Since I was laid-off at B93.3fm, I've been asked if I ever listen to my old show and truthfully...NO...but not because I'm hurt, bitter or angry. I loved my afternoon show and how do I explain this...getting laid off in radio is alot like getting dumped in real life. It's like, I want my ex-husband to be happy, I just don't want to hear him with his new girlfriend.
I haven't got a new job yet but I'm hopeful...you may not realize this but when you're on unemployment in Wisconsin you're required to apply for two jobs a week...and as of April 1st, Wisconsin is using a lottery system to randomly call people in to prove that they've been doing just that. Not a problem for me, in fact, the highlight of my day is going online to see who gets my resume this week and drum roll please...it's NASA!!! Congratulations NASA!
I just sent them some information and you won't believe this but I have an interview!!! I've always wanted to be a space cadet. I'll let you know how that goes.
The good thing about all this new free time is I now have time to hang with the girls! Last Friday I went to this "pampering" party for Arbonne and my girlfriend served several bottles of red wine and...weeeellll...I did something bad...real bad...
Get wasted and spend all night in the bathroom?
Worse.
Drink too much and insult the hostess?
Worse.
When I came to the next morning I realized I had signed up to host a party...hey, you got any plans two Friday's from now...want a free facial?
My long suffering better half just recovered from pneumonia last week and I, the smoker have been giving him a lot of grief over it like..."hey, you're always on my case about smoking BUT YOU HAVE PNEUMONIA!" Not me-3 cigs a day Huber! My lungs are clear! Of course it's probably because of all those carcinogens in my Marlboro smooths fighting off the pneumonia bacteria. Man, I hope karma doesn't come back and bite me in the butt for that.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Sunday, April 11, 2010
On the beach update
RIP Big Dave!
Yeah, on one hand, I still don't have a full time job, but thanks to the fine folks at the Wisconsin Hire Center...I have leads, and interviews. A couple of weeks ago I interviewed with a nice lady for a job outside of radio but with benefits you don't normally get in radio (at least anymore)...things like weekends and holidays off, a decent wage, a future with a company, hope in the future, 401k's and dental. Now I'm a firm believer in honesty so I didn't flinch when she said there was no smoking on the premises...but then she asked me if I had ever smoked.
I quit smoking.
When?
About 30 minutes ago.
I'm still waiting for a call back on that one.
Still, this forced time off hasn't been all that bad. I've had plenty of time to watch Oprah AND Ellen, and one of them, I don't remember who, interviewed Wynonna. (Judd-former country singer superstar-and darn-it, I still play her music!) Now Wynonna has either an album or book out-I don't remember-because all I remember was Wynonna was talking about some new diet PILL she was on, and I'm all about (DIET) pills! It's called Alli, and it's suppose to prevent your body from absorbing fat from your food, so I put down the bag of fritos I was consuming and speeded down to Walgreens to buy this new miracle product. It looked simple enough, take a blue pill before you stick something in your mouth and try to keep the fat grams down to 12 grams...easy, right? There was also something in the fine print about exploding diarrea and such, but it said the side effects would show up anytime in the next 12 to 48 hours, so that night when I served the family pizza I wasn't too concerned. And 12 hours later when nothing happened I was elated! I did it, I found the magic pill! Unfortunately, when the side effects showed up a good 48 hours later...well...let's just say it's a good thing I'm unemployed. And, I have plenty of things I can read while holed up in the bathroom...like the newspaper, or bible, or that fine print that came with my Alli bottle.
I lost a good friend in radio last week. His name was "big Dave" Niles, and although I hadn't talked to him in years, it says something about how special this man was that I was shocked, and devastated when I heard he had passed. It also prompted me to have "that discussion" with my family for what I wanted played at my funeral when I died...Old Rugged Cross, God knows when the sparrow falls, and Radar Love, by Golden Earring...
Radar Love was the song I played when I use to work for KRIB in Mason City, Iowa back in 85-87, when the cops were running radar in front of our studio...oh yeah, it was ok with the police, it was one of the cops that told me. They'd pull up outside the studio and tap on the door, I'd put the song on, and they'd run radar and some unsuspecting listener-with some other radio station on would cruise by, and bam!...another radar lover gone!!! Then the cop, as he handed out the ticket would tell the speeder "if you'd had KRIB on, you'd know we were running radar!"
Monday, March 08, 2010
Too much me time on the beach...
The only bad thing about being stranded on the beach this time of year is that i have too much ME time! Honestly, I've just spent the last, well, seven weeks with Me, and honestly, it's not all it's cracked up to be...for instance, I just gave up smoking and I'm seriously having a hard time, and do you think Me has been supportive...heck no! I'm sick to my stomach, frustrated, depressed, argumentative and all Me had to say was "you only gave it up 30 minutes ago, take a ambien and go to bed!" Unfortunately, it's not just Me I've had to deal with...my Gut had to jump into the action and Gut reminded me that there was still half a Reese's in the fridge...i kept waiting for Willpower to show up but he's across the street at the neighbors house...I'm guessing he's just not that into me!
On the plus side, all this "free time" has given "me" time to empty out 15 years of old radio logs, notes and celebrity trivia I've never been able to dispose of because i just might need it someday. Someday showed up occasionally, but, of course, I couldn't find it because it was buried under 15 years of paper. Yeah, paper kids...trust me, there were no flashdrives in 1995 and even if there were, odds are i would have lost it. Paper-on the other hand-lasts forever in a landfill unless you recycle it.
Which brings me to the added bonus of discovering long (and not so long) ago emails from some of my former bosses...now, keep in mind that I'm paraphrasing the notes to some extent to protect the innocent...ME!; Cindy, we're thrilled to have you work here and look forward to a long and prosperous time with you...(four months later)...Cindy, i'm very sorry to have to lay you off but I thought when corporate allowed me to hire you, we had enough money to keep you...would you like to work part-time for us, and when the economy gets better we can hire you back?...Cindy, you just don't have the sound we're looking for...what SOUND are we looking for?...not your sound...Yes, I know you're number one in your time slot but ratings aren't everything...Cindy, if you honestly think Michael Bolten is good what drugs are you on and where can I get some...Cindy, how many times do i have to tell you to please check the request list to see if the song is approved...even if the song IS approved it doesn't mean it's approved, check with me on all songs and if I don't get back to you on it, don't play it...just because it says request show doesn't mean it is...Cindy, I can't believe I heard you say douchebag on the air...do you even know what a douchebag is?"
The great thing about recycling is I can have the visual of it being turned into toilet paper and someone wiping their butt with it...after all, even douchebags need to wipe.
On the plus side, all this "free time" has given "me" time to empty out 15 years of old radio logs, notes and celebrity trivia I've never been able to dispose of because i just might need it someday. Someday showed up occasionally, but, of course, I couldn't find it because it was buried under 15 years of paper. Yeah, paper kids...trust me, there were no flashdrives in 1995 and even if there were, odds are i would have lost it. Paper-on the other hand-lasts forever in a landfill unless you recycle it.
Which brings me to the added bonus of discovering long (and not so long) ago emails from some of my former bosses...now, keep in mind that I'm paraphrasing the notes to some extent to protect the innocent...ME!; Cindy, we're thrilled to have you work here and look forward to a long and prosperous time with you...(four months later)...Cindy, i'm very sorry to have to lay you off but I thought when corporate allowed me to hire you, we had enough money to keep you...would you like to work part-time for us, and when the economy gets better we can hire you back?...Cindy, you just don't have the sound we're looking for...what SOUND are we looking for?...not your sound...Yes, I know you're number one in your time slot but ratings aren't everything...Cindy, if you honestly think Michael Bolten is good what drugs are you on and where can I get some...Cindy, how many times do i have to tell you to please check the request list to see if the song is approved...even if the song IS approved it doesn't mean it's approved, check with me on all songs and if I don't get back to you on it, don't play it...just because it says request show doesn't mean it is...Cindy, I can't believe I heard you say douchebag on the air...do you even know what a douchebag is?"
The great thing about recycling is I can have the visual of it being turned into toilet paper and someone wiping their butt with it...after all, even douchebags need to wipe.
p.s... I saw the first bud of spring this morning...it was a Budweiser can sticking out of the snow next door and my neighbor yelling "hey Huber, get your beer can out of my yard!"
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
On the beach-Clean house
So i decided to do something productive with my time since i was blessed with all this free time, and because i simply couldn't tolerate one more minute of my husband asking "so what did YOU do today?"
(Answer: Everyone Loves Raymond, House Hunters International and Clean House...)
And maybe because the last show i watched before i hurried into the bedroom to change out of my pajamas before my husband came home WAS Clean House, i got this bright idea to clean my house...no really...it's a no brainer really. Every "on the beach jock" knows this drill, pull out all the station tee-shirts, sweatshirts and hoodies, wash them and then try to figure out who to give them too...it's a way of wiping the slate clean, start over, move ahead...it's part of the five stages of grieving;
1.Denial
2.Anger
3.Bargaining
4.Depression
5.Acceptance...although we in radio have our own special five stages we call the five stages of job loss;
1.Is this some kind of a joke?
2.Moron
3.Howabout if i promise never to say douchebag on the air again?
4.I'm never gonna find a job with free coffee again.
5.Look for new job/career
I'm now in the "looking for new career" part of a job loss...and it's more productive then the "never gonna find a job with free coffee again stage" I've been stuck in for a better part of a week. Then i moved on to the front room, packing up clothes and books, found the vacuum cleaner and then discovered a very unsettling fact about myself...I'm seriously one item away from appearing in a reality show about pack-rat interventions.
On the bright side, i can take my smoke break whenever i want.
(Answer: Everyone Loves Raymond, House Hunters International and Clean House...)
And maybe because the last show i watched before i hurried into the bedroom to change out of my pajamas before my husband came home WAS Clean House, i got this bright idea to clean my house...no really...it's a no brainer really. Every "on the beach jock" knows this drill, pull out all the station tee-shirts, sweatshirts and hoodies, wash them and then try to figure out who to give them too...it's a way of wiping the slate clean, start over, move ahead...it's part of the five stages of grieving;
1.Denial
2.Anger
3.Bargaining
4.Depression
5.Acceptance...although we in radio have our own special five stages we call the five stages of job loss;
1.Is this some kind of a joke?
2.Moron
3.Howabout if i promise never to say douchebag on the air again?
4.I'm never gonna find a job with free coffee again.
5.Look for new job/career
I'm now in the "looking for new career" part of a job loss...and it's more productive then the "never gonna find a job with free coffee again stage" I've been stuck in for a better part of a week. Then i moved on to the front room, packing up clothes and books, found the vacuum cleaner and then discovered a very unsettling fact about myself...I'm seriously one item away from appearing in a reality show about pack-rat interventions.
On the bright side, i can take my smoke break whenever i want.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
On the beach...again...update
Hi again...been on the beach for the last three weeks (on the beach-code for unemployed jock) and let me tell you how enlightening this has been to me. For starters I've been to Iowa and seen my parents and it was wonderful. I've spent the last ten years asking God for more time with my folks and He answered my prayers. We fed the ducks, looked at the deers, and watched Murder She Wrote; seasons one, two AND three...one hint...the old lady didn't do it.
I'm back in Milwaukee now, just in time for the snow storm...and just time enough for the kids to get sick of me. For starters, there's a weird smell coming out of my son's room, but I'm afraid to go in without dropping breadcrumbs to find my way out. I've told the boys for years not to leave food in their bedrooms or it'll turn to mold so that smell better be a dead body or they'll be in trouble!
