The dog day of summer...

...are upon us. Seriously, 90+ with a heat index over 100 every single days this week! The hottest summer in 22 years. But I bet they didn't blame it on global warming 22 years ago! The poor man is just beat at the end of the day. Like a giant glob of flesh plopped in the chair. I feel bad for him :-(

Da mama got to have her pick taken out! She said, "I'm free!" Hooray! Now she can be on antibiotics indefinitely?

Amish country was interesting. The arts and crafts festival was nice, but no Amish stuff. That was a little disappointing. But we did have a delicious home cooked meal for lunch. It was wonderful. On the drive in, we ran into (well, not literally) several buggies and Amish bicyclers. Lots of farms and gardens. Only one line of telephone poles ~ old style;

I can't really imagine that kind of lifestyle. I'm sure some of them are a little more modern than others, but still. No way man.

Tonight, Mom and I are going to spend a couple hours at Hobby Lobby. I'm not sure she believed me when I said I want to walk up and down every single isle of the new store. I hope she's ready! I can't wait.

Tomorrow, we'll finish up some chores for Mom but nothing else is on the agenda. It's just too dang hot out.

The local weather dude said the high next Thursday is only 84! I'm going to take the day and go to the state fair. Mmmmmmm, elephant ears! It will be a nice day.

And the big guy ride was postponed, again. Maybe they'll just skip it after all. That would be a downright shame ;-) For Bill too though. I think he could use a vacation. Really. He still has almost 4 weeks to take before the end of the year! Honey, tic toc tic toc!!

this and that

Okay, here's the Mom update. After a couple months on the daily antibiotic drip, they are going to put her on meds and forgo the drip, for the next 5 weeks. Unless of course the meds aren't strong enough and then it's back to the daily drip. At the end of 5 MORE weeks, if her spleen isn't totally better, she can have it removed. Whew. Patience, patience, patience.

The grand opening of the new BIGGER Hobby Lobby is next Tuesday! Woohoo! I can't wait. I might take a couple hours off work that afternoon so I can go and walk around for hours! It's in an old Ashley Furniture store...it's going to be gigantic!

Quilling news...yup, I like it. I got more paper, a couple more useful tools and a book. I'm ready to be a quilling fool.

My rebellious man finally applied for his gun permit. Of course, I had to apply for mine first ;-) Motivation is a funny thing.

We were thinking about flying out to the left coast in December. Forget about it now! Have you looked at airfare recently? The days of $300 round trip tickets are gone baby. Now it's almost $1000 for two airfares! Booooo.

This weekend we are headed north, to Amish country. There is a huge art festival in Nappanee this weekend. As a matter of fact, it's the 12th largest in the nation. 350 artists and crafters. And it's going to be cooler up there too. 81 is the high. It'll be a great day.

The state fair starts tomorrow. Mmmmmmmmm, elephant ears!

I'm thinking about taking tomorrow off. Not for any reason, just because.

Stay cool out there!

yes...I'm behind

Ooops;

August is:

National Catfish Month

August 1 National Raspberry Cream Pie Day
August 1 Friendship Day
August 2 National Ice Cream Sandwich Day there are a lot of ice cream related days aren't there?!
August 3 National Watermelon Day
August 4 National Chocolate Chip Day
August 4 US Coast Guard Day
August 5 National Mustard Day
August 5 Sister's Day
August 6 National Root Beer Float Day more ice cream
August 7 Raspberries 'n Cream Day
August 7 National Lighthouse Day
August 8 National Frozen Custard Day more 'sorta' ice cream
August 8 Senior Citizens Day hey all you old fogies, don't break your hip dancin' the night away!
August 9 National Rice Pudding Day
August 10 National S'mores Day
August 11 National Raspberry Bombe Day
August 14 National Creamsicle Day more ice cream
August 14 V.J. Day
August 15 National Lemon Meringue Pie Day
August 15 Assumption Day no you young people, is doesn't have anything to do with 'ass_u_me'
August 17 National Vanilla Custard Day
August 19 National Soft Ice Cream Day more ice cream...Dairy Queen here I come!!!
August 19 National Aviation Day
August 21 National Spumoni Day
August 22 National Pecan Torte Day
August 23 National Spongecake Day
August 24 National Peach Pie Day
August 25 National Banana Split Day more ice cream
August 26 National Cherry Popsicle Day more ice cream
August 27 National Pots de Creme Day
August 28 National Cherry Turnovers Day
August 30 National Toasted Marshmallow Day this kind of day should happen in December when it's not so stinkin' hot out.
August 31 National Trail Mix Day

Curses!

