T-storms!

Lordy. Today was a busy day. Being that I was off from work, I took the day and ran errands. I got the oil changed in my car (which took them an hour to do since they were busy), picked up my pictures at Target, went to Michaels to get frames, went to the UPS store to get a box and packing stuff so I can mail out Cyndi's present tomorrow (yes, I FINALLY got down to the danged store - lol), and even went to the mall. I got 3 tops and spent like $10 - pretty cool, huh. (gotta love sales and coupons!!!) I framed up the pictures and they turned out awesome. I did a good job on em if I don't say so myself. (hehe).

This evening, we got treated to a lightning and thunder show. I love to watch the lightning. It is so powerful and deadly, yet strangely beautiful. I had to get a better look, so I got in my car and drove to the outskirts of town where there were no buildings to obstruct my view, and I just sat there and watched for like a half an hour. I tried to take pictures, but it is very difficult to take pictures of lightning .



See. It is hard to get a good picture! This was my pathetic best shot of the night - lol.

Oh well. I tried - it was tough without a tripod - I took the pic on my front porch. My tripod was in my car at the time, and it was pouring down rain, AND I was in my pj's. So, no way was I running to my car to get it. I woulda gotten soaked!

It was definitely a cool night. We don't get lightning very often. My mom says I am crazy for wanting to get closer to see it better. Perhaps I am. But I LOVE IT!

Awwwww

Alicia's little girl, Alana. She is so cute!!!!

I like cheese!

My friend, Arlene, wrote me an email and told me that she had a dream last night that I was getting married, and asked me when I was gonna get married. Well, Arlene, I DON'T KNOW! She is the one with the engagement ring and doesn't even know when she is getting married and here I am, ringless, and she is asking ME when I am. (lol). Sometimes I wonder if that day will ever come, or if there is anyone out there crazy enough to actually want to marry me - lol. I am not saying that I am a BAD or crazy person, but I have my moments. (hehe) So, in answer to Arlene's question, I don't know. She wrote me back and told me that I will get married someday and so will she. Apparently, Miss Arlene is psychic - lol.

I was watching Dirty Dancing the other day, cuz lord knows they play that movie on tv at least once a day, and found myself wondering what happened after the end. Did Johnny and Baby ride off into the sunset together in Johnny's car and live happily, dancing, ever after? Or maybe, Johnny decided he wanted to dance the mamba and Baby wanted to dance the tango so they broke up over creative differences. Who knows. I know it is just a movie. I know the movie had a happy ending so we should all just be happy that Baby and Johnny got to dance that last dance together and leave it at that. But I wanna know the REAL ending. I told you I was crazy! lol.

Dirty Dancing is one of those feel-good movies that is geared toward a female audience...in other words, it is a chick flick. It has the suave leading man and the naive girl who find themselves falling in love, in a period of 3 weeks mind you. It also has some of the cheesiest dialogue imaginable ... Nobody puts baby in a corner. When is the last time a guy has come up to your parents and told you that? (how about never). They say these grand things to each other and he teaches Baby how to dance like a pro (in 3 weeks, mind you). And she tells him that she is afraid of walking out the door and never feeling again, in her whole life, the way she feels when she is with him. Awwwww. I know no one has ever said anything like THAT to me before, and I know I have never said anything like that to anyone else. I may have FELT it for someone before, but I never spoke it aloud. Despite all these cheesy moments, we "chicks" love this flick. I don't know why, but I like it, too. Probably because it does have the happy ending. The naive and kinda clumsy girl gets the cool dude. I guess we "chicks" can relate to Baby. We all wanna be loved.

Anyway, I have nothing else to write about right now. So I am just rambling on like a fool who has nothing useful to say. I am just glad the weekend is near. Tomorrow is our flex day, so that means no work for me. I guess we are scheduled for more rain tonight and tomorrow. Figures. I need to clean my fish tank and my hamster homes and clean up the patio. Gosh that thing is a mess. The wind keeps knocking over my fake tree that I have out there, and I just leave it leaning cuz I figure it will just fall over again. I am tired of having a mess out there, so this weekend I vow to clean it!

Phobia of The Day

Agateophobia: Fear of insanity

Random Fact of The Day

Marie Curie, the Nobel prize winning scientist who discovered radium, died of radiation poisoning.

