This REALLY pisses me off!

And before you climb down from that high horse to kick my ass, the reason it pisses me off doesn't have anything to do w/being anti gay or a homophob. I'm neither by the way. I can teach tolerance to my preschooler without having to teach them about sexual preference for heaven's sake. The kids that watch Sesame Street could care less about sex, let along know about it. Ugh.

Bert and Ernie mark DOMA decision on New Yorker cover

In a nod to this week's landmark Supreme Court decisions regarding same-sex marriage, the striking new cover of The New Yorker features famous “are they or aren’t they” couple Bert and Ernie of "Sesame Street" snuggled up on the couch watching the news on television.

The two long-time bachelors are wearing their usual rainbow-striped shirts, with Ernie leaning on Bert’s shoulder with Bert’s arm around him as they gaze at a television showing the justices in their robes. The striking image, titled “Moment of Joy,” was submitted unsolicited to a Tumblr by artist Jack Hunter.

“It’s amazing to witness how attitudes on gay rights have evolved in my lifetime,” Hunter told The New Yorker. “This is great for our kids, a moment we can all celebrate.”

Even though Bert and Ernie are fictional characters, there was an online petition and Facebook page saying they should get married in 2011. The buzz grew to the point that Sesame Street Workshop formally addressed it.

“Bert and Ernie are best friends," the Workshop said in a statement. "They were created to teach preschoolers that people can be good friends with those who are very different from themselves.

"Even though they are identified as male characters and possess many human traits and characteristics (as most 'Sesame Street' Muppets do), they remain puppets, and do not have a sexual orientation."

To be fair, there was also this article, which made me happy;   http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2013/06/28/bert_and_ernie_on_new_yorker_cover_for_gay_marriage_a_terrible_way_to_commemorate.html 

Wacky local news

Just let me say, before you read this, I SWEAR I didn't make it up!

Braco the Gazer stares into the crowd of about 125 people gathered at the Ritz Charles in Carmel, each paying $8 to have the Croatian sensation stare at them (while standing in a group). Some return for multiple sessions, which run hourly from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, June 26, 2013. He stood on a brightly lit stage and slowly moved his stare back and forth for several minutes while soft melodic music played. Charlie Nye / The Star.

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I guess if you REALLY feel like you want to know more about him, click on;

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/13/braco-the-gazer_n_3428316.html

Be warned however, it's not for skeptics! Mwahahahahahaha 

la la lalala la la lalala la

I really love musicals. You probably guessed that about me though.


I think it may have started with Cinderella. The 1965 Rogers and Hammerstein version (a play) with Walter Pidgeon, Ginger Rogers, Stuart Damon and introducing Lesley Ann Warren. I remember telling you some time last year, about singing in the cafeteria w/a complete stranger –

IMPOSSIBLE, FOR A PLAIN YELLOW PUMPKIN TO BECOME A GOLDIN CARRIAGE,

IMPOSSIBLE, FOR A PLAIN COUNTRY BUMPKIN AND A PRINCE TO JOIN IN MARRIAGE,

AND FOUR WHITE MICE WILL NEVER BE FOUR WHITE HORSES.

SUCH FALLERALL AND FIDDLEDEEDEE OFCOURSES.

IMPOSSIBLE.

BUT THE WORLD IS FULL OF ZANIES AND FOOLS,

WHO DON’T BELIEVE IN SENSIBLE RULES,

AND WONT BELIEVE WHAT SENSIBLE PEOPLE SAY,

AND BECAUSE THESE DAFT AND DEWY-EYED DOPES KEEP BUILDING UP IMPOSSIBLE HOPES,

IMPOSSIBLE, THINGS ARE HAPPINING EVERYDAY.

I know the words to ALL the songs not just that one. And it’s been at least 30 years since I’ve seen it! It used to be on TV every year. I remember looking forward to it just like The Wizard of Oz. Sigh. Well they stopped broadcasting it decades ago. I know they did a remake, with Brandy playing Cinderella, and the music was the same but it just wasn’t the same. I’ve looked for it a couple times on Amazon over the years but could never find a copy that wasn’t a collectable and over a $100 !! Until a couple weeks ago. I happen to have that tune in my head again, for NO reason mind you. And HOORAY!! I found someone selling what are surely copies, but I didn’t care. He only wanted $10 bucks. A small price to pay for a delightful childhood memory. I watched it while Bill was in California. He wouldn’t get it. I sang along, out loud and smiled the whole time! It was fantastic! If you ‘youtube’ it, 1965 Cinderella, you’ll find several of the songs on video. I’m going to have to watch it again, and again, and….

