*Pokes Blog*

Yes, blog is still here. I took a long weekend off from blogging anywhere. I was a bit rundown, and needed to recharge. There was also the question of cleaning house which had been ignored needed to be addressed. I also managed to address some book folding and some shopping.

Wedding gifts do not purchase themselves. Ask any woman.

Today is April Fools’ Day, and I find myself wondering why we designate only one day for that. In my opinion, designating a month for it is still not long enough. On the other hand, at least I don’t live in France and have to deal with someone trying to adhere a fish to my back. There is always a silver lining. In my case, the silver lining is usually aluminium. Which is fine, because it’s great for cooking.

There’s a lot of rambling in my head today.

Actually, there’s a lot of rambling in my head every day. The sad part is, the absence or presence of booze doesn’t have anything to do with it. So I have that going for me, right? RIGHT?? Don’t answer. I don’t think my ego can take it. At least not until I’ve had my third cup of coffee. Which is probably the reason I ramble so much. Viscous circles, you know.

(I interrupt this not-so-regularly scheduled post while I take Son to get braces. Highlight of day: accomplished!)

So today finds me being a bit domestic, making braised chicken a la Provence, baking bread, organizing stuff to donate, and listening to Vivaldi, at least until Little One comes home and turns on Futurama, or some gameshow. All I know is she thinks she is master of the remote. So with that, I finish rambling and go off to finish making dinner while pretending the glass of water is a glass of wine.

I’m not just good at rambling. I’m good at dreaming, too 😀

When Worlds Collide

I love being a geek. I cannot express the joy I get when science fiction characters are assimilated into a smash-up of epic proportions.

Today is the birthday of one of Science Fiction’s most revered icons, none other than the original, and best evah, Captain Kirk.

WILLIAM SHATNER!!!

I saw that photo* on the social-site-with-faces and SQUEEE’d!! How epic is it to find the captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise being “escorted” by Stormtroopers?? That made my whole week. Happiest of days to Captain T.J. Crane!! (See what I did there??)

Hope y’all have a long and prosperous weekend 😉

*Special hat tip to my friend, Mr. Fixit 😀

Thursday Never List

There is a time to every purpose under Heaven, right?

Take washing the car, for example. After misty, drizzly days, you are itching to wash the accumulated dirt and seeds and what-not that feels glued to the exterior. And the day after you wash your vehicle, it rains. That evul Murphy and his Laws strikes again. Sometimes plans don’t jive with Fate, and the efforts seem wasted. I prefer to think of it as an opportunity to learn.

And I tend to learn a lot. Over and over again, it seems.

Things Never To Do Out of Order

#5– Never wash your car if there is rain in the forecast

As alluded to before, even if you live in the desert, just learn to be patient and wait for endless sunny days.

#4– Never bathe your dog before taking him to the dog park

Hilarity will ensue after he discovers new scents into which to revel.

#3– Never try new cosmetics the day of an event

Redness and splotchy look great in commercials, but not in real life.

#2– Never take the newly-opened exit ramp

People are creatures of habit, and as such will STILL act like the ramp isn’t there for days afterwards.

#1– Never do your nails right before cleaning anything

Or gardening, or sewing, or laundering, or fill-in-the-blank. This is my Achilles heel and forever will be so until such time as I have either a full-time housekeeper, gardener, and cook, or I give up on having pretty nails.

I’m pretty sure the latter will win out 😀

Thursday Never List

Today’s scribbly fluff deals with kindness. As a mom, I find it challenging to teach my kids how to be kind for kindness’ sake. It’s challenging because there are times when I want to go Rambo on some idiot taking up space at the dairy section, trying to decide if his soon-to-be carcass needs 2% or 1% milk. Seriously, is there such a life-threatening difference?? But it wouldn’t do to act like that in front of kids, or anyone for that matter. Nor would it do to be hostile to someone you don’t know simply because you are in a hurry to get creamer because you haven’t had your daily allotment of coffee.

Anyway, I understand there are times when it is very difficult, almost near impossible, to be kind. But there a some things which we should never pass up doing randomly for others.

