Cold as Ice...

As a hairdresser, if my scissors were not moving, I was not making money. When I sold furniture, if I did not 'move' the sofa, my commission check sucked. And when my career was in food and beverage, (stay with me here..) if I didn't properly kiss up a little, my tip was lousy.

So, the point I'm trying to illustrate is this: does the weatherman/meteorologist take a pay hit when he is TOTALLY wrong about the weather? A quick trip to Kroger last Thursday afternoon proved to be a lesson in frustration as the place was jammed and all anyone could talk about was the upcoming 8 to 10 (inches) we were supposed to brace ourselves for. Milk and bread and such were just about flying off the shelves, as Nervous Nellie's planned for the worse, stocking up on provisions like we were Laura Ingalls Wilder preparing for a big storm in a Little House on the Prairie! One would think that the man with the traveling cart of stuff wouldn't be able to make his rounds till spring!! Gasp!! Better buy extra flour and cinnamon! After all, mind you, this was not a storm 'watch', but a full blown storm 'warning'.

And how about the children who maybe got to stay up just a little later than normal when they were assured by the weather dude that school would likely be cancelled, providing them with a nice long weekend with extra time to finish their homework? Completely duped, thank you very much! Visions of lounging about and making a snow fort was out the window, where coincidentally the snow was SUPPOSED to be! I know at least one mommy who almost had to personally call Chuck Gaidaca to get the assurance that there was, indeed, school as scheduled originally before he planted the Blizzard of 2012 idea in their little heads.

And what about this-Alpena was not predicted to be part of the storm, but at 12:00 p.m. the snow was falling so heavily that the kids were let out immediately, providing THEM with a little bonus time off! I guess a 200+ mile error was acceptable....

Back to my original question. Should the persons responsible for this weather snafu be held accountable for thier error in prediction throwing otherwise normal folk into a fearful frenzy? How about a little deduction in pay for error? Or a 'three strikes, you're out kinda policy? Trust me on this, if I were to screw up your haircut or bring you steak instead of lobster, surely my pay would directly be affected by my gaffe!

In my next go around, I think I'm going to be a weather person. And my first prediction for a February day in Michigan would be 79 and sunny!

Enjoy the rest of the week-we have an extra day! I will be in sunny Florida next week, where it surely WILL be 79 and sunny. Love to all of you, sweet readers. xoxo

Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves...

I have always had a romantic fantasy involving 'Gypsies'. Swarthy men with long, curly hair and beautiful, exotic women with swirling skirts and big gold hoops and cool head scarves. Children that have large brown eyes, running barefoot and free and getting their education from experience. Covered caravans and smoldering campfires. A large cauldron simmering and feeding them at times when hunger naturally occurs. Dancing and throwing dice and making a living in any way they can. And then moving on with no attachments to anything. To me, there is something very appealing about my perceived view of that freedom.

So when the very exotic looking woman said to me, "Dahrling...let me read your palm.", there was no way I could resist. She had the requisite long, black hair with the pools of deep brown/black eyes. Her accent was enticing. I asked her where she was from and when the answer was Romania, I had to know if she was a 'Gypsy'. Yes, she replied. And she was a 6Th. generation reader. (Can you hear the loud, sucking noise as she reeled me in?) She also did chakra cleaning and balancing. Okay, I am SO about this..Ten dollars did not seem like a lot of money to hear your destiny.

As I sat down and reached for my wallet, Lauren (her name was Lauren!) assured me that I could pay after we were done. There goes my fantasy of 'silver crossing her palm, first!' She gently took my palm in her hand, with her long nails and bejeweled fingers, and studied it intently before drawing a long breath. I will not bore you with her reading as I am sure it only interests me. Naysayers will note that most of the reading was of a generic type, applicable to anyone. BUT, Lauren had no idea that I am, in fact, a Cancerian with all of the most typical 'crab' qualities. She nailed some of the issues I have perfectly. Also noting that the second chakra is the one I identify with the most. You can imagine her satisfaction as I pulled up my shirt and down my jeans (only a tiny bit) to reveal my tattoo of the second chakra!! She did not even register surprise-rather a tiny, smug smile crossed her face. The rest of my reading went on with some future things for me to watch out for, thus ending our session.

