Blog peep apology

OH NO!

I just realized that when I finally took the time to move over to the new blogger... I didn't finish updating my blog peeps link section. Life distracted me as I was adding it and I neglected to come back and finish that section.

What a dorky space head. (see photo to the right >>>)

I'M SO SORRY... I hate that for a couple months I've inadvertently left off several of my favorite blogs.

Please forgive me for my thoughtlessness... over the next couple days I'll be adding several blog peeps to my blog roll. AND, if I'm missing your blog, please let me know. I don't want to leave anyone out.

iPhone spot

You and the rest of the world have probably already seen this spot for the new Apple iPhone(video link), but I wanted to share anyway cause I think it is cool.

If the price comes down a little and they become available with Verizon... I just may get one of these someday.

Chili anyone?

Speaking of national restaurant chain crisis... did anyone else notice that Wendy's has brought back their chili?

Guess they figure we aren't worried about finding fingers in it anymore.

**sorry**
I couldn't resist.

Now this is taco hell...

According to Ad Age, a rat infested Taco Bell in NYC has set off a national PR crisis. Within hours of this video being shot, the footage spread across the Internet like wildfire. What would have been a local publicity crisis a few years ago, has become a national issue for the restaurant chain.

OOooops.

7 p.m. TONIGHT @ the Basement

UPDATE, 2.25.07: The show was so amazing. Thank you to everyone who came out to support Shawn. If you missed it... it isn't too late to get the CD! Go to Shawn's myspace and send him a message requesting your own copy.

Shawn Byrne
"But I Digress" - CD release party
TONIGHT, 2/24
7 p.m.
the Basement.

My better half will be playin' the skins and I'll be sittin' in on some background vocals... along with Kenny Vaughn on guitar, Willie Domann on bass and Jennifer Morrison on bgvs... plus there will be tons of other cool musical friends sittin' in. It's gonna be a blast!

Shawn is amazing... you'll be transformed.

Hope to see you there!

Well... I declare... OOOOPS!

Got a couple little updates on that story about the man who bought a copy of the Declaration of Independence for $2.48.

First of all, it made the national news... no surprise there. Just think it is cool that it was the featured story on my Yahoo home page this morning.

Second, the couple who donated it to the Music City Thrift shop came forward. Apparently the newlyweds were combining households last year and it was one of the things they decided to get rid of in the process. They aren't staking claim or anything... they just didn't realize what they had hanging in the garage. Oooops.

Guess that's just the way the cookie crumbles sometimes.

1/2 ton squid?

Yikes.
Some fishermen in New Zealand caught a colossal squid.
990 pounds.
39 feet long.

Wow.

Empty Jello

I'm eating green empty Jello that Clocky made.

Yeah... that's right... empty jello.
(as a kid, we called it "empty" when it didn't have any stuff in it.)

Growing up, it seemed like we consumed the jiggly at least once or twice a week...maybe more! If it wasn't with a meal at home, it was at a church potluck or part of a school lunch. And, no matter what anyone put in it to dress it up... the "stuff" always floated to the top.

Remember that?!

Now, I just never think to make it. But as John and I tasted the yummy lime green jello he made, we reminisced about the creative ways the wiggly gelatin had been disguised...

• Mandarin oranges
• Fruit cocktail

• Marshmallows
• Shredded carrots... usually in orange jello
• Strawberries and Bananas
• Tapioca with wild grape juice
• Grapes
• Pinapple
• Cherries
• Apples
• Whipped cream and berries with nuts
• Orange slices

C'mon BB!
**think**
I know there's more options than this... HELP!

Well... I declare!

Michael Sparks, a Nashville man who works as a music tech at Soundcheck has a little thrift shop hobby. A couple times each week he visits local shops to see what he can find for less than $2.99. You just never know what you might find.

Last year, he bought a rolled up document that looked pretty old and interesting for $2.48. Turns out that document is one of 200 copies of the original Declaration of Independence commissioned by John Quincy Adams in 1820.

It is reported to be worth $200,000 - $300,000. Michael has actually become attached to the Declaration and considered keeping it. Then, he realized that if he actually had $250,000, he wouldn't buy it.

So, now that document is up for auction.

Wow.

Cook's Illustrated Artist

Here at the cabedgepatch, we just finished work on Elizabeth Brandon.com.

While it wasn't my project (nice job Chase-ums and my fellow carrots), I think it is really cool. You might recognize Elizabeth's paintings from the cover of Cook's Illustrated magazine.

Her work is amazing... so, I just wanted to share it with you.

Enjoy.

Isn't there any NEWS out there?

