Fresh burgers, potato salad and dessert.

Hanging out with family and friends.

Just having fun and enjoying myself.

See relatives I don’t see often (enough).

Maybe a bit of swimming around.

Probably some kayaking around the lake.

Taking lots of pictures of everyone.

Yep, sounds like a good day!

I hope you’ll stop by and visit some of the other people participating in 6 Word Saturday.

I grew up in a small town where street lights were a normal everyday illumination in the evening.  When I went away to school I went to the big city, where slag dumps lit up the night sky like you wouldn’t believe.  It was actually pretty cool and for some this was a family event…driving across town to see this nightly occurrence (I liked on the right side of town).  I am now a country girl, a country girl who enjoys the darkest, dark there is to be had.  I have troubles sleeping during a full moon because the moon is too bright for me and actually keeps me up – it’s worse in the winter when the moon reflects off the snow, I’m miserable the next day if I don’t fall asleep on time.

And what exactly does this have to do with my possessed satellite receiver?  It’s out to get me, I swear it is.  This phenomena has been happening for months, and Hubby wouldn’t believe me.  Now the receivers are banding together and they’re out to drive me nuts.

Sometime over the winter I was awoken (okay, I wasn’t really asleep yet, but the eyes were closed) by a bright light, a light so bright I could see it through my eyelids.  It was the little green glow on the satellite receiver box.  It was bright, I was annoyed.  I was annoyed because I knew darn well that I had turned the box off and why, or why was it on again, waking me up?  By the time I rolled over to grab the remote it had turned itself off.  Was I imaging this stupid light being on?  No!  Is it possible it was on and then turned itself off?  Hubby doesn’t think so, he thought I was nuts and the time and I haven’t brought it up since.  But you know what, the damn thing has continued to do it, not nightly, but enough to drive me nuts with annoyance.  I need my sleep people, I’m an 8-9 hour  a night person.  I’m grumpy without my sleep, sometimes very grumpy!

What ever the stupid box in the bedroom seems to be out to get me.  I’m starting to think TVs in the bedroom are a bad idea, but I like the comfort of being in there when I don’t want to watch what’s on the livingroom.  Hubby falls asleep with the TV on nightly, so I guess it’s staying.  Stupid box and all.

But you see, the other night, the night where the boxes seem to be plotting for my sanity, the same thing happened in the livingroom.  As a matter of fact it’s happened twice in the past few days.  I distinctly remember turning the box off and when I look up again, the little blue light in back on taunting me.

The first time I noticed, I had turned off the box the other night and was sitting here doing the internet thing.  Next thing I know I saw a little blue light out of the corner of my eye.  I questioned myself, but yes, I did  in fact turn it off.

And why am I sharing this with out now?  I part because the stupid one in the bedroom did it again last night!  And in part to see if anyone else out there has had this experience – by the time I would wake Hubby the stupid light would be off again anyway.

What’s really funny…seeing Hubby’s face when he wonders why there is a sock thrown over the receiver box. Sometimes it’s the only way I can sleep though the night.

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Care to join in on the fun…or to see what others are writing about today?

@mamaspohr brought this little site to my attention. (aka: The Spohrs Are Multiplying)

“This blog is my maternity leave hobby. While my baby is taking her nap, I create scene around her and take quick snap photos.”

The scenes she creates are amazing! Here’s just a few.  But really, you need to go check out her site for yourself.

I can so see this becoming more than just a maternity leave hobby!

Okay, so this won’t be entirely wordless, I have to add a few words to this post.
First of all, the concert was AWESOME! It really was quite the show.

Why, yes I do think Brad Paisley has this right.  As we were heading in, a rather drunk guy was being escorted out.

For those of you who don’t now Brad Paisley, he sings this really great song, “Whiskey Lullaby” with Alison Kraus.  Well he performed the song at the concert and when Alison is supposed to start singing in the song she “appeared” on stage.  The effects were so good, up to the very last note of the song Hubby and I were trying to figure out if she was in fact there or not.  The image was so clear and perfect, the spotlight was “on” her and there were shadows.  It was incredibly well done.  And when she got up to leave at the end of the song…there was no one there!

We were only able to make it to Brad Paisley, but when do you get to see 5 opening acts.  If the H2O tour comes to your area I highly recommend going, even if you aren’t as lucky as we were with our ticket price.  $10!  That’s what we got them for back when we went to the Sugarland concert.  It was definitely worth it, and I can now say I would have easily paid the full price and then some.  Paisley himself played for just short of 2 hours.  Worth every penny!!

Also being linked up here and here, among other places that I really need to remember to copy over to here.

It’s your turn…come share your WW with me. I’ve enjoyed having everyone join up, it’s been fun watching more and more of you stop by to join in on the fun.

One of the highlights of my week was this tweet.

