Whew! Not As Bad As I Thought!

Thankew Wyatt Earp

Battle of Gettysburg

Tomorrow is July 1 - the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg.

My calender, from The Gettysburg Foundation, has had something marked for every day of June, sort of giving little snippets of troop movements towards Gettysburg.

And so, today it says that the Confederates converged on the G'burg area. But! I Googled "June 30, 1863" and came up with this.

Although, don't forget the Siege of Vicksburg, which was going on at the same time.

Ah, those first few days of July! Time to watch this again!!

(If you've got the time, why not check out the annual reenactment! It's HUGE! It's FUN!)

Is Anyone Even Listening to Me?

Namely my husband!

I've talked about my frustration with our school district before, the bus privatization, how much I dislike the principal.

Did you know they haven't had a mil increase since the 1970's? Oh yes! All these big, beautiful, new homes going up, and we're essentially paying 1970's era school taxes.

No wonder the area is becoming more populated!

Well, there was a school board meeting last night that I regrettably did not attend; I would have had to have taken the kids, and now that I hear the news from last night's meeting I'm darn glad I didn't go!

But the debate about homeschooling the younglings has come up, again, and once again Husband is rolling his eyes and telling me to calm down, that I do this every year because I talk to other moms.

I'm sorry, but this district is, essentially, squeezing our collective lemons to try to get this levy passed. After the 2007-2008 school year one of the middle schools will be closed and all those kids will be sent to the elementary school that Son (and soon Daughter) attend.

Now, I ask you, would you want your elementary aged children around a bunch of 13-14 year old bastard teenagers?

And I've met some of these teens....some of them are real characters.

And it isn't only that. This district is so concerned with saving a buck that they could give a crap about the children.

So yes, I am giving serious thought to homeschooling my kids. I feel like I'm on a slowly sinking ship with this district, and pretty soon the water is going to be up to my nose.

Folks, I ain't Kate Winslet!

And, what the hell, here is the article about last night's board meeting.

"Golden Brown"

I am right this minute watching Giada De Laurentiis (yes, her cleavage is showing) and she just squeezed "golden brown" roasted garlic into the blender to make a vinaigrette.

I've gotta admit that those garlic cloves being squeezed out looked pretty cool.

*sigh*

I love Food Network!

Random Ewan McGregor Picture Post

Friday 80's Jam

Because, for some reason, I was singing this last night.

"Wave your hands in the air like you don't care..."

I Have To Agree

I found this post through Google News (my homepage), and I have to agree with the author(s).

Ann Coulter not only gives strong women a bad name, she gives those of use (still) on the right a bad name!

You know I'm no fan of Coulter, but I'm no fan of Edwards either. While I may have referred to John Edwards as "Breck Girl" (ala Rush Limbaugh), I'm done with that now. What's the point? I know I don't like those Democrats, you know I don't like any of those Democrats, so why not just say nothing at all?

On a side note, though, I've been hearing a lot of talk on Glenn Beck about those of us on the right changing our party affiliation to Independent. I might, who knows.

My mother, a staunch, life-long Republican, is pretty fed up with President Bush. She's especially angry that, after having come across a newspaper from October 1945, all those men fought and died in WW II for our freedoms, and now look what's happening to this country.

(Which then sparked a discussion about the evils of Liberalism, but I won't go into that here.)

But back to Coulter....I'm all for freedom of speech, but for crying out loud!

Snort Worthy

The Spice Girls are reuniting.

Yeah...okay, so what if I actually own one of their CD's? It's still buried in boxes from our move three years ago, so technically it doesn't count, right?

But I love the commentary here.

*snort*

(Loving Scary's shoes, though.

Not That Hot

Giada De Laurentiis of the Food Network has apparently been taken to task for the shirts she wears while she prepares her recipes.

It would seem that she's showing too much cleavage.

Um, that's why my husband likes to watch her!

I watch Giada at least twice a day (but I watch Food Network all day long!) and all I ever noticed about her is the way she says "crunchy" and "golden brown." She really gets into it.

And really, who else on the Food Network could get away with shirts like that?

(Tyler Florence! HAWT!)

Daytime Swooner Birthday

Happy Birthday Steve Burton, a.k.a. Jason (Quartermaine) Morgan, who turns 37 today!

Yeah, you probably don't know who this guy is, so I'll tell you. He plays Jason Morgan, mob hitman for Sonny Corinthos on General Hospital.

And he's the finest looking thing on there!

And! He's a Buckeye fan!

