Even the Amish Like Racing...

My mom and her sister were at a craft fair in Lancaster yesterday. On the way back home she said they passed a young guy in an Amish Buggy. Glancing over at him as they passed she saw that he had a Dale Earnhardt Jr sticker on what would be the "dashboard" of his buggy, if buggies had dashboards. My aunt said his seat had a red cover on it, but they didn't know if there was a #8 on it anywhere.


I just think it's the best thing on earth. Even the Amish love my boyfriend!!!

I Might Just Have to See This...

Nicholas Cage is reportedly going to be producing and starring in a biopic of the late Liberace. It is said the film will likely focus on the double-life Liberace lived. Turns out Liberace is the only one that didn't know he was over-the-top flamboyantly gay. What was he headless?

Amen Felicity Huffman...

"We can't hear a word you're saying if there are hairs coming out of your nose."

- courtesy of "13 Things You Don't Know About Women" - December 2005 Esquire Magazine.

A Sad Day...

Okay, let's get one thing straight. Should I ever have a child I would certainly hope SOMEONE, like my husband or my mother, would notice that I was acting strangely and get me some help BEFORE I drowned my child in the tub - or all five of my children as in the case of Andrea Yates. Today she has been declared not gulity by reason of insanity so she gets to go to a mental hospital instead of prision. At this hospital she will have periodic evaluations by a judge who can determine that's she's "all better" and can be released.

So my question is when she's released from the mental hospital, will her five kids suddenly come back to life because she's not crazy anymore? Unfortunately we all know the answer to that question is NO. Obviously there was something terribly wrong with Andrea Yates and I agree that prosecuting someone who is seen to be mentally ill can be a slippery slope. All I know is she must have been one very convincing mentally-ill actress for no one to have answered her cries for help - so that on a given day in June 2001 she waited until her husband left for work, then one by one she held her children under water until they drowned, covered them up with a sheet on her bed and called 911. I just can't believe no one saw that coming - and five innocent children had to suffer for it.

Hindsight being 20/20 I suppose...Rusty Yates, Andrea's ex-husband, said today "Yes, the jury came to the right conclusion. The jury looked past what happened and looked at why it happened. Yes, she was psychotic. That's the whole truth." It's a shame he couldn't see that five years ago.

Yeah It's Like This At Work...

Go Spartanburg...I Mean Farmersville...

A couple of days ago it was unlikely that Floyd Landis would be the man standing at the center of the victors podium in Paris yesterday. He'd ridden his bike well for most of the last three weeks but one day, very late in the game, he fell apart in the mountains and even he questioned his chances at victory after that.

He has a leg he can barely walk on because he needs a hip replacement but he said he'd keep fighting and fight he did. Having the ride of his career and his life he made up over seven minutes in the final grueling mountain stage to reclaim his spot at the top. As an American it was sweet watching him cruise with that champagne glass in his hand. I'm sure it was sweet for Floyd too, to ride out of Lance Armstrong's shadow of dominance into the light of his own destiny. Yeah, and his last name is Landis!!!

An All Time Favorite

I loved The Brady Bunch when I was a kid and when it made a resurgence while I was in college I loved it all over again. So it worked out great that my second weekend recovering from surgery has TV Land running "The Brady Bunch Weekend Retreat". Featuring back-to-back episodes and special shows like the Top Ten Brady Episodes. I quite enjoyed their list which went a little something like this...

#10 - "Getting Davy Jones" - in this episode Marsha thinks that just because she is the president of the Davy Jones fan club that he will come sing at her prom. So she tells everyone at school he's coming. Then she gets the form letter that tells her Davy won't be able to make it. Not taking the devastation lying down, Marsha and Greg hatch a plan to sneak into the hotel where Davy is staying. They find out he's at a recording studio nearby and decide to pay him a visit. Marsha walks right in - pleads her case and Davy hears her over the open studio microphone. He feels so bad he comes to her house, brings her an album and sings at her prom. Way to go Marsha!!

#9 - "Grand Canyon" - This trilogy of episodes is pure brilliance. First they get locked in jail in the ghost town by "Thurston Howell the III" in a mangy beard. Then they escape and get to the canyon only to have a young Cindy and Bobby go missing. The Indian boy showing up is hilarious - because Indians live inside the Grand Canyon right? Or was he there on vacation with his family too.

#8 - "Where There's Smoke" - always a show to tackle the tough issues, all hell breaks loose for the Brady's when Cindy and Jan see Greg taking a drag off a cigarette with some boys after school. Marsha, the queen of concern, rats Greg out to Mike and Carol. The episode culminates in a letterman jacket mix-up which gets Greg grounded until the truth comes out - the cigarettes and jacket are actually Tommy's...

