Food for thought

Howdy Ho!

I can't believe you still check my blog page. I have been so busy not posting updates for the last few months...you must really be bored!

I hope to get into more of a regular groove after the holidays are over and life returns to "normal." In the meantime, THANKS FOR DROPPING BY!

Santa Sighted!

Now you can see the real-time goings-on at Santa's Headquarters in the Arctic Circle, by way of Santa Cam!

Thanks

for checking my blog, although I haven't posted anything new since August. I've been a tad busy...I'll post some new stuff when I can get some photos downloaded.

Is anybody still out there?

As you know I've been a tad busy lately. You know, the whole uproot-and-replant thing. I'll post some pictures for you when I have some spare time.





HA!

The boys this summer

Guess what time it is?

I picked these today. There's LOTS more where they came from...

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

If you're a Harry Potter nerd like I am, I'm sure you've heard about the plans to open a Harry Potter theme park. Sounds like so much fun! Maybe by "late 2009," which is when it's supposed to open, I will have been able to save up enough to afford the trip. Just think--Colt will be 6, Cody will be 10, and Chet will be 12. Whoah. Is that really just 2 years away?



Looks cool, dunnit? How are they gonna have snow all over "Hogsmeade" in Orlando? How weird will that be, walking around in 100-degree weather among all the "snowy" streets?



By the way, book 7 is coming out in just about a month. If you start now, you'll have time to reread some of the previous books to get back in the groove. I cannot wait.

Here's a "who said it?" Harry Potter quotes game. Some are easy, some are challenging. How much do you remember?

A miracle product!

I don't know the story about the above "Diet Water," but there's a new product called "Skinny Water" that contains an "all-natural ingredient" called "Super CitriMax." Supposedly, drinking "Skinny Water" 30-60 minutes before each meal helps suppress the body's appetite, increase metabolism, and block carbohydrate absorption. Or could it just fill up your stomach and make you feel less hungry, make your body work better, and help flush out unneeded carbs, like all water?


It's being called a "diet drink" and is to be sold at participating 7-Eleven stores across the USA. The specially-formulated water is actually manufactured and bottled by a company located in Croatia. They pump the water from an artesian well located below their plant.

I found this at StrangeNewProducts.com, which is a pretty interesting site. Check it out!

And have you ever noticed that "Evian" is "naive" spelled backward?

Coolness in the Animal Kingdom

Scientists in Suriname have discovered 24 new species in the rainforest, including this black-and-bright-purple frog. Go to the website for a slideshow. Warning: snake and bug alert.



How cute is this baby stingray? I know it's not fair, but the first thing I thought when I saw it was, "You bastards killed Steve Irwin!"



This cool website has beautiful pictures of color palettes found in butterflies. God is the ultimate artist.



Did you know that mice can sing? Researchers found that male mice respond to female scent by making inaudible (to humans) sounds believed to attract mates. So what does it sound like? Hear it here, and here, and here. Can't you just picture the she-mice throwing their little mouse panties at that Tom(mouse) Jones up there?

Will it work?

Have you heard about this? Some guys have started an online petition to try and persuade Nike to manufacture the futuristic shoes Marty McFly wore in "Back to the Future 2." Would you wear them? You'll look ultra cool while on your hoverboard.

In lieu of a real post

...something pretty to look at.

Isn't It Ironic?

I found this article at Neatorama, a website I visit almost every day. It was reprinted there but originally came from the writers of "Uncle John's Bathroom Reader".


IRONIC DEATHS

FELIX POWELL, music composer

Story: Powell, then a British staff sargeant, wrote the music for "Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit Bag and Smile, Smile, Smile" in 1915 and entered it in a World War I competition for best morale-building song. The ditty won first prize and has been called "perhaps the most optimistic song ever written."

Final Irony: Powell committed suicide in 1942.



NIC MARCURA, a Yugoslavian farmer

Story: Sensing that his own end was near, Marcura set to work digging his own grave.

Final Irony: According to news reports, "in a sudden cloudburst, water began to fill up the hole. Marcura tried to bail it out with a bucket, slipped in and drowned."



ALBEN BARKLEY, former U.S. vice president

Story: On April 30, 1956, Barkley delivered a speech at a mock political convention at Washington and Lee University.

Final Irony: Moments after declaring to his audience, "I would rather sit at the feet of the Lord than dwell in the house of the mighty," Barkley keeled over and died.