Funny Stuff From Dave Barry

Rudeness Rules

"If there's a line, you get at the end of the line, and you wait your turn. You own ONE place in the line. You do NOT have the right to invite friends to join you in the line. This is rude to the people behind you, who got there before your friends, and will now have to wait longer. If you want to be with your friends, you can join them at the back of the line. And, no, it's not enough to ask the person immediately behind you if it's OK for your friends to butt in. This person does not speak for the entire line. Also this person pretty much has to say yes, but only because he or she, being less rude than you, wants to avoid confrontation.

EXCEPTION: You may invite an immediate family member such as your spouse or child to join you in the line. There are no other exceptions.

EXCEPTION: Halle Berry"

Stupid News Story of The Day

(They knew something was up by the way she walked.)

Woman Allegedly Smuggles Grenade Into Jail

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador - A Salvadoran woman was detained after she tried to smuggle a military grenade and marijuana hidden in her vagina into the country's main prison, authorities said Wednesday.

Officials subsequently raised the security level at jails across the country, prison system spokesman Alberto Uribe said, adding the discovery showed "the inmates are planning something."

Lidia Alvarado, 44, was found hiding a cylinder containing the weapon and the drugs, as she entered La Esperanza prison on the northeastern outskirts of the capital of San Salvador, Uribe said.

She was turned over to police and charged with illegal weapons possession and drug trafficking, he said. Police who inspected the M-67 grenade said it was in working condition.

Alvarado was visiting two inmates, serving 25 and 30 years. Each had been convicted of rape, robbery and illegal arms possession.

Prison Director Wilson Galeas was quoted by the daily newspaper La Prensa Grafica as saying it was not the first time Alvarado had visited the two convicts.

If I show you my scar will you let me stay?

am glad I was right about Ace going home on American Idol. Very glad. He needed to go. But what the hell was up with the bottom 3? Chris.....in the bottom 3???? WTF? That was just not right. When they had Elliot and Kellie in the same group and then brought Katharine over, I was thinking, "Shit! What is the deal with Katharine being in the bottom 3? She sang great last night." Then when they said that that group was safe, I was like WTF? Why is Chris in there? Has America gone nuts? I guess so. Anyhow, Ace, with his weird hand movements, scar, and funky hair, is gone. I really think it was the hair that ultimately did him in.

News and other junk

Well, the Tomkitten (as the media has dubbed it) has arrived. I don't know what all the fuss is about. It's a baby, not a cure for cancer. No matter what you think about them, you know their baby is gonna be cute. And Suri is not a terrible name. It is better than Hazel, Apple or Moon Unit - lol.

I was watching Hannity and Colmes on tv yesterday evening with my folks at their house (and that is the only place I will watch news shows - lol), and this woman on their program angered me so much that I was calling her an asshole and a crazy bitch...in front of my parents. (I don't normally cuss in front of my parents - lol). I guess her and the members of her "church" , the Westboro Baptist Church, (I say "church" because they only have around 100 members) have been protesting at soldier's funerals, holding up signs that say things like "Thank God for dead soldiers," and shit like that.

Like this fool...



And even more nutso is the fact that they feel that they are justified in doing so. Even Sean Hannity was telling the woman that she is nuts. She just sat there, with a vacant grin on her face, looking a lot like the Enzyte dude's wife, and then proceeded to tell the audience how God is angry and every dead soldier is a curse on America, and that the families of the fallen soldiers deserve to be punished for defending a country that accepts homosexuality. What a crazy bitch! She sounds (and looked) like she had been brainwashed....or maybe she is just crazy. I can see why their "church" only has 100 members. Because most people agree with me.......they are nuts! If they hate America and think that God hates America, well then get the f*ck out of here! It will be 100 less crazy people for us to deal with.

I wore these socks today, knowing that they would fall down everytime I walked, but I wore them anyway, cuz I was too lazy to go looking for another pair. Serves me right. I am a lazy, sock-falling-down fool - lol.

Phobia of The Day

Lygophobia: fear of darkness

Random Fact of The Day

Grenades were invented in China over 1,000 years ago.

Funny Stuff From Dave Barry

"So I was pedaling along on my bicycle, towing a little kiddie trailer that contained my daughter, Sophie, and her friend Sofia. I like to tow Sophie when she has a friend with her, because they quickly forget that I'm up there pedaling, so I can listen in on their conversations and find out what is on their minds. Usually it's something like this:

First Child: "You're a tree head!" (wild giggling)

Second Child: "No, YOUR'E a tree head!" (wild giggling)

First Child: "You're a pinecone head!" (wild giggling)

Second Child: "No, YOUR'E a pinecone head." (wild giggling)

And so it goes, mile after insight-filled mile."

Stupid News Story of The Day

(When Easter Bunnies attack.)

