Ping Pong?

Ping Pong - Bruce Lee style:

Yes, he was playing Ping Pong with nunchucks!  And he was winning!  

A Meme from Kimberly

Kimberly had a friend give her a letter and then she posted a list of ten things she loved starting with that letter.  I asked her to give me a letter so I could play too.  She gave me the letter "R".  So here goes!

1.  Robert.  I know, I know - too sappy sweet.  But what can I say?  I do love him!

2.  Reruns.  Especially of old sitcoms - like Andy Griffith, or the Cosby Show, or even Home Improvement.  I can watch some of those old shows over and over (and over and over).

3.  Refrigerators.  Cold water!  Cold milk!  Unspoiled food! Going without my refrigerator for 24 hours during Hurricane Ike made me really appreciate it.

4.  Retail therapy.  A stroll through Target. A browse through Barnes and Noble.  A meander through a quilt store. Gotta love retail therapy!

5.  Rocking chairs.  I love to go to Cracker Barrel and sit in a rocking chair on their front porch. There is something very soothing about rocking.  The one thing my house lacks is a front porch with room for a rocking chair.

6.  Reid and crew.  As in Dr. Spencer Reid and the crew from Criminal Minds.  Okay, that one is a stretch.  But I had to figure out a way to work in my very favorite show! Creepy, gory, sometimes downright hair raising!  I love that show!

7.  Rolls.  Yummy homemade rolls.  I will be making mine for Thanksgiving, and, if I do say so myself, they are quite tasty.

8.  Reading.  More of an action than a thing, but I'm including it anyway!  There is something so satisfying about picking up a new book, reading a few pages, and becoming totally engrossed in a story.  Reading can transport me to different places and times.

9.  Replay.  As in the replay button on my car CD player. When driving by myself I have been known to replay one song over and over again - just so I can sing it over and over again.  Yes, I am one of those people who sings in their car!  I can't help myself!

10.  Relatives.  Well, most of them anyway.  Of course, I may change this one after Thanksgiving - 13 of our relatives are descending on our house for the long weekend!  I am looking forward to it, but may be relatived out by the time it's over!  

There you go!  10 things I love beginning with the letter "R"! If anyone else would like to play, just say so in your comment, and I will give you a letter.  It's fun, I promise!    

Chick-Fil-A Update

I heard from Chick-Fil-A!  I received a very nice and apologetic e-mail from them.  I'm afraid they are going to be disappointed, though.  They wanted me to send the bone to them, but I didn't think to keep it  Too bad for them!  

On the plus side, they are sending me two Chick-Fil-A Cares Guest Cards.  I'm assuming those are gift cards of some sort, but I have no idea how much they will be worth.  I guess I will have to wait until they show up in the mail!  I will let you know what they send me.  I know you will all be waiting anxiously to find out what a bone in your chicken nugget would be worth!

What the Heck?!?

I was out running errands and decided to swing through the Chick-Fil-A drive-thru.  I purchased my 8 pack of chicken nuggets and Diet Coke so I could eat in the car.  (Ordering it without the waffle fries makes it a diet meal).  As I was eating a nugget, I bit down on something hard.  I pulled the nugget out of my mouth, looked at it, and beheld a bone! There's not supposed to be a bone in my chicken nugget!!  I was not happy, but, of course, I did not let that deter me from eating the rest of my nuggets.  A girl's got to eat, right?

I have e-mailed Chick-Fil-A (apparently their phone number is a closely guarded secret, not to be found on their website).  I will let you know if they respond.  I am hoping for some coupons for free food!

Star Wars Musical Tribute

I first saw this on a political blog that I read.  They called the video, most appropriately, nerdtastic! It's nerdy and amazing all at the same time.  FYI, the guy is lip syncing another group's song (he had their permission to do so). He's really incredible.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.  Or maybe I'm just a nerd at heart.

Iron Chef America!

Yes, I realize that Iron Chef America is not exactly the most appropriate Sunday viewing.  But I really wanted to see Iron Chef America - Battle Thanksgiving.  

