Ponderings From My Commute

Today, like every other weekday, I drive in to work. While the scenery rarely changes, occasionally I notice something that provokes a reaction. This morning's reaction comes from the billboard for "Secrets Adult Store". For those of you familiar with Denver, it's at the corner of Iliff and Quebec. Below the name of the establishment on the billboard is the quote "it's cheaper than dating". My ponderances:
1. Why is this a quote? Was it something a customer once said that they felt needed to relayed to the world (or at least visitors to southeast Denver)?
2. What exactly is "cheaping than dating"? Is it the DVD's or the blow-up doll?
3. How exactly does one compare dinner out with a companion to a night alone with your paraphenalia?

I've never been to Secrets but the whole idea of using this as a marketing campaign is just plain weird.

Paint Your Wagons

Actually, paint my walls. I am really struggling with decisions on paint. One of the moms at Holly's school is an interior decorator. She loaned me two Benjamin Moore paint decks. Yikes....did you realize they offer 800,000 different colors? I was stressing over light fixture choice which is child's play compared to this paint task.

After my last house, I swore I would do more color in this house. Of course, that wouldn't take much. The last house was completely white. I'm also torn over whether or not to paint the ceiling the same color as the walls. It may be time that I just break down and hire a decorator. It may be the only way I can make it out of this project alive and sane....well, as sane as I can be.

You Can't Spell Delusional Without UI

Randy, my beloved husband, just made the comment "People in Illinois are delusional." Randy is from Illinois. As a matter of fact, he is an alumni of the University of Illinois. He is none too pleased with the current status of the Illini football team. Illinois' current coach is Ron Zook. Having experienced a couple of years with the Zooker, I have to say he doesn't seem to be the brightest coach. The team is currently sporting an 1-2 record. It isn't pretty and it appears to be going downhill.

On the Illini message boards, people are still supporting Zook and saying he needs more time. I don't know if it will help. I will always have a warm spot in my heart for Ron. After all, he did go 1-0 on Bobby Bowden Field.

Wednesday's Weird Observation

Every weekday morning, I wake up and turn on the TV. My main motivation here is to see what the weather has in store for us today. Usually The Today Show is on and I wait for Al Roker to say "Here's what's happening in your neck of the woods". I then wait for Nick O'Kelly of 9News to impart today's weather and the forecast in a nice 15 second segment.

This morning as usual, Al threw it over to Nick. I looked up to see the five day forecast and then it cut to the large map of Colorado. Nick O'Kelly walked in front of the map, turned to the camera, buttoned his jacket and did a HUGE sucking, phlegm-clearing sniffle. Not a word was said and they cut back to Al.

Either Nick wasn't aware he was on the air or it is a new non-verbal interpretative weather report. I was already laughing but started rolling when Al said "That's your weather, now back to Matt and Meredith".

Monday Morning Quarterback

It was a great weekend to be a Gator. The Gators win a close one over Tennessee. Both FSU and Miami lost their games this weekend. It's not to say we won't lose a game this year but for now things are looking good.

Two observations:
1. Don't ever stomp on an opposing team's mid-field logo. Case in point: Miami
Before the start of the game, the Miami players stomped on the mid-field Cardinal raising the ire of the Louisville team. Louisville then proceeded to spend the next three hours stomping on Miami to the tune of 31-7.
2. As a coach, it is nice to know the names of your players. Case in point: Bobby Bowden
If you ever get the chance, tune into The Bobby Bowden Show on Sun Sports Network. It is pretty funny in a pathetic kind of way. Bobby and his co-host, Gene Deckerhoff, recount the highlights of the previous day's game. Bobby provides narrative that is quite entertaining. He refers to his own players by their numbers. "They kicked it to number 44 there." When he does venture out to use a name, it's a 50-50 proposition on whether he'll get it right. My favorite yesterday was when he called his back-up quarterback Xavier Smith instead of his actual name Xavier Lee. It's up to Gene to stay on top of Bobby's gaffs and correct him.

All-in-all, it's great to be a Florida Gator.

It's Tennessee Week

In sports news, this is a big weekend in Southeastern Conference football. While the LSU/Auburn game is seen as the marquee matchup, I'm all about the Florida/Tennessee game. In honor of this week's matchup, I give you...

I don't know these two particular Tennessee fans. Come to think of it, I don't know any Tennessee fans. I have a feeling that these two are fairly representative of Tennessee fans.

It's time for one of my favorite jokes:
A football player from FSU, a player from the University of Tennessee and a player from UF all committed horrible crimes and were sentenced to death. They were all scheduled to be executed on the same day. When it came time for the execution, the executioner spoke with all three of them and said, "Ya know guys, I'm really not such a bad guy and to show you how nice I am, I'm going to grant each of you one final request."

The FSU player said "Great. I would like to hear the sound of 80 thousand fans at Doak Campbell Stadium chanting the war chant just one more time".

The executioner said, "OK, I've got a tape recording of that around here somewhere and before I pull the switch, I'll play it for you."

