Nicki Daniels

Is my favorite blogger
I mean, my second favorite blogger.....I mean, I already have a first favorite blogger so that would make Nicki my second because I would never want to offend or upset my first favorite blogger......yeah, that should cover it.


Anywho.......as I was saying she's great and funny and a damn good writer.

I bring up her blog because ever since Philip Seymour Hoffman's death I've been playing with a post and nothing has ever felt right.
Leave it to good old Nicki to have just the right words.

I'm not even going to try, what she said was beautiful and perfect.

Enjoy

http://nickidaniels.com/2014/02/04/addiction/

When trees attack!!

It was a gorgeous Sunday here in Atlanta.

Mild temps, sunshine and blue skies....spring is on its way.
A lovely day to sit on the deck with a few cold ones

Of course I did have to repair this first

You see the weather was not so great on Saturday, overcast all day, rainy and windy
Crazy, crazy wind.
No biggie right, I got up and headed to the barn
(if you have been following along you know that my Saturdays are now spent at the barn playing with the horses....its AWESOME)

I knew it would be a muddy day but I'm usually filthy when I leave the barn, whats a little mud.
On my way home I decided to stop by Chef Liu's for a leek pie........yummy.

http://clatl.com/atlanta/chef-liu/Location?oid=1298749

As I turned down N. Druid Hills everything was fine. The wind had picked up and the rain was sideways but
again, not too, too bad.

Then it happened

BOOM!!!!

I felt nothing but the sound was unreal and horribly frightening.
I quickly looked in the rear view mirror and my back windshield was shattered.

I sat there for a moment in shock not realizing what happened.
No really, I had no idea what happened.
No one hit my car, the cars behind me pulled around and just kept driving
(hey, thanks for stopping, no, no....I'm fine.....I'll just call someone and get it home but thanks for your obvious concern......you are so kind)

When I got out of the car I could see wood in my back seat and I saw a branch in the middle of the road.

Based on the dents in my roof, I can only assume that a branch fell from a tree, hit the roof of my car and smashed the windshield.

Had it been a few seconds earlier, it would have been the front windshield
and yes, I get a little nauseous when I think about that.

Thanks to the lovely and talented Ed at Low Price Auto Glass
http://www.atlantalowpriceautoglass.com/

I got it fixed and good as new

They even vacuumed up this mess......what a mess.

I am just so incredibly grateful that this was not the front windshield and no one got hurt.....namely me,
I did not get hurt.

So the moral of the story is......watch out for flying tree limbs, they are dangerous.

love

You know what is really important?
I mean, REALLY IMPORTANT... more important that the car I drive, or the home I have, the money in the bank, or even the clothes on my back?
It is the capacity for love and compassion we have for family, friends and even strangers.
I know I was put here to love. This is the sole reason I exist. I KNOW THIS.
To love people I know, and to love those I have never met.
To love those who make it hard to love them, and to love those who work hard to remain unlovable.
They too are loved, despite every efforts made to the contrary.
Love and compassion are indeed my super hero strengths, and they are yours too!
Because without either, what is the point of any of it?

The water in Mexico is fine

it's that crap they call water on the airplane you gotta worry about.

If I have said it once, I have said it a million times
Never, never,never,never,never, never drink the water on an airplane
DON'T EVEN TOUCH!!!!!
Yeah, that's right-----don't you dare wash your hands with that crap
What you never heard of purell, are you living under a rock.


Oh, and what do you think they brew coffee with

Save yourself some time and just go lick the toilet bowl

DON'T DO IT!!!!

Oh yeah #8.......never ship your pet......it's just cruel

http://viralquake.com/2014/03/24/30-pilots-and-flight-attendants-confess-the-best-kept-secrets-you-dont-know-about-flying/

30 Pilots And Flight Attendants Confess The Best Kept Secrets You Don’t Know About Flying

 

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The following question was posed on Reddit:

Flight Attendants, pilots, or engineers, what are some secrets that passengers don’t know when you ride on planes?

Many answers were submitted, and here are 30 of the most interesting ones. Note: Reading some of these responses may make you think twice about flying… you have been warned!

1. The true story behind those oxygen masks.

That if the oxygen masks drop down, you only have about 15 minutes of oxygen from the point of pulling them down. However, that is more than enough time for the pilot to take us to a lower altitude where you can breathe normally.

More important – at altitude, you have 15-20 seconds before you pass out. Put yours on first, then do your kids. Passing out for a few seconds won’t harm the kids.

2. The water in the lavatories is very dirty too.

Whatever you do, do not drink the water in the lav. It is bad enough to “wash” your hands in it. We sanitize the water tank at selected maintenance intervals, however parasites build tolerances to these cleaners.
Check the outside of the aircraft when walking in. If the paint is crappy shape, the plane is in crappy shape. Skydrol (hydraulic fluid) is a nasty fluid and will dissolve everything. So if the paint is missing, it’s probably from a skydrol leak. No one wants a hydraulic leak at 35,000 ft in the air. As you can’t just pull over and top the reservoir off.

