Ice Cream?

"In honor of the 44th President of the United States, Baskin-Robbins Ice Cream has introduced a new flavor: “Barocky Road.”

Barocky Road is a blend of half vanilla, half chocolate, and surrounded by nuts and flakes. The vanilla portion of the mix is not openly advertised and usually denied as an ingredient. The nuts and flakes are all very bitter and hard to swallow.

The cost is $100.00 per scoop. When purchased it will be presented to you in a large beautiful cone, but then the ice cream is taken away and given to the person in line behind you. You are left with an empty wallet and no change, holding an empty cone with no hope of getting any ice cream.

Are you stimulated?"

Borrowed from Norma who found it at Common Folk

New Song Titles

Gram sent me this in an email. I had to share.

Some of the artists of the 60's are revising their hits with new lyrics to accommodate aging baby boomers.
They include:

Bobby Darin ---
Splish, Splash, I Was Havin' a Flash.

Herman's Hermits ---
Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Walker .

Ringo Starr ---
I Get By With a Little Help From Depends.


The Bee Gees -- -
How Can You Mend a Broken Hip..

Roberta Flack---
The First Time Ever I Forgot Your Face.

Johnny Nash ---
I Can't See Clearly Now.

Paul Simon---
Fifty Ways to Lose Your Liver

The Commodores ---
Once, Twice, Three Times to the Bathroom.

Marvin Gaye ---
Heard It Through the Grape Nuts.

Procol Harem---
A Whiter Shade of Hair.

Leo Sayer ---
You Make Me Feel Like Napping.

The Temptations ---
Papa's Got a Kidney Stone.

Abba---
Denture Queen.

Tony Orlando ---
Knock three Times On The Ceiling If You Hear Me Fall.

Helen Reddy ---
I Am Woman, Hear Me Snore.

Leslie Gore---
It's My Procedure, and I'll Cry If I Want To.

And Last but NOT least:

Willie Nelson ---
On the Commode Again

Guitar Hero

Guitar Hero - is a blast!!

Mom Central asked us to try out 2 Nintendo DS versions of Guitar Hero - Guitar Hero On Tour: Modern Hits and the Guitar Hero On Tour: Decades.

When the box arrived, I handed each of my kids a game and told them they had to play it and let me know how they liked it. They sat there for a moment - I think they were stunned that I was making them play video games. They quickly got over it and got down to business.

The games come with stickers that you can stick on your DS. Personally, I didn't think they'd be into that at all. I was wrong. They loved the stickers. They each spent about 20 minutes deciding what stickers they would use on their DS and where they'd put them... They are 16 and 14. I guess some stickers are still cool.

The game comes with a guitar grip thing - I'm oh so technical - that goes into one of the slots on the DS. This grip has the colored buttons on it that you use to control the game. There is also a guitar pick that slides into the grip for safe keeping. (Those developers really thought of everything.) You use the pick to strum and the buttons are the frets and strings... It's pretty ingenious!! Anyway, the game comes with a skin that you can put into the grip to personalize the look of your grip... If you want to make your own skin or want a cooler skin, you can go to the Guitar Hero website and print out your own skins from the Grip Gallery... How cool is that?


Speaking of the Guitar Hero website - go take a look. I'll wait. It is really quite awesome. There is information there for parents and kids. We parents want information - and it is all there - ergonomics, song lists, how and where to purchase, etc. Kids want the good stuff - skins, videos, the Which rocker are you? quiz... (I'm Calista Valenz, by the way - tough as nails and sweet like candy - how did they know??)

Both of my kids have played the PS2 version of Guitar Hero, so they knew the rules and such. They got their headphones all plugged into their DSs and started rocking. Since they had different versions, the music was different and they didn't want to listen to the other one rock, headphones were in order. Note to parents: Headphones are the best invention ever - especially in the car. They can rock and you can still listen to the radio.

