Friday, July 31, 2015

A FRIDAY CHAT ( about this and that )

Good mornin' everyone !

HUFFINGTON POST

Josh Smith Discusses His Upcoming Struggle To Survive On $6.9 Million

#PrayForJoshSmith

Somehow, some way, Josh Smith and his family will have to figure out how to survive on just $6.9 million during the upcoming NBA season.
During a Los Angeles Clippers news conference on Tuesday to introduce the newly signed forward Josh Smith, the former NBA All-Star discussed the challenges he'll face as a result. 
"At the end of the day, you know, I do have a family," he told reporters. "So it is going to be a little harder on me this year. But I'm going to push through it, you know?"
Smith -- who has earned over $97 million from NBA contracts in his 11-year career, according to Spotrac -- signed a one-year deal with the Clippers earlier this month for the veteran's minimum of $1.5 million. His former team, the Detroit Pistons, will also be paying him $5.4 million to not play for them. (Smith was released last December by the Pistons after signing a four-year, $54 million contract in July 2013.) 
That adds up to just $6.9 million next season -- a far cry from the over $13 million he was making just two years ago. We weep for you, Josh Smith. 
In all seriousness, Smith seems to be paying homage to former NBA star Latrell Sprewell by focusing on his family's impending financial struggles. Remember when Sprewell deemed the Minnesota Timberwolves' three-year, $30 million contract offer as "insulting"?
"I'm at risk. I have a lot of risk here. I got my family to feed," Sprewell told the Free Republic in 2004. And so does Smith. But another thing that he's going to "push through" this year? The $100 million mark for total NBA earnings. 
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I thought we'd start with that.
Just in case you were feeling all alone with your own personal struggles.
You're not.
I can't even add on that it's all relevant here - BECAUSE IT'S NOT !
The word " Struggle " should not be in the same sentence as SIX POINT NINE MILLION DOLLARS a year.
I know they live in some sort of alternate reality - but really?  Come on now !
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For the past 3 weeks we've been emptying the skimmer every morning and finding 15 - 30 dead beetles 
( thank God for spell check - I spelled it Beatles - you have to forgive me - it's been a hard days night & I've been working like a dog................)
We appear to have an infestation.

The Ants?
They're completely taking over - you lay on a float in the pool and they're all over the float
We appear to have an infestation.

I can't sit outside after the sun goes down without coming in the house with more lumps than I had as a child with Chicken Pox - damned mosquitoes - 
We appear to have an infestation.

I also walk into spider webs every morning when I step outside - thrashing around and jumping up and down trying to remove them - 
We appear to have an infestation.

I watch as a swarm of wasps fly outside the office window - I've taped up every crack I can find because
We appear to have an infestation.

This summer our section of the city decided to cut back garbage pickup to ONCE every 2 weeks - 
are they insane?
In temps that hit in the 30's ( or close to 100 for you Americans ) they decide to let garbage rot outside our homes for 14 days?
So of course the flys are in rotting flesh heaven.
( It's enough to make you go vegan - seriously ) 
We appear to have an infestation.

The groundhog doesn't appear to mind at all..............neither do the skunks - although I've noticed the infestation of squirrels seem to be scratching more these days.

And now?
Well now we stepped outside yesterday to find 5 holes in our front garden - what made them we have no idea

I'm anti gun - but lately I fantasize about sitting outside on the back stoop with a rifle and just blasting everything to smithereens.
And I'm serious.

One of the twins ( Lindsay - who's a vegan ) gets upset when I talk like that - 

An ant was crawling up my leg and I killed it

Lindsay says - WHY?
Mom says - What?  It was an ant
Lindsay says - WHY DID YOU HAVE TO KILL IT?
Mom says - Listen - what I really wanted to do was torture it................
Lindsay says - I don't understand you at all
Mom says - I WANTED TO RIP IT'S HEAD OFF !
Lindsay says - relax - you sound crazed.
Mom says - Well I think YOU'RE a little crazy - it was an A.N.T.
Lindsay says - I don't kill anything at all.
Lindsay says - You could never be a Buddhist 

Ah well - such is life. 
I have no respect for the life of a bug.

