Music pick for the day

I've found a new CD that I was very surprised that I liked so well. It's the Curious George soundtrack. Jack Johnson has such a soft and tender voice that it's perfect for the type of music on this CD.

I've bought a few Jack Johnson CDs in the past, and I have always enjoyed them. He's got a real "feel-good" vibe to everything he does. I was a little skeptical when I heard he was doing this soundtrack, but I have been pleasantly surprised.

This is something that the whole family, from the kids all the way to grandma and grandpa, would appreciate. There are good messages in these songs, and the general happy go lucky feel that Jack adds to all his tunes is overly abundant. It's one of those CDs I can put in and it just makes me smile.

There are some soft, sweet lullabies. There are a couple of Jack's typical bouncy and happy songs. There is a cover of a White Stripes song that I was really impressed with. And he also does a duet with Ben Harper, who I LOVE!!!!!

His CD debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Magazine's top 200. This is his first No. 1 CD!!! Good job Jack!!!

I recommend it highly........

Valentine's Surprise

This bright red room seemed perfect for Valentine's Day!!
The room with the red couch is the library right outside our room.




Ryan and I had a great weekend in Logansport, of all places. Sounds kind of weird saying we had a little getaway in Logan, but it turned out to be really nice.

I surprised Ryan and took him to a Bed and Breakfast for a belated Valentine's gift. He had to work Saturday night, so we only stayed Sunday. I would have loved to stay longer....there was so much to see.

We stayed in a B&B called The Inntiquity Inn. It was beautiful. It and the home next to it were originally built in 1849. The building that is used for the B&B was once the dairy barn. They have filled it with antiques from all over the world...it was amazing. The outside of the buliding had a little to be desired, but in the summer, I'm sure it's nice when everything is in bloom.

The inside of the house had beautiful things around every corner. It seemed like I would notice something different every time I went into our room. We had a little study area with a desk and a couple chairs. There was a huge antique bookcase full of books and old knick knacks. There was a huge library with a game board, an enormous selection of movies to take back to the room, and a beautiful marble fireplace. (There were three different fireplaces for us to use) We had a jacuzzi tub, so we enjoyed that after sitting by the fire and playing a little chess and some cards.

We had the entire house to ourselves for the night. The innkeeper, George, was there through the night to get us anything we wanted. All non-alcohlic drinks were included with the room, as was our huge breakfast. There was a restaurant in the bar downstairs, but we decided to go out to eat. The bar on the first floor reminded us both of the bar in the movie "The Shining." It had a lot of character, but it was a little creepy at the same time.

Our breakfast was absolutely delicious!! We walked down to the dining room at about 9:00 to find our table set, and our first course waiting on us. There was fresh fruit cups and a couple different breads. Our cook came out and asked if we wanted the "normal country breakfast." We didn't have menus or know what our other options would be, so we said yes. it was a good choice!! We had some kind of egg, cheese and sausage casserole, sausage patties, more bread, more fruit...it was almost overwhelming!!

Overall, I had a fantastic time, and I hope to go back when we can spend a little more time there. Ii would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a quick little getaway. This place would be great for anyone who likes antiques and talking history....George likes to tell lots of stories if given the chance. The website doesn't do this place justice at all, but this is the website. www.inntiquity.com

Creepy or Cute?!?!?

I was sent an e-mail about this...now, I'm taking a poll.....
Creepy or cute????

They are made of frosting!

These are made with marzipan.

Definition of Marzipan A, Almond paste: a sweet paste made of ground almonds and sugar, often with egg whites or yolks, used as a layer in cakes or molded into ornamental shapes.

MY VOTE IS: CREEPY!!!!!!!!!

OH, that romantic man of mine!!!

Some of you got roses, some of you got romantic cards, was anyone as lucky as me? Did anyone else get the book called "I Love You More Than Beer" for Valentine's Day? (It's even shaped like a beer can...it reminds me of the old Hamm's beer that Dad used to buy) Coming from Ryan, that means A LOT!!!!!! :-)

So Ryan, being on the tight budget he's on, put together a V-Day basket for me with very little....but it meant a lot!!!

He even decorated the basket himself. He tied ribbons around the handles, and one around the whole basket. There was a little pink tissue paper in the bottom covered with some Hershey Kisses, a green leather journal, the book, and a framed picture of Ryan wearing a PINK....yes, PINK jump suit!!!! It was hysterical!!

At Christmas, I bought my neighbor a hot pink jump suit. When I sent Ryan in to look at the great bargain (like he cared,) he came out of the bedroom wearing it and strutted around the house unzipping the jacket, sticking his sexy little chest out with a look of either terror, or extremely overwhelming pleasure...and I got pictures!!! I had no idea he stole one to use for this occasion. And yes, once again, I did say PINK...how perfect for Valentine's Day!!!

