How far we've come...

This video from CollegeHumor is "24" in the year 1994. Could Jack Bauer do it without a cell phone and high speed internet? mmmmm. It cracks me up how I didn't even use the internet when I was in college, or should I say 'the world wide web'. It's only been 10 years.

By the way, I love how he looks like the guy from Soul Asylum which I saw in 1994 with the Spin Doctors. I'll be humming Runaway Train all night now.

a clean schedule.

I have finally finished Alias. My schedule is now open for a new show. Here are my thoughts if I can find someone with the dvds. 1)Boston Legal 2)The West Wing 3)Sports Night 4)Veronica Mars 5)Lost(hesitantly). Any suggestions?

The Magic Eraser

Seriously, if you haven't bought yourselves one of these you are missing out on how easy it is to clean up after your kids. I had to use mine on our bath tub yesterday after Lucy drew what looked to be an entire map of the world in pencil. You couldn't use an eraser so I busted out the eraser. Not only did it clean off the pencil craziness it also cleaned what I thought were stains on our tub. I have scrubbed with 3 different types of cleaners to get that off of our tub. Now I need a magical person to clean the rest of my house.

People with similar opinions..

...On Kobe Bryant. I never have and probably never will like Kobe. He is so selfish as a player that I think I would have to turn on my own Blazers if they ever ended up with him. This is just another article of how Tim Duncan is so much better. There are not enough of those.

Bet you didn't know I could fit basketball in with my demanding TV schedule.

Big Love

So after the great Oprah show of '07 dealing with polygamy a couple of friends and I decided to rent Big Love. It's a show on HBO about a 'plural family'. It is fascinating. Seriously, there are pros to this situation if you could handle your jealousy issues. Though I don't think that you get to be lord of your own planet because of the number of wives you have. bummer. You would have free babysitting. Is that on my mind enough right now to even consider the postives to adding some wives?

World Peace

Who knew that surfing could bring reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians?

Alias

I don't like to get caught up in shows with a lot of hype. But when I figure out why they have the hype I regret my decision to avoid the bandwagon. This is one of those shows. The best part is that now I just like speaking in CIA lingo. Everyone will have a call name by the time I am done with all 5 seasons.

My latest trip to the Abilene Public Library

I am sure that people make fun of me all the time for how much of my conversations include something about the public library. That's okay because I am becoming smarter and cooler by the minute thanks the APL(that's the insider lingo). I thought I would share my current list of check-outs with everyone with star ratings up to five being highly recommended.

1.green this! by deirdre imus. I will probably have to buy this book because this will be something that I will need for a reference regularly. It talks about the dangers of cleaning and household products and extremely affordable and natural alternatives. I give it *****.

2.Juice Alive by Steven Bailey and Larry Trivieri. My parents gave me their juicer recently and so I needed to figure out some recipes. This is one that will be useful but not as enjoyable at first. Not a big carrot and beet juice fan but I'll give it a try.****

3.Three birthday party idea books that were all worthless. No stars given.

4.The Puppini Sisters (CD)Betcha Bottom Dollar. I always liked the Andrew Sisters and this is kind of an updated version.****

5.Third Day (CD)Chronology. I don't love,love Third Day but some of the songs are too good to not like.***

6.Barlow Girl (CD)Another Journal Entry. I liked this more than I thought I would. I am thinking that this is a keeper. ****

7.Maroon 5 (CD)It won't be soon before too long. I don't really like Adam Levine.***

8.Stevie Nicks (CD)Cyrstal Visions..The very best of. Landslide is one of my favorite songs ever but I like her better with Fleetwood Mac.***

9.Ludacris (CD)Release Therapy. Oh my little ears need the radio edit versions. Or no more moneymaker-shakin' Luda.*

10.Vince Gill (CD)The Reason Why. With all the great guest vocalists, this is pretty good country music.****

11.Bruce Springsteen (CD)Magic. I'll work for your love is a good song. It sounds like Bruce to me.****

12.Mark Schultz (CD)Broken and Beautiful. There were a couple of good songs.***

13.Nichole Nordeman (CD)recollections The Best of...****

14.Disney Sing Along Songs (DVD)Perfectly Princess. Lucy gives it *****

15.Nature Baby - not yet reviewed by Mr. Owen.

16.The Illusionist (DVD) will watch by Saturday.

17.A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (DVD) Kevin is watching this as I type.*****

18.Some Angelina Ballerina Movie.*****

19.A couple of Baby Einsteins*****(I'm getting tired of typing)

If you are not using the resource of the public library, you are missing out. I sit in my house and reserve everything on line and then they send me an email to tell me when it is in. It's easy and free.

random facts

Did we need to know this?

I guess that means that Jemaine will have more offspring than Bret.

More Questions

1.Why do I sing certain songs better in the car than at home, church, etc.? Here are my classics...anything by Air Supply, The Rose by Bette Midler, everything by Acapella or AVB before 1991, His Eye is on the Sparrow (Sister Act 2 version) and You Light up my Life. Feel free to leave your classics in the comments (I am also inviting the stalkers to do the same).

