Howdy friends!

It’s been 13 days since i stopped schooling.. It’s like I was walking away from my dream and I’m heading in a place where man’s worst nightmare appears. I thought that nothing can go wrong and I will be soon having my diploma. The thing is, my sponsor had a very serious illness where she became bedridden and sick. I know from that time that something bad will happen. Then come one day that a very horrible news screamed all over the house.  I will not be able to continue my studies because the sponsor might have been in a near-to-death phase and their family don’t want to continue to help us anymore. Well from that time, I know that my time left to be with my friends is very limited. Stopping in second year second semester wasn’t exactly my plan. But having financial crisis and everything, I guess my time came to an end. I realized that God has something planned for me that’s why this is happening. So from the day I heard the news, I mae up my mind to have the best week with my bestfriends in school. LOL! I just remembered the quotations from the movie Life or something like it by Angelina Jolie, ” What will you do if you have only seven days to live?”, in my case, what should I do if I only have seven days to be with my friends?.. haha..

It was seven days before the official start of my class. I went to school with my other classmates just to have a meeting with other students from other year. The meeting was about the make-up class for those students who accomodate a number of absences in their RLE duties. My other classmates was wondering why I’m not doing the enrollment form. Then I suddenly told the whole truth, that I’m just finishing my make-up class so I can stop shooling. They felt flushed when I told them that. My bestfriends and I have a lot of plans in the future like swimming together in Rizal Memorial Coliseum, watching cinemas together, going to Star City, helping each other in every cases, finishing our course, passing the board exam. And me being a drop-out student is not one of those plans. Well we didn’t waste a single minute, we enjoy the Tree Planting at Caliraya Laguna, which was supposed to be the replacement for the make-up duty. It was one of the best bonding moments with my friends. How glad I am to be with them, and I even experienced to have a tree planting program before I say goodbye to my school.

Tree Planting (Composting) at Caliraya Laguna

Well the memories won’t be forgotten. I want to thank God for giving me such wonderful friends. I’ll always remember the the times that we always go to cinemas to watch movies. In case you’re wondering who they are..

The best bonding moments with my friends.

If you put the cursor over the picture, you will see their names. I’m the one in pink. This was taken last November 16. This was my last and the best bonding moments with bestfriends. That day was very memorable because that was the same day I told them my secret that I’ve been hiding ever since I went to college. They accept me for who I am and they accept all my flaws. I’m glad to be their friends. I guess I will be able to see them someday again in their scrub suit and I will be in my future job.. “Psychologist”. Right now, I’m looking for a job to be more productive. I think I’ll try to be a call center representative for the mean time so that i will be able to help my parents in the recent finances and to have my own pocket money that will be saved for the next school year.

Someday I’m going to be like them, wearing the scrub suit or simply the nursing uniform. But for now, I’m going to finish my studies next year in a different university. I’m goin to take up BS Psychology next year and I’m going to save money after I graduated so that I can go back to finish nursing. Somehow from the first two years of being a nursing student, I enjoyed my course and I enjoyed what I’m doing. But I know this is not the right time for me. I know there will a time that I will be able to finish nursing and only god can tell when. I’m just here going with the flow and doing my best to reach that dream.

This picture is captured from the mirror ceiling at SM Manila.

I will never forget everyone that touched my life in different ways especially my friends, classmates, clinical instructors, and the faculty of College of Nursing at Lyceum of the Philippines University.

This song chorus  from Splender should end my blog..

It’s alright, I’m ok
I think God can explain
I believe I’m the same
I get carried away
It’s alright, I’m ok
I think God can explain
I’m relieved, I’m relaxed
I’ll get off of your back

Goodbye and until next time! I’ll update you guys what’s goin on in my life.. Don’t forget to pray and strive to what you think is better. Always remember what Candice Michelle always says..”If you don’t go for your dreams, someone else will!”. Love what you do and do what you love! Always reach for your goals. Sometimes God give us problems and difficulties so that we can be stronger and better person.

Dream on!

Always on the brighter side of life,

MJ Vicera

Apparently I am now being fancy and using Ecto as a blogging platform. Lets see how it works!

