when did the world go weird?

once again, i have submitted my resignation from the Human Race.

why? because there's nothing Human about it.

consider this: a man in Colorado, who decided he had nothing left to live for, walks into a school, takes some teenage girls hostage, assaults some of them, then kills one before offing himself.

today, in Wisconsin, a kid walked into a school and killed the principal.

why? he was tired of being called gay, when he wasn't.

i don't get it. i don't get any of it.

what happened to the good old days when you just killed yourself? why did it have to be suddenly "in" to take a few people with you? and while i'll agree that teasing is emotional abuse, every damn one of us were teased about something growing up, and i guarantee not one of us even considered shooting anyone because of it.

realizing i'll sound like someone's grandma when i say this, but what happened to the world?

so, once again, i will do my best to turn in my membership to the human race. i will shake my head in disbelief, cluck my tongue at what the world has come to.

and pray. hard.

i live across the street from Hell.

and this, my friends, is what Hell looks like.

every year, Knott's hosts this Haunt.
it's killer. no pun intended.

if you scare easily, don't go. this will (and has with several of my friends) scared the pee right outta them.

there's mazes. they alter the rides & instead of some of the audio-anamatronic figures, they have real people that jump out at you. they have "sliders", guys (and girls) in freaky scary masks who carry things like fake chain saws, rocks in a can that rattles when they shake 'em. the slider part comes from the knee pads they wear so when they jump out at you from the dark, foggy corners, they can hit their knees & slide towards you.

pardon...i'm having a moment.

Hubbs & i last went about three years ago...and boy did we feel old. kinda like we were narcs, keeping an eye on the kids.

or worse, parents waiting on our kids.

the hell part, comes from trying to get around the area when Haunt is in town - Friday, Saturday & Sunday. the traffic is unbelievable. when we were unlucky enough to get out when Haunt was starting, have had to drive several miles out of our way to be able to maneuver our way to our Happy Abode.

happy, happy, joy, joy.

when we got married, we chose October because it gave us enough time to really get things planned, but not close enough to the holidays to mess those up. and, when signing the contract, had a choice of times. 11a.m. or 6p.m. i would've preferred the 6p.m. slot, but had a vision of our guests walking to the reception, being chased by some freaks & ghouls.

hmmmm. not the vision i want for ever in my scrapbooks.

so - what have we learned from all this?
1) i have a love/hate relationship with the Haunt.
2) i still wanna go. again.
3) traffic blows. especially during the Haunt.

i just realized...

i've been doing this blog thing for a year now. Who knew? And who knew i would enjoy this so much? (well, i did, because i love writing)

Thanks for sticking with me.

i need a quarter to flip -

Or something.

Here's the quandary: Thursday is once again Must See TV...just on other channels than NBC.

In this corner....weighing in at at least six seasons...CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. And, if you've been reading this for awhile, you know how i love this show.

And in this corner...weighing in at two seasons...Grey's Anatomy.

What's a girl to do?

Never watched Grey's Anatomy before (i know...what rock have i been under?) our recent trip to Reno...where my SIL is a rabid fan. So i watched the season finale in preparation to the season premiere (which she taped, but we never got to watch)...and all i can say is oh my.

So now what? CSI & Grey's are across from each other. i have to tape CSI - the Hubbs loves the show as much as i. 'Sides, with Catherine's daughter going missing tonight after Catherine seems to have been date raped, well...come on! What's not to be addicted to?

So it looks like the solution is to tape CSI on the DVR, and Grey's on the VCR.

The world should have this kind of problems.

In other non-relevent news...yes, i have been up since 3a.m.. No idea why. Well, actually several ideas why, but none that i'm ready to share. Back to work today, as well, after a week off.

Happy TV Watching.

hy-yuk, yuk, yuk!

File this one under "watch how you say and what you say" department.

I had just finished straightening up a bill dispute with our cell phone provider, and, still feeling a little punchy, called Hubbs to share the news.

