Randomness

--This week The Nephew is not with us. He came into town on Monday to talk to his teachers and to let us know he will be at home all week. The reason? His mother's brother was killed as a result of an ATV accident. How awful for The Nephew--first his dad's accident and now this!

--We just had the second of a number of repairs made to the Jimmy. For a while now, the interior electrical hasn't been right--the dome light doesn't always turn off, the radio goes off when the key is turned off (the radio is supposed to stay on for 20 minutes as long as the door isn't opened), etc. Turns out the switch in the door crapped out and needed replacing. This was caused by a problem with the door hinges, which need to be replaced. Also, we had the light come on telling us to have the 4-wheel drive checked--AND the other day, it got locked into 4-lo. (I guess K had a whole lot of fun driving down the highway to get it to the garage!) This, too, turned out to be an electrical problem and wasn't a big fix. I think we will have to seriously think about replacing the Jimmy or face nickel and dimeing(sp) ourselves to death!

--Once again, I have decided to lose some weight. HA!!! Anyway, considering my health--thyroid, over the age of forty, menopause, etc--everything points to my having to limit my carbs in order to lose at all. This, of course, brings me back to the South Beach Diet. I have done well on it at other times, so I'm hoping it will work again. I'm just waiting for my carb-cravings to go away!!!! And it DOESN'T help me one bit to have the Halloween candy calling me from the other room!

--So, in order to eat right to lose weight, I had to go grocery shopping. I can't believe HOW MUCH I SPENT! All we read and hear is how fat America is getting and how we have to eat right to maintain healthy weights, etc, etc. Well, try telling this to someone who can lower the price of healthful (I HATE using that word--'healthy' sounds so much better) foods! I'm telling ya, you have to have a damn good income in order to eat well! It is so much cheaper to eat a meal of Hamburger Helper than it is to eat fresh vegetables and lean meat! This just DOESN'T seem right on so many levels.

--It looks like we WON'T have snow for the trick-or-treaters. This, of course, is a rarity here--most years, kids have to wear their costumes over their snowsuits! However, it probably WILL rain and the wind will be gusty, so maybe it won't feel much different after all.

--I was talking to a friend the other night and she had to share something with me. She was talking to her cousin the other day: he was a year ahead of us in school, one of the popular kids (NOT someone I hung out with), and the leader of the 'in-crowd'. During their talk, they must have started talking about me, because he told her that he thought I was 'hot' in school. Well, thank the hell out of you!!!! Where were you when I was experiencing the worst years of my life: high school? Gee whiz--if I had only known. This is the third person who either wanted to date me or who thought more of me than I ever expected, while we were in school, and I never knew a thing about it. I really could have had a lot of fun during those years, if...OR I would have turned into a total slut. Either way, I wouldn't have wanted to slit my wrists with a wet noodle, that's for sure! :)

--And I can't close this without talking about my Red Wings. The game they played on Sunday was absolutely amazing. They beat the Canucks 3-2 and played a very good game. It was doubly good because they are on the west coast, and those games are brutal! Filppula had an assist, so this was two games in a row he had points--GO FIL!!!

Tonight, they played the Oilers. While they didn't play as well as they did the other night, they managed to get the first goal and keep it tied throughout the rest of the game. As the game was winding down, with 25 seconds left, I was thinking, "DAMN! Now it has to go to overtime." and the most amazing thing happened: Filppula totally beat Roloson on the short side and won the game! Baby Boy is on a roll! He now has 4 points in three games--2 goals and 2 assists.

The Wings now have a six-game winning streak going. Z got his tenth goal of the season and this has him tied for first place--he has now had at least one point in every one of this season's games. And he still is at the top of the list in points for the NHL AND he has the most goals. Holmstrom isn't that far ahead with 14 points and 8 goals. Osgood has won all of the games he has started so far--not bad for a back-up goalie! Not bad at all. I can't let myself get my hopes up, however. After all, this is JUST the start of the season--but it has been fantastic so far.





--Edmonton Oilers' Dick Tarnstrom, left, and goalie Dwayne Roloson can't stop Detroit Red Wings' Valtteri Flippula from scoring the 2-1 winning goal, during the third period of NHL hockey action, at Edmonton's Rexall Place on Tuesday, October 30, 2007.
(AP Photo/John Ulan, The Canadian Press)--

Larry King--Senile Or Just Plain Stupid?

