Because I'm an Old Lady...

And because it's Friday, I bring you the latest You Tube sensation.

The Divorce Entrance Dance.

Sure, the wedding one is cute, but you gotta admit...

this one's got its moments.

Happy Friday;)

This-n-That Thursday

Drivel:

• Is it me, or does the space station seem to be breaking down a lot lately?
• I had a dream I had Shauna Sand Shoes. It's come to that.
• I collect clever obituaries. I have a folder full of them.
• What are you when you're too old to be a cougar?
• I am so annoyed with the big news stories this week that texting while driving and tanning beds are dangerous. Duh. Are we that stupid?
• Am I the only one who doesn't understand all the stuff on the Healthcare Bill?
• Speaking of healthcare, do you know that a cat with congestive heart failure can almost bankrupt you?
• Augie leaves for college in 19 days; The Bird leaves in 22. I wonder if the President will have me over for a beer to make me feel better.

A Disorderly Home?

Did you know you could get arrested for this?

Apparently a woman in Atlanta found out the hard way.

Kinda made me stop and take stock of this place.

I need to get to work on this mess.

Actually, she was just having a big party that got out of hand.

Including a little homestyle strip club in the basement.

Wonder how much money she made.

Our basement is pretty roomy....

My Little World

Every time I turn on the idiot box,

this commercial is what I see.

It kills me.

And The Bird?

She announces every morning how many days remain until she leaves.

Today it's 24

If Only...

Today's Aquarius Horoscope:
Jul 27, 2009

Financial issues may interfere with your self-expression today, dear Aquarius. Perhaps you need a little more money before proceeding with a project that means a great deal to you. You generally aren't one to let this kind of consideration stop you, though. Just a little bit of thought and advance planning could make whatever it is you want to do more feasible than it appears to be. Write down some ideas, then go to it!

horoscopes

So....all I need to do is make a list and money will be available? Am I reading this right? Going to go get a legal pad....

Eighteen Years Ago

I won't even go into the details of it all.

Like how my water broke?

In front of my baby brother and his fraternity brother?

Embarrassing?

Much.

But these two babies are the bomb.

Really.

Happy Birthday Emma and Mike.

We all love you more than you could ever know.

And will be with you always.

Happy Friday

Boys' Night Out.

Wonder where the girls are?

This-n-That Thursday

The one where I have very little on my mind except food:

• Why do vacuum cleaners die so fast these days? My mother had the same one for 30 years.
• Has anybody had the Trader Joe's edamame hummus? It is delish!
• Why do dogs roll in stink the day after you put the flea/tick stuff on them?
• I wish Paula Deen would come make me dinner.
• I would like for Giada DeLaurentis to come the next day.
• And then Ina Garten.
• Speaking of Trader Joe's, their peanut butter with roasted flaxseeds is fantastic!
• My favorite spices all start with the letter "C"--cinnamon, cumin, celery seed, chili powder, coriander, clove, cardamom and curry.
• When my parents went out on Saturday nights, we got to have TV dinners. It was my brothers' and my favorite night. I liked the ones with the baked apples for the dessert.
• I prefer vanilla over chocolate. You?
• I think I might be hungry.

I Wonder.....

...if I just stay in my pj's all day and do absolutely nothing?

I bet it would be just fine.

I can search the web for Virginia real estate.

I can read my stack of magazines.

I can read all the blogs on my menu bar.

I can laugh at all those nervous nellies preparing for that little event in Chicago.

I can gear up for a nice walk that I have no intention of taking today.

I can look at my blogfest pictures and organize them.

I can start dreaming about next year's Blogapalooza.

Where should it be?

Blue Mama

I miss all my Blog Festers.

I get to go back to Virginia in 32 days.

And I may never leave.

Blogfest Bits

What a place...

Mathews County, Virginia.

Paradise.

Even the wildlife smiles at you.

Majestic.

Always a beautiful vista.

Hospitable.

Magic.

sigh

Yes, Virginia...

There is, indeed, a Mental P Mama.

And she's on the road.

With a mission.

Stay tuned for further developments.

Blogfest Eve

Look out Virginia....

Think they'll like me?

Avant-Garde Still Life?

Unfortunately, no.

Just a glimpse into my exciting world.

Reading glasses as far as the eye can see. And bananas.

All that's missing in this shot is the cat's thyroid medication.

And I wouldn't trade this for anything.

Well, almost anything.

Monday Mama

Today's Aquarius Horoscope:
Jul 13, 2009

It's time, dear Aquarius, to gather yourself together. You have a tendency to be all over the place at once. You need to channel your energies into something you really care about. Tell yourself how proud of yourself you could be if you could get this done. Don't give up on yourself and don't change directions on your way. Stay focused!

msn horoscope

I don't believe I like this.  But it had to happen sometime.  By the way, does anybody know exactly how one goes about gathering themselves together?  

Happy Monday, y'all.  

Waiting, Impatiently

With a nod to Daryl, who coined the phrase,

Dora is waiting, very impatiently, for her mommy to come home.

And take her for a walk.

Goodness knows we both need the exercise;)

Happy Saturday.

Head Fetish

Ever have one of those mornings?

When you wake up,

with only one shoe?

Well, here's a clever use for the one that's left over.

