Gran Torino and WW Question Answered

Randey and I had a little mini-date night yesterday. I say "mini" because we went to the early show and then picked up sandwiches from Subway on the way home so it really didn't seem too much like a real date. But hey - I'll take what I can get. Anywho, we went to see Clint Eastwood's latest movie, Gran Torino. We both were very moved by this movie. Heck, I think everyone in the theater was. It's basically the story of how a man, totally disconnected from any real human emotion, finds friendship and feeling almost against his will. It depicted a man incredibly alone and lonely, and determined to remain that way, until he finds himself interacting with his neighbors, people he never even wanted to know. This movie contains just about every single racial slur I've ever heard and many I hadn't. But the movie isn't so much about race as about the human condition. Do any of you know someone who has fostered a certain persona, who has learned to hide behind an unemotional mask, who has become so disgusted and confused by a world he or she is unable to grasp that they have just quit trying to interact with it? If so, you'll recognize that person in Walt, the Clint Eastwood character. I sure did. Watching Walt was like watching...well, it's not important that I share who the character reminded me of. It just speaks about the movie and Clint Eastwood's acting ability that the character seemed so real to me. Again, Randey and I were very moved by this movie and give it a firm thumbs up.
Now on to something else. Yesterday, I talked about Weight Watchers and, via e-mail traffic, got into a discussion about reaching my goal weight and then possibly taking it further. You see, when I spoke with my team leader the day that I decided 149 was the end of the road for me, she very clearly stated that I needed to be sure because if I went 2 pounds over that or 2 pounds under that (after having maintained that weight for 6 weeks and being declared a LifeTime Member, at which point I would no longer have to pay to attend the meetings), they would have to charge me again. Someone in an e-mail told me I must have heard her wrong, but I distinctly remember my team leader saying the reason I needed to be sure was because some people just picked the high end of their weight range as their goal, but then continued to try and lose weight, which was against WW rules. So today I called WW for clarification. I spoke with a very nice woman who told me that I could most certainly continue to lose weight after obtaining my goal, as long as I didn't go below the minimum set forth in the WW guidelines. I told her what my team leader had said and she told me that wasn't the first time she'd heard that so she put me on hold in order to investigate further. I must have been on hold for something like 10 minutes, but when she finally came back on the line, she told me that yes, I was only obligated to pay again (once I became a LifeTime Member) if I went 2 pounds above my goal. She went on to say that my Weight Watcher goal and my Personal goal were two different things and that many people did indeed choose the higher end of their range as their WW goal while still aiming for something lower as their Personal goal. So thank you, Mary, for discussing this issue with me and giving me the impetus to seek clarification from WW. I was worried sick about having to stay so rigidly within that range. I'm almost tempted to work on losing another few pounds just to see what reaction I get from my team leader. I've really enjoyed her help and encouragement with my weight loss, but am kind of flummoxed by her almost adversarial reaction to my decision to declare that particular number as my goal weight. She's been so happy about every other "victory" that her response to this sort of came out of left field. Oh well, we'll see...an additional weight loss may never come up so there's no point in worrying about it just yet, eh? And regardless of this one little issue, I am still thrilled silly with WW and what it's done for me.
Guess I'd better run. My boys get out of school early today and I've invited them to join me for lunch at Olive Garden. I'm all excited! I'm kind of taking bets with myself on how fast they'll try to ditch me after the lunch is over, though. Teenagers....

A New Face to Love

Meet Skye, age 3.She is my daughter's boyfriend's little girl. Her father only found out about her right around a year ago maybe. He missed out on 2 years of this little girl's life because he didn't even know she existed. How sad it that? Even worse, since he wasn't aware of her existence, he didn't know the circumstances of her living conditions. This baby has been through some turmoil. I'm not sure what her mother's issues are, but it's my understanding she had fallen on hard times and that perhaps drugs played a huge part in her losing custody of little Skye and her siblings. My daughter's boyfriend was given custody of Skye a couple of months ago and I have to tell you, she's stolen our hearts. She is such a precious little thing...so smart and so funny. Here she is yesterday, Thanksgiving, after Randey showed her the fun of sticking olives over her fingertips:

Here she is with Randey. Look at that smile!

Here she is posing in front of the trees. She knows all the details of the Christmas decorations...what makes noise, what sings, what dances, what lights up. Every time she comes over, she plays with the remote controlled Grinch car, the spinning snowman Susan just gave me, Yule Burner (the talking log) and the bubble blowing Santa. Thank goodness she got bored quickly with the giant Grinch (listening to him too often can make even me crazy. lol).

And here she is, sitting on my lap as I sang the Twelve Days of Christmas to her. She was getting just about sick and tired of all the picture taking and the interruptions at this point. Isn't she just adorable, though?

My heart aches at the thought of all the turmoil she's been through in her short little life. I just want to hold her close and make sure that nothing and nobody ever hurts her again. She's just the sweetest little thing.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We had a great one...Skye was our main source of entertainment, but we also went and saw the new Vince Vaughn movie "Four Christmases". There was kind of a freaky scene early on in the movie (couple's role-playing, but that's all I'll say about it), but it was pretty good anyway. I laughed my brains out during the scenes at his Dad's house...the "brothers" were hilarious. I also, for the first time ever, ever, ever, cooked a wonderful dinner with NO disasters. Everything came out great. You have no idea what a feat that is for me. And by the way, I tried my friend Susan's WW friendly pumpkin pie recipe and it was FANTASTIC!!! No kidding - it was the best pumpkin pie I've ever tasted. I'll share the recipe with you guys soon.

