50 Cent

Is it "FIFTEE" Cent?

or.... is it "FIDY" Cent?

How do you say it?

Only in Oklahoma

OKLAHOMA CITY -- The store owner shot during a robbery earlier this week spoke with Eyewitness News 5 about her ordeal.

Rose Yeary was robbed by two women in her store -- called Rose's Fashion Place. One of the women shot her in the knee before escaping while wearing a wedding dress. "(The robber) said, 'I've got to do this. I've got to do it. I've got to do it for my kids,'" Yeary said. Yeary said she then fought back, wrestling with one of the robbers, who then pulled out a gun. The culprits have not been found, authorities said. Yeary is recovering at home.

*sigh*

Let There Be Light

I came in to work today to find a light in the ceiling out and my desk area in semidarkness. While I pretty much enjoyed the subdued illumination and cozy atmosphere, this is a busy office and I knew a call to the hardworking *cough* boys sporting the tan Dickies (aka maintenance) would be the first order of business. At 8:15 am I dialed their dept. requesting someone to come replace the two blown tubes. All morning I sat hunched over my desk, peering quizzically at my computer as colleagues filed past my door, stopping briefly to inform me I was ‘in the dark.’ I am? Really? OMG!!! Whew! I thought my eyesight was going. So it’s not me then. *breathes sigh of relief* I came back from lunch to find nothing had changed so I dialed up their gal Friday and once again pleasantly requested assistance. I was informed D was on his way and would be alleviating this problem shortly. Within the hour, D arrived with trusty ladder in tow and proceeded to tell me I would not need to vacate the premises as he could handle it without disturbing me. Um, ok. So I’m sitting here BSing with Patrick on MSN, er, working, while our infamous bumbling resident electrician with the chilling reputation for sending the entire institution into unscheduled blackouts as he merrily cuts wires, blows fuses, and occasionally sends massive volts of electricity coursing through his body, works directly over me as I warily glance up in search of falling objects. I told him I hoped no one desperately needed me as there was no avenue to escape. Immediately the phone rings and GFR in the next office seductively whispers into the phone that he "desperately needs me" and hangs up. I laughed so hard I about startled Mr. Klutz, but in the end he accomplished his task without incident. Ah, radiance reigns supreme once again. :)

The Topfive.com’s 5 Important Questions to Ask at a Job Interview

5> "Who's that hot little beyotch with the humongous rack in the picture?"

4> "Will I get time off for the national Dungeons and Dragons finals?"

3> "Is the drug test multiple choice or essay?"

2> "Is there someone who can watch my cats while I'm at lunch?"

1> "Do the chicks here get all bent out of shape about that sexual harassment crap?"



Heinz Field
Thursday, December 7, 2006
8:00 PM - WMMS / NFL Network

The Browns are headed to Pittsburgh and preparing for another shot to do something they haven't done since 2003.
(what, win for a change?)

GO BROWNS!!!

Just a Little Diddy About My Day

It's been a rough week and it's only Wednesday!

I still find the time to build a car , hit the gym, do some Christmas shopping, a kabillion loads of laundry, remodel a bedroom, type this, tinker with Christmas lights, cook dinner, clean up the mess, gather a couple hours of sleep... and its all done with a smile!

Actually, the bedroom remodeling project consisted of me buying P a new futon and Richard breaking down his full size bed, hauling it off, vacuming the room, assembling the new futon and getting it all set up for P to use. *kisses to you babe*

Anyways, you can read about my car project on the other site. Laundry awaits me!

Sinister Snowballs

Um, this seems totally justified, doesn’t it? :)

