Damn, I'm human

OK, so really I KNOW that I'm not perfect. But every now and then, the reality of how human you are can smack you right in the face.

Saturday - So as not to go into a long explanation suffice it to say, we were filming a commercial for that little club I participate in every year. A whole bunch of us were running up a platform that goes into the theater where our performance will be. And, of course, this being a commercial you can't just do one take.

Bottom line. I fell. Not when we were running -- by the way, my walking and running training for April has paid off, I didn't feel winded at all -- nonetheless, I fell when I was leisurely strolling back down the ramp. Yes, it was wet. Yes, it was slippery and yes, wet leaves on wood are VERY slippery and I was talking. I fell right on my knee as my leg went back and down under me, while the other leg went straight out in front. Not pretty. I was embarassed, jumped up and kept running and walking and hopping as the director told us to for at least the next hour and a half.

Then I sat down. Getting back up, the pain shot through me and I finally had to admit that I was hurt.

It's embarassing. Some of the folks in the group are way older (60+) and THEY didn't fall. They weren't the walking wounded the following day.

So, now I have a severely sprained knee, have to wear a brace, and use a cane for walking long distances. The brace and cane came yesterday, when I finally had to admit that yes, I was really in a great deal of pain -- a definite "10" on the smiley face scale when I try to walk normally. I'm quite annoyed at my body and myself right now. I just don't have time for this.

Back to my old self

I'm not cooking this morning. That's good, back to my old self, having exorcised the domestic diva that had been lurking. I decided instead to write. Then I hit a wall, so I decided to blog -- no writing there, huh? Actually this morning, I've been reading. Congrats to The Sarcastic Journalist on the birth of her son.

Anyway, reading this morning a blogger mentioned that they were often called a "gypsy" because of all the places they've lived. My friend Gina a few months ago posted a very interesting link on her site that's a fun way to see how much of a gypsy soul there is in all of us. So have some fun and try this. Here are my results:

bold the states you've been to, underline the states you've lived in and italicize the state you're in now...

Alabama / Alaska / Arizona / Arkansas / California / Colorado / Connecticut / Delaware / Florida / Georgia / Hawaii / Idaho / Illinois / Indiana / Iowa / Kansas / Kentucky / Louisiana / Maine / Maryland / Massachusetts / Michigan / Minnesota / Mississippi / Missouri / Montana / Nebraska / Nevada / New Hampshire / New Jersey / New Mexico / New York / North Carolina / North Dakota / Ohio / Oklahoma / Oregon / Pennsylvania / Rhode Island / South Carolina / South Dakota / Tennessee / Texas / Utah / Vermont / Virginia / Washington / West Virginia / Wisconsin / Wyoming / Washington D.C. /

The seven spot

This from my blog friend lilRed

Seven Things To Do Before I Die:
1 - Go to Paris and fall in love all over again (with my hubby)
2 - Work for the New York Times (as a reporter preferably)
3 - Finish writing my books
4 - Sell everything, buy a boat, live on it - somewhere warm
5 - Run the Boston Marathon
6 - Sing on Broadway or be in a movie
7 - Scuba dive at the Great Barrier Reef

Seven Things I Cannot Do:
1 - Get over my self-consciousness about singing in front of people
2 - Overcome my fear of closed spaces
3 - Keep my opinions to myself
4 - Live without my family
5 - Tolerate stupid people (this one's from lilRed - but I like it)
6 - Water ski
7 - Run for office

Seven Things That Attract Me To...Blogging:
1 - See #3 above
2 - Interesting people that I'd never get to "meet" otherwise
3 - Cheaper than therapy
4 - As a journalist we're not supposed to have opinions, here I can.
5 - Finding out that everyone's a little weird
6 - Everyone needs a secret guilty pleasure, and finally
7 - I can rant whenever I want

Seven Things I Say Most Often:
1 - "Seriously"
2 - "It could be worse"
3 - "How you doing?"
4 - "My grandkids did..."
5 - "He's our president?"
6 - "Shut up, Kelly Ogle, I don't want your f*&^^ two cents."
7 - "Tell me about it."

Seven Books That I Love:
1 - The Boys of Summer by Roger Kahn
2 - Memoirs of a Geisha by Andrew Golden
2 - 700 Sundays by Billy Crystal
3 - The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
5 - Skippking Christmas by John Grisham
6 - Ball Four by Jim Bouton
7 - Executive Order by Tom Clancy


Seven Movies That I Watch Over and Over Again:
1 - When Harry Met Sally
2 - Sleepless in Seattle
3 - Field of Dreams
4 - Casa Blanca
5 - For the Love of the Game
6 - National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
7 - Finding Nemo

Seven People I Want To Join In Too:

-- I'll leave that up to ya'll.

