Keeping our "Heads Up"

Sometimes we look the other way when life gets complicated, troublesome or challenging...and then

the 'stuff' we have 'swept under the rug' just grows bigger and ends up tripping us!

Before I go any further I would first of all like to ask all of you wonderful bloggers to please, at the very least, pray for the victims of the Haiti earthquake and the rescuers that goodness and kindness will be multiplied everyday.  If you can stretch your budget, maybe a donation to one of the many worthwhile agencies that are helping (fortunately our church even has a 'sister parish' in Haiti, so we are contributing almost directly).

Now, on to the more mundane but still important things that we need to not sweep under the rug.

I found this article (below) as the headline on my computer news site on Friday so it was worth sharing to hopefully help you and me and all of us.  It was all about hackers and the fact that we often use passwords that are too easy to access.

Remember that you never know who a potential hacker might be.  It could even be your own "innocent" kitty (after all most computers do have a mouse, hee hee)...

It would be a great help to us all if they would only wear their "uniform"...

Don't be fooled by a friendly face....

Now there are some non violent ways to deal with hackers and since I am a proponent of non violence, I find this to be one resolution....

Or you could unleash this little guy on the hackers computer and NOTHING would ever work right again...

So here is the article in its' entirety....
"If Your Password Is 123456, Just Make It HackMe


by Ashlee Vance
Friday, January 22, 2010
provided by
Back at the dawn of the Web, the most popular account password was "12345."

Today, it's one digit longer but hardly safer: "123456."

Despite all the reports of Internet security breaches over the years, including the recent attacks on Google's e-mail service, many people have reacted to the break-ins with a shrug.

According to a new analysis, one out of five Web users still decides to leave the digital equivalent of a key under the doormat: they choose a simple, easily guessed password like "abc123," "iloveyou" or even "password" to protect their data.

"I guess it's just a genetic flaw in humans," said Amichai Shulman, the chief technology officer at Imperva, which makes software for blocking hackers. "We've been following the same patterns since the 1990s."

Mr. Shulman and his company examined a list of 32 million passwords that an unknown hacker stole last month from RockYou, a company that makes software for users of social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace. The list was briefly posted on the Web, and hackers and security researchers downloaded it. (RockYou, which had already been widely criticized for lax privacy practices, has advised its customers to change their passwords, as the hacker gained information about their e-mail accounts as well.)

The trove provided an unusually detailed window into computer users' password habits. Typically, only government agencies like the F.B.I. or the National Security Agency have had access to such a large password list.
"This was the mother lode," said Matt Weir, a doctoral candidate in the e-crimes and investigation technology lab at Florida State University, where researchers are also examining the data.

Imperva found that nearly 1 percent of the 32 million people it studied had used "123456" as a password. The second-most-popular password was "12345." Others in the top 20 included "qwerty," "abc123" and "princess."
More disturbing, said Mr. Shulman, was that about 20 percent of people on the RockYou list picked from the same, relatively small pool of 5,000 passwords.

That suggests that hackers could easily break into many accounts just by trying the most common passwords. Because of the prevalence of fast computers and speedy networks, hackers can fire off thousands of password guesses per minute.

"We tend to think of password guessing as a very time-consuming attack in which I take each account and try a large number of name-and-password combinations," Mr. Shulman said. "The reality is that you can be very effective by choosing a small number of common passwords."

Some Web sites try to thwart the attackers by freezing an account for a certain period of time if too many incorrect passwords are typed. But experts say that the hackers simply learn to trick the system, by making guesses at an acceptable rate, for instance.

To improve security, some Web sites are forcing users to mix letters, numbers and even symbols in their passwords. Others, like Twitter, prevent people from picking common passwords.

Still, researchers say, social networking and entertainment Web sites often try to make life simpler for their users and are reluctant to put too many controls in place.

Even commercial sites like eBay must weigh the consequences of freezing accounts, since a hacker could, say, try to win an auction by freezing the accounts of other bidders.

Overusing simple passwords is not a new phenomenon. A similar survey examined computer passwords used in the mid-1990s and found that the most popular ones at that time were "12345," "abc123" and "password."

Why do so many people continue to choose easy-to-guess passwords, despite so many warnings about the risks?

Security experts suggest that we are simply overwhelmed by the sheer number of things we have to remember in this digital age.

"Nowadays, we have to keep probably 10 times as many passwords in our head as we did 10 years ago," said Jeff Moss, who founded a popular hacking conference and is now on the Homeland Security Advisory Council. "Voice mail passwords, A.T.M. PINs and Internet passwords — it's so hard to keep track of."

In the idealized world championed by security specialists, people would have different passwords for every Web site they visit and store them in their head or, if absolutely necessary, on a piece of paper.

