What a great day!!

Today is my birthday! Someone mentioned to me I'd be done with birthdays after this year. Well, I hope not! I hope I have 50+ more birthdays! I won't be done with birthdays, I will just be done counting them!!! I'll be 49 and holding forever!

Today my BFF Shelley took Patrick and I to Jeeves and Company in Scottsburg. If we would have stopped at our spinach salad with chicken and garlic salad with chicken, we would have been ok, but noooo...

With it being my birthday, I thought why not? I normally don't do desserts, but today was the exception. And after today, it might be hard to decline the dessert the next time.

Shelley and I both had the brownie with ice cream, chocolate and caramel, with whip cream. I was thinking I was in heaven!






It was even better than the picture looks! By the time we were done, we were miserable. Happy, but miserable! Shelley and I have been friends for a number of years and today, we added to the tons of memories we share. Shelley and I were both blessed with brothers but no sisters. I consider her my sister I never had. If God had given me a sister, I don't think she could be as good as friend as Shelley. Check out her rendition of our friendship here:

http://whatifitdid.com/?p=1252

I have received several well wishes, cards, flowers, gifts, and phone calls from my friends and family today. I appreciate each and every thought. I'm truly blessed to have such a loving group of people around me. I love each and everyone of you and I'm a better person for having you in my life!

My Favorite Cartoons

I'm sure we all have a favorite cartoon that sticks in our mind from our childhood. Kids today have no idea what cartoons are suppose to be like. I wonder when the kids from today grow up, will one of their favorite cartoons be Sponge Bob? That is not what cartoons are suppose to be like.

I remember Foghorn Leghorn:



Foghorn would say, "Looky here son, I say looky here..." He was always trying to get the best of the Barnyard Dawg. Usually the dog took a spanking to the rear-end, then almost choked himself as he chased Foghorn to the end of his rope. I don't believe there was a 'winner' in the cartoon, but rather who got the best joke, the chicken or the dog.

PePe Le Pew was another classic:



PePe was the smelly skunk who was in love with the black cat. Of course, the black cat could not get past the smell of the skunk, but hearing the French accent of the skunk was funny stuff. I doubt I really knew what he was talking about as he was romancing the cat, but it was still funny to watch the cat squirm out of the smelly arms of the skunk.

The Road Runner and Wile E Coyote would have to be, at least, in the top 3 of everybody's favorite cartoon. The money Wile E spent on the Acme Corporation products to catch the Road Runner (beep, beep). He could have owned the company, but probably still not out-smarted the Road Runner!




Then good ole Yogi and Boo Boo:



Yogi was "smarter than the average bear" and was always trying to find a 'pic-a-nic' basket. Ranger Smith was always one step ahead of him and Boo Boo would often warn Yogi, but he wouldn't listen. "Hello Mr Ranger, sir!"

Some of these cartoons can be seen on cable re-runs, but most of the good ones are long gone. I showed Patrick some of Foghorn Leghorn cartoons on youtube the other day. It was funny to see them again, but even more funny to sit and hear Patrick laugh at the good cartoons!

Thelma and Louise

I'm sure most people have seen the Oscar winning movie from the early 90's with Susan Sarandon and Genna Davis. Brad Pitt also had a part in the movie. Believe it or not, our own little 'burg has it's very own Thelma and Louise!

We didn't have the '66 Thunderbird, as in the movie. We had a Chevy Chevette, and let me tell you, we thought we were some bad asses! We made so many memories together. From the towels at JC Penney's, cutting fire wood and sitting in the back of the pickup on top of the wood, going up a mountain, 8 months pregnant, almost swinging from a rope at Hardy Lake, going to the State Parks with Benjamin, Tracie, Troy, and Dawn in the summer time, riding bicycles when we had too much to drink--I only did that ONE time, BB guns and mirrors, stop signs, cows, etc.

Memories are a way of holding onto the things you love, the things you are, and the things you never want to lose. We don't remember days, we remember the moments.

