Lola's Diner

High On Arrival

lolasdiner@yahoo.com (Lola) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 07:11:00 +0000

I recently finished reading MacKenzie Phillips High On Arrival. I always have enjoyed reading memoirs and autobiographies. Oh, don't worry, I took a pass on James Frey's A Million Little Pieces, if for no other reason because it was on Oprah's book list. If a book is on that list, it's the kiss of death for me. The first book on her list I purchased Barbara Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible. I don't have the letters "PHD" after my name, but I'm not unintelligent. I just could not read and comprehend that book. I read the first page over and over and could not for the life of me figure out the point.

Back to High On Arrival, Anastasia asked me why I would even consider reading such a depressing book. I don't look at it that way. This book is about someone who, seemingly grew up in a life of privilege with much success and lots of money, it's also about someone who even with that, had a life filled with very serious issues. A very troubled life. It makes my life seem like a cake walk in comparison.

When I first saw MacKenzie Phillips on the talk shows I was skeptical of her story about her father having sex with her and then her eventually having a consensual (if you can consider someone so under the influence of drugs consenting) relationship for a time with her father, John Phillips of the Mamas & The Papas. After having read the book, I'm not so skeptical.

Some of MacKenzie Phillips' recollections of her parents drug fueled days make it hard not to understand her drug abuse. Having seemingly limitless quantities of cocaine and heroin in your household certainly must give you a different view of drugs in general. While to some it may make them want to avoid it, to others I'm sure it's a way of glorifying it and saying it's acceptable. It's too bad social services wasn't involved while she was young. She does report that social services was involved with her younger step siblings.

This was definitely a book that I had trouble putting down. I read through it quickly, turning page after page wondering what things she had to deal with and how on earth she managed to get to where she is today...a recovering addict at age 50.

Did you read High On Arrival? What did you think?

Lola's Diner
©2008-2009

Randomness

lolasdiner@yahoo.com (Lola) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 07:47:00 +0000

Aren't you lucky? You get randomness twice this week...again!

Anastasia had a 3 hour interview on Thursday. Yes! Three hours! She had some testing and the rest was a meeting with Human Resources and a meeting with the hiring manager and her bff. Anastasia was very nervous about having her bff in the interview. I can't blame her, I think I'd be nervous in that situation too. Anyway, she is supposed to hear in a few days. Please say a prayer, cross your fingers (and anything else) that she gets a job from this.

In other news, Anastasia did something that few job seekers do, she contacted a former supervisor to ask to use her as a reference. When the supervisor responded, she let Anastasia know that they also had openings there. So for now, it seems opportunities abound. I guess it's what they say, feast or famine, right?

Friday I will be burning up the phone lines. None of these Special Education whose-its ever answer their phone or return calls and there is a Girls Bowling Team meeting on Monday that transportation needs to be arranged for. Our daughter's counselor was trying to facilitate this, but got nowhere. I made calls today and got voicemails. In addition, I got a call yesterday from the bus company saying our daughter's pick-up time in the morning is changing from 7:40am to 7:05am. Hello! School doesn't start until 9am! That means that she will be on the bus for just short of 2 hours! We are trying to get some stability with her illness and this is not the way to do it. Are they freakin' nuts? Ok, I realize this is the time of the year that seems to be a boon for behavioral schools. Admissions are up just because this is usually a bad time of year for these kids, but if you are adding additional kids to the route, why does our daughter have to suffer? Why can't the new kid who is just starting get the sucky pick-up time? They are going to have to adjust to this new school anyway, why do you have to disrupt our daughter? I'm honkin' mad! I called our daughter's counselor at school and she is in complete agreement that changing our daughter's schedule will be detrimental.

I'm brilliant! Remember last year's post Random Thoughts From Hell...I Would Like To Thank? It was partly about the Fall High School Awards night. It was Thursday night and I got out of it! I rock! I told our son he was accompanying our daughter. I told each they were to supervise the other. I also told them if they killed each other there would be no dinner. I am so awesome! I had 2 hours of sheer bliss. (Apparently they cut down on the program. Last year it was much longer.) No kids for 2 hours on school night!

The ex is supposedly picking up our son Friday after school. I'll believe it when I see it. If he actually shows up that means it will be a girls only weekend. I'd really like to have a date night with Anastasia. Anyone want to babysit our 16 year old daughter? Pretty please?

Lola's Diner
©2008-2009

October Top Commenter Winners!

lolasdiner@yahoo.com (Lola) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:03:00 +0000

Ok, it's the 5th of November and no one noticed I forgot to announce the winners?

Wow! Auntie E left everyone in the dust this month...again.

Here are the results:

1st Place - Auntie E @ At Home With Auntie E 1000 Entrecard Credits.
2nd Place - Stacey @ All Stace, All The Time 750 Entrecard Credits.
3rd Place - Lin @ Duck and Wheel With String 500 Entrecard Credits.

Congratulations to the winners! Entrecard Credits will be in your accounts shortly.

Just a reminder to everyone that my Top Commenter Contest will be running in November, so now is your chance to stake out your spot at the counter or grab a booth.

Lola's Diner
©2008-2009

Healthcare Bill questions...

lolasdiner@yahoo.com (Lola) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 08:39:00 +0000

Have you seen the recent articles regarding "A little-noticed measure would put Christian Science healing sessions on the same footing as clinical medicine."? There was an article in Sunday's Chicago Tribune and an article today, Healthcare Provision Seeks To Embrace Prayer Treatments - Los Angeles Times.

Officials of the Christian Science Church are basically seeking to add on to the Healthcare Bill to allow for payment for prayer treatments.

