Tagged!

OK, Libragirl got me.

4 jobs I’ve had:
Bookstore clerk (you could read books without buying them--loved it!)
Project Manager for Asshat Corp.
Project Manager for a dotcom (got out before it went bust, whew)
ESL tutor

4 movies I could watch over and over:
Stand By Me, Sleepless in Seattle, ET, Romancing the Stone

4 places I have lived:
Illinois, Maryland, New York, Ohio

4 TV shows I love to watch:
The Office, Scrubs, Grey’s Anatomy, Project Runway

4 places I have been on vacation:
The Bahamas, Hawaii, Italy, British Columbia

4 websites I visit daily:
msnbc.com for news, ebay, Yahoo, my blogroll

4 fave foods
Cereal of any kind, Chocolate, Sushi, homemade tomato sauce (or good olive oil) and bread

4 places I’d like to be right now:
Getting a good massage, reading The Messenger by Daniel Silva, getting a pedicure, somewhere tropical doing all the above WITH an umbrella drink

I won't specifically "tag" anyone, but if you play let me know in Comments!

Tagged!

http://casalinga.blogspot.com/2006/08/tagged.html

One of Those Mornings.

Ya know what's really annoying?

When your husband goes on a self-improvement kick and decides to run on the treadmill before work. At 5:30 freakin' a.m. In the room right above the bedroom. Yea, the one where you were previously sound asleep, dreaming happy dreams. He might get put on the asshat list this week.

Also annoying? When you're up and the newspaper hasn't yet been delivered, Gah! No excuse, paper deliver-ers should be like mailmen: neither rain nor snow nor early morning hour should delay my flippin' paper. Definitely going on the asshat list.

Also annoying? Crazyass pedophiles who confess to murdering little girls when they didn't just because it makes them feel closer to said girls. At least they'll nail him on porn charges and he should serve some jail time. Be doubtful if he ever leaves prison alive.

So, what's annoying you today, Sunshine?

One of Those Mornings.

http://casalinga.blogspot.com/2006/08/one-of-those-mornings.html

Close Call

I just finished reading a nonfiction book by Michael Connelly (author of the fictional Harry Bosch detective series) and it really made me think.

The novel is called Crime Beat, and is a compilation of stories Connelly wrote as a crime reporter in the years before he started successfuly writing fiction. The stories are a lot of what you would expect --murder, drugs, robbery and even a couple of serial killers thrown in.

The book was really interesting and made me think 1) How incredibly desensitized we've become to violence and 2) I bet there are thousands of "almost victims"--people who came in contact with violent people and for whatever reason didn't become victims. I don't mean they escaped or got away after being initially attacked; these would be people who might never realize what could have happened.

I think a lot of people have stories about these types of "brushes" with a person or situation where later, if they ever even think about it, they might reflect on how something was not quite right. So here's my story:

I lived in a neighborhood where everyone had garages and parked in them, so if there was a car out on the street you knew the person who lived there was having company. I noticed there had been a white junker parked in front of my neighbors house on and off for 2 days. I would see two scruffy-looking guys sitting in it. I happened to be home alone when the doorbell rang. As I turned the bottom lock I looked out the sidelight window of the door and saw the car once again parked across the street and the two scruffy guys standing on my stoop. I held up a finger to them through the window, indicating, "wait a minute," because our top lock was a deadbolt and required a key to open. As I was getting the key from the hook in the closet something stopped me from going back to the door and unlocking it. Instead, I went and hid as they continued to ring the doorbell. Finally, they stopped ringing and when I was brave enough to look out the window I saw the car was gone. They never came back and I never saw the car parked across the street again.

I didn't tell anyone about it because I felt silly, like I had overreacted. When I think about now, I feel like I really escaped from what could have been a horrible situation. How many more red flags did I need flying in my face? Obviously they meant to do some harm - rob the house, rape me, whatever. But hey, this was the late '70s; we still walked by ourselves to the bus stop, rode our bikes without helmets--gah!--and ran with scissors.

