OMG... It's Kylie's Birthday

How could this have possibly slipped our minds. Geez, do I gotta do everything around this place? Serve the drinks, park the PPT, dust the chandelier, water the plants, and keep Severus and Jorge in line. OK, I'll be the party planner too.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KYLIE!!!!

The natives are celebrating!

There are underwater parties going on!

Squirrels are getting into the act!

It's a feline fiasco in the cat world!

Dogs are drinking up a storm!

Badgers are bringing on the brew!

Even world leaders are toasting Kylie's Birthday!

Hugs from the whole crew at the Wild Onion Cafe :)

A serious side of the Onion

I know that Kylie's posts have been fun, but today I would like to talk about something serious.

Today, I want to talk about a disease that effects around 70,000 people (world wide).

70,000 people world wide you say, gosh that is just a small fraction of people, but what if I told you that %60 of those 70,000 people were children?

I am talking about a disease called Cystic Fibrosis.

What Is Cystic Fibrosis?
Cystic fibrosis is an inherited chronic disease that affects the lungs and digestive system of about 30,000 children and adults in the United States. A defective gene and its protein product cause the body to produce unusually thick, sticky mucus that:
clogs the lungs and leads to life-threatening lung infections; and
obstructs the pancreas and stops natural enzymes from helping the body break down and absorb food.

In the 1950s, few children with cystic fibrosis lived to attend elementary school. Today, advances in research and medical treatments have further enhanced and extended life for children and adults with CF. Many people with the disease can now expect to live into their 30s, 40s and beyond.
About 1,000 new cases of cystic fibrosis are diagnosed each year.
More than 70% of patients are diagnosed by age two.
More than 40% of the CF patient population is age 18 or older.
The predicted median age of survival for a person with CF is more than 37 years.
Adding tomorrows every day expresses the mission—and results—of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s steadfast efforts to extend the length and quality of life for people with cystic fibrosis (CF). CF presents daily challenges for approximately 30,000 Americans. But life with the disease is far different today than it was 50, 30, or even 10 years ago.
Perhaps the best evidence that many people with cystic fibrosis are living longer is the fact that more than 40 percent of the CF patient population is now age 18 or older. Recently developed therapies and specialized care have enabled people with CF to gain greater control over their disease. So, children and adults are not only living longer, but also living a better quality of life.
People living with cystic fibrosis must follow a regular treatment routine to stay healthy and maintain optimal lung function.
Most often, treatment for cystic fibrosis begins with techniques to trigger strong coughs that help loosen and clear thick mucus from the airways. Of course, airway clearance is just one part of the treatment routine. Nutrition and drug therapies are also important for children and adults with cystic fibrosis.

Now I would like to introduce you to someone living with Cystic Fibrosis.
Meet Joshua

Joshua is 20 months old, and he was diagnosed with CF when he was ten days old. This was the most devastating news new parents could have ever received. His parents thought that Joshua was perfectly healthy. He looked fine, and they thought it was impossible that he could be sick. That's the thing about CF. On the outside these guys look great, but on the inside things are terribly wrong. Joshua has to take several medications and do several difficult breathing treatments every day just to keep his lungs healthy. He cannot absorb fat from his food, therefore, he must take medicine every time he eats just to gain weight. His parents believe that God has helped Joshua stay healthy this far. He has not had any respiratory infections that required hospitalization, and he is in the 90th percentile for both height and weight. They have learned to live with this disease and make the best of their lives with it, but they and thousands like them, would love to see a cure in Joshua's lifetime. Please help us make CF stand for Cure Found instead of Cystic Fibrosis. To learn more about CF and the CF Foundation, visit www.cff.org.

On Saturday May 2, 2009 Joshua's mother is going to participate in a walk, called Great Strides. It is the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation's largest and most successful national fund-raising event. You can help Joshua and thousands of children just like him by donating to this great cause.

Joshua is a beautiful baby. I have held this little guy in my arms and loved and kissed on him many times. I love this child and his parents as if they were my own family. If you would like to make a donation to help Joshua and his parents, please click on this link and follow the directions to a brighter future for Joshua and countless others. http://www.cff.org/Great_Strides/ElisabethPhilbrick6031

Thank you for your support.