To some of you this may seem shocking, but there is already a provision of the IRS code that allows for a deduction for prayers treatments as itemized medical expenses. "Some federal medical insurance programs, including those for military families, also reimburse for prayer treatment."

On the one hand this looks like a special interest group adding pork to the Healthcare Bill. On the other, as evidenced by the IRS code, the Christian Science Church appears to have more friends on Capitol Hill than any other organized religion, even though they claim to have less than 2,000 congregants in 60 countries.

Some of the arguments against this center around separation of church and state. (However, with that single provision of the IRS code, it doesn't appear to be a weighty argument.)

One could counter with, why should the Christian Science Church be the only church allowed payment for prayer treatments. Certainly other churches/religions pray for health and healing.

What do you think of the Christian Science Church's asking that payment for prayer treatments be included in the Healthcare Bill?

Lola's Diner
©2008-2009

Finally! Someone else sees it!

lolasdiner@yahoo.com (Lola) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 08:41:00 +0000

I complain all the time about how our daughter refuses to do chores and everyone reminds me that this is a normal teenage thing. However, I don't go into detail about what she does when she refuses. She either shuts down (ignores me, refuses to respond, doesn't move) or she give me the evil, psycho stare and shuts down. That could be normal teenage stuff too, to a certain extent. But not for hours.

Tuesday our daughter's therapist got to experience it first hand during her session. The therapist has been giving her a weekly assignment which basically requires that our daughter do her chores in a timely manner for a week and if she does, she will not only earn her allowance and extra rewards at home, she will also earn a gift from the therapist. The therapist even went out and bought the little gifts already, a variety of card games, as she knows our daughter loves card games. That was more than a month ago. Our daughter has failed to accomplish her assignment even once.

The therapist decided to change things up a bit this week and suggested the assignment be that our daughter didn't need to do any chores this week. Also as part of the assignment I would not grocery shop, no one would cook meals or do laundry. It would be a full-out household strike. This was obviously to make our daughter realize how important everyone's contribution to the household is. The therapist asked for our daughter's input. She failed to respond and would not make eye contact, stared at her shoes and just sat there. The therapist said that we would sit and wait for her response. So 10 minutes went by, 20, 30, more than 40 minutes went by. No response, no change. Five minutes before the session was to end the therapist again asked our daughter for her response to the 'assignment'. No response. I suggested I leave the room to see if she would respond, and I did. The therapist walked our daughter out at the end of the session and told me that our daughter just sat there and refused to respond.

So...wasted therapy sesssion? In terms of our daughter, probably. I on the other hand was glad that finally someone else got to see what we at home experience every day. Usually when I tell her therapist or school or a friend that she behaves like this, no one believes that our sweet child would behave this way. In a way, I guess you could say I feel vindicated. Unfortunately, I don't think this is the end of it. Our daughter is complaining about a situation at school and I'm willing to bet that the school is going to witness this behavior very soon. For some reason, perhaps it's the time of year...I don't know, but our daughter doesn't seem to be doing very well. The medication increase she had last month does not seem to be helping at all.

Lola's Diner
©2008-2009

Random Tuesday Thoughts

lolasdiner@yahoo.com (Lola) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:40:00 +0000

Anastasia was up early this morning because she got a phone call. It was freakin' cold in the house. (We are very militant about not turning the heat on until we absolutely have to.) So Anastasia remarks how sometimes it's warmer outside, than inside, probably because the drapes are drawn and the sun is out, the house is holding in the cool air. So she opens the front door, opens the screen door, then quickly closes and says "not so much". I guess you had to be there, but it was funny.

Anastasia has an interview for 2 positions on Thursday. A friend of hers works at the place and she just found out will be sitting in on the interview process. Anastasia is excited about the interview, but now nervous because her bff will be in the interview. Please cross your fingers, say a prayer, send some positive energy her way. Her getting one of these jobs will give her health insurance she really needs and will provide a steady income we are currently lacking.

Halloween candy...I give up. Our son filled 1/2 a king size pillow case trick or treating. He's polished off more than 1/2 of it. Just thinking about it makes me sick.

Lola's Diner
©2008-2009

Halloween

lolasdiner@yahoo.com (Lola) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 08:01:00 +0000

First off, I gotta say, I suuuuuuck! Anastasia gave me her fancy shmancy 35mm digital camera that I got her a few years ago for Christmas to use to take photos at her mom's house. I didn't know that you had to pop the flash part up or the photos would be blurry. So that means that all the cool photos I took over there were crap. If Anastasia's sister emails us her photos, I will post them.

I did take a photo of our kids when we got home. Anastasia took the kids costume shopping earlier in the week. Before that all of our son's costume ideas involved him being in a suit. Scary axe murderer in a suit, scary clown in a suit. He finally settled upon a Scary bloody jester...in a suit. (Did you catch the theme?) I'm not really sure what our daughter's mask is. Anyway, they both had fun.
Lola's Diner
©2008-2009

How do you find joy and happiness?

lolasdiner@yahoo.com (Lola) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 05:10:00 +0000

Times are tough all over. People are struggling to make ends meet and are cutting their budgets to the bare bones.

Many of us, although we wouldn't necessarily admit it to anyone, are having difficult times. Sometimes it seems like all we think about is our budget and our bills. Our lives revolve around pay days and due dates. Tensions are high. The holidays are near. If you've got children, you're probably just beginning to stress out.

What do you try to do in your every day life to find joy and happiness?
With the holidays approaching, what are you going to add to your every day life to bring joy and happiness to yourself and those around you?

What are you doing? What is your significant other doing? What are you doing with your children?

Are there some things that you do with your family or with your significant other where you can spend time together, but not take a hit to the budget? What are your fun things to do?

