Hot Pockets

I have become addicted to Hot Pockets. They are these little food treats you throw into the micro wave and feast on. It was an accident. I went into the grocery store one day and when I was leaving I got a coupon for Hot Pockets with my receipt.
So the next time I went to the grocery store I used my coupon and got the Hot Pockets. When I got my next receipt, low and behold, I got another Hot Pocket coupon. Then again on my next grocery trip I got some more Hot Pockets and believe it or not, another Hot Pocket coupon. This has happened over 6 times now. I buy the Hot Pockets and wonder if it will happen again and I wonder, "Will I get that coupon". Will I continue to eat Hot Pockets or will I have to join Hot Pockets Anonymous to wean myself off of them. I anxiously wait for the receipt and beads of sweat appear on my forehead. Will I get another Hot Pocket coupon? Yessss! My Hot Pocket luck continues.

Well that is my Hot Pocket story. Do you use coupons? What is your favorite one?

Stop and Think

Sometimes I just stop and think. I started thinking about all my friends that had died due to heart attacks or cancer. I recently heard of a friend that was going to the doctors and felt sick to her stomach. She told her husband she was tired of feeling sick and decided to lay down and cancel the doctor's appointment. She died later that night. We recently saw on he news that Tim Russert passed away due to a heart attack. I guess we just never really know when our number will be up. I knew a person who was a millionaire. He owned his own factory, flew an airplane, loved his family and had lots of friends. Then after a lot of nagging he finally went to his doctor for checkup. He was always too busy for doctors and even though he was feeling not so good, he kept putting the doctors visit off. Well, unfortunately, he had cancer. If he had gone to see the doctor earlier he could have been saved. He died within six months. I am 55 now and it seems this is the beginning of the end of some of my friends, and one day me. I am reflecting on how much I aged and how closer I have come to that grim reaper.

Then I am shaken out of my thoughts. The number 73 has been called from the person behind the deli counter. I acknowledge I have that number and order my cold cuts, then continue shopping. My mind now is thinking about something else as I go on my way.

What do you think about when you are waiting for your number to be called while you are standing in the deli line?

OK

I was given this to read and I thought it was OK.

If you can accept that you are not OKAY.

Then, maybe, you can stop trying to prove that you are O.K.

If you can stop trying to prove that you are OKAY. Then,

you can get that it is O.K.,

Not to be OK.

If you can get that it is OKAY not to be O.K. Then,

You can get that you are OK just the way you are.

So you are OKAY. O.K.!

OK.

Just another day

It was a day to reach out, spread my arms and give the day a hug. I had a couple of chili hot dogs with a cool root beer ice cream soda. I got to help my friend rip out a wall and build a space to put in a washer and dryer for his wife. I climbed on my motorcycle and drove all the back country roads I could find. I waved to the cows and they swished their tails in reply. I heard a wonderful song on the INTERNET Jason Mraz-I'm Yours and played it a few times because it was so good. I got to write a email to my daughter just to tell her she was special and the grandchildren too. What the heck even her husband got a email hug. Yep! It has been one of those days. Ever have one? I hope you have bouquets of them.

Proud Parent

My daughter lives in NC and I live in Pennsylvania. She is an Art Teacher and was voted Teacher of the Year where she is at. I am a pretty proud parent. She has 3 children with a 4th on the way. To celebrate her award she is taking her kids and going for ice cream. That is the problem with living so far away. I do not get to go for those celebratory ice cream trips. With the way the economy is a lot of parents and their children have to put up with being long distance families. With the gas prices the way they are it will be difficult for travel also. I usually do a 2 week summer trip and she and her family come in for Christmas. It will be difficult to do this year. Still, there are those great phone calls and thank goodness for email. What I am thinking is that we enjoy family time when we can and we try always to be supportive no matter how many miles are between us. So love your family as much and as long as you can. Maybe I can't go for that ice cream trip but I can have a milkshake and toast her award just where I am. If you have any proud parent stories let me know I would love to hear them.