Here’s a picture of Mojo. That’s his hungry face.

Here’s a delicious breakfast quesadilla that the boy made for me. I won a bet and he had to make me breakfast. Hee hee. The quesadilla includes eggs, bacon, tomatoes and a tortilla cooked directly on the oven burner!

Ok, so far, so good. Lets see how this rolls.

Toodles!

I have this notion that I created the world. That my imagination continues to create, edit and modify the world as I inhabit and respond to it, as I grow, as I want new things.

And just as I created my world, so too did you create the world you live in, through your own desires and fears and goals.

This idea gets interesting when we acknowledge that we are both sharing the same world; that this place where your reality and mine overlap responds to my imagination as well as to yours. As I play with the idea I conclude that sometimes your vision is stronger than mine, so you get the green light or the good parking spot. Sometimes my vision is powerful indeed and people believe me and invest in the vision and it becomes real. Some people’s visions are so strong and communicated so well that we all get caught up in it and the world seems to change before our very eyes.

What if I could get people to believe in this idea? What could we do together with magic that powerful? What if this was my vision and I could find a way to communicate it so that enough people believed in and invested in it. Would it become true? Could something that most people believe to be impossible become a no-brainer in the future?

Oh, it’s happened plenty of times. You and I can both come up with examples. So why haven’t we as a species embraced this kind of magic?

I think that we are afraid of it. That we don’t really want to be in the drivers’ seat all the time, be responsible for our choices, be the ones to decide what happens. I think we don’t always know what we want.

Sometimes it’s bad enough to want what we want, never mind having it happen.

Sometimes having something happen is bad enough, never mind realizing that we wanted it.

I envision life a bit like a Holo Deck or a global role-playing game where the rules are made up as we go. It might be that we come here to play this game, in spite of its hazards, for the emotion, the excitement, the adventure, the learning. It seems to me that however you phrase it, it always comes back to the same thing: the people. We play this game to be with the people. To build a community, to have someone to play with.

So maybe I didn’t exactly create the world, but I like to think I have a hand in creating World 2.0. And I like to think that you’ll come and play with me.

It’s been a long hard year folks!  Between moving, school, high pressure-low appreciation jobs, keeping up with three kids, money troubles…our mojo went into the tank!

When we first met, it was HOT…and by that I do mean HHHOOOOTTTT!  Every night, every morning, he works shift work, got home at 3 am and I was more than happy to wake up and get busy.  In the living room, in the dining room, in the kitchen, in the tv room, and even in the bedroom.  Learned a sexy strip tease lap dance, broke out the video camera a time or two (shut up!  Betcha you’ve done it too…just won’t admit it!)

Fast forward a year…I’m tired, he’s tired, our kids are non stop energizer bunnies.  I work early early mornings (my shift starts at 4 am **shudder**) he works late nights (his shift starts at noon) I am running a business from home too so we don’t live below the poverty line, kids are in dance, gymnastics, play group.  I have NO energy left.  Zip, nada, zero!  It takes less energy to pretend to be asleep than it does to say no (sad, sad, sad!)

I have decided that I want  NEED to get my mojo back!  I am one of those women who loves to get busy!  Love it!  Would love it to be every single day if at all possible.  My lovely mate is getting on in years…lol…he’s 50 and I am 30 something…so yes, there is a bit of an age gap, but if you saw him, you’d never guess he was 50!  Anyway…I digress…he is not so energetic anymore.  DANG!  I ask for it!  Believe me…I DO!  I tell him that he is lucky to have a wife that want’s to get jiggy with it and that he should do the proverbial “make hay while the sun shines” if you get my meaning.  Often, with his shift work and my shift work and our kids and other demands on our time we (by we I mean me…he gets at least 9 to 10 hours of sleep a night…I am lucky to get 6) he often tells me no.

I have told him time and time again that I am going to get me a boyfriend/sex boy toy if he doesn’t start putting out!  He laughs…but ladies I am SERIOUS…as serious as a fat kid in a candy store!  I need and want more candy and if he isn’t going to be my Willy Wonka of Love, I will kick down those chocolate factory doors and find me an Oompa Loompa who will PUT OUT!

