What can you make out of this? The Airplane Chronicles

The Sounds of Silence

2012-01-29T11:14:00.000-06:00

So, it has been 2 years and no blogging. So sad.

But I really - REALLY - want to get back to it because I have new ideas on what to blog on.

This blog was created to put out the random stuff in my brain then it took a turn to craftiness. Now I would like to see if I can squeeze in some school stuff. It will just become an entire plethora of informations - a virtual font of wisdom.

But I can not just go blog about the new stuff unless I give some background info on where this came from and where I have been. Short but sweet - busy family, teaching school, then go overboard on conferences to go to then I start my National Boards - I am a crazy person. Family - kids growing like weeds - but we have had fun - last March we went to Walt Disney World.

So why do I feel the need to blog again. Well, it is a creative outlet - which I desparately need, but I hope to help people by posting ideas to my blog and then on to PINTEREST.

I am in the final phases of my portfolio for my national boards. I am a 5th grade teacher of math and science, but the only category that fits this is Middle Childhood Generalist. So this means I have to teach and write about not only math and science, but social studies and writing. I write in my class, but this is like a horse of a different color.

I saved the worst for last and that is the narrative writing. I can teach it, the problem is I do not want to, but I have to, so I am. The kids know about vivid language, setting, plot, similes, and metaphors. But I have to write about what I taught them. I did not teach them this- their language teacher did, but I can't just lie. So I let my brain do some wondering and came up with an idea.

Friday night a friend posted lots of videos on Facebook. One had the lyrics to the Sounds of Silence. This is one of my favorite songs, so I used my super-power and rewrote the 1st verse and commented back. Well, this lead to my singing this song for the next 24 hours. Yesterday, I realized that there sure was a lot of vivid language, personification, symbolism, and conflict in this song.

Soooooo, I had found my lesson. Simon and Garfunkel! I copied and pasted the lyrics in a word doc. Added all the literary devices that I could find beside the verses and came up with a plan.

I am posting my mini lesson on this here. Yet, I will also explain it now.

In class we have been talking about how I am going to read all of these stories and that I would hope they would be fun to read. I know that my students will return a book to the library if it is not a good read. So we have talked about how to make your writing fun to read - adjectives, etc.

Well, rough drafts are due tomorrow and I will read them tomorrow night, but I know I will not find as much vivid language as I would like. This is were Simon & Garfunkel come in.

I have rewritten the song in bare bones boring (alliteration!) words. I will read it to them and ask them if it was enjoyable. I am sure I will get some "no's". Then I will contrast it with reading of the lyrics 1st. Students will close their eyes and use imagination. Then another discussion will follow.

Lastly, the song will be played. Our stories are not in rhyming verse, but I think they will get the picture.

If this has peaked your interest, try out Pink Floyd's "Wish you were here." This whole song is paradoxial.

The Firm even used an oxymoron (neon darkness) in one of there songs. The video is posted here. The song title is alliteration. I also like it because of Jimmy Page. (Another day, another blog)

And then if you really must have something else - try a little Otis Redding. "These Arms of Mine" has lots of personification. And as a side note - Willie and The Poor Boys (which also had Jimmy Page in it) did a cover of the version.

Well, I have to stop this or it could go on forever, but I think you see my train of thought.

Valentine Tiles

2010-02-01T19:44:00.005-06:00

School is in full swing, so my crafting and blogging are taking a hit. I would love to just do this all the time, but it does not put food on the table.

I was at Wal-Mart Saturday getting some things and had to go ahead and purchase Eminem some school Valentines (iCarly ones). I was done the seasonal aisle and was struck with inspirations by seeing some napkins. Small white cocktail napkins with multi colored hearts. Too cute. So for a whopping $1 I picked them up.

I was just going to make one decorative tile or maybe 2 when the craft bomb went off and set me to thinking. So later I went to Home Depot, purchases some supplies and set off crafting.

These are the cute tiles I made - very simple and just about the same directions as making the coaster with the tiles.

It starts with these supplies:

ceramic tiles - 12 x 12 cost $1.90, 6 x 6 cost $0.48 and 4 x 4 cost $0.16

modge podge

paint brushes

scrapbook papers

craft knife

and my cute $1 napkins

1. I decided on a design and precut the scrapbook papers.

2. I set them out and started to Modge Podge them to the tiles.

I have never Modge Podged napkins - so that was a little different. I did not take into account that I would be able to see the scrapbook paper through the napkin.

I also got a few wrinkles in the paper, so they are just going to add some character!

I was just going to do this one big one and use the 6x6 tiles for something else, but I thought my little Valentine area needed more so I started cutting out hearts.

These are the small and medium tiles.

3. I did about 5 coats of Modge Podge letting it dry good between coats. I sprayed some poly on it too for good measure.

On the smaller ones you could put the little felt tabs on them to use as coasters.

A great thing about the napkins is that each napkin has 4 little squares. There were 24 napkis times 4 pieces in each, so that is 96 decorative sheets for $1.

I spent $3 on the tile and I purchased the paper in bulk pads 50% off at Hobby Lobby. It probably comes out to 1 cent each square.

A quick, easy and cheap Valentine decoration to perk up your living space!

XOXO, Striker

Cats!

2010-01-27T05:59:00.000-06:00

Not the musical - but the little creatures we keep in our house for fun.

I have a cat named Bob. He is a strange little thing. We think he was brain damaged by the flea collar we put on him as a kitty. He likes to help around the house.

He is really good at holding down papers. It is like a fuzzy paper weight.

Last night he tried some wine. I had my cute hand-painted wine glass that BCF gave me for Christmas out at the computer. He was desperately trying to stick his whole head in, but it would not fit. So he licked the inside of my glass. I poured it out after that. Because I teach science I wanted to see what happened. Of course, nothing cool. He just ran off.

Bob, is hard to photograph. He will not sit still. He is fun to have around and can actually catch a mouse. It has happened before.

Bob is 13 years old and still very spunky. He zips all around the house.

This is a stupid post, I know, but kitty was just on my mind. He likes to blog with me in the morning. He sits right in front of the monitor.

I'm so Tired

2010-01-25T19:40:00.001-06:00

This title come from a Beatles song on the White Album. The song actually sounds like you are singing tired. I do love the Beatles.

I think I am mentally and physically exhausted from the weekend and today. Is it possible one could be so tired that you throw up? That is how I feel, or it could be the wine I am drinking.

I am a 5th grade math and science teacher and it is science fair season. I know I just made some parents cringe. I love science and would drop math like a bad habit if I could teach science all day long. Our district science fair is tomorrow. I got placed in charge of judges last week - we had some , but I had to round up the others. Thank goodness we livwe in a college town. Where else are you going to find a couple of physicist lying about.

So, Saturday my peeps, Pants and Hurdle, came over at 3:00 and we worked until 10:30 on this Science Fair. We typed and typed and typed. All this typing paid off when we did our check in today. It was S-M-O-O-T-H. We feel good. But tired because all day from 7:00 to 7:00 today we did science fair.

One more day of this fair in our school. I have a professional day to hang about with the judges and schmooze. My sub will be teaching how fractions relate to decimals. I like to schmooze.

so, I have been how for 40 minutes and want to just lie down and sleep for days.

Did I mention that this weekend we helped Scout complete the Reading Fair Project and Eminem do her Star of the Week info? Just how far away is spring break!?!?!?

Changing Fonts on Word

2010-01-24T20:20:00.002-06:00

I will get to the title in a minute. First, I just need to say that Iam tired and worn out from the weekend.

Saturday morning there was an indoor yardsale at the convention center. It was great and I wish I had had a purpose to buy something. I had Eminem so it was hard to shop. She did find some rollar blades for $3 and found cute white Christmas trees for the mantle. I will play with them in 10 months.

We then took some stuff to Goodwill and of course I had to shop. Eminem bought a straw hat to play it - she looks very cute. And I found the biggest bargain. Pottery Barn candle sticks for $5. I set was originally $69. I was fired up. Can't wait to find a place for them.

So, on to the Font thing. Scout has a Reading Fair Project due this Wednesday. He is presenting "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban". He did all the writing and typing himself, but wanted something to make the project cool. I though that we needed to find a Harry Potter font. And guess what - there are about 8 good ones to chose from. We chose the ones with thelightening bolts on the letters. It took me a while to figure out how to get that sucker in Word but I managed and want to educate the world. You know I am a teacher.

1. Search the web for your font and save it to your desk top. It will be saved as a zip file.

2. Close out of the internet and right-click on your font zip file and chose "extract all files". In this order choose Next, Next, Finish - when it asks you questions. It is just saving the file in C: drive/Documents and Settings/OwnerDocuments/My Documents...

3. Now, you will not need to have any other windows open. Hit the Start button and go to the Control Panel.

4. At the Control Panel, click "Appearance and Themes" then under this choose Fonts- if you do not have "Appearance and Themes" - like me_ then click "Fonts".

5. Click the "File " menu and choose 'Install New Fonts"

6. Make sure the drive says C:

7. There is a little window of folders on the left - under C, choose Documents and Settings. double click

8. choose the Owner File - Double Click

9. chosose Desktop File - Double click - once this is open you will be able to scroll down and find the name of your font

10. Double click the font name and it will appear in the box above

11. Click on the font name and choose "OK". A box will then pop up pretty fast and say "100% Download" or something.

12. Go to Word and enjoy your new font.

It was great and made the project a little extra special.

Linking up to DIY Day - since I did do it myself. I did not really make anything, but I still feel that sense of accomplishment.

Dining Room Dilemma

2010-01-20T06:30:00.002-06:00

I do love my Dining Room and I think it looks just fine the way it is, but with the sprucing up and redecorating urges that are on me, I feel the need to do some thing a little different.

Here are some dining room pics.

I still have problems placing pictures, so I apoligize for the crazy placement.

I love the dark wood and the furniture is in great shape. Not going to redo that. The walls are a mustard color that I do like - not changing that. The trim is white and so I have the light colored rug and the light colored display curio in there too. I really have no other place for the curio, but if it does not match please tell me to find a place!

