Kim's Thoughts
Just a few thoughts I feel worthy of jotting down!
The Rant, Birthday Girls, and More
I actually got to listen to The Rant live this morning! First time since they have been on the air. I listen to the podcast every week because I am usually at work when it airs, but today I took 1/2 of a vacation day to take care of some business and was able to listen to the show live while I was getting myself up and ready to head out. If you don’t know what The Rant is, it is a live talk show on the local CCCC radio station 90.5 which airs every Weds morning at 8:00-9:00 – they even accept call in questions/comments during the show. The show is hosted by Billy Liggett, Editor of the Sanford Herald and co-hosted by his partners in crime, Jonathan Owens and Gordon Anderson, reporters for the Sanford Herald. The show really is well worth your time to tune in – or to listen to the podcast, if you are not able to listen in live (click here for The Rant blog site to access the podcast). They have had some really interesting guests, but I was particularly pleased that today’s show was the first I could listen to live. The guests were the outgoing and incoming Presidents of CCCC. The discussion topic was extremely interesting and near and dear to my heart — education!!! So – if you haven’t become a “Rant Fan”, please give it a shot — today’s podcast will be posted later this evening sometime and you can also access past week’s shows so you have no excuse for not catching up!
I have added two new links to local Sanford web sites to my list of web links (see the list to the left). I read the article in Sunday’s Herald about Bella Bistro and saw that they now have a web site. (BTW – the duck dish they mention in the article is absolutely to die for!!! I had it one night on a business dinner a few weeks ago and fell head over heels in love with it!) I also recently found the web site for The Flame Steakhouse. Both these restaurants are fabulous and both have been major supporters of Communities In Schools (as well as other local non-profit and civic organizations) in one way or another over the years — if you’ve never checked them out, please do so — you can view both their menus on their web sites at the links to the left.
The girls have a new neighbor friend! The family that lives next to me has a new beagle puppy — he is so adorable!!! The first thing the girls do when they get outside is rush to the fence that separates out back yards to see if their new friend is outside. They wiggle, dance, and run the fence line together — it is so cute!!! The beagle pup hasn’t developed that wonderful beagle bark, yet, but he still sounds really cool when he barks at the girls to get their attention!
Speaking of the girls — Megan and Amy turned TWO this week!!! I am so shocked to realize that they have been with me for almost two years now — I took them in when they were about 8 weeks old or so! They have been a handful and have cost me a fortune in replacement/repair costs for furniture, pillows, dog beds, lawn furniture cushions, mini blinds, comforters and blankets, and on and on and on………..but, they have been such a joy that it makes it all worth it (or at least makes us even)!!! OK — so now I’m waiting for that magical day when they suddenly become adult dogs and stop chewing and acting like wild puppies!!! It happened that way for both Puddles and Katie — they just suddenly matured about the time they turned two and life was so much easier from that point on — will I be that lucky with Megan and Amy?????? And, if I am that lucky, when will that day get here??? When can I stop having to go through the house before I leave for work putting things up and securing all the chew targets????? Ha-ha-ha I’m just happy to have them in my life — all three of them!!! They are very special little girls and I love them dearly! Happy Birthday, Megan and Amy!!!
I think I’ve officially lost interest in All My Children……I have taped this soap every day and watched it after work every day for many years!!! Lately, though, I don’t seem to have the interest in it anymore. For a while now, I have let several days go by before I sit down to catch up on the taped episodes and skim through them more than I ever have before. Typically, all I skim through is the commercials, but lately I skim through whole scenes that don’t particularly interest me anymore! And just recently, I have been forgetting to reset the timer and haven’t been taping it for days at a time and when I think about catching it on SoapNet in the evening, I find myself not really paying any attention! I think the story lines have become so boring and “same ole, same ole” that I have just lost interest all together! I think it is a good time to cut loose and consider myself a recovering soap addict!!!
Well – that’s all I have for now — I need to get on with the reason I took the 1/2 vacation day and not waste it!
$3.69 – Think I’ll Take A Sunday Drive
My Grandparents always used to go on Sunday drives – they would take us with them when they could and we would drive all over the country side just to see what we could find. They would point out things to us that had significant interest to them. Many trips included stopping in at a local chicken farm to get fresh eggs and we’d often stop for ice cream or something along the way.