And I've been trying to quit smoking...really trying...or at least throw off the family by hiding it better...we have a dog that won't do it's duty unless it's hooked to a leash and paraded up and down the neighborhood. In the past I've had to spell the words "leash, and walk, and outside"...just recently though, since I've been on the beach, I've had to spell a new word...cigarettes...as in "just a second doggie, where are my cigs." It's amazing how quick a dog can pick up a word you don't want him to understand, just like kids. The only problem now is, the dog's on to me. The other day I was ignoring him because I had already taken him out 5 times and darn it, the Real Housewives of Orange County were on. The little demon went over to my coat, pulled it off the hook, and fished my cigarettes out. A few minutes later when I went to check on the dog-since he had suddenly become so quiet-I found my seven dollar pack of cool, refreshing Camel #9's tore up all over the back room...my husband, accessing the situation, felt the dog was only trying to send me a message on how bad smoking is on my health. I looked into my devil dog's eyes and I got his message alright!
It's gonna be a long winter on the beach.
I'm back in Milwaukee now, just in time for the snow storm...and just time enough for the kids to get sick of me. For starters, there's a weird smell coming out of my son's room, but I'm afraid to go in without dropping breadcrumbs to find my way out. I've told the boys for years not to leave food in their bedrooms or it'll turn to mold so that smell better be a dead body or they'll be in trouble!
And I've been trying to quit smoking...really trying...or at least throw off the family by hiding it better...we have a dog that won't do it's duty unless it's hooked to a leash and paraded up and down the neighborhood. In the past I've had to spell the words "leash, and walk, and outside"...just recently though, since I've been on the beach, I've had to spell a new word...cigarettes...as in "just a second doggie, where are my cigs." It's amazing how quick a dog can pick up a word you don't want him to understand, just like kids. The only problem now is, the dog's on to me. The other day I was ignoring him because I had already taken him out 5 times and darn it, the Real Housewives of Orange County were on. The little demon went over to my coat, pulled it off the hook, and fished my cigarettes out. A few minutes later when I went to check on the dog-since he had suddenly become so quiet-I found my seven dollar pack of cool, refreshing Camel #9's tore up all over the back room...my husband, accessing the situation, felt the dog was only trying to send me a message on how bad smoking is on my health. I looked into my devil dog's eyes and I got his message alright!
It's gonna be a long winter on the beach.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
On the beach...again
So, a funny thing happened on the way to work yesterday...
Um, there's no easy way to get laid off...no matter how nice they are about it, it's still a loss, a breakup, a "it's not you, it's the budget..."
Worse, i was sitting on the couch when my son came home from college and i didn't even have to say a word, i could see it on his face..."oh no, i'm not gonna be able to borrow money from mom...again."
My daughter took it harder, unknown to me she posted my loss on her facebook page so last night when i was wandering around Barnes and Noble one of her friends parents came up to me and said "we hear you lost your job."
Three summers ago i was working in the basement of a local corporation for a temp agency calling up factory managers to tell them that a piece of equipment they had, well, let me read from the script..."Sir, the problem is the wire is terminated incorrectly on the heat trace wire." Now i didn't know what the heck i was saying but the guy on the other end would get really excited...especially the guy working at the chemical plant...one day in the middle of all this fun i was checking my emails-ON MY BREAK-wasn't misusing company time-when i got an email from Stan Atkinson asking me if i was interested in an interview...Was i?...Was i ever! Granted, it would be hard to leave my job at the temp agency (they had an ice cream VENDING machine-how cool was that!) But then Stan pointed out that they had an expresso machine...and it was free...and i have spent the last almost two and a half years being extremely grateful for this job, and free expresso!
I love B93.3fm, and quite honestly i'm excited for Jane and CV's show, i really am. Jane Matenear has been a true and dear friend of mine since 1996 and i would trust her with my life...although hopefully that will never be an issue.
I know this sounds so cliche typing this and yet it's true...i have made lifelong friends at MRA (and i hope they remember me when i call and ask them for a loan.)
Now i have to turn my attention to more pressing issues like "why hasn't Starbucks called me back."
Love,
Cindy
Um, there's no easy way to get laid off...no matter how nice they are about it, it's still a loss, a breakup, a "it's not you, it's the budget..."
Worse, i was sitting on the couch when my son came home from college and i didn't even have to say a word, i could see it on his face..."oh no, i'm not gonna be able to borrow money from mom...again."
My daughter took it harder, unknown to me she posted my loss on her facebook page so last night when i was wandering around Barnes and Noble one of her friends parents came up to me and said "we hear you lost your job."
I didn't lose my job...i know exactly where it is...it's in the last place i left it...it's just that it's not mine anymore although i have every intention of continuing my 3p-7p show coming soon to a McDonalds near you. And as an extra benefit i will supersize your fries for you...free, just don't tell my boss.
Three summers ago i was working in the basement of a local corporation for a temp agency calling up factory managers to tell them that a piece of equipment they had, well, let me read from the script..."Sir, the problem is the wire is terminated incorrectly on the heat trace wire." Now i didn't know what the heck i was saying but the guy on the other end would get really excited...especially the guy working at the chemical plant...one day in the middle of all this fun i was checking my emails-ON MY BREAK-wasn't misusing company time-when i got an email from Stan Atkinson asking me if i was interested in an interview...Was i?...Was i ever! Granted, it would be hard to leave my job at the temp agency (they had an ice cream VENDING machine-how cool was that!) But then Stan pointed out that they had an expresso machine...and it was free...and i have spent the last almost two and a half years being extremely grateful for this job, and free expresso!
I love B93.3fm, and quite honestly i'm excited for Jane and CV's show, i really am. Jane Matenear has been a true and dear friend of mine since 1996 and i would trust her with my life...although hopefully that will never be an issue.
I know this sounds so cliche typing this and yet it's true...i have made lifelong friends at MRA (and i hope they remember me when i call and ask them for a loan.)
Now i have to turn my attention to more pressing issues like "why hasn't Starbucks called me back."
Love,
Cindy
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Lily the bear
It's not that you need another reason to log on to the internet, but i'm hooked on a new site called bear.org...someone had the bright idea to stick a camera in a bear den with the thought that maybe a bear might wander by and hibernate, and by God-that's EXACTLY what happened! Even better, Lily had a bear cub Friday afternoon, and since then i've been hooked to the site...it's a live camera 24-7 (with sound!)which means, last night, 3 am, i wake up, can't get back to sleep, let's check on Lily...an hour later my husband wakes up and goes "what in the heck are you doing, are you kidding me?! This is what you've been doing all night?!"
But there's something comforting about watching Lily comforting and cuddling her baby tucked away in a den in Ely, Minnesota while the snow flies that makes the uncertainty of surviving another day, another dollar, another job, "bearable."
(ps...you can check out the site yourself, www.bear.org and once there click on Lily live cam-on the left of the site.)
Friday, January 15, 2010
My Bra for the Cause...
Introducing, the Ginny Electric Boa Bra!
Dedicated to the memory of my bff's Nancy and Sue's sister Ginny who passed away after a nine month battle with breast cancer. Ginny had a huge heart and had a electric personality so i attached a heart, and of course lights...which really was hard to do.
I tried to string battery operated Christmas lights but they kept shorting out on the bra...as God is my witness if i ever design another bra it won't be a padded one! But i was extremely blessed to be working with an awesome engineer by the name of John Church who saudered in some special lights just for the bra, and then, yes, they shorted out too...the problem was the wires kept touching so my husband came up with a plan, that included a glue gun...he worked it so the wires no longer touched and so the Ginny Electric truly is electric!
Dedicated to the memory of my bff's Nancy and Sue's sister Ginny who passed away after a nine month battle with breast cancer. Ginny had a huge heart and had a electric personality so i attached a heart, and of course lights...which really was hard to do.
I tried to string battery operated Christmas lights but they kept shorting out on the bra...as God is my witness if i ever design another bra it won't be a padded one! But i was extremely blessed to be working with an awesome engineer by the name of John Church who saudered in some special lights just for the bra, and then, yes, they shorted out too...the problem was the wires kept touching so my husband came up with a plan, that included a glue gun...he worked it so the wires no longer touched and so the Ginny Electric truly is electric!
Tuesday, January 05, 2010
Welcome back Texans...
My Texan cousin Mark posted this picture of a sign he took while strolling across the border into Mexico...Margaritas AND free parking?! We live in the wrong place!
Sunday, January 03, 2010
Bras for a Cause
Bras for a Cause, as if bras didn't have enough to do, this year B93.3 fm needs your help to create a bra, and bring attention to the awesome group ABCD-after breast cancer diagnosis-the group the late Melodie Wilson created after she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
What ABCD does is after someone (MALE or female) is diagnosed with breast cancer, they match them up with someone who has been through what they've been through; someone who has walked the walk to support someone who is just beginning their journey.
Our Julie Davidson is going to be one of the judges, and i'm going to do my breast, opps, best, to create a bra in the memory of my bff's sister Ginny, who passed away in 1997 after a 9 month battle with breast cancer. So think something with a feather boa and lights...really, lights...i'm looking for battery operated lights that i'm going to somehow magically attach to the bra because i don't know how to sew, but i've watched several episodes of Project Runway to get psyched up and honestly how hard could this be?
ps...So far i've invented a bra that you have to stand next to an electrical outlet to wear.
What ABCD does is after someone (MALE or female) is diagnosed with breast cancer, they match them up with someone who has been through what they've been through; someone who has walked the walk to support someone who is just beginning their journey.
Our Julie Davidson is going to be one of the judges, and i'm going to do my breast, opps, best, to create a bra in the memory of my bff's sister Ginny, who passed away in 1997 after a 9 month battle with breast cancer. So think something with a feather boa and lights...really, lights...i'm looking for battery operated lights that i'm going to somehow magically attach to the bra because i don't know how to sew, but i've watched several episodes of Project Runway to get psyched up and honestly how hard could this be?
ps...So far i've invented a bra that you have to stand next to an electrical outlet to wear.
Resolutions-2010
This year i resolve to lose weight, give up smoking for good, and try to wear grown up clothes instead of the jeans and tee-shirts that has been my uniform for the last 20 years.
2010 is really gonna suck!
2010 is really gonna suck!
Christmas 2009-part 2
(My cousin Mardi, me, my brother Paul circa 1960-something...check out the 50 inch plasma screen tv in the background...)
My favorite Christmas memory involves my dad's layoff back in the 70's and my mom's sad "sorry kids, no presents for Christmas this year." And it's one of my favorite Christmas memories...go figure!
But here's the deal, my mom said we could vote on what we wanted for dinner and...well, we were kids, screw ham, we voted pizza, AND I had my entire family together that night-something that hasn't happened in almost 7 years since half my family isn't talking to the other half-and the night was so special, that the next year, when my dad had a new job, we didn't do presents, and a new tradition was born...the Christmas pizza...of course when i told my kids about my favorite Christmas memories they got all weirded out and wanted to know if i had gotten laid off!
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Christmas 2009-Return of the family
(The Huber family circa 1960-something...i'm the little girl on the left being held by my uncle, my parents are on the right.)
