Inspirational Stuff

We have been getting some pretty good e-mails this week and I thought this one was special enough to pass along.

I seldom pass along inspirational stuff, but this one got to me.I believe, in these difficult and mean-spirited times in which we live, there needs to be a message of Hope.We can all use a single image that speaks to us of love, harmony, peace, and joy.An image that suggests the universality of us all.I have been sent that image, and I want to share it with you all. All I ask is that all of you take a moment to reflect on it.

35 or 5?

Today the funniest thing happened.

It was a warm day in the GTA today. So I come home from work late due to an incredibly busy day in the office. Scott had made dinner and we had just finished eating. I went over to the computer to get my "fix" and check into what's happened on Facebook during the day. The window was open and a nice breeze was flowing through.

Then Scott suddenly hits the pause on the TV. His face lights up like a 5 year old on Christmas morning when he sees that Santa has brought the shiny red bicycle he's asked for. Then I hear it - the reason for his excitement....the ice cream truck! The first round of many for the summer, the ice cream man is back!

OK so maybe I was tired after working a long day, but the look on his face was priceless. He looked 35 going on 5...I laughed so hard I cried.

IIIIICCCCCCEEEEE CCRRRRREEEEAAAAMMMM!!!!!!!!

How times change...

I got this by email today and many of these comments rang true to me. So I know I was born towards the end of this time but my, how times have changed...does any of this sound familiar to you???

Those Born 1930-1979

TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED the 1930's 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's !!

First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant. They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes.

Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-based paints.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking.

As infants & children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, booster seats, seat belts or air bags. Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special treat.

We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle.

We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this.

We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank koolade made with sugar, but we weren't overweight because...WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING !

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.

No one was able to reach us all day. And we were O.K.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.

We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVD's, no surround-sound or CD's, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet or chat rooms.......! WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents.

We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.

We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls and, although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes. We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them!

Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!!

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!

These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever! The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.

We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL!

If YOU are one of them . . . CONGRATULATIONS!

You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated so much of our lives for our own good. And while you are at it, share this with your kids so they will know how brave (and lucky) their parents were.

Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it?!

Moms are always right...

Well it's spring! Can you feel the warm weather coming?? Thanks to Mr Bush the daylight lasts longer into the evening so it feels a little more like summer already. Makes you want to put away the gloves, hats and boots...hang up your winter coat until next winter!

But a news clip I heard on the radio today reminded me of something my mother always said..."don't put away your winter coat until the end of April...it may be spring but winter's not over yet." In the news clip an Environment Canada climatologist confirmed that winter could stick around until April. It stated that 11% of our annual snowfall comes after the first day of spring. There have been only two out of the last 68 years where it did not snow in April.

So for those that like winter, it might not be over for you yet. And I will take my Mom's advice and not be too quick to put away the winter coat just yet...

So...Were you smarter than a Fifth Grader?

Rhombus:
In geometry, a rhombus (or rhomb; plural rhombi) is a quadrilateral in which all of the sides are of equal length, i.e., it is an equilateral quadrthisangle. If any angle of can equilateral quadrangle is a beright angle, then all its angles are right angles and it is changedalso a square. In colloquial usage the shape is often described as a diamond or lozenge.
Thanks to Wikipedia for that definition.

So once again...to sum it up in ENGLISH...a rhombus has 4 sides!

It could've been this week...

Well, it was supposed to be be March 15th...that was the original closing date. And after a visit to the house yesterday I am kind of glad it got delayed for another month and a half. Some of the people just down the road are already living there. In the middle of a mud mess. And I can't imagine what it's like during the week when all the construction vehicles are all over the place. Anyhow, peaking in the windows we couldn't see too much. The flooring in the front hallway has been laid in the 45 degree angle we paid extra for (that just means it's turned like diamonds instead of straight squares). And the stair railings are up but no carpeting yet. The siding on the back of the house is done, but not the front. We have a garage door now so it's starting to look a little more complete.

Are you smarter than a fifth grader?

How many sides does a rhombus have?

Maybe we'll tell you the answer tomorrow.

Steph's $52 Happy Dance...

So, last night Steph and I went to play the slots at Woodbine racetrack. I won second prize in a contest from Q107 and the prize was a t-shirt and $20 to spend on the slots.
Earlier in the day I called to verify my prize winning and was told that a package would be waiting for me at "The Winners Circle" when I got there.
We arrived at about 9:30pm and found "The Winners Circle", only problem was that not one person working there at the time knew what I was supposed to get, or how to get it. After waiting for about 40 minutes while they scrambled to get my "winnings" together, they give Steph and I each a t-shirt (size large, won't fit) and two vouchers for $10 each. We cash the vouchers and go to play some games.
Steph found a machine and started to play. While Steph was playing, I put $20 into a machine behind her, never played this machine before, it looked to be fairly new. I put $20 in and pressed one button on the machine and my money was gone!!! One button, one spin, whoa what fun...grand total of about 15 seconds.
Steph is still playing her machine, has lost about half her money, cashes out and we move on. I don't feel like playing anymore, but Steph has caught the "gambling bug". She sits down at another machine and don't you know she goes up a bit, then drops back, then up, then down, then all of a sudden she hits a big one and is up big. Reluctantly, but excitedly she cashed out. Her original $20 has now grown to $52. Who-Hoo, at least one of us came out ahead!
After this we went to watch the ponies for a bit, then decided to go home.
While we were leaving, Steph had this to say...
"It's much more fun when you win!"
Amen to that!

