Winter Storm Warning

We are under a winter storm warning--AGAIN. Starting late on Monday, the NWS calls for wet, heavy snow and winds. It is predicted that we will get 10-16 inches of snow through Tuesday morning, when it is supposed to wind down. We'll see.

Three More To Go

The Wings lost on Friday and won on Sunday and there are three games left in the regular season. If the Wings get one more point, they win the President's Trophy for the sixth time. No other team has won it more than two times. Winning the President's will guarantee home-ice throughout Detroit's Cup run--always an advantage.

Celebrate

This week's celebrations:

30 March
National Hot Dog Day
Grass Is Always Browner On The Other Side of The Fence Day
Pencil Day

31 March
Oranges and Lemon Day
Tater Day
National "She's Funny That Way" Day

1 April
National Sourdough Bread Day
Boomer Bonus Day
National Fun Day
National Fun At Work Day
Sorry Charlie Day
St. Stupid Day

2 April
National Peanut Butter & Jelly Day
Kick Butts Day

3 April
National Chocolate Mousse Day
National Find-A-Rainbow Day
Tweed Day

4 April
National Cordon Bleu Day
World Rat Day

5 April
National Raisin & Spice Bar Day
National Birding Day

Adventures In Living With Wildlife

(That PROBABLY will be the last "Adventures In..." title--I hope! :))

It MUST be spring because we are playing host to another member of the wildlife community. This time it is a red squirrel. It is living in our back entryway or basement--not too sure. K managed to get a look at it in the basement rafters, so... WARNING for those who don't want to know these things, but... If all goes well, there will be one less red squirrel in the world before the weekend is done. Of all of the creatures we have had live with us, I think red squirrels are the most destructive. And once they have established a home, it is very hard to keep them from coming back. That is why they have to leave this earth. Obviously, we DIDN'T find all of the ways to get into our house last summer. Damn!

I should have known something was down there--the cat has been walking around with various pieces of dirt, cobwebs, and dust on her fur. I knew she was skulking around in the basement, but I couldn't figure out why. Of course, my brave hunter doesn't do anything more than LOOK at whatever shouldn't be there! The other night, for example: She moved from her sleeping spot in the kitchen doorway, looked in the corner under the cabinet, looked at me, looked back to the corner, and looked at me. Obviously she was trying to get me to see what she was looking at. So, nice mommy that I am, I got my fat ass off of the chair and went to her rescue. And, of course, she was looking at a spider big enough to rampage Tokyo! Now, she is about 15 pounds or so, and she could take down a spider if she wanted--she doesn't want. I had to kill the spider so that she could go back to sleep in her spot. Lazy ass cat. She fits in this household beautifully.

Adventures In Driving

I have mentioned before that we have two seasons here: winter and construction. Our roads, specifically, have three seasons: winter, construction, and pothole! We are in pothole season. And it is bad. I am so thankful that I drive an SUV--we have potholes big enough to swallow small cars! They rival black holes in space--if something goes in, it never comes out.

One good thing about winter here is that the potholes are filled with snow or ice. There is no worry that you will lose your vehicle in a hole, but then you have to be aware of the possibility of skidding or wiping out in a spin. There are always trade-offs and this is one. We don't really appreciate how nice it is to drive in the winter, to drive on smooth roads, until the spring comes.

Our weather is very hard on the roads. All spring and fall, we have water from rain or melting. Of course, any holes or low spots on the roads will fill with the water and then freeze as the temps go down at night. This constant thawing and freezing takes a toll. The expanding and contracting of the road material is what causes the cracks, which develop into holes, so we get the potholes. And until someone invents a better way to make roads, we will have this problem.

I'm sure all of the northern states have this same problem--I'm not sure how much the middle and southern states experience this. Different organizations, radio and TV stations, etc, hold contests each year to find the worst pothole in the state. Most are done with an air of humor, but the idea behind the contests is very serious. Hitting some of these holes can cause real damage to a vehicle and it is dangerous for other drivers when you swerve to try to dodge the holes. Considering Michigan's economy is as bad as it is, I don't see there being anything more than the repair of 'pothole filling' again this year--and we really need some new roads, instead. I guess things won't be much different than any other year.

Adventures In Visiting

Today a wild/wonderful/great/fantastic disaster/hurricane/whirling dervish visited our household: C and her family came to visit. Wow. It was interesting, to say the least.

My house is used to holding two people and one cat--and at times it seems too small for that many entities. C and her family added eight more people to the mix. Suddenly, the walls felt as if they were closing in on me. Everywhere I turned, there was a person! To have that many kids in one house, you need a place twice as large as mine! You couldn't walk two steps without almost stepping on a kid. I think the fact that they move so fast made it seem as if there were more here than actually were. They were like speed demons tearing through the house. Not much sitting was done by any of them.

