Yes, that’s our girl.
August 20, 2015 5:17 pm
Yes, that’s our girl.
My dear wife Karen received the above photo with a text from our D.C.-area friend Carolyn today.
Glad to see our beloved rescue mutt is on her mind down there in our sweltering nation’s capital.
My dear wife Karen and Carolyn toast with a non-Coke beverage during our April visit to Washington, D.C.
And also that her name makes the Coke folk’s bottle label game grade.
As for me, no thank you to Diet Coke. I’m forever a Diet Pepsi man. Not even my pooch’s moniker on the bottle would sway me over to the dark side.
Are you more likely to partake in a Pepsi or Coke product, and why? Have you spotted your name or that of a loved one on a Coke bottle lately, and if so, what did you do? What’s your pet’s name, and how did you come up with it?
Posted by markbialczak
Categories: Life
Tags: Coca-Cola, Coke, Diet Coke, Diet Pepsi, Dogs, Ellie B, Ellie B aka Dogamous Pyle, Friends, Pepsi
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Coke Zero and I am partial to Diet Coke with Lime. Must be because of the hot weather down here. I pretty much like anything with lime in it.
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By Dancing Echoes on August 23, 2015 at 12:44 am
You put the lime in the coconut and mix it all together … Nilsson Schmilsson. 😉 You remember that one, right, Christy?
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By markbialczak on August 23, 2015 at 12:22 pm
Oh yes, I know that good one well!
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By Dancing Echoes on August 23, 2015 at 12:32 pm
All these questions, Mark! They might drive a person to drink. For me, that drink would never be diet, regular, or any other soft drinks. These days, I’m restricting my hydrating to water. (Unless you count hot chocolate, which doesn’t call out anybody by name.)
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By Ann Koplow on August 22, 2015 at 8:59 am
With white and pink marshmallows, I saw and saw and saw, Ann. No sugar aversion for my friends in Edinburgh. 🙂
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By markbialczak on August 22, 2015 at 9:20 am
Now that I’m back in Boston, Mark, I’ll be cutting back on real AND artificial sweeteners.
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By Ann Koplow on August 22, 2015 at 9:39 am
I haven’t seen any Vonita’s on coke bottles. If you do see one pls let me know! I’m a sparkling water girl, perhaps because I’m allergic to coke and Pepsi does not do it for me. I like lemonade but cannot consume it guilt free laden as it is with sugar.
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By passion through poetry on August 22, 2015 at 5:54 am
I ever spy a Vonita bottle I will buy it and ship it to you somehow! 🙂
I would assume that if you are allergic to Coke, Pepsi would also be a no-no. They are basically the same except for taste.
Yeah, sugar = calories = guilt.
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By markbialczak on August 22, 2015 at 8:12 am
I think it is the coloring in coke, other sodas with the same sugar content does not affect me in the same way.
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By passion through poetry on August 22, 2015 at 9:57 pm
Brown dye of a certain type. Very interesting, Vonita!
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By markbialczak on August 22, 2015 at 10:03 pm
No names on the cherry cokes, and that is the only kind of coke I’ll drink bro Mark. My usual poison is Dr. Pepper though, far superior to coke products. Nothing diet though. Whatever they put in the diet stuff is pure poison when it hits my blood stream. Within a minute I’ll have a blinding headache that requires a doctor visit, a shot of something to knock me out, absolute darkness, no noise, no movement, no food, just a week of sleep and maybe I’ll be okay, or maybe it will be a one to two month episode. All of that from one sip of artificial sweetener. If that isn’t pure poison, I don’t know what is.
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By Kentucky Angel on August 21, 2015 at 8:51 pm
Migraines are the worst, sis Angie. My ex-wife suffered. I thought she was going to expire every episode. Awful! And her bouts lessened when she cut out diet soda,
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By markbialczak on August 22, 2015 at 8:17 am
I’ve read all the studies on the diet stuff bro Mark — almost required reading for people with MS, and aspartame is the worst, and the one used the most in the past because it was cheapest. It is also listed as poison in all the reports I’ve read, causing numerous organ damage and eventual shut down. The others aren’t as bad, but they act the same for me, so I just had to cut them out. Tried Splenda, it worked too well. I ate constantly, gained 75 pounds, blood sugar was always high, but as soon as I realized that was the problem and went back to sugar, lost the weight, appetite back to normal, b/s normal, A 1 C great, no more headaches from artificial sweeteners. Just the normal ones now, and I’m so used to those I would think something was wrong if they went away.
