Sunday, October 31, 2010

BOO!

Now that we got that out of the way, what can I say?
How many of you out there are going trick or treating?
Or should I ask going to a Halloween party?
Or taking your children or grandkids out for their little sweet fix for the year?

I can hear you all, but please folks stop talking all at once!
One at a time please.

Halloween is a time for families with small children to go out together into their neighborhood and see which neighbor spends the most on the really good stuff, and to note it, write it down specifically which house and what kind of candy for next year.
Kidding! Well, maybe not, but I won’t tell…
But to be serious it is the best time of year to get closer with those little rag-a-muffin kidlings that reside in your home 365 days each and every year until hopefully they turn eighteen and go to college or get a job or move in with their significant other… sorry! I get carried away sometimes…!
Teaching your offspring to say trick or treat while opening their candy bag, one that should be the size of a king size pillow case, by the by, for sharing purposes of course with Mom and Dad and Granny and Pop-pop!

Now, this is important so listen carefully: do not allow those kiddies to taste any of their bounty until you go through all of it once safe at home; you hear me? (I am yelling loudly!)

Some hospitals do still X-ray the candy to protect the chillums from razor blades or other horrendous things too scary for anyone to think about that some nut may have put in it to who knows why, but they are definitely crazy as jailbirds!
That makes me so angry, now why would anyone do such a thing?
Isn’t that why the almighty took upon him/her self to make people to make X-Ray machines, now I ask you?
Any-who…
Costumes, sorry I forgot to tell you that small children should wear make-up not masks since masks can cause them not to see where they are going, for that matter neither should older children wear them; why? I will tell you why… they can fall over their eyes too and not allow them to see where they want to go!
That does it, no masks for anyone!
Make-up for all children and costumes that are not too long or cumbersome since they can cause a small child to trip into traffic and then OMG, they could get hurt or worse dare I say end up in the hospital because some drunken parent might not see them wandering around in the street with a large group with their flashlight down towards the ground! Same should go for the elder child with my same reasoning.
And hold those torches high and strait ahead! (Author’s note, for people who don’t know what a torch is: it is the UK equivalent to a flashlight, got it?)

I don’t want to hear that any children were harmed in anyway during this joyous occasion, and so all now go out and have the time of your lives with care and the loving concern of dear Auntie Tobi.

Happy night to all you little gremlins and bigger ones and do what you were made by the almighty to do, have a HELL OF A GOOD TIME TONIGHT!

And count all those blessings the lot of you and share those overages and we will too!

Next time be here or be square, OK?

And don’t forget to share some of that bounty too… this way the elders will be able to keep up with you all as you bounce from one wall to the other! LOL!

Saturday, October 30, 2010

CRASH!

Yes, we crashed, not really ‘we’ per se but our computer here.
You see, we have an old one that I was really sure was a goner again… yep again we just went through this last October, aha!
Ghosty and Gobbling time of the year with tricks and or treats included, hmm?
Odd how the last time was around this time too, how truly amazing… or perhaps just coincidence I ask you? Nah…

The reasoning I had for the finale accompanied by perhaps low smooth sweet sounding taps… to be played for dear sweet Cornelia Computeris here for her final demise was because she wouldn’t even come around when I administered artificial restoration to her I applied the disc for just such times. Sadly she sputtered and it appeared all was going to be well but then she froze up even more so with her fear of heading into the world of online-ism.
Yep, just at that point of no return, when I thought she was coming around she paused, but for longer than a normal pregnant one… it was an extraordinary one that lasted for more time than I would like to believe any computer could have and still have any life within her!
I desired to begin again but once I was there in that midst of her freezing; I too froze with not knowing what could have been done to change the outcome, which appeared to be not at all good or happy!
Hubby then awoke in time for me to explain the dire situation and I mentioned how I felt that if I had chosen a different step instead of the one I had chosen that things may have gone completely differently, and we would be all happy and carefree and moving on!
But alas I had chosen unwisely and Cornelia Computeris was suffering those consequences of my mistake.
If only… I felt that I could undo what had been done?

Hubby stepped up to plate, i.e. computer chair, and took over….MY HERO!
He resuscitated her by restoring her by getting her unfrozen and went back and chose what I should have had! Got that?

And all the while unbeknownst to me at the time…since embarrassingly I was checking into her replacement, how truly awful I feel so ashamed…
Thank goodness for Hubby since I found Cornelia to be replaced would take a small fortune just for her spare parts!
And you know me then I would worry what about this or that…
Thanks to the man in my life all is well…


THE END! XXXXOOOOO
To all those other helpful Hubbys, wives and or significant others out there hooray to you all!

Any-who tonight is the night before All Hallows Eve, mischief night or cabbage night as we used to call it, but perhaps the idea of mischief, has been taken way too far.
And many take it to its limits.
It used to be a soap up some car windows that could be washed off later or TP, toilet papering some trees around somebody’s home, or if really nasty throwing out some bad stinky eggs or lighting a bag of dog poop on somebody’s stoop…
Gosh we used to have so much fun as kids!
Nah, not me, who me?
I would never do that… soap maybe, but the other stuff no way!
Chicken was my middle name.

Used to love anything that had to do with the holidays since they always brought out the kid in me.
And that’s why this upcoming season is not only a time to be with friends and loved ones it kicks off the memories of childhood that we all adored.
So just as Memorial Day kicks off the summer Halloween kicks off the fall and season of family get-togethers so let me be the first to wish you all the best of the season.
And even if family’s compositions have changed over the years and time and distance has taken its toll always try and remember the child in your soul at this time of year and love, eat and pray with gusto and think only happy gleeful thoughts for all and beyond our own.

On that note of loving thy neighbor for eternity I will now ask you all to count those blessings and share those overages and we will too!

And next time please be here or be square, ok?

Friday, October 29, 2010

Financial responsibility, how about that?

How many people do you know out in the world that now has learned that it is important to be more money-wise?
I would think that somehow this time in all of our lives the horrors surrounding us has taught more than just a few how to manage their bank accounts and bills with maturity by realizing without a roof over their heads, electric, water and phones that life would NOT be the same, and so we all took that assertion to pay all necessities first! Although, we always did; it’s just how I roll, sorry!
Oddly enough we had been one of the few that we heard about who had the dumb luck out of necessity of having scaled down before all this crummy stuff occurred.
Twelve years ago when I knew that my physical problems were not going away anytime soon we moved into this little home of ours, and of course we saw its potential and were fortunate to have had the ability at the time to begin the renovations and as most of you know Hurricane Charley helped us finish it all differently but with a new beginning on a old home built in 1958! Our cute two /two with garage, workshop on a saltwater canal lot with a pool, docks, covered patio and fish pond too, not to mention sheds that match our cute little stucco cottage in Navajo beige!
As I said dumb luck, well not totally being hit by a hurricane is no luck at all but you get the point.
Fortunately, we were insured on our home, our year old new boat, and three year old car at the time and so all was fine after.
The car oddly enough was in the garage when Charley hit and had hardly any damage, not enough to claim anyway. But our home was destroyed and had over eighty thousand, and our year old boat had forty-five hundred dollars in damage according to the insurance appraiser who was here within days, much faster than the homeowner’s insurance guy who came after six weeks and spent two days driving us crazy even though I was smart enough to have taken before and after pictures, and I recommend them highly to anyone who lives in any natural disaster area of the world! As they say a picture is worth a thousand words, and it was true.

Today was our electronic receiving of my Hubby’s pension, Social Security comes next week. This month, November, was a tight month coming up, since our car insurance and also our registrations for the car, boat and trailer were all due too besides our regular bills!
And so last month I made sure to try and save for these things and we cut back on some of our usual entertainment of eating out and wine consumption and with Hubby also not smoking now it wasn’t too difficult and I am proud to say that all bills due this coming month have been paid! What a feeling of peace of mind. And Hubby with monies left over for the month from this check and more coming with the other we felt confident that we had a green light to buy a couple of bottles of wine for the weekend!
I will be needing to start saving again though since our homeowners and flood insurance may be going up we think because the insurance company has requested a ten per cent increase, not to mention that our taxes went up although the value of our home went down; now does that sound fair? But that won’t be until this coming December, I know the holidays…
I do know that it is not that unusual about our home’s value going the wrong way, because I have been told that it has been happening all over the country!
And doesn’t all misery love company?
Nah, that’s a fallacy!
Whoever said that was not chronically or critically ill or in financial straits I bet!
Ask anyone if they would want someone to be in their same position as the above mentioned and realistically no one would!

On that voice of compassion I will bid you all a very happy good night and ask you to please count all your blessings and share those overages and we will too!

And please next time be here or be square, OK?

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Miraculous!

Some one actually felt that a new discovery was worthy of that expletive!
And dang would you like to know what they were referring to?
I hear you!
Not so loud please…
Yes, I will tell you but you must get ready because this will boggle your mind…. are you truly up for it and really ready?
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
TUBELESS TOILET PAPER!
YEP the Scott company has made this new product another overwhelming realization in this oh so GREEN WORLD!
This miraculous product proves when you are all done, you are all done!
No, unsightly cardboard tube to have to think about, no recycling necessary since when you’re done with everything you are done with everything!
Yes, everything has been flushed and so nothing there at the end.
Got that?

