Crazy As It Seems, I'm Still Sane

Many months ago I received in the mail a CD to download software for filing federal and state taxes. I put it aside. And then one day it crossed my path, so I opened it and read the small booklet that was inside. Also included was a coupon for $25 to use if I chose to have H&R do our taxes in person.

I won't lie to you...I am one of the greatest procrastinators around~especially when it comes to having to do things I don't particularly care doing. Like federal tax filing. There are a lot of other things, but filing taxes make me want to run and hide. As far away from them as I can get.

A few weeks ago I once again reviewed all the material looking for the fine print. I couldn't find any. I never sent for the software and I have no idea where it came from; therefore, it was free. I am taking the liberty here and guessing that H&R sent their previous customers this new software hoping we use it and return to them next year.

And so, one day when I had time on my hands, I put the CD in and downloaded it. It didn't take long and soon there was a new icon on my desktop. And that's as far as I got. I didn't open the program. I dragged my feet, because I really dreaded having to do our taxes. Why? I guess I was afraid of the unknown. Like how much money we owed this year. Like not knowing what was in that program. Because once I clicked on that little icon, there was no turning back. The first thing I was greeted with was an update notice telling me some things changed since the software left them and arrived on my doorstep.

So far so good. That was fairly easy. But then I sat there and stared at the screen a few moments before clicking on START A RETURN. And then I was off and running. I wrote down the time I started. As I went through the forms answering questions and filling things out, I thought, this is pretty easy; I think I like this.

(A few weeks ago, I decided that yesterday would be a good day to work on the taxes because there was no NASCAR race. I forewarned my husband that I was going to be in my little corner of the world, with the door shut, and absolutely no one was allowed to bother me until I decided to come out or I was finished.)

It only took me an hour and not once did I have to throw anything, or cuss like a banshee, or even scratch my head. And even though we owe a few hundred dollars, I still had a smile on my face because it was a really nice experience.

Whew! I'm glad that's over for another year.

Sometimes I Just Can't Help Myself

The Good The Bad The Ugly ~ Part II

(I have had this in draft for some time and have been waiting to publish it. Because I am at a lack for words and/or thoughts, this will have to do for now.)

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This is all about what it's like when one retires.

THE GOOD

• I can stay up as late as I want and sleep in as long as I want (within reason).
• I can eat what I want, when I want, how I want.
• We can pick up and go somewhere on a whim at any time.
• We can make appointments for any day, at any time.
• There is no one looking over my shoulder or telling me what to do like where I last worked.
• We are no longer using an obscene amount of gas like we did when we worked.
• There are no freaking phones rudely ringing in my ears all blessed day long.
• If the weather's bad we don't have to go out and drive in it.
• I don't have to put up a front or be cheerful all day for the co-workers' sake. (Remember, I was admonished for being unsociable.) I can be the most unsociable bitch on this earth. Just cross me, you'll find out.
• I no longer get that sick feeling in my gut Sunday afternoons knowing Monday morning and work is looming ahead.
• I no longer have to look at a 30-year-old-wet-behind-the-ears-so-called-manager-who-is-afraid-of-people-older-than-him-so-he-fires-them anymore.

THE BAD

• No weekly paycheck, but that's OK. It's not like we didn't plan for this.

THE UGLY

• (See the last entry under THE GOOD)

Certainly y'all saw that one coming about the ugly; if you didn't, you missed out on a lot of good stuff over the past year and a half of my posts.

Rain Rain Go Away

Sunday's race at Martinsville was great up until the rain delay. Junior had been leading and was doing quite nicely I might add. It felt so good to finally see him in command of a race. When the race was stopped because of rain, I just knew that once they got restarted Junior's car would go downhill. The track was not the same. And once again I became frustrated.

To make matters worse there were three Hendrick cars running in the top four. Grrrrrrrrr. Nothing perturbs me more than that. Absolutely nothing. I was hoping that the two front runners would take each other out. No such luck.

As far as who the winner was...well, let's not even go there. He disturbs me. Really, really bad.

So there I sat, mouth agape at having to witness yet another win by a Hendrick driver. I am so sick and tired of having that team crammed down my throat week after week. It gets old and it gets sickening after awhile.

I thought to myself, let's see how the points played out. I waited patiently. In my mind I went over how Junior has come from waaaaaay down in the points: from 30th, to 40th, to 28th, to 26th, to 17th...and I figured today's foray would maybe, just maybe, bring him up to 15th. What a shock I had when I saw that he is 11th in the points!

Ahhhhhhh...all was well in my little corner of the world.

They Pulled The Plug

What $ircuit $ity did is downright despicable. (Now do you get my title?) My head is still spinning after reading about it in the newspaper.

In case you haven't heard they fired, yes fired, not laid off, 3400 workers of all ages who were considered making too much money. Those workers will be replaced by people earning a much lower wage.



Our newspaper highlighted two local male employees in their early 60's who depended upon the health insurance for themselves and their spouses. I ask you...where the hell does a human being find a job equal to what both those gentlemen lost as far as the wage-per-hour rate and the health benefits is concerned? Absolutely nowhere. Not for someone in their early 60's anyway. I suppose maybe the answer to that question is that they now have to depend on two jobs just to equalize what they were receiving at CC.

If you think it's easy replacing a good-paying job with good benefits for someone in their early 60's, please think again. It must be one of the hardest things to accomplish on this earth. And it can be the downfall of many families.