2.Why does Coke taste better from a can but Pepsi tastes better from the fountain? This only reminds me that I have been soda free for 8 full months, 4 to go. Which will I drink at 12:01 January 1st 2008?

3.Why have I been so dumbfounded by this idea...If you cut your use in half, it will last twice as long. This one hits me when I am washing my hair. I will honestly think to myself, "If I use half of the shampoo I usually do, this bottle will last 4 months instead of 2!" Blows my mind.

4.Why does every girl James Bond looks at end up sleeping with him? We have watch every James Bond movie in chronological order this summer with 3 left (not including the 3 Austin Power movies that I will re-watch). It has been a long, daunting task at times but at least we accomplished something over the summer break.

shows that allow me to not watch shows

I love shows like Best Week Ever on VH1 or The Soup on E!. But since I don't have cable I have to settle for the online versions which are great. I no longer have to miss watching any of the guilty pleasures because I can see the part that I would like most being made fun of on these shows in the same way I would have done myself had I actually wasted the time to watch it. For example, my last post about the Hoff.

The Hoff

Is it too cliche to compare David Hasselhoff to a fine bottle of wine that just keeps getting better with time? Here you can see why we still love him. I am totally going to go rent Knight Rider this week.

Answers to my questions

1. Why are local commercials so bad?
Here are some Abilene examples: a plumbing company working to the tune of "Holding out for a hero", a portable shed salesman dressed as a caveman, a giant, white-haired, cross-eyed man standing on a huge stack of mattresses on top of Ed's Friendly Beds roof (he looks like a great grandpa, though). There are many more but I probably go to church with some of these people so I will quit here.

2. Why will Michael Vick most likely serve more time than Mary Winkler? I like dogs, but I like dads more, even if they are bad husbands.

3. Why was Arrested Development cancelled?

4. Why do I lose my remote control capabilities when given the option of MTV? All day marathons of Laguna Beach, The Hills and My Super Sweet 16 is why I can't get cable.

5. Why do I hate dinosaurs so much? Jurrassic Park, Baby, Barney (that's a given) and all 100 Land Before Time movies.

Many more questions to come.

Flight of the Conchords

This is a folk/comedy group from New Zealand. They have a show on HBO that looks like a mix of sketch comedy and their songs. Pretty funny stuff. This one is called "The most beautiful girl in the room".

Crippets

Let me clarify. I hate crickets but I like it when Lucy calls them crippets. I think that people that live in the northwest have never seen anything like these stinky, creepy crippets. It gives a small glimpse as to what a plague may have resembled.

Boundaries

I consistently see a correlation between boundaries and blessings. I have been struggling to figure out these past couple of years what it means to live the life that God intended. I am not even close to the answer but I have definitely come a long way in my journey, at least mentally. I have yet to put a lot of the things I believe into practice. Why is that? Here are some examples...
1. If we know that good nutrition and exercise help us to live longer and have a greater quality of life why do we choose unhealthy foods and fight exercise. Being overweight and unhealthy feels gross and it is a choice for most people.
2. If we spend more money than we make, we will owe someone money. Living in debt feels gross and it is a choice for all people.
3. If we continue to treat the earth poorly we might have a hard time finding a parcel of land to live on (watch An Inconvenient Truth to see about the choices we can make and decide this one for yourself)
4. If we treat people poorly no one will be at our funeral. I actually don't know that to be truth but it is always in the movies. It is true that we will be alienated from the relationships that exist to let us know God better and to be encouraged.

When we live this way we are unable to see the gifts that God intended us to have.

Why do we continue to ignore the boundaries and insist on living a life that is mediocre when we could could be living one that is extraordinary?

Summer theme songs

So, I mentioned that 'Achy Breaky Heart' was my first summer theme song. It's true. My memory was pulling the truck up in front of my High School where I was meeting my friend Rooster (nickname) and rolling down my window to talk to him. He handed me a mixed tape that included a little Billy Ray and asked if I wanted to go with him and his friend to Eugene to watch them get a tatoo. Since I had a huge crush at the time on his friend this was pretty much one of the best days of my High School career. I will never forget that song. There is nothing better than those songs that make you want to roll your windows down on a sunny day and drive until the song is over. These are not necessarily good songs, just the kind that sound different when the sun is shining. Here are some of my summer theme songs. Remember that summer theme songs are almost always defined as Guilty Pleasures.

1993- Whoomp! There it is, Rump Shaker, Nuthin but a "G" Thang, I'm Gonna Be (500 miles)
1994- Anything by Salt n Pepa and the Reality Bites soundtrack
1995- Gangsta's Paradise, everything by TLC and Mary Chapin Carpenter
1996- C'mon N Ride It (That Train), No Diggity
1997- Da Dip, Mmmbop and all Puff Daddy
1998- Gettin Jiggy Wit it, I'll Be, Sock it 2 Me
1999- Save Tonight, Where my Girls At?, No Scrubs, Genie in a Bottle, Kiss Me
2000- Bye, Bye, Bye, everything by the Dixie Chicks, Steal my Kisses, Fast Car (played for 3 hours while Kevin and I talked)
2001- Rollin', Ms. Jackson, Country Grammar
2002- Hey Baby, whatever Britney Spears album came out (I'm not proud of this)
2003- Hey Ya!, Bring me to life, Crazy in Love
2004- Drop it like it's hot, The Reason, This Love
2005- Hollaback Girl, Gold Digger, everything by the Killers
2006- Temperature, Crazy (Gnarls Barkley), Too Little Too Late, S.O.S.
2007- Party Like a Rock Star and I am bringing back Ice, Ice Baby

I'm thinking a future mixed cd is on this list.
Go to www.musicoutfitters.com to find the top 100 songs of each year.

