I am making up my own spinach and artichoke casserole for dinner tonight:

1 pkg frozen spinach

1/2 pkg frozen artichoke hearts

1/2 8 oz pkg cream cheese

1/2 c. cheddar cheese

garlic, salt pepper to taste, dash nutmeg

Mix all that together and it is in the oven at 350, and hopefully it will be nice and bubbly before long.

Oh and by the way, it is Feb. 28, and we have already seen -not one, but - two SNAKES. Pebbles ate the first one (big) and guess who had to kill the second one this afternoon. Yep, me. This Marshall working out of town business may not work after all.

I am going to bring my donkeys back to the pasture around us TOMORROW.

But, it is time. 20th high school reunion coming up and our cruise in October. I have some serious poundage that needs to go (nothing new there…story of my life). So here starts the day where I write down everything I eat, because that is the best way for me to keep myself in check. Things don’t work so well when I keep it in my mind. Unfortunately.

Breakfast: Slim Fast

Lunch (late morning): SlimFast

Snack: Slim Fast, 1/4 c. trail mix

I am starving and having the crappy carb withdrawal day. Am drinking the lo carb SF. And if I don’t hide the trail mix, will eat the whole bag. Feeds it to dog. LOL j/k

Update:  Dinner - salmon and spinach artichoke casserole.  I am such a good girl.  No cheating today.  I better have lost 5 water pounds by morning…

From Yahoo news:

Knotts died Friday night of pulmonary and respiratory complications at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Beverly Hills, said Paul Ward, a spokesman for the cable network TV Land, which airs “The Andy Griffith Show,” and another Knotts hit, “Three’s Company.”

Unspecified health problems had forced him to cancel an appearance in his native Morgantown in August 2005.

My mother sends the most hilarious stuff sometimes.  These are from an email titled “Additions to the Redneck Photo Album.”  I have no source to reference here other than the email, but here are a few of them:

Redneck Wedding Cake

This one was titled Redneck pickup, but I think this is much more of a Yank’s pickup:

And then here we have the Redneck PDA (unfortunately, I have to admit some guilt on this one - minus the pen tied to my wrist…):

If you didn’t know, I do taxidermy, and I keep telling my brother I am going to make him a deer butt for his birthday one of these years.  Here is what I am definitely going to do:

The Redneck Doorbell

And for all you Redneck Shoppers:

And here is the Redneck Wedding Announcement of the Year:

Um, is she even in her teens yet?  And what is that his shirt says?  Ahh yes, “if I throw a stick, will you leave?”

Wonder if they are still together.  Yuck.  In a creepy way, this dude reminds me of my ex husband.  Note to self, be sure Noah doesn’t grow up to look like that.  Yikes.

This article from AskMen.com is hilarious! It very strictly defines the difference between what is acceptable behavior for a man who is “in touch with their feminine side” and what is not. A little from the article:

• It’s acceptable to: Prepare and cook a meal. It’s too much if you: Routinely bake triple-layer cakes and gingerbread men. When it comes to cooking, you’re better off preparing manly foods like steak, ribs and, whenever possible, Wooly Mammoth. Let’s be honest: If a meal isn’t capable of simultaneously clogging all of your arteries, it certainly isn’t worth consuming.
• It’s acceptable to: Acknowledge that you can find certain men attractive. It’s too much if you: Discuss specifics. There’s nothing wrong
  with thinking Brad Pitt is handsome, but under no circumstances should
  you tell your buddies you think he has the best ass in Hollywood. When discussing other men, it pays to be vague.
• It’s acceptable to: Enjoy the occasional shopping spree. It’s too much if you: Nearly faint with excitement every time
  you spot a shoe sale. For the love of God, hold yourself together –
  it’s just patent leather. The only time the words “half off” should get
  you hot and bothered is when they’re uttered in a strip club.

There are a bunch more - this article is a hoot!!

Just so when SEOChat (my fav. optimization resource, by the way) gets bogged down by heavy traffic in the next few days, I won’t be too traumatized:

Future PageRank Tool © SEO Chat™ URL Valid URL

I don’t know that I would say we have a farm, but we definitely have backyard, free roaming chickens. Thanks Denise for scaring the hell outta me the other day.

