Goodbye Brooke White!

My favorite performer has been kicked off of American Idol tonight. I've loved her from the beginning, she was like a breeze of fresh air from the start. Her chicklet teeth and her stunning blue eyes and wild hair. I hope that she gets a record deal out of this and I'll be one of the first people in line to buy a cd. Good luck Brooke!

Thank You!

My sister Karen sent me this. It has music, but no spoken words, so if you don't want to try to find my jukebox to turn it off to watch, don't worry, leaving my jukebox on won't make you miss any of the message. But PLEASE watch it!!!

Appetizer

Name something you would categorize as weird.~ Gina

Soup

What color was the last piece of food you ate?~ um, eggroll color.

Salad

On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how much do you enjoy being alone?~8

Main Course

Fill in the blank: I will _________ vote for ___________ in _______.~ I will never vote for pink elephants in underpants.

Dessert

Describe your sleeping habits.~ Late to bed sleep as long as I can. Once I'm out, I'm dead, I don't hear anything until morning.

{For the Record}

For those of you who have been watching the news and may have wondered....

Some Mormon women sing...


Some Mormon women dance...



Some Mormon women write scary stories...



Some Mormon women have lots of money and really great hair...



I know hundreds of Mormon women.

They do all kinds of different things and live all different kinds of lives.



This woman served as a leader in the Mormon church. She recently spoke to teenage girls worldwide. She encouraged them to stand up to peer pressure, strengthen their families and serve others. (Click here for more.)


None of the Mormon women I know look like this...

None of them are marrying off their teenage daughters and-- although some may joke about wanting a sister-wife (preferably one who is really fat & ugly, does bathrooms and changes diapers)--none of them really want to share their husband with anyone.

Furthermore...

Some Mormon guys can sing...

Some Mormon guys can throw a ball...

Some Mormon guys yell at the ball...



Some Mormon guys make scary movies...




Some Mormon guys have a lot of money and really great hair...

Some Mormon guys are scientists...

(Henry Eyring (colleague of Albert Einstein) He pioneered the application of quantum mechanics to chemistry. He also was awarded the National medal of Science for devolving the Absolute Rate Theory of chemical reactions. He was elected president of the American Chemical Society in 1963 and of the Association for the Advancement of Science in 1965.)

I know hundreds of Mormon guys. They do all kinds of different things and live all kinds of different lives.

This is one of the leaders of the Mormon church. Last Sunday he spoke about honoring women, especially mothers, and gave advice to husbands and children about how to treat the women in their lives. (For the whole story, click here.)

None of the Mormon men I know look like this...

The Mormon men I know are honest and hard-working. They don't cheat, smoke, drink or gamble.

And TRUST ME....the last thing any of them want is another wife.

If you'd like to know more about the LDS church please click here.

*This was received in an email and I thought that it made a point that I wanted to share so well. Wish I knew the origins of it so I could give credit where credit is due. I did add a couple of people and touches to it, because I felt it was missing something.

Something that could have been said today...

"Consider these words written by Abraham Lincoln as part of a resolution in 1863: 'We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven; we have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity; we have grown in number, wealth, and power as no other Nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God who made us.
"'It behooves us, then, to humble ourselves before the offended power, to confess our . . .sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.'
(John Wesley Hill,Abraham Lincoln, Man of God, 4th ed., New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, p.391.)"
(Marion G. Romney, "Gratitude and Thanksgiving," Ensign, Nov. 1982, 50)

.... amazing how some things never change.

Meme

I was just thinking the other night that nobody's passed around a good meme lately, then I saw this one at Kathleen's and decided to play along.
Here's my shot at it.

1) What was the first music album you ever bought with your own money? I don't even remember... however, I do remember my brother Dan won a Phill Collins record, and I tried my best to get it out of his hands. I'm almost thinking it was a Judds tape.


2) If you were a flavor of ice cream, what would it be, and why? Bubblegum. Because it's my favorite ice cream flavor (minus the chicklets). It's pink and fun and reminds me of good times.


