Crazy Drunken Cyclists
All cyclists living in South Dakota will hopefully be able to breathe much easier soon, know that breathalizer tests will not be passing their way. A bill was introduced into the legislator this week that allowed for drunken bicycling and horseback riding. Huh. This bill is supposed to DECREASE the amount of drunk driving incidents and make the roads much safer for the rest of South Dakotians. Well, this all doesn't sound too smart, does it? Poor bicycles didn't do anything to deserve this punishment.
What this law is doing is taking away the vehicle status of bicycles on South Dakota roads. Cyclists (normal ones, not drunk ones) fear that this can come back to haunt them if they are involved in an accident with a vehicle as insurance companies can hire lawyers to get them out of paying damages. Other cyclists fear that this could take away their right to the road way (cyclists right to the road will be a future post, ok?)
Moral of the story: don't get drunk. Don't ride a horse drunk. Don't drive drunk. Don't get on a bike drunk. Problem solved.
And by the way, do you like the picture of my dad and I on our cycling trip?
Save a murderer, Kill the child
Was is just last month that Tookie was sentenced to death for murder. My friend Nate discussed this on his blog, and I remember feeling a pit in my stomach when thinking about the death penalty. I always do when I think about the death penalty. But what I don't understand is how Hollywood wants to save Tookie, but no one is saying anything about Haleigh Poutre.
Haleigh was beaten with a baseball bat by her stepfather and was in a coma on a ventilator. Doctors declared she was in a permanent vegatative state and that there was no hope for little Haleigh. Earlier this month, the Massachusettes Supreme Court decided that the child welfare agency (who by the way had 17 complaints of abuse by her parents on file) could make the decision to remove life support. Everyone wanted to remove the life support, including her mother. Everyone wanted it removed except the stepfather. He will face murder charges if she dies.
However, little Haleigh is a fighter. A day after the ruling, the hospital was able to start weaning Haliegh off of the ventilator and on the 26th she was moved to a rehabilitation facility.
Did anyone hear about this? How is this innocent 11 year old girl less important than a murderer? Why does Hollywood ignore these stories??
Boston news >Boston Herald
>North Country Gazette
Sheer Horror
I have a few items of business to discuss. Most importantly, my cousin/friend
Jill FINALLY updated her blog. I stole a picture from her to post here because I think it is priceless. Jill and Mark announced to her family on Christmas that they are "with child." To read the entire story, just go to
her blog. 
In
her blog, she says her mom's face here is sheer horror (she's kidding of course). But the funniest thing about this photo is that I have seen Jill make this face before. I will list the times I've seen it.
1. When Jill came over the day after she "failed" the pregnancy test.
2. The time we were backpacking in Canada and Jill and her pack fell over. BAM!
3. Anytime I say something scandalous to her (which hardly EVER happens).
I have to say that I'm really excited for Jill and Mark. I know that they will be great parents.
I don't really think I have any more items of business to discuss, so I'm sorry for the let down, for those of you who were looking forward to that.
10-4 Good Buddy
In case you hadn't noticed, my brother
Karl started a blog, and I think it's fantastic. Especially his latest post. Karl's latest post reminisces some of our more memorable events as siblings. One of my favorite memories is Karl and I playing
CHiPs. If you're too young to remember the show, then you really missed out. Karl and I would ride our bikes all over the yard pretending to catch criminals. We even had little police helmets and walkie-talkies. Anyway, I always had to be Poncherelli, since I look the most like him. Big brothers are so neat.