#7 - "Confessions/Confessions" - "Mom always said, don't play ball in the house." Peter did it, he shot the ball that broke the vase but everyone else said they did it after it springs a leak in the middle of the dinner table. Why did everyone take the heat for Peter? So he could go on a camping trip. But then the recurring dreams start, where he is tormented by the ball breaking the vase over and over again, so he finally admits it was him. He may not have gotten to go on the camping trip but he learned a valuable lesson that day - use better glue next time.

#6 - "Adios Johnny Bravo" - Everything starts out just fine for the Brady kids in this episode. All six are going to record a song or an album but the talent agent picks Greg to go solo as Johnny Bravo. He thinks it's because he's all that - so he sells the others down the river to get his shot at fame. It's only when they mess with his "sound" that he finds out they only picked him because he fit the suit. Has a harsher insult ever been uttered?

#5 - "Hawaii Bound" - Another trilogy of brilliance for the Brady's. Mike's company sends the entire clan, including Alice, to Hawaii for vacation so Mike can check on the construction of a new building. Enter the Taboo Tiki, the scary legend from Mr. Hanalay and viola much bad luck ensues. The best was Greg wiping out on the surf board and Mike running into the water in his skin-tight boyshorts style swimsuit to save him. Hello? Don't they have lifeguards in Hawaii. These episodes also coined the brilliant catch phrase for Peter "Get it off me, please...someone get it off me."

#4 - "The Personality Kid" - Okay we get it, Peter's dull. So he tries to be Humphrey Bogart of all people. "Pork Chops and Applesauce" for everyone...what more can I say.

#3 - "Her Sister's Shadow" - Jan is sick of everything always being about "Marsha, Marsha, Marsha". Everyone likes her, she wins everything...you get the picture, right? So Jan writes an essay and thinks she's finally going to get her chance to shine at the Honor Society Award Assembly. Wrong! Unfortunately, Jan's teacher, who obviously never passed basic math, added her score wrong and Jan really didn't win - Nora Koones did. For a while Jan considers accepting the award but then her conscious gets the better of her and her rivalry with Marsha lives another day.

#2 - "Dough Re Mi" - Another musical moment for the Brady kids. Once again they're in the studio, ready to lay down some tracks and can it all go smoothly? No! Peter's voice starts cracking. "We can make the load a LITTLE lighter." They all have to decide whether or not to let him ruin their shot at stardom. In perfect Brady form - they all suck it up and take one for the team.

#1 - "Oh, My Nose" - A true Brady masterpiece in my opinion. Pretty girl Marsha gets asked out by the Big Man on Campus (B.M.O.C) Doug Simpson for Saturday night. She says yes, only to remember when she floats back to earth, that she already has a date with Charlie for Saturday night. Always the bithc, she tells Charlie that "something suddenly came up" and she has to break their date. Something comes up all right - her face getting in the way of a football. Can anyone say "Karma"? Once Doug Simpson catches sight of her ballooned up nose, "something suddenly comes up" for him and he can't see her Saturday. Priceless all around. Responsible for two lines that I still use today..."What do you have a date with the Big Man on Campus?" and "Something suddenly came up" in response to all kinds of things.

Personal Favorite Episode Honorable Mentions -

"Here Pandora" - When Bobby climbs into the abandoned house to help save the whining girls cat, only to get dirt all over his good suit. He didn't get to go boating with the family or something like that right?

"Flying Saucer" - When Greg stands in the attic with the goofy whistle and the flashlight. Shining the spaceship cut out on the sheeting between the trees outside. I believe he also has a piece of tissue stuck to a shaving cut on his chin for most of the episode.

"Teeter/Totter" - When Bobby and Cindy try to break the world record for riding a see saw

"Joe Namath" - When Cindy writes a letter telling Joe Namath that Bobby is really sick and buying it hook line and sinker he comes to see him. Another brilliant celebrity guest appearance.

"Pool Table" - Thurston Howell the III getting his ass kicked by hustler Bobby.

I could go on and on...

A Small Setback...

Well I thought I was rolling along okay after my surgery but Thursday night I started with a fever. Of course when I called the doctor on Friday morning at 7:30 he wanted to see me right away. So I had to get myself together and make the hour long trip to his office. He told me to come in as soon as I could, since he had to be in surgery by 9:00am, but since I arrived at 9:00 he had to slightly delay his surgery start. My ailment didn't seem to be too serious but I walked away with prescriptions for two more antibiotics. I thought I was done with the pills but I guess I'll be on them for another week. Hopefully this is all going to get better soon.

Create Your Own Superhero...

I was on the Pop Candy blog this afternoon killing some time here at work and I found a link that took me to the "Create Your Own Super Hero Game" on the Sci-Fi Channel's website. It appears the game is to help promote a series called "Who Wants to be a Super-Hero" which premieres on Thursday, July 27th. The woman pictured with the donut was in the TV Show's photo gallery. I think she accurately represents the super hero in me.

