Saturday, December 05, 2009
A Huge Sigh Of Relief
I never thought I'd ever say this, but I am relieved the NASCAR season has finally come to an end. I watched the Sprint Cup banquet Friday night and when that ended, to me the season ended too.
On Thursday CHEX announced the winner of their Most Popular Driver Award. For the seventh consecutive year, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. has earned that award. Winning the award has nothing to do with his driving skills, nothing to do with how well or how awful he did on the track, but it has everything to do with his personality and how he treats other people, especially his fans.
Starting in February of 2009 at the Daytona 500, the season for Dale Jr. didn't get much better as it went along. Each week I would watch the race with great anticipation thinking that was the week he would do well, or hope of all hope he would win the race. Little did I know how bad 2009 would turn out to be.
I don't know, maybe it's that Dale Jr. is old school and the CoT car is such new technology. The marriage just isn't there yet. He's had two years of nothing but major struggles with it and I am sure other drivers did too. It's just that we don't hear about the others so much due to the fact that Dale Jr. is a major player and everything he does is magnified ten fold and then some.
When he first started driving he did it not only to try and please his father, but also because he felt it was so much fun to race. Somewhere along the line that fun turned sour. Somewhere along the line, Dale Jr. became very popular. And the weight on his shoulders grew to great proportions. Now it has become a job. It's no longer the fun it once had been because there are so many factors in the equation...sponsors want to see their name running up front, not bringing up the rear or falling out of the race altogether. Corporate big business wants results. I can't blame them. But it kind of takes all the fun out of racing, not only for the driver but also for the fan.
So once again with great anticipation, I am looking forward to Daytona 2010 and I am hoping for a much better season for Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Please.
posted by Cheyenne at 7:00 PM comment(s) made:
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Friday, December 04, 2009
I Will Not Be There
The President will be in my neighborhood today. So close I could spit on him...but I won't go there. I question the fact that he is flitting all over the world when he should be doing his job in the White House.
I would love to go as a protester but I don't want to have to mess with all that traffic. Besides, my husband would never think of doing that in the first place. Instead, we will head in the opposite direction and do some shopping. I want to be as far away from him as possible.
Look, nobody said I have to like the guy. I am neither Democrat nor Republican, or anything else for that matter. I am, however, an American citizen and I don't like the direction this country is being taken. I don't like what he and his cohorts are doing to the seniors of this country either. Or what they plan on doing to them in the future. Trying to phase them out as if they don't exist. Trimming huge benefits from Medicare. Taking other things away from them.
They seem to want to have younger people following them. Sort of like the pied piper. The young ones and their impressionable minds so they can mold them to their liking.
And those of you who disagree with me, ask yourself if anything has really changed since he took office. We are way deeper in debt, more people are out of jobs than ever, and now more soldiers will be sent overseas. So where's the change we were promised?
Someone (a psychiatrist) told me once that he is one of the biggest narcissists they have seen. I believe that person. But no one can convince his followers of that. Others tell me to wait, give him a chance, after all look what he stepped into. Well, it seems to me we still have the same old, same old.
I wasn't going to publish this because I know there are a lot of people out there that believe in what he is doing or think he will do. But you ask the elderly of this country what they think and I am sure the majority will agree with me. I know both my parents are turning over in their graves already.
Come talk to me at the end of his term. Don't argue with me now. Let's give him that chance. After all, everyone deserves a chance to prove themselves, but remember also, anyone given enough rope will hang themselves sooner or later.
posted by Cheyenne at 12:15 AM comment(s) made:
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Tuesday, December 01, 2009
Toilet Diver
He looks innocent enough, doesn't he? He is now 16 weeks old. You'd swear he was high on something the way he bounces off the walls. All day long.
Anyone who has cats in the house usually keeps the toilet lid down so they don't drink the water. We've done that from day one and never had a problem. Until recently, that is.
Punkin' is always looking for a handout. He can hear me drop some kibble in a dish a mile away and be there faster than you can blink an eye. We should have named him Roadrunner or Speedy Gonzalez. He doesn't want to miss a trick, or any type of food being handed out. First of all, he can't handle regular kibble or regular wet food because his system is still too sensitive, so we have to be very careful not to let any of that where he can get it.