Then, when I got married and moved down here, we would take almost every weekend to just drive around to find out where things were and how to get around. We would drive in a different direction and go a little further every time we took a drive.
So, Sunday drives are something that I find very enjoyable and relaxing. BUT — with the gas prices as high as they have been for the past few years, I have not done a lot of that! Yeah, I drive around some for no particular reason, but not far or for very long! I usually incorporate a little drive with something that I need to accomplish – thus, making it more justified to use the gas!
Today, I met some friends at the new Down Home Country Buffet place for lunch and planned to gas up while I was out. When I passed the gas stations at the 421/Rt 1 intersection on the way to the restaurant, I noticed the gas price had dropped to $3.69!!! Woo Hoo!!! After lunch, I filled up the gas tank — I was able to fill an almost empty tank for $46.00 — I haven’t paid less than $50.00 for a fill up in a long time and most ran closer to or right at $60.00!!! Of course, $3.69 is still WAY too high, but it sure felt good!!!
I went to Belk and picked up a couple new tops and then headed home, but suddenly felt the urge to go for a Sunday drive! I drove through town and around Depot Park – there were a few kids playing on the train while their parents watched. I drove all around town just enjoying the quietness and then drove out through Deep River and down Colon Road and just around with no particular goal or destination. I noticed the Deep River Restaurant is all closed up and empty! That is a shame – it used to be a popular place to go for lunch with the work crowd, but I haven’t been in years. I actually thought about it a couple of weeks ago – glad I didn’t drive out there to find I wasted my lunch time! I wonder what happened? I also drove through the new subdivision on Amos Bridges Road – Arbor Glen (I think that is the name) – there aren’t many homes finished out there, yet, but there are a few started and they look really nice! I also drove through West Lake Valley and a couple other neighborhoods in that area.
I was out on my drive for just shy of two hours and it was very nice! It was a lovely day! My only regret was that I realized I never thought about putting the top down to enhance my enjoyment until I got home! When I thought about it, I came very close to pulling back out of the garage, putting the top down and finding another direction to go in and more things to go see on yet another Sunday drive!
Horrible Dream….
Today’s Thoughts, Memories, and a Movie Review
Today is August 16th – the anniversary of the death of two special people: My Grandpa, who died 10 years ago today. I can’t believe he’s been gone for 10 years! He was so very special to me and I miss him so much! The second is Elvis — it has been 31 years since Elvis passed on. Last year at this time, I wrote a post in their honor – click here to read it.
It has been a crazy couple of weeks – we hired a new Executive Director for Communities In Schools, I had an extremely resistant and stubborn upper respiratory infection and pretty intense laryngitis (there are people who found that to be a blessing – ha-ha), and it seemed like I was on the go for something every day – little or no down time!
To help me get through the craziness, I had a back facial at Natural Balance Medical Spa — oh, that was like visiting heaven! If you’ve never had a back facial, it is like a facial you have on your face, except that it is on your back! They do a deep cleansing, exfoliate, a series of hot towels to deep steam the pores, moisturizers, a relaxing massage, and a mask (not necessarily in that order) and, in this case, a scalp massage while the mask set up. It is great!!! And Natural Balance is one of the best places to have one done – especially this month – they are on a 50% off special throughout August!
I met a friend at Myra’s Friday for dinner — FYI — if you are ever there and her Pot Roast is on the special board, GET IT!!! You won’t regret it — that is what I had Friday and it was FABULOUS!!! Some man at the check out responded to the question “how was the pot roast” with the statement “best meal in the county” — I am inclined to agree! The beef was so tender and juicy and full of flavor!!! It is served with potatoes, onions, and carrots and you STILL get a choice of 2 sides! No room for dessert after that!!!
