A Movie Review

Quentin and I went to the movies last week to see No Country for Old Men. This was highly recommended by Chris (my middle son, who I used to call Justin). Anyway I can't really make up my mind whether I liked it or not. It was the BEST acting but the WORST story. I even had to look away from the screen a time or two because of the violence - which was the reason it was rated R I'm sure, as there was no nudity and very little bad language. I usually don't watch R rated movies because of the explicit sexual content, but this had none, so I guess I thought it was okay. Tommy Lee Jones was at his usual best as the sheriff. He was kind of the narrator as well. Even then he was good, when you couldn't watch him but just heard him. He is a great storyteller. Of course the writing was good too. And Josh Brolin was great too. I honestly didn't know who he was until the end when the credits rolled. I knew I recognized him, but he was such a totally different character than what I had seen him play (Mr. Sterling - the TV show about the senator). And then there was the DARK SIDE. I hated, absolutely hated the bad guy. I guess he was a good actor, but he was scary and really gave me the creeps. And I hated his hair. And what was he using? I don't want to give anything away, but I'll just tell you that he killed people with air. So, do I recommend this movie? I can't honestly say. Maybe some of you will comment with some better insight. But I did have fun spending some time with Quentin.

My Favorite Books

Coming this summer!

http://www.imdb.com/rg/VIDEO_PLAY/LINK//video/trailer/me60638658/

Disappointed

Remember those old horror movies where it took forever to see the monster, and then sometimes they never even showed it at all, and you were left feeling disappointed. That is the way I felt after watching "Don't Forget the Lyrics" this week. If you haven't seen this, they have different contestants sing parts of songs, and if they get it right they will advance up the list winning more and more money each time. There are I think 8 categories they have to pass through to get to the big ONE MILLION DOLLAR song. This is hard because they have to get the lyrics absolutely correct. So far no one has won the million dollars. AND no one has even gotten close, until this week. So I've been wondering about the million dollar song and how they would do this, what the song would be, how many words they would have to sing, etc. So this week the woman got all the way to the top, winning $500,000, and the next step was the million dollar one. AND THEN, before they showed the song, Wayne Brady, the host of the show, explained that she would not know the artist, the category, how many words, anything at all about the song, except that it was a #1 hit, and there would be no helps (she has three to start with but has to use them all before the last song), AND if she chose to go with it (before seeing what it was) and lost, she would be all the way down to $25,000 to take home. So, of course she says she will take the $500,000 and go home - who wouldn't, right? So now we'll NEVER get to see the million dollar song, because who would be that dumb to give up a sure $500,000 for a maybe and not very likely million?

Who is San Diego's Favorite Quarterback?

No, not Phillip Rivers. It's PEYTON MANNING. I watched the Chargers/Colts game last night and this morning. It was so cool. I really wanted the Colts to lose - to anybody, after they beat the Panthers, plus Phillip Rivers is an NC State graduate, so I was for them. So during the game Peyton Manning - America's sweetheart QB - threw for SIX interceptions. SD started off with a kickoff return for a TD. Then they returned a punt for one. Anyway they racked up 23 points to the Colts' 0 points. But then after the second half the Colts came storming back and came to within 2 points at 21-23. They had a chance to tie it after their last touchdown and went for 2 points, but failed. Then later with a little over a minute left in the game the Colts had another chance to win with a field goal, but missed. Then, last play of the game PM threw his SIXTH interception, and the game was over, 23-21. It was a fun game to watch.

Life's Little Lifts

Every once in a while we get these little lifts. I'll tell you about one of mine. I hate my hair right now. I'm trying to let it grow longer, and my bangs are driving me crazy. They are just at that length - long enough to be in my eyes but not long enough to pull back. And the back of my hair is just different lengths and sticks out all the time. I'm trying to let it grow out some and then start cutting it to eventually get it all one length. So, in the meantime I just feel that it looks awful all the time. Then last Friday Bennie and I went to Winston to do some shopping. We were at Kohl's, and at one point this lady was behind me and said, "Your hair is a beautiful color." I turned back and smiled and said thanks. That is not really a big deal to me. All my life people have commented on my hair color. I always say thanks, even though I had absolutely nothing to do with it. So I didn't really think much about this lady, but then she said something else - "And it is cut really nice too". At that I almost said to her "WHAT??", because, like I said, it looks terrible, but she was just smiling and had really given me a compliment, so I again said thanks. As I was wondering what she saw in my hair, it really just gave me a little lift, and I suddenly felt better.

Well, maybe I'll tell you about another time something made me feel good about myself - this happened in high school. My senior year I was in a government class, and we were going to have a mock court to learn about legal proceedings. I was sick one day, and the next day when I went back I learned that I was a judge in this court, actually a co-judge along with a friend of mine, Cathy Robson. So we had the court, which I don't really remember much about, but a few months later, during the summer, Cathy and I were doing something together, and she started talking about the court. She said, "Wasn't that neat the way everyone picked us for judges." Well, I didn't remember being actually picked, and then she reminded me that I hadn't been to school that day. What had happened was - the teacher told the class to choose a classmate for judge, someone they thought a lot of, that they knew they could trust, and would make good decisions. As it turned out Cathy and I had tied, and that is why we had become co-judges. At the time I thought that the teacher had just assigned us to do that, I didn't know anything about the class choosing. So when I heard that it really made me feel good. And also a little sad, because I didn't know about this at the time, and that summer was kind of late to be finding out. I didn't really have low self esteem in high school, but I think it would have been higher than it was if I had known this.

Anyway, I still think my hair looks awful, but not as much as before.

