Cyber Monday

Thanksgiving is 72 hours behind us.  As quickly as it became history we immersed ourselves in shopping for the holiday season.  Black Friday brings us shopping lines miles long just after midnight.  We marathon shop, burning off the calories we devoured as we kicked off the holiday season.  A two day break leads us into Cyber Monday.  It's the 21st Century answer to Black Friday.  It's the answer to keeping pace with the changing times.

Anything we could possibly want is at our fingertips.  Including, but certainly not limited to, a spouse.  No matter what your taste there is someone out there.  And there are a variety of sites to choose from to meet your specifications.  As much similarity as there is in dating and interviewing, there are striking similarities to shopping for a pair of boots or a new husband in one browser.

No matter what website you are looking at there is the option to join a mailing list whether you are getting boots or a man.  You can also set your preferences so that you only receive suggestions that will appeal to you.  No booties.  Yes, to the guy who enjoys football.  No heels higher than four inches.  No, convicted felons.  Yes, to the black, brown, and gray boots. I only want to see guys who want kids.  No, to the guy who has more piercings than I do.   Banker?  Boring.  Mechanic?  Dirty.  Yes, yes, yes.  No, no, no.  You can build a profile tailored to stimulate your fancy.  

Of course this can also work to your advantage as you describe yourself.  I am so a size 6 jeans.  I'm arm candy.  Yes, I'd look great in spandex because there is not an ounce of flab on me.  Usher would freakin' love me.  He sings about me all the time, "measurements was 36-25-34."  And yes, I can work it.  I am sure I won't get a muffin top if I go with the hip hugger jeans.  No, I don't have any emotional baggage from the last piece of crap I dated.  I am completely content with myself and don't pop diet pills to lose another three pounds so I can fit into my skinny jeans.  

Every site you shop on is going to offer you images too.  You can pull up a picture of that purse you want and zoom in to see the pattern.  Your e-mail announces you have new matches and six of the eight have photos.  If we can't see a good picture of what we are looking to buy we are more than likely going not even give it a second glance.  Who cares if there is a 100% review rating and everyone is claiming this is the best purse you'll ever invest $175 in.  It doesn't matter that the potential suitor wrote from his heart and really laid it all out there and previewed his soul.  Nope.  We move on to find something that we are "attracted to."  We won't discuss that there are no reviews for potential suitors.  I'm sure that'd be entirely unfair.  However, for some it might help.  "I know his profile picture looks like a mug shot but he is so much cuter in person."

Internet shopping makes it easy to shop around because there are no eager sales people/suitors to look in the eye as you reject the product/them.  With one click you can move on until you find something that you like better.  These boots are almost what I want, but I'm not in love with them.  Let's head over to DSW.com because I got a coupon in my email.  He's 6'1", makes over a hundred grand a year, drives a BMW.  Crap.  His favorite band is Metallica.  Who listens to that crap?  Next?  Oh look this one loves quiet walks on the beach, dancing in the rain, pina coladas, and apparently crappy 70s music.  Next.  Holy crap!!!!  Payless is having another BOGO.  Should I get these?  I don't really love them but they are 50% off.  Even if I don't love them I didn't spend that much on them.  And if when they arrive I hate them, I'll just return them.    

Yet, the thing missing from internet shopping is the personal experience.  Going into the dressing room and trying on the jeans.  Finding out that yes, you are a size 8 and your butt looks fab in those jeans.  Sitting with a guy and realizing that his favorite movie is Fight Club, and you freakin' hate it but you'll sit with him anyway just to be with him.  Pulling on a pair of shoes and realizing you need a half size larger so you can wear warm socks though the winter.  Talking to a guy covered in car grease who has a really great smile and will clean up nicely if he just uses that goop that smells like oranges.  Spending time with a friend going through every rack and just enjoying a few hours of girl time.  Learning to change the tire on your car not because he'll ever make you do it but because it means you get to be together.      

