Fresh New Dresses for SALE!!!!

I've been a little busy lately.



Obviously.


Anyway, my once, mostly abandoned etsy store is up and running once again. I did my homework and figured out what is selling. I hope I got it right.


I think I got it right.

If you want a beautiful, original and reasonably priced dress for your favorite little girl, then look no further than my humble little etsy shop.

TwiddleSticks.

I have a few more dresses (in smaller sizes, I'm trying to figure out what to do about Lex and Lori being too big to model them)

In the meantime, check out what is currently for sale as of
June 12th in my etsy shop!!!!!

Hop on over to Twiddlesticks!

See you there!

By Popular Demand (David and Lisa's) A New Post

David and Lisa have asked for a new post.
Hmm. I don't really know why but I just haven't been feeling the "blog thing" lately.

I think it's effecting not just me either.

I've noticed that several of my favorite blogs haven't been updated very often.

If at all.

I'm going on two years now and just a few to go til I hit 200 posts.

I wonder,

is there a shelf life for most blogs?

Is it normal to start out strong,
meet lots of new friends,
make a lot of them happy,
piss a few of them off,
slowly start to slow it down,
until,
you find you are doing good,
to post,
maybe,
once a week,
gradually,
finding that,
even,
once a month

becomes

a

hassle?



Or is it just me?

To add a bit more substance to this post I think i will fall back on an "oldie" but a "goodie"

Things that make me smile:

I don't know about you, but there is just something about a brand new box of Crayola 64 crayons that, after more than fifty years, still brings me deep feelings of satisfaction.
I love the smell of those, brand new, never been touched by anyone, dare I say "Virgin" crayolas. I love to meet up with my old favorites, Sky Blue and Magenta.
I think if I had to condense the warm feeling they give me, down to just one word, it would have to be,

Possibilities

Yes. I think that would have to be it.

If allowed to further expound on my love of that fresh new box of 64, I think I would include;

Comfort

Nostalgia

Excitement

Creative Juices

Contentment

Wow. So much pleasure to be gained from something that, if purchased at the right time of year (i.e. back to school) can be gotten for less than three dollars, three fifty max.

One more thing that always brings me to huge smiles;

People with Downs Syndrome.

My friend Jenny, recently, commented that they are

"Little Balls of JOY".

I LOVED that.

I have yet to meet a person with Downs that I haven't immediately fallen in love with.

Shawn is friends with quite a few of them at the ARC. One of my very favorite guys would have to be Fred. He has gray hair, so I assume he's a little older.
He is one of the most dignified people I have ever met. He is kind of quiet.

A guy who likes to take his time.

He's never loud or flashy. He may not be the first person you will notice in the room. But every time I meet him I am impressed by how calm and mellow he is. I feel like he is one of those rare, lucky people, who is simply comfortable in his own skin.

One thing for sure. Fred brings a huge smile to my heart.

I think I will save further "makes me smile" items for another time.

See how optimistic I am to assume that there will be a "Next Time"?


P.S. This Sunday, June 6th, is my birthday. I plan to celebrate turning 53 by going to my grandaughter Lorelai's second Piano Recital.
I can assure you that this is something that will most definitely

PUT A BIG SMILE ON MY FACE!

Answers for Sarah

If you read my daughter-in-law Lisa's blog then you know that our dear little Elisabeth has had surgery this week to have a feeding tube inserted.
Someone left a rather disturbing comment on one of her posts. The commenter, Sarah's, remarks are in red and Lisa's are in green. (her favorite color)

I have only recently began reading your blog, and am very very curious if you knew about Elizabeths condition prior to being born? If so, how early on did you know?

Hi Sarah,Yes, I knew that Elisabeth had hydrocephalus and that it would most likely lead to many other disabilities....I just didn't know what those would be until after she was born.She was diagnosed with hydrocephalus when I was 16 weeks pregnant.Thanks for reading my blog :)


Was terminating the pregnancy ever considered? The suffering Elizabeth must be going through hardly seems fair. In any case, I wish you the best, and hope that Elizabeth will have some semblance of a normal life if/when she gets older.



Here is the beautiful post Lisa published in answer to Sarah's concerns.

In regards to your comment(s) on my 'Out of Surgery' post: No, I never ever, not even for one second, considered terminating the pregnancy. And while you think that her suffering is 'not fair', I would say that it is a far better option than death. Yes, she has felt pain. Yes, she is limited both physically and mentally. But, she has felt the wind on her face and she has heard the sound of birds chirping; she has laughed and she has played; she has been the recipient of many kind acts of service and love; she has a family that completely adores her. Aren't these all things worth living for?As far as you hoping that she can someday have a 'normal life', I would like to say that she is living a very charmed little life right now. She is showered with love and does not know of evil or hatred or fear. Yes, she has her own little trials, but don't we all? Anyways, it's not about the trials we face, but how we face them. And Elisabeth, she faces them with courage and strength.
I am honored to be her mother.

I started to leave this as a comment but just like my last post decided to do it as a post instead.
Just so you know, I'm not angry at Sarah for asking and insinuating what she did.

Neither is Lisa.

We realize that there are many people in this world that feel the way Sarah does about these kinds of things.

How sad.

A while ago I read a statistic that 90 % of Down Syndrome babies are aborted. I have no idea what the abortion rate for children like Elisabeth is, but I'm sure it must be high.

As I already stated, I'm not angry at Sarah. I don't hate her. I just feel sad that she has such a tainted, pessimistic, bleak and hollow view of the world.

I really doubt that she will even find her way over here to my blog but just in case, here is my answer to her.

Dear Sarah, if you are still reading I would like to shed a little more light for you.

Elisabeth isn't the first child in our family to be born "imperfect".

I am Lisa's Mother-in-law and Elisabeth's adoring grandma. We are a doubly blessed family because my youngest son, Shawn, 23 years old is mentally retarded as well as autistic.

And he is one of my greatest JOYS in life.

He is quite high functioning but he will always need looking after. He participates in several ARC activities as well as attending many church activities with the young adult group of our church.

Shawn lives about as perfect a life as anyone ever could.

All of my children have learned to have a true love of disabled people because of their brother Shawn.
I know for a fact that Lisa and Donald would have loved and accepted Elisabeth no matter what, but I can't help but think that their experiences with Shawn have helped them to understand just how perfect an "imperfect" life can be.

The following, is one of my favorite little Elisabeth stories.

From the day we first realized that Elisabeth had severe vision problems, I was determined to make sure that she knew her grandma. I would get right down next to her when she was on a blanket on the floor, I would take her dimpled little hand and put it on my face and in her perfect sweet little ear I would say "Elisabeth, it's Grandma!"

Every single time this is how I would greet this dear little grandaughter.

For months I never really got a response. I didn't get discouraged though. I just kept on trying.

Finally, one day, (I think Elisabeth must have been around seven months or so), I got down and did my usual, "Hi Elisabeth. It's GRANDMA!"

Not really expecting a response.

All of a sudden, I look at her and she is SMILING! Just grinning from ear to ear. As well as bouncing, kicking and reaching.

Reaching for ME that would be.

That was an exciting moment for me. The very first time that I knew that Elisabeth knew who her grandma was.

Some of little E's happiest times are when we are all gathered together as a family and she can sit back and hear all of the voices of the people she loves best.

