Woof!!

The Westminster Dog Show starts tonight! We love this annual tradition. We love dogs. This past year, the AKC recognized 3 new breeds. The Azawakh, which will be shown this year;

and the Barbet and the Dogo Argentio. We won't get to see them in the ring until next year though.

I'm already a fan of the Barbet. What's not to love about something so fluffy!!!

This year, the favorite to win is a Whippet named Bourbon;

I can't wait to see them all!

KISS!

When I was 13 years old, I saw Sammy Davis Jr., live. I guess my fondness of live entertainment goes back a looooong way. Anywho, when he sang The Candy Man, he passed out candy kisses to anyone who came up to the stage. I was pretty excited! So I got to run up to the stage and Sammy Davis Jr. handed me a candy kiss!!!! It was a treasure to me! I put it in my jewelry box. That's where I kept all my special things in my jewelry box.

Fast forward 4 years...I get in my jewelry box for a ring and my candy kiss was missing! I looked in all the drawers but it was GONE! Nooooooo. Not my special candy kiss, given to me by Sammy Davis Jr.!!! What!??!?! How could this be????

I'll tell you how...my 12 year old little brother ATE IT! OMG I was so angry and heartbroken. I just wanted to beat him up! 

40+ years later and I'm sitting at my desk at work, listening to 70's music and The Candy Man came on! Needless to say, it brought back all those memories. So I called my brother and said, you butt head!! I'm still mad at you!!  We had a good laugh.

Yesterday, Amazon delivered a mystery package to me. You'll never guess what it was.
A GIANT Hershey's candy kiss!!! It wasn't from Sammy Davis Jr. but I guess I forgive my kid brother now - he's pretty cute.

WARNING-foul language ahead

I kind of have a potty mouth anyway, but watch out!

Oh for the love of god...

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/mitt-romney-violated-senate-rules-by-drinking-chocolate-milk-out-of-a-bottle-during-the-impeachment-trial/ar-BBZpR9a?ocid=ientp

Are you fucking serious!!!!???? THIS is what you, as a "reputable" news outlet, want me to know? OMG!

Wait, there's more...

https://www.wthr.com/article/indiana-bill-would-allow-immigrants-without-legal-documentation-lawfully-drive

I have to provide a notarized, state/county issued marriage license, because my name changed, proof of residence and my birth certificate OR my passport, to get a fucking drivers license!!!! You MORONS!

...and still more...

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/debanjalibose/christmas-school-expel-student-rainbow-cake

I hate that the gay community ruined the use of the rainbow for anything other than being or supporting said community. But come on! The parents are now suing the school but honestly, why?! Why would you want to send your child to a school that's so fucked up!?!?!?

And this is just a tragic local story but it's really got me scratching my head.

A little over a year ago, a 24 yr old woman who was driving (a small pickup truck) and not paying attention, hit and killed 3 children (siblings) when they were crossing the street to get on the school bus. You're supposed to stop when the school bus does, with the flashing lights and STOP arm extended. Tragic on so many levels, for everyone involved. Anyway, she was found guilty of reckless homicide, convicted  and sentenced to serve 4 yrs in jail, 3 yrs of home monitoring, 3 yrs probation and a 10 yr license suspension. Here's the head scratching part...she's appealing her conviction, contending that the tragedy was "just and accident and not a crime." I can't think of single fucking thing to say about that doesn't include saying the F word!

Whew. OK, now that I've got that out of my system. I'm going back to fucking work now.

The decade in review

You know I love lists! There are lots of them this month :-)

First up, the most looked up word every year for the last decade;
2019 - they
2018 - justice
2017 - feminism
2016 - surreal
2015 - -ism
2014 - culture
2013 - science
2012 - socialism
2011 - pragmatic
2010 - austerity

Next, TIME's "person of the year"
2019 - Greta Thunberg, environmental activist
2018 - The Guardians and the War On Truth
2017 - The Silence Breakers; those women who broke out and spoke up about sexual harassment, etc.
2016 - Donald Trump
2015 - Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany
2014 - The Ebola Fighters
2013 - Pope Francis
2012 - Barack Obama
2011 - The Protester
2010 - Mark Zuckerberg

Top searches on Goggle
2019 - Disney Plus
2018 - World Cup
2017 - Hurricane Irma
2016 - Powerball
2015 - Lamar Odom
2014 - Robin Williams
2013 - Paul Walker
2012 - Whitney Houston
2011 - Rebecca Black, a YouTuber and singer
2010 - Chatroulette, an online chat website
These say a lot about today's world, don't they.

