TAKING A HOLIDAY BREAK...

Posting will be sparse and sporadic over the Holiday Season....relaxing and gearing up for next year!

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year!

I FEEL LIKE POO...

...and this is what I look like!

Except, I am not at work in my robe and schwappies (bedroom shoes), and I am not dropping my kleenex on the ground, and I am wearing glasses, and my nose is not quite that red.  Anyway, I have a cold or a sinus infection, or whatever is going around that about 47.26% of the people around here have.  Hope I feel better before Christmas Day or we may be eating takeout Chinese!

USELESS INFO TUESDAY

 ~  The average human eyeball weighs just over a quarter of an ounce - 0.2645 ounce to be precise.

~  The state quarter representing Alabama issued in 2003 was the first U.S. circulating coin to have writing on it in Braille.  The coin features Helen Keller reading a Braille book, with her name written alongside in English and Braille.

~  Horse feathers are the long hairs that cover the lower fetlock (ankle joint) and hoof area.  Clydesdale horses have the thickest feathers.

~   A shotgun house is a one story house that's one room wide and at least three rooms deep, with no hallways between them.  Designed for hot climates (before air-conditioning), they allow breezes to blow straight through the home - just as a shotgun blast would be expected to pass straight through.

HOPE I HAVE ALREADY GOT YOUR PRESENT...

 ...'cause if not, you are probably getting nothing, or will receive the dreaded "REGIFT!"  Yes, it is official.  I have had it with the crowds and Christmas shopping.  I ran to TARGET today to order some new glasses (it's called trying to spend the balance on my flex spending before the year ends), and I only wanted to cuss out about 97 different people. 

Holiday shoppers are crazy!  Crazy in the stores, crazy in the parking lots, crazy in their cars.  So, that is it for me.  Yes, that is it - the finale - the end - adios - good bye to Christmas shopping.  But wait!  I do need to get stocking stuffers... and still one more thing for TCW... and Rachel a Hardee's gift card... and my Mom some chocolate...

...Crap...

FLASHBACK FRIDAY

Do you remember the year in the early eighties where Christmas was all about Izods, Smurfs, and Kenny Rogers albums?  Kenny singing "Lady"...how many dances did we go to and slow dance with the "Loves of Our Lives" to that song. 

Oh, the good old days.

PREACHER + FACEBOOK = DISASTER

An acquaintance of mine at work just excepted a friend request on Facebook from her preacher.  What's up with that.  I told her, "Hell, your posts won't be any fun anymore.  I might as well unfriend you!"

GOT LIGHTS?

TCW finally got his Christmas light up...

...he is always trying to out do me!  I so got him beat this year.  He probably didn't even put them up himself!  I bet he hired James (yardman) to decorate!  Shame on him!

USELESS INFO TUESDAY

~  J.D. Salinger (eccentric American writer) created the imaginary creature called the bananafish in his short story "A Perfect Day."  According to Salinger, the bizarre fish was named for a fatal food fetish - it would dive into holes in reefs in search of bananas and would eat so many of them it became too fat to swim out.





 ~  Brazil was the only South American country to send combat troops to Europe to fight with the allies during World War II.  Brazil declared war in August 1942 and sent more than 25,000 troops to Europe to aid the Allies.

~  17th-century English scientist Robert Hooke was looking at a slice of cork through the newly invented microscope when he discovered and coined the word cells.  He came up with the word cells because the tiny boxlike shapes he saw reminded him of the tiny chambers - known as cells - in a monastery.



~The deadly virus Ebola is named for the Ebola River in the northern Congo, where it was first detected in 1976.

~  Marilyn Monroe once claimed she used a hair dryer to speed up the preparation of a pasta dinner.

HOW DID YOU SPEND YOUR SATURDAY NIGHT?

We spent 4 hours of ours at Parkway Emergency room.  Here is Boo looking all cute in her little hospital gown (actually 2 gowns).  At first they thought it was her appendix....

 ...so she had to have the CT scan where they injected the dye in her IV, but she also had to drink two cups of barium.  Here is her "Drinking barium s**ks" face!  Poor Boo.

At least we were in a pediatric room with cute pictures.  And at Parkway, they have TV's in all the emergency rooms!  It makes for a less boring wait.  We watched Cam Newton receive the Heisman, and then we watched 3 episodes of "The First 48."

