninja outfit. Give a click, wouldya?
Posted by Robin at 08:35 AM | Comments (2)
May 30, 2005
I redesigned
Didya notice?
Posted by Robin at 11:36 AM | Comments (13)
May 18, 2005
Steve Alter is a plagiarist!
Check out this post, dated Wednesday, May 18th.
Now check out this one from my pal Beege, dated Sunday, May 15th.
Look familiar?
So, if anyone ever asks you, Steve Alter is a plagiarist.
I mean, really. I'm all for our first amendment rights, seeing as I'm a socialist terrorist and all, but geez. If you don't have anything to say, don't get a damn blog.
But I have to admit, his cut-and-pasting skills are exceptional. He's got that mouse-clicking shit down pat.
Let's repeat once again, for all the Googlers out there:
Steve Alter is a plagiarist.
Thank you.
Posted by Robin at 09:44 PM | Comments (7)
May 10, 2005
Testing ... testing
Hey! Yeah, I'm talking to you. Over there. Have you been looking for me?
Well, we've had a change in hosts, and things didn't go exactly as planned. But with the help of the Cuz, things are just about back to normal.
Hopefully in the next few days my archives will be back, and I'll have a brand new design ... as long as I get some inspiration and a few minutes to be creative. In the meantime, in case you haven't found my emergency back-up blog, shimmy on over there and see what I've been up to for the past week. The antics include:
Gone Country, a night of sobbing country debauchery at an Alan Jackson concert with Holley.
Damn Kids, in which Clara "Barefoot Hillbilly" Jane and I have a run-in with an overpriviledged brat.
Mother's Day: Pros and Cons highlights the good of the holiday, the bad, and a possible move to Belleville, Illinois, where they sell large restored Victorian houses for 50 cents apiece.
And finally,
Home, which I posted this evening after coming home from a 24-hour trip to Chicago. Since I'm too tired and lazy to give you the details of last night's U2 show, I just threw out something I wrote after seeing them in November, 2001. Epiphanies. Oh, there are epiphanies in that one.
Posted by Robin at 11:08 PM | Comments (9)