UPDATE: Just to clarify.....The songs above are good for the car and cleaning house. I don't usually listen to rap on a regular basis. Even though I would prefer folk and easy listening I like to mix it up. A little Air Supply, a little Outkast. Everything in moderation right?

Independence Day

Picture it. 1992. Tri City, Oregon. It was July and I had just turned 16. I was a licensed driver and my best friend's parents were out of town. They left us the keys to the '77 brown Buick. They had one of the coolest houses in town. A full basketball court, a pool, a hot tub and it was all ours for a week. We referred to this for many years later as "The Best Week Ever" way before VH1 ever got a hold of the phrase. We found a rubber hand in the trunk that was making the "hang loose" sign and a stuffed leg. So we put the hand in the rear window and hung the leg out of the trunk and rocked 8-tracks for 7 glorious days. We went to the county fair, laid out by the pool, shopped for different 8-tracks....it was so much fun and we didn't even have the predictable parents-are-gone party. The next week I inherited my dad's white Ford pickup for 8 hours a day while he was at work. It was in this truck that I remember my first summer theme song(see next post)......Achy Breaky Heart. That's right, Billy Ray Cyrus. Here are my favorite of the Top 100 songs from 1992. (I took off a lot of Amy Grant, Mariah and Celine) BTY, this is the summer that I went to a Color Me Badd concert. Tick Tock You don't stop.

1. End Of The Road, Boyz II Men
2. Baby Got Back, Sir Mix A-lot
3. Jump, Kris Kross
4. Save The Best For Last, Vanessa Williams
5. Baby-Baby-Baby, TLC
6. Tears In Heaven, Eric Clapton
7. My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It), En Vogue
9. All 4 Love, Color Me Badd
12. To Be With You, Mr. Big
13. I'm Too Sexy, Right Said Fred
14. Black Or White, Michael Jackson
15. Achy Breaky Heart, Billy Ray Cyrus
17. November Rain, Guns N' Roses
18. Life Is A Highway, Tom Cochrane
22. Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough, Patty Smyth
24. Jump Around, House Of Pain
25. Diamonds and Pearls, Prince and The N.P.G.
27. Masterpiece, Atlantic Starr
32. Smells Like Teen Spirit, Nirvana
37. It's So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday, Boyz II Men
38. Move This, Technotronic
39. Bohemian Rhapsody, Queen
40. Tennessee, Arrested Development
44. Set Adrift On Memory Bliss, P.M. Dawn
45. Stay, Shakespear's Sister
46. 2 Legit 2 Quit, Hammer
60. One, U2
65. Warm It Up, Kris Kross
66. In The Closet, Michael Jackson
72. Everything About You, Ugly Kid Joe
73. Blowing Kisses In The Wind, Paula Abdul
75. Rhythm Is A Dancer, Snap
87. Slow Motion, Color Me Badd
100. I Can't Make You Love Me, Bonnie Raitt

Go to musicoutfitters.com to find the top 100 songs of each year.

Places without "Cricket Season"

Okay, so I have been a pretty good Abilene citizen these past 2 years. I have had an above average attitude concerning west Texas considering my Oregon roots. I have tried to appreciate and at times admire Abilene with its dirt and flatness. But, seriously, cricket season?! I don't care what Miss Spider tells her Sunny Patch Friends but crickets are gross. They are really concentrated around campus and various strip malls throughout town. Now, I know that 2 years ago it was much worse but I will never get used to large bugs jumping around on the floor while I am shopping or trying not to step on a smooshed one. What purpose do these annoying bugs serve?

Felicity

Well, it was bound to happen I suppose. We don't have cable and so I watch a lot of tv on dvd. A friend brought over the first two seasons of Felicity and I was moderately excited. Even though I could not stand this show when it was actually on tv, I have contemplated watching it this past year. The only reason I even considered it is because it is the summer and I needed a fluff show to watch during a nap time here and there or when Kevin worked late. If Felicity and I could have only kept that relationship going it would have been fine. I was Ben and she was, well, Felicity. I wanted something fun and no pressure. She wanted every hour of my day. I am addicted. It took a while to know if I liked it because it made me feel older and like I was too mature to watch it. Then, out of nowhere, Bam! I felt like I was back in college again with all the drama and more. I use every excuse to be able to get to the next episode. I'll bring all the toys in the living room or I'll find some "chores" that have to be done while sitting on the couch. It's like when I have cookies in the house. Instead of just rationing myself to one a day I go with the theory that I need to just get them out of here as soon as possible. I think this is just a general problem with watching shows on dvd. You can get instant gratification of knowing what will happen next by just pushing the button. Maybe I should just get cable.