I've Been Lazy

Sorry I haven't had that many posts lately. I've been sick and now Shorty has contracted the sickness. We took her to the children's emergency clinic last night about 7:00. She had a temperature of 101.9, which scared the bejeezus out of me. I gave her some Tylenol and we headed to the clinic. By the time we got there, her temperature was normal. You could tell by her eyes that she was sick though. The doctor checked her out and said she had a viral infection - same thing as me and probably 75% of the county. I'm just hoping Papa Rooster doesn't catch this because if he does, I'll be in for some serious ass kissing. Illnesses always seem to affect him so much more than they do me - well, sometimes they do. Okay. I admit it...I'm a big baby.

Also, I couldn't help but notice that no one has left me a comment on the Olan Mills pictures, on which one they thought was me. I'll go cry now.

Sucking Your Thumb For Comfort - My Home Depot Experience

Shorty and I ventured out to Home Depot this afternoon to buy Papa Rooster a birthday present. His birthday is Sunday. Since he never reads my blog, I won't be in any danger of giving away the surprise that I actually bought him something for his birthday - unlike me on my birthday, which he totally forgot. I won't go into that now. Tisk, tisk, tisk.

Anyway, we're at Home Depot checking out. Shorty is sucking on her pacifier (or pa-pa) as she calls it. The checker said something to her and for some reason or another I said something, like, yeah, she's over two years old and still sucking on a pacifier.

This lady proceeds to tell me that she sucked her thumb all the way until she was in junior high. Fast forward from junior high school to this lady turning 39 years old. The poor woman had a stroke at 39 years of age. She said her father walked into her hospital room and found her curled up in the bed sucking her thumb. She said if she gets real sick, she always sucks her thumb. She told me once she puts her thumb in her mouth, it's like taking a Valium.

I thought it was neat that this lady shared this story with me. It just reassures me that I don't have to throw away all of Shorty's pa-pas. If it brings Shorty comfort, then I don't see any harm in it.

Test your Tiredness

To test your tiredness, click your left mouse button as soon as you see numbers appear on the screen. Your reaction time indicates how tired you are, so don't hesitate!

The test lasts around two minutes, but you can stop at any point by clicking 'stop and analyse'.

The Wellcome Collection – Sleeping & Dreaming: Test your Tiredness

I took the test and it said I was pretty alert even though I'm not feeling very alert. I've got a cold or something. My head feels like a balloon full of mayonnaise and cement.

Via

Chewing Gum Sculpture

Italian artist Maurizio Savini has distinguished himself by using a very unusual material for his sculptures: pink chewing gum.




More Here

Puppy Size

This is one of the neatest stories you will ever hear. You will know precisely what this little girl is talking about at the end (you'll want to share this one with your loved ones and special friends)!

'Danielle keeps repeating it over and over again. We've been back to this animal shelter at least five times. It has been weeks now since we started all of this,' the mother told the volunteer.

'What is it she keeps asking for?' the volunteer asked.

'Puppy size!' replied the mother.

'Well, we have plenty of puppies, if that's what she's looking for.'

'I know...we have seen most of them,' the mom said in frustration...

Just then Danielle came walking into the office.

'Well, did you find one?' asked her mom. 'No, not this time,' Danielle said with sadness in her voice. 'Can we come back on the weekend?'

The two women looked at each other, shook their heads and laughed.

'You never know when we will get more dogs. Unfortunately, there's always a supply,' the volunteer said.

Danielle took her mother by the hand and headed to the door. 'Don't worry, I'll find one this weekend,' she said.

Over the next few days both mom and dad had long conversations with her.

They both felt she was being too particular. 'It's this weekend or we're not looking any more,' Dad finally said in frustration.

'We don't want to hear anything more about puppy size either,' Mom added.

Sure enough, they were the first ones in the shelter on Saturday morning. By now Danielle knew her way around, so she ran right for the section that housed the smaller dogs.

Tired of the routine, mom sat in the small waiting room at the end of the first row of cages. There was an observation window so you could see the animals during times when visitors weren't permitted.

Danielle walked slowly from cage to cage, kneeling periodically to take a closer look. One by one, the dogs were brought out and she held each one.

One by one she said, 'Sorry, you're not the one.'

It was the last cage on this last day in search of the perfect pup.

The volunteer opened the cage door and the child carefully picked up the dog and held it closely. This time she took a little longer.

'Mom, that's it! I found the right puppy! He's the one! I know it!' she screamed with joy. 'It's the puppy size!'

'But it's the same size as all the other puppies you held over the last few weeks,' Mom said.

'No not size... the sighs. When I held him in my arms, he sighed,' she said.

'Don't you remember? When I asked you one day what love is, you told me love depends on the sighs of your heart. The more you love, the bigger the sigh!'

The two women looked at each other for a moment. Mom didn't know whether to laugh or cry. As she stooped down to hug the child, she did a little of both.

