Spring has sprung!

...well, mostly. Todays high is 74. Fridays high is 48. Yep, Spring in the Midwest is a wonder!

Look at all the pretty things I found in the yard the last few days;

Here are the purple Hyacinth - the white ones are little slower to pop up for some reason.

 and look at these cute little wild flowers growing by the mailbox

And then there are these little pitiful things around the corner;

But at least it's color!

sports mentality

Today I want to rant about this country's sports mentality. Or, I guess it's the world's sports mentality. Why do we put athletes so high up on a pedestal? I know there have been articles written about this. Many of them probably. But it doesn't ever change, does it? It's almost crazy that we think it's OK for them to earn 10, 20 MILLION dollars a YEAR! It IS crazy to put sports above, oh let's say, compassion, dignity, kindness, common sense, or even the law. What is it about sports that makes people practically worship their favorite teams athletes?? I know I'm not a joiner and I've never been part of a team so to speak, but outside of the arena/field/court that the game is played on, what makes them so much better than you that you can overlook their bad behavior?

These are the two examples that really stood out for me;
A few weeks ago, two high school football players in Steubenville Ohio, were tried and convicted of raping a drunk, passed out, 16 year old girl. The kicker is, one, NO ONE came to her aid, two, that arrests were only made after pictures and video were seen on FB for Gods sake (which is a whole other topic),  and three, the town was very divided about what they thought should happen to those 2 boys. A lot of the town thought "what should a girl think is going to happen to her if she gets drunk with a bunch of boys" or that the boys should get their hands slapped and maybe be suspended from a few games. All because they were part of the football team - a high school football team. Which means of course that that mentality starts early.

The next example comes from today's headline. Mice Rice, a Rutgers College basketball coach was fired today. He was fired for being an asshole and a mean person who has some issues. Actually, he was fired for abusing, verbally and physically, the guys on team.There's a video of him throwing the ball at players and shoving and pushing and yelling obscenities at them. Here's the kicker for me on this story...this video was presented to the college president and other college officials, last OCTOBER. They reviewed it and decided in December, that they would suspend him for 3 games, fine him $50K and send him to anger management classes. Seriously? They should have fired him right then and there. But nooooooo - it's college hoops. Big business right? So now they've fired him because the video went viral and the public is all pissed off. I was left wondering though - while all of that was going on, didn't anyone else report it? Why did the players take that kind of abuse? Why didn't any of the other players complain. Why didn't any of the PARENTS complain? As a pseudo Mom, if I ever saw my son treated that way by a coach, I would have been difficult to restrain. Especially verbally!

Priorities have certainly shifted.

April Fools!

Oh wait...I missed it didn't I. Nobody pranked me and I didn't think to prank anybody either. Uh oh...I have a feeling that that means I'm getting old? pishaw!

And what's up with Easter being over by April 1st? What is there to do now?

The North American Quilling Guilds annual convention is in my neck of the woods this year. Only about 3 hours aways. I'm still trying to decide if I want to go. You know I LOVE quilling, but I'm not really a joiner. Oh, I belong to the Guild but I just can't see myself hanging out with a bunch of people I don't know talking about things I can learn how to do on the net. Well, I still have a couple weeks to decide. Hmmmmm.

Spring has finally arrived! It's going to be in the 60's by the weekend. Woohoo! Oh, sunshiney too! Finally, a break from the gloom and gray. Ahhhhhhh. The Crocus in our neighbors yard has started blooming too so there's hope yet for our flowers. I love seeing everyone outside trying to spruce up their yards and fill in all the holes the squirrels made over the winter. Little varmints.

Oh right, and if you haven't gotten your taxes done yet...tic toc tic toc people.

And Earth Day is the 22nd. I saw this picture on FB somewhere...I liked it;

Hey! I could start on my EARTH quilling project! Now we're talking!

Ahhhh

I'm really looking forward to the 3 day weekend. Tomorrow is holiday for State employees. Why? Because it's Good Friday. I know I say this every year but...where's the separation? I'm not complaining though.

