My Heart is Full

Recently I posted a blog that was difficult to write. It was regarding some things with my son. It dealt with some hurt I was sorting through. I am happy to say that I was able to see him today.

He is currently having difficulty with a summer school math class. He asked if he could come over and see if I could help him. I told him that I would do my best, but math – algebra, in particular – was certainly not by best subject.

Last night at work, I had a patient who was a no-show. Honestly, I wanted to pack up and head home immediately. However, there were studies that needed to be scored and submitted, so I stayed and did that. I was able to leave work about two hours early. When I got home everyone was still sleeping, and rather than crawl in bed with Sam (who had Andrew sleeping next to her), I went out to the couch and fell asleep.

When they woke up, they came out and woke me up. I helped Sam with some things and then went to bed so that I could at least have some sleep before my son arrived. I had told my ex to bring him over at around the kid’s nap time so that I could work with him. To my surprise, my oldest son wound up bringing him over.

We got to spend a bit talking about some things that needed to be addressed (some of the things in the previous blog), and just catching up. My oldest son was going to meet me at where we normally do drop off and pick up later this evening.

My son and I spent about 3 and a half hours looking at problems and searching my old college algebra books to see if we could figure out how to do them. I even called my buddy from school who is my “go to” math guy a couple times to see if he could help. We didn’t do fantastic, and I hope that it is good enough for him to pass the class.

Sam left for work about 5:30 and I packed up the kids around 6 to head to the drop off. When I arrived, my son was already there. He is in college, has a job, and is always with his friends, so Ella and Andrew rarely get to see him. Ella knows who he is because of pictures on the wall. She prays every night for her big and little brothers.

She was in her car seat and I rolled her window down so she could say hello. She asked to get out because she wanted to hug my oldest. Is was so cute. I naturally took Andrew out of his seat too, because my son wanted to hold him. He commented that he had the bluest eyes. He was surprised when I told him he was walking. I told him they are getting big very fast and he should come over to visit more.

It was the first opportunity in forever that all four of my kids were together in one place. My oldest tried to snap a selfie, which was cute, but I wanted a picture of all of them.

We found a place in the parking lot where they could all sit and after a few tries to get everyone looking at the camera – I got one. It is perfect. All four of them together.

My blessings – Andrew, Dimitri, Ella, and Dante’

I am overwhelmed with joy as I look at this photo. I never really understood unconditional love until I became a father. I understand how God loves me, despite all of my faults and screw-ups, unconditionally. I understand it, because, I will always love these amazing kids that way – no matter what.

One of the coolest moments happened after the picture was taken. I mentioned to Ella that the boys had to get going because they were going to stop by a classic car show. She said ok, and when they stood up, as my oldest began to walk, she ran up to him and grabbed his hand and held it all the way to the car!

I was so glad I still had my phone in my hand so I could capture it. He helped her into her car seat and actually buckled her in as I got Andrew in his seat. She looked at him and said, “I love you, Dante’!” which I think really took him by surprise. He said “I love you, too!” and then she told Dimitri she loved him too. What an amazing moment to witness. They both went to Andrew and and he smiled at them, before we all got in our cars and left to go home.

After we video chatted with mommy at work, we decided to take a walk around the neighborhood. Ella was excited because she got to see 4 puppies who were out walking while we were. She had to get out of her seat and say hello to them all!

We came home and it was bedtime, so I helped her brush her teeth ad within minutes of hitting the pillow, she was asleep. Andrew took a bit longer to fall asleep. As soon as they were down, I fixed a salad and began typing this. I’ve only had 3 hours sleep today and really should have just gone to bed …. However, I wanted to share my happiness while I was still smiling about it.

Tonight, I head to bed with a heart full of love, joy, gratitude, understanding, and happiness!

Thanks for reading.

Prompt: Nighttime Rituals

A few of the blogs I follow posted this yesterday. I guess there is a Throwback Thursday prompt each week by a couple sites I cannot remember off the top of my head. I thought this was a very neat set of questions to think back on and answer. After I publish this, I will go back and try to find the names of the original poster of these.

(UPDATED) The authors of the original post is Maggie, at From Cave Walls, and Lauren, at LSS Attitude of Gratitude. The idea of the prompt is for them to give us a topic and for us to write a post in which we share our own memories or experiences about the given topic. This week, Maggie asks us about our nighttime rituals growing up.

This week’s prompt is: Nighttime Rituals

You can either free write using these questions as inspiration or answer the questions as they are.

