Showtime!

But first... Do we actually live in a world where the next generation of people to run it think it's cool to eat a detergent pod or see how long they can leave their arm on an electric stovetop?

Mmmmmkaay.

Anyhoo... I went to a show every night this weekend! Haven't done that in forever.

Friday night, Kathy and I went to 10,000 Maniacs at the One World Theater. As the band was being introduced, the host said, "Lead singer Mary Ramsey has been with the group for over 25 years..." and all of us in the crowd were like, "WHAT? WHO?" Ahahaha! Well, much like many groups from the 80's, the original lead singer is gone and a sound-alike singer is in. I should have remembered Natalie Merchant's departure. Oops. Would have loved to see all the original members, but Mary is a wonderful singer and we really enjoyed the show.

I'd always wanted to go to a show at One World Theater. It is a gorgeous place. Great stonework, a beautiful hilly view... The theater seats only 300, so it's really intimate. Evidently there is a documentary about a cult who built the house decades ago. I need to look into that. Sounds interesting.

Saturday night, Jeff and I went to a community theater production of Doublewide, Texas in Lockhart. It was so funny! The theater is on the town square and they do almost exclusively comedy plays. We'll definitely be going back for another show! And we'll get there early enough to have dinner at one of the barbecue meccas.

Sunday night, Jeff, Julie and I went to see Cirque du Soleil Crystal in Cedar Park. This one is a mix of skating and acrobatics. It was breathtaking and ridiculously entertaining, as Cirque du Soleil shows always are. Such talented performers. Beautiful props. Snow and everything!

Got to see KathyG and Crystal today for lunch! Yay!

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Come Whaaaat Maaaaay

Jeff took me out for early (yes!) Valentine's Day night, to the Moulin Rouge (yes!) Movie Party at the Alamo Drafthouse. I don't know how many times I've seen that film, but it's amazing. Every. Single. Time.

THIS:


SO good.

I hadn't ever been to the movie party for it. Alamo's movie parties have props and stuff, which adds to the fun. Two missing props last night: Kleenex would have been helpful. Also, too bad we couldn't have sparklers for the "Spectacular Spectacular" finale. Right?! Do they have to be used outside? I dunno. It would have been supercool though. Your sparklers would go out right about the time Satine keels over.

(Oops, spoiler alert.)


Sunday Stealing

1. Have you ever tried to learn (or re-learn) a foreign language as an adult? Which one? What worked for you?

I have not tried to learn or re-learn a foreign language as an adult. Would love to.

2. Do you donate blood? Do you know your blood type?

I can't donate blood, because I had Hodgkins lymphoma. My blood type is O+. (Most cancer survivors can donate blood safely to others. There are different rules at different donation centers for cancer survivors donating blood, but in general, see these guidelines at the American Cancer Society website.)

3. Have you ever been in a play or musical?

Several in elementary through high school.

4. Do you use certain text or ring tones for specific people? Who gets their own? Or do you just use the default on your phone?

People I talk to regularly and close friends/relatives get a ring tone. It's currently the same one for everyone. All others in my contacts, along with anyone not in my contacts, have a silent tone, so I don't hear it at all.

5. When did you get your first digital camera? Do you still shoot on actual film, or all digital now?

I think I got my first digital camera when Lauren was small, in the mid 90's. I've been all digital since then.

6. What do you think someone else would say the most daring thing you’ve done is?

Someone else would probably say my high school talent show. Ha! I would say riding around Dallas in a teensy, four-seat plane, with Jeff's buddy piloting. 

7. Do you talk with your hands?

Not really.

8. Do you have a lucky number? What is it, and what is the story behind it?

Nope.

9. What kind of milk did you drink, growing up? And now?

We got whole milk when I was growing up. I have always bought 2%.

10. What is your favorite kind of pie?

peach

11. Are you a note taker?

Yep!

12. Do you have an eclectic mug collection, or is your stuff all matchy matchy?

Eclectic.

13. Do you have a junk drawer in your house/garage/at work/wherever?

Who doesn't?

14. What is the longest amount of time you’ve worked at one job – and what was/is it?

Volunteer webmsitress for a nonprofit foundation for 15 years.

15. How old were you when you took your first commercial flight? To where did you fly?

I was two or three years old, flying from Frankfurt, Germany to Houston, Texas.

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Oven Mitt PSA(s)

I bought a couple of inexpensive oven mitts at Target a few weeks ago. When I washed them, they came out as teeny-tiny, Oompa Loompa-sized oven mitts. No joke. 

When you wash budget oven mitts, use cold water and hang dry.

