Hurricane Katrina Aftermath

A friend sent me a link to these photos from USA Today.
Wow.

Just for men...

OK... I think this is supposed to be an ad for men's hair color that showed up on the main page of my Yahoo inbox.

What the *$%#???

Talk about pushing the envelope. Unless this guy is coloring his hair south of the border (if you know what I mean), I don't think this ad is appropriate. Wait... even if he IS doing that... it is still ridiculous. What I really expect to see in the lower third of the ad is a 1-900 number.

Yahoo will be hearing from me.

Where' d the time go?

Wow.
It is already Monday.
Can't believe the weekend went so fast.

Tom and Gerti left bright and early this morning... around 6:30 a.m. So, at this point they are probably about 3.5 hours from home.

We had a blast hanging out with John's parents and the whole gang that came down to Nashville for Corie's wedding. It was a whirlwind! John's aunt Carol and her friend Kim were here from Kansas City. His step-cousin Scott and his wife Molly came down from Minneapolis. We all had a RIOT from hanging at the wedding, to the reception, going to John's gig at 3rd, to doing a little window shopping in Franklin and Green Hills.

Good times.
Good times.

Now... I need another day to recover!

RIP Little Blue Bell

ChezBez's offer to save my little pint of Blue Bell came too late. (Thanks for tryin', brother.) It did not survive the inadequacy of my teeny weeny fridge's freezer compartment.

**waaaaaaaahhhh.**

On the brighter side, the refrigerator repair man came this morning and fixed our Whirlpool Gold in less than an hour. The motor that circulates the cool air between the freezer and the fridge had completely disintegrated. He said he'd never seen anything like it before.

AND, that $40 service warranty probably saved us around $150 bucks. We didn't have to pay a dime for the parts or the house call.

**Whew.**

Besides all this, I am happy to report excellent customer service from both Best Buy and the repairman dispatched to handle the problem.

I'd say that makes for a very good day.

Know how to fix a fridge?

If the answer is yes... then I could use a little advice.

I think it was Monday night when I noticed that the motor on our fridge was running louder and longer than normal. But, I wasn't sure. Then, when John got home, he noticed it before I could say anything.

So, we proceeded to get out the handy manual that came with our Whirlpool Gold. In the troubleshooting section of the very thin booklet it indicated that there might be too much in the freezer and/or too much in front of the vent in the freezer. So, we moved things around and hoped for the best.

As far as I we could tell, it seemed to be running fine after that.

Then, tonight, it just didn't seem like the fridge was cool at all. John turned the temp down, but it didn't take. So, a couple hours ago he went out into the garage and got our little fridge (the one I had in my office back in the day when I had an office. Miss that.) Anyway... I digress.

I fit as much of the dairy and ultra perishable items as I could into the teeny appliance. They are now resting comfortably cool... including a pint of Blue Bell Ice Cream (It's the closest thing to Schwann's Ice Cream I've ever had... a Nebraska fav and great memory... but that is another post. BOTTOM LINE: It had to be saved at all costs!)

As of right now, everything in the fridge seems a little cooler than room temperature. Not exactly safe. But, while there is frost on the back wall, everything in the freezer still seems to be frozen.

Normally, this would be a non-event in our household. John and I would call the repairman and make due until we could get it fixed.

But today is different.

This afternoon John's parents arrived from Iowa. They are visiting through Monday and we have a fridge full of food. While the dairy and ice cream are tucked safely away in the teeny fridge... I have a feeling we'll wake to thawed freezer items.

Given all this, my normally rock-steady husband went to bed pissed. He's been looking forward to his parent's visit for weeks... and wants things to be perfect. Understandable... yes?

So, I'm hoping to find a way to get this taken care of for him. I don't want something as silly as a fridge compressor or fan motor or condensor or whatever it is to get in the way of a fun time.

The last couple hours I've spent time researching possible problems / solutions and educating myself on what they might cost.

Tomorrow morning I'll be calling Best Buy (where we purchased our Whirlpool Gold five years ago) a call. Thankfully we have a service plan which coincidentally ends on October 5th. Guess we're getting the broken stuff in just under the wire.

In the meantime, if any of you have suggestions / cautions / experiences to share out there about appliance repair, I'd appreciate any advice you can provide.

Thanks.
:/

UPDATE: All better. Whew.

