How bad is the economy? (Funny!)

(Hat tip to my Aunt Joan A.) THE ECONOMY IS SO BAD THAT: I got a pre-declined credit card in the mail. CEO's are now playing miniature golf. Exxon-Mobil laid off 25 Congressmen. I saw a Mormon with only one wife. I bought a toaster oven and my free gift was a bank. Angelina Jolie adopted a child from America. Motel Six won't leave the light on anymore. A picture is now only worth 200 words. They renamed Wall Street " Wal-Mart Street ". When Bill and Hillary travel together, they now have to share a room. And, finally... I was so depressed last night thinking about the economy, wars, jobs, my savings, Social Security, retirement funds, etc., I called the Suicide Hotline. I got a call center in Pakistan , and when I told them I was suicidal, they got all excited, and asked if I could drive a truck.

Eliminate Your Blind Spot!

Good Tuesday morning evening to everyone, and welcome to Tuesday Travel Tips with Tiffany! To read previous editions, you can find them here.

I drive between 15,000 and 20,000 miles a year - and I'm sure some of you drive many more. This is the best advice I've seen to-date on avoiding blind spots while driving, and I simply had to share!

Over on Car Talk, a site hosted by NPR, this thought is posted:

For years, we'd been setting our side-view mirrors so that they gave us a view of the back corner of our cars. This is the way it's been done for generations - from grandfather, to father, to us! But we finally discovered something very interesting. The back corner of the car never moves. It always stays in the same exact place. So there's really no reason to keep an eye on it.

By moving the side mirrors farther out, you can line up all three of your mirrors so they have minimal overlap -- and you can see everything behind you and beside you.

Here's how to do it.

For the full article and instructions, click here.

And until next time...

Safe Travels!

McDonald's PlayPlace in Pantego Review

Big Girl, Bubba Boy and I are out running errands today, and after 2 hours in the car shuttling between stops, they decided to exercise their majority vote and demand a stop. Where better than a McDOnald's with a PlayPlace?
We ended up at the McDonald's at 2422 W Pioneer Parkway in Pantego, just E of the intersection with Bowen. (Pantego is a small town entirely contained within Arlington. My backyard is bigger than their downtown. You get the idea.)
I was apprehensive when we first pulled in; parking on this Saturday afternoon was a challenge. After we located a spot in the back 9, we headed in. Great little setup between counter and seating space...but the entrance to the PlayPlace area was touch to negotiate with the SUV that is my tandem double stroller. So, to be fair, I'm a wide (er, long) load. But having a table right in front of the entrance with a tight turn to the left necessitated would probably be hard even with an umbrella stroller.
Next up: the bathroom. Unlike some PlayPlaces, this location doesn't have a kiddie potty contained inside. So we negotiated our way back down and navigated the tight walkway in the dining room to the bathrooms. If my right arm was back up to snuff, I would have ditched the stroller and carried Bubba Boy while making Big Girl walk. But I'm not quite there yet.
Headed into the ladies room and...Uh, yeah. Getting the stroller in there was akin to my first k-turn driving lesson 15 years ago. Not pretty. And the changing table was obstructed by the door. As in, when it's down, the door can only partially open. And to avoid being killed by said door, you have to stand at the narrow end of the table, instead of the long side. Plus, I hate to use the handicap stall, but it was the only place I could ditch the stoller. There was literally nowhere else it could go. So total fail on the bathroom design.
Back to the PlayPlace: cool setup. Toddler friendly (so long as the big kids play nice or their parents make them) and Big Girl is having a blast playing while Bubba Boy crawls around and people watches.
So a few design failures, but still a fun time. Hope it clears out a bit before we have to navigate out!

Carrot Induced Bulimia

Bubba Boy hates carrots.

With an unholy, fire-breathing passion.

Whenever I try to sneak little carrot bits or mashed carrots in with his other food, he makes the most awful face.  Then he retches and uses his tongue to push any food in his mouth back out.  In case I've missed the point, he follows that lovely scene by forcing himself to throw up.

My 9-month-old has carrot-induced bulimia.  Wow!

A.A.A.D.D.

(I originally posted this to my old MySpace blog in mid-2007, after my husband forwarded to me with a note that said "this is YOU."  Aw, honey.  Too funny not to repost here!)

Recently, I was diagnosed with A.A.A.D.D. - Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder. This is how it manifests:

I decide to water my garden.

As I turn on the hose in the driveway, I look over at my car and decide it needs washing.

As I start toward the garage, I notice mail on the porch table that I brought up from the mail box earlier.

I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car.

I lay my car keys on the table, put the junk mail in the garbage can under the table, and notice that the can is full.

So, I decide to put the bills back on the table and take out the garbage first.

But then I think, since I'm going to be near the mailbox when I take out the garbage anyway, I may as well pay the bills first.

I take my check book off the table, and see that there is only one check left.

My extra checks are in my desk in the study, so I go inside the house to my desk where I find the can of Coke I'd been drinking.

I'm going to look for my checks, but first I need to push the Coke aside so that I don't accidentally knock it over.

The Coke is getting warm, and I decide to put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold.

As I head toward the kitchen with the Coke, a vase of flowers on the counter catches my eye--they need water.

I put the Coke on the counter and discover my reading glasses that I've been searching for all morning.

I decide I better put them back on my desk, but first I'm going to water the flowers.

I set the glasses back down on the counter, fill a container with water and suddenly spot the TV remote.

Someone left it on the kitchen table.

I realize that tonight when we go to watch TV, I'll be looking for the remote, but I won't remember that it's on the kitchen table, so I decide to put it back in the den where it belongs, but first I'll water the flowers.

I pour some water in the flowers, but quite a bit of it spills on the floor.So, I set the remote back on the table, get some towels and wipe up the spill.

Then, I head down the hall trying to remember what I was planning to do.

At the end of the day: the car isn't washed the bills aren't paid there is a warm can of Coke sitting on the counter the flowers don't have enough water, there is still only 1 check in my check book, I can't find the remote, I can't find my glasses, and I don't remember what I did with the car keys.

Then, when I try to figure out why nothing got done today, I'm really baffled because I know I was busy all day, and I'm really tired.

I realize this is a serious problem, and I'll try to get some help for it, but first I'll check my e-mail....Do me a favor. Forward this message to everyone you know, because I don't remember who I've sent it to.

Don't laugh -- if this isn't you yet, your day is coming!!