3. The REAL reason the lights on the airplane dim when landing.

When a plane is landing at night, they dim the interior lights in case you need to evacuate upon landing… your eyes are already adjusted to the darkness so you’ll be able to see better once outside the plane.

4. Lightning and the power of a pilot.

My dad’s been an airline pilot for almost 20 years, and apparently planes get struck by lightning all the time. Also if a passenger is causing a scene in the jetway he can refuse to let them on and take off without them.

The captain has almost limitless authority when the doors are closed. He is allowed to arrest people, write fines and even take the will of a dying passenger

5. Those lavatories unlock from the outside.

You are able to unlock airplane lavatories from the outside. There is usually a lock mechanism concealed behind the no smoking badge on the door. Just lift the flap up and slide the bolt to unlock.

6. A true story of a bomb threat.

I have a friend who’s a commercial pilot. Around five years ago he was doing a flight from LA to Tokyo when an anonymous caller phoned in a bomb threat while they were over the middle of the Pacific. Apparently they have procedures for this kind of thing, but there was nothing anyone could do in this situation except stay calm and not alert the passengers (obviously). He said for the rest of the flight every bump of turbulence made his adrenaline spike. They took this case especially seriously because there was a group of foreign dignitaries sitting in the first class cabin.

7. Regarding food on the plane.

My dad works for a large airline, he told me a few little things

• 2 pilots are served different meals and cannot share, this is done in case of food poisoning.
• Stealing food, even if they are going to throw it out can get you fired instantly. You can ask your supervisor, but you cannot take food. They don’t want people messing with it.

8. The truth about flying with pets.

I am an aircraft fueler.
One thing I cannot stress enough is how your pets are treated. While your airline will take the best possible actions, some things cannot be avoided, like the noise on the ramp. I cannot stand out there without ear protection, and imagine your pet sitting out there on the ramp waiting to be loaded onto the plane being exposed to the same amount of noise I am.
Please people, think twice before flying your pets.

9. What flight attendants really do after telling the plane to turn off their electronics.

My sister is a flight attendant, she says after she tells everyone to turn off all electronics, she goes to the back and pulls out her phone and starts texting.

10. A trick for making more space for yourself.

Arm rests – aisle and window seat: Run your hand along the underside of the armrest, just shy of the joint you’ll feel a button. Push it, and it will lift up. Adds a ton of room to the window seat and makes getting out of the aisle a helluva lot easier.

11. Don’t drink water on a plane that didn’t come from a bottle.

Former Lufthansa cargo agent here.
Do not EVER drink water on an aircraft that did not come from a bottle. Don’t even TOUCH IT. The reason being the ports to purge lavatory shit and refill the aircraft with potable water are within feet from each other and sometimes serviced all at once by the same guy. Not always, but if you’re not on the ramp watching, you’ll never know.

12. On the importance of locking your bags.

Lock your bags, carry-on bags included.
Look online or in a travel store for TSA-approved locks. The TSA has keys to open those locks in case they need to further inspect them (and hopefully not steal from them). And most people don’t think to lock their carry-on, but especially now with load factors very high, more and more people are having to gate check bags. Once you drop your bag at the end of the jetway for gate-checking, anyone from a fellow passenger, to a gate agent, to a ramp agent has access to your bag.

13. How a pilot approaches landing.

When you experience a hard landing in bad weather it wasn’t because of a lack of pilot skills but it is in fact intentional. If the runway is covered in water the airplane has to touch down hard in order to puncture the water layer and prevent aqua planing.

“Landings are nothing more than controlled crashes.” Pilot friend quote.

14. Tipping could go a long way.

My girlfriend is a flight attendant. NO ONE tips flight attendants. If you give your FA a fiver with your first drink you’ll probably drink for free the rest of the flight.

15. Pilots are sleeping most of the time.

1/2 of pilots sleep while flying and 1/3 of the time they wake up to find their partner asleep.

16. Just because you’re flying with a big airline, doesn’t mean the pilots are experienced.

Regional airline pilot here. You may have bought a ticket on Delta, United, or American, but chances are you’ll be flying on a subcontractor. That means the pilots have a fraction of the experience, training, and pay of the big mainline carrier. Also, I don’t get paid enough to care if you make your connection. Most of the time we fly slower than normal to make more money. The only time we fly fast is if ATC tells us to or if it’s the go home leg.

17. The truth behind turning off electronics.

Pilot here. Having to turn off electronics on a plane is totally useless.

Mobile electronic devices won’t really bring an airplane down but they can be really annoying to pilots. Just imagine sitting in the flightdeck descending to your destination and hearing the interference of a 100+ cellphones picking up a signal. I have missed a clearance or 2 that way.

18. Sky Mall is one big rip-off.

Secret: All of the stuff in Sky Mall can be purchased on the internet for much less money.

