Me?

Some fun things happened yesterday.

The first is, my silly little non-public blog hit a milestone…5000 page views. OK, so it took 4 and a ½ years, but still. 5 THOUSAND!

Two people commented on my cheery disposition yesterday. How nice it is that I always have a smile on my face. Who knew I would grow up to be cheerful. It was a nice compliment and made me feel good.

Aaaand…I inspired someone to quill!!! Wowee! She came to my desk yesterday and told me she bought a little kit at Hobby Lobby after she spent the weekend looking up quilled art. She was fascinated by the things I’ve made. How cool is that!?!??!

Best story EVER!!

I LOVE this man!! I'm serious. It's long but SO worth it, I promise. You're gonna love it;

http://www.hemispheresmagazine.com/2013/01/01/the-thrill-of-the-chase/

I love country music!

This year’s big country hoe down benefiting the Country Music Hall of Fame, includes performances by;

Kieth Urban, Vince Gill, Trace Adkins, Jason Aldean, Rosanne Cash, Eric Church, Brantley Gilbert, Kid Rock, Kris Kristofferson, Loretta Lynn, Tim McGraw, Montgomery Gentry, Willie Nelson, Billy Joe Shaver and Hank Williams Jr.
Yesssssssssssssssssssssss! Did you just ask, are you going Cynthia? HA! Yes ~ Of course I’m going!
OK, so I could care less about Kid Rock and Billy Joe Shaver. And to tell you the truth I’m not that big a fan of Jason Aldean. But being a fan of country music, how could you possibly pass up a chance to see Loretta Lynn or Willie Nelson. And Tim McGraw? And Vince Gill? Woohoo!!

I'm pretty sure Mom is going to have her new dog by then too. So she'll be the first one to have to watch all 4 at once. Mwahaha! That's ok Mom, Bill will have to do when we get back and you and do the Race for the Cure. That will l be a good test for him, to see if it's really ok that we get another too. Because really, if you watch 4, what's one more?!!?!?!?!

wistful

That’s me today, wistful.

No, I’m not longing or regretful or pining for something different.
I read some silly saying the other day;
Every woman should have a youth she’s content to leave behind but a past juicy enough that she’s looking forward to retelling it in her old age.

It made me feel kind of nostalgic. Of course there are some things about my juicy past that I don’t care to admit but there are many other things that make me sigh blissfully. One of the best parts of growing older is that you’ve chosen to keep only the nice memories of the best old flames. Believe me, I know it wasn’t all sunshine, rainbows and blue birds, but the passion of youth is exciting to recall.

Things like your first crush,

the very first kiss that counted-you know, the good kind,

your first “car” date,

(that doesn’t mean the first time you did it in your car either)

your first love,

when you got your first place with someone of the opposite sex,

your true love,

the first sleepover,

that feeling when you knew, this was the one,

when you said, “I do”.

I was looking at a picture of my first love over the weekend. I thought, “I remember you. In another life I loved you with the reckless abandon of a 16 year old girls heart.” It was a nice feeling – that memory. I don't look back on those memories often but when I do, for the most part, they make me smile.

the story of a desk

My Mom lives in the best neighborhood. It’s perfect for her. Her neighbors are friendly AND nice. And they look out for her too. The old drunk guy next door shovels her walk when it’s really snowy. There’s a young guy w/a lawn service who mows her yard when it’s too hot and mulches her leaves when there’s too many to rake. What more could a daughter ask for?


Last year, one of her neighbors passed away. His partner (of 30 yrs) had passed away the year before. A family member took care of the house and got it ready to sell, etc. The couple that had lived in the house had been there for a looooong time. They collected a lot of stuff but especially liked antiques. So the family member had a garage sale for a lot of stuff but sold most of it to dealers and consignment shops. It took him a long time to get the house in order and Mom kind of befriended him. So every once in a while, she bought some things from him ~ potters, a little side table, and this old table for me;

She thought it would be perfect for the craft room since it could be folded down if I wasn’t using it, thereby saving room. It was an excellent idea and I love it. My original plan was to paint it ~ multi colors, you know, cheerful! As you can see, I haven’t done it yet.

Last week I was surfing and happen to stop on Antiques Road Show. I stopped because I saw this table;

It looks a lot like mine! Well, except mine is a rectangle instead of an oval, and it had a drawer. But then they appraised it;

Whaaaaaaaaat?

