The man who created the delicious snack chip near and dear to our collective family hearts has passed away, last week, in Dallas, Texas. Arch West was 97 years old. He came up with the idea for the Dorito, on a family holiday to San Diego, in 1961, when he visited a food truck selling fried tortilla chips. Genius is recognized! He took his idea back to Frito-Lay where he was a marketing executive, and said, hey….big idea here! They said, hmmm…not sure. But thankfully, in 1964 when they rolled out those cheesy chips, the world said, HELL YEAH!! And a legend was born.
My family personally loves the Dorito. My sister in particular, has been known to snack on a bag or two from time to time…it’s the never-ending story from our past…Amanda eats Doritos! Sorry sis, it’s just too good to pass up and I know you’d feel a bit sad to hear the news and maybe want to pay your respects by having some and NOT feeling guilty! Or care what OTHER people think about your Dorito loving habit!! Be proud! Besides you are an adult now and you can eat as many as you like! Haters are always gonna hate!
My son loves them too. He switches back and forth from Nacho Cheese to Cool Ranch, so we get them both in the Frito-Lay Lunch Pack. My personal fav is the Taco flavor. (Coincidentally, also the very first flavor of Dorito to be introduced) Seriously, they just rolled them back out over the summer. Before, if you wanted them you really had to search them out. They’re even in their original packaging. I don’t know why. All I know is they are THE essential component of this Taco Dip that I make and without them, the dip just tastes like taco-flavored cream cheese with nacho chips.
Here’s the recipe to try for next weekend if you like, or tonight! Monday Night Football! That works. Super easy, NO cooking required! In fact once you make the core dip you can basically do whatever you want to it. It’s low maintenance. This is one batch. Just double the amounts for more. One bag of chips is good for one batch of dip.
8 oz. Cream Cheese (Does not matter what kind, unless you like a particular brand. I’d use full fat though for this and the sour cream and just suck it up. The dip hold better with the extra fat. Much like everything right??)
8 oz. Sour Cream (Again, whatever brand you like. Stick to full fat.)
1 packet of Taco Seasoning Mix (Any kind. Your choice.)
That’s it! Blend them together in a bowl. Use a hand mixer if you have one because sometimes the cream cheese can be hard to smooth out. It should be thick enough to hold a shape, but not solid.
Now you can let it sit in the fridge, melding flavors (cover it up), while you chop up the toppings to add to it. Remember this is a Taco Dip, so add stuff that you would put on a taco. There is no limit to how much of any one ingredient or what kind/flavor of cheese. These are my suggestions:
Shredded Cheese. I started off with just plain cheddar or colby, but they make so many different kinds now, you can really get creative. My kids like more flavors now too, so things like the cheese blends with taco spices adds extra oomph. Queso’s are good too. Get a crumbly kind. My only real advice is to stick with the taco flavor theme, or it’s gonna get confusing.
Lettuce, Tomato, Onion, Black Olives. These are my main tops. Lettuce even comes in a bag shredded for you and olives come pre-sliced. Onions are hit and miss, as are tomatoes, and I guess black olives too, but they’re easier to pick off. It’s all up to you and what your particular audience likes and won’t whine about.
Additional add-ons can include: Avocado, Sour Cream (as an extra topping), Salsa, Hot Sauce, Jalepenos; anything you can serve up on a taco. I would also offer the advice to stick to COLD items. Things that taste good cold. Hot toppings or meats aren’t all that great with this and it makes the whole thing way harder than it has to be.
Now get a disposable pizza pan or a big plate or serving platter if you aren’t concerned about losing any dishes in a traveling party situation. I started using disposable cooking pans or roasting pans because they have sides and the dip doesn’t get lost to the edges. Keeps it in nice and tight.
Take your dip from the fridge and scrape it out onto the platter, in the center, into as tight of a ball as you can manage. Basically just try to keep it in one big lump. Then add the other stuff to the top. I start with cheese. I use enough to cover the whole dip ball. I like to put everything in smaller containers or sandwich baggies to take with if I am making it somewhere else or leave it on plates until I am ready to assemble. You can make the core dip ball ahead but I wouldn’t add the “taco” stuff until just before serving, otherwise it gets kind of runny, and that’s no good. Then I dump on the other stuff. Kind of layering it and adhering it to all sides of the dip. Eventually you will have a core lump of dip covered in many different ingredients. It should be colorful and look pretty impressive. Don’t worry about any of the toppings falling to the edges of the pan. Here’s where the “Greatest Dorito Chip Of All Time!” comes in!