Lisa, didn't mention this but I will.

My daughter Heidi (Lisa and the girls stayed with her this last week in Spokane) told me the other day of how excited Elisabeth got when her two big sisters were allowed to finally see her in the hospital.

The minute Elisabeth heard her sister's voices she just went wild with happiness. She grabbed them and hugged and kissed them, and smiled for miles.

Sarah, I don't know what your definition of a happy, normal, worthwhile life would be.

But as far as this grandma is concerned,

My grandaughter Elisabeth has one of the best, the happiest, the most cherished, loved and adored, the most worthwhile, lives of anyone I know.

And as far as normal goes,

Could someone please explain to me just what a normal life is.

Strength

I started to leave this as a comment on my friend Libbie's blog but realized that I should use it as a post for my blog instead.

You know how long winded I can be.

You can go here to read Libbie's post which, funny as these things sometimes are, was inspired by a post of one of her friends.

I guess you could think of this as one of those really nice Circle-Of-Life things.

This beautifully written post really resonated with me today. Not just the words, as uplifting as they are, but for me the timing as well.

I just got home from a trip to get some blood drawn and then a bit of shopping to make it all better, and, while driving home, I started thinking how every single person I had contact with today was a woman.
I felt good that I had been sure to be as kind and grateful as possible to each of them,
especially the one who had to poke me twice because she couldn't get blood on her first try.

Anyway, I started thinking about how much strength there is in womanhood, but also how for some weird reason, women also seem to be hardwired to distrust and be overly judgemental of each other.

How sad that is.

Most often, during the first twenty years or so of a woman's life, the public schooling years to be even more specific, if a girl is being bullied, belittled, shamed, or in any other way mistreated by her peers, it is almost always at the hand of other girls.

Why is it that, so often, instead of being loyal, helpful and supportive of each other, our first instinct upon coming into contact with a woman we don't know is to size her up.

Is she more attractive than me? Deduct ten points.
Better dressed? Lop off another fifteen.
Better educated? Better hair? Nicer shoes? More at ease?

Left unchecked, these primal feelings can turn into feelings of mistrust and dislike before the "competition" has even uttered a complete greeting.

Why do we do this to each other?

I find myself seething with anger when I think of all the injustice that has been rained down on women since almost the beginning of time.

But I sometimes wonder, is it possible that our courser instinct to distrust and have contempt for each other, could be, even a miniscule factor, in the way that women have historically been treated as inferior to men.

There is strength in numbers after all.

When women band together, when we learn to accept and appreciate each other for not only those traits we have in common but for the differences we have as unique individuals.

Good things happen.

I think of my daughters, I include my beloved daughter-in-law in the tally. I think of my mother and grandmothers. My sisters and two cherished sister-in-laws.

My aunts and cousins.

And then I move on to my friends.

Those that I know well, as well as those I assume, some might think of as mere acquaintances.

To me they will be counted as friends.

The women that I have gotten to know that work at some of my favorite shopping spots.

Shelly, Caroline, Ruthie, at JoAnns.

Dandi, who never groans or rolls her eyes when I bring, yet another thing with the tag missing, back to Shopko.

Sue at Target, who every time I'm in her line, asks about my daughter Courtney, who hasn't worked there for over a year, but Sue still asks after her and I know for a fact that her inquiries are genuine and sincere.

The women, who's names I can't remember, who do remember me, at the Fred Meyer Pharmacy.

Yolanda, today at Penny's who was so helpful and pleasant.
Don't worry,
I WILL do the survey,
I WILL mark Highly Satisfied for each question and I
WILL write in your name!

So many women in my life.

Sisters.

All of them sisters.

Even the few women that for whatever reason I may not particularly like.

After all, we can't love everyone. (Just being honest here.)

But I do know that if it ever came down to a matter of life and death, if it was within my power to make the world right, even for one of those sisters that I don't really like.

I hope that I could come through for them. Could I? Would I?

Should I?

The answer is obvious.

Yes. I should. We are sisters.

We can either be our own worst enemies or each other's greatest strength. I will try to always remember this. No matter the situation. Carry on Sister, and don't worry.

We'll always have your back!

Exciting news about Kelly

I got a call from CBC, the local community college that my son Kelly attends, late yesterday morning.
I was told that a poem he had submitted to their yearly writers contest won first prize.

I didn't even know that he had entered.

I was so excited for him. He was actually at school at the time and I never call his phone if I know that he's in class so I had to wait for him to get home to give him the good news. I wasn't totally clear on just what he had won. I thought that Gwen, the woman who had called me with the news might have said he won the top prize of the whole competition.
We found out this morning that it was first prize in the poetry division not the grand prize over all.

I don't mind though. I'm just so thrilled and pleased and proud and all of those other emotions that you would expect me to be feeling.

The awards ceremony is tomorrow night.

They want Kelly to read his poem to the audience.

If you would like to read it for yourself, here is a link to his post that he just did telling all about it.

Now, I only have one thing to worry about.



What to wear?

Kelly's Big Funny

I don't know if I've mentioned that my middle son Kelly is a student at the local Community College, (where he is doing phenomenally well, btw) as well as a dish-washer at Red Lion.

I wouldn't say that he loves his job, but he does appreciate the fact that he doesn't have to deal with the public, other than the dirty dishes they leave behind.

For the most part he really likes the people he works with and has even found myriad ways of adding as much fun to the job of Dishwasher, as he possibly can.

They have had Dish-Stacking Competitions, believe me, NOT for the feint of heart, as well as the more mundane, but still time-passingly-funny, ridiculing of the Banquet Employees. (Apparently even lower on the Eatery Food Chain than Dishwashers).

Well, last night Kelly came home from work and asked me to come out to the kitchen so that he could show me something.

A new benchmark in FUNNY has been set for the denizens of the bowels-of-the-kitchens-at-Red-Lion. (in Kennewick)

I won't take away any of Kelly's glory by explaining it to you just go here and have yourself a good laugh on me.

Shawn's Yogurt Strategy

Okay, let me start this off with a quick bit of Long-Story-Short.

Shawn loves to go out.

As in, leave the premises (a.e. home) to go to the store (preferably Walmart, but Target and Fred Meyer are also highly prized)

I understand this little quirk of his pretty well, I get a little stir crazy if confined within the four walls myself, for too long. The problem (for Shawn, not for me) though is that I have also learned to appreciate the quiet, peace and relaxation, and coziness of a day spent entirely at home.

I've been trying to do this more and more lately.

Much to Mr. Shawn's distress, I should add.

Shawn has never been an apt student to the art of subtlety. Not that he doesn't try of course.
He also seems to have a pretty uncanny sense of those days when mom has decided to hunker down and not leave the house for any reason less than, oh, say, maybe, fire?

I know that he knows because, inevitably, he will start hovering around wherever I have stationed myself and he will start dropping his little hints.

Usually, he will start off by pointing out to me which day of the week it is.

Shawn: "Uh, mom, today is Tuesday."

Me: "Yes Shawn, you're right. Today sure is Tuesday."

In all fairness, I should explain that stating which day of the week it is, is a daily occurrence, and, in itself, not necessarily a key factor in one of his "I've got to get out of this house NOW" schemes. But it is also true that it is generally a pretty good starting point for him.

