Another Great Find from Johnny Mac!!!

So, I know John has used this stuff before but he never ceases to amaze me with what he can whip up at a moments notice. We had one hell of a meal tonight....involving just four ingredients: Pork, Zucchini & Yellow squash and this stuff:

Its spicy and a little sweet but not too much of either....VERY GOOD....and might I add - just 160 calories for the entire jar! I was in the mood for grilling up that zucchini and yellow squash and john had some pork thawed....cooked up the pork and the veggies and chopped it in cubes and dumped this into the mix. Im not sure what section you'd find this at the grocery store, Im not allowed to go with John - much for the same reasons that young children aren allowed to go with mom...just a nuisance throwing unncessary things into the cart that skew from planned meals. oh well.

This weekend was FUN! John had to work most of the weekend so I went up to Dayton with Ang for a cookout at Tracy's....thought we were just going to lay low, but we ended up going out to BoJangles in Miamisburg to see The Websters...pretty sweet cover band from Cincinnati. I feel like a dope for not having seen them before...everyone I talked to has heard of them.

So basically at 9p I was sitting on the couch with my nose in all of tracy's US magazines, not wanting to go out at all, and at 2:10am I was out on the dance floor sweatin' to the covers with Bone - no pics. Ive been a real lame ass with the camera lately.

We're having a cook out on Friday and then a rugby game & Party on Saturday. Ill be sure to take lots of pics!

Im sorry...this post was LAME!

PLayed volleyball tonight...we won all three games. If you want to keep up with our schedule/record, and I know you all do - check it out here: We're court four BB's - Team: Six Pack.

http://www.sportsexpressvb.com/volleyball/indoor/vbstandings/mowo6bb4.htm

Happy Monday!

Ok, im going to try and cool it with all the videos, but in light of a part of October road last night that left me weak in the knees, I decided to share my TOP THREE best on screen kisses of ALL TIME!

NUMBER THREE - A Walk in the Clouds.
Ok, I couldnt find just the kissing scene, but the kiss IS at the end of the trailer....and its worth waiting for:



NUMBER TWO - The Notebook
This was Number One up until last night. I watched this scene about thirty times in a row. I love this movie.



NUMBER ONE - I love this scene. Love it, love it, love it.

Sorry about my random personal belief posts as of late. Really, not much has been going on, coupled with the fact that this is bill paying week, (or as I like to call, "Pay the mortgage and the cars and shred the rest" week and it leaves me a little on edge and easily unnerved and frustrated. Bear with me.

Did anyone watch October Road tonight? OMG I am lovin' this SHOW!! Eddie is my new celebrity crush!!! Yum!

Speaking of celebrity crushes, stetson informed me that the COREYS (Haim and Feldman) are coming out with a new show. I am so watching. Im a big fan..more of Corey Haim. When I was in the 6th grade, my best friend Danielle and I had our closets WALLPAPERED with Corey Haim pics. I wonder if John would let me have a Corey Haim room. He pooh-poohed my original idea of turning the blue room into the Purple Rain room. Hes no fun at all!!! :)

My plan this weekend is to stay home, mow the lawn, and some other home improvement things. I was going to repaint the bedroom, but the fundage isnt exactly supporting paint costs this week, so Ill find something else to do, maybe clean out the garage or something.

These are the two video that have had me laughing ALL NIGHT!!!

Ok - First things first. I forgot to give credit where credit is due in regards to those last pictures from the rugby party at Haps. Those were courtesy of Dan, Patty's husband (remember the Xaiver game? Dan?). When I forgot my camera for all the events on Saturday, everyone's first response was, "Oh, Dan's gonna be at the party"....Dan is the only person in Cincinnati who takes more pictures than I do. His photo gallery makes my blog look like NOTHING!!
http://www.madhatterofoz.org/pictures.htm and while we're giving Dan props on his pictures, here's another good one from this weekend. That's Aaron, one of the kelts, getting "situated" at Haps:

Here's another one Dan took - Here's Nettie - my ride to C-Bus - thanks! Nice bruises!