But bowing to the reality of our overcrowded brains, the experts suggest that everyone choose at least two different passwords — a complex one for Web sites were security is vital, such as banks and e-mail, and a simpler one for places where the stakes are lower, such as social networking and entertainment sites.

Mr. Moss relies on passwords at least 12 characters long, figuring that those make him a more difficult target than the millions of people who choose five- and six-character passwords.

"It's like the joke where the hikers run into a bear in the forest, and the hiker that survives is the one who outruns his buddy," Mr. Moss "

So, let's laugh about it a little bit (or byte)...

"If Life Were Like A Computer:

You could add/remove someone in your life using the control panel.

You could put your kids in the recycle bin and restore them when you feel like it!

You could improve your appearance by adjusting the display settings.

You could turn off the speakers when life gets too noisy.

You could click on “find” (Ctrl, F) to recover your lost remote control and car keys.

To get your daily exercise, just click on "run"!

If you mess up your life, you could always press "Ctrl, Alt, Delete" and start all over!



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I had been doing Tech Support for Hewlett-Packard's DeskJet division for about a month when I had a customer call with a problem I just couldn't solve. She could not print yellow. All the other colors would print fine, which truly baffled me because the only true colors are cyan, magenta, and yellow.




For instance, green is a combination of cyan and yellow, but green printed fine. Every color of the rainbow printed fine except for yellow. I had the customer change ink cartridges. I had the customer delete and reinstall the drivers. Nothing worked. I asked my coworkers for help; they offered no new ideas.



After over two hours of troubleshooting, I was about to tell the customer to send the printer in to us for repair when she asked quietly, "Should I try printing on a piece of white paper instead of this yellow paper?"
 
