Oh happy day - I missed it!

Some how, I don't know how, I missed TWO episodes of "Bones" last season. How...how?!? I don't know, but I discovered it tonight! After suffering months of near-freezing summer temps and nights without Brennan, Booth, and the gang at least one problem had a solution! (Yes, I watched them while wearing jeans and a light sweater).

But I can overlook the wardrobe for now. Why? Because "Bones" returns on my sister's birthday. Only SEVENTEEN more days!!

Oh, happy, happy day :)

Another Bums Game

You'd hardly know it by our clothing, but this is Matt and I with our friends Jason and Brooke at a Beach Bums game...in July!!! (Yes, those are jeans and hoodies).

Just for Michelle...Suntan and Sunburn.

Another shot of Matt with his eyes closed (if you have any where he managed to keep his eyes open, can you send them to me?)

Our fair stadium...Weurfel Park.

The lawn seats....

I don't know how to share this here, so I'll put the link. This game was Ladies Night. Instead of singing Take Me Out to the Ballgame at the 7th inning stretch, Suntan and Sunburn did a little ditty to "Single Ladies". See it here.

Busted!!

The Bucket List

Someone tagged me on one of these on Facebook. I thought I'd post it here, just for fun.
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The Bucket List. Place an X by all the things you've done and remove the X from the ones you have not, then tag your friends (including me).

Things you have done during your lifetime:
() Gone on a blind date
() Donated Blood
(X) Skipped school
() Watched someone die
(X) Been to Canada
( ) Been to Mexico
(X) Been to Florida
() Been to Hawaii
(x) Been on a plane
() Been on a helicopter
(x) Been lost
(X) Gone to Washington, DC
( ) Hugged a homeless person
(X) Swam in the ocean
( ) Swam with Stingrays
() Been sailing in the ocean
(X) Cried yourself to sleep
(X)Played cops and robbers
(X) Recently colored with crayons
( ) Ran a marathon
(X) Sang Karaoke
( ) Volunteered at a soup kitchen
(X) Paid for a meal with coins only
( ) Been to the top of the St. Louis Arch
( ) Seen the Northern Lights
( ) Been Para sailing
(X) Been on TV
(X) Done something you told yourself you wouldn't
(X) Made prank phone calls
(X) Been down Bourbon Street in New Orleans
(X) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose
() Fed an elephant
(X) Caught a snowflake on your tongue
(X) Fired a gun
(X) Danced in the rain
() Been to the Opera
(X ) Written a letter to Santa Claus
(X) Serenaded someone
( ) Seen a U.S. President in person
( ) Been kissed under the mistletoe
() Watched the sunrise with someone
( ) Driven a race car
(X) Been to a National Museum
(X) Been to a Wax Museum
(X) Eaten caviar
(X) Blown bubbles
(X) Gone ice-skating
(X) Gone to the movies
( ) Been deep sea fishing
() Driven across the United States
( ) Been in a hot air balloon
( ) Been sky diving
(X) Gone snowmobiling
( ) Lived in more than one country
(X) Lay down outside at night and admired the stars while listening to the crickets
(X) Seen a falling star and made a wish
() Enjoyed the beauty of Old Faithful Geyser
() Seen the Statue of Liberty
() Gone to the top of Seattle Space Needle
() Been on a cruise
(X) Traveled by train
() Traveled by motorcycle
() Been horse back riding
( ) Ridden on a San Francisco cable car
(X) Been to Disneyland OR Disney World
(X) Truly believe in the power of prayer
() Been in a rain forest
() Seen whales in the ocean
(X) Been to Niagara Falls
() Ridden on an elephant
( ) Swam with dolphins
( ) Been to the Olympics
( ) Walked on the Great Wall of China
( ) Saw and heard a glacier calf
( ) Been spinnaker flying
() Been water-skiing
(X) Been snow-skiing
(X) Been to Westminster Abbey
(X) Been to the Louvre
( ) Swam in the Mediterranean
(X) Been to a Major League Baseball game
( ) Been to a National Football League game
( ) Swam with sharks
() Been White Water Rafting
(X) Written a book or screen play
(X) Have been in love

Thank God I'm a Country Girl

This week has been interesting. Ups, downs. Disappointments, fun surprises. I've been across the board. Throughout it all there has remained one constant theme, one unifying component:

Country Music

Yep, I said it. I love country music. I wish more people wrote worship music to a country rhythm. I wish more people admitted they like it.

