I love to read

Tonight I was sitting looking back through my book journal. Book journal? Yes, a book journal. This is a book I bought at the post office in 1995. I had never bought a journal and had nothing to record in a journal so I decided to record my books. I was so sick of thinking "did I read that?" or "did I enjoy that book" that I thought what a perfect way to keep up with stuff! I shall record every book I read and give it a ranking. Smiley face = good Frowny face = bad middle of the road face = so so stars means great and I need to read again. Gone with the Wind wins in the count of most read book, I am currently in the 39th time. I will finish in time for my 39th birthday (actually I want to finish ON my birthday). Some books I started and did not finish because they were so bad and they are listed as incomplete....and some say crappy next to them. I thought it might be fun to share some of the books with you today.

The entire Phillipa Carr collection----WONDERFUL!!!

Books about ice skating the worst was Fire on Ice about Tonya Harding

Planet of the Apes series---very good

Most of the Jean Plaidy novels---I love them all very much---about Kings and Queens of England (most anyway)

North and South series----Fantastic!!!

Many books on Presidents---worst was Burr by Gore Vidal

Many Titanic books---Best is A night to remember by Walter Lord

Mayor of Casterbridge (looks like 5 times in 14 years)

Song of the Siren is second with 23 reads (by Phillipa Carr)

All the Star Wars novels based on the movies

A Farewell to Arms 4 times in 14 years

Just about every John Grisham book---My favorite is the Firm

Lots of books that movies/tv shows were made about:
Babe: The Gallant Pig
American Beauty
Homicide: The Novel
Grease
Hairspray
Anna and the King of Siam
Texas (a mini series)
Dallas
Wizard of Oz
Beaches
Star Trek novels based on the movies
Scarlett (not good book or movie)
The Princess Diaries
Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen
All the Little House books
All the Twilight books (over and over and over...read them all in 4 days the first time I read them)
Charlie St Cloud


More:
My Life by Bill Clinton
Faith of my FAthers by John McCAin (one of my fave books ever...should be required reading)
Growing Up Brady by Barry Williams
Most of the Nicolas Sparks books
All the Harry Potter books
Working on the Narnia books
Working on the HObbit

One I want them to make into a tv or movie:
Rhett Butler's people

Yeah, you are bored now...go read a book!!!

Dallas

Folks Dallas is coming back to town!!! About 10 years ago I heard a rumor that someone was making a redo of my all-time favorite TV show DALLAS!! It was to star John Travolta and that in itself was fabulous. I waited and waited and then I heard, "the project has been shelved". Shelved? The greatest drama in history and they shelved the movie? Didn't JR give them some reason to bring him to the big screen? Come on, he hated Pam and plotted her demise in just the first 2 episodes. He cheats on Sue Ellen, he drinks himself crazy, he lies about the red files, he has an affair with Sue Ellen's sister, she shoots him causing the greatest cliff hanger ever. Then he lets her off by just sending her to California to have what he thinks is his baby, but it is really Jeff Faraday's baby...Folks that is just the first 3 seasons. He ends up divorcing Sue Ellen, marrying her again, losing control of Ewing Oil, going through his daddy's death, his mama's remarriage. Thinking his son might be Cliff's, still trying to get rid of Pam, Partnering up and then hating Ray, and then liking him and then hating him again. Wanting to kill Gary and Valine, puts lots of oil workers out of a job, blows up a tanker causing an oil spill, loses everything to a woman that he thought loved him. Made to marry Callie in a shotgun wedding, and in the end, he sees what life had been like had he never been born. Yep, that's it, 14 seasons in about 3 minutes. You can see why Dallas is wonderful and I have not even told you about the FASHIONS and CARS!!!!

So there was plenty to put into a movie, but I guess they decide Travolta would be too expensive. Anyway, with the project shelved I had to resort to watching whatever snippets of the show they would air on tv, checking out the 4 seasons they have at the library and reading my books about the show.

Then a couple of years ago, the rumor mills were spinning again...."there may be a new Dallas project". My ears perked up A NEW ONE? Whatever could it be? For a while, I heard nothing but that there were talks, then last year I heard TNT (we know Drama) had bought the rights. Stories were leaked, it's a go. Larry Hagman was cast! Patrick Duffy cast! Linda Gray cast! Victoria would NOT be cast because she wants to be far from Dallas. No mention of Steve, Ken, Susan, Charlene or Audrey. This year they announced the show would center around Christopher and John Ross (Bobby and JR's kids)...apparently they are running Ewing Enterprises. I am sure they get along about as well as Bobby and JR. How can you not be excited about this? JR, Bobby, Sue Ellen, Christopher, and John Ross are coming back!!!!!! I hope Cliff and Afton's little girl will play a part in the show too.

Frankly, my dear, I don't care if you care about Dallas or not, I do and that is all that matters. Dallas is coming back and I shall watch!!!! Thanks TNT!!!

my favorite cruise tips

There are many things that "they" don't tell you when you book a cruise. There are also many things that this seasoned cruiser has picked up over the years that end up being my life savers for the week in a 156 square foot cabin.