The UT player said "Ya know, that sounds pretty good. I would like to hear 100 thousand fans singing 'Rocky Top' just one more time."

The executioner said, "Okay, that can be arranged. I have a tape recording of that also."

"Okay Mr. Gator, what is your last request?"

The UF player said calmly, "Please kill me first."

Linda's Wednesday Post

I had a Seinfeld moment this afternoon. I received an email from a vendor I'll call Anne. I've changed her name to protect the....,well, clueless. The subject line of the email read "Anne out on Wed". I can't ever remember a time when I've referred to myself, by name, in the third person.

All I could think of after seeing the email was "Jimmy likes Elaine".

September 11, 2006

Prior to five years ago, the only significance of September 11th was that it was my father's birthday. Holly, my five-year-old, knows that September 11th is Granddaddy's birthday and a very important day because something terrible happened.

Holly was only eight months old on September 11, 2001. I knew that day she would never know the world as I had known it. How I wish she could grow up only knowing this day as Granddaddy's birthday.

A very compassionate person came up with a brilliant idea to have bloggers honor each life lost to the terrorist attacks on 9/11.

Tribute to Dorothy Chiarchiaro


It is difficult to sit down and write about a person that you've never met. In doing research, I felt like a voyeur peering into Dorothy's life. It was a wonderful life indeed.

The things I've gathered: She was 61 years old and would have turned 62 on October 4th. She was married for 37 years to her husband Nick. Dorothy and Nick had two children and three grandchildren. Her friends called her Dotty. She liked Latin dancing, needlepoint, decorating and loved to travel. Another favorite pastime appeared to be bantering back and forth with Nick. In one article, Nick lovingly referred to Dorothy as kind, considerate and cantankerous.

The things I know: She was loved by her family and will be carried in their hearts forever.

To the Chiarchiaro family: I feel quite honored to have been assigned your wife/mother/grandmother/sister/aunt. From the glimpse into her life I can tell she is someone I would be proud to call my friend. Reading the entries in her guestbook tells me the indelible mark she left on all of your hearts. It's that kind of love I want to leave as a legacy to my own daughter. It's that kind of love that will serve as a constant reminder to tell her how much she means to me.

Dorothy: I never knew you but I will never forget you.

Mix and Match Metals

House Stuff, Part XXXII: Selecting Your Lighting

I am truly agonizing over lighting for the new house. I'm working hard to overcome my fear of mismatched metals. The door handles, appliances, bathroom fixtures are all some sort of silver but I am not crazy about my options for silver light fixtures. Every light fixture I am attracted to is some sort of dark bronze. Do they offer some sort of support group for people like me?

If you have any lighting suggestions, please let me know. I need lots and lots of help.

Sunday Six

Kelly labored hard this week to give us questions about Labor Day. Here are Holly's responses:
1. Why do we celebrate Labor Day?
Because it is the end of Summer

2. What does Labor mean?
End

3. How do we celebrate Labor Day?
I don't know

4. Do you do any labor?
No

5. How long do we celebrate Labor Day?
I don't know

6. Who labors - Mommy or Daddy? (LOL - Let's see how many associate that with pregnancy! LOL)
Daddy....what does labor mean?

And now for something completely different....my observations from the first college football Saturday of the season:

Congratulations to the Florida Gators on their decisive win over Southern Mississippi. The offense was a little shaky in the first half but the defense was stifling.

One thing I love about the first Saturday is watching the new ESPN Sportscenter and College Gameday promos. There are usually some new funny commercials as well. Here are my two favorites.
1. The College Gameday promo in the pet grooming shop. Kirk Herbstreit is playing with a squeaky chew toy while Chris Fowler reads a cat magazine. Lee Corso begins telling a disinterested shop patron about the Penn State game when the groomer asks what color bow he would like for Mr. Beasley, a large sheep dog. Lee Corso responds "Pink. I think Mr. Beasley wants pink!"

2. The Allstate insurance ad where the three goofy guys are sitting in their beater station wagon. The driver exclaims that he sees Bobby Bowden and is going to go touch him. He opens his door which is immediately sheared off by a passing large truck. You then hear the virtues of having Allstate insurance. At the end, the driver gets back in and laments that it wasn't Bobby Bowden. I think it clearly demonstrates typical Seminole intelligence. ;)

The final funny moment in our household was during the Notre Dame/Georgia Tech game. As the camera panned the crowd, they stopped on the Bumblebees, the group of students bodypainted in yellow and black with fuzzy yellow wigs. Holly saw them and said "Hey Mom, it's the Doodlebops!"

Finally!

The day that all Gator fans wait for.....the first Gator football game of the season. Kickoff is a little over an hour away. I sit here and think of all the possibilities. A national championship is still a possibility. Even I know that is unlikely. We have a brutal schedule this year.

But......if we can win the national championship in basketball surely winning one in football is within the realm of possibilities. We are a football school after all. Or are we? I must admit to being equally excited about the start of the basketball season in a couple of months. For today though....it's all about football.

Go Gators!