clothes make the man

How many times have you heard that? How many times have you heard that you have to dress for success and first impressions are everything. Blah, blah, blah.

Who decided how we should dress? When did someone decide what clothing would be acceptable for what situation? Why do business men wear suits? Why do business women wear suits? What is your company's idea of business casual? Why the hell are clothes so important? Not that I want to walk around naked, but why are PJs so comfortable and why can't we wear clothes like that every day?
When did humans become such slaves to the fashion industry??

Oh sure, I understand the need to be covered up sometimes but why on earth did pioneer women wear so much when it was so stinkin' hot out?! Who made her do that??

And I want to know, who thought this was a good idea?

Somebody actually convinced a king that this is what he should wear. Oh brother.

I just want to wear leggins and t-shirts and tennies or slippers. What's wrong with that?

The year was 1989

That's when my fella and I got married!

10,228 days ago, or 336 months.
100,347,743 + people have been born in the U.S. since then.
There have been 192  hurricanes! 2 named after my husband and 3 named after me :-)
In 28 years, there have been 11 blue moons and 7 leap years.
The week we got married, Wind Beneath My Wings, was the number one song and the average price of a home was $125,000.
There were no cell phones, no computers, no Google!, no Crocs and no bottled water. The Czech Republic, Palau and Slovakia didn't exist.
PC Magazine, Playgirl and Encyclopedia Britannica,  are no longer published. Times sure have changed. My doesn't it go by in a flash!

Live longer

It seems like 2 or 3 times a week I see some kind of headline about someone's opinion or study, on how to live a longer life. 

I saw this one, this morning;
50 Habits That Help You Live Longer-according to science
Here are some of them;
* jog or walk
* eat more plant protein
* get more sun (but not too much!)
* drink coffee
* eat nuts
* don't smoke
* drink alcohol in moderation
* stress less
* pump iron
* eat more fruits and veggies
* stay hydrated
* get quality sleep
* eat more fish
* don't sit all day
* keep your brain active
* think positive - find purpose - maintain friendships - own a pet - laugh - sing...

You get the idea. Is any of this new? Other than the emotional aspects, does most of this seem like common sense? Yeah, that's what I thought too. 

How long do you want to live? Forever? Till you're 100? Older than that? Until a specific event? Have you even thought about it? I forget how old I am all the time, so I guess I don't think too much about it. 

Good news in the news

Can you believe it! You have to look for it but there are good stories in the news...

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. — Volunteers have helped a disoriented 400-pound sea turtle make its way back to the ocean off the South Carolina coast.

Hilton Head Island Sea Turtle Protection Project volunteers on Tuesday followed a set of tracks from the surf nearly a mile.

Volunteer Leigh West told The Island Packet, the turtle was tired from all the walking and was missing a left flipper, which made it hard to move. Two lifeguards joined the volunteers as they carried and pushed the turtle back to sea.

This is an awesome story about books!
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/good-news/colombian-garbage-man-builds-library-from-discarded-books/ar-BBC997b

And really, who doesn't love a story about selflessness!

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/good-news/man-jumps-into-moving-car-to-save-driver-having-a-seizure/ar-BBC2G7G

I hope these dudes found just the old guy to fulfill their needs!

http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/hilarious-craigslist-ad-seeks-generic-father-figure-backyard-bbq

not to rush things,

but I can't WAIT to be retired so I don't have to commute anymore. 
To be fair though, a different commute and final destination, might make a difference. 

I work smack in the middle of downtown, in the big city. While I like being downtown and taking advantage of all that it offers, driving around downtown SUCKS!! The traffic SUCKS. The people SUCK. The drivers SUCK!! It's aggravating and stressful. And occasionally, I'm in a down right crappy mood when I get home. I try not to be but you just can't help it sometimes.

*I just want to tell people, the average traffic signal lasts 60 seconds. 60 seconds people. 
*A yellow light means, stop if it safe to do so - not fly through it while it's turning red, endangering peoples lives! 
*Also, don't be a bully. 
*And stop breaking the law and inconveniencing 100 other drivers just because YOU screwed up and got in the wrong lane! 
Don't people teach their kids to be courteous anymore? I am so irritable this morning and it's all because of my commute. Phooey.

Random crap

Nationwide, there are about 1.3 bars for every 10,000 people.

In 15 of the 20 heaviest drinking cities, the concentration of bars is at least double that!

The top 5 drunkest cities in America are;

1. Green Bay, Wisconsin

2. Eau Claire, Wisconsin

3. Appleton, Wisconsin

4. Madison, Wisconsin

5. Fargo, North Dakota

Yeah, you should probably stay away from those places!

