Sunday, December 31, 2006

Telemarketers

I wish I had the brains and guts to do this to a telemarketer! You gotta listen, it's hilarious!

Okay, what's the craziest thing you've done or said to a telemarketer?

I think the worst thing I've done to one was to speak Spanish the entire time (which the guy should have known I was full of crap since I only knew a few lines - I only took Spanish for 1 semester in college). Don't ask me why I didn't choose French since I took 5 years of that. I think that's all I've done. Oh yeah, one time a telemarketer called while I was watching CSI: Miami and it was during the actual murder, so I played that into the phone and then said, "Oh crap, I think someone's on the phone". I'm sure they knew it was the TV, but it was still better than having to talk to the morons.

My nephew answers the phone and pretends he's mentally challenged (leave it to a 14 year old - I know that's mean and I never said it was right - matter of fact my mom and I told him not to do that, but it IS funny to hear them stammer on the phone).

So, go ahead, tell me the worst you've done.

YEAR-END SURVEY found at Under the Sea

I rather liked this survey so I thought I'd post mine.

1.) Where did you bring in 2006? At my parents' house - just like every year.
2.) What was your status by Valentine's Day? With J, living in sin.
3.) Were you in school anytime this year? Yes - graduate school.
4.) How did you earn your keep? Working, school and housework.
5.) Did you ever have to go to the hospital? Not that I can recall.
6.) Did you have an encounter with the police? Sadly, yes, but not for anything I did.
7.) Where did you go on vacation? Vacation, what vacation? I had to use all of my vacation time to move into our house!
8.) What did you purchase that was over $500? Uhhh, my house, my appliances, my TV, my furniture...shall I go on?
9.) Did you know anybody who got married? This year? Yes, my third cousin.
10.) Did you know anybody who passed away? Um, my friend's dad passed away and a few people at work (one girl was a good friend).
11.) Have you run into anybody you graduated high school with? Nope.
12.) Did you move anywhere? Yep, I moved from my parents' house to the house I grew up in.
13.) What sporting events did you go to? Tons of St. Louis Cardinals games, including the World Series games and the night we became the WS Champions!
14.) What concerts did you go to? Um...nada.
15.) Are you registered to vote? Yes.
16.) If so, did you do your patriotic duty on Nov. 7? Sorry guys, no, not this year.
17.) Where do you live now? St. Louis, same city, different house.
18.) Describe your birthday. I went out to eat with my parents and nephew because my boyfriend left town for work - he hasn't returned yet.
19.) What's the one thing you thought you would never do but did in 2006? Buy a house.
20.) What is one thing you regretted this year? That my relationship with J is deteriorating and needs some serious work.
21.) What's something you learned about yourself? I can't let go of the past, I don't forgive and forget.
22.) Any new additions to your family? Yep, my babygirl, Beanie! See her on the sidebar?
23.) What was your best month? Probably January because that was the month of hope; hope that things could be great in 2006. It didn't work out that way, but oh well.
24.) What from pop culture will you remember 2006 by? That the Crocodile Hunter was killed (that was so sad and still bothers me).
25.) How would you rate this year with a scale from 1 (crappy) to10 (the best)? In all honesty? A 1, a lowly 1.

Weird Night

I woke up with a pounding headache and aching knees. Yes, it's approximately 6:00 a.m. and I'm wide awake. You see, I have arthritis in my knees and I've had problems with my left knee since I was about 15. My mom, two cousins and my grandma all had/have severe problems with their knees, so I suppose I get it genetically - lucky me. But, there is a silver lining to this dark, dark cloud - I can now tell when it's going to rain. Seriously, I'm not lying. My knees were KILLING me earlier today and yesterday, so I told J that it was going to pour in the next 24 hours. Lo and behold, I wake up to a severe thunderstorm. It's funny, at work they ask me about rain instead of consulting the forecast, I'm usually better at telling if it's going to rain or not. If any of you live in St. Louis, you know that it's a 50/50 chance of rain here everyday and that's about all the information the weather forecasters give you - it's fun, really.

So, Saddam's dead. His hanging occurred at 6:05 a.m. local time (there). It's just weird to me. That man has been a thorn in the international society's side for twenty years or so and now he's dead. I don't know if any of you followed his trial, but I sort of did. The crimes he was convicted of committing were heinous and the man deserves to be dead. NBC reported cheers around Saddam's dead body after the hanging and more celebrations later.

Of course, on the flip side, violence followed the execution. What's frickin' new? Within hours of Hussein's death, bombings killed at least 68 people in Iraq (ya gotta wonder if that was because of his death, or just a normal day over there in Iraq). Of course, Saddam's supporters in the mostly Sunni city of Tikrit have been claiming Saddam a martyr. They ask other supporters not to be sad because he died the death of a holy warrior. Give me a break. That's all I'll say about that.

I'm pretty pumped after learning that my man, Chuck Liddell, beat J's man, Tito Ortiz in UFC 66. I have liked Chuck Liddell for the longest time and J has liked Ortiz for the longest time. We always seem to argue about a fight between these two and I'm just happy that I won! Thanks Iceman! I won't get too specific about the fight, because a lot of people don't like UFC, but just know that it was brutal and Chuck Liddell put a beat down on Ortiz! I love Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell!!

It's been a long, tumultuous year and truth be told, I'm glad it'll be over in less than 24 hours. I know, 2007 will probably be no different, but I'm ready to find out. Actually, I have a feeling 2007 is going to be a rough year for me, and I'm ready to fight it out. So, let's go.

Okay, I'm gonna try to get some sleep, I don't know if that'll be possible, but we'll see.

If I'm not back before tonight, Happy New Year!

New Years' Resolutions

Okay, I know I've been neglecting my little blog and I feel terrible about it. But, I've been sick, with the flu, and I've done nothing but lay on the couch and feel horrible for the last 3 or 4 days. So, I've neglected my blog, my work and my family. Sorry! That explains why I missed last weeks' Thursday Thirteen and I've felt guilty about this since Thursday. But, what can a girl do?

I had planned on doing 13 New Years' Resolutions for this last Thursday Thirteen, so I'm going to go ahead and do that now. What do you think? Ah, it doesn't matter, I'm gonna do it anyway. :O) Yes, I know, I'm a doll.