Death and birthdays

Oh, that was kind of morbid wasn’t it. NO, nobody died but it’s been on my mans mind.


He went out to California to visit his dad over Fathers Day weekend. His sister said it will probably be his last Fathers Day so she wanted all the kids to be there. He doesn’t really have a relationship with his dad though. I was wondering though, once he got out there and saw how poorly his dad was doing, if he would feel differently about it. He didn’t. He came home and said he’s broken hearted that he won’t be broken hearted when his dad passes away. Still, I’m glad he went because now he won’t have that regret. Also, he’s really glad he went because he had such a GREAT time with his siblings! He doesn’t really have relationships with them either so I was surprised, but happy for him. I like his siblings. Well, except for the wicked brother – who I don’t hate but I don’t want to be his friend either. Oh yeah, so anyway…I think Bill has mortality on his mind now.

Now on to happier thoughts. BIRTHDAYS! Mom just had another one. Hooray! She’ll probably out live us all! This year she chose The Journey for her birthday dinner. Bill was happy – they have all you can eat sushi! It’s kind of like a seafood buffet with a little bit of everything thrown in. Also over the weekend, we did another Wine and Canvas. This one wasn’t my favorite of the 3 we’ve done so far but it's still fun to do;

Mom really enjoys painting so I suggested that we go over to Hobby Lobby and buy some canvases and an easel for her. I said I would draw the pictures for her and she can just paint away! I bet everybody is going to have some mom art eventually :-)

In the news...

I don't know why some things catch my attention, really I don't. But here are some of those things;

"Feminists of my mother’s generation argued that both mom and dad should work a little less and each do some of the household chores. My parents, for example, split everything 50/50. Even though my father is a terrible cook, he still made dinner exactly half the time. Lately, feminists have been resisting this argument and confessing that they may want to stay home."  Well it sure took them long enough!!

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"INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — An Indiana woman put on death row at age 16 for killing an elderly Bible school teacher is scheduled to be released Monday.

Paula Cooper, 43, was 15 when she and three other teenage girls showed up at Ruth Pelke's house on May 14, 1985, with plans of robbing the 78-year-old Bible school teacher. Pelke let Cooper and two of the teen's companions into her Gary home after they told her they were interested in Bible lessons.

As the fourth teen waited outside as a lookout, Cooper stabbed Pelke 33 times with a butcher knife. Then she and the other girls ransacked the house. The four girls fled with Pelke's car and $10.

After getting in trouble 23 times during her time in prison, Paula Cooper turned to education, earning a bachelor's degree in 2001."

Most middle income families struggle to pay for their kids college education but a murderer can attain a BACHELOR'S degree for FREE. Why isn't the U.S. talking about that?

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"1 in 28 children have a parent who is incarcerated."
Again, why aren't we talking about THIS? Oh wait, maybe they're there for an education!

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"Innocent man jailed 24 years, and his ex-wife wants cut of his payout.

This one isn't going to do much for the reputation of ex-wives. Many folks might argue that Steven Phillips deserves any break he can get: Convicted of a number of sex crimes in the '80s, Phillips was exonerated by the courts after spending 24 years in prison when DNA implicated another man. He was provided with a "compensation package" totaling around $6 million for those two and a half decades — and the woman who divorced him while he was in jail, Traci Tucker, wants a cut. "To make a claim on those years I spent in prison is really freaking outrageous," he says."
I feel really bad for this guy! His ex isn't just giving exes a bad name though. Wow!

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  "He thought the box was empty, but a California husband accidentally sold his wife's $23,000 diamond wedding ring for $10 at a garage sale on June 1.

"Every year our community holds a garage sale. I was in the hospital, I just had a baby, so my husband thought it would be fun for my other kids if they could sell some things at the garage sale."

