Melons of all Sizes

I never thought I'd be the mom that would ever suggest Hooters for dinner, but It sounded like the best deal considering our situation last night.

Richard scored all four of us tickets to see Trans-Siberian Orchestra at the Ford Center so right after work we headed off to Bricktown for dinner at Crabtown before the concert. The traffic was a bit of a pain, but to be expected (somewhat) considering there was also some function going on at the Cox Convention center and also the concert had been sold out so there would be 80,000+ people heading for the area within a few hours.

I darted in the doors at Crabtown to put our name on the waiting list but there was a 55 minute wait! We didn't have 55 minutes to spare because we'd spent any extra time we had sitting thru stoplights 5 and 6 times. We decided to head down the street to Bricktown Brewery where we find a nice comfortable 1 1/2 hours wait. I laughed at the little greeter girl... she apologized, but not her fault! Debating on where to try next... I mentioned that everyone is trying to eat at the bigger more touristy kinds of restaurants, so let's try going somewhere off the beaten path. That's when I looked up and it was like Heavens gates had opened and bright lights beemed... I saw the Hooters sign. It was off the beaten path... and surely people weren't making mad dashes to eat there!

I stated my case, and with zero complaints from the men, we headed to Hooters. We waited our 5 minute wait and was promptly seated by Megan or Gretchen (whatever her name was). Courtney came over to take our drink order as we looked over the menu. I'd never eaten there... I'd had take-out from there... but not actually gone in and sat to eat. We sized up the waitresses and determined that the clothes that they wear have got to be the worst getup we have ever seen. It is so not attractive nor pleasing to the eye. They make what is a cute girl look like an out of shape Michelin Man stay-puff marshmallow. They have to wear hose, which are tight and cut them off at the waist, but the shorts ride lower than the hose, so you see their roll because the shirt is so dang tight. The shorts are pulled way up, so there is massive camel toe going on... and its not attractive.

Anyways, we scarfed and headed off to the see the concert. It was the most amazing thing! They were as much and way more than what I expected. The show was amazing! They use tons of lights and lasers... and fire and fireworks... you name it, they use it. The entire first half of the concert was their Christmas music which they arranged with a narrator who told a Christmas story. It was beautifully arranged! The second half, we rocked like rockstars. The whole group is fantastic at entertaining and humor! It was just so much better than I had ever imagined. They were a very personal group... full of energy and excitment. They could sing and boy could they ever play instruments!!!

If you ever get the chance to see them... go! We have some of their CD's... and they are good and we like to listen to the music, but it is incredible to see them in concert! We will definitely do that again!!

Blog Crush '06

Da Rules:

A) You can't wait to read what they post next.
B) You want to be friends with them.
C) You think they are the cat's meow. Meow!
D) You might find them attractive- physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, whatever floats your boat.
E) If you met them in person, blushing might occur.

First off, I must convey to all how much I enjoy reading each and every one on our blog list and how difficult it is to award two lucky recipients my Blog Crush '06. The amount of sheer writing talent is overwhelming and regularly immobilizes me in my tracks as I compare my most humble offerings to others far more talented. In the 1 ½ years I’ve been blogging, our blogroll has periodically changed as some fade into the twilight and fresh discoveries are made. There are several we read regularly but simply haven’t gotten around to adding. Before announcing the winners, I wanted to express a few thoughts regarding several of our special compadres. :)

Ms. Sizzle—no one has the knack for baring her heart and soul to her faithful and many readers quite like our beloved Ms Sizzle. She is a total joy to read and we all love her in return. You are a treasured find, sweetie. (((hugs)))

Bone—he has got to be the sweetest, most likable Southern guy on the blog planet and has a tremendous talent for turning a phrase or posting a poem.

Trouble—wins the Sexiest Male Blogger award. Our hedonistic island guy is a pleasure to read when he shares his frolicking adventures with his avid fans.

Stacey—always entertaining, our Canadian gal brings both laughter and tears as she courageously marches her way across the daunting obstacles life has thrown in her path. And pics of her most famous feline, Yoshi, are icing on the cake.

Twisted Panties—our Texas gal wears her redneck trappings with pizzazz and flair and we love hearing about life in the Lone Star State.

OC Gal—winning the Sexiest Female Blogger award, she is currently in transition as she embarks on a fresh blog start.

