Great Steamboat Race Review

A good time was had by all at the Great Steamboat Race party.  It started out very cool, but warmed up to about 70 by the afternoon and it was a gorgeous, sunny day on the river.  The SFs were very well behaved, and there was hardly any drama to report.  Actually, I was the cause of the only drama because I forgot the hot dogs.  But I ran over to a nearby grocery store and bought a couple of packs of Ball Park Franks and all was well. 

Our beloved Belle of Louisville won the race like we hoped, admid speculation of cheating.  Actually, there's no speculation to it -- she turned around way before the boats were supposed to. But a win is a win so we'll take it. 

I did some walking yesterday morning, and got more exercise in the afternoon after playing cornhole for a few hours.  For the record, I was the champion.  Actually, I'm not that good at cornhole; I really suck at it.  But the SFs sucked at worse than I did, so I was able to beat them. 

All in all, it was a great, peaceful day out on the river.  It sure beat working. 

File Under: WTF?

Once again, the weather is just bizarre here in the Ohio Valley.  By the end of last week, we were using the air conditioners in our cars and homes.  Then a cold front moved through and the high yesterday and today was in the upper 40's.  It makes no sense.  I could have sworn that I saw my breath this morning when I was walking toward the garage and made a detour to look at the first rose bloom on Nana's Rose Trellis in the backyard. 

It's Derby week, though, and historically the weather for Derby week has always been bizarre.  They're calling for rain on Friday and Saturday, which will wreak havoc on the people at the track, but it's supposed to be sunny and in the 70's tomorrow and Thursday, so we'll have great weather for the Steamboat Race and the Pegasus Parade respectively.

Speaking of the Steamboat Race, tomorrow is the annual cookout/party at Cox's Park on the banks of the Ohio River with my School Friends.  They've been on their best behavior lately, so I'm hoping for a drama-free day by the river.  In keeping with tradition, I'm sure something will happen tomorrow that I'll be able to write about in TWIT tomorrow night.

Biggest Loser Update

It's been a while since my latest Biggest Loser update, so I thought I'd better touch base.  I didn't weigh-in today, but as of last Monday, I'd lost a total of 33 pounds, and am in a size smaller jeans.  I was thrilled yesterday when I came home from church and put on the jeans and they fit perfect.  Actually, "thrilled" is putting it mildly.  I'm still walking at least two and a half miles a day, and have been riding my bike 3 or 4 miles a couple times a week.  I'm not going to totally binge out while I'm on vacation, but at the same time I can tell you right now I probably won't be having cottage cheese for lunch.  Thanks again for your support and encouraging emails you've sent. 

Link Of The Week

I know it's the end of April, but today my thoughts are on Christmas.  I reminisce on one of my favorite Christmas TV shows, "Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer."  The show is awesome.  I love the claymation, and in fact it's my favorite claymation TV shows.  One of my favorite characters from "Rudolph" is the "Charlie In The Box" from the "Island of Misfit Toys."  I can hear the character now asking "Who wants a Charlie In The Box?"
You can check out Charlie and other characters from the TV special at a site I found this week called http://www.zehnderholidayz.com/. It's a bizarre site, and some of the characters/things they have aren't from the original "Rudolph" TV special, but they're interesting to say the least - especially the games you can play.  Check it out if you have a couple of minutes.

Spring Cleaning Saturday

I've procrastinated long enough, and am finally deep in the throes of my spring cleaning that I should have started weeks ago.  My goal was to have it done long before the 'Rents and I leave for our 8 day adventure in just two short weeks.  Needless to say I'm running behind.  I have only myself and my procrastination to blame.  But I'm hard at it today and have really busted a move since I started at 10:00 this morning.  I'm taking a short coffee break right now to type this and then I'll be back at it until time to head to Slugger Field for my first Bats game of the season.  I'll keep you posted on my progress this week.

In typical style with all of my spring cleanings, I usually find at least one thing that had previously been lost.  The 2008 Spring Cleaning is no exception - just  moments ago, I found Mr. Corky, the little rubber dolphin that has become the mascot of The Divas.  With the exception of the previous trip to Orlando, we have taken Mr. Corky on all of our trips.  But I as said, moments ago I found Mr. Corky hiding in one of my Prada purses, of all the places.  I also found some Hard Rock pins that I'd purchased last year on DLV2; I didn't know they were lost, I just forgot that I'd bought the.  Sad, I know.  Anyhoo, I've slacked long enough and it's time to get back at it.

Flashback Friday

                 

I've been attempting to do my spring cleaning for the past couple of weeks, and have to admit I haven't gotten very far.  But I did manage to clean out a couple of drawers in my chest of drawers this week, and I happened to find my red pom poms that I used to put on my white roller skates.  I'm very proud to say that they were in pristene condition - as good as the day that Mom and Dad bought them for me at the Eight Red Wheels skating rink up the street. 

