An idle mind....

It seems that I got Snigglefrits thinking. Two women with much maleness on the mind....never a good thing. Well, it is, but it is very distracting--in a good way.

Wanna see who won the caption contest this week? Click HERE!

And another headline getting on my nerves, today:

Less schools failing under 'No Child Left Behind', state says

FEWER!!!!!!

Finally!

When I woke up this morning it was soooooo quiet (this will be important later). When I looked at the time, I was surprised to see that I slept through my alarm. However, I did wake up in time to go to the movies. But, first, I had some retail therapy to attend to. I bought a pair of jeans one size smaller--among other things.

Now, the movie: The Dark Knight is awesome! If you go to see it, be warned that the movie has no opening credits and just starts after the previews. There are some pretty intense scenes and some really good twists. I don't want to give anything away about it, so you'll have to see for yourselves. The end of the movie seems to be a great beginning to the next chapter of the Batman movies.

So, I got back to the condo. That silence? The air-conditioning is broken. Uh, tomorrow is supposed to be a scorcher. Guess I'll be spending the day at the mall. Good thing I'm going to the Opry, too. I'll be nice and busy, and hopefully, I'll be the proud owner of a pair of hot looking shoes. I miss wearing hot looking shoes.

Seriously, though....see the movie. You will not be disappointed.

Oh, just a few things

1. Isn't it a given that McDonalds will do a profitable business at this stage in the company's existence? If so, then why do they insist on having stupid commercials that attempt rap? Rap is bad as it is when it is considered "good," but ad-campaign rap is just horrible. Actually, it makes me not want to go to Mickey D's....well, that and it makes me physically ill. However, I would visit if they were offering those glasses with the McDonalds mascots on them.

2. I saw this headline on a local news station's website:

Motorcycle learning classes take off as gas prices climb

"Well, dang. Ise gonna go take me some of them thar classes on learnin' motorcycling."

How about "Motorcycle skills courses take off as gas prices climb"????


3. There is a pretty big homeless problem here. In fact, I see a lot of them because of where I am staying. Now, when THIS happened, didn't anyone on the trolley have a stinkin' cell phone to dial up the cops for help?

I wonder what kind of tour they were expecting if they didn't immediately wonder why a homeless guy was jumping into the driver's seat?

A question or a few for the gentlemen

I was watching a show last night. I'd give the title, but I don't want hits from people looking for it. In this show a guy and his wife went to go hang out at the Playboy mansion and then they spoke to Heff about the guy's wife doing test shots for a possible for-real photo shoot.

Working up to the big day, the guy expressed his angst of people seeing his wife naked and wondering what reaction friends and family might have. It wasn't anger-ridden angst and his wife had a pretty calm attitude, but seemed determined to do it. Well, they did have the proper blessing and care for feelings warning given by the highly-paid counselor/psychologist--whatever.

Now, I know some of you are saying: "R.T., nekkid women are good."

People do what they do. However, my moral compass couldn't wash on this one. How does a man's wife do something like that and how does a man give the so-called o.k.? How do you share what you have vowed to keep sacred with the rest of the world?

I'm not the kind of girl a guy would "show off" (yet), but I think I'd feel kind of gross if my husband was like, "Go show 'em your tatas!" I lived with guys like that, and had a prospective new member to that band, during his interview, jokingly "demand" to see mine--clASS.

I guess one of the many questions I'm asking here is how can you respect yourself and your wife if you are allowing that bond meant for you to be sold to the highest bidder? Isn't what is meant for private be just that? Private?

I turned the show off; not worth watching. But, those questions lingered.

I'll take one of him, to go, please.

The Mentalist doesn't look all that original, but I might watch just to see Simon Baker. I'm not into blondes, but I can make an exception in his case. Well, his hair is wavy, he has light eyes, and he has some scruff--major points in my book.

Simple Stuff

Tastes like chicken!

Hopefully, Ssssteve will approve of this week's Sunday dinner. I decided to just roast a couple of chicken breasts (garlic/chipotle chili powder/pepper/olive oil), baby carrots, red bell peppers, and green onions. I topped things off with some green beans and smashed red potatoes with olive oil, grated parmesan cheese, and a teensy bit of butter. I could go all week (and usually do) without using butter, but I must have it on my smashed or baked taters. To be honest, I was going to roast a whole chicken, but thought it would be a waste, since I don't really like dark meat. Boneless, skinless breasts are a little better in the fat area, too. I made enough for two, so tomorrow, I have leftovers for dinner and don't have to cook. Since I'll be engaging in female suburban warfare (shopping and a movie) tomorrow, I won't feel like messing around in the kitchen (well, unless it involves actually messing around) and would be very tempted to hit the fast food stops on the way home. That would decrease my chances of being very thin this time next year.

