Jetting Through Life: April 2006

Taking a break from reality...

We will be flying out of wonderful Cleveland Hopkins on Monday morning... I will be going on vacation with my family for a little over a week! I am so excited! We really need this time away!

We will be having fun here...

Las Vegas -- stating the obvious

and catching a bit of rest and relaxation here...

Grand Canyon -- from my last visit there

In my absense, please check out my Passengers and tell them I sent you!! I will be back in action upon my arrival the first week of May. Leave me good comments to come back to!

Saturday night while watching the news I bursted out in laughter... There was a clip about a man who killed his live-in girlfriend with a microwave!!! Yes, you read right, a fucking microwave!!!

Who would ever think that they would meet the Pearly Gates by being beat to death with a microwave? Um, not me! Well I guess this poor woman, Mary McCann, 58 from Uniontown, Pennsylvania succumbed to her boyfriend, Walter S. Fordyce, 58. The reason you may ask?? She would not heat up sandwiches for him. What is this guy 3?? Are you that damn stubborn you can't heat up your damn sandwich yourself?

Here's an excerpt of the article I read...

After throwing her to the floor, Fordyce threw a microwave oven onto McCann's chest after she refused to heat up sandwiches for him, he told police. Fordyce also said he stomped on McCann's chest repeatedly then banged her head on the floor until she lost consciousness - but that he also said he didn't mean to kill her, police said.

"It was an accident. I didn't do it on purpose," police quoted Fordyce as saying.

Fordyce ran to a neighbor's house for help, but couldn't find anyone there to call 911, police said. After returning home and checking McCann for a pulse - and finding none - he went downstairs and drank a beer before going to another neighbor's home and asking them to call 911, police said.

What was wrong with this man upstairs?! First to beat her with an appliance, a heavy one to say the least, but then to leave her laying there?? Then to say I didn't do it on purpose?! Come'on now... I mean we all get upset, but to think I am so pissed I am going to beat her, with a MICROWAVE! You have to have some "pipes" to whale that one someone regardless of the size of the thing.

Really I am not trying to poke fun at the poor woman who lost her life... It is a comical news story due to the unbelievable reality that a microwave can be now known as a deadly object, much like a pair of finger nail clippers or a finger nail file.

My biggest question now lies with how most men as a generalization heavily rely on their woman do everything shy of wiping their ass for them. Get me this! Do that! Wash laundry! Clean the bathroom(s)! The list goes on and on... And without knowing much more about this article or situation, that is what it sounds like to me. This man is in the perfect age range, 58 to have been spoiled by all of his women throughout his life expecting them to do everything. Nowadays the men are almost required to do more than their normal 40 hours a week. Women are working full time jobs along with keeping up their homes and dammnit we need a break on occasion. Chip in on the work load so it's not so one-sided. But I am preaching to the choir on this point. I am really not trying to get all women's rights on you, but there is an underlying point there.

And in closing, I just wonder who's going to be the asshole to beat their loved one with a toaster or their beloved remote control...

Flubber Buddies (v.6)

Well this is my final week doing Flubbier Buddies before I go on vacation... I will probably keep it up when I come back, but on a more infrequent basis.

In total I lost 9 pounds between weight flucuations which is good, but that means I am closer to my ultimate goal. I would say eliminating all fast food and eating right from home has been a big part of my weight loss and will help aid in my endeavors in the future.

I wanted to thank all of my participants Val, Tyler, Blue, Jennie, Ender, Ang, Keverly, DramedyofLife, Matt, Tiffany, The Crazy Girl. It was a fun run and I'd love to do it again with all of you!!

Here's a good recipie for the last week... with Spring being here... It's very yummy!!

"A colorful, delicious salad of green and red grapes, lightly sweetened with a combination of marshmallow creme and cream cheese, with just a lite crunch of walnut or pecan"

I didn't have an actual picture unless I made it on my own... Which I will be doing soon!

