To Do: Pack away Winter

With the weather hitting the upper 70's this weekend, I figured it was time to pack away the snowmen, sled outside, and snowflake decorations. Even though the calendar says February, it does look sort of silly.

Everything is getting packed up, except for my one little reminder in the guest bedroom. It's one of my favorite antiques, a clipping from the Herald & Review newspaper, showing a snowy scene of downtown Decatur in 1940.

But for everything else, I say "Goodbye Winter...

see you next year!"

Follower #12

I figured Follower #12 deserved a special blog posting...because without her, I wouldn't be able to read or write! Mrs. Calvert, my 1st grade teacher, is one of my dearest friends. Really! I often refer to her as one of my "old friends." Hee! Hee! Here is my 1st grade class way back when. Mrs. Calvert is the tall one of course (trying to convince us that our class read the most books the fastest, when years later I realized that our worm just had less humps as it went down the hallway). I'm the cute blonde in the front row with pink pants. Her favorites sat in front.

So having Mrs. Calvert (whom I now call Beth) as Follower #12 is a big deal to me. (Trust me, if you understood her computer skills you would be impressed too!). 12 is an important number.

There is...

• 12 grades in school
• 12 eggs in a dozen
• 12 hours on a clock
• 12 jurors in a jury
• 12 Coke cans in a case
• 12 ounces in a can
• 12 days of Christmas
• 12 months in a year
• 12 spots for the Nascar Race for the Chase
• 12 in the Top 12 on American Idol (one of Beth's favorite shows!)
• 12--Matt's shoe size (make no judgement)
• 12 letters in BETH_CALVERT (yes, running out of 12's)

In case you are wondering, Beth only has 3 favorite students of all time (pictured above). Ironically, besides me, the other two are Followers #14 (Jill Jones) and #16 (My dear husband)!

To Do: Go Global

Really, I do find it amazing that people read this blog sometimes. And there are some nights that I spend a great deal of time writing and I wonder "hmm..is anyone even going to read this??" But now I am proud to say that since going global and announcing my blog website on Facebook, I now have 16 followers! I had already written a post about Follower #12, but just didn't get it posted online so she gets a special shout out. I think my sister, Sherry, is really trying to get her own special posting, as I see that she is now a follower 2 times!

This also reminds me that I did notice on the Facebook comments from my family (who note, is featured often in my blog writeups), they often used the phrase "your blog is ACTUALLY pretty good " or "ACTUALLY entertaining."

Actually
adv.
ac-tu-al-ly
1. In reality
2. Used to express wonder, surprise, or incredulity

Well, I'm glad I ACTUALLY surprised you then :) Oh geez, I hope I can keep up with these high expectations!

Ten on Tuesday: Top 10 in 2010

I'm starting a new series called Ten on Tuesday. While I'm not quite ready to post to other blog sites, I did get the idea from: http://www.itsacraftylife.blogspot.com/

We just celebrated our 1 year anniversary in Little Rock at the beginning of February--and what a year it has been! So to kick off the series, let's highlight some of the most memorable moments from 2010.


#10: Calling the Hogs
Our Arkansan friends are probably appalled that "calling the hogs" would be rated #10. But...as I like to say "Someone has to be Last!" Despite being a cold evening, we did have a fun time attending our first Razorback football game with our neighbor, Jeremy. There is something to be said for football in the SEC.


#9: Bob Villa Pumpkin Carving
If they can do it on t.v., so can we! We showed our pumkins who was boss, as Matt did all he could to remain #1 son-in-law. (Note: This was just a few days after a surgery and Matt learned about this while watching lots of t.v. during his recovery)

#8: Record Setting Heat
You know I'm not usually one to complain about being hot. But when the thermometer gets over 100 for 8 consecutive days (and let me tell you it was not a dry heat!), even I was hot!! Really hot! Mind you, there ended up being 21 days total this summer that it was over 100.

