They're On A First Name Basis

Thanks for the holiday, Abe.

Favorite Things

Yesterday, Mir posted some of her favorite coffee mugs. I was inspired to snap a photo of our Hawaiian mug collection. They're delightful for hot chocolate or tea on cold days.

Rambling On - TV Edition

I am pleased with the finale of Dancing With The Stars. What is most disappointing is that Bristol Palin didn't up her game earlier in the season - had she kicked it in sooner I would have been truly torn as to who I wanted to win. She could have been more of a contender is all I'm saying.

I think this was one of the best season finale shows ever. The returning contestants' dances were entertaining and I liked that they did the eliminations right at then end...remember the year Layla Ali was on and she got booted and then the other two couples still had to dance or something? This was better.

Tonight's episode of Glee was fantastic. I don't want to give too much away for anyone who has not watched it yet, but I think they're doing a great job of dealing with timely topics while still keeping their goofy humor intact.

I usually watch Parenthood on Tuesday nights as well, but I'm skipping the recording for now to watch Jimmy Kimmel Live to see the Dancing Winners.

Did I mention that we took a step into the modern era and done got ourselves a DVR? I love how easy it is to record programs, AND that I can record by series. It allowed the girls and I to do something fun tonight, and come back home and watch my Tuesday night line-up. I know, you all are there already right? Still, I'm downright giddy.

Throwback

Scene from my roommate Laura and I's dorm circa 1989.

Softie, Jim, and George

Send Brain Food

Rob and I started playing Myst IV Revelation a couple of nights ago and it's kicking our butts. We haven't even made it through our first world yet, we've found no 'revelation' as to where our link to the next world is. Rob's Krypto skills helped us power up our current world, and my time in the trenches of the PBS years watching Sagwa the Chinese Siamese Cat helped my mimic the calligraphy of the language in our current world.

We're currently stuck in a fireplace trying to figure out a chess-like puzzle.

Lucky Thirteen

Today the McCaughey Septuplets turn 13. Thirteen!

I was pregnant with E1 when they were born.

That's how mothers world-wide mark the timeline of their lives you know, by whether they were pregnant or which milestone their babies were at at any given time.

E3 was born just months before the Goesslin Sextuplets.

E2 has no 'famous' multiple birthday buddies, to my knowledge.

Anywhoo, I distinctly remember being pregnant with E1 when news of the MacCaughey Septuplets hit the news. Why do I remember this? Because from that moment on I got a lot of, "Just think! There could be SEVEN babies in there!"
I maintain that I was not THAT big.

Bank On It

What a local bank was tossing out during the Veteran's Day Parade last week. That's my kind of humor...and the candy was good too.

Loner

Veteran's Day Weekend

A Satisfying Evening

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,
followed by
the last half of Hairspray,
followed by
Oklahoma.

All by the fireside.

We've Got Butterflies

First there was a Cow Parade.

The Tulsa Zoo had Penguins on Parade.


Southlake, Texas has the Southlake Stampede.

Next Spring in the St. Louis area, we'll have Wings In The City.

If you click on 'gallery' on the top right of their webpage, you'll get to see all the butterflies...it's difficult to say which is my favorite. I can't wait to see them around the city next Spring!

Deep Thoughts

It's not about what you had, but what you gave.
It's not about how you looked, but how you lived.
And it's not just about being remembered.
It's about giving people a good reason to remember you.

