What is it with parents?

Don't want your kid to do drugs? Don't do drugs. Don't want them to smoke? Don't smoke. Worried about sex? Don't be parading your latest "friend" who you've known for less than a week in and out of your bedroom. Don't want your kid shot-gunning the booze every weekend? Don't spend your Friday nights getting wasted yourself.

"Do as I say, not as I do" doesn't work. Kids spot the hypocracy. You didn't raise them to be stupid, did you?

You want to continue your carefree, party-centered life? Don't have kids. Keep it zipped. Act responsibly.

You're the adult, remember? You came first. You will always set the example. For better or worse.

Waiting the long wait for the pip to get her room cleaned. It's already past the hour the banks close, so there will be no cash for the hoagie she wants to eat today, unless she's got the cash to buy it. 6.5 hours and counting since she got up and started the job. What the hell's she got in there?

Happy Thanksgiving. I'm down with the first of the season's colds. But that means a quiet day with no overstuffing, so there is a silver lining.

I so admire those that can blog every day and still make their life seem so interesting.

It's a rainy day, the kind of day that I love to spend in a bookstore. But we were at a benefit last night and my usual "pass out around 9 wake up at 11" routine was interrupted. So today has been a dragging my feet day, a do a chore, nap, do a chore, nap, kind of day. Did manage to perk up enough to run out for pizza and movies, so I'm off to watch Stepford Wives, Raising Helen and another one word movie with Ashley Judd I can't remember the name off. Oh yeah, Twisted.

Another sunny but windy and cold Saturday. Housework to do, but I'm sick of the damn broken vacuum cleaner. Maybe I'll just go buy one, but it's nice to have some money in the bank for a change, and there are other things that need to be paid. Deciding what and when is a constant juggling act, and I never was all that coordinated.

"Kerry won. Here's the facts."

Now, why am I not surprised? It would be nice, with all the damn phone calls I got about getting out to vote, if those votes would actually be counted. I don't care who it's for - if you vote, your vote should count.

How to give the cat a pill

1. Pick cat up and cradle it in the crook of your left arm as if holding a baby. Position forefinger and thumb on either side of cat's mouth and gently apply pressure to cheeks. As cat opens mouth pop pill into mouth. Allow cat to close mouth and swallow.

2. Retrieve pill from floor and cat from behind sofa. Cradle cat in left arm and repeat process.

3. Retrieve cat from bedroom, and throw soggy pill away.

4. Take new pill from foil wrap, cradle cat in left arm holding rear paws tightly with left hand. Force jaws open and push pill to back of mouth with right forefinger. Hold mouth shut for a count of ten.

5. Retrieve pill from goldfish bowl and cat from top of wardrobe. Call spouse from garden.

6. Kneel on floor with cat wedged firmly between knees, hold front and rear paws. Ignore low growls emitted by cat. Get spouse to hold head firmly with one hand while forcing wooden ruler into mouth. Drop pill down ruler and rub cat's throat vigorously.

7. Retrieve cat from curtain rail, get another pill from foil wrap. Make note to buy new ruler and repair curtains. Carefully sweep shattered figurines and vases from hearth and set to one side for gluing later.

8. Wrap cat in large towel and get spouse to lie on cat with head just visible from below armpit. Put pill in end of drinking straw, force mouth open with pencil and blow down drinking straw.

9. Check label to make sure pill not harmful to humans, drink glass of water to take taste away. Apply Band-Aid to spouse's forearm and remove blood from carpet with cold water and soap.

10. Retrieve cat from neighbor's shed. Get another pill. Place cat in cupboard and close door onto neck to leave head showing. Force mouth open with dessert spoon. Flick pill down throat with elastic band.

11. Fetch screwdriver from garage and put cupboard door back on hinges. Apply cold compress to cheek and check records for date of last tetanus jab. Throw shirt away and fetch new one from bedroom.

12. Ring fire brigade to retrieve cat from tree across the road. Apologize to neighbor who crashed into fence while swerving to avoid cat. Take last pill from foil-wrap.

13. Tie cat's front paws to rear paws with garden twine and bind tightly to leg of dining table, find heavy duty pruning gloves from shed. Push pill into mouth followed by large piece of fillet steak. Hold head vertically and pour 2 pints of water down throat to wash pill down.

14. Get spouse to drive you to the emergency room, sit quietly while doctor stitches fingers and forearm and removes pill remnants from right eye. Call furniture shop on way home to order new table.

15. Arrange for SPCA to collect cat and ring local pet shop to see if they have any hamsters.


How to give the dog a pill

1. Wrap it in bacon.

Fear Trumps Reason: "This generation of young people must bear the brunt of whatever comes now, whether it be the draft which seems to be inevitable, the financial burden of a ballooning deficit, or the struggle for survival in a degraded environment. "

And next time, instead of just registering to vote, they might actually go out and do it.