Here was the line up for Battle Thanksgiving - Iron Chefs Bobby Flay and Michael Symon versus Iron Chefs Masaharu Morimoto and Cat Cora.  How great is that?  I adore both Bobby and Michael, so I'm sure you can guess who I was rooting for.  I like Morimoto, but his food always seems very strange.  And Cat Cora, well, she scares me a little!  

So, the stage was set, four great chefs cooking a Thanksgiving feast using ingredients that would have been available at the first Thanksgiving.  It seems like Morimoto would have been at a disadvantage - being Japanese and all. But he did a great job.

Not good enough, though!  Iron Chefs Flay and Symon won Battle Thanksgiving!  Hurray!  That made my evening very happy!  (Sometimes it takes very little to make me happy).

Oh, and if you don't watch Iron Chef America, you won't know what I'm talking about.  But that's your loss.    

John Denver

My "Concerts I've Been To" post got me thinking about John Denver.  So this morning I went to YouTube to track down some videos.  The first one "For You" was one of the later songs written by him.  It's absolutely beautiful.

The next one is, quite possibly, my very favorite John Denver song - "Calypso".

So, this post was for me!  You guys may not even listen to these songs, which is okay. They are now on my blog, and easy for me to listen to whenever I want.  

Concerts I've Been To

A list of concerts I've been to.  Or at least as many of them as I can remember.

1.  Shaun Cassidy.  Stop that laughing right now!  My friend and I went and saw him when we were in high school.  She was madly in love with him.  I was only mildly in love with him.  But I still squealed like a good fangirl!

2.  Seals & Croft.  At Texas A&M.  I've always liked their music.

3.  The Beach Boys.  Twice. I saw them at A&M, and I saw them last March.  They were the entertainment at a party for supporters of Mitt Romney, which we were invited to.  I was so close to Mike Love (pictured), it was great!  Although, he's actually a lecherous old man, who flirted shamelessly with all the young girls there.  But the songs were still great! (And I got to meet Mitt Romney). 

4.  Barry Manilow.  Back in the early 80's.  My sister and I took my mother.  We all loved it.

5.  Billy Joel.  Also back in the early 80's.  He was very energetic back then.  I don't know if he still runs around the stage like he used to.

6.  Josh Groban.  I saw him with Kimberly.  He truly has a beautiful voice.

7.  Michael Buble.  I have seen him three times.  I love his concerts! They are so much fun.  The second time I saw him was with Kimberly, my sister, her girls, and friends of Kimberly's.  We were way in the back, but because of the cuteness of my sister's girls, we were moved way up front by one of Michael's people!  So at the end of the concert, we got to be part of the group invited to swarm to the front of the stage.  It was great! 

8.  John Denver.  Definitely my favorite artist to ever see in concert. I saw him five times (that's right, five).  I first saw him in high school.  I last saw him a month or two before he died.  If you only know his early works, you missed a lot. His later songs were much better, and his voice got much richer and fuller as he got older.  I saw him twice with the Houston Symphony, and he was incredible in that venue.  I wish he was still around so I could go see him in concert again.  

**Edit** 9.  I forgot one!  Although since including this one may ruin my reputation, maybe I should leave him off!  But I won't.  Clay Aiken!  There, I wrote it!  Kimberly and I saw Clay Aiken in concert, and we loved him!  It was shortly after his American Idol sojourn, before he got so strange.  It was a fun concert and I'm glad we went.  However, I don't think I would go see him again (I do have some pride).

I think that's all of them.  As you can see, I am a "pop-y" sort of gal.  No heavy metal or country for me!  But I'm okay with that.  

Wal-Mart!

Wal-Mart's open!  Hurray!  I must admit that I am not a big fan of Wal-Mart, but this one is close to home, which will be nice.  And it's brand, spanking new!  That's always a plus with Wal-Mart - they don't seem to hold up as well as some other stores.  The layout is a little different from any Wal-Mart I've ever been in - especially the food side.  It will take a little getting used to.  

