Today is National Pancake Day AKA Fat Tuesday
At IHOP
From 7 am - 10 pm at participating stores nationwide, all guests can get a short stack of classic buttermilk pancakes for free.
WOOHOO!
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Monday, February 19, 2007
Art by Ron Mueck
These are some of the most fantastic pictures of art that I have ever seen! The artist is Ron Mueck and his sculptures are something to be seen. I can't get over how lifelike they are. It's almost creepy. There are many, many pictures of his work here and it takes a bit to load, but believe me, it's soooo worth it.
VIA
My Mind Is Boggled!
Both the A and B squares are the same color.
No, really...they are!
Anita Bath at Say No to Crack posted this first and ever since then, I catch myself staring at it more and more. It's finally starting to make sense to me.
Even with proof and an explanation from the man himself who created it, it's hard to understand how it works. But I think it has something to do with not being able to see the entire first row of the checkerboard because the green tube is in the way and just assuming it is what we believe it should be. What a great illusion!
I definitely wouldn't fit in at MIT.
Email Joke!
From my sister this time:
Husband Problem
A nice, calm and respectable lady went into the pharmacy, right up to the pharmacist, looked straight into his eyes, and said, "I would like to buy some cyanide."
The pharmacist asked, "Why in the world do you need cyanide?"
The lady replied, "I need it to poison my husband."
The pharmacists eyes got big and he exclaimed, "Lord have mercy! I can't give you cyanide to kill your husband! That's against the law! I'll lose my license! They'll throw both of us in jail! All kinds of bad things will happen. Absolutely not! You CANNOT have any cyanide!"
The lady reached into her purse and pulled out a picture of her husband in bed with the pharmacist's wife.
The pharmacist looked at the picture and replied, "Well now. That's different. You didn't tell me you had a prescription."
Saturday, February 17, 2007
And I Thought My Car Was Bad......
Take a look at this woman's car!
She actually had so much trash in the floorboard of her car, that it eventually caused her to have a crash.
According to police, there was so much trash inside 53-year-old Ann Biglan's Ford Focus, it completely filled the inside from the floor to the ceiling front and back.
The copious amounts of trash apparently caused the crash. Biglan told police several old coffee cups and pieces of trash fell onto the gas and brake pedal, which caused her to lose control while backing out of a parking space near the West Yarmouth Post Office.
Police said the trash that fell on the gas pedal caused the Focus to pick up speed, drive over a curb, across Route 28, hit a Ford Explorer and back over a sidewalk. Biglan's car finally came to a rest after crashing into a flowerpot in the parking lot of the West Yarmouth Mobil gas station.
So then they go to her home.....
The car jammed with shopping bags and trash send police to a Yarmouth woman's home. "It's not a very livable condition that you want to see… We want to get her some help," said Sgt. Gerard Britt of the Yarmouth Police Department.
It's surrounded by bags and three cars full of household items and debris.
"It looks like items she purchased and is continuing to hold onto for whatever reason. She's hoarding all this," said Britt.
Right now, there is no way in or out around the house. There is so much stuff inside the home, the front door is bowed out.
Turns out she's got an obsessive compulsive disorder that includes hoarding as one of the symptoms. Police moved her out of her house and the house will be condemned by the city and the Health Department.
Chuck Norris Jokes - Part 1
My husband loves Chuck Norris. He would watch reruns of Walker: Texas Ranger every night for the rest of his life if he could and he would enjoy each one as if it was the first time he's seen it. These jokes are for him.
Chuck Norris uses ribbed condoms inside out, so he gets the pleasure.
Chuck Norris' tears cure cancer. Too bad he has never cried. Ever.
When Chuck Norris has sex with a man, it is not because he is gay, but because he has run out of women.
MacGyver can build an airplane out of gum and paper clips, but Chuck Norris can kill him and take it.
Chuck Norris once roundhouse kicked someone so hard that his foot broke the speed of light, went back in time, and killed Amelia Earhart while she was flying over the
Chuck Norris doesn't read books. He stares them down until he gets the information he wants.
Chuck Norris only masturbates to pictures of Chuck Norris.
Rather than being birthed like a normal child, Chuck Norris instead decided to punch his way out of his mother's womb. Shortly thereafter he grew a beard.
Chuck Norris lost his virginity before his dad did.
Since 1940, the year Chuck Norris was born, roundhouse kick related deaths have increased 13,000 percent.
Filming on location for
Chuck Norris does not sleep. He waits.
Chuck Norris is not hung like a horse... horses are hung like Chuck Norris.
Chuck Norris does not have AIDS but he gives it to people anyway.
There is no chin behind Chuck Norris' beard. There is only another fist.
Chuck Norris is currently suing NBC, claiming Law and Order are trademarked names for his left and right legs.
On the 7th day, God rested.... Chuck Norris took over.
God offered Chuck Norris the gift to fly, which he swiftly declined for super strength roundhouse ability.
Chuck Norris has never blinked in his entire life. Never.
Chuck Norris once shot an enemy plane down with his finger, by yelling, "Bang!"
Chuck Norris doesn't need to swallow when eating food.
Chuck Norris owns the greatest poker face of all-time. It helped him win the 1983 World Series of Poker despite him holding just a joker, a 2 of clubs, a 7 of spades, and a green number 4 from Uno and a Monopoly 'Get Out of Jail Free' card.
Friday, February 16, 2007
OOOooooooOO.....Look at the pretty colors!
Yeah....I was tired of the orange and tan colors. So I thought I would change it up a bit. You likey?
Let me know what you think in the comments.
Wheel of Food
Amazing!
Just enter your zipcode, enter a query (vegetarian, bar, steak, food) and hit proceed. Spin the wheel to help you decide where to go!
Wheel of Food
Quotes from Steven Wright - Part 3
PART 3
If you can't hear me, it's because I'm in parentheses.
If you had a million Shakespeares, could they write like a monkey?
If you saw a heat wave, would you wave back?
If you tell a joke in the forest, but nobody laughs, was it a joke?
In Vegas, I got into a long argument with the man at the roulette wheel over what I considered to be an odd number.
Is it weird in here, or is it just me?
It doesn't make a difference what temperature a room is, it's always room temperature.
It's a small world, but I wouldn't want to have to paint it.