Mikala's 2007 New Years' Resolutions:

  1. Lose weight (who doesn't have this on their list?)
  2. Learn German so that I don't feel horrible the next time I visit Germany
  3. Exercise daily ( I guess this kind of goes with number 1, but not really)
  4. Finish the upstairs of my house (meaning refinish both bathrooms, finish painting the doors, finish the touch-up paint in the kitchen and paint the spare bedroom)
  5. Clean out the backyard and get rid of anything that is old and rusty
  6. Get a new fence
  7. Clean out the basement and sell or throw away anything that hasn't been used in the last year
  8. Paint the exterior of the house
  9. Go the entire year without a sick day at work (I feel ridiculously guilty about being sick this past week)
  10. No more internet at work (I feel incredibly guilty about that as well - I spend way too much time on the internet at work - so that means I won't be around during the day anymore)
  11. Pay off all of my credit cards and cut up all but one to use for emergencies
  12. Get more serious about my blog (don't just post for the sake of posting - actually journalize my life)
  13. Get my home office organized

Now, those are in no particular order, but I really want to get all of those things done. So, any help that can be thrown my way would be greatly appreciated. Now, I know there's not much any of you could do to help me other than just support me, so that's more than sufficient.

Friday, December 29, 2006

NOT!!

You Are Likely a First Born

At your darkest moments, you feel guilty.
At work and school, you do best when you're researching.
When you love someone, you tend to agree with them often.

In friendship, you are considerate and compromising.
Your ideal careers are: business, research, counseling, promotion, and speaking.
You will leave your mark on the world with discoveries, new information, and teaching people to dream.

As a matter of fact, I'm the baby of the family. I am NOT the first-born. Can you believe it? Blogthings was wrong? Oh the humanity! I'm just kidding, I am not that deranged that I live by these little quizzes, but they sure are fun. I suppose, I don't follow the typical birth order model. Sorry to all the Psychologists and Psychiatrists out there. I didn't mean to mess things up.

Oh, I found this one at Skittles'.

Tuesday, December 26, 2006

Post Christmas Catchup

Okay, I know I haven't been around for a while. But, I was really worn down from all that Christmas work, and then I caught then damn virus I got. I've been home sick from work since Wednesday. I feel really guilty about missing work during the last week of the year, but I just didn't think I could get out of bed. Today is the first day I can even stand up without being so dizzy I fall back down. Plus, I still have a fever. I'll have to give the doctor a call when her office opens. But, anyway. It's been an absolutely horrible week so far...I hope the weekend goes a little better.

Anyway, let's catch up from Christmas...I hope your Christmas was nice.

On Christmas Eve, Beanie and I got to my parents' house around 4:00. When I got there my older nephew, my brother and my parents were there. My younger nephew wouldn't be over until around 7:00, so we decided to open presents around 4:30 without The Snake (younger nephew) and then we would all watch The Snake open his when he got there.

So, we opened gifts - it was a scaled down gift-giving year for us. We each only got one gift (which is odd for us). So, I got my perfume with a frame. My mom got her lotion, bath gel and some other lotiony stuff. My dad got gift cards to Darden Restaurants (Olive Garden, Bahama Breeze, Red Lobster, and Smokey Bones) and my brother got money. That's it, that's the kind of stuff we like.

The boys, on the other hand, got more. We all bought for the boys. So, Z (my older nephew) got some snowboarding pants and a snowboarding coat (unbelieveably expensive crap), a digital camera, an iTunes giftcard, and some money. That didn't include what his parents got him. That was just from my parents and me.

After we opened gifts, we ate - YUMMEH!! We had ham, roast beef, hash brown casserole, pasta salad and a few other little things. It was good stuff. Eventually, my uncle and my cousin came over and we sat around and chatted. THEN, The Snake came over and we all gathered in the living room to watch him open his presents. From J and me, he got a digital camera and a RC Monster Truck that turns into a race car. From my parents he got one of those 20 Questions game, and some other games and toys that I had never heard of. Sorry, I couldn't specify.

Anyway, that was a Christmas Eve - we all sat around and chatted. My cousin got my mom, my uncle and me stuck on this one song from the 80's and none of could figure out who sang it. You know that song, "Nobody's gonna break my stride, nobody's gonna slow me down, oh no, I got to keep on movin'"? Yeah, that was the song and none of could remember who sang it. After a few searches on the internet, we found it - it was Matthew Wilder (oh my - who's ever heard of him?). Oh well, we were relieved to figure out who it was so that my cousin could get it for his iPod (he got an iPod for Christmas and brought it over for me to help him figure it out since I've had mine for quite a while now).

Finally, on Christmas Day, I stayed home and rested (I had been feeling like I was getting sick for a while and I thought rest would do me well). Oh well, I got sick anyway!

Tell me about your Christmas!

Sunday, December 24, 2006

'Twas The Night Before Christmas

How could I not post this?

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, except Papa's mouse.
The computer was humming, the icons were hopping,
As Papa did last minute Internet shopping.
The stockings were hung by the modem with care,
In hope that St. Nicholas would bring new software.
The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of computer games danced in their heads.

PageMaker for Billy, and Quicken for Dan,
And Carmen Sandiego for Pamela Ann.
The letters to Santa had been sent out by Mom,
To santaclaus@toyshop.northpole.com -
Which has now been re-routed to Washington State
Because Santa's workshop has been bought by Bill Gates.
All the elves and reindeer have had to skedaddle
To flashy new quarters in suburban Seattle.

After centuries of a life that was simple and spare,
St. Nicholas is suddenly a new billionaire,
With a shiny red Porsche in the place of his sleigh,
And a house on Lake Washington that's just down the way.
From where Bill has his mansion, the old fellow preens
In black Gucci boots and red Calvin Klein jeans.
The elves have stock options and desks with a view,
Where they write computer code for Johnny and Sue.

No more dolls or tin soldiers or little toy drums
Will be under the tree, only compact disk ROMS
With the Microsoft label. So spin up your drive,
From now on Christmas runs only on Windows ME.
More rapid than eagles the competitors came,
And Bill whistled, and shouted, and called them by name.
"Now, ADOBE! Now, CLARIS! Now, INTUIT! too,
Now, APPLE! and NETSCAPE! you are all of you through,

It is Microsoft's SANTA that the kids can't resist,
It's the ultimate software with a traditional twist -
Recommended by no less than the jolly old elf,
And on the package, a picture of Santa himself.
Get 'em young, keep 'em long, is Microsoft's scheme,
And a merger with Santa is a marketer's dream.
To the top of the NASDAQ! to the top of the Dow!
Now dash away! dash away! dash away - WOW!"

And Mama in her 'kerchief and I in my cap,
Had just settled down for a long winter's nap,
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
The whir and the hum of our satellite platter,
As it turned toward that new Christmas star in the sky,
The SANTALITE owned by the Microsoft guy.
As I sprang from my bed and was turning around,
My computer turned on with a Jingle-Bells sound.

And there on the screen was a smiling Bill Gates
Next to jolly old Santa, two arm-in-arm mates.
And I heard them exclaim in voice so bright,
Have a Microsoft Christmas, and to all a good night

Saturday, December 23, 2006

The Good News Is...


