Here It Comes!

Watch out, everyone. 2011 is on its way here.  No ducking.  No hiding.  It's a New Year and it promises.....well, everything.  It's not the sure thing that 2010 is now.  It's an unknown, a variable, a new beginning and a chance to change.
I would like  a few changes in my life.  For one thing, I would like nobody I know to have cancer ever again.
I would like to find more ways to help children.   Did I ever tell you about the voice in church that said, "Save the Children" ?   Now may be the time.
I would like to live in peace...in every way. From my relationships to war in the world--I'd like it gone,gone,gone.
I would like to live the healthy life style that we started in 2010.  In spite of all my blogs about wine and wineries, we do live in a healthy way.
I hope my children will find happiness and fulfillment even more so than this year.
I hope DH and I get a chance to travel somewhere we haven't been before.
I would like to be more organized than I am and I would like to finish some projects that I started in 2010.

So that's a pretty tall order, 2011.  You better get started...let's say in about 16 hours and 23 minutes(if my math is correct)!

She's Gone

Yesterday I had to go to the vet's to say goodbye to my little cat, Moose.  She had exploratory surgery and they found a cancerous mass and it appeared to have gone into her lymph nodes.  I couldn't let her suffer through a surgery and a life on drugs with no promise that she would ever be well.  It seemed cruel.
I cried buckets for that little thing.  I sobbed over the phone to my best friend to make some arrangements for a party we had to attend the same day.  I sobbed as I asked the vet when we could come and say goodbye.  I cried uncontrollably when we were driving to the vet's.
The Doc brought her into us and she looked like her old self.  She was on pain meds and was wrapped in a blanket that kept her warm and protected the stitches from her surgery.  She lay pretty still while I petted her and my daughter took her picture.....then, dogs in the waiting room barked a little and she was ready to take off and jump down from the table.  I could restrain her but just only.  I cried through that too.
Then the vet came in with three syringes and I bawled and said I couldn't stay to watch her go.  I don't know how anyone does it.  Vet or owner.  But thank God they do so our little companions don't have to suffer.
She's gone now and I feel a little guilty that I didn't stay with her to the bitter end but I loved that kitty like crazy and she had a wonderful life.
She was crazy curious when she was little and ate a needle and thread once and pooped it out with no problems in a couple of days.  We didn't even know it happened until it, uh, exited.
She used to climb up on the bathtub rim and watch me take a bath.  When she came home from being spayed she bitched up a storm in almost English for two days but in the end she only remembered three words: yes, no and MomMom......really, ask anybody in my family.
She loved watching for DH to come home from work and settled herself in her special spot around 5:30 until he got home.  She sat in my lap for hours and she got brushed almost every morning of her life.  She loved her treats and her games.  She would tap your leg to get your attention or bat the newspaper if you were reading it when she wanted attention or more likely a treat.
She stayed hidden away from company but she was in our faces almost all the time.  We loved her dearly and miss her so much already.
Bye, Moose.  Hold a good spot in Heaven for us, won't you?

A Cat Named Moose

When I first saw her she was so tiny she fit in the palm of my hand.  She tiptoed from my hand up to my shoulder and tucked her little head into my neck and she's been mine ever since.
She grew fat(sort of) and complacent(most of the time) and she loved to sit on our laps and she  called me MomMom.....I swear.
She was afraid of everything.  In her whole life she was never outdoors for more than 5 minutes.She hid in our closet when company came over.  Some people didn't believe she even existed.
She love my DH and played with a plastic stick with him for hours.  She loved her treats and could call for me three rooms away at 7 am if she wanted one or two or three.
She has been my affectionate companion for more than eleven years.
My little girl is sick......really sick.  She isn't eating or using the litter box.  She won't hardly come out of the closet and her little backbone is sticking out.  It all happened in less than two weeks.
We are taking her to the vet today and we will probably be saying goodbye to our little Moose..whose name she grew into over time!
Oh my little friend, you will be sorely missed.

Merry Christmas to All!

Today is Christmas Eve and it is 9 am and I have already begun to make food for our Smorgasbord tonight.
I'm not complaining because Christmas Eve is my favorite night of the year....and not because of the presents!
Everybody is home.  We have a small family(only 7 of us) but it is still hard to get everyone together for every event.  We all have a ton of food from shrimp to Swedish meatballs and all kinds of appetizers.  We only have a little dessert because we are always to full for it!!
We start the evening with a toast with Bailey's(Mmmmmmm) and then we dive in to everything.  We open gifts one at a time.  Everybody watches you and the giver waits with anticipation and everybody oohs and aahs with you.  When the kids were little it probably killed them to wait but they learned and it has become our habit.  My dad did it when we were kids too.  We learned that it is just as much fun to watch someone else open a gift as opening your own.
My dad made a great Santa.  He could really drag it out and make it all the more fun.  Now my sis is usually the Santa and she is so good at it we gave her a children's book entitled Santa Auntie.
We are always at my sis' house and her house is warm and cozy and full of candle light and soft lights.  It smells like Christmas in there.
I hope your Christmas Eve is as happy as ours.
And tomorrow as well.
And all the days of your life.
Here's to the Swedes and the fine tradition of the Smorgasbord and Christmas on Christmas Eve!

Christmas-tized

There are so many hypnotic and beautiful things to see in Disneyworld at Christmas I just can't describe them.  We were at the Osborn Spectacular of Lights in Hollywood Studios and my nephew said it was the
best, most bad-ass place ever...he was right.
We travelled around the world and saw spectacular fireworks with fire on the water and photographs on the continents of the world in the center of the lake in Epcot.
We saw Cinderella's castle which looked like(as my brother in law said) a mix of diamonds and icicles...he was right.
We went Soaring and went to find Nemo.  We've done it before but we can't get enough of it.  Some of the more brave of us did Mission to Mars and Tower of Terror while my sis and I hit the shops.
It was CHRISTMAS everywhere including the snow on Main Street and at the light show.
We saw THREE parades. Yes, three.  One was at Universal but I have to mention it because it was a MACY'S Christmas parade just like in the movie, Miracle on 34th Street and every Thanksgiving day morning of my life.
It was wonderful and if you don't believe me, just check out these pics.

Food Cults

I read yesterday in the news that some foods have a cult following.  Among them were The McRib, the Shamrock Shake, and Sweet Potato Fries from a fast food place that I can't remember.  Lettuce does not have a cult following...no big surprise there, huh?
Reading that made me wonder if there was a food I was jonesing after so badly that I would join a cult for it.  Even watching my weight, I still eat a fun thing now and then.  I could not think of one thing that I crave so badly that I could join a cult about it.
Apparently there are websites to help cultists find the object of the culinary desire.  Some of them are not easily found I guess so they post the addresses of the restaurants(and I use that term loosely) so you could drive there and get one....or two.
Don't get me wrong.  There are lots of foods that aren't good for me that I love--like fries from our local sports bar and cheesecake--but I don't have to worry, they are available all the time.  There is a particular shake at holiday time that makes me drool but this year I've passed(so far ;D).
I was thinking of starting a lettuce cult but then I thought that nobody else would join and what fun is a cult of one??