Yeah, you're guessing it right.  In order to have pom poms meant I did in deed have my own skates.  I also had a red, white and blue skate case, too.  But the crowning glory of my very own skates were the bright red pom poms with the jingle bell in the middle. Oh how I thought they were badass.  Some of the other girls had the sock-like covers that went over the skates, but I didn't want those; I preferred to show my white leather skates adorned by the red jingle bell pom poms. 

There's not too many skating rinks here in the 'Ville these days, and at the few that we have, you often hear of gang fights.  Most of the skating rinks are now bingo halls, including the now defunct Eight Red Wheels.  I've been to that bingo two times on a Saturday night, and both times I can say that I never saw any pom poms set out on the tables as a lucky charm.  How sad that was.

This Day In Music History

On this day in 1976, the First Lady Of Country Music, Miss Tammy Wynette and George Jones recorded what I believe to be the best country song performed by a duet, "Golden Ring."  The song went to the number one spot on the record charts, as did the album.  Ironically, Tammy and George recorded the song fourteen months after their divorce was finalized.  The album "Golden Ring" was their last hit album as a duo. 

In a pawn shop in Chicago on a sunny summer day
A couple gazes at the wedding rings there on display
She smiles and nods her head as he says "honey, that's for you"
"It's not much but it's the best that I can do."

Golden ring, with one tiny little stone
Waiting there for someone to take it home
By itself it's just a cold metallic thing
Only love can make a golden wedding ring

In a little wedding chapel later on that afternoon
An old upright piano plays an old familiar tune
Tears roll down her cheek and happy thoughts run through her head
As whispers low "With this ring I thee wed."

Golden ring with one tiny little stone
Shining ring, now at last its found a home
By itself it's just a cold metallic thing
Only love can make a golden wedding ring

In a small two room apartment as they fight their final round
He says "You won't admit it, but I know you're leaving town."
She says "One things for certain, I don't love you any more."
And throws down the ring as she walks out the door.

Golden ring with one tiny little stone
Cast aside like the love that's dead and gone
By itself it's just a cold metallic thing
Only love can make a golden wedding ring

In a pawn shop in Chicago on a sunny summer day
A couple gazes at the wedding rings there on display
Golden ring

Puddin's Life Lessons #1

It's days like this that make me thankful I'm an only child. 

Farewell, Dolly

This is different from all the other TWIT journal entries I've written.  It's not pleasant, but it's a part of life that we just have to deal with.  I write this with a heavy, heavy heart for my best friend Stacy who lost her mother Dolly Sunday night.  I sat with her most of the day on Saturday and Sunday at the hospital, while she, her sister and her father waited and watched.  During those hours, we cried, we laughed, and we were even mad a time or two. We reminisced and we looked toward the future. We were anxious, and at times we were calm.
As I sat there with her, I felt a mix of emotions within.  I felt a bit helpless because there wasn't much I could really say or do - I was just there for hugs and support. But this weekend that was exactly what my best friend and her family needed.   I felt my heart break in two while my best friend was watching her mother die.  I felt incredible sadness for Dolly's best friend Ann, whose heart was also breaking in two because she was losing her best friend.  I gave her a hug and held her hand in the waiting room and cried and prayed with her as I thought of how she must feel. 
On the way home from the hospital Sunday night, I reminisced about Dolly and her life, and felt some happiness as I thought of all of the fun times I had at their home. Many an evening she would listen from the top of the stairs as Stacy and I sang while I played the guitar down in their basement.  I owe her a debt of thanks, because she was one of the first people who encouraged me to play the guitar and sing.  Dolly also loved to sing, and loved classic country music.  She and her husband Tom took me to see George Jones one time - a concert I'll never forget.  She's hearing quite a better caliber of singers and guitarists today as she listens up in heaven, but I'll be playing for her again one day when I make it up there, and I'm sure she'll sing along. 

Blue Monday

It's been a rough few days, faithful readers.  In fact, it's been one of the worst weekends of my life.  And quite frankly I didn't feel like writing anything tonight. But out of obligation and a quest to keep up my record of posting every day, here's a quasi-explanation.  I'll go into detail about it all tomorrow, but for now, I really don't want to talk about it.  It started Friday and has escalated to new, unimaginable heights.  I'm telling you this because you've come to know Puddin as always funny and upbeat, and the one people lean on.  Well, that's far from it today.  I'm not always funny and witty, faithful readers.  I'm human and I hurt like everyone else.  Like I said, I'll explain it all tomorrow. 

