I love rainy days!

No sarcasm intended. The only way it would be better would be if it were thundering and the wind blowing wildly. And if I were in Costa Rica.

Of course, tornadoes are no fun, but as for the rest of the stormy weather, bring it on. I am so glad it's fall. Anybody with me?

Hair in a hurry

This post is in conjunction with an ongoing project by Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer. You can follow the link to see a bunch more tips from other mommybloggers.

Here's my tip: If you ever have to suddenly look presentable and have no time to wash your hair, or if your hair's gone blah in the middle of the day, sprinkle a little baby powder in your hand and work it lightly through your hair for a quick picker-upper. Go easy; you don't want to end up looking like George Washington with a powdered wig. A little goes a long way. Note: I don't know how well this will work for brunettes, as my hair is medium-to-dark blonde. So to all you people who theoretically have less fun than me: try it out before your next shower to see how it works.

By the way, I use the lavender scented powder so I don't smell like I just changed a baby.

Name that costume

Cuteness fix

While helping my 4th-grader make a diorama of the Piney Wood Forest, I came across this picture. So, here's a little "Awwww" for ya today. And, because I care, here's a place you can get your "Cute" on every day! ; )

It's punkin time

I always think about tick-or-treating at Mrs. Ollie's house and getting one of her huge popcorn balls.
What are some of your memories of Halloween?

Superstitious?

Hey Vern!

I know I'm on a nostalgia kick lately, but here's another one for you: Ernest P. Worrell.
My 3-year-old and I watched "Ernest Goes to Camp" yesterday, and he just laughed!

Do you remember the TV show "Hey Vern, It's Ernest" that was only on for one season? My father the clown...
And let's not forget the classic, "Ernest Saves Christmas." He was at one with the yuletide, knowhutImean?
A bit of trivia for you: my first official date with my now-husband was to see "Ernest Scared Stupid" at the old Ruston movie theatre.

Tell me what you like best about Ernest.

Under Construction

1987

Remember this???

Happy Fall Y'all

Do you see the lady in the leaves?
If you like optical illusions, you'll find many more by following the link.

Paging Mr. Herman

Were you a fan of "Pee Wee's Playhouse" when you were a kid? I was. My little sister and my cousin and I would watch it every Saturday. It was so stupid, it was brilliant. It still is. If you happen to find it airing on Cartoon Network (Adult Swim), check it out. You'll remember things you never knew you knew in the first place, plus pick up on stuff that flew right over your head when you were young and innocent.
I saw Paul Reubens on Conan recently. He is a very funny man and seemed so down-to-earth.
Who can tell me his favorite Michael Jackson song?

Who?

Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou was arrested after being found slumped over the wheel in his car. He has been repeatedly been arrested on similar drug charges. I guess you could say he has a monkey on his back. He probably didn't have a very strong father figure. Do you know what sound the jailhouse door makes? Fifty bonus points to whoever can tell me.

a mantra...

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

Over here you can find lots more stupid newspaper clippings. Some are funny. Look at them.
My favorite is the last one on page 11. In the unlikely event that I ever open a beauty salon, this will be my slogan.

On a not-really-related note, just look at the word "stupid." It is a really funny word, if you think about it. So is "slogan." But then again, most words are. Let me give you a few random examples.

Zebra
Canteloupe
Soapy
Tinkle
Answer
Iron
Nitwit
Midget
Dude
Ketchup
Squeak
Oprah

Do you have any to add? Discuss...
Bonus points to any geek who can name the "few words" that Dumbledore was always partial to.

Yes, I know

I've been slow about updating lately. Lots going on with the Penmeister. But anyway, here's a picture for you. I've always liked this one.

To the moon!

An affirmation

I thought I was bad!

Bagshot Row?

How would you like to live in a real hobbit house? Follow the link to see how they did it.

If I had my way...

I'd be heredoing this.

Fun with a fork

Colt

Here's a picture of Colt taken yesterday. He was overdue for a nap; can you tell?
The camera works great! Thanks Diaczynsky's!