Well, Duh!

As you know I am an avid watcher of ABC daytime soaps.  I have watched them since I was a teen and we have a real love/hate relationship going...as in sometimes I love them and sometimes I hate them.
Recently, they just make me laugh.  This one girl was trotting around undercover in these 6" heels and she had to hurry to get away so she climbed out on the hotel balcony and jumped.  It was on the first floor so no big deal, right?  Yoohoo, Greenlee, You are wearing spike heels.  Guess what?  She fell.  Guess what, sprained her ankle.  Really?  She couldn't have figured that out and taken off the damn shoes??
Michael Nouri is on board at AMC and he is laughable too.  He is a giant of a guy and they are trying to pair him up with Erica Kane who is about as big as a second.  I saw her on Rachel Ray once and she made that little girl look like a giant so you can imagine the coupling of Erica and Caleb(ie Michael Nouri)  SO he doesn't have to do anything to look silly-I just laugh at the sight of them together..every day...every time they are together.
On One Life to Live, the twin girls are having babies and neither of them knows for sure who the father is. The one twin might be expecting the baby of her sister's fiance.  So anyway, this other character, Marty, finds out that the one twin is lying about the paternity of her kid so since she was pregnant by possible father #2 and lost that baby, she is now out to get Natalie.  Well, no duh.  Oh yes, and her son just got carted off to prison for ten years.  Now why she should be bitter is beyond me!!!(just kidding)
We also got a new resident bad guy....the dad from Dawson's Creek.....I know, I laughed out loud too.  Wasn't Dawson's dad like perfect?  Well, now he's perfectly bad.  He is so funny.  He is like a roller coaster ride, up and down, jovial and full of violence and you never know what you're going to get.  Or he could be all those things in the space of a minute.  I laugh every time he is on screen.
So I bet you're thinking I am having a whale of a time watching right now.  You'd be right about that.

Time is Relative

This past week went by in a flurry of activity.  Monday I had lunch with friends, Tuesday my annual mammogram, Wednesday book club, Thursday Dr. appointment and Friday lunch and shopping with sis.
I could hardly remember my schedule!  I had to write down reminders for the appts.
This coming week is going to be pretty quiet.  Going out with sis on Thursday and going to my niece's school on Friday for Grandfriends day.
But as I wonder how fast the week went, I have to say WHAT HAPPENED TO OCTOBER?????
It was here and gone in a flash.  Time is supposed to be a constant but it seems to me that someone cranked it up during the last month.  Time seems to ebb and flow rather than tick on as the clocks in my house would have you believe.  Speaking of those clocks, no two of them say the same time.  They are always close but not the same.  I try to sync them but someone has to be resetting them when I'm not here...probably Old Father Time. He doesn't seem to have very much to do these days as you hardly ever hear about him.
November is flashing by too.  In less than a couple of weeks it will be Thanksgiving and then the slippery slope to Christmas.  There is more than a week between Thanksgiving and Christmas, isn't there???  Sometimes it doesn't seem like it.
As screwed up as I am  about time, the stores around here are worse.  They have their Christmas decorations up.  Some had them before Halloween. Maybe they are giving people time to shop....you know, a little at a time. I know times are tough but ramping up the timeline isn't going to fix that.
One radio station is even playing All Christmas music ALL the time already.  It started Monday!  What are they, nuts?  If you listened to that all the time, you'd go stark raving mad before you could even unwrap your presents!
Remember when you were a kid how it seemed like Christmas would never get here?  Or the summer stretched out in sultry, sunny days forever?  What happened to that feeling?  I don't think modern kids even get that feeling anymore.
They say time is on your side.  Well, I hope it's true because it seems like time is "slipping into the future"!

Cheese Souffle

Cheese souffle was my favorite meal growing up.  It is a mix of cheddar cheese sauce and whipped up egg whites.  I hadn't made one in years but I was determined to make it for my birthday on Saturday.  You can't really buy it anywhere and I don't know of a restaurant around here that has it.
It isn't easy but it isn't hard either.  Just messy and time consuming.
I got the great idea to make the cheese sauce ahead of time and that turned out to be a great idea.  I needed eight egg whites but I lost count so I might have used ten.  It seemed a little airier than usual.
My biggest problem came because I wanted to increase the recipe by a third.  OMG, I could hardly remember the math to convert it.  I had paper and pencil and I think I even tried to pull my hair out at one point.  I finally remembered how to convert 1/3 of something measured in fourths.  I had to rack my brain though.
It was yummy!  It took longer to cook than I thought and it got a little overdone on top but it was still yummy.
A lot of people thought I was nuts to make my own birthday dinner but not me.  I wanted to do it.  I wanted my sis to remember having it as a kid and my kids to eat something that I loved as a child.  DH and my bro in law are good sports and will try anything once!
We took a picture of it when it was done but I haven't downloaded it into the computer yet so I will try to find a pic of one to share on the Internet.  Be right back!

That's close enough.   Mmmmm, cheesey! Try making something from your childhood for your birthday dinner.  It makes you feel all warm inside.

Happy Birthday to Me

Tomorrow I will be 61 years young.  I feel better than I have in my whole life even with the little aches and pains that plague us all as we age.
 I have a happy family and a DH.  I told my husband we are like cheese and sour cream.  They are in the same family, are totally different from each other but they go together well!  That's us in a nutshell.
I have a sister with whom I am close and we like to do a lot of the same things.  We have fun shopping and eating at our favorite tea room.  And believe me, we can shop anywhere!   Once we spent hours in Lowes--really!
I have good friends too.  Some of them are long time friends and some are newer friends.  Some live near me and some are far away and I barely get to see them.  But we keep in touch thanks to email. 
I don't even look too bad.  Oh, I am getting wrinkles and jowls but my eyes and bright and my smile is genuine.  I don't even look that bad in my driver's license picture.  When the guy took it he told me he would take it again if I wanted.  I would have done it too if he had a camera that made me look 20 years younger and 20 pounds thinner!!  So I just kept the first one because with my luck the second one would have been worse than the first!
Some people bemoan their age but I am trying to embrace it.  I hope I have a little more wisdom and a little more understanding and tolerance since I am older.  I try to, I really do.
As I sit here typing this, my heart is beating steadily, I have a healthy breakfast in my stomach and I am about to go out with my sis and tomorrow I will make cheese souffle for my family and we will drink raspberry champagne and eat cake.

What more could a girl ask for?