Link Of The Week

As you all know (or should know) from reading Friday's breaking news entry in TWIT, we had an earthquake Friday morning here in the 'Ville.  Unlike a tornado or hurricane, unfortunatly the weatherazzi can't give out any advance warnings of earthquakes.  So I guess we're just on our own when it comes to quakes. 

In doing some research on earthquakes tonight, I came across an interesting website that could be helpful.  While it can't give warning of any pending earthquakes, it can give us up-to-the-minute info of where and when an earthquake happened.  Visit http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsww/Quakes/quakes_all.php and check it out.  I was truly amazed that so many earthquakes happen.  After reading it, I'm glad I don't live in the Alleutian Islands in Alaska, where it seems most of the earthquakes occur. 

File Under: WTF?

As I type this, I'm sitting here in front of the computer shivering, trying to warm back up.  It was supposed to be in the upper 60's with a 30 percent chance of rain today.  It's 50 degrees, and I'd swear the rain is going to turn to snow any minute it feels so cold.  The reason I'm trying to warm back up is the fact that the 'Rents and I just spent two hours outside under a canopy in the cold, wind and light rain at a First Communion party next door.  We didn't know three-fourths of the people there, so some of the few people we knew were all huddled together under our canopy to try to keep warm.  After eating our food that quickly got cold from us sitting outside like goofballs, we threw our plates in the trash can and headed home to warm up.  As soon as Dad got in the house, he went down to the basement to bring up a Duraflame log and lit it.  He had barely sat down in the recliner when a few other friends from the party came down here to escape the cold and noise.  Too bad they didn't bring any cake with them - we could have really had a party. 

Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On

We interrupt today's regularly scheduled Flashback Friday to bring you an important news bulletin:  we had not one, but two earthquakes in the 'Ville today.  Yes, you read that correctly - two earthquakes.  The first one jolted us all awake at 5:37 this morning.  I had a rough night, and didn't get to sleep until about 3:00, only to be jolted awake at 5:37 by the extremly loud rumbling sound and the shaking of the house.  The first second when I bolted upright in bed, I thought it might have been a very violent storm.  But I remembered that there were no storms in the forecast.  Then I knew it was an earthquake. 

I'm almost blind without my contacts, but when I was sitting up in bed, I could clearly see the mini blinds on my windows shaking and I could see and feel the bed moving.  I wasn't really scared, but I was "concerned" that the loud rumbling seemed to last for ten minutes.  In reality, the geologists said that it lasted about 28 seconds.  Anyhoo, my first thought after I kept hearing the rumbling was "Our house is going to fall down." 

As soon as the rumbling quit, I grabbed my glasses and ran across the hall to check on the 'Rents.  If I could have seen their faces, I'm sure they would have both had "WTF?" expressions like I'm sure I did.  After realizing the house was still standing, we went to the family room and turned on the TV, and sure enough, the news reporter said "I'm not real sure what happened, but I think we just had an earthquake."  Within ten minutes, reports were coming in that the quake was a 5.4 -- pretty darned big by Louisville standards. 

Fortunately for us, the quake was centered in Illinois, on the Wabash fault, and damage here in the 'Ville was minimal.  The only significant damage to report was on an older office building downtown at Third Street and Kentucky.  Some bricks on the outer facade had fallen off and were on the street.  Other than that, we came out unscathed.  And let me interject with a bit of Puddin trivia:  the building that was damaged in the April 18, 2008 quake wasthe building where I worked at my first job. 

Needless to say, this was the talk of the office.  We talked about it all day long. In fact, we were talking about it in my cubicle at 11:16 when a very big tremor, which was a 4.6 quake, occurred.  We all felt the shaking, and saw things moving in our cubicle.  The first thing I thought was "Please don't let our autographed photo of Susan Lucci fall down from the wall." 

On the evening news tonight, the experts were saying we could feel "sizable" tremors for the next week.  I just hope they happen in the daytime and not at night, so I can get some sleep.

Top Ten Celebrities That I Am Tired Of Hearing About

1. Britney Spears (honorable mention: sister Jamie Lynn Spears)

2. Lindsay Lohan

3. Paris Hilton

4. Alex Rodriguez

5. Rachel Ray

6. Miley Cyrus

7. Jessica Simpson (honorable mention: sister Ashley Simpson)

8. Tiger Woods

9.  The Olsen Twins

10.All three remaining Presidential candidates

Farewell, Glory Of Rome

TWIT is sad to report that Caesar has left the building, literally.  This morning, the two story tall statue of Caesar was taken down from the top of the pavilion at the Glory Of Rome casino boat complex as part of the $50 million renovation.   Harrahs is going to rebrand the casino and will operate it under the Horseshoe brand as a result of its purchase of the Horseshoe Gaming Holding Corporation for a whopping $1.45 billion.  Gone will be anything even remotely connected to Rome, and replacing it will be a quasi-cowboy theme.