Now, if keeping me apprised of the day of the week is done in all innocence, it will usually be kept at that.

Shawn can go on his merry way, knowing that his job as the family up-to-dater is secure for yet another day.

But,

If this is simply the first salvo in his "must go to Walmart" plan, it will quickly be followed by the announcement of some household item that we are woefully falling short of.

Shawn: " Um, mom. Did you know that we are almost out of Zip Lock Quart Sized Storage bags?"

Me: "No we aren't, I bought a new box of them last week. I just put them away so that you wouldn't open them up before the box we are using is used up."

Poor Shawn.

I know how much these little "blocks" of mine frustrate him. I don't worry though.
He'll be back for round two in no time and usually with a far better researched "almost-out-of need" or two in his little arsenal.

Sometimes, he will hit gold, and discover something that we are not only "low" on, but completely OUT of.

I can only imagine his genuine glee upon discovering that there is not another piece of Smoked Ham to be found anywhere in the entire fridge.

Oh yes.

It's not everyday that he can come to me, to plead his case, with such a fully loaded quiver, as being completely out of a bare necessity like Ham.

Or,

milk,

eggs,

birthday candles,

bagels,

cream cheese,

or,

to be more specific,
such as what happened yesterday,

YOGURT!

Yes, even I have to admit, that running out of yogurt could have a devastating effect on the Sorenson household. Don eats yogurt, Kelly eats yogurt, I don't usually, but from time to time I will even imbibe.

And then there is Shawn.

Shawn loves yogurt. He has been known to eat up to three, little six ounce cups, of yogurtey goodness in a day. (Don't even get me started on how it used to be eight ounces) Yogurt is one of those handy little foods that can be eaten no matter what time of the day it is. It has become one of Shawn's favorite, go-to-foods for those annoying little between-meal-times when a little something is needed to "tide one over".

Side note; Shawn so likes the idea of "Tiding me Over" that sometimes I have to point out to him that, that Subway Meatball Sub, I just bought him at 6PM is not meant to "Tide him over", until dinner, but is indeed

DINNER.


Back to yesterday.

So, I am forced to admit that, yes, we do seem to be utterly and completely out of that, life sustaining substance, known as Yogurt. As a matter of fact it has been almost three days with no discernible traces of yogurt anywhere in the house.

Crap.

I did not want to go anywhere at all yesterday. I knew we were almost out of milk, I knew we were completely out of eggs, in fact I guess this is even kind of proof of the powerful force a yogurt shortage carries around here, because now that I think of it Shawn never once mentioned the lack of eggs or milk. Not once. It was strictly the lack of yogurt that he carried his entire case on.

The thought does occur of course that he may have strategically been saving those shortages to pry me out of the house today.

If so, then VICTORY is mine because I got plenty of milk as well as TWO cartons of eggs.

HA!

Take that Shawn!

Two can play at THAT game!!!

Well this is where the whole thing gets interesting.

If we are buying yogurt I usually head to Fred Meyer. We all like their store brand stuff and it's for a good price. (figuratively speaking of course) As we head into the store I ask Shawn where he plans to be. Home Entertainment is usually his favorite hot spot, but (as I have pointed out in previous Shawn posts) Health and Beauty (Health and Toiletries is more accurate a term, but, for some reason, Health and Beauty is the name that has stuck) is always a favorite place to spend an hour or two.

Amazingly enough he doesn't seem terribly interested in either of his favorite destinations. I suggest that he come with me and he agrees that this sounds like a good way to spend his time.

In retrospect, I wonder if it was with the intention to keep me away from those pesky eggs. No. I refuse to believe that. Shawn can't possibly be that devious.

Or could he?

I suggest that we make a beeline to the refrigerated dairy section so we can get the much needed yogurt. Shawn is in full agreement.

Okay, Dairy aisle.

Here we are at Yogurt.

I hold the cart, Shawn procures.

"Alright Shawn, first of all let's get 4 Pina Coladas". If I'm eating yogurt at all that is my flavor choice, Don likes P.C. too.
Showing a marked lack of enthusiasm Shawn reaches for and brings down 4 Pina Coladas.
Hmm, funny. He has liked that flavor well enough before.
Well, now to get to the real Meat and Potato flavors.

Me: "Okay Shawn, how about 4 Raspberries?"

Shawn: "I don't really like Raspberry."

What?

WHAT?

What on Earth does he mean by that? Raspberry has always been a clear favorite.

It continues,

Me: "Okay, how about some Stawberry Banana?" (my personal disfavorite)

Shawn: "No. No. I don't really like Strawberry Banana."

Weird. But then we ARE talking Strawberry Banana after all.

Me: "Well lets get 5 Peach, okay? I know that you and Kelly like Peach."


Shawn: " Yeah fine, for Kelly, I don't really like Peach."

It's now official, this yogurt picking is getting just plain weird.

We go to Strawberry Vanilla. Courtney's favorite, but she doesn't live here anymore so 2 or 3 should be enough. Shawn again points out that he's not a fan.

Blueberry? No. I don't like blueberry. (Since when. Quickly crosses my mind)

Just plain Strawberry?

Ditto.

Now we only have Vanilla left and since no one ever wants Vanilla we are basically done with all of the flavors. (For some reason Lemon and Lime, two flavors that I really like, are only in the sugar free form. Yech.)

I look at Shawn.

Shawn looks at me.

I think he knows that he has some explaining to do.

Me: "Shawn, what's going on here? How come all of a sudden you don't like any of these flavors?"

Shawn: "I don't know. I just don't like them."

Me: "But Shawn, you have been after me for the last two days to go get more yogurt. You've been bugging me practically hourly with the fact that we are OUT of yogurt. If you don't like yogurt any more then why have you been so upset that we are out of it?"

Shawn: (This said with a completely straight face) "I've been telling you that we are out of yogurt for everyone else. "

Uh Huh. . . . .

What else can I do but admit defeat.

Shawn's new altruism, for the welfare, of the greater good of his yogurt starved family members is, truly touching.

Am I being just a bit cynical?

Of course I am.

But,
to be perfectly honest,
I have to admit that I am impressed with Shawn's ability to take this little game of How-Can-I-Get-Mom-Out-of-The-House-Today strategy to such a high level. I'm going to have to sharpen my skills if I hope to be a match for this young man who has discovered that the needs of The Family, can be just as vital and earth-shattering as the needs of The One (The Shawn).

What's next on his little agenda?

We need to get more Reeses Peanut Butter Cereal for the next time Abbey and Lindsay are here?
We should maybe have an extra pair of socks for those times when Lorelai can't find the ones she took off the second she walked through the front door?

Where will it all end?

I am clearly going to have to start working on my A game if I ever again want to spend a nice quiet day at home.

As I get ready to finish off this post with a nice pithy little flourish, who should come up and stand behind me but. . . .

Yup.

You guessed it.

My

Mr.

Shawn.

Shawn: "I think today is Wednesday."

Me: "It sure is. Today is definitely Wednesday."

Shawn: "We still haven't gotten those new toothbrush heads for the Sonic Toothbrush yet, have we mom?"


IT




BEGINS!

Penny's from Heaven

Courtney and Nathan have just been blessed with a new little arrival.

They decided to adopt.

Just last Thursday,

after some serious contemplation,

and discussion,

Courtney went to meet her new little bundle of joy at the Pizza Barn in Finley,

of all places.

