I saw a billboard yesterday that read:

NEED HELP?

CALL JESUS 1-800-505-3787

Out of curiosity, I did.

A Mexican fellow showed up with a lawnmower.

What was I thinking !!!

Food Blog

I'm in the process of creating a Food/Recipe Blog. Well, not really in the process, but yea, I kinda am. I've come to a dilemma.

What should I title it???

So here are a couple options. Please tell me if you like them, or have a different idea. Just remember, the sooner I get it up and running, the sooner I can post recipes, and the sooner you can try them.

Ok, option time... :

• A Pinch, A Splash, and A Dash
• Don't Forget to Use Silverware (so good you'll want to eat it with your hands!)
• Finding Your Way Around a Kitchen (easy, simple, basic recipes)
• Go Ahead, Lick the Bowl!

So what do you think? Please, be honest. And get back to me soon. I'm anxious to start. I've already have some to share!

Quote of the Day

A long dispute means both parties are wrong.
— Voltaire

The Stand Off

World War 3 almost happened in my front yard last night around 11:30. Oh boy, let me tell you!

I went out front. Yea, I know, why would I got outside at 11:30pm? Well, I was unpacking a Rubbermaid box, that I keep dumping miscellaneous stuff in, and I found a packet of wildflowers. I thought to myself, "Self, you watered earlier, maybe if you sprinkle them in your flower bed you'll get wildflowers." Notice I was just going to sprinkle them, not go through the motion of actually planting them. So I walked out my front door and was just about ready to walk down the steps to do the sprinkly bit, and a thing walked in front of the steps. Not run or scattered, but walked. Oh boy howdy, if it wasn't the mama possum of the murder victim from last week.

Oh and there was fire in her eyes! She was big and she was out for blood and avengance. She looked like an R.O.U.S. from The Princess Bride. Her hair raised up and she threated to bite my big toe if I stepped off the porch. So I threated back that I was gonna get my gun and end this once and for all! She didn't like that, she she ran and hid under my car. I yelled so more profanity and threated to get the gun. By now neighbors are turning their porch lights on and coming out in their bathrobes.

The mama possum didn't like this, so she ran across the street. Oh no, she's going after my parents! Straight to the barbecuer. Too back I couldn't just snap my fingers and ignite it. Toasted possum anyone?

I called my mom. Actually, I called the house...no answer. I called my mom's cell...no answer. I called my brother...no answer. I called the house again...finally an answer! Mom wasn't too concerned that there is a possum wandering out by the catering barbecuer and wood pile. And dad wasn't home, no wonder the car was gone! I decided to wait. I didn't want dad to get out of the car and the vermin to attach his ankles. So I waited, and I waited, and after about a minute I got tired or waiting. From the top of the porch I sprinkled the seeds then quickly went back inside where I triple locked my front and back doors.

Until next time mama possum, you don't stand a chance. I'll sic my dogs on you, both of them! Riley has been teaching Izzie everything she knows about killing your kind!

Ok, now. Do you really believe all that? Truth of the matter this is what really happened...

Story about the seeds in the box is true. Seeing the possum is true. The not running part, true. Definitely walked, more like a waddle. The thing was walking one way across my yard right by the step, saw me, turned around and walked the other way where it hid under my car. My heart is now racing a two miles a minute and feels like it's going to leap out of my chest. I feared that the possum would sense my fear and take advantage of me. That S.O.B. of a thing!

After a couple minutes of me standing motionless on the porch, the thing decided to make a break for it and waddle across the street to the barbecuer/wood pile area. I did try calling the whole Montague clan that lives in Hilmar, and after the 4th call finally got someone. But mom couldn't help. Dad was delivering coffee to his crew at work (such a nice guy!). And my brother was gone (he's always gone).

I decided it was safe and the possum wasn't going to rush me from across the street. So I, while shaking, opened the seed packet (probably spilling half of them on the porch) and quickly tossed them into the garden.

I went back inside where my girls were anxiously awaiting my safe return. I told Riley, "Next time, she's all yours!"

Moral of the story. If you, or your dog, kills a possum's baby, she'll be back for revenge.

It's just a darn good thing I have vicious dogs that will protect me!

Questions I'm Trying to Answer

If I save time, when do I get it back?

When is your time?

Today feels like a Friday. We had our quarterly employee luncheon and people are just in a jovial mood. One of my co-workers sent me an e-mail, and eventually it made its way around the office area and created a stir of conversations. And it was fun.

So for fun, I'm letting you all in on the website that was linked in the e-mail.

The Death Clock

So how old will you be living? When is your "expected" day of death?

Me? Well, on Friday, October 5, 2068 we'll all be having a party to celebrate my life...and I'll be there. But Saturday I won't be, so no party on Saturday. Only sorrow.

"Saturday, October 6, 2068

Seconds left to live...
1,902,720,941'ish'"

So, come on! Go check it out. It's all in good fun! Now... what does the death clock say about your life...?

