Life Is Good

Life really is good!  I logged on today and discovered I now have 52 followers...which I find absolutely amazing...I honestly find it hard to believe that people take time out of their busy schedules to read the junk that i write about...a sincere thanks to all of you.

As if that's not enough, I find out that my buddy Barb over at This and That (As I Bounce Thru' Life) has bestowed upon me the Life is Good Award!!! 

Thanks Barb, what a nice surprise on a cold, snowy day.  If you're not reading Barb's blog, you're really missing out on some good stuff!!!

The award comes with responsibilities:

1. First, thank and link back to the person that gave the award.

2. Answer the 10 survey questions
3. Pass the award along to other bloggers whom you think are fantastic.
4. Contact the bloggers you have chosen to let them know about the award

1.  If you blog anonymously, are you happy doing this?  If you aren't anonymous, do you wish you started out anonymously, so that you could be anonymous now?  Sometimes I think it would be nice to "fly under the radar".

2.  Describe an incident that shows your inner stubborn side.  As a rule, I don't think I'm stubborn but Jumble Mash may disagree :-)

3.  What do you see when you really look at yourself in the mirror?  A few more wrinkles than yesterday, a few more pounds than last year, a little less hair, a little more gray, a guy just trying to make it through the day :-)

 

4.  What is your favourite summer cold drink?  Coca Cola

 

5.  When you take time for yourself, what do you do?  Blog, play Xbox, read

 

6.  Is there something that you still want to accomplish in your life?  I want to do whatever I can to make sure my daughters are OK once I'm gone

 

7.  When you attended school, were you the class clown, the class overachiever, the shy person, or always ditching?  I grew up poor so was pretty much a non-entity at school.  Academics were easy for me so I did what I had to do to get by but didn't expend a great deal of effort.  And yes, I did my fair share of ditching :-)

 

8.  If you close your eyes and want to visualize a very poignant moment in your life, what would you see?  The morning my mom died...realizing that as much as I dreaded losing her, I didn't want her to endure further suffering even more.

 

9.  Is it easy for you to share your true self in your blog, or are you more comfortable writing posts about other people and events?  Aspects of myself....I have no problem sharing my stupidity...if others can get a chuckle out of my screw-ups it somehow gives them value :-)  I'm not a "sensitive" man...I doubt that I'd blog about personal problems.

 

10.  If you had the choice to sit down and read a book or talk on the phone, which would you do and why?  This is easy...read a book!  Books are my opportunity to escape...people expect you to actually pay attention when you talk to them on the phone!!!

 

Now, for the passing of the torch.............I take great pleasure in passing the Life is Good Award to Jumble Mash because I would read her blog even if she wasn't my lovely daughter!  The Empress at The Ranter's Box cause she has the bestest cuss words :-)  And last, but by no means least Jimmy at Jimmy's Opinion because I respect the love he obviously has for his family.

 

So, do yourself a favor...check out these fantastic blogs, you'll be forever grateful to me for leading you there :-)

 

 

 

 

Old Age and Wisdom, Part 2

Wow, this has been a hellofaweek!!!  Work has been busier than a one-legged man at an ass kicking contest, the weather sucks...snowy and cold...(don't mention how nice the Aussie sunshine is Mynx!)...and I haven't been feeling real great...nothing serious, just kind of BLAH.

On top of everything else, time keeps slipping by and I'm now only 10 days from being 50 years old!!!  Jumble Mash has been bugging me to death all week..."Dad, what do you want for your birthday?"...I told her I wanted to be 25 :-) 

In case you missed Old Age and Wisdom, Part 1, this is an attempt to demonstrate (primarily to myself) that I have actually learned a few things in 50 years.  I'm not saying these things add up to wisdom but maybe they do :-)

11.  This one was drummed into my head (most often via my butt) by my mother..."You can think whatever you want but be careful what comes out of your mouth"

12.  Honor is still important.

13.  Smells trigger great memories...every time I smell bread baking, I'm immediately transported back in time to my Grandma's house...mmmmmm good.