Did you share a room with a sibling, or did you have a room of your own?

I recall doing both. There were times that my brother and I shared a room and times where we had separate rooms. I remember when we first moved to separate rooms being a bit scared of the dark (and probably being alone). I used to get up and turn the hall light on all the time. Then there were times that I’d call to my brother and have him come in my room, or vice versa.

There were plenty of times were we’d be up screwing around and laughing, which would ultimately cause my dad to have to get up from the living room and yell at us to stay in bed. I don’t know that my dad ever really had the chance to watch a show at night when we were in separate rooms. It seems like he was always coming in to yell at us.

Did you resist going to bed or did you go willingly?

My dad may disagree with me, but I think I went to bed willingly most nights. I think the issue was staying in bed. I’m sure that there were times I resisted, but I don’t recall many times where I fought to stay up.

Did someone put you to bed, tuck you in, or read you a bedtime story?

I am sure as a toddler my mom or dad read me bedtime stories. I remember many of them and have read those to my own kids at bed time. I remember my dad reading us Babar the elephant stories for some reason.

I guess both parents kind of alternated in putting us to bed. I recall my dad always putting us to bed after birthdays and Christmas. He always asked if we got what we wanted and if we had a good day.

Was there a religious component, like prayers, to your nighttime routine?

I remember saying prayers at night. As a kid it was usually the “Now I lay me down to sleep” prayer. At some point that began to freak me out. The line “If I shall die before I awake” began to scare me a bit.

As I got older and realized that prayers didn’t have to be repetitive and such, I actually began to pray and have a conversation with God. Those times meant more than the ones I said just to say them.

Did you go to sleep immediately, or lie awake?

I fooled around a lot. I almost never went right to sleep. I remember having a flashlight next to my bed or under my pillow. I would sometimes grab a book and read it with the flashlight on. I also had a small hand held radio with one of those white ear buds that only went in one ear.

I would plug it in and fall asleep listening to the radio – maybe a Tigers game or just music. Later, I had a portable cassette player and I would listen to Old Radio Shows like Fibber McGee and Molly, Dragnet, Jack Benny or Suspense.

Did you ever sleepwalk?

Not to my knowledge.

Did you remember having dreams? If you dreamed, did you ever have bad dreams? Do you remember any dreams specifically?

I do remember dreaming. I recall many times I would have bad dreams and end up crawling into bed with my folks, or my brother. The one dream I have had for years is the “tornado dream” which I blogged about before. You can read it here:

Recurring Dreams

Were you afraid of the dark? Did you sleep with a nightlight or sneak into your sibling’s or parent’s room at night because you were afraid?

Yes. I’m not sure why, but I was very afraid of the dark. I always had a nightlight. I remember when my brother and I had to spend the night at my grandma’s house, they slept in complete darkness and I remember being scared to death. I was always used to hearing my folks up watching TV or talking on the phone. My grandparents would go to be when we went to bed. Complete darkness and eerie quiet. I heard all kinds of noises.

I often snuck into my brothers room or vice versa. Going into my parent’s room was not unheard of either.

Did you have or attend sleepovers or slumber parties?

I remember having sleepovers with a few friends as a young kid. Sometimes I went to their house and sometimes they came to mine. I remember having friends over to watch movies and such. As a teen, I remember one sleepover where a bunch of friends came over and we all slept in a tent in the back yard. My dad wound up cooking a HUGE breakfast for all of us.

How about you? What are your answers to the questions? I’d love to hear them.

It’s International Joke Day!

In honor of International Joke Day:

Rabbit Joke

A man was driving along the highway, and saw a rabbit hopping across the middle of the road. He swerved to avoid hitting the rabbit, but unfortunately the rabbit jumped in front of the car and was hit. The driver, being a sensitive man as well as an animal lover, pulled over to the side of the road, and got out to see what had become of the rabbit.

Much to his dismay, the rabbit was dead. The driver felt so awful, he began to cry. A woman driving down the highway saw the man crying on the side of the road and pulled over. She stepped out of her car and asked the man what was wrong.

“I feel terrible,” he explained, “I accidently hit this rabbit and killed it.”

The woman told the man not to worry. She knew what to do. She went to her car trunk, and pulled out a spray can. She walked over to the limp, dead rabbit, and sprayed the contents of the can onto the rabbit.