Everytime i need a good cry at Christmas time i throw on a Karen Carpenter Christmas tune...doesn't even matter which one, they all make me tear up...there's just something about her voice, so sad, so weary, so..."i don't have the one i love near me" tremble in her voice, even sleigh ride can get my tear ducts going...because i can just imagine her thinking, "i'm in this one horse open sleigh without the one i love, and geez it's cold!"
I live about six and a half hours from my parents, and about 4 plane hours (if you go Southwest, six if you do what use to be Midwest) from my mother-in-law and Christmas is always a reminder of that because they all claim it's too far to travel to my house for a ham dinner...but this year was different, we (hubby and I) were able to guilt my mother-in-law to fly here for Christmas (big, BIG mistake), because Milwaukee is NOT San Diego and it's not 60 degrees here at Christmas time. Nope, not even close. But mom flew here (God bless her) and paid the price, snow storms, rain, indigestion, and loud, LOUD grandkids (because they were old enough to drink) and LOUD great-grandkids, (who weren't old enough to drink) and me...old enough to drink, and darn-it, it's my house AND MY eggnog!...And so the noise, and the nerves merged together on this, the most holy of holidays, and all i could hear through the din was my blessed and very loving mother-in-law (to me) "i hear the alcohol talking!" Which was a blessing, because if it had been ME talking, it could have been brutal...none the less, it was a great day with the fam-dam-ly and next year i'm asking Santa for a big box filled with valium under the tree!
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
Snowmaggeadon, part 2
Didn't have to sleep overnight at the station, the boss made a deal with the Hilton down the road so i slid (literally) down the road to the Hilton at Park Place. And it was beautiful, puffed up pillows, sinfully comfortable bed, pool, hot tub, sauna, and me with no bathing suit. And no family. So it's 9pm in a beautiful hotel room with cable when i discover a very uncomfortable fact about myself, i'm boring, and i bore me! Oh wait, i have one ambien. Problem solved!
Tuesday, December 08, 2009
Snowmaggeadon 2009
My car, one hour ago.
Oh yeah, i'm ready for winter now. I'm no fool, i know how nasty the weather can be, plus one year i was snowed in at a radio station...actually, i lived close enough to walk home if i was desperate enough but nobody else could get in, so in the days of 24 hour live dj's i was on the air...for 18 hours. I was so exhausted, that when i did finally get off the air and go home, i couldn't sleep!
Today, i'm ready. I have a box in my trunk that contains all my winter necessities just in case i'm snowed in at work; Pillow, blanket, box of honeydip donuts, and ambien...you can never be too careful!
Oh yeah, i'm ready for winter now. I'm no fool, i know how nasty the weather can be, plus one year i was snowed in at a radio station...actually, i lived close enough to walk home if i was desperate enough but nobody else could get in, so in the days of 24 hour live dj's i was on the air...for 18 hours. I was so exhausted, that when i did finally get off the air and go home, i couldn't sleep!
Today, i'm ready. I have a box in my trunk that contains all my winter necessities just in case i'm snowed in at work; Pillow, blanket, box of honeydip donuts, and ambien...you can never be too careful!
Tuesday, December 01, 2009
Defiant!
It's 51 degrees on December 1st and my beautiful iris decided to bloom! Take that mother nature!!
Long after my mums have called it a season my bearded blue iris has stuck it's neck out against the approaching winter.
DEFIANT!
I need to be more like my iris.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Happy Thanksgiving 2009!
Happy Thanksgiving to you! I was just thinking how much i have to be thankful for...my dad's colon cancer has been in remission now for about 4 years and i'm so grateful for that. Sure, there's a little less money in the pocket then in previous years, but the bills are getting paid, my husband, kids (and grandkids are healthy) and honestly, you can't put a price on that...i mean, literally...3 years ago i was rushed to the hospital with pain so severe i thought for sure i was having a heart attack. Once in the emergency room-loaded up on morphine, i overheard my doctor talking to someone about a blood clot and how they might die. I'm thinking to myself "poor sucker, i hope they make it" until i realized it was me he was referring too...at that moment my life became crystal clear, i wasn't worried about my job or lack of fame or how broke i thought i was...my thoughts were for my husband and family and how much i loved them. Thankfully it was a misdiagnosis (although i'll be paying on that bill for the rest of my life), but from that point life became easier because i stopped sweating the small stuff (well, except for that 10 pounds i really need to lose)...it's about my family and i'm thankful this year.
And now, for the Bill Nicholson Krispy Kreme doughnut butter rum pudding!!! (As seen on the Paula Deen show)
Ingredients
2 dozen Krispy Kreme donuts
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated-you use evaporated for fudge-and this ain't fudge)
2 (4.5-ounce) cans fruit cocktail (undrained)
2 eggs, beaten
1 (9-ounce) box raisins (i don't know about you but i always skip them)1 pinch salt
1 or 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Butter Rum Sauce, recipe follows
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Cube donuts into a large bowl. Pour other ingredients on top of donuts and let soak for a few minutes. Mix all ingredients together until donuts have soaked up the liquid as much as possible.
Bake for about 1 hour until center has jelled. Top with Butter Rum Sauce.
Butter Rum Sauce:
1 stick butter
1 pound box confectioners' sugar
(lot's of) Rum, to taste
Melt butter and slowly stir in confectioners' sugar. Add rum and heat until bubbly. Pour over each serving of Krispy Kreme Bread Pudding.
Oh, how many calories...you don't want to know.
ps...if you don't have time to put the Krispy Kreme pudding together, do what i do...buy some Malibu Rum, put that in with the hot chocolate, slightly nuke the Krispy Kremes...eat...repeat. ; )
And now, for the Bill Nicholson Krispy Kreme doughnut butter rum pudding!!! (As seen on the Paula Deen show)
Ingredients
2 dozen Krispy Kreme donuts
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated-you use evaporated for fudge-and this ain't fudge)
2 (4.5-ounce) cans fruit cocktail (undrained)
2 eggs, beaten
1 (9-ounce) box raisins (i don't know about you but i always skip them)1 pinch salt
1 or 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Butter Rum Sauce, recipe follows
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Cube donuts into a large bowl. Pour other ingredients on top of donuts and let soak for a few minutes. Mix all ingredients together until donuts have soaked up the liquid as much as possible.
Bake for about 1 hour until center has jelled. Top with Butter Rum Sauce.
Butter Rum Sauce:
1 stick butter
1 pound box confectioners' sugar
(lot's of) Rum, to taste
Melt butter and slowly stir in confectioners' sugar. Add rum and heat until bubbly. Pour over each serving of Krispy Kreme Bread Pudding.
Oh, how many calories...you don't want to know.
ps...if you don't have time to put the Krispy Kreme pudding together, do what i do...buy some Malibu Rum, put that in with the hot chocolate, slightly nuke the Krispy Kremes...eat...repeat. ; )
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
God bless our Veterans!
I just want to thank our veterans for their sacrifice, although a simple thanks does not seem enough.
This is my favorite picture of my stepson Mark taken Christmas, 2007. His dad, mom, stepdad and I are very proud of him.
It seems like a lifetime ago that Mark was in the play Music Man in high school, singing and dancing but we always knew his desire to be a MARINE. There was never any doubt on his part. It was something he was born to do.
Mark has been to Iraq twice and will be heading to Afganistan in February, but we have never heard him complain. This is the job he signed up to do, to serve our country as a marine, and we love him very much.
May God bless all our veteran today, and everyday.
This is my favorite picture of my stepson Mark taken Christmas, 2007. His dad, mom, stepdad and I are very proud of him.
It seems like a lifetime ago that Mark was in the play Music Man in high school, singing and dancing but we always knew his desire to be a MARINE. There was never any doubt on his part. It was something he was born to do.
Mark has been to Iraq twice and will be heading to Afganistan in February, but we have never heard him complain. This is the job he signed up to do, to serve our country as a marine, and we love him very much.
May God bless all our veteran today, and everyday.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Why i don't go to Haunted Houses
My teenagers are always asking me why i don't go to haunted houses, but honestly, when you work at a haunted radio station, why would you...i don't like to mix business with pleasure! I just wish the owners hadn't built the station on a haunted ancient indian burial site!
This tree is a few blocks from where i live and i like to take my grandkids by there, they get a kick out of it...there's no halloween candy at my house as my daughter was too sick to go trick or treating this year (swine flu-really, not a joke), so when i get off of work tonite i'm gonna have to go home and shake down the grandkids!
Thursday, October 08, 2009
The night the remote broke
Two hours and 43 minutes ago Jim and Pam from the television show THE OFFICE got married. Two hours and 44 minutes ago i asked my husband to turn the channel from Channel 3 to Channel 4. It should have been real simple, but rarely is anything in life simple.
So here's what happened. My husband bought a 50 inch plasma television that has high def (whatever that means) and my husband was indeed watching the ballgame on "channel 3" but it wasn't TBS channel 3, it was the TBS in the HIGH DEF channel....with me so far? The problem was that he didn't know what the NBC channel was in high def so he started flicking through the channels...i saw 8pm come and i saw 8pm go because my husband INSISTED that i must watch the HIGH DEF channel when ALL I WANTED TO DO WAS WATCH JIM AND PAM OF THE OFFICE GET MARRIED! (oh wait, i was yelling...sorry)
Now i know what you were thinking, why didn't we just hit the guide part of the remote, but that was, um, accidently broken last week when when i flung it against a wall because once again the remote didn't work...turns out the batteries died, (which was a whole nuther problem as the kids keep substituting their worn out batteries from their ipods into the clicker and taking the good ones out)....and it was a bad week, and i had just given up smoking for the hundreth time, and if you can think of another good reason please let me know...
So what happened next is the channel got stuck on some animal fishing show...in high def...and i finally resisted the urge to bang my head against the wall, and ended up taking the dog out for a walk. As i was walking by my 84 year old neighbors house, i noticed her tv was on and stuck my head in the window to see watch channel was on...she turned and noticed me and started screaming but thankfully recognized me and didn't call the police on me as that would have been a bummer...(hey boss, the reason i won't be in work tomorrow...).
So my neighbor, being the kind of wonderful soul she is, turned from Channel 5 Survivor to Channel 4 The Office and i was able to watch the last 30 minutes of the show on a 19 inch color tv...wasn't sure if it was in high def but sincerely doubt it...some of the humor was not her style but i made up for it offering to walk her dog tomorrow morning.
When i got back home my husband was watching some baseball game...in high def.
So here's what happened. My husband bought a 50 inch plasma television that has high def (whatever that means) and my husband was indeed watching the ballgame on "channel 3" but it wasn't TBS channel 3, it was the TBS in the HIGH DEF channel....with me so far? The problem was that he didn't know what the NBC channel was in high def so he started flicking through the channels...i saw 8pm come and i saw 8pm go because my husband INSISTED that i must watch the HIGH DEF channel when ALL I WANTED TO DO WAS WATCH JIM AND PAM OF THE OFFICE GET MARRIED! (oh wait, i was yelling...sorry)
Now i know what you were thinking, why didn't we just hit the guide part of the remote, but that was, um, accidently broken last week when when i flung it against a wall because once again the remote didn't work...turns out the batteries died, (which was a whole nuther problem as the kids keep substituting their worn out batteries from their ipods into the clicker and taking the good ones out)....and it was a bad week, and i had just given up smoking for the hundreth time, and if you can think of another good reason please let me know...
