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Gemini Rising

by StephBee

Rated: 18+ · Book · Personal · #1051691

Life, Adventure, Family, Writing what else is there? Random thoughts.

WELCOME TO:

GEMINI RISING

UPDATED INTRO 30 JUNE 2025:

Just a little about me. I've been married for 33 years this past NOV and currently live in Southern California, but I grew up in New Hampshire.

Me visiting Space Camp 1993

me in my 20's

I've got 2 boys who are young adults.

The family waits in line to get on next to the Ship.

I work as a 911 dispatcher for LAPD. I enjoy my job a lot. Still. If you can believe that.

I love to write. Thankfully both of my boys achieved Eagle Scout. My Scouting days are over and I'm back to focusing on my writing.

I like to get out in nature, drink coffee and watch football.

Here's a little bio about my zodiac.

GEMINI: Gemini, the sign of the Twins, is dual-natured, elusive, complex and contradictory. On the one hand it produces the virtue of versatility, and on the other the vices of two-facedness and flightiness. The sign is linked with Mercury, the planet of childhood and youth, and its subjects tend to have the graces and faults of the young. When they are good, they are very attractive; when they are bad they are more the worse for being the charmers they are. Like children they are lively, and happy, if circumstances are right for them, or egocentric, imaginative and restless.

Their good qualities are attractive and come easily to them. They are affectionate, courteous, kind, generous, and thoughtful towards the poor and suffering - provided none of the activities resulting from expressing these traits interferes too greatly with their own lives and comforts.

Geminians can be successful in many walks of life though their general characteristics tend to make them unreliable. They are often skilled manipulators of language, in speech and writing, and may be: debaters, diplomats (though in politics they are more interested in theory than practice), orators, preachers (brilliant rather than profound), teachers, authors, poets, journalists, or lawyers.

BLOG ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

DECEMBER 2025:

I participated in:

FORUM

12 Poetic Days of Yuletide (E)

12 different Poetry styles beginning December 21st- January 1st.

#2329171 by Witchy Yule Woman

this was a great challenge and I would highly recommend it if comes up again for next year. The blog earned the following merit badge:

SEPTEMBER 2025:

FORUM

It's WDC- 25th Birthday (E)

7 day Challenge to celebrate 25 years of this successful writer's haven.

#2343390 by Witchy Yule Woman

Merit Badges collected and earned:

Awardicon earned: The blog earned the Green 50K Awardicon for 1st Place.

SEPTEMBER 2025:

FORUM

Earn the Badge - CLOSED (E)

You want it? Earn it. How? Complete these simple tasks and the badge is yours!

#2133333 by Purple Princess

Merit Badges collected and earned from "Earn the Badge 2025"

SUMMER 2025:

FORUM

BCoF 's Virtual 50 State Bucket List (18+)

We're going to explore one unique place in each of the 50 states in alphabetical order.

#2342653 by Witchy Yule Woman

Merit Badges Collected from Virtual Blogging &Virtual Blogging Friends:

SEPTEMBER 2024:

I participated in the

FORUM

Blog Week Birthday Bastion 2025 (E)

Blogging event from September 1-7, 2025. CLOSED

#2277665 by WakeUpAndLive~lifestyle change

which was a big challenge for me due to my schedule, but I hunkered down and got it done. There's some great entries for the contest and the blog earned the following:

Merit Badge in Nonfiction
[Click For More Info]

Congrats on your Honorable Mention in Blog Week Birthday Bastion 2024

Big thanks to WakeUpAndLive~lifestyle change

for hosting the contest!

OCTOBER 2024 & 2025 :

I participated in the

FORUM

13 Poetic Days of Halloween Contest 2025 (E)

Let your spooky poetry shine. Oct. 13th 12:01 am WDC time. - closes 11:59 pm WDC Oct 25th

#2328177 by Witchy Yule Woman

in 2024 which honestly was a big challenge for me considering my schedule, and again I hunkered down and did it! Update October 2025: I had so much participating in the challenge last year, I did it again for 2025 and successfully completed it. There's some great spooky poetry to be found in October and the blog earned the following merit badges:

Big Thanks to Witchy Yule Woman

for hosting the contest!