We are empty-nesters who don't get a lot of company--especially company of the under 14-year-old kind. So, I haven't child-proofed my house. That made things a bit interesting. I wasn't afraid that the kids would damage any of my stuff--it is only stuff and can be replaced--I was just concerned that they wouldn't hurt themselves. The 2-year-old didn't want to walk across the floor--she rather liked going from one end of the house to the other by climbing on the furniture. She wanted to sit on the window seat in the dining room--the one that was made for our 16 pound cat! Not a good idea. We disagreed on how good of an idea it was. She also would take an object that she knew she shouldn't have and run to the best hiding place in order to play with it. She reset our remote thermometer while hiding and walked off with my book light. The child finally passed out just before they left (which wasn't surprising as she didn't stop the entire time they were here.) This was something C was hoping would happen--it just makes the ride home that much easier. :) I'm STILL wondering where the kid gets her red hair from. We are blond/light brown haired Finns, for crying out loud!

Things could have been quite bad while they were here if I wasn't such a cool grandmother. How do I figure I'm cool? I have EVERY Nintendo gaming system that has been made, so the kids have something to do while they visit. And play they did! The son-in-law and two oldest girls played the Wii in the kitchen while the 3 and 4-year-olds played the Nintendo 64 in the living room. C herself played my Nintendo DS--at least when she wasn't nursing the baby! The noise level was amazingly loud, but everyone was happy. What more can you want?

Other than a few slops of food on the breakfast nook floor, they really didn't do much 'damage' of any kind. The 2-year-old DID bite a couple of chunks out of one of my round candles, but it could have been worse. (We only found one of the pieces, so changing her diaper ought to be interesting in the next few days--the candle is a nice shade of cobalt blue!) I never would have thought of putting the candles away--they were in the middle of the dining room table where I thought they would be safe. Goes to show how innovative those kids can be. :)

I don't get to see the kids often enough, so I was very happy they were here. I am happier that K took the afternoon off so he could be here to visit, too. I don't really know if I could have done the visit on my own. It really took four adults to keep the kids corralled, safe, and non-destructive. They don't get here that often and, in all honesty, I don't mind all that much. :)

It REALLY Doesn't Get Old

And, once again, the Wings won. They are in a very good position to win the President's again, but big whoop! In the past 21 years that the President's has been given, only six of the the winning teams have gone on to win the Stanley Cup--one of which was the Wings. It just goes to prove that the play-offs are a season apart from the regular one.

Cleary was back tonight and did beautifully. He didn't really show any skittishness and went for the full checks and hits--which is good. He is a gritty player and his kind of play is needed during the play-offs. He even managed to get a point tonight--good show.

Baby Boy didn't play again--they are saying probably Friday. McCarty might actually make his debut on Friday, also. Dom might be in net--hard to say. I wonder if this will be his last year? If it is, who in the world will they get in the net? Cancel cancel--not something to worry about right now! Holmstrom had a set-back with his injury--no word on when they think he will be back. It just doesn't seem as if he has been right since his injury earlier on. Hopefully the summer's rest will be good for him. He plays his position in such an amazing way--a hard one to replace!

Feeling My Age

I have several different doctors that I see on a regular basis. The only reason for this is the state of the medical community and the emergence of specialties. And, it is ridiculous the amount of specialties there are. While I haven't seen one yet, I wouldn't be surprised if there are/will be doctors who only specialize in the big toe of the right foot! But, I digress--as I have been known to do.

Of all of the doctors I see, my ophthalmologist is the only one who actually makes me feel my age. I guess part of the problem is that he is at least ten years younger than I am. Also, there is very little that can be done to reverse any age related problems that eyes suffer. Eyes get old and that is about the end of that. And he doesn't mince words at all--he says what is happening and explains it IS age related. He doesn't say things to be mean--he is just being honest. I am sure he doesn't realize that I view his words the way I do. And it isn't that it makes me depressed or anything, it just makes me realize that I AM getting older--like it or not!

It is quite amazing that I don't have too many doctors who are younger than I am. My ophthalmologist is, as is my dermatologist. Then, my internist, gynecologist, and dentist are all older than I am. The dentist and GYN are about my age--within a few years--but my internist does have several years on me. I like him because he calls me 'just a baby.' :) As much as I hate to think about it, they are going to be facing retirement in the not too distant future. (We all know how fast time goes by!) I don't want to have to find new doctors--I have been seeing the ones I have for 15-30 years! Just another reason to hate getting older. :D

Being a Little Pissy

Since becoming empty-nesters, I don't cook nearly as much as I used to. I guess I should feel guilty for not cooking meals more often, but I don't. And I have a perfectly good explanation for this.

K worked today, so he didn't get home until after 6:00 PM. I figured, seeing as it was Easter, I should make a meal--I was finishing up when he came home. I have never been one to have a meal ready to be served as soon as he walked in the door--that was The Mother's shtick, not mine. Besides, he has always liked to 'put his feet up' for a while after getting home. (Read that as 'fall asleep.') No problem--at least this way, the food will be hot when we sit down to eat. As long as the meal is served within one hour of him getting home, I feel as if I've done my job well. Tonight, I had the food ready about a half hour after he got home--not too long to wait at all. When everything was done, I called to him in the living room and said the food was ready. He answered me and said he was coming. I heard no movement from the other room, so I sat down and ate--by myself. When he FINALLY made his way into the kitchen, I was just finishing up my meal. Once again, I ate alone. Hell, if I have to eat by myself, I might as well eat pizza or a sandwich! I find it much too annoying to prepare a meal and have it be too much trouble for him to come and eat when it is ready. This just was not cool on his part. I'm not sure when I will take the time to cook again. (This is DEFINITELY not the first time this has happened--it happens much too often.)