So that's my story, what's yours?

Close Call

http://casalinga.blogspot.com/2006/08/close-call.html

Weekly Walk of Shame Vol. 3

So this week I'm giving you a fine array of asshat nominees from either reality TV or politics. I know, I know, it's just too easy. I narrowed it down to only four (whew, tough!) since I know you don't have hours to spend reading...As always, feel free to submit your own nominee and vote for your favorite asshat!

1. Senator Joe Biden for stupendously insulting the entire Indian (dot not feather) population, and on camera no less, with this brickbat: "In Delaware, the largest growth in population is Indian-Americans -- moving from India. You cannot go to a 7-Eleven or a Dunkin' Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent. I'm not joking." I don't think Delaware will be joking either when they choose not to reelect him 'cause gee, dumbass, do you really think it's wise to insult your largest voting demographic??
   
   
2. Senator George Allen for continuing the Indian hatefest by referring --twice--to a political opponent's Indian aide as "macaca." A macaca, by the way, is a type of monkey and the word is also used in some cultures as a racial insult. Allen's excuse? He didn't know what "macaca" meant. Wha?? Then why direct it toward someone who appears to be of Indian descent? Better yet, why use it at all, especially if you don't know what it means, jackass. Oh, just so I don't get hate mail from Allen's camp (like I did from Bill Gates people after I ranted that he should throw some cash at America's problems, too) I must inform you that the senator did apologize; however, the apology was TWELVE days after he made the insult and the media ran with it.
   
   
   
3. 
   Jeffrey aka Weird Neck Tattoo Dude for making Allison's mother cry on Project Runway last night. This guy has absolutely no class. He even made his own mother try to smooth things over with Allison's mom. She tried to convince us--ha, not buying it--that he's really a good guy, he's just had a hard life since he's a recovering alcoholic and junkie. (Just knowing that he's a friend of Santino's from last season was I all needed to hear to have this guy pegged as nasty.) Jeff insulted Angela's mom, saying he didn't care if she liked the dress he was making for her, and that he was trying to address her "insecurities" (basically saying she's choosing the wrong clothes to try and camouflage her large size.) To top that off, Jeff told her he didn't like her standing by his work table and later called her a "crazy bitch."
   
   
4. Mimi the psycho latina lesbian with a penchant for biting (see photo!) from Bravo's new reality series "Workout." She's a train wreck, people. I. Cannot. Look. Away. She's nominated for being a bitch, generally, and throwing a glass at her now ex-girlfriend Jackie's head in last night's season finale. If she wasn't biting Jackie she was slapping her or whining about how Jackie doesn't pay enough attention to her. I'm thrilled Jackie finally gave her the heave-ho, although I'm not sure why it took almost getting her head cracked open to do it. I have to digress for a moment and say I throughly enjoyed seeing the two biggest egos in reality TV - Jackie Warner from this show, Workout, and Jonathan Antin from Blowout, together in last night's episode. It was just too much, almost wet my pants when she told him to give her a "more feminine" version of his haircut.
   
   
   

So there you have it. Which nominee do you think should win this week's Asshat Walk of Shame? Or, do you have a nominee I neglected to mention? Share, so we can all make fun.

P.S. Just in case you missed last week's exciting episode, click here for the Weekly Asshat Walk of Shame Vol. 2.

Weekly Walk of Shame Vol. 3

http://casalinga.blogspot.com/2006/08/weekly-walk-of-shame-vol-3_24.html

Annoying Asshat Guy

So I met this really annoying person this weekend and since all I seem to do on my blog is bitch and whine, I thought I'd tell you about him.

Let's call him Asshat Guy for the sake of reference. He is a business associate of my husband's company and has been pushing to get together with my husband and my husband's boss. It is to his advantage to get them in his corner so to speak, so that they might be more inclined to grant him favors down the road.