3) What is your favorite item of clothing? My monkey socks. They are like these, only with a sock monkey and a banana.


4) When it comes to other people’s personal grooming, what is your biggest pet peeve? B/O. Last week I actually FELL OFF a treadmill because a guy next to me smelled so bad! Hahaha. I am not kidding.



5) Which character on Sesame Street embodies your personality the most? Prairie Dawn, she's sweet and mothering and smart and she sings a good song :)

I tag Gina, Michelle and Misty Dawn

Ew! Ew! Ew!

A couple of weeks ago I took my laptop in for some work on a usb port. Well, the Geek Squad ended up replacing the motherboard and the hard drive. So when I worked on those pictures of the get together I forgot that I hadn't re-calibrated my screen yet! EW! I just saw them yesterday on my desk top. Uh, wow.... all I can say is ... wow and ew.

Hey Brian Ehrler from New York

Ok, so tonight in my email is a message that was left on my blog under the story about the dog poop brownies. Now I really hate it when people "hit and run" a blog post, so I'm going to stop the trolley and post about it.
Brian apparently found me doing a Google about dog poop brownies... odd thing to search for Brian... but I suppose it was an odd thing for me to write about as well.
So Brian's comment was this, "What a great story... too bad your choice in blog music does not match your written beliefs. "
Ok. Hmmmm.... I'm a little confused by this comment. Perhaps I have been careless in my song choices and have chosen a song that has a hidden meaning I don't know about... or maybe some lyrics I haven't combed over.... or maybe I am right, it's hard to avoid dog poop brownies.
If anyone would care to point out the song that is not up to my standards I would love to have you point it out so that I may chose to remove it. Nothing drives me more nuts than a liberal hypocrite, so I certainly don't want to be one.
And Brian if you ever come back I'd like to know which song you felt contained dog poop.

Hallelujah!

I can eat again!
I guess it was dry socket. You don't know how good I feel today!

My week of h-e-double hockey sticks

Last Monday
I had roots from a broken tooth removed. Wednesday I had a crown on a cracked tooth and a broken filling replaced. And ALL WEEK LONG my mouth has been in so much pain. I haven't been able to sleep or eat (because of the extraction and a wound on the other side of my mouth). I'm exhausted and nutrition deprived.

Thursday
I went back to the dentist and told him how it's still in major pain. He didn't think it was a dry socket, and thought it was because of the crown throwing off the bite on the side of the extraction. He fixed the bite, but was WRONG that didn't help.

Saturday
On Saturday I met up with 9 other photographers for a get-together. They started out the day meeting up at a coffee shop in the morning. I met up with them at 10 at the library. We'd reserved a room for the day for our use. We did some introductions and critiquing work/websites for the first part of the morning. Then we got lunch and went out for some shooting/posing stuff.
I was in a lot of pain, it was cold and windy and I really just wanted to be in bed sleeping. It was so sad, because I was SOOOOOOO looking forward to getting together with them, but my mind was so fried from lack of sleep and nutrients I just couldn't get into it, or think of anything creative or fun to do. I kind of just followed the crowd and watched mostly.
I did get a shot of at least everyone there, except Christina who left before we started shooting and Daniel, and Scott. I'm not sure how I didn't get any good ones of them.
After shooting we went back to the library where we saw what people had shot. I shared a couple of techniques I use for popping eye color and for removing dark circles under the eyes.
Anyway, here's a few shots I took....

This is Julie. She is so cool. She's been the backbone of the whole GTG.




This is her friend Alissa, who has a great personality. She was fun to meet.



This is the Haraldson's, Laura and Scott. They are wedding photogs. Yin and Yang. They seem like they are having fun in life together.











This is Jenn. Her and her husband are wedding photogs as well. She is adorable and it was great to see her work.



Here is Julie shooting her



This is Joe. I didn't get to chat much with him so I don't know much about him, but I liked the work he shared with us.



Sunday
Saturday night I had made brownies for our class, one of our boys had a birthday, and I was so sad I couldn't have any. I got upset with how I didn't like how I looked in my hair had looked in the pictures people had taken of me, so I cut myself some bangs again. Now they keep poking me in the eyes because I kept them long.