It wasn't enough that K pulled his 'can't be bothered to eat when it is ready' crap. After he finished with his meal, he then went back into the living room and went to sleep--again. And he stayed there until 10:00. He then got up, went into the kitchen for something, and went to the bedroom to go to sleep for the night. We said about three words to each other from the time he came home from work till he went to bed. Life just doesn't get any better than this. I know there is an outage beginning, so I suppose he is getting himself in overtime mode. Yippee. It looks as if I am heading into one of my 'living as if I'm single without being allowed to date' cycles. I better start looking for things to do on my own--I will be spending a lot of time alone. Good thing I don't mind my own company.

Happy Easter

Rejoice!
For He has risen--He has risen indeed!

They Keep Rolling On

"Another year, another 50 wins."

That is the way the Wings' win is being described in the news stories. It just isn't a surprise anymore--and that is a little scary. This is their third year in a row to win 50 or more--the first time a team has done that since Montreal did it in the 70s. Right now, there are only two more teams that MIGHT make it to 50--and they have to win all of their remaining games to do it. (Well, San Jose only has to win 5 of their last seven games.) For some reason or other, the Wings make it look pretty easy during the regular season and then kind of blow it for the play-offs. Last year it wasn't too bad--they DID make it to the conference finals. Somehow, though, this year's team seems to be a bit different. I think they really have a chance to win it all--but it certainly won't be easy.

During the game, Datsyuk got points number 58, 59, and 60. Number 60 was a short-handed, unassisted goal! Go Pavel! He surpassed his personal best and could possibly get 100 points for the year. Z got his 40th goal--HIS personal best. Babcock became the first coach in NHL history to win fifty games in each of his first three seasons with a team.

I may have assumed too much with Baby Boy being out of the line-up. He still didn't play in Saturday's game and probably won't be back till next Saturday. I guess he really is injured--there is no way he would be given that many days to just rest. Cleary opted not to play until Tuesday. He will have surgery to remove the wires from his gums on Monday, so he won't need the special mouth-guard he would have needed on Saturday. Hopefully he WILL be back on Tuesday--that will give him a few games in which to get comfortable playing again. He will be needed in the play-offs.

Celebrate

Things to celebrate this week:

23 March
Toast Day
National Puppy Day
Near Miss Day
O.K. Day

24 March
National Chocolate Covered Raisin Day

25 March
National Lobster Newburg Day
Pecan Day

26 March
Legal Assistants Day
Make Up Your Own Holiday Day

27 March
National Spanish Paella Day
Kite Flying Day
Quirky Country Music Song Titles Day

28 March
National Black Forest Cake Day

29 March
National Lemon Chiffon Cake Day
National Mom & Pop Business Owner's Day
Texas Loves The Children Day

Quite An Ending

The Red Wings are certainly making the end of the season interesting, to say the least. They had a five-game winning streak, lost two and then won the next two. And the wins weren't ordinary.

On Wednesday, I was watching the game and thought, "Could this game be any more boring?" The first goal wasn't scored till about halfway into the second period--by Columbus. The Wings were playing as if they hadn't had a day off for weeks--just not with it at all. Just before midway in the third, Z decided enough was enough, and scored. He continued to score and managed a natural hat trick! (His second trick of the year, third of his career.) The last goal was beautiful--a highlight-reel moment, for sure.

Thursday night's game was better played. They came out with jump. There was quite a bit of 'feistiness' and 'button-pushing,' but no real fighting broke out. With the Wings up by two goals going into the third, it seemed inevitable that a major fight would happen, but then Nashville tied. They were very good at containing their emotions, but it didn't help--Detroit put in four goals to win. (insert sigh of relief)

With seven games left, they still are at the top of the league standings. San Jose is seven back, but it could change at any time--the Wings could go into another slump. More important than staying on top is getting ready for the play-offs. Dom needs to be at the top of his game--he DID play well tonight, but he needs to be better. I don't think they would do badly with Ozzie, but Dom is perceived as number 1, so... Unfortunately, there aren't enough games left for the injured to come back and get comfortable in the line-up--they will be playing their first series before they're all in shape. They still have four key or semi-key players out--they really need to be totally well in order to continue beyond the first round.

Not only are Draper, Holmstrom, and Cleary not playing, but Stuart broke his finger and won't be back till sometime in the first series. Great. (However, this probably will give him time to be with his wife when their baby is born.) Filppula was out the last two games--either his knee or his groin was the problem. In all actuality, he probably had nothing wrong with him. The NHL frowns on letting players take 'rest days,' so the teams create small problems for the players to have that need taking care of. Filppula played every game of the season, so he has to be play-off ready--even though he is only 24. :) He should play again on Saturday.

All in all, things are looking okay. But, despite that, the play-offs are totally different from the regular season. Anyone can win it all...and it has happened.