The New Shows

Okay, I thought maybe it was time to review the new TV shows this fall. There are a few I've tried but didn't like - K-Ville, Chuck, Dirty Sexy Money (which I'm glad I didn't like because I don't like the title), and I accidentally saw part of Kid Nation which was terrible. So, the shows I do like:

Cane - This is a great show, probably my favorite of all the new ones. It has a great cast. I love Jimmy Smits and Hector Elizondo (from Pretty Woman), but Ken Howard is a hoot. He was the basketball coach on The Gray Shadow, I think was the name. Anyway, this is one of those shows where the main character is actually a bad guy, but you're still rooting for him.

Reaper - I really tried not to like this one, because I'm watching way too much TV, but I just can't help myself. It is such a cute show. This is one where you can tune in on any episode.

Bionic Woman - So far so good, but I can see it either getting boring or getting better. We'll see what happens.

Back to You - This is one of the best sitcoms I've seen in a while. And I really like Kelsey Grammar.

Women's Murder Club - This was a latecomer, so I've only seen one, but it has great potential. Angie Harmon is a police detective, and the first episode was really interesting.

So I guess this is it. I'm still watching ER, Shark, House, Supernatural, Men in Trees, and Criminal Minds. And then of course there is Y&R every day. I feel like I need to quit my job just so I'll have time to watch everything.

A Few More Pictures

These are a few more pictures from VA Beach. This is King Neptune. It is really cool and bigger than it looks in the picture.

One day we rode up to Yorktown and Jamestown.

Just on the boardwalk watching the sand sculpting.

Handsome guy.

You might need to click on this picture. There are two dolphins in the water. We saw dolphins every day. They would just be swimming up the coast, jumping up out of the water.

This is the sunrise from our room.

We were getting ready to go on the dolphin-watching cruise. There were SO MANY. You could actually lean over the front of the boat (bow?) and see them in the water swimming along with the boat.

I thought this was interesting. If you look really close (click on the picture) you can see this guy on the beach who looks like a toy or something on top of the castle. It was a fun week!

Playing in the Sand

These are some pictures of the sand sculpting. This is how they started, getting these round or rectangular molds full of sand and water, letting it set and get hard, then taking off the mold. They started on Wednesday and had to be done by Friday. They were all timed, taking breaks at the same time, etc. This was a big contest and these people came from all over the world to compete. This guy is Peter. He is just starting.

Then he had some bad luck. It fell, and he had to start over.

And again, it was timed, and he had lost a whole day, but he did pretty good.

This is Matthew.

He's actually making the holes here with a white tube, just putting wet sand around the tube, then he pulled it out.

Some kind of religious thing with Moses in front and the ark in back.

This is Damon Farmer. He actually has a website. He was posing for me. He is just starting here. What will it be?

This is Rich. This one actually ended up being mine and Bennie's favorite.

And these are the rest, pretty much finished. We had to leave before they were completely done, but, you get the picture.

And th-th-th-that's all folks!

Dancing with the . . .

Not stars. I am almost ashamed to even write this blog, but, well, I've started watching Dancing with the Stars this year. I've never watched it before, but I was curious. This year Marie Osmond and Wayne Newton are two of the dancers, and I wanted to see them. Marie gave somewhat of a PG13 show last night, which kind of surprised me. But she has a lot of "presence" on the stage and seems really comfortable. But Wayne Newton. My gosh. Have you seen this guy? He looks really weird. I guess he's had a lot of plastic surgery done. But he CAN'T DANCE - not a lick, as Thelma Lou says. But so far he has stayed in. So, watch it next week. I think it comes on Monday night. Probably my favorite is the boxer. I think his name is Floyd Mayweather. Anyway, he's like a little boy up there, cute as a button. And also Kelly from 90210 is in it. She's pretty good too.

Our Week in the Sun

We got back from VA Beach two days ago, and I still feel behind on everything. I did manage to get all the laundry done by last night (with Bennie's help), and I read all 63 emails. But TV. That's another story. I set our recorder to record all my usual shows as well as some new shows I wanted to try watching to see if I liked them. And of course this was season premiere week. So, and this is awful, I have about 25 hours of TV to watch. AND they are all coming back on this week too.

Okay, as for the beach. We had a GREAT time. The weather was perfect!. The sky was a crystal clear blue most of the time with a few wisps of clouds once in a while. On Thursday it sprinkled for about five minutes, barely getting us wet, then it stopped. We rode our bikes a lot and walked all over the place. I bought a body board and "rode the waves" a few times. After the last time I felt like I had been beat up by the ocean. But it was fun. And I ate. All the foods I try not to eat, like fried foods, pizza, ice cream, etc. On Tuesday we went to Yorktown and Jamestown. On Thursday we took the dolphin-watching cruise. I loved that. We saw a BUNCH of dolphins! They would get right next to the boat and swim along with us, jumping up out of the water now and then. It was cool. And the jets were flying all over the place. And we watched all the big ships going and coming.

Also every year VA Beach has a "Neptune Festival", and on Wednesday there were around 12-15 people building sand castles, or sand sculptures I guess. This was amazing to watch. It took them three days to finish, and we actually had to leave before they were done, but you could see what it would look like for the most part. I took a bunch of pictures and will try to post them next time.

And then yesterday Bennie and I went to the Dixie Classic Fair. I love the fair! We brought home some maple flavored cotton candy. It was a good week, well except for today when the Panthers lost to Tampa Bay. Oh well.

Just a Piece

I heard just a piece of a conversation yesterday as I was walking by the US Cellular stand in the Mayberry Mall. There was a guy with his son looking at a particular cell phone.

1st Salesgirl: "You can get that cheaper on the internet."

2nd Salesgirl: "Don't tell him that!"

Customer: "I thought they were free anyway with the plan."

1st Salesgirl: "Oh yeah."

Monster Mouse

Another mouse in the house story.

