Monday, September 04, 2006

What's for Supper?

My Mom would be horrified. In fact, she probably rolled over in her grave tonight!

I've been away, and there wasn't much in the house to fix. We had a good lunch, but supper came late, and I was lazy. I ate popcorn and carrots! What a combo. Popcorn to satisfy my salt craving. And carrots to satisfy the healthy aspect!! *lol*

I would have had cereal if there was any milk in the house. But there wasn't. And the only can of yogurt I could find in the refrigerator was 3 wks old. Sometimes I'll use that instead of milk. Sour yogurt didn't sound so appetizing.

So I microwaved the popcorn. And ate some carrots.

And went to bed. Actually the went to bed part wasn't until a while later. I also stayed up way too late. What can I say? It was a holiday. I threw caution to the wind and did what I felt like....

I'm quite sure Mother would NOT approve.
Posted by acp :: 10:32 PM :: 0 Comments:

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Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Hurricane in Michigan?

Michigan may experience the leftovers of what once was a hurricane in the Carribean. On WOOD's website, they say:

The Labor Day weekend still has a lot of uncertainty due to what will happen with the remains of Ernesto. The storm should move into North Carolina by the end of the week, but the uncertainty begins then. Some computer models take the remnants of the storm into New England. Other models bring the low all the way back into Michigan. For now, the best bet looks as if the rain will stay to our east, however, if the low takes a more westward path, we could see rain late Saturday and Sunday.

If it happens, this will have major impact on those vacationers who plan to spend time on the water, in the water, or just being outside over the Labor Day week-end--me included.

Personally I don't think the storm will strengthen enough to make much of an impact that far inland, but what do I know?! I'm no meteorologist. And I hope not, because my gf & I have another short trip planned in the middle of this week-end.

Posted by acp :: 10:50 AM :: 0 Comments:

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Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Nice cool temps

According to Bill's Blog, Monday's high of 73 was the coolest high temp. since June 25.

To which I reply, "Glory, glory, hallejah!" There are people out there who enjoy the warmer temperatures. To you I say, move to Arizona or South Florida or someplace where they expect hot weather. I like mild temperatures. Especially in the summertime.

And I couldn't be more tickled about the cooling headed our way with the season change. The leaves are already turning on a few trees around here.

Posted by acp :: 4:54 PM :: 1 Comments:

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Sunday, August 27, 2006

Praise the Lord!

Praise God from whom all blessing flow....
Praise Him all creatures here below...

As a kid, we sang that song every Sunday in church after the offering. Never meant that much to me back then except we were to be thankful for God giving us money so we could give part back to him.

But those words are powerful. Think about it. God is the author of blessings--ALL blessings. Anything good, everything good, flows from Him.

Sometimes we receive it from Him directly. Sometimes we receive it thru our friends from Him. Sometimes we receive it from strangers He chooses to put in our lives.

I am so grateful for the friends I've had over the years. Friends who have guided me, kept me on the right track, prayed with me, laughed with me, and cried with me. I have a whole new set of friends thru the Internet I never dreamed could be even 5 years ago. And they are almost more amazing than the "in-the-flesh" friends God has put around me.

Even if I never meet those friends, they are still an encouragement and blessing to me. And I thank God every day for them.

Posted by acp :: 12:04 PM :: 1 Comments:

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Wednesday, August 16, 2006

grins and grandkids

I can't have grandkids. It's hard to have grandkids when one didn't have kids!!

But I sure enjoy looking at and watching others interact with theirs. Which is one of the reasons why I highly recommend this blog:

Anyone Home

"Some folks are born with foolish grins; others acquire them when their grandchildren come along."

And for the record Judy, I don't think your grin is foolish. I think it's full of grandmotherly pride & joy.

Posted by acp :: 4:49 PM :: 1 Comments:

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Tuesday, August 15, 2006

the summer blues

This summer in Michigan has been tough on those of us who don't endure heat. It turned me into a melted noodle laying limply on the couch, trying to soak up the little bit of air the air conditioner blew out. Some days it wasn't so very cool.