INGREDIENTS:
1 pound seedless green grapes
1 pound seedless red grapes
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 (7 ounce) jar marshmallow creme
1 (6 ounce) package slivered pecans or walnuts

DIRECTIONS:
1. Wash grapes in a colander under running water, and remove all stems. Place in a large bowl.
2. In a separate bowl, stir together the cream cheese and marshmallow creme until smooth and creamy. Pour the mixture over the grapes. Using a rubber spatula or large serving spoon, fold the mixture into the grapes until well coated. Fold in the almonds.
3. This salad may be served immediately, or covered and refrigerated for 1 hour to set slightly, and to allow flavors to blend.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2005 Allrecipes.com

Prep Time: 15 Minutes Ready In: 1 Hour 15 Minutes Yields: 8 servings

Technorati Tag(s) Weight Loss, Grape Salad, Flubber Buddies

Catching Up...

I wanted to take a moment to thank Zoe from Bubbles in my Head. Out of the kindness of Zoe's heart she designed my current template. It is amazing and I love it!! I had a whole bunch I wanted to say, but am too excited for words... Imagine that!!

If you are interested in what Zoe can do for you, drop her an e-mail at zoi_21@hotmail.com. Her templates will be $20-25.

Thank you again Zoe!!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

In other news I wanted to welcome my renter Matt at Meltwater. Torrents. Meanderings. Delta. Matt has been a supporter of my site for awhile now. With my recent post about an accident here in Cleveland he responded with a very nice post about how things happen for a reason. Please welcome Matt and click his link on the left!

I need(ed) a plumber!

One night this past week was an interesting one for me...

My hubby left early for work since he picked up some overtime... When he left I was finishing an all day long project I started... Organizing my office. To start I tore out all of the files I had in my 5 drawer filing cabinet. I haven't been the neatest person keeping all of it together because it was one of those, oh I will do it on a rainy day type deals. So the rainy days came and went and so did the paper.

I shredded two huge garbage bags of paper and overheated my shredder at least a dozen times. Yikes!

I sent the little one up to bed and the last time I overheated the shredder I went upstairs... I heard water running and I knew some little girl would be in a little trouble. Well I go in the bathroom and my shower faucet is running. I go to turn it off and it goes on even more! What the fuck is going on? I don't get it. I am no plumber by any stretch of the means and I can't figure out how to fix it. Next step... Frantically call the hubby. I call his cell and get voicemail. This story wouldn't be good unless I went through all means to reach him. I then call dispatch at the police department. Rule of thumb is, don't call unless you are dying. And in this case I was dying in the sense I couldn't figure out shit. He picks up the phone and I start hyperventilating and being able to get a word out... Studdering and all. Then he doesn't understand me and I begin to yell... He tells me to turn the water off to the house... All the while I just started a load of laundry for work the next morning and um, I don't know where the water thingy is to turn off. I begin a tantrum of yelling and crying because I am oblivious to my surroundings. You'd think living with a single mother she'd teach her two daughters to do the "manly" things, but noooooo! Why would she??

I am even more pissy as my lovely husband hung up on me and then calls back in about 5 minutes to tell me his father was on the way to our house. Well... I wanted him to come home, but dad will work! He's very smart and savvy in almost all home improvement stuff. It's nice to have him around as I never had my father here to help me with that sort of thing. So thanks dad for helping me cool it a bit.

Then the following night I clog my garbage disposal because a piece of onion got in there that I didn't know about!! UGGGGHHHHH! Calgon take me away!!

I seriously need to learn how to do more manly things in my house! Good thing I know how to use a screwdriver!

Friday Funny (v.18)

Happy Easter everyone!!

A Plea...

Yesterday in the news there was a very bad accident here in Cleveland. I got a "breaking news" e-mail after 1 PM that a local highway was closed Eastbound due to a 6 car pile-up.

I read the e-mail and only made sure that it won't effect my ride on the way home. Since I live west of Cleveland, I was set. No worries... Closed it and went on with my day. I met up with my hubby so he could drop off Em to me at an appointment I had after work. I then told him he may want to take an alternate route as his drive may be affected with this accident.