In other news - BIG NEWS - we will be meeting our youngest granddaughter for the very first time right around 6:00 this evening. Jodie and Kara are flying in from Okinawa today. YAY!!!!! They'll be staying here for a couple of days before continuing on to Florida to visit her family and friends (but they'll be back here for a couple of weeks before and during Christmas!). I'll post plenty of pictures over the next few days and weeks. Kara is a real beauty - can't wait to get my hands on her. (I hope she likes me. lol)

Now get out and start shopping, people! Let's work all those calories from yesterday off and keep our economy going at the same time!!!! LOL

Political Correctness Be Damned and More WW Recipes (how's THAT for a strange combination of topics?)

What qualifies as "Politically Incorrect" these days? Lots of things. Lots and lots and lots of things. More things than I could possibly count. Personally, I'm so damn sick of being told what's correct and what isn't, that I could just scream. People don't want you saying "Merry Christmas" anymore because it might offend someone. Instead, you're supposed to say "Happy Holidays". I've got no problem with saying "Happy Holidays". But rest assured that if and when I do say that, it'll most likely be followed up with a loud and hardy "Merry Christmas Everyone!". Why? Because December 25th is a celebration of the birth of Christ, that's why! So while I surely do hope that any and all holidays you may experience be as happy as can be, I further and most assuredly hope that your Christmas season is full of joy, love, merriment and laughter. And I hope my saying "Merry Christmas" to you gives you just one more reason to reflect on the whole entire meaning of life and what we're suppose to accomplish while we're here in it.
Another Politically Incorrect thing these days is "racial profiling", specifically at airports. Yeah. We're not supposed to be suspicious of anyone of Middle Eastern descent simply because they are of Middle Eastern descent 'cause it might offend an innocent person of the same race. Huh. See the thing is, each and every one of the murdering jackasses from 9/11 were of Middle Eastern descent. Sorry, but that's a fact. I darn sure wouldn't want to offend an innocent, really I wouldn't. But then again, I don't want to be taking a header into a national monument while snugly encased in a 747 just because no one had enough cojones to eyeball the terrorist sitting 6 rows ahead of me. You know when I flew to Florida from Texas in 2005 for the birth of our grandson, I was pulled out of line and searched. Why? Because I had a one way ticket in first class and only carry on luggage. All red flags. Cool. They "wanded" me, they patted me down, they took my shoes, they searched my luggage and my purse. No problem. I understood. I mean I was only in first class because it was the only ticket I could get and I only had a one way ticket because Randey and the boys were following by car so I was going to ride back home with them, but okay - I got that I met certain parameters that said "SEARCH THAT PASSENGER". But if I'd been wearing a burka, do you think they would have searched me then? I honestly doubt it. Why? Because I might have screamed "Racial Profiling!" and no airline wants to be accused of that...simply because it'd be Politically Incorrect. HORSE. PUCKY. Middle Eastern people tried to kill us. I hate that for us and for the innocent people of Middle Eastern heritage. But screw that "racially insensitive" crap and keep us all safe, if you don't mind too much. And if saying that induces you to call me a racist, then you're calling me a racist only induces me to call you a willfully blind and woefully ignorant idiot.
One other example of Political Incorrectness...all these people out there all across America who are going through foreclosures. They all blame Bush, the economy, the oil companies, the 3rd phase of Venus, whatever. And yes, some people truly have been victims of circumstances beyond their control, i.e, those who lost their jobs, etc. But I know for an absolute fact that a number of those people who have lost or are losing their homes to foreclosure are suffering because of their own damn stupidity. Back when real estate was booming, many of these people took out larger mortgages. They suddenly had all this equity in their homes because home values skyrocketed. So they borrowed against the "new" values of their homes and lived high off the hog. Woo-hoo! Ain't life grand! Then that "creative financing" that they were so thrilled with earlier became unaffordable. They found themselves with ginormous mortgage payments and no way to pay them. Well, I hate like all get out that those people made poor financial decisions based on current conditions without so much as considering the future, but that's hardly anyone's fault but their own. And yeah, I know it's extremely Politically Incorrect to say things like that, but I. don't. much. care. It's simply stating a fact. And by the way, I'll go even further to say that those ill-planning, whining ass bunch of morons who got greedy without giving one thought to the future have made it even tougher for those who genuinely have suffered because of the downturn our economy is experiencing. And for the love of Pete, stop your crying because you've lost your home due to your own greed. Suck it up, start over and learn from your mistakes. Thank God Randey and I have never lost a home due to our own idiocy, but we have suffered through financial hardships in the past brought on entirely by a syndrome known as "Living Above Your Means". It's a syndrome that affects a lot of people in American today. And it's not a condition that can be cured by the federal government.
So - why the big rant over "Political Correctness"? Because...I want you guys to understand that I know what that term means. And I'm as fed up with it as the next person. Truly I am. I could rant and rave about it for the next 24 hours solid and never even begin to scratch the surface of just how much it irritates me that we are supposed to tip toe around everyone's feelings because it'd be so flippin' horrible if we offended someone. I received several e-mails from very well meaning friends telling me that I had done nothing wrong when I "reviewed" the movie Tropic Thunder and I didn't need to apologize to Michelle like I did. I beg to differ. The reason being this...a person of a different religious persuasion can express those beliefs to me if they get offended by my "Merry Christmas" greeting. They can tell me all about how it offends them because they don't believe in Jesus. And I can tell them to get over it. Why? Because they can actually get over it. A person of Middle Eastern descent can get all kinds of ticked off at me for thinking people who look like them should be given extra scrutiny at the airport and I can also tell them to get over it. Why? Because they can. A person who's driving a Hummer that they bought with the proceeds of their home equity loan before that loan went belly up can get indignant and cry because I've expressed my belief that they've brought their tragedy upon themselves and they, too, can get the heck over it. None of these people have to agree with me, none of them have to accept what I say without debate. They can all fight back, in other words. The mentally handicapped can't. They are a segment of our society who are totally and completely innocent and free of guile. When I said that people who are "easily offended" should skip that movie, I lumped people who have no control over their condition into the same category as those who do. And that was wrong. I still say that was a funny movie. But I hate the thought that something that gave me so much laughter could, at the same time, cause pain and humiliation to innocents. I wish to heck that Ben Stiller had used a more worthy target for his lampooning. There's plenty other segments of our society out there who could use a little poking fun at. Again, I don't think that Stiller and company set out to make fun of the mentally disabled, but rather they used language that is hurtful to the mentally handicapped, as well as those who love them, in their efforts to illustrate the ridiculousness of Hollywood itself. That hurtful language was unnecessary and uncalled for. And that has nothing to do with being Politically Correct or Incorrect. It has to do with being a caring and thoughtful human. Michelle did not try to pressure me into retracting my endorsement of the movie, nor did she chastise me for being insensitive. She merely made a comment on my review because she felt that we were good enough friends to do that. I'm so very pleased that she was comfortable enough with me to express herself without fear of being snubbed or mocked. Her comment was well thought out, it came from personal feelings and experience and it was a point of view I hadn't truly considered. I felt terrible after having read it. Why? Because I knew that she was right. Yes, it was a funny movie, but it was also hurtful to the innocent. The defenseless innocent. That's why I answered her comment as I did. Because it came from the heart. NOT from any pressure to be Political Correct. I thank all of you for your kind words regarding this issue. It's been very much appreciated. It's one more reason why I love being part of this community!!