14.  Aliens may have decided we're so screwed up that there's no reason to land here!

15.  Integrity is doing what's right, even when no one is looking

16.  The distance to the closest bathroom is directly proportionate to how bad you have to go

17.  If you can't laugh at yourself, you don't have the right to laugh at anyone else

18.  Tomato juice was just a bad idea from the start

19.  Just because you CAN do something, doesn't mean you SHOULD

20.  The older I get, the more I realize how little I know

My "I didn't intend to post today" post

I was reading the delightful comments y'all left me today and I saw that a young whipper-snapper named Copyboy from Not Worth Mentioning not only stopped in for a visit but he made me "New Blog of the Day" on his blog...how cool is that...and I didn't even have to pay him!  So I immediately concluded that he is a man of superior intellect and judgement and went to check his blog...he's also very funny...for a young guy :-)  Go check him out.

Well it seems that "some people"...you know who you are...don't care if I have a shred of dignity left and insist on hearing about the Stuffed Green Pepper. 

As you know, I'm a long time bachelor and not real domestic.  I grocery shop about once every three months, whether I need to or not.  About the only things you'll generally find in my fridge is Coca Cola and condiments....needless to say, I will jump on any offer for home-cooked food! 

A couple of years ago, a "friend" made and brought me three stuffed green peppers.  They were scrumpdilicious good...mmm, mmm.  But alas, despite my best efforts, I could only eat two of them.

Now at this time, I was also having a big problem with raccoons getting into my trash...little bastards!

Sooooo....since I didn't want to put any food scraps in my trash...and I didn't have a disposal...so being the brainiac that I am...I figured if the toilet could dispose of "post processed" food, then "pre-processed" food shouldn't be a problem.

How'd that work out you might ask...and the answer would be "not to good"!  On the night in question, I can only assume that the basics of toilet design was not on my radar...as I unceremoniously plopped a whole...yes, I said whole...stuffed green pepper into the toilet!!!  Not my brightest moment.  Imagine how dumbfounded I was when the toilet started to overflow!

As you can see in the above diagram, the pepper lodged in the trap and stubbornly defeated all attempts at removal.  I plunged, Drano'd, snaked...all to no avail!!!  I actually had to buy and install a new toilet!

So, when you're having a bad day...remember, at least you didn't try to flush a stuffed green pepper :-)



Old Age and Wisdom, Part 1

On January 17th I'll be 50 years old...assuming the Mayan calendar isn't off by a year and we implode in 2011 instead of 2012.  I've never had a problem with reaching a certain age...I never expected to make it beyond 21 so everything else has been gravy.  I have however found myself contemplating the Big 50!

I'm not sure what I expect 50 to feel like but I was kind of under the impression that old age and wisdom went together.  I certainly feel the old...I have aches and pains in places I didn't even know I had 5 years ago but I'm not so sure about the wisdom.

In an attempt to convince myself that I have learned something through my bazillion and a half mistakes...some of them repeats...over the next week or two I'll going to post 50 things I've learned in 50 years....y'all can be the judge of whether or not they add up to wisdom :-)

1.  Peanut butter combined with just about anything...jelly, pickles, bananas, marshmallow cream, potato chips...makes a pretty good sandwich.

2.  Coca Cola truly is the nectar of the gods.
3.  Giving people an ultimatum rarely provides the results you intended.
4.  Ignorant people shouldn't breed....we already have plenty of ignorant people.
5.  Being a parent is the best but hardest job you'll ever have.
6.  Zip carefully...skin caught between metal teeth is not only embarrassing but extremely painful.

7.  Life owes you nothing....despite the victim mentality that seems to run the world today.
8.  A stuffed green pepper will not flush...don't ask.
9.  As soon as you think you know the answer, someone will change the question.
10.  Being married is better, being single is easier.

...to be continued

Question of the Day

Here's the scenario....your home is about to be destroyed by fire, earthquake, tsunami, locusts, aliens from Youranus...whatever!  All your loved ones are safe...pets included (your not so loved ones can fend for themselves).  Being the super-hero kind of person you are...you can rush back into your home and save TWO things....and for you rule-breakers...ONLY two things!  What do you save...and why?