OK... I try not to use this blog as a venting place, but I just have to say this.

Can we PLEASE find something to report besides Anna Nicole Smith and Britney Spears? I'm sick of top stories and headlines that should be reserved for "real news" being used to report on the personal lives of celebrities.

Let Anna Nicole's family / friends battle it out in private and then REPORT on what happens. The more it's in the news, the longer it is going to go on. All of these people are looking for attention. If the cameras weren't there, Anna would probably have been buried by now.

Cut Britney some slack. How many of you have friends out there who have gone through a similar phase after getting divorced? Seriously, she's got a Mom / ex-husband to help her with the children... give her some space to feel a little crazy and overwhelmed. Let her work it out. I highly doubt she needs rehab... it's probably just the only way she can get away from the cameras. Maybe try REPORTING on her success at going through a rough time instead of feeding on her pain... giving her some space for a few months or more... treating her like the human being that she is... maybe like we'd want to be treated.

Above all... why is this kind of news once again taking precedent over stuff that really matters? I understand the "media's" challenge... they perceive that the audience doesn't care about inflation, politics, the environment and oil... they think we want "the scoop". Well, in my book, "the scoop" translates into "gossip" about a bunch of celebrities... it's not NEWS! And, I'm not interested.

It frustrates me that the average American cannot recite the names of their state senators, but they know who Anna Nicole was and they talk about Britney and her divorce as if she is a close friend. It just seems really sad to me.

C'mon people.
Where is our humility?
Are we so dissatisfied with our own lives that we get pleasure from the pain of others?
How can we change it?
How can YOU help change it?
Don't buy a magazine or a newspaper with this crap in it. Turn the channel when this "news" comes on. The only way corporate news organizations will get the message is through the $ they don't receive directly or indirectly from us for the "gossip" they report.

End of rant.
Thanks for letting me get that off my chest.

You know you're a farm wife...

• If your name is taped to the side of a cake pan;
• If you call the implement dealer and he recognizes your voice;
• If the vet’s number is on the speed dial of your phone;
• If you know how to change the flat on your car, but can’t because the spare is on a flatbed;
• If your second vehicle is still a pickup;
• If your husband has ever used field equipment to maintain your yard;
• If you’re in the habit of buying food stuff in bulk;
• If a "night out" involves the local 4-H club;
• If the word "auction" makes you tingle;
• If you’ve ever washed off each other with a pressure washer;
• If "a little bit of lunch" involves 6 courses and a dessert made from scratch;
• If taking lunch to the field is as close as you get to a picnic;
• If your rock garden was hand-picked;
• If you can mend a pair of pants and the fence that ripped them;
• If the shopping list in your purse includes the sizes of: filters, tires, overalls, chains, belts, lights, cables, spark plugs or shotgun shells;
• If "Farm", "Ranch", "Country", "Cowboy" or "Antique" is in the name of your favorite magazine;
• If your tan lines are somewhere below your shoulder and above your elbow;
• If you ever went on a date to the bull sales;
• If you’ve ever called your husband to supper, using a radio;
• If being taken out to dinner has ever included a talk by a seed corn dealer;
• If your driveway is longer than a stone’s throw;
• If your mailbox looks like a piece of farm machinery;
• If your wading pool has ever doubled as a stock tank, or vice versa;
• If the daily paper is always a day late;
• If you have a yard, but not a lawn;
• If you have lots of machinery and each piece is worth more than your house;
• If the neighbor’s house is best viewed with binoculars;
• If the directions to your house include the words, "miles," "silos," "last," or "gravel road";
• If the tractor and the combine have air conditioning and an FM radio but your car doesn’t;
• If your storage shed is a barn;
• If you measure travel in miles not minutes;
• If your farm equipment has the latest global positioning technology and you still can’t find your husband;
• If you consider "hot dish" a food group;
• If your husband says, "Can you help me for a few minutes?" and you know that might be anywhere from a few minutes... to six hours;
• If you plan your vacations around farm shows or calving or planting or harvesting;
• If grass stains are the least of your laundry problems;
• If your refrigerator contains medicine....livestock medicine;
• If your car’s color is two-toned and one color is gravel road brown;
• If you knew everyone in your high school graduation class;
• If you’ve entertained the romantic notion of living in an old, country farmhouse with a fireplace;
• If you use newspapers to help keep the kitchen floor clean;
• If you’ve ever said, "Oh, it’s only a little mud.";
• If you need a pair of vice grips to run a household appliance;
• If you've used the loader to reach the windows when they needed washing;
• If you’ve ever discovered a batch of kittens in your laundry basket;
• If dinner is at noon and lunch is before and after dinner;
• If you shovel the sidewalk, with a skid loader;
• If quality time with your hubby means you'll have a flashlight in one hand and a wrench in the other;
• If you know the difference between field corn and sweet corn;
• If you buy your husband's "dress" socks at Campbell's Supply;
• If family "pets" include deer, coons, pheasants, squirrels, foxes or birds:
• If you can make a meal that can be ready in six minutes and will still be ready in two hours;
• If your basement is really a cellar;
• If "sharing a cab" has nothing to do with a taxi and everything to do with getting across the field;
• If your job in town is considered a farm subsidy;