Now - to lighten up a bit - how about telling me some of the "Politically Correct or Incorrect" things that drive you insane?? I'd love to hear about them. It really gets my blood pumping. LOL

TODAY'S RECIPES

Finally, here's a great idea for a low point Weight Watchers breakfast. This comes from Joan over at Joan's Journeys. Joan has been eating 3 egg whites (just the whites, people!) every morning and has been adding vegetables like mushrooms and broccoli. Three egg whites count for only 1 point on the WW system and in fact, if you were feeling particularly hungry, you could have six, count 'em SIX, egg whites for just TWO points. Not bad, eh? And of course, small portions of most vegetables don't garner any points. Joan says you can even add half a bag of the WW shredded cheese for only 1 more point. She also enjoys a half cup of Sunfresh Del Monte Red Grapefruit because she says they taste so sweet (can't wait to me some of that up the next time I go to the store - I luvs me some sweet grapefruit!). Great breakfast ideas. Remember everyone, it's very important that you eat breakfast every morning. I know it seems like the less you eat, the more weight you'll loose, but if you don't eat on a regular basis, your body starts storing absolutely everything you do eat because it thinks it's starving. So feed your body regularly and do it with mostly healthy stuff. Also remember this: A treat isn't a treat if you give it to yourself everyday! Save those special things for special times. Fuel your body with the healthy foods day to day. Your body will thank you!
Here's a little factoid that surprised the fool out of me...did you know that a "normal and healthy" portion of chicken breast is only 4 ounces? The average chicken breast (raw) is 7 to 8 ounces. I was appalled when I saw that most WW recipes called for only 1 pound of chicken for 4 servings. What the heck? Who could live off that? Well, apparently - anyone! It's the size we should be eating. While I don't always adhere to this portion size (but I try!), it's truly not a hardship to adjust to eating healthier. And I promise you, it gets easier over time, too. Now check out this recipe which is made with only 1 little ol' pound of chicken breast meat:

Crock Pot Chicken Parmesan
4 servings 6 points per serving

Ingredients:
Olive Oil spray
6 Tbsp seasoned bread crumbs
1 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 oz reduced fat parmesan cheese
1/2 cup egg beaters (or 3 egg whites)
1 cup Paul Newman marinara (if you use a different brand, check it for calorie, fat and fiber count!!!)
2 oz part-skim mozzarella cheese
16 oz boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Spray bottom of crock pot with olive oil Pam. Combine breadcrumbs, garlic powder and parmesan cheese. Dredge chicken in egg beaters or egg whites and then dredge in breadcrumbs mixture to coat chicken. Place chicken in crock pot. Sprinkle chicken with mozzarella cheese and pour marinara/spaghetti sauce on top of chicken. Cook on low 6-7 hours or high for 3-4 hours.

