A few nice surprises....

Thursday is payday. So, I had gone to the bank at lunch time to deposit my check and get some cash for the weekend; breakfast, bowling, drinks and such. But after I had gone to the bank, I talked to Dean and he needed money I didn't know about. So, we decided he would use what he needed from the cash I had gotten back and we would get more when we went to the store and just get cash back when we checked out. So, I forgot to give him the money Thursday nite, so when he went to leave for work Friday morning, he just took what he needed from my purse.
He had brought me a surprise from work on Thursday and he forgot to give it to me. So, when he took the money, he left it in my purse. So when I was leaving for work, I grabbed my purse and there peeking out at me was a rice krispie treat! He makes them at work all the time, but rarely at home which sucks cause they are one of my favorite snacks! For St. Patty's day, he had added green food coloring to the marshmallow mixture and they were cool looking! I got one of those, too. YUM-O! So, when I found the treat in my purse, I called and left him a voice mail on his phone and told him that I thought that was a romantic thing he did. Hopefully that will encourage him to do more stuff like that, cause romancin' ain't his specialty. I don't want much. A greeting card for no reason, a cheapie Giant Eagle bouquet of flowers, a rice krispie treat...........

Then when I got home from work, he had straightened up the house, ran the vacuum, did and put away the dishes! That was awesome! And we didn't have dished ot do after dinner, cause I had stopped and brought home gyros!

So, it was nice to not have to worry about the house cleaning and such on Saturday, cause we were only home for a couple of hours. We got up and got showered and dressed and went to breakfast. Then we went to Weiss' meats to buy some ground meat, bacon and we end up buying a boneless ribeye loin (yes, a whole one) which in layman's terms, is the part you get the Delmonico Steaks from. We have a Food Saver machine, so we have them cut the loin into steaks and Dean will pack them up in the Food Saver bags, and we will have steaks, probably half way through summer.
Then a stop for gas in the car and we run throught the car wash, (yes, we were in the car. We didn't actually physically run through ourselves) and it's off to Giant Eagle for the rest of the groceries and to pick up a couple of prescriptions. We are up to $1.60 off per galon of gas in fuel perks! yea!
Then, it's home to put everything away. But, as I start putting things in thre fridge, I notice that something had leaked and the bottom of the fridge and the edges of the glass shelves were all yucky. So, I start taking that apart and scrub everything. After Dean comes in with the last load of groceries, he steps in and helps me out with that chore.
Since we had run the car through the carwash, Dean asked me if I would do the inside of the windows after we got the groceries put away. So, I did. But I did inside and out. The ol' girl don't look too bad when she's clean.
Then we had to get ready to go to the track (http://www.ppms.com/) for practice. The drivers practice racing to find out how their cars will do, and we, the fans, practiced watching. Some practiced drinking. Dean was one of those.
There was one car, a ametuer stock, that was black with a white umber 54 on it. On the right quater panel, the sponsorship displayed was Ducts Unlimited. So, I started quacking. Quack, quack, quack, quack, evertime he would go past us. Dean said I was warped. Hey, it was fun. Uncle Mike, one of Dean's friends, who I call Uncle Mike because he has a nephew that is almost as old as he is and calls him Uncle Mike, so, I did it too. But anyway, Uncle Mike says "it's DUCTS. D U C T Ssssssssssss. Not Ducks the birds. I didn't care. I was having fun. Quack, quack, quack, quack.
After we left the track, we went to the club in Carnegie with Tom and Lisa, where we all are members, and had a few cocktails (Dean just continued having cocktails, as he had already started at the track) and then we went bowling. We had a good time, and Dean continued having cocktails. His 1st game was a 149. Second game? 129. Third Game? 78. Yep. 78. Now it is a known fact that when we bowl and drink, 1 of 2 things happens, depending on the individual. Some drink and their games get better. Others? Well, Dean was the example of the others last night. Except, that usually the games only go downhill slightly. Maybe a difference of 10 pins or so. Dean's was a landslide! But we had fun.
I however, spent alot of time in the bathroom. Apparently the Mickey D's double cheeseburgers I had at the track didn't not agree with me at all. But, once that passed, I had fun.
Needless to say, I drove home last night. We got home about 12:30, so I guess it was really this morning. But like I said, we were only home a couple of hours yesterday, so the vacuuming and straightening up Dean did Friday afternoon was a big help! Fiday was a day of nice surprises from my husband. Saturday was a nice day spent with my husband. I am a lucky girl.

And the Bottom 3 are.......

Chikezie. I didn't really expect that.

Syesha. Or that.

Jason. Yeah. That one I did expect.

I didn't think Syesha was deserving at all of being in the 3. I would have thought Ramiele before her.

I liked Chikezie's song. Simon criticized him for touching the girls' in the audience, but I thought it was cool. Those girls will always have that memory and can say " I touched his hand when he was on Idol." You know he'll get a record deal somewhere.......... The world needs another Luther Vandross.

