- Mood:
- What's for Dinner: Leftovers
Yesterday I watched an old movie on TCM that I'd never heard of, Stars in My Crown. It didn't knock my socks off, but it was pretty good and it was neat to see James Mitchell (Palmer Cortlandt, All My Children) and Amanda Blake (Miss Kitty, Gunsmoke) so young. There was a scene where the gospel minister was talking to a classroom of students and he told them (paraphrasing here), "Don't lean so much on God that you forget how to help yourself." That line really struck me as profound and it's advice I wish more people would follow.
I was reminded of the old joke about the man in a great flood. His town is evacuating as the river rises, but he refuses to leave his home, saying that he has faith and God will save him. The river overflows and as he is standing on his front porch with the water at his feet, a neighbor in a rowboat comes by and tells him to get in and he will take him to safety. He refuses and says, "I have faith in the Lord. The Lord will save me." As the boat passes by, the man prays to God to save him.
The water continues to rise and the man is forced to go up to his second floor. As he looks out his window, another man in a speedboat nears and calls for him to jump in. Again the man refuses, saying, "I have faith in the Lord. The Lord will save me." As the boat speeds off, the man again begins praying for God to save him.
Eventually the water rises so high the man is forced onto his roof. A rescue helicopter flies over and they shout that they will lower a rope ladder to him. The man shakes his head and waves them off, yelling, "I have faith in the Lord. The Lord will save me." As the helicopter fades out of sight, the man once more prays to God to save him.
The water continues to rise until the man is finally washed away and he drowns. When he gets to Heaven, he marches over to God and says, "Heavenly Father, I don't understand. I had faith in you. I prayed to you to save me, and yet you didn't. Why?" God gives him an exasperated, puzzled look and says, "My child, I sent two boats and a helicopter. What more did you expect?"
Prayer can be a good thing, but sometimes the answer to a prayer is the obvious solution staring you right in the face or the good advice you may not necessarily want to hear delivered by someone who may not look like an angel. It's not always a miraculous burning bush. And sometimes you may actually have to take action to solve a problem instead of waiting for divine intervention to solve it for you.
Just my thoughts for the day.
- Mood:
- What's for Dinner: Pasta with crabmeat tomato sauce
Sometimes I think folks focus so much energy on getting laws passed to ban people from talking on cell phones while driving that they overlook all the other stuff people do while driving that, IMO, is way more dangerous. Today a guy passed me on the right with his head hanging out the window. He was yelling something, and at first I thought he was yelling at me, but then I realized he wasn't looking at me and he was actually singing along with his radio. A little further down the road, I ended up behind him, and I saw his left arm come flying straight out his window. Then his right arm shot up and he proceeded to do an arm wave dance move...no hands on the steering wheel! For about two miles he continued to car dance, hopping up and down, waving his arms, and clapping his hands. This wasn't a kid either. He looked to be in his late 20s, old enough to know better. 
Meanwhile, I was talking on my cell phone with my hands-free earphone. Now which of us was the greater danger to others?
I also frequently see moms driving, with kids in car seats behind them, turning around, reaching back, and hunting around on the floor to pick up the bottle, book, pacifier, or whatever the screaming child dropped or threw. I've actually been in a car with a mom who did this and it scared the daylights out of me. She told me she was used to it and did it all the time. 
Then there was the guy I saw the other day who was holding his super-sized fries in one hand while stuffing them in his mouth with the other. By my count that left no hands to steer the car, unless he was an alien or something. 
There are also the folks who choose to read the newspaper or put on their makeup during morning rush hour. Yeah, that's safe.
To me, the people who talk on cell phones with hands-free devices are no more distracted than they would be if they were having a conversation with a passenger in the car. In fact, I believe passengers are more distracting; yet nobody seems to have a problem with them. Cell phones aren't the evil people make them out to be. The real issue is that many folks just lack common sense.
- Mood:
- What's for Dinner: Boston Market meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and creamed corn
- Mood:
- What's for Dinner: Pasta with shrimp and veggies
Do your knees sort of wrinkle? I actually like that song all the women sing in the Dove commercial. It's not often that jingles don't annoy me, so way to go, Dove.
~~~~~
I have never seen my neighborhood so dark as I did last night. I only saw 4 or 5 houses giving out candy. There didn't seem to be many trick-or-treaters either. I saw a few wandering flashlights out there and a couple cars going up and down, but nothing like in the past.
~~~~~
I couldn't believe what happened today. I stopped at a drug store and while I was in line waiting to pay, I glanced down at the candy display under the counter and saw 5th Avenue bars! Score! 
I honestly thought they'd gone the way of Marathon bars because I haven't seen them in years. Then I mention them in my blog one day and they appear the next. Hmmm...maybe I should mention a million dollars today. 
Anyway, I grabbed a handful and had one in the car on the way home. Mighty good. Don't believe anyone who tells you that a Butterfinger is the same as a 5th Avenue cuz it just ain't so.
~~~~~
In case you were wondering, there are only 53 shopping days left before Christmas. I know this because the grocery store was playing Christmas music and had replaced all the Halloween stuff with Christmas candy and decorations.
- Mood:
- What's for Dinner: Steak, salad, and pumpkin pie
- Mood:
- What's for Dinner: Baked potato
- Mood:
- What's for Dinner: A cheese pizza Lean Pocket
That Linus sure is a smooth operator, getting Sally to hang out in the pumpkin patch with him like that.