Until I was able to buy some better quality pot holders, I used dish towels, like they used to in the olden days. If, like me, you have little experience pulling things out of the oven with a dish towel, here is a very important safety tip:

Make sure there are NO damp areas on your dish towel before you grab something hot. Unlike cotton, water is a most excellent conductor of heat!

Just a wee lesson in the principles of heat transfer. And two PSAs for the price of one today!

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Super Bowl and Halftime Show

Super Bowl game was amazing!! I really enjoyed it, even though I don't follow NFL much and none of my fave teams were there. Such a great game.

We played two games- winners each quarter for guessing the last digits of the score, and Super Bowl Commercial Bingo. We had lots of Scott's great food. I made a Caesar salad from scratch, which I've never done before. Even made my own croutons. Fun!

Halftime... I was disappointed. Justin Timberlake is one of the most talented performers ever, but the halftime show was blah. No big stunts. No guest artists. Just him. I just don't think that cuts it for the Super Bowl.

Of course, I would always love to see NSYNC together, but since he's already had them join him onstage at the Super Bowl halftime, I get that he might not want to repeat it. Same for Janet Jackson. It's been done, even though she's a great performer. I really like the suggestions that he should have brought Britney on. She would have been a cool guest, with a huge reaction! Her inevitable lip syncing would have made me crazy, but at least the show would have been memorable. There are numerous other great bands/singers he could have had join him during the show. Anyone! I don't care who you are, you need a guest artist or two, or at the very least, a mind-blowing stunt/effect at the Super Bowl halftime show.

Also, as a Prince fan, I think it's very sad that JT performed "with" the image of Prince, a type of performance Prince himself specifically called "demonic." I personally don't like any of those duets with dead people, because I find them to be cheesy and creepy. The idea of a tribute to Prince in Minneapolis is a fantastic one, but Justin could have so easily just sung a Prince song without using the image and voice of Prince. So easily! How cool would that have been?!! Some people have suggested he could have had Shiela E join him for the tribute song. That would have ROCKED! Instead it was cringe-worthy. Gah.

I wanted to like it!

The game was amazing though!

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Genealogy and Kolache Trip

Jeff and Scott accompanied me to El Campo a couple of weeks ago on a "genealogy and kolaches" day trip. My mother's father's family is from El Campo and Columbus. We went to three cemeteries to visit several of my family's graves in both towns, and did a bit of research at the Wharton County Library.

Small world moment!! I've only ever met a few people outside my family who even know where El Campo is. The librarian who was helping me turned out to be my former boss's AUNT! I emailed him about it and he said his father and his father's family are all from El Campo. Random! 

We hit Hruska's and Weikel's on the way home. Yummy!

On an unrelated note... Here are our kitties on laundry day.

What.

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You Talk Talk and You Get So Intense

...that you almost make sense. And that's what scares me the most...

Taking a work break for a bit. I can do that as a contractor! In my jammies! (I'm not in my jammies, but I could be!)

Randomly, I've been listening to Styx' Kilroy Was Here on Apple Music. One of the best songs on that album is "Cold War," which wasn't released as a single. It was one of my favorites to pull out the hairbrush, singing and jamming out in my room.



Partying with the President doesn't sound as cool as it used to, eh? Ha!

There is also "Don't Let It End."



And of course, there is "Mr. Roboto." "...I am the modREN man!" (Yes, modREN!)



Turns out, Styx is playing a casino in Lake Charles, LA TONIGHT. Weird!! Maybe there was a commercial for it and that's why I was thinking of them. Hmm.

Incidentally, hubby informs me that Def Leppard released their library on Apple Music today, so that's cool. I've seen then a few times. If you want to try out Apple Music, you can get four months free, rather than the regular three months, if you go to Living Social and search for Apple Music.

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Saturday 9

Saturday 9: Piano (2013)
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) As she sings, Ariana muses about the songs she could compose on her piano. Do you play the piano?
I haven't for years, but I do. I have to play with music though. Wish I could play by ear!

2) She compares love songs, saying there are sad ones about how hard love is, and happy ones that make you want to dance. What's your favorite love song? Is it sad or happy? 

"Come What May" from Moulin Rouge...  It's happy.

3) Ariana's mother always told her that they took her name from Princess Oriana in the 1988 movie Felix the Cat. Who is your favorite cartoon character?

Every time someone references Felix the Cat, I think Fritz the Cat. Completely different. Anyhoo... my favorite has always been the sarcastic, hilarious Bugs Bunny.

4) Ariana's favorite board game is Monopoly. What's your favorite board game?

