Wow!

Okay, fine, so you guys don't want to talk about Barack Obama. But surely you've got an opinion on McCain's announcement of his vice presidential running mate. A woman!

Wow. It's all I can say.

On one hand, I'm concerned to read that she has 5-month-old baby. I don't know about other moms out there, but this mom could not take on a responsibility like this.

Then again, she's already serving as governor for her state, so she's clearly able to mother and politic. And according to the article I linked above, she has a high approval rating in her state.

Why did McCain make this choice? Was it a good one? Does it change how you view the election? What do you all think about this? (Is anyone out there?)

Product Review: Free Credit Report

First of all, the place to go for your free credit report is here. Every 12 months you can find out your credit score. For free.

This is not to be confused with the catchy (or annoying, depending on who you ask) commercials on TV for FreeCreditReport.com. If you get you get your credit report there, you eventually get charged for it. As in, no longer free.

In theory, you have 30 days or something to cancel whatever it is they're selling. But lots of people have gotten scammed by this company by forgetting to cancel the membership...myself included. (That was what taught me never to sign up for something "free" with the plan to cancel it before the trial period ended...because odds are, I would forget. Lesson learned.)

However, my irritation toward that company and their product has not stopped me from thoroughly enjoying their musical commercials. You know the ones - with the guy and the guitar and the catchy (or annoying) tunes about his dream girl or his new car or his job in a restaurant dressed as a pirate. You can see the videos here:

Singing Pirates
Dream Girl
New Car
Bicycle

What do you think of these commercials? Funny? Catchy? Annoying? Too sarcastic? Just sarcastic enough?

Politics and History

I don't want to start a political debate. I actually don't enjoy talking politics much at all. I never feel educated enough and I never seem to agree completely with anyone.

I do want to say, though, that the nomination of an African-American for president is an incredible thing to see today. It is a significant moment in this country's history. And I just saw it happen!

In my opinion, it doesn't matter if you are Democrat or Republican, liberal or conservative - it's a cool thing to witness our country make this move. Aside from Obama's politics, I mean. Aside from who I will vote for or who you will vote for. The fact that a black man is running for president of the United States is noteworthy. And I, for one, am glad to see it.

A Cheesy Message from Above

Remember when people started seeing spiritual images in their food? Well, I think that’s a little crazy, but I do believe God can and does use interesting ways to speak to us. After all, most of us (and by "us," I mean "me") are a little hard-headed and need a whack in the face to get our attention. (I’ve long requested a billboard, but that doesn’t seem to be coming my way any time soon.)

And this week, God used cheese to talk to me. On Monday night, I put Photobaby to bed and got ready to make myself some delicious fajitas. I sautéed the peppers and onions and then added the chicken. As it cooked, I opened the fridge to get the rest of my ingredients – tortillas, cheese, sour cream. But the cheese was missing.

Someone had taken my cheese.

Well, not someone. Mark had taken my cheese. In fact, he’d taken the whole bag of shredded cheese to work to eat with his leftover taco meat. The whole bag. Didn’t put his portion in a Ziploc. No, he took the whole bag.

This has happened before (not always with cheese – once, the whole bottle of ketchup was missing when I needed it). And I’ve asked him not to do it. So, being the good, loving wife I am, I picked up the phone and when he answered, I said, “Did you take the cheese?” When he quietly said yes, I said, “Just checking.”

And then – rudely – hung up the phone.

Just like that. *sigh* Why can I not control my temper? I mean, come on, Photo! It was just cheese. Now, I will say that as a big cheese lover, nothing is ever really “just cheese.” But in this case, I probably could have let it go. Probably.

I was reminded of this when I snagged a piece of chicken from my fajita fixings…and promptly burned the heck out of my tongue. I’m not sure what I expected, taking a piece of food directly from the skillet and placing it in my mouth. But what I got was a sore tongue and a reminder of how to use that tongue!

As David said (in Psalm 39:1), I need a muzzle: I said, "I will watch my ways and keep my tongue from sin; I will put a muzzle on my mouth as long as the wicked are in my presence."

'Tis the Season

Fall is my favorite season. I like it so much that I wish there more seasons for it to compete against. You know? Because by saying I like it more than three other seasons...well, that doesn't seem to cover it. I love the weather, partly because it doesn't make me sweat and partly because it allows me to wear sweatshirts and jeans. I love the colors - so bright and vibrant. And I love the memories that come with fall - going back to school (buying school supplies!), meeting my husband, several vacations we've taken in the past few years. (Oh, and chelley's birthday, of course!)