TONIGHT: Melissa Sigler's Gumbo Ya-Ya Writers Night

Sorry for the short notice, but, YOU are invited to...

Melissa Sigler's Gumbo Ya-Ya Writers Night!
7:00 pm
TONIGHT
The Hall of Fame Lounge
(In the Best Western at 1407 Division Street... just down from the Music Row roundabout.)

The ingredients:
- Terry Rice and Jason McCoy
- Barry Jenkins Band
- BB Logan's and the Roundabouts (BB, Steve C, JC, and JTC)

Songwriter nights in Nashville are like gumbo in Louisiana Cajun Country - rich, varied, surprising and full of flavor. You don't know what the next bite is going to bring you, but you know it is bound to be good. Bring your friends and Laissez les bons temps rouler, Sha! They will be serving the best Louisiana chicken and sausage gumbo.

See you there!

UPDATE: We had a blast last night! Thanks to everyone for coming out. And... if you didn't make it you missed some kickass gumbo.

BMT to be on a movie soundtrack

Blue Mother Tupelo's music is going to be featured in an upcoming movie: Daltry Calhoun (release date: September 23).

From IMDb.com: The Knoxville, Tennessee-set film is a dark comedy about a father (Daltry Calhoun, played by Johnny Knoxville) struggling to keep his once lucrative Tennessee golfing empire intact when his estranged 14-year-old daughter (a gifted musician) is unexpectedly left in his care. Quentin Tarantino is the Executive Producer.

Listen for Micol's voice and Ricky's guitars & dobro during the last scene of the movie. They're singin' & playin' BMT's version of the 1959 Paul Anka classic, "Put Your Head On My Shoulder."

Two versions of the song were recorded for the movie: A southern ballad version (that you'll hear in the film) and a down home foot-stompin' throwdown version. Both are included on the movie's soundtrack CD, but, the footstompin' version is included as a hidden bonus track... so you won't see it listed on the outline of the songs. (The soundtrack will be in stores in conjunction with the release of the movie.)

Micol & Ricky got to attend a screening of Daltry Calhoun earlier this year before it was finished. They really liked it... so we'll all have to check it out when it comes out in September!

Iowa Visitors... whoohoo!

Tomorrow, John's parents are coming to visit from Iowa. They should arrive around 3 p.m. or so.

We can't wait!

Their excuse to visit is Cory's (John's cousin) wedding. Whoohoooo.

Friday, Gertie and I are going to a wedding shower for Marie (Cory's future wife.). Then Tom, Gertie, Tom and I are traveling with JTC up to KY for a BMT gig. Then, Friday night, I promised Jonell I'd help her at her gig... so I'm hoping Gertie will want to come along!

Saturday, I'm sure we'll do something fun. (After a CLC Special Council Meeting at 9 a.m. wwwaaaaaaaaaahhhh.) The wedding is at 2 p.m. followed by a reception and dance. We'll get to see tons of people from John's family there and I can't wait. Everyone is sooooo cool. At 6:30 or so, Gertie, Tom and I will skip out of the reception to go see JTC play at 3rd & Lindsley with BMT. And, if we are still up for it, we'll go back to the reception after that.

Sunday, I have a feeling we'll be making a trip to the Pancake Pantry. It's a tradition! Who knows what we'll do Sunday afternoon, but it may involve a nap. **wink**

Usability Testing ROCKS

For the past three days, I've been conducting usability tests on my work website. The entire team (IT / Marketing / Research) and clients (MSC / Politics / State) have been there to observe and take notes. It has been soooooooo great.

You won't believe the things we've discovered. Some solutions / ideas can be implemented right away, while others are going to take some long-term planning and re-thinking of our original assumptions.

Good stuff. Good stuff.

What the heck is usability testing?

Well, basically, I sit with someone and watch how they navigate our website. I ask them questions about things and they look for answers to those questions and/or try to find a particular item / content on the site. While they are looking around, they think-outloud and help me understand how they are trying to find things on our site. It's pretty cool. And, since they aren't on the site every day like we are, we find out about things we can do to make our site more navigatable (is that a word? Anyway... you know what I mean.)

If you're interested in finding out more about it, here are some great resources:

Phil Terry:
http://www.creativegood.com/team/phil.html
(He's the best.)

Steven Krug:
http://www.sensible.com/index.html
(I highly recommend his workshop & book - "Don't Make Me Think." I attended a workshop with him in San Jose last year. One of the BEST workshops I've ever been to... learned ALOT.)