Moving On

There has been a gigantic moving van parked on the street across from my house for two days now.  Yesterday, I saw it arrive and I saw it slow down to a stop. I saw a guy driving it.  Then nothing....all day. Nobody returned to it or opened it let alone pack it up.  Finally at about three o'clock someone put one of those little glow in the dark triangles behind the truck.
It sat there all night.
Today, it is open.  There is nothing in it yet and it's almost 2:30.  There are like two boxes.  Nobody's front door is open and nobody is carrying things out of their garage. There's no ramp down to get into the back of the truck.
I don't know who's moving. I am guessing the people across the street because that house has been moved in and out of about 5 or 6 times in the last twenty years. But I'm just guessing.  There hasn't been any activity to make me suspect I'm right.
Now if I was moving I sure wouldn't want the moving van sitting in front of my house for two days without making any progress.
Hey, I just thought of this. What if the family is gone and the movers are just hanging out in the house for a little vacay??  Now that would be funny.  Oh well, I'm sure they will be travelling on their way soon.
Speaking of traveling, did you see the film of the lady in some really old film with a cell phone?  She is a suspected time traveler.   Now you know, if I was in charge of the time travel team, the first person I would send out would be an old lady!  You know how accurate they are and they always call you "dearie."
Taking my tongue out of my cheek, I have to say I want to believe it. I want to think that my grand kids can call me on their cells after I am gone and just talk to me like I am now.  How cool would that be?  Or even great grand kids?  You could get to know them even though you are really dead.  I'm liking this idea more and more.
I don't really think you can time travel and I'm pretty sure that cell phones won't work through the time portal and by the time there is time travel, the cell phone will be as outdated as that recent film clip of the time traveler!

PS  If you haven't seen the time traveler, just look on Youtube, I'm sure it's there.

I'm So Spooked

I hate Halloween with a passion....ever since I was a kid.  Even with candy.
In third grade,the sleeves on my princess costume itched.  One year my mother made me be the knave of hearts.  She even gave me one of her homemade date and nut tarts to carry.  I tore it into bits during the Halloween parade and never told her I didn't eat it.  I just threw the pieces on the playground.
As a grown up I never fared much better.  I am not too creative in the costume dept.  Just ask my kids or DH.  I've been a cat a lot.  One year I was a bag of garbage....oh, yes, I really was.
My only cool costume was a giraffe mask I got at the San Diego zoo.  It was really life like and I painted brown patches on a gold sweat suit.  I put black gloves on my hands.  I was so cool but unfortunately, I scared my little students half to death in the mask so I had to walk around the whole day with that heavy sweat suit on and no mask.  I looked pretty dumb.
We don't get many trick or treaters in our neighborhood so we hardly ever stay home.  Usually we go out to dinner.  This year, my daughter will be home and she loves Halloween and passing out treats so I have them.  I had to buy something I don't care for so I wouldn't eat the whole bag  like the whole bag of Smarties I ate a couple of weeks ago. 60 rolls! Yikes!
I don't like scary things.  Even old Bela Lugosi movies terrify me and I've never seen any scary movie in recent years because I know the special effects are so good I'd last about 20 seconds!  I don't even like to talk about them so I'll shut up now.
In case you aren't like me, have a Happy Halloween, stay out of trouble, and if your princess outfit itches, I feel your pain!

BOO!

Rainy Days and Mondays

It is pouring outside.  Literally pouring.  It is gloomy and ugly and I should be so depressed but I'm happy.  You know why?  Because the rain stopped the digging on my street and the jackhammer too!  YAY!  It is really noisy and I'm probably the only one who cares because most of my neighbors are at work.  They miss it.  It starts daily at 9 and pounds until 5--every day--for the last two weeks.
I don't know what in the heck they  are digging about.  I've seen trucks from every utility and the hole is square and DEEP!  You wouldn't want to fall in it, believe me.  It is right in my neighbor's side yard too.  It must be making them crazy--getting their lawn all dug up I mean.  Over the weekend the workers "fix" it and it looks like a T Rex went through their yard.
A rainy day like this is a great day to read a book but I just finished the last one I had last night. Too bad, guess I'll just stick to old movies and soaps!
Monday is a day when I like to get errands done. Luckily, I headed out early and beat the rain home.  I just went to the grocery store,nothing thrilling.
Monday is the day I do laundry...well, I should say one of the days.  Since we work out every day, the laundry piles up faster than a speeding bullet.  I can just keep up during the week, but over the weekend, I just let it go and wait until Monday, Laundry day.
Anyway, it's raining it's pouring, the old man is..............wait, that's it I'll take a little nap.  See ya!

This and That

I used to write my blog all the time when I didn't have a theme for the day.  Someone criticized me about it so I stopped doing it.  Well, I'm back!

First, never never make a right hand turn from the left lane across two lanes of traffic.  I've seen it twice this week and it is scary and DUMB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

On one of my soaps the director's name is Phideaux Xavier.  Now if you know any French you would figure out that PHI-is like FI and DEAUX is like DO.  Put them together and you have Fido....like the dog.  Here is some sage advice.  Don't name your kid after a dog--at least not one called Fido...or Spot....or RinTinTin.

Working out is good for you and sometimes even a lot of fun, but boy it sure stacks up the laundry.

Mary Worth is at it again in the comics.  She is helping a young woman choose her wedding dress and the friend with them is VERY critical( and probably jealous).  It's just like Say Yes to the Dress.  Whoever writes MW needs to get a new story line.  This one is much better on television.

I am so sick of the political ads I could puke.  I have been tuning in to TMC a lot lately just to avoid them.
Although I do get a kick out of the one where they make the candidate look like a Russian Czar!  It is hilarious.

I have discovered I talk to myself out loud when I am home alone.  Like my brain isn't going full speed ahead all the time..I have to chat myself up too.

I can get in trouble anywhere.  I am very good at it.  I don't mean to get in trouble but if I am honest or truthful or disagree, I am in hot water and usually get blamed for the whole problem.  I don't know how to stop it unless I just stay home and talk to myself while watching old movies or soaps with Phideaux.