Last night I stayed up late playing poker with Tarot cards. I got a full house and four people died.
Last week the candle factory burned down. Everyone just stood around and sang Happy Birthday.
My friend has a baby. I'm recording all the noises he makes so later I can ask him what he meant.
My neighbor has a circular driveway... he can't get out.
My roommate got a pet elephant. Then it got lost. It's in the apartment somewhere.
My school colors were clear. We used to say, "I'm not naked, I'm in the band."
On the other hand, you have different fingers.
So, do you live around here often?
Sponges grow in the ocean. That just kills me. I wonder how much deeper the ocean would be if that didn't happen.
The Bermuda Triangle got tired of warm weather. It moved to Alaska. Now Santa Claus is missing.
The other day I... uh, no, that wasn't me.
The Stones, I love the Stones. I watch them whenever I can. Fred, Barney.
There was a power outage at a department store yesterday. Twenty people were trapped on the escalators.
There's a fine line between fishing and just standing on the shore like an idiot.
Tinsel is really snakes' mirrors.
What's another word for Thesaurus?
When I die, I'm leaving my body to science fiction.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Salmonella Outbreak in ConAgra Peanut Butters
Consumers should toss certain jars of Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter, according to representatives from ConAgra Foods. If the jar lid has a product code beginning "2111" it can be returned to ConAgra for a refund.
IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE: The recall does not affect Great Value peanut butter made by other manufacturers, the Food and Drug Administration said. This is a ConAgra recall.
To get a refund, consumers should send lids and their names and addresses to ConAgra Foods, P.O. Box 57078, Irvine, CA 92619-7078. For more information, call 1-866-344-6970.
The salmonella outbreak, which federal health officials said Wednesday has sickened 288 people in 39 states since August, was linked to tainted peanut butter produced by ConAgra at a plant in Sylvester, Ga. How salmonella got into peanut butter is still under investigation, Dr. Mike Lynch, an epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told the Associated Press.
ConAgra officials haven't said how much peanut butter is covered in the recall, which it called a precaution.
"We are working closely with the FDA to better understand its concerns, and we will take whatever additional measures are needed to ensure the safety, quality and wholesomeness of our products," spokesman Chris Kircher told a reporter.
CDC officials believe the salmonella outbreak to be the nation's first associated with peanut butter. The most cases were reported in New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Tennessee and Missouri. About 20 percent of all the ill were hospitalized, and there were no deaths. About 85 percent of the infected people said they ate peanut butter, CDC officials said.
Salmonella infection is known each year to sicken about 40,000 people in the United States, according to the CDC. Salmonellosis, as the infection is known, kills about 600 people annually. Symptoms can include diarrhea, fever, dehydration, abdominal pain and vomiting.VIA
**An Important Update**
THIS JUST IN.......
For all those men who say, "Why buy a cow when you can get milk for free?"
Here's an update for you: Now adays, 80% of women are against marriage.
WHY? Because women realize it's not worth buying an entire pig just to get a little sausage.
We now return you to your regularly scheduled blogging.
Baby Needs A New Pair Of Shoes
Neatorama posted about these great Inchworm Shoes. They expand one full size in half-size increments as your child grows. And they're not that expensive either starting at around $19.
Also in mind are these Robeez Shoes. I really like these because they are soft leather protection from rough surfaces and cold temperatures yet still allow the babys foot to develop a little more freely than having to wear regular toddler shoes all the time. Korey could wear these all the time in or out of the house. They cost around $26.
Koreys going to have to have shoes here real soon. She's growing so fast. Which reminds me how fast Batson kids outgrow shoes. Yeesh!
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Email Jokes!
More jokes in my inbox via my Uncle Doug!
Sign of the times?
A little boy goes to his father and asks "Daddy, how was I born?"
The father answers: "Well son, I guess one day you will need to find out anyway! Your Mom and I first got together in a chat room on Yahoo. Then I set up a date via e-mail with your Mom and we met at a cyber-cafe. We sneaked into a secluded room, where your mother agreed to a download from my hard drive. As soon as I was ready to upload, we discovered that neither one of us had used a firewall, and since it was too late to hit the delete button, nine months later a little Pop-Up appeared that said:
"YOU GOT MALE!"
***************************************
WOMEN'S ASS SIZE STUDY
There is a new study out about women and how they feel about their asses.
I thought the results were pretty interesting:
25% of women think their ass is too fat...
10% of women think their ass is too skinny..
The other 65% say that they don't care; they love him, he's a good man, and they would have married him anyway.
*****************************************
Two Iraqi spies met in a busy restaurant after they had successfully slipped into the U.S.
The first spy starts speaking in Arabic. The second spy shushes him quickly and whispers:
"Don't blow our cover! You're in America now, speak Spanish!"
**Apologies**
My apologies to readers who are reading my blog through a blog reader like Bloglines and such. My pictures look normal when I go straight to the blog at Blogspot.com and view them. But I also subscribe to my own blog through Bloglines.com and when I view some pictures there, they are HUGE. It screws up the whole post when it does that. I don't know how to fix it or why it does that. So my apologies to those that have to suffer with it.
I'd take advice on what to do about it if any one has a clue about how to do it.
Provo Craft Knifty Knitter Looms - UPDATE
I'd like to get Kasey a set or two of these. WalMart carries them. I've read many posts about young girls and the knitting craze lately. And these seem like they would be easy enough to teach her how to knit with, especially since I don't know how to do it myself.
Knifty Knitter Round Looms With Hook & Bag, easily make hats, scarves, totes, stockings, golf club covers and so much more! Available in four sizes.
Each loom comes with a hook and pick tool, easy-to-follow instructions
Comes in a clear carrying tote
Variety of colors & sizes to choose from
Provo Craft Knifty Knitter Looms
Amazon.com carries them too!
UPDATE: February 2007
I bought a set of these for Kasey thinking it would be a great project for us to learn together. I sat her down on my bed, brought them out of the bag to surprise her and she just looks at me, deadpan, and asks "You want me to show you how to use those?"
Seems Miss Kasey already knows how to use them. She learned from Sarah Beth one night while at a sleepover at Aunt Cathies. Hmphf!
Anyway...she basically showed me how to do it and we have been trading off time back and forth working on a hat for Korey.
We finished it last night.
Cute huh? And so easy!