Have you gotten more spiritual? Have the sacrifices that you have been making as a family or as a couple drawn you closer to your faith?

I think this is the perfect time to share our ideas before we get caught up in our holiday events.

I think it would be great if everyone would share their thoughts in a blog post and link back here so we can share it with everyone.

If we can offer some ideas that will help even one of us it will be more than worthwhile.

We are blog pallies. Together we are strong. Let's help each other out.

I'm not looking for a 2 sentence comment. I would like everyone to put some thought into this. I think it's definitely worth more than a few minutes of our time. Maybe it will help if we all consciously take the time to write a blog post about it sometime in the next week. Just be sure to remember to come back to this post to link up yours.

Please grab the code for the image HERE, include it in your blog post and be sure to come back to add the link to your Joy & Happiness Post to McLinky so we can all share our ideas.

Don’t forget to visit the other participants! It’s a great way to make new bloggy friends!

IF YOU SEE THAT MckLinky APPEARS TO NOT BE WORKING, PLEASE POST A LINK TO YOUR "JOY AND HAPPINESS IDEAS" IN THE COMMENTS TO MAKE SURE WE ARE AWARE OF YOUR PARTICIPATION. THANK YOU!

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS MckLinky IS STRICTLY FOR 'MY JOY AND HAPPINESS' PARTICIPANTS ONLY.
ANY OTHER LINKS WILL BE DELETED WITHOUT PREJUDICE!

Lola's Diner
©2008-2009

good news, bad news and some observations...

lolasdiner@yahoo.com (Lola) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 20:58:00 +0000

I went to the doctor today. The good news is I don't have the H1N1 Swine Flu. The bad news is that I have a really bad colitis flare-up. But the other bad news is that she is treating it with 2 antibiotics. I've never had my colitis treated with antibiotics before. And I've had colitis for 14 years! I'm usually given an antispasmodic, Bentyl and Asacol. If those don't work, then Prednisone is added. I don't understand the logic of the antibiotics, although I was told that it would probably help a open wound that has not healed for more than 2 weeks. (Isn't it great being a diabetic?) Oh, and I almost forgot, I lost 7.6 pounds since last month and I wasn't even trying.

On to the observations...

Entrecard blows. Early on when I started with Entrecard I set up 300 favorites so I could drop off my favorites list. The other day I set a goal to actually drop 300 because I wanted to increase traffic. Dropping through my favorites it stopped at 171, and I had already dropped my inbox and some of those were not in my favorites. That means that more than 129 of my favorite blogs have left Entrecard.

Entrecard double blows. I ended up dropping the rest through categories on my Entrebar. I got less than 10 drop backs for all my work. Yes, you heard me right, my drops received increased only 10 from the day before, which means that I wasted my time.

I really don't care to hear any more about David Letterman's sex life, office romances, etc. Shut the hell up about it already. There are way more important things in life than who David Letterman boinked back in the day. Why is this news now?

Jon Gosselin and Octomon on a reality show dating? Who is the jackass who thinks of this stuff?

So much for having our daughter have a friend at school. The school is refusing to fascilitate it and our daughter is refusing to make any effort with this girl who could be a really good friend. Our son was being ever so helpful during my last conversation with her about it. He said "do you want to be like Mom? No friends except her blog." Nice kid.

Daughter is backsliding which is causing extra tension in the house. Needless to say with colitis, it is aggravated by stress. Our daughter has always been hospitalized this time of year. It's a pattern she has. She's very depressed because she has no friends and she is being completely uncooperative and wanting me to entertain her. I am very much dreading the weekend.

Lola's Diner
©2008-2009

If I Could Blog Back Time Thursday - Favorite TV Show As A Kid

lolasdiner@yahoo.com (Lola) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 07:25:00 +0000

Come join me for this week's edition. Post yours Thursday and comeback and sign up with MckLinky.

This Thursday's topic is: Favorite TV Show As A Kid -

What was your favorite Television Show when you were a kid? Describe it. Why did you like it?
Was there something about it that you related to, or something that you longed for?

For details on how you can submit a topic, and if used, earn 100 Entrecard Credits, click here.

My favorite show was Leave It To Beaver. It's probably a lot of 40/50-somethings favorite because they longed to have that 1950's classic family. I pretty much had that anyway. My Mother was a stay at home Mom, except for one failed attempt to try working when my Father was laid up with one of his back surgeries. (She worked one day at a nursing home and she cried the whole way home. The conditions were horrible and she just couldn't bear to go back.)

True, my Mom didn't wear pearls and high heals to do housework, but she was always home, keeping the house clean and making home cooked meals. She greeted us at the door when we got home from school and had a homemade snack. She always had a kind word and made our friends welcome, just like June did.

My Father didn't wear a suit to the office. He wore work pants and a short sleeve shirt. He worked in a factory. I think all of the dads in our neighborhood were either factory workers or retail managers. One was in the Army, an aircraft maintenance worker who worked at the airport. He wore green fatigues every day. I always kind of wanted my Father to be like Ward. To wear a suit and work in an office every day. That seemed like a really cool job.

I liked the lessons taught in each episode. I always wish my Father would have doled out discipline and advice the way Ward did. Ward was so perfect, so parental, so moral. He always had an answer, and it was always the right answer.

Of course real life isn't scripted. We don't know the problem, solution and conclusion in the beginning like in a script. I still enjoy the show. My kids enjoy it too, though I'm not sure they understand what the cultural significance was of this show that first aired October 4, 1957 and aired in reruns in the late 60's and continue today. Back when it first aired very few women were in the workforce. The economy was stable and 1 income households were the norm. I think today that's almost inconceivable.