 
~~~Dear Lord thank You for the blessings of our creative minds and please help us to use them to make this world a safer and better place.

The Beginning

While alot has been accomplished since these pictures (further down) were taken, there are still some challenges ahead, but we're now past "The Beginning"!!  This post was put together a few days ago and I was supposed to finish it and post it yesterday, but sigh, what can I say???

Since you haven't seen any vacation pictures, here are two from Phoenix, AZ.  This first one is of my loving son Mario with his precious son Corbyn and their newest addition, Molly (or as I like to refer to their little fun Welsh Corgi, Molly Wolly  Polly Frog).....

A vision of loveliness awaits anyone looking on this little princess who dressed up for me to take a picture, my huggable and gorgeous Myla...just wish I would have captured her pretty mama in this picture as well...

Now for the scary pictures as I let you see a little of the chaos of starting to put the nativities out...here's a view coming down the stairs with only a few of the boxes from the garage and none of the big crates yet....

To the right the red tablecloth is on the large plywood sheet that is on top of the pulled out futon.  Sadie Mae decided she wanted to say Happy Advent to everyone too.  You will also note our door leaning against the wall...this is the door to the little storage area that flooded and now it needs to be put back on....

One last vision of chaos is here where you see the fold out table with no tablecloth yet.  The curio here (between the windows) was upstairs and held Michael's car collection but he generously donated it for the nativities, so I will have two permanent nativity displays (there is another curio to the left that is not pictured)as well as the little set of shelves in the corner that we bought from Bombay Company when they were going out of business and selling their fixtures.  Since I am so late posting this, much progress has been made and I will be taking many more pictures to share....

And from the Internet, I found these sweet thoughts and gift card add on ideas....

"~ Attach These Sayings and Quotations To Your Homemade Gifts! ~

"There is no ideal Christmas; only the one Christmas you decide to make as a reflection of your values, desires, affections, traditions." - Bill McKibben

"Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love." - Hamilton Wright Mabie

"Perhaps the best Yuletide decoration is being wreathed in smiles!" - Author Unknown

"It is Christmas in the heart that puts Christmas in the air." - W. T. Ellis

"May peace be more than a season, may it be a way of life" - Author Unknown

" Every day comes bearing its own gifts. Untie the ribbons." - Author Unknown

"Peace on earth will come to stay, When we live Christmas every day." - Helen Steiner Rice

"Take time to make someone Smile, Your heart receives such rewards that only your heart can spend, A Valuable Treasure in Life Making One Another Smile" - Author Unknown

Any sweet treat: "Wishing you a season filled with sweetness!"

Popcorn: "We just "popped" in to wish you a Merry Christmas!"

Mug with Hot Chocolate Mix: "To our special friends so dear, a cup of cheer."

Candle: "Hope your Christmas is full of light"

Bubble Bath: "May your holidays "bubble" over with fun!"

Cookie Dough - "Here's a little extra "dough" for Christmas"

Jar of Jam: "Hoping your Christmas is "jam" packed with cheer"

"Basket of Bath Items: "When you feel like a basket case, take a break...and slow your pace"

Cake Mix: "Whip up this mix for a wonderful holiday fix!"

"Be naughty....save Santa the trip !"

"Dear Santa: I want it ALL !"

"Delivered in a "twinkle"

"Free the ELVES !"

"Santa is coming to town!"

"This house believes in Santa!"

"Will work for milk and cookies !"

"Trimming the tree with happy hearts, that's the way the holiday starts"

"Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love!"

"If you got everything you wanted for Christmas where would you put it?"

"Merry Kissmas with lots of hugs."

"Santa Claws never forgets the cat."

"Santa Paws never forgets the dog."

"What I don't like about office Christmas parties

is looking for a job the next day."

-- Phyllis Diller "

Not only can this next  list bring smiles, it could save a marriage if you post this on hubby's mirror!!....

Ten worst gifts to buy a woman

1. Never give a woman any kind of household appliance or something that is going to make "housework" easier. For instance, a blender, a toaster, a new vacuum, one of those mops they advertise on tv that does everything but suck the life out of you, anything in a informercial. One allowed choice is a new washing machine with a turbo spin cycle.


2. Any bulk cleaning supplies, "honey, I got you that large box of Tide you have been wanting." "This Windex should last you a while." "I got a good deal on the industrial strength toilet bowl cleaner." All I can say is, be prepared to run. I have faith that if you would have at least stopped and thought about what would be a much more intimate gift, you would have had the sense to spring for the $5 Chia Pet you were eyeing in Kmart.

3. Any sharp objects made by Ronco which slices or dices, or a set of ginsu knives. These may one day be used as a weapon against you when you come home after a "night out with the boys."


4. Do not buy gifts for yourself and pretend they are for her. "Honey, I'm sure you'll get a lot of use out of the new drill I bought you." By then she will have put it to good use by drilling a quarter inch hole into the side of your skull for even thinking she would accept such a lame gift. After a gift like this, you probably won't be around for NEXT Christmas.

5. Any lingerie made of flannel, such as a pair of feet pajamas with a trap door in back. A Little Mermaid or Barney cartoon character nightgown. It gives her the idea that you do not consider her the beautiful woman that she is. Take out that wallet and buy her something sexy from Victoria Secret .


6. No name perfume which costs you $1.99, such as Eau de Toilet, which actually smells like the bathroom, moldy fruit, or your dirty socks. If you are going to buy her perfume, spring for the brand names.


7. Any type of cubic zirconia jewelry you see on the Home Shopping Network. It will be quite embarrassing when she is showing off that fabulous diamond to her friends and tries to cut glass with it. (We actually test them you know.)

8. Please do not buy her clothes because you think for one minute you have good taste in woman's clothing. Well, perhaps you might if you are a transvestite, but all in all, believe me, she'll smile and say its beautiful while choking back tears and mumbling under her breath, "where the hell would I ever wear this outfit without being arrested for bad taste?" An additional hint, plaids do not go with stripes (even though you think your golfing outfit looks just fine). Its a known fact to the rest of the world that that is a taboo. In the Northeast, thats like wearing white after Labor Day.

9. Do not give her a gift certificate to Jenny Craig or Weight Watchers. Most men would know better, especially the ones who have learned the correct response to "do these pants make me look fat." If you are one of the poor souls who still doesn't get it and purchased a gift like this, be prepared for the silent treatment for a month. (Although that may be something you would actually look forward to.) A better alternative would be hiring a Chippendale dancer as a personal trainer to get her motivated into getting fit.

10. Last but not least, never buy a woman anti-wrinkle cream, or a book on "How not to be Nasty Sunday through Saturday." These are not considered gifts, they are considered reasons for seriously injuring the person who bought it and just may stand up in court of law.


~~~Heavenly Father, I thank You for the blessings of turning our chaotic lives into ones of order and peace if we stay close to You.

P.S.  I would like to ask for many prayers for a dear friend and fellow blogger from our Village of bloggers, Diana who found out that her beloved mother passed away last night.  Please keep her whole family in prayer.  Her blog site is Welcome to My World and I'm sure she would appreciate a word of comfort.  Thank you.

Up, Up and Away & A Tower of Water aka A Water Tower

By the time this posts, we will be on our way to the airport as our flight leaves at 8:45 a.m., meaning we have to get to Mimi's at 6:00 a.m. in order for her to get us to the airport on time, with our eyelids only half opened.

Well, I really worked hard and got five (including this post) posts ready if blogger will cooperate and publish them, so hang on and let's see what happens.

All of you will be in my prayers while we are gone and this is not just something I say, it is what I truly do.

About a week ago Michael asked me about water towers, and their purpose, so I decided, hey, how about an informative post on them?

So here is a very happy water tower....

How's this for a cute little teapot one...this one is one that Judy @ Just A Little Something For You could have designed and it reminded me of her...