It isn't very often that you get to just walk up on, and live out a little 'fantasy'. My modern day, Americanized Gypsy did nothing to dispel my ideas. I am still smiling about my experience.

Thoughts, dear friends? Any personal experiences of the like? I love to hear about them! Enjoy your week and remember that Tuesday is Fat Tuesday, so get out and have a paczki! xoxo

Where do Broken Hearts Go?...

Drugs confound me. As the news of Whitney's death (R.I.P.) became public, I don't think that anyone expected that her demise would be anything but the drug abuse that she struggled with. Demi Moore has managed to get herself into rehab with some cheap adolescent drug curiosities. And almost weekly I shudder as I perversely read obits describing some loved 26 year old that died suddenly at home. And we have all seen the hungry guys on I94 and Moross, for example, that have surely fallen to the grip of drugs. They haunt me. I have personally attended two funerals, both drug related, in the same family that crushed their loved ones. These tragedies were so very deep that there were absolutely no words of comfort for their families. Completely wasted lives.

So what the hell is going on here? We now know that addiction is a disease just as much as cancer, heart disease, obesity, etc. Having money certainly does not make you immune, but rather affords you easier access. Growing up in the 70's afforded me a very close look at drugs-even in northern Michigan. We had numerous deaths by overdose in our high school. But most of us were scared spitless of heroin. Now it is epidemic and the number one drug abused in suburban high schools. Unreal. Over the counter synthetic drugs-Spice, Meow, etc. are sold legally as harmless highs when, in fact, they can be totally brain damaging. I personally know a young man who is permanently brain damaged from smoking spice cigarettes. Very, very sad.

War on drugs? What a joke. The "Dare" program was pulled from schools due to it's ineffectiveness. They can't even keep drugs out of our prisons. And border control is laughable. My big question is when did people stop being afraid? And just what, exactly are they escaping from? Does reality really suck that badly? What about the value of our lives and or our health? Beats the hell outta me. But something is different and no one seems to be able to understand or stop it.

Nancy Reagan, a very unlikely spokesperson, said 'just say no'. Simple for sure, but it's a start.

Stay healthy my friends and may this tragedy escape you and yours. xoxo

P.S.-Two more days to get your cards and such. Celebrate your love! xoxo

Are you Ready for some Football?...

It's Superbowl Sunday! XLVI to be exact. With plans in place, it has only just now occurred to me how easy it is to compare today's festivities with the seven deadly sins.

I'm invited to two parties and will split my time between them. The long pre-game nap I enjoyed most definitely had a SLOTH-like quality to it. Gambling is encouraged and I have my name on a few square in hopes of winning a quarter-although gambling is not officially one of the 7, GREED is a factor on my wishing to win. WRATH's will be considered. Fan's Edge allowed me to point and click and FedEx was happy to deliver, so I have a cool outfit for the day. (those little packages on my porch make everyday seem like Christmas!) But I digress. I think somehow, PRIDE could be considered as it is imperative that I have the perfect team t-shirt. My friends and party hosts have promised to have tons of great snacks available and I have been recruited to bring a vegetable tray and dip. Now, who the heck is going to eat that with chip, pretzels, meatballs and such at reach? Drinking is also perfectly acceptable on a Sunday- a day which I would normally abstain. I'm quite sure that GLUTTONY is pretty much covered here.

Let's not forget about the superb view, thanks to giant television screens, of men in spandex pants, cavorting about! LUST is inevitable. And the half time show has MADONNA!! I ENVY all things Madge. I have been sending her my 'white light' all week in hopes that she pulls it off without causing total criticism. When I actually attended the Superbowl a few years back, someone thought it would be a good idea to trot out the Rolling Stones. They were okay, but really a very safe choice. This year promises to be a little edgier with my girl throwin' down..

So, a day involving drinking, gambling, and sinning is being sold under the guise of 'football'. How very American.

Y'all know I could go on and on, but I'm off to do some major sinnin'. Please pray for me. Oh, yeah.. And go Giants!!!! xoxo