Can I Rent a 12 Year Old?

We now have Direct TV for our satellite service.

And because we are new customers (and because satellite carriers give OODLES of things to NEW customers while they give their OLD customers SQUAT),  we get NFL’s Sunday Ticket free for this year.

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I have no idea what that means other than I think I get to choose ANY football game I want to watch regardless if it’s normally broadcast in our area.

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If that’s true,  I’m excited.

First game I want to watch : Bears vs. Packers.

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But because I’m TV- and satellite-technology challenged,  I need to borrow somebody’s 12 year old kid to figure it all out in two nanoseconds and then take two hours to show me how it works…

Then I can watch some football!

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Sweet 112

In dog years,  she’s 112. In actual years, she just celebrated her 16th birthday with a trip to New York City.

Fourteen years ago she and almost 100 other search and rescue dogs worked to find victims and survivors of 9/11.

DOG’S Bretagne’s (Brittney’s) BEST DAY

Giving deserving pups the best day of their lives, one incredible story at a time.

Meet Bretagne: the last known living search and rescue dog who worked at Ground Zero.

As members of Texas Task Force 1, Bretagne and her mom/handler Denise Corliss had an intense first deployment They joined nearly 100 other search and rescue dogs to find and save people trapped in the rubble of the World Trade Center after 9/11. They’ve had an unshakable bond ever since.

After hearing Bretagne’s story and learning that her 16th birthday was coming up, there was no question in our minds that she deserved a Dog’s Best Day for the ages.

To celebrate her birthday and thank her for her incredible service, we were honored to team up with the dog-lovers at 1 Hotels to bring this New York City hero and her mom back to the city for the ultimate Dog’s Best Day.

Thanks to Lorraine for posting a link to this FaithTap story on Facebook.

Carol and I Have Got Balls!

Carol and I created a new product, and we received some great news yesterday!

A bit of background…

The product holds between one and five pickleball balls or tennis balls in a lightweight belt while you’re playing.

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It was born out of frustration because it’s annoying to have to go gathering errant balls while playing.

Our product lets you keep playing longer because you have more balls ready to go…

IGBSo we decided to call the product, “I’VE GOT BALLS!”

And we are sewing it in three colors: orange, lime green, and black.

It took a while to get the design down and we had lots of help from other players who critiqued our initial trial belts.

Back to the present…

Last week, Carol sent a sample to an online pickleball company, and last night she received an email from them saying…

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They ordered 30 for their initial order! Woohoo!!!!!!

I’m off to start sewing…

Orange-IGBs Green-IGBs Black-IGBs

 

How Low Will He Go?

I’m so saddened by Donald Trump’s latest misogynistic statement.

This one was about political rival Carly Fiorina.

Look at that face! Would anyone vote for that? Can you imagine that, the face of our next president?” Trump reportedly bellowed while watching his Republican presidential rival on the news. “I mean, she’s a woman, and I’m not s’posedta say bad things, but really, folks, come on. Are we serious?

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What saddens me is that many people will either laugh and/or embrace his comments because they will use the excuse that it’s so refreshing to hear someone NOT be politically correct.

There’s a huge different between not being politically correct and being rude, mean, obnoxious, and stupid.

And while this Tweet from Carly Fiorina is from when Trump insulted Megyn Kelly for her tough questioning after the first debate, her message still rings true.

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Body Positivity +

I don’t even know where to begin or what to say…

apbAmy Pence Brown, a Boise artist, is simply and amazingly beautiful!!!!!

And so are the people who took the time to ♥ her.

A few weeks ago she went to the center of the Capitol City Public Market in downtown Boise, stripped down to her two piece bathing suit, put on a blindfold, grabbed two markers, and placed a sign in front of her that said,

“I’m standing for anyone who has struggled with a self-esteem issue like me, because all bodies are valuable. To support self-acceptance, draw a  ‘♥’ on my body.” Over the course of an hour, she had dozens of hearts drawn on her and made hundreds of spectators think…

Read more about her Stand for Self Love. You’ll be REALLY glad you did. 🙂

Excerpts:

The dad who stood in front of me with his two young sons and knelt down to tell them to “this is what a beautiful woman looks like.”

…………….

And the twentysomething man who stood behind me and whispered, “The effects of what you are doing here are far reaching. It’s absolutely amazing. The power of this moment will go on and in ways you never thought possible. You are changing more lives than you know.”

