Octuplets - Now that I've heard the details....

Ok, now that I've heard the details about the newest octuplets... I have to say I think it is horrible that doctors would have implanted 8 embryos into any woman. I think implanting that many is wrong, wrong, wrong! It is just not natural or normal for a woman to give birth to 8 babies. Even if the doctor had explained to the mother that she might have to decide whether or not to terminate some of them, if all of them took, I still think it is ethically wrong. I think it makes a lot more sense to implant only 2 or 3. What do you think?

"Bacon Explosion: The BBQ Sausage Recipe of all Recipes"

I can not believe that the bacon explosion is still in the news - it must be yummy! When I have reached my goal weight, which is only 14 pounds away, I think it will be the first thing I eat!

I did check out the recipe the other day. It looks pretty simple to make:
Weave bacon into tight lattice, cover with bulk sausage, sprinkle on your favorite BBQ rub, add cooked, chopped bacon (soft or crunchy) and your favorite BBQ sauce. Tightly roll, add a little rub to the outside and place in smoker for 2 1/2 hours. When done, baste entire bacon explosion with BBQ sauce. Can't wait to try it. http://www.bbqaddicts.com/blog/recipes/bacon-explosion/

According to Chris Cuomo on GMA this morning, anything you eat on Superbowl Sunday is only half the calories :-) With this at 5000 calories and 500 grams of fat (and cutting it into 10 slices), I will still have to wait until I've reached my goal weight. Darn!

Bacon Explosion

It might be time to switch to the Atkins diet. (I'm posting on this blog rather than my diet blog to save anyone who might be on a low-calorie diet from wanting to eat this.) The "Bacon Explosion", which seems to be the recipe of the day, looks very yummy. Click here to see it: BBQ Addict's Blog Be prepared to want a slice after checking it out.

Of course it must have a gazillion calories in it so it won't work on a low-calorie diet. Hmmmm....we'll see what the scale says on Monday....I might be saying "Atkins here I come."

Oh ya....

Almost forgot to mention....It's my birthday today....I'm 39 again!

"Wicked" Winter Weather

It seems that only in New Hampshire (or New England) would you see on your local news (WMUR) station "Wicked Winter Weather". I always get a "look" when I am traveling outside the area and use "wicked" in my vocabulary. Of course we use it here in NH as a positive adjective, not just a negative as in the Wicked Witch of the West.

It is 12:15 pm right now and we only have a winter snow warning right now. From what I'm hearing it will probably turn into a snow emergency before long. It's expected to fall at a rate of 1 1/2 to 2 inches per hour. YIKES!!! I don't know about you, but I think the ice and snow should be finished for this winter by Groundhog Day. Don't quite think it will work out that way though.

Today in the news....January 27, 2009

The most disturbing thing I've seen in the news so far today, was on GMA this morning. Click here for GMA article. The story of Julie Amero, the Norwich, Connecticut teacher who was forced to plead guilty to disorderly conduct and can not work in any classroom again. Amero checked her personal email on a school computer then went to the ladies room. When she came back, there were children looking at porn pop-ups on the screen. She was accused of surfing porn sites.

I have had this same thing happen on at least two occasions. I don't remember what type of sites they were, but they were probably porn. When those pop-ups occur, trying to click the X to get rid of them only seems to cause more to pop up. The only fix I've ever found for this problem is to hold in the power button as quickly as possible until the computer powers down.

I'm not a computer expert by any means, but along with my firewall and pop-up blocker, I run anti-spyware and anti-virus software. It seems to me that the Kelly Middle School in Norwich is directly to blame for what happened to her and these children for not having an adequate firewall and pop-up blocker. Another fix could have been to run anti-spyware on their computers.

Why didn't any of those Kelly Middle School parents come to her aid? Like Julie said, "If it can happen to me it can certainly happen to you." And oh, ya, isn't this the same state that allowed Pfizer to take many people's homes by eminent domain? This is not a state I'd feel comfortable living in.