Last year, though, I felt like I missed most of my favorite season. My doctor put me on bedrest on October 2, I went into the hospital on October 5, delivered Annalyn on October 8, came home on October 13 and spent the rest of my October days recovering on the couch until Annalyn came home a couple weeks later (minus my daily visits to the hospital). So, in the blink of an eye (or the birthing of a baby), I missed my favorite season.

That's why I was so excited for today's weather - sunny, clear and cool! Yay! It's only August, but I just know my wonderful fall weather is around the corner!

What a way to end the week

Every Friday, Photobaby spends all day with the babysitter, so Mark can have a break and sleep in. (Every other day of the week, he takes care of her in the morning and then she's only at the babysitter in the afternoon.) So, after he gets to sleep in, he meets me for lunch (since we don't see each other much with our crazy schedules).

So, today we ate our yummy burrito bols at Chipotle, and then decided to run through McDonald's for some ice cream. (Yes, of course this is part of my diet on Weight Watchers!)

Anyway. We ordered, pulled around, paid at the first window, and pulled up toward the second window. And then we heard it. We heard the car in front of us die.

We were trapped in the drive thru.

No biggie. Mark said, "I'll just get out and help her push it out of the drive thru lane." I told him he should walk up on the passenger side, so he didn't startle the driver. I could tell even from our car that she was getting pretty agitated. (And who could blame her, right? How embarrassing!)

So he got out of the car, but before he could even reach her car, the woman yelled at him. And I heard my laidback, kind husband yell back at her, "I was just going to help you push it!" Apparently she was yelling and cussing at him. For offering to help.

Did I mention that she had a child in the car?

By the time Mark got back in the car, the McDonald's manager was walking out with my ice cream cone and Mark's milkshake. She apologized to us and then offered to help the lady in front of us. "Ma'am, I have some guys to help push your car out of the drive thru lane. Just put it in neutral." And sure enough, here come four McD's employees.

But the woman just yelled (and cussed) at the manager and refused to move her car!

This went on for several minutes, with the manager rushing around, apologizing to everyone and directing her staff to start bringing everyone else's food out and take their money. She told the woman that she could not leave her car there, pointed out the several cars backed up behind her, and eventually said she'd have to call the police if she didn't move.

She didn't move.

The manager called the police.

By this point, Mark was really annoyed. He was on a tight schedule and needed to drop me off so he could get to work. So he drove our Oldsmobile up on the curb, squeezed between the stalled (and psycho) car and a truck parked next to the curb, and got us out of there!

I was a little bummed that we didn't get to see the police. I wonder what happened... I wonder what was wrong with that lady! So weird...

And another two...

This one's for Hobsis, Melilot, Dappy and Scout. You have to look at them in order (sorry I'm too lazy to get pictures this time). Because I don't really think all four look exactly like. Nope. I think Justin looks like Christopher who looks like Carmine who looks like David. What do you think?

• Justin Bartha (Riley from National Treasure, of course!)
• Christopher Gartin (Randomly starring in this Jane Doe movie, but also in Side Order of Life on Lifetime and American Dreams with my other lookalike!)
• Carmine Giovinazzo (Danny from CSI:NY - he doesn't have good pics on IMDB.)
• David Sutcliffe (Christopher from Gilmore Girls. And briefly of Private Practice last year.)

And as brought to my attention from my best friend, Smitty:

• Elijah Wood
• Simon Woods (Pride & Prejudice)

Two More Lookalikes

I did it again. I watched an actress in a TV movie and thought she was someone else. This time, I thought Jessy Schramm was Brittany Snow (from American Dreams and Hairspray). Jessy was in a Hallmark movie called "Jane Doe." (It's a whole series of movies starring Lea Thompson of Back to the Future and Caroline in the City fame.) Actually, I saw her in an episode of CSI, too, but thought it was Brittany then, too. Here they are - see why I was confused?











Here's another lookalike pair. In honor of the Olympics, I watched part of "Stick It" tonight. I've seen the movie before, and I was struck again by how much the actress playing the main character, Missy Peregrym, looks like Hilary Swank. What do you think?

“A goal without a plan is just a wish.”

[Quote by Larry Elder]

I have another list, although it doesn’t really qualify for a List of the Week. It’s more like a list of my life. Similar to what you might expect around New Year’s Day. A list of goals, of plans, of dreams. What this quote says is so important – I can sit around wishing these things would happen for the rest of my life. But until I put in the hard work of making them happen, well, nothing’s going to happen.

I know all that. My problem is partly motivation, partly commitment, and partly being overwhelmed. Because I have a lot of goals, a lot of things I want to do and change. So today I thought I’d put them out here for you. Not that you’re sitting at home wondering what my dreams are. But because I also think a goal that’s not spoken out loud is just a wish.

