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Sunday, July 31, 2016

Man Beats Friend for Refusing to Eat Ramen Noodles

A man in Pennsylvania beat his friend for refusing to eat the Ramen noodles he had cooked for him, punching him 10-15 times in the right eye. Court records show the victim had bruises, swelling, and a 1" cut under his eye.

Okay, let me get this straight ... the victim was punched 10-15 times in his right eye. If the victim had been trying to get away, he would have been punched numerous places ... so that means the victim sat there, motionless, while his friend continued to hit him ... in his right eye.

I'm going out on a limb here and guess drugs or alcohol ... or likely both ... had something to do with this altercation!

Saturday, July 30, 2016

Miniature Dollhouse Electric Chair? Why?


While window shopping online the other night, I came across an electric chair for miniature dollhouses. Why would anyone want an electric chair for the miniature dollhouse? And, at almost $40, it's not exactly cheap!! A miniature electric chair is too gory for me. I prefer sweet, innocent scenes of cookies and pies and picnic lunch messes spread around a tiny replica kitchen.

Friday, July 29, 2016

Happy System Administrator Day!


The last Friday in July is known as International System Administrator Day (SAD) or System Administrator Appreciation Day (SAAD), a day to celebrate the geeks and nerds that make the world go 'round. It is said that on this day, Sys Admins and other IT professionals are to be showered with gifts and kind gestures. SADly, aside from Sys Admins and IT professionals, very few know about this holiday, so my nerdy co-workers and I are left to celebrate alone. How SAD!

Thursday, July 28, 2016

Tuesday, July 26, 2016

American Ninja Warrior

Back in the day ... and I won't tell you when that day was ... I was a force to be reckoned with. Standing at an impressive 4'11", people looked at me as tiny ... because I was (and still am) tiny, but they incorrectly assumed tiny meant weak, and I was anything but weak. Pound for pound, I was freaky strong!

More than once a guy had bet me that I couldn't do 25 push-ups. The "real" kind of push-up, not the "girl" kind. I'd look at them like they had bet that I couldn't chew gum and walk at the same time. Then, I would tell them I could do 50 push-ups! We'd define the wager, and then I would do 50 perfect push-ups without breaking a sweat. Most of the time the wagers were so outlandish there was no way of collecting on them, but that wasn't the point. The point was that I proved them wrong.

When someone told me I was too "little" to do something, I took that as an opportunity to show them that there was more to me than meets the eye. When someone told me my hands were too small to do a particular card trick, I picked up the deck and practiced a few times, then executed it flawlessly to show him not to make any more assumptions about me. I'm not saying I was a strong as a man, I'm not ... I'm saying when it came to feats of strength or endurance, I could hold my own.

As I watch American Ninja Warrior, I am well aware that I would humiliate myself it I attempted anything like that now, but back in my heyday, I think I would have shocked everyone. Seeing me trying to do that obstacle course right now would not be awe-inspiring ... it would be comical. And not in a good way, but rather a sad, pathetic kind of way!

I love watching Kacy Catanzaro. Not only is she a woman, she's only 5' tall and weighs just 100 pounds, yet she conquers obstacles that have felled many a man. It's inspiring to watch her, and I love it that she proves being small doesn't mean you're weak.

It's too bad they didn't have American Ninja Warrior when I was in my 20's. My glory days are now behind me, but back then, I think I might even have been able to give the other competitors a run for their money. Alas, it's too late now. All I can do is talk about how awesome I might have been on the ANW course, but I'll never be able prove it. I really do wish I could see how far I would have gone. But, I was extremely shy in my youth ... I would have dreamed of doing it, but who knows if I would have had the nerve to do it with the world watching. Probably not ... but I really do think I would have done pretty good!

Monday, July 25, 2016

Being a Big Brother is Hard Work


But being the grandma or aunt to the big brother, means you get to spend lots of time with him! For the first time, my little grandson got to spend the night ... two nights in a row! He's such a sweet baby. If I had handed God instructions for the perfect grandbaby, this is the baby I would have ordered. His little sister is just as cute, and I'm hoping she'll be just as sweet and easy-going. But, being the grandma, I probably think she's amazing even if she's a little stinker.

