Manic Monday - TV, senses & wacky beliefs

How many hours of TV do you watch per week? Do you feel that's too much, not enough or just right? Less than 10. I suppose it's enough but there are always shows I miss.

Which of the 5 senses do you feel is your strongest sense? My sense of smell because I always think I smell something burning. I must have some hidden fear of the house burning down or something because at least a few times a day, out of the blue, I will smell burning something - food, plastic, whatever. It drives me nuts.

What's the wackiest belief you held as a child? You are gonna love this - that there was an Indian boy named "Falling Rock" in the Rocky Mountains that was lost and his Indian Chief father made the government put up all those "watch for falling rock" signs all over the mountains.

I still hate my dad for that one.

Video games are ruining our kids...

So CNN reports this morning that violent video games are linked to child aggression.

About 90 percent of U.S. kids ages 8 to 16 play video games, and they spend about 13 hours a week doing so (more if you're a boy). Now a new study suggests virtual violence in these games may make kids more aggressive in real life.

My first thought? Why aren't the 30-somethings walking around with a hatred for ducks? I would think that Duck Hunt could ruin anyone's mood... ok, so maybe we don't have a hatred for ducks, but I know a few people who wanted more than anything to kill that fricken laughing dog!!!
Why can't people just open up their eyes and see what the real problem is? It's us. Plain and simple. Turn on the news... there is more violence in that 1/2 hour of TV than 12 hours of video games. And lets see - the news is REAL, video games are fake. I think even kids can figure that one out.
Let's stop wanting the big bucks cars, houses, boats, diamonds and all that other fancy shit and stop and pay attention to our kids once and awhile. That might just help a tad bit.

Wanna know why kids are aggressive? Because they are pissed off that they were brought into this world by two people that don't spend more than 2 hours of waking time at home.

On the subject of video games, I've recently been explained something that made far too much sense. Are video games all that bad for kids? Is limiting their computer time to an hour a day really smart? Look around - what does our world consist of? Computers. Technology. It's a sad fact - maybe not so sad - but those kids who are sheltered from computers, video games and the like are going to step into the world as an adult and not understand a fricken thing that's going on. And, not to mention, jobs. What kind of good paying job doesn't have something to do with computers? I'm not saying sit your kids in front of the stuff for 18 hours a day, but have you ever noticed how much these kids are learning?

It's not the world we grew up in, people. It's time for us to just adjust to that. We can't raise our kids the way we were raised. It's just a fact.

Sunday Stealing

Cheers to all us thieves!

Sunday Stealing: The McDanger Meme

What are your nicknames? All of them? Puppet, from my childhood but a few people still call me that (one of my brothers) and I really don't care. Lee, which I haven't be called in YEARS. Angel, which only a few people called me. Currently; Ber, Ber-butt (my bestest friend calls me that), BerBear (my best friend calls me that) and Honey, which is what my husband ALWAYS calls me (he never calls me by my name).

What TV gameshow or reality show would you like to be on? Wife Swap. Well, not really, I'd be scared to find out how messed up I really am, but if I had to pick one :)

What was the first movie you bought in VHS or DVD? I didn't buy it, I got it as a gift, and it was James Dean's Rebel Without a Cause.

What is your favorite scent? baby powder

If you had one million dollars to spend only on yourself, what would you spend it on? I couldn't do it... I hate buying things for myself.

What is one place you've visited, can't forget and want to go back to? My childhood

Do you trust easily? Yes, and it's a weakness of mine.

Do you generally think before you act, or act before you think? I act before I think. Far too often.

Is there anything that has made you unhappy these days? the demons fighting like 2 year olds on a daily basis. I wish they'd grow up.

Do you have a good body image? as in, how I see myself? Kinda. I guess I do physically, too.... sort of. I don't understand the question....

What is your favorite fruit? strawberries

What websites do you visit daily? Oh my. All of them? Facebook (you can add me if you want!), Insanity Cafe Forums (you should join!), my CafePress account, Local6.com, my hometown newspaper, Yahoo News, a whole bunch of blogs, my GoogleBase Feeds... this could really get time consuming listing all these!

What have you been seriously addicted to lately? nicotine.

What's the last song that got stuck in your head? The WitchDoctor, thanks to Demon #1's ringtone

What is your favorite thing to wear? jeans & one of the husband's t-shirts

Do you think Rice Krispies are yummy? no.

What would you do if you saw $100 lying on the ground? pick it up. Duh.

What items couldn't you go without during the day? coffee and my contacts.

What should you be doing right now? going to the bathroom because I really need to pee.

