That is all.

If this isn't a good enough reason to get our soldiers out of Iraq, I don't know what else is....

I present to you the desert camel spider:

Oh. My. God.

I don't have a general fear of spiders...actually, I'm usually one to scoop them up with a piece of paper and either put them outside...or, even just into a house plant, because they are excellent to the garden.  I'm particularly fond of daddy long legs only because I associate it with a childrens story I read years ago and so I have positive connotations associated with it.

But this?  THIS?  RUN FOR YOUR LIIIIIIIIIIIVES!!!!!  I'm shuddering uncontrollably and psychotically brushing off my arms right now....

I'd love to educate you all on this beast, but if there are more pictures like this on wikipedia, I'll have nightmares for weeks.  All I know are these puppies are indigenous to Iraq.  Maybe someone needs to show Bush this picture, bring it down to his level.  He may change his mind about us being there immediately!

Watching your mates lose their limbs, their lives...seeing the violence, chaos and insanity of this place day to day for months on end....hearing rapid fire while you sleep, if you can even sleep....and then finding one of these crawling near your barracks?  Yeah, that would put me over the proverbial edge.

No wonder our men and women come back traumatized.....

Can we please bring them home?  I'll make them all cookies.  I'll start baking right now.  Heebie jeebies heebie jeebies heebie jeebies....eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeggghghghghhghhhhhhhh!!!!

SO.....what phobia do YOU have?

Today's installment of THEN & NOW is brought to you by "Hair Club for Men".

I LOVED...and I mean Loooooooooooooooooved the movie "The Lost Boys".  Apparantly, they are remaking it and Corey Feldman, who was in the original, is reprising his role.  I would rather Jason Patric and Keifer Sutherland reprise their roles, but it got me thinking....whatever happened to Jason Patric?  I remember he did Speed 2 (yikes) and then that "Narc" movie which got some critical acclaim, but then I lost track of him.  So I bring you a brother combo "THEN & NOW" via "The Lost Boys".  This one, I am happy to say, is not so disturbing...although looks like Corey  needs to lay off the niccotine and find himself some Crest White Strips.....

THEN:

(Corey Haim & Jason Patric)

NOW:

I do love a little five o'clock shadow.....*sigh*.......Jason's following the cliche of aging gracefully.  Yay for him!  Corey hasn't lost it yet.   I thought we could use a little positive wave in the midst of my ripping aging male stars to pieces.....worry not, I have many more to exploit. 

So related to movie remakes.....thoughts?  Can you think of one single movie remake that was actually BETTER than the original?  Tough one for me.  Thoughts?   I haven't seen the original 3:10 to Yuma yet, but if it's better than the Christian Bale/Russel Crowe version, then I'll be very impressed....and my theory will stand.

Um, no.  I get the point of this saying:  that as an able bodied person, you should be getting involved to help find solutions when there is a problem, but it's all relative.   If I'm walking in the city in the middle of the afternoon and there are two junkies shooting up on a street corner, I am NOT part of the problem.  And at that point in time, I am not going to SOLVE that particular problem.  Getting directly involved at that point in time probably is a very stupid move.  However - I can teach my own child to say no to drugs....and try to raise him right,  and then maybe HE will never be the heroine addict on the corner....but again....even the well raised child can be swayed to do things not good for them.....that's part of going out and becoming enveloped in society...in life.  He will still be responsible for his own decisions, no matter how much I want to lock him in his room and keep him safe from the big bad world.  So no, this is an "absolute" statement that has too many grey areas to be accurate.

But it still makes a good point.  It's better to be part of the solution than be the one creating the problem....

   

I just answered this Featured Question, you can answer it too!

I'm not in a very Easter-y mood, perhaps because my family is out of the state and my son is with his father this weekend, so it's just me and the dog and the cat.  I don't complain, because it keeps me from eating 2 lbs of sugar.

And besides, I am spending my Sunday reviewing a corporate tax return, so there isn't much more to kill the spirit.

I've happened upon another disturbing picture of hot and now not.....

I LIVED for 21 Jump Street.  It was where I fell and stayed in love with Johnny Depp.  21 Jump Street also gave us Richard Grieco, who, for his 15 minutes, was very mmmmmmmmmmmmmm as well....however....

THEN:

NOW:

I'm gonna go cry in my Easter Basket now.

I'm in my thirties....which, in my brain, equates to about....22?  Surely I really am not older than that.  I don't feel older than that.  So how can it be that two of my friends from high school have already battled cancer (and thank god, seemingly won).  I posted earlier this week (with more humor) about how it sucks to get old...but getting a life threatening disease can make you feel your mortality like almost nothing else.