#1 had the Decades version. He enjoyed it very much and gave it 5 stars. He liked the challenge of the game, the music itself (which is awesome - everything from the Foo Fighters to Lenny Kravitz to REM and Bon Jovi), the fact that you could move up the ranks and unlock more songs. LLB had Modern Hits. She, too, loved the music itself - everything from Phantom Planet to Modest Mouse to Yellow Card. She enjoyed the ability to choose which part to play - melody, bass, etc. She did not like having to get Fan Points to move up the ranks. Alas, she managed to rock on and still gave the game 5 stars.

My kids really enjoyed rocking together and competing against each other - something you can only do if you have 2 games and controllers. They spent hours trying to kick each other's proverbial butt - both in the car and on the couch. There was much discussion about the songs, the game itself and who liked what why. I'm not sure if that was because they were game testing or if it was just something they would have done anyway. It was really neat to listen in and see what they were thinking.

There were many laughs, giggles, and groans as they Guitar Heroed together.

My kids shared music, thoughts, opinions, laughter, and time.
And really, isn't that what summer is all about?

If you are looking for a great game to play in the car, at home, in a waiting room (with headphones), or pretty much anywhere - Guitar Hero is for you!!

Wow - Time flies

We've started summer around here - complete with sleeping late (7am is late for me), seeing a movie, and going out for ice cream.
Today we're starting out slow...
A leisurely breakfast and lunch and then an afternoon at a friend's pool.
I should make some goodies to bring over, but...
We'll see.

Next week marks the first camp of the summer - LLB is off to play her trumpet at a local band camp for the week. She'll be in the Jazz group with her other friends as they are experienced musicians.

Me? I'll be driving her to camp and picking her up. I think a movie is on the horizon for Tuesday - The Proposal. Tuesday is $1 popcorn day, so we need to go then... Besides that, I've got to do some music inventory at the church one morning and band uniforms another morning. See - I'm always busy with something!

Saturday 9

I stole this from Melli who stole it from Thom...

1. Do you like James Bond films? If yes, what’s your favorite? Yes. I like them all actually...

2. Are you daring enough to go snorkeling in the water fountain at the mall? Ummm... no.

3. Do you sometimes hate everything and everyone around you? I have my moments.

4. Do you secretly or openly believe the world revolves around you? I wish. I am a mom... 'nuff said.

5. Would you rather buy a moped or a Harley Davidson? I wouldn't ride either, but a Harley is so much cooler.

6. Do you water ski or ice ski? I can snow ski... really slowly... as in so slowly that nobody will ski with me. As long as they meet me for lunch, I'm happy.

7. Tell us about the last time that you tailgated. We tailgate every weekend at polo.

8. What was the last concert that you attended? The Middle School spring concert last week. It was lovely!

9. What’s the most exotic food that you’ve eaten? hmm... I like caviar... I like barnacles... Is that exotic enough?

It's a Pahty!

Sometimes we just can't do what all the cool kids are doing.
This time it's Blog Her.
I can't go.
But there is a way to still hang with the cool kids:

You can, too!!!
Just click it.

Brilliant!

I was sitting having lunch with a group of friends the other day and we were discussing the reception for the 8th graders that happens after the awards ceremony.

One woman mentioned cutting the cake with dental floss.

My french fry froze in mid air. My mouth hung open. I blinked slowly. Time stopped as I looked at each one. I was blown away - again - by these women who know so much more about everything - and yet, they still let me hang with them...

Huh?

Oh, yes, LBC! People cut large sheet cakes with dental floss.
There are no crumbs. The pieces are perfect every time.
No knives! No mess!! No knife wiping.

Do you need a special kind of dental floss? I'll get it.

No. I think any old dental floss will work.

So yesterday I arrived at school with a large spatula and a roll of dental floss.
And guess what?
It worked.
It would have worked better if the cakes hadn't been so cold. Umm... they'd been in the school fridge on the bottom and were almost, but not quite, frozen.
The frosting stayed put. There was no knife wiping...

So - I'm passing this on.
Dental floss cuts cake.

She Cleaned Up!

LLB walked away with many awards today including the Lions Club Academic Excellence Award which came with a $100 savings bond.
She got the Band Student of the year award for excellence over the 3 years she was in middle school. How lovely!!!
She walked away with the Presidential Award for Academic Excellence - no surprise there. Her grades are terrific.
She got the Mathematics Award and the Science Award,too.
As her friend HP said (after he walked away with just as many prizes as LLB), I'm smart. I like being smart!"
Being smart pays.