We I had decided that we are going on a SEX diet for 2010…not a “no sex” diet but an ALL OUT SEX FEST for 2010…maybe I’ll call it “Again and Again in 2010!”  That’s catchy don’t you think??

Check back to see where we are…what we’ve been doing…(cover your eyes if you don’t want to see) and feel free to butt in with suggestions, recommendations and positions you all think we should give a go!

Cheers!

Maniacal Mom

Mais uma vez recebemos no Bardot a visita de Henrique Mojo. Desta vez o site PRONTO CORTEI deu total cobertura desta iniciativa. O site desenvolvido pela Hairmaniac  Martina Valle é um ponto obrigatório na navegação dos apaixonados por cabelo.

Sobre o Henrique o site conta sobre o começo de Henrique em Porto Alegre, sua idéias inovadoras e os vários cursos que já frequentou entre eles Toni & Guy e Vidal Sasoon, e agora em março fez curso com o X-pression de Madrid. Todo ano, sem exceção, ele também faz os cursos de atualização da Schwarzkopf.

Em São Paulo Henrique é exclusividade do Bardot. Venha conhecê-lo. Ligue e agende seu horário de 24/11 até 28/11.

I feel like dancing
Whenever, wherever, swing!
Gotz ma mojo back!

Pentru toti cei care traiesc pentru ziua de weekend si ziua de salariu  – n-am nimic.Pentru ceilalti, thi is the way to begin your weekend

Enjoy!

Según quien te la cuente, la historia de Dexy’s Midnight Runners es la de la típica banda one hit wonder de los 80 o la de uno de los grupos más visionarios de esa década, por integrar el soul al pop, sonido que permitió la aparición de los Waterboys.

Sea lo que sea, para mí lo más curioso de los de Birmingham es la polémica sobre el origen de su hit más conocido “Come On Eileen”, porque ilustra perfectamente un caso de robo creativo.

Todo empieza por el carácter frío e insoportable de su líder, Kevin Rowland quien, al parecer, durante las giras obligaba al resto del grupo a viajar en autobús mientras él se desplazaba cómodamente en avión. Aunque lo mismo les hubiese dado estar juntos porque, según contaron después el resto de la banda, Rowland ni siquiera se dignaba a dirigirles la palabra.

La tensión entre los miembros del grupo hizo que Kevin Archer -fundador junto a Rowland- se hartara y dejara a los Dexy’s para formar The Blue Ox Babes. Y, según cuenta el propio Archer en una entrevista a Mojo, el mismo día en que anunciara su marcha a Rowland, éste que ni pestañeó, encima le obligó a enseñar los acordes de las canciones a su sustituto, Billy Adams.

Ya una vez fuera de los Dexy’s, Archer fue tan ingenuo como para dejar a Rowland una cinta con tres canciones para su futura formación, entre las que se incluía “What Does Anybody Ever Think About”. Y lo siguiente que supo es que “Come On Eileen” estaba incluida en el nuevo disco de Dexy’s, “Too-Rye-Aye”, llegando a número 1 en todo el mundo.

Pero lo peor no fueron la similitudes en los arreglos de violines de ambas canciones, sino la traición de la cantante de folk Helen O’Hara, que grabó junto a Archer la demo y a la que Rowland, tras escucharla en la cita de marras, convenció para que se pasara a los Dexy’s.

Rowland no reconoció el robo creativo hasta 1993, pero al final tuvo que pagar a Archer los royalties por “Too-Rye-Aye”.

Dexy’s Midnight Runners – “Come On Eileen”

There are days that I bow down to whomever created the Crock Pot.  I typically eat late, and when I know I have dinner waiting for me at home, I eat very light during the day (out of necessity and lack of funds) – but it’s a great thing to come home, hungry and knowing that dinner is ready and waiting and oh, so delicious. 

This time, it was Pork butt. Yes, again. They sell these suckers for like 69 cents a pound, and I take them home and cut them in half – freeze ‘em until I’m ready. Besides, a huge old hunk of meat won’t fit into my crock pot, so makes sense. 