Jared Spool / UIE:
http://www.uie.com/
(they have a great conference specifically targeting usability testing. I attended a UIE Roadshow in Minneapolis last May. Very informative... almost too much information to take in.)

My favorite color is Steele.

10 p.m. - Jeffrey Steele and the guys (Tommy Mac, Steve C, Tom Hambridge & Rusty Golden) are going to rock the house tonight at 3rd & Lindsley.

Come on down... I recommend getting there early! There's plenty of great music to be had before JS even takes the stage.
7 p.m.- Ray Herndon who's toured with the likes of Lyle Lovett. Not too shabby.

8:30 p.m.- Tom Hambridge Band (same band as Jeffrey except Tom H is the front man and Kevin Rapillo is on drums. Yummy)

We had a blast in May.
And, 3rd has pretty good food, too.
Come on... it will be FUN.

UPDATE: Fabulous time. 3rd was packed and everyone was incredible. Rock on Nashville.

Hooray for verification!

Thanks to Lindadblu for pointing this out. I've already changed my settings. Hope you blog commenting peeps are not deterred by a little comment verification.

Sorry spammers, you're not welcome here at BB's Blog!

Stop it.

Stop putting your make-up on while you're driving.

I MEAN IT.

I don't care if you have a convenient mirror w/lights on the driver's side visor. YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO USE IT WHILE YOU'RE DRIVING.

Seriously.

You don't even realize how much you are swerving and following people too closely. You don't see the cars moving to another lane to avoid you. You don't notice when you are driving down the center lane and people can't get around you.

Just trust me on this one...K?

I know... you woke-up late... or you are trying to be efficient so you can sleep a little longer... or you only do it at stop signs... you don't do it every day. All B.S. excuses. It's just not worth the risk... even one time.

Think of it this way: Is a little make-up worth getting in a wreck on the way to work? For crying out loud, if you don't care about hurting me or another driver, don't you even care about hurting yourself or the KIDS IN YOUR CAR?!?

So, either put it on when you get where you're going.
Or, put it on BEFORE you leave.
PLEASE... PLEASE... PLEASE...
JUST DON'T PUT YOUR MAKE-UP ON WHILE YOU'RE DRIVING.
period.

Pay attention to the road people...K?
Thank you.

Happy Birthday Billy Block!

After my round at the French Quarter last night, I headed over to the Exit / In to help Billy Block celebrate his 50th birthday.

It was quite a show and worth a getting little less sleep than normal.

The line-up was stellar with Jeffrey Steele making a special appearance at the end of the night.

Dave Olney - Americana star
Buck Jones - Texas country
Pat McLaughlin - Roots rocker deluxe
Jubal Lee Young - Western Beat rocker
Kevin Welch - The one and only

Good times... good times.

Of course, I forgot my camera.
**foiled again**

Sorry.
:-|

French Quarter TONIGHT

Another gig!
Whoohoooooo.
(Love days like this.)

Anyway...
7 p.m.
French Quarter Cafe

Come out to hear me, JC and Jon Nite in the round TONIGHT.

JTC and Danny Torrell will also be there layin' down the grooves during out round.

Hope to see you there!

UPDATE: We had a fabulous time playing last night. It was Jon Nite, Jon Coleman, John Richardson, Danny Torrell and me... We called Danny "Danny John" so he wouldn't feel left out. **wink** Anyway, thanks to everyone who came out to see us. Hope you had as much fun as we did!

Marc Cohn shot in Denver

Just found out that Marc Cohn was shot in the head during an attempted car-jacking in Denver.

Wow.

Sounds like he is going to be alright and is lucky to be alive. His entire band was in the vehicle when it happened.

Anyway... be careful out there my peeps.

Dan McGuiness TONIGHT.

Hey friends, blog peeps, lurkers and navel gazers...
Come out to Dan McGuiness at 8 p.m. TONIGHT!

Have a pint (or two) and enjoy the music of some talented songwriters!

• Jaqueline Jaquemain
• Strawberry Blonde
• Andi Zack
• Xxxxxx Xxxxxxxxxx (BB Logan)
• LaLa Deaton
• Nancy Casteele

Hope to see you there!

UPDATE:

• The GIG went GREAT.
  Thanks to everyone who came out to hear us.
• AND, a name above has been censored to protect the innocent.
  (That would be you.)