The renovation is going to have to be pretty extensive, given the fact that everything in the place oozes Rome, especially the outside of the hotel and the pavilion.  The least of the renovation will be on the actual casino boat.  The inside of the casino looks pretty much like every other casino.  I'm guessing that the dealers and other workers will all get new uniforms sans the gold embroidered Caesars head that was on all of their shirts.  Maybe their uniform shirts will have little gold horseshoes. 

It will be a bit sad to not see Caesar and Cleopatra when we visit.  I think we saw one fo them just about every time we went there.  They were very friendly, and always greeted us with a hearty "Greetings, Roman citizens."  They haven't said if they're going to replace the mascots with a cowboy or a horseshoe; personally, I hope they have a walking horseshoe. 

Do You Know Bill 15?

I've had my new cell phone for a couple of months, and this weekend I took a few minutes to add some of my cool new ringtones to my address book.  I was going through the contact list and came across a name and number that stumped me - the only thing listed under 'name' was "Bill" - no last name, just Bill.  Then I had entered his cell phone number, and in the notes section of the contact, I had entered "15."  I thought for a few minutes and could not come up with who this Bill is.  I got out my previous cell phone and looked through the names and numbers stored in it, and didn't see Bill in there, so it has to be a name and number that I just added within the past two months. 

I thought about it more last night when I was assinging ringtones while watching "Dancing With The Stars" and it really irritated me that I didn't know who Bill was, and why the number 15 is significant about him.  When I got home tonight, I asked the 'Rents if they knew any Bill's, and they could only come up with a brother-in-law of a neighbor, but he wasn't the Bill I was looking for.  Bill 15 has me totally stumped.  It also has me totally embarrassed that I would do something stupid like only entering a name like "Bill" instead of putting his last name. 

During work this morning, I mentioned this to my co-workers, and they all tried to help me remember who Bill 15 was but we didn't have any luck.  I'm almost at the point where I'm going to just call the number and see who answers; if they don't know my voice very well, I should be able to pull off a wrong number and say "Ohhh, I am so sorry.  I meant to dial the speed dial for my hair salon."  And if they do recognize my voice and say "Puddin, is that you?"  then hopefully I'll be able to recognize his voice and be able to come up with a last name.   I'll keep you posted.

Gas Price Update

It was just a short time ago that I was telling you, my faithful readers, that I had paid the highest price per gallon of gas in my entire driving life.  If my memory is correct, it was $3.45 a gallon.  That record was broken this afternoon when I paid $3.56 per gallon on my way home from work. At first when I saw the signs driving home, it was a little hard to breathe.  But when the only other alternative is driving or riding my bicycle everywhere, I paid the $3.56 a gallon.  I like walking and riding my bike, but not that much. 

It was just a few months ago when they (note: "they", meaning the gas price experts) said that gas would be $4 a gallon by summer.  Folks, we're not that far from it right now.  I'm guessing that by Derby weekend, it will be at least $4 a gallon here in the 'Ville.  What a better way to welcome the tourists and horse race fans to our fair city than to gouge them at the gas pump.  Nothing says "welcome to our city" like senseless, extremely overpriced gas.

Link Of The Week

We all have a bad side - even though we don't want to admit it.  And we also don't want to admit that often times we'd like to take a walk on that bad side, just to see what it's like.  It's safe to say that noone that I know (including yours truly) has been in "The Enquirer" or appeared on "Inside Edition", thank goodness.  But if you're just itching to get a glimpse of what it would be like, I've got the website for you.  Visit http://www.getyourselffired.com and just upload a picture of yourself and you can see what you would look like if you were getting hauled away by a cop or getting shoved into a police car while in handcuffs.  Let me be the first to say that this is the closest that I want to come to anything like that. 

Happy Thunder Day

It's hard to believe that today is Thunder Over Louisville.  It's a week earlier this year, and I think it caught everyone by surprise, just like the early Easter did.  And in typical fashion, I was nerved up all week long over whether or not the SFs (School Friends) and I would be going today.  You know by now how any plans with the SFs get me nerved up, and Thunder 2008 was no exception.  But with the forecasted high of 49 with high winds and a chance of showers today, we decided yesterday afternoon to abort the mission.  Sure, I'll miss seeing my beloved Bats play baseball today, but we have an entire season ahead of us. 

I'd told the SFs a couple of weeks ago that my personal plan for Thunder would be to put my bike in the back of the Blazer and park about a mile away from ball field, and then ride my bike down there, watch the game and then come back home.  My nerves could not take another year of fighting the traffic to get out of downtown and all of the people crammed into the parking lot where we usually park.  But after being outside for a few minutes earlier this afternoon, I think we made the right decision to watch Thunder tonight from the warm, dry comfort of our own homes.  I just checked on the TV coverage, and people are dressed up like eskimos as they sit on the cold, windy waterfront.  I don't envy them one bit. 