This one is VERY colorful, think they left out the NEW for New York? Eileen (@Umma's World), you want to paint it on there?....

Anyone for a watermelon tower ?(I do love watermelons)....



This one is in Kentucky and just kind of cute...

How about this one for artistic and interesting?....

Now these must be Diana (@Welcome To My World)water towers because they are so funny!.....

This isn't too far from funny either, so it must be Jackie (@Teacher's Pet) and me (@LaLA Land), funny bunnies here in Georgia...

Here is the 'real' water tower where Michael and I live....

Can't do water towers without including my home town of Chicago's famous old water tower...

Here's the inscription on the side of it...

It's really a work of art too and I have been to it several times and so have my children....

Now, here's the inside story on water towers for those who need to know....

"A water tower or elevated water tower is a large elevated water storage container constructed for the purpose of holding a water supply at a height sufficient to pressurize a water distribution system. Pressurization occurs through the elevation of water; for every 10.20 centimetres (4.016 in) of elevation, it produces 1 kilopascal (0.145 psi) of pressure. 30 m (98.43 ft) of elevation produces roughly 300 kPa (43.511 psi), which is enough pressure to operate and provide for most domestic water pressure and distribution system requirements.

Many water towers were constructed during the Industrial Revolution; some are now considered architectural landmarks and monuments, and may not be demolished. Some are converted to apartments or exclusive penthouses.

In certain areas, such as New York City, smaller water towers are constructed for individual buildings.

Purpose

Shooter's Hill water tower is a local landmark; water towers are very common around London suburbsThe users of the water supply (a town, factory, or just a building) need to have water pressure to maintain the safety of the water supply. If a water supply is not pressurized sufficiently, several things can happen:

Water may not reach the upper floors of a building;
Water may not spray from a tap with sufficient flow
Without a water tower, parts of gravity flow water supply systems in hilly areas may be subject to negative pressures (see siphon). Negative pressure in the system may cause shallow groundwater to be sucked into a leaky water supply system, polluting it with microorganisms, dirt, sand, fertilizers, and any other toxic contaminants that may be in the groundwater;
Water towers are able to supply water even during power outages, because they rely on pressure produced by elevation of water (due to gravity) to push the water pipes into domestic and industrial water distribution systems; however, they cannot supply water for a long time without electricity, because a pump is required to refill the tower.
A further purpose is that a water tower serves as a reservoir to help with water needs during peak usage times. The water level in the tower typically falls during the peak usage hours of the day, and then a pump fills it back up during the night. This process also keeps the water from freezing in cold weather, since the tower is constantly being drained and refilled.
Operation

How Roihuvuori water tower works:
1. Pump station
2. Reservoir
3. Water userThe height of the tower provides the hydrostatic pressure for the water supply system, and it may be supplemented with a pump. The volume of the reservoir and diameter of the piping provide and sustain flow rate. However, relying on a pump to provide pressure is expensive; to keep up with varying demand, the pump would have to be sized to meet peak demands. During periods of low demand, jockey pumps are used to meet these lower water flow requirements. The water tower reduces the need for electrical consumption of cycling pumps and thus the need for an expensive pump control system, as this system would have to be sized sufficiently to give the same pressure at high flow rates.

Very high volumes and flow rates are needed when fighting fires. With a water tower present, pumps can be sized for average demand, not peak demand; the water tower can provide water pressure during the day and pumps will refill the water tower when demands are lower.

Decoration

The House in the Clouds in Thorpeness functioned as the town's water tower until 1923.Water towers can be surrounded by ornate coverings including fancy brickwork, a large ivy-covered trellis or they can be simply painted. Some city water towers have the name of the city painted in large letters on the roof, as a navigational aid to aviators. Sometimes the decoration can be humorous, as Granger, Iowa has two water towers, labeled HOT and COLD. The House in the Clouds in Thorpeness, located in the English county of Suffolk, was built to resemble a house in order to disguise the eyesore, whilst the lower floors were used for accommodation. When the town was connected to the mains water supply, the water tower was dismantled and converted to additional living space.

Sapp Bros. truck stops use a water tower with a handle and spout – looking like a coffee pot – as the company logo. Many of their facilities have decorated actual water towers (presumably non-functional) on-site.

The first and original "Mushroom" – Svampen in Swedish – was built in Örebro in Sweden in the early 1950s and later copies were built around the world including Saudi-Arabia and Kuwait."

I will be checking in whenever time allows and I will try to comment when possible, so take good care of yourselves, please.

Now this humor is not 'watered' down, so please enjoy...

***********
The Magic Water Slide

Three guys are at the top of a huge water slide when they notice a genie. He says to them, "Since there are 3 of you, I will grant you each one wish. When you are going down the slide, simply shout what you want and it will appear at the bottom when you get there."

