Sometime the obvious is really the answer

I only claim to sometimes be psychic - usually when the kids want to know how I know what they are up to.  This time you don't have to be psychic or even that great a judge of character to know something is wrong with this story.

Haleigh Cummings is missing.  She's 5 and vanished in the middle of the night from her bed in a mobile home in Florida.  No sign of forced entry and the back door was open.  If that were the whole story I would buy into the theory that a stranger took her BUT

She vanished from a bed she was sharing with her father's girlfriend.  His 17 year old girlfriend.  They would have us believe that in the middle of the night a stranger came in took the child and the girlfriend didn't notice until 3am.  A stranger snatching a child from their bed in the middle of the night isn't going to do so without scaring the child and making some ruckus.  Maybe it will be quiet enough that someone in another room wouldn't notice, but someone in the same bed?!?!  I don't think so.  And in a trailer to boot.  It's hard to hide a whisper in most of them.

17 year old girlfriend!  WTF?!  Why is a man old enough to have an ex wife, a 5 year old daughter and a 4 year old son doing with a 17 year old girl?  Where are HER parents?  This whole situation is screwed up on so many levels.

Contrast to those Missouri Scumbags

Unlike the wife who let her husband rape their daughter and helped deliver the babies - this wife turned her husband in when she suspected her husband was involved in the rape of a child.

But detectives said it ultimately was Hernandez Monzalvo's wife, Eustolea Ortega, that tipped off investigators. She called them and asked to come to the home on Citadel Drive where both men live because she suspected Morales was involved.

"I think about that girl. This is terrible. You can do whatever you want, but no, not to..." an emotional Ortega told WFTV Thursday morning, struggling to find the English words to describe exactly how she felt 

"The female who was at the house was fully cooperative in the investigation, she was disgusted at the events that took place to this child and wanted everyone at the house to give DNA," said Mankewich.

http://www.wftv.com/news/18696289/detail.html

I die for bananas

The zombie nightmare that is Rachel Zoe has trademarked the word bananas and the phrase I die.  WTF, how can she claim to have sole use of bananas?  

If I had the time and spare cash I would start a class action lawsuit against her for theft.  She stole those words from the rest of the English speaking people in the world.    Granted I'm not 100% sure how the whole trademarked word thing works, but Zoe-Zombie did stop some artist in New York from using them on t-shirts.  If words are up for grabs I think I want to trademark guava. I like guavas.  Oh, and balloon artist.  If I beat the other balloon artists to the punch will they have to call themselves something else?

Go back to the grave Zoe-Zombie

4 months old

On Sunday my big yellow birthday balloon turned 4 months old.  That is so rare for a balloon.  With this kind you usually expect a month or maybe a 1 1/2 months, but not 4.  I really don't think it will make it until 5 months.  I'm just hoping it makes it through the weekend.  I inflated it the day I started to move stuff from the old space to this one and it's been in the window ever since.  

I can't be sick

I can't be sick, I can't be sick, I can't be sick.  That's been my mantra for the past 48 hours.  So far it's only helping a tiny bit.  I can be as sick as I want to next Sunday.  I can be sick for an entire week - just not until AFTER Valentine's day.

I love having a big family, but there are downsides.  One of them is the extra exposure to germs.  Kids go different directions and each brings home different germs.  This lovely Darth Vader of a cold came home from state band with Teddy.  I was already a little down and the germ saw opportunity and attacked.  bleah

Lots of water, sleep when I can and I keep repeating "I can't be sick, I can't be sick"  At least today I don't look Nick Nolte's mugshot.

I had forgotten how much work Valentine's Day is for a retail balloon shop.  I have fantasy flowers to make and deliveries to schedule.  Yesterday wasn't much fun.  I was closed,  but still had to make flowers.  Out of consideration for my customer I wore a mask which made the whole thing that much less fun.  Still, I prefer not to send out toxic flowers.  It would be pretty sucky to get a Valentine's gift that just kept on giving - in a very unpleasant way.

I will be better by Saturday or I'm gonna have to fake it.  Either way I'll get through it.  then I'm taking a few days off to sleep.

I need a model

My daughter is sick.  Not bad sick, just a cold and she'll be better in a few days.  I doubt she will be well enough by Friday to work for me though, so I have to find a model.

If you know anyone willing to wear a balloon dress and pass out coupons to people at First Friday, let me know.  The job is just to wear the dress, walk around, hand out coupons and get your picture taken.  

If you know anyone have them email me or call the store.

I have a new cash register

I got it off of ebay for $50 and had to pick it up in Lincoln on Sunday.  It's not totally functional, but I hope to get it restored.  

What I know so far is that it is a National Cash Register and was made in 1948.  It is electric with a crank for times when the power goes out.  At least it used to be electric until I cut the cord off today.  The guy described the motor as 'humming' when he plugged it in.  He neglected to mention the sparks and plumes of toxic smoke.  I say toxic because my lungs still hurt.   That's no huge worry for me.  I wanted it as a large cash box that would be hard to steal.  The guy who sold it to me  never had any  luck getting the drawers open.  You can see where he tried to pry the drawers out and even where he tried to remove the bottom.  luckily for me I own a screw driver and know how to use it.  It took about an hour for me to disassemble it and get the 3 of the 4 drawers open. The latch on the bottom one is stuck, but I'll worry about that later.

The whole thing weights upwards of 200 pounds.  Right now it's on the floor until I get both boys up here to help get it to the counter.  I wanted a cash box that was harder to steal than my current bunny box and this fits the bill.  Eventually I'll find someone who can get it running again for me.  The motor is shot but the gears and so forth are in fantastic shape.  I've never seen any machinery of this age that is so pristine and well oiled.    Like I said I want to get it fixed, but until this it's still a very cool cash box.