So, I was wrong. Jason was saved. Syesha was saved. They sent Chikezie home. But, at this point in th competition, it's going to get harder and harder and there will be good ones sent home.

Time to Dance; Idol gossip

Dancing with the Stars is back! As a person who really enjoys dancing, I really enjoy this show.

This season's "Star" contestants are:

Penn Jillette of Penn and Teller fame. He is like the steer in the china store in the Merrill Lynch commercials. He is very tall, has huge feet and dances flat footed. He got voted off.

Marissa Jaret Winokur, the broadway star of "Hairspray". She's bouncy and bubbly and always has that Mary Lou Retton smile going. She isn't bad and I think she will improve if she gets to stay long enough.

Jason Taylor of the Miami Dolphins. He's just incredible as a dancer. Puts Emmitt Smith to shame, for sure, and he won a couple of seasons ago!

Priscilla Presley, x-wife of the late and great Elvis. She's is now 62 years old (she will be 63 in May) and dances very well. Not bad for an old broad!

Steve Guttenberg, actor, probably best known for his roles in 3 Men and A Baby and Police Academy. He has great personality, and is very entertaining on the dance floor. Not the best, but he does try.

Marlee Matlin, the deaf actress. Excellent dancer and she can't even hear the music! She never misses a beat!

Mario, who has no last name. He's a rapper. Excuse me. R & B artist. Whatever. Great smile and moves pretty well. He'll probably get far in the competition.

Cristian de la Fuente, the Chilean actor whose most recent endevor has been "Ugly Betty". He does okay. And will get better as time goes on.

Monica Seles, the tennis player. She may have the moves on the court, but she sucks in the ballroom! She got voted off this week, too!

Adam Carolla, radio personality and comedian. He reminds me of Gilbert Gotfried. He can't dance, and I think he will be next to be voted off.

Kristy Yamaguchi, world champion/gold medal figure skater. She is graceful and poised on the ice, and even though the footwork is actual steps instead of gliding on the ice, she is great on the dance floor as well.

Shannon Elizabeth, actress. I think the latest thing on her resume is "That 70's Show". She dances pretty well. She'll be around a while.

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Now for my Simon on the Idols.......

The contestants had to choose a song from the year they were born to perform this week. I didn't hear the year for everyone, but the ones I did, I will note.

Ramiele: 1986. Heart's "Alone". I thought it was really good considering she's fighting the crud.

Jason: 1987. "Fragile" I don't know this song, but I didn't like it. I think he's this weeks exidus.

Syesha: 1987. "If I Were Your Woman" was a big song and she showed her big voice. WOW!

Chikezie: 1985. "One Night" I didn't know this song, either. But, he sounded just like Luther Vandross. Funny. Seems that was a uther song......

Brooke: "Every Breath You Take" I thought it was a really good rendition. I love when she plays the piano. It was a great job, even with the do-over.

Michael Johns: 1978. "We Are The Champions" He rocked it! Finally showed his big voice. Haven't really seen that since his auditin with Bohemian Rhapsody. Great job!

Carly: 1983. Total Eclipse of the Heart. If Amanda was still around, I think it would have been a great song for her, if it was her year. She did a great job, but that last note kinda cracked. Oops.

David A: 1990. He is just a baby! He did "you're the Voice" another song I didn't know. But I thought it was good. I liked it. If I heard it played on the radio, I wouldn't chnge the station.

Kristy Lee: "God Bless the USA" She did a great job with it! Besides, who's gonna vote off after doing that song?

David Cooke: 1982. "Billie Jean" I loved MJ's original. I am an MJ fan, as is my nephew. BUT, I really liked David's performance and rendition of the song.

So, we'll be getting results in about 90 minutes, here. Let's see if I am right about Jason leaving......................