I'm not a fan of Larry King and can probably count on two hands how many times I actually have watched his show. But, last weekend I was channel surfing and I came across his interview with Eric Clapton and had to stop and watch it. This is where the question comes: Is Larry King senile or is he just plain stupid!

A little background, first. Eric Clapton, as too many other rock stars, was a drug (heroin, cocaine) addict. He beat that addiction, but let alcohol take the place of the other drugs and wound up addicted to IT. After going through the program at Hazelton twice, he has been sober since--about twenty years. He still does the 12-steps and still attends meetings.

A few years ago, EC decided he wanted to give back and decided to build a treatment center. He settled on building the place in Antigua and named it the Crossroads Centre. He continues to fund the place with special concerts--Crossroads Guitar Festival--and by auctioning off guitars. (One of his guitars broke the record when it sold for almost $1mil.)

EC was on Larry King to promote his new autobiography. King asked a lot of the same dumb questions that I'm sure so many of these celebrities get damn sick and tired of hearing, but then he asked the question that makes me wonder if he is becoming senile. King asked EC if Britney Spears had been a patient at Crossroads. EXCUSE ME!?!?!?!?!? First of all, EC is not privy to the day-to-day goings on of the place and secondly, there is such a thing as confidentiality, so even IF EC knew the answer to the question, he couldn't reveal it! I still cannot believe he actually asked the question.

Just might be time to retire, Mr. King!

My Boy Did It--FINALLY

So, so much happening with the Red Wings today, but I will start with the most exciting news: Filppula got his first goal of the season at 1:23 of the first period against the Sharks. And, before the period was over, he had gotten an assist! Hopefully this will help him relax enough to start scoring on a regular basis.

Detroit absolutely skated rings around San Jose tonight--it was as if they were playing a kids' team! San Jose couldn't get it together and the amount of penalties didn't help them, either. Osgood was in the net tonight and got another assist on Filpulla's goal--this gives Ozzy 16 points in his career, one of which was a goal. He almost had a shutout, but the Sharks scored in the third--the final score was 5-1. Shots on goal were 39 for the Wings and only 11 for the Sharks. A pretty lopsided game.

Zetterberg scored, again, and this continues his streak of a point in every one of the games played so far this year. He is, once again, at the top of the list in terms of points for the season, with 19. Z has 8 goals for the year, but Holmstrom does, also. Again, Homer had a goal taken away from him and this prompted the Detroit announcers to name a new hat trick, the Holmstrom Hat Trick: one goal, one assist, and one goal taken away during a game. :)

Once again, the officials were making bullshit calls--phantom penalties against Homer, but what can you say. They just suck it up and go on to the next game--at least the Wings aren't letting it get them down. Hasek was out because of a hip irritation and there is no word on when he will play next--doesn't seem to be a bad injury, however. Datsyuk managed to take two Sharks out without even touching them. One Shark went after Datsuk, D moved out of the way, and the one Shark slammed into another one. They both went to the ice and at least one of them was a bit shaken. Gotta watch D--he is tricky! And, Downey had another fight. While I enjoy a good fight as much as the next person, what I REALLY enjoy is hearing how much Mickey Redmond loves them. The man is an absolute hoot and one of the best announcers around.

And in other news: Draper signed a three-year extension to the tune of $1.6 million a year. He plans on ending his career as a Wing. Good job.

On Flying and Reading

Surprisingly, with all of my phobias, I am not a white-knuckle flyer. Granted, I get a bit of the heebie-jeebies on take-off and landing, but all in all, I do quite well. When we went to Vegas, for the first part of the trip, we flew completely in the clouds--it was just like being in an episode of The Twilight Zone! Still, I was calm. The only time flying is a problem for me is when there is turbulence--I get a bit nauseous.

The worst part about flying is the cramped feeling you get--they pack you in like sardines in a can! From Chicago, we sat three people side by each--with me in the middle. The next time we fly, I will have to check on the cost to go first-class. (I know, it will probably be more than I want to spend.) I have trouble getting comfortable--whether it is in a vehicle or airplane--and it has to do with my being so short. No seat is made for short people--the back is too high, my feet don't touch the floor, the seat is too long, etc, etc. I find myself having to move too often, just to try and get comfortable, which never happens. I'm like a fidgety child--I'm sure I annoy everyone around me!

