yummmm

Once, a long time ago, Mom was reading an article in the paper about Bill Gates new home and some of its cool features. She asked me, if money was no object, what would you want your home to have. Interestingly enough, neither of us could come up with anything really opulent or luxurious. I would like a flower garden, with a gardener, so I could have fresh flowers in the house all the time. I want a library. I think we both said we would want a gourmet kitchen but we couldn't really come up with anything super duper cool or different that we would put in it. Well, I thought of something...You know those candy dispensers in a big candy store? I want those!!!

I miss gum

I REALLY miss gum. Several times a day, I miss gum. I miss chewing gum more than I miss cigarettes!

Now I have a confession...every since I stopped chewing gum, my headaches went away. Seriously! I use to have a headache almost every day! Stoopid TMJ :-(

But, even though there's proof, I still miss gum.

And would YOU want to wear THIS thing every day???? Look at it! It has metal in it!

crazy, silly, interesting, dumb, nice, weird stuff...

I keep a folder full of things I think I want to say something about. Today I'm cleaning out the folder so this will seem really random. Oh, it IS really random! Here goes;

Have you seen this photo? It went "viral" a couple years ago;

It's such a sweet photo, don't you think? Here's the story, in case you don't know it;

6/19/13

The original image, captured by photographer Hannah Stonehouse Hudson, featured the dog and his owner, John Unger, sharing a peaceful moment in Lake Superior. As the Pioneer Press reports, Unger, of Bayfield, Wisc., began taking his then 19-year-old pet into the water to help soothe the dog’s joint pain from arthritis. The buoyancy of the water, he found, helped lull Schoep to sleep. Unger’s friend Hudson, who wanted to capture the pair’s relationship, snapped the now-famous photo one evening and posted it on Facebook. The touching image soon swept across the web, turning Schoep into a canine celebrity. The original photo has been shared more than 214,000 times over the past year and helped raise funds for the elderly dog’s care. Animal lovers from across the globe donated more than $25,000 to cover veterinary bills, laser eye treatments and medications not just for Schoep, but for other aging dogs from low-income families in need of special care as well.

 

How about this crazy story;

Jury awards $37.5M to family of Florida smoker

Updated: Aug 02, 2013 6:36 AM EDT

FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA -

R.J. Reynolds says it will appeal a Florida jury's decision to award $37.5 million in damages to the family of a smoker who died of lung cancer in 1995. 

Laura Grossman of South Florida died at age 38. 

Attorneys for the Grossman family argued that as a teenager, Grossman was targeted by tobacco companies. 

R.J. Reynolds' lawyers said Grossman knew the dangers of smoking because cigarettes had warning labels when she started. 

The case is one of thousands filed in Florida after the state Supreme Court in 2006 tossed out a $145 billion class action verdict. That ruling also said smokers and their families needed only prove addiction and that smoking caused their illnesses or deaths.

Wow! This is a nightmare! You know it's not going to go anywhere but no wonder our legal system is so clogged up.
 

This next blurb falls into the "whaaat!" category. This guy is writing a series of articles for the local paper called, 25 Things I Love About _______" , and he's picking different communities/towns/cities to write about. This was the beginning of one of the essays;

Opinion editor Tim Swarens, in the fourth entry in our series of photo essays about things we cherish in Central Indiana, celebrates the diversity, community spirit and, of course, the food that make Lafayette Square one of the most entertaining and enlightening neighborhoods in Indy. Yes, the area has far too much concrete, too much crime and too many empty strip malls. But business owners and residents are working hard to change that.
In the meantime, an afternoon in Lafayette Square offers the fun and adventure that come with exploring other cultures.
Swarens, a Far Westside resident for the past 16 years, shares 25 things he loves about Lafayette Square.

Note the highlighted line. Yeah, I want to spend the day there!! Right.

 

Also locally, this drives me NUTS!

