Exceedingly Mundane

Doesn’t the title of this post sound like a little ole lady? Haha, some days I feel young and some days I feel old. Some days I feel light and happy and some days I feel like stomping my foot.

I digress. Today’s post is about things you have never done, that your family and friends can’t believe. Not things like, I’ve been bungee jumping, have you? Normal every day things. Things that they eat that you won’t touch with a ten foot pole. Movies they love and have seen 25 times, but that you’ve never seen. A TV show that was a hit for years that you never saw a single episode of. The biggest books on the planet, and no, you haven’t read them, thank you very much.

I like to consider myself normal, but when it comes to things like this, I realize just how abnormal I can be. 😀

For example, here’s some of my “I never’s”

1. I’ve never seen a single episode of Law and Order. Chris and Stacy (Vader’s Mom) are both gasping and clutching their chest right about now at the blasphemy of that. I’ve never seen an episode of ER either. Or Grey’s Anatomy. Or even a whole episode of Andy Griffith. Or a million other shows. Which is odd, because I really am a TV junkie about most things.

2. I’ve never read any of the Harry Potter books. Or seen one of the movies. I do think that one day, being the bookworm that I am, I will get around to reading them. I plan to avoid the movies until that time that I can read the books. Tim has no desire for either, so this will probably be a solo venture. But Trent, Shanna and Elizabeth are fanatical about the books, so I will probably get to them one day.

3. I don’t eat tomatoes. I eat all tomato products, including ketchup, spaghetti sauce, salsa, marinara and even Campbell’s pureed tomato soup. But put a tomato in my salad or on my burger and I have to take it off. And scrape off any of those nasty little gooey seeds that go everywhere. Yuck.

4. I’ve never seen the Wizard of Oz. If you’ve visited here before, you’ve probably picked up on this little tidbit. I wear it like a Badge of Honor now. I had a very odd childhood and I never watched this movie growing up. I know it’s a classic and all that, but I have no intention of watching it now. Mostly, I just like saying “I’ve never seen the Wizard of Oz and have no plans to”. 😀

So, how about you. Do you have any “I nevers” that you’d like to share. Any that your family or friends think is odd, but that’s something you haven’t done, or haven’t seen, or don’t intend to? Leave me a comment and let me know!

I’ve seen this Favorites meme on several blogs, and after visiting Maria‘s blog a little while ago, I decided to cave and play. If you’ve played along or decide to do so at your blog, be sure to let me know!

Apparently, this meme started out as “Suzie Q’s Favorites Game”. The rules are simple – for most people! There can only be ONE, count it, ONE answer for each question. Aha…you have to pick one! Unfortunately, I’m not that decisive and have a hard time picking one favorite thing on some items, so this was actually a really good exercise for moi 😀

Without further ado:

Sport: Football
Game: Trivial Pursuit
Color: Red
Movie: You’ve Got Mail
Broadway play I have seen: never seen any
Broadway Musical I have seen: never seen any
Song: Wonderful Tonight
American city I have visited: Washington DC
Foreign city I have visited: Freeport, Bahamas (the only city I’ve visited outside the continental US!)
Book: The Year of Pleasures by Elizabeth Berg (tough, I had many many to pick from)
Children’s Book: Little Women (maybe doesn’t qualify, but close!)
Classic television show: Bonanza
Recent television show: Lost
Actor: Matt Damon
Actress: Meg Ryan
Perfume: Clinique Happy
Food: Chinese
Dessert: tiramisu
Chain Restaurant: Chili’s
Local Restaurant: Cazadores (Mexican)
Car: Explorer
Condiment: Mayonnaise!
Kitchen Appliance: Kitchenaid stand mixer, red, the last gift I ever received from my mom
Home Appliance: plasma TV
Beauty Product: mineral power foundation
Piece of clothing: Life is Good t-shirt
HGTV Show: None
Food Network show: 30 Minute Meals
Author: Debbie Macomber
Male Songwriter: Eric Clapton
Female Songwriter: drawing a blank here, maybe Shania Twain?
Holiday: Christmas
Ballet I have seen: I’ve only been to the IBC held here and seen snippets, never an entire ballet
Disney character: Mickey
Flower: tulips
Alcoholic drink: margarita
Non-Alcoholic drink: Coke Zero
Magazine: Southern Living
Animated movie: Finding Nemo
Television network miniseries: does the pilot for Battlestar Galactica count?!
Season: Fall
Male vocalist: Dierks Bentley
Female vocalist: Carrie Underwood
Day of the week: Sunday
Household Chore: washing dishes
Ice Cream: Chocolate
Candy: Butterfinger
Artist: Monet

We had a busy, but fun, weekend. Lot of football going on around here!