Rachel is fine and her appendix was fine.  We believe she had a kidney stone and passed it before they could do the CT scan.

My Boo is so dedicated.  You can't see this in the picture above, but underneath the white blankets at the end of her bed was her Medical Terminology book and note cards.  She had been studying in between the pain for her exam today.

P.S.  Don't you love the pillowcase we made out of her navy blue shirt! (on her lap) 

FINALLY GOT THE LIGHTS UP!

Yes, I finally got the Christmas lights up outside my house.  This year was rough going, but it was well worth the effort. 

Here is the view from the side.  Can you think of anything I need to add?

Maybe one of those blow up thingys?  What do you think?

SOUTHERN FRIED THURSDAY

Recently, I have been thinking about certain loved ones I have lost.  Maybe it is the time of year...maybe the season of Winter...maybe the cold.  They are not sad thoughts, more like warm, nostalgic, comforting thoughts. 

I remember my Mema (my Dad's mom).  She was so sweet and loving.  Her birthday was in February like mine.  That made us close.  We were both Aquarius.  She used to call me Laura Leesie.  She never learned to drive, so when I visited her on Yancy Avenue in Montgomery during the summers, we walked everywhere or got a ride.  I used to love walking to McDonald's with her and eating.  Then we would go to the Piggly Wiggly where Aunt Louise was a manager.  We would buy a few groceries and then head back home.  She was 90 years old when she past.  Rachel was 6 months old.  I do have pictures of her holding Rachel.  They mean so much.

I remember my Uncle Tommy (Dad's only sibling).  I remember how he laughed.  It was kind of like Roscoe P. Coaltrain on the Dukes of Hazard.  Kind of like "Keek, Keek, Keek."  I loved spending time with him and Aunt Gloria.  They always had a pool everywhere they lived.  I loved hearing Uncle Tommy refer to my Dad as "Billy."  Dad wasn't Billy, Billy was Billy.  Dad was Bill or W.I.  But, to my Uncle Tommy, Dad was always his little brother Billy.

I remember my Aunt Lala (Laura - my namesake) and Uncle Tynes.  She was my Mother's Aunt.  She and Uncle Tynes never had any children, so they would spoil us to death when we visited.  They always had Labs (dogs).  That is where we got Duke and then Pink Floyd.  Uncle Tynes would train his dogs to do the most amazing tricks.  I have never personally known any dog that could do the stuff they did.  One time, before I was born, they even had cats that would use the toilet, not the litter box.  I guess their animals were like their kids.  Aunt Lala loved my mother and me very much.  When she past, she made sure to remember us.  She wanted me to have her engagement and wedding ring.  The set is antique and beautiful, and I treasure it with all my heart.

These three loved ones I have been thinking of quite a lot lately.  As I said, not sad thoughts, but comforting, secure thoughts.  Maybe it is because they are somewhere thinking of me.  Watching over me and protecting me and mine.  Yeah, that is what it is.

USELESS INFO TUESDAY

 ~  The highest mountain in our solar system is Mount Olympus on Mars.  The Martian Volcano, that is also known by the Latin name Olympos Mons, is more than 16 miles high and has a diameter of 374 miles.

 ~  The tallest of the nine candles on a Hanukkah menorah is known as the Shamash, which means "servant" in Hebrew.  It is called this because it is the first flame lit and is used to light the other candles - one a day during the eight-day Festival of Lights.

~  The TV sitcom "One Day At A Time" was inspired by the lives of a young actress-to-be Meredith Baxter and her struggling divorced mother, actress Whitney Blake.  The program, aired from 1975 to 1984, was co created by Baxter's mom and stepfather Allan Manings.

 ~  A yellow stripe on the bumper of a vehicle in NASCAR indicates that the driver is in his or her first year of competition.  "Yellow Bumper" or "yellow tail" is also racing slang for a rookie driver.

~  When referring to stainless steel, the numerals 18/8 represent 18% chromium, 8% nickel.

WORK IN PROGRESS

Working on the blog from yesterday about Kim...hope to have it back up soon.

DOOM, DISPAIR, AND AGONY ON...