Depression

I met a man today that was a former Minister and he said he was depressed because his son was serving a life time sentence in Prison. I thought that was a good reason to be a little depressed. Then I thought about depression in general. Usually depression is something to be avoided but it does rear its ugly head from time to time. So I thought about things that make me depressed. I'd like to tell you what they are but it is depressing and why should I ruin your day. That is the one aspect of life I wish we could all avoid but there it is. How do we deal with it? Some people say to not dwell on the depression and try to turn your negative thoughts into positive ones. That is hard to do sometimes, unless ice cream is involved. Death and depression seem to be inter-related too. Not too many people say, "I heard that Jim just died, isn't that great. I feel so happy!" Usually it is a sad thing that happened to Jim. Depression depends on how severe the bad news is I guess. A little sad depression is like a bump in life. A really bad depression could be sort of a really deep cliff. Hopefully your depression periods are not so bad. If they are I have a hug for you. How do you deal with those depressive times in your life?

May I?

I noticed it was May today. I have not been watching the calender and I have not been blogging, as a matter of fact I have not been doing much but enjoying these beautiful May days. The sunshine has drawn me out and I have been riding my motorcycle, despite those bugs, and the little ice cream shops have reopened. This year I like coffee flavored ice cream for some reason. There is a great iced coffee with a swirl of vanilla ice cream that stands in the middle of this liquid delight. I am on my second buy 10 get one free card. It is nice to stand in line in the sunshine and meet other people that crave the ice cream cone. There were two little children at one spot that also enjoyed the outside coin operated kiddy rides. I smiled because they seemed to enjoy the motorcycle the most and I had arrived riding my little Harley. So what flavor ice cream do you like on these fine May days? Do you like the cones or do you like the milk shakes or sundaes or just any ice cream treat that happens to be your moment of ice cream dream.

Gnat-sty or Nasty

Went for a ride on my motorcycle with my friends today. There must have been a bug hatch or something because we filled our windshields, hair, faces, pants and any other exposed part of our bikes and bodies with gnats. Little black ones. Then the adult bugs started to attach themselves to our windshields too. I noticed other cars using their windshield washers/wipers and it was a clean sunny day with no rain. I wonder what they were cleaning off their windshields? Such are the simple pleasures of spring time Sunday rides.

I got home and washed and debugged my hair and stuff and now I am wallowing in that nice after bath/shower feeling. What did you do today?

Decades Past

I have lived thru a few decades. I was born in the 50's and the music was Elvis and Rock and Roll. Then I experienced the 60's as a teenager and the world was Beatles, and Death of American Hero's. I drifted thru the 70's and marched to military music and danced a few disco nights away. The 80's was my party decade and the 90's my hangover and recovery years. Then the decades became lost and drifted away from me. I watched terrorism seed itself then creep past me. I crossed the universe of my life and worried about how hair spray was good for my hair but troubling in the atmosphere. My life was always underlined by those damn wars. World War I and especially the World of War II. My parents faced a world of destruction and I faced a rebirth of ideas and what shall we do with the freedom just won? Today I enjoy a daughter and grandchildren and wonder how their decades will define them. Some children died in past decades, Vietnam, Korea, Desert Storm and we are still left in shock and awe. Now Hillary the hippie, McCain the veteran and segregated Obama have risen up with me in these past decades. They represent my past in three different ways leading to one present road. So then, how did the decades shape you?

Visiting

Sometimes I like to sit down with a nice tea or coffee drink, maybe even a juice or something else. Anyway, I put on some music and just visit other blogs. I like the ones with pictures of nature and those family blogs with funny pictures of children in loving blogger families. I get frustrated when I hit a blog written in another language. I wish I could speak all languages. I seem to get most of them because of that strange universal language which I cannot explain but sometimes understand. What I mean is the pictures always tell a story no matter what the language. I also get opinions and learn a great deal about what people are doing, especially in the art world when pictures and crafts are displayed. So if you get a strange comment from someone named Chumly. It is just me visiting and saying hello.

Dancing

Dancing is a nice thing to do. Holding someone in a snuggly waltz. Prancing around in a Polka or fancy step dance. Even the funny dances they do at weddings can be a parcel of fun. I am not a dancing with the stars watcher. I just like to get out once in awhile and have fun with my feet. I am not the best, nor worst dancer in the world. I will get up and enjoy the moment, the music and the high I get from tripping the light fantastic. I can do other dances too. Like the dance I dance when trying to get out of a bid situation or the bathroom dance when the time and feeling hits. Sometimes my mind is full of dancing thoughts that jitterbug, fox trot and sometimes disco in my thinking self. Ah! The joy of twirling on the dance floor is the cloud nine I enjoy from time to time. Some people are self conscious and will not dance. I think that is a pity. Don't waste the waist of a dancing partner, I say. Sometimes I don't even need a partner and just dance by myself when the mood hits. When was the last time you danced?

