Green, Green Grass

So the grass seed we put out a few weeks ago?  Still alive, still green, still sprouting.  Despite my best efforts, I find myself getting weirdly excited.  What if it works?  What if, next spring, we'll finally have green grass?  I'm planning on heavily overseeding next month, hoping to see a real difference next year!

I'm proud of Vice-President Biden.  A little surprised, sometimes his mouth is a problem, but proud. But more than anything, I want the stress of this over--I want our President re-elected and I want to stop worrying about it!

Speaking of worrying, the car is due for inspection, and I'm scared to death.  Added to the worries inherent when you own a nine year old car that was once submerged in a FLOOD is this gem, presented me by my husband--what if the mechanics decide they don't like our political bumper stickers?  I know, it sounds paranoid, but I've been floored by the number of Romney/Ryan folks who pull up behind us, then swerve out and around so they can get in front of us to display their Romney stickers.  Worse, they speed up so we can't merge, they slow down to prevent us from changing lanes--it COULD be coincidence, but it doesn't FEEL like coincidence.  It feels like aggression.  So now I'm worried about that, too, especially since our usual shop is closed for remodeling.  We're trying a new place near Old Town Manassas, and hoping for the best.  A devastating inspection could sink us, and there's nothing we can do about it.

Went shopping at Wegmans last night.  Turned out to be a lot more expensive than I had hoped.  How does that always happen?  I try to be good, thought I had been.  Dang.

Used my new "Clean and Clear Morning Burst" face cleanser last night, only to have my neck break out in a vicious rash.  Emailed the company, but no response.  I see a review shaping up.  Speaking of reviews, Epinions is switching over to Paypal for payments.  Some folks are very upset about this, but I'm thrilled--no more missing checks, no more iffiness on the timetable.  I'll KNOW when my cash is coming, and I'll always have access.  I'm happy.

I used to have a link to my Epinions reviews here, but I worry that somehow clashes with my Google deal, so I pulled the link.  Wish I had a clearer idea of how that works, because I liked having my reviews associated with my blog.

Oh, hey, Glade has a wonderful spray out right now, it's a limited release called Autumn Harvest.  It's smoky, sweet, spicy--really nice.  Even the hubby likes it.

Just got back from the local Halal market.  Hubby needed tea, but, of course, we wound up with the sweets, too.  The usual ma'amoul, plus fancy baklava.  Blood sugar, shlud sugar, huh?  Hoping to hit the farmer's market after tomorrow morning's eye appointments--on a quest for muscadine grapes.  They were so plentiful last fall, but we've only found them once at the store this fall. 

And out I go.  Not a lot of substance today, just a lot of worry.  The neck's been nicer to me the last couple of days, but the fingers have been a mess thanks to an all-out war with a marinara bottle's lid. 

Have a marvelous today!

**Updated to say that Johnson and Johnson, the makers of Clean and Clear, did get back with me.  They emailed, I called, they had me talk to a nurse, dug around for symptoms/medication clashes/reasons, and then they refunded my money.  It was a good customer service experience. 

Vegans and Sex Offenders and Facebook, oh, my!

So, I'll start with the vegan.  We've been Facebook friends for a long while now--never met "IRL," but she's the friend of friends, and she can be very smart and funny.  Unfortunately, she's also frequently strident, condescending, condemning, intolerant, and flat-out insulting toward folks who don't share her dietary peccadilloes.  Yes, this is the same woman I wrote about the other night.  Well, last night, she reposts a story I'd posted (here:http://www.upworthy.com/bully-calls-news-anchor-fat-news-anchor-destroys-him-on-live-tv?g=3), but uses it as a weird way of defending her smoking.  That's right, the woman who spends at least a little time every day insulting folks like me who are omnivores pumps cigarette smoke into her body on a daily basis.  Her argument?  Why isn't it okay to slam this woman, but it's perfectly fine to slam me for smoking?

As someone who has struggled with both weight and nicotine addiction?  I felt uniquely qualified to answer that one.  And I did.  I said, "Because my fat doesn't waft across the room and clog up your lungs, your sinuses, or cause asthma attacks.  My fat doesn't cause YOU to suffer chronic ailments.  My fat doesn't stink like a wet, lung-y ashtray, and it doesn't coat the walls and blinds in homes I rent." 