Gosh, with that exclamation one would have thought that they finally found the cure for cancer or some other worthwhile discovery, not to say that this is not worthwhile, but miraculous?
Eh, perhaps some of us nay sayers would have laughed at Marconi, or Ford or Edison or Fulton or Madame Curie or Salk or any of the other inventors of things we now hold near and dear in our lives; one never knows does one?

I suppose to be fair this means one less item in the landfill?
This could eventually add up.
But think of all those hamsters without chew materials and youngins’ craft projects without those tubes for this or that…which could also stifle another small inventor’s ability to use their imagination!
This is an outrage!
I demand them, Scott to put them back!
Or I guess I can just change brands… Oh wait a minute I don’t have a hamster and I don’t have any youngins anymore…that metaphoric light bulb just went off, hooray!
One fewer thing to not feel guilty about not recycling, oops did I say that out loud, sorry, why I recycle everything that is recyclable!
I would never ever not do what I am told…wink, wink

Actually, as most of you all know not only do we recycle that we have two rain barrels and we also compost our kitchen waste and seasonally have a vegetable garden, I would definitely call us GREEN FREAKS! Or moderate greenies, huh?

Now I ask all of you out there would you make such a fuss over something as mundane as this.
I know that I was surprised with all the hullabaloo.
But as we all know one never knows what will set anyone off on a tangent expressing what makes them feel a certain way…
Geez, we are all so different in this world, but really the same, you know what I mean?
And you all know something?
This product is something we can all relate to.
Since we all use it.
And that is unifying, huh?
So an opinion about that said above necessity is rather underwhelming since there are so many choices out there if we don’t like one we can move on to another.
Why I can remember when that stuff we used was leaves or as rough as newspaper, or was that newspaper we used, how disgusting you say?
I told you before I was a camper.
And I have visited Europe but in the late 1960’s when a college student, ha!
And yep, that stuff was so rough we wrote home about it and actually Hubby’s Mom sent some softer stuff from overseas!
Yes, this is before we were in-laws.
I guess sometimes future mother-in-laws are not all those one liners, jokes that is!
But after marriage to her son… I guess I’ll leave that one alone since she is now elderly and senile… although, how would she know, Nah.

For any of you who thought that was mean I am truly sorry, but that is me, the one who speaks the truth and apparently sadly mean at times.

Any-who…toilet paper has a notable history and if anyone is at all interested you, should read more about it, just copy and paste this site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toilet_paper
Oh you thought I was kidding?
Not me. LOL!

On that rather educational noteworthy reference I will bid you all a very happy good night and to all count those blessings and share those overages and we will too!

And next time please be here or be square, OK?

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Being genuine...

This afternoon I was watching Oprah interview Academy Award Winning actress, author and exercise guru, Jane Fonda, and wow at seventy-two she is still a knock-out!
Interestingly enough she was talking about how she has learned in different segments of her life what is truly important.
I may be wrong with how she cut up the years in our lives into these specific time periods.
I believe she said the first is from 0-30, the next from 31 to 59 and the third from 60 to death.

Now she suggests that each moment in time was a preparation for her learning in the next period of time, I think?
She has two grown children, a boy and a girl and a couple of grandchildren as well.
Ms. Fonda has been married and divorced three times and is now involved once again in a loving relationship.
Geez, in the old days when I was in better health I would have thought that I would have ended up not that dissimilar to her in my desire to look like her in appearance, although she even admits to a bit of enhancement surgery for just her eyes and neck.
She admits to having had arthritis, probably osteoarthritis, since she needed joint replacement of her hips and knees; pounding from Aerobics can cause that.
She is still truly amazing!
And further still she exercises and dances nightly with her new love and even is taking a class at Arthur Murray’s chain of dance studios, unbelievable.
Oprah teased her about being on, “Dancing with The Stars”.
Jane Fonda is truly a woman to admire.

Unfortunately, there was only one thing that I took issue with was that her length of time it took for her to have a truly intimate relationship with someone she loved.
She admitted it is something she had recently acquired.
The fact that she is twelve years my senior it might very well be a generational thing, but she was so out there during the sixties with her liberal concepts and ideas this realization is almost shocking to me!
Someone who was so outspoken in her public life, but couldn’t be the same way in her private one, truly boggled my mind!
I was one of those outspoken people too, but my soapbox was tiny compared to hers.

And I would like to think that I never changed my behavior with my mindset with my loved ones who always knew how they stood with me and I hope they were just as honest with me too!
I carried that behavior into my marital relationship, which at times has created an exciting and never boring one, but I would like to think completely honest.
Consequently, we have been married for nearly forty years!
So either I just was lucky enough to get a guy, Hubby, to put up with all my boloney or as we tease that no one else would want us! And some may agree.

But seriously folks, I had a friend a few years ago who said, would you believe that her daughter and her intended, her boyfriends that she was engaged to never ever argue, and I said well that is really great and she said, now get this… she said it was because I told her NOT to!
And that she should be nice and agreeable and when they get married then she can disagree with him.
I said what?
Who told you that?
She mentioned a woman that we both know and do highly respect, but even so that woman has been married five times before and is single now!
As is my friend who told me all this, divorced for over thirty years!
I do understand why and how people divorce.
My own mother had been before she met and married my father and they had me and my mother-in-law was too, when Hubby was only eleven.
So I get it.

But why ask someone about marriage that hasn’t had a good one, no make that two no make that FIVE, about what her daughter should do?
Gosh, that’s ridiculous in my book!
Any-who, I said that her daughter should be herself from the start with the man she loves and that honesty is the best policy and it begins with knowing what one’s getting, right?
Who wants a PIG in a POKE, huh?
Plus she was acting like she was in Victorian times with that information.
I guess I could be wrong with the honesty factor because I have even heard some, so-called specialists in relationships say not to tell your spouse this or that or whatever everything and to always keep your money separate!
Gosh, maybe that’s why the divorce rate is heading towards more than fifty percent folks!
Dishonesty, perhaps?

My parents were married to each other for over forty years on their second time around the only reason their marriage ended before their forty-first is because my mom passed away. Dad had been a widower for a couple of years when they met and married; and they told me that when you marry everything becomes 'an ours', not 'a mine' thing including your monies.
What happened to, ‘until death do we part’?
Now I would never ever tell anyone married to an abuser, drunk or drug addict or someone who cheated on them to stay in that relationship, unless they had a plan ‘B’, like rehab or counseling, but we all know that’s why some divorce. With others it is sometimes just irreconcilable differences like in that movie circa 1984, but I do believe that may have been helpful in allowing divorce to be OK?
Get over it!
I want marriage to mean something.
And yes, I do have a divorced son who by the way, is the estrange one, his choice not ours, and it was before his wedding and divorce and he never ever asked our opinion at all about either!
Free thinker, there you go…

On that note of hypocrisy I will bid you all a very happy good night and to all count those blessings and share those overages and we will too!

And next time please be here or be square, OK?

PS I neglected to welcome Bonnie, welcome, whoever you are!
PSS I never said I was a specialist on the topic or tell anyone what THEY should do either, so there.(I just stuck out my adult tongue once again)

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Did you know that...

Many peeps use this venue for monetary gain?

Shocking!

I would never ever charge for this psycho babble that I spew nightly and who would pay for it anyway; I ask you, really?



Gotcha!

Yes, I do know that some utilize this venue for exploiting their business acumen and as a marketing tool for their for-profit business.

Why not?



I say go for it.

But to me this is just a forum for my idle thinking out loud; a way for my mind to explode into reaches further for thought, trying to find intellect in my brain.

Huh?

So far it’s a no go.

Nothing has surfaced, but I will continue on this mission of mine until someone somewhere tells me to stop for some really good reason, OK?



You do know that since I am not being paid for doing this and there is no editing involved or critiquing or censoring that it is somewhat a free for all?

How about that, friends?

But you know me I write pretty much G, PG or at the most an occasional PG 13.

So Disney, make me into a movie, what do you say? I would work cheap on the back writing for a nothingness plot.

OK, on this venue you are not supposed to be on here to self promote either.

All right then, this is my practice for writing that great novel and perhaps the comedy script for a show about nothing?

But gee whiz hasn’t somebody already done that?
And wasn’t it a BIG success?

Aren’t TV shows similar to fashion, with seven year cycles?
You would think so, with all the remakes these days, or they call it going retro, huh?
Movies have done it for years and so this year they brought back Hawaii 5-0 and the Defenders both of those shows were oldies but goodies, but over the seven years in waiting to comeback.

Why not a twist on the Seinfeld Show, since I am great at writing about nothing and you haven’t lived till you read my dialogue about it.

I have had professionals tell me that I do that quite well!

So writing a script couldn’t be that far a leap from that it appears to be the same thing, huh?

Oops sorry; self promoting again.



Oh well, I better move on before someone takes me out, I meant kicks me off this wonderful thing that I make unique love to nightly, what? Who said that?

LOL!

Any-who, narcissism is something we all should strive for.

Why, you ask?

Because love of one’s self is supposed to be how people can learn to love others, of course?

At least that’s what the pros say about love.

Or I could have gotten it wrong.

Some days I think I live in Norm Crosby’s body or I should say brain, known for his malapropisms, which means: it is the substitution of a word for a word with a similar sound, in which the resulting phrase makes no sense but often creates a comic effect.

Got that?

Sure you do.

I have a brilliant readership, don’t I?



On that ill adjusted reasoning of thought and expression I will bid you all a very happy good night and to all count those blessings and share those overages and we will too!



And next time please be here or be square,OK?

Monday, October 25, 2010

Sunny days and Mondays make me smile...