So what happened next is the channel got stuck on some animal fishing show...in high def...and i finally resisted the urge to bang my head against the wall, and ended up taking the dog out for a walk. As i was walking by my 84 year old neighbors house, i noticed her tv was on and stuck my head in the window to see watch channel was on...she turned and noticed me and started screaming but thankfully recognized me and didn't call the police on me as that would have been a bummer...(hey boss, the reason i won't be in work tomorrow...).
So my neighbor, being the kind of wonderful soul she is, turned from Channel 5 Survivor to Channel 4 The Office and i was able to watch the last 30 minutes of the show on a 19 inch color tv...wasn't sure if it was in high def but sincerely doubt it...some of the humor was not her style but i made up for it offering to walk her dog tomorrow morning.
When i got back home my husband was watching some baseball game...in high def.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Why Tamper with Perfection?
I got an email from a friend of mine (Tom Greco) yesterday who went on and on about how awesome the remastered Beatles cd sounds "sharp, no background noise."
I don't get this fascination with "if it ain't broke, let's fix it...NEW Coke anyone(?), KFC's new grilled chicken...excuse me, you already have Original and extra crispy...could this have been the same dude that said "bacon taste good, but lets see how it tastes slathered in chocolate on a stick?" (oh wait, that WAS a good idea)
Why tamper with perfection? Who was the dude that was listening to Sgt. Pepper and thought, yeah, this is ok but how about making it sharper, ...well, it's like taking a song by Karen Carpenter (one of the world's most beautiful and soothing voices)and throwing Mariah Carey high notes to it...sooooo not necessary!
Really, if your listening to the Beatles Long and winding road and thinking this is ok, but let's add technology, you've missed the point!
I don't get this fascination with "if it ain't broke, let's fix it...NEW Coke anyone(?), KFC's new grilled chicken...excuse me, you already have Original and extra crispy...could this have been the same dude that said "bacon taste good, but lets see how it tastes slathered in chocolate on a stick?" (oh wait, that WAS a good idea)
Why tamper with perfection? Who was the dude that was listening to Sgt. Pepper and thought, yeah, this is ok but how about making it sharper, ...well, it's like taking a song by Karen Carpenter (one of the world's most beautiful and soothing voices)and throwing Mariah Carey high notes to it...sooooo not necessary!
Really, if your listening to the Beatles Long and winding road and thinking this is ok, but let's add technology, you've missed the point!
Wednesday, September 09, 2009
FREE Family Fun at Flabbergast Saturday...A Recap
I want to thank all of you who stopped out and said hi to me at Flabbergast last weekend in Sussex...
This is my friend Reyne who actually challenged me last year in the LA Weight loss Challenge, and she has actually kept ALL her weight off! We are busy petting a 69 pound Belgian Malinois from Holland that the Waukesha County Sheriff Department uses instead of German Shepard's. (Oh, the reason, because the dogs are healthier and live longer then the Shepard's, and they've cut their vet bills in half) Bronco the dog was extremely friendly but the sheriff had to keep telling me to keep my face away from his (i kept trying to hug him...apparently the dogs have a thing about people putting their face in "their face")
This is my friend Tracy who is a teacher at Early Momentum Childcare which is right next to Flabbergast. I met her a couple of years ago when i was in between radio gigs and we both worked as temps in the basement of Bradley Corporation. She is the one who taught me that "desktop" in a computer is not the same as "boy, my desktop is a mess!" She is awesome and it was great to catch up with her and her little boy Sebastian!
I LOVE the bouncy castle!!!!
While we were at Flabbergast the fine students from HEAT (cheer leading school) assured me they could teach me how to do a somersault.
I believe they were overly optimistic.
If your kids drive you crazy on the weekends, bring them out to Flabbergast in Sussex.
You can also tour Momentum Early Learning which is located right next to Flabbergast at W248 N5250 Executive Drive in Sussex.
This is my friend Reyne who actually challenged me last year in the LA Weight loss Challenge, and she has actually kept ALL her weight off! We are busy petting a 69 pound Belgian Malinois from Holland that the Waukesha County Sheriff Department uses instead of German Shepard's. (Oh, the reason, because the dogs are healthier and live longer then the Shepard's, and they've cut their vet bills in half) Bronco the dog was extremely friendly but the sheriff had to keep telling me to keep my face away from his (i kept trying to hug him...apparently the dogs have a thing about people putting their face in "their face")
This is my friend Tracy who is a teacher at Early Momentum Childcare which is right next to Flabbergast. I met her a couple of years ago when i was in between radio gigs and we both worked as temps in the basement of Bradley Corporation. She is the one who taught me that "desktop" in a computer is not the same as "boy, my desktop is a mess!" She is awesome and it was great to catch up with her and her little boy Sebastian!
I LOVE the bouncy castle!!!!
While we were at Flabbergast the fine students from HEAT (cheer leading school) assured me they could teach me how to do a somersault.
I believe they were overly optimistic.
If your kids drive you crazy on the weekends, bring them out to Flabbergast in Sussex.
You can also tour Momentum Early Learning which is located right next to Flabbergast at W248 N5250 Executive Drive in Sussex.
Tuesday, September 01, 2009
Not my kid's BFF
I was finally coerced by one of our B93.3FM sales accountants to join the rest of civilization yesterday on Facebook and OMG, there's an incredible number of you who do nothing but hangout on there and i know that because NOW I'm hanging out there too...when i wake up in the middle of the night facebook is always there...waiting for me to log on and an hour later i'm still on!!! Plus, i suck at Mafia wars, and honestly, i don't need another bouquet of flowers for my farm in Farmville...although if you have an extra sheep...
The problem with facebook was the same problem i had with myspace, linkled or whatever it's called and all the other web pages clamoring for my attention...i don't have any free extra time to read up on anyone else cuz there's just too many good shows on tv! Which brings me to another problem with facebook...my kids...i sent both of them a request to be their facebrook "friend" and i noticed this morning that my request is still pending and neither one has said anything about it...you don't think they're ignoring me do you?
Ps...oh wait, i have a friend request...uh oh, it's my boss...hmmmm....ignore...hey, you can't be friends with everyone!
The problem with facebook was the same problem i had with myspace, linkled or whatever it's called and all the other web pages clamoring for my attention...i don't have any free extra time to read up on anyone else cuz there's just too many good shows on tv! Which brings me to another problem with facebook...my kids...i sent both of them a request to be their facebrook "friend" and i noticed this morning that my request is still pending and neither one has said anything about it...you don't think they're ignoring me do you?
Ps...oh wait, i have a friend request...uh oh, it's my boss...hmmmm....ignore...hey, you can't be friends with everyone!
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Cindy at the State Fair 2009
Just to put an end to the "we're all the same person" rumors (which i believe our boss Stan started), this would be me, Julie, and CV hanging out at the Fair in one of those rare times that we're all up at the same time!
Isn't this little girl a sweetie?! She told her mom she wanted to meet me.
I was hoping i'd run into Roz, she of the "if you get your fingers to close to her hat it'll bite you(!) fame"... And for the record, i needed two stitches! ; )
I LOVE RONNIE NYLES! I've known her since we were starving artist in Green Bay, and what the heck, i'm still starving. Ronnie has won several best artist WAMI's and is one of the most incredible singers i've ever heard! Her partner Tina is an incredible artist as well and is one of the best hairstylists in Milwaukee and both have been incredible friends of mine and i was honored they stopped by to say hi.
I know you hear her on the air all the time, this is Karen Fox with her beautiful family and her husband whom i use to listen all the time to, before i started my shift at the same time, JJ from the Brew...i really miss him on the air.
I am the very proud "bonus" grandma to my grandson Aaron, granddaughter Lily, my stepdaughter Karen and her friend. Let me assure you, it's really a lot of fun when they're your grandkids!
One of my absolute favorite place to visit at the Fair this year (other then the Cream Puffs, chocolate bacon and baby animals barn) was the Loreal Tent where they had experts to help you and FREE MAKEUP MAKE OVERS!
This is my beauty consultant Yvette who was a sweetie, and worked very hard to give me the perfect look!
It's a pity i won't look this good until they come back and do it again next year!
Thanks Yvette...you made me look awesome, it's a pity i don't remember how you did it!
The solution to bad hair days at the Fair!
Also, you can't overeat with the Bee head on...you can't breather either!
Isn't this little girl a sweetie?! She told her mom she wanted to meet me.
I was hoping i'd run into Roz, she of the "if you get your fingers to close to her hat it'll bite you(!) fame"... And for the record, i needed two stitches! ; )
I LOVE RONNIE NYLES! I've known her since we were starving artist in Green Bay, and what the heck, i'm still starving. Ronnie has won several best artist WAMI's and is one of the most incredible singers i've ever heard! Her partner Tina is an incredible artist as well and is one of the best hairstylists in Milwaukee and both have been incredible friends of mine and i was honored they stopped by to say hi.
I know you hear her on the air all the time, this is Karen Fox with her beautiful family and her husband whom i use to listen all the time to, before i started my shift at the same time, JJ from the Brew...i really miss him on the air.
I am the very proud "bonus" grandma to my grandson Aaron, granddaughter Lily, my stepdaughter Karen and her friend. Let me assure you, it's really a lot of fun when they're your grandkids!
One of my absolute favorite place to visit at the Fair this year (other then the Cream Puffs, chocolate bacon and baby animals barn) was the Loreal Tent where they had experts to help you and FREE MAKEUP MAKE OVERS!
This is my beauty consultant Yvette who was a sweetie, and worked very hard to give me the perfect look!
It's a pity i won't look this good until they come back and do it again next year!
Thanks Yvette...you made me look awesome, it's a pity i don't remember how you did it!
The solution to bad hair days at the Fair!
Also, you can't overeat with the Bee head on...you can't breather either!
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Too old for the room
A friend asked me why i don't do comedy anymore. That is a true friend. She's also a friend that has never seen me get up on stage and literally suck wind out of a place. I didn't even rate a heckle from the room, although the last time i got up on a comedy stage it was for a Nickelodeon funniest mom in America contest so perhaps the audience was too polite.
It was at Zanies in Chicago and for the first time ever, i didn't have to be first. (Even at Comedy graduation class-"Cindy, you go out first and warm them up"...riiiight...) Maybe that was my problem. I've always been the first one out so in the past whenever someone asked me, "how'd you do" i'd say i was great but my audience was too sober and whoever had asked would say "riiiiiight." But this time I was number 8 or 9, and here was my chance. My audience had had a few drinks and were warmed up so off on stage i went with my little yellow postnotes of solid gold nuggets written up with past experiences tweaked with my comic insights.
That got a huge laugh but would you expect anything less from Illinois? Then i launched into a sweet but funny phone call i had made to my 98 year old grandma and the room went quiet. Deathly quiet. Except for the sound of crickets which at the time i thought was weird because here i am in downtown Chicago and it was November so how did the crickets get in here? Never had three minutes gone by so slowly (for me-so i could only imagine how the audience felt). Jokes that had worked on stage in Appleton only a year before were crashing and burning all over the place and i could smell the sulfer, and hear the crickets. The next "mommy" comic got up and told three minutes of kid fart jokes and the audience was applauding and screaming for more. I kept thinking "am i the only German in the audience who hates fart jokes"...i cringe whenever i hear Jessica Simpson say she toots in bed). But what do i know, that mommy got a call back. And my grandma died 3 days later, and with her, some of my best material.
