Rant: I'll think of one. Give me a minute.

Rave: The new VW Passat commercial.

Rant: Nuclear weapons

Rave: Just got back from an awesome discussion between NPR's Mike Shuster and author/ senior fellow, natl. security archive Jeffrey T. Richelson on American nuclear intelligence

jorr, Is that the one where they have a wreck? I don't know the car, but I love the one where the dog's hanging his ummm... ba out the window.

Rant: the high cost of a decent bottle of Oregon pinot noir (you gotta live here to understand).

Rave: reasonable prices on great bottles of CA zin.

Rant II: anxiety, for whatever reason. Peace to those suffering from it.

Raves: Um, I hesitate to mention a military subject ;-) but the F-15s in town are awfully fun to watch.
Husband is recovering nicely from tooth extractions.
So many interesting people in our lives right now.

Rant: Not enough time to do everything I want.

To all those lucky enough to still have mothers, enjoy Mother's Day!

April, when the jets flew over in Jax from the Naval Air Station, I was like a little kid every time .. I see them now and then here in Portland too. Very cool

Rant: bugs, I hate bugs. Almost all bugs. Ladybugs are fine, at least they are ladylike. But big bugs, squirmy bugs, grasshoppers and spider bugs, ugh.

Rant:
Pup has a "thing" on his side. He is taking antibiotics and it is slowly getting smaller ( internal)..if it goes away, Great. If not, Surgery
Rave:
This dog will let me do anything to him and will kiss me when I am through. How did we get so lucky to get this Pup ?

Rave:
Soooo many more positive good people around than the few snarky ones.

Happy Mothers Day to all of you..and to those who are waiting to be Mothers

Rave: Mothers..may they always know how much they are loved and appreciated.

Rant: Nothing..it has been a good week.

Rave: Grandson's that keep getting more and more mature and are so interested in having a good successful life. I am so proud of them!

Rave: Our weather, it is summertime here and it is fabulous. And all the rain we had throughout a good part of spring has evidently been a good thing for the plants and trees. The trees have grown so tall since last year. The greenery of the trees, plants and ground covering are such a vibant green!

Rave: I will say again, one of my biggest raves are my friends as well as my family. I am truly blessed with such beautiful and wonderful people in my life.

I hope all mothers, women that have been motherly to others, and women that will become mothers have a truly beautiful weekend. Hugs to all of you!

Rave: Enjoyed a beautiful Commencement yesterday. It was wonderful that both of my sons and husband could attend.

Rave: I acted like such a ham, waving and blowing kisses.

Rave: I received two awards! One for Academic Excellence (nerdy, I know) and another for Outstanding Service to the Community. It just goes to show that you can teach an old dog new tricks, lol.

Rave: My sons gave me a combination Mother's Day/graduation gift -- a beautiful frame for my Diploma. What a surprise!

Rave: My DH and I are headed into Manhattan for the night to celebrate both my graduation and his 51st birthday. Dinner reservations at the River Cafe - finally happy to use the gift certificate that our sons gave us a while back.

Rave: Happy Mother's Day

Wishing peace and joy to the women in our lives who love us.

Rant: Mom is scheduled for surgery on Tuesday....full hysterectomy and removal of lymph nodes.

Hopeful Rave: It seems to be type I cancer that might not require chemotherapy afterwards....we need pathology results after the surgery to confirm this.

Dissappointed Rant: Sister cancelled her wedding (year and a half on the planning) that was to be the first week of June. The reasons are mostly unrelated to Mom's illness but I guess that it made Sis more sensitive than usuual

Half rave: Sis and BIL-might-be seem not to be breaking up officially so the wedding might just be postponed for a few months (years?)...at 23 and 25 they are way to young to marry anyway.

Political RANT: the government of Puerto Rico has partially closed laid off 95,000 employees due to lack of funds to get them to the end of the fiscal year. Petty party affiliations allowed this to get this far. Pending approval of a loan by the House and Senate today everyone might go back to work on Monday.

Minor rant: I am so tired and stressed out by work and preparations for Mom's surgery that I just cannot get in the spirit of Mother's day celebrations. I really should have planned a big bash for my Mom before the surgery but I just cannot find the energy to host this in my house.....

Rave: I am healthy, DD is healthy, DH is healthy, I have a decently paid job and no debt, vacation in July should not be threathened by Mom's surgery now that it will be performed sooner than later, I have a great boss...If I keep on with this list I might find the energy to have that party after all...

To all Fodorsville: have a great weekend and a wonderful Mother's Day. Big hugs to all that feel deep sorrow when these celebrations come along.

To all the moms, Happy Mother's Day!!

Scarlett--I hope your sweet puppy's "thing" goes away. He seems like such a precious little baby.

STW--Congratulations!!! We, your Fodorite family, are so proud of you!!!

Marigross--I am sorry for your sister's circumstances. I hope that everyone will be able to see hope and light for better days soon. Prayers and thoughts for your mother, you, and your family. I wonder if your mom would rather just be together for mother's day and not have you stressing out about a huge celebration anyway.

Rave: My dad is out of the hospital and doing better.