As I said, I do quite well as long as there is no turbulence. I was able to read for quite a while in the air, but when it got to be too bumpy, I had to stop and just listen to music. Thankfully, I was able to get a few winks of sleep--this helped a lot as I was feeling a little bit of motion sickness. I can't imagine having to 'be sick' in an airsickness bag. And that's where I would have HAD to do my thing because it is next to impossible to get up from your seat during a flight!

All of this is just a way for me to begin talking about the book I just finished: 'Clapton: The Autobiography' by Eric Clapton. While I WOULD be happy listening to EC sing the phone book, I am a harsher critic when it comes to what I read. I am happy to say it was an extremely fascinating read. The book is very honest--he admits all of his faults and talks openly about his addictions, love affairs, and unflattering parts of his life and personality. However, despite his truthfulness, the book never has that exploitative, tell-all feeling that other autobiographies sometimes have. He is straight forward and exposes himself, but doesn't drag others into the story if the need isn't there. (I noticed this especially when he talked of his affairs--with all of the famous women he was supposed to have had affairs with, he mentioned very few of them by name. And, mentioning them wouldn't have added to the story, actually.) He spoke of his music career, of his 'lost years,' of his recovery from drug and alcohol addiction, and his finally finding the 'love of his life' and his happiness with his wife and children--all very fascinating, especially for a fan such as I am. However, I think even non-fans would find the story of his life interesting--the man has had an extraordinary life and is finally content. And isn't that what we all want out of our lives: peace, contentment, and serenity--which, it seems, he has finally found.

Detroit 3-Vancouver 2

The game was good tonight--and, yes, it is because the Wings won, but it also was because they played quite well. Zetterberg now has the most points in the league at 18, but Sundin is right behind him at 17. Z is doing great things--just hope he doesn't have an injury like last year. So far, with Draper, Holmstrom, Cleary, etc, it seems as if more than the Euro Twins can score--thank goodness! Unfortunately, Filppula can't BUY a goal! I know he has a lot of pressure on him to score, so I hope that isn't his problem. He has had wonderful opportunities, but at the last second he's gotten beaten by the goalie. I sure hope it happens for him soon--just to get the pressure of the first one off of him. There is plenty of time--the season is just starting.



--Valtteri Filppula #51 of the Detroit Red Wings changes direction in front of Aaron Miller #4 and Lukas Krajicek #5 of the Vancouver Canucks on October 24, 2007 at Joe Lewis Arena in Detroit, Michigan. Detroit won the game 3-2. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)--

Random Vegas Observations

--We found out pretty quickly: as far as casinos go, seen one, seen them all. Other than the layout and decorating, all of the casinos are the same--the same games, the same people, the same, the same, the same. Now when we go back, we will know that there is no reason to 'casino hop.'

--A LOT of people bring their very young children to Vegas. We saw so many infant to toddler age children that it was unbelievable! I don't have a clue as to what these people DID with their children, because there really is not much that kids would enjoy.

--The Casino Royale was PACKED with people. And other than one small section, all of the slot machines that I saw were very low denomination ones. We are talking one cent to quarter machines! The funny thing is, this is the place where I saw the $500 slot machine!

--Older people REALLY like the penny and nickel machines.

--Twenty-somethings seem to like craps.

--Not many people play roulette.

--Vegas sucks money out of you like a vampire sucks blood. However, the resorts/hotels/casinos also hemorrhage money like no one's business. The amount of their water bills for the landscaping must be astronomical--as well as the cost of ground's keepers, etc.

--I was surprised at the few people who were begging--I actually thought I would see more. One memorable 'beggar' had a sign saying, 'Need money for beer.' At least he was honest.

--While I wanted to see the Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat at the Mirage, I wasn't about to pay $15 for the 'privilege.' We DID see one white tiger, but all it did was pace from one end of the enclosure to the other. I thought it was a bit sad.

--I loved the flamingos at--where else--The Flamingo. I also got to see a whole bunch of mallards--made me feel at home.

--Unless it is their job to know, people who live and work in Vegas don't necessarily know what is going on there. We were talking with the 'soda jerk' at the FAO Schwarz soda fountain--which is located in The Forum Shops at Caesar's Palace--and he had no idea that Celine was NOT performing and that Elton WAS.