Sincerely,

Cece

who said i'm randy? this is randy

dick in the box

moaning and mournful

it's me again!!! yay for all you guys, what a joy :)

the picture is irrelevant but i thought leah might like him.................?

look, what i'm here for is to tell you that i opened a new account for a blog called "moaning and mournful"

i was thinking of creating a safe place to whinge, moan, cry, spout off, be self pitying............

you know, all that stuff

i don't know if we need it or want it and i dont know how to operate it:

invited authors and readers only?

public blog but unadvertised?

chuck in your ideas and we'll try to streamline it or kill it

cheers!

ok, i have sent invites and made moaning & mournful open only to authors so you won't be able to access it unless you have done the blogger registration.

if you didnt get an invite and you want one, let me know

a bit of weekend inspiration

Robyn's Birthday...

Ohno and Robyn's bouquet.

Next week, on the 16th is Robyn's birthday. I realize today I won't be able to drive down as I did last year to deliver flowers and a card. I have appointments. And if I do, I'll be driving in rush hour traffic. Suzy cannot drive in rush hour traffic!!!!

If you chose to, here's the water tower before the exit. Trust me, you can't miss it! It's really, really big.

Yummy.

Ah yes...the old BMW. Rembember when! No really. Remember?!

Last year's bouquet.

Parking at the convenience store to find directions. Yup, I got lost. CHIPS was no help. The store clerk gave me directions.

What? You expect something remarkable? Please. I do the best I can.

XO

Just Dance!

Let's not let this bar git all moribund and stuff...






Whew! These kids, today...they ain't got nothin' on us.

I am getting no cooperation from my peep. So I will taunt you with New Yorker Magazine jokes. Wow. That's really small! But the one above has a bit of potential. Bob, you awake?

Okay, let's move it along. I'm no longer as popular as I once was, and it's painful. I'm a Leo. It's painful. Let's move it along. Someone put up a new post so I don't have to suffer.

This day has been hilarious from beginning to end. Why? Who knows!

~

No, that's not me. That's some Victoria Secrets model. I'm neither that beautiful nor that sexy, but my nightie sorta looks like that, just cotton, so use your imagination. I woke to the sound of the garbage truck and was out of bed like a bolt of lightning because I suspected the bins hadn't been taken to the curb. Ran to the window. Nope, they hadn't. I was running around like a mad woman looking for my flip flops, the car keys and my sweater, but couldn't find a damn thing, which of course made T-Bone nutty. He's developed this wacky sort of protective thing since his dad left. He blocks my way. I was trying to run down the hallway and couldn't get past him. "Move." "MOVE!!!" He still wouldn't move. I pushed him aside, ran out the door with no shoes and in only my nightie. Oh, forgot to mention...in the pouring rain!!! Only to see my beloved trash collector drive away. "But you forgot me" I yelled! My neighbor was walking by with her darling Shar Pei and said "Suzanne, are you okay? " I replied "What about this doesn't make you think I am?"

