The Good Stuff

Sometimes the simplest things bring joy to my heart.  Today, it is this couple.

I want to find them and hug them.

I want to write them a letter to tell them how their simple gesture reached so many people.

And mainly, I’d just like to say thanks.

Thanks for bringing a smile to my heart today, and for being so entertaining that my young daughters and I all clapped when they were done.

Thanks for staying married for 62 years, and loving one another enough to have fun and act silly together.  Such a simple thing that is such a rare find these days.

Life is full of simple pleasures, and something tells me that these two know and appreciate that.

Visiting Uncle Caveman

Be back (with pictures!) tomorrow!

Actually no, I have not abandoned you

I’m sorry I vanished, friends.  I was just so very busy with the other parts of life.  Parts that can’t wait.

Doctors have been visited, closets have been cleaned.

A birthday was celebrated, and a yard sale was held.

Garden tended.

Family visited.

Bible School. Girls Scouts. The zoo.

A funeral.

We’ve enjoyed the county fair, and lounged in our new pool.

Pesto has been made, and popsicles have been eaten.  Many, many popsicles, since it’s been unbearably humid. 107 degrees yesterday, according to my friend Ginger’s thermometer. Ick.

And now, hopefully, what precious little remains of the summer will be unadulterated fun.

Very little indeed, since we have year-round school and an abbreviated summer.  Back-to-school time is already upon us, and we’ve already stocked up on pencils and crayons, backpacks and uniforms. We’ve met the new teachers and bought the lunchboxes, and nothing’s left to do but the going.  Always the hardest part. (For me, anyway)

I’m a fair-weather blogger.  Or a ‘the kids aren’t home’ blogger. Whatever.

Priorities.

The little people have needed me.

Be back soon.

PS) Check out the sculpted abs on Catie!

Another reason to love year-round school

Don’t expect to see me around too much for the next few weeks.  It’s party time!

Also, don’t be stupid enough to Google spring break images or ‘spring break sign’ when you have children with you.  You’re not likely to get the the results you were expecting.

Or actually, maybe you aren’t as naive as I am, and you will get what you were expecting.  I, on the other hand, was a bit sideswiped.

At any rate, I’ll be here and there, but mainly there.  Don’t be alarmed.  I promise to check in soon.

Have a great week!

A little of this, a little of that

Little bits of randomness that I’ve been thinking about, but none are worthy of long enough for their own entire post.

• That killer whale who just killed a trainer at Sea World?  Apparently he’s a serial killer.  Maybe we should stop saving the whales.
• A couple of weeks ago I won a giveaway over at Cinnamon Hollow for Country Bob’s All-Purpose Sauce.  I’m not generally much of a sauce gal so I had my reservations.  I’d say that it tasted comparable to A-1.  Most attractive to me, however, was this statement in the company literature:  It would be nice if we could claim responsibility for the success of the company, however, credit must be given where credit is due. Proverbs 16:3 says, “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.” We have placed true ownership of Country Bob, Inc. in the hands of God. “Christ is our CEO” and  He is an Awesome Boss! Now that is a company I want to support!

• Despite how it must look to my readers, I do not have 42 appliance garages or a kitchen the size of a cracker box.  For some reason this just always ends up being my food snapshot locale.
• I’m on a DIY/go green kick.  To be perfectly honest, it’s more about saving money than saving the environment.  (I’m not even going to go there with my issues on saving the planet)  In that vein, I’ve been using natural products like baking soda, peroxide, and white vinegar to clean, and I’ve been making my own laundry detergent.  Do you have any other tips you could share?
• I love HGTV.  I’m a DIY kinda gal anyway, and I love real estate so I especially like the house-hunting type shows.  I find myself wanting to shake some of the buyers, though.  Why can they not see past ugly paint colors?  Why are they unwilling to put any work into a place?  Have they no imagination???  This makes me crazy.
• Chris’s company gives out bonuses at the beginning of the year.  Very sadly, this year not so much.  I, on the other hand, continue to reap bonuses from my job every day.

• I have the best job in the world.

