A Race for The Cure...

Yesterday I participated in the Susan G. Komen 5K Race for the Cure in the Capitol City. There was an amazing crowd... 5,400 strong. The event raised over $275,000.

I was proud to be a part of an event that is so important to us all...

The Crew...

I started my current job almost one year ago. It was the best move I could have made. I love the work, but the most rewarding thing about it is that I found some amazing new friends!

I didn't realize how much fun a group of gals could have. I can honestly say that this is the first time in my career that I look forward to coming to work!

I hope that all of you out there have that circle of friends that accept you no matter what... and will be there for you.

Here's me and my crew.

LP, N, Me, SB, and K... good times!

Everybody Cut Footloose...

Senior Goes to Prom on Tractor

NEW ROCKFORD, N.D. - Forget taking a limousine to the prom. One high school senior drove his date in a 1992 green John Deere 8760 tractor.

"A few people made bets with me that I wouldn't do it," said Levi Rue, a senior at New Rockford-Sheyenne High School. "I guess I won them."

Rue suggested the idea to his date, Alissa Bachmeier, last Thursday, two days before the prom. She wasn't sure, worried about her dress getting dirty.

But after Rue showed her pictures of the tractor and promised to make sure it was immaculate, Bachmeier agreed. "I cleaned it up pretty good," he said.

Bachmeier wore a lime green prom dress that nearly matched the tractor.

Rue said they drove around town and to his grandmother's house to show her the unusual chariot.

"We got quite a few people who stopped and looked and stared and waved," he said. -AP

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Call me crazy, but after reading this article... all I can think about is the movie, Footloose. I'm such a product of the 80's!!

Tuesday's Top Ten...

A few weeks ago this topic was flying around the blogsites... so I thought I would play along.

INSIDE THE BLOGGER'S STUDIO
The ten questions by Bernard Pivot that host James Lipton asks every guest are:

1. What is your favorite word?
Glamified… I made that one up! (It’s a cross between glamorous and glorified.)

2. What is your least favorite word?
Duh!... is that even a word?

3. What turns you on [creatively, spiritually or emotionally]?
Traveling… seeing new sights, architecture and culture.

4. What turns you off?
Insensitivity.

5. What is your favorite curse word?
Bugger!

6. What sound or noise do you love?
Laughter.

7. What sound or noise do you hate?
Screeching tires…. and the sound that follows.

8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
Travel Photographer.

9. What profession would you not like to do?
Bomb Tester.

10. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
Okay, I’m sorry about the small breasts… BIG mistake!

The Verdict...

GUILTYIt looks like Phil Spector has already been sent to the electric chair!!


Have a great weekend, everyone!

The Light of Her Life...

Smoke Break Saves S.C. Woman From Tree

ROCK HILL, S.C. - Smoking just might have saved Brenda Comers' life.

She said she had just finished washing dishes Monday and stepped outside to smoke a cigarette when an 80-foot oak tree crashed through her roof, landing across the sink where she had been standing just seconds before.

"Honey, I know you fuss at me for smoking," Comers said she told her husband. "But today it saved my life."

The tree, felled by strong wind, also missed the couple's adult daughter, who was at the other end of the house.

The family's insurance agent said they could not live there after the tree cut the kitchen and living room in half. -AP

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Okay, as you know... I am TOTALLY against smoking, but it's hard to argue with this woman!

Sleeping Beauty...

This is where I now lay my head at night.

I got a new comforter set this weekend... and I am in heaven!!

Lately, I had been bothered by my old comforter... it was about twelve years old and had definitely worn out it's welcome.

You may not know this about me, but I hate change... so I had to find just the right design that I knew I could live with for a LONG time. You see... this is only my third comforter since I was in eighth grade!! Yes, folks... that's a mighty long time!

But I fell in love with this comforter set. It's very soothing, calm and peaceful. And I can't tell you how happy I was on Saturday morning to wake up under my new gift!!

It's funny how something so simple as getting a new comforter can make me so damn happy!!

And I'm Gonna Be Forty...

When?

NEXT YEAR!!!

One of my favorite scenes from "When Harry Met Sally" is hitting a little too close to home for me...