I was able to get my Christmas shoppping done. Granted, mom was still with me, but I got it done. I started fresh today and we were able to get everything taken care of without any tears shed or high blood pressure - thanks MOM!

Here's who drew whose name:
Mikala - Dad
J - Mom
Dad - J
Mom - Bro
Bro - Mikala

First off, I got to mom's around 1:00 pm. I was running late because my neighbor finally came over and asked if he could get in my backyard to cut and get rid of all the tree limbs from his tree (the ones that fell during that ice storm - he's such a nice guy). Then, we headed out to Crestwood Plaza (which was unusally empty considering the date). We parked by Dillard's, the one at which I worked (and Linlee too). Since J had drawn my mom's name, I had to do the shopping for him so mom wouldn't be left without a gift to open while we were all opening ours tomorrow night. So, we had to head to Victoria's Secret (remember, it was just for lotion, nothing sexy - wouldn't that be awkward?). So, we hit Victoria's Secret and I buy mom's lotions for her. Yes, she was with me. Yes, she actually carried the stuff to the checkout and yes, I still plan to keep it in a pretty bag for her to open tomorrow night.

Since my brother picked my name and my dad picked J's name, mom had to do the shopping for them, as well. Yes, my brother is 35 and my mom has to do his shopping for him (dad has a legitimate excuse - he's never actually Christmas shopped on his own - I usually do it when he buys mom something, he'll just give me the AmEx or the cash). Mind you (about my brother) this is the same guy that graduated, with honors, from St. Louis University. Anyway, I told my mom that we could go ahead and get my gift now. That way I'd know what I was getting too. So, we walk the entire 2 miles to the other end of the mall to hit Macy's. We get all the way down to Macy's and that particular Macy's didn't carry the perfume I wanted. The only one that carried that perfume was the Galleria Mall Macy's. So, mom and I walked another 2 miles back to my car (a 4 mile walk for nothing - but it felt good).

We get back in the car to leave Crestwood Plaza and decide to head down to the Galleria. This was really easy...we parked about 4 cars from the Macy's door and ran inside. They had my perfume - YES, I'm getting my Juicy Couture perfurm. We paid for it and immediately turned around and left.

By this time I was so happy that things were turning out so well that I was pumped and ready for anything. After the Galleria, we had to head to Walgreen's to get the Cardinals Monopoly game for my youngest nephew, The Snake. He saw that we had bought it for someone else, and he made it very clear that he wanted one too. So, we run into Walgreen's, buy the game and look around for a few minutes (because mom still needed some ingredients for baking). We were in Walgreens all of 10 minutes when we were ready to leave.

After Walgreens, we headed over to Wally World to see if they had mom's baking ingredients and dad's favorite store-popped popcorn. We walk in and go get the popcorn (which hangs on a rack at the Blimpie inside Wal-mart). As we walk away to check for our baking ingredients, the guy sweeing yelled at us and said we had to pay for the popcorn at the Blimpie Checkout. My mom corrected him and said that she could pay at the regular checkout and that she does it all the time. Unfortunately, the guy insists, so we walk over to the Blimpie checkout. We pay for the popcorn and asked them if we could have paid at the regular Wal-mart checkout and they said, "of course". Go figure, but oh well, what can you do?

We finally head over to the baking ingredients aisle and they don't have what mom needs. It's official, we have to go to a grocery store (do you know how crazy grocery stores are this weekend?)!!

We head back to the Schnuck's (a local grocery store) by my mom's house and we get what she needs with relative easy, I might add. Both of us even bought a few Powerball tickets (no, I didn't win - y'all would be the fourth and beyond to know - there'd be me, J, my parents and all of you). Anyway...we are finally headed back home and it is only 5:00! Can you believe it? We got everything done today that we wanted to get done yesterday. I was so happy and so relieved (and less depressed). Plus, I get my perfume tomorrow!

So, mom and I headed back to her house to bake. Okay, fine, I took a nap because I'm getting sick and she baked. When I woke up I decorated the sugar cookies with icing and that was that. At 9:00, Beanie and I were headed home.

Now, tomorrow is Christmas Eve and I will have to be at my parents' house by 3:30 or 4:00. That means, I'll get up early tomorrow, straighten my house, wrap presents (I still have to wrap my dad's gifts and I told mom I'd wrap all of the gifts that she bought so she wouldn't have to worry about that while she was worried about baking and cooking tomorrow's delicious Christmas dinner), get ready and take off. Then, it's Christmas Eve celebration time!!! Woo HOO!!!!!

I'm so happy and THANK YOU FOR BEARING WITH ME MOM!!!!

Oh, and you want more good news? J got his box today. I had three Christmas gifts, a card and some cookies in his package. I immediately asked him to open one particular gift. He opened it and loved it. It was a mini replica of the World Series Trophy. Remember, he wanted one to rub it into the Houston guys' faces (since he's working down in Houston right now). Too funny.

Since this was one big ramble post, please excuse any typos, grammatical errors or spelling errors. I'm too tired to worry about it.

Can y'all believe tomorrow is Christmas Eve, 2006? My Gawd, where does the time go?
Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays?

I got this e-mail the other day and thought it was fitting since we just had our "Holiday" parties at work.

T’was the month before Christmas When all through our land,
Not a Christian was praying Nor taking a stand.
Why the Politically Correct Police had taken away,
The reason for Christmas - no one could say.

The children were told by their schools not to sing,
About Shepherds and Wise Men and Angels and things.
It might hurt people’s feelings, the teachers would say
December 25th is just a “Holiday”.

Yet the shoppers were ready with cash, checks and credit
Pushing folks down to the floor just to get it!
CDs from Madonna, an X BOX, an I-pod
Something was changing, something quite odd!

Retailers promoted Ramadan and Kwanzaa
In hopes to sell books by Franken & Fonda.
As Targets were hanging their trees upside down
At Lowe’s the word Christmas - was no where to be found.

At K-Mart and Staples and Penny’s and Sears
You won’t hear the word Christmas;
it won’t touch your ears. Inclusive, sensitive, Di-ver-si-ty
Are words that were used to intimidate me.

Now Daschle, Now Darden, Now Sharpton, Wolf Blitzen
On Boxer, on Rather, on Kerry, on Clinton!
At the top of the Senate, there arose such a clatter
To eliminate Jesus, in all public matter.

And we spoke not a word, as they took away our faith
Forbidden to speak of salvation and grace.
The true Gift of Christmas was exchanged and discarded
The reason for the season, stopped before it started.

So as you celebrate “Winter Break” under your “Dream Tree”
Sipping your Starbucks, listen to me.
Choose your words carefully, choose what you say
Shout MERRY CHRISTMAS, not Happy Holiday!