Mmmmm.....ready to eat!

Speaking of losing weight, don't forget about the CHALLENGE I posted the other day. I know Wyatt is on board, as is Joe Cool (Ssssteve's brother), and Big Bad Wolf. We'll begin the day after Labor Day. Whether you have 10 pounds or a bazillion pounds (like me) to lose, all are welcome. It really does help to have a little support.


**Btw, I know that's a huge piece of chicken, but I haven't eaten since yesterday. I did load up on the veggies, though.

Sunday Song

Hebrews 11:1
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

I have been having some struggles of faith, lately (nothing earth-shattering, but enough to make me itchy). At this point in my life, and in my relationship with God, I know not to give up, especially with how faithful He has been. I'd be an ingrate of enormous proportions. I know that there are times that I have to wait and be still. Honestly, though, I'm pretty weak at times when it comes to mental will (thus, the struggles). I know it isn't because I think I know better than God. I'm just highly human and impatient.

I've been praying about some things for almost two years, now (some things for as long as 16 years). It's not easy, and that is what I think I'm trying to say. One of the hardest things to do is to turn things over and to ask for God's will to be done. Even when you do and you mean it, waiting for God's answer is hard.

I hope you all have a restful and blessed Sunday.

"Prisoner of Hope"
Randy Stonehill

A job hazard for criminals?

Have Dragon and Goldbloom been to Brooklyn?

(Be sure to watch the video.)

Sometimes I wonder....

I finally woke up in time to get to the movie theater with time enough to find parking. Folks, this was my third attempt this week to go see Dark Knight. So, I get to the movies....I drive around looking for a spot....for a half an hour. I drove around and around and around, there were people leaving and other people getting their spots. As the "New Jersey" rose up in my blood pressure and I started mumbling about a conspiracy and a few f-bombs, I decided to walk a half mile to the theater (o.k. a 1/4 mile). I figured that I still had 25 minutes until the movie started and all should go well. You all should be used to my lack of luck by now...the lines were really long, not moving anywhere (as given there is really slow customer service down here--I'm used to it, just didn't figure on having to plan my trip around it). Realizing that I would not get through the line and get to the movie in time, I mumbled one more well-placed f-bomb to myself and walked over to the Opry to get tickets for Tuesday night. That's when I had my attitude adjusted a bit--okay, a lot.

On my way to the ticket office, I saw a woman with her husband. She had a bandana on her bald head. That's when I was reminded that what I've been through and have been tested for (off and on) over the past four years could have turned out much different and that I could be sitting at home going through some heinous stuff right now. That's when I realized just how blessed I am and that I can just go see the movie another day. Getting angry over parking is so not worth my energy. (I'm sure it would have been pretty entertaining to watch, though.)

With my attitude adjusted, I bought my way into Tuesday night's Opry. I'll be somewhat high in the rafters, but it is time I tested my ability to get up and down steps without a railing. I was able to go up steps without a railing today here at the condo. On my long walk back to the car, I prayed about my attitude a little. Evidently not enough, because I was still in a rotten mood. However, I do realize just how blessed I am and it is something I need to work on more.

Maybe I'll try to get to the movies Monday....and at a different theater. I don't have to see the IMAX version to be happy.

Ummm....

Now, maybe if we had this kind of lawn mower when I was young. . .

My least favorite chore as a kid/teenager was to mow the lawn. We had a big lawn. I hated the smell of the mower and I hated when I had to stop to empty the bag that caught the clippings. The worst part was that because of mold allergies, I would cough and gag the whole time and the grass made me itch. Eventually, I just learned to make myself scarce. Hey, I was told the coughing, gagging and itching was in my head. (My grandmother's response for everything.)

So, I kind of sympathize with THIS guy. However, I think in the long run, calling a neighborhood kid or some landscapers would have been the route that saved the most money.

Caption Contest

Provide your witty and entertaining captions. I will post winners Monday evening. Have a great weekend!

THE WINNERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

3. Insolublog: You're sure this is going to make me big bang with the American girls, right?

2. Noddy: Bluetooth technology has still to hit the streets of Pyongyang.

This week's winner is. . .

1. Wyatt: Unfortunately, Chang was hungry for more power an hour later.

Other caption contests:

• Blonde Sagacity
• bRight & Early
• Cowboy Blob
• Family Security Matters
• Gone Rick Motel
• Right Pundits
• Rodney Dill
• WILLisms
• Wizbang
• Wyatt

V-day

All kidding aside, keep Wyatt in your thoughts and prayers this morning.

