One Foot on a Banana Peel

….How come I’m not laughing?  In this case, the "there" is a remodeled livingroom and the journey began two (count them, 1 - 2) months ago when my dear, sweet, well-meaning, husband decided the livingroom really was too crowded with a fireplace (I’d been telling him so since before he put it in) and ripped it out.  When he announced his plans, I asked, no, begged him not to do it unless it could be done and the remodel accomplished before school started.  Not a problem.  Ha!  When, oh, when will I ever learn?  Like the plumber whose own pipes are leaky, the man who builds homes and commercial buildings for a living has a home filled with unfinished projects (Did I mention that before this, the fireplace sat usable, but not quite finished for 7 years?).

So, what constitutes halfway?  The fireplace is gone (and the resulting mess cleaned up); 2/3 of the old carpet and padding are gone; the old trim is gone; new, cheap-grade pine paneling is on the walls;  the ceiling has been primed and painted Sailcloth white; and the walls have been primed and painted Cozy Cottage yellow.  Still to go, Pergo floors and all new trim.  Then we move on to the kitchen….because the rooms open into eachother so it’s necessary, not because I’m insane.

Today I am moving furniture and "things" back into the livingroom from Matt’s room, where they have been gathering dust stored.  Yes, I know it will all have to be moved back out in order to put the flooring down, but I have no choice.  Matt is coming home Friday and staying through his birthday next Monday.  It’d be nice if he had a place to sleep.  He is also bringing his girlfriend with him.  Could I be any less thrilled about her first impression of the house being one of disarray and plywood floors?  Ah, well….if by some chance she turns out to be the one then she might as well start getting used to the real us.

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Megan brought home a couple of mid-term reports yesterday (most teachers only give them if the grade is poor).  I feel like dancing naked in the streets.  Well, maybe not naked, but this is big.  No, it’s HUGE….GINORMOUS,even!  Meg has an A+ in science, a high B in English, and a C in math!!  She came close to flunking all three last year.  As a reward, we’ve agreed to try letting her get up without my mom coming down to the house.  Mom gets on her case about everything and anything, but you know how my mom is.  I’ve grumped about her enough on here.  Anyway, I called at 6:30 to wake her up and it appears to have gone well.  It will be a big relief to all of us if this works out.  My only concern is that I know Meg won’t take her A.D.D. medication if someone isn’t here to make her do it.  She fights about it as it is.  I’m going to have to talk to her doctor about switching back to time-release or maybe trying the new patch.  That way I could give it to her before I leave.

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The principal talked to the kids on my bus Monday afternoon.  Mostly they were mad that I’d reported it (the choking game) and that their parents were being called…especially if they weren’t one of the ones being choked or doing the choking.  I don’t make any apologies.  Everyone whose name I turned in was either a witness or encouraged it.  They all needed to have the seriousness of the situation impressed on them.  Sadly, the only one who seems rattled at all is the boy who passed out.  He’s made a couple of comments that let me know he’s learned a big lesson.  The rest?  They’re treating it like a big joke.

One of the best parts of my job is that I spend a lot of time driving around the beautiful town of Ligonier.

Ligonier is, without doubt, the jewel of Pennsylvania’s Laurel Highlands.  It is nestled along the shores of Loyalhanna Creek and U.S. Route 30.  Steeped in history, the town retains a colonial flavor and small town charm.

Fort Ligonier, at the time the edge of the western frontier, was a stategic location during the French and Indian War.  The fort has been reconstructed and draws many visitors each year…among them many tours for area school children.

Fort Ligonier Days, held each October, draws thousands to town for three days of fun and history.  Among the things to see and do are: shopping, not only in the wide variety of specialty shops, but also in several areas throughout town set up with crafters and artisans; sampling the wide variety of foods available at booths, area churches and local restaurants; musical entertainment; the fantastic parade on Saturday morning; and of course, tours of the fort and re-enactments.

