Three Old Photos

Yo Jinjer! (Check out our hair):








Jen, Look how hot you are! I loved that dress! Miss Nance and Deb.










I was at Huntington this weekend. Reminded me of this party. Didn't Jen and I throw fabulous parties? This one was for Nancy's Birthday. A couple of questions/comments: (1) Where in the world was Andrea Deanda? (2) How tan am I??? and this was June, not August! (3) Look how long Bec's hair is (4) Who is the guy on the right in the jacket and furthermore why is he wearing shoes and socks at the beach?

Attention M.T.C.

I am looking for permission to blog the Postcard I received yesterday from Prague. As history would have predicted, it's the best postcard I have ever received. I laughed and laughed. Wish I was there, there is a no doubt to the reason why you are the Champion!!!!!

Watch Desperate Housewives Tonight!

We have a family friend portraying a guest at Edie's kids birthday party tonight. She was picked out because she was a hot sexy mom. How great is that? She also happens to be James best friends mom. So look for the hot sexy mom (her name is Kim-double how great is that?) at the party. You can see her in the following shots (unless of course she got edited):

• In one shot, she serves pizza
• She is standing next to the van when Susan and Lynette see a tarantula
• Carlos carries Gabby away and they walk right past her
• She's hanging out with her kids when Edie and Carlos are smoochin'

One last clue: She has on black pants and a long green sweater.

Go Kim, your one hot mama ;)

Planet Earth and HDTV

Several weeks ago I spoke briefly of the "Planet Earth" mini series on the Discovery Channel. Since then, David and I have watched all of the episodes and a couple of weeks ago we switched from our projection HDTV in the living room to our LCD HDTV in our family room. Now, we don't have the 1080p HDTV (The best) but the quality on the LCD is unbelievable. Planet Earth is the most amazing mini series I have ever scene. The footage of wildlife and rarely seen locations is fascinating to watch.

If you haven't seen Planet Earth, it's time to start watching.
If you don't have an HD LCD TV, it's time to purchase one.

22 Songs For When Your Depressed

Top Songs for when your depressed and want to wallow in it:
(1) Bad Day (Fuel)
(2) Everybody Hurts (REM)
(3) Losing My Touch (Toby Keith)
(4) With or Without You (U2)
(5) Let Her Cry (Hootie and the Blowfish)
(6) Because You Love Me (Celine Dion)
(7) Look Away (Chicago)
(8) November Rain (Guns and Roses)
(9) Wish You Were Here (Mark Wills)
(10) The Dance (Garth Brooks)

Top Songs for when your depressed and want to get out of it quickly (Note Country Music Liking Required):
(1) I Love This Bar (Toby Keith)
(2) Whiskey Girl (Toby Keith)
(3) We Shall Be Free (Garth Brooks)
(4) Born to Fly (Sara Evans)
(5) I'm Alright (Jo Dee Messina)
(6) Bye Bye (Jo Dee Messina)
(7) Goodbye Earl (Dixie Chicks)
(8) What About Now? (Lonestar)
(9) What the Cowgirls Do (Vince Gill)
(10) Good to go to Mexico (Toby Keith)
(11) Something Like That (Tim McGraw)
(12) Two Pina Coladas (Garth Brooks)

Yes, I have these as playlists on my IPOD.

Random 22

You may notice a new blog subject/label called 22. This will be a new series of lists that are made up of 22 total items.

I am struggling with the Random category. It is getting way too filled up and I am wondering if it should be broken up somehow. Agggh....the struggles of my life.

(Note the labels on the post, What to do?)

22 Ways to Feel Better

This was a rough week. To combat the rough week I will give you 22 ways to feel better:

(1) Iced Venti Chai
(2) Listen to Country Music (No, it isn't all sad. Usually country music puts me in a good mood)
(3) Send a text message (You'll probably get one back)
(4) Take pictures of random people
(5) Go outside and enjoy the weather
(6) Throw some ketchup on the floor
(7) People watch at your local Starbucks
(8) Look for shopping carts
(9) Write a good blog
(10) Re-watch Season 5 of 24
(11) Go out with friends
(12) Update your IPOD
(13) Get a tattoo
(14) Call Jeff Tracey
(15) Bury someone
(16) Go somewhere new
(17) Play 80's music
(18) Have expensive Sushi for dinner
(19) Refuse to be negative
(20) Phone a friend
(21) Go shopping on Craig's List
(22) Play Ms Pacman

As Much As I Hate to Gloat...