Sunday we had tickets to Reds game, only John had such a long say on Saturday (worked 9 hours and then went to the kelts game...then to haps till 1am) and he woke up on Sunday and was so exhausted that he couldnt even make it to the game, so Harry, Jean and I went and then he met us for dinner at Outback. Yum!

I had a really long blog I wrote and then deleted. I got a hair up my you know what after someone I had done business with at work has sent me (yet another) personal, political email.

Now, you came HERE, therefore, I can spout whatever nonsense I want off my soapbox.

The email was fine enough, it was about a father of a fallen Columbine student who went before Congress and said that it was the absense of God in our society that was causing all these tradegies. Ok fine. Good point.

What I found interesting was this "blurb" in his speech:

“I am not a member of the NRA. I am not a hunter. I do not even own
a gun. I am not here to represent or defend the NRA - because I
don't believe that they are responsible for my daughter's death.”

Now, keep in mind that this speech was intended to express the need of God in our society. Fair enough.

Why even bring up the NRA? Why does the oh-so innocent NRA and “Good Christian” seem to be publicized as going hand in hand??

I get annoyed everytime I hear someone say its their “God-Given Right to have a gun.”

Really? So....what you’re saying is that the Prince of Peace HIMSELF, is sitting up on his throne, looking down on America….(not the whole world of course, because as we all know, other countries and other civilian lives on this planet aren’t NEARLY as important as ours) and he’s looking down and APPLAUDING and ENCOURAGING all you folks with firearms. Ok. (Because theres nothing God loves more than your right to blast someones head off if properly provoked.)

Its the Second Amendment that gives you that right, not God.

I have no problem with hunting. I have no problem with a person living in a dangerous area carrying a concealed weapon if they have a legitimate threat and it is there STRICTLY for defense and NOT offense. I think all persons in law enforcement should have guns. I also think that having a firing range at your outdoor wedding is perfectly acceptable...obviously:

But im sick and tired of equating Gun Rights with Christianty and American Pride.

Ok...so now Ive pretty much rewritten everything I originally deleted. I spoke with a co-worker about this and was convinced they would back my "NRA and their conspiracy to keep guns in the hands of as many people as possible, criminals, poverty-stricken areas....keep em locked and loaded and trapped in thier own fear and dangerous areas."

And he didnt agree.

Ok. So I listen, and he had some good, albeit utterly depressing points.

He said that, for example, if the VTech Killer and the Columbine killers wanted guns, they would have gotten them. Period. Even if we passed 100 laws that attempted to keep guns out of the hands of predators, they could get the guns. Legally or Illegally.

So Basically dont waste your time.

I just kept scraping for some easy solution. I mentioned the atrociously high gun-related murder rate in America, unheard of anywhere else in the world.

He just shrugged and said that America is a violent country. Americans are a violent breed and our history is based on greed, and an "Any means necessary" mentality. "Look at us RIGHT NOW," he said, "Our own president is setting that example as we speak!"

He said it wasnt going to change. I was stymied. Is there an answer to the gun violence? All Im saying is that we have to TRY. I mean, what if we DID pass 100 laws that made it more difficult for someone to buy a firearm, and that down time gave just ONE PERSON time to rethink what they were about to do with that gun. If it just saved ONE life, wouldnt it be worth it? If it was the life of someone that you loved?

Doesnt anyone wonder why the NRA fights so vehemently against these minor attempts for a little more in-depth background checks? Whats it going to hurt them? Thats all Im saying.

Maybe a little more God is the answer, just dont blame the NRA, right?

