Gags and Mama O

Don't get me wrong. I am/was a fan. I also am a musician, so I follow musicians lives as well as their bibliographies. I KNOW I need to separate the personal artist from the public one. I would not want the mistakes I've made in my life plastered across the cover of the Daily News. But I do not have a career where I could expect that to happen, either.  So, even though Bruce Springsteen was a cheating lying bastard, that was his Private life, not his public one. I still continue to buy and enjoy his music, even though I wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw him. Billy, my Billy, same deal. LOTS OF ARTISTS, same deal. Gags, now........hell, she appeared on "The Simpsons" to supposedly help raise Lisas self image. All about empowerment and self image and being an individual. Then I hear about this feud. Mama Osbourne [who I'm not crazy about, but I'm sure she wouldn't be crazy about me either]  [well, maybe if I had the money to look the way she does I would like her more]  hears that Gagas "Monsters" [fans] are making outrageous threats to the health and life of her daughter Kelly, over comments made on a SPOOFY TYPE FASHION SHOW, my God, Joan Rivers is on it ! We're not talking Scientific American here. Mama O, as Kellys manager, privately contacts gags manager and says yanno, she is supposed to stand for peace and individuality, anti-bully stance, would you please ask her to reign in her "monsters" and stop with the threats? Gags publicly went a tad batshit.  Kelly isn't the only star in her "monsters" sights either, they have publicly wished that Taylor Swift would crash a car into a tree and die :/ gags isn't responsible  for the words coming out of her monsters mouths. But she sure is hell is responsible for HER behavior. She COULD have said hey, I stand for peace and individuality, so please stop making threats on my behalf, as part of my fan base, thanks ever so much. She could have said ANYthing.

But she did not.

You want to see the REAL backround behind shooters? Look to stars like gags. whos fans will do anything to gain what they think would be her approbation and approval. Based on the tweets of her fans, and her reaction to them, she approves of just the type of behaviors displayed by the mentally ill before they go over the cliff.

Here is a link to Mama O's letter.

[I do not agree with the fur stance, although I do not own and would not wear animal fur. I also do not agree with her gun stance. I do not own an assault weapon, but might if I could afford it. Those are those "personal choices" people are legally allowed to make all on their lonesome. Maybe the subject of a tirade for another day]

http://popcrush.com/kelly-osbourne-sharon-osbourne-lady-gaga-open-letter/

I belive you are what you live. Hypocrites are those who espouse one belief, yet live another, and often do not see the dichotomy between the two. I have hypocrites in my life right now, and they cannot see the forest for the trees. It's very hard to remember that *that* is on THEM, and not me, so peace out and carry on. Gags is a hypocrite of the highest order. Unless she does a little growing up, she will be the second artist to make my "Fuck You I will never buy or listen to your music or support you, You Fuck you" list.

Not everyone is going to like you. Not everyone can do anything for you. It's how you treat those people that shows the kind of person YOU are. Gags, I have no ill will toward you. I would never wish for you to drive into a tree, or any of the myriad curses your monsters [oh, yeah, a lot of them are supposedly "bot" tweeters. Talented bot who only curse  people and wish for them harm. Hmmmmm.] I do hope your career dries up to a point where you have the time to reexamine yourself. You're long over due. You're a public figure, not a middle aged mom from the suburbs. Costume insults should be beneath your dignity to acknowledge, let alone trip out over. Maybe it's time for a new, more enlightened manager. And some introspection. You and Kelly might have a lot more in common than not. Maybe you could learn a thing or two from her.

As for Yoko giving gags the Lennon/Ono peace prize just this past October....John... I am sorry you ever hooked up with that crazy broad. Take heart, maybe it's a joke. Knowing ono, probably not. Just a publicity stunt for an non-starter career to give a person currently reponsible for public threats to others a peace prize. gags, I dare you to grow up and grow a pair.

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Latest-News-Wires/2012/1011/Lady-Gaga-peace-prize-Yoko-Ono-lauds-Lady-Gaga-s-activism

"I  don't like Los Angeles. The people are awful and terribly shallow, and everybody  wants to be famous but nobody wants to play the game. I'm from New York. I will  kill to get what I need."
~Lady Gaga

~January:
       Internation Creative Month

January 15th:
       Humanitarian Day

January 16th:
          Nothing Day
          Appreciate a Dragon Day

Unwritten Love Letters

The holidays are over, and the days are getting longer, little by little. I am longing for Spring. I always choose this time of year for indoor projects, and my evil eye fell upon the basement. We live in a split level, so the basement is more of a neglected downstairs room where the furnace and oil tank happen to live, with the washer and dryer as neighbors. I decided that this year, as one of my New Year Goals, I would do something about that basement. Paint it, organize it to my liking, and create an area for my foshizzle...my household binders and the paperwork of running a home. Separate from the bill paying paperwork, but just as important. Right now, the owners manuals for my major appliances are all mixed in with Steves major appliances. I prefer to have an area dedicated to my home.

