On a scale of 1 -10...

Okay, on a scale of one to ten how tired is everyone else of hearing the name Brett Farve?

My "tired of hearing about Brett Farve" rating is - 210 and growing daily.

Had he not cried wolf about retiring for a couple of years now it would be different. The man finally makes a tearful announcement stating he is retiring from the NFL and....."has an "itch" to come out of retirement...."

Please for the love of NFL...MAKE UP YOUR MIND!

You retired, the team has moved on with Rodgers....let them play ball in peace....don't play yo-yo with them......don't keep them dangling on the end of the string year after year and then finally take the retirement walk...only to yank the yo-yo back up again.

Please for the love of all that is sacred between goal posts....just retire and be done with it.

If I were a Packer fan I would be trading in my foam cheese head for another teams colors.

So fellow football fans...on a scale of one to ten how tired of you of hearing the name Brett Farve?

so much for...

Sleeping in....

Cat in face 6:15 am...meowing...Roxie.

Okay...I give up and get up go out, let Jingles in who had spent the night outside, and feed them both. Back to bed I go.

Next thing I know.....I wake up to my mother outside in the street yelling "Lester, Chico, get over here"...over....and over.....and over....for what seemed like "forever". I am sure her neighbors were loving her at that moment. I wanted to yell out the window and tell her to be quiet!

Okay...I give up and get up go outside, yes in my nightgown and go to where my mother is yelling at the end of the driveway and say "Lester, now"...and imagine that he comes. Of course you only need to call Lester because Chico will fall in line behind him.

Simple as that....I have not lived with these dogs for two and a half years and they mind me better than they do her....but...then they always did....just like a kid they know who they can push and who they can't.

So much for sleeping in.....

One thought...or two....or...maybe it is just one...

I have been very lax in making entries. Many times my husband and I will be watching something and, well, naturally I react to something and it is common for Sam to say " I sense a blog entry here".

Then....being the purebred procrastinator that I am it does not get written about. I even have made notes on a note pad and...yep...those notes are still not that note pad and not one word is in this blog.

Yesterday I flew home to Michigan for a few days with family. So many things I thought...that is something to write about....eventually....maybe...you will be reading them.

One thing that comes to mind was the woman who was in the same row on the plane. Young woman, early thirties, I suspect Greek. Two young boys, 3 1/2 and 20 months, Alex and Daniel. She is lucky that Alex was quite content to watch a DVD of "Thomas the Engine", "Barney" and others I did not recognize. She had her hands full keeping Daniel entertained.

It was obvious that they had money, as she was dressed in high end clothes, Daniel had on little toddler "Ralph Lauren" jeans, and the huge "Coach" purse had to cost more than a car payment on my car.

But, I digress, one thing I noticed was how her pants were worn. I thought to myself, that shows a mother that has a child on her lap often. Jeans do not typically show wear on the top of the legs do they?

Okay...so....there is one thought....more to come

Okay...so what would you do??

Okay, so what would you do....

As reported in the Ocala Star Banner:

Clerks at a Mobil gas station located at the intersection of Southeast 52nd Street and U.S. 441, made a major mistake on Tuesday with the gas price. According to sheriff’s officials, the clerks told them when they were changing the gas price, instead of putting $4.02, the figures read 42 cents.

The clerks told deputies that 30 to 40 vehicles took advantage of
their generosity before they realized their error.

The price was immediately changed after a customer told them about the
error.

After it was read at work today, there was some discussion as to who would tell....and who would not have told....what would you do?

A better world because....

Many people touch our lives every single day. Often it is in just some small way: a cashier, a teller, even people you do not meet face to face.

You see actors performing on the stage, the big screen, or even a small screen that brings them into your home.

Sometimes you hear actors names and it triggers a memory for you. Or you just fondly remember watching them perform. You may not even have watched them, but you can hear the name and think, "Oh, I remember them."

I never really followed George Carlin, who recently passed away, but he was so funny. Many people like him have touched our lives and improved them by entertaining us and bringing laughter into our lives.

It is just a tad morbid, but my husband stumbled upon a website www.deadoraliveinfo.com. It lists the deaths of many people, not just those in the entertainment industry.

I just went back to the first of the year and was able to come up with 14 names that I recognized. I am betting if you went to the site, you might recognize more.

Suzanne Pleshette whom I always watched on Newhart. Ivan Dixon, not a name you instantly recognize but…if you grew up in the 60's and 70's and watched "Hogan's Heroes" he touched your life as Kinchloe. Roy Scheider in Jaws-- who did not watch that? I sure think of it more as I now live in Florida and did see a shark one day when went to the beach. David Groh, another name you would not recognize but if you watched Mary Tyler Moore and Rhoda, he was Rhoda's husband. Richard Widmark, Cyd Charisse-- two that my husband remembers, although not to fondly as he said they always creeped him out. I think he said that about Charlton Heston, too, or at least the characters he played.

With the presidential election coming up it will be very different this year with out Tim Russert.
With George Carlin's passing, no matter what channel you tuned in-- sports networks, musical channels, entertainment networks-- they likely made some mention of his passing.