This is by god, the easiest and tastiest thing you can do on a busy weeknight:

Here’s what I got:

• 1 frozen pork butt, but in half, about 4 lbs. (b0ne in, or out, depending which side you cut off)

• 1 bottle of Mojo from the dollar store. Don’t know what it is? Oh… just you wait. It’s a fantastic combo of lemon and other juices, garlic, spice, and glorious goodness that I have no words for. Homer Simpson would drink this stuff straight from the bottle (and if I see him doing it, I’ll sue, cause it was my idea.)

Here’s what I do:

• Before I go to bed, I stick said frozen pork butt into the crock pot liner, cover it in mojo, anywhere from 1/2 to the whole bottle, depending on it’s size. And I leave in the fridge covered overnight.
• When I wake up, it’s still frozen solid, but that’s a good thing. Before I leave for work, I stick the whole cooled and marinated crock pot into the base, throw in a couple handfuls of ice cube (to keep it from cooking too fast), turn it on low and leave for 9 hours.

And when I come home, it’s like my kitty has been slaving away all day. Wow. 

Talk about fall apart, juicy, tasty goodness. I could eat it right out of the cooker. But I don’t, since I’m civilized and all…

Want a quick a delicious side to go with it? Ha! Me too!

Got some frozen broccoli or cauliflower? Perfect.

• Stick in it a glass (or microwave safe) bowl and heat it up for 5 mins. 
• Add a couple bats o’ butter and a few cubes of cream cheese, a sprinkling of shredded cheddar and some garlic, salt and pepper. Stick it back in for about 3 minutes, stir it around and say “god bless microwaves.”

It’s rich and it’s fatty, but it’s omg good and it makes for killer leftovers. But, there’s veggies in there somplace, right? Can’t be THAT bad

Mein Abschlusspäckchen von meiner lieben Wollfee Nesaja ist angekommen…nachdem es sich ein wenig verirrt hatte.

Ich hab mich so riesig gefreut…meine ersten Mojos…die ich übrigens gleich angezogen habe
Eine süße Schaf-Tasse…jaaa ich <3 Schafe
Handgemachte Seife und Wildrose-Lavendel Bad… seit meiner Wollfeezeit komm ich kaum noch aus der Wanne
Ingwer Teufel-Gummibären …hmm die Schmecken interessant…aber nicht so wie man es von Gummibärchen erwartet…eben teuflische
Und tolle bunte Wolle gab es auch noch…ich hab schon eine Idee was daraus wird;) …da hab ich noch so einiges vor diesen Winter

Und damit ihr euch das besser vorstellen könnt hier ein Bild:

Vielen herzlichen Dank an meine liebe Wollfee…und viel erfolg in deiner neuen Heimat!

Yesterday, it was New England’s turn to feel a bit of Ida. Jealous Much? Didn’t think so. It basically rained all day, at sometimes pouring buckets. Not like I went outside much anyway because I was catching up on work, but the general atmosphere was a bit bland and gloomy. I found in that time I loved reading your delightful blogs with sunny pictures all the more, and that definitely powered me through the day After about 3 cups of coffee, I settled on a breakfast.

Pumpkin Oatmeal With Mighty Maple And Tempeh Bacon, Peanut Butter Greek yogurt With Tempeh Bacon

This had salty-sweet all over it. I love the smokiness of the tempeh bacon with the vanilla and maple flavors. And I ate it in bed I really could eat any meal in bed since that’s about 2 feet from where I normally do, but for some reason it felt more special on a rest day. While I was eating this I caught up on HIMYM, 30 Rock, and The Office. The last one was by far the funniest of the group this week. That last scene–hilarious! And I really hope Barney and Robin aren’t through for good Afterwards, my laundry was ready.

Clean Laundry

I’m really glad no one’s awake when I am because then it wasn’t so weird to think “I want these pajamas I’m wearing to be washed, too” while I was at the machines and stripped down to my boxers. As weird as it is, putting away laundry is one of the few chores I like. I don’t know why, but I find it calming, like putting away the dishes. Things I don’t like: vacuuming, cleaning hard surfaces, making the bed. I wasn’t hungry for lunch until almost 2, but I was quite pleased with what I ended up whipping together.

