It Is Finished

The Wings are done. And to top it all off, they lost to a team named after a Disney movie! I am not only disappointed, I am more than a little bitter.

That being said, I could go on and on with 'coulda, shoulda, woulda,' but there is no reason. Others that are much more knowledgeable than I am will do all of the analyzing--and it will be to no avail. The season is done. The guys can go and play golf.

I will not be watching any more hockey this year. The thoughts of having to see Pronger's smirk just makes me more than a little ill. The only thing that could get me to watch any part of any of the Cup finals is if I get to see a clip of someone from Ottawa taking Pronger out--and having him be out for an extended period of time. THAT I might watch. I hope Ottawa wins in four straight games--and while they are winning, I want them to take out a couple of Niedermayers, a Perry, and most definitely, a Pronger.

It was a good ride this year, guys. THANKS! It is a very good feeling that the team did as well as it did, considering all of the 'experts' predicted a mediocre--at best--year. Four months and we get to do it all over again! I, for one, can't wait.

No Title

C called me earlier today to tell me she's pregnant. I can't even talk about it--I have to digest this news before I can even comment.

Cold Hearted SOB Award

Can you say 'cold hearted bastard?' Well, here is a local story that defines that term:

A Menominee County landlord faces up to a year in prison and a $100,000 fine for evicting the wife of a U.S. serviceman. It happened back in December of 2004, but it's just reached the federal court system.

Randall McLeod, Sr. pled guilty to a charge of unlawful eviction of a service member's dependents.

Federal prosecutors say the wife went into labor in late November of 2004 and, as a result, did not make her rent payment on time. The next month, authorities say, McLeod removed the family's belongings from the mobile home and changed the locks.

The soldier was away from home, training at the time.

McLeod will be sentenced on August 28. He'll also be required to pay restitution to the family.

Bats In The Belfry? Not Exactly.

Considering we don't have a belfry--what is that, by the way?--we don't have any bats in it. BUT, we DO have other wildlife living in our space. And so begins another summer.

The other night I could hear something chewing/digging in the ceiling of the pantry. This ceiling is right under the space occupied by the basement entrance. So, I took the flashlight and went to look in the window of the basement door and there it was. A HUGE grey squirrel. And I SWEAR the damn thing snarled at me when the light hit him! I'm not sure if there is a nest--didn't wait around long enough to find out. K is just going to have to figure out a way to put out the live trap where the squirrel might actually go into it. And then, WE HAVE TO FIND OUT HOW THEY ARE GETTING IN! I just don't want the thing to get into the basement--THAT would be a heart attack waiting to happen, believe me.

Once again, we have a nest of birds in the eave over the sewing room. The racket the babies make is just incredible. I'm sure they aren't anything more interesting than starlings--and I would REALLY like them gone. We will have to investigate this, too, to see how they are getting in. It is SO much fun living in an old house! (sarcasm is heavy in that last remark :))

Anaheim 2, Detroit 1

Today I may have seen the play that helped end the Wings' season: Anaheim's tying goal with less than one minute left in regulation. Very pessimistically, I had no sense that Detroit would win in overtime. The Wings would need to win the next two (final) games in order to win the series and move on to the Cup finals. While Detroit COULD win the games--they ARE that good--I have my doubts as to whether they actually will. Hockey season could be over for me in two games or less. I am depressed.

NBC Screwed Up--Big Time

Okay, so the world doesn't revolve around hockey. I get it. And I really don't care if someone doesn't like the sport--you can't please everyone. But today, NBC screwed with a significant portion of the population and THEY. ARE. PISSED. I do believe there are enough hockey fans around to cause NBC a bit of grief.

The NHL, in their infinite wisdom, contracted with NBC to air hockey games. Not ALL hockey games, just the ones that NBC wants to carry. AND NBC can determine what time these games air--at their convenience. So, you have Saturday afternoon hockey games, which is okay unless you live in Canada where Hockey Night in Canada is not only a tradition, but an institution. This means that the CBC couldn't air night time playoff games because NBC wanted the games played during the day.