If you don’t know, Nate Ryan is the NASCAR reporter for the USAToday and a fill-in on Sirrius NASCAR radio.  He was tweeting about the events of the Nationwide race more than a week ago now and I sent a comment and a question.  It’s kinda col to have a reporter tell you, you asked a good question and they would try and ask!

That wasn’t even my first cool Twitter event of the week.  We went to the Brad Paisley concert last week but because of Hubby’s schedule we couldn’t make it to most any of the opening acts.  I couldn’t find anywhere, with time Brad Paisley himself was supposed to perform.  I threw a tweet out to @LiveNation on the very random, but highly unlikely chance I would get a response.

Not only did I get a response, I got three!  All of which made me very happy because we were going to be able to see the entire Brad part of the concert.  More on that tomorrow though.

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How is it possible, that Hubby, in his late-30s has never had a leg cramp?!  He woke me up at about 4:30 the other morning freaking out (just a little) about the fact that his leg couldn’t move and the muscle was all hard and OMG what was go on?!?!?!

After a bit of “coaching” from me he was able to get the leg stretched out and the muscle relaxed and I got to go back to sleep.

Of course I had to hear about it the next day.

Again, I ask, how is it possible he hasn’t had one of these before?  I have many several of them a year.

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Coming back from the concert last week I re-realized something funny and weird about my night driving.

Hey, it was late, Hubby was sleeping and I guess I needed to entertain myself somehow…and I want to know if there is anyone else out there that does this?

So it’s dark, really dark.  We’re on the highway, in the middle of farm country…that’s how dark it is.  Yes, there are a few cars on the highway and I was about to pull over to pass.  As all good drivers, I checked the blindspot over my shoulder and prepared to pull over…and, they I checked it AGAIN!  I get this in heavy traffic.  I get this during the day.  But at night?  I don’t know why but I tend to check my blindspot multiple times driving at night (I do it during the day too) when really if I couldn’t see lights a second ago, where on earth did I figure lights were going to mysteriously appear?

Does anyone else check that blindspot multiple times at night…even though you know that there was nothing there and nothing even remotely in the area?  Just wondering.

I joke about the fact that when I go to Swiss Chalet I get the baked potato and smother it with butter, sour cream AND chalet sauce.  Yes, I know, that’s just bad!  Would it help if I told you I eat at Swiss Chalet less than once a year (a byproduct of the fact that Hubby doesn’t eat chicken).   I have no idea how many calories are in this, but I’m smart enough to know that it’s a lot and I probably shouldn’t eat it.

Then I saw this (again,  on MSNBC…I need to stop visiting that site).

A simple eat this, not this article.

Olive Garden Fettuccini Alfredo meal

800 calories
48 g fat (30 g saturated)
810 mg sodium

Saturated fat equivalent: 1.5 full jars of Nutella!

I’ll take the Nutella please.  Of course, it should be noted that this is for the kids meal at Olive Garden.  This doesn’t include the bread sticks.  This is not the adult meal…I’d be afraid to ask just how many calories are in the adult equivalent.

Applebee’s Grilled Cheese with French fries

1,020 calories
54 g fat (17 g saturated)
2,170 mg sodium

Calorie equivalent: 400 Cheddar Goldfish Crackers. (That’s 1.3 full bags!)

400 Goldfish Crackers?!  That’s just crazy.  I’d be okay eating some of this one…I don’t tend to eat a lot of fries.  As if I’m justifying my eating a grilled cheese sandwich.  Either way you look at it though, that’s a lot of calories…half of what I should eat in a day. Not I say should eat…

And the one that takes the cake…

Friendly’s Mac & Cheese Quesadilla meal with Friendly Frank, Shirley Temple and Friend-z Peanut Butter Cup

2,270 calories
109 g fat (45 g saturated)
3,320 sodium

Calorie equivalent: 45.5 Glazed Munchkins from Dunkin Donuts!

We don’t have a Friendly’s here in Canada so I don’t really know what this meal is, but I do know that 2200+ calories for a kid is criminal!  That’s more than the recommended daily calories for an adult!!  In this case, I guess any kid would be better off eating 20 glazed munchkins from Dunkin Donut than the meal at Friendly’s.  Granted this meal includes the dessert.  I wonder what the calorie count is on just the meal.

I have/had the Restaurant app on my iPhone (I need to re-download it…apparently there was a glitch causing the phone to crash) and it was handy and helpful.  Did I look at it every time we went out to eat…goodness no, sometimes I just want to eat what I want to eat and not feel bad about it.  But, I have to admit that sometimes the app surprised me with the information it gave.  Sometimes the better looking choice wasn’t the better choice after all.

Who does this to their dog?

I hope you’ll stop by and visit some of the other people participating in 6 Word Saturday.

I hopped on to MSNBC.com Wednesday morning and came across this…

I don’t even know what to really say about it!