I know that’s NOT how it goes, and that it is actually, “Rainy days and Mondays always get me down”, ala Carpenters, but I am taking poetic license here, OK all you smarty pants?

And besides don’t sunny days make you smile?

Sure they always do.

Readjust friends!



Moving on…

Funny how I was once long ago in a place far, far away, not really…but I was really a nature loving girl… yep camping and everything, biking, swimming, fishing, hiking you name it I was up for the game of life.

But sadly no longer, now I am like that kid in the bubble; remember the movie that John Travolta made as a rather young man way back in 1976?

Gosh that was the year my second son was born!

How time passes…

Any-who, life goes on and some days are better than others to venture out, and so I am not really like that boy in the bubble all of the time, heat is the enemy and so when it decides to subside perhaps I will escape from my hidey hole?



Who knows?

Not any of the meteorologists.

Because I know they would tell me if they did.

That’s why I try and keep an open rapport with the locals of that persuasion, got that, weather determiners; they are my friends, oh yea?

They could very well be my lifeline for going out into the world, ya know?

Oh, don’t you think I can’t hear you all laughing at me about those rain or shine friends of mine, well they do know more than you or me for this I am sure, i.e. weather-wise that is.

We as human beings can tolerate a lot in the waiting on thingy, more than we know until we have to test it out.

Patience, hmmm, oddly enough when we were country folk way back in the 1980’s in NJ, shore that is we had what most called a CB radio for vehicle to vehicle communications in those days. That was before CP’s and all, oh you don’t know what CP’s are?

Why sillies they are CELL PHONES all you youngin PEEPS!

Yep, we country like peeps who actually lived ten miles from the Atlantic Ocean down in the Pine Barrens that have woo-hoo scary connotations in a little place a village called Bamber Lake a place in a larger place called Lacey Township. My handle on that CB was Patience in those days, because I didn’t have any.

And Hubby pleads the fifth since he can’t seem to recall his.

Yes, before phones in bags, or talking into your front console; Citizen’s Band radios were all the rage.

You see we were then involved in all those activities like Hubby was a Fire Chief, a Scouting Coordinator for all of Ocean County NJ and also an assistant soccer coach too all as a volunteer and I was his assistant in those days. And so we would transport our own sons and other little darlings to these things.

One time we were responsible for getting 600 scouts to West Point and with only a few other parents help!

What an experience! But you can well imagine how communication was of the utmost importance at that time, a handy little item. And free to use after the initial cost.

And yes I do remember that James Bond had a car phone back in the early 1960’s, but our first that we had was only in 1992. And thanks to NASA and those Bond Movies we have many wild and crazy inventions that may seem usual today!



Memories are filling my brain lately whatever could that possibly mean?

Well, I am taking it as a time to catalogue those memories before they are wispy, huh's?
Don’t tell me that’s not a good idea, my parents have long passed away, and Hubby has only one left, his Mom who has none left, memories that is, since she sadly has dementia.

I do believe that whatever one does in life can be interesting, so write it down before you forget!

On that warning of my caring…so now all of you have a very happy good night and to all count those blessing and share those overages please and we will too!

And next time be here or be square, OK?

Sunday, October 24, 2010

What does our opinion of anything truly mean?

I saw that many people are frustrated with others’ behavior, and to be honest that too has happened to me.
But what makes me the angriest is when people feel the need to impose their beliefs on others.
It can be as simple as saying your opinion on what looks right on them in their wardrobe.
Or as major as how telling them how they live their life!
I have been guilty of both…but don’t we all realize that everyone has the right to do what THEY want to do; just so long as it doesn’t hurt anyone else or isn’t illegal?
Tonight, I glanced at my Facebook page where there was some obscure idea of people needing smacks on the side of their head for doing something or other.
Well, that would hurt! LOL
And I don’t agree with that behavior to instill perhaps what you may feel is improper behavior to correct them or when somebody doesn’t believe as you do!
Hatred is my major frustration in life, when someone dislikes another person for their race, religion, inabilities, on how they look or political beliefs! The fact is not many can change others minds though, believe me, I have tried.
That’s what gets me incensed more than anyone could possibly believe.
What to do?
The Golden Rule is what I try to apply to my life.
Loving others and treating them as you would want to be treated, is simple enough, huh?
But sometimes don’t you feel like you’re the only one playing that life’s game and know the rules?
Of course we all fall off the wagon at times and folks that is called just being human!
Best though to try harder next time.
Civility is a learned behavior too as well as tolerance.
Darn it though, if you see anyone causing another person harm in mind or body I would say it is absolutely necessary to step in and help the victim of the other’s wrath!
We all realize that is only because it is the right thing to do without question.

Sadly, I am of too many minorities that are considered not well approved of by many, and so I speak from the heart when I worry about hatred, since I have endured it.
The one thing that it does give me though is insight into how the others of the downtrodden think and feel from a personal view on that side.
I am of a minority religion. (NO comment since I have never heard a joke about my religion that I thought was funny!)
I am disabled. (A given, since I need walking aids)
I am very short, shorter than I used to be by three inches, or as I like to kid, vertically challenged. (Before someone else says something)
I am obese. (Still don’t have anything to counter with yet except that I have become voluptuous and I am now packing thirty-eights!Referring to my chest folks not weapons! LOL!)
Oh yea, I am over sixty and some people consider that elderly and I am a woman too!
So there you go; reality check here.

Many have preconceived notions of people like any in the above mentioned categories.
But isn’t that why and how hate exists?
Thinking or perhaps imagining what that person behind the thing you notice first about them is? Hmmm, shouldn’t we try to be more giving and not assuming what our preconceived notions are?
I suppose it goes back to understanding and acceptance.
How do we teach that to our children?
I have an idea… TELL THEM!

On that note of caring to help once again, but subtly like I am so often demure and shy with my opinions! LOL! Not in your life or even the rest of mine however I care to live it! So there! (I said that with my adult tongue again stuck out!)

Happy night to all and to all count those blessings and share those overages and we will too!

And next time be here or be square, OK?

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Lazy days and fall here in Florida is not that much different than summer anywhere...

The day was just right without any rhyme or reason but no pressure to accomplish any self imposed deadlines either.
Relaxing was the mode for the day and that is exactly what occurred.
We both, Hubby and I went with the flow with no stress involved what-so-ever.
He did what he wanted and so did I and neither of us commented one way or the other on our chosen mini projects.
Hubby vacuumed the house without any request from me, and I made homemade clam chowder without any questions from him.
And silently we appreciated the other’s thoughtfulness.

He did ask me if I wished to watch one of our rented movies this late afternoon, ‘The Diving Bell and the Butterfly’, a French subtitled docudrama that I apparently chose from 2007. It was about a forty- two year old man Jean-Dominique Bauby who was the Editor of Elle Magazine in Paris. And his major brainstem stroke that left him paralyzed from head to toe with him only being able to move his one eyelid. He writes his own story by blinking the letters to a translator. Absolutely amazing! Sadly he dies ten days after his book is published in 1997. I sure hope I didn’t ruin the story for any of you… but it is a very worthwhile movie in my opinion. It truly speaks of the strength of us human beings in dealing with adversity, and I give it a, ‘two thumbs up’.
Later this evening we will be watching a Hubby pick, ‘Iron Man 2’!
So typical with us women wanting the romantic comedy or cerebral story line where we really have to pay attention and men are just happy with action, action and more action!
Men really are from Mars and yep we seem to be from Venus, huh?

Who knows if I will critique Iron Man 2, not because I won’t watch, oh no, because I will probably fall asleep while watching it; and that’s not because it doesn’t hold my interest as far as action super people movies go it is quite good, but I will more than likely be too tired to stay awake for it’s conclusion. Although, I always have the option to finish it off the next morning; and so we will see…who knows…?

Any-who, oddly enough today was rather quiet on my Facebook page too; not much anyone can do about that.
I suspect that during the work week for most of the peeps on there the weekend is a great time to get off the computer and go out into the world, seems logical to me.
And we even had those very intentions but believe it or not this southwest Florida location was way too hot once again for me to leave my safe abode.
And there was so much going on, but out side…
Car shows and the like, even fun stuff over at Fishville costume competitions for your pets and children.
But since Skipper refuses to wear a mask or even try on a costume (LOL) and we don’t have any little’uns yet or still, we nixed the idea.
And besides car shows to sell cars are usually dangerous I know some who have gone with the intentions of just looking and ending up buying and not doing buyers’ remorse too well after.

So chilling at home was OK and we were sedate and happy, Hubby read one of his library books in between and I read my Southern Living Magazine that just came today.
We also watched a few how-to shows we both like, and so good was pleasant.

That’s all I got for tonight’s staple to keep you all well informed of my comings and goings…opinions and concepts.
We did receive our mail-in ballots today and we will probably filling them out to get out into the mail or to be dropped off by Monday, so there you go…something significant happened.

On that realization that not all day was so boring I will wish you all a very happy good night and ask you to count those blessings and share those overages and we will too!

And next time please be here or be square, OK?

Friday, October 22, 2010

Publicity and or a life in anonymity...

What does it mean to be famous?

Is it like Andy Warhol said, “in the future everyone will all have their fifteen minutes of fame”?

If that’s true what does it mean if over and over again all through the streams of your life you have many fifteen minutes snippets of fame?