Are bloggers nerds in disguise?

I was talking to a few cohorts yesterday and I mentioned reading something on a blog about a topic we were discussing. Here's the brunt of the conversation:

Other person "You blog?"

Me: "Yes, I actually have three blogs, a generic one that I share with some friends and others where I go on about life, politics, entertainment or just nothing at all, a political one where I'm totally anonymous, and a family one."

Other person: "I thought that was something nerds did when they didn't have any friends."

Me: "Well, maybe. But I've got a life, a job, friends, and blogs. Am I a nerd?"

Other person: "Uh. No. But...isn't that a little strange? Writing and putting your thoughts on the Internet for everyone to see? I mean, I've used chat rooms before..."

Me: "Wait a second. You've actually had online conversations with people you don't know? Isn't that a little strange? I thought that was something nerds did when they didn't have any friends."

Other person: "No, I just really couldn't figure out how to create a blog. I still don't understand why people would put up so much information about themselves on the Internet. Are we nerds?"

Me: "You might be. I'm just venting, and it's cheaper than therapy."

So what do you guys think, are we all strange manifestations of humanity?

Tickets are going fast

OK, I'm shamelessly plugging the Oklahoma City Gridiron Club, but this is just a reminder that tickets are on sale for this year's show in mid-February.

You get to laugh, poke fun at politicians and listen to some really bad singing (by journalists) so that means you get to laugh at reporters too. AND you get to give money for a good cause -- scholarships -- because that's where the money goes -- surely you didn't think we paid for bad singing and dancing?

Tickets also are going fast -- but good seats are still available on Wed (Feb. 15) and Saturday (Feb. 18). The good news is the gov. usually attends on Wednesday and you get to see him dance, if he continues the tradition. Or if you attend on Saturday, that's the last show, so we're actually better by that night!

Thanks in advance for your support, and please link the Gridiron Club to your (Oklahoma) blog for the duration.

Watering the lawn and other conspiracies

We've been watering the lawn again today in mid-January. But we don't want everything out there to die and we certainly aren't getting any rain or snow this year. Global warming?

Or is it a conspiracy by all the utility companies. Think about it. Gas is high, so we look for alternative heating sources - electric. Our gas bill is still high, heck I know some folks who just have a gas water heater and their bill was as high as ours. So we use the electric alternatives to "help out" and all we get is a high electric bill combined with the high gas bill. Now we have to water our plants due to the dry weather. So we get a high water bill.

Conspiracy I tell you.

I think I'm a ...ho

Would that make my boss a pimp? No really. Since I stepped out of my comfort zone of reporting news and went to the p.r. side, I'm questioning my ethics, dignity...price.

We just got another client, a doctor this time, and I've been working on stuff for them all day, and then go back to my other clients. They all think they are the one and only thing taking up my day. That's because I make them feel that way.

Does that make me a "ho?" Well, if it does, I guess I'm a high-priced one because I got a bump in salary due to the new client.

Won't my mommy be so proud of me...

Reality T.V. and the best movies

American Idol is back. We can all laugh at people who remind us of ourselves, and feel a little of their pain when they don't do well. My husband leaves the room if he can tell someone, who thinks they are really good is going to bomb. He says it makes him sad. We've all been there. I don't know why the judges don't say stuff like..."Maybe if you took some voice lessons and learned how to control your voice..." But I guess that doesn't make for good reality t.v. And Simon's comment last night about getting a bigger stage...maybe it's for his big head. Good or bad, I'm an addict. I think we need a club to kick the habit. RTV - A.

OK - I'll admit I haven't seen Brokeback Mountain yet, but I probably will this week sometime so I might adjust this as we get closer to the Academy Awards. But here's my list.

Best Picture: Hustle and Flow
Best Actor: Terrence Howard for Hustle and Flow and Russell Crowe for Cinderella Man
Best Actress: Felicity Huffman (Hey, I've loved her ever since she was on "Sports Night."
Best Kid Movie: Zathura

The rest of my best movies of the year list:
The Constant Gardener
North Country
Cinderella Man

Worst Movies of the Year:
Stealth
The Weatherman

And last but not least my nomination for movie with the best funeral scene:
Elizabethtown

Isn't it a good thing...

That there weren't police, I.N.S. or border guards to keep our ancestors out of this country when they decided to come here for a better life?

Yes, I understand the fears that "illegal aliens" will come and take American jobs. I think if they wait a while, American jobs will go to them south of the border.