NOVEMBER 2025 :

from Tiggy

Find me at:

WEBSITE:
http://www.stephanieburkhart.com

FACEBOOK:
https://www.facebook.com/StephanieBurkhartAuthor

GOOD READS:
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4031660.Stephanie_Burkhart

YOU TUBE CHANNEL:
http://www.youtube.com/user/botrina?feature=mhee

WARNING

I intend to be open, honest, and forthright. No topic is off limits from religion to you name it, I'm going there. If you think you might be offended...back up now - this blog isn't for you. For those who "dare" check out the "Gemini Rising..."

Another Signature

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Comments ·

March 13, 2026 at 8:23pm

#1110592

Misc Thoughts & Musings

Just a quickie --

Kinda settling back into the routine. Hubby's BP has stabilized on meds. He went to his doctor has a recheck in 30 days with the meds.

Worked last night, but didn't get as much done as I wanted to. I'm reading Ann-Margaret's book that she wrote in the 1990's called "My Story," and in it, she discussed her trip to visit the troops in Vietnam that I wrote about. I might put a disclaimer on the story just stating it's fictionalized. Ann-Margaret was really a stand up a kind of person and I'm really growing to admire her.

STATIC

The Visit (13+)

A Hollywood Star visits the troops.

#2354806 by StephBee

Went and ate fish at my favorite Fish place in Santa Clarita, Fishtails. I had the Moku Shrimp tacos and fries. Totally delish! Tonight, my co-workers are serving Pie in honor of Pi day.

Working on my Romance/Love NL. Should have it ready tonight.

Hope your Friday the 13th sent you good vibes today. Here's something to ponder - we think the 13th is a superstitious number, but what if back in the "old" day (define old, right) it wasn't. What if it was a lucky number? What if there were 13 months in a year? (Heck, the LAPD works on "deployment periods" and there are 13 deployment periods in a year!) Food for thought.

Smiles
Steph

Comment

March 12, 2026 at 2:43pm

#1110501

Busy Two Days!

It's been a busy two days which I didn't anticipate and this day is getting kinda busy, too. LOL!! Lots to do and not enough time in the day to do it!

I worked the night of 9-10 March, got home at 7 am on 10 March, took Boy #2 (Joey) to class and power napped until 11 am. I got up and went to Santa Monica with the Hubby for his Cochlear Implant Audiology testing and consult with the doctor who will do the surgery. Appt with audiologist was at 1 pm and took about 1 1/2 hours. Then we went to the Doctor at 3 pm.

The assistant came in and took Brent's blood pressure on a wrist cuff. Surprised, he took it on a machine arm cuff. Results? 186 over 117. A PA comes in and takes it manually - 190 over 120. Everyone is shocked. The Doctor came in and said, "I want to make this quick. You need to go to the ER and have them look at your blood pressure." So.. it was a quick consult. Needless to say 190 over 120 is like you're going to have a STROKE any minute. Got to the ER at 4 pm, evaluated at 515 pm. Meds given at 530 pm. At 630 pm his BP was 186/112 - not much movement. They gave him more meds and at 830 pm it was 156 over 109. Dischargeable. We went home. I was supposed to go to a Baker to Vegas meeting at 10 pm, but there was no way I was going to make it.

My husband doesn't have a documented history of high pressure, however, we suspect its been high for a while. He said the last time it was taken was in Nov and it was "okay" then, but I remember him telling me his numbers were like 135 over 87 which I thought was elevated at the time. Anyhoo, he seemed genuinely shocked by the numbers. Even on a good day, my high was never that high - it was 141 over 95. And my docs put me on meds back then.

What did he do on Weds? Go back to work. Sigh...

Doc gave him a prescription for meds to take, which he filled and started taking. He's going to take a sick day tomorrow and see his doctor. We've got a wrist cuff and been testing. His BP is in the normal range now, but he's been taking his meds. Not quite sure what to make of everything yet. He probably needs more testing. Time will tell.

The 50's are no joke!

Yesterday, I had to work from 6 am to 2 pm on a special detail. Usually my SD day is very busy and this day was no exception. Counted money, went to the bank and deposited money. Visited the Topanga and Van Nuys police stations to acquire some Challenge Coins as I start to prepare for my retirement in 11 months. I'm hoping to put together a Shadow Box and a Challenge Coin rack. Got home around 3 pm, helped Joey with his French homework until about 6 pm. Got a new phone - 17e and Brent went ahead and "programed" it so it's up and working. At 6 pm I went to have dinner with some co-workers and friends at the local Mexican restaurant. I had a blast but didn't get home until 945 pm.

I emailed the Governor of NH in hopes of acquiring a Challenge Coin and her office is on the case.