19. How your checked bags are really treated.

If it says “fragile,” it’s getting thrown harder. If it’s says this side up, it’s going to be upside down. We have to fit freight and 100+ bags in a cargo pit. It has to fit how it’s going to fit…I will tell you that when we see “I heart baggage handlers” bag tags…We take special care of your shit.

20. A flight attendant reveals just how dirty everything truly is.

I worked for Southwest as a flight attendant. Those blankets and pillows? Yeah, those just get refolded and stuffed back in the bins between flights. Only fresh ones I ever saw were on an originating first flight in the morning in a provisioning city. Also, if you have ever spread your peanuts on your tray and eaten, or really just touched your tray at all, you have more than likely ingested baby poo. I saw more dirty diapers laid out on those trays than food. And those trays, yeah, never saw them cleaned or sanitized once.

21. A loophole so you never have to pay baggage fees.

You can almost always gate check baggage (unless it’s abnormally large) take two large carry-ons and ask then to gate check one. It’s free and I never pay fees.

22. Most flights are also carrying human organs.

The majority of domestic flights have human remains or organs on them. I work below wing as a baggage handler. Watch out the window for long boxes that say, “Head” at one end… Oh, and I can fit 150 bags in bin 3 of a Boeing 737-300.

23. Airports haven’t covered all of their security bases yet.

There are actually legitimate security loopholes that, if widely known, would let average citizens get right next to airliners, runways, and taxiways. Like any system, if you know how it works, you know where the cracks are.

24. Planes without engines can still glide for a really long time.

A pilot told me if both engines fail, a plane can glide 6 nautical miles for every 5000 feet. So at 35,000 feet, a plane can glide about 42 miles without power. Its why most accidents happen landing or taking off.

25. The drinking water used for coffee and tea is FILTHY.

The drinking water, that used for making coffee, tea, etc., should NEVER be consumed. The holding tanks in these sometimes 60 year old planes are never cleaned. They have accumulated so much greenish grime on the walls that in some places it can be inches thick.
This one is very known by all airline employees.

27. Why it’s always easier to just take the batteries out.

Women: if you pack a toy in your bag, take the batteries out. Because if I’m loading your bag, and I hear it vibrating I have to tell my lead. Then my lead has to come pull you off the aircraft and you have to open your bag and turn off your toy in front of a bunch of giggling grown ass men.

27. Planes have a hard time flying on hot days.

I worked the ramp in Phoenix. On especially hot days, we had to offload cargo because planes struggled to take off in the thin air.

28. Even the headphones that come wrapped up aren’t new.

I used to work for warehouse that supplied a certain airline with items. The headsets that are given to you are not new, despite being wrapped up. They are taken off the flight, “cleaned”, and then packaged again.

29. How to tell from the ground if a plane is being hijacked.

If the plane is being hijacked when the pilot lands they will leave the wing flaps up that slow the plane down, this is to signal the airport that there is something happening in the plane.

30. The real reason there are still ashtrays in the lavatories.

Here’s one: ashtrays in the lavatories are mandatory equipment even though the FAA banned smoking on flights years ago. The reasoning is that if people do decide to smoke, they want them to have a place other than the trash can to throw the butt.

well that explains it

I had this strange encounter several years back with my friend Peter.
He proclaimed that he was going to "STOP DRINKING"
It was profound........hence the whole......proclamation thing
anyway......he was finished with booze and would not longer partake of the drink.
Peter is Russian.......by the way.

Well good for you pal, I know you will feel better and your lovely wife Masha will be very happy.

Flash forward several weeks and indeed Peter had stopped drinking
So imagine my surprise when I pop around to Peter and Masha's abode
and find Peter consuming beer throughout the evening.
When I questioned Masha she said
"it's beer not alcohol"

But of course, how silly of me.

I never thought of it again.........crazy Russians

So imagine my amusement when I found this

Assuming it was Internet bunk, I chuckled and dismissed it.

But then............
that old "it's beer not alcohol" statement came back to me, so I did a little digging

HUH.....wellwhatdoyaknow

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-14232970

21 July 2011

Russia classifies beer as alcoholic

President Medvedev has ordered a package of measures to counter alcohol abuse in Russia

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has signed a bill that officially classifies beer as alcoholic.

Until now anything containing less than 10% alcohol in Russia has been considered a foodstuff.
The move, signed into law on Wednesday, will allow ministers to control the sale of beer in the same way that spirits are controlled.
Russian alcohol consumption is already twice the critical level set by the World Health Organization.
Although vodka has long been the traditional tipple in Russia, beer has soared in popularity, being marketed as a healthier alternative to spirits.
Over the past decade, beer sales in Russia have risen more than 40% while vodka sales have fallen by nearly 30%.
Correspondents say it is common to see people swigging beer in the street and in parks as if they are drinking soft drinks.
It is not restricted to certain stores and is sold around the clock.
"The law brings some order into the sale of beer," Vadim Drobiz, director of the Centre for Federal and Regional Alcohol Market Studies, told US broadcaster Bloomberg.
Last year the Russian beer industry was hit by a 200% tax hike on its products as ministers sought to bring consumption under control.
The new measures - which come into effect in 2013 - will stop alcohol being sold in unlicensed kiosks, ban its sale from stores between certain hours and restrict its advertising.
In 2009 President Medvedev ordered the government to prepare draft laws on a package of measures to counter growing alcohol abuse.