Now if they would just get moving on my Kroger....

Video Experiment

I wanted to see if I could post a video.  Well, I can't.  At least not without Kimberly's guidance. With her help I was able to post this YouTube video.  

For those of you who have seen clips from the old Carol Burnett show (which I used to watch - that's just how old I am), this is a classic Tim Conway/Harvey Korman sketch.

Kimberly thinks this video is creepy, but I love it!  Tim Conway was a genius.  And watching Harvey Korman try to keep a straight face is hilarious.

Jamie's Tag

Jamie posted a tag on her blog.  (Or as Kimberly and her LJ friends call it, a "meme").  No matter what it's called, she invited anyone else to complete it also.  And since Kimberly is pestering me to post, I'm going to do it too!  So here it is, my first tag!

4 random things I love about my husband:

1. He will watch chick flicks with me - at home or in the theater.

2. He doesn't complain when I do things with Kimberly (shopping) or church friends (eating).

3. Since we first got married, he's worked as hard as he can to support our family.  He has worked a lot of different job to take care of us.  I love him for that.

4. He makes great toffee.  If you come by near Christmas, he may even give you some.

4 jobs I've had:

1. Cashier at JC Penney.  True story - I had to quit because they didn't want to give me time off for my wedding - the back-to-school sales were going on!

2. Cashier/Animal Feeder/Cage and Aquarium Cleaner/Puppy-Player-With at a Pet Store.

3. Bookkeeper at a Women's Dress Shop.

4. ESL Teacher.  Si.  Es verdad.  

4 movies I've seen more than once:

1. Yankee Doodle Dandy (love that Jimmy Cagney dancing).

2. About a Boy (love that Hugh Grant).

3. Lady and the Tramp (love that spaghetti scene).

4. Return to Me (just love it).

4 TV shows I watch:

1. Criminal Minds.

2. Burn Notice.

3. Numbers.

4. Life (although I haven't watched this season since it's been on against Criminal Minds or Numbers.  I'll have to catch it when the others are in reruns).

4 places I've been:

1. Niagara Falls.

2. Loretta Lynn's childhood home (actually in a holler).

3. The top of the Sears Tower.

4. Joseph Smith's birthplace, Sharon, Vermont.

4 places I've lived:

1. Park Forest, Illinois.

2. College Station, Texas.  Whoop!  Gig 'em, Aggies!

3. Corpus Christi, Texas.

4. Flatwoods, Kentucky (hometown of Billy Ray Cyrus).

4 place I'd like to visit:

1. Ireland.

2. Australia.

3. British Columbia (where Robert served his mission).   

4. Paris.

4 favorite foods:

1. Chocolate candy (of course)!

2. Filet mignon (with a baked potato side).

3. Chocolate cupcakes with white buttercream frosting.

4. Peanut butter cookies with hershey kisses.

My favorite foods list probably explains why I look the way I do!

I invite anyone else to complete this tag (Kimberly, I'd better see this on your LJ)!

Girls' Night Out

I went to 9ers Grill for Girls' Night Out.  There were six of us there (we missed those of you who didn't make it), and we had a great time.  Our conversation was a little ... unusual.  We didn't talk much about our families.  We spent most of the time talking about rodents, reptiles, and insects. Yes, you read that right - rodents, reptiles, and insects. Here's a brief breakdown:

1.  Beware of gelatinous raccoon carcasses found in your chimney (with a noxious monkey smell).

2.  If you hear rodents in your walls, people may not believe you.

3.  Is it better to release captured mice or kill them.

4.  Dead birds in your dryer hose will also cause a noxious monkey smell.  And sucking them up with your ShopVac will not be pleasant.