(We really took the long way today) Break out your bag of Taco Flavored Doritos. I have to stress the Dorito kind here because they do have this very specific flavor that cannot be matched. Now just put them all around the edges of the dip like a life preserver. This is where the pan with sides comes in handy. I used to use a flat platter, but the chips would always end up falling off or getting shoved off trying to scoop up dip. The pan keeps it all in and gives you something to brace against when scooping. And it’s super-easy to move around if you are trying to steal it away from the crowd and keep it all to yourself.
That’s it. It’s really simple even if the instructions have taken up 10,000 words. And it’s really good. People seem to love it wherever I bring it and it usually gets eaten first and to the last cheese shred. I may have a picture of it somewhere on this site already. If I do, I’ll post it later. If not, next time I make it, I will for sure.
This ends my tribute to the man who invented Doritos. I have done my best to research the details of Mr. West’s awesome creation to the world, but if I have missed anything or gotten something wrong just drop me a line and let me know. His funeral will be held on October 1 in Dallas.
One more fun fact: His family, daughter and sons, will be tossing Dorito chips over his urn, into the ground, where he will be buried. As of my posting, the flavor is still undetermined. Taco was first, but Nacho Cheese was most successful. They say he would have loved it!
Arch West (1914-2011)
Rest In Supreme Nacho Cheese Peace.
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You look beautiful today! Sunny and bright with a clear blue sky. Very still. As if our morning is trying to pause itself for a while and stay in this moment. It’s early here in Chicago. No one is up yet. I just thought I would take a quiet moment to be thankful that I live in a country that allows me to have something so public like this to say whatever I want, whenever I want. And to be thankful that I am alive. My kids are good and healthy, my family and friends are well, and I have someone great to share these days with. I was avoiding TV and internet programs about today because I don’t like to cry very much. I remember enough. I worked in the city at the time, right across from the John Hancock building. I used to take the train and I had no technology available to listen to a radio or TV or internet, and when I got to work, our friend from New York was running through our hallways crying hysterically because he knew people that had been involved in whatever the hell was going on over there. We had no clue. We were evacuated and sent home. The whole city practically was. I got my kids from daycare and I sat home and watched like everyone else, what had happened, on TV. My kids were about to turn 3 and 4. They remember practically nothing. And I think that’s OK. Everything they have to do, everything that came from that period, as a result of that time, is just normal for them. It’s good. They understand enough right now. School is doing a good job of making them understand the what and maybe some of the why and how it impacted the world, our country, and our people. I just want them to know that tragedy strikes and the world keeps spinning. Take your moment and feel that pain. It’s amazing the support that you will receive, but it’s heartbreaking because it’s you, and some people just won’t care. Always move forward but with the occasional eye-check on that past so you don’t go there again. Do what needs to be done. Help where you can. Sometimes you never know what kind of impact you have. Hope for the positive. I definitely do not want to go on and on today because I am no authority on these kinds of things and tons of other people can tell a ten-times more interesting story with a better philosophical ending. I have none. And I’ve been trying to think of something! I am just going to enjoy the silence for a bit longer, drink my coffee, and be happy for this particular moment. It’s good to remember. Don’t let it freeze you in time though. Never forget.
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This is a picture I took with my phone of some crazy ice melting/freezing thing that happened and I don’t know why. You could almost fool yourself into thinking this is way out in nature instead of in the Wal-Mart parking lot. City folk got to get their outdoors from somewhere. Hey. You really can get everything from Wal-Mart!
Before you get too cozy with it, here is the other shot, where you can clearly see the Best Buy thru the trees. How enchanting!
And yes, I have all kinds of other things I could be doing right now. Like school. School is sitting in the kitchen, scolding me because I haven’t cracked a book for two days and I have a test Tuesday. Procrastination is a bitch.