Cousin Mandy made a hat just like this for Korey for Christmas only with different colored and textured yarn. It's so adorable.
This was just a test run to see if Kasey and I could actually accomplish making one. Our next project is to make one in hunting colors for Bubba. Not that he would wear a knitted hat out hunting but that's what we are calling it anway. :)
Monday, February 12, 2007
Neat finds by Not Martha!
If you haven't ventured over to the Not Martha blog, what are you waiting for!?!? I read it every day. Megan always finds some great treasures online and has awesome projects and recipes.
I find her style and mine very similar, so when she comes across a neat product or idea, I usually find myself wanting it too.
Here's just a few of the neat things she's posted lately.
Floating Shoe Rack by gnr8
Silhouette Window Film by Scandanavian Design Center
Window Projection Light by Design*Sponge
Ceramic Hook Box by Luca Nichetto
Jokes!
From some new found friends I found on Gledwoods blog.
VIA Deb
AT THE DOCTOR'S OFFICE...
A gorgeous young redhead went into her doctor's office and reported that her body hurt where ever she touched it. "Impossible!" says the doctor, "Show me." The redhead took her finger, pushed on her left breast and screamed, then she pushed her elbow and screamed, even more. She pushed her knee and screamed; likewise she pushed her ankle and screamed. Everywhere she touched made her scream.
The doctor said, "You're not really a redhead, are you?".
"Well, no" she said, "I'm actually a blonde."
"I thought so," said the doctor..."your finger is broken."
VIA Ruth
A woman went to the pet shop and immediately spotted a large beautiful parrot.
There was a sign on the cage, £5.00. "Why so little?" she asked the shopkeeper.
The parrot used to live in a brothel and when they got arrested, the police brought me the bird."
The woman was a bit shocked at the implication, but then thought, "that's not so bad."
When her two teenage daughters came home from school the bird saw them and said, "New house, new madam, new whores." The girls and the woman were a bit offended, but then began to laugh at the situation.
Moments later, the woman's husband, Keith came home from work.
The bird looked at him and said, "Hi Keith."
Bumped, Bruised Bananas
Banana Bunker - $5
This is the result of an idea that I tossed around not too long ago.......something to put bananas in so you can carry them around without fear of them becoming squished or bruised before you could eat them. I bet more kids would carry them in their backpacks with a contraption like this. I just wish I had thought to make one first. That's how a lot of my ideas end up....I think they are crazy or no one would buy them. I guess that's not as true as I thought.
Although I must say, this one looks a little off-color without a banana in it....teeheehee
Friday, February 9, 2007
Gawker Invite?
Does anyone have any idea how I go about getting an invite for the Gawker Media sites?
I have never until just this very moment heard of registering or getting an invite to comment on, of all things, a blog. This is crazy. I wonder what the brainchilds thoughts behind this technological drag are. Seems like a good way to stifle your audience. Maybe that's what they were after. I dunno.
Anyway, I need one.
More Spiders!
Ok...I've had it with the spiders lately. This is the third day in a row that spiders have come across my brain via the internet. Although this one isn't nearly as "freak me out" scary as the other two posts, it's still a sign to me that the spiders are trying to get to me.
I'm headed to CuteOverload.com!
Thursday, February 8, 2007
Anna Nicole Smith
USA Today reports (along with a gazillion other sources) that Anna Nicole Smith died this afternoon.
Whether you liked her or hated her, you have to remember that she was someones mother, sister and friend. That deserves a little respect no matter how much of a trainwreck the rest of her life became.
From the article:
Anna Nicole Smith dies after collapsing in Florida
By Karen Thomas, USA TODAY
By Karen Thomas, USA TODAY
HOLLYWOOD, Fla. — Anna Nicole Smith died Thursday afternoon after collapsing in a Hollywood, Fla. hotel, local police said.
The former Playboy playmate collapsed Thursday afternoon and was found unresponsive in her room at the Hard Rock Seminole Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla., says Los Angeles attorney Ron Rale, who represents Smith in an ongoing lawsuit regarding the paternity of her daughter. Smith was rushed by ambulance shortly after 2 p.m. to nearby Memorial Regional Hospital, where she died.
Smith had checked into the hotel Monday evening and was due to check out Friday, said Danielle Giordaano, a hotel spokeswoman.
Hotel president Michael Bloom said Smith "was obviously in distress." He said Smith, who has been living in the Bahamas, did not have daughter Dannielynn with her at the hotel. She was accompanied by her longtime lawyer and companion Howard K. Stern, and four others, including a nurse. Smith was hospitalized in November with pneumonia.
Seminole, Fla. Police Chief Charlie Tiger told reporters that Smith's personal nurse found Smith unconscious in her room at 1:39 p.m. ET Thursday. Police were called at 1:45 p.m. "for a person needing medical assistance," Tiger said.
When police arrived, they found Smith, who was being given CPR by her bodyguard, he said.
Five minutes later hotel security and emergency medical technicians responded to her room and contacted local fire and rescue teams.
Edwina Johnson, chief investigator of the Broward County Medical Examiner's Office, said the cause of death is under investigation and an autopsy will be done on Friday.
Smith's daughter is the center of an ongoing paternity battle with Smith's ex-boyfriend Larry Birkhead. A judge ordered this week that Smith must complete DNA testing to determine Dannielynn's father by February 21. Smith's companion Stern has said that he is the baby's father.
Smith gave birth to her daughter in the Bahamas in September. Three days later, her son Daniel, 20, died of a drug overdose while visiting Smith in her hospital room.
"I am very, very sad, but I am not shocked," Smith's former publicist, David Granoff, told MSNBC. He said he had seen Smith on television Wednesday "and she had no spark any more."
"I had it in the back of my mind that something like this was going to happen," he said.
Smith had been a tabloid staple even before she became Playboy's playmate of the year in 1993. Readers were fascinated by her bombshell good looks, her marriage to an elderly billionaire and subsequent court fight over his estate, her weight fluctuations, and last year, the sudden death of her 20-year-old son, Daniel Smith.
A former topless dancer, she made her name squeezing into Guess jeans. She resembled the late actress Marilyn Monroe, a similarity played up in her Guess magazine ads, billboards and department store displays.
In 1994, she married 89-year-old oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall II, the head of oil-based Koch Industries, which is part of a family fortune worth at least $400 million.
