A Fool and His Money...

Heads or Tails - Today’s Topic: Heads - Fool! In honor of April fool’s day.

“A fool and his money are soon parted.”
--Thomas Tusser, English farmer and writer, 1524-1580
There are so many excellent quotes about fools and foolishness, but this one is most appropriate for me right now. My husband and I have been having a tiff about money for over a week now that all started with this incident.

Hubby recently lost his personal debit card. Actually, he didn’t lose it; he let his daughters use it, one who can’t keep up with her driver’s license, and another who loses gift cards all the time and can’t remember to get her lunch out of the refrigerator in the morning, neither daughter extremely responsible, and guess what? They lost it.

He (in his foolishness), parted with his money (to the daughters) in the form of a debit card, now lost. The problem for me? He’s also parted with MY money! Since his card has been lost, all of his little charges keep adding up on OUR account (we keep an "ours" account and our separate personal accounts). He acrues several debits per day, making it impossible for me to keep an accurate balance, causing me to look like the bad guy when I question whether he’s paid back the expenses which are clearly designated to be paid from our personal accounts so that we will be able cover the general budget issues (such as house note, insurance, electricity) with our account, the way it’s supposed to be. It's just aggravating!

Update: The card was replaced, and he has no charges to pay in regards to that one. But I'm still dealing with figuring out our situation since he used our joint account while his card was lost. And he gets angry at me for questioning his debits.
Here’s hoping no one plays any April fool’s day jokes on you!

Click HERE to visit other Heads or Tails posts.

And thank you, Skittles, for hosting this great meme!

Menu Plan Monday

Lunches this week will consist of turkey hoagies or peanut butter sandwiches, chips, and fruit such as cantaloupe, strawberries, pineapple, or applesauce. No desserts this week (except fruit).

Monday - Hamburger helper for the kids (Yep, we still use the old stand-by!) and pasta with marinara sauce for the adults.

Tuesday - Crock pot roast with seasoning salt, onions, baby carrots, and peeled, chopped potatoes.

Wednesday - Shish-ka-bobs and rice. The shish-ka-bobs are made with marinated T-bone steak, onion, cherry tomatoes, red bell pepper, and mushrooms. My husband grills them.

Thursday - My husband's guys night out. After piano, baseball practice, and driving school, the kids and I will probably get fast food.

Friday - Pizza night!

Go here to see what others are planning for their week.

Out of this World

(This prompt was inspired by Sunday Scribblings. The theme this week is “Out of this World.”)
Circa 1981, I’m sitting on the plush carpet of the family room floor of my boyfriend’s house, completely enthralled and mesmerized by… Space Invaders! Does anyone out there remember this game? I could play it for hours!

Space Invaders hit US markets in 1980 or 1981. Luckily for me, I dated a boy who was fortunate enough to have an Atari 2600 game system. I only had Pong – remember that? I’m really dating myself now.

This game was amazing! High technology for its day and time. The game itself is very simple. You shoot at aliens moving across the screen and try to hide behind barriers to avoid missiles sent down by the aliens. Occasionally a UFO glides across the top of the screen, and if you hit it, you earn bonus points. You must shoot all of the aliens before they work their way down the screen to attack you, and you must do this with three “lives.”
I read some interesting trivia and actually played a game of it tonight. Wanna try? Click here.

To visit other Sunday Scribblings writers, click here.

Scrolling Saturdays

It's good to be back! Scrolling Saturdays is a meme sponsored by SuchSimplePleasures. Come join us! Here's what SSP says about it: "Go and find yourself an unloved and virtually unwanted, archived post. Give it a little smoochie. And...display it for your new friends to see. Yeah, I know...it's that easy."

6 Random Facts About Me - originally posted on November 10, 2007

1. I love words, and I love to make up my own words. I decided a few weeks ago that "randoming" is my new word. When people are saying random things that have nothing to do with the conversation, or they change the topic abruptly, I say that they are "randoming." Two other phrases I like to use are "soon ago" (versus "long ago," which people always say) and "ever-the-more" when anyone says "nevertheless"). Weird? Strange? Maybe. That's me!

