Yesterday it happened again. Twice. During my daily travels, I saw 2 separate shoes laying in the road, in 2 separate locations. This is something that has always interested me. I can't figure it out. How did the shoe get there?
Was someone crossing on foot, absentmindedly step out of their shoe and not realize it, and continue on to their destination without it? Was someone's foot hanging out of the window of a car or bus and the shoe fell off, but then they were in a rush and didn't have time to retrieve it?
Was there a fight in the car and the shoe was thrown out? Was there a fight on the street and when the police got there, OneShoe ran, knowing he was leaving the shoe? Were there a pile of shoes tied to the roof of the car and one fell off?
How does one shoe get in the middle of a busy roadway? What do you think?
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Twenty years ago today, the world lost The Funny Woman, Lucille Ball. I grew up watching Lucy's antics on her various television shows and movies. There was Lucy, Ricky, Ethel & Fred, Mrs Trumbull, Mrs McGillicuddy, and Little Ricky. Later, Lucy had another show that featured her real life children as her small screen kids. I STILL can't watch old reruns without laughing until I cry.
Who could forget Lucy as the "vitameatavegamin girl"? Or the one where she mimes with Harpo Marx? Or Lucy and Ethel trying to package candy from the conveyor belt? I start to giggle just thinking about them. Back then, the whole family could watch television together. It was good, clean comedy.
She has been called one of the 100 Most Important People of the Century by Time Magazine, as well as one of the 50 Greatest TV Icons. She was also called Wife & Mom. She brought laughter to millions, during an era laden with war, inflation, and hard times. I can't think of a harder job. Thanks Lucy!!!
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I don't want to be a grownup anymore. Lately, I've been longing for the leisure and carelessness of my childhood. Back when I didn't have a job, bills, medical problems, and responsibilities. The worst stress in my life was whether the weather would be nice enough for me to go outside.
I long for hopscotch and Chico-o-Sticks. For skate keys and puppy love. For jacks and kickball. Being a adult is so over rated, yet it looks sooo desireable when you're a kid. I couldn't wait to be grown. Now I'm here and I wish I could give it all back. Peter Pan was definitely on to something...
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One day a year, the good folks at Ben & Jerry's give away a free cone to anyone that comes in to one of their stores. It's part of showing gratitude to their customer base. I'm sure they hope to win new customers and it's good PR. Yesterday was that day. My husband and son went in to collect theirs and encountered a really rude employee. I'm sure she was inundated by the crowds, but at the same time, she should be glad to have a job in this economy. Right?
Let's move on to America Online. Several years back, executives at AOL decided that they would make their services free to anyone who already had internet access. Millions of subscribers quickly changed over. Here's the catch--if you are not a paying member, they don't provide any technical support. So, if their service happens to hit a kink, which it frequently does, they won't talk to you.
Finally, I've been hearing a lot lately about Acai berry scams. The Acai berry was touted to be the best thing since the birth control pill. It was supposed to be high in antioxidants and very good for your health--so good that they would give you a supply for free. The catch was--when you signed up for your free batch, you had to give your credit card number to continue to receive it after your free batch ran out. Unfortunately, most folks started getting charged long before they even received the free supply. Many had to actually cancel the credit card in order to stop the charges.
The moral of the story is--Sometimes it's better to pay for services and have recourse, than to be at the mercy of a freebie. What do you think? Any more examples?
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So, in a classic example of My Plan vs God's Plan, here I lay in Memorial Hospital Miramar, watching CNN cover a highjacking at the Jamaican airport. As you recall, My Plan was to finalize vacation dates with Dad yesterday, followed by a long chat with my good friend Beth. Neither of those things got done, as neither was on God's Plan.
Instead, I woke up yesterday with my left foot wayyyy swollen. My dear husband took a look and shuttled me off to the ER. The doctor wanted both an ultrasound of the leg to rule out a blood clot, as well as blood work. I settled in to wait, with my Kindle.