In the past week I've received four pairs of boots in the mail.   (Shut up!  I beat the crowds even the ones doing the online shopping.)  The first two pair that arrived I didn't get too excited over.  I've worn one pair and I'm debating returning the other.  I received two other pair today and I can't wait to wear them to work tomorrow.  The hardest part is going to be choosing which ones to wear and then finding the clothes to go with them.  I'm pretty sure that everyone else would appreciate it if I wore clothes with the boots tomorrow.  It was hit-or-miss with them.  I always had the fail safe of returning them which probably helped to keep the apprehension at bay as I hit the "submit order" button.

It is a lot harder to return the guy.  When you've brought him home you can't just throw him back in the box and send him back.  The boots will never know they didn't have a home with me.  Someone else will come along and take them home.  (Surprisingly there are more woman that I thought that have feet as large as mine.)  Guys are more like puppies.  They may not eat your shoes but they'll complain about how many you have.  They have to be fed, watered, and encouraged to bathe.  And they have a tendency to know when you've about reached your limit.  They'll turn those sad eyes on you and offer up a lick (the puppies get your mind out of the gutter) or an apology and you can't help but give them one more chance.  They'll end up staying until they've grown on you and you can't imagine your life without them.  Even as you walk them in the middle of winter in the middle of the night in the middle of a snowstorm.

Yes, I turned 30 a month ago.  No, I never thought on my thirtieth birthday I'd be single.  I figured by now I'd be married with at least two kids or maybe four.  Somehow though I can't bring myself to browse the online dating websites looking for "The One."  I'd probably miss a great one because it is so much easier to be shallow when you are reading a profile.  And despite the probably massive number of grammatical errors that are floating around in this entry, a large pet peeve is misspellings and lack of punctuation.  I'd move on quickly if there were no definitive paragraphs.  I may buy my boots online but maybe if I start buying them in stores there'll be a chance encounter in aisle six with a really great guy that doesn't look good on paper but is beyond irresistible.

Learning

Karenkingsbury.com


Learning As a loyal reader of Karen Kingsbury's books and an avid reader, I've read every one of Kingsbury's books on their release date.  I adored the Baxter family series and found the Take series to be harder to get into.  When Bailey Flanigan's story was set to come out I found myself anticipating stories of struggles and temptations applicable to a life-long Christian girl who must move from the comfort of her home and the protection of her family to a world that is always tempting and trying to overthrow the presence of God.  I found myself sorely disappointed.

I flew through these books quickly.  There wasn't a lot to stop and think about what I would do if in that situation.  Bailey can't shake Cody from her thoughts.  The only time she isn't thinking about him is when there is a substitute or distraction in Brandon.  Brandon isn't in her thoughts unless she is caught up in his "energy."  Bailey dwells on Cody.  Brandon is more out of sight and out of mind.

Bailey is an irritating character at best.  After being brow-beaten into believing that Bailey is a good-Christian girl with no faults, we are treated to her brief moments of "struggle" that end nearly as soon as they begin.  Her anger at Cody is quickly diminished.  Her guilt over her friend is over-ridden by Brandon coming to visit.  People around her are envious because she is just so amazing. She's more Jamie Sullivan of A Walk To Remember than the girl down the pew from you on Sunday morning.  Authors often times have a hard finding a balance between being unique so that the world notices the difference between non-Christians and Christians or portraying them as the too perfect to be real Christians that the world despises.

Cody is perhaps the best example of a real Christian.  We get into his head and see his struggles.  We understand he doesn't want his life to touch the Flanigans and especially Bailey.  However, perhaps there in lies the issue.  Cody's imperfect life would be a blemish on the Flanigans.  Oh they love him for sure.  But why doesn't he trust that they'd support and protect he and Bailey from his mother's addiction and boyfriend?  Maybe there is the fault in why so many find Christians to be hypocritical.  However, I cheer for Cody.  He made a bad decision in not being honest so that there wasn't a chasm of silence between he and Bailey.  He picked up though.  Found purpose.

Brandon Paul is perhaps the largest contradiction in the book.  He pursues Bailey with worldly possessions and experiences that money provides, yet he has become too perfect.  Where is the struggle he has with picking roles?  Is he seeing them through fresh eyes?  It isn't that I don't want to see Redemption for Brandon Paul (or the entertainment industry he represents) but you can't walk in two worlds or serve two masters.  Dayne at least struggled more.

