Verifying my Verification

I just had to do one of those CAPTCHA's...word verification thingy's. I couldn't figure out what it was. I think the first one is "ideals" and thought the second one was "testl". Which, the instructions said to enter the two "words", as if they were words and not just jumbled letters. What does it look like to you?

Merging

What is the rule when someone is merging into traffic and both lanes are full, shouldn’t the merger be the one to stop and wait for a clear lane?

More than once here lately, I’ve been behind someone on the interstate and since they couldn’t pull into the left lane to let a merging vehicle in, they came to an almost complete stop to let that vehicle merge. Now it is great to be polite and let someone into traffic but to nearly stop on the interstate when traffic behind you is going 70 plus mph’s is kinda dangerous.

So am I right? Shouldn’t the merger stop and wait for a clear lane?

Pucker Up!

I'm certainly no beauty expert. I do good to get make-up on for work. I do take more time with it if I'm going to church or town or somewhere...anywhwere besides work. But I do want to share something I've recently found out.

I've been using the Revlon Colorstay lipstick for quite some time now. This kind:



The lipstick is applied with a sponge type wand and it has a clear brush on gloss on the other end. I've used the gloss only a time or two. This stuff is true to it's name. It stays. It will actually last for two or three days unless you scrub it off with soap and water or make-up remover. You can eat and it won't come off. You can brush your teeth and it won't come off. That's what I like. Since I'm not a morning person I have just enough time to get dressed for work. If I can save 30 seconds by not having to apply lipstick the second morning, I'll take it.


Recently, I decided to get the solid type lipstick since I rarely use the gloss part of the other. I figured it would work just like the sponge on type.



It goes on great and looks good but it does not last. Once you wipe your lips it is gone. Or it will wear off through the day like any ordinary lipstick.


So, if you want a lipstick that stays put, use the wand type Revlon Colorstay with the clear gloss. It works great.

Be a Voice

This is a fantastic pro life website if you need something to read:
www.heartlink.org/beavoice

They give a link to this blog also: http://audreycaroline.blogspot.com/

This is Angie Smith's blog, wife of Todd Smith, who sings with Selah. I was fortunate to see them in concert about three years ago. They are fantastic. Angie's blog is about their daughter Audrey Caroline and how she impacted their lives. Please go to January 9th and view that video. WARNING: have plenty of tissues.

Also, be sure and go back to the beginning of the story. There is a link for new readers on the left hand side of her blog.

Sanctity of Human Life

This is Sanctity of Human Life week. Please be in prayer for the unborn, the mentally/physically handicapped, the elderly, and all those who cannot defend themselves.

They Paved Paradise and Put Up a Parking Lot

The prelims are done. We, the parking lot committee (yes, I’m Baptist. We have committees for everything), presented the proposed parking lot package for a vote last night. After nine weeks of research and bids, we found out…it ain’t gonna be cheap. But it passed with no one opposed. We have $56,000 in the account and will borrow $100,000 at a fantastic 4.25 interest rate. That’s a lot of money. The parking lot has been gravel for over 150 years so it is time for an upgrade. There will be tons of dirt work to do to help with the water flow, nice new, adequate lighting, a new sign, and new landscaping. I’m anxious to get started and see it completed.

Country Girls

The redheads love it outside. Here they are looking at Uncle Nick's moo cows. We always have to drag them back inside kicking and screaming. You can see it is already getting dark and we haven't coaxed them to go back inside yet.

A Couple of Updates...

Bottle Bust: Has gone fine. I thought it was gonna be hard but I was wrong. Lil Sis has never looked back. Big Sis asks for her bobba at bedtime but I hand her a cup and she’s fine. We probably could have done this a lot sooner.

Next, potty time. That’s what’s gonna save us some bucks! Yes! I don’t think they are quite ready just yet though. Even though I did sit them on there this past weekend when they woke up and they filled them up. We’ll do that as a starting point.

They are beginning to make sentences. Last night I had to change Big Sis’ diaper but she didn’t want to stop playing. She began her little gurgling scream that pierces your ears and grates your nerves. (She changes the sound of her cries periodically for some reason. Previously, she did a “honking” cry. Now it’s a gurgler.) I had her on the changing table and she was screaming away. Lil Sis took a step up on the lower shelf and held on and got face to face with her sister and said, “shut up”. I think the gurgling screams were getting on her nerves too.

Breakfast confession: Okay, I did it. I went to Sonic yesterday and got the junior breakfast burrito. It was okay but I had to sit there and eat it. It needs the salsa on it and there was no way I could drive and squirt salsa at the same time. Plus, it was way too much for me to eat. Needless to say, I got cheesy tots this morning. And needless to say, they were scrumptious!

Bottle Bust: Day 1

We finally broke down and did it. The bottles are gone. We’re about six months late so it was well past due. We had to be tough though, which is hard to do when it comes to those redheads. We’ve “started” a couple of times before but just never stuck to our guns. This time they are packed up and put away.

They’ve been on sippy cups during the day for quite some time now. It was just bedtime that the cries for “bobba, bobba” started.

I figured Lil Sis wouldn’t be a problem. She sucks her two middle fingers so all she does is pop those in her mouth. Another habit we’ll have to work on at some point. But I figured Big Sis would be a little harder.

My daughter was no problem at all to wean. An elderly lady at work had told me to wait until “the signs are in the feet”. I don’t normally follow the Farmer’s Almanac but I figured it couldn’t hurt for this. I got a book and the lady helped me decipher it. About six days after my daughter’s first birthday it was time. We put the bottles away and she never asked for another one. I don’t know if she was going to be that easy anyway or if the Almanac actually helped.

So, I figured following the old Farmer’s Almanac again couldn’t hurt. I found this website and saw that the 13th was the day.