 

Look at this the next time you feel like crap......

 

See......crappy gone...........You're welcome :)

Happy Birthday Elton

100 Wise Words

I really like this list

http://www.tickld.com/x/100-wise-words-for-everyone-

FASCINATING!!!!

I can't believe I watched this for 14 minutes.......

but IT'S SO COOL!!!!!!

(the prints do get a  little PCB but that's OK, we all got a little redneck in us)

and a tiara

.......you can never go wrong with a tiara

It only takes a girl

http://itonlytakesagirl.blogspot.com/

it's almost here.......

Spring has sprung

which means summer is right around the corner :)

Wedding Magazines.....

.....don't always mean that.

Part of my new fabulous job is staying on top of travel and trends.....
including wedding trends :)

So I have a collection of new wedding magazines on my dining table
along with fashion mags and notes on blogs/websites etc.

Yes, it's fabulous.

It never occurred to me that GDOT may be alarmed by the
new periodicals strewn about my home
(there are also a few haphazardly thrown next to the bed after reading before nite-nite)



Last night after dinner he gave me the "Sooooooooo, what's with the wedding planning!?!"

He had a such a look of terror and confusion on his face that I had to stop for a moment.
I really had no idea what he was talking about.

OMG!!!! No, holy crap, I mean NO
I mean not "NO, I WOULD NEVER MARRY YOU IN A MILLION YEARS"
But No, it's work, oh man I should have told you, I mean wait, sh*t, we've only know each other for like a month, wait......oh crap......what!?!........oh man, who the hell opened THAT door!!!!

OHMIGAWD!!! What the hell, now it's out there and yeah we had a funny little awkward chuckle
but now it's just out there, floating around like "haha, made you look"

Great......this is just great.

Well thats logical

This is the most level headed, logical explination I have read so far.

Unfortunatly we may never know but this explination should be thrown into the mix.

http://www.wired.com/autopia/2014/03/mh370-electrical-fire/

A Startlingly Simple Theory About the Missing Malaysia Airlines Jet

• By Chris Goodfellow
• 03.18.14
• 6:30 AM
  
  

Image: Pedro Moura Pinheiro/Flickr

There has been a lot of speculation about Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. Terrorism, hijacking, meteors. I cannot believe the analysis on CNN; it’s almost disturbing. I tend to look for a simpler explanation, and I find it with the 13,000-foot runway at Pulau Langkawi.

We know the story of MH370: A loaded Boeing 777 departs at midnight from Kuala Lampur, headed to Beijing. A hot night. A heavy aircraft. About an hour out, across the gulf toward Vietnam, the plane goes dark, meaning the transponder and secondary radar tracking go off. Two days later we hear reports that Malaysian military radar (which is a primary radar, meaning the plane is tracked by reflection rather than by transponder interrogation response) has tracked the plane on a southwesterly course back across the Malay Peninsula into the Strait of Malacca.

 

The left turn is the key here. Zaharie Ahmad Shah¹ was a very experienced senior captain with 18,000 hours of flight time. We old pilots were drilled to know what is the closest airport of safe harbor while in cruise. Airports behind us, airports abeam us, and airports ahead of us. They’re always in our head. Always. If something happens, you don’t want to be thinking about what are you going to do–you already know what you are going to do. When I saw that left turn with a direct heading, I instinctively knew he was heading for an airport. He was taking a direct route to Palau Langkawi, a 13,000-foot airstrip with an approach over water and no obstacles. The captain did not turn back to Kuala Lampur because he knew he had 8,000-foot ridges to cross. He knew the terrain was friendlier toward Langkawi, which also was closer.

Take a look at this airport on Google Earth. The pilot did all the right things. He was confronted by some major event onboard that made him make an immediate turn to the closest, safest airport.

The loss of transponders and communications makes perfect sense in a fire.

When I heard this I immediately brought up Google Earth and searched for airports in proximity to the track toward the southwest.

For me, the loss of transponders and communications makes perfect sense in a fire. And there most likely was an electrical fire. In the case of a fire, the first response is to pull the main busses and restore circuits one by one until you have isolated the bad one. If they pulled the busses, the plane would go silent. It probably was a serious event and the flight crew was occupied with controlling the plane and trying to fight the fire. Aviate, navigate, and lastly, communicate is the mantra in such situations.