My primary issue is with the windows. Do they need "softening"? I have the decorative arches on either side of the window. They are paper mache'. Here is a close up lookPlease excuse the dust. So, you can see it is also a dark wood color with highlights of gold. I am fine with the gold.

Should I paint these suckers antique white and then wipe some paint off to let the dark color peak out?

Should I get some long cream panels for these areas? I don't think I want too much patten going on. I actually did find some great fabric.

But at $20 a yard and I need about 4 yards - that is not happening. But it was a beautiful silk.

What do you think please tell me!

I also think the wall with the buffet needs help. We can't do anything to the pottery on the actual buffet. I will hurt you over that stuff - it is a prized possession in MS. I think the wreath needs to go. Do I update the pictures or just the frames? One picture is starting to fade because it gets more sun.

My ceilings are 9 ft so I have a good bit of room to play with.

GoodWill Hunting

2010-01-19T19:18:00.002-06:00

This is a fabulous movie, but an even more fabulous store. I went to check out the new one in town. ( We just got it.) And now I am addicted to it.

My son is in the in-between stage of boys to men. He wears a mens small right now. He has got to go with me to find shirts.

Even though they have some great deals on clothes, I had a blast looking for accessories. I had in mind that I needed a small corner shelf for the bathroom. It is not a must so just whenever I found it would be fine. I saw it the minute I walked in the store. It had been out a week and no one had claimed this wonderful jewel.

It might lean just a wee bit, but in a "potty room" who will really notice. The paint job is not the greatest, but that can be fixed.

I also have recently decided to de/re - that is shorthand for decrapify and redecorate. So, I am doing a bathroom makeover in the master bath. Turquoise and Lime or bright green is really in, so I am going for that look. I wast just peaking for accessories at the GoodWill and found these too!

These green vases are so ugly they are cool! The big clear vase will look good filled with turquoise marbles that I found at the Dollar Tree. (Our Dollar Tree is next door to the GoodWill ! Woo Hoo!)The vases were $1.99 each. I thought that was ok.

The white star is a tree topper, but it is rustic white. Not sure what to do with it but for $0.99 I can find a place. But my favorite is the turquoise glass ashtray!

No one uses an ashtray anymore! You have to smoke outside. But in my weird way, I thought it was a treasure to save - vintage ashtray. It was 99 cents. It was a previous yard sale item because the 25 cent sticker was still on it and no one bought it.

I felt like Santa Claus stopping by at the Island of Misfit Toys on the Rudolph Christmas Special. I picked up the tacky accessories of yesteryear and will give them a good home even if they are not the "in" thing.

Happy GoodWill Hunting!

Nothing Post

2010-01-18T20:29:00.000-06:00

I have done lots this weekend and could blog lots about it, but it would take about 3 post because I would like it categorized that way. It was a nice long weekend.

The kitchen and breakfast area are now completely decrapified. I also redecorated by rearranging accessories. I love doing this because it is free. Wish I would have had a buddy to help. Sometimes it just makes you feel better to have someone give input or agree with you.

I also moved some things around in the den and dining room. The dining room was previously decrapified. The den is also looking pretty good. I have some cabinets under shelves that really need help. One is full of pictures. That is a summer project. I can't scan in all of that in a weekend. We also have a small closet that needs a little help. It is not so bad, but that might wait a while too.

I think the kids bathroom might get it next. It is small and very doable on a regular 2 day weekend. I haven't had one of those in a while. I need something that I can start and stop in just a hour or two. I will have grading and lesson planning to do.

So I hope everyone has a good week.

De-clutterizing: Bloggy Style

2010-01-16T17:02:00.001-06:00

As stated here in a blog I follow, Thrifty Decor Chick is cleaning out. I too clean out at the 1st of the year. So far I have gotten the dining room, kitchen and laundry room fixed. Threw out a bunch of crap and re-organized. It makes me feel so much better.

Now that I visit others blogs a lot, I realized that I have a lot of crap on the side of my blog that just needs to be in a post and linked. As Thrifty Decor Chick puts it, it is time for decrapification, but for the blog.

All those Bob Dylan video links are fixing to ( Southern euphemism for about to) be in 1 of my 2 old blog post all about Bob post. I will just have a giant Bob Fest shortly. I will also put Tommy Tutone in his place, but I think I will leave Paul Newman. He is easy on the eyes.

Old blog Post 1 - Plastic Jesus Revisited

Old Blog Post 2 - Happy brithday Empire Burlesque

I hope the blog looks less cluttered after this. Then I will feel comfortable doing the breakfast nook next!

Things That Make you go Hmmmmm

2010-01-15T18:05:00.002-06:00

Random observations and useless trivia alert.

1. Bounty is not the "quicker picker upper". This has been scientifically tested and the results were displayed by one of my 5th graders. Actually Sparkle was the best.

2. If you put glow sticks in the freezer, their glow will last longer. Another bright student. I love puns.

3. Why is the Red Box movie kiosk at Wal-Mart blue?

4. I think the chickens came before the egg, because God created the animals and the egg would have never hatched if another chicken had not sat on it.

And a side note to the chickens. Their feathers actually absorb more oil than human hair. The people that clean up oil-spills in the open waters use feathers. My students are pretty creative.

5. Common household magnets, if left on gift cards, cds, and memory stick drive, will not erase the data. Aren't my 5th graders smart? She did not test the super strong magnets.

6. Why did it take 7 full days to get my cute new planner from New Jersey to Mississippi? Merlin's pants! I could have driven there and back faster than that! ( I have been wanting to say "Merlin's Pants" for some time now. I love Harry Potter!)

7. According to Facebook intelligence, my first name peaked in popularity in 1961. That is a full 10 years before I was born. But my parents scored a B- in creativity.

8. Mentadent works better at getting stains off your teeth than the expensive Rembrant.

We are going to ROCK the science fair.

I am having issues placing pictures. I can't get them side by side.

9. I took a Doo-Wop music quiz today. It was 30 questions and I only missed 3. My parents were about 8 or 9 years old when this was going on. I am proud of myself for that.

10. Whether you know it or not, real plankton look like Plankton off Sponge-Bob, and they are all in Mobile Bay. More of them congregate in open waters than by beachy areas and stream outlets. Thanks for that visual kiddo. Microscopic roaches in water - (((VOMIT))).

Happy Blogging!

Be Still....

2010-01-14T05:56:00.001-06:00

and know that I am God.

It is so very hard to be still and listen these days. I have two kids both going in different directions. I teach and always have planning or grading to do. Also, the Hubmaster works hard and is a Boy Scout leader. I would say that we are a busy family. Where is God in my busy life?

He would say that He is always right there and I am the one who does not notice Him. This is so true.

From previous posts you will have heard me lament my woes. I have had issues big time. God was there for me even when I did not want Him to be. Funny, how He is like that. God is in all the small stuff we do too.

Last night I was on a conference call with my 2 best buds - AKA and BCF. We do this from time to time just so we can catch up all together. We are in 2 different states and 2 time zones. God was there, pulling our friendship closer. It was lovely.

BCF said something me and AKA had never thought of before. When you are trying to call friends to talk about a problem or chit chat and can't get them and have to leave a message, that is God telling you to talk to Him instead. Profound. I actually sat there for a moment.

I am always saying that I wish that God would put up a billboard or send me an email telling me what I need to do in a situation. He is always sending signs to me. I must just be too busy to notice.

Slow down, enjoy life.

Spray Paint - Hard it Ain't

2010-01-12T20:52:00.004-06:00

OK, in my craftiness I have lost it. I do know that ain't is not a word, but it rhymes with paint and I am from the South, so it is ok. I know I have a friend or 2 that is probably wondering why in one day I am posting twice about crafts. School is back in session from the cold weather spot. I just guess my classes are a little boring and my creative outlet is crafting at the moment. I am not complaining. I am having fun.

Just a quick blurb about school. I do love it. I teach 5th grade science and math, but I am so tired of learning about ecosystems. This unit needs to be over quickly. Next is Earth Science - unit C. My favorite! My creative juices just flow. Plate tectonics and the continental drift theory are taught with songs. Tony Orlando and Dawn sing "Candida" and we change the words to Pangea. Also, Johnny Cash and his "Ring of Fire" just burns, burns, burns for plate tectonics.

Back to the painting I am supposed to show. Again, I have copied from someone and I don't know who. As I find crafts now I am keeping up with where I found them. I want to give credit where it is due. Pottery Barn had some cute silver candlesticks in their catalog.

They also showed them on the matle looking all pretty.

So, the blogger I coppied from decided to make her own using old brass candle sticks and some silver spray paint.

I decided this was idiot proof and that I could do this and so I found my old brass candle sticks and the spray paint and hopped to it.

The only hard part about this project was it was VERY COLD - 14 degrees - in Mississippi that is cold. And the wind was blowing. But they are very pretty now and I will be revamping the mantle very soon!

I kinda think they are pretty.

But I was bound and determined to complete a craft before going back to school. While I was digging through old stuff I found this lovely item.

Then after a little paint it became something better. I will have a great place for it soon.

I will link back to this when I finally get there.

Happy Crafting - Linking up to Domestically Speaking, Beyond the Piccket Fence, and Funky Junk Interiors. All of these great blogger-ladies have wonderful ideas. Thank you for inspiring me!

Oh, and by the way this was totally FREE. I already had the paint, the sticks, and the candles!

Getting Crafty!

2010-01-11T20:53:00.002-06:00

When I started this blog I never thought I would post crafts. For one, I had kind of quit them for a while because I do not have a lot of time. Second, i did not know people blogged about crafting. I guess I was just naive.

I have been reading so many of the crafting blogs that I can't even name them all. I have them saved in my favorites. I stalked for a little bit, and now have started posting comments and trying out crafts. I am having a ball. Thank you crafty bloggers!