One thing CC did offer is that those workers are able to re-apply for a job but at a much lower wage, and they have to wait ten weeks before doing so. What a freaking joke. And it's not illegal what CC did either. Remember, these employees are "employees at will" and can be fired for any reason as long as that reason isn't illegal. That's another freaking joke in my book.

I must point out here that the newspaper article wavered between them being fired and laid off. There IS a difference. In this state if you are laid off you can collect unemploymenet benefits no questions asked. If you are fired it's another story. You have a 50-50 chance of collecting unemployment. I am assuming that all employees involved will be allowed to collect since they did nothing wrong.

There was also talk about age discrimination. Nope, that won't work either as the range of age was 22 to early 60's. Supposedly, they didn't discriminate at all.

My question here is: Why don't they just close their doors so we can all concentrate on that other store with the yellow sign? Yeah, you know the one:

My Husband's Worst Nightmare

Because of copyright infringements, whatever, I could not make the cartoon any larger. It reads: I don't know, it was here when I woke up. It's a $tarbucks stand in the kitchen of a couple.

I think if my husband ever saw one of those in our kitchen he'd have another heart attack. So would I.

If you remember from a previous post of mine, it was a snotty young girl at a local $tarbucks store that triggered the loss of my husband's job driving tractor/trailer. Because of that, I am not allowed to utter the word $tarbucks. Not that I'd want to anyway.

I wanted to march straight down there and give her a piece of my mind, not to mention an attitude adjustment, but he wouldn't let me. Therefore, I am still at odds with them myself. I have never stepped foot in one of their stores and I know I never will. Look at me...now read my lips...do you think I care?

I Finally Did It!

Did what, you say? I finally purchased a digital imaging program so I can play with my photographs. I'm so excited.



Now I'm not saying it's going to happen right away, but it will sometime soon. I am a complete novice at these things, and for the most part I have to figure 90 percent of the things out on my own. What I really like are when the instructions on how to complete a task are simple enough for a first grader to understand. Of course pictures of the task, as we go along, always help.

Anyway, I am very eager to go to the playground and get started. However, finding the time is my biggest roadblock. Afer all, I have yet to do our federal taxes.


But that's nothing new for me. I've been doing them for many years now. Well, more than I like to remember. Except for last year ~ there were a lot of complications as the settling of my parents' estate was involved and taxes weren't taken out of everything.

I had decided to let Jack$on-Screwitt do them for us ~ never again. Can I repeat that? Never again!

We ended up paying a huge amount back, which I was prepared for, but a month after we filed came a bad-news notice from Big Brother. We got nailed an extra penalty because we supposedly didn't have enough taxes withheld during the year. Well, excuuuuuuuuse me. Nobody ever told us about that one. So, of course, they thought it was going to be the same way this year. Geez, how many estates for your parents can one settle in a lifetime? Every quarter in 2006 they sent me a packet of crap so I could pre-pay my taxes. I don't think so. Screw them; I ignored the mailings and tossed everything because I knew it wouldn't be the same.

So I have approximately three months to do the taxes. And like all the other years I will probably wait for the weekend before the deadline.

I must point out, however, that a few weeks ago I actually sat down and did a sort of dry run-through but I got so bored I shoved them aside.

I don't know why I am this way. It's just one of those chores that I dread so much it makes me ill just thinking about it. But you know what they say about death and taxes...there's just no escaping them. Even after death someone has to do them for you.

In Defense Of Dale Jr

I recently read somewhere that Dale Jr. is nasty toward women. Can you blame him when they are throwing themselves at him constantly? A person can take only so much, and sometimes they have good reasons for the way they act.

It has just been made public that his sister. Kelley Elledge, has been going through a very rough, unknowing time since the end of January. And I am sure that Junior was very worried about not only what could possibly be wrong with her, but other things out of his control that involved her. Kelley had surgery on Friday and she is doing good. She had a benign tumor on her pancreas. I am sure Junior is quite relieved as are the rest of us.

I just came across the following which was written by Jade Gurss of Fingerprint, Inc.:

"When it turns ugly: We have to deal with incredibly obnoxious and over-agressive folks every week that shed their dignity and risk their safety in the pursuit of touching Dale Jr. or trying to get an autograph. It's a constant part of the at-track experience, and it's sad that a few folks ruin it for the other 95% of fans...

"One of the worst segments on the circuit is trying to get through the buzzing swarm of fans between the garage area and driver's motorcoach lot following the Cup races at Atlanta. Security always seems non-existant but we've somehow managed to push our way through in the past. However, it turned more dangerous last evening, as the crush of fans rushing Junior knocked over a small chain link fence, sending dozens of folks crashing to the ground. No one seemed seriously injured, but it's never a pleasant send-off when worrying about fans being hurt in the crush.

"If you're a fan who likes to hang out in that area, we'll no longer be bringing Dale Jr. through that walkway in future events."
******
I am sure that both these things can make a person a tad edgy. I know for certain they would make me a raving lunatic. My point here is, please don't give up on Junior just because someone somewhere mentioned that he is nasty toward women. Walk in his shoes. He just may have a good excuse. And remember, there are always two sides to every story.

My Young'uns

They're 7-1/2 months old. They have more manners than the majority of children I have come across lately. They mind their own business, for the most part. They love us beyond what is necessary.

This is Junior:

Protector. Clumsy. Playful. Kneader. Lapcat. Muscular. Angelic. She-did-it. Big. Silver. Loves his sister.

