Right, Wrong ~ Sometimes a Pirate

1. I was reading an article in a magazine today about Email Etiquette. There were 5 rules, and I did badly regarding two of them.

One should answer an email with 48 hours. I ponder to long and do not do this. I angst over the fact that the person might be busy, so I wait ...and all this time I'm flunking etiquette.

Second one is that my messages are to long. Emails are supposed to be short. I can write auto-biopic novellas. I try to avoid moans and whines, but, ahhh, sometimes, they slip in. That wasn't a rule, but, it probably should be.

2. I do obey the speed limit.

Except when I drive and my husband is a passenger. According to him, there are not hardly any things I do right while driving. It's a game of constant (over)correction. At least he begins every sentence with "Honey". And the reason I don't drive the speed limit is that all the frustration in me at that time goes directly to my right foot! It must be a subconscious thing!

Now, however if the facts be known clearly, anytime there is a child in the car with me, my car goes only the speed limit. No faster. Ever. It's just a thing with me.

If you should ever want to find out exactly how long it takes to get from point A to point B driving the exact speed limit, just put my granddaughter in the car with me and you shall find out. Or, I could tell you the time is how many times it takes to sing "The Wheels on the Bus."

3. Left overs do well on baked potatoes. Just heat and serve. Add cheese and sour cream.

And steamed broccoli. I do mine just perfectly if I just pay a little attention to it.

Here's the broccoli tip: I put about an inch of water in the pan, a head of chopped broccoli, sprinkle with garlic powder, nature's seasoning, olive oil or sesame seed oil (very important) and if your palates can handle it, seasoned pepper (we love it).

Let the water boil, then turn the burner off. Cover with a tight lid. Here's the tricky part, don't let it over cook/steam. It will get to mushy (I mean if you like mushy, fine). Check it after about a full 2 minutes. And then decide from there when the perfect mark hits for you. You have to be independent and know what you like to cook well. And claim it!

Shout out words like, "Voila!" "Perfecto" "Finit!" "Whoa!" These are just suggestions, run with what moves you.

We happen to like our broccoli seasoned and looking really green. The fork goes through easily, but it is not mushy.

So take the left overs, like I mentioned, let's see, I had a chicken dish and some taco meat and was asking my husband, that man who anointed himself the driver corrector, which he would like and he said, 'Hey, let's mix it up! Heat it all up! Let's party!" So we did.

We served all that on the baked potatoes (which turned out to be great because I baked them in the oven) topped with cheese and sour cream if one should choose (and we all chose), and the beautiful green broccoli on the side ~ excellent. A meal fitting for a pirate who drives the speed limit and breaks the email rules and lives to tell about it.

Cats in the morning

I don't want to hate cats in the morning. I don't want to hate cats at 4 AM. But one of our cats is waking me up at 4 AM. I can't imagine he has an appointment. What is his deal?

He hides in our closet. We don't think of him when we go to bed. We close our bedroom door when we retire to our chamber. And,

at 4 AM, he decides he wants to leave.

He's a dark cat. I can hear him, but I can't see him. I look for him, but I can't find him. I want to fulfill his wish and let him out of the room so I can get back to sleep. And I feel like I hate that cat. He probably eludes me because he picks up my groggy negative vibes. A million questions in my head about why is that cat doing this? And knowing the answer means nothing.

I can type with my eyes closed. But that cat is sleeping now. It's after 10 AM. I am groggy and tired and have to work today. And that cat is sleeping. My head fills full of cotton candy and styrofoam and space.

Grrrrrr.

No cable service...

We canceled our cable service sometime last year. We did it for financial reasons, and my husband was thinking, too, that maybe he was addicted to it...addicted to the mindless place it put you, flipping mindlessly around with the remote, changing the channels constantly looking for something, anything that might interest you, stimulate you, ease your unrest, make you smarter and when he realized this was going on with him, he decided to just cancel it. That took awhile.

We attempted canceling three times before we finally did, and each time we were greeted with a cheery person who always called us back with the 'greatest cable offer in the world!'. And three times we accepted that offer, as the cable bill was getting cheaper and cheaper.

Finally, one day last year, my husband came out of the room with no intro into what he might be addressing in conversation and said, "I'm thinking of just canceling." I said, "fine." And that was it.

Phone call was made and it's been about a year, I guess. We don't know how the savings has affected us financially because we are still trying to spend less to make it every month, but mentally, not having that thing hooked up in my house has been wonderful.

