words, words, words!

I want to bring back these words, I like them;

Malarkey

noun, Informal.

1.

speech or writing designed to obscure, mislead, or impress; bunkum:

The claims were just a lot of malarkey.

Shenanigans

noun, Informal.

1.

Usually, shenanigans.

1. mischief; prankishness:
   Halloween shenanigans.
2. deceit; trickery.

2.

a mischievous or deceitful trick, practice, etc.

Bamboozle

verb (used with object), bamboozled, bamboozling.

1.

to deceive or get the better of (someone) by trickery, flattery, or the like; humbug; hoodwink (often followed by into):

They bamboozled us into joining the club.

Dandy

adjective, dandier, dandiest.

4.   Informal. fine; excellent; first-rate:

Hornswoggle

verb (used with object), hornswoggled, hornswoggling. Slang.

1.

to swindle, cheat, hoodwink, or hoax.

Aren't those fun!?!?

Old fashioned names have made a comeback, why not old fashioned words too?

Use them, it will make you smile :-)

women

Last night, a group of us women folk, (8 of us) went to see Menopause the Musical. We were wildly diverse in ages too! I've never done anything with a large group of women like that before. It was a lot of fun :-)  I have to admit though, I got pretty chocked up at the end when one of the performers invited all the breast cancer survivors (of which she was one) up on stage. It was a sweet gesture but I was really taken aback by how many woman walked up there! Too many. But I was also happy that there were so many survivors.
I know you men get on our last nerve sometimes but dang, us women can be pretty hard to take when we're going through "the change". But remember, it's hard on us too butt-head. 

Did you see the article about the new 'normal barbie'? I guess it's a nice idea but seriously, what little girl who plays with Barbie's notices that she's got big boobs and an unrealistically small waist and permanently pointed feet?? None, that's how many. If I were a Mom these days with little girls, it would just piss me off that the media is trying to make me feel bad about the fantasy dolls my child is playing with. Barbie's are for little kids not insecure adults. Stop it!

OMG! How stupid was this;
This hilarious sign showed up in a department store window...
Dear Santa, This year, I would like a big fat bank account and a slim body. Please, don't get them mixed-up like you did last year.
OK, I bought napkins last year with the same little saying on them and everyone thought they were so funny! Come on, it IS funny! Well apparently, the sign was in a store window with women's clothing and somebody (you know it was the media) got their collective panties in a bunch about the wrong message it was sending...you know, that women want to be skinny and rich. For heaven's sake people. Stop it! Oy.

And last, and this doesn't have anything to do with women, try this experiment;
What does this sign say?

Here's the experiment,  - if you ask someone over 30, I bet they would say;
Family kidnaped by ninjas. Need four dollar karate lessons.

If you ask someone under 30, I bet they would say;
family kidnapped by ninjas. Need money for karate lessons.

Isn't that interesting?

In the news...

Oh noooo!!

If you’re a chocolate lover this is devastating news!

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/chocolate-giant-earth-is-running-out-of-chocolate/ar-BBdUsYL

In light of this first story;

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2014/10/07/stephen-collins-child-molestation-tmz-7th-heaven/16846839/

I just don’t believe anyone is above reproach anymore…sigh…

http://www.msn.com/en-us/entertainment/celebrity/another-bill-cosby-rape-accuser-comes-forward/ar-BBedxDA

This one is a few weeks old but it cracked me up!

http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/topstories/%E2%80%98aunt-jemima%E2%80%99-family-demands-dollar2-billion-cut-of-pancake-business/ar-BB82SAC

What?? This just didn’t even make any sense at all to me!

http://news.yahoo.com/indigenous-people-day-replaces-columbus-seattle-221522613.html

Humph! And the say the war on women is over. HA!

http://www.wthr.com/story/27405677/2014/11/17/male-tv-anchor-wears-same-suit-for-a-year-no-one-notices

Last week, Amazon started an advertisement on its latest gadget – The Echo. The youthful, open minded part of me says, “how cool is that!? I want one!” But the more experienced, reader of 1984 says, “are you nuts?!” I want to embrace technology, but at what cost?

http://www.cnet.com/news/our-devices-are-listening-to-us-all-the-time-but-do-we-care/

18 days to Black Friday!!

