I am kicking myself in the....

Whoa! What a bizarre day it was in the entertainment business yesterday. First Farrah, then out of the blue, Michael Jackson.

Now by NO MEANS am I praising him or elevating him but what a sad thing it was, especially for the three kids he left behind.
I saw many people and groups in concert during the 80's, Michael Jackson was not one of them. Although I remember wanting to go. We played Thriller many, many times and wondered how a person could dance like that. We even tried to learn the dances!

His musical talent and dancing will be the thing that I will always remember. Last night I started digging around for our copy of Thriller. I had the album and cassette. I couldn't find either of them and decided to call my sister to see if she had it. What would I have done with that? Why would I have gotten rid of THAT! I am kicking myself in the butt! I mean, I have cheer uniforms from the 4th grade to my senior year! I still have a copy of Urban Cowboy, go figure!!

Isn't it so weird how music and shows bring back so many memories? I guess the thing that really weirds me out is...Michael Jackson was only 8 years older than me. He was a big part of my generation! 8 years is not that much difference! My generation is dying and that is a very solemn thought.

Yes, he was a weirdo! Maybe he didn't start out as a weirdo, he just ended up as one. He was a son and a father. I feel badly for them all, especially the kids. He was 500 million dollars in debt! Who knows if his children will ever see any of the royalties from all his hard work and talent.

I remember Mom saying she remembered where she was when JFK was shot or when man landed on the moon. Now I can say I remember when Elvis died, what I was doing when Jackie Kennedy was buried, staying up when Princess Diana crashed, the feeling of 9/11, the loss of a 70's icon, and that I was making spaghetti when Michael Jackson died.

A look at the View

The past 2 days in Texas have been extremely HOT!! OK, I know, I live in TEXAS so it's to be expected. We scheduled to have windows put in the house on the hottest 2 days so far. I felt so bad for the two guys doing it. We are praying that the new windows help with the heating and AC in the house. Anyway, we finally have all of them in and caulked. The thermometer now reads 79 degrees. The air hasn't shut off since 11ish.
BTW, Farrah Fawcett died today. She was the same age as my mom. Not that my mom looked like Farrah or anything. 62 must be some kind of fatal number. I'm just saying...I so remember going into the shop to get my hair cut like that!! Everyone wanted the Farrah Do!! And when they turned me around, needless to say, I didn't look like Farrah! I ran out of the shop to the car and cried!! Mom laughed her head off!
AND everyone played "Charlie's Angels". Isn't funny how things like that come to mind. The silly little things we did and wanted when we were kids!!

Imagine my excitement when I read this!!!

Health experts have long warned of the risk of obesity, but a new Japanese study warns that being very skinny is even more dangerous, and that slightly chubby people live longer.PRAISE GOD!!!!

People who are a little overweight at age 40 live six to seven years longer than very thin people, whose average life expectancy was shorter by some five years than that of obese people, the study found.

"We found skinny people run the highest risk," said Shinichi Kuriyama, an associate professor at Tohoku University's Graduate School of Medicine who worked on the long-term study of middle-aged and elderly people.

"We had expected thin people would show the shortest life expectancy but didn't expect the difference to be this large," he told AFP by telephone.

The study was conducted by a health ministry team led by Tohoku University professor Ichiro Tsuji and covered 50,000 people between the ages of 40 and 79 over 12 years in the northern Japanese prefecture of Miyagi.

"There had been an argument that thin people's lives are short because many of them are sick or smoke. But the difference was almost unchanged even when we eliminated these factors," Kuriyama said.

Main reasons for the shorter lifespans of skinny people were believed to include their heightened vulnerability to diseases such as pneumonia and the fragility of their blood vessels, he said.

But Kuriyama warned he was not recommending people eat as much as they want.

"It's better that thin people try to gain normal weight, but we doubt it's good for people of normal physique to put on more fat," he said. AWW SHUCKS!!!

The study divided people into four weight classes at age 40 according to their body mass index, or BMI, calculated by dividing a person's weight in kilograms by their squared height in metres.

The normal range is 18.5 to 25, with thinness defined as under 18.5. A BMI of 25 to 30 was classed as slightly overweight and an index above 30 as obese.

You can read the actual article here.

Sometimes I forget that I really like something...