Sometimes when I hear that people who were in shows I watched growing up have passed away, I feel as though a part of my childhood slipped away as well.

It saddens me that we do not realize how many people touch our lives. You often do not realize how long it has been since they have passed away. For some reason, I recently found a website that listed graves in the cemetery that my paternal grandparents and other family members are buried in. I really remembered how old they were when they passed, or at least how old I was.

I am left with such a feeling that this blog entry is somehow incomplete, yet at this time I cannot continue as it has me feeling overwhelmingly sad. Thinking of my father, my sister, the in-laws that I never got the chance to meet.

People touch our lives in so many ways…..gone but never forgotten….and our world is all the better because of them.

Give credit where credit it due....

I have to take the time to thank someone who is a tremendous help to me with this blogging adventure.

Harry Samuel Williams.

He is the one who finds the photos you see, and often creates them. My Art Director.

He is also the one who catches my errors. If you see errors, grammatical or spelling...well...that means it hit the blog prior to his reading it. He is my editor.

Most importantly he is the blessing that God answered my prayers with.

He is the one I proud to say is my husband, the man that I love with all of my heart.

Please take a chance and check out his blog, and his web site.

http://harrysbeeftrust.blogspot.com/

https://www.msu.edu/~will1140/

He is an amazing man, and blesses many lives not just mine.

I am so proud of him and wanted to take a moment to give credit where credit is due....

Taste bud temptations....

If by chance there is anyone that I know that checks the Internet while standing up...please sit down!

I know I have mentioned before that I am getting more adventurous in trying new foods, but some may still be surprised.

Tonight I ventured into the world of Indian Cuisine, inspired by Tuesday night's episode of Andrew Zimmern's "Bizarre Food" filmed in India.

There is a local Indian restaurant called Amrit Palace. We have jokingly called it "armpit palace". Well, tonight was my first venture into the armpit and Indian food.

It is family-owned and operated with a welcoming, worldly atmosphere. You really did not feel like you were in a store front on the busiest street in Ocala.

Sam ordered "Nan" as an appetizer. It is a bread that is baked in a Tandoor, somewhat like pita bread. It came with a salsa-like chutney. Sam ordered me a Sweet Lassi, which is a homemade yogurt drink and very, very good. He ordered a "Kingfisher" beer, which made me think that my dad would have needed the bottle for his collection of beer cans and bottles.

Food was delivered to a table across from us and smelled and looked delicious. We asked the waiter what it was, and it was Chicken Tandoori.

I ordered the "Tandoori Dinner (for one): Vegetable Soup, Vegetable Samosa, Bhujia, Chooza Pakora and Papadam. Special Tandoori Chicken, Pillaw Rice, Puri, Tayta, Onion Chutney, Gulab Jamun as a Dessert". You can order it mild, medium, or hot...I ordered medium and one of the sauces with it was rather spicy. I would be afraid to try the hot!

Sam ordered the "Vegetable Dinner Served in Thali (for one): Vegetable Soup, Assorted Appetizers, Vegetable Samosa, Bhujia Aloo Pakora, Papadam, Mixed Vegetable Curry, Matar Paneer, Chapati. Served with Pillaw Rice, Rayta Onion Chutney and Sweet Lassi. Galub Jamun as a Dessert".

Ya know, when I was choosing what to order, it didn't seem like a lot of food. I suspected it was a little bit of each thing, a sampler platter. And it was. They served the soup first, then the assortment of appetizers, and then came the main dishes. For me it was the Chicken Tandoori.

I was full after the assortment of appetizers....It was great....And now I have leftovers for lunch!

Okay, I confess...though I was full, I still ate my dessert: Gulab Jamun. It was deliciously moist, kind of like a small round pancake soaked in a lightly sweet and somewhat citrus flavored syrup.

There was so much flavor. Our taste buds certainly were not disappointed!

Sixty seconds of fame...

Okay, I confess….I am rather new to following sports. Likely two and a half years ago, if you had asked me what ESPN was I would have guessed "extra sensory perception now".

Now, I not only know what it is, I watch it every night after work with my family. Pretty much every weeknight we watch Around the Horn and Pardon the Interruption. Admittedly there are a many things that still fly over my head.

"Go Eagles!"

Until I got married, I did not understand football to save my life. It seemed so stupid: "First down, second down, third down….line up and run….push each other"…It made no sense to me. I still have a lot to learn, but I finally know that a quarterback is not just what you get when you pay a dollar for a pop that cost seventy five cents.

"Go Phillies!"

Baseball.... Oh there are so many different aspects, details, and rules. Who knew there was a "Strike Zone"? It sounds like a great name for a sports bar! I'm not quite sure how to put it, but, I finally know there is much more to it than "Three strikes, you're out!" or "Swing batter, swing!"

"Go Flyers!"

Hockey... Well, I think that might take longer. I think you have to be able to follow the puck with your eyes before you can start to understand the game….

"Go Sixers!"

Basketball seems much less complicated, they run up and down the court, shoes squeaking, balls being thrown through a hoop. Where sports were concerned I liked basketball better simply because I understood it more.

