Monday, February 26, 2007
SNOW
Went to bed last night as the white stuff was starting it’s descent; make that it’s first decent descent of the season!!
Sure, we have had a dusting or two of snow on this part of the island this winter season but nothing like what was out there when we woke up this morning.
First real snow and I got too keyed up to sleep - finally crashed about 4 a.m. only to be awakened at 5:56 a.m. by the school system’s new automated calling device telling us that the school’s were closed for the day. Then it was back for another short snooze. I woke to the alarm clock at 8:00 a.m. so that I could clean the van off and shovel out the driveway so that we could go to the doctor.
Now there wasn’t as much snow as you would get in MI during a decent snow fall, but it was wet and heavy - not easy to shovel. In total we had less than 2.5 inches on the ground.
Took a picture so that you could all see part of our snow covered backyard - plus the doggies’ tracks in the snow.
Saturday, February 24, 2007
It’s All In The Name
Found the following (that I have an excerpt of below) and started laughing my head off. What a clever name and how offensive all at the same time.
It will be interesting if they let them keep it that way.
Dog-store name irks residents
Associated Press
Feb. 22, 2007 04:47 PMSEATTLE - A newly opened store catering to very pampered dogs, especially female dogs, is getting more than questioning looks for its name, High Maintenance Bitch.
The third word in the sign is widely visible at North 45th Street and Wallingford Avenue North, one of the main intersections in the Wallingford neighborhood business west of Interstate 5 and north of the Lake Washington Ship Canal.
“I am probably the most progressive liberal person in the world and I am personally offended by the sign,” said Janet Stillman, executive director of the Wallingford Neighborhood Office. “It’s so blatant and so in your face.”
The sign is the issue more than products such as Gel-ous Bitch bath gel and Street Walker paw cleanser, said Kara Ceriello, co-president of the Wallingford Chamber of Commerce.
Ceriello said she supports the store but has heard complaints from about a dozen people.
“It is going to be a hot issue again when we get to our Wallingford Kiddie Parade and Street Fair,” she said.
Stillman said the sign could wreck family photographs of the parade, scheduled for July 7.
“Walk by there with your 5-year-old and try to explain why that sign is there. Half of the sign is made up of the word ‘bitch.’”
Yup, I would love to hear some of the explanations that come out of parents’ mouths.
Making no apologies, co-founder Lori Pacchiano, 36, said she planned to meet with the chamber Thursday. Meanwhile, she and her brother, Ryan Pacchiano, 27, hope to made the business name as commonplace in shopping areas as Victoria’s Secret. Over the next three years they hope to open 10 stores at a cost of about $200,000 each.
Hmmmm, that is about the low end price for most franchises that I have looked at lately.
In the process, she said, one of her goals is to reclaim the word in its original meaning, a female dog, as opposed to a derogatory term for a woman. “Our store is a dog store, but the concept and philosophy is directed specifically toward women,” she said.
Claiming the original meaning of the word, not the derogatory term for women and then the philosophy of the store is directed specifically toward women, hmmm still thinking about that one.
Clever name, clever idea - but oh so offensive to so many people.
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Happy Birthday Momma
Today is Momma’s 72nd Birthday.
Happy Birthday!!! May you have many more!!!
And here is a picture of Momma and Jay. Aren’t they just the cutest couple???
Friday, February 16, 2007
I might not have kisses anymore
Just found this in the newspaper...........
HERSHEY MOVES JOBS TO MEXICO
The Hershey Co., whose name has been synonymous with U.S. candy-making for more than a century, is moving a bigger chunk of its production to Mexico. A day after Valentine sweethearts across the country enjoyed bags of Hershey Kisses, the company announced a restructuring plan yesterday that will scale back its workforce by 1,500 jobs and force some plants to close. Hershey said the three-year blueprint would reduce the number of production lines by more than one-third while saving the company as much as $190 million a year.
Now, I love Hershey kisses probably more than most folks; but right now I am not sure that I want to buy them anymore. Hey, it is great news if you live in Mexico and haven’t already moved here illegally to get a job - the good old American companies will bring the work right to your door. So, they save $190 million a year and the U.S. loses more jobs - yet we have a low unemployment rate. HAHAHAHAHAHA
See, what most working people don’t know and honestly quite a few people don’t know this - once you are no longer collecting unemployment you are no longer counted in the ranks of the unemployed; even though you are unemployed. Make sense to you??? So even though you may be unemployed and your spouse or best friend is also unemployed as long as you are no longer collecting unemployment you don’t count and the government says how great the country is doing because we have such a low unemployment rate. HEHEHEHEHE
Now, think about all the companies that you know of that have outsourced their telemarketing functions, their call centers, their accounting functions, their factories, the data entry, and whatever else you may have heard about to other countries - think about all the people that should be on some sort of unemployment - oops, maybe they took early retirement or a buy-out. Fact is, they are no longer employed; their jobs are GONE. Sure the company saves a ton of money and once the people are done with unemployment the government turns around and says - WOW, the economy must be doing good our unemployment figures are LOW!!!
What I want to know is this: What are the 1,500 people going to do for work once their unemployment runs out?? Are they going to be offered some other sort of job with Hershey - like dress up as kisses and run around the theme park?? Will the chocolate taste as good as it did when it isn’t made in PA anymore?? And finally when is the government going to step up and say, “Hey, if ya’ll want to move your jobs out of the U.S. then you have to pay more in taxes to help support all the people that you have now made unemployed after their unemployment runs out.” Think they’d be moving their jobs then??