1. Duct tape--will fix ANYTHING that is broken (hems, suitcases, shoes...etc..)

2. An extension cord or a power strip-the cabin will come with ONE maybe two if you are lucky outlets...this is a must do for cell phones, laptops, alarm clocks, electric razors, hair dryers...

3. Alarm clock-your room won't come with this and if you have an inside cabin, you will LONG to know the time.

4. Night light-again for inside cabins. You can't leave the bathroom door open, as you are sailing it will rock back and forth making noise. If you need light at all you had better take a light.

5. Ziploc bags-perfect for anything that might leak, wet bathing suits on the way home and I keep one in my camera bag. I cut a hole big enough for my camera lens and I have semi water resist way to still take pictures. Especially handy on a whale watching excursion.

6. Sea sickness-if you get motion sickness to consider a midship cabin. Less rocking! If you like the waves book a forward cabin (I LOVE them!!!) Aft tend to feel the roar of the engines.

7. Post it- I leave NOTES on my cabin door and usually a balloon...this helps find your cabin in a long hall full of cabin doors and makes you unique.

8. Address cards-Handy to give out in case you find a tablemate or a crew member you want to stay in touch with...I use this tip A LOT!!!

9. Hand Sanitizer-I don't generally use the stuff, but in foreign countries, it is sometimes hard to find soap and water. Most of the ships will require you to use the stuff before you enter dining halls.

10. Hangers-I bring hangers to hang up our clothes. The closet will not have enough drawer space or hangers. Bring your own and you solve the not enough drawer space problems. I leave them at the end of the cruise for the next guest. Sometimes I have been lucky to be the recipient of another guest that left their hangers. LOVELY!

11. Travel journal-you may want to jot down things. If you are that type of person bring a notebook so you don't forget a thing.

12. Dollar bills-perfect for tipping room steward for room service (food is free but it is nice to tip), tipping a cab driver, or a porter

13. Highlighter-perfect for marking your daily map so that you won't miss the things you want to do. Also good for keeping up with shops you want to visit and grading trivia contest papers.

14. Don't be afraid to make friends-there are some great people on cruise ships, say hello. On the other hand, these people don't know you, you want to wear your speedo, ok go for it (I promise I will be snickering at you).

15. Insulated cup-get a cheap one...use it to fill with tea or water so you can take to the decks or to your room. Most cruise lines have them for sale if you forget to bring one....then you have a ship souvenir with the logo.

16. Ship map-I always at least glance at it before I leave. Find your room, the dining room and the main lobby. This will help make things easier on you. You probably will "get lost", but that is half the fun.

17. Don't forget to look for an abandoned bar/lounge/area during the daytime if you just want to read and watch the water out of the sun (or if it is raining). I like to draw and write in these areas.

18. Don't forget to shop on board. Specials last one day so if you see one you like and it is the special of the day, get it!!! Scarves, purses, and costume jewelry are usually $10 and a great deal. Some ships offer "outlet" days on a day at sea. Watch your ship newspaper for details. It is usually last seasons style but who at home will know?

19. If you drink alot of sodas purchase a soda card. A can of soda alone will cost you about $5.75, a soda card about $25 for a week. A much better deal. Coffee, water, tea, lemonade and sometimes fruit punch are free. You may bring sodas and water from home. I always do, just don't overdo it. I have seen people get on board with a 12pk of sodas with no issues.

20. Consider booking excursions before your cruise. The purser and excursion desks are nightmares. I avoid them whenever possible. Book before you go and you are guaranteed a spot. Alaska ones sell out.


For those interested, I don't mind sharing my packing list. Email me and I will send it out to you. Please let me know if you want Caribbean or Alaska, word or pdf. champion.am@gmail.com or werthechampions@bellsouth.net

Nine Old Men

Walt Disney had a group of men that worked for him. Their job for the Disney company was in the animation department. Walt called this group of dudes "Nine Old Men". They were involved from the first animated movie ever, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" and were some of the most talented people on the planet.

I know the names of all of them, but I only know facts about my favorites so if you care, you will have to research on your own.

Marc Davis-My all time favorite animator. He was just a little bit of wonderful. Of course, I think his greatest achievement was Maleficent. She is beautiful, graceful, and willowy and she is pure EVIL!!! And dressed in purple and black. I adore her. Marc also served as a Disney Imagineer and this work lives on in the theme parks...The Jungle Cruise, Pirates of the Caribbean, Carousel of Progress and the Haunted Mansion.

Ollie Johnson-My second favorite of the nine. He did Prince John in my second favorite Disney film, Robin Hood. Casey at Bat is one of the coolest stories ever, yeah it was drawn by Ollie. He was short and adorable himself. Ollie was the last of the 9 to die (2008) and was featured in the Incredibles!!! He worked a lot with my third favorite...