But really though, is this about protecting America, protecting jobs? Canadians (fair-skinned, white folk, who speak French sometimes, but hey, so long as it's not Spanish) graduate from their colleges and eek over across our borders to compete against American graduates for jobs. I hear no one complaining.( I know this first hand because I've seen my friends compete and lose jobs to Canadian citizens.)

Right before the oil bust of the 80s, I was working for an oil company up north. The smaller American companies were having a hard time surviving even before the bust because Canadian companies would come and underbid them for jobs -- the American dollar having more weight there, they could afford to do that. It was hard for Americans to compete. Yet, no one was griping about them. No one wanted to patrol the borders, no one chased them down to drag them back to Canada.

Why do you think that is?

Do you ever

Just feel like kicking your shoes off, listening to old albums (that's old lingo for c.d.s) and drink. Yes, I know it's only 8:55 a.m. and I'm at work. But I don't want to be. I think I might just take the afternoon off. As Jimmy Buffett and Alan Jackson said, 'it's five o'clock somewhere.'

I think I'm gonna go surf some travel cruise sites...yep. I really don't want to be at work today.

The finished product

Hey, it's not the prettiest pie in the world. But I feel creative.

Gadgets

Due to a garage door that's on the blitz, we were forced to start cleaning out the boxes etc. still on the other side of the garage from our move here six months ago. Viola! Another box of kitchen stuff. "Wow, I forgot I had that." "I'd been looking everywhere for that..."
I really have way too many kitchen gadgets -- from cheese slicers to cookie cutters. But hey, I might need them some day.
And, maybe it was the guilt of having so many kitchen gadgets that go unused, or just because I get up earlier than anyone else and it's quiet on Sunday mornings here that I had another cooking spree this morning.
Homemade apple pie. Everything from scratch. And, I got to use another new gadget. A pie crust shield. Dandy little piece of tin that sits atop the pie to prevent the outer edges from cutting too dark. Hope it works, I think it set me back like $9.

So now the house smells wonderful. Apple pie and coffee. I even already made some chicken enchiladas with green sauce that are ready to pop in the oven later for a late lunch/early dinner. Now if only this domesticity would extend to dusting, vaccuuming, etc.

I can't be perfect, now can I?

Just thinking

The media is going nuts over the Angelina Jolie/Brad Pitt are going to have a baby story.
Maybe it's my upbringing, but all I can think about is "Why are people fawning over two adulterers?"
She stole someone's husband. He cheated on his wife. And now they are the darlings of the media?
Think about how you would feel if that were your spouse...
I just think the whole thing is a sad commentary on the mores of our society.

Loaded mind

Maybe it's a dangerous thing:

Hitting the jackpot -- Oklahoma's first week in Powerball. I bought a ticket (and if it loses, I'll mail it to State Rep. Randy Terrill) $79 million. I'd pay off bills, student loans, home, buy each kid (and spouses) a car and a house, pay off student loans or pay for school. Save the rest. Oh, well. I might give some to charity and I would buy my parents a house. Maybe take a trip.

Having young friends -- A couple we are friends with like to tease us about how young they are as compared to us. They like to tell the story about how they were treating us to dinner out one night, and the waiter kept asking hubby and I about stuff and gave us the bill. They think it makes us mad. It doesn't really. Well, not at them. It is funny, but in a way freaks us out that the waiter would think we LOOKED old enough to have a 35-year old child. We'll just use the excuse that our friends look really young -- cause surely we don't look that old. It's weird, we realized this week that we've never had friends OUR age, except for the few far-away high school friends whom we still keep in touch with. All our friends our either way older or way younger. The closest to our age is P of S&P fame, he's only 3 to 5 years younger. Does age really matter in friendship as long as you enjoy doing the same things? Well, to an extent. Our friends are all different -- from artists to accountants. We like our friends, even if they tease us about being old.

WorkThe Seattle Times still hasn't called. Sigh...

Picture Day

#1: A Cowboys fan in Washington State #2 Snow bunnies
I don't post photos too often of family, but here's a couple I love without revealing too much :)

Don't call me Martha

Sunday morning I woke up with an intense domestic bug. You know the kind that makes you think you can cook?

After my shower etc, I even actually hung up my towel, before heading to the den of domesticity -- the kitchen. I pulled out the flour -- problem No. 1. I immediately realized that I had purchased self-rising, instead of regular flour. No problem, the cookbook actually accounted for that, so I could make modifications.

I had decided to make banana muffins for consumption later in the week while I made my famous homemade pancakes -- ok, it's Emeril's recipe -- but it's great.