This is Dakota Sioux:

Dainty. Petite. ALoof. Agile. Quiet. Lapcat. Sweet. Featherweight. Who me? Dilute calico. Loves ice cream and her brother.

I don't know how I managed to get this far in life and not know the wonderful feeling of owning kittens, soon-to-be cats. Yes, I had a cat when I was a teenager (and found it writhing in pain from poison when we came back from visiting on Christmas night). Maybe that's why I never had another cat as a pet. I have had dogs and rabbits ever since. But now that I have these two little ones, I am so glad that I have rediscovered cats once again. They are such a pleasure. They practically take care of themselves. That's more than I can say about my husband. I guess you could say he's my third young'un.

Sorry 'bout That

I didn't post last night because I fell asleep on the recliner and when I awoke, I went straight to bed. I sure as hell wasn't in the mood to be posting anything anyway because I am still reeling from last Sunday's race. Not only because of who won, but also because I truly am upset with the Bud team. I know Jr. ran really well in all four races thus far; however, you sure as hell can't tell from looking at the end results. And that just depresses me no end. I cannot be upbeat when they are not giving their good performances a good ending.

Repeat Offender

See that title of my blog up top there? Muse & Amuse? It means to think (muse) and laugh (amuse).

Well, I think I shall be in denial because I am NOT amused at who won the race Sunday.

Here, Jimmie, this is for you:



Now kindly go away so others can have the spotlight they so richly deserve.

I-rish You A Very...

From Cheyenne, Dick, Dakota Sioux and Junior, too! (The last two are our kittens)

Jumpin' Jiminy...

...we're supposed to get some more of this stuff starting today around daybreak and going into Saturday morning. Bring it on I say! I knew there was one more storm out there just for our area. We usually get snow in mid-March, so the timing is perfect as usual.



While it's raining/sleeting/snowing outside I will be watching NASCAR TV most of the day. I so look forward to Fridays just for that purpose only. The bad news is, qualifying isn't on until 7 PM and they are projecting a 60% chance of rain in the evening. If qualifications are wiped out, that means Dale Jr. will have to start 28th. Oh Lord, don't I have enough bad feelings about this season? I wish I had as much faith in the team as he does. He is amazing when it comes to that. God bless him.

You Tell 'em, Junior

"We've had three top-fives in a row at Atlanta and it'd be great to get a fourth so we can keep moving up in the points. We're pretty pleased to be back in the top-30, and we can move a lot higher at Atlanta. Lemme tell ya, no one looks forward to Bristol (the fifth race, also the debut of the Car of Tomorrow) and have to worry about being in the top-35 in points. We used up two mulligans early (two DNFs in the first two races), but nobody wearing a red Bud uniform was too worried because we had run pretty well before we had trouble. It's one thing if you blow up or crash while you're racing for 30th place, but it's another when you have a good car and run in the top-five before you have issues. No one panicked after those first two races. The media made a much bigger deal out of it than it really was. I understand it, but what are you gonna do? You can't go back for a do-over, so we buckled down and performed well at Las Vegas. With the team we have, we expect to be in the Chase every year. And a few rough weekends doesn't change that."
-Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Pins And Needles

That title describes me during the Las Vegas race folks. I tried to be so cool, even though it was just my husband and myself watching. I tried to disengage myself from the action, I didn't wear my Junior stuff, I didn't wish any bad luck on the other drivers, I didn't even dig out my notebook to see who he could surpass in the points at any given time during the race, and I acted like it was just another race. For the most part, it all worked. For me, because I felt by doing what I did at least I didn't jinx him. I know that sounds dumb, but I am beginning to believe that stuff about jinxes. Don't laugh, I'll get a complex.

It worked for him too. Well, at least it did until he made that rookie mistake and pitted on the red light. I slapped my forehead and said "Oh no, after all the inroads he made today!"

At least it's not as bad as I thought because I didn't watch the results after you-know-who won the darn thing. Junior finished 11th, instead of 5th (that's where he was when he committed that error). He came from 40th in the points to 28th. Had he finished fifth, he would have gone to 27th in the points. So all in all, not too bad, At this point, I will take it. And come next Sunday I will go through this all over again. I don't know if I have the stamina for it.

One Of My Favorites

Ive been watching this program since its inception last Fall mainly due to being a Skeet Ulrich fan. It's a great show with only one drawback: it's opposite American Idol, and because of that I never get to see the girls sing on AI.

Another reason I'm a fan of Skeet's is...are you ready for this? His mother and Ricky Rudd (a NASCAR driver for those of you not in the know) are siblings! Skeet and Ricky both have a small mouth so that must be a Rudd trait. I've never seen a picture of Skeet's mother so I have no idea what size her mouth is. And that's all I'm going to say about that.



Don't you think he favors his uncle in the photo above? I do.

Skeet's stepfather, D. K. Ulrich a driver/owner, dabbled in NASCAR for quite some time and Skeet was briefly part of the team so he's no stranger to the sport.

He was born in Lynchburg VA and raised in Concord NC, and he had open heart surgery at the age of ten to correct a congenital ventricle defect.

His real name is Bryan Ray Trout. Skeet, short for Skeeter, comes from a nickname given him when he was small, and because his parents divorced he took on his stepfather's last name.

And now you know more than you ever wanted to know about Skeet Ulrich. Aren't you glad you tuned in?

How rude!

Sorry folks but I am at a loss for anything better to post. I have a camera full of photos that need to be downloaded. I keep carrying it in and out of my computer room, and nothing gets done with it.

