April 25th

Yes, I know that was a couple of days ago, but I was without access to the blog so I'm talking about it now! That was the day I graced the earth---many moons ago! I arrived around 4:30 a.m. and weighed 6# 13 ozs, which is also how much my son weighed, years later! Certain members of my family would say that was one of the few times I was early. To them, I would say-- zip it! No one is perfect, you know! And there are bigger flaws to be had. Need I mention any?! Getting back to the theme at hand--my sisters were 12, 11 and 9 when I was born. Their father had been killed in an accident when they were much younger. I was my daddy's only child. I'm sure he felt like he'd hit the jackpot! ;)

I look alittle like him in this picture. I'm sure my mother made the dress I'm wearing and the booties, too. (And why do hospitals insist on combing babies' hair that way? My daughter's hair was done the exact same way! I'd comb it down, she'd go to the nursery and come back with the little flip again!) My daddy also told me that I liked ice cream so much, I'd eat it until my nose was red.

I've had some fun birthdays in the past, but haven't had one in awhile. this is one of the last ones, my 26th:


My face is alittle pink 'cause it was a surprise party at a relative's house and I turned about as red as a human being could when I got inside! I had planned a surprise party for my husband a couple of months before with a friend of mine whose husband had a birthday like a day after and we told each of them that the party was for the other one! Weren't we clever?! Let me tell you, it worked like a charm and they were both surprised! So, not to be outdone, he surprised me back! It was funny.

We've had some fun parties for the kids but the one I remember most was one for my daughter in the second grade. I invited the whole class, thinking they would not all be able to come--HA! I had a house full of running, yelling kids for a couple of hours! It was in June, so they were in and out of the house, too! From then on I was all for small parties!

Having my birthday in April was good, weather-wise, usually. I have a lot of pictures with sunshine in them. And even though they aren't as much fun to celebrate anymore, I had some fun parties growing up.

I hope David, Todd and Eric also had a happy shared birthday this year!

HOLY COW!

Holy Cow!

HO-LY COW!!!!!

Two weeks without a computer! Frustration level brimming over! Behind in all things! How will I ever catch up?! Have to share the computer with my son, so there might be bloodshed! (j/k)

I'll do a post tomorrow and try to catch up on reading, too. Remind me to tell you how fun the library isn't! The list of things you can't do is much longer than the list of things you can do! A woman sat down by me yesterday and from time to time hummed and popped gum! Both of which were VERY annoying! The woman alittle further down--but not out of earshot--was using her cell phone! I tried not to listen but, of course, that was all I could hear! They'll never know how close they came to hearing me scream.....just to annoy them!

Cheetah wasn't the only one celebrating a birthday. Mine was the 25th. However, I am not 75! More about that later!

Thanks to our friend, Jason, for getting us back online! ;)

Problems, Problems

Basil here, with something you need to know about.

Turns out that computer problems ... not, not just computer problems, but computer problems and more computer problems ... mean that Bama is not able to update her blog.

She's not mad at you ... or me (yet) ... she's just having problems getting online.

She misses you. She may even miss me. And she's trying to get her computers fixed and get back online.

Hey, even if she doesn't miss me, I miss her.

Hope you get things fixed soon, girl!

Cheeta, 75

Cheeta, the chimpanzee from the Tarzan movies, had a birthday yesterday. He was 75! (Of course, you probably didn't hear about it 'cause of the 2 baboons who are monopolizing the airways!) He's in good health and lives in CA. He has outlived the humans that were in the same movies.

I saw a clip of him eating birthday cake after which he and his trainer gave each other a very open mouth kiss!! It was not pretty!

Happy Birthday, Cheeta! But I'm not giving you a kiss! Sheesh

Full Moon News

Did you hear about the couple on a cruise who fell from their balcony while "playing Titanic"? He was lifting her up and she went overboard and he went in after her! I bet alcohol was involved! I cannot even imagine falling off a big ship into the Gulf of Mexico--at night! Someone must've seen it because the cruise ship turned around and after 4-5 hours of searching--while they were treading water and available for any sharks in the area--found them! They were not even together! And VERY lucky to have been found!

---

Be on the look-out for Joe Francis! He's a fugitive! Failed to appear in court! Excuse me, it's hard to type and bend over double with laughter at the same time! HAHAHAHA Could it happen to a more deserving sleazebag? His amount to pay the girls who sued him has already been increased! heh There's got to be a play on Girls Gone Wild somewhere in there!

