Well, of course he was found guilty – Abortion doc’s killer found guilty.  They showed some footage from the trial on GMA this morning, and the man who killed Tiller readily admitted that he killed him and said he didn’t regret doing it.  The thing is, he felt justified in what he did.  Here was a man who killed how many? thousands? of innocent, unborn children.  And somehow that was OK.  No, the fact that he murdered all those innocent children did not give Scott Roeder the right to kill him, and most people would never go that far.  Still, it is very frustrating to see people who call themselves doctors (First DO NO HARM kind of fell by the wayside with these guys) continuing to kill innocent babies, and that’s supposed to be OK.

Tiller’s family was shown in the courtroom cringing at details of how he was killed and getting all emotional.  I get it, they lost a loved one.  But seriously, this guy they loved and admired was killing people on a regular basis.  Were they cringing then?  Were they crying?  Did they even care?

I don’t want to seem heartless, and one wrong (or in this case thousands of wrongs) doesn’t make another one right.  So of course Scott Roeder should have been found guilty, but so should Tiller – and I guess, in a way, he was.

 

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I don't post here for 5 weeks or so, and Google gives me back a PageRank.  Whatever shall I do with it?  They gave me back a PR 1 on my Just Gotta Share This blog.  It was a 2, and then it was a 1, and then for reasons I'll never know, it went to 0 for a while.  Google is just so random.

I could really use a PR on Beth & Cory's Mom or even on bcmom's kitchen, but I don't know if that will ever happen or not.  Oh well.

All those links?  Where I'm actually posting about everything. 

As I was shoveling the driveway for the 2nd time today, I was thinking:

• Why is it that I always want to spell shoveling with 2 L's?
• I really wish the neighbors didn't have snow blowers - not because they get their driveways cleaned in less time with less effort, but because the gas fumes really bother me and sometimes give me a headache.  So much for crisp, fresh air.
• I really don't mind shoveling snow - unless it's really wet, heavy, and deep, like at the bottom of the driveway where the plow goes through, and in front of the mailbox.
• Even if the snow isn't super deep and heavy, shoveling the entire driveway is still good exercise, especially when I have to do it multiple times a day.
• Sometimes I'd like to wait until it actually stops snowing so I can shovel the snow all off at once, but I don't like to drive through it or have anyone else drive through it.  Tire tracks in the snow just make it harder to clean off the driveway.
• It doesn't seem to matter which gloves I wear, my fingers always seem to get cold.  Except today - today they were warm, but it wasn't very cold out there, I guess.  I did recently get some fingerless gloves with a mitten part that pulls over the end - what do you call those?  Glittens?  I'm hoping that will help.  If not I may have to find me some mittens and see if that helps, keeping my fingers together so they can keep each other warm.

and, there were other things going through my head, not all of them related to snow or shoveling, but I can't remember any of them now.  Oh, one of them was that I probably wouldn't get outside if I didn't have to shovel.  I still get outside in the mornings to walk, but the rest of the day I don't, so shoveling is good for getting me outside.  Getting outside to play in the snow isn't something we seem to do anymore.  So shoveling is good.

When I feel like I'm getting a cold, I usually go with a lot of hot water with lemon and honey, with some Vitamin C thrown in. Next time, because, unfortunately, there will always be a next time, I think I'm going to try this:

Recommended dosages from the Arm & Hammer Company for colds and influenza back in 1925 were:

• Day 1 -- Take six doses of ½ teaspoon of baking soda in glass of cool water, at about two hour intervals
• Day 2 -- Take four doses of ½ teaspoon of baking soda in glass of cool water, at the same intervals
• Day 3 -- Take two doses of ½ teaspoon of baking soda in glass of cool water morning and evening, and thereafter ½ teaspoon in glass of cool water each morning until cold symptoms are gone

What I heard: Now that we're into Summer...

What she actually said: Now that we're in December...

We watched a little of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade this morning. It's kind of fun to watch things shot in New York, whether it's TV shows, Good Morning America, or this parade, now that I've actually been there. Everything look so familiar. I know we only spent one weekend there for the band trip last spring, but we had a really good tour guide who took us all over the place on the bus. Then, we got to get out and walk the streets. We got to go shopping in soho, walking and shopping on 5th Avenue, looking for deals in China Town, and hanging out in Times Square.

