Fun With Light-Up Letters

Saw this on an endcap at Target yesterday.

It's the little things that amuse me.

Also at Target...

Me: Are you going to try on that bra?
Lauren: Yes.
Me: Okay. I'm going to look for plastic cups.
Lauren: PLASTIC? Why would you want a bra with plastic cups?
Me: No... plastic drinking cups at the front of the store!

Ohmigosh y'all. This so-true article had me ROLLING----

People Can't Stop Making Fun of House Hunters Insane Budgets and Now It's a Meme

"I vajazzle labradoodles." Bwahaha! *wipes tears*

I've watched hundreds of episodes of House Hunters, and have correctly guessed which house they wanted maybe three times. I don't know if that means I'm not as tuned in to the buyers' needs as I think I am, or the show is edited purposely to mislead us, but I am definitely not a winner playing that game.

Our Girls Weekend finally begins tomorrow! Wheeeee!

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The Music of the Night

Kathy and I saw Broadway Across America's Phantom of the Opera last night at Bass. It was AMAZING. The costumes and set are a feast for the eyes- very textural and colorful and rich. Derrick Davis (the Phantom) has a deep, powerful, gorgeous voice. Holy moly. SO good. You can hear him sing "Music of the Night" on YouTube.

My only complaint about it was that everyone in the production called Raoul "Rowl" instead of "Rah-ool." What the...??

I thought I had seen it live before, but Jeff didn't think we had. As soon as I saw the giant chandelier (right over our heads thankyouverymuch) when we walked into the theater, I remembered it from before. I've definitely seen the musical on stage, but I'm not sure where or when that was. Once you get to a certain age and someone challenges your memory of something, you start second-guessing yourself. Ha!

Kathy and I had dinner at The Salty Sow for the first time. (East side!) It was verrrry good. The have all sorts of interesting drinks! We shared the charcuterie and a vegetable plate. Everything was very fresh and tasty. Well, except beets, which neither she nor I enjoy... anywhere. Duck liver pate IS my new favorite appetizer meat. Yummo. The menu said there was yeti on the charcuterie plate. Another moment where I said, "WAIT. Yeti? Isn't that a fake animal, like an abominable snowman?"

Kathy: Yes.

Well, okay then. Good thing it didn't show up on the plate.  Incidentally there does exist a yeti crab. It's adorable.

Saturday 9: Don't Sleep in the Subway (1967)
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) Subways can be bright and noisy. Do you need it dark and quiet before you can fall asleep?
Generally yes. At night, if it isn't dark and quiet, I'm awake. I can nap every once in a blue moon, when there's a boring movie on or a rainy day, or something like that.

2) In this song, Petula encourages her lover to talk it out instead of walking out. Do you usually remain reasonable during a disagreement?
Yes. And I definitely don't walk out. My parents used to argue like that, and at some point my dad would leave the room (or the house) right in the middle of it. They had a language barrier that really came into play when things got heated. Dad told me years later that he always felt like he "lost" arguments because his English wasn't as good as Mom's and he got flustered and couldn't express himself like he wanted to. I can see that. Still, not the way to argue. You may not resolve things at the end of an argument, but you at least have to close out the discussion before anyone just up and walks.

3) Petula was a child star in England during WWII. Her BBC broadcasts were very popular with the British troops, who nicknamed her The Singing Sweetheart. Soldiers pasted her photo onto their tanks for luck as they went into battle. Do you have any little rituals or good luck charms that calm/comfort you when you're afraid?
No. Maybe I should get some!

4) Now 84, she recently told London's Daily Mail that she's surprised and thrilled to have found love again with a new man. Do you believe you'll ever be too old for romance?
Nope!

5) Her family is far flung. She lives in London, her middle daughter is in Paris, her son is in Los Angeles and her oldest daughter lives in New York with Petula's two grandchildren. Who is your nearest friend or relative? Which one is farthest away?
Nearest friends are Scott-n-Julie. They live on our street, about a third of a mile away. The farthest is my brother Siegfried, who lives in Cologne, Germany, about 5200 miles away.

6) In 1967, when this song was popular, Rolling Stone published its first issue. John Lennon was on the cover. Publisher Jann Wenner reports that, either individually or as a group, the members of The Beatles have appeared on the most Rolling Stone covers. What's the first Beatles song that comes to mind?
"Eleanor Rigby"

7) In 1967, Star Trek was in its second season on NBC. Who is your favorite Star Trek character?
Bones McCoy

8) RANDOM QUESTION: When you slip into jeans or slacks, which foot do you put in first?
Right

9) As you considered #8, did you mime pulling on your pants?
No. I only imagined it in my head.