I'm a little rusty getting up with a little one and getting us both ready, but I managed, and day two was a lot easier. I love this sweet, happy little boy soooooo much, and I'm already head-over-heels in love his pretty little sister. I feel so lucky!

Sunday, July 24, 2016

Grandma Heaven


I've been blogging late these past few nights because I've been at the hospital all day and had my grandson overnight while his Mommy is recovering from delivering his new baby sister.

The doctors thought she'd only be around 4 lbs and would most likely have to go to NICU for a few days ... but she was almost 7 lbs ... 6 lbs 15 oz, to be exact ... and didn't have to go to NICU! She weighed exactly one pound more than her brother at birth. She's as pretty as her brother is handsome. I love these babies! I think I'll call them Fifi and Fido!

At 9-1/2 months old, Fido isn't quite sure what to make of his new baby sister, but he does know he doesn't like it when his Grandma or his Nana or his Mommy hold her! He's too young to understand, and he's used to his servants jumping at his commands. His orders still get obeyed, but sometimes not as quickly as he'd like or by who he wants executing them. Note: He always wants the one holding his sister to say "how high" when he says "jump".

They look nearly identical. Below is a picture of my grandson when he was just a few hours old, and my granddaughter at about twelve hours old. The likeness is uncanny!


Meeting his sister for the first time ...


And before she was born, when all his servants catered only to him ...


Saturday, July 23, 2016

Silver Falls Dichondra


Thing 1 introduced me to a trailing annual I had never heard of ... Silver Falls Dichondra. One of her neighbors had some pots of it hanging on her front porch, which Thing 1 mistook for Spanish Moss until she got closer. When Thing 1 asked the homeowner what the plant was and where she got it, the homeowner feigned ignorance on both questions. Some people won't their recipes ... some won't disclose their plant knowledge! Not to be deterred, Thing 1 took to the internet to find the answers for herself. Armed with the name of the plant, she then contacted all of the nurseries in town to see if anyone had it. One did, so she hurried over and bought some.

Thing 1 knows I love Spanish Moss, and since it looks a great deal like Spanish Moss from a distance, she knew I would love it. We went to the nursery to pick some up for me, but there was only one left. I bought it and planted it, thinking one little plant would take a really long time to grow as big as in the pictures I drooled over on the internet. To my surprise, that one scrawny plant grows quickly! By the end of the summer, I am confident it will be every bit as beautiful as the pictures that drew me to this amazing plant.

Day 1

Day 13

Day 44

Thursday, July 21, 2016

Oops!


I'm guessing someone had a hard time getting bailed out of jail ... and faced a pretty tough crowd when he got home!!

Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Blue Lives Matter, Too

I've been thinking a lot about all of the police officers ambushed and murdered recently. It really makes me sick to think of all these men putting their lives on the line being killed for no other reason than their choice of vocation.

I'm sure there are racist white cops, and I'm also sure there are racist black cops, but I don't think they are the majority. I think most cops try to be fair to everyone. Unless you are evil to the core, no one can remain unaffected if they kill someone. Any normal person would feel remorse for taking a life, even when justified.

The sad fact is that almost twice as many whites are killed by police than are blacks. In the first five months of 2015, 385 people were killed by police, 365 men and 20 women. 180 were white, 105 were black, 57 were Hispanic, 6 were Asian, 3 were "other", and 34 were unknown. Whites make up almost half of the total killed by police ... 47% to be exact. But no one talks about that.

There was a documentary on OJ Simpson recently. They interviewed a large number of people involved in the case, including prosecutors, defense attorneys, and jurists. One of the jurists, a black woman, was asked if the recent acquittal of the police officers who beat Rodney King played a role in their decision to acquit OJ. She said yes, she was sure it did. When they asked her if it played a role in her decision to find OJ Simpson not guilty, she nodded in the affirmative. Someone else, I can't remember who, said, "This is for Rodney King."

I remember the Rodney King beating. The tape of his beating was played over and over and over on the news. I had to turn away when they showed it. It sickened me to watch it. And I remember being shocked that the police were found not guilty. I didn't sit in the trial, and I didn't hear all the evidence, but to me, it sure looked like the police continued to beat that man a lot longer than could be justified. I can understand the outrage in the King verdict. I, too, was outraged, but how does allowing a double-murderer to go free atone for Rodney King?