On a lighter note...Congrats to the parents of the octuplets that were born yesterday in southern California! I can't quite imagine what it would be like to have to take care of EIGHT babies all at once!

Wow, can you believe it has actually been almost 5 years (February 1, 2004) since the Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction during Superbowl halftime? It seems like it was just yesterday!

2009 SAG award best and worst dressed

I decided a long time ago that I would try to keep my blogs towards the positive side. This is an impossible thing to do today after checking out the SAG award photos. Lots and lots of "worst dressed", in fact, too many to mention...I stopped keeping track after finding 9 hideous gowns in just a couple of minutes.

Of the photos I found, I think Ann Hathaway and Penelope Cruz tied for having the classiest dresses while Marcia Cross and Teri Hatcher (and maybe Paula Abdul) tied for the most hideous (I haven't seen all the photos yet, so I could be wrong).

Tina Fey looked lovely in a short dress with coordinating shoes and purse. Thanks Tina, for not committing a fashion crime with your shoes and purse (shoes and purses should disappear rather than jump out).

...and when is someone going to stand up to and tell these designers that women are not supposed to need to lift their dresses when walking to avoid tripping over them? Naturally, it is a great way to sell more dresses. It would be much too obvious that we are wearing last years model if the hem is too short. I've included a picture (above on the left) of myself taken last year at a party in a gown that is the proper length. As you can see, it just hits my instep. I refuse to give in to their marketing ploy...you'll continue to see me in this length gown!

Marina Franklin

Occasionally I like to check the Google trends to see what people are talking about. This morning, I saw Drunken Negro Head Cookies as number one and Marina Franklin listed as number two. I couldn't figure out why "marina franklin" was being Googled or if this relates to Marina Franklin the comedian or a marina in Franklin somewhere. I checked out the comedian, Marina Franklin, on youtube and was very impressed. Check her out!

Happy Chinese New Year

Happy Chinese New Year!

Good Morning America, Governor Rod Blagojevich

I have been a longtime fan of GMA.... but today I must say...Shame on you Diane Sawyer!

I could not have been more disappointed with Diane Sawyer this morning at her rudeness towards the Illinois Governor, Rod Blagojevich. In about a minute she must have interrupted him at least 4 times. Whether he is guilty or innocent of the charges of attempting to sell a senate seat, he deserves respect. Actually, now that I think about it, I'm not so sure he was able to finish more than a sentence or two. It must have been very frustrating for him.

Inaugural Ball, Michelle Obama's Dress

I must say I was a little surprised to see the dress Michelle Obama wore to the Inaugural Ball. Not that it was not nice or pretty, but it did not suit her. It was a little too foofy (not sure if that word really exists, but you get the picture) for her personality. Sleek, classy and stream-lined would have suited her much better. Maybe a winter white might have been more appropriate than a stark white.

It was also too long; she must have needed to lift it, when she walked. Beyonce's dress was also too long. Who wants a style you can't walk in?

Someone, that I thought was an expert, told me to hem a bridesmaid's gown just above the heel because that would be the correct length. I did hear about my bad hemming job from the bridesmaid; she was tripping over it all night long. I later learned gowns should be hemmed to just hit the instep.

And why didn't Mrs. Obama have gold/yellow leather gloves (instead of green) to match that beautiful, classy, a-little-flashy-for-daytime-except-she-is-the-first-lady-outfit that she wore for the swearing in? It seems there just are no rules any more when it comes to fashion.

Flight 1549 - The Miracle on the Hudson

I know this is really becoming old news. I was listening to WZID this morning and heard there was talk about a US Airways Flight 1549 movie and I heard the name Tom Cruise. The DJ (Tracy Caruso, I think) said she hated to always hear news about a movie so soon on something like this.