FRIEDRICH RIESFELDT, a zookeeper in Paderborn, Germany

Story: When his elephant Stefan became constipated, Riesfeldt fed it 22 doses of animal laxative … and when that didn’t work, fed it more than a bushel of high-fiber berries, figs, and prunes. Still no luck.

Final Irony: The frustrated zookeeper then gave Stefan an olive-oil enema. That did it. According to one account, the elephant suddently released approximately 200 pounds of manure, killing Riesfeldt. "The sheer force of the elephant’s unexpected defecation knocked Mr. Riesfeldt to the ground, where he struck his head on a rock and lay unconscious as the elephant continued to evacuate his bowels on top of him," police detective Erik Dern explained. "With no one there to help him, he lay under all that dung for at least an hour and suffocated." (Although this story was widely reported in the press, it may just be an urban legend. What makes it so questionable? Sounds like a lot of dung.)



GEORGE STORY, Life magazine’s "Life Baby"

Story: In 1936, the premiere issue of Life magazine featured a picture of newborn baby George Story. The headline: "Life Begins." Over the years, the magazine periodically updated readers on the progress of Story’s life as he married twice, had children, and retired.

Final Irony: Less than a week after Life announced it was folding, Story died from heart failure. The final issue of Life featured one last article on Story. The headline: "A Life Ends."



MYRA DAVIS, Janet Leigh’s body double in the film Psycho

Story: Davis was Leigh’s stand-in, she was one of several people who provided the voice of Norman Bates’s mother, and it was her hand that was seen in the famous shower scene in which Leigh’s character is stabbed to death.

Final Irony: On July 3, 1988, Davis was found strangled in her Los Angeles home, murdered by a 31-year-old "caretaker and handyman" … just like the character portrayed by Anthony Perkins in Psycho.



BOBBY LEACH, a professional daredevil

Story: In 1911, Leach, who made his living risking his life, went over Niagara Falls in a barrel. He survived the attempt.

Final Irony: Fifteen years later, in 1926, Leach slipped on an orange peel … and died from injuries sustained in the fall.



JOHANN UNDERWALD, a Swiss mathematician

Story: Underwald, one of the brightest stars in his field, was described by his peers as "the next Albert Einstein."

Final Irony: Underwald died in October 1999. Cause of death: mathematical error - Underwald "made a 250-foot bungee jump with a 300-foot bungee cord, and died immediately on impact."



Go here if you want to examine each of the "ironic" situations in Alanis Morrsette's song "Ironic." Or not.

puppy cuteness

The pups are getting cuter every day!


We brought them inside a couple of nights ago during a really bad storm.


They didn't cause any trouble (except the one who had gone exploring and got lost during the night).


Dixie, however, was a different story. Have I ever mentioned that she was never house trained?


Yeah. Not fun.


But the best part about them being inside was the fact that Dexter was able to spend some Daddy time with the pups.


For whatever reason, Dixie allowed him to be around them as much as he wanted while they were inside.


He tried to play with them, but they're not quite able to hang yet.


They are extremely snuggly.

I also like smart-alec slogans paired with old-school illustrations

The proud parents

I like coffee.

Especially when there's lots of Splenda, cream, and chocolate in it. Next time you're over here, ask my husband to make you a Kirkaccino. Mmmm.

I dunno...

According to an article in the New York Times, one of the hottest snack foods among Southern black kids is Kool-Aid pickles. They're made by soaking dill pickles in double-strong Kool-Aid for a week in the refrigerator. I am not making this up. Read it for yourself.

I can't say I'm too surprised, really. I know how popular pickles are, and when I was in school some (black) kids used to bring dry Kool-Aid mix and sugar and eat it as a snack. I have noticed, too, that "African-American" people tend to drink fruit-flavored drinks instead of Cokes. Notice for yourself the next time you're at Burger King or a convenience store.

Who knows, they might be good. I know I like sweet pickles, and I've had pickles flavored with cinnamon red-hots, and they're awesome. But fruit punch pickles? I'm just not sure. What do you think? Imagine a lemonade dill pickle. Hmm...

My summer home

Growing puppies

Their eyes still aren't open, but they are already trying to walk (the bigger ones, at least). Dixie has moved them twice, and now they're in a box on our patio. That won't last long, though, because they're getting so big. They have that "new puppy smell," too. I just love that! Come and see them (and us) when you can.