With migraines bro Mark, if she is anything like me, she was probably praying to die, and the sooner the better. Unless you have had one, you will never know what they are like, because there are no words to fully explain that experience.
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By Kentucky Angel on August 22, 2015 at 12:16 pm
ha! so cute and thoughtful. i’ve not seen my name, and mg spells his with a ‘c’ so it’s pretty rare to find on most anything. i’ll drink either, but i’m not a big pop drinker. –
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By ksbeth on August 21, 2015 at 2:38 pm
I do have the more familiar spelling of our first name, Beth. My new socks prove it. 🙂 Then I went at spelled my daughter’s name Elisabeth instead of going with the more familiar ‘z’ because I liked the way it looked and felt to me. Go figure. I’m surprised that you and she can’t find a bottle with Beth on it. It’s a common name, am I right? And, is your Beth shortened from anything?
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By markbialczak on August 22, 2015 at 8:23 am
i know, it’s an ongoing challenge. actually beth was originally my middle name, but that’s a story for another day )
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By ksbeth on August 22, 2015 at 9:39 am
Aha! So it’s a name that starts with an S is my first guess. K is my second guess. I’ll have to wait for that other day. 🙂
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By markbialczak on August 22, 2015 at 9:46 am
Where I live, Pepsi is the undisputed king, followed by Dr. Pepper. Coke is something people drink only if they have no choice. I didn’t even realize Coke was the king of the soft drink world until I was in my 20’s, and it’s still hard for me to come to grips with that…
That said, I’ll drink either, and out of a soda fountain they taste almost identical to me anyway. I’ll even mix and match if I need to refresh a glass of fountain Coke with one of my Pepsi bottle in the fridge…
Just keep the diet stuff away from me…… very, very far away from me….
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By evilsquirrel13 on August 21, 2015 at 11:22 am
Interesting that your region is Pepsi country, Bill.
I do hate that the big franchises offer only one in the fountain. It should be choice there as well as the bottle coolers.
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By markbialczak on August 22, 2015 at 8:31 am
I prefer Diet Pepsi over Diet Coke. Have to have my Diet Pepsi with lemon slices and tons of ice. Diet Coke has that weird aspartame taste to it – too sweet. But I would take a Tab over both of them if I could find one.
As far as pet names go, we have Mikey (really named Micah – because he has that silver tint to his fur) but he answers to the myriad of names my sons have given him – Ebazulou, Cute-ums, Doodles, Stealth Dog, Shadow Runner, Long-Body, the Breath of Death. Maxie is short for Maximillian but he is generally called Wide-Body, Cute-Ass puppy, Large Body and Cute-ums as well.
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By SD Gates on August 21, 2015 at 9:38 am
Your two superstar model dogs have a wealth of worthy nicknames, SD. They deserve whole beverage lines named after them, in fact! ❤
Now I have to pick on you for your taste, though. Tab?! Yucko. After-taste ugly kick on that one there, my friend.
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By markbialczak on August 22, 2015 at 8:48 am
That’s brilliant!!!! Must go away and work on this.
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By SD Gates on August 22, 2015 at 9:45 am
Pepsi has already switched to splenda-only formula so I am on Diet Coke now, trying to kick the habit altogether. I just saw a mention of Fresca, so now I need to check to see if that is still OK for me to drink or not.
Supposedly my name is out there; last year it was only in Europe. Funny thing is, last year Matt was in the US but Matthew was in Europe, yet Mike/Michael were available in both. No matter, this year I’ve had a lot of “Matthews” during this end-of-soda transition.
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By NotAPunkRocker on August 21, 2015 at 9:37 am
Interesting, all of it, J, from the formula to the names. I wish you well in the end-of-soda campaign because, well, diet beverages and their artificial sweeteners are scary to health in the big picture. Matthew and Matt, Michael and Mike, and they even have Sheena on a bottle. Ha. Couldn’t help myself there, J. ❤
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By markbialczak on August 22, 2015 at 8:51 am
Either one will kill ya, if everything I read on Facebook is true, which it must be or it wouldn’t be on Facebook, right?
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By snoozing on the sofa on August 21, 2015 at 9:14 am
Yeah, Facebook health advice is always spot-on, Scott! 🙂
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By markbialczak on August 22, 2015 at 9:01 am
The only thing could I can say about PepsiCo is they distribute Diet Dr. Pepper, but when it comes to a tasty Bacardi spirit Diet Coke is my quaff of choice!
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By garym6059 on August 21, 2015 at 8:35 am
There you go, Skippah! Personal choices abound. I dig your new pooch gravatar, my friend, by the way. 🙂
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By markbialczak on August 21, 2015 at 8:50 am
Thanks pal!