What the heck should we call it?!

Well... JTC brought the kitten home for the weekend. And, suffice to say, it now has a home for good. (No surprise, right?!)

Scat and Cammie are still wary of the little tyke. However, slowly but surely, their curiosity is overpowering their annoyance with the whole situation. To avoid any assassination attempts in our absence, we put the kitten safely in its carrier in the living room. So far, this seems to be helping. The resident cats are are able to get close and get used to his smell without having to actually touch him! HA.

Now that we've decided to keep him... we have ANOTHER dilemma:

What the HECK should we call it?!

Here are some options:

Chopper (Because it likes to bite things)
Oliver (Because it is an orphan)
Tigger (Because it is a pouncy spaz)
Sue (Because it is a boy and we keep referring to it as "she")
Zig (Because it is always zig zagging around when it plays)
Ali (Because it is a little fighter... got the scratches to prove it.)

Got any you like?
Do have any better ideas?

Bring it on!

UPDATE: JTC and I are thinking of calling the kitten "Leon" after the fighter (what's his name... you know...) He's such a spunky little thing and very agile. What do you think of that?

Kitten Dilemma

One of John's co-workers at Grassmere Animal Hospital (where he works PT) found a little kitten and brought him in a couple weeks ago. At this point, they don't have anyone to adopt him and we do have room for another cat at our house... well... technically speaking anyway.

I stopped in to GAH to meet the kitty on Wednesday... and John and I agreed that it was a cutie petutie. BUT, how would Scat and Cammie react to the little fella infringing on their territory?

So, last night JTC brought home the teeny, tiny, 5-week old kitten to see what would happen.

Well... let's just say it didn't go well.

Cammie (seniority cat - 7.5 years old) was immediately upset. The thing that is interesting about her reaction is that she's pissed at our other can, Scat (#2 cat - 2.5 years old) over it. She spent most of last night scatting (which is actually how Scat got her name in the first place) at Scat and completely ignoring the kitten.

The bottom line: Cammie is REALLY mad. The whole situation must have brought back bad memories for her. You see, when Scat came on the scene, Cammie was NOT happy either. Besides the fact that Scat was (and still is) full of boundless energy and was constantly bugging "senior cat," she was also infringing on Cammie's well dominated territory and affections from John and me.

Scat didn't react to the kitten much better than Cammie, but she was at least curious about him. Until last night and this morning, we'd never heard Scat growel. If the kitten got close to her, she'd sit there, glare at it and growl that low cat growel. Only once did she strike out at him... but it was a harmless warning shot (for now anyway).

This morning, John took "Scratch" back to Grassmere. Of course things didn't go back to normal for the other two when this happened. Not five minutes after JTC left for work, Cammie started hissing and growling at Scat. (Poor Scat, she looked so confused.)

Then, when Scat tried to approach her Cammie just went into all out attack mode. She was relentless and Scat was stunned... so was I for that matter. I was able to the cats separated and calmed down.

Thankfully, Scat while cautious, remained persistent about getting close to Cammie and making-up. By the time I gave them their treats and left for work (about 45 minutes later), they were friends again.

**Whew**

So, I'm not sure what to do. Is a new kitten worth the trauma? It is really small, so we probably wouldn't even be able to leave it alone with the two of them for at least six weeks. I'm afraid the two would "eliminate" the little tyke if left to their own devices.

But, he's so cute and he needs a good home. They'd eventually get used to him and maybe even get along, right?

What would YOU do?

1. Take the kitten.
   Stress out the other two cats for a couple months until they get over it.
2. Leave well enough alone.
   The kitty is cute. Someone else will want it.

Help!

Neverlate Alarm

This is kinda cool. The idea of setting an alarm for every day of the week sounds really good... and $35 is fairly reasonable.

What I really need is an electric buzzer or something to remind me to get ready and go to work. Most days I get so caught up with putzing around the house, working in the garden, watering plants, writing, etc., that I lose track of time.

Maybe I should get two "neverlates". One to use for waking-up and another to remind me of why I woke up in the first place!

Optimum Rollabilitation

Today, Linda, DP and I went to lunch at Calypso on Thompson Lane. We had the black bean salad, the boca burger and the Lucayan salad... respectively.

When we went to pay, this is the sign that was taped near the register, "For optimum ball point rollabilitation, sign credit card HERE!"

