Blog-pimping: "Go Fug Yourself"

This site is hilarious, especially if you take a look at celebrities and wonder, "WTF" at what they're wearing. The girls who run the "Go Fug Yourself" blog (the word "fugly," by the way, meaning a combination of "freakin'" -- or some other "f-ing" substitute -- and "ugly") are brilliant at saying what we were all thinking anyway.

Check it out:

http://gofugyourself.typepad.com/

Also, it'll henceforth be on my blogroll at the right.
.

Happy birthday, Alexis!

Today is actually Alexis' birthday (we celebrated her party last week because she was here; she's in Oklahoma now, where her daddy is attending some kind of Marine weapons school), and I have to say I give thanks for her all the time. She's such a happy, content little baby, and I attribute much of that to how wonderful her mommy and daddy take care of her. She obviously sees life as this wonderful, exciting place to be -- you can tell by how she giggles and laughs and smiles all the time.


Here's a photo of her right after she was born (grabbed this photo from her mommy's blog -- thanks Connie!). Note the "daddy doll" in the corner of the bassinet. All the nurses made much of that doll. I was so honored to be there when she was born, and I'm so glad she and Connie will be back here with us when Josh is deployed this summer.

Thank you, God, for this beautiful bright light in our lives. Alexis, happy birthday, little girl!

.

It's "caturday": and now I know how I got the bug

Party time!

I was sick when we had Alexis' birthday party. Not too sick to come (it was at our house, after all), but too sick to post about it. So here are a couple of my favorite shots:







Here she is having a grand old time.



















You know it's a good birthday party when the gifts are bigger than you are.

This is one of my favorite shots -- Connie and Alexis blowing out the candle. Connie made the cake for her. (This is the one she got to mess up; there was another cake for the rest of us.) It was a great party!

So where have I been?

Glad you asked:

Still getting over it too. Am trying not to bore you with the gory details. Suffice it to say, "cough cough." Nuff said. Will attempt to get back to the important task of daily blogging soon. Possibly now. Let's see if tomorrow we have "two in a row!"

Show-pimping "John Adams"

This is the much-touted (by which I mean: lots of advertising dollars pumped into it) HBO mini-series about one of the founding fathers and our second president ... also father of our sixth president.

It's a really good production -- everything very authentic looking and the acting is top-notch. There are seven episodes, and the first two aired this past Sunday. After airing, HBO puts them up in the On-Demand holding area. I think the new episodes are on Sundays, but true to HBO form, they re-run them all week long. I'm hoping they come out with a DVD soon because I'd love to see this mini-series back to back.

I also recommend going to the HBO site to check out the behind-the-scenes and making-of segments. And for a bit of fun, take a look at this spoof review from "Best Week Ever."
.

It's "caturday": and we observe the church calendar

Tomorrow is Palm Sunday, also known as Passion Sunday (or the Sunday of the Passion -- meaning the time when we focus on Jesus' trip into Jerusalem and his acceptance of being the sacrifice in our place). Palm Sunday is also the start of Holy Week, which means Lent is over, and we can breathe a sigh of relief that we made it through another attempt (however strong or feeble) at strict obedience.

Favorite things Friday: Quincy

The first time I saw this show, about a medical examiner who solves crimes, I thought it was a horrible premise: looking at dead people and getting ideas about how the crime happened. Ew! But it grew on me, which is to say that Jack Klugman's portrayal of Quincy was so delightful that I forgot that most of it took place in a morgue.

Later, of course, we ended up with CSI and its many spin-offs, which are way more graphic than Quincy ever would have dared. Never forget, though, that Quincy was a one-man CSI team -- and we didn't have to deal with all the drama of women co-workers throwing themselves at him every other episode. Plus it's awesome how in the opening scenes, the cops who are there to observe keep dropping one by one. And -- another big plus -- he lives on a boat. I love this guy. By far he's my favorite CSI -- Quincy, M.E.

First they steal your heart then your car keys

While she's here, Alexis will not be driving. But only because she's used to California freeways instead of the relatively slow-moving interstates here.

Back to business

Just back from a trip to the "left coast" and it's back to business here at Parsing My World. I was out of pocket the whole time out there -- and had I known I wasn't going to go near my computer the whole time, I'd have left it here and saved my back from lugging it through the Atlanta airport, not to mention squeezing it under the seat in front of me leaving no room for my feet.

But enough whining. The trip was fine. More than fine, actually. It was great! And look whom I brought back (yes, Connie came too ... I just don't have a photo of her to post at the moment):

Exactly what the severe punishment would be is not clear

News of the bizarre, via Yahoo:

BORDEAUX, France (Reuters) - The mayor of a village in southwest France has threatened residents with severe punishment if they die, because there is no room left in the overcrowded cemetery to bury them.

In an ordinance posted in the council offices, Mayor Gerard Lalanne told the 260 residents of the village of Sarpourenx that "all persons not having a plot in the cemetery and wishing to be buried in Sarpourenx are forbidden from dying in the parish."

It added: "Offenders will be severely punished."

The mayor said he was forced to take drastic action after an administrative court in the nearby town of Pau ruled in January that the acquisition of adjoining private land to extend the cemetery would not be justified.

Lalanne, who celebrated his 70th birthday on Wednesday and is standing for election to a seventh term in this month's local elections, said he was sorry that there had not been a positive outcome to the dilemma.

"It may be a laughing matter for some, but not for me," he said.

The man is 70. We hope he does not die soon, as it would be embarrassing if he had to cite himself with the ruling.
.

Ad claims: "takes 10 days for full effect"

So I'm getting ready to travel this week, and I heard via Yahoo some news about one of the popular travel medicines that's supposed to keep you well. From the story:

"Airborne - the herbal supplement company that once claimed to help fight off colds - will pay $23.3 million to settle a class-action lawsuit brought against the company for false advertising, according to one of the groups that joined the suit."

The question is: Are you supposed to feel better knowing that you can get your money back?

Actually, I've never used the stuff so I have no idea if it works or not (even as a placebo), but I feel pretty good knowing that I wasn't duped.
.

What she said

A delightfully witty letter to the editor of the Journal Times of Racine, Wis., via Wall Street Journal's Best of the Web:

I agree with Kim Morrison that Barack Obama would be a great president. I have hope that he can provide free health insurance for everyone.

I have hope that he can bring our soldiers home and make the world a safer place. I have hope that he can protect Americans from poverty by printing more money at the mints.

And, I have hope that he can make me a taller, more attractive, wealthier person, immune to all illnesses. The best part is that all of these will be accomplished at absolutely no cost to me.

Some skeptics would say that he can't do these things because he hasn't had enough leadership experience, foreign policy experience, or government experience. Some would say that Obama can't provide for all our needs without doubling taxes. And, some would say that he hasn't provided one piece of a specific plan to reach these goals.

Well, to those people I ask, "Where is your hope?"

All these years I've been creating accomplishments and gatherine [sic] experience to list on my resume. From now on, I'll just list my hopes and plans. All that work was so unnecessary.

Angie Smucker Racine
.

Vaca brag: May cruise

Here's a shot of the atrium on the Carnival Victory, plus a map of the itinerary (below).









Did I mention how excited we are that we're going only 6 miles to the port instead of the usual 400 down to Port Canaveral?

Woo! Look what I found today!

Outside the Piggly Wiggly was a posse of girl scout cookie pushers! I bought thin mints, peanut butter and shortbread. It is a good day!

It's "caturday": serenity

This is why having cats around lowers your blood pressure. Here's Jay, doing his sphinx act.