There are two types of fires. An electrical fire might not be as fast and furious, and there may or may not be incapacitating smoke. However there is the possibility, given the timeline, that there was an overheat on one of the front landing gear tires, it blew on takeoff and started slowly burning. Yes, this happens with underinflated tires. Remember: Heavy plane, hot night, sea level, long-run takeoff. There was a well known accident in Nigeria of a DC8 that had a landing gear fire on takeoff. Once going, a tire fire would produce horrific, incapacitating smoke. Yes, pilots have access to oxygen masks, but this is a no-no with fire. Most have access to a smoke hood with a filter, but this will last only a few minutes depending on the smoke level. (I used to carry one in my flight bag, and I still carry one in my briefcase when I fly.)

What I think happened is the flight crew was overcome by smoke and the plane continued on the heading, probably on George (autopilot), until it ran out of fuel or the fire destroyed the control surfaces and it crashed. You will find it along that route–looking elsewhere is pointless.

Ongoing speculation of a hijacking and/or murder-suicide and that there was a flight engineer on board does not sway me in favor of foul play until I am presented with evidence of foul play.

We know there was a last voice transmission that, from a pilot’s point of view, was entirely normal. “Good night” is customary on a hand-off to a new air traffic control. The “good night” also strongly indicates to me that all was OK on the flight deck. Remember, there are many ways a pilot can communicate distress. A hijack code or even transponder code off by one digit would alert ATC that something was wrong. Every good pilot knows keying an SOS over the mike always is an option. Even three short clicks would raise an alert. So I conclude that at the point of voice transmission all was perceived as well on the flight deck by the pilots.

But things could have been in the process of going wrong, unknown to the pilots.

Evidently the ACARS went inoperative some time before. Disabling the ACARS is not easy, as pointed out. This leads me to believe more in an electrical problem or an electrical fire than a manual shutdown. I suggest the pilots probably were not aware ACARS was not transmitting.

As for the reports of altitude fluctuations, given that this was not transponder-generated data but primary radar at maybe 200 miles, the azimuth readings can be affected by a lot of atmospherics and I would not have high confidence in this being totally reliable. But let’s accept for a minute that the pilot may have ascended to 45,000 feet in a last-ditch effort to quell a fire by seeking the lowest level of oxygen. That is an acceptable scenario. At 45,000 feet, it would be tough to keep this aircraft stable, as the flight envelope is very narrow and loss of control in a stall is entirely possible. The aircraft is at the top of its operational ceiling. The reported rapid rates of descent could have been generated by a stall, followed by a recovery at 25,000 feet. The pilot may even have been diving to extinguish flames.

But going to 45,000 feet in a hijack scenario doesn’t make any good sense to me.

Regarding the additional flying time: On departing Kuala Lampur, Flight 370 would have had fuel for Beijing and an alternate destination, probably Shanghai, plus 45 minutes–say, 8 hours. Maybe more. He burned 20-25 percent in the first hour with takeoff and the climb to cruise. So when the turn was made toward Langkawi, he would have had six hours or more hours worth of fuel. This correlates nicely with the Inmarsat data pings being received until fuel exhaustion.

Fire in an aircraft demands one thing: Get the machine on the ground as soon as possible.

The now known continued flight until time to fuel exhaustion only confirms to me that the crew was incapacitated and the flight continued on deep into the south Indian ocean.

There is no point speculating further until more evidence surfaces, but in the meantime it serves no purpose to malign pilots who well may have been in a struggle to save this aircraft from a fire or other serious mechanical issue. Capt. Zaharie Ahmad Shah was a hero struggling with an impossible situation trying to get that plane to Langkawi. There is no doubt in my mind. That’s the reason for the turn and direct route. A hijacking would not have made that deliberate left turn with a direct heading for Langkawi. It probably would have weaved around a bit until the hijackers decided where they were taking it.

Surprisingly, none of the reporters, officials, or other pilots interviewed have looked at this from the pilot’s viewpoint: If something went wrong, where would he go? Thanks to Google Earth I spotted Langkawi in about 30 seconds, zoomed in and saw how long the runway was and I just instinctively knew this pilot knew this airport. He had probably flown there many times.

Fire in an aircraft demands one thing: Get the machine on the ground as soon as possible. There are two well-remembered experiences in my memory. The AirCanada DC9 which landed, I believe, in Columbus, Ohio in the 1980s. That pilot delayed descent and bypassed several airports. He didn’t instinctively know the closest airports. He got it on the ground eventually, but lost 30-odd souls. The 1998 crash of Swissair DC-10 off Nova Scotia was another example of heroic pilots. They were 15 minutes out of Halifax but the fire overcame them and they had to ditch in the ocean. They simply ran out of time. That fire incidentally started when the aircraft was about an hour out of Kennedy. Guess what? The transponders and communications were shut off as they pulled the busses.

Get on Google Earth and type in Pulau Langkawi and then look at it in relation to the radar track heading. Two plus two equals four. For me, that is the simple explanation why it turned and headed in that direction. Smart pilot. He just didn’t have the time.