I finish my appointment and go workout... I get home and am preparing dinner. The phone rings. It's my hubby... He begins to remind me of the accident I told him about. One of the men injured is a part-time officer at his Police Department. He was hired as a full time officer in the city this accident took place and was helping a disabled vehicle change it's tire when a semi-truck rear-ended two squad cars. This call was piggy-backed (meaning where two officers respond to the same call). The officer that works with my husband was sent via Life Flight to local trauma hospital with critical injuries. The other officer was injured, but not near as severe. Hearing this news sent chills down my spine. A fellow brother was hurt on the job while trying to help the public, while trying to serve his civil duty as an officer.

This is where the anger sets in... Semi-truck drivers ask for the right of way while disabled on the highway. They ask that you switch lanes while they have their cones up... They have a good reason. Traffic flying by you at high speeds can be scary. If you can't move over a lane, then slow down!! This goes the same with law enforcement vehicles. When you see the flashing lights. GET THE HELL OVER!!! They are announcing their presence. Respect them in what they are doing, their job. Heck in most cities it's a law that you move over or slow down. So if an officer is piggy-backed on a call like this that is going smoothly and you aren't obiding your laws. You will be getting a ticket.

This truck driver went against every thing I have ever heard a truck driver bitch about... I don't know if he wasn't paying attention or what... That part of town on the highway is crazy no matter what time I have drove through there. Speeds feel like I am driving in the Indy 500... Not that I am defending he driver at all, but just trying to sketch a picture there.

The one thing that bothers me is that this young man, all of 27 years of age, whom I have never met, whom works with my husband is layed up in the hospital fighting for his life because he was helping someone who had a minor accident -- tire blow out and crashed into the median wall. To see the news clip, please click here. He has had two surgeries on his legs, in an medically induced coma, but breathing on his own...

All I can do is cry, because this could have been my husband, my family, my life affected by all of this. Please say a prayer as he will need many of them. My husband and I are numb to this and him even moreso than I...

Law enforcement officers aren't paid a lot of money, but they do what they do because that is their goal or ambition in life. Is it worth losing everything for a tire or small accident one may ask? Losing your families? They all are underpaid by putting a small price tag on themselves for you John Q Public, but they do it for you.

I don't know about everyone else, but paying attention while you are driving let's my husband come home safely to my daughter and I every morning. I don't want to lose him to some careless driver who hasn't had enough sleep or was talking on their cell phone, etc. Yes, I realize this can happen to anyone. But when he's in his uniform he's protecting the people. I couldn't imagine waking up in the middle of the night to hear he has been injured on the job. To explain to my daughter why her father is in the hospital... It's gut wrenching.

My thoughts and prayers go out to the new rookie officer to a speedy recovery. I will be calling the President of our Fraternal Order of Police Lodge tomorrow to see what we can do to help him and his family out in this difficult time for him. Please keep him in your prayers...

Here are a few pictures from the accident if you didn't view the video clip. It's just a reminder of how precious life really is. Never leave your house angry or upset. When you leave your loved ones, pretend it's the last time you will see them as you never know what will happen when you walk out of the padded walls of your home. Never hold thoughts or feelings back, there may be a time where you regret not saying them. We can't assume what you feel and then wonder the rest of our waking lives what your intent was here. Always kiss and make-up.... Because you never know what is in store for you.

Flubber Buddies (v.5)

Well this week went well for me... I lost about 3 more pounds this week, which is good.

I have been eating very well. At home every day, no eating out and it feels great! I watched a very popular movie called Super Size Me by Morgan Spurlock. It was eye opening and very disgusting movie, in a good sense. My family has vowed only to eat fast food in an emergency and that'd be too damn soon.

To those of you who heavily rely on fast food in your daily diet, please check out this movie. It's less than two hours and you won't regret watching it. It's highly educational and probably change your mind about taking your children to a drive-thru because you are in a hurry.