2. Another random fact about me is that I love to take pictures and videos, if I only had more time! I can sit at the computer for hours working with my pictures, making slideshows, adding music to a video I've made, or anything along those lines. I'm no expert, though! I just think it is great fun!

3. I am supposed to be on my way to a martini party right now. It started 45 minutes ago, but we want to be "fashionably late." It's only 2 houses down! And the funny thing is... I don't even like martinis!

4. I have a brown belt in tae-kwon-do. When I remarried and moved 2 and a half years ago, I quit taekwondo, but I wanted to quit anyway because I'm not getting any younger, and my friend broke her ankle breaking boards, so I figured it was time. Now I am not in shape, though, so I miss that.

5. I have 11 year old twins, a boy and a girl. Both my grandmother and my ex-husband's grandmother were twins. And now I have twin step-grandsons who are about a month old and still in the hospital. Lots of twins in the family. (update - the twins are healthy and at home and six months old now)

6. I have quite a large collection of Dreamsicles which I posted about for Sunday Scribblings a couple of weeks ago. They are so sweet and pretty. I have gotten tired of getting them, though, because I have no place to put them anymore, and because I don't want a Dreamsicle for the sake of having a Dreamsicle, only if it is special to me in some way such as signifying the birth of my babies or something of that nature. Click the word "Dreamsicles" in the first sentence to see that post.

Friday's Feast

Appetizer
What does the color dark green make you think of?

A lush forest with plentiful oaks.

Soup
How many cousins do you have?

I'm not sure. First cousins? 7 or 8? 2nd or 3rd cousins? Really, no idea. None of them live in my state.

Salad
On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being highest, how honest are you?

Probably 9. Honesty is something I've come to value highly.

Main Course
Name something that is truly free.

Air. And for the most part, love. If it's real.

Dessert
Using the letters in the word SPRING, write a sentence.

Sometimes phantoms resurrect in nighttime gloom.

(That was really hard!)

Click here to visit other Friday's Feast main page.

Thursday Thirteen # 23

Image courtesy of Jenn at Enjoying the Ride. Thanks, Jenn!

We spent spring break in Orlando and frequented all four theme parks. It was absolutely the best vacation I have ever taken with my kids! I've been to DISNEY before, but it's so different through the eyes of my children. Here are my Top 13 rides, attractions, events, and shows from this trip. I have pictures of everything, but for conservation of space, I will only post a few right now. You can refer to a previous post (Best ride, best show, best parade) to see some other photos if you so choose.

1. Expedition Everest, a thrilling roller coaster ride at Animal Kingdom. Loved the final plunge!

2. Aerosmith Rock-n-Roller Coaster at Hollywood Studios (formerly MGM), another coaster. Go from 0 to 60 in 2.8 seconds, plus go backwards and upside down - in the dark! A Rockin' good time!

3. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad - still another coaster at Magic Kingdom. This is one of my favorites because it's timeless and my kids enjoyed it so much.

4. Disney Dreams Come True Parade at Magic Kingdom. The song still sticks in my head! I love the atmosphere, the gorgeous floats, the characters, the elaborate costumes, the dancing, singing. The whole sha-bang!

5. Having our picture taken with the Mouse himself, Mickey, at Animal Kingdom. He even kissed my hand.

6. The Festival of the Lion King, a fairly new show at Animal Kingdom. The costumes were amazing as well as the life-size animatronics. It included singing, dancing, audience participation, and even some great acrobatics.

7. Space Mountain, another roller coaster, and another Magic Kingdom tradition. Loved it not only because it's a great ride, but my children were so excited.

8. The Kilimanjaro Safari at Animal Kingdom with 110 acres of reserve with natural habitats for lions, elephants, alligators, giraffes, warthogs, various antelopes, and both black and white rhinos.

9. Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor at Magic Kindom. This had some great improv comedy that was kid-friendly and included audience participation. It was so darn cute!