On a related note, a fellow OU Rugger was executed by lethal injection today. He was WAY before my time, although I do know one of his buddies, who was actually supposed to be one of his friends that was going to be there for the execution. I cant even imagine what that would be like, to watch that.

http://www.courttv.com/news/2007/0424/james_filiaggi_ctv.html

It was a pretty violent murder, and I dont know how it affects my views on guns. Probably makes me more confused than anything....In his interview he talks about the depression and how his original intention was to kill him self in front of her, but he ended up basically chasing her out of her own house and into the neighbors yard, where she hid in a closet and he found her and shot her in the head.

I guess maybe in line with my previous post from almost a year ago, we all have to be vigilant when it comes to seeking out the unhappy people. Some of them need some cheering up, and some of them need a serious reality check be it casual or professional. Its a sad reality about todays, world, that we all have to be "on guard"....

On a lighter note, my blog is having its 1yr Birthday next month! Yes, May 17, 2006 was my first blog entry ever.

Darian wanted me to conduct some sort of Year-end awards ceremony. Start looking through old blog posts, I may do some sort of reader vote on best blog comment, worst comment, best and worst pictures, etc.

I plan on mowing the grass and painting the blue room this weekend so dont expect any stellar posts to come...

Oh yeah, one more thing, i just got a job as the JV volleyball coach at Finneytown HS! I meet with the Athletic director next week. Gym rat city all summer!!! So pumped!!!

Sometimes its best to go out while you're on top....

So I played rugby this weekend. I was asked at the last minute and I wont go into details, but lets just say I was asked to help out since they were a bit short, and was simply asked to be a pulse on the pitch, and I barely satisfied that requirement.

Out of shape, waddling around the pitch all day in 20 minute spurts...it wasnt my finest moment, but I did more physical activity then I have in six months, so THANK YOU Casey James for getting my ass out.

No matter how bad the game is, though, there's nothing like beers at Haps after a long day. And no, I dont know what sunscreen is, and no, I will NEVER learn.

Ok...since Im really tired right now and only really running on all this left over adrenaline from my volleyball game tonight, Im going to leave you with one of my own personal favorite blogs....(Not the Denver Lady this time) My boss told me about it...and its addicting!

Its updated every Sunday, and its a place where you can put your deepest, darkest secret on a postcard, mail it to this address, and maybe it shows up. Please let me warn you, this isnt the most uplifting site, and oddly, this Monday's release has a postcard with a woman's breasts on it, something Ive never seen on this site. (JUST IN CASE YOU HAVE KIDS LOOKING OVER YOUR SHOULDER!!!) But check it out....it will probably depress you, but on the other hand, it might make you feel a little more normal if you happen upon a shared secret!!!

http://postsecret.blogspot.com/

Im sorry for using the word "Jerk-off" that was mean and I didnt mean it!

RANDOM THOUGHTS OF THE DAY

Ok, so I get a phone picture message from my friend Stewy (again, a 78 character web address that I carefully have to type in)....but I dont get a lot of messages from Stewy so I figured it had to be good. I dont know where she was going with this....I guess she was making fun of me since we went to rival high schools.....but she sent me a picture of a Fairmont HS letter jacket that read:

Orchestra

Class Council

Does anyone else think that letter jackets should be reserved for athletes only? I can tell you one thing, I was on United Student Body council and a few other non-sport groups and Id be pissed if someone tried to equate the paultry commitment that was to the blood, sweat, tears, suicides, two hour practices every day, weekend, weekday games, and dues I paid playing volleyball and basketball. Maybe Im just a jock snob, but it seems they're giving lettermans jackets to every jerk off that wants one. Class Council??? Whats next? Letter Jackets with "Bathroom Monitor" on them???

Im sure that in our over-coddled "Everybody's a winner" society, Bathroom Monitor's probably ARE getting letters. Im sorry. Im not trying to bash your interest, but dont try and tell me that ANY organization in high school requires as much physical and mental dedication as playing a sport....I know the wrestlers and the fb players had even more going on.

You smart people get your academic scholarships and your high paying jobs.....let us keep our letter jackets.