Since we have the occasional mouse come in I just always keep those small black glue traps around. I have two in the laundry room against opposite walls, and I check them every morning. For months there has been no change. Then last Saturday I walked in to do some laundry and I looked down at the trap, but it wasn't there. So I looked at the other one, AND IT WASN'T THERE EITHER. They were both just gone. So, I went back and asked Bennie if he had moved them for some reason, and no, he hadn't. So we went back to look for them. One was lying on its side up between the freezer and ironing board, and the other one was inside the little closest that has our air compresser - both still intact and still with the dollop of peanut butter in the middle. So, that was just strange. So, thinking that maybe they were just old and not sticky anymore I threw them away and got new glue traps. I put new peanut butter on them and placed them back in the same places. I also put one in our closet just for good measure and one under our bed against the wall. So then yesterday morning, first thing, I go look at the traps. As I was walking into the laundry room I saw a strange site. Where the trap had been there was now just an area of tiny black particles, about a foot in diameter. As I looked around for the trap I saw it lying a couple feet away with a big chunk of the plastic gone. Stranger and stranger. This time, though, some of the peanut butter had been eaten. And then this morning when I opened our closet door, the trap in there was gone. When I looked around I found it about three feet away - perfectly intact, PB and everything. Today we are getting WOODEN TRAPS, and just for good measure a larger one for rats. I just shiver thinking that it might actually be a huge rat. Who knows what is going on at this point.

Morning Neighborhood Drama (Thanks, Michael Vick)

This morning started off pretty usual. I got up, got dressed, ran my 20 minutes (and walked 10) on the treadmill, then I went out on the front porch to sit on the swing and cool off for a few minutes. As I opened the door there was a stray dog on our front porch. His tail was wagging, so I figured he was okay. Actually I had seen this dog a couple other times in the last two days, just hanging around. He wasn't wearing a collar, and I didn't know who he belonged to. But, as I said, his tail was wagging. So I went on out to sit on the swing. Now this was a big dog (later I learned it was part pit bull and part chow). As I walked over to the swing I noticed the kid from next door was out with his dalmation, who is a house dog, but they bring him out to walk him and let him "use the yard". I was sort of talking to this boy, who is about 12 maybe, and was asking him if he knew anything about this other dog who was on my porch. He didn't, and then the stray dog left my porch and ran over to him and his dog. He started playing with the dalmation, kind of wrestling at first. Then it became something more. The boy was trying to shoo him away from his dog, which seemed to aggravate the situation. AND THEN the stray starts growling loudly and starts actually attacking this dalmation. I couldn't believe it when I saw him take the dalmation's head in his mouth - his whole head! I was just frozen watching this play out. And the boy was trying his best to get them apart the whole time. So then the mom comes out yelling and trying to get them apart, but no luck. THEN the dad comes out - with a 45. So he starts shooting. He shot the back of the stray, and it finally let go of the dalmation. So the mom, the kid, and the dad get the dalmation in the house, and the stray runs off. I went in to get Bennie, and we both came out on the porch, but then here comes the stray back to our porch. So now I'm kind of scared of this dog. So Bennie called the animal control people, who btw waited for a couple of hours before actually coming out. Then I went over to tell our neighbor that we had called and to see if they were okay. He told me that his wife and son had left to take the dog to the animal hospital, and his arm had two long scratches on it from the dog. So, to make a pretty long story somewhat shorter, I went on in to take a shower. When I came out the neighbor had shot the dog, who wouldn't die. So he went and traded the 45 for a 22 rifle and shot it again a few times, this time killing it.

So Bennie and I had to leave for Winston, but when we got back our neighbor was out with the dalmation (who had a big gash in his neck but was otherwise okay) walking him down the road, and he came into our driveway and told us the rest of the story. The animal control guy finally got there, but someone from the newspaper got there first, and she was asking demanding questions like why it took so long for the animal control people to respond. Anyway, the guy said that for the last month they have had a lot of instances with these kinds of dogs being set loose, fallout from the MV fiasco. Apparently this dog had been trained to fight, and the AC guy actually praised our neighbor for killing it.

Summer TV

I thought I'd review some of my favorite summer TV shows. And it is strange that I have been watching so many of them because always in the past summer TV has just been reruns and boring fillers. Last year I watched America's Got Talent, but I think that was about it. So this year . . .

Mad Men – I LOVE this show. It is set in the early 60's and has the look and feel of the time. Bennie watched five minutes of it with me the other day and proclaimed that it was one of the most depressing shows he'd ever seen. Well, he just saw a bad part of it. The main guy, Don Draper, is a cad, but he's the BEST LOOKING CAD I've ever seen. And everybody chain smokes on this show. If you don't want to watch it, just watch the opening credits. It is just like the old spy shows from back then.

Greek – I started watching this show because the main character is Kelsey Grammar's daughter. Then I got hooked. It is one of those bubble gum college aged angst shows, but I like it.

Side Order of Life – I've gotten hooked on this one too. I started watching because Brandon from 90210 was in it, but I don't really like him. What I like, and what I'm waiting for is, the main character dialed a wrong number and started talking to this guy, and now they call each other a lot but haven't yet met. So she has now broken up with "Brandon", and I want to see what happens when she and mystery guy meet.

Don't Forget the Lyrics/Singing Bee – I'm grouping these two shows because they have the same premise – singing karaoke style. I thought that I was pretty good with singing along with the radio, but you have to sing the EXACT lyrics or you're out. I happen to like DFTL better that SB, I think because of Wayne Brady. He's cool. And I like their format better.

Burn Notice – I think I've already mentioned this one in another blog. It's probably my second favorite. You can come in on this one at any time. It reminds me of A-Team, but better.

Psych – I had forgotten, but I watched this last year too. Come to think of it, this is probably tied for second with BN. It is a quirky show about a fake psychic who solves crimes. The way he does it is just that he is very observant. It is a really funny show. Plus I like Corbin Bernsen, who plays his dad.

