Interesting. I want that chocolate too! That spread in Istanbul looks pretty good too. I wouldn't mind eating some of that for breakfast. When we were in Disneyland Paris, the types of food on their buffets were amazing in their diversity. It was so interesting to see kids from different countries filling their plates with cous cous, tabouleh, falafel, meat "stuff" in aspic, and escargot (this is Indy's favorite food in the world). There aren't a whole lot of kids in the US who would eat that stuff.

You want to come over and watch the world from inside? I am so not an outdoor girl. I prefer a window between me and whatever is out there.

No, no, no, no, NO! I have asthma, and knowing what it feels like to not be able to breathe, there's no way I could willingly put myself in a situation where I could run out of air. I know it's not likely to happen, but just the thought makes me ill.

Ha! That was my thread. I can't believe the original was deleted. That just blows. It was so much fun, and led me to my avatar. I'm so sad we can't read it. :( The tea thread is wildly amusing though. There seems to be some sort of serious division between the frosting/no frosting people. Let's not start a war. Or let's do! That sounds like way more fun. BTW, what is wrong with multi quote? I can only quote one at a time.

We did an eastern Mediterranean cruise when Han Solo was 18 months old. It was warm though, so I could pack pretty light. I have friends who've done northern European cruises though with little ones. Fortunately toddler clothes are tiny. I would pack pjs, several pairs of pants, some light weight long sleeve shirts, a couple of sweaters that can be easily washed in your cabin (if necessary), a med weight jacket, hat and gloves (in case it gets colder), and probably warm boots. Socks, hats, gloves and shirts can be rolled up and stuffed inside the boots to keep from taking up too much space. We do the same with our clothes too. We pack socks and underwear in our shoes.

OMG! Cupcakes! Please, let's talk about cupcakes again! I am vehemently pro-cupcake!

I have not heard of this show. I'm horribly fascinated by the concept, and simply horrified by it at the same time. I mean, really? I have had 2 former bf's leave me for men (am I just somehow drawn to them?), which was really weird for me, but I'm happy they figured things out before we went any further. In fact, one of them is one of my closest BFF's.

My neighbor is Harry Morgan, also the name of the actor who played Col. Potter on M*A*S*H

I honestly can't imagine not wanting to go to Paris! I love it so much. We've been many, many times, and each time I find something new. It's just beautiful, and there's so much to see and do. Even James "I hate cities" Bond loves Paris. He likes London and Rome too, so maybe he doesn't hate them as much as the thinks. ;) If you're more into beaches, but your hubby wants to go to France (is it just France or Paris specifically?), have you thought about the south of France? The beaches are beautiful (though topless), and the weather is fantastic. There's a small town called Villefranche sur mer, that is just lovely. It's midway between Monaco and Cannes, so you can take a quick train trip (15-20 minutes or so) to see those, or take a train up to Paris for a couple of days, which will give you both something you'd enjoy. Actually, you could fly into Paris, spend a few days there, take the train to Vf, and stay for a while. As someone else mentioned, a cruise is a great way to go. A Western European cruise isn't as expensive as you might think, and you'll get to see many places, unpacking only once, and not having to worry about where to eat or whatever. There are even some stops that offer a day at the beach, so you can hang out there all day. On our stop in Corsica, we wandered the city, but our friends opted to go to the other side of the island and spent the day at the beach. Look at these photos! https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images;_ylt=A0SO8zU.gK1UqE4A0GRXNyoA?p=villefranche+sur+mer&fr=yfp-t-901-s&fr2=piv-web This is a REAL place! I've been there!

This is just so sad. It breaks my heart. Of course this morning my FB feed was filled with posts on how this was all the Democrats and Obama's fault. WTF? Quit making everything political and just mourn for the people lost and injured.

Hahaha! No, I had long hair, so no one mistook me for a man. My boyfriend though. OMG. The friend who dipped me was dressed as Pegg Bundy, high hair, painted on leggings, high heeled mules and all. It was HYSTERICAL. I'm know I have photos somewhere. If I can find them, I'll scan them. You will DIE. Up until the knee incident, it was a great time. I'm just glad I did all my dumb crap before the internet. My parents would have pulled me out of school and locked me in my room for sure!

People just suck sometimes. Why would anyone do this?

I wash my face with olive oil, and use either grapefruit seed oil or organ oil for a moisturizer. I do have some crows feet, but I'm almost 42, so I'm okay with it. My skin is paper thin though, which worries me. My mom's is too, and she's wrinkly, but she was a sun lover in her youth. She still never uses sunscreen. I do NOT go in the sun (my dad's who family are pale redheads, and I have the complexion), unless I have to, and I'm coated in sunscreen. I even use it on my face in the winter. When someone finds out my age, they always comment that they never would have guessed I was over my mid 30's.

