The Wedding Date

I got the dvd of this movie yesterday because it looked like a good happy ending movie and I've been wanting to see it for months. I wasn't disappointed. It's funny and entertaining. I'm glad I bought the dvd. The one thing that puzzles me is the dvd case. There are two little flaps on the side that you have to open before you can open the dvd case. What are these for? I haven't seen them on any other dvd cases and the flaps are so thinly attached that they can break off easily. I do have one small criticism about the movie - it seems a bit mature for its pg 13 rating. But then I have no intention of relating to a 13 year old so there is that to consider. I just know I wouldn't watch it while sitting next to my parents. I think that should be part of the ratings system.

Observations

Gas taxes in WV will increase by $0.05 a gallon next week. That's about $0.50 a fill up for me and when my tank is completely empty it would be about $0.80, or about $13.00 - $20.00 a year. This week the average price for gas in my town was $2.30 a gallon. You know, considering how many department of highways employees I see just standing around leaning on their trucks, you'd think reorganization would take place before demanding more money from taxpayers. I still don't know why they don't have a special tax on alcohol the way they do on gas and tobacco. The governor wanted a special tax on soft drinks and junk food but it didn't happen. Why is alcohol so special?

Speaking of taxes, I received both the IRS and State Tax books this week in the mail. Both organizations tried their best to get me to file by phone or online for the past several years but I continued to send my return through the mail.

Am I the only one not to be surprised at all the snow Denver has been getting? Any state who makes that much off of the skiing industry has to expect snow. Here in WV we've been experiencing warmer than normal temperatures, which I am completely happy with.

I haven't said anything about Gerald Ford's passing. The most notable thing I think of about Gerald Ford is that one of his children had a role on tv's The Young and the Restless back when I was a kid. All Federal offices will be closed on Tuesday, but unfortunately, state workers in WV will still have to work.

And the biggest news in the last 12 hours has been the execution of Saddam Hussein. All I'm going to say about this is that pictures and video should not be shown on tv and I am appalled by the reports that people took pictures with him before the execution so they would have souviners. It could have been more of a circus, however, so I guess there's something to say for that.

Some sports observations:

In WV, Huntington High's basketball team is ranked #1 everywhere because of O.J. Mayo and several other exceptionally good players. The latest score was something like 114 to 38 (those may not be exact numbers but it was 100 something to 30 something). That's sad for the rest of the WV teams.

In Golf, it's being reported on some other blogs that Tiger Woods will not appear at the season opening Mercedes Championship next week, an exclusive field of only 2006 tournament winners. The Golf Channel had been heavily promoting his appearance there by saying that one streak will end, either Tiger's PGA tour win streak or Stuart Appleby's Mercedes Championship Win Streak. I thought their hype was premature because Tiger has not made a habit of playing in that event every year. Now they have a bit of egg on their faces. Serves them right for sucking up to Tiger Woods the way they do.

The We Are Marshall movie continues to get a lot of press here locally. The local news reports how much the film grosses, but does not tell me how much it took to make the film. I would like to know how well the film is doing from that point of view.

Another Holiday

Yay! I have Monday off. I have a pretty busy weekend planned. I have to do some cooking today, take the dogs for a walk, walk to the mailbox to get the mail. Tomorrow I have to take Phoebe to Mom and Dad's for her weekly visit. Monday is Christmas Part 2 at Mom and Dad's house - this time my niece, nephew and brother-in-law will be there. I guess I'll have to put away the Christmas Tree sometime. Somewhere in all this I need to schedule time for my naps.

I bought several books from eharlequin.com that I need to read. And yesterday I bought a dvd of the movie "The Wedding Date" starring Debra Messing and Dermot Mulroney. All the commercials for the movie looked like it would be a typical romance novel kind of movie, complete with a happy ending. Hopefully, it will be a good movie.

I also bought a big scented pillar candle that was 50% off at Walmart. I thought I would melt it down and pour it into jars so I can have several candles for my candle warmer.

Christmas Part 1

Yesterday, Fritz, Phoebe, and Steffi got their stockings. I couldn't wait any longer to give them to them. They played with their toys and ate their treats. They still have more treats to eat.

Today, was Christmas dinner at my parents' house. We had turkey, noodles, mashed potatoes, green beans, sweet potatoes, gravy, hot rolls. Then for dessert we had red velvet cake, chocolate fudge, raisin pie. Being a picky eater, I only had the turkey, noodles, mashed potatoes, hot rolls, cake and fudge. I was lucky enough to only bring back some fudge. Tomorrow, I'm back on the treadmill and diet so I didn't need any leftovers.