Miraculously the rabbit came to life, jumped up, waved it’s paw at the two humans and hopped down the road. 50 meters away the rabbit stopped, turned around, waved and hopped down the road, another 50 meters, turned, waved and hopped another 50 meters. The man was astonished. He couldn’t figure out what substance could be in the woman’s spray can!!

He ran over to the woman and demanded, “What is in your spray can? What did you spray on that rabbit?”

The woman turned the can around so that the man could read the label. It said: “Hair spray. Restores life to dead hair. Adds permanent wave.”

Elementary, My Dear Watson

Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson went on a camping trip. After a good meal and a bottle of wine they lay down for the night, and went to sleep.

Some hours later, Holmes awoke and nudged his faithful friend. “Watson, look up at the sky and tell me what you see.” Watson replied, “I see millions and millions of stars.”

“What does that tell you?”

Watson pondered for a minute.

“Astronomically, it tells me that there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets.

Astrologically, I observe that Saturn is in Leo.

Horologically, I deduce that the time is approximately a quarter past three.

Theologically, I can see that God is all powerful and that we are small and insignificant.

Meteorologically, I suspect that we will have a beautiful day tomorrow. What does it tell you?”

Holmes was silent for a minute, then spoke. “Watson, you jerk. Someone has stolen our tent.”

Dead Duck

A woman brings a very limp duck into a veterinary surgeon.

As she lays her beloved pet duck on the table, the vet puts his stethoscope to the bird’s chest and listens carefully.

A moment later the vet shakes his head and says sadly, “I’m really sorry mam, but your duck, Cuddles, has passed away.“

The woman becomes quite distressed and begins to cry.

“Are you sure?” she says with tears flooding from her eyes.

“Yes mam, I am sure” the vet responds. “Your duck is definitely dead.“

“But how can you be so sure?” the woman protests. “I mean, you haven’t done any testing on him or anything have you? Perhaps he’s just stunned or in a coma or something.”

The vet rolls his eyes, then turns around and leaves the room.

A few minutes later he returns with a black Labrador retriever.

As the duck’s owner looks on in amazement, the Labrador stands on his hind legs, puts his front paws on the examination table and sniffs around the duck from top to bottom. He then looks up at the vet with sad eyes and shakes his head.

The vet pats the dog on the head and takes it out of the room.

A few minutes later the vet returns with a cat. The cat jumps on the table and delicately sniffs at the bird from its head to its feet. After a moment the cat looks up, shakes its head, meows softly and strolls out of the room.

The vet looks at the woman and says, “Look mam I’m really sorry, but as I said before, this is most definitely a duck that is no longer of this world. Your duck is dead.“

The vet then turns to his computer terminal, hits a few keys and produces a bill, which he hands to the woman.

The duck’s owner, still in shock, looks at the bill and sees it is $150.

“$150 just to tell me my duck is dead!” she shrieks with incredulity

The vet shrugs his shoulders and says, “I’m sorry mam. If you’d taken my word for it, the bill would have been $20. However, with the Lab Report and the Cat Scan, it’s now $150.“

Jokes From Soupy

Some Laughs From Soupy

I have to include my favorite Buddy Hackett joke. Go to the 3:00 mark of this clip from the Tonight Show for his famous Duck Joke.

LAUGH today! Share your favorite jokes in the comments if you wish ….

Friday Photo Flashback

Recently, I did a blog based on a writing prompt that suggested finding a photo and blogging about the memories that it brings back to you. I enjoyed doing it and thought I would try to do one every Friday. I’m not sure I’ll have enough photos to post, but we’ll see.

The above photo is on my brother (left) and me (right) in our old house in Sterling Heights. The photo is probably taken around 1976. If I had to guess it is probably shortly after Christmas.

It is very easy to focus on the main action in the picture. We are obviously pulling on Stretch Armstrong. I remember seeing ads for Stretch as a kid and asked for it for Christmas or my birthday. It was one of my favorite toys. What I found interesting was looking at the things outside of the center of the picture.

At the bottom is a yellow airplane. I recognized it immediately. In one of my early blogs I talked about the Fisher Price “Adventure People.” The plane is from one of those sets.

What I remember about those “Adventure People” is that eventually, their heads wouldn’t stay up. They always fell down to the chest.

To the right of the plane are some boxes. I wish I could make out what they are. They certainly look like they may be from toys or gifts, which is why I think this might be around Christmas.

Behind me in the picture is yet another “Adventure People” set. It was hard to make out, but I remembered it once I realized what it was. It is the FP Rescue Truck. If you look carefully, you can see the red “bucket” ladder in the picture.

