Young Frankenstein Putting On The Ritz

This is my favorite movie to watch on Halloween.  Enjoy

Out of Time

No time to blog today.  I only write at the office and I'm getting off early...Yay!!!  Here's some pics to look at while I'm gone:

Happy Thursday

How to Make Pumpkin Pie

I am not a baker so when my co-worker, partner-in-crime and FB buddy sent me an Email on How to Make Pumpkin Pie, I was thrilled.  She entertains all the time and serves the best food I've ever tasted.

As I waited for the attachment to open (which took a really long time for some reason), I imagined baking a homemade pumpkin pie for my in-laws who really don't like me very much.  What with my independent views and all.  I have a job AND I expect my husband to share in the housework.  Clearly, I am the Spawn of Satan but my Hubby's happy so I continue on with my evil plans...bwahahahah.

Oh...back on track.  I thought this Thanksgiving, when we go to California, I will bring this terrific homemade pumpkin pie, along with home videos and photos to prove that I actually made it myself (trust me, they would never believe me otherwise).

I hear my computer click and whir, which pulls me out of my daydream and I look down, eager to see the recipe and praying it won't be too complicated...

 and I get this...

Thanks Sue...Luv Ya!

The Future?

I drove to my daughter's school today to drop off some food for her because she has theatre rehearsals and was "absolutley starving".  Her words--not mine. 

On my way back to the office, which is just down the street from her school, I was at a stop sign, when some kids in a convertible stopped in the middle of the intersection as some other kids  were crossing the street.  I thought they were probably offering them a ride but the kids walked passed the car and one large boy ran up behind a smaller boy and started punching him in the face.  Nobody stopped him or helped the smaller boy at all.

I picked up my phone and called the school, since the kids are their responsiblity until they get home and they were sending an officer right away.  I don't know what happened, because the larger boy and his friends saw me in my car on the phone and took off.

The part that truly hits me hard is that the other boy had to go into the street, pick up his books, keeping from showing any signs of weakness or distress and continue walking home with all of those kids watching him and no friends to comfort him.  The look on his face just broke my heart.

When I got back to my office, I sat in my car crying for all of those kids who are victims of bullying and or just plain being ignored.  I plan to have a long talk with my own daughters when I get home tonight.

What will the future be like, if we don't bother to teach our children compassion??

...very bleak, indeed...

Oh, How the Screw Keeps Turning

I am experiencing the "Monday Blues" to an extreme and as I went through the blogs I follow, I found this video and I can't help but feel better.  So thanks "Smacksy" and to everyone else:  I hope this will bring a smile to your faces as well :)

aberfeldy summer's gone

Feel Good Friday - this song just makes me feel ... light

Ed & Max: a love story (or How I Amuse Myself at Work)

A long, long time ago in a place far, far away (two years ago at a park down the street) Ed met someone new (almost brand new-about 6 weeks) named Max:



It was love at first sight (at least on Ed's part). They were inseparable:

They faced many an adventure together (fetch, walk the dog, etc) and often went to the very park where they first met (actually, they went to a different park-one that was right across the street but this sounds way better) to pay homage to that glorious day:

They didn't always get along.  Since they were both great warriors, they battled often over their vauable territories (i.e. ball, bone, squeaky) but no one would forget their greatest battle-The Infamous Battle of Tire:

 

 Max acted first, breaching the perimeters of the territory and making his stand.



He attacked in the dark of night (yeah, it's daytime...I get it but the cell phone doesn't have a flash so use your imagination) and succeeded in taking Tire without any opposition (who really wants an old tire?)

Once Max had Tire in his possession (and we all know how valuable an old tiny tire is), he disappeared (ran with the tire to the other side of the park) without even a note (dogs can't write, no thumbs) for his dear friend Ed:





Ed was devastated (actually, he was pissed off that Max took off with the tire like that and didn't come back when he called-he's not very well-trained, Max-not Ed...well, either of them actually) and as time passed he became so bitter and angry, he seemed like a different man (not really a picture of Ed):



Max realized how lonely he was without Ed (he got tired and hungry)and decided that being the champion of Tire was not worth losing Ed:

So he apologized (Cute, huh?)... 

                                                            

And Ed forgave him...

                                    

That was easy!!