…first of all, isn’t it interesting that it’s name changed to “summer celebration” from "Black Expo"?  Also, (you know I’m not that observant) I just noticed for the first time this year that the outline of the state of Indiana has an outline of Africa in it. NONE of the people that went to the “summer celebration” are from Africa. Good grief!

And last but not least, as if I wasn't already feeling older...here are some highlights from the annual Beloit College Mindset;

When the Class of 2017 arrives on campus this fall, these digital natives will already be well-connected to each other. They are more likely to have borrowed money for college than their Boomer parents were, and while their parents foresee four years of school, the students are pretty sure it will be longer than that.  Members of this year’s first year class, most of them born in 1995, will search for the academic majors reported to lead to good-paying jobs, and most of them will take a few courses taught at a distant university by a professor they will never meet.

1.   As they started to crawl, so did the news across the bottom of the television screen

2.   Having a chat has seldom involved talking

3.   Gaga has never been baby talk

4.   They could always get rid of their outdated toys on eBay

5.   They have known only two presidents

6.   Rites of passage have more to do with having their own cell phone and Skype accounts than with getting a driver’s license and car

7.   A tablet is no longer something you take in the morning

8.   The Pentagon and Congress have always been shocked, absolutely shocked, by reports of sexual harassment and assault in the military

9.   Thanks to Megan's Law and Amber Alerts, parents have always had community support in keeping children safe

10. With GPS, they have never needed directions to get someplace, just an address

11. Olympic fever has always erupted every two years

12. The U.S. has always imposed economic sanctions against Iran

13. They have never attended a concert in a smoke-filled arena

14. As they slept safely in their cribs, the Oklahoma City bomber and the Unabomber were doing their deadly work

15. Their favorite feature films have always been largely, if not totally, computer generated

16. A Wiki has always been a cooperative web application rather than a shuttle bus in Hawaii

17. They have always been able to plug into USB ports

18. Washington, D.C., tour buses have never been able to drive in front of the White House

19. Their parents’ car CD player is soooooo ancient and embarrassing

20. There has never been a national maximum speed on U.S. highways

Thank heavens that's over!

I didn’t realize I was so sick of motorcycle racing until yesterday. The flat track racing Saturday night was just OK. I thought it would be more exciting. Plus, I didn’t realize that there were so many classes and ‘heats’. It started at 7:00 and wasn’t over until 10:30. I was done by 8:00. I wouldn’t go again. Just sayin’

Yesterday we spent the day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. There were FIVE races; Moto 3, Moto 2, the big race-MotoGP, a vintage Harley race and eRoadracing-which was electric motorcycle racing. This was my 6th year. The first year was fun because, I’m all about the event! It was the inaugural race and I hadn’t ever been to anything like it. Loved it! I wish I could say that that first time made me a fan. Alas…6 years later and I’m still not a fan. I might even go so far as to say I loathe it! That sounds bad doesn’t it? You know, the 2nd and 3rd I went because Bill loves it so much and I wanted to play along. The 4th year I said, ‘honey, why don’t you get one of the guys to go w/you! I bet you would have a lot more fun if you went with another gear head!’ He said, nah, I would rather spend the day with you.’ Isn’t that sweet? I thought so too…so I went…again. Last year, I tried again but I was a little more blunt. ‘Honey, you need to get one of the guys to go with you. I’m really not that interested in going.’ He said nah, I don’t have to go. Then I felt guilty. So I went. Again. This year was probably going to be the last year for that kind of racing at IMS. Plus, I thought it would be great for him to do something fun since his Dad just passed away. But by the time we got there, I just wanted to stick forks in my eyeballs!! I am SO NOT diggin’ it! Seriously. The ONLY thing that saved the day for me was the fact that one of Bill’s subcontractors was nice enough to give him tickets to their suite. Sweet! Yep, air conditioning, free drinks, free food, sunscreen in case you want to sit outside and watch the race, programs, pretty flowers on the tables. It was awesome! The perfect way to end 6 years of motorcycle madness!