This is a press release from today:

Bird Flu Beacon discovers weak biosecurity and high bird flu risk in backyard chicken farms. Bird Flu Beacon posted news on the risk of spread of bird flu in the U.S. and other industrialized countries through backyard chicken farms with free-roaming chickens. From the Hawaiian Islands where large numbers of wild chickens populate Kauai to New York City where live chickens and ducks are sold in street markets, the threat of bird flu infection through roaming backyard chickens looms large. In light of recent presence of H5N1 in West Africa, the U.S. will be vulnerable via spring migrations along the East Atlantic Flyway.

Nashville, TN (PRWEB) February 2, 2006 — Industrial scale chicken farms are not high risk because they house chickens in buildings protected from possible infection from migratory birds. This is not the case with small-scale backyard operations, where chickens and other domestic birds often roam freely. These backyard chickens are largely unmonitored and uncontrolled, and they will be especially vulnerable to H5N1 brought from West Africa via the East Atlantic Flyway.

For biosecurity precautions to be implemented widely by backyard chicken farmers protective measures must be simple, affordable and widespread. The USDA has attempted to address this issue with recommendations that fall in 6 categories:
•Isolating flocks
•Minimizing bird-to-human contact
•Sanitization procedures
•Avoiding cross contamination
•Identifying infectious bird diseases
•Reporting sick birds

According to Mead Rose, a founding member of Bird Flu Beacon, relying on backyard chicken farmers to take adequate biosecurity measures is “whistling in the dark.” Even those who wish to be proactive may find the recommendations of the USDA and other sources cumbersome, expensive and impractical when there is no imminent threat. The Catch-22 is that these kinds of precautions are necessary to prevent just such a threat because:
•H5N1 bird flu symptoms are not widely known among backyard chicken farmers.
•Guidelines of the USDA and others are not yet widely circulated among chicken farmers.
•The recommended protective steps can be cumbersome.
•Protective equipment such as goggles, masks, and boots is not routinely stocked by farmers and many do not know how to identify or obtain the most effective equipment.
•There is no incentive for reporting sick or dead birds because the confirmation of H5N1 inevitably leads to the destruction of their flocks.

In the full article The Hidden Bird Flu Hazards of Backyard Chicken Farms Mr. Rose has identified three additional key issues: manure management, chickens as pets, and wild chicken populations. For example, human exposure to infected chicken manure can be as deadly as exposure to infected birds. Given the right conditions, Avian Influenza viruses can remain viable in manure for up to 105 days.

“After all the research I had done on bird flu, on a recent trip to Hawaii I was shocked to discover that free range chickens are frequently found in backyards or kept as pets,” Mr. Rose added. “What’s worse, many people I spoke with believe bird flu is a conspiracy, not a health problem. People need to know how to protect themselves and their birds. They need clear guidelines about biosecurity procedures and must know how to recognize sick birds. Convincing people to take this seriously enough to take protective action will go a long way towards preventing catastrophe.”

Website: http://www.birdflubeacon.com/HiddenBirdFluHazards.htm

Vodka, Chambord and Pineapple Juice!  Yum!  I’m feeling that for a Blogonomics toddy!

Just kidding, I really love him to death. But he has presented a riddle, that I can see is going to take up my days and keep me from doing my work. But, it is something I can do while my broadband is down and my hunt and search capabilities stink.

Valentine’s Day Riddle

I totally suck at these things, so Suz and Marshall, my smartest friends/relatives, have a go at it, and then tell me the answer so I can report back and look so smart. LOL!

This dude fascinates me for some reason. I don’t know if it is my “goth” past (he sort of looks like the “vampire” I used to date-Mom? Allen?), or just the fact that I “normally” like different kinds of folks, but I am really interested to see what Mr. Manson does with Lewis Carrolls story. I keep seeing info about it in all of my PittWatch research, but until Angelina commits to doing the part, there isn’t much to say about it over there, so I am keeping it here, at home base.

That said, I wish Angelina would do the role, I think she would be perfect.

mtv.com - News - Marilyn Manson Finds Creepy Soul Mate In ‘Wonderland’ Author

Thanks Mom. By the way, Mom sent this with a Subject line of “Duck It’s Dick.” Not sure what that is supposed to mean in reference to this picture, but I think I have a better clue than mom did.

From TMZ.com:

Actor Chris Penn died accidentally from an enlarged heart and the effects of a mix of multiple medications, the county coroner’s office said Monday.

