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Rock-A-Bye Baby In The Tree Top
2007-02-10 09:47:13
Look at this cool bed! Now that would definitely be the focal point of the bedroom wouldn’t it? You’d want to bring people into the bedroom to visit instead of the living room. I did, however, consider a couple of down sides to this bed. First, what kind of room decorating style do you use that won’t take away from the bed? Do you make blue walls and green rugs so the bed feels at home? Second, what kind of freaky dreams would sleeping in this bed produce? Yikes!? I have a feeling that Brad’s dreams would resemble scenes from The Birds. He hates that movie and says it’s very scary. I actually love that movie and don’t think it’s scary at all. The difference in opinion is interesting considering I hate scary movies and Brad doesn’t mind them. As a side note, I remember a few years ago on Halloween the Hideaway Pizza employees dressed in costumes. The girl checking people out was wearing an aqua colored 50s skirt suit, a cute pillbox h...
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Joe?s Goals
2007-02-09 21:46:01
Kim at Weaving A Tapestry has found a great little site for setting and keeping track of goals. Joe’s Goa ls lets you set up a chart of goals and easily check the days you complete that task. Tracking is easy and available as a report of 30, 60 or 90 days so you can see how you’re doing on a longer basis. So far I have only added three goals to my list, but I’m sure there will be more to come. A tracking journal is also available as a feature. Buttons to add to your blog (we all love buttons don’t we?) are available with html code.
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Friday Feast: Hearty Italian Sandwiches
2007-02-09 21:46:01
It’s been a long time since I’ve posted a Friday Feast recipe. We’ve certainly still been eating, but I just have fallen into a lazy phase of not sharing them with you. This week I tried out a new recipe from a new cookbook. The Gooseberry Patch Slowcooker Cookbok came out recently, and yours truly has a recipe featured in it so I got a free copy. It’s full of great recipes and I’ve been trying them out regularly. This one is a big winner in our house. A couple of notes on this recipe: even though this is a slowcooker recipe, I actually made it on the stove-top in under an hour. I followed the recipe but left it in the skillet and cooked over medium-low heat for 30-45 minutes. Also, it seemed a bit salty to me, so I might cut back to 3/4 tsp of salt next time I make this. Hear ty Italia n Sandwiches 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef 1 1/2 pounds bulk Italian sausage ...
More About: East , Heart

A Friend?s A Friend Forever
2007-02-09 21:46:01
You’ve probably heard the song by Michael W. Smith called Friend s. It’s been played at nearly every high school graduating class’s last get-together since the 1980s. It’s been running through my head and heart for the past few minutes , with good reason. Today I had the privilege of talking to a friend from college. He was one of Brad’s best friends and his wife was one of my best friends in college. We all hung around together a lot and attended church together. We were very close. Then God sent us to two different corners of the earth, literally. Brad and I stayed here in Oklahoma and our friends left the country and lived in several different Middle East countries as missionaries. They did a lot of humanitarian relief work but are back in the U.S. again on furlough, seeking a new job and praying through what God wants for them next. We were able to catch up on 10 years worth of news about life, family and other mutual friends. It was a good talk. I&#...
More About: Forever , Ever , Fore

Brought To You By?
2007-02-09 15:45:05
Today’s 111 Brad Street is brought to you by the letter Y and the letter Z. I hadn’t realized that I had forgotten two letters in the ABCs of Homemaking until Rapunzel pointed it out. Yikes! There are still 26 letters in the alphabet, right! So here is my Y and Z. Yard ? Y/N? Who does what? Unless we hire someone, I do all of the mowing and weed-eating because the rest of them are either too little to handle mowing equipment or they are allergic to grass. This year I will recruit people to help keep flowers planted and watered though. Zzz?s ? What is your last homemaking task for the day before going to bed? Picking up doggy toys.