So a couple of days ago i'm in the studio's backlot recovering from my radio show, and listening to the kids from promotions (alright, they're all in their twenties so technically they're not kids) but then again they are playing foursquare, burning off the excess energy that comes with being young with a healthy immune system but they're also shouting out categories, and if you can't keep up with the flow your out. So i thought "easy enough" and joined the fun. The subject was beer, when the ball came my way i shouted "zima" but apparently, Zima is not a malt liquor and so does not qualify. And i was out. Then the "kids" went on for 20 more minutes on beer and i didn't honestly know there was that much beer and that's big coming from someone who was once a country-western dj! But i'm no quitter, so when they paused i jumped into the game again and rattled off the next subject. Menopause. "Mood swings!" I won.
It was at Zanies in Chicago and for the first time ever, i didn't have to be first. (Even at Comedy graduation class-"Cindy, you go out first and warm them up"...riiiight...) Maybe that was my problem. I've always been the first one out so in the past whenever someone asked me, "how'd you do" i'd say i was great but my audience was too sober and whoever had asked would say "riiiiiight." But this time I was number 8 or 9, and here was my chance. My audience had had a few drinks and were warmed up so off on stage i went with my little yellow postnotes of solid gold nuggets written up with past experiences tweaked with my comic insights.
"Hello there, i'm Cindy Huber from Milwaukee, Wisconsin and my family thinks i have a problem with road rage. Yesterday when my daughter was in the car with me she asked me "why are you always flipping people off, i told her cuz mommy doesn't have a gun!"
That got a huge laugh but would you expect anything less from Illinois? Then i launched into a sweet but funny phone call i had made to my 98 year old grandma and the room went quiet. Deathly quiet. Except for the sound of crickets which at the time i thought was weird because here i am in downtown Chicago and it was November so how did the crickets get in here? Never had three minutes gone by so slowly (for me-so i could only imagine how the audience felt). Jokes that had worked on stage in Appleton only a year before were crashing and burning all over the place and i could smell the sulfer, and hear the crickets. The next "mommy" comic got up and told three minutes of kid fart jokes and the audience was applauding and screaming for more. I kept thinking "am i the only German in the audience who hates fart jokes"...i cringe whenever i hear Jessica Simpson say she toots in bed). But what do i know, that mommy got a call back. And my grandma died 3 days later, and with her, some of my best material.
So a couple of days ago i'm in the studio's backlot recovering from my radio show, and listening to the kids from promotions (alright, they're all in their twenties so technically they're not kids) but then again they are playing foursquare, burning off the excess energy that comes with being young with a healthy immune system but they're also shouting out categories, and if you can't keep up with the flow your out. So i thought "easy enough" and joined the fun. The subject was beer, when the ball came my way i shouted "zima" but apparently, Zima is not a malt liquor and so does not qualify. And i was out. Then the "kids" went on for 20 more minutes on beer and i didn't honestly know there was that much beer and that's big coming from someone who was once a country-western dj! But i'm no quitter, so when they paused i jumped into the game again and rattled off the next subject. Menopause. "Mood swings!" I won.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Sara's burial garden plot
Well, first i have to tell you, this was not a burial plot. It was suppose to be a vegetable garden!
Last year my daughter cleared a spot in the backyard, and we had the greatest garden! Even the bunnies liked it, but for the most part, all the tomatoes survived and it was great. This year my daughter expanded the spot until it unfortunately resembled...a plot. Or as my husband called it, "a baby burial plot." But that was because we hadn't put the vegetables in yet, we were waiting for payday to do it. In the meanwhile my neighbor found another dead robin in her yard. It was the second one to fall out of the tree with no other signs of trauma. She was quite disturbed and i asked my husband (a mortician) if he would go over and get rid of it for her (since death is normally no big deal for him). The last thing i told him was "whatever you do, don't throw the bird in Sara's garden burial plot."
So guess where he buried the bird?
You got it...Sara's garden burial plot!
And my daughter is IRATE.
But wait, it gets better!
In the meantime, my neighbor saw something in the paper that said if you have more then one robin die mysteriously, you have to call the DNR. Which she did. And then she told me what they said.
They said, we have to go out, dig out the robin from the "burial plot" and wrap it in a double baggie, and put it in our freezer til they can come get it and check it out to make sure it doesn't have the West Nile virus or something.
I'm calling my husband right now. You don't think i'm going out there to dig it up do you?
Last year my daughter cleared a spot in the backyard, and we had the greatest garden! Even the bunnies liked it, but for the most part, all the tomatoes survived and it was great. This year my daughter expanded the spot until it unfortunately resembled...a plot. Or as my husband called it, "a baby burial plot." But that was because we hadn't put the vegetables in yet, we were waiting for payday to do it. In the meanwhile my neighbor found another dead robin in her yard. It was the second one to fall out of the tree with no other signs of trauma. She was quite disturbed and i asked my husband (a mortician) if he would go over and get rid of it for her (since death is normally no big deal for him). The last thing i told him was "whatever you do, don't throw the bird in Sara's garden burial plot."
So guess where he buried the bird?
You got it...Sara's garden burial plot!
And my daughter is IRATE.
But wait, it gets better!
In the meantime, my neighbor saw something in the paper that said if you have more then one robin die mysteriously, you have to call the DNR. Which she did. And then she told me what they said.
They said, we have to go out, dig out the robin from the "burial plot" and wrap it in a double baggie, and put it in our freezer til they can come get it and check it out to make sure it doesn't have the West Nile virus or something.
I'm calling my husband right now. You don't think i'm going out there to dig it up do you?
Friday, June 05, 2009
Next years garden...this year
I have always dreamed of a garden in which the impatiens and begonias were color coordinated and the weeds thinned themselves. I have always thought myself "a gardener" but my husband says that's too strong a word. He says I'm more like a four year old someone gave a hand grenade to and told to go crazy-without the bloodshed.
Every spring i start the season vowing this is going to be the best year ever! I start out at Kmart (because they have the cheapest prices in my area) with about 40 dollars of dreams and stamina. I say stamina because after i get home with all my impatiens and geraniums and waxed begonias, it suddenly dawns on me "whose gonna plant all this crap?"
Pictured above is last years "next years garden project." What you see is my neighbors crappy fence and about 40 bucks of Publishers Clearing house irises and glads (10 dollars a month in 4 monthly installments!) which i planted in remembrance of my grandmother and uncle. (Actually i planted a cherry tree in honor of my grandmother but the rabbits ate it.) They've (bunnies) left the iris and glads alone. Shortly after i took this picture the lavender my neighbor gave me bloomed. You can't really see this because it's hunched over as the bunnies have been chomping on it, but the smell is absolutely intoxicating!
Everything in this picture (above) was donated years ago. The hosta's, the snow on the mountain, and the bush on the right. I have no idea what that bush is called, my neighbor Violet didn't want it, and so i went over and dug it up. Also pictured is the phlox before they bloomed. They're the tall plants to the right of the hosta's and next to the bush.
I LOVE pansy's but they break my heart every year. They look beautiful until July 4th, you don't even have to look at the calender, July 4th they still look great but i swear to God the very next day, July 5th, they bend over and die, they can't take the heat. It doesn't stop me from planting them, I mean what else can you plant in March that will survive the early spring frost?! The pansy's are the yellow and blue in the background. They looked incredible this past May but you can already see them fading.
I should have suspected something when a fellow coworker gave me a small paper bag with an innocent looking little "weed" and told me "just be careful where i plant it." I should have said "why?" I didn't and as you can see, this little "perennial" is taking over the entire yard and running over everything in it's path. I've spent three years trying to dig it up and it's spent all three years going "up yours" and re rooting itself all over my other hosta's and perennials. I recently went to a garden store and saw they were selling this "plant" for six bucks for a three pound bucket. You are welcome to come dig mine up for FREE! I'll even provide you a shovel.
Every spring i start the season vowing this is going to be the best year ever! I start out at Kmart (because they have the cheapest prices in my area) with about 40 dollars of dreams and stamina. I say stamina because after i get home with all my impatiens and geraniums and waxed begonias, it suddenly dawns on me "whose gonna plant all this crap?"
Pictured above is last years "next years garden project." What you see is my neighbors crappy fence and about 40 bucks of Publishers Clearing house irises and glads (10 dollars a month in 4 monthly installments!) which i planted in remembrance of my grandmother and uncle. (Actually i planted a cherry tree in honor of my grandmother but the rabbits ate it.) They've (bunnies) left the iris and glads alone. Shortly after i took this picture the lavender my neighbor gave me bloomed. You can't really see this because it's hunched over as the bunnies have been chomping on it, but the smell is absolutely intoxicating!
Everything in this picture (above) was donated years ago. The hosta's, the snow on the mountain, and the bush on the right. I have no idea what that bush is called, my neighbor Violet didn't want it, and so i went over and dug it up. Also pictured is the phlox before they bloomed. They're the tall plants to the right of the hosta's and next to the bush.
I LOVE pansy's but they break my heart every year. They look beautiful until July 4th, you don't even have to look at the calender, July 4th they still look great but i swear to God the very next day, July 5th, they bend over and die, they can't take the heat. It doesn't stop me from planting them, I mean what else can you plant in March that will survive the early spring frost?! The pansy's are the yellow and blue in the background. They looked incredible this past May but you can already see them fading.
I should have suspected something when a fellow coworker gave me a small paper bag with an innocent looking little "weed" and told me "just be careful where i plant it." I should have said "why?" I didn't and as you can see, this little "perennial" is taking over the entire yard and running over everything in it's path. I've spent three years trying to dig it up and it's spent all three years going "up yours" and re rooting itself all over my other hosta's and perennials. I recently went to a garden store and saw they were selling this "plant" for six bucks for a three pound bucket. You are welcome to come dig mine up for FREE! I'll even provide you a shovel.
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
Life in 46 seconds
There's a sad story out of Oklahoma City involving a Desert Storm veteran who worked as a pharmacist in a crime ridden section of the city, and an unarmed 16 year old who made the fatal mistake of helping his 14 year old friend with a robbery one week ago today. Except, neither boy expected the pharmacist to have a gun. The entire botched scheme was caught on video, and the robbery, from start to death took only 46 seconds.
In the first 10 seconds the armed 14 year old, and his unarmed friend enter the pharmacy, with the 14 year old waving the gun as his 16 year old friend struggles to put his mask on. In the next few seconds all hell breaks lose as the 16 year old jerks to the right of the video and falls to the ground while the 14 year old runs out of the store. The Desert Storm veteran is seen holding a gun and chasing (and firing) two more shots at the 14 year old. The pharmacist then returns and after checking on his two female employees, returns to the injured 16 year old and fires FIVE more shots into his stomach, killing him. The entire scene plays out in about 46 seconds on video. The police filed murder charges against the pharmacist after viewing the video.
You occasionally hear about these stories in the news, thief killed by store clerk in robbery attempt but maybe it's because after several years of living in Milwaukee I thought I was immune to the stories, until I saw this bad decision by a couple of teens play out on video, in only 46 seconds.
You have to wonder how long the teens planned for this, a couple of days, a week(?), did they single out this particular pharmacy or was it just opportunity, and a gun? And just how did the 14 year old get the gun, or did he steal it, did the boys flip a coin to decide who would hold the gun, or did the 14 year old have to talk the older teen into helping with the robbery, which I suspect could have been the case after watching the 16 year old struggle to put his mask on while his friend waved the gun. You have to wonder on watching this if it ever crossed their mind that maybe something could go wrong, or were they too focused on what they could buy with all their easy money. Did they ever once consider how easy it would be to die, in only 46 seconds.