Sally: He just met her... She's supposed to be his transitional person, she's not supposed to be the ONE. All this time I thought he didn't want to get married. But, the truth is, he didn't want to marry me. He didn't love me.

Harry: If you could take him back now, would you?

Sally: No. But why didn't he want to marry me? What's the matter with me?

Harry: Nothing.

Sally: I'm difficult.

Harry: You're challenging.

Sally: I'm too structured, I'm completely closed off.

Harry: But in a good way.

Sally: No, no, no, I drove him away. AND, I'm gonna be forty.

Harry: When?

Sally: SOMEDAY!!!

Harry: In eight years.

Sally: But it's there. It's just sitting there, like some big dead end. And it's not the same for men. Charlie Chaplin had kids when he was 73.

Harry: Yeah, but he was too old to pick them up.

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Yes, my blogging friends... tomorrow I will be turning 39. The big 4-0 is just around the corner... looming! I am a bit freaked... I know that I don't look, feel, or some people might say... "act" my age... but I never dreamt that I would be without a husband (or even date, for that matter) and kids by the time I hit this age. I know my life is good... I have an amazing family and a group of friends that I absolutely treasure. But there is a place deep in my heart that feels empty... and I hope that someday SOON it will be filled with love... as much love as I have to give to someone.

A Letter to my Cat...

Dear Lilly...

You are the sweetest little girl in the world and I love you no matter what... but I would like you to read the following article... and learn.

Cat saves family from
poisonous fumes

NEW CASTLE, Ind. - A cat helped spare a family from death by carbon monoxide poisoning by jumping on the bed and meowing wildly as fumes filled the home, the owners said.

Eric and Cathy Keesling said their 14-year-old cat, Winnie, played a crucial role in saving their lives March 24 after a gasoline-powered water pump in their basement caused the odorless but deadly gas to build up.

About 1 a.m., the domestic shorthair began nudging Cathy’s ear and meowing loudly.

“It was a crazy meow, almost like she was screaming,” said Cathy, who hesitated to get up until Winnie’s caterwauling and jumping persisted.

When she finally climbed from bed, she realized she was nauseous and dizzy and couldn’t awaken her husband. Because he had undergone minor neck surgery the previous day, she decided to call 911 but was so disoriented she had trouble dialing.

Paramedics found the couple’s 14-year-old son, Michael, unconscious on the floor near his bedroom. The Keeslings were taken from the home in oxygen masks, treated for carbon monoxide poisoning and soon recovered.

Cathy Keesling said Winnie acted similarly last summer when tornadoes tore through the area, 45 miles east of Indianapolis.“I really believe cats can sense these kind of things,” she said.

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Okay, Lilly... it's not that I don't appreciate all the loving nudges, friendly leg attacks, and constant "talking" that you do... but I thought you should know what other cats are doing out there. And if there ever was an emergency... one that I wasn't aware of... I'd like to know that you would have the know-how to jump into action!

But don't worry... if you don't have it in you to perform such heroics... I'll love you anyway.

Yours forever,
Mamma

Hippity-Hop...

Happy Easter Everyone!!From one deranged Easter bunny!!

Farewell...

'A Christmas Story' Director Dies in Crash

Bob Clark, whose film "A Christmas Story" became a seasonal fixture for its bittersweet cataloguing of holiday dreams and disappointments, was killed with his son in a car crash. He was 67.

Clark and Ariel Hanrath-Clark, 22, were traveling on the Pacific Coast Highway in the Pacific Palisades when they were killed Wednesday, said Lyne Leavy, Clark's personal assistant. Their car was struck head-on by an SUV that a drunken driver steered into the wrong lane, police said.

"It's a tragic day for all of us who knew and loved Bob Clark," said Scott Schwartz, who played the flagpole-licking character Flick in "A Christmas Story" and kept in touch with Clark over the years. "Bob was a fun-lovin', jelly-roll kinda guy who will be sorely missed." -- AP

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Another horrible tragedy as a result of a drunk driver... such a senseless death. There's not much else to say but... "Rest in Peace, Old Blue".

A Day in the Life...

JoeinVegas had this as a post on his site and it looked like fun.

If you go to Wikipedia and put your birthdate in the search, it comes up with a lot of interesting information about what happened on that date.