Heaven's new zookeeper

...just imagine the conversations he's having with Noah.

As you no doubt have heard, Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin was killed by a stingray while shooting a segment for a series called "Ocean's Deadliest." He swam too close to one of the animals, which have a serrated, toxin-loaded barb on the top of their tails, his friend and colleague John Stainton said.

"He came on top of the stingray and the stingray's barb went up and into his chest and put a hole into his heart," said Stainton, who was on board Irwin's boat, the "Croc One," at the time.

"Today the world has lost a great wildlife icon, a passionate conservationist and one of the proudest dads on the planet," Stainton said. "He left this world in a peaceful and happy state of mind. He would have said, 'Crocs Rule'."

This news is shocking yet not surprising, if that's possible. Many times while watching the show (especially when it first got big in the early '90s), I thought that guy was crazy. Do you remember the South Park episode that depicted him? Funny stuff. Anyway, I guess the reality of how dangerous so many of his adventures were had faded as we became accustomed to the way he did stuff that seemed impossibly risky. He did it with such ease, it seemed, and appeared to be immune to the danger (apart from a few snake bites and such that he seemed to laugh off).

I guess it's a fitting end for someone who lived on the edge, but I would much rather he died a comfortable old man. I'm sure Terri and their two children (Bindi, 8, and Bob, 2) feel the same.

My baby, and Cindy's

Another picture of Colt's first day. Hopefully soon I can post some current pictures, since my friends Mike and Cindy just gave us a digital camera they weren't using. Thanks guys! By the way, here is a link to Cindy's blog. Check it out to see photos of Maggie, their just-turned-one baby girl, and lots of animals from their menagerie.

I'm in the mood for Chinese

...even though I made fried rice last night and had the leftovers for lunch. Somebody get me some sesame chicken, coconut shrimp, beef with broccoli, lo mein, and an egg roll! I'll have unsweet tea with that, too. What's your favorite Chinese food?

Anybody know where I can get a prescription?

Highly Illogical

I generally don't get the whole "dressing up dogs" thing, but this was pretty cute. One problem, though. This pug Spock seems to be expressing way too much emotion.
See more dogs with costumes here, if you're into that kind of thing.

The day he was born...

Happy Birthday to my baby doll, Colt (his actual b-day was yesterday, but I had no time to blog). Can you believe he's 3? It seems like just yesterday, but then again in a way it seems like he's been here all my life. I love you Colty Lu!

Python, Monty

Fifty yankee dimes to the person who can tell me what they sell in this restaurant!

Oh, and I'd love to see this...

Mama and Daddy

I'm planning on going down to the ol' hometown tomorrow to spend the day with the parents. I haven't been down there in weeks, but it seems everytime I try to go something comes up. Hopefully I'll be able to make it tomorrow.

Isn't this a good picture of them? I ran across it while going through the pictures on my computer. Our digital camera has seemingly conked out on us, but I haven't been able to go out and buy another one yet. I've been spending all my "fig money" on other things, things we really needed, but looking through the pictures makes me realize how much I miss having a functioning camera. So, as soon as I can round up a couple hundred bucks (and I don't mean male deer, smarty pants) I'll be out buying a new camera. Or, if anybody out there is looking for that perfect birthday present for Colt...

What's up?

Hey, loyal readers (both of you)
I've been pretty busy lately and haven't had time to update. However, I know how sick you are of looking at that twit with the tampon behind her ear, so I'm posting just to say I have nothing to post. Oh, I'll throw in a little eye candy for ya. You're welcome.

Ouch!

Silent Volcano

Lava cascades down the slopes of the Mayon volcano during its continuing 'quiet eruption' south of Manila August 5, 2006. The Mayon volcano, the most active in the Philippines, has been erupting slowly, putting at risk the thousands of villagers around its slopes.
As anyone who's ever spent any time around my Daddy knows, silent eruptions can be just as dangerous as any other.

