Kids have the best toys these days

I had Lego. And it only came in 4 shapes. You had to create your own things, not kits from boxes.
I had a Mr Potato Head but you had to use a REAL potato!

I had Spirograph. I LOVED Spirograph! And paint by numbers and models to put together. Past those things there wasn't too much else. We were too busy playing outside - oh, that's a different subject...

Lots of kids toys today are just so awesome! I mention this because I've done some shopping for our little grandson. I know his bee day isn't until September, but I have to do things when I think of them (it's that little kitten thing)

So far, I got him a couple of these;


and this;

It makes 5000 bubbles a minute!!!!! That's probably overstated marketing, but even if it's only 1000, that's the greatest!

How fun :-)

Quilling

Do you know what quilling is?

"Quilling or paper filigree is an art form that involves the use of strips of paper that are rolled, shaped, and glued together to create decorative designs. The paper is wound around a quill to create a basic coil shape. The paper is glued at the tip and the coil shaped, these shaped coils are arranged to form flowers, leaves, and various ornamental patterns similar to ironwork."

My little kitten attention span is calling me to give it a try. Yessssssssssssssss, bwahahahahaha!

Wowee

I can't believe it! Mom sold her condo!!!! Whoa. AND she got what she wanted for it. Yippee, hooray for da mama! It's very exciting for her. Now she gets to shop for a new home. Some place close to me. Not that she wasn't close before, but a couple miles or less beats the heck out of 17. :-)

I have to admit though...I might miss the condo. It was the longest she ever lived somewhere.

But exciting new things are in store for her.

Bye bye....

how cute is this?

Pretty dang cute! I think I have to have this on a t-shirt :-)

yummy fun...

I would absolutely eat here;




Probably not so much here...I wouldn't like to have frozen assets;

Restaurant: Laino Snow Village Ice Restaurant, Ylläsjärvi, FinlandCulinary Concept: Ikea meets igloo. Just north of the Arctic Circle the winters are cold enough to sustain Snow Village's Ice Restaurant for the season. Inside the 200-square-meter all-natural ice structure, diners sit on solid-ice chairs at solid-ice tables while savoring local fare like cream of Lappish potato soup with cold smoked salmon, tender reindeer, and game meatballs served with — what else? — vodka-lingonberry jelly

And there's no way I could eat here;

Restaurant: Dinner in the Sky, worldwide
Culinary Concept: Suspended supper. Dinner in the Sky brings new meaning to alfresco dining. If you have $40,000 to spare, you and 21 of your closest friends can lavishly dangle 150 feet above any city (or golf course) while conspicuously consuming beef and foie gras mille-feuille (savory layered puff pastry) and sipping Dom Pérignon.

I think it would make you feel so woozy and weird!

commercials are...

fill in the blank. Really, don't most commercials make you wonder who thinks that crap up? I mean, some ad exec is getting paid a ton of dough for his/her perceived cleverness. I'm not saying I can do better, even though I think I can sometimes. But still. And in all fairness, some ad campaigns are pretty good. I like the Jimmy Dean commercials with the big yellow sun. They crack me up. The first one was the best though...when he was telling his little girl how he had to get up early to light the world ~ the look on her face was priceless, like yeah? so? That was great. Burger King's "King" commercials are the worst. They make me change the channel! But this next commercial just bugs the snot out of me. It's for a new Sharp TV. You've probably seen it;

It's all about how they added the color yellow. Now, what bugs me is this ~ if they started with red, green and blue, then they already have yellow. You can't make green without yellow. Green isn't even a primary color to begin with. Yes, I know it has to do with the light spectrum but it bugs me anyway. It goes against everything I learned in art! Every time I see this commercial, visually it just drives me nuts!

We got all (ok, some of) the mulch spread around on Saturday. It was a good weekend to do it. Overcast and cool all day. It looks SO great. I love it! But I definitely ordered too much :-) We just have a tiny bit more to do and we are barely 1/2 way through the pile. Oops. I'm sure we'll find other places for it, I hope.

Oh, and if you get the History channel, there was a really fun show on (that I'm sure will be on again) the other day ~ How the States Got Their Shapes".

There is nothing on the calendar for next weekend. It's good to have those every once in a while. It could be a good weekend to clean the carpet! Darn, now there's something on the calendar. Humph.

uh huh, that's right...I ROCK!

Cannibals in the workplace

Several cannibals were recently hired by a big corporation. “You are all part of our team now,” said the HR rep during the welcoming briefing.
“You get all the usual benefits and you can go to the cafeteria for something to eat, but please don’t eat any of the other employees”. The cannibals promised.

Four weeks later their boss remarked, “You’re all working very hard and I’m satisfied with you. However, one of our secretaries has disappeared. Do any of you know what happened to her?” The cannibals all shook their heads no.

After the boss had left, the leader of the cannibals said to the others, “Which one of you idiots ate the secretary?”
A hand raised hesitantly, to which the leader of the cannibals continued, “You fool! For four weeks we’ve been eating Managers and no one noticed anything, then you had to go and eat the secretary!”

