"It's easier to resist at the beginning than at the end" - Leonardo da Vinci

Because I grew up in the home I did and spent my career working either in churches or at a Bible college I've never spent much time around smokers. As a result my nose is very sensitive to the smell of cigarette smoke and I can sense it from quite a distance. Cigar smoke....whew!
The same is true of swearing of all sorts. Growing up we weren't allowed to say the word crap without repercussions. Even "shut up" was going to get you in trouble. People generally control their tongue when the pastor is present, so when I hear people cursing or swearing I find it jarring.
Because it was socially forbidden back then I find it even more shocking to hear women swear.
I don't know if that makes me sexist...and I really don't care.

PetSmart was running a special on grooming - 10% off - so I took Buddy in this morning to get a haircut. His normal coat is medium length but he stays a lot cleaner in an Oregon winter when he's cut fairly short.
He loves car rides and does a great job of staying in the back seat. And despite finding the pet store a case of sensory overload he still sits on command while the paperwork is filled out.
Buddy is such a great dog.

OK, this is very good.
Hello parody

I asked one of the employees at the gym yesterday if they were getting the typical rush of January signups. She said that it happened more the last week in December. Then I asked how many of them will stay with it.
"Maybe one out of ten. The others will come in during February or March with an excuse and say they need to drop their membership.

Emerson ("Em-eh-SOH"), one of the terrific people I met while in Brazil last year, owns a music studio with an international reputation. He's also an amazing bass player and a cool brother in Christ. (His wife Marcella is pretty cool, too.) He showed me around his studio and except for the part where my chair fell over backward and I couldn't get up it was fun and fascinating.
Here's a snippet of Emerson playing bass in a band recording a Christian song in his studio.
https://www.facebook.com/mobilestudiorecife/videos/1821176107993899/

Did you know that the Hallmark channel is STILL running Christmas movies??? I came home from the gym and Pam was watching one of them.
I wonder if the actors in those movies are embarrassed to be seen in them. Pam says no because they're getting paid. But they could still hate the depths to which they have to stoop to pay the bills.
She said, "This one is based on a true story." It was about a pretty young woman with a life-threatening disease who needed a transplant. She ends up falling in love with and marrying the donor - all at Christmas time. (Of course.)
The word "based on a true story" is used in the loosest sense possible.
A pallid 48-year old woman got a transplant from a 32-year old guy with a beer gut who ended up sending her a Christmas card six months after the procedure.