To The Person In Russia...

My blog stats keep telling me that someone from Russia reads my blog from time to time.
...Wha?
Russia?
For the record, I know no one in Russia.
Actually, the stat thingy says that people from all over the place have viewed my blog page, but I think that was only by some sort of accident occurring because THC's blog was open to the links and web stuff (but that's all fixed now). So since the people from all these country's quiet when THC cleared everything up on her blog, I figured that that would be the end of the 'accidental viewings of blogs' from other country's. Not that I have anything against all that, but... well... I admit it's kinda strange. I mean, who, except someone that knew me in person, would want to read my blog?
So anyway, if you are reading this, person who lives in Russia, know that I welcome you to read my blog.
And... well... I hope you like to read random things like this.

-Animal Lover

Bottling Up The Happenings In Block Ville

Well, I hope you liked that movie. It sure was a pain to put on there though. And it still doesn't show up on my computer... ARGH! But it did show up on my dad's (thanks by the way for helping me with that), and I'm pretty sure it will show up on your computer... mine is just kinda picky in what it decides to let pop up.
Oh, and before you watch it, be sure to go all the way down this page, and click the 'pause' button in my music track down there ...It really messes up the effect with that extra sound.

I think that's one of my better home videos ...and it was one of the quickest to film too.
...Not so quick to edit, however...

Anyway, something else that I wanted to mention is that I finally succeeded in convincing Arlo (my dog) into writing his own blog (hee hee!). So now you can see his view of the world at:
www.pawsandwiskers.blogspot.com

He is such a strange writer...



-A.L.

Movie Time!

That's three day's in a row now! I've been editing, filming, and set-making since Saturday ...I love making home videos! First my friend & I (Doodlebug was the friend) spent hours makeing a pupet-type movie that turned out really, really good! I think it might be one of the best that have been made by 'Annoying Dog Films'. And I can't wait to give Dbug's copy of it to her! And then today, me and another friend spent the whole day filming, editing, and acting out another story. This story is a video of a man (Mr. Baker) who finds that a hidden door in his house is a portal into 900 A.D. (A.K.A. a time when the world is black & white). After being pursued by a guard, Mr. Baker uses his cell-phone (suprisingly good cell0service back then) to contact people who warned him about this type of time travel, and is told that the only way he can break the lock on the door that he came from was to find The Silver Sword. Mr. Baker finds the sword (laying in a box of packing peanuts), breaks open the lock, and returns happily to his home (and back to when the world is color). It seems like a strange story, but I think it worked out. Oh, hold on, I gotta give the dog a bit o' attention...

...Oky dok, I'm back. Anyway, I'm gonna see if maybe I can put that movie that Dbug & I made on here...



See ya later!
-A.L.

Human-Kind Triumphs Over Applesauce Jar

I just finished eating lunch (I know, lunch at 3:30 is just plain crazy), and when I finally manged to open the applesauce lid ... POP! suddenly I had a post-title.

Amazing how that works.

Back in April, in a post labeled 'Of Posting, Flies, and Communication,' I told you that I would write a review on Jo's Boys written by Louisa May Alcott. I said I would do it unless I got abducted by aliens... But sometimes even when aliens don't come you can get a little side-tracked.
So anyway, an hour or so ago I finished reading it for the second time. Basically, in my case, if it's a book that I'm liking, I will want to read it over again right after I've completed the last chapter. If it's a neat, interesting, and good book, I will still like it after that second reading, and want to have my own copy of it. And if it's a really really good book, I will keep liking it for more than a couple months after I've considered, weighed it out, and went over it in my head.
Jo's Boys is one of those books.
I don't read new books very often. And I don't find books that I want to read, or are interested in reading, or that I don't think are weird when I start reading the first few chapters very often. This is all very ironic coming from someone who loves to read, and feels like they need to have a book to read at any given time. But then, I'm the same way with movies. And really, I think I'm the same way with music too.
It's kind like: If I can read, watch, or listen to you (talking to the product I'm critiquing here), over and over again, and still be wanting to read, watch or listen to, you are very well written, directed, or composed in my opinion.
I've been told that I'm good at critiquing movies (???) by a handful of people (this was strange when I first heard it, because I assumed that people thought that I was horrible at 'judging' things like movies).
Only because they heard me say a few things about The Voyage of The Dawn Treader after I had seen it when it came out about five months ago. This was probably only because I had been waiting for years, and years and years (at least it seemed that long) for it, and really couldn't keep my mouth shut about it (and you can read my critic on it at Dragon's Fly).
Often times, the more I read, watch, or listen to something, the better I think of it. Why this is, I still am not exactly sure...
And now, after all that jabbering, I will return to Jo's Boys.
Oh, and many (more) thanks to Mrs. Crickl, as she was the one who told me about this book in one of her comments.
Louisa May Alcott started building up Jo's Boys back in another one of her first great novels, Little Women (this, by the way, is my mom's favorite book). Here, we meet some main characters, such as: Jo, Meg, Amy, Laurie, etc. These characters though, to my delight, come into Little Men and Jo's Boys too! (I love it when characters that you get to know grow up, and then show their same personality in different ways). I am wondering though, does Eight Cousins have anything to do with the three stories about the sisters and their families?
Anyway, the book Little Men is one of my favorites, because of the way Alcott writes about the the people. They each have their own personality, and it's just a refreshing book to read for the simplicity itself. Actually, the same goes for Jo's Boys too. Only, this book may be a little better, because of the fact that now, the people in Little Men, are ten years older, and each have a fresh way of displaying their own little quirks.
All in all, if you want an easy-to-know-what-I'm-talking-about summery of my opinion, I'd say that if you read this book, you likely won't regret the time you spent on it. You'll presumably think that it was well written, and it makes a nice book to read in contrast to newer, and more modern-day books.
Before I finish with the critique though, I will list my favorite characters:

