Today's Pandora Station

Getting on a my Mellow cleaning vive with the Ray LaMontagne station today
Van Morrison, Bill Withers, etc.

Well No Shit! Headline of the Day

"Study: New moms may let their health slip"

Thoughts of Love and Sympathy

I do not know what is going on in the world today - Earthquakes in Japan and Mexico.  A horrific school shooting in Brazil.  Meanwhile in America.....ahhhh America you are making me sad and angry, I can not even form the words right now


I'm Sending Lots of Stark Raving Love Around the World 

Bitch Please!

Britney Spears has a new album out called Femme Fatale




What??  More Like Crazyass Bimbo

Congrats

Bossypants may need some bigger pants - Congratulations to Tina Fey who is expecting baby number 2.

I generally would not make note of celeb. pregnancy but I am guessing that Tina is a good mom who tries to raise her kids in a fairly normal way.  I don't think we will be seeing them on Celebrity Rehab in Twenty years or on Maury.

Yes Maury will still be around in 20 years, he may just be a talking head in a jar but he will be on the air.

And while I am making predictions - A Robotic Willard Scott will announce his own 100th Birthday on the Today Show in 2034 - How Sweet It Is!

News for Stupid People

"DC Pollen Count is High"


Well No Shit! My Nose could have told you that 

I'd pay to see this

" Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness."*

Y'all can have your dashboard Jesus, I keep my Spiritual Luminary's on my Keychain





It is our choices...that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.
Albus Dumbledore

Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.

Yoda

*Title quote from the Dalai Lama

Crazy People give me a Art Attack

from the AP

WASHINGTON – A woman accused of pounding on a painting by Paul Gauguin and trying to rip it from a wall at the National Gallery of Art told police the post-Impressionist artist was evil and the painting should be burned, court documents show.

Susan Burns, 53, of Arlington, Va., has been charged with attempted second-degree theft and destruction of property following the attack Friday. She was being held without bail pending a mental health hearing Tuesday.

The Gauguin painting, "Two Tahitian Women," valued at an estimated $80 million, was not damaged and will go back on view Tuesday, the National Gallery said in a statement. The picture is on loan from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York for an exhibit titled "Gauguin: Maker of Myth."

The painting depicts two women standing next to each other, one with both breasts exposed and the other with one breast showing.

According to charging documents, an investigator told Burns her rights and asked why she had tried to remove the painting.

"I feel that Gauguin is evil. He has nudity and is bad for the children. He has two women in the painting and it's very homosexual. I was trying to remove it. I think it should be burned," according to the documents.

Burns also said: "I am from the American CIA and I have a radio in my head. I am going to kill you."

Burns' attorney, Sharon Weathers, declined to comment Monday.

Burns approached the painting around 4:45 p.m. Friday, grabbed the frame and pulled the bottom part off the wall, causing screws to fall to the floor, according to the documents. She then began banging on the middle of the painting with her fist.

Burns was quickly apprehended by the museum's federal protection services officers.

The painting was protected by a transparent plastic shield.

It was the first documented case of someone trying to deface a painting at the gallery since the 1970s, spokeswoman Deborah Ziska said. She said the gallery's security procedures worked.

Gauguin (1848-1903), a Frenchman, first traveled to Tahiti in 1891 and was known for his erotic portraits of local women and for his moral failings — including sexual relationships with his underage models.

Burns has been arrested several times. She served six months in jail after a 2006 conviction for assault and battery on a police officer. In 2002, she was convicted of misdemeanor trespassing.

She has also been charged with disorderly conduct, obstruction of justice, vandalism and a separate assault on a police officer, but prosecutors declined to pursue those cases, Virginia court records show.

___

AP news researcher Julie Reed contributed to this report.

Heir Raising

I noticed First Born's (FB) hair was getting a bit shaggy so I asked if he wanted a haircut soon.  He said Yes so I told him I would take him this week.  I guess he couldn't wait because I found him trimming his own bangs.  What the heck? You would think at 9 1/2 he would know better but maybe he thought age=superior scissor skills.  Anyway, I helped him even out his bangs but now he sort of looks like he has a bowl cut or what I think of as "The Moe"  Needless to say a real haircut is in his near future.

At the same time I asked FB about getting a hair cut, I asked Monkey in the Middle (MM) just in case he had changed his mind about the long hair thing.  No Thank You! He wants to let it grow.  