A Book Meme
2007-02-09 03:45:01
What kind of care do you take of your books? Let’s review, shall we? Are you careful with the spines? Or do you crack your books open to make them lay flat? I am careful with most of my books. Do you use bookmarks? Or do you dog-ear the corners? If you do use bookmarks, do you use those fashionable metal ones? Or paper? I use a metal bookmark which is a small roundish hand I got from my science teacher Mrs. Busch. Do you write in your books? Ever? If you do, do you make small marks, or write in as much blank space as you can find? Pen or pencil? Highlighter? Your name on the front page? Only in textbooks when we had to write our names in the front. Do you toss your books on the floor? Into bookbags? Or do you treat them tenderly, with respect? Book s have a special place in my heart, I will never treat them badly. Do you ever lay your book face-down, to save your place? No I just close the book. Um–water? Do you bathe with your books? Hold them with wet hands? Read out i...
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Thursday Thirteen No. 6
2007-02-08 21:44:08
I’m checking back in ever-so briefly to post this week’s “Thursday Thirteen .” Tomorrow, I’m flying out for a business trip, which has made this an abnormally crazy week trying to get many projects done. So, I didn’t have much time to come up with a substantive topic. Since I typically fly Southwest, I thought I would write about Thirteen Random Observations About Flying Southwest. It is the friendliest airline I’ve ever flown. Its flight attendants are consistently the most pleasant and most fun than any I’ve encountered. Even though it’s one of the “no-frills”, low cost airlines, I never feel like I’m flying a cheap (as in low quality) airline that sacrifices a quality experience for a low price. They may not have first-class service, but I’ve never felt second class. I’ve had the fewest troubles flying with Southwest, from delays to cancellations to lost luggage — knock on wood [knock, knock...

World Nutella Day
2007-02-08 03:42:03
I missed World Nutella Day. It was yesterday. How could I have not known about this most delectible holiday? Nutella is a staple at our house. We go through it faster than ketchup. What is Nutella you ask? Only the nectar of the gods. Here is the official Nutella website. It is a chocolate-hazelnut spread that was wildly popular in Europe far before it ever crossed the Atlantic to the US. I first had Nutella in Paris when I went in High School. It was spread lovingly onto a freshly made crepe by a street vendor in Paris. I loved it from the first moment, but it was many years later before I ever saw it in a store in Oklahoma. Now the hardest part is making sure a full jar stays around long enough that Ashley doesn’t eat it all. Maybe I need to start a secret Nutella stash. Happy World Nutella Day (a day late)!
More About: Ella

ABC?s of Homemaking
2007-02-08 03:42:03
I seem to love these alphabetical listy things and here is a silly one I like: ABC’s of Home making Aprons- Y/N? I sometimes wear them. Mainly for cooking, although my friend Sherry did make me one for cleaning that I use occasionally. Baking- Favorite thing to bake? Dessert of course, usually cookies or cakes. Clothesline- Y/N? No. Donuts- Ever made them? Yes, but Brad is the official donut maker because he does it better than I do. Everyday- One homemaking thing you do everyday? Make my bed. Freezer- Do you have a seperate deep freezer? Yes. Garbage disposal- Y/N? No Handbook- Y/N? I do have a partial one of my own making that has never been completed, but I also have books by Martha Stewart and Cheryl Mendellson. Ironing- Love it or hate it? I hate it because I’m not very good at it. Junk Drawer- Where is it? We don’t have junk drawers, we have junk piles. Kitchen- Design and decorating? Not sure what the design is classified, maybe late mobile home? Decor ...
More About: King , Maki , Makin , Homemaking

Checking in to check out
2007-02-08 03:42:03
It’s been an absolutely crazy week at work. So much so my head is spinning. Too much to do in too little time. I’m checking in briefly to say I’m checking out for a couple of days. An out-of-town business trip will keep me away from the computer Friday and Saturday and tomorrow I have a ton of stuff to get done before the trip. So, once again, I leave this blog in the capable hands of Karla, Sarah and Ashley. Happy trails!
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New terror attacks from an old foe ? the Animal Kingdom
2007-02-07 15:41:02
Two terrifying news stories that may prompt this administration to launch a new branch of the War on Terror — the War on Anima l King dom . The first terror attack was off the coast of Florida: FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. — A crew aboard a shrimping boat were rescued after a group of bull sharks rammed and bit the vessel until it eventually sank off the Florida coast, according to an Associated Press report. Captain Roger Schmall said a group of sharks had been slamming into the Christy Nichole’s hull for four days. But then a 14-foot bull shark broke the boat’s tail shaft, leaving Schmall and his crew of two adrift about 100 miles off the coast. Schmall radioed for help, and another vessel picked the crew up about two hours later. Schmall remained aboard his ship to pump water out while the other boat pulled it back to land. He said it was working for a couple of hours, but the waves eventually took their toll on Schmall’s boat and the boat sank. The s...