This morning
I went in for an appointment I had scheduled to start work for a new bridge. I told them about all the pain I've been in and how much trouble it's caused me. I found bone in the extraction site last night. They think it's dry socket. They packed it with medicine that I have to go back and have changed every few days. They said it should take the edge off of the pain, but I don't think it has.
They also tried to convince me that the wound on my other cheek is a canker sore. I personally think they got my cheek when they were working on my teeth. But they won't admit it.

Now I sit here wondering if what I'm feeling in the hole is gauze pack or food.

Oh my gosh, I am praying that I am on the mend now.

American Idol's Smallest Fans

Ok, I think I might watch this show too much.
A couple of days ago my 3 small children were playing their own made up version of American Idol. Joshua could be heard from the other room saying, "I'm not feeling it. Sing it with more feeling".

Then yesterday Joyanna was trying to get the game going when she out of the blue announced, "I'm going to HOLLYWOOD!!! What song should I sing?"

Now tonight I heard them playing in the other room on keyboards and symbols and Jaeden says, "We need more acting...... we need more.... talent!"

I got some cute kids.

Friday's Feast

Appetizer

Name a color you find soothing~ Pink

Soup

Using 20 or less words, describe your first driving experience.~Not counting shifting the pick up for mom? I stole my parents vehicle when I didn't have a licence yet.

Salad

What material is your favorite item of clothing made out of?~I dunno, it says "organic".

Main Course

Who is a great singer or musician who, if they were to come to your town for a concert, you would spend the night outside waiting for tickets to see?~ Michael Buble

Dessert

What is the most frequent letter of the alphabet in your whole name (first, middle, maiden, last, etc.)?~ N-5 times

To join Friday's Feast click here.

I am experiencing technical difficulties....

Actually, I had a tooth removed on Monday. On Wednesday I had a filling replaced and a crown put on a tooth that had cracked from the pressure of my clenching. My mouth became out of allignment, and because of my clenching, my jaw is enormously sore and it makes me feel anti-social and basically I just want to sit on my couch and wimper.
Something about any part of my head hurting makes me feel like I need to be locked in a padded room until it's done. It just takes over everything. How I feel. How I cope. How I mother. And yes, even how I blog.
I hope to be back to normal soon... however on Monday I start work on a new bridge, so I hope that won't leave me in pain more, otherwise it's going to be a couple of weeks before you see me here again.
Until then, enjoy this little majic show...

Free Toys!

Who can resist signing up for a contest for free toys? Not me, that's who! I would love to win this Lego set for my boys. Both the 15 and the 6 year old would love to play with that.
5 minutes for Mom is having a great 2 week giveaway for kids of all ages. Go see if there's anything you'd like to win!

I am so blessed

I just have to say tonight how blessed I feel to have the Church of Jesus Christ in my life. I'm so thankful to know how Heavenly Father really is, and how He really feels about His children here on earth, whether they know the Gospel or not. What an amazing blessing it is to be able to kneel on my knees and ask Him myself to let me know how He feels about me and to have the amazing answer swell within my heart. He is so loving, so merciful, so wise, so perfect. He knows how to love perfectly. I am so thankful for that.

YAY

My visit went really well, and other than the dentist's limp handshake, I really liked him, he was very nice. I also like his prices. I start on next Monday with the plan they put together for me. I hope to have it all done by June, I'm sure they can have it done before then, but the last little bit will have to wait until I have been paid for a wedding I'm shooting in June.

The hygienist was super nice and chatty, I loved that. She also kept commenting on how pretty my teeth were, which made me feel good. She asked me if I've had braces and I've been asked that before, nice to say I haven't, I was lucky in that department. She also kept chatting with me about how I quit smoking in 1999. I told her about using the patch, but somehow felt uncomfortable about telling her that that was the first time I'd asked the Lord to help me with it, when I was going back to activity in the church. But I just want to say now, that I never would have been able to quit if I hadn't involved the Lord in it.