He died in 1995, setting off a feud with her former stepson, E. Pierce Marshall, over whether she had a right to his estate.
A federal court in California awarded Smith $474 million in a complicated legal twist that began after she declared bankruptcy. That was later overturned.
But in May, the U.S. Supreme Court revived her case, ruling that she deserved another day in court in her battle with her former stepson.
The justices said only that federal courts in California could deal with her case despite a Texas state court ruling that Marshall was the sole heir to the estate.
Then, the stepson died June 20 at age 67. But the family said the court fight would continue.
Daniel Smith died Sept. 10 in his mother's hospital room in the Bahamas, just days after she gave birth to a daughter.
An American medical examiner hired by the family, Cyril Wecht, said he had methadone and two antidepressants in his system when he died. Low levels of the three drugs interacted to cause an accidental death, Wecht said.
Meanwhile, the paternity of her now 5-month-old daughter remained a matter of dispute.
She was born Vickie Lynn Hogan on Nov. 28, 1967, in Houston, one of six children of Donald Eugene and Virgie Hart Hogan.
She married Bill Smith in 1985, giving birth to Daniel before divorcing two years later.
Contributing: The Associated Press; Randy Lilleston in McLean, Va.
Email Joke!
My sister sent this one to me this morning.
Today my baby girl's 18th birthday. I be so glad that this be my last child support payment! Month after month, year after year, all those damn payments!
So I call my baby girl, LaKeesha, to come to my house, and when she get there, I say, "Baby girl, I want you to take this check over to yo momma house and tell her this be the last check she ever be gettin' from me, and I want you to come back and tell me the 'spression on yo mama's face."
So, my baby girl take the check over to her momma. I be anxious to hear what she say, and bout the 'spression on her face.
Baby girl walk through the door, I say, "Now what yo momma say 'bout that?"
"She say to tell you that "you ain't my daddy".... and watch the 'spression on yo face."
HA!
Curse of the Spiders?
After yesterdays unnerving post about Daddy Long Legs, I come across this today......
Are the spiders following me? I got the same cold shiver that I got when I saw the Daddy Long Legs picture.
I give this one more day. If I see one more "freak me out" post about spiders tomorrow, I am reading CuteOverload.com for a week! I can't take much more of this before I start swiping at things crawling on me that aren't really there.
VIA VIA
Quotes from Steven Wright - Part 2
PART 2
I intend to live forever. So far, so good.
I invented the cordless extension cord.
I like to reminisce with people I don't know.
I live on a one-way street that's also a dead end. I'm not sure how I got there.
I met this wonderful girl at Macy's. She was buying clothes and I was putting Slinkies on the escalator.
I replaced the headlights in my car with strobe lights, so it looks like I'm the only one moving.
I saw a bank that said "24 Hour Banking," but I don't have that much time.
I saw a subliminal advertising executive, but only for a second.
I spilled Spot remover on my dog. Now he's gone.
I think God's going to come down and pull civilization over for speeding.
I was at this restaurant. The sign said "Breakfast Anytime." So I ordered French Toast in the Renaissance.
I was reading the dictionary. I thought it was a poem about everything.
I was trying to daydream, but my mind kept wandering.
I was walking down the street wearing glasses when the prescription ran out.
I watched the Indy 500, and I was thinking that if they left earlier they wouldn't have to go so fast.
I went to a general store but they wouldn't let me buy anything specific.
I wrote a few children's books... not on purpose.
I wrote a song, but I can't read music. Every time I hear a new song on the radio I think, "Hey, maybe I wrote that."
I'm moving to Mars next week, so if you have any boxes.
I'm writing a book. I've got the page numbers done.
I'm writing an unauthorized autobiography.
If a word in the dictionary were misspelled, how would we know?
If God dropped acid, would he see people?
If one synchronised swimmer drowns, do all the rest have to drown too?
If you are in a spaceship that is traveling at the speed of light, and you turn on the headlights, does anything happen?
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
Fiskars Ultra Shape Xpress
Ooolala! I love this!
The Fiskars Ultra Shape Xpress is a freehand cutter that slices through paper in any shape you like effortlessly.
From Fiskars website:
This new, simplified design revolutionizes shape cutting. With its ergonomic shape, the Fiskars® Ultra ShapeXpress™ is easier to hold, and SoftGrip® technology adds comfort. The freehand spacer allows for a quick switch between template and freehand cutting. The fine tuning dial adjusts blade depth for different paper thickness and personal preference. The new drop in blade replacement with arm lock allows blade changes without affecting depth.
VIA
Chocolate-Dipped Heart Cookies
My goodness, don't these look yummy!
Prep Time: 1 hr
Start to Finish: 1 hr
Makes: 2 dozen cookies
1 roll (16.5 oz) Pillsbury® Create ' n Bake™ refrigerated sugar cookies
1/4 to 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 tablespoon shortening
Colored sugar
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Remove half of cookie dough from wrapper; refrigerate remaining dough until needed. Sprinkle about 3 tablespoons of the flour onto work surface; coat sides of half of dough with flour. With rolling pin, roll out dough to 1/4-inch thickness, adding additional flour as needed to prevent sticking.
2. With floured 3-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter, cut out hearts. Gently brush excess flour from hearts; place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Repeat with remaining half of dough.
3. Bake 7 to 9 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 15 minutes.
4. In 1-quart saucepan, heat chocolate chips and shortening over low heat, stirring occasionally, until melted and smooth. Remove from heat. Dip half of each cookie into melted chocolate, allowing excess chocolate to drip off; place on waxed paper-lined cookie sheets. Sprinkle with colored sugar.
High Altitude (3500-6500 ft): No change.
VIA
New and Used
Today I came across these two great articles in a write-up from LifeHacker. Some good sound advice!
10 Things You Shouldn't Buy New
This list includes things like books, jewelry and cars where the cost vs. use equation leans towards buying used.
Example:
- Little kids' toys. Parents know: it's all but impossible to predict which toy will be a hit and which will lie forlorn at the bottom of the toy box. So rather than gamble at full price, cruise consignment shops and yard sales for bargains. My husband's latest score: a plastic Push, Pedal 'N Ride Trike (retails for $28, he paid $10) that looks like new after a brief scrub.