--A lot of Asian people go to Las Vegas. A good many of them are very young--20-somethings. All of the girls weigh about thirteen pounds and are dressed--at all times--in clothes that will guarantee admittance to the nightclubs. Most of the people who I saw carrying the high-end brand shopping bags were young Asians.

--When we go back, we will NOT wait until the last few hours of our stay to use our player's club points. Because we had pre-paid our stay, they couldn't comp us for a night. Also, we paid for our meals instead of charging them to our room, so they couldn't comp us any meals. Luckily, I upgraded our room when we checked in, so we got the upgrade comped. At least it was something! I STILL don't know if we used all of our points or not.

--I don't think I could ever prepare myself for the amount of walking you do in Vegas. It is unbelievable, but at the same time you don't notice it until you are at the point of exhaustion! I was very surprised that I did as well as I did.

--Walking all day does NOT make you want to stay up till all hours of the night. K and I were in our room by 10:00 PM the first two nights. We were out and about a couple of hours later the last night we were there, simply because the show lasted till 10:00. And I am the queen of late-night! Very surprising to me.

--I think the favorite thing I saw in Vegas--other than Elton John, that is--was the water show outside of the Bellagio. There just is no adequate way to describe this--it is water, choreographed to move in time to music. That's as close to a description as I can come. It was simply one of the most amazing things I have ever seen. The music used for the show we saw was 'All That Jazz.' When the show was over, I wanted to jump up and down and scream. I enjoyed it. :)

As luck would have it, I found a video on YouTube showing the water show. It in no way comes close to seeing this in person, but... Hope you enjoy.

Vegas Hangover

We got home late on Friday--later than we were supposed to--and I am definitely suffering a Vegas hangover. I am tired, my head hurts and feels fuzzy, my eyes are like two piss-holes in the snow, my body feels as if I have been beaten with whips and chains (ohhhhh, KINKY!!), and I am having trouble figuring out what the hell day it is. By the way, we had a GREAT time in Vegas!!

I'm sure I will tell more involved stories over the next little while, but, basically, we walked too much, didn't eat or sleep enough--actually, we didn't drink enough alcohol, either--and gambled too much. We did, however, come home with some money, so even though we DIDN'T win big, we are ahead of the game--we COULD'VE come home BROKE, after all!!

We plan on going back some day and have decided we will see more than one show the next time. Too little planned activities means too many hours spent in the casino--and too much money being spent. Also, I realize now that once you have seen one casino, you've seen them all--there sure ain't much difference between them. I also know I will never be rich enough to shop in most of the stores they have in the hotels/casinos--as a matter of fact, I will never be rich enough to even ENTER the stores! Tiffany, Ferragamo, Jimmy Choo, Cartier, etc, etc, etc. I guess they cater to the few who happen to get very lucky at the casinos!

I also learned, during this trip, just how bad my hockey addiction has gotten. Wednesday night, I had to DRAG myself from watching a game at the Sport Book--and the teams that were playing were the ones I like LEAST in the NHL: Nashville and Anaheim. I may be headed for an intervention and a stay at a rehab facility.

The Elton concert was fantastic. However, it WAS very adult--much nudity and adult themes were present. Actually, a very Vegas show. The man is very, very funny--he described Celine as a singing Q-tip and made several remarks that had us rolling in the aisles.

While we didn't spend a lot of money on merchandise, I did buy two Elton T-shirts. One depicts the Vegas show, the Red Piano and the other one--which is my fav of the two--is this:



As I told K, "Who said I ever left?!?!?!?" :)

And We're Outta Here!

Just had to stop my preparations and do a short post. It certainly has been busy, busy, busy in the household with trying to get ready for our trip and all. My intent is to have all of the packing, etc, done before the game tonight--it starts at 10:00PM--and be able to fall asleep on the couch while watching it. I won't be able to see the whole game, because I will have to be up around 4AM to get ready to go to the airport. Excitement, excitement!!

I will be back sometime this weekend with reports on our big adventure. Hope you all have a great week. Till then...

Chicago 3, Detroit 2

Yes, they lost tonight. As Z said, they played very well for the first 15 minutes, then... What is that saying? You can't win them all? (I'm being just a little sarcastic here--after all, they lost to the BLACKHAWKS!!!!)

It really would have been nice for the Wings to end this stretch with a win--they go to the west coast for next week and that is ALWAYS a bitch to do. However, I still think I may place a bet for them to win on Thursday against San Jose! Who knows, I just may win a couple of bucks. We will be at the concert during the game, so I won't get to watch it, though.