The total cost is about what I was expecting, which is nice. No shockers there. But it was a shocker to find out that a tooth one dentist claimed was cracked is in fact not cracked and only has a shallow filling that has broken. Only one new cavity in the last 4 years. My gums are tight and look great, and I didn't have a lot of plaque. I'm a good brusher, however I don't floss very well. She was hoping that my gums would be in worse shape so she could push flossing on me, but she said that I prolly wouldn't listen since they were doing so good, hahaha.

Monday I begin my treatment with the removal of some roots of a tooth that lost it's crown a couple of weeks ago.

Glad it's done!

I stepped out on a limb tonight and taught a short class about making better pictures, at tonight's Enrichment class. Man! I was so nervous! I felt like I was stumbling in my talking and thoughts until halfway through someone asked me a question and then I relaxed, it was like "Oh yeah, I know what I'm talking about, why am I relying on cards?" I wish they'd asked me a question sooner! Ha!

American Idol
Ok, I have to complain about Jason Castro's "Over the Rainbow" It first sounded like he was trying to do IZ's rendition of it, and then changed it. I didn't like it. Nobody can hold a candle to IZ. But America is gullible and will think it's fantastic because Simon said it was. Normally I like Simon and agree with him on most all his opinions about performances, but not this time.

ETA: Thanks Banana! I accidentally called Jason "David", whoops!

Tomorrow I go into the dentist to start the process of getting caught up on all the work I've needed to have done for years. The last couple of years the kids have come first with dental work. This year is my turn. Two years ago we spend over 8 grand on the kids teeth. I expect my bill will be close to that. I have years of work that needs doing, from getting rid of old silver fillings and having some roots surgically removed, they won't hold a crown anymore, and possibly two bridges along with the cleaning and such. I had a time in my early 20s where I was drinking soda and chewing gum and smoking all the time and had rapid deterioration and we've never had the money or insurance to get it fixed. Or there have been times where it's been so difficult to live with, and I've said "I'm going to go", and my husband would threaten me that I would lose the van/house if I got us into that much debt. But this year is the last year where we will get a large tax refund that can cover it. This is the last year he will be in college for the whole year and next year our belts will be tight again. This is my last chance and I'm taking it!
It's been a source of embarassment/resentment/pain for me, so I am so excited/nervous/anxious to finally be getting it taken care of. I hold back in my life because of it. It will feel so good to be able to laugh and smile again without having to worry about what someone is seeing. It's been over 10 years since I've been able to. I'm going to feel so set free. I can't wait. I'm going to smile ALL OF THE TIME :)

Monique sent this onto me in an email and I couldn't help but choke up.
Often times I've thought to myself that I resolve that if I ever run into anyone in the military making a purchase that I would pick up the tab for them. I see them often as I drive by the gas station, we have a military site by our home. Someday I'll be in that gas station and be able to thank a man or woman in uniform by picking up the tab.

You'll have to scroll down to the bottom of my blog to turn off my 70's playlist so you can hear the music to the video.

Awwww!

Today we drove about an hour north to Sandstone Minnesota to the Audobon Center where they had a pancake breakfast and maple syruping. The breakfast was great! The lessons were great! We had a lot of fun and so glad we invited Grandma and Grandpa along with. If you live in Minnesota I whole heartedly encourage you to add Maple Syruping to your list of yearly must do activities, right up there with visiting an apple orchard/pumpkin patch in the fall!
This is the first picture I've worked on from the day's images. This is my oldest daughter with Grandpa. Usually she is just so shy. I'm thrilled to get this image of her smiling and interacting... I LOVE IT!

Mad Girl?

Which poem are you? The Mad Girl's Love Song by Sylvia Plath To you, love is desperate and hateful. You're wildly passionate and wildly inventive. You`re also likely to start stalking people.

Click Here to Take This Quiz but be warned it's a bit crass Brought to you by YouThink.com quizzes and personality tests.

So my question is to you.... did they ever think that Silvia Plath wasn't crazy, she was just cold?

Spring Fever?