Speaking of…in case you think I have no follow thru, the News of the World claims there is nothing to worry about with all those animal deaths that were occurring a few weeks ago. Oh, what? You forgot? Just because it is totally and completely gone from the news? Refresh your memory and scroll down my little blog here. I posted a whole bunch of stuff. But not to worry, it’s a natural thing that happens ALL the time. Practically EVERY day, all around the world. No big deal. No poisons, no accidents. Not because of fright or fireworks or lightning or even someone doing it on purpose. And most definitely NOT environmental or related to global warming or the end of the world or any other crazy conspiracy theory you crazies have out there. Crazy! It just is what it is. Animals die in mass numbers, at random times, in random locations, every day. No need to look into it any further! Hey look! Kittens playing in a box! Adorable! Let’s roll one more phone photo!
Here’s a picture of my car. With some snow gently falling on it. Its pretty. Especially when you don’t have to go anywhere.
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If you read me, you know I live in the Chicago area, and even if you don’t read me, I just told you, so…
This is MOSTLY Bears territory around these parts. We do have the Packer fans of course. We ARE a tightly populated, close proximity region. Dense, even. With people of all sorts. And that’s cool. Except this weekend.
In case you haven’t heard, or have been out of the country, or just don’t read the paper or watch the news or look at the internet, this weekend has a football game going on. It’s kind of a big one. It’s for our NFC championship title and then the Superbowl. People DO get a little nuts!
It’s the Green Bay Packers of Wisconsin and the Chicago Bears of Illinois. Playing in OUR town. In OUR stadium. In OUR lifetime! It’s only been about 70 years since they played each other in a championship game! Seriously! 70 years!! (FYI–Chicago won that game AND the 1941 version of a Superbowl, played at Wrigley Field no less!) And I have to say, it is pretty exciting!
But my neighbor is like 80 years old and lives mostly alone, except for her daughter, who is not there 24/7! Good thing football is played in winter. Less traffic and likelihood of hanging around outside comparing teams.
Basically the city of Chicago, Green Bay, and probably pretty much all of the south to north area of Illinois and Wisconsin will shut down for a few hours on Sunday to see what will happen on this historic day! And it’s not just me.
I can almost hear my sister’s eyeballs rolling inside her head, thinking that I am being overly dramatic. Uh uh. Click on any sports link on any internet, the game will be there. And it sucks for Pittsburgh and NY because they play too, for the Superbowl, but no one seems to care. At least no where around here!
These are some quotes from articles I thought were funny (the first two are from the same one–click here to read the whole thing):
Not that the Super Bowl seems to matter much: Packers fans said beating the Bears at Soldier Field would be a wonderful cake, with a Super Bowl victory serving as the frosting.
AND THIS:
“For guys who have followed the Bears all their life and truly hate the Packers, yeah, this is their Super Bowl,” said Mark Foster, 54, who plans to erect a 5-foot (1.5-meter) inflatable Bears helmet outside his home in Lansing, south of Chicago. “We can lose 50 to nothing in the Super Bowl to Pittsburgh or the Jets, but if we beat the Packers, who cares?”
AND THIS (A little history if you have the time—click it!):
The next chapter in the “NFL’s oldest rivalry” puts the Bears and the Packers up against each other for a spot in the Super Bowl. Some are saying this is the biggest game in the teams’ history; they’ve faced off 181 times before – dating back to 1921 – but only once in the playoffs, in 1941.
For nine decades, they have broken each other’s bones, and they have smashed each other’s teeth, and they have irrigated their fields with the blood of the other,” says the St. Petersburg Times. As this year’s teams head into their rubber match, both Chicago’s and Green Bay’s hometown papers are reflecting on this storied rivalry and reviving the excitement of the teams’ 1941 postseason matchup. Here, a look back, through Chi-town and cheesehead eyes, at that winter day:
Nope…gotta go read it! Link at the beginning…it’s worth the few minutes.
And even though this is old and we KNOW that the Bears and Packers are going to play, this is still a good article from ESPN (linked here):
If all goes well, Soldier Field will be the epicenter of all humanity on Jan. 23.
Now, that is drama!
Anyway, I’ll keep an eye on my neighbor, make sure no one throws stuff at her house and whatnot. And for the record, I am a FOOTBALL fan. I love the game, the whole game, the teams, the players, the physicality of the whole sport and I am totally rooting for the BEARS because they are MY home team and I want US in the SuperBowl!!