Today I'm trying to catch up on my WDC stuff and there's a lot to do. I lost my Review streak for the Daily 5, but nothing to be done about that. At least I kept up the other streaks.

If you see me buzzing around on the website, say Hi!
Smiles
Steph

Comment • View 4 comments

March 9, 2026 at 7:48pm

#1110267

Spring Training at Dodgerville

It's Spring Training for baseball and the family and I went to Arizona to see a Dodger Spring Training game. Spring Training is where baseball players tune up their "game" so to speak so their ready for when the season starts.

Mind you, Dodger Spring Training is a BIG deal since they won back-to-back World Series titles. The Dodgers hold their Spring Training in Glendale, Arizona. Glendale is a city just north of Phoenix. My retired co-worker/friend who lives in Arizona lives in Goodyear, which is a city just west of Phoenix.

Anyhoo... after the Farmer's Market the Fam got all decked out in our Dodger gear and headed off to the training facility in Glendale. It's really impressive there are like 6 baseball fields, and the Dodgers share the training facility with the White Sox. There are like 10-15 teams in this area (Arizona) and they call the Spring Training experience the Cactus league.

The stadium is like a minor league stadium. Just a field level, but they sell seats to sit on the grass area just outside of the outfield. Of course I bought souvenirs - pins for Andy and a ball for Joey. I got a Cactus League day pack. I wanted more !! lol!! I'll have to go back and buy more at the online store.

We saw the following Dodgers play: Freddie Freeman (my favorite) Mookie Betts, Max Muncy, Teoscar Hernandez (another favorite) and Andy Pages. Then their was the players that are considered minor league players trying to make the team.

The temps were good in the 70's. The food was okay - I got a dodger dogs but the onions were sparse. Joey flatbread pizza could have been cooked longer. Then I got popcorn for Joey in the 6th inning and Dippin Dots for me, Andy & Brent.

Sadly, the Dodgers lost to the Rockies. What was nice: Lots of hits and the new "strike checker" was cool, too. The game moved faster as the pitcher's on a timer.

The tickets, IMHO were pricey for spring training, but hey, it's the Dodgers. the seats were 60 bucks each and if you throw in fees closer to 70.00 and we were sitting in an outfield section on the 3rd base side. Still, I liked the coziness of the stadium.

If you follow me on facebook you'll see my pics of the game.

All in all, it was a great time and we enjoyed our little trip to Arizona.
They drive is a haul, though. If I didn't have the boys, I'd fly.

Comment • View 4 comments

March 8, 2026 at 12:05pm

#1110141

Farmer's Market

It's a nice getaway weekend. The road trip to Arizona went smooth. It's a 6 hour straight drive, but we had to stop to pee once. The boys got a snack at Taco Bell. I'm trying to eat better so I dug into my snacks. There was construction at the border that slowed us down, but we crossed we stopped at a gas stop. The boys got Wendy's. Andy and I did PBJ and apples because it's Lent. Then another 2 hours to Goodyear. Got to our hotel, settled in, and went to eat fish with my retired co-worker/friend, Lori. I got the breaded Sea Bass. Delish!

The next day we were off to the Farmer's Market. It was much bigger than the Farmer's market in my area, though there was supposed to be like 7 or 8 farms and there were was only 2. I got a cantaloupe at the farm and cut it up to eat as a snack on the way home today.

I got some homemade cake pops that we ate right away. I had the vanilla birthday cake. Andy had red velvet. Then I bought some pretzels and I got a loaf of hatch chili and gouda sourdough bread. My husband likes hatch chilis so I thought he'd like that. I also bought some local honey. I like to put honey in my coffee and I'm always looking for local honey. They had a lemonade stand that was the bomb. I finished Joey's watermelon lemonade. It was FAB. Joey, my younger son got a wooden keychain that said "Faith," which gave me hope. I was going to get one that said "US Army," but they were sold out so I got the American flag. I'll see if I can get a picture or two up later.

Lunch was a salad at Slim Chickens.

Last night was the Spring Training Dodger baseball game. I'll do a post on that tomorrow.

Today, everyone is slowly getting up and we're getting ready for the drive back to California. It's looking like a late start so maybe we might get back around 5. We'll see. Trying to get my Daily 5 in before we gotta go.

I did put some pics up on my Facebook page so if you're a friend of mine there, you'll see some pics there.

Comment • View 1 comment

March 5, 2026 at 11:12pm

#1109914

Every Day Things keeping me Busy

It's been a busy (kinda) couple of days.