I started the mixing and grabbed for the eggs -- problem No. 2 -- the eggs were expired. Purchased during my Christmas baking frenzy, the remaining chicken embroyos hadn't been used. So, I had to stop and run to the grocery store.

Once back, I continued my cooking, turning on the stove -- my husband says I don't know any other temp other than high. This morning I agreed with him since the pancake batter started smoking and smelling burnt as soon as I put it on the griddle.

Sometime during my cooking frenzy, I had decided I could multi-task so I put some tea on to brew for iced tea. I forgot. Have you ever seen tea bags disintegrate -- well, they did while I was at the store.

Despite the mishaps, I think my domestic moment turned out fairly well. Expensive butter-enhanced maple syrup covers the burnt taste on pancakes pretty well. The family was so impressed by the smell of homemade muffins that they didn't notice the smell of burning tea.

I'm back to myself today, and am looking seriously at some frozen lasagna for dinner...

Coffee anyone?

We wandered over to Sober Grounds last night -- a coffee shop for recovering addicts, we think by the name -- nonetheless, it's become a cool place because of the great musicians who play there. And, I personally like it because there's no smoking, so that means I can breathe all night -- a major plus.

It was a hotbed of blues activity last night Dorothy Ellis, Pinkie of Pinkie and the Snakeshakers and members of the Rounders were among those at Watermelon Slim's c.d. release party.

Great music. Lots of fun. Lots of coffee. No booze. So why do I feel like I have a hangover?

Gearing up for the Gridiron

Nope, I'm not talking football. I'm talking about the Oklahoma City Gridiron Club's annual show.

If you're local, catch the show this year (mid-Feb), it's always funny. But don't expect Lyric Theatre type of performances, this is satire and spoof done by journalists and wanna-be journalists. You can buy tickets online. Worthy cause -- scholarships.

Local pettiness

I usually listen to the local Jack and Ron Show on KYIS-FM in the mornings as I drive to work etc. This week, I've turned them off twice.

Tuesday, "Jack" in his mocking tone kept talking about Dick Clark's appearance on New Year's eve, and kept playing the worst sound bytes he could find that made Clark look bad. He did the same today during his bad Regis Philbin impersonation.

Really, are these guys so bitter about never making it the "big time" -- aka national arena themselves -- that it is necessary to take someone's illness or tragedy to make yourself feel better? Apparently so.

I like to stick to local talk instead of the syndicated "Bob and Tom" type stuff, so anyone got a better suggestion for morning radio?

Hook 'em Horns

41-38

Before we throw stones

"They're alive!"

It's hard to imagine the roller coaster ride the families in West Virginia have been on in the past few hours. Stop. Think for just a moment, how this could happen.

And, it could. When one wants so desperately to believe in miracles, it's easy to grasp immediately on to any kind of news. A young woman in last night's newscast summed up the mistake, "All I heard them say, is 'We've found the miners!" She said jubilantly. Her comments made me pause for just a second last night before I too gave into the notion that the miners were indeed alive.

I kept searching the crowd that the cameras were panning. Where are the miners? Where are the ambulances? I kept thinking. After an hour there were none, but I like every one else went to bed. Newspaper editors around the country can hardly be blamed for putting the paper to bed, and leaving before the truth was known at 3 a.m. Most people don't understand that a paper can hold for only so long in order for people to get it on their doorstep in the morning.

So this morning - today -- we're hearing accusations. They knew and didn't tell us. They lied. Newspapers lied. They were wrong.

It's going to take a while to understand where communication broke down. I'm sure there will be one person singled out to blame. Lawyers will be called, analysts will analyze, and pundits will criticize, settlements agreed upon. But in the end, the miners will still be gone. Their families left to imagine the pain and fear they must have felt and to pick up the pieces. That's what we all have to do...pick up the pieces.

The Oklahoma Spirit

Tornadoes, a bombing, more tornadoes and now fires.

Oklahomans will survive because they've still got that remarkable spirit.

Pray for our state as we face another day of especially high temps (for January) and high winds.

Happy Jan. 1st

I think I make resolutions every year, and like most people break them quite early. Comedianne Wanda Sykes says she keeps her one resolution every year. Why? Because it's simply "not to stab anyone." She aims low, so that she can always keep it.

She might be on to something, but I guess I'll just try the regular stuff again:

1. Get healthy, lose weight, etc.
2. Spend more time with friends and family
3. FINISH WRITING MY BOOKs (yes, plural)
4. Get rich.
5. Hire a maid

OK, that's enough. Happy New Year, ya'll