Chris Goodfellow has 20 years experience as a Canadian Class-1 instrumented-rated pilot for multi-engine planes. His theory on what happened to MH370 first appeared on Google+. We’ve copyedited it with his permission.

¹CORRECTION 9:40 a.m. Eastern 03/18/14: An editing error introduced a typo in Capt. Zaharie Ahmad Shah’s name.

 

 

 

Walt is gonna haunt us all

Sunday was a rainy gloomy day here in Atlanta

So GDOT and I never left the couch. It was cozy pants, hair in ponytail, should I shower?
ALL day :)

We watched Inside Llewynn Davis.
It may have just been my mood or perhaps I'm just not interested in the stories of 20 something dreamers anymore but I just never got into it.
So that was just a MEH

Then we watched Frozen.

It's the one with the Oscar song where John Travolta brutalized this girls name
Yeah, that one.
Anyway, it was hilarious.
Not because it was hilarious, although there were some great one liners, but because it was
soooooooo Disney.

There was a song about every five minutes, the Princesses were cute and bubbly, the Prince was handsome and of course love conquered all...............................yeah, no wonder we are all so screwed up.
We feed this bill of goods to kids.

But then there was something that made me go......."EXCUSE ME"

The princess! At first she was all cute and covered with big doe eyes and a tiny little nose. You know Disney Princess, plop out of box, add different colored hair, lighten or darken skin based on ethnicity, add appropriate clothing (capes for cold, Slavic princess; skins or sheer fabrics for warm, tropical princess). It's a great formula, they are always pretty with just a hint of budding sexuality but nothing too overt.
Then this happened

I'm sorry, since when did a Disney Princess become Miss Thang.
With the slit and the off the shoulder, huba, huba mess......excuse me.
No......just no.

The Dogs of War

I laughed and laughed and laughed......no seriously, click it.


http://instagram.com/p/lkQ3NTsy5b/#

and the lessons just keep coming......

Oh......letting go of things not meant for you......easier said than done.

Slipping back

I went back in time today.........

When I was a child I lived on Jett Road near Chastain Park.
All I wanted was a horse, that's really all I ever wanted.
My parents could not afford a horse at the time.
Do you know how much those things eat!?!
Well it's a lot

Anyway, at the end of my street was the Horse Park.
I started walking down there and meeting people.
Most of the girls were mean and could really care less about my
interest in horses.
But then I met Ann.
Ann rode a big chestnut names Princess.

She taught me how to clean (muck) a stall, collect and clean tack and overall
stable maintenance.
She taught me how to groom Princess.
How to bathe her, clean her hoofs, how to move about her huge body safely.

Eventually other riders took notice and started to ask me to help with
grooming or mucking.

I was happy to help. I just wanted to be there, to talk to and be around the horses.

The day finally came when Ann decided I was ready to ride Princess.

I was terrified.
I knew this horse, she new me, but it was really really scary.

I fell off.

Yup, walking, just walking....I slipped right out of that saddle and hit the ground.......hard.
I did not have my 'seat" as they say.

Both Ann and Princess turned to look down at me.

Ann asked if I was ok......Princess seemed to have a look on her face that said "really"

Not Princess but that's the look

I got back up.

I eventually got my own horse, a rescue I named Jewel.
She hated to ride but loved to run.
I have never become a great rider but I am a self proclaimed horse woman and today convinced me that is indeed true.

I went back to Chastain Horse Park today.
The park is very different.......but still the same.
The old stable on the hill is now open on both sides and painted a clean crisp white.
The small stable close to Wieuca has been replaced with a paddock.
The original track is now a jumping ring with a beautiful clubhouse at one end......but it's still the same place.

Walking from the new "party barn" up the hill to the back paddocks was surreal.
The sounds, the smells......it only took a few steps.....but suddenly I was 12 years old again and walking that same hill I walked on all those years before.

When they brought "Sachmo" out to demonstrate grooming technique, I instinctively reached out to let him smell me and spoke in that soothing baby talk "it's ok" "good boy, good boy".
Horses are very sensitive creatures, they need a lot of leadership and reassurance.
They are a lot like giant dogs that can crush you.

What started out as a morning visit turned into an all day stay.
There were many times today that I became emotionally overwhelmed.
But I kept it together.

time travel is exhausting.

RAD

Get out and support your local arts.
It's a great district and there is some really cool stuff.......like throwing clay
(while still fun......NOT as fun as I inititally thought)

http://www.railartsdistrict.com/

Hippotherapy

I'm so excited to finally be doing this.
I have wanted to volunteer for them since I moved back to Atlanta.

Things are looking up :)

http://www.chastainhorsepark.org/

Therapeutic ProgramOverview Whether it's a five year old with Down syndrome, a teenager struggling with depression, a 45-year old recovering from a spinal cord injury or a senior citizen recovering from a stroke, research shows that individuals of all ages who participate in Equine Assisted Therapy experience many physical and emotional rewards. Empirical research has proven benefits of therapeutic riding include: improved social interaction, problem solving, communication, social and daily life coping skills; as well as confidence building and increased physical strength and balance. Under the guidance of a certified instructor and trained volunteers, a patient benefits from the horse’s unique three-dimensional movement that replicates a human’s movement while walking. The smiles and rewards that are experienced daily by our therapeutic riders say it all!

