Tom Cruise on The View

On By Michel McDonaldIn Celebrities, TVLeave a comment

This morning I wake up (late) and go into the living room and the view is on the tv set.  Now normally I’d go back in my room and get on the computer or something because I don’t normally sit and watch this show.  Rosie ruined it for me frankly.  And it’s a chick show.

But I sat there and they announced Tom Cruise.  Now normally I would get up and go into the other room if I heard his name but I sat there and watched.  This is the Tom Cruise that I like and have missed for such a long time.  He wasn’t outrageous, he didn’t jump on a couch or call Barbara Walters Glib.  He did the interview the way he should have by answering questions.

If he keeps this good behavior up he just might get back into the good graces of people and they might start paying to see his movies again.

They asked him about Jett Travolta about medication and seeing a doctor and he said that it simply isn’t true, in fact it’s the opposite, yes the scientologists take their kids to the doctor and get them medication for whatever illness they have.  His whole thing with Brooke Shields and Matt Lauer was that “he” doesn’t believe in psychiatry or something.  But that was probably his belief and not Scientology.  He was basically speechless about Jett’s death.

He finished the show and he was just perfect in this interview, just perfect.  Good for him and I hope things work out for him.

Plastic Bag Crochet

On By Michel McDonaldIn craftsLeave a comment

Plastic Bag Crochet – CRAFT Video Podcast

Last night I was looking around for recycling ideas and I found a way to recycle those plastic grocery bags you get from the store.  Instead of just throwing them away you can create things with them like you can make a more sturdy grocery bag by crocheting pieces that you cut.  I didn’t cut mine in such big pieces but I did more thinner pieces but I was able to crochet a granny square (see below) to see how easy or hard it would be.

I think this is a neat idea if you are obsessed with recycling.  As you can see in this image I didn’t finish the square but the amount you see is from exactly 1 plastic bag not including the handles.  But I did what the woman in the YouTube video (in the first paragraph) did by looping the pieces.  Since my pieces were much thinner they were also more fragile and I’m not sure how durable this square would be if I were to actually make something out of it.  I’m not sure if I turned it into a grocery bag that it wouldn’t break since the pieces are thinner.  If I wanted a grocery bag out of it then I’d cut the pieces in 1 inch pieces like she did just for the durability.

plastic-bag-granny-square

Check this out.  These women in Kenya gather plastic bags that have been dumped and they clean the bags and dry them then they crochet them into different things.

Plastic Bag Crochet Project

Patterns

Ohio Mom Killed in Home Invasion

On By Michel McDonaldIn NewsLeave a comment

Ohio Boy, 4, Found at Rest Stop After Mother Killed During Home Invasion

Man held on $5M bond in slaying of Ohio mom  – Link to news story is broken.

This really gets to me.  This 22-year-old guy in Ohio allegedly invades a home, ties the mother up and then shoots her before kidnapping her son.

“Authorities say he shot and killed the 29-year-old mother in her home and drove her son to an Interstate 70 rest area in central Ohio, where travelers found him wandering around.”

This is really disgusting.  He apologized and said “my fault”.  Pahleez!  I don’t want to hear it.

This is what they are saying on Jane Velez Mitchell on HLN that the child was raped while the mother who was tied up was forced to watch.  But the 2 news stories above don’t mention that part.

The poor kid is scared to death.  According to ABC he has no physical scars and he jumps at every little noise.

“Nelson said that while William bears no physical scars from the incident, he’s having a hard time coping with what he saw.

“He’s terrified,” Nelson said of his only child. “Loud noises are just really disturbing to him.”

“When one of William’s young cousins knocked a toy truck down the stairs, he “just from the noise from that, he jumped a mile.”

This poor child.  I really feel sorry for him.  This 22-year-old guy who did this will probably never see the light of day and he will probably be murdered in prison because the other inmates don’t like people who harm children.  And if he did indeed rape this little boy they will indeed rape him before killing him.

Bill Nye Paper Recycling Factory

On By Michel McDonaldIn GreenLeave a comment

paper-factory

Bill Nye and the Elmers company have come out with this product for kids (and older kids like me) that allows you to recycle paper. It’s called Bill Nye Paper Recycling Factory and is currently for sale at Target.com for $25

You shred paper like newspaper, paper that you printed and messed up with or like notepaper that you don’t need anymore etc.  Any paper.  Then you put it in this little bowl and mix it with water then put the lid on and crank it to mix it all up.

Once it’s all mixed up you pour it into this mold and then you press it to squeeze the water out and shape it so you get a nice piece of paper that is the perfect size that you are looking for.

You can make it into card stock for greeting cards, small sheets for note pads and on the cover of the box they have a star-shaped plate to make star paper.  I’m sure there are lots of shapes.

I think this is good for kids so you can have them make their own paper from your newspapers so they can color and draw on so you aren’t wasting any more paper.  If they make a mistake, they can recycle that sheet too hehe.

I would like to get this to make card stock for making greeting cards.  I’m sure that you would be able to put this paper into your printer to print on if it is solid enough and smooth enough just like regular paper is.  And I’m sure you can add food coloring to it so you can have colored paper instead of just white.

Game Stop

On By Michel McDonaldIn Games, PSPLeave a comment

I haven’t been able to get to Game Stop yet to use my $25 gift card that I got from e-rewards because we haven’t gone to the mall yet.  I don’t want to make a special trip just for this.

I went to Game Stops website to check what they have and to see if it’s in stock or not but I’m sure by the time I get there those games won’t be there anymore.  So… I guess I have to just wait until we get there to see what they have.