Even tho it's still 80s in the daytime, at least the overnight temps are dropping below 70. That cools the house off some overnight, so makes the daytime a little more tolerable. I don't know if I can go thru another summer like this one next year, and keep my computer room upstairs. For weeks, the temp didn't go below 80 in here at night, and most days it was 95 or over 100. . .not fit for man or beast!

The good news is I got away for a mini-vacation last week-end. A GF & I went over to the west side of the State and stayed away from the shoreline where the motels were cheaper, but went to Lake Michigan during the daytime. It was beautiful: sunny, just a little bit of wind, nary a cloud in the sky, and not too hot.


Here's a pic of the beach at Grand Haven. Very busy with such a perfect day.

This is at the south end beyond the State Park area. There were people everywhere, a really crowded beach. Volleyball nets, shade tents, blankets, balls, kids, even this cute oversize umbrella.

There were car radios blasting out Beach Boys music. My GF said it reminded her of California, all the people and noise. It was neat to see...and experience.


Which is why we moved across the river and sat on the fishing pier watching boats going by. We were closer to the lighthouse that way too.

There were a TON of boats going by. Oddly enough, mostly coming in. Big boats, or at least that's what my GF said. And since she lives quite close to the St. Clare river with all it's international traffic, I believed her.

It was a nice get-away. Not nearly long enough, but isn't that the case with any vacation?!

Posted by acp :: 11:48 AM :: 0 Comments:

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Sunday, August 06, 2006

I hate shopping

Mercy, there were only 6 posts the whole month of July....that tells you something about the weather around here. It seemed like it was over 90 every single day of the month. And if it was in the 80s, the humidity made it feel like over 90. And rain? Oh my goodness. I think we had more rain in July than we usually do the whole summer. Some pretty spectacular storms too. I remember one evening when we were driving home, the lightning was solid in the northern skies. Weird, because most weather and storms comes from the west. But this one fell in from the north. There were some trees down on our street when we arrived home.

But that's not why I finally got on to blog--but did want to let you know where I've been....melting in a puddle...in my next life I want central air!

I got on to blog about shopping. Certainly NOT one of my favorite things to do. I guess when they were handing out the shopping gene, I wasn't in that line (I'm sure I was Googling about where I was heading!). I order most of my clothes and yes, even shoes, online. If they don't fit, I haul them to the Post Office & send them back. Much more fun than tromping around in a mall. I have a pair of winter boots coming from LL Bean this week. Can't wait to see those & try 'em on. $100 boots on sale for $39. How good is that?? No energy wasted, no gas wasted driving anywhere, and besides, where am I going to find winter boots on sale now?

What really drives me up the wall is grocery shopping. I find it quite exhausting, pushing that cart that never rolls right, and usually has some annoying squeak besides. I learned a long time ago not to go in the daytime. And early evening is even worse with the errant kids no one keeps track of. I don't relish getting hit in the butt or side by kids having fun with a cart while Mom isn't watching, or doesn't care.

Because yesterday was the last day of the sale for Dasani water, I was at Meijer late last night trying to do my weekly grocery shopping. I forgot that one must get there before around 10-10:30, or just about every shelf and meat counter is blocked by HUGE stacks of boxers by those wonderful stockers. I'm not complaining about those stockers tho. They are nicer than the daytime help, and have always helped me when I couldn't find something or it's not on the shelf. Wonderful people.

But I digress. The longer I'm in the grocery store, the more tired and disoriented I get. It becomes an endurance test to get everything I can remember. See, I rarely make a list. That's too painful. The less time spent on this process, the better!

So by the time I got to the aisle with toothpaste & toothbrushes last night, I and my poor brain were about done for. I did write down the name & number of the toothbrush I had been using (I dare not mention for how long, in case there are any dentists or dental assistants who might read this!) because I have enjoyed it so much. The poor blue bristles in the middle had long ago turned white. But it was a comfortable brush. It had a spring in the handle, and it was padded there too.

It occurred to me as I was writing these things down, that it may not be available in the store since it was a freebie from the last time I went to the dentist. Oh well, I thought. At least I'll know what brand to look for. Sometimes when I buy these things, the only thing important to me is the color....NOT DH's, so we don't get our brushes mixed up!!