It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. At bedtime last night Lil Sis asked for her bobba. I gave her a cup and she took it. She took a couple of sips and then stuck those fingers in her mouth. She was fine.

Big Sis was a little tougher but really not that bad. She didn’t want the cup at first. She cried against the refrigerator and threw a fit for a few minutes. I offered her cup to Lil Sis, who was willing to take it, and Big Sis decided she wanted it then.

They went to sleep in Pawpaw’s lap. Quietly. Calmly.

Mission accomplished.

I hope. We'll see how day two goes.

p.s. The Farmer's Almanac site includes the best dates for all kinds of things. Dieting, smoking, planting, camping (camping???). Interesting for sure.

Best Wishes Coach Dungy

From all accounts, Tony Dungy was a good coach and a great man who put his faith and family before football. I'll miss seeing him on the sidelines but I know there are better things in his future. God bless you Coach Dungy.

Monday Morning Thoughts

Lipstick makes a world of difference.

Why won’t people use turn signals? It’s really not so hard to reach over and flip it. Just FLIP it. It flips off by itself. No big deal.

The diet coke numbers in the vending machine at work are 25 and 26. I always make sure I push Deuce’s number instead of Reggie Bush’s. Nothing against Reggie, except he hasn’t lived up to expectations, but I am just partial to Deuce.

I still laugh when I think about “demoncrat” and “toad trip”.

I really don’t care who wins the super bowl now. None of my teams made it to the final four even.

“24” was awesome as expected. But I can’t believe Janeane Garofalo is now part of the cast. Another episode is on tonight. It will fill in the Monday night football gap. Then Idol starts tomorrow.

I am going to miss Alan Colmes. Seriously. Sean will have a good show I’m sure but it just won’t be the same without Alan’s point of view.

Why do I save all my bananas for last when I eat runts?

Breakfast Dilemma

Change is good, right? Yesterday, while eating lunch at Sonic, I noticed they had a junior breakfast wrap on their new dollar menu. About halfway into my drive to work this morning I started thinking…maybe I should try that breakfast wrap from Sonic this morning. It would save a few cents plus they have diet Dr. Pepper. Then I actually become overwhelmed with the thought of turning my back on my cheesy tots. Seriously. My brain began to battle itself. What if I don’t like this breakfast wrap? Will I start having cheesy tot withdrawals about mid morning? It is Friday and I probably won’t get cheesy tots again until Monday. But a change might be good. The breakfast wrap might be really good. And it’s cheaper and Sonic is a little closer so that means less gas wasted. Every penny counts nowadays right? But the wrap is probably hard to eat while driving. Cheesy tots are easy to hold and drive. But I love diet Dr. Pepper and I love the fact that they come in the styrofoam cups that stay cold longer. But I wouldn’t see my buddies at BK that I talk to everyday. And I’ve actually had three people tell me in the last week or so that they tried cheesy tots. Two out of the three liked them (and the third person may have liked them but just didn’t want to admit it). I can’t turn people on to them and then turn my back on them, right? What am I doing? I mean, seriously. It’s not like I’m gonna hurt the cheesy tots feelings if I eat something else for breakfast. These are inanimate objects. It will be okay. Or will it?

As I approached Sonic I still didn’t know what I was gonna do. Closer, closer. But I kept going. On to BK for my cheesy tots. Maybe it would be easier to try the breakfast wrap on another day, not a Friday. Or maybe not.

So what do you think? Should I at least give the breakfast wrap a try? Or stick with my faithful cheesy tots?

Happy Birthday Mr. Presley

I like Elvis. I’m not a "fanatic" like some people but I do think he was a handsome man with a very good voice. And my liking him probably has more to do with the fact that he is a born Mississippian more than anything. I like my home boys. I’m not crazy about a lot of his older songs but I really like “Kentucky Rain”, “Suspicious Minds”, and “In the Ghetto”.

He would have been 74 today if he was still living. I don’t know if I would have liked seeing an old gray, fat, wrinkled Elvis. And he may have worn his age well, like Charlton Heston did.

I do remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when I found out he had died. I was in the tenth grade. It was after school and we were outside in the front of the school for cheerleader practice. Mike “Snort” Reid (the one in the grade behind me) walked up and told us. No one fainted or screamed or cried. Of course we didn’t believe him at first but he finally convinced us.

I know many of you are probably too young to remember that but for those of us who are a little more mature, do you remember the details on when you heard about his death?

Lunchtime Observations

Gas jumped from $1.45 this morning to $1.57 at lunchtime. I knew it was too good to last.

I guess since Wendy's has the best food for the lowest prices, their drive thru line is always the longest in town so I rarely go there. I guess if they had not so good food for not so low prices I could eat there more often. Hmmmm. Oh, nevermind.

Popeye's advertises five combos for under $5 but I cannot find them anywhere on their menu.

Drivers yakking on their cell phones all the way through the drive thru irritate the stew out of me.

It has turned considerably cooler since this morn.

Back to Normal

After thirteen straight days of being home I am back to my old normal routine.

The alarm clock went off at 5:41 (which is actually 5:31 because I have it set ten minutes fast). But I hit the snooze button only twice, rather than three times like I normally would. Guess I was kinda excited about getting back to work. Aw shucks. I was ready for some cheesy tots. I have only had them twice since I’ve been off. And they weren’t from my usual BK. Don’t get me wrong. They were good but I just have missed my familiar faces that greet me every morning.

MrsHLP and Parrotmom, so glad you liked them but heed my warning: They Are Addictive!

So anyway, I’m back in my blue cube getting caught up on 399 new emails and getting ready to start a huge work project. It was nice being off but I am honestly thankful I have a job. There are many who don’t have one right now. I do hope 2009 is a better year for everyone.

Off to read some emails and change out a calendar.