Other random tid bit, I got my tumor marker result back and it went up 20 points. Which, in the grand scheme of things, should be too worry some, as it went from a 67 to an 87, but seeing as it was up in the 300's before, Im not going to worry. Nonetheless....Romer might make me take another PET scan soon. Not sure. Ill find out on Friday. I see him in the morning at 8:20am.

If anyone is offering free stomach stapling, please let me know. These drugs have me tired and hungry ALL THE TIME and I am turning into a total fatass. HELP!

Train Trip to the Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, D.C.

As most of you know, one of my duties at work is to help with the bookings of trips with the Private Luxury Railcar company my boss owns - www.cincinnatirailway.com - Its a blast, and Ive met tons of great people and Ive really learned so much about railroading along the way - a completely unexpected lesson in life! My boss allowed me to go on this trip to get a "Feel" for the Private Railroading experience. As it turns out, my mom ended up going along with us to DC so that made it even more fun! This is probably more pictures than Ive posted EVER, so Ill try not to get too long winded....

These pictures are from when we were just coming into DC. Above, you can see the Washington Monument and the Jefferson Memorial on the left, heading over the Potamac River....Below was a frightening moment....that dome that we're sitting in is pretty high...and if you look ahead, there isnt a whole lot of clearance in the tunnel we're approaching....Ahhhhhh.....
Here...Cherry Blossoms. This was the extent of our involvement with the Cherry blossoms. We missed the Parade, missed the Festival, but did take this picture: you can see the Capitol Building in the background.
Oops....a little bit out of order here. Woke up in my cute little roomette somewhere in WV with some great scenery flying by....then mom came over and sat in my room with me for awhile before we headed over to the dome for breakfast.....




Here's mom at breakfast:


French Toast that no doubt had us promising each other we would walk five miles the next day....



We arrived Friday around dinnertime, and headed out for dinner at the Dublinliner...apparently the number one Irish Pub in the country. http://dublinerdc.com/ Apparently these people havent visited Haps, but whatever! :) Headed back to the train for a few beers. Brent, Chelsea and I all took a walk to the Capitol building at around 1am for fun. Went back to the train and headed to bed.
Saturday morning was awesome. We met up with my mom's high school friend Patty. She lives in DC with her husband and two daughters. Both work for the government and have an awesome place five blocks from the Capitol. It was an amazing home...right out of magazine! they took us to the Eastern Market. http://www.easternmarketdc.com/ if you ever go to DC, I highly reccomend it - Im a freak about the markets...Jewelery, fresh flowers and produce, furniture, and various other gift shops. We ate breakfast there - really cool set up...theres a line out the door waiting for breakfast, you get to what looks like a concession stand sitting in the corner of this building - give your order, walk down the counter, pick up your food. Theres a really long table with stools that probably seats 25-30 people, and even with the line, theres always someone getting up so you can sit down. I had a spinach/swiss/bacon omelet with potatoes. Another great meal! Here we all are having breakfast

Saturday mom and I went to the Holocaust Museum. Its pretty amazing. For a busy weekend, we didnt have to wait long. The entries are timed so we got there around 11a and had tickets for 12:15. The exhibit is three stories high and they let people come in at 15 min intervals. We headed for the line around 12, as the noon people were going. This snippy little college intern with a bigger mouth than me, keeps talking down to everyone...


"People.....a line, begats a line.....You're all going to be able to walk in at 12:15....the line is not necessary."

We keep standing there. So to the people in front of us, who turn around, we all nod in agreement. I quietly say to the people, "Geez Lady, its not like we're FIVE HOURS EARLY! We go in in 10 MINUTES! Give us a break!"


Then I thought about calling her a "Line Nazi", but then decided it probably wasnt the best place to say this.

Heres mom at one of the Smithsonian Museums, if my dad asks, we did go in and look around.