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Are you a sock, sock, shoe, shoe person or a sock, shoe, sock, shoe person? Does that say something about you, if you're one or the other? I'm a sock, shoe, sock, shoe person.

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I LOVE this line from one of Kieth Urban's songs;

"If I were a painter I wouldn't change you, I would just paint you brighter."

That's so great!

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-The nutrients in eggs, vitamin E and omega 3s are better for your eyes than carrots.

-Walking barefoot reduces the load on your knee joints by 12 percent, compared with      walking in comfy shoes.

-Dancing reduces the risk of dementia!

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The most visible color in the world?

Yay!!

http://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/whats-hot/this-is-the-most-visible-color-in-the-world/ar-BBAZYLg?li=BBnb7Kz

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The LGBT(Q) community ruined the rainbow for everyone. Grrrrr.

Memorial Day

In my home state this weekend, it's all about the Indy 500. 
We're more than just race cars though.

Indy's Monuments & Memorials

Indianapolis devotes more acreage than any other U.S. city to honoring our nation’s fallen, and is second only to Washington, DC, in the number of war memorials. This guide showcases the patriotic spirit of Indy and the monuments and memorials that every visitor should experience.

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Soldiers and Sailors Monument and Memorial

The Soldiers and Sailors Monument is the physical and spiritual heart of Indianapolis. The circle was originally intended to house the governor's mansion, but no governor wanted to live in such a public location. Instead, it was decided after the civil war to erect a monument to those who fought. An international competition resulted in the selection of German architect Bruno Schmitz in 1887. The monument was completed in 1901 and measures 284 feet tall. The basement contains a Civil War Museum and the top is crowned with a statue of Victory. You can visit an observatory via stairs or (for $1) an elevator.

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Indiana World War Memorial & Museum

This memorial honors the Indiana men killed in World War I. The Military Museum inside also lists all of the Hoosiers killed or missing in action through the Vietnam War. The memorial building is set far above street level, and ascends almost 210 feet. On the south side of the building sits the largest bronze casting sculpture ever made in America, "Pro Patria." Inside the building you'll encounter an art deco lobby, a theatre used for public gatherings, and the awe-inspiring Shrine Room on the top level.

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University Park

The land occupied by University Park was initially designated for a state university, but the idea never came to fruition. Following the Civil War funds were raised to transform the land into a park. At the center of the park is the Depew Fountain, a five-level fountain built in 1919. You’ll also find sculptures of President Benjamin Harrison, Abraham Lincoln, Schuyler Colfax, and Ulysses S. Grant. Syrinx the wood nymph and Pan the satyr also call the park home.

American Legion Mall

The American Legion Mall stretches between two city blocks, from St. Clair Street on the north to North Street on the south. The mall is flanked by the American Legion National headquarters and the headquarters for the American Legion’s Dept. of Indiana. In 1931, the Sunken Garden/Cenotaph Square was built to pay tribute to Hoosiers who have died in war. It also remembers the nation’s first casualty of World War I, James Bethal Gresham of Evansville, IN. The tomb for James Bethal Gresham is surrounded by four art-deco pillars topped with gold eagles.

Veteran's Memorial Plaza

Centrally located in the seven-block war memorial district, Veteran's Memorial Plaza honors all Indiana veterans. The centerpiece is an Obelisk that reaches 100 feet. It was constructed out of black Berwick granite in 1930. At the base of the Obelisk are bronze tablets that share the four essential elements of the nation’s hopes; law, science, religion and education. A 100-foot diameter fountain made from pink Georgia marble and terrazzo surrounds the Obelisk. The plaza accommodates large gatherings and serves as a dedicated space for the 50 state flags.

Vietnam and Korean War Memorials

A feature of the American Legion Mall, the half-cylinder Korean and Vietnam memorials were dedicated in 1996. You may notice that the Vietnam piece is a little bit larger than the Korean. This is to show the relationship between the number of people killed or missing in action in the two wars. 1,525 men and women were killed in Vietnam and 927 were killed during the Korean War. The names of each person have been inscribed on the concave side of each sculpture. The convex side contains excerpts from letters home from troops deployed to the battlefield, and some narrative about the war.

World War II Memorial

Designed with the intent to be similar to the Vietnam and Korean War Memorials, this monument is on the east side of the American Legion Mall. It is just shy of 20’ wide, much larger than the other two, reflecting the size and scale of World War II, and is truly a half-circle. This memorial displays messages on the concave and convex sides of this half-circle. The concave side displays letters from Indiana World War II veterans, and the operations completed during the war. The convex side of the memorial exhibits a history of the war, and acknowledges the Hoosier Medal of Honor recipients and notable Hoosier units.

