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Cotillion’s “Fireside Chat”

Have you ever wondered what the ladies of The Cotillion are like? Well, we’re all a little crazy, a little sassy and quite a bit of fun. We want to get to know one another a little better and will be doing a little “30 things” carnival. I thew my name in the hat to participate so here’s, well, 30 things about me:

1. What time did you get up this morning? 8:47am

2. Diamonds or pearls? I like pearls, but I LOVE diamonds!

3. What was the last film you saw at the movie house? Cars - on opening day Friday - and I *did* have kids with me! I also saw the remake of The Omen on 6/6/06 (NO kids that day!).

4. What is your favorite TV show? 24 is by far my favorite, but I like 30 Minute Meals with Rachael Ray, too!

5. What did you have for breakfast? Special K Berry

6. What is your middle name? My Momma always said it was “Trouble”

7. What is your favorite cuisine? I have a soft spot for Italian food - anything pasta is sheer heaven to me!

8. What foods do you dislike? I don’t like cabbage and I don’t like fruit in my salad (who came up with that ANYWAY?)

9. What kind of car do you drive? A Bauer-mobile! (Black Ford Expedition)

10. Favorite Sandwich? A BLT - but not just any. Nice, thick cut and crispy bacon, toasted bread with a thin layer of Miracle Whip on both slices, just one leaf of lettuce, and home grown fresh tomatoes with salt and pepper on them. YUM-O!!!!!

11. What characteristic do you despise? An entitlement mentality. Nothing pisses me off more than people who think they should have something just because [fill in the blank…just because they have more time in than anyone else, just because they went above and beyond once, just because they are related to such-and-such, etc.]. I see it every day in my job, in the newspaper and around the ‘net and it is one of my BIGGEST peeves.

12. Favorite item of clothing? I know it isn’t clothing, but it is an accessory….my pretty black Coach purse. I LOVE it!

13. If you could go anywhere in the world for a holiday where would you go? Australia

14. What color is your bathroom? Light peach (but hopefully not forever!)

15. Favorite brand of clothing? “on sale”

16. Where would you like to retire? Somewhere with a beach, lots of sunshine and nice fruity drinks with little umbrellas in them.

17. Favorite time of the day? Evenings, particularly when there’s a brilliant sunset!

18. What was your most memorable birthday? In 7th grade - at Skateland!

19. Where were you born? Nebraska….paint it red, babeeeee!

20. Favorite sport to watch? Husker Football….DUH!

21. What are you wearing right now? t-shirt and shorts

22. What star sign are you? Libra

23. What fabric detergent do you use? Tide Coldwater or Woolite

24. Pepsi or Coke? Coke!

25. Are you a morning person or a night owl? More of a night owl, but as I get older, have a harder time sleeping in!

26. What is your shoe size? 7.5 to 8

27. Do you have any pets? Oh yes…three dogs, 2 parrots and 2 snakes!

28. Any new exciting news you’d like to share with your family and friends? Not long now for that vacation to Florida!!!

29. What did you want to be when you were little? A teacher!

30. What are you meant to be doing today? Grocery shopping, picking up a wedding gift and cleaning house - when is that vacation again?!?!

Update: Cassandra at Villainous Company did a nice summary of the Cotillion’s “30 things” meme over at her place and at the Cotillion site. Enjoy!

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You Say Small and I Say Large!

Funny! In the midst of running around getting things done today, the kids and I stopped at at at Wendys, which we hadn’t done for quite a lot time. To see this story on Fox News today made me laugh as I experienced the “shift” in size names today.

The Biggie portion size, formerly the fast food restaurant’s equivalent of a large, will now be called a medium. It’s only a name change, and the portion customers get — the equivalent of almost three 12-ounce cans of soda for the drinks — won’t get smaller.

Wendy’s International Inc. research shows demand for big drinks, but people were confused by the designation of Biggie and Great Biggie, the former extra-large size, spokesman Denny Lynch said. Switching to a more straightforward small, medium and large sizes made sense, he said.

The nation’s third-largest burger chain has used the Biggie designation since the early 1990s.

The Great Biggie, equal to 3 1/2 12-ounce cans of soda, will now be classified as a large. Medium portions will be bumped down to small sizes.

So, in other words we continue to focus on dumbing things down for us Americans. But see, I figured it out! They basically don’t have a small any more, their “medium” became a small, and so on, and so forth. All I know is that I wanted a medium, and the guy behind the counter was kind enough to say “um, you may want a small.” To myself, I was thinking “um, NO…if I had wanted a small, I would have ORDERED a small!” until he showed me what the small cup looked like. …and so I got a small! And they were worried that “Biggie” and “Great Biggie” were confusing?!?!?!?

