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Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Who you callin a Turkey? R.I.P. Grandpa


My Grandpa passed away in the beginning of February. I have to say that I did not appreciate my Grandfather as an actual 'Person' until a few years ago. Until then he was known to me as the second member of that famous duo 'Grandma & Grandpa'. AKA Grandparents.

After my Grandmother passed away, my Grandfather was alone, so of course we all tried a bit harder to keep him busy, hang out with him more. It was during that time that I finally recognized my Grandpa for what he was.

A man.
A person.
Somebody with life stories.

I always enjoyed being around my Grandparents, and was lucky enough to have them live 10 minutes away. When my Grandma died it was unexpected, heartbreaking, and just downright devastating. But there was a calmness in my mind, because although she was gone,  the other founding member of the duo was still remaining.
 I still had my Grandpa.
 He still lived in the same house, with the same memories, the same decorations on the wall, and still carried on the same holiday traditions. My waters rippled for a bit, but eventually calmed.

With my Grandpa passing, I realize I am taking it a bit differently. I can't say that I am taking it harder, because I don't know if you can put an emotional gauge on it. But differently is the best way to put it.
Maybe it is because I am getting older. I am looking at things differently in my own life. Death gets to be more and more within reach, and it feels scary. It makes me look at my parents and truly think to myself
"If they ever leave me, I don't know what I would do" 
Yup, I have to say, getting older and dealing with what comes with age is something I have been mulling over A LOT lately! 

But back to Grandpa........

Who you callin a Turkey? 

You Grandpa! You are a Turkey!

When I was little I would tell my Grandpa he was a 'Turkey' He would act grumpy, I would laugh, then he would laugh, and then we would both laugh. 

So in memory of my Grandpa, here are a few pictures.
Cheers Grandpa!
Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, San Diego
Beautiful view, overlooking the Harbor, Coronado Island, and the city over to the left. 
The Beautiful Urn that he had picked out for my Grandmother. It now holds both their ashes together. 
A spot for Grandpa with his glass of red wine. After the ceremony, we all went to eat at his favorite Mexican restaurant. Cheers! 
After lunch, we decided to visit the mobile home one last time. Too many memories to count. 
Back at my parents home. These are the same Fisher Price toys that my cousins and I played with when we were young. Grandchildren and Great Grandchildren have been enjoying these toys for a long time. Now they will be at my parents house, brought out when the little ones come around.


Now just memories to share  Grandma and Grandpa
One of my favorite pictures of them. 

My Aunt & Uncle bought him an iphone a couple of years ago. He taught himself all the ins and outs of it. One important function being the screensaver. This was at a family BBQ at my brothers house. I asked him what he was looking at on his phone, and he turned it to me and said
"Your Grandma"
His screensaver was a picture of my Gram.

My Grandpa had this funny grumpy side to him. He never wanted anyone making a fuss over him. This picture is a few years old. It is a picture of us as I am asking him which mug he wanted for his coffee. Also if he wanted cream; which I knew he didn't, but it was funny because he hated all the 'Foo Foo' creamers, so I started to ask just to hear him start rambling.  I'm shooshing my hands at him saying "I know, I know! I was just kidding" 
Later on I had posted this picture on Facebook, then showed it to him and said "Hey Grandpa, this is a picture of me showing you how to Raise the Roof, Holla!" He just stared at me, and shook his head. 

This is what I envisioned happening the second he strutted through those pearly gates. Hopefully they are still slow dancin the night away up there in the stars...........

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Sooooooo, ummmmmm, yeah......

I have been busy! Aren't we all?

But, anyway. My next post is going to be a compilation of pictures and captions from my past month.

From sad

  • My Grandpa passed away
  • Stressful day to day blahs
To happy
  • Got up at crack of dawn to make camping reservations that usually sell out in seconds, at our favorite beach campsite.
  • Redecorating our 1973 Itasca Motorhome. I'm talking sewing machine usage, curtain making, wallpaper stripping and all. Pictures to come.
To just regular day to day stuff
  • Meeting our Hungarian website programmer for the first time after only emails for the past year. Thank God other countries teach English, because Americans would be screwed if we had to speak other languages on a whim.- I am speaking for myself. If you are smart and speak ten languages, don't comment. Yay for you! 
  • I am finally turning into someone who enjoys walking. Baby steps toward working out (YUCK) I walked to meet (and surprise) my husband and daughter a couple of miles away at the park where he was taking her to ride her bike. He left before I got there. Let's just say that as he was driving down the road, he had to do a double  quadruple glance to make sure that was really me. His first question?...... "Is everything o.k.?"            His second question?......."What are you doing?" Walking people!! WALKING!!! Yup, this girl is tryin to be fit and healthy. Small framed body does not equal fit. 
I will be back! 
With pictures!