UPDATE: Francis is in custody in FL. Heck, I was hoping to see him on America's Most Wanted!

---

Did you see the guy who climbed about 60' up a tree to catch his pet cockatoo? He said the bird slept with him and was potty-trained. (I wonder how you do that?) So he just hugged the tree and went up to where it was. Problem was, he couldn't get down once he had the bird! Two different helicopters tried to get him down before one was successful! It was said that he planned to clip the bird's wings once he got home! That might be a good idea! I wonder if he got a bill for the helicopters?

---

Last, but not least...

You've most likely heard about the volunteer fireman who was suppose to be on his way to a contest but stopped off at a park and put on a display that scared someone enough to call the cops! Do you think he knows he will NEVER live this down??! Never!

Church Arsonists

The 3 college boys who burned several rural churches last year have been sentenced to 7-8 years in prison and a combined restitution of 3.1 million dollars. Russell DeBusk, 20, will serve 7 years and Matthew Cloyd, 21, and Benjamin Moseley, 20, will both serve 8 years. The diference in time is because the two decided to set more fires in a different area to throw investigators off their tracks. Obviously that didn't work! They faced a minimum of 7 years because 2 firefighters were injured at one of the churches.

Some of the churches offered forgiveness and the 3 accused apologized before the sentencing. Evidently, they were spotlighting deers and unable to find any, decided to set fires instead. Had they not been drinking, common sense might've convinced them that that was not a good idea! Hard to imagine being that young--or any age--and faced with repaying millions of dollars! Really sad all the way around.

Afghan Party

Troy, at Bouhammer's Afghan Blog has posted a video of the party the Afghan soldiers they've been working with gave them, as they prepare to come home. Some of the Americans showed up in native dress to the delight of the Afghans! Troy also included a video of the Afghans dancing! Go see!

Click on the blogroll.

Happy Easter

This is from a past Easter at our house. I hope you have a Happy Easter with your family.

Easter was always fun for the little people! There was always some uncomfortable new clothes and shoes to wear to church and usually you weren't allowed to eat any candy from your Easter basket until after Easter dinner. Torture! The fun part was getting out of the new clothes and shoes and going on an egg hunt! We usually went to my grandmother's where there were lots of places to hide eggs and LOTS of eggs! (I can't believe how many eggs we ate and lived!) And sometimes I went to my cousin's cousin's (Different side of the family--shut up!) where there was another large egg hunt and several "special" eggs that you got money if you found them! Fun!

My mother was amazing with a sewing machine and my sisters and I had beautiful Easter dresses every year. I didn't like all the fittings and really didn't fully appreciate all the work that went into them.

Guess who never learned to sew?!

Have fun out there trying to remember where you hid all the eggs!

Bunny Tales

This is Norman. He was our bunny for 5 years which is about the average lifespan for a rabbit. My daughter named him for the Norman Bates character in "Psycho" but Norm was much nicer! I hope if anyone got a bunny for Easter you've done some homework on how to take care of one! We learned 'on the job' after buying Norman on impulse. We always picked up a bunny to pet at the pet store and after our Min Schnauzer died, we were weak and needing something to cuddle!

After we got him home, I thought--now what?! We got a cardboard box--a deep one--and I thought we were set for the time being! He was so small, surely he couldn't get out! HA That's why I was surprised to wake up and see him slinking by the bed! I scooped him up and found something--seems like it was a sweater dryer-- to put over said box! heh Next, I found something to hold that down! He was very agile! Very soon I went to a pet store and bought a metal cage that was $100--on sale!

Rabbits can be litter trained but it doesn't work too well when you have a kitten! I also thought they might become friends but that wasn't happening either! Everything was fine until Norman started moving, then the predator mode seemed to take over. My daughter played with him everyday and he seemed to show his attraction to her by doing circles around her and he liked to lick her but she would soon get tired of that!

Guess who got to clean out his cage! I didn't mind it too much. heh The fun times were letting him out and closing as many doors as we could so we wouldn't have to look everywhere for him! He would run down the hall and bounce about three feet in the air now and then, usually with the kitten hot on his heels! He learned to go back in his cage when I got the broom and told him to get in. He resisted, at first, but eventually went in!