We all are petrified of being told we could have the big "C"; my friend Sandy found out she had cervical cancer after a routine visit; my friend Bill, who has two small children and a wife, went through a very scary battle with leukemia.  I've known so many others.  Even Patrick Swayze, who for my generation still causes warm fuzzies for most of us, is now in a battle for his life.  If you haven't experienced someone you love learning they have cancer.....I am very sad to tell you, someday you will.



It has been YEARS since I solicited "door to door" - the last time, I was wearing a patch-loaded sash and a green little uniform.  Today I am asking that you spare even just $1.....anything you can swing, whether it's giving up your Starbucks coffee for one day or making a bigger difference...every little amount helps.

I am participating in my city's Walk and Roll to fight cancer.  You can make a donation right there on my page.  I mean it - even $1 makes a difference. 

Click here to go to my Walk & Roll page (I so love the computer age!) :

http://www.walkroll.org/site/TR/Events/NorthShore?px=1394264&pg=personal&fr_id=1100

My son and my dog are going to walk with me.  So are many of my neighbors.  This is a legit charity event.  Your donation is fully tax deductible.  

I'm walking for these people, all of whom have been part of my life and had individual battles with cancer:

Sandy Watson (Cervical cancer survivor)
Bill Carrigan (Leuikemia survivor)
Lynn Grogan (Breast cancer survivor)
Terri Rohleder (Breast cancer and Lymphoma survivor)
David Hill (Melanoma survivor)
Ed Maddell (battling leukemia)
Florence Grogan (in memory of....her battle with breast cancer)

Thats a lot of people close to me in my short life.  Please help me fight this disease.  The American Cancer Society continues to provide invaluable resources and funding for cancer research and treatment.   I posted also this week about caring....this is my attempt to DO something....to show that I do care.  To make a difference, even if its small.

Even if you don't make a donation, but you know someone who has been affected by any form of this disease, please feel free to post their name (even if just their first name) in the comments here.

Thanks so much for reading this far!!

-Jenny

 

Yesterday, I was making a nice dinner.  To accompany steak, I was sauteing mushrooms.  I opened the package, tossed the mushrooms into the pan and set the "empty" package aside....until I looked over and noticed two very small mushroom pieces kinda sticking to the bottom of the packaging.

Now, I fear at this point I am going to lose some of my subscribers because they are about to find out I am really:  quite nuts.

What was the first thing I thought about after glancing at those two little remaining mushrooms?  Well, I imagined the conversation (oh yes, between the mushrooms) in my head clearly.

"Where has everyone gone? Why are we left here?"

"We're too small....they've forgotten us..."

"Hellp! Hellllp!!  We want to go too!! Don't leave us here and throw us out!!"

Uh, yeah.  My warped brain had given my vegetables life....and I had to shake loose those last two 'shrooms into the pan so they could join the rest of their "family" and not be lost alone, headed into a trash can abyss....(I will say at this point, that no, I did not imagine screaming when eating them....I'm only half cracked at this point....)

I'm certain that Walt Disney is to blame.  It all started with Jacques and Gus Gus and the cute little clothes Cinderella made for them.  I mean, come on - mice that can make a ball gown?  How fantastic!  It then progressed to dancing and singing teapots, candlesticks and spoons.  The worst offender was bringing toys to life, because now, when I kiss my son and tuck him into bed, sometimes I actually have a conscious thought to mutter "Good night, Snoopy, Zebra, Garfield and Mouse" before sanity takes the grip back.  

There have been times I've straightened his stuffed animals not because I'm anal retentive, but because I feel "bad" they're slouched over and maybe "uncomfortable".  "Awww, Snoopy fell off the bed....you ok, 'Snoop?"

Seriously, I've lost my mind.

This also carries into my relationship (oh yes, I just said "relationship") with animals.  For me, animals are part of the family.  I was more destroyed and upset (and still to this day wonder if I should seek therapy, no joke) over my little black dog being killed by coyotes than I was when I found out my ex husband was cheating on me.   When my dog looks at me with the bevy of expressions he has, I read into all of them, giving him personality like every one of the 101 Dalmatians has his/her own....in my head, I actually imagine what he is saying to me.  I treat my dog better than some people treat each other.  Can't help it.  Animals have meaning to me.  They bring me joy.  And yeah, it all started when Gus Gus said "Oooooooooooh, Cinderelly!!!"

Now, fear not, I do not live in an alter-reality.  I know dogs and mice don't talk, I certainly know my vegetables don't have feelings and that the stuffed Snoopy doesn't say "Ow" when he his tossed from the bed.  But the point is, my imagination puts it out there....because I've been conditioned by years of cartoons and now CGI that innate objects can come to life "when you wish upon a star...."  That animals (lol, and vegetables?) can cry, laugh, pull pranks and give quality bits of wisdom if you just listen to them....and that fleeting thought in my head creates something....something a little crazy, but something that makes me - ME.