Working with horses can have a major physical and emotional impact on people with a wide variety of issues and disabilities including: Attention Deficit Disorder
Autism
Cerebral Palsy
Brain Injuries
Cerebrovascular Accident/Stroke
Developmental Delay/Cognitive Delay
Down Syndrome
Emotional Disabilities
 Learning Disabilities
Multiple Sclerosis
Muscular Dystrophy
Spina Bifida
Spinal Cord Injuries
Various learning and physical disabilities

Therapeutic Trainers at Chastain Horse Park are fully certified by PATH, Intl. To learn more,visit Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International (PATH Intl.) Hippotherapy Hippotherapy is a deeper form of equine assisted therapy as determined by the needs of the client and includes a Licensed Physical Therapist, Occupational Therapist, or a Speech-Language Pathologist assisted by a PATH Certified Instructor and trained volunteers.

A prescription from the rider’s physician is required and a portion of the fee is often paid by the rider’s insurance. Empirical research has proven that Hippotherapy improves motor skills, core trunk and muscle strength, balance, stamina, cognition, social interaction and communication skills.

Find out more about the American Hippotherapy Association (AHA). Outreach The Outreach Program provides the opportunity for children from the inner city and those from disadvantaged circumstances to develop self-awareness, self-confidence, and self-discipline. Riding lessons, summer camps, or field trips serve those without opportunity or resources.

Contact Us For more information on our Therapeutic Programs, please call (404) 252-4244 extension 1, or email us at therapeutic.lessons@chastainhorsepark.org

sad cat :(

 

The Bachelor Finale

Juan Pablo ended up with some blond chick.......yay......

I know, I know,  he has become the most hated Bachelor in history.
He's a complete a$$
He is so egotistical and self-centered

Yes, he is and unfortunately......(to quote Juan Pablo) it's OK.

He is really good looking, has a body for days and from the strategic editing of this show,
seems about as smart as a box of hair.

Which makes Nikki, the winner, (I mean the girl he picked) a perfect choice.
She is adorable, has a body for days and not exactly challenging.

She said "I love you"....he said "I like you.....A LOT" and she is still with him 4 months later.........

Some in the blogging and editorial world are irritated with Juan Pablo for this behavior
but I say, this is on her.

She knows where he stands. He is not in love with her, if she chooses to stay, that is her choice.
No one forced her to stay, no one demanded that she continue to date him (as far as we know.....it is a TV show after all)

You see ladies, we have a huge problem. We all say we want honesty but when we get it, we hate it.
This guy is not in love, he is not going to suddenly be in love, there is not some magical time limit that is needed for him to suddenly realize "oh wait....I DO love you"
Men don't work like that.
When a man wants something he is motivated and there is nothing that will keep him from his goal.
NOTHING.

We've all been there, dated the guy for years......expecting him to warm up to the idea.
Suddenly it ends and you hear through the grapevine that he is in love and engaged.
That is how men work.
If they want you, they want you.

I hear so many women complaining. "why would he say that he really cares for me or that he wants to see where it goes and then just dump me when he meets someone else"
Because you were willing to be girl number 2, 3 or 4 depending on the roster and when girl numero uno shows up, you have to go.

Listen ladies, if you keep showing up, he will keep sleeping with you.
He will not commit to you or proclaim his love to you, but he will keep sleeping with you.

So that's it in a nutshell, Juan Pablo is "happy and having fun."
Those are the exact words he used to describe his current relationship with Nikki.
 He is (probably) not in love with her and she will continue to "hang on" until she gets tired or irritated or both and dumps him for good.

The collective audience of The Bachelor seems very irritated that the usual
"I love this woman and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with her"
statement was omitted from this season, but in Juan Pablo's defense, he is not lying.

He is giving us the honest to God "this is just a TV show, I can't love someone I barely know, these women keep wanting to sleep with me...would you say no" ugly truth underneath the pretty facade that TV has created.....and we hate it.
Is he having his cake and eating it too, maybe......but all these women (and the collective audience) baked the damn thing and delivered it, in limo I might add, so who's really at fault here.

In my humble opinion, I thought it was the best "After the Rose" show ever!!!
(oh and just so we are clear.....I will be right there to watch the same BS next season, you betcha!)

First Kiss

This is funny and awkward and beautiful and kinda hot.

Happy Tuesday Morning :)........you're welcome.


"First Kiss" by Tatia Pllieva

IT RAN!!!!!

I ran

I ran like the wind........