An Open Letter to Clothing Manufacturers

Dear sirs and madams,

I am a 61 year old woman.  I am not fat and I am not thin.  I have more bulk in the middle than I would like. Some of my friends have more hips than they did or a bigger tush.  In other words, we aren't what we used to be.
On the other hand, we aren't our mothers either.  Matchy-matchy elastic waist pants and floral tops or animal print tops are not for us--well, at least not most of us.  I don't want to wear what my mom wore at sixty. 
I was part of the generation that stopped wearing girdles and wore pantyhose instead.  We gave up our skirts and blouses for jeans and tops.  We made pants suitable for office attire.  We burned our bras for heaven sake!
And now, you plan on dressing us like our moms who stayed home and took care of things and hardly ever worked outside the home!  Well, I won't do it and I know my friends won't either.
Now, on the other hand, I don't want to dress like my 22 year old niece either.  The "retro" look is something I already wore--when my body looked like I wanted it to.  I don't want to wear jeans that are "low rise".  I've got no hips to hold them up and I have a muffin top no matter what kind of jeans I wear.  I don't want to wear what they call "mom" jeans either.
I don't want to live the rest of my life in sports clothing either.  Or sweats.  Surely you can think of some other alternatives.  Oh, and that stretch fabric that clings to all our lumps and bumps?  You can lose that too.
Now maybe if I had a lot of money, there are clothes out there that are perfect for me.  But I am on a fixed income and I want to travel and enjoy myself.  I seldom have to get dressed up.  I just want to look up to date and casually chic.  Is that so much to ask?
I know I'm probably a candidate for What Not to Wear but I don't want to wear jackets and camis or chiffon tops or heels for that matter.  I'd fall off the heels...I have a hard enough time walking in the shoes I have!
Getting dressed every day is a chore instead of a pleasure.  Shopping which used to be my favorite sport is now depressing.  Can't someone out there in the clothing business try a little harder.
Put away the polyester matching pants and tops and give us some nice looking, comfortable clothes to wear.

Wonderful WINO

Yesterday was so beautiful that we decided to go for a long drive and see the fall color.  We saw some lovely sights but the two big rainstorms we had earlier in the week kind of emptied a lot of trees so that took away some of the beauty.
It is so nice to take a day off and not do chores or errands.  We did go to our WW meeting but we skipped our usual hike.  By 1pm we were off and running.  We took a route down to Amish country near us and then we stopped in Burton for some lunch--the best chili I ever had out and about, not that I order it very often. It was the perfect day for it.
We then continued north and ended up in our favorite wine area.  We tried to go to one of our favorites but they were out of the kind of wine we like.  So we ventured out and ended up at Spring Hill winery which is fast becoming our favorite.
We sat out there last Sunday in the sun on a 75degree day and we sat outside for a while yesterday.  They had big outdoor heaters and we sat right under one but after a while it was just too cold so we moved indoors.  It was packed with people and our server did some finagling to get us seats.  We sat in two big leather chairs and drank wine and ate the most delicious steak sandwich I ever had.  They grilled it outdoors and it had a wine reduction sauce on it that was to die for! 
There was a band and people were dancing up a storm.  I felt like I was in a dream as we never do this kind of stuff anymore.  For us to be out on a Saturday night after dark----well, it hardly ever happens!
It was so loud you couldn't really talk but the music was good and the wine was our favorite and we even had pumpkin spice cheesecake.
The crowd was an interesting mix of people.  The couples by us  were all about our age and we talked with them a little about our wine choices.   Some of the dancing couples really caught our eye--a dad and his daughter were really great together.  He was way older than us and she was probably in her fifties so it was really fun to see.  Then there was a lady in zebra capris and bright pink heels and a zebra top who looked to be about 70 years old.  Someone needs to nicely tell her to purchase a new going out wardrobe!  She looked so silly I never even looked at her partner.
Actually, now that I think about it, nobody over the age of 4 should wear zebra print capris and some discerning tots may disagree with me and say, nobody should wear them!!!

The whole day was fun in every way.  We should take the day off more often.

Pants Woes Again

Now my sis and I went to try on jeans today and boyohboy, it was a harrowing experience.  One size is just too large by a skosh and the next size down is so tight you have a giant muffin top--in my case, more like a loaf of bread.  Even if those stretch out, they are sure to be too tight in the waist.
And while browsing through the ten thousand pairs we saw, I had to keep hoisting up my jeans from the other day--you know the ones that fit like a glove.  I would really like to go out in public and not have my jean's crotch be halfway to my knees every twenty minutes.
Now I ask you, is that to much to ask?  I am not asking for a perfect fit or a pair of jeans that makes my body look 20 years younger. Honest! 
I know somebody out there is saying, just wear a belt , dummy.  Well, I don't like belts.  They show through your top and it looks stupid.  Plus it bunches up the jeans in all the wrong places.  So, no belt.
Some of you are going, duh, elastic top jeans.  Did you ever try a pair of those on?????  Like wearing a diaper unless it's jeggings.  Even then the top elastic turns over and is uncomfortable.
I have an answer for everything you can think of.....so stop it!
I know I will find the jeans that fit sometime soon.  But if you see me in public hitching up my jeans, at least you'll know why.

10-10-10

Just wanted to write that down.....it won't happen again in my lifetime!

Imagine

If he were alive, John Lennon would be 70 years old.  I can't believe it.  He is still locked in my brain as a long-haired, granny glasses wearing young dad caring for his son. 
I saw an artist's rendering that aged his picture to what he would look like today.  He had short hair and wrinkles and I thought--nope probably not.  I just can't imagine(sorry about the pun here) John with short hair and wrinkles.  Even Yoko Ono doesn't look that wrinkled and still has a remnant of her old style so why wouldn't he?  That artist wasn't very imaginative(sorry there I go again).
I don't know much about John Lennon to tell the truth.  He was the married Beatle so I never developed a crush on him--I went for George-the quiet Beatle.  I thought John was the most radical Beatle.  I thought he was the most sensitive and artistic Beatle.
I've heard him say some pretty outrageous stuff in interviews but heck, he was just a kid with worldwide fame and an audience that was eager to hear anything he had to say.
The magazine cover of him and Yoko in bed was shocking at the time.  Now it just appears to be artistic to me.
He believed in peace and getting along with others and kindness and selflessness and got murdered for it.
That is awfully sad to me.
Loved his music.  Especially Imagine and Woman...but I didn't need to see that imagining of him being old.  He is forever young  to me.

OBX

I followed a car home a couple of days ago on my way home from my workout.  The driver skidded his tires, roared his engines, had loud loud music going and revved up at the stoplight. So naturally I thought the OBX sign on his car stood for obnoxious.  He rabbitjumped every time a light turned green and I thought he was aptly signed. We got tot he part of the route where the speed limit is just 25 and I couldn't wait to see what ole OBX would do.
Son of a gun, the kid tricked me.  He slowed right down to the speed limit which gave me a chance to pull up close enough to read that sign.  It was one of those oval ones from places you visit--this one was for the Outerbanks!!!  OOOOOOHHHHHH--so that's what it stands for.  I should have known.  OBX-Get it?
Anyway, since then I've seen plenty of drivers that should have that sign--the obnoxious one I mean.  You know who you are.  You cut people off or drive too fast on a surface street.  You are the guy who turns right from the left hand lane in front of two other lanes of traffic.  Whoops--did  you never hear of turning around and coming back?
Or the person who crosses over the double yellow line to turn left into the shopping area near me--who is then in the oncoming traffic lane for turning left going the opposite way.  You wouldn't believe how many of those drivers there are.  If you drive up toward them, they always act like you are the one in the wrong!!  What driver's manual ever instructs you to cross over the double yellow line into oncoming traffic to make a left hand turn?  The OBX one, I guess.

