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August 25, 2010

Who says you can't teach an "Old Dog" a new trick?



This is Audrey, our upstairs neighbor's 8 year old Great Dane...  Julian is in the Navy, he had to go on some submarine for a week or two.  His wife Jillian wanted to take advantage of her husband's absence and go visit her family in New Hampshire. She asked us to watch Audrey for the week...

Prior to this past week, Audrey was a non-smoking, tea drinking, no sex, run of the mill female Great Dane...  Michael and I have done our best to educate her while her parents were away...

We have introduced her to Miller Lite (you have to keep that girlish figure), Doral Ultralights (low tar and nicotine), and of course we pimped her out this week to help pay the rent...  Little did I know she would take it to this extreme, but at least it seems she is trying to recycle (a by-product of drinking beer from a bottle like her new gay step parents do) even though she knows smoking in the house is totally forbidden, it seems she got her "trick" out before we got home...

Please don't report us to PETA (just across the river from us in Norfolk). Over, "Out" and feeling a little guilty here in Portsmouth, VA  

August 24, 2010

Where were you: Eight-Twenty-four, of Ninety-two?



August 24, 1992, I was living in Miami Shores, a small city just north of downtown Miami (well actually about 85 blocks north)... and on that day in the wee hours of the morning, Hurricane Andrew made landfall twenty or so miles south of us.

What we experienced was nothing compared to what the people in South Miami, Kendall and Homestead had to deal with.  We had no power for a week, they had no power for (in some cases) 3-4 months... I can't imagine...

My first visit (post Andrew) to Kendall was like driving down some road on a distant planet.  The trees that once lined Kendall Drive had all been sheared off, mid-trunk. I mean, they weren't pulled out of the ground, or just topped, they were literally snapped in two my the force of this storm...

Funny thing, I lived in South Florida for almost 30 years, and since moving to Virginia in 1999, we have experienced the remnants of more named storms here, than we ever did there...  Am I a magnet?

Over and "Out" on a cooler evening, from Portsmouth, VA.

August 22, 2010

Finally...

I received the software I ordered through Amazon, and finally need only one laptop to accomplish all of my daily tasks.  I ordered Microsoft Money Plus and the newer Microsoft Office 2007 so that I could continue to track our finances (Money) and get my email through Outlook (Office).  Both programs I had installed on my old laptop, but did not have the disks for (online downloads are great if you are using the same computer) I will always pay the extra to get the disks in the future...

Only glitch so far is that Naptser to go is not available on Windows 7 yet, so to sync our MP3 players, we have to fire up one one the old laptops...   Not that big a deal though...

Otherwise life in VA is good, my boss comes back tomorrow from almost 3 weeks out of the store, time-away, seminars, conferences, and vacation, she has not been there for most of the month of August...  All with a new Sales Manager in place that has had little to no training...  I hope the indoctrination by fire (ie: training) he has received hasn't scared him off yet...

Now to the personal stuff...  I have reconnected with my cousins from my Mom's side of the family.  We are going to try to get together for a mini-family reunion of sorts in late October or early November.  Michael and I are going to try to get down to Florida to visit the kids and meet my grandson, in late September.  My daughter Savannah, in Richmond, wants me to come up for a weekend in September (maybe my birthday weekend) which I know we will both enjoy...  

So many things planned, now to make them all work!

Over and "Out" from my first Sunday off since the last one, here in Portsmouth, VA

August 20, 2010

Newest From Tobacco Avenue


This is why I keep Tobacco Avenue on my favorite list:

