It's the little things in life...

Friday night, we renewed our membership to BJs and went shopping.
I forgot how much I love it there.  And how easy it is to drop serious cash there....
But it was so worth it.

It's funny how for me, happiness has always been a house full of food; I feel the glow of accomplishment after going food shopping and opening the cabinets and freezer to see stocks of food.  I'm not really sure where that comes from, considering my house growing up always had food; but yet from the time I moved out at 18, it always triggered that happy feeling.  (I've blogged about it previously, back in the "old days" -but can't for the life of me find it so I can't back link.  Sorry....)

Since moving to our new house -we haven't really had it "stocked up" so much.  I mean, we always have things but it's never been full.  G tends to like to shop day to day, where as I like to shop for weeks at a time, always buying things for "back stock" so to speak.  He finally started to subscribe to my point of view about 2 weeks ago, and so when we went to BJ's - wow, did we stock up.  I've even got things in our refrigerator and freezer downstairs, which I've been jonesing to do - and yet, hadn't really done.

Funny thing is, after I was done unpacking and stocking and breaking the boxes up - Princess Petunia walks in and opens the refrigerator, and declares "you know, I know this probably sounds silly - but I just feel happy when the refrigerator is full".

And I know exactly what she means.

I'm not really sure why I waited so long to go.  With all the entertaining we do weekly, we were crazy not to have done this sooner.

Suffice to say that I think this girl is going to be making many trips back in the future. 

It takes a man to suffer ignorance - and smile. (Clearly, because this girl wants no part of it!)

I often wonder how people can be so rude, and why they behave in such a manner.

I mean, do they know that they're being that way?  Are they intentionally trying to irritate others with their ignorant ways?
Or are they truly ignorant a different way - completely unaware of how they are behaving?

I find it hard to believe that they don't know what they're doing.
How do you not know when you're being rude?

Aren't most of us brought up the basics in courtesy and manner?
Sometimes, I just shake my head and wonder.

Dear Facebook:

Okay. 

So I get that you want to rule the world.
But - I don't want to be friends with all the thousands of people you suggest because we may have a mutual friend.  Do I have to know every single person within 6 degrees of seperation?  Not really....

I don't want to log into you when I want to post a comment on the Boston Globe.  Sometimes I want to be anonymous when I make a comment, most especially since I'm a business owner and don't always want my thoughts and views made public, from me - per se.

I don't want you to be my designated home page.

I don't want you to "think" for me and determine who's updates I see, when and why I see them.  I want to see my "friends" and their statuses, in chronological order - and all of them.  Not just the "top 10" peeps that YOU think are important to me.

I don't want you to let me know the stupid little games that people play.  Nor, do I want to be invited to play any of them.

And if you force me to take over that absolutely hideous timeline  - all bets are off, and I quit.

Jeesh -- you're a pushy little website, aren't you.

Pick yourself up, brush yourself off -- start all over again!

You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.

Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim.

The only person you are destined to become is the one you decide to be.

Life is what you make of it; always has been....always will be.

If opportunity doesn't knock -- build a door!

Lack of planning on your part - does not constitute an emergency on mine.

Don't ask "why me"....ask "why not me?" 

Create your opportunties-- and secure your own happiness.

Guns don't kill people....people kill people.

I've always believed in the right for people to legally bear firearms.
I've always subscribed to the concept in my title line that it's not guns that kill people - it's the people using the guns. 
But I strongly believe that certain guns should not be allowed.  Not assualt rifles.  Not automatic or semi automatic, military style or police issue guns. (And while I understand that there are people who are life long collectors and truly avid enthusiasts - they fall in the minority.  This rant is regarding the average person who has never owned a gun or had anything to do with guns, ever.)

And my thoughts have changed a little bit regarding ownership as well.  Does the average person really have a need to carry one?  It's probably doubtful. 

The concept of "I'll have one, incase someone pulls one on me" - is nothing short of foolish.
Let's be honest, if one is to pull a gun on you - you are not going to have time to pull out your own weapon.
This isn't the wild west, and there are no "showdowns" at dawn.
(Oh, excuse me Mr. Criminal - you have a gun?  Let me draw mine too - because after all, what's fair is fair....)

Isn't that almost the epitome of "crime begets crime"? (Hello point - I was wondering when you'd arrive!)Last I knew, two wrongs didn't equal a right.  At least that's what I'd been taught.

Listen, I'm all for smaller government in regards to being in our taxes, our personal lives and our religious beliefs.  But I am for a bigger, stronger and more strict government regarding violent crimes and those who commit them, and maybe if there were tougher penalties that fell upon those who commit violent crimes (with and without guns), the consequences may not be worth the crime.  Of course, there are always going to be people who just don't care, but the majority of the crimes that are committed you don't hear about and trust me - many of these people do care, especially after spending time in prison.  But it shouldn't be a multiple offense situation where a person gets punished after being reprimanded multiple times. (Sort of like a parenting "threatening" to get out of the chair and punish their child who's misbehaving....why say it over and over and over again....?)
There's something to be said about putting the safety of those around you first. And generally speaking there's really no need for the average person who isn't running drugs, or a street gang, or carrying thousands of dollars on them at a time (and even then it may not be a qualifier!) to have to carry a gun.

If you aren't a cop - what's the point?

While we may live in difficult times, and often violent locations - we are not in post apocolyptic times ala Mad Max.