So one morning, there I am on my way to do my business with the throne. No sooner had I picked up the lid there was a splash and I see this little three pound thing flailing around in the water...and just that fast it was gone.
I realized it was Punkin' and he jumped into the toilet as if he were on a trampoline. He was expecting the lid to be down so he could then jump up onto the vanity to see if any food was up there. And all he got was a surprise. A very wet surprise.
He jumped out as fast as he had jumped in and ran as fast as his little legs would take him. I stood there taking in what had just happened and had a very good laugh. And then I got a towel and dried him off. Never a dull moment with him around.
I hope he learned his lesson: look before you leap.
posted by Cheyenne at 12:08 AM comment(s) made:
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Friday, November 27, 2009
A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Thanksgiving
I must apologize because I lied about making the last big turkey for Thanksgiving. That one got pardoned...for now. Don't blame me though, it wasn't my fault.
Six days before the big day my husband took the small fridge to the basement and turned it on. After it was cold we put the 20 lb. turkey into it. Two days prior to the big day I decided I had better check on it to see how far the thawing process was coming along. Imagine my surprise, and dismay, when I touched it only to find it rock hard. I guess my husband should not have set it to MAX. Who knew. It's such a tiny fridge and that turkey barely fit into it.
At that very instant, I didn't know if I should sh*t or go blind. Panic set in. I saw my life flash before my eyes. Not really, but it could have the way I felt.
Since my discovery was late at night, it left me with one day to decide what I was going to do. We still had some shopping to do and I thought maybe I could find something in replacement, hopefully. I didn't want a huge turkey, just a turkey breast, if I could find one.
My husband suggested we visit Jaindl's Turkey Farm, a stone's throw away from us. We did. They had turkey breasts. We bought one. And we lived happily ever after.
posted by Cheyenne at 12:05 AM comment(s) made:
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Tuesday, November 24, 2009
The Last Big Turkey
This Thanksgiving will be the last year I will be making a turkey weighing at least 20 pounds or more. Next year it will probably be just a turkey breast, maybe one of those brine ones I saw at one of the stores we visit.
Every year as far back as I can remember (and that's not too long), I have had a huge turkey never less than 20 pounds. Why was that you ask? Because the grocery store where we shopped ran promotions each year and if you spent enough money weeks before Thanksgiving most of the years you got a free turkey. Sometimes they just offered them at a ridiculously low price. So we would get one and throw it in the freezer.
Last year I had two in the freezer by the time Thanksgiving rolled around. I made one then and this year I am making the other one. It's time to call it quits. I don't mind making a big bird because I always make them in an oven bag. It keeps the oven fairly clean, the bird is very moist, and it only takes three hours. I think the hardest part is getting the wrapper off and the parts out of the body cavities. I make my husband do that. I really don't like sticking my hand up some bird's butt. Or it's neck for that matter.
It has been just the two of us for the last bunch of years and I still make a full meal but on a smaller scale. Stuffing, candied yams, green beans, cranberry sauce, gravy, the usual. This year I will be making the green bean casserole with the fried onion rings for the first time. For dessert I have a pumpkin cheesecake that I made and is in the fridge waiting to be devoured. And don't forget the whipped topping for that baby.
After we are done eating, the fun begins. I strip the carcass of all the meat. White meat in one bowl, dark meat in another. (I guess I had better make sure that all the cats are well fed at that point, especially Punkin'. He's quite the scavenger.) The white meat is used for sandwiches both hot and cold. I take the dark meat and any leftover white meat not used for sandwiches and make a barbecue. And I freeze it because by that time we are so sick of eating turkey and that barbecue tastes so much better months later.
So here's to you and yours...have a great Thanksgiving Day and don't forget what the day is really all about. Give thanks!
posted by Cheyenne at 1:00 AM comment(s) made:
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Friday, November 20, 2009
HI!
posted by Cheyenne at 1:02 AM comment(s) made:
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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:
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