It's So Tuesday

I'm linking up with Stacy.

Ever since I was a kid, people have called me fat.  Not all people, but quite a few.  So I ask you, does this little girl look fat to you?

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Keep in mind, these pictures were taken in the early 70's.  I was probably 7 years old.

Now, I did get a little pooch in my belly as I got older, but even with the pooch in my belly, I was slightly over 100 pounds in tenth grade, and I was told I was fat, not just by the dance team instructor, but by my mom... and boys.  Fat, fat, fat.

Forty years later, I actually have become a little too pudgy, okay a lot, so I have been exploring options to get my weight back down some, and I have finally decided to try the Keto diet.  I have co-workers who have had success with it, and they referred me to a website called DietDoctor.  I've always said that I couldn't live without coke, bread, and potatoes, but I'm giving it a shot.  Today is day 2.  If nothing else, hopefully it will help me break my sugar habit.  I'll let you know how it goes.

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Last week I was trying to help my son with college-level economics homework.  Formulas (gosh, no, math) and stuff I never had to study.  GDP. interest rates, nominal rates, velocity, aggregate...

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Geez.  You'd think I would have learned everything a person needs know from general adulting (inflation, interest rates, investing, etc.).  Nope. This is what  should have been going on in my head, but instead, it just went over it!

And now, for some fun.

Have you ever had fajitas?  Tex-Mex fajitas done right sure are tasty!  I'd give a lot for some yummy fajitas, but this poor fella really had a problem. Over a period of 9 years, 53 year old G. Escamilla stole 1.2 million dollars in fajitas.  Those must have been extra tasty!  He had been using county money to buy fajitas and reselling them.  He had his own little business going.  A delivery made during his absence from work at the Cameron County Juvenile center is what did him in.  Needless to say, he was fired.  He also gets to live in prison for 50 years.

What do you think of these?

That's all for now!

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Sunday Synopsis

Famous Last Words by Katie Alender
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I almost abandoned this book when I first started it. I put it down for a couple of months after reading the first 3 or 4 chapters. I picked it back up at the urging of one of my students. I was worried about it being too scary because it is about a haunted house. And it was a little eerie.  Hauntings and ghosts usually aren't my cup of tea, but I got past that because the story was good.

Understanding the main character was difficult in the beginning. Her name is Willa, a high school student, and she has just moved in to an infamous Hollywood home with her mother and step-father.  She doesn't make friends easily, but one person she does have a connection with is Wyatt who is obsessed with the Hollywood Killer that is stalking women in Los Angeles.  Meanwhile, Willa thinks her home is haunted.  She sees and hears things that no one else does including a strange person in the mirror where her own reflection should be.

This story is a mixture of murder, mystery, and Hollywood history.  The ending will surprise you!   I figured out the mystery only shortly before it was made obvious. Clever story line, if just a little unrealistic.

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Basketball Playoffs are Here!

It's basketball playoff season! I'm resurrecting some older fun facts and adding some new ones.

1.  This has to be the best play of this season:  Cleanup in Aisle 3!

 2. Shaquille O'Neal has several rap songs. It's kinda funny. This one is from 1993.  I imagine Shaq would like to forget it!

 3. The shortest person to play in the NBA was Mugsy Bogues who was only 5' 3" tall. The Washington Bullets selected him as the 12th overall pick in 1987. He played in the NBA for 14 years.  Here he is pictured with Tracy McGrady.

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 4.. Pau Gasol, who plays for the San Antonio Spurs, went to medical school in Barcelona, but left when he was drafted into the NBA.  Brawn and Brains!  Brother Marc plays for the Memphis Grizzlies.  Youngest brother Adria played at UCLA but has returned to Spain to play there.

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 5. The American Basketball League, which began in 1976, was known for the flashy 3-point shots. The ABA merged with the NBA in 1976, but the 3-point shot wasn't used in the NBA until 1979.

 6.The NBA is truly a global sport.  There is at least one player from every team who is considered an international player.  Thirty-three different countries are represented by 62 players.  Utah and Philadelphia have the most with 7 players each from various parts of our world

7. Did you know that jump balls used to be after EVERY BASKET? I can't imagine that!

 8. LeBron James has not lost a first round series in almost six years playing for Miami and Cleveland. This "might" be the year they break that streak since their first round series with the Pacers is 1-1 so far.  You never know!

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9. Elvin Hayes never won an MVP award despite the fact that "he played in 12 consecutive All-Star games, won a championship and averaged 20 points per game or more in 10 of his 16 NBA seasons" (Bleacher Report) He played for the University of Houston before the NBA, then the San Diego/Houston Rockets, the Baltimore Bullets, and again for Houston.

 10. Charles Barkley was cut from both his freshman and sophomore basketball teams. He did, however, play his junior and senior years.

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11. Teams who win game 1 of their playoff series have won the series 79% of the time since the 1983-84 season.

12. Providence, Rhode Island once had a team. They were called the Steamrollers. They only lasted 3 seasons, and their overall record was abysmal: 46-122.

13. Malice in the Palace - Some call this the scariest (or most embarrassing) moment in NBA history. It took place on November 19, 2004 between the Pistons and the Pacers. Take a look.

Most information in this post came from Bleacher Report and FoxSports.
P. S. I really can't stand those GEICO commercials with the talking basketball! Just sayin'!

Link up and play along with Thursday Thirteen!

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Random Tuesday

I'm linking up with Stacy today.

Here's a bit of bizarre news:

Last week, when a woman passed away in Oklahoma City, her obituary led police to track down her son who had escaped from prison in 1981 after serving only 19 months of a nine year sentence for distribution of drugs.  They tracked him right here to Houston where he lived under an assumed name.  Fingerprints confirmed they had their man.

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This is how I have been feeling about work lately.  It is never-ending!  Literally!  And I'm tired!

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I always wanted to be a teacher when I was growing up.  I used to play school all the time.  All the things I loved then... no longer exist!  And all of the changes lead to even more work for teachers.  Personal learning plans for all students, eliminating the grading scale completely - no numerical grades, workshop approach in reading (no novels), and the list goes on.  I am opposed to these ideas, yet I am not at a point where I can retire yet.  Starting over in another school district is not appealing, either.

Now time for something fun.

This is probably what my cat thinks:

And...

How 'bout this?

 Why aren’t koalas actual bears?

The don’t meet the koalafications.

See you next week!

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Sunday Synopsis

Unforeseen by Nick Pirog
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Thomas Prescott is a retired homicide detective. An author has written a book, Eight in October, about a serial killer. It just so happens, Prescott was the detective in charge of the case. He doesn't need to read the book because he lived all of the gruesome details, but Prescott has a secret. Everyone thinks the killer, Tristen Grayer, is dead. Prescott knows he is not. On October 1, the one year anniversary of the case, Grayer strikes again, but this time, it's personal. Grayer is targeting the women Prescott is closest to. Prescott enlists the help of Tooms, the author of Eight in October (a book within a book), and medical examiner Caitlin Dodds to try and stop Grayer before eight more people are dead.

I would have given this book a higher rating, but the author tried a little too hard to make his main character (Prescott) funny. Too frequent wiseass jokes, comments, etc. It got old. He was also what you'd describe as crass. The story was interesting, if not a little gross, but kept me wanting to read. I don't know if I want to read any other books by Pirog, but for less than $2, this one was good.

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