The killer

If you look close enough you can see that my cat Autum has just killed a grasshopper. It is funny that after the kill, she sits beside it like she is protecting it. She leaves treasures like these all around the house. I get the priviledge of disposing of the body.

I tell Dust that she is earning her keep around here by killing bugs and grasshoppers. Dust likes to tell her that she is good for nothing when he walks out the door in the morning. It is not like you are going to see him kill any bugs. : )

One thing that is annoying is all of the grasshoppers in our house. What is the deal? How embarrassing! We saw one grasshopper walking on the ceiling the other day. We joked that it had heard about the cat from the other grasshoppers.

Plaza activities

I am really starting to love the Plaza! Dust and I went to the art fair that was held there this last weekend. Talk about crowded! We went to the parking garage located near the Palace theatre and McDonald's. We got one of the last parking spaces on the 5th or 6th level, whichever one is the top. It was kinda cool being on the very top. But then I had a fear of the whole thing collapsing because of the weight.

It was our first time going to the art fair. I really enjoyed myself. I actually recognized the comic strip art that is usually in the Star magazine section of the KC Star. Dust and I took a walk down by the river and noticed that there were gondola rides. How funny and awesome at the same time!

We met Achtung BB, his college friend, and Wah-Wah there. Woogie had a tantrum when we left the Thomas the Train play set at Barnes & Noble. He did ok after we were out the door. We ate at McDonald's because of the kid friendliness. There was a couple there that was totally making out in a booth. The guy and girl were sitting in the same side of the booth. I didn't get it--they looked like they were in their twenties. Hello-find someplace else! I didn't point it out to the group we were with. I don't know if they noticed it or not. Next time I want to try one of the restaurant booths like Uno pizzeria.

Learning something new

Usually every week or so, I seem to learn a new word, disease, song, you name it. Some say you learn something new every day. Once I learn something new, it seems to pop up everywhere and I learn more about the subject. Example: On another person's blog a few days ago, celiac disease was mentioned. I had never heard of that disease and wondered what it was. Today in the newspaper, there was a big article about it. Now I know it involves an allergy to gluten. Several months ago, I learned a new song from a tv show I watched and that week the lyrics ended up on Dash's blog. I learned it was an REM song--Everybody hurts sometimes.

A lot of coincidences seem to happen to me like that. Is God making sure that I am continuing in the learning process? There was a point in my life where I thought that I would be done learning some day. I have realized now that I will never be done learning. I should probably branch out from rock songs and diseases and learn words that I can use in everyday conversations. Actually Dust helps me in that area. He taught me the words disparity and moot. How could I have gone that long in my life without ever hearing about those two words? More important than words, diseases, songs and etc. is learning more about God. Dust has also challenged me in that area also.

it's all about the marketing

I am a fan of the Apprentice with Donald Trump. In almost every challenge the candidates face, marketing is everything. It is the most important function in bringing in sales. Almost every challenge is about which team can make the most money. It still surprises me after watching many episodes, how poorly the marketing is handled. The people on the show are supposed to be very successful, yet they make the most stupidest mistakes.

Kristi had made a flyer with XXX on it advertising a fitness class and she said that it didn't occur to her that it might be thought of as pornographic. Is she naive or just trying to save her butt? Whenever a team decides to hit the streets with flyers as their marketing plan they never seem to win. You would think if the candidates had watched the show before they would know that flyers don't work.

I don't think that I could ever be a sales person though. A lot of it is because of the stereotypical car salesman image. I have a hard time trusting sales people because they are usually just in it for the money. Being the brains behind developing a marketing strategy sounds interesting though.

the mysterious black gunk

My mom was sitting in bed and noticed some black gunk on the sheets. She thought it might be a Reese's Pieces Bite that she had been eating earlier. So she took the sheets off the bed and washed them. The black stuff was still there after being washed. It didn't smell like chocolate and it was like an adhesive.

Mom noticed a spot on her leg that looked like a mole. It was new and it didn't have good borders or coloring. She tried to be observant about that sort of thing because I have had moles removed that may have turned into cancer. She made an appointment at the dermatologist.