MM: I don't even want to go into a Barber Shop.  The Barber might come running at me with his  scissors

FB:  He would be yelling "Come Back Here Hippie"

Last My Friends, I leave you with one of the best moments from the classic TV show Leave It to Beaver

Click to watch Beaver gets a Haircut

Chef Monkey

So my First Born (FB) claims he  doesn't need to learn how to cook.  He can use the toaster, the microwave and order carry out.  Since I sincerely believe he will be well off financially as an adult I guess his lack of kitchen knowledge is okay.

Monkey in the Middle (MM) wants to be a Rockstar.  Luckily he also enjoys cooking. A skill to get him through the lean years before he makes it big time.  I know he will be a bachelor with proficient kitchen skills like his Father and Maternal Grandfather before him.  MM is very self sufficient.  He  makes his own snacks, bowls  of cereal, hot dogs etc.  He also enjoys experimenting in the kitchen.  Just last week he came up with a pretty darn good limeade recipe. And his signature dish is cheesy crackers.  Ritz or club crackers with melted cheese. (One of his first dishes was soggy crackers, crackers dipped in water or milk - Ewww, no one wanted to share) Because of this he can also make his own Nachos. (Yes K.A. the same ones your mom invented LOL) Besides a plethora of baked goods I have taught MM  how to make pancakes, mashed potatoes and cheese burgers.  Next he would like to learn roasted potatoes.  Soon I hope he will try a recipe with more then two or three ingredients.  MM also has very good knife skills.  I can trust him to chop fruits and vegetables into large pieces.  Eventually he can try  mincing. 

So I wasn't too surprised the other day when I came into the kitchen to find MM making toaster waffles and cheesy crackers. "Why are you making so much food"I asked

"Well Mom" he replied "If I can make two dishes at once I won't be just a novice chef anymore"

Love that boy!!

Driving through the bad part of town

Historic Downtown Leesburg - I hate you.  For someone trying to lose weight a drive through downtown is a nightmareish excursion.  Mind over matter, brain ignoring stomach's pleas as I keep on keeping on

Moms Apple Pie - Pie, Nom Nom, Apple, Blackberry, Cherry

Tuscarora Mill -  corn chowder, Shrimp and Grits, so yummy so yummy

Los Tios - Chile Rellenos Tamales - There's a party in my tummy

Fireworks - Stuffed Mushrooms - Ahhhhh, Waiter a second plate - stat 

Wine Kitchen - Wine, Wine by the Flight, Espresso Rubbed Pork chops, Did I mention Wine?

Lightfoot - Fried Green Tomatoes with shrimp and chili cream - So Freakin' Good

Lola's Cookie's - Chocolate Ginger Cookies, Oatmeal Raisin Cookies.  Gots to get me some

                                       

Lucky for me my budget can over rule stomach and I can only afford to eat at these places once in a while.  But still the drive always gets me thinking about great food.  Food I will think about while eating another serving of boring ass chicken and salad.  Blah! Yawn! 

There I go, Turn the Page.....

Wanna know what I read during the month of March and read some mini reviews?  Well here ya go - 

"Straight Man" by Richard Russo

I read this for my book club.  I usually like Richard Russo so I may have read it on my own one day anyway.  However I don't think this one of his best books.  I liked the characters and even laughed out loud several times.  However the subject matter, a small town college professor stressing over his department's budget just didn't grab me.  I really didn't care much.   - C+

"Squirrel seeks Chipmunk" by David Sedaris

I was a little disappointed by this book but perhaps it was my own fault.  This was not a typical Sedaris book but a Modern book of fables.  A 21st century Aesop.  All the characters are animals, a self centered bear, overbearing stork parents, chipmunks with a disapproving family etc.  I did laugh at a few of the fables but frankly most of them just did not grab me.  Once I realized what the book was the idea intrigued me but I think Sedaris really didn't have enough great fables for a book so just threw together a bunch of half assed ones.  I did love the illustrations buy children's author/illustrator Ian Falconer (Olivia books) I'm not sure why I finished this book, maybe I kept hoping it would get better.  Best quote when one animal said about another species "It's not that they are stupid. It's that they are actively against knowledge".  - B-