Loved it!

Then, I said to Linda, "If I had a camera phone, I'd take a picture of that."

As we walked out of Calypso, Linda said to me, "I'll send this to you when I get back to work."

Linda had a camera phone.
Linda took a picture.
Linda ROCKS.
:)
And, "rollabilitation" has officially been added to my vocabulary.

Two nights in a row

Monday night, LaLa, Natalie and I went to The Basement to see Jedd Hughes. He was incredible and his band (guitar, drums, bass) was tight. The drummer was trippin' me out... he was so good. Rodney Crowell was in the audience an he ended up sitting in... the highlight of the night. Very nice.

Tuesday night, JTC played with Ben Blankenship for The Basement's New Faces Night featuring four new acts: Adam Weaver, Dawson Wells, The Divine Brown and Ben Blankenship.

Thought maybe I'd run into newton who was planning to be there to support his friend Dawson, but we didn't connect. Oh well... next time!

I'm actually thinking I might try to book a gig at The Basement. The vibe and the intimacy of the room is very cool. We could pack the place!

Right now, I'm working on getting in the studio to cut some demos. Maybe I'll make them into a little EP and see if I can talk Grimey (he's co-owner of the place) into letting me hold my own CD release party there or something?! You in if I can make it happen?!

Mom's Extreme Kitchen Make-over

Earlier this year, my Mom and Dad went to "The Hill" as they call it (a casino in Wagner, SD) to have some fun. Mom played the progressive nickel slots and hit it big ($21,000).

Viola, new kitchen fund.
WHOOhooHOOhooHOO.

If anyone deserves a new kitchen, it is my Mom. As a farm wife, she spends most of her day in there making meals, preparing for meals, making lunches for men in the field, baking bread, pies, cookies... she's like her own little restaurant.

BEFORE:
I took the first four photos when I was home in May, knowing the kitchen was on its way out and it was the last time I'd see the place I knew so well. My Grandpa built the house with his own two hands, so it was definitely a piece of history. Dad grew up running around in that kitchen. When Mom & Dad were married (37 years ago today... Happy Anniversary!), my Grandma taught my Mom how to cook / bake there. And, then my Mom and Grandma taught me how to cook, bake, can and create in this kitchen. (Good times... Good times.)
ANYWAY... Note the fridge and line of cupboards on the left side of the first pic as well as the wall on the right side of the pic with the door.
You'll see in the AFTER pics farther down that those cupboards and that wall are no longer there and the fridge is on the other side of the room. COOL.

See the wall on the other side of the table... it's gone, too. And that window in the pic with the secretary desk... it is now a sliding glass door.
AFTER:
Here are the pics my Mom sent me of her new big wide-open kitchen. Mom said it feels like she moved into a new house. How cool is that?!Who says nickel slots don't pay! **wink**I can't wait to see it in person!

I QUIT.

Before I heard the news of Peter Jennings this morning, I'd already made up my mind that I was going to take another run at quitting my clove smoking ways.

But now, it is official.
No wiggle room.
No exceptions.

I QUIT.

Growing up, I was always around people who smoked. My Grandma was a chain smoker. My Mom and Dad smoked when I was younger as did the friends they hung around. At 10, when my little brother was on the way, my Mom and Dad quit smoking cold turkey. Dad, barring bumming an occasional smoke from someone when he's out with the boys, has had luck staying away from the cigs. My Mom was able to kick it for at least seven years, and then, I'm not sure why (yeah... it was probably my fault **wink**), she started smoking again during my senior year of high school and has been chain smoking ever since. Not sure how many she smokes a day, but I'm sure it is more than a pack.

What is interesting is that I never smoked when I lived at home. I hated it. I hated that my clothes were always smoky stinky. Hated that you could move a picture in my Grandma's house and see an outline of where it had been on the wall. Hated hearing her cough incessantly.

Then, post-college, I discovered clove cigarettes. They were so sweet smelling and they tasted good. When I would go out on the road with the band, or out for a night on the town or just hang out with friends that smoke, I'd get a pack of cloves "for fun." I would never inhale... just taste the sweet taste and blow it out. This actually worked for a LONG time. I could make a pack last for a month or more just smoking socially.

About a year after we moved to Nashville, things were crazy at work. At one point I was trying to juggle three departments and was working 14 - 16 hours a day. I felt stressed-out, unappreciated and used. So, one day, on the way home, I spotted my pack of cloves in the car and thought, "Wow. That looks pretty good right now. I think I'll light one up."