The ultrasound was negative, but then the fun started. First, my ER nurse, Elizabeth, came over with a strange look on her face. She asked if I knew that my iron was low. I responded that I had been anemic all of my life. She retreated. Soon after, the doctor returned. He advised that my iron count was much too low to allow me to leave the hospital. He further indicated that one of the ways that my body tried to announce this condition, was by the swelling of the foot. I immediately went into Classic Jewel mode and burst into tears, hoping to gain sympathy from him, and ultimately gain my freedom. He pretended not to notice. How do u NOT notice buckets of alligator tears???? As soon as I realized that the waterworks had absolutely no affect on him, I shut them off, deciding to save them for someone more worthy of such a fine display of drama.
So, here I lay, 2 blood tranfusions and 2 bags of iron later. Yesterday was THE DAY, but not for the reasons that I thought. God truly has a way of reminding us that our plans don't necessarily coincide with His.
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So today is THE DAY. Not my birthday. Not Pay Day. But THE DAY. The day that I have to call my Dad and start planning the family's summer vacation.
I am so not looking forward to this conversation. If you are a long time reader, you know that this is no small task, talking to my Dad about the vacation. (If you are not a long time reader, please refer to my post of January 8th--you'll get our vacation history there.) I love him dearly. I love him more than life itself. I love him like French Vanilla Slimfast and Paul Newman lemonade. I can talk to him about nearly anything--EXCEPT vacation plans.
After many years of doing this, I've learned not to try to get him to decide too much at a time. So today, the only thing we need to confirm is which weeks he wants to come. Last year, this talk lasted about 2 hours. Based on our recent conversations, I'm blocking off about 4 hours for today's talk. He's hinted that rather than a week or so in South Florida, he wants to do perhaps a weekend in South Florida and then a cruise someplace else. And, we have more family members coming this year.
This is a man who takes 3 days to decide which sneakers to bring. That wouldn't be so bad, except NOTHING else can go into the suitcase until he puts the sneakers in. This is a man who gets to the airport AT LEAST 8 hours before the flight--he doesnt want to miss it. But he's also a man who has worked all of his life to provide for his family. I must say, he afforded me a wonderful childhood and until I was in high school, I thought we were rich! I have never not been able to do something that I wanted to do because there was no money. I have never not had the latest and greatest. And he has a good heart. If you meet him once, and he determines that you like, say Root Beer, you will NEVER come to his home again when there is not Root Beer there and when you walk in, he'll drop a 12 pack on root beer on the table in front of you and point you to the corner where 3 more 12 packs sit.
So, I will try to struggle through this today. Wish me luck!!!
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So the entries are in and we have a winner! Chosen by random number generator, the winner is serial commenter, LUVA!!!
Luva now has 24 hours to provide shipping information or another winner will be selected, though something tells me she will provide in plenty of time..
Congratulations to Luva and thanks to everyone who entered. Don't forget that there will be TWO giveaways this month, so stay alert for the next one!
So, AT&T has joined it's competitors in offering a GPS locator service. It's touted as a method of keeping track of wayward teens, but it has the internet, especially the blogosphere, all abuzz.
First off, the person being tracked, may not know that they are being tracked. I think that's odd. If I am tracking a family member's (especially a spouse) location and they aren't aware of it, that seems to me to be a serious breach of confidence. I can't think of a single circumstance where that would be okay for me.
Second off, the phone doesn't necessarily need GPS capabilities. If it's a non GPS phone, they will just use the cell tower locations, giving you a general location. But if it is a GPS phone, they can pinpoint the location right down to the address.
I guess it's useful if you share a cell account with folks (even teens) that you have no trust in. But, outside of the obvious instances where it could be used to track missing people, I have no need for this feature. Besides, it's expensive. Luckily, I can simply call or text everyone in my home and ask their location and have a reasonable expectation of getting the truth.