Flashback Friday

                                          

Anyone that even remotely knows me, knows that I am not a smoker, and knows that I cannot stand cigarette smoke.  I was one of the biggest supporters of the smoking ban here in the 'Ville, and am thrilled to go out to any public place and not be subjected to second-hand smoke.  But I digress.  I don't smoke, but I come from a family of former smokers.  So growing up, there were always ashtrays in our house.  When I visit friends and relatives today, I seldom see ashtrays in their homes, even if they are smokers.  I know lots of smokers who smoke outside but not inside their home, so I guess they don't need ashtrays.  If they do have ashtrays in their homes, they're usually plain plastic or glass ashtrays.  This wasn't the case back in the day.  Smokers back then had fancy, decorative ashtrays.  In art class at school, kids would even make clay ashtrays to take home to their parents.

I remember having 4 or 5 very cool ashtrays in our house.  My second favorite ashtray we had was one that was a miniature wooden barrel on a tall stand.  But my favorite ashtray was the bean bag ashtray.  I don't know why, but I was always fascinated by the bean bag ashtrays.  Our neighbors Ed and Alice even had a couple of bean bag ashtrays in their house.

Cool ashtrays were very popular at the tourist trap souviner shops when you would travel on vacation.  I remember seeing one at a Stuckey's that I'll never forget -- it was a big mouth, and you put the cigarette in between the lips, and it looked like the ashtray was smoking.  I sure wish Mom and Dad would have let me buy that on our trip that summer - just think of what a conversation piece I would have today, even if I don't smoke. 

Don't You Hate It When . . .?

*You have to try on a pair of sunglasses with that stupid little plastic thing in the middle of them.

 

*The person behind you in the supermarket runs his cart into the back of your ankle.

 

*The elevator stops on every floor and nobody gets on.

 

*There's always a car riding your tail when you're slowing down to find an address.

 

*You open a can of soup, and the lid falls in.

 

*It's bad enough that you step in dog doo doo, but you don't realize it till you walk across your living room rug.

 

*There's a dog in the neighborhood that barks at EVERYTHING.

 

*You can never put anything back in a box the way it came.

 

*Three hours and three meetings after lunch you look in the mirror and discover a piece of parsley stuck to your front tooth.

 

*You drink from a soda can into which someone has extinguished a cigarette.

 

*You slice your tongue licking an envelope.

 

*Your tire gauge lets out half the air while you're trying to get a reading.

 

*A station comes in brilliantly when you're standing near the radio but buzzes, drifts and spits every time you move away.

 

*There are always one or two ice cubes that won't pop out of the tray.

 

*You wash a garment with a tissue in the pocket and your entire laundry comes out covered with lint.

 

*The car behind you blasts its horn because you let a pedestrian finish crossing.

 

*A piece of foil candy wrapper makes electrical contact with your filling.

 

*You set the alarm on your digital clock for 7pm instead of 7am.

 

*The radio station doesn't tell you who sang that song.

 

*You rub on hand cream and can't turn the bathroom doorknob to get out.

 

*People behind you on a supermarket line dash ahead of you to a counter just opening up.

 

*You can't look up the correct spelling of a word in the dictionary because you don't know how to spell it.

 

*You have to inform five different sales people in the same store that you're just browsing.

 

*You had that pen in your hand only a second ago, and now you can't find it.

 

*You reach under the table to pick something off the floor and smash your head on the way up.

Farewell, Charlton Heston

                          

TWIT is sad to report that film legend Charlton Heston has died.  He was 84 years old.  He died at his Beverly Hills home on Saturday.  Heston's wife of 64 years, Lydia, was by his side at the time of his passing.  The actor was in the late stages of Alzheimer's disease.

Heston was best known for having played heroic roles, such as Moses in "The Ten Commandments", Colonel George Taylor in "Planet Of The Apes", and the title role in "Ben Hur."   In the beginning of his acting career, he studied theater and earned a drama scholarship to Northwestern University.  Several years later, he produced and starred in the first sound version of Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar" in which he played Mark Antony.  In 1944, Charlton enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces, where he served for two years as a B-25 radio operator/gunner stationed in the Alaskah Aleutian Islands.  He rose to the rank of Staff Seageant.  It was also in 1944 when Charlton married fellow Northwestern alumni Lydia Clarke.

