Muse & Amuse

I am very opinionated and will argue a point to the nth degree. I tend to want to get to the bottom of things, so I push the envelope beyond what is expected. I can't see past my driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and I will defend him much as a mother would her son.

Friday, November 20, 2009

HI!

posted by Cheyenne at 1:02 AM comment(s) made: 2

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Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Just Think About It...


You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.
You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down.
You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.
You cannot build character and courage by taking away people's initiative and independence.
You cannot help people permanently by doing for them, what they could and should do for themselves.

-Abraham Lincoln

Edited: It has come to my attention that this list was not said by Abraham Lincoln but rather by a man named William J. H. Boetcker. Sorry if I misled anyone.

posted by Cheyenne at 5:15 PM comment(s) made: 1

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Saturday, November 14, 2009

OK, I Have A Complaint

And it's about cell phone usage while driving.



How many of you out there are guilty of using a cell phone while driving? Whether it's talking, texting, playing games or whatever else one can do with a cell phone, I would like to know why it's so dang important that people have to do that. Why do they even want to put someone else's life in jeopardy, not to mention their own? I value my life. I don't want to be caught up in a wreck like this:

Or worse yet, this:

And I apologize for the language on this sign but I would love to shove it into every person's face that uses a cell phone while sharing the same street with me.

There is absolutely no excuse to be talking while driving. No excuse to be texting either. Or playing games. Or Twitter. I have seen a woman on the phone while smoking a cigarette. She was using her knees to drive. She had a baby in the car with her. What the hell is up with that? Don't these people value their lives...or their children's lives? Are people that stupid that they don't know the consequences of such behavior? Obviously they are stupid, because more and more people are doing it every day.

Sometimes I let them know I am displeased with their behavior, and the look on some of their faces is priceless. They act like they have every right to do what they are doing. The problem is, a lot of them are doing it in cars so small they don't stand a chance if they hit something bigger. I feel sort of safe in our F-150 pickup truck, but not safe enough because I still want to throttle every person I see talking while driving.

(I am now stepping down from my soapbox and pushing it under my desk. Carry on.)

posted by Cheyenne at 12:44 AM comment(s) made: 2

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Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Unbelievable



In today's mail I received a post card from a weekly news magazine stating that I had overpaid my subscription when I recently renewed it. I paid exactly what was on the renewal slip.

Because of said overpayment the magazine people are extending my subscription by one issue. Or, they said, I could get a refund for the overpayment if that's what I preferred. I think for $.01 I will go with the extra issue.

Yes, you certainly did read that right: one penny overpayment gets me a free issue. Maybe I should do that every time I renew.


********************************************

On another subject, I recently wrote about my teams letting me down. Sunday wasn't any better. The Giants lost their fourth game in a row. Dale Jr. was having a great race and I thought for once he was going to be able to pull off a top five finish, or at the very least a top ten finish. I should have known better. Toward the end he was told he would be five laps short on fuel, so his crew chief called him in with seven laps to go for a splash and go. He got the splash but not the go...the car stalled and by the time he got it started and got back out on the track, he was three laps down. He finished somewhere around 25th.

When does it get better?

posted by Cheyenne at 1:24 AM comment(s) made: 0

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Friday, November 06, 2009

Been Having A Bad Week

Back and hip pain that is unbelievable have kept me at bay for most of the week. It is getting better every day and I have an appointment with the chiropractor again next Wednesday. I can pretty much deal with this pain...it is the pain of my sports heroes that I cannot deal with.

My NY Giants have lost their last three games after winning their first five games. What the hell is up with that? Come on, Eli, get your sh*t together.

I am not a big Phillies fan but I would have preferred them to win the World Series rather than those oh-so-smug damn Yankees.

I have no idea what happened to my NY Mets either. Their first half of the season was very good and then everything just seemed to go into the toilet and stayed there.

There is no need for me to even talk about Dale Jr. these days ~ his entire year has tanked. I can only hope that next year will be much better.

So with all this happening and not much good going on in my sports world, any wonder my body has reacted the way it did. Hey, I have to blame it on something, don't I?

