Trunk Monkey

Next vehicle I buy will have one of these. I'd still have my Explorer if I had a Trunk Monkey. They have a road rage version (the original). Maybe it should be modified for NASCAR then the driver's wouldn't have to get penalties. Let the monkeys duke it out.

Check them all out here.

Hat tip to Richmond.

Could tragedy have been avoided?

A tragedy happened Wednesday. Families are grieving and lives have been forever changed. Seven children from one family, ages 15 years to 20 months, were killed. Numerous other children on the school bus including the driver were hurt some critically. When the Grandfather heard all 7 of his grandchildren had died, he had a heart attack and died.

This happened very close to my home so rumors are flying rampant. From what I hear this could have been prevented. The rumors are that the truck driver was talking on his cell phone and wasn't paying attention. I know the area well where it happened. The speed limit is 60 and it is an easy stretch of road where the speed just creeps up on you. But, it is no excuse. If indeed this driver was talking on the phone, and I know it happens all the time, it is inexcusable. When driving you need to have your full concentration on what you are doing especially if you are driving a 80,000 lb vehicle.

Please, everyone, think about this the next time your cell phone rings when you are driving. Pull over somewhere to take your call. It could save your life or someone elses.

#10 may come true

I found this little thing over at Drunken Wisdom. I played around with my boys' names and Daredevil's generated this:

Ten Top Trivia Tips about Daredevil!

1. When Daredevil is swallowed, he will enter the blood stream within twenty minutes.
2. More people are killed by Daredevil each year than die in airplane accidents.
3. Edinburgh imports three thousand kilograms of Daredevil every year!
4. The international dialing code for Daredevil is 672!
5. If you toss Daredevil 10000 times, he will not land heads 5000 times, but more like 4950, because his head weighs more and thus ends up on the bottom.
6. On stone temples in southern India, there are more than 30 million carved images of Daredevil.
7. Daredevil is actually a fruit, not a vegetable.
8. Daredevil is often used in place of milk in food photography, because milk goes soggy more quickly than Daredevil!
9. Scientists have discovered that Daredevil can smell the presence of autism in children.
10. Daredevil is physically incapable of sticking his tongue out!

I am interested in - do tell me aboutherhimitthem

#10 is indeed prophetic considering I just posted on this! He is in fact planning on getting his tongue pierced. This is not good.

Daredevil just read this. Not so good. He rejoiced at the thought of being a mass murderer as stated in #2. And #1 generated a sly smile and "Sweet!". I am going to lose my mind with this child.

Adopt a kid

Whenever I come home early my stomach is queasy and in knots. I never know what to expect except the unexpected. Teenage boys just have that effect on a mother. At least mine do. Especially, after the closet episode. So, today I was pleasantly surprised to find a kid sitting at the table doing homework. No plodding, no prompting, yelling, cursing. Nothing. He was doing it without being told. A mother's dream. I just wish it had been one of MY kids!

Nope, it was Daredevil's best friend. Since their school and his work are within walking distance he just hangs out here until time for work. I didn't mind. But, it just seemed strange that he was the only one home. Maybe I should adopt him. Or trade one of mine for him! There's a thought.

Especially, since I am half expecting Daredevil to come home with his tongue pierced. Ack! I sure hope not. But, I made a horrific parental mistake tonight. He asked if I minded if he went with a friend of his who is getting her tongue pierced. She is scared and wanted backup. Stupid me said, "Don't come home with your tongue pierced." I should have slapped myself right then. I know better. Daredevil followed up with the challenging, "Why not"! Because I don't want a freak for a child, I thought. I suppressed that challenge. I see more blog fodder coming.

Interview Time

It's my 15 seconds of fame. My very first interview. Basil did a wonderful job. Go on over and see what secrets I reveal.

The Big Red Button

I thank Steve for this game.


Go Ahead. Push it. I know you want to. Just do it.

Hat tip to Daredevil. We found this while looking through his friend's blog.

Just rambling

In spite of the recent events, Mom had a great birthday yesterday. We took her for afternoon tea. There is a quaint little tea house downtown that is wonderful. It is her favorite place to go. My sisters and I adorned her with fancy hats and boas and we tried our best to act prim and proper. Not. You can dress us up, you can't take us out. Luckily, we had the place to ourselves. So, for her 72nd birthday, Mom played dress up. It made her smile and that was our mission.

Even though it was sad circumstances that brought me home, I have really enjoyed being here. It has been 10 years since I have lived around my family. I usually breeze in on a holiday weekend, rush around and then fly back out. I have had the time to meet with some childhood friends, spend a little time with my sisters and a lot of time with my mother. I am really glad I was in a position to do this.