5.  There are too many snakes (of all types) in Waterside.

6.  Above mentioned snakes are often hard to kill.

7.  If you do need a snake killed, call Courtney.

8.  Killing a spider may yield surprises in the form of hundreds of spider babies.

9.  Don't kill a spider in your car.  You may be finding spider babies for weeks.

10.  Don't mess with a brown recluse spider bite.  And you won't win the Mom of the Year award if you send your kid to school after he's spent the night in the ER and his leg is still swollen to twice it's normal size.

11.  If a bird is flying around inside your house and becomes stressed, well, you are going to have a big mess to clean up.  And it won't be pretty.

These are not in order, but that's the high points.  Don't you wish you had been there?

Simple Pleasures!

A month or so ago, we got a new shower head.  I have only one question.  Why did we wait so long? We have lived in our house for over 2 years.  With a cruddy shower head with clogged holes.  It is so nice to now have a shower head with all working holes!  Nice consistent streams of hot water!  I just want to stand in the shower all day!

The simple pleasures!

I'm Addicted...

...to commas!  Seriously.  Looking back at my old posts, I noticed I use a lot of commas!  I tend to throw one in whenever I feel there would be a break if I were reading what I had written.  And that, my friends, may lead to too many commas in my writing.

What do you think?  Am I a comma hog?  Or am I using the appropriate number of commas?  

Eek!!

We have a doggie door which leads out to our backyard. With a dog and 2 cats, it's very nice.  It allows them all to go in and out as they please.  The downside?  Sometimes the cats don't come back emptyhanded (or emptymouthed, I should say).  Brynner, our male, isn't as bad.  He rarely brings things in, although when he does, it is usually a bird - not always dead.  That's fun.  Ming, our little female, is the worst.  We have rescued probably hundreds of lizards, grasshoppers, roaches (gross), dragonflies, and even garter snakes.  Okay, only three garter snakes - but that is three too many. So last night when I saw her in my bedroom, staring at a pair of Robert's shoes, I figured it was probably just another lizard - her usual capture.  Imagine my surprise when I moved the shoe and discovered a two inch long (with tail) baby mouse!  That was a first - and I hope the last!  I remained quite calm - mainly because the mouse remained quite calm!  I think he was playing dead. I covered him with the shoe, got my handy critter rescuing cup and piece of cardboard (like the Boy Scouts, we are always prepared), and called the boys to help.  Scott lifted the shoe and I captured the mouse.  He perked up in the cup (perhaps he knew he was safe), and I have to say, he was a cute little guy.  Not suitable for living in my house, but cute nonetheless!  We set him free, and are hoping that Ming won't find him again!  

The joys of cat ownership!  

Distressed and Depressed

Only Kimberly responded to my first political post, but I don't care, I am posting another one.  As my title says, I am distressed and depressed about the results of our presidential election.  John McCain was not my first choice, but he was a better choice than Barack Obama.  I am truly worried about the direction our country will be taking now. I am appalled to think that Obama will get to pick anywhere from 2 to 4 Supreme Court Justices.  I see the moral values that I hold dear slowly being branded illegal, intolerant, and unconstitutional.  We have already seen how those who fight against gay marriage are being called bigoted and narrow-minded.  We are truly reaching the point where what is good is called evil and what is evil is called good.  

If I have offended anyone who reads my blog, I'm sorry.  I had to write my true feelings about tonight.

I Voted!

I am one of those who waits until Election Day to vote. There is something about voting on the actual day.  If I worked outside the home, I might change my mind and early vote, but since I don't, I wait. I enjoy wearing my "I Voted" sticker all day long!

I am, however, kind of depressed about the election.  First of all, I don't think we were presented with two outstanding candidates.  You would think in a country our size we could come up with some good, honest, moral people to run for office.  That being said, I definitely favor one candidate over the other. But I don't think my guy is going to win.  It may be a long, hard four years.

I am hopeful about one of the races I got to vote on.  We may get our seat back!

I think I'm going to go make cupcakes.  My family will probably need a little pick me up tonight. Anyone want to join us? 

This Made Me Happy!

