previous 4ths

Several years ago, 5 to be exact, my husband and I were in San Diego, CA for the 4th of July. We went, along with my daughter and her family, to one of their friends' house to watch the fireworks. Little man was 2 going on 3 at the time.

Julie and I sat him between us on the folding chair and explained fireworks to him. We told him they would be colorful and loud and that you just watched them and went "Ooh" and "Ah".

We sat.

We waited.

They started.

"ooh"

"ah"

"ooh"

"ah"

"ooh"

"ah"

"holy shit!"

His mom and I died laughing and now all you have to say is "ooh, ah" and the rest is a given.

Load up

My grandson recently moved here from the big city.

We were going to the store. I opened the pickup door, turned to the dog and said "Load up."

The dog loaded.

We got back from the store. My grandson opened the pickup door, turned to the dog and said "Load down."

The dog stared.

and they'll know we are Christians by our?

This has been rolling around in my brain (nothing there to stop it, you know) since last night.

I was having a conversation with a coworker and she mentioned that she was going to a church in a neighboring town. I am familiar with this church - it is the closest thing that we have to a "mega-church" around here. Knowing that her family was Catholic, I asked her how her mom felt about this. She told me that her mom, being Catholic, did not like Christians.

Say WHAT?

I told her that Catholics are Christians - that we were the 1st Christians, you know, what with Christ starting the Church and all that. She kept saying that Christians are Christians and Catholics are Catholics. I pointed out that it is kind of like dirt - all mud is dirt but not all dirt is mud. All Catholics are Christian but not all Christians are Catholic.

So, I was talking to my husband at lunchtime and he had just had the same conversation with the burrito lady last Friday. My husband is a fairly recent convert to Catholicism and is choosing to observe the Friday fast that we all used to observe. Anyway, he asked for his burrito without meat and she asked why. He told her that he was Catholic and it was Friday. She said that she was surprised - she had always thought that he was a Christian.

Say WHAT?

So, here's what I finally figured out. Everyone I know who is Christian but not Catholic is a Protestant. I don't know when this word fell out of favor but that is what non-Catholic Christian denominations are called - Protestants. So maybe instead of identifying themselves as Christian they should identify themselves as Protestant. That way, all of us would know that they are Christian but not Catholic.

I would just like for EVERYONE to know that when I say that I am Catholic, it is a given that I am a Christian.

Cat Flap (deja vu)

I am a daily reader of http://blogs.chron.com/mamadrama/ and I truly love these ladies. I have shared several of their blogs with my daughter.

Julie and I attended a bridal shower Saturday. It was lovely, the gifts were delightful (some were truly heartfelt and wonderful) and a good time was had by all. The best time, of course, was had by those of us who hung around when it was over, kicked our shoes off, opened the wine and just hung out.

Our hostess recently moved into a new house which is just gorgeous. She had previously lived in a double-wide just across the pasture from where I now live. When she lived there, she had a lot of pets - it's just an "out in the sticks" kind of thing. She and her mom got to talking about the terrible, horrible week when she kept running over things - her dog, her mom's dog, her other dog.

Then she started telling about when she was trimming the matted fur off of her long haired cat and accidentally cut a 6 inch hole in him! Julie and I both started laughing - yes, I know we are sick and demented - looked at each other and said "Cat flap."

Thanks, Jenny.......http://blogs.chron.com/mamadrama/archives/2007/01/its_not_bulemia_1.html

The VFD Carnival

This is a truly historic picture.

Last summer, I was the fat lady who couldn't fit on the ride and had to get off in front of the waiting line. I set my weight-loss goal - being able to go on the carnival rides with my grandson.

I am not through losing weight but I have achieved that goal. I have already set my next goal - a motorcycle trip with my husband without having to put heavy duty shocks on the bike.........

Stick

Stick, the horse I blogged about previously, is dead. He is buried in his pasture.

Thank God.

Not for me

"That's why Alli's manufacturer, GlaxoSmithKline, is advising users to wear dark pants or take along a change of clothes until they know how the drug affects them." from today's issue of the AZ Star

I am fat. I used to be big-boned, healthy, sturdy, well-rounded, fluffy and just big. The truth is, I am fat.

I have tried every diet I ever read about and some that I invented. I am currently trying a non-diet and having really good success with it.

I have never tried the above drug. Didn't try it when it was prescription and not gonna try it now. I understand completely the desperation of the obese. I sympathize with the desperation of the obese. I do not understand why ANYONE would take this drug.

In the immortal words of Porky Pig - Th-th-th-th-th-that's all, folks!