The sound of...

everything! Everybody knows that my hearing isn't the greatest. I don't hear the rain or dripping water or the dog whimpering, etc. But even so, sometimes the world is a noisy place. Sometimes at the end of the work day, when I turn my light and PC off, it seems soooo quiet. Usually I don't notice the daily 'white noise'. Occasionally though, it even gets to me. The dishwasher is too loud, the air rushing through the vents when HVAC comes on, the refrigerator, the microwave, the DVD player when there's a movie in it, the sound of building construction behind our house. There's a lot of noise out there!

I love Spring

Not as much as Autumn, but it's a close 2nd.

The Race for the Cure was amazing. It's always just blows you away to be part of a group 40 thousand strong. It was a little chilly, but once you got movin' it warmed right up. We did 3 miles in a smidge over an hour. Not bad for a couple of old chicks. Then we went shoe shopping and had lunch. That's a perfect day!

Today, we got up early, went to breakfast and then to Lowe's. The mulch is coming next weekend so we figured we better get some plants in the ground! We worked our butts off! It's coming together though...

And this one is my favorite. It's called a Corkscrew Rush. Bill hates it. Mine isn't this pretty yet because it's still little, so he said it looks like pubic hair. I can't imagine where he's ever seen green pubic hair? He's a goober. I like it.

And this is our latest weird bug sighting. According to whatsthatbug.com, it's a Luna Moth. Pretty isn't it?

Make an Impact!

The fight against cancer goes on. In today's society everyone knows someone who has been touched by breast cancer. Whether it's a friend or relative, someone in your circle has battled breast cancer. I have found a way to fight against cancer- through the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure®.

Mom and I will be walking to celebrate her 2 year anniversary, cancer free!!
The Komen Race for the Cure is a community event that honors and memorializes breast cancer survivors, co-survivors and those that have lost to the disease. The Race also plays a vital role in raising funds for research, education, prevention, advocacy and treatment. Each year over 1.3 million people take part in Race for the Cure events around the world. Mom and I will be joined by about 40 thousand others on April 17th in Indianapolis

There are many ways to join in on the fight to end breast cancer forever. This is just one!
Thank you for supporting the fight against cancer!
http://race.komenindy.org/site/TR/Race/General?px=1505061&pg=personal&fr_id=1070&et=-tymqUwPR0YDQSEs4PHG6g..&s_tafId=18990

Ouch

I'm still going to stick by my previous assertion that shoes are like art...but ouch...

from Yahoo;

If you’ve browsed a shoe department lately, you may have noticed that high heels are growing—and not just in popularity. Towering platforms, extreme wedges, and treacherous stilettos have flooded the marketplace in recent months, and most every designer and celebrity seems to be doing their part to participate in the trend. Runways, red carpets, and glossy magazine spreads have all been inundated with the look. Ever the style catalyst, Lady Gaga donned Alexander McQueen’s 12-inch heels in her "Bad Romance" music video after three professional runway models refused to wear them on the runway last fall. This past weekend, even Tina Fey, the queen of nerd chic, strutted out in five-inch pumps to perform her opening monologue on "Saturday Night Live." Clearly, we have a fashion craze on our hands, or, um, feet.

Women who are overweight, have arthritis, or have high or flat arches, will experience more frequent foot and ankle problems (most common are tendon and muscle strains, hammertoes, bunions, and stress fractures—though long-term high heel wearers could suffer from tendinitis, severe ankle sprains, and torn ligaments and tendons), but many women encounter symptoms after extended high-heel wear. "Pain is your body's way of warning you that something is wrong, you should stop wearing the shoes" says Sutera.

Obviously no one expects that women will stop dressing up in heels altogether, but if you limit the amount of wear time and the heel's height you’re, um, taking a step in the right direction. The doctors we spoke with also recommend: Massaging your feet and rolling them over a golf ball or ice when you take off your shoes at night and gripping a towel and holding your foot up for 15 seconds, three times a day, can also help strengthen the intrinsic muscles of the feet.

Beeware!

There's a high incident of credit card fraud. I suppose you know that already...we do too...from experience! On the husbands last cc statement there was a $160 charge for myspace. He doesn't even know how to get into myspace! And last night, Mom's cc bank called to tell her that a fraudulent charge (which they declined) was made on her card. Geesh. And unrelated, sort of, I lost my debit card yesterday. humph. Watch out!

Glorious!

This morning was beautiful! Driving into work, everything looked so pretty. The Dogwoods are blooming, the Redbuds, Crabapples, Magnolia and Tulip trees.

And every one's gardens are full of tulips and daffodils. And all the new spring green! It even makes the ghetto look pretty! I must have been smiling all the way into work :-)

Here we go again

It's toad season. Gotta watch where you step. Plus, that damn woodchuck is back again! Guess I'll give the fox pee a try...again.

The man is on call this weekend and super busy. I treated him with pizza for dinner last night. He was happy.

It's been a beautiful weekend outside. I even pulled some weeds and planted some Hostas.

And there's a roast in the crock pot. What a good weekend :-)

Ohhhhh, now I get it!