So the first guy goes down and shouts, "A billion dollars," and he lands in a pile of money.

The second guy goes down the slide and shouts, "Beautiful women," and he arrives to a line of hot models.

Then the third guy is so excited going down the slide that he shouts, "WEEEEEEEEE!"

Water in the Carburetor

WIFE: "There's trouble with the car. It has water in the carburetor."

HUSBAND: "Water in the carburetor? That's ridiculous."

WIFE: "I tell you the car has water in the carburetor."

HUSBAND: "You don't even know what a carburetor is. I'll check it out. Where's the car?"

WIFE: "In the pool."
***************

What is the chemical formula for water?
Little Johnny's teacher asks, "What is the chemical formula for water?"

Little Johnny replies, "HIJKLMNO"!!

The teacher, puzzled, asks, "What on Earth are you talking about?"

Little Johnny replies, "Yesterday you said it was H to O!"

~~~Lord, thank You for the blessings of clean water and the ways in which we receive it, may all people in our world be blessed with clean water.

Stop, Pause, Fast Forward

Alright, I think what I might need is something like this....

It feels as if things around here have been on 'fast forward' without all the things getting done that need to be done. Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday were filled with so much to do that blog posting kind of fell by the wayside through it all. So maybe I really need to find...

IN the blur of things yesterday, my Michael actually had a vacation day which he spent going to the post office and getting a puzzle started (as a nice surprise for me). Meanwhile, I went with Kelly for her court date yesterday with rain and traffic being a real challenge as we headed toward Dekalb Recorder's Court. We rode around in circles for awhile trying to find it, then discovered we were too early so we sat in the car and looked at ad catalogues that i had left there from the mail (you know you are desperate for reading material when you are reading advertisements for entertainment!) Anyway, the good news and the slightly bad news is that Kelly's ticket (to which she is pleading not guilty) was not even in the system, so they told her to just watch the mail and if it comes in the mail she will have a new court date....

Now I need to get on the fast track as a week from today we will be in Phoenix, AZ with my son and daughter-in-law and two gorgeous grandchildren, Corbyn who is six and Myla who is three. Gotta do some puckering up exercising so my lips will be able to give enough kisses...so watch out dogs, cats and mostly Michael (can't kiss sweet Kelly as she is very sick with some sort of coughing and sniffling)...

This is what the Internet via Wikipedia, told me...

"To fast-forward means to move forward through an audio or video recording at a speed faster than that at which it would usually flow. The term "fasten forward" is also used instead of fast-forward.

To reach a certain portion of a song, a person may fast-forward through a cassette tape by pressing a button (often labeled "Fast Forward" itself) on the tape deck containing the tape. The tape deck's motor activates at a speed higher than usual—for example, double the standard 1-7/8 ips playing speed of the 1/8" cassette tape—and can be stopped by the end of the tape, the pressing of a "Stop" button on the deck (or another button mechanism disengaging the button), or simply lifting a finger from the "Fast Forward" button.

Fast-forwarding is the exact opposite of rewinding, in which tape, music, etc., are moved backward at a user's discretion. In either operation, because of sound distortion, volume is usually muted or severely reduced.

With the advent of inexpensive digital music media, fast-forwarding has most likely lost its past meaning related to the speed of a tape deck motor (or record turntable, or another device allowing fast-forwarding) and now may, especially as cassette tapes and other analogue media are used less and less by younger generations, only apply to the operation of moving ahead in a recording's time frame—accomplished today by simple clicking, dragging a slide image, or even via speech-recognition software. (Still, some CD and DVD players offer tape-style fast-forwarding, so that the user can detect when the destination is reached and stop.)"

And here are the jokes I found...

How fast was I going?

"When I saw you driving down the road, I guessed 55 at least."

"You're wrong, officer, it's only my hat that makes me look that old."
*********
What takes longer, running from first base ...
What takes longer, running from first base to second, or from second to third?

Second to third, because you have to go through a shortstop.
***************
"Cash, check or charge?" I asked, after folding items the woman wished to purchase. As she fumbled for her wallet I noticed a remote control for a television set in her purse.

"So, do you always carry your TV remote?" I asked.

"No," she replied, "but my husband refused to come shopping with me, so I figured this was the most legal evil thing I could do to him."
*************
Pilot Flying Rules

(These were supposed to be funny, but I made the mistake of reading them and I am no super hero when it comes to flying...why oh why do I read my own stuff?)

There is a lot pilots have to take into account when flying safely across the sky...
(This is the part where I want to interview the pilot and see how happy he is and sniff his breath as well.)

1. Every takeoff is optional. Every landing is mandatory.
(What we need is an airplane freeway, where they can just stay on the ground and go this fast!)

2. If you push the stick forward, the houses get bigger. If you pull the stick back, they get smaller. That is, unless you keep pulling the stick all the way back, then they get bigger again.

(I'm not only not sure of what this means, but I don't want to know either.)

3. Flying isn't dangerous. Crashing is what's dangerous.
(So simple, so basic, did someone tell the pilot?)

4. It's always better to be down here wishing you were up there than up there wishing you were down here.
(How about just wishing I was on a train instead?)

5. The ONLY time you have too much fuel is when you're on fire.
(How reassuring this is.)

6. The propeller is just a big fan in front of the plane used to keep the pilot cool. When it stops, you can actually watch the pilot start sweating.
(I'm going to take some extra fans on my trip just to be safe.)

7. When in doubt, hold on to your altitude. No one has ever collided with the sky.
(Personally I will hold onto my praying.)

8. A 'good' landing is one from which you can walk away. A 'great' landing is one after which they can use the plane again.
(A good landing is also one in which most of the passengers have not wet their pants when they get off.)

9. Learn from the mistakes of others. You won't live long enough to make all of them yourself.
(Hey, all we need here is to live through the flight...no learning about mistakes while flying, Mr. Pilot, please.)

10. You know you've landed with the wheels up if it takes full power to taxi to the ramp.
(You also can tell if your breathing is returning to the rate of a horse on a racetrack).

11. The probability of survival is inversely proportional to the angle of arrival. Large angle of arrival, small probability of survival and vice-versa.
(I really enjoyed studying geometry and all those angles, but these are not so much fun.)

12. Never let an aircraft take you somewhere your brain didn't get to five minutes earlier.
(Not too sure about this one either so it's just confusing and not scary at all.)

13. Stay out of clouds. The silver lining everyone keeps talking about might be another airplane going in the opposite direction. Reliable sources also report that mountains have been known to hide out in clouds.
(WHO made this list up? Are they just wacko? They must love to drive the flying impaired people crazy.)

14. Always try to keep the number of landings you make equal to the number of take offs you've made.
(Okay, now I think I will just give up on this sick individual who made up this list designed to make the most confident air traveler at least slightly queasy.)

15. There are three simple rules for making a smooth landing. Unfortunately no one knows what they are.

16. You start with a bag full of luck and an empty bag of experience. The trick is to fill the bag of experience before you empty the bag of luck.

17. Helicopters can't fly; they're just so ugly the earth repels them.

18. If all you can see out of the window is ground that's going round and round and all you can hear is commotion coming from the passenger compartment, things are not at all as they should be.

19. In the ongoing battle between objects made of aluminum going hundreds of miles per hour and the ground going zero miles per hour, the ground has yet to lose.

20. Good judgment comes from experience. Unfortunately, experience usually comes from bad judgment.

21. It's always a good idea to keep the pointy end going forward as much as possible.

22. Keep looking around. There's always something you've missed.

23. Remember, gravity is not just a good idea. It's the law. And it's not subject to repeal.

24. The four most useless things to a pilot are the altitude above you, runway behind you, gas back at the airport, and a tenth of a second ago.

25. There are old pilots and there are bold pilots. There are, however, no old, bold pilots.

