"Ted", WE just call him "Ted"

Ted was in Jim's Boy Scout Troop, (Troop 10, Newport Beach California, he was "Teddy" back then).

He attended Newport Harbor High School with Jim and yours truely. His sister was a cheerleader.

He was gorgeous, a perfect example of the insanely, jaw dropping, excuse me while I wipe the drool from my chin, specimens at my High School. And... he was a drama geek. I mean GEEK! They would patrol the halls, always in packs of 8 or more, too loud, too in your face.

I despised them. AND I WAS A BAND GEEK.

For me to judge the beautiful people, seems almost criminal, but you really had to experience this band of thespians invading your personal space and you'd be right there with me, bandy geeky and all, wanting them hurt.

Here's some Ted Trivia:

Ted was the captain of the water-polo team in college.

Member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity.

Took a 16-year-old Brooke Shields to her Dwight Englewood senior prom in 1982.

He was in Love Boat and Happy Days.

(I LOVE this one!) "Patron saint" of the website "Jump the Shark" (a phrase describing an event in a TV show that marks the start of the show's decline) because of his frequent roles as a fresh or a replacement character shortly before the termination of many shows.

Before taking the role of Jefferson D'Arcy on "Married with Children" (1987), he played Peggy's husband in a Christmas fantasy episode in which Al wonders what life would have been like if he had never been born.

Ted McGinley, but we just called him "Ted"

Trains

My husband is downstairs right now, ripping apart his train set. You read that right. He is 50+ and he has a train set. I might add, it's a kick-ass train set.

Over the years, he's employed the family to contribute. Sarah and Josh installed a lovely

white-trash trailer. It has a car on blocks and is on the "wrong side of the tracks". (Duh)

Scott constructed a warehouse that is so detailed it deserves a good inspection.

There is a baseball field, a cemetary with mourners and an open grave. There are cars and trucks, some in the aftermath of a crash.

A haunted house sits on the hill and there is even a hobo's cave near the train tunnel.

All in all, it's pretty cool.

But read the beginning of this post again and you'll see, HE IS RIPPING IT APART!

Cause, you see folks, he is his father... His dad always had to have a project and Jim is just following his genes.

It's time for a new train layout. The kids and grandkids can't wait to get down and dirty composing the new and improved one. Trust me, it's a good thing!

(Good grief, I hear wood splintering, that can't be good...)

Crocs for the Cure

Could this be the #1 "Crap for the Cure"? Me thinks it could be...

Josh, my son-in-law. And Hayden...

It's as though he is being doused by an unknown.

Joshie, honey, that's you squirting you...

I titled this, "Josh sissy". Enough said.

Note the similarities...

A blogging slacker, but not a complete slacker...

I am a blogging slacker. I know I'm not the only one, but hell's bells, it's been ages!

This here is a pic of Jim singing in a quartet at our Tualitin Valley Harmony Master's picnic held at your's truly's. He and my dad sing together in a chorus. A SWELL time was had by all at the annual picnic.

There were about 45-50 attendees, much good munchies and lots of really good music. If you've never heard Barbershop 4-part harmony then, well I'm sorry for you. I was raised with it, (as were my own kids) and I can tell you it's mighty fine stuff. My sister Sarah, my Dad, Doug and I also performed with an old Hillbilly song my parents uesd to sing, called "Way Back in the Hills". I can still hear my mom's voice when I sing it. Kind of a good heartbreak.

Anywho, I just wanted you to know I was still kicking, even if it is in 4 part harmony.

I stole the idea for this post, so nah, nah, nah

Rob wrote on his blog about the Police concert he and Sarah just attended and he asked a stellar question...

"Ever think of how many concerts you've been to in your life?

For me -Sugarcubes, Public Image Limited, Living Colour, Depeche Mode, OMD, Sinead O'Connor, Billy Idol, the Cure, Book of Love, The The, Peter Gabriel, Police, Nine inch Nails, David Bowie, Violent Femmes, Afro Celt Sound System, New Order, Fishbone, Janes Addiction... to name a few, Rob"

So here goes my list:

KISS, Alice Cooper, Dan Fogelberg, Genesis, Kenny Logans, John Denver, Julio Englasis, (with Jim's mom!) Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Air Supply, The Little River Band, Beach Boys, Amy Grant, Michael W Smith, The Supremes (without Diana Ross, lame), Allison Krauss w/ Union Station, America, and of course The Days the Nights, Tibanna, Red Shelter, and the one that started with an "F", Can't remember for the life of me.

Speaking of The Days the Nights, they are playing on July 25th at Mt Tabor. I shall be there...

What's your list like?

Floating home, a dream that will remain a dream, for now...

Isn't this amazing? Cute as a button, would be so much fun for the family to share?