So, Husband and Boss played golf with Asshat Guy then we had drinks at Boss's house with his wife, and then we all went out to dinner. I was the only one that had never met Asshat Guy before. Boss's wife and I are out on the patio when they come home from playing golf. My husband and his boss come out to say "hi" to us; Asshat Guy stays in the house and just looks at us out the window. I thought he might come out and introduce himself like a normal member of society, but no.

During the course of drinks and dinner I try to do my "corporate wife" thing and be charming to Asshat Guy. I ask him several questions about himself and his business. He answers me politely but after 2 hours I realize he is not going to reciprocate in the 'ol "getting to know you" game. That's right, he doesn't ask me one question - not one, not about anything. WTH, is he a social moron? How does he not realize that being nice to the wife will earn you points with the husband?

It was so weird that I'm still thinking about it. I have to say I've never met someone that so blatantly stated, "I don't care about you." I was actually pissed by the end of the evening 'cause no one puts Baby in a corner! I also noticed he didn't ask the boss's wife one question either. All he did was talk about himself and try to tell amusing stories.

I'm irritated his behavior annoyed me so much, but it did. Have you ever met someone like that?

Annoying Asshat Guy

http://casalinga.blogspot.com/2006/08/annoying-asshat-guy.html

PO'd at the Neighbors

Neighbors, gah!

Good neighbors can really give ya a warm fuzzy just as bad neighbors can really constipate ya.

I feel cheated. I thought our neighbors were going to rock. I mean, they brought us beer the night we moved in and homemade coffecake the next morning. Cool, right?

It got better - they have a dog, we have a dog. All dog owners know instantly what this means - help for those times you can't quite make it home in time before Fido decorates the carpet with a particularly smelly and brown-themed design.

Of course, we were a little taken aback to discover they owned the only attack golden retriever known to man (she likes people but no other dogs under no circumstances). So, Sampson would not have a next door pal unfortunately, but hey, no biggie.

So a couple of weeks ago the seal was broken when they - let's call them Neighbor Asshat - asked us to let their dog - let's call her Assy Cugo - out because they were going to be gone all day. Yes! Let the payback begin.

So this Saturday when we had a command golf/pool/dinner performance with Husband's boss and a business associate we asked them to let Sampson out around 6 or 7 pm. They said "Sure, we're going to the beach (2 hrs away) but we'll be back around dinner."

Around 11:30pm as we are literally getting in the car to drive home, Husband's cell phone rings. Neighbor Asshat says, "Oh, we just got home and weren't sure if you were already home or not." Um, clearly we're not home 'cause the car that's always parked in the driveway whenever we're home is not there. "So, do you still want us to let Sampson out?"

Wha???? Good thing Husband was talking to them or I would have had to kick some ass through the phone and we would have had to move out in the middle of the night. (Hey, I'm Italian, it's a rule that you have to have a temper to be in da club.) Husband nicely asked them to please let Sampson - who we've never abandoned for so long before - out as we still had a half hour drive home.
I'm sure they heard me screaming in the background, "Why didn't they call us at 7pm when they knew they weren't going to be home any time soon!" Yes, why the fuck indeed didn't they? Because apparently they're irresponsible asshats, that's why.

As far as we can tell and smell, Sampson didn't decorate the carpet for which he was richly rewarded with his favorite treat - a greenie. But I was still really pissed off. And disappointed because they were disrespectful and now I will never feel comfortable asking them to let Sampson out again. We saw them the next day and they acted like nothing happened..."Oh, it ended up taking us 4 hours to get there because there was an accident." That made me even more mad since they knew way in advance they wouldn't make it home anywhere near the time we asked them to let Sampson out. They know Husband's sister lives 15 minutes away - if they had let us know, we could have had her help out. GAH!

PO'd at the Neighbors

http://casalinga.blogspot.com/2006/08/pod-at-neighbors.html

Sign Up to Honor 9/11 Victims

Can you believe in just a few short weeks it will be the FIVE year anniversary of 9/11? Unbelievable. I can't comprehend that so much time has passed because it's still so raw.