We also exchanged gifts today. I got mom and dad a tin full of amish foods that I ordered from a website. They were very happy to get that. It had different jams and jellies, and canned vegetables. I also got dad a 4 pack of honey from a website I found, a 4 dvd pack of John Wayne movies, and a magnetic flashlight. I got mom pot holders, a back scratcher, and a wall hanging thing that has different sayings. Mom and Dad got me the Tracy Lawrence Greatest Hits cd that's been on my wishlist for a couple of years and two Globe Trekker dvds - Portugal and Central America. And mom gave me a cash gift certificate of $20.00. I can't wait to listen to the cd and watch the dvds.

After eating and presents, all three of us took naps. LOL. That was my second nap of the day. I got up at 5am to make the noodles and went back to bed around 7am. Of course I'm always up around 5:30 am to let the dogs out. Phoebe got to go to her grandparents' house yesterday so she didn't go today. I figured it would be too much to have her there too. I came home from my parents' house and took the dogs for a walk. I think I saw 4 or 5 snowflakes while I was out. I could do without snow.

Christmas Part 2 will happen Sunday or Monday next week when we exchange presents with my brother in law, niece and nephew. That will be fun to see the kids with their presents.

Birthday Fun

Today, Phoebe and I had our birthday party at my mom and dad's house. Before leaving for their house, I gave Phoebe the present I got for her - a squeaky ball. It's a little big for her mouth but she does play with it. At mom and dad's we got a call from my sister who wished me a happy birthday. My niece also wished me a happy birthday and then proceeded to tell me all about the Lion King. She is going to see a live production soon and is really excited. The food at the party was ice cream and a chocolate cake decorated with Fisher Price Little People plastic toys. I saw one like it at the store a while back and decided I just had to have the little pig, so mom went and ordered the cake for me :) The decorator misspelled my name but that's ok. Phoebe got to enjoy the food just a little bit. Dad couldn't leave her out so he gave her a little ice cream and a little of the cake, but not the frosting. As for presents, I got a book about dog whispering (not Cesar Milan's book) and Phoebe got a stuffed cat squeaky. Mom got pictures of Phoebe with the cat and Phoebe with her birthday card in her mouth. That was cute.

I can't believe in just 7 days we will be having our Christmas dinner and opening presents. Mom, Dad and I will do our presents on Sunday next and then about a week later, my niece and nephew will be here to open their presents. Our presents from them and my sister and brother-in-law will arrive then too.

I only work four days this week and four days next week. Yay! I'm taking Friday off and I get Monday off.

Crafting fun: I have wanted for a long time to try glass etching. I have this catalog from etchworld.com and it looks pretty easy. So, I finally ordered the starter kit. I tried it on a few things when I got it and it's a lot of fun. The etched parts don't show up very strongly. I wonder if you leave the etch cream on longer than instructed if it will make the image more definable.

Weather Report: It's something like 65 degrees right now. I love it. No snow. No ice. No freezing cold weather. The downside: without freezing cold weather, the bug eggs won't die and next spring we will be swarmed with all kinds of bugs. I'll have to invest in some good bug zappers.

Lend Me Your Ear

This week I found a cute pig statue at a local store and bought it. The statue has wonderful details and very fine features. I had it sitting on my computer desk so I could pick it up and look at it during the day. Well, this afternoon, I went to my room to take a nap. When I got up, I noticed that the pig was missing part of its ear. It's my belief that Phoebe, upset that I didn't let her come with me for nap time, climbed up onto the desk and chewed on the statue, breaking off the pig ear. I looked and looked and couldn't find the missing ear anywhere. I hope she didn't eat it. I may have to buy another pig statue. I really liked this one.

Observation: Does anyone else hate those Campbells Microwave Soup commercials that feature the slob slurping the soup and falling out of his chair? If there's anything that makes me NOT buy Campbells soup, it's that commercial.

PBS: I get about 5 PBS tv stations with my satellite dish package. All week, they've been having the fund drive. So, I've been watching the Celtic Woman concert every time it's on. It would be better if there weren't so many depressing songs. But there are a few that I like to hear over and over again.

Bad Comic Book Movie Writers

Thanks to the idiot that did the Tim Burton Batman movie in 1989, I know someone who now thinks that the Joker killed Batman's parents. And there's no convincing this person that it wasn't the Joker (refer to the actual comic books - I've read from several sources that no where in the comic book lexicon has it ever been suggested that the Joker killed mommy and daddy wayne). Movie writers should stick to the comic book stories and not go around changing things. Next thing you know, Wonder Woman won't be an amazon, she'll be a geisha. These writers need to be aware that people who go see movies don't necessarily read the comic books. If the writers screw up the history, then they create chaos.

Bondless

Still no Casino Royale at my local theater. This stinks. I know I'm going to have to wait until it comes out on DVD.