This is a fantastic recipe. I've never made chicken parmesan in my life until I used this recipe. It's so easy - and my family was so impressed - I darn near declared myself a good cook after the first time I served this. (And before I get an e-mail from Aunt Sandi, let me state that calling myself a "bad cook" is no exaggeration nor am I putting myself down by saying it. I don't normally like cooking, I'm not terribly good at it, and I'd just as soon leave the cooking chores to someone else. I have no shame and/or embarrassment about my lack of cooking skills. It's just how I roll.) Anywho - this recipe almost made me change my mind about the Joys of Cooking. It gave me hope that I could make something quick, easy, healthy and full of good taste without resorting to carry-out or a nervous breakdown. I serve this with a side portion (2 ounces) of Ronzoni Smart Taste thin spaghetti (discovered through my friend Susan! Check this stuff out - it's even better for you than whole grain pasta!) and a 1/4 cup of marinara - for an additional 4 points. I also make a lettuce, tomato and cucumber salad (o points). This meal is a lot of food for 10 points, and it's one my family thoroughly enjoys eating.

Here's one more recipe, courtesy of Vee over at A Haven for Vee. In her own words, no less!

Peel slices from one apple into pan with artificial sweetener of choice and cinnamon to taste and water. Stew until apples are softened and water is nearly evaporated.

Place one slice of American cheese (lowfat, if you insist) on one slice of whole-wheat toast. Add apples on top and broil until cheese melts. Yummy!
(I've been eating this for forty years whether dieting or not.)

I ran this thru the WW Recipe Builder and it comes to only 3 points. Yippee!

Please, Let Me Explain!

I have a huge mea culpa to issue here. It's regarding my review of the movie Tropic Thunder. I enjoyed the movie - thought it had a lot to recommend it. That part is fine and I, of course, stand by my right to express that opinion. However, (and this is a BIG however) I was insensitive in the extreme to a certain aspect of our society. When I said "if you're easily offended, skip it", I carelessly trivialized the feelings of people who either are or know someone who is mentally handicapped or disabled. God help me, I don't even know the proper term or if there is one. Please, if I've said the wrong thing, correct me. I'm willing and able to learn from my mistakes. Like now. With that "easily offended" statement. I received this comment from my good blogging friend, Michelle @ Big Blueberry Eyes. It was an eye opener for me, to say the least.

I guess you can count me among those easily offended :) I admit I haven't seen the movie, but that scene between Stiller and Downey Jr talking about why Stiller didn't win an Oscar playing Simple Jack? That scene offends me. In particular Downey Jr's character saying "you went full r*tard. You never go full r*tard" offends me. That phrase is already on shirts being sold online, kids will probably be wearing it in school, and I dread the day Kayla will have to see something like that. I've heard Stiller's response that it wasn't meant to offend, it was a satire poking fun of Hollywood and other actors etc, and taken in the context of the movie it's supposed to be funny. Regardless of what the context is, and that it was supposed to be funny, it just isn't - at least not for me. Ditto with the scene between Stiller and his agent talking about Stiller's plan to adopt. His agent saying "at least you get to chose your son" and then showing a picture of him with his son who appears to have a disability.
Anyway, just my opinion coming from a different point of view of why it offends me :) Hope you don't mind my long comment in response!

I truly did not mean to minimize or dismiss anyone's feelings over this movie. But I did. The truth is, the movie contains offensive language and references to mentally disabled people. That is a fact that I cannot deny. As Stiller said, I don't believe the makers of the movie specifically set out to make fun of mentally disabled people, rather I think the purpose was to show the ridiculous lengths Hollywood and, more pointedly, actors go to for their "art". This is something I agree with so whole heartedly, that I lost sight of the hurt those particular scenes could cause the innocents in our society who least deserve to be subjected to that sort of pain. I mean heck, I was laughing my butt off during most of the movie and, while I found the parts referring to the mentally handicapped to be in poor taste, I took them as a poke at Hollywood, not a poke at the disabled so I skipped right over them in my review of the movie. And honestly, I didn't understand the reference about the agent's kid when he told Stiller "at least you get to pick yours". They just showed a picture of a kid, a kid who looked like a million other kids out there. (Which may show that not only am I insensitive, I'm dense as well.) But the point is, it was real easy for me to laugh at certain things and dismiss others because I haven't had to endure the agony of knowing a loved one who is living with the realities of a handicap. Michelle, Joe and Kayla, if I live to be a hundred years old and apologize to you all every hour on the hour, I will never come close to expressing exactly how bad I feel for my total and complete lack of empathy for your feelings. I still think the movie, apart from the horribly unnecessary language regarding the handicapped, was funny, but (A), it would have been immeasurably funnier without those parts and (B) I never, ever should have even thought, much less said, "easily offended" in reference to anyone's feelings. It belittled what is obviously a very real and true emotion and one that, as a person who hasn't lived with this reality, I could never have any true grasp of understanding. If I had to do it all over again, and knowing what I know now, I believe I'd skip that movie. Sure, parts of it were hysterically funny. But 2 hours of laughter just doesn't measure up to the thought of hurting your feelings and I ache with every fiber of my being just thinking of little Kayla having her feelings hurt by this. I promise you now that I will work towards improving my empathy and sympathy and will be much more mindful of these things in the future. Thank you for your very kind and gentle reminder to me that there's a difference between being "politically incorrect" and being just plain wrong. I hope you'll forgive me my ignorance.