Honestly!

What if the world was as honest as our children? What if adults crossed over to adulthood with the inability to be dishonest?

My friends very young granddaughter came to visit him and entered the house by telling us that her armpits smelled. Maybe it was a little too much information for us, but to her it was a very honest and straightforward statement; which was of great concern to her.

As adults we always tell children to be honest and tell the truth, so how could we respond to her honesty? Well, we laughed and acknowledged her concern by giving her comfort that she was still loved, smelly armpits and all.

When did adults stop acknowledging that their armpits were smelly? When does the truth become so dangerous that lying has become a more acceptable port in lifes storms? Politicians lie and we accept it. The ads on TV are so bizarre and fabricated we know they are mostly lies. Yet! We buy the products. Lovers lie about their affairs so much we amuse ourselves by watching soap operas.

I am not trying to change the world just acknowledge that from time to time my armpits smell too! How about yours?

Lotta stuff!

There is so much to write about and I know where to begin. I went out Easter shopping today. I have 3 grandchildren and three other little friends that are grandchildren of my friends. I was going to buy them candy. I went to the candy stores that make homemade candies and had a ball getting all those chocolate rabbits and eggs. When I got home with them I decided that maybe candy was not a good way to go. So I decided to do the right thing and keep the candy. I then went out and got them books and my grandson a game for his Nintendo DS. That was better and healthier. I know I will have to eat that candy myself but I love my grandchildren and don't want them getting bad teeth or getting sick by eating too much candy. It is one of those small sacrifices that grandparents have to make now and then.

When it comes to Easter, if you celebrate it, do you get your children candy or some other gifts in addition to the love and hugs they get around the holidays? If you don't celebrate Easter what spring holiday do you celebrate?

PS: If you need good leather stuff at a pretty good price try motorcycleleather.biz I don't usually write about merchandise but this business went out of it's way to make sure I got good bags for my bike. Thanks Bob

Alien type people from outer space.

I was watching a show on the History Channel about alien people that live in outer space. These people, called "Greys", like to visit us now and then and have a tendency to abduct earthy type people; experiment on them, then give them a tour of their space ship. I guess after a few experiments the least they could do is give a tour of the ship.

Then there was this other scientist that said that these earthy type people were not abducted after all but were suffering from a thing called sleep paralysis. I realized that I myself have had that sleep paralysis stuff happen to me. A few times I was drunk and the paralysis was of the alcohol inducement paralysis type. Then there was the waking up and feeling paralysis not necessarily after a night of drinking but on a real sober next day or middle of the night, feels like an alien is abducting me type of paralysis. This is a feeling like, "Hey, I am wide awake and cannot move, scary type of feeling. I instantly knew I was not being abducted though because after I was fully conscious I did not get a tour of a space ship. So not getting the tour is how I determine if I was abducted or not. How do you seperate your abductions from sleep paralysis?

Story Teller

She has a violin and plays the strings of ones heart to tell the stories involving lifes inhabitants. Animals come alive and brave warriors travel thru the forests while experiencing great adventures. Camp fires blaze away igniting the embers of imagination as wisps of smoke flit and dance thru sky and air.

I have been reading a little book full of American Indian tales. When I do my mind seems to enter this kind of space. This happens when I read. Sometimes the world just seems to melt away and cease to exist and surrender to the words and images my mind creates thanks to a creative author. It always amazes me how enthralled I can become and how time; space are condensed into the creation of a completely made up world thru words. It also amazes me that TV, the Internet, Ipods, radio, and other distractions for the young and old still take a back seat to reading. My grandchildren are always talking about their trips to the library and how much they enjoy discovering wonderful stories that fill the shelves in these buildings. Not only my grandchildren but I sit here and can think of dozens of other children that are experiencing the same feelings that reading can ignite in ones life.

Which leads me to ask you. Have you read any good books lately?

Winter day!

