Potpourri

Eliot Spitzer, former Governor of NY...do I need to say more?

What is up with this "stand by your man" thing? When your husband spends over $80,000 on prostitutes, is forced to resign, why would you feel compelled to stand next to him as he resigns? I don't get it. Go stand by yourself.

March 14, 2008

Published by Julie on March 14, 2008

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Potpourri

Stupid

Ok, so what is stupidity? Is it defined as a lack of intelligence or being too lazy to use the brain cells you have?

Here is my act of stupidity for the week.

It's early morning, allie and I walk out to our building. The dogs I keep out there need to be let outside. It is a beautiful morning, the sun is out, the air is warm, and the air smells like Spring. When I go into the building I made the decision that Allie should wait for me outside. It is a beautiful day and she should stay outside...and what? enjoy the weather? Total brain lapse. Allie is still very young, both her sire and dam are herding trial champions. Herding dogs want to chase things, round them up , bring them under control. There are seven deer, that hang out right next to the house. The same ones that use to spend winter nights on our front porch causing us to fence our front yard, despite being on 108 acres.

Did I think Allie would just wait for me at the door? Perhaps, I expected she would want to sit with her face turned toward the sun, eyes shut and assimilating vitamin D? Had I given this a micro-fraction of thought, I would have realized that the deer would take off running and she would be hot on their tails. Of course I realized my mistake as soon as was back outside. Giving her 5 or 10 minutes to return, seemed like an hour. Tiffany was out on the Gator to search the back property and I was in my car to drive the roads that circled two sides of our land. I have to say I was grateful for the first time for having my old car with it's unique sounding motor as on my second trip along the road Allie was at the side of the road with her tongue hanging on the ground. I am sure she recognized the sound of my car. I would have been devastated if anything would have happened to Allie. Thank God Allie is safe.

March 9, 2008

Published by Julie on March 9, 2008

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Potpourri

Truly Man’s Best Friend

From my friend Pete:

A dog is truly a man's best friend.

If you don't believe it, just try this experiment.

Put your dog and your wife/girlfriend in the trunk of the car for an hour.

When you open the trunk, which one is really happy to see you?

March 9, 2008

Published by Julie on March 9, 2008

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Potpourri

A Dog’s Purpose

A Dog's Purpose A Dog's Purpose, (from a 6-year-old)

Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year-old Irish Wolfhound named Belker. The dog's owners, Ron, his wife, Lisa, and their little boy, Shane, were all very attached to Belker, and they were hoping for a miracle. I examined Belker and found he was dying of cancer. I told the family we couldn't do anything for Belker, and offered to perform the euthanasia procedure for the old dog in their home. As we made arrangements, Ron and Lisa told me they thought it would be good for six-year-old Shane to observe the procedure. They felt as though Shane might learn something from the experience The next day, I felt the familiar catch in my throat as Belker's family surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting the old dog for the last time, that I wondered if he understood what was going on. Within a few minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away. The little boy seemed to accept Belker's transition without any difficulty or confusion. We sat together for a while after Belker's death, wondering aloud about the sad fact that animal lives are shorter than human lives. Shane, who had been listening quietly, piped up, 'I know why.' Startled, we all turned to him. What came out of his mouth next stunned me. I'd never heard a more comforting explanation. He said, 'People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life -- like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?' The six-year-old continued, 'Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don't have to stay as long.' Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Remember, if a dog was the teacher you would learn things like: * When loved ones come home, always run to greet them. * Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride. * Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure ecstasy. * Take naps. * Stretch before rising. * Run, romp, and play daily. * Thrive on attention and let people touch you. * Avoid biting when a simple growl will do. * On warm days, stop to lie on your back on the grass. * On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree. * When you're happy, dance around and wag your entire body. * Delight in the simple joy of a long walk. * Eat with gusto and enthusiasm. Stop when you have had enough. * Be loyal. Never pretend to be something you're not. * If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it. * When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by and nuzzle them gently. Smile... It increases your Face Value!

March 9, 2008

Published by Julie on March 9, 2008

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Potpourri

It is Clearly Time to Calm Down

Time Out of Mind

IN 1784, Benjamin Franklin composed a satire, “Essay on Daylight Saving,” proposing a law that would oblige Parisians to get up an hour earlier in summer. By putting the daylight to better use, he reasoned, they’d save a good deal of money — 96 million livres tournois — that might otherwise go to buying candles. Now this switch to daylight saving time (which occurs early Sunday in the United States) is an annual ritual in Western countries.

Even more influential has been something else Franklin said about time in the same year: time is money. He meant this only as a gentle reminder not to “sit idle” for half the day. He might be dismayed if he could see how literally, and self-destructively, we take his metaphor today. Our society is obsessed as never before with making every single minute count. People even apply the language of banking: We speak of “having” and “saving” and “investing” and “wasting” it.

Click here for the entire editorial

March 9, 2008

Published by Julie on March 9, 2008

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Potpourri

20 Worst Foods in America

The Top 20
Worst Foods in Fast-Food Chicken Meal - Chicken Selects Premium Breast
Strips from
McDonald's (5 pieces) with cream ranch sauce. 830
Calories, 55 grams fat
(4.5 trans fat), 48 carbs. Add a large fries
and regular soda and this
seemingly innocuous chicken meal tops out
at 1,710
calories.