We are expecting some winter weather today and as usual most of it will miss our area. We will be venturing out in it because my husband has a therapy session for his back and it is grocery day. Joy.

Last weekend was an off week for the Cup guys and I am excited to be getting back into that groove again. However, since my guy is way down low in the points I don't have much to be cheerful about. I keep telling myself he had three DNFs last year and still pulled himself up into the top ten for The Chase. But the darn issue of his contract could get in the way.

On another note...I would like to change the background of my blog. The picture of Dale Jr. is rather old and I would like a more updated one of him there. However, I haven't the faintest idea as to where to start. I figured out where to put it in the template, but how do I go about finding the correct size to replace what's there? It's times like these that I wish I were more computer literate instead of just being able to type. I spent the better part of my day in Google trying to get answers and I am still as stupid as when I started searching. Yeah, I know, instead of being fairly smart like it says up top, maybe it should read fairly damn stupid, huh?

Spoiled Rotten

A few days ago our local newspaper had an article about teenagers, driving, and cell phones. Now that is a lethal combination. I could almost stop here and I know you would all understand.

But my post isn't about those three things. Nope. It's about something else. There was a photo of one of the girls with her phone, sitting in a car. The article said it was her car. She is 17. And she drives a Lexus RX. They sell in the range of $33-38,000.00. My question is: how does a 17-year-old manage to pay for a car like that? And even if her parents gave it to her (which isn't teaching her a darn thing), how do they manage to pay for it besides the other two cars they probably own? And I'm sure the insurance doesn't come cheap either.

When I was 17, I wasn't even driving yet. But I was by the time I turned 18. I bought a '51 Ford convertible from my brother for $200. It was in excellent shape and he had just installed a new convertible top on it. Back then, it didn't take me too long to pay him back; he didn't even charge interest. But it was my first lesson in responsibility and I didn't take it lightly.

These kids today practically get most things handed to them. It teaches them nothing. But they become experts at text messaging while driving. And that is even scarier than when they are talking on the phone because they use both thumbs.

Who's Your Daddy?

I know this might sound creepy to some of you, but does anyone else out there think Anna Nicole Smith's son was/is the father of her baby?

If you think about it and in your mind go back and visualize her behavior with him all the way up to his death...

Crazier things go on in this world today so it's not all that far fetched. We just don't hear about it on a wide scale.

And how about all those guys stepping up claiming to be the father? It's not so much who is the father, rather it's who isn't the father.

She and her son were just too cozy for my liking and when the baby's questionable paternity came to the forefront, Daniel was my first suspect as the father. What's really driving me insane is why it's taking this long to actually determine just who the father is. What are they afraid they will find? That I'm right?

I hope I am wrong because that is just so sick. And maybe I have a sick mind to even think about it being the truth, but hey, I'm just sayin'

I Can't Let It Rest

Something I cannot do is let it rest. Nope, I find it hard to walk away from something like a good argument. And better yet, an argument in which I know I'm right. Nothing worse than arguing with someone when you know they are just plain downright W.R.O.N.G.

It's the lawyer in me. No I am not a lawyer. I should have pursued that avenue though. Sometimes I even drive myself crazy.

I'm the type of person that needs an answer to almost everything. I can't walk away from something unless I know I gave it my all. And, no, I'm not one of those people that has to have the last word. Far from it. I just want to have the right word.

I know I drive my husband crazy whenever I question something or someone. Because I don't question with a simple "why?". It gets much deeper than that. And what really upsets me is when no one can give me an answer, let alone the correct answer to my query. A lot of times I have to turn to the internet for that. But it doesn't always know either.

I was never like that growing up. And I can't remember when it started either. One day it was just there. It sorta crept up on me while I wasn't looking.

Maybe it was the "right to know" law that everyone throws around. I never did find out what that means either. I have the right to know a lot of things, but every time I ask about a particular right, I get a door slammed in my face. Or dead silence on the other end of the phone. Why do we even have those laws if we cannot use them?

Back when I was researching that particular law in this particular state I could not find a single thing that I could access with that law. I know it exists. But no one lets us use it. Why is that? Maybe I'm just barking up the wrong tree.

Oh, and when it comes to laws...Pennsylvania really sucks. I gave up on their laws a long time ago.

Rant over.

OK, Show Me Some Pity

Why? Because Junior now has two DNFs and is 2-for-2. Last week it was an accident (not of his making) and this week a blown engine.

I truly hope that's it because I cannot take any more of those.

There was a bright note, however. He saved his spinning car from hitting anything and when he got out he was so proud that he took a little bow.

I Tried To Tell Y'all

When I found this, I wished I could have said it this way myself. I have been arguing with everyone that wants to argue, that this is how I always felt, still feel, and will always feel until Dale Jr. is brought in to the fold of DEI as majority owner. Following are Darrell Waltrip's words (yes, I did hear him say this but it has a greater impact when you read the words and let them sink in.) I'm not a big fan of Waltrip's because he has bashed Junior in the past when he wasn't doing well on the track, but these words changed my mind a little teeny tiny bit. Here it is:
********
"On Sunday's prerace show, I said what I believe about Dale Earnhardt Jr., and I believe I'm right. He doesn't want to be treated like he's a driver. He wants to be treated like he has a vested interest in Dale Earnhardt Inc. He doesn't, and he should. That's plain and simple. You heard him after the Daytona 500. There are things that he would have done differently. There are things that he would like to see done, and apparently, he doesn't have a voice in how things are done or how they get done. That's just wrong. I know what Dale Earnhardt's intentions were for DEI, and I don't think Dale would be happy. If Dale Jr. wants to run the company, his father would be happy because that was The Intimidator's intention. That's my opinion based on my relationship with Dale when I drove for him and when he started DEI." -Darrell Waltrip

Dixie Louise

I don't have any grandchildren, but I do have a grandkitty. This is her debut on my blog. She lives with my daughter.