You cant tell, but these people are spelling out on the Capitol Lawn "80% By 2050" (Reducing Carbon Emissions) There was a guy up on some platform what seemed to be about 6 stories up, organizing the event, before an arial photo was taken. That night, my boss's family invited mom and I to dinner for my boss's birthday. We headed to Georgetown via the metro train on a rainy night and had a great dinner at Old Glory.




Another picture out of order..../
What a bunch of dorks....we all get off the train and we're all sporting our company fleece Jackets.
Sunday night, mom and I were invited to have dinner in the Chapel Hill (www.chapelhillrail.com). The Chapel Hill is owned by Dewitt Chapple, and you might be thinking that he named it that because of his name...but you'd be wrong. He went to college at North Carolina...hence...the Chapel Hill. His car is privately operated outside of our fleet, but Im on the phone with him all the time....he's a train knowledge LEGEND! Ive learned so much from him and he's always been so nice to me...our riders were not allowed back on his car without permission, so I was pumped to be invited. Originally my boss Karen was going to eat with me, but she gave up her spot so that my mom and I could head over there. Thanks Karen!


Below: Mom chills out with a glass of wine in the lounge area of the Chapel Hill. It was previously owned by Margorie Merriweather Post and EF Hutton. Click here to read the history of the car: http://www.chapelhillrail.com/history.html

This is the dining room that we ate dinner in. Excellent meal! Candelabras, Silver Platters, China, meals served with white gloves....unreal.
This is me with Dewitt - Thanks Dewitt!!!
As you may have been reading, the Nor' Easter is hitting the east coast with extremely hard rains. We started to get nervous as we traveled along the New River Gorge...there were a few frighteningly high waters as we traveled...and this was the worst of it - I learned later that the rule of thumb is that anything higher than 5" above the rails and you cant pass. we barely made it!!!

After dinner we headed back to our sleeping quarters, and woke up in the yard in Cincinnati, went home to clean up and headed off to work. What a great trip! Thanks to all who made this possible.

Since Im going to be gone for a few days, I wanted to keep you all "engaged", and I havent put out a question of the day...week...whatever in a LOOONG time.

In the spirit of me slowly starting to be more honest about some more serious stuff, allow me to pose a question. you can just answer anonymously, Im really curious as to what everyones thoughts are on this.

Every now and again, I get the, "Why-aren't-you-guys-going-to-church"....."After all you've been through"......Some people actually say it, so I HAVE to think that other people are thinking it.

I have to admit, if anything, these last four years of insanity have actually left me more confused if anything. Heres the deal. Everybody knows about that horrendus experience I had in a church (that will remain nameless) the day before my son's funeral. That really put my confidence on the fritz. Throw in the fact that the drag queens who didnt waste a breath before putting on a fundraiser in my honor to help me with my meds wouldnt be welcome in ALOT of churches, and you've got one confused little pup here.

I actually had a really odd thought last night that may come across as an Awful, awful way to interpret religion, but here goes.

Lets say Jesus was the star quarterback that played with your dad in high school. Jesus was AWESOME, he was a kind heart and wanted to make sure that everyone treated everyone with kindness. And then he built an amusement park (heaven) for all the people in town (with money from his dad of course) for all to enjoy. He worked really hard on the amusement park, and all the guys on his football team promised to tell as many people as they could about his good works, and to assure that the only way you could get into the park was if everyone followed his lead and worked hard to be a good person.

So when you get old enough, your dad tells you about this great QB, who built the amusement park, only, your dad has a few alterior motives himself, wants to keep you in line. Keep all the kids behaving like angels. So your dad tells takes some creative licensing and throws in that Jesus the QB really encouraged kids to eat all their vegetables, do all their chores, and also, Jesus was really big on making sure that you marry someone of the opposite sex.

Does anyone else feel that way about the Bible? That maybe some "Creative Licensing" took place? Does anyone else feel that if certain "instructions" dont seem to fall in line with what we know about Jesus, then it creates doubt about everything else?

I belive in Jesus....its everything else I just cant seem to comprehend. And Im not against going to church, just still trying out some different ones.