"He didn't know that before I went to the hospital, I put my ring in that box. I wanted the ring to be in a safe place and out of reach from my 2-year-old twins," Cloutier told ABC News."

Oh come on! NOBODY...EVER...in the history of human curiosity (think Pandora) has NOT looked into an empty box. The story had a happy ending and the buyer returned the ring. That poor husband ought to go back to his home planet and finish his studies on human nature though.

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"The American Medical Association has decided to classify obesity as a disease that needs medical treatment & prevention."
Umm, no it's not. I'm fat but it's because I'm old and I don't exercise or eat less. That's not a disease. My husband is a recovering alcoholic but he doesn't believe alcoholism is a disease. It's an addiction and it's a choice. But it's not a disease that you're just one day stricken with. You know, like CANCER. geez.

Here and there

Here in the Midwest, we don’t have In-N-Out burger joints. That’s a California chain. They are YUMMY! All they do is burgers and fries so they do it well. I miss them. Here in the Midwest, we have a place called Steak 'n Shake. It's more of a fast food restaurant.
 

Here in my hometown, we just got our first Jack in the Box. I use to love their Breakfast Jack. We have Hardees here which is like Carl’s Jr. but no fried zucchini or grilled chicken sandwich. Rats! I think we pretty much have all the same restaurant chains, excluding Mexican. We don’t have any really good Mexican restaurants. There are a couple good seafood places but they’re super pricey.

In the Southeast, they have a grocery store called Piggly Wiggly. There on the west coast they Stater Brothers and Albertsons. The Midwest has Kroger and Marsh and the east coast has Wegman’s and the A & P. 

When I was a teen, we had Stroh's beer but no Coors. There on the west coast they Coors but no Stroh's. Here and there have both now. Both are yucky.

 

In the northwest they actually sell fry sauce. It’s for dipping your French fries in. Basically it’s just ketchup/catsup and mayo mixed together. Kind of like 1000 Island dressing without the relish.

I guess everyone has Michael’s craft stores but here in the Midwest, we also have a place called Hobby Lobby. Which by the way, is A LOT better than Michael’s!

There on the coasts, they have palm trees. I miss palm trees. But we scads of fireflies in the summer. There are places with mountains, here, zip. Here, we have four distinct seasons. There, well they sort of run together.

When my nieces were little, they used to ask me silly questions like, “do you have McDonald's?” I used to say, “it’s just a different state silly, not a different planet!” But now that I think about it…

Woof, part 3 & 4

OK, so it's not ALL about the dogs. We did have other things going on last weekend. For instance, Saturday we went to a place called St. Elmo's for dinner, to celebrate our 24th year of marriage. St. Elmo's is the oldest and largest steakhouse in Indiana. They also boast the largest wine cellar in the Midwest and claim that their shrimp cocktail is world famous. Of course Bill tried it. I think what makes it famous is the sauce. Bill LOVED it! But he’s a fan of wasabi too. I didn’t try it…I don’t like spicy things. As for dinner, for the first time in 24 years, Bill said dinner was perfect. I think that he believes if you spend that kind of money on dinner, you better think you have died and gone to heaven when you eat it. I guess he felt that way about dinner. Woohoo!!


Sunday we took the girls over to Mom’s to meet Bailey. Oh wait, Her name isn’t Bailey anymore. Mom changed it to Molly. She didn’t really know her name anyway. Naturally, they all got along just fine. As a matter of fact, once the butt sniffing was over, they all did their own thing. Pretty cool. Mom says Molly is doing much better. She’s definitely comfortable with grass under her feet now. She’s even catching on with the whole housebreaking business. Small steps. She’s seems to be a happy little thing, she wags a lot! She’s constantly in motion so it’s hard to get a picture of her. I snapped a couple though;

She's very curious about everything! Which brings me to Woof, part 4...
Monday, Mom let her and Bud out and there was a bunny in the yard! Oh no! Two terriers and a bunny? Oh yeah, you know where this is going...complete chaos! The end of the story is this, the bunny got away buy Molly ended up with a broken back foot. Now she has a cast and it could take up to two months to fully heal. Poor little Molly has had a hell of life so far. Thank heavens for Mom!!

