"don't talk to any toy you don't know"

Behold Owo, in his preferred Woody-Buzz-viewing position.

Isn't he yummier every day?




Happy Wednesday (to infinity and beyond!)

weekend wrap-up

Well now I'm feeling all compelled to get caught up on my movie watching.  I was working tonight but had the Golden Globes on just for the company, of course.  Those award shows always aggravate me while simultaneously stirring up my movie-love.  

I usually don't watch them but have recently started tuning in again for the sole purpose of "getting" all the Twitter jokes and commentaries and also jokes.  Twitter on awards nights - and pageant nights - makes the rest of the Twitter-year worth it all.  Nothing like giggling with random stranger-friends from all over the good old US of A.


Anyhoo, now I'm filled with a renewed commitment to catch Lincoln and maybe Argo (because that Ben Affleck is such a cutie-patootie and he worked SO HARD on it) and I am now officially SUPER ANXIOUS to get to Les Mis with my Kari.


I have no comment on the absurd wardrobe of most of the apparently starving starlets but I would be delighted to make 'em a sandwich given the opportunity, or better yet a casserole.  With cream of whatever soups.  And sour cream.  And cheese.


And now I can't believe I've rambled on for several paragraphs about Hollywood when I had much more interesting things going on this weekend.

Starr came to town!!  I was SO GLAD!  And if I was SO GLAD it's safe to say my Kari was positively giddy.  She drove down to spend the weekend with Kari & Peyton (& I suppose Drew, but whatever) and they came over last night for dinner, along with Katie & Audrey.

It was so nice to have some girls to feed and look at and I'm just gonna say it, to delight in.  

Girls.  I just love 'em.


Audrey Faith stayed after dinner and we had a sleepover!  With precious little sleep!  There might have been a bit of sheet changing and bed swapping but I'll never say.  I reported on Twitter that I kept taking my pillow to where she was not, but she just kept right on finding me.  Bed, couch, bed couch, bed...you get the idea.  Apparently she was oblivious to my escape efforts, and she certainly did not take them personally.


I love that sweet girl so much I can't even tell you.  


We conducted another interview that I'll share with you later in the week...and wow-oh-wow can that little girl talk!!!  My head was spinning trying to keep up, so I finally decided to type out her running dialogue for about five minutes straight, and if you really really want me to I'll throw that on here as well.  

You'll be relieved to know I drew the line at home movies.  

This time.



Y'all take care and enjoy your Monday :)

P.S.  T minus five-ish days & counting until I'm sniffing the air at THE SEA.

on caffeine and ducks

Well I thought this might be a rambly kind of day and I was right. 

Woody never left his side, even while hurtling through the mine shaft.

Truth be told my head feels like it's going implode, likely because I"m kinda/sorta dieting and am therefore cutting waaay back on the Pepsi, which means I'm cutting waaay back on the caffeine.


I haven't really been suffering so much from the lack of fountain-Pepsi-on-ice, but the lack of caffeine is quite possibly going to kill me dead.


I'm not kidding.


Unfortunately, it appears the pounding misery has rendered me incapable of coherency.  I suspect work will be a delight this evening.


If any of you have any detoxing suggestions I'm quite happy to hear them, and try them, and embrace them as my own.  

In other news Shayne landed himself another buck today.  He was quite pleased.  I myself was proud but also struggled with the ick factor of seeing him drag said deer across the lawn with it's tongue all flopping out.


I know; I'm sorry.  Even if only in your mind's eye, you didn't need to see that.


Take a look at this yummy instead...

 


One more thing and then I'm going to take some more Excedrin and lie in a quiet place and long for the metabolism of my youth...


Duck Dynasty.


I cannot overstate the delight of this show.  

Hey Mom?  I suspect you and Larry would love it.  

Donita?  My-friend-who-hates-TV?  Yup, you might just love it.  

Pretty much everyone I've ever met in all my days?  I would say there's a 92% chance you will, in fact, love it.  


I was laughing out loud in the dark at 2:00 this morning at some of their shenanigans.  Such sweetly good-natured fun!  And OH THE DEADPAN DELIVERY.  

Sheer television perfection.



Duck Dynasty.  Try it.

These photos are in the category of having nothing at all to do with anything said here today.  