#5– Never forget to wave

A simple acknowledgement like a hand wave goes a long way to make someone feel appreciated.

#4– Never forget to look behind you

Watching out for others makes one incredibly considerate.

#3– Never respond in anger

You can never take back words once spoken. Also, you can never take back words typed after hitting “send” or “enter”. Always read or think before you act.

#2– Never forget “Please” and “Thank you”

People aren’t your subjects, so don’t treat them like they are.

#1– Never forget to smile

People feel much better when they smile, and when it is returned. As a bonus, they will wonder if you are up to something.

There are many ways to show kindness to others. And by showing kindness, we get it in return.

Unless you are at the DMV. Then it’s a crap shoot 😉

Thursday Never List

Everyone loves to give advice. Notice I didn’t say “good advice”. We give advice when asked for it, and we give advice unsolicited. Some of the best advice I have followed stemmed from someone’s experience, and not from pearls of wisdom. Some of the worst advice has come from trusted sources (I will never, EVER eat eggplant casserole again). The great thing about advice is not that you can follow it, but that you have the free will to ignore it as well. Unfortunately, the trick is to know when to do one or the other.

That’s usually when hilarity ensues, so you have that going for you.

There are some words of advice that people should never forget, though.

#5– Never go to bed angry

It doesn’t matter if some wizard cleaned your clock in World of Warcraft™ or if you’re miffed because your significant other forgot to DVR your TV show. Resolve your anger and you’ll sleep better. Or at least, sleep with both eyes closed instead of one open.

#4– Never go grocery shopping while hungry

There is a can of octopus in the refrigerator, purchased while having a craving for sushi. I bet that can will evolve into the Kraken before too long.

#3– Never leave chocolate unattended

I speak as a victim. And also as a culprit. Don’t judge me.

#2– Never leave wet towels on the floor

Especially if you have dogs. Double especially if you have wet dogs.

#1– Never skip dessert

Some say with the sweet, comes the sour. I say with dessert, comes happiness. It sure makes for a sweet ending to whatever type of day you are having.

So there’s a few random words of unsolicited advice. As always, take with a grain of sugar or two 😉

Retail Therapy

I don’t care what some people say, I firmly believe everyone enjoys retail therapy to some degree. Whether you are buying ammo or new shoes, or shopping for others or yourself, it makes no difference. There is a part of you that really, really feels good about it.

For some guys, it may be a very tiny part, but it’s there. Especially if it involves booze. Or bacon. Or bullets.

We women get a bad rap for it, but we don’t all follow the norm. For example, I have three sisters. Last evening Sister #2 called to tell me she had bought some furniture for the empty room upstairs, and was so giddy about it she was giggling. Sister #3 sent an MMS to all of us showing her new shoes, which she purchased at a major discount (And I mean MAJOR: Nicole Miller heels for $4.98). And Sister #4 and I (I’m Sister #1, in case y’all wondered) usually SQUEEE over the Lolita glasses we *ahem* acquire. The funny thing is, it doesn’t have to be expensive or blingy or showy for retail therapy to work its magic on your psyche.

It just has to make you happy. Admittedly, a gorgeous diamond ring would make most women happy, and a Ferrari would make most men happy, too. But high maintenance would take away that first blush of happiness and replace it with resentment soon enough. Not that I would know first hand about that, though.

Sure would be fun to try it for a few weeks, though 😉

Thursday Never List

The other day I had the misfortune of jamming my nail into the back of a chair, causing the nail to bend back and rip from the bed in a very alarming, not to say painful manner.

I cried like a little girl. I admit it.

Once I took care of the bleeding and the whining, I went to look for a bandage to hold my nail down so that it wouldn’t rip any further.

Nothing in my medicine cabinet.

Nothing in the medicine basket in the kitchen.

Nothing in the first aid kit.

Finally I find a box of bandages buried under who knows how many empty bottles and leftover soaps and dried up nail polishes inside the kids’ bath cabinet. So, I am remedying that oversight today. And cleaning out the crap that has collected due to lazy kids.

Stuff One Should Never Be Without in a Medicine Cabinet

#5– Aspirin

Be all and end all of pain relievers, acne sufferers, and let’s not forget those with heart issues.