Yeah that's what we thought too, so Haley Jim and I headed out on a "what the heck" tour of some floating homes Monday afternoon. It all began with this one, cause damn, it only costs $94,000 and the moorage is low, ($350 a month). It has a swim float and you can tie up 2 small boats. The only hiccup was the location, looked a tad industrial. Gawd, if that was the extent of it, but nooooorrrr.

Let's see, Jim said he wouldn't feel safe parking the CAR there. It was right off the freeway and tucked right by the overpass. Still, look at the views...

But it was the walk to the house that did us in. The steps were, um, iffy. There is NO WAY a child could safely make it down them and an adult carrying said child would be terrified! The ramp was three boards laid on a deteriorating excuse for a gangplank. But the worst part of the experience was the DECAY all around! It was so saaaad! Beautiful old tugboats, fishing boats, other floating homes just rotting! No people working on them, heck no people at all. This cute little house just sitting there, (floating there) looking adorable but there's just no way! No Way!

Oh well, it's still fun to look.

No "three-peat for the Beavers"

'Tis a sad, sad day in Beaver Nation.

Our beloved Beaver Baseball Team has been overlooked for a return visit to Omaha for the College World Series.

Even though they won back-to-back titles annnnd even though their stats were better than some invitees annnnd even though they clearly know who's really in charge, (see picture...)

May a pox be upon the selection committee.

Because I love you...

Ashley's blog about the enviroment and it's decline due to our arrogant misuse of our world's resources, really had me thinking. (Thank you Ashley, well done) But it also showed me that if she can share with us what she's learning regarding this very important topic, I realized I needed to share some stuff I've been learning too.

Here goes...

I have been studying the book of Matthew this year and we are currently examining the many parables Jesus taught regarding End times and His return. Mighty powerful reading.

He is coming back, ready or not. And even if you die before He returns, where are you going? Heaven IS NOT the default location.

Life is hard enough, I can't imagine how I would fare without His presence. I seek Him everyday, in prayer, through study of His word and service for Him. I grieve for those who live a life without God. Even those who believe in Him are essentially "practical athetheists" when they don't live with Him in mind.

Here's what we studied this past week...

Matthew 25:31-46

(Jesus speaking...) "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'
"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'
"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'
"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'
"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

God deserves your attention. He really does. Where does He fit in your life? The big picture is eternal, not temporal.

Now I step down off my soapbox...

You know I love you all!

New Meaning to Being "Two Faced"

Just saw this and had to share...

This baby girl named Lali, was born March 11th in a northern Indian village and is being worshipped as the reincarnation of a Hindu goddess. Apparently she has an extremely rare condition known as craniofacial duplication, where a single head has two faces. Except for her ears, all of Lali's facial features are duplicated - she has two noses, two pairs of lips and two pairs of eyes.

"She drinks milk from her two mouths and opens and shuts all the four eyes at one time," the hospital said.

The little girl is being hailed as a return of the Hindu goddess of valor, Durga, a fiery deity traditionally depicted with three eyes and many arms.

Yeeeessshhh!

My Grandbabies are Flying!!!!!

I've been a praying animal today!

My grandbabies, Lauren and Hayden are in the air as we speak, (or as I type). They are flying Alaska Airlines to John Wayne Airport in Orange County California to go to Disneyland for the very first time. This here, (Look up) is the actual flight tracker. Needless to say, I've been praying for them all day.

Sarah, Josh and Kate are sitting in a different plane, almost ready to takeoff. The kids are flying with Josh's parents and Sarah and Josh are taking Kate separately. More prayers there.

Here's what I've been praying for...

Travel Mercies, (safe, no fears, no frenzy, fun times, easy transitions)

Health, (they have all been sicker than pooches lately)

and

THE BEST TIME EVER AT D-LAND! (no one gets lost, not too many people seeing as it's Spring Break, that the kids are blown away by the Magic Kingdom)

I've gotta go now, Sarah and Josh are taking off and I gotta pray...

Good grief...

I feel like sh!t! (notice the poo colored text) Headache, nauseous, shaky.

And I'm one of the healthier ones.

Poor Josh and Sarah and the Chilcott kidlings, they have been kicked in the proverbial rear end!

Now I hear the Powells are starting all over again.

And Sarah G is heading to Portland/Hillsboro this very day to spend a funfilled week with us! Should be an interesting visit. I bet she'll bring home a marvelous souvenir!

At least I blogged...

It's the tilt of the head and the butt-licking grin that really slays me here.

I have nothing to add...

You can imagine my surprise...

So I was just wasting my time on MySpace, heck that's what it's all about, right? And I'm checking out some of James' friends, Dillon is especially hilarious, when I spot this poor guy passed out in a chair. His fabulous friends have piled tons of carp ON him and he appears completely unaware. I giggle.

I look a little closer and I think, mmm, I've seen the pattern on the chair before, it looks alot like the chair/sofa downstairs.

Then I look even closer and... EVERYTHING looks familiar.