Frank Thomas--The Queen of Hearts and Madam Mim belong to Frank. He and Ollie did a wonderful book called the Illusion of Life.

others....they don't thrill me as much...

Wolfgang Reitherman--he should thrill me since he worked on Maleficent as a dragon, but he does not.
Les Clark--mainly drew Mickey
John Lounsberry-great work on Fantasia, I do love that film
Milt Kahl--He was my villain animator and did Allan a dale from Robin Hood
Eric Larson--can't remember any of his characters..how terrible is that?


Ward Kimball--Mad Hatter, Jiminy Cricket and Three Caballeros (I love this number) all were penned by Ward. I think he's greatest was World of Motion for EPCOT. You know how I feel about EPCOT.

Uncovered Goodies

So I am going through my cassette tapes and I found some jewels that I have not heard in years. you are not really going to care anything about these precious things UNLESS you like Disney. You see, Michelle is OBSESSED with Disney. Especially Classic Disney (those teeny shows stink, IMO). I am very much into music. Every time I can get to the parks or Downtown Disney the first thing I do it try to find music that I DON'T have.

Much of my older collection is on cassette tapes, just because John and I did not get our first cd player until 2000!!! That is right, and you know really the reason we did was that I found one cheap at Kmart in Little Rock.

Here are some gems that I uncovered:

God Help the Outcasts-The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Talespin (one of my all time favorites) from Talespin the tv show
Fathoms below-the Little Mermaid (I have this as a ringtone)
Step in Time--Mary Poppins
Candle on the Water--Pete's Dragon
Topsy Turvy--Hunchback
Casey Junior-Dumbo
The Tiki Tiki Tiki room---old school version
the Parent Trap--I love Annette
Mr Piano Man--again Annette
Golden Dreams-the original version
Carousel of Progress from the 70's

I shall leave you alone while I finish listening to my Disney music

Cheeseburger

I have an addiction to cheeseburgers. Honestly, I think that I could eat them every day. I could eat them with tomatoes, ketchup, and mustard. With guacamole, bacon, and mayo. With onions, pickles, and lettuce. Maybe some mustard, pickles, and cheese. I am getting hungry just typing about this...yummy.

There are many days at work when I crave one so badly that I can't stand it. Yes, that is how bad the addiction is. I will dump out the entire contents of my purse scouring for money to pay for a $1 burger. Yes, it is that bad.

A friend of mine realized that the addiction has gotten out of hand...mainly because I walked around singing "you are his cheeseburger" from veggie tales ALL THE TIME!!! So she went to Clay Chameleon and made me a cheeseburger. A cheeseburger with no fat, no calories and will help me save for a cheeseburger. Oh yes, it is a bank. I am now putting all my change into the cheeseburger so that one day I can shake out all the coin and buy a Red Robin cheeseburger.

Red Robin, YUM!! Thanks Jennifer for the wonderful present!

My letter to Tim Holtz

Dear Tim,
I must tell you that I am in love with you. I have never in my life seen someone so creative or inventive. You inspire me to be more instinctive in my work and create what I feel...NOT what other people think I should create. You can take the "strangest" of household items and turn them into beautiful works of art.

I have yet to see any of your products that does not make me stop and think. The usage of keys, door knobs, and inks to create things that look old but have a new flair to them. I have been following your blog for a while too and I was sooooo inspired by the Twelve Tags of Christmas. My Christmas cards had a new flair thanks to one Tim Holtz.

I have learned how to be a better stamper, an embosser, a distresser, and I think a better scrapbooker. One day, I hope to meet you or even take one of your classes.

thank you, Tim, for all you do and all that you create.

Words with Friends

I would like to thank my dear little darling Wesley Morgan for this habit. He walked into work one day and said, "you should try words with friends". Well, I did...and now thank you, Wesley, I am addicted.

I have always been a word game friend, and even though I am NOT that good at the games, I am having a BLAST!!! I have played over 20 games in 3 days and have about 10 going right now. I do notice a severe drop in Droid X battery life, but that's fine, I always carry a power cord with me anyway. You know, this may be a good excuse to get that Droid X external battery that I have been wanting...mmmmmm

Well, thank you, Wesley, for my new habit.

They did that in school?

My first experience with school was in the middle (to me, I don't know about geographically) of NOWHERE!!! Our school seemed old to me and served 1st-12th grade. There was a kindergarten, but it was half day and across the street in a Baptist church. The high school kids were so crazy. Did you know that there was an area next to the cafeteria and before the classrooms where high schoolers could take a smoke break? Oh yes, they could smoke at school right next to my first-grade eyes!!! I was shocked!!! And the sad thing was one of the high schoolers that I saw smoking was my dear little baby sitter. I was devastated that she would smoke. The only person that I knew that smoked was my grandmother's sister.

The next thing that might shock you was that high schoolers were allowed to sit on the bus with small children (like myself). I learned many grown-up words and "actions" on the school bus. I even saw a few and was mortified by the stuff that I saw. Oh yeah, it goes on...