I'd love to see Ashley and Landon receive a book of their own.  Ashley's heartbreak was palpable.  It was out of place though in a book about the story between Cody and Bailey.

Overall, this books is a nice diversion but I'm anxious for the Bailey Flanigan series to come to an end.  For Bailey to ride off into the sunset with her prince (whomever he may be at this point I don't care).  I want to get back to the struggles of real Christians.

Yeah, it is a movie review

I cried for an hour last night.  And everyone in my life should be grateful they didn't receive phone calls at 2am when I stopped.  I watched Remember Me last night.  I am so glad I didn't watch it in the theater.  I cried at the end and then I needed to absorb.   I was aware of the premise and the ending so there weren't many surprises.

Stop reading here if you don't want to know details.  This is not a blow-by-blow description but rather my observations.

Except - the whole stinkin' movie.  I'd been told the beginning starts out kind of slow but then the movie gets good until the end which sucks.  I wholeheartedly disagree.  If you are looking for a feel good movie with a happily ever after then don't bother seeing this movie.  If you like movies that mean something and can twist you up then Remember Me is for you.

The beginning of the movie represents the reality of how mundane life can be.  Each character is struggling with something.  Tyler, the male lead, is not perfect to complement Ally, the female lead.  They are both flawed characters with struggles, internal battles, and real life issues.  They understand each other.

We are introduced to Tyler's divorced parents, his artistic little sister, his quirky roommate, and his stepfather.  Ally's mother died when she was a child and she lives with her detective father.  Each character is flawed and the relationships flawed.  Tyler resent his father for his part in his brother's death.  Tyler's father disregards his sister, Caroline, which angers Tyler and continues to widen the gap between them.

Through a series of events Tyler and Ally meet.  He's tortured to her free-spirit.  She orders dessert first in case she chokes on the entree and dies.  She wants to enjoy the part that she most desires.  He doesn't enjoy much.

We walk through their lives as their romantic relationship grows and their familial relationships change.  Tyler is Caroline's champion.  He'd go to the ends of the world for her.  Case in point the phone call and dinner he makes on her behalf to ensure that his father is present at her art showing.  He'd clearly do anything for her including suffer through time spent with his father.  Tyler is a support to his mother who relies on him when their father disappoints Caroline.  Ally is loved by an overprotective father who can't let his 21 year old daughter gain her independence.  He fears losing her so he holds on too tight.  Eventually he loses her for holding on too tight.  Aidan, Tyler's roommate, is a catalystic sidekick.  (Did I just make up a word?)  His presence jump starts pivotal situations that lead us down this road.

We watch these characters and their various views and expectations on love.  Tyler is aggravated by his father's lack of affection for Caroline.  Tyler's father believes she knows of his love because of the material things he provides her.  Tyler is present for his mother and sister when they need him.  Ally and her father make it work since it is just the two of them.  Tyler tolerates Aidan's antics.

This movie is as much about the interpretation of love as the perception of love.  Sometimes you have to know the person you are with so you don't miss their displays of affection.  And sometimes you have to know the person you want to express affection for so they don't misunderstand your affection.  Tyler's father loves him with a tough love and works to give Caroline a privileged life.  Caroline wants her father to acknowledge her.  Ally wants freedom and her father doesn't want to lose her.

Family

Family

Enough said

Baseball Players

Baseball players if ever need something to fall back on would be qualified to be Rockettes.

An Afternoon In The Garden With God

I come to the garden alone while the dew is still on the roses 
And the voice I hear falling on my ear the Son of God discloses


In the quiet afternoon I seek out my favorite spot in the midst of a serene garden.  Here I can find peace and contentment.  It's a place of respite from the craziness of life.  I sit on the stone bench and close my eyes soaking in the gentleness.

It isn't long before I feel a presence and God sits down beside me.  We meet here on occasion.  He sits next to me and we experience the silence together.  I finally turn and offer him my best "'sup, God?"  He doesn't respond but patiently waits.  I turn my eyes back to the flora before me.  He waits.  I take a deep breath and close my eyes.

I feel Him rise up from next to me.  With disappointment He turns to horizon and simply sighs.  The rocks, the trees, the stream, the flowers, the grass come alive in worship.  A song of praise hums from these inanimate beings.