I mean, there are times we want to be visually entertained and there is a lot available on the internet, as I'm sure most of the world knows, and movies from the library and friends are always offering to share what they have, so it's not like you are without if you wish not to be. It funny that saying about getting rid of something and having something else come in and take it's place ...it's true.

Anyway, I happened to visit three places in the past weekend that involved full cable service. I was free to use the remote as I wished, and guess what? There was nothing on. Hundreds of channels - and, for me, there was nothing on.

I'll take my mind over having one pumped into my house. Like the song says, 'you don't know what you got till it's gone."

Make peace with what's on your mind

The older you get,
the more you want to say the things that are on your mind,
and then along with that,
you begin to realize, there is a way it should be said.
And even then, it may not be taken as you meant it.
And so what do you do?
You think about the monk on the mountain top,
and you wish you were there?
You remember to be kind?
But, yet you wonder
Is anyone really listening?
They only will when it's their time to hear.

Miss Roxie's Thought for the Day

Think about unconditional love.

The heart of a mother is a mighty heart. Deeper than any ocean, wider than the sky, and perhaps like the wind, sometimes unseen. But, it's span of forgiveness and depth of caring about their children is immeasurable -- and more importantly, unconditional.

God's love is bigger. I thank God that I have been able to experience that love, that love that is in the heart of a mother. He gave me that love so that I could give it to my children while they are here with me, and I think, this kind of love reaches even beyond this world.

My prayer is that my children can know, beyond a shadow of any doubt, that this love is theirs. God's love. And my love.

Sherlock Holmes - the movie

I read that Sherlock Holmes was second to Avatar at the Box Office ~ And, I heard from those who didn't expect to enjoy it, that Avatar was very good.

My family opted for Sherlock Holmes. And truthfully, it is because we are Robert Downey, Jr fans. I mean, obviously, you cannot look for the real Sherlock and Watson in a Guy Ritchie film, right? (If, indeed, dear Holmes had been like a tiny dose of Downey, the books would not manage to be found anywhere in the world, as people would love and hoard them, so.)

We did enjoy the film, and knew half the way through that we were watching Part 1 ~ lol ~ not that your mystery won't be solved, so to speak, but much is left for more fun later.

And being the Sherlock Holmes in this movie takes a lot of energy! It appears to be a very exhausting part! When people criticize these parts, I think, 'good grief, you try it!' (I feel that way when people say they are annoyed with Brad Pitt's character in Inglorious Basterds - yeah, right - you try to talk like that for a whole paragraph! Tough assignment, that!)

Anyway,
I did enjoy the movie on the big screen, but more I enjoyed my family going out together and laughing together and poking each other, and hearing the whispers of ' I knew it! ' -- So, if you miss the big screen, enjoy the rental.

But I was surprised at my feeling toward Jude Law, whom I do not care for as an actor - he was brilliant with Downey - His Watson to Downey's Sherlock....They were the coolest representation of the one not having what the other one has, and needing it to survive. One can tell easily that Holmes is terribly dependent on Watson, and Watson most forgiving to everything about Holmes.

I think Rachael McAdams was too young for the part, but oh well, hotties rule.

It was fun. A no-lose, IMO, regardless of where you see it or with whom.

A List of (very bad) Movies

1. The Ugly Truth -- How ugly is the ugly truth? It's so ugly, that poor truth is lying in a ditch somewhere crying bitterly because it's name was teamed up with ugly in this terribly, horrible, no good, very bad movie,

good grief, this is so close to the most awful movie ever made, it's on the edge, if not falling over the cliff of bad.

Jumping off a cliff is better than watching this movie.

2. I Hate Valentine's Day - This movie will make you hate yourself if you watch it all, let alone feel some disdain for Valentine's day. I just had to turn it off; I have much life left to live.

Actually, poor Valentine's Day suffers needlessly, as this movie makes you suffer more each second it's on. Valentine's Day is innocent. Clean your refrigerator. Slice a tomato. Do not watch this movie. Buy a pound of your favorite candy and gorge yourself. You will suffer less.

3. Four Christmases -- Why did they make this movie? One more sad movie about Christmas and people who are from a dysfunctional family. One review said, 'only watch this movie if you are stranded on an overseas flight' -- No. He shall stand corrected -- the advice should be: Don't even watch it then. Sleep.

What we have here is just a sad display of talent (actually, I'm not even sure, now, that these people are talented or just super egotist) cast together in a really bad movie, maybe they had a contract to honor or something ... Take a walk around the block, several times, until you talk yourself out of watching this movie.