Words Ending in TER ~ I Say You Answer

~Words Ending in TER ~ I Say You Answer~

1. My Computer...is my bread & butter... and jelly

2. Tap Water...might not be as good as bottled water, but it's cheaper! And I often wonder if it's not just tap water in those bottles anyway.

3. Mystery Writer...never really understood the point.

4. Sign of Winter...long johns!

Camera Critters Version 11.01

We've had an interesting week in the feline department. (I've talked about her here and here) My parents found a kitten that was starving and even though they aren't the most "animal lovers" they couldn't leave her. I took her home to litterbox train her, but she is now all cozy at my parents house. It's been a tough week for that little girl, who they have named "Princess". She was abandoned (or lost, we aren't sure), she was starving, found, taken home, vaccinated, dewormed, rehomed.. and yet she seems to have adjusted very nicely. She's still a little sick (a little kitty cold) but she seems to be doing very well.

Some of these pictures I've already blogged, but I'm sharing them again because they are perfect for the Camera Critters meme.

As you can see, she took to the dogs IMMEDIATLEY, but she wanted NOTHING to do with the other cats and she never did warm up to them. She's a one-cat-per-house kind of kitty, but dogs are allowed! Saki really took to her and the mothering instinct set in, I think. Saki is officially a year old next week. The kitty, Princess, got more baths from Saki than I think she got from her kitty-mama.

Chico liked her too, but not as much as Saki did. I think the fact that the kitten tried to nurse off of him turned him off.

Halloween, football and why I'll never be president

Halloween went better than I expected. Our high school football team was at the semi-finals out of town last night so everyone figured that, no pun intended, that this town would be a ghost town. We had quite a few kids, it was fun. A friend of ours who I used to work with pulled up in his hearse for his yearly drive through town dressed up as the Grim Reaper. Gotta love him.

Our team got their ass kicked. We usually have these obnoxious scores of 64-0 or something stupid like that and they sulked away with a 30-0 loss. To quote this mornings news:

“They just seem to go to the state tournament every year,” said New London-Spicer fullback Taylor Dammermann of the Huskies, who have been to state 18 times since 1974.

See? I love my high school and all that, but these constant trips to the prep bowls gets old.....

And I decided this morning that I will never run for president of the United States. Sorry to disappoint you all, but I'd be screwed. I've spent the last few weeks listening to all of these people (ok I'm not just talking about the presidential candidates here) apologizing for things that they said that somehow or another were taken out of context. Or not apologizing, whatever. Like McCain and his "that one" comment. I honestly didn't even catch any offensiveness when I heard him say it and I still think it's the stupidest thing to make headlines and end up on t-shirts all over the country. I'd say something stupid the first day of my campaign, I know I would. I say stupid things at least 10 times a day. Sometimes just to the dogs or the cats and I'm sure they are offended, but luckily they can't tell me they are and thankfully, if I ever did run for a position, they can't dial the phone and tell people the stupid things I've said.
With the end in sight I hope everyone has made up their minds by Tuesday. I don't know how they can - there is so much mudslinging going on that both of the candidates look like complete assholes. I'm just voting for who the majority of my family is voting for. At least they told me good things about the dude.
And then... we have these states who have this electronic voting machines problem. Votes being switched, votes not being counted. WTF? I head some guy say on some news station last night that we can stick a card in an ATM and get cash and our bank knows exactly how much we took out, we can buy a lottery ticket and not have that messed up but the government can't figure out a voting machine? I think it's time to go back to the old fashioned "check here if you wish to vote for this person". Lets hope it's not another year of a 6 year wait to see who will win.

I'm sure it will be a close race, so I could see it happening.

And today the husband is headed out to sight in the gun he's using next weekend for deer hunting. And do a bunch of other stuff, too I guess. He'll be gone for 10 days.... that's gonna be strange. Well, less than that if they get their limit of deer. That'd be sweet. I want a freezer full of venison hamburger when this is all said and done! Num Yummy.

Friday Fill-ins

And...here we go!



1. My favorite food seasoning is Tastefully Simple's Seasoned Salt.
2. "You've Got Mail" is music to my ears when I see it's a sale from one of my shops!
3. Lucky is a cat or dog who is blind, deaf and missing one leg and still has a warm bed to sleep in at someone's house.
4. Humor is something I take very seriously.
5. Many people take life too fricken seriously.
6. A carton of cigarettes was the last thing I bought at the store. (yep, we fell off the non-smoking wagon)
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to seeing how many goblins show up at our door tonight, tomorrow my plans include helping hubby and Sunday, I want to get more laundry done. Well I don't want to, but I probably will anyway!

Saki & her new friend

I think Saki's gonna miss her....