~~~Thank You Lord for the blessings of all the things that we DO get done as well as for the fact that You are always with us, even in airplanes.

***T H A N K****Y O U***, ONE AND ALL!!

First let me give thanks to God, our Creator, for the blessings of all of the wonderful people I have been gifted to meet. When I first started this blog site it was to remind myself and others of the blessings all round us that we often overlook. Little did I realize that I would be so heavily blessed myself, so to my Creator I send all praise and thanks!

I also found this lovely picture and verse by ee cummings which even speaks of the sun's birthday!


For all of you sweet and dear friends out there I really do thank you for the support as well as inspiration you give me almost daily to be the best me I can be...

This is a thank you card from England, so my thanks reach to the far ends of the earth...so cute...

Sweets for the sweet hearts in all of blogland, even people I don't know who visit other's blogsites, saw the birthday posts, then came here to say Happy Birthday...how wonderful is that??!!

Since I have been posting lately about cakes and ice cream, I would like to give you a cupcake thank you as well...

Let's not forget a memorable thank you in chocolate..mmm...mmm..good...one of the Major NEEDED FOOD GROUPS...

Like a circle, the giving of thanks should be never ending and I DO give daily thanks for all of you in my prayers, so here is a thank you where it belongs...

So many languages in which to say THANK YOU so much.....

If I could, I would publicize each and everyone of you in a newspaper extolling your wonderful qualities of caring and commenting and praying and just being ever so kind...

This was probably the most wonderful and exciting birthday of my whole life and my thanks come from my heart and soul....

This is a 'proper' blogland Thank You....

