Women never make mistakes

I’m not kidding! That’s the actual motto of the Longshuihu village, a “women’s town” in China. Actually, the motto goes beyond that. Women never make mistakes, and men can never refuse women’s requests. Planning on touring this town as a couple? The woman gets to choose what to buy while shopping and what hotel to stay in. The disobedient man would be punished by... read more

Since when is a recipe with 18 ingredients easy?

I can’t cook. There, now we’ve gotten that out of the way. I’m a lousy, horrible cook. And yes, I’m cajun, and I STILL can’t cook. But I’m nevertheless expected to cook on occasion, usually a couple of times a week. I try to get by with serving Subway sandwiches once in a while, but now and then I have to actually put a real meal together. So I am constantly trying... read more

Early morning donkey roundup

My mornings are routine. I wake up, stumble to the coffee pot, stumble to the office, and spend the next 2 hours waking up while reading emails, blogs, etc. This morning was anything but routine. My dogs began barking wildly so I looked out the sliding glass door to see what was going on. The donkeys had come a-calling! My neighbor’s donkeys had escaped and were visiting us. There is a fence... read more

Otterly cute video

This is way too cute. Be sure to wait for the end (well, near the end), as it gets even cuter at that point. I’d add an image so you could see before playing the video if I could figure out how, and I’d add embed code if I could figure out how to do that too. But I’m getting frustrated, so for now, here’s a real cute video for you to watch. Just have to trust me on that. ... read more

Day 3 of my Quit Smoking plan

The worst appears to be over. The first two days of being nicotine-less were pretty rough. As I mentioned, I’m a cold turkey kind of gal, so no patches or gum or whatever is used these days to soften the blow. The fact that I didn’t take anyone’s head off (trust me, I so wanted to), and didn’t damage anything at all is an accomplishment. I felt terrible. Really terrible. And... read more

15 Cigarettes to go

Tonight, once this cigarette pack is empty (15 more cigs to go), I’m going to stop smoking. Actually, my household is going to stop smoking, which is an important point. I smoke a lot. A whole lot. Average days are 3 packs a day, but stressful days can be 5-packers. And I’ve been smoking for 30 years. The thing is, I also know that I have the ability to quit. I’m a “cold... read more

Getting Paid to State the Obvious

If you’ve ever wondered where some of the government’s money disappears to, here are a couple of examples. I woke up this morning to see not one, but two news stories on my local news channel that just made me spitting mad. Two separate research studies were done, and while I don’t have proof that they were funded by the government, I’d be willing to bet some government grants... read more

Wildlife Pics

The Global Wildlife Center excursion yesterday was a total blast. Here are a few photos of some of the animals we... read more

Day trips and real vacations

This Saturday, I’m finally going to get around to going to the Global Wildlife Center. I’ve been wanting to go there for years. It’s only about half an hour from where I live. Why is it that locals are the last people to visit the nearby attractions? Anyway, I’m jazzed about it. Giraffes are my favorite animals and I’ll get to see them up close and personal. I love zoos,... read more

Photo fun time

I’m bored, so I thought I’d bore you too! It’s just like visiting your inlaws house right after they return from vacation, and you have to sit through their boring slides. That’s right. Today, you get to look at some DazzlinDonna photos. Woohoo! First up is a glamour shot of me when I was 30 years old. This one always cracks me up. Next is me on my wedding day nearly 5... read more