But, I miss my boys. I'm headed home after the funeral this afternoon. Today will be a long and trying day for my mother. But, she will be surrounded by her four girls and some wonderful friends. I hate that I have to leave so soon after the funeral, but I also think she needs her time alone to grieve. We have spent a great deal of time talking and she is coping well. She is a strong woman.

Thanks to everyone for your comments and support. It means a lot. I have kept Mom entertained with everyone's blogs. Especially Bou and the underwear bit. So, don't be surprised if she starts lurking around. I have tried to explain the bad example family to her. If that's possible. This family seems to be bending more than forking lately. She has been amused and asked me to make sure she can find these sites after I leave. She hasn't settled on a screen name yet. But, if you see "Dart B*tch" show up, it's her. I'm trying to discourage the name because of spam, but you know how insistent old women can be. If any has any good alternate names, suggestions are appreciated. You try to raise your parents right, but sometimes they just don't listen.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Mom,

Thank you for all you have given me. Our lives have not always been smooth or uncomplicated, but you have always been there for me despite my resistance sometimes. You always show me love. Admittedly, sometimes it was tough love. But, it was love nonetheless. You were there for me through marriages and divorces, trials and children, laughter and tears. You stood by my side during accomplishments and not so great decisions. Okay, some really bad ones. You never judge. You never criticize. Fault and blame are cast aside and a shoulder is always offered. You gave me life. But, more importantly you give me love. Unconditionally.

But, it's not just me you offer it to it's everyone. Especially Mike. I know it is difficult to celebrate your birthday this year as you try and cope. But,I know that if he were here to celebrate your birthday today, he'd be pounding on the piano and then taking you out to the "best" spots in town. He truly loved you.

Happy Birthday Mom. Know that we all love you and are here for you as you have been for us.

People are like books

I picked up the book
Did a quick glance
tossed it aside
Didn't give it a chance.
The cover was torn and ragged
the binding was broken and cracked
the only thing it seems to contain
was the quality and substance it lacked.
But, I didn't take the time
to peer within the pages
to see where this book had been
and what it battled through the ages.
The chapters held the secrets
that the cover can't convey
the things that made it what it was
and what it is today.

I'm struggling with this post. So, bear with me. My mom lost a special friend and someone she truly loved Wednesday. Schroeder was his own person. Lived by his own rules and floated through life. He stumbled into our lives over 25 years ago. He was in and out like the wind. He landed permanently in my mom's life a few years ago. He came to her with practically nothing. No job, a truck with expired everything, legal troubles and 10 bucks to his name. In the next few years I watched him give her all she ever wanted. Someone to love. It wasn't the fairy tale story. It wasn't with out fights or aggravation. But, it was unconditional. No matter what. No matter how mad he made her. She never gave up on him. Not even in the end. My respect for my mom grew immensely in the last few years. Schroeder was diagnosed with throat cancer approximately 18 months ago. She never left his side.

Folks, that's ultimately the greatest thing you can acquire and the only really important thing there is in life. Unconditional love. Schroeder didn't have anything else but in the end he had it all. He knew he could count on my mom. She could count on him to aggravate her and he could count of her to forgive him and still love him. They shared something special the world doesn't always see.

MRE Fireworks

Do you have leftover MRE's (Meals Ready to Eat)? If so, donate the food to Bou for her hurricane supplies. She and her rolling ball of noise love MREs. But, be sure to keep the heating packs for this assignment.

Do you have glo sticks or paint balls handy?

If so, you have all the makings of redneck hurricane survivor MRE fireworks!

Yes folks, this is a true story. Although, this was tried at home, I don't know if I recommend it. Unfortunately, I didn't witness this but I am proudly related to the people who did this. Yes, my oldest sister brought in the New Year with homemade MRE fireworks. She still has MREs lurking around her house since Ivan, Dennis, Katrina (just name a hurricane in the last two years). Immediately after Ivan, her boys discovered MRE heating packs make good bombs. So, while sitting around the bon fire, sipping on whatever's good, someone's little light went off. They prepared the "bombs". First, attempt they emptied the glo stick contents into the packet. It wasn't satisfactory. Then, they just put the glo sticks in. This produced pretty results. But, it was the paint ball bomb that the boys loved the most. I think this is more of a daylight firework. But, Improviser witnessed the results the following day and he was impressed. And it takes a lot to impress Improviser.

Gotta love family.

Interview Time is Approaching

My blog Mom, VWBug, reminded me that Basil will be interviewing me soon. You can go here to submit your questions and see who else is being interviewed. Please feel free to ask anything. I may or may not answer it depending on the subject, but there isn't really anything I can foresee having a problem with.