Every spring since I was a teenager I start getting insomnia and can't sleep. I stay up late, and don't feel tired at night, although I go through the day yawning. Suddenly I'm a night owl.
I'm not sure what the cure is. Any suggestions?

Ta-da!

Ok, so there are a few finishing touches left as I mentioned before. After these were taken before we finished putting on all the door handles, and my husband has reinstalled my appliances (Microwave, can opener and radio/cd player) to the bottoms of the cupboards.
We now just have the kick plate for the island, and the corners to the kick plates, the corners to the walls and floorboards left to stain and install. We also still have to finish the hallway to the bathroom and kids rooms and the entry way at the front door, but are waiting on some transitions that we special ordered that will divide the carpet areas from the floor... even though it sounds like a lot, it's not.

Also we are waiting for the new "right sized" counter top for in between the pantry closets (where the phone and that blue exercise ball are) to come in. The microwave is hung in that area.



The Island my husband created by using two floor cupboards and we had a custom counter top made for it.



I have SO MUCH more space now with these new pantry closets! The missing counter top piece goes in this spot. It should be in by the end of the week. The microwave is hung from the bottom of those top cupboards.

My little flasher. Excuse the modesty block ;) this is taken from the laundry room door looking towards the family room (which is on the other side of that half wall). I hang my kids artwork and stuff from our Family Home Evening lessons from that wall.

This is looking into the kitchen from the living room, entryway end.

Looking at the East wall. The door leads to my laundry room/ furnace room.

This is looking from the hallway in between the kitchen and family room. Not all that furniture goes in this room and some of it's furniture is in the living room... go figure. The kids bedrooms and bathroom are at that end of the house.

This summer I'm painting the kitchen in a very light color. I tried to scan the paint sample, but it didn't look right. It's very close to this color..

And getting all new drapes for the kitchen, family room and living room. Those came with the house and I've been super lazy in getting stuff to fit my style.

I can cook!

Oh you don't know how happy that makes me that I can cook in my kitchen again! I never thought I could say this but I am so sick of eating out!
However, I do have plans for eating out on Saturday. My husband's favorite restaurant Totino's has moved to our neighborhood and just opened... so exciting! So I'm planning on taking us to Totino's to celebrate my kitchen being opened again, hahaha... ironic eh?
Just a few more finishing touches and the place is going to look fabulous! I have some pictures but will have to post them tomorrow because right now I'm trying to get my laptop back into service again.
Who would have known that non-working USB ports would cause the Geek Squad to totally replace the motherboard and the hard drive??? Adeau.

April Fools

Thanks Shelley for passing these along to me... I love a good sense of humor.

Top April Fools Jokes of All Time‏
#1: The Swiss Spaghetti Harvest
spaghetti harvestIn 1957 the respected BBC news show /Panorama/ announced that thanks to a very mild winter and the virtual elimination of the dreaded spaghetti weevil, Swiss farmers were enjoying a bumper spaghetti crop. It accompanied this announcement with footage of Swiss peasants pulling strands of spaghetti down from trees. Huge numbers of viewers were taken in. Many called the BBC wanting to know how they could grow their own spaghetti tree. To this the BBC diplomatically replied that they should "place a sprig of spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce and hope for the best."
• Read the full article about the Swiss Spaghetti Harvest here.

#2: Sidd Finch
Sidd FinchIn its April 1985 edition, /Sports Illustrated/ published a story about a new rookie pitcher who planned to play for the Mets. His name was Sidd Finch, and he could reportedly throw a baseball at 168 mph with pinpoint accuracy. This was 65 mph faster than the previous record. Surprisingly, Sidd Finch had never even played the game before. Instead, he had mastered the "art of the pitch" in a Tibetan monastery under the guidance of the "great poet-saint Lama Milaraspa." Mets fans celebrated their teams' amazing luck at having found such a gifted player, and /Sports Illustrated/ was flooded with requests for more information. But in reality this legendary player only existed in the imagination of the author of the article, George Plimpton.
• Read the full article about Sidd Finch here.