What you do guys think of this "poem"? I get the gist of it, but is it a little harsh or am I just feeling a little sensitive today? I am Christian, Catholic to be exact, so I am saddened by the degradation the usual Christmas celebration (not the toys, etc.), but is this just going to be something else we're going to have to fight about? I mean, they made CHRISTMAS a national holiday, why is it hurting people's feelings to say Merry Christmas? I, certainly, don't mind hearing "Happy Cinco de Mayo" on May 5th. I just get sick of political correctness. But, I don't know if this poem makes me feel better or not. Can't we all be a little less sensitive?

Defeated by Christmas Shopping

Yesterday, mom and I thought we'd get up around 8:00 and get out shopping by 9:00. Well, first, I didn't get to her house until 10:00. Then, we had to drive my nephew to a friend's house. Then, we drove out by my house to go to the bank and by my insurance company. By that time it was already 11:45, so we figured we'd eat before we get started on the crazy shopping.

Well, we got to Macaroni Grill around noon and ate (the food was awesome by the way). Right when we finished eating, my brother call and wanted to be picked up.

He's an over-the-road truck driver (with a degree in Geology from a prestigious university - go figure) and his co-driver had dropped him off in St. Peters. So, mom and I jet out to St. Peters to get him and we get there around 2:00.

From there we went back towards my parents' house and stopped at Wal-greens to get the gift cards I wanted for my dad. Finally, we dropped my brother off and stayed at the house for a few minutes. Around 3:00, we hoppped back in the car and tried to get to Wal-mart and the mall.

Well, we went through Wal-mart real quick because I needed a few things like milk, bread and face lotion. Finally, we get to the mall where everything that was left still to get would be there for me. We run through Macy's and mom picks up a present for J. Then, we run to Victoria's Secret for my mom's gift (just lotion, guys, don't get all hyper). Well, this is when I get depressed because 1) my mom knows her gift and 2) she's standing right beside me buying it. And, she doesn't care. But, I've always been more of a gift-giving person and I've always been happy to see the recipient's face when they open my gift. So, this got me all upset, to the point of almost crying. But, we grab the lotion she wants, etc. and we walk towards the ONE checkout desk. Well, there were 2 people checking people out and I'm not lying when I say there was a line with about 35 people in (that's not exaggerating or anything). So, mom and I looked at each and shook our heads "no". That was it, I had been defeated.

By this time, I'm super upset because I have no one else to shop with, I hate going by myself because I get too impatient and my mom (the one person that deserves a great Christmas gift) doesn't have one yet and will know what it is when I do get it for her. So, this whole time I'm on the verge of tears and then my dad calls and wonders what we're having for dinner! So, mom and I head back to their house around 5:30 and order Chinese food.

We eat our food and then I have my mom check on a box I had shipped to J on Monday (to see if he had gotten it yet). Well, there's no information on the package to even track it, they give us a tracking number and that it was processed into their system but that's it. Now, I don't know if he'll get his package by Christmas or not! I was livid considering the Post Office promised his package would get there in 2-3 days. So, I asked my mom to call this morning and then I left - I was in the worst mood ever. I grabbed Beanie (whom I always take to mom's when I go so she can play with Baxter aka JD short for Junkyard Dog while we're out shopping and doesn't have to stay cooped up in the house). I cried the whole way home. Then my mom calls and says not to be upset and that we'll go shopping today (I don't want to, the point was to get it done yesterday so I could work around the house today).

And, in case you're wondering why I waited so long to buy these last two gifts was because my family just decided last Sunday to draw names! I'm an online Christmas Shopper and you can't do that with one week to buy things.

Friday, December 22, 2006

How Bizarre - Episode 11

Castles and Palaces:

The odd-shaped castle tower of Oxford, England, was built in accordance with instructions that it could not be round, square, oval, or oblong.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find any pictures of this tower, but I believe it's fan-shaped. I could be wrong, but I'm off to go Christmas shopping with the crazy masses.

Have a great Friday!

Thursday, December 21, 2006

How Bizarre - Episode 10

Artists:

A woman bought a book for one dollar at a flea market in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, that turned out to be a sketch book containing original drawings by Rembrandt worth over $50,000!


Now, why don't we have any friggin' flea markets like that here? I only find JUNK!

Lito Bita Dis, Lito Bita Dat

Believe it or not, I'm going to brave the Christmas Shopping Masses tomorrow and go shopping with my mom. You see, I was lucky enough to get Friday off of work, so mom and I had a few odds and ends to finish up. I told her I'd take her out to eat too - so she was very happy to accept my invitation.

I still gotta get my Beanie some toys for Christmas (my dog loves any type of furry chew toy you throw in her vicinity)!

I hate to sound like a grinch, but I'm so glad Christmas (the shopping and getting ready part) is almost over. I'll be so relieved on Christmas Eve when it's finally time to just chill out with the family.

I'm kinda bummed because my cousin's son (Alex, he's not even 2 yet) is in the hospital hooked up to IVs right now. Apparently, his eye is swelling shut and they're afraid it will damage the optic nerve which would blind him. It's so sad that the little guy is in the hospital and I hope everything goes well. The doctors did say he'd be home in time for Christmas so that's awesome. I have a picture of the little guy hooked up to the IVs in my e-mail, but I'd rather not post it. I haven't talked to my cousin or his wife in a while and I don't know that they'd appreciate that.

But, there is some good news in the land of Mikala. I lived with my parents up until June, 2006. They live in a suburb of St. Louis called Wildwood. Their subdivision is gorgeous with a 30,000 gallon lake, trails, tennis courts, pools (yes, 3 of them) and a huge club house. Well, I don't know if any of you have heard of the "incredible disappearing lake", but that's my parents' subdivision. The entire 30,000 gallon of water seeped into caverns through a caved in portion of the lakebed. Well, guess what! The lake is full again - I'll have to see if I can get some before and after and after pictures! It may take me a day or so...so just keep watching for them.

Horse Heroes Successful!

Remember back in September when I posted about the horses that were in an auto accident on their way to the slaughterhouse?


Guess what! Dozens of the horses are improving so well that they could soon be adopted! I'm so happy and so excited. It broke my heart when I heard about these horses and I even donated as much money as I could to this cause. Read this! Isn't that fantastic? I'm so friggin' happy!!
Merry Christmas to the horsies! I wish I could adopt one...man...

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

My Sixth Thursday Thirteen


In keeping with a Christmas theme for this last Thursday Thirteen before Christmas, I decided to do the Christmas movie thing.

MY THIRTEEN FAVORITE CHRISTMAS MOVIES



White Christmas (1954) - I loved THE MUSIC!!!





A Chipmunk Christmas (1981) - again, what kid that grew up in the 80's and didn't like A Chipmunk Christmas?