So, head on over and watch GH sometime. Jason just made bail (on those murder charges; he killed Alcazar) and he'll be looking for his kidnapped son, but not everyone knows Jake is his son because Elizabeth wants to raise the baby as Lucky's. (Lucky, by the way, is a real butt, IMHO.)

(And yes, that Kelly Monaco who is on the show really did pose for Playboy. Take the safe search off your Google images and you'll find her in all her busty glory.)

Yes, I know, getting all jazzed over a soap opera is stupid, but just take a look at these pictures and seriously ask me why I watch:

Mind Your Own D***n Business!

This morning the younglings and I went up to le Mart de Wal so I could have my glasses repaired. Since we were there we decided to just get groceries.

Well, of course, both kids wanted to check out the toy section. *sigh*

I told them they'd just been to the bookstore and my parents had taken them to the toy store last week, so the could look but not buy.

I guess some guy didn't like me saying that, because he made some comment I couldn't hear and made a face at me.

At which point I told him to mind his own damn business.

Conversation With A Friend

Tonight I had a nice chat with a friend of mine, who I can't think of a suitable name for right now, but nonetheless, we had a great conversation.

The thing is, we laughed like old times, and that was nice. Of course, it took me ranting about getting kicked in the bosom to do it.

Damn you Dickie Smiley!

Oh, Blackie!

John Stamos is "jetlagged."

I don't know anything about being jetlagged, so I'm not going to say anything about that.

I will say, however, that Stamos certainly doesn't look like he did some twenty odd years ago when he was Blackie Parrish on General Hospital!

All Over

You realize, do you not, that six months from today it will all be over.

Christmas 2007, that is.

Ack!

Book 'Em!

The younglings and I have just returned from a trip to the bookstore, where I spent almost $90!

"But Vic," you're saying, "there's this groovy place called a library where you can check out books for free!"

Yes, I know, and thanks for reminding me.

Son has finally discovered the Geronimo Stilton books I bought for him and now loves them! How can I turn down a seven-year-old who's excited to read about something other than dinosaurs and Star Wars?

Don't worry, Daughter also picked out a book, and I made a few selections for myself, one being Last of the Mohicans. I think it's time, don't you?

I tried, I really did, to check out Sarah Jessica Parker's clothing line at Steve & Barry's, but the kids had other ideas. I did see a few cute things, though; she's even got purses!!

Son is, right this minute, reading one of his new books. It's so nice to see him interested in something!

Hey Llamas!

Have you gotten your shirts yet??

I think I'm going to order one...or two!

Snort Worthy

"Pulp Fiction: Jedi Edition"

Bwahahahahahahahahahaha!!!

*snort*

Thankew Wyatt Earp

Pride

Driving home from town earlier today, I saw a great big pick-up truck with this lovely slogan emblazoned across the windshield:

"Panty Snatcher"

"Awwww," I said, "his mama must be so proud of that!"

"...Not Suitable For Children..."

Thankew Not So Confidential

Dear Idiot Truck Driver

Dear Idiot Truck Driver,

Keep this bit of advice in mind: get your head out of your ass and watch what the hell you're doing!

Hello? Didn't they teach you how to STOP in truck driving school?

You almost plowed right in to me this morning, and if I hadn't had quick reflexes my vehicle would be creamed and I could possibly be in pretty bad shape. Not to mention the traffic in the oncoming lane that I could have hit, trying to avoid your fat ass.

Just think, if my kids had been with me my daughter could be DEAD right now.

You stupid, fucking idiot!

Someone Should Have Warned Me

Son picked out a movie, Bridge to Terabithia, and decided today that he wanted to watch it.

Why didn't anyone warn me that it's possibly the most depressing movie ever?

Don't Stand So Close To Me....Please

Oh. My.

Naked rock star! Sting and his stinger!

Warning! Totally NSFW!!!

Thankew Agent Bedhead!!

Friday 80's Jam

"It's Very Special!"

Robbo posts his review of a book about Stonehenge.

Ah, Stonehenge!

Leopold! Leopold!

My favorite Bugs Bunny cartoon, and the source of my use of "Swooner Dreamboat."

Stick to Scrubs

Okay, so yeah, I watch General Hospital, but Robin Scorpio is not one of my favorite characters. In fact, every time she and Dr. Patrick Drake are on screen debating their relationship for the umpteenth time and then gettin' freaky naughty, I fast forward.

So I have no qualms whatsoever in saying that Kimberly McCullough should have worn her hospital scrubs costume to the Daytime Emmy Awards.

Easy Swooner Rider

Ride motorcycles with Ewan McGregor?

Ooooooooooooo.....