10. Test Track at Epcot. This is set up as though you are in a car being tested for its traction, exposure to the elements, braking system, and speed. You're actually in a car-like vehicle going through these "tests" and zooming around an elevated race track.

11. The Backlot Tour at Hollywood Studios. I've been on it before, but it seemed new experiencing it through the eyes of my children.

12. The Fireworks Spectacular at Magic Kingdom. We got a tiny glimpse of Tinkerbell, and the flares and fireworks filled us with awe and amazement. The colorful, booming spectacle seemed endless.

13. The Show at the Castle Court at Magic Kingdom. Another display of talented singers and dancers with a great story to go with it. Being up close to all of the characters was memorable.

Don't forget to visit other Thursday Thirteeners, and I'm happy to hear anyone's comments!

Deja Vu and Persistence - Writer's Island

This week’s, and the twenty seventh Writer’s Island prompt is: “Déjà vu”.

What inner chord might “Déjà vu” strike? Please share with us what resonates for you!

••> This week we turn to the wonderful new movie release, Under The Same Moon, as the source of our fifth Matinee Muse prompt — “Persistence”. See if that stirs your creative juices. The movie will stir your heart.

"Déjà vu"

A dizzying, fish-in-my-brain, head-swimming feeling washes over me.
Weak knees give way beneath me.
I observe the filmy, milk white edges of my tunnel vision.
It's familiar, yet foreign.
I've never been here in my life, but I've been here!


"Persistence"

We "live" with persistent salespeople. What are ya gonna do?

Take door-to-door magazine salespeople. I'm in the middle of cooking a lovely meal for a hungry family of six when, ding-dong, the doorbell rings. I answer the door as I wipe my hands on a dish towel only to see an unknown hand thrust at me as if I were seeing a long-lost buddy. I don't know that person! Worse, I don't know where that hand has been.

Instead of getting to the point, the salesperson drones into a long saga about the program with whom he is connected, how it's kept him honest and off the streets, and how it's teaching him values the rest of society, not to mention his own parents, failed to teach him. He interjects comments and compliments implying my own good, personal values and ethics making me feel rather ashamed that I'd really like to be rude and shut the door in his face.

He is so smooth and persistent that we've had a twenty minute conversation before he ever gets to the heart of what he is selling and how I can help him achieve a bonus. He's relentless and tenacious, and I'm doomed. I'll take one of everything, please.

Click here to visit more from Writer's Island.

Wordless Wednesday

I'm Gonna Scream!

I know this has NEVER happened to any of you! I read your blogs. I see your sweet angels. I hear your cute stories. So, this would never happen at your house, but at my house, it's about to drive me completely and totally batty. (no offense to you bat lovers out there)

The 11 year olds (boy/girl twins, in case you didn't know) are in 6th grade, and they are preparing for 9 week tests. These brother/sister twins are extrememly different, though they both make A's and B's in all subjects. My daughter - she's the meticulous one. Everything has to be "just so." It takes her an hour to complete a 9 question worksheet! I am NOT exaggerating! And math isn't my best or favorite subject, so we usually butt heads (hahaha - butt heads! I am so slap-happy right now) over how to do the math problems. It took her forever to get her math work done. Ten o'clock rolls around and she's finally out of the bath and she wants to study for science and math! I'm thinking, "You gotta be kidding me!" Well, we do, albeit in a hurry. The girl who's so tired and just wants to go to bed early and who has an ear infection - FINALLY got to bed about 10:40. Time limits for homework - nope. Won't work. Time limits for bath - nope. Won't work. This child moves to her own time and it seems like nothing I can do helps her get things done in a decent amount of time.

The brother, well, he's the opposite in that he'll get his work finished if I stay on top of him the whole time, but not if I leave him alone for more than a second. He'll wander off to bother his sister while she's trying to work. He's more apt to have careless answers or incomplete work. When it's done, then he wants to get on the computer, then he wants to make a flip book out of post-it notes, then he wants to watch "George Lopez." It is neverending. I must have told him 95 times to brush his teeth and go to bed tonight!