I do have some good news, however. Our wind turbine is really churning away and doing its job. Our electric bill for this month has dropped from $173 to $104. Last year at this time it was $225. Gotta love that.

And little Punkin' is doing great. He had his second series of shots this week and weighed in at 2 lb. 2 oz. at the vet. He is still underweight for his age but like I keep reminding the vet, his momma was tiny too. He'll do just fine.

And my last piece of good news concerns sports. Penn State has lost only one game this season so they have given me something to cheer about. Let's hear it for Penn State. Yay!

posted by Cheyenne at 1:20 AM comment(s) made: 4

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Sunday, November 01, 2009

I Am Not Ready For This


Now that I have reset all my clocks and the darkness takes over earlier than I would like it to, I also have to think about this crap coming to visit over the next five months.

Light snow like this isn't so bad, I can deal with this:

Heavier snow like this I'm still not too sure about:

It's when things like this happen that really irritate me. This happens every year, guaranteed. It is caused by our wonderful snowplow people employed by the state because this is a state road. And every year we have to call them to come out and fix our yard. Our yard keeps getting shorter every year; next thing you know it will be up to our porch.

So, yeah, I am not ready for no stinkin' snow. Just the thought of it makes me ill. I don't know why either because I don't have to go out in it or get rid of it. I could contradict myself here and say that once it starts falling it's not so bad, but I guess I really don't like the dampness that comes with it. And those days when the wind is howling makes me want to pack up and leave for warmer climes. But that will never happen. I'm not destined to move away from my safe haven. This is my home and it has been for the past 23 years. I can't see myself living anywhere else.

Well, that's just the biggest lie I ever told. Of course I can see myself living elsewhere. Just not in this country. There is a little country calling my name pretty much on a weekly basis. Maybe more than that. But I will never answer the call. Now if someone came to me and said they had a house waiting for me in that particular country and that everything that needed to be done here was all wrapped up in a tidy little bow, then I would ask when does the plane leave? And I would join my husband and three cats and be on my way lickety split.

Hmmmmmm...did I just hear someone ask what country? Thought so. That would be Scotland. There are a lot of other countries I would probably have no problem living in, but my ancestors on my mother's side seem to be calling me.

posted by Cheyenne at 1:44 AM comment(s) made: 0

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Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Proud To Be A Celt on Halloween



Halloween has become one of the biggest holidays in America.

Halloween is an annual fun-filled celebration, but it didn't start out that way. The history of Halloween dates back 2,000 years to the superstitious Celts, who lived in Scotland, Ireland and Wales. Their calendar year began on November 1st, so October 31st was their New Year's Eve.

The Celts believed that on this night ghosts, goblins and witches came back to earth and wandered through the villages and countryside trying to return to the homes where they formerly lived. Because the Celts were frightened - even terrified - they tried to "blend in" with the spirits by dressing up in ghoulish costumes so they would be taken for fellow spirits. The frightened villagers also placed gifts of fruit and nuts on their doorsteps to appease the spirits and prevent them from entering their homes.

When the Romans conquered the Celts, some Roman and Celtic traditions were combined. For Romans, November 1st was an important holy day called All Hallows Day (or All Saints Day). Eventually, October 31st became All Hallows E'en (evening), which is known to us as Halloween.

As European cultures meshed in a new America, we developed our own Halloween traditions over the years. Parties for adults and children became the norm, and they focused on games, foods of the season and festive costumes. Between 1920 and 1950, the tradition of trick-or-treating was revived. Over the years, several animals became closely associated with this American holiday season (including the eerie howl of the werewolf).

Cats - You rarely see a Halloween witch without a black cat. The Halloween black cat is always in a fear-provoking position, with back arched, fur on end and eyes glittering. For thousands of years, black cats have been regarded as mysterious creatures with supernatural powers, associated with witches and death. It was believed that witches could change into cats; in fact, they could make that change nine times. Some people believed that cats were the spirits of the dead. The cat's pupils - narrow slits in the daytime, but luminous globes at night - linked him to the moon and emphasized his ability to see into the future.

(Special thanks to PetPlace.com for parts of this post)

posted by Cheyenne at 12:00 AM comment(s) made: 3

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