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USS Indianapolis Memorial

Installed on the east bank of the Central Canal in 1995, the USS Indianapolis Memorial was designed by Joseph Fischer to recognize those who died on the last U.S. ship to sink in World War II. Created in the shape of the cruiser itself, the gray and black granite memorial has the story of the sinking etched on one side and, on the other, the names of all of those who served. Of the approximately 1,200 sailors that were on board, only 317 survived.

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9/11 Memorial

Established in 2010 to honor those killed in 9/11 attack, the memorial consists of two 11,000-pound beams from the Twin Towers. Behind the beams stand a pair of six-foot tall black granite walls inscribed with remembrances of the events in New York City; Washington, D.C.; and Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Perched atop one of the beams is a bronze, life-size sculpture of an American Bald Eagle, with wings outstretched and gazing east toward New York City.

Big government

Did you know, 3 out 20 jobs in the U.S. are some kind of government job?! That's crazy.

Indiana ranks 42nd, with 13.9% of all jobs, in government.

California ranks 33rd! 15.3% of all the employed folks, work for the government. I would've guessed it was a lot higher.

Arkansas ranks 19th. That's, 19th highest percentage of government employed people. It's 17.3%
That surprised me as well. You know, cuz what's in Arkansas!?

Oh, and Montana! Montana ranks 7th! I don't think there are enough people or jobs in Montana to have a government that big. 19.5%!

And the number one state with the highest percentage of government employees? Go ahead, take a wild guess. 

Whatever you guessed, I guarantee it's wrong. Guess again...

This state's government employees equal 25.4% of the entire workforce in the state. One out of every 4 people, work for the government. One fourth of the states population - which is only 580,000. Really. I guess that means that they've got nothing else going on in their state.

Ok, give up? It's Wyoming. Go figure.

Individualism

I love unique, and quirky, and different, and original...

But I don't like those things or people who force that on you. You know what I mean, those people who might as well be wearing a sign that says, "everybody look at me!" That's just being an attention whore. Irritating.

So, I'm not sure how I feel about these next people...On one hand, I can appreciate that perhaps this is their dream home and that they always wanted to live in this particular neighborhood. But on the other hand, why the hell would you build a house like this in the middle of this particular neighborhood???

Here's the house

It's an ugly house to begin with, but that's just my opinion.

Here's a sampling of the rest of the neighborhood;

My first inclination is that they want to be different and they don't care what people think - which isn't the same as just being different. What do you think?

Are you an innie or an outie

I am an introvert. My brother is an extrovert. Most of my friends have been extroverts.

If you're an introvert, people exhaust you. If you're an extrovert, people stimulate you. Picture yourself as a bucket of energy. If you're an innie, every time you have to interact with a person in a non essential way, it empties a little energy out of your bucket. If you're an outie and you have to interact with any person, for any reason, your bucket fills up a little!

I wish they talked more about that when I was young. I think it would have helped me out a lot! Most people, before they got to know me, thought I was stuck-up because I didn't talk to them. If I had known I was an introvert, I think I could've adjusted better.

Yesterday, the board meeting I had to set up took place. 35 board members and another 40+ in the gallery. I'm responsible for signing them all in, which means I have to speak to all of them. I'm also responsible for taking the minutes, ordering lunch, passing out printed materials, etc. From start to finish, it's about 4 hours for me. By the time I get home, I'm exhausted and have used up all my words. Whew. 

I'm pretty sure that I could be completely alone for days and days before I felt like I needed some kind of social interaction. My brother? Well, he could be completely alone for a day, maybe.

I wonder why we're different, innies and outies. I wonder if parents pay more attention to that these days. You know, if you knew your kid was an introvert, you could help them find their way a little better. Extroverts probably don't need help, except for learning how to turn it down a notch. :-) 

So interesting.

Dining out

For quite awhile now, my mom, my fella and I have been dining out every other Friday. Mom said we should try all the places there are to eat, in and around our hometown. So, we take turns picking where we're going to go. We've covered a lot of restaurants in the last couple years. Some of them we would definitely go back to. Others...YUCK! For instance, Indian food is the worst. Seriously!!! And it's not because it's spicy, but the texture and the seasoning is just gross! That's our yuck standard now. Since then, nothing has been as bad as that. We also tried Thai food. It didn't suck. I might even go back there and try something else besides Pad Thai. It was my pick last time and I chose a Jamaican place. I had curry goat. First, I wouldn't eat Jamaican food again. Mom had jerk pork and said it wasn't bad. My guy's favorite thing was the jerk sauce. Second, the goat was actually pretty good. Super tender. But the spiciness ruined it for me. I'm not a fan of spicy food and this was pretty hot, to me. 

