Mailbox Surprise

The other day Cassie collected the mail and found a present from my good friend Jan. Notice that Cassie's name is on the envelope. She was so excited to see her name on the envelope she almost ripped it open before I could take a picture of it!!! Whoa Nelly, slow down a bit. If anyone wants to make Cassie's day, send her some mail!!



I was able to pry it out of Cassie's hands and take a quick picture before she grabbed it back and ripped it open. Inside we found a nice note from Jan and not one, but two packages of mismatched socks. When I entered her contest I mentioned that my daughter always wears mismatched socks. I think it must be a new fashion trend, or maybe she is starting a new fashion trend, or maybe her room is such a disaster area that she cannot find a pair of matched socks. I think the last one is probably the closest to the truth!! Anyways.....Jan must have remembered my comment and she lovingly remembered to include Cassie. Isn't she sweet?


Look how happy you made her Jan!!! I just love her huge, sweet smile! Thank you!

Amazingly enough....both packages of mismatched socks have gone into the black hole that is Cassie's room....wasn't one of the packages supposed to be for me?




Thanks again Jan....we Cassie loves them!!

Fun Monday

Our wonderful Hostess this week is Penny, who has her pants on fire. Her assignment is the following:

Let's hear about your favorite “Birthday”, it needn’t be your actual birthday just a "birthday" celebration. You can use one you planned, one you attended, one you crashed, just a fun time for this FUN MONDAY

As most of you know, for the past several years I have spent my birthday in the forest. These have been my best birthdays celebrations. I will wake to the birds chirping in the trees and the wonderful scent of the forest. My husband will have the coffee boiling and pancakes cooking on the griddle. After breakfast I will open my cards and gifts. My cards are always handmade by my children. My gifts are usually gag gifts.

There is a story behind the Butt Paste, I will save it for its own post!
After breakfast we usually go on a hike. Sometimes we run into town and purchase a birthday cake, sometimes we don't. All in all, it is a wonderful day spent with my family.
Head on over to Penny's to hear about everyone else's birthday celebrations!!

No Dogs Allowed, or are they?

No Dogs Allowed

Except Seeing Eye Dogs

or Service Dogs

These signs are posted on restaurants, stores, most places of business. They are posted so prevalently that most people don't even see them anymore. Yesterday I walked into my local grocery store and passed this sign hanging on the front door. I immediately spotted a woman holding a dog in her arms. The dog was a cute little Shitzu type dog, but, he was still a dog. I spotted an employee and made the comment to her - "Have you changed your policy and are allowing dogs in the store now?" She looked at me and looked at the woman and said to me - "Oh it is okay, she is holding the dog in her arms." I was incredulous......and that is when my diatribe started.

I suggested to her that maybe she should change the sign on the door to say "except for service dogs and dogs in arms and dogs in purses". Her response - "would you like to speak to our manager?" Oh yes, please.

Let me clarify my position here. I am a dog lover and dog proponent. I love dogs of all shapes and sizes. I have always had at least one dog, usually more as a pet. Our dogs are part of our family, they live in our home, and are treated with love and respect. A dog is a living creature, not an accessory. I don't wear my dogs as a necklace or bracelet. I don't carry my dog in my purse. I don't take my dog into establishments where they are not allowed, especially a grocery store or a restaurant. I do take my dog to dog parks and daily walks. I do clean up his messes in public. My dog is current on vaccinations, he is neutered and licensed. I am a responsible pet owner and a responsible citizen. I follow the rules.

The store manager was summoned, and unfortunately by this time the woman with the dog had left the store. I calmly told him my concerns. I asked him what he would do if I brought my dog, who weighs 100 pounds, into the store. I would be asked to leave, he told me. Why would I be asked to leave but the under 10 pound dog accessory was not? A dog is a dog. They all poop and pee, some are just bigger than others. When I stated it that way, he paused for thought. He agreed with me. I also stated that the store was in violation of the health code when dogs are allowed to enter. He agreed again and he will institute a policy for the employees.