I'm sure God had a reason for puting me in Michigan. In NORTHERN Michigan, where the sun barely shines during the summer. Where I've worn jeans more times this summer than I've worn shorts. In the land of snowmobiles and hockey (well, I can't really complain about the hockey). This is my home, and I can't imagine living away from the lake (Lake Michigan...not those little puddles you live by where you can see the people who live on the other side).

But then I turn on 103.5 WTCM and I'm HOME. I start dreaming about my first pair of cowboy boots and suddenly life on a ranch 50 miles from town doesn't sound so bad. It doesn't help that I've been reading Tammy Barley's and Mary Connealy's books about the country life.

Sigh.

I'm definitely the off colored egg in the family. Both of my sisters live in Las Vegas. I visit as often as I can, but I still won't drive while I'm there. It's just too big. Too many people. Though I've never lived there, and I really have no idea what it would be like, I want to live in a small town in Montana, where people still ride their horses into town and it's an hour drive to the nearest mall.

Maybe, someday. I'm sure God gave me this love for a reason...I'm excited to see where it takes me! (And Matt...I'll take him with me)

test

I love Greek yogurt.

Farting Joke

Okay, so I totally ripped this off from someone else's blog, but it's too funny not to post. I'd like to say I can see myself doing this, but in all honestly I can see my sister Michelle doing it ;)

I was in the pub yesterday when I suddenly realized I desperately needed to fart. The music was really, really loud, so I timed my farts with the beat.

After a couple of songs, I started to feel better. I finished my pint and noticed that everybody was staring at me.

Then I suddenly remembered that I was listening to my iPod.

This is a test, this is only a test

This weekend my sister and I were talking about our blogs. I finally added a counter to this blog, just out of curiosity. Imagine my surprise to discover that The Ramblings has been collecting more hits than my writing blog!

Why the surprise? Well, because that blog has 23 followers and this one has one. Because there are NEVER comments on this blog, but I regularly get comments over there. And then Cammie hit me with a sucker punch to the gut:

"That blog is boring."

Do you hear that? That's the sound of my heart breaking.

Boring?? But it's all about writing, it's all about my passion, my would-be career! BORING?!?

Sigh. She has a point. I don't care what her knitting blog says...I just look at the pictures. I wouldn't read my dad's blog if he wrote one about banking. I wouldn't ready my younger sister's if she wrote about being a PE teacher. I get it, I guess.

So you may be wondering about this "test" from the title. How is this a test? Because I'm checking to see who visits this post. How? My sister said her most frequently visited pages are those that have recipes. The most visited? The Walking Taco. Sooo....because I'm curious to see how it will work on The Ramblings, here is the WALKING TACO!!

You will need:
Individual bags of Frito's Corn Chips
Taco Meat (Ground beef; taco seasoning; following directions)
Taco Toppings (lettuce, onion, salsa, cheese, sour cream)
Scissors
Fork

Assembly:
1. Hold bag of corn chips length-wise in your hand (i.e. you should have to tip your head to read the bag).
2. Cut off one of the upper corners of the bag; then slide the scissors along the top of the bag (you should be looking at your corn chips!).
3. Add meat to bag.
4. Add toppings to bag.
5. Mix gently with fork.
6. Walk, and eat!

That's it folks! The Walking Taco - quick, yummy, and good on the go!

Do people ever listen to themselves?