One other thing, today is my oldest son's 28th birthday. Happy Birthday, Nick! Sure wish I could talk to you and I hope you can at least read your birthday greetings. I miss you like crazy and think of you every moment of the day. You're my baby, my "Elvis", my pride and my joy. I love you, son.

P.S. Look one post down for the Weigh Out of Fat Recipes

Tropic Thunder, My Baby's Movin' on Up, More Art, Maddy's Masterpiece and a Plea for Recipes!

It's been a hectic weekend. I'm on another one of my "gotta get organized" kicks so naturally, everything in the house is a total mess. lol What I wouldn't give for more storage in this house!! Geez. Seems like I'm constantly shifting stuff from one pile to another and not making any progress whatsoever. But that's a whole other story. I'd just as soon not think about it right now so I'll move along, okay? :)
Randey and I saw Tropic Thunder Friday evening. It was offensive on so many levels, it was stupid, it was gross, it was sometimes over-the-top bizarre...and man, did we love it! I haven't laughed so hard in a theater since we saw Blades of Glory. Robert Downey, Jr. is pure genius. I'm normally not too impressed with anyone who makes their living in Hollywood, but this guy is an exception. I loved him in Ironman, I loved him in Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang and I totally and completely adored him in this movie. Nobody plays a character better and nobody pokes fun at himself better, either. Genius, I tell you, genius. Another stand out performance in this movie was that of Tom Cruise. Yeah, I know. I stopped diggin' Tom Cruise right about the time he kicked Nicole to the curb and started couch jumping over Katie. But his performance in this movie almost made me like him again. Almost. (He played a great role, but afterwards, well - he's still Tom Cruise - couch-pounding maniac.) If you can enjoy a whole lot of un-politically correct humor, this movie is for you. If you're easily offended, skip it. And there you have it. Another movie review from me. Woo-hoo! lol
Check out Jacob, my baby. He was headed to a job interview so he broke down and dressed in something other than a t-shirt and plaid shorts. It worked for him, too. He got the job and has gone from working fast food to working in retail sales. He's already planning on how to spend the big bucks he'll be making. lol
Remember our fetish for cheap art? Well, check this out:
It's a watercolor painting of an actual windmill. It's the Berney Arms Mill in Norfolk, U.K. It actually has a sticker on the back with the name of the artist and the artist's contact information. I googled the name of the mill and found several webpages with information regarding the origin and the current use of the mill. I think it's a beautiful little watercolor and, at $3 (sorry, Kat, I can't help myself - I have to tell how little we paid! lol), an absolute steal.

When Maddy Moose (our oldest granddaughter) was visiting earlier this month, she and I went to Granbury and painted ceramics together. As you can see, Maddy's granny (moi) has not found her calling when it comes to painting these things. Who knew the brush strokes would show up so much??? Here's the front of my piece:
And here's the back:
Now here's Maddy's. This kid is so creative and so free-spirited, it was a given that I would love her piece. Here's the front of hers:
And here's the back:
I am kicking my own butt for not having her do two pieces so that I could keep one. What was I thinking??? Well, now I know better. Next time around, Moose will be painting something for herself and something for her granny. lol

One more thing. I haven't received many recipes yet for the "Finding a Weigh Out of Fat" post coming up this Wednesday. You only have a day or two to get those to me!! If you have one, please e-mail me with it ASAP (or type it into a comment). Come on, guys! Share what you've got and help the rest of us out! If we're going to lose weight together, we need to do it all together. Including helping each other out in the kitchen (metaphorically, anyway. You'll have to find your own helpers to do the dishes. lol).