It was nice to see an expanded menu, though!

Wendy’s says it has made several changes to give customers healthier choices, including offering salads, chili, baked potatoes or yogurt instead of fries with combo meals.

I do find it rather amusing that their reason for changing the drink size names was to appease fast food critics who complain that the fast food industry is increasing portion sizes and contributing to the obesity epidemic. Um, how does this appease anyone, truly? I think the solution is clear. Let the customers order the size they wish to have and let *them* be in control of their food choices. Novel idea, I do believe! :-)

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Abu Musab al-Zarqawi DEAD!

As reported by CalTechGirl over at Not Exactly Rocket Science, ABC news is currently reporting that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has been killed, along with his spiritual advisor. They are saying he wasn’t dead right away, and American troops turned him over to the Iraqis and he subsequently died of his injuries.

It’s now on CNN’s website as a “breaking report” on their website (this is 2:34am Central Time), but there are no additional details. As of yet, Fox isn’t reporting on it, and CBS and NBC are quiet as well.

I, for one, am crossing my fingers. ABC reports were confident in the news as they didn’t say “possibly killed” or “potential news” or anything like that. Let’s hope they are right.

UPDATE: Now FOX News is finally talking about it by interrupting with a Special Report and they have the big ole yellow banner on their site proclaiming the news. …and the news world starts waking up!

UPDATE II: The “official” announcement was just now made in Baghdad (it was reported on Fox News live at 2:45am CDT). The news conference is being broadcast live. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki talked about the evil past of Zarqawi and OFFICIALLY confirmed Zarqawi’s death. WHEW! Another evil terrorist down and, as someone said on ABC news, another nail in the coffin of Al Qaida. Now General Casey is now speaking and confirmed that it was not only Zarqawi (identified through visual verification/facial recognition, known scars and fingerprints) but a spiritual advisor (a top lieutenant as he said), Sheikh, Abu Abdul Rahman. This latest effort has spanned over several weeks. The bombing was at a safe house 30 miles NE of Baghdad.

UPDATE III: More over at The Jawa Report (via Hubby!)

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Non-Parents Strike Again!

So I turn on my computer this morning with two screaming headlines: Parents Realize Next Day They Left Son At Chuck E. Cheese and Parents Charged With Trying To Solicit Truckers For Sex With Child. Both a case of non-parenting and harmful to the child!

So - what happens when parents don’t ensure their 6-year-old gets taken home from his own birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese?

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A 6-year-old Florida boy who was accidentally left behind by his family after they celebrated his birthday at a Chuck E. Cheese restaurant will temporarily remain in state custody.

A judge said the state Department of Children and Families will likely determine Tuesday whether Michael Emanuel can live temporarily with a relative.

Emanuel’s family said they accidentally left him Saturday night and didn’t notice he was missing until the next day. Each relative thought the child was with another family member.

Employees at the Boca Raton restaurant called police and the child was taken into state custody.

Now, I’ve never proclaimed to be a perfect parent, but barring some idea that arrangements were made to have the 6-year-old stay with another family overnight (who were also at the birthday party), the parents sure seemed to lack any concern for their child. Forgetting for an hour is one thing (albeit it doesn’t make sense to this obsessed mom who makes sure I see the kids go exactly where they are supposed to every moment of every day), but to forget for the entire night? That’s ridiculous!

An attorney for the boy’s mother told the judge there were 12 youngsters at the party and as they all piled into cars to leave, the boy was simply overlooked.

Again, simply overlooked is driving home, waiting for another car to come by with little Timmy and, when it doesn’t show up, start calling around. “Simply overlooked” is not noticing your 6-year-old missing for an entire day!

I get disgusted at some of the stories that are coming out of Nebraska, but this one is so absolutely disgusting and sad!

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. — The father of an 11-year-old girl has been charged with trying to solicit truckers to have sex with the girl.

Last week, the girl’s mother was arrested in North Platte and charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Both mother and father now face charges of felony child abuse and pandering.

I cannot even imagine what this 11-year-old girl’s life is like. Mom contributing to the delinquency of a minor, Dad soliciting her out for sex. What kind of monsters *are* these people? How sad for this girl to have to grow up so quickly at the hands of people who treat her like a posession versus their child! …and to think there are men out there who would entertain the idea of actually having sex with her…

Lt. Rick Ryan said that on May 30, the girl was found sitting — fully clothed — on the top bunk of a semitrailer’s sleeper cab. The driver was sitting on the bottom bunk — just talking, he told police. The mother reportedly had been on a CB radio, soliciting listeners to have sex with her daughter.