Quote of the Day

Patience is something you admire in the driver behind you and scorn in the one ahead.
— Mac McCleary

Questions I'm Trying to Answer

What color does a chameleon change to when it sees itself in a mirror?

I'm Such a Loser!

And being a loser is a good thing! Here’s an update since last time I filled you in on my weight lose.

I meet my goal of losing 10 pounds by Jenn’s wedding, maybe not by my Weight Watcher’s weigh-ins, but by my own scale. I figured that was close enough. My second sub goal of my weight loss goal is to lose another 5 pounds by my class reunion on June 28th. By my own scale, I’m only 1.5 away from that. So I’m sittin’ pretty!

So here’s that chart showing my downward trend to skinnier me. Just as before, I’ve removed the actual weights on the y-axis for my own personal privacy. The dates and weights are based on my Weight Watcher weigh-ins that happens on Mondays.

Please note the most recent day, 6/16 is the new low of the year!

I’m currently down 9.2 from my weight watcher weigh ins. I think I’m doing quite well. I know that every week I won’t have a loss, but if I can just keep those days to a minimum, things will go in the right direction. Literally!Please help keep me motivated, hold me accountable, and slap my hand if I pick up a cheeseburger. Thanks!

Anyone want to be a loser with me?

Movies I've Seen in 2008: June

Sex And The City (theater): LOVED IT! It was the longest movie that went by in a flash. This movie was great. It gave a quick refresher on where the show ended and picked up nicely a few years from that. They (the powers that be that wrote, directed, and produced) did an excellent job of keeping with the style and format of the show. My advice, go see the movie. Even if you've never seen the series, go see the movie.

Little Nicky (TV): Ok, yea, I'm a little behind and haven't seen this movie. While working on my quilt yesterday, my viewing options were 1) Little Nicky, or 2) the US Open, which is like watching paint dry. So I watched Little Nicky. It was ok. Nothing that I'm going to make sure I watch again. And I dont' know if it's even on TV again and nothing else is on if I'll watch it. It's an ok movie if you can handle hell and hell jokes and mocking of heaven and angels. I say don't waste your time, but your call.

Quote of the Day

When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.
— Victor Frankl

Questions I'm Trying to Answer

Why are they called apartments when they are all stuck together?

Happy Father's Day Daddy!

"Any man can be a father. It takes someone special to be a dad."
— Anonymous

The Realistic Miracle Diet

Although, Weight Watchers says that "diet" is a 4 letter word. So we'll rename this "The Realistic Miracle 'Changing Eating Habits'"

Breakfast
1/2 grapefruit
1 slice of whole wheat toast
8 oz. low fat or skim milk
Lunch
4 oz. lean broiled chicken breast
1 cup steamed spinach
1 cup herbal tea
1 Oreo cookie
Mid-Afternoon Snack
Rest of Oreos in pack
2 pints Haagen Daz ice cream
1 jar hot fudge sauce, nuts, cherries, whipped cream
Dinner
2 loaves garlic bread with cheese
Large sausage and cheese pizza
4 cans o 1 large pitcher diet soda
3 Milky Way candy bars
Late Evening News
Entire Sara Lee cheesecake eaten directly from freeze

Rules for this diet 'Changing Eating Habits'

1. If you eat something and no one sees, it has no calories.
2. If you drink diet soda with candy bars, the calories in the candy bar are canceled out by the diet soda.
3. When you eat with someone else, calories don't count as long as you don't eat more than they do.
   
4. Food used for medicinal purposes never count, such as hot chocolate, brandy, toast, and Sara Lee cheesecake.
5. If you fatten up the people around you, then you look thinner.
6. Movie-related foods do not have additional calories because they are part of the entire entertainment package and are not part of one's personal intake. (Examples are Milk Duds, buttered popcorn, Junior Mints, Red Hots, and Tootsie Rolls).
7. Cookie pieces contain no calories. The process of breaking cookies cause caloric leakage.
8. Things licked off knives and spoons have no calories if you are in the process of preparing something. (Examples are peanut butter on a knife while making a sandwich or ice cream on a spoon while making a sundae.)
9. Foods that have the same color have the same number of calories. For instance, spinach and pistachio ice cream, cauliflower and whipped cream.

NOTE: Chocolate is a universal substitute and may be used in place of any other food.

Quote of the Day

"One half of knowing what you want is knowing what you must give up before you get it."
— Sidney Howard

Change it up!

Ok. So I'm gonna change it up a little. I'm sure you've noticed that I've been posting a "quote of the day". Well, even though there is an unlimited number of inspiring quotes out there, I'm not willing to seek them all out. Wow, and it's only been like two weeks.

Don't fret. I'll still post them occasionally. Just not every day.

But I will still post something daily. Maybe some random questions that I've been trying to answer. Maybe a joke. And the quotes.