Looking at NY

This is me, looking over at NY, Staten Island and The Narrows, to be exact. It's a bit hazy, but it's out there.

Incidentally, it's the closest I'll ever get Husband to NYC.

How You Like Me Now??

Eat your hearts out....

Where Have I Been?

The better question is where haven't I been?

On Friday we left OH for PA, where we dropped the younglings with my parents. From there we drove through southern NY state; Saturday we continued on to NJ for a wedding. Sunday found us leaving NJ to skirt PA whereupon we drove over Philly on I-95, which kind of sucked, on through a bit of DE, then MD, where we crossed the Chesapeake Bay and I got freaked out by that bridge, finally stopping in VA.

Needless to say, Sunday was a very long day.

I saw a Hillary bumper sticker in Princeton, NJ. (We literally drove through the campus of the university.) When I saw that sticker my armpits started to itch and I told Husband to get me the hell out of there.

Then, on the way to VA I saw a sticker that said "Make Levees Not War" at which point I yelled "F**K YOU!" but, ya know, no one really heard me.

Yesterday in Fredericksburg I saw a car with "Impeach Bush," "Proud to be a Democrat," and "Obama" on the bumper. I told Husband and my BIL to get me the hell out of there.

But I had the best grits at the Battlefield Restaurant!

*sigh*

Maybe I'll post some pictures later. I've got so much to do.

Keep on Rockin'

Found this courtesy of blog bud NSC:

The Zimmers

Flag Day

Snort Worthy

H/T: Glitterati Gossip

Angelina Jolie Has No Teeth

Look at these pictures. The woman is not smiling!

Could she look more bored?

Good gawd, Angie, would it kill you to crack a smile? You're with Brad Feckin' Pitt for crying out loud!

Do You Really Want to Hurt Me Birthday

Happy Birthday to George O'Dowd, otherwise known as Boy George, who turns 46 today.

As far as I'm concerned, Boy George should be considered THE icon of the 80's. I don't care about his drug problems or his sexuality, this man can sing!

You rock, Boy!!

Damn Wildlife!

Husband decided that this year we wouldn't have a garden; he planted a few things in pots on our deck instead.

We had some gorgeous strawberries. I say "had" because the feckin' raccoons got up on the deck last night and tore into our "crops," including knocking over the plant Son gave me for Mother's Day.

I'm telling you, you're damned no matter what you try to do. If it isn't the deer eating everything we plant, it's those damn welfare raccoons.

It's enough to make a preacher swear.

Get the gun, get the gun, shoot shoot shoot shoot.....

Weasley Is Our King!

But he could really use a haircut.

And maybe some Clearasil.

Summer Morning

Ahhhh...I love sunny, warm mornings like this. They take me back to my days as a reenactor.

It's mornings like this that really make me miss the whole thing.

Just Do It

Well, I've lived here for three years and haven't said anything, now is the time to speak up.

I'm going to address the school board regarding their decision to privatize the busing. It pisses me off! Not only are the current bus drivers going to be out of a job, but who knows who will be driving my kids to school.

Daughter, who is three, starts preschool this year. Would you put a three-year-old child on a school bus when God knows who could be driving? How do I know that these people won't be Michael Jackson admirers or something?

And the roads around here....glorified cow paths in some cases, no kidding.

Believe me, I'm not only writing a letter but I plan on speaking up at the next school board meeting as well. This district has made some bonehead decisions before, but this takes the cake.

One More Time!

There Can Be Only One

Hey! Is it possible that there is one man out there who never nailed Madonna?

It would seem there is. Or was, as the case may be.

Gratuitous Drooling

Robert the Llama Butcher seems to scoff at the 1992 version of The Last of the Mohicans. He must have seen that it was on AMC this weekend.

I watched it; it's one of my favorite movies. (Yes, I know it grossly deviates from the book, but I've never read the book, so...) And the soundtrack is really good; we were listening to it last night, in fact.

And then there's the obvious reason I like this movie so much:

EVEN MORE!!!

Screening

Daughter had her pre-screening for preschool this morning.

What chaos. I'm glad I've only got the two kids, so I won't have to do that again!

I was informed by the psychologist that Daughter is at or above the expected range in all of the areas she was screened for. Daughter was way above the expected range in verbal concepts and I'm happy to say did very well at fine motor skills.

At this age, a few months away from four, Son wasn't so great with the fine motor stuff, so I was pleased to see Daughter doing so well.

But...I fear I face the long path of name spelling. Daughter has a nice, old-fashioned name, but I've given it a sort of Celtic spelling, and so everyone tends to spell it wrong.