Sometimes I play the 'Thelma' role, and sometimes my BFF Shelley has her turn at being the crazy one. 'Louise' is always there to save Thelma and always will be!

The best things in life come in 3's. Good friends, dreams and memories.

Shelley, happy birthday to a great friend, thanks for dreaming with me, and most of all, thanks for the memories!

Spring Is Coming

The proof is in the pictures:


Before we know it we will be hearing the sounds of lawn mowers, hedge trimmers, and all the spring time sounds that fill the air. Ahhhh, I can hardly wait!

Are you kidding me???

Northwestern beats Indiana University! Are you kidding me? Talk about sinking to the bottom of the barrel, IU is there.

Copy this link to your address bar:

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/blog/the_dagger/post/Indiana-promotes-manager-to-yes-play-basketbal?urn=ncaab,144306

How embarrassing!!!

The first Saturday in May is the community garage sale. ALL of my IU apparel will be given away on that Saturday, unless I burn it first!

How Was Your Week?

How was your week? That question was asked of me this past Saturday. Right off the bat, I said, "It was good." I wasn't really even thinking about the answer I was giving, I just quickly remembered there wasn't nothing that was pressing on my mind. "Well," said the nice lady, "I've been praying for you and your family this week!" Whoa! Let me re-think my answer then, I thought!

As I thought about it, my week was a really GREAT one.

The lady explained to me her deacon at our church had a prayer schedule and my family was on the list of people to pray for that week. After thinking about that, I realized my week was one of the best weeks I had had in a long, long, long, time.

I thought it was very thoughtful for Juanita to take time out of her day to think of me and my family, and include us in her daily prayers. I'm going to check, but I pretty sure Ron and Juanita will have a great week this week, as they have been included in my daily prayers!

Robert Montgomery Knight

“The General” as most Indiana fans know him, retired on February 4, 2008. At that time I didn’t think that was the last we would hear of him, and I was right! Bob Knight’s name is now being tossed around all over the sports and news networks as a possibility as the next head coach of the Georgia Bulldogs! Georgia is in the Southeastern Conference with Arkansas (John Pelphrey), Florida (Billy Donovan), and Kentucky (Billy Gillispie)! I can already play out in my mind the match ups with these teams and coaches! LSU is also in the SEC. When Mr. Knight was coaching at Indiana, they met LSU in the regional finals, back when Shaquille O’Neal was a stand out there. IU stopped O’Neal and won the game, but there was controversy. It would be awesome to have some rivalry back in the college game, with Mr. Knight right in the middle of it all!

Coach Knight has won 902 games, more than any other NCAA Division I head coach. From 1971-2000, he coached at Indiana University. He led the Hoosiers to 3 NCAA Championships, 1 NIT, 11 Big Ten Conference Championships, and in 1984 he coached the Olympic Team who won the gold medal for the United States!

In 1976, the Hoosiers, under the direction of Coach Knight, were 32-0 for the entire season, winning the NCAA Championship as the only team to go the entire season undefeated. That feat has yet to be repeated and probably never will (IMHO). Tom Crean is now the head coach of the Hoosiers. They have lost 11 straight games, are 0-8 in the Big Ten, and stand at 5-15 overall. (this will be a topic for another BLOG at another time)

IU’s president in 2000 was Myles Brand. On September 10, 2000, Brand relieved Mr. Knight of his duties when he refused to retire. After a year off, he accepted the head coaching job at Texas Tech. As the Red Raiders head coach, Mr. Knight averaged 21 wins per season.

Georgia is buzzing about the possibility of The General turning their program around. The players are excited as well. Sources close to Bob Knight say he’s interested. If you happen to read this Mr. Knight, please say you’ll coach again!

A Little Inconvenience?

Ok, so our little burg received some measurable snow this past week, with about an inch of ice to go along with it! I really enjoyed our first measurable snow of the winter season and got some good pictures of the beautiful, white stuff! (I’ll share them in another post later). Today’s temperature is suppose to reach 36 degrees, tonight is 17 degrees with a 30% chance of some flurries. On Tuesday afternoon the snow showers and flurries increase to 40% in the afternoon. So, sit tight folks, we might be getting some more! Yah!