Behind my brother is a book case. On the bottom shelf, it looks like there might be some of my dad’s school books to the right. To the left of those is some series of books with white covers. I’m not really sure what those are.

On the next shelf up is a series of blue books which I remember well. I cannot remember if they were from Reader’s Digest or World Book or some company like that, but they had all kinds of historical stuff in them. Some were about cars, some where about movies and TV, and others were about politics. I loved looking through those and looking at pictures of old movie stars.

On the shelves above that one I can see book bindings from some of my mom’s “beauty” books, cook books, a three ring binder, a couple Bibles, and paperbacks. I’m not sure why there is a green teapot on there!

On the bottom left there was a cabinet. I want to say that is where you could find some of the family photo albums. One of them probably held the picture that is the subject of this blog.

Above the cabinet door is a shelf that is loaded up with 12 inch Vinyl records. Even though I can’t see them, I can name albums that are on this shelf! They were the ones my dad played often. The Beatles Let It Be, Roy Orbison’s Greatest Hits, Elvis In Concert, The Best of Lenny Dee, and about 20 compilation albums.

On top of the albums, there are some loose gloves (suggesting winter time), and what seems to be VHS tape holder. I know that is not what it is, because we didn’t even have VCR’s at this time. If I had to wager a guess, those drawers are probably holding 8-track tapes. (My dad used to record his own for us to listen to in the car.) The Phonograph turntable is probably on the shelf just above those albums with two speakers sitting next to it.

As I look at this picture I wish I could walk through it! While I don’t recall the layout completely, I do remember that my room was all the way at the end of the hall. I know behind me in the picture is the hall closet, my parents room would be at the end on the right, the bathroom is also on the right (you can kind of see the counter with a bottle of what looks like hairspray on it), and on the left across from the closet – my brother’s room.

I vaguely remember things about that house, as I was only there for 6 years of my life. I would love to be able to walk back through it and just take it all in. I’ve probably forgotten so much about it.

It’s actually neat to look beyond what was being captured on film. I wish that these old photos were clearer, so I could really dive into the things in the background.

TV Show Draft – Round 10 – The Untouchables

We have reached the final round of the Hanspostcard TV Show Draft. I want to take a moment and thank Max from the Power Pop Blog for taking up the reigns and helping us continue this round in Hans’ absence. It truly has been a fun draft!

For my final pick, I have gone back to another classic – The Untouchables. The show ran from 1959 to 1963 and starred the great Robert Stack as Eliot Ness. It is hard to imagine anyone but Robert Stack in the role of Ness, but believe it or not, Desi Arnaz had originally offered the role to actor Van Johnson. Supposedly, he wanted double what they were offering to pay for the role, and it ultimately went to Stack.

When asked about the character some years later, Stack said, “Ness was a precursor of Dirty Harry. He was a hero, a vigilante in a time when breaking the law meant nothing because there was no law because Capone owned Chicago, he owned the police force.”

The show was based on the book of the same name written by Eliot Ness and Oscar Fraley. Brian De Palma would use the book as the basis for his 1987 film of the same name.

According to Wikipedia:

The series originally focused on the efforts of a real-life squad of Prohibition agents employed by the US Department of Justice and led by Eliot Ness (Stack) that helped bring down the bootleg empire of “Scarface” Al Capone, as described in Ness’s bestselling 1957 memoir. This squad was nicknamed “The Untouchables” because of its courage and honesty; squad members could not be bribed or intimidated by the mob. Eliot Ness himself had died suddenly in May 1957, shortly before his memoir and the subsequent TV adaptation were to bring him fame beyond any he experienced in his lifetime.

The pilot for the series, a two-part episode entitled “The Untouchables,” originally aired on CBS’s Westinghouse Desilu Placyhouse (and was introduced by Desi Arnaz) on April 20 and 27, 1959. Later re-titled “The Scarface Mob”, these episodes, which featured Neville Brand as Al Capone, were the only episodes in the series to be more-or-less directly based on Ness’s memoir, and ended with the conviction and imprisonment of Capone. CBS, which had broadcast most of Desilu’s television output since 1951 beginning with I Love Lucy, was offered the new series following the success of the pilot film. It was rejected it on the advice of network vice president Hubbell Robinson. ABC agreed to air the series, and The Untouchables premiered on October 15, 1959. In the pilot movie, the mobsters generally spoke with unrealistic pseudo-Italian accents, but this idiosyncratic pronunciation was dropped when the series debuted.