Christmas is getting closer and I can't wait. Here's my schedule: 13th - unit Christmas Luncheon; 17th - Birthday Party for Me and Phoebe; 20th - office Christmas Luncheon; then 2 Christmas dinners with the family. My sister is starting to get Christmas presents that I bought for her and my brother-in-law. I had them shipped to Florida so they could enjoy them while their kids are up here for Christmas.

I saw the commercial for the We Are Marshall movie today on Comedy Central. The movie is the talk of local news and tomorrow Oprah will be talking about it. Apparently, the studio is speculating on Oscar chances for this movie. If you don't already know, the We Are Marshall movie is about the rebuilding of the football program at WV's Marshall University after a plane crash killed most of the football team some years ago.

Weekend

Last night I watched Celtic Woman: A New Journey on PBS. I have a Celtic Woman Christmas CD and I would possibly buy a regular cd of theirs. But they do the song Danny Boy and to me that's one of the most depressing songs ever. Anyway, I am considering getting the cd of this concert. There were some good not so depressing songs on there.

This morning I took Phoebe to see mom and dad and then Dad and I went to Walmart and I bought a computer desk. Later, we put it together and ran into trouble with the metal rails that enable the drawer to slide in and out. We think the manufacturer put one too many of one thing and not enough of the other thing in the box. So, I have to search online for the rails or at least find an alternative to fix my drawer. The desk is nice, I like the look of it and the pretty handles. The dogs were excited to see Dad today. They kissed him and got in the way often. That's because he gives them catfood. To sum up this part of the day, it took us about 5 hours to put the desk together and I missed my nap. Dad missed his nap too.

I am planning a birthday party for me and Phoebe for the 17th of this month. I think we'll be having it at mom and dad's house.

There's a neighbor dog that's been coming up to the house the last couple of days. Fritz is going nuts. He runs all over outside, barking and chasing the dog when he finds him. I have a hard time getting him inside.

Shopping Day

Today was another shopping day for me. I went to Big Lots to look for $10.00 book cases. They didn't have any but I did get one for $30.00. I also went to a farm supply store and got some Pig Christmas ornaments half price and a squeaky toy for Phoebe. I also went to the bank and the grocery store and had lunch at Pizza Hut.

Once I got home, I tried an idea I had for left over slivers of bars of soap. I put them in a double boiler and tried to melt them so I could form them into a new bar of soap. It kind of worked. I think I need to grate the soap slivers so the soap will melt better. I have a feeling when I start using the reformed soap, it will fall apart. But we'll see.

Phoebe, Steffi and Fritz got their Christmas Stockings today. I couldn't wait until Christmas eve - the usual day my family celebrates Christmas. They got toys and treats. Phoebe's tail just wags and wags when she gets something to play with.

I got this weird email at my gmail account about an alleged banned blog and israel and stuff. Didn't read the entire email because it looked like bad news, but it did say "somebody (whatever his name was), an anonymous politician" Anonymous politics - I think I have discovered the reason why democracy hasn't taken hold in the Middle East.

Once all the Christmas eating is over, I am definitely getting back on the treadmill and back on the diet. Hopefully, I can suck it up and stick to it for a month or two and lose the 20 pounds I've put on since August.

I've been watching all the Jesus stuff on the National Geographic Channel and the History Channel. In fact, I've watched so much of it that I've subscribed to the National Geographic Magazine. When I was a kid, I had entertained a brief thought of becoming a photojournalist for National Geographic. But, if you know how bad I am with a camera, you could understand why that career goal never became a reality. LOL. The other night, they held up a heel bone with a nail through it and said this was from a person who was crucified around the time of Jesus. And I thought "they could be holding Jesus' foot!" I'm sure it was just the great to the nth degree grandfather of some local citizen but still, it's fascinating.

Gone to the Dogs

This week went to the dogs. Steffi was sick so I spent three or four days getting up early and cleaning up her messes, coming home from work and cleaning up her messes. I think she's getting over it. Phoebe is having her twice a year 'experience' and Fritz has decided that he really, really, really likes her right now. I came home from work on Tuesday to find that they had chewed several holes in a dog bed and scattered dog bed stuffing all over the living room floor. My mom will have plenty of sewing to do to fix that bed.

One bright spot, I ordered some dvds from Amazon.com and got them on Tuesday. They were having a sale so I got Batman Begins and a Pierce Brosnan movie called After the Sunset on sale, and then to get free shipping I also ordered Superman Returns. I actually watched Batman Begins the other night. I usually don't watch movies, but I watched this one. It was very good. But I didn't like the ending. For someone who reads romance novels, I just felt it wasn't right for Bruce to kiss the girl and then to have her leave him. That was just wrong. But as someone who reads comic books, I can understand why they left him sans girlfriend.