Question of the Week....

Thursday, February 25, 2010....



I've decided to make Thursdays my "Question of the Week" day because I always have questions and am always interested in people's answers.


This Week's Question: If you are a parent, do you get upset by people who give you advice on child rearing if they don't have any?

I don't have children. I try not to give parenting advice, but occasionally slip because I think some things are common sense or have seen things other friends do that I like. However, I have a sister who LOATHES when people give her advice on her child.

I was telling a close friend about a situation involving another friend with children and posed my take on a situation as "Maybe I don't understand because I don't have children, but is my take on the situation out of whack".

My friend was a bit taken aback that I would put a disclaimer on my statement and told me what's the difference if you do or don't have kids? I explained how my sister hated people giving her advice and she told me, common sense is common sense.


So, I'm curious - do parents care if they receive advice from childless adults?

Rant and Rave Wednesday

Wednesday, February 24, 2010....


Any readers following me on a regular basis know if it's Wednesday, it's time to Rant and Rave about the past week. Without further adieu, here are my Rants and Raves from the past week:

Rave: I saw Kathy Griffin last week and she was great! Her bit on Hoarders and Steven Segal's show had me hysterically laughing. Anyone who watches Hoarders would completely understand that even the opening credits has you want to jump off your couch and CLEAN.

Rant: Monday the 15th, I get a phone message from local police department starting off with something like this: "This is a message about Homeland Security. We're looking for 2 suspects in your neighborhood who robbed a home and are on foot." Okay, what does have to do with Homeland Security? Are they planting bombs? Wanting to know more, I call the cops and am told not to worry. I am told they are not far from being caught. According to the news report that evening, they don't know their names and no arrests have been made. So. How is this close to them being caught?

Rant: Friday the 19th, the police are pounding on my door. I find out that while I was in NYC and hubby away for the evening, my new neighbors were robbed (the house is empty and undergoing renovations). I thought an arrest was imminent? Guess not. [Note: robberies are rare in my neighborhood. I was the last house robbed in 2001, but it was an inside job by a cleaning crew I hired for a furnace puff back cleanup].

Rave: My hubby completely knew he was in the doghouse last night and made the effort to really pitch in and do things. He now knows that when I say I don't want to cook tonight, it's take-out or dinner out.

Rave: Coffee with a friend last week whom I haven't seen in about a month. It was great to catch up and see her really happy.

Rave: Friend came over last night to catch up and watch a movie. I was happy that we were able to do this. She's practically a single mom with 2 kids so time out for her is rare.

Rant: My friend who came over last night out found out last Thursday that her landlord sold the house she's renting. She has till 3/15 to find a place,pack up everything and move. I told I'd help her, but she's horrible at accepting any help. I hope she takes me up on the offer.

Rave: Restaurant week starts up on the 28th in a neighboring town. It's the first time the town is doing it and it will be nice to try a new place for a person on a very limited budget.


That's it for me. I would love to read any Rants and Raves you want to share? Just click on the linky thing for anyone that wants to participate in Rant and Rave Wednesday -- or leave them in the comments section here. Please, please be respectful and do not use the linky thing if you are just promoting your blog (yes, this is another Rant of mine).

Definition of Clueless.....

Tuesday, February 23, 2010.....

The definition of clueless is the recent conversation I had with my husband which went as follows:

Me: I don't feel like cooking tonight.
Hubby: I know, why don't we have hamburgers like we had the other night. They were tasty.

Ummm....I basically ended the conversation because I DIDN'T WANT TO COOK AND WILL BE MAKING SOMETHING NOW. How does he think the hamburgers and sauteed onions will happen?

Never mind the cooking...hello? Clean-up? Not in the mood.

Officially cranky.

p.s. When I've said this before, a similar thing happened which I quickly told him that when I say I don't want to cook it means we're doing take-out or going out.

Getting from Point A to Point B

Friday 19, 2010.....

Whenever I travel, I meet or encounter very interesting people. Last night was no different.

