May 9, 2012

Got pretty far yesterday. I planted the flowers that were on my office windowsill outside finally. They were still too small as far as I was concerned, but the kittens were about to completely destroy them. They kittens love the windowsill & once they were up there, even if they weren't trying to play with the plants (which they often were), they'd step on them or sit on them & the little seed starter thingies just couldn't handle that. They started disintegrating & more than once I ended up with dirt all over the place. I took Kyle to a band recital & then went out to dinner with Pete. After dinner we went to Academy & Ross. I got a new pair of shorts :) My son has been asking me what I want for Mother's Day & for my birthday. The best advice I could give him was to go online & search for LizC864. I'm everywhere! What would be most useful to him though are my Amazon wish list, my Kaboodle page, & Pinterest. Those 3 places will cover any price range of anything he wants to get me. Same goes for family & friends reading this who wishes to shop for me. :) I already used Amazon wish lists for a friend's birthday this year. They had forgotten they even had an Amazon wish list which made it great because they were really surprised with their gifts. I wish all of my family & friends had Amazon, Kaboodle, & Pinterest. It would make gift shopping SO much easier! Shopycat is pretty cool too, but I don't use it as much. I woke up with a cold this morning, although a very light one. After going through a few Kleenex I finally gave in & took some DayQuil. I hope all my readers find themselves feeling good today ... enjoy this beautiful spring day all you can! Xoco's 3rd birthday Saturday!

About 2 dozen plants share the common name of this spectacular bloomer. They are all cactuses, but not desert dwellers. Most species are scented to attract the moths that pollinate them. What's the common name?

Night-blooming cereus. Epiphyllum oxypetalum, with its broad, flattened stems, is the most popular. Hylocereus undatus, with triangular stems, & various species of Nyctocereus & Selenicereus are other examples. All have similar requirements. They live in moist, somewhat shaded areas, so they need a rich, fertile, well-drained potting medium that never dries out completely, & high light but not direct sun. They love to spend summers outside in light shade. Give them a light dose of general houseplant fertilizer once a month, starting when they finish flowering. In winter, reduce watering (but not so much that the plant begins to shrivel) & stop feeding.

For most of the year, there doesn't seem to be a good reason to grow E. oxypetalum, a large, rather gangly plant. But during its short summer bloom period, owners frequently gather their friends to sit up all night & watch, transfixed, as the white, 9"-wide flowers unfurl, only to become limp dishrags by morning.

Even your closest friends deserve your respect! In your home, in the halls of school or in the mall, remember these points:

• Use "please" & "thank you": these common phrases can mean a lot!
• Be honest: it's 1 of the most important ingredients to good friendship.
• Respect privacy: even if you share locker combinations & passwords, don't use them!
• Offer to help: if you'd want help, chances are your friend does, too.
• Make positive comments: give compliments; if you think your friend's new skirt is a great color, say so!
• Be interested: listen to what your friend is doing, don't always talk about yourself.

Histrionic:

1: Deliverately affected : theatrical. 2: Of or relating to actors, acting, or the theater.

The candidate declared that he would not stoop to address his opponent's histrionic & patently untrue accusations.

The term "histrionic" developed from histrio, Latin for "actor." Something that is "histrionic" tends to remind one of the high drama of stage or screen & is often over-the-top. It especially calls to mind the theatrical form known as the "melodrama," where plot & physical action, not characterization, are emphasized. But something that is "histrionic" isn't always overdone; the word might simply refer to an actor or something related to the theater. In that sense, it becomes a synonym of "thespian."

In its natural desert home, the leaves of this plant may be deciduous during the dry season. If moisture is available, the plant remains evergreen. Although it ultimately reaches about 6' in height, a potted houseplant can be kept as small as a bonsai. When cut, it exudes a milky sap that's irritating to the skin & said to be poisonous when ingested. What is it?

It's a disorder to look in the mirror & think you're fat when you look fine.

Jim Henson's 1st television appearance. 22 years later Beaker is introduced. Meep. Meep. Meep. (1955)

Makeovers:

Now they involve haircuts & new lip color, but originally, makeovers were "make-it-overs" - turning old clothes (say, a men's shirt) into something new (a pinafore). They were especially popular during WWII fabric shortages.