Though there were other battles over the years , the battle of Tire is the one that is still spoken of to this day (not really, no one but Max really even cares about that tire)

Neither Ed nor Max will ever forget it, for it taught them to value each other above all else (or at least until the next really cool doggy toy catches Max's eye).  And they lived (or slept) happily (lazily) ever after:



THE END

This post is an entry for Fickle Cattle's Very First Fabulously Fantastic Giveaway

Reno Balloon Race 2006

Can't think of anything to write about today but this video makes me feel weirdly good on this strange and rainy day in Vegas.

There is no trick or cunning, no art or recipe, by which you can have in your writing that which you do not possess in yourself

If the school of life becomes any tougher, I'm afraid they're going to hold me back!

There are many people in the world who have suffered far worse than anything I have ever experienced and they have been given tougher trials and overcome more obstacles by far.  I admire them and realize they are far more superior specimens of the human race than I.

I am ready to crawl in my bed, get under the covers and never come out again.  All of this because I find I am very unhappy with the life I am currently leading. 

My relationship is slowly disintegrating and yet I am the only one who will admit to it.  Nothing drags on me more than denial and the inability to reason with someone.

I have two daughters who should be planning for their futures but have been hit by the current state of unemployment and are stuck attending college locally which is so abhorrent to them that they are completely uninspired in their current endeavors. 

Which means that I have two moody teenage girls in my house who have no clear plans on when they will be leaving the nest.  Don't get me wrong, I love them dearly and will sorely miss them when they go but at the same time, I would like some time alone to figure out my next step in life as well.

I am feeling trapped, depressed, unappreciated and unloved.  Not necessarily in that order.

I know I will eventually find resolution but I am hoping it won't be a passive resolution, which is what I usually allow to happen.  I would like to be active in the outcome this time...so, wish me luck!

Surprised Kitty (Original)

FRIDAY FURRIES (cont.)

The Sneezing Baby Panda

FRIDAY FURRIES

Voting, Government, The American Ideal

Do these things go together? Doubtful, at best.

Voting - this is the cornerstone of our democracy.  The right to vote. To choose who represents us: the people.  To have our voice heard (I think my voice is heard by more people via this blog and I don't even think more than one or two people have ever seen it).  I am grateful for the right to vote but how does one go to the polling station with exuberance and excitement and American pride, when there are only two candidates for each office that have any chance of winning (these are the two who managed to raise the most money and have the most vitriolic campaign ads) and you feel as though they spend most of their time attacking each other rather than informing us of what they plan to do in office? 

Also, in my state, judges are voted onto the bench.  Guess how many voters know anything about the judges in their communities?  Unless they've done something illegal, recently resided over some famous or infamous person(s) trial, or made an ass of themselves publicly, there is almost no useful information about them.  Trust me, I've checked.  I felt the need to do this when I discovered that some of the people I know and respect have some ridiculous methods for making their judicial selections:

• I choose men over women or women over men (depending on who you're asking) and on the rest, I just pick names that I like the sound of
• I choose the names that are the most familiar to me
• I choose the names that are the least familiar to me since I figure they are the ones who haven't had a scandal
• I don't vote for judges

Anyway, after all of my hard work, I think I will be making an informed decision this election cycle (at least on the judges).  As for the rest, I will try to choose the best candidate based on the choices I am given keeping in mind one of my favorite quotes:  When you choose the lesser of two evils, you are still choosing evil.

Government - hmmm, let's try a word association game.  I will list some words and you pick which ones best fit your feelings of government as we know it today:  Regulatory, Controlling, Honest, Confident, Large, Conflicted, Wealthy, Powerful, Representative, Limited, Inspiring, Authentic, Savvy, Straight-Forward, Worthy, Privileged, Self-Serving, Honorable...think for a minute or two...enough said.

The American Ideal - I am by no means an expert on this one but I do remember that we were all supposed to have a voice and through that voice, we were supposed to be the ones in charge.  What happened?

As a whole, you can find among us a multitude of conflicting ideas and opposing points of view.  There are a daunting number of us but there is also a system in place to deal with that.  Our voices are heard more clearly at the level of the local government but they have such minimal power and influence, I doubt you will see any potential candidates with their eyes on the Big Show, even considering that a stepping stone anymore.  We each have a state government but they seem to lose power with each new federal law passed.  Talk about scary.  Whether you are a supporter of Arizona's immigration law or California's marijuana law or Vermont's gay marriage law, shouldn't it be up to each state's residents to have a vote and once a state law or policy is voted into or out of existence, is it really the Federal Government's job to override it or to just not honor it?  It's not, at least according to what I learned about our political system and the reasons behind its structure. 