Then…they announced they were coming back next year and were working on a long term deal. Oy. I want to say here that I really do love my husband. But this was MY last year at the races. I don’t care what sweet thing he says or does, I will NEVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, go again. PERIOD. Nope, not gonna, can’t make me. EVER.

And that’s all I have to say about that.

Get your motor runnin' head out on the highway,

...born to beeeeee wiiiilllld.

It's all about tow wheelers this weekend. Oh goodie :-)
First up, flat track racing at the State Fair. I've never been to that kind of racing so I'm looking forward to it. Plus, we'll get to do all the fun Fair stuff before the race. Mmmmmmm elephant ears! From there, it's downtown Indy for Motorcycles on Meridian. It's all part of the big Moto GP weekend. Hey, it might be fun!

Then on Sunday we're off to the races. Motorcycle racing all day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. What could be better!? About a hundred other things, that's what. I enjoyed it the first couple of years but after that I could care less. Last year I told Bill he should get one of the guys to go with him. Honey! You could have more fun if you went with another gear head! But nooooooo. He would rather spend the day with me. On one hand, that's so sweet! But on the other, seriously dude, NOT my cup o tea. Every year I feel so conflicted. I want to go and be happy for my sweetie pie, but I really want to stay home. Ugh.

Well, the upside is that we're having a truly beautiful summer this year - not like last year's drought and 100 degrees heat. And I'll have some left over elephant ear happiness going on so that will help too!

Hmmm

It turns out that even the death of a crappy parent is cause for mourning. Not for everyone of course. But for Bill, who always said he wouldn't be affected by the death of his father, seems to be having some mixed emotions now. We had a nice talk the other night and he said he's feeling a little depressed and "I don't know why". He really wasn't able to verbalize it but I told him I thought it was normal to feel that way, it was his Dad after all. I think he was a little surprised that he was sad.

Oh, and that promptly gave way to the anger part of grief. That's more like what I expected.
He's angry because his Dad didn't 'leave' him or his siblings anything. I don't know what that's all about. I mean, his Dad didn't have a will because he didn't have anything to leave anybody. That doesn't seem weird to me at all. He was also ticked off because his Dad chose to take full benefits from his pension instead of the survivor option. Basically that means that when he started collecting his pension, he chose to take the full amount until he died vs a smaller amount so that when he died his survivors would get something. Again, that doesn't seem crazy to me. There are 5 kids for heaven's sake. They wouldn't have gotten much. When Mom retired, I told her to take the whole thing - she worked hard and scrimped and saved her whole life so she could retire and be comfortable - I don't want any of that!! Geesh.

I think he just still has a lot of bad/ugly feelings about his Dad and now that his Dad is gone, he doesn't have anywhere to pin them. I suspect that little by little though, he'll have to let go of them. Grief is different for everybody.

New stuff!

still surprising...

I know that for most people, it’s hard to imagine not wanting your own children. I happen to be one of those folks – that never wanted my own children. I never felt that need to have a little mini me. I never thought about leaving something behind to ‘carry on’. I never wondered about my purpose in God’s plan if I didn’t create another life. On a rare occasion I wonder what my senior years will be like, with no children to care about me…but in the time it took me to type that, it’s already left my head.

Don’t get me wrong though, I don’t dislike children. As a matter of fact, I get along great with tiny people. And there just isn’t anything in the whole world that’s more perfect or pure than when a baby smiles at you. Every trouble or stress you have will simply melt away when a baby smiles at you. For that one simple moment all there is, is joy. But then they cry and poop and fuss and drool. Yeah, I can skip that thank you. When they feed and dress themselves, that’s when I want them  I love the look of wonder on their faces when they catch something brand new in their brains. It’s all good until puberty. Then, WHAM! Besides the whole being pregnant thing and the poop and drool, teenagers really turned me off. Parenting is a thankless job. When it gets to you, just remember those simple moments of perfection and joy when your baby smiled at you 

Bill said that at his Dad’s funeral, all the grand kids got up and sang a song. He didn’t know the song so don’t ask me. All the grand kids in attendance were little girls. See, my sister-in-law had 5 boys. All 5 boys have nothing but girls. Funny huh? I think there’s probably close to a dozen of them. Anyway, Bill said it was the most precious thing he’d ever seen and all those little girls “are so frickin’ cute!” Yes, BILL said that. Several times! Even after almost 25 years, he still surprises me sometimes.