"My child, My Glory will not go unrecognized.  If you will not cry out then Creation will sing the praise of its Master."  He turns and leaves me in the garden where the rocks cry out in my stead.

"I have all of eternity to sing your praise." I protest, promise, and argue in one ridiculous statement.

"If you can't praise me here and now, what makes you think you'll want to for eternity?"

"Silly Rabbit, it isn't about you." God

Luke 19:40
"I tell you," he replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out."


What prevents you from worshiping God?  What excuses do you give to Him?  There are so many to choose from yet none will pacify Him.  In Bible Study we learned that God has a narcissistic jealous side.  He desires the praises of His people and He won't suffer silence in the presence of His glory.  


"The songs are too slow."


"His shirt doesn't match his pants."


"There are too many songs."


"I can't stand that long."


"My feet are killing me in these shoes, but these shoes are fierce."


"I don't like who leads the worship team."


"Sunday is my one day to sleep in.  I don't like to get up early to be on time for church."


"Did you hear about so & so?"


"Church is supposed to be an hour long and the pastor has been going over."


"There aren't enough instruments."


"You don't know what is going on in my life."


 Do you think God really cares?  Of course He does.  He cares about every aspect of your life.  Do you think though that God accepts these as viable excuses for not praising Him?  Time to check the attitude at the door.  It isn't about you, it is about Him.  If you can't worship Him because you are having a bad hair day then really do you worship Him at all?  


I've used excuses when I couldn't worship Him.  I blamed it on the leadership of the church.  I've blamed it on the hypocrisy in the pews.  I've blamed in on my schedule.  I've blamed it on my circumstances.  I've blamed it on everything but the reality of my failure to hand it all over to God.  God sat back and listened to my poor reasoning for why I was sitting in church doing my duty but not seeking Him.  He listened but His heart broke.  He sat within arm's reach but I failed to reach for Him.  To find the comfort, love, acceptance, and joy that He offered. He sat there waiting, knowing at some point that I'd overcome my attitude.  I'd check the attitude at the door and allow Him to fill the void in my life.  I'd trade the superfluous for the fulfilling.  


It doesn't matter who I stand, sit, or pray next to.  It's all His time.  It is about Him and me.  There is a direct line between the two of us that He allows His love, grace, mercy, and strength to flow through.  


I refuse to let an inanimate object offer Him more praise than I do.  He created me to love and worship Him.  I won't let a hunk of minerals do better than I do.

Heaven is going to suck

for some people.

John Newton wrote Amazing Grace but the verse that I have come to love is considered the fourth verse and it is credited to Harriet Beecher Stowe.  History of Amazing Grace

When we've been there ten thousand years
Bright shining as the sun
We've no less day to sing
God's praise than when we first begun

I can't wait for that day.  There will be no clock to tell me it is time to stop singing.  There will be no distraction from Him.  There will be no bills to pay and therefore no work.  There will be no obstacle to giving my everything over to Him.  There will be no more human nature to prevent my absolute adoration to Him.

I think there are many Christians out there who haven't taken into consideration what Heaven will really be like.  It won't be rainbows and puppy dogs.  It'll be an eternity of uninterrupted praise.  We won't magically love it in Heaven if we dislike it on Earth.

I envy Christian musicians who make their living praising God.  They spend hours in the studio repeating songs of praise and worship to God.  I know there is probably some concern over the timing, tempo, right notes of the songs they sing, but when God's presence arrives and they emerge themselves in relationship with Him praise happens.

"God desires and is pleased to communicate with us through the avenues of our minds, our wills, and our emotions.  The continuous and unembarrassed interchange of love and thought between God and the souls of redeemed men and women is the throbbing heart of the New Testament religion."  A.W. Tozer

I sometimes stumble on that unembarrassed part.  Not because I'm ashamed of my God.  I've gotten over being a part of the minority who will acknowledge God with their thoughts, word, and actions.  I can't sing for crap.  The best singing that I can possibly do is mime singing.  I can't hit the right notes.  I don't hear the right notes.  I hate when someone says "let's sing this next verse with just our voices."  My singing voice is as talented as my trombone playing.