Not Much Fizz to the Dr. Pepper Tour but Indiana Jones is Still the Man

Bright and early Saturday morning (if you consider 9:00 bright and early, that is) we headed to Dublin, Texas to check out the Dublin Dr. Pepper Bottling Company and Museum. We opted not to go to the Waco D.P. museum because it would have meant a total of 5 hours driving time to include both Dublin and Waco and we wanted to check out Indiana Jones 4 that afternoon, too. Anywho...I'm thinking that this will go down in our family history as a "been there, done that, don't need to do it again" sort of thing. The Famous "Old Doc's Soda Shop" wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Not much there at all, really. They sold t-shirts and other Dr. Pepper emblazoned items and the soda counter offered all manner of D.P. and even some sandwiches and stuff. The tour of the bottling plant, however, made the the soda shop look downright cool. Our 'tour guide' was a young, probably teen-aged, girl who used "um" and "like" in every single sentence she spoke, sometimes even several times within the same sentence, during the 20 minute tour thru the bottling facility and the three room "museum". And if she scraped her hair back behind her ears once, she did it a hundred times. Note to Dublin Dr. Pepper Management: Make sure tour guides can speak proper English, advise them to keep their hands out of their hair, especially when standing next to the bottling machinery and explain to them that stopping their schpeil in the middle of a sentence to explain to the tour how it is they always get confused when trying to pronounce so and so's name doesn't exactly convey a feeling of "ah...she knows what she's talking about!".
We bought the boys a t-shirt each, just so we wouldn't feel like the day was wasted (ha) and we bought Maddy Moose and Kara little Dr. Pepper shirts, too (see below). The coolest thing was this giant Dr. Pepper can that's located down at the end of the block from the museum. Here's Randey and I, poking each other in the ribs as Kaleb took our picture.
(How come he looks normal when I'm poking him, but I look like a stumbling drunk or something??). This next picture is of Kaleb and Jacob next to the "can". They first stood there about 2 feet apart until I told them to "act like they knew each other". This is the pose they gave me for my efforts:
And here's Randey and the boys. After we left Dublin, we drove up thru Granbury and had lunch at Babe's. Don't even get me started on the food at Babe's. Yum-O! Their smoked chicken is the best! Once we got lunch out of the way, we headed back home (had to drop off Randey's left-overs) and then on to the movie theater where we saw Indiana Jones 4.
I wish I hadn't of listened to the critics take on this movie...I spent too much time "thinking" about it instead of just enjoying it. I think I'm going to go see it again. I mean I liked it, I liked it a lot, I just think I missed too much of it because I was trying to see what the critics had pointed out in their reviews. Dumb critics. Don't know why I ever even bother to read a review from the likes of them.
Before I stop for today, I want to clarify why I asked if anyone knew the definition of "curmudgeon" in my last post. And no, people, it's not because someone called me one nor was it because I didn't have enough sense to look it up in a dictionary. I asked because I was surprised that my own teenage sons had never heard the word before. A couple of months ago, we were at a reception hosted by Texas Tech. It was one of those college recruitment things for Kaleb. While there, one of the speakers said something about not promising the students that they wouldn't run into the occasional "curmudgeon" within the ranks of the professors and then she said "Ah. Curmudgeon. Our vocabulary word of the day.". I sort of laughed and said "Like everyone in this room doesn't already know what a curmudgeon is" and Kaleb and Jacob both looked at me and said they'd never heard the word before. What the heck? I thought they would have learned that already, either through vocabulary testing and/or English lit. I know it's not a word we use here at home often (although if Randey's attitude keeps deteriorating, that could change. lololol). When I expressed my shock that my boys didn't know that word, I was informed (and I won't say who was doing the informing) that it wasn't a very "common" word and most people probably didn't know what it meant. Bull-hockey, I say! So I was asking you guys if you knew the meaning. (Wow. Talk about a long, drawn out story to explain something, huh?) Anyway, that's why the question was asked. So don't start sending me e-mail addressed to "Ms. Curmudgeon", thinking that's become my new nick-name, okie-dokie?
The rest of this post is for the scrapbookers out there. I wanted to show you my Mini-Moon booklet. It'll serve as a forever reminder of what goober pet owners Randey and I are. lol
And finally...may you all take the time to think about and remember those who have given their lives so that we may have our freedoms. Memorial Day is for them. May God Bless their souls.


(Click to enlarge photos)

I'm Finally Out of my Closet!

A-HA! You guys took that all wrong didn't you? I'll have you to know, I 've been cleaning my closet - a job that required a lot of time, energy and perseverance. But I survived it (yeah, I know. I'm a rock, huh?) First, though, Aunt Sandi, Kat, Joan....and anyone else who has asked about my whereabouts (thank you for that, by the way!)...my apologies for not answering you sooner. See here's the deal. Randey had to go out of town - again! - for his job. It was the fifth out of town trip he's had to take since January. I mean good grief, I've been patient and understanding (in my own little way, of course) up till this time. Enough's enough, though. When you start averaging more than one trip a month, you've gone too far (or, more accurately, you're gone too much). After all, as I very succinctly said to Randey, I did not marry a Navy guy or a Marine fella' or an Army dude. I married an Air Force man. An Air Force man who has since become an Air Force Reservist and, what's more, an Air Force Reservist who is no longer activated. My tolerance at playing "single mom" and my ability to sweetly sit back and keep the home fires burnin' while my dearly beloved traveled these United States has drawn to an end. So, in order to keep from losing my mind and to stop myself from saying words I was sure to regret one day, I threw myself into doing some things that I've put off doing for years. Stupid, boring, time consuming things, like cleaning out my half of our closet. What a mess! Apparently, I've never met a pair of black shoes I didn't love because I found about 2 dozen pair underneath the 30 pairs of dress pants I owned that will never stretch over my arse again! And the skirts! I found skirts I don't even remember buying. (Hello, my name is Kari and I am a shopaholic and a pack rat.) But...after much sweating, cursing, culling and disgusted head-shaking, my part of our closet is CLEAN! Yay me! I took 4 giant contractor sized garbage bags, 1 regular kitchen sized bag and 2 boxes of stuff to Goodwill. No, it didn't all come from my half of the closet. (Geez...how big of a pack rat do you think I am?) Half of one of the boxes came from stuff I cleaned out of the storage underneath the stairs. lol The upside of all this cleaning and purging is that I was able to work through my feelings about Randey's job traveling without resorting to too much violence but the downside was that I didn't blog or even so much as talk to anyone I didn't have to. (I wasn't really fit for human interaction anyway...I swear I actually saw fire coming out of my ears, eyes, nose and mouth at the height of my fury! lol) Randey's office is now looking into changing things up a little bit so that he won't have to travel as often. Time will tell if the changes are effective. I will say this much; pity the person who fails at making this plan a reality because hell hath no fury like a woman left raising teenagers alone!!