Do YOU ever feel cursed? Not your life, other things. I feel cursed at a couple retail places. One is a store called Meijer. It's a little like GemCo or in these times, Super WalMart. I like the non-food side of the store. But the food side of the store SUCKS! The shoppers are all snotty and rude and after I did the grocery shopping there once, I vowed never to return. Then one day (about a year later) I decided I would give them a 2nd chance. I could have been in a bad mood that day. Nope...it SUCKED again. Not too long ago, Bill and I needed a couple things at the store but it was about 9:00 at night. Meijer is closer so he said "c'mon honey, I'll go with you, it'll be ok". HA! The shopping part was ok because it was late ~ not too many people. Then we got to the registers. Only one was open so we stood in line to wait for an open do it yourself register, which I hate by the way. There were 4 of them. ALL of them occupied and ALL of them having issues. After waiting a few minutes, one opened up and bam. It stopped working. Screw that. We went to the register with the real person. Only one person in front of us. She turned out out to be the customer from hell. Almost 10 minutes later, we just walked out. Nope, not ever going to shop for food there again. EVER!

Then there's Lens Crafters. I like the eye doctor. He's good, explains things, doesn't rush, nice, etc. I won't get my glasses there again though. Not that the staff isn't good. I like them too. But they have messed up glasses 3 years in a row. Seriously. I am cursed at Lens Crafters. Three years ago, they put the wrong lenses in my frames. Two years ago, the lab lost my glasses and we had to start over. This year, they put my reading Rx into my computer glasses and my computer Rx into my reading glasses. I wonder what the odds are? Well, no matter...3 strikes and you're out.

Things always work out...

Some people just get so stressed out when things don't go their way. Honey, there's always a plan B and usually things work out anyway, lighten up!

The guy ride is back on. Hallelujah! Not that I don't miss him and worry about him when he's gone, but sometimes the ME time sure is nice. This years ride is only 5 days.

Next, someone finally agreed to take his on-call weekend so we can still go to the Moto GP race. I know he's happy about that. I'm kind of looking forward to it as well. The last time I went we were stuck in the remnants of a hurricane and it was miserable.

Aaaaand, it looks like he's going to get a couple days off to go to Nashville with me for the last Brooks and Dunn concert. It won't be the vacation we had hoped for, but a long weekend is nice too.

All that needs to happen now is for Mom to keep her spleen! I have my fingers crossed :-)

MJ's greedy estate

Oh brother...nobody cared about this when he was alive. I LOVE this game!!!

by Winda Benedetti Citizen Gamer
msnbc.com
updated 7/27/2010 8:11:47 PM ET

Bye bye Michael Jackson zombie. Hello … disco zombie?
The estate of Michael Jackson has stirred up a hubbub over a moonwalking zombie that appears in the hit game "Plants vs. Zombies."
Game developer PopCap Games says it is removing the famed "dancing zombie" from the PC and iPhone versions of the game after the late King of Pop's people contacted the company about the undead character's familiar features.
In "Plants vs. Zombies," players pit an army of vegetation against wave after wave of reanimated corpses. The game features different zombie characters who each have different, uh, skills and therefore must be fended off in unique ways.
With his red attire and black Jheri curl, the offending zombie even performed an in-game dance with a troupe of back-up dancer zombies — a la Jackson's "Thriller" music video.
PopCap spokesman Garth Chouteau released the following statement about the rotten situation:
"The Estate of Michael Jackson objected to our use of the 'dancing zombie' in 'Plants vs. Zombies' based on its view that the zombie too closely resembled Michael Jackson.
"After receiving this objection, PopCap made a business decision to retire the original 'dancing zombie' and replace it with a different 'dancing zombie' character for future builds of 'Plants vs. Zombies' on all platforms. The phase-out and replacement process is underway."

Friday funnies

The biggest things

Can you imagine?!