After the war, Charlton and Lydia worked in New York City as models.  He appeared in several Broadway plays and had a number of roles on CBS's "Studio One."  He was approached by film producer Hal Wallis and Charlton decided to give movies a try.  He saaid "Well, maybe just one film, to see what it's like."  His first starring role was the circus manager in "The Greatest Show On Earth", which won the 1952 Academy Award for best motion picture.  He then went on to star as Moses in Cecile B. DeMille's "Ten Commandments", where he was chosen because DeMille thought he looked like the statue of Moses by Michelangelo.  

After Marlon Brando, Burt Lancaster and Rock Hudson turned down the title role in "Ben Hur", Heston accepted the role, and won an Oscar for Best Actor for it - one of the eleven unprecedented Oscars the film earned.  He went on to star in other films, and was president of the Screen Actors Guild from 1965 to 1971.  In 1968, he starred in the hit "Planet Of The Apes". 

In the mid 80's, Heston starred in his only prime-time stint on television with the nighttime soap, "The Colbys."  He went on to produce several movies with his son Frasier, an appeared in a very popular A&E series titled "Charlton Heston Presents The Bible."  I'm thinking that people liked it because Moses was doing the narrating. 

Looking back over Heston's extensive career, I discovered an interesting piece of trivia:  he spoke some of movie's most memorable quotes.  In "The Ten Commandments", he repeatedly asked Pharoah to "Let my people go."  And in "Planet Of The Apes", he screamed out "Take your stinking paws off me, you damned dirty ape."

In addition to his film career, Heston also considered himself a political activist.  During the civil rights march in Washington D.C. in 1963, he stood on the podium as Dr. Martin Luther King delivered his speech.  By the 1980's, he opposed affirmative action and supported gun rights, and was the president of the NRA from 1998 until 2003, when he resigned.  At the 2000 NRA convention, he raised a rifle over his head and declared that the Bill Clinton administration would take away his Second Amendment rights "from my cold, dead hands."

You will be missed, Charlton Heston.  There will never be another great actor like you. 

Where's Horton When You Need Him?

                   

The Rents spent most of today outside working in the yard and garden - getting the ground ready for planting in a couple of weeks.  Mom was back behind the little red barn getting a few shovels full of old donkey manure for some of her flower beds when she made a bizarre discovery: inside the pile of manure she found a big egg, pictured above. 

Dad walked a few houses up to talk to one of the neighbors, and imagine his surprise when our neighbor showed Dad a pile of horse manure that also had a big egg in the middle of the pile.  I'm sure they both had a WTF look on their faces.   After discussing possible scenarios, they reasoned that the eggs belonged to one of the geese that have been hanging around our 'hood for the past year.  I bent down and examined the egg, and from my estimation it's about two times as big as a regular egg.  Mom said at first, she thought it was a plastic Legg's egg leftover from the Easter egg hunt a few weeks ago.

After Dad showed me the egg and I took the photograph, he carefully covered it back up with the manure, in hopes that it would hatch soon.  I'll keep you posted.

Biggest Loser Update

Today marked the official end of the Biggest Loser competition at work.  As of this afternoon, I lost 23 pounds during the eight-week competition.  Add to that the 7 that I lost prior to the start of the contest and you'll have a total of 30 pounds lost.  I'm not sure where our team ended up, but we all four lost and are determined and motivated to continue losing.  So we're all winners.  In the eight weeks of the competition, 108 people lost over 1100 pounds.  How cool is that?

Up until this afternoon, I'd planned on rewarding myself after the weigh-in with an order of Extreme Tots from our new Sonic in the 'hood at the new Super Wal-Mart shopping center.  I'd been jonesing for them for a month, and told myself I'd splurge and get an order on my way home from work today.  But something snapped inside of me and I just didn't want them.  I came home and had rotisserie chicken, green beans and some roasted potato cubes.  It tasted better than any Extreme Tots could have.

And to update you on the bike situation, I dropped it off at the bike shop this afternoon after work, and hopefully when I pick it up tomorrow after work it will have two new tight pedals that won't fly off. 

 

 

Link Of The Week

I'm not ashamed to admit that as a kid, I was afraid to have my picture taken with Santa.  In fact, there are only two existing photos taken of me with Mr. Clause - one when I was 8 and one when I was 17.  After checking out a website this week, I found out I'm not the only one who didn't want to get their picture taken with Santa Clause. 

Yes, I know this is April and we're nowhere near Christmas, but I'm afraid I'll forget to post this site as a Link Of The Week in December.  Take a look at http://www.sun-sentinel.com/entertainment/holiday/sfl-scaredofsanta-ugc,0,7181908.ugcphotogallery   and you can see other kids who are scared of Santa.  And FYI - I showed this site to my mother, and she said that the baby girl in photo number three looks like me.