So I wanted to do a craft that was quick and easy and a blend of 2 crafts I had seen. I am sorry that I can't give anyone specific credit. I would post your names, but I can't remember. My craft is frosting votive candles. The actual glass part. I also did some candles. So, here it goes. My 1st instructional crafty blog.

1. Things you need: glass jars - clean and empty, Modge Podge (everyones favorite), paint brush and epsom salt.

I forgot I also sprayed the jar lid with spray paint. the cat in the background is helping again.

Next, I painted the jar with the Modge Podge. Then rolled the jar in the salt. I poured the salt in an old cake pan. I was going to throw out the pan, but now it is my craft pan.

And while I was at it I did a few candles!

So, I was feeling pretty good about my craftiness, and decided to do something else. What if I mixed the tissue paper Modge podge votive candle thingy with the frosted epsom salt candle thing.(None of that made much sense, but..)

Well, I got too excited about it all and for got to take before and during pictues, but I think it did well. Check it out!

And here is a fuzzy picture in the dark. I don't know why my night pics are always fuzzy.

I can give you a tip.
The color strips are tissue paper. Modge Podge them 1st and let them competely dry, then do the salt thingy.

I had a blast doing this. Let me know what you think!

Linking up to A Soft Place to Land's DIY Day. It all started here for me. So give a shout out to Kimba!

Also linking to The Nesting Place also a wonderful place!

-Striker

I'll Tumble For Ya !

2010-01-09T06:09:00.000-06:00

Be careful what you wish for - you just might get it!

Last Monday when us teachers had to go back to school for a "work day" before the kiddos came back on Tuesday, I must have told 10 people that I would give up a week of summer break for an extra week at Christmas. I love the cold, and I still wanted to squeeze in a few more reorganizing projects and read blogs. I am addicted to reading blogs at the moment, but I digress.

So, North Mississippi received some snow and ice and very cold temps this week. ( Very cold here means below 20). So the schools closed for Thursday and Friday. Yeah! Woo Hoo! That means I could finish reorganizing the kitchen. During regular break I had previously "done" the dining room. The cat helped. I had also done the dishes, cups areas of the kitchen cabinets and all the bottom cabinets.

So, on Thursday, I thought I would just clean out 1 drawer in the kitchen. It was like opening Pandora's box! One draw lead to unloading every drawer (except the junk drawer 0 whole day project) and I had all my utensils everywhere. I cleaned out and sent some stuff to the donations pile and felt pretty good.

Yesterday, Friday, I was attacking the pantry and the small cabinets over the stove and builti in microwave. To make this task easier I turned on the computer and played some tunes through my new computer speakers the Hubmaster gave me for Christmas. I love 80's music so I turned on some Culture Club and danced whilst I cleaned the kitch. The song list included - I'll Tumble For Ya, Karma Cameleon, and Church of the Poison Mind. This is important.

Why did I have 6 pounds of powdered sugar in my cabinet? I also found lots of baking powder. It looked like my kitchen exploded, but in the end all was great. Then I went to get the mail. I guess I was still a little perky from dancing in the house to pay attention to the side walk. I hit a small patch of ice and biffed it ( our word for falling and busting your booty). Except I did not bust my booty, I sprained my ankle.

Here is where Culture Club comes in. It was like foreshadowing in a novel. I'll tumble for ya! I did not really have any thing in particular to write about until this. The irony was just too great to pass this up.

So now I am hobbling around the house unable to organize or craft. But my cabinets are organized! I have to go see a doctor today because I think I need to seek some medical attention on this. It hurts.

So, my 3rd week off I did get, and I did get some stuff done around the house. This must be God's way of telling me to sit back and relax and do not over do it. Enjoy your weekend.

Snowy Day Women # 12 and 35, Everybody Must Get Cold!

2010-01-07T14:48:00.006-06:00

Not that anybody is reading me, but I am on a Bob Dylan kick. This title and the previous post title are from Mr. Dylan. I thought it fit pretty good.

Anyway, the kids and I have been out in the snow - what little there was. And by now it is even melting - so sad. We will probably be at school tomorrow. But tonight the Artic Blast is moving in.

I live in the Deep South so snow is a wonderful thing for us - even the the little dusting we had today. The day before you go by the grocery store to purchase milk, bread, and poptarts. At least that's what we purchased. And you want to make sure you have gas in your car. The reason for this is because during the Ice Storm of '94, most of the town was out of electricity and all the pumps were electric so if you were low on gas you could not drive south. During this time it was important to the students of Ole Miss to drive South because it was Mardi Gras season and most of the students left for New Orleans. However, Striker was no longer a student and had to stay and work. Nice.

The kids love snow because that means Snow Ice Cream! Very easy to make. Recipe to follow, but I just have to add this in. I was once visiting my friend AKA and we went to Kroger. I had my kids with me and it was summer and I thought while we where hanging about on 4th of July we would eat ice cream. So we were moseying up and down the aisle and lo and behold - right there in the middle of the freezer section was - SNOW ICE CREAM - for sale! We purchased it and it tasted just like mine.

So just in case you do not know this is what you do.

1. Gather you some good snow. Make sure there are no discolorations.

2. Pour a little milk, vanilla flavoring, and regualr sugar in.

3. Stir and enjoy.

I know this is all approximate, but I did not measure. You just stir it until you get the right consistency for you. and That is it. I hope you enjoy it.

I would not feel so all alone - EVERYBODY MUST GET COLD!

You Don't Need A Weatherman To Know Which Way the Wind Blows

2010-01-07T06:03:00.005-06:00

The forecasts were calling for 1" - 2" of snow. My kids were ready, my students were ready, I was ready. And then...............

we just got a dusting. Yep the slightest covering, but it does look good.

Now, we are all out of school today because of inclement weather and hazardous road conditions. That is nice. I do not mind having another day off. It does kinds mess up how I teach and my lesson plans, but I can deal with that.

Did it seem to snow more when we were little? For some reason I think it did, but I am not going to discuss global warming or anything. Where I grew up it was flat as a pancake. We did not have any hills to slid down. We had the neighborhood sled and my Daddy took turns riding the neighborhood kids around the streets in the snow. He had to pull it behind the jeep and later a 3-wheeler. It was a cool sled. He made it out of plywood and 2x4s, and it was painted red. We still have it.

I was hoping to use it today. Daddy told me where is was at our hunting camp. It would have brought back a flood of memories. Here are a few:

* Jose Cuervo (little sister) wearing ziploc bags over her gloves so her hands would not get wet. ( We always had a wet snow.)

* Our snowmen never had 3 sections, just kinda 1 big blob. He had stick arms and usually had a baseball cap on. An sometimes waved a flag.

* My mother would not let us play in the back yard, because she like seeing the yard snow untouched. It was pretty.

* The neighboorhood set of brothers who always had their hats pulled down over their eyes so that they had to lean their head back to see. It looked stupid.

* Turning on the patio light at night and watching the snow fall over the patio. Daddy would put a chair there for me to sit in - thus began my weather fascination.

* Coming in the house wet from snow and stripping down to our long underwear. All the out clothes went into the dryer to dry and the boots went in front of the fireplace to warm up. We would just run around the house in the long-johns and drink hot chocolate.

If anyone actually reads this blog, I would ask for your snow memories. If you do happen to come across me. I would love a snow story!

The shame, The embarrassment, the horror of it all.

2010-01-06T05:48:00.002-06:00

I have no clue where this quote came from. My friends and I said it a lot in high school and even now. We would say it even when someone had committed the slighted faux pas. But now I just have to say it is for real.

It is truly amazing how low people can sink. Sometimes it is because they make bad choices and other times it is because they are just not cut out for the job and are sucking wind.

I go back to school yesterday in a good mood and realize that yet again, there has been a big communication break down and it is affecting a student greatly. Incompetence! Does it seem like the higher paying job you have they less you have to do and know one cares and you can just be an idiot?!?

Then I get an email reply because I had some concerns. The Head Cheese is now backtracking on her word ( that mind you I have in writing). She then goes on to make excuses as to why the custodial staff on my hall did not sweep the rooms before Christmas Break. Pathetic excuses. Lame and idiotic.

And then finally, the email from a BMOC. Posting a job opening for a position that became open because of the tragic death of a young teacher over the break. No email about her passing was sent out. No mention of how to make memorials or show respect.

It is most shameful and embarrassing.

Nightmare in My Closet

2010-01-05T01:16:00.005-06:00

I can't believe It but it is 1:15 in the morning and I am up blogging. I just had a horrific nightmare and could not lie there and dwell - so here I am.

Why do we have nightmares or dreams for that matter? When we sleep we close our eyes to rest, but why does our mind keep going? Why can"t it go into sleep mode? Time to fire up the google engine and do a little research.

Why we dream - no one knows why, but there are 6 major theories.

Freud - Out of all theories before his, and all of those today, this is the one that stands out the most. He believed that a dream represented an ongoing wish along with the previous days activities. They may even portray wishes that have been inside us since early childhood. In fact, he believed, every dream is partially motivated by a childhood wish. Another interesting idea was that nothing is made up during a dream and that they are biologically determined, derived completely from instinctual needs and personal experiences. (copied and pasted)

I just don't think my nightmare I just had is any wish. Just saying.

Jung - Jung, disagreeing with Freud's theory, quickly developed his own which contradicted Freud's. Jung believed the most effective method for dream interpretation was the use of series correlation. Freud didn't even believe interpretation was possible by the dreamer and that dreams could only be interpreted by a trained psychologist. Jung was the one who gave hope to all dreamers who were looking for the meaning in our dreams without having to hire a "professional."

Cayce ( Edgar maybe?) - When it came to the idea of dreams having purpose, Cayce's theory was a bit different then the others. He believed dreaming to be the bodies way of "self edification," which is the building up of the mental, spiritual, and physical well-being. It was a way of quickening the dreamer to his/her own human potential. By getting a good nights sleep, any person could develop more mature values, stretch their thinking, and right one's self.