Holy crap, we're purple

I got a little bored this morning and splashed some purple paint around the place....

In other news, the kitten is leaving today. She's litterboxed trained (like that was hard) and she's poopin' pretty solid poops. It was runny yesterday due to change in environment, stress, shots, dewormer or all of the above. I went to the vet and grabbed some anti-diarrea meds for her and it took hold overnight. She's all set to go to my parents when the girls get home from school. (They insist they are the ones that deliver her. Whatever.) I also got one of our extra litterboxes that weren't being used, some litter, food, toys, treats, scratching thing and a bed. My parents are all set to take their kitten.

Michael Jackson, glue, walls, popcorn, TP & animals

Welcome to the October 29th version of Thursday Thunks!
Where we make you think a little bit before you blog!

You gonna go play or what?

This week we will answer some unusual questions, brought to you by Berleen, the color black and the number 13.
And now for my answers... Demon #2 answered this yesterday!

1. Would you let your children go Trick or Treating at Michael Jackson's house? Why not? I have girls, no worries there. They would be in costume, he'd never recognize them on the street anyway. He probably gives out the best candy! It's not like we'd be going inside of his house or anything.
   
2. Did you eat paste and/or glue as a child? I can honestly say that I did not.
3. Look at the wall to your right, what is on it? A wooden harley that the husband's grandpa made.
   
4. Do you put butter and/or salt on your popcorn? Both. I like my food with heart attack possibilities.
   
5. What does your favorite coffee cup look like? It has a pictures of the demons and says "Moms Goofballs" on it.
   
6. What was your favorite Halloween costume? I tried to find a picture of it online, but I can't remember what it was called. It was this big blow-up head thing that you wore on your head? I think it was 1980 or 81. *edit - thanks to Debbie over at Through Thick n Thin (because obviously we had the same kick-ass taste in Halloween costomes!) I now know what it was. Kooky Spooks - I had the black one... looking at them now, they were sort of lame, weren't they?
   
7. Toilet Paper - hard, soft, extra soft? Extra soft. Charmin. Ultra soft. Enough said.
   
8. Have you ever rescued/taken in a stray animal? Yep. Just this week.
   
9. Name 3 things you want your kids to learn before they grow up. (if you don't have kids, feel free to skip this one or add your own twist to the question) How to turn off lights, but then again when they are paying the electric bill in their own house I don't care if they know how to or not. How to take "no" for an answer. How to cook without the use of a microwave, because microwaves are just a fad, ya know.
   
10. Pick one of the Thursday Thunk players and say something about them. I'm going with K, too. (same as the demon) I think it's fun that someone came crawling out from my past and started playing... plus she is much more creative & better at writing and stuff than most of us so she will be an excellent addition!
    

and that's the end.

Demon #2's answers to the Thursday Thunks meme

This week we will answer some unusual questions, brought to you by Berleen, the color black and the number 13.
The following answers are by Demon #2 (my 12 year old daughter)

1. Would you let your children go Trick or Treating at Michael Jackson's house? No I wouldn't, never in my life. Even if I had kids.
   
2. Did you eat paste and/or glue as a child? not that I can remember
   
3. Look at the wall to your right, what is on it? a calendar, a phone charger and a picture frame and a shelf with a whole bunch of random objects on it.
   
4. Do you put butter and/or salt on your popcorn? I don't know how to put butter on my popcorn but I would put salt on it if I wanted to.
   
5. What does your favorite coffee cup look like? it's got a face on it. *goes and grabs it* it's a green coffee cup with a girly face on it.
   
6. What was your favorite Halloween costume? I don't think it's ever been invented but if there was one like this it would be Shadow the Hedgehog. Actually I have seen it, I've seen it in pictures.
   
7. Toilet Paper - hard, soft, extra soft? extra soft!!! Gotta keep that butt nice and comfy
   
8. Have you ever rescued/taken in a stray animal? yes a couple of days ago. A cute little kitty.
   
9. Name 3 things you want your kids to learn before they grow up. (if you don't have kids, feel free to skip this one or add your own twist to the question) how to read, how to play video games and how to take care of pets
   
10. Pick one of the Thursday Thunk players and say something about them. (K) she's a great librarian. She picks out the best books.
    

It's a kitten

Dad & Joyce went out to the building and heard a kitten meowing - SCREAMING meowing. They called me to bring it some food & water, so I did.

Stupid cat is grey & white - which I want, but I already have 3 cats so I talked Dad into taking it... but Joyce said only when it's litterbox trained. So she's in my bathroom until she's trained and then I have to give her to Dad & Joyce.

I told them the best animals are the ones who find you... and she found them.

I think Dad already named her --- Fritz.