And the arguing with each other has driven me half silly already. And the talking back is driving me the other half silly.

It's finally quiet and peaceful here, but it was work! Now I have so little ME time. I know that none of you have any idea what I am experiencing because your kids do what you ask them to do when you ask them to do it... right? You can go watch a movie, take a shower, run an errand, and your kids will be right where you left them doing exactly what you told them. Right?

I'm so frustrated because this is a TYPICAL night at my house. If you read this far, thanks!

Fun Monday ABC's

This is a new meme I found thanks to Hootin' Anni. I jumped over to Anecdotes, Antidotes, and Anodes to check it out. You choose a topic/theme and make an alphabetical list of words, phrases, photos...however you want to share your topic/theme. MY ABC's are about public restrooms! (I can't stand them, but they are necessary. It's my goal in life never to have to use a porta-potty again as public restrooms are bad enough as it is, even when they are in a building with running water.)

At public events such as basketball and baseball games

Broken lavatories

Camping

Dirty

Ewwwwww!

Floors are sticky

Gross

Hello?! Didn't your mother teach you anything?

In and out quickly

Just do what ya gotta do

Keep them clean!

Lines are forming

Must wash your hands

No toilet paper?! Argh!

Oh, No! I'm not cleaning up after a stranger!

People weren't meant to share potties!

Quick! Get some Lysol

Restroom sign

Stench

To sit or not to sit, that is the question.

Unpleasant

Very unpleasant

Wipe the seat before you leave

X-tra careful not to touch too many hard surfaces

Y can't I wait until I get home?

Zat'z all folks!

Can you tell I just don't like public restrooms?

Unconscious Mutterings

Unconscious Mutterings is a free association meme hosted by Luna Nina. Click this link to check out other participants's responses. There are already over 40 people playing. Why not join in?



She says :: I think


Money :: Necessary evil
Unhappy :: Sad
Joking :: JK
Chipmunk :: Chip & Dale
Date :: Night
Slideshow :: PowerPoint
Chicago :: Windy
Lifetime :: Warranty
Skid row :: Homeless
Edward :: Johnson (a friend)

I'm afraid mine weren't too original this week. I'll go see what I have in common with the rest!

Happy Easter!

Easter is a holy day for Christians around the world as we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. On the third day after his crucifixion, mourners went to retrieve the body only to find the tomb empty. Jesus had risen, and he is still risen today!

Symbols associated with Easter:

The Cross - on which Jesus was crucified

Lambs - Jesus is the lamb of God

Eggs, Butterflies, and Rabbits - all signify new life

For all my friends of different faiths, I wish you a happy spring!

I'm Back from Disney...

And exhausted! But I can't wait another minute to share a couple of my favorites from the trip.

What does a pirate pay to have his ears pierced?

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About a "buck an ear" (get it? Buccaneer!) Lame and corny, I know, but it was from the Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor, and I just had to share it.

My Favorite Ride

Expedition Everest in Animal Kingdom

"Train ride" roller coaster that's as smooth as silk, yet thrilling with its twists and turns and high altitude. Not only that, but you get to go backwards! There's also a heart-stopping plunge off the top of the peak. In a word, Awesome!

My Favorite Parade

Disney Dreams Come True in Magic Kingdom

Daytime parade with fabulous floats, costumes, singing, and dancing and all of your favorite Disney characters. You can't help but feel happy during this parade! In a word, Magical!

My Favorite Show

The Festival of the Lion King in Animal Kingdom

The sets are magnificent, and they use animatronics on floats with Pumba, Simba, a giraffe, and an elephant, all bigger than life. There is singing, dancing, acrobatics, and these are some talented performers. You'll be tapping your toes whether you want to or not! In a word, Fabulous!

More of my favorites to come in the near future. Consider this an appetizer. I noticed many of you are planning Disney trips in the near future, so if you've got any questions, I'll do my best to answer them.

On our Way to Disney!