Thanks to Neece for sending this my way... I'm posting it for all my friends and family back home. Not sure who originally wrote this... but they sure knew what they were talking about.

Dirty mouth?

Clean it up... with the exotic new flavor of Orbit's "mint mojito".

It's my new FAVORITE gum in the whole WORLD.

It's got a sweet limey fresh mint flavor... so very yummy. Now, if only it had rum in it, too! Heh.

The only place I've been able to find it so far is Target. Every time I see it in the store, I buy three or four packs. I'm obsessed.

Try it.
You'll like it.
Promise.

On the off chance that you don't like it, let me know and I'll take it off your hands. Heh.

Given it's "exotic flavor" status, I'm guessing we're in a test market for it. Which means, it probably won't be around very long... unless we buy it!

So... go get ya' some TODAY.
**wink***

8,910 Snow Angels

You read correctly... 8,910 people registered to take back the world's record for snow angels in Bismarck, ND on Saturday. (A group in Michigan took the title from them last year with only 3,784 participants.)

This pic is just amazing... looks like a kids drawing. Can you see the group of wing-flappers that make-up two reddish lines in the lower third of the photo. Wonder who they are?!

If I'd have been in Bismarck, I'd have made the number 8,911.

Online redneck dating

Do I really have to explain?!
It's so crazy it just might work.
(thanks to the head of cabedge for passing this one along)

Spam hashbrown bake?

Note the random ad link that showed up in my Gmail today:
Spam Hashbrown Bake.

Hmmmm... Is someone actually paying to have this link show up? I was deleting my spam when I saw it... or maybe Google is just tapping into my deep dark "SPAM" memories somehow (as a child, I remember my Grandma making cubed ham, eggs and refried potatoes).

Either way, I ended up clicking the link cause I thought it was kinda funny. (Couldn't resist!)

Here is the recipe if you want it:

SPAM HASHBROWN BAKE
Yield: 8 Servings

1 - 32 oz pk frozen hashbrown potatoes, thawed slightly
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 - 12 oz can SPAM luncheon meat, cubed
1 - 10 3/4 oz can cream of chicken soup
1 1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup CHI-CHI's diced green chilies, drained
2 cups crushed potato chips

Heat oven to 350' F. In large bowl, combine potatoes, melted butter, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. In another bowl, combine cheese, SPAM, soup, sour cream, milk, onion, and green chilies. Add SPAM mixture to potato mixture; mix well. Pour into 2-quart baking dish. Sprinkle with potato chips. Bake 45-60 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

Make a Virtual Cake

Send your sweetie a virtual cake that you've decorated yourself.

(Nice find, Lemmie.)
**she tips hat**

Now... go make your cake.
Time's a wastin'!

Happy Heart Day!

Check out Grace and Brooke... a couple of sweehearts who just sent us their Valentine picture. (Thanks, Minnie!) Adorable.

Happy Valentine's Day!

BB's sending tons of love and good vibes to family and friends near and far.
**mwah**
**mwah**
**mwah**

Clocky's on You Tube

Hey! Just found out there are some vids out there on You Tube of Clocky playin' with his soul brothah, Lee Roy. So, I thought I'd share. Here's the most recent, taped at a gig in Richmond, VA on 11/11/06.



Plus there's a few more, too. You'll find them here:
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=9A3385C0BF443E1E

Cool.

Would you work for $1 a year?

Well, that is exactly what Whole Foods Market CEO, John Mackey, is doing. Plus, part of the money he's saving the company is going to an "employee emergency fund".

Read his letter of explaination in last month's issue of Fast Company.

Or, read it here:

To all team members,

I want to announce a couple of significant changes regarding compensation at Whole Foods Market (NASDAQ:WFMI).