Better than cheap, though, is free. Some parents set up regular toy-swapping meets, or you might be lucky enough to score hand-me-downs from friends and relatives.
Exception: Some parents get away with giving used toys for birthdays and holidays, but most of us (and our kids) have been fairly well brainwashed into believing that gifts should be purchased new. Try to opt, though, for classics, like sturdy wooden toys.
10 Things You Shouldn't Buy Used
This list includes things like car seats, plasma tv's and vacuum cleaners where the cost savings don't justify the risks of buying used.
Example:
- Mattresses. Think of all the stuff you do on your mattress. Now think of sleeping in someone else's stuff. Ewwwww.
Unfortunately, you may already be spending the night with other people's mold, mites, bacteria and bodily fluids. Dishonest retailers sometimes ignore federal requirements that used mattresses be labeled as such, often covering a secondhand cot with new ticking to disguise it. If you want an all-new mattress, the Federal Trade Commission recommends looking for a tag that promises "all-new materials" and requiring that the retailer write the word "new" on the receipt. (That can make it easier to prove your case should you find you've been sold a used mattress on the sly.)
There's also the fact that mattresses aren't meant to last forever. Even the good ones typically have a life span of just eight to 10 years, and it's hard to know for sure how old a used mattress may already be.
Exception: When "used" is really almost "unused," such as a mattress from someone's rarely visited guest room. Still, you'd really have to trust the buyer to know, and disclose, everything that's happened on that bed, which is why you're still probably better off buying new. You shouldn't ever pay the list price, because haggling is expected. Consumer Reports suggests you need to spend about $800 to get a good-quality queen-size mattress and box spring set. That works out to about 25 cents a night -- a small price to pay for cleanliness and comfort.
RUN!
OH.
MY.
GAWD.
I know these are nothing more than harmless Daddy Long Leg spiders but the idea of thousands of them in a group like this gives me the willies like you wouldn't believe! And I hate the smell of Daddy Long Legs.
Somebody go over and splash some water on Cathie. I'm sure she passed out as soon as she saw this. Sorry Puss.
VIA VIA
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
Prince + guitar + sheet + wind = Phallic Connotations?
As soon as I saw it, I knew someone would have a hissy over Prince's halftime show and the illusion he gave during one of the songs.
Sure, we all laughed when we saw it. But that's because we can be somewhat of a dirty minded group when we all get together.
But some people go ape-crazy over stuff like this and have a need to make something out of nothing.
From the USA Today article:
A number of bloggers have decried "Malfunction!" — including Sam Anderson at New York magazine's Daily Intelligencer. Daily News television critic David Bianculli called it "a rude-looking shadow show" that "looked embarrassingly rude, crude and unfortunately placed."
CBS spokesman Dana McClintock said Tuesday that the network has received "very few" complaints on Prince's performance. CBS last aired the Super Bowl in 2004 when Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake's "wardrobe malfunction" sparked criticism and a subsequent crackdown on broadcast decency from the Federal Communications Commission.
But this time, it was the NFL that produced the halftime show (MTV had in 2004). Spokesman Greg Aiello said the league has received no complaints.
"We respect other opinions, but it takes quite a leap of the imagination to make a controversy of his performance," Aiello said. "It's a guitar."
My gosh! Don't people have anything better to do?
It's Prince, for cripes sakes! You didn't expect some bit of controversy?!?! I'd say compared to past things I've seen of Prince, he toned it down quite a bit for the halftime show.
The Minnesota native has attracted controversy before. Tipper Gore launched a campaign to place a warning sticker on his 1984 album Purple Rain because of the lyrics to the song Darling Nikki. Though his musical style has been expansive, he's best known for funky, sexually charged songs like I Wanna Be Your Lover and Get Off.
Prince's previously most talked-about performance came at the 1991 MTV Video Music Awards, where he donned yellow, butt-baring pants, (a stunt later spoofed by Howard Stern). Always eccentric, he famously changed his name to The Artist Formerly Known as Prince, then to simply a symbol and finally back to Prince. He also became a Jehovah's Witness in the mid-'90s.
I think he did a great job. It was entertaining and tasteful. You gotta give it to the guy.....he sure can play a mean guitar.
To all the men in our group on Sunday laughing and saying how weird he was, just remember......you're all weird too. But Prince has made a fortune on being weird. It works for him.
I don't see you all doing a halftime show in front of 86 million people. And I'm sure every one of you know every word to Purple Rain.
Email Joke!
I get family and friends sending me jokes in email several times a week. I like to forward the really good ones but since I've got this blog, I've started posting them here instead.
Here's one from my sister:
In most of the United States, there is a policy of checking on any stalled vehicle on the highway when the temperatures drop down to single digits or below.
About 3 AM, one very cold morning, Trooper Allan Nixon #658 responded to a call there was a car off the shoulder of the road outside Shattuck . He located the car, stuck in deep snow, and with the engine still running. Pulling in behind the car with his emergency lights on, the Trooper walked to the driver's door to find an older man passed out behind the wheel with a nearly empty vodka bottle on the seat beside him.
The driver came awake when the Trooper tapped on the window. Seeing the rotating lights in his rearview mirror, and the State Trooper standing next to his car, the man panicked. He jerked the gearshift into 'drive' and hit the gas. The car's speedometer was showing 20-30-40 and then 50 mph, but it was still stuck in the snow, wheels spinning.
Trooper Nixon, having a sense of humor, began running in place next to the speeding, but still stationary car. The driver was totally freaked, thinking the Trooper was actually keeping up with him. This goes on for about 30 seconds, then the Trooper yelled, "Pull over!"
The man obeyed, turned his wheel and stopped the engine. Needless to say, the man from Dumas, Texas was arrested, and is probably still shaking his head over the State Trooper in Oklahoma who could run 50 miles per hour.
Who says Troopers don't have a sense of humor?
Monday, February 5, 2007
Where I've lived.....
A friend sent an email the other night about all the places she's lived in her short 36 years on this planet.
She came up with 25 rooftops she's had over her head.
Angie wrote:
> ok, so it's 3:30 in the morning, and i have
> insomnia....again. here is what's on my mind. i have
> lived in many homes. check it out.
> 9 houses
> 2 duplexes
> 8 apartments
> 6 trailers
> a total of 25
> WHAT THE HELL!!! and may i add....i've been in the
> house i'm in for almost 10 years. so when I was 26
> years old....i had 24 different roofs over my head.