The Daily Dump—another male blogger switching blog gears who manages to totally blow me away with his amazing genius for writing.

Discombobulating Grant—our favorite twisted psychopath is currently on permanent hiatus. His look at life through sinister, jaded lenses holds all transfixed with his pithy tirades and dissimilar introspection. Grant, we miss your biting wit. Come back soon.

Without further ado, would the Blog Pixie please hand me the coveted envelopes declaring the victors? *drumroll*

In accordance with the rules stipulated in regards to Blog Crush Day, I hereby award my Female Crush to: Traveling Chica and Male Crush to Wombat from Kiss & Blog!

Dear TC is sweet, friendly, and extremely talented and the first female blogger I check each day. One of our newest additions, our Wisconsin gal became my girl blog crush immediately and I would relish clinking glasses with her. Though far more traveled than I, we share a mutual love of the Outer Banks, and I must say this may have tipped the scales in her favor. Smooches Amanda!

Joining the large crowd of jostling female admirers, I cast my male vote for the ever suave, debonair and exquisitely mysterious, Wombat. Clever and outspoken yet always a model of diplomatic tact, it would be a rare female to not succumb to Mr. Wombat’s delicious Aussie charms. Always an entertaining read, he (along with darling Aspen) is first and foremost in my male blog reading pastimes and their thoughts on various topics are a pleasure to peruse.

There you have it. The Circe Blog Crushers of 2006. In all honesty, there isn’t one of our fellow blog buds I wouldn’t look forward to meeting and sharing stimulating companionship and in my humble opinion, every one of you is a fabulous winner. ;)

kisses,
circe

Always Brush and Floss

Tonight I went to my POWER class (it's a form of weight training by doing lighter weights but massive amounts of repetition) and I was greeted with some girl I'd never seen before. She bounced around the room and obviously was preparing to teach the next hour. She asked if we wanted to do new material or stick with the old favorites... we all kind of muttered underneath our breath. It really made no difference... pain is pain regardless of what music you're using. lol

She proceeded to go over techniques and how to bend, twist, flip your body and your weights (as if we'd never done this before)... and then we started. Our warmup was complete and we headed into squats. Before each segment she went thru this whole 'i've got to tell you guys every little thing to do and not to do because, heaven forbid you point your elbows the wrong way or have your feet too far apart'... it was driving me nuts!

But it was during shoulders that I noticed something. I'd been checking her out the entire time (that's what you're supposed to do, right!?!?) and I'd determined that she must have been a gymnist at one time - but was now into retirement and eating. She was by no means thin. She wasn't fat... but certainly wasn't thin. She was thick. Not blubbery thick... but thick like muscle with a little fat on top... just thick. Thru this whole hour she kept telling all of us to pack on more weight. The entire time i'm thinking 'no way... i dont want to be thick like that!' I'd checked out her butt alot during this time together... it was in my face most of the time so I had no choice. When we sat down to do some shoulders.... plop! there it was.... a big ol white pair of thong undies, not peeking, but hanging out of her tight black workout pants.

I focused on her butt floss the rest of the shoulder segment and tried with everything I had to forget about the visual during lunges and situps. I'll probably dream about white butt floss tonight... I just hope they are clean and not sweaty and ... well this could just get bad really fast!!

And Finally...

I promise I'll quit after this... ;)

Toys Pt 2

Christmas Bells Are Ringing

This past weekend Richard and I along with C, P and my sis, headed out to the lake to take some christmas pictures to send to family. Well, let me back up. We first stopped at the mall to take some pictures inside. There is a little mall just down the street and around the corner that is pretty quiet on Sunday's, so we thought we'd do some pics using their decor. Here's a sneak peek of some of our Glamour Shots.

Tuesday Tidbits

TOYS YOU WON'T FIND SOLD IN STORES

In National News Highlights:

IRVINE, CA—Local house cat Tibbles woke up, arched his back, took five steps, fell asleep, woke up, shat in a box, brushed up against the television, fell asleep, woke up, killed a small thing, and fell asleep.

Aquarius (January 20 - February 18)

You'll be torn a new asshole this week by some of the top reconstructive surgeons in the country.

A Few Hours to Vegas

Sometimes my job is so hard and demanding.