New Menu Item at KFC
A family is Texas is suing Kentucky Fried Chicken for allegedly serving them sandwiches crawling with cockroaches. The family was merely stopping to get an after school snack and now are suing KFC for $5 million!! The Health Department investigated, finding 2 roaches, but neither were in the food preparation area, and the restaurant remains open. The Health Deparment official said that he would even eat at the establishment. Ok, I see 2 problems here. 1. KFC for an after school snack???? No wonder we are such a fat nation. How about an apple? At least if there really were cockroaches in the sandwich the family would have gotten a little fiber.2. The Health Dept. is supposed to be setting an example in the community for good health. I'm glad he'll still eat there. But its not the roaches that we should be worried about. A few roaches in a sandwich really are not going to do any harm. How about that deep fried chicken fat and oily mayonaise between 2 slices of white carbs?KFC did the family a favor, though. The matriarch of the family reports that she only visits KFC now to picket. At least they get some exercise.
KFC ArticleRoach World
Ouchie!
If you happen to be sick while in Japan, be careful which hospital you go to. This Monday, a nurse in Kyoto, Japan was sentenced to 3 years and 8 months in prison. Evidently, this nurse felt overworked and overstressed by her patient load and had
ripped off the fingernails and toenails of six of her immobile patients. Umm...3 years and 8 months???
Reuter's articleTimes of India article
My Car Got Broken Into
As you can see, I drive a very fancy car. This weekend it got broken into (for the 4th time). The funny thing is, I LIVE IN A RETIREMENT COMMUNITY. Nothing got taken, but I know the people living here are out to get me.
*not my real car. My real car is exactly like this except for missing a hubcap in the front.
Here they are, plotting to break in. As you can see, they even have an instruction manual. I don't know if we are safe here any longer.
This is a scene outside our house this morning. It has nothing to do with the break-in, but I wanted everyone to see the craziness we put up with.
Cat Scratch Fever
This is just a little picture of me and my interesting night last night.
I had a good night at work, spent some time at my grandparents, and then joined some girls from work for shakes, fries, and great conversation. I got home and couldn't sleep. Nothing new. I tried to lay quietly, but it didn't work. So after tossing and turning in bed, I got up around 3 AM and decided to blog. I wrote my silly little post, and then thought I would head to bed. At this point, Mia was sleeping in the computer room, and I thought Maggie was still in bed with Corey. I scooped Mia up, and we turned out the lights to head for bed. On the way there, we saw Maggie sitting in the hallway. Naughty Maggie gets confused, and if people are up in the middle of the night, she thinks it's daytime. I thought it would be best to take her to back to bed too before she started sprinting around like a banshee. When I scooped Maggie up, she meowed, which startled Mia, who then started struggling. I got them under control and headed for the bedroom. SMACK. MEOOOOW. RRRRRRRAAAAR. SCRATCH. OOOOW. (That was me running into the closed door, Maggie meowing, Mia yelling, then both scratching my lower neck/upper chest, and me saying ow.) Now Corey was awake, Maggie had to run and hide, Mia was mad, and I was sore. Shortly after, Corey and Mia went right back to sleep, Maggie played run around the house really fast, and I tossed and turned until 4 or 5. And now I have cat scratch fever.
Start a Blog, Please
The other day, Mia said to me that she would like to start a blog. We discussed what she would blog about at length. She came up with several topics, such as the best flavor of Fancy Feast (grilled chicken), the best place to take a nap, and the best ways to sharpen her claws. While these are very interesting subjects to her, I ended up having to pull her off of the computer, because she doesn't know how to type or spell and it looked like gibberish.
There are some people in my life who would have very interesting blogs, though, and this is my plea to get them to start a blog. Below is a list of those people, followed by subjects to blog about.
1. Karl and Jenn (my neice/nephew, Sadie, New Jerseyness)
2. Kevin VanderHelterSkelter (all the bizarre things that happen to you)
3. Tamarack (bicycling tips, bacteria pillows)
4. Sassy Sissy (life in the big city fighting crime, childhood stories)
5. Nathan and Maren (life at Baylor U., Baylor the dog, weinerschnitzel)
6. Ellie VL (you know that you have lots of great stories!)
7. Tim Sullivan (life as a Kept Man)
8. Mom and Dad (write about your favorite daughter)
9. Katie Towne (your new house, your dog chewing shoes, etc.)
Ok, anyone else who I forgot, please feel free to start a blog. I expect to see blogs out of all of you within one week, or I will start posting juicy gossip that is entirely untrue about each of you. Everyone else who blogs, lets hear some chatter out in the outfield for these guys.