Good Friday; An OK Saturday; Bad Easter

Friday, as you read earlier, I was off from work. I organized the office/computer/Mikey's room and put lots of paid bills away, filed bank statements, and put some important papers in the safe.
Then I got ready and went down to meet Dean at his work for lunch. I opted for the Salmon with sides of baby carrots and Mac and Cheese. I added a bowl of veggie soup and a Mountain Dew. YUM-O! Adam made the mac 'n' cheese and it was wonderful! Better n mom used to make! Then I had a rice krispie treat for dessert.
Then I hung out for a while and looked out the window (the dining room and eatery is on the 15th floor) and looked at the new construction going up right next door! This Building will be PNC 3. the banking business must be booming for all these new buildings to be going up lately. I think in the last 10 years, this is the 4th new building for a bank. Anyway, while I was hanging out, a lady came through the cashier line (the place is an upscale cafeteria with really great food) that looked VERY familiar to me. So, I asked the cashier if she knew who she was after she left, and the cashier, Doris, went and got her! It turned out to be Andrea, a lady that was in my line dancing class! I knew I knew her! We talked a bit and then she had to get back to her office and I no sooner sat back down to wait for Dean to be done, and here he came! So, off we went to wai for the bus home. The rest of the day was pretty uneventful, but nice. We had shrimp for dinner, by the way.
Saturday, we went to breakfast, got gas in the truck (ouch) and then went to find candy and stuff for Jordan's Easter Basket. Went to Rite Aid first. Not much there. Then Walgreen's-same thing. Then to Walmart! Should have just went there first. Jackpot! Peeps and bunnies galor! Jolly Rancher Jelly beans, Chocolate Bunnies, Chocolate foil covered eggs, Oh my! About $24 later, we are on our way home with our find!
I made Jordie's basket. It had blue grass, a large blue hershey's kiss, a chocolate bunny, plastic eggs filled with jelly beans, blue marshmallow bunnies, a peanut butter egg, and chocolate eggs.
We got him a bubble ball for his toy. It was cute. There are 4 different characters-a policeman, a fireman, a cowboy, and something else I can't remember now. Jordan got the cowboy, of course. You take off the character's hat and pour the bubble soap into the top of the character. It fills hsi "belly" since he is ball shaped at the bottom-thus the bubble ball. The hat, which snpas on rather sucurely, keepsthe bubble stuff from spilling while not in use. The hat is the top of the bubble wand.
Mikey got a super soft white and blue stuffed bunny. It had floppy ears, and sat up. The inside of his ears, paws and his nose were all baby blue. And he had a baby blue ribbon around his neck. So cute.
Sunday, Dean made french toast for breakfast, and while he did that I cleaned the living room. We ate, I did the dishes, he started the ham, and then got ready to go get the gang. I cleaned the bedroom, scrubbed the kitchen floor and vacuumed, got washed and dressed, and they were back! But Dean had gotten a flat tire on the way to Sara's. So, they went to the Sunoco to put air in it, which got him home. Then he got in the truck and went and got some fix a flat. That worked, but then he found the nail that was stuck in the tire and pulled it out. Tire went flat again. So, he puts the spare on and asks me to take the car to work and go to Bruce brothers to have it fixed after work. Not a problem.
We have a really nice visit and dinner, and I was so busy playing with the kids, I didn't take any pictures! Bummer.
After dinner is cleaned up, and we visit a bit longer, Dean takes the gang home. As he goes out the door, he asks me to put the truck back in the driveway. Forgetting that he pulled the truck behind the car when he came back with the fix a flat stuff, he puts the car in reverse, looks in the rear view mirror, sees the truck, and backs up anyway. Henry hollered to him to warn him, but, BUMP, he hit the truck anyway. I never heard anything or saw anything of this happening. So,I go out to move the truck as requested, and I see a license plate frame and part of the clear plastic cover on the ground. I look at the front of the truck, and yep, that's where it came from. What happened? Did one of the kids in the hood pull it off for some reason or what? Did Dean do it when He was angry about the flat tire? I don't know.
When he comes home, he comes in the house with afore mentioned articles in hand and tells me about backing into the truck.
As he is walking from the bedroom to the livingroom at one point later in the evening, doesn't he stub his toe on Jordie's high chair!
At that point, it was just time to give up and call it a day. And not a good day at that.

And a couple of other things.....

Some one please tell me why a person, albeit an old person, is driving on Lebanon Church Road, in the fast lane at 35 MPH when the speed limit is 45 MPH? And who gets stuck behind the old geezer coming home from work? Yep. Me. There should be a law that Seniors, wait qualify that, retired seniors should not be pemitted to drive during rush hour. From 7 - 9 am and 4-6 pm, keep them off the road. Till very recently, they weren't allowed to ride the PAT busses with their free bus pass during those times. My point is that you are retired. You have all friggin' day to do what you need to do. Don't do it and be on the raod when I am trying to get home from work. Or to work for that matter. Oh, How do I know he was retired? He had a bumper sticker boasting the fact.

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My nephew stated in his blog about idol that he didn't like the group singing segment at the beginning of the show. I don't know why he doesn't like this portion this season, but I like it. I think you get a chance to hear some harmonies, and songs that maybe as individuals wouldn't pick for themselves, which in turn allows you to see if each one has any diversity with their style. this week, however, I didn't get to hear 98% of the group sing, cause our Fox affiliate lost the sound feed. Then they got that fixed, and we lost the video feed. So, I sould see them and not hear them for a good while, and for a short while could hear them, but not see them. I was ticked.



Last night's guest star was Kelly Pickler,a former Idol herself. She sang Red High Heels. Now, what I think would be a real kick is if the judges were allowed to comment on the gues stars' performances, but preface them by showing the comments they made when the guest star was a contestant and see how right or wrong they were! Can you imagine them airing a comment like Simon made to Kristy Lee Tuesday night about being musical wallpaper? OMG! That woudl be hysterical.



