As America continues to let their voices be heard through primaries and caucuses, I have decided to once again let your voices be heard with another TITT (Totally Interactive Thursday Thirteen). I will list 13 random things about me, some of which are true and some of which are not. You vote and I will post the results on Saturday (I need to allow myself some time to get work done on Friday). Polls will close at midnight Friday PST. Let your voice be heard. Don’t forget to vote. Here we go:

1. I have a working toilet in my home. True or False.
2. I ran away from home when I was 16. True or False.
3. I was born in the 70s. True or False.
4. My mother and my aunt are married to brothers and my grandmother and grandaunt are married to brothers. True or False.
5. For the last ten generations every other first born female in my family has given birth to twins. I broke the streak. True or False.
6. I am married to an identical twin. True or False.
7. I was a finalist trying out for Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, but didn’t make it on air. True or False.
8. Before I married Mr. Vixen, I worked as an exotic dancer. True or False.
9. One of my children was horribly mauled by a dog, ran over by a Toyota 4Runner, and nearly died from a burst appendix all before she was three years old. True or False.
10. My Dad was a Secret Service agent during the Kennedy Administration. True or False.
11. I am half Canadian. True or False.
12. I have milked a cow. True or False.
13. I was born in Utah. True or False.

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The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others’ comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
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Salutations readers and fellow TT participants. In honor of the caucuses and primaries being held around the United States, this weeks entry is a Totally Interactive Thursday Thirteen (TITT). Please participate by entering your votes in the comment section and I will post the results on Friday.

1. Men in turtlenecks, yea or nay?
2. Roger Moore as James Bond, yea or nay?
3. A stirrup pants come back, yea or nay?
4. Is Britney Spears newsworthy, yea or nay?
5. Hillary Clinton as president, yea or nay?
6. Do you think your presidential vote will count, yea or nay?
7. Reality TV, yea or nay?
8. Do debates influence your vote, yea or nay?
9. Seat belts on school buses, yea or nay?
10. Was there a President Kennedy assassination conspiracy, yea or nay?
11. Pioneer Woman’s new puppy or Dooce’s new puppy, choose one. (EDIT: If you click the links you will see a photo of their Xmas puppies)
12. Watch the Superbowl just for the commercials, yea or nay?
13. Do you trust network news, yea or nay?

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others’ comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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Hello All. Today is my birthday, I am 45 years young! Here are 13 things related to my birth date or age:

1. At age 45: Andre Marie Ampere, a French physicist, discovered the rules relating magnetic fields and electric currents. Without this, I would have to chisel my blog into a cave wall somewhere.
   
2. At age 45: George Foreman recaptured the heavyweight championship with a 10th round knockout, becoming the oldest person ever to win the heavyweight championship. I loved my Foreman Grill…until I discovered the Rocket Grill.
3. At age 45: Earl Vickers created a program for displaying things other people accomplished when they were your age. Thanks dude, because I was stuck for a TT today.
4. At age 45: Father Damien contracted leprosy. Struck with the sad condition of the lepers, whom it was the practice of the Hawaiian government to deport to the island of Molokai, he conceived an earnest desire to mitigate their lot, and in 1873 volunteered to take spiritual charge of the settlement at Molokai. Here he remained for the rest of his life, with occasional visits to Honolulu, until he became stricken with leprosy in 1885. Besides attending to the spiritual needs of the lepers, he managed, by the labor of his own hands and by appeals to the Hawaiian government, to improve the water supply, the dwellings and created order in the nearly lawless settlement. What a saint. But if you have to suffer, I do believe Molokai is the place to do it.
5. Born January 3rd, 106 BC Cicero (Roman philosopher and statesman). For the first 35 years of my life (until it closed) my favorite place to eat was Cicero’s. A family run joint, where they still tossed the crust up into the air for every pizza.
6. Born January 3rd, 1892 J.R.R. Tolkien (author, Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, etc). I hate to admit I never read the books. But Orlando Bloom brought me to the theatre for the first one and I was hooked.
7. Born January 3rd, 1946 Victoria Principal (actress). I know she was on Dallas, but I remember her best as the meany who broke Andy Gibb’s heart.
8. Born January 3rd, 1946 John Paul Jones Bassist for Led Zeppelin. I got A Whole Lotta Love for Zep.
9. Born January 3rd, 1956 Mel Gibson (actor). Best in the first Mad Max.
10. On January 3rd, 1870 Construction begins of Brooklyn Bridge in New York. Someday I would like to visit NY and the BB.
11. On January 3rd, 1871 Oleomargarine patented by Henry Bradley, Binghamton NY. Thank goodness, for what would I do without margarine?!?
12. On January 3rd, 1888 The 91 cm refracting telescope at Lick Observatory is used for the first time. It was the largest telescope in the world at the time. My Dad has always been a huge astronomy buff and passed this love on to me. I have been to Lick for school outings (grew up near there). I wish I could be there tonight to view the Quads!
13. On January 3rd, 1959 Alaska admitted to the Union as U.S. state. This state is at the top of my list of states I want to visit. I am an outdoorsy/camping/wildlife kinda girl.

