meme for a weekend

Put an X by the states you have been to (airports don't count).

I've decided to make the names of the states in which I've lived GREEN.

Alabama -
Alaska -
Arizona - X
Arkansas -
California - X
Colorado - X
Connecticut -
Delaware - X
Florida – X
Georgia - X
Hawaii -
Idaho - X
Illinois - X
Indiana - X
Iowa - X
Kansas -X
Kentucky - X
Louisiana -
Maine -
Maryland - X
Massachusetts – X
Michigan - X
Minnesota -
Mississippi -
Missouri - X
Montana -
Nebraska - X
Nevada - X
New Hampshire -
New Jersey - X
New Mexico -
New York - X
North Carolina - X
North Dakota -
Ohio - X
Oklahoma -
Oregon - X
Pennsylvania - X
Rhode Island - X
South Carolina - X
South Dakota -
Tennessee - X
Texas - X
Utah - X
Vermont -
Virginia - X
West Virginia – X
Wisconsin - X
Wyoming - X
Washington - X

34.

If airports counted, I'd be at 35 (MN).

Although, RI is sketchy; I'm assuming that if we went there, that we drove through CT, which would make it 35, and 36 with airports. Did I actually go to RI? Anyone? Mom? Dad?

What are your numbers?

***UPDATE***

No on Rhode Island, Yes on Maine. (Thanks, Dad.)

the way it goes

We have two vehicles: The Helicrapter (which Darin drives), and Kari (the white minivan in which I live).

Last Saturday, one of the few Saturdays when Darin has to go to work, The Helicrapter crapped out on us.

Again.

I drove him up to work in Draper (about 30 freeway miles away), picked him up later, and as he hasn't had a chance yet to go to a junkyard and find a new starter, we've been a one-vehicle family for nearly a week. (Waaaaah, right?)

Yesterday, I drove Darin to Draper then continued on to Ogden, and then drove home; then I drove various places in Provo -- Eastside, Westside, All Around The Town. I drove to Draper to pick Darin up at the end of his work day, and then in the evening drove to Pleasant Grove for a bridal shower. Finally, late at night, I drove to the mall (to see a certain movie, by myself, but the movie was sold out).

Today I drove to the market-and-home, to the bank, straight to The Project, and then home, where Darin had been preparing to attend this weekend's youth conference. He met me in the garage to help unload the kids so that I could go pick up li'l ~j. from dance rehearsal, and . . .

The van wouldn't start.

We looked at each other, completely defeated.

He said to the kids, "Okay, guys, we're going to say a prayer." He offered the prayer, and thanked Heavenly Father for our blessings, and asked that one of our cars would please function so that we could fulfill our responsibilities. The whole time he was praying, I had two thoughts: 1, I'm SO GLAD that this happened in our garage, and not elsewhere, and 2, FaithHopeFaithHopeFaithHope, just trying to channel it so that it would all work out.

Prayer finished. I took a deep breath and turned the key.

clickclickclickclick

-frakker!-

Darin said, "Hold on, let me try the Kia."

And it started right up.

Of course it did.

remember my favorite?

SYTYCD- Lacey and Kameron



This one is my second-place favorite:

is your life average?

Do you find yourself having thoughts like these . . .



~ Today, I went out of my way to step on a leaf that looked really crunchy. I stepped on it and it did not crunch. I was disappointed. MLIA (#119511)



OR



~ Today, I read an autobiography. In the back of the book there was a small paragraph entitled, "About the Author." I laughed. MLIA. (#118187)



OR



~ Today, I told my cat that if he did not stop meowing, I would throw him out the window. He paused a few seconds, and responded with an ultra-loud meow. He called my bluff. MLIA (#118723)

?????

Then this is the site for you.

(WARNING: this site is like unto facebook, in the realm of time-suckers.)

you're welcome.

so...what's YOUR word?

(i saw this on yahoo news)

Swearing Makes Pain More Tolerable
– Sun Jul 12, 10:10 am ET

That muttered curse word that reflexively comes out when you stub your toe could actually make it easier to bear the throbbing pain, a new study suggests.

Swearing is a common response to pain, but no previous research has connected the uttering of an expletive to the actual physical experience of pain.

"Swearing has been around for centuries and is an almost universal human linguistic phenomenon," said Richard Stephens of Keele University in England and one of the authors of the new study. "It taps into emotional brain centers and appears to arise in the right brain, whereas most language production occurs in the left cerebral hemisphere of the brain."

Stephens and his fellow Keele researchers John Atkins and Andrew Kingston sought to test how swearing would affect an individual's tolerance to pain. Because swearing often has an exaggerating effect that can overstate the severity of pain, the team thought that swearing would lessen a person's tolerance.

As it turned out, the opposite seems to be true.

The researchers enlisted 64 undergraduate volunteers and had them submerge their hand in a tub of ice water for as long as possible while repeating a swear word of their choice. The experiment was then repeated with the volunteer repeating a more common word that they would use to describe a table.

Contrary to what the researcher expected, the volunteers kept their hands submerged longer while repeating the swear word.

The researchers think that the increase in pain tolerance occurs because swearing triggers the body's natural "fight-or-flight" response. Stephens and his colleagues suggest that swearing may increase aggression (seen in accelerated heart rates), which downplays weakness to appear stronger or more macho.

"Our research shows one potential reason why swearing developed and why it persists," Stephens said.

The results of the study are detailed in the Aug. 5 issue of the journal NeuroReport.


*****
ps - you don't have to actually tell me what your word is. but since you asked, mine is "FRAKKER!" I don't even know where that came from.

pps - my favorite line from this article is, "Swearing has been around for centuries...".

field trip!

Alright, Class,

I hope you brought your signed permission slips,

because it's time for a FIELD TRIP!

Today's trip takes us to this site

(please to click the words 'this site').

Your assignment:

*Read the article.

*Tell me, in the comments, your thoughts on what you just read.

Good class.

Gooooooooood class.

(even though right now i'm on my own)

I was going to write a post today about some stuff, but I can't because I can't stop laughing at this blog.

One of those situations where I feel like I'm the last one in on the joke, the last to see this blog, but it doesn't matter: it's worth it (i never said it would be easy).

new blog look, first-ish post

To illustrate how badly I want

(need? deserve?) a new camera,

and for lighter fare

(tomorrow, likely, notsomuch)

I'll start by posting this picture.

I call it:

4 Suckers

Also, I'm scheduling to this to post at 12:34.56 7/8/9. Happy day!