I do agree with my nephew about the phone a friend segment of the show. It's just a time filler and is stupid. Simon admitting that Paula is a good kisser was a shocker. When did they do that kiss, though? I don't remember seeing it.

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Easter is this coming Sunday. Good Friday, I am off work as the office is closed that day. I am going to sleep in (I hope) and then organize the office/computer room/Mikey's room. After that, I will get ready and go meet Dean at his work for a late lunch. After we eat, I'll just kind of hang out till it's time for him to go home, and we'll ride the bus home together. I wish I could drive to town and park, but anywhere that would be cheap enough to park is so far up town or in the strip, that I would have to walk forever to get to Dean's building. So, I'll take the bus to town, and obviously, back home. So, with tht being said, only one more (day of work) for me! Yippee!



I'll probably have something to post between now and Easter, but just in case not, HAPPY EASTER!

NOW, it's your Idol Top 10! A difference of opinion

THIS is

Last nite's show was pretty interesting. I found it entertaining and sang along with most of the songs. It helps me see if they are throwing their own spin on the song, or if they are singing it like the original or forgetting the words or what. So, here we go.

Amanda chose Back In The USSR. She rocked the fast paced Beatles tune and I thought she did okay with it, even though she flubbed a word or two.

Kristy Lee, Kristy Lee. Her verson of You've Got To Hide Your Love Away was good. I liked it and it was much better than last week!

David Archuleta did The Long And Winding Road. Now, not only am I partial to David, but this is one of my favorite Beatles tunes and he did a great version and didn't forget any lyrics this week! I just think this kid's amazing.

Michael Johns did a great job with A Day In The Life. I just think this guy can sing anything.


Little Miss Sunshine, Brooke chose to sing, what else, Here Comes The Sun. I thought she did a really good job with it, but she looked a little uncomfortable without her piano. But, she covered that up pretty well. Loved that she chose to wear yellow!

Dave C. Man, he rocked Daytripper, another one of my favorite Beatles songs. I think he should have forgone the voice box, though. I don't know why the judges didn't like his version of this song when he did with it exactly (except for the voice box) what he did last week with Eleanor Rigby. The voice box thing reminds me of Peter Frampton in the Geico commercial. I don't like it in the commercial, I didn't like it on the Frampton Comes Alive! album, and I didn't like it last night.

Carly decided to do Blackbird as a "tribute" to how hard all of the contestants have been working and to how those that are already in the music biz, have been rejected but pick themselves back up and keep going. I am not familiar with this song, but I thought she sounded great.


Jason's version of Michelle, My Belle, was dead on. I remember being in elementary school (kindergarten, actually) and we would sing this song on the bus cause there was a little blonde, blue eyed girl named Michelle.

Syesha sang Yesterday, another favorite of mine. I thought her version was good, and when she was coming up on a part where I thought she should belt it out, she did! Good job.

Chikezie did another song I didn't know, I've Just Seen a Face. All in all it was a good performance. He is developing his style and having fun. Should have forgotten about the harmonica, though. Just because they allow instruments this year, don't pick one up the day before you sing and decide you want to play something too!

And finally, Ramiele. She is just the cutest, sweetest little thing. Her rendition of Should've Known Better was dead on, too. Like Syesha, just when I thought she should let that big voice of hers out, she did! I thought it was a strong performance.

So, the first to go to the bottom 3, is Carly. I was shocked.
Next is Kristy Lee, not a shocker, but not deserving this week.
Finally, is Amanda. BIG shocker. I was surprised when it wasn't Chikezie, who was brought out with her. I thought maybe Syesha and or/or Ramiele would be in the bottom 3! Amanda has one bad week, and not only is she in the bottom 3, she's the one who goes home! I don't think it's the last you'll hear of her.
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So, after checking out my nephew's blog, http://www.justpoppedinmyhead.blogspot.com/, I can see we definitely have different opinions on the takes of the songs and performances. Being a child of the early '60's (very early~I was born in '60) and my nephew a child of really the '70's (since he was born in '69), he probably didn't have the exposure to the Beatles growing up like I did. His mom (my sister) took me to the drive-in to see A Hard Day's Night and Help!, which were 2 movies that sort of documented the Beatles' lives since making it big here in the states. And I always wanted to hang out with my big sister and her friends, and what do teenage girls do when they hang out? Listen to the radio or records (yes they had records back then~45's and LP's) and dance in their bedrooms! (yes, my sister was a teenager until I was a little over 7 years old. Then she had the nerve to turn 20, get married and starting having kids. Ya know, that nephew I mentioned above? I was very upset that she was getting married and leaving me!) Anyway, My mother always said I could do the Twist before I could walk! So, I grew up with most of these songs. And to my delight at the time, my Senior High chorus, under the direction of Mr. Tom Hawkins, did a show of Beatles songs! To this day when I sing along with the songs we did in that show, I still sing my part as I did back then as a 2nd soprano.

