“Be regular and orderly in your life so that you may be violent and original in your work.”

— Gustave Flaubert, novelist (1821-1880)

(If you’re looking for my Thursday Thirteen, check here. I hijacked my husband’s blog.)

And last, but not least… We are selling Girl Scout Cookies this year. Because we are now Girl Scouts. Who knew we’d go to church and (later, and this has nothing to do with church at all) become Girl Scouts? I’m pretty certain that no one saw that one coming.

One minor trifle: Who knew they wanted you to commit to selling 3,000 boxes per Girl Scout? That, to me, spells “unreasonable.” We’ll be able to sell, mebbe, twelve or fourteen boxes? Tops. And those will be to ourselves, most likely, given my cooky addiction.

What kinds of cookies are on offer this year? Lemon Chalet Cremes! (New!), Trefoils (shortbread), Do-Si-Do’s (peanut-buttery), Samoas (not “Samoans.” Gooey coconut! Chocolate!), All Abouts (Celebrating Girl Scouting! These are my favorites. Shortbread and chocolate), Sugar Free Chocolate Chip (the name says it all), Tagalongs (not “Tagalogs” heh heh heh. Wildly Popular!), Thin Mints (Extra Thin, Extra Minty! I take it back — these are my favorites). What about you? I am tempted to load up those USPS boxes, you know the ones? You can pack those suckers full of Girl Scout cookies and mail them out for what, ten bucks apiece?

I do not have that kind of money to throw around, except in my imagination. So you’ll have to find a Girl Scout, if possible, wherever you are. (Nan, any Girl Scouts in Trinidad?)

The following cookies do not exist, except in Zip’s imagination:

1) Chocolate Mint
2) Lemonades
3) Caramel delites
4) Cinna-spins

(What did this make, nine posts today?)

xxox

WM

ps you have NO idea how loudly the kids have been protesting in the background, the entire time I’ve been posting here. It had to be done. On a bright note — this week’s homework is now finished. “Webkinz, now?” Yes.

“Do you wish to rise? Begin by descending. You plan a tower that will pierce the clouds? Lay first the foundation of humility.”
— St. Augustine (354-430)

I’m doing this meme all wrong, sorry, Betsy.

JUNE:
Thinks far with vision. (I like to think so. Mostly I’m thinking, What’s for dinner?)

Easily influenced by kindness. (Got chocolate?)

Polite and soft-spoken. (Ha! Ha! Hi-ho!)

Having ideas. (…and then some.)

Sensitive. (As my daughter would say, “Say what?”)

Active mind. (Cold heart…)

Hesitating, tends to delay. (If this was the case, which it is not, I would see it as an asset.)

Choosy and always wants the best. (Again, got chocolate?)

Temperamental. Funny and humorous. Loves to joke. Good debating skills. Talkative. Daydreamer. Friendly. (Sure.)

Knows how to make friends. (…and influence people?)

Able to show character. Easily hurt. Prone to getting colds. Loves to dress up. Easily bored. Fussy. (“Do you want some aspirin? Because you seem a little fussy.” Pam to Michael Scott on “The Office.”)

Seldom shows emotions. Takes time to recover when hurt. Brand conscious. Executive. Stubborn. (Whew!)

(Brand conscious?)

I don’t think I care to find out.

You’ll find it here.

I could not believe /
the amount of quality material /
on this site /
eyecatching /
Undelivered Mail /
Stock breaker report /
Voluminous! /
you have nothing to lose, just a lot to gain! /
Returned mail: Mailbox Full /
Buy a new watch /
Buy a new watch /
failure notice /
failure notice /
failure notice /
Hey baby, how are you? /
Beware of fake pills!

it has been brought to my attention by Hockey God, Mr. Blog Police, that my blogging is “suffering” since I took a “real” job. Well. That could be. Do I owe you an apology? (Tosses out random apologies, considers eating breakfast, realizes she hasn’t called Girl Scout Troop Leader to confirm Cooky Appointment. Church tomorrow, lead teacher? WTF?)

Look on the bright side — this week I deposited my first “real” paycheck and the checks for the bills? They did not bounce.