And speaking of my guy, it's his turn next. I'm pretty sure he's going for Mudbugs Cafe - the local Cajun place. I wish he would pick some place normal this time and save Mudbugs for next time. I'm tired of not so great stuff.

I'm not a picky eater either. I'm willing to try almost anything. I liked Kizuki Ramen and Koto Japanese Steakhouse. I like all the Mexican joints and all the Italian joints. I don't think we have a dedicated German place though. I'll have to look. And I like Greek food but my fella says, ewwwww. There are quite a few places we won't try though. Not because they don't sound good but who wants to spend a $100 on dinner? Not me for sure! (anniversary excluded)

It's a lovely little tradition though and we're all enjoying it. 

sneaky, tsk, tsk

I went shopping a few weeks ago for some super cute little baby girl clothes! It was pretty fun. I can't wait to do the same for super cute little baby boy clothes!

Anyway, they gave me a coupon when I checked out. Woohoo! FIFTY dollars off! that's pretty awesome...until I looked at it.

It excludes almost everything! Sneaky. That's not cool. Sure, they have really great sales anyway, but still. 

It's kind of like Kohls cash. It's a nice perk but the window you have to use it, is so small! I bet I end up throwing away more than 1/2 of them. Sneaky.

thief!!

Yeah, that's me. Not only can't I resist buying pens, of all kinds, I can't resist swiping them either!!

I walk almost everyday at lunch. When the weather is bad - too cold, rainy, too humid - I walk indoors. This past year, I've taken to walking around the convention center. It's a big place. I have to walk through The Marriott to get there. They have a lot of banquets/meetings/seminars at The Marriott. Whenever they have tables set up outside of the rooms, I always look to see if they have pens :-) 

Once, Linkedin had a big day meeting at the Marriott. Linkedin gives away Ink Joy pens!!!! In different colors! No one was attending their tables when I walked buy. You know the lil devil on my shoulder was screaming, "take a few:" I think my lil angel gave me the thumbs up too! 
Some businesses have really great pens. Some of them come with highlighters on the opposite ends. It's a 2 fer! It's awesome. OK, so I don't usually take them home. I have a pen cup on my desk. And because everybody seems to think it's ok to take a pen out of MY pen cup if they need one, I put all the swiped pens in it. It's a nice arrangement. But if it's a fat pen, it goes in my desk drawer. Fat pens are my favorite for work.

 I don't use a stylus, but if I did, this pen comes with one built in. That's pretty cool.

Yeah it's the little things.

Memories

Do you have favorite childhood memories? Maybe you're like my guy, and you don't have any childhood memories. That would stink. I think I have plenty. Isn't that nice!?

I remember going to see Dr. Doolittle, the musical, with my mom. It was a birthday thing. I don't remember which birthday but I'll guess it was around 8 or 9. I remember the theater being BIG, with balconies! It was pretty cool. And it was just my mom and me. It felt special for some reason.

And my most favorite "amusement" park was the Japanese Deer Park. Nobody remembers that place.

I remember sucking the nectar out of the honeysuckles growing on the back fence, at our house in Hawthorne. And Pete the little Dutch rabbit and Jimmy, my best friend from the across the street. Oh, and my favorite teacher - Sister Catherine Elizabeth, 3rd grade! She was the best!!

In 1971, my mom took me to see Bobby Sherman. My very first concert! (we all know I was hooked after that!) It always makes me smile when I think about that. I remember that she curled my hair and I got a new flowery dress to wear. How awesome is that!?!?

A couple years later, my Aunt bought me a winter coat when we were in Chicago. I loved that coat! It was a red/rust colored crushed corduroy, down to my knees, with fake white fur trim and gold buckles. Kind of like this!!

And whenever we traveled, we always stopped at Stuckey's. Do you remember those? They had the best souvenirs! I always wanted some kind of furry thing, like a raccoon's tail or a rabbit hide. And CANDY!!!

Yep, I'm pretty lucky. I have a lot of nice memories.

Stop calling me!!!!

Have you ever signed up on "do not call" registries? You know, the place where you enter your name and phone number to keep telemarketers from calling you?

If you haven't, don't bother. It doesn't do any good.

If you have, get over it. It doesn't do any good. I was going to. But then I read the part that said, Who is allowed to call me. Here's the answer to that FAQ:

Calls related to an existing debt or contract
Calls made by volunteers or employees of charities and newspapers
Calls made by licensed real estate and insurance agents
Surveys and political calls.

Well hell, that covers just about everybody that I wouldn't want to talk too!!!

dumb