The Cell Phone Generation

I watched my son pick up a stereo remote control the other day and put it to his ear and say "hello!" While creative and on the right track(it does have numbers on it) it makes me think about the lack of confusion growing up as to what a phone was. Now we even have people walking around with blinking blue ears like something out of Star Trek.

Remember when....

• you actually dialed a phone - now you can just speak a name and the phone dials for you
• the ringer was two bells being clanged together - now you can hear "Apple bottom jeans" in every public setting
• the phone was something that stayed at home, or was in a booth on the street - now...well you know.
• a dial tone - huh?

While progress is good, maybe it's also moving our toddlers to become more creative in what could possibly be a phone. Of course there is the good old banana, who didn't try that one! I actually caught my son doing this the other day. But what else will he pick up and say hello into that we never would have thought of in the past. I bet my son would love a Hot Wheels phone!

A Product Endorsement!

I have to pass this one along. In an effort to control that nasty kitty litter mixed with poop and pee smell in my poor downstairs bath, I have been on a hunt for the perfect kitty litter box.

Mission Impossible eh? Just about! I've gone through 2 of the automatic cleaners, which often involved late night confrontations as one of my cats laid down a poop that would bring the Jolly Green Giant to shame, and put the machine into a spastic cleaning circuit that mirrored a loop in the space time continuum. (That was for my Trek Fans out there) I've used the covered pans, hoping they would...um...hold in the oder? I think my cats have nearly passed out from the fumes....the things I've seen them do in there are indescribable! I've tried open pans, hoping I would get motivated to clean the darn thing every time I saw a sandy lump....nope, turns out. I'm pretty lazy.

I found this kitty litter box on Amazon.com. I wondered WHY is this kitty litter box getting a 5 star rating from fellow cat owners. Is this possible? Has someone found the secret? No killer rabbits to worry about? I had to try it. I did what I don't normally do...I ordered it without consulting my husband first. I wanted to discover this on my own. I snuck(which is not a word in spell check) it into the house and secretly tried the gadget out on my own.......

It's about as goofy and awkward as JC trying to feed himself with a spoon to clean out, but people of the world...this WORKS! If you look at the above picture...you tilt the silly thing to the left(it loosens the litter), roll it to the right all the way over until it's upside down on the green part(there is a kitty litter strainer in there, I didn't think it would work..), then you roll it back to the left, sifting the kitty litter back into place. You pull out that little drawer with the handle...and POOF! All the little presents left behind are right there! A quick dump in the trash and the thing is clean. It's so much fun to do, the box gets cleaned like twice a day now between everyone in the family. It's like a secret magic trick that we are all trying to figure out.

Gone are the days of trying to ignore that cat box into cleanliness....in are the days of tumbling out the magic poop. If you have cats and are at your wits end...TRY THIS!!!

Search on Amazon : "Automatic Kitty Litter"

It's a sport for the players

.....yet a patient mumbling wait for a fight to break out for the fans. It's a typical beginning....boo the refs for the poor calls, cheer for the home team, and boo for the opponent. Each team warms up for the upcoming battle for the goal, one hoping for a come from behind victory, the other to maintain their lead. As the time begins, the crowd cheers and then settles down in their seats to enjoy their favorite $10.00 alcoholic beverage and maybe a $7.00 box of popcorn. What do they wait for? A brawl on the ice. Ice Hockey at its best.

The stadium is rather quiet as the sloshed audience attempts to maintain eye contact with the puck, but as soon as a glove hits the ice, it is ON. The audience jumps to their feet (hopefully not spilling a drop of that precious and expensive liquid) and cheer on the fists that fly and the ones that land painfully. The penalty...something we do for 2 year olds.."time out".

These guys on the ice are obviously trained athletes, skating that long and hard is HARD!! And have you ever tried to control a puck coming at you at X mph? No thank you. My absolute favorite part of the night, was the gentleman ( I use this term loosely) behind us who desperately wanted to be a coach for our team. He made sure they knew how many more seconds were available in the Power Play, and knew JUST when the player should shoot for the goal. For my first time viewing an Ice Hockey game, he did seem very knowledgeable and was very deft at reading the score board out for everyone around us. But I don't think the team would have hired him. They would probably have to supply him with 10 beers before every game in order for him to perform at his best and loudest. Anyway, lucky us, we were there for his audition!

All in all, we did have a great time. Personally I loved when they smashed each other against the plastic (it's not glass anymore folks) and of course when a Ref would get in the way(that's hilarious...they wear NO pads!!) Oh, and the other ROCKIN event, is when the home team made a goal...it scared the CRAP out of me the first time. The stadium is blasted with a fog horn type sound that literally shakes the stadium. I could feel the vibration of the sound in my feet through my shoes! There is no disclaimer on my ticket for this deafening sound, only to be wary of flying pucks. I guess I should be grateful for the sound instead of the wayward puck.

As a first timer at a Hockey game, it was like any public venue, it took all kinds of characters to bring the whole experience together. My favorite was the group of pirates touring the stadium throwing out beads to the audience....oh and the free t-shirt my section won from 5/3 bank. (Anyone know where they are located?) GO SECTION 109!! I saw myself on the big screen!

And for my next adventure.....Gasparilla!!!! (sorry, you'll have to look that one up)