Not only has NBC screwed with the times of the games, they also have decided that the majority of the games will be broadcast on VS--a network that they own. What's that you ask? What's VS? Exactly. There are many cable systems in the US that don't carry VS. There are a lot of people across the country that have never even heard of VS. I believe the only reason that we have VS on our cable system is because there would be a rebellion if we couldn't get every conceivable hockey game broadcast to our area that is possible. We also are lucky because we get the CBC on our system--which I do enjoy watching because their announcers at least understand the game of hockey and aren't airheads spewing a bunch of nonsense just to hear themselves talk.

And so we come today and NBC's big screw-up. Ottawa and Buffalo played today. The series stood at 3 wins for Ottawa, 1 for Buffalo. This game had the potential to be the end of the series--Ottawa could become the Eastern Conference champs and get into the Stanley Cup finals. The teams played 60 minutes and were tied at 2-2. The game was going into overtime. And NBC decided to stop broadcasting the game and go to the pre-race coverage of the Preakness--which was under a rain delay. And those hockey fans that didn't have anywhere but NBC to watch the game missed the overtime period, the SUDDEN DEATH overtime--which Ottawa won to become the Eastern Conference champs. They got to miss the end of a playoff game so that NBC could have a bunch of talking heads describe how muddy the racetrack was, how the weather was, and how much longer it would be before the race started FOR 75 MINUTES! (I was able to see the rest of the game--as I said, our cable system is good for hockey fans.)

I went to the message boards at NBC Sports to read the reactions. People are not amused. I think there will be A LOT of emails to be read on Monday morning. I hope someone gets fired for this.

What Did I Do?

My daughters have a complete and total lack of respect for me and I don't know what it is I did to deserve this. Here is the story.

The other night, I needed to stop at Shopko to pick up a few things. Not much, but enough to be a little unwieldy just to carry. As I passed the Coke coolers, I decided to pick up a couple of bottles to go along with dinner. I couldn't carry any more stuff, so I went to get myself a shopping cart. I guess I must have been struggling with the cart I was trying to extract from the rest, because a young girl--late high school, early college age--came rushing over to help me get the cart. 'Here, let me help you,' she said. Her tone of voice and the look on her face I knew very well--I have used both many times in my life. She looked at me and thought (I'm sure), 'I MUST help you. You remind me so much of my frail, very old, grandmother.' At that moment, I knew I had joined the ranks of 'little old ladies.' ACK!!!!!!!!! Of course, the first thing I did when I left the store was call my girls and tell them what had happened.

The oldest answered the phone and I told her, 'I am officially a little old lady now.' C answered, 'NOW what embarrassing thing did you do!' (See, total lack of respect!) After I told her the story--which she laughed at--she said, 'Well, at least you didn't pee yourself!' (Total lack of respect.) And then she said, 'Why are you surprised at this? You aren't exactly young anymore.' (This last thing was said with a grin in her voice. But still, total lack of respect.)

I called the youngest next. I said, 'I am officially a little old lady now.' A answered, 'NOW what did you steal!' (No respect.) She wasn't QUITE as bad as her sister, but she did tell me I'm not quite as young as I used to be and I should expect these things to happen more and more often. Nice kids. As for the 'NOW what did you steal.' remark, here is the story.

Last year, just before Christmas, a friend and I took advantage of the annual 'shop downtown' event we have here in the city. As in so many other places, our downtown area is a bit overlooked by shoppers who find it so much easier to go to the malls and strip malls that we have sprinkled around. So, the downtown merchants have these events to try and get more traffic and, hopefully, get more people to shop their stores. We went from store to store, filling out raffle forms and stuffing our faces with cookies and candies. At one point, we found ourselves in our local Christian bookstore. And here is where it gets interesting.