Is anyone else noticing there's more this year than ever before?
Is it climate change?
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I had a girlfriend whose stomach was shot to hell after her 3rd child.
Really - shot. to. hell.
She had what I called an overhang.................but she quickly corrected me - saying it was called
" an apron " - you know - when the fat hangs down ?
Well - I'm not proud of it - but I've developed " a maxi dress "
Jeezus................I HAVE to go on a diet.
Right after I finish that family sized bag of salt and vinegar chips in the pantry
I keep lifting my real maxi dress up to stare at it ( in morbid fascination ) and it looks like I STILL HAVE THE MAXI DRESS ON !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Suzan says- I really need to get some Spanx
John says - Come here - I'll give you a couple
Suzan says - WTH?
John says - I'll spank you
Suzan says - THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT !
John says - oooh - you meant the frisky kind?
Suzan says - I MEANT A GIRDLE - you pervert!
John says - Well why didn't you say that - how the hell am I supposed to know what you mean when you say you need spanks?

God help me - for a second I wanted to smack him.
With my maxi dress.
The inner one.
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My Son was over this for supper and swimming - and we had a contest.
He told me to jump with my legs directly out in front of me ( like you're sitting on a chair with an ottoman is the only way I can explain it )
Sure !
No Problem !!!
Sounds super easy !
Let's go.............

I even had a foolproof bathing suit on so I didn't have to worry about my puppies freeing themselves (which they sometimes do when I dive off the board )

I got to the edge of the diving board - jumped - stuck my legs out straight across in a sitting position - and the thought that hit me as I hit the water was

OMG - the skin on my thighs just came off my body !!!!!!!!
I frantically grabbed them to make sure they were intact.

Pain like you can't imagine.

I whacked my Son with a towel and

Mom says - DON'T MAKE ME DO THINGS LIKE THAT - I'M TOO OLD FOR IT !!!!!!!!!!!  ARE YOU CRAZY?

And then I sat down - depressed like hell that I was actually too old to do something like that in the water.

So I did it once more.................it was even worse.

Gordie says - Maybe it's because your skin has gotten looser ?

He got another whack of the towel for that one.

But it's true - if you're as loose as a caboose - don't try it.

You're better off diving and letting the top of your bathing suit fall off - than your actual skin
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We babysat one of the " grands " for the last 2 and a half weeks.
She's a blessing - a joy to have around - and totally exhausting................
( so that front porch is STILL not finished )
Guess what I'll be doing this weekend?

Oh and trying my best to work on this


Which I picked up for Ashley ................

You all have the most wonderful of weekends - I think maybe the humidity has " broke " here - I can feel a slight breeze as I type - exciting stuff !

Hugs,
Me

13 comments:

  1. Tooo funny Suzan. Love your this and that chats. Happy Friday and have a wonderful week end.
    Kris

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  2. Yep ~ the $6.9 million story really ticked me off, too. No sympathy for him, or any other over-paid athlete.

    We appeared to have a horrible infestation of ants earlier in the summer ~ thankfully they stayed outside the house. And we had NO compunction about using "deadly" force (i.e. bug killer spray)

    LMHO about the Spanx!!

    How old is the 'grand you had staying?

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  3. Remember the little round tin ant traps? Get them, they worl, better than the plastic ones. Beetles, at lease the pool sucker is getting them. mosquitos etc, swear by the Off products. Living in Canada, not for the faint of heart. We are deep in humidity everytime the sun comes out after the rain, which we are getting tons of. Go West rain, go! We have every 2 week pickup of garbage and recycle and battle the racoons, skunks, porcyupines, seagulls, wasps, flies, maggots, crows and bears if we don't stash it right. It's a science on how to do it right. Something to talk to the neighbours about when at the mailbox. Spray your cans with bleach bathroom cleaner and leave out in the rain (or hose) to rinse. Follow up with bug spray. Repeat as needed. Need more tips? Let me know, I'm here to help. Our food recycle bin gets dosed every 2 weeks. We have earwigs like crazy from all the rain. Hate the bastards, they bite. Give me a skit I can slap, but don't tell Lindsay! Hugs, have a great weekend! xo Patty

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  4. Boo Hoo, cry me a river. I can't even feel sorry for the poor sap...6.9 million? Give me a break. He needs to try to live like real people.