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Apple Music

Had a long lunch with KathyG this week! Got the lowdown on all the office newbies. Good times.

I'm in the process of making the switch from Sirius Radio to Apple Music. Apple Music currently gives you a free three-month trial, which I've begun. So far, I really love it.

I've been paying $10 a month for music stations on Sirius. I listen to 3 stations, and the vast majority of the time, really only Hits1. I can only listen in the car, and I'm not driving as much as I used to since I work from home. Sirius is good radio, but the car play limitation is an issue and it's certainly not a solution for maintaining my own personal music collection and playlists.

Apple Music is also $10 a month. It provides a bunch of  'radio stations.' I like radio, because it's the best way to hear current music. There are also human- edited playlists. You can share your own playlists with friends on the service.

Building on the iTunes concept, your library includes your owned music (purchased from iTunes or another service, or uploaded from CDs), now alongside songs you've selected to add from Apple Music. Apple Music has had almost every song I've searched for so far. It's an enormous selection. You can choose to display whether or not a song is owned or from the service. It doesn't really matter, as long as you're paying for the service. If you stop, you'll lose access to those songs, but you don't care as long as you're paying.

I'm using the iCloud Music Library, which most people do. Basically, all your songs that have a match in Apple Music are noted and will just stream from the service when you play them. Music that doesn't have a match, like something you've created yourself or live performances you've downloaded here and there, will be uploaded to your iCloud Music Library for streaming playback on any of your devices. You can have 10,000 unmatched songs like that in your iCloud Music Library. There are some limitations on what files they will store for you, so be sure and read up on that if you have a bunch of that sort of thing. I only had one item it wouldn't store.

You'll still have one computer or drive where your purchased music will be saved. If you ever stop the service, you'll still want to have those songs. Before you canceled the service, you could always re-download the thousands of songs you purchased from iTunes over the years and the heaping buttloads of CD music you spent hours ripping to iTunes (if you're from a generation like mine, with lots of CDs), but you won't want to spend time doing that. When you stop Apple Music, you'll lose access to all songs in your library that you added from Apple Music, even the ones you downloaded to a device.

My summary (confirm these things before you jump in of course)-

• While a member of Apple Music, your personal library includes all the songs you own within iTunes, along with any songs you add from the Apple Music service (40 million currently available).
• Listen to your personal library/playlists, Apple Music's full library/playlists and Apple Music radio stations on any device with the iTunes or Apple Music app. You have the same songs/playlists/etc. everywhere. If you have any trouble with your music or playlists not matching across devices, make sure you have "iCloud Music Library" turned ON for all devices.
• You can still purchase music via iTunes, but as long as you're paying for Apple Music, I don't know why you would.
• You can download all the music you want, to have a physical copy on your device, though it makes more sense just to download the songs you want to have for a road trip or something, where you don't want to stream a ton of data.
• Streaming does use data on your phone. Keep an eye on the data usage, or download songs for local playback when you're away from wifi. You can turn off cellular data for Apple Music, if you want to.
• If you stop the service, you retain ownership of music you own, but of course you won't be able to access songs on the service, nor will you be able to play any songs you've downloaded from Apple Music to a device.
• Apple has a family sharing plan for up to six people for $15 a month. Each maintains his/her own music library and playlists, and gets his/her own personal music recommendations, etc. (Family Sharing allows sharing of all sorts of things, including photos, apps, calendar, etc.)

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Do You Need to Replace Your Smoke Detectors?

Hoppy Easter Weekend, all!

Our Easter dinner buddies are out of town this year. Sad! I'm not even doing a big meal. We're just getting some tasks around the house off the list, including replacing all our smoke detectors. Did you know... you're supposed to completely replace your smoke detectors EVERY TEN YEARS? Oh, and that's ten years from the date of manufacture on the back or side of the alarm, not when you moved in or bought them.

I had no idea. We've lived here exactly 20 years this month, and never replaced them. (I don't think we've even replaced the batteries in the last ten. Those detectors were wired into the house, so they worked unless the power was out, at least! Ack.)

Yesterday, Jeff installed new 'smart home' smoke detectors. They self-test, tell you when the (five- or ten-year) battery is running out, message you if the alarm goes off when you're away, etc. The old units were super easy to replace. Don't fall for all the gadgets that claim to be adapters for the base of your old model to fit a new model. You just remove the old one with its base and install the new one with its base.

Check your dates of manufacture and replace those ten-year-old smoke detectors, y'all!