Tonight, it's one week later and the 16 year old is in the ground while his 14 year old friend is behind bars, and a disabled Desert Storm veteran with a legally concealed weapon is facing murder charges, thanks to a bad decision played out in life, in only 46 seconds.
In the first 10 seconds the armed 14 year old, and his unarmed friend enter the pharmacy, with the 14 year old waving the gun as his 16 year old friend struggles to put his mask on. In the next few seconds all hell breaks lose as the 16 year old jerks to the right of the video and falls to the ground while the 14 year old runs out of the store. The Desert Storm veteran is seen holding a gun and chasing (and firing) two more shots at the 14 year old. The pharmacist then returns and after checking on his two female employees, returns to the injured 16 year old and fires FIVE more shots into his stomach, killing him. The entire scene plays out in about 46 seconds on video. The police filed murder charges against the pharmacist after viewing the video.
You occasionally hear about these stories in the news, thief killed by store clerk in robbery attempt but maybe it's because after several years of living in Milwaukee I thought I was immune to the stories, until I saw this bad decision by a couple of teens play out on video, in only 46 seconds.
You have to wonder how long the teens planned for this, a couple of days, a week(?), did they single out this particular pharmacy or was it just opportunity, and a gun? And just how did the 14 year old get the gun, or did he steal it, did the boys flip a coin to decide who would hold the gun, or did the 14 year old have to talk the older teen into helping with the robbery, which I suspect could have been the case after watching the 16 year old struggle to put his mask on while his friend waved the gun. You have to wonder on watching this if it ever crossed their mind that maybe something could go wrong, or were they too focused on what they could buy with all their easy money. Did they ever once consider how easy it would be to die, in only 46 seconds.
Tonight, it's one week later and the 16 year old is in the ground while his 14 year old friend is behind bars, and a disabled Desert Storm veteran with a legally concealed weapon is facing murder charges, thanks to a bad decision played out in life, in only 46 seconds.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Being Stalked by Swine Flu
With all the tv coverage on the latest "soon to be" health disaster swine flu, it almost appears the swine's are getting even with us for our love of sausage. So the next time you open that package of bacon, make sure you look over your shoulder because...
Oh wait. It's a flu, that started with swine? Wow, i've always heard that pigs were smart, and now they've found a way to wipe us humans out with...
Look, i'm not trying to be funny, (oh wait, yes i am!) but my lack of humor is beside the point. Yes, people in Mexico have died from swine flu. People in Wisconsin die from drunken drivers. Maybe it's the fear of being struck down by something you can't see, much like any of those horror movies that have Jason in them, where you just know you shouldn't spend the night in that abandened summer camphouse, but you just can't help it...although in this case it's the flu, and it's hiding out in a beach near Cancun...well that explains the recent swine flu case involving drunken college students...i presume they had plenty to drink but you know what, maybe they were all sipping tea...no wait, they were college kids in Cancun! Are you sure they weren't drinking the water?
I can remember the hysteria over Aids in the 80's...Oh my goodness, beware of gay men! Oh wait, it's a virus...it affects the immune system. You don't have to be gay to get it. It's viral opportunity, let your guard down, let your immune system suffer, and one of many hundreds of thousands of viruses just waiting for their chance will pounce.
So don't eat meat, stomach cancer, don't go out in the sun, skin cancer, don't fly in airplanes, terrorists. Do like i'm planning to do, lay in a fetal position on the couch with a glass of red wine and the weather channel on the tube...til the husband stops paying the cable bill (or i run out of red wine) and i'm forced to go back to work.
My grandmother Reba Davison, who was a nurse and spent her life in the health industry survived the great flu epidemic of 1917-1918 and i asked her if she was ever scared. "No," she said, "i just washed my hands, washed my hands." And honestly, that's the best way to prevent most flu's, cold's, noroviruses, and um...colds, wait, i said that already.
So tonite, wash your hands, wash your hands, turn off the news, and enjoy the sunset...now where's my red wine?
Oh wait. It's a flu, that started with swine? Wow, i've always heard that pigs were smart, and now they've found a way to wipe us humans out with...
Look, i'm not trying to be funny, (oh wait, yes i am!) but my lack of humor is beside the point. Yes, people in Mexico have died from swine flu. People in Wisconsin die from drunken drivers. Maybe it's the fear of being struck down by something you can't see, much like any of those horror movies that have Jason in them, where you just know you shouldn't spend the night in that abandened summer camphouse, but you just can't help it...although in this case it's the flu, and it's hiding out in a beach near Cancun...well that explains the recent swine flu case involving drunken college students...i presume they had plenty to drink but you know what, maybe they were all sipping tea...no wait, they were college kids in Cancun! Are you sure they weren't drinking the water?
I can remember the hysteria over Aids in the 80's...Oh my goodness, beware of gay men! Oh wait, it's a virus...it affects the immune system. You don't have to be gay to get it. It's viral opportunity, let your guard down, let your immune system suffer, and one of many hundreds of thousands of viruses just waiting for their chance will pounce.
So don't eat meat, stomach cancer, don't go out in the sun, skin cancer, don't fly in airplanes, terrorists. Do like i'm planning to do, lay in a fetal position on the couch with a glass of red wine and the weather channel on the tube...til the husband stops paying the cable bill (or i run out of red wine) and i'm forced to go back to work.
My grandmother Reba Davison, who was a nurse and spent her life in the health industry survived the great flu epidemic of 1917-1918 and i asked her if she was ever scared. "No," she said, "i just washed my hands, washed my hands." And honestly, that's the best way to prevent most flu's, cold's, noroviruses, and um...colds, wait, i said that already.
So tonite, wash your hands, wash your hands, turn off the news, and enjoy the sunset...now where's my red wine?
Friday, February 06, 2009
We might need a new word for racist.
You were probably as shocked as i was to hear that Disney's Hannah Montana star Miley Cyrus, is a racist.
You see, sometime last weekend, Miley and her friends were goofing off while the paparazzi were near and Miley pulled her eyes in a slanted position. RACIST! That's right, Miley Cyrus got up that morning and decided to insult all of her Asian fans...at least that's the position of the OCA, which is an organization dedicated to the well being of Asian Pacific American's. They urged Miley to apologize and she did, explaining to anyone who would listen that she didn't mean to insult Asians...she was just trying to be goofy!
Sure, whatever Miley, we're on to you.
And if you don't agree with me, your probably a racist.
(see how stupid that sounds?)
Cindy
You see, sometime last weekend, Miley and her friends were goofing off while the paparazzi were near and Miley pulled her eyes in a slanted position. RACIST! That's right, Miley Cyrus got up that morning and decided to insult all of her Asian fans...at least that's the position of the OCA, which is an organization dedicated to the well being of Asian Pacific American's. They urged Miley to apologize and she did, explaining to anyone who would listen that she didn't mean to insult Asians...she was just trying to be goofy!
Sure, whatever Miley, we're on to you.
Honestly, racism is an ugly word that involves the idea that one's race is superior to another...but we've been throwing the word racist around for just about every stupid thing lately, that i believe we've totally diluted the meaning. We may have to invent a new word that means racist.
And if you don't agree with me, your probably a racist.
(see how stupid that sounds?)
Cindy
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
No good deed goes unrewarded...
Last week when the temperature was minus 10 below and the windchill double that...my mom and her friend were turning around in an Iowan parking lot when they saw a small cat dragging itself through the frozen pavement. The cats back paws appeared to be frozen and it was literally trying to pull it's body across the ground.
Well, who wouldn't be moved at the sight of such suffering? My mom immediately stopped the car and her friend rushed over to rescue the cat. My mom took the cat home, fed it some milk, wrapped it in a sweater and took it over to the family vet. The vet said, "what do you want me to do with it" and my mom replied, "save it."
My mom couldn't keep it as she already has three dogs but her friend offered to give it a home. The vet said that the cat would probably lose the top of her ears and perhaps a paw, but one day later, after putting the cat on an IV, the vet said it was looking pretty good for the cat. They just needed to do one more test.
The test came back positive for feline leukemia, and the cat was put down.
The vet bill came in the mail today. It was 200 bucks.
Well, who wouldn't be moved at the sight of such suffering? My mom immediately stopped the car and her friend rushed over to rescue the cat. My mom took the cat home, fed it some milk, wrapped it in a sweater and took it over to the family vet. The vet said, "what do you want me to do with it" and my mom replied, "save it."
My mom couldn't keep it as she already has three dogs but her friend offered to give it a home. The vet said that the cat would probably lose the top of her ears and perhaps a paw, but one day later, after putting the cat on an IV, the vet said it was looking pretty good for the cat. They just needed to do one more test.
The test came back positive for feline leukemia, and the cat was put down.
The vet bill came in the mail today. It was 200 bucks.
Monday, January 19, 2009
A New Day...or just a song by Celine Dion
Tomorrow we get a new President! (and a free donut from Krispy Kremes...hey wait, they give you a free donut just for walking in the door there...doesn't matter, any excuse will do for a donut!)
You'd think it was the Second Coming by the way people are acting about the inauguration and you know what, it's about time. But i don't mean just because it's President-elect Obama, we should have been doing this every four years, even if it was a president we didn't vote for...because democracy won. People voted, and the guy with the most votes won...Someday we might even say the gal won...Anyhoo, this is the way it works in America, and we're about the only country this happens in...Um Canada, I said just about or aboot, eh?...
You know what's happening in Russia? Putin, the guy that use to be Russia's president who hates our guts...he hand selected a a "puppet" um, man to be president when the Russian constitutional forbid him from ruling...i mean serving three terms...his yes man then made him prime minister, and then changed the constitution so when Putin fixes the Russian election and renames himself president, he won't have to worry about a crazy little thing called term limits. Oh, and when honest journalists and lawyers point out inconvenient truths about how he's actually running and trashing the country, they get assassinated.
So, it's a new day tomorrow, good luck and God bless our new President...and please resist the urge to trash the last one...it's time to move on.
(ps...New Day is a song by Celine Dion, but i prefer Love Can Move Mountains...i love songs with choirs in them.)
You'd think it was the Second Coming by the way people are acting about the inauguration and you know what, it's about time. But i don't mean just because it's President-elect Obama, we should have been doing this every four years, even if it was a president we didn't vote for...because democracy won. People voted, and the guy with the most votes won...Someday we might even say the gal won...Anyhoo, this is the way it works in America, and we're about the only country this happens in...Um Canada, I said just about or aboot, eh?...
You know what's happening in Russia? Putin, the guy that use to be Russia's president who hates our guts...he hand selected a a "puppet" um, man to be president when the Russian constitutional forbid him from ruling...i mean serving three terms...his yes man then made him prime minister, and then changed the constitution so when Putin fixes the Russian election and renames himself president, he won't have to worry about a crazy little thing called term limits. Oh, and when honest journalists and lawyers point out inconvenient truths about how he's actually running and trashing the country, they get assassinated.
So, it's a new day tomorrow, good luck and God bless our new President...and please resist the urge to trash the last one...it's time to move on.
(ps...New Day is a song by Celine Dion, but i prefer Love Can Move Mountains...i love songs with choirs in them.)
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Thankful.
From February 2006...
I have always envied people who live near their parents...i'd hear them gripe and complain and i'd think..."wouldn't that be cool to live close to your parents so you could see them whenever you want - wouldn't that be a luxury instead of maybe a week out of a year and then again when there's a funeral to attend?" Tomorrow i load up the kids and head out to Iowa...a place where i use to joke "it's not the end of the world but you can see it from there...the big thing in the summer is to sit on my brothers roof and watch the storms roll in...i try to time the vacation so we get at least one tornado warning while we're there...