--Nan Harding
--Emil Hoffmann
--Ted Bhaer
and (especially in Little Men)
--Nat Blake

So all in all, and all considered, I'd say that this book, (and Little Men), is defiantly a 'good read,' although, if you are one of those people who only enjoy -- and only are interested -- in fast-paced, mysterious, thrill and adrenaline-pumping cliff hangers, this may not be exactly your kind of book...
So there you go. Are you now filled with the desire to go and read -- or re-read -- this Alcott story??

Now what book reviews and applesauce jars have in common, I have no idea...

-Animal Lover

AL? and Other Things

I've been thinking about this for a long time:
It appears that when I do the little '-A.Lover' or 'A.L.,' standing for Animal Lover, it looks like my name is Al (confusing sentence). Ehhhh, not so... My name (first/last) does have an A & an L, but not enough to use as a name name.
But, as a blog-code-name type of thing, I suppose I could be 'Al' or, to be even correct: 'AL.' ...Not really a great name in my opinion though...
So call me whatever: Animal Lover, A.Lover, A.L., AL, Al, or 'the nerdy person who writes on her blog, loves animals, and is a 'Chronicles of Narnia geek...
Well, I dunno, maybe I'm not really nerdy. I just try to be funny, and come out a little like a geek and nerd. Oh well, it's not that I really mind being geekish...

Have you noticed that I use '...' a lot? I've already mentioned that I like to use it, (in one of my other posts a little while ago), but I think I'm using it even more now. I think it must be because I really do trail off in what I say (either that or I start mumbling what I say).

Today I got up, went to Sunday School, studied the book of James, (great bible study today Mr. R.G.), went to church service, Pastor C. had us look in 1 Peter 5:6-7; and we went through being humble, submissive, and what the reward for doing that will be, then I went into the little courtyard-grassy-spot in between church buildings participated in the 'All Church BBQ' (participated as in eating stuff), after that I observed my youth pastor getting dunked in one of those dunk-tank-hit-the-target-with-the-softball-and-youth-pastor-goes-screaming-down-in-75-degree-water things (actually, he didn't really go screaming down, but it makes it sound more dramatic), and after that, I left church and went to our friend's relatives house to celebrate their 25 anniversary, and in doing so, I ate a whole lot more good things, and learn how to play 'Crud' (a game that you play on a pool table with billiard-balls), and now I'm home! (and after a bit of struggling with my computer, and trying to reconnect the Internet, I'm blogging!).
Long day, but it was tons of fun!
And the day's not even over yet!

I'm thinking about putting on one of those 'followers' things on my gadget-sidebar. That way I could know exactly who was really interested in my blog ...well, if they pressed the little 'follow' button anyway... But then, it would probably only have two people at the most, so maybe I'll wait on that (many thanks to my readers! who are few, but faithful!).

And now I think that this post is coming to an end. Though I have no idea what I'll do when I'm done with writing it. Probably fiddle with something else on one of my blogs...

See ya!
-Animal Lover, A.Lover, A.L., AL, Al, or N/G blogger (not really liking that last one...)

Hooray!

I can sign in now!
Yahooo! (if you don't know what I mean, look at my last post).
Now I can show you five of the newest pics of Arlo:

Lounging about.
Uhh... You go ahead and jump in, I'll just stand here...
Heelp! 'y ung ish uck oo 'y noode!
Heroic Dog.
Sticking out the tongue (once un-stuck to the nose).