The previous year there was 0. My brother, Richard, just happened to chose this awesome record week to bring his boat all the way from Chicago. He works outside, and even he would tell you how hot it was. You think jumping in the 140' deep lake would be refreshing, but the water temperature was 90. A hot shower is usually 96 degrees. And poor Matt couldn't even get in the water. But, despite the heat that none of us will forget, we still had lots of fun that weekend (some more than others, just saying).

#7: Intro to Betting

I have to admit, I still have no idea what Trifecta means. But I do know that I really enjoy going to the horse races! My first experience was when my sister, Sharolyn and her family came to visit. It wasn't long before we had taught the kids to cheer "Do The Tiger" or "Dare We Dream"....whatever one has the best name (or maybe the highest odds if we are really feeling lucky). The kids were so excited that a jockey gave them each a pair of goggles after the final race that they even slept in them that night! (After a wild night of Just Dance!)

#6.5: Tube Ride

I know some of you may want to believe that I am athletic. Let me just inform you (if you aren't on the floor laughing) that I am not. I'm weak and I really don't care. So the idea of holding on with my weak arms, as I'm being dragged across a huge body of cold water, (with the idea in my head that I could drown at any time), with water splashing on my face (I hate water on my face), under someone else's complete control....really just doesn't sound like the funnest idea in the world. But somehow when we went to Alabama to visit our friends, Heath & Sophie, somehow I was convinced to give it a try. I think I stayed on long enough just to capture this photo!

#6: Our Titanic moment

Again, another experience on water. This memorable event happened to occur early in the summer. Matt convinced his friend Dustin to get a pontoon boat and we had the waverunner. We were sooo excited for our first trip to the lake, Lake Ouachita (which we pronounce as Lake Wash Your TaTas). Dustin's parents were even in town and we kept the big trip to the lake as a suprise. Well, we didn't see much lake. The pontoon wouldn't start. But that didn't stop us....the waverunner could pull the pontoon to a cove. See...

What you don't see is that minutes later, the front of the pontoon started to sink....FAST! While everyone screamed for Matt to stop (but he couldn't turn around to see us), the pontoon was almost 1/2 way under water. Luckily the grandparents were holding onto the kids and lives were saved, but we learned a lot (a) Boating can be stressful (b) Don't put the rope in the front (c) Update the will. We can laugh now. Really, we did laugh, but it took a few minutes for our heartrate to reach normal speeds.

#5: Sledding on the Mound

We must have been very outdoorsy last year--but my next memorable day also was outside. This time, it was a little colder. It was Christmas Day and we had a nice snowfall come just hours before Santa. It was mentioned that I, having lived in or around the town of Blue Mound, IL (population 1200) for over 30 years, had never done what Blue Mound was known for--going sledding at the Mound. "The Mound" is an 80 foot high hill in the middle of the flat, flat fields once left by a Glacier. So, we bundled up in all the winter gear we could borrow and took Matt's sister and her boys with us. The best part was that we were the only ones there. Now I can check this off of my bucket list.

#4: Take Me Out to the Ballgame

I hope you are still reading, because these are good. My sister, Sherry and her two daughters, Katie (Follower #11) and Kara came to visit us for Memorial Day Weekend. While the whole weekend was entertaining, without a doubt we all are still talking about the baseball game. First, my sister almost died. Really. A line drive came right toward us, too fast to even yell, with the ball bouncing off the seat next to Sherry. I know you had to be there, but it was priceless. It was scary!And I guarantee that when my sister reads this, she will say "Oh My Hell."

But the night didn't end there. As we waited for the firework display to start after the end of the game, there was entertainment on the field. Entertainment as in the fact that my dear husband, suffering from arthritis and a hole in his stomach, volunteered to do a game in front of the whole dang stadium!! It's not great video, but let's just watch:

#3: Christmas Tears

Christmas can be a happy time, or a sad time. It never fails that every Christmas someone in my family usually ends up crying. This year's occasion was worth sharing. You see, my mother just retired from being a school teacher and decides that now for holidays we have to answer test questions. We had to go around the room from youngest to oldest and answer (1) What was the best gift you ever got for Christmas and (2) What was something you always wanted but never got. There was no question that Sharolyn and I would both say that getting our Collie dog, Jackie as a puppy was a complete surprise and a pretty hard gift to ever top. But some of us realized, oh 20 years ago or so, that dogs die. But mention the word "Jackie" and my sister, Sharolyn, will cry instantly. (I'll place a bet she is crying now reading this). So of course, saying that Jackie was the best gift ever brought Sharolyn to tears at Christmas.