Since we are blessed with snow this week, I couldn’t help but think of a true-life experience that deeply scarred me during those tender, vulnerable years. It seems a certain Donna, who apparently had a huge, inexplicable grudge against me, took matters into her own hands and set me up. Let me explain. Donna and I were in the same first grade class together and though the elementary school years we shared were brief (abet memorable), she acquired the dubious reputation of being a notorious busybody. Having grown up in the frozen North, a cardinal rule we were taught practically from infancy was: "No throwing snowballs on the playground during recess." While icy spheres were great fun to hurl at friend and foe alike, this risky pastime was only deemed proper during non-school hours. In retrospect, this was a reasonable request considering the amount of damage a seemingly innocent snowball can cause. There were plenty of playground accidents as it was and they were no doubt attempting to cut down on excessive ambulance runs. But I digress. Always a rule-follower, I was well aware of the “no throwing snowballs” edict from the nanosecond I started school and never in my wildest dreams would obedient little Miss Circe have flaunted that concrete command. Little did I know mischief was afoot and that the gal with a personal vendetta against me would strike swiftly and mercilessly. Sure enough, while out on the playground one winter day, Donna, aka the pint-sized tattletale from hell, sidled up to me and asked that I pick up some snow from the ground. Not seeing where this was going and being the picture of naïveté and innocence, I meekly complied. Quick as a wink, this traitorous miniature harridan streaked over to the nearest teacher and loudly and sanctimoniously informed her I was throwing snowballs! LIES, FILTHY LIES!!! Sure enough, there I stood, dazed and confused, cradling the critical ingredient necessary for snowball manufacturing in my unmindful, mittened fingers. Yes, gang, circumstantial evidence was found in my possession and felony charges were brought against a blameless child. I was immediately sentenced to the principal’s office for flagrance disobedience to do penance for this grievous crime. I sat out the rest of recess tearful and disbelieving, a sadder, wiser view of my conniving fellowman. I’ll never know what prompted that unprovoked attack of yesteryear, but I’m a firm believer that what goes around, comes around so I have no doubt whatsoever there were equivalent psychic paybacks for her further down the road called Life.

Easy on The Price

I've actually been thinking about this for a couple of days, but this morning a friend of mine emailed me and we got to talking about Happy Hour which made me mention Sonic and their Happy Hour and how anymore, a person really can't afford to get their drinks if it's not during that half price special time.

Let me go back in time....

For the past 6 months I think my local Sonic has increased their drinks prices twice. I now pay $1.68 for a medium drink. I only pay $1.27 for a medium in my hometown and I can save about .10 cents if I drive two miles down the road to the next Sonic (which i've been known to do). I've cut back dramatically on my Sonic visits... and have been frequenting other places (7-11 still has awesome deal on monstrous drinks but you have to get out of the car and serve yourself and the ice isnt the same).

Last week, C and I stopped at Sonic and got Sonic Size cheese tots.

We got our order and pulled the tots out of the bag and we both sat there looking at them. The only thing Sonic Sized was the container that held the tots. They didn't put anymore tots in the Sonic Size than they do in the regular or large. They just change the size of the container! What is happening to this place!?

I love a Sonic diet coke, but this is ridiculous. I can stop by McDonald's and get a medium diet coke which is not packed full of ice (to cut down on the amount of coke they have to give up) so I really get more than two sips and I save about .50 cents in price.

Fluff Stuff

The grand total of white, fluffy stuff we were blessed with here in OkieDokieville last Thursday and Friday was pinned down to 8-12 inches. Woo hoo! (I am forever complaining I want feet not inches). ;) Chaos College officially dismissed at noon but those living out of town were shooed homeward at 9:30am and we did not return till today. There is nothing quite like 2 four-day weekends in a row. Trying for three would be excessive and quite useless as cold and sunny with a practically nil chance of precipitation are projected for the week. Oh well.

The main roads are cleared off nicely but those side roads are another story. I certainly saw a lot of people stuck and much like Kerbear’s vehicle, one hapless car with a very long, steep driveway had slid halfway into the street unbeknownst to its owners. To my knowledge no one plowed into it, but that must have been quite the rude awakening when they hoofed it down to their vehicle only to find it tantalizingly double dog daring others to smack it. Another strange phenomenon was discovering heaps of excess snow that the city shoved into the middle of the downtown thoroughfares. Guess we rarely receive enough snow to have a problem deciding where to put it. Just as I was about to jump in the SUV for a Friday trek through the winter wonderland, I experienced a 'Marcia Brady moment' when I distractedly turned my head and got clobbered in the nose by the passenger side door. OUCH! Though unable to frolic in the snowdrifts, I’m extremely hopeful this won’t be our first and last snowfall of the season and that the prospects are excellent for many snowballs/angels/men in my not-too-distant future. Yessssss...

The Ghost of Christmas Future

My thinking this Christmas holiday is that i'm going to get my shopping done early so that I don't have to mess with the mean shoppers, so Saturday my Sis and I hit the stores and Sunday, Richard and I shopped til we dropped.