Personally, I would love to see a movie done about this flight. It would be nice to be able to see (from a movie goers perspective) what it was like to be on that airplane, how all those passengers were able to keep it together and how they helped each other. Of course it helps to know that it was a happy outcome - if it had not been, it would not be a movie I would want to see. I hope if a movie is done, it will be very realistic.

It really makes me wonder how people could keep it together during something like this, yet a Wal-Mart worker can be trampled to death as shoppers rush to save a dollar. My condolences to that family of that tragic event.

Robin Givhan, Michelle Obama's clothing choices

Robin Givhan is a Pulitzer prize winning fashion editor for the Washington Post. I wish I had been available for her Q & A today regarding Michelle Obama's clothing choices. I read most of them and must disagree with most of her answers. I posted this comment:

I wrote:

I think Michelle Obama is a beautiful, classy woman. Her designers should take this into consideration when “dressing” her. Her yellow/gold outfit was stunning for the swearing in, but what a fashion faux pas those green gloves were. (I gasped the second I saw them.) Green shoes would have been as big of a fashion faux pas (I didn’t happen to see her shoes).

The white dress was also beautiful, but not for Mrs. Obama. I’m in the custom window treatment business. It is my job to help match the style of a curtain to the style of a person. I would never recommend a Priscilla curtain for someone whose style would be the clean lines of a traditional Roman shade. This is what happened to Mrs. Obama. She wore a “Priscilla” instead of a “Roman shade”. And I agree she should not have had to worry about tripping over her dress or about her husband dancing on it (which he did) – train or no train.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/community/mypost/index.html?newspaperUserId=LydiaBlogg&plckUserId=LydiaBlogg

Scoot Coupe

Oh my gosh! I just heard about the Scoot Coupe and I want one! I guess living in New Hampshire it would not do me any good for the winter, but what a fun summer "car". I say "car" even though it really is a scooter. It's a scooter that looks like a car. Well, living in the sticks, it might not make the best transportation, but I can just imagine heading to the beach on a hot summer day in one of these. It only goes 45 MPH, but it gets an average of 60 - 70 MPG from what I'm finding online. It only seats two people, but what more would you want in a scooter?

A link to Scoot Coupe on the Ellen Show.

John Harrington's Sunday Column

Right next to the "tufted titmice" article that I read on Sunday in the New Hampshire Sunday News, was John Harrigan's column. I don't read his column very often (I'm not much of a hunter/fisherwoman), although when I do read it, I usually enjoy it.

In this column, entitled "Night tracks and day thoughts", John asks where do we get off judging one species as "good" and another as "bad"..? You might have to read his article to understand my post, but in a nutshell, he defends the fisher cat and fox and wants to know why people want to feed the cute deer (although that is never recommended) but not the other animals that work so hard to stay alive (like the fischer and fox).

Well I think I can answer that one...It's really quite simple....the "bad" ones are the ones we fear. I've never heard of a rabid deer biting some unsuspecting person, while I have heard of rabid foxes sneaking up on someone and biting them. It seems we hear about that just about every year. A deer has never woken me up in the middle of the night either, even though they walk right up to my bedroom window to nibble on my evergreen bushes. I wish they would stop nibbling and eat them; I'm looking for a reason to pull them out. However, a fisher cat (at least I think it was a fisher cat) was outside in my yard last year in the middle of the night. It made enough noise that I thought I was at a football game. I can't even explain the sound I heard. The next day, I looked up information, on the Internet of course, and was surprised when I saw their teeth! I would not want to meet one of these in the middle of the night (or daytime for that matter). I think we dub the good species the ones we are not afraid of and the bad ones are the ones we fear.

Which brings me to bees....I personally think we should annihilate all bees. Well, maybe not honey bees or bumble bees. Okay, maybe only yellow jackets. Do yellow jackets really have a purpose? I'm hoping someone out there can tell me what might have dug up this yellow jacket nest in my yard...