Don't Mourn, Organize: "Think about how you can lend a hand to the amazing myriad efforts that will promptly break out to help the country recover from what it has done to itself. Now is the time. Don't mourn, organize."

Well, Zoot, I don't know about that site you've linked either. Yes it raises money, but it really doesn't do much to illustrate the impact of breast cancer.

Where are the pictures of those not fortunate enought to still have what they were born with? What shows the physical impact of a mastectomy? Where do they celebrate the battle scars? They may be raising money, but this site is a terrible blow to those who no longer have what it so vividly displays.

Excellent fundraiser? I'd have to vote "no". And a big "yes" to incredibly insensitive.

Oh, I just love it when the average joe,... uh, jane... uh, Patti wins. (Who is anything but average...)

You go, girl!

The Enigma has just cleaned her room. And I mean cleaned. There's actually a rug in there. That one can see.

And she did her laundry. And she put her dishes in the dishwasher. And she picked up after herself.

I suspect this new school has made this improvement.

Either that, or they sent home the clone by mistake.

"Petrone is seeking reimbursement for a $3,000 diamond and platinum ring that she lost down the drain while chopping up vegetables over the kitchen sink in his Mulholland Drive home about 10 years ago"

Oh, please. I hope she uses it to buy some common sense. And perhaps a ring that fits? What a complete waste of the judicial process.

"A German telecommunications company said on Tuesday it is developing the first mobile phone that will alert users when their breath is bad or if they are giving off offensive smells. "

Well, now. Won't this come in handy? I can see it now - buy a cellphone, get a free tin of Altoids...

"Bradford was given a gift, and he threw it back. If a company gets an advantage, Trump seemed to be saying, that company is smart enough to run with it. No big executive takes a gift given to his company and says 'Yeah, that's great, but I'm such hot stuff I don't need it.' You take every advantage you can and are grateful for them. You may not get another."

And this is why I love The Apprentice. Where else can you get such an education in business for free?

You killed my son."

"Sapir Niederer was charged with defiant trespassing, even though she had a ticket to the rally."

This is free speech? A lone woman with an incriminating t-shirt and a voice. How much do you think you can hide, G? Are you so used to the life of privilege that daddy provided for you that you think you're entitled to it everywhere you go? That all the unpleasantness can be swept under the rug?

People want answers. "Wazz'n me" ain't it.

From that Crazy Neighbor Lady, via the Linkmeister , who wants to know if anyone else remembers numbers from their past.

2-12-30 the combo to my high school locker (late 60's) I was terrified of not being able to open my locker, being late for class, getting into trouble. Still haunts me.

EL-7-7100 My mother's number at work. I was a latchkey kid, way back on the days when few women worked outside of the home. She did get the summer's off, though, when I was out of school, to keep me out of trouble. Yeah, right.

As for everything else - total blanks. Even the current stuff. Thank the Goddess for pda's.

"The case against the oil and gas giant is considered a key test among human rights activists seeking to hold multinational corporations responsible in U.S. courts for alleged atrocities committed abroad."

Cider Press Hill has broken out the crockpot now that there's a bit of a chill in the air.

One of my favorite cold weather dishes is Cincinatti Chili. Easy to make, with the sweet/spicy/Christmasy tang of cinnamon and cloves and a cocoa surprise. Served over thin spaghetti, it's filling and good for the blood. I recently found a crockpot recipe for it and am eager to give it a try.

Cincinnatti Chili
2 lbs. ground beef
2 c. water
1 6-oz can tomato paste
1 large onion, chopped
2 T. chili powder
2 lg. cloves garlic (minced)
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 red pepper, cracked
2 tsp unsweetened cocoa
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
5 whole allspice *
5 whole cloves *
1 bay leaf * (Put * items in a cheesecloth bag)
Kidney beans (drained and heated slightly)
Chopped onions
Grated Cheddar cheese

Brown the ground beef, then put in crock pot with water, tomato paste, chopped onion, chili powder, garlic, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, red pepper, cocoa, Worchestershire sauce, and the cheesecloth bag of spices. Cook 8 hours on low. Add beans and cook on high for 20 to 30 minutes. Serve over thin spaghetti and layer with chopped onions and cheese. 6 cups.

Can also be used for chili dogs. Yum!

"IF — IF these end up being forgeries, one of the interesting subplots will be the timing and method by which they were exposed. We always favor looking at the content and substance over WHO is offering up the information, but in the war that will ensue about WHO gave CBS the potentially phony documents, it is interesting to Note that the right (Drudge, Fox, right-leaning blogs, others) led the way in pointing out the questions we have all been asking — and they were onto the questions, with remarkable detail, relatively soon after the documents were made public. "