    Bugs? We don't seem to have too many this year but don't start me on snakes...we (actually Bruce) killed two last weekend and yes, they were the poisonous kind. (Shudders) I.don't.like.snakes! I'm afraid to go out after dark now.

    All I can say about your swimming pool stunt is ouch.

    The rocking chair is going to look great. Have a wonderful weekend!
    Hugs,
    Cecilia


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  5. As usual, some good laughs.

    But, the salary of pro athletes is NOT funny!

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  6. The animals and bugs were my nightmare before we moved. Groundhogs are very destructively to gardens. The holes sounds like gophers. Sorry to tell you they are a terror and almost impossible to get rid of the humane way, just saying, The one thing you can try is go to the garden center and buy things that go in the ground and send a signal the Gophers hate. In our experience the humane way never worked. Good luck

    Cindy

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  7. I love reading your adventures!!!! Thank you for sharing all the excitement!!!!!!

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    Replies
    1. I wish my adventures were a little more exciting LMHO !
      But thanks SO much Linda !
      xoxo

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  8. Those darn beetles are driving me crazy!! It started last summer and I thought it was because of a particular plant I planted so this year I planted completely differant things......nope, my flowers are still being eaten alive by them!! All they do is go forth and multiply (I'm being polite here haha) and eat, eat, eat! It's a great life if your a beetle I guess lol! As far as the wasps go- head to Canadian Tire or maybe even Dollarama still has them in stock, they are little fake wasp hives that you hang up around your house. Wasps are very territorial so they don't like to hang out in another hives area. We have been using them for 3 years now and it really has limited the wasp population. All our neighbours are using them now too. Hang in there Suzan!! Soon enough we'll be complaining about snow! xxoo

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  9. Well John didn't get much crap this week so he must be counting it a good week! Lucky for him all those bugs are bugging you more than he is. Squirrels are dangerous little things, they come in your fireplace and cause all sorts of havoc. Not to scare you, just to warn you.

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  10. It's too bad that man is suffering so. {So, he "earns" an indecent amount of money, and he lives beyond his means. So sad. This could take care of us for 138,000 years, if I calculated that correctly.} What he needs to do is quit whining and find a part-time job! That's what any able-bodied man would do in lean times. Get a grip, buddy!

    Katie goes out to mow the lawn in her Tiva sandals. There are no fire ant nests in the vicinity. She gets bit (or is it stung?) by a fire ant. They see her coming from a mile away. She swears there is an infestation!

    You don't listen to your daughter about killing A.N.T.S., but you go into the pool sitting like you have an ottoman in front of you as you sit on a chair...TWICE. You must be out of your mind! lol

    Apron, eh? Let's not talk about those, n'kay? Especially when they're close by.

    I have a stupid smoke alarm bleeping once about every 15 minutes. Now...Am I supposed to go down there into the other area of the house and sit for 15 minutes to figure out which one it is? I can't climb a ladder, and Katie is in bed. What am I supposed to do with this??!!!? Rats! {An infestation!!!}

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  11. Are you able to sit in a chair now? Ouch!! You made me itch just thinking about all your creepy crawlers; maybe you should take another (safe) dip in the pool. Wow, poor guy and is family. They'll definitely have to start cutting back. Thanks for sharing Suzan:-)

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  12. I think we have an over infestation of over paid athletes! Almost makes me sick.

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Due to a large amount of spam ( that I'm tired of going back to posts and deleting ) I'll be using comment moderation from now on !!!
Can I beat these spammers at their own game? Probably not - but I'm going
to try my damnedest !!!
xoxo