Well maybe not like the wind......

more like an old woman with one bum leg carrying two bowling balls 

and I did at one point (ok several points) use the treadmill arms like a walker

but I don't think that's cheating considering my legs have a history of snapping like a twig 

I ran, that's the point

Yes my legs felt like they were in oatmeal and my entire body was screaming "STOP!!!!" 

but I ran and nothing broke and the leg did not hurt too bad.

A little ice and some ibuprofen and I'm ready to go again :)

(seriously, I want to do it again......maybe I am losing my mind)

SLOTH

Maybe it's the whole daylight saving time
maybe it's the chemical overload I experienced over the weekend
(see earlier post)
but I feel like I am in a fog and moving in slow motion
(need a nap)
So here are some really cute pictures of sloths, cause I feel very slothy
(and they are super cute)

Well hello there

I WANT ONE!!!!

Astrology and other fairy tales

Yes, every now and then I will post my horoscope because it has a certain
hmmmm, that seems a little too spot on to ignore.

But today I am reminded why astrology is bunk

Today you are walking talking “sun spots” to everyone you come across Leo. You exude self-confidence, brilliance, and warmth of spirit. Don’t be surprised if strangers, pets, or otherworldly characters cross your path as if they knew you’d be coming. They are in need of your affection, love, and gentle sage sayings. You are known for your wise observations and deep perspective of the human spirit and all its’ failings. Because you see its’ purest beauty and embody it as a loving soul to others.

First of all, I never want "otherworldly characters" crossing my path, that just sounds scary and

a little dangerous.

Pets........ little Max sat on my head this morning to wake me up and big Max decided that howling was totally appropriate at 6am.

Strangers......I don't talk to strangers.

Let me explain why I am NOT exuding self-confidence this morning.

I got some wild hair up my butt Friday and decided to color my hair a really fun, flirty color called

"Cranberry Crush". 

Big mistake, HUGE mistake. 

My hair was the color of sangria with a splash a cherry kool-aid......not a good look.

I did leave my house Saturday morning with a baseball cap on thinking "I'll just wear it up for awhile and then do something next week"

When GDOT picked me up he literally just stared at me, mouth agape.

"it's not that bad"

"no baby, it's that bad"

So Sunday was the breaking point. I dashed to Sally Beauty Supply and begged for help.

They loaded me down with color oops, the greatest stuff on the planet but it smells like rotting eggs, tons of conditioners and hair masks, peroxide and a warning that my hair could fall out.

http://satinhaircolor.com/coloroops.html

After many panicky hours and lots of conditioning masks my hair almost resembles a color found in nature......almost.

Confidence.......I am NOT exuding confidence this morning

Ash Wednesday

This past Wednesday was Ash Wednesday, a day that always makes me giggle at my own ignorance.

You see I'm a southern girl, born in Kentucky, lived in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Georgia.......not a lot of Catholics.
In addition, I am a heathen, I have never been baptised or educated in religion.
I like religion, it fascinates me and I do believe in God, I just never read the book.
I have the basic "be a good person and don't judge or hurt others" down, I just don't have all
of the stories.

Don't get me wrong, I've heard of Ash Wednesday my entire life, I just had no idea that it was a "thing".

When I moved to New York City at the ripe old age of 27, I was in for a little shock.

New York City is full of Catholics, loaded with em in fact.

So that morning I started out on my day, just like any other day, and I saw a woman with schmutz on her forehead.
Luckily something told me NOT to advise her that she has schmutz on her forehead.
I was glad of that intuition because when I got to the train station........schmutz everywhere.
Walking from the station to my office in Manhattan......schmutz, schmutz, schmutz.
Even the receptionist at my office had schmutz on her forehead.
Obviously I was out of the loop.

As I sat at my desk, perplexed, I realized.....Ash Wednesday....they have ash on their forehead......WHY?

I immediately called my Mother.
She had just recently converted to Catholicism (that's another story for another time)
"Why do all these people have schmutz on their heads?"


(this is not my Mothers explanation.....this is much better)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ash_Wednesday

Ash Wednesday derives its name from the practice of placing ashes (formally called The Imposition of Ashes) on the foreheads of adherents as a celebration and reminder of human mortality, and as a sign of mourning and repentance to God. The ashes used are typically gathered from the burning of the palms from the previous year's Palm Sunday.^[4]

"Oh, alrighty then, I feel better"
Another little thing about me, I can't stand to not know something. It's ok to not know it initially, but once I know I don't know, I have to find out. Back before smart phones I used to jot down words or things that were foreign to me so that I could look them up later.
If I am sitting with you and I suddenly pull out my phone, chances are I am looking up or writing down a word that you have said that I don't understand. I know it's still rude but I can't help it....its an illness ;)

So now that I am back in Atlanta, I don't see as much schmutz so it's actually a sweet reminder for me when I see that tell tale black blob on someones forehead.

It's supposed to look like this

   









but more often it looks like this

Happy Lent everyone........Easter (SPRING) is on it's way :)

and not to be outdone

http://www.stevecarter.com/albumcovers.htm

The Worst Album Covers Ever Created?