And so it shall be done.

I suppose I am not exposing a secret anymore, to tell you that my Father in Law was diagnosed with Dementia/Alzheimers. Steve, as the elder and the executor of his Dads estate, Is responsible for Pops care. He had the job of deciding:

A) What was the Very Best thing for Pops, and
B) How to accomplish that.

What we decided was that Pops needed to be in a residence where he would have care 24/7. Help remembering to take his meds. [actually having them given to him, not relying on him to remember] A beautiful living environment. Meals served in a dining room, not a cafeteria. The level of social interaction that He chose from day to day, from being with a group of people he shares a lot of interests with, to deciding he'd like to stay in his room that day and watch a pool tournament on T.V. Safe and secure, and practically in our own backyard. It took a long time, and a lot of tears, but we found the perfect place. A Beautiful residence, more of a dorm than a seniors residence. One of the few ways you could spot the difference would be the median age of the residents. A grand Manor house converted to an assisted care facility. Once the "getting used to this" period was over, Pops came to love his home, and he feels uncomfortable being away from it for too long. As it is minutes from the Shack, we can go get him whenever we want, and take him home when ever he is ready.

What does this have to do with my basement?

I'm getting there.

When Pops made the move, some of his belongings would not fit in his room, and others he did not remember. We took these things, boxed them up, and put them in the basement, to be properly gone over and packed for long term storage. There wasn't much.

Today was the day.
We brought the boxes upstairs, and began the "what do we do with this, how do we protect this" dance.

And there they were.

Papers.

His high School diploma, from the same district we, and our children, graduated from. Report cards !! Oh, our Bill was a bad boy. Well intentioned, but a bad boy in a good way.

What grabbed me by the throat, were the letters. From OUR children. To their Grandpa. Oh my sweet Lord, from when they wee Babies. [I was always big on the kids writing to their Grammas and Grandpas, from Thank you notes to "just because" letters ....even to the Grandparents we lived next door to.]

Pops KEPT those letters. I Lost it when I read a letter from my son Tone, to his Grandpa. Tone was considered special ed, now you would call it "in the autistic spectrum". It did not stop him from being mainstreamed and graduating high school on the high honor roll [nor from going to college this fall :o) ] but as a baby and a young child, he was different. I had a "hands off" policy with the kids and their communications with Grammas and Grandpas, if the kids offered to let me read the letter great. Otherwise, it was sent off unread and unedited by me. Believe me, sometimes I worried about that policy, wondering what the kids were telling our parents :o)

In the middle of frustration, overwhelmed by the renovation, paint in my freakin hair, this stopped me in my tracks. That letter, written by Tone, in second grade:

 

[This was 1996]
[Dear grandpa and Joannie
How are you doing?
I am great!
I have a play kitchen!
It made out of wood
I have a peppermill !!
I am in second grade
My favorite chef is Emeril !
Please come see me soon I miss you !
Love
Tony]

Some people have actually had the balls to say to me, oh, we LOVE our family, we would not THINK of putting them in an assisted care facility. Well, I'm glad that works for them. I've been around the block a few times. I've seen the worst that can happen when an Alzheimers patient is home cared for. And the guilt the "loving" family can feel when an Alzheimers patient acts out beyond what the family is capable of handling. All I have to say to you is...you MUST obey your highest calling. And THAT would be, to do the right thing by your peeps. Whatever that means to you,...and to them.

We did that for Pops.

He is happy, healthy, and knows he is loved.

He sent an unintentional love letter to all of my kids today. A Love letter he is not capable of writing anymore. Which makes those saved letters all the more deeply special.

Thanks, Pops. We love you too.

[A BIG P.S.....I found the batteries for the pedometers. Remember that blog a lil while back? Wherein I took an accordion folder and labeled it with all my lil electronic  cords and accessories? Well, Hot DAMN, I had the batteries AND the owners manual for my pedometer in a section labeled "pedometer". Stop rolling your eyes, you've done that stupid shit too]

~Nobody grows old merely by living a number of years.  We grow old by deserting our ideals.  Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.  ~Samuel Ullman

January 2013:
~National "Get Organized" Month

Jan 2-8
~ "Someday We'll Laugh About This" week

January 7th:
~National Tempura Day

It's a new year, baby

Good Morning!