"Seeking to make the (Richmond, VA) establishment “a bit more laid back than it already is,” officials at Tiki Bob’s Cantina in Shockoe Bottom today announced a new club policy whereby pants, a common clothing item worn by millions of decent human beings while in public, will now be strictly optional.
The no-pants-necessary policy will allow clubgoers aged 18 and up to enter the North 18th Street nightclub – known for its 10-cent tacos, low-cost beverages served in plastic cups, and bros – without the same cover-ups required in all other bars and restaurants.
“We want our customers to feel comfortable and welcomed here, whether getting they grind on up on some young hottie or doing tequila shots out of a stranger’s belly button, so pantslessness is really just an extension of our core values,” said Tiki Bob’s general manager Robert D’Angelo as he filled a baby pool with a 50/50 mixture of Vaseline and chocolate pudding in preparation for an event at the club later this evening. “When you combine this new dress code with our recent no-shirt-required policy, it is our hope that more of our customers will realize that they can, if they desire, party up in here fully nude.”
Added D’Angelo: “Aside from the multiple piercings and lower-back tattoos.”
In addition to the updated dress code, Tiki Bob’s also announced several new specials,  including Single Lady Saturdays sponsored by Axe Body Spray, Face Tattoo Tuesdays, and a coupon for free blood work with every purchase of a rum and Coke."

Over and "Out", with my pants on, from Portsmouth, VA

August 17, 2010

Target is a "target" ...

My very straight friend Corrine posted this on her FB wall for me, and now I share it with you:



Over and "Out" of the chiropractors office, from Portsmouth, VA

August 16, 2010

Days of discomfort...

I have been struggling with some lower back pain for a couple of weeks...  As a result of the shifting and compensating in the way I walk, my right leg is now bothering me...  It's very hard to get comfortable, enough where even sitting down with my laptop bothers me.  I suppose I may have to go see a chiropractor soon if this continues, but it does seem to come and go, so I am choosing to wait it out for now.  Funny thing though, sex always helps, must be the additional endorphans and physical stimuli that helps...  Lucky me and Michael!!!

That's all for today from my "Over and Out" place here in Portsmouth, VA

August 12, 2010

Hooray for California...

By Andrew Heining, Staff writer / August 12, 2010
Los Angeles
US District Judge Vaughn Walker refused Thursday to extend a stay – placed on his ruling that declared California’s gay-marriage ban unconstitutional – beyond next week.
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The decision clears the way for same-sex marriages to begin again in California on Aug. 18, barring intervention from the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Judge Walker did not immediately end the stay to give the appeals court time to weigh in on the matter.
While the judge’s decision was greeted with much enthusiasm by opponents of Proposition 8, the voter-approved gay-marriage ban, there was certainly some disappointment among the many unmarried same-sex couples who were lining up at court houses and clerks’ offices in anticipation of the stay being lifted Thursday afternoon.
"[Walker's] opinions make exceptionally clear why Proposition 8 fails Constitutional examination, and he has made even more clear how the [proponents of the ban] don't satisfy his requirements for staying his opinion of last week," says Elizabeth Cooper, a Fordham University law professor.
"It's excruciating to be ready to get married and be denied the right to, and I think Walker recognizes that in his initial opinion," she says. But rather than an acknowledgment of the merits of Proposition 8 supporters' case, she says the delay is meant as a procedural courtesy to the court of appeals.
Walker declared Proposition 8 unconstitutional in a broad Aug. 4 ruling that may eventually amount to a landmark court decision for gay rights, if it is allowed to stand by the appeals court or eventually the US Supreme Court, where many expect the case to eventually be decided.
The official proponents of Proposition 8 argued in favor of the extending the stay through the appeals process because, they said, not doing so would create legal confusion about the validity of same-sex marriages taking place before the appeals court rules.
Gay marriage supporters said that there are already 18,000 same-sex couples in the state that were married in the period when gay marriages became legal in California and when voters approved Proposition 8 in November 2008.
Proposition 8 backers were quick to criticize Walker's action Thursday.
"It is outrageous that Judge Walker refused to stay his ruling," said Matthew Staver, founder of the Liberty Counsel, a group that advocates for the traditional definition of marriage, in a statement.
"This is a classic example of radical individualism and judicial activism." He said the case had a high probability of being overturned on appeal, setting the stage for an "enormous" disruption. "Staying the effect of Judge Walker’s ruling pending the appeal is the only logical thing to do in this case."
Another sticking point for the granting of a stay – and for the appeal – is the legal standing of those backing Proposition 8. Were the case to be appealed, Walker writes, the "proponents may have difficulty demonstrating ... standing" under the Constitution.
Legal standing, Ms. Cooper explains, dictates "you have to be directly affected by the outcome." According to Walker, the backers of Prop 8 – the "proponents" – have not demonstrated that.
"If anyone is going to be ordered to implement Prop 8, that would have to be the state of California, and the governor and attorney general have made it clear that they have no interest in enforcing Prop 8," says Cooper.
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Jerry Brown issued separate statements this week calling for Walker's ruling to be put into effect immediately.