So Mom, I’m going to reimburse you the $50 you paid for it. OK?

:-)

In the news...

There was a huge article in the local paper today about gun permits. I copied these parts because my burbs police chief had some things to say and because the fella whose class we went to is also quoted;

Across Indiana, gun permit applications are being submitted in record numbers — a telling measure of how Hoosiers are responding to the national discussion about gun violence and gun legislation:


The Indiana State Police reported that in the wake of the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., and the ensuing and increasing calls for tougher restrictions on guns — a sentiment echoed in President Barack Obama’s recent State of the Union address — the agency is seeing up to 4,000 permit requests each week. That is triple the numbers seen last year by the State Police, which approve the permits.

And it appears to be happening all across Indiana.

In Carmel, a city of 80,000, Police Chief Tim Green said 263 new applications were filed in the first five weeks of 2013, compared with 67 applications in the same period last year. Green thinks the city could very well surpass 1,000 new permits this year, nearly 200 more than in any previous year.

…………… Business also is picking up for Randy DeWitt.

DeWitt is a certified trainer who runs Indy Gun Safety in Fishers. He says he has never been busier than he is now.

“Our courses are now filled a month and a half in advance,” DeWitt said. “We have added more classes, and we still can’t meet the demand.”

Gun safety courses are not required by state law, though many people seek them to get proper training, said DeWitt, who had been averaging about 60 new clients a month but is now getting dozens of calls a day from new gun owners and those seeking new permits.

“It’s absolutely insane,” he said. “For a while, we were getting up to 30 calls an hour.”

And this is my favorite quote in the whole article;

“Any weapon is an assault weapon in the hands of somebody that intends to use it that way,” he said. “Guns are getting picked on.”

Oscar!!!

I love movies. I love the Oscars because I love movies. I easily have a couple hundred movies in my library. I could have more but I do have some self restraint!

This afternoon at work, we were talking about movies. It started with a simple question, "what's your 'go to' movie(s)?" I have several; Dirty Dancing, Pretty Woman, Remember the Titans, Sound of Music, K-Pax, Outbreak, Contact, Steel Magnolias and of course, Gone With The Wind. I also love all the Die Hard movies and National Treasure and Harry Potter. Oh, and Camelot and Jesus Christ Superstar! Oh, and ANY Disney movie. All those movies you could watch a hundred times.

Then we started talking about movies we love that we wouldn't watch again. You know, those movies with such a twist or a surprise at the end that it spoils it to know the ending. Like “The Usual Suspects” Once you KNOW that Kevin Spacey is the dude, you can’t really watch it again. Or “Primal Fear”, with Edward Norton and Richard Gere. I totally didn’t see the end of that movie coming! Whoa! Another one is “Presumed Innocent” with Harrison Ford. That one keeps you guessing until the very end. And once you know his wife killed her?!?! Shut UP! I loved that movie but now that I know the ending, it would take away the fun of watching it again. BUT, that doesn’t apply to every movie with a surprise ending. “Sixth Sense” for example. That was a big surprise but I’ve watched that one several times. Same for the old Hitchcock movie, “Rebecca” with Laurence Olivier. Maybe because it was so well crafted.

Yep, I’m just a fan of movies!

vrrrroooom

So, the motorcycle show was actually pretty fun. First of all, there were thousands of people there! Really? Whoa. Second, now that Bill has his dream bike, there was no lusting going on! HOORAY! That made it even more fun.I realize that some of you aren't motorcycle fans, but still, here's a sampling;

You know which one was my favorite, right?  :-)

Something for him

Something for HIM? Him who? My him, that’s who.


This weekend we are going to the International Motorcycle Show. I got an email from Progressive w/a discount code to this show and asked him if he wanted to go. OMG! I thought he was going to pee he got so excited! Geez. I’ve decided to take the ‘good’ camera so I’ll have something to do too. We have a local motorcycle show but I think it’s dumb and I hate going to it. Really, a couple dozen bikes does not a show make. This one tomorrow? HUNDREDS of bikes. Sometimes I really struggle (but don’t let on of course) through the HIM events, but this one will be fun :-)

Other than that, nothing is on the calendar. Oh, I could start our tax return but I’m pretty sure it isn’t going to be a return so I’m dragging my feet.