Funny how the article only points out that the father has been charged trying to solicit truck drivers to have sex with her when the mother had been on the CB, asking listeners to be with her daughter. Disgusting! Thank God these people were so stupid they got caught so their daughter can get to a safe place away from them!

I read stories like this and my blood boils. Something has got to be terribly broken in these people to forget about their kid or to prostitute their 11-year-old for money. In the end, my wish is that the children in both cases get to be in an environment where they are loved, supported, and taken care of. That’s the way it should be for *all* kids.

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Munu Mania

Hi all,

Thanks for your patience since Friday. It appears that MUNU servers were hit with a DDOS attack, which brought the servers down Friday and then again Monday. With the great knowledge and hard work of Pixy Misa, he got us back in the running with very little impact to us (I’m sure he’s worn out!). I lost one post about Hell, Michigan (such a loss, I know!) and a couple of comments. So really nothing at all!!!

Hopefully all will be well going forward, but hey, such is life in the Blogosphere, huh? :-)

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Sneak Peek - Rachael Ray’s Fall Show

ETonline.com has a sneak peek of Rachael Ray’s new hour long show debuting September 18!

“I want to start tomorrow,” she gushed. “I don’t want to wait because everything looks so great. The models are all done — and the set. It’s really getting exciting.”

The show, which will aim to be intimate and fun — and not celebrity-driven — is not just aimed towards food lovers and wannabe gourmet chefs, but for anyone looking to improve their lives — whether it be how to organize your office or trying something new outside of the kitchen!

Rachael recently revealed what tone the show will take. “I want the show to be a forum for people, but there’s not going to be any crying on our show!”

Rachael, who says she’s working with people she’s known for years as well as brand new staffers, says she’s going to keep the atmosphere super casual.

“We allow dogs and children so I want to go to work tomorrow,” she says. “I want to bring my dog to work with me. It’ll be a lot of fun!”

Tied to the article on ETonline.com is a video of her photo shoot promoting the show. It looks like she invited Isa-Boo to the shoot, too! :)

It will be interesting to see the launch of Rachael’s new show and her transition to things non-food. Do you think her show will be a success? For me it will depend on when it is on, the format and whether the topics of discussion are engaging. Her charisma can carry her traditional shows on the Food Network quite well, but daytime talk is so much different. Her plans aren’t controversial and she doesn’t plan on making anyone cry, so the show will need to be entertaining and stand out away from the Jerry Springers and Montel Williams of the world.

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Left For Dead

Good news, and yet, tragic news.

GARDEN GROVE, Calif. - A 1-year-old girl spent up to three days alone with the bloody bodies of her murdered family, her face kicked or beaten and lips cracked from dehydration, police said.

“She was left for dead,” Lt. Mike Handfield said Tuesday. “If she would have been here any longer, she could have perished from lack of food and water.”

Police found the bodies of Phuong Hung Le, 30, his wife, Trish Dawn Lam, 25, and Lam’s 6-year-old son, Tommy, on Monday when they conducted a welfare check at the family’s home, on a street lined with two-story stucco houses about 35 miles southeast of Los Angeles in Orange County.

I wish that I were that officer:

The girl smiled at the officer who found her, Handfield said. “She clung to him and he hugged her. She was glad to be next to a warm human body, to have somebody with her.”

So the cloud appears to have a silver lining after all. But, it’s still a cloud. I rejoice in the fact that the baby was saved.

But, poor six year old Tommy. What did he do to deserve this? He could talk, that’s all.

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Nothing Could Be Finer

Than this bill in Carolina.

(AP) The South Carolina House on Wednesday passed a pair of bills that would allow prosecutors to seek the death penalty for some repeat child molesters.

Support for the package picked up steam after a man was charged with kidnapping two girls and raping them in a dungeon behind his home earlier this year.

The related measures could send to death row offenders convicted twice of raping a child younger than 11.

I wholeheartedly support the death penalty for child molesters.

In a way, child molesters are worse than murderers. A murderer kills, and his victim, while no longer with us, goes to a better place. Even if you’re an atheist, you can’t disagree that death is a relief for the victims of some murderers.

A child molester is worse, because their living victim has to suffer the trauma for their actions their entire lives. 60, 70, 80 years and more. And a child molester to me somewhat akin to a murderer. The child molester murders the innocence of the child.

So yeah, I wholeheartedly support this bill in South Carolina. I hope our lawmakers do something similar.

Related.

Stein hoist: Ace.

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