Today's Pet Peeve

There you are sitting in a restaurant--it could be TGI Friday's or a nice upscale steakhouse, doesn't matter--after finishing your meal, waiting for the waitperson to come and pick up your payment. More times than not, s/he picks up the 'money folder,' looks inside, does a quick calculation in her/his head and asks, "Do you need change?" Excuse me????? So, you just assume the extra money there is for your tip? What ever happened to being gracious and allowing the customer to indicate that the money is a tip? Why can't you just say, "I'll be back with your change." and let the customer say "No need."?*

I always tip and at a minimum of 15%. Most of the time I tip far greater than that, so it just really bothers me when it is practically forced on me. I'm sorry, but tipping is a voluntary thing, that is why it is called a 'gratuity.'** I just think with a few, better chosen words, it would feel less like they are standing with their hands out and more of a 'good job' reward.

That is all.


*I KNOW the punctuation is wrong here, but it doesn't LOOK right no matter WHAT I do with it. So, this is the way it will stay. :)

**gratuity: a gift of money, over and above payment due for service (Dictionary.com)

A Good Game

What can I say? Any game the Wings win is good and they beat Calgary tonight by a score of 4-2 in a very low-penalty minute game. There were only 10 minutes of penalties called for the entire game. Mind boggling! Obviously, Drake DIDN'T get in another fight. :)

I truly believe I wouldn't need to see an actual game if I could just watch Datsyuk and Zetterberg perform their magic on ice. They are two of the most phenomenal skaters/puck handlers I have ever seen. Just amazing.



--Calgary Flames goaltender Mikka Kiprusoff, left, from Finland, and teammates Dion Phaneuf (3) and Craig Conroy, right, try to keep the puck away from Detroit Red Wings' Pavel Datsyuk (13) of Russia, and teammate Henrik Zetterberg (40) of Sweden, during the first period of a NHL hockey game on Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2007 in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jerry S. Mendoza)--

GREAT Commercial

Now I know a lot of my readers aren't hockey/sports fans, but this is one commercial that had me laughing till I cried! It only is SLIGHTLY funnier if you know the players in it! Hope you enjoy.

Good One

With a late-game empty net goal, the Wings beat the Oilers 4-2. Chelios got a goal and played in his 1550th game, making him number 8 on the all-time games played list. He is 45 years old, the oldest player in the NHL, and has played for almost a quarter of a century--and shows no sign of stopping any time soon. Amazing! Lidstrom got an assist tonight and now has the second-highest point total of all Swedish born players ever to play in the NHL. And Zetterberg got two assists which gives him 7 points in three games. Hopefully he will have an injury-free year and can show just how far he can go. The next game is on Wednesday and they play Calgary. They are beginning to look good.


--Detroit Red Wings' Henrik Zetterberg gets checked from behind by Edmonton Oilers' Shawn Horcoff, right, as Oilers goalie Dwayne Roloson, left, covers the puck. (JULIAN H. GONZALEZ/DFP)--

What's Happening

--We did an overnight road trip on Friday. With us going to Vegas and our friends going to Mexico the first week of November, we won't get to see each other till the end of next month, so we thought we needed to get together. It isn't bad doing the trips so close together, as the shopping is quite minimal when we go this often. VERY good for the checking account! :)

--Saturday was K's and my 34th anniversary. Of course, it was an arranged marriage, with me being all of 15 hours old when the ceremony was performed. This is the reason why I am not as old as some of you might think I am! :)

--The friends we went to visit were the only people to acknowledge our anniversary. No phone calls, no cards, nothing from ANYONE else. I can't help but wonder if I make too much out of it, but I learned this from The Mother and it is hard to let go. (SHE always let everyone know that she MUST have the card, present, etc, in her hand by the important day, or don't even bother. It isn't the same if it comes late! And now she doesn't even bother to send anything. Oh, well, this is what I get for being how I am, hey?)

--K's nephew got home from the hospital last Tuesday. He will have a very long time to have physical therapy. His injuries were: smashed index finger (will be useless, they couldn't do much for it, even with the surgery,) broken shoulder (which he had surgery on,) broken arm, broken ribs, cracked breastplate, several cracked neck vertebrae, and all around bumps, bruises, and cuts. But as things go, he is doing quite well--after all, anything less than death is doing quite well!