Quirks

We all have our strange little quirks and my girls are no different. See if you think these are very, very strange.

--A, my youngest, has NEVER seen The Wizard of Oz. And she absolutely refuses to see it. I don't know what she has against the movie and I'm not sure she even knows.

--C, my oldest, HATES, HATES, HATES the Easter Bunny. Well, the ones they have in the malls. She actually is afraid of them and is certain they stalk her. You won't find her in a mall around Easter unless it is absolutely necessary.

As I said, we all have our quirks--these are just a little unusual. :)

And You Think I'm An Awful Driver!

One day, The Mother and my grandmother (The Father's mother) were driving along. My grandmother was behind the wheel, as The Mother didn't drive. After a short time, The Mother realized that my grandmother neglected to stop at any stop signs. When she asked my grandmother about this, g-ma replied, "When Nels (her second husband) taught me to drive, he said really good drivers didn't NEED to stop at stop signs." She must have been VERY good, because I am unaware of her being in any accidents. Of course, she probably CAUSED a whole lot, but... :)

"Psycho" Virgin

My youngest and her husband watched the movie Psycho last night. He had never seen it before. She said he was shocked and surprised at the appropriate moments. I love being with a Psycho virgin when they experience the movie for the first time--not much is more enjoyable than that! I had the pleasure of introducing both of my girls to the movie. I guess it's time to find another virgin--I need a little bit of fun. :)

Celebrate

Holidays for the coming week:

16 March
Buzzard Day
National Artichoke Hearts Day
Lips Appreciation Day
St. Urho's Day

17 March
Submarine Day
Freedom of Information Day

18 March
National Lacy Oatmeal Cookie Day
Awkward Moments Day

19 March
National Chocolate Caramel Day
Act Happy Day

20 March
Absolutely Incredible Kid Day
Great American Meat Out Day
Proposal Day
Snowman Burning Day

AND

Valterri Filppula's 24th Birthday, aka 'Baby Boy'
(#51, Detroit Red Wings Center)

21 March
National French Bread Day
Memory Day
National Common Courtesy Day

22 March
National Bavarian Crepes Day
As Young As You Feel Day
International Goof-Off Day

Today's Irritation

There are a few reasons why I don't own guns. For example, the roadways would be littered with dead bodies if I owned a firearm--I HATE idiotic drivers. This morning I would have had a field day with shooting if I had a gun.

Anyone who knows me is well aware of the fact that I could sleep through anything. (I attribute this ability to my being sleep deprived--a situation I have created myself. But I digress.) Having a relatively early wake-up this morning--the Wings are playing an early afternoon game--I was dead to the world and enjoying myself immensely this AM. Suddenly, I was woken up by a rattling that would wake the dead. While trying to clear the cobwebs from my brain, I realized the noise was my cat trying to go through the front window of the bedroom--the combination of her going through the metal mini-blinds and her bouncing off of the window glass managed to wake me. Of course, I had to get up to see what was causing her such distress. I was sure there would be a moose, bear, or--at the very least--a couple of white-tails in our front yard. But nooooooooooo!!!!!! What was causing her such pain was the neighbor's cat. Across the street. There would have been two feline carcasses in the neighborhood if I would have had a gun.

Notes

Yesterday we did an out-of-town day-run to shop. The weather was fine, so travel was good--we made good time both ways. While I didn't have any pressing shopping needs, I managed to get a few things I wanted. Among my purchases were the first two 'Dexter' books--the ones the Showtime series is based on. I have been watching the 'cleaned up' version on CBS on Sunday nights and have been enjoying it quite a bit. However, I'm not sure I could actually watch the Showtime version--might be a bit too graphic for me.

DSW had the new spring shoes in and I walked out without buying a single pair. I know I would have broke our bank account if I had known what I wanted, but I had no clue. And I couldn't let myself buy shoes JUST to buy shoes. I've done that too often recently and have to stop. :)

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We ended our shopping trip at Sam's Club, as usual. I have always thought that I don't really enjoy shopping, but I realized at Sam's that that is NOT the case. What I don't like are other shoppers! Anyone who has ever been to Sam's knows how wide the aisles are--you could practically drive a Hummer down one and STILL have space on both sides! So how rude is it when other shoppers completely block the right-of-way for others--not to mention it is a very hard thing to do. There was a couple in one aisle. They had positioned their cart in a way that NO ONE could get around it. Then they took up the rest of the aisle to have a discussion about the peanuts on the shelf. Excuse me!?!?!? Whenever I'm faced with this situation, I try to be patient and wait till I can make eye-contact with the person/people blocking the way before saying 'excuse me.' Of course, these two didn't acknowledge that another human being was within 100 miles of them, so I waited...and waited...and waited. When they FINALLY moved, I started to squeeze pass them and they had the NERVE to give ME a dirty look! As I said, I hate the shoppers, not the shopping. GRRRRRR!!!!!!