What's new in your world?

Last month one of the big dogs where I work asked me to quill a Purdue something for him. He picked this design;

Then he asked me if I would be interested in bartering for it. Turns out that HIS hobby is wood working. He's really good at it too! So I chose a fat wooden pen. I've always wanted a nice wooden pen. He ended up making 2 for me :-) They're awesome! (the ball point is just for comparison)

Neat huh? I'm not done with his Purdue yet though. Guess I better get busy.

Tomorrow the man and I are going out to dinner for our 24th anniversary. I picked a restaurant downtown that we've never been to. We're going to go early though so we walk around downtown. Bill hasn't done that in years and now that I work down there, I can actually show him around. It'll be a good day :-)

Sunday we're going to take the girls over to Mom's to meet her new kid. That ought to be fun, FOUR dogs at once! Woohoo!! hahahahahahahahahaha

where have you been!?

Holy cow with being sick! I know I've mentioned before what babies men are when they're sick. You'd think they were dying! To top it off, mine always says, "it's been so long since I've been sick..." Dude - you get sick every year! Seriously, it hasn't been decades since you had a cold, you catch a cold every year! So this time I marked it on the calendar, so next time he says that I can scoff and show him! Is that mean? Mwahaahahaha. OK, now that I've had that little rant I have to admit that I do feel a little bad. It turns out that he had bronchitis, tonsillitis and sinusitis all at once. Poor thing. I'm glad I wasn't mean to him, I would've never heard the end of it!

Just about the time he was feeling better, I came down with strep throat and an ear infection. Boooooo.

And to add to all of that, poor Greta is still having those horrible pain episodes. Yesterday was the 2nd trip to the Vet. Still, they can't say definitively what her problem is but now they've narrowed it down to something in her neck. Now we have more meds for her and if that doesn't work then we could consider acupuncture? Umm, no. I guess we'll see what happens.

That pretty much covers my world for the last couple weeks! But that's kinda boring right? I mean, life went on, other things happened. I just didn't care.  :-)  Today is better and I care more so...I got a promotion and a nice raise at work. It's nice to be recognized and appreciated. Oh, and busier! Whew!

Mom's new little furry kid, Bailey, is doing well. Potty training is still a challenge but everything else seems to be going ok. She's gained a pound in two weeks, she needs more muscle in her back legs but her health in general is good and sound. I think Mom is a lot busier though :-) I use to worry that she wouldn't do anything after she retired...I don't anymore! She is happily tending to Springs needs right now. Planting, weeding, mowing, mulching. It's all sunshine and rainbows in Mom's world.

I hope the sun is shinning and the skies are blue wherever YOU are!

Woof! part 2

Well, Mom has had her new furry kid for a week now. Her personality is starting to show. She wags her tail, a lot. She follows Mom everywhere. She's loved and free and happy about it. She plays! Sometimes she plays all by herself! So far, her only quirk seems to be walking around in circles and wanting to stay on the patio. Both of those stem from being in a kennel her whole life. That's what she knows. But she's giving the grassy yard a try so she's not scared, just cautious. I would say that in a weeks time, she's already changed a lot. All because Mom is giving her a 2nd chance. And in return, Mom will get unconditional love and loyalty :-) Seems like a pretty good trade! Oh, but there's the housebreaking thing. That will take a while still but little Bailey seems to be pretty smart and I think Mom is up for the challenge. You can do it Mom!!!

In our home, Greta is suffering. It appears that she's re-injured her back. This time, the vet really worked her over. Greta is a tough cookie though and wasn't willing to let the Dr know what hurt. So stoic. Anyway. The results were the same. X-rays and blood tests don't show anything. Maybe she has a pinched nerve. One of her discs looks a little thin but it was so hard to tell. So, back in the crate for her, plus drugs. Poor little girl :-( It's so hard to see her wracked w/pain and not being able to anything about it. Ugh.

Woof!

We have a new furry family member now! Her name is Bailey (originally spelled Baylee) and she belongs to my Mom. She is a little 6 year old Welsh Terrier and she's cute as a button!