Gotcha!

Do you care? A lot of people do! I've shopped Black Friday twice in my life. Once, early in the morning and once in the afternoon. Both times it was a bust for me. I don't like people for one. Oh wait, that's really the only reason :-)

You know what else that means though?  Only 44 days until Christmas! Ruh Roh.

Flashback Friday

On this day in 1991, basketball legend Earvin "Magic" Johnson stuns the world by announcing his sudden retirement from the Los Angeles Lakers, after testing positive for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. At the time, many Americans viewed AIDS as a gay white man's disease. Johnson (1959- ), who is African American and heterosexual, was one of the first sports stars to go public about his HIV-positive status.

Revered as one of the greatest basketball players of all time, Johnson spent his entire 13-season NBA career with the Lakers, helping them to win five championships in the 1980s. The 6'9" point guard, a native of Lansing, Michigan, was famous for his extraordinary passing skills, contagious smile and love of the game. In 1981, he signed a 25-year deal with the Lakers for $25 million, one of the NBA's first over-the-top contracts.

Johnson, a three-time NBA "Most Valuable Player" and 12-time All-Star team member, didn't completely hang up his basketball shoes after announcing his retirement in 1991.  He was voted most valuable player of the 1992 NBA All-Star Game and played on the Olympic "Dream Team" (alongside Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Patrick Ewing) that won gold for the U.S. in Barcelona that summer. He briefly returned to the Lakers for the 1993-94 season as head coach and made a short-lived comeback as a Lakers player in the 1995-96 season.


Today, Johnson is a prominent spokesman for AIDS awareness and a successful businessman, earning millions from a range of ventures, including movie theaters and restaurants. He serves as an example of how a variety of drug treatments have transformed AIDS from a death sentence into a manageable condition for many people in the U.S. Still, some 25 years after the first AIDS cases were reported, 25 million people worldwide have died of AIDS and another 40 million have been infected with the virus.

I was a huge basketball/Lakers fan at the time. I remember this day. I was working for an Optometrist in Palm Springs. I cried after the press conference had ended. I was so sad for him. Coincidentally, the OD I worked for was gay, so we had a had a good conversation about the topic of HIV/AIDS, later that day. He was a good OD and person. I really liked him. Wow, I can't believe it's been so long ago already!

Happy Halloween!!!

Our weather is going to be downright icky! Rain, snow, 37 degrees. Stinky for all those little cute goblins and princesses :-(

sigh

Anyway, Happy Halloween! 

 This one is for you Mom

and for you dog lovers...

Flashback Friday

Houdini died today, in 1926. I probably knew that once - that he died on Halloween. But I had forgotten so I thought it was interesting when I read that this morning.


But this...THIS is fascinating;

On this day in 1517, the priest and scholar, martin Luther, approaches the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany, and nails a piece of paper to it containing the 95 revolutionary opinions that would begin the Protestant Reformation.

In his theses, Luther condemned the excesses and corruption of the Roman Catholic Church, especially the papal practice of asking payment – called “indulgences” – for the forgiveness of sins. At the time, a Dominican priest named Johann Tetzel, commissioned by the Archbishop of Mainz and Pop Leo X, was in the midst of a major fundraising campaign in Germany to finance the renovation of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Though Prince Frederick III the Wise had banned the sale of indulgences in Wittenberg, many church members traveled to purchase them. When they returned, they showed the pardons they had bought to Luther, claiming they no longer had to repent for their sins.

Luther’s frustration with this practice led him to write the 95 Theses, which were quickly snapped up, translated from Latin into German and distributed widely. A Copy made its way to Rome, and efforts began to convince Luther to change his tune. He refused to keep silent, however, and in 1521 Pope Leo X formally excommunicated Luther from the Catholic Church. That same year, Luther again refused to recant his writings before the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V of Germany, who issued the famous Edict of Worms, declaring Luther an outlaw and a heretic and giving permission for anyone to kill him without consequence. Protected by Prince Frederick, Luther began working on a German translation of the Bible, a t ask that took 10 years to complete.