Toys R Us was a nightmare. Ok, well it really wasn't a nightmare because i've seen it waaaay worse, but it wasn't a pleasant ordeal either. I don't see why there would be such a load of those little whipper snappers running around, but there was. Don't they need to stay home so mom and dad can actually shop, and purchase, the gifts!? We battled that store and got a few Christmas gifts there...

Then, we tackled the mall.

We did... we went to the mall - on a weekend! We had a mental list of who we need to buy for and some ideas on each. We hit the front door meaning business and with intentions of getting as close to finished as possible. About an hour into the adventure I get a call from C.

Mom, your car is sliding down the driveway.
WHAT? What is going on?
Your car is sliding. I think it's on ice.
C, are you lying to me?
No! you know how you usually park really close to the garage, but this time you didn't? Well it's sliding down.
Talk to Richard.

I pass the phone to Richard and I hear a little chit chat happening while I make a purchase. Richard hands the phone back to me and says 'you need to talk to him'.

C, is the car in the road?
No, its at the end of the driveway. I think it slid until it ran out of ice and hit pavement.
Are you sure it's moved?
YES MOM! (obviously irritated with me because he's trying to tell the truth). P was outside playing and his friends told him it was moving so he came and told me!
Did you push it down the driveway?
NO! No one has been around it!
Well tell the kids not to play around it and i'll be right there.
Where are your keys and i'll take care of it?
I have the keys and NO you aren't driving it
Well, don't hurry... it's not that big of a deal
Are you telling me the truth!?!?
YES! It's sliding!
ok, i'll be right there

I was torn between running right home (I was having a visual of my MM being on the loose in the neighborhood) and continuing our shopping excursion because C loves to play practical jokes on me. We decided to wrap up a couple of other things and head to the house to check on the situation.

Sure enough! As we rounded the corner of our block I saw my MM sitting at the end of the driveway. It had in fact slid! I had parked it on a big patch of ice and I guess the right spot to start sliding. Our driveway isn't a big sloping driveway... but it's just enough to slide down - apparently! I hopped in it and pulled it up close to the garage. All the neighbor kids were standing around watching and so eagerly wanting to tell us the story.

There is no rock salt available in a 100 mile radius I don't think. Actually, we only looked at Wal-Mart... but that was enough.

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Snow city *happy dance*

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Snow monsters yesterday

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View from the patio yesterday

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Gorgeous!

Our Condition is...

This afternoon while zipping down the highway at a whopping 40mph, I managed to snap these pics to show driving conditions. Actually, the pictures don't really show how bad the roads really were. There is a nasty layer of ice all over the pavement... I think maybe the one photo kind of shows that ;)

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Blizzard warning today. (deja vu-I'm in Ohio again?)

Let it Snow, Let it Sleet, Let it Rain...

Our first winter storm of the season is upon us. Last night little spits of rain and sleet were coming down but this morning it was loud spits of sleet. The wind is blowing something fierce and its blistery cold! I toyed with the idea of whether to try to make it to work or not. My favorite weather guy and the OHP were all over the tv telling people to stay home and not to get out on the roads. After a few phone calls, I decided to try to make it to the office, but leave about an hour later... so hopefully the typical morning traffic would already be at work - if they were even going to work.

I made it without mishap - some other misfortunate people did not. I saw a few semi's, cars and trucks off the side of the highway. From what I hear, its supposed to get really bad this afternoon. We'll see how long I stick it out here.

What I saw when I opened the door this morning.... ice.

Cat Tales

This past weekend, sis and fam visited out of town and TBC and I agreed to feed the menagerie while they were gone. It currently consists of two rambunctious dogs, Ho Kitty, three half-grown kittens from her first batch and the five survivors from her latest litter who are currently confined to the bathroom nursery. TBC did the actual labor involved and Friday evening he brought their only ‘daughter’ back to enjoy a slumber party reunion with her two full brothers, Oreo and Snickers. When she wasn’t licking my bare feet she was biting my hands and her constant, restless movement resulted in me having a heck of a time snapping this slate blur of frenzied activity. I think she’s a strong candidate for kitty Ritalin. As you can see, she’s a real cutie but I’m sure she is now scarred for life after her horrendous experience with us. No doubt she tearfully related her forced overnighter at her relatives’ house with faltering meows. It seems dear Snickers thought she was quite fetching in her soft, gray-striped, fluffy coat and took quite the fancy to her, avidly pursuing her with lustful overtures which she bravely deflected. His virtuous brother, Oreo, did not mimic Snicker’s wayward behavior but treated his sis with the respect their familial relationship deserved. Though certain this predicament would rear its head (hehe) in the near future, I’m wondering if Mr. Amorous hit pussy puberty sooner than expected. After observing his relentless pursuit of, er, tail, I foresee somber snipping in his near future.