Can ANYONE shed some light on this?

Ill be heading to DC Thursday night, so you wont see another entry until Monday-ish....Ill have tons of pictures! Everyone have a great weekend.

WHA HOPPAN??

Im sorry...that probably wasnt funny to anyone who hasnt seen 'A Mighty Wind'......

Ok - so I talked to Kat on my way home tonight and she said it sucked, the girls suck, they're idiots and she couldnt even watch the rest of the show. Please, please post your comments to recap the show....is it even worth watching? This brings me to another thing....

MY CURRENT LOVE/HATE RELATIONSHIP:

My current love/hate relationship is with the AVALANCHE of beautiful, moronic, dim-witted embarassments to women that are currently on all of the reality shows.

What the hell? Are there any single guys that read this other than Stetson? PLease answer this: Is a dumb woman attractive? If you cant read, watch the news....like....um, I dont know....ONCE A MONTH??? PLEASE???? I am embarassed to be an American woman while watching this, although, there is also a part of me that feels REEEEEELY smart when I see this.

Case in Point: "Beauty and the Geek".... John and I were watching this today. The premise is that they hook up these "beauties" with "geeks" and they work as a team....the geeks try to teach these educationally comatose heads on a stick what seems to be facts pulled off a 4th grade pop quiz. The "Beauties" try to teach the geeks important things, like who Kevin Federline is, What Gwen Stefanis clothing line is, and the finer points of pop culture and fashion.

The problem is, that these guys arent GEEKS! THEY JUST ARENT ASSHOLES!!!! These girls are too stupid to tell the difference. I mean, a few of them look slightly pre-pubescent and theres always one token nerd that looks like he was pulled off a bad 80's flick, but for the most part, these guys are catches!

Im getting away from the point I was trying to make....so at the end of the show, they're getting "Quizzed"....Ill admit, I was surprised that one of the "geeks" couldnt recognize a photo of Kevin Federline, but for the most part they did ok with the pop culture.

It was the women that had me scratching my head.

Question: What is the Capitol of Iraq?

Head on a stick: "Um, can you SPELL Iraq?"

Really? Spell Iraq. That country we're occupying? The word I hear fifteen times a day and im not even that politically knowledgable? The country we went to war with before? Saddam? Hussein? Is ANY of this ringing bells? ANYTHING?? AT ALL?

Ok, so this girl ACTUALLY asks the guy to SPELL Iraq. He looks confused.

Guy: "Um, Iraq. I-R-A-Q. Iraq."

I guess she doesnt hear the word Iraq often enough. If he spells it, maybe she can picture the word in her head, make some sort of association with it and something will come to her.

She is looking like someone just asked her to recite War and Peace verbatim.

Head on Stick: "Im going to say......Afghanistan?"

???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

Afghanistan. Afghanistan? Really? I hope this girl's parents arent watching this because I would crawl into a hole until she was safely in menopause and no longer allowed to procreate. Repeat after me, "Iraq, COUNTRY, Baghdad, CAPITAL. Afghanistan, COUNTRY, Kabul, CAPITAL."

Now, Im not saying that Im a rocket scientist. Its a little known fact that I once took a test in college, where the professor offered an "Extra Credit/Gimme" question at the end: Make up your own question and answer for one point"

easy enough. Some asked themselves questions like, "What is my name?" or "What street do I live on?"

Not me, no sir. I had studied hard....especially the separate definitions of "Ethos" Pathos" and "Logos"....and was quite dissapointed that it wasnt on the test. Perfect! Ill define all three as my final question! I FILLED the back page of my test with paragraph long definitions.

Only problem? I accidentally swapped two of the definitions, therefore, getting my own, made up question wrong.

Then, adding insult to injury, when the professor handed the tests back out to the class the next week, he announced with a chuckle, "And, I must tell you, that someone ACTUALLY missed their own question."

What was I saying again?

EASTER??? Are you joking?