The weekly series first dramatized a power struggle to establish a new boss in Capone’s absence (for the purpose of the TV series, the new boss was Frank Nitti, although this was, as usual for the series, contrary to fact). As the series continued, there developed a highly fictionalized portrayal of Ness and his crew as all-purpose, multi-agency crime fighters who went up against an array of 1930s-era gangsters and villains, including Ma Barker, Dutch Schultz, Bugs Moran, Lucky Luciano, and in one episode, Nazi agents. On many occasions during the series run, Ness would blatantly violate suspects’ Fourth Amendment rights with no legal ramifications.

The terse narration by gossip columnist Walter Winchell, in his distinctive New York accent, was a stylistic hallmark of the series, along with its ominous theme music by Nelson Riddle and its shadowy black-and-white photography, which was influenced by film noir.

The series produced 118 episodes which ran 50 minutes each. Though the book chronicled the experiences of Ness and his team against Capone, and in reality the Untouchables disbanded soon after Capone’s conviction. The series continued after the pilot and book ended, depicting the fictitious further exploits of the Untouchables against many, often real life, criminals over a span of time ranging from 1929 to 1935.

The show came with some controversy. Italian-American groups protested over what they felt was an unfair presentation of their people as Mafia-types. “We are plagued with lawsuits after certain shows” one of the show’s producers Josef Shaftel explained, noting that the series was “heavily insured against libel.” With good reason – the first lawsuit against the show was instigated by Al Capone’s angry widow. She didn’t like the way her deceased husband was made into a running villain on the show and wanted a million dollars for unfair use of his image. (She lost.)

The FBI and J. Edgar Hoover were ticked off too. They were the ones who collared the famous names that Ness was supposedly busting each week on TV and they rightfully wanted credit for it. The second episode of the series, for example, depicted Ness and his crew involved in the capture of the Ma Barker gang, an incident in which the real-life Ness played no part. The producers agreed to insert a spoken disclaimer on future broadcasts of the episode stating that the FBI had primary responsibility for the Barker case. Even the Bureau of Prisons took offense, complaining that the show made their treatment of Al Capone look soft.

The show itself was considered one of the most violent television shows of its time. Of course, by today’s standards it’s not that bad, but it was violent enough at the time to spark protests from parents who were worried about their children seeing this violence.

My Thoughts

This is one of those shows that I just love! Robert Stack’s delivery of almost every line as Ness is perfect. He won an Emmy in 1960 for Best Actor in a Dramatic Series for his portrayal of Ness.

Despite the fact that many of the stories are fictionalized to work the Untouchables into them, they are great! The show really was a forerunner to shows like The FBI, Crime Story, and even Hawaii 5-0. I love the film noir feel of it. Every episode plays like a good 50 minute movie.

The Lebanon Pennsylvania Daily News said of The Untouchables: “Between the hard-nosed approach, sharp dialogue, and a commendably crisp pace (something rare in dramatic TV at the time), this series is one of the few that remains fresh and vibrant. Only the monochrome presentation betrays its age. The Untouchables is one of the few Golden Age TV shows that deserves being called a classic.” It really does hold up well.

As I have mentioned before, one of the things I love about these old shows is seeing big stars (who are not quite yet stars) show up. In regular roles throughout the series you could see Raymond Bailey (Mr. Drysdale on the Beverly Hillbillies), Barbara Stanwyck, Barbara Nichols, Ed Asner (Lou Grant), Harry Morgan (Col. Potter on MASH), and Henry Silva.

The list of guest star appearances is long and amazing. They include: Jack Elam, Paul Frees, Jim Backus, Sam Jaffe, Martin Balsam, John Dehner, William Bendix, Whitt Bissell, Charles Bronson, James Caan, James Coburn, Mike Conners, Robert Duvall, Peter Falk, Norman Fell, Alan Hale Jr., Brian Keith, Jack Klugman, Cloris Leachman, Jack Lord, Lee Marvin, Telly Savalas, Elizabeth Montgomery, Leonard Nimoy, Robert Redford, Ricardo Montalban, Rip Torn, Jack Warden, Dick York, Cliff Robertson and so many more!

“The Untouchables” Paul Picerni, Robert Stack circa 1961

You know, they play reruns of Law and Order on TV all the time. Many of the shows I have seen numerous times. I know what’s going to happen, yet I still watch (a lot like my previous picks – Perry Mason and Columbo). The Untouchables is a show that could very easily be rerun like a Law and Order. It is that good.