As you may have guessed, one turned into two and then three and then four cigs on the way home each day. Soon, I was smoking them on the way to work. Then, I was smoking them at lunch. It just snowballed. And, I was really smoking... really inhaling.

Once I left the station, it only got worse. I was physically sick, even more stressed out and suddenly didn't have to work two days in one anymore. So, I started sitting out on my deck and/or screened in porch to write... and smoke. I'm surprised I didn't turn into a clove cigarette at that point in my life. When I secured some freelance work, it helped, but I was still smoking too much.

For the most part, I don't think the people I worked with had any idea I was smoking. I was, and still am to a large degree, a closet smoker.

In January, I told myself that I was going to quit smoking in 2005 for many good reasons:
It's not good for my throat (singing), the aftertaste is awful, I'm starting to cough like my Grandma, my car reeks of smoke smell, and so on and so forth.

You get the picture.

And, I've tried several times this year, but really wasn't committed to it. I'd quit for a week or two and then buy a pack for the weekend. Of course that was it... I'd start all over again.

I mean really, this is not rational: When I'm stressed at someone / something else I put a cigarette to MY mouth. How does hurting myself fix ANYTHING?

How many more people do I need to hear about dying from smoking, both in the news and those that I'm close to, before I get my head out of my butt? Huh? How many?!

• Peter Jennings died of LUNG CANCER at age 67. He smoked for 20 years. Quit. And started again four years ago.
• My Grandma died of EMPHYSEMA at 83. She'd been a chain smoker since she was 16 years old. The last 15 years of her life were miserable because of the sickness / complications brought on by years of smoking.
• My sister-in-law's Mom died three years ago of EMPHYSEMA and health complications surrounding it. She was only in her 60's. The last 20+ years of her life she lived as a shut in because it did her in to travel, go to the grocery store, anything.
• Two of my great aunts (Til and Margaret) died of CANCER. Both were long-time smokers and nurses.
• My friend's mom died a little more than a year ago from LUNG CANCER and EMPHYSEMA brought on by chain smoking habits that began early in her life. She, too, was a shut in the last few years of her life because she was so sick.

So... again... I mean it this time.
I'm committed to NOT smoking ever again.

Hopefully, it isn't too late for me, too.

I QUIT.

Anything but "Greatest Hits"

Montgomerry Gentry needs help naming their upcoming "Greatest Hits" album.

Problem is... they don't want to call it "Greatest Hits."

Anyone who can come up with a name that says that without saying that will be mentioned in the liner notes and receive a "MG Prize Pack."

Submit up to 5 (five) of your BEST ideas to contests@montgomerygentry.com with "YOU NAME THE ALBUM" as your subject (and your submissions in the body of the email). ALL submissions (up to five) must be in the SAME email.

DEADLINE:
Submissions must be in no later than Friday, August 12, 2005

BMT Performs TONIGHT

Wow.
Can't believe I haven't told you about this yet!
Sorry for the late notice, but at 9 p.m. TONIGHT Blue Mother Tupelo is playing Douglas Corner.

Micol, John and Ricky are going to be laying down some great grooves and makin' everyone feel all right.

Bowling anyone?

Pick your shoes (no fungicide needed).
Pick your ball...
Get started.
It's a hoot!

Temptation Blocker

Found this at WorkHappy.

Hmmmm... some of us could probably use this to aid in productivity... but not today.

**wink**

Doggie Doo Freezer Thingy

OK... forgive me if this seems a little bit vile... but I can't help but notice that BB and other posters might be missing something even bigger than the re-invented invention.

Is it just me, or does MAD's illustration of the doggie doo freezer thingy look like something you might see in... oh... let's say a 10th grade biology textbook? Isn't it also an illustration of the male reproductive system?!

Coincidence?
I think not.

Chips, underwear and mayo

Target coupons for you... for your salty, crunchy, cottony, sandwhich eating ways.

Songs for funks

Several things are on my mind these days... more than normal if you can imagine that... and it kinda has me in a funk.

So, I've got this song stuck in my head. There's something comforting about a Sarah McLaughlin song when I'm feeling down. Kinda let's me feel sad and inspired at the same time.