We discovered this hole on October 26, 2008. The weather had been a little cold and there were yellow jackets crawling around the bottom. It seemed they were "sleepy" from the cool temperatures. The hole was quite large; maybe 12 inches wide and 8 to 10 inches deep.

I'd like to personally thank whatever creature dug this up. Well maybe I could just leave a thank you note in the area in case it was a bear or a skunk... I'm very glad that I, or another member of my family, did not happen to find it last summer. If one of us had stepped on it, I think the consequences could have been quite severe.

And by the way, I do not have a fear of bees. I only have a fear of being stung by bees.

Pet Peeves - Have Got

"Have got" or "has got" has to be one of my biggest pet peeves. It drives me crazy to hear it and see it in print. It seems that these two words are being used together more and more. I have never seen these two words used together when "got" can't be removed without anyone even noticing. If you can find a sentence with "have got" that the got is necessary to the sentence, please send it to me.

Tufted Titmouse (not Tufted Titmice)

I just read an article in yesterday's New Hampshire Sunday News about birds that dare to stay in New Hampshire for the winter, like most of us tough Yankees, rather than go to Florida . The article mentions several different birds including the "tufted titmouse". It then mentions "titmice". Is there really a bird called titmice, as in "tufted titmice"? If we try to turn the "mouse" portion of titmouse into mice to make it plural, aren't we then changing the type of bird?

New Thin Water Bottles

I don't know about the rest of you, but I can't stand the new, thin water bottles. More than once I've tried to open them and had water spurt all over me! I went out to Wendy's for lunch the other day with a friend of mine. Neither of us could open our water bottles. We were able to get them cracked open so that the water spurted out, but could not get the top to unscrew the rest of the way to get the top off. I actually had to go ask someone to open them.

The Miracle on the Hudson

I am still just stunned at the "Miracle on the Hudson" as Mayor Bloomberg called it and the wonderful outcome of US Airways Flight #1549 . I'm not one who loves to fly, so I can just imagine the trauma that these people had to endure even with such a great outcome. How did they keep it together and not panic?

Purchasing US Garlic

For years I've been purchasing garlic (without any hair on the bottom) at those warehouse clubs at a very good price. I happened to be watching a tv show about garlic that is grown in California. I was quite surprised to find out that the garlic with the "hair" on the bottom comes from California and the one without the hair comes from China. Since I saw that show, I've been purchasing the one with the hair.

Pet Peeves - A group is singular not plural

It is one of my pet peeves to hear people refer to a group as if it is plural. We wouldn't say a group "are" plural. A group is always singular unless you are talking about the individual members of the group. Would you say, "A group are plural?"

Dictionary - Fracquaintance

I have not been able to find a word for someone who is more than an acquaintance but less than a friend. My new word "fracquaintance" will have to do.

the ellen degeneres show - D.L.Hughley on Ellen, December 2, 2008

Electing a black president...

One of the funniest things I've heard in a long time, was on the Ellen DeGeneres tv show. Ellen's guest was Comedian D.L. Hughley about the election. He said, "You know you are a bad president when you are replaced by a black man." Of course only a black person could get away with saying that. Whether you are a Republican or a Democrat, you have to admit it's funny. If Larry the Cable Guy was listening, he certainly would have said, "I don't care who you are, now THAT was funny".

It makes me feel good to know that as a society, we are not racist.

US Airways Flight 1549

Most of you have probably already seen the news about US Airways Flight 1549 that was crash landed in the Hudson River. Kudos to the pilots and crew! It is amazing that the pilots were able to land this Airbus A-320 with the fuselage intact! and that the crew was able to get all 150 passengers out safely.

I hope the next plane trip I take, I get this same crew!!!

Tina Fey - dianefan, cougar-lover, BabsonLaCrosse

Anyone know the web addresses for the blogs...dianefan...Cougar-Lover...BabsonLaCrosse? I've had no luck finding them. Apparently, there is too much news on them right now. I would love to read their blogs to see what all the fuss is about.