New stuff!

This was a birthday gift for my office mate. I was just going to do the letter 'C' but chose her monogram instead. This is the first time that I used a background. And isn't it perfect?! Look at those cute little swirls! Just like quilling :-) I used an exacto knife to cut out the letters so the actual background of the letters would still be white.

Humph

Everything is bugging this morning. I think it started with the dogs. Whenever Bill is away, they are very restless. And they have to make up their own timing in the morning. You know, if Bill isn’t there in the morning to get up and feed them, what are they gonna do?? Right, wake ME up. But they can’t tell time so they have to rely on their instincts – which happen to be off by about 40 minutes. Grrrrr

Then there was/is a GIANT mosquito in the house…waiting, just waiting, to suck me dry. Damnit! I tried several times to kill it but I missed. It’s probably feasting on the dogs right now. I HATE mosquitoes! What is their purpose?? I’m putting that on my top 10 ten list of things to ask God when I get there. Right along with, what’s the deal with teeth? A total design flaw if you ask me. Why couldn't they just be an extension of your jaw? Why do they have to be alive? Oh…I digress…

And to top it all off. I’m feeling very restricted today. Not by my surroundings or anything…by my CLOTHES!! That doesn’t happen very often, but today I would like to be sitting around naked. I feel every inch of clothing on me today. I hate my bra, I hate my shoes, I hate my jewelry. I hate the cami I’m wearing under my blouse. Is that weird?

Good one!

This is from a local publication by a fellow named Tim Campbell. It's one of the BEST cartoons I've EVER seen! Too bad it wasn't national;

Death on Mars and Venus

Not literally of course. I was just thinking about Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus. I dragged took my husband to see the author of that book, speak. He liked it a lot more than he thought he would. Mostly because the author doesn't bash men OR women. He just talks about how we’re different. It was pretty interesting.

Anyway, us Venus folks, base almost everything on emotion. Oh, we can be practical but I don’t believe it’s in our true nature. Most of us are kind of whimsical in some way or another. You Martians on the other hand, don’t really pay attention to the feely things. When you speak of a car, it’s all about performance and its workings. We women want to know the color, what accessories it comes with, is it pretty.
When a man says he doesn't really care about his birthday – he actually means it. Women care. Oh yeah, we totally care! And we care that you DON’T. Funny.

That’s just the way it is, different. Not good, not bad, just different.

Most of the time I can tell when Bill is pissed off. I can’t tell when he’s bummed though. Unless it comes across as being pissed off. Being blue or sad is a feely thing, so he’s not very good with that. I bring this up because, Bill’s Dad passed away (at 88, in his sleep) Monday morning. He went out to California to see his Dad over Fathers Day weekend because his sister told him it was going to be his last one. He really dragged his feet about going. He would have never bought his father a “greatest Dad” t-shirt, if you catch my drift. When he came home and I asked him how he felt about seeing his Dad so frail and knowing he might die this year, he said, “I’m broken hearted that I won’t be broken hearted.” Me, being one of those feely types, figured that he can SAY that but when it actually happens it will be different. Turns out – I was wrong. He really isn’t broken hearted. He’s going to go back out to SoCal for the funeral though. To be there for his siblings. Which is kind of a feely thing isn’t it! I suspect there will be sad pissed off moments in the future though. He won’t be able to call him on the holidays etc. I’ll be sad for him.