Just down the road from the fort is The Compass Inn, an old stop for Conestoga wagons making their way over the mountains.  Well-trained volunteers give interesting tours that take you back in time.  A major highlight are the candle-lit Christmas tours.

Celebrate your Scottish heritage in September at the Highland Games.  The clans gather every year to celebrate and participate in traditional athletic competitions, as well as dance and music competitions.

For children, there is always Idlewild Park.  The park bills itself as a family park and is geared to an old-fashioned good time with family and friends.  There are a few rides guaranteed to thrill, but most are just mild enough that anyone can handle them.  There is a water park, kiddie area, Storybook Forest, Jumpin’ Jungle, Hootin’ Holler, Old Idlewild and of course, a trolley ride through Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood.

Hungry?  Ligonier has a wide variety of restaurants and shops to choose from.  My personal favorite is the Ligonier Tavern…reported to be haunted.  It does have absolutely wonderful food, too.

I’ve just touched the surface of Ligonier.  There is also skiing in the area and world-class golf courses.  A drive into the country-side will take you through Rolling Rock and Rector for a glimpse of how the very rich (and sometimes famous) live.  If any of my blogging friends come to visit, I promise we’ll spend time in Ligonier. 

Whether you call it the Five Second Game, Airplaning, California Dreaming, Flatlining, the Funky Chicken, Space Monkey, Knockout or High Riser (click here for more nicknames)….the Choking Game is some seriously sick and twisted shit.  It is the inducement of unconsciousness or near unconsciousness by restricting the supply of oxygen.  There are only two ways to achieve this:

1. Strangulation-Restricts the blood flow to the brain by compressing the cartoid artery in the neck.
2. Self-induced Hypocapnia-No compression, but requires hyperventilation until tingling, light-headedness and/or dizziness are felt, then followed by a breath-hold.

(For a much more detailed explaination check out Wikipedia’s article.)

Long used by some adult males in an attempt to enhance sexual euphoria, the Choking Game has made its way into schools and homes across the country.  While some teen females participate, it is mainly the domain of the juvenile male.  They may strangle themselves or a "friend" may apply the pressure. 

What’s the appeal?  Well, it can induce a brief sense of euphoria, it’s reported to enhance erotic feelings, those who lose consciousness report a dream-like state or hallucinations, it’s funny to watch someone lose consciousness, it’s free, it’s legal and it appears harmless to those without a proper understanding of what’s really going on.  It’s far from harmless, though.  The practice causes many deaths and invalidities every year and brain injuries may not show up right away.

You can find a ton of information and sign up for a newsletter at the Teen Choking Game Newsletter site.

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Today’s public service announcement is brought to you courtesy of the kids on my bus. 

In other words, I had to deal with this on my bus this morning.  Thank goodness I’d heard of it before and was aware of what was going on.  I talked to the kids but I can’t say that it did any good.  Rather than seeming concerned about the dangers, they just kept laughing and repeating how watching the kid twitch (they do that) was the "funniest thing ever."  I am going to talk with my boss this afternoon to see how to handle it from here.  Sitting on it goes against everything this mother and former youth director stands for, but I have to follow company and school district policy…whatever it is.

Mom, Dad….be aware.  You just never know.

UPDATE: After speaking to my supervisor and explaining to her what the Choking Game is, we decided to pull the video tape from my bus to see what got recorded this week (it’s a continuous loop so we don’t know) and I wrote the whole incident up and gave not only the names of the two boys directly involved, but also all those sitting nearby and egging them on.  Probably the two will be called into the office to be dealt with.  As for the others, the likely scenerio is that the principal will come on my bus to speak to all of them at one time.  I’ll let you know.

Ben’s face pretty much says it all concerning last night’s game.

Jaguars, 9 ~ Steelers, 0

Received this in an e-mail from my mother this morning.  My mother, who finds fault with everything I (and the rest of the human population of the planet) do.

