Every Win Something?

Normally when you win something it comes to you free, right? Ok, so play along with me here for a moment and all will come clear.

You see, I keep getting these calls from automated telemarketers for everything from paying too much interest on my credit cards to the warranty on my car running out. Yesterday the automated call was ever so slightly different. I've had this call before so I knew what was coming so I decided to have fun with it. This time I wasn't being told how I could save money, I was told I won a trip for 4, all expenses paid to Barbados! Yes, an all expenses paid vacation! Wow, lucky me!

Uh huh, not so much, you see, I've listened to the rest of this spiel before! Someone who shops at Macy's, Eaton's, Sears or some other such store entered my name for this competition. Yep, sure they did, first I don't know anyone who shops at any of these types of stores, second none of these stores exist in this little hick town I live in, so I know that wasn't true! As this automated telemarketer was saying her thing, I started making comments and I asked a question and that's when it happened!

Before I get into the question that I asked, let me ask you how rude does a person need to be in order to get an automated telemarketer to hang up on you? Let me remind you, this telemarketer is AUTOMATED, that means that it's a recording! You didn't think you could be rude enough to have a recording hang up on YOU did you? Well, it's possible, and this is how it's done. See, you have to listen to their nonsense at least once to fully know what it is they are trying to get from you, then the next time you call, you play!

Yeah yeah yeah, I know it's automated what's the point in playing? Well guess what!?! Even automated calls have real live operators listening in just waiting to pounce as soon as you press the right number! Oh yes they do, don't tell me I'm full of it! How do you think that an automation can hang up on you if there weren't someone listening in, hmmmmmmm?

Anyway, I'm rambling so back to my point. Yesterday I got this call that I had won a trip to Barbados, all expenses paid no less! The thing of it is though, what I learned having previously listened to this rabble was that this trip I supposedly won was going to cost me $99.99 per person, plus I'd have to drive down to New York City in order to claim my prize. Nice free trip, huh!?!

So my question to this automation was "Yep, a FREE trip to Barbados and all it was going to cost me was a 2 day drive, the hotel bill for staying the night on the way there, $99.99 per person and then whatever costs were incurred while in New York before I can even claim my prize, right?" Well, that's what I WAS going to ask, but the line went dead when I got to the "and all it's going to cost me part". Apparently the person listening in wasn't too happy that I was aware that in order to collect this "prize" I had to pay a small fortune! I hadn't even mentioned that I'd have to get a passport for myself along with whoever I was going to take along!

So, do you think I was rude? I don't think so, I think I was just having fun. It's my right as a citizen to be able to have fun even at the expense of an automation :D I do so enjoy seeing just how long one of these automated calls takes before it hangs up on me. I have to admit sometimes I can't be rude enough, sometimes, just sometimes, I'm the one who ends up doing the hanging up as the person listening in must be enjoying the joke more than me! 

Cream Soup and Char

Quirky challenged me to write a re-do of Green Eggs and Ham, and well, I accepted her challenge! She's already posted hers earlier today and did a wonderful job of it, I suggest you go and check out what she's writ! Unfortunately mine doesn't rhyme anywhere near so nicely as hers does, but in my defense, it's incredibly hard to incorporate the food items on our menu with a Dr. Seuss rhyme...lol. By the way, tell Quirky I sent you if you haven't been there yet :D

Green Eggs and Ham, changed to Cream Soup and Char

By Dr. Seuss and transposed to work for work by Skye :D

I are Skye 
I are Skye 
Skye I are 

That Skye-I-are!
That Skye-I-are!
I do not like
that Skye-I-are! 

Do you like
Cream soup and Char?

I do not like them,
Skye-I-are.
I do not like
Cream soup and Char.

Baked Onion Soup,
Sirloin Steak?

Teriyaki Chicken 
Caesar?
Jambalaya,
Quesadilla?
I do not like them,
Skye-I-are.

Would you like them
in a house?
Would you like them
with a mouse?