It is snowing. It is sleeting. The participating precipitation is pecking against my window pane. I am in pain. Winter blue pain. Get out the old guitar and strum the long dog winter blue blues. Or I can get a funny book, watch late night with those talk show hosts that spew funny stuff to tickle and make a smile. Then again I could write my little blog and hope to get a visitor with the winter blue blues and maybe I can cheer them up or not. I can just say hey! Hope you are OK, thanks for dropping by and Jesus loves you. Whatever, in case you are not religious, then Fred, Jane or Allen the Alien from Zipuptoplanet2 loves you too! Just kidding and writing nonsense to blow away the blues. What do you do? To turn away a winter day and make your day OK? Sing a song, dance to prance away those sadness days when it is snowing, and sleeting and you and you and you. Deal with those winter solstice blues.

Girl Scout Cookies

I believe that the Girl Scouts put something in those cookies that makes me want more. I bought a box the other day and now I am craving them at 1:00 AM.

I am also having a sleep problem. I could not sleep Sunday night so I went to the Drug Store and bought some sleep enhancers, to enhance my sleep, hence the word enhance and enhancer have enhanced my writings to date. I guess I am not making much sense. I took the pills and was wide awake until 7:00 AM Monday morning. Then I finally fell asleep and woke up 6:15 PM on Monday evening. Which makes me believe the pills worked after all, just a little too late. So now I am sitting here blogging away because I am wide awake and dare not take any more enhancers to enhance what I already enhanced and am back to square one.

My neighbor must have done the same thing. He was cleaning up his room because he enhanced himself with Red Bull, Coffee and a few beers. Then as he was taking out his garbage his cat escaped from his home. The cat was on catnip enhancers and enhanced herself all over the yard. She was finally entrapped and escorted back to her safe cat place in his home.

It was fun to watch. He was barefoot, with only pair of long pajama pants and it was snowing a little. The cold recharged him and I can still hear him cursing the cat and cleaning. Oh well!

What do you do when you cannot sleep?

Birthday stuff.

It was my friends birthday, so we went to dinner. My cousin opened up a good eats place called The Milestone Ranch. It is in Waverly, Pennsylvania and it turned out to be a great place. This cousin is the son of another cousin I have and it was the first time we met. Turns out one of my other friends that came was the cousin of my cousins mother. Man, cousins sprout up more than rabbits sometimes. Anyway. I treated, because these friends of mine stood by me during some bad storms in my life and also on good sunny days. This past summer they got me brand new pipes for my Harley and just gave them to me. No they did not steal them. Well, my friend Dave does tend to look like a homeless person, but believe me he is not. So it was kind of a friend appreciation dinner day for me. It is nice to have family and friends. Hope you do too! I liked this friend appreciation day. What do you think? Should we start a new holiday? I guess it was fun because the lousy winter weather was baiting us to get out and have a good time.

Bring it on!

The Super Bowl is over. My team was not in it, but it was a good game. During the game I thought that a Rugby Super bowl should also be played somewhere.

I love the Super Bowl parties. I was at my Friends house and he and his wife had one of those Hugh TV's that made me feel I was in a movie theater watching the game. We had pizza, iced coffee, and other snacks. Their pet dog ran around and kept jumping on and off our laps for a pet. But, now it is over. Tomorrow we can get back to watching crime on the daily news station. Get taxes ready for April 15th. Maybe do some laundry this week and clean around the house. I will work out at the YMCA and hopefully not get anything stolen while I work out. I leave my stuff in a locker. I lock it but they still stole my coat one year. I can get back to people yelling at me and giving me nasty looks because they do not like the way I drive. I probably will walk around for the rest of the Winter hoping I will not fall on the ice or snow. Lent is coming and I usually give up candy for the duration.

Not much to look forward to after a Super Bowl Game. Sure there is Easter and Spring, but that is not for awhile. Sad when football ends. Here I sit singing the football is over blues again. Sigh.

So what do you do for the rest of the Winter?

Hail Austria

I was bar hopping around the blogs looking for some inspiration and I came across a blog called, "My Everyday Glamor." This person, Chililady, had a little film about a prom and it brought me back about a 1,000 or so years ago when I went to mine. I know there are some out there that did not go to their prom and if you are one of them. Check out that film. I have a feeling the world will be hearing more from this prodigy. The worst thing about my prom was it was a one date thing. I never saw her again but for me I just wanted a night out. In fact I think she moved out of town shortly thereafter, changed her name and gender. Oh well. I tend to inspire my dates.