For future reference, when I'm old and have even less memory than I do today, these would be my sweeties sliding down the oh-so-scary, mine-shaft-themed slide at the pumpkin patch as we celebrated Audrey Faith's fourth birthday.


Because I never ever want to forget all the cute.
 

 

Happy Tuesday y'all!

 

andy griffith (sniff)

I'm a child of the 60s/70s and I love television.  

Now I know all the reasons why I probably shouldn't.  I know all the arguments I give to my family about ditching cable and protecting my grandchildren from being inundated by all the terrible that is TV in 2012.  But still.  I love me some television.

I enjoy all manner of TV offerings, but some things never change, like ever.

Like my love for Andy Griffith.

I imagine if my back were against the wall, so to speak, I would have to say my very favorite television show in the history of ever would be The Andy Griffith Show.  

Andy Taylor was one of the kindest, gentlest, most patient dads/friends/nephews/bosses ever portrayed and I might have loved him just a little bit, in spite of the, you know, fictionality of his existence.  

Even when I was small I somehow understood AG's genius in making the character so multi-layered and interesting in the face of the never-ending silliness going on around him.

Many years later, when Matlock came along he seemed to slide into that role effortlessly, and if felt as if he had always been Ben Matlock, and I loved his curmudgeonly, cranky-but-lovable Ben nearly as much as Andy!  I loved how he would break into hymns on both shows, and in Matlock he would be shown at choir practice and what-have-you.  My mom said if he didn't love Jesus he surely was an excellent actor ;)

(I suspect both to be true.)

I'm sure to some of you this might sound lame, but AG really did feel like family in some way.  I didn't have grandparents active in my life, but he seemed like he'd be a good one ;)  I might have teared up a bit the day he died. 

Not because I'm nuts, mind you.  

(Although of course I am!)

I suppose it was because we've lost a lovely man who reminded us that there is great beauty to be found in simply loving those around us & living our lives with quiet dignity and contentment.

Or something like that.

Anyhoo,

It's been a difficult, and arduous, and somewhat difficult process, but I finally have my top five favorite Andy Griffith episodes of all time whittled down...to six.  

or actually seven.

It's the best I could do. 

And they're in no particular order, because again...the best I could do.

Since we're remembering Andy, I decided to omit the episodes that focused specifically on other cast members because SO MANY.  These, of course, would include anything Barney (PERFECTION), and the ever-delightful Ernest T. Bass (OHMYWORD!) and Aunt Bea playing the warden or Goober taking the car apart.  

The line had to be drawn somewhere people, and today is all about Andy.

So without further adieu, here are my top favorite memories from The Andy Griffith Show:

The Pickle Story

"I don't know how I can face the future when I know there's eight quarts of these pickles in it."  (Barney)

A Feud is a Feud

"Their daddies could have saved themselves the expense of a double funeral if they just would've let them had a cheap wedding."  (Andy)

Alcohol and Old Lace

"And this booze you've been sellin' ain't legally recognized either so I've gotta take this ax and pow, pow, pow!"  (Barney)

Andy, the Marriage Counselor

"Good mornin' Dear."  

"Good mornin' Honey."

(Ha!)

The Loaded Goat

"Andy, are you sayin...?  "Yep, somewhere wandering around Mayberry is...a loaded goat." (Barney/Andy)

"You would have to show up today Otis; about one loaded goat at a time is all we can handle!" (Andy)

Dinner at Eight

"Yes, I know that already.  Now I'm goin' over to Helen's to eat my third supper, and then I'm comin' back...and I'm gonna kill you."  (Andy)

And because it's as intertwined with my Christmas memory as the cupcakes we eat, likely because I've seen it every Christmas Eve since, well, birth...my favorite ever episode of The Andy Griffith Show is Christmas Story.

"Do you mean to tell me that you're gonna spend Christmas in jail for two measly dollars?" (Andy)

(As Ben sings along to Away in a Manger while he peeks through the bars of the window at all the happy, I have this powerful urge to go hug a cranky person.  True story.)

 Thanks for the oh-so-sweet memories, Andy!

p.s.  Vote for your favorite episode in my sidebar & I'll post the results next week :)

sunday six

I have one day off each week.  That day is Saturday.  

Ergo, Saturday should be my favorite day of the week.

And yet, it's not.

Sunday.  

That would be my favorite day of the week.  

I love love Sundays.  

