Friday flashback

This one's for "The Princess". That's her...on the right...circa about 1988-89? (Am I right, Jules?) Coincidentally, the other sweetie-pie in the photo, one of her closest pals at the time, is also a Julie.

The "big hair" wasn't quite as big as it usually was. They must've not been going anywhere. heh

There's no such thing as "squatter's rights"

Jane, you ignorant slut.

Ok, so I don't know that her name was Jane. But she was definitely an ignorant, nasty, nasty woman.

See, I have this little pet peeve. Ohhhh, alright. I have many pet peeves. But this one in particular just sends me absolutely right over the edge.

Women "squatters" who pee all over the toilet seat.

For gawd's sake...have the fuckin decency to wipe the friggin toilet seat off after you're done!

Wanna know the real irony? This stupid, obsessive/compulsive bint was washing her hands as I walked into the bathroom...washing her hands the whole time I sat...stewing in her gawddam pee...and was just finishing up when I walked out of the stall.

Just as I was about to punch her right in the head...she uses her used paper towel to open the fuckin door!

Gawd forbid she gets a friggin germ on her dainty little hands. But she doesn't mind spraying her own all over hell.

Whoever she was, she's damned lucky it was at my place of employment. That's the only thing that kept me from tackling her as she walked down the hall.

Stupid bitch.

I must've been living under a rock

As a long-time smoker, I've tried to quit more times than I can count.

Chantix

definitely helps with the nicotine craving...along with the craving for caffeine. But it doesn't do much for the habit. Those "triggers" that say, "I have to have a cigarette...NOW". The first cup of coffee...after a meal...getting in the car...sitting down to blog. heh

I think only another smoker will know what I mean.

I've also tried the patches. They fall off. It's like my body is rejecting them. I've tried the gum. It just makes my jaws hurt. I've tried just...stopping. Naturally, that didn't go well.

The thing is, though...if smoking weren't so bad for me health-wise, I wouldn't quit. I'd keep smoking just to annoy the smoking police. I dunno...I've always been one of those people...you know the kind?...if somebody tells me I can't do something, especially if it's under the guise of "it's for my own good", I will do it, come hell or high water.

Having said all that, I can't believe I only heard about

e cigarettes

about a week ago. They've been out a couple years or so.

So I did some pretty extensive online research. And then I ordered some.

It's far too early to say for sure, but I think I just might be on to something that can really help.

Of course, now that I've found what might be my own personal answer to kickin the habit, the FDA has to stick their nose in. As if they don't have more important things to worry about.

CNN has an article about it

here

So they think there might be some carcinogens in the nicotine liquid that's used in the e cigs. It's still far less than what's in a regular cigarette. Hell, it's probably far less than what's in some of the air that a lot of us are exposed to on a daily basis.

But ya know what I'm really looking forward to? Using the e cig somewhere where there's NO SMOKING ALLOWED!! Because I'm not really smoking...it's just a nicotine delivery system that looks like a cigarette instead of a clear patch thingy.

The "smoke" you see isn't smoke. It's vapor. No worries about "second-hand smoke", you putzes. Honest ta gawd...there's NO smell. There's NOTHING burning. You don't need an ashtray. You don't need a lighter. They don't stink up your clothes or your house.

There's NOTHING to offend the smoking police...other than the fact that it looks like I'm smoking.

And if simple looks can offend...well, there's a whole lotta fuckers out there that offend me.



I dunno...ya think I should go ahead and start a "Bail Pammy Outa Jail" fund? heh

Sunday brunch and a dog day afternoon

I love breakfast. I don't love fixing breakfast. In fact, I detest fixing breakfast. Nothing's ever done at the same time and my kitchen usually winds up looking like Hiroshima after the bomb.

It was gorgeous today, so we decided to take Rhett out for a spin...and find some breakfast on the way.

We didn't have to go far...just up the road about a mile or so. We hit The Lighthouse, 15616 N. River Beach Drive for their Sunday Brunch...a true all you can eat bargain at only $7.50. Pastries, toast, two types of perfectly-scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, biscuits and gravy (mine's better...but theirs was perfectly acceptable), fresh fruit, corned beef hash...the list goes on and on.

Brunch is on Sundays only, from 9 to 1. We give it two thumbs up.

The service was good. The food was great. But the view from their newly-renovated deck...well, it can't be beat.




Da Zigster proclaimed their Bloody Marys "a cut above"...served in a chilled glass, rimmed with celery salt, spicy but not overpoweringly so, and garnished with celery and a couple green olives.


After brunch, we took a leisurely drive up Galena Road (no...the construction's not done yet) over the bridge, through Washington and East Peoria, back over the bridge, meandered around Peoria a bit, down Grandview Drive and back home.

Slightly sunburned, bellies still full from brunch, we retired to our own deck and watched the river go by.

This is the "dog day afternoon" part...



Our neighbor, Coco, aka "Coco-licious", aka "Coco-loco" took a much-needed break from swimming in the river and dragging dead Asian Carp into our yard to stop by for her daily biscuit.

Friday flashback

Let's laugh!

Gawd knows...in these trying times, we can all use a good laugh.

Ahhhhhh....memories.

El Cap's

"Poisoned Chalice" post slapped my psyche right upside the head with a big dose of deja vu.

My dear old dad introduced me to the comedic genius of Danny Kaye when I was but a wee kidlet...and I was hooked. I'll never forget the first time I saw The Court Jester...this scene, in particular. I was laying on the floor with a pillow and blankie, watching on the old black and white RCA. I laughed so hard I almost peed my little girl panties.