Today is Thursday, January 3rd 2012. It is also  the start of my week........yesterday was my 52nd birthday ! Or as I prefer to think about it, I turned 29 for the 23rd time. I don't feel any older.  Steve took the day off, and we had our traditional great day together. That made me feel so much better. You see, I suffer from CRS...Can't Remember Shit. I ordered batteries for some tabletop flickering "candles". When they arrived, I realized I had 12 of them....and they were all the wrong size :X Not worth the trouble to return. Then, the battery in my pedometer died. Lo and Behold, the wrong batteries for the candles were EXACTLY the right ones for my pedometer! I figured GREAT, I am set for batteries for YEARS now!! I HAVE a dedicated drawer for batteries of all types and sizes, do you think I put them there? NO.  I put them in a smart place, so that I would never forget where I put them. Well....I forgot. Cannot find those suckers ANYWHERE, I outsmarted myself. I would worry that this might be age related. Except I've been doing this to myself for most of my life. Personally, I blame Steve. I think that was part of our vows, for richer or poorer [have done] in sickness and in health, [have done] during bouts of CRS [ongoing] til death do us part. [someone will come very close to a near death experience if he doesn't stop laughing.]

Now for the "Thrifty Thursday" part.

I stopped making New Years Resolutions, and have decided to create "Annual Goals" for myself. Last year, my goal was to lose enough weight so that there was NO WAY I could be a diabetic. I did that in spades, and kept it off. This years, my goals are:

-to continue on that path, to see if I can drop the high blood pressure meds

-To paint and organize my basement. We live in a split level, the basement is more of an unfinished extra room, and no other owner ever bothered doing anything to it. It's dark and depressing to have to work down there, so I will change that.

-to start a "price book". In case you don't know, a price book is used mostly by the grocery shoppers in a family. If you live in an area with multiple shopping choices, keeping track of the regular prices of items that you buy on a regular basis can help assure that you buy your groceries at the best possible prices. This is very necessary to me ALL of the time, we work hard for the money and I don't want to waste it. This year, our youngest

[well, he is 23...after high school he did not know what career path he wanted to take, so he went to full time work. He now knows what he wants to do, applied to and was accepted to college, YAY YAY ^5 Tone !!! and received a honkin scholarship already]

will start college. That and the rescinding of that tax break for the middle class will tighten our budget in a huge way. I want to be able, damn near to the penny, to see where our money is going.

-To be a better blogger. Helps make me a better, more proficient, more organized person. 

There you have them.....my 4 "Annual Goals for 2012". I'm putting my goals on my blog, because it appears that putting it "out there"...in print...keeps me honest and is a constant reminder. The Happiest of New Years to You and yours....., if you see me out and about, don't forget to ask me if I'm on track for my New Years goals :o)

Responsibility

I was asked yesterday about my opinion on gun control laws, especially as they pertain to assault rifles. I had not considered assault rifles in my opinion about gun control, as I never had any intention of owning one. I hope assault rifles, of the semi and fully automatic variety, are banned from public use. That they are reserved for military and law enforcement officials, and that there is a HEFTY MANDATORY jail sentence for possession. As for handguns and rifles [of the NON semi auto or auto variety] I hope the current laws allowing sane responsible citizens will be upheld. Go ahead and test me, and do a backround check, but do not make a permit for a gun so hard for a law abiding sane citizen to get that they give up. Everyone has the right to protect themselves, as they see fit, within the confines of the law. I do NOT want my second amendment rights trampled on by the actions of mentally ill thieves. I do NOT want

[excuse me, for I do not know what the correct term is...the right? The left? the liberals? The conservatives? I  am tired of of those labels and refuse to use them. I also stop reading and ignore any article in which the author feels the need to fall back on them.]

ANY POLITICAL group to start blabbering about how the NRA is at fault. The woman who allowed her mentally ill son access to her weapons was at fault. And I will not defend the NRA. They rightly see that events are being used to try to curtail the second amendment, but they are going about protecting that amendment in what I believe is the wrong way. If it was not for the NRA, I don't know WHAT kind of second amendment rights I would have left now.

Let's remember that mental healthcare can have all the friggin mandates  obama can throw at it...but they are largely unfunded. So any discussion about gun laws needs to include the unlegislatable.....the mentally ill. If they can't get or steal guns, they will use other things as weapons.