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The other thing that really got on my nerves at Sam's was the check-outs. First, they didn't have nearly as many open as they should have--every open one had at least FOUR people in line waiting to be checked-out. Then we made the wrong decision and picked the check-out with the slllooowwweeesssttt clerk in the world. I swear, instead of coffee for breakfast, this woman drank a cup of tranquilizers! Watching her do her job was like watching a movie in slow motion. Unbelievable.

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This may be one of those 'Why do I need to know this?' things, but here goes: Memory Foam pillows freeze. And when I say freeze, I mean they become hard as a block of ice if they are cold enough. How do I know? Well, I bought a Memory Foam pillow because I thought it might do good for me. (I have pillow issues.) I found I couldn't sleep on the thing, so I use it as a lap desk whenever we travel--it is comfortable on my lap, doesn't weigh too much, and it is quite firm. When we stay overnight, I don't take the pillow into the hotel with us, I just leave it in the vehicle. The last time we stayed overnight on one of our trips, was about a month ago--still cold, winter weather in our part of the country. When we got into the vehicle the morning after our stay, the pillow was hard as a rock. I thought for sure the thing was ruined, but as it warmed up, it soften again. Quite interesting.

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Okay, so we don't have HUGE news days here, but this is big news for us. The DNR has admitted that some tracks they found here in the UP are probably cougar footprints. For years people have brought evidence of all kinds to the attention of the DNR and the existence of cougars here has been dismissed. Some people think the reason is that if it is determined that they actually do exist here, it will cost the DNR a bundle of money because cougars would be an endangered species. I can't understand how good the evidence must be for them to have to finally admit we have cougars. It will be fun to follow this story.

**********

The Wings got it done tonight. They won their fifth in a row and met a bunch of milestones in the process. With the win tonight, they became the first team in the league to be assured of a playoff spot. They tied the league record of having eight straight 100-point seasons. They won the Central Division title for the seventh year in a row. This is also the 17th year in a row they have qualified for the playoffs--the longest streak for ANY pro-sports team. They are now undefeated for the month of March. Good going.

Datsyuk is still on a roll--he scored two and had one assist tonight. Baby Boy got the last goal of the night--an empty-netter--and had two assists. Right now, Filppula is only one away from 20 for the year--something he should be able to accomplish with 11 games left in the season. And besides, if he stays on Datsyuk's line, he could come very close to a 50-point season! Again, good going.

Cautiously Optimistic

Tonight the Wings won their fourth game in a row. They are beginning to play like they were earlier in the year--and that is both good and bad. It was nice to see them hang in there for the win--they did out-play Chicago. Shots on goal were 47-20--numbers like they are used to getting. Still, with that many shots on goal, the goals scored should have been MUCH higher! Sure, they got three goals, but one was an empty-netter. For some reason, the Wings just can't figure out most of the goalies in the league--and that is not good. Secondary scoring kicked in again tonight and that ALWAYS is a good thing.

Chelios came back in the line-up tonight. I was pretty much sure this injury would have been his career-ender. And at 46 years old, it wouldn't have been that bad of thing, right? But as everyone says, he is a freak of nature and he spent thirteen and a half minutes on the ice tonight. I would LOVE to know what the man does to keep himself going. He is playing in a game that is terribly, physically draining AND competing against guys half his age. AND he is doing a damn good job of keeping up with, or surpassing, the youngsters! Perhaps he has a portrait hidden somewhere like Dorian Gray did. ;)

Cleary should be back by the end of the month--a good thing. But better still, he signed a new contract with the Wings for five years and $14 million. He has a no-trade clause built in for the first three years--which just may not be a bad thing. It definitely is good to see him talking again. I'm sure having the jaw wired shut was difficult. He has gained back almost five of the fifteen pounds he lost and has been skating, so he should be good to go for the playoffs. The biggest worry, though, is the fact he will have to wear a full face shield when he starts playing again. Understandable, as he has to protect that jaw, but hard to get used to.

The Way I Am

Anyone who knows cats will be familiar with this scenario. As a cat walks from one end of the house to another, it will walk very close to furniture or the wall. Cats don't seem to like walking in wide open spaces--even in the safety of their own home. Most of the time--with my cat, anyway--the tips of their fur will barely touch the furniture/wall as they pass by. I seem to have this in common with cats.

For some reason or other, I tend NOT to walk through the middle of a doorway or the empty part of a room. I walk way too closely to walls and furniture--and this causes me problems. I injure myself. My only broken bone came because I was hurrying through a doorway--too closely to the frame--and caught my little toe on the door frame. It hurt. I am ALWAYS slamming my arm, leg, hand into the wall or furniture as I am walking. I'm NOT afraid that there is anything WRONG with me medically, of course--I am just a klutz and have always been this way.