I love Walter Winchell’s narration

And I love the theme song!

It has been so much fun writing on some of my favorite shows. It’s been just as fun to read about the shows picked by other members of the TV Show Draft. I hope you have enjoyed my picks…

Thanks for reading!

“Almost” Twins

I was looking through some pictures today, hoping to find a good one to post for a “Throwback Thursday.” I stumbled on a picture of me when I was Andrew’s age.

As I stared at the picture of my younger self, I actually felt like I could see some of Andrew’s features in my face. Maybe I’m crazy, but they are there. See for yourself:

Ok, I know Andrew has blonde hair and mine is much darker. Andrew has blue eyes and mine are brown. The shape of the nose, the cheeks, the eyebrows? Maybe…. I don’t know. Maybe I am over thinking it.

It is very cool to see the two pictures side by side. Now, Ella at 8 months?

Yeah, she is ALL mommy!

(Insert Creative Title Here)

We had our garage sale on Friday and Saturday, but Sunday may have been busier than the rest of my weekend. I got my steps in for the day, that’s for sure!

You may remember that when we were expecting Ella, we took what was our dining room and built a wall to make a nursery. When that happened, we moved our dining room table to the living room. Eventually, we bought Ella toys that we needed to make room for, so we moved the table downstairs.

So for over 2 years, we’ve eaten dinners on the couch and Ella ate at her little table. Sam decided it was time to bring the table back upstairs. Ella is big enough to sit at the table (she may need a booster) and Andrew has a high chair that straps to one of the chairs. So we put Ella’s table in her room and got rid of the big high chair.

I brought up the table and Sunday morning, we all got to eat breakfast and lunch at the table. It’s amazing how much that really meant to us. Having all of us at the table really was quite a nice bonding experience. It’s been nice to be able to do this again.

The kids and I played outside a lot and we took our walk around the neighborhood. Afterward, we came home and played with toys and watched TV. Ella was sitting next to me on the floor and we were watching one of her shows. We were probably sitting like this for 15 minutes before I noticed that we were sitting the same way. So I grabbed my phone and snapped a picture. Please pardon the “weekend bumming around” socks I am wearing.

On Monday morning, Andrew was up first. I got up with him and made him a bottle. After he ate it, he got down on the floor and was trying to pet our cat. Our cat is terrified of Ella. Probably because she chases her all over the place. I’m surprised at how much the cat lets Andrew pet her.

Knowing that I had over did it with the chimichangas from Saturday night, I wanted to be sure that I got a good walk in. I put the kids in the stroller and we were off and walking. Midway through the walk, I was thrown a curveball. I totally lost one of the front wheels on the stroller!!

We were at least a half mile from home, and Sam was asleep, so I had to keep walking home. There were times where I was able to push with just the one wheel. Most of the time, however, I pushed down on the stroller handle to lift the wheel up from the ground and walked home that way. Either way, it was not fun.

By the time we got home, Ella wanted to stay outside and play. All I wanted to do was sit down and chug a bottle of water. So I put Andrew in his swing and Ella played in the dirt. LOL

I must have been worried about weighing in on Tuesday morning, because Monday night I had a dream that I was sitting at the dining room table stuffing my face with plain M&M’s.

I don’t remember what I was stressing about in the dream, but I just kept stuffing my face with those M&M’s. Finally, I remember I have to weigh in and push the bowl off the table.

When I weighed in, I was surprised to see that I had actually lost a pound. I really thought that I would be up or stay the same. Those chimichangas were worth every bite, and I know that because of them, my week was not as good as it could have been. However, a loss is still a loss. I will do it one pound at a time. Total weight loss – 14 pounds.

I took the kids out for a walk in the other double stroller we have. It’s not as easy to push as the jogger, but it gets us through the neighborhood. After we got home, Ella wanted to play on the trampoline. I decided to let Andrew go in for a second and he loved it. If I had to pick a picture that says “This is summer,” it might just be this one:

Ella wanted me to come in and play, too. It takes me a minute to get myself up and in that thing (and even longer to get out). We had such fun just rolling and jumping around. The kids are hard to wrangle for photos now, but I was able to nab this one of the three of us before going inside for naps.

What a wonderful blessing these kids are!!

A Garage Sale Story

Last weekend we had a garage sale. As we were setting it up, something happened that took me back to my childhood. I had to share.