It's a site that has all kinds of interesting money stories (OK, some aren't that interesting) and oddities. But anyway, the coin above this blog's title is a 2-cent coin the U.S. government issued from 1864-1873. I wish I had one of these, so I could literally put my two cents in sometimes.


The pirate and other dude are "hobo nickels," and the messed-up looking nickels and pennies are mint errors. They used peppermint instead of spearmint. Blahahahahahahaha (to quote Crazy B).

Mel is swell, but stupid

I like Mel Gibson. In fact, I think he's one of those celebrities who gets sexier as he ages, like Sean Connery, Tom Selleck, Pierce Brosnan, and Don Rickles. I know you've all been waiting impatiently to hear my thoughts on his recent DUI arrest. Well, the wait is over.

I think it's very unfortunate, for many reasons. First, he should have his drinking habits under control. Carousing in a bar with young women (and he's very married, with what, about seven kids?) was just stupid.

Second, he should've called a cab. Heck, the man's a multi-millionaire; he could've had a limo waiting outside for him. Stupid.

Third, he shouldn't have been such a smart-alec during the arrest. He was wrong, he knew he was wrong, and he should've known that everything he said would be printed in a newspaper the next day. Stupid.

Fourth, and most importantly, after proclaiming so publicly his Christian faith, Mel should've realized that there were skeptics all over the world just waiting for him to do something wrong so they can put down Christianity. I know he's human and therefore makes mistakes, but when you put yourself in the public eye you have to be more mindful of what you do, especially in public. Piling stupid mistake on top of stupid mistake? Stupid.

All that being said, I found a funny (but not G-rated) web page relating to Mel's arrest.

Did you know his full name is Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson? I didn't either.

Now that's fresh

Look closely...

Pool season over yet?

Summer's Over

Click on the picture to get a better look. It's a sunset near a Guatemalan volcano.

Blue Necks

I found this at a redneck website...

YOU JUST MIGHT BE A BLUE NECK IF...

...Instead of referring to two or more people as "Y'all," you call them "you guys," even if both of them are women.

...You think barbecue is a verb meaning "to cook outside."

...You think Heinz Ketchup is really SPICY.

...You would never stop to buy something somebody was cooking on the side of the road. (e.g., boiled peanuts, not road kill, Dummy!)

...You don't have any problems pronouncing "Worcestershire sauce" correctly.

...For breakfast, you would prefer potatoes-au-gratin to grits.

...You don't know what a moon pie is. You have probably never watched a moon pie in a microwave.

...You've never had an RC Cola.

...You've never, ever eaten okra -- fried, boiled, or pickled.

...You eat fried chicken with a knife and fork.

...You have no idea what a polecat is.

..You don't see anything wrong with putting a sweater on your dog.

...You would rather have your son become a lawyer than grow up to get his own TV fishing show.

...You drink either "Pop" or "Soda"- instead of "Cokes."

...You have never planned your summer vacation around a gun-'n-knife show.

.. You have never been hep'd.

...You think more money should go to important scientific research at your university than to pay the salary of the head football coach

...You have never gone to a family reunion to pick up women.

...You don't even have one can of WD-40 somewhere around the house.

...You couldn't find the eye of the stove if your life depended on it.

...You don't have any hats in your closet that advertise feed stores.

..You have more than one professional sports team in your home state.

..You call binoculars opera glasses.

...You can't spit out the car window without pulling over to the side of the road and stopping.

...You can't spit without opening your mouth.

...You don't know anyone with at least two first names (i.e., Joe Bob, Faye Ellen, Billy Ray, Mary Jo, Bubba Dean, Joe Dan, Mary Alice)

...You don't know any women with male names (i.e., Tommie, Bobbie, Freddie, Johnnie, Jimmie, Ricki)

...You don't have Maw-maw's, Me-maws, Pawpaw's or Pappaw's.

...You get freaked out when people on the subway talk to you.

...None of your fur coats are homemade.

Parrot Flower