Exceedingly Mundane

Sheesh, I was a couple of months behind on entering book and movie reviews in the Reviews section of our main website, Hambones.org. I just entered them all, and for what it’s worth, most of what I wrote was already covered here in this blog. I’ve gotten accustomed to just blogging about movies or books here, and not entering the reviews. I’m not sure if anyone reads them (except Gail, of course, LOL), but I did go ahead and catch up and enter them all.

I entered book reviews for the following:
“The Preservationist” by David Maine (here)
“Goodnight Nobody” by Jennifer Weiner (here)
“The Secret Life of Bees” by Sue Monk Kidd (here)
“Vanishing Acts” by Jodi Picoult (here)
“Shem Creek” by Dorothea Benton Frank (here)
“Memoirs of a Geisha” by Arthur Golden (here)

And movie reviews for:
Finding Neverland (here)
Because of Winn Dixie ((here)
Failure to Launch (here)
Walk the Line (here)
Memoirs of a Geisha (here)

WHEW! I think I’m caught up now. Tim is watching Underworld:Evolution tonight, but I’m not. I’m waiting for Treasure Hunters, I like that show. I doubt there will be a review of Underworld, since I didn’t watch it. I have also read the first 2 books in the Tucker Mills trilogy, but I won’t write a review until I’ve read them all, and then I’ll write one to cover all three books. Taking the easy way out, yessirreebob! 🙂

Well, surprisingly enough, a few of you guys commented that you wanted to see pictures from the training camp practices we attended over the weekend. I was pretty surprised! But, since you asked (and even if you hadn’t, hehehe), I thought I would post some pictures.

Let me just state this for the record – it’s hot here in July and August. I feel for these guys. The sun was broiling, it was humid, those are really big guys, and they are decked out in a lot of black apparel and shoulder pads. I know they are past hot. But, it’s good conditioning for them. Saturday was tolerable (morning, some clouds) and Sunday was downright unbearable (96º, high humidity, not a cloud in the sky). The sun was beating down Sunday afternoon, no clouds to cover the sun and it was beyond humid. We didn’t stay the entire time. That should tell you something. Tim is a die-hard fan and for him to leave before practice is over speaks volumes. It was sooo hot.

OK, recap. We went Saturday to the morning practice on the “upper field”, which is just a practice field at the local college where they are holding training camp. There’s also a small stadium at the college where they hold the other practices (including the one we went to Sunday PM). This practice field doesn’t have bleachers, so they had thrown up some temporary bleachers at the end of the practice area, so we were not on a sideline view. I didn’t get great pictures because there was always players, trainers, assistants, coaches, etc, standing around blocking my view.

If I had been with this official camera guy, I might have gotten good pictures:

Then again, I am scared of heights, so I wouldn’t want to be up there with him:

I got scared just watching them lift him up with that huge hydraulic machine. 😯

Sunday, we went to the afternoon practice at the stadium. I was hoping this was going to be better for taking pictures, since it was a regular field with bleachers, and a sideline view. I could not have been more wrong. It was so hot, I just wanted to drink water and Powerade (2 dollars a bottle, you can’t bring in your own drinks) and fan myself with the program. So, I didn’t get nearly as many pictures. We didn’t stay as long because it was so hot, and the main attraction, number one draft pick Reggie Bush, was not there. Bush was the second overall draft pick, behind Mario Williams, but had held out for a couple of days on his contract negotiations. The local paper had said he was supposed to be there on Sunday, so we were excited. Of course, he didn’t show up, and is supposed to be here today. I don’t think we’ll make it today though. Too hot!

OK, lots more pictures, with explanations, on the extended page. Check them out if you would like!

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1. Do you have a photo blog? If so, feel free to share the link with us!No separate photo blog, but I post pictures here frequently, I have a Flickr account on my sidebar to the right, and I post family and vacation pictures on our regular website, Hambones.

2. How many pets do you own, and what are their names? If none, have you had a favorite pet in the past? None currently, but I’m wanting to get another dog. We lost my beloved Sally too long ago and I’m ready for a new dog. On a happy note, my sister Suzanne just got a new dog, her name is Nevada and she looks so beautiful. Check out the top two or three posts on her blog, here.

3. How many times a week does the carpet in your house get vacuumed? No carpet? How many times a MONTH do your floors get mopped? Carpet gets vacuumed at least once a week, sometimes twice. Floors get swept and mopped once a week. Which, unfortunately is today, Mondays I do carpet and the kitchen floors. Tuesdays I do the bathrooms and bathroom floors. Yuck.

4. Which room in your house do you spend the most time in? That’s probably a toss-up between the den and office (where my computer is!)

