Friday Fragments, #106 - School Countdown!

As the week began, I calculated the exact amount of days and hours left before I join the ranks of the local middle school! My feelings are mixed; I'm ready to be on a schedule again (it's not like I could have made my own schedule while I was off) and to see some familiar faces. Last year's most obnoxious class was the 7th grade. Guess who will be the trend setters, role models and leaders of the pack? Yup, this year's 8th graders! It should be a non-stop, action-packed and thoroughly fascinating year!

I've been making lists of all the things I didn't get done this summer, and thought if I really busted my butt, I just might get to half of them by the time school starts. NOT! My wonderful temp agency called and offered me a job for next week! Hmmm....clean or make some money....that's a no-brainer, right? So much for my "To Do" list!

Ed has started a new job as a hostess at Olive Garden. I'm very excited for her as it is a considerable step up from the ice cream place where she used to work. She is still in training, but loving every minute of it! The college freshman begins her new journey on August 19th. Katya is looking forward to being a hot-shot high school senior, driving her VW Ghia, and smacking down the incoming freshmen!


Rock (who is really no longer Rock, as the band broke up) has not had much luck finding a job...anywhere...either in his major or otherwise. Welcome to the real world, boy! He has a job waiting for him at our local AMC theater. That really won't be too horrible as family gets in to the movies for free!


Speaking of movies, Mark Wahlberg and Will Ferrell stopped by yesterday for the St. Louis Premiere of "The Other Guys." I tried to get there early so I could tell Mark that I wanted to have his baby, but of course my chauffeur duties got in the way and I never made it to the show! Oh, well!

Thanks for stopping by to read this week's post, hosted by the incredibly awesome Mrs.4444. Click on her name to get to this week's post. Let her know you were by and do enjoy reading some of the other posts that are listed.

Have a wonderful weekend!

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Weekend Reflections #45 - China's Water City

This is another great shot that my amateur photographer daughter took while on her ambassador trip to China.

Every Friday through Sunday, Newtown Area Photo sponsors a meme where a gazillion photographers, amateur through pro, can showcase their work using a "Reflection" theme. I love to see the different points of view that people have, and the truly amazing pictures that they take.

Thank you Newtown Area Photo for sponsoring this meme every weekend, and allowing me to participate. Please visit James at Newtown Area Photo and be prepared to be "wowed!"

Have a wonderful weekend!

Wednesday Wickedness - No Satisfaction!

I've been having a little fun with this great meme sponsored by Wednesday Wickedness. Each week, Janera posts quotes from a well-known celebrity, and then poses questions to the reader following the quotes. This week's meme offers quotes from Mick Jagger, of the "undead" Rolling Stones. I'm surprised he can still make coherent statements! Maybe he received a little help from our hostess, Janera!

Here we go!

1. "A good thing never ends," Have you ever had a good thing in your life that never ended?

Mick...isn't the quote, "all good things must come to an end?" Sheesh! What time did you start the IV this morning?

2. "I got nasty habits, I take tea at three." Do you have any nasty habits?

Well, one of them is not attempting to massacre the King's English! If I told you my nasty habits, I would probably lose the bulk of my readers (at least three of the four!)

3. "I'd rather be dead than to be singing "Satisfaction" at 45. He obviously changed his mind. What is something you still do that you thought you'd outgrow?

Yeah, Mick, someones gotta pay the piper! I still dream about becoming famous... or growing up...or something like that.

4. "Lose your dream and lose your mind." Have you lost any of your dreams as time went by?

Yes, I've lost a few, but then I found them, and lost them again. The one that eludes me the most is the one where I'm wearing a size 10.

5. "I haven't had time to return to the scene because I never left it." As you've grown older, in what ways do you still act and think the way you did when you were younger?

I still act like I'm 35 years old...I think that's when my brain started to move south.

6. Patriotism is something that fades when the war starts." How do you react to this quote?

Too many drugs, Mick!

7. "The past is a great place and I don't want to erase it or regret it, but I don't want to be its prisoner either." Is there someone in your life who still treats you as the same person to when you were younger? Do you like it?

Yes, I am treated by some in the same way they treated me when I was younger... like lecturing, etc., and I don't like it. It has, however, made me a stronger person and I can assert myself so that I am taken seriously...sometimes.

8. "It's all right letting yourself go, as long as you pull yourself back." Have you let yourself go in any aspect of your life?

Yes, I let myself go once. The bungee cord broke and I just kept going and going and going... Only a miracle, or a hot fudge sundae could bring me back now!

9. "My mother has always been unhappy with what I do. She would rather I do something nicer, like being a brick layer." How do your parents feel about what you do?

If my parents knew what I was doing, they would roll over in their watery graves! Actually, they would be okay with it, as long as I made the payments on the beach house!