Runny Eggs, Vermont Sweet Bread, Broccoli

Strawberry Marmalade With Orange Liquer

My microwaving of eggs isn’t perfect, but it’s definitely better. Nothing exploded this time I love the vermont sweet bread; I think you can taste the hint of maple syrup. And to top it all off I had some jam on the side to dip anything and everything in. Overall, the eggs and bread “breakfast style” were very satisfying. Some study snacks followed.

Zevia Twist And Wintergreen Newman's Own Organic Mints

Because when you’re studying, you need carbonation and good breath to focus. I ended up spending most of the afternoon working on my final essay. There was a made for TV movie on which was, by all accounts, pretty crappy, but sometimes the crappy movies are the most entertaining ones. It took a fellow blog to remind–yes, remind–me that I had pumpkin bread in the fridge from last weekend.

Pumpkin Bread With Chocolate Chips

Yum! I like baking breads plain sometimes so you can mush in chocolate chips when you feel like them or just leave them out if you aren’t in the mood. After 30 seconds in the microwave this was good to go. A bit of sunshine came to my day when a friend from high school who was visiting another friend came to campus. Major props to them for finding my dorm at the worst hour of the storm; they stopped by my dorm and I put aside the books to chat for 15 minutes before they had to head off. After that it was back to writing, and a bit of eating.

Chobani With Pepita Sun Butter

I’m not a total fan of nut butters in yogurt but this was good nevertheless. If anything, it was good just to have a spoonful of pepita sun butter I actually finished that essay(wahoo!) and then got a text that my dinner plans fell through, 30 minutes before the fact at a time when I had not much in the fridge to fall back on(not wahoo). I decided to head off to Thayer Street to see if any new plans might emerge.

Starbucks Decaf

First up was Starbucks because I had a coupon for a free tall coffee that expired tomorrow. I love making them make me decaf. Is that a bad thing to enjoy? I figure they’re getting paid to make coffee so they might as well make coffee. After looking at all the restaurants, I decided there wasn’t anything I wanted. Thayer Street has some great sit down places if you want to pay sit down prices, but I was feeling frugal. Instead I went to see what I could get from The Ratty.

Vegetable Medley, Vegan Spicy Dahl

I don’t remember the last time I ate only dining hall food in my room; this might have been a first. I’m no Indian food expert at all, but this dahl was good, or at least as good as what I had from Whole Foods, and it would have cost me much less. But when they said spicy, they meant spicy. I almost had to call it quits. I like that they kept the skin on the potatoes for some fiber, too.

Is it to early for Christmas music? I hope not, because I had that playing all not. Oh well, if it is, there wasn’t anyone around to be judging On Mythbusters they intertwined page by page 2 phone books and it wouldn’t pull apart at all except with the aid of two tanks. It was ridiculous! I knew those things are dangerous. Eventually I had a snack that hit the spot just right.

Banana Oats With Butter Toffee Peanut Butter, Cinnamon-Vanilla Frosting, And A Glass Of Silk Nog

This was a spice extravaganza. In the oats was cinnamon and vanilla powder, and in the frosting was cinnamon and Silk eggnog. More eggnog was reserved for the side I love it! It needs a little stevia to sweeten up to my level but once it’s there it’s perfect. Why do things like this have to be seasonal? I couldn’t imagine not having this now. Speaking of seasonal…

Spooky Smores Z-Bar

Things got a little spooky before bed, but no one was harmed I forgot how good these were and how I need to stock up! They should still be out for a while even though Halloween’s over, right?

This morning I woke up at 8:30 with a little nudge from the alarm. I hung around until I knew the gym would be open, but when I got outside I realized how warm it was. No sun still, but perfect running temp. I changed my plans, grabbed this bar, and put on my Garmin.