Rave: I'm finally making some kind of headway in regards to my mom's financial paperwork. There's so much, and it was so overwhelming esp b/c she kept my dad as the beneficiary, so there's been a lot of red tape and stuff to go through. But we're getting there!

Rave: Only one more full week of school left, and then finals!!!!! Wooooo-hooooooooooooooooo!!!!

I hope that this Mother's Day is a blessed and special one to all mothers out there. And for those women who don't have daughters, I am confident that you have been like a mother to at least one person in your life. Don't underestimate your influence on others. Have a great weekend!

STW, Congratulations to you!!!

Rave- my oldest daughter flies home tomorrow!
Rant- She'll be home for only a week!

Rave- but other daughter gets here next week!

Rave- got my latest trip report half done this evening!

SeeTW: congratulations! Being a nerd is fun at our age!

Scarlett: I know Pup will be fine. How could he not be with a "mom" like you who noticed this nice and early? BTW, When is the Portland GTG? I want to meet pup!

Rave- Fodorites! I am constantly amazed by the acts of kindness and help given here. The good people way offset the few mean, aggressive and **strange** posters.

Happy Mothers Day to all you moms!

Rant: "Sports Hunters" MSN recently reported that Jim Martell paid $50,000. to kill a wild hybrid Polar/Grizzly Bear near Iqaluit, Nunavut.

Rave: We wished all a Happy (Mexican) Mother's Day on 10 May and now get to send all the gringa moms best wishes for your Mother's Day on Sunday.

Rant: lj1015 Terrorists and the eventual possibility they will possess nuclear weapons.

Rant: bb The wines we get from Chile and Argentina are good values, but can get boring. Wish we had some decent PN.

Rant/Rave: Have to buy gas which I do about every 8 weeks - last Pemex stop was $2.68 US/gal for 92 Oct Premium. I'll let you know.

Feliz fin de semana.

M

Rave: Bill O'Reilly

Rant: Steve Colbert

Making fun of the President undermines his protecting us. He makes us safe.

Rave: Funny posts (see above)

RAVE: Had an amnio this week...it apperas 90% certain we are having a...BOY! We are very surprised and I, being a very girly girl, have no idea where to begin.

Rave: COngrats to the graduates!

Happy Mothers Day to all and my thoughts with those of you going through difficult times.

Scarlett: could that "thing" be a lipoma (which ABX won't help so if it is getting smaller then I guess it isn't one)

Rave: people who love their pets as much as I do

Rave: My silly stinky kitties! They are so sweet and make me laugh!

Rant: Fleas yikes! Both are indoor cats and are allergic! Makes them cranky!

seetheworld, congrats!

marigross, sending good thoughts your way for your surgery!

MizScarlett that silly sweet puppy! Whatever would we do without our pets?

Ani: just have him; being a boy he'll tell you exactly how to proceed!

Scarlett, I hope Pup's health continues to improve.

STW, congratulations and enjoy your night out!

Marigross, prayers and good thoughts for your mother and your sister.

Divingaggie, I'm so glad to hear that your father is doing better.

Enjoy your time with your daughter, Icuy. Mine should be home within the week so I know just how you feel!

semperfid, if you'd like to live in a country that allows no opposition to the government, there are many from which to choose. I pray to God that the US will never be one of them.

Ani, congrats on the boy! The mother/son bond is a wonderful thing! Which leads me to my rave...

Rave: I'm very proud of my son. He just made a very tough decision.

Conan O'Brian is doing his show in Chicago this week. Someone screwed up and didn't issue enough advance tickets. So every morning this week everyone who has gone to stand in line for standby tickets has gotten in to the show.

My son has been a huge Conan fan since 7th grade. (While I've never done any research on the matter, I strongly suspect that Conan's biggest fan base is males between the ages of 12 and 25!) Add to that the fact that one of the guests tonight is Barack Obama, a man my son admires very much.

Several of my son's friends were skipping school (their parents called them in sick) to take the train down and stand in line for tickets. My son desparately wants to be with them! But he's on the varsity tennis team and conferences are scheduled to start today. However, it rained all day yesterday and, according to every weathercast he could find, it's probably going to do the same today. We're also supposed to have fairly strong winds. So the chances that they will play tennis today are next to none. It's actually supposed to rain for the next few days. So conference will probably have to be pushed back until sometime next week.

Believe me, all of this made for quite a dilemma for a 16 year old boy! But, all on his own, he made the right choice. He's in school! Probably not enjoying it very much, but he's there!
And watching him decide to do the right thing this morning was the best Mother's Day gift I could get!

And thank you, Fodorites, for giving me this opportunity to brag. Where else would I dare be this obnoxious?!

Happy Mother's Day! Have a wonderful weekend!

rave: the pool is 85 and we're goin swimmin this weekend!

rave: Talking to my old students last night who were thoughtful enough to drop by during open house.

rave: The goslings are hatching out at the baylands and I love to watch them learn how to paddle around behind their moms and dads.

rave: 36 more days until out trip to St. John.

rave: My plantar fasciitis is finally starting to get better!

absolutely no rants worth mentioning!

-Bill