Easter Bunny Accused of Hitting Customer

FORT MYERS, Fla. - The Easter Bunny has been fired — for losing his head. Arthur J. McClure, 22, who had been hired to play the Easter Bunny at a local mall has been accused of removing the head of the costume and hitting a customer, authorities said.

McClure punched Erin Johansson when she got upset that the photo exhibit was closing 10 minutes early Saturday night, police reports said. The incident was witnessed by dozens of people at the Edison Mall, including 15 children.

McClure said he never punched Johansson. He claims he was trying to stop a fight between his wife — exhibit manager Crystal Frechette — and Johansson.

He said he took the bunny's head off because he had been wearing it for nine hours and was hot.

"My shirt was soaked with sweat," McClure said. "I almost threw up."

Mall management issued an apology to parents and children. Golden, Colo.-based Noerr Programs Corp., which contracted with the mall to run the photo set, fired McClure and Frechette on Monday. They also have been charged with battery and disturbing the peace.

The idols sing the classics

Well, it was classics night on American Idol tonight. Overall, I thought everyone did great...except for Kellie. Oh, poor Kellie. She just couldn't keep with the timing of the song at the end and just lost it. Chris, as usual, did an awesome job on one of my favorite songs ever, "What A Wonderful World." It really showed a different, and equally good, side to him. Paris was great. Taylor's song rocked (it did start out so-so, but he really got into it at the end). Katharine was amazing. Elliot sang well, but it wasn't his best performance. Even I admit that it was one of the weakest performances of the night, but I still like Elliot and still root for him. Ace did fairly well, although, personally, I liked Adam Sandler's rendition of the same song that he did in The Wedding Singer better - lol.

My bottom 3 for this week, based on tonight's performances only, would be: Ace, Kellie and Elliot (sorry guy!). I hope Ace gets booted this week.It is definitely his turn to go.

...and the pain goes on...

Why is it that when you go to the dentist to get a filling done on a tooth that had never hurt or given you any trouble before, you end up leaving with a numb mouth, only to have that never-hurt-before tooth start hurting like hell later on when the novacaine wears off? Is that some secret thing the dentist does to punish you for making him have to work? Oh my gosh. One of the teeth he did fillings on yesterday hurt like hell last night whenever I bit down (like eating for instance - lol - ouch). At first it only hurt when I bit down or touched it, but then it started hurting when I was just sitting there doing nothing. It felt like the nerve was throbbing. I thought I was gonna have to call the dentist this morning to ask what the hell he did to my tooth! But this morning, I don't have that pain so much when I bite down, but it sure as sh*t is cold-sensitive and just plain aches right now. I thought getting a filling was supposed to HELP you not hurt you. But I guess it is normal to have pain and sensitivity (I did a little online research on it last night - lol), although I sure don't remember having this much pain in the past when I have had fillings done. It feels like he made the filling too high, too, cuz it feels like I have food or something on my tooth everytime I bite down. I have to go back next week to have another filling done, so if it is still bothering me then, I will ask about it. I am gonna take an Advil. Freakin' teeth!!! I went out and bought some Act Flouride rinse, as the dentist suggested, to see if that helps my freakin' teeth from getting more freakin' cavities. Ouch. I hate dentists!!!!!!!!!!! My poor mouth! The danged thing never hurt before he filled it. I sense a conspiracy.

Phobia of The Day

Kathisophobia: fear of sitting down

Random Fact of The Day

Barbie's full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts.

Funny Stuff From Dave Barry

Ask Mr Language Person

Q. What is the difference between an "effort" and a "concerted effort"?

A. An effort is when an individual gives between zero and 110 percent; anything above that is a concerted effort, and generally should result in knee damage.

Stupid News Story of The Day

(He must have REALLY wanted that ATM machine.)

Police Rescue Alleged 'Backhoe Bandit'

KANSAS CITY, Kan. - A man who tried to steal an ATM with a backhoe was arrested when he asked police officers who were chasing him for help after he jumped into the Kansas River, police said.

Police said the man, in his 50s, used the backhoe to break into a convenience store in Kansas City, Kan., then tried to drive away with the Automated Teller Machine. As the man tried to flee, the machine and 12 packs of soda fell from the backhoe, police said.

Police followed the man as he took the backhoe through a wooded area before fleeing on foot.

After jumping into the Kansas River, the man swam out about 15 feet from shore, then called for help, saying he was drowning, the police department said.

Two officers jumped into the river, rescued him and arrested him, police said.