I did my shopping, but my mind kept churning over this matter. When did our society start changing? Why do people blatantly ignore posted signs and feel they are above the rules or laws? This is anarchy at its finest. When small, seemingly insignificant rules are ignored it is only a matter of time when larger and more significant rules are broken. I could not help but ponder these thoughts. Our society is becoming a selfish, self serving society. A people who think it is OK to make their own rules, or only follow the ones that are convenient to them. I am frightened for my children and grandchildren.

While I cannot change society's thinking, I can teach my children to be respectful and responsible members of society. I know there are other parents like me in this world. My only hope is that our children will be our leaders when they are adults.....and I am sure they will not wear their dogs as accessories while grocery shopping.

Friday Funny

Disclaimer: I did not write this, but I loved it and had to share.


If you are 30 or older you will think this is hilarious!!!!


When I was a kid, adults used to bore me to tearswith their tedious diatribes about how hard things were when they were growing up; what with walkingtwenty-five miles to school every morning ... uphill BOTH ways yadda, yadda, yadda And I remember promising myself that when I grew up,there was no way in hell I was going to laya bunch of crap like that on kids about how hard I had it and how easy they've got it!



But now that I'm over the ripe old age of thirty,I can't help but look around and notice the youth of today.You've got it so easy! I mean, compared to my childhood, you live in a damn Utopia!
And I hate to say it but you kids today you don't know how good you've got it! I mean, when I was a kid we didn't have The Internet. If we wanted to know something,we had to go to the damn library and look it up ourselves, in the card catalog!!



There was no email!! We had to actually write somebody a letter ...with a pen!
Then you had to walk all the way across the street and put it in the mailbox and it would take like a week to get there! There were no MP3's or Napsters! You wanted to steal music, you had to hitchhike to the damn record store and shoplift it yourself!



Or you had to wait around all day to tape it off the radio and the DJ'd usually talk over the beginning and @#*% it all up! We didn't have fancy crap like Call Waiting! If you were on the phone and somebody else called they got a busy signal, that's it! And we didn't have fancy Caller ID Boxes either! When the phone rang, you had no idea who it was! It could be your school, your mom, your boss, your bookie, your drug dealer, a collections agent, you just didn't know!!! You had to pick it up and take your chances, mister!


We didn't have any fancy Sony Playstation videogames with high-resolution 3-D graphics! We had the Atari 2600! With games like 'Space Invaders' and'asteroids'. Your guy was a little square! You actually had to use your imagination!! And there were no multiple levels or screens, it was just one screen forever! And you could never win. The game just kept getting harder and harder and faster and faster until you died! Just like LIFE!


When you went to the movie theater there no such thing as stadium seating! All the seats were the same height! If a tall guy or some old broad with a hat sat in front of you and you couldn't see, you were just screwed! Sure, we had cable television, but back then that was only like 15 channels and there was no on screen menu and no remote control! You had to use a little book called a TV Guide to find out what was on! You were screwed when it came to channel surfing! You had to get off your ass and walk over to the TV to change the channel and there was no Cartoon Network either! You could only get cartoons on Saturday Morning. Do you hear what I'm saying!?! We had to wait ALL WEEK for cartoons, you spoiled little rat-bastards!


And we didn't have microwaves, if we wanted to heat something up we had to use the stove or go build a frigging fire ..imagine that! If we wanted popcorn, we had to use that stupid Jiffy Pop thing and shake it over the stove forever like an idiot.


That's exactly what I'm talking about! You kids today have got it too easy. You're spoiled. You guys wouldn't have lasted five minutes back in 1980!


For everyone who was interested in the moth food from the post below.....here is the recipe, per my 8 year old son:
"Take overripe fruit and smash it all up. Put lots of sugar and some fruit juice in it and mix it all together."
I have not seen any moths eating it yet, just a couple of yellow jackets.....

Free Meal....stop here if you are a moth...

If you are a moth and are flying around in our area....stop off for a free meal. Look for the sign.


My son is a budding scientist and found this recipe for moth food in one of his science books. He lovingly created this yummy recipe and put it out in the front yard. He thought it would be a good idea to post a sign so the moths would know exactly where their food was. As we all know, moths are very intelligent here in California....it must be our incredible public schools system!!