You see, I believe my first time was when I was seven years old and made the front page of The Bergen Evening Record (now just called, The Record) dancing at a block party, and then again making it in that paper with another photo and short item about me distributing Civil Defense literature in my doll carriage at the age of ten when my mom was the president of the local chapter of that cold war scary prepared group. At that time we thought our bomb shelters in our basements would be enough to protect us from the Atom Bomb! Boy, was that dumb?

In that short interview I remember telling the reporter that I had to tell people I wasn’t going to bite them that I just wanted them to have the information. He thought I was delightful and smiled at me; I couldn’t understand what the joke was since I was ten.

These things happened above and beyond all those dance recitals and choir shows, and even the one year that my piano teacher and dance teacher made me look good with showing off both of those talents in one combined recital! And even when I appeared in the show Bye, Bye Birdie at the age of fifteen, odd that I was fifteen, is that significant? Or won that pennant after my rendition of 'I won't grow up' as Peter Pan, at the age of twelve at Penner's Lake Day Camp, LOL!

I have fund raised and done the commentary on quite a few fashion shows as well as the big one called the Fabulous Fashion Follies of the late 1990’s, a three hour entertainment and fashion show. I taught kids how to cheer for the Grudge Match TV show way back in 1992-ish. And all those fashion shows that I modeled in for Sterns, Ohrbachs, and Lord and Taylor’s, not to mention schools and a church show.

Nope, these have to do with my in the print (newspaper), listening (radio) and visual media (TV) forms.

I have been on them all.

I have been on the radio calling in on trivia shows and winning a prize, and being interviewed for all my knowledge of arthritis.

When I worked in promotion I was on ESPN at the time of a major race car driver retiring, who else but Richard Petty!

I was interviewed by the Washington Post when we went down to help after Hurricane Andrew 1992 and we're working with the animals doing triage for the vets, and then by the local news people also there on TV from a NBC affiliate in Orlando.

SNN here interviewed me at the gym while working out to keep my sanity as soon as Gold’s reopened after Hurricane Charley!

I have been on my friend’s talk show on a cable station up in Bradenton Florida.

Gosh, was Andy Warhol wrong about just fifteen minutes, because I am sure that I must have left quite a few things out.

But you know something I bet you all have exciting tales to recall too?
Life happens and we all are drawn into these interesting situations and do whatever it takes at the time, and sometimes they are fun but sometimes they are just part of our duty to our job or friend or family.

I have no regrets because what I remember most about all the above mentioned stuff I could think on my feet and in each situation I gave it my best at that particular time in my life, and it wasn’t for fame or glory or any of those things it was because I was just there at the right or wrong time, life happens to everyone!

Events in our lives are amazing and unique unto us as people of the world.

I am sure if we all took the time to list all the experiences we felt were worthy of mentioning the list would be enormous!

All of our lives have been lived in snippets of memories, but organizing them into a story board can be quite productive to keep for a family history or just to help tell the tale of you to the ones you care about.

On that nuance of creating something for a keepsake for those who you care about or them about you…I will wish you all a very happy good night to all and to all count those blessings and share those overages and we will too!

And next time be here or be square, OK?

Thursday, October 21, 2010

How nice...?

We heard from our eldest son today; who honors us with his phone calls about once a month these days.
It’s so nice when even an adult who is single but seeing someone takes the time from his busy lifestyle to call home and therefore his parents.
Children no matter what their ages seem to not understand that necessary connection after our major job has been done.
Oh I know about all those boomerang kids, you know those ones you hear about that graduate with honors from college but still can’t find a job and end up moving back home.
We never had any of that, it’s not because we nixed it, no not at all it was because our sons were I suspect a few of the very lucky ones who found jobs after college and never looked back.
They have both been homeowners two times over, getting larger ones from their initial ones, and so they didn’t need to comeback to mommy and daddy.
Sadly, relationship wise they have been in many, with one son even already being divorced, but after all they are thirty-four and thirty-eight.
I suppose it is the times we live in…

Anywho, today my darling elder child called me back a few times since his call waiting or his other phone or text messages kept coming in during our call.
But that’s OK we did connect and it was so good to hear from him.
Our conversation was up beat and not too mother-son-ish I try so hard not to be such a worry wart. He is a motorcycle enthusiast and one of his pride and joys is the famous Harley he bought new a few years back and the other is a Japanese made one also purchased new, he also has a new car that we discussed with all of its bells and whistles, you all know what I mean?
He had traded in his truck due to bad gas mileage for his commute to work, although he said he is still looking into getting another one of those too for getting things done around the house! He is a lead mechanic for Busch Gardens for over twelve years.
Our younger son also has an infinity for flying and yes he has his small plane license for many years.
Both sons were surfers and I do know our younger one since he moved back to the east coast of Florida has had a custom board made for him. They were also SCUBA certified too as younger men. Our younger one is also a musician who had a band in high school and is a nuclear engineer for FPL at Turkey Point these days.
So they are substantial in their gal catch criteria I imagine.
But mom here is partially at fault why none of it sticks for long, why you ask?
I always worked and so when they were growing up I taught them to cook, clean and do laundry, and somehow they learned to iron, not one of my traits… since I was more the throw it back in the dryer type or buy only wrinkle free materials.
My theory was honorable ladies…I didn’t want them to marry any women for their maids!
But it backfired.
They are too capable.
I truly think that is my downfall.
So I am warning all mother’s of son’s don’t make them too independent, wait on them more, do for them more, and whatever you do make sure they know that someone out there is ready, willing and able to help them with their inabilities to fen for themselves! LOL!

Now I am two for two in the land line wars of hearing those melodic sounds of familiarity coming over the airwaves!
Loving it… and who wouldn’t?
Now if other family or friends wish to connect I am here and so just Nike it, please!

On that note of positivity I will wish you all a very happy good night and to all count those blessings and share those overages and we will too!

And please folks… next time be here or be square, OK?

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Re-connecting with old chums on a land line what fun!

Nice to hear breathing and actual voices coming through a land line!
Two old friends and yes numerically we are older too, but people, gals that I hadn’t heard from by voice box vibrations in ages, they spoke to me on their old gadgets too.
Sure we had been doing the email and Facebook communication thingy but there is nothing better than hearing those melodic tones called sound sensations, right? Especially, before we could very well lose them, hearing that is.
And so we spoke even separately to each woman, how odd you say?
Nah, historically correct!
It was a joyous occasion in the realm of promising to make a physical date to seeing each other in person!
I know vague but at least we touchstone, as they say!

Moving on…
Our next door neighbor is getting their seawall repaired properly finally.
Does that sound condescending to you?
Well, let’s put it this way we have been in this little retirement home of ours for nearly twelve years this coming December it will be and the house next door has had several absentee owners using it mostly for rental property with approximately twelve different families infiltrating over the years, and so although their seawall has been falling apart they kept spending money on patch work jobs.
But this newest owner, who lives in Chicago and said he eventually, will be retiring here called in an actual seawall company to tear the old wall down and put in a brand new one!
And so the work has begun.
At eight A.M. this morning the heavy trucks were here.
No problemo for me since I am an early riser.
And I am soooo happy that it is finally getting done I don’t care how early they come or how much noise they make!
Any improvements to our neighborhood are always a plus in my book.
I just wish we had more neighbors we still have too many empty homes.

Any-who…
Did you see Dancing with the Stars last night?
You did.
Weren’t you surprised that Florence Henderson was sent home instead of Bristol Palin?
Come on people…who was the better dancer here?
Something is a wee bit scary about all this.
Not to say that someone bought votes or anything of the sort, but I would think that Mrs. Brady would have a bigger fan base than a wannabes vice presidential candidate’s daughter? Wouldn’t you?
Bristol is a fine young single parent.
But that is not what this show is all about …at least I thought it was about dance ability, true?
I wish they had a write in campaign to fix their mistakes, oh well…
Florence, if I had the power you definitely would NOT have been dismissed last night!
You were showing so much potential!
A woman of your abilities and background in musicals should have gone as far as the end! You are super lady and don’t you ever forget it!

Today, was a day for peeking out the windows trying to get a clear cut look at what they were accomplishing on the next-door seawall project, but our angle is wrong and I am still locked within here due to our very warm climate a good part of the day.
My excitement was watching the big equipment roll off the truck to go through the gates to get back there where the work is being done.
But my line of sight is compromised by angle, shrubbery and their vehicle carrying it all, the wall that is, enormous cement preformed sections that are hauled by trailer to the location.
Gosh, am I nosey or what?
But aren’t most shut-ins?
No, just a neighborhood watch gal!

On that silly note of a truly interested party to the goings on in our area…happy night to all and to all count those blessings and share those overages and we will too!

And next time be here or be square, OK?

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

How to attain lifelong customers or clients with hearts...

How many of you out there have been community oriented?
Have you ever noticed that when a large company projects a positive civic image that as consumers we are so much more likely to deal with them?
No?
Well, for me it has been that way especially with two products that have to do with my dog, yes, my bog, alright that’s a boy dog, you know?
I am speaking about Skipper our six year old Bichon Frise, but not just him many of his predecessors too…
He is a well cared for pup of course, he has all his necessary shots and gets his heartworm medication and his necessary insect repellent monthly preventative as well as his grooming every couple of months according to need.
But what I am talking about is his nutrition he is being fed Pedigree adult small crunchy bites, Pedigree is a Mars Company, which also is a socially aware company that helps find homes for homeless dogs to become adopted! Copy and paste to get all the info: http://www.pedigree.com/default.aspx
The other responsible company we deal with far as our darling Skipper goes is his treat company, Milk Bone that has been around for more than one hundred years and we have been long time purchasers with all our previous dogs too, they were all Milk Bone lovers! They have been a contributor to Canine’s Assistants programs for 12 years now! For more information copy and paste: http://www.milkbone.com/canineassistants

They found loyal customers in us since both of the above companies, even our vet can’t argue with all the good they do.