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others’ comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
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(Gratitude to Harlekwin for the lovely banner)

Thirteen Things I have done since my power cord died:

1. Sewed the g-babes Christmas pajamas (pics below) and read them The Night Before Christmas.
2. Enjoyed a movie (I Am Legend) with Mr. Vixen and Sparkles yesterday. Great show.
3. Discovered the joy of Wii. I had no idea it was so fun. One night we all played bowling and boxing until 3am!!!!
4. Cooked the best standing rib roast and yorkshire pudding I have ever made and I have made 25 of them. Not sure why this one was so good, but yum, yum, yum.
5. Took 235 pictures Christmas morning. Yea, I know, overkill. But the new 2gig card was screaming to be filled.
6. Swept up more pine needles than I thought possible. This tree just keeps on giving.
7. Listened to 675 hours of holiday music.
8. Wrapped 30 presents.
9. Slept in on Christmas day for the first time in 23 years!
10. Laughed until my sides hurt.
11. Braved W*lmart and Costc* on Christmas Eve. Seriously stupid on my part.
12. Gorged myself on Honeybaked Ham and potatoes supreme.
13. Tried not to pick up my laptop more than 600 times a day, only to realize it’s battery is dead.

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others’ comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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(Yet another lovely graphic from Harlekwin)

Welcome all and fellow Thirteeners,

Last week I did 13 things I need and this week, as promised,

13 Things Vixen Wants

Continue reading →

(another lovely banner from Harlekwin)

The other day I mentioned that someone had asked me what I wanted and what I needed. I have been thinking about it a lot and have come up with the following list (next week I will do the wants) of

Things Vixen Needs

1. To register my car. It expired the end of October and I just know I am going to get pulled over.
2. Brakes on my car. The emergency brake light comes on when I stop and if I have to hit the brakes hard it makes that awful grinding noise.
3. A decent haircut and color. I got tired of my hair last week and hacked off the top…its frightening how uneven it is.
4. A working toilet located within my humble abode.
5. A decent night’s sleep.
6. A pair of jeans. Without holes. That fit.
7. A decent mattress (which would probably help with #5).
8. More energy.
9. An attitude adjustment. I am in a slump.
10. Less stress.
11. A crown on my tooth.
12. Tinsel. My tree is tinsel-less and it looks sad.
13. A second source of income (come on SSDI you are killing me here) to pay for the above items.

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
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Hello all you random visitors and lovely T13ers. This weeks TT is and idea I saw at Lesley‘s some weeks ago (go say hi, she just shared a BIG secret for her TT. Congrats Lesley!)

The Idea is you enter your name into a search-engine, like Google, followed by the words chosen below. So for example, would enter “your name dreams” in the search box. So, if your name is Georgie, enter “Georgie dreams” and include the quotation marks. Lesley used: Dreams; hates; loves; travels; searches; wants; wishes; begs; refuses, watches, buys, eats, and writes. I am going to be totally unoriginal and try the same to see what I get.