But I can’t say that I hate the Packers. And they are really good this year. The Bears are too, but man, I just don’t know! For sure it will be a good game. No doubt everyone on the field will be playing the best football of their careers. Oh yea. It is that serious! But not too serious. Lots of jokes flying around. And just cause I like you, I will end this with a joke on behalf of Bears fans everywhere. It’s from the internet, where else?
A teacher tells her class she’s a Packers fan. The class agrees with her except one little girl. When asked who she likes the girl said the Bears, the teacher asked why and the girl said “because my mommy and daddy are fans”. The teacher replies “that’s no reason to like them, what if your dad was an idiot and your mom was a moron then what would you be?” The little girl replied back, “a Packers fan.”
Thank you and Goodnight!
GO BEARS! GO BEARS!
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So this will be the last post for now unless something really weird happens. School is starting soon and my time is almost over for hanging out waiting for birds to fall to their deaths and marine life to wash up on shore. I had heard there were others and this is a good sum up for the 2011 slaughter of random species of animals. As usual….lazy…so here is the re-post from my internet friend Brian Merchant. And he included pictures! Which, thankfully, also copied! I haven’t checked everything, but I am hoping the links all link too. Thank you so much! As usual I added nothing to this and everything below the “enjoy” is his! End of the world! ENJOY!
Image: Inquistr
As you’re likely aware, there’s been a pretty bizarre spate of mass animal deaths reported around the world. First, it was the thousands of birds that fell from the sky in Arkansas on New Year’s Eve. Some 100,000 fish also washed up on the shores of a river 100 miles away. Birds fell from the sky in Louisiana and Kentucky, too. Two million fish washed up dead in Chesapeake Bay. 50 birds fell from the sky in Sweden. 100 tons of fish washed ashore in Brazil. 40,000 crabs were found dead in England. All of this carnage has left people around the world wondering the same thing: What the hell is going on?
Unfortunately, there’s no good answer. The explanations offered up so far run the gamut — from being dismissed as a series of unrelated, unfortunate coincidences to the suggestion that the deaths are a result of unusually cold weather to full-bore conspiracy theories that claim the US government is behind it all — but nothing conclusive has been determined. Here’s a closer look at the various incidents:
Thousands of Dead Birds Falling from the Sky
The AP reports that “Environmental service workers finished picking up the carcasses on Sunday of about 2,000 red-winged blackbirds that fell dead from the sky in a central Arkansas town.” The blame? Still open to speculation (though the loud-noise theory has gained traction):
Arkansas Game and Fish Commission ornithologist Karen Rowe said Saturday the birds showed physical trauma, and speculated that “the flock could have been hit by lightning or high-altitude hail.” The commission said that New Year’s Eve revelers shooting off fireworks could have startled the birds from their roost and caused them to die from stress.
Then, around 300 more dead birds fell from the sky in Louisiana, and still more were reported found dead in Kentucky. 50 more were found fallen from the sky in Sweden. And around 100 blackbirds dropped out of the sky in New Zealand as well.
2,000,000 Dead Fish Wash Up in Chesapeake
Here’s the Baltimore Sun: “An estimated 2 million fish have been reported dead from the Bay Bridge south to Tangier Sound, according to the Maryland Department of the Environment, which investigates fish kills. The dead fish are primarily adult spot, with some juvenile croakers … Large winter kills of spot have been documented at least twice before, the MDE spokeswoman said, with about 15 million dying in early 1976 and a smaller number in 1980.”
40,000 Crabs Wash Ashore in Kent
The Daily Mirror reports that “More than 40,000 Devil crabs – also known as Velvet swimming crabs – were found strewn along beaches in Thanet along with dead starfish, lobsters, sponges and anemones.” Scientists have blamed the death on colder than usual waters, which may have induced hypothermia in the sea life.
100 Tons of Fish Dead in Brazil
According to the Brazilian news outlet ParanaOnline, “A survey conducted by the Federation of Fishermen’s Colony of Paraná, Paranaguá on the coast of the state, indicates that at least 100 tons of fish (sardine, croaker and catfish) have turned up dead since last Thursday off the coast of Parana.” The fish have washed ashore, and no cause has been determined yet.