Please post your "Favorite TV Show As A Kid." post on your blog. Then come back to Lola's Diner and leave the actual post link here. Please grab the html code for If I Could Blog Back Time Thursdays! Badge HERE.

Don’t forget to visit the other participants! It’s a great way to make new bloggy friends!

IF YOU SEE THAT MckLinky APPEARS TO NOT BE WORKING, PLEASE POST A LINK TO YOUR "FAVORITE TV SHOW AS A KID" IN THE COMMENTS TO MAKE SURE WE ARE AWARE OF YOUR PARTICIPATION. THANK YOU!

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS MckLinky IS STRICTLY FOR 'IF I COULD BLOG BACK TIME THURSDAYS' PARTICIPANTS ONLY.
ANY OTHER LINKS WILL BE DELETED WITHOUT PREJUDICE!

Lola's Diner
©2008-2009

I'm out of ideas

lolasdiner@yahoo.com (Lola) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:09:00 +0000

I need to raise $250 by Friday. If you have the means to help, I would really appreciate it. I know times are very hard for everyone and I shouldn't even ask, but I don't know what else to do. If you have some other..."legal", "legitimate" ideas for raising $250, please let me know.

Some of you may know that I am on disability and couldn't work, even if there were any available. My ex-husband did not make a payment on the money he owes for the children's expenses. If he had, I wouldn't have this shortage. Of course he rarely does what he is supposed to.

I'm seriously up sh** creek here. I'm behind on my mortgage. At the beginning of October I called my lender to apply for the government loan modification program and they told me I qualified and would be sending me an application packet in about 2 weeks. I asked if I needed to make October's payment and was told that no, I didn't need to make that payment because they would tack that on to the end of the loan with the other missed payments. Yesterday I got a letter from my lender, no application packet. It said I was denied. I never did get the application. I called the lender, got an explanation for the denial and was basically told that I had to make a payment by 10/31/09 or they would be assigning my mortgage to an attorney to start foreclosure on 11/01/09. They won't budge on the dates, I even called HOPE and conference called with a credit counseling agency in efforts to get them to change the dates, but they would not.

I stupidly used part of the mortgage money to pay past due bills. I'm $250 short and we have no other options for borrowing or raising the money. I'm totally and completely f'd and it's all over just $250. If I make the 10/31 payment and make a payment in November (which isn't a problem, I will have money coming in then) the lender has offered to do a traditional loan modification December 1st.

I don't like asking for a hand-out. Another blogger has suggested I offer the following:

$20 per month for a 125X125 ad (I have PR2 and PR3 blogs, your choice.)
$15 per blog post for me to write a guest blog post for your site.

If you prefer to just make a donation, you can do that. If you prefer, you can remain anonymous.

If you can help, thank you so much! If you can say a prayer, I would appreciate that so much too!

Please click on the PayPal Button to the right today. (The button is just below the Guest Check.)

Please leave me a comment with your email address, or email me directly at lolasdiner@yahoo.com so that I can make arrangements for your ads and guest blog posts.

I apologize for asking, I feel uncomfortable writing this post, but I'm in between the proverbial rock and a hard place. I wouldn't ask if there wasn't another way. I wouldn't even bring up the topic on my blog if I had other options.

Lola's Diner
©2008-2009

A little help please...

lolasdiner@yahoo.com (Lola) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 21:59:00 +0000

I need to raise $250 by Friday. If you have the means to help, I would really appreciate it. I know times are very hard for everyone and I shouldn't even ask, but I don't know what else to do. If you have some other..."legal", "legitimate" ideas for raising $250, please let me know.

Some of you may know that I am on disability and couldn't work, even if there were any available. I'm seriously up sh** creek here. I'm behind on my mortgage. At the beginning of October I called my lender to apply for the government loan modification program and they told me I qualified and would be sending me an application packet in about 2 weeks. I asked if I needed to make October's payment and was told that no, I didn't need to make that payment because they would tack that on to the end of the loan with the other missed payments. Yesterday I got a letter from my lender, no application packet. It said I was denied. I never did get the application. I called the lender, got an explanation for the denial and was basically told that I had to make a payment by 10/31/09 or they would be assigning my mortgage to an attorney to start foreclosure on 11/01/09. They won't budge on the dates, I even called HOPE and conference called with a credit counseling agency in efforts to get them to change the dates, but they would not.

I stupidly used part of the mortgage money to pay past due bills. I'm $250 short and we have no other options for borrowing or raising the money. I'm totally and completely f'd and it's all over just $250. If I make the 10/31 payment and make a payment in November (which isn't a problem, I will have money coming in then) the lender has offered to do a traditional loan modification December 1st.

I don't like asking for a hand-out. Another blogger has suggested I offer the following:

$20 per month for a 125X125 ad (I have PR2 and PR3 blogs, your choice.)
$15 per blog post for me to write a guest blog post for your site.

If you prefer to just make a donation, you can do that. If you prefer, you can remain anonymous.

If you can help, thank you so much!

Please click on the PayPal Button to the right today. (The button is just below the Guest Check.)

Please leave me a comment with your email address, or email me directly so that I can make arrangements for your ads and guest blog posts.

I apologize for asking, I feel uncomfortable writing this post, but I'm in between the proverbial rock and a hard place. I wouldn't ask if there wasn't another way. I wouldn't even bring up the topic on my blog if I had other options.