Nathan would have loved to have be there as well but he couldn't get away from work.

Her name is Penny. She is a precious little Red-Head, with the sweetest big brown eyes you've ever seen.

Needless to say, here at Sorenson central we are all smitten with this new little addition to the family.

Courtney was so thrilled and proud of her new little one that she brought her right over to my house so that Penny and Grandma could meet for the first time.

And now, courtesy of Lisa, I have pictures of Courtney and her darling little Penny to share with all of my friends.

I am thrilled to present to you,

Penny

Tee Hee

Did I fool anyone?

Probably not.

But anyway, isn't she just the cutest, sweetest, little thing?!?

We are all having so much fun getting to know her. She is such a little sweetheart.
I wish I had a picture of her tiny little pointed tail. It is so darned cute and it just wags and wags.

Of course as is quite often the case with new little "girls", Daddy Nathan, is making it hard for Courtney to practice much discipline. She was determined that Penny would learn to sleep in her little bed on the floor but after a few whimpers Nathan gives in and insists that it's not going to hurt anything to let Penny sleep in their bed with them.

Courtney doesn't really mind though. She says that Penny snuggles up around her neck and they sleep together quite comfortably.

Courtney has also gotten a hold of some recipes and plans to make Dog Food.

I love seeing what a sweet little mama Courtney is with her new puppy. Abbey, Lindsay, Alexandra and Lorelai have all met Penny now and I think it is safe to say that they all love this new little "cousin" and hope to be able to spend as much time as possible with her.

I guess I really only have one quandary with all of this. . . .

Do I include one sweet little Daschund puppy in my grandchildren count?

A small annoyance

Do you want to know one of the things that really makes me mad?

I hate whenever I voice a concern/complaint about something to a cashier/waiter/head of department-type person and they call over a supervisor for help.

Don't misunderstand my gripe here.

Usually the calling of someone of higher authority is my idea. I don't like wasting words or time on someone who doesn't have the means of satisfying my dilemma.

So quite often, the superviser/manager/owner/whatever, is called by my request.

Here is what irks me.

The second the higher up, shows up, (in fact often before said superior has even had a chance to come to a complete stop), the employee will start to rapidly expound on what MY problem is.

This makes me SO mad.

I am the one with the question and or problem. And as far as I'm concerned it is MY right to speak for myself to the superviser.

I have never liked to let anyone else speak for me.

Plus I'm not stupid.

It's quite obvious that the employee who I have a problem with is trying their hardest to turn the situation around to where I am the bad guy.

I decided a few years ago that I will no longer allow this to happen.

Now, when I run into a situation where I feel the need to go over someone's head I will not let anyone but myself explain my problem.

Let me tell you, it feels so much better to be able to tell the PIC (person in charge) what is irking you, all by yourself, instead of letting some, verbally challenged, self serving, little minion, try to explain your problem to their supervisor while at the same time making sure to cover themselves from any possible blame or wrong-doing.

So, just for the record, this is one more of my little rules to live by.

I do realize that there are times when letting someone else speak on your behalf is not only a good thing but most likely the smartest thing to do.

That's why we have Lawyers after all.

But for all of those other times.

When an employee has been rude, dismissive, ill informed or just plain stupid.
When I need something explained or (more likely) want to explain something myself.

When,

I want to point out a discrepancy,

all by myself,

in my own words,

without interference by someone who just wants to cover their own butt,
then please, just stand aside, shut your mouth,

AND

LET

ME

SPEAK

FOR

MY OWN FLIPPIN'

SELF!!!!!!!!!

To Etsy or Not To Etsy

I don't know how many of you know about ETSY. It's a site where people sell their handmade items. I had an ETSY shop for a while but I got frustrated that things didn't sell well.

I tried to access my shop a few months ago and the site wouldn't let me.

I figured that they must have 86ed me for inactivity.

I tried it again a few days ago and this time I was able to get back in.
I still have a few dresses that never did sell. I just today re-listed them and I am interested to see if I get any response for either of them.

If they sell, in fact even if they just plain receive any interest at all, I might make up a few new dresses to put up for sale.

I still haven't decided if the whole thing is worth the time and frustration.

I like the whole idea of getting paid for doing something I love to do,

but,

on the other hand,

I'm not crazy about taking on any extra responsibility. Not to mention that it's not really all that profitable. Although there is a certain satisfaction as well as validation in somebody paying you for something you made.

I don't know.

I'm kinda on the fence here.

If you are interested, here is a link to my shop. You can click on the 6 sales to see the dresses that I have already sold.

I would appreciate any feedback you are willing to give.

So, what do you think?



These are the two dresses I put back up for sale.

I guess I could also put the fact that I have access to such lovely little models among the "reasons for"



Thank you Lorelai!

book fair

Every year in March I go back to my kid's old Elementary School and work the Book Fair for the School Librarian Tana, whom I've become friends with over the years.

Several (and I do mean several, like about 12) years ago it was my daughter Courtney's last year at Eastgate. I think I had volunteered to work the Book Fair every year since she was in First grade. Tana, the Librarian told me that she didn't know who she would be able to count on the next year since I would no longer have a child at the school any more. I told her that I would do it the next year anyway.

She was so happy and relieved. And I have done the Book Fair for her every year since.

The demographics of Eastgate have changed considerably since my oldest children Donald and Heidi started there over 27 years ago. Most of the kids these days, come from poor families and the biggest percentage of them are Hispanic. That basically equals zero parental involvement.

So my coming back every year to work the Book Fair is a BIG DEAL to my friend Tana.

Plus, I love to do it.

My favorite part each year (well for the last 5 or so) is when Lisa brings the girls to see me and to buy books.

It's so fun to have them come and to be able to show off my darling little granddaughters. Plus, I love watching how excited Lex and Lori get over all of the Books.

This year Lorelai actually came up and whispered to me that she wanted to buy a specially packaged three pack book set for Alexandra with her very own money.

Oh be still my heart.

Is there anything more rewarding than seeing the love that your little granddaughters have for each other?

Well, I guess that about sums up my Book Fair experience. Lisa took lots of pictures so I'll just shut up and let them speak for themselves.


Lex and I share a few laughs.

Elisabeth decided that taking off her socks was a good way to pass the time.

Oooh. Pencils. Of course the girls never really want for pencils, but DANG, these are Eastgate Book Fair pencils.

I share a happy "Hi to Grandma" moment with my precious little Elisabeth.

Those pencils just wouldn't stop screaming their names.

Happy, happy times.

See ya next year Tana!

American Idol-One Over Ripe Banana

As I have stated before, I am an American Idol fan.

However. . . .

I am NOT a fan of all the stupid ways they come up with to stuff the show.

Stuff it beyond recognition, that is.

I don't give a flying fig about the contestant's families. I couldn't care less about hearing all of their "heartwarming" back stories. I don't want to meet the parents. Or the spouses. Or the children.

I don't give a rip if they came from such a small town that it only has one stop light, one gas station and the closest drive through is twenty miles south.

And I absolutely DO NOT CARE if they have overcome hard times, grown up in poverty, or overcome childhood illness. I really don't need to hear how they came to this country at the age of ten and their (oh so brave) family had to start from scratch.

BIG FLIPPIN' DEAL!!!!!!