B was looking to add some figures to her Nativity set, so she was asking the owner if they still make the size she needed. A discussion about Nativity sets, and other things, began. As we were standing by the cash register/counter, I began looking at all of the 'impulse buying' stuff that most stores have at the check-out. The display of the Bible devotional booklets 'The Daily Bread' caught my eye. I hadn't had one in quite awhile, so I picked one out of the rack and put it in my bag. B looked at me like she wanted me dead. I couldn't figure out what her problem was and then it occurred to me that she didn't realize that 'The Daily Bread' was a free give-away booklet--we used to have them in our church free for the taking. After a few minutes, the conversation was over and we left the store.

As soon as we were outside, she said, 'WHY did you take that without paying for it?' I told her I didn't have to pay, that they were free. To which she answered, 'Then why did the sign say $1.00?' I almost died. I HAD to go back into the store, apologize, and pay my $1.00. This is, after all, a small town and I couldn't be remembered as the woman who stole something right in front of the owner! And the man didn't even smile or even try to make me feel better when I apologized to him. Jackass. (In my defense, I spent a lot of time in the store when it was owned by the people he bought it from. At that time, the booklets were free to whoever wanted one. The publishers STILL give them for free, but this store owner decided this would be a way for them to raise some money for the non-profit company that distributes the booklets. That is the reason they now charged for them.)

This incident took place about six months ago. I haven't been back to the downtown stores since. My girls said my picture and description is probably posted in all of the stores. They told me I should probably not go there again. Total lack of respect on their part.

Ducks 5-Wings 3

Don't REALLY want to talk about it. The Wings SHOULD have won tonight, there is nothing else to say. (The final score looks worse than it was because Anaheim got an empty-net goal just at the end.) Now it's back to Detroit on Sunday--they still have to win two in order to go to the finals. It's now the best of three--with home ice advantage. I still have faith.

Why Do I Blog?

So, burg tagged me with a meme: Why Do I Blog? I am supposed to list five reasons and then tag five people to do the same. As usual, I won't tag anyone--just invite anyone who wants, to participate!

1) I need to talk. If I had enough people to talk to during the day, I probably wouldn't blog, but since I am a stay-at-home, I don't talk to that many people on a daily basis. Thus, I blog and read other people's blogs.

2) I have always wanted to write. While I have thought--in the past--that I am a decent writer, I now realize I am just passable. With all of the really good writers I read every day, I don't feel as if I measure up. But, still, I try.

3) Sometimes, I just have things that I have to say. And this can be broken down into two different things: a need to express oneself and a need to say something. Expressing yourself implies a creative, artistic endeavor. Needing to say something is much more basic: like NEEDING to say what my true feelings about Oprah are.

4) I have many years of stories and wisdom--real or imagined on my part :)--that I want to pass on. When I write things in this blog, there is always a chance that someone, somewhere, might take away something useful from reading it. I have always felt--whether through this blog or in my personal life--if only one person in the world remembers me as someone who helped, then I would have lived my life well.

5) There really is no other outlet for my eclectic thoughts. I have no one else to listen to me talk about hockey, Eric Clapton, funny commercials, bad TV shows, good books, lousy celebrities, pet peeves, bad jokes, computers, etc., so I come here and let loose. So, if you are entertained or if you are bored, what you see is what you get. And tomorrow's post/s will probably be much different than today's.

And because I don't want to steal one of burg's 5, I will add one more reason for me to blog and that is because of all of the people who come here. I appreciate every one of you and every comment that is left. I am grateful for the support that is given when things are not going so well and the happiness that is shared when all is right with my world. Without all of you, I would be a very lonely blogger!

One Game?

So, for that horrid hit Pronger made on Holmstrom last night, he got suspended one game. I guess it was better than nothing--I actually expected them to let him get away with it. I do believe one of the reasons--besides the fact that this is Pronger we're talking about--that he didn't get a longer suspension was the fact that Homer took 13 stitches to the face and CAME BACK TO PLAY THE REST OF THE GAME! Way to go Homer! If Holmstrom would have been sent to the hospital, maybe the suspension would have been longer. One can only hope.