Saturday 9: This Is the Way the Bunny Hops
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) Why do you suppose there are so many songs about Santa Claus, yet very few about the Easter Bunny? 

The Easter Bunny is more shy and reserved. We just don't know as much about him.

Her?

... Hmm.

2) This song was written by The Kiboomers, two early education teachers who are passionate about the power of music to help kids learn. Tell us about a teacher who had an impact on your life.
There were several. I've talked up Mr. Spasic and Mr. Jackson a lot on the blog. How about Mrs. Lofland? She was my freshman high school Biology teacher. She wasn't the "hilarious/entertaining" teacher I typically enjoyed most. She was an older Southern lady with a sunny disposition and a great sense of humor. She enjoyed OUR jokes. She was one of those teachers I could (and did) talk to about all sorts of personal things, all four years of high school. She and my senior Physics teacher, Mrs. Lee, were the two teachers with whom I consulted heavily about my choice of college major. I actually ended up with a major that was a perfect mix of the two- Radiological Health Engineering. Cool, eh?

3) Legend has it that the Easter Bunny was introduced to America in the 1700s by German immigrants. These children waited for a magic creature who left colored eggs. Today's kids dye Easter eggs themselves. When did you most recently color eggs?
I haven't dyed eggs since Lauren was little.

4) The Easter Bunny is usually shown carrying a wicker basket filled with eggs, toys and candy. Is there any wicker in the room you're in right now?
No. There is wicker outside the window though.

5) While marshmallow Peeps are manufactured all year around, they are most popular at Easter. Do you prefer the chicks or the bunnies?

I prefer not to eat Peeps at all. *shudder*

6) A little time in the microwave can do ugly things to a Peep. Have you ever nuked a Peep?
Nope. I've never had my own Peep. I've bought some for Laura though the years, but that's it.

7) Would you prefer a hollow or a solid chocolate bunny?

Hollow. It's easier to eat.

8) A traditional American Easter dinner usually includes glazed ham or roast lamb. Which would you rather have as your main course?

Glazed ham, for sure. 

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United Airlines

Oh, United Airlines. What an embarrassment you are. Again.

United Airlines had a right to remove that flier. But should it have?

If the airline industry insists on overbooking flights, they have to deal with the fallout in an appropriate way. Typically, offering payment to people who are willing to rebook works fine. If it doesn't, they need to up the payment and continue asking for volunteers. If no one will budge, surely there are options aplenty for getting your employees to a certain city overnight. I mean, seriously. You're an AIRLINE.

If they can't find one of their own flights to put their employees on, they should be able to use another airline with a reciprocal agreement. Or maybe they have... oh I don't know... a few hundred other employees from any of hundreds of other cities to run whatever flight it is the next day. Or better yet, do a little better scheduling of employees. The whole thing was ridiculous.

They should never remove a paying customer from his seat by force, just to accommodate overbooking. That's insane.

United's CEO says they're going to talk to the man that was forcibly removed. I hope he's lawyered up! Good luck, doc!

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Gault Site Tour!

We toured the Gault archaeological site yesterday with Scott-n-Julie and about 20 other folks. The site is northwest of Georgetown in Florence. Definitely one of the most interesting tours I've ever taken! Dr. Wernecke (Executive Director of the Gault School of Archaeological Research) is an amazing guide, and we learned a lot. 

The site has produced the most tools and other Clovis artifacts in the world. In one part of the valley, there are artifacts at ground level, literally everywhere. You can stand in one spot and pick up twenty of them. You aren't allowed to take any, but you can handle them to take a closer look, which is VERY cool.

They've found 2.5 million artifacts after excavating just 3% of the site. Don't think you're going to find anything lying on the ground that they haven't seen a thousand times before. It's tempting to notify the guide, but don't. Ha!

You should know that there is no active excavation going on. We were all waiting for the excavation site to appear around the next bend, and it never did. LOL. We thought at some point we'd be able to watch them digging around. No biggie, considering the volumes of interesting information we got and the cool artifacts on the ground, it was just a surprise.

There is a photo next to the most recent dig site, showing the size of the hole when it had been excavated. (It's been filled in now.) Dr. Wernecke said it's a large hole, but it's all the more impressive when you realize that it was dug entirely with chopsticks, to protect the artifacts. Hmm!

So, you should definitely do the Gault site tour. It's very centrally located, so it's not more than a few hours from most places in Texas. Highly recommended! You will need to reserve your spot, so follow the instructions on their website.

Saturday 9: Work from Home (2016)
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) This song is about a woman who doesn't get to see her lover often enough because he's on the night shift. Have you ever worked nights?