How great is this? I was alerted to this news yesterday when a friend and new blog reader informed me via email. http://www.realitytvworld.com/news/donald-trump-taking-credit-for-rosie-odonnell-the-view-firing-5084.php

Minor Observation

50% of my blogs this month include photos I have taken with my Blackberry Pearl. This substantiates my claim in the 200th blog that the number 1 reason I haven't run out of material is my Blackberry Pearl!

Love the Pearl!

Escaltors in Your Town

This is the only escalator that exists in the entire City of Redding. I am contemplating moving since my escalator injury risk level would be greatly reduced.

I wonder how many escalators exist in Pasadena? Hmm...I'm thinking now. 4 at the Paseo, 2 at the Macy's, 1 at Tower Records, 1 outside by the Corner Bakery, 1 at the Sears, 1 at the old AMC movie theater in Old Town, 1 at the Target (old Robinson's-May) Is it possible that there are only 11? I would have originally thought there would be 100's.

How many are in your town? (In case you are wondering, this is a random topic even for me, I fell down the escalator at the Sacramento airport on Tuesday. It was an awful scene)

Middle Names

OK, so I said before that Ruth had the best middle name. Well, it is the best because we share our middle names. One of us has an "E" the other doesn't but we are both "Ann or Anne". Now, while Ann is the best middle name it is not the most popular. Marie, is the most popular middle name with Ann being the second most popular. Check out and participate in the middle name survey at http://www.namenerds.com/uucn/midsurvey.html.

I was very happy to see that many names of my favorite people made the list. Some of the names are the first names (not just middle) but none the less they made the list in some form. Also note that I don't know everyone's middle name so if yours made the list, let us know.

For now, some of my favorites (in the order they appear in the middle list):

Ann, Jane, Dawn, Rae, Diane, Joy, Ruth, Rachel, Rebecca, Sara, Carol, Jennifer, Alexis, Amy, Laura, Andrea, Michael, James, Jon, Andrew, David, Thomas, Edward (Eddie), Anthony (Tony), Matthew, Scott, Mark, Benjamin (Ben), Jeff, Glenn,

Pearl Education in Redding CA

Tonight, Blackberry Pearl training commenced at Logan's Roadhouse in Redding. Randy and I demonstrated our Pearl's for these great patrons at the next table.

I explained that the T-Mobile phone pad was better than the Cingular phone pad and the woman to the right in the picture was very happy since she is a T-Mobile customer. Her phone will be cooler than mine!

The picture below measures the size of the Blackberry Pearl to the size of the Motorola Razr. Surprisingly, they are very close in overall dimensions.

After this, Randy convinced the waitress (who knocked Ketchup all over the ground) that we were marketing managers for Heinz and were responsible for the creation of the Red Pearl that he owns. LOL.

Phoenix Fire Hydrant

On Friday, I walked by this Fire Hydrant on Thomas in Phoenix. It is located on the north side of the street between 3rd and 5th avenue.

The fire hydrant had five feet of pipes and chains connected to the pipe. It was really odd. I would love for an engineer to tell me what this is all about.

After reviewing my pictures of the fire hydrant I realized that I didn't get a good side view. Unfortunately, I noticed this when I was about to leave Phoenix so I engaged the help of the head honcho in Phoenix FSO to take a side shot. When she arrived to take the side shot (less than 48 hours after I took the original) she took the photo below. The strange connections had been removed and it had returned to normal.

So can anyone tell us what the connections were for?

Trip to Arizona Wing CAF

On Sunday, David and I went to the Arizona Wing Commemorative Air Force Museum in Mesa, Arizona. I'm sure you will be surprised to know that I took a couple of pictures. The pictures below are of a General Electric J-47 Turbojet. It weighs in at 2707 pounds. Please review the pictures closely. One of them is pretty cool!

Birthday, Shout Out to Ruth!!!

Happy Birthday to someone who not only has the best middle name ever, someone who writes a great blog!! Have a great birthday, Ruth Anne, I hope it's the best ever!!

Mystery Location

Today, I went to a mystery location in Arizona. Here are two clues in solving the puzzle:

Quick Saturday Update

I have a couple I of updates pending however I am having issues moving pictures from my new blackberry to my desktop. I need to update the software and I am a little too tired to mess with this further tonight.

The last couple of days have been pretty good. Yesterday, I had a very busy day at work although I didn't accomplish everything on my list. I will work on the remaining items tomorrow night. After work I went to Happy Hour with some of the Phoenix FSO folks and we had at good time.

Today, we went to the NASCAR race at PIR. I have such great pictures and I can't wait to share them with you. Hopefully, I will get this blackberry thing resolved by tomorrow so I can transfer these to my laptop. I think one of them might make to a "You Might Be a Redneck if" website.