However, if I embrace the true spirit of worship then I won't get embarrassed by my singing.  Worship is completely about Him.  If I enter into worship with Him concerned only about strengthening our relationship, finding His will, following His commands then there is no reason for my embarrassment. Sure I was embarrassed when someone in my life pointed out that auditioning for American Idol shouldn't be my goal.  It embarrassed me at the time, but now I'm thankful that someone cared enough about me to set me on the right path.  God is no Simon Cowell.  To which we can all offer an "amen" and a "praise Jesus."

"... God's highest desire is that every one of His believing children should so love and so adore Him that we are continuously in His presence, in Spirit and in truth."

A.W. Tozer in Whatever Happened to Worship

I'll Never

I swore in March of 2004 that I'd never live in Timberlake Apartments in Orlando, Fl.  I might have been an NSYNC fan but I drew the line at the overabundance of boy band references that surrounded living in Timberlake Apartments in Boy Band Central.  Turns out that the rent was affordable, the apartments well kept, and the area convenient.  I lived there for nearly a year.

"I think God is crying out to us: 'Don't just do something.  Stand there!  Enter into a love relationship with Me.  Get to know Me.  Adjust your life to me.  Let Me love you and teach you about Myself as I work through you.'  A time will come when action is required, but we must not short-circuit the relationship (Psalm 37:7).  Your relationship with God must come first.  Out of your walk with God, He accomplishes His plans for our world."

Henry and Richard Blackaby with Claude King

I had an interesting conversation with a friend the other day.  We were discussing how sometimes saying "I'll never...." means you almost surely will.  In Bible Study we are reading Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God we read that passage tonight.  A few pages later this passage is waiting for us to discuss in the upcoming weeks:

"God calls you to a relationship in which He is Lord-where you are willing to do and be anything He chooses.  If you respond to Him as Lord, He may lead you to do things you would have never dreamed of."

I've put limitations on God.  I wouldn't think of telling God "no" when He has directly called me to do something.  However, I have said "I'll never...."  I think God is challenging me to face down my resolution to never and asking me how obedient I'll be.  I am completely clueless about where God might be leading me.  Maybe he's testing to what end I'll be obedient.  He might be asking if I'll follow His will despite adversity or judgement.  Will I overlook my own thoughts on how life should play out so I'll follow His script?

There are more than twenty chapters left to this book.  The Will of God (following His Will, learning His Will, knowing His Will) isn't the easiest subject to find clarity on.  Right now I'm accepting the challenge to strengthen my relationship with God so that when He calls me to be what He chooses I'll be ready to follow.    

Bouquets

Jess these are for you =

Bouquets are hard to find...  I like these but I don't. 

I think the one I like the most is...

Wedding Dresses for a Fake Engagement

Reasons for Arranged Marriages

So after considering the reasons to get married and the reasons not to get married, I realized there are reasons for arranged marriages.  The following are potential reasons that you might put the pressure of choosing a spouse in someone else's hands.

• Avoid determining where a good place to meet people might be.  Nothing sucks more than trying to go meet people that you share interests with and striking out.
• Hopefully the person that you ask to arrange your marriage will take into consideration your interests and personality before recommending you to someone.  This isn't a DVD rental; you can't just pop it out and go to the next on the list.
• Avoiding the whole dating scene.  Do you really need more?
• The first date could be a group date with the person responsible for arranging the marriage. 
• If things don't work you can blame the person arranging the marriage instead of attempting the "it isn't you its me" routine.
• There are better things to do with your time than worry that every person you're attracted to "might be the One!"  

If you are going to have someone arrange your marriage make sure you pick the right person.  I have a couple of friends that I'd completely trust to arrange my marriage because they are made of Awesome.  This is to a level higher than made of Win.  For instance they accept what I'm attracted to.  My father would never be asked to arrange my marriage because he doesn't appreciate certain qualities like I do.  I happen to like a scruffy guy and my father would have me with guy who resembles a Marine.  Don't ask someone who wants to fix you up with a carbon copy of their spouse.  What works for them may not work for you.  Don't fall for the "he's the male version of you" because you need something to hold your interest.    