Clif Mountain Mix Mojo

This was sooo good. I wish I had more than 5 minutes to enjoy it. I swear this one had more chocolate chips than the first time I had it, which I wasn’t complaining about. I did a run that I’ve been wanting to do for a while in my mind but never got around to. I went over to East Providence and ran along this lovely path where there were a lot of runners out. I went down to a tree 3 miles out, circled it, came back and circled a little rose garden and repeated. On the way home I ran into Whole Foods to grab a weekender flier which I’m sure confused some people. All in all the run was 9.6 miles and I did it in 1:16:23. That works out to a 7:57 mile average! I knew I was faster outside but wow that was fast. After communicating with my parents and showering I sat down to a late breakfast, or rather a brunch.

Eggnog Yogurt, Pumpkin Oats With Mighty Maple And White Chocolate Chips

My brunches look shockingly like my breakfasts, and my after dinner snacks. if that were a problem, I’d be fixing it, but my taste buds say no way, Jose. I added a little cinnamon to the eggnog yogurt and it was perfecto! I think I like cinnamon with it better than nutmeg; the nutmeg is a little abrasive.

For today there is some good stuff in store but I’ll let it be a surprise until tomorrow. Instead, go over to Errign’s blog and enter her giveaway for a really nice bracelet. I’m just starting to think about Christmas present and that’d be great to give to someone I know.

Ok… so I had no idea what I was going to write about today. I was racking my brain last night… another mural? an essay on gentrification? I was stumped.

And then out of nowhere… I found THIS. I saw it from the corner of my eye and thought “What’s that?” As I stepped closer I found this lovely little creature in red with his/her fantastic aura of twigs & sticks… then I noticed the inscription in stone underneath. West Oakland Home. Which I found fascinating, because West Oakland is my home, however I did not find this in West Oakland. Very strange.

Check out the magic charm at his base… a stone with four screws (presumably representing North, South, East, and West) all meticulously wrapped in blood red thread. This was some serious mojo.

I walked past the creature and came upon the weirdest and most fantastic pile of stuff… it was only then that I realized I was standing in the middle of a very deliberately created sacred space. The centerpiece is below… constructed out of a hundred or more hand sewn dolls with beautiful individual beads for eyes and mouths, all laid out in a circle.

Inside this circle was an interior circle constructed out of chunks of wood, and inside this two guardians flanked an intricate metal lantern, a red-feathered arrow stuck into the ground, and a dish of offerings. The “dish” was constructed out of a knarled piece of wood… resting in it, a necklace of the cross, beads, kernels of corn, and tobacco leaves.

I was fascinated! The fact that someone would create such an elaborate display in a public place. And then leave it. I was also a little bit nervous. Was it ok to be standing inside this space? Would I somehow be desecrating it by walking upon it? I have no idea how this voodoo magic stuff works. I tried to be respectful and appreciative.

It was then that I noticed the masks. The installation was set in a large rectangular plot of land… the red creature from the first photo marked the entrance. At each corner of the plot was a unique and unbelievably beautiful mask. One had a tag that said it was handcrafted in Ghana, carved out of a single piece of wood, and designed to “radiate the magic of Africa.” These two were my favorites…

This one was West…

South…

East…

And North…

I gave a nod of gratitude to each of these masks and to the four corners of our planet. It seemed like the thing to do. If anyone knows anything about casting spells or spiritual rituals of this sort, I would love more information. I am in awe of this beautiful gift of art.

Happy Friday the 13th everyone. May the mojo move you!

When you see the word, what pops into your head? Ok, bash out the stereotypical images of dorkbait in flood pants with a “kick me hard” sign taped to the middle of the back. Oh, and lose the buck teeth and “birth control” nerd glasses.  Most don’t have buck teeth.

For me, the word always held power. “Problem solver”, “Clever”, “Creative”, “Useful” are just a few of the descriptors that come to mind.

i used to be one. Trained, through about 10 years of university to engineer materials to solve problems for my corporate masters.  Along the way? i learned skills. Lab work is not for pussies. Plumbing was essential. Vacuum lines and leak detection was an early specialty of mine – working with ultra-high vacuum systems that resembled parts for the space station, i was a whiz at finding leaks with a squirt bottle of soapy water.

Creating and building my own experimental apparatus, i was also pretty damn good with the electrons.  Never afraid of voltage – it’s the current that kills you – i was confident that the test rig i’d slapped together would not result in a shower of sparks and screams when i plugged it into the wall.  Mojo.  Check.