“There is absolutely no indication that this is anything but an accident,” chief coroner investigator Craig Harvey said.

Penn, 40, the younger brother of Sean Penn, was found dead in his Santa Monica condominium on Jan. 24, but the results of his autopsy and toxicology tests were not released until Monday.

The primary cause of death was “nonspecific cardiomyopathy,” an oversized heart, with the “effects of multiple medication intake,” according to a statement issued by the coroner’s office.

“We know he had several prescriptions, including promethazine with codeine, which featured predominantly in his death,” Harvey said.

Kanye West won 3 Grammys (at least–I quit looking after that) last night.  That makes me ill.  I wish someone would send him away.   I have a lot more comments but I am not going to go there.  Please don’t let Pamela Anderson really be sleeping with him.

GRAMMY.com

How sad this is. I hope there was more to this email than sexy pictures though, some evidence that there had been some relationship between her husband and his assistant. But generally, I believe pretty strongly that where there is smoke, there is fire. But on the other hand, I also believe that infidelity is something that can be worked though, if given a chance, of course.

Explicit e-mail does it for Locklear

Here’s another dire warning from the surgeon general: Sexy e-mails can imperil a marriage.Latest Internet case is the union of Richie Sambora and Heather Locklear, which went from troubled to divorce court in a flash when, report People and the Star, the foxy Locklear discovered an explicit missive to her hubby from his former assistant, Stephanie Heaton.

Heather signed on the split papers’ dotted line, much to the shock of Sambora, who found out from an interviewer and exclaimed, “It’s completely untrue!”

Would that it be, Mr. Bon Jovi Guitar Plucker, but a Locklear pal related, “Heather couldn’t believe what she was seeing. It completely blew their marriage out of the water.”

The explicit e-mails included shots of Heaton in heat, despite wearing nothing but fishnets and boots.

Image - hollywood.com

Interesting article from the Uganda Monitor about Metrosexual men:

David Beckham, the man who has been credited with changing male behaviour, has been deemed the world’s ultimate metrosexual. Beckham may be married with kids, and a role model to so many in the football field but he sees it befitting to wear sarongs (a garment of Asian origin consisting of a length of printed cloth wrapped around the waist.), and nail polish.

He has even been rumoured to share undies with his wife, former Spice Girl, Victoria. In his autobiography, David Beckham My World the English Midfielder is quoted saying he has never been homophobic and he is not the kind of man who will go out and drink beer just to be a man. He is a fashion fanatic and boasts of a dressing room tidier than Victoria’s.

He cooks and doesn’t believe in a wife that does all the housework for him. He says that in his marriage, they both ‘wear the trousers’.

I have pretty much heard that Ms. Posh (Victoria) Beckham wears the pants around their house, but whatever works for them. As for me, I am pretty satisfied with the way things are around here. I tried the pants wearing thing while I was a single mother, and I much prefer Marshall wearing the pants. Those of you who know Marshall, can you imagine him wearing a printed cloth sarong and nail polish? Ha. I didn’t think so. I don’t even want to think about the underwear thing.

Photo credit

Here are a couple pics from Noah’s 8th birthday (in January):

And here is the fabulous Marshall (and Pebbles) from last night:

And a couple of cute kitties (2 of about 15 or so that we have…):

Woohoo! We just got registered for the Blogonomics cruise - Now, for the low low price of $ 2000.00 (plus drinkin’ money…LOL), I can take Darren’s Six Figure Blogging class that it would have cost me under $300 bucks to take. LOL And get to meet some of my favorite folks from b5 and who knows where else. Oh yeah, and get to take a cruise (which I LOVE to do - and have been trying to talk Marshall into taking one forever). I luvvvv Royal Caribbean–yummmm!
Mom, you gonna be moved here by October???

Well, a full year after initializing the testing process in the Texas school system, my son has been officially diagnosed with dyslexia. Now, keeping in mind, we told them this from the start, so there was no wasted time testing for other things. I think Noah’s teacher was helpful at getting this resolved as quickly as possible, but there really is no “quick” in government work, is there?

He is sick with a very bad case of strep throat at the moment, but the day he goes back to school will be the day he starts dyslexia classes. I think I am feeling a dyslexia blog coming on…