After sitting down at the recliner, my mom noticed the black gunk all over the foot rest. She yelled for Dad to come in there and look at it. She asked him if he had seen anything like that before. He said that it looks like the stuff that is all over his boots. Mom went and looked at his boots. Sure enough it was the same thing. My dad had cracks in his boots and instead of going out and buying a new pair, he put some industrial type adhesive on it that he had found at work.
Needless to say, he is in the doghouse now.

After examining her new mole again, Mom tried to pick at it and noticed it could come off. It was the black stuff from Dad's boots! She thought of the embarrassment she would have gone through if the dermatologist had picked it off. She cancelled her appointment.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

As a child, people ask you what you want to be when you grow up. I wonder how many people actually end up doing what they said they were going to do as a child? From about 6th grade on, I had said that I wanted to work in accounting. I followed through with what I wanted to do. My mom told me that my favorite toy when I was around five years old was the desk. I do remember writing and drawing things and filing them in folders. (was I a boring child or what?) I love office work and office supplies! I took two accounting classes in high school. There were only four of us that stuck it through Accounting II.

The only problem with sticking with the same interest is that I didn't branch out into any other areas. I know nothing about history, art, music, and literature. I went through college never having to write any papers. I wasn't complaining, but it does seem wrong doesn't it? I wish I had taken a variety of classes, but then again that does get expensive. I suppose I should have taken the initiative on my own to be knowledgeable in all areas. I am just too lazy! I look up to Dust in the fact that he has taken the initiative to know a little bit about everything so he can have a conversation with anyone he meets.

Will and Grace, Dust and Golden?

Yes, I watch Will and Grace. If you think less of me because I watch it, I am sorry. I think the show is hilarious. All the characters have extreme personalities. Sometimes Will reminds me of Dust (not the gay part) and sometimes Grace reminds me of myself. Dust and I don't bicker like they do, but some of their conversations sound familiar. I am the sloppy messy one like Grace. Dust complains about smells, toothpaste all over the cap, and some dishes in the sink similar to Will. Also, Will can be a little uptight sometimes like Dust. Grace is lazy and I am embarrassed to admit that I am too. She always talks about things and never does them, which I have the same problem.

Dust and I have inside jokes about Will and Grace. We like to quote some of the lines. Example: "Oh, he thinks we do things." (Regarding Grace says she is going to do something but doesn't)

The funny thing is that noone can really understand my true messiness unless you live with me. I always have the house clean for company, so some people don't believe that I could be dirty. Hence my problem of displaying one persona when actually I am another.

Dust thinks that maybe a better comparison to us would be the Odd Couple. I have never watched an episode, but maybe I should. Apparently, Dust used to watch the show all the time.

For those of you who watch Will and Grace, I bet you won't watch it again without thinking of us.

Every day has a schedule

My MomMaw (grandmother on mom's side) loved having routines. She is in Heaven now. I wonder what her schedule is like now? Monday was her laundry day that included washing her white bed sheets. Tuesday was her hair day at the beauty shop. I think she only washed her hair once a week. She had a big ratted poof of a hairstyle. MomMaw was easy to pick out when she came to grandparents day at school. She was the black haired big poof lady. Wednesday was her shopping day at the mall. She had so many purses that she probably bought one every week. MomMaw would buy tacos at Taco Bell or beef sandwhiches at Arby's at the food court and bring them home for supper. I can't remember what she did on Thursdays and Fridays. I think she would go to SDC or Branson with her best friend. MomMaw loved bus trips and she probably left on Fridays.

I was thinking about all of this recently because I realized that I have routines also. Mondays I buy groceries and at night I call my parents. Tuesday I do laundry. I like to have my weekends free of grocery shopping and laundry. That way I can travel and have fun and not worry. If I have time after work and before church on Wednesdays I go shopping. (Wal-mart, mall, Kohls)
Dust has his routine of calling his parents on Sunday night. He likes having schedules also.

Schedules are wonderful!

weekend review

• Went to the Old Settler's Days in Olathe--very crowded. Had my second bag of kettle corn for the week. Enjoyed being with friends.
• Saw the 10 pm showing of Fantastic Four. Awesome movie!
• Caught up on the two episodes of Lost that I missed.
• Arrived at worship nite and left about 10 minutes later. Worship was over and the volleyball began.
• Watched the movie "Racing Stripes." Cute movie and it has stirred my interests in zebras.
• Great Sunday School class. The sermon..not so great.
• Enjoyed an afternoon of girl time with friends. Ate, laughed, and cried. Played Rack-O.
• Ate KFC and played Outburst! I am not much of an outburst type of person. very slow.
• Had trouble sleeping. Dust was awake at 2:45 am. I woke to his tv show Red Dwarf. Took an aspirin. 6 am--woke up to a loud noise--it was the cat's automatic water bowl out of water. I pulled the plug.

