Rod looks nice in pinstripes!

Gov. Blah-gojevich has been making the talk show circuits today trying to get the REAL story out there.

You only need to know ONE thing when listening to him:

DON'T BELIEVE A WORD HE SAYS!!

Even Sen. Dick Durbin said he is dillusional.....now that's saying something!!

Brilliant, Rod!!!

So much news in Illinois politics! It began long ago, but got exciting when our Governor, Rod Blagojevich, was arrested by the F.B.I. (see here and here.)

The Illinois Senate has started Impeachment Hearings, but the Governor and his lawyer have decided they will be passive-aggressive and not attend.

Today, he informed his public that a better forum for him would be THE VIEW. (I am NOT making this up.....)

Yes, he wants to go on THE VIEW to share his side of the story.

Inaugural Fashion Review

After yesterday, I know everyone's thoughts today are centered on FASHION. (I know I can't get it out of my mind.)

Soooooooooo...what is everyone's opinion of the Inaugural fashions?

Being the UNfashionable person that I am (see here for an explanation of my adult Garanimal wear), I thought it only appropriate to share my take on it all....

I really liked Michelle's yellow ensemble worn during the day yesterday.

However, her pick for the evening festivities


had too much of a Flinstone-esque flavor for my taste.
Just my opinion....

Dear Mr. President

Dear Mr. President:

At the next inauguration, I have one, simple request. PLEASE ask any prayer givers to refrain from refrains such as:

We ask you to help us work for the day when black will not be asked to be in back,
When brown can stick around,
When yellow will be mellow,
When the red man can get ahead, man;
And when white will embrace what is right.

Perhaps Rev. Lowery was embracing his inner Dr. Suess (or maybe enjoying something mind-altering?)

If that request in unobtainable, my second request would be to ask the poet/poem person to not include references to "boom boxes."

And please include at least ONE rhyming set of words.

In Honor of Today's Inauguration

In honor of today's inauguration, I share with you some Inauguration history.

Did you know....

• George Washington had to borrow money to go to his own inauguration.
• Ulysses Grant was inaugurated for his second term on a day in 1873 when the noon temperature was 16 degrees. A temporary wooden structure was built for the inaugural ball, and the weather turned it into an icebox. The food froze while guests danced in their coats. The musicians' violin strings snapped because of the chill, and 100 canaries, brought in to provide pleasant sounds, froze to death in their cages.
• Before Richard Nixon's 1973 inaugural parade, officials applied a chemical bird repelent to tree branches along the route. The product, called Roost No More, was supposed to keep pigeons off the trees by making their feet itch. Instead, the birds ate the repellent and keeped over, leaving Pennsylvania Avenue decorated with sick and dead pigeons.

Happy Innauguration Day!!!

A Painful Look at the Past

With my last post about having alien eyes and all, I thought it would help my recovery to just delve into my past with gusto. The faster I do that, the faster I will recover, I'm sure.

So, during my last visit to my parent's home, I found a lovely little gem of a picture. Before one can truly appreciate this view, let's go back a little bit in time....

Remember HARVEST GOLD and AVOCADO GREEN kitchens?



Pretty, pretty!!

How about Leisure Suits and the Six Million Dollar Man?

Such good memories....Good times. Good times.

Well, in the midst of all of this funky goodness, there came this lovely photo from May, 1970...

But first, please note that this is a BONUS photo....

What kind of bonus were they thinking exactly??? When I think of a bonus, I think of like a baker's dozen at the donut store or free popcorn at the movies or a free airplane ticket to anywhere in the world....

But apparently, back in 1970, Bennett's photo service thought it was swell to give their customers a wallet-sized picture of little girls with bouffant hair-dos.....(I would have asked for my money back personally...)Since I can't remember, I'm going to assume that these "do's" were in the height of fashion for a 5 and 6 year old right along with the polyester leisure suit.

Well, at least I had skinny legs....

Pink Lipstick with Alien Eyes

I just had this conversation with my beloved son, Ryan:

Ryan: Mom, I think you should try an experiment and go one whole day without makeup EXCEPT for bright pink lipstick.

Me: Why?

Ryan: Because I would want to see how bad you look! It would be funny. You would look awful.

Me: I'll look into it.

Matthew: Ryan, you should not say things like that!

Ryan: Why? It would be funny!

I'm telling you, my self esteem is smashed, people!! I'm still trying to heal from my brothers telling me my eyes looked like alien eyes when I was about 12.....


Signing out for now,

Your friend and relative with alien eyes...

I really should have been more grateful....

Will I ever learn???? I really should have been more grateful for the down-right balmy weather we had yesterday.