One of her favorite hiding places.

Sorry about that 24 car but her daddy is a Jeff Gordon fan.

But that's OK, her mommy is a Dale Earnhardt Jr fan. Yay!

Are These People Nuts?

Here are just two of the e-mails I received this week at my secondary e-mail address. I get nothing but junk mail there but it's nice to have it when I don't want to use my regular address. Some of these people are unbelievable. Like this one, for instance:

"My name is becky james am a model.i was surffing the web when i came
accross your emaill address so i was wondering if you can help me out
with my problem.the problem is that my agent is to pay me some money for
the jobs i had done for him, Now he has decided to pay me with Cheque
and i cannot cash the Cheque over here.so now am looking for any one
that i can trust in US that can help me! to cash the Cheque and i
don't mind in paying the person 10% of the money because this has been a
problem for me so i want you to help me out of the problem.I will be
very greatfull if you can help me out in cashing this Cheque.
I will be waiting for your urgent response ASAP today so that i can
know what to do from here.
Thanks"
**
Maybe if they learned how to spell and punctuate they would command some type of attention. But that's all, just attention and nothing else. Anybody who falls for these yahoos deserves to be taken over.
**********
And then there are these:

"Subject: Bigger before your eyes

True male enhancement is only a click away.
An improved life awaits you, become an XL man today.

expunge chaperon scenario spectral alacrity bahama calamity benzene
may. joggle crumple antipode climatic goober bank chic artwork ingredient
woodbury see see."
**
OK, can anybody tell me what the hell that last sentence says or means? It makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.

**********
I don't normally open any of these but I had time on my hands and needed a good laugh at the time. I'm still laughing.

Ouch!

In reference to my first post title today, this is what I meant:



Being a Kevin Harvick fan I was happy that he won. The outcome of the race was by no means upsetting to me. It was what happened a few laps prior to the end of the race that I wished we could start all over. And then Junior would have a better car and the boxed-in situations would not occur ~ In my perfect world anyway.

Can We Do That Race Over?

I'm not really in the mood to post anything about the Daytona 500. It upsets me too much as to what happened to Junior getting caught up in a wreck.

And I certainly was not too thrilled with the way the cars stayed bunched up most of the race. Whatever happened to the good old drafting like other years? I hardly saw any of that.

The only good thing about the race was the free Hot Pass through DirecTV. Of course, of the five drivers available, I chose Junior.

All I can hope for now is that he can pull himself out of the hole he is in. At least he's not alone. There are a lot of good drivers way down in the points.

What a crazy start to the racing season...

Finally!

The snow started falling around 9:45 am on Tuesday as flurries. It wasn't supposed to start until after 1:00 pm. It wasn't sticking to the street yet.



By 11:00 am the sun came out. It was supposed to snow all day. All we had were a few flurries and by 1:00 pm it stopped altogether. No precipitation whatsoever. No snow, no rain, no sleet. No nothing.



At 3:00 pm it started snowing with a vengeance. It was so thick you could hardly see very far. But by the evening, it changed over to sleet and rain.



Oh look! Another picture of our barn/garage.



On Wednesday it changed back to snow again around 10:45 am. We ended up with 7-8" and I thought to myself: Well, I suppose this is the appetizer; I am sure we will get much more because February is when we get the biggest storms. And, of course, there is always the first half of March.

I would have posted this earlier in the week, but I was kind of busy watching NASCAR programs and as you all know, that takes precedence in my life.

Who, Me?

-Photo courtesy of Speed Channel

I suppose I'd make a face like that too if I just got nailed with the loss of 100 driver points, 100 owner points (his wife is the owner on paper), lost my crew chief who was fined $100,000 and suspended indefinitely, and lost my vice president of competition who was also suspended indefinitely.

What exactly was added to the fuel in Michael's car, only the perp knows. We can all venture a guess, and NASCAR isn't talking.

Toyota has issued a statement to the effect that they sent a warning to the remaining Toyota teams. They said the Waltrip organization used up two of their three strikes. Anyone who crosses the line will lose Toyota's support.

If You Ain't Cheatin'...

...you ain't tryin', is the adage most of the NASCAR people like to quote.

At this point, I am now wondering just how many races in the past have been won by cheating, or to take it one step further, how many championships were won by cheating? I am not mentioning names here, it is up to the reader to do so on his/her own.

An article in Tuesday's paper points out that, even though Chad Knaus (Jimmie Johnson's crew chief) was sent packing for four weeks during last year's Daytona 500, Jimmie still managed to win the race, and then won another race two weeks later; and to add insult to injury, he went on to win the 2006 Nextel Cup title.

Replacing a crew chief found cheating is the route the teams take so, to me, sending the cheater home means absolutely nothing. There is always another team member who can step up to the plate and guide the driver. And although the admonished crew chief is not allowed at the track, they still communicate with the team, so in essence they aren't really gone. No one can convince me otherwise.