We kids had COKE BREAK every day. We were allowed to bring money from home and buy a bottle of coke to drink at school. These were glass bottles and full sized. I remember that my mom let me sometimes by an orange crush. If I did not get to buy a drink I went towards the baseball fields. Here you could see high schoolers kissing their boyfriends and girlfriends.

It was a different time. I remember one "kid" (he was in high school) saying that he would turn 16 next month and he could not wait because he was quitting school and joining "daddy on the farm". Wonder what happened to that kid. I don't know if he ever got an education or not.

I remember the high schoolers pulling pranks on high school girls in the halls, and they were not nice at all. I remember walking into the bathroom and seeing high schoolers smoking in the bathroom. I remember seeing them making out in the bathrooms, oh yes, you know what I am talking about.

I know times have changed at schools now (thank goodness), but this was the 70's. These kids were loving life and glad not to be in the military. The girls didn't always wear bras to school and wore the largest bell bottoms that I have ever seen in my life. They wore those candies wooden bottom shoes (that I NOW wear), carried a cigarette behind the ear, wore long gold chains and had massive afro hair. I bet many of them knew how to disco too! Times have changed and today you kids have your own weird styles and someday there will be a person blogging about the crazy things they saw YOU doing in school. Make good choices kids, somebody's watching you.

Why I love cruising

1. The Ships---Big beautiful floating cities. And they are gorgeous!! Especially those newer ones.
2. Food---I love to eat! Love to try new foods and my family doesn't...a perfect chance for me to try stuff and not lose any money if I don't like it. Man, if I don't like it, they will bring me a replacement for free.
3. Formal or not so formal---I love to dress up for a 5-course meal! I love portraits. Well, there are also times when I want to slum it and a cruise will allow me to do that too.
4. Location---you go to bed in one country and wake up in another and no extra travel or hotel fees.
5. Ocean (At sea days)---Look out around you and all you see are waves, dolphins and if you are lucky whales. (and you might see Cuban guard boats if you sail in the right area of the world)
6. Broadway (or better) styled shows---We have seen people use the silks, ice skate and blow us away with their vocal talent. Once we even saw "The Beatles".
7. Floating shopping malls---I love the shops!! Sales on watches, scarves, trinkets, ammolite, tanzanite, rhodolite, and sterling silver. Discounts on designer bags and most ships seem to have a $10 store.
8. Empty bars/lounges---places that are secluded and quiet during the day, a great place to read or sketch. I love this part of my day!
9. Classes---Craft classes, scrapbook sessions, napkin folding, name that tune, TRIVIA (I shall win here)....yep, I am there!!!
10. Chocolates on my pillow---that part needs no more added to the description, but I get equally excited by tomorrows capers newspaper.
11. Naturalist---I have only had these on my Alaskan cruises but they are so wonderful, so informative, and willing to answer my questions.
12. Included---I love that after I pay the ticket price and other than the shopping, really I am out no more money except tips. Especially when I got to Alaska and book my excursions from home through the same company the cruise ships use. Saved a ton of money.
13. Midnight buffets---yeah, if I can stay up, I love them. However, they don't come every night like they used to :(
14. Artwork---I love looking at the various artworks on the ships. some have millions of dollars worth of art on board.
15. Photographic moments---there are usually so many that I can fill up an entire 8gb card
16. Omelet stations---one of my favorite parts of getting out of bed early. A fresh cooked, made to order an omelet. I like the one with tomatoes, cheese, mushrooms, onions, peppers, and bacon. YUMMY!!!
17. Vanilla---gotta go to Mexico to get the vanilla for my famous cookies.
18. 12 hours in a fjord---yep, I will sit there the entire 12 hours just to see those great glaciers.
19. Cruise Directors/Shopping Experts---they make me laugh, they are crazy, and often highly entertaining.
20. Hot tubs---oh yeah, love me some hot tub, especially when the air is 39 degrees outside. AHHHHHHH!!!

Superstar

My parents wanted to go on dates so they decided to hire a sitter. They used a girl named Kim. She was from the trailer park and she rode my school bus. She was a senior in high school and I loved her. She was nice to me when other high schoolers thought to scare me with talking about sex. Anyway, she was great.

We had a great time, but I guess my parents felt guilty about going out because they brought me home my first barbie....superstar barbie! I loved her so much.

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Tommy Rall

So I wrote a fan letter to Tommy Rall of seven brothers for seven brothers fame. The dude is one amazing dancer, let me just say. If you ever get the chance to see kiss me kate you can his extraordinary work. Anyway, he is 80 so my expectations were not that high. John called me yesterday and told me that I had a case. I said open it. It was autographed photos of Tommy Rall. How cool is that? Very! Thanks, Tommy!

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up up and AWAY

Today we completed another season of Upward ball with Lone Oak First Baptist Church. I must say those guys/gals do a great job over there. I know it cannot be easy working with all those kids, it is time-consuming and kids are messy. But they get it done, they are friendly and they are patient.