Let's see, how will I spend my day off? Hmmm. Well, I probably watch something my husband wouldn't care to. I was thinking about paying Stein Mart a visit. And I'm hoping to finish up quilled birthday gift for my boss. She's a Cubs fan so I'm doing their logo for her. And Sunday is Easter. In our house that means enchiladas for dinner. Mmmmmm. Oh, and it's supposed to be in the 50's this weekend! Yesssss!

It's going to be a lovely 3 days off!

More quilling stuff :-)

I forgot to show you my new Easter decorations!

right now they are on desk at work. I want people to see them. It's working. I've already gotten another customer! But we're going to barter. He's a wood worker so I'm going to do his Alma Mata and he's going to make me something - he's going to show me pics of what he does and I can choose. Far out!

Next is the latest paying customers job;

It's a gift for a butterfly, purple loving woman who is retiring.

And this is unrelated but I took this picture of my daffodils this morning;

Think they'll make it?!

Happy Spring!

I was going to whine about this;

I was REALLY unhappy about it Friday. Saturday was such a beautiful day too. 50 degrees, sunny. It was great. Sunday sucked. Snowy gloomy. Boooooo! Then I remembered, there were a few times when we went to spring break in Florida and came home to snow on the ground. Granted, not 6+ inches, but still.
I'm a lover of seasons and I want winter to end now. I'm ready to move on. And not because it was a particularly brutal winter either. It was just so gloomy this winter. Not a lot of sunny days. It makes you frown after a while.

Anyway, we ended up with just shy of 7 inches in our burb;

I think it was more than the non blizzard we got in December. Also, it was a record for yesterday.

They did a great job with the roads though and because of all the school closings, traffic this morning was awesome;

Can you believe it's almost the end of March?

In the news....

Snail's teeth could help develop future battery tech--no, really
I didn't even know snails HAD teeth!


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Why You Shouldn't Give Retailers Your ZIP Code

"May I have your ZIP code, please?" You may think it's necessary to complete the transaction or it may seem like a harmless piece of information to give out, so you go ahead and reveal it. But that simple decision can result in more junk mail heading your way and more telemarketers disrupting your day, said Paul Stephens, director of policy and advocacy for Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, a nonprofit watchdog group based in San Diego, Calif.
Great, more retail sneakiness!

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25,000 U.S. Deaths Linked to Sugary Drinks

Using data from national health surveys around the world, the team tied sugar-sweetened beverages to 133,000 deaths from diabetes, 44,000 deaths from cardiovascular diseases and 6,000 deaths from cancer in 2010.
Even though this article says these people died of chronic diseases, they drank soda so that MUST be the culprit. Seriously? I'm fat but I don't drink soda so I think their study is poppycock!

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Smile! Today's the International Day of Happiness
HOORAY FOR HAPPINESS!

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Congress hears need for asteroid protection
My tax dollars at work

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London museum cancels heavy metal gig, fearing noise damage
Ummm - duh!

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Swiss police arrest "healer" accused of infecting 16 with HIV

ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss police have arrested a self-styled healer after he stopped attending a trial where he stands accused of infecting 16 people with HIV using acupuncture needles.
I guess this one caught my eye because it said he was arrested after he stopped attending his trial? Huh?!

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Natalia Paris: Eating chicken makes children gay


• msnNOW: The Colombian model believes eating the poultry will increase feminine hormones in children, making them homosexual.
I'm not even going to comment on this one.

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Giant Snails Are Taking Over the World

Known as giant east African snails, the invasive species has recently been discovered infiltrating Florida, nations in both Central and South America, and, most recently, Australia. The specimens are rather terrifying, seeing as how they can grow up to a foot long, weigh in at over two pounds, are capable of eating over 500 different species, can lay 1,200 eggs a year, and have few natural enemies in their new habitats. Oh, and they can also transmit life-threatening meningitis to humans. I have to admit that I too would be a little freaked out if I saw a snail this big in my garden.

And today is the FIRST DAY OF SPRING! Last year on this day it was 83 out. The average is 53. What is it today your wondering? 29. Let me say it again...today is the FIRST DAY OF SPRING! Harumph. But...the sun is shinning and the skies are blue so every little thing's gonna be alright.

budding artist

Mom might be the family's new budding artist!