Fare Thee Well

I just found out that my favorite museum is closing.  It is the Liberace museum in Las Vegas.  I am serious.  I just loved it there.  It was so funny and fun and I laughed so much.  I've hardly been to any museum where I laughed at all!
Liberace embraced what he was and flaunted it for all the world to see.  It was probably a gimmick but it was a great one and didn't detract from his undeniable talent.
When I was young, I thought Liberace was a hack and a joke.  One trip to the museum as an adult and I was a fan.
Don't worry too much.  The collection is going on tour and if you are lucky, it will show up in your town.  Don't miss it!

Buying Pants

You want to know the biggest giantest pain in the a** that we have been experiencing lately?  You guessed it--buying pants.  Both DH and I are getting heartily sick and tired of it.
First, we are never the same size from one brand to another.  Then, we have--um...let us say rise issues.  Then sometimes we find a pant that fits and by the time we wear it two or three times it no longer fits--the pants stretch out or something.  Especially those skinny jeans(and really, every jean I have purchased lately) that fit like a glove for the first day and then I spend the rest of the time I wear them yanking them up to my "natural" waist--you know, the one that has replaced your real waist....or  maybe that is our fake waist.  I'm just not sure anymore.
DH has a different problem.  He buys a pair and they fit great and then he goes to get another color and the same size, same store, same brand, supposedly, just a different color doesn't fit.  He now owns two pair of pants that fit.  He has had a weight loss and all his others are too baggy--think clown pants.
We probably shouldn't go pant shopping together because we just feed into each other's frustration.  By the time we are done we are cursing every pant producer on the planet.  Our frustration can feed into other areas of shopping like for shirts or shoes.  Thank goodness his size 14's require online shopping.  I don't know if we could bear it if we had to go to a store.
Anyway, I am wearing a new pair of pants right now.  They fit great!  But just wait until tomorrow and we'll see.

Are You Kidding Me?

There is a big push to improve education in the United States.  The most recent idea is to get rid of tenure.  Now, if you have tenure, you can't be fired unless you are a pervert or something.  I had tenure and so did most of my colleagues.  Did it make us work less hard?  No, it did not.
Now, I know there are teachers who just skate by and don't work hard or try hard or like kids much.  Those people should never get tenure.  That is the fault of their supervisors who don't give honest reviews of their work.  Maybe they are afraid to but my guess is they are just being polite.
Being polite can get you into situations you don't want to be in--trust me, I've been there.  You may have too.  You can't be polite when you are critiquing a bad teacher.  A bad review might inspire a uninspired teacher to get on the ball.
Anyway, tenure isn't the problem anyway.
To me, the trouble is we don't respect childhood.  Historically speaking, we hardly ever have...think Child Labor.  We as a society(and ours is not the only one) want kids to grow up fast and be mature and carry their load as soon as possible.  We want kids to dress up like adults and act like one.  We want kids to study hard and learn even if they are only five and ALL research shows that children up to the age of 9 learn best through PLAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   Did you hear that people???  I said PLAY.
Remember play?  It's that thing you did when you went outside and ran around and tagged your friends or tossed a ball around.  It's when you pretended to be a lion or a cowboy or Tarzan or Robin Hood or Barbie.  It's when you rode your bike and skated.  It's when you read a book that wasn't assigned or played a board game or your grandma taught you cards.
You can play in school and children will learn.  I know because I used to do it.  You can hide learning in play.  A kid can learn the alphabet in the sandbox as well as in a workbook.  Kids can learn to read  and everything while engaged in activities they think are play.
Remember what you liked best in school??  Bet it wasn't reading group or workbook.  I'll bet it was gym or art or music--those things that most resembled play.  That's because you learned by playing.  Yes,you did.
If you were lucky, your teachers recognized that and tried to make school fun.
School is not fun anymore.  I listen to my friends who are still teaching and all I hear about are scores on tests and scripted reading programs and everyone being expected to be on the same page in math on the same day.  Doesn't sound much like fun, does it?
Kids are getting in more trouble in school too.  Guess what I think?  They are showing us that they aren't ready for the roles being thrust upon them.  They are not ready to be little adults....and they shouldn't be.  They are children--even that sullen thirteen year old slouched in the last row of English class.  Children who need to be nurtured and respected and taught by all of us adults, not just the teachers in their lives.
All you experts who are trying to fix the education problem need to recognize the needs of kids to be respected and understood for who and what they are.
They need to learn how to make good choices, how to decide what is right or wrong if it seems like it could be both, how to express themselves verbally and in the written word.  These are the kids that are supposed to man up and pay our Social Security one day.   They may not want to and who could blame them??  As I see it, we haven't done them many favors.

The Plan

I have a plan.  It can create jobs and save our economy.  What is it, you ask?  Just send for my brochure. It is multi-paged.  It will solve everything. 
What do you mean, tell you about it??  It is the plan.  The one I have.  The one the incumbent doesn't have....or the President...or any other candidate.
Hmmm...just a general overview??   Well, just go to my website and request a copy of the plan.  It will be sent to you in....a while.  Yes, that's it..in a while.  OH wait, it might be on back order.  It does have my picture on the front....kissing a baby and shaking hands with a senior citizen.  It is red, white and blue.
Oh, you mean the content??  Like am I about to open a gigantic corporation that will supply thousands of jobs and security for families?  Well, no.  Am I going to spend money to initiate training programs for those out of work?  Or start a huge national project that will require tens of thousands of workers?  Well, no.
I am just going to have a plan.  I told you that at the beginning.  Weren't you listening??
What do you mean it doesn't sound like much of a plan??  I worked hard on it!  Just ask my employees who wrote it............ I mean, advised me on it.  Just ask my publicist.  Just don't ask my spouse,who asks too many questions already.
Out with the old and in with the new.  Except, just between you and me, the new is pretty much the same as the old.  That is part of the plan too.

OMG!!!