19: Worst drink - Jamba Juice
Chocolate Moo'd Power Smoothie (30
fl
oz). 900 calories, 10 g fat, 183 carbs, 166 g sugar... Jamba
Juice
calls it a smoothie, MSNBC calls it a milk shake. The
beverage
contains as much sugar as 8 pints of Ben & Jerry's butter pecan
ice cream.

18: Worst supermarket meal - Pepperidge Farm Roasted Chicken
Pot Pie
(whole pie). 1,020 calories, 64 g fat, 86 g carbs. Label may say
this
pie serves two, but, who ever divided a small pot pie in half?
Once
you crack the crust, there will be no stopping.

17: Worst
'healthy' burger - Ruby Tuesday Bella Turkey Burger. 1,145
calories, 71 g
fat, 56 g carbs.

16: Worst Mexican entree - Chipotle Mexican Grill
Chicken Burrito.
1,179 calories, 47 g fat, 125 g carbs, 2,656 mg
sodium.

15: Worst kids' meal - Macaroni Grill Double Macaroni 'n'
Cheese.
1,210 calories, 62 g fat, 3,450 mg sodium. It's like feeding your
kid
1 1/2 boxes of Kraft mac 'n' cheese.

14: Worst sandwich - Quiznos
Classic Italian (large). 1,528 calories,
92 g
fat, 4,604 mg sodium, 110 g carbs. A large homemade sandwich
would more
likely provided about 500 calories.

13: Worst salad - On the Border
Grande Taco Salad with Taco Beef.
1,450 calories, 102 g fat, 78 g carbs,
2,410 mg sodium. This isn't an
anomaly: Five different On the Border salads
on the menu contain more
than 1, 100 calories each.

12: Worst burger
- Carl's Jr. (Hardee's on East Coast) Double Six
Dollar Burger. 1,520
calories! , 111g fat. Carl's Jr. brags it's home
to this enormous sandwich,
but the restaurant chain also provides
convenient nutrition info on its Web
site -- so ignorance is no
excuse for eating it.

11: Worst steak -
Lonestar 20 oz T-bone. 1,540 calories, 124g fat.
Add a baked potato and
Lonestar's Signature Lettuce Wedge, and this
is a 2,700 calorie
blowout.

10: Worst breakfast - Bob Evans Caramel Banana Pecan Cream
Stacked
and Stuffed hotcakes. 1,540 calories, 77 g fat (9 g trans fat), 198
g
carbs, 109 g sugar. Five Egg McMuffins yield the same caloric cost
as
this stack of sugar-stuffed flapjacks, which is truly a
heavy
breakfast, weighing in at a hefty pound and a half.

9: Worst
dessert - Chili's Chocolate Chip Paradise Pie with Vanilla
Ice Cream. 1,600
calories, 78 g fat, 215 g carbs. Would you eat a Big
Mac for dessert? How
about three? That's the calorie equivalent of
this decadent dish. Clearly,
Chili's customers get their money's worth.

8: Worst Chinese entree - P.
F. Chang's Pork Lo Mein. 1,820 calories,
127 g fat,! 95 g carbs. The fat
content in this dish alone provides
more than 1,100 calories. And you'd have
to eat almost five servings
of pasta to match the number of carbs it
contains. Now, do you really
need five servings of pasta?

7: Worst
chicken entree - Chili's Honey Chipotle Crispers with
Chipotle Sauce. 2,040
calories, 99 g fat, 240 g carbs. "Crispers"
refers to an extra thick layer
of bread crumbs that soak up oil and
adds unnecessary calories and carbs to
these glorified chicken strips.

6: Worst fish entree - On the Border Dos
XX Fish Tacos with Rice and
Beans. 2,100 calories, 130 g fat, 169 g carbs,
4,700 mg sodium.
Perhaps the most misleadingly named dish in
from Taco Bell will saddle you with fewer calories.

5: Worst pizza - Uno
Chicago Grill Chicago Classic Deep Dish Pizza.
2,310 calories, 162 g fat, 123
g carbs, 4,470 mg sodium... Downing
this "personal" pizza is equivalent to
eating 18 slices of Domino's
Crunchy Thin Crust cheese pizza.

4:
Worst pasta - Macaroni Grill Spaghetti and Meatballs with Meat
Sauce. 2,430
calories, 128 g fat, 207 g carbs, 5,290 mg sodium. This
meal satisfied your
calorie requirements for an entire day.

3: Worst nacho's - On the Border
Stacked Border Nachos. 2,740
calories, 166 g fat, 191 g carbs, 5,280
sodium.

2: Worst starter - Chili's
Awesome Blossom. 2,710 calories, 203
g
fat, 194 g carbs, 6,360 mg sodium.

1: The worst food in
Cheese Fries
with Ranch Dressing. 2,900
calories, 182 g fat,
240 g carbs. Even if
you split these "starters" with three friends, you'll
have downed a
dinner's worth of calories before you entree
arrives.