First, as you know, we have a salary-cap policy, which limits the total cash compensation that can be paid to any team member. The board of directors has voted to raise the salary cap from 14 times the average pay to 19 times the average pay, effective immediately.... We are raising the salary cap for one reason only--to make the compensation to our executives more competitive in the marketplace.... Everyone on the Whole Foods leadership team (except for me) has been approached multiple times by "headhunters" with job offers to leave Whole Foods and go to work for our competitors. Raising the salary cap has become necessary to help ensure the retention of our key leadership.... This increase to 19 times the average pay remains far, far below what the typical Fortune 500 company pays its executives.... The average CEO received 431 times as much as their average employee received in 2004, while Whole Foods' CEO (me) received only 14 times the average employee pay in cash compensation.

Most large companies also pay their executives large amounts of stock options in addition to large salaries and cash bonuses. The average corporation in the United States distributes 75% of their total stock options to only 5 top executives.... At Whole Foods, the exact opposite is true: The top 16 executives have received 7% of all the options granted while the other 93% of the options have been distributed throughout the entire company.

The second part of today's announcement has to do with my own compensation.... The tremendous success of Whole Foods Market has provided me with far more money than I ever dreamed I'd have and far more than is necessary for either my financial security or personal happiness.... I am now 53 years old and I have reached a place in my life where I no longer want to work for money, but simply for the joy of the work itself and to better answer the call to service that I feel so clearly in my own heart. Beginning on January 1, 2007, my salary will be reduced to $1, and I will no longer take any other cash compensation.... The intention of the board of directors is for Whole Foods Market to donate all of the future stock options I would be eligible to receive to our two company foundations.

One other important item to communicate to you is, in light of my decision to forego any future [pay], our board of directors has decided that Whole Foods Market will contribute $100,000 annually to a new Global Team Member Emergency Fund. This money will be distributed to team members throughout the company based on need.... The first $100,000 will be deposited on January 1, 2007, and requests will be considered after that date.

With much love,
John Mackey

Now THAT takes guts.
I'm officially a fan of John Mackey.
The world needs more people like him.

Dan McGuinness Monday night

Just wanted to let you know that I'll be performing on Terri Jo Box's Girl's Night at Dan McGuinness (on Deamonbruen St, near the Music Row Roundabout) tomorrow night (2/12). She's put together a stellar line-up that I'm excited to be a part of:

Suzanne Karr
Steff Mahan
Terri Jo Box
Lisa Carver
Kelly Archer
ME
Jamie Floyd
Lala Deaton
Julie V

The fun starts at 8 p.m. 7:30 p.m. We're each performing five songs... so I'm guessing I'll go on sometime around 9 or so...

Hope to see you there!

Last night at the Bluebird

Wow... what a night!

Last night was a double header night at the Bluebird Cafe... and I'm so glad I was there for both shows.

At 6, it was Jeff Jackson, Bill Tennyson, Craig Winquist and Denise Locke. All are incredible writers and performers. The round had great chemistry. These guys are on their way.

Then, at 9:00 it was "A Night of Rock and Roll Stories In The Round" with Chris Wallin, Jim Peterick, Bonnie Bramlett and Kelly Keagy.

Chris Wallin has cuts with Trace Adkins (I’m Tryin’) and Montgomery Gentry (Speed, Somethin' to be Proud Of).

Jim Peterick was a member of Survivor (remember Eye of the Tiger?). Every song he performed took me back to high school.

Same thing with Kelly Keagy. The drummer with Night Ranger... and he sang and wrote several of the hits we all know. It was truly amazing.

And last, but certainly not least, Bonnie Bramlett wow'd everyone with her bluesy, soulful voice. She’s sung with Joe Cocker, Carly Simon, and Jimmy Buffett... and is the Bonnie part of 60s & 70s group, Delaney and Bonnie. The highlight of the whole night was her singing the song everyone knows, Superstar (Recorded by The Carpenters... "Don't you remember you told me you loved me, baby. You said you'd be comin' back this way again, baby. Baby, baby, baby, baby, oh baby... I love you. I really do. heh... told you that you knew it.)

Only in Nasvhille.
I love this town.

Happy Birthday Denice

Wow... my best girl friend (we've known each other since 1987) is celebrating the big "40" today. She's the most amazing woman I know... Denice is my soul sistah... she's my family. Wish I could be in Sioux Falls today to give her big HUGS... buy her lunch at Minerva's and then go back to her house to record silly messages on her answering machine. Heh... she'll know what that means. **wink**

Like a fine wine... Denice just gets better with time!
So... please help me send her tons of good vibes and love today.

C'mon... let's all join keypads and sing happy birthday to her!

