Horse Manure Park

Pictures are worth a thousand words... but the appropriate words here truly are: "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth..."

So I've started reading a new autobiography - I Am Ozzy by Ozzy Osbourne.  And without exaggeration, this is the funniest, most entertaining book I've read in the last 10 years. I can see why it won the "Literary Achievement" award. The book isn't for everyone.  If you are offended by the "F" word, I wouldn't recommend even picking the book up, but if you can get past that, there is a hilarious story on every page that will leave you laughing out loud.  It certain does that to me. I'm not sure if Ozzy wrote this book or if it was dictated and transcribed (Ozzy talks about his dyslexia and the fact that he can't write very well), but the book is undoubtedly in his "voice." The man is simply nuts.  In a good way. The introduction to the book is great: "They've said some crazy things about me over the years.  I mean, okay:  'He bit the head off a bat.' Yes.  'He bit the head off a dove.' Yes.  But t...

Over the past week I have been enjoying my evenings reading a book that I've looked forward to for years - Kiss lead guitarist Ace Frehley's autobiography, No Regrets .  Not exactly the most original title, I know, but it is a fascinating read - and very well written (Ace undoubtedly had help from professional writers).  Still, the story is his and I am eating it up. Anyone who knows me (if you are reading this, I assume you know me) knows I am a huge Kiss fan.  In fact, next to the Beatles, I would have to say that Kiss is my all-time favorite band. I became obsessed with them at a young age and I remember drawing pictures of the band all over my tablet in fourth grade.  I clearly remember my fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Greenwaldt, tell me "Okay, enough of this Kizz business."  I quickly corrected her, "It's KISS, Mrs. Greenwaldt." I don't think I was sent to the principle's office for that one, but it didn't keep me from drawing pictur...

Ava came home from school today looking a little different.  And man, is she proud. Judging how loose the other tooth is, I am very confident this year's Christmas theme song will be, " All I Want For Christmas is My Two Front Teeth "...

Time to update quickly while the kids are asleep.  Soon it will be hi-ho, hi-ho... you know the rest. We had our first parent-teacher conference last evening.  Man, what a difference a year - and a new teacher - makes.  Not that Ava's preschool experience was negative, but Beth and I had been put on the alert that Ava had a "sensory dysfunction," which I had never heard of before. To me, she seemed like a perfectly normal, energetic kid, but we had extra testing done last year and one of the therapists thought she was in need therapy outside of school - and I won't go way into it, because it is moot point.  I haven't really ever discussed this on my blog because it is a very private matter... ...but long story short, Ava's new teacher told us last evening that Ava is right where she should be - even a little ahead of the game - and she is a perfectly normal five year old. We were dreading this conference going into it, and relieved coming out.  What a ...

I get so sick and tired of these morons wasting their time spouting off about the world ending today - 11/11/2011.  Why today?  They act as if this date has never happened before. One hundred years ago when this date occurred, 11/11/1911, I wonder if they thought the same thing? How about 200 years ago when it was 11/11/1811? The real doozy happened 900 years ago when it really was 11/11/1111.  I wonder if they had nut jobs predicting the end of the earth back then, or maybe they had more important things to be concerned about, like not contracting the measles or smallpox or some other disease which meant certain death. The point is this:  for some reason, we in the 21st century seem to think everything that happens to us is unique.  And it's not.  Time, a man-made concept in the first place, just keeps pushing forward and we keep coming up with excuses why the earth will end sooner rather than later.  When we entered a new century/millennium ...

So I got this letter yesterday from my insurance company telling me that an error had been made in the set up of both my health and pharmacy coverage.  They won't tell me what that error is or when it will be fixed, only that they are "in the process of correcting the error." Great.  I just can't wait to see where this is leading. But the best part is the last paragraph, which reads, verbatim : "If you have any questions you may call customer service, but be advised that they will not be able to provide complete information about your situation." Interpretation:  You can call us, but we can't help you. I've said this before - if I was this incompetent at my job, I would be unemployed. And with that, have a great weekend!

 We had a fun-filled Halloween evening.  Here are some pictures to share... Last Friday Ava dressed as a witch for her school Halloween party ...and for Halloween night, she was a leopard.  She even slept with her whiskers still painted on. Neil was Mater from the movie "Cars."  I've never seen him so excited! Ready for tricks and treats!  As you can see, Neil just can't contain his excitement. A little sampling of our night out... We stopped by the police department, where McGruff was there in person. We also stopped at the fire department.  My boy was obsessed with the fire trucks. One of the homes in Baxter is famous for going "all out" for Halloween.  With a front yard like this (this is just a small part of the display), it is no wonder this is a popular place!  The street was packed with trick or treaters. We had a lot of fun on our little Halloween outing.  Now for Thanksgiving... and snow, which they sa...