But here is just a cute mix of thank yous from such a cute mix of angel friends that God has so blessed me with....

Can't forget to send some smiles your way either....

Q. An ethical lawyer, an honest politician, and a merciful aerobics instructor all fall out of an air plane. Which one hits the ground first?
A. It doesn't matter - none of them exist.

.................................

What do you call a mushroom that runs into a bar and buys a round of drinks for everyone?
I guess that would be a Fun Guy.
****************
Thank You Notes
One Christmas, mom decreed that she was no longer going to remind her children of their thank-you note duties.

As a result, their grandmother never received acknowledgments of the generous checks she had given.

The next year things were different, however.

"The children came over in person to thank me," the grandparent told a friend triumphantly.

"How wonderful!" the friend exclaimed. "What do you think caused the change in behavior?"

"Oh, that's easy," the grandmother replied. "This year I didn't sign the checks."

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

A little boy, who wanted $100.00 very badly, prayed for two weeks but nothing happened. Then he decided to write GOD a letter requesting $100.00. When the postal authorities received the letter to GOD, U.S.A., they decided to send it to the President.

The President was so impressed, touched, and amused that he instructed his secretary to send the boy $50.00. Mr. President thought that this would appear to be a lot of money to the little boy.

The little boy was delighted with the $50.00 and immediately sat down to write a thank you note to GOD that read:

"Dear God, Thank you very much for sending me the money. However, I noticed that for some reason you had to send it through Washington, D.C., and, as usual, those devil's took half of it.

~~~Heavenly Father, Son and Holy Spirit, my thanks for You and all those you have sent into my life, comes from my heart and soul...help me to be worthy.

A Birthday Trip to "Oliviatown"

Well, here's peeking at you...from a distance.... as I will be leaving this morning to go for my granddaughter Olivia's birthday!

I found this picture a while back and just copied it because I loved it...we never travel alone when we have wonderful friends....

Here is a random cow that I found and copied for Jerelene whose sweet blog is at Jerelene's Journal.....

Although I will miss everyone, this little 'card' is especially for my cutie pie Michael since he will see this when he reads my blog today, smooches and hugs to you, Mikemal....

Even though I won't need this, I do know that I am leaving sweet blogland....

Here's Gamma (me) going to visit little red Olivia for her birthday....

Make sure all of you look out for one another while I am gone so there's no rioting and looting and stuff........

~~~Heavenly Father thank You for the blessings of wonderful friends and wonderful trips and a wonderful husband, may You bless them and may we remember to treasure them always.

Savor some Household Tips

Well, "you may attract more flies with honey than vinegar", so if you're looking for lots of flies, this handy dandy cleaner may not be for you.

From the Internet...

"The versatility of vinegar makes it practically mandatory that all households have a bottle of white, and a bottle of apple cider vinegar in the pantry. And you needn’t worry about it becoming outdated or spoiling. It doesn’t spoil and can be kept indefinitely. "

Stay tuned on Monday for the whole 'vinegar cures almost everything and cleans it as well' story!!

Meanwhile, I found all these wonderful cleaning hints.....
(With Marcy observations in green.)

"--A great way to keep your fruit and veggies fresh is to wrap them in newspaper before storing them in the bottom of your refrigerator.

(Another great deal is that if you are bored while eating your veggies, you have something to read, so make sure you wrap with good news or funnies to help digestion!)

--To remove sticky labels from glass and plasticware, heat the label with a blow dryer for about 30 seconds and it should peel off easily.

(I have found that this is often not necessary as I can do alot with my own hot breath and panting after several minutes of struggling...just breathe real close to the offending label.)

--Bees and wasps will stay away from your food if you place a fresh sprig of mint on your picnic blanket.

(Since you will not always have some handy sprigs of mint, try using breath mints and if you DO get stung it will be heartening to know that they had fresh bee and wasp breath.)


--If your house smells like fish after cooking, bake a sliced lemon in a pie plate at 200 F for about 20 minutes. The smell is wonderful.

(On the practical side here, I would rather bake lemon bars or a lemon pie, but if you are into dried up and funny looking fruit in your oven...go for it...sad to say, I would probably forget about the fruit, end up with enough moisture left to cause mold and a whole new smell in the kitchen!)

--At your next garden party, put a few cans of beer around the yard. Insects will be attracted to the beer and not your guests.

(Either that or all your beer drinking guests will be 'around the yard' fighting off the insects for the beer.)


--To clean your tile floor, mix 1 cup mouthwash with a gallon of water for mopping. The floor will get cleaned and the bacteria will disappear.

(The down side to this is that the people with bad breath in your family will make you forget about your clean floor...also, most mouthwash has sugar in it, so you could get a sticky and flyful floor too...never having tried this, I will rely on the rest of you to report to me.)