There were store like Macy's, Sabon, Cartier, Saks and Sephora, and I did a lot of looking, but not much actual shopping. All that designer stuff is just too rich for my blood, I guess, though I was tempted by a couple pairs of shoes. After we got back from the trip, I added up the money I spent (besides on food) and I only spent about $20 on souvenirs. I can't say the same for some of the girls on the trip. They were buying designer purses in China Town and shoes and perfumed body oils on 5th Avenue. I just went along for the ride and took lots of pictures. Unfortunately, most of those pictures are still on my computer. I did upload all the pics from the first day to facebook here - Part 1, Part 2, Part 3. Facebook would only let me upload 60 pics to an album then. Anyway, watching the parade and seeing New York this morning reminds me that I really, really need to get the rest of the pics uploaded, along with my pictures from Thanksgiving last year, and from some concerts, and our trip to the zoo, and...

So many pictures, so little time.

Yes, I know - I've been incredibly scarce around here. So, if we're not friends on facebook, or you don't follow me on twitter - or read my other blog, then you probably think I fell off the face of the earth. I didn't. Really. Just, for some reason, I just can't seem to get caught up.

So, just in case you were wondering - I'm still here!

And Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you have a wonderful day filled with family, friends, and blessings too many to count.

OK, so it's serious - someone's mother is in the hospital, and I'm sure this commenter really does care, but...

When I read something like this:


I just want to SCREAM, and then correct everything.  Apostrophes where they don't belong, apostrophes missing when they should be there,  misspelled words, the wrong words altogether, missing periods, etc.  It pretty much distracts me from what the commenter is actually trying to say.

Filed under: Facebook makes me bite my tongue, usually.

I got an email this morning telling me that my order from Boca Java has shipped.  Yes, the same 4 coffees I got in my trial shipment and in my 2nd shipment, because I never got in there and changed them.  I thought I had 8 weeks.  I changed my delivery frequency to 8 weeks last time, so I should've had another month to pick.  Nope.  Apparently, I also had to change the delivery date.  Why?  8 weeks from the date of my last shipment, Boca Java, is it that hard to figure out?  Seriously?  Why should I have to tell you what date that is?  And, if I really need to tell you, then you should make it very clear, which it is not.

So, I canceled my account.  I'm not incredibly impressed with their coffee anyway.  I mean it's OK, but not worth the hassle of figuring out their delivery thing.  Now if they'd just email me like they're supposed to before they ship my orders:


I copied this directly from the FAQs on the web site.  The customer service representative I spoke to this morning must not have read this, because she tried to tell me I shouldn't have gotten a credit last time, because they're not supposed to send me an email for the first shipment after my trial shipment.  ???  Well, they didn't send me an email this time either, not until after they shipped my order.  I still haven't finished my first order, and I haven't even opened the box from the 2nd one.  At least this time it didn't cost me anything because they applied the credit I got last time.

It was just yesterday that I was talking about coffee preferences, wasn't it?  I kept meaning to go back to Boca Java and either pick different coffees to try or cancel my account altogether.  Except I didn't.  It hadn't been that long, had it?  Then I checked my credit card charges the other day and saw a new charge from Boca Java.  Yep, it's been a whole month and they automatically shipped me the same 4 coffees I already tried - because I never logged in and changed it.

I checked and saw that they were supposed to send me an email letting me know that they were getting ready to ship my next order, but I never got the email.  I checked the spam folder, everything.  So I called customer service.  My order has already shipped, so there's nothing I can do aobut that, but they gave me a credit so I can try the other coffees - as a courtesy because I didn't get the email.  So now I just need to pick some new flavors to try.

Still, how did 4 weeks go by just like that?  How?

My brother has been buying green coffee beans and roasting his own recently. He gave me a couple links, and I thought about buying some green coffee beans of my own - but then I got bogged down in all the choices. How do I figure out which beans I want? Yes, I know, order several and try them, but I didn't. Instead I bought some whole bean organic coffee from the grocery store, and I'm really enjoying that. Also, just yesterday I received my trial shipment of Boca Java coffee. It's roasted when you order it, so it's almost as good as roasting my own, right? I had to choose four to try, but it wasn't quite as hard because there weren't as many to choose from.

Anyway, today I tried the Interactive Coffee Recommender from Caribou Coffee, so I tried it, and came up with:

Your Flavor Profile: Smoky & Robust

Your preference in marshmallows suggests that you like...
A darker roasted quality. Deep, smokey caramel and hints of syrupy-ness.

Your preference in fruit suggests that you like...
Smooth body, almost no snap and a lingering finish. And monkeys

Your preference in wine suggests that you like...
Fruity, pure flavors with a moderate body

Your preference in alcohol suggests that you like...
Sweet, round subtly spicy flavors. And pirates.

Maybe that will help. And I still need to find out if I use my popcorn popper to roast coffee, will I still be able to pop popcorn with it?

They keep telling me on the news that today is the last day to register for the state's Do Not Call list - for this period anyway.   Every time you register, it's supposed to be good for 2 years, but I don't remember when I registered our numbers last.  So I registered all of our phones - home and cell phones.  Otherwise we could have been in danger of dropping off the list, leaving us open to all those irritating calls.