"putt putt for the fun of it"

This last weekend, my family and I decided to play miniature golf. We thought it was the one thing that we could beat Dust at! He won at the card game Hearts the night before. I wanted to go to our usual place called "Putt Putt." Their tv commercial slogan was "putt putt for the fun of it."

We realized that my dad accidentally passed by it. When we turned around we could not find it anymore. We knew the exact location, but there was a car lot in its place. I was very sad at the loss of my childhood miniature golf course. We did know of one other course not too far away. It is called Fun Acre. It was only $2 a game. It is impossible to find that low of price anymore. The course did have some fun obstacles like the Eiffel tower thing pictured. I made a hole-in-one on two holes. Some of the other holes I didn't do as well in. I did manage to beat Dust, but my dad did better than I. It was good times with family.

Silver Dollar City

Sunset made an appearance at Silver Dollar City on Sunday. She just had to look into the hole because it said do not look in this hole. The picture inside was lame--a mountain man.

The food and the smells of S.D.C. is what brings me back every year. Cedar chips, kettle corn, big chocolate chip cookies, frozen lemonade, funnel cakes, and skillet griddles. The rides are fun too. The Wildfire roller coaster makes me dizzy. I always have trouble walking straight after getting off that ride. The grandfather's mansion is a classic that I have to do every visit. On the fire-in-the hole, I love quoting the lines, "Come in here and put on your pants." Dust and I got drenched on fire-in-the hole! That is supposed to be a tame ride with little water. My brother and his new girlfriend, and Dust were being party poopers and wouldn't get on any water rides. I wanted to experience it all! So my parents and I rode the American Plunge! We all got soaked on that one, also. Thunderation was a great roller coaster to get dried off on. We did start off the day at the Wilderness Church for Sunday morning service. We sang this little light of mine, and we all had to do the actions! There was on old song called Beulah Land that I did not know. Overall, it was a neat experience. Once I had my bag of kettle corn I was ready to leave.

"Nip it in the bud" or a story about my glasses

I am not normally a procrastinater, but when it comes to fixing problems with objects or people, I am one. I broke the nose pad off of my glasses about a month ago or more. For some reason I just never got around to fixing it. I took the other nose pad off, so my glasses wouldn't be lopsided. Noone has said anything to me about my glasses, so maybe noone noticed. Or maybe my friends did notice but didn't want to point it out. So, I have been wearing my eyeglasses without nose pads. They had been slipping a lot when I had my head down.

Today I realized that I really needed to take care of that problem. I keep hearing Barney Fife from Mayberry in my head telling me to "Nip it in the bud." Whenever I have a task to complete, I repeat, "Nip it, nip it in the bud." I decided to go to Target because I remember them having an eyeglass center in the store. I asked the lady if she had a repair kit and she showed me the little screwdriver. I asked if the kit had nose pads. She said," No, but you need them don't you, I can tell." She took my glasses and proceeded to put two new nose pads on them. She cleaned and adjusted them for me also. She was so nice as we chatted. "It is free of charge," she said. "Are you sure," I said. I thought I might have to pay something because I did not buy my glasses there. Come in any time and they can fix or adjust your glasses for free. Awesome! Target rocks!

school lunches

Do you remember what your favorite meal at the school cafeteria was? Mine was burritos. In elementary, the beef and bean burritos were awesome! They always served cheese sticks with them and I always loved them too. In Kindergarten, we had cheese sticks for snack time. (I had a full day of Kindergarten)

I remember one time the lunch lady monitor made everyone clean their plates. I had bought my lunch and that day they had peas for the veggie. I hate peas. So, when the lady wasn't looking I stuffed the peas in my milk carton.

In high school, we had the option of the pizza bar. I usually had pizza if I was buying my lunch. My friends liked to bring their lunches, so I started doing that with them. I usually did what was cool at the time, whether buying your lunch or bringing it from home. My mom would sometimes pack me chips and candy, so I became real popular with the guys when I was in elementary school. I usually couldn't eat all of it, and if someone asked I usually gave it to them.