Sunday, March 24, 2013

Kobe Bryant Can't Hear You Honey,STOP yelling at the t.v.!!

I am blogging right this second, all the while looking at my husband every few minutes saying 'mmm, hhhmmm'. -or- 'oh, yeah, wow that sucks babe!'

Why am I throwing out these little one-liners? Because he is watching the Lakers play, and he wants me to be just as passionate and interested as he is.If I have to hear him yell at the T.V. one more time, I may scream. Doesn't he know that the players cannot hear him. And even if they could, they DON'T NEED HIS ADVICE on what play they should have carried out, or how they 'just F*cked up a shot!!'  Unfortunately, I set myself up for this, as I was extremely interested when we were first dating. But good lord,that is what you do when you are in the throes of passion in a new relationship.I mean for god's sake, I was also interested in what type of music he enjoys, what his childhood pets name was, what kind of boy he was growing up, what his hopes and dreams were, whether he was too cold or too hot, does he want me to turn the volume up? is he comfortable? does he like Sushi, or should we go somewhere else? I'll get that for you babe! Sure, I will sit on the little wooden stool with the broken leg, freezing my ass off, watching you re-cement your walkway just so that I can be close to you. I had butterflies in my stomach, sweet fluttering, beautiful butterflies. Now I am not sure what the hell is in my stomach, but I do know that I get horrible bouts of diarrhea every once in a while, and I don't give a crap what his hopes and dreams are, but can he please give me some privacy while I am in the restroom. Wooo Hooo, that turned into a rant! 

I used to watch the Lakers with him when we were first dating. Even when I was at my house, and he was at his. We would sit on the phone, and discuss the game (at the time, Karl Malone was on the Lakers, and I even pegged him as my favorite player, ooohing and ahhhing), I would yell when the other team got the ball away, or when they were unfairly fouled. I would cheer when they made a 3 pointer. Now I roll my eyes when he asks me to watch the game (not to his face, God no. I roll my eyes privately. I have respect for my husband people!!)
I usually say "Hold on babe, let me go put my sweats on and I'll be back downstairs in a minute to watch The Laker game with you"
This is code for  - Let me go upstairs, call my best friend, have a 1/2 hour conversation with her about an ex boyfriend from 7th grade who just found her on Facebook, wash my face, then put my sweats on, "uhh, where are my pink sweats?" Having teenage daughters who wear the same size as you, and like to borrow steal your clothes can have it's advantages. What are the advantages you ask???? Well, I can steal theirs! The disadvantages? You are late for work, you can't find your new black tights that you were going to wear with your new skirt and boots, only to discover they are in your daughters laundry pile.........RIPPED! 
I grab another pair of pajamas, sit down on the side of bed, then start to slump in a 'lay down' position and wish that I could just fall asleep.No tucking kids in, no late night homework help, no running to the store for a child that "forgot" they have a school project due in the morning. Ooooh, a look on my nightstand reminds me that I was going to start reading my new Danielle Steel novel. ( I can amazingly jump from Twilight, to Confessions of a Shopaholic, to the tragedy, lust and passion of a Danielle Steel novel. I LOVE TO READ)
So the Lakers season has finally begun, and I try to multi-task.I grab my book off the nightstand, throw on my Lakers t-shirt my hubby bought me years ago, and make my way downstairs. I will show my husband that I still have passion for the Purple and Gold, passion for our marriage,passion for snuggling up next to him, and all the while I will be sneaking in my passion for reading combined with my passion for blogging and Pinterest pinning. Then, in a few minutes, I will show my passion for sweets. That Easter basket candy I have hidden is calling my name! 


Saturday, March 23, 2013

In case anyone cares, here are my answers to James Liptons 10 Questions

If you have ever watched James Lipton on Inside the Actors Studio, then you know about the 10 Questions he asks at the end of each interview.
If you have never watched it, then look it up! The internet is full of information.........
If you are too lazy to look it up, then you are probably too lazy to even read this post, but surprisingly I won't judge you for that because I am also too lazy to read things or look at things people tell me to look at. I am constantly being bombarded by friends and family who will ask me "oh, did you watch that video I sent to you?" -or- "did you ever look up that article I emailed you  regarding the blah, blah, blah" I usually lie and say 'yes' to everything. "Yes I saw it, yes I read it, yes it was _______________!!!!"
 insert appropriate word here
So I won't judge you for not looking it up! No judgement here.