I was awarded a prize as well. I volunteered in the band room for 5 years. I kept the music library in order, I substituted, I helped with the fundraisers, the receptions, and more. I got a certificate and the Music Library was named for me. I have a plaque with my name on it on the Music Library's door. I was so touched. I have never felt more appreciated.

I sure am going to miss middle school music...
High school music just isn't the same...

Time Flies

It seems like just yesterday when we were at the Awards Ceremony for #1. Now it's LLB's turn. I don't know what she'll get, but I know she'll get something :-)

She's up for the Champions of Excellence along with all of her friends. So, if she wins, great and if she doesn't, a really nice kid will win it and that's great, too.

So, now I have to make myself presentable, pack the car, pick up some lemonade, and get my butt to school...

One more day...

And then middle school is over.

I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I am ready.

LLB is more than ready...

High school? Bring it on!

The Lace Makers of Glenmara

I was asked to review the new novel, The Lace Makers of Glenmara by Heather Barbieri by Mothertalk.

I got the book in the mail one afternoon last week. I opened it up and read the first 10 pages - I was totally hooked. I couldn't wait to see where Kate was going, who she was meeting, and what might happen next.

This is what the editorial review says about The Lace Makers of Glenmara:
"You can always start again," Kate Robinson's mother once told her, "all it takes is a new thread." Overwhelmed by heartbreak and loss, the struggling twenty-six-year-old fashion designer follows her mother's advice and flees to her ancestral homeland of Ireland, hoping to break free of old patterns and reinvent herself.

She arrives on the west coast, in the seaside hamlet of Glenmara. In this charming, fading Gaelic village, Kate quickly develops a bond with members of the local lace-making society: Bernie, alone and yearning for a new purpose since the death of her beloved husband, John; Aileen, plagued by doubt, helplessly watching her teenage daughter grow distant; Moira, caught in a cycle of abuse and denial, stubbornly refusing help from those closest to her; Oona, in remission from breast cancer, secretly harboring misgivings about her marriage; Colleen, the leader of the group, worried about her fisherman husband, missing at sea. And outside this newfound circle is local artist Sullivan Deane, an enigmatic man trying to overcome a tragedy of his own.

Under Glenmara's spell, Kate finds the inspiration that has eluded her, and soon she and the lace makers are creating a line of exquisite lingerie. In their skilled hands, flowers, Celtic dragons, nymphs, fish, saints, kings, and queens come to life, rendered with painterly skill. The circle also offers them something more—the strength to face their long-denied desires and fears. But not everyone welcomes Kate, and a series of unexpected events threatens to unravel everything the women have worked so hard for. . . .

I read this book late into the night even though I just KNEW I'd be exhausted the next day, but I couldn't put it down! This book is a terrific beach read, waiting room read, or even a lazy Saturday afternoon read. If lace or sewing isn't your thing, it doesn't matter. The book is WAY more than that. It's about relationships, friendships, and more.

Need a good read? Try The Lace Makers of Glenmara - you won't be sorry. It's being released June 23rd. If you really want it sooner, you can pre-order it at your favorite on-line book store.

Just one more thing...

There is always just one more thing... ever notice?

We weren't going to have the 8th grade reception after their awards ceremony. We really don't have a ton of money to be spending on cakes - and the kids really don't need one more sweet this week.

Alas, the best laid plans are often thwarted by the Principal... She has forgotten that the awards ceremony always runs late and the kids who have to take the bus are trying to get out. She has forgotten that the rest of us don't really want cake and we just want to get out of Dodge.... Some of us will have lunch out with friends at the local burger joint and that piece of cake just takes up valuable burger space in our tummies. The other thing she has forgotten is that I don't want to have to hang around and clean it all up... but, I will. It is my last job as PTO Queen...

So - today I will be getting the local supermarket to bake me 300 cupcakes instead of cake - and I'll get a big tub of C*untry T*me Lemonade. I will be hitting the dollar store for some plastic table cloths.