I have to wonder though, why does the list expire?  Shouldn't we just be able to register once, and then if we ever decide we'd actually like to get some calls, we can remove our numbers from the list?  Yeah, like that's ever gonna happen.  No, because of the way it's set up, the telemarketers are hoping we register once and then forget about it, so when our 2 years is up, they can start calling again.

Nope, I think I'll just go randomly register whenever I think about it ...

I went walking this morning, late because it was raining when I got up.  It wasn't really raining hard.  It was the kind of rain that wouldn't have bothered me much if I was already out in it, but I didn't really want to start out in it.  So I waited, and it pretty much stopped.  I checked the weather radar online, and it looked like there was a decent break in the rain, so I got my MP3 player, put on my walking shoes, and went out for my walk.  It was nice, barely misting at all, until about halfway into my walk when it started pouring.  That lasted a couple minutes, long enough to soak me, and then it stopped and went back to the sprinkling/misting.  So I finished my walk, came home and stripped off my wet clothes and got in the shower.

Now I'm out of the shower.  I look outside, and what do you think I see?  Sunshine and blue sky, that's what.  The clouds are moving off. 

I get so tired of the inappropriate use of apostrophes everywhere.  It seems to happen all the time in facebook status updates and comments.  Apostrophes where they don' t belong, missing apostrophes where they should be.  Are people just being lazy?  After all, it's just a quick update, and no one is going to care, right?  Or maybe they really don't know any better and really believe a plural word needs an apostrophe. 

Here's a good one:  "Yep if he aint playing for the Packer's any more who care's if he is retired or not."  (Speaking about Brett Favre, a man with a name that is either spelled wrong or pronounced wrong, which in itself bugs me, never mind that people in Wisconsin just can't shut up about him.)

Assuming ain't is actually a word, which it probably ain't (*grin) we're looking at a missing apostrophe and then some extra ones thrown in to make up for it.  Personally I also would have said he's instead of he is, but I suppose that's a personal choice.  Judging from the rest of the comment, if a contraction had been chosen it would have been spelled hes, of course.

I know, I shouldn't be so picky.  After all, it's great being able to reconnect with so many people on facebook.  I may have stopped writing to my best friend way back in 3rd grade because her letters were so full of misspelled words and grammar mistakes, but I'm all grown up now.  Surely I can handle it.  It's just that sometimes I want to scream!

Let's not even get into people who not only say could of, should of, or would of, but actually type it out for the whole world to read, or at least all their friends.

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• Am I the only one distracted by apostrophes and weird "quoting"? (myventurepad.com)

It seems that no matter where I go, I attract smokers.  I'm wondering if I have an invisible sign hanging over my head that says, "Please come smoke in my face.  I love it so much."  Or maybe I should consider some type of sign - "Smoking STINKS" - "If you're going to smoke, do it elsewhere!!!" - "Blow your smoke on someone who appreciates it!" - something.

Jeffrey and I went to a concert at the county fair yesterday, and of course I was surrounded by smokers.  Not just smokers who light up every once in a while - no I had to have at least one who couldn't go more than five seconds without a lit cigarette in her hand.  Right in my face.

I guess I should just give up and stay home, like some stupid smoker suggested years ago.  It was the 4th of July, and we went to see the fireworks.  We got there early and claimed our spot, in a little patch of grass right next to a sidewalk - we were right on a corner, and there was no room between us and the sidewalk.  There were a few other families there, all with little kids and no smokers!  Then, just as the fireworks were about to start, along comes another family and sets up on the sidewalk.  And the woman promptly starts smoking.  Jeffrey says something to her - we were here, the smoke is bothering my wife - not to mention we had little kids!  What does she say?  "Then she should've stayed home."  Excuse me?  No apologies.  No consideration.  Just I should have stayed home because her nasty habit bothered me - a nasty habit I should have been safe from at least that one time.  I mean who sets up on the sidewalk?  All the other people who were still walking in had to walk in the street.  Yes, the street was closed for the fireworks, but still.  If we had been dumb enough to leave a spot on the grass, that would have been one thing...

Another time I had a smoker show how much she loved hated me.  We lived in an apartment with a pool.  Late in the season there weren't too many people using the pool.  They'd open it but leave all the lounge chairs stacked, so you had to get your own if you wanted to use one.  I went out - had the entire pool to myself.  I grabbed a lounge chair and put it right next to the stack of chairs.  There was no room for another chair on either side of me.  The entire rest of the pool was open and available.  If anyone else came along, they could take a lounge chair and go anywhere - except next to me.  So, this woman comes out - and she starts moving the entire stack of chairs.  These are pretty hefty lounge chairs, and there are quite a few in the pile - that stack was not easy to move.  But she kept at it until she had enough room to fit a chair in between the stack and my chair.  She settled in and promptly lit a cigarette.  What in the world?  I did not know this woman.  It did not occur to me that she hated me so much that she just had to be right next to me to smoke.   When the entire rest of the pool was available!  It must have been my invisible sign.  If I could only get rid of it.