So, along with the lasting memories I will have from the photo, I have this book.....which is filled with heart felt thoughts from a guy's perspective.

A couple good examples of the contents:
--"I love you more than beer. You taste better than beer (even those pricey microbrews). You're less filling. And when I've had more of you than the law should allow, I can still drive."
--"I love you more than hamburgers. You're juicy and meaty. Your buns are soft, never stale. And you don't need a lot of condiments to be tasty."
--"I love you more than Mcdonald's. You're more delicious than a Big Mac, saltier than a box of fries. And you know that a happy meal doesn't necessarily end with a toy prize."
--"I love you more than old westerns. You're always one of the good guys (even when you're bad!) I'd love to have a showdown with you at high noon. And if you ever showed up in chaps and a white hat, I'd slap my knee and holler "Yee Haw!"

Yeah, and there's 96 more to go with those!!! He's so crazy!!!

There's never a dull moment with this guy!!!! I love my Valentine!!!!!!!

The Treck Continues.......

I'm sitting here at work recovering from yet another long night of good music.

Ryan and I met up with a few friends last night and went to Bloomington to see One Under. We had a great time. This was only the band's second trip to Indiana, and I'm happy to say I've been able to make it to both shows.

The band is made up of two of the guys from Ekoostik Hookah, and some other fellows from a band called The Shantee. They played at a bar called Uncle Fester's. I had never been there until last night. It was a pretty cool little place. There was balcony seating with a bar upstairs, and a small dance floor downstairs with another bar. Of course I was glued to the dance floor all night long. My legs and butt are killing me today......I guess it's good exercise to shake my butt, huh?

The band was excellent. They covered a Wilson Pickett song in memory of him due to his passing this past week. They also covered a couple Santana songs, which were awesome!! I guess Santana would be one of the different artists I could compare One Under to. They throw a lot of spice into their music.

It was strange to sleep on someone's floor last night. I haven't done that in years. The band didn't stop playing until nearly 3:00 A.M. so we opted to crash at my friend Tashanna's house. Ryan, being the boyscout he is, thought ahead and brought our air mattress, so it wasn't too bad. I got about four hours of sleep before we had to get up and get back to Kokomo so I could be available to be on call for work.......I love my job!!!!!

I've gotten my fix of Ed and Johnny from Ekoostik Hookah for awhile....now it's time for the other boys to come back out and play!!!!!!!

Thankful for the Little Things

So, I had a little battle with my toilet the other day!! (Isn't it weird how much we've blogged about toilets)

I decided to try out my plumbing skills because my toilet wouldn't flush. I pulled the top off the tank and tried a little handy work.....now I'm ready to flush...so, here we go, the top is still off the back, the lid is up so I can observe....Yeah, it's flushing...just like it should...but wait, all of a sudden, there's a nice long stream of toilet water shooting like a bullet across my bathroom. The wall is wet, the door is wet, the floor is a total disaster, but you know what.....that dirty ol' toilet water never once touched me!! Not my hands, not my face (YUCK!!)...nothing.

So that is the little thing I'm thankful for........

Moral to this story:
Always make sure the pipe that refills your tank is UNDER the lever for the handle...when the handle goes up, you don't want that pipe going with it!!!!!

cast iron

Ok everyone, time to clean out your cabinets.

Do you or any of your parents and/or grandparents have any old cast iron skillets, or other cookware? Apparently they are pretty hot commodities in the world of antiquing. Maybe that's not a surprise to some of you, but I had no idea that old rusty stuff in my cabinets was worth anything.

I find stuff like this at the goodwill store all the time. Now, I think I'm gonna start buying it if I'm lucky enough to find the right brands because a lot of these (especially Griswold or Wagner brand) are selling for a couple hundred dollars a piece.

There's a pretty interesting website called panman.com that has pricing info, history, and cleaning instructions. It's full of all sorts of info about old cooking stuff.

There was a dutch oven on ebay going for over $500.00, so if you happen across any of theese items, it might be a good investment.

I'm going to Salvation Army and Goodwill after work. I'll let you all know if I get rich quick from this little mission....wish me luck!!

floating babies

This was posted on "my Yahoo" page as one of the most e-mailed photos recently...pretty interesting, huh? It kinda freaks me out.....I think maybe someone did this to me as a child...maybe, that would explain my recurring dreams about water....weird!!!!