Christmas With the Kranks (2004) - even though Tim Allen drives me nuts, I loved this movie.





Home Alone (1990) - I always wished my parents would go on a vacation and forget me, so I could harrass some criminals.





Meet Me In St. Louis (1945) - obviously because I love Judy Garland AND St. Louis!





Prancer (1989) - I loved the story!





Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964) - I've always loved Rudolph, I adore that darn reindeer.






A Christmas Carol (1951) - what a story!






The Bells of St. Mary's (1945) - just a pretty movie!






A Christmas Story (1983) - what kid that grew up in the 80's didn't love this movie? "You'll shoot your eye out kid"!





Christmas Vacation (1989) - that poor cat!






Elf (2003) - "he's an angry elf" - maybe he's a south pole elf!






How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966) - he he, that was a funny one.




Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!




How Bizarre - Episode 9

Dying:

On his deathbed, the venerable Bede (673-735), an English monk, carefully divided up his most prized possession - a handful of pepper.

Can you say "cuckoo, cuckoo"? I wonder if there was something ground up in that pepper? What is it about pepper that would make it his prized possession. Maybe ground up diamonds? Gold? What? I wanna know. And, did he divide it up grain by grain? How would you feel if you got a call from Lawyer saying that an English monk left you something in his will - wo, you rush over to the monastery and they hand you a grain of pepper? I want some pepper now.

Reporting Bad Drivers




So, I found this website called Platewire that allows you to report bad drivers or morons that drive under the speed limit in the passing lane!

You all know how much I hate slow drivers - but I sincerely doubt I'll even remember that someone pissed me off by the time I get home (so I doubt I'll use this website). But, the fun part is reading all the whiners on the website whine about people whipping around them, yada yada yada. But, I'm almost certain my license plate may be on this website eventually - I do tend to cut off slow drivers in the passing lane (I do it on purpose). I'm sorry, I'm flat out of patience.

But anyway, one individual described a woman as "sawed off". I thought that was hilarious - mean - but hilarious.

Take a look at the website - heck, make sure your license plate isn't listed. There's one PD in a small town that prints this report off every morning to watch the cars of the individuals listed.

Watchout!

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

GPS Panties?

Seriously? We can't find Osama Bin Laden, but we can figure out how to put GPS chips in panties to keep tabs on cheating girlfriends? Really, GPS Panties?

Come on!

Okay, ladies would you wear these? And, secondly, you'd have to be a real retard to wear these GPS panties to a secret rendezvous with the guy you're cheating with.

Then again, this could put a spin on the whole "breaking up with a cheating girlfriend" thing. I mean, you wanna get rid of your boyfriend? Take your panties and stuff them somewhere inconspicuous at his best friend's house. I guarantee he'll break up with you!

And, is it sexist or do they have GPS Boxers or Briefs for guys?

Watch out teenage girls, your dads are buying you all GPS Panties so they can keep tabs on your - it's a new-age chastity belt! Man, being the brat of a teenager I was, I would have taken those panties and put them in my teachers' mailbox, or my parents' best friend's house - something to teach them for keeping track of me through my frickin' underwear! Too much for me, just way too much.

Why can't I come up with some ridiculous product to make money off of? I'll learn one of these days.

Tetris?

Have you seen the Tetris game on my sidebar? Linlee remember Tetris? God, that was such a great and addictive game. I love it!

I hope you enjoy!

How Bizarre - Episode 8

Death:

Every ten seconds, sixteen people die on earth - and 45 are born!

I guess that goes to prove our population is constantly growing.

The Gangs of St. Louis - Chapter 1: The Mad Irishmen cont.

I apologize...but I had this entire thing typed and then received a friggin' error!

So here goes:

No one's sure how it happened or even why, but Dinty Colbeck moved his whole operation to the county, St. Louis County that is, the suburbs. No historical data has been found in reference to the Rats movement, but it is rumored that Police Lieutenant Duley McDonald "convinced" Dinty to move. Again, no one is sure exactly what happened, but the move did take place.

The Egan Rats converted an old 11-room home on the 9400 block o f Olive into their own, personal hangout. Soon, the hangout would be called the Maxwellton Club.

As the Rats settled into their new digs, they began to terrorize their new neighborhood little by little until they took over the Maxwellton Race Track. The race track was an abandoned, defunct horse and motorcycle track located at St. Charles Rock Road and Pennsylvania Avenue.

The Rats used their defunct track as training grounds, so to say. They would shoot at tin cans, bottles and other assorted targets set on the old grandstand, while driving around the track. This was to improve their marksmanship (which I might add they needed, have there been in battles involving bloodshed yet?). All was well and good.

Unfortunately, the fun was cut short when the envious Hogans dynamited and leveled the Maxwellton. In the following two years, there were 20 or more murders that could be attributed to the rival gangs with neither gang having any intentions of conceding.

The turncoat, Greenberg, was being questioned outside Police Headquarters when Dinty Colbeck and Red Smith were arrested. Apparently, Greenberg gave just enough information for Colbeck's and Smith's arrests, and was let out the back door. As soon as Greenberg's feet hit the concrete outside the Police HQ, he was headed to New York to avoid his inevitable death of retaliation.

Since Greenberg was all the way up in New York by the time Dinty and Red were released, the Rats focused their attention on Jellyroll Hogan. In another bloodless battle, Hogan and his buddy, Humbert Costello, were driving along South Grand when three men shot at them from a passing car. Even though Hogan was able to fire back a shot or two, the fiasco ended with no bloodshed.

After the shooting incident on South Grand, Hogan informed the police of his suspected attackers. Shortly thereafter, police arrested Rats members Elmer Runge and Isodore "Izzy" Londe. Hogan was brought in to identify his attackers which is when he was known to have said, "Yeah, I'll identify them alright, next time I see them I'll identify them with my shotgun".

In 1923, the community begged the two gangs to call a truce for the sake of the city. The two rival gangs oliged for two whole months.

Sadly, the truce was ended when three Rats fired into a crowd trying to kill James Hogan (Jellyroll's brother). Ironically, Hogan wasn't even hit, but two other men were fatally wounded. In an unusual turn of events, Dinty announced his responsibility in the shooting and apologized for the outcome. Dinty was quoted as saying it was just "boyish spirits" at play.

Finally, in April 1923, the two gangs shifted to more lucrative criminal activity like robbing mail trucks full of negotiable bonds. Some of their criminal activity even ventured over to the "East Side". That's east of the Mississippi River in Illinois. But, plenty of activity still remained in St. Louis - we'll get to the East Side soon.