The wonderful woman pictured above is my grandma. We spent almost every Sunday with her. She always made ravioli, spaghetti, breaded steak, chicken, or some amazing meal for us. I loved our visits there – unless we had to go to the store or garage sale shopping.

My grandma was always looking for a deal. She could haggle like no one else I know. If she was buying a car, she always talked them into a full set of floor mats, coupons for car washes, full tanks of gas, or seat covers. She knew how to wheel and deal and we often saw this when she was garage sale shopping. Often times, we’d drive around for hours stopping here and there. If I had to wager a guess, we probably wasted more gas than anything. It seemed like she hardly ever bought anything.

Now here is the thing I remember most about visiting garage sales with my grandma. She’s wait until we all got back in the car and once the doors closed, she’d proclaim, “They’re high!” or “They were too high!” or “Those prices were high!” I’d say that 95% of the time it was simply, “They’re high!”

Now, back to our garage sale. The first morning we were setting up, Sam really hadn’t decided on prices for things. She had an idea for the baby clothes and such, but the big ticket items, she didn’t.

I was out pricing these things as she called out what she wanted for them. For one stroller she said she wanted $50 for it. I’m sure that was probably a fair price, but immediately in my head, I hear my grandma saying, “They’re high!” This happened on a few other items, too. Rather than suggest to my wife that the prices were high (because they may not have been), I simply said, “If you get a good offer on this – we should just take it.”

We really didn’t have a whole lot of people stop out, so I can’t say that the items didn’t sell because of their price. I’m sure if more folks had come, if we had more signs, or if we had advertised it we would have had a better turn out.

I was glad that this funny little memory popped into my head. I miss my grandma a lot!

Turntable Talk – “Out of the Blue”

Welcome to another edition of Turntable Talk, hosted by Dave at A Sound Day. He has really been coming up with some neat topics for this series. This time around, he is calling it “Out of the Blue.” Dave described it this way: “Basically, great debuts that probably took you by surprise. Now, I’m not talking to old debut records by artists you love that you eventually went back to and found , but rather albums or even singles that you found more or less when they came out that you really loved… a surprise great that came out of the blue. So tell us about a record like that, and if you want, if your interest in the artist was kept alive or if they were a one-off flash in the pan.“

I didn’t have to go any further in his email to know exactly what I’d be writing about. I remember this song like it was yesterday. It was 2004 and I was working at 94.5 The Moose in Saginaw.

As the station’s music director, I received new music daily. Every single song was trying to get a spot on the station’s play list. Each week I would listen to the new songs and then meet with my program director to discuss what song or songs we might consider adding. Often times, it was a difficult decision. Other times, you just went with the new song from a country superstar.

Every year in January or February the Country Radio Seminar would happen in Nashville. Radio people from all across the country would get together to hear new music, network, and attend panels about various radio and records stuff.

I remember going to one of the evening events hosted by one of the record labels that year. I recall them playing some of their new songs from new artists. The one song that had everyone talking that year was Redneck Woman. I can still remember the first time I heard it. I was blown away. It was like NOTHING that was on the radio at that time.

The song was by a new artist named Gretchen Wilson. She was a 30 year old single mother who was working as a bartender to earn a living while she sang and wrote songs. She was rough around the edges and didn’t necessarily have the “looks” of a female country singer. That, of course, didn’t matter because the listener was hooked as soon as she started belting out the lyrics.

The song was the lead single from Gretchen’s album “Here for the Party.” She had written the song with John Rich, who used to be in the group Lonestar and went on to success with Big & Rich. The Album “Here for the Party” earned her several Grammy-Award nominations, including for Best New Artist, Best Country Album, as well as “Redneck Woman” for Best Country Song and Best Female Country Vocal Performance. She took home the award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance.

I remember coming back from the Country Radio Seminar that year anxiously awaiting the single to hit my desk. There was no doubt in my mind that it would be the hit of the summer and would be a number one record!

It was a fun, fresh song that was constantly being requested by listeners. It spent five weeks at the top of the Hot Country Singles chart. That in itself was a huge accomplishment, but it also became the first number-one hit on that chart for a female solo act since Martina McBride’s “Blessed” two years earlier.

Thanks to the success of Redneck Woman, the album shot to platinum certification (for sales of a million copies) within just over a month after its May 11, 2004 release. By November 4 of that year, sales amounted to three million. And by late 2006, total sales had climbed to five million.