Once upon a time there was a bunch of tiny frogs….  who arranged a running
competition.  The goal was to reach the top of a very high tower.  A big crowd had gathered around the tower to see the race and cheer on the contestants….

Honestly:  No one in the crowd really believed that the tiny frogs would reach the
top of the tower.  You heard statements such as: "Oh, WAY too difficult!!" "They will NEVER make it to the top." or: "Not a chance that they will succeed. The tower is too high!"

The tiny frogs began collapsing. One by one….
Except for those, who in a fresh tempo, were climbing higher and
higher….
The crowd continued to yell, "It is too difficult!!! No one will make
it!"  More tiny frogs got tired and gave up….
But ONE continued higher and higher and higher….
This one wouldn’t give up!

A contestant asked the tiny frog how he had found the strength to succeed and reach the goal?  It turned out….That the winner was DEAF!!!!

The wisdom of this story is: Never listen to other people’s tendencies to be negative or pessimistic….  because they take your most wonderful dreams and wishes away from you — the ones you have in your heart!  Always think of the power words have.  Because everything you hear and read will affect your actions!

Therefore:  ALWAYS be….POSITIVE!
And above all:  Be DEAF when people tell YOU that you cannot fulfill your dreams!
Always think:  God and I can do this!

Borrowed this from ChesneyGirl.

1) A favorite political track.
"Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue" ~Toby Keith or "Politically Uncorrect" ~ Gretchen Wilson

2) One of those tracks that make you dance on the dance floor no matter what.
"Love Shack" ~ B-52’s

3) The song you’d use to tell someone you love them.
"Love of My Life" ~ Michael W. Smith & Jim Brickman

4) A song that has made you sit down and analyze it’s lyrics.
"We Didn’t Start the Fire" ~ Billy Joel

5) A song that you like, that a two year old would like as well.                              "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" ~ Paul Simon

6) A song that gives you an energy boost.
"Walking on Sunshine" ~ Katrina and the Waves

7) A song that you and your grandparents (would probably) like.
My grandmother loved Nelson Eddie and Janette MacDonald.  Based on that, I couldn’t come up with common ground.

8) A song that you really liked when you were 14-16, and still really like now.
"Only the Good Die Young" ~ Billy Joel

9) Two sad songs that would be in the soundtrack of the movie about your life.
"Kill Myself" ~ Tim McGraw…."Who You’d Be Today" ~ Kenny Chesney

10) A peppy song that would start the opening credits of the movie about your life.
"Whiskey Girl" ~ Toby Keith

11) A good song from a genre of music that no one would guess that you liked.
"Hey Yah" ~ Outkast

12) A song that you think should have been playing when you were born.
"I’m Here for the Party" ~ Gretchen Wilson

13) A favorite artist/duo collaboration.  "Who Says You Can’t Go Home" ~ Bon Jovi & Jennifer Nettles   

14) A favorite song that you completely disagree with (politically, morally, commonsenically, religiously etc.)                                                                   "Lubbock or Leave It", "Easy Silence", "Everybody Knows", "Not Ready to Make Nice"  Take your pick of anything off the Dixie Chicks’ new CD.

15) The song that you like despite the fact your IQ level drops several points every time you listen to it.
"Honky-Tonk-Badonka-Donk" ~ Trace Adkins

16) Your smooth song, for relaxing.
"Back Home Again" ~ John Denver and anything from "Songs of the 49th Parallel" ~ K.D. Lang

17) A song you would send to someone you hate or are mad at.
"Kiss This" ~ Aaron Tippon

18) A favorite track from an outfit considered a “super-group.”
"Fat Bottom Girls" ~ Queen

19) A song that makes you reminsce about good times with a family member.
"Sentimental Journey" ~ Glenn Miller Orchestra (I danced to it with my dad at my wedding)

20) Your favorite song at this moment in time.
"Amarillo Sky" ~ Jason Aldean

I know they’re, like, two months late and that you’ve lost all interest in my vacation, but I just finished the last couple of pictures on the film and finally got it developed.  This is why I soooo need a digital camera.