• Goal #1 – Seek, know, love and serve God more and better.
• Goal #2 – Change my career.
• Goal #3 – Lose weight.
• Goal #4 – Pay off debt and save for the future.
• Goal #5 – Do the things I love to do. (Learn to dance. Write a book. Sing and play piano. Scrapbook all my photos.)

I also have two major priorities that require maintenance and some improvement.

• Priority #1 – My relationship with my husband (mini goal – establish monthly date nights)
• Priority #2 – Nurturing and raising my daughter (mini goals – read to her more, have more fun playing with her, determine discipline strategy with husband, teach her to eat healthy foods)

That’s a lot! It’s no wonder I get overwhelmed thinking about it! What goals, dreams, priorities do you all have? And how do you keep from focusing on how MUCH there is to do and instead focus on your PLAN for reaching those goals?

List of the Week: the musical

I love music. I'm a singer and a pianist and a big fan of radio and jazz and folk music and rock and...well, most any kind of music. Although I don't love opera, I will say that. And I think we've established that I'm real emotional. So I'm sure it comes as no surprise to you that I often have emotional reactions to music. So today's list is about songs that make me think of certain people for certain - and sometimes unexpected - reasons.

• No Rain by Blind Melon - this one makes me think of my friend David, who is a guitar-picking, country-loving, opry musician. But I think of him when hear this pop song from the 90s. (Because one day, he and his friend Aaron "serenaded" my friend, Mindy, and me with this song on her parents' driveway. It was soooo cool - after all, they were in high school, and we were just 8th graders!)
• Runaway Train by Soul Asylum - this song reminds me of that friend, Mindy, because around that same time (8th and 9th grade), she looooved this boy who liked this song. I never did understand why she like that guy. Or why he liked this song.
• Footloose by Kenny Loggins - this song doesn't make me think of the movie. It actually makes me think of Josh, a boy I went to school with. All through middle school, he had a crush on me. Even though I thought he was a nerd, it did guarantee that at least one boy would ask me to dance at the school dances. Anyway - back to Footloose. As part of our senior trip, the grown-ups in charge scheduled a dance. And just like we were back in middle school, everyone huddled against the walls and refused to dance. Until Footloose came on...and Josh threw his pride on the floor and busted a move. It was hilarious - and made everyone start dancing.
• Breakfast at Tiffany's by Deep Blue Something - this one makes me think of Ryan, a boy who lived in the next town over from mine and took piano lessons from the same lady I did. We went to college together, and one day in the cafeteria, this song came on. And he stopped talking and sat there and sang along to the entire song. I'm pretty sure that the song made him think of someone or something. I get lost in music easily, but it was a little weird to see it happen to someone else.
• Lose Yourself by Eminem - I don't really like much rap. And I'm not a fan of Eminem. But when I went on a fishing trip to Canada with four couples from church, I learned to appreciate this song a little more. On our second day at the camp, the guys decided to get up ridiculously early and hit the lake. Which meant they woke us up ridiculously early. But after Jason started rapping - while wearing his fishing poncho and toting all his gear - this song, we couldn't help but crack up.
• I Love This Bar by Toby Keith - this song makes me think of my friend, Colleen. Unlike my country friend who sang a pop song or my church friend who rapped, this one makes perfect sense. At the time this song came out, she enjoyed being very, um, social. In particular, she loved the Blue Moose.
• We are Family by Sister Sledge - this song makes me think of my friend, Jill. We all trekked up north (Iowa) to go to Colleen's wedding. After several hours of dancing and, um, socializing, this song came on. Jill, who is notorious for blowing off her friends every time we try to do something fun, said, "Hey! It's like us. We're family." I really would not have expected that sentiment from her!
• Girls Just Wanna Have Fun - this song always brings a smile to my face. My best friend took drama class the year before I did in high school, and for the lip synching assignment, she boldly broke out of her straitlaced mold. And rocked out to Cyndi Lauper in full make up and a mini dress from middle school. She was so hilarious that the teacher had her perform it during a second hour, and I was able to go watch. As long as I live, I will never forget her dancing around the room to that song. Too freaking funny.

A couple others that get honorable mention...

• My cousins are 5 and 6 years older than me. My whole life, I idolized them and wanted to be like them and wanted them to treat me like equals. So the summer that my grandad was in the hospital for a couple weeks, I loved hanging out with them. (Of course I was sad about my grandad, but that is not the point of today's list!) I remember them - and their friends - loving certain songs. And if they loved them, you know the songs were cool! The Joker by The Steve Miller Band, Come to My Window by Melissa Ethridge, Feel Like Making Love by Bad Company, and Buffalo Stance by Neneh Cherry - that's what's cool. Right?
• I had a big crush on a guy in high school. I won't go more into that. But I'll tell you that Sitting on the Dock of the Bay by Otis Redding, Come Together by the Beatles, and Strawberry Wine by Dena Carter always remind me of him.