JIMMY!  My poor boyfriend has had a horrible past couple of days.  After BLACK Saturday (you know what I am talking about), his week just went downhill. 

(Jimmy and his kids)

-  His daughter broke her ankle, so he has been really worried about her.

- Got his paycheck at work.  He had been a good, kind man and donated 40 hours of leave to someone who didn't have any.  He did not realize that he had to pay tax on that leave, so his paycheck was $500 less than normal.

-  On the way home, a car seat flew out of the back of a woman's truck.  He put on hazards and pulled over to retrieve the car seat out of the middle of the road.  He waited for her to pull over and ran the car seat over to her.  After making his way back to his car, he reached to turn off his hazards and broke the knob, having to ride all the way home with them flashing. (If you know Jimmy, you know how mad this would make him!)

- Then he gets home and sees he has a citation taped on his door for having too many vehicles on his property!

My poor baby.  I felt so sorry for him.  Hope you have a better weekend, Jimmy.

SOUTHERN FRIED THURSDAY

(This can go under SFT because I am Southern and my home is in the South! and plus, this is my blog!)

Here is what I look like after a long days work!  No make up - in sweat pants!  Just chilaxin' with my posse!  Spike is always right by my side from the moment I get home from work until I leave again!

Sally just started sitting on my head after she got real sick recently.  It is like she wants to be loved and petted more since then.  Rachel and I both like that.  The only thing that would make this picture better would be if Rachel was on the other end of the couch!  I love my family!

WHAT'S IN MY PURSE WEDNESDAY

...Just kidding.  I am not going to start blogging every Wednesday about what is in my purse.  I actually had a really good blog planned and looked in my purse for my camera.  It is not there.  I really have no idea where it is.  Wish me luck on finding it.

So, without the aforementioned picture to blog about, I will inform you on what I did find in my purse!  I know you wait with baited breath!

1 pink wallet
1 Vera Bradley mini notebook
1 travel kleenex package
1 12" ruler (?)
2 pens
1 pink highlighter
1 package crystal light lemonade
1 book matches
2 straws
3 Werthers Originals
2 mints
1 random key (looks like from work - no idea)
foot lotion
Take 5 candy bar
7 dollars (1 five and 2 ones)
$1.17 cents in change (7 quarters, 2 dimes, 1 nickel, and 17 pennies
USAA proof of insurance
Receipts - 3 Food World, 1 Verizon, 1 Jason's Deli, 1 OK Tire, 1 Dillards, 1 Bryan Animal Clinic, 2 Target,
                 1 Big Lots
Menu's from Atlanta Bread and Asian Buffet
4 recipe cards for the following:  Ham Roll-ups, Ranch Ham Roll-ups, Cucumber Spread, and Artichoke Dip
1 tube Neosporin

Bet you're hoping I find my camera!  Of course, if I found it now, I would just take a picture of all this crap so you could see!  Happy Wednesday.

USELESS INFO TUESDAY

~  The 1935 tragedy known as Black Sunday was a massive dust storm that blew soil all the way from the southern Great Plains states (the Dust Bowl) to the East Coast.



 ~  The sound track to Walt Disney's "Lilo and Stitch" includes seven Elvis Presley hits - five of them sung by The King himself

 ~  Two Oscar-nominated movies were filmed in the same small town where the 1956 epic "Giant" was shot.  "There Will Be Blood" and Best Movie winner "No Country for Old Men" were both shot in the town of Marfa, Texas.

 ~  A pluot (shown above) is a fruit hybrid that is 75% plum and 25% apricot.  An aprium is a fruit hybrid that is 75% apricot and 25% plum.

~  The tallest bird native to North America is the whooping crane, which is about 5 feet tall.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

I want to wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving.  Hope you all enjoy with your friends and family!

The following info came from longislandpress.com.

• American Indians shared an autumn harvest feasts with the Plymouth colonists in 1621 that is known today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations.


• In the middle of the Civil War, 16th President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed Thanksgiving Day to be a national holiday.

• Contrary to popular belief, even though wild turkeys were around during the first Thanksgiving feast, they were not served.

• Instead, the Native American Indians and Plymouth colonists feasted on various seafood, deer, corn, eggs, squash, spices, popcorn and squashed cranberries.