These characters lived in the pasture next to our rental house’s backyard.  They loved carrots and turned up at the fence to mooch as soon as they heard us.  The kids loved them!

Matt, Megan and their friends, Rachelle and Matt, loved going out with their boogie boards.  The surf was pretty calm this day.

Not sharks….dolphins!  A group of them swam along with our boat one day.  You can’t tell in the pictures, but I’m pretty sure there was a baby in the group.

Our Matt pulling crab traps out of the bay.

Megan and Rachelle at the beach.

Tim and our charter boat captain enjoying raw oysters they harvested fresh from the bay.  Ewwwwwww!

I took this picture when we were walking along the shore of Wallops Island.  I like it so much I’m going to have it enlarged and framed to put in our livingroom when we get done with the remodel.

Tim and (the other) Matt fishing in the bay.

Me pretending to be an astronaut at NASA’s Wallops Island visitors’ center.

Can I just say that I hate, no…I loathe skunks?  In the past our neighborhood has been overrun by the odiferous rodents, but this summer the population appeared to take a nosedive.  Or at least they moved out of my yard.  I’d been giving Elvis, the hound, credit for that.  Oh, how I loved my skunk-free summer.  I didn’t miss waking up with burning eyes and nostrils from freshly sprayed (under my window) skunk funk at all. 

I was lured into a false sense of confidence in my skunk-free state.  Why?  Because the miserable things are back.  And I know this because I let the dogs out before I left for work this morning and not one, but both of them, got sprayed head-on, full force.  I had to leave so called my mom to come deal with it.  She shampooed one dog for me, but ran out of "ingredients" for the homemade remedy a friend gave me.   So, I stopped on my way home for more and I’ve washed both dogs and my carpets are white with baking soda and Carpet Fresh.  I washed me, too.  Did I mention that I took the smell with me to work?  What a wonderful morning.

The dogs smell good again.  The house smells better and I don’t think I stink….but it’s kind of hard to judge yourself.  Hopefully, I don’t offend.

So anyway, it’s the skunks’ fault that you’re not getting to see the vacation pictures today that I finally got developed.  You’re just going to have to wait till tomorrow.

Skunk B-Gone Shampoo

1 quart peroxide

1/2 cup baking soda

1 tablespoon liquid dish soap

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Pour on dog and rub in.

Let stand 5 minutes.

Rinse.

It works!

September 11, 2001. 

Just saying the date stirs up a whole host of emotions.  Fear.  Anger.  Sadness.  It used to stir up patriotism, but these days it feels like patriotism (if it means support of our troops, president and what’s taking place in far away places like Iraq and Afghanistan) marks you as ignorant, uninformed or just plain stupid.  Politically, we’ve become a country divided into polar opposites and we’re all behaving badly…bashing and trashing each other with glee.  In this, I see a small victory for the terrorists.  A country divided and fighting amongst itself cannot be as strong and focused as a united country.

All that is why I’m glad to be participating in D.C. Roe’s project to remember, on this the fifth anniversary of 9/11, the 2996 men, women and children who died when this country, that allows us the freedom to disagree, fell under attack.  For one day, over 3000 bloggers will lay aside differences in political opinion and honor the lives of the victims.  Each participating blogger has been assigned the name of one who gave all that day.  I was assigned the name Jon Richard Grabowski.

To begin, let me give you a face to put with the name.

That’s him.  That’s Jon.  He looks so young, doesn’t he?  He was 33 on September 11, 2001.

I had a hard time with this project.  The idea is to honor the lives of the victims, not rehash their deaths for the umpteenth time.  It’s easier said than done.  I have spent hours googling and dogpiling and following link after link.  Nearly everything led to lists of the victims and told little or nothing personal.  As today approached, I was wondering what I would write.  Then some of the other bloggers began posting early and I came across a link or two through them that provided at least a grain of information.