I still cannot believe how the analysts are making excuses for what Pronger did. Or, if not making excuses, NOT condemning what he did. For crying out loud, a hit like that could practically take a man's head off. This was intentional and it should be condemned as such. I'd love to know what the motivating factor is for these 'analysts' to soft sell the whole 'incident.' I don't get it.

Now, before anyone gets at me for feeling the way I do just because this was against my team, I will say: WRONG! Pronger has taken cheap shots at other players for years and pretty much has gotten away with it. And that is due to the fact that he is a 'good' player. As far as I can see, he is tall and has a long reach--nothing else about him appeals to me.

I am not naive enough to try and say every other team has players that do 'wrong' things and Detroit is the only snow white team out there. I know better than that. Yes, I see Chelios slash at another player when the ref isn't looking. I see the hooking and tripping that doesn't get called. I see the little shots to the other players, the hits and 'bumps'--I'm not blind. But, these are the same types of things that all--well, almost all (sometimes I think Datsyuk doesn't know HOW to trip, hook, slash, etc.)--players on all teams do as often as they think they can get away with. And these are the kinds of things I don't mind seeing and don't mind having called as penalties. But the kinds of things that Pronger and several other players do--Tootoo is another one--are just plain wrong. For the most part, a trip here, a hook there, even a slight slash, is not going to do any permanent damage to another player. Bumps, bruises, and even a little blood are part of the game. When you hit someone with your elbow in the back of the head, forcing their face into the boards, THAT can do some pretty bad, and sometimes permanent, damage. That is not what hockey is, or should, be about.

What a Game!

I will restrain myself, cause I could go on and on about how good tonight's game was, but I won't. It WAS only one game, the Wings still need to win two more to get to the Cup finals. But, damn it, THEY SHUT OUT THE DUCKS 5-0! AND they did it with the Ducks--namely Pronger--playing a dirty game! I still can't think in a level-headed manner about the cheap bashing that Pronger and Niedermayer did to Holmstrom. Even though he needed help to get off of the ice and got TWO cuts that required stitches, Homer came back and finished the game. He is one tough player and doesn't get nearly enough credit for what he does on the ice. We'll see if there are any suspensions handed out--which I highly doubt. It was nice to see the Wings win on the road--now they STILL have the home ice advantage. And to top it all off, my 'baby boy' got the fifth goal of the game--and he did it beautifully. I AM a happy camper tonight.



--Detroit Red Wings center Valtteri Filppula, of Finland, scores past Anaheim Ducks goalie Ilya Bryzgalov, of Russia, as left wing Shawn Thornton looks on during the third period of their NHL Western Conference finals hockey game in Anaheim, Calif., Tuesday, May 15, 2007. The Red Wings won 5-0. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)--

And To Continue...

We have another celebrity post today, people! God, I can't STAND this woman!!!!!

This was on TMZ.com today:

Oprah Winfrey wishes her beloved grandma was still around -- to see the "good white folks" that are under her domain.

The media queen told a group of graduates at the Howard University commencement Saturday that her grandmother's wish was that Oprah would someday work for some "good white folks." How the tables have turned, said Oprah, now that those "good white folks" are working for her. Oprah's grandma worked as a servant in Mississippi in the 1950s, and the younger Winfrey has often invoked her as an inspiration and a guiding force in her life.

Not only do I dislike her as a celebrity, but I feel she is the most racist person on TV today! If a white person would say anything that came even CLOSE to her statements, that person would be put in prison for 'hate crimes' and never be let out! I guess the 'Oprah religion' is as strong as ever.

Monday Meanderings

Last week, I finally called the cable company and asked them to send someone over to set up the new TV with a high-def receiver. Of course, the earliest they could get here was today between ten and noon. They called this morning to say they wouldn't be able to come because they don't have any receivers available--they are expecting some to come in today and we will get one of them. AND they CAN'T come tomorrow, so they had to make an appointment for Wednesday. GAHHHHHH!!!!!!!! This is now the SECOND time we were willing to pay them more money and they didn't have what we wanted. (The first was a few months back when we were going to get a DVR from them.) No wonder the company--or at least the stock prices--are going into the shit-hole. What a way to run a business.

