Sometimes in my flurry of every day activity and constant rush I forget to take a moment to just sit quietly and reflect on all that I have to be thankful for.  It is so easy to take things for granted including those who are closest to us.  I wonder why it is always easy to find things to complain about but even easier  to forget to give thanks.  

Did I sleep through a change in our federal law concerning immigration? Call me crazy but I thought it was already a crime to be in this country illegally yet Arizona is on the verge of approving Legislature that would make it a crime under state law.  This would require local police officers to question people about their immigrant status.  If they cannot produce documents showing they are allowed to work in the US could be arrested and jailed up to 6 months and fined $2,500.  Somehow this evoked visions of requiring legal Hispanic immigrants to wear, let's say, yellow sombreros on their lapels to make them easily identifiable. Arizona isn't the only state looking at immigration one of our Oklahoma representatives wants to propose legislation that would basically revoke the citizenship of any child born in the US to illegal parents.  Uhhhhh isn't that unconsitutional under the 14th amendment? 

You know we have had immigration laws for a long time but we didn't bother to enforce them.  Now we want to create more laws?  I don't see how you will gain anything.  Try enforcing the ones we have.  Punish the people who employ illegal immigrants?  

GOD LOVES DRUNK PEOPLE TOO
 
A man and his wife were awakened at 3:00 am by a loud pounding on the door.
 
The man gets up and goes to the door where a drunken stranger, standing in the pouring rain, is asking for a push.
 
"Not a chance," says the husband, "it is 3:00 in the morning!"
 
He slams the door and returns to bed.
 
"Who was that?" asked his wife.
 
"Just some drunk guy asking for a push," he answers.
 
"Did you help him?" she asks.
 
"No, I did not, it is 3:00 in the morning and it is pouring rain out there!"
 
"Well, you have a short memory," says his wife. "Can't you remember about three months ago when we broke down, and those two guys; helped us?  I think you should help him, and you should be ashamed of yourself!  God loves drunk people too."
 
The man does as he is told, gets dressed, and goes out into the pounding rain.
 
He calls out into the dark, "Hello, are you still there?"
 
"Yes," comes back the answer.
 
"Do you still need a push?" calls out the husband.
 
"Yes, please!" comes the reply from the dark.
 
"Where are you?" asks the husband.
 
"Over here on the swing set," replied the drunk.

Here are some of the flowers I planted over the weekend.

Batface Cuphea

 

  midnight blue Lobelia

White Lobelia

Midnight Madness Petunias.....  Just to name a few!

I'm going with a pink, lavender, purple, blues and white.........that's how I filled the window boxes and flower beds.  Now I'm paying for all my hard work with sore muscles and horrible allergies!   But it will all be worth it in about a month.

Old Coot

We all know older people who think that if it isn't the way it was done when they were young then it just isn't any good.  I don't want to be the old "coot" on the block.  I think technology is wonderful even though I don't always understand how to use it.  I've said before that I really don't "GET" texting but then I'm not 14 years old either.  I sometimes wish I could just follow a 14 year old around for a day and see if they really are as different from the 14 year olds of my day or if they just seem that way to me.  I think my biggest concern for the kids today is whether they are really learning how to really connect with others.  I know they think they are connected 24/7 but on what level?  There is something impersonal about words on a screen (dare I call them words) "DIKU) translated "Do I know you?"  I read recently that another concern is that young people use texting as a way to avoid conflict.  It's much easier to say break up with a girlfriend through a text then to do it face-to-face.  Well, aren't they missing out on valuable lessons that will help them navigate in the adult world?  But then again, the adult world they will be part of will probably be much different from the one I know now.  So far, I've never sent a text, wouldn't know how if I wanted to and am far too lazy to type out a message when I can just talk into a phone.  Sooooo call me an old coot.........I just don't get it!

Can't get my mind out of the sewer

Since I seems to be obsessed with this whole toilet subject my search continues......

Now for the practical minded person this little number could be achieved with just a bag of quickcrete and a stick for writing your initials on the front.   This would be a contender but I just don't have enough vegetation in my yard to insure privacy.

Now here is something to inspire the artist in you. 

I really don't know what to say about this one.  I'm not sure what it inspires, but then I guess there is really only one thing a toilet should inspire you to do...   Maybe inspiration is only required if you have prostrate problems but this one just makes me think of an orange dreamcicle..... .