The transition to management started fairly early.  By the time i was in my 30’s, i was spending more time on the phone than in the lab.  “Program Manager” never conjured the same series of words as “Engineer”, but i was good at it.  Skills required?  Communication.  Ability to translate between science and customer requirements.  Seeing the world past the tips of your shoes.  Definitely not sexy.  But i could wear high heels and miniskirts to work…

So i lost my Mojo.  Became intimidated by the trades.  This was mostly manifested in how i took care of things at home.  My husband and i both had the skills, but we started “contracting out” household repair work as our income grew and our time became more precious.  The thought of doing plumbing?  Blechhh… 

Plumbing is messy, but it won’t kill you.  Electrical work simply scared the shit out of me.  When it hit the cars?  i couldn’t even replace the battery on my jeep.  It was a low point. 

But not as low as i hit this summer.  My over-the-stove microwave oven took an electromagnetic shit in June while i was out of the country on holiday.  My solution?  Replace it with our old ‘counter-top version’ from the storage room.  i figured i’d eventually buy a new stove/microwave combination and have it installed.

Slow-forward to September.  Finding a nice sale, i was able to purchase a new set for a reasonable price.  i discussed installation of the microwave with the knowledgable salesman – who told me in no uncertain terms that i could easily do it myself.  It was a simple operation, only requiring a new frame, resetting the blower motors, and hanging the damn thing up…

When i took the old one down, however, i discovered something frightening.  It hadn’t been installed properly.  Rather than put an outlet in the wall above inside the cabinet, the installers had HARD-WIRED the damn thing in… To replace it?  i had two choices.  Install an outlet and do it right, or clip the cord and splice the new one in – violating local building code.

That was September.  i had a clutch of wires sticking out of my kitchen wall – one cleverly labeled “Hot”.  Trying to decide if i had the skills and balls to tackle it, or if i should just bite the bullet and contract it out.  It wasn’t an obvious solution, though.  Not as simple as just fishing the wires into the wall and putting in a box, some sort of re-route was required.  In my mind, i finally came up with a kluge of a plan that would work…  It was now late October.

But i still stared at it some more.  Until i got sick, and booted a planned hiking weekend, giving me tons of free time to take it on.  And took away the “i don’t have time” excuse.  My son looked at it with fresh eyes, and came up with a better “kluge”.  So, with the encouragement and on-site support of a close friend, and about five separate trips to the hardware store it was on…

Did the wiring project in about an hour.  Took a break.  Did the microwave install in 90 minutes.

Fuck.  Just like that.  Mojo: Found.

Now, to tackle some of those more difficult “Lost Mojo” projects… the ones that can’t be fixed with a schematic and a few trips to the hardware store. 

What a rainy Wednesday it is here in Virginia!  I think it’s been raining 24 hours straight now…   makes me sleepy!  This is a totally over-the-top busy week but I realized I hadn’t posted since Saturday so I tried hard to steal a few minutes to stamp the Mojo Sketch.  Here’s my card:

And here’s a close up of the shiny gold bell and ribbon:

And here’s what I used:
Stamps: Christmas Classic,
Paper: Soft Suede, Real Red, Very Vanilla, Christmas Cocoa DSP, Gold Foil,
Ink: Stazon Jet Black,
Accessories: Real Red marker, Soft Suede marker, 1/2″ circle punch, 1 3/8″ circle punch, 1/8″ circle punch, Mat Pack/Paper Piercer, 2 gold brads, gold braid ribbon, Nestabilities,

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A person I know from a long time ago posted something on that notoriously annoying social networking site today that I really liked. It said:

Every day this month until Thanksgiving, think of one thing that you are thankful for…

Of course, there were some other requisite instructions I am going to ignore because that is how I am, but as an exercise, this is a good one. So, to start with, thank you Lance.

Today I am thankful for the return of my slightly distracted mojo courtesy of these two Tweets from the LA Times Books and the brilliant Lizz Winstead. [I mean if Sarah Palin and Carrie Prejan can write, come on...]