'Mom, every time you hold me, I sigh. When you and Daddy come home from work and hug each other, you both sigh. I knew I would find the right puppy if it sighed when I held it in my arms,' she said.

Then holding the puppy up close to her face she said, 'Mom, he loves me. I heard the sighs of his heart!'

Close your eyes for a moment and think about the love that makes you sigh. I not only find it in the arms of my loved ones, but in the caress of a sunset, the kiss of the moonlight and the gentle brush of cool air on a hot day.

They are the sighs of God! Take the time to stop and listen; you will be surprised at what you hear.

May each of you feel and hear the sighs of God...

Doe, A Deer, A Female Deer

Got this in an email from my mother. Thought it was weird it happened in between Mena and DeQueen. I'll have to drive more carefully through that area of Arkansas.

The pictures pretty much tell the story, but here's a brief explanation...

They were traveling in southern Arkansas , between Mena and DeQueen. Oncoming car clipped a deer and sent it straight up into the air. The deer came down head-first into Clayton's brand new truck. The deer's
head went thru the front windshield, cutting the head (plus some) off, and landed in Jill's lap. The body of the deer flipped up, smashed in the top of the truck, and landed in the bed. Clayton couldn't see Jill from his side, because the top of the truck was smashed in so horribly.

He got out of the truck, went around, and opened the door on her side...only to start flipping out, because she was literally drenched in blood. However, neither one of them was hurt. Her parents were following in a separate vehicle and didn't see it happen...but drove up on it right afterward. I can't imagine what they were thinking!

I know this isn't a unique experience, but I've never personally known anyone that it's happened to or seen pictures. Crazy!

Ordinary People

Train Plows Through Snow

How To Act Like A Wo-MAN

What in the wide, wide world of sports is a goin' on here?


How To Act Like A Woman

Grooming Products For Men - That Women Might Want To Borrow

Saw this over at Rare Bird Finds.

Ace (the company that makes the bandages) has come out with a very cool line of grooming products for men. Everything is "man sized" and has a sleek black and red look. Above is the Nail File Pick which scrubs, files, and cleans under the nail.

$6.99 at The Round Table

Your lady won't let you near her with those greasy, dirty hands. Use this. The ACE Nail File Pick is equipped with a man-sized textured grip, a 360º scrubbing ring to remove paint, grit, and grease from nail surface and cuticles, a cleaning pick to eliminate dirt under nails, and a nail file to smooth nails.

Swaptree - Swap Books, CDs, DVDs & Video Games

Swaptree is a website that allows you to swap your books, CDs, DVDs, and video games with other members for free.

You simply list the items you have and the items you want, and Swaptree's trade algorithms instantly find the members who want what you have and have what you want. So you can take that video game your child grew tired of, and trade it for a new one for only the cost of shipping. It's a great way to save money, be friendly to the environment and reduce consumption.

Swaptree even simplifies the mailing process by enabling you to print a perfect postage label right from your printer, so you don't have to weigh your items, buy stamps, or even go to the post office.

Via

Enter code parenthacks @ checkout through mid-February of 2008 to receive free shipping on your first swap.

UFO In Stephenville?

What's going on in Stephenville, Texas?

Dozens in Texas Town Report Seeing UFO
By ANGELA K. BROWN – 17 hours ago

STEPHENVILLE, Texas (AP) — In this farming community where nightfall usually brings clear, starry skies, residents are abuzz over reported sightings of what many believe is a UFO.

Several dozen people — including a pilot, county constable and business owners — insist they have seen a large silent object with bright lights flying low and fast. Some reported seeing fighter jets chasing it.

"People wonder what in the world it is because this is the Bible Belt, and everyone is afraid it's the end of times," said Steve Allen, a freight company owner and pilot who said the object he saw last week was a mile long and half a mile wide. "It was positively, absolutely nothing from these parts."

While federal officials insist there's a logical explanation, locals swear that it was larger, quieter, faster and lower to the ground than an airplane. They also said the object's lights changed configuration, unlike those of a plane. People in several towns who reported seeing it over several weeks have offered similar descriptions of the object.

Machinist Ricky Sorrells said friends made fun of him when he told them he saw a flat, metallic object hovering about 300 feet over a pasture behind his Dublin home. But he decided to come forward after reading similar accounts in the Stephenville Empire-Tribune.

"You hear about big bass or big buck in the area, but this is a different deal," Sorrells said. "It feels good to hear that other people saw something, because that means I'm not crazy."

Sorrells said he has seen the object several times. He said he watched it through his rifle's telescopic lens and described it as very large and without seams, nuts or bolts.

Maj. Karl Lewis, a spokesman for the 301st Fighter Wing at the Joint Reserve Base Naval Air Station in Fort Worth, said no F-16s or other aircraft from his base were in the area the night of Jan. 8, when most people reported the sighting.

