Jenyfer Matthews

I have to admit, I’m not a huge fan of facial hair - in spite of the fact that hubby has sported a goatee for years now. Although some men actually look better with facial hair. I once had a boss who had a goatee when I met him. Apparently it was fairly new because no one else in our office liked it at all. He shaved it off a few months into my employment and I actually missed it. It was a good look for him. At this point I kind of think I’d have a similar reaction if hubby shaved his goatee off. He had lasic eye surgery a few years ago and I still sort of miss his glasses.

I can live with a well maintained goatee (obviously) but full beards and lone mustaches? Not a fan. And clearly from this tongue-in-cheek article, Great Moustaches of Rock, I’m not alone in my feelings about moustaches. Though I’m sure these guys couldn’t care less - they’re rock legends after all.

What do you think about facial hair? Love it? Hate it? A little goes a long way?

I kind of like the five o’clock shadow look but it’s not much fun to get up close and personal with - unless you yourself like to sport the red chin look…

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone out there celebrating today. My family and I are going on an overnight trip to an area of Egypt called Fayyum so our holiday meal will be postponed until Sunday. I’ll tell you all about the trip (with photos!) next week!

When you’re done with your dinner, check out this quiz and see how much you know about Thanksgiving.

And don’t forget to stop by over the weekend when J. L. Wilson is here with her book ENDURANCE from her paranormal romance series The History Patrol.

One odd thing about Egypt that I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned before is that doctors practicing here often have evening hours as a matter of course. So far as I can tell, they will work a rotating and floating schedule - a few days a week at this clinic, a few days at that one, a few hours here, a few hours there. You get the idea. They may be across town on a Monday afternoon and in your neck of the woods on Tuesday evening.

Going out for doctor appointments in the evening isn’t my idea of a good time, but on the up-side you can normally get a appointment the same day you call the office. And evening hours do work out well for children who are in school during the day - provided it’s the early evening. I was once offered an appointment for an MRI at 11pm! I waited a whole day so I could go in at noon instead!

I took my son to the doctor the other evening and since I forgot to bring my own book, I looked through their selection of magazines instead. There are plenty of magazines produced locally, but few are in English so I can’t read any of them. But this time I found one that was just fascinating.

(click image to enlarge)

Written by Egyptians for Egyptians (in English? Why?), the editor’s note on the inside cover says:

The first time the magazine was launched last March 07, the words “Just Divorced” and “magazine” uttered together made some people immediately envision Divorce in their future. The rationale behind it though, was that each and every family witnesses the subject of divorce in one way or another and has many unanswered questions, but no publication has ever put it all in one place. Fortunately, this has changed and people now see it as it really is - a useful and interesting resource for anyone trying to improve their life to start a new slate so they don’t end up divorced.
{…}
Of course, we understand that divorce is a loaded word - one that holds a negative connotation for some. But it doesn’t have to be negative. We see divorce not as a failure but as an essential learning experience - experiences if not always building blocks to future success, then at least a necessary part of life. It is not a problem as many like to believe but a solution to a problem!

Okay, I can see where they are going with this idea and it’s not a bad one - though I’m still not sure about that title. And I’m sure that many many people have viewed getting a divorce as “a solution to a problem”! Maybe it’s just me, but just from scanning their table of contents, is their reporting style a tiny bit skewed? Women - you better look your best or you’ll end up a poor cruel single mother. Guys don’t worry - you can be a great single dad!

I’m almost looking forward to the follow up visit to see what other reading material the waiting area has to offer! And by the way - follow up visits with doctors are very often free or at least discounted. Now that’s a system I’d like to export…

BTW, little man has a plantar’s wart on his big toe. Now maybe he’ll listen to me when I tell him not to run around barefoot!

You might have to be over a certain age to appreciate this, but I ran across a list of the 25 Cheesiest Hits of the 1970s the other day and found it hysterical. I actually liked a lot of these songs. I defy you to look at - and listen to - the songs listed and not get one of them caught in your head. Some of them were pretty catchy

I think the author of this list missed some great tunes though. What about “Lola” by Barry Manilow (or any of his others)? “Muskrat Love” by The Captain and Tenille? How about “I Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor or “Afternoon Delight” by Starland Vocal Band? “Fernando” by Abba? “Stayin’ Alive” by the BeeGees?

What was your favorite or least favorite 70s song? Which ones do you think were the cheesiest?

Try explaining to an almost-six-year-old why they can’t request that you throw them a surprise party - or even what a surprise party is. I went through this with my son yesterday. He insisted that he could too keep a secret.

Then just imagine the logistics of actually trying to throw a surprise party for a young child. The tears (and tantrum) that would ensue from the oh-is-it-your-birthday? sorry-there’s-no-party fake out. Wait, SURPRISE!!!! They’d be both confused and scarred for life. And how about getting the party guests to keep the secret? It would have to be a surprise party from the guests as well or else someone would spill the beans.

As frustrating as it was to try to explain to my son why we weren’t throwing him a surprise party, it was such an absurd scenario, it made me giggle.

Party plans progress: the boy has decided he wants water play in the backyard. I’ll pump up our large wading pool (with slide), put out a slip-n-slide, and turn on the sprinkler. I stocked up on popsicles, Bugles, and juice and will buy a watermelon later in the week. If I can find the gooey Halloween party favors I bought last spring (what can I say - it’s Egypt!) then I’ll be all set!

Though I don’t currently own a car, I really like driving. I can remember every car I’ve ever owned, some with more affection than others, and when I’m thinking up a new character I usually know what sort of car they would drive even if their car never appears in the story. So when I saw this Blogthings test, how could I resist?