And most importantly are we still going to buy those kisses or are we going to tell Hershey to kiss off????
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Happy Valentine’s Day
Happy Valentine’s Day!!!
Can’t find the cute picture that I was going to put up on this post - I think that the computer ate it.
Hope your Day was a Happy one and that you got to enjoy it with your special someone - I know I did!!
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Happy Anniversary Sweet Hubby
Ok, now before anybody gets their knickers in a twist let me clarify that this isn’t our wedding anniversary it is the anniversary of the first time that we met face to face a whole whopping 10 years ago.
The beginning of our relationship is not when we first saw each other face to face, but rather when we first met in an online chat room. Yes, we really did meet that way; on good ole AOL if you really need to know. We chatted for a little over 2 weeks online for hours at a time; then gradually moved on to phone calls, which in turn led to him wanting to meet me face to face. (First we had to exchange pictures via snail mail - his was a head shot from a try at modeling - mine was at first my senior picture from high school and then a polaroid that my friend snapped of me laughing)
So we set up a face to face meeting. Me, being a single mom of two, and him, single man with good job and very chivalrous - well, he fronted for the airfare since he couldn’t wait till I had a long enough weekend at work to drive from MI to Long Island.
Me, I hopped a plane (after everyone told me I was crazy and going to come up dead) and made the flight from Detroit to Boston and proceeded to wait for my connecting flight to Long Island.
In Boston they announced a flight that had about the same departure time as my flight, though it had a different flight number and I could swear that the lady with the Boston accent said it was going to Iceland. (Didn’t want to go to Iceland) So I sat and patiently waited for my flight. About 10 minutes after my flight was supposed to depart I went up and asked the gate agent when the flight to Long Island was going to be boarding and she looked at me like I was totally insane and said “Honey, it just left the gate.” It seems that the airport on Long Island is sometimes referred to as Islandia Airport - hence the misunderstanding of a Bostonian pronouncing it like ‘Iceland Airport’. I (who had only flown once before) asked her if she could get it to come back as I had an important person to meet. She told me that I had to take a seat and that they would get me on the next flight that left in about 2 hours.
For those of you that know me real well, when I have somewhere to be and be on time, patience is not one of my strong suits.
I asked what other airline might have an airplane going to Long Island at that time and was told that US Air had a flight leaving in 40 minutes. Now, I had to get to US Air, buy a ticket, check in and board the plane. Ok, you’re thinking, not real hard; well, it wasn’t that easy.
US Air is on the opposite side of the airport from Northwest and also you have to cross a busy road with no pedestrian light to get you safely across the cross walk. Trying to cross that road is sort of like trying to cross a NASCAR track during time trials. Also add into the mix that I was wearing a dress, hose and heels and dragging one of those roller flight bags that have a tendency to tip over if you try to walk faster than old Aunt Margaret.
I got across that road by grabbing an employee’s hand and dragging her out behind me and next to my luggage and darting in between cab drivers that reminded me of the drivers in ‘Death Race 2000’ (or whatever the title was). She then was kind enough to direct me to the US Air ticket counter which, I swear to you, was 5 blocks from where we entered the building. I took off those heels and ran like crazy; purchased my ticket and ran for the gate.
When I got to the gate I still had 5 minutes till they were boarding, and since it was a commuter flight (ie: small plane) it was first in line, first to board. I ran for the payphones and called sweet hubby’s mom so that she could track him down using his pager. (Sorry folks, this was about the time that bag cell phones were popular) She contacted him just as he was leaving the airport and told him that I was on a later flight; because by this time he thought that I had stood him up.
Meanwhile I am sitting on this 20 or 30 seat plane and explaining to my seat mate why I am going to Long Island and that I figure the guy will not be waiting because I was an idiot and didn’t want to go to Iceland. I fell asleep (with my burning bare feet on the plane’s wall to cool them off) to that man laughing his head off.
He woke me up as we were approaching the airport, by grabbing my arm and saying ‘look, look, that’s the runway.’ Now, if you have never been in a plane that you could actually look out the windshield as you are landing - trust me, if you are a nervous flyer - like me, it is not something that you want to do!!! You see all these colored lights flashing (and I swore that they were emergency vehicles because for sure we were going to crash), you get to watch the altimeter LOSE altitude (which also makes you think that you will crash) and you get to watch the runway reaching up for your plane. Not an experience that I ever want to repeat.
My seat mate stayed on the plane with me till we were the last ones besides the pilots and then left to see if sweet hubby (who was just the guy I was going to meet at that time) was really waiting for me. My seatmate (nope, never got his name) ducked his head back in the plane and said ‘honey, he is waiting’ and then left. I took another minute to collect myself, my luggage and put my shoes firmly on my feet before I headed out to meet my man.
So, February 13th will always be the first day that we truly laid eyes on each other!!
Monday, February 05, 2007
So now you know…………
Momma sent me a cartoon today that summed up something at our house - here it is
Yup, this is us. Sweet Hubby has asked me to not take the tree down just yet. He didn’t feel real well at Christmas and College girl was getting ready to go study in England for a semester so Christmas was in a word: Rushed. Now he just likes laying on the couch at night and enjoying the lights on the tree. Me, I’m about ready to remove the ornaments and put up hearts instead and call it a Valentine tree.
Hopefully I can take it down before Easter.