Let's discuss the media. The ceaseless coverage of tragedies.  Interviewing LITTLE KIDS as they exit the building that their teachers and friends were murdered in. Keeping a "headcount", and comparing that "headcount" to past tragedies. I'd like to muzzle the media. Only media local to the tragedy should be allowed unfettered constant coverage, for the locals. The major media outlets should really examine their culpability in any future tragedies. They created the bar, and THEY continue to raise it with their coverage.

Lastly, there should be a discussion about classroom safety. Starting at the building entrances, moving to the main office, and ending at the doors of the classroom. Those discussions will be held by the schools and districts themselves. Building security. We now see that the mentally ill, having been given a platform by the media who keep a headcount and compare current tragedies to past ones as if they were different periods of a hockey game, will continue to aim for public places that are not defended, "undefended", or "Soft defended". Lets keep our word, to ourselves and our kids, and Protect The Children. Don't let this tragedy pass without thoughtful considered NONpolitical debate. You don't have to have a religion to keep those families in your thoughts. Work, as you can, to find a way to stop this from ever happening again. No politics, no religion. Help the mentally ill or remove them from the general population, and keep the kids safe.

I see, as I write this, that there are 9 days left until Christmas. My prayers will continue to be with the families who lost loved ones. I cannot imagine the horror.

                                                             

Sheer Horror.

 

Please keep these families in your thoughts, and close to your heart. This is sheer horror. If the principals and teachers were allowed to decide whether to arm themselves or not, someone could have killed this rabid animal before he took as many innocent lives as he did. The news calls the school an undefended target, law enforcement calls school  a "soft" target. This horror is not a case in point for more gun control. It is an argument to FINALLY allow sane, decent, hard working people to protect themselves as they see fit. Oh, those poor people.
Sheer Horror.

                                                                                

Thrifty Tuesday/ Mama always said to wash your hands

You may not know this about me, but I am very much into making my own health and beauty items.That is, things that *I* have produced that take the place of a store bought item. That do as good or better a job than their manufactured counterparts. I'm most successful with body oils, having finally figured out what blend of oils and scents works best for my skin. The internet certainly makes my search for inspiration, as well as information, one hell of a lot easier than it used to be.

I have eczema. A patch on each of my hands. Nothing huge, actually. But it itches like holy hell, and, as it is a rash, can become a vector for germs to get into my skin. GERMS IN THE WRONG PLACE=BAD. Mama was right, so I always wash my hands as a first line of defense. Sometimes that is just not possible. Which is why I began my search for a hand sanitizer that I can make, that does not smell like an evil laboratory or contain ingredients that have the potential to harm me.

A stroll down the sanitizer aisle at the store gives me 2 choices in the antibacterial department.......triclosan or alcohol. I refuse to use hand sanitizers with triclosan in them. They contribute to the rise of resistant germs, and are even now being linked to health problems.

http://www.mnn.com/health/healthy-spaces/blogs/more-bad-news-about-triclosan

That leaves alcohol. This is good, alcohol is cheap! It also smells like the alley behind a pool hall and stings my eczema like a summabeetch. So I need to use enough alcohol to be effective at killing the germs. Mixed with something to dilute it a bit and give it a soothing quality, and perhaps an ingredient to make it smell better. Look at what I found today! The basis for a home made hand sanitizer. I can pronounce all the ingredients, I can buy them locally, and I can make batches upon demand, so they are not sitting on a store shelf for God knows how long losing their effectiveness.

http://www.utahpreppers.com/2009/04/pandemic-preparedness-diy-sanitization/

[please scroll down to the recipe for hand sanitizer. Thank you very much Utah Preppers, you have a lovely site, and I appreciate it.]

I have those ingredients in my home already. You'll need them, along with:

-some type of small unbreakable bottle, preferably with a flip-top, to decant the sanitizer into.

-an array of essential oils....a small bottle of sanitizer should only need a few drops of oil to scent it nicely.

-food grade dye [think of the Easter egg dyes you use, or icing dyes]

There is nothing wrong with a clear sanitizer. The problem I see is that, once it is on the skin, you might leave a bit un-rubbed in. Which would then transfer to your clothes. Or coat, or gloves, ect. The alcohol could bleed the fabric. So I want just a touch of color in my sanitizer, to prevent the destruction of my clothing. I am very good at that already, I don't need any more help.

I would add 3-5 drops of essential oil, and 1/2 drop of food coloring [or less, we want a little tinge, not a day-glo effect] per cup of alcohol and adjust up or down in later batches to suit myself.

The cost of the aloe, alcohol, essential oil[s], and dyes will definitely be recouped by the sheer amount of sanitizer you can make. All the ingredients are also shelf stable, no waste from products turning rancid.