For fun I am going to pretend that I am a famous actress, and James Lipton has just interviewed me. We have laughed, I have cried. I have shared my stories of heartache and struggle, being typecasted in Hollywood, all of the usual interview stuff. Only to finally get my big break on a television sitcom, followed by a role in my first feature film, where I went on to win an Academy award.
                                         WOW, I sure can dream can't I??? Or I am insane, and one day when my husband has the time to actually read my blogs, he may worry. Either way, for today I am pretending.


The ten questions Lipton asks are:
  1. What is your favorite word?  Obnoxious
  2. What is your least favorite word? Ain't 
  3. What turns you on? Honestly my hubby helping me with household stuff (all the while smelling like my favorite cologne)
  4. What turns you off? Just someone who is 'Bluuch' Mean, rude, disrespectful. 
  5. What sound or noise do you love? Sound of my kids getting along, talking or laughing w/ one another
  6. What sound or noise do you hate? The sound of kids getting tickled. HATE IT! The screeching, laughing, the tickler and the ticklee. All of it. BAD!!
  7. What is your favorite curse word? Mother F'er. Mother F'ing Slut if I'm really goin for it. Even a 90 year old man isn't safe from being called that if he cuts me off on the road. Sorry, senior citizens! Road rage exists in me.  
  8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?Anything that involves traveling. Maybe a photographer. Anything where my creativity makes it so that I am considered a genius! 
  9. What profession would you not like to do? Anything retail. 3 Years at Macys taught me that
  10. If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates? You did pretty good kid! A few bumps in the road, but you are a good person.Your parents should be proud. Not too mention,you are pretty darn funny. Now come over here and meet my good friends John, Gilda and Lucille. They think you are pretty funny too. 

Friday, March 8, 2013

Screw You Widget Directions! I am not a Rocket Scientist!

I made a Facebook page for my blog. My blog also has a Twitter. I want to add the widgets to my blog. Simple!  Actually, NO , IT'S NOT SIMPLE!

Well, first of all it took me 4 days(exaggeration) to find the directions on the actual Facebook site.

Then it took me 6 days (another exaggeration) to read through the directions.

And 4 therapy sessions (this may or may not be an exaggeration) to deal with the anxiety it caused me trying to 'Copy and Paste' URL HTML WTF Codes into my HTML format.

It's especially worrisome when there is an option to click on a box to 'Save HTML' or you Google
"How to add widgets to your blogger blog" and the first thing that comes up is a warning that you'd better "Backup your HTML format?" Sounds Scary!! You mean I can lose everything.

So here are the directions from Facebook.........Simple Right??

NO!

FORGET IT! 

I GIVE UP!!


Look at these STUPID, LONG Directions!
Sorry Mark Zuckerberg, We are not all Facebook Genius Creators!

Is anyone else as dumb as me?
If the answer is 'NO' then we cannot be friends. You are too smart for me.


Like Button

If you implemented the Like button before November 7th, 2012, read this notice.
On this date we updated how the Like button will function with respect to content restrictions, publishing updates to users and integration with the Built-in Like action.
Like buttons that were implemented prior to this update should read the following developer doc about the Like Button Migration as they may require changes to continue working.
The Like button lets a user share your content with friends on Facebook. When the user clicks the Like button on your site, a story appears in the user's friends' News Feed with a link back to your website.
When your Web page represents a real-world entity, things like movies, sports teams, celebrities, and restaurants, use the Open Graph protocol to specify information about the entity. If you include Open Graph tags on your Web page, your page becomes equivalent to a Facebook page. This means when a user clicks a Like button on your page, a connection is made between your page and the user. Your page will appear in the "Likes and Interests" section of the user's profile, and you have the ability to publish updates to the user. Your page will show up in same places that Facebook pages show up around the site (e.g. search), and you can target ads to people who like your content. Note: The count on the Like button will include all likes and shares whereas the like connection on the Graph APIincludes only the number of likes for the object.
There are two Like button implementations: XFBML and iframe. The XFBML (also available in HTML5-compliant markup) version is more versatile, but requires use of the JavaScript SDK. The XFBML dynamically re-sizes its height according to whether there are profile pictures to display, gives you the ability (through the Javascript library) to listen for like events so that you know in real time when a user clicks the Like button, and it always gives the user the ability to add an optional comment to the like. If users do add a comment, the story published back to Facebook is given more prominence.
Note: The URLs in the code are protocol relative. This lets the browser load the SDK over the same protocol (HTTP or HTTPS) as the containing page, which will prevent "Insecure Content" warnings. Missing http and https in the code is intentional.
To get started, just use the configurator below to get code to add to your site.