I appreciate the desire to be sentimental. It's understandable that a person wants to encourage, salute, or bless someone else, but sometimes it just doesn't work.

On the radio today I listened to a tribute to the pilot from the Gulf War who's remains were just recently found (18 yrs after his death). His friend was trying to be sincere, but his tribute to his friend has burned itself into my brain for all of the wrong reasons. This is what I heard (paraphrase):

"If people only gave 10% in their lives of what he has given us in his death then this country would be better."

Um, I understand that he thinks his friend was great, but I really doubt the pilot has done anything amazing since he died. Couldn't this friend think of ONE good thing that happened during the pilot's life? I'm just having a problem figuring out how to make this country better by giving 10% more than the dead guy gave.

I'm arguing that this pilot was a good man. I'm not saying he didn't do good things. I AM saying that someone should have proof-read this guy's eulogy and had the guts to say it didn't make sense.

If you want to inspire me to greatness, give me an example. Challenge me in a feasible way. But please don't try confuse me into action. It just provides good blog fodder.

Ode to N2O

If anyone has ever seen my smile then you know that I have "problem teeth". From the time I was a child I've had issues. Apparently as some point during my youth something happened and the enamel didn't form properly on my teeth. Thanks to that little snafu (which has no real cause that anyone can identify) my life has included dozens of trips to the dentist for fillings, caps, and other pleasantries. You'd think after 20+ years of these visits that they'd get easier.

Not a chance.

I had to go back again today. I brought my MP3 player to drown out the noise. They used the local numb-er, then busted out the shots. I thought I was prepared. By the fourth poke I was ready to bolt, and I must have looked like it. The dentist and hygenist both looked at me and asked if I was okay. When I told them I wanted to run, they didn't hesitate.

"Maybe you'd like some nitrous oxide." Thank you Lord for the happy gas!

I can't tell you how close I was to a panic attack. I was one prod away from leaving with a numb face and unfilled cavities. My shoulders were tense, my knees locked, and I was sweating uncontrollably. It was pretty awful.

But then they gassed me.

I don't remember much past that, and that's the way I like it. Everything blurred blessedly together. It was a happy time.

And when I got up to leave I saw the four year-old boy in the cubicle next to me...with his own little baby happy-gas-mask. You know, I'm okay with that.

Because knowing is half the battle!!

G.I. JOE!!

Yes, I saw it today. It was over-the-top. It was slightly predictable. I laughed, I cringed. Lots of people died. Things blew up.

I LOVED IT!!

Talk about great memories. Remember when, at the end of each episode, a member of G.I. Joe would should up at little Billy's house to tell him why he shouldn't touch that live downed wire? "Thanks, Rip Cord! Now I know." "And knowing is half the battle."

Oh, those great memories :)

I recommend the movie folks. I wouldn't take the lil' kids, but it sure is fun for the young 30s crowd who remembers the cartoons!!

Little twig, big problems

Here it is folks...the story of a tree. Look at this little, innocent branch. It doesn't look like much. But wait, what's that dark spot? That's where it caught fire. Obviously not a big fire, so how much trouble could it cause?

First the fire truck came...

Then the neighbor kids showed up to watch...

Then the fireman put up a nice yellow caution tape around the tree (to keep the kids out)...

And then came the tree trimmer. Doesn't look too bad, does it?
Wait, there's the rest of the tree (acutally, that's the chipper...and more neighbors)
Then Matt grabbed is safety glasses and ear protection and he joined in on the fun...

This is what was originally left...about 1/3 of the tree gone. But then we got the call that the tree would just continue to be a problem. So...
Ta-da! Look - there's a house back there! And a window...do you see that window?
Midgie sees it now. All of that warm sunlight gives her a nice new place to warm up on a brisk 70 degree July day.
And that's the story of my tree. The wood should be gone soon, as the neighbors want to burn it in their stove. Then I'll have a nice clean yard.

The end.