I went in to Cary today cause I wanted to go to Target and pop in to Red Lobster for lunch! The last couple of times I went in there, I got spoiled — the traffic and crowds were pretty light — not the case today!! Everywhere I went was PACKED and I could barely inch along through the traffic! It reminded me why I hate to go up there!!! I was trying to maneuver through the parking lot at Target and there were somewhere near 100 cars all looking for the 2 or 3 parking spots and mobs of people walking to/from the store! And everyone just blindly walked/drove through it all as if they were the only person in a 20 mile radius! The walkers wandered around like they thought the cars would know they were there and just let them walk on. The drivers drove through gawking for parking spots like they thought the walkers and other cars would see them and let them by! And the obvious problem was that NO ONE noticed ANYONE!!! I was amazed there weren’t any accidents! And, inside the store was just as bad! Crowded and people just walking through like they were the only ones there! I had FOUR, count them, FOUR people walk right into me or my cart – and ALL after I saw them coming and spoke out to them and tried to stop or back up to avoid them getting hurt! And they all looked at me like they were wondering where I came from — like I just appeared out of nowhere to be in their path! Then there were two children — one who’s mother was able to grab her just before she walked into the side of my cart and one who’s mother reached out for her, called her name several times, and I veered over to avoid her, but she still walked right into the side of my cart and started to cry! But the one that made me the maddest was when I was standing in an aisle looking at the displays – I was up against the shelves and there was plenty of room for others to get by, but some lady came barreling up the aisle not even looking where she was going and ran right into the back of my legs!!! She darn near knocked me off my feet – if I didn’t have the cart to grab onto, I would have been on the ground!!!! I have a lovely bruise just above the backs of BOTH my ankles. I did find what I went for, but it was like a zoo trying to get it!!!
While I was in Cary, I decided to see if there was a movie out that hasn’t opened in Sanford, yet. I found “Henry Poole Is Here”. I haven’t seen any ads on this movie, so I didn’t know anything about it. But, it starred Luke Wilson and I like Luke Wilson. The brief write up I read about it sounded cute and it was labeled as a “comedy/drama”. I figured it was worth a shot! I wish I had passed on it!!! I don’t know where they get that it is a comedy — it was pretty dark and depressing!!!! It had some heartwarming tendencies and the story was a good idea and Luke Wilson was good in his role —- BUT —- it ended there! I was not a fan of how it was filmed and the story was not told well. There were parts of the movie that I didn’t quite understand what was going on and some of the points made in the brief write up I read were never really made clear – if I hadn’t read them, I wouldn’t have made the connection! I dozed off a couple of times and kept thinking about what I wanted to get at Target and what I thought I might order at Red Lobster………….it was a bust!!!! If you think you might like this movie, I recommend you wait and get it from Netflix or catch it on HBO when it comes to cable! I give it a C+ and I think I’m being generous to give it the benefit of the doubt — it might just have been my mood today — maybe it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was!
By the time I saw the movie, fought the crowds at Target, Home Depot, and Lowes, I decided to just come home and have a left over hamburger I had in the fridge from Thursday night and skip Red Lobster — I’ll go another time!!!
I saw a preview of an upcoming movie that is opening on October 3rd – Beverly Hills Chihuahua – it looks sooooooooooooo cute!!! Click here for the trailer! This is one that I am looking forward to and can’t wait until it comes out!!! I’ll have to buy the DVD when it comes out so the girls can enjoy it, too!!
George Lopez is popping up everywhere, lately! He was a featured segment on Sunday Morning last week, he had a role in Swing Vote, he was in Henry Poole Is Here, and he is the voice of one of the Chihuahuas in Beverly Hills Chihuahua!!!
I was flipping channels this evening and found my very favorite movie — The Notebook — just starting! I was so happy and settled in to watch it! But, after the stressful day I had, I ended up falling asleep on the couch and missing it all……. I am now watching Kevin Costner’s Message In A Bottle – another really good love story that I never get sick of seeing over and over!!!!
I guess that’s all I have on my mind tonight! Have a great weekend!
Rosa Marina Is Really Popular!
My new goal in life — supplying the entire world with the recipe for “Rosa Marina Salad”!!!
I hope those that find it are enjoying it as much as I do!
Santa Claus Is Coming
There is so much to think about and plan for……..and if I have my gift idea list together, I can start buying things and stashing them for later! Beat the shopping rush!
Every year I start to think and plan and get excited right about now —- but, the last few years, it hasn’t helped keep me from rushing to put all the plans into action at the last minute!!! I used to be so good about being done so early — then, suddenly, I became a Christmas procrastinator!!! Definitely not because I didn’t start out being an early planner, though! I just somehow get off track mid-way!