As you can see....the midwest wasnt exactly blooming daffodills and the sunshiny Easters of of the past. It was cloudy, and ended up snowing a lot more than anyone had expected. As you can see, the view off my in-law's deck wasnt exactly Spring time Utopia. We were up there a month ago and it was so nice! My mother in law insisted it would snow once more....she said it always snows one more time after the crocus comes up. And she was right:

I also broke the law while I was at the lake....parked my saturn right in front of this sign. Thankfully, I was not ticketed. As most of you know, Johns parents are building in NC and moving sometime in the summer, so all the kids memorabilia has resurfaced with strict orders: "TAKE IT WITH YOU".....so the boxes were opened, and little Johnny McLaughlin, Boy Scout extrodinarre made a visit from the past....Im not sure if he really thought he could get this on, but he gave it the ol' College try:

below is a Korean Boy Scouts hat he traded for at the Jamboree....what ever the hell that is. He took the scarf and carefully spun it before he took his boy scout slide and snuggly pushed it up around his neck. Its just wrong, I know:
The highlights of Indian Lake are always the great spreads they put out.....Friday night, it was ribs, salad, broccoli & deviled eggs. Yum!
EASTER at the FORTENERS
As comfortable as I am at our family gatherings, Im always a little nervous for the new girlfriends my cousins bring to these events....People always use the term "Thrown to the wolves" when a new person is introduced to a tight knit clan, but I mean this when I say it....We certainly broke the mold.

For instance, while we were out in the front yard for "Easter Egg Hunt" (I use this term loosely as you will soon see) John commented on what he was observing - He pointed down the street, about five houses down, where a Norman Rockwell easter was taking place, a small family, grandparents, all looking like they just got back from church, two little girls in beautful lacy Easter dresses, excitedly trapseing around the front yard looking for easter eggs, while their loved ones looked on and took pictures. Another lovely Easter.

John then directed me to Uncle Mikes front yard, where my cousin Willie had taken his Capri-Sun and was entertaining the family with his "Mock Urination" bit:

So heres the deal, every Easter, all the aunts bring giant boxes of ziploc bags filled with Candy, Juice boxes, candy bars, plastic eggs filled with no more than ten cents each, and destroy someones front yard with the loot. Every now and then you get an actual "Gift", but for the most part, its turned into another opportunity for the family to throw things. At Christmas, its an over croweded room and a gauntlet of flying balls of wrapping paper and at Easter, its a front yard with all my younger cousins (mostly boys), showing off their pitching prowess by launching candy filled ziploc bags across the lawn. Sometimes they tell you its coming, sometimes they dont. This is what it looks like before the mayhem:
Ryan and Doug - Ryan was quite amused with his "Squeezeable" Sweet Tarts:
This is what I was talkign about the "gifts" all the Scrapbook Mountaineers found some cute Easter scrapbooking embellishments - SCORE!!!
And from my Aunt Jean: SCRAPBOOKING TAPE!! Thanks Jean, I love it.
John doesnt exactly get too involved with the "Hunt" if you want to call it that.
I took this picture when we first got there....they were showing Nick and Merediths wedding video...this is me giving the toast - Im posting it because I look thin - for once, the camera took OFF 20 pounds....go figure.

Awww.....nobody wants to sit with Jeanie!!!!

Oh yeah....our family is ruthless...younger cousin Chris found himself on the loosing end of an Atomic Wedgie courtesy of Ryan and Doug. It required a trip the bathroom to remove. Good job guys.
Question of the week:

Does anyone know anything about laying carpet?

Our upstairs bedrooms have AWFUL, dirty old worn carpet. I got curious and pulled some up in the blue room. The tack strips are down, and the padding is in good shape. Can I just pull the carpet and get a 10x12 remnant or a piece off those rolls at Home Depot and lay it myself? I want to do this on the cheap. (surprise surprise) and PS - the blue room will be blue no more. I dont like it anymore, and yes, I know its going to take seven coats of primer to fix it.