I would like Untold Legends (1 of the 2) or Ratchet and Clank.  That game has a Daxter look to it, graphics wise that is.  I do plan on buying used though because it doesn’t matter to me if it’s new or used, they don’t get scratched up like a regular CD or DVD does.

I was hoping that they would have either the GPS or the Camera available by the time I got this but even if it was available I don’t have the money to cover the rest of the cost of it.  At least with used games I can get a couple, or a few depending on the cost.  And if it goes over by a couple of dollars I can certainly cover that.  I wouldn’t ever buy a movie only because I would probably only watch it once, there are only so many movies I’d watch over and over again.

Jett Travolta

On By Michel McDonaldIn CelebritiesLeave a comment

My heart goes out to the family of Jett Travolta.  The Travolta family, John, Kelly Preston and their 2 children were in the Bahamas enjoying a family vacation and their son Jett allegedly had a seizure and fell and hit his head and he passed away.  I don’t know the exact details though so that’s why I say allegedly.

I had seizures when I was an infant all the way up until I was about 15 years old.  I had grandmall and petimall type seizures.  I wasn’t epileptic though but I have a feeling that my seizures weren’t because of epilepsy but instead because of a medication they were giving me.

When I was born I was really shaky.  I had a mild tremble in both my hands which I still have to this day.  I was given Dilantin for the shaking and I ended up having seizures.  They stopped giving it to me for many years, I believe from age 9 until 14, then started giving it to me again when I was 15 and the seizures started up again but they still didn’t contribute it to the Dilantin.  They switched me to Mysolin (sp?) and I had a severe allergic reaction to that medicine and nearly died.  All of a sudden I had a rash from head to toe and that’s the bodies way of telling you that it doesn’t like the medication you are giving it.

Well, back to the Travolta family.  I personally like John Travolta.  I watched Grease a billion times in the 70’s, my sister and I would do the duets together because we both had the entire script memorized lol.  Sad I know.  I especially love that he doesn’t shove Scientology down peoples throats like Mr. Cruise did for 1 year.  He just does his thing and I like that.  He and Kirsty Alley who I love too.  I personally wish that people would stop reporting on Jett’s tragedy because it was an accidental death.  Nobody is to blame and just leave them alone.

I heard on some news show yesterday, I think it was Nancy Grace, she was talking about the release of the autopsy results to the media, she was actually defending the family saying it was a private matter that there was no wrong doing so it is absolutely none of anybody’s business and they absolutely should not release the autopsy results which I totally 100% agree with.  It was a tragedy and the Travolta’s deserve their privacy during this tough time in their lives.

Don’t Text and Drive

On By Michel McDonaldIn Daily BlogLeave a comment

As of January 1st 2009 it is illegal to text while driving.  Ok, who does this?  Seriously.  I have trouble picking up a drink while driving then trying to find the place to put it back.  I can’t even eat an ice cream cone while driving without worrying I’m going to end up in a ditch if ice cream drips and falls on my leg when I’m wearing shorts. (This was my experience while doing a driving lesson, Darrin insisted on buying me a soda and ice cream on my first lesson… nice eh?  lol)

Well, now that you can’t text and drive anymore you have much more time to watch tv or play Daxter on your new PSP-3000.  Just make sure you look over the PSP every once in a while to make sure you see the road but of course pause your game first if you think about it.  And while you’re at it, shave while driving or if you are a woman,  put on your eye liner in the mirror.  Don’t forget to make sure you have a lot of sloppy food while you eat.

Seriously though, it’s so dangerous, keep your eyes on the road and don’t get ME killed because you have to text something to someone.  It’s so stupid.

Obama Stimulus

On By Michel McDonaldIn PoliticalLeave a comment

FOREX-Dollar boosted by Obama stimulus, ECB rate cut view

“U.S. President-elect Barack Obama, seeking as much as $310 billion in tax cuts, is proposing that about 40 percent of the package worth up to $775 billion be in the form of tax breaks.”

Barack Obama is looking to give the American people another stimulus package but not the way Bush did in 2008.  Instead this will be in the form of a tax break.  How does this work exactly?  If you are a regular low/middle class citizen working in fast food, grocery, retail, furniture sales etc. and you already have money taken out of your checks every week to pay taxes, how will this work?  Especially if every year you get money back from your taxes.

I can remember when I turned 18 I had to start filing my taxes and at tax season my sister took me to H&R Block and they did my taxes with my pay stubs and I usually got a few hundred dollars back.  This was in the 80’s though.  I can remember when I was 23 and went to H&R Block they said I owed $50.  I was really looking forward to getting some money because I was broke by that point.  I asked why I owed because they took taxes out of EVERY paycheck and they said it had to do with George Bush Sr., whatever he did to taxes in the early 90’s.  Although, I seem to recall that Clinton was president when this happened in 1994.

Anyway, if someone is on SSI, do they get a check at tax season or do they just have to deal with getting nothing?  I guess we will all find out in a few months.

Elf Marathon

On By Michel McDonaldIn TVLeave a comment

The USA channel is replaying the movie Elf over and over and over again today for 24 hours straight.  Imagine, 24 hours of the same movie over and over and over again.

It was an ok movie, it wasn’t wonderful, it certainly doesn’t bear repeating 12 times in a row.  Come on USA channel, what are you doing?  Cable channels repeat the same movies over and over again in the same month so you know if you miss it when it’s on you can see that it will be on again and you can wait until then.  Don’t repeat the same thing over and over sheesh lol.