The sun shines brighter when it's Sunday.  The warm air is warmer and the cool air more refreshing.  Nothing in the history of eating can top Sunday dinner and I think you know I'm saying truth.

...and y'all, can I get an amen on the delight that is the Sunday nap?

****************

I leave you with the following six.  On Sunday.

Ergo, my Sunday Six.

(I apologize for all the ergo-ing.  I don't even know so I won't try to explain.)

1.   If you spend oh, I don't know, an entire afternoon sitting cross-legged on the floor cutting up ancient t-shirts into 11 x 13 squares oblongs for your Jermy's college graduation that is in approximately not-enough-days-away, your musculoskeletal system might just scream at ya all.night.long.   Consider yourself warned.  Keep yourself  hydrated and take small breaks along the way.  

Pace yourself is what I'm sayin.'

2.  I'm not necessarily proud of it but I might have watched the entire eight episodes.   And I might have watched them all in one day.  And that day might have been yesterday.  And I could have been watching while sitting cross-legged on the floor cutting squares oblongs of old t-shirts.

Or maybe not.  I don't wanna say.

I'm a lightweight history buff and also enjoy me some good drama, so when I discovered it was on Netflix I knew it was only a matter of time.  

Of course I didn't know them personally, but frankly I didn't find it particularly shocking...it rang kinda true to my formed-all-my-life perceptions.  

I really don't understand why the family was in such a snit about it.  I'm no historian but I certainly don't think it broke any shocking ground...nor was it particularly hateful toward anyone. I just don't understand all their crankiness.  

Do they really think we think those people were as dreamy-wonderful as they projected back in the day? 

I'll never understand the very wealthy, but I imagine it's not so easy to seemingly have everything, but still no control over the things that we humans actually care about most.

All that being said.  They sure were one sad bunch of family.  I feel sorry for them for that.

3.  Amelia's lemon tea.  Amen.

4.  Jeremy's almost finished!!!  We are rapidly approaching giddy around here.  I couldn't be prouder of him if I had birthed him myself. 

5.  I can't seem to get enough of Needtobreathe's The Reckoning.  Elijah is a fan of the air guitar in the back seat, which makes me all manner of tickled.  My goal is for him to enjoy car dancing with his Aunt Nay for as long as possible before he understands just how embarrassing that actually is.  The other day we were "performing" Slumber while waiting in line at Wendy's and the nice grandpa walking inside to get his single with cheese stopped and chatted it up with us for a minute.  He seemed very amused by our my humiliation.  In retrospect, I imagine we were quite the sight.  Old(ish) grandma in front seat exhibiting a shocking lack of rhythm singing along with, well, Elijah being full-on Elijah in the back seat.  My daughters would have been horrified.  For me.

6.  Claritin double-teamed with Flonase, with a brand-new box of Kleenex.   

It's the little things, folks.

Bonus!

Awwww....

Happy Sunday!

31 Days: I Love the Occasional List

Since I'm feeling hopelessly behind in pretty much everything in my whole life it seems today would be a swell time for a listy offering.  

Lists are this busy fatigued lazy blogger's way of emptying out a few of the thoughts that rattle around inside the ol' cerebral cortex.

1.  I heart Chipotle.  I love some good Mexican food so much that if my grandchildren were there I would happily brave the thousand-degree temperatures and move to Texas (home of the best Mexican food EVER - except maybe, you know, MEXICO) just so I could consume it on a daily basis.

On a side note, how is it possible to love Mexican food with my whole heart and yet hate cilantro more than any other food group in the history of ever?  

I have no answers for this great mystery of life but am grateful that it's a complexity we can all live with.

2.  I don't understand how this is even possible but I recently, and by recently I mean in the last 48 hours, viewed the first two seasons of "Sister Wives."  

OH Y'ALL.

I'm a bit chagrined to admit that I found the whole thing riveting.  

RIVETING.  

and I have no earthly idea why.  My fundamental issues with polygamy aside, one man attempting to keep four different wives and 16 children happy just seems like a Terrible Plan fraught with all manner of aggravation and frustration.  However, after watching a few episodes I suppose I can see how some women might be drawn to the abundant sense of family, especially if they were lacking in family when young.  

One thing these people are not is lonely, that's for sure.

In my opinion it looks about a zillion times harder and less wonderful than the way God designed it, and frankly, I'm thinking marriage is challenging enough without us mucking things up unnecessarily.