1. Dreams: The first night Vixen dreams she hears a key in the door and sees a figure watching her, only to discover the dream is a real-life nightmare…Whew, that scared me to death. Just kidding. My only nightmares are about my house burning down. Guess I could give that one up for now.
2. Hates: Vixen hates remotes. I had never thought about that before, but I truly do. I hate that there are so damn many of them, I hate that I can’t get them to work 50% of the time, I hate when the batteries die, and I hate, hate, hate when I can’t find it.
3. Loves: Vixen loves belly rubs and cuddles and gives lots of kisses. As a human, I imagine I don’t fully appreciate the belly rubs I have received; however, I am definitely a lover of cuddles and kisses.
4. Travels: Vixen travels down a lonely, secluded path toward no where, hoping to find….I have traveled many lonely, secluded paths. What I find at the end is not usually what I am hoping for, but what I am needing.
5. Searches: Vixen searches upstairs and is also murdered. Ah oh. Does this have anything to do with #1?
6. Wants: Vixen wants everything done yesterday. How does the internet know me so well? That is freaky!
7. Wishes: Vixen wishes she had sexy pants. I am not really into sexy pants. I really do want some pants, but more the comfy, relaxed, well-fitting kind.
8. Begs: Vixen begs off saying she’s tired. That happens a lot lately. I think its my damned tooth keeping me down.
9. Refuses: Vixen refuses to name that tune! “I can’t,” she insists. “If I did, then I’d have to kill you. HA HA. Frigga knows that isn’t true. I would have to kill whoever tried to stop me from playing Rockin With Frigga!
10. Watches: That Vixen watches too much TV and has an active and fearful imagination. I do not watch too much TV! Hmmph! I do spend entirely too much time on the computer, but that is another story. I do have an active imagination and some people may be fearful of it, lol.
11. Buys: I’d still like to know how Vixen buys the pellets….Ok, what kind of pellets? Because I have certain stores for certain pellets…
12. Eats: We ALL learned that Vixen eats “crap” on a regular basis and that she sometimes DOESN’T clean her plate. What? I always clean my plate!
13. Writes: Vixen writes in a rambling stream of consciousness style that reels you in. Not yet, but maybe someday soon.

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
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(Many thanks to Harlekwin for the TT graphic)

Hello fellow 13 addicts and anyone else silly enough to stop by this day. Today’s edition is a special holiday edition. It’s Thanksgiving, so I feel compelled to do a holiday appropriate post. I present:

Thirteen Things Vixen is Thankful For

1. My extended family. I am deeply moved every single day by the depths of which I love them all. They entertain me, love me, astound me, delight me and without them I would be nothing.

2. Miracles. Those of you who have visited before know about some of my miracles. There have been many over the years, some of which I haven’t even posted about yet. In the last few years though I have had no less than three four. Ladybug, MacD, Grama, and the fact that I had just moved out of this house before it burned to the ground. And those are just recently. God is great.

3. My mother is driving all the way from Utah to come cook me dinner visit us for Thanksgiving. I must admit, I adore cooking all day and witnessing everyone enjoy the fruits of my labor. But this year? After that last few months? I am beyond thrilled that someone is going to cook for me. All I have to do is eat and eat and eat and eat.

4. My strength and resilience. I am not responsible for this, I give thanks to God and genetics. Everyday I am grateful that I have the strength to go on despite of the trauma that accompanies life in Vixen’s Den.

5. Life lessons. I haven’t always taken away the message I feel I was supposed to, but I do learn (eventually) from every single moment of my life. My successes and failures deserve equal appreciation.

6. My country. Many people feel that things are wrong here and many may be right on many levels (that was a lot of manys). However, I relish our freedom to complain, our freedom to think, and our freedom to believe in something intangible. I am not a Mayflower offspring, no trips through Ellis Island for my ancestors, nor am I the progeny of Native Americans. My lineage results from a family escaping the potato famine through the port of San Francisco and an expatriate Canadian who’s parents moved here when he was 10 (love you daddy). I work in a job with 90% foreign co-workers and I understand their apparent jealousy of my country. I am proud to be an American and to live in a country built on the premise of religious freedom.

7. Babies. You frequent readers can throw out the whole “oh she is really attached to her granddaughter because of what happened at her birth” idea. I seriously adore babies. They smell good. They are cuddly. They grow up to be adorable. I cannot get enough of little babies. Not just mine either, ask anyone I have ever met with an infant: I will steal said infant and cuddle until someone demands I return said infant.

8. My Lord. I am not a born again. In fact, I am not all that great of a Catholic lately, but that entire Footprints thing? I know He is with me daily and I draw on that power daily.

9. My husband. In a lovely mass/wedding ceremony, on August 15, 1982, I was united with my soul mate. I can count on him for anything. Without him, I would not be the person I am. He is the reason I wake up smiling every single day.

10. Nannygoat, my first born. A lovely blend of avant-garde, curious, creative, loyal and ardent. I am amazed at what Mr. Vixen and I created in her every day. I watch her maternal, nurturing instincts and, wow, I just melt inside. I thank God for giving me a protective, affectionate child and mother to my grandchildren.

11. MacDougal. My only son. Honorable, ethical, trustworthy, perceptive and devoted. He is a canny, clever and open-minded young man who keeps me honest. If the world collapsed around me tomorrow, I could rely on him to stand beside me and try to save our world. I always said he would make someone a wonderful husband.