#3: Instant Color TV
In 1962 there was only one tv channel in Sweden, and it broadcast in black and white. The station's technical expert, Kjell Stensson, appeared on the news to announce that, thanks to a new technology, viewers could convert their existing sets to display color reception. All they had to do was pull a nylon stocking over their tv screen. Stensson proceeded to demonstrate the process. Thousands of people were taken in. Regular color broadcasts only commenced in Sweden on April 1, 1970.
• Read the full article about Instant Color TV here.

#4: The Taco Liberty Bell
In 1996 the Taco Bell Corporation announced that it had bought the Liberty Bell and was renaming it the Taco Liberty Bell. Hundreds of outraged citizens called the National Historic Park in Philadelphia where the bell was housed to express their anger. Their nerves were only calmed when Taco Bell revealed, a few hours later, that it was all a practical joke. The best line of the day came when White House press secretary Mike McCurry was asked about the sale. Thinking on his feet, he responded that the Lincoln Memorial had also been sold. It >> would now be known as the Ford Lincoln Mercury Memorial.
• Read the full article about the Taco Liberty Bell here.

#5: San Serriffe
In 1977 the British newspaper /The Guardian/ published a special seven-page supplement devoted to San Serriffe, a small republic located in the Indian Ocean consisting of several semi-colon-shaped islands. A series of articles affectionately described the geography and culture of this obscure nation. Its two main islands were named Upper Caisse and Lower Caisse. Its capital was Bodoni, and its leader was General Pica. The /Guardian/'s phones rang all day as readers sought more information about the idyllic holiday spot. Few noticed that everything about the island was named after printer's terminology. The success of this hoax is widely credited with launching the enthusiasm for April Foolery that gripped the British tabloids in subsequent decades.
• Read the full article about San Serriffe here.

#6: Nixon for President
In 1992 National Public Radio's /Talk of the Nation/ program announced that Richard Nixon, in a surprise move, was running for President again. His new campaign slogan was, "I didn't do anything wrong, and I won't do it again." Accompanying this announcement were audio clips of Nixon delivering his candidacy speech. Listeners responded viscerally to the announcement, flooding the show with calls expressing shock and outrage. Only during the second half of the show did the host John Hockenberry reveal that the announcement was a practical joke. Nixon's voice was impersonated by comedian Rich Little.

#7: Alabama Changes the Value of Pi
The April 1998 issue of the /New Mexicans for Science and Reason/ newsletter contained an article claiming that the Alabama state legislature had voted to change the value of the mathematical constant pi from 3.14159 to the 'Biblical value' of 3.0. Before long the article had made its way onto the internet, and then it rapidly made its way around the world, forwarded by people in their email. It only became apparent how far the article had spread when the Alabama legislature began receiving hundreds of calls from people protesting the legislation. The original article, which was intended as a parody of legislative attempts to circumscribe the teaching of evolution, was written by a physicist named Mark Boslough.

#8: The Left-Handed Whopper
In 1998 Burger King published a full page advertisement in /USA Today/announcing the introduction of a new item to their menu: a "Left-Handed Whopper" specially designed for the 32 million left-handed Americans. According to the advertisement, the new whopper included the same ingredients as the original Whopper (lettuce, tomato, hamburger patty, etc.), but all the condiments were rotated 180 degrees for the benefit of their left-handed customers. The following day Burger King issued a follow-up release revealing that although the Left-Handed Whopper was a hoax, thousands of customers had gone into restaurants to request the new sandwich. Simultaneously, according to the press release, "many others requested their own 'right handed' version."

#9: Hotheaded Naked Ice Borers
Hotheaded Naked Ice BorerIn its April 1995 issue /Discover/ Magazine announced that the highly respected wildlife biologist Dr. Aprile Pazzo had discovered a new species in Antarctica: the hotheaded naked ice borer. These fascinating creatures had bony plates on their heads that, fed by numerous blood vessels, could become burning hot, allowing the animals to bore through ice at high speeds. They used this ability to hunt penguins, melting the ice beneath the penguins and causing them to sink downwards into the resulting slush where the hotheads consumed them. After much research, Dr. Pazzo theorized that the hotheads might have been responsible for the mysterious disappearance of noted Antarctic explorer Philippe Poisson in 1837. "To the ice borers, he would have looked like a penguin," the article quoted her as saying. /Discover/ received more mail in response to this article than they had received for any other article in their history.
• Read the full article about the Hotheaded Naked Ice Borer here.