Fish kill in Brazil. Image via ParanaOnline
All in all, these incidents have led to a search for a unified theory that explains the phenomena — what could be killing all of these animals? The conspiracy theorists that point to the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program, or HAARP (a government research project that investigates the ionosphere that’s been blamed for many a mysterious event) as the culprit certainly don’t have me convinced. But the patchwork, “great big coincidence” theory leaves something wanting as well.
Though the phenomenon may indeed be partly the result of self-fulfilling prophecy; the Washington Post points out that “when one news report about dead birds becomes big news, a few dead birds anywhere in the world becomes big news.” After all, sudden mass animal deaths do occur more often than most of us realize: “About 500 million to 1 billion birds are killed every year and mass deaths have been noted about 16 times in the past 20 years,” the PBS NewsHour reports. Even so, there’s plenty to chew on here, and you can’t blame the conspiracy theorists for tackling this one head on.
More on Mysterious Animal Deaths
Death Toll in Mysterious Mass Pilot Whale Beachings Hits 168 …
An Ocean of Plastic … In Bird’s Guts
Mystery : 500 Dead Penguins Wash Up on Brazilian Beaches
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So Arkansas is off the hook. Birds decided to end it all in LA too. (Louisiana, ya’ll) Here’s another story, from the Associated Press. Thank you to Jeannie Nuss. I re-posted it without alteration. Enjoy.
Louisiana has mass bird kill just days after Arkansas
JEANNIE NUSS • Associated Press • January 4, 2011
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As I fondly refer to the state of Arkansas. And for all you about to jump on the comments, just know that I call it the armpit out of love (and because armpit starts with an A, and I like the repetition of it all). My daddy moved there, lived there, died there, and is buried there. I have been to Arkansas several times and don’t plan on going back anytime soon. It’s pretty and country and closes early. It has modern parts and really backward parts and now it has alot of dead parts. Unconfirmed, of course, as to what is causing the deadness. I think it’s very interesting so I reposted the article I found that kind of summed up the birds and the fish, with links I believe, in case you want to explore further and don’t have anything else to do tonight (especially since football is no longer an option—sad face). The whole thing is below. My favorite explanation so far is the end-of-the-world thing. I personally have been talking about it for some time, ever since I saw the special on Krakatoa (the volcano) and its part in the destruction of life as we know it. It’s one small reason why I wanted to be a nurse. I plan on living. So I have to start my shelter construction and supply gathering as soon as I graduate in May. I’ll have the money to do it, the knowledge to keep us alive for awhile, and access to hospitals and medicines. The kids are used to it. They think I may be crazy but these dead animals should change their minds! I realize that other stuff has happened lately that’s much cheerier, like Christmas and New Years, and I have stuff like pictures and things, but the mass killing really grabbed my attention and felt post worthy, especially with my close, personal, family connection. I have to hurry because my 4 shot vodka martini is kicking in and it’s getting hard to type. Don’t worry the kids are gone with their dad for the evening. It’s all good. So enjoy the article!
Thank you to “The LookOut” a Yahoo News source, and Brett Michael Dykes for writing it. I haven’t altered it, just re-posted it for more people to read.
Oh yeah! And Happy New Year!
Mon Jan 3, 12:10 pm ET
Thousands of dead birds and fish in Arkansas leave many
scratching heads
By Brett Michael Dykes
(sorry I don’t know what the hell that is below there, or why I can’t get rid of it)
Maybe the Mayans were on to something?
That’s surely what students of the famed Mayan 2012 prophecy for the end of the world had to be thinking with the news of recent eerie wildlife die-offs in Arkansas. Just as the calendar nudged a year closer to that fateful date, birds began falling from the sky in Arkansas and a massive fish kill occurred some 125 miles to the west.
[Rewind: Mysterious bee deaths explained]
Roughly 5,000 red-winged blackbirds fell from the sky over a mile of land near Beebe, a small town in northwest Arkansas, and observers spotted the fish kill near the town of Ozark. You can watch a video report on the blackbirds below, courtesy of ABC News:
CLICK HERE FOR THE ARTICLE WITHOUT SEARCHING THE SITE
And here’s a CNN report on the incidents:
CLICK IT
No one seems to know just yet what caused the two die-offs. But theories abound.