It's Not Hurricane Beryl...

It's Hurricane Gill!!!

Wow, Sign Me Up...

My co-worker Heidi is back on the Atkins diet. Today she showed me this snack that our co-worker Frank bought for her. While I'm familar with pork rinds, I've even watched Mike Rowe make them on "Dirty Jobs", I had never seen microwave pork rinds.

She whipped them up this morning - and while it didn't make a full bag like microwave popcorn there were quite a few in the bag. I tried one - and luckily they were the "Hot & Spicy" variety because it hid the fact that I was eating pig skin that way. The pork rind kind of stuck to my teeth. I think I'll just stay fat and not ever eat these things again.

So My Ovaries Were Where???

Okay - I'm pretty much back on my feet after my "procedure" last Friday. I'm still dealing with some swelling and quite a bit of bruising but it's 100 times better then it was when I first came home from the hospital.

As women, most of us know what our reproductive systems are supposed to look like. Just in case anyone needs refreshing, I've attached the most non-offensive picture I could find. It turns out my ovaries were not where they were supposed to be when the doctor began my surgery. One was some how hiding behind my uterus and the other was some how wrapped up behind some of my intestines. I imagine it was all the scar tissue from my endometriosis that did this but it required some quite intense organ manipulation by my doctor. Thus resulting in four days of pain instead of the two I was expecting. He was pleased with the results of everything and the best news of the day was that my tubes were clear of scar tissue or blockages - so we may now have an easier time of getting pregnant. Now I'm just worried that the next time I have this much pain - it will probably mean there will be a baby at my house and I won't be able to sit in my La-z-boy for four days watching Jerry or Maury or Saved by the Bell reruns.

I'm Back...

Just a quick note to let everyone know I have weathered my surgery from Friday and I am still at home recovering. I anticipate heading back to work on Wednesday.

You Gotta Love Narcotics...

As some of you already know, my dear husband and I have been trying for some time to have a baby. Since we have yet to be successful, we went to a fertility doctor in May and after much ado and some cancellations...I'm going in for some exploratory surgery this Friday. The doctor is going to check things out with my apparatus and he's also going to remove scar tissue from my endometriosis. I had surgery eight years ago for the endo, but we're certain more has grown in since then. Once the surgery is done we will have a follow-up appointment where we will learn what our next course of action will be.

Today I went in for pre-admission blood work and three totally pregnant ladies came through while I was waiting. Two of them had bags - I was wondering if they were there for scheduled deliveries today. Then yesterday a friend of my husband's called to let us know they are expecting - I was waiting for that call. I am very happy for everyone I know who is currently pregnant, and as I wrote in a previous post, there are a lot of them. I'm just wondering what's in store for us. If not a baby, then it will be a new truck, new house or a moutain house...I haven't decided yet. I'll keep everyone posted on how things are going.

Something Else For Me to Buy...

My boyfriend really is cleaning house when it comes to his car collection. He must have taken me seriously when I said he'd have to make room for my little blue car in his garage if he wanted me to come live with him.

He is now selling his 2005 C6 Corvette on Ebay. As you can see from the photos the car has some truly groovy flames. As with his Mini, the high bidder can take delivery of the car directly from Dale Jr. He's said he'll even autograph the dashboard if the winner would like him too.

The car enthusiasts have already pushed the price of this car to double that of Junior's Silver Mini. I guess not too many people want a Mini, even if it's previous owner was Dale Earnhardt Jr. The current high bid is $65,600 and the auction has five days left. Once it closes on 7/15 I'll let you know how much scratch the lucky winner has to part with to shake hands with Dale Jr and ride off into the sunset in his sweet Vette ride.

Does West Virginia Really Need Anymore Help???

I was watching CBS Sunday Morning this weekend and Bill Geist was doing a story about "Irish Road Bowling", a past-time in Ireland, but one that has taken hold much closer to home in the small hamlet of Ireland, West Virginia.

Though new to me - it appears the game was played by soliders between battles during the Civil War. I'm not sure whose responsible for it's resurrection but from the report I gathered that you throw/roll small round balls down the road and the person who goes the furtherest distance with the least number of throws is the winner. The approach was kind of a cross between the running gate of a javelin thrower and the windmill arm motion of a fast-pitch softball player.

The part that probably amused me most was, just like Wayne and Garth playing street hockey in Wayne's World, the Irish Road Bowlers would all clear the road and yell "car" when one interrupted play.

I was kind of shaking my head at this whole thing when my husband laughingly pointed out - that this is my "heritage" because my mother's family is from West Virginia. Well, I suppose there are worse things...