String me along . . . Why don’t ya?

He told me I had to do this everyday, I’d feel better about it. Just get through it without bleeding. Without flicking remnants of my nourishment  where they didn’t belong. For me, this habit was one I had problems establishing, I knew I would hear about it in the months to come, that I would hear that voice counting off the numbers, and if I wasn’t a good girl, I’d cringe. The report would cause a warning, I’d be ashamed.

So, I grab that little white box and pull. And pull. How much was too much, and would too little work? Wind it around my fingers and keep from wincing. Fourteen inches of wax-coated string to use only 4 inches!  My frugality screamed, WASTEFUL, WASTEFUL! But I needed to make him happy, pleased with my uncluttered spaces, my pink and healthy tissue. My six month check-up was due.

 

Are you a flosser? Do you, as my hubby does, use at least 24 inches of floss? Does it make you ashamed when the hygienist goes tisk, tisk?

 

 

A professional teeth cleaning is a procedure in which your dentist uses a variety of tools to help deep clean your gums and the surface of your teeth. First, your dentist will use an ultrasonic cleaner and a water sprayer to loosen and remove plaque and tartar from your teeth and gums. Your dentist will then scrape additional plaque and tartar off your teeth by using a metal tool called a hand scraper. You could feel mild discomfort during this part of the procedure. Your dentist may also sand and smooth the roots of your teeth in order to remove plaque and other bacteria. Finally, the dentist brushes your teeth with a rotary toothbrush and a gritty type of toothpaste that polishes and cleans your teeth. After doing this, your dentist may floss your teeth or give you a fluoride treatment to strengthen them.

Now don’t you feel better?

 

I thought I’d repost one of my drabbles – so far, nearly 12,000 hits on Youtube. Go figure.

 

The Day After ‘Christmas’ Pill

The day after Christmas
And all through the stores
The shoppers returned
With boxes galore.

Armed with receipts
And tinsel-strew hair
They struggled and juggled,
Eyes locked in a stare.

Their vision was clouded
With sales and returns
Pushing and shoving,
Not one taking turns.

Was it worth all the cost,
The crush and the crowd
To make someone happy
And do yourself proud?

The bills are coming
And the feet are still aching
Christmas is over.
And there’s no mistaking
You’ll do it all over . . .

 

 

The Purple Onion . . . etc.

   No, not that one.  The one that’s sitting in my refrigerator, being sliced thinly –  hoping it will be worth the $1.00 paid!

It’s only an onion, a vegetable that adds color and heat to salads and burgers. 

Now let’s talk beef – pretty soon it will be ‘Where’s the Beef.” The other day there must have been a mistake on the price of ground beef. Sure, it was extra lean, but so would have my wallet been had I paid the $10.00 per pound listed on the package! The deal of the day at a local supermarket was only $8.49 a pound, if you bought a 3 pound lump of red gold.

How will this effect fast food burger joints, or places like Smashburger, which already charges a hefty price for a burger.

Done beefing. Except for that $4.00 bag of potato chips! What? Both WalMart and the local supermarket were charging the same exorbitant price.

Now, would you like to buy a hamburger?

Mini Distraction

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Texting, talking, lunching, farding and now another Mini distraction.

 

 

 

 

 

Believing is seeing . . or not

Some days we all need a laugh.  This video is pretty amazing – talk about paper dolls.

 

A WHOLE LOTTA JUNK IN THE TRUNK – MAIL THAT IS . . .

Seeking Revenue, Postal Service Plans to Deliver More Junk Mail – NYTimes.com.

Been to your mailbox lately? We have one of those gunmetal grey  ‘banks’ where you turn your key and hope for something positive to happen. Maybe a package from Amazon or eBay, a check for a trillion dollars from an unknown admirer.  Or any kind of check with more than two zeros attached. If only.

Now that the US Postal Service has decided to deliver more junk mail, they are broke you know, to increase revenue and possibly cause more back problems with letter carriers  – we have a problem.   For two days we somehow avoided the ‘bank’ not, thinking clearly. The tiny key turned in the tiny lock and the sight was horrifying!

Quick get me the Jaws of Life, getting this postal cargo out of its cramped space was going to be a challenge. Big time.

Sure, I expected to be slammed with ‘Vote for Me’ mail and the usual grocery store ads, and as a shopper I wait patiently for them.  But there was more, oh so much more. I had to wonder, was this a way of putting printers, graphic designers, paper mill employees and ink manufactures back to work? If so, the unemployment numbers should be astounding – which, they are not.

So much waste as 90⁒ of the mail goes in the circular file. The ads or letters  with print on one side are used for making grocery lists and taking notes, not a total waste if you recycle. I carefully muscled the freight out, torn grocery ads, wrinkled envelopes and all  – and put the junk in the trunk.

Once the pile had been quickly, and expertly sifted and discarded, I noticed a 9X12 yellow envelope envelop – all I noticed at first was the large red letters that promised HANDLE  WITH CARE: BLESSED FATIMA CANDLE ENCLOSED! Now, not being Catholic, I had no idea who was sending me this. Closer inspection revealed that it came from a non-profit: AMERICA NEEDS FATIMA. And I thought we needed God, Liberty and the Truth – and a bunch of other stuff – the pursuit of happiness over NO JUNK MAIL among them.  The Fatima connection was new to me. However, we also receive mail from other non-profits, all asking for money and sending a FREE GIFT! Christians and VETS and a raft of others too numerous to mention. So, please don’t say I am picking on one religion.