Thursday I worked outside all day long while Amanda and her friend went swimming. Yard work is therapeutic for me! I truly don't mind sweating while working this way!!
Cause most know that I haven't done too much physical activity since the late 80's...I'm just saying.

While whistling while I worked I remembered that I have a "smart" phone! I can receive mail, text, set up my calendar, get directions, check out facebook and all sorts of wonderful things!!

I downloaded an application called Pandora. You can type in an artist name and make your own radio station. For instance, I typed in Donna Summer! Donna Summer!! I listened to disco music the entire day while working and let me tell you, I did more than whistle!! I boogied!! I like songs with the word "boogie" in them. I had forgotten how much I liked it!

While growing up here in Podunk, Tx. a couple of my friends, who happen to be twins, family owned a disco! A teen disco! I can remember Mom taking me up there so I could spend the night with them and stay up there with them while their parents ran the place.

I don't know how long the place stayed opened but we had a good time while it did. Listening to some of those songs brought back so many memories! Actually, the place is still in GBC. It's across the street from Sears but now it's a church!

I have also found out that walking while listening to 80's music makes the time go by so much FASTER!!!! As long as the music is fast you can make it around that pavilion in no time at all! But once a ballad comes on, my pace slows WAY down! Which doesn't mean a whole lot since my legs aren't very long...Anyway.

Sometimes I forget that I really like something until I find it again. Like old stuff. I enjoy going to antique/junk stores. I had forgotten how much I like that until Mike and I went to Jefferson in November.

Sometimes you just get focused on one thing and forget about all of the other stuff around!

So if you happen to see me walking around the pavilion or doing yard work, WATCH OUT! I might break out into the hustle or the moon walk!

45 minutes

Wow! it's been crazy around here and it seems like we've been on the go since the beginning of May. I really thought that it would settle down after May.

I have 45 minutes to blog. In 45 minutes, Amanda and I will be sitting down to go over some of the problems that she missed in math. She's been doing her math and daily lessons for 2 weeks now. She still gripes about it but she is getting to have a summer also. You know girl stuff, sleep overs, swimming, getting together with friends. Important stuff!!

The week that Mike took off I have recovered from. We did end up having to call the plumber for the hot water heater since a pipe broke under the house.

Our windows should be put in sometime next week!! We are praying that it helps with the AC running ALL the time! We still might have to invest in the attic fan!!

The pool looks GREAT! now if we could keep the June bugs out! Speaking of bugs...I bought some of that Ortho bug spray for inside and out. So far, so good.

A group of people from our church have been walking up at the park here in town. Let me be the first to tell you, I am NOT a fan of walking!!! I didn't even run track in school! Didn't want to run unless it was in basketball, softball or even volleyball.

Walking and sweating, sweating and walking. Now I don't mind sweating as long as I'm doing something productive, like mowing, gardening, building something.
A couple of the people that walk actually run a few laps...RUN!!! I haven't ran since the 80's...I'm just saying.

A week or so ago I borrowed my friends carpet cleaner and let me tell you, this one is great!!!
You have got to try it. Speaking of trying things...I wear Mary Kay Makeup. I have since Michael was in 1st grade. A friend of mine use to sell it and she got me hooked up. Anyway, I've always used the cream to powder foundation. Well let me tell you, I tried the mineral powder the other night at a Mary Kay party and I was so impressed!!!

My friend Shanna suggested that we hold a Mary Kay party for younger girls and their moms at the church just to show the girls how to clean and take care of their face. It would also be an opportunity to teach the girls how to wear makeup for when that time comes. I remember going to a party like that when I was younger. My friends and I enjoyed it. I think some of the young girls I know would like it also.

I received this in an email today: Parental rights Please, please call and email your representative if their name isn't on the list already! We can't afford to ignore our rights as parents!

Later on this summer we are planning a trip to Washington DC. Who knows, maybe we'll get invited to the White House! Doubt it!! Anyway, during history this year we read about some of the founding fathers and Michael is now reading Common Sense by Thomas Paine. So needless to say we have learned some things you don't learn in the main stream studies.

Yesterday I ran across a few quotes from Thomas Jefferson. Most people always link him to the "separation of church and state" but he also said these things too: Thomas Jefferson said when people fear the government, that's tyranny but when the government fears the people, that's freedom. ...