The caption made me laugh: Have you been hankering for a food product that can roll around inside your car for months before you eat it? If so, look no further. Because aren’t we all looking for food that can roll around in our car for months on end.  Okay, fine, if you know me, you know my car isn’t the cleanest place in the world, but really?!

Apparently this was designed by some dude in Salt Lake City, Utah.  And get this…he’s been working on this for “more than a decade!” I guess when you are determined nothing stands in your way.

Okay, I don’t think I could/would ever eat one, but I can sort of see how the PB & J could sort of work.  But chicken?  In a sandwich?  In a can?  Umm, no!

Apparently this guy has a thing for cans, because not only has he come up with sandwiches in a can, he also has been working on pizza in a can (not even sure how that would work or look) and French Toast in a can (because it’s so hard to make?!).

I love this selling feature…he knows his audience (apparently):

“So think about it,” Kirkland explained. “You’re a mom running your kids between school, piano lessons, soccer. Stopping at a fast-food restaurant takes time. This is something that literally could roll around the car for a few months. …

I hear it now…soccer mom’s rejoice, you don’t have to make sandwiches anymore, you don’t have to wait in line at your fast food restaurant of choice, you can simply tell your kids to reach under the seat and grab the can that’s been rolling around under there since last winter.

That said, how exactly does this stand up to winter?  I live in the frozen tundra, where for 4-5 months of the year (I was going to say 6, but I’m being hopeful) anything that freezes needs to be taken out of the car for fear of the frozen explosion.  I cannot even imagine coming out to my car on a freezing cold morning to see chicken sandwich splattered everywhere because my candwich exploded overnight.

Apparently, the sandwiches aren’t that bad.

I’m sorry, but I’m not buying it.

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P.S. – Yes, I’ve had this post up since Wednesday night. Hey, I was at the Brad Paisley concert Thursday night and completely forgot that I hadn’t done anything for Friday. It’s 1:36 a.m. and I should be sleeping but we just got home and my ears are still ringing. But the concert…well it was AWESOME! Pics coming on Wednesday.

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are to join in on the fun.

Also being linked up here and here, among other places that I really need to remember to copy over to here.

I hope you’ll join in on the fun.

I’ve been enjoying my summer vacation and getting the time to lounge around reading all of the blogs that I enjoy so much.  Actually, there are days I don’t know what to do with myself because I catch up on my reading rather early – as opposed to the days during the school year when I have over 100 posts to read in my reader.

First…a great site with contests going on until the end of the month:

Christmas in July is going over there right now, with prizes and gift ideas.  It’s a bad site for me to go to right now since I’m in the Christmas crafting mood, but I think I will survive it.  Go, click over there now (you can come back here after, just promise me…) and check out all the cool things going on.

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One of the blogs I enjoy reading is:

I am inspired by the stuff that she does.  Then last week she posted the most incredible site on her blog and inspired doesn’t even come close to explaining what I thought.

These are created with driftwood…yes, driftwood!  Take a look for yourself over at Heather Jansch’s site. Wow!

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Over here at:

I spied these yummy looking goodies!

S’more Brownies!  Don’t they look amazing?  Hubby is not a big brownie fan, and I’d probably eat the entire pan myself, but…we do have a have family parties and reunions coming up and I may just have to turn on the oven to make a batch or two of these.

It’s summer, I can’t remember the last time I used the stove…the BBQ has a side burner so all of my cooking has been done out there since the heat finally came.  I even made pancakes on the BBQ the other week…love my griddle topper!

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I LOVE batik fabrics!  Love them!  I have stack of fabric downstairs just waiting to be cut apart and assembled into a quilt/bedcover.

How could I not love this blog?  She makes her own batik fabric…and has a book on how to make your own!  I’m in love and I’m in need of another book order.  Drat, I was doing so well too.  Look at the fabric she’s made…

isn’t it just gorgeous?!

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And on a more serious note…as in it’s not all yummies and craft today…

Holocaust Dance Video

Have you seen the video? Youtube took the original video down, but you can still find it from others who have decided to share their downloaded version.

I have to admit, I don’t have a problem with the video.  I take the Holocaust seriously.  Teach it to my students.  I even brought my students to see Hana’s Suitcase this year and the conversations the unit generated were phenomenal!  I just wish this video had been made public a month and a half ago because  I would have shown it to my class to see what their reaction would have been to it and to open the discussion about appropriateness.

The reason I don’t have a problem with this video is very simple: he survived the Holocaust.  I look at it as a celebration of what he survived, with this grandchildren, before it is too late for him to share this experience with them.  That’s it, that’s all, that’s how simple it is to me.

I truly do hope I haven’t offended anyone by posting this.

And if you’d like to join in hop on over to Unmom for a bit more Random Tuesday.