Notice the two new banners on my top left sidebar - thanks to Denise for creating the second one. You can click on either one or here to go to D. Challener Roe's website. He's a blogger who came up with a wonderful idea to honor 9/11 victims.

He's trying to get 2,996 bloggers to volunteer to write a tribute about each person who died in the tragedy that they will publish on 9/11 on their blog. You can read about it on his site and I hope you'll sign up. I really like that he says not to write anything about the terrorists; your tribute should focus solely on the person who dies since the murderers have gotten way to much attention already. Once you sign up, he'll email you with the name of the person you will write about.

I'm writing about Marjorie C. Salamone who died at the Pentagon. I'm finding it a little difficult to write about someone I don't know; I don't want to just write something generic and cold. I really want people to get a sense of who Marjorie was after reading my tribute. There is actually a lot of information available about the victims; for example, just googling Marjorie's name brought up many articles and tribute websites.

So please join the 2,996 Tribute. If you already have or are going to, be sure to let me know in comments!

Sign Up to Honor 9/11 Victims

http://casalinga.blogspot.com/2006/08/sign-up-to-honor-911-victims.html

Jon Benet Ramsey - Vindication At Last

Wow, I couldn't believe it when I heard last night that Jon Benet Ramsey's killer has finally been caught. And, big surprise, it was not a member of her family.

That poor family; I can't imagine what they went through for the past TEN years. And with Patsy, her mother, dying of breast cancer last year she never got to see justice for her daughter. Although I'm sure she and Jon Benet knew this day would come when they were reunited after her death.

But how hard must it have been for the Ramseys and their son to try to mourn and go on with their lives when the police made it known they were suspects in their own daughter's murder. I'm still baffled why they thought that when there was DNA under Jon Benet's fingernails and in her underwear that was proven to not be a family member's.

So now we find the murderer is some ex-school teacher who used to live near the Ramseys in GA. I haven't heard how he ended up in CO when they did - was he stalking Jon Benet?? Then they find him in Thailand living in a neighborhood of massage parlors and travel agents that cater to expatriate residents and sex tourists. There's one country that absolutely disgusts me. I can't imagine anyone hasn't read all the media stories about the child sexual exploitation that goes on there. I'm sure there are more pedophiles living there than anywhere else but obviously that government doesn't care as long as money keeps being spent.

Oh, and this guy has apparently confessed to killing Jon Benet, saying it was an accident - a kidnapping gone awry. Uh huh, I guess that's why your semen was in her underwear, asshat.

This also brings to mind Richard Jewel - remember him? The guy first hailed as a hero during the bombing at the Atlanta Summer Olympics and then villified in the media because the police suspected he was behind the bombing. He wasn't but his life was ruined nonetheless.

I still believe the police "get it right" the majority of the time but there are plenty of other well known cases where the police got it wrong - do you remember any?

*****UPDATE*****
So now we're hearing this guy may not be the murderer but just some sick pedophile fuck?? Unbelievable! Have you seen him on the news saying how he "loved" Jon Benet? I am so disgusted. These pedophiles are so delusional; actually thinking it's OK to love children in a sexual way and that the children love them back. Then he has the nerve to say, "I was with Jon Benet when she died." Yea, 'cause you killed her, asshat! If indeed he is the real killer. I feel so sorry that the Ramsey family and friends have ride this roller coaster. I really hope they have the right guy.

Jon Benet Ramsey - Vindication At Last

http://casalinga.blogspot.com/2006/08/jon-benet-ramsey-vindication-at-last.html

Weekly Asshat Winner

Thanks to those of you who voted for one of the "Weekly Asshat Walk of Shame" nominees. I'm sure they were all happy to be selected this week. I can hardly wait for next week this is so darn easy. I mean, they just keep falling in my lap!