In this photo released by China's Xinhua news agency, babies have the swimming training at a Maternal and Infantile Health Care Center in Suzhou, east China's Jiangsu province, on Friday February 3, 2006. Swimming for newborn babies, which is becoming increasingly popular in China, is not only good to the growth of babies' bones and muscles, but can strengthen heart and lung functions, Xinhua said. (AP Photo/Xinhua, Hang Xinghui)

Oh, the memories......

Not having cable has been good for reminiscing the last couple of months.... I know at least Andrea will appreciate this!!

I pulled out a bunch of old movies the other night and came across Coal Miner's Daughter. I think this was the first movie I ever learned to quote. I can thank Andrea for that!! :-)

I remember pulling the old hide-a-bed out of the couch at Aunt Sissy's house and watching this movie over and over again. Watching it the other night brought back a lot of good memories.

It was always good times at Sissy's...at least when Andrea wasn't throwing brushes at me, or hiding nail polish bottles under my pillow case to smash my head on at night. Brent, or "Bee", as I used to call him, was usually a little nicer...sorry Andrea :-) I guess it builds character though, right?

Anyway, I just wanted to let everyone know that if they appreciate Loretta Lynn, Sissy Spacek, and/or Tommy Lee Jones, and they haven't seen this, or just haven't seen it in ahwile, you should take the time to find it somewhere. Sissy Spacek does such a great job, and you can't help but fall in love with this movie if you appreciate country music at all.

Brent and Andrea...this brought back a lot of warm fuzzy feelings for me. Thank you so much for giving me such great memories!!!!

another one of those songs I FEEL

Let my inspiration flow
in token lines suggesting rhythm
that will not forsake me
till my tale is told and done

While the firelight's aglow
strange shadows in the flames will grow
till things we've never seen
will seem familiar

Shadows of a sailor forming
winds both foul and fair all swarm
down in Carlisle he loved a lady
many years ago

Here beside him stands a man
a soldier by the looks of him
who came through many fights
but lost at love

While the storyteller speaks
a door within the fire creaks
suddenly flies open
and a girl is standing there

Eyes alight with glowing hair
all that fancy paints as fair
she takes her fan and throws it
in the lion's den

"Which of you to gain me, tell
will risk uncertain pains of Hell?
I will not forgive you
if you will not take the chance

"The sailor gave at least a try
the soldier being much too wise
strategy was his strength
and not disaster

The sailor coming out again
the lady fairly lept at him
that's how it stands today
you decide if he was wise

The storyteller makes no choice
soon you will not hear his voice
his job is to shed light
and not to master

Since the end is never told
we pay the teller off in gold
in hopes he will come back
but he cannot be bought or sold

GRATEFUL DEAD - "Terrapin Station: Lady With A Fan" lyrics

Volunteering for the animals

Well, I have decided to get involved in volunteering at the Kokomo Humane Society. I know what you're all thinking...I'm going to end up with 5,000 pets at home after it's all said and done. Maybe you're right, but I'm going to try to control myself.

My inspiration behind this decision has been a book called "The Man Who Talks to Dogs." A friend of mine from St Louis gave it to me for Christmas, and I can't get it out of my mind.

The book is about a man who has taken the strays of St Loius and given them some hope. He has set up several programs for adoption, shelters that didn't exist, broken up large dog fighting rings, and has helped with the huge puppy mill problems in the big cities. His personal story of how a dog basically saved his life is very moving, but much too detailed to get into here.

I know we all have our own problems and families to take care of, but there are so many little things we can do to help the homeless and hopeless animals in our community.

Here are a few pictures of some of the sweeties in Kokomo waiting for homes right now. (I had to do that to tug your heart strings a little)


The program I'm mainly trying to get involved in is where you take a pet from the shelter to nursing homes or assisted living homes to visit patients and people who live in these places. (Ryan said "great, you'll bring home a ton of pets AND old people. You know you'll fall in love with everyone!") I have already gotten my dog Jerry involved in this type of thing here at work. He is a huge inspiration in his little wheelchair to so many patients at the hospital.

There are so many things that can be donated to help the shelter care for their animals. I posted a list of some of the things that are easy to get...just incase anyone is interested.



~ Blankets
~ Small Rugs
~ Collars (multiple sizes)
~ Leashes (this could also include harnesses, 'gentle-leaders', snap-off cat collars)
~ Towels and washcloths
~ Carpet pieces or small rugs
~ Non-clumpable cat litter
~ Dog and cat food
~ Purina Puppy Chow (because of their sensitive digestion system, we keep them on a consistant diet)
~ Grooming supplies (shampoos, brushes, combs, fingernail clippers,etc.)
~ Small animal pet food (rodent food, rabbit pellets, guinea pig pellets, bird seed, alfalfa or Timothy hay)
~ Aspen or Pine litter for bedding (NO CEDAR SHAVINGS, please)
~ Small animal cages (bird cages, small pet cages, aquariums)
~ Pet toys for cats
~ Larger pet toys for dogs (small toys and balls get down in drains)
~ Laundry detergent
~ Any other miscellaneous pet supplies YOU can think of !

