Weird News

I love to hear weird stories and I thought you might also like to see a few that have caught my eye recently.

Man Shoots Lawnmower - A man gets riled when his lawnmower won't start. They think alcohol may have been a contributing factor. Duh, you think???

Peacock Hitchhiker - So I wonder if the bird got where he wanted to go?

Lawn Chair Larry - An oldie but goodie. Larry Walters is known world-over for attempting to fly over Long Beach California, in the early 80's, using weather balloons attached to his lawn chair. When asked why he had done it, Walters replied, "A man can't just sit around." This outstanding stunt only made it to the Darwin Awards as an "Honorable Mention." Can you believe it? But Larry had his fans; which leads us to...

Adelir Antonio de Carli of Brazil - attempted to raise funds for his cause to build spiritual rest stops for truckers by soaring over the mountainous area of South America with 1000 balloons attached to a chair. Even with survival suits, cell phone, food for 5 days, GPS, and other precautionary plans, he still managed to find trouble: he neglected to learn how to use his GPS! Needless to say, he got lost, couldn't help anyone pinpoint his location, and eventually bits of his balloon mass were found out in the ocean.

Jesus is in Florida - A man threatens his family saying he is Jesus and wants the world turned over to him. This is not the same Jesus I'm looking for!

Grandma Kat

I am a very happy Grandma of a 7 pound 1/2 ounce little boy, Judah James Ochs. My son Ricky, and his wife Rosemary, produced little Judah around 6:45 p.m. on July 21st. It was emotional hearing his little cries as he was welcomed into this world.

Here's a few shots of little Judah.

Are We Living in a World of Excess?

After my recent trip to Romania, I've realized how much I take my daily lifestyle for granted. I have plenty of food and places to shop for delicacies, tons of clothes to select from each day, a beautiful home with all the amenities, a late model vehicle, a great yard, can travel where I'd like, ad naseum. In a majority of countries in the world, this is not the case. We have it easy.

Well, here's a video I ran across where someone has taken the simple life to heart. Take a peek.



I don't think I'm ready to downsize that much!!!

New and Improved!

A few months ago I vented in my "Things That Bug Me" post about knee high nylons, 18 hour bras, and assorted other buggers. Well I've come up with a few more that may strike a chord with some of you.

New and Improved!!! - Ok, so how many ways can we reinvent toilet paper, toothbrushes, Cheerios, or antiperspirant? It seems like every product always has some new additive, accessory, alteration, gimmick or twist to lure us into the purchase.

Time Warpers - There are several of these in my family; they set clocks forward by 17 minutes or maybe 11 minutes so they won't be late. My husband, in the days when he wasn't self employed, used to set his alarm clock 17 minutes fast, and then he'd set the alarm for 15 minutes before he had to actually get up. What's with that? Bottom line is you still have to get up at the right time! Who are you kidding?

Aisle Hogs - Don't you just hate it when you're bombing through a store, maybe even with a grocery cart, and someone in front of you stops dead center? Worse yet, is when they become engrossed in a conversation (cell phones too), or even leave their cart there while they scurry off to another area. then they don't even notice you coming up and needing to get by. I've tried several tactics. My first attempt is usually to get close and see if they are observant and polite enough to simply move over. The talkers usually don't and you have to actually speak up (horrors). Of course if they left their cart and are farther down the aisle or even a totally different zip code, then you have to move the cart away yourself. I get particularly irked (time to get on my knees) when folks stop and chat right where they're blocking an entrance or exit.

Moles - We hired a company last year to eradicate moles from our yard. They caught two - yipee! Guess what? They're back.

I am Feeling So Proud Of Myself

I am so proud of myself! I actually remembered to use my eco-friendly grocery bags yesterday!

[Insert dream-like music and fuzzy fade-out to six months ago]

I did the honorable thing and purchased half a dozen "eco friendly" shopping bags at my local grocery store. I don't really buy the "Global Warming" effect seeing as there are an awful lot of controversial things that have me doubting it; like the fact that in the 70's there was the big global cooling "we're going to have an ice age!" panic, along with countless articles from scientists who spout anti-global warming criticisms. However, I do think it is important to take care of the environment that we live in; hence the bag purchase.

Early on in my oh so admirable re-usable bag endeavor, I made it a habit to put them neatly back in my car once I had divested them of my purchases. That rule came about with the first use of my new bags when while unpacking them I had an irritating vision of leaving them behind, stacked somewhere in my kitchen, and thus being party to filling landfills the world over with those nasty, earth-hating plastic grocery sacks. I have since been very proud of myself for this thoughtful routine.

[Insert dreamy music again and fast forward to the present]

I can blame my busier-than-ever job, or the fact that I have traveled for work and pleasure a good bit of 2008 and have lost my shopping rhythm, or maybe just put it down to a bad memory, but every time I've hauled my cart up to the checkout counter in the last two or three months, I've realized I forgot my bags...in the car. By then it is too late. What am I going to say while the checker is ringing up my stuff? "Oh, excuse me. Can you wait 10 minutes while I run out to my car in the back 40 and find my eco-friendly bags?" No. That would make me look stupid. Or maybe I should have just asked them to just dump all my stuff in the cart without any bags at all. No. Then people would think I'm stealing if I wheeled the buggy out looking like I had just been on a game show (no bags at all). So the checker dumps everything into those tiny, awful, guilt-laden plastic bags and I kick myself all the way to the car where I see my nice green bags waiting for me the minute I open my trunk. Man I can be stupid sometimes.

Well, yesterday I remembered. I think the key was that I wasn't in a hurry for a change. I meandered to the store. I patiently found a parking spot out in the back 40. I cautiously opened my door, taking care not to bang the car next to me, and then actually remembered to get the bags out! I selected three from my neat stack (I do keep them neat) and nearly burst a button while walking through the parking lot towards the front door. I almost did a "neener, neener!" as I passed the stand offering eco-friendly shopping bags by the bananas.

Maybe I'm not a lost cause yet, but time will tell.