I do not like them 
in a house.
I do not like them 
with a mouse.
I do not like Cream soup and Char.
I do not like them, Skye-I-are.

Would you, could you
In a car?
Eat them! Eat them!
Here they are.

You may like them.
You will see.
You may like them
in a tree!

I would not, could not in a tree.
Not in a car! You let me be.

A Wrap! A Wrap!
A Wrap! A Wrap!
Could you, would you,
Eat a Wrap?

Won’t eat that crap! Not in a tree!
Not in a car! Skye! Let me be!

Say!
In the dark?
We keep it dark!
Would you, could you, in the dark?

I would not, could not,
in the dark.

Would you, could you, in the rain?

I would not, could not,
in the rain.
You do not like
Cream soup and Char?

I do not
like them,
Skye-I-are.

I do not like them here or there.
I do not like them ANYWHERE!

I do not like
Cream soup
and Char!

I do not like them,
Skye-I-are.

You do not like them.
So you say.
Try them! Try them!
And you may.
Try them and you may, I say.

Skye!
If you will let me be,
I will try them.
You will see.

Say!
I like Cream soups and Char!
I do! I like them, Skye-I-are!
Perhaps I’d like Baked Onion Soup,
Sirloin Steak, Teriyaki Chicken Caesar,
Jambalaya, Quesadilla!

And I will eat them in the rain.
And in the dark. And on a train.
And in a car. And in a tree.
They are so good, so good, you see!

And I will eat them here and there.
Say! I will eat them ANYWHERE!

I do so like
Cream soups and Char!
Thank you!
Thank you,
Skye-I-are!

Wakey Wakey Silv!

Ok, so today is my b-day and Silv was absolutely clueless! Hmmm, perhaps I should tell you the story from the beginning.

The first thing I do on a morning that I’m not working, is check my e-mail. Silv had been up for a while already and I had gotten my coffee and first cigarette of the day when I logged on to check the mail. First message of the day came from Quirky, not a b-day message as she didn’t know, but just a note about her challenge to me in regards to Dr. Seuss posts. I’ll be putting that one up later today. The other message was a “Happy Birthday from MSWorld!”

So I say’s to Silv, I say’s “Aww, ain’t that sweet, MSWorld sent me a birthday message.”

And he says, “Isn’t that nice.”

Nothin’ else, no Happy Birthday Skye, no nothin’ nada, zip, zilch, no acknowledgement on it at all! Now that really doesn’t bother me, I couldn’t care less about birthdays, but I waited for the light to come on anyway. Well, it didn’t!

Almost 2 hours later, Becca comes in (she and I had been sleeping under the stars last night by the fire), and she asked me when I came in. I told her that it had been at midnight last night because the ground was hurting these old bones of mine.

Then she asked me, get this “Are you ready for your presents?”

And Silv says, “Presents? Is it your birthday? Oh, it is your birthday! Happy Birthday!”

And I say’s, “It only took you 2 hours to clue in Silv, you’re such a Maroon! Why do you think that MSWorld sent me a Happy Birthday Wish?” I was laughing the whole time I said this of course :D

And he say’s, “It just totally went over my head, just whooooosh, right over. It never dawned on me that you’d get a birthday wish because it’s your birthday!”

And so Becca gave me a card that she made out of foamy art supply stuff, some beads, specifically leaves, a rose, a butterfly and a ladybug, and topped it off with a heart sticker. No words, just a nice scene of flowers, bushes and trees. She also made me a bookmark using a large star bead tied to a friendship bracelet with heart beads tied in at the bottom. She made this in all my favorite colors! Last but not least, she made me a Morocco Drum, so I used it right away and played the “Happy Birthday to me” song. It really was sweet of her, she always makes me my gifts and cards. 

And still we laughed at Silv for not remembering my birthday. Granted, the only birthday we ever really celebrate is Becca’s, but she’s been talking about mine non-stop for the last week now, and Silv just never clued in. 

To be honest, this has got to be the funniest birthday morning I have ever enjoyed!