10 Species that went extinct
Tacoma Pocket Gopher
Po'ouli, a Hawaiian bird
Hawaiian tree snail
Eastern puma
South Florida rainbow snake
Ozark pyrg, a freshwater mussel
Pinta Island tortoise, the last one was 100 yrs old when he died in 2012
Clouded leopard in Taiwan
Bramble Cay melomys, it's a mouse
Florida Zestos Skipper, a butterfly found only in the Florida Keys

And this is a list of the top medical advancements of the last decade - facinating!
https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/50-notable-medical-advancements-of-the-decade/ss-BBXEoSA?li=BBnb7Kz#image=1

The top grossing movies of the last decade
1. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
2. Avengers: Endgame
3. Black Panther
4. Avengers: Infinity War
5. Jurassic World
6. The Avengers
7. Star Wars: The Last Jedi
8. Incredibles 2
9. The Lion King
10. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Top 10 best selling books of the last decade
1. Fifty Shades of Grey
2. Fifty Shades Darker
3. Fifty Shades Freed
4. The Hunger Games
5. The Help
6. The Girl on The Train
7. Gone Girl
8. The Fault in Our Stars
9. The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo
10. Divergent

The most watched TV shows every year of the last decade...The Superbowl

Excluding sports, the most watched tv shows of the last decade were American Idol, The Voice and This is Us.

Critically, the top 10 "best" tv shows of the decade were
1. The Leftovers, hbo
2. Fleabag, Amazon
3. Breaking Bad, AMC
4. BoJack Horseman, Netflix
5. Hannibal, NBC
6. Veep, hbo
7. 30 Rock, NBC
8. The Americans, FX
9. Parks and Recreation, NBC
10. Atlanta, FX

And on Amazon, the top selling product from 2010 to 2015 was the Kindle. In 2016 and 2017 it was Echo and 2018 and 2019 it was the Fire Stick

that was fun 

19 things happy people never do

1. Compare their lives to the lives of those around them.
          Happy people know that comparison is the thief of joy
2. Spend all their time on social media.
3. Bully others
4. Avoid their emotions
5. Focus on what they don't have
6. Blame others
          For the most part, happy people view their life as their own responsibility
7. or try to convince other to change
          happy people know that they can't control other people's behaviors and don't expect              other to change to suit their liking.
8. or live their life to please others
          they respect other people's opinion but they don't derive their value and worthiness                on the basis of what people think of them.
9. Forget how to live in the moment
          happy people live in the present moment, finding things to enjoy in the now, rather                than obsessing over things that happened in the past or fixating on their hopes and     
          fears for the future
10. or try to control the future
11. Make assumptions
12. Feel sorry for themselves
13. Hold grudges
14. Dwell on failures
15. Surround themselves with unpleasant people
16. Neglect to address things that bother them
17. Keep score with their friends and partner
         in a great relationship, whether romantic or platonic, there are no 50-50 splits of  
         responsibility. Happy people accept the reality in that.
18. Let work take over their life
19. Resist change

Sometimes I don't think I'm a happy person and sometimes I think I'm pretty happy. There are a few things on this list that I should let go of but for the most part, most of this list is true of me. Yay!

Things to make you smile

It's a brand new year! Let's start it off with a smile;

Otters hold hands when they float -  omg so cute

Dolphins give each other specific names

A single strand of spaghetti is technically called a spaghetto

German Chocolate cake is actually just named after an American with the last name 'German'!!

Herring fish communicate by passing gas - come on, that made you laugh

Sperm whales have BFFs, and they never forget them

Some types of aquatic turtles can breathe through their butts

Popsicles were invented by an 11 year old - never discount a child

Cuddling releases Oxycontin - yeah, do that more!

2 teenagers started UPS - ah the enthusiasm of youth!

Blind people smile even if they've never seen anyone else smile - how awesome is that?!!??!

Fresh air is scientifically proven to given you more energy - get out!

Ducks shake their tails when they're happy - I know you just visualized that and smiled

The national animal of Scotland is a unicorn - I like them so much more now

Children of identical twins are genetically siblings, not cousins - Mind. Blown.