I boarded the train to head into NYC and overheard the following conversation from the couple across the aisle:

Woman: "Before I marked the envelope return to sender, I opened the card, read it, put the card back in the envelope and taped the envelope shut,"

Man: "Why did you do that?"

Woman: "I needed to know what she wrote in my birthday card before I dismissed her gesture."

Man: "I wish you'd come with me to Dr. X so he'd have a better understanding of why I'm the way I am."

Do you know how hard it was for me NOT to laugh?

After getting off the train I made my way to the taxi stand in front of Grand Central (I wish I had a sense of direction because I would have walked to MSG, but no such luck) and was wedged in between 2 unusual characters.

The older lady in front of me was going on and on about the existence of the cabs. Why weren't they there, did they work evenings, how much longer do you think it would be. Question after question and as I politely answered each one at least 12 different times, I thought if I knew these answers I'd play lotto.

The man behind was blind. He had a cane, seeing eye dog and a woman with him who wasn't blind YET waited till I got on my phone to talk to me. Why? You can hear me talk, does being blind give the right to have no manners? I called my sister 2 times and each time he'd interrupt.

In addition to the interruptions, he felt the need to crowd my personal space. Why? I'm not quite sure. He'd hit me with his cane and take a step closer to me. This happened several times. Maybe I smelled great or he wanted to smell my breath, but moving closer to me was not going to make a cab come quicker.

After abruptly ending each conversation with my sister, I put my full attention on him and his useless seeing eyed companion (seriously, if I were his companion, I would have pulled him back to give a person some breathing room) and discovered he was a very nice man visiting from D.C..

Finally, after 30 minutes in the taxi line, I got into my cab. This is where I had the most interesting conversation. Did you know in NYC, all electronic devices are banned? This includes a GPS. Hello? I would like my cabbie to know where he's going.

He was a nice man and quite animated. I think I said about 10 words and the rest of the time was listening to this man and feeling his pain over a stupid law.

Once out of the cab, I met my sister, grabbed a quick bite and then off to the show.

No interesting conversations overheard on the ride home because I fell asleep on the train.

God, I hope I didn't snore.

Question of the Week....

Thursday, February 18, 2010....



I've decided to make Thursdays my "Question of the Week" day because I always have questions and am always interested in people's answers.


This Week's Question: What should my sister, YogaGirl give up for Lent?

For non-Catholics, Lent is the 40 days prior to Easter in which Catholics are supposed to sacrifice by not eating meat on Ash Wednesdays and Fridays (some may even not eat meat for all 40 days) and either give up something they love OR take up something that will improve them (usually by doing charity work, or reading the bible).

Before you ask, I'm giving up nothing and I had chicken yesterday. Yes. You guessed it, I'm a non-practicing Catholic, but can remind my sister when a religious holiday is fast approaching.

This past Sunday, I asked what she was giving up this year for Lent and because she hadn't realized it was this week, she hadn't decided. I was excited that I could add some input to her decision because the year she gave up Starbucks was the year her sacrifice was painful to me. If I wanted to be in pain, I'd participate in the ritual of Lent. I'd sacrifice diet cola, but instead I'd rather let it be known that I shouldn't suffer because of her sacrifice. I don't think that's what the Catholic church had in mind when they decided upon this tradition.

So. What do you think she should give up? Actually, what should she give up that has the least impact on me? Remember this is MY blog....

I also have a question to the people who do participate in Lent....are you able to have what you gave up on Sundays? My mom brought us up to have whatever we gave up on Sundays (usually, it was ice cream because she gave it up) and she'd allow us ice cream on Sundays. Does anyone else do this or do you think it was my mom's way of sneaking in ice cream?

Rant and Rave Wednesday

Wednesday, February 17, 2010....


Any readers following me on a regular basis know if it's Wednesday, it's time to Rant and Rave about the past week. Without further adieu, here are my Rants and Raves from the past week:

Rave: I'm meeting YogaGirl in NYC tomorrow night for dinner and to see Kathy Griffin in concert and YogaGirl is TREATING me to the night. How awesome!