Evan's - According to Evans, every time we go to sleep our brain disengages from the external world and uses this time to sort through and organize all the information that was taken in throughout the day. Sleep, especially during REM sleep, is when the brain becomes isolated for the sensory and motor neural pathways. During this time our data banks and program files are opened and become available for modification on re-organization, based on what happened during the day.
In this theory, we are not aware of the full array of processing that occurs during REM sleep. While we dream the brain comes back on-line for a short period of time and the conscious mind is allowed to observe a small sample of the programs that are being run. The brain attempts to interpret this information in the same way it would during the wakeful state, what is created from these samples of information is a dream. In a nutshell, dreams are nothing more than a minute amount of the information that is being scanned and sorted during REM sleep. I agree with this one so far. - I has potentially explained bad dreams.

Crick and Mitchinson - Crick and Mitchinson base their theory on the fact that the cortex, unlike other parts of the brain, is made up of richly interconnected neuronal networks in which each cell has the capacity to excite it's neighbors. It is believed that memories are encoded in these networks and when one point of the web is excited a pulse travels through the network prompting recall. The problem with such network systems is that they malfunction when there is an over load of incoming information. Too many memories in one network may produce either bizarre associations to a stimulus, which creates our fantasies, the same response whatever the stimulus, creating obsessions, or associations triggered without any stimulus, which creates hallucinations.
To deal with information overload, the brain needs a mechanism to debug and tune the network. This debugging mechanism would work best when the system was isolated from external inputs and it would have to have a way of randomly activating the network in order to eliminate spurious connections. This method, they say, is REM sleep and that the hallucinatory quality of dreams is nothing more than the random neural firing needed for the daily cleanup of the network.
According to this theory, these signals somehow erase the spurious memory associations formed during the previous day and we wake up with the network cleaned up. They believe that people remembering their dreams could help retain patterns of thought which are better forgotten, the same patterns that your system has attempted to clean out. This is why, they say, if you don't write down your dreams they will be forgotten because your brain is still working to clear these memories out.

C & M just expand on Evan's ideas and get pretty sciencey. Since I teach that I can appreciate it. And right now in my post nightmare alertness it makes me see where the dream came from. My brain was defragging - pretty cool. I guess I had not properly dealt with this issue and I slipped up on in accidentally in my sleep.

The title of this post comes from a book my brother had. It is about a little boy who really does have a nightmare in his closet. In the end, he is ok with that. I guess I am too now.

Night -Night.

Tiptoe Part 2

2010-01-04T06:13:00.005-06:00

I have been digging through the Internet. I did find Tiny Tim and Miss Viki's daughter Tulip. But not much else. She has apparently not in show business or music business.

Tulip's last name is Stewart now. She is 38 and lives in Pennsylvania. That's it. All I found. Not very exciting for the blog, but I said I would do it.

I also found some very disturbing information about Tiny Tim. He was often described as a novelty act. His life was novel too. Late in life he just took to wearing Depends as underwear because they were more sanitary that regular underwear. I think he was turning into Howard Hughes.

Let's talk about Howard Hughes. I think it would be funny for Scout to dress up as Mr. Hughes for Halloween this year. I can find a long awful wig, fake beard. He can wear his bathrobe and Kleenex boxes on his feet. Supposedly that is what looked like shortly before his death. Howard was a nice looking man.

Now this makes me think of Kleenex. Do you call all facial tissue Kleenex? I do. I never say please pick up some facial tissue at Wal-Mart. It is all called Kleenex - whether it is Kleenex, Puffs or generic. We can even go back to Halloween with Kleenex by itself. I have tried to get Eminem to be a box of Kleenex for Halloween the past 2 years. I have lost this battle to the pink fairy princess and the glamor witch.

Kleenex was originally called "cellucotton" and it was used in gas masked during WWI. Kleenex was not marketed in the US until the 1930's. I have to say that Kleenex is a whole lot more sanitary that caring a handkerchief.

Wonder what Tiny Tim thought of Kleenex.

Feeling (not) Groovey

2010-01-03T18:49:00.003-06:00

Not sure why the blue funk has hit me today. I would like to say it is because it is my last day of Christmas Holidays - gotta go to school tomorrow. But that would just mean that I was not being quite honest with myself.

I am pretty sure it is what happened at church and Sunday School. The early service in and of itself was just fine. Scout got to acolyte for the first time. He even had to do communion. So it was not the service, I think it was Sunday school. And I don't even think it was the topic of the lesson. It was the off topic.

Sunday school lessons always go off topic at some point. Not to worldly things but to just another point of Christianity. Our lesson was on how to make love last. It was mostly situated on couples and married life. Love with respect, love with understanding, and a Christ like love. I have no clue how we got to the off topic deep discussion, but it came just the same.

Now, here is where Strike gets vague. I can't tell you what the topic is. That is too much about me and I don't do that here. This blog is my anonymous outlet. But for the past 20 months I have been dealing with some heavy crap. H-E-A-V-Y ! If anyone reads this and knows me then you know what I speak of.

Now, back to present. Today was the 1st time that our family has been to church in possibly 9 months. I have been angry, sad, distraught, lost, and in hinding. Scout's acolyting duties are what forced us to church and so I thought with a new year, and all my resolution making of being over it that I could start putting my over-itness into practice. And guess what - I sucked. I failed and I feel it. Deep down in my soul.

The Sunday School off topic could have been someone basically just using my problem in detail and discussing it. I chimed in a little. Just wanting to agree, but ended up crying. I tried not to, but I did. And I am still crying now as I type. I am angry with myself for being weak, and not being a big girl.

Why did it have to be this topic - Why! Why did God place that there in front of me today - Why! Why could I not hold it together - Why! Why does God not give me any reasons - Why! What did I do to deserve this? I tried to stop it. I played the bad guy in the family to stop it. Does God want to torture me? If he wants me to learn something, then can't he send me a letter and make it all plain as day and just say hey, I think you need to work on this!

Oh, the pain I feel. Hearthbreaking agony.

Sorry, this is such a sad, sorrowful post. I can't help it. I just had to get it out and no one else listens.

I promise that tomorrow will be a better topic. You can still make of this what you want. Insane ramblings of a lost soul. A cry for help. Pathetic-ness on a never before seen level. It's all there.

Tiptoe Through the Tulips With Me!

2010-01-02T15:05:00.004-06:00

This is a rather silly song, but I love it anyway. I am pretty sure that one of my high school friends would go all out with it. In case you do not know about this song, it was sung by Tiny Tim - not the Scrooge one.

Why am I bringing this up? I thought about him as I paid for gas at the Texaco today. There close to the check out were some "Miss Vickie's" potato chips. Don't know who Miss Vicki is? That was Tiny Tim's wife, and it made me wonder.

What happened to the real Miss Vicki and the daughter she had with Tiny Tim - and yes the child's name was Tulip. Was she called Tulip Tim or did she go by Tiny Tim's real last name Khaury. FYI, Tiny Tim's real first name was Herbert.

So, of course I googled Miss Vicki and found an entry on her at Wikipedia. Miss Vicki and Tiny Tim met in early 1969 and later married on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson - December 17, 1969. Miss Vicki was 17. Her parents had to agree to this! anyway, an estimated 40 million people tuned in. The newlyweds had a 7 ft tall wedding cake decorated with - guess what - tulips!

The couple had a daughter, Tulip Victoria, born May 10, 1971. (She is exactly one month older than me). I am going to find her next.

Miss Vicki and Mr. Tim's marriage did not last long because she went into modeling - against his wishes. Miss Vicki filed for divorce in 1972 and the divorce was final in 1977. During the separation years, Miss Vicki did some questionable modeling.

She ended up running a boutique in New Jersey in the 1990's and has now married her high school sweetheart ( in 2006) and they live in Savannah, TN. Which incidentally is not but about 3 hours from me.

Weird.

You Say You Want A Resolution!

2010-01-01T20:24:00.003-06:00

Happy New Year to my 2 people who read my blog. I have had a great year so far. i have tidied up the house and crafted a bit. We will not get into the crafting yet - another day another blog. It is time to resolve! ( no I am not cleaning the carpet.)

Why do people make resolutions? Do we really have it in us to change? Can anybody change? Hmm - I think everone has the capacity to change, but one really has to dig deep to change.

So I could make the same resolution that other make like this: I resolve to be a better: wife, mother, sister, daughter, friend, teacher, get closer to God, etc. Or I could say that I was going to try to: eat more fruits and veggies, drink more water, exercise, lose weight, not eat cookies! By why be like everyone else. Now, I am not saying that these are not worthy goals. I really do need to work on everyone of these. These can just be things that I should do everyday. And I will work on them.

But, I am going to quote a friend of a friend, SPQ Jill, and say that need to "Be Particular." Why do I feel the need to stand out and be different - I think deep down somewhere that is my inate ability. I can get weird and peculiar with the best of them. Now, Jill could have ment "Be Chosey", "Don't Settle", "Go for the Gusto." Since I do not know her personally, so I am just guessing. I am going to be very particular about resolving this year.

I have issues - we all do, but this year they will all be resolved. So here it is (PG-13 Rating here). I Striker, being of sound mind and fat body, do hereby resolve to do the following in 2010: Come hell or high water, I am going to kick ass and take names! Not literally, I am a non-violent type. I am going to kick all my issues in the ass and strike their names off the issue list.

This is mainly dealing with old, hurtful issues - I'M OVER IT! MOVING ON! There is another thing to add to my this resolution. If any persons act like idiots and are disagreeable with the majority, try to bully others, or are just out right rude - your name get immediately put on the top of the list and I will deal with you immediately.

And you are now you are wondering if I have a plan of action. Oh yes. I plan and make lists. Back story, about a year ago I decided to stop coloring my hair. I am only 38, but I got the gray. I am embracing it. Now, my train of though goes on to people who are totally gray - older ladies and gentlemen. Now people with gray hair are wise and very truthful. They also can get away with saying whatever they feel. So, I am embracing their attitude and persona.