Step 1 - Get Like Button Code

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Send Button (XFBML Only) (?)
 
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Show Faces (?)
 
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Attributes

  • href - the URL to like. The XFBML version defaults to the current page.
  • send - specifies whether to include a Send button with the Like button. This only works with the XFBML version.
  • layout - there are three options.
    • standard - displays social text to the right of the button and friends' profile photos below. Minimum width: 225 pixels. Minimum increases by 40px if action is 'recommend' by and increases by 60px if send is 'true'. Default width: 450 pixels. Height: 35 pixels (without photos) or 80 pixels (with photos).
    • button_count - displays the total number of likes to the right of the button. Minimum width: 90 pixels. Default width: 90 pixels. Height: 20 pixels.
    • box_count - displays the total number of likes above the button. Minimum width: 55 pixels. Default width: 55 pixels. Height: 65 pixels.
  • show_faces - specifies whether to display profile photos below the button (standard layout only)
  • width - the width of the Like button.
  • action - the verb to display on the button. Options: 'like', 'recommend'
  • font - the font to display in the button. Options: 'arial', 'lucida grande', 'segoe ui', 'tahoma', 'trebuchet ms', 'verdana'
  • colorscheme - the color scheme for the like button. Options: 'light', 'dark'
  • ref - a label for tracking referrals; must be less than 50 characters and can contain alphanumeric characters and some punctuation (currently +/=-.:_). The ref attribute causes two parameters to be added to the referrer URL when a user clicks a link from a stream story about a Like action:
    • fb_ref - the ref parameter
    • fb_source - the stream type ('home', 'profile', 'search', 'ticker', 'tickerdialog' or 'other') in which the click occurred and the story type ('oneline' or 'multiline'), concatenated with an underscore.

Step 2 - Get Open Graph Tags

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Open Graph Tags

Open Graph tags are  tags that you add to the  of your website to describe the entity your page represents, whether it is a band, restaurant, blog, or something else.
An Open Graph tag looks like this:
 property="og:tag name" content="tag value"/> 
If you use Open Graph tags, the following six are required:
  • og:title - The title of the entity.
  • og:type - The type of entity. You must select a type from the list of Open Graph types.
  • og:image - The URL to an image that represents the entity. Images must be at least 50 pixels by 50 pixels (though minimum 200px by 200px is preferred). Square images work best, but you are allowed to use images up to three times as wide as they are tall.
  • og:url - The canonical, permanent URL of the page representing the entity. When you use Open Graph tags, the Like button posts a link to the og:url instead of the URL in the Like button code.
  • og:site_name - A human-readable name for your site, e.g., "IMDb".
  • fb:admins or fb:app_id - A comma-separated list of either the Facebook IDs of page administrators or a Facebook Platform application ID. At a minimum, include only your own Facebook ID.
More information on Open Graph tags and details on Administering your page can be found on the Open Graph protocol documentation .

FAQ

How do I know when a user clicks a Like button?

If you are using the XFBML version of the button, you can subscribe to the 'edge.create' event through FB.Event.subscribe.

When will users have the option to add a comment to the like?

If you are using the XFBML version of the Like button, users will always have the option to add a comment. If you are using the iframe version of the button, users will have the option to comment if you are using the standard layout. If users do add a comment, the story published back to Facebook is given more prominence.

What analytics are available about the Like button?

If you visit facebook.com/insights and register your domain, you can see the number of likes on your domain each day and the demographics of who is clicking the Like button.

Can I link the Like button to my Facebook page?

Yes. Simply specify the URL of your Facebook page in the href parameter of the button.

What is the best way to know which Like button on my page generated the traffic?

Add the 'ref' parameter to the plugin (see "Attributes" above).
Examples:
 ref="top_left">
When a user clicks a link back to your website, we will pass back both the ref value as a fb_ref parameter and the fb_source parameter in the referrer URL. Example:
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?fb_ref=top_left&fb_source=profile_oneline
Aggregated stream stories contain all ref parameters, concatenated with commas.