Rant: I live in a neighborhood where the back roads have no lines in the middle of the road...I've noticed that while driving these back roads, people forget they are to respect the rules of the road and not drive as though they are in England.


That's it for me. Yup. Totally drawing a blank, which means I would love to read any Rants and Raves you want to share? Just click on the linky thing for anyone that wants to participate in Rant and Rave Wednesday -- or leave them in the comments section here. Please, please be respectful and do not use the linky thing if you are just promoting your blog (yes, this is another Rant of mine).

Out of Tune Tuesday Competition - FINALE

Tuesday, February 16, 2010....




Can you believe it? I've made it to THE FINALS of the Out-of-Tune Tuesday competition and YOU get to vote for me at Jules the originator of Out-of-Tune-Tuesday.

The finale required Beaker to sing a song from a list of songs the judges provided. After much debate, I realized "She Blinded Me with Science", Thomas Dolby was really the best choice for Beaker's "talents".

After some feedback from several bloggers, I really went to extremes to be OUT OF TUNE. I'm thinking there isn't a snowball's chance in hell ANYONE would think I was in tune.

Monkey and I had a great time doing this video. More dancing, new hair colors for the monkey and some electric light gizmo only added to the beauty of this presentation.




Please go and vote at Jules the originator of Out-of-Tune-Tuesday. I love the comments on my blog, but you have to go to JULES blog for the vote to count. Again, if not for me, DEFINITELY vote for the monkey. He is an excellent patron, loves the feedback and really took time out of his busy schedule to choreograph his FANTASTIC dance moves.

Question of the Week....

Thursday, February 11, 2010....



I've decided to make Thursdays my "Question of the Week" day because I always have questions and am always interested in people's answers.


This Week's Question: Is it just me or does the Emergency Broadcast Message they play on t.v. creep you out too?

When I was a kid, I remembered they'd play that stupid message on daytime television. My mom wouldn't be anywhere near and I either go running out of the house or hide behind a couch and cover my ears.

Today, I'm an adult and the message still spooks me. I don't believe they have even changed the voice of the man who makes the announcement. However, I really wonder if there was an emergency would I be able to listen to the announcer.

It's bad enough he already sounds as though the end is near with his 15 second message, imagine what he'd sound like when reading a 5 minute announcement?

If I'm going to be scared because the world is about to end, I wish they'd get a more soothing voice to tell me.

Rant and Rave Wednesday

Wednesday, February 20, 2010....


Any readers following me on a regular basis know if it's Wednesday, it's time to Rant and Rave about the past week. Without further adieu, here are my Rants and Raves from the past week:

Rave: I won $300 in Saturday's Powerball jackpot. My sister and I have played for a couple of years and have never hit anything over $30.

Rant: Job with recruiter was a bust.

Rave: In a giveaway, I won some 18 Rabbits granola bars. After an exchange with 18 Rabbits and my local Whole Foods (who I thought I was requesting rabbit meat), 18 Rabbits has offered to send some additional bars to me so my friends can sample and write Whole Foods.

Rave: I got to talk with Green-Eyed Momster yesterday. It is great when you get to put a voice with a fellow blogger.

Rant: A lady at my local grocery store decided she was ENTITLED to create her own makeshift parking spot....which happened to be perpendicular to my car...right behind my car. She saw me and DID NOT MOVE. In order to properly exit the parking lot, I ended up driving over the curb. If I could give out a 'bitch slap' award, she would be my recipient.

Rave: Speaking of awards, Green-Eyed Momster gave me the Kreativ Award. I still have to honor Heather from Going from Fat to Well Rounded bestowed the Happy 101 Award and will do both in one post.




Rave: Coffee with a friend on Friday at this great little place. I hadn't seen her in awhile and it was nice to catch up in person.