5. Have you read any good books lately? I have read 43 books so far this year and enjoyed almost every single one of them, for different reasons. Of the last few that I have read, I probably most enjoyed Shem Creek and The Secret Life of Bees. You can check out all the books I’ve read this year and last year at the top of my blog, or click here.

6. What is your biggest source of news? (Newspaper? Television? Radio? Other?) Hmm, I probably would have to say a toss-up between the Internet and local newspaper.

Saturday turned out to be a pretty busy day for us. And Sunday looks to be much of the same. Here’s what we’ve been up to:

Stacy is wheedling and coercing Tim into picking up take-out Chinese for supper tonight, after we leave the training camp practice. I am craving Chinese really bad and we haven’t had it in a while (according to Stacy, Tim could go for years and be happy with not eating Chinese food). I can’t wait

Have a great day everyone!

Training Camp started yesterday! Tim’s beloved Saints are holding their training camp for the first time ever, here in our hometown. We’re both pretty excited (although, I think, he’s more excited than I am!) We’re headed out to the early AM practice today, and I’m going to take my camera and practice my sports mode and various photography skills. Maybe the AM practice will be cooler than the PM practice!

Hope everybody has a great day!

I went to the library this afternoon and got 3 books that I had seen mentioned on other people’s blogs, either in a book review, something they are currently reading, or a meme. I’ve just added them to my sidebar, under the “up next to read” section.

I wanted to give a shout-out to these nice ladies for mentioning them on their blog in the first place 🙂

1. The Falls by Joyce Carol Oates mentioned at Southern Fried Girl’s blog… hopefully, here (blogger doesn’t always like me!)

2. I Do (But I Don’t) by Cara Lockwood, mentioned by Debi at her blog, Caught Between Worlds… hopefully, here

3. Jewels of the Sun by Nora Roberts (first of a trilogy), mentioned at Yellow Roses Garden’s blog… hopefully, here.

Thanks ladies, for the book reviews and tips!

Friday, July 28, 2006
Feast One-Hundred & Four

Appetizer
What’s the funniest dream you can remember having? I rarely ever remember my dreams, and what bits and pieces I do remember are never funny. More like weird, confused or even downright upsetting. I apparently do not dream happy or funny dreams!

Soup
If you were a dog, what breed would you be, and why? I would have to say a golden retriever. They are my favorite breed of dogs, what I’ve had all my life. They are sweet, lovable, devoted, loyal, always happy, always wanting to please.

Salad
Continue this sentence: “I get confused when…” I have to figure out how to take something apart or put something together. I’m not mechanical and I don’t see how things go together.

Main Course
Name two things that need to be done, but you are procrastinating in completing. Oh my – just two?! I’m the world’s worst procrastinator. I need to clean out the coil burners on my stovetop (I have an old stove, I want a new smoothtop one, wah!) since they are really dirty. I also need to start decluttering and cleaning our home office. It’s a nightmare in there!

Dessert
When was the last time you tried something new, and what was it? The first thing that comes to mind is the alligator that Tim made me try! We went to Islamorada Fish Company in Bass Pro Shop and he ordered alligator for our appetizer. It was…. kinda chewy!

I blogged several weeks ago about the free DVD offer from Kellogg’s and how we were collecting coupons from our favorite cereal boxes. I mailed off the first two and then a third request, and yesterday, we got our other two movies. Here’s what we got, totally free, except for the stamp to mail the envelope:

We have 3 coupons toward another movie, but now they are not printing these on the Kellogg’s cereal boxes any more. I haven’t been able to find them for several weeks now, so I guess that’s the end of our free movies! It was nice while it lasted – I so love to get freebies and fun things in the mail!

I’m sorry, but it’s just not right that this thing is labeled “lowfat”! Look at the very bottom, it says, really small “a lowfat creamy blend of Starbucks coffee and milk”. Yeah, lowfat, right. Now, don’t get me wrong – it is really good. The problem is that this bottle is small, and I can drink it in the blink of an eye. It has 200 calories for this one itsy bitsy teenie weenie bottle:

It’s just not right. That’s all I’m saying. 🙄

P.S. This blog entry reminds me of a segment I saw last week on “The View”. They had a nutritionist on, who was talking about how many summer drinks were making women add extra, hidden calories to their diet. I was shocked at how many calories some of these drinks have. Check out the extended page for a section I’ve cut and pasted from their website.

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OK, I’ve seen this rather long meme posted on a lot of blogs, and I thought it was high time I played along. I swiped it from Dawn, who said she swiped it from Divine Reality. It’s long, so be sure to click the link to read them all, if you’re so inclined 🙂

Meme-ology

GRUB-OLOGY

What is your salad dressing of choice? Usually a balsamic vinaigrette or honey mustard

What is your favorite fast food restaurant? Sonic!