So, here it is... April 14th... and all the exciting things that happened on my birthday!

Events
1828 - Noah Webster copyrights the first edition of his dictionary.

1865 - U.S. President Abraham Lincoln is shot in Ford's Theatre by John Wilkes Booth.

1912 - The British ocean liner RMS Titanic strikes an iceberg in the North Atlantic on its maiden voyage, plunging beneath the waves and taking with it over 1,500 lives at about 2:20 a.m. the following morning.

1956 - Videotape is first demonstrated at the 1956 NARTB (now NAB) convention in Chicago, Illinois. It is the demonstration of the first practical and commercially successful format called 2" Quadruplex.

1968 - At the Academy Awards, a tie between Katharine Hepburn and Barbra Streisand results in the two sharing the Best Actress Oscar; Hepburn also becomes the only actress to win three Best Actress Oscars. (Kate's the greatest... if I haven't already told you!!)

1970 - One of Apollo 13's oxygen tanks explodes, causing a cancelled moon mission. The explosion occurs on April 13th in several time zones.


Births
1741 - Emperor Momozono of Japan (d. 1762) (No wonder I like sushi!!)
1866 - Anne Sullivan, Helen Keller's teacher (d. 1936)
1934 - Loretta Lynn, American singer/songwriter
1968 - Anthony Michael Hall, American actor (Yes... I was born on the exact date as Farmer Ted!!!)

Deaths
1578 - James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell, consort of Mary I of Scotland
1925 - John Singer Sargent, English artist (b. 1856)
1950 - Sri Ramana Maharshi, Indian philosopher (b. 1879)
1995 - Burl Ives, American singer and actor (b. 1909)


Holidays and Observances
N'Ko Alphabet Day - the anniversary of the day the N'Ko alphabet was completed in 1949.

Black Day - Informal celebration day for single people in South Korea. (Let's all celebrate the single people, shall we??)

National Day of Climate Action in the United States


Anything exciting happen on your birthdate?

Tuesday's Top Three...

Once again, we continue the Katharine Hepburn lovefest...

Stage Door 1937

Terry Randall (Katharine Hepburn), rich society beauty, has decided to see if she can break into the Broadway theatre scene without her family connections. She goes to live in a theatrical boarding house and finds her life caught up with those of the other inmates and the ever-present disappointment that theatrical hopefuls must live with. Her smart-mouth roommate, Jean, is approached by a powerful producer for more than just a role. And Terry's father has decided to give her career the shove by backing a production for her to star in, in which she's sure to flop. But his machinations hurt more than just Terry.

This film stars a wonderful cast including Ginger Rogers, Lucille Ball and Constance Collier. The speech at the end of the play completely devistates me everytime... such a pure perfomance moment captured by Kate. "The calla lilies are in bloom again..."

The African Queen 1951

The 1951 John Huston classic, set in Africa during World War I, garnered Humphrey Bogart an Oscar for his role as a hard-drinking riverboat captain in Africa, who provides passage for a Christian missionary spinster (Katharine Hepburn). Taking an instant, mutual dislike to one another, the two endure rough waters, the presence of German soldiers, and their own bickering to finally fall into one another's arms.

What a great performance by Kate and Bogie... here's a great moment in the movie:

Charlie Allnut: How'd you like it?

Rose Sayer: Like it?

Charlie Allnut: White water rapids!

Rose Sayer: I never dreamed...

Charlie Allnut: I don't blame you for being scared - not one bit. Nobody with good sense ain't scared of white water...

Rose Sayer: I never dreamed that any mere physical experience could be so stimulating!

Desk Set 1957

The mysterious man hanging about at the research department of a big TV network proves to be engineer Richard Sumner (Spencer Tracy), who's been ordered to keep his real purpose secret: computerizing the office. Department head Bunny Watson (Katharine Hepburn), who knows everything, needs no computer to unmask Richard. The resulting battle of wits and witty dialogue pits Bunny's fear of losing her job against her dawning attraction to Richard.

A very funny, light-hearted movie. The scene between Spencer and Kate in Bunny's apartment is a classic. Their chemistry shines through. This one's for you, MSUgal86 ... (and The Philadelphia Story was featured in my first Tuesday's Top Three a few weeks ago!)