Lola's Diner
©2008-2009

Liz shamelessly shilling MJ's movie

lolasdiner@yahoo.com (Lola) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 22:46:00 +0000

Who is paying Liz Taylor to promote MJ's movie? Who gave her a netbook while she's all juiced up on drugs from her heart surgery? Someone take away the laptop!
From A to Z you get Michael's input on every level. Michael's genius at work with the dancers. Mr. Ortega catches Michael in his every mood.less than 20 seconds ago from web

Kenny Ortega did a masterful job of directing the process that goes into making a complete show before hitting the stage.3 minutes ago from web
We cannot let his life be in vain / and always done with love. Remember that. Remember him and thank God for him and his genius.4 minutes ago from web
From "Black And White", "Man In The Mirror". The inspiration behind "We Are The World". We must take his words of responsibility seriously.6 minutes ago from web
I won't use words like preaching because that is off-putting, but listen. Listen to his messages.9 minutes ago from web
If you listen to his lyrics they are those of a modern day prophet and it beseeches us to listen to him and what he sang.11 minutes ago from web
I meant to repeat myself. I love you. I remember Michael loved you. He was totally up to now and the message of today in all his songs.14 minutes ago from web
I hope I don't sound condescending. I'm sure you already know what I'm talking about, but go to see it again and again.15 minutes ago from web
I loved genius in my lifetime. God was so good to me. I will love Michael forever and so will you, if you don't already.17 minutes ago from web
You owe it to yourselves and your loved ones to see this again and again. Memorize it and say to yourselves, "I saw genius in my lifetime"19 minutes ago from web
To say he was a genius seems so little. I wish my vocabulary encompassed what I feel.21 minutes ago from web
God blessed him and squandered nothing, but loved it all. Michael knew how to put together every tone, every nuance to make magic.22 minutes ago from web
And we have this piece of film to remind us forever and ever that once there was such a man. God kissed him.24 minutes ago from web
I wept from pure joy at his God given gift. There will never, ever be the likes of him again.26 minutes ago from web
To say the man is a genius is an understatement. He cradles each note, coaxes the music to depths beyond reality.28 minutes ago from web
It is the single most brilliant piece of filmmaking I have ever seen. It cements forever Michael's genius in every aspect of creativity.29 minutes ago from web
I was honored with the great privilege of seeing "This Is It" last week. I was sworn to secrecy, but now I can let you know about it.32 minutes ago from web

Who's freakin' idea was it to modify Tweetdeck so that every tweet flashes in the upper right corner of your desktop, even though you x'd out of Tweetdeck. Liz is driving me crazy! Stop! Take away her netbook, please!

Lola's Diner
©2008-2009

lolasdiner@yahoo.com (Lola) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 07:46:00 +0000

Remember yesterday's post where I critiqued the lesbian kiss on ABC's Flash Forward, Episode 105? After reading Lynne's comment:

*lynne* said...
I gave up on this show after the first episode :D

from the image of the kiss, what you describe as a stunt kiss I see a Susan Sarandon kiss (from that episode of F.R.I.E.N.D.S., where she teaches Joey some trick of the soap opera trade): the objective is to cover as much of the other's face as possible, LoL!

I'm still not drawn to watch the show, despite your review and the questions raised. Instead, I'd probably pick up the book. Of course, I only have 200+ titles in my to read list, so it may take a while :p

October 24, 2009 10:48 AM

I'm totally convinced Agent Hawk's kiss was a stunt kiss.

Check this out, a woman bid $140,000 for a 20 second kiss with Charlize Theron at a benefit for OneXOne, a charity that provides food, water, healthcare and education to children in Ethiopia and Rwanda. For the whole story, check out AfterEllen.com - Charlize Theron Kisses A Woman For Charity by Sarah Warn.

Again with the hands!

Ok, I tried an experiment Friday night. I surprise planted 1 of those kisses on Anastasia. The first time she said it was enjoyable. Then a bit later, she planted one on me. Ok, enjoyable. Intense even. Then a little I planted another 1 of those kisses on her and she started laughing in the middle of the kiss. I get no respect...I tell ya!

So have you tried one of these kisses? What did you think?

Lola's Diner
©2008-2009

ABC's Flash Forward

lolasdiner@yahoo.com (Lola) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 06:41:00 +0000

I got an email from my blog pally Patricia from Subjective Soup. She asked me to review this past Thursdays episode of Flash Forward where we learn that FBI Agent Janis Hawk is a lesbian. Thank you for the suggestion, I'm thankful for the inspiration for a post. (Lately nothing is inspiring posts. Lol!) Warning: Plot spoilers ahead. If you missed the episode, click on Flash Forward and watch the episode "Episode #105 - Gimme Some Truth" be sure to come back, read my post and comment.

I've done periodic reviews of television shows and soap operas with gay/lesbian characters. If you've missed them, here they are:
Speaking Of Freak Shows - "House"
AMC - Bianca Is Back!
L Television 01/17/09
L Television 02/20/09
Gay Characters On Soaps

I watched episode 104 and 105. I admit, I kind of jumped right in. I didn't go back and start with the first episode. I took a few notes while watching 105 (I'm geeky like that) and then I checked out AfterEllen.com's review by Sarah Warn. I used that as a kind of a catch up. I wasn't aware that there were hints in previous episodes about Agent Hawk. Click on the link to read Sarah's review. It was interesting to see in her comments, someone commented that wearing a ring on the left thumb was code for lesbian. I never heard of that before. Agent Hawk wears a ring on her left thumb.

Before Patricia's email, Anastasia had told me about the episode (105) and told me to be sure and watch it. She said it with such enthusiasm that I was expecting a bit more. Frankly, I feel misled. I watched the episode and was expecting, shall we say...an extended romantic interlude with the characters of FBI Agent Janis Hawk and Maya. (Ok, I when I spoke to Anastasia I didn't use those words. I asked where the bow chicka bow bow was. I was expecting something like the hot, hot, hot scene from "House" where Thirteen picks up a woman at a nightclub and later they discover they have the same bizarre terminal illness. The episode ends with Thirteen making out with an anonymous blonde.)