The term “Protestant” first appeared in 1529, when Charles V revoked a provision that allowed the ruler of each German state to choose whether they would enforce the Edict of Worms. A number of prices and other supporters of Luther issued a protest, declaring that their allegiance to God trumped their allegiance to the emperor. They became know to their opponents as Protestants; gradually this name came to apply to all who believed the Church should be reformed, even those outside Germany. By the time Luther died, of natural causes, in 1546, his revolutionary beliefs had formed the basis for the Protestant Reformation, which would over the next three centuries revolutionize Western civilization.

Style

Do you have style, or A style. What does your home look like?

My brother and his wife have a style. It's very southern California :-) Shells and palm trees and sailboats and beaches. It's nice.

I have a style in my craft/library...CHEERFUL!! You know, bright colors and happy little knick knacks.

My fella and I talk about the styles we like all the time but have never really committed to anything. 

Yesterday, I made an executive decision - RUSTIC, that's going to be our style. Not western or southwestern or country or Mexican...just rustic. We both like it and have for years. It's time to embrace the things we love. Sheesh!

Like this;

Wrapping up the vacation...

...yep, the party was a huge success. No snags or problems and a lot of fun. My brother was surprised the most by our appearance and that of his little brother. That was pretty cool. I have to admit, I was sooooo excited when he said he could make it - he lives in Louisiana! That was awesome!

So, Sunday we just hung around the house and visited. Just what we needed for sure.

Monday we went to the beach! Us landlubbers really enjoyed that. I'm not really a beach lover but it sure was nice to be somewhere so foreign! 

We stopped at a little place on the San Clemente pier for a drink and a fishy snack :-)

It was another fantastic day!

Ok, I don't really care about seagulls but hey, I don't get to see them that often and this one didn't mind standing still for a picture.

And it's not everyday you see a flock of pelicans!

Then we drove up the coast a little and stopped to check out this beauty.

while we were there, this seahawk flew up to the top of the mast to eat it's lunch. 

I miss palm trees

 I tried to talk him into buying this hat. He wouldn't. BUT, he let me take the picture!

We even went bowling one night! Really, when was the last YOU bowled? Mom waxed us all! Seriously, decades since she's picked up a bowling ball and she beat everyone! Me? I TOTALLY sucked! But I was great at being bad at it!

It was wonderful. And I loved that the girls spent so much time with us. That was really wonderful. I didn't expect them to at all so it was an added family bonus. They were delightful to be around.

I love my brother and I can't wait to see him again!!

more vacay party pictures

What a GREAT day for a party!!!

Cousin Monty and his wife Carol drove down from Ventura!

Cousin Ron and his wife Kathleen and their son Justin;

 Cousin Rick

da mama :-)

Awww

Jeff and his siblings!

 That's nice 

 Denae and her brother Mark

Jeff and his girls!

brothers!!

Poor Greta

Geez, poor Greta. When I took her in last Saturday to get her shots, the vet told me she has BAD teeth...just like Pepper (and me!). She also had a couple lumps he wanted to remove. I dropped her off yesterday morning and picked her up after work. The Vet said that she was 'under' for about 2 hours so she might be pretty groggy the rest of the night. Nah, she's was a trooper! Well, except for the whole cone head thing. whoa. She is REALLY struggling with the cone! Damnit! I feel so bad for her! When Pepper had to wear the cone, if she ran into something she just said "crap" and kept going. When Greta runs into something, she becomes immobilized. It's so, so pitiful. Sigh

So, he pulled all her front teeth, top and bottom, except for her canines, and one molar.

Then, he removed this pea sized bump on her neck which turned out to be a lot bigger under her skin so there are sutures, and zapped off a couple other ones;

Then ther was this big fatty  cyst on the inside  of her back leg. He took that out because if it got bigger, he wasn't going to be able to remove it and it would become a problem for her.

Poor Greta!!! Ugh. I hope she gets the hang of the cone. She has to wear it for 10 days!!

vacation

...more party pictures!

 He was pretty flustered with the whole surprise thing.

I LOVE that the whole family jumped in! Chelsey made the cake

AND the cupcakes!

And the food just kept coming!!!

Nachos, tacos, burritos, chicken, rice, potato salad...we had it ALL!

The Photo Booth was a big hit with the young/hip crowd :-)

and Ashley made this for her Dad! So clever and creative!

I loved how surprised the 35 and under crowd was about the cost of things,

 the year my brother was born! 

...more to come!