Becoming M & M
2007-02-07 15:41:02
I found this fun website that I know Ashley and Sarah are going to love. I’ve created my alter ego, in chocolate, of course. Like me, she’s a bit of sweet with just a little sassy - Madame Sugar Britches Con Carne. Also like me, she is a bit on the nutty side. This is a picture of “me” on the beach with Princess (okay, not really Princess, but it looks most like her). Sorry, Gideon and Sam, it was a girls only trip. There are lots of fun games and functions at the Becoming M & M website. And for a chocolate lover like me, it’s fun being an M&M for a day, or two.
More About: Ming

Simple brilliance
2007-02-07 15:41:02
Chase pointed me to a blog called Indexed that posted a diagram that is utter brilliance in its simple profoundness. This is one for the bulletin board.
More About: Simp , Simple , Brilliance

?Hospital for Anus and Intestine Disease?no more
2007-02-07 15:41:02
The Wall Street Journal has an entertaining article about China trying to polish its image before the upcoming 2008 Olympics: BEIJING — For years, foreigners in China have delighted in the loopy English translations that appear on the nation’s signs. They range from the offensive (”Deformed Man,” outside toilets for the handicapped) to the sublime (on park lawns, “Show Mercy to the Slender Grass”). Last week, Beijing city officials unveiled a plan to stop the laughter. With hordes of foreign visitors expected in town for the 2008 Summer Olympics, Beijing wants to cleanse its signs of translation nonsense. For the next eight months, 10 teams of linguistic monitors will patrol the city’s parks, museums, subway stations and other public places searching for gaffes to fix. Already, fans of the genre are mourning the end of an era, and some Web sites dedicated to it have seen traffic spike. The bewildering signs were “one of the great thin...
More About: Hospital , Disease , More , Test , Ease

Wayback Wednesday: Don?t Worry, Be Happy
2007-02-07 15:41:02
This is one of those songs that is annoyingly catchy, and it still brings a smile to my face when I hear it. (If you cannot view this video, click here.)
More About: Happy , Back , Worry , Wednesday , Wayback

Koran 9:11
2007-02-07 15:41:02
With apologies to the family member who sent this to me (because she didn’t realize the error), here’s another one of those e-mails that gets circulated that sounds like it’s legit, but like so many other lies and untruths, it has just enough ring of truth to it to make an unsuspecting reader buy into it. Here’s how I received the e-mail: I like the writing in green at the end!!!! Read all of this, it is interesting!! Read down to the very bottom highlighted in green. You don’t want to miss this!! VERY INTERESTING- 1. The Garden of Eden was in Iraq. 2. Mesopotamia, which is now Iraq, was the cradle of civilization! 3 Noah built the ark in Iraq. 4. The Tower of Babel was in Iraq. 5. Abraham was from Ur, which is in Southern Iraq! 6. Isaac’s wife Rebekah, is from Nahor, which is in Iraq! 7. Jacob met Rachel in Iraq. 8. Jonah preached in Nineveh - which is in Iraq. 9. Assyria, which is in Iraq, conquered the ten tribes of Israel. 10 Amos cried out in...
More About: Koran

Superbowl favorites: Hard To Say Goodbye
2007-02-06 15:40:04
I like this one because it symbolizes the sadness that comes with the passing of the Super bowl. Six more months until football… how depressing… (If you can’t see this video, click here.)
More About: Hard , Superbowl , Good , Goodbye

I?m Proud Of You
2007-02-06 15:40:04
I received an exciting email today asking my permission to use a letter I’d written recently for an upcoming paperback version of the book I was reponding about. I thought I’d done a book review here on the blog, but when I went to find it for reference it was nowhere to be found. That means the review never left the recesses of my brain or it is out in some great “Lost In Cyberspace” folder somewhere with all of the other things we lose online. In either case, I still have no review to point you to, so I’ll just redo it now. I don’t know how many of you were fans of Mr. Rogers Neighborhood, but I was a huge fan. He was like a member of my family. His show spoke so much love and care to me when I was a little girl in a very dysfunctional family. I was so saddened when he passed away a few years ago. I recently read a wonderful book about Mr. Fred Rogers called I’m Proud of You by Tim Madigan. It was published last year and I borrowed it from...