I decided to count the amount of paper in the ANF (American Needs Fatima) envelop. There were 3 pages, printed front and back explaining the program. DON’T KEEP THE CANDLE,  on the first. The idea is to send the candle, the size of a birthday cake candle, back along with your prayer intentions/requests. Why? Your candle and thousands of others will be melted and made into a enormous  candle and taken to Fatima. But please hurry – don’t be left out – I will send other gifts. Okay, I knew it was coming. All the promises for a mere $17.00.

Back to the paper count. An 8×10, glossy likeness of the Lady herself, promising to change lives if you display it in your home.  Then a 5.5×7 fold over with a priest’s photo and a note with more promises. And, a postage paid envelope to mail back the candle, prayer intentions and that $17.00. Wouldn’t a one page letter asking for a donation save our rain forest?The post office delivers more junk mail, which we  put in the recycle bin which makes more products to go in the recycle bin.  Is this crazy or what?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWCVXIoRIhM  Pay attention to the credits at the end.

Digital Bibles popping up in more pews, pulpits

Hardcover Bibles are no longer always found in hotel rooms worldwide, either. Last month, a hotel in Newcastle, England, replaced the hardcover Bibles in all 148 guest rooms with Amazon Kindles, preloaded with Bibles. It’s exploring doing the same in all 44 hotels the InterContinental Hotels Group owns worldwide.

 

Another hotel —- the Damson Dene, in England’s Lake District —- replaced Bibles on nightstands with the popular novel “Fifty Shades of Grey.”

 

 

 

via FAITH & VALUES: Digital Bibles popping up in more pews, pulpits.

 

 

 

Baby pictures – then and now

While at the lagoon yesterday a group of young moms had set up for what I assumed was a playdate, toddlers and a few dogs in tow. As I walked along the sand, enjoying the giggles and excitement of the children ,  I asked one mother if I could photograph her beautiful child, blond-haired daughter. She agreed. She even had her child pose and say -”Happiness” – which I found more charming than saying the old stand-by, Provolone.

I didn’t want to be intrusive, but chatted with the moms and the dog owners. There was a little boy, maybe two years of age, who was enjoying his day wearing only what he acquired in the womb. An unusual sight in this day and age to see a child in their birthday suit -  on the beach. He was truly in his own little world. No fancy pants or designer bonnet to keep him from freedom. A quick  shot, one in which he was included.

Here’s my point – a long time ago in a world where pedophiles and other predators didn’t have the internet, and kiddie porn was something most people never heard of, babies in the buff were very common. Having your baby on a furry rug or cozy blanket seemed so innocent and was always something professional photographers offered to parents. A harmless photo which stayed in the family  – and no doubt embarrassed the adult subject for a lifetime.

There are stock images of babies in the buff on bearskin rugs  you can purchase online and even family photos of this type  for sale on eBay. Why?

Today we can check on-line to see where registered sex offenders live in our neighborhoods, and the type of crime committed. We take every effort to teach “Stranger Danger” to our children in hopes they will never be abducted. Most parents check all references for daycare providers and babysitters. Unfortunately, molestation is often perpetrated by a family member or close friend.  Child trafficking/pornography is a global concern raking in billions of dollars each year.

While technology is used for good, it’s also used for evil.

There will always be those who would steal the innocence of our children. Play safe.

________________________________________________________________Unfortunately, the child pornography market has exploded in the advent of the Internet and advanced digital technology.  The Internet provides ground for individuals to create, access, and share child sexual abuse images worldwide at the click of a button.  In present day, child pornography images are readily available through virtually every Internet technology including websites, email, instant messaging/ICQ, Internet Relay Chat (IRC), newsgroups, bulletin boards, peer-to-peer networks, and social networking sites.  Child pornography offenders can connect on Internet networks and forums to share their interests, desires, and experiences abusing children in addition to selling, sharing, and trading images. 

           Moreover, online communities have promoted communication between child pornography offenders, both normalizing their interest in children and desensitizing them to the physical and psychological damages inflicted on child victims.  Online communities may also attract or promote new individuals to get involved in the sexual exploitation of children. 

________________________________________________________________

Thumbs Up – Friday Drabble

 

Please, don’t bother me    

No peeking!

Don’t you get it?

I’m practicing,

 

My digits are my fortune.

 

 

My life is in my hands,

My thumbs to be exact.

No wrestling

With these opposable ones.

 

Dismiss that thought.

 

 

Olympic material

That’s my desire

Too carry this sport

As the torchbearer

 

For generations forth.

 

 

Nimble, nimble as I go

The letters fly, the hashtags limited.

My thumb drive’s in turbo

With only two phalanges

 

I love this most preaxial digit.

 

 

But some would question,

Is the thumb a finger

A commoner in rank?

Or kingly does it stand

Upon this texter’s hand?

 

America’s fastest fingers: 17-year-old boy wins US National Texting Championship – YouTube.

 

Two ways to backpack . . .

 

A  Sunday walk along the  batiquitos lagoon  trail in Carlsbad is always a pleasure. On this day a man and his son were wearing some cross-country type backpacks, perhaps testing out their equipment and its weight before heading off on an adventurous trek.

Then there was another style of backpacking . . . which I am sure the youngster enjoyed. These two were not far behind the pros.

Very few dogs on the trail today, but these two were happy to be there.

I did find a video on Youtube to give you an idea of this lagoon. Wide trails are well-maintained. If only the sound and fury of the I5 Freeway didn’t spoil this area which has been disturbed by what some call progress.