Why not? I have gray hair and I am kicking ass this year. Be a completely new person - I think it will be like secretly being a super hero. Clark Kent could hear cries for help and become his alter ego Superman. Striker is going to stop the adult bullies and rude idiots of the world and become an alter ego. Not going to blow it off - going to deal with the situation right there and then. Gonna tell them like it is and if they do not like it - that is their problem. Not having issues anymore.

Senior citizens can say stuff and it is ok, so I am too. Why do I have to sit back and take it and let people run me and others over. Ain't gonna happen this year.

I sound angry, don't I? I am not - just fired up like Julia Sugerbaker.

Now, off to bed. Eminem is tired and needs a hug and kiss!

Feeling like I am on a TV show.

2009-12-31T08:37:00.002-06:00

So continues my reorganization project. Going well so far. I do feel like I am on an episode of Clean House ( not Hoarders - I am not crazy). Anyway, I pulled everything out of my dining room and had it spread all over the floor and on the table. I had me piles of donate, keep, and throw away (because it was broken or something).

Once I got my mind cleared and had my plans approved by my good friend AKA then I went to reorganization. It was a most liberating feeling. I had a written plan of what I wanted to do and viola it happened. I feel very pleased wit myself and Hubmaster thought it looked nice too.

I am having some issues on crativity at the moment. I am wanting to craft! I am feeling the need to be creative so I can calm my brain. So I am gonig to have to find something to do today that is crafty and creative - not school plans. Even though those need to be done too. I just know that next week I will teach math and science. Not sure what yet.

I think this post is rather boring. Maybe after I get my brain rewired I will be perkier.

Wishing for a magic wand and a pensieve!

2009-12-29T19:16:00.004-06:00

If you do not watch Harry Potter then you have no idea what a pensive is, but I would like one.

I would like a magic wand so I can quickly and effieciently clean up from Christmas undecorating, clean out the shed, outside closet, attic, and reorganize the whole house. I get this way between Christmas and New Years. I get a compulsion to clean out the whole house and get organized. I never actually get the whole house done, but enough gets done so I can relax about it.

I usually do pretty good until about February, and then I get lazy or just completely worn out. All my good intentions fade away. I would really like to do better this year. I have already started squirreling around in the dining room. Why do I have so much crap in the buffett. Random things, papers, old picture frames. I am really going to try to clean out the dining room tomorrow. I think that will make me feel good.

Now the pensieve is very useful tool. If you are a Potter fan you will notice that Dumbledore's Pensive change styles for HBP. I guess you can get a new container and just poor the liquid into it. Anyway, if you had a magic wand then you would be able to put the tip of it to your temple and pull out selected memories. They look like silvery plasma on the movie. You can place your memories in little jars and store them somewhere else. The pensieve is used when you want to see the memory. One can place the memory in the liquid and stick your face down in the container. Sounds weird - but rather neat in the movie.

I have lots of things from this year I would rather forget, but that leads into my New Years post so we can save that for later. Right now I would like to just take all my ideas for what I would like to reorganize and just bottle them up and got view them when I had all the time in the world to actually do it. That will never happen.

So instead, I am going to watch the next few episodes of CSI season 1. I got them for Christmas.

The Hills Are Alive ....

2009-12-28T09:38:00.004-06:00

with the sound of music! I love this movie. I have seen it hundreds of times, but when it comes on tv it makes it special. I do not know why - it just feels that way to me.

I do realize that the Sound of Music is a musical, but I wish there was an alternate version without all the singing. Maybe a song or two to set up them singing in the Salsberg Music festival, but not all the other. There is a point later in the movie when Georg (Christopher Plummer) breaks off the engagement with the Baroness. The Captain goes out to find Fraulien Maria who is just out wandering the grounds and probably pondering her future. The two end up in the glass gazebo and they finally admit their feelings to each other and have a quick kiss. The scene is the 2nd most romantic part of the whole movie. Then Maria breaks out into song. Striker is here to tell you that if I was Maria and I was alone with Christopher Plummer in a beautiful gazebo on a star filled night on an estate in the Austrian Alps - I would NOT be busting out into song. I will just let your imagination go from there because I said that I would make this blog PG. Gotta stand by that.

Anyway, the best scene in the whole movie is the dancing scene out on the veranda during the big, fancy party. The band starts to play the music for the Linder, an Austrian folk dance. Maria is teaching Kurt how to do the dance and the Captain breaks in. I rewind this part and watch it over and over on DVD. I really have to believe that it possibly the best "love" scene in cinema history. The characters both realize that they are in love with each other even though they do not admit it until later in the movie. WONDERFUL!

I will be all goo-goo eyed all day thinking about the sauve Captain Georg von Trapp.

Christmas

2009-12-27T15:00:00.003-06:00

I hope everyone really did have a Merry Christmas. I love, love, love Christmas. I love decorating, I love to buy presents, I love to watch people open my gifts. I do not care for wrapping and undecorating, but it is a necessary evil. I could not do Christmas for 365. It is more special for about 35 days.

I have to mention Christmas trivia, oddities and origins of all traditions. I really do love useless information. My knowledge of nothing important did come in handy at school. I won a book for knowing something trivial. I then could not answer for myself again - so I helped out some friends. We got 2 more answered before I got kicked out of the game. I really did not mean to blurt out stuff - it is like a short circuit and all of a sudden the stuff that has been crammed into the nooks and crannies of my mind come exploding forth like a volcanic eruption of epic proportions.

I felt a little bad about this and embarrassed. I think next year I will just be in charge of the trivia game. I already have a good list of questions. I will even string for some of the prizes.

Karma has a way of coming back around. Only a few hours later after my knowledge spewing episode mother nature got her revenge. I had volcanic eruptions of gastronomic proprotions. The stomach bug had flown into the house and infested inside my innards.

Holy - freaking - cow is all I have to say about that. The "I think I will just lie on the floor of the bathroom and die" phase passed in a few hours. The weakness and fatigue lingered for another 48 hours. The next day the plague visited Scout. It did not get to the Hubmaster until yesterday. Eminem should be next. I really hope if passes her by - I could only be so fortunate.

Now do I really believe that this was inflicted upon me because of my inability to contain my trivial knowledge. Not really but one could think that if they believed whole-heartedly in the chaos theory. "If a butterfly flaps his wings in the Amazon River basin it will cause the flooding of the Ganges River." - that type of thing is the basis of the chaos theory. Jeff Goldblum's character in Jurassic Park talked about it. You never know.

Back from the Great Beyond

2009-12-27T14:42:00.003-06:00

Bet you thought I skipped town. You could not get so lucky - ha. The last thing I blogged about was my summer being over and now in a blink of the eye it is the week between Christmas and New Year. Funny, how time slips away.

Quick wrap up of the past 5 months: August - school started - Scout is in 6th grade and Eminem is in 2nd grade. They have great teachers and I am fortunate. I also have 2 cute classrooms of perky little 5th graders. It took a while to train them.

September - The kids were busy and I was up to my armpits in school. I continued therapy with MC Hammer. MC Hammer is a real person and not just a rapper. We welcomed a new member into the Striker extended family. My sister, Jose'Cuervo, and her husband welcomed their second daughter Bu-dahdah. Baby Bu-dahdah is also welcomed by her 2 year old sister ,Otter.

October - we could not wait for cooler days and Halloween - Scout was a person attacked by wild minks and Eminem was a gothic vampire Queen. Otter was a butterfly.

November - started the countdown to Thanksgiving which in turn starts the countdown to Christmas break. Lots of cramming of school projects both for me as a teacher and for both my kids. Thanksgiving was a small affair with Rufus T, my family, Brother Baby and his wife ( yet un-nicknamed- working on it.). My mother person is still absent. I do not have a nickname for her either or a good name for the place of her current residence but that will come.

December - love Christmas - the reason ( JC) and I like the other commercialism of it too. The kids love the new tree ( I broke down and got an artificial). School was hard the last 3 weeks. No one wants to learn or teach - got to include the teachers. Everyone was glad when break started.

This is just a wrap up. I now feel free to post my thoughts and express my opinions in later posts. I just would have felt bad if I did not at least mention the months I ignored my blog.

Where did all the summer go?

2009-08-03T18:41:00.002-05:00

Bet you thought I fell off the earth. I was just being a lazy crud and it felt pretty good. After the week from hell I decided not to do much. I really did not read, clean, or nothing else. I sat at the pool and sat and sat and talked and talked. My life was like a Dick and Jane book. See Striker sit in the sun. Sit Striker sit. Sit sit sit. It was nice.

I tried to bore myself before I went back to school. I teach. My room was ready pretty fast, so I thought the best way to mentally prepare myself was to do nothing, so that when the big schedule comes crashing down my brain will be happy to have something to do.

I did have some flashes of light at the pool.

All boys young and old still like to show off at the pool. They like to play who can make the biggest splash with the "can opener" jump. Oh ah - you are so manly when this happens.

Some men can be just as vain as women about their tan and their hair.

That is just pool knowledge.

Other things that popped into my mind were that Nazis were cowards. I am reading Spandau Phoenix and it is a historical fiction book about plots surrounds Rupolh Hess's flight to England on May 10, 1941. Lots of Nazis killed themselves or ran - including Hitler. Also, if they were wanting to create a master race of blonde Nordic ideals, then why did everybody around Hitler have dartk hair except Reinhard Heydrich. I would also like to know if Rudolph Hess really had a double - they say Hussein did too. Did these people have surgery to look like them or was it really like finding a twin.

Who knows? I will try to be more creative next time.

Here's Striker!

2009-06-30T08:23:00.002-05:00

A lot has happened since my last post. Some I can tell you and some I can't. I was on vacation with my family for 1 week and basically in deep seclusion the 2nd. I am ok now.

Let's talk about vacation 1st - at least it was fun. I just have to say that my family might have been the only un-tattooed people on the Redneck Riviera. I do not have a tattoo and probably never will. That is a personal choice and if one of my readers happen to have a discreet tattoo somewhere on their body - I can live with that. It is the really big all over everywhere tattoos that are just too much. Really when you are 70 is that barbed wire anklet gonna look cool?