The blob of toothpaste that goes on your toothbrush is called a "nurdle" - I bet you think of that every time you brush your teeth now

The Cookie Monster's real name is 'Sid'

7% of American adults believe that chocolate milk comes from brown cows - ummmm

broadway

Chuck's daughter and I have seen all the best plays!
Chicago
Menopause the Musical
Wicked
Rock of Ages
Lion King
Hamilton
Jersey Boys (she missed that one)
Plus, a couple stinkers...We Will Rock You for sure.

Rock of Ages was the most fun! Trust me when I say, the movie stunk!!
Also, Menopause the Musical was hilarious.
Lion King was the best by far.
Chicago was fun too.

As for Hamilton...it's like a civics lesson done in rap and hip hop. I don't like rap. Or hip hop. But it was ok for the story telling part. It's a great story too. I wouldn't see it again but it didn't suck. It was so exhausting though! 

I try to be open minded about new things. You know, every generation has it's 'thing'. I don't have to like it, but I get it. I appreciate that every generation needs to be different and take ownership of their own style.

Maybe someone would like to see Book of Mormon with me?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Life is filled with so many practical and wondrous things. Emotional and physical. Small and large. Good and bad. It's those everyday things that you take for granted, that fill up your days. Take a moment this year and be thankful for those. The little things that make you smile.

I'm thankful for;

• Video games. They made a pro out of the surgeon who performed extensive, robotic shoulder/bicep surgery on my husband.
• Unexpected kindness.
• The spirit of one of our sweet dogs left us this year and we miss her terribly. So I'm extra thankful for all the joy a dog brings into you home.
• Back roads, the wilderness, topography, weather, history ~ all courtesy of a 4300 mile road trip.
• Tacos.
• Kitchen gadgets. Oh yeah, lot's and lot's of kitchen gadgets.
• Costco. Because pizza, margaritas, pickled beets and salmon are a thing in our house!
• SiriusXM radio. Ads suck.
• Flavored vinegar, olive oil and salts.
• Sunshine, colorful leaves, sparkling snow and blossoms.
• Funko Pop :-)
• Entertainment! In all forms; books, movies, plays, music, sports.
• The seat warmers in my car. Who knew how awesome that would be ?!?
• Cheese. Created by the devil, right after carbs.

I'm thankful for all of life's daily blessings ~ a source of income, a place to rest my head at the end of a long day, a car to get me where I want to be, clothes in the closet, really comfy shoes, food in the cupboard, good health. If you have all of those things, you have enough. I have enough. I have more than my share actually. This year, we welcomed a new set of twins into the family, precious baby girls, as well as an unexpected cousin. I'm thankful that our 4300 mile road-trip/vacation was experienced without a single problem! I am profoundly thankful for the love of my husband, whose immeasurable patience and sense of humor really is the cherry on top! For my family, each of them special in their own way.

I'm a lucky, lucky woman.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Life is good * Bee happy

Kindness

Mean people suck. But there are so many of them that when you see someone do something nice, it really stands out!

This morning, walking into my building at work, a middle aged woman had fallen on the steps. She didn't appear to be badly hurt but definitely shaken up. All of her belonging were kind of spread out and she was just sitting on the ground.  There was already a small group of people around her, which was great. But what stood out to me was the young man who took off his coat and placed it around her shoulders. She had a light jacket on but it's only 43 degrees out this morning. He was very kind to do that. 

Kindness matters.

Mobituaries

Have you heard of Mo Rocca?

He does a podcast called Mobituaries.

https://www.mobituaries.com/the-podcast/

He says, "My father got me interested in obituaries. He would always say the obits was his favorite section of the newspaper. And I think he loved them because he had a real sense of the romance of life - and I'm not being cute there. A good obit does feel like a movie trailer for an Oscar-winning biopic. The highs, the lows, the triumphs and the tragedies - there's a kind of sweep and a drama about them. But not everyone has gotten the send-off they deserve _ or really and send-off _ and of course, there are rarely obituaries for thing, for ideas, for places."

Anyway, they're kind of fun. 

Looooooove

First of all, I just want to say...Christmas music on many channels on SiriusXM, right now!!! It's making my morning commute so lovely, I missed my turn this morning because I was happily singing along!! Happy me :-)

Next, while Amazon music lets me pick out particular songs, SiriusXM has better genre channels. For instance, this morning when I was looking through the app to see what I wanted to listen to at work, I found a 70's Love Song channel. OMG I'm dying it's so AWESOME!!!!