from Ghost Girl by Tonya Hurley

Scattered

• Today at the mall: Excuse me. Do you know if Olga's is this way? Add that to my approachability score.
• Can anyone clue me in to the marketing...or merchandising...or whatever...strategy is at work in Hollister stores with the darkness, over-fragrance, and LOUD music? The live web cam from the pier in California? SO awesome. Why must they wreck it my having the music so loud that any interaction...from their, "Hey. What's up?" to any final transaction at the cash register must be practically shouted. It's like they're forcing their customers to interact in ALL CAPS.
• I wish Oprah was on earlier in the day in our area - it looks like she's having some great interviews during this last season of the Oprah Winfrey Show. She's on during dinner prep time.
• Rob and I ate a The Olive Garden tonight, because that's how we Midwesterners roll sometimes when we're too lazy to venture farther than across the parking lot for dinner. We had a most delightful server who not only encouraged us to pester her serving partner with requests just to liven up their slow evening, she shared with us their new program to cut down on wasted food - which is why they now bring out less salad and bread sticks at a time. They will refill both as needed/requested - and as our server pointed out, it gives you fresh salad and warm bread sticks each time instead of letting the salad wilt and the bread sticks get cold at your table- but, this greatly reduces the amount of un-touched salad and bread sticks they have to throw away...AND the servers get to choose which charity will receive that savings.
• Rob's going to complete the online survey on our receipt and give Server J good marks...and if we win the $1,000 we're going back and leaving her an even bigger tip than we left tonight.
• Last night during Dancing With The Stars Judge CarrieAnn and Professional Dancer Maks had words about the length to time spent dancing during their 'instant dance'. I agree with CarrieAnn - Brandy and Maks should have spent more time dancing.
• I think it's well past time for Bristol Palin to go home. Last week, I was sincerely wanting her to go just because she was so sad over being homesick. But then Rick Fox was eliminated...after Audrina Patridge the previous week...and it's not that I think Rick or Audrina were going to make it to the end...but I DO think they were each better dancers than Bristol.
• Last year our school started a new program of selling poinsettias to student's families - and then using them as decorations for the Holiday concert before sending them home with us at the end of the performance. It's a neat way to get pretty decorations for the concert AND our homes. We got the order forms last weekend...the concert is only about 3 weeks away...it was 75 degrees today. This weather is continually fooling me into thinking the holidays are farther away than they really are.
• I need to start my list of people...teachers, etc...that we need to remember for the holidays.
• Parent/Teacher conferences tomorrow.
• We're celebrating Veteran's Day by attending the local parade (E1 is participating with the school band), and having steak sandwiches for dinner.
• I 'stole' the book E1 borrowed from her friend and I'm reading it before her - it's Ghost Girl by Tonya Hurley. So far it's pretty good.
• ARGH! Bristol didn't get eliminated tonight.

Note To Self

Watching Dancing With The Stars while blogging seems to be the only way you remember to vote. Next week, turn the laptop on so you're not blogging AND voting at the last minute.

Go Jennifer & Derek!

Birdhouse Renovation

Hula, Baby

Signs Of Yore

This summer, the day before we left for Texas, E1 and E2 participated in a girls' day out event at our Community College. E3 and I picked up some last minute things for our trip, and then I planned on stopping at a playground after a quick drive around town. I remembered going shopping there back in the day - back when Woolworth's still existed. Unfortunately, during our drive around town it began to rain - eliminating our playground time.

So, I took pictures with my phone...and discovered the most recent software update had added zoom to my phone. Woo!

It's a Carillon! I don't think I'd heard the word before that day.

E3 at the Carillon.

E3 wanted a picture of the stone on this house...we circled the block something like three times and this is the best shot I could get. Well, without stopping the car...there was no place to park nearby.E3 also wanted a picture of this fighter plane in the park...she was certain it was the same plane her friend A's Mom flies in Iraq. A's Mom is a surgeon, I think, but E3 got the Air Force part right.

Finally it was close to the time to grab some sub sandwiches and go pick up our glamour girls.

The Soccer Cleats Have Left The Building

Soccer season has ended for E3...

and for E2. The weather is getting pretty chilly, so I'm glad we don't have to sit out in it.

It's also nice not to have to run in two different directions at once, Rob going with E3 because he was helping coach and me going with E2.

Basketball is over for E2 as well.Just one lonely night a week of gymnastics for E3 is all we've got these days and it's a darn nice break.

Twin Towers Revisited

Once upon a time I thought it would be neat if IMDb would put together a list of movies with the Twin Towers in the background. I was reminded of that thought again tonight while watching Working Girl - a movie I can always watch.



So, I Googled and found World Trade Center In Movies.

Well done.

Beautifully Different

What if you had a superpower?
Because you just might.

The new book The Beauty of Different is available from Bright Sky Press and Amazon. Mine's on order!