Now, someone in my family did have a tattoo - it was my grandfather. He was in WWII and in the navy. He had an anchor on his upper arm. When I was little I thought that when you joined the army or the navy you got tattooed as part of joining. My grandmother later told me that he hated it now. He was young when he got it and his mom freaked. As he grew older he thought that was one of the more stupid things he had done.

Back to the beach - I do NOT have a beach body. My kids do - their parents do not. However, I was looking good compared to some. This sounds tacky, but it made me feel better about myself some what. I still have lots of weight to lose, but I don't think I am without hope.

Another minor point - most men do not have hair on their chest. OK, I was not checking the men out - I have a very good man who I "check out" every day so let's not go there. As I was lying there in the sun I started thinking about the beach. Men, women and children and dressed in basically nothing more than underwear walking around. You can't walk around your office in your underwear - but at the beach people let it all hang out. So as I sat there pondering how our bathing suits look like underwear I noticed that most men do not have hair on their chests. I do like my man and his hairy chest. Just another observation from the sand.

Ok, now to my week on seclusion. It was self induced and thrust upon me like the weight of the world that I was reluctant to hold. It was the "feeling of impending doom." I can't go into particulars, but I felt depressed, scared, pissed off and just in general felt like crap. I survived only because I have the best family and friends on the face of the freaking earth. I have learned that God is there even if you are trying to ignore Him - He will still help you even if you think you can do it on your own. Your family has the same struggle and when you bond together that is something very special. And lets not forget my friends - they loved me enough to walk with me down the worst road in my life - no questions, no backing out. My friends are truly my family too - my other sisters - the older ones (even if it is only between a few weeks and months). I've had to play big sister all my life, but with them I get to be the one to listen. That is something that you can only repay in kind - I do not wish ill on anyone, but I have had the best set the example and I know that I can repay if the time comes.

Sorry today's blog was a little blah - I just needed to get it out. There are not pictures or videos to express my thoughts from the beach or my life from last week. Words only. Things can only get better from here.

WEATHER or not ?

2009-06-13T06:58:00.004-05:00

Update of the lists. I really had 11. I know, I know - crazy. But it works for me.

I got home yesterday at 3:00 after running numerous errands with. Made it just in time to see the bottom fall out of the sky. Chicken Little would have been vindicated because the sky was falling.

It hailed at my house the size of really big butter beans. Not pea size - butter bean. The dog was whining, the cat howling and Eminem clutched on to me for dear life. The storm passed quickly and I was doing my best trying to get ahold of my hubby and Scout while they were camping. They were fine.

I started to pack and get some things checked off the list because according to the radar, hell on Earth was coming. A line of red that grew wider every time I checked. Let's just say it was a doosy.

Long story short, as I was trying to call the Hubmaster and the lights went out, my mother called telling me my Dad told us to "seek shelter in the lowest floor of your home." We had a tornado warning and so we get in the closet with a flash light and radio. We sat in there for an hour, but sat in the dark for 9 hours. We eventually let the house in search of food hoping that the linemen would fix the electricity while we were gone. Most neighborhoods were dark - it would be a while.

At 2:18 this morning the lights came back on. I went and turned them all out and got back in bed thinking how far behind I was on my lists. I am even further now that i decided to do one last post before vacation.

I should make it. Will post when I can, but will be back on the 19th.

Vacation, all I ever wanted

2009-06-11T21:19:00.016-05:00

Hot Dog! My family and I leave for the beach tomorrow. We haven't been in 7 years. Awful I know. Our son doesn't remember it and our daughter has never been. We can't wait. My children are already brown as berries, but they will come back from the beach looking like they have just got off the boat from Cuba.

One thing about vacations that is a little stressful is the packing. Since I am an obsessive, control freak - I might just be in my element here. I have about 7 lists going. No lie. I have a list of things to be done today, a list of clothes for each child, a list of things to buy at Wal-Mart, a list of goods ( non clothing items ) to take, a list of what to buy when we get there, and a list of places to eat while we are there - complete with menus and driving instructions. On the menu list is also how to find the movie theater (of the picture show as we still call it), and how to get to the naval aviation museum in Pensacola. We are going to see the Blue Angels.

I am just about listed out. Eminem is going to her last day at VBS and the boys are still at scout camp. While I have a few last hours to myself, I will be going to Wal-Mart to knock off one of the lists. The rest will be tackled this afternoon. Eminem likes to help get organized too. Lord help us all.

With all of these lists that have to be made and checked off, lets just think of other lists just for the fun of it.

List of favorite movies List of favorite classic cars

1. Gone With the Wind 1. 1964 - 1966 Corvette Sting Ray - Convertible
2. The Graduate 2. 1955 - 1957 Ford Thunderbird
3. Coal Miner's Daughter 3. 1968 Jaguar XKE
4. all Harry Potters-

5. The Sound of Music

Favorite Drinks Favorite Foods

1. Diet dr. pepper 1. cheese - any kind

2. Diet coke 2. creamy peanut butter

3. Key Lime Water - sam's choice 3. Key Lime Pie

4. milk - white or chocolate 4. fried okra

5. sweet tea 5. raisin bran

But I think the best list of all would be the good looking older actors list. I can hear my friends laughing now, counting on their fingers who I will put down. Just to let you know, some people on this list are now deceased. That does not exclude them from being good looking in the movies that I like to watch them in. No particular order after #1.

1. Sean Connery 2. Christopher Plummer 3. Charlton Heston 4. Rex Harrison

There are lots more of these guys - I even know some people around town that fit into this category, but since this is supposed to be anonymous unless you are a celebrity I can't put them up here.

I am off to start my list check off mission. I will post later tonight of the results.

Word Up!

2009-06-11T08:30:00.007-05:00

Not sure why this topic came to mind, but I love finding word origins - especially Latin ones - and applying them to lots of English words and showing myself and my children and my students how to improve their vocabulary.

The root word of the day is acro- old Greek akro. The original meaning is "height, tip-end, or extremeties - as in the body". There are lots of words that start with this - mostly lots of medical terms but here are a few.

Acrobat - we think of someone who does flips, but it originally was said to describe someone who walked on their toes.

Acropathy - disease of the extremeties

Acrophobia - fear of heights

Acrostic poem - a non rhyming poem that your make out of the 1st letter (tip end) of a name, it can be a single word or phrase. This is used a lot in elementary school as a creative way for students to expand their vocabulary and not know it. An example is the name Sue - Super, Unique, Energetic.

The best acro word has to be acronym. My favorite acronyms are the ones that are the ones that are real words - not jut BLT - Bacon , Lettuce or Tomato. Words like SCUBA.

Click here for acronym overload.

SCUBA stands for Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus - it sounds Latin, but it is not. Another one is NEWS - bet you did not know that it stood for North, East, West, South.

We can also make acronyms out of words that already exist. This is sort of blending the lines with the acrostic poems, but close enough for me.

IACOCCA ( as in Lee who was head of Chrysler) I Am Chairman Of Chrysler Corporation of America.

FORD - Fix Or Repair Daily

There is also one for Pontiac, but it's not nice so I can't put it here.

Consider yourself educated for the day.

You Say It's Your Birthday - It's My birthday Too!

2009-06-10T09:29:00.005-05:00

I woke up at 2:43 this morning and realized that I had turned 38. It is a nice even number. I am very partial to things being symmetrical. It is half of 19.

I am at home alone at the moment - the dishwasher is running and the house is clean. Eminem, my daughter is at VBS, and my son, Scout, is at Boy Scout Camp. My husband is not at work and also at scout camp being a scout master. I am here with my cat - Bob, dog - Gunny, 2 fish - Beta Ray and Fishy and a hamster name Jeeps. Thoses are my real pets names. It is nice for a while.

Today at lunch Eminem and I are going to eat my my sister and my mother for lunch at one of my favorite restaurants. They fry the best veggies there. I really like the gourd-type veggies fried - okra and eggplant - Yummy!

So on my birthday, I decided to pull out a book I got on my birthday years ago and read about my birthday. It is a birthday book about birthdays I got on my birthday that I read on my birthday.

It says that June 10th is the "Day of Laughter and Sadness", and that we people clearly have our ups and downs. It also states that "we must protect ourselves against the fascination with the dark side." There is no reference to Darth Vadar here so we must not be talking Star Wars - "Luke I am your father!" No, That's impossible! " It also says that we could lose ourselves in a cheerful public persona while failing to cope with negativity in their private life, and that this dichotomy splits their nature creating a kind of Jekyll and Hyde situation.

That's a nice Happy Birthday for you! All dark and crazy. It only gets better - there is a warning specifically for women. They often channel nervous energy into controlling their environment, for example seeking perfection at work or keeping a spotless home. (As I said above, my house is clean.) This may be an attempt to control disturbances in their consciousness. OK, this is disturbing. I think this hit the nail right on the head.

Let's look at famous people who were also born on this day. BTW, I have finally seen how to hyper link (aren't you happy for this sad and disturbed birthday girl). Judy Garland, she had lots of problems "Auntie Em, Auntie Em, Toto, it's a twister, it's a twister". Hattie McDaniel. The actress that made the movie Gone With The Wind. She was the smartest one in the entire movie - knew all about the ways of Miss Scarlett. F. Lee Bailey, attorney and writer. I have a book that he wrote that I am taking to the beach. He became famous when he defended Sam Shepherd for killing his wife. This was the inspiration for the TV show the Fugitive.

Maurice Sendak wrote "Where the Wild Things Are." Wonderful book. Dan Fouts, former quarterback for the San Diego Chargers. At the time he was playing, he was also the only quarterback with a beard ( useless trivia- sorry). And finally, Prince Phillip. He was a dashing your prince of Greece back in the day. Now, he is kinda hawk-like in his appearance and his eyebrows are out of control.