Right now, the air temperature is -14 with the wind chill registering in at -35.

Since the beginning of recorded temperature in Chicago, there have only been 44 days where the temperature did not rise above 0 degrees during a 24-hour period. Today makes day #45

I feel privileged to be a part of this weather-ific history.

Now if I could just re-live yesterday and appreciate what I had....maybe even eat lunch in the backyard...

Prop. 8 + BYU Students = Creativity

I LOVE http://nieniedialogues.blogspot.com/ and http://www.cjanerun.blogspot.com/ and follow them religiously. (Can't wait for Friday--Stephanie is scheduled to post for the first time since that awful day last August.)

Their brother, Topher, also writes an entertaining blog at http://www.thejollyporter.blogspot.com/

On Monday, December 08, 2008, Topher (Stephanie & Courtney's brother) posted a creative video made by his cousin, Ryan. It is an interesting take on Prop. 8.

Here is the post from www.thejollyporter.blogspot.com:

marriage for....everyone?
While the whole world was clamouring about Proposition 8, I stayed mainly quiet. I guess I just believe that if you ignore problems long enough they will go away. My cousin, Ryan Simmons, does not feel the same way. He's an activist! He created this short film about marriage for everyone, and then had the bravado to post it on youtube. I really recommend you watch it. It's difficult, but worth it.

I C.A.N.'T. TAAAAAAAKE IT ANYMORE!!!

Please, someone come rescue me from this utterly awful weather.

I am either going to:

1. go insane
OR
2. freeze to death

Those are my only two options!

This is my 8th winter in this dreadful coldness. I think I have done my time. Can't I get an early release for relatively good behavior?????

The snow is coming down so fast you can't shovel and keep up with it. It is suppose to get to -10 degrees wind chill today. I'm so looking forward to getting the kids to scouts, Taylor's wrestling awards night and Kristen's band concert tonight.....

Tomorrow the HIGH temperature will be -1 degrees and the wind chill will be -35 degrees. Who is their right mind lives here???????

Ahhh---The Innocent Dreams of Childhood......

Last night Ryan yanked out a tooth that was hanging by a gum-thread.

"Dear Tooth Fairy," he wrote.
Please can I have Nike Shox for my tooth.
Thank you.
Sincerely, Ryan."

These are Nike Shox....

So, did the tooth fairy come through and did his dream become a reality??? (I mean his note was full of please, thank you and sincerely.)

....Unfortunately, it was another childhood dream.....

smashed, obliterated, demolished

again.

Something to Think About

I got an email that really made me think. I thought I'd share....

The following is the philosophy of Charles Schultz , the creator of the 'Peanuts' comic strip.
You don't have to actually answer the questions.
Just read it straight through, and you'll get the point.

1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.

2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.

3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America .

4 Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.

5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winner for best actor and actress.

6. Name the last decade's worth of World Series winners.

How did you do?

The point is, none of us remember the headliners of yesterday.
These are no second-rate achievers.
They are the best in their fields.
But the applause dies.
Awards tarnish.
Achievements are forgotten.
Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners.

Here's another quiz.

See how you do on this one:

1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.

2. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.

3. Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.

4. Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and special.

5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with .

Easier?

The lesson:

The people who make a difference in your life

are not the ones with the most credentials,

the most money,

or the most awards.

They are the ones that care.

Fun Facts for the New Year

I hope everyone had a festive and fun holiday season and is happily ensconced in the new year!

Before moving on to items of 2009, I wanted to share some fun facts about the beloved holiday FRUITCAKE....Doesn't that word just make your mouth water???

I'm not sure I've met anyone who likes, much less eats, fruit cake. Do you or anyone you know like fruitcake?

Here's some facts about the doorstop-food:

• 47 percent of the average human population say they would toss a holiday fruitcake in the trash without delay.


• 11 percent say they would make time to re-gift a fruitcake. (Why would you re-gift a fruitcake to some other poor soul? On second thought, I wonder how many of the fruitcakes that are floating around are just re-gifted?)


• A fruitcake that has the right preservatives and is stored in a tightly closed tin can STILL be enjoyed after 25 years. (I guess you could have this gift on hand for years, just in case you need a last-minute gift for someone....)


• 2,952 pounds of fruitcake were delivered to U.S. troups in Iraq for the holidays last year. (In my opinion, this is a sad, sad gift for the brave men and women in our military! Oh wait---they are the BRAVEST of all in our country. Maybe they are the only ones brave enough to eat that much....)

Anyone want a fresh slice (by fresh I mean less than 10 years old) of fruitcake????