I've Had A Change Of Heart

There's a story that's floated around our company for the past ten or so years about a woman named Moe.  Yes, a woman named Moe.  Moe has a reputation for being the worst clerk in a store or fast food restaurant in our area.  It's very unfortunate, because Moe has worked in just about every fast food restaurant within a 5 mile radius of our company.  We first encountered Moe working at Wendy's, where she was pretty snotty. Then she moved on to Subway, McD's, and the Chinese restaurant.  Regardless of the place she worked, she always treated people the same: she would be as nice as can be to the men, and hateful to the women.  Before we go any further in this story, let me say that this is not just my interpretation nor opinion of Moe; there are others at work who can back me up on this.  But I digress.  I can't be sure, but I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that Moe probably got fired because of her attitude, and would simply move on to another fast food place in the area. 

Last fall, the Krogers up the street from The Compound underwent a massive renovation and expansion, and on the day of the grand reopening, the 'Rents and I stopped in to see what was new.  We bought a couple of things and then went on to the new checkout lanes.  Imagine my shock and awe when I glanced over at the checkout lane next to us and the cashier was none other than the infamous Moe.  She was checking out an older couple, and once again, imagine my surprise when I saw her joking and being as nice as could be to her customers.  Maybe she had a change of heart, but I sure wasn't going to let her check me out just in case. 

Today, Mom and I ran up to Krogers to pick up a few things, and before I knew what was happening, Mom had pushed the shopping cart into Moe's lane.  I was expecting the worst, and was ready in case she got smart with me like she did one day when she waited on me at the Chinese restaurant.  But lo and behold, she was as nice as could be.  She made small talk while she checked out our groceries and smiled at us as we walked away. 

In continuing with my year of trying new things and also trying to speak my mind more and not stew so much, I'm going to attempt to put the past behind me and move on with Moe.  I'm not going to deliberately lether check me out each time I go to Krogers just to see if I can trap her into being mean to me to prove my point, but if her lane is open then I will give her the chance.  It's time to let go of things in the past and move on.   I'll keep you posted.

Flashback Friday

                   

     
1.  Magic Man  

2.  Dreamboat Annie (Fantasy Child) 

3.  Crazy On You  

4.  Soul Of The Sea  

5.  Dreamboat Annie  

6.  White Lightning And Wine  

7.  (Love Me Like Music) I'll Be Your Song  

8.  Sing Child  

9.  How Deep It Goes  

10. Dreamboat Annie (Reprise)

 

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MCO8 Trip Review

                

It's miserable outside today - cold and rainy, and it's very hard to believe that just a few days ago Diva Stacy and I were basking in the warm Florida sun.  As Cher sang, if I could turn back time, I would definitely turn back the clock to Thursday afternoon March 27; that would mean that the next morning we would be heading down to Orlando to see our beloved Wilson sisters in concert.  But I can't, so to get me through this depressing day, I'll just relive the awesome memories of our trip.

First of all, the weather was perfect.  It was sunny, slightly breezy and low 80's the entire time we were there.  But the 80's didn't bother us a bit because we had the a/c in the hotel room cranked down to a cool 69 degrees.  We'd worried earlier in the week when rain was in the forecast for Saturday and Sunday, and even packed our rain ponchos just in case, but it was gorgeous the entire weekend. 

Second, the food we had was awesome.  Before heading to the airport Friday morning, we had our prerequisite Krispy Kremes, which put us in a very happy mood.  Believe me when I tell you the two chocolate iced Krispy Kremes that I had were worth every step I had to walk to burn off their calories.  Our first night at the Hard Rock Hotel, we splurged and had filet mignon and a crab cake for dinner.  I loved them much that I had them the next morning on my Eggs Benedict instead of the usual Canadian bacon. 

Universal Studios properties were very impressive.  We both liked the Islands of Adventure park better than Universal Studios, but both were very cool.  With our bones, joints, and digestive systems not being what they used to be as teenagers, we passed on the Hulk roller coaster and other rides, and only rode the tram through Dr. Seuss Land.  We both agreed once again that Dr. Seuss Land was our favorite part of the parks. 

While we didn't get to meet our beloved Ann and Nancy Wilson like we'd hoped, we did get to meet other celebrities.  We met and got our pictures taken with Spider Man and Bullwinkle.  And I got my picture taken with royalty: Fiona's parents the King and Queen from "Shrek".  They were very cool, and we would have loved to have hung out with them.  We also saw Wolverine from "X-Men" and The Grinch, but didn't get our pictures taken.  And from about 100 yards away, we saw Ellen DeGeneres, who was filming her show at Universal Studio's City Walk last weekend. 