That's a good idea. I don't know how much his Troop does with the Cubs, but I'll have to suggest it.

Oh, I can't believe no one has commented on how it originally happened!

No concussion as far as I know. Of course I was awake for a long time because of the pain, so I guess that's a good thing. JB has been pretty good, but I feel terrible asking him to do so many things. We have 3 and a half baths, so I've got one on the main floor to use. The kitchen isn't too far, and we have an L shaped sofa (I love it!), so I've got plenty of room to lie around. Netflix and OnDemand are my friends. JB just got back from Japan, and he brought home loads of yummy chocolate.

WHY CAN'T I MULTIQUOTE!!!! I'm sure my PCM will refer me to orthopedics (they're all certified). I'll probably go into physical therapy. Wheee!

I hope it doesn't interfere with her basketball next year. I hope she'll wear a knee brace.

Backstory: During my sophomore year of college (1992), I was at a cross dress Halloween party (I was dressed as Aladdin, and my boyfriend at the time was Jasmine). One of my friends came up behind me, turned me, and dipped me. The only problem was that my left leg didn't turn with the rest of my body, and my knee cap slipped out of place, and ended up on the side of my leg. It was not good. We ended up in the ER, dressed as we were, and I had to wear a leg brace for 6 weeks. I've had knee problems since, and it has slipped out twice since then, though the last time was about 19 or so years ago. So, yesterday I was goofing off, and it slipped out of place again. OMG! I thought I was going to die. My leg completely collapsed and I hit the floor. James Bond didn't know what had happened, and he was worried because I apparently hit my head pretty hard when I went down. i honestly don't remember that part. All I could feel was the complete and utter agony of my knee. The knee cap slipped back into place when my leg buckled, but the pain! Oh, the pain! I was on the sofa all day yesterday with my leg elevated and iced. We had to cancel our plans for last night. It still hurt, but I slept ok. When I got up this morning, my leg was swollen, and I couldn't put any weight on it. Cue a trip to the emergency room. My knee cap wasn't all the way back in place, and they had to push it back in. I nearly passed out when they did. I have fluid on my knee, and they think I may have done something to the cartilage. Awesome. I'm now in a full leg immobilizer, have to use crutches and go in for an MRI next week. The ER is only authorized to do MRI's on head injuries or chest pain, so they couldn't do it today. Oh, and did I mention that our house is 3 stories? Yeah, lots of stairs. Yay. On the plus side, OxyContin. Happy new year to us.

That's fantastic! Indy is wanting to do more volunteer work (outside of what he does with Scouts) this year, so I'm going to have to see if he can do something like that at a local senior home here. He loves older people, because he says they're cool, and have great stories. He wanted to volunteer with Sea Shepherd, but you have to be 18 for that. He was quite sad.

I didn't post for kudos, but thanks. I'm still thinking about him, and wondering if he's okay. It's so cold outside. I have spare blankets in my car to pass out, but he told me he had blankets, and didn't need one.

Well, I'm American too, but I'm going to answer! When we lived in Germany, the term used was black. I had a few American friends who hated the term African-American, because, as they said, they'd never been to Africa, and were just black Americans, like I am a white American.

Still, there just didn't seem to be any sort of clues IMO. There should have been some sort of hint, because when I got to the end, I was like WTF?

Okay, glad I'm not the only one! I didn't even watch all of BC, because there were parts that were pretty much word for word, and I was thinking "I just watched this, I don't want to see it all again." I liked the ending better, as I wasn't thrilled with the killer in GP, but I agree about the becoming a pedo all of a sudden. There was just nothing, IMO, to even suggest it. I did like hearing DT with an accent though. ;)

Yesterday I got an unexpected lesson in gratitude. I was out running errands, and around 3pm, I was starting to feel dizzy from lack of food (I hadn't eaten since b'fast), so I stopped at Wendy's to grab a bite to eat. There was an old, homeless man sitting outside about 50 or so yards away, who looked like he had just been beaten down by life. I had no cash on me, but I felt guilty, getting myself food, when I knew he was probably hungry, and had to be cold, as it was freezing out. The temp was low, but the wind was bitter. I ordered my food, then ordered him a chili, burger, fries and a coffee. When it was all ready, I put mine in the car, and started to walk over to him with his food. He was walking toward Wendy's, and when I asked if he was okay, he told me he couldn't feel his feet, and that the people in Wendy's would let him come in and get warm. I followed him inside, and gave him the food. He thanked me several times. I put my hand on his arm, and he gasped, and looked down. I immediately pulled my hand back, and asked if he was okay. He looked up at me and said, "It's been a long time since anyone touched me voluntarily. I almost forgot what it was like." I nearly lost it. I could feel the tears welling, and had to get away before I completely broke down. I told him to take care of himself, and left. I often forget how very good I have it, and to have someone be so grateful for just the simple act of human contact, really made me appreciate things.