Rave: Coffee and a photo exhibit by Milt Hinton with another friend over the weekend. I hadn't seen her since December so it was really great to catch up.

Rant: My new neighbor (who I believe is flipping the house) is doing amazing things. However, it would be nice to get notice that your electricity will be turned off instead of finding out while in the shower. The CL&P guys must have had a good laugh when they saw this woman come out with a towel head to go off on them.


That's it for me. I would love to read any Rants and Raves you want to share? Just click on the linky thing for anyone that wants to participate in Rant and Rave Wednesday -- or leave them in the comments section here. Please be respectful and do not use the linky thing if you are just promoting your blog (yes, this is another Rant of mine).

Out of Tune Tuesday Competition

Tuesday, February 9, 2010....




Can you believe it? I've made it another week in the Out-of-Tune Tuesday competition and YOU get to vote for me at Jules the originator of Out-of-Tune-Tuesday.

Week 6 required Beaker to sing a song from an 80's hair band. After much research and no guitar or live audience (most clips I found online showed the band with a live audience) I chose KISS.

Besides knowing the words, the song is short and sweet and MONKEY gets to sport a new do.

Lots of air splits and off key moments make this a painful pleasure to watch.




Please go and vote at Jules the originator of Out-of-Tune-Tuesday. A vote on my blog doesn't count. Again, if not for me, DEFINITELY vote for the monkey. He is an excellent patron, loves the feedback and really took time out of his busy schedule to rock that hair.

Question of the Week, Part Deux....

Friday, February 5, 2010...

Why did I post Monty Python vs Three Stooges? Well....several years ago, I noticed many of my male co-workers were HUGE Three Stooges' fans (one had a bust of Curly's head in his office) and I just didn't get it.

I don't see the humor in poking one's eyes out, but I LOVE Monty Python. I think it was because it was the first movie I saw in the theatres as a child (I was 7 and my sister, 24, took YogaGirl and I to see Monty Python and the Holy Grail). I also remember sneaking around to stay up late on Sunday evenings to watch Monty Python and loving the opening credits.

Although my male friend loves Monty Python, he feels the Stooges are such 'classic' humor. As the words were rolling off his tongue, he made the fatal error of following up this statement with: "You're a woman, you wouldn't understand".

Sounds like a challenge to me.

Working in a building with 1200 people, I asked people this question and only 1 woman thought the Stooges were funnier. However, 2 men, thought Monty Python were better and I chalked that up to evolution.

Yesterday I asked the question and only 3 people said the Stooges were better (MonkeyMan, I think the Marx Brothers is equally loved by both men and women). Some men commented as kids the Stooges were better, but as they got older, saw the wit in MP.

Personally, I thought I'd get all the yes responses from men and I was wrong. Two were from women.

I really thought you had to have a Y chromosome to see the humor in the Stooges, but I guess my results from yesterday's question could not back up my scientific experiment I performed several years ago. I guess I will not be submitting my findings to the New England Journal of Medicine. Drat.

Question of the Week.....

Thursday, February 4, 2010....



I've decided to make Thursdays my "Question of the Week" day because I always have questions and am always interested in people's answers.


This Week's Question:What do you think is funnier -- Monty Python or the Three Stooges?

I'll explain my reasoning for asking this question tomorrow.

Rant and Rave Wednesday

Wednesday, February 3, 2010...


Any readers following me on a regular basis know if it's Wednesday, it's time to Rant and Rave about the past week. Without further adieu, here are my Rants and Raves from the past week:

Rave: People listened to Beaker and voted again for me in Jules' Out-of-Tune competition. I won't know till later today if I made it to week 6, but want to thank you for taking the time to vote.

Rave: Yesterday I had a positive conversation with a recruiter. It was not only the fact that she thought I was the perfect candidate for a 3 month assignment, but she wasn't phased that I've been unemployed since May 2008.