Last night, my company treated me and my sweet little hubby - along with about 14 other employees - to an outstanding dinner at the Iron Star restaurant (drinks included). For months, our financial software package has been in a 'upgrade and testing' mode and it's been very stressful and taxing. Not so much for me and our department as it has been for people in Accounting, but nonetheless, we're still involved.

The project is up and running full force... and live! So, we got to celebrate the completion and the fact that now, the finance department and some of the I.S. staff will get to work more normal hours - leave and depart at regular times.

The food was scrumptious. For the first time in my life I tried Quail. It came as an appetizer and wrapped in some honey flavored bacon. I'm not one to eat odd birds, but I tried it so as not to be a stick-in-the-mud. It was pretty good. The salad was a hunk of lettuce topped with candied pecans and some sort of sauce (sweet).... which i devoured! Richard didn't touch his (said he was saving room for the real food. lol) and I wanted to gobble his salad too. Had we not been with the rest of the group I would have grabbed his plate and finished off his hunk of lettuce.

I got the Prime Rib... Richard got the Chicken and both were very yummy! There wasn't much there we didn't like... except the green beans. I'm not a fan of buttery, crunchy green beans. I kind of like mine more mushy out of the can. haha

We had a good time.... its fun to socialize with co-workers outside of the office. I got to see some of them in a whole new light! People are different when they are at work.... and obviously some of us stress alot more at work.. and relax a ton when we're out! (not referring to myself or Richard either)

There is always so much I leave out when I try to tell these kinds of stories.... but, our waitor was a drummer in a rock band! I spotted him... I knew he was a drummer because of the way he rolled his ink pen in his fingers while he was taking our orders.

There was no way he was a twirler....! lol

Richard made a phone call... got his name... and I asked him. Yep... that dude is a drummer in a local rock band. Sweet! I called it right!

Dark December

The disturbing call came while I was at work on that cold, clear, sunny Saturday afternoon. “Your mother has been in a bad car accident, is comatose, suffering from severe head injuries, and her survival is uncertain.” My safe little world came crashing down around me. These are not the words an 18-year old daughter ever hopes to hear, even if your rancorous relationship is far from ideal. Mothers are supposed to be there for loving guidance, needed counsel and profound wisdom. They should fearlessly maneuver you through the frightening obstacles of serious illness and give their unwavering assurance that things will turn out just fine. In shock and disbelief, I called my dad who was also at work and we raced up the beach heading north into Virginia for the two-hour ride to the hospital. This life-altering occurrence affected me in several ways; I grieved, I grew up, and learned to rely on a power greater than myself.

Initially I experienced all the normal stages of grief—the denial, the anger, and finally acceptance. The intense grief was overwhelming, and the sense of loss unbearable. Then the anger and outrage reared its ugly head. How dare this have happened to my mother? How could that bus have obliviously been unaware of their presence and plowed right into them? Why couldn’t she have been wearing her protective seatbelt like my sister? I thought the lump in my throat would never dissolve. She remained comatose for a month and when she slowly emerged from her dreamlike cocoon, she was severely brain-damaged needing skilled, professional care.

After the grieving, anger, and passage of time, I got my act together. Before the accident, had you looked up "rebellious" in the dictionary, you would have seen my picture. But this 18-year old rebel was forced to grow up, face reality, and see life in a new, harsh light. I was no longer the carefree teenager just a few months out of graduation. I was no longer the defiant firstborn who placed her self-centered needs ahead of all others. I no longer champed at the bit to leave home and be out on my own. I quit my job to take care of things and my sister returned to high school. My family needed cohesiveness and we pulled together to return to a semblance of normalcy. Probably the most profound change was drawing closer to God. I had prayed off and on before, but it now became a regular daily habit. I poured my heart out to my heavenly Father, begging him to make her well again. I tried to bargain and made a lot of promises, and while my prayers weren’t answered as I hoped, His loving care and critical comfort sustained me through this dark period so long ago.

Life has thrown a lot of obstacles in my path since that December day and I’ve had to learn lessons without an experienced maternal presence. She languished in a distant nursing home for about a year before pneumonia ended her existence. She missed the good and bad times in my life; however, all was not lost. Positive changes occurred as I grew as a person and I gained a close relationship with the best friend a mortal could ever have: our loving heavenly Father. Out of the broken shards of my shattered life rose a deep, abiding, and forever renewing living faith that has continued to console and comfort through these past decades. I love you, mom.

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