It still affects me the same way.



Genius. Pure genius.

From the Department of Kill Me...Kill Me Now

It's the evening rush hour. In order to avoid all the much-needed but much-fucked-up road construction on 29, I decide to take the curvy, hilly Cedar Hills Drive. Unfortunately, every other swingin dick musta decided the same thing.

So, I get stuck behind...a friggin Buick...with a bobble-head dog in the rear window, no less...going a hair-raising 30 fucking miles an hour. All. The way. To 29.

Passing was out of the question...too much traffic from the opposite direction.

I swear ta gawd...there musta been 15 cars behind me. It looked like Martin Luther King's funeral procession, fer chrissake.

Ohmmmmm Ohmmmm Ohmmmmmmmmmmm

Reason numbers 2,348 and 2,349...

...why we love it here so much.





'Course, if you're not a big fan of riverboats...or geese...this locale wouldn't be your cup o'tea. But for us, things like this pretty much make up for the occasional, discombobulating flood. heh

Let the beheadings commence

Maybe

Haven't heard a thing. Yet. I feel kinda like a gladiator, waitin for the ole thumbs up/down.

And I'm not the only one.

Despite all the blowin and chest-beatin, those fuckers in Springfield don't give a good gawddam about their "constituents". It's all about who gets what, how many votes they can pander and how much they can get away with.

Rat bastards. Every single one of 'em.

It's not that I can't survive without this job. But I happen to love what I do...finding a job that you love is something pretty special. But I hate, hate, hate not knowing what's gonna happen. And I hate it for some of my co-workers who do depend on their jobs for survival. It just makes me sick to see how stressed some of 'em are.

A friend might bail you out of jail...

...but a good friend will be sittin beside you in the cell, sayin, "Damn... that was fun!"


No, we didn't wind up in jail, though I'm pretty sure there was a law or two broken somewhere along the way. heh

This edition of the "Grannies Gone Wild" weekend has been deemed a resounding success.

We drank a few beers, ate really well and lost our asses at the casino.

Unfortunately, my ass found it's way back home, dammit. It must have it's own built-in GPS system. No matter where I lose the damn thing, it always finds it's way back.

We also laughed like hyenas more than a few times, talked until our lips were numb, slept like we were dead and just had a damn fine time, in general.

Friday's trip down was fun. The constant stream of chatter made the nearly 4 hour trip seem pretty short. We got to St. Charles, got checked in at the hotel and I called "The Princess" to let her know we were there. As soon as she got off work, she buzzed by to make plans for the evening. I hadn't seen her since Easter, and she looked pretty much the same...except for that big, honkin diamond ring on her left ring finger.

We decided we'd hit one of our favorite spots downtown,

RT Weilers

for a few drinks and supper. Great food and service, nice, upscale, "family-bar" type atmosphere. If you're ever in the downtown St. Charles area, I highly recommend it.

Feeling lucky, we decided to hit the casino after supper. And that's all I'm gonna say about that.

Saturday dawned...overcast and slightly steamy. Not really feeling like shopping, Jules had the brilliant idea to take the Golden Eagle ferry (13 bucks per carload, round-trip) back across the river to the Illinois side to another favorite of ours and have some lunch at

Kinder's

. So we did, and it was the perfect outing. 'Course, I'm happy anywhere around water.











While waiting on the food, (they have an awesome collection of appetizers) Jules did a little texting and Jill...well, I think she had a nap. heh



After our fabulous al fresco lunch, we headed back across the river...again...and decided to do a little shopping. So we did.

Saturday evening found us back at the casino...again. Ok, so we didn't tear the place up. But we had fun.

We did score a super deal on supper at the casino buffet, though. Jill had a coupon, and with her "casino points", supper for two (which would have been in the neighborhood of fifty bucks) wound up costing just eight. The food was uncommonly good for a casino buffet, too. The desserts, however, were just short of spectacular.

I'm pretty sure that that sugar free coconut cream pie helped cancel out the flan...and the cheesecake...and the brownie.

Ok, so we didn't eat it all. We just...sampled.

Sunday morning found us meeting up with Jules again for an artery-clogging breakfast at Waffle House before our long drive home. I ain't lyin when I told ya we ate good. Ain't nothin better than greasy eggs and grits at Waffle House. heh

Anywho, the weekend was an all-out, genuine blast. If we'd have actually done something crazy...like win a little on the slots...well, it'd have been nice. But I don't think even that could have made it more fun.

Now you'll hafta excuse me. I'm in the midst of making supper. A great....big....

salad.

I think I'll be eatin a lotta salad this week. heh

Grannies gone wild!

Once again, it's time for another "Grannies Gone Wild" weekend.

'Course, the tornado siren's goin off here in town right now, so I might get blown away before I get to...go wild.

We had to cancel our big Fourth of July/Cheeseburger in Paradise bash due to nasty weather, so I need a little something to help soothe my disappointment. heh

My cohort in crime, Jill, and I are heading to quaint, picturesque

St. Charles, Missouri

for a long weekend of shopping, gambling, eating, shopping, drinking...well, you get the idea.

We'll also try to squeeze in a visit to "The Princess", aka my daughter, Jules.

This'll be our first "girls only" weekend this year, so I'm really looking forward to it.

In fact, I've already packed. heh