And so I believe that perhaps that’s the way to go for new or slow sales in you marketing your companies.
Find something that compliments your message and give a percentage of what you bring in to that non-profit in your own community or worldwide if that is your target audience.
You have to admit it is an incredible marketing tool that can prove to be a win, win for all who’s involved!

How can an old retiree give anyone beneficial sales ideas?
Anyone can really.
Don’t all of you share?
That’s what networking is all about, true?
Now I am going to give you all an assignment to find out which national or international companies also give a portion of their receipts to non-profit and advertise their products that way?
You may email me or write in the message portion on this page or on my Facebook page, whatever works for you.
Just that research alone should give you an inkling on how many large corporations do this sort of thing and gear you up with an action-on positivity to gain support of your sales teams!
If you are so small that, that team is just you then you have enormous platitudes to do whatever works for you…trial and error, but always give what you collect to whomever you say that you are collecting for, or you will lose your credibility, but you may change.
Years ago I worked for Lord and Taylor’s, an upper class clothing store, in management and in those days they only gave to United Way, which allowed them to be definite when others would come to them with their pet projects of non-profit organizations, but to be fair United Way to this day gives to many different organizations and so in reality it was one of those multi purpose non-profits that no one could argue with, which was very smart. They may still be the only one they deal with but to be honest I don’t have anyway to know that, since I worked for them up north and I have been down here in Florida for nearly a quarter of a century!

Bouncing ideas are fun; I almost forgot how much fun…
Sharing is also fun and useful and called networking and so there you go… I did it, although in my bio I say I am here only for friendships since I am no longer a business person but what the heck… when you gotta you gotta, huh?

On that note of caring for our fellow men and women in the business world I will wish you all a very happy good night to all and to all count those blessings and don’t forget to share those overages, there you go, you can do that too with those non-profits who really could use some help too in this economy, and we will too!

And next time be here or be square, OK?

Monday, October 18, 2010

I am a wee bit late with my writings this evening...

You see that we saw a story on our evening news that hit home with me and Hubby.
Apparently, a few states are gouging visitors with large bills when they get into auto crashes and need EMS help.
Some have been charged as much as a few hundred bucks.
For a service which in many states is free due to the taxpayers having it in their tax bills, and we have a line on our tax bill too that says we pay for their services just like we do for the police.
Although, to our surprise when we needed their services back in April of 2009 they had the nerve to charge us over $1200 in total for two different occasions, one for me, and one for Hubby and they tried to charge us for mileage of three and four miles traveled when both times we’re from our home less than two miles away going to the same hospital!

Any-who, I felt angry and let the local news anchor and the national news anchor both know in an email to them telling them about our own personal story how we were also ripped off way back when and that their tonight’s story just opened an old wound really!

Sadly, at this point I am sure not too much could be done.
But the fact that we are not alone and that now it is considered wrong was bewildering to us.
Since we said it was wrong when they did it, but didn’t get anywhere, even in trying to renegotiate a lower more manageable bill.

Oh well… moving on…

Today was another proud as punch type of morning with those mid-seventies and low humidity.
I think I did make a slight mistake last night making the reader’s believe that the day all day was in the mid-seventies, if I did I am sorry but no the temperature did go up and even so the humidity went down even more.
Mid-eighties with very low humidity is our true afternoon temps here in Paradise.
And not many would complain about that, huh?
Still a chamber of commerce bragging beauty to all those peeps up north that are now getting those cold fronts.

We have been living in this state just over twenty-four years this past August and this summer was one of the hottest that I can remember and last winter was the longest for being cold.
Hopefully, this coming year will be more our normal of mild with only a week or two of very cold, not a month or more like last year.
El Nino and La Nina seem to control our weather.
And if I can ever remember which does what I will tell you, funny I used to.

My count for my Facebook friends has exceeded 1400!
I just thought I would throw that into the mix of tonight’s hodgepodge of snippets of this and that.
More like my usual self; giving you a taste of our lives and my ideas in bits and pieces, OK?

Daily I try to be creative when wishing my Facebook friends a happy morning; I truly believe it is the least I can do for all those hard working peeps, right?

Now a dear friend is asking when we all became Moms the names and dates of our children’s births, and a few weeks ago I might have done it without thinking but now according to the safety of our site we have been told not to give that information away, next someone may try to ask for our social security numbers.
I don’t know how to tell her that it is not a good idea, since she did it harmlessly without any malice at all… Innocence, sadly also can mean not informed.
Names of children with their birth dates is not unlike the fact they are now recommending to no longer put your year of birth online for people who can use it for ill means.
I did remove mine, and unfortunately I could not remove my sons’ ages but I do not have their birth dates or years on my site. I do have my husband and my complete date for our wedding anniversary but I don’t really think that can lead to anything unsavory.
It is also recommended to remove your graduation from high school year and college year which can also give an approximate age?
Any-way… I think I am good since I did heed their recommendations for safety on this social networking thing.

Please people go to your personal site and check and make sure no one has access to any of your truly personal info so you can be safe as a baby in a blanket in her mother's arms.

Happy night to you all and to all count those blessings and share those overages please and we will too!

And next time be here or be square, OK?

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Chamber of commerce type of bragging rights day!

When the thermometer hits around the mid-seventies and the humidity goes below fifty percent; what is that called?
October in Florida! And it is perfection in my opinion! (This occurrence has also been known to happen in March as well.)
And it also gives us the OK to opening all the windows in your home to allow that fresh air inside!
We all look so forward to this and now it is here! Hip, hip hooray!
But no one nowhere can say just how long it will stay around for, but we Floridians will take what we get when we get it, you betcha sweet bippy we do!
One would have to admit, to be fair that we were again very lucky with no major hurricanes coming ashore here.

A little over a month left to be totally in the clear of what is designated as the ‘legal hurricane season’, from June first to November thirtieth.
Then supposedly we are in the 'clear sailing', time of year until next June.
But to be honest that two year period when we had those dreadful hurricanes that hit us, in 2004 and 2005 those named storms went on into January I do believe; what a horrendous period in weather time and history.
All I can say it had to be anomaly in our lives.
Nothing that severe should logically be able to prevail again in my life time, I so do hope… or my children’s or their children's either…

Whew, it’s so nice to know that all we have ahead of us for these next few weather months is perhaps a fluctuation in temperature, and in that a lower cooler one.

Moving on to what counts in life… any-who… we have what I may assume to be a decision on the voting path I may be taking.
Yes, Hubby went online today to order our write-in or mail-in ballots.
Fortunately, we now are in possession of our sample ballots that arrived without asking yesterday!
Being non-partisan registered voters this is what we were waiting for.
Knowledge is power and now we are much better informed.
Silly question to the people of the world and of course here in the state of Florida and the US at large; if several newspapers feel that they are going to support a specific candidate, what would that mean to you as a voter?
Let me put it this way, to me… it speaks volumes and so my decision has been made due to my reasoning that is that I feel the media has more access to information than I do.
Does that sound logical to you?
Plus I respect the intelligence and research that most journalist have the ability to do and acquire access to places that they also know where to look and the additional fact that they can delve into areas of importance that I may have missed in my own somewhat minimalist ability of trying to attain knowledge of whom is best suited for the job but without much luck at all.
I suppose if I was out in the world and had the where withal to be in the news loop of these incredible people who search diligently to make us have that nightly news available at the moment we turn our TV on or our phones or computers or however we receive the most significant information that makes us the aware people of the world that we like to believe we all are.
Personally, I signed up years ago for online cnn.com for their breaking news that comes whenever in my emails; watching the local and national news on the TV too is helpful and beneficial.
But what I found extremely bias and non helpful of course is the fact of the candidates commercials where they actually give very little information on how they are going to change things and say more about how the other candidate is some type of crook or evil being!
If they only realized how counterproductive these ads really were, perhaps their advertising budgets would be put to better use?
But no, they won’t listen and that is why many have turned me off just by that!

On that realistic point of view of how and why I have finally realized how I would be making and using my voting privilege and not wasting it... I will bid you all a very happy good night and to all count those blessings and share those overages and we will too!

And next time be here or be square, OK?

Saturday, October 16, 2010

How do you know if something will serve the test of time?

Most items that hold up well to the times in our lives we consider as how their usefulness endures and they are usually inanimate objects like cars, small appliances or perhaps some things in our wardrobes that become classics from initially starting out as trends or fads.

Hair also could become another listed item for the above ideas of ability to last in its ‘do’ or ‘design’. Wash ability as well as resiliency may too become a part of the determining factors in that vein.

And so I must admit although I wasn’t too sure how this new hair-do of mine was going to fair after it went through my usual wash and wear testing that I continuously repeat daily as part of my morning routine, and amazingly it sprung back to the fresh from the salon look, even without the use of all those frozen in time products that they squish and spray into your locks before they allow you to look and leave their presence.

I personally hate the cardboard feeling that so much of that good for you hair stuff does.

This morning and all day long my hair maintained it’s freshness without the stiffness feel or heaviness either.