Personal pet peeve about my Christmas shopping style: The risk of starting early is that I end up spending too much money!!! I always pick just the right gift for people – spend a lot of time thinking about it and deciding what the perfect gift is – then I get all excited when I find it! BUT — inevitably, once I decide what that perfect gift is and I buy it and cross it off my list, I end up finding something equally or more perfect for that person!!! Then I have the dilemma of what to do — do I ignore the second gift that I know the person will absolutely adore? do I take the first gift back or reallocate it to someone else? do I just give the person BOTH gifts and go over the target per person budget limit? and if I do that, do I then go back and adjust the target per person budget limit to make it fair for everyone?
So — even before the stores start with the Christmas decorations and music, I am already starting to get all hyped up about Christmas getting closer and closer — it is coming, folks!!! Get ready!!!
Stormy Weather
So, what did I do when the power was out???? Not much!!! ha-ha When the storm ended, I went outside with the girls to assess the damage. Luckily, I only had one huge limb and a few little ones down on the ground and they didn’t hit anything coming down!!!! It was pretty buggy right after the storm, so I didn’t stay out long! My laptop had enough juice to let me play a couple games I had on my hard drive – but that didn’t last long – it died and there was no power to recharge it! My new phone had enough juice to last a couple hours so I could check emails and play with the programming on it – but then it died, too! I thought about going for a drive to see how other areas faired the storm, but I couldn’t get out of my garage without the power to open the garage door……………..yeah, I know you can do it manually, but I don’t know how to do that – I’ve never had to figure it out – also, I think it involves climbing on a ladder to get up to the power box, which I have a strong aversion to (even if there were room to set up a ladder with the car in the garage)!!! So — I did a lot of throwing the ball for Megan and making circles for all three to chase around with the flashlight!!! They had a blast, but I was bored silly!!!
Movie Review – Swing Vote
I went to see “Swing vote” yesterday and I have to say it was actually quite good! It can’t be compared to other Costner classics, like “Field of Dreams“, “The Bodyguard“, “Bull Durham“, or “Message in a Bottle“. But it also doesn’t fall to the level of Costner bombs, like “The Postman” or “Waterworld“, either! It was good, but not great……
To summarize what you already know if you saw any of the trailers: Costner plays a man named Bud, who is a lazy, drunk, single father who would rather sleep or drink than work. His daughter, Molly, played by Madeline Carroll, is very smart and civic minded. She takes on the roll of “parent” to keep the small family going and get her Dad out of bed and on to work – most days. Molly tries to get Bud to care about the world around him and make him understand the importance of voting in the Presidential election. She tells him to meet her at the voting place after work to pick her up! But – after getting laid off from his job at the egg packing plant, he goes to the local bar, gets drunk, and passes out instead of meeting her. Hurt, frustrated, and determined to have Bud’s (her) political voice heard, Molly takes advantage of the chance to sneak into the building, sign Bud’s name, get his ballot, and cast it! But, a malfunction results in his ballot getting scanned, but not counted. Then, in a “could never happen in a million years” turn of events, the outcome of the Presidential election is a dead heat and it is discovered that one vote in tiny Texico, New Mexico wasn’t counted. Once the mis-cast vote is re-cast, it would be the deciding vote! Of course, the media finds out who that one voter is and the entire world’s media and the two politicians swarm onto him to find out who he is and how they can get his vote!
Now for my opinion: (warning — there may be some minor spoilers here — but not enough to ruin the movie — I promise!) The actors they cast were perfect — Costner seems comfortable playing the bum, Bud – a little too comfortable – ha-ha! He is a natural actor that is able to fit into whatever character he plays – this was no exception! Madeline Carroll is wonderful as his daughter. Kelsey Grammer does a nice job as the incumbent President. I found it hard to believe Dennis Hopper as a Presidential candidate, though — I’m sorry, I know it was 40-some years ago and he’s done a TON of other films, but every time I see him, I still picture Billy from “Easy Rider” and just can’t imagine him as a potential President of the United States! ha-ha Then, there was Stanley Tucci — I adore Tucci — he is a great character actor! I was disappointed that we didn’t see more of him as Grammer’s campaign manager. He can make a movie — like his character in “Devil Wears Prada“, for example!
