Maybe I Need the Sign

Since posting my "Here's Your Sign" post the other week - I've been saying that phrase a lot.
At the Clemson ballgame this weekend we were laughing about it and telling stories about getting to use it. After sharing the story that I shared in my Here's Your Sign post the other week I decided that I may have been the one who needed the sign after all. And here's why.

My friend suggested that maybe the other football momma said to me (not asked me) "Anne, You're Not in Clemson", because I was cheering for the team and my son as if I was at a Clemson football game instead of an elementary school aged jamboree.

Say that sentence to yourself like she's telling me that instead of showing surprise (which it clearly didn't sound like - but that's what I was assigning to it) and it makes much more sense.

Here's my sign.

Breaking News

For all of you who may not have caught the latest.....Clay Aiken has come out.
Are you surprised by this? No, me either. I've been waiting patiently.

Hi, Mary!

There's a slight possibility that one of my favorite college neighbors and sorority sisters may be stopping by and I wanted to tell her "HI!".

If you do come by Mary, you can see pictures of the children by clicking the "children" label. And I love comments...you can comment with the "Anonymous" button and leave your name in the note, or you can click the "Name/URL" button and just leave a name in the line without completing the website part.

I hope we get a chance to meet up this weekend! Bryan and I would love to see you and Rob.

Here's Your Sign

Everyone knows how much I love to laugh.
People that get me laughing every time are the guys from The Blue Collar Comedy Tour.
Those guys really crack me up!

I will admit, that at first I was not at all interested in watching Jeff Foxworthy and a bunch of countrified guys. I don't know why - I guess I was tired of the "You might be a redneck" stuff from the late 80's and early 90's. I got to meet Mr. Foxworthy in the early 90's. He was a luncheon speaker for a conference I attended in Atlanta. Afterwards I chatted with him and he was a true gentleman and nice guy. And funny too. But I just wasn't interested in seeing him and his friends in the Blue Collar Comedy Tour.

Then I caved. And I loved it!

One of the guys, Bill Engvall, has a little saying: "Here's yer sign!"
Which basically means, you just asked the most ridiculous question ever (or you just did the most ridiculous thing ever), and you need an "I'm stupid" sign to warn everyone in the future.

We all do these little things. Watch this video to get a good understanding of what he means.

Well, last weekend I had a pretty funny one happen. I was watching Legare at his football Jamboree on Saturday. Clemson had a home game (which my husband and daughter were attending), and while at the Jamboree, one of the momma's saw me and exclaimed with much surprise (and not at all as if this was a rhetorical question or a bewildered statement; but like she was telling me in case I didn't know), "Oh, Anne, you're not in Clemson." Truly she was trying to tell me because she clearly wasn't sure if I was aware of this. It sounded funny to my ear.

My Momma replies (or was it my Daddy) something along the lines of, "Oh she is in Clemson, this person just looks like Anne." And then under Momma's breath she muttered a "here's your sign".

O.K. that didn't come across as funny in print as it was in person and in my head. So to make up for that - here's another Engvall "Here's Your Sign" video clip. And another audio clip.

Start paying attention to what you say and what is said around you. You'll be surprised at how many signs need to be handed out.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BABY!!

Though you're not really a baby anymore.
Because you've hit DOUBLE DIGITS!
THE BIG TEN.
1! - 0!

OOHH MY, how did that happen???
I can't believe that we have had the joy of having you around for 10 YEARS!
I am honored to be your Momma.

I hope that you're birthday is a great one with many happy turns and surprises!

We love you -
Mom, Dad and LegareThis picture was taken two days ago at the Clemson/NC State ballgame.
How sassy!

Trouble Cat's Getting Kids in Trouble

My cat, Felix, is a true original.
I call him Trouble Cat. And sometimes he is - for instance he has gotten my sweet daughter in trouble.

Some time ago I was finding rubber hair bands ALL OVER the house. I kept thinking Julia and her friends had been doing American Girl hair and were leaving them everywhere. I then thought that I was finding them in the pantry and closets because the cats were finding these left behind hairbands and turning them into their toys.

One day - downstairs in the playroom - I think I found 7 or more. And I blew it. When Julia got home I crawled her about how tired I was at finding and picking up these hairbands and I made her pick them up right then and there. She swore she didn't do it. To which I think I answered that I didn't think it was her brother and his friends.

Then one day, when I was tidying her room, Trouble Cat was sitting on her table watching me. I then saw him stand up and gaze into her little "hair basket" that was on her desk. He took his paws, shuffled them around until he found the one he wanted (yellow) and sauntered away with it to go play. I shared this with Julia and we had a good laugh.

Since then we have caught him opening the drawer in the bathroom where they are now kept (it's down low near the floor). But before we actually saw him do this we kept finding piles in the bathroom floor. Seriously usually 5 or more. Some plain bands and some with ribbons. We just thought he was finding them in forgotten places.