The author of the paper's article wrote that maybe the burden should be put on the driver if the team is found to have cheated. As much as I detest that happening, the more I think about it the better it sounds. The majority of the time when the team is caught, I would like to assume that the driver has no knowledge of it. Junior has told his team not to ever tell him if they do anything in the "gray area" because he admits he can't keep it to himself. Just one of his weaker traits...remember when he spun out purposely to cause a caution and then told on himself?

But seriously, if the driver were made the scapegoat, perhaps the teams would think twice about doing something stupid.

Would I be upset if they sat Junior out of a race? You better believe it. My potty mouth would go into overtime. But on the other hand, if it would happen to a driver I don't care for (and oh my gosh, there are plenty of them), then it's a whole 'nother story and I would do a happy dance all over the place. So you see, it can work both ways.

I say to NASCAR: go for it and let the chips fall where they may.

One thing for certain: the cheating has got to stop. It's not fair for those that don't cheat.

******
The above was written and put into draft. Since then, I have learned the outcome of NASCAR's findings and was a bit shocked at the results.

Matt Kenseth and Kasey Kahne each received a deduction of 50 points which puts them in the negative before they even race. (I don't believe either driver knew what was done to their car.) Scott Riggs and Elliott Sadler each received 25 points deduction and I don't believe they knew either. Ray Evernham, owner of three of the teams (Kenseth is owned by Jack Roush), is suspect. I remember a lot of things that were going on while he was the crew chief for Jeff Gordon and because of that, many of Gordon's records are tainted.

The four crew chiefs involved have received suspensions. Robbie Reiser, Kenseth's CC, and Kenny Francis, Kahne's CC, received four weeks. Rodney Childers, Riggs' CC, and Josh Browne, Sadler's CC, each received two weeks.

I don't think I'd want to see any of those four drivers sit out races, but I don't think NASCAR was harsh enough either. Now, if one of them goes on to win the Daytona 500 and also ends up winning the Nextel Cup, then there is something definitely wrong with the system.

The jury is still out as to what happens to Michael Waltrip. Pity the fool if he is in the wrong too.

My 2nd Post of the Day

Normally I would have written something about NASCAR and the past weekend, but there were just too many things happening for me to elaborate on them. Gosh, my head is still spinning.

Some of the highlights though were Junior overshooting his pit stall and later bump drafting where he shouldn't have been thereby wiping out not only himself but three other good cars. What a rookie!

Michael Waltrip ~ I saw a segment on him on TV where he was giving a little speech at a team banquet. This isn't verbatim but it's as close as I can remember what he said: They said we couldn't get sponsors, and we did. They said we couldn't get top-rated drivers, and we did. But what really pissed me off is they said we couldn't win a race. Let's go show 'em that we can. Well, Mikey, how do you propose you are going to do that when NASCAR confiscated your car? Huh? Tell me.

And finally the Walk of Shame goes to the teams of Matt Kenseth and Kasey Kahne for messing with their cars causing them to have to start at the rear of the pack. Good going guys, I guess you don't realize how much you are jeopardizing your drivers when you do numbskull things like that, do you?

For Those That Want To Change Things

This came to me in an e-mail about a different country, but it holds true for ours too. I took the liberty of changing some things. But it is exactly how I feel and I could not have said it any better.


"This country has been developed over centuries of struggles, trials and victories by millions of men and women who have sought freedom. We speak mainly ENGLISH, not Spanish, Lebanese, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, or any other language. Therefore, if you wish to become part of our society...learn the language! Most Americans believe in God. This is not some Christian, right wing, political push, but a fact, because Christian men and women, on Christian principles, founded this nation, and this is clearly documented. It is certainly appropriate to display it on the walls of our schools. If God offends you, then I suggest you consider another part of the world as your new home, because God is part of our culture. We will accept your beliefs, and will not question why. All we ask is that you accept ours, and live in harmony and peaceful enjoyment with us. If our beliefs and traditions offend you, then you should seriously consider a move to another part of this planet. We are happy with our culture and have no desire to change, and we really don't care how you did things where you came from. By all means, keep your culture, but do not force it on others. This is OUR COUNTRY, OUR LAND, and OUR LIFESTYLE, and we will allow you every opportunity to enjoy all this. But once you are done complaining, whining, and griping about Our Flag, Our Pledge, Our Christian beliefs, or Our Way of Life, I highly encourage you take advantage of one other great American freedom, 'THE RIGHT TO LEAVE'. If you aren't happy here then LEAVE. We didn't force you to come here. You asked to be here. So accept the country YOU accepted."

Better Late Than Never

I've been a subscriber to NASCAR Scene for a very long time, and I've never had a problem with the delivery of same. It's a weekly publication but between the end and the beginning of the year, it isn't published every week. During that interim I don't look for it every week. And at that time of the year sometimes it's the farthest thing from my mind. But once I am into the rhythm of receiving it, then I look forward to getting it every week. Are you with me so far?

Now, why am I going on and on about this newspaper magazine? Well...on Wednesday the 7th I received the February 8th issue and that arrived a day or two early. No problem there. The following day (yesterday) I received the January 18th issue, which I should have received two weeks ago, not now. But I didn't miss it because I wasn't looking for it or expecting it for that matter.

I'm just puzzled as to where it spent these last two weeks so that it could arrive in my mailbox in pristine condition, as if I had just purchased it at a newsstand.

Like they say, wonders never cease (or something to that effect).

On another note...