Yesterday, I slept until 2 pm, helped Joey with his French and since I had the night off, Hubby and I went to the local Mexican restaurant. They make the best:

Then I slept all night like a NORMAL person.

This morning, I got up early, took Joey to class, and went to:

Smart & Final for water
PS - if you live in California, you never drink the tap water.
The Grocery Store
for food and snacks and Amazon gift cards
Recyling
earned $47.00 for my efforts
and helped Andy create an IRS account for his $$$ Refund.

Then I went to lunch in Pasadena and caught up with some retired co-workers. We went to this great place called Nick's. I hate to say it, but I splurged. I got a Mai Tai, Shrimp taquitos, and a Fish Sandwich. The Fish sandwich was soooooo big I couldn't eat in one bit so I deconstructed it and ate it that way. And I got the FuFu water because what did I tell you (don't drink the tap water in California). 10 bucks for the FuFu water.

Let's have some fun! How much was my lunch bill:

A - $42.00

B - $56.00

C - $68.00

D - $77.00

Tomorrow - the family is off to Arizona! We're going to catch up with my retired co-worker/friend, Lori and see a Dodgers Spring Training game. Lori said come on over, catch a spring training game. It's CHEAP.

Really? IMHO these tickets were not cheap but hey... They were kinda affordable and it's probably the ONLY TIME this year I'll see the Dodgers play.

Time permitting, I'll document my Roadtrip to Arizona on my newsfeed tomorrow.

Comment • View 6 comments

March 3, 2026 at 6:10am

#1109689

1 Min March Quickie - Sleep & Moons

I did a lot of catching up on my sleep. Once I went to bed, I pretty much slept until 2. Thank you, Jesus.

I really needed that sleep.

Got up, helped Joey with his French, put dishes away, and went back to sleep. It's nice to be well rested. Tomorrow I will get off and on sleep. Gotta take Joey to school and pick him up. Gotta help him with more French, gotta sleep, gotta go bowling, and go back to work.

Speaking of work...

It's 3:04 am PST as I write this and the moon should be turning Blood Red. If you're interested in the hows and whys here's a great video that explains it.

There are a lot of myths surrounding the blood moon. Honestly, they're pretty wild. The most tame one I found was that it's a sign of "danger, bad luck, or conflict." Got plenty of that going on.

Anyhoo.. the red effect is pretty cool. Hopefully, tomorrrow, I'll have something a tad more interesting to write.

Comment • View 8 comments

March 2, 2026 at 8:36am

#1109622

1 Minute March 2nd Quickie

1 Minute March 2nd Quickie

1. I updated Best of the Rest at the Bee Hive. March's contest is C'Note Collections. I also updated the Honey Pit for March with a Newsfeed Challenge, a Review Challenge, and there's a new Q/Fill in the Blank in the forum. There's also new fundraising incentives for March. The Quote Poll was a nice success so I'll have a new one May.

FORUM

Steph Bee's Honey Pit (E)

MAR 2026 - hang out with the Bees & enjoy the Flowers. NEW challenge for MAR 2026 is OUT!

#1474097 by StephBee

2. I'm thinking of new merit badge for the Bee Hive but not sure what to do? Friendly Bee? Honey Bee? Anyone have a Bee suggestion?

3. Cruised the Quills. The Bard's Hall was nominated for Best Contest in 2010! Show off Your Best was also nominated for Best Contest in 2010. I was tickled pink to see that. Made my day.

4. Kicked off the Angel Army Campfire. It's been a Looooong minute since I participated in a Campfire so I was a bit rusty but I think iKïyå§ama

got it off to a good start. If you'd like to join for March let me know and I'll send an invite.

CAMPFIRE

Angel Army March 2026 Campfire (ASR)

Just what are those Angels up to this month?

#2355401 by StephBee

Speaking of my day...

Get off work in an hour and I'm going home, going to let the dog out of the kennel, feed him, make sure he pee's and then I'm off to bed. Planning on getting up at 2 pm PST and then helping boy #2 out with the French homework. I'm on day 6 of an 8 day stretch it's been a bit of a grind.

Hubby bought a stand up planter for outside, but left it in the middle of the living room. Sigh... Guess I'll have to move it when I get up. Oh, and I'm sure there's dishes and laundry for me to fit into the day. Hubby did manage to fix the Keurig so I can't complain though I usually half-caff when I'm at home on working days.

Stay warm out there Bees!