California today, Virginia tomorrow...
Over and "Out" from the backwards commonwealth of Virginia...


August 10, 2010

New 'Puter new Challenges

Michael got a new laptop last week (a Wally-World special with his discount and on the tax free weekend)...  He really needed it.  I bought him a used Dell last year and we have had nothing but problems with the battery and A/C adapter.  

The next day, the hinge on my Gateway's lid broke, every time I went to close it, it would break even further. I asked Mike to get me one of the WW specials that day and have been trying to transfer files ever since...  I have Office 2000 and it seems that it's not totally compatible with Windows 7...  I have Microsoft Money Plus (but only have the disk for Money 2006) and can't get Microsoft to allow me to re-download the upgrade...

Until I get the disks I just ordered on Amazon, I am fiddling with two laptops...

Hopefully the disks will resolve all the problems...  I do love this new 'puter though, wide screen, very fast, full keyboard, bright screen, lot's of options, bells and whistles...

Over, "Out" and a little impatient, from Portsmouth, VA

August 6, 2010

Would you take the "Straight Pill"?

I ran accross this video after posting the one below from BosGuy...  It's an intriguing question and while the polls are closed on the blog that this young man had, I challenge my readers to watch the video, pause it when asked, post a comment here, then watch the rest...



My personal response was not unlike his...  Maybe if I were younger and had experienced less of life my answer would be different.

Over and "Out" from a warm and sunny day off, in Portsmouth, VA

August 5, 2010

Why???



Thanks to my new friend BosGuy for this You-tube link...  Listen to what he says a couple of times and it totally makes sense..

Over and "Out" from yesterday, in Portsmouth, VA

August 4, 2010

Welcome to Sarah's World...



I love it when I get newly updated material on Ms Palin...  Especially info that includes her daughter.  I got this from Bob over at I Should Be Laughing and hope there is a "squeak-quill"...

Just home from a busy day at work, enjoy if you haven't seen it before (and maybe even if you have)...

Over (giggling) and "Out" from Portsmouth, VA

Oh, and congrats to the folks in CA for the ruling today, come take a stab at our amendment next!

August 3, 2010

So let it be written, So let it be done...


It feels great to have this work issue behind me...  I will be staying in my current location, in my current capacity, with my current salary...

Had a great dialog with our Regional Manager yesterday, we both cleared up some things that had been preventing us from having more relaxed, informative conversation...  Weird how a couple of mis-understandings can spiral over the years into category 5 hurricanes...  We both offered explanations and apologies to each other and committed ourselves to be more forthright in the future...

So our new relationship begins...

Thanks for all the support everyone@!

Over and "Out" from Portsmouth, VA

August 1, 2010

And so August Begins...



I am home before Michael tonight, for the first time in awhile.  He should be here in 45 minutes or so... So I have  a few minutes to post before the decision making of "What's for dinner" starts...

This last week has been hell on my nerves but the dilemma  should end tomorrow with another meeting between our Regional Manager and me...  I keep fingers crossed that he listened to what I had to say and wrote, and feels the need to at least offer some counter-proposal...  We shall see...

Michael is about over me right now...  I am irritable, sleepy, moody, pissy, queenie, and ugly, but I still love the guy, especially for that fact that he can put up with all my crap!

Yet as our life together continues, it's always nice to know how the other reacts to some real intense stuff, just like the spring turns to summer, and the summer to fall...

And so August begins, this month is like the arbor to fall, my favorite season... First Labor Day, then my 55th Birthday (in September also), Halloween, and Thanksgiving...  Not to mention the cooler weather with every day that passes.  This summer has been one of the hottest on record here in the Hampton Roads area...  I am anxiously awaiting it's demise...

And so August begins, welcome to August 1, 2010!

Over, "Out" and looking forward, from Portsmouth, VA.