I think I am in good company.

Other things in this crazy book are: my number is 1. It says I can be stubborn and obstinate and have firm views. I am a Gemini that is a mutable air sign - whatever that means. I am ruled by the planet Mercury and also influenced by the Sun. I do have a nice tan!

About the only good thing it says about my birthday or me is that I am "daring, capable, and human." I will say this though, Darth Vadar was only half human because he had all those electronics and artificial limbs. Stupid thought I know.

So, apparently I am to try not to surrender to the dark side. I will fight evil and wear ruby slippers. Dorothy fought the Wicked Witch of the West. Maurice Sendak fought the Wild Things.

F Lee Bailey fights the prosecutions, Dan Fouts fought a defensive line, Prince Philip fights the establishment and probably most of all Hattie McDaniel fought racism long before it was in vogue. She was the 1st African American to win an Oscar.

I have a fight or two of my own to deal with. I will just take my obstinance, my natural dichotomous attitude and my urge to control the universe and with my own ruby slippers will kick my problems in the rear. It is a very good birthday indeed!

"Let the wild rumpus start!" - Max from Where the Wild Things Are

Plastic Jesus Revisited - Combo Blog

2009-06-09T13:50:00.004-05:00

I decided that I was just not through talking about the Plastic Jesus song or Bob Dylan yet.

We will start with Plastic Jesus first. Although I put up a nice picture of Paul Newman up on the page, I did not post a link to him singing the song. As I was looking for a quality video on you tube, I found lots of people doing covers of the song. Apparently, Plastic Jesus has a cult following. I am going to post the original.

Click here for the Plastic Jesus Song.

Bob Dylan Revisited. I think by now you do realize that I am quite fond of the man. So for that reason I am going to set up a special area on the left just for Bob Dylan links. I can almost hear my friends big sighs of anguish. Just remember - IT'S NOT ABOUT YOU! - It's about BOB.

Ok, yesterday I mentioned the O'Jays. They did a fabulous job covering the song Emtionally Yours- Which was on the empire Burlesque album. I have watched the video a lot over the past few days. It makes me think about how good Otis Redding would have been singing this song. I love Otis too! ( He will be a subject for another day).

There is also a song on the John Wesley Harding album titled "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight" On the 30th anniversary special about Bob Dylan, Kris Kristofferson and Willie Nelson sing the song. It is a great version of a classic sounding country song where you need to have a couple of adult beverages and sing along with the band. Others who have covered the song and you can find the video on you tube - Emmylou Harris, UB40 with Robert Palmer, Norah Jones, and Englebert Humperdinck. No lie - I'm linking the Dinck. The original is easy to find too, but I like Kris and Willie's version the best.

Another wonderful Bob Dylan song is "When I Paint My Masterpiece". It was made famous by The Band. I love the way Rick Danko and Levon Helms sound!

One last thing - at the moment - about Bob. Brother Baby went so far to get me a for real Highway 61 sign. I still have it. Thanks Brother Baby!

Empire Burlesque - Happy 24th Birthday

2009-06-08T10:00:00.008-05:00

Yep, you have no clue what in the world I am talking about. This happens to be one of my favorite albums by one of my main men - Mr. Robert Allen Zimmerman aka Bob Dylan.

This album - and yes it probably was an album, but I had the cassette tape - came out 24 years ago today. Two days befor my 14th birthday. The planets had aligned with Bob just for me!

This is also the summer of Live Aid and Farm Aid. Why are these 2 fabulous shows not on DVD? - we will save this for another day too.

Back to Bob, I am not really sure when I became aware of Bob, but he is a staple now. My family had some vinyl albums and I had learned at a young age to use the record player. I know that we had 4 Bob Dylan albums - Highway 61 Revisited, Blonde on Blonde, John Wesley Harding, and the one I can never remember that name of it but Bob is holding a blue cat on the cover. For my birthday I got the 5th one - Empire Burlesque.

1985 was when MTV was on fire - they actually showed videos and I would sit for hours smack dab in front of the tv in the den with the vcr poised to "tape" the most recent cool video. I have since questioned some of those choices but one is ""Tight Connection to My Heart". My friend "Perry Como" who is not a Dylan fan kinda like this song. I think he still does.

Bob Dylan really just can't carry a tune and that is ok - neither can I. But his music is just flat out brilliant. How many folk singers can make gospel sound good - how many folk singers have had Stevie Wonder and the O'Jays records their songs - just one. I personally think that his music eclipses all genres and time.

When I was in college, Bob Dylan came to campus and I got the whole family tickets. As Jose' Cuervo (little sister) would say - it was a family Bob Dylan. A fun time was had by all. I do remember him singing Tangled up in Blue. One of my favorites.

Ok, back to the 1985 songs - the ones that are really good on the album are - Tight Connection to my Heart, Emotionlly Yours, Trust Yourself, and I'll Remember You. The whole album is great, but these are my favorites.

Check out the following links for Bob

Desolation Row Highway 61 Revisted Subterranean Homesick Blues

Bob Dylan's 115th Dream I'll Remember You Trust Yourself

867-5309 - The Most Known Phone Number in the World

2009-06-06T11:44:00.005-05:00

Jenny, Jenny - who can I turn to ?

Everybody knows this song and phone number! - 8-6-7-5-3-0-9!

My wonderful younger brother "Brother Baby" called me this morning. He is out of town playing golf with a friend. The cool restaurant/bar place they went last night had a band and it was none other that Tommy Tutone. Yes, before you ask he did play 867-5309.

"Brother Baby" got to sit and hang out and drink an adult beverage or two with Tommy Heath (Tutone). He never took off his 80's classic eye wear - the Ray-Ban Wayfarers. They had a good time, and he is going back tonight. I will get a picture, but no autograph. "Brother Baby" just put that out there up front. That is understandable.

The Tommy Tutone Band now plays country and from what I hear is very good at it. Not the new country stuff, but the old Outlaw Country - Waylon, Willie and the boys. The stuff we (Brother Baby, myself and our little sister Jose' Cuervo) listened to when we were growing up in the late 70's and early 80's. Our parents resisted disco like the plague. So we all like a little David Allen Coe, Waylon (God rest his soul), and Willie.

Another thing that Tommy sang was an obscure song by The Band. It is titled "When I Paint My Masterpiece." This song was written by another family favorite Bob Dylan. I've never heard Dylan's version, but the Band does a wonderful job. Brother Baby said it was a great country version.

"When I Paint My Masterpiece" was written in 1971. Dylan put it on an album and then the Band also did the same year. The Grateful Dead (which I do not follow) played it live in the 80's and 90's. Then Jerry Garcia passed away and they quit that. I always thought Jerry Garcia looked like Santa Claus. "Oh, wear a touch of gray - kinda suits you anyway!)

Check out the links to the left.

Someday everything is gonna sound like a rhapsody - when I paint my masterpiece!

I don't care if it rains or freezes,

2009-06-05T08:30:00.003-05:00

'long as I got my Plastic Jesus - sittin' on the dashboard of my car.

No I am not being tacky here, this is a wonderful song, and I know it by heart. My friends even know it too. I would talk about it all the time.

If you have ever seen the movie "Cool Hand Luke" with Paul Newman and George Kennedy. Newman is sent to the county farm because he had torn up some parking meters. He was put on the chain gang.

Anyway, while his unfortunate incarceration, Luke's mother dies. He pulls out a banjo and sings the "Plastic Jesus song". I really don't know why.

Before Tivo and all of that, "Cool Hand Luke" came on TBS one day and I taped it on the family VCR. Later, I rewound the movie to the part of the Plastic Jesus song. I wrote down all the words and then proceeded to go get my guitar and play the whole song.

Years later as a grown, married woman, my mother calls me and says she is sending me something in the mail, but would not tell me what it was. I was a little apprehensive, but waited. It came a few days later, and it was an article all about the infamous "Plastic Jesus".

In Tunica County, Mississippi, there is a little factory that makes and sells the Plastic Jesus. They gave the history of it and all. One interesting tidbit that was told is that some older models of the Plastic Jesus were hollow, and that moonshiners hid their liquor in it. Not sure how true this is, but I think that would have to be a pretty big Jesus.

Of course I can't find the Tunica factory online. Maybe they are out of business - who knows, but since you can find anything on eBay I searched there.

Yes, you can find a Plastic Jesus there. The things are even bobble heads. How tacky. Obviously, none of these are authentic types that were sung about. These are supposed to "come in colors pink and pleasant - glows in the dark cause its iridescent". Then you are to take it with you when you travel far.

If you watch the clip on the left of the screen, you will see stupid footage of the movie "Airplane". In one clip they show the dashboard of the cockpit, and yo and behold, their He is- the Plastic Jesus!

A final word, I just don't think I can talk about this great movie and not use the best line from the whole movie. "What we have here is, a failure to communicate." I really think it deserves a blot post unto itself. It will just have to wait.

If you got the money , Honey---

2009-06-04T11:41:00.003-05:00

I've got the time - to budget that is.

Oh why oh why on Earth do I constantly screw up budgeting.

I have been the "nerd" of the family for about 5 years now. check out Dave Ramsey for the definition of the "nerd". I try really hard to get the finances correct and then I always forget something or put something in the wrong place.

I could put the blame on too much strees from my job, but since it is summer and I don't go back for 2 months we have a problem.

I think we do fine on the envelope method, but I try to sqeeze everything else in there and still mess up. We will not be in the poor house mind you, it is just ticking me off is all.

On another note - it has been 20 years since the Tinnamen Square thing. They still don't know the guys identity - you know the one who stood in front of the tank. I would have thought those evil Commie *&%$ (people) would have had him arrested on the spot. But that's what I get for thinking.

A sad note, David Carradine has died today in Bangkok. I first saw him in the miniseries "North and South". He was a mean plantation owner, and my parents were calling him Kung Fu. I now know why of course. Authorities say he committed suicide - sad. he was 72.