**virtual singing**
Haaaapppyy birthdaaaaayyy toooo yooooouuuu!
Haaaapppyy birthdaaaaayyy toooo yooooouuuu!
Haaaapppyy birthdaaaaayyy dear Dehhhhnnnneeeeee-eeeece...
Haaaapppyy birthdaaaaayyy toooo yooooouuuu!
**virtual cheering and clapping**

I love you Neece...
Have a SPECTACULAR DAY.
If you feel something warmer than your cuddle duds today... It's just me giving you a big long distance "Denice" hug. (Don't even try to tap out of this one, chickie. Heh.)

Virtual lite brite

Remember the lite-brite? Didn't every kid of the 70's have one?!

Thanks to Em for sending this link my way... now we can all play with the virtual lite-brite.

YAY!

Crazy for SEAL

Ok... I just downloaded "Seal" from 1991 from iTunes. (well a partial album anyway... the whole album wasn't on iTunes... foiled again)

Remember Seal and the super hit song of his, "Crazy"?

I used to work out to the album like a fiend... that and En Vogue.

Does this make me old?

Tuesday @ 12th & Porter

Just wanted to let you know that I'll be performing in-the-round with Karleen Watt and Lala Deaton tomorrow night (Tuesday) in the small room at 12th & Porter.

9 p.m. - Rachel Williams
9:30ish - Lisa Torres
10 ish - Karleen, Lala & Me

Hope to see you there!

How to give a proper man hug

The proper way for men to give a man-hug... a step-by-step video guide to avoiding those "brokeback mountain" moments.

Homemade Dortios Spots

Doritos had a little contest. They asked people to produce a :30 Doritos spot and submit it for a chance to air during the Superbowl. Hundreds of people uploaded videos for a chance at the prize. The videos were viewed and voted on via web and the finalists were seen during the playoffs. There were five winners. Each received $10,000 and a trip to Miami. And, today, during the game, the winning spot will air. Pretty cool idea... plus, Doritos saves a buttload of cash by not having to produce their own spot.

This one is my favorite. I hope I see it today during the game! Cause anyone who knows me, knows that I only watch the Superbowl to see the commercials. heh.

I joined the gym

YAY. It was meant to be, too. At the beginning of the year I decided to join a gym... but wanted to wait until February (when the new gym joiners at the gym taper off).

So, this weekend, I did it. First month free, $35 joiner fee... and I was IN. Nice.

Nashville Athletic Club / Franklin Athletic Club

Yay!
I've already worked out TWICE!
Whoohoooooooo.

Real SNOW!

These are a few of my fav's.
Click here to see a whole bunch more!

7 Signs of Blogging Addiction

Lemmie sent this my way today... is he trying to tell me something?

From "Smart People in a Stupid World":

7 Signs of Blogging Addiction

1. You worry more about traffic to your blog than traffic to your job.


2. RSS Feeds are more important to you than food.


3. You visit more Blog Carnivals than parties.


4. You pepper your daily conversation with high-profile keywords in order to attract more listeners.


5. You spend more time checking your adsense account than your real one.


6. When friends fancy a chat, you submit them to a word recognition widget before accepting their comments.


7. When asked for your home address, you give the URL of your blog.

Addicted or not... I just want the t-shirt.

"Winter" driving tips

John and I just had several belly laughs over some incomplete "winter driving tips" we just watched on the news. Sorry... not trying to offend anyone... but driving in real winter weather is something we lived our entire lives until we moved here six years ago. And, I'm concerned that they may have omitted some critical info... however funny it was to us.

So, I thought it might be a good idea to clarify a couple things for my own peace of mind.

1. News reporter said: "Tap your brakes so you know what the road surface is like so you'll know how your car will respond..."
   
   While that is true... I think they may have edited out this part, "...but most importantly (if you don't have anti-lock brakes) tap your brakes too keep from locking them up and to keep your car from becoming a sled. Tapping your brakes helps you maintain control of your car as you stop / slow down to stop."
   
   
2. News reporter said: "Take extra clothes, hats and gloves in case you get stranded on the road. That way if you get wet or something you have some dry clothes to change into."
   
   OK, that could be valid, too, but the biggest reason to take extra clothes is so you can stay warm and add layers to the clothing you already have on. Avoiding hypothermia is one of the most important things to do if you get stranded in sub-zero winter weather.

Don't believe me?
Well, then are some "real sources" for winter driving tips:

AAA - How to go on ice and snow (PDF)

Weather Channel Winter Driving Tips

Car Talk Winter Driving Tips

The best thing you can do in "winter" weather is plan ahead. Leave early so you have time to drive more cautiously.

Now be safe out there.

And, if you're worried about knowing what to do when the roads are slick, click on the links above to get detailed info instead of relying on a news live shot.