Life. A spinner and little peg people in cars? Yeah!

5) She relaxes by baking. When you feel keyed up, what do you do to relax?
Go outside.

6) She is a huge Florida Panthers fan, even though once, as a little girl, she got hit by a puck. Now that the NHL season is underway, how's your favorite team doing?

I haven't followed professional hockey since I was a kid and Houston Aeros (WHA) fan.

7) In 2013, when this song was popular, the NHL reached an agreement with the players union and averted a strike. Have you ever belonged to a union?
Nope.

8) Also in 2013, Pauline Philips died. Ms. Philips was better known to millions of readers as "Dear Abby." At its height, her advice column appeared in 1,400 newspapers across the country. Do you still read a printed copy of your newspaper?
No

9) If you could get the answer to one question about your future, what would that one question be?

While I'd love to know how old I'll be when I die, so I can plan my retirement funding accordingly, I don't want to know when I'll die. So I guess I would just ask where I'll be living when I die. That could be interesting!

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Congrats, Bama!

Made Ina's famous cheeseball recipe for New Year's Eve, and again last night for the NCAA football championship. Always a hit! And what a game!! I had a slight leaning towards the Dawgs, but it didn't really matter much to me who won. All SEC, baby!

In a very amusing variation of "your sunglasses are on your head," Sunday, Jeff was lounging on the couch, complaining that he couldn't find the television remote... which was sitting on his chest.

Ha!

Cathy posted this clip this morning on FB- my guilty pleasure song for years. I dare you to listen without singing and/or dancing.



Awesome!

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Great-Grandma McKenna

My mom's mother's mom, who died the year I was born, was a part of the "Orphan Train" program. They sent orphans from New York City to homes out west in the late 1800's to early 1900's, for foster care or adoption. My Irish great-great grandparents in Wisconsin adopted her sometime between 1895 (the year she was born) and 1900. Sadly, I'll probably never be able to find information about her birth family, but I have found out many things about her that I didn't know before.

Yesterday I found her junior and senior year high school yearbooks online. She performed in some plays. She was also active in the Girls' Literary Society, which met regularly to discuss music, books and papers. Some of the girls wrote and published their own books, about everything from boys to beauty to autobiographies. My great-grandmother's book was called "Chemistry Made Easy," a guide for freshmen. Pretty cool.

Oh, her last name was McKenna, and her high school nickname was "Kenny." Kenny! Love it!

Kumail Nanjiani was on Ellen yesterday! He told a hilarious story!!

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Happy 2018!

Funniest part of the holidays...

Jeff's Mom: What was the situation that Christmas, when you and Steven (Jeff's younger brother) went to Missouri by yourselves, and Dad and I stayed in Dallas? You were in college and Steven was in middle school.
Jeff: There was something going on and you guys had to stay here, so we went without you.
Me: Wait. You let Jeff drive your precious baby all the way to Missouri and back?
Jeff's Dad: Nah, he drove the old car.

*crickets* (...other than me giggling)

Jeff: I think she meant Steven.

*crickets*

Aaaaaahahaha! It's funnier every time I tell it.

Saturday 9: It's Just Another New Year's Eve (1977)
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) In this song, Barry Manilow declares New Year's Eve is "just another night." How do you feel about 12/31? Is it a special occasion or just another night?
If we're doing something special, it's special, otherwise, it's just another night!

2) Barry sings that in the past year, "we've made mistakes." What in 2017 do you wish you could do over?

I should have gone to more concerts. I think the only one I went to all year was the Foreigner/Cheap Trick show at Circuit of the Americas. I have tickets for 10,000 Maniacs in February!

3) He also sings of happy nights with friends. Tell us about a really good time you had in the past year.

the Gault archeological site trip and also our Bell County Museum day in Belton

4) The song references growing wiser, as well as older. What's something you learned or discovered in 2017?

genealogy research and my family history

5) What do you wish you had spent more time doing during 2017?

Playing bunco- anyone wanna start a new group? I want a fun group like my old one, with lots of wine and craziness.

6) What was the smartest thing you did all this past year? 

changed from the city's 96 gallon trash can to a 64 gallon trash can, saving $20 a month!

7) As this year comes to a close, what are you most grateful for?

central heating

8) When this week's featured artist, Barry Manilow, was a jingle writer, he wrote the famous "You deserve a break today at McDonald's" song. When's the last time you visited the Golden Arches?

a couple of months ago

9) Random question: In high school, were you more popular with the boys or the girls?
The boys. In high school and college, I had far more guy friends than girlfriends.

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