Superbowl favorites: CareerBuilder
2007-02-06 15:40:04
My favorite Super bowl commercials this year were three by Care erBuild er. They were creative, hysterical and an uncanning characterature of the corporate world. Unfortunately, I cannot embed the videos here, but check them out at the links below: Looking for volunteers… Fighting for promotion… Performance evaluation…
More About: Career , Superbowl

So-so Superbowl with a happy ending
2007-02-06 15:40:04
The biggest sporting event of the year was — well — not so super this year. Don’t get me wrong; I’m happy with the outcome of the game with the Colts winning and the long-awaited, much-deserved championship for Tony Dungy and Peyton Manning. But the Super bowl this year was anything but super. The game was lackluster at best. The big build-up ended up being a bigger let-down. Quite simply, it rained on our parade — literally. The weather sucked. It diminished the festivities. It diminished the game on the field. It diminished the visual experience — and it was worse in hi-def. The Superbowl is supposed to be a spectacle — a visual smorgasbord for the viewing audience. Last night’s Superbowl was like trying to have a picnic in the rain — the feast was ruined and the experience disappointing. So, I found myself wondering — to the chagrin of many football purists out there, I’m sure — with all the covered stadiums t...
More About: With , Happy , Ending

Superbowl ad with a conscience
2007-02-06 15:40:04
Hopefully the president is watching the Super bowl tonight. At least I hope he catches this ad, which will air in select markets — including Washington, D.C. — during the game: (If you can’t see this video, click here.)
More About: Science , Conscience , With , Superbowl

Superbowl favorites: The Comb-Over
2007-02-06 15:40:04
Here’s another one of our favorite Super bowl commercials: (If you can’t view this ad, click here.)
More About: Over , Superbowl , Favorite , Favorites

Superbowl favorites: RollinVIP
2007-02-06 15:40:04
I know this commercial got a lot of heat from fast food workers, but I still think it was funny… (If you can’t view this video, click here.)
More About: Super , Roll , Superbowl , Favorite , Favorites

Grumpy is good for business
2007-02-06 15:40:04
This news will come to the chagrin of those who have to work with me: It turns out that my grumpiness is a good for our business, according to the experts. Coming to work cranky is probably a good idea - because grumpy workers are the most creative and productive, says a new study. “Bad moods and negative attitudes have gotten a bad rap at work,” said Jing Zhou, a management professor at Rice University in Houston. “As it turns out, those perennially happy, smiling employees may not be the most creative or productive at the office.” His study said that bad moods are naturally produced almost any time people work together, but the grumpiness can be harnessed to help the bottom line. “If you want creativity that leads to innovation in your workplace, those naturally occurring bad moods can play a fruitful role - in fact, they’re necessary to make things better,” he said. The professor said he’s not encouraging bosses to promote bad moods...
More About: Business , Good , Ness , Sine

My Little Poem
2007-02-06 15:40:04
I made up this poem in Drama today. We had to make a poem about something random and this is mine. Over the river and through the woods There was a girl in the road carrying two hoods One was red and one was white “Which one should I wear?” she yelled with great might “I don’t care! Get out of my way!” I didn’t want to be rude, but this I had to say. “But, you have to choose. I can’t decide.” “Listen, I don’t care, now move aside!” “Just pick a color, white or red?” “Fine red I guess.” And you know what she said? She said “Good, I was thinking of red too. Thanks for your opinion. Sorry for bothering you. “Why couldn’t you have gone with your instinct? Or mixed them together white and red makes pink.” “I don’t know. It was just a game. Oh and I’m Litt le Red Riding Hood. Remember that name.” Stupid isn’t it? I just made it up. I hope th...
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The ugliness of the fog of war
2007-02-06 15:40:04
Another tragic story from a tragically unnecessary war… THE Sun today publishes the full, disturbing truth about how the US pilot of an A-10 tankbuster jet broke all the rules to shoot up a British convoy in the Iraq war.We obtained the cockpit videotape at the centre of a diplomatic row between the two Allies. It shows how the pilots ? reservists who had never been in action before ? made SIX crucial errors. They left 25-year-old Lance Corporal of Horse Matty Hull dead and four comrades from the Household Cavalry Regiment seriously injured. On the tape, one pilot ? call sign POPOV36 - appears to gloat sickeningly during the attack. He is egged on by the second ? call sign POPOV35 ? who encourages: ?Get him, get him!? Looking down at the chaos as a soldier drags burning comrades from the vehicles, he adds: ?It looks like he is hauling ass. Ha Ha.? A second burst of fire is unleashed 98 seconds after the first. Moments later the pilots are told the truth over the radio. As they...
More About: War , Ness , Line , Lines , The U