I think I will be liking this new look for me, or at least not hating it, which was my ‘first impression’, oddly enough also the name of the local salon I went to.

Next time I will not go for the blow drying since that was what jacked up the price another ten bucks which created the sticker shock I mentioned last night.



Endurance is an interesting thing, isn’t it?
People hold up well and we also use that term.

Products like the afore mentioned cluster above and so we use that term for that too.

Interesting to know that we as humans VS machines also can be compared?

Curious though and too bad we, the human, can’t be fined tuned like them, the machine.

Although, when a car gets rust they do call that cancer and they cut it out not unlike on us and plumbing in the house and plumbing in the body I have heard used in analogies, what have you; clogs and backups, as well as resectioning?

Fix and repairing the human and the machine I suspect are not that dissimilar?
The main difference is when we lose a washing machine and it dies an untimely death it is never ever as sad as any human beings ending up the same way, right?

Sometimes though to hear some people you would be hard pressed to tell the difference when one says my car died and we had to put it out of its misery!

Euphemisms usually are used for us speaking of people and are being used when speaking of someone who has passed away; there I go… going to their great reward, denial, again a very human thing.

I suppose when we speak of our dead vacuum cleaner the appropriate term would be it crapped out, huh?



Oh where was I… oh that’s right, items that endure the test of time…

Not many today, as some very wise people might tell you; we are a throw away society.

I just think it is a good thing that we now recycle whatever we feel has lost its usefulness or has died an untimely mechanical death.

Fashion runs in cycles of seven years, and so most of us who are slow to clean out our closets or have the unique ability in remaining the same size have fashion in the bag; and so updating that wardrobe is just a matter of time, literally.

Vehicles become classics if you wait long enough and maintain them.

Who knows what oldies in your garage could someday be an antique and exceed your original cost in its value?

Smaller appliances become antiques too just watch the ‘Antique Roadshow’, and you may very well find you have a gold mine in the shed, basement, attic or garage.

Keep them in working order of course.

Back to my hair, those dos come and go too like all fashion.

But no one can deny the ability to recreate what the professional did, for your self, at home, as a positive of a job well done by them.



So on that interesting and round about way of saying that I believe I will keep this new me look for a while after all. I will wish you all a very happy good night and ask you to all count those blessings and please folks share those overages and we will too!



And next time be here or be square, OK?

Friday, October 15, 2010

People, people, people...you know who you are...

Yes, I am speaking at you!
I would speak directly to you but you are NOT here, are you?
LOL!
These times we spend together have become some of my fondest memories in my life, how about you, are they good for you too?
Cat got your tongue?
Why? You ask did I say that.
Oh…that’s because I can’t hear you!
Funny thing about that, huh?

Moving on…
The reason I seem to be having a bit of the sillies tonight is simple.
Ready to chuck the day off, and hit the hay as my farmer buddies say.
I am a wee bit under the weather again, and add in very exhausted and the combo aint great.
It’s been a busy week.
I don’t tell you everything you know.
We were out nearly every day from the big box club to another Oktoberfest with the same six piece band as at Fishville, even had a Neuro appointment yesterday.
Not very good news on two major issues and one is righty, my optic neuritis eye with the cataracts, not worth bothering with another cataract surgery because it won’t help the sight in that eye. And two, there is no way to tell if my numbies are from my normal MS symptoms or perhaps more ominously a stroke!
Family history not good for strokes… oh well, so what’s one to do?
Today I had Hubby take me over to the hair salon for a morale builder, girl therapy!
Tried a new place, not to them, new to me.
More expensive than my discount shop that didn’t do a good job.
This new one served it all ala cart and boy did I get sticker shock when all was done.
More than twice what I was paying but Hubby says it looks good.
It’s in that wind-blown bed-head style, didn’t know I could be so haut couture here in the middle of nowhere!
Still, adapting to it myself.

Unfortunately, my body is saying go and lie down since you ow so much and feeling slightly like a Jell-O mold that is about to melt.

I am so sorry for this brief chant of my rant but I am sure like you do know that I will more than make up for it perhaps tomorrow or another day not too far in the distant future.

And so now I will bid you all a very happy good night and to all count those blessings and share those overages and we will too!

And please next time be here or be square, OK?

Thursday, October 14, 2010

No, stop! Don't, stop don't! Did you know?

I’m sure you did know that when you are on all of these social networks that you should never ever post before you leave when you are going somewhere; even if it is just for a few hours.

It is more than fine to tell about your travels when you return, and truthfully isn’t it more fun for all?

Oh, why, you ask?

Or perhaps I heard you wrong?

Well, I will tell you anyway… so there!

Since these things are being watched by not so nice people, yea, me too shocker, oh well… but these not so nice people are in the business to want to cause harm to your possessions of course!

In simple words: they will rob you blind!

So everything is between us here, and hush, hush.

But seriously folks, it has been all over the news about this and it IS TRUE!

And teeny boppers keep those body parts to your selves… so no sexting on here either!

It will only cause you trouble in the years to come in the long run…

Gosh, do we have to start a morality class all over for this generation?
Oh wait there has never been one specifically for teaching that, hmmm.

That’s right the church or home is supposed to do that!

Sorry to say but in my opinion and we all know how much that’s worth…You are all falling down on that job peeps!



Our families and homes safety are of the utmost concern for all of us.

Nothing new there, but you would think that before you tell the world that you will be going out of town from the fourth to the sixteenth and post it here or email it that you would know that the baddies have access to it all?

Oh you didn’t, sure they do.

I truly love to hear from you all but unless we set up some type of code system don’t tell me when you will be out of town and for how long, OK?
Or about that special birthday party or anniversary or art show or museum visit until you arrive safely back where you belong in your happy non-picked to pieces home.



Don’t advertise things for sale on your lawn either.

That’s how we were robbed back in August of 1981; Hubby put his motorcycle with a, ‘for sale’ sign on it out on the front lawn but safely chained it to the telephone pole.

I went out just to pick up some things at the drug store in town and when I came back there was a yellow car parked at the stop sign on the corner by my driveway and my back gate was open… the boys, 5 and 9 at the time was still in the car and I told them to stay put and I slowly got out and noticed our gate was also open and so was our back laundry room door…

I swiftly got back in the car and asked the boys to remember the license plate we all stared and we all chanted it all the way to our neighbors down the road where we called it into the police!

Those monster interlopers had kicked in our steel back door and ripped off the molding!

Fortunately, due to us having the license plate number they were pushed off our country road not far from our home by the police, but had thrown many of our possessions out of the car window, and one of the wonderful detectives walked the shoulder of the road and recovered nearly all of my jewelry. They used our pillow cases and had our silver from the dining room hutch in those, but all was recovered… what luck!

But if we had gone in while they were there who knows what could have happen?

It gives me shivers even today… I did give my testimony to the license plate number and the two Jersey boys, and yes this was in NJ, but in the country in south Jersey we had farms across the fifty mile an hour country road and my trip to that drugstore was ten miles into town.

The cat our gray and white Puffy was the only other pet from our Charlie the Cockatiel at the time… we were in between dogs, but even Puffy hid for hours and we were so afraid that our house cat got out, since the detectives and police people were scouring our home for all the information they needed to tie the criminals to the crime, but no she just found a good hiding place and magically reappeared hours later much to all our happiness and love for her.



On that riveting little piece of historical excitement into my rather drab boring life…I will wish you all a very happy good night and to all count those blessings and share those overages and we will too!



And next time be here or be square, OK?

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Response to my last night's Blog was the usual...

But what can one expect?
One night I am miserable and explaining my latest boo, boo hurts and the next I am trying to make nice and be cheerful, and no folks I am not bi-polar, at least I was never diagnosed as one, who knows. Too serious an ill to make light of…
But I am in reality no different than most woman of any age with feelings and emotions that vary.
Men blame our hormones for them not understanding how we react to things, but they also have them and you never ever hear them say that Jack was upset last night due to his hormones, do you?
Ha!
That would be a joke, huh?

Believe me when I tell you that I never know what I am going to write on this Blog until I write the title, and that becomes my beginning. I am quite prolific if I do say so myself, and for that is something I can be proud of…
Many writers’ do that so I have been told by the real money maker types, the pros that I had sign books of theirs that I bought to read.
Some have different processes when it comes to the methods for writing a novel, which I have tried, actually, a few novellas of my own a murder mystery series of five written in the last century over nine hundred pages in total. What I found to be helpful was to write an outline, not that different from the ones you wrote when you studied in English or history class with a beginning, middle and ending. But when writing from scratch you also must fill in the blanks with ideas from your imagination; got that? Snippets of images during the day or night come into your mind and should be jotted down too. Those are your possibilities to use or toss later.
The whole process of writing just fascinates me.
When I wrote those novellas back in the late 1990’s I would awake way before dawn since my brain was flooded with the ideas that needed to be put down on paper, although even then I used this technological wonder tool AKA ‘the computer’ although, an earlier generational model from my current one. My capabilities were ten thousand words a week industry or my own concoction; talk about putting out! LOL!
All writing takes research even fiction or especially, nah both types!
Accuracy is extremely important whenever you state what you want the reader to believe as fact, and one should never mislead.
Although, with fiction your perimeters are ever expanding and you do have that poetic license thing in your favor, right?
Creating your own reality is when fiction really does blossom, correct?