~~~~~
Afton, if you sell any of those bumper stickers or T-shirts I want royalties. 
~~~~~
Had a "girls night out" with some friends last night. It was great getting together, but the food could have been better. It was a special 5-course fixed menu/wine sampling dinner at a Spanish tapas restaurant. I've never had Spanish food before that I know of and was looking forward to trying it. Unfortunately, I don't think what we had was traditional Spanish cuisine. The theme for the entire meal was pork (including dessert ...Yes, you read that right. Take a moment to say, "Ewww," I'll wait). I didn't know about all that until we got there since one of my friends who eats there a lot raved about the place and made the reservation for us. The theme of these dinners is apparently different each month. Don't get me wrong, I likes me some bacon and the occasional pork chop or roast, but pork is not something I normally order when I'm dining out.
I started to realize it wasn't really my type of place when the waitress came over and asked if we'd like some water, rambling off the names of four or five types, none of which was tap. Fancy sparkling/mineral water that you have to pay for isn't my thing. The first course was a baked butternut squash mix with sour cherries and some crispy bacon sprinkled on top. That was actually pretty good. Then it went downhill with pork belly served with some fancy lettuce and a dressing on top. The pork belly was like eating raw bacon. Next came pork terrine (which looked like pate and tasted like tuna) stuffed in an apple. My cats' canned cat food looks more appetizing. That was followed by what I guess was supposed to be the big "Ahhhh!" course. They carried several whole roasted pigs out to the dining room where they carved them up in front of us. There's nothing I like more than staring my food in the face before I eat it. 
Poor piggies. Anyway, the meat was very fatty and wasn't cooked long enough for my taste. You pretty much had no idea what part of the animal you were eating. One of my friends was convinced she had a heart valve. Dessert was a trio of chocolate - a brownie, a truffle, and a scoop of ice cream - all made with bacon. It actually wasn't as bad as it sounds. The touch of saltiness from the bacon played off the sweetness pretty well.
I'm not that into wine either, so the dinner wasn't really worth the (rather hefty) price to me. I would have been happier with a glass of sangria and trying some paella or something. Of course, the several hours spent with friends was nice, and I guess you can't put a price tag on that.
~~~~~
Yesterday was also Els' birthday. I hope it was a great one! 
- Mood:
- What's for Dinner: Stouffer's lasagna and salad
I think when you have pets, you learn to sleep through just about anything. The other night Sebastian felt the need to leap from the "heaving spot" to the "night time sleeping region." In order to do that he had to jump over me, who was sleeping peacefully in the middle of the bed. One of his back paws landed on my neck and his claw tore a nice gash there. I didn't jump or flinch, just reached up to feel how much blood was there. I vaguely remember staggering to the bathroom to rinse the area and put some Cortisone on it before going back to sleep. The scratch is still there and it's a little sore, but I'm not dead, so all is well.
- Mood:
- What's for Dinner: Spaghetti and garlic bread
- Mood:
- What's for Dinner: Chicken parmesan and spaghetti
Congrats to Camera Chic for landing a new job and finding your smile again.
~~~~~
A local radio station has a male and female morning team that I occasionally listen to on my way to work. Recently they've started having their respective spouses call in once a week to rate how good of a wife/husband they were the week before. WTF? Are you kidding me? What year is this? 
I don't think it's healthy for couples to be airing their gripes and criticisms in public, let alone on the radio. I don't need to know that he didn't iron his shirts or that she wasn't affectionate enough. If you have problems, take it to couples counseling or therapy; I don't want to hear about it. I think it's tacky and makes listeners uncomfortable.
Another station's morning team is a group of 3 guys and 1 young woman. I don't know for sure how old she is, but I'm guessing she's young because she never seems to know relatively famous people, and she's always interrupting the guys to ask, "Who?" when they're doing the entertainment reports. Sooo annoying. I did cut her some slack when she didn't know who Dyan Cannon was, considering that she is an older actress. However, one day they were all talking about "The Sound of Music" and Julie Andrews, and one of them mentioned "Mary Poppins." She stopped the conversation and said, "Wait! You mean Julie Andrews played Mary Poppins? I never knew that." Now maybe it's just me, but IMO if you're going to choose an entertainment medium like radio or television as a career, you shouldn't be that clueless.
and landed in your neck of the woods. Nice place you have here. Will visit again soon. Wishing you a spiffy Tuesday! 
Happy New Year AD. 
Merry Christmas, Francine. 
Picture four-legged stoners with the munchies. Gonna have to buy more treats when I hit the grocery store. 
A bunch have managed to make their way inside through little spaces around my doors and windows. I Googled and the same thing is happening to people all over. Apparently the frost we had earlier this week has sent the pale orange Asian beetles into a frenzied desire to find a place to hibernate for the winter. Everything I've read said they cause no damage, don't nest, and don't breed over the winter; they just sleep. Experts say just let them take up residence in your walls and attic until they wake up in the spring and head back outside. I wouldn't really mind them so much if there weren't so many. I've had them in previous years, but not like this. You're not supposed to squish them because they stain and release a terrible odor, so a couple sites suggest just vacuuming them up in the house. I tried that and they didn't die; they were crawling around inside the vacuum. Sigh. I guess we're just going to have to learn to peacefully cohabitate.
Bravenet Blog 
Blog Community
Get a Free Blog
Manage your Blog
bravenet.com