But lately the trips to Iowa have taken a different tone...my grandma is 98 this year, and my dad is fighting cancer and i find myself holding on to them a little bit longer and begging for stories about when they were younger...you know, the stories they've told a hundred times that i use to be able to say in my sleep...like the one where my aunt met Elvis Presley and was so nervous that when he asked her who her favorite singer was she blirted out "Pat Boone" (totally true)...Elvis thought it was funny BUT for years afterwards when anyone said something STUPID we'd say "Pat Boone."
Every spring my mom and i visit the graves of my great grandparents to lay flowers but the last couple of years she's taken to pointing out the spot where she and dad want to be buried and i find myself being jolted by an incredible burst of pain...like, someday it's going to be my turn to bring my daughter here to lay flowers and honestly, i don't think i'm ready for it, and time which use to move so slowly in Iowa is now suddenly moving too fast for me...but you know what..?
Tomorrow is a time for celebration because i'm going to go home and see my family and even if i win the lottery someday...I will never be as rich as i am now, at this moment.
November 2008 update...
My grandmother passed away later that year, and my grandfather-who i told you about last year when he got married again at 92(!!!)-just had a stroke about 3 weeks ago and doesn't know anyone including his lovely 85 year old bride...but you know what, i'm so thankful because my dad who had been fighting prostate AND colon cancer, is winning the battle! And my stepson Mark who has been to Iraq TWICE, is currently home on US soil and i'm incredibly thankful for that. And sure, i'd like to go home to Iowa to see my parents this Thanksgiving, but i have three kids at home, neighbors whom i love, one turtle and one demented dog, and i'm going to really enjoy this Thanksgiving surrounded by all of them.
I have always envied people who live near their parents...i'd hear them gripe and complain and i'd think..."wouldn't that be cool to live close to your parents so you could see them whenever you want - wouldn't that be a luxury instead of maybe a week out of a year and then again when there's a funeral to attend?" Tomorrow i load up the kids and head out to Iowa...a place where i use to joke "it's not the end of the world but you can see it from there...the big thing in the summer is to sit on my brothers roof and watch the storms roll in...i try to time the vacation so we get at least one tornado warning while we're there...
But lately the trips to Iowa have taken a different tone...my grandma is 98 this year, and my dad is fighting cancer and i find myself holding on to them a little bit longer and begging for stories about when they were younger...you know, the stories they've told a hundred times that i use to be able to say in my sleep...like the one where my aunt met Elvis Presley and was so nervous that when he asked her who her favorite singer was she blirted out "Pat Boone" (totally true)...Elvis thought it was funny BUT for years afterwards when anyone said something STUPID we'd say "Pat Boone."
Every spring my mom and i visit the graves of my great grandparents to lay flowers but the last couple of years she's taken to pointing out the spot where she and dad want to be buried and i find myself being jolted by an incredible burst of pain...like, someday it's going to be my turn to bring my daughter here to lay flowers and honestly, i don't think i'm ready for it, and time which use to move so slowly in Iowa is now suddenly moving too fast for me...but you know what..?
Tomorrow is a time for celebration because i'm going to go home and see my family and even if i win the lottery someday...I will never be as rich as i am now, at this moment.
November 2008 update...
My grandmother passed away later that year, and my grandfather-who i told you about last year when he got married again at 92(!!!)-just had a stroke about 3 weeks ago and doesn't know anyone including his lovely 85 year old bride...but you know what, i'm so thankful because my dad who had been fighting prostate AND colon cancer, is winning the battle! And my stepson Mark who has been to Iraq TWICE, is currently home on US soil and i'm incredibly thankful for that. And sure, i'd like to go home to Iowa to see my parents this Thanksgiving, but i have three kids at home, neighbors whom i love, one turtle and one demented dog, and i'm going to really enjoy this Thanksgiving surrounded by all of them.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
"He's not my president..."
Just wondering...I didn't vote Obama...do i get to say "he's not my president..."
I've never understood that, "he's not my president." But the bottom line is, whether i like it or not, he is going to be the president, and honestly, this nation NEEDS him to be successful, so the bottom line is; I didn't vote for him, but Obama is my president.
Just one thought President-elect Obama,
You promised your daughters a dog if you won the election...might i suggest one of our beautiful Wisconsin greyhounds? See, this way your daughters would have the joy of a dog who acted like a cat...sort of a two for one deal...just think about, ok?
Cindy Huber
ps...God bless our veterans and their families...thank you very much for your sacrifices.
Because for the last eight years, that's been the thing to say when your candidate loses. "He's not my president."
I've never understood that, "he's not my president." But the bottom line is, whether i like it or not, he is going to be the president, and honestly, this nation NEEDS him to be successful, so the bottom line is; I didn't vote for him, but Obama is my president.
Just one thought President-elect Obama,
You promised your daughters a dog if you won the election...might i suggest one of our beautiful Wisconsin greyhounds? See, this way your daughters would have the joy of a dog who acted like a cat...sort of a two for one deal...just think about, ok?
Cindy Huber
ps...God bless our veterans and their families...thank you very much for your sacrifices.
It's so hard to say goodbye...
For most of this fall, i've been bringing my pots from outside into the house to protect them from the cooler autumn nights, but my husband finally put his foot down today saying the entire house was starting to smell like moldy dying plants, which is something coming from a funeral director...i would have thought his nose would be immune to that by now...but noooo....which is why, on this last sunny freak 70 day i'm gathering up my potted outdoor plants and saying goodbye.
So i'll start by saying goodbye goofy low hanging plant whose name i can't remember but i think started with a "b", i'll really miss banging my head on the bottom of your basket everytime i walked out the front door...but it was worth it because you looked stunning most of this summer.
Goodbye metal bistro set, which in concept, should have worked, but we didn't count on the tree branch that hung directly over the table, or the birds that ate the berries directly over our table, and then used the table as a pooping target...or at least that's what it looked like most of this summer.
Goodbye hobbits playing chess who did a poor job of protecting my ferns from the rabbits and chipmunks...have a nice winter rest in the garage, perhaps you can protect the lawnblower from the snowblower, or vice-versa.
So i'll start by saying goodbye goofy low hanging plant whose name i can't remember but i think started with a "b", i'll really miss banging my head on the bottom of your basket everytime i walked out the front door...but it was worth it because you looked stunning most of this summer.
Goodbye metal bistro set, which in concept, should have worked, but we didn't count on the tree branch that hung directly over the table, or the birds that ate the berries directly over our table, and then used the table as a pooping target...or at least that's what it looked like most of this summer.
Goodbye hobbits playing chess who did a poor job of protecting my ferns from the rabbits and chipmunks...have a nice winter rest in the garage, perhaps you can protect the lawnblower from the snowblower, or vice-versa.
Monday, November 03, 2008
VOTE!
I was amused at how all the local news channels were covering the election...folks, this occurs every four years, until they started interviewing people who were in their 40's and 50's who have never voted until today claiming they didn't feel they had a voice before...then i was annoyed...shame on those people...you had a voice...you just chose not to use it!
Not me...i cast my vote every four years and some years i'm real excited about the choices, and some years, not so much. I've also written a candidate's name on the ballet because the man i absolutely respect, Ralph Nader, needed my vote, regardless of whether he had a shot or not, because as he has said...
"A vote for someone you don't believe in, is a wasted vote."
Plus, my vote canceled out Julie Davidson's...sorry Julie...; )
Not me...i cast my vote every four years and some years i'm real excited about the choices, and some years, not so much. I've also written a candidate's name on the ballet because the man i absolutely respect, Ralph Nader, needed my vote, regardless of whether he had a shot or not, because as he has said...
"A vote for someone you don't believe in, is a wasted vote."
Plus, my vote canceled out Julie Davidson's...sorry Julie...; )
Thursday, October 23, 2008
This could have been anyone of us...
Seriously, this could have been anyone of us on any given day..."but Cindy, i don't drag race..." Perhaps you don't...it's been years since i was challenged to a race and yes, i did use to race back in the late 70's...i was a very good kid (i think anyway) who worked fulltime, and went to college fulltime and didn't drink (well, in the early years anyway)...but yes, i did race my dad's 76 Buick "boat" down Highway 47 at speeds at over 100 miles per hour, and this was the era before seatbelts-no one i knew wore them. And i have no excuse for it. I can't even tell you why i did except someone said "hey Cindy, i'll beat ya to Denny's" or something stupid to that effect...At any time i could have lost control and killed myself, or just as important, i could have killed someone else, someone who didn't deserve to die just because i wanted to shave 3 minutes off my drivetime to Denny's.
Stupid, stupid, stupid...and i still can't tell you why i did it...i have no excuse; i did it and i was lucky, and so was everyone else that day. I was a good kid, doing something incredibly insane, and i was lucky it didn't cost me.
Yet, i see the same mistake happening over and over on Highway 45 on my way to work and back every single day...not that anyone is officially drag racing
...No officer, they're not drag racing, they're just late for work, or running late, or in a hurry, or not paying attention with their speed...Honestly, it seems as i've slowed down, everyone else is speeding up...if i drive 55 on I-45 i'm afraid i'm going to get run over by a SUV or a truck...don't believe me...feel free to follow me home tonite at 8pm...it's a lot of fun, believe me, but it's not for the faint of heart...
This picture above (reprinted from WTMJ 4) absolutely breaks my heart and my sympathy and prayers are with the family of Justin Meyers, but don't think for one second that couldn't be one of us at any given moment, on any given highway here in Milwaukee.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
They're like cats...except they're dogs and they need a foster family
Question...would you like a dog but worried about long term commitment? Also...do you think this picture of Flanders and Fiona is cute?!
I just got an email from Ellen Paulus of Greyhound Pets of America-Wisconsin chapter...there is a real pressing need for foster homes for these Greyhounds...there is just too many retired greyhounds and not enough homes...but this isn't like adopting an animal where you have to take care of it for years and years...(you know, like adopting a turtle, i found out i'm on the hook for 75 years!)
Anyway, here's the email
Hi, we're adorable, and we need a home.
Greyhound Pets of America could really use your help to act as a temporary foster homes for these ex-racers to make a transition to home life while waiting for a home. If your interested, just email my friend Ellen at pauprint@execpc.com. Or if you want, check out the greyhound website at www.gpawisconsin.org.
I just got an email from Ellen Paulus of Greyhound Pets of America-Wisconsin chapter...there is a real pressing need for foster homes for these Greyhounds...there is just too many retired greyhounds and not enough homes...but this isn't like adopting an animal where you have to take care of it for years and years...(you know, like adopting a turtle, i found out i'm on the hook for 75 years!)
Anyway, here's the email
..."Greyhounds make wonderful pets and there is always a surplus of them. People think they'd be wild and energetic, but nothing could be further from the truth. They are really laid back and calm dogs. More like cats actually."
Hi, we're adorable, and we need a home.
Greyhound Pets of America could really use your help to act as a temporary foster homes for these ex-racers to make a transition to home life while waiting for a home. If your interested, just email my friend Ellen at pauprint@execpc.com. Or if you want, check out the greyhound website at www.gpawisconsin.org.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
NO MORE AUTOGRAPHS!
