Say cheese!

So I finally went out and bought rechargeable batteries and a charger because my camera sucks battery power down like it's never going to see another battery again. After going through wayyy too many batteries to count and missing out on taking pictures, my camera is finally up and running again. To make sure we were running at full capacity, I had to take a couple practice shots. I've attached one of my favorite guy with one of his annoyed "mom, I'm trying to sleep" looks...we'll call him Vampire Kitini because he has some pretty fab fangs and because he wishes to remain anonymous. Isn't he just the most adorable fuzzball ever? Maybe I just think that because he's my baby. Everyone thinks their children are the cutest. Don't worry people, I won't create a slideshow or anything.

Old man winter took a vacation!

I live in Michigan where they say if you don't like the weather, wait a minute, it'll change. Boy is that true! Today we had a high of 60, which broke the record from 1946 where we got up to 58 degrees. Our normal temperature around this time of year is 31. Since it felt like spring, I had to get to the beach and see what was going on. The picture was taken at an inlet from Lake Michigan. The water did have a nice coating of ice but the weather today broke that up. I love the sound of melting snow/ice. : ) This December has been crazy. We've had close to 50 inches of snow already (although the weather today melted most of that - whoo hoo!) and a day last week where the temp was 9! Of course the warmer weather we had today isn't lasting and we should be in the 20's tomorrow. Ugh! I seriously need to get the heck out of here by the time the next winter rolls around. I'm debating between Tennessee, Georgia and California. Who knows where I'll end up?

The Bite Before Christmas

T'was the night before Christmas
When all through the manor
Every creature was stirring
In black velvet glamour

The candles blazed on the mantle
In a flaming rage
Lighting the way for those
Far from beyond the grave

How the mortals were nestled
All snug in their beds,
Elusive visions of Christmas
Floating dreamily in their heads

But the dark Master and Mistress
Draped in their capes
Had plans quiet contradictory
To the Holy Saint

Over treetops they flew
Through the icy night sky
They reached their destination
As the midnight bells chimed

Up on the rooftop
The dark couple did land
The mortals woke with a start
Knowing evil was at hand

The mortals cautiously peered
Through a window of frost
Knowing they would pay
The ultimate cost

The moon on the crest
Of the new fallen snow
Cast an illusive shadow
On the ghastly pale faces below

Their eyes gleamed with hunger
Their movements were stealth
Silent were the mortal's screams
Their terror was felt

The Wicked slyly appeared
In the corner of the room
Staring into the frightened souls
Who felt certain doom

They wasted no time,
But went direct for the veins
Their touch intoxicating
As they sunk in their fangs

Death came too quickly
Yet the hunger was sated
Disappearing into the mist
They mysteriously faded

The last mortal memory
Was sarcastically trite
Mockingly, the Vampires
exclaimed:

"Merry Christmas to all
and to all a good Bite."

by Marita Jaeger and Camille Burgin
(very slightly edited by me)

Too much hate and not enough love.

While I'm on the topic of religion tonight, there is an article that came about due to Sarah Palin's church being set on fire by means of arson. Click here to read that article. My favorite part was the very last paragraph:

"Secularists in the west say to the apologists of the religions: your beliefs are your choice, so take your place in the queue. They also say: you've had it your own way for a very long time and committed a lot of crimes in the process and you still fancy yourself entitled, but you aren't. You don't smell too good at times, so don't try to tell me what I can read, see on TV, do in my private time, think or say. In fact, keep your sticky fingers off my life. Believe what you like but don't expect me to admire or excuse you because of it, rather the contrary, given the fairy stories in question. And when you are a danger to the lives and liberties of others, which alas is too frequently the wont of your ilk, we will speak out against you as loudly, persistently, and uncompromisingly as we can."

There is talk that Mrs. Palin's church was set afire because they promoted a Focus on the Family conference that was there to turn gay people straight. Your gayness can be overcome! What a crock of crap. If the church was set on fire because of this, I have to say that two wrongs don't make a right. It's sad that certain people of certain religions can't just love and accept everybody...isn't that what the Bible says to do? Hmm? And when someone feels they are being attacked, they may want to lash out but you have to stop and think, what will this accomplish? Usually nothing because the person/thing you're lashing out at isn't going to change. It continues to be a vicious circle and the only way to change the situation is to change your way of looking at it. I'm saddened anytime that I hear of predjudices whether they be religious, racial, sexual, financial (rich vs poor) or otherwise. Unfortunately, there will always be someone that wants to bully someone else. If only the bully could feel the pain they are inflicting. Emotional scars last far longer and go far deeper than physical scars.