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By garym6059 on August 21, 2015 at 9:09 am
I used to love Diet Coke and Diet Dr. Pepper but gave them up. It was hard, but there is concern that they erode tooth enamel, so I made the switch to iced tea and hot coffee. I miss them though!
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By bethbyrnes on August 21, 2015 at 8:07 am
Diet Dr. Pepper to me tastes the most like the real deal, Beth. I also like Fresca! But in the cola family, it’s Diet Pepsi. All in all, though, it’s way less soda and more water and iced tea, for overall health reasons, as you say.
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By markbialczak on August 21, 2015 at 8:22 am
I agree about the Dr. Pepper and truly miss it. My dad loves Fresca and Geoffrey, get this, still prefers Tab!! 😀
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By bethbyrnes on August 21, 2015 at 8:26 am
Tab?! Geoffrey, what are you thinking? Tab is the single worst-tasting beverage in the history of drinking.
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By markbialczak on August 21, 2015 at 8:49 am
No soda- ever! Wasn’t allowed to drink it growing up as a child, and as an adult when I tried it I couldn’t stand the taste or the fizz-aren’t you glad you asked? 🙂
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By DailyMusings on August 21, 2015 at 6:19 am
I am glad I asked, Lisa. Better to have never had it all than to have to give it up! 🙂 Interesting that you were smart enough to not go for the whiz-bang as an adult.
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By markbialczak on August 21, 2015 at 8:25 am
Coffee addict- 4 cups a day 🙂
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By DailyMusings on August 21, 2015 at 9:26 am
I do two cups of coffee in the first-thing and then try to stop, Lisa. When I worked in the office, I would continue with the coffee until noon, out of habit and because I like walking from my desk to the cafeteria two more times. 🙂
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By markbialczak on August 22, 2015 at 8:55 am
It was Pepsi up to my 30’s. Then it was coke. Now it’s neither. I swore off pop about 5 or 6 months ago. Still want one occasionally but I stand strong! 😉
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By Chatter Master on August 21, 2015 at 5:38 am
Good for you, MBC. I still slip in my Diet Pepsi every now and then even though I know I would be better off without it!
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By markbialczak on August 21, 2015 at 8:26 am
I haven’t noticed any huge health benefits, other than I know I’m not drinking it….. 😉
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By Chatter Master on August 23, 2015 at 7:23 pm
I’m a cokewoman!
Mark, say hi to Karen and enjoy the weekend!
( here still summer and sunny! )
kram
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By inte fan gör det det on August 21, 2015 at 4:07 am
Yes, Anna Cokewoman! Karen goes away tonight until Thursday for her annual Girls Getaway!! It’ll be me and Ellie B aka Dogamous Pyle fending for ourselves in sunny Syracuse. You have a great weekend in Stockholm. 😉
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By markbialczak on August 21, 2015 at 8:29 am
Good to come across you again, Mark!
As some of you may have heard, Diet Pepsi recently dropped aspartame from its formula, and I find the new version an improvement. Its flavor reminds me a bit of Pepsi One, the low-calorie version with Splenda that Pepsi gradually phased out last fall, and which I preferred to either Diet Coke or the old Diet Pepsi.
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By vp19 on August 20, 2015 at 10:26 pm
Ah, tinkering to make it healthier. And that is good. Thanks, VP19!
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By markbialczak on August 21, 2015 at 8:31 am
I’m in the Pepsi camp also, Mark. Stay away from the dark side! And if I see my Bailey’s name on a can, I’ll smile but rest assured she won’t get any. We’ve got to keep our girls healthy and trim, right? Chemical-free!
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By candidkay on August 20, 2015 at 10:04 pm
Yes, keep our pooches away from the soda/pop for sure! I hope Bailey has a good weekend thrilling the neighbors, Kay. Ellie B and I will be on our own in Syracuse because Karen departs for her annual Girls Getaway with her friends. Oh, my! Six days. We can handle it. I think.
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By markbialczak on August 21, 2015 at 8:34 am
I love Ellie’s soda can! 💗
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By Silver Threading on August 20, 2015 at 8:51 pm
Yes, Colleen, she’s a famous mutt! ❤
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By markbialczak on August 21, 2015 at 8:36 am
We ordered a pizza from Papa Johns last night and got a 2 liter of regular Pepsi to go with it and somehow that Pepsi was extra refreshing and tasty.