Tomorrow brings a barbecue and I don't know what else but I think I am going to wear a new T-shirt that I got today. It will put me in a perfect position to win if I get involved in any competitions.

Last comment on my blackberry exchange. How happy am I that when I look at my blackberry I don't see the gashes on the side of it that reminded me of when I dropped it at the Sacramento airport? Nothing, like a nice new shiny pearl to make you happy! (If it only had the T-Mobile number keys it would be perfect!)

Great Picture from Death Valley

Isadora took this picture over the weekend when she went to Death Valley. I think it is one of the coolest pictures I have ever seen. Very creative and totally fun!

Oh, My....Blackberry Outage

Here are the facts as we know it:

1. Server Outage at RIM is causing delays on send/receive on Blackberries in North America and Europe
2. There is no ETA
3. Communication from RIM has been poor

My favorite line from all articles that I read this morning refers to whats next: These poor addicts may actually have to talk to each other. (LOL)

Below is one of the thousands of articles:

http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=4871

Where Is This Starbucks?

Anybody know?

Elisabeth, Take Down Rosie!

Let me just start out by saying I am the last one to hear anything on "Entertainment" news unless it has something to do with 24. So today, I see a link about the Elisabeth Hasselbeck and Rosie O'Donnell feud. (For those that don't know Elisabeth she co-hosts the view with Rosie and became famous when she was on Survivor, The Australian Outback. BTW: She comes in 2nd on my all time favorite Reality Stars list-right after Jannell from Big Brother)

Anyhow, Rosie has apparently been giving Elisabeth some crap over her conservative view points and a couple of weeks ago said she was young and ignorant. I hate Rosie! Always, have, this doesn't help.

Lastly, as I was reading the article I found out that Rosie writes her blog in Haiku style! So I went to check it out because "her style of Haiku writing is so great" Here is her apology to Elisabeth:

i love Elisabeth
i hurt her feelings
i feel badly
she has forgiven me
i have not myself"

All I have to say is this is not a freaking Haiku! As we all learned back in our own Haiku blog: http://kim1champ.blogspot.com/search?q=haiku, Haiku's contain specific characteristics, none of which are found here. Champ to Rosie: All Haiku's are three lines only! Traditional Haiku's use 5/7/5 syllables and American Haiku's use 3/5/3 syllables. If you are going to call yourself a Haiku blogger, know what a Haiku is first!

Take her down, Elisabeth!!!!!

Most Dangerous Airports

Am I happy that Sky Harbor is on this list? Not so much! The caption about Sky Harbor in Phoenix (picture below) states that new buildings and constant construction interfere with the control towers ability to visually track planes.

Also noteworthy, in the last year I have flown into 5 of the top 12 most dangerous airports. Anybody have me beat? I know of one person who can at least tie me.......

Anyhow, here is the top 12 airports in terms of danger:(1) North Las Vegas, (2) Long Beach, CA, (3) Charlotte's Douglas Airport, (4) LAX, (5) Boston's Logan Airport, (6) Sky Harbor, (7) Newark, NJ, (8) O'Hare, (9) Philadelphia, PA (10) Daytona Beach, (11) Midway, Chicago, (12) Fort Lauderdale. FL

Lady Bug in My Hummus

Today, as I am eating my lunch from the best Mediterranean restaurant in Pasadena, I find this:

Special Thanks to Mark Peters for capturing this photo. He entitles this photo "Lady Bug in Hummus on Spring Day" LOL (Note fork marks in lower right corner)

2007 Caldecott Medal for Silly Poems

Mark has won the above mentioned award (Please note that HE declared himself the winner) for the lovely poem he wrote below:

Kim stopped by on Monday
And wrote me a note
It said I was wonderful
That’s nice, but who am I to gloat?

Her note also said more things
Like she missed me on her last two trips
But what she didn’t know
Is that I was home doing flips

Now why I was home flipping
Is most curious indeed
Especially when you consider
It was on the back of a steed

What Kim hasn’t heard
Is that I think she’s so bright
‘Cuz unfortunately for her
On those last two trips I’ve been out of sight

Now this poem must end
And I must get back to work
Or Kim might just think
“Gosh, that Mark’s a real jerk!”