So I'm really studying all the toothbrushes, and finally found one pretty close to what I had at home. Then I noticed it's got way too many bristles. Nope, that won't do. Can't stand those big toothbrushes that make me feel like I'm going to gag. So I put that one back and kept looking.

Then I found a smaller one, has the padded handle, no spring, but hey that's OK. It's even on sale! I think I am doing good, and decide on a blue one. Hard to get that mixed up with DH's red. I pull it out of the rack, and for some reason turn it over...HORRORS! It's open. The seal has been broken. Well, I ain't putting that in my mouth! Who knows what terrible viruses and bacteria (or worse) lurk in there!!

I sigh and put it back. A quick look in that section reveals no more blue ones. I really wanted blue, now that I found one. I try the next little section over. All too big, millions of bristles in those! One more section and I figure if I don't find anything there, then I shall continue to use my old toothbrush--after all, it hasn't killed me yet!

Then, wonder of wonder, I find another blue one. Yup, it's the soft one, yup, it's the small one, and yup, it's the one on sale. I grab the thing, throw it in my cart just about the time I remember I've been using hubby's Crest toothpaste. I prefer Colgate. And we each have specific flavors we like. Remember the days when there used to only be ONE product from each company....oh, for the good ole days....

Because I had already food shopped, and spent so much time & energy picking out exactly the right toothbrush, I guess I wasn't paying attention to toothpaste. I generally go for whatever's cheapest in a tube, and prefer it to be mint gell, but ain't even picky about that. I saw one nicely packaged with mint, green--surely that means wintergreen or spearming, right? What does it do? Whiten. OK, I can handle that. My teeth are old and dingy. It's cheaper. Perfect.

I hightail my cart up front and then out the door and home. I also do not like putting things away after I get home. I just want to put the whole experience behind me. Which is why sometimes I leave things that won't spoil in the vehicle and just drag in the stuff that needs refrigerated or frozen. Didn't do that last night. I dutifully put everything away. Threw the toothbrush & toothpaste in the bathroom.

When it was time to go to bed, I grabbed my new toothpaste and opened the end. Oh oh. There is liquid draining out instead of a thick paste or gel. That's when I first notice it's not gel like I prefer. Oh well, I think. Paste isn't so bad. Then I notice this liquid is blue. NOT good. That's means it's peppermint, not my wintergreen. I wrinkle up my lips. And keep squeezing. Hey, now there's both coming out. A gel and a paste. How very interesting.

I put it on my new toothbrush. Which feels wonderful in my mouth. But what on earth is going on with the toothpaste? I now have water or toothpaste liquid, or spit, I know not what, dribbling down to my wrist. I leave the toothbrush in my mouth, and wipe my hand. Next thing I know it is running clear off my elbows.

OH FOR CRYING OUT LOUD. I'm listening to Yahoo Oldies Music Station. It's playing Peppermint Twist!! How ironic.

Anyhow, I get done brushing my teeth and grab the box out of the wastebasket to see what exactly I had purchased in my fatigued state of mind: Colgate Sparkling. Yes, I knew that. Under it: MintZing. Well, that it truly is.

Then I notice yellow print over to the left, "White teeth with an explosion of Mint." Yup, that surely describes that foaming experience that makes me feel like mad rabid dog foaming at the mouth.

Underneath the White MintZing wording is, in the smallest print that I'll bet any other baby boomer couldn't read either without an adjustment of their trifocals: Baking Soda & Peroxide. AH HA! So that's what wrong. Foaming peroxide in my toothpaste. How long do you think a tube of toothpaste lasts when one only uses a teeny, tiny bit on their toothbrush.

Me thinks I will be borrowing DH's Crest on days I don't feel a mad rabid dog.

PS I turned the tube over this morning, and one of it's points is: Invigorates mouth. I can't argue with any of their selling points. I just wish I had seen more of them before I purchased the stuff

Posted by acp :: 1:03 PM :: 0 Comments:

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