Steph

Comment • View 3 comments

March 1, 2026 at 9:10am

#1109541

1 Minute March 1st Quickie

Well, this one will be like a 1 minute quickie.

#1 - I really enjoyed doing the Soundtrack of your Life challenge. It was something a little different. There was so much more I could have commented on, but honestly, after I dunno - 2002 Music for me went downhill and I find myself going back to my opening question - When does music become numb to you? It's not an easy answer.

#2 - Just finished updating the Veterans Group. I'll update the Bee Hive Tonight.

#3 - Jackie the Big Bear Eagle had a 2nd Egg early yesterday morning. They're predicting another egg either 2 or 3 March. Time will tell. I'm on pins & needles when it comes to Egg Watch.

#4 - Where did February go? Now it's March. Spring is 20 days away. Someone better tell that Groundhog.

#5 - Very grateful for all my recent loot:

#6 - Almost done reading "Confessions of a Prairie Bitch" by Alison Arngrim who played "Nellie" on Little House on Prairie. If you're a LHOTP fan, you will enjoy this book. Also, just starting a book about Ann-Margert. I guess I'm getting into biographies and memoirs as of late, but I will get that romance novel in soon!

Comment • View 3 comments

February 28, 2026 at 7:52pm

#1109501

1990's Sounds - Meredith Brooks

Written for:

FORUM

The Soundtrack of Your Life (18+)

Every February, you're invited to chronicle the music that has influenced your life!

#1970896 by Jeff

#28 - 1990's Sounds - Meredith Brooks

Before there was Meredith, there was Alanis Morisette and her gritty "Jagged little Pill" album. Jagged Little Pill offered everything - a little bit of alt rock, grunge, and pop rock. While I liked Alanis's album and thought it was wild for the times (who else could do angst so well?) there was something it lacked - hard to say what it was - trying to define it now - maybe heart? honesty? sincerity?

Meredith Brooks brought all of that (alt rock/grunge/pop) to her album, "Blurring the Edges." Her song, "Bitch," talked about about all the different things I was as a woman and which resonated with me.

I'm a bitch, I'm a lover
I'm a child, I'm a mother
I'm a sinner, I'm a saint
I do not feel ashamed

And when she sung those words, I found that heart and sincerity that Alanis was lacking. I bought "Blurring the Edges" and played it relentlessly. This album really spoke to me as a woman - the complexities of being of being feminine, and spoke to me of trying to find the balance of all the roles I struggled with. Meredith captured a vibe at the time that Gen X women were dealing with - trying to define and make those feminine roles fit and not being ashamed of it, but embracing it.

My favorite song on the album is "What Would Happen?" It asked the aged old question - what would happen if two people kissed? Where would that kiss take them? An affair? A marriage? Enjoyment in the heat of the heat of the moment? Was there courage in just walking away?

The whole album is a definition in the blurring lines of the expectations of women for a generation and I was there for it. I was a Bitch. I was a Sinner. I was a Saint. And I was nothing in between.

MEREDITH BROOKS
What Would Happen

Comment

February 28, 2026 at 7:19pm

#1109495

1990's Sounds - Pearl Jam

Written for:

FORUM

The Soundtrack of Your Life (18+)

Every February, you're invited to chronicle the music that has influenced your life!

#1970896 by Jeff

#27 - 1990's Sounds - Pearl Jam

Pearl Jam is another key band in the grunge movement of the 90's, though for me, their song lyrics are darker and more haunting. Pearl Jam put Generation X under a microscope to reveal the pain of a generation, and while I liked the beat, the rhythm of their songs, their lyrics haunted even me.

The most poignant song for me was Daughter. Vender has said it was about about disabilities, but that song really spoke to the emotional core of what it was like to be a daughter of Generation X. Maybe I wasn't the best or the brightest, but I was a daughter and craved that love on an emotional level.

Pearl Jam is still together to this day and was inaugurated into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017. According to their Wikipedia page, they were considered the most popular band of the 1990's.

Why?

Maybe because they weren't afraid about to talk about the darker things in life that Generation X had seen and locked away, and only now we decided to break the lock and were ready to talk about it. Jeremy was a heart breaking song of boy who "spoke in class today" inspired by a newspaper headline of a boy who had shot himself in front of his class.

Pearl Jam showed us a darker side of a generation. It hurt, but it was needed. Even today, Daughter and Jeremy give me chills.

DAUGHTER
Pearl Jam

Comment

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