Weblog

Monday, 29 November 2010

  • Going to shut down for a while

    My original Xanga account is SherylM.  I moved here from MDD for reasons I can't even remember.  I think it was a fear of copyright issues or something.  Whatever.

    I purchased a lifetime account here expecting that I would always want a blog - and I like that this can be public, protected or private. (Though I've only written about 3 private blogs in all that time - mostly because it was just too personal to share and I needed to get it out of my system.  I used to keep a paper diary for that reason.)

    So, one day, inspired by "Clean Sweep" I decided to start a photo journal of my desire to clean the clutter out of my house, and started my NotMarthaStewart blog.  I ended up buying a lifetime account for that one, too. (Don't ask why - at this point, if I had a reason I don't remember.)

    Then Xanga gave us the opportunity to change our blog names.  I decided I was done with the "Clean Sweep" blog and was going through some tough times.  I needed a public blog and a private (protected) blog.  So I searched for a name that would equate to "Singer" because I love to sing.  I found the Greek Goddess of poetry, Calliope, whose name meant "Beautiful Voice" and who taught her daughter to sing.  Unfortuantely Calliope was already taken here, so I looked for variations on the spelling and ended up with Kallioph - the only one that wasn't taken. (And, as it turned out, Calliope was the Latin spelling, and Kallio'ph was the Green spelling.)

    So for about two years, I've kept two blogs.  Kallioph was my public blog, and SherylM was my protected blog.  Now I feel like my life has turned around, is heading in a good direction, and I don't need two blogs.

    So for the time being, I'm going to post all of my blogs in SherylM, and save Kallioph - for what I don't know.  Maybe for a time in the future when I'll need two blogs again.

    If you are a subscriber here but not on SherylM, please head over.  I'm going to unlock my account.

Sunday, 21 November 2010

  • In a nutshell

    Been a while since I updated here in my public blog.  Lots of stuff has gone on in my life.  Here it is in bullet points:

    • In January
      • I met up with Roger - a guy I dated in high school but hadn't seen in 35 years
      • My sister was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer
    • In February Mac asked me for a divorce
    • In March I started a new job
    • In April
      • I bought a new house in Michigan
      • Roger moved in with me
      • My boss agreed to let me work at home in Michigan most of the time and only commute to Chicago for staff meetings and to train clients (approx once a week)
    • In May, we celebrated my sister Melanie's 52nd birthday - turns out it is her last
    • In June we celebrated my other sister Debbie's 50th birthday
    • In July we went camping - one of the things Melanie always wanted to do
    • In August
      • we had to put Melanie under hospice care but she was able to stay at home
      • we buried Jerry, a good friend and someone I knew since high school
      • we buried Roger's dad
    • In September, we buried Melanie
    • In October, Roger asked me to marry him
    • In November, I've spent most of the month Christmas shopping and planning my wedding
    • In December
      • We're going to see Trans-Siberian Orchestra
      • We're going to see Wicked
      • We'll be doing Christmas Eve at my house
    • In January
      • We're getting married
      • Going on a two-week Caribbean cruise

Tuesday, 02 February 2010

Friday, 15 January 2010

  • City or Country?

    Country Mouse or City Mouse? - A Featured_Grownups writing prompt.

    So the question is, which am I?

    I grew up in a small town in a little subdivision plopped down in the middle of acres and acres of farmland.  (In fact, our neighborhood was called "The Goodrich Farm subdivision".  I didn't see a railroad crossing gate until I was 14. We played baseball in the field behind our house, we skated on the pond down the street during the winter.  We hiked through the woods and fields to visit friends who lived up to two miles away.  I rode a ten-speed bike to work (3 miles away) on the weekends when I was in high school.

    Fast Forward to now.

    I live in a suburb of a large city.  I'm only 30 minutes away by train.  I have two large malls within 3 miles.  There are three theaters (live theater) within 5 miles.  There are restaurants and convention centers within 1 mile.  But my little neighborhood is quiet. 

    I like living in the suburbs of the city.  I'm far enough away from the hustle and bustle for it not to disturb my leisure time, but close enough that I can work in the city (taking public transportation into the city) or do shopping or touristy stuff when I have visitors.

    City or Country?
    I guess I'm a little bit of both.  What I can't do is have a house in the middle of nowhere.  I like the close proximity to everything where I live. 

    I guess I'm on the fence



Thursday, 17 December 2009

  • Follow-up to A Special Friendship

    Tyche and two other people (in private messages) encouraged me to send my previous entry to Sheri to read.  I normally don't share my posts outside my blogosphere because I need the freedom to post without holding back, so I generally don't let my friends and family (with a few exceptions) even know about this blog.

    Anyway, Sheri came and read, then sent me this message, with permission to repost:

    I was going to post this on your blog, but I don't have an account, and if you want to share this, you have my permission.

    Just to let you know... I value our friendship as much as you do. You brought tears to my eyes just reading this. I love you like a sister. I forgive you your error in judgment in junior high. We were meant to be friends. I knew it all along. You just had to find yourself first. Your friendship is very important to me... and even though we are miles away, you are in my thoughts, always. ♥

    And that made me cry.

    Also, I thought I should clarify one point.  Her sister (Kathy) is no longer mean or nasty to me.  I think we both got over that as we became adults.  I was able to meet up with her on a couple of occasions when Sheri and I got together and Kathy was just as sweet-natured as Sheri.

NaBloPoMo

NaBloPoMo stands for "National Blog Posting Month" - this has been going on for a little over a year now, though I just joined in mid-December, 2008. The goal here is to post an entry every day. And when you do, you earn a badge. In November each year, members donate prizes and people can win prizes. My first full month I managed to post every day :-) I will be posting badges for months I complete in this space.

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Kallioph

  • Visit Kallioph's Xanga Site
    • Name: Kallioph
    • Gender: Female
    • Member Since: 9/21/2005
    • Lifetime

About Me

  • I love to sing. I've always wanted to be a singer but never thought I had any talent. I now know I can sing - maybe not a great singer, but I can hold my own on a tune pretty well. I have taken up karaoke as a hobby and have recently been trying to learn new songs - songs that were recorded AFTER 1980. Most of my repertoire had been songs from the 60s and 70s.

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