Our Cruise!

Mazatlan on the Beach!

Oh my,! it was so fun. I have never been on a cruise so this was a blast. I think Mr. MM has once but it was work related, so I don't know if he got to enjoy it or not. Our cruise was from 1/22/06-01/29/06 to the Mexican Riviera. Our stops were Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, and

Cabo San Lucas. We did not do so much at our first stop but shop and did go to the Wal Mart. We had shore excursions for the next two stops. Mazatlan we went to the beach at one of the resorts and shopped and had lunch. Last stop was Cabo and we went whale watching and got to see some whales, yay. Did not do much shopping at that port. I think I spent most of my money at the first two stops and gambling on board. Boy, money sure does go fast. I highly recommend this vacation trip, it was a blast. If you can drive to the port it is a lot cheaper than flying. We live in the Sacramento area and were able to drive down to the port at Long Beach. Worked out better. Ok, back to work, I will post another picture tomorrow.

Sunset on the Pacific

Are words needed for this? First night on the ship.

Back from Our Cruise.

Fabulous vacation trip to the Mexican Riviera. Highly recommended. Unfortunately back to work today. Gotta run. Details and pictures later. Go easy on me about my Broncos too. That game was depressing.

I Have to Gloat! GO BRONCOS

I tried to hang on and not do it but I can't stand it anymore. WOO HOO! My team made it to the AFC Championship game. Go Denver!!!! It is going to be a re-match of the 1998 AFC Championship game but the only difference is the Steelers are coming to the Broncos this time instead of the other way around. Denver went on to win that game in 98' and go on to the Super Bowl. That was the most awesome game for this long time fan. Sweet victory. I have been a fan for 20 years and saw them go to the Super Bowl for the first time(second super bowl for Broncos) with John Elway and proceeded to see two more losses for them in the following years. Heartbreak. So the Super Bowl against the Green Bay Packers(who had won the year before) was great. The Broncos were only 8-8 that season and were a wild card team on the road for the playoffs, that is what made the win that much better. Well this year they are not so dire and went 13-3 and undefeated at home. They look good this year. I just hope they play better offensively next game than they did last one. That was a defensive and special teams game all the way.

Unfortunately I am going to miss the game on Sunday because we leave for our cruise that day and we will be on the road driving to the port. I will TiVo it and if anyone even mentions football around me I will plug my ears. I want to watch my game not hear about it.

If you are Mrs Media Matters fan and your team did not make it to the playoffs, root for the Denver Broncos for me!

GO BRONCOS!!!!!!

How Often Do You Do Take-Out?

Take-Out Takes Over American Meals
Monday, January 16, 2006
By Jennifer Warner

Although most Americans eat their evening meal at home, only one in three actually makes it from scratch, as takeout and convenience foods are becoming increasingly common on the dinner table.

A new study of trends in U.S. food consumption shows made-from-scratch dinners have dropped 7 percent over the last two years and now account for only 32 percent of evening dinners.

Meanwhile, Americans are now more likely to order takeout from a restaurant than be seated there. Researchers found the average American ate 80 meals at restaurants in 2005 and took home 57 of them, compared with only 33 takeout meals 20 years ago.

In fact, one in five restaurant meals was purchased from a car without ever stepping into the restaurant itself.

Pizza, burgers, and Chinese were the top takeout choices, but ready-to-eat meals purchased at a supermarket are growing in popularity.

The study, published in Food Technology, shows that hamburgers, french fries, and pizza were the top three most popular items ordered in restaurants overall by adult men and women

Three-quarters of Americans said they ate reduced/nonfat foods in the last year, and more than half said they ate "lite" foods.

I do not want to spoil you with all the tidbits here but this was a very interesting article.
It is no wonder there is such a high percentage of take out. With restaurants from Applebee's to Black Angus offering curbside meals to go, why cook? Gee, I wish I had the wallet for that kind of eating. I will say I cook and I do cook a lot from scratch food. With both me and my husband working full time and the baby coming, I do go to the store now and look for the easy items sometimes. I have some great recipe books for quick meals that are from scratch so I use those a lot and I love my Crock-Pot. Here is one example of easy cooking for a busy family. Just get some stew meat and one of those boxes(maybe Betty Crocker) for beef stew and throw it in the Crock-Pot before you leave for work and you have a meal when you get home. I just put some corn bread(Marie Callendars (just add water) in the oven and you have a quick meal when you get home. Beats cutting up all that stuff for a stew yourself. Campbell's website has great recipes and I have a ton from there and then I got my Campbell's cookbooks and I love those. Quick easy meals is the ticket and they can still be from scratch and save you money.

Friday the 13th

What is all the hoopla about on this day? I have never feared it because good things always seem to happen to me. I don't think there is anything really I could pinpoint bad happening on this day to me. Well here are some theories on why maybe people might fear this day.

You burned your toast this morning. Traffic was a mess coming to work boss is in a bad mood. Your new shirt is now sporting a fresh coffee stain. Of course. It's Friday he 13th.