Now, when I post a random question. Please feel free to comment with you answer. In fact, I'd love it if you would do that.

I'll start it off right now...

When it rains, why don't sheep shrink?

Check That Off!

This afternoon I made a little trip to a local post office where I turn in my passport application.

Cross that off of my 2008 list!

2 became 1. Then partied all weekend!

I have a cousin, his name is Claude. He's actually really my mom's cousin, but he's much closer in age to me and his mom is much closer in age to my mom. Well, after dating the lovely Bonnie for close to 10 years, they got hitched. And as one of their bridal party members said during one of the toasts, "After 10 years, we're turning this into a 3 day celebration!" And that it was!

The festivities (for us non-wedding party folk) started on Friday. Paige, Kaitlin, and I headed out of Hilmar before my parents so we could go to Monterey and visit with Chris for a bit before the wedding. We got to his dorm while he and his roommates were cleaning up (before they had to check out for the summer). We dragged Chris out and went to lunch at Pizza My Heart. The ceremony was held at the San Juan Baptista Mission where Bonnie grew up going to church. It was a beautiful site, very old and rugged.

Followed by a reception (#1) just up the road at a nice banquet restaurant site. It was nice to start the celebrations with the newly married couple. Something that they did for this reception that I had never seen before were to have 2 different food buffet lines. One was the bride's buffet with more salads and cold dishes, and the other was the groom's buffet with more the meat and potato items. I went through both. And both were yummy.

I was totally in love with the view that we had behind us.

As the (reserved) party started winding down we headed back to Monterey where we were staying the night. Paige with Chris in his dorm room, Kaitlin, Mom, Dad and I in the Cabo (white trash camper shell). It was interesting staying the night in a college parking lot on moving out weekend the night before graduation.

By about 9 the next morning wer were moving about. Being as I got to drive in style, Mom's Pathfinder, and had extra room in the back, we loaded some of Chris' stuff up. He stayed behind in Monterey to clean up, pack up, and head home. The rest of us got into our respective vehicles, truck and suv, and started making our way down to the ranch (Santa Margarita) for another night of festivities, but this one with more family, friends, people, drinking, dancing, well you get the picture.

We got to the ranch around 11am or so. Setting up tables, chairs, and the bar was underway. But! We had another agenda. For my birthday, it was my request to have my birthday meal (knowing it would be a couple days late) at Firestone Bar & Grill for lunch. I love Firestone Bar & Grill. So we drove over the grade into San Luis Obispo (my old stompin' ground) where we walked around downtown and had lunch. Side salad with ranch for me with fries that we shared. That was my thing to order there. I know, boring. But it was delish!

Knowing that it was time to head back and offer our assistance, we left the (not so cool) SLO and head back over the grade.

Now this gets to be the point where I can bore you and post 248 pictures of my family, cousins, aunts, and all, goofing off and having fun. But I'll be nice and save most of those for a later day. So here is a nice selection of say...5. Yea, I'll narrow it down to 5. Maybe 6. But no more than 7! And I'll save the pictures of the ranch itself for later. You don't care what a barn built by the Indians looks like right now.

The newly (day before) married couple!

The Arnold women. At least the cool ones! Starting at the left going counter clockwise we have: Aunt Missy (mom's sis), Me, Aunt Kate (actually my mom's aunt and my great aunt, but she's mom's age, long story for another day), Paige, Mom, Tricia (cousin), Kaitlin, Aunt Boo (mom's sis), Whitney (cousin), and Breanne (cousin).

Aunt Kate with her most adorable grandson, Clayton. By the way, Aunt Kate is the MOG (mother of the groom).

Two of my favorite people ever! My sisters! (You know, I think I need to print this picture and hang it on my wall!)

Kaitlin, my sister that is gone...forever...for the summer... maybe for fall too. *sniff* In case you're wondering, that is, uh, not an adult beverage. No, it's not! It's, uh, it's limeade. Yea, that's what it is. There is no tequilla in that whatsoever. In fact there's not beer in it either. Nope, straight, normal, plain limeade. Yea...

All of the immediate girl cousins. Me, Paige, Breanne, Tricia, Kaitlin, and Whitney. Yep, that's us. We're here to carry on the maiden name of our mother's, Arnold.

Shortly after the sun went down, and we were all tipsy enough, the dancing started. We, the cousins and I, realized that we do not have the dancing gene. But luckily, we were related to half the people there, so neither did they! Here's Paige gettin' down with her bad self!

And that's pretty much how we ended the evening. Some dancing. Some mingling. Some skipping out to go to bed (ok, that was just me). All in all, it was a wonderful weekend. Good to get away, good to see family, good to visit SLO. Just good.

Quote of the Day

"If you cannot find the truth right where you are, where else do you expect to find it?"
— Dogen

Quote of the Day

Forgo your anger for a moment and save yourself a hundred days of trouble.
— Chinese proverb