A new challenge

It has been just about a month since the last day of school. Since that time, I've lost 19 pounds (6 since our last official weigh-in).

While I know I can lose the weight, I feel kind of alone. I need the pressure of a weigh-in. It must be the stress-freak in me.

So, I would like to issue a "challenge" to whomever would like to join. I don't know that we need to have a prize at the end, because our improved health and appearance are reward enough in my book.

So, what do you all think? I can keep myself somewhat motivated over the next month, but going back into the stress of the school year scares me. It will be all too easy to stop for a hoagie on the way home from work than to suck it up and have some steamed fish and veggies.

I propose a September through June period of time and either weekly or every-other-week postings of our progress for accountability. (I prefer a Saturday weigh-in.)

What do you all think?

I'm trying to hit my goal weight by June or July. Some of you will just be trying to maintain your goal weights as I'm sure you will have hit them by then.

This is about leaning on each other a bit to keep the weight off and to be healthier people. I want us all to be around a good long time. :)

Just one of those songs

I love Dwight Yoakam. Down here, I get to hear him on the radio quite a lot. Today, my favorite song by him came on, and it is just one of those songs you want to share with someone because bopping around in the car looks insanely dumb.

So, I'm sharing it with y'all.

Do-over

I woke up early this morning to go to see The Dark Knight in an IMAX theater. I fell back to sleep, but when I woke up, I thought I had enough time to catch the next one. Well, that would have been peachy, except that I couldn't find a place to park close enough to the theater (and the movie was about to begin). Grrrrr! Then I went to another theater where I knew I would find parking, but I just missed the beginning of their next showing of the film.

After feeling like the world did not want to go to the movies, I went to the grocery store and bought some fruit.

YAY!

I'll try again tomorrow morning. I think I'll shoot for the 9:00 am show, so that I make it to the 12:20. Hey, I know myself well.

Now to go find something to post about because I don't have what I thought I would.

HA!

Bedtime stories

When I was little, my mom always made sure she read to me. Sometimes she read from the Bible, Disney books, Golden Books, and some longer fiction as I got a little older. However, there was one book that got my attention more than Pecos Bill's adventures with his lasso: Robert Louis Stevenson's A Child's Garden of Verses. It is a book of poetry that I still have. Here is one of my favorite poems from it:

Foreign Lands
by Robert Louis Stevenson

Up into the cherry tree
Who should climb but little me?
I held the trunk with both my hands
And looked abroad in foreign lands.

I saw the next door garden lie,
Adorned with flowers, before my eye,
And many pleasant places more
That I had never seen before.

I saw the dimpling river pass
And be the sky's blue looking-glass;
The dusty roads go up and down
With people tramping in to town.

If I could find a higher tree
Farther and farther I should see,
To where the grown-up river slips
Into the sea among the ships,

To where the road on either hand
Lead onward into fairy land,
Where all the children dine at five,
And all the playthings come alive.

This is not good....

A man involved in a robbery turned murder was found not guilty despite being on tape and the fact that witnesses place him inside of the store.

THIS is just awful.

Respecting my elders

When I get older I want to be spirited like this:



And, I want to move like this:

I've been here a month?

As of tomorrow, I will have been here a month. I've been noticing that I am not homesick. I don't even miss cheesesteaks. If it was hockey season, I'm sure I'd miss the Flyers, though.

Here are a couple of lists of things I miss and don't miss about being in NJ.

Things I don't miss about NJ/Philly:
1. Rudeness
2. Watching the local evening news and getting whiplash from shaking my head.
3. My job
4. Eagles drama
5. Traffic congestion (taking a half an hour to go five miles)
6. My past lurking at every corner
7. A large majority of people not speaking English
8. Smug attitudes
9. The stress
10. Paying $845 for a tiny one-bedroom apartment that is at least as old as I am, with a perpetually broken air-conditioner.

Things I do miss:
1. My parents being close enough to really check on
2. My kitties--they help with the lonesomeness
3. Wawa
4. The elderly neighbor we call "Pastor." He always waves hello and good-bye to me from his wheelchair. I dare say he probably prays for me, too.
5. Ummm....can't think of ten things. Is that bad?

Back home, I never feel like I "fit". I never have. My grandmom used to tell me that I wasn't an Easterner. She used to tell me that I was Midwestern. I don't know what she meant by that. But what I do notice is that I need to be in a calmer, less stressful environment where people are kind of chill. Living life seems to be more important here than rolling over people to get to the "latest" thing.

I wish I could stay.

Whatever I want Wednesday

Allman Brothers
"Blue Sky"