I watched the Speed channel which had a live drawing of where the 21 drivers for the Budweiser Shootout will start. Every year the way they draw the positions is different. This was the first year they showed it live. Nice touch.

I kept my eye on Junior whenever he was on camera and it seemed to me he looked quite dejected, although he did smile a few times; I can only surmise it is probably due to all the crap that is going on with his contract issues. He, along with his sister Kelley and half-brother Kerry, are asking for partial ownership of DEI. Dale Junior wants more than 50%, and I don't blame him one bit. It's time. Like someone said, stop treating him as if he's 15 years old and a stepson.

Life Comes At You Fast

I love those commercials pertaining to my title today. I borrowed it from them but it's OK; I carry their insurance. Anyway...

I hear the engines rumbling, I smell the fuel, I see the eager faces of all the drivers, I feel the excitement of it all.

ESPN2 started their evening programming Monday and I forgot to watch it. Duh. I missed them while they were "away." They were always on top of their game and now they're back; maybe better than ever, I hope.

I am hoping that the new points system, the Toyota teams, the Car of Tomorrow's debut at Bristol etc. will pump new blood and more excitement into the sport, which has changed tremendously since I became a serious fan somewhere in the early 80's.

I. Am. Ready.

Bring on the Budweiser Shootout (four more days to go!) and let's get the show on the road.

"Gentlemen, start your engines!" 'cause this lady is r.e.a.d.y.

The Colts~Prince~and Dale Jr Singing

If the Super Bowl is between two teams I don't like, I still watch it for the commercials. It just so happens that I am a big fan of Peyton Manning's (and I like little brother Eli too), and Prince and I go way back, so it was a triple-shot Super Bowl for me this year.



I missed seeing the Pepsi commercials this year. I always liked them because I am a Pepsi-aholic. I was anxiously waiting to see Junior's latest Bud commercial ala Mad Max but it was never aired. I did, however, catch him singing, albeit off-key, while driving a Chevy at the end of one of their commercials. That was a nice surprise. So I saw one I wasn't expecting and didn't see the one I was expecting.

Upon some internet snooping, I found the reason for the Bud commercial not being shown during the Super Bowl as they had indicated earlier this year. They are holding it for the Daytona 500. That makes more sense to me. I have seen snippets of it and even if some of you aren't race fans and don't intend to watch the Daytona 500, it would be well worth your while to at least watch it for that commercial. It will blow you away.

At the beginning of the show there was a short commercial for Snickers where two mechanics are leaning over the engine of a car. One sticks a Snickers bar in his mouth while the other one watches him eating it, lusting after the bar. He quickly chomps down on the other end, they both eat till their lips almost touch, and then realize what they are doing. They then decide to do something manly, like pull patches of hair off their chests. Hilarious. I chuckled at a few others, but that one, I think, is my favorite this year. Last year it was the FedEx commercial with the cavemen.

I am glad Peyton finally got that monkey off his back about all the nay-sayers who said he'd never make it to the Super Bowl. And then when he did they reared their ugly heads again and were now wondering if he had it in him to actually win one. Well, all I can say is he did it! And an MVP too.

And now that the Super Bowl is behind us we can all concentrate on the soon-to-be-here racing season. And all I can say is it's about damn time! See you at the races.

Whoops!

He may have been Coach of The Year, but he'll certainly never be Father of The Year.

* update ~ For those of you who are unaware of who this is, it is Andy Reid, head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles. Both his sons have locked horns with the police earlier this week on separate occasions but on the same day.

Unreachable Buffet

Dakota Sioux and Junior had a mouth-watering time today watching all these birds from their new Catnapper perch. And after those birds left, they were treated to blue jays and cardinals in the tree to the left.



And what is this? SNOW! Finally, I was able to witness it actually falling from the sky. I was so excited to be able to finally see snow. And guess what? More is on its way for Thursday and Friday. Yipee! This picture was taken from inside looking back toward our huge garage that looks like a barn. You can barely make it out, but it is there. My husband built that garage by himself with a little help from me. And I mean just us. No one else helped. That is where our vintage Mustangs are housed.



And this picture was taken at the height of the snowfall. Those are fake ivy plants. I kept them there just to make people wonder how I am able to grow ivy in the winter time. Conversation pieces, ya know?

Barbaro

April 29 2003 ~ January 29 2007





He won the 2006 Kentucky Derby by seven lengths.

Within weeks, he broke his leg three places immediately after the start of the Preakness.

And since then he has been one brave thoroughbred. In the end his bravery wasn't enough; the pain was just too unbearable.

He was euthanized Monday morning.

He was only 3-3/4 years old.

When I heard he had to be put down, I wept...

Another Letdown

Sunday afternoon we visited some friends that live approximately 30 some miles to the west of us. They were celebrating their grandson's ninth birthday.

While we were there, it was snowing ever so lightly, but continuously. It was the first snow I laid eyes on this winter. We've had some snow fall here but it always happened during the night while I was asleep. Well that just doesn't cut it. So when I saw the snow falling Sunday I was quietly excited. After all, a person my age should not behave in a manner of craziness. Heh heh

On our way home the snow was falling faster and thicker and my excitement was growing by the second. Once we crossed one of the major roads, however, it was like driving into the twilight zone. No snow was falling from the sky and there was none to be seen on the ground. I knew it! I just knew it! Foiled again!

Eventually some snow did fall at our house but instead of this:


We got this:



I really don't know what is wrong with our area as far as a decent snowfall is concerned. The last good snow we had was in February of 2003 when we got 22 inches. Now that's a snowfall. So at this point all I can do is hope and pray that February brings us something more than a dusting.