What is your favorite sit down restaurant? Tough to choose, maybe a local Italian or Chinese place

On average, what size tip do you leave at a restaurant? on average, about 15%

What food could you eat every day for two weeks and not get sick of? Not sure, but maybe some Chinese or Italian, a little more variety in there than say, maybe, pizza

Name three foods you detest above all others. Beets, oysters, turnip greens

What is your favorite dish to order in a Chinese restaurant? Either sesame chicken or a shrimp/cabbage dish at one place (but I’ve never seen it at any other Chinese place!)

What are your pizza toppings of choice? pepperoni and mushroom or ham and pineapple

What do you like to put on your toast? butter and grape jelly

What is your favorite type of gum? lately, I’ve been getting Trident strawberry-lime

TECH-OLOGY

Number of contacts in your cell phone? 60

Number of contacts in your email address book? about 100, didn’t count

What is your wallpaper on your computer? a beach scene, ocean, palm trees (came with Windows XP I think)

What is your screensaver on your computer? lakes, streams, waterfalls. Got a water theme going here right now!

Are there naked pictures saved on your computer? Heavens no. Unless you count a random picture or two of some niece or nephew having their diaper changed 🙂

How many land line phones do you have in your house? 5

How many televisions are in your house? 3

What kitchen appliance do you use the least? Hmmm, I have several I use only sporadically, but they still get used. Don’t use the blender that often. Haven’t used the Foreman lately because Tim usually grills out.

What is the format of the radio station you listen to the most? country

How many sex toys do you own that require batteries? None. Duh.

Continued on extended page….
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I finished the first book in the “Tucker Mills Trilogy” by Christian author Lori Wick last night, “Moonlight on the Millpond.” My mother-in-law had loaned me the first two, and is finishing the last one. These are quaint, charming books, set in the 1830’s in a small New England village. This book mostly covers the love story between two main characters, Jace and Maddie. I look forward to reading what happens to them next!

For the record, that makes #42 for me so far this year, with a total of 14,853 pages read. Up next is the next book in this trilogy, “Just Above a Whisper”. After that, I may head back to the library and snoop around, or I might just pick a book from my own bookshelf 🙂 After all, I have about 14 over there in my to-be-read list!

I’ve tried a couple of times, with little to no success, to get a picture of some of the hummingbirds that are visiting my feeder this summer. Most of the ones I have taken in the past have been blurry, but I finally had a little bit of success Sunday afternoon. I know my camera has a good zoom and I’ve been frustrated that I haven’t been able to get a picture that is clear and zoomed in on the bird itself and not the feeder or the background. I’m seriously considering buying myself a “Photography for Dummies” book so I can learn something. My camera has a lot of nice features and I basically don’t have a clue how to use most of them!

Here’s one, and I’m putting a couple more on the extended entry, so click the link if you’d like to see…

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I got a few comments in my Monday Madness post below that basically said “what are soy nuts?” Here’s what they look like:

Don and Gail had some at their house and I tasted them, and they are really good. Crunchy and salty. I found them in Walmart, in a display on the edge of my produce section. This display has several kinds of “healthy” snacks like trail mix, dried fruit, yogurt covered raisins, etc, and they also have 2 kinds of these soy nuts. I’m trying to be good and only get a small handful at a time. They are sort of addictive though, because of the salt, I think. They’re very small, smaller even than English peas, tiny little things.

Hope that helps!

1. I won’t eat past 8 o’clock in the evening. No later than 8 PM, if I can help it, and I really prefer to eat before 7 PM. I ate late with Don, Gail and Tim one night recently, at about 9 PM, and that was a huge mistake. I will do my best not to do that again

2. My favorite subject for photographing is Tim! It used to be our puppy dog Sally, and I still miss her. I want a new dog!

3. I use Kodak or Adobe Photoshop Elements most often to edit my photographs. Actually, I do very little editing of my photographs. I mainly only take out red-eye, sometimes a little cropping, and I size them down to include them on my blog. I need to learn to do more in Adobe, but I just haven’t taken the time to learn.

4. If I’m having trouble sleeping, I usually take a Tylenol PM.

5. When I’m hungry for a snack, I usually eat something sweet, or something salty!!!! This one is really hard to answer, it depends on how hungry I am, what is around for me to snack on, and the biggie – if I want something sweet or something salty. I normally choose sweets (chocolate, usually), but lately I’ve been snacking on sunflower seeds and soy nuts (roasted and salted).