Da Goddess

I think it is.

But I’m a contrarian.

And that, bitches, is how it’s D.O.N.E.

Spent the other night chatting on FB with a friend of mine and we lamented the music industry. Nikka cheered us up. That woman KICKS ASS!

Oh, the discrimination!! The horror!

The HUMOR!

My current obsession in the backyard.

I don’t have the perfect shot yet, but I’m getting closer.

As the reality continues to sink in:

Wake up Hostess, don’t let my Twinkies go
Wake up Hostess, don’t let my Twinkies go.
You got some nerve baby, to make me Little Debbie’s new junk food whore.

I woke up this morning, I had them Snack Cake Blues,
I woke up this morning, had them Snack Cake Blues.
Well, I looked over in the corner, and Grandpa seemed to have them too.

If you run with this, I want a copy of the mp3, friends

I’ve been looking forward to visit from the moment she started talking about it. It all started while I was still in Vegas. At one point, we were planning on driving out to California together. Then I left Vegas and she was worried about driving to California on her own.

She got over that real quick because next thing you know, she’s all up and down the coast!

And last night she finally arrived in San Diego!

Kimberley is every bit as lovely and dear as the woman I’ve come to know online for the past 10 years.

Anyone who says you can’t trust people you meet online just isn’t looking in the right places.

Chrome looks gorgeous on vehicles. Chrome on vehicles is good.

Not so much on your computer.

Tried it. Hated it. Took forever to get it uninstalled.

Wow, that totally made me think of Tora! Tora! Tora!

I’m silently cursing you, all the while giggling as well.

That said, I took Pam’s advice and went out to the backyard to just shoot and get the creative juices flowing.

Everybody’s dad has a skull in the backyard?

And the car is up and running again!

Called my ex yesterday morning and asked him to set aside a battery for the car and then my dad had his friend pick it up, bring it by, and install it.

Also, after chastising him for walking through the garage without his walker and on top of a roll of carpeting (DANGER! ACK!), my dad says, “oh, why don’t you go do some woman’s work or something?”

*hand to forehead slap*

Gave him a giggle. Even funnier was that all my “woman’s work” was already done and I wasn’t going anywhere until his friend promised to not let him walk through the garage or go anywhere without his walker.

Raising parents is so difficult.

Mine will be “Dirty Nogoodnik”

Heard a local reporter say it on air the other night. It wasn’t the first time I’d ever heard the phrase, but it was certainly the first time I’d heard a reporter say it during a newscast. I laughed. And then I had to ask my dad if I’d heard correctly.

Sigh.

An alternate title will be “The Car Killer” as I’ve now had car problems twice since I’ve been back. With my dad’s car. First time was the front left axle breaking. Not my fault. It just happened while I was in the car. On the freeway. In the rain. Stuck in the middle of the freakin’ freeway in the rain in a car that can’t move isn’t my favorite place to be. Then last night, LD and I got in the car to run to the store for my dad and it wouldn’t start. Battery was dead. DEAD. Not even a whistle*. The nice guy who fixed my dad’s broken axle, which was caused by a bad motor mount (long story) stopped by the house and got us up and running. We ran to my sister’s house, grabbed laundry, and other stuff, left the car running the whole time. Then off to the grocery store, left motor running again. Got home, thinking the car had likely recharged the battery enough and turned the car off. Tried to restart it again. Not even a whistle*.

* begins at 1:41 and goes until 4:02

My alternate alternate title will be “I Don’t Suffer Bastards and So Are You!”

I slept little last night.

I’m fighting with the insurance company over medications they won’t approve because they said the doctor wasn’t approved. Um, I couldn’t have gone to the doctor unless they’d approved it. So, I’m days into not having meds and feeling it acutely. One of my meds, you don’t just stop taking it. If you do, you end up screwing up your whole system. Guess who’s dizzy and fainty and all that? *Raising hand…weakly* Shit, it was hard enough to adjust to the med when I first began to take it! Once we get this straightened out, I’ll have to go through all that again. On the bright side, perhaps I’ll lose as much weight this time as I did last time. That would be the only positive to take away from this situation.

Physical therapy came super early for my dad this morning. He also slept poorly. I could hear him in the other room, tossing and turning. We finally got him sleeping this week and then this happened. Perhaps it was just the anticipation of the early appointment. And maybe it was the late nap he had last night. Otherwise, he’s doing really well.

The Asshole Alert Warning System went to RED this week. So long, jerk. Don’t need anyone like that in my life. Don’t need someone threatening me or my family for doing absolutely nothing. Sadly, said jerk seems to forget what I know and who I know. I’m not the sort of person who retaliates just to be a bitch, but I can throw those shoes on if necessary. You don’t go from friend to enemy on a whim, and you certainly don’t threaten someone and their family after they’ve been your friend and had your back during hard times. I don’t like to be the sort who blows the whistle, but I can do it if necessary.

Hostess Brands is dead. It was announced today that was shutting down production in all its factories, laying off most of their 18,500 employees. 1) Forget the snack food side of this, Hostess is actually 24 companies. They make more than sugary stuff. 2) The communities losing such a big employer can’t recover in this economy. 3) If you’ve never experienced what it’s like to be the child of someone who’s been laid off, you have no idea just how bad things can get. Not just for the family, but for the person who is suddenly out of a job. I watched my dad go through this and it just about killed him. Sadly, this is more the rule than the exception anymore. People are losing jobs left and right and families are being pushed to the brink.

And that’s some of what’s on MY mind today.

Ah, happy times.

P.S. Updating my Flash player, I should NOT have to go through extra steps to opt out of having Google Chrome installed. I’m installing Flash. If I wanted Chrome, I’d go download it myself.

I think I’m done ranting.

Seen on ESPN’s NASCAR channel. Funny. And yet, really cute.

C’mon. That’s brilliant!

“Steve Irwin Day, celebrated each year on 15 November, is an annual international event honouring the life and legacy of the one and only Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin!”

Yep, that’s what today is about. Celebrating the life and legacy of a man who put his heart, soul, and body into wildlife conservation. Why not don some duds and find a way to volunteer with a wildlife rescue group or at least donate some money to help such a group out. Let’s all join in and honor Steve’s memory in a fitting way!

I’m a strong proponent of the idea that education can be fun and learning will come about organically. Maria Montessori created a whole educational system based on the idea. And now there’s a article and TED presentation that covers the same concept.

Kids learn best when their brains are engaged in more than rote fact. Give children the opportunity to get hands-on, to be creative in their approach, to play with objects and/or ideas and you will find kids who are gaining knowledge by leaps and bounds!

Adults are the same way. Our brains strain to accept new concepts (new languages, learn to play an instrument, catch up with new technology), but when these are phrased in the form of play or pure exploration, we suddenly begin to form new pathways in learning.

While it’s true that individuals learn in many different ways (some must see it, some must hear it, some must do it), be allowing ourselves to have fun in the process, we become super-learners and everyone benefits from that.