I do have to say this, though, and I don't mean to be at all mean, but while I really kinda liked all the "wives" - who seem to be devoted mothers and just basically kind people - Kody The Husband is downright goofy.  

Well-intentioned probably, but Y'all... SO GOOFY.

Which leads me to that age-old question.  How in the world do the goofballs end up with FOUR different wives when perfectly nice people like me don't even have a fella?

Just a question. 

Next up in my Netflix-y rotation would be Toddlers and Tiaras.

Because it's all about stimulating the cerebral cortex. 

3.  Audrey just spent a few days with me.  That right there was some grandparenting delight is what that was. 

4.  It dropped from around 80 to around 50 degrees in the span of approximately 12 minutes around here this week.  That makes for some weird weather here in the Valley.  WEIRD WEATHER.

5.  I tried a three-ingredient pumpkin muffin recipe I've seen floating around on Pinterest, and while I have eaten four or five of them I have to admit they prove the old adage, easy is not necessarily better.

(I'm not sure that's an actual adage.)

(What's an adage?)

I'll share my favorite muffin recipe with you soon when I'm less busy fatigued lazy.  It may have more than three ingredients but, how can I say this...it tastes like you actually tried.

6.  My head still hurts.  In other words I still have a headache.  

This is ticking me off because basically I've had a headache for about a hundred years.  Or at least a few weeks.  Same difference.  

I only mention it here because, and I'm just gonna say it, I'm fed up and also sick and tired of having a headache.  Therefore I'm appealing to you, my bloggy friends, for suggestions.  I know lots of ya have had a headache before, so I'm hoping maybe you can give me your tips on how to avoid losing my ever-lovin' mind.

Happy Thursday ;)

**You can catch up on the rest of my 31 Days of Things I Love series right here

I want to live next door to Andy and have my own horse named Patches

Book clubs have been springing up in abundance in the wake of New Year's around these parts, i.e. on the worldwideweb, and as a self-described book lover I feel compelled to participate.  I'm working on another kind've serious and real-life-ish one right now that I will tell you about later, but today is all about the whimsy.

Now I'm not gonna lie.  When Melanie suggested Half Broke Horses I thought whaa?  Where was the glitz?  The glamour? The drama?  I was a little, how can I say this...lukewarm about reading a book that is described as Little House for grown-ups.  Now I love me some Laura Ingalls Wilder, but frankly I have yet to see an episode of Little House on the Prairie that does not make me cry.  And now I ask you, who wants to cry in January?  I'm already suffering from my self-diagnosed SAD and am barely hanging on until the sun comes back out.

That being said, Half Broke Horses = MUCH FUN!  I've literally laughed out loud (pardon the cliche) several times already.  That Lily is one spunky chick, even if she was born back in the olden days, and she really, really makes me want my own horse named Patches. 

Not that I would want to actually, you know, take care of it or anything...or work that hard...or live in a cave-y like home with muddy walls.  But she makes it all seem like this great adventure.

I'm thinking that's what's behind living an extraordinary life...acknowledging, yea EMBRACING the adventure in our ordinary.

Whoa, too heavy...back to the whimsy :)

(Whoa...horses...Haha - I'm out of control this morning!)

Oh how I love me some Andy Griffith, LOVE me some Andy.  Yesterday afternoon I happened upon the episode where their freezer was dying and Aunt Bea kept trying to take care of it without hiring the charlatan-who-charged-too-much to fix it.  Andy was getting more and more exasperated with her, and she was sweet-talking the longtime town butcher into storing all the mediocre beef she got on the cheap from the new guy.  Andy saying to her in various tones and moods throughout the episode to just CALL THE MAN makes me happy and nostalgic and just a touch weepy-eyed.

I can't explain why so I will not try.

Hey - that rhymed!

(sorry again)

The other day I caught an episode of Parks and Recreation on Netflix.  I don't know a lot about this one.  I've only seen a few episodes, and like most everything tv-ish it is probably offensive more than once at some point, but the episodes I have seen have initiated more than a couple of giggles.  That Leslie Knope is just so doggone earnest all the time.  I've gotta say I'm loving her dedication to the Great Town of Pawnee.  You have to appreciate someone that unflappable. and well-meaning. and downright kind.

I suspect she would have gotten along extremely well with Lily and Patches.

Happy Tuesday - I'm off to TMBS!
Renee