My nephew is a fan of Michael Jackson's music. Not the Jackson 5 stuff necessarily, but the stuff he did when he went solo-Billie Jean, Bad, Thriller. Because that's what he grew up with.

I guess it's all just a matter of taste. Or opinion.

And only the Top 10 are touring this year. Wasn't it the Top 12 last year?

WWYD?

The current news, which, unless you live under a rock, you've heard about, is that NY Gov. Eliot Spitzer has been accused and admitted to involvement with a prostitution ring.

Dirtbag Spitzer being hounded by the media.



So my favorite radio station, Froggy, (you can check them out at http://www.froggyland.com/) posed the question for the morning program: Would you stand by your man (or woman) after he or she admitted to this? What would you do? Sidebar: Froggy gave every one who called in a copy of Sara Evans' CD with the song "Cheating" on it and then they were all entered in a drawing for a grand prize of a weekend at the Motel 6 at Cheat Lake, West Virginia. Purty funny, ay?
Anyway, Would you have stood by your husband as she did on national television while he gave a speech admitting the criminal and moral wrong doing? Hell no, I wouldn't. As soon as he admitted it, I would have packed my bags, or had him pack his, and I definitely would not have stood with him while he made his speech. You would be on your own there, buddy!

Stand By Your Man............Not what Tammy Wynette meant, I'm sure. Mrs. Spitzer at her husband's side while he apologizes for his wrong doing.

Now, I feel that politicians and infidelity sort of go hand in hand. Why do you think someone came up with the expression "Politics make strange bed fellows."?
Since the media has gotten more and more access to information, and has done some deeper digging since JFK, politicians personal lives are plastered every where. TV, radio, tabloids, newspaper, magazines.
It has always been implied that JFK was doing Marilyn Monroe, and probably others. Didn't his brother Teddy drive a chic he got pregnant off the road leading to a bridge and into a river and she drowned? LBJ was not saint either. According to documentary I saw about him and Ladybird, not only was he an SOB, but a womanizer as well.
Nixon, you didn't hear about it, but he probably did. Or maybe he was to busy with Watergate.
Ford, Carter, Reagan, and GH Bush I don't remember hearing about any infidelities on their part, The media focus was on how badly they were screwing up this country.
Then there's Bill Clinton. There was absolute proof of his infidelity. Cigar, anyone? Hillary stood by him. Not in the way that Mrs. Spitzer did, but she didn't leave him. She didn't divorce him.
I think back in the day, before TV, that the media was not as focused on the politician's personal life, they didn't have the resources they do today to dig up the dirt. I am sure that infidelity and the presidency have been around since George Washington. And before that, the kings of England. Not just political figures in this new country, but slave owners had sex with their female slaves. Hell, maybe even the male slaves. When this country was established with it's own formal government, they were just carrying on the tradition.

If someone hadn't have publicly accused Spitzer of the involvement with the prositution ring, do you think he would have ever publicly announced it? No. He would have kept doing what he was doing and would not have resigned his position as Governor of the State of NY. Ashley A. Dupre` aka "Kristen" the $1,000 an hour call girl. Her NY apartment was more per month than the governor's mansion! She's not an ugly girl.

Do the women that stand by husbands after this type of dirty laundry is aired, have some bigger agenda that staying with their husbands is making them stronger than if they left and were on the own? Maybe true on Hillary's part. For god sakes, here she is, just 8 or 9 years later, running for the Democratic nomination to run for President of the United States! She obviously thought she needed Bill to do this.

And not even in the political arena was Joey Buttafuco. He slept with Amy Fisher, Amy Fisher shot Joey's wife Mary Jo, and Mary Jo still didn't leave Joey. Years later, Joey gets back involved with Amy, then Mary Jo divorces him. She is now remarried and doing the talk show circuit. Why did it take Mary Jo 2 times before she left his sorry ass?

I have friends who have recently splt up after a history of years of infidelity on the guy's part. I was told by another friend that they had agreed to stay together until their child went to college. The Child's in college. They have split up.

Spitzer, wife Silda (in the red coat), and 3 daughtrs.

And what do these people say to their kids? I don't ever remember hearing what Chelsea had to say about her dad and Monica. Spitzer's kids will have live with this for a long time.
I just don't get it. How do these women justify this in their minds so that they can even look at the man across the breakfast table?



So, What Would You Do?

Mama said ther'd be days like that!