Obama just fans the flames. He said "What black man hasn't heard the car doors lock when they walk across the street?" I find that ludicrous. If a black man dressed in "normal" clothing is walking across the street towards me, I wouldn't feel in danger. But if anyone, regardless of color, is dressed like a gang-banger, holding up his britches to keep them from falling to his ankles, that makes me uncomfortable. It's not the color of someone's skin that scares people into locking their doors ... it's their demeanor.

In all my dealings with police (all for traffic violations), I have never once felt threatened ... and neither did police. I treated them with respect. I didn't smart-off. I was polite. I didn't try to make a run for it. Every time I was pulled over, I had done something wrong. Sometimes I didn't realize the speed limit had changed, and so I was going too fast. That was my fault, and they had every right to pull me over.

Cops want to go home to their families after their shift. They're not out looking for a fight, but they are trained to fight if they feel lives are threatened. Fighting when lives are threatened is their job! Challenging authority, especially when that authority is armed, is just plain stupid. If you try to intimidate a cop, it's not going to end well. If you want a cop to think you're a threat, he's going to treat you as such.

The Black Lives Matter movement is getting out of control. They are exactly what they accuse the cops of being, and worse. Of course black lives matter. ALL lives matter ... which means the lives of those who put their lives on the line to protect everyone else matter, too.

Tuesday, July 19, 2016

1.5 Million Dollars to Study How Infants Think About Food

As of September of 2015, The National Institutes of Health had spent nearly 1.5 million dollars on a study entitled "Infant's and Children's Reasoning About Foods." Shockingly, after spending that much money, they had only determined that young children would rather not eat food that someone has licked or sneezed on.

The researchers characterize infants as having "limited knowledge in the food domain". Children aged three to six years old are "more knowledgeable than infants and toddlers about foods" but are "notoriously picky eaters".

They spent 1.5 million dollars to discover what every mother or anyone who has ever been around an infant or young child already knows! Babies have no knowledge of food. Toddler don't know much about food, and preschoolers are picky eaters.

Infants have no reasoning about food! Infants don't think in terms of "A bottle of formula sounds really good about now", or "I wonder if they have any of those strained peas left".  Infants cry when they have an unmet need. When their belly is empty, they're uncomfortable, so they cry. When they have gas, they're uncomfortable, so they cry. If they don't feel good or if they're tired, they cry. It's up to the mother or caretaker has to figure out why they're crying.

What they should have used that money for was to study mother's, and why they cater to picky eaters. Growing up, if I had thought for one second that my mother would give me cookies if I didn't eat anything else, I can guarantee you I would have grown up eating only cookies. But, my mother fixed a big dinner every single night. She made a lot of sides. If you couldn't find anything you liked on the table, well, better luck next time! She didn't care if we ate or not! She knew that we would get hungry and eat whatever she fixed. Had she catered to all of us like she did my youngest sibling ... who only ate spaghetti and butter bread ... we would have all been picky eaters. As it was, we ate what was prepared or we went hungry ... except for my youngest sister. She only ate spaghetti and butter bread so the rest of us were forced to eat spaghetti and butter bread ... four or five times a week!

I remember asking my mom why we had spaghetti so often. She said it was the only thing Sister X would eat. The rest of us were so sick of spaghetti we couldn't force down another forkful, so we went hungry! There were eight of us kids, plus my parents. My mom was a really good cook and she prepared a variety of foods every night ... until Sister X decided she only liked spaghetti and butter bread ... and that became our staple. It's a wonder I can eat spaghetti now!

I was married to a picky eater, and it wasn't long before I discovered that if an adult is a picky eater, they are picky about other things, too ... and it's usually you ... because they don't do anything wrong! After eating nothing but spaghetti for years then marrying a picky eater, I have zero tolerance for picky eaters, and I made sure my kids weren't picky. I tried to fix 'kid friendly' dinners, but if they didn't like what I served, well, better luck next time!

They all learned to try foods they didn't think they'd like. Sometime they discovered they liked them, and sometimes they discovered they were right ... they didn't like that food. But what they mostly discovered was they liked a lot of foods they didn't think they would! If they didn't like what I fixed, they went to bed hungry. It doesn't take too many nights of an empty belly before a picky eater learns to actually enjoy eating a lot of food they once refused to eat.