If I want to watch that mushy gushy crap,
if I want my heart (and mind) manipulated (which, trust me, I don't) I'll watch Lifetime or the Hallmark Channel.

I just want to see and hear people sing.

Is that really asking so much?

It is a singing contest isn't it?

It really steams my vegetables that they have to keep the songs so short that it seems they just barely get a good momentum worked up and POOF the song is over.

Last night was a TWO HOUR LONG SHOW!

Twelve contestants.

That means six per hour.

Even taking into consideration commercials and of course the blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, from the judges, there should have been at least three and a half minutes for each singer to do justice to their song of the week.

Instead, we are treated to. . . . . Even more

boring,

cloying,

gee don'tcha just feel the love,

mind numbing,

Family background drivel on EACH and EVERY one of the contestants.

Why do we put up with it?

Or more importantly, why am I putting up with it?

I realized last night that out of the twelve performances there were only maybe three of them that I actually enjoyed.

Then I realized that I can watch those same performances on You Tube, almost immediately afterwards.

I don't have to watch that nasty, can't keep his big fat hands to himself, egomaniac, Mike Lynche.

I don't have to suffer through another pathetic song by "How the hell did she end up there in the first place" Katie Stevens.
Ditto that for Tim Urban, Didi Benami and Lacy Brown.

And sorry Andrew Garcia, you really did bring the house down with your super cool audition rendition of Paula's "Straight Up", but it appears that you are the closest thing to a One Hit Wonder that American Idol has ever produced.

I've decided that it's just not worth my time to sit through roughly 50 minutes of WINDBAGGERY for a fleeting few minutes of way too short, Payoff.

Crystal Bowersox, you are amazing.

I hope you come out ahead. I hope you put out a CD, and I hope that "said CD" has your incredible version of "Long As I Can See The Light" on it.

And I hope,

for your sake,

I really, truly,

hope,

you don't win.

I think you are way better than that.

It would absolutely break my heart to hear you sing some asinine song about rainbows and taking chances that Kara Diogaurdi, will no doubt write and force the winner to sing.

Come to think of it maybe it would be fitting for someone awful like "Big Mike Lynche" to win and be forced to start his pathetic career with another horrible American Idol "Winners" song.

And of course I'm sure that there will be another "Idol Gives Back" episode this year that I will need to avoid at all costs.

Yeah.

As if THAT'S not one of the most painful 2 to 3 hours of bloated, gosh-isn't-this-just-the-most-generous-forced-feel-good-TV-event, ever, thought up by TV execs.

I really do hate to give up a show that I thought I was a fan of.

I just can't take any more of the pointless, mindless, blathering and idiotic, time wasting filler just so Fox can make the most of their advertising dollars each week.

If,

and I know that this is one big

IF,

but if,

things change,
and
the show decides that it really is a singing show after all
and
decides to get rid of all of the fluffy "how well do you REALLY know this years contestants" filler claptrap, crap.

Well, give me a shout and I'll come back and become an American Idol fan once again.

Of course, I do realize that if this really, truly, is, Simon's last year, that there most likely won't be enough of the show left to amount to anything next year anyway. In which case i would just be delaying the inevitable.

And I try to never do that.

So good bye American Idol.

You are a textbook example of how Hollywood can NEVER, EVER, leave anything good alone.

I can only assume that 150 years from now you will be a nice little footnote in a chapter, on the Demise of "American Pop Culture at the turn of the Twenty First Century" in some first year Anthropology student's textbook.

Oh to be a fly on the wall of that classroom.

I (don't) like Mike

I have become a pretty big fan of American Idol the last three-four years or so.

I never used to watch the opening rounds with all of the really bad auditions. It seemed to me like if you've seen one person butcher Mariah Carey or Michael Jackson you've seen them all.

I'm not sure why or even when I changed my mind but I do know that for last season, as well as this one, I've been there for the show from the very beginning.

I know that the season is far enough along now that people already have started to pick out their favorites.

I like to think that I pick my favorites strictly on sheer talent. I try to avoid becoming emotionally attached to any of them. I don't let a good back-story or cute personality sway me too much unless they have the talent to back it up with.

I think that the Sanjaya debacle of a few years ago bears me out here.

The contestants I have the most interest in right now are

A. Crystal Bowersox

B. Lilly Scott

C. Siobhan Magnus

D. Paige Miles

and as for the guys

A. Lee Dewyze

B. Casey James

I like a few of the others but I won't get into them because that's NOT what this post is about.

The one contestant that I do NOT like is

Mike Lynche.

I refuse to call him "Big Mike" or give into any of those "cutesy" other names the producers of American Idol have come up with while trying their hardest to push him in people's faces. However for the purposes of this post I will sink to it for a little while.

And do you know why I don't like him?

Because he is a flat out

BULLY!

I HATE bully's.

I first noticed it during the auditions and Hollywood week. He seemed to think he had earned his place as America's favorite because he was there auditioning and doing American idol while the little wife was at home giving birth to their first child.

I swear.

Could he have possibly been more manipulative?

He shoves his face in the camera no matter who it's focused on. And it made me so mad the inordinate amount of time the producers spent on him and his "oh, so, melodramatic," waiting for his wife to give birth.

Sorry contestants.

I don't buy it for a minute when you give us your bogus "heartbreaking" renditions of how you are

"Here for my son". or "I'm doing this for my daughter, so we can have a better life".

Uh huh.

Because, as we all know, the only way to give a child a happy, well rounded life, one filled with opportunity and love, is for mommy or daddy to become a. . . . a,

big

fat

famous

Singing Star.

Oh yes.

Why haven't the child rearing experts hit on this one before now?

I mean, just look at little Sean Preston and Jayden James "Spears".

How could the experts be so blind as to not see that the best chance for childhood happiness is for one's parent to be shoved into the national spotlight as the newest . . . .

American Idol.

So, sorry, "Big Mike".

I don't buy the whole, "look how much I'm giving up for my child and wife" schtick. As far as I'm concerned you are nothing more than an everyday, run of the mill, "Me First" selfish jerk, that cares more about himself than anything else on God's Green earth.

This is just one of the reasons why I'm not ever going to be a part of the "Gosh, but don't ya just have ta love him" Big Mike publicity machine.

Of course my big, BIG, reason for my strong dislike of him is for the reason I stated earlier,

He is a Bully.

I noticed it when he kept picking people up and SQUEEZING them.

Every single time he did it he was asked to NOT do it again. Did that stop him?

Of course not.

Instead, in typical bully fashion, he laughed it off and turns it on to the person "complaining" as if they are being the problem. I noticed the first week of "Real" competition, you know where America finally gets it turned over to them, so they can "vote for their favorites".

If you paid attention to his reaction to the judges, the first thing they did was to tell him that he had hurt them by picking them up. Ellen and Randy both told him that in no uncertain terms.

Did he apologize?

Hardly.

He did what bullies have done since time immemorial. He first of all tried to laugh it off. Then he acted as if he didn't even hear them. He tried to make them look and sound foolish for giving him any grief about anything.

"Oh come ON?!?!" "You all KNOW that I'm just a BIG Ole Lovable Teddy Bear?!?!?!"

And,

AND. . . when Simon finally made serious, and gave "Big Mike" his trade marked, no holds barred, judgement, of not only his performance but also his behavior, did Lynche finally show a little humility and own up to the fact that he's not as ALL THAT as he obviously likes to think he is?