10. "Anarchy is the only slight glimmer of hope." How would you categorize your political point of view?

Now, Mick...how can you say this? Anarchy could only succeed in my country if I were Queen. However, there are those who are trying to make it work without my help!

Thanks for stopping by today! Please pop over to Wicked and say hello! Just click on the logo for Wednesday Wickedness below!

Wedesday Wickedness - Yankee Style

I recently found this great meme sponsored by Wednesday Wickedness. Each week, Janera posts quotes from a well-known celebrity, and then poses questions to the reader following the quotes. This week's meme posts quotes from George Steinbrenner, the former owner of the New York Yankees. Mr. Steinbrenner passed away this week and this is my tribute to a very special icon. Please pop over to Wicked and say hello! Just click on the logo for Wednesday Wickedness below!





Here we go!!!!

1. "But why shouldn't I speak out? Don't you speak out in this country?" Do you speak out as often as you should?

Well, George, I think "speaking out" was one of your most well known attributes! I don't speak out as much as I should, because every time I start to say what's on my mind, God puts his loving hand over my mouth!

2. "I am tough. Sometimes I'm unreasonable. I have to catch myself every once in a while." Are you ever tough and unreasonable?

Of course I am tough and unreasonable! Just ask my kids! I'm so tough that I won't allow fireworks in the house, dance parties with the football team in their bedrooms, or let them take turns wearing the electric fence collar!

3. "I haven't always done a good job, and I haven't always been successful - but I know that I have tried." Do you believe that sometimes you learn more from a failure than a success?

I don't try to fail, but I am very successful at failure! I could write a book on what I've learned from all of my failures!

4. "Winning is the most important thing in my life, after breathing. Breathing first, winning next." Do you feel that you always have to win?

Breathing first, Brad Pitt next. I don't feel that I always have to win, but once or twice would be nice!

5. "It is unbelievable to me that the highest-paid team in baseball would start the season in such a deep funk." Do you think money always buys greatness?

Now George, you know that your boys will always rise to the occasion and come from behind to win! Money buys beauty, not greatness. A lot of money buys greatness!

6. "I take my last phone call at home at about 11pm." What time is too late to call you?

Well, it depends on what you want to call me...(ba dump bump). If I've won the Publisher's Clearinghouse $5,000 for life, you can call me anytime. Otherwise, 8pm is my limit. I am rendered unconscious after that!

7. "Don't talk to me about aesthetics or tradition. Talk to me about what sells and what's good right now." Do you think tradition matters?

I think you should ask Zero Mostel that question!

8. "And what the American people like is to think the underdog still has a chance." Do you tend to root for the underdog?

Always, unless the other guy is better-looking!

9. "I don't think I ever could exceed my father's successes. He was a completely satisfied man, he knew what he wanted to accomplish and he accomplished it. I did a lot, though, to try to please him." Do you ever feel that you want to exceed your parents successes?

I feel lucky if I exceed their failures! I personally would not want to, but there are many greedy, selfish, power mongers with low self-esteem, who would love it if they exceeded their parents' successes.

10. "I'm really 95 percent Mr. Rogers, and only 5 percent Oscar the Grouch." In terms of cartoon characters, who are you like?

Come on, George... if you really are 95 percent Mr. Rogers, than I am 95 percent Jessica Rabbit - I can't help it, I'm just drawn that way!

I hope you leave with a chuckle or two! Thanks so much for stopping by. Please check out the answers given by other bloggers like me. Just click on the logo above and you will be magically taken to Wednesday Wickedness! Happy Hump Day!

Weekend Reflections - Hong Kong Skyline

Every Friday through Sunday, Newtown Area Photo sponsors a meme where a gazillion photographers, amateur through pro, can showcase their work using a "Reflection" theme. I love to see the different points of view that people have, and the truly amazing pictures that they take.

My darling daughter, Princess Katya, recently returned from her trip to China with the People to People Ambassador program. I am shamelessly posting her pictures on as many posts as I can!

This photo was taken while Katya was on the last leg of her trip which ended in Hong Kong. She was attracted to the colorful lights and (like me) got lucky and captured some beautiful reflections, as well!

Thank you, Newtown Area Photo for sponsoring this meme every weekend, and allowing me to participate. Please visit Newtown Daily Photo and prepare to be wowed by some truly incredible artists!

Have a great weekend!

Writer's Workshop: You May Be Surprised to Learn that......

Thank you Lord for Kat over at Mama's Losin It! She hosts a workshop on Wednesdays and challenges bloggers to write about one of her suggested prompts. Since I'm still brain-dead from most weekends, this is a great motivation for me to write without having to come up with my own topic...just free flowing mumbling about the prompt that grabs me the most. Here's the prompt that I chose:



You May Be Surprised to Learn that.....