Gourmet Dog Food

My dumb dog just ate some toilet paper, unused toilet paper. My first thought was, "at least he will be able to wipe his own butt when it comes out".

Just thought I would share....I am off to walk the dumb dog!!!

Fun Monday

Our wonderful hostess with the mostess this week is Olive and this is her assignment:





Hey, we are starting a new month and will be celebrating our Day of Independence soon in the US so let’s make the next FM a fun time. I would like to hear about your *whopper* of a fishing story. Yes, you heard it correctly whether it is fictional or non fictional I want to hear a fishing story from you. An example would be if you catch a minnow and tell it that you caught a swordfish (exaggeration is the operative word here). Did you hear me say show your photo(s)? Of course you did – be creative.

Many years ago, in a life far away (before we had children) we would spend one week out of every year living in a houseboat on Shasta Lake. During this week we would spend our time hiking, playing with our dog, swimming (if is wasn't too cold), reading, other unmentionables, and fishing. I am not what you could call a true fishing aficionado. I cannot bait my own hook with a live worm, they tense up and I am sure I am hurting them. I will not touch a fish, especially if it is alive. I do like sitting in a chair and doing nothing though, and since that is what most of your time spent fishing is like...well, I like that just fine when we are on vacation.

Now, Dave, on the other hand, does take a shine to fishing. He has all the accouterments needed, and desired, for the fishing experience. He will bait his own hook and he will even gut and clean any catch that is made. He is a true fisherman, but unfortunately there is one catch to this....he very rarely actually catches any fish. I, on the other hand, seem to catch fish on a regular basis, much to his chagrin.

Our trips usually start out with Dave chivalrously baiting my hooks, removing caught fish, basically doing all the dirty work. My only contribution is casting my pole and reeling in my catch. It soon becomes apparent that my lovely husband is becoming quite disgruntled. He soon refuses to bait my hook and I am left to torture the poor worm myself. Unfortunately, I am unable to do this so I resort to fishing with a lure.

Now, we are finally coming to the fishing story....are you still with me? The scene is set. We are on a houseboat on Shasta Lake. I am using a lure on my pole. Dave has not caught a fish yet.

I am slowly casting and reeling in my pole. The fisher woman that I am....I am standing up and have the tip of my pole pointed directly at the water and slowly, ever so slowly, I am reeling in. I pick off all the algae and grass from the bottom of the lake off my lure and cast out again....and the process repeats itself. Dave is watching me, shaking his head...."you are never going to catch a fish that way"....I look at him and say "watch me".

My line goes taut. "Ha, you caught a snag", Dave says. This is no ordinary snag. I begin to reel in....I have caught a fish.....a big one. Dave is incredulous. I keep reeling and to both our utter amazement I have caught a huge catfish. I bring it onto the boat and the fish falls off the hook. He was barely hooked and I caught him using a lure. I smugly look at Dave, he is standing there with his mouth agape. Meanwhile the fish is flopping all over the deck of the boat.

Picture....we need a picture of this. Dave insists that I hold my prize for a picture. No way am I touching this huge prehistoric creature...and it smells. I have a wonderful idea. I will lean over and point to it while Dave takes the picture. I calmly lean over, with a huge smile on my face, and point to the creature while Dave readies the camera. I need to get a bit closer, he tells me. Luckily the fish has stopped his break dancing on the deck and I feel safe inching my way towards him. I lean ever closer with my finger pointing. I am inches away when suddenly he decides he is not done dancing and flops and writhes in my direction. I immediately scream and run through the door into the houseboat. There was one problem though. The screen door was not open. I ran into the screen door, plop...it went down....I kept running...totally oblivious. I ran the length of the boat before I stopped and turned around. Dave was bent double in laughter on the deck...the fish...he was done dancing.

The fish I named Herbert and he made a nice dinner the following night....running through the screen door is something Dave will never let me forget!!!!

The following pictures were taken last year. We rented a houseboat with our friends and had a great time. The fish Michael is holding he caught at 3:00 in the morning. That was the first and last night I allowed poles to be left in the water all night!!! Herbert was much bigger that Michael's fish!!

Now head on over to Olive's for more fish stories....