Diamonds ARE a girl's best friend................Personally, I've always known MY butt was priceless:)

This one is actually named "The Throne"

But this one is my favorite!  It's a toilet and a bench!  I love it because it would just be fun to confuse the hell out of your guests!

http://www.brondell.com/products/index.php

Now here's a toilet seat for ya!

DIY

I have a new DIY project on the horizon.  I need to replace a toilet.  Not a very glamorous projec but a necessity all the same.  My standard issue (55 year old toilet) seems to have malfunctioned so I decided I would upgrade to a "comfort height" toilet and save wear and tear on my knee joints.  My quest started yesterday and I NEVER knew there were so many options in toilets these days.  One thing I noticed is that it is hard to find a standard round bowl.  Almost all of them are elongated.  Now, I don't know about anyone else but I just don't have an elongated butt.  In fact, none of my friends have elongated fannies either (at least as far as I can tell).  Isn't that a lot like trying to put a round peg in an elongated hole?  There just has to be some overage!!!!  Another decision to be made is the dual flush versus the regular flush.  So clever.....#1 for #1 and #2 for pooh......How clever!  One feature I want for sure is the self closing lid.  I don't know why I want it since I live alone and no one leaves the lid up unless it is me, but I just think it is clever.  I doubt this will end up being a DIY project since the more I read the more complicated installation sounds.   I may just have to get a porta-potty out back and call it good!

Let the Mowing Begin

Well, with all the rain we are getting this weekend I have literally watched the grass turn green and it must have grown 2 inches already.  This has been a bit of a dreary weekend but I just look at the rain as a welcome necessity.  It provides an opportunity to curl up with a book and not feel guilty about it. 

We are trying to gear up for my daughter's upcoming surgery.  I purchased a pair of ergonomic crutches for her.  (Now isn't that a gem of a present?)  When I saw the crutches I thought they would be a big improvement over the traditional kind with ergonomic hand supports.  They are definitely strange to look at.  I hope they help her tolerate being on them for so long.



I don't have any plans for today but I'd better get with it and be ready in case I get a great idea!

I went to the doctor yesterday and got a cortisone shot in the hip.  It didn't hurt a bit which makes me wonder if it will work.  You know...the no pain no gain?  My doctor is the cutest young girl, I have socks older than she is, but she's really sweet and quite the talker.  She gives me a run for MY money.  Both of my daughters see her as well and Dr. A. told me yesterday that she finally figured out that they were two different people.  Anyway, we discussed the looming knee replacement but I'm not ready to go there yet.  I'll do shots and anything short of surgery for awhile yet.  I've had so many orthopedic surgeries that I'm just not anxious to go under the knife again.  I'll do it when the pain gets to be too much or I just can't walk but I'm not there yet.  Right now I'm just trying to get the hip bursitis taken care of first.  What a pain in the @#$% literally!

I was hoping for good weather this weekend but there is talk of rain.  That's probably OK if we want those May flowers.  In fact, I need to get to the nursery and figure out what I want to plant in the window boxes.  I can't wait for the grass to green up and flowers to bloom.  I could wait awhile before mowing starts but I think the time has come.  Spring and fall....my two favorite seasons!

If you are 30, or older, you might think this is hilarious!

When I was a kid, adults used to bore me to tears with their tedious diatribes about how hard things were. When they were growing up; what with walking twenty-five miles to school every morning.... Uphill... Barefoot... BOTH ways… yadda, yadda, yadda

And I remember promising myself that when I grew up, there was no way I was going to lay a bunch of crap like that on my kids about how hard I had it and how easy they've got it!  

But now that I'm over the ripe old age of thirty, I can't help but look around and notice the youth of today.  You've got it so easy!  I mean, compared to my childhood, you live in a Utopia!  
And I hate to say it, but you kids today, you don't know how good you've got it!

I mean, when I was a kid we didn't have the Internet.  If we wanted to know something, we had to go to the library and look it up ourselves, in the card catalog!!  

There was no email!!  We had to actually write somebody a letter - with a pen!   Then you had to walk all the way across the street and put it in the mailbox, and it would take like a week to get there!  Stamps were 10 cents!

Child Protective Services didn't care if our parents beat us.  As a matter of fact, the parents of all my friends also had permission to kick our butts! Nowhere was safe!