This topic makes me think of the “get to know you” exercise where someone lists truths and falsehoods and everyone has to guess either the true or false one. Like most of us, I’m slowly peeling off the layers as I travel through my blogging journey, and so I hereby shed yet another layer! Below is a truth that I always include in the exercise, and many people don’t guess it.

Thirty or so years ago, when I lived in Los Angeles, I attended exercise classes at a club called “Anatomy Asylum”. I was attracted to the word “Asylum” and figured this place should be a lot of fun. This club was (and still is, I believe) operated by the well-known celebrity, Richard Simmons. The classes were a riot! I worked my butt off, but there were always laughs and great music with every class. The instructors were wonderful, and, on occasion, I would attend a class taught by Richard, himself. His classes were always crazy and fun!

The business grew and clubs started appearing in outlying areas. Shortly after I had my first child, and still carrying a lot of “baby weight,” I started attending classes at a club close to where I was living at the time. They were looking for instructors and announced that auditions would be held. I tried out, and to my amazement, I was hired!

I loved teaching the classes! As an instructor, I was allowed to choose the music I wanted to play, as well as choreograph the exercise routines. I almost felt as though I was living my long lost dream of becoming a dancer except for the athletic shoes I wore during class. Of course, let’s not forget about the plethora of endorphins associated with exercise! Needless to say, I was rarely cranky in those days!

I’m really chubby, so most people are taken aback when I tell them I used to teach aerobics. One of the things for which I will always be grateful to Richard Simmons, was that he hired overweight instructors to teach his classes. Sometimes heavier people are put off by “thin” instructors because the example they set seems beyond their reach. Richard’s philosophy was to show that overweight individuals could work out safely and be happy while doing so. Hey, it worked for me!

Writing this has inspired me to go work out! I think I’ll head down to the basement and turn on Wii’s “Just Dance!”

Thanks for stopping by! Please visit Mama Kat over at Mama Kat's Losin' It and get some great reads!

Friday Fragments - Episode #99

I started my week out great! I met a girlfriend Monday morning at a coffee shop called "The Grind." We both had things to do, so we said we could only meet for an hour. So we talked, talked, laughed, talked some more, and when we looked up two hours had gone by! Wowser! She had to be someplace, and I had my own set of "honey dos" to do! We both scurried out of there like two little squirrels being chased by a bear!

That afternoon, I saw the doctor about my (pain in the butt) right glut. She couldn't figure it out, so she gave me some stretching exercises and told me to take four Advil every eight hours. Then she said I should go to a podiatrist and get all my calluses removed. Well! Thankyouverymuch!!!!

Tuesday, I worked at a temp job answering seven phone calls in eight hours. The rest of the time, I checked my email, read blogs, made a honey-do list for Wednesday and read some more emails. Katya, who is in China right now, emailed me and said she couldn't get her cell phone to work and would I contact the phone company.

"Oh, brother!" I said to myself...here's another one of those 45 minute phone calls where I will probably speak to every single employee in that office! I decided to try to avoid that situation and stopped off at one of the stores of the phone company. The guy at the store made a phone call, and ended up handing it off to me. They got me anyway! We set up the international plan and I was given instructions on how to implement it and get into voicemail. I wrote Katya back that night with all of the instructions. It didn't work. I guess it was just too many steps for her to go through. "I JUST WANT TO TURN ON THE WATER AND HAVE IT COME OUT. I DON'T CARE WHERE IT COMES FROM, I JUST WANT IT TO COME OUT OF THE SPOUT!" Dian Keaton from "Baby Boom."

Katya said she would just email me as often as possible. I'm getting updates on all the drama of the "South Beach" girls. I can't repeat what Katya said, but I was rolling on the floor laughing. I can see a new Reality show brewing!

The best thing that happend this week was when I found out I WON A CONTEST!! I so very rarely win contests. On my other blog (No Excuses), I wrote about a Tooth Fairy incident that happend to my son Rock when he was around 10. Click here to read the story, and click here to visit Supah who was hosting the contest. My story won first place and I am going to receive some wonderful dental items: Tooth Soap (it is not what you think) Tooth Swish and Tooth Brightner. Click on the logo below to find out more about the products from the company that makes them.

To go along with my story, let me show you a picture of Rock around the time he was ten. A real buster, isn't he?? It's the freckles that make him bad! (Notice the clenched fists - he had dirt under his nails!)



Well, there you have it! My second contribution to Fragmented Fridays, hosted by the incredibly awesome Mrs.4444. Click on her name to get to the main page of her blog, and click on the logo, below to get to her post for Friday Fragments #99!



Have a great weekend!