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We got our bill from the cable company today and they have increased our internet speed for no extra cost for the next year--as a trial. This means that, instead of download speeds of 3Mbps, I'm supposed to get speeds of 5Mbps. I'd like to know in whose world this is a reality! I've never even gotten close to the 3, so I am sure I won't get in the neighborhood of 5! Bah, humbug. But, I'll take the free trial--just because it is 'free.'

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Last night and all of today we have had thunderstorms off and on. And they are supposed to continue into the night tonight. I'm not a big fan of thunderstorms--especially when I'm by myself. Just another one of those pesky problems of summer that I have to put up with! :)

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This week is what is called the 'Network Upfronts' for TV. All of the networks will announce the new programs they will have for the fall. NBC announced their shows today and if THIS is what will be on next 'year,' then I will be watching a whole lot more movies and a whole lot less of network programming! Vast wasteland, indeed. They actually are going to put on a remake of the series 'Bionic Woman!' As if there are no new ideas to be had. But, then, when was the last time a network had a REALLY GOOD new idea.

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Today I will continue the celebrity bashing--because I CAN and because it is just SO easy to do! Paris Hilton was sentenced last week to 45 days in jail for violating her parole. This has made her so very upset--so upset, in fact, that she is not able to appear in court for another matter involving her. Here is the story according to TMZ.com:

Paris Hilton's delicate state of mind is keeping her out of the courtroom ... for now.

According to a declaration filed by Dr. Charles Sophy, a psychiatrist who has seen Paris "off and on" over the last six months, Hilton is "not capable of any meaningful participation" in a civil trial brought against her by diamond heiress Zeta Graff. In a $10 million lawsuit filed in 2005, Graff claims that Hilton spread "vicious lies" about her that were printed in the New York Post.

Paris' shrink claims that Hilton is "emotionally distraught and traumatized" from the May 4 hearing where she was sentenced to 45 days in jail for breaking probation in her DUI bust, and asked a judge to allow her sufficient time to recover. In the document, the head-doc goes on to explain that Hilton "Cannot effectively respond to examination as a witness or provide any significant input into her defense." In fact, Sophy claims that forcing Paris to participate on May 21 would "exacerbate her current mental condition." The horror!

As a result, the judge has postponed the trial date until August 22.

PLEASE!!!!!! When is she going to be put out of my misery!!!!!!

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And finally, because I have done nothing but bitch in this post, I leave you with this video. I swear, if I EVER get another animal, I will teach it to respond this same way!

Really, I'm NOT A Sore Loser, But...

For quite a while now, the message boards have had comment after comment about how 'they' don't want Detroit to be a powerhouse team and do any more winning. After all, Detroit has won so many Cups and have been so dominant during regular season play for so long, that other teams just don't get the chance. Sooooo, Detroit has to be punished any way possible. Let's see, how about if we place a salary cap! That will cut Detroit's payroll by 50% and they won't be able to get the quality players they are known for! And, let's make sure Detroit gets left in the Western Conference and has to do all of those long road trips--games starting on the west coast at a time when they would normally be ending in the east. Is this the way 'they' have been thinking? I always thought this was a load of hogwash--to a certain extent. I DO think the powers that be would like to see the glory spread around a little more among the teams. But, despite what has happened to be a negative for Detroit, they still have prevailed and are now in the semi-finals for the Cup.

That all being said, I DO believe the Wings got robbed of a win tonight. Even though I don't believe the first reviewed goal should have counted--the ref NEVER should have let the play continue as long as he did without blowing his whistle--I'll let them have it. Fine. But the second reviewed goal NEVER should have counted. Whether you think the whistle blew before the puck 'crossed' the line or you think Hasek was pushed into the net, THAT. GOAL. SHOULD. NOT. HAVE. COUNTED!!!!! The Wings would have won, there would have been no overtime, and they would be leading in the series 2-0.