The man was taken to a hospital after complaining of an ankle injury, police said. The two officers were unharmed.

No pain, no gain?

Well, this is one of the first times that I have gone to the dentist to have a filling done where I haven't had to have a second shot of novacaine. This appointment was fast. I was in and outta there in 30 minutes! And it was relatively painless. The shot of course didn't feel too good, and there were a few spots when he was drilling that were kinda painful, but I didn't say anything or else he woulda stopped and given me another shot. But as long as it wasn't screamingly unbearable, I figured, what the hell.My mouth is now numb, and so is my tongue, and everytime I talk I end up biting my lip and/or tongue. So I am just gonna sit here and shut up for a while. I am sure my coworkers will like that - hehe.

This movie is so lifelike...I can actually smell the vomit!

They say necessity is the mother of invention. Well, sometimes I have to wonder who NEEDED air pumps for shoes or who NEEDED polka music... or who NEEDED Kevin Federline. Well, this latest "necessity", the so-called "fragrant films", is making me seriously wonder about people. The latest thing in Japan is theatres that, during certain scenes in movies, will release certain smells under the viewer's seat that supposedly go along with the movie. Ok. So it may work for certain films like The Scent of A Woman (haha). It may even work for other movies like Napoleon Dynamite (I can just imagine the scent of quesadillas, nachos and tater tots in the air). But for a movie like Friday the 13th Part 9 or something, well, I really don't wanna be there to smell Jason, all decayed and gross and smelling like rotten meat. Gross! This "Smell-O-Vision" thing makes me wonder what they will come up with next....maybe "Feel-O-Vision", where you get to feel what the characters are feeling....like when one of Jason's victims gets hacked to bits with an axe....ok, that may not work after all. Speaking of nasty stuff, I have a new pet peeve. Well, it is not really new, but it is something that I have lately realized that really REALLY annoys me: When people talk about nasty, gross things when I am eating or am about to eat, or have just finished eating. There is a time and place to talk about those things, and dinner is not one of them! EWWW! Keep your puke stories to yourself until AFTER I have digested my food, thank you very much (unless you wanna see ME puke). I have to go to the dentist pretty soon, and I am not looking foward to it. He is gonna drill on my teeth and I HATE that. It never fails that he starts drilling in there and goes about halfway and then he hits a spot that isn't numb yet, and then he has to stop, give me another shot, and then come back and start back up again. Grrr. Well, I can at least be thankful that they have novacaine nowadays - lol.

Phobia of The Day

Ranidaphobia: fear of frogs

Random Fact of The Day

The age of a thoroughbred racehorse is figured as if its birthday were January 1st rather than actual month and day of its birth.

Funny Stuff From Dave Barry

"Outsourcing is here to stay. Which leads me to my announcement: Starting today, I will no longer personally write my column. It will be produced by foreign humor workers, who, rest assured, are highly trained. You will notice no dropoff in quality as you continue to enjoy the wacky hmogrins of fblsevry lfht hvfrsnnyrs aqdrfltns abtfbls not making this up rltngn alrtrds a good name for a rock band."

Stupid News Story of The Day

(Oops. My bad.)

School Makes Kids Use Buckets for Toilets

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - A principal trying to prevent walkouts during immigration rallies inadvertently introduced a lockdown so strict that children weren't allowed to go to the bathroom, and instead had to use buckets in the classroom, an official said.

Worthington Elementary School Principal Angie Marquez imposed the lockdown March 27 as nearly 40,000 students across Southern California left classes to attend immigrants' rights demonstrations.

Marquez apparently misread the district handbook and ordered a lockdown designed for nuclear attacks.

Tim Brown, the district's director of operations, confirmed some students used buckets but said the principal's order to impose the most severe type of lockdown was an "honest mistake."

"When there's a nuclear attack, that's when buckets are used," Brown told the Los Angeles Times. The principal "followed procedure. She made a decision to follow the handbook. She just misread it."

A message left by The Associated Press for the principal at the school before business hours Monday was not immediately returned, and Marquez did not return telephone calls from the Times.

Appalled parents have complained to the school board. Brown said the school district planned to update its emergency preparedness instructions to give more explicit directions.

Parents and community activists asked the school board at its April 5 meeting to explain the principal's decision. They also sought promises that the lockdown wouldn't be repeated.

"There was no violence at the protests, so this was based on what?" activist Diane Sambrano asked. "It was unsanitary, unnecessary and absolutely unacceptable."