Nope.

2) She promises that if he takes the day off, she'll make it feel like a vacation. Have you traveled anywhere fun so far this year? Do you have any leisure trips planned for 2017? 

We've done a weekend in Boerne, which was fun!

3) The ladies of Fifth Harmony are enthusiastic supporters of the Girl Scouts, rewarding troops who excel in fundraising activities with free concerts. The Scouts' best-known fundraiser is their cookie sale.What's your favorite cookie (Girl Scout or otherwise)?

Girl Scout- Thin Mints (that's really the only one I like), other- Hello Dolly cookies

4) Fifth Harmony also participated in Goodwill's Fall Haul campaign. They encouraged high school students donate as many items as possible to Goodwill, and the winning school got a free concert. When did you last take gently-used items to a resale organization?

We take things to Goodwill pretty regularly. Last time was probably December.

5) Do you ever shop second-hand or thrift stores?

Yep. I like looking for home decor items there. I've had a couple of great finds.

6) Fifth Harmony member Normani Kordei competes on Dancing with the Stars this season. Would you do better on DWTS or The Voice? In other words, are you a better singer or dancer?
The Voice

7) In February 2016, when this song was first released, The Denver Broncos won the Super Bowl and Spotlight won the Best Picture Oscar. Can you recall who won the 2017 Super Bowl and Best Picture Oscar, just two months ago?
Superbowl- um... Patriots?? Tom Brady's team. 

Best Picture- WHO can forget? LaLa Land.... I mean... Moonlight!

8) 2016's most popular TV show was Game of Thrones. Are you a fan?

I've never seen it.

9) Random Question: What's the subject line of the newest message in your email spam folder?

"Your Special Offer Expires Tonight!" (from Williams-Sonoma)

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Now You're Thinkin' Thinkin' You Can Get One By Me

Not only did I know all the answers to Lance Bass's "NSYNC or Outta Sync" game on Hollywood Today Live yesterday, but I correctly identified the correct member of NSYNC when applicable.

*bows*


50 little things

1. How many pets do you own? 
We have 2 cats- Maya and Kiptyn.

2. What’s your least favorite season? 
Winter- I tend to be cold, and winter just makes it worse! I also hate lugging around a coat and hat, etc.

3. Do you prefer to text or call? 
call

4. Morning or night?
night

5. Do you like tacos?
yes

6. Are you an introvert or an extrovert?
introvert

7. What’s your favorite desert?
Mojave

8. Do you enjoy walks?
definitely

9. Are you a frequent user of Facebook?
I am a fairly regular reader, mostly of news pages and my neighborhood group, but not much of a poster.

10. Do you watch animated shows still?
sometimes

11. Can you roll your tongue?
yes

12. What’s your “lucky” number?
3

13. Are you scared of anything?
scorpions

14. Big mac or big whopper? 
Big Mac

15. Do you like to play board games?
yes

16. Are you fond of romantic novels?
only well-written ones

17. Fruitloops or cocopops?
Fruit Loops

18. Would you eat a live spider for one million dollars?
absolutely not

19. Are you a heavy drinker?
nope

20. Would you forgive someone for cheating?
maybe

21. Are you superstitious?
no

22. Have you seen A Clockwork Orange?
yes

23. Do you like to read?
rarely

24. Are you easily distressed?
I can be

25. Do you believe in aliens?
no

26. If you were the last person alive besides one other person you get to chose, who would it be?
Someone who would eat a live spider for a million dollars. I would need that kind of fearlessness alongside me.

27. Dogs or cats?
cats

28. Are you a grumpy person?
no

29. What’s something you hate?
people who are offended by everything, ugh

30. Are you a worry wart?
yes

31. Do you like having your picture taken?
not really

32. Do you like cotton candy?
no

33. Would you ever use a dating site?
Probably not. I was never into the one-night-stand sort of hookup, and from my friends' and friends-of-friends' experiences, that's the vast majority of what's going on there.

34. Do you believe in ghosts?
no

35. Rap or pop?
pop

36. What’s the weirdest flavor of ice cream you’ve tried?
Guinness at Amy's. I love everyone's comment about it. "It tastes just like BEER!" Bwahaha. Yes it does.