All in all, this was only one game. Now it is on to Anaheim--where the Wings can take at least one on the Ducks home ice and then come back and finish them off. I still am a believer!

For All Mothers

HAPPY

MOTHER'S

DAY!

Hope your day is grand!

1 Down, 7 To Go

The Wings beat the Ducks tonight 2-1. It definitely wasn't the prettiest game they have played and they made some ugly goals, but the win was nice, nonetheless. I must say, Anaheim is one of the dirtiest teams I have ever seen play. They didn't have many penalties called on them, but I don't know if it was because the officials didn't want to or just didn't see what was going on. I mean, come on, there is NO REASON to slash at the opposition goalie's throat or punch him in the face several times after the whistle blows. Detroit has to come out and be a bit more physical in the rest of this series--Anaheim doesn't care how much hurt they put on the other team and Detroit has to start thinking like that, too. Even though this wasn't the best played game that Detroit has had, they were able to keep Anaheim from doing too much good. That being said, if it wasn't for Hasek and how good he has been playing, the Wings would have lost big time. Dom made 31 saves and Giguere only had to make 17. (Granted, he let two in, but still.) Shots on goal, guys--come on, shoot that puck!


--Shawn Thornton (R) of the Anaheim Ducks fights with Danny Markov (R) of the Detroit Red Wings. The Detroit Red Wings converted two power-play goals for a 2-1 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Friday and the early edge in the National Hockey League Western Conference finals. (AFP/Getty Images/Gregory Shamus)--

Does This Woman Ever Make Sense?

In an interview with Reader's Digest, Angelina Jolie had this to say about her biological child:

"Before I met Brad, I always said I was happy never to have a child biologically. He told me he hadn't given up that thought. Then, a few months after Z came home, I saw Brad with her and Mad, and I realized how much he loved him, that a biological child would not in any way be a threat. So I said, 'I want to try.' "

A biological child a threat to your adopted ones. Astonishing. Quite a reason to give birth to a child, hey?

And she said this:

"As kids get older, it's harder for them to be adopted. ... Something changed for me with Shiloh. We had Mad and Z, and neither looked like Mommy or Daddy. Then suddenly somebody in the house looked like Mommy and Daddy. It became clear to us that it might be important to have somebody around who is similar to the other children so they have a connection. Mad's very excited that his brother is from Asia."

What a good reason to buy another child--just so the one you already have will have someone who 'looks like him.' Does this woman ever stop to think how ridiculous she sounds? And yet, countries allow her to continue to buy more kids. Unbelievable.

A Little Full of Yourself, Huh?

Cameron Diaz told Meredith Viera when asked about the public's interest in her and Justin Timberlake's relationship:

“It's like high school, isn't it?” she told Viera. “We as celebrities are like the popular kids. People want to know our business.”

Really? So you are one of the 'popular kids' and my life is spent being curious about you cause I'm NOT popular? Get real.

And she said this to Jeanne Wolf about not wanting to be asked if her success comes from being beautiful:

"If a woman who's a successful actress weighs 300 pounds and has warts, nobody ever asks her, 'Do you think you made it because you're ugly?' So why should there be prejudice against someone who's had some success in films and looks a little better than average. It's all in my genes, so don't hold it against me."


Please, will someone shut her down and put her out of my misery! Talk about an ego!

7 Things Meme

Cindi, at Over The Rainbow, tagged me with this meme. I am supposed to come up with seven random facts/habits about me. Here goes....(and believe me when I say THIS WAS HARD. I just am not very secretive about my life.:))

1) My mother's first cousin was Miss Michigan--way back in the 1950s. She also was a semi-finalist in the Miss America pageant. Because of her status as a semi-finalist, she got several (small) movie roles. She left 'the business' because she couldn't stand the phoniness. Today, she holds dual Finnish/American citizenship and lives full time in Finland. She is one of only two members of my family that I regularly have contact with.