And doesn't she look happy?

Must be the low blood sugar.

Or that heel digging in her head.

Happy Friday, friends.

And may you keep your shoes about you this weekend;)

pictures from here

This-n-That Thursday

Mostly random stuff:

• I still say "you're welcome," when people don't thank me for, say, holding a door open.
• Do children write thank you notes any more? Or was there a law passed that outlaws it?
• I had a dream that I won $1 million playing bridge.  In one sitting.
• I wonder what Princess Diana would look like today.
• I can't decide how I truly feel about bumper stickers.
• Why does only one side of my head get stuffy?
• Why did Tori and Dean have to sell their new house?  I missed the first episodes.  
• Am I the only person who watches Tori and Dean?
• I wonder if there'll be cameras at Blogfest next week....
• I get to rub thyroid medicine in my cat's ear twice a day.  It's really fun.
• Is there really such a thing as cat scratch fever?

And In Some Other News....

Virginia Blogfest begins in a week. 

 And the preparations have begun. 

Along with some pre-fest jitters, as only we bloggers can imagine. 

I just hope nobody ends up in a ditch....

Yellin' at her mama....

And when I say nobody, I mean me. 

Doldrums...

...I have them bad.

This pig grill might make me happy.

But I think it's a bit too expensive.

So I'll let you cheer me up.

Say something funny.

Please?

Memory Lane Monday

What a weekend!  The sun finally made it's appearance, and every person in the land hit the streets to celebrate.  Lucia and I went to a patriotic organ concert at my church which was better than we anticipated...and then we went to lunch.  It's what we do best.  Lunch.  This guy was wandering down the street.  In a New England town that was burned to the ground during the Revolutionary War, people take the remembrance seriously.  And I am thinking he may have actually been there.

Back at the old homestead, the teenagers were busy entertaining.  And I love every minute of it.  Every time a group convenes here, I want to go absorb them.  It will be a matter of weeks before they all scatter to their new lives.  My own two along with them.
I am quite nostalgic these days.  And this weekend, I was remembering a story with my Bird about a  trip we took to Jackson Hole one Summer when she and Augie were 7 or 8.  One of the things we did was to ride the luge down a mountain, but on a sled-like thing with a brake/throttle.  I went first, and midway, a streak of pink and blonde whizzed by, apparently having discovered the throttle.  I think I heard a "Hi, Mommy!"  At the bottom, the pink child and I waited for the boy child....Who was cautiously coming down the mountain with the brake in hand.  And some not-to-happy lugers behind him.

Guess who's already packed for school?

Flourish

"None of us suddenly becomes something overnight.

The preparations have been in the making for a lifetime."

--Gail Godwin

Sending safe and fun-filled holiday wishes to everyone.

This-n-That Thursday

Things that make me Southern:

• I know the difference between a redneck and a good ol' boy.
• A profound love for white sandy beaches. 
• I know that a gentleman does not wear his baseball cap inside.
• Iced tea.
• I get that SEC Football is a religion.
• A deep and abiding understanding of buttermilk.
• Country ham and red eye gravy.
• Grape Nehi.
• I know how long "directly" is.
• Grandmother's biscuits.
• I know how to clean a 12 gauge shotgun.
• Finger bowls.
• Finer than frog hair is a meaningful way to answer "How are you?"

What'd I miss?

Paging Helen Reddy...

I don't know about you, but I truly get a little jump start on the mornings I have a horoscope like this one: 

Today's Aquarius Horoscope:
Jul 01, 2009

A new opportunity could come your way today, dear Aquarius. There is no promise or guarantee, but an indication that if you devote yourself thoroughly, your chances of progress are pretty good over the next month on any activity begun today. Keep up the good work, and keep smiling at everyone! Don't forget that the latter action is as important as the first!

get yours

After reading through many horoscopes until I find a suitable one, I generally pop over to Tina Brown's The Daily Beast.  I highly recommend it if you have the time.  Today, there is a wonderful piece about the power and abilities of empty nest women by Mimi Swartz.  Here is an excerpt:

On the other hand, two or more decades of juggling have made these women very effective leaders, more focused and strategic with their time, according to Jarrett. “When you are forced to balance competing interests, you are forced to be vigilant about your day. Those habits stay with you,” she says. Her years of child rearing, she believes, have also made her more patient, a more tolerant listener and much better at reading body language. (Sometimes, after all, a pouting subordinate isn’t so different from a pouting 3-year-old.) She says she’s also more likely to let a staff member out of a meeting for a child’s soccer game, because she’s been there.

The empty nesters “tend to have skills that men their age don’t have,” says Ann Stock, former chief of protocol during the Clinton administration, and herself an empty nester. Above all, these women are grateful that they sacrificed neither home nor careers to get where they are today.

“When I was younger, I never could have appreciated this stage of life,” says Jarrett, referring to the power and freedom she’s enjoying in middle age. She likes to paraphrase the old feminist saw about how Ginger Rogers could do everything Fred Astaire did, but backwards in high heels. “We were used to dancing backwards and now we can dance forward,” she says. “Imagine how productive we can be.”

I love it!  And I wonder if I can put this on my resume... Going to go make it great a day now.  I hope you do too. And try to hum a little "I am Woman" while you're at it.