There were no MP3's or Napsters or iTunes!  If you wanted to steal music, you had to hitchhike to the record store and shoplift it yourself!

Or you had to wait around all day to tape it off the radio, and the DJ would usually talk over the beginning and @#*% it all up!  There were no CD players!  We had tape decks in our car...  We'd play our favorite tape and "eject" it when finished, and then the tape would come undone rendering it useless.  

We didn't have fancy stuff like Call Waiting!  If you were on the phone and somebody else called, they got a busy signal, that's it!

There weren't any cell phones either. If you left the house, you just didn't make a call or receive one. You actually had to be out of touch with your "friends". OH MY GOODNESS !!!  Think of the horror... not being in touch with someone 24/7!!!  And then there's TEXTING.  Yeah, right.  Please!  You kids have no idea how annoying you are.

And we didn't have fancy Caller ID either! When the phone rang, you had no idea who it was!  It could be your school, your parents, your boss, your bookie, your drug dealer, the collection agent... you just didn't know!!!  You had to pick it up and take your chances!

We didn't have any fancy PlayStation or Xbox video games with high-resolution 3-D graphics!  We had the Atari 2600!  With games like 'Space Invaders' and 'Asteroids'.  Your screen guy was a little square!  You actually had to use your imagination!!!  And there were no multiple levels or screens, it was just one screen... Forever!  And you could never win.  The game just kept getting harder and harder and faster and faster until you died!  Just like LIFE!

You had to use a little book called a TV Guide to find out what was on! You were screwed when it came to channel surfing!  You had to get off your butt and walk over to the TV to change the channel!!!  NO REMOTES!!!  Oh, no, what's the world coming to?!?!

There was no Cartoon Network either! You could only get cartoons on Saturday Morning.  Do you hear what I'm saying? We had to wait ALL WEEK for cartoons, you spoiled little rat-finks!

And we didn't have microwaves.  If we wanted to heat something up, we had to use the stove!  Imagine that!    

And our parents told us to stay outside and play... all day long.  Oh, no, no electronics to soothe and comfort.  And if you came back inside... you were doing chores!  
And car seats - oh, please!  Mom threw you in the back seat and you hung on.  If you were lucky, you got the "safety arm" across the chest at the last moment if she had to stop suddenly, and if your head hit the dashboard, well that was your fault for calling "shot gun" in the first place!  
See!  That's exactly what I'm talking about! You kids today have got it too easy. You're spoiled rotten!  You guys wouldn't have lasted five minutes back in 1980 or any time before!

Regards,
The Over 30 Crowd 

Counting Blessings Instead of Sheep

Friday night was just an ordinary night and I hadn't had anything in particular on my mind.  I wasn't feeling stressed and I hadn't eaten a big burrito before retiring but still I had the most vivid dream of my life.  It involved my children (who are always 7 years old in my dreams) and we were packing to go to the lake cabin.  We were also bringing two Chihuahua puppies with us, a little boy and a little girl.  When we arrived at the cabin my mother and father were there to greet us.  They looked to be in their early 60's about the age they were when my girls were seven.  I could hear their voices as clear as if they were in the room.  It was wonderful to hear them laughing and looking so healthy.  The puppies belonged to them and they were waiting for us to bring them.  I told them what good little travelers the puppies were and everyone was so happy.  The next thing I knew I was all alone and walking toward my street when I saw emergency vehicles and they were loading a very distraught young man into an ambulance.  I quickly walked past them and then onto my street.  Then I saw my neighbor's (who have been dead for 4 years) and they were just puttering in their yard as they often did.  I was so happy to see them and ran as fast as I could to talk to Barbara.  Again, I heard her voice as clear as if she were in my room.  She was smiling and talking to another woman but I could tell by the look on her face that she knew I was there.  Then I woke up kind of startled but I felt so good.  I checked the clock on my nightstand which also displays the date as well as time.  When I saw the date I suddenly remembered it was one year to the day that my mother passed away and then I saw the time and it was 10:10, the exact time of her death.  Now, I know this is all coincidence and most people would just pooh it away but....well, I don't want to think so.  First of all I NEVER SLEEP past 6:00 a.m. EVER!  I can't tell you what good it did me to see my parents healthy and happy and together.  It has been a year since I've been able to dream of my mother in any other way than that last week of her life when she was so helpless and frail.  I have missed my friend Barbara so much and to hear her voice again was icing on the cake.  Instead of the anniversary of my mother's death being sad it was healing and I believe that dream was a gift.  Oh, and I figured out where the puppies came from.  When I was growing up my mother had two Chihuahuas.  Her first one was named Timmy and after he died she got Sally.  In Heaven she has them both!

Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds

This is one of my "Grand Dogs".  Her name is Lucy and I know I shouldn't have favorites and I try not to have but I am attached to this little girl.  I think it is because she and her sister were at my house when they were puppies.  Like people, just because she and her sister were litter mates doesn't mean their personalities are alike.  Chloe is as pliable as a rubberband.  She will let my daughter just kiss on her and fold her into a pretzel but Miss Lucy here doesn't like anyone in her face and every time my daughter would try to kiss on her Lucy would growl.  She was a puppy who knew just what she liked and what she didn't.  But Lucy and I bonded.  I was the only person she would let cuddle her and love on her but I always approached her very calmly while my daughter is as hyper as Chloe.  This is Chloe and Lucy as puppies.  Who could resist those faces?

         My  Katie

Lucy has those soulful eyes which remind me of my dog Katie.  There is something about those eyes that make you think there is an old soul resting behind them.   Katie was a lot like Lucy "without the growling".  She didn't like to cuddle but she liked to sit close to you and she greeted me at the door every day after work making me feel like the most important person in her world which I suppose I was.


Dogs and pets in general are wonderful for where else do you have the opportunity to be loved so unconditionally?  They don't care if you have 10 pounds to lose or if you are not as nimble as you once were.  They forgive all your transgressions and love you through your bad moods.  They can help heal a broken heart and make you laugh through your tears.  So, though I don't have any grand children I can brag about my little grand dogs every now and then.  I just wish they could talk!

Dancing With The Stars

Who is watching Dancing With The Stars?  I have always loved this show, that is until this season.  I don't know that many of the participants since I don't watch soap operas or sports.  I did know Kate Gosselin but good grief....who is voting for her and keeping her on the show?  That poor girl can't dance a lick!  The reason I have liked the show is it is as close to a variety show as we have these days.  All the variety is broken down into singing (American Idol) dancing (Dancing With The Stars) and America's Got Talent (which truly is variety).  I just want to be entertained.  But come on....they have to have a little talent or at the least coordination!  Poor Kate has neither.

Catching Up

I'm at a stand still at work.  I've completed every project that I had going and now I'm kind of twiddling my thumbs.  Since we are in a transition period between administrators I'm kind of in limbo as well.  My current boss already has his feet in the sand on a beach somewhere (so to speak) and my new boss hasn't started her new duties yet. So, here I am with time on my hands.  I hate that.....I'd much rather be overloaded with work than looking for something to do.

My daughter is gearing up for her second knee surgery and since we aren't sure what they will be doing yet it is hard to plan.  The doctor told her she may have to have a bone graph first (which would require her to be non-ambulatory for several weeks) and then after it heals they will go back in for the ACL reconstruction.  I've got my fingers crossed that he can do the ACL without the bone graph.  I'm going to stay with her a few days after she has surgery because although her husband is a former firefighter/EMT he has a horrible bedside manner.  Julie doesn't want him anywhere near her after surgery.  Sooooo good ole mom to the rescue! 

Thank goodness I still love being needed!  It gives me purpose! 

Bad Chloe

My son-in-law sent this picture to me today.  It seems he left his breakfast sandwich on the sofa while he went to the kitchen to get a drink.  This is what he found when he returned.   Now.....can you find the guilty party in the picture?

Good Friday

It is Good Friday and I can't help but think about this time last year when my mother passed away.  It doesn't seem possible that it has been a year.  

Ron got the results of his CT scan today and they saw a 2 centimeter nodule where his kidney was removed.  They were unable to identify what it is but they decided to wait another 6 months and do another CT scan and if there is no change they will presume it is scar tissue.  What a merciless waiting game Cancer dictates.

I have to shop for Easter dinner when I get off work.  We really didn't celebrate Easter last year so I'm anxious to gather family around and celebrate the beginning of spring and the renewal it brings.

Happy Easter to all!