"We're DONE!" i said (perhaps a bit too forcefully)

"Pardon me?" (said by Hubbs, in a questioning tone)

"We're done...DONE! Finished!"

A pause, then Hubbs said...

"Get a grip, it's only a phone bill."

Once again - it's not what you say, but how you say it.

In other news....
got the car back today...$1800 later and it runs like a dream. And for $1800, it bloody well better.
So, it's back to work tomorrow. Unfortunately.

May the rest of your week run as smoothly as my car.

by the way...

i am SO dry after this trip to Reno. i swear my skin is flakier than Momma's pie crust.

ain't enough lotions in the world to make me feel better.

yep, i'm home.

and i'm exhausted!

but what a hoot it was, being in Reno, seeing the kids, Cousin Marlen from Ireland, heck - even my brother-in-law with his new/old girlfriend was fun.

yes, a good time was had by all.

it was totally fun, watching Marlen attract the boys like bees to the flower. ah, the lilt of the brogue will drag them in every time. now, our mission is to get her to move here.

and the food......oh, the food. don't get me started on that. i'm convinced i gained back everything i've lost...and probably a little more just for kicks & giggles.

why? because my sis-in-law can cook.

some highlights...

• reading I Spy books with the Nephew.
• going for Rover rides in the Nevada desert, while some of the boys go motorcycle riding.
• Little Naked Girl (aka my niece) jumping up & down on the bed.
• LNG also, after being chastised by her mother for taking off all her clothes, proceeds to cover the chest area with her arm, and the lower part with one hand "No, Mommy, i covered up.".
• sharing some chardonnay on the back patio with family.

in other words, it's all good.

Not MIA....

just M. as in missing.

for a few days. taking off to the sister-in-law's - they have a cousin from Ireland currently camping (?!) in the Boston area (??!!!!), who will be flying out west towards the end of the week.
so it'll be nice to visit, relax & go off WW.

i may get a chance to post, but probably won't happen.

see you in a week....

it must be love, love, love...

(thanks to Mr. Costello for today's title)

And yes, this IS being posted @ 4am. Honestly i didn't know there was a 4am these days.

Hy-yuk, yuk, yuk.

Husband got up about 3:30, i followed soon afterward. Had trouble falling asleep, so it would make sense i would have problems going back to sleep. So i decided to get up, and read the new camera manual again.

Ooops. Did i forget to mention i got a new camera?

Snicker.

Yep, i was checking out the ads yesterday and found a Canon A630 @ Best Buy for a decent price plus 18 months same as cash.

Nice.

Of course, reading any manual is like reading dkjf;lri hfed the awpidl fwhorpld.

Makes no sense.

What i can't understand is why manufacturers don't team up with the good foks who write the "______ for Dummies" books to create the manuals for their products. It would make so much more sense...and be more entertaining to read as well.

Perhaps i'll start my own. Step One: Chuck all manufacturer supplied manuals.
Step Two: Get your camera and follow along with these oh, so easy instructions that even your idiot family members could follow.
Step Three: Take good pictures, and get good photo editing software just in case. Not that you'll ever need it, but it's just a safety net. You're a regular Ansel Adams.
Step Four: Use said software. Repeat.

But back to the yummy camera. 8MP. Flip-out viewfinder that rotates 180 degrees. Ability to shoot snow, beach, fireworks scenes, to single out a color in a photo & keep that color only in a black & white photo. Or to switch the color.

I could sop this up with a biscuit. i just can't understand the manual.

What. The. %$&*#!.

So i'll be trying out all the knobs, bells and whistles. And try to understand it all. But if i accomplish nothing else, at least i'll sleep good tonight.

Right?

Happy Monday, everyone.

regardless of your politics...

please take a moment to check out this site:

www.letssaythanks.com

no matter what you feel about the current political atmosphere, this is a quick, easy & FREE way to say thanks.