Of course not.

The big jerk instead, basically said; "Hey Simon" while showing his bulging flexed bicep.

Yeah.

Oh Boy.

What a cuddly teddy bear of a guy.

The thing that I can't believe is that America seems to be buying into the whole "Big Mike" thing.

Can't they see what a jerk he is.

Can't they see that he forces himself into just about every shot of whatever contestant is having a bit of screen time?

If you don't believe me, go back and watch it for yourself. It's always with a "aw shucks, I'm just so darn likable, you know they all want me sharing their big moment with them" smile and mugging for the camera.

I hope America catches on pretty soon. Cuz, I just can't wait for the blessed "results" show when I will get to see my fellow Countrymen finally show

Big Mike

THE

DOOR!

Three Books. . . Three Reviews

I think that most of my long time blog friends know that I love to read. In 2008 I even kept a reading log for the entire year because I had read an article on how few books the average person reads in a year and I knew that I was well above average in those statistics.

Turns out that I was right.

I read 35 books that year. If you want to read the post I did, listing each book I read along with remarks on each book you can go here.

I started to keep a log at the beginning of 2009 but for some weird reason I just couldn't get into reading much of anything last year.

I started quite a few books and just couldn't get interested enough in them to keep reading. This probably doesn't sound like a big deal to the rest of you but I consider it a problem. There are so many books I want to read, and being 52 I realize that I could be on limited time.

Geez, I sure hope not though.

I decided to get with the program this year. I've read three books that I can think of so far. It seems like I might be leaving one out but I guess if I have read a book in the last two months and can't even remember it, I must not have been too impressed.

Oh, did I make it clear that I'm going to give a few thoughts on each of the three books?

Well, I am. Here goes.

Handle With Care- Jodi Picoult

I know that a lot of women are huge Jodi Picoult fans. I was too.

At one time.

The first book of hers that I read was My Sister's Keeper. I really enjoyed it. I read a few other of her books after that first one, and unfortunately with each book I lost a bit more respect for her as an author.

I think that she's kind of a lazy writer.

Not that she doesn't do tons of research for each book. She does. I just think that she relies too heavily on textbook examples of the problems she writes about. And, because of that, she tends to write books that are too predictable, as well as way too contrived.
I also think that she uses the same literary devices over and over. If you read enough of her stuff, you will start to know how each book will go, simply because she did the same thing two books ago.

I'm not sure why i decided to read Handle With Care, feeling the way I do about her.

But I did. Sadly, I wasn't impressed this time either.

First off, I thought that the story fell together a little too conveniently. I won't give away too much, other than to say that almost the entire story hinges on an early event that in itself is utterly inconceivable.

The family goes on a vacation to Disney World.

They have a letter from a doctor explaining that their young daughter has a condition causing her bones to be extremely brittle and fragile. Obviously with a child so afflicted a letter of explanation would be extremely important to have with you at all times.

So what does the mother do, she tells her older daughter to be sure and grab the "ever so important" document to bring with them.
Why on earth doesn't the mother get it herself? Well, after all, they are in a hurry.

Uh huh.

Right.

Something that important. Something that could mean the difference between life and death. And the idiot mom leaves it to her pre-teen daughter to procure and bring it along.

Please.

Oh yeah. It gets even more far-fetched.

The dad is a cop.

Now of course Willow's parents, through an absolutely unbelievable chain of events, find themselves accused of child abuse, and have their children taken from them and put in protective custody. Now do the Florida cops do what you know they would do for a fellow officer of the law, no matter where he is from.

Nope.

Not in Jodi Picoult-land.

They treat this fellow cop as badly as they would the worst pedophile. Even, EVEN, after contacting his superior and being told that the daughter does indeed have the condition that the parents claim she has.

I also don't like how often Picoult likes to take good, healthy relationships and screw them up. I wouldn't mind if she had more realistic reasons for doing it, but she seems to do it just for the sake of ease of story telling. I don't believe for a minute that a woman could turn on one of her dearest and closest friends just because some lawyer mentions the possibility of being awarded a lot of money.

I also didn't like the way she told the story.

She had each character talking to the catalyst of the story, six year old Willow.
I found it a little disturbing that Willow's parents, as well as the other characters, would go into details of their sex lives and other messy little adult details while speaking to a child.
I also thought it made it obvious from the very start that Willow is not going to make it out of the story alive.

Another Picoult device by the way.

Picoult seems to really like including "The Forgotten Middle Type Child" in her books. Handle With Care is no exception. The older sister (I can't remember her name) was a typical Picoult "screwed up" sibling.

I won't say that I hated this book. Because I didn't. I just didn't find it the profound, earth-shaking, important book that I think she wanted it to be.

Next book:

Plainsong - Kent Haruf

I really don't get it.

This one comes with such high praise.

Go to Barnes and Noble, uh, dot-com that is.

look this one up,

read the praise heaped on it.

You would think that this book was another coming of such high literature as, say, To Kill A Mocking Bird.

Not EVEN close!

It was crude.

It was pointless.

It was endlessly wading through too many bad deeds, stupidity and just plain nastiness in exchange for way too small and brief of any kind of payoff.
I was halfway through this thing before anything even remotely good happened.
The sad thing is that the good parts, the human redemption, while way too small a part of the story, were really quite nice. The problem with this book though is that Haruf simply seems a lot more comfortable wallowing in the mud with his trashy, uncouth barely literate characters, than letting you spend quality time with the ones who are good and decent. I don't mind reading books that have unhappy themes. In fact ironically, the next book I will write about had plenty of those and I still really liked it.

I just think that if Haruf had spent more time showing the decent and rewarding side of his story and much less of the nasty, course, white trash elements, this book would have been much better and much more interesting.
For me, this book didn't come close to the ridiculous, EMPTY praise heaped on it.

Last but not least.

In fact the best of the three.

Shanghai Girls- Lisa See

I liked this one a lot.

It's funny because this one seems to me to be the book that "Plainsong" wanted to be. How interesting that through nothing more than sheer coincidence I happened to read them back to back.

The story does take a good long while to get to the happy parts.

The difference between it and the much lesser Plainsong, is that even the sad, unhappy and just plain frustrating parts of this book are so well written that you won't feel at all deprived.
The story concerns the life of two sisters. They are born into relative privilege in the Shang Hai area of China. The story follows them through their early years to mid life. They have many ups and downs, as well as several reversals of fortunes. Through it all, they not only endure but more often than not, thrive.

Like I said it is very well written.

The characters are quite complex and See does an excellent job of not only bringing them to life, but making you believe in them. Characters that you aren't at first meant to like, and for good reason, grow and change and develop into people that you come to understand and actually care about.

There is a lot of historical information folded into the story.

Not ever in a preachy or lecturey way either. It left me wanting to learn more about many aspects of, not only our own country, but that of China as well.
The only thing that I wasn't happy about is that the story is left hanging. I don't mind that too much, of course. I wish though that she would have given at least a hint that she plans to pick up the story at a later time.

I have decided to assume that she will. That will give me something to look forward to.

I hope.

Well, that is it for the three books I have read so far this year. I have a lot more that I plan to get to as soon as possible. I'll probably even write more reviews as I go along.