I just followed the same car for three miles down Mentor Ave. and the guy looked up at the street 4 times.  Yep, I said only four times.  He was GPSing or texting or looking at a map or reading a Kindle like the bus driver I heard about on the news.  I didn't dare pass him even though he was going 10 miles under the speed limit because he never looked to see if he was in his lane.  Not one time.  Sometimes he was and sometimes he wasn't.  Good thing that street is pretty straight as an arrow.
When he did look up it was to see if there was a car in front of him that had stopped.  Fortunately, there wasn't.
I wanted to jump out of my car and say  DRIVE YOUR CAR, YOU LUNATIC!!!   Of course, I didn't.  As soon as my right hand turn lane showed up I just heaved a sigh of relief that he hadn't hit the curb, me, another car or whatever.
You know they had  a very serious campaign about Don't Drink and Drive.  I think we need a new one--Keep Your Eyes on the Road!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just Can't Help Myself

If you asked my children they would say I have a weird sense of humor.  I prefer to think of it as wacky.  Sometimes the strangest things strike me funny and I have a good laugh over it.
For instance, a couple of days ago, I saw a bumper sticker that said "Bruce Willis and/or Arnold Schwarzenegger for President.  I couldn't stop laughing.  How about that?  Co-presidents.  Or Bruce could be our first shaved-head, pierced ear Prez.  Think about it--that's pretty funny.
Then I saw a woman walking her little dog in our neighborhood.  Tiny little dog.  She was carrying a BIG trash bag presumably to pick up her dog's "gifts" that it left on our neighbors' lawns.  The bag was about 4 times the size of the dog.  She must have had big expectations of that little pooch.
The same day, a local county commissioner was arrested for corruption and I watched as he was put into a police car and was driven off--while giving the camera the middle finger salute.  He must have thought it was the international sign for "I'm innocent."  They showed it on the news about twenty times and I laughed my  head off the entire time.
Yesterday, as I was driving to the gym, I almost got hit by a car that decided to change lanes--right into me.  I narrowly avoided being hit and I felt like I was going to cry for a second but instead I just started laughing. I could start laughing right now just thinking about it.  It's probably mild hysteria but it's still funny.
I could give you some other examples--like Bruce Dern getting dragged behind a horse in the movie, The Cowboys but I think you get the idea.

Anyway, I read recently that laughing is good for you and it helps burn calories.  So the next time something strikes you funny, go ahead and laugh, even if everyone else thinks you're weird.  You'll have the last laugh because you will be svelte from burning all those calories.
You should see how skinny I am now!  Not like these old pics!!

PS  Now I am laughing as I write this...Only in Hollywood could Roddy McDowell grow up to be Peter Lawford and that little 10 year old vixen, Elizabeth Taylor grow up to be June Lockhart.   Just watch The White Cliffs Of Dover and you'll see it for yourself!!

Susan at Susan G.

Well, I never thought I would do something like this but I walked in the 5K race for Susan G. Komen.  DH and my daughter came with me and we were pretty psyched about doing it.  It would be our longest walk so far.  We go every weekend and hike about a mile and a half each day but this was totally different.
I have never seen so many people hovering around the same space in my life.  20,000 is the estimate of the participants and there were watchers also.
Cheerleading groups cheered us on as well as Romona Robinson from Channel3 news.  She was on a platform at the beginning of the race looking gorgeous.  We looked pretty good too considering we had spent almost an hour in line to get our shirts and numbers.  I was something like 14, 298.  That's how many people had signed up by the time we did.
There was food and all kinds of hand outs but we had no time for that because the race began just as we got our shirts on and our pinneys pinned on.  Away we went, slow as turtles.  I laughed and said we sure didn't need to train for this--at this rate it will take us until noon(it was 9:30 at the time)!!   How wrong I was for as we travelled along we hit our stride looked for openings and wove our way through the crowd.  We were strong, we were fierce.  We made it in one hour and one minute which for three and a half miles is not that bad for us. It's about 3 miles per hour.  So we were pretty proud.
We got a free banana and water when we got back to the Wolstein Center and suddenly, we all felt really tired and just wanted to sit down.  We had to walk another several blocks back to our car  to get home.   DH and my daughter both had naps as soon as they could.
I was gloating to myself about how I was the strongest as I didn't nap and then at 8:30 PM  I was out like a light--for the night.  I woke up briefly at around 11 PM because my kids came home from the rain delayed ball game and they weren't exactly quiet as we would usually be up.  I said hi to them and went straight to bed and never woke up until 8 AM the next day.  So much for gloating!
So, take that, breast cancer.  Hope we beat you.  We'll keep walking until we do!

The Joys of Fitness II

I'm sure you have been waiting with baited breath to find out how my foot is faring.  Well, it is better but not because I went to the doctor.  I didn't go--I was my own doc.  I have injured my foot enough times to know that he would wrap it and send me home and tell me to ice it and rest it(yeah, right, it's like my foot  I have to walk on it).  SO I took a day off from Curves, rested and iced it and wrapped it very subtly and continued to live my life.  My sis didn't notice that I was limping or anything because I was that much better than when I last typed.
Today I did my subtle wrap and decided to wear sandals( I know, I know) and it was fine all day.  I guess it was not so subtle though because the first thing my BF said to me was what did you do to your foot.  I had to laugh.  She noticed it right away.  Subtle as a heart attack.
Beleive me, I am not miraculously cured, but I am better and good enough for the Susan G. Koman walk on Saturday morning.  I'm just glad it's not uphill.

Oh Me Oh My

What are those people on TLC trying to prove with having 19 kids and counting?  Their latest child is plagued with health problems and family has to wash their hands just to be in her presence and the second youngest(who is just a baby herself) was told in the promo I saw not to touch the "baby."
Now I know these people have the right to have as many children as they want but I would think by now that they would say enough is enough.  Didn't they ever see that old show??  Eight is enough.  I should say so and they were all the picture of health. 
If my nineteenth child had spent that much time in the hospital and still had the potential for things to go wrong internally, I think I would be done.  No matter what the old Hubby says or what my religion says or what anybody says. 
Plus I would like to know when this woman who has nineteen children finds the time to even have sex!  She should be exhausted.  So should he for that matter.  These people are just nuts!

Is it because they are on television?  Do they feel they have to keep spitting out the kids to keep their show? I don't know the motivation but listen up, Duggar family, it's time to stop.
PS  Don't click there you won't get more pics

The Joys of Fitness

The fresh breeze is blowing.  The woods is deep and cool.  The views are spectacular.  The strength of my legs amazes me.  Then, what is this???  What's wrong with my foot?  It really hurts. Wait, I can hardly step on it.  What do you mean we still have to walk another half mile?  What do you mean it's all uphill?  And steep? 
I didn't twist it--at least not today.  It hurt a little if I wiggled it back and forth but this is ridiculous.  I know when I go to the doctor he will say to stay off of it.  I can't stay off of it.  It's my foot--it's how I get around.  I have to do chores and errands and cook and work out.
Why is it that every time I get close to a fitness level that I  desire something like this happens?  If  I had a dime for every injury that stopped my fitness routine--well, I wouldn't be rich but I would have a pile of money.  Sometimes I think there is a cosmic plan to keep me flabby and out of shape.
I'm scheduled to walk in the Susan G. Koman Run/Walk this Saturday and I am going to be there no matter what.  That's how dedicated I am to my own fitness and to the cause of breast cancer research.  I might be in a walking cast but if I am I will still be there--I just won't win(wink wink  like I had a chance to win under the best of circumstances)!