I like the Upward program because it teaches kids the basics of the game, how to be fair, to be nice to people, and gives them memory verses too! The best part to me though is that the coaches find something positive to say about each and every child (at the end of the game while passing out the reward stars). Those coaches seek out something good in every player, every play, and every "mistake".

Well done LOFBC!!!!!

That darn 7 am alarm

I do LOVE to go to bed early and rise early, everyone that knows me knows this. I do however like to get up late on the weekends. I just can't get my alarm to STOP going off on Saturday and Sundays. Now, I would probably not sleep past 7 or 8 (cause I don't do that unless I am sick), but I DON'T want to get up at 6 on a Saturday!! What can I do about this alarm? Why does the alarm feel the need to wake me from my slumber? To wake me from my sweet dreams? To wake me when I probably stayed up late last night and need that extra beauty sleep?

Callie, I understand you are bored and lonely. I understand that you are "starving to death". I understand that you miss your best friend (John)....but Callie KNOCK IT OFF!!

Callie, do you realize that if you did not consistently bite your humans they MIGHT let you sleep in the rooms with you? Do you realize that if you would quit sleeping all day and roaming all night, again your humans might let you sleep in the rooms with them?

Cat at the rate you are going, you are going to be locked up in your room on the weekends and I know you hate that. Just wait until 8am and then meow all you want. 8 am, why is that too much to ask?

To the Clouds..

For some reason Paducah, KY has great sunsets, great glimpses of the moon, and strange looking clouds. Here are some of the ones that I have observed from my neck of the woods. They really don't need words. I will just tell you that all photos were shot with a Kodak z981 (26 optical zoom). That's as good as my camera gets.

Old yeah, but maybe wiser too!

This year marked another milestone in my life (gosh I keep having so many of these)...this one was the anniversary of 20 years since the day that I walked across a stage at Graves County High School and they pronounced me a graduate. Yes, that means that I graduated in 1990, and that makes me almost 40. I understand that, I am not trying to talk to you about that...I am trying to talk to you about my school.I thought we were the coolest school cause we had stairs....yeah that feeling went away FAST!!!Our commons did not look like this...we had these coffin shaped boxes to sit on...tables would have been great!

We used to be told don't walk on the gym floor with "outside" shoes...I had to do it this day because NO ONE was there to stop me.

Graves County High School was a new school when I entered its hallways. I was the second class to start from its freshman year and graduate, but that is not what I liked/hated about it. Here is the deal, I am from Lowes Elementary School. It was very tiny, over the crowded school. That, in my opinion, was full of very bad teachers (there were good ones too, but the bad ones tend to stand out in my memory....I have to search to remember all the good ones). Teachers that did not like the children and I had two personally that were CRUEL to me, and I was a good kid!!! So GCHS sounded like the sweetest music to me. I was going to have choices in classes and being a new school it was going to have the cream of the crop in both things offered and teachers. Yes, it was an escape. An escape from the backwoods of Lowes and branch out.

me and my locker

I am what most people at Lowes called a "weirdo". I liked to paint, draw, dress in black, listen to the Beatles, quote old movies, and my family was pretty poor. I was an outcast with the exception of a couple of others, who might have felt like me. I felt that I did not belong because I was not like others. Yeah, that's me! STRANGE!!!

GCHS was going to offer to me ART!!! Do you know how good something like that sounds to someone like me? Someone like ME...that has bad luck, was a freak! I was going to have ART CLASSES!!! Lowes had an art teacher, but every student in the class did the same thing, it was nothing challenging and honestly, it was NOT art. It was a craft. Everyone did the same thing and you could NOT use any creative license. I hated it!!!

Four years of ART later I had a firm grasp on what I like to make. Mr. Goodwin, my wonderful art teacher, encouraged me, taught me how to look inside for what I wanted to create and he gave all the students chances to experiment with all types of art. some of Mr Goodwins students works of art
Our table in the lunchroom

Please don't think it all was grand it had some downsides too. I did like being able to get lost in the crowds if I wanted or being in the front too. Trust me if you know me, you know I am capable of being both. I ate lunch with the Principal almost every day (He did not eat, he would just sit at our table...I sure he sat at others too, but I was honored he would sit at ours).

I hated the math classes but fell in love with reading here (only I would have been too "cool" to admit it). My love of history was born in the classrooms of this school as was a desire to know about politics.

I made some great friends, had wonderful conversations (mostly religious or about boys), started a lot of gossips, and crushed on a lot of boys...After 20 years, my good experiences totally outweigh any bad that I had here...I still cannot say that about Lowes.

Thanks to all the girls that worked so hard on planning this reunion (outside of the football game....thank goodness I had a great friend to be with me during this game) I had a PERFECT time!!! Marla and I picked up like we had just talked yesterday and I am going to make it a goal to keep up with her (here comes the FB stalking Marla). Janice, Heather and Brian and I did the same...but we do talk often, thanks to Facebook. If I have not mentioned to you here it is not because I was not glad to see you, but do you realize how many people were in our class? Man, it would take all day to name you all.