It was fun to watch him pull his ears down and clean them like a cat and show his teeth when he yawned. He looked like crushed velvet because he was a Rex and his hair grew a particular way. We had to be careful when we picked him up so he felt supported, otherwise you can get a nasty scratch. Found that out the hard way! The best food for bunnies is alfalfa cubes and pellet type that you can buy at almost any store. They need to have water available and something to chew on so their teeth don't get too long. Also, wire or metal is hard on the feet. They also will chew on electrical wire--Norm chewed on our telephone wire even though we thought we were watching him!

I saw someone on PBS who had an entire room devoted to bunnies and she said she gave hers bananas--not carrots--bananas! Lettuce and carrots contain too much water and can give them diarrhea and kill them. From then on, whenever I sliced a banana, I gave Norm a couple of pieces first! After he died, I thought about him for the longest time anytime I sliced a banana!

As much fun as Norman was, I think we've decide unless we can have one outside safely, we don't want another one in a cage! And please don't think you can just turn him loose if things don't work out! That isn't really fair and is basically a death sentence for the bunny!

CAT SAVES FAMILY!

Oh yes! This is for all you nay-sayers--cats are no good, cats shouldn't be inside, blah, blah!

Well it's a good thing this 14 yr old cat was inside to wake up her owners 'cause she saved their lives! That's right--saved their lives! She isn't the first to do it, but it bears repeating!

Winnie, the 14 yr old cat who belonged to Cathy and Eric Keesling, New Castle, IN, woke them after the gasoline powered water pump in the basement filled the house with carbon monoxide fumes, by nudging Cathy's ear and memowing loudly!

“It was a crazy meow, almost like she was screaming,” said Cathy, who hesitated to get up until Winnie’s caterwauling and jumping persisted.

When she finally climbed from bed, she realized she was nauseous and dizzy and couldn’t awaken her husband. Because he had undergone minor neck surgery the previous day, she decided to call 911 but was so disoriented she had trouble dialing.

Paramedics found the couple’s 14-year-old son, Michael, unconscious on the floor near his bedroom. The Keeslings were taken from the home in oxygen masks, treated for carbon monoxide poisoning and soon recovered.

Cathy Keesling said Winnie acted similarly last summer when tornadoes tore through the area, 45 miles east of Indianapolis.

“I really believe cats can sense these kind of things,” she said.

And she was screaming! She was saying get up outta this bed and get my precious kittyself out of this poison! Move it! Move it!

Yay and kitty-treats for Winnie! ;)

Army Sgt Neil Duncan

I was over at Andi's World and came across a post about Sgt Neil Duncan, who was severely injured in Afghanistan (12/05). An IED blasted the humvee he was in and he lost both legs, shattered his jaw, broke his elbow and hand and received multiple shrapnel wounds. After 14 months in Walter Reed and 20 surgeries, plus therapy, he is going home to Maple Grove, MN.
He hopes to buy a house to refit it for his needs and there is a benefit to help raise money for this purpose.

On April 21, 2007, from 2:00 - 6:00, there will be a benefit held to help raise funds so that Neil can purchase and adapt a home and an automobile.

As Neil will be coming home to Minnesota, his friends and family want to give him a proper welcome home and help him financially as he starts his new life as an independent person. A homecoming benefit to honor Neil and to express our sincere appreciation for his sacrifice and commitment to our country will be held. This benefit will include a silent auction, raffle, and cash donations as well as a chance for people to meet our hero. All proceeds will be used to help Neil build an independent life adapted to his specific needs - a handicap accessible house, a vehicle with adaptive equipment, etc.

The benefit will be held at the following address:

American Legion Post #172
260 4th Avenue SE
(Hwy. 169 & Cty. Rd. 81)
Osseo, Minnesota 55369

He has a website at:

http://www.duncanbenefit.blogspot.com/

Please help this American warrior any way you can!

Family Feud?

A Tacoma, Washington, home has been stripped of anything of value that could be carried away and debris and trash left behind! The owner had evicted her sister and set about remodeling the house.

An ad on Craigslist appeared on the advertising website that said people could come to the unlocked house and take whatever they wanted! And take they did--windows, light fixtures, cabinets, hot water heater and even the kitchen sink! The stunned owner said she didn't know where to start cleaning or how to put it back together!

Police suspect sibling rivalry and said they couldn't arrest anyone!