12. Bear, the youngest of my beloved children. Feisty, fearless, attentive, passionate, and authentic in every way. I watch her interact with people everyday and I am thankful at how her attitude reflects upon us.

13. The people who have joined my den through the above listed progeny. Lloyd, who adores my oldest daughter, and is a wonderful father. Funsize, who returns my son’s devotion in a way that he deserves. Fishboy, who is young and feisty like Bear and who’s allegiance to my youngest I am indebted for. Sparkles, who’s mother told him “Happy Birthday, you are 18, move out tonight.” He was absorbed into our family and is nearly indistinguishable from blood children. He is genuine, loving and faithful to all of us.

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
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Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes
Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes
Silver white winters that melt into springs
These are a few of my favorite thingsWhen the dog bites
When the bee stings
When I’m feeling sad
I simply remember my favorite things
And then I don’t feel so bad

Hello one and all, can you guess where I am going with this? My TT is 13 of my favorite things. One of them would be that song, which I performed in 6th grade chorus a few decades ago. I am going to go ahead and state here, in the preface, that my most favorite ‘things’ are my kids and my husband. That said, we can leave them off the list and go straight to the mundane, silly, superfluous and fun that is:

Vixen’s Thirteen Favorite Things:

1. Snow. Especially the first giant, lofty, big flakes. Not that I get much of it here in SoCal. However, I grew up in Norcal and my grandparents bought a cabin in 1962. It was completed in 1963. My first Christmas was celebrated there, as was my first New Year’s. Growing up we spent all our summers and winter holidays there. The best was Thanksgiving or Christmas. My Great Grandmother taught me and my brother and sister the snow dance. The four of us would start the shuffle a few days before it was time to go home in the hopes we would get snowed in. That happened enough times that we kept trying every year!
2. Roses. Not the store bought ones or florist ones that have no scent, but real roses grown in your own garden. They don’t have too look perfect, but they must be fragrant. I can just stand around the bush and sniff them all day long.
3. Heroes and LOST. If the damn strike isn’t settled soon….I just don’t know what I will do, but I am sure it. will. not. be. pretty.
4. Irish Breakfast Tea and Sweet Dreams. I love many teas (just not the fruity ones) but these two rock my boat. I don’t drink coffee much and have never tolerated caffeine well. As I am gracefully aging, I am more fully enjoying the kick that comes with the rich taste of the breakfast tea without the shakes and uber restroom use that comes from coffee. Sweet Dreams has been my go to ‘drug’ of choice to help me sleep forever and it smells heavenly.
5. Mint chocolate chip ice cream from Baskin Robbins. I don’t like many sweets, but that one gets me if its BR.
6. Potatoes. I love potatoes. Baked, fried, hash browns, mashed, chips…however. I love ‘em. My daddy did not bequeath me the title “Potatoe Queen” at the tender age of 12 for naught.
7. High speed Internet. Not to show my age or anything, but I was a huge fan of email in the ‘olden days. I would wake up and boot up my computer and log onto my free email service (Juno). I would then go take a shower, wake the kids, dress them and feed them. About that time my dial-up would have downloaded my email (sometimes it was longer). It was truly such a joy to get an email after all that effort….
8. Puppies/Dogs. I adore them; big or small, stubborn or obedient, mutt or purebred. I adopt them, steal them, and purchase them. I have had so many wonderful canines in my life and they help perfect my existence.
9. Yarn. Give it all to me. If you have some and are not sure what to do with it? Send it here. I love to crochet. But even more I love to admire yarn. Smooth, furry, thick, thin, colors, colors, colors. Let me create.
10. Laptops. This kind of goes with #7, but even without high speed, I love that I can sit in my chair and write/create and then it will be saved forever.
11. Anti-inflammatory medications. A new addition. But allowing me to continue my adoration and usage of #7, 9 and 10 while ignoring the ravages on early age RA (rheumatoid arthritis).
12. Sunsets. The joy of a good sunset has yet to lose its entrancement for me. I cannot get enough of them. I take a million pictures monthly because they ‘feel’ different, yet when I see the pictures even I can’t tell the difference from one day to the next. I can’t wait until they develop a camera that can capture the feeling along with the scene.
13. Cashews. I could never eat enough. And thus wraps up my TT of favorite things. Favorite things which also explain my inability to control my blood sugar?

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
View More Thursday Thirteen Participants