You Should Drive a Pink Car

You’re the type of driver who really loves your car. You can make a car last for ages - or take good care of a vintage ride. You’re independent, creative, and very expressive. You consider your car a part of you … and you want to make it as funky as possible.

Go on, take the test. But don’t blame me if you kill an hour or two at Blogthings…it’s addictive…

Don’t forget to stop by tomorrow when Blair Bancroft will be my featured author. She’s got a blurb for her September release Steeplechase and also lots of great tips for all the aspiring writers out there.

This made me laugh so I thought I’d pass it on

MEN ARE JUST HAPPIER PEOPLE

NICKNAMES

If Laura, Kate and Sarah go out for lunch, they will call each other Laura, Kate and Sarah.

If Mike, Dave and John go out, they will affectionately refer to each other as Fat Boy, Godzilla and Four-eyes.

EATING OUT
When the bill arrives, Mike, Dave and John will each throw in $20, even though it’s only for $32.50. None of them will have anything smaller and none will actually admit they want change back.

When the girls get their bill, out come the pocket calculators.

MONEY
A man will pay $2 for a $1 item he needs.

A woman will pay $1 for a $2 item that she doesn’t need but it’s on sale.

BATHROOMS
A man has six items in his bathroom: toothbrush and toothpaste, shaving cream, razor, a bar of soap, and a towel .

The average number of items in the typical woman’s bathroom is 337. A man would not be able to identify more than 20 of these items.

ARGUMENTS

A woman has the last word in any argument.

Anything a man says after that is the beginning of a new argument.

FUTURE

A woman worries about the future until she gets a husband.

A man never worries about the future until he gets a wife.

SUCCESS

A successful man is one who makes more money than his wife can spend.

A successful woman is one who can find such a man.

MARRIAGE

A woman marries a man expecting he will change, but he doesn’t.

A man marries a woman expecting that she won’t change, but she does.

DRESSING UP

A woman will dress up to go shopping, water the plants, empty the trash, answer the phone, read a book, and get the mail.

A man will dress up for weddings and funerals.

NATURAL

Men wake up as good-looking as they went to bed.

Women somehow deteriorate during the night.

OFFSPRING

Ah, children. A woman knows all about her children. She knows about dentist appointments and romances, best friends, favorite foods, secret fears and hopes and dreams.

A man is vaguely aware of some short people living in the house.

Told you it was funny

I got this by email and it was too cute not to pass along:

A boss wondered why one of his most-valued employees had phoned in sick one day. Having an urgent problem with one of the main computers, he dialed the employee’s home phone number and was greeted with a child’s whisper.

“Hello.”

“Is your daddy home?” he asked.

“Yes,” whispered the small voice.

“May I talk with him?”

The child whispered, “No.”

Surprised and wanting to talk with an adult, the boss asked, “Is your Mommy there?”

“Yes.”

“May I talk with her?”

Again the small voice whispered, “No.”

Hoping there was somebody with whom he could leave a message, the boss asked, “Is anybody else there?”

“Yes,” whispered the child. “A policeman!”

Wondering what a cop would be doing at his employee’s home, the boss asked, “May I speak with the policeman?”

“No, he’s busy,” whispered the child.

“Busy doing what?”

“Talking to Daddy and Mommy and the Fireman,” came the whispered answer.

Growing more worried as he heard what sounded like a helicopter through the ear piece on the phone, the boss asked, “What is that noise?”

“A helicopter,” answered the whispering voice.

“What is going on there?” demanded the boss, now truly apprehensive.

Again whispering, the child answered, “The search team just landed the helicopter.”

Alarmed, concerned and a little frustrated, the boss asked, “What are they searching for?”

Still whispering, the young voice replied with a muffled giggle: “ME.”

more cat pictures

It’s not cow country in northern Minnesota but I’m on my way to have lots of country life fun!

Do you have an inner voice? One that talks to you and gives you glimpses of what will happen next? I’m not claiming psychic power - nothing as powerful as that. What would you the small-time flashes I experience? Intuition?

My voice never tells me anything truly useful like a lottery number. But often someone will spring to mind and I’ll think, “hmmm…I haven’t heard from X in a while, I should call/email them” and within minutes that person will either call or pop into my inbox.

I took my children to a July 4th party sponsored by the US Embassy in Cairo over the weekend. Upon entering the grounds, everyone was assigned a wristband - for security reasons and also a door prize. During the first round of door prizes awarded, they called out each prize before they called the winning number. One prize up for grabs was a year’s membership to a local Curves gym. I thought to myself “just what I need - if I won that I’d never have an excuse not to exercise again!”

Who do you think won that prize??(!!)

Sometimes I get sudden flashes of accidents that might occur. Like a few months ago when I was in the kitchen at dinner time chopping ears of corn in half. I thought to myself, “self, you better be careful or you’ll cut off your finger”. I apparently didn’t heed my own warning because moments later I chopped a significant chunk off the end of my index finger - and I have the scar to prove it.

I’m getting better about heeding the flashes of insight as they occur - particularly when they relate to an injury that might befall my children. What about you guys? I don’t often hear men claiming flashes of insight like these - is it really just a woman thing?

I have Nina to thank for reminding me of the existence of Blogthings. Not sure how fitting the below description is but now I’m hungry…

You Are Mud Pie

You’re the perfect combo of flavor and depth. You are overpowering and dominant - and that’s what people like about you. You bring energy and a new direction to most interactions. People crave you in a serious way. You’re that important to them. Those who like you give into their impulses. You don’t represent reason. You represent pure temptation. People get addicted to you rather easily. You offer people a dark side that is very hard to resist.