I wonder what Christmas was like in this family? I doubt they ever played Dirty Santa! You know, the game where you bid on "gifts" and can take someone else's gift! They would've most likely played the "extreme" version! heh

Horse is Not a Designated Driver!

SYLVANIA, Ala. (AP) — A northeast Alabama police chief says D-U-I charges can apply even when the vehicle has four legs instead of wheels. Sylvania Police Chief Brad Gregg said 40-year-old Melissa Byrum York of Henager went for a midnight horseback ride through Sylvania and was charged with driving under the influence and drug offenses. The incident happened Sunday.
Police in the DeKalb County town say she used the horse to ram a police car. She's also been charged with animal cruelty and second-degree assault.
Gregg also said York had warrants for her arrest in neighboring Jackson County.

Hmmm, sounds like someone should've kept their drunk, drugged rear-end at home!

Hershey’s Antioxident Chocolate

GOOD NEWS!!!!!!!!!

Hershey has introduced two new products - antioxidant milk chocolate and whole bean chocolate. Antioxidants, touted as having health benefits, have previously been found in dark chocolate. Whole bean chocolate includes nutrients found in cocoa beans to create a sweet chocolate that is lower in sugar (about 40 percent) and high in fiber and antioxidants. Both new products come in 3-ounce bars and 4.2-ounce pouches, with suggested retail prices of $1.99 and $2.99. They should be available locally now

Yellow Mama

That's the nickname of Alabama's electric chair. It was built by a British convict in 1927 and got its name from the highway-line paint that made it a bright yellow! It was an eye-catcher, for sure!

When I was 15-16, I was planning to go to Youth Legislature in Montgomery and needed a bill to propose. I decided to have one that said the death penalty should be discontinued. I made an appointment to see the warden of Kilby Prison to discuss the death penality with him. I spent the night with my sister and she dropped me off at the prison the next day. The warden was busy when I got there, so I was put in a waiting room that contained prisoners and their visitors! Can we say uncomfortable?! I was sitting by the open door--actually, I think it was a doorless opening--and not planning to move an inch! There were a couple of long windows that went to the floor and I noticed prisoners outside doing things like picking up trash. One of them came up to the window and looked in. I averted my eyes but felt him staring and became even more uncomfortable! When the person came to take me to the warden's office, I almost hopped up to get out of there asap!

I can't remember what all we talked about, but the warden was very nice--especially since I'm sure he had more important things to do! After our short conversation, he surprised me by asking if I'd like to see the electric chair! Without giving it any thought, I quickly said yes!

It was in another building and to get there I had to go with two guards across the prison yeard where there were prisoners! The first step was going through a door that was in a 2-3 story wall of iron bars. One guard went through, then me and then the other guard. When that door clanked shut, chills went up my neck! Suddenly, I wasn't so sure I wanted to do this!

We stepped out into the prison yard and I was immediately aware of the prisoners, but the guards were walking closely, so I felt pretty safe. Had he asked, though, I probably would've let him carry me like a 3 yr old across the yard! heh We talked on the way to another smaller building and had to walk up steps to the second floor. The hallway to the execution chamber was on the outside wall of the building and I think there were about three cells on the way. As soon as we came in, the prisoners were begging for cigarettes. I am sure they were very courious about what was going on and why I was there. And there, as we passed the last cell, was Yellow Mama. I don't know what I was expecting, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't a big shiny yellow chair! There were straps all over it and the guards were telling me what went where. And then they wanted to know if I wanted to sit in it! Sit in the electric chair?! I feel sure I declined! I remember I had on an orange and white sweater and a white skirt, but for the life of me, I can't remember if I sat in the electric chair!!! Why, oh why, didn't I take my camera with me?!

The guards explained how once the prisoner was "situated" in the chair, someone took the small sign that looked like a wooden lollipop with "ready" on one side and put it in a hole in the brick wall, which was only a partial wall, where the "juice" was to let them know it was time to turn the swich on. This was directly behind Yellow Mama. (Notice in the picture in the rgt side, looks like the sign was still being used when it was put in another prison, except this time using a one-way mirror.)

All of this was interesting, but I was glad to leave and I can't even remember the outcome of my bill. I think there were more than we could get to for the long week-end that we were allowed to sit in the desks, fullibuster and vote on bills! And besides, there was this really cute guy from Talladega!