Top Reasons Not To Get Married

I believe in examining every situation from every possible angle.  Which means we are going to look at the top reasons to not get married.  Again same intro applies here only the disclaimer changes.


1.  Losing girl's weekends.


2.  Sharing a bed.  Seriously I love having a queen sized bed all to myself.  Sometimes I'm even mean and don't let the cats in to share and they are like 1/16 the size of the average American male.


3.  The potential that he might snore.  


4.  Losing control of the remote.


5.  Having to make dinners that consist of more than what is on the fast food menu or what comes out of a box.


6.  Having someone to go to every function with you and trying to remember to tell them.


7.  Football season and baseball season.  Go with me here.  Do you think a Red Sox fan should marry a Yankee fan?


8.  Having a driver.  Would make singing at the top of your lungs to release stress potentially irritating to the driver. 






* I would like to one day be married.  None of the aforementioned reasons are important enough to prevent me from getting married.  I felt that I needed to list them to be fair.  My point of view on marriage is that I am the marrying kind so I'm hoping more for the "one day" than the "hey it could happen."

Top Reasons To Get Married

This is the top reasons to get married post.  I am not numbering because reasons are likely to be added or removed depending on how pertinent they are at that stage of life.  *

1.  To have a full time driver

2.  To have a cheap mechanic or at least someone who can tell me I'm overpaying mine.

3.  To reduce the amount of junk food I eat or to keep the "odd ducks" who are strangely attracted to me from bringing me Godiva, doughnuts, and every form of chocolate imaginable.  

4.  To have a tag-a-long to all the things that I don't want to go to so we can suffer together.

5.  To be able to answer "yes" when meeting someone new and they ask if I'm married.

6.  To reduce the number of guys who freak me out and then ask me out.  At least I can be freaked out and unavailable.

7.  Tax deduction.

8.  Lower car insurance.

9.  To relieve my father's worries that he'll never be rid of me.


After spending the weekend with one of my best friends, he pointed out another factor.


10.  To learn to cook meals that don't come out of a box or off a fast food menu.

* Disclaimer - I believe in marriage and fully support marriage and hope to be married one day.  This is simply a humorous look into why I might want to get married sooner rather than later and not the reasoning for why I will get married.


** Additional disclaimer - This is not meant to be serious but a comical outlook on weddings.

Cast of Characters

While I sat through Bethany Assembly's The Easter Song tonight it hit me.  Jesus wasn't the only one fulfilling the will of the Father.

It took so many people to put the Savior on the Cross.  The plan was set in motion when Satan engaged God and ultimately got himself removed from God's presence.  We had a hero to oppose our villain.  However this story would have many supporting characters that would all be instrumental in fulfilling God's plan to restore man to himself.

There was an entire crowd of people who called for Jesus' death when Pontius Pilate and Caesar couldn't overrule them.  They caved in to the peer pressure and gave in to the crowd.  There were the Roman soldiers who inflicted the physical pain and offered up the verbal abuse.  There was the person who supplied the lumber that ultimately became a cross.  There was the whip maker.  Someone fastened together a crown of thorns.

Jesus died for the each and everyone of them.  He offered redemption to the soldier who nailed him to the cross.  He forgave the soldier who pierced his side with a sword.  He loved every one in the crowd who stood and watched.  He died for the actions of Adam & Eve.  He died for the sins that had been committed and all the sins that would be committed.

Sometimes our actions can appear wrong when really they are part of God's Will.  We can't condemn the soldiers or the crowd because without them Jesus would have found another way to the cross.  They were called to take part in the greatest sacrifice ever made.  I wouldn't want to be them but just as surely as their actions put Jesus on the cross my sins contributed to His presence.

I believe that men & women would find it easier to get along if they just accepted the differences instead of trying to find the reasoning, an explanation, or an understanding behind them.

Super Bowl Game & Commercial Thoughts & Observations

I'm voting for the Saints (Geaux Saints!).  Every year the Patriots won the Super Bowl they were the underdogs.  I want David to win this battle.  

Peyton Manning just looks miserable.  That is not a "I'm in the zone and going out to win" face.  He looks like he got treated by Botox and can't smile.  