Hi everyone! I am so excited! We are leaving for Disneyworld early Sunday morning for six days of fun-filled adventure. I am taking my 11 year old twins, and while, ideally, I would have taken them when they were younger, it was an issue of affordability. Disney is expensive! They are very excited as well, needless to say. My mom is going with us, too, although she may not have the energy to keep up with everything we do. She'll try, though.

If you leave a comment for me, and I don't answer right away, it's because I'm meeting Mickey, Minnie, Winnie, and Tigger at ToonTown! I AM SUCH A BIG KID!

In the meantime, here is a link to our photos from the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and the Rascal Flatts concert.

21 Win Salute!

I gotta support my hometown Rockets. Tonight they got a blackjack - they won their 21st game in a row, setting the record for second place in the history of basketball for number of consecutive games won. In addition, they defeated Charlotte to tie the Lakers for first place in the Western Conference. Sunday we play the Lakers. That'll be the game to watch.

The game tonight was awesome, AND I WAS THERE! I don't know how my husband scored tickets for this game, but he did it. We had a great time!

The End is Near

The end of The Ultimate Bog Party, that is. Thank you for coming to visit. Click here if you haven't seen my party post yet. I hope you had a laugh or two while you were here. Did you get to party-hop to plenty of blogs?



5 Minutes for Mom really outdid themselves with over 1300 participants and over 150 different prizes. I sure would love to win one! Who wouldn't? But even if I don't, I met a lot of new bloggers, and that was the point, wasn't it?

Before you go, I would like to give you a great big Texas thank you, and don't forget to grab a party bag on your way out! I hope you will be back to visit my blog.

Friday's Feast

This is my 12th edition. I sure missed doing this last week!

Appetizer
On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 as highest), how much do you like your own handwriting?

6????

Soup
Do you prefer baths or showers?

showers for quickness, but baths are more luxurious if I have the time.

Salad
What was the last bad movie you watched?

I can think of 2 recently that just didn't do much for me. There Will be Blood (please don't throw eggs!) and Michael Clayton (or tomatoes!)

Main Course
Name something you are addicted to and describe how it affects your life.

The Internet, specifically blogging. It interferes with my sleeping. I stay up too late reading and writing and posting photos, etc. Then I don't get enough sleep, but I still have to get up and go to work the next day. I promise myself I'll skip some Internet time and go to bed at a decent hour, but I rarely ever do.

Dessert
Which instrument is your favorite to listen to?

Piano. Both my daughters play. And I also enjoy listening to my daughter play her clarinet while her brother plays the trumpet as long as they're playing the same song.

Go to Friday's Feast to see more!

Thursday Thirteen-Cartoons

(T13 image courtesy of Jenn at Enjoying the Ride)



Thirteen obscure cartoons from my early childhood. I say "obscure" because, chances are, many of you have never heard of them! (Each name is a link to a site about that cartoon.)


1. Popeye the Sailorman - First appeared in 1929. Made an appearance in 1933 in Betty Boop. Famous for eating spinach to get strong to beat the antagonist Bluto. He was sweet on Olive Oil, and somehow, there was a baby (not theirs) named Sweet Pea. Wimpy was a friend with a "thing" for hamburgers. Catch phrase, "I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today."

2. The Pink Panther - One of my favorites. There was no dislogue, yet it had a captive audience! He was created in 1963 and made his first television appearance in 1969.

3. Woody the Woodpecker - Woody first appeared in an Andy Panda cartoon in 1940. His laugh, both amusing and annoying, was his trademark. His first TV show was in 1957.

4. Speedy Gonzalez - He was the "fastest mouse in all of Mexico." He first appeared on TV in 1953.

5. Speed Racer - The original anime' - directly from Japan with voice overs dubbed in English. He had a girlfriend, Trixie, a brother, Sprittle, who had a pet monkey, Chim Chim. His antagonist was the mysterious Racer X. His car was the Mach 5. Speed Racer was on television in 1967.