P.S. For those that don't know, Mark is a very talented web developer who is responsible for these two works of art:https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXFZLXGY9d6pkF_8KQD5sR4y8DJz2WLZY3Dsak-qKamF8Z0mJKNMzbt7lncfu-Zz20-NMPuWcqc257mGNaVy7q35AumWu67I1ap-WJgqAOOXmyvvWIMi9o4wEvAR0EHUHnJX6LVg/s1600-h/queenb.jpg
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Se8uEAuzpS98OQ1fnuAa_GrWtzTQg1sZTuiNfzlyRLgIrn1P5e2eXkSNd1JyKuT7msGcA5XnkTFLyoq8DqUEyL9hgHznT0Eh9o38mY5dcFc5WvN_yu-eheVKl4nejy3jH1kTLg/s1600-h/FINAL-02.jpg

Mom's Surgery Update

Just wanted to give everyone an update on Mom's surgery today:

It took about four hours and the doctor said it went like clock work. Unfortunately, only time will tell if it actually worked and fixed the Atrial Fibrillation but as of right now she is remaining in normal sinus rhythm. She's feeling good and most likely coming home in the morning.

One observation:

It costs six dollars to park in the parking structure at Huntington Hospital unless you are an employee, a doctor, a visitor or a patient. I ask you: How many people come to the hospital and don't fall into one of these categories?

Out of Office Messages

I don't normally post forwards or emails on the blog but this one was very funny so I just had to share it. Out of Office Messages:

1. I am currently out at a job interview and will reply to you if I fail to get the position.

2. You are receiving this automatic notification because I am out of the office. If I was in, chances are you wouldn't have received anything at all.

3. I will be unable to delete all the unread, worthless emails you send me until I return from holiday on 4 April. Please be patient and your mail will be deleted in the order it was received.

4. Thank you for your email. Your credit card has been charged 5.99 for the first ten words and 1.99 for each additional word in your message.

5. The e-mail server is unable to verify your server connection and is unable to deliver this message. Please restart your computer and try sending again.

6. Thank you for your message, which has been added to a queuing system. You are currently in 352nd place, and can expect to receive a reply in approximately 19 weeks.

7. I've run away to join a different circus.

8. I will be out of the office for the next 2 weeks for medical reasons. When I return, please refer to me as 'Margaret' instead of 'Steve'.

Jackhammers, Dangerous?

LOL

Terrible Day.....BUT...BUT

24 is back, baby!!!!!!!!!! Tonight's episode was simply awesome!!!!! Action packed the whole way through, much more Jack and that ending was something else (something I have been waiting for all season long)!!!!!

If the next seven episodes are as good as tonight's, there may actually be some redemption for season six.

This is the first time all season that I am in total suspense for next week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't wait, I can't wait, I can't wait!!!!!

Note: lots of explanation points in this blog entry=lots and lots of excitement

P.S. The other highlight of my day was lunch with Mr. Williams :)

King Geek Writes Tunes

We wonder why people call us geeks? This work of art was written by one of our king geeks in Northern California and should be sung to the ICE-T song, Colors:

Out on the Streets

I am a puter nerd walking ,Microsoft talking
king of my jungle just a egg head stalking
Fixing puters like a firecracker quick are my fingers
Dead are the tickets, the puters you abuse
hard or soft, macs or tiks, it just doesnt matter
PC's run for the life when my pager chatters
Nerds of CA, we never die - just improvise - Puters

2nd Verse:

I own the right tool
you now me fool
I don't need your assistance, f1 persistence
Any Problem I got I just put jist in
my life is compliant but compliance is life
stability a dream, reality is trife
my puters, my code, my tickets, my all
with my puters upon me one geek stands tall
Tell me what have you left here, what have I got
Last night in Unreal Tourny my avatar got Shot
My flag got jacked
My brothers a hack
My sister cant aim, cause carpal tunnels a fact
End user insanity life a dichotomy
then come some Programmer claimin they understandin me
give me a break, what world do you live in
fixen puters, guess my specialty

Um...yeah, king geek, don't quit your day job :) Everybody else.....can you guess who the king geek is?

Happy Easter!

This is my 200th Blog

I have been blogging since October! I can't believe I haven't run out of material yet, true some days are better than others but in general I usually have **something** to write about. I figured I could celebrate the 200th blog since TV shows always celebrate their 200th episode.

Here are the top 22 reasons why I haven't run out of material yet:

22. Paper Towel Dispensers
21. Reality TV
20. Ms. Pacman
19. Good Restaurants
18. Cell Phones
17. Mom
16. Stupid People
15. Blackberry's and Treo's
14. Other Technology
13. Joshua
12. Queen B
11. 24
10. Phoenix FSO Team
9. Starbucks
8. Friends and Family
7. Birthday
6. Long Island
5. The TSA
4. The Internet
3. Mr and Mrs Smith
2. Constant Travel
and the number one reason I still have blogging material:
1. Discreet Photography (BB Pearl)

Happy Birthday Alexis (Late)

I am so freaking lame!!!! I have Alexis's birthday on the wrong day! I completely missed her birthday (it was yesterday and I thought it was on the 6th).>

So please, please, everyone wish Ms. Alexis the best belated birthday ever because I am feeling like a total loser!!!!!!!!!>

P.S. Alexis, tell your mom that a beautiful dress is coming her way.