The concensus appears to be that Dell of the igniting laptops is the asshat winner - woo hoo, I hate Dell! I should send them a letter informing them of their win and asking for a comment. You know, since they totally ignored the letter I wrote when my hard drive crashed. One of the tech "customer service" reps I spoke to on the phone actually had the nerve to tell me, "Oh yea, this happens a lot. If it's going to crash it pretty much happens within the first 2 weeks of use." Really, how fucking interesting. I guess it would be too much to ask for your Quality Assurance dept. (ha, I bet they don't have one) to oh, I don't know, boot up a new laptop for 2 weeks before sending it to the warehouse to be shipped to some poor unsuspecting customer. Asshat!!!!!!!!!

OK, moving on...My horoscope (I'm a Leo, of course, check the mane) says, "Go for the gold. Make your move on any major venture that requires dedication and self-reliance." Hmm...thinking, thinking, thinking...ah ha! I'm going shopping today. see ya

Weekly Asshat Winner

http://casalinga.blogspot.com/2006/08/weekly-asshat-winner.html

Weekend Recap

Oh it was an exciting one alright!

• We put in a mandatory appearance at mother-in-law's Saturday. My husband's half brother's family was visiting from out of town. MIL insisted they wanted to see us - a manipulative lie to get us to her house, since I imagine if they really wanted to see us they would have invited us to visit at least once when we moved to Ohio previously where they'd been living for 40+ years. So, they were there along with two other families of cousins and my sister-in-law and her husband - I could hardly contain my joy. I started drinking within 2 minutes of arriving and survived by being pleasantly numb the entire time we were there. I avoided my MIL successfully and every time someone said anything to me I replied with extreme sarcasm. They all thought I was joking and wildly funny - I wasn't joking but now I have found the key to having to be around them. Just insult them and laugh and they will think I'm joking - perfect!

• The dog - who you recall woke me up by puking in a corner at 4am last week when husband was out of town - threw up again. But this time he politely woke husband up at 2am, husband took him outside, he threw up and then was fine. You know if I'd been home alone he would have just thrown up in the damn corner.

• Husband insisted on showing me where he went to college and reliving all his college good times on Sunday. I admit (to you, not to him) that it was interesting to hear his experiences since he went to such a small school (1,100 undergrads total) compared to my college (40,000 undergrads plus at least 20,000 grad students). If I had to do it all over again I definitely would have gone to a smaller school. He never had a TA (teaching assistant) teach a class where I would regularly have lectures of 1,000 students led by a TA from a foreign country whom I could only understand every fifth word mumbled. Husband's class size was never larger than 25 and always taught by a professor. He shared many funny stories about these professors that he came to know very well and considered friends. He could walk from one end of campus to the other in 5 minutes; it took me a half hour. Husband also has many very close college buddies whereas my closest friends are from high school, not college. When I received a wrong grade it took me two months of red tape bureacracy to get it straightened out. I was never even able to talk to the professor; I was shuttled from one VIP Asshat to another and to various offices and advisors who were supposed to help but always just passed the buck.

Maybe I wouldn't say I'd rather have gone to a smaller school had I not had the experience of a larger one. But, one of my biggest regrets is not enjoying college more. I think I was too serious, shy, and naive having grown up in a small town. I just wish I taken advantage of more opportunities and it baffles me to this day how I could not have close friends from a four-year time period. Do you have any regrets about college?

Weekend Recap

http://casalinga.blogspot.com/2006/08/weekend-recap.html

Spread the Wealth Around

So, Billy Gates has forked over $500 million to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. This on top of the $150 million he previously gave the foundation and the $287 million he is planning to put toward AIDS vaccine research.

Hmm, nice. No, really, it’s incredibly generous. I just have a question – what about donating some cash to help problems in the U.S.? (His grant is to an international fund that provides AIDS assistance to poor countries.) You know, minor pesky problems such as illiteracy, starvation, homelessness. How about more money for teachers, police and firefighters? I feel like America is letting down its own citizens and especially its children.