In a statement Saturday morning, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission quoted staff ornithologist Karen Rowe as saying that such events have happened before around the world: “Test results usually were inconclusive, but the birds showed physical trauma and that the flock could have been hit by lightning or high-altitude hail.”
[Rewind: Haunting images of Gulf Coast oil spill]
Because it happened New Year’s Eve, some officials suggest that revelers shooting fireworks may have spooked the birds, to the point that they died en masse from stress-induced cardiac arrest.
“It is unlikely they were poisoned,” Rowe said, “but a necropsy is the only way to determine if the birds died from trauma or toxin.” Tests were to begin Monday.
Meanwhile, wildlife officials say that the estimated 100,000 drum discovered by a tugboat captain over a 20-mile stretch of the Arkansas River appears to be a natural occurrence that isn’t tied to the bird kill in any way.
[Photos: Massive fish kill hits Louisiana]
“The fish kill only affected one species of fish,” Keith Stephens of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission told CNN. “If it was from a pollutant, it would have affected all of the fish, not just drum fish.” He added that fish kills in the area are common, though this one was larger than most.
UPDATE: A state veterinarian tells NBC that preliminary necropsy results show that the birds died of “multiple blunt trauma to their vital organs.”
(Screengrab via CNN)
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And messed up cosmic bowling. And a million people all driving towards the mall. And a long line at the liquor store. And that first, delicious, vodka martini with garlic stuffed olives (pretty good, not as over powering or breath killing as you might think). And the movie Elf. And the bottle of wine that I bought the other day. And the other bottle of wine that I bought today. And the sore muscles that prevented me from getting up and moving in a timely fashion. And the Wizard of Oz, with commercials, so that I could struggle to my feet and exercise my way to the kitchen for more drinks in between.
But not actually exercise. Or not eat. The moment I said I would just drink and not eat, all I could think about was food. So we ate pretty much all the leftovers in the house. And then some other stuff too. Sorry Mason, we ate the cheese sticks. I’ll buy more this week.
And then it was so late. I could stand and walk enough but I was not doing, like, a workout. And now it’s morning. For the record I slept like crap. And I had a headache all night long. And I was really thirsty. And I had strange, weird dreams about working in a hospital. A giant, multi-level, spread out hospital that doesn’t exist in real life. I had to put eye drops in a long list of patients scattered everywhere, and measure their pupil dilation. But I couldn’t find the rooms. And the patients were listed categorically by disorder and it seemed most were psychiatric. It took me 15 minutes just to get near the hospital rooms. There was a huge, 2 level, narrow, oddly stepped staircase I had to go down (and back up) and my kids were following me and I was wearing my school uniform. AND I was drinking in my dream too! IN the hospital. All the other nurses and doctors were too. I don’t know what that means but it’s probably not good. In the end I could only find one person on the list and he refused.
Thank god I woke up. I’m drinking coffee now without anything in it, although I bought something for that yesterday too. I’m going to wait until later. During football, to start drinking again. And I must try to exercise even though just trying to cough hurts at this point. That’s the problem with irregular exercise. Those muscles hate stretching out after you let them sit for awhile. Then they punish you big time by not letting you move faster than sitting and not lifting more than a fork or a glass. Thank goodness I can type, right Amanda??
I suppose I better get up now and do something. In celebration of school being over I got myself some fake nails. But I am not skilled on managing alot of personal hygiene things yet. Takes practice and some different moves. Like, for instance, it took me half an hour to put in my contact lenses. It’s stupid. I don’t know how the fancy girls do it 24/7. But in a week or so, I’ll have naturalized myself to the whole concept and I’ll be fine. I let my daughter get some too, but her’s are probably all broken and chipped by now. 2 days would be a record. She likes to tap them on everything and pull at them all the time. Anyway…my point was that it takes longer to do less.