Earlier today, I was walking into the dining room from the hallway and slammed the knuckle of my right index finger into the doorway. Immediately it turned color and the vein popped out. The pain was considerable. After moving the finger around, I came to the conclusion that it probably is NOT broken. About an hour later, I slammed the SAME knuckle while I was dusting. It is nicely discolored, but I STILL can move the finger. I guess I will just watch it and if anything changes, THEN I will go in and have it looked at. This is just another look at the way I am. :)

My Daughter

As I posted a few days ago, I got a new cell phone. It has some really neat features. One of the things you can do is assign special ringtones to each person in your contact/phone book. I have told my girls that they can pick the song they want associated with their name. A is still thinking about it. C knew immediately. This is what she picked:

She has been having a couple of off days. :D

Sunday

The weather was very nice today. The sun was out and the temp recovered from the single-digits of the last few days. Tonight is still quite cold--2 degrees right now--but for the rest of the week we should be seeing temps in the mid-30s to around 40! Wow! Maybe we WILL get spring here eventually.

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The Wings won the game today--the third in a row! Woo hoo! However, they let a 4-0 lead going into the third period trickle down to the final score of 4-3. It seemed as if they just got over-confident and settled back and let Nashville get into the game. This just may have been a good lesson for them. Through the end of the season, they will be playing against very desperate teams trying to make it into the play-offs. Desperate teams are very dangerous--they can win against all odds. I really worried the last two minutes of the game--but they managed.

Lidstrom came back today and he really wasn't showing any signs of his injury. Maybe that means he didn't come back too soon. Holmstrom hurt himself during Friday's practice--some sort of groin/abdominal thing. It seems to be in the same area that he injured earlier this year--hope it isn't something that will keep him out too long. Lebda was out with the flu, so he should be back soon. Chelios probably will be back sooner than they thought at first--the man IS a freak of nature! And they expect Cleary to be playing a few games before the play-offs begin. Will be nice to have all of the team back.

Stuart got his first goal for the Wings, Hudler broke his dry streak, and Franzen scored twice--all a very good sign. It is necessary for the team to have secondary scoring, and today they got it. Filppula got an assist, so his points went up again. Way to go Baby Boy.

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Our local high school hockey team made it to the state champion finals for the second year in a row. Last night they played against the same team they lost to last year. The game was tied 1-1 after regulation and they proceeded to play 8 overtimes before the game was called for the safety of the players. (The teams played more minutes in overtime than they did in regulation--by quite a lot. The total amount of time they played was equivalent to approximately two and a half regular games!) They named BOTH teams as state champions--the first time ever that there have been Co-Champions.

The game was the longest high school play-off ever played in the state of Michigan. It was the second longest played in the US--in 1955, in Minnesota, a game went into 11 overtimes before someone scored the winning goal. Crazy!

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K received a letter on Saturday--he has been picked for jury duty AGAIN! The last time he was called was in October--just six months ago. I don't understand: Is he one of only a small amount of people they pick from? He has been called at least four times--and maybe more. I have been called twice. Hmmm. He is lucky, though, as he gets to serve here in town--about a couple of miles from our house. I, on the other hand, have had to go to court 15 miles from us--once in the middle of winter. It wasn't fun trying to negotiate the snow-covered roads at 7:00 AM!

Being a stay-at-home empty-nester, I don't particularly mind having jury duty. But, I don't get called as much as K, someone who has to get off of work in order to serve. Something seems very wrong with this.

PSA

Don't forget, move your clocks ahead one hour tonight!

Celebrate

Reasons to celebrate this week:

9 March
National Crabmeat Day
Check Your Batteries Day
Get Over It Day
Panic Day

10 March
National Blueberry Popover Day
Napping Day

11 March
Dream 2008 Day
Organize Your Home Office Day

12 March
National Baked Scallops Day

13 March
Good Samaritan Involvement Day
National Open An Umbrella Indoors Day

14 March
National Potato Chips Day
International Ask A Question Day

15 March
National Pears Helene Day
Maple Syrup Day
True Confessions Day

Just Links

Found a couple of things that I thought I would pass on:

--This first link is to a European website. HEMA is a retailer with brick and mortar stores in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg, and Germany. Now, the store is neither here nor there, to me. The thing that is so neat is the way the online products are presented. After clicking on this link, let the page load--sit back and watch the fun! VERY cool.

--I love this site. You can work on your vocabulary AND make a donation to a charity at the same time--all for free! I managed to get to the 43rd level before I stopped. (Of course, I did make mistakes...:))

--For this video, you will need to use headphones to get the full effect. This is called the Virtual Barber. This is an example of an auditory illusion, the stereo effect. Your brain will 'tell' you that the sounds move from ear to ear, etc. Quite interesting.

And if you would like to hear more auditory illusions, go here.

Just Another Day

K went to work tonight, so that must mean he's feeling much better. Actually, he thinks it will take him at least a week to get back to normal. That isn't surprising, as most people seem to take at least that long to get over the effects of influenza. With him gone to work, I get to be the night owl I like being--I even get to vacuum at 3:00 AM if I want! Life is good. :D

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Last night I decided to try and configure my Bluetooth adapter for the desktop. I bought the adapter several years ago, after I bought my Palm Zire. I never COULD get the damn thing to work, so I thought all was lost and that was money wasted. Now, with getting the new cell phone and all, I thought I should give it another try before buying a data cable for the Nokia. (It really pisses me off how you have to buy so many accessories for EVERY tech gadget that you buy--but that is the subject of another post.) Anyway, the phone is Bluetooth compatible, so I thought I'd give it a whirl--AND I got it to work! While Bluetooth isn't as fast as USB, for what I want to download to my phone--OR upload to the computer--it is fast enough. At least for now. I was able to get the pics I wanted for the wallpaper for both displays on the phone and that is about all I am worried about right now. It is so nice when technology works the way it is supposed to!

