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Taylor Hicks rocks Christmas in Rockefeller Plaza!

Taylor Hicks just turned in an utterly amazing opening act for the NBC Christmas in Rockefeller Plaza. Well, not amazing to me, but it should have been to the rest of the universe. He opened the show with an original version of White Christmas. Taylor Hicks continues to surprise and please his fans with the way he twists and tweaks songs and seemlessly moves from one song to another as if they were written by the same person. He also sang Runaround, the first single from his 3rd CD, Taylor Hicks.
It was so cool to see horn player Jeff Lopez up there. It’s great that he’s also is getting some strong national attention.
Now let’s hope he will record THAT song and put it out by Christmas. I’d play it as I did my Christmas activities and the neighborhood would be rockin’!

Holiday lights

I took this photo two years ago tomorrow. Funny thing is that this photo could have been taken last night. Rob has been putting up the lights in this design for a few years now. I’ll have to take a photo tonight and compare the two. We aren’t so predicatable, though; this year, I moved the 2 foot high figures from the lawn to under the maple tree. Isn’t that exciting?!? Actually, the exciting part is keeping our 82 pound puppy from the lawn display. Not easy.

Nihilist’s Top 11 Promises To Katie Holmes In Tom Cruise’s Wedding Vows

11. A pan *

10. A comb *

9. Possibly a cat *

8. A two picture deal as his female lead

Read the rest of the hilarious (yet so very sad) list at Nihilist in Golf Pants 

* standard Scientology vows for grooms

Happy Thanksgiving!

In honor of Thanksgiving, I am reposting one of my favorite posts. I have much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving, including the opportunity to keep a blog and have nice people visit it each day.  Other things are:

  • A happy, loving and very active 82 pound puppy
  • Two healthy middle-aged cats
  • A healthy body which, for now, doesn’t need surgery
  • Two wonderful children
  • A handsome, giving and loving husband
  • Healthy family members
  • A church which remains strong, confessional and faithful
  • A home to live in warmth with all the necessary comforts of this world and few extra to boot
  • A computer that loads pages quickly
  • A car that gets the job done without looking too shabby
  • Jobs that are interesting and provide enough money to get by reasonably
  • A family that grew by five this year - a husband and three step children to my sister and her kids and a beautiful baby boy to my brother and his wife.

Reposted from November 24, 2004…

I am thankful that you are reading this post!

Check out my growing list of Thanksgiving posts from around the blogosphere. Create your own montage and I’ll link to it!

FM107’s A Balanced Breakfast show with Ian and Margery Punnett

If I am giving thanks, I cannot forget to give thanks to the people who put on the best morning radio show since Boone and Erickson. Ian and Margery Punnett host a husband and wife morning radio show that is the best-kept secret in radio today. I’ve encouraged them to find a way to share their show with a larger audience, perhaps through satellite or live-streaming. Ian was already well-known in radio before moving to a start-up radio station, FM107. Margery, who has already worked extensively in television, is currently using her talents to raise two beautiful boys. I’ve never actually met their sons, but from the on-air descriptions everyone is sure they are beautiful inside and out.

My sister and I go clubbing!

My sister, Kerry, and I are faithful listeners to FM107’s morning show. No surprise to my readers that I call in frequently to share my opinions with the listeners. (My blogger- friend, Terrie, puts it so well on her blog: everyone is entitled to my opinions!) My sister usually just listens since her kids are younger and need more of her direct help in the morning. My kids are somewhat more independent and I can usually squeeze in a call if the topic interests me. Anyway, I won tickets to a Jem concert through FM107 last week. I didn’t even want the tickets, since I haven’t been to a downtown Minneapolis night club since I was 19 years old. However, I started to think about my hard-working, divorced mom of two, college student and cherished sister of mine and decided I would treat her to a night out.

We were a little nervous to venture downtown on our own, because we ususally depend on the men in our family to provide the perceived safety that we require. We are, after all, suburban moms and not trendy city moms. We reminded ourselves that other young women were headed into the city tonight with absolutely no plan in their heads. So we headed downtown to The Quest Club with a MapQuest map in our hands. We found the club pretty easily and also found parking right across the street. There was a long line to get into the club, but it was a pleasant wait with mild temps and a starry sky. The people in line were definitely older than 21, so we didn’t feel that out of place. Inside of the club, we discovered oversized Victorian and Greek decor, a painted ceiling with sparkling lights and a huge water fountain. There were very few seats and we had to stand for the concert. I paid $10.25 for two small drinks that were nearly straight alcohol, so we sipped them very slowly. The club was loud, smoky and crammed with people, but I had good company!

The first act played, Blue Merle. They looked so young and we enjoyed their music. I haven’t check the lyrics out yet, but the songs seemed to be positive. I think they will become more well-known, but maybe a glowing review from a 44 year old suburban mom will be the kiss of death! If you click on their link above, you will see a photo of them. I met the boy in the back, Beau Stapleton, at the CD counter. He apologized that his CD only cost $5.00, but he said their new album was coming out in February 2005 and it would cost more. (Dan - he was planning to be a geologist…read his bio!) I had him autograph his 6 song CD, so I hope he does become famous. I shook his hand and told him he did a good job - I’m such a mom!