If the cupcakes are too expensive, I'll make a Costco run and just get 3 sheetcakes and plates and forget it.

The Last Week

Of school is here.
It's been really busy, but it's sure been fun!
We've had 2 ballet performances of Sleeping Beauty, 21 people for dinner, been to the high school graduation and sold water for the band, hit a graduation party, and even had time to clean the house - well, not really, but we did get it picked up and vacuumed.

Today I am off to purchase the food for tomorrow's 8th grade picnic. Then we have a friend's 70th birthday party. Yes, I intend to sit and enjoy it.

Tomorrow is the 8th grade picnic. #1 has his meeting with the judge to get his real license in the afternoon. (You drive on a temporary for up to 180 days.) From there we'll meet up with the rest of the family for a quick dinner. Then the kids have their first marching band practice. I can't wait to take pix of LLB and her friends learning their left from their right.

Tuesday might be my day to do laundry and housework unless something better comes my way!

Wednesday is the 8th grade breakfast where the teachers roast the students. I'm not sure if I'm going to go to that, but I'd like to hear what the teachers have to say. I've worked it in years past and it is really quite funny!

Thursday is the big day. LLB leaves 8th grade and becomes a freshman.
She is ready.
Me? I'm ready, too!

Most Outstanding

8th Grade Band Student...
For the 3rd year in a row the recipient was LLB.
Just like her brother.
FYI: Only two students have ever gotten Most Outstanding Band Student for 3 years in a row - both of them live in my house. :-)

LLB works very hard.
She got a plaque with her name on it. How cool is that?

LLB also walked away with 3 superlative awards chosen by her classmates: Biggest Workaholic, Most Talented, and Most Dedicated. She was so excited!

The 8th grade gave their band teacher a very special gift - a new Mollard baton with his name engraved on it. He was touched. It is definitely not something he'd ever purchase for himself. LLB presented it to him. She did a great job of it. After he opened the baton, she asked him for the old one. He gave it to her and she promptly passed it to HP. HP eventually gave it to the boy who won "Most Likely to Become a Band Teacher".

BUT, the best gift he got came from all of the students - a cart filled with root beer and birch beer - his favorite beverages. He was SOO excited - his eyes actually lit up!

Lost in Obamaland

This was written by a writer named Barbara Anderson who writes for The Salem News. I thought it deserved to be read by all of you.

Read it. Pass it on to others who need to understand what is happening to our country.



The Salem News
Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Lost in Obamaland
© by Barbara Anderson

I'm lost. Nothing makes sense anymore.

Do you (still) watch "Lost"? I had an epistemological insight in the final moments of this past season when the hydrogen bomb exploded, hopefully to blast the island back to an earlier dimension. I realized that the many people who enjoyed the ABC series when it began eventually fell into two categories — those who need a drama to make sense, so the viewer can follow the plot; and those who just go along for the ride. The first group has dropped out; the second can't wait for the start of the 2010 season.

I always thought I was a first-group TV drama viewer, but I find I'm happy to just watch "Lost"; maybe I really do expect the writers to share the meaning of life by the final episode. Or maybe I just need to fantasize about being blasted back to an earlier dimension, because I am so truly lost in this year's political realities.

For most of my life, the United States of America was the greatest (capitalist) nation in the world, battling in a Cold War with the Soviet Union and, should it ever awaken from the poverty of its communist economy, ready to fight Red China as well. Suddenly it's 2009, where the Chinese own a trillion dollars of our national debt and are lecturing us on fiscal responsibility; while a Russian columnist writes the following warning in the April 27 edition of the Russian newspaper Pravda:

"It must be said, that like the breaking of a great dam, the American descent into Marxism is happening with breath-taking speed, against the back drop of a passive, hapless sheeple ...

"First, the population was dumbed down through a politicized and substandard education system based on pop culture, rather then the classics. Americans know more about their favorite TV dramas than the drama in DC that directly affects their lives....

"Then their faith in God was destroyed, until their churches, all tens of thousands of different 'branches and denominations' were for the most part ... happy to sell out their souls and flocks to be on the 'winning' side of one pseudo Marxist politician or another ...