--The Nephew hasn't been around much since his dad's accident. He was only here two nights the week following and was here only one night last week. His class schedule was such that he could be with his dad as much as possible, which is good. He should be here tomorrow for three nights, as is usual.

--I had been hoping to get some nice pictures of the trees this fall, but it won't be happening. When we were traveling we saw just how many places are beyond the peak of the color season--so much that many places have lost the majority of leaves already. Even my maple tree isn't doing much of anything--some of the leaves have turned yellow and some are still green. AND a whole lot of them have fallen. Maybe next year.

--C is now more than 26 weeks pregnant. The last I heard, she is doing fine. She had her stillborn at 27 weeks and her first child at 29 weeks, so these are the 'scary' weeks for her.

--A isn't doing anything more than living her life--as most of us are. She DID tell me that two of her cats have acne, though. Who would have thought!?

--I have said before that I believe this house is/was haunted. I now am beginning to think the operative word is IS! And the story goes like this: For Christmas last year, K got 'Bob' as a gift. Bob is a 5-in-1 clock, thermometer, etc, that we keep on the computer desk. Bob is supposed to sit on the desk and do nothing but show the time unless you touch him--then a light comes on or it changes to the next feature. Lately, Bob has been turning on his own light even when no one is in the room. I'm beginning to get freaked out!



--This week will be all about getting ready for our trip. We have hair appointments and I have to get in a couple of times at the tanning salon. I have to make an appointment for a mani/pedi and need to do some last minute shopping. So much to do with so little time! But it is going to be so much fun.

--Much as I love the Red Wings, they just pissed me off royally on Saturday night--they blew a 2 goal lead and lost the game in a shootout! Bad memories from the way-too-many times they did the same thing last year. Franzen got hurt during the second period and will be out for 3-4 weeks. Great. BUT, Drake had another fight !! YAY!! At least Mickey Redmond was in his glory--after all, he played during the REALLY rough years of fighting. Another game on Monday--we'll see if they can redeem themselves.

And it Begins

The first game of the 82-game season was played and the Wings won 3-2 over the Ducks. Yes, yes, they won in a shootout--BLECH!! I have made my feelings known about shootouts before, so I won't do it again.

There was a good amount of energy in the game and the Wings even were quite physical at times. Dallas Drake got into an altercation---YAY!--and sat out a five minute penalty, but that's fine. I'm just happy to see a little bit of roughing it once in a while. Datsyuk and Zetterberg were in fine form, skating and doing things with the puck that seem impossible.

It did hurt that Bertuzzi's first goal as a Duck had to come against Detroit. But then, it always hurts to see a former player in an opponent's jersey. Schneider is still nursing a break, so he didn't play in the game. And on Saturday, we get to see Lang playing for Chicago. The first time is always the hardest--it gets easier after that.

Bryzgalov made 39 saves and Hasek made 13. Hopefully this isn't a sign to come--last year was very bad for the puck not going where it was supposed to!

Spam

And I ain't talking about the canned stuff, either, people. For those of you who have a Hotmail account, remember when you got TONS of spam and junk mail? Well, the folks over at Microsoft have finally gotten their heads out of their asses and figured out a way to keep the stuff from entering your mail account--EVEN from the spam/junk mail folder! How wonderful is that!? Now I wish Gmail would learn a thing or two from Hotmail. I am getting damn sick and tired of learning how to increase my penis size or fix my erectile dysfunction--neither of which is a problem for me, I can assure you. Really, now, EVERY time I check my Gmail accounts--I have two--there is more junkmail. And I check my accounts multiple times per day. This is something that needs to be fixed, and soon. Even Yahoo isn't QUITE as bad as it used to be, but it too needs to get better. Now, everyone say with me, "DOWN WITH SPAM! DOWN WITH SPAM!"

Thank you for your attention and support. I will now let you get back to your lives.

Award/Attention Whore

Burg, who IS fabulous, by the way, has awarded me a Totally Fabulous award.



Being the complete Award/Attention whore that I am, I am displaying the award proudly over to the right! Thank you, thank you, Burg.

Now for the people I think are totally fabulous:

Ann(ie)
Virginia Belle
Cindi
Sue
Leazwell
Kristi
Meleah

You all make my day! Be sure and grab your award and display it proudly.

Warm Fuzzies

The greatest compliment I can be paid: When, on very rare occasions, my cat treats me as (almost) her equal.