There was one thing interesting about this movie. And, since I'm telling you the possibly one thing, you don't have to watch it. Consider me a friend because I am sparing you. Tom Petty sings a song at the end about Christmas (it's good, of course, because it's Tom Petty), and I think (maybe) two kids he's related to were in this movie, as there were two children in the movie named Diamond and Destiny Petty, and since Petty is not a common name to me, I am just guessing ...

Why did I watch all the way to end to see the credits? I do not know. I was tired? I had some wine? It's raining out? Long day? No, it's because I was hopeful. But, trust me -- that said and I have no other excuse. The fool did not listen to herself.

But, I did watch it all so consider it done for you - and don't do it.

Tom Petty is cool regardless. Dwight Yoakam was in the film, but he was also in Sling Blade, so watch that instead (but not with your children.)

4. Ghosts of Girlfriends Past -- Matthew McConaghey was in it. Enough said. (Billy Bob was probably busy)

5. The Accidental Husband -- Uma Thurmond. Darlin', darlin', darlin' Uma--

Message to Uma: You go girl and get yourself a decent movie. Call Quentin - you know you still love the Kill Bill thing because you mentioned it in this terra-bad of a movie. That's right. It's so bad it now has a new word of it's own for good-grief-awful.

Best I can do. Now you are on your own. The choice is yours, grasshopper.

You didn't have to...

I was in the grocery store line. My weekly fuel of sale items was already placed on the belt and the lady in front of me was being checked out. She was a store employee, who was just getting off work, and the cashier was asking about her ride today. The lady said she didn't have one.

She seemed tired from her shift. She was purchasing about 10 bottles of soda for a Fourth of July get together, and the cashier commented about the walking home, with all that, was going to be tough. "It's okay," she said.

So, me, I pipe up and say, "Where do you live?" -- Like an idiot. Like I was qualifying my decision to help her with a condition! Anyway, she answered, and I had not one clue where that was.

But, I said, "I'd be happy to give you a ride."

The lady kind of smiled and said it wasn't necessary, but I thought to myself, geesh, I wouldn't want to be lugging all that soda even to my car even in the parking lot.

So, I just kind of babbled, like a bubble machine, and said, it wasn't a problem, I'd be happy to do it, and it looked like rain, that's what I would be worried about..blah, blah, blah. This prompted a concerned response from her, when I mentioned the rain, and she said, "Well, if it's no trouble then..."

Of course, it's no problem (I'm thinking that). Why would anyone let someone walk any distance in the possible chance of rain carrying all that stuff ?-- I'd be happy to do this.

So, I gave the nice lady a ride home. She said I could drop her off a couple of blocks from her house, but I took her to her door. It really was no trouble. She thanked me for the ride and we said nice good-bye greetings to each other and wished each other a Happy Fourth.

The last thing she said was, "You didn't have to, you know."

I know. I do. Should that make a difference?

Cats run on empty, too

This is our cat Shaddus.
He loves to sleep in all sorts of cozy places, just like most cats, and especially if the place is new.
This afternoon I decided to move my albums into a plastic box and finding that they didn't fit, I abandoned the project. Only to come back later and find Shaddus very comfortable.

I couldn't help by notice the titles of the albums. Maybe told a little story.

Forces beyond the known

1. I don't like when things get too complicated. I have enough problems complicating my own life, I decline to accept outside help.

Example: I say, "I don't know what I'm going to make for dinner." This is nothing more than a statement, a muse, and I have no idea why I blurted it out. There must not of been any more space left for quietness in there.

Then comes from, whoever heard the statement -- suggestions to me as to what to make for dinner.

I don't want any suggestions. I just don't want to make dinner.


"If the person you are talking to doesn't appear to be listening, be patient. It may simply be that he has a small piece of fluff in his ear." ~Winnie the Pooh


2. Math has never been one of my strong subjects. When my children would ask me a math problem, my standard first response was, 'work with your known' because the only way for me to do it, was to go back to what was familiar (even if that happened to be one plus one).

I guess I do that in life, when possible. But yet, many times, one finds themselves in an area that doesn't make sense at the time, as there is no known. And even further exploration makes less sense to the explorer while it can make complete sense to those in that land of that kind of thinking.

Example: War. Very complicated matter, that. I don't believe in it. Not that I don't know that it's real, but why is it always necessary? I have more thoughts on this. They are trying to make their way to the front of the queue.

"All we are saying, is give peace a chance." ~ John Lennon