How about YOU?

Read anything GOOD lately?

Disclaimer: I apologize for the huge margins. I was tired and didn't feel like taking the time to fix things after adding the picture of the . . . well read on and see.

Okay. Okay. I know. Time for a new post. It's amazing just how fast three weeks without a new post can go by.
I have one small happy to share and one semi serious "what I would do if".

My Small Happy;

This morning I just happened to look at the package of Oreo's on my dresser that Don bought last week and has been slowly eating for the last several days. All by himself.

I try to resist the Oreo temptation.
In fact I can honestly say that Don had pretty much had the entire bag to himself.

However,

This morning I looked at the empty package that had somehow managed to get polished off without any help from me.

I nudged it. You know? to make sure that it was indeed empty?!?


Yup. Just as I figured.

Empty.

One dead bag of Oreo's.
Or was it?


I looked inside.

Just to satisfy my curiosity before I toss it away. of course


Empty. Empty. empty. . . empty?????

Wait!

One small crumb. Just cookie. No cream.

Don't mind if I do.
Waaaait!

Do I see a larger flash of dark brown?

Way back in the way back.

One. Lonely. Forgotten. Oreo.

Wellll???

Well what? Of course I ate it. How lovely to have the one, last, almost undiscovered, Oreo.

Just one small problem. An unforeseen little dilemma concerning the dynamics of eating the LAST Oreo.

Do you know how frustrating it is to not be able to reach in and have. . . .

ONE

MORE

OREO???????

Now for my "What I would do IF"

You know how there are always old ladies who drench themselves in the most nasty obnoxious smelling perfumes ever. It's like you smell them coming five minutes before you can even spot them. And the stench of their favorite fragrance usually lingers in the air for hours afterwards.

And heaven FORBID you ever wind up in an elevator with a few of the red hatted dears who have apparently gone swimming in the stuff before descending on the mall.

Oh yes. I think you know exactly what I'm talking about.

Well this is what I have decided to do if I ever end up winning a really big lottery. Well or making it rich in some other unlikely way.

I would go to every store. Every place wherever. Within, say, a 50 mile radius of Kennewick. Anywhere that they still sell one of the absolute worst smelling "Old Lady" Perfumes of all time.
Windsong

And buy up every single, retched, reeking, nasty smelling bottle of the stuff I can find. Then take it to the closest incinerator and destroy it all.

BWAAA HAAAAA HAAAAA HAAAA!!!! yes that's right cue the evil laugh

Avon used to have an equally horrible fragrance called Bird of Paradise. If you ever come across a rogue bottle of it please do what ever it takes to destroy it.

If I have offended anyone by this post, please realize that first of all

I. DON'T. CARE.

And second, be happy that you know once and for all that the people who run when they smell you coming aren't being rude at all.

It is simply an act of

Self preservation!

A few of Susan's rules to live by

I have a few little rules I try to follow as I navigate through this experience we call life. For the most part I follow them without even thinking. They have become that ingrained into my thought process.

Occasionally I'll take shortcuts. And sometimes nothing bad happens.

But there have been a few times when, well, let's just say that I'm sure I'm not the only one who has faced a major screw-up or two.

In no particular order, or degree of seriousness, are some of the little things I have learned along the way that I am willing to share.

******************Susan's rules to follow********************

1.) Don't buy the first TV you see. In fact, if you have the time, don't buy it from the first store you visit. You can always go back you know. If you don't have the time to do a little comparison shopping then you're better off waiting a bit. (this goes for cars, houses, and bedroom furniture too.)

1. b.) There will ALWAYS be another REALLY GOOD DEAL!

2.) Don't race up escalators.
It's RUDE, and you could hurt someone. Do you really want to spend the rest of your life remembering the look on the face of the little girl you almost knocked down?

3.) If you don't know where you are going, then ask. If you get halfway there and still feel unsure, ask again! (This isn't meant for traveling. That's why GPS was invented. This is for those times when you are trying to find the right office, department, or person in charge.)

4.) If it doesn't look good on the model, there is no chance in, you know where, it's going to look good on YOU.

5.) Always wash your hands afterwards. Whatever afterwards may consist of, is no one's business but yours.

6.) If a nice thought goes through your head about someone (i.e. the person taking your payment, the woman sharing the elevator with you, the waitress bringing you your food, your friend, your sister or brother, anyone you have any contact with) then share it with them. It makes everyone feel good, and for all you know it could be just what that person needed to hear.

7.) If you really can't stand someone, try to remember that God loves them too. It's still fine to not like them, but at least you will have put things in a better perspective.

8.) Forgiveness is usually more for your benefit than the one you forgive. (That makes it a little easier I think)

9.) There's nothing wrong in questioning the things you are taught.

10.) Don't steal a parking space that you know someone is already waiting for.

11.) Don't go to a movie you really don't want to see just because every one else wants to. You know your own limits, stick to them!

12.) This one is SO obvious, but I will still include it.
If something sounds too good to be true, it almost always IS!


I have a lot more of these little "rules", as I'm sure most of you do too. In fact I would love for you to share a few of yours with me. I am always willing to learn from others and hear the things that matter to them.

(Not that I won't ever question it, of course.)

Some REALLY wishful thinking

The other night I was hungry. It was about 7 in the evening and I really needed to think of something to eat. My problem is that I don't like hardly anything resembling real food any more.

This happens to me all the time.

I hardly ever make dinner more than two or three times during the week. I always make sure Shawn has a good dinner. (Thank you Donald and Lisa for the George Forman grill for Christmas) I can throw something in there, and in a few, I can serve him up a nice plate of grilled chicken, steak or pork with an accompaning baked potato or some other Shawn friendly side dish.

For the most part Don is usually (somewhat) willing to fend for himself.

He'll warm up leftovers from the few nights I do cook. He's also perfectly happy with a bowl of hot Campbell's, stuffed so full of crackers that you have to wonder if there really is any soup in there.

As for me, finding something to eat most nights can be extremely difficult, frustrating and stressful.

For the last several years, I have had to stand by and watch my
(once healthy) appetite turn into a . . . . .

meat hating,

egg loathing,

taco,

lasagna,

pizza,

sandwich,

chili,

spaghetti,

stir fry,

fried chicken,

turkey and gravy,

Mexican,

Italian

and

Chinese food
cringing,

BEAST!

I can barely stand to eat, more than a miniscule portion, of any of that stuff.
This is why, last Wednesday evening, around sevenish, I was in my kitchen, holding my refrigerater door open,

(open, I should mention, for much longer than I would ever allow one of my children or grandchildren to)

Trying my hardest to think of something to eat that would semi fill me up, for at least the next few hours, until I was ready to pack it in for the night, and begin, my only, slightly less stressful, efforts to get a good night's sleep.

Well as I stood there warming up the fridge and all of it's contents, I couldn't help but notice the can of Redi Whip.

Yes, you heard that right!

R E D I - W H I P

That upside down squirt can of sweet, creamy, goodness that will never, ever, be matched by the bland, artificial efforts of those Cool Whip making pretenders.

Can anyone truthfully resist the temptations, NO, the siren call of a nice, cold, red and white can of fresh, real cream, Redi Whip.

Well actually, yes, someone can. My son Donald. For some freakish reason he has never liked whipped cream in any of it's delicious forms.