While this overactive imagination to some will seem completely ludicrous and off the rocker, I cherish my goofiness  (haha...GOOFYness...err...) because it makes me who I am....it makes me more sensitive in general to the world, to people; it makes me more caring (see yesterdays post) and it makes me kinda fun.....in a slightly quirky off kilter way, but still..... 

If Mr. Disney manages to uncryogenize himself, I'll have to thank him someday for managing to ruin my sanity yet at the same time, bring a lot of happiness and fun to my life.....even when two mushrooms talk to me.

Am I alone here tho?  Have you ever found yourself giving personality or feelings to something that doesn't actually "live"?  LOL, am I the only nutjob out here?

Walking to lunch yesterday in the balmy 39 degree Chicago weather, an older woman (and complete stranger) on the street lost her scarf.... a coworker of mine promptly retrieved the scarf, and returned it to the older woman, wrapping it around her shoulders and gave her a huge smile.  She was visibly moved, as if this simple gesture was of immeasurable magnitude.  I felt as though I had witnessed "a moment".

Many things as of late have me thinking about how we are raised and taught versus what is just innate in our being.  My coworker's actions were clearly instinctual - besides just simply being kind (a product of being "raised right") he demonstrated that he cared....he unconsciously went the extra step to make intimate contact with this stranger - by wrapping the scarf around her rather than just handing it to her and giving her a warm smile.

How often are our actions actually a result of caring....actually giving a damn, wanting to leave a warm feeling with someone, taking things a step further than just rote reaction?  Sure, many of us are very good at being kind - and sadly, I think many of us are kind in a sort of auto-pilot way.

I am certainly not saying this is a bad thing - there are a lot of people out there who could use a lesson in simple kindness and manners.  But it's that seemingly rare extra quality of CARE that has me melancholy today.  Even in our everyday relationships, with the people we supposedly love - how often are our actions just being proper, mannered, doing the "right" thing accompanied with taking things a step further because we care....

If I am being confusing at distinguishing these two things, let me try this:

Kindness is intentional.  Kindess can be taught and learned.  Kindess is more an action than a feeling.

Caring is selfless and innate.  It come from within and cannot be learned.  Caring is a feeling that results in more affected reaction.

How often do you find yourself truly caring about someone - close or a stranger - even in the smallest instance?  Are you sure you aren't confusing caring with simple kindness?  Next time you find yourself doing something nice for someone, think about why you are doing it - because you were taught to be kind or because you actually care......

Well taught manners are important.  But the real gems are the people who are moved to care.....

I am swamped at work today, but I had to share....wow.  This is Eric Nies, resident hottie at the time, from the VERY first REAL WORLD on MTV.  Apparantly, they just had a reunion.  It's been something like 16 years.  Getting old sucks. Granted he doesn't look awful, but he sure looks different.  What's with the compass necklace?  Does he get lost often in his old age?  What's even more depressing is apparantly he's MY age.  I get to attend my 20 year high school reunion next year and now I'm thinking it might be better just to plan to clean out my sock drawer that day.  Either that or hide in my laundry basket or something....I don't know if I want to damage my visual memories like this - nor do I want to damage those of people who might have actually thought I looked good back then.  I think I'm going to just take my wrinkles and bags, find that laundry basket and cling to the undisturbed memories...

THEN:

NOW:

*sigh*

Juno MacGuff: I'm losing my faith in humanity.
Mac MacGuff: Think you can narrow it down for me?
Juno MacGuff: I guess I wonder sometimes if people ever stay together for good.
Mac MacGuff: You mean like couples?
Juno MacGuff: Yeah, like people in love.
Mac MacGuff: Are you having boy troubles? I gotta be honest; I don't much approve of dating in your condition, 'cause well... that's kind of messed up.
Juno MacGuff: Dad, no!
Mac MacGuff: Well, it's kind of skanky. Isn't that what you girls call it? Skanky? Skeevy?
Juno MacGuff: Please stop now.
Mac MacGuff: [persisting] Tore up from the floor up?
Juno MacGuff: Dad, it's not about that. I just need to know if it's possible for two people to stay happy together forever, or at least for a few years.
Mac MacGuff: It's not easy, that's for sure. Now, I may not have the best track record in the world, but I have been with your stepmother for 10 years now and I'm proud to say that we're very happy.
[Juno nods]
Mac MacGuff: In my opinion, the best thing you can do is find a person who loves you for exactly what you are. Good mood, bad mood, ugly, pretty, handsome, what have you, the right person will still think the sun shines out your ass. That's the kind of person that's worth sticking with.