And I have a crazy fish to deal with. My son’s Oscar has taken to swimming around the tank in circles. Not like around the outer edges, literally swimming in fast circles like he’s a dog chasing his tail. We can’t figure out what the problem is. One site said water issues, one says nutrition, one said maybe he broke the heater and he’s getting electrocuted continuously. Well, there’s another fish in the tank and he seems fine so I doubt it’s that, but we unplugged the heater anyway. Still spinning. He also likes to attack the surface and throw water out. He just did it again. The other things are not easily fixable so I say just move him out. I think he’s too large for where he’s at and needs to be moved to the big tank. There are a variety of fish in it already and one giant Oscar. He used to be really aggressive, but he seems to be tamer now. I think it might be ok. It’s a pity though, because Mason’s fish is nice and smooth with no scars or damage and he’s probably going to get beat up a little bit if we switch him.
Anyway, these are the problems of a Sunday morning stall. Type long enough and something else will come up to do other than exercise. Like your mom calling you and asking when you planned on coming over. Hi mom! Thanks! Did you read all this? It’s funny huh?? So, since I didn’t make it clear when I called her earlier, and she won’t drive her scroungy butt to me, I guess I better really go get dressed and haul it out there! See? No exercise! Yay fat me!
I am posting a picture of the big Oscar that Mason took as companion to this fine piece of writing, except that its at the top, so you’ve already seen it. And I still have lots of Christmas pics I took from around my house when I was goofing around with the camera. And hopefully, I’ll have really old pics to post from when my dad was alive later too. Pretty exciting stuff. You do want to see those, I promise. In the meantime though, here’s a picture of Mason’s crazy fish:
He’s not as clear as he could be, but you get the idea. He’s about 8 inches long and 5 inches top fin to bottom. In a 36 gallon bow tank and looking mean, but we’ll see.
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I don’t know who the heck is still looking at this every day, but, thank you. Thank you from the bottom of my 15-week-jammed-up-school-crazy-going-no-time-to-post-anything heart! Someone is keeping me alive and on the charts and I thank you.
I literally have one more clinical and one more week of class to go this semester. One care plan. One evaluation sheet w/ goals. One Hesi test. One Lab Final and one final Final. Now that I have typed it…it seems like alot. But trust. It is not. Actually it is but that’s just because I have to study everything, all over again, and then answer even MORE questions. But then I’m done. Until January. One post in 15 weeks…not bad.
Here’s a quick update: School. Football. School. Football. I take the kids to bowling. I go to clinicals. I don’t play any games anymore on facebook, but I do check the site. I stay up way too late. And not for good stuff. I rebooted my Ipod but I am not in love with it anymore. I lost all my playlists and a few hundred songs when I re-loaded the back up discs. I haven’t exercised in weeks. Unless you count the few pushups I do every few days to make sure that I still can. Which I do. But I still fit in my small pants so I don’t care too much about the extra flab hanging over the top for now. I can hit the gym in about a week. School is busy but fun this time. Stressful but in a completely different way from last semester. And my license is calling. I can almost hear it now. I haven’t really been drinking either. Not even enough time for that. Or movies. Or pleasure books. Or mags. I have alot of gossip news to catch up on. My mags are from August…I know I should just throw them away…I’ll decide at Christmas about that. Anyway, I am having a drink now and it is good.
The two things for fun that I have still been doing is collecting change off the street (and keeping it in a cup) and playing my pocket poker game (the quest for the royal flush). Don’t I sound like FUN?? I will post the amount for the last few months in a few days maybe.
AND….wait for it……the quest is over!!
I GOT THE ROYAL FLUSH!!
Oh yeah! No kidding. I think it was clubs. I got it awhile ago but saved the pic for just this moment. I am a wild woman! Do not mess with me and my mad fake poker points skillz! The back of the game says I get 2500 points for the royal flush but I got 5000! What?? I know! It was an exciting day! And just when I did not think it could ever happen again….IT DID!!
TWO Royal Flushes! This was a hearts set. Another 5000. Oh yeah…I’m going for the 10,000. I am unstoppable.
I need to go eat dinner and study something. Thanks for hanging again with me thru the weeks of drought! I really do appreciate your time! I’ll have more later! Pictures are below.
The first one. And that was pretty exciting.
Ugh! Blurry! But you can see it! Another 5000.
That was the high score but I am going for more points. I think I am over 7100 now. Yes I know. Sad life. That’s what the vodka is for. See ya!