After I exhausted myself with all the cleaning, I decided a little escapism was in order...so I went to the movies. One movie I saw was Made of Honor. Everyone told me that this movie wasn't getting great reviews, etc. I'm here to tell you: Everyone was wrong! This was a really cute and funny, funny, funny movie. Sure, it was predictable, sure you could guess where it was going almost every step of the way, but still! I found myself laughing outloud over and over again. (The restaurant scene and Grandma's new necklace were the best parts.) I recommend this for a fun little date movie. It was cute, it was entertaining, it was sweet and, most of all, it was funny!



I also saw Street Kings. I liked this one more than I thought I would. A whole lot of violence, but a good story anyway. Not great, but good. God help me, I never thought I'd say this, but Keanu Reeves actually seems to be maturing. I know, I know...that's kind of a bold statement, but truth be told, I haven't really enjoyed him this much since his movie Speed. I usually think his delivery is kind of wooden and boring. I don't dislike him, he just doesn't usually thrill me. But his portrayal of his role in this movie was definitely above average. I'd probably even watch this movie again one of these days.


I actually saw this next movie a couple of weeks ago, before Randey left for his latest trip. We'd heard that this one was going to be funny. Hmph. This is a prime example of "Don't believe everything you hear". Randey thought it was pretty funny. Me? Not so much. I'll confess...I don't mind a little raunchy humor every now and then, I don't. But when raunchy slides on into gross, I'm no longer laughing. I'm not sure where I think this movie went wrong, I just know I didn't enjoy it. I found myself checking my watch to see when it would finally be over. Oh, and just in case you haven't heard, this movie features full frontal male nudity. Several times over. (Yeah. And I hadn't heard that prior to the show). Unexpectedly seeing the "leading man's" junk in all his imagined glory up on the big screen was not the thrill that he perhaps thought it might be. In fact, I started to understand exactly why Sarah Marshall dumped him...

This Saturday afternoon, Randey and I went together to see Ironman. I really liked this movie. I mean, I really liked this movie. I love Robert Downey, Jr. (anybody else see Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang???). I think he's a wonderful actor. I enjoy watching him pretend for a living. lol (Those who have read my rants about Players and Pretenders will probably know what I mean by that.) This movie combined action and humor as well as a pretty good story line. I would definitely watch this one again and in fact, probably will. Some of you may have heard about an "extra" scene that is shown after the credits are done rolling at the end of the movie. It's true. There is an extra scene. But I don't think it's worth waiting for if you're not a big comic book fan. I say that because Randey and I (and most of the other movie-goer's over the age of 30 who were there) felt like we had wasted 10 minutes of our lives by waiting for that last scene to appear. Kaleb and Jacob (who saw the movie Friday night) thought it was absolutely wonderful and well-worth the wait. They still don't understand why we weren't thrilled to see that 30 second "preview" of what is sure to be the sequel to Ironman. Then again, Randey and I don't read comic books. Kaleb and Jacob do. 'Nuff said.
Okay - I'd better stop posting now. Hope to be back tomorrow. Maybe then I'll tell you about my Crock-Pot cooking. I'm fast becoming the crock-pot queen. Why didn't I discover this thing sooner??? Who knew cooking could be so flippin' easy? lol

Christmas Catch-Up

Our Christmas season still hasn't completely wound down and I should be finishing up a few items to take to Oklahoma with us tomorrow, but I'm blogging instead. I'm afraid I'll be evicted from Blogland if I don't post something longer than a paragraph so here goes. (Got that cup of coffee or gallon of tequila ready? Okay...then let the rambling begin!) I was lucky enough to receive a lot of great things this year and I'm grateful for those who thought of me (and sometimes I really can't imagine why they chose to gift me with things...my attitude usually doesn't warrant such kindness. lol). Randey gave me a bottle of Brighton's Laugh perfume. I have Annie to thank for introducing me to the wonderful smells of Brighton perfumes. I bought myself the bottle of Dream - which I dearly love - way back in August, I believe, and Randey and the boys got me the bottle of Love for my birthday in September. Randey's decided that Laugh is his favorite (which is reason enough to wear it every day forever).
Randey also found me another Jim Shore cat, this one named Freedom. I already have Patience, Vigilance and Curiosity and Freedom fits right in with those three. There's something about these particular cats that I love. They just make me smile whenever I see them. Maybe because these cats don't make me sneeze!
Nick and Jodie sent me, among other things, a couple of Nicholas Sparks books and some clear stamps for scrapbooking and cardmaking. Actually, the "coffee" set of stamps were for my birthday (right, Jodie?) but I included them in the picture because I can't seem to quit looking at them. I'm all excited to use them. And Jodie, Susan got me an embosser for Christmas so I'll let you know how that works out (need to get some brown embossing powder so i can use my tasty looking Hot Chocolate stamp). Yum-o! As to the Nicholas Sparks books, Jodie's read them all and I've been saying for quite awhile that I'm going to read them, too. Now I have no reason not to. My only problem is getting hooked on them because then I'll feel compelled to buy every one he's ever written (Nick comes by his obsessive collecting honestly!).
Kaleb, who turned 17 years old just this past Thursday (Happy Birthday, son!!), got me this soup tureen for Christmas. Isn't it beautiful? I have developed this strange fetish for soup tureens lately and I can't even begin to tell you why. I just love them and feel the need to collect a couple (or a couple hundred, if I'm lucky -ha). I'm up to 3 now...and this one is my favorite, for obvious reasons. What a great kid, huh? And speaking of Kaleb being a great kid, look at what else he got me...this Darth Vader snowglobe! How goofy is this? I have to laugh at the thought of Vader making his list and checking it twice. Pretty sure this is one list no one wants to be on....