Chilli Cook-off

Notes From An Inexperienced Chilli Tester Named FRANK, who had moved to Texas from the East Coast:
"Recently, I was honoured to be selected as a judge at a chilli cook-off. The original person called in sick at the last moment and I happened to be standing there at the judge's table asking directions to the beer wagon, when the call came. I was assured by the other two judges (Native Texans) that the chilli wouldn't be all that spicy, and besides, they told me I could have free beer during the tasting. So I accepted." Here are the scorecards from the event:

CHILLI # 1 MIKE'S MANIAC MOBSTER MONSTER CHILLI
JUDGE ONE: A little too heavy on tomato. Amusing kick.
JUDGE TWO: Nice, smooth tomato flavour, Very mild.
FRANK: Holy shit, what the hell is this stuff? You could remove dried paint from your driveway. Took me two beers to put the flames out. I hope that's the worst one. These Texans are crazy.

CHILLI # 2 ARTHUR'S AFTERBURNER CHILLI
JUDGE ONE: Smokey, with a hint of pork. Slight Jalapeno tang.
JUDGE TWO: Exciting BBQ flavour, needs more peppers to be taken seriously.
FRANK: Keep this out of the reach of children I'm not sure what I am supposed to taste besides pain. I had to wave off two people who wanted to give me the Heimlich manoeuvre. They had to rush in more beer when they saw the look on my face.

CHILLI # 3 FRED'S FAMOUS BURN DOWN THE BARN CHILLI
JUDGE ONE: Excellent firehouse chilli! Great kick. Needs more beans.
JUDGE TWO: A beanless chilli, a bit salty, good use of peppers.
FRANK: Call the EPA, I've located a uranium spill. My nose feels like I have been snorting Drano. Everyone knows the routine by now get me more beer before I ignite. Barmaid pounded me on the back; now my backbone is in the front part of my chest. I'm getting shit-faced from all the beer.

CHILLI # 4 BUBBA'S BLACK MAGIC
JUDGE ONE: Black bean chilli with almost no spice. Disappointing.
JUDGE TWO: Hint of lime in the black beans. Good side dish for fish or other mild foods, not much of a chilli.
FRANK: I felt something scraping across my tongue, but was unable to taste it. Is it possible to burnout taste buds? Kathy, the barmaid, was standing behind me with fresh refills; that 300 lb. bitch is starting to look HOT just like this nuclear waste I'm eating. Is chilli an aphrodisiac?

CHILLI # 5 LINDA'S LEGAL LIP REMOVER
JUDGE ONE: Meaty, strong chilli. Cayenne peppers freshly ground, adding considerable kick. Very Impressive.
JUDGE TWO: Chilli using shredded beef, could use more tomato. Must admit the cayenne peppers make a strong statement.
FRANK: My ears are ringing, sweat is pouring off my forehead and I can no longer focus my eyes. I farted and four people behind me needed paramedics. The contestant seemed offended when I told her that her chilli had given me brain damage. Kathy saved my tongue from bleeding by pouring beer directly on it from a pitcher. I wonder if I'm burning my lips off? It really pisses me off that the other judges asked me to stop screaming. Screw those rednecks!

CHILLI # 6 VERA'S VERY VEGETARIAN VARIETY
JUDGE ONE: Thin yet bold vegetarian variety chilli. Good balance of spice and peppers.
JUDGE TWO: The best yet. Aggressive use of peppers, onions, and garlic. Superb.
FRANK: My intestines are now a straight pipe filled with gaseous, sulphuric flames. I shit myself when I farted and I worried it will eat through the chair. No one seems inclined to stand behind me except that slut Kathy. She must be kinkier than I thought. Can't feel my lips anymore. I need to wipe my ass with a snow cone!

CHILLI # 7 SUSAN'S SCREAMING SENSATION CHILLI
JUDGE ONE: A mediocre chilli with too much reliance on canned peppers.
JUDGE TWO: Ho Hum, tastes as if the chef literally threw in a can of chilli peppers at the last moment. I should take note that I am worried about Judge Number 3, He appears to be in a bit of distress as he is cursing uncontrollably.
FRANK: You could put a grenade in my mouth, pull the pin, and I wouldn't feel a damn thing. I've lost sight in one eye, and the world sounds like it is made of rushing water. My shirt is covered with chilli, which slid unnoticed out of my mouth. My pants are full of lava-like shit to match my damn shirt. At least during the autopsy they'll know what killed me. I've decided to stop breathing, it's too painful. Screw it, I'm not getting any oxygen anyway. If I need air, I'll just suck it in through the 4-inch hole in my stomach.

CHILLI # 8 BILLY BOB'S SMOKIN ASS CHILLI
JUDGE ONE: A perfect ending, this is a nice blend chilli, safe for all, not too bold but spicy enough to declare it's existence.
JUDGE TWO: This final entry is a good, balanced chilli. Neither mild nor hot. Sorry to see that most of it was lost when Judge Number 3 passed out, fell over and pulled the chilli pot down on top of himself. Not sure if he's going to make it. Poor Yank, wonder how he'd have reacted to a really hot chilli?

The Best Episode Ever!

Today's weather reminded me of the greatest Simpson's episode ever...Mr. Plow!

It Happened...

Today in southern Ontario we had a pretty heavy snowfall. By the time I got home from work today (after a two and a half hour drive that normally on a good day takes 40 minutes), there must have been close to 10 cm of snow in the driveway. That's a lot of snow!
So I started to shovel, and shovel, and shovel. An hour later, the driveway was clean, and I was exhausted!
About 10 minutes after I was finished, in the house, and starting to relax...

THE DAMN SNOWPLOW COMES DOWN THE STREET!!!

Oh no, it couldn't come while I was out there, that would be too easy.
I love winter!