America's Got Talent – This show is almost over for the year, but it was a good ride. I like the ventriloquist the best. I hope he wins next week.

Last Comic Standing – I also really like this show. I started watching just for the comedy routines, but I've gotten into it. The comedy is great. My favorite (and one that I showed to Bennie and Quentin) was Dante, who is a great impersonator, but he is already kicked off. Oh well.

So, this is how I've spent my summer vacation. Almost time for the new fall shows!

Just Another Day

I thought I'd tell a story. Quentin was home this weekend, and yesterday morning he was leaving to go back to Greensboro. So before I left for church I was helping him get up some food and stuff to take with him. Then I laid out some hamburger for my and Bennie's lunch, and went on to church. So about two hours later I was standing in the lobby between meetings talking with Bennie and someone else when President Cozzens came out of his office and came up to me and Bennie. He said that Quentin was on the phone and needed to talk to one of us. Well, that kind of scared me. So I went into his office and picked up the phone, saying hello. Then Quentin said, "Mom, I think something pretty bad has happened." Well, now I'm freaked out even more, because I knew he was on his way to Greensboro, so all I could think of was WRECK. So I asked if he was okay, what had happened, you know the usual. Then he said, "Were you going to have spaghetti for lunch?" WHAT? I said something like I didn't know and what was he talking about. Then he proceeded to tell me that he had seen me lay out the hamburger, but then he took all my spaghetti noodles and sauce with him and was afraid I had planned to use it. So like I said, just another day. Although my hair got a little bit whiter yesterday.

Not Guilty - Yet

Am I the only person in the world who still believes MV might be innocent?? At least they should let him play football until they prove otherwise.

Optimus Prime, et. al.

OP is the one that I remember from when my boys were little and played with transformers. And I thought he was a good guy. Megatron also sounded familiar, but I don't remember liking him as well. Yesterday me and Quentin went to see this movie. I really enjoyed it! It was a fun movie. It had a lot of parts that reminded me of other movies, especially Independence Day and Wargames. And when it was over, I mentioned to Quentin that they set it up for a sequel.

This morning I made a pound cake. The boy scouts from church are having a BBQ dinner tonight and needed people to make cakes, so I signed up to make one. I let it cook for 90 minutes ( 1 1/2 hours), thinking that was long enough. Well, it wasn't. When I went to turn it over on the plate it fell in and all this liquid cake (batter I guess) started pouring out from the middle. So, quick thinker that I am, I stuffed it all back into the tube pan, and put it back in the oven for another hour - just to make sure. This time it cooked. Except it looks terrible. It will probably taste good though. So anyway, I made a plum cake to take to church (which turned out great!), and I guess Bennie and Quentin will just have to eat the raggedy cake.

And I got a really good deal yesterday. I love good deals. We're having company for lunch tomorrow, and I thought about getting a ham. Well, this week in the flyers there was a spiral sliced ham on sale at Galaxy for 98 cents a pound, but the flyer said it was frozen. So, yesterday I went to Wal-Mart, which lets you have the sale prices of other places. I found a great spiral sliced ham (not frozen though) for $1.96 a pound. So I got it for half price!

And lastly, there is a new TV show that I really like. It's called "Burn Notice". You should check it out. It comes on Thursday nights on USA. Also, did anyone see "America's Got Talent" this past week? Did you see the magician who cut the guy in half? That was so cool! I have no idea how he did that.

Diana's Concert

I've just finished watching this concert. It was on last Sunday, and I recorded all six hours. It started off really good with Elton John singing my favorite song of his - "Your Song". Then the princes - William and Harry, who were really cute - came out and welcomed everyone, then introduced their mother's "favorite band", Duran Duran. That is when the concert started going downhill. They only sang one song I had heard of, and I didn't like it. After that was a succession of bands and singers and dancers. There were a lot of hip-hop/rap singers, and needless to say I fast forwarded it through all of that. There were several British bands I had never heard of, but I did like a band called Take That (I think that was the name). Tom Jones was there, but again, he didn't sing anything I knew. Then they went through several broadway songs by ALW, who showed up too. And that was good. And then FINALLY someone good came on - rockin' Rod, who started off with Maggie May. It ended with Elton John again, but there were some technical delays, and he was cut off just as he was getting started. I should have recorded the next show, but I didn't. And guess who got the biggest applause of anybody (other than the princes I guess)? David Beckham, who just came out to introduce someone. So, overall the concert was pretty much of a disappointment to me. The only other highlights were when the camera would go to William and Harry with their friends, and they would be clapping or dancing along with the music. I think I would give this concert a 2 on a scale of 1-10 with Live Aid being a 10.

Harris Happenings

Okay, mostly MY happenings. I spent last weekend with a group of women that I graduated with in 1974. There were 10 of us, and we rented a house above Boone. It was SO much fun! My stomach was sore for two days afterwards just from laughing all the time. I got there around noon on Friday to check in and open up the house. The other girls drifted in that afternoon. But before anyone else came Josh brought Isabella over for a visit. She is such a cutie. She told me that she wasn't scared of spiders anymore, and I wondered how does someone get to that point. So after they left, around 2:30 the girls started coming in. It was a great reunion with everyone. That night we went to Eseeola for supper and to hear Josh play piano. Everyone loved Josh. Someone took a really good picture of all of us with Josh, which when I get I'll try to put on here. We stayed up late on Friday just gabbing. Then on Saturday we all had breakfast together. A couple of the girls brought breakfast casseroles, which were really good, and we had honeybun cake (my favorite), muffins, fruits, juice, etc. Then we left. First we went to the Mast General Store. I mostly just sat on the porch listening to the music from a little country band. Then we worked our way over to Roan Mountain for the Rhododendron Festival. We kind of got lost, and then went a really scenic route, out Hwy. 194, but it was really pretty. The festival was fun with good food. Then we went up to the top of the mountain to see the flowers, which were just a little bit past their peak, but were still pretty. Then back to the house. A few of us went swimming. Then we ordered in pizza for supper and played some Trivial Pursuit, and again stayed up just talking into the night. Sunday morning was clean up, pack up, and checking out with hugs all around. We were already talking about next year's weekend, and we are going to even add an extra day. I can't wait!