I'll Be There
How Deep is Your Love
You Are The Sunshine
I Honestly Love You
I'm Not in Love
Reunited
Let's Get It On
Time in a Bottle
Muskrat Love
Evergreen
Torn Between Two Lovers
Close To You
Brandy
Come and Get You Love
Let Your Love Flow
How Sweet It Is
Make It with You
Afternoon Delight
Hello Darlin'
Mandy
Best of My Love
After the Lovin'
Killing Me Softly

I love smiling!!

transitions

We're finally into the Autumn weather transition. It won't get above 70 from here on out and you definitely need to turn the heat on at night. The leaves have started to fall in earnest and more and more people are lugging around jackets and coats. I like it. Just yesterday I made the seasonal clothing transition in the closet. Moving all the short sleeves and thin materials, to make room for all the less colorful long sleeves and heavier fabrics. I have a new pile of things for Good-Will now! It's a good time of year to do that. I'm even wearing slippers already! And it's time to wash all the blankets and throws to freshen them up. Halloween is next week and before you know it I'll have to bust out the scarves and gloves. But in my cool new car, my butt will never be cold!

Christmas is 63 days away!

Yesterday, I took the first steps towards a gift free Christmas!

Last Sunday at breakfast,  my little pack and I talked about plans for Christmas this year. We all agreed that it has become increasingly difficult to buy gifts for each other. We don't need anything. If there's something we want, we buy it for ourselves. So we talked about going somewhere instead. I love that idea. It's a little late in the year already to make those kinds of plans though. So I made a unilateral decision yesterday and went with it! First, I requested the week of Christmas off. Second, I made reservations for the lunch performance of A Christmas Carol at Beef and Boards dinner theater! We can have a nice lunch and watch a play. Awesome, right?!?!?! I have a whole list of potential things we can do, instead of gift giving. Movies * bowling * the zoo * the Museum of Art * ...

On Christmas day, we'll just eat, drink and hang out. No pressure. I'm excited!!

Great sadness

Today we said goodbye to our sweet 12 year old Miniature Schnauzer, Pepper. 

Pepper was the sweetest spirit, full of joy and enthusiasm. Ready to play at a moment’s notice. She jumped around the backyard like a baby goat, stalked squirrels like a cat, squeaked when she yawned and snorted like pig when she ate. She was incredibly smart, learning a new behavior in just a few days! She LOVED carrots and pineapple and pizza crust. Oh who am I kidding, she loved almost any kind of food! But she had nice doggie manners when you gave her a treat and she always chewed her food. Everyday when I came home from work, she howled and stuck her butt up in the air. I’m sure gonna miss that. She was a great watch dog. Alerting us to squirrels, bunnies, the trash truck, neighbors and Amazon delivery drivers. I hardly ever heard her growl though, only when we played tug. She stole alllll the toys from Greta and I’m pretty sure that she believed all the dogs beds belonged to her too! She slept in the craziest positions. Her little clownish, furry self made us laugh almost every day! She was so brave and so bashful at the same time. She didn't like to have her picture taken. Every time I would point the camera at her she would turn her head away - no, don't look at me. She was a great hunter, of anything that moved. Always finding that bug right before it got to me :-) She loved Greta A LOT! She was 100% dog. If we had nice weather all year, she would’ve been perfectly happy to spend her days outside, running in occasionally to make sure we were still here. She wasn't a cuddly dog but she loved us completely and we felt the same about her. 

...her little body gave out. She died in my arms and I felt honored to have been holding her in her last moments, with my fella by my side. It felt right. Sigh. 
Dogs are the greatest gift, loving unconditionally. Our home won’t be the same without her. 

talking dogs

Wouldn't that be funny?! 
The other day my fella said, I wish the dogs could talk. I started thinking about what they would say! Mostly, I think they would be so annoying;
When are we gonna eat
can I have a cookie
you stink
hey look! a squirrel
what's that smell
breakfast? I'm hungry!
did you see that bird I almost caught?!
Greta ate the kleenex
where did that squirrel go
can I have something to eat
can you smell that?!
do you wanna play ball
here's the ball
what's that smell?
can I have some of that?
wanna play?
I'm sleepy
I dreamed I caught a squirrel
I ate it
I'm hungry, can I have a cookie?
what's that smell
where's da mama
you smell
is it time to eat
.....
I think that's pretty much how it would go, non-stop, the whole time they were awake!! Sometimes it would be ok, like when I know they don't feel well. But for the most part, nope, I don't wish they could talk!!