There were missing faces, Kelly I wish you could have been there (she was at home in California). You have always had a special place in my heart. Becky was in Canada, I really wanted to reconnect with her, she and I were so close when we were younger.

And one I wanted to see Shane Ashbaugh, may he rest in peace.

Thanks again for a great time, the great memories and the friendship

The Ewings

Well, here we are about to embark on a new adventure with the Ewings. This time with John Ross and Christopher Ewing (JR and Bobby's boys). I for one am looking forward to this new TNT drama.

I remember sitting at my grandmother's house on Friday night (this is one of the only good memories at her house), and she was watching her "program" and would not be interrupted, so I sat down and watched with her. Donna and Ray were in love but would not admit it. Lucy was causing all kinds of problems sneaking around in Ray's house without permission. Pam was having trouble adjusting to being a Ewing and Cliff had it out for JR. WOW, I was sucked in like a vacuum cleaner picking up dirt. I had to have more of this show. I don't think as a child I watched much of it. This kind of show was not really my mom's kind of thing, she is more of a Green Acres type person. When I got all grown up it came on TV and I watched every single episode. I taped them then erased them (wish I had kept them).

My favorite times are when JR and Sue Ellen want to be together but aren't because he is in love with Afton, then she meets Dusty; Pam and Bobby are trying to have a baby but she can't because of Digger's disease...however she WON'T tell Bobby about it. Lucy and Mitch get married and he doesn't like the Ewing money. Cliff gets involved with Afton because JR is just using her and Cliff really cares for her. Sue Ellen and JR get back to together and Bobby and Pam break up and here comes Jenna Wade....this goes on for 14 seasons. The last season is the worst but I did name my cat after one of JR's wives. I love the story...JR goes into the country and beds this lady Callie promising her he will marry her. He ends up leaving her there and her brothers come to find JR and make him marry her. She is a country hick and has no clue how to live the elite life in Dallas. She has to be helped into this role and she paints a lot. She changes JR and eventually he falls in love with her.

My favorite character ever was Kristen Shepard. She was evil, smart, and probably the prettiest thing I have ever seen. She is in real life the daughter of Bing Crosby (Mary Crosby is her name) and on the show, she is really Sue Ellen's sister. She comes on the show looking for a college and ends up bedding JR. Sue Ellen doesn't seem to mind sometimes and that is creepy but that is Dallas. Kristen then gets out of favor with JR and ends up hanging around Lucy's boyfriend, Allen Beam (I hate him), he ends up blackmailing Kristen. JR tells her to get out of Dallas and then BAM!!! She shoots JR!!!!!! Creating a mass question of "who shot JR"...inspiring the world with t-shirts and songs about the shooting of JR. Fun times. I remember my grandmother trying to figure out who shot JR. Once it comes out that Kristen shot JR she claims that she is pregnant by two men and blackmails them both (Jordan Lee and JR). JR sends her away and she has the baby, only to come back to Dallas and die in the pool. Later Bobby and Pam will adopt her baby (really Jeff Faraday is the daddy) and name him Christopher.

See how fun this is? Looking forward to this TNT, it had better be good!!!!!

Shuffle

I thought it might be fun to put my mp3 player on shuffle and see what type of music I was currently listening to. Here they are in order to how they were played during my scrapbook time this afternoon. I think by reading this list you can get a big insight to MIchelle the HuMan! Yeah, I am just a mixed up bundle of mess.