Anyway, just keeping you up to date on my latest obsession. If anyone is interested in donating anything at all, or donating any time, let me know, and I will take care of dropping off any items, or getting any info you may need for any other interests about the strays and the shelter.

Good advice!!!

Dance like nobody is watching... live like there may be no tomorrow....

Tell everyone important to you that they ARE important to you...that you love them

Smile at the people we have lost and loved every day

Just some food for thought

"If people let the government decide what foods they eat and what medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as the souls who live under tyranny." - Thomas Jefferson


"One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors." - Plato


"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither safety nor liberty." - Ben Franklin


"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win." - Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)

"Wisest is he who knows what he does not know" -Plato

"If a man who cannot count finds a four leaf clover, is he lucky?"-Stanisalw J Lec

"when the student is ready, the master appears"-Buddhist Proverb

"If you think you're free-there's no escape possible"-Ram Dass

"To learn something new, take the path you took yesterday"-John Burroughs

"By all means marry. If you get a good wife, you will be happy. If you get a bad one, you'll become a philosopher, that's a good thing for any man."-Socrates



YOUR THOUGHTS?????

A New Year!!!

Hello All!!!!

Sorry it's been awhile since I've been online...I actually took some time off work...Yeah for me!!!

Anyway, not much exciting, except for the fact that another year has passed, and I'm STILL scraping wallpaper ( I mean LAYERS of wall paper) from the wall in my old bedroom.

So, does anyone have any big plans for the new year ahead? Nothing exciting to speak of from my end....no new dogs, no new roommates, no new husbands etc....

I did make a New Year's resolution which has gone pretty well so far. It's very simple...all I want to do is get my lazy butt out of my soft, cozy, warm, snuggly bed early enough to make it to work on time.....so far, so good....but don't hold your breath :-)

So, the Colts lost today....I think I better go home and have some wine to consol myself!! What a bummer after such a great season....and don't you all feel awful for Tony Dungy. He's going to have a lot more time on his hands and on his mind. What an awful thing for any parent to ever have to face.

On the up-side of things, we celebrated Grammy's 88th birthday this week!!! WOW!! Can you imagine everything you could see in that amount of time? I'm so thankful for Grammy and the whole family for that matter!! If it weren't for her, none of us would have eachother...she has built a beautiful family for us. It sounded as if Grammy really enjoyed herself this year. She partied hard until at least 10:30, because that's about when I left....what a woman!! Sorry I missed the rest of the family. But you all know me...I'm always the last one to arrive:-)

I guess that's it for now. I appologize for the lack of interesting content....just wanted to let you all know I'm still out here!!!

I found this picture on a website of strange pictures. I found both the picture and the story behind it pretty interesting.

Back in the 1800's, there was a convivted forger named A. Schiller who was a great artist. He was found dead in his cell with seven straight pins laying on his body. They all had a part of the Lord's Prayer etched into them. It was carved into the pins with a tool too small to be seen by the naked eye. There were six silver pins and one gold one, which was flawless according to the article I read. The Lord's prayer has 65 words and is 254 letters long. It took this man 25 years to finish his masterpiece, and he went blind due to his artwork. (The picture was taken at 500x zoom)

Bottom's up!!!

The School of Textiles and Design at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh have begun what is believed to be the world's first-ever study on how women's clothing affects the bottom(AFP/Illustration)

OK, so this is a photo that caught my attention. Wish my cheeks were that smooth!!!

Happy 2006!!!!

Well, 2006 is officially under way. It's pretty hard to believe another year has passed. Time seems to go so fast anymore...now I know what all the "old folks" meant when they used to tell me that time goes faster and faster every year. Doesn't it seem like it was just yesterday that everyone was freaking aut about the new millenium???? Now, here we are, six years later......

Anyway, I hope everyone had a great New Year celebartion. Our trip to Kentucky was a blast!! When I figure out how to work my nice new camera, I'll post some pictures from the show.

The concert Friday night was enough to bring in my new year, but we still made the trip to St. Louis as well to visit some friends. Three days later, I'm still recuperating from a crazy weekend.