Kimberly and I went to an antique store when we went to Old Town Spring.  They had a copy of the book "Just Folks" by Edgar A. Guest.  It wasn't in the best of shape, and the price was $20.00.  I passed on it.  I came home that day and looked for the book on Amazon.com.  I found the same book for $1.03 plus $3.99 shipping.  $5.02!!  A quarter of the price of the other book.  Naturally I snatched it up.  I just got it in the mail on Saturday, and I am so pleased!  It's the same edition as the other one, but as you can see, it looks brand new!  I love Amazon.com!

Edgar A. Guest writes poems.  He writes the kind of poems that President Monson quotes.  I'm such a sap, I love those kind of poems!  Here's an example:

The First Steps

Last night I held my arms to you

And you held yours to mine

And started out to march to me

As any soldier fine.

You lifted up your little feet

You laughingly advanced;

And I stood there and gazed upon

Your first wee steps, entranced.

You gooed and gurgled as you came

Without a sign of fear;

As though you knew, your journey o'er,

I'd greet you with a cheer.

And, what is more, you seemed to know,

Although you are so small,

That I was there, with eager arms,

To save you from a fall.

Three tiny steps you took, and then,

Disaster and dismay!

Your over-confidence had led

Your little feet astray.

You did not see what we could see

Nor fear what us alarms;

You stumbled, but ere you could fall

I caught you in my arms.

You little tyke, in days to come

You'll bravely walk alone.

And you may leave to wander paths

Where dangers lurk unknown.

And, Oh, I pray that then, as now,

When accidents befall

You'll still remember that I'm near

To save you from a fall.

Simple poems with a beautiful message.  I love them.  I'm really quite a simple girl at heart.

"All About Me" Clarification

Robert thought I should clarify #4 in my previous post.  He says what I have wouldn't really be called "road rage". More like "road irritation"!  I just yell at people while I'm driving in my car. They can't even hear me.  I don't ever drive my car threateningly at other cars.  My "irritation" is all vocal.

I guess he didn't want you guys to think I was a psycho!  

All About Me!

Four things you might not have known about me:

1.  I love to read murder mysteries.  Not blood and guts gory ones like Sarah, but the tamer type. My favorites usually revolve around cooking or knitting or quilting or families.  I try to find a series, so that I can always have something to read.  That's one reason Book Club is so good for me - it makes me read something a little more challenging than the "Fudge Cupcake Murder" or the "New Year's Eve Murder".

2.  I am very good at word games - like word search puzzles, scrambled words, or Wheel of Fortune. And you know how often times at Baby or Bridal Showers you play a game where you're given a couple of words (like the bride and groom's names) and told to write as many words as you can from those words?  Well, I always win.  Seriously.  I don't think I have ever lost that game. I'm not trying to brag, but it is one of the few skills I have!

3.  For my birthday in July, I got a .22 handgun!  Totally my idea, too.  I decided Robert and I needed something we could do together.  He has a gun already, and I always loved shooting BB guns at Cub Scout Day Camp, so I thought I should get a gun so we could go target shooting together. So we went to a Gun Show (another admission in and of itself), and I bought a gun!  It's just a little gun, but I bought it to shoot at targets, not people, so that's okay.  It is still lots of fun to shoot, and doesn't have the recoil of a bigger gun. I'm turning into such a redneck!

4.  I have road rage.  Don't be alarmed that this admission follows my admission of gun ownership! I only bring my gun in the car if I'm going to the range - and it's never loaded. But I do have road rage, and will yell at people while I'm driving.  Now these people never know I'm yelling at them, since I have my windows rolled up.  And I never do anything more than yell - I don't cut people off or anything stupid like that.  But yelling makes me feel better.  If any one other than my family is in the car with me, they would not know I have road rage - I hide it in front of others.  But my family knows. In fact, my kids have picked up on my bad habit. They will yell with me in the car!  And those who drive also yell.  Not the best habit I could have passed on to them, and something I need to work on.  If there just weren't so many stupid drivers on the road... 

There you have it.  Four things you might not have known before, but know about me now.  I hope you will still talk to me...