How Much Water Do You Drink?

I don’t remember how the topic came up, but quite some time ago I was chatting with a co-worker about drinking water. I told her that I generally drink 4 to 6 cups a day, and these aren’t small cups either, they’re big-ass beer mugs! She asked me how I could drink so much water, and I’m thinkin’ it’s not really all that much when it comes right down to it. I drink coffee in the mornings and then drink water the rest of the day. Unless of course Silv and I buy some beer, scotch or wine, then I drink that along with the water.

Anyway, she’s telling me that her doctor wants her to start drinking more water as well. She was having some kind of problem and having more fluids would help relieve that problem. She told me though that she just couldn’t bring herself to drink that much water.

I’m wondering what the heck was her problem? I had already seen her drink 3 cups of water just that morning while I had only put back 2 cups of coffee! She asked me how I managed to drink so much water in any given day and if that didn’t make me sit on the pot all day long, because it sure made her do so!

4 to 6 cups of water made her sit on the pot all day? Why? I didn’t get it, I just didn’t understand why she couldn’t drink that amount of water. She told me that she even had her alarm set to wake her during the night so she could drink more water. I’m like WHAT, that’s just insane!

Finally I got down to the crux of the matter and damn did I laugh! When I got myself under some semblance of control I explained during bursts of laughter and giggles, that she wasn’t supposed to drink fourTEE-six glasses of water but four TO six. She didn’t quite see the humor as I did, but she did give me a sheepish look and fessed up to having been drinking 23 glasses a day. Jesus I laughed till I cried and then I laughed some more. She wasn’t very happy with me laughing so much, but I just couldn’t help it. 

She quit work and moved to Alberta shortly after that, I don’t know if it was because of how embarrassed she was or if it really was because she met some guy on the internet, either way, I haven’t seen hide nor hair of her since. Probably better that way as I’d never let her live this down :D

Well everything but the Lily's in the North Garden are done blooming now, and they've only just got buds on them! So saying there will be a pic of them when they open up :) Just so you know, all my pics should be clickable for enlarging should you be interested!

The rest of these are more pics of the flowers in the south beds as well as my mint patch which I hadn't taken pictures of up till now. The patch doesn't look so pretty at the moment, after taking the pic Silv when and cut them all down. Whoohoo, now I have fresh mint leaves for tea, yay, I do love fresh mint tea!

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know I have gnomes running around my gardens. Trouble is, as soon as they realize you're looking at them, they freeze. I've never been able to get an actual action shot of them, oh well, perhaps next time *shrugs shoulders*

Last year I only had one bloom on my peonies bush, lucky me, this year I have two! Sorry for the blurry photos though guys, don't know what's wrong with me to take such icky pic's :(

Ah Poppies, lovely flowers. Not a perennial, true, but they sure do reseed themselves from year to year! This one just decided to come up in this bed on it's own this year. Up till now I've only had them along my fence line further south than this particular bed is. Soon I'll have some pics of the actual Poppy Bed which also has some Virginia Creeper in it.

Yep, that's my rain barrel peeking out from behind the Lily's alright! As for the Lily's, well, I know, I took the pic after the first blooms were already done. But no worries, I still have 2 or 3 other kinds of Lily's that need to bloom, they're all budding now, so it shouldn't take much longer for them!

Ah yes, the Day Lily's, a new bloom every day. Sadly they only last a day, but at least there's always at least one fresh bloom all summer long! Yep, another little Gnome, kinda cute though, don't ya think?

Have you ever seen Geraniums like this? I never have prior to my mom's having given them to me. They bloom all summer and are really quite pretty. Trouble is, these things don't quit, I mean, once they start blooming, they take over the whole yard! I have 2 that I want to keep, they lie on either side of the Poppy Bed, this one is to the left and to the left of it is the mint patch. To the right of the other one, is the corner bed where there are a bunch of Day Lily's that have bloomed today for the first time as well as the Peonies and some Irises that haven't bloomed yet. Oh yes, I can't forget all the Pansies aka Johnny Jump-Up's that are in that corner bed along with being in the bed up against the south wall of my house!