Freedom of religion means any religion.

A friend of mine sent me an article the other day about a new religion course being taught in schools in Quebec. I'll wait while you read the article here. This is ridiculous. Why are these parents so appalled? Is it because their child might learn something new that makes more sense to them than the religion they were brought up with? Or are they thinking this may lead to their children questioning aspects of their faith that they (the parents) can't answer? Let's not forget that questioning aspects of a religion can mean that you're doubtful of what you've been following and may make you fall out of grace with others around you that are following that faith because questioning just isn't allowed. Whew, that was a long sentence. If these parents are so strong in their faith and feel their children are too, then they shouldn't be worried. It's just information that the child may not have known before. It doesn't mean that the school is trying to sway anyone. Technically, it's comparable to teaching an Irish student about Spanish history. It happens all the time and no one pitches a fit. But with anything religious, you gotta' tiptoe around it. Yeesh!

Does the smell of a juicy burger turn you on?

Apparently Burger King thinks the aroma of their burgers can get you in the mood. This was on my local evening news last night and it's no joke. For only $3.99 you can smell like a flame-broiled whopper. Click here to get started. Once you're on their site, you can click to spray. Keep clicking...I dare you! It's pretty risque for BK.

Biggest and brightest moon tonight.

"The moon is a white strange world, great, white, soft-seeming globe in the night sky, and what she actually communicates to me across space, I shall never fully know."

D. H. Lawrence

Supposedly at midnight tonight, you should see the moon high above you in all it's radiant glory. If you're interested in the science behind the biggest and brightest moon of the year, click here.

Picture shown is of the moonrise in North Carolina. Wish I was there...no snow!

So this is Christmas.

This is the first year I have put my foot down and said, "No, I will not be celebrating Christmas.". I'm not trying to be a Scrooge so no "bah humbug" from me but I just don't see the point of celebrating a holiday that is supposed to be about the birth of Jesus when I don't believe in Jesus the same way a Christian would. Yes yes, I know, Christmas has become quite commercialized so I should still go with the flow and celebrate it, right? Wrong. Our society has become much too greedy for our own good and our current economy shows this. We have people living wayyy beyond their means and every Christmas just puts more and more of us in the hole trying to one up the other person in our gift giving. I'm not saying we're all like this but if you look around, there are a lot of people trying to keep up with the Jones' and look what's happening? We're losing our homes, we're past our eyeballs in credit card debt, our cars are being repossessed and the idea of claiming bankruptcy has lost the stigma that it once had. Christmas shouldn't be about who can spend more money than the other person. That's just my opinion and since this is my blog, I'm going to feel free to share it. Now I'm going to share some popular Christmas song titles, with my own twist. Enjoy!

Did you ever think that Rudolph was the red-nosed reindeer because he had a bit too much egg nog and not just around the holidays?
Here comes Santa Claus...Okay kiddies, if you're over the age of 12, we need to talk.
Have yourself a merry little Christmas...key word "YOURself"
Grandma got run over by a reindeer...is this really the message we want to send?
God rest ye merry, gentlemen...please just go away.
Go tell it on the mountain...or anywhere but here.
Hark! The herald angels sing...enough with the singing!
All I want for Christmas is...peace and quiet.
I don't want to deck the halls or jingle bells and I definitely don't want to see mommy kissing Santa Claus. I will not be rockin' around the Christmas tree. I just want a silent night and a silent day for that matter. This is most definitely not the most wonderful time of the year.

Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la. : )

Winter winter everywhere!

I'm sure most of you have read these diary entries before but I live in a state where we get too much snow for my taste so I just had to post it here.

December 8 - 6pm

It started to snow. The first snow of the season and the wife and I took our cocktails and sat for hours by the window, watching the huge soft flakes drift down from heaven. It looked like a Grandma Moses Print. So romantic we felt like newlyweds again. I love snow!