Yellow Mama was retired and in 2002 lethal injection became the execution choice. I also changed my mind about the death penalty long ago.

Amazing Race All Stars 4/1

Last night was a 2 hr show--I'm tired already! I could do the short version and just tell you who won! But I guess I'll give you all the details. This may take awhile! I need a diet Dr Pepper!

First to leave, the charming (cough) Charna and Mirna. They decide to wait on Oswald and Danny so they can share a taxi. They have tickets to Warsaw, Poland to look for Czapski Palace, childhood home of Chopin, but look for a better way to get there. Surprise! Mirna is pushy with the ticket agents, too! They are stuck at the airport for 7 grumbling hours! In the end, Kandice and Dustin are lucky and get the last 2 seats on a plane to Poland. Bill has a fit at the airport when they can't get on the plane, even though it's still on the tarmac. (Been there!)

The beauty queens find the palace and do the Perfect Pitch task. They have to tune a piano and do so pretty quickly. They're off to the next Pit Stop and are first to hit the mat. They win a trip to Puerto Rico. They finished before two of the teams ever got on a plane!

Oswald and Danny break a couple of piano wires before they get it right, Charna and Mirna give up and look for the palace. . Mirna says people won't help them and run away when they try to talk to them. She wonders if it's because Charna is a little person. They finally find a young woman willing to help them get to a laboratory so they can x-ray their mannequin to find their clue. It had to be at the right angle to be seen. Uchenna and Joyce tune the piano pretty fast. Eric and Danielle break a piano wire but manage to finish ahead of the Quidos who chose the mannequin. Joe and Bill are last to finish and have a 30 mins time extention at the end of the next leg.

The next clue is to take a charter bus to the concentration camp of Auschwitz-Birkenan, where over one million people were killed by the Nazis. Bill makes the statement that Eric and Danielle don't have a brain and they can beat them with brain power! Eric and Danielle get into an argument because she wants a cup of coffee and he says they can't afford it! This goes on and on until she moves to another area, Al-l-righty then!

First bus leaves for Auschwitz with Uchenna and Joyce, Oswald and Danny and Kandice and Dustin. Being there is very emotional and each team lights a candle for the victims.

This is an Intersection task which means two teams have to do it together. Uchenna and Joyce and Danny and Oswalk decide to do the counting steps together and that means Kandice and Dustin have to wait for the second bus to pick another team.

Uchenna and Joyce finish with Danny and Oswald and both teams hit the mat together. Phil tells them there is only one prize, so Danny and Oswald give it to Uchenna and Joyce and they win a trip to Saint Lucia.

Meanwhile, Kandice and Dustin have to wait 4 hrs for the second bus and since Charna and Mirna are the first off the bus, ask them if they want to do the detour with them. They choose Eat It and have to make some sausage and then sit down to each eat EIGHT FEET of Kielbasa Polish sausage!! I don't know how it tastes but who wants that much of anything?! Yuk! They start shoveling it in and Bill and Joe and Eric and Danielle show up. One of the beauty queens is the first to vomit and Charna sticks a knife down her throat! The other teams have to listen to this while trying to choke down their sausage! Ewwwwww! Makes me queasy just thinking about it!

Each team has to find a marked car and drive 20 miles to the town of Skala and find the Pieskowa Castle. Kandice and Dustin are first to find them and take off. Mirna can't get the car out of park and other teams are making fun of her driving! She and Charna get into a shouting match with Charna telling her she doesn't scream at her enough! Mirna gets a taxi driver to drive ahead of her and he gets another driver and she screams she doesn't have enough money for two. After pleading, they lower the price from $100 to $50.

Arriving at the castle, one member had to don a medieval suit of armour and lead a horse to the gate of the castle and hand it to a stableboy. Why Charna did this, I don't know. You could tell there was going to be a problem! She fell down twice and the horse walked in circles around her but she finally made it!

Joe and Bill finished just ahead of Eric and Danielle but because of the time penalty were eliminated. (Yay!) Bill made this syrupy speech that I just can't repeat! You don't want me to be sick, do you?

April Fool!

[YouTube link]

We used to enjoy watching Mr. Bean on PBS and this was one of the funny skits Rowan did! I thought walking through hot sand was a hard way to get to the beach but I'd hate to have to face the steps in this video--going and maybe worse, coming back! wow