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This is the bike they let me ride for the program! This pic is from the Honda image bank so thank you very much…please let me keep it! I was so excited, nervous, sweaty, etc, etc, that I never even thought to take a picture of the actual bike I was riding! I have to say I felt very cool, and grateful that I had a bike that looks and feels real “motorcycle-y”. I know that’s not a word, but the guys were riding dirt bike type motorcycles because of their height. I had a bigger type bike, that looks more like what you see on the street. And as a bonus, I was able to fully plant my feet on the ground. I was comfortable and in a good position on the bike so I didn’t feel like I was struggling. Thank you Honda!!
And even bigger thank you to the MSF, Motorcycle Safety Foundation: www.msf-usa.org
And the State of Illinois Motorcycle Rider Program: www.mrp.illinois.edu
I was literally starting from scratch. The BF heard about the classes from another one of his friends who was taking it, so we signed up too! (It cost $20 dollars but you can get it refunded to you at the end of the course if you choose. Or you can donate it to the program to keep up the quality. That money is well worth it!)
I have never operated a motorcycle in my life. I didn’t even really know how they worked. That may seem stupid to some, but I was a passenger, like a billion years ago, and that was only for a short time. Life ya know? I will admit, because everyone seems to think it’s funny and I can laugh at myself, I did not even know that the throttle rolls IN. Dumb huh? Everytime people fake ride a motorcycle they turn the throttle right? Well, I thought it was OUT, like, vroom vroom, roll your hand forward. HA! Nope, It’s in, towards your body. Luckily, that was the only really scatterbrain thing I didn’t know. They asked at the beginning, who knew how already and who has NEVER ridden. Three (including the BF, knew) nine of us did not. I have been kind of going over this in previous posts when that damn tree hasn’t interrupted me, so I won’t rehash too much. But I will say, we started with twelve and ended with eight. Some people make it look so easy and I admire them. It is “easy” to learn how. It’s not easy to control and steer and turn. That takes practice. But the class moves fast. 4 days, about 20 hours, written test AND driving test. If you can complete the program and pass the tests you get your “M” (That’s the letter they put on yer license to say you can drive a motorcycle!)
Did I pass??? I was nervous! Once you complete the exercise portion the instructors are no longer trainers but representatives of the DMV. Pass the test, get the M. And…we had to take our written test AFTER the riding part because of a participant hold-out. (Had to be unanimous, one gal didn’t want to take it on Sat., and then she ended up leaving anyway, but it was too late, we had to wait until Sunday) You don’t get to know if you passed the drive part until after the written part. So we all trudged in and took our test and waited.
All eight of us PASSED!! YAY!! The BF and I now have our licenses!! It was actually very exciting! And a relief! The nerves were pretty high. It’s so weird, but I am so glad I did this and was able to complete it!
But, as the instructors pointed out: “You are all now all officially licensed and certified parking lot motorcycle operators! Keep that in mind when you actually hit the road.” Good point. We have been on a range, with adult supervision. Probably not quite the same once we get out onto the streets.
Since I don’t actually own a motorcycle, it is kind of hard to practice these new skills, but if we can find a good deal on a small bike, then we are going to try and buy it. I never realized that motorcycles can be kind of expensive, even used and smaller ones. The BF is looking everyday! It is kind of addicting and I see why people love it so much. I am mostly interested in skill improvement right now until I can ride pretty confidently. Besides winter is on its way in the Midwest and that cuts my season short, plus with school starting I’m not sure falling off a motorcycle in the street is a good idea. Just kidding…I never dropped the bike or even had trouble holding it up. When you don’t know, balance and weight is critical, and I wasn’t sure if I could do it, but it was ok. Better than I thought it would be.
Anyway…I could go on and on, but I won’t. (That’s for my sissy. Just seeing if you are paying attention, especially since you already heard my story on the phone and sounded so thrilled…yeah, I could tell. You were un-interested. But as you know, I don’t care. I’ll just talk anyway! haha)
If you already have a license, good for you! If you don’t and you want one or you want to learn and all that good stuff, I highly recommend the program. It’s time out of your life for sure, you have to do the work and give a little bit, but it really is the best way to learn in my opinion. I even got a cool t-shirt!
And a bumper sticker!! Awe…..some……!!!
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