Ways Blogging is Like Sex

11. At first, you’re just blogging once every week or two, but it’s not long before you’re doing it a couple of times a day.

10. A lot of kids fool around with blogs in high school but the serious blogging doesn’t start until college.

9. People really only have one good entry at a time, but will often fake multiple entries because they think it makes their readers happy.

8. It hurts when you’ve blogged and the next day your readers pretend like it never happened.

7. You know better than to blog when you’re drunk, but it’s just more fun, even if you do it with topics you wouldn’t have touched when you were sober.

6. The day after you’ve blogged drunk, you’ve got a lot of explaining to do to your regular readers.

5. Men blog like they’ve got an audience, but women like to keep it intimate.

4. You have to vary your technique once in a while, otherwise your readers will lose interest and you’ll drift apart.

3. When you first start to blog, you don’t ever have any long term readers but all you can ever think about is blogging. After a while, you do find some regular readers, but then blogging becomes a chore and you start to feel guilty if it’s been a while.

2. Most people blog at night, in the privacy of their own homes, but there’s always some jackass strutting around bragging that he prefers to blog in the office at lunch or at the local park.

1. Everyone knows that if he ever did in fact blog in his office or in the park, he was alone and just blogging into his palm.

Gimme More!

You can see a few more Farm pictures here.

Green Acres We Are There!!!

On Thanksgiving we all packed up and headed to Cousin Tonya's house. She, the hubby and two darling kiddos live way out in timbuktu country side clear on the other side of the state. We cityfied folks had a grand ol time gettin' down and gettin' dirty. Sheri and I climbed into the cow pit and manhandled manuer (sp?) - cow poop.
We climbed on top of the huge bails of hay and ran across them. They are alot bigger than you think... and from the top they are even bigger!
Richard took his turn. Actually, we made him go first to make sure it was safe... before we got up there to mess around. All the kids had been playing on them all day...
Another Glamour Shot of us two standing high on the bails.
Us perched on the fence looking out over the countryside. I'll get more pictures posted and notice my hair is always a mess. Sheri's can blow and it's still picture perfect... I, on the otherhand, always appear to be eating mine.

Follow the Yellow Brick Road

I’ve always been crazy about old pathways (and apparently I’m not alone) as they are filled with romance and mystique. I love to scrutinize where a road begins, or sadly, where it finishes its vital course. Route 66 played an enormous part in the history of American highways and much has been written about “The Mother Road.”

Two of my favorite personal reminisces are of Highway 12 on the Outer Banks. Parts of it are forever washing away and as the landscape plays hide and seek with the encroaching sand, the vista changes with each passing storm. Abrupt curves in the otherwise straight road tell the tale of the constant fight to keep the highway one step ahead of the hungry ocean. The bends are the result of rerouting the road after erosion and storms gobbled up dunes and pavement.

North Carolina Highway 12, which provides access to the Outer Banks and connects its communities, is another line in the sand. The state has spent tens of millions of dollars rebuilding, relocating and trying to protect the highway only to have sections of it continually washed away by the sea. Critics say it is an exercise in futility and a waste of state and federal tax dollars. To some, Highway 12 is a symbol, not only of the problem on the Outer Banks, but on most of the state’s barrier islands.

I also fondly remember the eastward development of Highway 64 back when the extension only got as far as east of Rocky Mount. As the years past, it morphed from a sleepy two-lane ribbon of pavement winding through every small town to a bustling four-lane bypass marching toward the welcoming beach.