I grabbed that can, held it upside down, right above my open mouth, and squirted AWAY.

And then, squirted some more.

And more.

Oooooh yes, for a few short moments, I was in heaven.

Of course I stopped myself after a few mouthfuls. I am a grown up. I am well aware of the fact that a can of Redi Whip, no matter how delicious and satisfying, does not a proper dinner make.

I don't even remember just what I settled on that night for dinner.

I think I had a cup of hot Chocolate Instant Breakfast, a Jonagold apple, (yes, those Jonagold apples) and a small hand full of Ritz crackers. I also made myself down a spoonful of Jif. For the protein you know?

I wasn't hungry any more.

But then I don't eat to be full these days. Just to not be hungry.

Still, I couldn't stop thinking about how great it would be, if one, really could, exist on a meal of Redi Whip.

For heaven's sake! They can send a man to the moon! Why can't they find a way to take something as lovely as Redi Whip and give it all the nutrients and goodness of a full meal, without changing the taste, or texture? And at the same time keeping the calories to a reasonable amount.

I wonder if there is anyone even working on such a thing?
I doubt it. They're all wasting their time on things like, cures for cancer.

Hold your angry comments That was just a JOKE!


I decided that I would engage in a little wishful thinking and come up with a menu for those, like me, who find the idea of a can of Redi Whip for dinner extremely appealing. This would all be on the assumption of course that the appropriate nutrition could be pumped into any junk food type item without changing it's taste, texture, smell or appearance.

For your wishful thinking pleasure, I present a sample of what I would eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner in my own little, culinary, fantasy, world.

Breakfast; half a can of Redi Whip accompanied by a small belgian waffle loaded with fresh, sugar sweetened, strawberries. (See? that's not too unreasonable)

Mid Morning Snack: two cups of peanut M&Ms

Lunch; Dairy Queen, Mr Misty Blue Raspberry Float (have you ever had one? You simply MUST) and four, no, make that, six Oreo cookies

Mid Afternoon Snack; half a BIG box of either Jujyfruits or Starbursts and a few more squirts of Redi Whip

Dinner; Hot Fudge Brownie Sundae, and a small bucket of Movie Theater Popcorn with EXTRA butter

Dessert; Hey, even I am reasonable enough to pass on dessert.

Late Night Snack; Triple Chocolate Hot Coco topped with (DUH????) a generous mound of. . . . . .



REDI WHIP!

Today's HAPPY thought

Do ya want to know something that makes me happy?







Something that makes me smile as it brightens my day?

It's finding Jonagold apples (Honeycrisps have all said bye bye) at my local Yokes market for .78 cents a pound.

It's buying several pounds of them, and hoping against hope that they will be good.

Good as in, never been in cold storage.

Good as in, not at all MUSHY.

Good as in, not too sweet.

Good as in, a nice slightly tangy taste.

And knowing that in mid to late January, the chances of finding apples that fit this discription are almost impossible to find. But wanting them so badly you are willing to take a chance on them anyway.

After all they are only .78 cents a pound.

And

guess

what????

They are delicious!!!!!!

Britney Spears sells dress for Haitians

I really hate Celebrities.

With very few exceptions they are the most
self important,
self promoting,
self indulgent,
stingy,
attention seeking,
and
downright nasty people on earth.

Ever since the tragedy in Haiti, it seems that you can't turn on your TV or radio, or read a newspaper or browse the Internet without some worthless Celebrity being forced in your face for their "heroic" efforts to save the hundreds of thousands of victims suffering from the devastating Earthquake of two weeks ago.

I would really like to see any of these shallow, spoilt, self important, idiots actually make a big enough contribution to cause themselves even the slightest amount of pain.

The other day, I read an article praising Madonna for her contribution to the cause.
Apparently she went through her furniture looking for loose change and announced to her adoring masses that SHE was sending a contribution of 200,00.00 to Haiti.

Oh my!

And then to show how even more selfless she could be she challenged her many fans to match her donation.

Did ya hear that all you Madonna fans?!?

She wants you to match her generous offering.
I'm sure that even Madonna is savvy enough to realize that her average fan is far short of having an extra two hundred thou to send to the rescue and recovery efforts.
She clarified her intentions.
Of course.
She told everyone to send as much as they can.

Hmm, how amusing that she has the nerve to expect anyone to send more than a dime or two. After all, if a fan was to give the same percentage of their, yearly net, as she did with her minuscule 200,00.00 it would amount to, perhaps, a quarter.
For the better off fan, gee, why not do Madonna one better and send off a really extreme amount.

Like say a ten dollar bill.

And that fan would still have sent more, by comparison, than "The Ever Holy" Madonna.

Do you know the people who's contributions really do make the world go round?

Those spotlight shy, individuals, whom I guess, would best be called "Old Money". You know those who didn't make their fortunes overnight.

They didn't sing, act, slam dunk a basket ball or host game shows to account for their millions and billions. Many of them have made their fortunes the old fashioned way. Through education, hard work and perseverance. Not to say that there aren't those multi-millionaires who see no need to look beyond their own lavish front gates.
But from my observations, those old, monied, families have a far greater appreciation of what they have and feel a more urgent need to give back than Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie ever could.

Or would.

Did you know that Nicolas Cage has more than ten mansions worldwide and way more rare and uber expensive cars than would ever fit in a 20 car garage. Oh yeah, and the poor guy is, of late, having money problems.

How very sad.

I just can't understand that kind of gluttony.

How on earth does someone like that live with themselves. To have that kind of wealth and use it exclusively for their own excessive self indulgence.

I don't know.

I never have and I'm sure I never will, come close to that kind of money. So maybe there is something I don't know about.
Does having that kind of wealth change a person so extensively that every good and kind thought you ever had, every hope of one day being able to help others, becomes so foreign to you as to render you incapable of love or compassion for your fellow beings.

Unless, of course, you can make the front page of USA Today.

I would hate to think that, that kind of selfishness and greed would be the rule instead of the exception.

Celebrities do as little as they can, while demanding the largest amount of attention and praise as possible. Why do you think they are putting on yet another of those sickeningly, self righteous, "We are the World" type "fund raisers".

They want to get the maximum amount of exposure they possibly can while putting out as little as they can.

We, the everyday Joe's, WE, are the ones expected to donate, to these ridiculously self serving "Events".

Just think.

If every single one of those ever so generous Celebrities were to give, say, maybe a twentieth of their annual income towards these, oh so worthy causes, there would be more available funds for relief than could ever be raised from one of their silly little Sing-a-thons.

So, Britany Spears, sweetie, save your nice little dress that you've decided to sell to raise money for those poor Haitians. Go ahead and give it to Sean Preston's Pre-School fund raiser for ergonomically correct toddler chairs.

I'm sure they would love to have it.

If you, and all of your fellow famous do-gooders really want to sacrifice for those hurting Haitians, then why don't you challenge each other to see who can send the most millions to further that ever so worthy cause.

And to really surprise people, while making a "difference", hold off on your interviews and press releases.

Who knows?

A few of you may find out that doing good for the sake of good and not to further your careers, might actually feel GOOD!

And in the mean time, be sure and check out that ever humble and generous little Justin Timberlake.

He is performing LIVE.

For relief for Haiti.

Such selfless generosity just kinda makes you feel warm all over.