Most of Thursday afternoon and Friday had a weird feeling to them. I don't know what it was but it was weird. Thursday at work, I just felt a strange karma or aura or something in the air. I was a little busier than usual with things that came up suddenly. A customer needed parts that were supposed to have been there on Monday. So, I was back and forth on the phone with her between talking to Kenny to get it worked out when they could be sent and how.
My computer decided to take a little side trip when I did something manually in Word that is usually does automatically from Quickbooks. Needless to say, I was on the phone with Dave for a while. I eventually suggested we just do a "Restore" after all the things he told me to do failed. Restore worked! By this time, it's almost time to go home, so the work for the next morning I was gonna do, didn't get done.
Friday morning, while getting ready for work, I had to blow my nose. I took the tissue, put it up to my face, and WHAM! the corner of the Kleenex jabs me in the eye! AS per the normal reaction, I close my eyes and pull the tissue down from my face. When I do, my eyes are closed so tightly, that the corner of the tissue that has jabbed me, tears off and is left in my eye! More pain! So, I have to force myself to open my eye in order to get the hunk of tissue out of it. Not a way to start off a day!

I get to work after all, and I am supposed to go and open Ken's email and find the one from the guy from UPS Freight Services. WE have an air freight going to Ireland, and this form has to be filled out and emailed back to him, so that all can go smoothly with the shipment, customs, homeland security, blah blah blah. Well I open it and hit reply, but the form doesn't open in the new email.
Enter Greg, the shipper/receiver/delivery driver. He said, do you have my orders done? (Remember I told you I didn't get then next morning's work done?) So, no, they aren't. I stop with the email thing and go get the orders done.
Enter Wynn. Puts his dogs up in their room and he gets a call on his cell. Something's happened to somebody or something, but I can't tell who or what from his end of the conversation. It sounded like someone had some sort of an accident, but I wasn't sure.
Diane calls a bit later and tell me she'd hooked her Mercedes SUV on the protective "hitching post" type thing at the end of the gas pump island. Ouch. Now I know who Wynn was talking to. She later comes to work and has pics on her cell phone. I can see how she hit it. It wasn't very high, it was the same color as the island and the cement, and she couldn't see it from the driver side of her SUV since it sits so high. It was an Exxon station. Since they made 40 billion in profit last year, let their insurance pay to fix her car. Works for me!
Tara's little girl, who I call Jules, usually goes to drop in day care or nursery school in the mornings for a half day. Then Tea (Tara) goes and picks her up, brings her back to work with her where she has lunch then naps most of the afternoon until it is time to go home and get her brother off the school bus.
Yesterday, instead of coming up the side steps and in that door as per the usual routine, Jules comes up the front walk and in the front door, through the foyer and through the office door. the conversation upon her seeing me goes like this:
"Shari. Guess what?"
"What!?"
"I got a bloody nose!"
"Oh my! How did you get a bloody nose, baby?"
(you ready for this? This is classic!)
"I was pickin' it!!!"
I had to turn my face away so I didn't laugh and her see it cause I know she probably got "scolded" for picking her nose. It being unlady like, the germs, and just yuck.
But if you would have seen her little face telling me "I was pickin' it!" it was priceless. Her little smile and her upper body kinda bouncing as she said it! Hysterical!

Don't ya love kids? At least she told the truth!

I must say that the weirdness in the air definitely dissipated after that!

Oh, so it's Idol Top 11!

Only one went home this week. I thought it would be 2. However, I was right about who would not do so well. The bottom 3 were Kristy Lee, Syesha and David Hernandez. David Hernandez was sent packing. Yea! Like I said; I just can't like him.

Idol Top 10?; Nail Day

The contestants were able to choose their songs this week from the John Lennon-Paul McCartney catalogue, or Beatles songs, if you will. Here they are and what songs they did:

Syesha did Got To Get You Into My Life. Not as great as it could have been, but not bad. If she hangs in this week, she's really going to have to step it up a bit.
Chikezie's She's A Woman was incredible! Where has that performer been all this time?
Ramiele chose In My Life. Good job, but she could have done so much more with that voie of hers.
Jason Castro has hypnotic eyes and a great smile. I thought his rendition of If I Fell In Love With You was unique, but not a strong performance.

And then there's Carly who did Come Together and all I can say is

WOW!
David Cooke's version of Eleanor Rigby was Fantastic! Another WOW!
I think Brooke could be another Carole King. Good voice and plays well. I like the barefoot pianist. I liked her "soft" version of Let It Be.
I like David Hernandez' version of I Saw Her Standing There, but he could have done more with it. I just can't like him. He looks "greasy" to me. I hope he goes tonight.

Amanda chose You Can't Do That. I haven't heard this particular Lennon-McCartney song before that I remember. The lyrics were boring and repetitive. She did finally smile though!

Michael Johns. He did a great rendition of Across the Universe. NOt his best effort, but it was good. And I just like him.

Kristy Lee did a country version of 8 Days a Week that totally sucked. As great as her Faithfully was last week, is how bad she was this week. I think she will be one of the ones to go tonight.