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By Tony Burgess on August 20, 2015 at 8:50 pm
Because it was free, that’s why it was extra refreshing and tasty, Tony. That’s how those things always work. 🙂
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By markbialczak on August 21, 2015 at 8:36 am
Free food always tastes best. The same can be said about drinks too.
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By Tony Burgess on August 21, 2015 at 8:38 am
I prefer Pepsi, when I drink pop (soda) at all.
As for how did I name my pet – check out my post about naming Puppy Cody (anyone with little girls will saw “aw”):
(And thanks for allowing me to self-promote!)
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By cordeliasmom2012 on August 20, 2015 at 8:05 pm
Mi casa es su casa, CM. Promote away, my friend. Awwww.
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By markbialczak on August 21, 2015 at 8:37 am
I am a Coca-Cola lover. I have one every day. I prefer Coke to Pepsi, but I prefer Diet Pepsi to Diet Coke by far. I cannot regularly consume fake sweeteners, though, they cause me migraines and inflame my joints. (especially aspartame)
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By joey on August 20, 2015 at 8:05 pm
Stay away from the artificial, by all means, Joey. That’s too much suffering!
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By markbialczak on August 21, 2015 at 8:38 am
Just had to jump in here Joey. Artificial sweeteners put me in the hospital, sometimes up to 2 months with headaches that won’t go away. Horrible!
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By Kentucky Angel on August 21, 2015 at 8:57 pm
Artificial sweeteners do a job on some people, and you are one of them obviously, sis Angie! Stay away from them always, my dear. Oy.
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By markbialczak on August 22, 2015 at 8:15 am
Oh that is horrible! Yeah, I used to have chronic headaches in college, most of which were migraines, and it turns out diet drinks were to blame. I used to love those lo-cal, clear, carbonated drinks. Not anymore!
I avoid all of it when I can, especially aspartame, and I seldom get a migraine now, maybe 3-4 times a year.
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By joey on August 22, 2015 at 12:39 pm
Lucky you Joey. I was born with headaches, so they are commonplace for me, but the migraines were something I just couldn’t handle. The MS headaches can get bad, but nothing like migraines. With those I prayed for a fast and merciful death.
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By Kentucky Angel on August 22, 2015 at 4:10 pm
I’m glad we shared this bit. I hope you’re feelin good today!
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By joey on August 22, 2015 at 6:49 pm
I am with you, Joey. I get migraines too, and artificial sweeteners are one of my triggers. So no Diet Coke or Pepsi for me. However, I do get the tiny cans for portion control purposes. I love Wild Cherry Pepsi, Dr. Pepper, and regular Coke. Limiting myself to one can and drinking water or tea the rest of the day doesn’t make me feel deprived.
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By This British-American Life on August 24, 2015 at 8:29 pm
As far as I know, neither one was available in England when I was growing up so I never became addicted to it. My very first memory of drinking a cola was an RC Cola out of a crate in a garage in Mobile, Alabama the first time we came to the US… our car broke down on one of our moves from Florida to Texas. I drank those for a while until I discovered Dr. Pepper… But I never was a big soda drinker anyway and haven’t had any sodas in a long long long time. Now I prefer lemon flavored Perrier for refreshment!
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By RMW on August 20, 2015 at 7:53 pm
You were fortunate not to get looped into Big Soda when you were a kid, Ros. Once the fizz gets its hooks in you, it’s a tough habit to break, believe me. The lemon-flavored Perrier sounds refreshing. I kind of like the store-brand flavored seltzer waters here, 89 cents a liter bottle, as a refreshing choice, as well. 🙂
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By markbialczak on August 21, 2015 at 8:40 am
I used to enjoy fountain cokes, especially with flavors. Can’t handle the stuff in bottles or cans…use it to clear my drain at times. Water is the beverage of choice. ☺
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By vanbytheriver on August 20, 2015 at 7:40 pm
There you go, drain-cleaning, Van. But generic vinegar mixed with baking soda is less expensive and works better, we find. 😉
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By markbialczak on August 21, 2015 at 8:42 am
Well this #shareacoke campaign started here in Nigeria over a year ago and it’s always a delight to find my name or names of close friends on a bottle. Initially I’d take photos of the bottle and send them to the respective friends just for fun.
As for choice, I’d always ask for non-diet coke first. But I can always have whatever is available – Coke or Pepsi.
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By blaqaffairs on August 20, 2015 at 5:32 pm
I’m glad you have pride in the initial campaign. I was unaware of its origin! Thank you for sharing that fact here, blaqaffairs. It is fun sending these type of photos to friends. Look at what I did with the photo Carolyn sent to my wife. 🙂 I can’t go for sugary drinks of any type, so it has to be diet, unfortunately.