"The final collapse has come with the election of Barack Obama. His speed in the past three months has been truly impressive. His spending and money printing has been a record setting, not just in America's short history but in the world ... Prime Minister Putin, less then two months ago, warned Obama and UK's Blair, not to follow the path to Marxism, it only leads to disaster ...

"Again, the American public has taken this with barely a whimper ...

"The Russian owners of American companies and industries should look thoughtfully at this and the option of closing their facilities down and fleeing the land of the Red as fast as possible. In other words, divest while there is still value left.

"The proud American will go down into his slavery without a fight, beating his chest and proclaiming to the world, how free he really is. The world will only snicker."

At first I didn't believe a Russian wrote this; I thought perhaps a Republican was trying to make a partisan point about the Obama Administration. But it's easy to find Pravda on the Web, and the column by Stanislav Mishin. So, yes, a Russian is telling us that a version of the old Soviet Union is coming to an economy very near us.

Conservative American commentators are ridiculed when they use the word "socialism" to describe what is happening, and much of the public laughs because it has no idea what either capitalism or socialism is, or why freedom can exist with only the former.

Though readers of this newspaper may not be among them — or need me to use "favorite TV dramas" to make my point — I'll pause to define.

Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and distribution; socialism is based on public ownership. This week, as the government takes over General Motors and plans to take over the health care industry, funded by a European-style Value Added Tax, why aren't Americans outraged?

This country was founded by people who just wanted to get the heck out of where they already were. The writers of our Constitution were aware of what was wrong with those other places and created a document that would keep the new nation from eventually falling into the old, familiar patterns which its citizens, for good reason, had left behind.

This is why the Constitution is not a "living document." The form of government it outlines is based on immutable values. All nominees to the Supreme Court should understand this. If they must empathize, let them feel for those who will have no place to emigrate if America fails.

All is not lost. We can fight to regain control, to restore what has been uniquely American — our free economic system. Or we can hang back and just enjoy the drama, until we learn that nothing is enjoyable when freedom is gone.

We do not, however, have the option of dropping out and simply watching another channel.

Electrolux Lemonade Stands

Remember setting up a lemonade stand in your neighborhood? I do. I never sold much, but it was a fun way to spend an afternoon! Well, now we have the Virtual Lemonade Stand by Electrolux and Kelly Ripa. The Virtual Lemonade Stand campaign raises funds for Ovarian Cancer Research. Starting this month, you can visit Electroluxappliances.com to design and open your own virtual lemonade stand. You can even pick the flavors of lemonade you want to feature at your stand, like raspberry or citrus.

For every lemonade stand opened, Electrolux will donate $1 to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund (OCRF). You can help the cause even more by buying and sending virtual glasses of lemonade to your friends and family! 100% of the proceeds benefit OCRF. Ovarian Cancer is a very nasty cancer and we need to find a way to beat it!

Just for opening your stand, and then again every day that you log in and visit your stand, you will be entered to win a new French Door Refrigerator from Electrolux – perfect for storing your own pitchers of lemonade. When others donate to your stand, they will also have a chance to win.

The new French Door Refrigerator by Electrolux has some cool new features that make it a great refrigerator for entertaining. This kind of refrigerator is the only kind that will fit in the opening in my kitchen. I'd LOVE to win one of these!! This refrigerator has many excellent options including the Perfect Temp Drawer™. This little lovely provides storage for items that you want to keep at an ideal temperature - me, I'd use it for cold cuts because I drive 25 miles to the grocery store that has the best cold cuts. It’s also a large enough refrigerator to store everything from party platters to juice boxes. The French Door Refrigerator also offers double the ice so there is always enough ice on hand to fill your pitchers of lemonade. I NEED an icemaker. I'm still operating with those little ice cube trays!!

Oh - and Mom Central will be giving away one French Door Refrigerator to a member of our community!* To enter, simply go to momcentral.com and (1) tell us about the lemonade stand you designed on the Electrolux site - which flavors you chose and (2) share your own “summer entertaining” tips/ideas. Mom Central will pick one lucky winner in a random drawing from all entries received!