The world's largest rubber band ball stands six feet seven inches tall and has a circumference of 25 feet. It took five years for Joel Waul of Lauderhill to create, weighs more than 9,400 pounds, and contains approximately 720,000 rubber bands. The outer layers consist of multicolored industrial-size bands that weigh several pounds each.


Christy Harp brought a 1,725 pound pumpkin to the Ohio Valley Giant Pumpkin Growers (OVGPG) Giant Pumpkin Weigh-Off on Saturday, October 3, 2009.

This big beast is 7 feet, 3 inches long, 43 inches tall at the shoulder, and weighs an impressive 245 pounds! Every month, owners feed Giant George 110 pounds of dog food, and he sleeps in his very own Queen-sized bed.

The longest stick bug in the world is ove 22 inches long.

The World's Longest Yard Sale Details:
Yard Sale Date: August 5-8, 2010Place: The Lookout Mountain Parkway and the U.S. 127 Corridor From: Gadsden, Alabama to Hudson, Michigan

Big Jake is 6-foot-11 (20 hands) from the bottom of his unshod hooves to his withers, making him the largest horse in the world right now.

I know I usually like the really little tiny things, but I couldn't help but looking for more really big things after I saw the big dog! Whoa. That dog is so big that he can stick his nose in the kitchen sink without jumping up on the counter!!!!

Peppers big adventure

Down the woodchuck hole to parts unknown. But she popped back out so I guess she didn't find the woodchuck!

Do you know this song?

(father)
It's not time to make a change,
Just relax, take it easy.
You're still young, that's your fault,
There's so much you have to know.
Find a girl, settle down,
If you want you can marry.
Look at me, I am old, but I'm happy.

I was once like you are now, and I know that it's not easy,
To be calm when you've found something going on.
But take your time, think a lot,
Why, think of everything you've got.
For you will still be here tomorrow, but your dreams may not.

(son)
How can I try to explain, when I do he turns away again.
It's always been the same, same old story.
From the moment I could talk I was ordered to listen.
Now there's a way and I know that I have to go away.
I know I have to go.

(father)
It's not time to make a change,
Just sit down take it slowly.
You're still young, that's your fault,
There's so much you have to go through.
Find a girl, settle down,
If you want you can marry.
Look at me, I am old, but I'm happy.

(son)
All the times that I cried, keeping all the things I knew inside,
It's hard, but it's harder to ignore it.
If they were right, I'd agree, but it's them you know not me.
Now there's a way and I know that I have to go away.
I know I have to go.

The best ad jingles ever

The first thing I noticed though, was that none of these are new. Hmmmm

Counting down;

Number 10

Double your pleasure with doublemint gum (I don't remember this one, was it a song?)

Number 9

I am stuck on Band-Aid brand cuz Band-Aids stuck on me
Number 8

Plop plop, fizz fizz, oh what a relief it is

Number 7

Mmm mmm good, mmm mmm good, that's what Campbells soup is, mmm mmm good.

Number 6

I'm a pepper, he's a pepper, she's a pepper, we're a pepper, wouldn't you like to be a pepper too

Number 5

You deserve a break today, so get up and get away...to McDonald's

Number 4
I don't wanna grow up I'm a Toys R Us kid

Number 3 (this wasn't a 'song' though so I'm not sure that it should have been included)
Two all beef patties, special sauce, pickles, cheese...

Number 2

Oh I wish I were an Oscar Meyer wiener, that is what I'd truly like to be

And the number 1 best ad jingle of all time?

I'd like to buy the world a Coke and keep it company...

Wasn't that fun?

What's your car worth?

It's worth a lot if you factor in why you need it. It gets you to work or the grocery store. It gets you to the Dr. or to school or just down the road a ways.

If you think about it that way, I suppose it's worth what you pay for a vehicle?

But if you think about it like this...

I spend, on average, 85 minutes a day in my car.
That's about 7 hours a week.
Annually, I spend 19.5 days in my car.
That's 5.3% of the year.

...don't you feel like you're getting ripped off?

According to the National Automobile Dealers Association, the average price of a new car sold in the United States is $28,400. WHAT? I can't imagine EVER spending that much on CAR! 28 grand for something you only spend an average of 12 days a year in? (oh, I got that 12 days figure from an article I read recently) whoa

Monsters in the yard

OK, so they aren't real monsters, but if you saw them in a movie you would think it's a monster;

In case you don't know what these are, they're called cicadas.