You know when you're driving along on the highway and all of a sudden you see brake lights and have to slow down? Now you're stuck in s*l*o*w traffic. After about a mile, everything just clears right up! There was no accident, no cop just cruising along at the speed limit, no 100 year old blue haired person driving 20 mph...NO reason whatsoever!!! Have you ever really thought about how that happens? Well, in case you haven't figured it out, let me shed some light.

It happens because some bonehead, who is in a big ol hurry, and probably doing 90+, has to put their brakes on because the person in front of them isn't doing 90+. That in turn makes everyone around that person tap their brakes as well. Then everyone around them cautiously taps their brakes too. And so on and so on. Now you've got a miles worth of traffic slowing down for NO REASON. Just because of some bone head with a lead foot.

Next time you're on a busy street or the highway, watch that person who zoomed by you and see if you can't watch it happen.

why?

I like the whole belly button piercing thing. I think it's cute. I also think the tiny little stud in the nose is kind of cute. I don't even mind the little hoop in the eyebrow. But I just don't get this;

Why? I also don't get this;

Uh huh, I know I'm getting older but I'm not sure if that's the reason that I don't get it.

I mean, why would you do that to your ears? It's gross. And when you're 80 it's going to be really gross! I don't get the tongue thing either. It's distracting when people are talking to you, to see it. And doesn't it bother you? Doesn't food get stuck around it? How can you stand it clinking around on your teeth? It's just one of those self mutilation things that's a little weird to me.

And this the most bizarre thing ever;

She had her eyeball tatooed.
And this is eyeball jewelry, implanted;

People are trying so hard to be different and stand out in the crowd. Why is that? Is it the new wave of narcissism? Wanting your 15 minutes? Is it because you grew up in daycare or as latch key kids? You didn't get enough parental attention. Is it the media, that made fame and attention so appealing? Kind of like getting attention for bad behavior is better than getting none at all? I wonder if they'll be more conservative when they have their own children?

Time...

It's April. Mom said last night that she has been retired for almost 5 years. Wow. Tomorrow marks the 5th year we've had Greta. Our grandson is 2 and a 1/2 years old already. My youngest niece will graduate high school this June. I remember so clearly when she was born. Okay, enough of that...

GO BUTLER BULLDOGS!!! Isn't it fantastic? Nah, I don't really care about college basketball. You know me though, I love an event. And this is the first time in Butler's history that they went to the final four let alone the championship game! I'm very excited for them. The whole city is in high gear. It's fun to see. Of course the big bonus for the Butler fans is that Indy is hosting the game this year.

We watched some movies in the last week. Sometimes I miss going to the theater, sometimes I'm happy I didn't spend the $$. Law Abiding Citizen was terrible. No good guy to root for. I love a good revenge movie but this wasn't one of them. The Blind Side was very sweet. I don't know that Sandra Bullocks performance was Oscar worthy but it was a nice movie. 2012. Um, I'm not really sure what to say about this one. It had some great FX? The story was lame and 1/2 of it was just too silly.

April is....

I know you must be dying to find out!

April is...

National Fresh Celery Month
National Pecan Month
National Soft Pretzel Month
National Soyfoods Month

April 12-18 National Egg Salad Week

April 1 National Sourdough Bread Day
April 2 National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day - awwwww
April 2 Good Friday
April 3 National Chocolate Mousse Day
April 4 National Cordon Bleu Day
April 4 Easter
April 5 National Raisin & Spice Bar Day
April 6 National Caramel Popcorn Day
April 7 National Coffee Cake Day
April 7 National No Housework Day -hip hip hooray! It should have been on a Saturday though.
April 8 National Empanada Day - oh, it's another one of those, huh?, things
April 9 National Chinese Almond Cookie Day
April 10 National Cinnamon Crescent Day
April 11 National Cheese Fondue Day
April 12 National Licorice Day
April 13 National Peach Cobbler Day
April 14 National Pecan Day
April 14 National Hot Cross Bun Day
April 15 National Glazed Ham Day
April 16 National Eggs Benedict Day
April 16 National Baked Ham with Pineapple Day - why do you need more than 1 ham day?
April 16 National Stress Awareness Day - you need a day to be aware that you're stressed??
April 17 National Cheeseball Day
April 18 National Animal Crackers Day
April 18 International Jugglers Day - I love jugglers!!!!
April 20 National Pineapple Upside-down Cake Day
April 21 National Chocolate-Covered Cashews Day
April 21 Administrative Professionals Day - yeah that's right, uh huh, I'm THE woman!
April 22 National Jelly Bean Day - I see some buttered popcorn flavored jelly bellys comin'
April 22 Earth Day
April 23 National Cherry Cheesecake Day
April 24 National Pigs-in-a-Blanket Day
April 25 National Zucchini Bread Day
April 26 National Pretzel Day
April 27 National Prime Rib Day
April 28 National Blueberry Pie Day
April 29 National Shrimp Scampi Day
April 30 National Oatmeal Cookie Day
April 30 National Honesty Day - honestly?
April 30 Arbor Day