**********

Now it is being said that Lidstrom might not play on Sunday. Actually, I hope he DOESN'T play! He needs to be 100% well before he comes back--he needs to be well for the playoffs. I'm sure he is just chomping at the bit with wanting to skate again, but still. Yeah, yeah, he is practically indestructible--he has only missed 22 games in the 17 years he has played in the NHL--but I still want them to have him come back slowly. Rafalski and Kronwall being back and the 'new guy' (it will take me a bit before I quit thinking about Stuart like that) fitting in well, should be enough for now. Just take it easy, Captain--we can wait.

**********

--'Lost' SPOILER ALERT, maybe.--

I watched last night's episode of 'Lost' and once again I came away with the feeling that I just may have to break up with the show. Now, I'm a fairly intelligent woman and I can follow a complicated storyline, but 'Lost' is going BEYOND complicated. Half of the time I don't know if the scene being watched is a flashback, flash-forward, or involves time travel. I have always loved good sci-fi, but this is just going beyond. I will probably give it another episode or two and then make up my mind.

By the way, does anyone else watch the show? What are your thoughts?

Just Saying...

K and I were supposed to go out of town for a day trip on Tuesday, but wound up staying home. As it turned out, K had to go to the doctor's and was diagnosed with influenza. Yay. He was given Tamiflu and it seems to be working--he is feeling much better today. However, he isn't sure if he will be able to go to work for his night shift on Thursday--he still is suffering from quite a headache. As selfish as it sounds, I just hope I don't come down with the same thing--obviously the vaccine didn't work for him this year and there is no guarantee it will work for me.

**********

The actor Patrick Swayze is suffering from pancreatic cancer. One source says he has a limited amount of time left, another says he is responding well to treatment. While I don't know what the truth really is, all I know is that everyone I've ever heard of with this type of cancer hasn't lasted very long after being diagnosed. It is so sad--he is only 55 years old.

**********

I know enough people have talked about this, especially since this is an election year, but I think our election process is crap. (What I will now say goes for BOTH parties--I just happen to remember/have heard about these two cases. No disrespect meant--I am not being partisan.) Do the candidates actually fulfill any of their obligations in regards to what office they already hold? I mean, really, WHEN was the last time any of them actually were in Washington conducting government business?

I remember the last time Hillary ran for her office. She was asked over and over again if she would be running for president. She continually either denied that she was going to run OR said that ALL she was interested in was retaining her present position and that was all she was focused on. As soon as she won re-election, she declared that she will seek the presidency. And she was off campaigning.

Every night on the news--for as long as I can remember--there has been a story about Obama and his talking or giving a speech SOMEWHERE in America. The somewhere is never Washington DC--the place where he was supposed to work at his elected position. Excuse me?

WHY are these people allowed to do this? And why don't we--the public--DO something about it? We let them get away with this kind of behavior and even reinforce it by VOTING for them AGAIN! Something just doesn't seem right. As I said, this behavior is the same no matter who the candidate is, what political party he/she is part of. It gets worse with every election--pretty soon, the only thing a candidate will do IS campaign. It is pretty close to that right now.

A Slight Sigh of Relief

For the first time in more than a month, the Wings have won two games in a row! Once again, they played much better than the game before, but that was to be expected as Rafalski was back tonight. The final score being 4-1 was great--seeing them score on the 5-on-5 once again, was nice. Datsyuk and Z are still scoring or contributing assists--but there is also secondary scoring, so all is coming together again. I do worry about the next time St Louis and Detroit play, however. There were a few nasty shoves and cross-checks in the game and the next one just might turn a little bloody. Hopefully everyone will have cool heads when they meet on the 25th.

There is a tradition in hockey where the players don't shave while in the play-offs. In recent years, not all players go along with the no-shaving for various reasons. Some of the guys are just too young and others couldn't grow a beard if they were paid--no matter HOW old they are. While Z usually sports a beard, tonight it looked rather fierce. I wonder if he is starting in anticipation of the Stanley Cup run? ;)



--DETROIT - MARCH 05: Henrik Zetterberg #40 of the Detroit Red Wings turns up ice during a game against the St. Louis Blues on March 5, 2008 at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)--

The Captain Comes Back?

News is that Lidstrom might be back on Sunday when the Wings play Nashville! What a boost this will be for the team. Rafalski is supposed to play on Wednesday, so that will only leave Chelios out of the line-up. Look out world, the Wings are back. I hope! ;)

New Tech Gadget

There it is in all its beautiful new glory: my new cell phone. It is a Nokia 6555 and I just got it yesterday. Now everyone knows how much I love new tech gadgets and this phone fits the bill beautifully. It uses 3G technology--something we don't HAVE here yet, but it IS new and (supposedly) great! So, I WANT! It has an amazing screen--actually TWO screens--and the colors and resolution are fantastic. There is a digital music player, an email client, IM, and camera--all of which I don't need. BUT, it is high tech, so I WANT! So far, the web-surfing seems to be fine--but I usually just look for Red Wing news and weather on the phone, so how bad could surfing be?