> 8 of those roofs my mother and father.
> 7 of those roofs was with only my mother.
> 7 roofs on my own.
> 3 roofs with Erik.
> please.....someone beat that!!
Well, I can't beat it but I can match it....almost...sorta....kinda....ok, not technically.....
You win, Angie!
1. Pre-birth - Mt. Vernon St. in Springfield
2. Broadway St. in Springfield when born
3. Moved to St. Louis for about a month
4. To Marionville MO
5. To Johnston St. in Springfield
6. To Jerome, MO.
7. To Newburg, MO.
(Strangely enough, I have never heard of Jerome or Newburg MO until Mom told me we lived there.)
8. Back to Nanny and Papa's house in Billings for short stay
9. To little house near ZZ and 14 just outside Clever
10. To Springfield again, Dollison St.
11. To little house on corner of Hwy 14 and Metzletein in Clever
12. To farmhouse on Zoller Road in Clever
13. To house behind school on K Hill Road in Clever
14. To Inman St. in Clever
15. I got married and moved to Walnut St. in Springfield
16. Moved to LaSiesta St. in Springfield
17. Divorced and moved to an apartment on Olive St. in Republic
18. Two story cottage house on Clark St. in Clever
19. House next to Kwik N EZ with Mom and Kenny in Clever (house no longer there)
20. Back to house on Inman in Clever
21. Got married again and moved to a farmhouse in Elkland
22. Sold house in Elkland and moved into Bubbas dads basement until we found a house
23. House on FR 129 in Springfield
24. Sold house and moved into basement again until found another house
25. House on Miller in Republic
Man...that's a lot of boxes!
I posted Angies email without her permission.....I hope you don't mind, Ang.
I Have a Bacon Number of 3! *UPDATED*
I had a dream the other night about Kevin Bacon. Nothing outrageous, he was just hanging out with me, that's all.
After I woke up, I wondered why I had a dream about Kevin Bacon. Couldn't think of anything. Then I remembered the Kevin Bacon game. You've probably heard of it, the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.
History:
The trivia game "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon" is based on a variation of the concept of the small world phenomenon and states that any actor can be linked, through their film roles, to Kevin Bacon. The game requires a group of players to try to connect any film actor in history to Kevin Bacon as quickly as possible and in as few links as possible. The game was played across various college campuses as early as the early 1990s. Its name is a pun on the stage play Six Degrees of Separation.
The concept is simple, but finding the smallest number of links can be difficult. The way you link an actor with Bacon is like so:
- Pick any film actor in history.
- Link the actor you've chosen to Bacon via the films they've shared with other actors until you end up with Kevin Bacon himself.
Here is an example, using Elvis Presley:
- Elvis Presley was in Change of Habit (1969) with Edward Asner
- Edward Asner was in JFK (1991) with Kevin Bacon
Therefore Elvis Presley has a Bacon number of 2.
Now, I'm not an actor and mainly this game is about linking actors that have worked with others who have worked with others who have worked with others who have worked with Kevin Bacon. Despite all that, I myself have a Bacon Number of 3.Here's my link tree:
I have a friend in LA who
Kim worked on a film in 2004 with Director Jay Russell called Ladder 49 (Jay was born in North Little Rock, AR).
Jay directed a film in 2000 called My Dog Skip with Kevin Bacon starring as Jack Morris in that film.
Me>Kim>Jay>Kevin
Bacon Number of 3
Sweet!
!!UPDATE!!
STOP THE PRESSES!
I just found out from a talented thespian, Jeff Caster, that I am linked to Kevin Bacon through him as well.
That means I have a Bacon Number of 3 times 2. Or is that Bacon Number of 3 squared?
What ever you call it, here's the breakdown on my second link to Kevin Bacon:
I have a cousin who's an actor and lives in Germany named Jeff Caster. (Jeff was in Dune, Anne Frank and Luther, most notably in the U.S.)
Jeff worked on a film called Running Scared with Arthur J. Nascarella (Nascarella was on the "The Sopranos" for a short time).
Nascarella was in a film called In The Cut with Kevin Bacon.
Me>Jeff>Arthur Nascarella>Kevin Bacon
Another Bacon Number of 3!
Doubly Sweet!
**Watch for my post about the great multi-faceted actor, Jeff Caster, in the near future.**
Kmart Cafeteria, S&H Green Stamps, Crazy Cecil's
I had a dream recently that involved me sitting in a booth of the old KMart cafeteria eating one of those little squares of jello with whipped topping on top. Remember those? The cafeteria, not the jello square.
That dream got me to thinking about the old KMart stores and some of the other stores I remember that used to be here in the Springfield area.
There was the little cafeteria in the middle of the KMart store. I want to say that it was called the Piccadilly Cafeteria but I'm not sure if that was it. It might have just been called KMart Cafeteria, I dunno. I couldn't have been more than 8 or 9 years old when I used to sit there with my dad eating a jello square while Mom went shopping elsewhere in the store. Mom always made desserts at home like Jello for us kids, but for some reason, there was nothing like having Jello at KMart with the whipped topping on top. It just tasted better. I think it was all in my head though. We didn't get to go many places back then.
There also had a little deli section at the front of the store past the checkout that sold these amazing submarine sandwiches that my dad used to buy. The main thing I remember about them was the ungodly amount of thinly sliced onions that were piled between those two oblong pieces of bread. Those sandwiches consisted of so many onions that you could smell them outside as you were getting out of the car to go inside.
Also, KMart was the only place I knew of in town that sold ICEEs. We begged for an ICEE every time we went there. Cherry ICEE was my favorite. Remember the cute ICEE Polar Bear logo? The deli also had little stuffed ICEE Polar Bears for sale. Oh how I wanted one of those polar bears! I never did get one, no matter how many times I asked.
KMart, at that time, also had this thing called the Blue Light Special. A little cart with a blue police light whirling around on the top of a long skinny metal pole. I can remember us flying down aisles looking for the blue light cart as soon as Mom heard "Attention KMart Shoppers...." announced over the intercom. It didn't matter what the special was, we checked it out all the same. You picked up what you wanted from that specific department or section of items, took it over to the clerk at the blue light cart and they would taking a pricing gun and mark it down for you. Instant savings! No way a discount pricing system like that would work in this day and age.