I also thought to look for an alcohol free version of hand sanitizer. Lo and behold, the interwebz answered my call!

http://www.noordinaryhomestead.com/making-homemade-hand-sanitizer

[A very informative blog, you will enjoy it as well]

This version will be a bit more pricy, as the essential oils themselves are the antibacterial ingredients. This is the first kind I will make at home however, for cold weather use. Winter air and heat is drying enough without alcohol helping it along.

I am finishing up the hand sanitizers I have now, and I will keep the bottles to refill with my own creations. A great way to start the New Year, weaned off of the scary stuff in the bottles from the store.

Changes

I am sitting here watching the Christmas candles flicker. I can smell the pine candles [no real trees here, I don't want to kill them, and the mold is too much for our allergy-suffering family members] and I can see the decorations spread all around the house. Anticipating baking, and the annual "Hiding of the Fudge" , always good for some laughs and creative threats. Happy Holiday season, and Merry Christmas :o)

Still out of work. This is frustrating, to say the least. I took a test today, to determine what, if any, new field I should train for/move into. And the results were that I need to go into the sciences, industrial art [I had to go look that up, wasn't sure what it was] and health services/science. That resonated with me. I had considered going to class to become a doctors assistant [not a pa] with an end goal to being a phlebotomist. Then a really exciting thing happened. After all these years. Tone has decided he wants to go to college after all. I could not be happier for him ! So I won't be training for anything [yet] I'm going to get a job to make sure Tone can finish what he starts. So lots of stuff going on here, and the holidays right around the corner. That's my excuse for the lack of blog, and I'm stickin' to it !

We finally met with Steves surgeon, the doctor he chose to determine if surgery was indicated for his thyroid. It appears that the little small nodule.....the one closest to the carotid, that the biopsy tech could not get a sample of...indeed, needs to be biopsied. Just to be on the safe side, but the needle biopsies are far from pleasant. Here's to hoping the tech can get to it this time, and end Steves waiting and worrying. *If* it is indicated, the thyroidectomy itself supposedly isn't "that" bad [a nasty quantative word if I ever saw one, no surgery isn't "that bad" unless it's not your body being cut into] but the thought of having to take a pill for the rest of his life gives him major pause about allowing any type of surgery unless it cannot be avoided. I agree with him.

As for me, I am doing really well. I am not due to go back to the cardiologist til May, but I think I'll need to go before then. The med he has me on, I lost enough weight so that I think it's too powerful! My hands and fingers are bluish and ice cold within an hour of taking that med. That is a GOOD thing ! This is my goal going into the new year. To make more progress towards getting off the meds.....the PSVT one, well, I need to wait til after menopause, with my luck I'll be the only fertile 60 year old on the planet. The blood pressure one, I think I'm closing in on it. To remain off both, I need to practice stress control. Some people in my life have difficulty listening to and comprehending the truth. It is not worth my health to deal with it anymore. It will mean changing relationships or cutting off relationships with a few people, they don't realize they are physically hurting me with their bullshit. If they care, great, we can work it out. If they don't, well, I'm not anyones doormat. Or target.

Here in NY, even as winter approaches, the indoor plants continue to flourish, making my heart happy and helping me over the SAD [seasonal affective disorder] effect. I don't suffer from it as much as others do, but bothers me nonetheless. My "White" Thanksgiving cactus is blooming, with blush pink flowers....I think it got up to the dickens with the fuschia christmas cactus when my back was turned. Plants going to sleep, plants waking up and throwing flowers and seed bracts. A lot of action if you know where to look.

There's something else I wanted to say. I have been asked, by some family as well as friends, why I haven't blogged. The biggest part of it was deciding what to blog. There have been times where I wanted to post an adult pic or joke, but did not out of fear of offending someone, and I got friggin tired of trying to second guess myself. I'm done worrying about "everyone". I'll be blogging about what makes me laugh, shocks me, pisses me off, or catches my attention. I do not do politics or religion, so if you see a pic of that nature here, it was because it was funny or uplifting. I hope you enjoy the ride.

 

:::::insert my siggie here, this damned format is not as user friendly as the old one:::::::::

Holidays for December 10th:

10 Human Rights Day  11 National Noodle Ring Day  12 National Ding-a-Ling Day

~Always be yourself. Never try to hide who you are. Always stand up for what you believe in. Always question what other people tell you. Never regret the past. It's a waste of time. There's a reason for everything. For every mistake. Every moment of weakness. Every terrible thing that has happened to you. Grow from it. The only way others will respect you is if you show them you respect yourself. And most importantly, do your thing, and NEVER apologize for being You.~
-Marley Enriquez