So what's the solution?  I'm not really sure, outside of our Big Brother government stepping up to the plate and telling the NRA to settle down.  Like I started with, the right to bear arms - I'm all for.  But there has to be ying with the yang.  While it seems that the laws to obtain guns legally is relatively strict, assault weapons should be banned in my humble opinion - and most importanly, tougher punishment for those who obtain and use these guns illegally. 

I look at it like the death penalty.  If we punish more people by death - will it stop murder? No, of course not.  But it may drastically reduce the amount of crimes that are committed, because generally speaking most people don't want to die.  I'm not suggesting the death penalty for guns - but if a person gets caught with an illegal weapon and they have to spend serious time in prison for it on the first offense - they may take the illegal ownership concept and bit more seriously and think twice. 

We will never eradicate violent crimes.
But we do need to take stronger steps towards reducing them.

And in this corner....the heavy weight champion of the world....

Iron Mike Tyson....
And
Miss "I'm just a girl" and her husband G.

So funny, we both look a little shell shocked in our pics.
But still, frameworthy.

( I LOVE LOVE LOVE my dress, except for the fact that it wrinkles the minute you wear it - and then, it looks like crap.)

bigger better faster stronger

So my lease is up in a year.
While I enjoy driving my Lexus - I really need a 7 seater and I can't see spending the money that they want for their Big Daddy SUV.

So I think I'm going to be test driving in the next few months.
Anyone have any suggestions for a good 7 seater SUV?

Anyone....anyone.....anyone?
(Bueller, Bueller, Bueller....)

Monday Mashup....

Much ado about nothing.  Or rather, I ain't got much going on.
(Now that's not actually true.)
I do have an appointment with a medium on Thursday; she's someone I went to see about 10 years ago and she was quite good.  To prove that she was good, since I'm ever the optomistic skeptic - none of the messages I received were for me.  They were all for people around me, so others were able to validate the information - and that was pretty darn impressive.  We'll see how it goes this week, I'll keep you posted....

My father was down (or up, to be accurate...) for a couple of weeks and while he was here, we did a few things around the house together - like putting up a canopy tent on one of my decks, and moving my birdfeeder to the railing of the deck so while I'm out here relaxing (like I am at the moment) I can see the birds eat.  Bright yellow finches, Cardinals, and other birds that I don't know what they are but they are really pretty - come darting out, playing in the air and feeding on the seeds.  It's one of my favorite places in my house to be.

Speaking of birds, I just discovered we have a male & female hummingbird in the trees in the front of my house!  Bright green - they seem to love my equally bright pink impatiens that are hanging on the farmers porch over the deck in my backyard.  I've never seen hummingbirds before, and they're so dainty and delicate - you almost can't resist the urge to try to catch one.

When we were in NYC, the cab was only able to take us to the street that the theatre was on, but not the correct cross street; so we briskly walked three blocks to get there - no biggie.  But then, our dinner reservations were about 7 blocks away, not a huge walk truly, but in 4 inch heels that weren't meant to be walked so briskly in -- my poor little toesies are killing me today.  They blistered I guess, and though I injured them Saturday night, for some reason they aren't hurting me until now.  Yikes!

I took the kiddies Raspberry and Blueberry picking today after work.  It was a nice way to end the day, especially since I made breakfast for dinner with fresh blueberry pancakes.  If only the bacon wasn't so greasy....but hey, it wouldn't be good if it wasn't, right?

Manhattan - my home away from home....

Yes, if you were to ask me where I would live aside from Boston - I'd say Manhattan. 
It may tie with LA, truth be told - but it's a heck of a lot closer.

We went there last night to see the Mike Tyson show "Undisputed Truth".  Being that G is a boxer, to say that we're already up on his life is probably a semblence of understatement; but it was a great show, we had 2d row seats and VIP passes for a "meet and greet" which was not quite the meet and greet that G would've liked (translated into a heart to heart conversation about boxing in general, not just his career) but it was a good take and a great show.  It's always endearing and good to see a person tell their story in the first person and not twisted by the media.

Here are a few shots of the night - with pics of and us and the champ to come shortly - as soon as they email them to us!

(Yes, we were absolutely melting in the 98 degree humidity waiting to get in....esp. after walking two blocks to get there.  Not that two blocks is long, but in 4 inch heels and 98 degree humidity, you can work up a little sweat!)

Young and the Restless....

Last night I watched the Olympic Gymnastics Team win the gold medal.  How fortunate we are to have On Demand; back when I was younger you just had to schedule your life around watching the games.  There was no immediate tweets, 24 hour news or On Demand to replay everything for you.

Watching brought me right back to my very first Olympic memory, and the little girl we all were in awe by - Nadia Commeneci.  Who didn't love little Nadia and her coach Bela Karoli?  You didn't have to be Romanian to root for that little girl.  And what little girl didn't want to be her?  From that point on I used to always say I wanted to actually be her when I grew up.  Of course, I meant I wanted to be a gymnast, but....clearly, that did not come to fruition.

I remember the day my parents brought me home posters to put on my walls.  For some reason, I think it was McDonalds who was the sponsor of the Olympic events that year, because I seem to think I had to wait until my parents got something there before I could get a poster of my girl to hang on my walls.  And when they brought it home - I couldn't wait to hang it up.  I had two - one of her on the balance beam, and one of her on the floor.

So it would suffice to say that at the tender age of 6, little Nadia was my first hero.
And that is a piece of Olympic history that I'm glad I got to witness first hand.