My Star Wars Christmas didn't stop there. My Aunt Ginger sent me this:
I don't care who you are, this is just plain funny. Darth Vader using a frozen Death Star to make snowballs. Oh come on! Yeah, yeah, yeah...so Vader and Christmas don't exactly go hand in hand. But it's still funny.
Aunt Ginger also sent this absolutely adorable figurine. It's R2-D2 all decked out for Christmas. R2 and Luke Skywalker are my all-time favorite Star Wars characters. I didn't even know they made this little Christmas figure so you can imagine how excited I was when I opened it. Awesome, huh?

Before Christmas, on the 20th, my very best friend in the whole wide world came to visit. Susan and her husband, Terry, drove in from Florida and stayed until Christmas Eve, when they drove back so they could spend Christmas Day with their kids and grandkids. It was so wonderful to see them - truly. Unfortunately, Randey did everything in his power to corrupt Terry with the Evil X-Box 360. It wasn't long before Terry started showing signs of addiction. So sad. Look at his eyes....

The "remove red-eye" feature on my computer couldn't get rid of that glow. (Click to enlarge). That oughta tell you something. He was almost possessed by this. It's far too late to save Randey from it, but I never saw it coming with Terry. I'm ashamed that his fever started in my home and I hope Susan was able to cure him before he made it back to their home. Tsk, tsk. That Randey. Some friend, huh?

Speaking of friends, I have a little bet to settle with Susan. She seems to think I was, perhaps, just a little bit...oh, what's the word...mean maybe?, when I bought her Christmas gift. She had told me that her doctor was making her check her sugar level several times a day because she was borderline diabetic. So, being the caring, understanding, full-hearted and loyal friend that I am, I chose gifts that I felt would help her in her on-going battle with keeping that sugar level at a reasonable level. I bought her these things:

Was that not nice? Don't these gifts just scream "I love you and want you to stay around for another 50 years" (yeah, that's another thing, Susan will be 50 years old this coming Tuesday, January 1st. Apparently, she's getting a tad bit cranky in her old age because she seemed to think I was being snarky and somewhat less than sincere with my gifts. Can you imagine????). I was only trying to help, I swear. She told me that she wanted me to pose the question to you, my blogging friends, to see what you thought of my gift. So tell me, guys: Was I being mean or snarky or sarcastic, etc., etc., etc.? Okay, before you answer that, let me add that I also got her a lovely Rachael Ray cookbook and a cookbook stand and a few bookmarkers and really nice smelling Morenci candle. The Splenda and Splenda Cookbook were bought for her own good. And it's not my fault that company named their book Diabetes for Dummies, now is it? Right? Nor is it my fault that Susan got me, among other things, a bag of Hershey's Chocolate Kisses while I got her something geared more towards a "healthy" lifestyle. In fact, I would say that I was the one who got her the nicer gift. She was just looking to fatten me up even further while I, her loyal, kind and loving friend was looking out for her health. So before you answer that question, people, be sure to consider all the facts. And if you chose to go with Susan's side, beware! I'll probably just delete your comments and tell her that everybody voted my way anyhow, 'cause that's just how I am. So don't even waste your time siding with her. Okie-dokie? Having said that, I'll go ahead and admit that I tried these same arguments on Susan and they didn't work with her either. (I've really got to work on not smirking when I'm trying to look sincere.) Now let's move on, shall we?
Hey,check out what Jayme sent me!

How sweet is this? I love that little notebook. I usually carry a small notebook around in my purse to write down those massively profound thoughts that flit through my head when I'm standing in line at Wal-Mart and now I can write them down in style. Jayme is just the sweetest person. I was surprised and touched by these gifts - I just can't tell you how much.
And how about this beautiful card from Debbi, who lives Down Under in the Land of Aus. Isn't this amazing? So many layers and so many little details. I love it and will keep it out year round in my little scrapbooking room (where all my treasures stay!).
Finally, (hey! WAKE UP! We're almost at the end!), Randey, Kaleb, Jacob and I went to see National Treasure II, the Book of Secrets. It was wonderful!! I have to go see it again because there is just so much in there that is interesting - it's well worth seeing twice. Or even 3 times. Maybe even 4. Yeah, people, I loved it that much. Go see it! What are you waiting on? Go! NOW! Let me know what you think. And don't forget to leave a comment telling me how great my gift to Susan was. (I need all the support I can get on this...there's no telling the revenge she's already plotting!)