Or if smokers would realize how nasty and disgusting their habit is and put a little effort into being considerate - it wouldn't have taken nearly as much effort for her to go smoke on the other side of the pool or at least on the other side of the stack so there was something between me and her smoke.  And couldn't the fireworks woman have tried a little harder to find other smokers to sit by, instead of setting up camp next to a bunch of non-smokers?

I hate being forced to breathe their stinking smoke, but I don't think I should have to stay home to avoid it.  Who decided only smokers are allowed to go out and have any kind of fun?  Who decided I have to become a smoker to go out in public? 

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• Ugh! (alwaysbcmom.com)

My Mammaw died last night.  I'm not exactly sure how to feel.  Yes, it's sad.  She was my last grandparent, and she was a really special lady.  It seems like I should say I'm going to miss her, but she wasn't a big part of my life.  Does that sound bad?  I loved her.  I know she loved me.  Growing up we saw her once or  twice a year.  There were a couple summers I got to spend a couple weeks at her house, and she did her best to spoil me rotten, because that's the kind of Mammaw she was.

Then they moved to Texas, and while I realize Texas isn't on the other side of the world or anything, we never went to visit, and they never came back.  Except there was that one time when my nephew Jesse was a baby, but that was before I had kids.  My Mammaw never met my kids.  I sent her some pictures when they were little, and I know she loved them even though she'd never met them, and she would have loved to spoil them rotten, too.  But she never got the chance.

. . .

I'm not accomplishing anything today.  I just feel extra tired - kind of like I'm getting a cold, and I can't get motivated to move.  I'm tempted to just curl up on the couch and read this book ruthette  says I should read.  I thought I had read it a long time ago, but now I don't think so.  There are just so many good books waiting to be read and not enough time to read them all...

I'm also tired because because I got home and got to bed later than usual last night - but it was worth it.  I won two passes for an advance screening of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, so Cory and I went to that.  We got to the theater about 3 hours before the movie, so I took the book to read in line, but didn't get to it.  We just ended up talking to the people in line with us.  Anyway, it was all worth the wait because we got great seats and the movie was AWESOME!  It was thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish.  Speaking of books, I really, really want to re-read all the Harry Potter books - and a few other series, too - but right now mainly Harry Potter.  Before seeing this movie Cory re-read every one of the books, up to HBP, and watched all the movies.  I wish I had time for that!  Maybe by the time this comes out on DVD?

I just finished eating a piece of toasted Whole Wheat Sourdough. It was so good I got to thinking that I could live on this bread. Seriously - so good.

That's when this verse popped into my head:

and that got me to thinking about how Jesus is the 'true bread from heaven'
Which brings me back to: 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.' Yes, the bread is important and life-giving - but it's not the only thing.  Jesus came to reveal the Father, not to found a new religion based on himself -  not bread alone.

July 1st and I had to wear long pants and a long-sleeved t-shirt when I went walking this morning!  It definitely does not feel like July, but I'm not complaining.  I actually like the cooler weather - or at least cool enough that everyone else in the house isn't clamoring for the air conditioning to be turned on.  We had some heat and humidity last week, so we did have the air on from Monday night until Saturday night.  I kept watching the weather, waiting for the cool down so we could turn it off and open the windows.  But today - so far no open windows.  We did have our bedroom window open overnight - for the cat because she likes to sit in it.  Also, I don't mind pulling all the covers up and snuggling under the comforter when it's actually cool.  I just don't think I should have to when my house is being artificially cooled.

I'm taking advantage of the cool weather and cooking a turkey today.  When the weather's hot, I hate to turn the oven on, so it's nice not to have to worry about that.  It's been in there for about an hour and a half, and it's already smelling good in here!

I also switched walking shoes today.  I meant to do it last month, but I didn't think about it until a few days into the month.  While I realize I could do it at any time, the first of the month just seemed like a good time, and I couldn't bring myself to change in the middle.  Yeah, I'm weird like that.   My old walking shoes had 500 or so miles on them, so I figured it was time for a new pair.  They're not completely new, since they're the shoes I've been wearing with my jeans, etc. for a while now, but they don't have all that many miles on them.  My old walking shoes get to be the everyday shoes now.  They still have some life left in them if I use them that way.

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• I'm Wearin' My Socks (alwaysbcmom.com)