December 9

We woke to a beautiful blanket of crystal white snow covering every inch of the landscape. What a fantastic sight! Can there be a more lovely place in the Whole World? Moving here was the best idea I've ever had. Shoveled for the first time in years and felt like a boy again. I did both our driveway and the sidewalks. This afternoon the snow plow came along and covered up the sidewalks and closed in the driveway, so I got to shovel again. What a perfect life!

December 12

The sun has melted all our lovely snow. Such a disappointment. My neighbor tells me not to worry, we'll definitely have a white Christmas. No snow on Christmas would be awful! Bob says we'll have so much snow by the end of winter, that I'll never want to see snow again. I don't think that's possible. Bob is such a nice man. I'm glad he's our neighbor.

December 14

Snow, lovely snow! 8" last night. The temperature dropped to -20. The cold makes everything sparkle so. The wind took my breath away, but I warmed up by shoveling the driveway and sidewalks. This is the life! The snowplow came back this afternoon and buried everything again. I didn't realize I would have to do quite this much shoveling, but I'll certainly get back in shape this way. I wish I wouldn't huff and puff so.

December 15

20" forecast. Sold my van and bought a 4x4 Blazer. Bought snow tires for the wife's car and 2 extra shovels. Stocked the freezer. The wife wants a wood stove in case the electricity goes out. I think that's silly. We aren't in Alaska, after all.

December 16

Ice storm this morning. Fell on my butt on the ice in the driveway putting down salt. Hurt like hell. The wife laughed for an hour, which I think was very cruel.

December 17

Still way below freezing. Roads are too icy to go anywhere. Electricity was off for 5 hours. I had to pile the blankets on to stay warm. Nothing to do but stare at the wife and try not to irritate her. Guess I should've bought a wood stove, but won't admit it to her. God I hate it when she's right. I can't believe I'm freezing to death in my own living room.

December 20

Electricity's back on, but had another 14" of the damn stuff last night. More shoveling. Took all day. The damn snowplow came by twice. Tried to find a neighbor kid to shovel, but they said they're too busy playing hockey. I think they're lying. Called the only hardware store around to see about buying a snow blower and they're out. Might have another shipment in March. I think they're lying. Bob says I have to shovel or the city will have it done and bill me. I think he's lying.

December 22

Bob was right about a white Christmas because 13 more inches of the white crap fell today, and it's so cold it probably won't melt till August. Took me 45 minutes to get all dressed up to go out to shovel and then I had to pee. By the time I got undressed, peed and dressed again, I was too tired to shovel. Tried to hire Bob who has a plow on his truck for the rest of the winter; but he says he's too busy. I think he's lying.

December 23

Only 2" of snow today. And it warmed up to 0. The wife wanted me to decorate the front of the house this morning. What is she, nuts??? Why didn't she tell me to do that a month ago? She says she did but I think she's damn well lying.

December 24

6". Snow packed so hard by snowplow, I broke the shovel. Thought I was having a heart attack. If I ever catch the son of a gun who drives that snowplow, I'll drag him through the snow by his balls. I know he hides around the corner and waits for me to finish shoveling and then he comes down the street at 100 miles an hour and throws snow all over where I've just been! Tonight the wife wanted me to sing Christmas carols with her and open our presents, but I was busy watching for the damn snowplow.

December 25

Merry Christmas. 20 more inches of the @#$%^& slop tonight. Snowed in. The idea of shoveling makes my blood boil. God I hate the snow! Then the snowplow driver came by asking for a donation and I hit him over the head with my shovel. The wife says I have a bad attitude. I think she's an idiot. If I have to watch It's a Wonderful Life one more time, I'm going to kill her.

December 26

Still snowed in. Why the hell did I ever move here? It was all HER idea. She's really getting on my nerves.

December 27

Temperature dropped to -30 and the pipes froze. Plumber came after 14 hours of waiting for him. He only charged me $1,400.00 to replace all my pipes.

December 28

Warmed up to above -20. Still snowed in. My wife is driving me crazy!!!

December 29

10 more inches. Bob says I have to shovel the roof or it could cave in. That's the silliest thing I ever heard. How dumb does he think I am?

December 30

Roof caved in. The snow plow driver is suing me for a million dollars for the bump on his head. The wife went home to her mother. 9" predicted.

December 31

Set fire to what's left of the house. No more shoveling!

January 8

I feel so good. I just love those little white pills they keep giving me. Why am I tied to the bed?