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By markbialczak on August 20, 2015 at 5:36 pm
I got you, Mark. I’m all for sweet drinks as often as I can reasonably have. No diet for me pls.
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By blaqaffairs on August 20, 2015 at 5:46 pm
As a teenager Pepsi was a favorite treat. Today I do not really drink a lot of soda, so probably either would be fine. We have a cat named Tyler (I just liked the name) never really paid attention if his name is anywhere special? The Gatorette
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By Cheryl "Cheffie Cooks" Wiser on August 20, 2015 at 5:28 pm
Tyler is a fine name for a cat, Gatorette. We had a great cat by the name of Toby until … well, you know. 😦
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By markbialczak on August 20, 2015 at 5:34 pm
Yes, I hear you. This lil’ guy is only 4 so I should have him a good while yet!!!
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By Cheryl "Cheffie Cooks" Wiser on August 20, 2015 at 5:39 pm
Yes, please. Knock on wood. 🙂
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By markbialczak on August 21, 2015 at 8:48 am
Ha, he is really my cat and hides in the master bedroom closet most days. Once the gang returns to school he’ll come out and find the recycling basket and lay in there while I am in the kitchen working! He’s something else that one!
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By Cheryl "Cheffie Cooks" Wiser on August 21, 2015 at 10:24 am
Good to have a pet of one’s own, Gatorette. 😉
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By markbialczak on August 22, 2015 at 8:40 am
Terp I do like to share my pet he will not stand for it! The gang is too rough LOL
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By Cheryl "Cheffie Cooks" Wiser on August 22, 2015 at 9:27 am
Some cats do not go for the rough-house style, indeed, Gatorette. That’s how we arrived at the term fraidy-cat, I do believe. 😉
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By markbialczak on August 22, 2015 at 9:49 am
LOL when the twins were little (1-1/2 y.o.)they tormented that kitty something awful, grabbed him by his tail and try to lift him-oh yea funny but I stopped that behavior quickly! He just became all mine back then and still is. He hisses at my hubs sometimes and he took care of him when he was a kitten? Go figure that one out. Got to love the felines and canines Mark!
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By Cheryl "Cheffie Cooks" Wiser on August 22, 2015 at 10:56 am
Yes, Gatorette, animals have personalities all their own, they sure do. 🙂
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By markbialczak on August 22, 2015 at 11:38 am
I prefer Coke – but Pepsi is is a close second. Most restaurants just serve one or the other – and that’s fine by me. I find Pepsi a bit sweeter.
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By Paul on August 20, 2015 at 5:25 pm
I find Diet Coke to be sweeter than Diet Pepsi, Paul. Everybody tastes differently!
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By markbialczak on August 20, 2015 at 5:33 pm
They really do Mark. Our taste and smell share some brain processing areas and what smells good usually tastes good (in the food department). When I hauled gas we had some employees that loved the smell of gas fumes and others who detested it. I can recall pulling into a station in the wee hours of the morning one` summer night when all was quiet. It was a 24 hour site and the attendant -a young woman – came out to say Hi. She was taken by the unloading of the fuel; and wanted to know where the fumes in the tank went. I pointed out the vents on the other side of the yard and she said “Oh, I love the smell of gas fumes” and walked over to stand under the vents where the gas fumes were cascading down. She stood there until I was finished unloading. To each their own.
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By Paul on August 20, 2015 at 5:49 pm
I never was able to tell the difference between Coke and Pepsi. Does that make me unAmerican?
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By Marissa Bergen on August 20, 2015 at 5:20 pm
No, it just makes you unlikely to devoutly care about one or the other, Marissa. And it makes you more likely to buy whatever’s on sale. Lately, I’ve been laying off the soda entirely and drinking more water from the tap. 🙂
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By markbialczak on August 20, 2015 at 5:32 pm
Yep, more water. Kids today have too much sugar drinks. I switched from regular Coke or Pepsi to diet because I am leaning on the diabetic side of the fence now but they say all the chemicals in diet drinks are more harmful than the sugar. Yep, more water is the wise choice.
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By Carl D'Agostino on August 20, 2015 at 9:39 pm
You’re right, Carl. But sometimes wise gives way to whims. Careful …
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By markbialczak on August 21, 2015 at 8:35 am
I am relieved to know I am not unAmerican. I had a tough night last night worrying about that one!! Yes, water has been my drink of choice for a long time too. Much healthier.
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By Marissa Bergen on August 21, 2015 at 1:45 pm