Countdown To Excitement

So many people are telling us how many days are left until the Daytona 500. Me? I'm counting down the long, drawn out days until the Bud Shootout. That is my official start of the racing season. It is run 8 days prior to the 500. It gets me super hyped (more so than I already am) for the 500.

On another note...

Yes, I am well aware of what Martin Truex Jr. did. All I can say is "So what?" Some joe schmoe unknown to the public would never get that kind of publicity had they done the same thing. It's not like he wagged the thing at a crowd of people loaded with children. I know it's not proper and I never witnessed my father or brother doing that sort of thing, but in this instance with Martin I must say I really don't care or give a damn that he did what he did. After all, we are forced to wear clothes and sometimes our society is just too darn uptight about some things. You know what happens when you drink a lot of liquids? Yep, eventually you have to pee. And if you don't have time to find a place to go, you're faced with a choice: do you pee your pants and face the shame, or do you just pee where you are in a sheltered car garage? Your choice.

One Of My Daughter's Hobbies

This is a photo of the car that my daughter and her boyfriend are on the pit crew. This photo was taken at the show in Atlantic City a few weeks ago. The show always used to be held in Fort Washington PA, and because it moved to Atlantic City, the kids never made it. This is the first year they weren't there.

Shown on the photo is the driver, Pat Hargan. He works very hard at what he does.

I apologize for the poor quality of the photo. It was borrowed from the local race track's website and it didn't travel to my blog very well.

Choice Or Chance?

The other day I was looking through my new pocket diary that I received from my doctor last year for 2007. Every other page has a quote on it along with who either said it or wrote it. I started from the back (no, I'm not Chinese ~ my mother used to do the same thing).

I read this one:

Destiny is no matter of choice. It is a matter of chance. It is not a thing to be wasted for it is a thing to be achieved. -William Jennings Bryant

And then I came across this one:

It's choice-not chance-that determines your destiny. -Jean Nidetch

Jean Nidetch, some of you will remember, is the housewife that started Weight Watchers. And that should be her only credit; certainly not that quote. She not only 'stole' it she also rearranged it (turned it around), and then shortened it. That's not my point though.

My point is: Do you believe your destiny lies in the choices you make? Do you think your destiny happens by chance? Or do you simply believe your life was laid out the day you were born and even your choices were chosen for you?

I'd like to know what you all think.

Answered Prayers

Was that not a wonderful ending to the Colts-Patriots game Saturday night?

With minutes to go, when the Patriots had the ball, I kept repeating interception, interception, interception. And darned if it didn't happen.

Peyton Manning finally got that so-called monkey off his back about not being able to come through for the big one: the Super Bowl. He can now add that to his resume. Let's hope he can continue his good fortune and also win the big one.

Since my 49ers haven't done squat in so many years I can't remember, I have had to cheer for other teams as well. One of those teams has been the Cincinnati Colts. So I am glad to see them get this far. Even if they lose the Super Bowl, at least they can now say they played in it.

Immaculate Conception Perhaps?

SHREVEPORT, La., Jan. 17, 2007
(AP) In a mysterious bit of monkey business, a female at a chimpanzee sanctuary has given birth, despite the fact that the facility's entire male chimp population has had vasectomies.Now managers at Chimp Haven are planning a paternity test for the seven males who lived in a group with Teresa, a wild-born chimpanzee in her late 40s who had the baby girl last week.Workers have started collecting hair samples from the chimps for testing. Once they identify the father, it's back to the operating room for him.Chimp Haven managers said they knew something was up when Teresa was missing during morning rounds on January 8. Later in the day, she appeared with a newborn chimpanzee in her arms."Well, we were all just a little bit surprised when we heard the news," said Linda Brent, a spokeswoman for Chimp Haven.The baby chimpanzee was named Tracy and she and her mother are doing fine, Brent said.Teresa had 10 other offspring before retiring to Chimp Haven over a year ago. This is her first baby in 13 years.It's also the first chimpanzee born at the sanctuary although officials there hope there will be no more accidents

I'm Trying...Really I Am

My mind lately has been like the month of January: cloudy, dreary, gray...you get the picture. Try as I might, I've been having problems as to what to write about here.

Let's face it, January is very dull and it makes me dull too. I'm not even getting ideas from the newspaper. Thank goodness for my kittens and the TV to keep me entertained. Oh, and my paperbacks. I'm a chain reader; you'll never find me not in the middle of a book.

At least if we had a substantial snowfall I'd have something to write about. For a few days at least. It has finally gotten colder, as January should be, but that also means hiking up the heat inside. Currently it is 18 degrees outside.

But, really, can you believe that I am speechless? Very unusual for me. And by the way, why do we speak but we are speechless? Why aren't they spelled the same? Just another one of life's perplexing questions.

On another note, my husband gets to visit his cardiologist on Friday. It should be quite interesting. After being on eight meds for 7-1/2 years, I think it's time to review those meds and see if some can't be eliminated or changed to generics if available. Brand name meds are getting way out of hand price-wise and I don't even want to go there.

I'm terribly sorry I didn't have a great post for today. I'll keep trying, honest I will. If only it would snow...if only it would snow...if only it would snow...

IS IT SNOWING YET?

We're Gonna Miss You

Benny Parsons passed away early Tuesday morning. He will be sorely missed by the NASCAR community.