It's Time!

Not only have I finally decided who I want to give this award to, but I've also figured out exactly why it's to be given. I follow a fair number of blogs and a lot of those same people follow me, but that's not why I'm giving them this award. I'm giving it because of their honesty and candidness for their comments here, in other peoples blogs as well as in their own posts and comments to those who respond to their posts. Does any of that make sense? I hope so!

Anyway, I'm giving this award with the same rules that Etta Rose posted when she gave this to me. And that is, you can give it to whomever you want, but you don't have to give it to anyone if you don't want to! All I ask is that you accept the award in the spirit it is given, and that is the spirit of friendship and respect!

Here is my list of recipients:

Tracy over at Rambling Thoughts of the Neverending Mind

Brit over at Blunt Delivery

Minka at Stirring My Thoughts

Quirkyloon at Musings of a Quirkyloon

Bee from Bee's Musings

Poppy over there at Poppy's Dream Fields

and once again Debbie from Debbie Does Drivel (Warped)

And there you have it ladies and germs, boy's and girls of all ages, an award you can either keep to yourself or  pass on and share with others! I hope all these links work, if not I'll be fixing them as soon as I get back home :)

Sorry It Took Longer Than Expected Tracy! My Eight Things

Eight Things I Am Looking Forward To:

1. Seeing what a Hen-‘n’-Chick plant looks like in full bloom.
2. Every day that I have off from work.
3. Every trip to the beach.
4. Getting a new car.
5. Weeding in my garden.
6. Lilac’s being done with blooming! (I hate flower allergies!)
7. Geddingk ober dis code ind by dose! (translation, getting over this cold in my nose)
8. Becca letting me do stuff without constant interruption! (somehow I think that will be a very long time coming!)

Eight Things I Did Yesterday:

1. Walked to work at 5 am.
2. Made Cream of Broccoli Soup at work, YUCK!!!
3. Enjoyed Canada Day.
4. Walked to the beach after work.
5. Bought Nacho’s with hot cheese sauce for the first time in years to snack on while at the beach.
6. Stayed up till 10 pm! Now that’s a feat for me since starting work!
7. Visited with my sister-in-law while at the beach, haven’t seen her nor talked to her since before Christmas last year.
8. Made friends with a Pit Bull named Max!

Eight Things I Wish I Could Do:

1. Speak a second language and a third to be honest, Becca is learning French in school, but around here German would be an asset!
2. Buy a car.
3. Focus on actually practicing my drawing.
4. Go camping!
5. Earn more money.
6. Roller Blade!
7. Mold clay and have it do what I want it to, there again, practice makes perfect. I just need to actually do it!
8. Win the lottery so that I can afford the things I need and want in life!

Eight Shows I Watch On TV:

1. House
2. Wipe Out
3. CSI
4. Mental
5. Law and Order
6. Bones
7. Criminal Minds
8. NCIS

These are the eight people I "Tag"...

1. Quirky from Musings of a Quirky Loon.

2. Flydragon over at A Little of This, A Little of That

3. Donna down on Carnwaths Corner

4. Debbie with all her Drivel

5. Sue from Farvel Cargo

6. Jenn Thorson over at Of Cabbages and Kings

7. EttaRose at Sanity on Edge

8. Brazen from This Brazen Teacher

...and this is your assignment should you wish to take it:

Write up your list of "Eight Things" and post them in your blog at your earliest convienience.

Well folks, I’ve finally done it! I’ve finally fulfilled my *Eight Things* list that I received from Tracy over at Rambling Thoughts of the Neverending Mind. She gave me this mission to fill way way back on April 16th. About time I finished the mission, don’t ya think!?!

Trouble is, I still have to go and figure out who I want to go giving that Sage Award from Etta to, I’ll think about that one a wee bit longer, but hopefully it won’t take as long as this has!