Cheering on the Orioles to reclaim their first place status.
Month: September 2012
Lifesaver Rabbit
Admit it. He’s cute. In a strange egg-shaped way, he’s adorable. So what if he doesn’t have arms or a tail, his smiling little face amuses me.
I have yet to name my bunny, so I’m open to suggestions.
I had read all kinds of articles about how sitting for long periods of time just isn’t good for you and realized that while I’m the picture of good health, I wanted to stay that way. I tried to look online for widgets and desktop alarms that would jolt me from my work-time clickety-clack stupor and remind me that I had functional legs, but couldn’t find anything that worked just the way I wanted. Just the way a simple kitchen timer does. Trust me… I can sit if I’m focused… or on an airplane. Fyi, even though I’ve been across the country a couple of times and over the pond 3 times so far, I’ve NEVER used an airplane’s facilities. NEVER. People, do you hear what I am saying here? I can sit on a plane for 8-9 hours and NOT MOVE from my seat.
So I decided I would find a cute kitchen timer for my office and set it to go off every hour or so. Or, like now, for the 15 minutes I have before I go to work. That way, when my timer went off with a brrrrrrriiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnngggggg, (yepyepyep, unhuh, unhuh) I would get up and do something. Sometimes I’d go get a drink, sometimes I’d run up and down the steps, sometimes I’d just stretch. This part of my plan has worked out wonderfully, I must admit.
But what was tough, was finding a kitchen timer that you could stand to look at on your desk day in and day out. The mechanical ones are really boring and the more “kitchen” (kitschy) themed ones didn’t seem to fit. I’m not big on ladybugs – besides, I might try to put it in my bucket of doom, which is reserved for any little leggy things that invade my office. Since I like bunnies, I thought for sure it would be simple to find one that I could look at forever.
Not so much. This guy took me a few days of hunting on amazon and ebay (more sitting) and ended up costing me $14.00, since he is a fine Swiss-made time piece, I’ll have you know.
Since he’s been on the job, I find I’m more focused and I’ve danced around my office more than I had in the past. Because when the bunny brrrrinnnnggsss… and the music is moving you… the easiest thing to do during your break is to dance joyously about your office!
(I dare those of you who work in an office cubicle to try this. No one will ask you for much anymore.)
Happy Birthday Grandaddy
My Grandpa would have been 100 today. I’m pretty sure he still lurks around now and then. Being the huge, vibrant and strong personality that he was, I have no doubt his energy is zipping around and having a ball. You go Grandaddy.
Personally, I just had a birthday as well and while not quite half of Grandaddy’s age, I’m on my way. I know my last blog talked about how nice it is to have someone think you look younger, but youth is more about how you think than how you look. (of course one of the kids at orientation last night thought I was 25… she’s my new favorite!)
In my head, I’m still in the 16-22 range. I don’t really think I’ll ever leave that area. That’s when I *felt* right in my skin in many ways. So, even when I finally am wrapping it up for my time on this chunk of rock – which will be when I’m 113 – I’m sure I’ll still be thinking I can do anything, because I can.
BTW, I had fantabulous birthday. Lots of good wishes, a day off work and a stroll through Gettysburg and this past weekend, friends over for a small party. Oh! And my front gardens weeded. Let me tell you, THAT was a huge gift.
Now, here’s another cool thing, though. I had been shopping for a certain wall hanging ever since I’d seen it and stupidly decided not to get it. I’d looked all over for it but couldn’t find it. I also had been hunting for an African violet, since I had the perfect place for it to no avail.
In walks Jenny, who hands me the plaque I’d been looking for, which no one told her to get! She just saw it and said, “Sharon”. And then B shows up with an African violet. Again, no one had told her I was looking for that, but yet, there it was. FREAKING AWESOME!!
Maybe it was Grandaddy going around and whispering in their heads. If so, thanks Grandaddy. In any case, much love to all.
305 – Around the World in a Casino
Hubby and I went to a Casino about an hour from where I live. I’d never been there and thought it would be fun to check it out. Heck, I had a few bucks in my pocket, so that should last a good, mmmm, ten minutes, right?
Pretty much for me, however Hubby did much better. If you want to know what I mean, keep reading. If not, skip this next part and catch up later.
We entered Hollywood Casino and took a look around, trying this machine and that. We typically scan them all for a favorite of mine called Hex Breaker, but that seems to be gone now. My other favorite was Luck Fortune, but that one is probably obsolete as well. Seems the newer machines won’t let you play your chosen increments of money anymore. They dictate combinations for you. You used to be able to decide if you’d like to play 1, 2, 3, or more monetary pieces per line. (1 cent, 2 cents etc..) Then you got to assign how many lines you wanted to play. Some machines only had 12 lines or so and others had 99+. This meant you could customize your play to you could round off your winnings to even numbers, or play that last penny on one line.
Now you only have a choice of what predetermined coinage you will play on your choice of predetermined lines. ( 2 cents for 30 lines, 2 cents for 60 lines, etc.) This meant two things. First, your money went quicker and second, you had odd change leftover on your ticket that you couldn’t play! In my world, .36 cents is still good money!!
As we scanned the room, I noticed a few themes in the slots. Tons of wolf and buffalo games, but what stood out to me where the ones that touched on all the areas we’d traveled. First there was Michaelangelo, then there was Moulin Club, then Stonehenge and one called Lady of Spain. Well heck, we’d either been there or seen the site, so why not go with what you know?
So, after making the rounds, I decided I was going to play on the Breakfast at Tiffany’s game because it had a cute orange kitty that reminded me of my old cat Scamper. I sent Hubby off to play the “around the world” games. While I was spinning away, a guy who was in his mid thirties came up and sat next to me. He rubbed my machine to bring me luck and started flirting. FLIRTING! I’d hit the jackpot, but it wasn’t on the slots.
Now a little flirting is ok, and I wasn’t being too responsive because I am easily distracted by shiny, noisy, sparkling, spinning things and a cute kitty, but this guy wasn’t taking the hint. Enter Hubby. You’d think he’d see some guy with is wifey-poo and be just a touch interested, but no. He told me he’d won some and then lost some. I suggested that the next time he won some, he should cash out and bring me the ticket. And off he went! Just like that, with this guy sitting next to me. Fine!
When he’d left, the guy asked me if that was my boyfriend, to which I said, “No, that’s my husband.” I would have thought that would have made *some* impact, but I guess not. Realizing that my game was not as distracting anymore now that I was losing money, I cashed out my ticket much to the chagrin of my admirer. He asked why I was limiting myself. (DUDE – it’s gambling… and self-control!!) When I flippantly said I had to save some pennies to feed the kids, he wanted to guess their ages.
Guess what he came up with…….. 2, 4, 8 and 10. PAHAHAHAHA!!
I looked him square in the eye and said, “Ready? 31, 27, 25 and 23.” You could have scooped his chin off the floor. Truly dumbfounded he sat and calculated for a few minutes and asked me the year I was born. When I told him, he just shook his head and ran his hand through his hair and said the words that were the equivalent of the mega millions for me.
“Man, I thought you were a few years younger than me.” DING DING DING DING DING!
I thanked him for the birthday present and said I had to go find my Hubby.
In the meantime, Hubby had gone off and won on every slot machine on his ‘around the world’ tour and handed me a ticket for almost $100.00. Woo Hoo!!
Snippets and Tidbits 