Randomness

It’s snowing. Again.  So like all of those random snowflakes falling on our driveway that will need to be shoveled – again – here are some random thoughts for your Friday viewing pleasure:

* It’s the snowiest February on record in the Akrowdy. It’s so snowy, in fact, that at 6 a.m. this morning, they closed Cleveland Public Schools. From the shock and awe on the news anchor’s face, this is akin to hell freezing over. I never thought I’d witness hell freezing over, but here we are. Now what’s going to happen when every teenager known to mankind has some lofty request (like to drive a car at age 15)? If hell is frozen over already, what will parents say? Plain old “no” is so boring.

Dave and I have been here almost three years and two of those years have produced record snowfall. What gives? Not that I mind the snow — it’s pretty, it’s fun, it gives me an excuse to buy boots — but let’s just say my good friend the Treadmill and I are getting a little tired of spending so much time together. And let’s just say me and the Girls are feeling the stirs of craziness.

* But there’s hope under — or should I say above — the white stuff! The blue herons are back in the Cuyahoga Valley, and nesting in a huge sycamore tree on Bath Road. According to avian experts, this is a good sign that spring is going to be sprung soon. I may take up bird watching just so I can stand under the sycamore tree and shout, “hurry it up a little, will ya?” I’d offer to babysit on those eggs if it meant bringing spring a little sooner.

* Best excuse to go to DSW ever: Dave needed new slippers because his looked like they’d been through a wood chipper. I got a coupon in the mail saying that I’d get a free tote if I spent $39.95. Hmmmm….I picked up the slippers but they were only $24 so clearly I needed to buy myself a pair of shoes on clearance. It was between a pair of short suede cowboy-style boots and these leopard-printed, peep-toed beauties at the rock-bottom price of $29.00. My toes could use some peeping and these were like a little slice of spring sitting on that shelf. I swear I heard them say “buy me.” When I came home, I pulled a Grandma Cass. I stashed them in the closet and told Dave that “I bought you some slippers and got a free purse to boot.” I didn’t mention my shoes until later when he asked what I had to spend to get the free purse.

* Linguistic Pet Peeves? I have too many to list. This NPR article  that a writer pal forwarded captures a few. I, for one, get peeved when people say “I, for one, ….”. Um….who else you got in that “I”, your imaginary friend? It’s redundancy at its finest. I agree with the writer that “quite possibly” should be driven into the sea of Never Use Them Again phrases. I feel the same way about “indeed” even though I’ve been guilty of using it in memos and speeches. And while we’re on the subject, nothing sets me off like the word “handy” used in marketing copy. This handy tool will clean your house all by itself! This handy gadget wipes the counters for you! He’s handy around the house! Whenever I hear handy in that way, all I can see are two giant cartoon hands running through the house fixing things up. Creepy.

* The Biggest Liar is back. That’s right. The Liar of the Literary Variety might be at it again. Remember James Frey, author of A Million Little Pieces, which ended up being a big ball of hoo-ha? Another writer friend sent me this link about Frey allegedly using pseudonyms. Frey may also be John Twelve Hawks, author of a best-selling sci-fi series. So, even if he’s not John Twelve Hawks, he’s getting press because he might be? We’re going to give Frey bandwidth and column inches because he might be using pseudonyms because no one wants to publish anything with his name on it since he’s got pants o’ fire from lying? Unbelievable.

* Avatar in 3-D was pretty cool. Can’t say as much about the storyline but the 3-D technology and cinematography was fantabulous. My friend and I were chatting afterwards about what it was like to see the first Star Wars for the first time. Believe it or not, I saw it with my mom when she was pregnant with my little bro, Kevin. I was blown away by Star Wars at age 11. We were wondering if today’s kids will have the same reaction to Avatar or if they’re so unphased by special effects given they spend gobs of time with Guitar Hero, Playstaion, Wii, etc. Discuss.

* Happy Birthday, Alice! Alice turned nine years old on Monday. Yes, we gave her and Macy Frosty Paws to celebrate. And no, she can’t have the whole six-pack, Frosty Paws or otherwise, because, drum-roll please, Alice weighs a whopping 63 pounds. Oh yes, girlfriend has got some extra honky tonk in her bandonka-bonk right now. So, next on Girl Talk, she’s going to become the Biggest Loser. Macy will be coaching. Stay tuned.

* And finally, a big shout-out to my mom who has weathered her way through another February. Not only is it the anniversary of her mom’s passing, it’s also my parents’ wedding anniversary on Saturday. And on March 1, it will be four years since my dad passed away. We love you, mom!