Here are some lovey-links for you:

Go see Zoot. For a woman who recently lost her “real” job, she’s got a lot going on.

Qanzas is my new idol.

Pioneer Woman has a new woof! (Why is everyone but me getting a new puppy? I’m stamping my feet right now.)

Dooce gets all the lovin’ (and hatemail) but her husband Jon has got it going on, too. I love geeky guys, you know this already.

Melissa Lion and I are going to do a coffee talk/book-signing (for her)/book giveaway (for me) the end of January, coffee house to be announced. (Somewhere in Portland.) I’ll post details as soon as I figure it out, but we’re thinking last Saturday in January (the 26th). So if you’d like to meet us, plan on it!

xxox

wm

I’m all — NO ONE TOLD ME IT WAS NATIONAL DELURKING DAY! Then I’m all — oh, wait. I worked all day and took care of a cute little kid who is getting over the flu. So I’m just now reading the blogs.

Leave a comment, you. And you. And you, too!!!

I’m making tomorrow Delurking Day, too, since I’m getting a late start.

Yours,

WM

Event: Rally and march to Shut Down Guantanamo Bay Prison
Date: Friday, January 11, 2008
Time: 5:00 PM
Place: Pioneer Courthouse Square, SW Broadway & SW Yamhill, downtown Portland

Contacts:
PPRC (503) 344-5078 pprc at riseup.net

Peace and Justice Works (503) 236-3065 pjw at pjw.info

Portlanders to Rally and March to Shut Down Guantanamo Bay Prison Action in Solidarity with International Efforts Friday, January 11, 2008, 5 PM, Pioneer Courthouse Square

Local peace and justice groups are joining an international call to action to shut down the U.S. prison complex at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, this Friday, January 11, 2008. The local action will take place beginning at the SW corner of Pioneer Courthouse Square, SW Broadway and Yamhill, in downtown Portland, before a march begins at approximately 5:15 PM.

Over 300 people have been held at Guantanamo since 2002, most without access to legal help, and many exposed to harsh conditions that many consider torture. In February, 2006, the National Journal wrote an investigative piece that showed: “Some of … the terrorists, the trainers, the financiers, and the battlefield captures — are indeed at Guantanamo. But National Journal’s
detailed review of government files on 132 prisoners who have asked the courts for help, and a thorough reading of heavily censored transcripts from the Combatant Status Review Tribunals conducted in Guantanamo for 314 prisoners, didn’t turn up very many of them. Most of the ‘enemy combatants’ held at Guantanamo — for four years now — are simply not the worst of the worst of the terrorist world.

“Many of them are not accused of hostilities against the United States or its allies. Most, when captured, were innocent of any terrorist activity, were Taliban foot soldiers at worst, and were often far less than that. And some, perhaps many, are guilty only of being foreigners in Afghanistan or Pakistan at the wrong time. And much of the evidence — even the classified evidence —
gathered by the Defense Department against these men is flimsy, second-, third-, fourth- or 12th-hand. It’s based largely on admissions by the detainees themselves or on coerced, or worse, interrogations of their fellow inmates, some of whom have been proved to be liars.”-1

Witness Against Torture has declared January 11, the six years anniversary of the first prisoners arriving at Guantanamo, an International Day of Action to Shut Down Guantanamo. In Washington, DC, they will be holding a demonstration at the National Mall followed by a procession to the Supreme Court. Actions are currently planned in 30 cities, including New York, Chicago, San
Francisco, Philadelphia, Miami, London, Paris and elsewhere.

Local groups organizing the Friday rally include Peace and Justice Works (PJW), Portland Peaceful Response Coalition (PPRC) and Women in Black. PJW and PPRC echo the national call for participants to wear orange t-shirts, armbands or other orange clothing on January 11th to mark the date.

Endorsers of the national action include Center for Constitutional Rights, Peace Action, United for Peace and Justice, Voices for Creative Nonviolence, War Resisters League and Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom.

Check here for up-to-date details on the international actions.

For local information call Peace and Justice Works at 503-236-3065 or Portland Peaceful Response Coalition at 503-344-5078.

1–“Empty Evidence” By Corine Hegland, National Journal Friday, Feb. 3, 2006