It is only proper and fitting that I remain completely fascinated with these most famous stretches of ancient construction…

Hadrian's Wall (Latin: Vallum Hadriani) was a stone and turf fortification built by the Roman Empire across the width of Great Britain to prevent military raids by the tribes of Scotland to the north, to improve economic stability and provide peaceful conditions in the Roman province of Britannia to the south, to physically mark the frontier of the Empire, and to separate the unruly Selgovae tribe in the north from the Brigantes in the south and discourage them from uniting. The wall was the northern border of the Empire in Britain for much of the Roman Empire's rule, and also the most heavily fortified border in the Empire. In addition to its use as a military fortification, it is thought that the gates through the wall would also have served as customs posts to allow trade taxation.

Sections of Hadrian's Wall remain near Greenhead and along the route, though other large sections have been dismantled over the years to use the stones for various nearby construction projects.

Hadrian's Wall was 80 Roman miles long, its width and height dependent on the construction materials which were available nearby. It extended from the west from Wallsend on the River Tyne to the shore of the Solway Firth. TheA69 and B6318 roads follow the course of the wall as it starts in Newcastle upon Tyne to Carlisle, then on round the northern coast of Cumbria. The Wall is entirely in England and south of the border with Scotland by 15 kilometres (9 mi) in the west and 110 kilometres (68 mi) in the east.

In the months after Hadrian's death in 138, the new emperor, essentially abandoned the wall, though leaving it occupied in a support role, and began building a new wall in Scotland proper, about 160 kilometres (100 mi) north, the Antonine Wall. Antonine was unable to conquer the northern tribes and so when Marcus Aurelius became emperor, he abandoned the Antonine Wall and occupied Hadrian's Wall once again in 164. It remained occupied by Roman troops until their withdrawal from Britain. In the late 4th century, barbarian invasions, economic decline, and military coups loosened the Empire's hold on Britain. By 410, the Roman administration and its legions were gone, and Britain was left to look to its own defenses and government. The garrisons, by now probably made up mostly of local Britons who had nowhere else to go, probably lingered on in some form for generations. Archaeology is beginning to reveal that some parts of the Wall remained occupied well into the 5th century. But in time the wall was abandoned and fell into ruin. Over the centuries a large proportion of the stone was reused in other local building which continued until the 20th century. A significant portion of the wall still exists, particularly the mid-section, and for much of its length the wall can be followed on foot.

Appian Way

In ancient times, Roman roads were considered monuments. Over a period of centuries, the Romans built an efficient network that ultimately stretched for over 50,000 miles in an area than now belongs to more than 30 countries. The first important via publica, or highway as it would be called today, was the Via Appia, or Appian Way. Known as the queen of roads, it linked Rome with Brundisium, the port city that was the gateway to the East. This road took its name from Appius Claudius Caecus, the Roman official who started building it about 312 B.C.E.

Roman roads were carefully designed and were built to be solid, useful, and beautiful, with a destination by means of the shortest possible route, which explains why many have long straight stretches. Often, though, the roads had to follow the natural contours of the terrain. Where possible, in hilly and mountainous areas, Roman engineers built their roads halfway up the slopes, along the sunny side of the mountain. For road users, this position minimized any inconvenience that might be caused by adverse weather conditions. Roman roads, then, have proved to be extraordinary and lasting monuments that one may still view today.

And who can forget that mythical trail from childhood, the glorious Yellow Brick Road? Whatever the goal, it’s about the journey, not necessarily the destination. Here’s to wanderlust and adventure!! ;)

It's Never Easy

As I previously mentioned, Richard and I avoided the public on Friday and opted to stay home and work around the house. After a few mishaps:

me stepping on a light, breaking it, picking up the string to put a new bulb in and it shocking the @#$! out of me (they were still plugged in); hanging lights all around the house only to come up about 4 feet short of finishing; readjusting half the lights to try to come up with the extra 4 feet; deciding 'screw it... we'll go buy more lights' and plugging them in where we stopped (to test the lights); finding that the outside outlet doesnt work; rerouting the extension cord thru the garage to test the lights; then finding about 1/3 of the string that shocked the @#$! out of me doesn't work and it's on the highest peak over the garage

We proudly displayed our lights on Friday night with a black space where the 1/3 of the string wasn't working, and then on Saturday, Richard and my dad replaced the bad string, added lights to finish out the house and checked out the outlet that isn't working. We now have working and completed christmas lights.