David Archuleta did We Can Work It Out and forgot some of the lyrics. He seemed nervous, but the kid's got an amazing voice and talent. Let's give him another chance so he can work it out!

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Today after work, I got my nails done. I haven't had them done in a month. I am supposed to go every 2 weeks, but on my last scheduled appointment day, I was getting the second round of the crud, so I cancelled it. My nails really took a toll in that time, with the acrylic coming off 5 nails. I removed the polish from the rest of them, so it wasn't so noticeable that they were so bad. But they are back to normal now and it feels soooooooooo good! Just thought I'd share!

Idol Top 12; Lunch at My favorite Fast Food Place

The girls did pretty good this week. I loved Kristy Lee's "Faithfully". I always loved that song to begin with, and I thought she did it justice. She is in the top 12.

Kristy Lee
Ramiele did Against All Odds, a Phill Collins hit, and did it well. She's in the top 12.
Syesha. Greatest Love of All by Whitney. she sounded like Whitney. I wasn't impressed even though it is a tough song, but she made the top 12.

Carly Drove All Night and you could tell. WOW !! Top 12 for sure.
Amanda Hates herself for Loving You, but we can't account for taste. She rocked it and made the top 12.

Brooke did a really cool rendition of Love is a Battlefield by Pat Benetar. Her radical approach to doing the song was brilliant! Top 12 for this girl too!

The ones that didn't make it? Kady and Asia'h. Kady's performance wasn't great and Asia'h's being voted off surprised me, but she just didn't bring it with her version of I Wanna Dance with Somebody. I thought it would have been Brooke, but the presentation is what did it for Brooke. You have to be unique and stand out from the crowd in this competition.
Goodbye, girls.

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After Dean and I both being so sick last weekend, we have been home bound except to go to work for 2 weeks. So, they were having some race cars on display at Pittsburgh Mills Mall, which is on 28, just past New Kensington. So we get ready and ride up in some nasty weather, but do ok with our 4 wheel drive truck.

We find out way to the mall, and to a main entrance and there sits 6 race cars that race at Lernerville Speedway. Check it out at http://www.lernerville.com/. So, we head off throught the mall after looking at a couple late models, sprint car, pure stock and go cart. No more cars throughout the mall. I told him if we came all this way for 6 cars, he was in big trouble mister! Well, we check ou the mall, having never been there before, and it is a beautiful mall. It makes a big oval, and you walk around about a mile and end up where you started. And low and be hold, there was a whole "room" with cars. Maybe 10 more. So Dean wasn't in trouble, mister. The mall has some pretty unique stores, too. We stopped and bought candy at Fuzziwigs, which was not cheap. We talked to the lady for a bit, and if you'll remember from a way earlier post, I told you they were putting a Sonic near this mall.

Well, we found our way to the Sonic, and had to wait in line for a place to pull in an order! Avery good sign for future Sonics in our area! I had a Sonic Burger-no mustard-and a Vanilla Coke! Dean had a Super Sonic Burger with bacon-no mayo-and a huge Cherry Fruit Slushie! It was sooooooooo good. The sandwiches were so fresh! Yum-O! After we finished and left, we were coming down 28 and I told Dean I wanted another burger they were so good. Anybody taking advantage of the Sonic Happy Hour? 1/2 price on drinks between 2 and 4 pm? That's a deal! Yea to Sonic in the Pittsburgh Area! Great job! Now we need one at the Waterfront. Any investors out there??!

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My sister called the other night to tell me that her area of Arkansas was supposed to get 4" of snow. Yes, Snow. They usually get an ice storm in February that shuts everything down for 3 or 4 days, but they didn't get that this year. So, they sent everyone home from school at 12:15, but she thought the snow wasn't anything to worry about. I called her thismorning to see how the "snowbunny" was doing, and she said the snow was practically gone. You couldn't even tell it snowed except for some white on Shan and Dave's roof. And I thought she'd be housebound for the weekend...............But any excuse to call her. I even called her after we ate at Sonic cause I thought she'd think that was cool. But she was napping.........Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Guys' Idol Nite

Okay. A little different take on my nephew's Idol Chart: Faces to go with names, songs, etc.
So, here's my Simon on the nite:

Luke does Wham!- and not well. Get him off the TV!
David A once again a mature choice in Another Day in Paradise. Well arranged version. Still think he can win it all.
Danny's Tainted Love popped for me.

David H did a strong version of If I kiss you like this. But will he survive the controversy of being a male stripper in a male strip club?

David C's version of Hello absolutely rocked!
Michael Johns' Don't you forget about me. Trust me. We won't.
Jason Castro. Have only heard that a song a very few times, but he nailed it!
Chikezie-She Fills Me Up-So many other songs from the 80's he could have done better with. Get him off my TV, too.

The best phone call

Today at work, I was fairly busy with the normal stuff, just more of it. And I am moving a little slower since I'm still sick.