• Girl Scout cookies.  Everywhere.  If you need some, please come to my house.  I need them to go away.
• I don’t think I ever told you this, but I did post it on Twitter/Facebook.  And I told everyone at church, too – because I’m klassy like that.  My parents bought me a leg lamp for Christmas.  You know, the leg lamp.  My husband hates it.  Because he has no sense of humor, and is easily embarrassed by me.  Nonetheless, it did hold the appropriate place of honor in our [front] living room window this past holiday season.  And because I love it so much (and I’m super klassy), it’s still in the living room, though now on a side table instead.

• When I was a kid we had a neighbor that told my mom she’d always wanted to have a room in her house for all of the things that she knows are tacky, but loves them anyway.  I feel exactly the same way.  Leg lamp would love a room like that, methinks.
• I’m frustrated with our school’s PTO.  They have zero communication (don’t even announce meetings!), overpriced fundraisers, and are not at all accessible.  I’m writing a letter to suggest some changes, but I am still in need of some GOOD fundraising ideas.  Got any for me?  Overpriced wrapping paper needs to die.

That’s all I’ve got.  It’s not that NaBloPoMo is wearing me down; quite the contrary, actually.  I’ve been surprised that it’s been easier than I anticipated.  It’s just that I am sick – again – still.  My whole body aches, as it has off and on for the last 3 months.  Spring can’t come soon enough.

What I’ve learned from SPAM

I have a nifty little plugin called Askimet installed on my blog, so fortunately spam doesn’t really get through.  Just for kicks, though, I do enjoy skimming the folder before deleting.  It’s chock full of interesting info, generally spelled out in broken English. 

Sometimes it’s not even in English.  Or any other language, for that matter.  Sometimes it’s just something like

arfglabtatgl,ljklkdjgnk.735en,isdr4%22)4r

which fascinates me.  What’s that about?  What’s to be gained there?  It’s not phishing for personal info.  There’s no link to click on, no advertisement.  No hidden pornography that someone has placed just for kicks.  It’s just a string of nonsensical characters, sent to me via a program written by a nerdy kid with way too much time on their hands, I imagine.  Just because they can.

I’ve learned that Russian women are apparently very fond of me.  They are waiting to talk to me pretty much round the clock.

I’ve learned that pharmaceutical companies hold many assorted keys to my satisfaction in life, taking the form of anti-depressants, diabetes testing supplies, and products designed for someone of a different gender, ifyouknowwhatImean.

I’ve also learned that it is cheap and easy to buy all of those drugs overseas. Score!

Last week I was informed that my blog is all the rage in Nigeria.  In fact, as soon as I finish sending them all of my personal bank account information, I’ll be seeing an influx of cash so huge I’ll easily be able to retire in style and let the royalties pour in.  Which is super great, since I’ve totally been on the lookout for a get-rich-quick program.

I’ve noticed that any email address that contains @example.com, @ymail.com, mycomment@, or spam@ is probably not legit.

I’ve seen countless class-action lawsuits that want to include me, on the off chance I have pain, suffering, or lost wages due to mesothelioma, suicidal thoughts due to Chantix, or prolonged exposure to welding rod fumes.  It’s comforting to know that there are attorneys out there who are willing to fight for my rights.

I’ve learned that foreign spammers have no high-tech means of scoring my info, so they apparently rely on free online translation services.  This devious plan usually nets them a cleverly crafted email like

I enjoyed the article and thanks because of posting such valuable tidings seeing that all of us to signify to, I melody open it both sturdy and instructional and I disclose to praise to it as commonly as I can.

ooooh, good one!  You almost had me that time, buddy!

In spite of the current ‘financial crisis’ when banks are finally adopting conservative lending practices, lenders who still play it fast and loose are (thankfully) able to find my blog and offer me unsecured loans on a daily basis.  Which of course won’t be necessary for me since I have that boatload of Nigerian cash on the way, but it’s nice to know I have options.

Yesterday I was also told that Obama wants to help me get my GED.  And I’ve got to say, it concerns me that our Commander-in-Chief isn’t able to verify that in fact, I already finished high school, thankyouverymuch.  Also, I think maybe he should worry about something more important than my educational status, being the leader of the free world and all.  Just sayin’.

And finally,

Курс “Английский на DVD. Деловой английский” предназначен для бизнесменов, выезжающих за рубеж и желающих усовершенствовать свои знания английского языка.

I really can’t add anything to that one.  I think that says it all.