She continued to collaborate with John Rich and the toured together. I was lucky enough to have the chance to see her perform and her energy on stage was powerful. The audience was just as pumped as she was! They screamed with joy and sang along at the top of their lungs when she performed Redneck Woman!

I don’t believe she was a “flash in the pan,” because she certainly had other hit songs. At the same time, you don’t hear much from her today on the radio. One song which I felt should have got more attention was her simple ballad “I Don’t Feel Like Loving You Today.” Her vocal is the exact opposite of Redneck Woman and I think it is just an amazing song.

I’ve been away from country radio for some time now, and I know that most of what plays on the format today is what they call “bro country” or “country rap.” I don’t really feel the connection to the artists today like I did back then. It was a very different format at the time, and Redneck Woman was a country song that was loved by listeners of all formats.

The song was one that has forever stuck with me. I remember hearing it the first time. I remember playing it the first time. I remember seeing her play it live for the first time. So when someone asks me if I like the song, I respond with a big “Hell, yeah!”

Redneck Woman – Lyrics

Well, I ain’t never been the Barbie doll type
No, I can’t swig that sweet Champagne, I’d rather drink beer all night
In a tavern or in a honky tonk or on a four-wheel drive tailgate

I’ve got posters on my wall of Skynyrd, Kid and Strait
Some people look down on me, but I don’t give a rip
I’ll stand barefooted in my own front yard with a baby on my hip

‘Cause I’m a redneck woman
I ain’t no high class broad
I’m just a product of my raising
I say, “hey ya’ll” and “yee-haw”
And I keep my Christmas lights on
On my front porch all year long

And I know all the words to every Charlie Daniels song
So here’s to all my sisters
Out there keeping it country
Let me get a big “hell yeah”
From the redneck girls like me
Hell yeah (Hell yeah)

Victoria’s Secret, well their stuff’s real nice
Oh, but I can buy the same damn thing on a Wal-Mart shelf half price
And still look sexy
Just as sexy as those models on TV

No, I don’t need no designer tag
To make my man want me
You might think I’m trashy, a little too hardcore
But in my neck of the woods I’m just the girl next door

I’m a redneck woman
I ain’t no high class broad
I’m just a product of my raising
I say, “hey y’all” and “yee-haw”
And I keep my Christmas lights on
On my front porch all year long

And I know all the words to every Tanya Tucker song
So here’s to all my sisters
Out there keeping it country
Let me get a big “hell yeah”
From the redneck girls like me
Hell yeah (Hell yeah)

I’m a redneck woman
I ain’t no high class broad
I’m just a product of my raising
And I say, “hey y’all” and “yee-haw”
And I keep my Christmas lights on
On my front porch all year long

And I know all the words to every ol’ Bocephus song
So here’s to all my sisters out there keeping it country
Let me get a big “hell yeah”
From the redneck girls like me (Hell yeah)

Hell yeah (Hell yeah)
Hell yeah (Hell yeah)
I said hell yeah

Working weekend

Friday morning when I got home from work, I had more work to do. I had to help Sam set up for a yard sale.

Downstairs we had storage bins full of Ella’s clothes and more with the stuff Andrew has grown out of. We also had toys that weren’t being played with that we wanted to sell. Then there were big things like a stroller (which was replaced by a double stroller), a bassinet, walkers, and bouncy seats. Yes, the yard was was like 99.8% baby things.

Because I had to work Friday night, I went to bed after helping set up. Our neighbor’s daughter came over and helped with keeping the kids occupied while Sam managed the sale. It was a pretty hot day, and I woke up about 3:30. Sam was ready to wrap up for the day, so I helped drag everything back up to the side of the house (only to have to drag it all back out Saturday morning).

In the end, we sold a few things, but still have the majority of the stuff. Now we’ll driving those things to the resale shop to see what they want. I’m guessing what they don’t take will be donated to one of the churches or missions who help mom’s in need of baby stuff.

Saturday after we packed everything back up, we decided we were too tired to cook. So we ordered out. Sam wanted Mexican from our favorite place. I’m glad I had a lot of my Weight Watchers points left, because I think my meal took them all!

I suppose I could have just ordered a few tacos, but they have these chimichangas that are amazing. I’ve been within my points all week and one little splurge should not really hurt me. They were delicious!!

Today, I was extra careful, and took a nice long walk around the neighborhood to be sure to work off that meal. It was nice to get out and walk. Circumstances didn’t allow me to walk every day like I had hoped. Weigh in is Tuesday morning. Fingers crossed for a loss of a few pounds.