After I left the house I went to church with Josh. He was speaking that day and gave a great talk. And it was good to see some old friends again from Boone. I love, absolutely love, Howell Cook. He doesn't look any different than when we lived up there 20 years ago.

On another note, I am now the proud mother-in-law of a doctor. Vanessa passed all her stuff (as I knew she would). Good job!!

Justin and Vanessa are getting ready to move to Tucson in a month. The other night Justin was on the phone and walked me through Google Earth to find his apartment. That is amazing! We did something that turned it sideways, and you could see the mountains in the background. It looks like a beautiful area. Now I want to Google Earth everything.

And Quentin passed his first year of law school. Yay!!! We didn't really know if he had made it or not until a few days ago when he got his grades, although I had great faith in him that he would pass. He is living with us this summer and interning with an ADA here in Dobson (assistant district attorney). He is so much like his father. It's like living with two Bennies.

I guess that is why I had such a GREAT TIME last weekend getting away with the girls! (LOL)

Cool Song

During one of the last AI shows Green Day performed a song that I remembered from years ago and hadn't heard in a long time, John Lennon's "Working Class Hero". Since then I've heard it on the radio a few times. I remember being in high school and hearing that song, and hearing the "F" word - twice - for the first time on a record. But, not counting that, I really liked the song. And what is so cool about the Green Day version is the last two lines. The song just kind of stops, and you hear the original Lennon song with John singing those lines.

And He Did It Without Locke's Help

This 11-year-old boy shot this wild boar in Alabama. It weighed over 1000 lbs.

Misc Stuff

Last Friday night Bennie and I took out Quentin for his birthday. He picked the restaurant - Le Blon in Greensboro. This is now one of my favorite restaurants. It is Brazilian and exquisite. When we got there they took us right to a table, in front of people waiting, because my brilliant son had called ahead and made a reservation for us. So we sat down and a waitress came right up and got our drink order. She then explained how things worked. So, first of all we went to the salad bar. This was a really cool bar with a lot of exotic food items. And best of all were cards with names of everything, so we knew what we were getting. For the most part anyway. So I tried to get a bite of most everything, and my plate was full. Before I really got halfway done with my "salad", the waitress brought us cheesy bread balls and then a platter of mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes along with a crusted banana. Then, here came the guys. And when I say guys, I mean really CUTE Brazilian guys with hunks of meat - all different kinds including top sirloin, filet mignon, turkey, chicken, pork loin, ribs, well you get the idea. So we had these cards at our table, green on one side and red on the other. As long as the green side was up the meat guys kept coming. They would carve a small slice of meat (about 2 or 3 bites worth) and we were given these little tongs that we used to help get the meat to our plate. After I got full I turned my card over to red. But Quentin's was still green, so the guys kept coming, and it looked so good I would get more too. It was one of the best meals I've ever had - not just the food but the whole experience. And then of course we had dessert. Me and Quentin got the Godiva cheesecake, and Bennie got the mango cheesecake. I don't know how I could even eat anything else, but it seemed easy at the time. Anyway, I'm ready to go back again. As far as I can tell there was just one problem with this restaurant - the bill! But it was worth it.

Since my root canal last week I've noticed that I can now drink cold drinks and eat ice cream on the right as well as the left. Just thought I'd throw that in.

We have an indigo bunting frequenting our front yard birdfeeder. We had one several years ago when we lived in Westfield, and I haven't seen one since then, so this is exciting. I think it is a beautiful bird. It is blue all over with dark wings.

And about AI this week. I have just one word - BORING. You would think that with the Bee Gees music it would have been a really good show, but half the songs were some I'd never heard of, and the ones I had heard of were so screwed with that they weren't any good. AND, that was NOT Barry Gibb, I don't care what they say. He was some imposter. If you didn't see it, they had this really old white-haired man who sounded like Sean Connery (at least that part was okay) pretending to be the main BG. The real Barry Gibb is really cute and sings really well, not like this senile/homeless-looking guy who could barely croak out the song last night.

And Bennie had a really sweet blog this week. I guess I'll keep him.

Finally!

Phil is gone - and Chris too. Yay!! Now we have the best final four there is. These four are the ones I've been pulling for the whole time. Any one of them can win. I'm really glad they didn't vote off Lakisha. She had an excellent night on Tuesday, one of her best yet. And a kiss from Simon to top it off!

To change the subject. Yesterday I went to the dentist to have three teeth filled. I hate to go to the dentist and haven't been in years. I remember going when we lived in Boone (1985-87). Anyway, I went a couple months ago to get checked and he found three cavities, one on top right and two on bottom right. So yesterday I went back to have them filled. (Why does it take months to get the next appointment?) Anyway he numbed the top first and said he wanted to "get in there" to make sure a filling was all I needed, and if so then he would take care of the bottom. Well, it wasn't all I needed. As I was sitting there with gloved fingers and instruments in my mouth he informed me that actually I needed a root canal. He asked me if that was okay. What could I say? So he went ahead and performed the RC. That was fun. The thing about a root canal is, there really isn't any pain involved. You're numb, so you can't feel it. The bad thing is having to HOLD YOUR MOUTH OPEN for so long. My mother had a bad experience with this once. She actually had her mouth open so long that when the dentist was done she couldn't close her mouth. She had to sit there for several minutes until her jawbone relaxed so she could move it again to close it. And of course that was all I could think of while I was sitting there. But this dentist, Dr. Gravitte from Mt. Airy, was really good about everything. He would stop every once in a while and tell me to "just rest", so I could close my mouth for a little bit. Then he would go again for a while. He explained everything he was doing. His office even called me at home yesterday afternoon to make sure I was okay. AND he gave me some Darvocet. So, if you can have a favorite dentist, he's mine.