And to add to it, watching Sharolyn cry made Susan cry (which side note: Susan always cries.) But to see both of them crying over a dog that died 20 years ago made the rest of us laugh. And laugh. And laugh. And any time Jackie was mentioned again that weekend, the waterworks began.

As we say at the Flamm's "Merry Frickin' Christmas!"

#2: Four scores and three years ago...

I have no idea how long four scores is, but I do know that this day was a long time coming. Hallelujah! I think we can finally announce that after 6 surgeries, Matt is finally healed!

#1: On the Wings of Love

For us, the most memorable event wasn't necessarily the funniest, but the funnest. When planning our trip to Arizona, I just happened to come across information on Trip Advisor about a group trip that included a helicopter ride. Having been (ok, I still am) a big fan of The Bachelor, I joked with Matt about this idea. He instantly said "let's do it!" This was not the reaction I was expecting, but booked the tickets immediately. If you watched The Bachelor at all last time, the dude was a Pilot (hello dream come true) so they constantly played the song "On the Wings of Love". Every time we talked about our helicopter ride, we had to sing too. It was even cooler than I imagined and my biggest recommendation ever to see the Grand Canyon. And just wait till you hear what cheesy songs they play while you are in the helicopter! The pilot got a kick out of watching my reaction to the song choices.

Gee...I wonder what we will do in 2011???

To Do: Hang Curtains

Way back in October, Matt had surgery. My mom came down to be his nurse. I thought she may get bored, so I left her with a project--transform a shower curtain into curtains for my office. I figure that since I spend so much time there, I might as well make it cute! Needless to say, I just got the curtains up this week. I think my productivity will likely increase now...ha!

Here is a view of the grande fortress:

While I am lucky to have my own office (though I do miss the fun times I had with my roomie Jamie in Springfield), this picture shows you how I really rate:

And as a reward for having the least amount of clutter/crap in my office--I recently received this trophy:

You don't have a bridge in your office? Well, hopefully I'm just a temporary storage place while our big meeting room is full of cookies.

Here's a look at what I stare at for about 8 hours a day:

You may notice:

• A not so new computer


• My awesome vinyl clock (not Uppercase Living, but it was $10--LOVE IT)


• Cookies (it's like a torture test when you have to stare at them all day)


• The back door--guess who usually has to answer the doorbell? (It's not like I can hide!)

And taking a closer look at my desk, you will see my never ending to-do list, and yes...what gets me through the day...Coke!

But often, some of the best views are behind me...

My view of Motel 6 "we leave the light on for you." You can imagine!

Just like momma

That's my girl! I caught her hogging all the heat!

To Do: Feed the Hungry

Some people pick up cans from the side of the road.
Some people pick up pennies from the sidewalk.
Some people pick up chicken fingers left over by a stranger.

Last night, we did a good deed--unintentionally. Call it a random act of kindness! Unable to eat the last two chicken fingers from my basket at Verizon Arena (Little Rock's indoor stadium), I pushed the basket of food under my seat (thinking I may eat them later...but clearly didn't). As the stadium was clearing out, we left our aisle seats so the rest of the row could hurry out. We moved up about 3 rows to wait for our friends that were coming over to meet us in our section. It happened in a flash, but while the man in the red shirt thought he was being sneaky, I caught it all. As he exited up the steps, without a second of hesitation, he reached down, grabbed those two chicken fingers, and shoved it in his mouth. He didn't look around to see who was watching (I'm sure he didn't expect the original eater to be watching) but just ate and kept walking. Now I should point out that while I'm glad the food was not wasted, I don't think the man in red really needed to eat two more chicken fingers if you catch my drift.

But needless to say, I think we scored some heaven points with our food donation.