So - if you need a new refrigerator - kill two birds with one stone. Help find a cure and enter to win. Get off your butt and go sell some lemonade!

Tarred and Feathered

LLB had a job this weekend - to walk a dog that belongs to a woman up the street. This woman who holds the dog's bowl while he eats... This is what you call a crazy dog lady, people.

LLB went over on Thursday and got the instructions.
They were simple: Walk the dog - keep him in the grass because the new stuff they put on the street will hurt his feet (Huh?? whatever... we can do that...), keep the dog company for an hour, brush him and put him in the house.
On Saturday we went up to her house with Zeb in tow. While she was retrieving the dog, a truck went by. We didn't think much of it until we got down to the street and started walking in the grass. They had sprayed new TAR along the edge of the road and into the grass. It looked like muddy water and we'd had a lot of rain - so it took us a minute to figure out why we were messy and the dogs were a disaster!!

We moved to the other side of the street, and continued our walk. The tar was there and there was nothing we could do, but keep going. We decided to bring both dogs back to our house so we could clean up our charge. He is a tan and white corgi whose owner is neurotic about his appearance... of course she is.

He's a grossly overweight 18 month old dog who got tar on his paws and his belly because it drags when he walks. We got most of the tar off of this poor soul and it took some work! We let him play with Zeb and run around for a hour. Then we brought him home and brushed him out good. He was sooo tired he could barely stand.

LLB and I thought she had done a very good job of caring for this dog. She called the owner to tell her that we had gotten into some tar, but that we cleaned him up. She didn't want her to be shocked when she got home. We felt that she was a responsible dog sitter.

Alas, when she went to get him for his walk yesterday, there was a note. It seems that the lady took the dog with her. LLB was so upset. She feels like the lady didn't trust her to walk and care for the dog. We assured LLB that she did the best she could with the situation. BTW: Zeb is a disaster. He is still sporting WAY more tar than the other dog. We worked harder to get it off of our charge than our own dog... It will wear off. It wore off before and it will wear off again. It is what it is.

So - LLB left her a note on her door. LLB asked her exactly what she had done wrong. We've heard nothing.

Will we ever watch that dog again? Umm...no thank you. We love the dog - he's a blast! The woman,though, is WAY too high maintenance.

Spoiled...

That's what I am.
We got a new Mac this week.
This: is sitting on my desk. And I LOVE it.
Our old eMac is 5 years old. It is still a functioning machine, but it's starting to feel it's age. It was time for an upgrade.
Will we just dump our old faithful? No way! It will be set up in the dining room for the children to use. (I also have an attic full of old Macs - including a classic - that I just can't part with.)
It will be nice to have a machine just for me (again) - 3 people on one computer is just too much! Especially when 2 of them have projects and I have stuff to do like write blog posts, balance my checkbook, and check my email. (I have needs.)
I got the iMac with 24 inch screen - yes, it is huge. It seems a bit excessive, but, you all know how frugal I am. I got last year's model for very little cash. It's all about the bargain...
This sweet iMac is faster and has 10 times the memory of my last one. The keyboard is wicked!! It's almost flat. The keys are smooth and don't require more than a light touch.
I have a couple of nit-noids to work out including finding the right outgoing email portal. Once I get them set this afternoon, I'll be golden.
I am not paid by Apple to say this, but I'm going to say it anyway:
Need a new machine? Get a Mac.

It's Party Time!

Tonight is LLB's 8th Grade Dance. It's a Luau themed dance complete with leis and lighted palm trees. The parents will decorate the gym today after school. No, that doesn't leave us with a lot of time, but we'll manage.

Before I head over to school for decorating duty, I've got to bake some cookies and iron LLB's dress.

Speaking of the dress - I scored a Mother of the Year Award on Wednesday when I found the dress, the shoes, and the jewelry in one shopping trip. The shoes and the jewelry were on sale. The dress... well, let's just say, I loved the dress, so it really doesn't matter, right?

She will dance the night away with her friends.
Hopefully all this work will pay off and she and her friends will remember a wonderful evening.