--If you've burned something while cooking, boil 1 cup vinegar in 2 cups water for about 15 minutes, and the smell will be gone.

(Or you will be so overwhelmed by the vinegar smell that all worries about the burnt smell will be gone.)


--Get a good night's sleep the natural way by drinking a glass of water, then dissolving a pinch of salt on your tongue. Make sure the salt doesn't touch the roof of your mouth. Studies show a combination of salt and water can induce a deep sleep.

(Not being a 'salt on the tongue' kind of person, all I can think of is how thirsty this could make me or how I would stay awake worrying that I would have Dead Sea salt dreams...see scary shampoo below.)

--Update your cupcakes by filling a flat-bottomed ice cream cone two-thirds of the way up with cake batter. Bake in a deep-sided baking pan at 325 F for about half an hour. Frost and add sprinkles for a fun kids' treat.
(I could deal with this as I sure wouldn't want out dated cupcakes!)

--For a cheap exfoliant, wash your face with a paste made of three parts baking soda and one part water. Avoid the eye area.

(For an expensive exfoliant, don't add the water.)


--If your whites have yellowed, soak them for a couple of hours in a solution of 1/2 cup lemon juice or 1/2 cup white vinegar, then wash as usual. No need for bleach.

(Important...remember that this is in reference to clothes, NOT your eyes...will not work for jaundice.)



--Add a can of lemon-lime soda, along with your regular detergent, to extra-greasy clothes. The citrus acid breaks down the grease and your wash will sparkle.

(Personally, I'm not sure I want to be walking down the street and hear "Wow, did you see that redhead's clothes? They sparkle!" Or what if I cause an accident because my clothes sparkle while driving?)



This is a bar of Dead Sea hair shampoo...which is just sooo lovely to behold as well as a somewhat of a challenge to use....

Now for some 'normal' humor....

Cold Water Cleaning

John went to visit his 90 year old grandfather in a very secluded, rural area of Georgia.After spending a great evening chatting the night away, John's grandfather prepared breakfast of bacon, eggs and toast. However, John noticed a film like substance on his plate, and questioned his grandfather asking, "Are these plates clean?" His grandfather replied, "They're as clean as cold water can get them. Just you go ahead and finish your meal, Sonny!"

For lunch the old man made hamburgers. Again, John was concerned about the plates as his appeared to have tiny specks around the edge that looked like dried egg and asked, "Are you sure these plates are clean?" Without looking up the old man said, "I told you before, Sonny, those dishes are as clean as cold water can get them. Now don't you fret, I don't want to hear another word about it!"

Later that afternoon, John was on his way to a nearby town and as he was leaving, his grandfather's dog started to growl, and wouldn't let him pass. John yelled and said, "Grandfather, your dog won't let me get to my car". Without diverting his attention from the football game he was watching on TV the old man shouted ... "COLDWATER, GO LAY DOWN!"






Living With Dirt in A New But Dusty Light

DIRT: Layers of dirty film on windows and screens provide a helpful filter against harmful and aging rays from the sun. Call it an SPF factor of 15 and leave it alone.

COBWEBS: Cobwebs artfully draped over lampshades reduce the glare from the bulb,thereby creating a romantic atmosphere. If your husband points out that the light fixtures need dusting, simply look confused and exclaim"What? And spoil the mood?" (Or just throw glitter on them & call them holiday decorations)

PET HAIR: Explain the mound of pet hair brushed up against the doorways by claiming you are collecting it there to use for stuffing hand-sewn play animals for underprivileged children. (Also keeps out cold drafts in winter)

GUESTS: If unexpected company is coming, pile everything unsightly into one room and close the door. As you show your guests through your tidy home, rattle the door knob vigorously, fake a growl and say, "I'd love you to see our den, but Fluffy hates to be disturbed and the shots are SO expensive."

DUSTING: If dusting is REALLY out of control, simply place a showy urn on the coffee table and insist that "This is where Grandma wanted us to scatter her ashes."

GENERAL CLEANING: Mix one-quarter cup pine-scented household cleaner with four cups of water in a spray bottle. Mist the air lightly. Leave dampened rags in conspicuous locations. Develop an exhausted look, throw yourself on the couch and sigh, "I clean and I clean and I still don't get anywhere." As a last resort, light the oven, throw a teaspoon of cinnamon in a pie pan, turn off oven and explain that you have been baking cookies for a bake sale for a favorite charity and haven't had time to clean...Works every time.

Another favorite, I think from Erma Bombeck, always keep several get well cards on the mantle so if unexpected guests arrive, you can say you've been sick and unable to clean. If you can live in it, they can surely stand it for a 30 minute visit!"

~~~Thank You dear God for the blessings of all the different ways to make this a cleaner world, may we also keep our hearts clean.