Jon, I wish I could have found more information about you.  From what I was able to find, it sounds like you were a really nice guy.  You were the husband of Erika, your soul mate, who loved you fiercely and still misses you terribly.  You were a son.  Were you a father?  I didn’t find any mention of children.  Maybe you were a brother or an uncle?  You were certainly a friend and a co-worker.  At 33, it sounds like you were doing pretty well in your career.  You were a vice president of technology information with Marsh & McLennan….a job you began only the week before the attacks.

Jon, you were described as enigmatic, devilish (I think I can see that in your picture), selfless and having a wry wit.  Erika said that you "could always make sense of the world" for her.  I wonder if you could have made sense of that terrible day and all that has come since.  Would you have answers for us, Jon?

So you see, it isn’t much to go on, but I do have a picture now, of a handsome, young man with soulful eyes, madly in love with his wife, starting a new phase of his life and probably full of hopes and dreams for the future.  That picture will be with me forever.  Jon, my tribute to you is simply to remember you, that yours was a life that mattered.

*Please go to D.C. Roe’s blog to find links to other tributes.

Ahhhh….the weekend.  Two days of rest and relaxation and time to recharge.  Ha!  Actually, I’m not all that tired or in need of relaxing.  I’m still loving the new job and so far do not have any of the stress I associated with my previous place of employment.  All the boss type people are incredibly nice and easy going.  They understand that people make mistakes and that when you spend most of the day behind the wheel there will eventually be minor accidents, errors in judgement when backing, a car door thrown open in front of you on a narrow, busy street.  None of it has happened to me, yet, but it’s nice to know the mechanic and second-in-command, Joe, deals with these things by shrugging his shoulders and saying "It happens."  My previous employer would have a fit, make you feel incompetent, take away at least a month’s worth of bonus points, and quite possibly give you days off work.  Yep, I definitely have less stress.

Megan seems to be enjoying school so far this year.  Mostly she has talked about her intro to agriculture class.  She is so excited by it.  I can’t begin to tell you how thrilled that makes me.  Meg hasn’t been excited about anything school related since……..well, probably the first day of kindergarden.  It tickles me to no end that she may have finally found her niche.  She is interested in everything, not just the animals (though she wants to raise a pig).  Right now they are doing a section on mechanics and she loves it.  If this is truly her chosen path, then I’m glad we live where we do.  Our school has an absolutely amazing agriculture program that runs all four years of high school.  It’s widely recognized and kids from many other districts come here because here in Southwestern Pennsylvania farming isn’t what it used to be and it’s the only program around.  Tim and I are glad it teaches everything agriculture related, not just raising animals, so that Meg will get a good idea of the options out there.  Her enthusiasm is so wonderful to see after all these years and it just might be spreading….she told me last night she thinks she has A’s in all her other classes, that she’s done really well on the quizzes and she’s done all her homework! 

Tim is working today.  Big surprise, huh?  At least he’s not far from home so it won’t be late when he gets home.  I’m going to call some friends of ours later and see if they want to get pizza and play cards or something tonight.  In the meantime, I need to wipe off a layer of remodeling dust around the house and deliver some Avon orders.  For now I’m being quiet.  I’ve had the dogs out and they’ve settled down (they wrestle constantly) and Megan and her two friends who spent the night are still sleeping.  I really don’t want to wake human kids or doggie kids up yet.

Tomorrow, we tackle the next step in the remodeling….the livingroom ceiling.

Enjoy your weekend and don’t forget to stop by on Monday to read my post as part of the Blogdom-wide tribute to the 2996 who left us on Sept. 11, 2001.  It’s the five year anniversary and D. C. Roe had the idea to rally bloggers to pay tribute to each victim individually.  Happy to say that every name has been assigned.