*sigh*

I guess it's to be expected; these are the same people who insist that Son's name only has one "t" in it...and it's a two "t" name!

And I'm waiting for that surname misspelling, too. Everyone here wants to spell it "Eyefull" because there's a family around here that spell it that way, so we should too, right?

No, ours is the French spelling - Eiffel.

Get it right, damn you!

"The Sopranos" Finale

Sorry, no re-caps here. I must be the only person in the nation who didn't tune in last night.

We don't even have HBO.

I used to be a fan of the show, way back. It was in that season where Meadow was hell bent on marrying that dude, and she sat around whining all the time, that made me tune out.

But! I have read a couple of things around these here blogs, and it sounds like everyone was "WTF-ing" just like I was at the end of Sex and the City. (I mean, they gave me what I wanted - Carrie and Big together! Too predictable!)

So, for those Sopranos fans, I feel your loss, really I do. But take heart, maybe they'll make a big-screen version, just like they're doing with SATC!

Snort Worthy

Last night I saw one of my favorite MGM cartoons....and I really did snort!

Here it is, the un-edited version:

Twenty Pounds Later

That's how much weight I've lost, the low-fat diet and post-surgery diet combined.

Actually, it's closer to 25 pounds; I weighed myself last night and was in shock. I told Husband that I haven't been this weight since before I got pregnant with Son!

I'll be honest here and tell you that when this whole acid reflux diet thing got started, I weighed 170. When I went in for surgery I was down to 160, and two weeks later the scales showed 150. Last night it said 145!

I'm not totally happy about this weight loss because I haven't been able to exercise much, and I'd like to try to tone up a bit. And there are certain, let's say, unpleasant side-effects to the type of diet I'm on.

I told Husband the other day that by the time I can chow down on a big, greasy cheeseburger I probably won't want it anymore. But I still dream about it!

Snort Worthy

Paris is back in the slammer.

"It's not right!" she apparently shouted.

What's not right? That you're going to be held to the same standards as (gasp!) regular people? That your money couldn't buy you out of this one?

And what's this "medical condition" everyone keeps mentioning? It must not be too bad, if she could be out drinking all the time.

Cry, cry, Paris. Welcome to the real world.

The Power of Money

Paris "Hey That's My Vagina!" Hilton is out of the pokey.

After three days.

People aren't going to be happy about this," Shapiro told FOX News. "This is one of the most privileged, entitled people to ever walk the face of the earth, and no matter what she does — whether its a sex tape or whether she's driving drunk or whether she goes to jail — she comes out on top, she makes money off it, she profits from it and she comes out quite alright.

Gee, ya think??

Everybody Loves Somebody Birthday

Happy Birthday to Dino Crocetti, a.k.a. Dean Martin, born on this day in 1917 in my neck of the woods.

Big doings, Dino's origins, at least around here. There's a mural on the Kroger and there's a festival every year.

What's really cool is that a couple years ago I actually met a woman who used to run with Martin's crowd! I had the best time talking to her.

Happy Birthday, Dino!

The Longest Day

Today is June 6. Do you know what happened on this day in 1944?

If you don't, you should.

Today is the perfect day to watch one of my favorites, The Longest Day.

Look At Me, I'm Sandra Dee!

I'm posting pretty late, but since it's the first day of Son's summer vacation, I was a little busy trying to keep him entertained.

And....one of my favorite movies was on TCM this afternoon and I just had to watch it.

What movie?

Gidget.

Oh, be quiet. I like this far better than those "Tammy" movies Dee did.

"It's the absolute ultimate!"

So That's What They Said!

For years and years I've been wondering what the actual lyrics were to this song. I swear for thrity-odd years I thought they were saying "wrapped up like a douche and then a roner in the night."