"The Freedom Sessions" is the album that really does it for me when it comes to Sarah. Something about the bass and the rawness of the recording that really gets me. It is so sincere. Love that. I want to record an album like that one day.

Shawn Colvin is another of my favs when the funk's got a hold of me. Especially dig the "Fat City" and "Steady On" albums.

Anyway... just thought I'd share.

What songs help you feel better... or... I guess... just feel when you're down?

This can't be real...

Southern at Heart turned me on to this site.

Stuff on My Cat is totally blowing my mind.

For any of you fellow cat lovers / owners (which feels weird to say... don't cats actually own their owners?), you know that putting "stuff" on your cat isn't an easy task.

I can't imagine Scat or Cammie falling for any of these gags.

Jimmy Pete turns 26

Happy Birthday "little" brother... well... you know what I mean. It's hard to believe that you are not so little anymore. Seems like just yesterday when you were just a runt who was always under his big sister's feet. We were inseperable back then. Was that really more than 18 years ago?! And now, you've got your own little Petersen (and another one on the way... WHOOHOOOO!).

So... I guess I'm just trying to say that I'm proud of you brother. "You done good."

Wish I could be there more than just in my heart.
Hope you're having a GREAT birthday.
Love you,
BB

PS: Oh yeah! Happy anniversary to you and Sarah, too!
Man, you're gettin' old like me.
**BIG grin**
(a punch in the arm will follow... next time I see you.)
**wink**

Happy Birthday Mom!

Can you believe an old chick like BB has such a young Mom?!

I guess the advantage of having children at a young age is that you get to grow up with them and then kick them out of the house while you can still have fun!

Wish I could be there to help you celebrate, Mom.
Love you.
BB

Everyone needs one of these.

I would definitely be better at taking the time to make breakfast if I had one of these.

Check it out! It's even an all-in-one breakfast sandwich maker.

Got to get me one!

UPDATE: Just realized... they aren't available at retail outlets until September.
**she stomps**
And, if I want to buy them at the new Target I'll be waiting until October?!
Foiled again!
**smiles and winks**
BUMMER.

Hell's Kitchen Finale

When JTC and I first started watching this show, we thought Gordon Ramsey was a real SOB.

Well, last night we watched the two hour finale and he has officially won us over. He's really passionate about being a chef and serving people... and he accepts nothing less than a person's best work.

Michael won the chance to own his own restaurant... but at the last minute (or at least what Fox wanted you to think was the last minute) Gordon Ramsey offered Mike the chance to study under him first. From what I can tell from the Fox site, Mike still gets his own restaurant, but it won't open until 2007 so he can study with Ramsey first. Very cool.

For more than ten years, I worked in restaurants to put myself through college and supplement my income out of college. So, watching the show was very interesting. I think it educated people about what goes on in the back of the house. For the most part, it was pretty true-to-life. I hope Fox signs-on for another season.
**fingers crossed**

Who knows... maybe I'll try my hand at Hell's Kitchen.
*wink*

Unsolved mysteries

Snopes has put together a list of unsolvables. They may need your help to get to the bottom of some of these.

True Fly tales

If you've ever had a fly drive you crazy (who hasn't?!) you should definitely check out Dean's post about flies in the house. What a hoot!

Growing up on a cattle farm in Nebraska, complete with every kind of farm and wild animal you can imagine (cattle, pigs, horses, chickens, cats, dogs... coyote, deer, racoon, blah blah blah... you get the point), there was always an abundance of flies.

Back then I didn't even really think about it. It was just part of the day-to-day. Flies were everywhere and we used to make a game out of destroying them. It was FUN!

Believe it or not, my brother and the neighbor boys used to use strands of hair (which they pulled out of my head or their sister Paige's head, of course) to make a tiny little fly noose. Not sure how they did this, but somehow they figured out how to catch the fly, put the little hair noose around its bug body and then let go to have a fly on a leash. The fly would just buzz around until it finally wore out. So, they'd catch another one and start the process all over. It was a great way to pass the time on the 90 minute school bus trip every morning and night... and now that I think about it... it was pretty amazing.

How'd they do that?!

Nutty pic

Look! DP reunited with her long lost brother at the Sounds game on Saturday. (Actually, I think she was paid five bucks to pose with the Peter Pan can.)

Either way... isn't she a cute little peanut?!
**wink**

Now, I'm jonesin' for some Skippy... some REAL peanut butter. (Skippy is my favorite.)