Harsh?  Maybe, but it was a stupid comparison for her to make--smoking and weight are like apples and anvils.  Weight is its own problem, and you can't make smoking LESS bad by saying, "Yeah, well, what about fat people?"  That's just a dodging tactic.  I know, I did it for years.

She gave me every crappy excuse *I* ever gave when I was caught up in the throes of nicotine addiction.  She argued that SUVs put off more pollution than her cigarettes (yes, but I'm not trapped in a room with SUVs, cigarettes can't carpool six people to work, and aren't you old enough to realize that pointing at someone else's failings doesn't excuse yours?), that health insurance costs more for smokers (sometimes--ours never did), etc.  And, being a little tired of her, I said, "You know, I used to say the same silly crap when I was trying to avoid facing just how lousy an addiction to smoking is--it was silly when I said it, and it's silly when you say it."

She dropped me.  After almost two years of my biting my tongue and not fighting back when she told me what a slob I am, what an uninformed, sloppy pig I am for eating meat, how my diet is single-handedly responsible for every ill in the world, she dropped me.  After almost two years of her posting "natural news" article after "natural news" article, post after post on the magical wonder-qualities of veganism, after her astoundingly silly posts about how it's abusive to train dogs because . . . oh, hell, who knows why, she dropped me the moment I actually argued back. 

Saved me the trouble, I guess.  See, that's why I never argued back for these nearly-two years--because I had her pegged as one of those who can dish it out but can't take it.  I was right.

Now, on to the sex offenders, eh?

I got a message from one of my dearest friends that an old classmate of ours--a classmate who is a registered sex offender--is back on Facebook.  This guy has a history of "enticing minors," and he knows he's not supposed to be hanging out on Facebook (he knows it because he's been tossed off Facebook before because of his sex offender status).  She reported him again, and, no doubt, he'll disappear again.  For a little while.  Since it's been a while (and because my niece and nephew still go to my Mom's house pretty frequently), I pulled up the state sex offender registry and started checking.  And WHOA, there's some guy who's on my Facebook friends list!   AND he's non-compliant!  Wow!  And what's that?  Some sex offender with multiple charges and child victims just moved in two houses down from my Mom's place!  Obviously, all I can do is warn my niece and nephew, and let the poor woman with the two young daughters next door know. 

Before you think I'm some pitchforks and torches type, I'm not.  I absolutely believe that sex offenders should be rehabilitated and given another chance.  However, this guy's already been convicted twice, with the offenses more than three years apart.  So he's had his second chance.  He blew it.  That aside, I still don't want him driven out or hurt, but I believe wholeheartedly that the parents in his vicinity have a right to know so they can protect their children.  Imagine how awful it would be if this man attacked one of those neighbor girls and I had never warned them?  This isn't the first time there's been a sex offender on the street--there was one just across the street a few years ago.  We all knew, all our kids knew, but no one harmed him, no one damaged his property or treated him badly.  We just watched our kids and made them aware that they weren't to hang out there or in any way engage in depth with the guy.  It worked.  No one got hurt, everyone was safe, and the guy wasn't hassled.  Like I said, I'm all for rehabilitation and a new chance at a good life, but, as a parent, I need to be aware.

On a totally unrelated note, what's happened to my Muscadines?  Last year, there were tons of them at the stores, but this year I only found them ONCE at Walmart!  None at Wegmans, none at Shoppers or Giant--what the heck?  I've been waiting all year for more Muscadines!  If you've never heard of or seen a Muscadine grape, they're an east coast phenomenon, they're native to Virginia, the Carolinas, etc.  They don't ship well, so I'd never seen one in Utah.  The flavor is very sweet, with an intensely tangy, smoky skin that slips right off (though I eat the skin).  Amazing!

Muscadines--yes, they are that big.  If they were green, they'd be "scuppernongs."

And that's been my excitement for the day.  Tomorrow is Charlie's birthday.  Our one year old puppy!  We're going to take him to Petsmart and get him a treat.  We sure do like him.

Charlie, fresh home and ears flat-no clipping, just needed tape.

Charlie, with Fala and the boys, ears taped up with medical tape.

Charlie and his beautiful ears today.  Singing.

Oh, and one last thing--tonight our President, Mr. Barack Obama, is facing off against Mr. Mitt Romney in this campaign's first debate.  With all due respect, Mr. President, hand him his backside and gently nudge him on home.  Thank you.  For everything.