1. Even the nights were better--Air Supply (don't judge)
2. Love Bits--Def Leppard
3. Our House---Madness
4. Oh, what a beautiful morning---Gordan McRae
5. One night in Bangkok--Murray Head
6. Splash Mountain Medley---splash mt WDW
7. I am the Walrus---The Beatles
8. No Sugar tonight/New Mother Nature--the Guess who
9. Good Morning---Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds.
10. If you think I don't need you---Elvis Presley
11. From this moment on---Tommy Rall and Ann Miller
12. Mr. Blue Sky---ELO
13. Kiss--Prince
14. Spies like us---Paul McCartney
15. Hallelujah --Bon Jovi
16. Set adrift of memory bliss---PM Dawn
17. Gansta---BBD (oh yeah, love them)
18. Paperback writer---The Beatles
19. Wanderlust---Paul McCartney
20. Paradise City---GNR
21. Amazing---Aerosmith
22. All those years ago---George Harrison
23. I me mine--The Beatles
24. The Enchanted Tiki Room (1971 version)---WDW
25. Porcupine Pie---The Wiggles
26. Living in the sunslight---Tiny Tim
27. Wanted Dead or Alive (live)--Bon JOvi
28. Just got back--Cheap Trick
29. PSSOM--Def Lep (live, acoustic)
30. Universe of Energy---EPCOT
31. Everybody---BSB
32. I dig a pony (anthology)--The Beatles
33. Nobody's Fool---Cinderella
34. Wonderful Tonight---Clapton
35. You got me runnin'---Def Lep
36. I love this town---Bon Jovi
37. You're Sixteen---Ringo
38. SexyBack---JT
39. Run Riot---Def Lep
40. Zero to Hero---Hercules soundtrack
41. You outta know---Alanis
42. Wannabe---The Spice Girls
43. My prerogative--Bobby Brown
44. High n' Dry (Saturday NIght)---Def Lep
45. Over at the Frankenstein place--Rocky HOrror
46. The Time---Black Eyed Peas
47. I left my hat in Haiti---Fred Astaire
48. Watching the Wheels---John Lennon
49. Me and Bobby McGee--Janis Joplin
50. County Bear Jamboree---WDW
51. Dear Prudence---The Beatles
52. Super Trooper---Abba
53. Who's crying now---Journey
54. Come on Eileen---Dexy's Midnight runners
55. Over the rainbow---Isreal IZ Kamakawiwo'ole
56. Let me roll it---Paul McCartney
56. Patience---GNR
57. She's out of my life---MJ
58. 2 Legit 2 Quit--Hammer
59. Land of confusion---Genesis
60. Vienna Calling--Falco
I have over 4000 songs on here, so that is all for now.

Xanadu

Don't judge me because I like Xanadu. No siree bob, don't you dare. Yes, I know Xanadu has been laughed at for years and years and years. Basically, since the day it was released, but think not about the crappy storyline, or that one dude's bad acting...think about the movie.

The movie is an artistic wonder from the get-go. It has some wonderful paintings and that was just the first attraction for me and thrilling animation from Don Bluth. The second is a man that you may never have heard of Gene Kelly. He did a little song and dancing in his younger years, nothing to write home about but that is what he did. In this movie, he only dances twice and once on roller skates, he had to be 70 something when this movie was made. He even danced around Olivia Newton-John and made it appear that she could dance, but Gene was good at that trick (in that past life). This was his last movie by the way.

Kenny Ortega (High School Musical fame) was the choreographer...and I think he did a great job!!!

Then there is the soundtrack, even if Jeff Lynne won't admit it, the music is brilliant. ELO, the Tubes, Gene and Olivia. A perfect score for the fantasy film, set on roller skates.

I am writing this because I bought the movie years ago and watched it many times and then it disappeared. Where was it? I could not find it, I last remembered watching it on the way to Mason Ohio and Great Wolf Lodge. I figured that I dropped it out of the truck while traveling. NO I DID NOT, I found it yesterday, in a computer manual that I never even knew that I opened. I was gathering stuff to get rid of our stupid Celeron computer and there it was in the manual. I have watched it 3 times today. I have missed it so.

The greatest part to me is the ending...Gene Kelly "Drum Dreams" on roller skates. Then Olivia comes in and does a WOWING rendition of "Fool Country" and "First Stage out of this Town" and then "Xanadu".

As a child, my favorite part was after FSOTT (first stage out of this town) the music tempo changes and Xanadu starts, Olivia starts walking up the stage in this silver lame' dress, with her hair in a glitter corn roll type hairdo. I LOVE this part!!!!!

Guys, it's not a great movie plot-wise, as I stated but if you want a visually appealing movie, with great music and Gene Kelly, yeah this one is for you.

Strange things are happening

To borrow a line from the great movie Toy Story, this is my life today. We are closing a chapter. A chapter that has been a part of life for so long, I am not sure how to do things without it. It is hard to change course when you have done something for so long. For seven years Trevor has been dealing with his eye issues. It started when he was little and he was watching tv and John noticed his eye floating all over the place. We go to an eye doctor in Paducah and they say that they cannot help us and send us to a specialist in Carp Girardeau, MO who scares us to death by telling us that he will go blind in that eye if he does not have surgery. She even schedules it for the next week. We can't do that with a $2500 deductible...NO WAY....I start seeking options. I mention at church for them to pray for us because we did not know what we were going to do. A member is with the Lion's Club and he says that they may help us. My friend Rhonda told me this was a great avenue to pursue so off we go. This guys name is Tom and he said we had lots of options, the first being to go see their doctor in Louisville, KY at the Lions Club Eye Clinic. They would even sponsor Trevor to help out with the cost, because our insurance was so bad. So off we go....when we first met Dr. Paul Rychwalski, I thought, he is so young. I had done research on him and supposedly he is VERY good, but I expected him to be older. All he does is deal with people with children and their eye disabilities and diseases. It was a very comforting environment. It did not take Dr. Paul and his assistant long to determine that Trevor had a binocular vision disability and Amblyopia strabismus (lazy eye and misalignment). He would never be cured and would need therapy. I asked about the blindness and surgery and he said "Trevor is not a candidate for surgery because of what he is facing...not at this time" He immediately put us on a harsh (yes harsh) therapy of eye patching. Eye patching is a nightmare to parents. The child does NOT want to wear the patch, doesn't understand why they have to wear the patch and because you are patching the good eye, there is NO depth perception and the vision is whacked up. Who wants to go through that? Especially for 6 hours per day? WOW!!! We did it though (thanks to the preschool teachers who helped us out on this), and returned after 6 weeks, with good progress. It was GREAT progress actually, Dr. Rychwalski was proud of Trevor and said he could tell we were patching. He prescribed more patching.....