I’m not saying don’t help other countries who are in need. I’m just saying, what about us? It’s incomprehensible to me that we have homeless people in America; people who can’t read; children who don’t have enough to eat…

I could go on and on about the other issues in America that just seem to be getting worse and worse – drugs, gangs, cynical youth…it just seems that we do so much to help other countries and not enough to help our own people in need.

And why? Every country except Great Britain hates us - you see it every night on the news. What does that teach our children, too, I wonder. For the love of dog, some asshats just tried to blow us up - again. I say, stop sending aid to other countries until they at least ask for it, acknowledge it and gee, I don’t know, say "thanks, I guess you're not such assholes after all."

Spread the Wealth Around

http://casalinga.blogspot.com/2006/08/spread-wealth-around.html

Busting Out All Over

Now I've seen it all...

This ah, bust was unveiled at NY's Museum of Sex (who knew there was one?!) today. Guess who it is!

No clues because it's too easy. I must say he's been very um, generous with the um, bust. It was done by the same sculptor who did a life-size version of Britney Spears naked, giving birth on a bearskin rug. Whatever.

Busting Out All Over

http://casalinga.blogspot.com/2006/08/busting-out-all-over.html

And a Good Morning To You, Too

"Guck, guck, guck, guck, bluck."

Anyone who has an animal has probably been propelled out of bed by that sound. Rem to wide awake in about 2 seconds.

At approximately 4:15am this morning Sampson decided he'd slept enough and woke me up by vomiting in the corner. Lovely.

Oh, "poor thing" you say, he must be sick. Ha! He is NOT sick he's just an attention whore and wanted me to get up. And he knew he was bad because he slunk off downstairs and wouldn't come back up while I was cleaning up his puke (why do they always throw up in the corner where it's so hard to get the carpet clean??)

I went downstairs, let him out at which point he just sat there and stared at me like, "what? How long do I have to stay out here and be punished?" I let him back in and he runs - runs!- to his food bowl expecting his breakfast. Ha! Not at 4 in the morning, buddy, yea, real sick.

So then I'm up for 2 hours unable to sleep. After getting back to sleep one of the cats commences screeching outside the bedroom door for his breakfast at 7am. No fair you stupid feline! Thinking I would outsmart him, I had already fed him at 4 before going back to bed. But noooo, he can't get it through his furry peabrain that there would not be additional food forthcoming at the normal feeding time.

The picture is his majesty yawning since apparently it's been a rough night for him.

And a Good Morning To You, Too

http://casalinga.blogspot.com/2006/08/and-good-morning-to-you-too.html

Weekly Asshat Walk of Shame

And this week's shameful nominees are:

1. Lloyd Eisler and Kristy Swanson who announced she's pregnant just 8 months after he left his then pregnant wife for his "Skating With Celebrities" co-star. Geez, have a little class, asshats.
   
   
   
2. Floyd Landis. Damn man, why?! So disappointing when his second sample tested positive for synthetic testosterone and he was stripped of his Tour de France medal. Oh well, everybody loved ya for about a week.
   
   
3. Mel Gibson who God knows I hate to waste time writing about again, but I must slam him for a) saying he was entering rehab and then not doing it and, b) asking the Jewish community to "help" him in an incredibly transparent shameful PR stunt.
   
   
4. Petroleum Asshat BP who is shutting down itsAlaska facility due to supposed necessary pipeline repairs. The media is saying this will translate into a 20-30 cent per gallon increase in gas prices. Why?? BP is making more money than Oprah and should eat the loss rather than force a price increase so their precious profit margin isn't affected.
   
   
5. And the winner of the Weekly Asshat Walk of Shame Award: China, for killing over 70,000 dogs because of fears they might have rabies. Shame, shame, shame on you for not requiring dogs to be vaccinated and instead taking the easy way out. You are disgusting and inhumane.
   