One thing I think of when I think of the cashiers at KMart was them completely surrounded by hangers. Not flimsy little store hangers like you see today, but those thick, clear hangers with the metal clips one each end. I can still hear the sound of a handful of those hangers being thrown into a big, dirty, fabric-covered cart behind the cashier. That was after she ripped off all the tags and put them into their appropriate slots (Key 1, Key 2, Key 3, etc). There were also no conveyor belt type checkout counters then. You had to keep scooching all your items down, down, down until it was your turn to checkout.
Now that I think about it, KMart seems like it was a pretty cool place to be back in the day.
For some reason, thinking about the old KMart store, reminded me of S&H Green Stamps (check out the link for an awesome picture of the old books and stamps). I'm not sure if there was a store located in Springfield, if there was, I don't remember where it was located. But I do remember those little books of stamps all over the house and my parents used to collect them by the buttloads. I've licked my share of those little green stamps in my lifetime. I can't recall if they ever got redeemed for anything but I remember Mom having many, many filled books of them. I'll have to ask her if she remembers turning them in for something cool. I wonder why they got phased out. It would be interesting to read the story behind their demise. UPDATE: Here's the Straight Dope on the end of S&H Green Stamps.
Last but not least, there was a Crazy Cecils store at the corner of the West Bypass and Sunshine, where WalMart used to be before they moved a Super WalMart to the opposite corner of that same intersection.
I can't remember much about Crazy Cecils except that it was the greatest place in town to buy candy. I used to get those 2/$1 bags of Circus Peanut candy. Mom married a guy named Cecil once and hence the memories of the Crazy Cecil store was talked about often. I remember him buying peanut logs there a lot. The rest of the merchandise sold there reminds me of a cross between Army Surplus and a dollar store. Maybe one step above a truck stop.
Unfortunately, I can't find anything about Crazy Cecils online. I wonder if it was a national chain or a local thing.
Do you have any memories or pictures of these places or places no longer in existence in Springfield? I'd love to hear about them.
Oh bittersweet nostalgia.....
Drainage Pipe Hotel
A twist to an old Elvis song came to mind when I saw this.....
*~*Well, since my baby left me,
I found a new place to dwell.
Its down at the end of lonely street
At DRAINAGE PIPE hotel.*~*
Aren't these wild?!?! This is the Daspark Hotel next to the Danube River in Germany.
The ultra-modern rooms are redesigned, fashionable drainage pipes. The room comes complete with room for two, a lamp and skylight. I'm not sure what to make of them. I mean they look roomy enough. I guess I would stay in one if I didn't have any kids with me and the weather was going to be comfortable. The only drawback for me is that there's no in-room toilets or showers. I guess you'd have to take a walk for those luxuries. But it's definitely affordable with its "pay as you wish" price. Still, it reminds me of something a homeless person would sleep in though. I'm not sure if I would feel safe at night in one.
Great idea though.
Sunday, February 4, 2007
Quotes from Steven Wright - Part 1
Steven Wright is not only funny looking, he's just plain funny! One of my favorite comedians.
My favorite quote:
I planted some bird seed. A bird came up. Now I don't know what to feed it.
Ones I don't understand:
My friend Sam has one leg. I went to his house. I couldn't go up the stairs.
My grandfather gave me a watch. It doesn't have any hands or numbers. He says it's very accurate. I asked him what time it was. You can guess what he told me.
I met this wonderful girl at Macy's. She was buying clothes and I was putting Slinkies on the escalator.
I had my coathangers spayed. (I get this one now.....my sister explained it to me.)
PART 1
A lot of people are afraid of heights. Not me, I'm afraid of widths.
Cross country skiing is great if you live in a small country.
Curiosity killed the cat, but for a while I was a suspect.
Do Lipton employees take coffee breaks?
Do you think that when they asked George Washington for ID that he just whipped out a quarter?
Don't you hate when your hand falls asleep and you know it will be up all night.
Ever notice how irons have a setting for permanent press? I don't get it.
Everywhere is within walking distance if you have the time.
For my birthday I got a humidifier and a de-humidifier... I put them in the same room and let them fight it out.
George is a radio announcer, and when he walks under a bridge... you can't hear him talk.
How young can you die of old age?
I bought some batteries, but they weren't included.
I busted a mirror and got seven years bad luck, but my lawyer thinks he can get me five.
I drive way too fast to worry about cholesterol.
I got a chain letter by fax. It's very simple. You just fax a dollar bill to everybody on the list.
I got this powdered water - now I don't know what to add.
I had a friend who was a clown. When he died, all his friends went to the funeral in one car.
I had some eyeglasses. I was walking down the street when suddenly the prescription ran out.
I had to stop driving my car for a while... the tires got dizzy.
I have an answering machine in my car. It says, I'm home now. But leave a message and I'll call when I'm out.
I have an existential map. It has 'You are here' written all over it.
I have the world's largest collection of seashells. I keep it on all the beaches of the world... perhaps you've seen it.
I hooked up my accelerator pedal in my car to my brake lights. I hit the gas, people behind me stop, and I'm gone.
I installed a skylight in my apartment... the people who live above me are furious!
Soup Swap
I can't even remember where I originally saw this but I do have the original blog link. It sounds like fun.
Soup Swap
What is a Soup Swap, you say?
Well, a Soup Swap is quite simple:
You bring six 1 quart containers of frozen soup of one kind. You will then draw numbers and take turns picking out different soup. You will then leave with six 1 quart containers of different soup. Bring whatever soup you like to cook best.
The instructions for arriving with your soup are clear - but a tip for you. Most soup recipes don’t make quite enough soup. Double the recipe when prepping for soup swap.
I'd have to fudge the number drawing in order to get at my mothers wonderful Potato Soup before anyone else. Or just announce that the host gets first pickin's or something like that.
There can be door prizes and taste tests. There are also accessories like crackers and napkins.
I have never made soup in my life so I have no idea what kind of soup I would bring to the party. I'm sure I would be expected to bring something with venison in it. But I can guarantee that the way I prepare venison, they would never know the difference.
I think I would love to try some sort of seafood soup. As long as it wasn't fishy smelling, I would probably like it.