It was said that the Rats alone were responsible for 23 robberies from 1919 to 1924 (that's almost 5 robberies a year). A canary, by the name of Ray Renard, mentioned that the Rats obtained a grand total of something to the tune of $44,685,770! Can you believe it? That's a lot of money now, can you imagine what it would have been like almost 100 years ago? Amazing.

However, Renard's loose lips caused the cops to issue warrants for Dinty Colbeck, Chippy Robinson, Red Smith and six other Rats. All were convicted and sentenced to 25-year prison terms.

Dinty was sent to the federal penitentiary in Atlanta to cohabitate with a well-known gangster named Al Capone. They were, in fact, cell mates.

Mrs. Colbeck, who was taking Catholic Instructions from Monsignor Joseph O'Toole of Our Lady, Queen of Peach in Webster Groves, was having horrible nightmares about Dinty - seeing him shot. She subsequently asked the Monsignor to go visit Dinty since she was so worried. You see, she was so worried about him returning to the criminal lifestyle that landed him in prison in the first place and she was concerned he'd end up dead, another gang statistic.

The tough Monsignor agreed to help Mrs. Colbeck and traveled to Atlanta to visit with Dinty. Once the Monsignor arrived in Atlanta and met Al Capone, he made a point to tell Capone that he and Dinty weren't to form any partnerships. In reply to the Monsignor's orders, Capone quipped, "The hell we're not! We'll both be sprung in six months and I'm the one giving the orders around here."

Passively, the Monsignor turned his attention to Dinty. He remembers telling Dinty, "You should be grateful that in a few months you'll be a free man. You know that if you proceed with this foolish partnership your freedom will be of short duration. Forget it, Dinty. That's my advice to you." Then Monsignor turned to Capone and said, "The goes for you too, Al".

Apparently, the Monsignor's advice fell upon deaf ears. Dinty was released after serving 16 years and quickly tried to reinvent his business. He began to muscle in on the "East Side" gaming action. Although, to his detriment, he only became a nuisance.

At 10:30 pm on February 17, 1943, a dark sedan appeared from no where and started following Dinty's car across the McKinley Bridge. At Ninth Street and Destrehan, they overtook Dinty and retired the Rats' leader. He wasn't addorned with medals, a plaque or a gold watch, he was only given six .45 caliber submachine gun slugs. He was put to rest at St. Catherine's Church in 1943. Now, that's the type of party I'd like to skip when I retire. I'll take my plaque, thank you.


****I'll take this time to point you in the direction of some great information on "Kerry Patch", the neighborhood.

"Kerry Patch", known to its inhabitants as "The Patch" is the neighborhood that produced the first gangs in St. Louis. "The Patch" was named for Kerry county in southwestern Ireland and was the Irish Mecca of St. Louis. Unfortunately, at the expense of a rich and colorful history, "The Patch" was bulldozed in the late 1940's. A couple housing projects - Carr Square Village and Pruitt-Igoe - were razed on the old land of "The Patch".

For further, more detailed information on "The Patch, read this awesome and extremely informational website.

On to Chapter 2 next!

Monday, December 18, 2006

How Bizarre - Episode 7

Flowers:

In 1991, botanists in New Zealand accidentally discovered "Corybas carseii", a rare orchid that blooms only two days a year, after they sat on the flower while eating lunch.

Sounds like something I'd do. I'd discover something spectacular by destroying it. "How bizarre".

Crazy Weekend

So, I had a busy weekend - I mean, it wasn't rush around busy, just didn't have time to lay around. Saturday, I woke up and had breakfast. Then, I had already decided to paint the doors in our house. So, from about noon to 7:00 pm, I painted doors (and I'm not done yet). Then, I did some Christmas stuff - wrapping, cards for the girls at work, etc. I finally got to sleep.

Then, Sunday, I woke up and had to be at my parents' house by 1:00. My mom, uncle and I went shopping for my uncle's girlfriend. I also shopped for J so I had some stuff to send him to open on Christmas morning (since he won't be home). I kept the original presents I bought for him here so that he has stuff to open when he gets home too. I miss him and I'm starting to have a really hard time with it. But, I digress.

My uncle treated my mom and I to this awesome Mexican restaurant in St. Louis called Hacienda. I love, love, love this restaurant. We ate and then headed to the Devil's Playhouse (aka Wal-mart). I bought a few things and we headed back to my mom's. I stayed there until about 7:00 so that we could pack J's box up to send. We got it sent off.

I ran home, put my stuff away from out in the car and started getting ready for work this morning. You know, laundry, lunch, etc.

But, that was my boring arse weekend. Kind of a useless post, huh? Sorry I couldn't be more interesting guys.

I've been kinda depressed lately (most likely because J's been gone so long) and I haven't really had much to say. I regret that, but what can I do?

I know I've been promising you my next installment of "The Gangs of St. Louis", but it probably won't be until later this week or this weekend. I'm sorry, the holidays have started to monopolize my time. Damn holidays! JK I love the holidays!

Talk to you peeps later!

Thursday, December 14, 2006

More About My Favorite City - St. Louis

After my Thursday Thirteen on 12/7, I realized that very few people know very much about St. Louis. Yes, I love this city. I was born and raised here and will always love it. The only other city in America that I'd move to would be Honolulu. And, that's not very likely to happen.

But, I was sitting here thinking of all of the things that people don't know, that I could tell them. So, here are some more facts about St. Louis:

  • St. Louis is known for its French and German heritage and Victorian past.

  • St. Louis has several nicknames including, "Gateway to the West", "Gateway City", and "Mound City".

  • Other nicknames include, "The S-T-L", "St. Louie", "The Lou", or "River City".

  • St. Louis was purchased from France by the United States under President Thomas Jefferson in 1803 - as part of the Louisiana Purchase.

  • French continued, along with English, to be one of the major spoken languages in St. Louis until the 1820s.

  • Both Lewis and Clark lived in St. Louis after their Lewis and Clark Expedition.

  • The steamboat era began in St. Louis on July 27, 1817.

  • By the 1850s, St. Louis had become the largest U.S. city west of Pittsburgh and the second largest port in the country, with a commercial tonnage exceeded only by New York.

  • Civil War battles barely touched St. Louis - the area only saw a few skirmishes in which Union forces prevailed.

  • St. Louis was the home to several notable businesses including: Ralston-Purina, Anheuser-Busch, International Shoe Company and Brown Shoe Company.

  • Several notable people in the literary field were produced in St. Louis. Like Sara Teasdale, Marianne Moore, T.S. Eliot, William Burroughs, and Kate Chopin. Tennessee Williams also hailed from St. Louis.

  • St. Louis is one of the several cities that claims to have the world's first skyscraper - the Wainwright Building ( a 10-story structure built in 1892 and still standing).

  • Nikola Tesla made the first public demonstration of radio communications here in 1893.