Food was never used as a reward or punishment, when I was growing up or when I was raising kids of my own. My mother, and then me, treated food as nourishment. Eat what you want, as much as you want, but don't expect anyone to fix you anything else ... except for Sister X ... she always got spaghetti and butter bread.

Monday, July 18, 2016

Waiting List for Gummy Bears


A luxury candy maker introduced rosé flavored (non-alcoholic) gummy bears in the shape of hearts and bears. So many people rushed to buy them that they sold out in two hours and the traffic caused their website to crash.

I love a glass of wine, but I don't think I want wine flavored candy. I must be in the minority, though, because there is a long waiting list for those waiting their turn to buy it. Since it's a "luxury" candy maker, the price is expectantly high, but for the gourmet candy connoisseur, price is obviously no object.

For those of you who don't like rosé, they have other non-alcoholic, alcohol-flavored candies ... bourbon, ale, scotch, champagne, etc. I think they sound atrocious, but what do I know? I'm just a poor working-class schlep who prefers her candy taste like, well, candy! I guess my palette isn't sophisticated enough to enjoy these treats ... and neither is my wallet!

Sunday, July 17, 2016

Poor Little Bird


When it started storming last week, I looked out the window and saw a little bird sitting on the arm of the swing in my front yard. (You'll have to click on the picture to enlarge it to see the bird!) You can't tell, but it was raining pretty hard. That poor little bird sat on the arm of the swing throughout the whole storm, and for a while afterwards, so I have NO idea how this branch (below) ended up there, or when it blew there! It wasn't there before or for the first hour or so after the storm ... and I know that with 100% certainty because I kept looking out my office window to see if that little bird was still there.
 
 
You can tell from the picture below that the branch was ripped from a tree, but as far as I can tell, it didn't come from the tree it's laying by. At least it didn't land in the flowerbed and crush the newly-planted flowers.
 
 
 

Saturday, July 16, 2016

Moon Frogs


When I walked outside yesterday morning, two frogs were sitting in the mud discussing world events. I didn't doctor the photo or apply a filter to make it black and white ... that's the actual color. I guess these frogs are aliens .... or perhaps they descend from pre-WWII frogs ... you know, back when the whole world was black and white!

Friday, July 15, 2016

Refrigerator Letter Magnets


The other day,  a vendor at a trade show offered me keys taken off keyboards from damaged computers, and I accepted. Thing 1 has Scrabble tiles with magnets on the back on her refrigerator, and Thing 2 regularly spells out messages when she visits her sister. I figured Thing 1 would love to have more letters. I started to walk away with my treasure, and then I thought of Thing 2 and could hear her saying, "I want some!", so I asked for another baggie. I didn't get a baggie for Thing 3. While he would have fun spelling things out on the fridge, I can't imagine him gluing magnets to the back of each tile ... and I'm sure not going to do it!

When I got home, I laid out the tiles in columns by letter, then divided them equally between my girls. It took a while, and it was pretty boring, but I didn't want someone to end up with mostly X, Q, V, Z, and no vowels. As a mother, I have to be fair. I told my girls about the letters and they were thrilled. Sometimes, my kids can be pretty easy to please!

Thursday, July 14, 2016

This Just Might Be The Cutest Frog EVER!


The frogs at my daughter and son-in-law's house think the water that accumulates on top of the pool cover is a pond. My son-in-law was messing with the pool and found the cover was full of teeny, tiny, Barbie-sized frogs. Isn't it adorable?! They may be tiny, but they are loud!

Wednesday, July 13, 2016

Happy House


There's a pretty home on the North side of town that I've driven by countless times, but until yesterday, I never realized how happy it is!



Tuesday, July 12, 2016

A Small Rainbow This Morning


On the way to work this morning, I saw a partial rainbow. I didn't notice it at the time, but looking at the photo, it looks like it's emanating from the Taco Bell sign. Even though it wasn't a full or double rainbow, it made me smile. I don't know why, but rainbows make me happy!