Artist: Manfred Mann's Earth Band Lyrics
Song: Blinded By the Light Lyrics
Blinded by the light,
revved up like a deuce,
another runner in the night
Blinded by the light,
revved up like a deuce,
another runner in the night
Blinded by the light,
revved up like a deuce,
another runner in the night
Madman drummers bummers,
Indians in the summer with a teenage diplomat
In the dumps with the mumps as the adolescent pumps his way into his hat
With a boulder on my shoulder, feelin' kinda older,
I tripped the merry-go-round
With this very unpleasin', sneezin' and wheezin,
the calliope crashed to the ground
The calliope crashed to the ground
But she was...
Blinded by the light,
revved up like a deuce,
runner in the night
Blinded by the light,
revved up like a deuce,
another runner in the night
Blinded by the light,
revved up like a deuce,
another runner in the night
Blinded by the light,
revved up like a deuce,
another runner in the night
Some silicone sister with a manager mister told me I go what it takes
She said "I'll turn you on sonny to something strong,
play the song with the funky break"
And go-cart Mozart was checkin' out the weather chart to see if it was safe outside
And little Early-Pearly came by in his curly-wurly and asked me if I needed a ride
Asked me if I needed a ride
But she was...
Blinded by the light,
revved up like a deuce,
another runner in the night
Blinded by the light
She got down but she never got tired
She's gonna make it through the night
She's gonna make it through the night
But mama, that's where the fun is
But mama, that's where the fun is
Mama always told me not to look into the eye's of the sun
But mama, that's where the fun is
Some brimstone baritone anticyclone rolling stone preacher from the east
Says, "Dethrone the dictaphone, hit it in it's funny bone,
that's where they expect it least"
And some new-mown chaperone was standin' in the corner,
watching the young girls dance
And some fresh-sown moonstone was messin' with his frozen zone, reminding him of romance
The calliope crashed to the ground
But she was...
Blinded by the light,
revved up like a deuce,
another runner in the night
Blinded by the light,
revved up like a deuce,
another runner in the night
Blinded by the light,
revved up like a deuce,
another runner in the night
Blinded by the light,
revved up like a deuce,
another runner in the night
Blinded by the light,
revved up like a deuce,
another runner in the night
Blinded by the light,
revved up like a deuce,
another runner in the night
Blinded by the light,
revved up like a deuce,
another runner in the night
Blinded by the light,
revved up like a deuce,
another runner in the night
Blinded by the light,
revved up like a deuce,
another runner in the night
Blinded by the light
Madman drummers bummers, Indians in the summer with a teenage diplomat
In the dumps with the mumps as the adolescent pumps his way into his hat
With a boulder on my shoulder, feelin' kinda older,
I tripped the merry-go-round
With this very unpleasin', sneezin' and wheezin,
the calliope crashed to the ground
Now Scott with a slingshot finially found a tender spot and throws his lover in the sand
And some bloodshot forget-me-not said daddy's within earshot save the buckshot, turn up the band
Some silicone sister with a manager mister told me I go what it takes
She said "I'll turn you on sonny to something strong"

Lyrics found here.

Ozzy Osbourne = Deep Thinker

"Ozzy Osbourne 'Doesn't Understand' Iraq War"

Yeah, years of heavy drug use will do that to you.

It's Official, I Hate The Doctor

Daughter had an appointment to see the ear doc this morning. Fine. We get to the office, sign in, only to be told that we'd been contacted via letter and phone call that the appointment had been changed to 1:30.

No, no we were most certainly not contacted by any means.

But if we came back at 12:30 the doctor would be able to see Daughter, since he'd had a cancellation.

LIARS!

I take Daughter to the Golden Arches for lunch and a milkshake, only to find out their shake machine wasn't working.

Damn.

I get back to the doctor's office in time for the 12:30 time slot, only to be called back at 12:50 and then wait for 45 minutes.

The doc came in, pronounced Daughter's ear healed, and that was that.

BASTARD.

Thank gawd everything is healed, because if I have to deal with those jackasses again I swear my head will explode.

Smokin' Hot

Picture it:

Yesterday, after church and we were all having fellowship time, a friend of mine walks up and I said "Look! I've lost so much weight my pants are too big for my smokin' hot bod!"

Just as the pastor walks up.

Yeah, really.

But, to his credit, he smiled and said "Good for you!"

I have lost enough weight that I need to buy smaller clothes!

Oh Danny Boy

So much for mourning the end of his marriage...

Danny Bonaduce - say it with me....BONADUCE! - is so crushed at his 17 year marriage ending that he got up and shook his groove thing at his divorce party.

That's just....I mean....ew. Just EW in a "c'mon get happy" way.

What To Do...

...with a bored seven-year-old?

This amounts to Son's first day of summer vacation. Oh sure, he'll go in Monday for a pizza party, but he's not going Tuesday or Wednesday. His teacher has him convinced that the students will be sitting in a dark room with their heads down the entire time!

So, Son is bored. I'd send him outside, but we haven't gotten the grass mowed, and after The Wednesday Morning Tick Scare And Panic Attack I'm not letting the kids outside until the grass has been cut back.

He's got tons of books that he could be reading, games to play, crafts and what not, but he just sits here, bored.

It's shaping up to be a very long summer.

I CAN'T WAIT!!!

Yippeeee!

The latest Harry Potter movie will be released two days earlier!!

I'm not ashamed to admit to being a big Harry Potter fan. It's rare that I like both the movies and the books.