It is already getting old listening to the complaints from folks about the trash pick-up from last week. The county was under a level one emergency, which meant only emergency personnel were allowed on the roads. Later, our county switched to a level two, which allowed emergency personnel and people on the road who were traveling to and from work. With our trash trucks coming from Columbus, Indiana and Louisville, Kentucky, they weren’t able to make it here.

Each morning I called Rumpke and spoke with Julie in dispatch to see if anyone was coming. Each morning she informed me they couldn’t make it. Actually, on Thursday, two trucks attempted to come here from Columbus, but turned around due to the bad roads and weather conditions.

This week our trash will be picked up on Tuesday. Our recycling materials will be picked up the following Tuesday, since we are on an every-other-week schedule. You would think residents would be grateful for the attempt the Rumpke employees made. Well, if you think that, you’re thinking wrong!

I’ve had one customer this morning, Sammy, who was a blessing. He asked when they would get his trash and I told him tomorrow. That was fine with him. He would set his recyclables back till next week. “No problem,” he said. Oh, if we just had more ‘Sammy’s’ in the world.

The customer before him, his initials is B.S., wanted to know "WHEN IS MY TRASH GOING TO BE PICKED UP!” I told him it would be tomorrow. Again, he shouted, “WHAT ABOUT MY RECYCLABLES?” Well, Mr. B.S., they will be picked up the following week, on February 10. Again, with my fingers in my ears, he screams, “WHAT AM I SUPPOSE TO DO WITH MY RECYCLABLES TILL THEN?” Before I had a chance to answer his question, he answered himself. He said he would just bag it, and set it out with the normal trash. I didn’t have the heart to tell him to make sure not to go over the weekly limit, as it wouldn’t be picked up!

Another customer this morning had the gull to ask if the trash charge would be discounted this month, since they missed a week! OMG, I thought! My response was since the trash truck will run tomorrow, they will pick up last week’s missed trash, along with this week. Some people just totally amuse me!

I’ve heard the saying, “Stick around, things will change.” That is pertaining to the weather. It does change quite often. One thing I can count on of never changing is some people’s attitudes! Those, I feel sorry for!

It's Started

Tuesday was my BIG day. No, I'm not talking about the swearing in of our president Barack. I've heard enough of that the last three days. I'm talking about my first day back to class in about 10 years! It was exciting. One of my best friends asked me if I was nervous. My answer was 'no', but as I was driving to Columbus last night, the closer I got to the school, I will have to admit, I was getting a few butterflies in my stomach.

I was the first to arrive, so I had my choice of the best seat in the room. Just like at church on Sunday, the front row remained open ;-) There are several other ladies in my class. Surprisingly, I'm not the oldest, but I'm not the youngest either. A couple ladies were teachers at Ivy Tech and were attending the class to enhance their skills.

I'm really excited about my new adventure. Added to my already overloaded schedule, I'm now squeezing in six different classes from now until the end of March. Bess is our instructor for the class, and taught us lots of new and different things the very first night! I couldn't believe how quickly the two hours passed. Before I knew it, it was time to go home for the evening.

My next class isn't until next Monday, but I'm ready to go back already!

History

Most Americans, and probably millions of others around the world, had their eyes on the computer screen, or were watching the television somewhere today as Barack Obama was sworn into office as our 44th president of the United States. The conservations I had at lunch today brought back some memories of years ago. Someone, younger than me, made a statement about not remembering past inaugural celebrations.

I remember way back in 1981 when Jimmy Carter was the out-going president and Ronald Reagan was the newly elected president being sworn into office. This was during the Iran hostage crisis, and as Jimmy Carter stood on the steps of the helicopter for his farewell flight as the former president, I recall the news anchor telling us the hostages had just been released from captivity in Iran.

I sit here and wonder about 25-30 years from now, when we have another inauguration celebration, what I will remember about today and what I will be able to share during a lunch conservation.