Here's a weekly recipie:

Chicken Enchiladas

1 can (10 3/4 oz) 30%-less-sodium condensed cream of chicken soup
1 bottle (12 oz) mild green chile salsa
3/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 tsp ground cumin
2 cups shredded cooked chicken, turke, beef or pork
1 1/2 cups shredded Mexican-style cheese blend
1 1/4 thawed frozen corn
1 can (4oz) chopped green chiles
12 corn tortillas, warmed as package directs (I prefer flour)
2 cups shredded romaine lettuce
1 cupe diced tomato
1 Hass avocado, diced
1/2 cup diced red onion
Accompaniment: sour cream

Heat oven to 350 F. Coat a 13 x 9-in baking dish with nonstick spray.
Sauce: Whisk soup and 1/2 soup can water in a bowl until smooth. Stir in salsa. 1/4 cup cilantro and the cumin
In another bowl, combine chicken, 3/4 cup each cheese blend and Sauce, the corn, chiles and remaining cilantro.
Working with 1 tortilla at a time, spoon a scant 1/3 cup chick mixture down center; roll up and place seam side down in baking dish.
Pour remaining Sauce over top; sprinkle with remaining cheese. Cover dish with nonstick foil.
Bake 30 minutes, uncover and bake 20 minutes longer, or until sauce bubbles around edges and cheese has melted.
To serve: Sprinkle with some of the lettuce, tomato, avocado and onion. Serve remaining on the side.

Serves 6 Active 20 min / Total: About 1 hr
Per serving 461 cal 26g pro, 46g car, 6 fiber, 20g fat (7g sat fat), 70 mg chol, 966mg sod

Current members:

Val, Tyler, Blue, Jennie, Ender, Ang, Keverly, DramedyofLife
Matt, Tiffany, The Crazy Girl

Here's the button

Next week will be my last week doing Flubber Buddies...

Please leave me a comment along with your e-mail and I will add you to the list...

I'd love to hear how everyone else is doing....

Technorati Tag(s) Dieting, Super Size Me, Morgan Spurlock

A Hero...

My renter for this week is an American Hero... This is the second time he's been here on Jetting Through Life... He was awarded with a Purple Heart. The Purple Heart is the oldest award given out. The award was established by General George Washington at Newburgh, New York on 7 August 1782 during the Revolutionary War.

While reading his latest post, I cried as he's still living to tell why he is receiving this prestigious award. I am thankful that he's still here to talk about it...

Please stop by Across the Pond via the link to the right... You will see exactly what a US Soldier goes through while away on what they call a "tour". Sometimes they aren't all they are cracked up to be. I am glad to know of someone who has been noble enough to receive an honor of this magnitude.

Drop by and send him your thanks, please!

Friday Funny (v.17)

To celebrate the Spring season...

Everyone needs this hot dog cooker...!

An inspiration... A mission... Yazeed "Yaz" Essa

As many of my regular readers know I have been trying to put some of my efforts to get the word out about Yazeed "Yaz" Essa.

I have received two comments from people who actually knew either Rosie or Yaz of the Essa family. The last one I received was from Rosie's godson, "Johnny". When I read the brief comment from "Johnny" I broke out in tears. His comment hit me that this "story" you read in the newspaper was real. What I saw on television was real. The victims of Rosie's family are real people living real lives trying to move on and pick up the pieces without her as a daughter, sister, wife and mother. Living and breathing human beings...

I can honestly say I have overlooked stories on the news, newspaper and dismissed the thoughts and feelings of families experiencing a hardship. Whether it being a missing persons case, a murder, drowning, etc. I figured that they weren't close to me, this would never happen to me, why should I care, what can I do about it? Well a flood of emotions came over me while reading the court documents on this case. For whatever reason, the court documents along with reading news articles made this even more real to me. And how malice the accused actions were and their children...

