What I Did for My Summer Vacation

We made it back tonight from the family vacation. All went well! The boys had a blast swimming in Uncle D's pool, fishing in Uncle M's pond, eating junk food provided by the entire family, playing games with Great Grandma and Grandpa B...how wonderful to have such a loving family. Unfortunately, all my grandparents are dead, but the Ol' Man still has his grandma/pa on his mother's side (Great Grandparents for the boys!), and they are really great folks. I miss my grandmother and father, and it's really nice to have a grandma and grandpa again. Of course, the Ol' Man's mom is a perfect grandma...stuffing the boys full of cookies and cakes and letting them get away with murder...but I suppose that's the perks of being a grandma!

Summer Vacation

We're off today on the road trip to visit the Ol' Man's family. Hopefully, the weather up there is nicer than the weather down here. Hopefully, the kids sleep the entire way. His mom, bless her heart, will have ton's of food for us...that's what Grandma's do!

Men are from Mars....

I've figured it out. For (most) men, sex isn't an emotion, it's a feeling. Think about the most decadent dessert you've ever had...French Silk Chocolate Pie, Fudge Brownies, Strawberry Shortcake, Creme Brulee, etc. Think about how it felt when you were eating it. That lusciousness, that slice of heaven dancing over your tongue. That's what sex is for men. It's that incredible feeling, with no emotion attached. They save that for the dog. Women equate sex with emotion, versus feeling. That's the difference. Of course, there are exceptional men out there...like the Ol' Man. He loves me (emotion) as well as loves the feeling of sex..the best of both worlds! And, I feel the same. Lucky me!

Computer Passwords

AAARRRGGGG! "Your password must be between 8 and 12 letters, have one special character, one number, one capital letter, not be a password you've used in the last three months, not include your birthday, or your mother's maiden name,......." AND, of course, every stinkin' site requires a password. There's just no way to keep track of them all! I try to use some of the same ones, but that doesn't always work. I end up resetting my password every time I go on the site cause I can't remember what I changed it to last time. Of course, you're not suppose to "write them down"...but maybe I should?! I really can't see a criminal mastermind breaking into my house just to steal my 5 year old lap top and then scrounge through a bunch of paperwork to find all my passwords. Besides, it's not like I've got Top Secret stuff on my hard drive! Sigh....

Kitchen Witch, evil eyes and Ganesh

I have a kitchen witch. I got her in Germany. According to Wikipedia, "A kitchen witch, sometimes called a cottage witch, and often called a "Scandinavian" kitchen witch doll, is a poppet, or homemade doll resembling a stereotypical witch or crone displayed in residential kitchens as a means to provide good luck and ward off bad spirits." My witch does a pretty good job, as the Ol' Man really likes my cooking, and I haven't made anything crappy in a long time. I made some banana bread, and the Ol' Man scarfed down the whole loaf in about a day! I also have evil eyes all around the house. I got them in Turkey. The Evil Eye Bead Amulet or Turkish Blue Glass Nazar Boncugu is thousands of years old. This talisman fights against the evil eye, gives protection and brings luck to all. It gives happiness to friends and the beloved ones. The Ol' Man has a Ganesh on the mantel. The Lord of Success, Ganesha is the son of Shiva and Parvati, has an elephantine countenance with a curved trunk and big ears, and a huge pot-bellied body of a human being. He is the Lord of success and destroyer of evils and obstacles. I'm a pagan, and I figure, it can't hurt to cover as many bases as I can.

It's Raining, again....

Good thing we went for a ride on the scooters yesterday. Woke up this am to rain. They keep saying this was the "summer that wasn't", and they're right. Mold is starting to pop up everywhere, mushrooms in the grass, not enough sun to grow the veggies....and they also say that on the heels of a crappy summer comes a crappy winter. But, yeesh - last winter was crappy too! Where does it end? The "Sturgis of PA" was a good time. There were maybe 200 bikes there, and they ran out of T-shirts an hour and a half after the event started. It was sponsored by a local radio station, and they said they'd have the T-shirts for sale on their web site. It was such a nice day (after having so many crappy days in a row), that everyone wanted to get out and ride...they didn't expect such a good turn out. One thing I like about biker events are the vendors...one stand was selling helmet stickers and jacket patches. A lot of them are "adult only" slogans, but they sure are funny! As this is a family show, I can't repeat them here, but if you ever get a chance to attend a biker event, check them out!

Sturgis

Every year, the motorcycle rally at Sturgis, SD kicks off in August. It's the "mecca" of motorcycle rallies...the biggest, most well known rally, probably in the world. If you ride a motorcycle, you have to make the trip at least once in your life...I think it's some kind of unwritten rule. I've been there (back in....1990 something) and it was quite the kick in the head! Bikes for as far as the eye could see...I enjoyed the ride more than the rally itself. I think most motorcycle rallies, be they big or small, are mostly the same...bikes, bikes, bikes, vendors selling t-shirts, belt buckles, jewelry, motorcycle parts, flags, knives, etc, junk food and beer. Lots of beer. And, usually boobs too. Not surprisingly, that part doesn't interest me too much, but the boys seem to like the view. Anyhoo, while I'm not going to make it to South Dakota this year, Pennsylvania does have their version of the Black Hills Classic - there is actually a Sturgis, PA that holds a "rally" (ummm...make that a 1 day get-together-and-hang-out-for-a-few-hours), and, since today is actually SUNNY for a change, me and the Ol' Man are heading up there to check it out. I'll take a few pictures and let you know how it goes....