In addition to some unusual facts, there are also some funny and light hearted quotes to go along with the holiday of Thanksgiving:

“Thanksgiving, man. Not a good day to be my pants.” -Kevin James

“I love Thanksgiving turkey. It’s the only time in Los Angeles that you see natural breasts.” -Arnold Schwarzenegger

The pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts… nevertheless, set aside a day of thanksgiving.” -H. W. Westermayer

“There is no sincerer love than the love of food.” -George Bernard Shaw

“I celebrated Thanksgiving in an old-fashioned way. I invited everyone in my neighborhood to my house, we had an enormous feast, and then I killed them and took their land.” –Jon Stewart

“An optimist is a person who starts a new diet on Thanksgiving Day.” –Irv Kupcinet

“Thanksgiving is America’s national chow-down feast, the one occasion each year when gluttony becomes a patriotic duty.” –Michael Dresser

USELESS INFO TUESDAY

 ~  Leona Helmsley, the Queen of Mean, bequeathed a $12 million trust to her beloved white Maltese named Trouble when she died in 2007.

~  Spain is the world's largest producer of olive oil.  It's followed by Italy and then Greece.

 ~  Frogs were the first land animals to have vocal cords.

 ~  While President, Jimmy Carter once left his authenticator ID for the nation's nuclear missile launch codes in a suit that was sent to the dry cleaners.

~  The famous children's book "Charlotte's Web" begins with the line "'Where's Papa going with that ax?' said Fern to her mother as they were setting the table for breakfast."

WHO ARE YOU? WHO WHO WHO

In this picture are two of my most loyal blog readers.  Can you guess who they are?  This was back in the day, 1973.  Back when they were young, innocent, and sweet.  What Happened?

PS  Loving the shoes and with the gymnastics apparel!

Love and Happy Weekend!

SOUTHERN FRIEND THURSDAY

Found these on a website today.  If you have seen them before sorry.  I left the book at home that I was going to blog about.

• Only a Southerner knows the difference between a hissie fit and a conniption fit, and that you don't "HAVE" them, you "PITCH" them.


• Only a Southerner knows how many fish, collard greens, turnip greens, peas, beans, etc., make up "a mess."

• Only a Southerner can show or point out to you the general direction of "yonder."

• Only a Southerner knows exactly how long "directly" is -- as in: "Going to town, be back directly."

• Even Southern babies know that "Gimme some sugar" is not a request for the white, granular sweet substance that sits in a pretty little bowl in the middle of the table.

• All Southerners know exactly when "by and by" is. They might not use the term, but they know the concept well.

• Only a Southerner knows instinctively that the best gesture of solace for a neighbor who's got trouble is a plate of hot fried chicken and a big bowl of cold potato salad. If the neighbor's trouble is a real crisis, they also know to add a large banana puddin!

• Only Southerners grow up knowing the difference between "right near" and "a right far piece." They also know that "just down the road" can be 1 mile or 20.

• Only a Southerner, both knows and understands, the difference between a redneck, a good ol' boy, and po' white trash.

• No true Southerner would ever assume that the car with the flashing turn signal is actually going to make a turn.

• A Southerner knows that "fixin" can be used as a noun, a verb, or an adverb.

• Only Southerners make friends while standing in lines. We don't do "queues," we do "lines"; and when we're "in line," we talk to everybody!

• Put 100 Southerners in a room and half of them will discover they're related, even if only by marriage.

• Southerners never refer to one person as "ya'll."

• Southerners know grits come from corn and how to eat them.

• Every Southerner knows tomatoes with eggs, bacon, grits, and coffee are perfectly wonderful; that red eye gravy is also a breakfast food; and that fried green tomatoes are not a breakfast food.

• When you hear someone say, "Well, I caught myself lookin'," you know you are in the presence of a genuine Southerner!

• Only true Southerners say "sweet tea" and "sweet milk." Sweet tea indicates the need for sugar and lots of it --- we do not like our tea unsweetened. "Sweet milk" means you don't want buttermilk.

• And a true Southerner knows you don't scream obscenities at little old ladies who drive 30 MPH on the freeway. You just say, "Bless her heart" and go your own way.