Saturday night was our latest aventure in painting and for a self proclaimed non artist, she does pretty good!

Take a look;

I thought it was a hard one for non painters. It was hard for me! I've never painted water before.
It's always a fun night though and we'll probably do it AGAIN!
Here is mine;

She did it again...

Maybe it's a sign!

Then I guess she was so worn out she needed BOTH beds

Tomorrow night is another round of Wine and Canvas. We'll be painting Niagara Falls...drinking wine...snacking! Good stuff man.

                   

                                 



SO funny!

Friday, the end of a long week for the political minded, it seemed like a good idea to bust out a bag of the once a year candy...

right after we did, someone walked in and said, "it smells like candy in here" to which my co-worker replied, without skipping a beat, "I farted"

I laughed SO hard. It was a good way to end the week.

By the way, if you've never had these...hurry! go get some!!

Passion

I know I’ve said before that creativity really turns me on. But so does a passion for what you do. Some talented people don’t really have a passion for what they do, they just do it because they can. They do it for the money. You know who they are right away. And while you can appreciate what they do or what they create, it doesn’t make you happy. I had an extremely good orthopedic surgeon fix up my ankle. He did a GREAT job! But whenever I had to go in and see him, I could tell that he didn’t really give a shit. I met an athlete once who could have been truly great, if he had loved what he was doing. But you could tell it was the paycheck that motivated him, not the sport. I’ve been to concerts where the singer/musicians were just going through the sets and when I left I thought, what a waste of time-I could’ve listened to the CD.

I’ve seen painted art that was so remarkable, it made me cry. I’ve heard music so beautiful and powerful, that it made me cry. Honestly, for me to feel something about a creation, you have to be able to see/hear/feel the passion that person had when creating it. It doesn’t have to be a passion for the arts. It can be a passion for cooking or a passion for sewing or even a passion for dog grooming! Even some doctors have a passion for helping people. Some teachers have a passion for filling up a child’s mind with endless possibilities.

Kevin Costner isn’t really a super talented actor. I like him though because he has a passion for the craft of acting and movie making. I saw him on a show with a bunch of film students and he was so engaged with them. He answered every question, asked them questions in return and never once talked about himself. Yanni isn’t the greatest musician out there but I love him because he has a true passion for music. You can hear his joy and happiness in his music. Magic Johnson was arguably one of the greatest NBA player of all time. I don’t think he had a natural talent though. But he had a very real passion for basketball. You could see it. You could feel it when he was on the court.

I want to be moved by passion!

the last hoorah...hopefully

You know I love all 4 seasons. No, I really mean that! But now, I'm ready for some green. Hopefully this past week was the last snow. Spring starts in a couple weeks and P. Phil said we were getting an early Spring this year.

Anyway, it was a beautiful snowy morning yesterday;

Greta...

I don't want to give you the impression that Greta is perfect...she can be a goober dog too;

pretty Princess poopy Pepper the perpetual puppy

Pepper is such an odd little dog. Not in a bad way. She has a lot of enthusiasm for one...about everything! But she just has an odd personality. She's kind of timid yet very courageous. Whenever Greta and I are playing, Pepper always swoops in and tries to steal the toy. Usually Greta lets her have it. Sometimes though, Greta will fight for it. Greta will lay anywhere. Pepper will only lay in her bed or on a pillow on the couch. I think Pepper is smarter than Greta but Greta is more lovey than Pepper. Actually, they're like kids!

Anyway, we have a toy basket that we keep all the dog toys in. Yes, we DO have that many toys! Every couple days I go around and gather up all the toys and drop them in the basket.

Now, this has happened a couple other times and I chalked it up to coincidence. But now, the third time, I think it's really weird...Pepper is arranging the toys on the floor. In a line to be exact. Sometimes they're spaced out evenly too! Last night I got a picture;

Isn't that crazy?! The big dog and the pink bone were there when I got home yesterday. She added the slipper and the other 2 toys last night. What a funny girl.

WOOHOO!!!!

Today, my Mom has been CANCER FREE for FIVE YEARS!!!!!

Love you Mom!!
xoxoxoxoxoxoxox