#10: Planetary Alignment Decreases Gravity
In 1976 the British astronomer Patrick Moore announced on BBC Radio 2 that at 9:47 AM a once-in-a-lifetime astronomical event was going to occur that listeners could experience in their very own homes. The planet Pluto would pass behind Jupiter, temporarily causing a gravitational alignment that would counteract and lessen the Earth's own gravity. Moore told his listeners that if they jumped in the air at the exact moment that this planetary alignment occurred, they would experience a strange floating sensation. When 9:47 AM arrived, BBC2 began to receive hundreds of phone calls from listeners claiming to have felt the sensation. One woman even reported that she and her eleven friends had risen from their chairs and floated around the room.

And for a cute April Fool song visit here.

It's hard to avoid poop brownies

Many of you might know this story. I think of it every time I'm out in the Internet universe and run into posts of peoples saying things like... "warning they swear in this so if you get offended then do not watch" Or picture posts that say, "a little risky" or something similar.

Dad's Brownies

A father of some teenage children had the family rule that they could not attend PG-13 or R rated movies. His three teens wanted to see a particular popular movie that was playing at local theaters. It was rated PG-13. The teens interviewed friends and even some members of their family's church to find out what was offensive in the movie. The teens made a list of pros and cons about the movie to use to convince their dad that they should be allowed to see it.

The con's were that it contained ONLY 3 swear words, the ONLY violence was a building exploding (and you see that on TV all the time they said), and you actually did not "see" the couple in the movie having sex - it was just implied sex, off camera. The pros were that it was a popular movie - a block buster. Everyone was seeing it. If the teens saw the movie then they would not feel left out when their friends discussed it.

The movie contained a good story and plot. It had some great adventure and suspense in it. There were some fantastic special effects in this movie. The movie's stars were some of the most talented actors in Hollywood. It probably would be nominated for several awards. Many of the members of their Christian church had even seen the movie and said it wasn't "very bad".

Therefore, since there were more pros than cons the teens said they were asking their father to reconsider his position on just this ONE movie and let them have permission to go see it. The father looked at the list and thought for a few minutes. He said he could tell his children had spent some time and thought on this request. He asked if he could have a day to think about it before making his decision. The teens were thrilled thinking; "Now we've got him! Our argument is too good! Dad can't turn us down!" So, they happily agreed to let him have a day to think about their request.

The next evening the father called in his three teenagers, who were smiling smugly, into the living room. There on the coffee table he had a plate of brownies. The teens were puzzled. The father told his children he had thought about their request and had decided that if they would eat a brownie then he would let them go to the movie. But just like the movie, the brownies had pros and cons.

The pros were that they were made with the finest chocolate and other good ingredients. They had the added special effect of yummy walnuts in them. The brownies were moist and fresh with wonderful chocolate frosting on top. He had made these fantastic brownies using an award-winning recipe. And best of all, the brownies had been made lovingly by the hand of their own father.

The brownies only had one con. The father had included a little bit of a special ingredient. The brownies also contained just a little bit of dog poop. But he had mixed the dough well - they probably would not even be able to taste the dog poop and he had baked it at 350 degrees so any bacteria or germs from the dog poop had probably been destroyed.

Therefore, if any of his children could stand to eat the brownies which included just a "little bit of crap" and not be effected by it, then he knew they would also be able to see the movie with "just a little bit of smut" and not be effected.

Of course, none of the teens would eat the brownies and the smug smiles had left their faces. Only Dad was smiling smugly as they left the room.

Now when his teenagers ask permission to do something he is opposed to the father just asks, "Would you like me to whip up a batch of my special brownies?"