Mom.....I am craving your Potato Soup now.......I need soup, please.
Saturday, February 3, 2007
Savage Chickens
Anita Bath found another goodie! Where does she come up with these things!?
Savage Chickens
Upon seeing this cartoon, my first thought was of an unnamed person from my family that shall remain unnamed otherwise I will become unnamed if I reveal the unnamed persons name. Yeah, this totally fits them.
Thursday, February 1, 2007
List Makers
Anyone that knows me knows what an obsessive list maker I am. I have lists for anything and everything. I hardly ever forget a thing. I actually enjoy making lists, if you can believe that. I love the feel of a fresh, clean sheet of paper and a new pencil or pen. I write out lists for groceries, errands, appointments or things to do around the house. The highlight of my day is to scratch things off those lists after each task is accomplished.
Going through my daily read of blogs, I read something about list making that made me wonder about the state of our culture and its reliability on some of the most unreliable things.
The Simple Dollar came out with an article a couple days ago about an online list making program called Remember The Milk.
"January 30, 2007 @ 3:03 pm - Written by Trent
I usually don’t wax ecstatic over nifty websites, but this one has become not only a tremendous timesaver for me, but has also managed to help me save a good deal of money. It’s called Remember the Milk and it’s basically just an online list manager - but it does that list management so well that it’s simply wormed its way into becoming a part of my life. I’ve found seemingly endless uses for the fact that you can keep any number of lists you wish and combine them together in views however you want, and you can also set due dates for particular items and thus have a constant to-do list. Even better, it’s still in beta so it’s completely free to use, so click over there and give it a whirl.
Here are five examples of how I use it to manage personal finance and lifestyle tasks." Read on...
And how much money and time do you really save when you have to use a $100 cellphone or a $1500 computer or a $300 PDA to organize it all on?
I don't get it. I don't get all the hulabaloo about organizing your entire life, and sometimes we're talking very personal stuff here guys, on something as unreliable as a computer or as small as a cell phone. Both can be lost in a flash and then what are you left with? I've seen people literally get sick over losing a cellphone that had all their family and friends phone numbers on it. I've heard stories of people paying big rewards to get back their lost Blackberries or PDAs that had very personal information stored on them. Heck, I've even gone berserk over losing a few family pictures and saved emails when my computer hard drive was zapped by lightning. Lord help you if you own a business and had all your work contacts and information stored on these sometimes teeny tiny, easy to lose, fragile devices. I can't hardly believe some of the most important and personal information some people have stored on these things. Are cellphones and PDAs becoming the new wallets and pocketbooks of the future?
Online list making programs like RTM can be great, IF...you can remember to go to the website to check your lists. I guess a person could set it up as a homepage to pop up as soon as you open your browser but if you're anything like me, I have several homepages popping up already. But if I had to use one of these list making programs on my computer, I think I would prefer a downloadable program to an online one because I could have access to it even if I couldn't get connected online. Even then, I would be taking a risk by having it stored on my computer at all. I've been in the situation before of loading a bunch of my info, ideas and to-do lists online only to have my hard drive blow up and have to drive to my sisters to access the internet until I could get another computer set up. And just recently we went through a major ice storm with no power for two weeks. So even if I had a list online that I needed to gain access to, I would just be out of luck. With my list written on paper, I never have to worry about not being able to easily get to it and updating it is a breeze. Of course, losing a list is a concern but that hardly ever happens because I don't have to carry the list around with me to use for other reasons like I do my cellphone.
I've been using a small program on my computer desktop called Art Plus Wallpaper Calendar LE 5.0 for a little over a year now. I started out using it for the beautiful background images to spruce up my desktop. I ended up using the calendar part of it to keep track of minor things like to-do lists, tv shows and Girl Scout meetings, mainly for my daughter who was beginning to read. It was easier for her to read the list on the computer than try to read my handwriting. I still use it to this day. But it in no way replaces the paper calendar I have sitting on my desk that I write the most important things down on like doctors appointments. Just in case something happens to my computer, I still have a hard copy to refer to. I also have on that same desk an address book with phone numbers of family and friends. This address book makes all that information attainable should I lose my cellphone. Anything I need to keep track of, goes on paper first, gadgets second. I actually prefer a pencil and paper list to all other kinds of list making......period. Doing it all on the computer can be such a waste of time for some things. Because by the time I get online, type it all in, move it all around, and tag it all, I could have written it out three times with the pen and paper sitting here next to my mouse. And there's just no replacing a paper calendar for all its quick, at-a-glance glory.
Stick with the basics, people. Get yourself a pen, paper and a calender and organize your life and manage your finances on it. Cut out the middle men and quit relying soley on your computer, your phone company and your electric company to keep you up-to-date and organized.
All that said, I have a new program for you to try. It's called Remember The Pen. It's so much easier, attainable and accessible.
Side note: I mean nothing against Trent or The Simple Dollar with this post......it's a great, informative site. Just this particular article got me to thinking this morning and I elaborated on it in text. Check out The Simple Dollar and learn a thing or two.
For My Brother, Brother-In-Law and Husband
Because I worry about your safety when working with electricity...........
VIA
Anyone who has installed an outlet knows how hard it can be handling all those copper wires and the sharp edges. The PlugGrip has two three-prong plugs that literally plug right in. It fits snug, which allows you to maneuver the outlet to get the angle you want and saves your fingers the trouble. The hard plastic handle also works great for shoving the wires back in the wall when you're done. I am scared to death of electricity, so I tried to hire an electrician to change all the outlets in the house. He couldn't show up for about a week, though. I saw this product and decided to give it try. There are indicator lights on the inside of the handle that give you a sense of security. If an outlet is hot, the light turns orange, saving you the time of bringing out the circuit tester. A good tip is to plug the grip into the outlet and then turn off the power. When you return, you can be sure it is off because the lights should no longer be glowing. I was able to do about 25 outlets throughout the house much faster and definitely much cheaper than without. The electrician was going to charge $125, not including charges for the outlets and any other problems he claimed existed.
-- Mario Zamora
PlugGrip
$10
Available from Amazon
Manufactured by PlugGrip Products
Part 5 - The Home Office - 101 New Uses for Everyday Items
Make your office supplies work double time with these new twists.
The Home Office
Transparent Tape
Corkboard
"Hello, My Name Is"
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