This is the third year in a row that our favorite football team, the New Orleans Saints, have held their summer training camp here in our town (last year’s entry, with pictures, is here). We love that it is so close by. I have a good time going with Tim – because he loves football and loves to watch them practice, play, run drills, anything. I have a good time because I get to take my camera and take pictures 🙂

As I’ve stated in years past, I really feel for these guys. It’s probably as hot here this time of year as it is in New Orleans. They’re outside, in jerseys and football pants or shorts, and sometimes pads and almost always helmets, and they’ve got to be so hot. This year, they’ve added a “cooling tent” for the players, so they can cool down on their breaks and bring their core body temperature down. So, that’s a good thing. And they definitely keep them hydrated. The water boys stay busy running around, bringing them all water and Gatorade. They definitely need it – our high today is supposed to be 102º, with a heat index of near 110º. Yikes!

I’ve posted pictures before, and I’ll post a few on the extended page. We went twice this weekend, to both practices on Saturday. The morning practice was bearable because there was a slight breeze. The afternoon practice was hot and I got a little sunburn on my face, not bad. We left before it was over, because they were on the far side of the field from us and with all of the assistants, coaches, camera people, water boys, players not participating, etc all standing on the “sidelines”, they block our view of what they are doing. And I can’t get very good shots! We had fun though, and we are going to try to go again before they break camp. We’re looking forward – as always – to the preseason and then the regular season games. We’re big football fans here. Tim has been all of his life, and I’ve learned to really love football over the years. It’s something we really enjoy doing together 🙂

Are you ready for some football?!!!!!

Click on the extended entry for pictures of some of our favorite sweaty football players!
Read the rest of this entry »

I’m recycling some old questions from the early years of my blog. You know, back when I only had 2 or 3 readers (Hello to my sisters and also Dawn and Deb!).

Today’s Question of the Day is all about music. I’d love it if you’d leave me a comment and answer any or all of these questions:

Have you ever looked up the lyrics to a song online?
Do you download music from online sites? If so, which ones?
Do you have an iPod or other mp3 player that you use? How often do you use it? Do you use it while exercising, commuting, reading, just hanging out, or when?
What was the last music you downloaded?
What was the last song or CD that you listened to?

Lastly, but probably most importantly – recommend some music to me. Please, I need inspiration! That treadmill is getting harder and harder to go anywhere near and I need some new music to walk to 🙂 Lately, I’ve either been listening to some Bon Jovi from the 80’s or the Daughtry album while I walk. I need something new and upbeat. Help!

Have a wonderful day!

This was the devotional I read yesterday, I thought it was really good and worthy of sharing! Excerpt from the “Women of Faith Daily Devotional,” page 217.

Keys to Freedom

Today’s Verse: Do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart. -Proverbs 3:1

Consider these keys for living an effective life, liberated inside and out.

1. Free your heart from hatred.
2. Free your mind from worry.
3. Free your home from clutter.
4. Free your life from hurry.
5. Expect less.
6. Give more.
7. Exercise daily.
8. Laugh out loud.
9. Rest.
10. Pray without ceasing.

And finally, remember whose you are. “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” – Colossians 3:17.

There have been a lot of devotions in this book that I have really liked and really thought hit home for me. This is one that really does and that I wanted to share. I really do work hard at most of these. I need to be working on all of them, more every day. Some are definitely easier for me than others. Say, laugh out loud or rest versus exercise daily and freeing my mind from worry.

Hope you have a wonderful day!

This week’s topic: Vacation Spots

Do you buy books while on vacation/holiday?

Do you have favorite bookstores that you only get to visit while away on a trip?

What/Where are they?

I wish I had a really interesting answer for this week’s question. But you know, I don’t think I’ve ever made a trip to a bookstore while we were on vacation! Years ago, when I was in the midst of my scrapbooking phase, I would have Tim take me to a scrapbook store somewhere while we were on vacation. And a couple of years ago when we were in Savannah, we went a couple of times to the “Bob’s Your Uncle” Life is Good store. I LOVE Life is Good products! The idea of an entire store devoted to their products left me nearly breathless! But I’ve never made a special trip to a bookstore, isn’t that sad? I always take enough books with me when we travel and I haven’t run out yet. I hate to admit it, but we have a nice Barnes and Noble very close to my house, and a Borders across town. While I love to go there, I end up buying the majority of my books online or at a local Christian bookstore. I also utilize my local library – a lot.