I'm It
I've been tagged by Nate.
4 jobs I've had in my life:
1. Psychiatric Nurse (Pine Rest)
2. Mental Health Worker (Pine Rest)
3. Customer Service Manager (Office Depot)
4. Sandwich Artist(Subfast)
4 movies I could watch over and over:
1. You've Got Mail
2. Elf
3. The Santa Clause (1&2)
4. Anne of Green Gables
4 places I've lived:
1. Oshkosh, Wisconsin
2. Olney, IL
3. Wyoming, Michigan
4. Kentwood, Michigan
4 TV shows I love to watch:
1. West Wing
2. House
No time to TV, sorry. I don't even have cable.
4 websites I visit daily:
1. Yahoo
2. EBay
3. Weather.com
4. Nate and Lydia's
4 of my favorite foods:
1. Strawberries
2. Tacos
3. Cheese
4. Fresh Pineapple
4 places I'd rather be right now:
1. Home
2. Hawaii (Haw ah ya)
3. On my bicycle
4. In bed, I feel sickie :(
4 people I will tag
Jill and Mark
Unta Joe
Nate R.
Jess S.
Wild Thing
This little cat may look innocent enough, but underneath the sweet little facade is a rambunctious tiger waiting to reek havoc on our household. Over the weekend, I decided to put together a puzzle (I know that is really kind of McGee and Me like of me, but I don't really know what to do with my free time yet). This morning I refilled the cats water dishes and noticed something in Maggie's water dish. Puzzle pieces. Three of them. Ruined. These are not the first items I have found in Maggie's water dish. Quite often I find dry food, my hair ties, milk rings, toy balls, and her mousie floating around in there. I don't really know how to stop her from doing it. Mia suggests we take her back to the pound. Maggie said she would forfeit her allowance for a week and buy me a new puzzle. She doesn't realize that she doesn't get an allowance. For now, I guess I can't complain. She's a little wild, but we like her that way.
Happy Birthday, Tanya
Frustration
One month ago today I graduated nursing school and I really thought by now I would have my date set to take the NCLEX (boards). Having heard nothing, and then checking with former classmates, I found that NO ONE had heard anything. Thus, I took matters into my own hands and made some phone calls. To make a long and frustrating story short, I found out that the school has not yet turned in information to the state. Therefore, the state cannot authorize me or any classmates to take the boards. Tomorrow, I was told. Tomorrow the school will send the information. Meanwhile, here I sit. Waiting. Orienting. Not allowed to pass meds. Not a real nurse.
"Auntie Jetchen, Uncle Torey"
Our nephew Lukie, is a huge source of joy and pride in Corey's family. He brings so much fun and enjoyment into everyone's life. This Christmas, Corey and I bought him light sabers (sp?), you know, those weird stick things from Star Wars that people use to kill each other. I don't understand them, but I just go along with it. So Lukie opens the box, and states with the enthusiasm and wisdom of a 3 year old, that this is "exactly what I wanted all my life." Turns out that giving 3 year olds long pointy weapons isn't always the most brilliant choice. Nor is letting me play with them (sorry about that, Corey. Hope the bruise is gone.) We love our nephew and look forward to watching him grow and listening to all the neat little insights that he has.
To add to the excitement, I am going to be an Auntie again!!!! (I have not asked permission to announce this on the blog, so I'm going to change names to protect the innocent, just look for the *) During our family Christmas celebration, *Snarl* and *Grenn* announced that they will be having a baby in July! YEAH! I'm already checking plane tickets to *Blue Flersey* to go set my room up next to the baby's. (just kidding *Snarl & Grenn*) We are so excited for you both and pray for a healthy little baby.