Ringo Starr has announced on his website that as of October 20th, he will no longer be signing autographs or answering his fan mail...and you know what's weird? Up til today, i couldn't have cared less about a Ringo Starr autograph and now all of a sudden i WANT ONE! That's right, 24 hours ago if you had said "hey cindy, Ringo's in the hallway passing out autographs--do ya want one" i'd be like, "nah, not right now, i'm checking to see if the coffee's fresh...or trying to download Beyonce ringtones or watching paint dry..." But now that Ringo has given us some kind of deadline, i'm frantically trying to come up with a Ringo address...
So i went on line and to the best of my knowledge this is his fan mail address;
Ringo Starr
1st Floor
90 Jermyn Street
London SW
146JD
UK
I have to give Ringo credit, i do have to tell you he has a reputation for being one of the nicer celebrities in the business and who does, in fact, answer his mail which was also the basis of a famous Simpson episode which appeared in 1991...(yes, i'm a Simpson geek-it was the greatest episode ever)
Oh, and by the way, Ringo's got a new cd coming out...it's called Liverpool 8....hmmmmmmmm, publicity stunt?
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
Random thoughts from a simple mind...
Only OJ Simpson, found guilty of all 12 charges of kidnapping and robbery by an all white jury, could claim he was a victim of racism...which, i believe was the same claim made by others after he was found not guilty of murder by an almost all black jury 13 years ago!
News flash...apples can lower your risk of cancer, diabetes, and lower your cholesterol...cool...when they turn it into a pill I'll start taking it!
So another presidential debate...um...i mean town hall meeting comes and goes and Obama and McCain must think we're stupid...ok...maybe not Obama and McCain, both whom i personally like but neither one of them said or offered up one real thing that i could go, "you have my vote..." I mean there was nothing new to go on (one's about change although I'm not sure how since he didn't go into details and one is a maverick, but couldn't really come up with anything that separated him from the current administration) and i guess maybe i should blame their handlers, press agents or whoever is telling them what to say...or i could just go "screw you both I'm voting Nader!"
And tomorrow John Lennon would have been 68 years old...what a waste huh? And the guy that shot him, Mark David Chapman, recently tried to get paroled after 28 years...it was denied of course...do you remember the reason Mark gave for killing a Beatle? He wanted to become famous!...Well Mark, if you wanted to spend less time in jail, maybe you should have killed someone a little less famous!!!
News flash...apples can lower your risk of cancer, diabetes, and lower your cholesterol...cool...when they turn it into a pill I'll start taking it!
So another presidential debate...um...i mean town hall meeting comes and goes and Obama and McCain must think we're stupid...ok...maybe not Obama and McCain, both whom i personally like but neither one of them said or offered up one real thing that i could go, "you have my vote..." I mean there was nothing new to go on (one's about change although I'm not sure how since he didn't go into details and one is a maverick, but couldn't really come up with anything that separated him from the current administration) and i guess maybe i should blame their handlers, press agents or whoever is telling them what to say...or i could just go "screw you both I'm voting Nader!"
And tomorrow John Lennon would have been 68 years old...what a waste huh? And the guy that shot him, Mark David Chapman, recently tried to get paroled after 28 years...it was denied of course...do you remember the reason Mark gave for killing a Beatle? He wanted to become famous!...Well Mark, if you wanted to spend less time in jail, maybe you should have killed someone a little less famous!!!
Monday, October 06, 2008
True ghost story...or why i don't get coffee after 8 here.
After suffering through the final Brewer loss of the season, and unwilling to subject myself to yet another Packer disaster, i decided to take a little walk through the woods...me, the dog, and an interesting tree...hey wait a minute...look closer...did that tree just wink at me?
It's interesting what you can find if your just willing to look a little closer, like here at work, for instance...now i don't believe in ghosts...but i do believe that there are people here that do...and that's because a certain little spirit has been bothering them late at night...apparently this ghost shows up sometime after 8 pm when most of the employees here have gone home and are listening to Terry Love on the radio...now i want to emphasize that this certain "spirit" has never bothered me ever...I've never had the hair on the back of my neck stand up, I've never had the chill of fear or whatever you get when something from another dimension shows up...but that might be because this--whatever it is--doesn't particularly care for me...nope...this "spirit or mist" likes to bother the female jock on our alternative rock sister station...showing up late at night to peek through her window while she's on the air...it doesn't hurt that she's cute, young and blond i suppose...making me suspect that this is a male spook...although, it scared the heck out of another of their early morning weekend jocks, who happened to be male, which makes me think that the spook overslept...which again, makes me suspect it's not only a male ghost, it's probably a teen...one of our older jocks who is "in tune" to this sort of thing once observed this spook who was walking around late at night wearing a baseball cap and cut-offs and little else...which struck her as weird as it was late December...oh, and she could see through him--that was the other tip off that something wasn't normal...however, when this "thing" realized he-it-whatever was being observed...he disappeared...totally freaking her out...which is why when she comes to work late at night she always brings coffee from home now, and which is why I, who firmly doesn't believe in such nonsense...never goes into the last place this spook was observed after 8 pm (the kitchen)...not because i believe or i'm afraid, but because i figure i have enough problems with the live ones...why cheese off the undead?
Friday, September 05, 2008
Lose ten pounds in two days! My new diet "secret!"
I once had a friend who lost almost 50 pounds in one year, and when i asked her how in the heck she did it she said one word..."gallbladder"...(or is that two words...I'm not sure because on the surface it looks like two words but when you type it out as gall bladder...see, it looks weird, doesn't it?!)
Now I'm not one to play the blame game but "curse you Wisconsin State Fair" with your half price Cream puffs and your delightful funnel cake stand situated directly across from where i was forced-against my will-to stare at your sign while i attempted to do a live broadcast from the fair...I've had nothing but stomach problems since. I've spent the last 3 weeks being sicker then a dog and like any concerned person, went directly to a informed source to further research my painful problem...that is, i called my mom...(she use to be a nurse and because of that and because of the fact that she is my mom...she officially knows everything...and she did, too!) I told her that lately everytime i eat something i get sick. She carefully considered this statement and then replied, "what are you eating?"...(see?...mom knows how to ask the tough questions!)
And i gotta tell you...i like to eat crap...or more specifically...fried crap...fries and Flintstones vitamins capped with a vanilla coke...(honestly, who needs drugs with you have vanilla coke-and it's still legal...although good luck finding vanilla coke!) And yes, i know i was on a big radio station contest with the awesome folks at LA Weight Loss and honestly, when i followed their plan i lost the weight, and i can just as honestly tell you that fries, and vanilla coke were not on it...or cream puffs...or funnel cakes...or deep fried snickers...i'm telling you i was doing great til the State Fair and then i fell off the eating healthy wagon right into the pits of deep fried heavenly hell!--(with a fringe on top.) Unfortunately willpower is not my God.
It was then i remembered my friend from Green Bay. She lost a lot of weight because of her gallbladder! She didn't get it removed until it became...well, almost a dangerous situation...You've seen that pill that advertises that it will flush out your fat when you take it with meals...sure, the one with all the embarrassing side effects like gas, and painful stomach upset, and exploding diarrhea...well, a gallbladder is like ALL that but without the 50 dollar price tag for 60 caplets...in other words, i'm getting the product for free!
On the plus side, i've just spent the last week cutting down on fried and greasy foods and it was a lot easier then i thought...and what made it so easy was everytime i cheated and ate something that tasted better then heaven, i had to grab a book and head to the bathroom...so now i'm looking at food and thinking to myself, is that delicous Taco John fried potato yummy thingy worth leaning against the toilet for three hours waiting to throw up...?
So after i consulted my mother the nurse, do you think i did the natural follow-up and consulted the doctor-haha...i mean the internet...you betcha! It's amazing what information you can find if you type in gallbladder detox...WOW! (pages and pages of stuff...(and not one piece of internet porn!) Unfortunately every single piece of gallbladder detox starts out the same way..."STOP EATING FRIED FOOD."
So i've found one detox recipe i think will work...or actually because it's about the only one that's easy enough for me to attempt...it involves 1. 8 ounce glass of apple juice, blended with 4-6 cloves of garlic that i have to roast for about 30 minutes...(now, i've never roasted garlic before...do i then put the roasted cloves directly into the juice or do you crunch them or...i always just buy garlic salt so i wanted to check with you first...) ...then i have to add ginger root and after i blend it all...i'm suppose to drink it...um...maybe i should call a doctor...right after i eat this donut one of the kids forgot to hide...
Now I'm not one to play the blame game but "curse you Wisconsin State Fair" with your half price Cream puffs and your delightful funnel cake stand situated directly across from where i was forced-against my will-to stare at your sign while i attempted to do a live broadcast from the fair...I've had nothing but stomach problems since. I've spent the last 3 weeks being sicker then a dog and like any concerned person, went directly to a informed source to further research my painful problem...that is, i called my mom...(she use to be a nurse and because of that and because of the fact that she is my mom...she officially knows everything...and she did, too!) I told her that lately everytime i eat something i get sick. She carefully considered this statement and then replied, "what are you eating?"...(see?...mom knows how to ask the tough questions!)
And i gotta tell you...i like to eat crap...or more specifically...fried crap...fries and Flintstones vitamins capped with a vanilla coke...(honestly, who needs drugs with you have vanilla coke-and it's still legal...although good luck finding vanilla coke!) And yes, i know i was on a big radio station contest with the awesome folks at LA Weight Loss and honestly, when i followed their plan i lost the weight, and i can just as honestly tell you that fries, and vanilla coke were not on it...or cream puffs...or funnel cakes...or deep fried snickers...i'm telling you i was doing great til the State Fair and then i fell off the eating healthy wagon right into the pits of deep fried heavenly hell!--(with a fringe on top.) Unfortunately willpower is not my God.
It was then i remembered my friend from Green Bay. She lost a lot of weight because of her gallbladder! She didn't get it removed until it became...well, almost a dangerous situation...You've seen that pill that advertises that it will flush out your fat when you take it with meals...sure, the one with all the embarrassing side effects like gas, and painful stomach upset, and exploding diarrhea...well, a gallbladder is like ALL that but without the 50 dollar price tag for 60 caplets...in other words, i'm getting the product for free!
On the plus side, i've just spent the last week cutting down on fried and greasy foods and it was a lot easier then i thought...and what made it so easy was everytime i cheated and ate something that tasted better then heaven, i had to grab a book and head to the bathroom...so now i'm looking at food and thinking to myself, is that delicous Taco John fried potato yummy thingy worth leaning against the toilet for three hours waiting to throw up...?
So after i consulted my mother the nurse, do you think i did the natural follow-up and consulted the doctor-haha...i mean the internet...you betcha! It's amazing what information you can find if you type in gallbladder detox...WOW! (pages and pages of stuff...(and not one piece of internet porn!) Unfortunately every single piece of gallbladder detox starts out the same way..."STOP EATING FRIED FOOD."
So i've found one detox recipe i think will work...or actually because it's about the only one that's easy enough for me to attempt...it involves 1. 8 ounce glass of apple juice, blended with 4-6 cloves of garlic that i have to roast for about 30 minutes...(now, i've never roasted garlic before...do i then put the roasted cloves directly into the juice or do you crunch them or...i always just buy garlic salt so i wanted to check with you first...) ...then i have to add ginger root and after i blend it all...i'm suppose to drink it...um...maybe i should call a doctor...right after i eat this donut one of the kids forgot to hide...
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