Hymns

During the sermon last week at church, I pulled out the hymnal and looked through it. I have a problem with tuning out sermons sometimes. Especially if I have heard it before. I tried to see how many hymns that I recognized and started singing them in my head.

Why are the hymnals still in the rack behind the pew if we never use them? Do some of the senior saints still use them in the first service? The first service occasionally sings a hymn, right? I wouldn't mind singing a hymn every now and then for some variety. I did grow up on them so I don't want to totally disregard them now. My two favorite hymns are "It is well with my soul" and "Blessed Assurance." I like a lot of other ones too.

My parents occasionally go to the "Wilderness Church" at Silver Dollar City on Sunday mornings for service. I can imagine being in the log cabin church with the big window overlooking all the trees. Everyone is singing hymns out of the hymnal on the old wood pews. It reminds me of Little House on the Prairie. My mother said she always leaves feeling refreshed and at peace. Sounds awesome to me. I wouldn't mind experiencing that. Call me old fashioned again.

Kane

Rosebud. What does that mean? Dust and I watched Citizen Kane Tuesday night. All through the movie I wanted to know what Kane's dying words meant. I actually guessed that it was probably his sled. I don't know if it was in my subconscious somewhere or not. I remember the line Rosebud from the tv special on the top 100 quotes from movies. I don't remember if they showed the sled in the furnace or not on the tv special.

I thought the movie was excellent! Dust teased me because I used to think that "black and white" movies were boring. I love when movies give great character development. It made me think about how someone's personality could change so much. What made him become so controlling and vicious? Was it because he hadn't been in control of his life growing up? His mother didn't help him any by sending him away to boarding school. Power and riches were handed to him. When he was a young adult he thought it would be fun to run a newspaper. That "fun" that he had turned into wanting to control what mass audiences thought.

I guess the older one gets, the more set-in-their-ways they become. Especially if the person isn't married. With Kane, his two wives didn't have much of an influence on his personality. That goes against my theory. They were both pleasers or enablers so maybe that has something to do with it. It is a fictional story so maybe I shouldn't analyze it too much.

lingerie shirts

The cami or the spaghetti strap shirt has been in style for awhile now. I have seen them in stores recently in multitudes. Practically the only shirt you can buy anymore is the "lingerie" shirt as I like to call it. Does is it bother anybody else that girls and women are walking around in what looks like their underwear? Putting a jacket over it maybe helps a little, but it seems very inappropriate to me. Do women wear a bra with these shirts? I am sure there are women that do not wear a bra. Some of the cami's have a shelf bra made into the shirt. Do women wear strapless bras with these shirts? To me, the only occasion on which a woman would wear a strapless bra is with a fancy strapless gown for a wedding or the prom.

I am reminded of the Seinfeld skit where Elaine is upset about a woman wearing a bra as a top. Kramer and Jerry get into an accident because they were looking at the woman wearing a bra as a shirt walking down the street. If I remember correctly, she had a jacket on but it wasn't buttoned.

It makes me sad to see women's fashion going towards provocative. Mainly because young girls want to model after them. And a lot of girls' clothing is designed after women's styles only in a smaller size.

Where does one find the balance between wanting to be fashionable yet still wanting to have a respectable wholesome image? It takes some shopping around, but there are still stylish options out there that are not slutty. I guess one should only wear what they feel comfortable in. I have never been much of a fashionable person so missing out on the lastest thing hasn't bothered me too much. I definately wouldn't want to be a teenager right now. When I was a teenager there really wasn't that many provocative clothing out there. The cool thing was long sweaters with stirrup pants.

last one picked

Do you remember picking teams for sports in P.E. at school? The P.E. teacher would pick two people to be team captains and off started the picking. I always prayed to God to please let me not be picked last this time. It did happen on occasion, but for the most part, I was usually the last person picked. It was so embarrassing standing in the line-up while being "checked out" by the team captains. It can really affect a person's self esteem. I was always relieved when the coach decided to number off everyone in choosing teams. I wouldn't have to go through that humiliation for that day. There was one time when I was the first to be picked! But that was because my best friend was the team captain. Wow, what a thrill that was!