Radio.com:

Welcome to the new Radio.com for iPhone! We've reworked the app from the ground up to improve audio quality, enhance stability, and introduce new features that bring your favorite stations to life. Radio.com combines the best of CBS Radio and Yahoo! Music to bring you 400+ digital-only, HD, and live broadcast stations; including WFAN, 1010 WINS, and KROQ. Browse over a dozen music genres and get local with news and sports from cities across the U.S.
Radio.com for iPhone now lets you:
• Register to save your station favorites and listening history
*NOTE: If you wish to transfer your existing favorite stations from version 1 you’ll need to register/login on first use.
• Dive into station info with show schedules and news feeds
• Go deeper on what's playing now with artist news, bios, photos, discographies, and lyrics
• Browse the latest headlines directly in the app
• Search the entire station catalogue with ease
• Adjust your audio quality and format to suit your playback needs
• Set a sleep timer
• Auto-start on the station of your choice
• Easily contact us to report issues or suggest features

Shoes are not to be piled. Match up shoes. Group shoes by color & season. Keep only what you need & wear. Store shoes on low shelves in your closet or lined across the floor in your closet. Store dryer sheets in your shoes to absorb moisture & odor.

"Speed Racer" movie released (2008):

On this day in 2008, "Speed Racer," the big-budget live-action film version of the 1960s Japanese comic book and television series "MachGoGoGo," makes its debut in U.S. movie theaters.

Warner Brothers, the studio behind "Speed Racer," brought on Larry and Andy Wachowski, the brothers who created the blockbuster science-fiction hit "The Matrix" and its two sequels, to write and direct the long-awaited movie. Emile Hirsch starred in the title role of Speed, an 18-year-old driver whose family's business is building race cars. Speed is trying to live up to the memory of his older brother Rex, who died in an accident while competing in a notoriously tough cross-country rally known as the Crucible. Before his death, Rex had appeared to cheat in a race, and Speed yearns to clear the family name. When the Racer family's rival, Royalton Industries, makes him a rich offer to join the company's racing team, Speed refuses, infuriating Royalton's corrupt owner. In order to defeat Royalton and save his family's business, Speed must team with his onetime rival Racer X and take on not only the Crucible, but also the mighty Grand Prix.

Christina Ricci, John Goodman, Susan Sarandon and Matthew Fox co-starred in "Speed Racer" alongside Hirsch. Another key cast member was not an actor but an automobile: the mighty Mach 5, a race car designed and built by Speed's father, Pops Racer. As in the American version of the comic, the sleek Mach 5 used in the film is white with red accents, bears similarities to an early Ferrari Testarossa and is outfitted with an array of special features, including jacks that automatically boost the car, allowing for easy repair; rotary saws that protrude from the front tires; and a deflector that seals the driver into a crash-proof container. As part of the publicity for the Wachowskis' "Speed Racer," the Mach 5 went on display in January 2008 at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan. As reported in USA Today, however, the car saw little real action on the track. During filming, it was attached to a crane, and most of the effects for the racing scenes were computer generated.

Take a closer look at the shelves in your closets. The horizontal space on the shelf is probably filled, but what about the vertical space above it? Some creative solutions for filling this space include using hooks on the shelf above, putting storage drawer carts on shelves (leave the wheels off the bottom), or adding another shelf in between.

We don't work for retirement & benefits. We work for what benefits & retirement do for us. Benefits can help us take care of our families, & 1 of those benefits is that we can make & save money.

When it comes to geography, what is a col?

A gap or saddlelike depression between mountain peaks that often serves as a pass.

Which has the most, 2nd most, & 3rd most species?

A. Birds

B. Fish

C. Insects

Which kind of owl is the biggest, 2nd biggest, & 3rd biggest?

A. Snowy owl

B. Eagle owl

C. Barn owl

BAC, While the snowy is the largest owl in North America, eagle owls are even bigger - up to 27" long. They're found everywhere except Australia & a few Pacific islands.

Which of these shows aired in the 1970s?

Perry Mason, The Dukes of Hazzard, Starsky & Hutch, Gilligan's Island, Kojak, All in the Family, Mr. Ed, The Odd Couple.