Rave: I attended a WW meeting (I figured I needed the extra support since I gained weight last month) and it came up in the meeting about my food pantry dinners I host. At the end of the meeting, 2 women approached me to see if I was planning on attending this meeting because they want to give me food for the pantry. How awesome is that?

Rave: I got a great pedometer.

Rant: I got a great pedometer.

Rave: I received the Rabbit protein bars from Living and Loving in LA and they are really yummy. I have to admit, I was a bit of a skeptic. Gluten and dairy free protein bars that wouldn't taste gross? I was proven wrong. Hubby loves the cherry/chocolate flavor and I am now on the hunt for them.

Rave: Heather from Going from Fat to Well Rounded bestowed the Happy 101 Award in which I tell people what 10 things make me happy. It's been awhile since I've won an award and will be posting in a separate entry what makes me happy.







That's it for me. I would love to read any Rants and Raves you want to share? Just click on the linky thing for anyone that wants to participate in Rant and Rave Wednesday -- or leave them in the comments section here. Please be respectful and do not use the linky thing if you are just promoting your blog (yes, this is another Rant of mine).

Out-of-Tune-Tuesday Competition

Tuesday, February 2, 2010....




Can you believe it? I've made it another week in the Out-of-Tune Tuesday competition and YOU get to vote for me at Jules the originator of Out-of-Tune-Tuesday.

Week 5 required Beaker to sing a show tune. I actually did summer theatre (yeah, there was a time I could actually sing) and have seen my fair share of Broadway plays so the choice wasn't too hard for me.

I didn't want the standards of Oklahoma or anything Barbra Streisand, but looked to Spamalot and Avenue Q for inspiration. Avenue Q won and the monkey and I belt out: The Internet is for Porn .

We suck. However, I really love the judges' comments. Contrary to belief, we were not on anything.

The Monkey Sings This Week (okay, sings is a strong verb here).




Please go and vote at Jules the originator of Out-of-Tune-Tuesday. If not for me, DEFINITELY vote for the monkey. He is an excellent patron and loves the feedback. I know he thinks he's a star now that he is singing.

Another Hot Date Suggestion from Hubby....

Monday, February 1, 2010.....

Saturday, while hubby and I were out and about picking up a Starbucks, buying Powerball lottery tickets (didn't win) and recharging the battery on my car (extreme cold temperatures + undriven car = jumpstart), hubby came up with another BRILLIANT romantic date suggestion.

As before, very little money is necessary for this date and he was so proud of himself that I feel I have to share with others.

The Brunch Date:

1. Tell your date you want to take her to Sunday brunch. Inform her to wear her Sunday best as the sky's the limit with her.

2. Pick up a local paper in an affluent town on the day the real estate listings are posted.

3. Map out all the open houses.

4. If you live in Connecticut, stop at the liquor store the night before and pick up some Mad Dog. Every brunch needs some bubbly.

5. When dressing that morning for your brunch date, make sure you have shoved enough plastic sandwich bags in your coat pockets. This is key.

6. Pick up date, who is beautifully dressed, open the car door and, if planned properly, turn to her and give her the option of 3 different towns to choose from to go for brunch.

7. Drive to the first Open House and ensure that you give your date her own baggie (she may be opposed to having you paw her food) and tell her to dig in at the free food platters [Note: You should always check to see if your local realtors put out food for their Open Houses. Otherwise, you might have to actually take your date to an actual restaurant].

8. Assuming there is food and you have each have filled up your Ziplocs, go to several more Open Houses before sitting back in a random parking lot sipping your cold Mad Dog 22 and enjoying the fine food scored at one of these events.

Hubby did mention you could eat at the Open House, but you really couldn't relax and enjoy one another's company.

I asked why not bubbly or Boone's Farm wine and he just said no. He was adamant about having MD22 (never had, so I can't even comment on this).

After he laid out his plan for the perfect Brunch Date, he smiled because he realized this would cost him less than the $25 dinner & movie date he spelled out for me a couple of months ago.

Gee, aren't a lucky girl?