Needless to say, the highlight (and reason) for the trip was the Heart concert.  It was the best concert by them that we've attended.  And we've attended quite a few.  We only had to stand in line about an hour before they let us in, and once in we were able to stake our spot right on the front row where my beloved Nancy Wilson would be rocking.  She was probably 5 feet away from us.  Like I said, the concert was awesome.  They rocked as strong as they did when they first came on the scene back in the mid-70's, if not more.  The thing that impressed us was when they performed "Barracuda" and "Crazy On You" - songs that they'd performed thousands and thousands of times in their 30+ year career - they played them with such energy and joy, as if it were the first time they were playing the songs on stage.  We truly had goosebumps on our arms more then a few times during the concert, and clapped and cheered as loud as we could. 

The last day of our trip was filled with travelling and waiting.  After breakfast, we packed our bags and stored them at the hotel until time for our ride to the airport.  We walked back over to Universal Studios and did some shopping at the world's largest Hard Rock Cafe.  Once back at the Hard Rock Hotel, we sat out by the pool (in the shade, of course) and lolled about until time to head back and collect our bags and wait for the airport shuttle.  We waited, and waited, and waited some more, but the shuttle never came.  After 4 or 5 phone calls to the transportation company, we said screw it and got a cab to the airport. 

We sailed through the security checkpoint, and went to find our gate.  Luckily for the Divas, there was a Nathan's hot dog stand right by our gate.  While eating, I ran across to the Southwest Airlines counter to ask them what time our flight got into Louisville.  The two women behind the counter were scurrying around, and one stopped to check the computer for our arrival time.  She reassured me "With the delays, you should get to Louisville at about 10:00. But don't worry - they're holding the plane in Birmingham for your connecting flight."  Riiiiight - don't worry.  We finished our hot dogs and went back to the counter to find out what was going on.  All they would say was an "air traffic delay."  So now instead of us having one hour to wait for the flight, we had almost three hours.  But the Divas were very mellow at this point, thanks in part to the Dramamine and two cocktails we had while eating our hot dogs.  We dozed for about an hour, and then watched one of our favorite movies, "Talladega Nights" on my portable DVD player until time for us to finally board. 

We did in deed make it back to Louisville at about 10:00, totally worn out from the awesome weekend, but what a weekend it was.  We can't wait until the next Diva-venture. 

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This Isn't Supposd To Happen

I originally intended to give an in depth report of this weekend's big Diventure at Universal Studios in Orlando, but something else has been on my mind all day long.  This morning while I was getting ready for work, I was watching "Good Morning, America" like I usually do.  One of the breaking news stories was about how a terrorist plot to murder someone had been foiled, and the terrorists were in custody.  The terrorists had gone to great lengths to put the plot together; each had smuggled in an item needed in the plot, and each had a specific job to do in the murder attempt. 

This didn't happen in Iraq nor Afghanistan; it didn't happen in New York City or at an embassy in Europe - it happened in a third grade class at a school in Waycross, Georgia.  Nine third graders are currently suspended and could face prosecution for an alleged plot to attack their teacher.  The teacher reprimanded one of the students for standing on her chair, and apparently she and her crew decided to take care of the teacher.  Police found a steak knife, a crystal paper weight, handcuffs, gloves, and other items that were to be used for the plot.  Each kid had a job to do - one would distract the class and teacher, one would cover up the windows so noone could see in, one would hit the teacher with the paper weight, another would handcuff her, one would stab her with the steak knife, and one would clean up the blood. 

You'd expect to hear about a terrorist plot this extensive and well-planned against some government official in a foreign country, but not about third-grade children.  When I was in third grade, I was reprimanded a few times by Mrs. Wills the teacher because my penmanship was not the neatest.  But my gang of friends didn't decide to get even with Mrs. Wills and come up with a plot to kill her. 

Like I said at first, this has really bothered me all day long.  Things like this just aren't supposed to happen with little children.  I just worry what kind of message this is going to be to other kids - are we going to see any copycat murder attempts like this one?   My grandfather said that you should only regret the things in life that you didn't do, and there have been some times when I regret that I didn't have a child.  But today after hearing this and after knowing what children face in schools and out in the world today, it's times like this when I'm glad I didn't. 

I'm Doomed

Are Cell Phones Riskier Than Smoking?

March 31) -- Cell phones could kill more people than smoking or asbestos exposure, according to an award-winning Australian cancer expert who was trained at the Mayo Clinic in the United States.

The Independent, a British newspaper, reported that the doctor, Vini Khurana, based his findings on more than 100 studies on the effects of cell phone use.

"There is a significant and increasing body of evidence for a link between mobile phone usage and certain brain tumours," he said in The Independent. Evidence shows that using cell phones for 10 years or more can double a person's risk of brain cancer, the newspaper reported.

Well, I guess I'm doomed.  I use my cell phone a lot, and I've had it for more than the mentioned 10 years.  I only pray that the people around me the most -- the 'Rents and Diva Stacy -- won't become innocent victims of second hand cell phone use.