Speaking of Bangkok --- there is a song about that too. One night in Bangkok by Murry Head

here are some lyrics

One night in Bangkok makes a hard man humble

Not much between despair and ecstasy

One night in Bangkok and the tough guys tumble

Can't be too careful with your company

I can feel the devil walking next to me

cool video-

It was the 3rd of June - another sleepy dusty Delta day.

2009-06-03T10:52:00.004-05:00

I was out chopping cotton and my brother was baling hay.

Happy Ode to Billie Joe Day! The lyrics above come from the #1 song by Bobbi Gentry "Ode to Billie Joe". I have always liked the song and it has a small cult following. It is a song about a young man who commits suicide by flinging himself aff the Tallahatchie bridge. The song earned a Grammy. A movie was even made to honor Billie Joe McAllister.

Let's talk a little ( for my 2 to 3 friends that actually read this). Let's start with Roberta Lee Streeter aka Bobbie Gentry. Born dirt poor and raised in poverty in the MS Delta. She is beautiful and talented. One of the 1st country female stars to write her own music. She also wrote the song "Fancy" that was made popular in 1991 by Reba McEntire. This is one of the few songs that I know of that mentions a roach - the bug.

The song - told in story fashion around the table passing around the black eyed peas. It is a catchy tune and has been recorded by other talented people - Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra sung it as a duet, the Ventures did a instrumental out of it, and Diana Ross and the Supremes placed it on their "Reflections" LP. I personally have heard it at a party sung by an old black soul singer. He did a durn good job of it too.

The movie - perhaps the most controversial to me. This movie was directed by Jethro Bodine ( no crap - look it up - it was Max Baer, jr.). I can't picture anyone taking direction form him - but they obviously did. The movie was shot on location in the MS Delta. I have seen the bridge where the filming was made. A local museum has a few artifiacts from the movie also. Robby Benson plays the ill-fated Billie Joe. But the most shocking person in the whole story is.......

Roscoe P. Coltrane - the sheriff of Hazzard County. No, I have not gotten my redneck stories confused. James Best (the actor who portrayed RPC) played Dewey Barksdale. he ends up being the reason that Billie Joe is so disturbed that he has to do himself in. I can't tell you what that is because I said this would be a PG blog, but lets just say I was so astrounded that the minute it was revealed in the movie I picked up the phone and called my buddy/ college roommate "SB". We were both flabbergasted. Just go watch the movie.

The bridge. there are lots of Tallahatchie bridges. They are everywhere. I think about Billie Joe when I cross them.

Is the story true? Probably not - but it does make you wonder.

Today Billie Joe McAllister jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge..................

Queen Elizabeth's got a brand new bag ...........Hey!

2009-06-01T08:58:00.002-05:00

Yesterday it was hats - today it is purses!

I am not one of women who just has to have lots of purses and shoes. I just need a good purse that will hold all my stuff and will pretty much match most of my outfits.

I have often wondered about the Queen's handbag - not necessarily the choice. We all know that the QE2 doesn't just go out shopping to find her a good purse that will hold all her stuff. She has the best "bag people" in Britain personally bring the goods to the palace like a Kelly's Kids party and she has to place an order. Mostly I see pictures of HRH with a nice, sensible black purse with a strap slung into the crook of her arm. She also usually has black shoes to match. The purse is age appropriate and well proportioned.

So, you wonder what is my thing with her purse? The answer is what is IN her purse!

My purse holds the following all the time: pens, wallet(money, debit card, check book), highlighters, lipstick, multiple miscellaneous lists, a 10ft measuring tape, and sunglasses. At other times it has also been know to hold: books, earrings, a small blanket, can drinks, ez grader, and candy. This is my stuff.

So, what is QE2's stuff?

Does she carry a wallet? We do know that she drives so she does have a license, but does she carry it around with her all the time? If she gets caught in a road block does she have to have her DL out of her wallet and her proof of insurance? Probably not - she is the Queen. Does she carry any money with her? Like I said above- her shopping adventures are private trunk shows - so no. Most likely she does not have credit cards with her either. She might not even have these at all.

Lipstick. Does she carry an extra tube of her favorite "Love my Lips" shade in her black bag? If it is there it would be a huge royal faux pas to apply lipstick where you could possibly be spotted by the press. So maybe that is a no.

Kleenex. Women love to stuff Kleenex in their purses. It is used to blot your lips, blow your nose, and in a pinch spot clean a dirty 2 year old before going into a store. Can you imagine QE2 blowing her nose at a reception? Even if she did, she would not use the lowly Kleenex. She would use a handkerchief with her crest upon it.

Pictures of her grandchildren. Are you kidding me? We (the public) probably know more about her grandchildren than she does. Anyway, I don't think Olan Mills jumps the pond to set up a kiosks in London.

So, the answer is still unknown. What is in her purse? The world may never know.

The Queen's hat box

2009-05-31T10:21:00.003-05:00

This is sad to say, but I have a slight fasination with the British royal family. I guess it is just because we (Americans) don't have one. They are rich and beautiful, but mostly whether they realize it or not regular people with the same issues that normal people have - maybe except for the money part.

They don't have to use the envelope method taught by Dave Ramsey to budget their money each month. I do use the envelopes and they work wonders - thanks Dave!

More of the fascination with the royal family are the clothes - in particular the hats and purses. There has just got to be some royal decree out there about hats. No one really buys hats anymore. I think some of the last famous American women who wore hats were: Mamie Eisenhower, Jackie Kennedy, and possibly Lady Bird Johnson. Anyway where can you buy hats? I know where some "other" people buy hats that are cheap looking, but I am talking about the good hats.

What brings you this blog can also find you a hat at the touch of a button. check this out http://www.hat-a-tude.com/ they can customize any hat in the catelog. I found a cute straw beach hat that is $120. I would hate to know the price to add on a flower. It can get pricier though. Try this link http://www.ladydianehats.com/ . There is one in there for $1150. Most of these hats have lots of plummage. They all look a little Vitorian too. Not my style. So far the best one is http://www.hatsandveils.net/ . This one offers the big hats, some feathers, but they are pretty neat.

Anyway, I will probably never wear a hat like the ones above reason #1 is I have a big head and #2 is I don't have a hat envelope.

Next topic - purses of the Queen.

A loaf of bread, a container of milk, and a stick of butter: The grocery list

2009-05-29T08:12:00.006-05:00

If you know what my title is alluding too, then you have to have been a child in the 70's. The comment comes from the wonderful show - Sesame Street. There was a little cartoon of a girl who was sent to the store to get those 3 items. She forgets and has to think back about her conversation with her mother and eventually remembers. I think of her on Fridays when I make my grocery list.

Being a little OCD and on a family budget, a little planning is involved with the grocery list. Before the list is compiled I have to make a menu. Before the menu we have to see what night-time activities are taking place for the week (Friday through Thursday). Luckily for me it is summer and there is not much to do. the menu was planned and the list made. To even be more weird about the list - it has 3 columns. One for things we get every week - milk, bread etc. The 2nd one is for new things that we need to make specific dishes and the 3rd is non grocery items. On the top of that list today is sunscreen.

My grocery list gives me a sense of accomplishment as a stroll up and down the frigid rows of goods. I go to Wal Mart. It is just too convenient to pass up, but I do have a beef with most all grocery stores. Why do they want to waste so much electricity? The open refridgerator bins just really get to me. It is very convenient to just walk over and select you eggs and biscuits without having to fool with the door (like when I buy milk or ice cream.)

What sort of ploy did the marketing team come up with that there are no doors on all of the refridgerated items? I took some of these classes in college. I did not do very well in them, but none the less I passed. I really can't see the benefits of the no door theory. I think it is to possibly just make it convenient for the shoppers to just reach over and get the cheese and not have to block open the door with their cart. But what if ..... they were more enviromentally friendly?

Our town is moving rapidly in that direction so let's explore. Do you think Wal- Mart could afford some doors? Yep. Would those doors save on the over-head cost of doing business? Yep. Could that savings lead to lower prices throughout the store on most all goods? Yep. Would my grocery bill go down? Yep. That extra money could buy me some high dollar gas for the car!

If I am doing my part to save electricity, why can't they?

From grocery lists to saving the planet - all in one little blog. I love it.

Blogging - It's like Drano for my brain!

2009-05-28T13:57:00.003-05:00

This was not supposed to be my first topic. I have lots of other topics that I thought would be better, but this just popped in so I am going for it.

Like I have posted in my welcome speech, I have lots of things stuck in my brain. Some good and some terribly bad and ugly. I am not using my blog for ugliness - only for beautification purposes. So, I will clean out my brain when I feel full and log it here on the worldwide web for all to see. Like in the title up there it is like Drano for the brain.

Before you question me, Drano is spelled correctly. I am a little OCD and I really like to get most things correct - except for puncuation and capitalization (but that is another story.) so I went to wikipedia and checked it out.

Drano is a wonder product that was invented in 1923. It cleans out the gunk in your drain by a complex chemical formula. FYI, the "power crystals" are just colored salt. Blogging is also a technicalogical wonder invented in 1999. It cleans the gunk out of your brain with a complex electrical and computer engineering formula. I like to think that my "power crystals" are somehow produced by caffienated drinks.

So, let's everybody raise a glass of sweet tea ( or your caffienated beverage or choice) and wish blogging a happy 10th birthday!

Happy Birthday Brain-o! How did I get this far without you.

Welcome

2009-05-28T11:07:00.000-05:00

Hi, this is a blog about nothing and everything. I actually decided to do it last night. I have had fun in the past posting anonymous replies to online articles and message boards. Now I have decided to have a forum of my own.

What will this blog really be about? The answer is whatever I am in the mood for, anything that I find interesting or bizarre, and recollections of days past. My mind tends to wander from topic to topic very fast some days. I thought that a blog might help me keep track of the randomness.

If you happen to find me and actually want to read this crazy stuff, please leave a comment if you are so moved. If not, that is ok too. Since we are all anonymous here, we can't really hold grudges now can we.

Striker