This One's For You, Burg

I find myself being extremely jealous because burg gets people coming to her blog by way of such interesting searches. Her last post was all about the search terms used and I decided to attempt stealing some of her thunder. So, this post will be all about poo.

One of the searches that brought someone to her site was 'why is my poo red?' I have to say "Been there, done that!" First, when a person eats--okay, overeats--red velvet cake, know in advance that your poo will be a pretty shade of red. My red velvet cake recipe calls for TWO one-ounce bottles of red food coloring. I guess you don't REALLY have to overeat to have SOMETHING happen to your poo.

This brings me to the conversation I was having with the oldest tonight. She was telling me that her youngest hadn't been feeling well and that she hoped all was going to be fine tomorrow. As happens during any of my conversations with my girls, we segued into medications, which brought us to her sister's reaction to Augmentin. The youngest--while she was still in diapers--had an ear infection. She was put on Augmentin, which caused her to have diarrhea. Of course, she was then put on a liquid diet. Everything got so bad, that as soon as she swallowed something, she filled her diaper. (We finally realized it was a bad reaction to the Augmentin--a medication she can't take.) So, one time I heard that her diaper needed changing and proceeded to do it. When I removed her diaper, I almost panicked--I was CERTAIN she was dying, as her diaper was pure red! I thought she was bleeding to death! Thankfully, I realized before I called 911, that I had been feeding her ONLY red liquids: red Jell-o, red Popsicles, etc. Yessireebob, everything was coming out the same way it went in. A good lesson learned.

And then we segued into C's poo story: beware of decorated cakes with black or very dark icing. It turns your poo TEAL! She said that after you get over the shock of seeing teal-colored poo, it is kind of funky and fun. I guess I can understand that--after all, how often do you have interesting colored poo?

Of Octopi and Hat Tricks

So what, exactly, do octopi have to do with hockey? Well, they don't have much to do with hockey in general and everything to do with the Red Wings. For those who don't know the legend of the octopus, read on.

During Red Wing games, people have been known to throw octopi onto the ice. This started way back when there were only six teams in the NHL and it took only eight wins to become the Stanley Cup champions. Because the octopus has eight legs, each one symbolized a win. Two brothers were the first ones to throw an octopus during the 1952 series, which the Wings swept, and a legend was born.

Over the years, the practice of throwing octopi grew. Finally, it got to be such a nuisance that the NHL stepped in. Today, if ANYTHING is thrown on the ice and causes a delay in the game, a penalty could be called on the team. This has slowed down the number of octopi seen during the year--as well as any number of other things, such as the plastic rats thrown in Florida.

There still are people who bring octopi to the games--and actually get them on the ice. Joe Louis Arena--where the Wings play--does not condone the throwing of anything on the ice, so fans have to sneak in the creatures. How do you sneak in an octopus? First, you must boil it to cut down on the slime-factor AND help control the odor. (This also helps cut down on the time it takes to clean the ice after the octopus lands on it.) Next, you wrap the thing in a trash bag and place said bag around your waist--this is so you can get the critter past security. Once you get to your seat with your little friend, you have to decide WHEN to throw it. For the most part, the octopi get thrown right after the national anthem. Some people will wait and throw them after the Wings make a goal, but there is no guarantee that will happen during every game. When throwing the thing, one MUST be sure to not hit anyone--especially an opposing player. This is just good etiquette. To help keep a thrower's identity secret--and to keep him/her from getting into any trouble--those in the surrounding seats will happily stand to protect the perpetrator. It is surprising how many of the eight-legged wonders make it to the ice in a season.

And what do octopi and hat tricks have in common? They both involve throwing things on the ice. A hat trick is when a player gets three goals in one game--not an easy task, to be sure. Following the scoring of the third goal, fans will throw there hats onto the ice to acknowledge the good job the player has done. These days, at $26 (or more) a hat, you don't see too many people throwing their hats onto the ice. It is a shame, because it was a really cool thing to see.

Before ending this post, I must mention that there IS a difference between a hat trick and a Gordie Howe hat trick. Gordie Howe--Mr. Hockey--played for the Red Wings. A Gordie Howe hat trick consists of a goal, an assist, and a fight, all in one game. In all his years, Howe only once had a Gordie Howe hat trick--and that was in 1955. Howe retired from hockey in 1980.