Wait a Bit…

I’m definitely getting wiser as I get older.

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And that’s a good thing.

Here’s an example…

I’m trying to decide if I want to run for an office in one of our local pickleball clubs.

I’d never run for president, but I think I’d be happy as secretary–not too much responsibility but enough to feel like I’m contributing.

In years past, I would have just jumped right in without looking!

jumprightinThis morning, I called the current secretary and talked about her duties. I felt comfortable calling her because she actually emailed me to ask me to nominate myself for the position.

I’m a bit leery about offering to help because of a couple of reasons:

I’m already doing the Web and lots of the computer work for another pickleball group in the valley.

But, more importantly, I was worried that the secretary position would require me to set up social engagements–definitely not my strong suit, let alone something I would endeavor with relish.

asI actually AM anti-social, and I do have a strong aversion to B.S., drama, and pretending, let alone making small talk.

Anyway, it’s nice to have the wisdom that’s accompanying my age and take time to reflect before making a decision I might regret. 🙂

 

Road Trip!

As you read this, dear Gentle Blogreader, I’ll be on a road trip driving from Fallon to home.

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Unlike those young men from Animal House on their road trip,

animal-house_ccI won’t be driving with others and/or drinking beer.

I will be driving solo,

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and drinking Diet Pepsi while I listen to a David Baldacci book.

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I’ve had a wonderful visit with my dad. And I’ve enjoyed visiting with other family members while I’ve been here.

But I miss Rich and I miss Sophie, and I can’t wait to get HOME….

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Cuckoo, Cuckoo, Cuckoo…

I’m in Fallon a few days visiting my dad.

For as long as I can remember, well at least 45 years, my parents have had a cuckoo clock. Here’s the one Dad has right now:

0904152055While we’ve been visiting and all during the last few nights, the cuckoo has performed twice per hour. One cuckoo on the half hour, and one cuckoo for each hour on the hour.

The amazing thing is that even though I’ve been away for so long and not lived with my parents for nearly 40 years, the clock’s cuckoos don’t wake me or sound strange.

Sounds like home… 🙂

Why I Admire Coach Pete

Stayed up late last night to watch Boise State University barely beat University of Washington in their season opening game.

The BSU Broncos were favored by up to 11 points, but the U-Dub Huskies were coached by Chris Petersen–the BSU Broncos’ coach up until last year. And the Huskies nearly pulled off an upset.

First college games of the season are nearly always raw and ugly because there is not much time to practice and there are no preseason warm-up games. This game’s rawness was no exception.

BSU won 16-13. They scored their 16 points easily in the first half,  and then gave up 13 unanswered points.

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The match up has been brewing to a fever pitch ever since Coach Pete left BSU in early December of 2013.

I’ve always admired him–the way he coaches, the way he prepares his teams, the way he handles the media, and so on…

Washington head coach Chris Petersen takes questions at the 2014 Pac-12 NCAA college football media days at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles Thursday, July 24, 2014. (AP Photo)  CADD103

And after last night’s game, he warmly greeted and hugged the BSU coaches and players, many of who he trained and recruited, before leaving the Blue Turf for the final time.

My Two Cents

I’m probably going to ruffle a few of my Gentle Blogreaders’  feathers with today’s post, but hopefully we can agree to disagree…

Today’s post concerns Kim Davis, the Kentucky clerk who has been jailed for contempt of court because she refused “to heed a U.S. Supreme Court order legalizing same-sex marriage”.

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Not only did Davis refuse to heed the order, she was, in essence, given a second chance by being asked to agree not to interfere with five deputy clerks who had told the federal judge that they would issue them in her stead.

Davis’ lawyer told the judge that Davis would not allow her deputies to issue the licenses either. Her objection is that her name and title is printed on the licenses.

If she is found guilty of misconduct, Davis could face up to one year of imprisonment.

I wondered why she wasn’t simply fired. Because Kim Davis is an elected official,  she cannot be fired.

The state legislature could vote to impeach her.  However most Kentucky voters oppose same-sex marriage,  and it’s a pretty sure bet Davis won’t be impeached.

I acknowledge her convictions and support her right to honor her beliefs.

But I don’t think she should be able to keep her governmental job if she refuses to comply with federal law.

And that’s my two cents…

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