2) I have never put gas in a vehicle. (I have stated this before, but there is a reason for me to mention it again.) However, I am the only one who hangs pictures--or anything else--on the walls in our house. I also put together most of the 'assemble-it-yourself' furniture that we have bought. If we had more power tools, I know I could do most any remodeling necessary in a house.

3) My high school boyfriend never married. I believe his mother blamed me for that. In some way, it is flattering to think so, but I do believe his drug and alcohol habits had more to do with it than I did.

4) A few posts back I mentioned the fact that my father was in the hospital for a year when I was very young. He was thought to have tuberculosis and was isolated until he had surgery. He had an ulcerated lung and not TB. I am the reason this all came about and I have lived my entire life feeling guilty about it. When I had to have my TB test/shot in kindergarten, I was so terrified of the needle that I pulled away. Of course, I showed a positive reaction and then my entire family was tested for TB. My mother also tested positive. (We both had been exposed, but never had TB.) My father was the one to get put into the hospital--my mother and I took medications for a year. I KNOW my mother blamed me for my father's hospitalization and it has been a huge burden I am finally overcoming. Even though I remember hearing my mother say it was my fault, she denies it to this day. Just another reason for me to not feel very good about her. (She was VERY young at the time and said things without thinking. It happens. I just wish she would own up to it.)

5) As everyone knows, I am a HUGE hockey fan and an even HUGER Red Wings fan. But...when I first started to watch hockey, I was a fan of the Boston Bruins. Bobby Orr, Phil Esposito, Derek Sanderson, Gerry Cheevers...couldn't get any better than that! I fell away from watching hockey for some time and came back as a Red Wings fan--because I couldn't go against the rest of the household. :)

6) The company my husband works for bought out the company he started at. The original company sponsored a photo contest for the employees and their families every year. I won the contest twice. My first win came with a picture I took of my niece at her birthday. She was nose-to-nose with the clown that was there, staring in his eyes. It was a once-in-a-lifetime shot. The second picture I won with was of a squirrel eating from our bird feeder. The extraordinary thing about this was: the squirrel was hanging onto the roof of the feeder by his back claws and was eating upside down. It was a pretty cool shot.

7) I was once a dental assistant. That isn't very unusual, but the work I did WAS. I never had any formal training, but I took x-rays, took impressions, instructed people on the proper care of their teeth, evaluated their teeth cleaning, did some hygienist-type cleaning, and applied temporary fillings. I broke the law by putting in temporary fillings--and maybe by doing some of the other stuff, too. Thankfully, I left the practice before it was busted.

There you have it...7 things I don't believe I ever mentioned in this blog before. It was one of the hardest memes I have ever done, so I will not tag anyone specifically. I hope everyone tries it, though--puts your brain to work for a while, that's for sure!

Crabby Today

If you want to know how to make me crabby, wonder no longer. Here it is: make it 70 degrees or warmer. And if you want to put me over the edge, make me go out shopping, too. I'm sure I wouldn't mind the warm temps if I could wear little halter tops and shorts that are so non-existent that my ass eats them, but that ship has sailed. So, I have to cover up the top 2/3 of my arms and most of my legs--otherwise, I would be arrested for endangering the eyesight of those who might look at me. So, warm weather and shopping do not make me happy. And, dammit, I HAVE to be happy: THE WINGS WON!!! (HAD to repeat that! :))

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The company that K works for has this big environmental thing that they are doing. (I don't pay much attention--just as long as it doesn't affect K's job.) One thing they have done is put peregrine falcon nesting boxes on the smokestacks of several of their power plants. They have installed web-cameras so that people can see what is going on. Of course, our local plant doesn't have a nesting female--yet, anyway--but several of the others do. One of the nests has two babies that hatched a week or two ago. And now we get to the reason for me even mentioning this: the picture. Here is a pic taken today of the babies and mama.


The next time there is a nice picture of mama--with or without the babies--I will post it. They are beautiful birds. Every once in awhile, both adult birds are in the box. I am just assuming that every time there is only one adult, that it is mama. I could be wrong!