Or so I thought, because Sam has been watching it for thirty years and still doesn't get it. And I can't answer any of the questions he asks about it!

However…now…even watching The Finals® is too much, and I did not even stay up to watch the ends of the games. I am always happy for the team that wins "The Big Dance". I am happy to see the players proudly waving to fans in their parades….

But….please...Memo to Boston Celtics forward Glen "Big Baby" Davis: PUT YOUR SHIRT ON!

I'm sorry, he sure took any respect I had for his team's victory down several notches by taking his shirt off during the parade. If I were a Bostonian, I would be very disappointed. Heck, I am not, and I am still disappointed.

Sadly, there are sports figures who only think of what they can do to make a lead story on ESPN, and this was Big Baby's way to do so: His 'sixty seconds of fame'.

You wear the costume, you play the part….

Okay, it might be an age thing, but I just do not get wearing your pants so big that they are nearly falling off.

What is the strong desire to have your boxers or briefs show 8 to 10 inches above the waist line of your pants?

What is the strong desire to walk with your legs apart so that your pants do not fall down.

I JUST DO NOT GET IT! How is this fashion?

I have heard that it stems from people who have been in prison and are not provided with properly fitted pants. Yet…I still do not get it. How can it be possible to be comfortable? I remember when I lost weight, and as my pants got bigger they certainly were less comfortable to me.

What is it-- are all these guys running around with their boxers/briefs hanging out getting discounts on their pants from the BVD companies?

I work in a probation office, and one of the officers has said that it just makes it easier for law enforcement to catch them if they try to run. They have to grab their package and hold it so their pants stay up and are only running with one arm pumping which then slows them down.

So…again…I just do not get it...

I sadly recall one day my husband and I were leaving a store in a local shopping center, and as we passed a family that had just gotten out of a car there was a small boy, not even school age, walking with his little 'gansta' pants on, holding them at the waist so he did not lose them. How sad is that?

Boy, that is teaching them young, and if I am still working in the probation office 15 years from now, I would be willing to bet that same young boy comes through these doors as a broken young man.

I realize that clothing does not always make the man, but, often when you wear the costume, you play the part….

What's in a name?

I may have already written about how I could 'go long' about some of the names that you hear as you watch sports on TV. Many a "Huh?" comes out of me as I have heard a name. My husband often watches me to see my reactions to names.

However, I am starting to feel bad for ripping on peoples names, especially since they are often names from another nationality.

But…sometimes I just cannot help myself!

Fredi Gonzalez, the manager of the Florida Marlins, is a guy I like, but….What is up with "Fredi with an I"? That sounds like a preppy girl who would be shopping in the Valley with Buffy and Bambi.

Yunel Escobar is one we all went long on the other night….he could open the "Escobar & Grille".... the special of the day could be "Escargot"….

Endy Chavez, Lastings Milledge, Renyel Pinto (Don't smack him on the rear end!), Jair Jurrjens…..just to name a few that have jumped out at me. Oh, there are many more, many more….and….okay….I confess….often when my husband pronounces the name correctly for me, and sometimes tells me the meaning, I concede and admit it is a good name.

It is funny, and sad, that I do not really recall many conversations with my father. There is one that comes to mind often as I think of some of the names, or even some of the nicknames. One day I asked my father why they named me and my sisters such plain and simple names: Sally, Judy and Janet. He told me, "We named you what you were going to be called".

My father was one of nine siblings. He was named after his father, and he was most often called Jack, rather than John.

I really only think there was one of his siblings, my Uncle Lowell, that was actually called by his given first name, and not a nickname or a middle name. It made sense to me, and although I have often thought my name was plain and boring, I appreciated it more after hearing that.

So, thank you Dad, and of course Mom, for giving me my name….

Thoughts on names....

What is in a name....?

Some names I heard tonight made me think...whoa...what were his parents thinking-- or did they? I really need to start writing these names down.

Do our names in any way help to shape us into the people we are?

As many may know, I tend to 'go long' on names that stand out to me, that are different, unusual.

Which, yes, I know, is not a nice thing to do, yet that does not stop me. I am getting better, but....

One thing I wonder: You hear many names while watching sports. Names that stand out. Coco Crisp: This makes me want cereal. Okay, so what I wonder is....Would the centerfielder of the "Boston Red Sox" be discussed as much if his name did not have a "ring" to it. His numbers are decent, and, well, his team did win the World Series. But he had lost his starting job by then.

So, would he be as well-known if he were not nicknamed after a breakfast cereal?

You never realize....

You never realize how much a person is a part of you, until you are apart.

I was stupid for a number of years.

I had said many prayers for God to bring me someone who would love me for me, and help me to grow into a better person.

Luckily God answered my prayers. I did not realize it at first, and thankfully my husband did not give up on me.

He completes my heart, life just seems to be incomplete when he is not around.

He is now up in Michigan for his nephews high school graduation. I am down in Florida with my step-daughter.

I miss him dearly and can not wait to pick him, and my oldest step-daughter up at the airport tomorrow.

I can not wait.....to feel complete again....

I miss ya babe!