*sigh*

Ahhh love, ain't it grand?

• Most historians link the lover's holiday to an annual celebration in Rome. During the boisterous bonanza, men stripped naked and spanked young maidens with animal-skin whips in an effort to increase fertility.


• While history buffs don't unanimously agree on who the original Valentine was, the most popular suspect is a clergyman in ancient Rome. When the emperor outlawed marriage during wartime (because he believed single men made better soldiers), Bishop Valentine performed secret wedding ceremonies. It wasn't until 496 A.D., over 200 years after the bishop's death, that Pope Gelasius I officially declared Feb. 14 as Saint Valentine's Day.

• While Americans likely began exchanging handmade valentines in the 17th century, the first mass-produced cards date to the 1840s. 1 billion cards are sent each year worldwide today, making Valentine's Day the biggest greeting card holiday in the U.S. after Christmas.

• According to a survey by American Express, 56 percent of Americans plan on taking a more digital approach to sending their declarations of love this year. Out of that group, 29 percent say they'll text sweet nothings and another 29 percent say they'll post on Facebook. Twenty-three percent will send a naughty-or-nice email and 20 percent will mail a loving e-card.

• While the average consumer spends about $130 on Valentine's Day gifts, meals and entertainment, men consistently dole out double what women typically pay, offering up about $287, compared to women's $164.

• Speaking of meals—the National Restaurant Association expects one quarter of American adults to dine out on Valentine's Day, making it the second busiest holiday for restaurants next to Mother's Day. Diners are expected to fork over an estimated $3.9 billion on romantic meals alone, with meal price averaging $142.11, not to mention the bound-to-be-extravagant gifts. What happened to "It's the thought that counts"?

• Oh, great sexpectations. A recent study by the experts at Good in Bed reveal that nearly 85 percent of men and women believe that sex is an important part of Valentine's Day. Condom company Durex reports that the surge in sex on V-Day increases their sales about 25 percent in the month of February. Correlation, or causation?

Woof woof!

The Westminster Dog show starts tonight. We watch it every year. We love dogs. This year, Mom and I will have a whole new appreciation for the dog show. Now we know what's going on behind the scenes! Well, not exactly but we have a pretty good idea. Yesterday we went to the Indy Winter Classic Dog Show. Over 2300 dogs were entered. 2700 dogs are entered at Westminster. So the Indy Winter Classic is kind of a big deal. Anyway, it was a lot more fun than I thought it would be. We say a TON of different dog breeds too. Most of which we had never seen in person so that was cool. We both thought that the Clumber Spaniel was a lot bigger than we thought it would be. And that giant Irish Wolf Hound was so much softer than you'd think. One of the best parts for Mom was the "Meet the Breed" area. When we walked by, there was a woman with a Welsh Terrier. Mom LOVES those. So she got to meet one in person. The woman told her about the Welsh Terrier rescue group and I think Mom is hooked :-) The closest one is in Tennessee but that's only 4/5 hours away. We could make a day of it if she decides she ought to have 2 dogs. That makes me want to add another one to our group too. Then we would have 5 total! How fun!!!

Here's the Welsh Terrier as a 'normal' dog;

Here it is all groomed and ready to show;

And here's this years Westminster poster...they've done better in the past!

Happy Friday

Well, the last couple of posts have been pretty serious so I'm going to lighten up today!

I think I forgot to post pictures of the quilled art I made for my Mom for Christmas!

So, here it is;

Spring

 Summer

 Autumn

 Winter

I don't have anymore customers lined up right now so maybe I'll do something in my "I wanna" folder.

The man is on call this weekend so I'm going to Hobby Lobby! And Mom and I are going to a dog show on Sunday. It might be fun!

Oh, and I'll spend the weekend thankful that I don't live on the east coast!

I want a drink

In my home state, you can’t buy alcohol or cars on Sunday. There’s a bitter battle raging in the Statehouse this year. To allow the sale of alcohol and cars on Sundays or not. In case you didn’t know, we can’t buy either of those things because of something called blue laws. I think the arguments are all interesting, the pros and cons, but I was really interested in the “blue law”. So I looked it up;


Blue laws have been part of U.S. Legal History since the colonial period. These laws prohibit certain types of commercial activity on Sundays. Originally these laws were directed at personal activities regarded as moral offenses, such as gambling or the consumption of alcohol. In the nineteenth century, however, state and local governments passed laws that forbade businesses from operating on Sunday.