Monday, July 11, 2016

Boys Will Be Boys


My little grandson always spends one day on the weekend with us. When he's over, my living room has toys scattered from one end to the other. Over the course of the day, he plays with all of his toys, but balls ... and an empty mint canister ... are his favorites. Thing 3, however, like the giant Lego's.

They played with the giant Lego's together for quite a while ... as Thing 3 puts them together, W tore them apart. W hasn't mastered putting the Lego's together, but he's quite adept at pulling them apart! I love watching him play and listening to him babble ... and I love the big smile on his face every time his eyes meet mine. He is one of the happiest, cuddliest babies I have ever seen, and an absolute joy to have around. I'll bet I tell him I love him many thousand times when he's over. He tells me he loves me in his own non-verbal way, but I'm anxiously awaiting the day he can actually say those words to me. And when he does, my heart will probably burst!

Sunday, July 10, 2016

Saturday, July 9, 2016

I Had to Buy a New Coffee Table

A couple of years ago I found an old trunk that I adored. When I moved into this house, I had a piece of glass made for the top and used it as the coffee table. I love the way it looked, but it had a few places on it where the metal was bent out and possibly "dangerous", but a baby would find every one of them. (Note: To date, no one has ever been injured by this trunk!)


When my little grandson was over the other day, he started to pull up on the chest. When I yelled his name and said "No!", he looked at me like I'd slapped him ... and it broke my heart!

I found another table that works with the room, and has a bottom shelf for baskets, which I filled with toys. My kids like this table better, Even though the new table is pretty and it looks nice, I prefer the old chest ... but I never again want to have to "yell" at my grandbabies for doing what babies do. So, this is my coffee table ... until my kids are done having babies!




Friday, July 8, 2016

Yesterday's Storm

I was out running an errand when the storm hit yesterday. The winds were ferocious, rocking my car back and forth. Small pieces of debris were flying by from both directions. I feared I was driving into a tornado. As bad as the wind was, the rain was even worse. It was one of those torrential downpours where you can't see the road in front of you. Traffic came to a crawl. I got home safely, and I was lucky that I had no damage to my car or house. Other's weren't so lucky. Trees fell on houses and vehicles all over the city ... and took down a lot of power lines. I didn't lose power, but a lot of people did.

My neighbor lost some large branches on one of his trees, but they didn't hit anything.


One of my friends sent me a picture of a very large, mature tree that fell at one of the local schools. What a shame.


A few hours after the storm, I headed to a friend's house, taking my default route. There were a couple places where trees were lying in the road, but it was still passable ...


Until I came to a tree blocking the road ...


Okay, can't go that way. Let's go to Plan B ... Nope!


Okay, Plan C. Nope. (Trees down on wire, road closed, but no picture of that one.)

Okay, Plan D ... No again!


Fortunately, Plan E worked ... because there was no other way to get where I was going! I was expecting the power to be out when I arrived, but it wasn't, and we were able to have a pleasant meal.

A few hours later I had to make an emergency run to Walmart. I took a long, roundabout way there, avoiding all of the roads I knew were closed ... and hit another one I wasn't aware of! Luckily I know the city about as well as I know my own house, so I was always able to find an alternate route and my house never lost power. It was a bit frustrating, but all in all, I was very fortunate. Things could have been much worse ... and for a lot of people, they were.


Thursday, July 7, 2016

I Spy With My Little Eye



Two deer resting ... right outside my bedroom window! (Click on the photo to enlarge.) I've seen deer before (everyone has), but these two wandered into the woods right outside my window, just on the other side of the fence ... and stayed for hours!

First, it was just one deer ...



She ate for a  while, then laid down. Before long, another joined her. The first deer stood up and started grazing again while the second deer ate leaves from the trees.


And before long, they were both resting. The first deer moved over here (click on the picture to enlarge it) ...


and the second deer laid down here (click on the picture to enlarge it) ... exactly where the first deer had been ...


I know deer are everywhere and aren't all that exciting, but this is the first time I've ever witnessed them "in the wild", doing their thing, unaware that they were being watched. As I went about my day, I kept going back to the window to see if they were still there. They stayed for several hours. until a neighbor set off fireworks and spooked them.

I've seen a lot of deer here before, but these were the first two that lingered. I thought it was pretty cool! Yes, I know ... my city-girl is showing!