They're big, loud and disgusting. However, the Humane Society says, to a dog or cat, it will seem like a yard full of chicken nuggets.

Ewwwwwwww. Well, it's true. Pepper found her first cicada yesterday morning. She almost brought it in the house but I made her stay outside with it. She ate the whole thing. Ick. Bill said she actually did bring one in after work yesterday. She went straight to her little dog bed and had her own little feast. ICK!

The Humane Society also says;
" like junk food, the cicadas can make pets sick. Randall Lockwood, a Humane Society vice president and animal behaviorist, says the insects are protein-rich but their exoskeletons are indigestible, so eating too many can cause vomiting or constipation."

Guess I'll have to keep an eye on her. I mean, it's better than eating poo but still.

Noteworthy news

On Friday, July 9th, the very last PT Cruiser rolled off the line.

sniff, sniff, sniff.

No, I'm not being funny. My PT Cruiser is my dream car. I want to own it forever! If I could afford it, I'd buy another one right now so when this one dies, I'll still have one. Chrysler is going to replace it with the Fiat 500, a really stooopid looking car. Booooooooo. It just looks like an amped up version of the Smart car! Blech.

The other incredibly stooopid news story I saw this weekend had to do with, surprise, the Rev. Jesse Jackson. He said, in regard to Dan Gillberts statement that LeBron James was a coward;

"He speaks as an owner of LeBron and not the owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers," Jackson told The Associated Press. "His feelings of betrayal personify a slave-master mentality. He sees LeBron as a runaway slave."

I don't give a shit about LeBron James. He's NOT the greatest to ever play. He's not even in the same league as Magic or Jordan or Bird or Shaq. He sure is full of himself though. His old team feels betrayed that he's leaving, and so do the fans. It happens all the time for heavens sake! But for Jesse Jackson to make a statement like that is so incredibly asinine, on soooo many levels!! If someone told me this story, I would have said they made it up. The Rev should retire. His time has come and gone.

My favorite article is written by Jason Whitlock;

http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/Jesse-Jackson-LeBron-James-Dan-Gilbert-slavery-comparison-071210

And in this article, you can find a job suited to your personality!

http://msn.careerbuilder.com/Article/MSN-2304-Salaries-and-Promotions-High-Paying-Jobs-for-Your-Personality-Type/?sc_extcmp=JS_2304_home&SiteId=cbmsnhp42304&ArticleID=2304&GT1=23000&cbRecursionCnt=1&cbsid=298f5eb7acf244ca86156b0ac8a4aac6-332241361-wq-6

And the big question Yahoo is asking this morning? Are silly bandz just a fad? Duh.

Oh brother.

What's in YOUR wallet?

It was a serious question...do you know?

I happen to know what's in mine because I bought a new one recently so I had to transfer everything. A wallet, even a mans, holds a lot of crap. Mine had receipts (ooooold ones too) reward cards to stores I don't go to anymore, band aids, several notes to myself, a little pill that I don't recognize, my license, my debit card, pictures, all my insurance cards ~ auto, scooter, medical ~ my Kohl's card, my Kroger card, my CostCo ID, some Christmas stamps and some regular forever ones, and 1 credit card. I could barely snap it closed.

Here's another serious question...if you lost your wallet, do you know who to call for what? Think about it, save yourself some frustration and keep a separate list somewhere. I promise you'll bee happy you did.

My Mom's wallet weighs about 3 lbs. What the hell does she have in that thing anyway??? Not me, mine is nice and trim now :-) I think my husband has more in his wallet!

That was kind of like a PSA wasn't it? (that was inspired by you JC)

Look what I bought myself yesterday!

hahahahahahahahahaha! Soooo cute! I really like Jim Shore. I like folk art and he kind of fits the bill for me. I've been wanting to buy myself some little Jim Shore figurine for the longest time. I popped in on his website yesterday and saw this little thing...Bee Happy. OF COURSE it was the perfect one for ME. I can't wait for it to arrive!

And last but certainly not least...Dr. Death had GREAT news for Mom yesterday. (he was much nicer so Mom forgave him for being a big cranky pants last week) Her aneurysm is actually smaller!!! He said he can't explain why that is, but it is. So she can go see him again in 6 months for another check up. I can explain it...PRAYER.