"The Apple Turnover Murder' by Joanne Fluke

I have read several books in the Hannah Swenson Murder Mystery series (Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder, Strawberry Shortcake Murder etc) but the "Apple Turnover Murder" will be my last.  If not for the fact I wanted to bitch about the book publicity on this blog I would not have even finished it at all.   Hannah Swenson is lives in small town Eden Prairie Minnesota.  She owns a cookie bakery.  Besides a mystery the books are full of recipes.  Hannah is like Minnesota's answer to Jessica Fletcher.  It seems whereever she is a murder happens.  I think I would steer clear of Hannah just in case I was around when someone was getting killed.  And of course even though she has no formal training, even though her part time cop boyfriend tells her every time to stay out of the murder investigation, she still sticks her nose in and solves the murder although she almost gets herself killed  every time.  But No, this is not the reason I will no longer be reading these books.  I will no longer be reading them because Hannah is a little bitty.  I am sick of her frumpy attitude. Ugggg Hannah are you 32 or 75??  In the books Hannah has two men in her life.  Norman and Mike.  Norman is the Nice guy dentist and Mike is a the "bad boy" cop.  Really he isn't much of a bad boy he is just slightly less cozy then Norman.  Hannah spends every book going back and forth and these men who both want to marry her continue to wait for her.  To top it off she doesn't even sleep with them.  Come on  lady, you are grown woman.  Want to know if you are compatible, hit the sheets.  Do you want to spend your whole life with a guy that is lousy in bed?  My last rant - Hannah is a know it all that treats people around her like idiots.  How do they stand her because I know I can't.  I will not be reading anymore cookie mysteries and I give this book a big fat D.  I would give it an F but the recipes sound good.

"The Heroes of Olympus, Book One: The Lost Hero" by Rick Riordan

I stared reading Riordan's  Percy Jackson and the Olympian series after my son read a few and raved.  The books have also lead to his interest in Greek Mythology and mythology in general.  As a mom I love when my kids pick up subjects to be interested in that are more academic or cerebral then Pokemon.  I must say I enjoyed the Percy Jackson books immensely.  So when First Born finished The Lost Hero I knew I wanted to read it as well.  The Lost Hero takes place in the same world and many of the same placed as the Percy Jackson books (Camp Half blood figures prominently for example) but Percy Jackson is only mentioned in passing.  In the Lost Hero we are introduce to 3 new Demi Gods.  I don't know if I like the lost Hero as much as the Percy Jackson series but I liked it a whole heck of a lot.  And like last summer when my boys and I read the whole Harry Potter series together I really enjoy being able to talk in depth with my kids about what they are reading. - B+

"A Visit from the Goon Squad" by Jennifer Egan

When I finished this book I wasn't sure what I though but the more I think about it the more I like it.  The book has many characters and jumps back and forth through time.  The music industry is the one common theme between all the characters.  I can't even begin to get into plot detail but if you like character study you will like this book.  At first it almost seems like each chapter is a story in it self, the book a volume of short stories. But, when you finish you realize that the book in fact is a complete novel. - B+

The Hunger Game Trilogy by Suzanne Collins.   I read the first two books, "The Hunger Games" and "Catch Fire in March"  I finished the trilogy by reading "Mockingjay" in April.  I love these books.  They are written for teens so they are quick reads but the books are well written and compelling.  Yes they are Sci-Fi  but more Social Science Fiction.   This is the basic plot of the first book (thanks wikipedia) Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives in a post-apocalyptic world in the country of Panem where North America once stood. This is where a powerful government working in a central city called the Capitol holds power. In the book, the Hunger Games are an annual televised event where the Capitol chooses one boy and one girl from each district to fight to the death. The Hunger Games exist to demonstrate not even children are beyond the reach of the Capitol's power.

I won't give the plot of the 2nd book as it gives away the ending to the first.  

"Hunger Games"  A

"Catch Fire" B

I also started two books in March but did not finish them.  I put them both aside as I got caught up in the Hunger Games Trilogy.

"Super Sad True Love Story" by Gary Shteyngart  I am still figuring out if I like this book.  I've read almost 100 pages but I am not sure I will finish this book

"Talking to Girls about Duran Duran" by Rob Sheffild.  This is a memoir about music and growing up in the 80s.  I think this book is very funny and I can relate to Sheffild.  Each chapter revolves around his experiences when one song figured prominently.  All the chapter are named for an 80's song , "I'll Tumble 4 Ya", "Maneater" "Crazy for You"  etc.  This book is almost bathroom reading.  You don't have to read it front to back, just a chapter at a time while you do your business (or hide from your children pretending you are using the bathroom)  I am more then half way done will definitely finish "Talking to Girls about Duran Duran" in April

Coming Soon - April Reading waiting for me on the shelf

The rest of "Talking to Girls about Duran Duran"

"Mockingjay"

"Cleopatra: a Life" by Stacy Schiff

"When the Killing's Done" by T.C. Boyle

Yearbook Quote - FTW

So.....inspirational
His parents must be so proud

Music to Mop to

Cleaning the Kitchen to Motley Crue, Ratt, Winger and Dokken


April Fools!!!