Bonnie Hunt show - January 8th Coffee

I am becoming more and more of a germaphobic these days! I can not get one of the subjects that Bonnie was talking about on the January 8th show, out of my mind; it is still disturbing me. She said she takes the top off her store-bought coffee and rinses (with hot coffee) the part of the lid that you drink from. She talked about how annoying it is that those coffee-shop employees stink up the place with perfumes and use perfumed hand creams. I had never before thought about how the lid got onto the coffee cup and that the employee's hands would be placed completely over my lid! (I'm in the sticks and use the drive-through so I don't see those hands completely enveloping my coffee lid.) Now I have one more thing to be germaphobic about. Thanks a lot Bonnie.

I have a good fix, though. I'm going to keep disposable, washed coffee cup covers in all sizes, in my car in a Ziploc-type bag. I'll take off the cover from the new coffee, keep that one to wash for the next coffee, and put a new, clean one from my bag! Wa-la!

Ellen - the ellen degeneres show and the Bonnie Hunt Show

I have determined today that I would get absolutely nothing done if I were to keep the television tuned in to Ellen Degeneres and Bonnie Hunt each morning. It's bad enough that I tend to keep GMA on until 9:00 am.

Bonnie Hunt Show - Tony Shalhoub OCD

I hope you were able to see Tony Shalhoub on the Bonnie Hunt Show today. I love Tony Shalhoub and I love his character, Monk. He's great! I know I have a little OCD in me, but I think we all have at least a little in us.

Two things he mentioned -- First, he mentioned that one year he would like to not make any New Year's Resolutions. That has worked for me for my whole life. It takes the pressure off. Although this year, I feel I've made my first, since I am determined (I think) to lose weight and look decent (notice I didn't say good) in a bathing suit. I guess my expectations are a little low on the bathing suit thing.

Second, he mentioned menus - Tony mentioned that he's had a terrible revelation about menus. He didn't think anyone ever cleaned them. I'm with you on that, Tony, but you also mentioned that everything around them was clean, the silverware, etc. I can't even tell you how many times I've had the menu placed on those clean silverware! or placed on a plate. YUK! One of my biggest pet peeves -- menus on flatware / plates!

Love the shipoopy, but don't have any dogs anymore! Bichon Frises and Golden Retrievers were my preferred breeds. If anyone ever crosses those two, I'll be first in line.

Anyone know what those witch hazel wipes were that Bonnie mentioned?

Andy Rooney EAT MORE FRUIT April 13, 2008

I have always loved Andy Rooney. Up until now anyway. (Okay, I still probably love him, I'm just annoyed.) When I happened to see him April 13, 2008 EAT MORE FRUIT I became very disturbed to think he didn't really know that a tomato is a fruit! Cucumbers, summer squash, winter squash and green peppers are fruits, also! How could he have called a tomato a vegetable!!!

I think people have been accustomed to labeling fruits/vegetables by where they are in the supermarket or by their color, or what we use them for. If it goes in a tossed salad, it must be a vegetable...or not! I think the brighter the color, the better the chance of people calling it a fruit.

A fruit is easy to distinguish from a vegetable. A flower will turn into a fruit and therefore the seeds will be inside. A vegetable will have flowers that turn into seeds. The key is, where are the seeds in relation to what we eat. If they are inside what we eat, it is a fruit. If the seeds are outside or separate from what we eat, it is a vegetable. I know rambling.....

On the issue of labels on my fruits/vegetables...I love them when I'm in the checkout so that no one has to look up what I'm buying, but I hate them when I get home and have to take them off!

Words that seem similiar with VERY different meanings

My definitions:
Philanderer - someone who is not loyal to their wife.

Philanthropist practices philanthropy or goodwill.

It took me many years to remember which was which. Thankfully I was smart enough to never use either of these words in public. I know the difference, but would probably still avoid these too words -- they are just too similar!