Happy Reading!

I was listening to my iPod a few days ago, and switched over to an album I really love, “Fireflies” by Faith Hill. One of my favorite tracks is the title one, where she sings

“I found mayonnaise bottles and poked holes on top
to capture Tinkerbell
they were just fireflies to the untrained eye
but I could always tell”

And it reminded me of doing this from my childhood. Now, that probably doesn’t seem like a big deal to any of you, but for me, remembering anything from my childhood or youth is a huge deal. For some reason, I’ve blocked most of it out. People, places, events, daily things, you name it. But I do remember doing this. Back then, our mayonnaise was in jars, glass jars with metal or plastic lids. I can remember asking for a jar, and washing it out, and then poking holes on top. I can remember doing this sometimes in the summer, going out in the backyard and trying to catch fireflies. I liked the way they lighted up 🙂 I have absolutely no memory of what I did with them, if I tried to keep them in the jar or I let them go. But I do remember doing this some.

These days, I don’t seem to see a lot of fireflies. Maybe it’s where we live. Too much suburbia and too many people for the little fireflies.

Are there a lot of fireflies where you live? Did you do this when you were young? Do your kids do this today? If so, what do they use to catch them? I haven’t seen a glass mayonnaise jar in years 🙂

That’s today’s “Question of the Day“. Leave me a comment and let me know! Or, if you never did this and do remember something else like this from your childhood, share those memories with us!

Have a wonderful day 😀

I finally, at long last, found it!

We got up early Saturday morning and made a trip to Walmart to get a bunch of stuff, groceries and other things. We almost needed two buggies, which is very odd for us. As always, every time I go in any Walmart, I scan the electronics section for either a Wii Fit or the Mario Kart racing game. Finally, after much searching, we hit upon a Wii Fit. We’ve looked almost every weekend since we got our Wii in June at Walmart, Sam’s, Best Buy, Circuit City, Toys R Us and Target for these two things. I was stoked that I finally found it! What’s even better is that there was two of them. Our neighbor had asked about where to find one, and I related the whole story about how much we’ve looked and how hard right now they are to find. Her sister had wanted to get one for her daughter (my neighbor’s niece) for her birthday this summer, but was having as much trouble finding them where she lives, as we were here. I told my neighbor that if I found one somewhere, I’d be sure to let her know. So, even though it was early, we called them. We tried to buy the second unit in Walmart for them, but they don’t allow that. Store policy, they said. They can only sell one to us. We even tried the husband and wife, he buys one, I buy one thing, but they were having none of that 🙂 So, our neighbor ran down as fast as she could, and was able to get the last one in the store for her niece (there were only two and we scored them both!).

So far, as expected, I really like it! But no, you won’t be seeing any photos here of me using it 😀 Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Feast One Hundred & Ninety Six
July 11th, 2008

Appetizer
When was the last time you had your hair cut/trimmed? Last week. Every five weeks, like clockwork. I make the appointment for the next visit before I leave the salon.

Soup
Name one thing you miss about being a child. The anticipation of things like summer vacation and Christmas. They held a magic then that I just can’t reproduce now

Salad
Pick one: butter, margarine, olive oil. Butter 🙂

Main Course
If you could learn another language, which one would you pick, and why? I’d have to say Spanish. Tim’s brother just remarried two weeks ago and my new sister-in-law is Hispanic. She doesn’t speak much English yet. We have a huge communication gap and I really wish I spoke Spanish. I’m trying to learn a few words, but it is still very hard to communicate.

Dessert
Finish this sentence: In 5 years I expect to be… Alas, STILL five years older than Tim. He never seems to catch up 😀

We went to eat at Chili’s over the long holiday weekend. They had a new menu and I was rather dismayed that they took my favorite salad off the menu, but that they also got rid of the lettuce wraps! I really loved getting those there and did often. At least they left the molten lava cakes on the dessert menu! They had the regular chocolate one and then a new white chocolate one. We stuck to the tried and true though!