• To those of you who're still a little embarrassed by your Southerness: Take two tent revivals and a dose of sausage gravy and call me in the morning. Bless your heart!

• And to those of you who are still having a hard time understanding all this Southern stuff, bless your hearts, I hear they are fixin' to have classes on Southernness as a second language!

• And for those that are not from the South but have lived here for a long time, ya'll need a sign to hang on ya'lls front porch that reads "I aint from the South but I got here as fast as I could."

• Bless your hearts, ya'll have a blessed day.

~Anonymous

THROW DOWN WITH BOBBY FLAY AND PIONEER WOMAN

A must see tonight on Food Network!  A one hour ThrowDown with Bobby Flay taking on the Pioneer Woman for Thanksgiving Dinner Throw Down!  I am so excited!  I love Pioneer Woman and read her blog everyday.  I have been following her for years.  I have her cookbook.  I feel like she is a personal friend of mine.  Oh, and her husband, Marlboro Man, is HAWT!

USELESS INFO TUESDAY

 ~  The modern aerosol can was invented in the early 1940's by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and was first used as a "bug bomb" by U.S. soldiers in the Pacific to spray malaria - and other disease-carrying insects.

 ~  Genericide is the process by which a brand name - such as Thermos or Aspirin (or in the South Coke) - becomes a generic name.

~  Movie producer George Lucas originally intended to name his archaeologist-adventurer Indiana Smith.  When director Steven Spielberg objected, Smith was changed to Jones.

 ~  When Jello was first introduced in 1942, it was a big flop.  It was first marketed with a cola flavor.

~  In Chinese, chop suey means "mixed pieces" or "mmiscellaneous scraps."

WHAT ARE YOU WATCHING?

I love TV.  No, I mean I REALLY LOVE TV.  I have lots of different shows that I am very loyal to.  I do not have on-demand or DVR, so it is really important that I watch my shows at the time they first air.  And, believe me, I do.  Not much can come between me and my TV. 

Here is a sampling (sampling hell) of what a typical week of TV for me looks like.

Sunday - (one of my favorite nights)

Amazing Race, Boardwalk Empire, The Walking Dead (I wish I could fit in Undercover Boss, but there is just no way).

Monday

Antiques Roadshow, The Event, Hawaii 5-O

Tuesday

Not much on for me here.  Usually watch Food Network, maybe a movie, then House Hunters and House Hunters International

Wednesday

Survivor (LOVE IT), Modern Family, Cougar Town, House Hunters duo.  This Wednesday I have to watch Throwdown with Bobby Flay on the Food Network at 8.  He is challenging The Pioneer Woman (love her blog) to a 1 hour Thanksgiving ThrowDown!  I am missing Hell's Kitchen.  It comes on this night too at 7.  Wish it would move to Tuesday or Thursday.

Thursday

Fringe, Project Runway (was watching, now it is off), I can take some suggestions here too.

Friday and Saturday I just wing it.  Of course Saturday is mostly filled with football.  WAR EAGLE.

So there, I have posted on my blog today after taking a needed break last week.  I am a little rusty, and I know not very interesting, but it is something.  You should consider yourself lucky.  I almost blogged about "Items Currently in my Purse."  Hey, wait, that is what I can blog about Wednesday!  I know you can't wait!

TAKING A BREAK...

...TO GET THE CREATIVE JUICES FLOWING...BE BACK MONDAY...LOVE!

USELESS INFO TUESDAY ON WEDNESDAY

~  FORTY is the only number that when spelled out has its letters in alphabetical order

 ~  The basilisk lizard is commonly referred to as the Jesus Christ lizard because of its unique ability to run on water when fleeing predators.  Their web like hind feed make this possible.

~  TIME magazine picked Albert Einstein as the 20th Century's Person of the Century.  In its January 2, 2000 edition, the news weekly described Einstein as "the genius among geniuses who discovered, merely by thinking about it, that the universe was not as it seemed."  (HUH?)

~  Grammium is the special alloy used in making the music industry's Grammy award.  It is a custom zinc and aluminum alloy developed specifically for the Grammies.  After the miniature gramophones are cast in grammium, they are plated in 24-karat gold.

~  Emergency shutdown buttons on control panels in nuclear power plants around the world are routinely labeled "SCRAM" buttons.