Long drive...big headache

Indecisions! This is what my family is all about. Yesterday evening, around 7 pm, my mom called to say we were gonna leave to go to Santa Rosa at 4 am Sunday morning. About 20 minutes later, she calls and tells me to come over to their house cuz they decided that they were gonna drive to Atascadero and stay the night at my grandma's house and leave from there in the morning. Ugh! Make up your mind people!!

Well, we went up to Santa Rosa and Sebastapol today to visit with my aunt Marge who is in the hospital. We stopped off first in Sebastapol to visit with my aunt Helen. I hadn't seen her probably since my uncle Gump's funeral. She looked pretty good. She is wheelchair bound, because of the MS, but she has helpers that come over everyday to help her out in the house and stuff, plus she has a cute little dog named Buddy to keep her company. This is Buddy...



Isn't he cute? I just love dogs! (by the way, that pic was taken with my camera phone - not a bad pic for a camera phone, if I don't say so myself).

I had forgotten how much I enjoyed visiting my relatives up in Sebastapol. It is so green up there and pretty. My aunt has a couple of bird feeders in her front yard so they were constantly being visited by birds....some bluejays, a woodpecker, a robin, some chickadees, a quail. If I lived there, I would just enjoy sitting there and watching the birds. Must be why she put the feeders in front of her window. We also stopped by to say a quick hi to my cousin Mike who lives down the road.

We got to the hospital around 10:30 or so. When we got there, it was just my family and my aunt Marge there, but soon enough, it was like a family reunion in there! My cousins Steve and Dave came by with their kids (they each have 2 kids), then my uncle Martin came, then my cousin Debbie and her 2 kids came, too. The hospital room was small, so you could imagine all those people stuffed into one room - lol. It was so cool to see them all. I have to say that my cousins' kids are all soooo cute! And well behaved too. It was Easter, so the night before, my cousin Dave had gotten them all Easter baskets and put them in the room for them, so when they came to visit, they would be there for them. Marge said that she saw the Easter bunny deliver them and the kids' faces just lit up - it was so cute.

My aunt...I wish I could say she was doing well, but she isn't. I guess she hasn't eaten a real meal in weeks. She barely touched her lunch and she was in a lot of pain, even though she tried to pass it off as nothing much. Her eyes were watering and she was doubled over like she was in a whole lot of pain. She is just the kind of person that wants people to think she is always all right and that there is nothing wrong with her. My uncle told us that there is something wrong with her brain not sending the signals to her body to process food so that it doesn't digest or something....it was all too complicated for me to understand. She did drink some coffee which she seemed to enjoy. I guess the doctors are starting her on more chemotherapy, some experimental drug which hasn't yet been approved by the FDA. Her daughter is a nurse, so she keeps up on all the medications and stuff, which is to my aunt's benefit. My uncle said that a few days ago, he thought they were gonna lose her. She is very thin. She has always been thin, but she is even more so now. And poor Martin, he is a wreck. I guess he even had to go to the ER cuz he was having chest pains. It is all of the stress and lack of sleep. He needs to take care of himself, too, but he is more concerned about Marge than himself. I could tell by his face that he is just devastated, and it just makes me so sad.

I don't know how much longer she can hold on, but I know from the way she reacted when the doctor said more chemo was needed that she really didn't want to go through with more of that. I know that that stuff makes you sick.

We didn't get home til about 7:30 tonight. It was a long drive.It is over 330 miles from here to Sebastapol, and after over 10 hours in the car with my family today, I sure had one whopper of a headache. My head felt like it was gonna explode! My dad drove nearly all the way, but my bro drove the final 2 hour stretch. It is quite a difference between the two of them driving. My dad is more the slightly-over-the-speed-limit-but-steady, and my bro is more of the get-outta-my-way kind of driver.

This is an example of my dad's driving:

silence for about an hour...
Dad: "Does anyone need to stop and use the restroom?"
Us: "No, not yet"
Silence......

Ok....now here is an example of my bro's driving:

Mark" "What is wrong with this asshole? Drive!!! GO!!! What is wrong with you??"
Mom: "Calm down."
Dad: (silence)
Mark: "He is going fucking 60 miles per hour in the fast lane for Christ's sake! MOVE IT!
Me: (thinking to myself, I am glad he is not carrying his gun with him)
Mark: "At this rate it is gonna take fucking 3 hours to get home. FUCK!"
Me: (silently laughing to myself....I am in a car with a crazy person at the wheel)
Mark: "FUCK!!!! Move your ass you stupid motherfucker!"
and so on and so forth.

Yes, it was an interesting drive home.