Oh, there's so many more. But I'll stop. I know my long posts are hard to read. I just have so much to tell you! ;)

How would I look in dreads?

My 30th birthday will be in December, and our 10th wedding anniversary will be next May. So I've told Mark that I want to go on a tropical vacation to celebrate these two occasions. Have you all been to any all-inclusive resorts in the Caribbean? It's scary to think about spending so much money to go somewhere I've never seen! (Can you tell I haven't traveled on my own very much?!)

I couldn't help it...

...I just had to post this picture. And confess that living up to my screen name, I took 76 pictures of Photobaby today. 76. Poor kid.

Nerd Alert!

Awww, yeah. I found a new blog to read today – and this one’s on grammar, baby.

All right, okay, so that’s not exciting for most people. And really, not cool for anyone. But what do you expect? Remember, I’ve already written about spelling and spelling bees. This grammar obsession should come as no surprise.

I’ve followed The Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar for a while now. It’s an organization and blog devoted to, you guessed it, good grammar, and happens to be written by one of my favorite opinion writers, founder of National Grammar Day. (As if one day is enough?) But now, I have found a whole new world of grammar commentary, because the most exciting thing about this new site (well, new to me) is the blog roll on the right. Yep, you heard me. More grammar blogs! Woo-hoo!

[Disclaimer: I have just discovered this blog, so if it turns out to be offensive or weird or boring, I take no credit for wasting your time or scarring you for life. Well, I guess it would sort of be my fault. But I’m just saying that I can’t guarantee anything. I just wanted to share my exciting news with you!]

It was me! Me! Look at me! I did it! ME!

My manager has been gone for the past few days on vacation. Which means I've been in charge. Yes...that is as dangerous as it sounds. Actually, I don't think it's bad; I think it's a good chance to show that I'm qualified to do more than...well...what I was hired to do.

[To bring anyone who doesn't know up to speed, I was laid off from my decent job about a month before I had Photobaby. Four months and about 30 applications later, I was offered an entry-level, low salary job. And because it was better than the alternative (read: bankruptcy and possible depression), I took it. It's close to home and low-stress, which is good for a new mom. Right? It's also at a real estate company, so you know. You've heard about the real estate market, right? Right...]

So, back to today. My boss emailed my manager and me about some press coverage that is a direct result of the press release I wrote and sent. And didn't even mention that it was because of my work. As a matter of fact, his email was actually a forward of someone else in the office talking about how great the coverage was...and didn't mention that I was the one who GOT that coverage!

Since I'm on my own this week, I decided not to think and to just act. Always a good idea. So I shot back an email pointing out that I was the one who made this happen. And my boss nicely responded with "Awesome work." And I felt smug. Smart. Proud.

Wait...proud? Ugh. How am I supposed to balance God's guidelines with the norms of the workplace? Any career advice book or article says you have to self-promote and take credit for what you accomplish. But God doesn't exactly smile on pride. So, what's the answer? Do you know?

Restaurant Review: Longhorn Steakhouse

We will not be eating at Longhorn Steakhouse anymore. Not that we were frequent customers, but we did go there occasionally. Not anymore. We have officially added them to our "we don't eat there" list of restaurants. (They have good company - Hardee's was the first member of this group, due to their offensive advertising.)

To celebrate paying off our credit cards (Yippee! Woo-hoo! Hip, hip, hooray!!), we went out to dinner last weekend. Longhorn was nearby and steak sounded good, so we went there. I remembered as we pulled up that they have onion peels instead of an onion blossom on the menu, but wasn't too upset. After all, I don't even want to know how many points an onion blossom has!

As we sat down and looked at our menu, our eyebrows shot up. Mac and I agreed that they had raised their prices since the last time we'd been there. Still determined to enjoy our celebratory dinner (without going into debt again!), I ordered the cheapest steak on the menu and Mac ordered a ribeye. Unfortunately, my steak was very low quality and mostly gristle and fat. (Mac pointed out that we could have bought a package of low-grade steaks at Aldi that would have been better - and probably still cheaper!) And then, Mac's ribeye was practically mooing. He ordered medium well - it probably wasn't even medium.

This isn't the first time we've had an undercooked steak at this restaurant. So, unfortunately for Longhorn, they're now on the no-go list for us.

(All these reviews recently make me think of one of the first blogs I read on a regular basis: Random Reviewer. They've stopped writing, but they were pretty funny while it lasted!)