But wait a minute. These misfortunes happen all the time. It's usually only a couple of times a year that we can blame our everyday woes on that dreaded day: Friday the 13th

Friday
At first glance, Friday isn't so bad. Since it's the end of the workweek for many, here's the ever-popular slogan "TGIF!" It also means payday for a lot of folks. Some say that the word Friday comes from the Anglo-Saxon "Frigedaeg," which means Frigg's day. Frigg was a goddess of love in Norse mythology. For this reason, many Scandinavians consider Friday their luckiest day.

Dr. Joe Nickell, a columnist for Skeptical Inquirer, The Magazine for Science and Reason, says that Friday does have its dark side. He says that the Bible pinpoints Friday as the day that Eve gave the apple to Adam. In ancient Rome, Friday was execution day. And Good Friday exists because it is reported to be the day on which Jesus was crucified.

The Number 13
Thirteen has a more jaded past. For example, Judas Iscariot is sometimes referred to as the "13th" apostle.

The ill-fated Apollo 13 space mission is a study in unlucky 13: It was launched at 13:13 hours, from pad 39 (the third multiple of 13), and was aborted on April 13, 1970.

Let's not forget that many hotels and skyscrapers are built without a 13th floor -- why take chances?

But 13 isn't all bad. The United States started out with 13 colonies. Wouldn't you rather be given a baker's dozen (13) in doughnuts? If you're Jewish, you celebrate your bar mitzvah at the age of 13. And the Miami Dolphins' former quarterback Dan Marino proved that the number 13 (on his jersey) worked pretty well for him, although some might argue that it wasn't lucky enough. He never got a Super Bowl ring.

So I think all in all it is a matter of interpretation. I feel if you are going to wake up on this day and think bad things are going to happen to you, then they probably will.

Carpool for Dummies

Are people really this stupid? I have heard some dumb reasons to try and get out of a ticket but this is ridiculous. I am pregnant and smart enough to know it does not count as a second passenger in a motor vehicle. My son is a passenger in me right now.

Fetuses Don't Count For Carpools, Court Says
POSTED: 6:15 am PST January 12, 2006

PHOENIX -- A judge says an Arizona woman's argument that she was carrying a passenger in her womb doesn't hold up.

Candace Dickinson was fined $367 for improperly using a carpool lane. But she said because she was carrying a fetus, she should be allowed to use the lane.

I think she should be fined double for stupidity.

Once Again..... A Reflection

I can't help but to reflect on life and death today. I am getting closer to bringing life into this world again and must stop to think of the opposite of that, life leaving this world. Today at work we received some very sad news. One of our co-workers passed away last night. He did work in my direct department so I did see him daily. Him and I were on friendly terms and talked. He was a very nice guy. I remember one Christmas he gave me some dolphin coasters and he wasn't even my secret Santa. He just knew I liked dolphins and thought I might like them. I have those on my table at home. He was a very nice guy. He did suffer from a serious heart attack last year and was on leave for most of the year. He had returned later in the year. Yesterday he seemed like the normal guy he was. He hasn't seemed to have had any problems since he has been back. Some of the life style changes he should of made after is attack, like quit smoking, didn't happen though. I know he was eating a little better. Him and I use to talk football quite a bit. His favorite team is the Oklahoma Sooners, my dad's Alma Mater. He was still fairly young, at only 47, so this was real hard for those of us that knew him. What happened was his wife woke up this morning and he didn't. I guess if it is your time to go that is the way to go. He will be missed. Goodbye Kelly.

Also today is the 10th anniversary of my best friends' wife's passing. I met him 3 months after her passing and never had the pleasure of knowing her. I have heard many stories passed on from him and I am sure I would have liked her very much. She is also thought of on this day.

Gee, I Have Always Wanted To Do This.......

Not really...... Sounds kind of childish and disgusting to me.

Mooning Deemed 'Disgusting' but No Crime in Md
By Ernesto Londoo
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 4, 2006; B01

The case arose from a June 7 argument between the defendant, Raymond Hugh McNealy, 44, and a neighbor, Nanette Vonfeldt. Vonfeldt pressed charges against McNealy after he allegedly yelled and, according to Vonfeldt, threatened to "blow up my building" as she and her 8-year-old daughter walked out of their apartment, in the 20200 block of Shipley Terrace in Germantown.

see full story here

Not President

Ok I am going to put myself out on a limb here. I do not and repeat do not think Hillary Clinton is going to be the next President. I don't think she will win the primaries. I have been hearing a lot lately about how Kerry is running in 2008 and that he will never beat Clinton in the primaries. Well I don't think either one of them will. I think John Kerry is a fool to even try again. I know a lot of people don't believe me on this, but I am going to still predict this that neither Hillary Clinton or John Kerry is going to be our next President. I am also happy that the MSM has moved on away from that twit Sheehan. Now if she would only get the news that she is not news anymore.

Cool!

Nasa team sees explosion on Moon

Nasa scientists have witnessed a rare explosion on the Moon, caused by a meteoroid slamming into it

The blast was equal in energy to about 70kg of TNT and was seen near the edge of Mare Imbrium (the Sea of Rains).

The object that hit the Moon was probably part of a shower of "taurids" which peppered Earth in late October and early November.

One thing I have missed since my daughter moved, is of course her but also her telescope. We use to love to go out at night and look at the moon. I have always loved things to do with space and the ocean. I know two different worlds entirely, what can I say?

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