The highlight of the night, for my sister and I, occurred sometime between Blue Merle and JEM. Two figures walked quickly past us. My sister pointed and said, “That’s Ian Punnett!”. She turned to me and said, “Do you think we should say hi?”. I don’t know if it was the few sips of straight vodka, but I grabbed my purse and her hand and jumped up. We practically ran up to them and I announced, “You’ve just got to say hi to us!”. What a great opening line! I have such great social skills! Good thing they are friendly people. In fact, we talked on and off to them the rest of the night. Ian and Margery are the same in person as they are on the radio. They are genuine, fun and interesting people.

Jem was good, but the noise had increased (along with the smoke level) so that we couldn’t hear but a few words of each song. I bought her CD also, so I will evaluate her music later. She’s a talented singer and will probably become more famous, especially since her music is featured on the new show (that I refuse to watch), Desparate Housewives. My sister and I left halfway through her gig because of the smoke and noise. Besides, the kids kept calling and it was late (11pm). We had already had enough fun to last us until the next time we venture out of suburbia. Thanks, Kerry, for being my sister. I can’t imagine my life without you. I love you.

Thanksgiving Quiz

You Are the Stuffing
You’re complicated and complex, yet all your pieces fit together.
People miss you if you’re gone - but they’re not sure why.
What Part of Thanksgiving Are You?

I got STUFFING. Who wants to be stuffing? Even my 15 year old daughter got stuffing. Must run in the family. I like the part where it says that people would miss me, but not really know why. I’m so unappreciated in this world. More correctly, people appreciate me, but they just don’t know why!

Cranberries

Remembering the Great Cranberry Scare of 1959??? From Tech Central Station, Dr. Elizabeth Whelan writes…

Forty-five years ago this week, in November, 1959, most Americans celebrated Thanksgiving sans cranberry sauce. Earlier that month, Health, Education and Welfare Secretary Arthur Fleming had announced that traces of the weed killer aminotriazole–a chemical that caused cancer in rodents–had been found in the cranberry crop. The spokesman urged housewives to “be on the safe side” and refrain from buying cranberries because the rodent data suggested that the “contaminated” cranberries could pose a human cancer risk. New York City’s health commissioner, among others, joined the chorus of those who advised “against the use of berries until they could be tested for contamination.”
Headlines in newspapers across the country read “Government Warns Cranberry Buyers” and “All Cranberries Face nationwide U.S. Test” and “Cranberry Sales Curbed; U.S. Widens Taint Check.”

Cranberry growers were furious. While most industries and manufacturers under attack by environmental critics today remain mute, just hoping the scare will

Thankful for Blogosphere

I Don’t Know You, but I Owe You by Terrie Rosas. Terrie’s blog is one you should check weekly. She’s a busy mom, wife, worker (see the caption at the top of this blog). She’s not a daily blogger; when she writes, it is something of substance. She makes me laugh, she makes me think, she makes me cry… she makes me jealous of her writing skills that are far above most of us everyday pundits. I am very grateful that she blesses the blogosphere with her God-given talents for expressing the thoughts of an everyday citizen of this great country. Terrie is also thankful for you! She writes…

When I inventory my blessings this Thanksgiving, the blogosphere will receive special attention. I am so grateful for this free and open venue where anyone can express their opinions without having to raise their hand or wait their turn. The talent and generosity of bloggers are awesome and every voice is welcomed. I may never meet any of you, but I am honored to share with you the community of ideas.

Once again, Terrie says it well; she put into words the thoughts in my head. Did you read the whole post to see my name? How cool is that?

The Night Before Thanksgiving

Tim Nelson from Blobjects by Timman gives us, in Fresh From the Garage, a view into his household on the day before Thanksgiving. His household is bustling with preparations and he gets to blog!

Giving Thanks

What I am Thankful for by Donald Sensing.

Myths of Thanksgiving

Rick Shenkman, editor of the History News Network tells us about the Top Ten Myths of Thanksgiving

What really killed the Republican party…

Friedmans.jpg

At least once a week, I read a completely fascinating article in the Wall Street Journal and say to myself, “I really should read this paper everyday!”. I subscribe to James Taranto’s daily (and free) email version of the Opinion Journal, but rarely take a moment to read it. Today I did and read about peopleI didn’t know - Milton Friedman and his wife, Rose Friedman. [Read more →]

Hooked on a Feeling

Why does this video exist? Think of all the people involved in its creation who would have had to agree to the basic premise that David Hasselhoff should sing that song and that others would want to watch it. I can’t imagine what Blue Suede thinks of this video. [Read more →]

Spam, splog and sping?

If you have a blog, you are part of the blogosphere. Therefore, the State of the Blogosphere report is required reading. Get to it!

I found it interesting that when I started my blog, back on 5-31-04, there were “only” 4 million blogs. I guess that I’m in a small class compared to the nearly 60 million blogs now. [Read more →]

Had a bad day?

Just watch this video!

Also serves as yet another good reason to have children…

Taylor Hicks update

Taylor Hicks is wrapping up the recording of his latest CD and is making several television appearances, according to Ash at Heart. Soul. Boogie. [Read more →]

Blog! The Musical!

Ouch!:Blog! The Musical!