Little Bailey was surrendered to a rescue group in Tennessee. She's lived her whole life in a kennel on a cement slab. She has never been on grass or carpeting or a couch. She was mostly cared for but has never been loved. She's never walked on a leash and she's not housebroken.
Isn't that sad? Mom is going to change all that though. Little Bailey is going to eat more (she's a little thin), she's going to learn to romp in the backyard with Bud, and sit on carpeting and lay on the couch next to Mom. She will be loved for the first time in her life. That's a great thing. Plus, it gives Mom more to do! hehehehehe

Anyway...we left at 7:00am and didn't get home until 9:30pm! It was a loooooonnnnng day! It was an easy drive and it was pretty though so that helped. About 2 hours from home we ran into a little rain and got this nice surprise for encouragement;

It was a nice sight for sure. You don't get to see too many rainbows :-)

And put this in the 'did you know' category; Tennessee has armadillos! No really. I'm totally serious!! We passed at least a dozen dead ones along side the highway out in the country. When we got home, I Googled it. And sure enough, there were several articles about the armadillo invasion in Tennessee. It was SO weird! I'd never seen an armadillo outside a zoo. Granted they were dead, but still.

So that was my Mother's Day gift to Mom. I drove her. I love her <3>A LOT
!

BIG weekend coming up!

Sunday is Mother's Day. Bee good to your mama, she wiped your butt and snotty nose for years.

For Mother's Day this year, I'm going to help make a wish come true for my Mom. For a couple years now, she's had her heart set on getting a Welsh Terrier. Not a puppy though. So a few months ago she filled out an application to rescue one. The rescue group has a couple now that fit her needs so I'm going to drive her down to the Nashville area to pick it up. These dogs come from a backyard breeder who no longer wants to breed them. Kind of a classier version of a puppy mill. Except that they've been well cared for. They've just never been loved. Mom will love it  :-) And she has lots of time to love it too! It's perfect!

Talking

Everybody talks.
Everywhere.
All over the world people talk.
Every single day.

They all sound different too. I don't mean their voices though. I mean their dialect, their accents. Haven't you ever wondered WHY? I was wondering just the other day, "why do hillbillies talk like that?" When the English came to America, they all had English accents. So why do southerners have the accent they do? Why do hillbillies or rednecks have that 'hick' accent? As a matter of fact, why do Australians have the accent they do? They speak English, why does it sound different? Why do New Yorkers have an accent? It's not an East Coast thing because they have a totally different accent in Maine. And what about the folks in say, Wisconsin? Eh? Why?

Well, if you're interested or curious, this is a really good explanation;

http://linguistlist.org/ask-ling/accent.cfm

dumb f*cker

In August of 2010, a police officer allegedly on his way to a call, plowed into 3 motorcyclist stopped at a left turn signal. One was killed, the other two were left with life changing injuries.
Accidents happen you say? Yes. Yes they do. This however, was no accident. The officer involved is David Bisard. He allegedly, was driving with a blood alcohol content twice the legal limit. You know what that means right...he was driving drunk...on duty. Dumb f*cker. He was suspended (with pay) from duty pending a trial, which is set for this October - 3 years later. It's a twisted tale for sure. First, he said he wasn't drunk and his defense team got the blood test thrown out because it wasn't drawn by a nurse or doctor. It was drawn by someone who was certified to do so though. Anyway, you can imagine the public outcry. Eventually it was decided by another judge that the original blood draw was admisable as evidence. Good. Dumb f*cker.

Fast forward to this past Saturday, April 27th. The same officer who KILLED someone while (allegedly) driving drunk, ON DUTY, was arrested for DUI. Let me say it again, dumb f*cker. His blood alcohol? Almost 3 times the legal limit. He pleaded not guilty this morning. Seriously. I guess if you're not scared straight after KILLING someone while driving drunk, well, Oy. 

SMILING!

That's me! Smiling big :-)

Harry Connick Jr is coming back to Indy! Yessssss. He does one of the best shows ever. He's so damn happy. I LOVE that. Oh, and he's super cute too *wink*

And "Wicked" is coming in November. I've heard awesome things about that show so Chuck's daughter and I are going to go. Good stuff man!!!