Standing O!

That is what everyone at the BYU commencement ceremony today gave Dick Cheney after he spoke. I watched most of the graduation on TV, forwarding it through the boring stuff. But I was really impressed at the warm welcome the VP received. After all the bad press I really didn't know what kind of reception he would get. President Hinckley walked in with several people, including Cheney, and everyone was clapping - but they were probably clapping for President Hinckley. Then the guy (President of BYU) was announcing everyone, and he announced President Hinckley - who got a big applause, but then he announced Dick Cheney, and HE ALSO GOT A BIG APPLAUSE! It was great, and Cheney seemed to be overcome with it. To my mind he looked like he was really trying not to cry. He was given an honorary degree for public service. And again, after he gave his remarks, he got a standing ovation. It was sweet, and I was really proud of the respect everyone showed him.

To change the subject, last night's AI was a great show. I especially liked Il Divo. They have the BEST voices, and talk about easy on the eyes. And Kelly Clarkson was great, but what blew me away was Celine Dion and Elvis's duet. I don't know how they did that, but it looked so real and sounded so good with the harmony. And then, Ryan kept saying throughout the show that everyone would be shocked at the results - who was leaving. So I was kind of afraid that either Melinda or Jordin might leave, because they were the frontrunners. So, as the show went on Ryan would go over the six finalists and pick someone and tell them that they were safe. He told this to Melinda, Blake, Lakisha, and Phil. So that left Chris and Jordin. So then at the end of the show he goes over to them again and asked those two to stand up. So I'm hoping against hope that Chris goes home, because I don't like him anyway. But then Ryan says, "Chris, you're safe." So there is Jordin, and you can just feel the shock through the whole audience. And poor Jordin. All this time all she has heard have been good things, so you know she thought she would be on a lot longer. And then Ryan says, "And Jordin, you are also safe." WHAT??? So that was the shocker - no one had to leave. Ryan made some comment to the effect that they couldn't throw someone off the show on "charity night", so next week two of them will leave. I still think that was mean though to Jordin. And did I mention that Il Divo sang?

Yay!

Bennie has left the building! Well, I shouldn't be so elated I guess, but it is hard living with a sick person. He got sick last week and went to the doctor on Friday. He was diagnosed with Strep throat and got some medicine. Well, over the weekend he continued to get worse instead of better. On Monday I took him back to the doctor where he got a shot and more medicine. This time it worked. This morning he left for work. What was interesting is that from Friday to Monday he had lost TEN POUNDS. So this morning as he was getting dressed he was having trouble keeping his pants up. Anyway, he's back to work and feeling better.

Ok, about last night. I don't know what is up with Lakisha. She was sooo good at first, but she's just gone downhill, and last week she was giving the sob story about how hard it was being a single parent. I think that probably turned people off more than on. So, she may be gone after tonight, but I hope not. I hope it's either Phil or Chris. I don't like either one of them. And Jordin was fantastic. I remember my mother singing that song in church when I was little, "You'll Never Walk Alone", so it is one of my favorites. Melinda, as always, did a great job. So I guess I'm picking for the AI either Melinda or Jordin. I would be happy with either one. But I hope Blake is in the top 3, because I really like him too. He did a good job with "Imagine" last night. I'm looking forward to tonight's show!

Why Do They Do This?

Why do companies change things? I'm getting really tired of this. Whenever I get to liking a product, the company will come along and "improve" it, and it isn't the same anymore. For example, I have been using a lotion for over 20 years now, St. Ives. It isn't greasy. It softens your skin. No smell to it. So it's perfect. Now, I can't find it anywhere. They have upgraded it and changed the packaging and label. Now to get what is supposed to be the upgraded original, it stinks, and it doesn't feel as good on your skin. The closest I've found is the Aloe and Chamomile lotion, but it is too thick and just isn't as good as what I've been using for YEARS AND YEARS. So I'm trying to find a new lotion. I've tried Oil of Olay because I like their soap, but the lotion is too thin.

I remember years ago, probably when I was 13 or 14, somewhere around then, I used to love to eat Chef-Boy-Ardee spaghetti. It would come in a box with a small box of the spaghetti, a can of sauce, and a small can of Parmesan cheese. It was my all time favorite meal since before I could even remember eating. And then, like I said, when I was around 13 or so I cooked it one day and it tasted different, and not good. I got to wondering about this and looked at the can of sauce, at the ingredients. Guess what the third ingredient was? Carrots! Now what are carrots doing in spaghetti sauce? So I couldn't eat my favorite food anymore. Years later I learned to make my own spaghetti sauce and put in it what I liked.

So anyway, if anyone knows of a really good lotion please let me know. And I think I'll write to St. Ives and just tell them what I think about their stupid improvements.

It Wasn't Like That

I'm referring to the Drudge Report's article about Simon Cowell rolling his eyes while Chris Richardson sent his condolences to the families of the VA Tech victims. I know exactly why he was rolling his eyes. And I would have done the same thing. After Chris sang his song, which was terrible, Simon was right on with his criticism, and Chris didn't like it. Simon said it was "nasally", which it was, and then Chris talked back saying that "nasally" was a form of singing. And then Chris went on to say a few words about the VA Tech stuff, which was really not the right time. It was so obvious that he was just trying to get votes. Yeah, everybody agrees that the massacre was horrible, and everyone feels for their families, but I think that Chris was way out of line to bring that up in the middle of the show like that. I hope they vote him off!