I, oddly enough, as I am sure many do realize I have no qualifications to teach a course on writing but I do enjoy sharing from my personal experiences…
Any hack like me would do themselves proud to find someone with the credentials to either edit or steer them towards the classes to take to know what’s next in getting what your desires are to be seen and therefore published by a reputable house that is willing to take the chance on a new writer.
Unfortunately, in this economy they are few and far between.
But if you are already a celebrity, no problem, have you noticed this unique situation?
Hilary Duff has just had her first novel published for an example.
Since it is illegal to steal famous people’s names … what are the rest of us to do?
That’s where self publishing come into the fold.
Sadly, I have never believed in this ‘cop-out’ as I prejudicially irresponsibly will say.
Aside from the fact that it can be quite costly, so I have been told and to me it says that your writing isn’t really good enough, but that is just my biased opinion and we all know how much that is worth.
But I am from a different generation than many of you.
This is not to say that I have not met people who have actually self-published and found it quite satisfying since they take their books wherever they go to hawk them to the public at large and have made sales.
Most will say that they only pay for the ones they have printed, in lots I do believe.
E-Books I have no real knowledge of but as I understand it they are similar in the amount published for sale and that you have control over that quantity too.

Hope I helped any of you out there with a bit of information, if not I am truly sorry!
But folks this is all I got and I am NOT that smart… and remember this is FREE STUFF!

Any-who… happy night to all and to all count those blessings and try and share those overages and we will too!

And next time be here or be square, OK?

PS TERRIFIC FOR THOSE CHILEAN MINERS AND THEIR FAMILIES COMING UP AND OUT! Hooray! Hip hip hooray!

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Test and findings...

Have you ever met a person that you thought was funny looking and then got to know them and realized that you were wrong and that they were actually B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L inside and out?

Or even the other way around, where you thought Geez they are so handsome or gorgeous and then got to know them and found out that they were truly very U-G-L-Y inside and out?

Yep, me too, isn’t that something?

We tell our children all the time while they are growing up not to judge a book by its cover, and it is what’s inside that counts, true?

And so I conducted an experiment which has worked in this illusion of illustration before.

Think hard folks what makes more sense in life to frown and act sad or angry all the time or to smile, which really does take less muscles than frowning to do and think and say pleasant things to those around you, lotsa words of encouragement?

Yes, it is a no brainer, happiness wins every time!

But in reality it’s not that easy to do 24/7, but we all can make that concerted effort to try, right?

Sure we can that’s why the movie Pollyanna was such a big success!

Wasn’t that in 1960 though? Haley Mills played the title role and we all wanted to be her then.

Did you know that the novel was actually written in 1913 by Eleanor H. Porter?

Those sure were the days, huh?

Nope, in case you were wondering I wasn’t there in person to read the first editions of the novel but I was there for that movie, and yes folks I was ten then.

For those of you who weren’t around then let me refresh your memories Pollyanna was a young girl who always saw the good in everything, thus the term being ‘a Pollyanna’.

Truer words may never ever have been said for me to try and learn over in this elder age life of mine.

Did you know that no matter what you look like if you slap a smile on your face you usually get one back in return?

Well, you do.

Understanding and listening is another wonderful asset also; interjected with positive reassuring words of encouragement tossed into the conversation too.

Back to my test … I have come to the conclusion that whether I am thin or fat what really matters is how I present myself to the world at large, excuse the pun; nah include it! LOL! In other words if I act happy and pleasant I will often get that same effect back at me. But there is a caveat to that… some people just look at all of this, (I am now pointing at my physical being) meaning bigger more to love me, and pre-conceive what they will assume to be our conversation in a negative tone.

Not unlike when I was in a wheelchair years ago and Hubby pushed me around and people spoke with him because apparently I looked to them like an idle idiot or some such incapable thing, unable to hold a coherent conversation. Aren’t assumptions scary?

In the beginning of not knowing what I was dealing with RRMS Relapsing Remitting Multiple Sclerosis, I had what some would say that I would call good years of being more able than not on and off for about thirty.

And I made every effort to always speak to that person in the wheelchair and assumed again that we could very likely hold an intelligent conversation without any exterior interference; but as I said that was an assumption and they do go both ways, positive and negative with two types of endings as well. And so to be fair they did not always turn out so happily for me in my initial desires to make nice, nice with the world.

Although, it may be responsible for my compassion for others now and my impatience with others for not getting it when I need it!

All and all I have done this form of experiment before and always have gotten the same results… smile and the world smiles with you!

If only everything else in life was as easy?

Last Saturday would have been John Lennon’s seventieth birthday and again his absolutely perfect, my favorite all time song of his 'Imagine’ came to mind and it made me think how sadly none of it came true.

That’s not totally true though, let’s think, once again thanks to the social media the world of understanding could be so much closer and many, 500 Million strong have proven it to be the case!

Thinking on a good happy idea of making life better for everyone I will wish you all a very happy good night to all and to all count those blessings and share those overages and we will too!

And next time be here or be square, OK?

PS last night I was informed that a very wonderful lady passed away, a favorite niece of my Mom's and Dad's... rest in peace one of my favorite cousins too, Audrey, you will be sorely missed by all who knew you.

Monday, October 11, 2010

I thought that...

Tonight I would talk about this great research I was doing on obesity, but no one would believe me.

Yep, I truly feel it in my bones that no one would believe what I dug up and mostly my own Hubby, who’s been skinny all of his life and doesn’t get it about anyone who has that problem of weighing too much.

He’s prejudiced; not unlike most people with the true theory that no activity and eating too much is the only cause of obesity and there for, exercising and not eating too much or much of anything is the answer!

You see, like most men, even the fat ones they think that their body is sheer perfection, gals you know what I mean? Even the really scrawny ones.

Well, since the past few years have been taking a toll on this lithe ballerina ole body of mine.

First of all for any of you who have weak stomachs please feel free to leave now before I go into to much depth of my explanation… I’ll wait, are you sure, last call?

OK, for those of you brave souls let me continue on…

How many of you out there have struggled with quitting smoking?

Personally, Hubby and I over the years have tried about six times, using the patch, cold turkey or just anything that was on the market yep even that gum, and nearly committed murder or divorce at the very least, but here we still are, aren’t we?

And we did quit a few times for anywhere around six months or more, but always went back; mine was due to my sluggish metabolism and oral fixation problem and gaining anywhere from forty to fifty pounds! Hubby never gained more than ten, but was grumpy when not doing the ghastly deed of puffs!

And you know it always took much, much longer to take it off then it did to put it on, right? What’s up with that?


I am proud to say that I have not smoked a cigarette now for over four years; to be exact, I quit back in July 11 of 2006! How about that?

It was due to the Nicotrol Inhaler, it looked like an old fashioned cigarette holder but no cigarette was in it only these cartridges you would put in that had nicotine in them, and I quit the real butts right away and never looked back, and stopped using the weaning mechanism within weeks!

Hooray! Everyone out there should be so proud of me, huh?

Hubby had no desire to quit then, but did help by smoking outside only, and then he finally bit the bullet and did quit this past February for my anniversary present, so he said whatever the reason I am just happy he finally did.

Any-who, July of 2006 was the summer I was still being tested for MS all those MRI’s and my MS neurologist said that he picked up a TIA, a transient ischemic attack, a mini stroke as well as the MS lesions. Although, since there has been some controversy over whether or not an MRI would show such a thing as TIA's.

But that was my motivation to try to quit again since both my parents had died from strokes and little did I know then that my brother who would die a few years later too from a stroke.

And so I finally had my logical reasoning.

Sadly, I had been putting weight on this time before quitting smoking for about two years.

Between our sixteen year old Yorkie dying, our one son becoming estranged from us and then to top it off with Hurricane Charley destroying our home with us in it... I truthfully became severely depressed, and went to see a psychiatrist, diagnosing myself with PTSS, Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome, he never definitely said he agreed but did write a prescription for an anti-depressive which was new on the market then, Cymbalta.

I took it for two years when I had insurance when I no longer did it was $300 dollars a month so he helped me with a program that paid for it for a while but then Hubby’s retirement pension kicked in and his SSI and we no longer qualified, but it was way too much to pay for ourselves and guess what, I didn't need it, all better!

It turns out the main reason I went to the psychiatrist was because I had gained some weight without quitting smoking and I had tried LA Weight loss and actually gained five pounds, so I thought I must be either depressed or crazy! And I told the doctor that.

So he puts me on this new medication that turns out to cause weight gain while I am still smoking but it makes you feel so good and so who cares! Now who’s crazy?

OK, got off that medication, but then I was put on another for leaking, women know what that is and that too Enablex caused a weight gain! And that problem is also from MS; leaking not weight gain, although..., one of the first symptoms by the way i.e. leaking.

Got off that couldn’t afford it due to no insurance as of four years ago this month, but still gaining weight.

Go to the doctor, regular M.D., not psycho one, now for the first time due to this weight gain I now have high blood pressure that requires medication, always had low blood pressure that was so low people used to tease me about being a dizzy blonde and all, ha?

Add in some ace inhibitors due to the weight gain and then altogether four medications that have the side affect of weight gain and then quit smoking after the TIA scare, and then within two years being told don’t walk anymore to try to loose the weight (I had lost twelve pounds!) because my hips are so bad and I have no insurance to fix them and I was making them worse since I couldn’t sleep at night from the pain and pain medicine causes me to have bleeding ulcers, and here I sit before you all with an additional weight gain of nearly what I used to weigh with no sympathy from anyone only rude disgusted stares when out in public.