Just Say No

I should never take any caffeine.  I just get the weirdest feeling from it.  Like ten thousand bugs are biting me and crawling all over me and it is so itchy, I cannot stand it.
So at the ripe old age of sixty you would think I completely avoid it, right?  Wrong.  Sometimes I cave and yesterday was one of those days. We went to Subway to get lunch after our walk and I just was in the mood for something besides water and one glass of soda couldn't hurt, right?  Wrong!
The funny thing is I always forget the symptoms.  At first I thought some kind of bug got in my hair during our walk in the woods.  Then I thought maybe I got into poison ivy or some other kind of itch-producing plant. And then I make the fatal mistake of starting to scratch the itch.  Since it really doesn't exist that is a futile undertaking and I am always sorry when it finally dawns on me that there is no bug bite or rash from a plant-I had soda with lunch!!  It is nine pm and now I know I will have to knock myself out in order to sleep.  Four Tylenol later I finally fell asleep around 2 AM.
I had crazy dreams and woke up about seven hundred times but at least I didn't have to get up and watch late late late night television.  House Hunters International repeats can get a little boring especially if you already saw them.
I don't fall off the wagon often so I guess that's why I forget the symptoms.  I even have a little left this morning or else I have developed fleas overnight.  Wait---I just checked, no fleas so it's just a caffeine hangover and I'll fell better tomorrow.  Can't wait!

Trapped Within

Because we are having a massive heat wave I have chosen to stay indoors today.  I did go work out this morning first but since then it's been home sweet home.  Let me tell you self-imposed exile is not all it's cracked up to be!

First, you feel compelled to work.  I cleaned my bathroom from top to bottom, walls, shower curtain woodwork, all the fixtures--I mean the works.  I even scrubbed the floor on my hands and knees!
Of course after that I deserved a treat which came in the form of big salty pretzels and fizzy water.  So half good and half bad.  I then felt really guilty and so I took a shower and worked a little more but not so I got sweated up again--just laundry.
Then I felt like I deserved another reward and I read the book I am currently into.  It is a historical fiction(my fave lately) and is about the same king and queen I've read about before.  Edward and Elizabeth of England.  She was a commoner and they got married in secret.  It's pretty good stuff.
Then I felt guilty that I hadn't written here in a while so I tried to come up with a topic and it took until now to decide to write about my day.
So there you are.  My day in a nutshell.
I sure spend a lot of time feeling guilty and a lot of time doing laundry!  That's the life..at least when you are trapped indoors.

Emmys 2010

I thought I watch a lot of television but last night's Emmys proved me wrong.  I kept saying to DH-"who's that?"  He didn't know either.  That, however, doesn't keep me from having my opinion on how they were dressed!  Half of them are skinny as broomsticks and look slightly ill if you ask me.  You can't starve yourself that much and still look good in person.   Maybe on camera you can pull it off but not in the glaring California sun.
Susan Sarandon and Glenn Close, if you want to have your picture taken at an awards show, don't stand by your daughter who looks ravishing and YOUNG!!  You have to keep up the allusion that you are young or you won't get any more jobs except as somebody's gramma.  You are both wonderful and talented so take my advice.

Speaking of Grammas, Betty White went classic in the everybody's gramma's dress that she wore to their wedding.
To the web sites that tell me that John Hamm's girlfirend is ( l.) and the only other person in the picture is him, I think I can figure that out for myself.  Oh, and John, don't give the thumbs up--not very "Don Draper" of you.

I think the most beautiful of all last night was Claire Danes.  She looked wonderful and was in a wonderful movie that explains some things about autism. Simply elegant are the words that come to mind.  The only person who came close was the little girl from Mad Men.

Lea Michele from Glee looked lovely too.

Mariska Hargity was channeling her mom--the very curvy Jayne Mansfield, don't you think?  Pretty Vavavavoom.

January Jones looked out of it and her dress fit her persona quite well?  What was she thinking?  Oh, wait , from the look of her last night(she went from staring vapidly into the ozone to a big crazy grin if someone spoke to her) she wasn't thinking at all.

But, by far, the weirdest look of the night went to that girl from The Office.  You'll see what I mean.  What can one even say about this get up??
Once again I had a most enjoyable time playing fashion police. Thanks, Emmys!

Frogger

Since I seem to be on a roll with frogs, I just found out that there is a frog that is the size of a pea.  No kidding!  Scientists just discovered its existence recently.  I don't know if it is poisonous or what good it does for the environment but how cute is that??  The size of a pea!
It seems like a cross between two fairy tales gone wild--the princess and the pea who turned into a frog!  I like it!  It may be a new classic.
Anyway, scientists discovered them because they made "harsh, rasping noises" at sundown.  The scientist  and I quote"made them" jump onto a white cloth to study them.  I just wondered how you make a frog do what you want.  I would have loved to be there.  Did they say," Jump,frog,jump"??   Or "Get onto the white cloth or else"? or "Pretty please with a fly on top"?  They probably really just prodded or poked them but I just got that mental picture and it made me laugh.
I saw a picture of one of the frogs by a penny but I didn't copy it to post here because it just looks like a little blob on the side of the penny.  I found a better pic but remember this little guy is only 10.6mm in size.

Now that that's done, maybe we can get on to the problem of global warming or animal extinction.

Move Over, Miss Piggy

I just love Kermit the(read that as thee)Frog.  I loved when he interviewed the fairy tale characters to find out the"news" as it was happening and everything would get completely mucked up.  I loved when he sang to us about it not easy being green.  I loved when he rode a bike in the Muppet Movie.  I loved it that he wanted to have a show on Broadway just like Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland. He even pulled off a credible Bob Cratchett.
Kermit was cute and cuddly and grew to be a famous...uh.....amphibian.  He is so famous now that his original self is on display at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.  Oh, you thought he was already there didn't you?  Well, that was a different incarnation of the famous frog.  This is the one that Jim Henson made from the coat his mom threw in the trash and has eyes made out of pingpong balls.  Apparently, he showed up on the very short and short-lived show, Sam and Friends, one of Henson's earliest creations.  He had to step it up when he joined the cast of Sesame Street so the original Kermit got dumped in the nearest closet until now.
He isn't the spring-like green we mostly remember but kind of a washed out olive green but his heart is still on his sleeve and his message rings true, It's not easy to be green but if you stick to it, you'll find your rainbow connection.