Maundy Thursday

I hope everyone had a good Maundy Thursday. If you are not familar with Maundy Thursday you can familiarize yourself by using our old friend Wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maundy_Thursday

Play M.A.S.H. Online

Last week, I was reintroduced to that whole M.A.S.H. game that I played as a kid. It is the game where you provide choices for your spouse, car, number of kids etc. and then eliminate options to discover what life will be like for you later in life. M.A.S.H. stands for Mansion, Apartment, Shack or House and that determines what type of place you will live in.

I just took the online version of M.A.S.H. which can be found here: http://www.playmash.com/

Here are the results of my first online M.A.S.H. game:
I am married to Brad Pitt
I drive a BMW
My favorite color is Blue
I have no kids
I live in Banff, Canada
I am a Newswoman AND
I live in a House

My 24 Update

Last night, I went to bed early (9:15) and then I remembered 24 was on so I got back up and went in the living room to watch. First, the fact that I forgot it was on is a pretty good indication of how I feel about this season of 24. Here are the top ten reasons why I am annoyed with Season 6 of 24:

(1) Jack's screen time is very limited. He is appearing in only about 10% of the hour.
(2) It almost seems like the real time aspect is gone. Last night, 10 minutes after Palmer comes out of the coma he is in situation room.
(3) Inconsistencies abound. Yesterday they had the Supreme Court in session (they called it the afternoon) but it was really 2:00AM Eastern Time.
(4) Very little Chloe time. I think she was on for about 2 minutes last night.
(5) Where the heck is Audrey (and no, she isn't dead).
(6) Repeat story lines: Another arm cut off, more bombs to find, oh and lets overthrow the President, AGAIN!
(7) We are two thirds through the season and almost nothing has happened.
(8) 70% of the show is revolving around the White House rather than the field.
(9) I am not bonding with the new characters as at all. Literally, I have no interest in them.
(10) Failure to close loops. Is Logan still alive? Why bring up Audrey just to forget about her?

Insomnia Cafe

Yesterday, while I was driving down the street I passed by the "Insomnia Cafe". I took a picture because this is the Coffee shop that everyone hangs out at on "The Bold and the Beautiful". Since there are a few fans of the Bold and the Beautiful that read this blog, I decided to post it.

When getting ready to post the picture I made another observation. The windshield in my car is really dirty! LOL. I keep using the excuse, "Oh, I'm going to be out of town tomorrow so why get the car washed just so I can let it sit at the airport". Well, the time has come and the car is getting washed tomorrow.

You Heard It Here First!

For some time, David and I have been discussing the need to do something more meaningful with our lives. The items we have been kicking around range dramatically in commitment level. We have talked about everything from conserving energy by not using our air conditioner to running for public office. (You know me, I am always all over the map)

Anyway, after much careful thought we have decided that we are going to move to Long Island. I am going to run to replace Hillary as the Jr Senator from New York! This is a huge move for us both personally and professionally but we are really excited! Please wish us luck on this new endeavor.

Having announced my candidacy I hope you all understand that the blog will now have to be more focused on issues rather than the random stories that you have become accustomed to reading. Stay Tuned for the following stories in the coming weeks:

*Environmental impact report on Mayonnaise factories and why Ketchup is the most environmental friendly condiment
*Why Emergency Shelters should serve Funeral Potatoes instead of Beef Stew
*Building Relationships with local authorities through innovate photography
*Implementation of easily identifiable (Yellow) Emergency Phones in public areas
*Coast Guard preparedness for when the tide is high
*Stringent controls for the distribution of platinum cards
*Improvement standards for public restrooms
*22 ways to improve your public image
*Supporting local charities results in improved consumer satisfaction
*The need for reasonable expiration dates on all state drivers licenses
*Building personal relationships with the governor by balancing humor and business
*Fascinating Treasures coming soon to the Smithsonian Institute

Lastly, I will initially be sponsoring the following two bills:

(1) Freedom Talker-Obtaining FAA approval for the use of mobile phones on all domestic flights
(2) Blackberries For Everyone-It doesn’t matter your race, sex, age or whether you are an illegal alien. I want everyone to know what it’s like to have one of dem new blackberries. No child should need to worry where their next text message is coming from.

This new chapter in my life would not be possible without the support of my friends and family. Thank you!