Crikey, it ought to, it's in MY FAMILY ROOM.

Yeah, that's Andrew...

I laughed so hard...

Can You Just Picture It?

Cancun Mexico. Warm sand beaches, cold cervezas, hot tortillas. ((Snicker)) Asking the locals, "dondo esta la bano?" And all for free, gratis, nada.

The Oregonian is hosting a travel photo contest and I, being the AWESOME wife that I am, have entered some of Jim's photos.

The grand prize... Meh-hee-coo. Of course if we win, there will be flying involved, but we can just off that bridge when we get to it. (See Ashley's Flying Phobia Blog...)

Here are the entries:

The first two are from the ship used in Master and Commander docked in San Diego. The next is the "chiluns" sitting pretty in front of the Catamaran Resort in San Diego. These 3 are entered under "Making Waves", water themed pictures outside the Pacific Northwest.

The nexy catagory I entered is "Pacific Northwest"

These are:

"Message in a Bottle" Lincoln City Summer 2006

"Follow the Leader" Coupeville, Whidbey Island, Washington Summer 2007

"Flip Flops in the Sand" Whidbey Island Summer 2007

Adios!

Johnny Depp?

Oh my goodness! I have just watched the most random, yet interesting film. Yeah, this one is a film, not a flick, very artsy. (Jim would have despised it!)

"Before Night Falls"

I know, I know, you're saying, "Susie, where have you been? This sucker came out YEARS ago!" But I found it on a movie channel and had some time to kill, so I made me some tea and hunkered down.

Right out of the shoot, the credits had me in a quandary. Johnny Depp? Sean Penn? Really? But that's what they said. I was INTRIGUED, I tell you!

It's a true story, based on the memoirs of Reinaldo Arenas (1943-1990). It begins with some beautiful story telling, as Arenas' own poems are read, all the while showing the squalor of his childhood. In one scene he is a very innocent 10 or 11 year old, running away to join the Revolution. He is given a ride on a donkey pulled cart driven by none other than Sean Penn! (That's him on the left)

Seriously, the worst "white guy-turned brown guy" I have EVER seen. You can tell it's him in a second, his makeup is atrocious and frankly you are so surprised by his very presence, that you're already in a shaky state. But then HE OPENS HIS MOUTH AND BEGINS TO SPEAK!

This is a "Spanish-ish" language film. Heck even the so-called English sounded like no English I'd heard. Kinda hard to understand, but when in Cuba... But where the rest of the film you struggle to understand the very heavy accents, this time, you just want it to stop. (Think Kevin Costner in Robinhood), he sounds like a REALLY bad Cheech.

The story moves on to his adult life. Reinaldo was a gay writer in Revolutionary Cuba. Not the best sorta guy to be in those days and in that place. He was in constant fear for his life and was in and out of prison a good deal of the time. AND THIS IS WHERE HE FIRST MEETS JOHNNY DEPP! (That's him on the right) Ol' John really moves out of any kinda comfort zone you may have thought possible. His charactor smuggles Reinaldo's latest novel out of the prison so it can be published. How does he do this you ask? Well, one hint, he is famous for the capacity of one of his orifices. I will wait right here for you while you get this one... (Humming, da-da-da-da, da-da-da. Da-da-da-da. Dah! Da-da-da-da...)

The End!

Zap

I've been up since 5:20am. It's Saturday. I have NOTHING to get up for, yet here I am, it's nearly noon and my day is already old. I feel like I've had too much coffee, ready to punch the wall, and like I've been struck with lightning. This is going to be a LONG day...

Pork Swords and For Shiz Up the Spat

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6faS7jrebU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oicIa31nRPQ

I would give my left "teet" to write like that.

Oh and you must do a bit o' research on the writer Diablo Cody, fasinating reading!

Just Kill Me!

My worst nightmare...

Two cleaning women, trapped inside a broken elevator for two days, survived on two cough drops and six aspirin until they were rescued.
Beata Bartoszewicz and her mother, Roma Borowski, entered an elevator in an empty building in this Chicago suburb on December 22. After the elevator doors closed, the women discovered they were stuck on the first floor of the two-story building.
There was no response from an emergency call alarm and the women couldn't pry open the doors, Bartoszewicz said.
Neither had a cell phone or water and the building wasn't due to open until after Christmas.
The duo became dizzy from hunger. "I was close to thinking I was going to die," Bartoszewicz said.
The women tried to sleep on their coats and used a corner of the elevator as a bathroom.
Bartoszewicz said her mother continually reassured her.
"She kept saying, `We're going to be OK, and we're going to spend Christmas Eve at home,"' the 25-year-old said.
Two days later, on Christmas Eve, an employee of the building happened to go to work. Borowski said she heard him talking on his cell phone. The women yelled for his attention and he heard them.
Fire crews freed the women an hour later.