Our life over the next few years has been full of patching and an eye drops...Atropine. It was a scary thing to do because I have heard that it can damage the good eye. Also, it allows more sunlight to enter the eye so that it can cause cataracts and other vision issues. You are putting a chemical in the good eye to blur it so the bad eye has to do the focusing. I actually hated the atropine, but Trevor tended to prefer it. Mainly, because his friends had NO idea that there was "something wrong with him". We have had to be very careful with the atropine because we go to theme parks a lot, he plays outside sports and he is a boy and they like the outdoors. I still don't know when we will be able to tell if he has damage because of the sun.

Trevor has gone to the eye doctor every 6 weeks or so for almost 7 years. Because we knew he would never be cured, that we were just getting him to the best that we could get him, our goal was set kind of low....20/50 with visual aids. That means he can read the 20/50 line with the glasses on his face. It has been a back and forth emotional journey....20/70 at the worst and 20/30 at the best. Dr Rychwalski had been so pleased with his results and our determination to help Trevor the best that we could, he let us start seeing a local doctor in 2005. Dr Jeff Taylor. He has been a little bit of wonderful for us as well. He has taken Trevor's goal on as his own. When Trevor was not doing well, he too would get upset about it. When Trevor did well, he was just as excited as we were. I have recommended him to everyone that I know looking for an ophthalmologist because he is so wonderful. He has taken Trevor's concerns to heart as if Trevor were an adult, and this speaks volumes to me. He has been wonderful with my little boy.

Dr Taylor said it was coming, he has warned us for a long time...around the age of 8 Trevor's eye would stop growing and there would be nothing else that we could do. Here we are, age 8 and Dr. Taylor wanted him so badly (right on with us) to read that 20/30 line (that was sort of a secret goal)....Trevor could not do it. We went to the dr last Friday and he said "stop using the drops." This is it the end...20/50 is the best Trevor is going to do. Yes, it is the goal, he will be able to drive a car, it is just bittersweet. There is nothing else we can do to make it better. Trevor really knows no life outside of eye therapy. It is going to be strange all his life we had to put the patch on or drop the drops.

Let me explain his life...He has had to cover up an eye that sees perfectly. Therefore, his vision has been a constant blurry out of alignment mess for almost 7 years. He has never seen a baseball coming at him as his teammates have, he has never read a book like other people, he has never watched tv where he didn't angle his head to be able to see better. I am so proud of the things he has accomplished under these circumstances, he is a great student, he is a very good baseball player (when his bad eye will work like it is supposed to), he is not afraid to try new things, and doesn't know the meaning of "I can't see so I won't do it". He gets out there and tries and most times, he succeeds.

Now that we are at the end, we have to make sure that we have not damaged that good eye. That poor eye has been through a lot over the last 7 years as well. It has had to turn itself off, be covered up and blurred so it could not see a thing. Have we damaged it under all this therapy? Actually that is a possibility. We have finished with all therapy! A hard concept for me to grasp. Trevor is having no issues there. Now we go back in 4 weeks to see if the good eye is ok. To make sure there is no damage. Are we finished going to the eye doctor all the time? We don't know yet. Is this eye going to be ok? We don't know yet. Will he ever need eye surgery on the bad eye? We don't know yet. But I will tell you, it will be nice to not have to go to the eye doctor every other month, it will be nice not to have to use eye drops, it will be nice not to have to put on an eye patch, it will be very nice to see how he hits a baseball using NO therapy. I think I look forward to that...yes I know I do. Now that the good eye will be able to use the depth perception that it has...he may really have a great season.

Trevor has been great through all of this. Yes, he has screamed and cried and ran away from me because I had to do stuff to his eyes, but gosh Trevor it's over. I am proud of you for being such a good boy at the eye doctor all these years, I shall miss playing eye spy with you while we wait for Dr. Taylor. I shall miss playing jeopardy with you in the waiting room. I shall miss buying you a hamburger because you have been such a good boy. I shall miss the nurse saying "why do you never want a sucker?" to you. But I am glad that you will be able to drive a car one day and your mama won't have to drive you and your girlfriend on dates. Yes, that part makes me happy. I don't want to be toting you around when you are 50, I am glad that you will be able to drive and you can tote me around.

Thanks to the doctors who have helped us over the years...Especially to Dr Paul Rychwalski, who was willing to try hard to make my babies life better without putting him under the knife. Thank you for all that you and Dr Taylor have done for my little boy.