Sanjaya was back to being his usual no-talent self. But at least he sang a song that I had heard of. And so did Lakisha, who I thought did really well, but the judges didn't like it. Phil probably deserves to stay another week. I liked Blake and Jordin, but Melinda was absolutely the best. So, my prediction is bye bye Chris - but of course because Simon rolled his eyes, he will probably stay, which will hopefully mean Sanjaya will leave!?

I Can't Believe I Felt Sorry For Her

Juliet, oh Juliet. Why hast thou lied? Just another twist in an amazing season.

Boring

Last night's AI was the most boring show I think I've ever seen. Nobody did a really good job. I think the best of the worst was probably Jordin. Even the top two - Melinda and Lakisha - were just average. And with the Latin theme there was so much potential. All the guys were terrible, but Sanjaya was actually no worse than anybody else. So it's a toss-up tonight as to who leaves, and right now I don't care who that is.

On another note, Victor Davila, the standout basketball player from Starmount, won the Spencer Award - which is a big deal. He was voted the BEST player in northwest North Carolina - not just 2A but all the A's. AND he had twice as many votes as the 2nd best player! He has had offers so far from NC State, UNC, Wake Forest, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Memphis, well, the list goes on. I just hope he stays at Starmount for his senior year. I love to watch him play, and just think, in a couple of years EVERYBODY can watch him play because he'll be on national TV!

Gina's Gone

While Phil and Sanjaya are still in. What is wrong with people?!?

Noah Made Me Cry

This morning as I was running (at my usual 4 mph) I was watching the end of last night's championship game between Florida and Ohio State. I was pulling for Florida to win again, which they did. It was a good game. At the end there was the typical jubilation on the floor and in the stands with the crowd, everybody hugging and jumping and stuff. But then the camera turned on Joakim Noah, who is a standout junior on Florida's team. He started going up into the stands, obviously looking for someone. He would go up stairs and across aisles - getting high-5's and pats on the back from all the fans. He kept going, for a couple of minutes it seemed like, until he reached his destination - his MOM! It was so cool.

"Old Music"

Quentin was home this weekend and surprised me with a mixed CD he had made for me. He said he thought I would like it, and that it had a lot of "old music" on it. I took it with me to Jonesville Saturday night, listening to it going down 77. The thing is, when he said "old music", I was thinking Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones, the Who, you know, 60's and 70's music. What was on the CD was Alice in Chains, Foo Fighters, Fuel - mostly 90's music. Then I realized, that was "old music" to Quentin. He was 10 in 1991 and grew up with this just like I had grown up with the other stuff. It really gave me a strange feeling. BUT, I still like the CD. Thanks Quentin.

It Wasn't Paulo Lies

It was para-lyzed. What a horrible ending!

Our Cocky Mouse

This morning, as I do every morning, I check our glue mouse traps for the occasional mouse that comes in our house. Guess what I found on one? That's right. A mouse "pill". How that happened I have no idea, but I REALLY want to catch that mouse!

Go Gina!

Gina did the best last night by far! And she especially stayed in the pop category they were trying to go for. Melinda and Lakisha did well again, but I didn't like their songs. I hated Jordin's and Haley's songs too. On to the guys. Phil surprised me and did an okay job. Good song choice for him with the Police. I DIDN'T LIKE Chris R's verson of "Don't Speak". I thought it was terrible. Blake, I hate to say, was just downright boring. He is a smooth singer, but a bad song choice. I also didn't like the other Chris - the smartmouth one, although he didn't really have any kind of comback last night. He just wasn't good, and I think he knew it. And then we come to Sanjaya. My goodness. I totally agreed with Simon, what else can you say. That poor guy. All I can say is, he tries. The hair was just weird. I guess he was trying to get into the punk look, but it just didn't work for him. But he will probably be back again next week. I think one of the Chris's will be gone after tonight. Of course I've been wrong every other time. We'll see.

Spring Stuff

As the weather has gotten warmer we've been getting out and about more. As Bennie wrote in his blog, we went to Stone Mountain last Saturday. We hiked the "easy" backpacking trail, working our way up to the main loop trail which we'll do hopefully in a few weeks. Just like Vanessa, we didn't see any deer on the hike at all. There was ONE small doe on the side of the road on the way there, and that was it. There was a lot of gravel on the trail that I didn't remember from before, and my feet didn't like that very much.

On Friday afternoon Bennie and I went outside and practiced our disc throwing. My arm is still sore four days later. Bennie can throw it twice as far as me. I've got to get better because we're taking our stuff to Georgia in a couple weeks to play with Justin. They have a neat disc golf course at a park down there - you just have to watch out for the FIRE ANTS!

Yesterday I took my bike apart and put it in the back of my car. I had to go to Mt. Airy to turn in my work, so after that I went over the Greenway and rode for about 45 minutes. That is a really nice trail - paved and flat, just like I like them. At one point another creek comes into the main creek, and there is a beaver dam there. Last year there would just be a slightly rounded pool at the dam. Yesterday there was a POND. It was about 80-90 feet in diameter with trees and weeds coming up out of the water, looking almost like a swamp. I stopped for awhile watching for the beavers but never saw any. The dam itself was really nice, about 5-6 feet high. I could imagine the beavers being behind all those sticks watching me watch for them and laughing. Oh well.

And one more spring bit of news. Last fall Bennie planted 50 hyacinth bulbs for me right in front of our porch. That is my favorite flower, and I couldn't wait to see them springing forth. Well, they are nowhere to be seen, except for one scraggly pink one that halfway has come up and seems to already be dying. Maybe next year they'll come around.

What A Game!