Aren't they great? Tell me what ya think of them!

I'm gonna go and post on D-Fly now,
G-bye!
-A.L.

A Word Pad Chronicle

Today is a catch-up day.
Note that I did not say ketchup day... ...However, for your information, this post has nothing to do with ketchup.
And that was rather random.

Moving on.

I've been writing a good amount of posts more often, true. But I never seem to type down all that I want!
For example, Mrs. Crickl was wondering how to put pages on your blog. And I'm really really sorry that I haven't gotten to that sooner! Please forgive me!
Another example: I have a bunch of great pictures to put on here for your viewing, and yet, they never seem to quite make it in the end. Laaaaaaazy...






...This is about ??? minutes/hours later, and after saving all that I could on this post, I copied and pasted all that I had written from my posting place to Word Pad. Apparently blogger suddenly had technical issues which is leaving me unable to log in or edit or save or publish things??? Not good. So, just so that you know, I did have more to this post, but it never got saved. And is now lost forever in blogger-space.
And now I am writing this on Word Pad.
Things change very quickly.
And now I will inform you bloggers how to put pages on your blog.

How to make separate pages on your blog:

Step one:
Once at your dashboard, click 'New Post'

Step two:
Once you get to 'New Post' go up to the left-hand corner where it says something like New Post, Edit Posts, Edit Pages, and then click 'Edit Pages.'

Step Thee:
It will say that you haven't made a page yet, (unless you have) and ask you if you want to, so then just click 'Create Page.'

Step Four:
Choose which way you want to edit your page. There is the HTML way, or the Compose way. These are positioned in the right-hand upper corner of the window.

Step Five:
After creating your page, and titling it, and all that fun stuff, remember to publish it. When you publish it, the thingy will ask you how you want to position it. If you position it at the top of your blog, it will be in a 'tab-like' form, but if you position it on your sidebar(s) it will be in a 'list-like' form.

PS: After making pages, you can change how and where you order and display them in the Design part of your dashboard. They'll show up as gadgets.


So there you have it. The very simple way to make separate pages on your blog.
And now onto the next subject.

I wonder when I'll be able to actually post this? The bloggy-support said that you could only read blogs and not edit or post any comments on them ...but it never said for how long. Today is May 12, 2011, I wonder what day it will be when I will be able to copy and paste it down on my 'New Post' window...

Anyhow, I'd like to show you some neat pictures I took of Arlo two days ago.

...Oh wait, how do you put pictures on Word Pad?

Well, never mind then.

And now that I have plenty of room to type and 'catch-up' I am blank and boring. Must be Word Pad influencing me.
Ugh.

I'll get back to you later,
-A.Lover

If Sheep Could Wave

I heard an interesting story today at church service.

Our Pastor once was hiking in Colorado mountains and they were in or near a big valley. Up on a big ledge there was a big crowd of sheep, the ones in front standing on the edge.
So here is this flock of sheep, and they are all interested in what's going on. So much so that Pastor C.L. described them as sheep that would wave at you -- that is, if sheep could wave.
And then, the sheep in the back, the ones behind, were trying to push through:

Sheep:
"'Oooh! oooh! I wanna see! I wanna see! Move! I wanna get though! I wanna see!'
'Agh! don't push me!'
'Hiiii!'
'Whoa! Sheep don't bungee jump!'
'Move away! Move, move, move!'
'Stop shoving!'
'Heyyy! I wanna see too!'
'Who do you suppose those people are anyhow??'
'Everyone quit hogging space!'

Get the picture?
So those ecstatic sheep were all lined up, the strange thing is, is that since they were not agreeing -- shoving and trying to get on the edge all at once -- they couldn't turn around.
This flock was simply stuck.

But as Pastor C.L. was observing, a shepard came to the Cliff. He said he didn't really see where he came from, but as he watched, the shepard walked to the sheep, and turned them the other direction.
Problem solved!

Now, sheep are not very smart. And that's why a shepard is commissioned to watch over them. A good shepard keeps a flock safe, turned away from cliffs, and away from animals with lamb-chops on their menu.
But, the point is, Jesus does the exact same thing for us. We are flock, the sheep of his pasture. We aren't very smart, but Jesus takes the time to turn us the right direction.


So if you were a sheep, would you want to wave?
-Animal Lover

May These Words Stick With You

The whole of this post will be dedicated to a list of things that have been discovered by me, that actually obtain usefulness (I know, it should be a very very short list).