So, In the middle of the afternon, out of the blue, my cell phone sings "Hey girl, it's me. Just thought I'd call and tell you Hi............" Yep. My sister. So I pick up the phone and say " Are we playing hooky today?" My sister is a teacher at the same school that my neice is and where my grand niece goes to school. So, I thought she must've been playing hooky cause it was certainly during school hours.

Turns out that she was on her way back from her crazy doctor and had a really good session and was feeling really good and wanted to share that with me! She amazes me sometimes with how much she thinks of me. I thought that was a pretty cool thing to want to share with me. She did say that she talked about my brother AND me in this session, but the doc took 2 pages of notes while she talked about me! I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

I worry that she is still grieving so badly on one hand, then on the other, worry has she grieved enough over Jerry. Some days I think she's handling this all pretty well.

I am glad that her and I were able to talk about it while she was here after Christmas. I just want her to know that she can talk to me anytime, about anything, I'm always here for her, and I hope that talking to me helps her to deal with things, and feel better. I can't tell you how much I love this woman. She is my best friend. MY SISTER.

me and my sister

Hot Springs, AR

Dec. '05

Home sick, idol catch-up

Well, just when I thought I was over the crud, BAM! round 2! I must say that round 2 is much worse than round 1. This sickness knocks you out with several punches and doesn't let up. My one boss, Kenny, told me on Wednesday that I should go home cause I was coughing so badly. He said I was making him cough. I thought that Iwould be able to hang for the day, but I was coughing so much, that it got to the point that I couldn't answer the phones. Every time it rang, I was in the middle of coughing fit. thank God for Tea. She is my big boss' daughter and runs the company upstairs, Packages for Industry.

So, I thought at least if I went home, I wouldn't be disturbing anyone else with my cough, and I could put on my jammies and be comfy. So, when Tea got back from the bank/lunch, I went home. Went to work on Thursday, and was able to make it through the day, with much less coughing than the day before. But in the middle of the afternoon, I must have spiked a fever, cause I was freezing. Goosebumps, shivering, the whole nine yards.

Finally, 4:30 comes and I scoot outta there. I have to go to the store to pick up prescriptions and a few odds and ends. Dean also has the crud and went to his doctor that afternoon. Since he had bronchial asthma as a child, these viruses that hit you in the chest, hit him really hard. I had called and asked my doctor to call something for me, so I had 3 scripts to pick up. I get waited on, tell the "old" woman behind the counter that there are 2 for Dean and one for me. She can't find the one for me right away and has to go in the back. She finds it, and starts to ring me up asking Dean's birthday, then mine. I tell her, and it rejects it. It doesn't match what she scanned. I look at the bag, but the first name is spelled different, the address is different, and the phone number is different. I told her that's not me. So, now 3, coun 'em, 3 people ask me different questions, What did he call in? What's your DOB? What's your address? I understand that they do all this so people don't get the wrong meds, which could be dangerous, but I really didn't feel like dealing with this right now. Finally they get it straight and I can proceed through and get the odds and ends. a 20 minute visit to the store took well over 45 minutes.

So, I go home and the 2 sickies sit on opposite couches in the living room and and play dueling coughs.

I went in to bed a while later, and Dean came to check on me, and when I touched him, he went and got the thermometer. My temp? 102.5. Nice. Dean said if it was like that in the morning, I was not going to work. He had already told his work he wouldn't be in when he left to go to the doc's.

Friday morning temp? 102 even. Not much better. For the first time in years, I called off work.

Saturday was a little better, and today seems better yet. So, hopefully, this is the down side of this!

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So, no real surprises with the Idol results this week, except for Robbie-for me at least anyway. I like his look, the long hair rocker look. I really thought Luke was going to be the one to go.

I was really impressed with David Archuleta! What a mature version of Imagine from a young guy. He wasn't even thought of when that song came out! His parents might not have been born yet! WOW. If he keeps that up, I may have to change my pick on the winner from Michael to David A.

I like Micheal. He's shows promise. And that accent!

I think that Chikezie is only still on and will continue because he's the only black male.

David Hernandez needs to find a job in a show on a cruise ship.

I'm real iffy on David C. and Jason Castro.

Danny Noriega. I like him. He reminds me with his hair style and the way he dresses of the Williams twins. They were on the Partridge Family as guests back in the day and they both liked Laurie (Susan Dey). I think they were 14 or 15 then, so if you added a few years to their faces......... You would have had to see the episodes they were on. The same swagger, build, dress, feminism. Come on. You know he's gay. But he's cute and genuine.

Hope you can see it. I do.

I was not real impressed with the girls. Everyone did okay, but I think Carly rocked this week.

I don't really have anything remarkable to say about anyone else, so I won't bore you with those thoughts.

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But, the second round of the crud is why I haven't posted. I will be a little better this week. I hope.