Faculty Basketball Game
2007-02-03 03:37:04
Today I went to our school spirit week Student-Teacher Faculty Basket ball Game . I was happy that the students won, especially because they were eight graders, but the game was sort of a dissapointing (or should I say frustrating) event. It was really fun. The girls started out first against the women teachers. They played for eight minutes. Then the guys played the men teachers and so on and so forth. Every year it is really fun to go, but the thing that gets me frustrated is that the teachers cheat. They always tell us not to cheat, but every year they cheat themselves. First of all, the referee was an eight grade teacher and he never ruled against the teachers on any call. Second, the person who was controlling the scoreboard kept adding points to the teachers. One of my teachers who played in the game told me that he kept trying to tell his team of teachers that they were spending too much time trying to cheat and not enough time actually playing the game so that they could actua...
More About: Cult , Ball

Biggest joke of the year? perhaps the biggest joke of the century
2007-02-02 21:36:01
I’ll let the press release speak for itself: LEESBURG, Va., Feb. 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Landmark Legal Foundation today nominated nationally syndicated radio talk show host RushLimbaugh for the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. Limbaugh, whose daily radio show is heard by more than 20 million people on more than 600 radio stations in the United States and around the world, was nominated for the prestigious award for his "nearly two decades of tireless efforts to promote liberty, equality and opportunity for all humankind, regardless of race, creed, economic stratum or national origin. These are the only real cornerstones of just and lasting peace throughout the world," said Landmark President Mark R. Levin. "Rush Limbaugh is the foremost advocate for freedom and democracy in the world today," explained Levin. "Everyday he gives voice to the values of democratic governance, individual opportunity and the just, equal application of the rule of law -- and it is fitting that ...
More About: Joke , Cent , Year , Century

Friday Favorites: The Garden
2007-02-02 21:36:01
(If you cannot view the embedded video, click here.) * * * According to the creators, this video took a month to film and edit. They also included the lyrics to the song in the video: When you’re mowing the lawn on a Sunday, and your lawnmower breaks You can’t just leave it unfinished, you’ll have to find another way. You’re friends will help if they can, especially if they are a hungry man. A hungry man! We’re in the garden, baby! We’re in the garden We’re in the garden, baby! We’re in the garden First we had a broken lawnmower, now we have a deranged leaf blower. The leaves are scared, they run from the predator, they start to climb a tree. We’re in the garden baby, we’re in the garden
More About: Garden , Friday , Frida , Favorite , Favorites

Pain in the teeth turns into pain in the ass
2007-02-02 03:34:03
Excessive drinking tends to lead to excessive stupidity as well as typically increasing a person’s PITA* factor, as this Utah man so clearly demonstrates: A West Valley man’s toothache sends him to jail instead of the dentist. Thirty-four-year-old Brook Akins called 911 dispatchers 12 times in the span of five hours with most of those calls lasting around 30 minutes each. He said his tooth hurt and he was tired of the pain. He refused an ambulance, didn’t want a visit from police, but wanted phone numbers for someone who could help ease the pain — Oh, and he wanted illegal drugs off the streets. The man said drugs were given away like “Trick or Treat” and he wanted it stopped. Dispatchers are required to find out why the caller has called 911 and establish if they are OK or need medical or police assistance. Akins’ needs were not clear to dispatchers so they sent police to his apartment for a welfare check. He was also warned he could be cha...
More About: Pain , Teeth , Turn , The A