This is what I believe is the American Ideal and if we could just follow it, I believe, the rest would fall into place:

I believe we are all supposed to have Equal Rights, those rights should apply to all of us, equally, regardless of our differences.  This sounds great but here's the catch, every single one of us, individually, should have the same rights.  A group or organization does not have the right to demand specific rights for any collective but should rather be working towards insuring that we all have the EXACT same rights.

I believe we are all supposed to have Equal Justice, the laws should apply to all of us, equally, regardless of our differences.  This sounds great but here's the catch, every single one of us, individually, should have to obey the same laws, receive the same penalties and have the opportunity to the same quality of defense.  No one should have the right to special treatment or consideration based on either negative or positive aspects of their background.  NO ONE.

You don't have to agree with me but you should, as a fellow American, respect my right to say it.

Friday Funnies

Remember, life is all about ass:

You're either covering it, laughing it off, kicking it, kissing it, busting it, trying to get a piece of it, behaving like one, or you work with one.

Enjoy your weekend!!!

Picturing myself thin is NOT working!!!

I have put on too many pounds to count over the years.  I can blame some of them on getting older, some on stress, some on my children.  But the truth is I am far too inactive and I eat a lot of crappy food.  So, big shocker that I gained weight, right?

My mom tells me that my weight gain proves I'm happy since she's seen me skinny and sad for a long time.  I will go ahead and let her believe that since she seems pleased with the notion.  I, however, am not all that happy so her theory is somewhat flawed.

I've heard that if you want things badly enough and envision it in your mind, you can obtain it  ----- I'm here to tell you, that load of marshmallow fluffiness, would give Pollyanna cavities!

My weight gain did not occur overnight.  It crept up on me gradually, from behind (don't go there!) while I went about my life blissfully unaware of the overtaking of my body.  By the time I noticed what was happening it was way too late for a quick fix.  This would be a long and tedious process. 

I tried diets but realized that to keep the weight off, I would have to eat this way forever...uh, not gonna happen.  I tried a gym but the rates kept increasing which made for a great excuse to stop going since my family's finances must take precedence over my personal vanities.  I tried exercising at home but my ever so helpful and ever present family seemed to feel it was their role to tell me, "You're doing it wrong...you don't look like you're doing the same thing the trainer on the tape is doing."  or  "You're not supposed to stop yet mom, they're still going."

I keep trying and have managed to knock off some of the evil little pounds who have attached themselves to me as if I were a star on the Disney Channel and they were the tweens brainwashed to love me.

I have given up soda, which was not as hard as I thought it would be and I plan to start exercising more regularly--if my family would just move out.

Either way,  I will tell you that the entire time that the pounds were creeping onto my once trim frame, I ALWAYS pictured myself thin and to this day I am still shocked when I see what I look like in the various photographs my family and friends feel the need to post on their FB pages.

If being able to envision things would make them reality, I would be built like a Victoria Secrets model with no signs of ever aging, my teenage daughters would never be moody and my husband would be the world's richest man and look a lot like John Stamos.

And you know what?  I'm glad it's not that easy to make your daydreams come true.  Fantasies are fun but reality is so much funnier!

Baby Monkey (Going Backwards On A Pig) - Parry Gripp

THE BOX

We all have access to one of these boxes in one form or another.  Some foolishly believed there would be an end to the perils of The Box but alas, they were foolish.

As children, The Box held such exciting possibilities.  It was filled with hope.  It was filled with love.  But even then, it was unpredictable and although it's contents sometimes contained disappointment, it never filled us with dread.

That's the power of The Box.  It draws you in when you're young and free so that when adulthood arrives, you've learned to accept it as a part of your life.  

The Box no longer represents the wonder of childhood but the miseries of adulthood. 

Even though we know this, we still serve The Box.  Attending to it at least weekly, if not daily.  Filled with a dull sense of dread and grudging acceptance of The Box as an everpresent (although outdated) aspect of our lives that we can not manage to completely be free of.

So, like all of us, I take myself to The Box this morning and arrive home with the miserable contents held in my arms ( as I have managed to avoid The Box for an entire 5 days!).  My husband looks up as I open the front door, a smile of blissful ignorance on his face, and then he looks down at the despair I carry with me.  His eyes connect with mine.

And I tiredly reply, "That's right...more bills."

    \   /
@     @

(-------)

UGH!!  I HATE BILLS!