HAPPY ARMED FORCES DAY!

It’s been a slow week so there’s not much to blog about. I finally got my iPod after two weeks of harassing Apple for several delays (long & boring story). So, for the past three days I’ve been downloading CDs like mad. I didn’t realize how many CDs I have (well over 500). Most will be going to a used music store when I’m through.
I went to Helen Back with the girls last night. It’s been awhile since we’ve gone out. We all seem to hibernate in the winter but once spring arrives (and the rain goes away) we crawl out of our caves and it’s party time. I didn’t stay out too late though. We had planned on getting the pool vacuumed this morning and invite some friends over for a BBQ in the afternoon but my roomie isn’t feeling well today and the weather isn’t that great.
Since it’s just us today, we decided on Pot Roast for dinner. It’s in the crock pot right now and the smell is driving us insane. I think we’ll be eating early today. Mmmmmmm.
Well I hope everyone is having a good weekend. I am leaving for Texas this week so expect another delay in posts. This trip is sure to be bloggable so look for a good entry when I return.

Test your Stress Level

The pics attached are used to test the level of stress a person can handle.
The slower the pictures move, the better your ability of handling stress.
Alleged criminals see them spinning around madly while seniors and kids see them still.

If you still think that there's a trick here, you may wish to print it (even black and white) and by then you're sure that it's a still picture...

Picture 1
Picture 2
Picture 3

My Generation

First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us.

They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing and didn't get tested for diabetes.

Then after that trauma, our baby cribs were 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 children, we would ride in cars with no 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, bread and butter and drank soda pop with sugar in it, 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 99 channels on cable, no video tape movies, no surround sound, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet or Internet 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 made up games with sticks and tennis balls and ate worms and although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes, nor did the worms live in us forever.

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!

Flying vs. Driving

I just spent a week at the Scottsdale Plaza Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona. The Air Force paid for me to stay there and attend a 4-day course on military protocol. I love my job sometimes (I said “sometimes”). I really hated the fact that I had to experience such a gorgeous city all alone. Anyway, I’ve been to this part of the country before when Brian and I were on our way to Monterey last fall. We drove cross-country from Florida to California. We took our time and stayed with friends and family along the way. One of my high school friends lives in Phoenix and we spent a few days with her before heading up to Bakersfield. My trip last week made me think of that drive. The day that I will remember most, is the day we left Phoenix. We took I-17 North towards Flagstaff and about ½ way there we got pulled over by a cop for reasons we’re still not sure of (he said we veered into the rumble strip…I think we would have noticed). The cop gave us a warning and asked us where we were headed. When we told him about our week-long journey, he suggested an alternate route through Sedona. Brian pulled out the map and the cop started pointing out directions (I can only imagine what passerby’s were thinking). Sedona was an utterly stunning city! I can’t wait to go back and do some hiking/camping. Point is, I never would have given a thought about Sedona, Arizona…I never would have seen its beauty if we had chosen to fly. Like I said, Brian and I took our time and we saw some beautiful parts of the US as well as some not so beautiful parts (west Texas) but at least I can say I saw it.
My flying experience last week went something like this:
Fort Walton Beach just completed a brand new Airport. Because we are moving into more of a self-service generation and most airline reservations are made online you would think they would have equipped the new airport with plenty of Self Check-In stations. Nope, they only had 4. The machine caused me a great deal stress because I wasn’t sure of what buttons to push. I then had to deal with the Metal Detectors: what a pain in the ass, there has to be a better way. I feel like I going to the hospital for a full physical while the whole airport is watching me undress. “Please remove your shoes” beep beep beep “Please remove your watch” beep beep beep “Please remove your belt” should I remove my under-wire bra too? Then there’s the rush to get on the plane. Even though they are only boarding Zone1-3, everyone on the flight stands and crowds around the gate as if they are going to jump in front of everyone else when their zone is called. Ya know, it doesn’t matter when you get on the plane, you will always get stuck at the front of the cabin where the snail paced shuffle begins to your seat. I carry an over-sized purse and a backpack that fits perfectly under the seat (I would rather have it close to me anyway in case I fall asleep) but I find my seat, slide my bag under the seat in front of me and sit down. Why does it seem to be so hard for everyone else? It never fails…there is always 10-20 people who can’t figure out where to put all of their bags. The girl in the seat in front of me on one of my flights had 3 bags with her (aren’t we only allowed 2?) she puts one of the bags in the overhead then changes her mind and pulls it back down. She then puts a different bag up there and puts the first one in after. Then while it’s in the overhead, she opens the bag to pull out some magazines and her CD player. Meanwhile there is a line passengers waiting to get to their seats at a complete stand still. Then there are the screaming babies and the baby toys that sing the same song over and over and over and over…”Old McDonald had a Farm E-I-E-I-O”
I hate flying!
Next trip is to San Antonio in 2 weeks.
I’m driving!