1) Patience is really really vital to surviving in the world.

2) Some days when you feel really rushed, take a moment to breath.

3) (Speaking of breathing) If you ever ride 'Mission To Mars' at Disney World, don't forget to breath, and don't get to tense ...very interesting experience on that one...

4) A dog licking you on the face won't always kill you -- unless you are highly allergic to dog-saliva.

5) Writing your thoughts down in funny ways often gives you a brighter perspective of the world.

6) Reading your bible could be easily compared to hitting the 'Refresh' button on your computer.

7) When something like a glass jar falls off of something and breaks, don't run your finger over the edge (unfortunately you can read about that on another post here...).

8) Everyone knows the 2+2 equals 4 -- but it takes a genius to find out who put the plastic container in the wrong drawer.

9) Brushing your teeth is a very good habit.

10) Getting angry at someone does NOT help a problem AT ALL.

11) To get the strike-out font in html code is < strike > < / strike >, only without the spaces in between.

12) It is very aggravating to be a perfectionist (and you can read about that in my last post).

13) Dirt is a wonderful mental-restorer ...strange, I know, but it's true...

14) Giving encouragement is very encouraging to the one who encouraged the victim.

15) Fast food is absolutely disgusting ...you don't even wanna know why...

16) In a majority of cases, things that we think of important won't add up to much years and years from now.

17) Be yourself ...not someone else.

18) If you know Jesus Christ, you shouldn't worry about anything -- because he can handle everything!

19) The best way to roast a marshmallow is also on of the most dangerous ways.

20) DO NOT forget to feed the dog.

21) If you do forget to feed the dog, shame on you -- you'd best start making a apology A.S.A.P.

22) Oxymoron's are cool.

23) Don't try to live in the past, instead live for the future.

24) Forgiveness from God is a gift that's has already been given!

25) In the long run, you're better off watching paint dry than watching more then 12 hours of TV (at the least).

26) Washing dishes is not a choice. It's a fate...

27) If you can't say if the cup half empty or half full, you've probably either spilled it before it reached the table, or it's still sloshing around too much for you to tell.

28) Being a person who can say funny things spur-of-the-moment is something that is defiantly a God-given talent.

29) When riding up-side down on anything, keep your head back.

30) The knowledge of making a sandwich is possibly greater than the knowledge of how to solve x=2y+3y-47=9x-(21)=6 (I have no idea what kind of equation I put down ...but it looks vaguely like what my brother's algebra looked like...).

31) Hope, Faith, and Love will guide you to the greatest places you can imagine.

32) Prudence is something that is very much worth having (see the post on Dragons Fly labeled: Prudence -- a tool worth having).

34) Perseverance & the ability to withstand irritation can be used for just about anything.

35) Looking both ways in a street will really pay off.

36) Looking at both sides of a situation will really pay off too.

37) Knowing the difference between reasoning & debating is really hard, and yet is really important.

38) Standing out is not always a bad thing.

39) There should be a balance between imagination and reality ...But there's not usually much of one.

40) Sarcasm can be used commonly, but mix it with discernment.

41) The act of being alert to things in front, above, behind, and beside you is very valuable.

42) No body's perfect. But strive for it in the right way, and you'll be a nice kind of person.

43) If your words go faster than your thoughts: BE WARE.

44) I think that if you never appreciate wind in your face, you're just plain crazy.

45) A handful of animals are equipped with three useful things: intelligence, instinct, and tolerance ...maybe we should learn something from them...

46) Remember what Jesus Christ did for you. And never forget!

-A.L.

The Recent Hours: A Time Of Being Aggravated A Perfectionest

Well, I sure am glad I'm finished with THAT! ...For now, at the least...
I just finished with putting a new page on my blog. I took me a little while to figure out what the 'page' thing was all about. But I did figure it out. So if you look around up there, you'll see two links. One link says 'Main Page' and the other says 'Picture Page' These are my pages so far. The 'Main Page,' is what you're on right now -- my place for posting, and doing the normal blogish stuff. And the 'Picture Page,' is an art gallery of Arlo. So check 'im out!

Now I will explain the title.

I must say, putting together a page of pictures is not the easiest thing to accomplish (I thought my dog in person was hard to keep in line, but now I know that it's even harder to keep pictures of Arlo in line!).
The way that the picture-thingy works is really complicated, and I don't understand it at all (yet). So I've probably spent an hour, purely just getting pictures to go where, look how, and do what I want them to.
Ughh, that was a lot of wrestling with a computer.
Well, now it's how I want it to be.
I am finished and satisfied.
For now.

I'll see ya!
-A.L.