No, not the Carolina/Southern Cal game, but the Vanderbilt/Georgetown. That ending was fantastic. I love endings like that, especially when the team I'm pulling for pulls it out at the very end. Going into this game I really didn't have a preference between the two teams, until I found out about Patrick Jr. Then I wanted them to win, just to see them play Carolina. So, on to the game of the night. I'm glad I tivo'd the next two shows after the ballgame or I would have missed it. Carolina was down by 16 at one point, then went on a RUN AND A HALF to pull ahead, winning by I think ten points. And did you see the USC coach ASK FOR the technical? He killed any chances his team may have had at that point. Good luck to the 'heels tomorrow night!

Get Phil Outta There!

Phil needs to make like a tree. I can't stand him. I'm surprised he's lasted this long. I thought Melinda was the best, and again I really liked Joan Jett, oh, I mean Gina. I hope she stays for awhile. Haley was a little desperate I thought. The guys, well, what can you say about them? Blake was pretty good, but that's it. Phil was just horrible. And what's up with Sanjaya? And the little girl crying over him?? Lakisha was just average last night. And one more thing - if this was a "British Invasion" show, where were the Beatle songs?

The Bottom Three

Were guys, just like I said in my other post. The girls have it made.

Some thoughts - Diana Ross seemed to be having trouble walking in that longer than she is dress, like she thought she was going to step on it and trip. And I didn't like her singing that song ("More Today Than Yesterday). I love that song - the original by Spiral Starecase, and she should have sung one of HER originals! Also I was kind of disappointed in most all the contestants because they picked really weird songs that no one has heard of when, as Simon said, there were SO MANY other songs to choose from. I think it would have endeared them to the audience more to have sung the more familiar favorites. I didn't like ANY of the guys this week. I tried to like Blake again, but he "just didn't do it for me Dawg". Although he was probably the best of the worst. I liked Gina again. She is really growing on me. Of course Lakisha and Melinda are so far and away more talented than anyone else, but I didn't like their song choices. Jordin was better this week. And I liked Haley better too.

To change the subject, here are some sayings that are becoming overused, and I'm personally getting tired of hearing them:

The real deal.
Been there, done that.
My bad.
Peace out (or just "out").
And the weather guy saying EVERY SINGLE MORNING, "Here's what happening in your neck of the woods".

It Was BLUE Today In Chapel Hill

We lost - and that's all I have to say about that.

Idol Thoughts

After watching last night's AI I realized something. If Antonella Barba - Queen of the Internet - can make it one more time she will have it made for several weeks, because the guys will be gone one by one starting next week, and that will leave it for the girls. There might be one or two guys who will stick around for a while, but ALL the girls probably will until no guys are left. I've never seen this show so one-sided before. My two picks to leave tonight from the girls are Haley and Jordin. I kind of liked Jordin at first, but she's really gone downhill. And I didn't like Haley at all. Like Simon says, who is she? Nobody remembers. And I haven't liked Gina at all, but last night I thought she did a great job. It's about time someone did some Evanescence. As far as the guys go, Blake was good the first week, okay the second, and maybe just okay this week, but he is still the best of the guys. And, I actually liked Sundance this week with Pearl Jam's "Jeremy". And Sanjaya was better I thought, but his hula hooping didn't help his "pretty" image very much. So, we'll see what happens tonight.

How Many OT's Can One Heart Take?

The answer is 2. That's how many overtimes we had tonight to WIN THE REGIONALS!!!! I'll start from the beginning. Starmount came to play Shelby at the Joel Coliseum at 6:30. So, just as they were getting ready to introduce the players the lights were turned down with spotlights flashing all over the arena. So cool! So then they started playing. We scored first, and kept the lead most of the game, but it was close throughout. Tied at 27 at halftime. After the third we were 8 points ahead, but then they came back and were ahead of us by 3. So, with just three minutes left in the game we were tied at 45. Then Shelby just threw it around and held on to the ball, not trying to shoot or anything, just running down the clock. So with about 15 seconds left they tried to drive in to shoot, but they missed. We got the rebound with 0.3 seconds left, couldn't do anything, so it was overtime. No one scored, and Shelby again held the ball for about three of the four minutes. They tried a shot at the end again, but missed again. Double overtime. We couldn't STAND it. It was so nervewracking. So four minutes, and they shot a little bit this time. They scored twice, and we scored twice, making it 49 all. So, Shelby AGAIN holds the ball as time runs out, but THIS TIME with about 7 seconds to go we STEAL THE BALL, dribble down, and then one of our guys finds Victor under our basket and throws it to him, and VICTOR DUNKS THE BALL with about 2 seconds on the clock!!! Time just ran out, and it was over. This had to be the most exciting basketball game I have ever been to. What a finish. So, next week to Chapel Hill for the State Championship!

77 to 55

How about that score!! Last night Starmount came roaring in to the coliseum in Winston for the Western Regionals - on March 1st - how appropriate is that? It was a fun game to watch. I know it probably sounds like it was boring, being so one-sided, but there were times when West Henderson was within 8 or 10 points, and we had to step it up again to get back to our 15-17 point lead. At the end I think WH just gave up. So we won by a pretty good margin. Starmount had a crowd and a half there. They have really good fan support. An interesting note - the coach started five players that usually come in off the bench, and left his usual starters sitting for about the first three minutes. But we were up by 7 or 8 points when he put them in. So, no worries. After our game North Surry played Shelby and lost 55-54. We will be playing Shelby tomorrow night, same place. And the winner of that game with go to CHAPEL HILL next week for the state championship.

Also, have any of you noticed the farewell song on AI this year? It's Daughtry's "Home". How cool is that?

Better Late Than Never

Quentin holding up the wall.

Mother and daughter.

Isabella all dressed up.

Me and Justin.

Isabella in her new robe and PJ's.

Isabella at Great-Grandma's

Mom and Bennie

My three sons.

Josh at Grandma's

Justin and Vanessa at Grandma's.

Josh had put in the bubble bath, then turned on the jets. Isabella had a time!