Rosie and Yaz's kids are going to grow up without their parents. I grew up without my father and after almost 24 years it has been very enduring to me. He passed away of natural causes so he wasn't stripped from my life the way Rosie was from her children. Her kids will have to go through every single milestone without their mother or father because he is on the run and one day soon, hopefully he will be in prison. I know the feeling, of going to school as a young child with your parental holidays (Mother's Day and Father's Day). I never had a father to physically bring with me to school. I always felt left out. I was made fun of in school because my father wasn't around. Fast forward to my senior year in high school... I graduated walked and took my diploma, the first person on my father's side of the family. And unfortunately, my father had to watch in spirit. My wedding, the birth of my daughter, my first home... He missed it all in the physical sense. I never had that chance to say good-bye, I love you... And I would assume Rosie's children didn't either. They won't have that, ever. It kills me that these innocent children will have to go without their entire lives wondering "what if" and try to dig in bowels of their memory banks to remember the simplest memory of their mother twenty years from now... It's hard for me to remember everything about my father, you lose touch of reality in a sense. I have been told that Rosie's children are in good hands, I do not deny it at all. Her children are surrounded by a loving family, I am sure. But I will assure you they will subconsciously miss their mother for the rest of their waking lives. I hope that counseling is in order for this children. I wish it was available to me. To have some sort of hatred towards their father for the accusations facing him.

I know I have readers all over the world, if you see him, please call your local government agency to report his sighting. Or contact America's Most Wanted via, this link.

It not only would mean the world to Rosie's family, but maybe, just maybe would let me rest about this. Some how I was destined to be so passionate about this family whom I have never met and they know absolutely nothing about me. This story has touched me more so than any other... It'd be safe to say touching is an understatement, it has molested my mind, body and soul. I often find myself thinking about them when I have a lull in my day. I too, hope that you think of Rosie and her children for a split second to be more aware of your surroundings... Maybe the person sitting next to you at a bar, restaurant, street, highway could be Yazeed... It could make a difference in many lives.

Below are my last posts in reference to this case...

Where in the world is Yazeed?
Update on Yazeed Essa -- Americas Most Wanted

Flubber Buddies (v.4)

This past week has been good for me... I have lost about 3 pounds and I have been flucuating a bit, which is normal. I was very busy in my personal life which didn't allow me to have the time to work out, but I am back on track this week and feeling GREAT! I work out at Curves three days a week and even though it's not a high impact long ass work out, it seems to do the trick for me and my busy lifestyle. Thirty minutes is perfect and I can find the time for myself and I need it. If you are a woman, and have a hectic lifestyle want to workout but "don't have the time" Curves is for you. You can always find 30 minutes to spare for you. Your body will thank you!

Here's a weekly recipe...

Spice-Rub Pork with Black Bean Citrus Salad
While I am not a fan of black beans, this looks pretty darn good...
From Meals in Minutes, Woman's Day

4 thin-cut pork loin chops (about 1 1/4 lb)
1 1/2 tsp mild Mexican seasoning or chili powder
1 tsp oil
1 jar (24 oz) refrigerated citrus salad, drained
1 can (15 oz) black beans, rinsed
1 ripe avocado, diced
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1/3 cup bottled olive oil and vinegar dressing
1/4 cup sliced red onion

Sprinkle pork with Mexican seasoning. Heat oil in large nonstick skillet. Add pork and cook over medium-high heat, turning once, 4 minutes or until cooked through.
Meanwhile put remaining ingredients in a bowl; toss gently to mix and coat. Serve with pork.

Per Serving: 581 cal, 27 g pro, 42 g car, 4 g fiber, 34 g fat (8 g sat fat), 70 mg chol, 561 mg sod

4 servings
Active: 10 minutes / 10 minutes total

Here are our current members:

Val, Tyler, Blue, Jennie, Ender, Ang, Keverly, DramedyofLife
Matt, Tiffany, The Crazy Girl

Here's the button

Please leave me a comment along with your e-mail and I will add you to the list...