All this episode showed was this kiss at a restaurant on their first date.

And then a similar kiss the morning after that first date at Agent Hawk's apartment with her scrambling eggs and Maya in a cami and tap pant. (Aren't I impressing you with my knowledge of lingerie?) So obviously there was some first date nookie, but we didn't even get to see any making out, or the bedroom scene afterward. Can I say that ABC is a bunch of *******? Come on! They show way, way, way more with straight couples.

Ok, I'm getting over my disappointment. (No, I lie! I felt cheated!) Anyway, let's move on to that kiss. Who kisses like that? Doesn't that seem kind of aggressive/dramatic of Agent Hawk? Anastasia and I talked about that. Neither of us can ever recall being kissed like that, or either of us kissing each other or anyone else like that. It looked kind of like a 'stunt kiss'. I don't mean like the Madonna/Brittany Spears kiss at the VMA's. I mean, hand placement and camera angle make it appear to be a dramatic kiss, while they aren't necessarily locking lips, or where their lips are touching, but the hand placement makes it seem so much more than it was. Do you get what I mean?

So, I've critiqued the kissing...now to the first date, how should I put this...err romance. Was that accurately portrayed? I would have to say yes. Lesbians move fast. (Hence the lesbian U-Haul jokes you hear.) While Maya's snooping on Mosaic about Agent Hawk didn't surprise me, I was surprised that she owned up to it, and I was surprised how that scene played out at the gallery. It was as if Maya had their whole life planned out. She had the flash forward of a wedding band and Agent Hawk has the flash forward of being pregnant. That's awfully presumptuous of Maya to assume that she will be married to Agent Hawk and that they planned the baby together and Agent Hawk will make a wonderful mom. That was a bit much for a second date, even in our U-Haul world. Lol!

Ok, it was humorous during the date when Agent Hawk fibbed about her flash forward saying that she was on the space station having a 3-way with Hilary Clinton and Sarah Palin. Then Maya retracts her real flash forward story and says that she was on a game show hosted by Angelina Jolie and she didn't know the answer so she called Agent Hawk and Hawk didn't respond so she lost the million. Speaking of Angelina Jolie, if Anastasia has her on her "list", I'm putting Christine Woods on mine. So long as she wears her gray suit and badge.

Ok, I digress, but do you blame me? Way hotter than Angelina Jolie...I'm just saying. (I think it may be the badge.)

I was very disheartened by the way the episode ended. Agent Hawk gets shot in the back and as she lies on the pavement in a large pool of her own blood her flash forward flashes before her eyes where she asks the ultrasound tech what she's having. She learns she's having a girl.

So, did this shooting really happen? Is this someone else's flash forward and there is still opportunity to change the course of history? During the ultrasound, why is there no scar on Agent Hawk's belly from the gunshot?

On another note, I thought the lady doc using the guy doc's flash forward to save Ned Ned was awesome. After I finished watching I had to Google/Wiki Addison's Disease, because I had never heard of it before.

Questions, questions, questions.
Yes, I'm hooked.

What about you? What did you think?

And for extra credit, if you watched it the website, did you see the webcast with David Goyer and Marc Guggenheim, the producers of the show? If you didn't, they talked about having already written 7 seasons of the show and that they already know how each season finale will end. Even the last one. How does that make you feel?

Lola's Diner
©2008-2009

Friday Randomness

lolasdiner@yahoo.com (Lola) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 07:01:00 +0000

Ok, so you get randomness twice this week...

How come I just discovered yesterday that Food 4 Less is Kroger? I've lived in Illinois since 1988 and I just discovered this yesterday? I think I've been living under a rock! Actually, I asked Anastasia and she didn't know either.

There are 2, about the same distance from my house. Only around 11 miles. But when you drive those 11 miles with our son in tow, those can seem like an eternity. He did a monologue the entire ride there and back. He was driving me crazy! I tried turning up the radio, but he just talked louder! I finally had to get a grip and try to channel my younger self. You know, the one that could drive from Chicago to Milwaukee with 2 screaming toddlers in the back seat and not even flinch? Yeah her. It wasn't easy, but I managed to find her.

It's that time of year again. The ladybug invasion. Ever since we moved to the burbs, this house gets a ladybug invasion this time of year. It's weird, I've never seen this many ladybugs before moving here.

Ok, yes, I watched Oprah last night. Remember how I dissed Oprah for taking over downtown Chicago last month? I wasn't aware they did this with the audience. This is really cool considering this was the audience, not all dancers. Sure the girl in blue was a dancer and probably the dozen people around her, but not the multitudes of regular people that were there.

Lola's Diner
©2008-2009

If I Could Blog Back Time Thursdays - Topic Of Your Choice

lolasdiner@yahoo.com (Lola) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 07:47:00 +0000

Come join me for this week's edition. Post yours Thursday and comeback and sign up with MckLinky.

This Thursday's topic is: Topic Of Your Choice -

Time to share some memories on the topic of your choice.

Do you have a wrong you'd like to right? Did something recently jar a memory, or did something remind you how things have changed?

For details on how you can submit a topic, and if used, earn 100 Entrecard Credits, click here.

Please post your "Topic Of Your Choice." post on your blog. Then come back to Lola's Diner and leave the actual post link here. Please grab the html code for If I Could Blog Back Time Thursdays! Badge HERE.

Don’t forget to visit the other participants! It’s a great way to make new bloggy friends!

IF YOU SEE THAT MckLinky APPEARS TO NOT BE WORKING, PLEASE POST A LINK TO YOUR "TOPIC OF YOUR CHOICE" IN THE COMMENTS TO MAKE SURE WE ARE AWARE OF YOUR PARTICIPATION. THANK YOU!