If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency...their children will wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.-Thomas Jefferson

A government that is big enough to supply everything you need is big enough to take everything you have. -Thomas Jefferson

Why are we not remembering any of these quotes? Seems to me that we should.

Gotta go...my 45 minutes are up!

Blog VS Facebook

I’ve mentioned before that I have 3 younger sisters. All four of us are on Facebook. One of us posts on it more than the others. Recently, I spent a day with sister #2 and laughed my head off!She is so funny and brutally honest!

Let me describe my siblings to you…

One is a teacher who is trying to rid the lake area of ignorance and will tell ya what she thinks. And could care less what you think.

The next one has some sort of anger issues. She’ll jump on whatever band wagon there is and bless her heart we believe she might be bipolar, which would explain a WHOLE LOT!!

The other knows a bit about the law which is just enough to get you into trouble when this one starts in on something the one above jumps right in with her.

Anyway…

Sister #2 and I were talking about Facebook. For the life of her she can’t understand WHY people want to post what they are doing. And WHY other people would care. She has many former classmates on the site that post things and most of it, according to her, is bragging. I had to laugh because if you stop and think about it…it is.

Sitting by the pool drinking margaritas…which there is nothing wrong with but when your 40 something, isn’t it time to grow up?

Going to the farm this weekend…even when said “farm” is 25 minutes from your current home and your parents still live there.

Heading to whatever for whatever…to meet clients or buy a helmet.

Going to a fancy, expensive restaurant…because I have to the money to do it.

I’ve gotten in touch with many cousins that I haven’t seen in a long time, especially ones on my Dad’s side of the family.

But isn’t it funny that we feel the need to “share” everything? Or do we just want approval? Is it therapy, whining or just a way to get attention??? I’ve thought about that when it comes to my blog. Do I want “traffic”? Am I writing for me or others? Does it matter if my space is popular or not? Or is it like a train wreck? You can’t help not taking your eyes off of it because some outrageous thing might happen and I might miss it.

This blog started out as a homeschool journal type thing. I’ve gone from that to God stuff, to whining, to depressing, and to chronicling my problems with siblings, to missing Mom and keeping up with how long she’s been gone. It’s a whole gambit of emotions that show up on this blog, but do I do it for me or the reader? All 2 of them…

Yes, I write because my life is so exciting that I must share it with others! I want them to experience all of the wonderful things that I get to do…NOT! Sarcasm…I’m just saying.

I write because it’s a way of getting things off my chest. Also, it’s for Amanda so she’ll be able to see all of this when she’s older. A digital scrapbook, so to speak.

As far as Facebook goes…I love to check out others pictures! I guess Sister#2 will just have to get with it.

I'm so tired and it's only Tuesday!!!

It's only Tuesday and I'm exhausted!! Mike took off this week to get some things done around the house and I'm worn out!! We replaced part of the floor in Michael's room and the back door. Now he wants to fix the attic ladder, put in an attic fan and replace the water heater. We thought about building a deck in the back but the water heater would be a better purchase.

The windows for the house should be here in a couple of weeks. I'm so excited! Since tomorrows Lifegroup we will be taking it easy and doing small things in the yard and trying to regulate the pool chemicals.

Our pool is a nice shade of blue now. We ended up having to pump most of the water out but at least you can see the bottom!!!

Amanda is still doing math and started her Vacation Stations. We've decided to skip the North Carolina beaches on our vacation in July. We're going to play the last part of our trip by ear...I'm not good at "playing it by ear". I need a plan, a list. I need to know what I am doing at all times!

I have control issues!! LOL!
Anyway...

Let me explain the picture above. I'm sure everyone has seen The Wizard of Oz. Remember the scene in which the Scarecrow, Lion and Tin man were dressed as the soldiers entering the Witches castle??? Think about the scene...

The other day in Lowe's we reenacted it but only Amanda and I knew it! We went in to get a 2x4 and a few other things. Mike was carrying the piece of lumber like a soldier would carry a rifle. Amanda and I were following behind when we looked at each other and began laughing!! We even started singing the "O E O, O O" song. It's actually called March of the Winkies

Mike looked just like the cowardly lion walking through Lowe's. And we were the Winkies!!!

I guess I'll see what the rest of the week holds for us. I just love bonding!!!! Especially if things get done around the house!!!