#4– Isopropyl alcohol

I have to make that distinction. Otherwise, people would stock Everclear™.

#3– Bandages

Blood is sure pretty, unless it’s your own.

#2– Bismuth solution

For every abdomen ailment. And it’s pink! BONUS!!

#1– Topical antibiotic

I must have seventeen tubes of Neosporin™, Lanacane™, and Bacitracin™ all over the house. And I’m of the opinion it’s STILL not enough.

Anyway, I hope y’all have a wonderful Thursday and enjoy the day not needing any of these items. I’m off to clean out the massive collection of crap under the cabinet. Here’s hoping none of it is radioactive by now 🙂

It’s Tuesday??

I didn’t forget to write a post. Honest! I just had to take a break for a bit due to pretty much not having a topic on which to ramble. Sometimes I want to discuss serious issues here, but then I remember that this blog is fluff for fun.

Some of the stuff I did for fun:

Cleaned under the refrigerator and searched for loose change. Found $1.13.

Counted my vast Lolita glass collection. Still aghast that it is not complete.

Watched K-grade movies. Yes, they were that bad.

Acquired an old table that my neighbor was throwing out. Recycling is *in*.

So that was my fun for the past few days. It’s not much, but sure is a change from this meet or that concert or that play all the time. Still, this post took me several hours to write, which should tell you that either I have a slight case of attention deficit, or that my life is really that boring.

I think it’s more the latter than the former.

Hope y’all enjoy the rest of your Tuesday 🙂

Thursday Never List

ZOMG!!! My 20th TNL!!!

Not counting the ones bumped to Fridays due to laziness.

It’s hard coming up with Never Lists. Pretty soon I’ll run out of Nevers and sound like a Puritan. But on the plus side, there is a lot of stupid out there from which to choose, so I have that going for me.

(So, Hubby came home early and we decided to watch A Good day to Die Hard, and then my mom needed some stuff, and then dinnertime came, and went, and so I am just now getting back to this post. I suck at blogging, I know.)

Advice One Should Never Ignore

#5– Always have an umbrella

Yes, even in South Texas. Because the day you don’t have one is the day you are all dressed up for that date you have been planning for months, wearing your new silk dress, and that just-out-of-the-salon hair style. So I hear.

#4– Keep spare glasses in your nightstand

Last thing you need is to look for things you can’t see.

#3– Play more

Be active and enjoy life. There is nothing worse than being dead inside. Unless you’re a zombie, I guess.

#2– Find a happy place

You don’t have to be happy all day, but you should find something to be happy about every day.

#1– Never get involved in a land war in Asia

Seriously, remember Qin??

Anyway, I do hope y’all had a wonderful day and are relaxing now. If not, then I hope the non-relaxation is worth it 😀

Musings on Being Nostalgic

There are so many things I miss.

I never seem to give them any thought, though. Sometimes one or two things will quietly slip into my mind and remind me of good times long past. It may sound maudlin, but I am sure I’m not the only one that has a thought spring up like that.

I miss running after the ice cream truck. It was a challenge to see who could get to it first. Saving nickels and dimes every week just so you could get a Drumstick™ was fun, but eating it all before it melted into a sticky mess was an achievement.

I miss being able to slam down a phone. There was a satisfaction of hearing that BAM!! and knowing you had really made your *ahem* dissatisfaction known to the person on the other end.

I miss the card catalog. I loved, LOVED running my fingers down the index cards, reading the books’ information, pretending to be a detective trying to figure out the cryptic synopsis. It’s not as fun to look it up on the computer and have the whole plot outlined already.

I miss roller skates. Not roller blades, mind you. But the metal, scrappy, key-to-adjust kind that you put over your sneakers. That screech the wheels made as you tried to glide gracefully on the sidewalk was like music to my ears.

I miss Polaroids™. It was fun to wait for the film to develop right before your eyes, and yes, I shook the heck out of them. Before Photoshop™, before Instagram™, all you had to do was wait a few years and the film would antique itself quite nicely.

Anyway, I have been sentimental long enough. Time for me to take advantage of current technology and do some laundry in my high efficiency washing machine 🙂