Uniformly Speaking

My friend told me that she and her fellow teachers are being trained in a new program that treats every child the same and teaches them in the same manner.....because all kids are the same...............well, no they're not.
She also told me the state "scores" of the schools in her district and lo! and behold!  the school that was doing the best is a magnet school that chooses its students and the worse one is located in the poorest section of town. Hmmmmm.  Are we detecting a pattern here???
First, we tell kids they are unique and should be proud of what they are.  Then we teach them all in the same technique.  What if you were one of those kids who didn't get it right away?  Would you be proud of who you were?  Why are we setting up six and seven year olds to doubt their self-worth?  If you are six and can't write a paragraph, there is probably nothing wrong with you that a year or so's growth wouldn't fix.
Not every kid born on the same day, walks on the same day or says Mama on the same day as all the other kids born on that day.  How scary it would be if they did--we'd have little automatons!  But pack them off to school at five or six and they all better learn the sound of the letter M on the day the teacher presents it.  And at the end of the school year they all have to know exactly the same material.
And to top it all off, they have to prove it on one or two tests administered by nervous staff.  Why is the staff nervous?  Because they are being held accountable for the results.  No one takes into consideration that a child may feel ill, that there was a big blowup at home before they left for school or that maybe they didn't get breakfast and possibly no dinner the night before.  I read recently that just a 2% loss of body water can effect your ability to do simple tasks and think clearly.  How do we know if these kids are even hydrated?
And yet, the whole blame falls on the teachers if the kids don't do stellar work on these state mandated tests.
I knew a little boy who took a week's worth of kindergarten tests and did miserably.  So miserably that the first grade teacher thought she'd be lucky if she could even teach him the beginning skills of reading. 
That kid had started reading at age 4 and in kindergarten could read books intended for first and second graders.  I'm not saying this kid was a genius but he was bright and clever.  Bright enough to sense the urgency in his teacher's voice when she talked about the importance of doing well on the kindergarten tests.  He was so worried about his performance that he didn't sleep at all the first three nights of the test.  The fourth night he finally fell asleep around 1 am and that is the one test he did quite well on.   Did the teacher know this--why, no.  A five year old isn't going to complain about insomnia to the teacher he loves and adores.  Did the first grade teacher know it?  Why, no, because she had no way of knowing.  Mom told her....Mom told her the whole story and the teacher decided to move the kid to a different reading group and he took off and had a wonderful experience through the rest of grade school---except the week of the standardized test. 
Mom was able to teach him a few coping tricks but he never did sleep well before a big test forever after.
Now if a teacher who loves a kid doesn't know this, how in the world would the state government know it or the computer that graded the standardized test know it?
When it comes to the very young, kindergartners and first graders, I say, let those kids be kids.  Don't frighten or intimidate them with big tests whose results can even effect how much money the state gives their school.  Test how well they read in second grade or better yet, third grade.
Sure, give them a general knowledge test in seventh grade and test them junior year to make sure they are ready to go to college or into the workplace.  Those are appropriate tests and necessary tests.
State governments need to recognize that kids are all unique and learn in different ways and teachers are hard working, creative people who can teach to their needs.
We need a giant wake up call to help our kids to become the unique indiviuals they are.

New Kid in Town

Before I say anything else I want to tell you that I didn't look to see what this new and I quote"idiot proof" symbol means.   I mean it's idiot proof and I'm no idiot that's for sure.  Well, some may disagree with that but I digress.

I think it is the universal sign for "Wow!! You have a fat ass."

Now that I typed that I am going back to read the article and see if I'm right.  I'll be right back.

Well, I was wrong.  I am writing in a new font now so you know I really did leave and come back to this entry..  but still I am not an idiot as 46% of the drivers who saw this symbol couldn't figure it out either.  So there are either a lot of idiots or this symbol isn't what it is cracked up to be.

It is the international sign for low tire pressure.  Now you see it don't you??   No, well, me either. Anyway if you see this sign on your dashboard you are in deep doo-doo.  So beware. And don't flash the sign to anyone with a fat ass, just in case.

It's Official

I am officially SICK AND TIRED of the meltdown guy. (Notice how I just had a mini meltdown of my own?)  That's because I can't stand looking at that guy's self satisfied smug expression for one more day.
And now, Entertainment Tonight wants to know who I think should play him in the movie  Matt Damon or Philip Seymour Hoffman?  You know who I think it should be?  NOBODY!  This guy does not deserve any movie deal or book deal or any kind of deal.
His boring and probably petty life would not make a good show and one meltdown does not a movie make.  I hear that the passengers were real jerks to him for 20 years but if that many people are jerks to you maybe you need to take a look at yourself--I'm just sayin'.
Drinking beer while sliding down the escape hatch seems like juvenile to me and ranting over the intercom was just plain stupid.
In this economic hard time, I'm pretty sure that someone would love that job with pretty good pay and benefits.  I bet there will be a line around the block if his job opens up.  Oh, who am I kidding, when his job opens up.
So now he's been famous for fifteen minutes....or one hundred and fifty hours or  fifteen days..to me it seems like forever and I am forever sick of seeing or hearing about him!

P.S.  I don't even know his name nor do I care to But I'll google search a picture of him just for the heck of it and post it here.

Speed Racer

There is a new law that a police officer can give you a ticket if he thinks you are speeding even if he has no radar.  The thinking is that  the officer has been trained at the police academy on how to recognize a speeding vehicle.
Well, I never went to the police academy but I can tell you a few hints so you can detect that you are speeding before the cop does.  With apologies to Jeff Foxworthy, here goes.
1.  If everyone you pass is a blur, you might be speeding.
2.  If you are in a pack of cars and pass everyone and they soon become a tiny dots in the distance, you might be speeding.
3.  If you feel like you are on a roller coaster, you might be speeding.
4.  If your gas pedal is touching the floor, you might be speeding.
5.  If everyone you pass gives you the finger, you might be speeding.
6.  If you think everyone else is incredibly slow, say, like turtles, you might be speeding.
7.  If you are singing at the top of your longs to your favorite song, you might be speeding.
8.  If your spouse is clinging to the armrest, you might be speeding.
9.  If your kids say "Wheeeeeee" every time you turn a corner, you might be speeding.
10. If the policeman turns on his red light and steps on it after you go by, you probably are speeding!

Stay in Line

We have construction going on all over our highways.  You might too.  One of the signs that is prominently displayed when lanes narrow is "Stay in Lane."  The first time I ever saw it I thought it said stay in line.  It is probably because I said that about five billion times  in my lifetime.  I taught kindergarten and had to move those little ones down the hall and out on field trips.  Stay in line became my mantra.  Didn't want to lose anyone and I never did!
I also unpacked the diswasher five billion times.  I know that is an exaggeration but if you are in charge of the chores to maintain your household you know what I mean.  I try to change it up every now and then by taking out the silverware first and the glassware last and the next time take out the glassware first and then the plates.  It still is a dumb and repetitive chore.
I am positive that I have done five billion loads of laundry and every time I finish the last load, someone tosses another dirty article of clothing into the hamper and it starts all over again!!  If you do the laundry for your family you know that is true.
Some things have to done over and over.  I guess that's why we enjoy something that only happens once in a while.  Like fairs and concerts or going out to dinner.  So I am setting myself a goal to go out to dinner five billion times.  It should work out fine as long as I stay in line!