Blog Troubles

Daredevil and Improviser have blogs/personal pages on My Space. I browsed through Daredevils recently. I am troubled by some of the things I have found. Most of these kids have their real names and photos posted. I purposely do not post their names and photos because of all the weirdos out there. They do not see the need for security. This concerns me. I read frequently about the perverts browsing the internet posing as teens. My mother instincts are kicking in and I want to protect my children. But, then I realize at their ages I can only guide and hope they listen.

Overall the blogs I read were the usual teen stuff. They were actually cleaner than I expected and I found a couple of cute quizzes. The thing that really bothers me is how many teenage girls list that they are Bye. (You get my point. I don't need a million google hits for that.) I am soooooooooo glad I don't have girls. I don't see how a 15 or 16 year old girl can know that for sure. Is it a fad? This really concerns me since I know some of these girls. I wonder if their parents know.

Police Chief without a force?

I live in a small town within a larger city. Let me explain. Our town is approximately 1-2 square miles, depends on who you ask. It is in the city limits of a much larger town. Why the town was originally incorporated I haven't a clue. But, nevertheless we have our own government. Complete with Mayor, Town Council, Police Force and all the BS. There is a long, ongoing feud between the Mayor and Police Department. It came to a head recently. I just received a letter from the Mayor which in part states:

Dear Citizen:

As you are aware the Town Council has voted unanimously to abolish the police department effective March 13, 2006. This will leave the police chief in place, but does away with the seventeen members of the department.

Hello, did I miss something here. We will have a Chief in charge of nobody. The letter states financial reasons for abolishing the police force. Hey, People in charge. Here is an idea. Save even more. If you going to do away with the deputies in order to save money get rid of the Chief, too. He won't be busy if he doesn't have a department to run.

As a single mother of three boys, I have learned to cut expenses and be practical. I have a few tips for my town. I have lived in this town for three years and I have been associated with it for ten. I see on a daily basis a few areas they could cut expenses in other than the police force. Try cutting out the unnecessary and impractical expenses.

1. "Holiday Lights" aka Christmas lights. For a small town they do it up big. For the last month and still they have lights up and on all over town. There is a complete "Christmas Town" all lit up. There is nothing in this town. Just five or six buildings all completely decorated in lights and accessories. I guess it is where they store all the lights and decorations the rest of the year. I am not against decorating, but if you need save money cut the unnecessary things first. I'm sure the electric costs on all of these lights are not cheap. Save there.

2. Flowers. Every spring and fall they plant flowers everywhere. Yes, it looks nice, but again not a necessity.

3. Nix the 4th of July fireworks. They do not bring people and money into our community. Our town in small enough everyone just sits on their front porches and watches. Again, they are nice, but not necessary.

They have to pay someone to do all of these things. If you want to continue ask for donations and volunteers to do these. It's called Community involvement. I know that is a hard thing to get, but get to know your neighbors and help each other.

I'm sure if I really got into the politics and business I could find numerous way to cut expenses. They are usually obvious if you look for them.

Getting back to normal

Thankfully, the holidays are over. Maybe now I can get back in to a routine. I love the holidays, but they are exhausting. Everything in my world gets turned upside down and totally chaotic. I need routine. I love spontaneity, but reality is I have to be organized and in a routine even though it bores me sometimes. Although, this presents a difficult task and I seem to go through cycles. I will be extremely organized for a while and then everything goes to he** for a while and then it starts all over again. Well, then again, I guess it is me and not the holidays that are to blame. Oh well, the blame has to go somewhere. We are in the "it's not my fault" age so I won't take the blame. That would be too responsible.

Resolutions

Might as well let someone else set my New Year's Resolutions for me. These might be some I can do. I can look for an octopus while diving in New Zealand. Might happen. I like traveling and who knows where I'll end up this year. #2 is very doable. I know I can keep that one. I have teenage boys; I live abnormal psychology. Get in shape with bowling? Only if I can use the bumpers.

Your New Year's Resolutions

1) Get a pet octopus 2) Eat more chocolate syrup 3) Travel to New Zealand 4) Study abnormal psychology 5) Get in shape with bowling

What Should Your New Year's resolution Be?

New Year Resolutions

Happy New Year Everyone! It's that time of year when we set ourselves up for failure by making resolutions that we know we have no intention of keeping. Yes, a lot of wishful thinking, but reality is we probably aren't going to change our habits overnight just because we have to start remembering what year to write. So, my new year resolutions are things I know I can keep.

1. I promise to exercise and diet tomorrow.
2. I will procrastinate.

More later. Maybe tomorrow.