37. Do you like math?
yep!

38. Are you the type of person to laugh at others misfortune?
no

39. Love or lust?
Hmm... Love.

40. Do you remember lyrics easily?
yes

41. What was/is your favorite school subject? 
math

42: Do you like tattoos?
highly depends on the tattoo

43. Are you the type of person to lie?
no

44. Do you eat porridge for breakfast?
nope

45. What music are you listening to right now?
Maroon 5 on random play

46. Are you allergic to anything?
IV contrast, sulfa antibiotics

47. Do you like Lady Gaga?
very much

48. What about Nick Minaj?
not particularly

49. Do you like rainy days?
yes

50. Last question, do you like pie?
yep

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Pepsi Ad

I have absolutely no idea why everyone thinks the Pepsi commercial that got yanked today is referring to Black Lives Matter. There is an extremely diverse crowd there, clearly including as many races and backgrounds they could think of. The signs are all about love and peace. To me, it read very "Anti-Trump Rally" (which is something we can all get behind, yes?).

Either way, I agree there is a big issue with the rich white model as the heroine. "Let me take a few minutes out of my very privileged life to march in your little protest, although I am completely clueless what your issue is." Just... yuck.

Have a non-white child approach the president with a Pepsi. Now that would be thought-provoking imagery for Pepsi's "global message of unity, peace and understanding."

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Bar Injury

Friday night I went to Moontower Saloon for the first time ever. I was with Laura and all her teacher buddies. It's a neat place, with food trucks (including Salt Lick, the best barbecue on earth) and washers and volleyball and a live band. Great drink options from the regulars to frozen whiskey and coke. Refreshing!

I did manage to hurt myself on the wooden picnic table where we were there. I grabbed my purse to move it when someone was scooting in, and jammed a gigantic splinter up under my thumbnail. OMG. I pulled most of it out right away, but it looks like a little piece is still in there. It was annoying pain the rest of the evening, but a few hours later, once it was good and swollen up, I'm pretty sure it felt the same as having chopped my whole thumb off.

Not even exaggerating.

Ugh, the pulsing pain. Motrin was the only thing keeping me sane yesterday. It seems a bit better this morning, thankyouJesus. How many ways could I have grabbed my purse WITHOUT getting a splinter? I mean, seriously. Damn happy hour injuries.

The wildflower jaunt last Sunday was a lot of fun! There were great flowers on 71 between Bee Cave and Llano. We even got barbecue at Opie's. From Llano to Burnet, there were also a lot of flowers. Julie bought a couple of bluebonnet paintings at a little art shop along the route.

Looking forward to dinner tonight with friends. Meanwhile, we're supposed to have big storms today! Stay safe, y'all!


Saturday 9: Too Fat Polka (1947)
Unfamiliar with this week's song? Hear it here.

1) Have you ever danced the polka?

At a few German beer festivals.

2) The centerpiece of a traditional Polish polka band is the accordion. The accordion is a substantial instrument. Have you ever tried to play it?

Nope.

3) The plump lady of this song cannot fit into the singer's car. How many passengers does your car comfortably seat?

Four

4) Would you like to lose a few pounds?
Sure.

5) In the long ago 1940s, this song was considered amusing. Do you think it's still funny today?

Not really.

6) Arthur Godfrey, who recorded this song, was a popular radio and TV host from the 1930s to the 1970s. Before this week's Saturday 9, had you ever heard of him?
No.

7) One of his more popular radio shows was Talent Scouts. A 1940s-50s version of American Idol, this show gave previously unknown singers their first national exposure. Godfrey could point with pride to having helped discover Tony Bennett and Patsy Cline, but he made a mistake by rejecting Elvis Presley. Tell us about something you'd do differently if you could get a "do over."

I would have left my purse where it was on that damn table Friday night.

8) In 1953, Godfrey made news by having one of the nation's very first hip replacements. Have you ever been/would you be part of a clinical trial, either for a new drug or a new medical procedure?
Well, that's my profession, so I have to say... hell no. of course! ;)  

I was a part of a clinical trial for my Hodgkins treatment at MD Anderson when I was 21. It involved a new chemotherapy regimen called NOVP (Novantrone, Oncovin, Vinblastine and Prednisone), which was expected to have the same cure rate as the standard chemo at the time (MOPP), but was also expected to preserve fertility and additionally reduce other side effects like secondary leukemia. It was successful! Here's a link to an article abstract from that study. "...27 patients with...adverse features for disease-free survival..." Scary, right? I was stage IIA, but I had a large mediastinal tumor (5" across), which was an adverse feature. FU cancer!

9) RANDOM QUESTION: You and a friend are shopping. She tries on an expensive sweater and enthusiastically asks what you think. You think it looks awful. Do you tell her the truth?

Definitely. I probably don't say it looks "awful," but I tell her it's not a good choice.

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