~

My trash collector used to go down our side of the street, then turn around and come up the other side so I had time to flag him down. For some reason he's abandoned me. He just keeps going. So I have to get in the car and chase him down! But I couldn't find the keys this time. I ran back inside and looked and looked. No keys. I was wet, cold, and yes, pissed.
~
I fed everyone, did my morning chores, then I heard it. The garbage truck. I'd found the keys and was off. I had flip flops but was still only in my nightie. I hailed her down a block away. Yes, in the pouring rain. "Please, please, please come back for my trash." She said she hadn't been to my block yet. What? Yes, you were there. I saw you. The bins are empty on my side of the street. She told me she'd be there shortly. I drove home. Pulled in the driveway and thought "What?" Went back to tell her she had been there, only to realize she was the "Yard Waste" truck. We laughted. She was not a kind woman at first, but by the end we were laughing so damn hard. She gave me a flyer with the number to call for a "missed" pickup. I called immediately. The woman on the other end of the phone said "How are you?" I replied "Wet." And told her the story. She said "You know this is being recorded." I said "I don't care." We were laughing so hard and she said "You know, this is going to go down in history." Good. It should.
~
I was getting ready to go to the park and I heard it. It was going up the same street, so knew it couldn't be Yard Waste again...it had to be TRASH!!! Still in my nightie and flip flops I bolted out the door in the pouring rain and drove "Black Beauty" to the location. HALLELUJAH There he was. "HI HONEY!!!" How could he resist a woman in a nightie in the pouring rain. He got out, showed me his map and asked where I was. I said "There!" He said, "I haven't done the opposite side of the street yet (yes I know), so just take your bin across the street and I'll pick it up." I drove back, parked and proceeded to take my bin across the street. God please help me!!! Still in flip flops and a nightie and in the pouring rain. Heavy. Very, very heavy and difficult to get across the street because there's a bit of an incline! I started laughing and couldn't stop. Seriously, I couldn't stop laughing. And the more I laughed, the more I couldn't move that damn thing. The life of a newly single woman.


Finally got it there. Before I left for the park I took this photo. No, not a good photo. It's raining. But I accomplished something!

I took this photo for Bindi. She loves Jasmine, and it's blooming, so I picked this bouquet for her.

Before leaving for the park this morning I saw this. Phatty Foo Foo. Phatty is one of my feral rescues and one of the best kitties in the whole world.

I was at the park in the pouring rain this morning. I always try to out race the rain, but this morning it was relentless and I was unable. I was walking back to the car in the pouring rain and then it stopped. I started laughing and couldn't stop. Why? Because what woman would be crazy enough to do what I do every day? Really?! Who? And I started to laugh. I'm coming up on my 2 year anniversary. Only one day missed. The day of the big storm that took our tree. I'm proud of what I've done. I'm grateful for the kitties I've rescued, those that are spay and neutered, those that have a better life. I'm grateful and honored. I've lost so many cats, but they showed me the way. I honestly believe they were my destiny. I believe that with all my heart. So as I walked down the bike trail this morning, I looked at the trees I know so well, and my lone car. I'm the only one at the park, and it's a place that's made me brave and strong. It's been a place of peace and heartbreak. It's seen me through a divorce. You would think this place would scare me, but it doesn't. It's made me strong. I cherish this place. I do.

My dream. A shabby chic sofa. All $3,000 of it. No, I can't afford it.
But Ikea came up with a knock-off last year

A chair too.

And an ottoman!

~

All for just over a thousand dollars. Still couldn't afford it. Until....I walked into the thrift store two days ago. I saw the sofa. I wouldn't look. Knew it had to be at least $200. Wouldn't look. Then I looked. $49.99. I nearly died. It was dirty. Looked liked some kid had rubbed charcole all over a pillow, but it was a slip cover. Easily laundered. I checked under the slip cover. New. A band new sofa. I tore off the ticket and never looked back. I found the ottoman. Asked the clerk about it. It didn't have a price because it was being sold with the chair and the chair was bought just moments before I arrived. DAMN! I said "If I buy the sofa can I get the ottoman free?" She said "No, how about $5." SOLD! It's a $150 ottoman!!! I have a new Shabby Chic sofa and ottoman, but no chair. I feel lucky. It's taken two days to get everything laundered, and I swear to God I was putting the slips on the seat cushions a few hours ago and the kitties all ran to watch. I believe they think Mommy is "Carnie Folk." I never cease to amaze them!

With love,

Me

meter maids

this is where i'm going.......
to a holiday mecca where local businesses sponsor meter maids to put money in expired parking meters


i'm going to interview for a position

but kylie is not tired at all

poor megan is tired of being a sex symbol

that was a dumb post down there. what do ya think of this?

i bet you can't guess what i googled to get this picture ??????

Introducing A New Beverage

To go with our lovely new menu items, I've added a new drink that is sure to make you want to wear tights and pretend to be a super hero. Introducing the new:

Cafe Mocha Vodka Marijuana Latte!

Who wants the first one? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?