  • In 1896, one of the deadliest and most destructive tornadoes in U.S. history struck St. Louis, MO. and East St. Louis, IL. The confirmed death toll is 255 (with some estimates above 400) and injuries over 1000. Damages adjusted for inflation (in 1997 USD) make it the costliest tornado in U.S. history at an estimated $2.9 billion.

  • Several other tornadoes have hit the city making it the worst tornado afflicted large city in the nation - the most recent occuring in 1959 (killing 21 and injuring 345).

  • In 1904, St. Louis hosted the World's Fair and the Olympic games (making the United States the first English-speaking country to host the Olympics). 2004 marked the centennial of these events and St. Louis celebrated the entire year.

  • St. Louis developed a lively immigrant gang culture by the Early 20th century (of which I'm telling you about in my "The Gangs of St. Louis" posts). You've heard me mention Jelly Roll Hogan - well his gang was mentioned in Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie.
  • St. Louis is the home of the world-reknowned Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra - the second oldest orchestra in the nation - which has been honored with six Grammy Awards and 56 nominations. They play out of Powell Symphony Hall.

  • St. Louis City operates 105 parks. Forest Park is one of the largest urban parks in the world, outsizing Central Park in New York City by 500 acres.

  • Forest Park offers several of St. Louis' most popular attractions: the Saint Louis Zoo, the Muny (the largest and oldest outdoor musical theatre in the U.S.), the St. Louis Science Center, Saint Louis Art Museum, the Missouri History Museum and several lakes.

  • The Missouri Botanical Garden (known to most St. Louisans as Shaw's Garden) is one of the world's leading botanical research centers.

  • The Gateway Arch in St. Louis is the tallest man-made monument standing at 630 feet.

  • Fair St. Louis (known to most St. Louisans as the VP Fair), held every 4th of July is sometimes called "America's Largest Birthday Party".

  • The Sporting News rated St. Louis the nation's "Best Sports City".
  • The St. Louis Cardinals (EASILY THE BEST BASEBALL TEAM IN THE WORLD!!!!), one of the oldest franchises in MLB have won 10 World Series Titles (most recently this year!!!!), second only to the New York Yank-mes, ooops - sorry, Yankees. I won't post a pic since you're probably sick of my Cardinals pictures.

  • The St. Louis Rams have won one Superbowl Championship (January, 2000).

  • The St. Louis Blues hold the record for most consecutive playoff appearances in all of sports with 26 straight. They have also made three trips to the Stanley Cup Finals, but have never won.

  • St. Louis was also home to two prominent 20th century boxers, brothers Leon and Michael Spinks. The two are the only brothers in boxing history to have both captured the Heavyweight boxing title. Cory Spinks, Leon's son, has also held a world title (broke my heart when he lost to Zab Judah here in St. Louis).

  • St. Louis is arguably the biggest hotbed of Soccer in the nation.

  • Professional Wrestling also has roots in St. Louis. Wrestling at the Chase was a popular weekly event for hundreds of thousands of fans for several decades. WATC was held at a prestigious St. Louis hotel called The Chase Park Plaza. St. Louis is also home to WWE Champion Randy Orton.

  • Soulard, a neighbor in St. Louis, is home of the nation's second largest (only to New Orleans) annual Mardi Gras Festival and Parade.

  • Washington University's School of Law is the oldest continuously operating private law school west of the Mississippi.

  • "Escape From New York", the movie, was filmed almost entirely in St. Louis. Mostly at what was the defunct Union Station (now rehabbed and a gorgeous mall).

  • Ringo Starr, a former Beatle, sang a song called "Missouri Loves Company" which had references to St. Louis.

  • The Mercury, Gemini and Apollo space capsules were built in St. Louis by McDonnell Douglas - now Boeing.

  • Disney World was to be opened in St. Louis, however, Walt Disney wouldn't let the park serve beer so Anheuser-Busch rallied against the park in St. Louis (big mistake).

Most of this information was found through Wikipedia. For more trivial facts about St. Louis, see my Thursday Thirteen from December 7.

Finally, here is a small portion of our Walk of Fame (excluding those already mentioned above)

Music

Acting/Entertainment

Literature

Sports

Now you can see why I love St. Louis Baseball so much!

Broadcasting

Art/Architecture

Military/Politics

Science/Education

Civil Rights

Missouri Hall of Fame

I'm 100% sure I missed someone and I know I missed a lot of people (I skipped the lesser unknowns).

And, Blogger REALLY needs an "Undo" button added to the format toolbox.

I hope you enjoy my "Did You Know" about St. Louis. Now, since my eyes are crossed from all of this work, I'm going to bed! G-nite!

Female Brain vs. Male Brain

I got this e-mail and thought it was pretty nifty.

Have you ever wondered how a woman's brain works? Well, here it's explained in one, easy-to-understand illustration:


Everyone of those little blue balls (he he, I said "blue balls") is a thought about something that needs to be done, a decision or a problem that needs to be solved.

Good thing a man's brain only requires two ball (two "blue balls", that is).
Those little blue balls are supposed to be moving through the course, but they're not for some reason - sorry guys.

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

My Fifth Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Reason Why I Love J, My Boyfriend
  1. His voice soothes me, he can calm me down, at my craziest, with seven words
  2. He's very laidback, which is completely opposite from me - I admire that
  3. He's uber intelligent - sometimes I swear he knows EVERYTHING
  4. He's so athletic and makes everything seem so simple
  5. He is tolerant of my mood swings and never gets upset by them
  6. He bought us Cardinals season tickets
  7. He's patient, okay too patient, but it's nice every now and then
  8. He doesn't think I'm an idiot for all of our stupid little inside jokes (he enjoys them)
  9. He takes me to gorgeous places like Hawaii and Europe
  10. He makes me feel safe and secure at all times
  11. He always supports any hard decision I have to make
  12. He makes me feel special and I can be myself with him (as goofy as that may be)
  13. His laugh makes me laugh, it's very funny (I've never heard anyone laugh like him)

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!




I'm a Product of the 80's

Okay, so after I did that Christmas Taggleton, I got a little nostalgic. Especially after seeing that picture of the Barbie Dream House. So, here is a little sumpin, sumpin for those kids of the 80's, early 90's - like me!

These really brought back some memories - oh how I miss being a kid. Go ahead admit it, they all ring a bell, don't they? My comments are in parentheses

You knew you grew up in the 80's (or early 90's) if...

1. You've ever ended a sentence with the word "SIKE".

2. You watched the Pound Puppies (Oh I loved my Pound Puppy)

3. You can sing the rap to the "Fresh Prince of Belair"

4. You wore biker shorts under your skirts and felt stylish.

5. You yearned to be a member of the Baby-sitters club and tried to start a club of your own.

6. You owned those lil Strawberry Shortcake pals scented dolls. (Strawberry Shortcake was my favorite - I even had a Strawberry Shortcake kitchen set - ooh, and my sleeping bag was Strawberry Shortcake).










