So, yeah...

It's another year, another birthday. I'm still waiting on my gifts, as Fred leaves for work at the dawn of ridiculous and neither the kids nor I wanted to get up at that hour so we could do the family thing. So tonight then. And afterward the plan is to go to Taboises for Mexican food and margaritas, which always makes me a happy girl. :c)

I did cheat a little and bought a book for myself (just what I need, ANOTHER damned book!) and a couple of magazines. I was also going to buy myself this amazing perfume I tested called Euphoria, but that'll have to wait until I transfer some funds into the account. Forgot to do that last night. Oops!

We've done some preliminary research into housing, and since we're looking to buy outright instead of financing, we're probably going to focus more on Raleigh than Durham. I found a freaking FARM there, 1.1 acres of land, barn, garage, separate in-law quarters and did I mention 1.1 ACRES OF LAND for $175,000! For those of you who didn't grow up in Southern California or the Netherlands, you probably have no idea why I'm so damned impressed with that, but from my perspective that's an enormous amount of your own space for almost no money at all. Yeah, okay, $175k isn't chicken feed, but try looking at Los Angeles property and see what $175k will buy you!

The plan is to move in a couple of years. We want to do our research first, and see what the hell this crazy economy is going to do before we haul our cookies across the ocean again. But yeah. It's sounding better all the time.

(no subject)

Shamelessly stolen from elfwench

You are The Moon

Hope, expectation, Bright promises.

The Moon is a card of magic and mystery - when prominent you know that nothing is as it seems, particularly when it concerns relationships. All logic is thrown out the window.

The Moon is all about visions and illusions, madness, genius and poetry. This is a card that has to do with sleep, and so with both dreams and nightmares. It is a scary card in that it warns that there might be hidden enemies, tricks and falsehoods. But it should also be remembered that this is a card of great creativity, of powerful magic, primal feelings and intuition. You may be going through a time of emotional and mental trial; if you have any past mental problems, you must be vigilant in taking your medication but avoid drugs or alcohol, as abuse of either will cause them irreparable damage. This time however, can also result in great creativity, psychic powers, visions and insight. You can and should trust your intuition.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

Britain's First Map

"You're looking at the oldest surviving map of Britain, dating from around 1360.

And, give or take a bit of poetic licence north of the border, it's startlingly accurate.

There are the Severn, Thames and Humber, the loop of the Wear in Durham and the Thames estuary, all easily recognisable."




The rest of the article is here.

Life-sized statue of Anubis

I want one for my front entryway. It doesn't match my decor AT ALL, but I'll bet it would keep my dog in line. :cP



Source

Oof!

Well, the birthday is almost over, and I am tickled pea-green to say that I got a brand-spanking new camera! It's one of those itty-bitty ones that fits almost in the palm of my hand. So now I can take lots of photos without having to drag out the big movie camera. Yay! I also got another game for my Nintendo, which will have to wait until I managed to finish Zelda.

We then went out to what passes for a Mexican restaurant here, and I ate waaaaay too much. They have a killer cactus soup that pretty much strips the buds right off your tongue from the spiciness, but it's really yummy. Then I had some kind of chilaquiles thing, which was kind of "meh" but the guacamole it was smothered in pretty much made a winner to me anyway. Guac is one of my very favorite things to eat EVER.

AND I had a margarita. Just one, because I was driving. So it's all good.

Thanks to everyone for all the birthday wishes. I've had a super day! :cD

The Early Bird Gets It