Um.....

Came across this product today...??? (and no, its not my company's product!)

Middle Ages--Part I

I am middle-aged. Surprise or no (it was for me), its true--I have officially and, oddly enough, proudly, entered the ranks of the no-longer-young. My first indication was my dissatisfaction with the radio show I have been listening to for more than a decade. The dj's continual rantings about the ugly new UTAH license plates really got on my nerves. Mike and I found ourselves asking each other at night "Can you believe how stupid the morning show has gotten?" Maybe, I submit, the morning show hasn't changed--I HAVE. Was I ever dumb enough to think this crap was entertaining? SERIOUSLY, who cares about organizing a political movement to bring back the old "Ski Utah" plates? While I actually agree with him about the plate, I just couldn't stomach another morning of the complaining.
Then there was the whole "I Kissed A Girl"/police incident. I was driving home from work in a residential neighborhood, while listening to the radio. A song came on the radio about a girl kissing another girl, tasting her cherry chapstick, and liking it. "SINCE WHEN DID THIS BECOME A LESBIAN RADIO SHOW?", I asked myself, checking the dial to be sure it wasn't on the wrong number. I was not titillated or aroused, JUST HORRIFIED. What if Maddy heard this? How the heck would I explain? THEN, I notice the sirens and flashing lights in my rearview mirror. I was going 28 in a 25 and the officer had been following me for 6 blocks. He gave me a ticket. I blame it on that song, that dj, and that station. And the fact that I am too old... (The fact that I don't blame the cop is yet another confirmation that I am getting O-L-D)

After a few brushes with AM radio, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and other frighteningly ignorant radical talk radio hosts, I happily settled on the lower end of the FM dial, to National Public Radio. It used to irritate me that my "older" collegues would listen to NPR on their radios (low volume) at work. The other day I walked in to work, heard NPR and thought--"hey, I was just listening to that in the car, I wish he'd turn it up..." The evidence is incontrovertable. I'm old.

BUMMER--BYE WEEK

I can't seem to get enough...

This One's for Christine...

A few weeks ago I had lunch with a friend from Moscow. She arrived looking great, as usual, but she had on one of those shirts--you know, the "high-waisted" ones that are gathered immediately under the chest--and I had one of my foot-in-mouth moments when I asked her if she was expecting. NEXT TIME I will not put that kind of karma out in the universe, because although she graciously forgave me my blunder, today, when I wore the shirt below, no fewer than THREE different people delightedly commented that they didn't know I WAS EXPECTING A HAPPY EVENT!! Well, my happy event will be the burning of this shirt when I get it off my back tonight. Here's to you, Christine.

PS CAN YOU TELL ITS BEEN A LONG DAY??

Laughing so hard I can barely type...

Cougar Mania!!

I thought I was a pretty avid Cougar fan, having participated personally in the yearly frenzy as a member of the POWER OF THE WASATCH, the COUGAR MARCHING BAND. (Some day I'll post a pic. of me in my marching uniform.) BUT....I was wrong. It turns out that I am only a tepid, pathetic sort of fan, in comparison with the FREAKS that come out in Provo, UT on the big game day. FACE and TORSO PAINTING replace unremarkable and modest dress modes, normally humble, pleasant people wave fists screaming "GO COUGS!" long before the first minute of play, and vehicles wave blue and white cougar flags and sport all manner of ridiculous decorations. LOOK WHAT I FOUND at the neighorhood market!!!!
LOOK CLOSELY, because the noodles are actually tiny COUGAR HEADS, yes, now you can
EAT Cosmo the COUGAR at your game day lunch!! This weekend, my brother and his boys, (who, incidentally, cut their milk teeth on stories of the "EVIL RED TEAM" up the street--BYUs rivalry with red-sporting U. of UT is LEGENDARY) came down to cheer our team. He only had one ticket, and hit the streets trying to pick up a few more. Check out his sign:

You non-mormons aren't going to get that sign, and I really can't explain it--suffice to say it smacks of its own brand of FAN-atical freak-ness. OK, its more of a joke, and yes, you can see my artistic touches in the cougar prints, but seriously, people didn't bat an eye. AND HE DIDN'T GET ANY TICKETS. Don't worry, tho', he sent his oldest boy with Uncle Mike, GRAMPA DON and cousin NICK (check out the family blog), so everything worked out OK. And happily for his "testimony," there was slaughter enough to satisfy even via television (he could hear the roaring crowd from our yard) so he's still going to go to church. SO FOR NOW, aside from being just the tiniest bit backward (I was shooting from the wrong side of the party),everything is OKELY-DOKELY here in Happy Valley (see below).

Where have you seen the sky looking like this?

For those of you who will never see my desktop, I'm sharing my current photograpic pic.