Lewis said the object may have been an illusion caused by two commercial airplanes. Lights from the aircraft would seem unusually bright and may appear orange from the setting sun.

"I'm 90 percent sure this was an airliner," Lewis said. "With the sun's angle, it can play tricks on you."

Officials at the region's two Air Force bases — Dyess in Abilene and Sheppard in Wichita Falls — also said none of their aircraft were in the area last week. The Air Force no longer investigates UFOs.

One man has offered a reward for a photograph or videotape of the mysterious object.

About 200 UFO sightings are reported each month, mostly in California, Colorado and Texas, according to the Mutual UFO Network, which plans to go to the 17,000-resident town of Stephenville to investigate.

Fourteen percent of Americans polled last year by The Associated Press and Ipsos say they have seen a UFO.

Erath County Constable Lee Roy Gaitan said that he first saw red glowing lights and then white flashing lights moving fast, but that even with binoculars could not see the object to which the lights were attached.

"I didn't see a flying saucer and I don't know what it was, but it wasn't an airplane, and I've never seen anything like it," Gaitan said. "I think it must be some kind of military craft — at least I hope it was."


Click here to see news interview of the Erath County constable who witnessed these lights or UFO or whatever you want to call it: Video

Also found this link from the Stephenville Empire-Tribune:

UFO witnessed in Cleburne by expert
Jason Greywolf Leigh, an expert on UFOs and a resident of Cleburne, will go on the air tonight at 10 p.m. CDT, for the Canadian station http://xzone-radio.com hosted by Rob McConnell to discuss the sighting so many in the area witnessed the evening of Jan. 8.

10 Ways You Can Tell Your Amish Teen Is Headed For Trouble

10. Sometimes stays in bed until after 5 am.
9. In his sock drawer, you find pictures of women without bonnets.
8. Shows up at barn raisings in full "Kiss" makeup.
7. When you criticize him, he yells, "Thou sucketh!"
6. His name is Jebediah, but he goes by "Jeb Daddy."
5. Defiantly says, "If I had a radio, I'd listen to rap."
4. You come upon his secret stash of colored socks.
3. Uses slang expression: "Talk to the hand, 'cause the beard ain't listening."
2. Was recently pulled over for "driving under the influence of cottage cheese."
1. He's wearing his big black hat backwards.

Via

This reminds me of the time my family and I were all in Mena, Arkansas at the Pizza Hut. I was about 10 years old at the time, but I can remember this like it was yesterday. We were all sitting down at a table waiting for our pizza and there was, like, 20 people in the restaurant. The men had beards with no moustaches (picture Abe Lincoln.) The women all had on little white bonnet things and long sleeved shirts and very long skirts. My mother, who whispers about like a chainsaw, starts asking all of my family members, "Are those Mennonites?" It was so loud you could have heard her down the street at Dairy Queen. I wanted to crawl under the table.

Now, when she starts whispering about people who are in the same room as her, I say one word: Mennonites. Her reply is always the same: Was I talking loud? They couldn't hear me.

Pig E. Bank

This is too cool. I saw this over on Blame It On The Voices.

• Teach your little spender how to count his or her pennies with this glittering pink interactive bank
• When you drop in a coin, the Pig E Bank identifies it and tells you what you have deposited—and keeps track of the total savings on its LCD screen
• A great tool for kids learning to recognize coins, count money and save up, it allows them to adjust the balance when making a deposit or withdrawal

$19.95

Amazon.com: Learning Journey Glitter Pink Pig E Bank with LCD Display: Toys & Games

How To Stop Telemarketers Calling

VideoJug: How To Stop Telemarketers Calling

Via: The Presurfer

Invention

Invention I always wanted to invent something that would move around & make funny noises & would change the world as we know it & I forgot all about that until we had kids & now I see I came pretty close.

Story People

Dang Dogs

Casa D'Ice

Poor Birdie

I hate it when something like this happens. It always makes me cry - probably because I'm a bawlbag.

There are always tons of cardinals outside in front of our house - maybe because there's a creek down there. This one flew right into the window. I guess he broke his neck. Rest in peace, little birdie.

Attention Shoppers: Please Report For Jury Duty

"A Vermont judge sent his sheriff to the mall to round up a jury that could fairly try a child molester."

"They stopped passers-by and asked if they were residents of Caledonia County; a "yes" answer won a summons to appear at the courthouse for jury duty immediately, right now, this minute. They rounded up 45 people that way in all, to join the 34 already at the courthouse."

"Most people apparently did not mind being summoned for surprise jury service. According to the sheriff, "99.9 percent were just excellent" about being summoned on a sidewalk and ordered to report to the courthouse immediately." Deputies were also dispatched to the local post office and supermarket."

More Here: Attention Shoppers: Please Report For Jury Duty