So now I’m wondering about the separation of church and state. How can you have laws based on religious beliefs? The first amendment says, “…prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion,…” etc.
If blue laws were established to keep Sundays a day of worship and rest, you know, no debauchery, then that’s clearly a violation of the 1st amendment, right?

Then I found this;

Although these laws were clearly based on Christian beliefs, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that they do not violate the First Amendment's Establishment Clause. Many blue laws have been repealed since the 1960s, but some laws that ban the sale of alcohol on Sunday remain in force.


Basically they’re saying that they’ve interpreted the law to mean something different than what it meant when it was created. Cheaters.

Anyway, I suspect that it will take years before a change comes, here in my home state. Oh, and we’re aren’t the only ones, in case you were wondering. Excluding states w/dry counties;

Colorado – no car sales on Sunday

Georgia – no alcohol sales

Illinois – No car sales

Indiana – no alcohol or car sales

Massachusetts – no hunting on Sundays

Michigan – no car sales

Minnesota – no alcohol or car sales

Mississippi – no alcohol sales

Missouri – no car sales

New Jersey – no alcohol or car sales

North Carolina – no alcohol sales

Oklahoma – no alcohol or car sales

Pennsylvania – no alcohol or car sales and no hunting, except for foxes, crows and coyotes

Texas – no car sales. No liquor stores are open but you can buy beer and wine in a grocery store after noon.

Virginia – no hunting

West Virginia – no hunting and no alcohol sales after 1:00pm

Wisconsin – no car sales

I had no idea there were so many. But look!...Utah isn’t even on the list. That’s so weird.

CHEERS!

Gun Control

So, in the news these days…I’ve been trying to avoid the news. Every one of the news outlets has an agenda. And the hot button topic? Gun control. Well, I have an opinion too. I don’t get to talk about though…I work for and in a government building and typically, we don’t talk politics. God forbid should someone overhear you and be offended by your opinion. I don’t talk about it at home. If you know my conservative other half, you know why. So today I’m going to use my own blog to express my own opinion on gun control.


I am a gun owner. Actually, we have 2 guns. I am a licensed gun owner. I know how to load a gun. I know how to shoot a gun. I know how to set the safety and take it off. I know how to aim. I took a practical, hands on course. Inside our home, our guns are loaded and ready to shoot.

That being said, I don’t care if they ban assault rifles. First, I don’t think it will do much good but second, why the hell do you want one? Assault rifles were only meant for one thing. Also, I don’t care if a clip can only hold 10 rounds. If you can’t shoot somebody with 10 tries, you better go back to the range. My husband thinks we need more guns. You know, for that secret militia that’s forming down the street and is going to bust down our door at any second. Sure, it could happen. Do I think it will? No. But I don’t want the government breathing down my neck if I want to buy 20 boxes of ammo because I’ve decided to become a competitive marksman and I need to practice.

I don’t like the whole mental health monitoring thing. Obviously a person’s mental health is an issue but really, who is going to decide if you’re dangerous? It seems kind of subjective to me. And if your shrink thinks you’re that dangerous, then they better find a family member to sign off on your extended vacation in the loony bin.

I’m not convinced that we have a dangerous “gun culture” in this country. Personally, I think we have a culture of apathy and complacency. And pop culture rules it all.

I’m OK with mandatory background checks and closing the gun show loophole. I thought there were mandatory background checks! Oh, and just a side note but why are the gun laws so different for every state? Funny how each state has power over some things and not others.

What I do feel strongly about is enforcing the laws we have. I’m even OK with stiffer penalties, as long as they’re enforced. Really, use a gun, go to jail, period. Not for a week or a month either. I don’t care if it’s your first offense or if you don’t have a prior history of violence, etc. Use a gun, go to jail, period.

The other thing I feel strongly about is the media attention and their culpability. Why doesn’t anybody hold THEM accountable? For the first 3 to 4 hours of the Sandy Hook tragedy, the media got very few things right. In the aftermath, why hasn’t anybody stepped up to sue them for harassment or bullying? Why is it so important for them to show us the grief and sorrow of those people affected? Are ratings that important? Above accuracy or even compassion and human decency?

Whew! Finally I got to say what I wanted  :-)