Then we saw him actually choosing his poison.
And he'll do it on demand. If you're around in the bathroom, he'll come check you out to see if you are going to create easy access. If not, he politely uses his paw to open the drawer and help himself. It's almost on demand.

I told you he was Trouble.

Football is My Life

O.K...not really. But my son is playing his first year of tackle football. And ever since he got his helmet and his shoulder pads, I've been constantly saying "My helmet an dem shoulerma pads".

I've also explained to him how the most important piece of equipment is called the cup. And it ain't....

Oh, you've never heard that comedy routine before? Well we loved this routine in high school. All of us recited it all the time and the first time we saw it, we laughed until our stomach's hurt. Back then we didn't have youtube so I had to wait for it to run again on HBO so I could record it on our VCR (remember those?) to watch it repeatedly. I think we still have that tape actually (or Mom and Dad do I should say).

While we were waiting on the storm that never happened last week (Hurricane Hanna), I went to youtube to see if I could find it so that we could all have a good laugh. Luckily Mom and Dad were here so that I could ask them the name of the comedian. I knew it was "Bob", but I couldn't remember his last name, "Nelson". We all watched it again with the same laughter as years past. I did share it with my children (cuss words muted - because you see - I still know it word for word and knew right when to hit the mute button).

But now that we have youtube I get to see it any time I want. And since I haven't had a youtube funny in a few weeks I thought I would share Bob Nelson's "Football Routine" with you now. This is the whole routine...the football part starts around the 2 minute mark. But I promise that it's all worth it. You could call it an "Ode to Football Season".

Enjoy!

Alphabet Meme

I have taken this cute idea from a website that I have recently started reading. Isn't it funny how we can read the answers to these questions (or posts on a site) and kind of feel like you know someone better - even if you've never met them?

Have a great weekend everyone! Wish us fun getting out of school early tomorrow thanks to tropical storm Hannah. I see Yahtzee and cards in our future.

The Alphabet Tag and it's random facts. Here goes (and feel free to consider yourself tagged):

Attached or single? Attached. And have been since 1987 - well, there was a time or two of a brief break up - but attached officially since 1994.

Best friend? Used to be Leslie. Now I have a lot of great friends, but I don't think I could rank one best over the others. I would probably still call Leslie my best friend, but we never see each other any more. Like ever.

Cake or Pie? Depends - Chocolate lava cake or coconut pie - mmmmm.

Day of Choice? Friday - there's so much promise as to what may follow.

Essential Item? Morning caffeine - could be cold (ie diet coke) could be hot (coffee). I will get a headache if I leave this out of my morning.

Favorite color? Shades of blue.

Gummy bears or worms? Bears. Because they're so compact you can really get a lot of flavor off of them when they are in your mouth. We also watched "How It's Made" featuring gummy candies. Did you know that the powdery residue on them is cornstarch to keep them from sticking to the molds? And yes - that's vegetable oil on them for the same reasons.

Hometown? born in Kannapolis, NC - lived in Chas, SC since I was 4 1/2.

Indulgence? spa treatments - I only go when I have a gift certificate

January or July? July

Kids? Two. For the time being I get to say that they're 8 & 9 (the 9 year old will be 10 on the 15th)

Life isn't complete….yet

Marriage Date? You can date after marriage? I wish my husband took me on dates. The day (date) we got married was July 2nd.

Number of Brothers and Sisters? 1 younger brother

Oranges or Apples? Oranges are great - but they're messy and hard to get to, so I usually pick apples...red. Gala or Fuji.

Phobias? spider webs, claustrophobia

Quote? All things happen for a reason.

Reasons to Smile? My children (or others around me) are happy.

Season of Choice? Late spring or early fall - they both feel the same.

Type of bed? King - boy would I love a new mattress on it.

Unknown Fact? I have a chicken pox scar on the top of my butt crack. I think it got there thanks to my pants. I had "the pox" when I was 4 I think.

Vegetable? I like them all grilled. And I love salads.

Worst habits? cussing (but my daughter said "crying", but I don't think that's a habit)

XRay or Ultrasound? What do I need it for? Whichever is appropriate.

Your favorite food? seafood

Zodiac sign? Aries with Taurus rising (born 8:16 pm on April 19 - some signs say Taurus begins at midnight - or April 20)

All Stopped Up

When you feel like one of the rooms in your house just isn't heating and cooling like it should be, before you check to see if a window is cracked or that something is laying on top of the vents, check to see what's INSIDE the vents. That may be where your problem is. Really. All of this stuff could be down and around the bend, stuck inside the duct work. Out of sight from the top of the vent.
Yes - that's one Bison-head coin purse (as big as my hand), a hand held water game in the shape of a fish, Barbie's hairdryer, a paint brush and three semi melted crayons. All down just one of the air vents. Luckily there was nothing in the other one.
And the really funny thing is (not funny, ha ha, but funny - weird) none of those are my children's toys AND the people who lived here before us had no children. So that leads one to think that children living here more than 7 years ago left that little time capsule.