Before the show Friday night, we met up with Dave and Kelly ( a couple friends we met at Hookah shows) in Newport and had dinner and just hung out at the hotel. Eric Lanese (the drummer & my guilty pleasure) came and hung out with us before the show!!! It was so nice to actually have him in our room where we could have a decent conversation rather than a quick "hello, how've you been...e-mail me" type thing. We tried to get him drunk, but he was being a "good boy." (Those are his words) I would never call Eric a good boy :-) Nevertheless, we got some good quality time in before the booty shakin' began. That made my day...if not my year!!!

The show was very bitter sweet. It was great to be up in front of the boys one last time. The energy from both the stage and the crowd was out of this world!! I ran into several friends I have met through our travels following the Hookah boys, so that was nice. They played for about three hours, and closed with an encore covering "Don't Fear the Reeper." Who would've ever seen that one coming?!?!? Not this girl!!! There were tons of people in the audience screaming "more cowbell!!!" It was hilarious. I wish I could figure out how to put all my feelings into words, but the situation is still so fresh in my mind...I need more time to think...It's hard work, you know!!

Our trip to St. Louis was fun also. The drive was rough after only about three hours of sleep, but Ryan is a champ. He drove the whole trip and I slept quite a bit.

We arrived in St. Louis at about 2:30 Saturday afternoon. So, we were there for just over 24 hours...but it was worth it. We stayed with our friends Jeff and Karen...both wonderful people. We went to Jeff's parents' house on New Year's Eve for the annual family get-together. It's only the second year I have gone with Ryan, yet I feel right at home with all these new faces. Jeff's family considers Ryan one of their own, so I have come to accept them as part of our extended family. We had a lot of fun playing shuffel board, ping pong, drinking, eating, and well, lots of other stuff...maybe I'll remember more details later...who knows!!!

Hope everyone had as much fun as I did bringing in the new year!!

The Final Treck

Well, the time has finally come to officially say goodbye to my boys.......Hang on while I grab a tissue.

Anyway, tomorrow night, at about this time, I will be shaking my booty for the last time to Ekoostik Hookah as I know them. Their last show is actually new year's Eve, but due to other plans, I will not be there. However, Ryan and I are leaving in the morning for Newport, kentucky where they will play their last show at the Southgate House.

Going back to Southgate House alone is exciting for me. I have continued to dream (literally) about this place on a pretty regular basis since seeing Hookah play there last year. I had a blog entry about Southgate House and how it constantly haunts
my mind a few months ago...I think I called it "dreams." So, it should be interesting to see if this visit raises as many questions in my head. I have done a little research since I was there last year, and hope to get some more answers to this bizaar obsession of mine. I plan on taking plenty of pictures with my new digital camera that Santa brought me, so hopefully I can capture some of its eeriness to share with all of you.

It is going to be a very bitter sweet evening. It's exciting as always knowing that I have another show right around the corner, but that will all be done and gone after tomorrow night. I'm not usually a softy about things, but it will be rough to hold back the tears at the end of the show. I feel like I'm losing a big piece of my heart. I know it may sound rediculous to some people who have never been in my shoes, but for those of you who have, I'll take all the sympathy I can get.

I have been reassured that my one big fear will not happen. That is losing touch with these guys. I have come to call them my friends over these last few years of following them. Eric and I have been in touch several times, and although he doesn't have any other side bands right now, I think we'll manage to hang out and keep in touch. I've also talked to Cliff, the bass player, and he will be moving to Colorado this spring. Ryan and I already have his address, so hopefully, we'll be able to keep in touch with him as well.

As for the rest of the guys, I guess that remains to be seen. We plan on following them in all their future endeavors, wherever that may lead. We will definitely be following Johnny and Ed with their new band One Under. ( oneunder.net ) The way I'd like to look at it is....this just means more shows for us in the future. Maybe Eric will join us for a few.

So, as I end my year with my favorite band, and my favorite man, I wish you all the best in the new year.

Thank you all for being so kind and making such a wonderful difference in my life. i would be lost without my family and friends..........................I came for the music..............I stay for the family.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

back in 1942

Back on this day, December 22nd, 1942, there was a very wonderful person brought into this world.

Jack Robert Simmons 1942-1998

He would have been 63 years old today. It's impossible to not think of Dad on this day every year, which is a good thing, because he always makes me smile.

He always told me that smiles and laughing were contagious. With Dad around, that was always true!!! He was one of the most jovial and positive people to anyone who ever knew him.

On this day, I hope everyone will smile at my dad just like I do every day. He would be happy to be responsble for putting another smile on our faces one more time.

I LOVE YOU DAD.......and I pray you are at peace............

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!

MERRY
CHRISTMAS
EVERYONE!!!!!!