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS MckLinky IS STRICTLY FOR 'IF I COULD BLOG BACK TIME THURSDAYS' PARTICIPANTS ONLY.
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Are You Ready For Halloween?

lolasdiner@yahoo.com (Lola) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 06:59:00 +0000

So what are you going to be for Halloween? Or what are you kids going to be?

I don't 'do' Halloween. Mostly because there is no point. We get zero trick-or-treaters at our house because we have no street lights on our block. Anastasia and I never have the opportunity to attend an adult party because, well, we've always got our daughter and she can't be left home without adult supervision. For me to wear a costume would be rather pointless because I won't be doing anything. That's not to say that I'm upset that I don't get to 'dress-up', I'm just not that creative when it comes to myself.

With our kids, that's a whole different story. I've rarely bought a purchased costume. I've bought masks, I've sewn costumes and created costumes out of regular clothes and make-up. When they were little, I sewed a pumpkin costume. When our son was in grade school, I Bedazzled a black shirt for an Elvis costume. (Yes, I admit it, I own a Bedazzler. Actually just purchased for that costume....honest!) Two years ago I bought our son a suit for $2.99 at a thrift store that has not only been a costume for Halloween for 2 years, it has also served as his suit for Homecoming and special occasions.

This year our daughter wants to wear scrubs and be a nurse. No expenditure needed here, we've got scrubs...don't ask... Our son wants to wear his suit. (I think he loves the attention he gets when he dresses up.) I told him he should wear his black skinny tie and he can go as Don Draper (Mad Men), but he thinks that's stupid. Sigh. I thought it was a cool idea.

In any case, our kids still want to trick-or-treat. They are going under the guise of taking out Anastasia's grand nephew and grand niece. They are almost 3 and almost 2. Our kids have been invited over to Anastasia's Mother's house to meet up with them. That is unless our son goes with Eddie Haskell instead.

So far I have not bought a single solitary bag of Halloween candy. I think I'm doing awesome! Usually I'll buy several bags (because they're on sale!) I'll eat a few, share them with Anastasia and next thing you know our son finds my stash and I end up with an empty bag. Well, not this year! I haven't bought any! Remember...I don't have to buy any, we don't get any trick-or-treaters.

Oh wait, I just remembered, I lied. Walgreen's had Brach's Chocolate Gourmet Candy Corn and I just had to buy a bag and try it. They looked kind of gross, but they were actually pretty good. I actually like the regular kind too.

So what about you? What are your costumes? Have you succumbed to the Halloween candy sales? Come on, you can tell Lola, do you have a stash in your desk at work?

Lola's Diner
©2008-2009

Random Tuesday Thoughts

lolasdiner@yahoo.com (Lola) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 06:59:00 +0000

Met Lin from Duck And Wheel With String at Starbucks last night and caught up on the blog world and non-blog world. I learned that teen tantrums can be normal teen stuff. We commiserated big time over that. Lol! We talked Entrecard (ok, trash talked Entrecard) and talked about our other blog pallies. (It was all blog love, honest.) I love our Starbucks meet-ups! I can't wait until next month when we storm Chicago and meet-up with JD from I Do Things.

When I got home Monday night our son reported that our daughter puked, but it was before her meds and she was already asleep, even though I got home relatively early. I'm hoping this doesn't mean a sick day for her today. (Please tell me that's not a sign of H1N1!) I don't know how my nerves are going to take a sick day after several nights of tantrums last week. I've been looking forward to her going to school. Seriously! She had a medication change (increase) and she's been intolerably moody, tantrums, sleeping way too much and just generally a real pita.

Watching Nightline Monday night...shoulder pads are back? Seriously? Didn't we figure out that those didn't work back in the depression and then again in the 80's? Back in the 80's when shoulder pads were in, I was the blazer girl and every blazer I had, you guessed it...had shoulder pads. The thing was, many of the shirts I had, also had shoulder pads! Double shoulder pads is not a good look, trust me. Please tell me they aren't going to bring back big hair! I may just shave my head in protest.

Lola's Diner
©2008-2009

Crazy Cat Videos

lolasdiner@yahoo.com (Lola) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 07:49:00 +0000

Cat Betrayed his girlfriend:

Kitty said what?

Funny cats...

Some people just have too much time on their hands...don't they? Lol!

Lola's Diner
©2008-2009

Perfect Day For Carving Pumpkins!

lolasdiner@yahoo.com (Lola) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 22:00:00 +0000

The weather was gorgeous today. Sunny, a bit cold, but not as cold as it has been lately. While I slaved in the kitchen preparing food for our Bearsfest, Anastasia and the kids carved pumpkins on the porch.

Here is a photo of those great Mums we purchased last week. We just set them in the planters we used for the Moss Roses we planted in the Spring.

Everyone can't wait for the game to start to dig in to the eats. I made Chili, Taco Dip and Spirals. Is it game time yet?

Pumpkin lit up at night. (Can't really tell with the flash, but still an awesome carving!) Chili was awesome! Can't post the recipe because it was literally spice cabinet chili because I didn't have enough Chili Powder and had to add Cumin, Paprika, Red Pepper, Garlic Powder to taste until I got it just right. It came out perfect. Not so much for the Bears so far. Come on Bears!

Lola's Diner
©2008-2009

Are You Ready for Christmas 2009?

lolasdiner@yahoo.com (Lola) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 22:17:00 +0000

It's only 70 days until Christmas. Is it really that close? Seems like just yesterday it was 4th of July.

I have no idea how we're going to manage Christmas this year. My partner and I usually purchase 1 major gift for each child (or 1 shared gift) and then buy them stuff they need, like clothing, shoes, etc. We're very practical. We're also very dollar challenged this year and I'm sure we're not alone. I think this year we're going to skip the major gift and only go with the practical.