When does Facebook scrape my page?

Facebook needs to scrape your page to know how to display it around the site.
Facebook scrapes your page every 24 hours to ensure the properties are up to date. The page is also scraped when an admin for the Open Graph page clicks the Like button and when the URL is entered into the Facebook URL Linter. Facebook observes cache headers on your URLs - it will look at "Expires" and "Cache-Control" in order of preference. However, even if you specify a longer time, Facebook will scrape your page every 24 hours.
The user agent of the scraper is: "facebookexternalhit/1.1 (+http://www.facebook.com/externalhit_uatext.php)"

How do I display the Like button in different languages?

If you are using the XFBML version include the language code when you instantiate the library. Replace ‘en_US’ in this line with the correct locale code:
'//connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js';
If you are using the iframe version include a locale parameter with the proper country code in the src URL. Example:
src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?locale=fr_FR&..."
You may need to adjust the width of the Like button to accommodate different languages.

What makes up the number shown on my Like button?

The number shown is the sum of:
  • The number of likes of this URL
  • The number of shares of this URL (this includes copy/pasting a link back to Facebook)
  • The number of likes and comments on stories on Facebook about this URL

What happened to the old Share button?

We deprecated the Share Button when we launched the Like button, because the Like button improves clickthrough rates by allowing users to connect with one click, and by allowing them to see which of their friends have already connected. For reference, the Share button documentation is still available here.

When I click the Like button, the popup window (or "flyout") doesn't show. Why?

If the Like button is placed near the edge of an HTML element with the overflow property set to hidden, the flyout may be clipped or completely hidden when the button is clicked. This can be remedied by setting the overflow property to a value other thanhidden, such as visiblescroll, or auto.
Updated about a week ago

Saturday, March 2, 2013

My son's chore list preserved like an ancient Egyptian artifact....only not ancient or Egyptian! Diggin Ho Ho Holes, Diggin!

Chores. Every young child's rite of passage.
 There are little everyday chores
  • Dishes
  • Sweeping
  • Cleaning windows
  • Folding towels
There are BIG weekend chores
  • Mopping
  • Wiping down baseboards
  • Cleaning ceiling fans
Then there are the BIG, BIG weekend chores
  • Yardwork - More specifically, and in my sons case; DIGGING HOLES for one of the many new palm trees that my husband would decide to bring home to add to our tropical landscaping.

"Can I go to Ty's house, and then over to Tanner's? After that we are probably going to meet up with everyone at the beach, and then........"

"Let me cut you off. Yes, you can do all of that. After you finish your chores."

The look in my son's eyes when the word CHORE was mentioned on an early Saturday morning was always one of fear. Even though he had been reminded and warned repeatedly that....
"Next Saturday, do not make any plans because you will be helping with some yard work." 


Yeah, kids have selective memory. Not to mention selective hearing, selective sight, selective everything!

"Great! Another Hole!All of my friends think you guys are like some weird slave drivers. Makin me dig holes all the time. Like the movie! I should just live in some boys juvenile camp,just digging holes all day!"

His bad attitude and borderline talking back was not appropriate,
but....
It sure did give us a good idea for his Christmas gag gift that year.



This still hangs in his room. Some memories are too precious to be packed away in a box.
Have you read the book or seen the movie?
My son loved both!






When you leave your work boots outside, and your parents tell you to bring them in the garage because rain is in the forecast. Don't think that "accidentally" forgetting them outside overnight, only to have them soaked through will get you out of digging the next day.
No sireee!!
Soak up as much rain as you can with these here paper towels, then grab two grocery bags, put them over your socks before slippin into your boots, and get digging! 



My son is 19 now, does not live with us anymore, so therefore does not have to endure the family chore list. My husband is the sole 'yardwork' guy now. I mean I of course help with some light weeding, light flower planting, light mulch placement, light.....well, you catch my drift.
The girls and I stick more to the inside stuff. 

But M was outside today planting another palm tree, and re mulching the planters and he came across this in the corner of the yard, behind one of the planters.





"10-23-08 Digging a hole again"
It was like finding old ancient carvings from 10,000 B.C.
Only it was from 2008, and it was from a pissed off teenager.


Of course hubby had to text me his find.
LMAO is right!
He then texted it to C, so that he could remember his good ol' hole digging days, and Laugh His A** Off!