My elementary and junior high school P.E. experiences were always coed. That made things worse. The guys would always say, "Come in closer, Golden is up to kick," when playing kickball. That made me so mad--I wanted to kick that ball in their face! I was almost always out at first base. Guys making fun of how weak I was has really scarred me from playing any sports at all. I usually got yelled at in volleyball because I didn't go after the ball or attempt to hit it. I felt like there was so much pressure put on me.

Well, I am no athlete and I am ok with that. Sports isn't everything. Maybe they saved the best for last. : ) (Wasn't that a cheesy song?)

upscale meals

Have you ever felt the need to go to an expensive restaurant when a special occasion arises? Or if you have some extra money and you want to go out to eat. Once you are at the restaurant and look at the menu they usually don't have much of a selection. The vegetables are usually steamed or barely cooked at all. It is usually some weird vegetable like an asparagus and all the time I keep thinking that I am eating Junior Asparagus from Veggie Tales. I usually comment on how it is luke-warm and I am going to spew it out of my mouth. I prefer vegetables to be cooked not raw. The mashed potatoes usually don't come with gravy. I should be excited that I am at a classy upscale place. The atmosphere is always enjoyable but the food leaves something to be desired. The types of food and arrangement usually come across stuffy and snobbby-if you can attribute those characteristics to food.

I have realized that I would much rather eat at a mom and pop's diner than a place like J Gilberts. I want to feel like I got a good deal moneywise on my plate of food. If I don't eat anything on my plate at an upscale place, what is the point of going there? I have buyer's remorse when I spend $20-$30 on my meal alone. Does anyone know of a good diner?
(How was that for pessimistic?)

art and butts

Dust and I went to the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art. I usually find it hard to control my laughter when I am at any art museum. Another aspect of my humor is laughing at bare bottoms. When I see a naked butt I laugh. There was this big brass butt sculpture that looked like a bird bath. It had 3 legs coming out with 2 of them wearing red heels. I saw a lot of rears and some breasts. There was an arrangement of toys on a rug next to a tall plastic wrap looking Godzilla. Because I am interested in toys, I studied most of them. There was a naked anotomically correct boy baby doll. I had not seen a boy doll like that before. The Ken doll never had privates. He was flat in the front. I tried not to laugh because the security lady kept watching us. That really made me nervous. I can't enjoy myself when someone is watching my every move. There were too many security guards in that small museum.

There was a decorated platform looking thing with pillows on it. I assumed it was art and I wasn't supposed to sit down on it. If someone wasn't paying attention they could accidentally walk on it. Art can be anywhere so you really have to be observant.

It bothers me when I see a picture that looks like a kindergartner drew it. How is that art? I could do that. There was an arrangement of photos with an annoying white strip in each one. It looks like someone had problems with their camera. I know I shouldn't criticize the art. Maybe it is because I don't understand it. I know I should respect it, but it's really hard.

"it's like rain on your wedding day"

That song kept going through my head all day. "And wouldn't you know it figured." It was my fifth anniversary and boy did it rain! I was glad it wasn't my wedding day. We had no rain and plenty of heat on that wonderful day five years ago. Our anniversary was romantic in spite of the rain though. Dust and I enjoyed our dinner at George Brett's. We had never been there before, so it was a neat experience for both of us. When we stepped out of the restaurant, the rain was coming down in buckets. We did remember our umbrella and dashed into the Discovery store.

We had a reservation at 7:30 for a "Cinderella" stage coach ride. (Surreys on the Plaza) We walked over to "Surreys" early and asked if they would still be having them tonight. With the loud thunder and lightning I thought it might scare the horses. The man said it would probably clear up by 8:00 and to come back then. I was so excited to see the lighted white Cinderella coach coming down the road a little after 8. There was no rain and it seemed perfect for a ride. Our horse was named Charlie and he did not have gas. No beef-areeno for him. It was sweet of Dust to do the ride with me because I think he gets embarrassed at that sort of thing. It was fun watching the people point at us. All the little girls got excited and wanted a ride too. Dust laughed at the fact that I could have had a princess crown for $10. "Your kidding me," he said. Our "driver" Randy was kind enough to take our pictures in the coach.

My Prince Charming was there and I definately felt like Cinderella.