My all-time favorite thing to get at Chili’s hasn’t been available on their menu in at least five years. For years, I loved getting the tuna sandwich – a grilled fillet of tuna on a whole wheat bun with the best sauce on it. I can’t even remember now what the sauce/aioli/mayo was, but it was delicious. I moaned for years that they took it off the menu 🙁

Don’t cha just hate it when you get used to ordering a favorite dish at a restaurant and then they take it off the menu? Has that happened to you? That’s today’s Question of the Day – leave me a comment and let me know what you miss!

Good Monday Morning! I think I’m going to have a hard time getting going today. I guess it’s always like that after a long weekend 🙂

We had a really good, really busy holiday weekend. We went to a family get-together, then got to spend some time with Tim’s brother and his new wife. We played a lot of Tiger Woods on the new Wii (since I cannot find Mario Kart or Wii Fit anywhere, no matter how often or how hard I look, boo-hoo). We went to see “Hancock” at the movie theater. We had a friend over and grilled out a couple of times. We had a great rain yesterday afternoon and I was so glad. It was really dry here and we needed water for our flowers and grass.

I also spent a lot of time on the computer. I have the majority of my applications reloaded, but I still have one or two left to do (most notably, Mastercook, which I use for my recipes). I also haven’t reloaded ANY of my data, except my iTunes library. So, a lot of work left to do on the computer. I also spent a lot of time playing on the computer – thanks Cam for introducing me to yet another really addictive thing online 🙂

I haven’t posted any pictures in ages, because I haven’t reloaded any of my old pictures, or transferred any new pictures since my laptop broke. Maybe I can do that later this week.

On the positive side – I read several books while my laptop was broken. I’ve been entering them at GoodReads and trying to write a blurb there about them.

Hope everyone had a great weekend and will have an awesome week! We’re really looking forward to this coming weekend – our niece and her family move back to town from North Carolina and we can’t wait to see them 😀

Hope everyone has a wonderful July 4th holiday and long weekend!

We’ve got a family reunion to attend, and a few other things we hope to get to. I, for one, hope that I have some time at home to work on rebuilding my laptop. It was delivered today from the repair shop. Yippee!! I was so glad to see that brown UPS van in my driveway 🙂 As expected, my hard drive was wiped clean (this happened last time), but hopefully I am better prepared this time to reload all of my programs and data. I just hope they finally fixed my video problem this time. My laptop lasted 9 months after we bought it before the video failed, then 5 months after the first repair. At least 6 months this time would be nice, a year even better, LOL! It looks like the exact same hardware and software to me, so I don’t have a lot of faith that they’ve solved this known problem and it won’t break again. Anyway, I hope to have some time to reload stuff, and maybe catch up on some blogs and email. I’m woefully behind.

Have a great holiday weekend! Do you have any big plans? I hope everyone has a second to stop and celebrate our nation, and to say a prayer for the men and women who serve and protect our country. I know I’m so grateful that they provide us with the liberty and freedom we enjoy today. Have a great 4th of July! 🙂

I’ve got a few new places I’ve been hanging out online lately. I’m still debating on one more new one (thanks, Cam!), but so far, I’ve got two new places/things that I’m really enjoying.

The first one – do you Twitter? If so, leave me a comment or look me up at Twitter – I’m “exmundane”. 😀

I’ve been twittering for a few weeks now and so far I’m really enjoying it. I don’t know why I started it. I really don’t need anything else on the computer that sucks away my time. But so far, I’m having a lot of fun with it. Let me know if you Twitter too! I’ve already hooked up with several of my blog buddies (you know who you are!), but I’d love to follow some more.

I also joined GoodReads, after much wailing and gnashing of teeth. I had signed up for LibraryThing last year and gotten all of the books that I own catalogued there. I really didn’t see the need for GoodReads, but, boy, was I wrong! Thanks to Dawn for getting me signed up over there. I’m also “exmundane” there. I went back and listed the books I have read so far this year, as well as a few of the ones I want to read. I like being able to keep up with ratings and reviews of books I complete, as well as books I see mentioned on blogs that I might want to check out of the library. I often see books mentioned at other blogs and think that I might want to read them, but I don’t have a great system for keeping up with them. Before, I’ve been trying to add them to my PDA, but that doesn’t always work. I’m going to try to use GoodReads for that. I’ve debated the pros and cons of going back over the last two years and listing the books that I’ve read. I do keep them here at my blog, in my sidebar, but without a rating or idea of when I read them. I haven’t done that yet, so I might not double back. I might just use it from this point forward.

If you use GoodReads, be sure to let me know so we can hook up 🙂 I recommend both of these, if you want to find yet more things to occupy your time online, LOL!

Have a great day!