Let me know about that carpet.....Spanx! Happy Easter all!

PS!!! I need to make sure you ALL watch The Bachelor Tomorrow! I have volleyball at 9:30 so Im going to miss it. Will someone kindly send me a recap? I plan on posting Tuesday discussion boards about The Bachelor so lets all get involved! (Even though, at this point, I think the girls they choose get faker and faker, and also intentionally get hammered and start drama....its annoying, but what ELSE are we going to do? READ?!!?!?!!?!?)

Stacy called me yesterday on her way home as she was sitting in traffic. We're having this conversation about something else and she periodically throws in some road rage...."GOD! I hate this!!" "Geez! ive been sitting here for TWENTY MINUTES!" "I gotta find a different way to go other than 275"

the conversation continutes.

Stacy sighs loudly.

"OH. Heres the problem....everybody is slowing down for this disabled person on the side of the road." She says it with such disdain that I am speechless.

Im imagining this poor, helpless person in a wheelchair on the side of the road, as stacy drives by and gives him an angry look, shaking her head.

There is silence on the line.

"Stacy, did you mean a disabled vehicle?"

"Oh yeah." She thought about it for two seconds and started laughing hysterically when she realized how insensitive her inital comment came off.

Thats really all that happened yesterday.

Well, people are always telling me they like when I post pictures, but it seems the pictures of late are always of the same things...our house, same friends, weddings, socks, shoes, flowers. in no particular order. I was going through some old albums and found a few interesting pictures and since I get to stay up tonight & sleep in tomorrow, I took the time to do something I find very cheesy on others myspace pages. I took pictures of pictures. I doubt these pictures will shed much light on why I am the way I am, but I just dont have anything important to say. And my last post was so heavy I need to lighten things up.

Here's angie on her birthday in our dorm room: 360 Jeff Hall at Ohio University. I was drunk for much of that time and she was homesick, so I wasnt surprised when she transfered to UC the next year. Yes, it was angie who had the John Travolta addiction.

Heres me shooting a three pointer during warmups for a high school baskeball game. It was important for me to practice three pointers, what with my important job of running the baseline and shooting bunnie shots all game long...

Can you find me in this picture? My mom says the dance teachers "had a feeling" I would end up in sports. I wasnt exactly light on my feet, although i did play the part with my over-dramatic head tilt. How I was never in show choir I will NEVER know!


this was the result of a good two solid hours with a hair-iron. I used to use it back when I cared. That's me on the right with my aunt Sue circa 1998.
Many of you have heard the story of my excursion with truck driver Glenn of Wyoming. It is true, I took a ride on a semi off-road and up a ridge....with a six pack. Me, Josh, Amber and Krebs all drove to Wyoming the summer before my sophomore year in college. I made friendly with a truck driver who called his sleeping quarters (complete with a purple light) the "Stabbin Cabin" - dont worry - he was a friend of Josh's family. I escaped unharmed.

After looking at this picture, please, let me assure you, i did not do heavy drugs in college. I got inspired to do my hair in a Bjork/Afro-puff looking concoction. I wore it to the dining hall (Cory and Pat what were you thinking going to dinner with me???) I wore it to a cookout, and then I wore it to the Smiling Skull Saloon, where I ran into Ms. Juba Moon, a local celebrity for her multiple apperances on the Jerry Springer as a full-figured stripper, correct me if Im wrong. Anyway, i never did that again, but it did make for some decent shots.
Here's me an Ang at the UC Alpha Tau Omega White Tea Rose Formal, what ever that means. My date was kind enough to take us to the Party Source and stock up on mini bottles of Bacardi that we spiked our drinks with once inside. Bad Girls!
Anyway, hope you enjoyed this slide show of some various times of my life. Nothing too wild. Hopefully something significant will happen this weekend. Ill blog the crap out of it.

Have a happy EASTER WEEKEND!!!!!