6. The Road Runner - This cartoon, set in the American southwest, pitted the Road Runner (beep! beep!) against Wile E. Coyote. They've been going at it since 1949. Coyote will never win!

7. Mighty Mouse - Superpowers meet opera! This cartoon debuted in 1942. His catch phrase was sung, "Here I Come to Save the Day!"

8. Josey and the Pussycats - This was created in 1963 and had its first television appearance in 1970. Much like scooby doo, they solved mysteries, but did so while rocking and rolling. It was a spinoff of the Archie series.

9. Heckle and Jeckle - I saw this playing on a little girl's TV in a movie recently, and I think it was Kill Bill II, of all things! Heckle and Jeckle were talking twin magpies who debuted in 1946.

10. George of the Jungle - "Watch out for that tree!!!!!!!!!!!!!" George was not very bright. He thought his elephant, Shep, was a dog. His female companion was Ursula. He was on TV in 1967 and there were only 17 episodes made of this cartoon.

11. Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids - This was one of my other favorites. This came to TV in 1972 with Bill Cosby voicing four of the characters including the title character. "We'll have some fun here, with me and all the gang, learning with each-other, while we do are thing. Nah, nah, nah, gonna have a good time. Hey! Hey! Hey!"

12. Casper - "Casper the friendly ghost, the friendliest ghost you know..." He was created in 1945. He first appeared on TV in 1959. I used to love watching Casper on Saturday mornings.


13. Baby Huey - He was none too bright, this poor huge duck! He was created in 1949 and began appearing on television in the early 50's.

Wordless Wednesday

I can't do "wordless!" My daughter's dream of seeing Rascal Flatts was fulfilled! Nothing can make a mom so happy as to see her child's dreams come true.

Heads or Tails

HEADS: Anything Green! Skittles over at Skittles Place hosts this cool meme. She offers a variety of topics, heads or tails, and we write and post our responses and link back to her. I'm proud to say I'm a HoTtie!

1. The green of a freshly-mowed lawn.

2. The soft, lime green of my daughter's comforter and sheers and the green of her "lucky" pillow that she got from the hospital when she had surgery. ( I really wanted a picture of this to show you, but argh! My camera (less than a month old) won't work! My tackle today was getting that darn camera replaced.

3. Green with envy.

4. The shamrock, a symbol of Ireland (and I have Irish blood running through these veins), is a green, 3-leafed clover. In Victorian times, the shamrock was used for medicinal reasons. It has come to represent Saint Patrick's Day. Shamrocks are said to bring good luck, though I had always heard it was only from the 4-leafed clover.

Tackle it Tuesday!

Tackle it Tuesday is hosted by 5 Minutes for Mom, though they are also smack-dab in the middle of The Ultimate Blog Party!

My tackle was my recipes. They were all over the place. I had one Betty Crocker recipe book, but the rest of my recipes were on papers stuck in a cabinet, and I would have to sift through all the papers to find the one I wanted. No more doing that!

I reorganized everything into a binder. I put all my Betty Crocker recipes that came from my book in first along with the dividers that came with the book. Next, I separated all my recipes by category (main dish, appetizer, side dish, dessert) and made dividers for them. I even made a table of contents for each section. Now they are all neatly organized in a binder.

A last-minute tackle was replacing the camera that I JUST GOT for Valentine's Day. I loved it. Well, last night, out of the blue, it just quit! Fresh batteries didn't help. The lens kept getting stuck halfway out and wouldn't close, then it wouldn't even turn on. So, we took the Samsung camera back to the "major retailer" that shall remain nameless for now, and they gave us a hard time. I think my husband was about to pop a vein. They finally agreed to exchange it (which is what I wanted to do in the first place).

I got a Kodak Easy Share V1003 with 10 megapixels and 3x digital zoom. The buttons are more user-friendly and easier to read, and it's very sleek, compact, and jam-packed with possibilities Thanks for stopping by to see my tackle. I'm so proud to have it completed! It's going to make things so much easier. Sign Mr. Linky if you'd like, and please don't forget to leave a comment!