The thing I'm learning from all these beer commercials is that I don't want to be a beer drinker if I'm going to look that retarded.  Bring me the Mojito party commercials.  At least they appear to be enjoying their alcohol induced parties and not going to be an epic fail in the survival of the smartest after a plane crash.  

It is clear to me that men don't understand women.  A bunch of men running around in their underwear does nothing for females.  Especially when the choice is tighty whities.  Seriously.  At least bust out the CK underwear models and the boxer briefs.  

The NFL might take into consideration that women are a huge part of their viewership.  Appears to me that SB 44 has been mistaken for the "boy's club."  Really?  The Dodge Charger is going to be the only testosterone saving decision in order to keep the man card?  Really?  If your car is going to be the only decision that your lady is going to give you at least make it a statement - a pick up, a SUV, a crotch rocket.  Dodge Charger?  No thanks.  

So CBS has the #1 Comedy, Drama, New Series, &  the Super Bowl.  They also have the #1 Halftime Show for the geriatrics crowd.  

I'd like to take this moment to personally express my gratitude to Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake for completely ruining the halftime show until the FCC again allows performers under the age of 30 to headline again.  Until then they are relegated to the task of performing the National Anthem as a wardrobe malfunction during the Star Spangled Banner is highly unlikely.  

Although that outfit that Carrie Underwood was a malfunction.   Girlfriend needed a splash of color.  All white (outside of weddings) isn't cool before, after, or on Labor Day, Memorial Day, or any other day.

The Who managed to give the CSI franchise free publicity as they performed all three of the themes to the trilogy.  I'm forever grateful that television show theme songs are thirty seconds long.    

Signs you should hang up your microphone & fold up the leather pants:

You worry your dentures might fall out if you rock out too hard.

You wear bifocals.

You lip sync.

Your grandkids know your music because they watch CSI.

On side kick are you kidding me?  I like it!!!!!!  

Touchdown... oh are you kidding me...  that is some amazing pigskin.

Cat just got so excited over the Saints touchdown she fell off the back of the couch.  

Red one, green one, blue one, gray one, black one, white one.....  Might be the best commercial I've seen tonight.  

Come on Saints!!!! I'd like to see the Colts lose like I enjoy watching the Yankees lose.  

I'm not sure what Kia was thinking with the life-size sock monkey puppet but it is creepy.  And I don't know what the Cousin It hamster thing is but it is odd.  

No Good!!!!  Geaux Saints!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Who Dat!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

My vote for MVP is a write in - the referee who overturned the incomplete on the two point conversion.

Come on Saints defense.  All you need to do is stop them.  Hold them.  Give your city a championship!  

INTERCEPTION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  

That my friends is a beautiful thing.  And that kick off.  A thing of beauty.  

WHO DAT!


Overall I'm glad the Saints won otherwise this would have been a disappointing night.  The commercials sucked.  

On This Road Of Life

There are passengers and there are drivers. Some car commercial. May have been Mazda before the Zoom Zoom days.

In the unnecessary amount of time that I spend driving to work every day thanks to the wonder that is Connecticut drivers, I've observed the manner in which you drive can be the manner in which you approach life.

I spend lots of time in traffic. Sometimes bumper to bumper and sometimes just losing-to-a-snail slow. I've observed through four months of daily gridlock that there are two types of mergers in the world.

Merger A or stick-my-nose-so-far-in-they-won't-be-able-to-ignore-me is the type to race up a lane that will come to an end in 100 feet and force someone to slam on their breaks to allow them to merge. This shows a concern only for one's self and a belief that others will stop for you.

Merger B or take-the-opportunities-as-they-come is the type to see an opening and after assessing that merging won't cause anyone harm or an unnecessary slamming of the brakes they use their blinker and merge. In the midst of their merge they are fully prepared to stop or relent the space should a Merger A arrive on the scene.

Merger A tends to be the catalyst to a lot of the traffic that holds me hostage and that's just irritating.

Chocolate is good for your health. I'm a much happier and content person with a moderate amount of chocolate added to my diet. This is beneficial to your health because a happy me means I'm less likely to kick your butt.