Since we have teens it's becoming increasingly difficult, not only to come up with gift ideas, but also to get the shopping done. When they were younger it was easy. They went shopping with me, and when they weren't looking I would slip items into the cart under my coat. When it was time to hit the check-out lanes, I had them stand a couple aisles over, where I could keep an eye on them and then I put my coat on and put the items on the counter and paid for them. They were too busy watching other people check-out, or they were fighting. They had no idea what I bought. I still occasionally employ this technique, but the I have to be more careful.

I try to shop early, a little at a time, so it's easier on the wallet. My Mom did the same thing when we were kids. She would wrap them early and hide them. Her favorite hiding place was the bottom drawer of her cedar chest. I figured it out early on and was very adept at peeling away the cellophane tape, opening the package, checking out the contents, and then re-wrapping it. No one was the wiser.

Unfortunately, the first year we moved to the burbs, my hiding place was a cabinet in the basement. A power outage that stopped our sump pump had me scrambling to retrieve the items before the flood water got too high. I narrowly escaped saving an Ipod and I had to leave out some DVD's to dry. They ended up being fine, but that's no longer a safe hiding place.

Today with my family I employ a tactic I call "hiding in plain sight". I'll even do this before I wrap the items. "Hiding in plain sight" is just what it means, sort of. I've hidden gifts in the garage which I made no attempt to cover. I've hidden gifts in a plain box on a bookshelf, board games in a bag behind the sofa. Family members pass the items daily, and have no clue. Sometimes I give up my hiding places because I can't resist the "gotcha" response. Other times, I keep them secret. It doesn't matter, I've never been found out. How do I know this? Because they would have to give it up because they would have to gloat about it, that they were able to figure it out.

"Hiding in plain sight" works because they least suspect it. Try it. Let me know how it works for you.

Lola's Diner
©2008-2009

One Year Blogoversary

lolasdiner@yahoo.com (Lola) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 06:12:00 +0000

When I don't have comments, it's like a diner with no customers.

So comment early and often, and don't forget about my monthly comment contest.

National Grouch Day

lolasdiner@yahoo.com (Lola) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 08:27:00 +0000

Today is National Grouch Day. Now here's a day for me! One thing I will never be accused of is being overly happy.

I've always been accused of being a grouch. Now there's finally a day I can celebrate and put my grouch on and no one can give me a hard time! Back when I was working, I did accounting/bookkeeping work. Very detailed stuff. Concentration essential. Co-workers always took my concentration and attention to my task as grouchiness. I even had a former VP where I previously worked constantly writing me up for it. It's kind of hard to improve when the bar was set so high. The receptionist was so jovial and happy she came in every morning singing. (No...I'm not kidding.) It made me look bad even when I was really making an effort to 'look' less grouchy. I got really tired of being accused of being grouchy and employed the age old technique of 'faking it till you make it'. Of course I never did 'make it', but I faked it so well that I was actually complimented on the changes I made. Of course I still never entered the office singing, but I did fool them. (Oh, and the singing receptionist? She's still there. People would often remark 'what the hell is she so happy about?' or remark to others that they wished she'd just 'shut the hell up'.)

Oh well, embrace your grouchiness today! I know I will!

Lola's Diner
©2008-2009

If I Could Blog Back Time Thursdays - Infomercial Products

lolasdiner@yahoo.com (Lola) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 07:06:00 +0000

Come join me for this week's edition. Post yours Thursday, and comeback and sign up with MckLinky.

This Thursday's topic is: Infomercial Products -

What was the first Infomercial Product you ever bought?

Did it work? Do you still use it today?
What was the best, what was the worst Infomercial Product you ever bought and why?

For details on how you can submit a topic, and if used, earn 100 Entrecard Credits, click here.

I don't really recall the first Infomercial Product I bought. I never ordered any off of the Infomercials. I purchased them at the state fair or at Target. The first products I bought were probably the Ginsu Knife and the Sweepa. I was never impressed with the Ginsu. In fact I returned one for replacement one year at the state fair and it was exchanged for a new one immediately and without question. I love the Sweepa. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, here's what it looks like:
If you have pets, you have pet hair and the Sweepa is the fastest, easiest way to sweep it up. The last time I Sweepa'd the stairs I had enough cat hair for a small kitten. No lie! I always Sweepa before we clean the carpets. (I mean, before Anastasia cleans the carpets.) That way I get all the hair picked up so it doesn't get caught in the beater bar of the carpet cleaner.

One product that I wasn't satisfied with, I can't recall the Infomercial name, but it was a vegetable slicer that came with different blade attachments. I could never figure out how to get it to do what they showed on the infomercial.

DISCLOSURE: This is not a paid post. I purchased the items mentioned and received no compensation.

Please post your "Infomercial Product experiences" post on your blog. Then come back to Lola's Diner and leave the actual post link here. Please grab the html code for If I Could Blog Back Time Thursdays! Badge HERE.

Don’t forget to visit the other participants! It’s a great way to make new bloggy friends!

IF YOU SEE THAT MckLinky APPEARS TO NOT BE WORKING, PLEASE POST A LINK TO YOUR "INFOMERCIAL PRODUCT EXPERIENCES" IN THE COMMENTS TO MAKE SURE WE ARE AWARE OF YOUR PARTICIPATION. THANK YOU!

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS MckLinky IS STRICTLY FOR 'IF I COULD BLOG BACK TIME THURSDAYS' PARTICIPANTS ONLY.
ANY OTHER LINKS WILL BE DELETED WITHOUT PREJUDICE!