Two possible problems with the phone, though. First, all of the reviews I have read complain about the battery life. A lot of reviewers say they have to charge the phone every night and that is a definite minus. I don't use my cell phone for calls at home, so I don't think it will be much of a factor for me--just how much would I have to use it to wear down the battery in a few hours time when I'm out shopping? The other thing that MIGHT prove to be a problem, however, is the fact it seems to get a little warm while doing some heavy-duty web-surfing. Again, how many times am I actually going to do a LOT of surfing? I will have to put the phone through its paces over the next couple of weeks and see if I keep my 'new baby.'

BREAKING NEWS!!!!

Brett Favre is retiring from football.

Yeah, I'm just as impressed as the rest of you. But, because we get A LOT of our TV feeds from Wisconsin, we are being bombarded with the news. I wonder if the channels will even show network programming tonight or will they have Brett Favre retrospectives? Thank goodness there isn't anything worth watching anyway.

Trivia

Time for another trivial post--thanks to mental_floss.

--One of Richard Nixon's quirks was building a fire in the Lincoln sitting room in July--then turning up the air conditioning to make it bearable!

--Warren Harding played poker at least twice a week and one time gambled away an entire set of White House china.

--When hooked up to an electroencephalograph machine (a machine that records the electrical activity of the brain) Jell-O demonstrates movement virtually identical to a healthy adult man or woman.

--There is a family in Norway that has three children born on February 29--they are NOT triplets, but were born three Leap Year's in a row.

--"The Last Works of Henri Matisse" exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art was in its 47th day before a woman noticed one painting was hung upside down. When she mentioned this fact to a museum worker, she wasn't taken seriously. The painting was hung correctly only after the woman brought the story to The New York Times and it was published.

--87 days after New Coke was launched, the Coca Cola Company re-issued the original Coke as "Coca Cola Classic" in order to appease angry fans. This news was considered so important to the American people that Peter Jennings of ABC news interrupted "General Hospital" to break the story on national TV.

--The word 'lucky' was rarely used in "I Love Lucy" scripts, because the show's sponsor, Phillip Morris, was in competition with Lucky Strike cigarettes at the time.

--If you start counting at one and spell out the numbers as you go, you won't use the letter 'A' until you reach 1,000.

--Great Roles Actors Regrettably Turned Down:

--Cary Grant turned down the role of James Bond in Dr. No.
--Will Smith turned down the role of Neo in the Matrix.
--Sean Connery turned down the role of Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
--Steve McQueen turned down Sundance in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, "Popeye" Doyle in The French Connection, and Captain Benjamin Willard in Apocolypse Now.

--The 2003 world Scrabble champion was from Thailand and didn't speak English fluently.

--The 1984 film Red Dawn was the first motion picture rated PG-13.

--Silver has been the most popular exterior color for US cars since 2000.

--Swiss steak, English muffins, and Russian dressing were all invented in the US.

--In 2006, Michigan became the eighth US state to have a population exceeding 10 million.

Thank Goodness

I won't be naive enough to say that the slump is finally over, but the Wings did play well tonight. There WAS an improvement on Friday night with 'the new guy,' Stuart, in the line-up and Hasek and Kronwall back from injuries--they improved even more tonight. It is so good to see the injured coming back. However, Hasek should probably begin his warm-ups even earlier than he already does--he gave up a rather soft goal early in the game AGAIN tonight! Looked a little rusty out there. NOT something you want in a play-off game--it can give a team momentum and give them enough to win.

Baby Boy got a goal and an assist tonight--looks like he will hit the 20-goal mark this year. Drake and Maltby scored, also--great for them, as they haven't had many this year. Several others got assists--this should go far to help boost the confidence of the players.

Right now, word has it that Rafalski will be back in the line-up on Wednesday. Such good news to see the players getting healthy again. Lidstrom should be back in about eight games and then the only one--hopefully--left to get healthy will be Chelios. It will be fantastic to have the captain back--I don't think many people appreciate him enough. Lidstrom is probably the best player on the team and, obviously, they are pretty lost without him.

A little sigh of relief tonight--maybe they can go on another winning streak.

Celebrate

Holidays for the week:

2 March
National Banana Cream Pie Day*
Namesake Day

3 March
Iditarod Begins
National Anthem Day
Fun Facts About Names Day
I Want You To Be Happy Day
What If Cats and Dogs Had Opposable Thumbs? Day
(My Baby's Birthday!!!)

4 March
National Poundcake Day*
Courageous Follower Day
March Forth-Do Something Day
National Grammar Day
Unique Names Day

5 March
Stop The Clocks Day
Learn What Your Name Means Day

6 March
National Chocolate Cheesecake Day*
Nametag Day

7 March
Middle Name Pride Day

8 March
National Peanut Cluster Day*
Farmer's Day
Girl's Write Now Day

*Good food to celebrate this week! :)