7. You know that "WOAH" comes from Joey on Blossom.

8. Two words: M.C. Hammer (I can't touch that)

9. If you ever watched "Fraggle Rock". (I remember watching Fraggle Rock one time when I was sick with Strep Throat. I had just finished some of that Lipton's Chicken Soup; I was watching it and basking in the glory of making my brother watch it when all of a sudden I had to rush to the bathroom to vomit. I didn't make it. And, my brother changed the channel by the time I came back)!
10. You had plastic streamers on your handle bars. (what about those little ball-type things you put on your spokes that clicked - and glowed in the dark?)

11. You can sing the entire theme song to "Duck Tales". (Oo oo)

12. When it was actually worth getting up early on a Saturday to watchcartoons. (Oh, those were the days - admit it, you watched Pee-Wee's Playhouse, who didn't?)


13. You wore a ponytail on the side of your head. (My neighbor, an older boy about 8 or 9 years older than me used to always pick on me about that)

14. You saw the original "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" on the big screen (most definitely, with my two boy cousins)

15. You got super-excited when it was Oregon Trail day in computer class atschool. (Oh Gawd, do you remember that? That was the best game ever - sick huh?)

16. You made your mom buy one of those clips that would hold your shirt in a knot on the side. (Or banana clips)

17. You played the game "MASH" (Mansion, Apartment, Shelter, House) (How could you not? )

18. You wore Jordache jean jacket and you were proud of it.

19. L.A. Gear...(What about "Get In Shape Girl"? I told you! Look at the leg warmers!!!)

20. You wanted to change your name to "JEM" in Kindergarten. (I also wanted pink hair because of her - I think I had a wig like hers - I might have been her for Halloween)

21. You remember reading "Tales of a fourth grade nothing" and all the Ramona books. Ramona completed in 1st grade. (he he - too funny)

22. You know the profound meaning of "WAX ON, WAX OFF" (You know it, would you believe that I still use that to this day when I'm washing my car - Gawd was Ralph Machio the cutest then?)
23. You wanted to be a Goonie. (Hell yeah!)

24. You ever wore fluorescent clothing. (Of course, we did)

25. You can remember what Michael Jackson looked like before his nose felloff... (Oh, I was addicted to the Thriller video as a kid)

26. You have ever pondered why Smurfette was the only female smurf (Poor girl)

27. You took Lunch Pails to school.

28. You remember the CRAZE, then the BANNING of slap bracelets.

29. You still get the urge to say "NOT" after every sentence. (I just did this the other day)

30. You remember Hypercolor t-shirts. (Yep, mine was pink and purple)
31. Barbie and the Rockers was your favorite band. (Um...I remember this, but no, they weren't my favorite band)

32. You thought Sheera and He-Man should hook up. (I thought they were supposed to, damnit...he was Master of the Universe for God's sake)

33. You thought your childhood friends would never leave because you exchanged friendship bracelets (yeah, that never worked)

34. You ever owned a pair of Jelly-Shoes. (Guess what color! Yep, purple)
35. After you saw Pee-Wee's Big Adventure you kept saying "I know you are, but what am I?" (I was more fond of "I meant to do that").

36. You remember "I've fallen and I can't get up" (At work we were just talking about that commercial - what about, "Where's the Beef??")

37. You remember going to the skating rink before there were in-line skates (AAGHH - ROLLERCADE!!!)

38. You ever got seriously injured on a Slip and Slide (not seriously injured, but I surely got the wind knocked out of me a few times - and my dad never wanted us to play this in our yard because it ruined the grass :0( He was a grumpster!

39. You have ever played with a Skip-It (Nope)

40. You had or attended a birthday party at McDonalds (You betcha - you weren't right if you didn't)

41. You've gone through this nodding your head in agreement (Obviously - read all of my comments)

42. You remember Popples.

43. "Don't worry, be happy" - (Tom Cruise had to be at his hottest in this movie - okay, so maybe he was his hottest in Top Gun, but Cocktail is right behind Top Gun. I had a pair of hot pink earrings that said "Don't Worry" on one and "Be Happy" on the other)

44. You wore like, EIGHT pairs of socks over tights with high top Reeboks. (LOL What was wrong with us?)

45. You wore socks scrunched down (yeah, and we had leg warmers too)

46. "Miss MARY MACK MACK MACK, all dressed in BLACK BLACK BLACK" (Don't know this one)

47. You remember boom boxes vs. cd players (Just guess, I had a purple boom box)

48. You remember watching both "Gremlins" movies. (I so wanted a Gizmo of my own, shoot, I even wanted a gremlin, the bad ones - I thought they were funny)

49. You know what it meant to say "Care Bear Stare!!" (Oh, I miss my Care Bear - he's up in my attic though - this is the one I had)
50. You remember watching Rainbow Bright and My Little Pony Tales (OOoohhh...I still have my Rainbow Bright doll and I remember playing My Little Pony in my bedroom because I had an ugly green carpet in my room that we pretended was grass for the ponies)










51. You thought Doogie Howser was hot (I did and I thought Vinnie was putrid)

52. You remember Alf, the lil furry brown alien from Melmac (I always wanted him to come live with me)
53. You remember New Kids on the Block when they were cool (Oh my...I remember going to their concert - UgH!! I can't believe I just admitted that. Oh, yeah, and you knew them as NKOTB)
54. You knew all the characters names and their life stories on "Saved Bythe Bell", the ORIGINAL class. (Zach, Kelly, Lisa, Slater, Jesse and Screech - oh don't forget Mr. Belding)

55. You know all the words to Bon Jovi - SHOT THRU THE HEART. ("And you're to blame")

56. You just sang those words to yourself. (you know you did... I did!!!)

57.You remember watching Magic vs. Bird. (Well, not really, but I know who they are)

58.You cut your t-shirts in half and wore it with your homemade Levi shorts...(the shorter the better)

59. You remember when mullets were cool! (I'm sorry, mullets were NEVER cool!!!)

60. You had a mullet! (NO WAY, damn,okay fine, I had one once - well, crap, even Brad Pitt had one)
61. You still sing "We are the World" (Who doesn't?)

62. You had a glowworm that you had to sleep with (oddly enough, I can't find a picture of one - at least one like I had)

63. You collected Garbage Pail Kids (collector cards)
64. You have more than one Cabbage Patch Kid

Ha Ha Ha - SIIIKE! Just joshin' (Oh yeah, remember saying that instead of "just kidding" or "just joking"?)