I'd love to hear how everyone else is doing....

Technorati Tag(s) Flubber Buddies, Diet, Pork Chop(s)

April Fools Day (Business Holiday)

Well I did the tape one to my boss.... He kept complaining that his one program wasn't working and I did nothing but giggle on the inside of course! He was pissed and I almost pissed my pants!! It's fun to screw with people sometimes!! HAHA!!

Technorati Tag(s) April Fool's Day, Gags, Funny

Happy April Fool's Day!

The History : April Fool's Day, is sometimes called All Fool's Day. The History behind April Fools Day is vauge to say the least. Some Historians think that April Fools Day (of sorts) started in France when on April 1, 1582 Charles IX introduced the Gregorian Calendar and moved New Year's Day to January 1st. However, news of this was spread slowly (no internet in those days!) and many of the people did not receive the news for several years. Therefore, some people celebrated New Years on April 1st and were called 'fools' by the more educated population who knew of the calendar change. It is said that Practical Jokes were often played on these so called April fools. Some deduce that the tradition of prank-playing on April 1st started in this way.

There are many types of Pranks played on April Fool's Day ranging from the basic prank phonecall to more advanced pranks. Remember, if you are playing a prank on April 1st - once the prank has been delivered, to shout April Fool !!.

These are some pranks and jokes ideal for April Fools Day.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Ring your friend before he / she goes to work and say " I'm so sorry to hear you got fired ! " - Act surprised they didn't know yet.
Wet a tissue with milk and run around holding the tissue to your eye pretending you stuck your pen in your eye, when somebody comes close, squeeze the tissue to make the Milk spurt out all over the place.
Place Cling-film over the toilet seat - an old prank but a good one !
Ring your friend and pretend to be from the local GPs office. Tell them they might have Newcastles Disease ( a chicken disease - don't tell them that ).
Sign somebody up to an embarrasing email newsletter.
Go around the office and tell random people that a particular person (e.g. your friend) wanted them to drop over at 11am - they will be surprised when 50 people drop around to their cubicle at once.
Start a rumour that your company is being taken over and loads of staff will be made redundant. Watch the onset of panic.
Put loads of Pencil (scribble and really build up the graphite) on a piece of paper and then rub around the eye and upper jaw. Then go around the office and say you were hit beacuse you didn't get the report in on time.
Advertise your bosses job in the local newspsper - (Great if you want to get fired !).
Get a universal remote control and turn the volume up on all the TVs in your local TV shop, while standing nearby. Try be covert so you can keep doing it.
If you are a manager or have employees under you, send people looking for made up items such as the dehydrated water, the hydraulic cement humidifier, the double sided transperencies, a fallopian tube, the blunt knife, a glass hammer.
If you work in a restaurant, tell all employees that due to new fiar trade regulations, each serving of fries or chips must contain exactly 257 pieces.
During lunch, say to your friend, "Sorry to hear about your partner, (pause) I suppose you had to find out about the affair sooner or later - the whole office knew about 2 months ago.".
Use a 3M Post-it notes placed underneath someones's computer mouse - ensure that it covers the ball or the optical sensor on the bottom. When they go to use the mouse, it won't work! On the 3M Post-it simply write April Fool!.
Get access to another person's office, cubicle or room, and move the entire contents of it to another location or even just outside the door. Another variation is to turn all objects in the room the opposite direction.
Do a few replacements ... Substitute Gravy instead of coffee granules !
If your last one out of the office, empty multiple packs of Jello or Gelatine into the Toliets - the result next morning will be fun !
Break a chilli pepper and rub it a few times on mugs and cups .. adds spice to the daily cup of coffee.
If you have a digital camera, take a picture of the toilet, then plug in your digital camera into a PC or TV (using TV-out) and get the picture on screen. When you see people coming out of the toilets, start laughing out loud and pointing. The person will come and see the picture and think you saw them in there !
Switch the signs for Mens and Ladies toilets ... watch the fun !