So I beg all of you to try not to be too judgmental of the obese for their for the grace of illness and medication may go you…people think it's due to the mobility scooter actually the weight came way before I was told no more walking!

TA DA!

That is why I don’t go out as much as I should I am so ashamed and secretly I think Hubby is too. Although not so secretly he still doesn’t understand… do any ?

Happy night to you all and to all count those blessings and share those overages and we will too!

And next time be here or be square, OK?

Sunday, October 10, 2010

10-10-10, a great day for a wedding! So the numerologists say... I suspect...

Numerology; do you believe in it?
I don’t know enough about it to not or too, got that?
Some things do fascinate me just for the pure unique value of them.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
Numerology is any of many systems, traditions or beliefs in a mystical or esoteric relationship between numbers and physical objects or living things.
Well, contrary or perhaps due to the above info I heard that 10-10-10 actually turns out to be the total for the number five, since the date of 10-10-2010 is the actual and adding across it turns out to be the number five, you see that! Which, by the way, represents celebration, love and affection thus the reason for so many choosing today as their wedding day! Congratulations peeps!

Other than this wonderful day taking place for all those newlyweds today I felt much better than I did last night.
You see that with MS, Multiple Sclerosis one never knows in the beginning diagnosis to not know how to pace yourself so much or if the littlest stress will give you what is called a pseudo-exacerbation, and that is what I had, and if it had been a full fledge relapse it would have lasted maybe anywhere from two days or longer.
I was lucky this time but I still have to work on learning my daily limitations and how far I can push.
We did go out for the second day in a row, which to me is a lot when you have been basically house bound.
I even pushed myself to go out again today!
Yesterday, was for fun and entertainment we went to Fishville over in River City AKA Punta Gorda they were having their subdued version of October fest, more of a Halloween Fest for many elementary schools were there showing the festive displays of pumpkins and such, which by rights is part of the fall festival of bounty.
But to me it always was a German oriented celebration of bratwurst, wiener snitzel as well as beer steins full of that beverage and oompa music, polka included.
This had a six man oompa band that did play while Hubby ate his bratwurst but I had soup and salad and not the German kind, don’t know if there is any?
Our meals were great but we still have trouble when we go anywhere lately we have been known to argue about silly things which embarrass us both and until we leave the area , although yesterday it foolishly went on in the car all the way home, thus my spasms en masse and I forgot to fill up my pill box for Baclofen and so we went straight home after we started to go for just a short ride. Now I made sure I have plenty in my box for just such occasions.
Exhaustion for us both and me being somewhat not a happy patient is usually why we argue. I so enjoy talking to folks being in so much and Hubby thinks I interrupt him, but I feel I am just joining into the conversation, who knows…
I am so sick and tired of being sick and tired.
This morning I actually awoke way early before four A.M. and searched the MS Blogs about the information that I was concerned about my numbness in my hands and feet now. That still had been coming and going, even now.
I found some great comments on all topics discussed about MS just copy and paste: http://msworld.org/


Any-who I did go out again this morning with Hubby to get some groceries that we needed this and that.
I just love going somewhere, anywhere.
Not that I don’t love our home because I really do but I know it inside out literally, ha, but doesn’t everyone! LOL!

On the above site I did find a couple of nice quotes that I did know about but I am not all that sure if I knew who actually said them and now I do, and I will share them with you…

If we open a quarrel between the past and the present, we shall find that we have lost the future. -Winston Churchill

Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer but wish we didn't. ~ Erica Jong

On those words of wisdom from two very different but very wise folks I will wish you all a very happy good night and to all count those blessings and suggest to share those overages and we will too!

And next time be here or be square, OK?

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Hubby here.

Tobi is not feeling well tonight, her hands are numb and she can not type, hopefully she will be back tomorrow night.

As she would say,

Next time be here or be square.

Friday, October 8, 2010

Holy Cow!

So my dear Facebook friend also from New Jersey has been known to say.
Personally, I can’t remember the last time I said it…oh yea…just now! LOL!
My reasoning is because of the fact that when we went to that Home Show last week I filled out one of those raffle tickets for a free trip.
And we won!
Well sort of…
First we had to go to a seminar of sorts and listen intently for ninety minutes to a spiel about joining this fantastic travel club, The Leisure Group, American Travel Partners, Inc. who’s been around since 1981 and offers these memberships for only eight thousand dollars and for only ten years total time and once joined then we will save incredible amounts of monies on our vacations each year up to four thousand dollars a year which means in two years it pays for itself,not including a $199 yearly reapplication fee…
Hmmm… sounds great to someone who travels that much to exotic places and has the stamina not to think about the how what when or why of each trip they so desire.
Actually to anyone who has that kind of money to splurge without other financial issues in their way like emergency appliances breaking and medical issues a car that is doing OK but is way up in age, being a 2001, but with less than 35000 miles on it!
I suppose we were a wee bit out of our league.
But to be fair we did win the ability to go on a cruise for three to seven days or to stay at a hotel for seven days or air faire round trip for two adults to Las Vegas, Washington D.C. ,San Diego or Anaheim, California with two night’s accommodations, taxes not included either.
But there are a few slight hitches, taxes are not included for the cruises either, which each can be a few hundred per person, and a refundable deposit is needed for reservations which is $100.
Sometimes don’t you wish that you had just a few extra bucks to blow on whatever your heart desires…?
Too bad I am such a worry wart about paying bills or this could be wonderful!
Since we do have a big anniversary coming up in a few months, the fortieth!
I was hopeful that we could find one of the combinations that would work for us… and we may still… who knows!
We have a while to decide.
The seven night hotel stay sounds as if it could be the most feasible…
Feedback would be great.

We did get to go after the seminar sales pitch adjacent to the parking lot of the motel to a restaurant chain’s offering, The Cracker Barrel.They now have healthy selections not just 'comfort food', I had broiled trout and three sides of vegetables too! Hubby had meatloaf with extra gravy! Pure comfort food with mashed potatoes included. The meeting for the travel club was at an off the highway motel called Sleep Inn, oddly enough not a part of their offers in their club.
Theirs are upper echelon style hotels and resorts of the five start quality.
Also while there I came up with an idea that I had thrown to the back of my brain under the heading wouldn’t it be nice… If I could be a ‘Travel Blogger’ that wrote about her travels with utilizing special services available for the physically challenged as well as with our darling little fifteen pounder, Bichon Frise, Skipper! And how that all goes in real time for an enjoyable life in spite of the trials and tribulations of dealing with Multiple Sclerosis and other medical issues and not leaving darling doggy at home either. With Hubby’s help it could be quite a wonderful way to let others know that they could get out again into the world as we see it and know that others would be willing to make it so much easier. I do believe there is a market for this, anyone listening?

And lastly to my other lovely friend in New Zealand that just had a birthday today in our hemisphere but yesterday in hers said she may be coming to visit me!
Her business is doing fantastic which is always wonderful to hear but for her new one that she has been putting so much effort into it is absolutely excellent news!
And so I will say to her and in front of everyone, congratulations!

On this night of slight pleasant exhaustion I will wish you all very happy good night and to everyone count those blessings and share those overages and we will too!

And next time be here or be square, OK?

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Life goes on...

People ask one another for help daily, especially people like me.
It does become embarrassing when you find yourself doing it so often, but in truth you realize what choice do you have?
It’s not unheard of when folks have been together for many years, spouses, that one could be so attuned to the other’s needs that they can anticipate the other before the wants or need is spoken aloud.
Wow, those people are true soul mates.
And may be in my unrealistic desires and not one I can lay claim to.
Yep, you got it!
Hubby continues to go by the line, ‘just ask’.
So that is what I have found myself doing, but for someone who had not ever been a dependent in their life it is still after all the time that has passed to do it, not as simple as he suggests.
Repetitive and annoying is what I feel like when I have to keep asking.
It is shameful in my book to be needing to be helped so much, and needing to ask for that help so often, but I am being redundant, aren’t I?
Sadly on this topic is the one we butt heads over the most.

As days go on… my inabilities or as well as my many medications cause me to have quite a few side affects too.
That cause irritability, weight gain and besides the normal MS dizziness I have also Ataxia and medicinally caused dizziness. It’s a lose, lose situation some days.
Lately my stomach has been causing me grief but I have a long history of stomach disorders too.
Let’s face it, I am a mess!
Right now my back is acting up too and so this may be a shorty tonight…

Any-who… on the positive side…,
People are so wonderful out in the world on the short term.
They smile when I do, and talk when I do too.
On Facebook I have two friends that I wished a happy birthday to this week and they reacted so lovely in thanking me that I must say it made me smile, but sadly they couldn’t see it.
Who doesn’t enjoy making other people happy has never done it!

I suppose that is what I miss the most is feeling the good feeling of making others happy with helping others.
Oh what a feeling!
That’s’ why working non-profit as a volunteer is so rewarding.
But today once again I did sign a message that will be going to congress on a vote to help persuade them to help people with MS.
I so enjoy online advocacy which I still can do.
And I did this time have the good sense to pass it on to a couple of others with MS and hopefully they will also get involved this easy way.

Not doing well… pain sitting once again and so I will bid you all a very happy night and to all count those blessings and share those overages please and we will too!

And next time be here or be square, OK?

Speaking My Mind: Which way will the war go?

Speaking My Mind: Which way will the war go? :   My eyesight is going again... in case you missed it... Netanyahu snaps back against growing...