Double Standards

Mr and I don't go out on dates very often but when we do we go to exciting places like the dump and the local burger joint. We spend exactly $12.42. We are fortunate that don't have to pay a baby sitter because our children are old enough to stay home alone.

What I am blown away by is the fact that our illustrious president went out on a date to the tune of $1 million and no one is upset. He spent OUR hard earned cash to go to NYC with his wife!! You'd probably squawk if I spent your money to go out on my date - all $12.42 of it! How come no one is offended that he spent our money??

Michelle took her staff to a burger joint for lunch - a burger joint that got shut down for rats later in the day. She picks such great places to feed her staff... obviously that's not good enough for her... SHE had to go to NYC for dinner.

I am offended that the president and his wife felt they had to go to NYC to get a good meal and a show. Excuse me, but DC has world class restaurants and excellent theater opportunities. My theory is: if you are in NYC, then you eat in NYC. If you are in DC, you eat in DC. Was it really necessary to spend $1 million to go to dinner??

The government now owns the banks and a good chunk of the auto industry. People are having trouble making ends meet. People who have been in the auto industry for generations are finding themselves without jobs. How ostentatious of him to spend $1 million on dinner out.

Know what I see? I see socialism. It's okay for the rest of us to work, and scrimp, and just get by. But not him. He is partying it up on my dollar and I don't like it.

I see Mao all over again - except this Mao is named Obama.

Don't believe me? Go do some research.

For my Friends

Who enjoy a glass of wine as much as I:

As Ben Franklin said:

In wine there is wisdom,
In beer there is freedom,
In water there is bacteria.

In a number of carefully controlled trials, scientists have demonstrated that if we drink 1 liter of water each day, at the end of the year we would have absorbed more than 1 kilo of Escherichia coli, (E. Coli) - bacteria found in feces. In other words, we are consuming 1 kilo of poop.

However, we do NOT run that risk when drinking wine & beer (or tequila, rum, whiskey or other liquor) because alcohol has to go through a purification process of boiling, filtering and/or fermenting.
Remember:
Water = Poop,
Wine = Health.

Therefore, it's better to drink wine and talk stupid, than to drink water and be full of shit.

There is no need to thank me for this valuable information:
I'm doing it as a public service.

Ha!

We had a couple of crafters at the strawberry festival give us a hard time because they didn't like their spots. They felt that people weren't buying because they didn't know that they were down a little aisle.
Believe me. There are no bad spots. The basket guy was on that aisle for 3 years and cleaned up each and every time.
There was one lady in particular - AKA: The Cookbook Lady - who gave me a hard time at the end of the second day.
She didn't like her spot.
She didn't sell enough cook books.
She wanted half her money back.
Ha! I think not!
She wanted MY volunteers (I don't have volunteers...) to stand at the end of the aisle and make people walk down there.
Ha! I think not!
Yesterday she called me. She tried to butter me up. It seems she wants to come back but wants a different space.
Ha! I think not!

The Beginning of The End

We have 2.5 weeks of school left.
Those of you who volunteer at school frequently know what that means.
It means:
I will be at one school or another almost every day doing something.
I will be at home working on stuff for school almost every day.
Oh, yes, I need to do the band slide show...
Oh, yes, I need to make something for the high school's band banquet.
Oh, yes, I have to still get my house picked up and the laundry done.
I will be counting the days...
Time will fly and somehow we will get it all done.

#1 is ready to be done with school for this year.
He is so ready that he has volunteered to take the last school day off before finals to help out at the middle school. Fortunately for him, he doesn't have to take finals - the lucky dog!
More than anything, #1 is ready to do some serious sleeping in.

LLB is ready, too.
She is sick of projects and homework.
She is ready to finish with middle school and move on to the high school.
She is ready for summer and the challenge of music camp.

I, too am ready...
No more PTO.
Both children in one school.
One activity at a time.
No more ballet and the frustration that goes along with it.
I can see the light.
2.5 weeks - and the light will be brighter. And I'll be able to sleep in, too!
I am like The Little Engine that Could...
I think I can...