   

Weekly Asshat Walk of Shame

http://casalinga.blogspot.com/2006/08/weekly-asshat-walk-of-shame.html

Good to Be Home

I'm back from Tampa. First time I've been there that it wasn't hotter than where I came from. Gah! I'm sick of summer can we please segue coolly into autumn (my favorite season).

Thanks to everyone for all the game suggestions! My nephew's fav game of the moment is definitely "Hide 'n Seek" and I must say I'm thoroughly sick of it. We did also play Jingo, Jengo, Life, trucks, Concentration, go the pool, and watch a movie. Why do kids have this need to do/play something a gabillion times? I remember doing that when I was a kid, too. In fact, I still do with food. If there's something I'm craving like Frosted Mini Wheats, I'll eat them for a month straight and then be done with them.

My nephew was diagnosed with ADD and ADHD about a year ago and after much agonizing, my brother and his ex-wife put him on medication. I have noticed a tremendous difference in his ability to focus and he is a lot less hyper. But, he also seems a little depressed and lethargic which makes me so sad. There was one day when he/we forgot his medicine and he was a different child. He was at the other end of the spectrum - bouncing off the walls, talking nonsense a mile a minute, unable to sit still or focus. It really freaked me out. I hope his medicine can be adjusted so he's neither a zombie nor so out of control.

So, happy to be home. Sampson jumped up and down and didn't leave my side all evening. Husband had cleaned the house and made me dinner. Note to self: leave more often!

OK, off to visit all your blogs and catch up on everything I missed.

Good to Be Home

http://casalinga.blogspot.com/2006/08/good-to-be-home.html

Need Game Ideas - Quick

Gah!

Quick, I need indoor games to occupy an 8-year-old.

I'm in Tampa visiting my nephew and it's too flippin' hot to play outside. I've exhausted my very meager repertoire of kid games. I need help keeping him occupied. Please send suggestions!

He can pretty much beat me at Concentration (played with a deck of cards) and checkers. I've got him beat at Hide and Seek...now what?? I'm such a sucky Aunt!!

Need Game Ideas - Quick

http://casalinga.blogspot.com/2006/08/need-game-ideas-quick.html

Through the Looking Glass

I'm off! Off to see the Wizard! Always wanted to say that. Always secretly wished there really was a Wizard, and a lion, a witch and a wardrobe, too.

Yes, I was one of those poor misunderstood ultra-shy-nose-in-a-book-ignore-the-world kind of kids who deep down knew magic didn't exist but oh gosh, still believed just a tiny bit that there might be a Santy Claus after all Virginia.

At the age of 38 (gah!!) I still read each Harry Potter book that comes out. I don't know why; everything else I read is usually in the mystery category. Maybe because I want so hard to believe there is a magical world running parallel to this crap world and somehow I'll fall through the hole to it. Hmm, sounding a little too like Alice in Wonderland there. That's not where I want to go; never really got poor Alice. I thought she was dumb not to just enjoy the show and go with the flow. I think the whole book came from some wham bang of acid trip that Carroll was on. Oops, some classic book police are probably going to come burn my house down now. I'm sure he was a very fine man. As well as a drug addict.

Anyway, (note the proper use of the word "anyway". Let me just say one of my pet peeve's is when people say/write "anyways" which is NOT a flippin' word. I swear. Check the dictionary.) Look, I don't mean to be the grammar police because I'm the first to admit that I am far from grammatically (or politically) correct. I'll just throw a semicolon in 'cause I love 'em; think they're cool. But a pet peeve is a pet peeve and everyone is entitled to hers. So there.

Anyway, the point of this post is to let my readers, all 4 of them, know that I am going to Tampa Wednesday to visit my one and only nephew. So there will be no posts until I return Sunday. Should the little imp leave my side for a minute or two, I'll be lurking around, reading as fast as I can before it's time for another game of "run outside in 106 degree heat until you puke."

So, have a great week and if you have a pet peeve feel free to share it.

Through the Looking Glass

http://casalinga.blogspot.com/2006/08/through-looking-glass.html