What about you? Am I missing something here? Is this a great thing? Would you use it?
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Also, don't forget to enter the drawing for the book--only one day left to enter!!
Ok..so during a trip to the zoo, you decide to jump into the polar bear habitat during feeding time. Is it just me who thinks that was a bit "not smart?" What did she think--that they were going to hand her a bottle of Coke???
Now there are public outcries for zoos to be safer? I think zoos should have measures to prevent animals from escaping, as well as those designed to prevent accident entries or falls into exhibits. But now we want them to be required to keep crazy folks out?? At what point does responsibility for one's self enter the picture?
And then, when she was finally rescued, she gives the authorities fake names and isn't cooperative? Is it just me? Is it??
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Many of you have heard me raving about this book. I read it this week. It is an amazing story of friendship and tolerance. It's set in Jackson, Mississippi in the 60's. It's the story of the relationships between white families of that era and the black maids who serve them. You follow the lives of three women, all three of which you love sometimes and you want to shake at other times.
This one made me laugh out loud, as well as weep. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I can't believe that it's author, Kathryn Stockett, has never written a book before. Her first time out of the gate and she hits a home run! This is one of my top 5 reads of all time.
I'm giving this away. Here are the rules:
1. Leave a comment on this post anytime between now and next Thursday, April 16. Winner will be drawn by random number generator and announced on Friday, April 17th. Winner will be notified by email and have 24 hours to provide an address to send the book. Should winner fail to do so, another winner will be chosen.
2. You will get one extra entry if you sign up for email subscriptions and start receiving them.
3. You will get one extra entry if you follow me on Twitter.
4. You will get one extra entry if you blog about this giveaway.
5. You will get one extra entry if you forward this post to at least 4 friends. Please copy me on the email.
6. You will get one extra entry if you tweet about this giveway.
Whew! That's a lot of entries. Good luck!
Let me first say, I am NOT a Miley Cyrus fan. However, with that being said, she does have a new song out whose lyrics are about determination, persistence, and most importantly--accepting failure. I am at a point in my life right now where these lessons are timely for me. Sometimes I will not come out on top. Sometimes, though I've given it my best, I will fall short of the goal. In those times, I have to pick myself up, dust off my britches, and press on.
I'm not fond of Miley's voice, but the lyrics of "The Climb" hit home for me. Here is the chorus...
There's always going to be another mountain
I'm always going to want to make it move
Always going to be an uphill battle,
Sometimes I'm gonna to have to lose,
Ain't about how fast I get there,
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb
She's right--it's not always about winning--sometimes it's about the lessons learned in "the climb." What do you think?
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So, here it is April and the economy is not getting any better. Everywhere folks are getting laid off and taking paycuts, but the cost of living is rising. Food, gasoline, and utilities are astronomical. And it seems that things will get worse, before getting better. How will we cope?
If you are like me, you're looking for ways to cut household costs. I'm examining things that I've always taken for granted to see if we could do without them. Do we really need 4 cell phones? Do we really need every channel DirecTV has to offer? Do we really need a lawn service and a pool service? Do we really need a fax line? Is 2 ply toilet paper really necessary? How many of these things could we live without?
Is it just me or are you too cutting back? What things have you given up? What things are you contemplating giving up?
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While the rest of my friends are lamenting the loss of professional football for the next few months, and cheering the race to the playoffs in professional basketball, I have been silently biding my time. And finally, it's here-Baseball Season!
I love baseball. It is absolutely my favorite professional sport. My friends say it's boring and slow and long, but I say that there is nothing more American than baseball, except, of course, hotdogs and apple pie. And I'm looking forward to opening day tomorrow--my hometown team, The Washington Nationals, are playing my current town team, The Florida Marlins. I'm not sure who even to cheer for. Then, after opening day, many games to follow. My fascination will run until the World Series this fall.
What about you guys? Any baseball lovers? Wanna wager any friendly bets? Whose your team? Whose your favorite player?
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