Yes, the story line is far fetched – so are the story lines from a lot of movies! But, this one actually makes some strong statements! It is funny, touching (there were some scenes that brought tears to my eyes – yeah, I know – what else is new), and does a good job of sending a powerful message in a tongue-in-cheek format! Here are some of the messages I got out of the movie:
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Obviously, the importance of voting and how every single vote counts – even though it doesn’t usually get quite this literal! There is a statement in one of the press broadcasts that says, “I’ll bet if there is anyone in Texico that didn’t bother to vote, you’re kicking yourself now!”
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We should constantly be reminded of what is most important in our lives — family, friends, personal relationships! Pay attention — care for them — show them you understand what is important to them!
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Politicians will do ANYTHING to get your vote — whether they believe in it or not!!! The two candidates switched their platforms and changed what they had stood for all along just because they thought that was what Bud wanted to hear!!! They bent over backwards to pretend to like what Bud likes! It was sickening — but totally believable!!! I can just see real politicians doing exactly the same thing if the situation were real……
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We need to do more to make sure that politicians know what is important to US — not what they want us to think is important to us!!! Yeah, the big issues are important — but when it comes right down to what matters to your ability to live comfortably and provide for your family, they tend to not have a clue!!! The final scene where Bud gets to ask questions of the candidates in a televised debate is incredible!!! He begins by talking about his life and his previous interest (or lack there of) for politics. Then he uses letters he had received from people across the nation to come up with the questions — they only show the first one, but it is a doozy!!
You don’t find out who Bud votes for, but that is OK — it wasn’t the point!!! The point was the process he finally went through to come to that decision and how important it is to go through that process!
So — I do recommend this movie! Like I said, it’s probably not destined to be a classic, but it was enjoyable and even thought provoking! I give it a solid B or 3.75 out of a possible 5!
See you at the movies!
Bagels, Flea Market, Phones, and Movies!!!
Then, I headed out to do some tooling around town! First, I went to “Bagels and Stuff” next to Cafe Vesuvio for lunch! I had my usual warm corned beef on an onion bagel/roll with macaroni salad and a pickle. I really should try something different cause they have so many great things on the menu, but I just can’t resist my old standby cause there isn’t anywhere else in town I can get it and I do love it so!!! Some day, though, I am going to stop in and have something different!!! Anyway – while I was there, I talked to the owner, Lenny, about the CIS Gala and found out that he had been thinking about it since I stopped in a couple weeks ago and has decided to be one of the restaurants participating in the “Taste of Lee County” — so, we’re adding him to the list!!! The list now includes:
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Amy’s Confection Company
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Bagels and Stuff
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Bella Bistro
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Cafe 121
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Chef Paul
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El Rancho
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Fresh Choice Cafe
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Myra’s Kitchen
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Smith’s Coffee and Bottled Water
If you happen to frequent any of these restaurants, please thank them for their efforts to give back to our community — let them know you read about their participation in this year’s CIS Gala on my blog!
Then, I went to the new Regional Flea Market at the Fair Grounds. It is starting out small with just a few vendors with typical flea market items for sale. I really hope it grows cause I love flea markets!!! I was really tempted by a couple pretty serving bowls I found — I have a real “thing” for serving bowls and tend to buy all kinds of shapes and sizes of them! But, I decided against them — not really sure why — they were pretty and not at all costly!!! I’m suffering from reverse buyer’s remorse — I guess you could call it non-buyer’s remorse! I wish I hadn’t left without them!
After that, I went to the AT&T store to upgrade my phone and cell service! I guess it is time I entered the world of technology — my phone, up until today, was a plain cell phone with no camera and my service didn’t include any internet or text messaging package. It has started not holding a charge well and some other problems, so I decided it was time to replace it and wanted to trade up while I was at it!!! I now have a Pantech Duo phone that will do everything but serve me lunch!!! It has a little keyboard that slides out to make it easier to type and has all the typical PDA features! So now I can check email and access the internet from my phone wherever I am! I never really thought I needed to do all those things, but more and more I wish I could — so now I can!!! I’ll wipe the old one clean and donate it to Haven or somewhere like that.
The next thing I did was go to the movies!!! I went to see “Swing Vote”! I liked it — it wasn’t great, but it was actually quite good! I came home to write my review and got probably half way through a very lengthy review and I don’t know what I did, but suddenly in a split second, the entire blog disappeared and all that was left was the title!!! Then, as quick as that happened, it auto saved, so I couldn’t even go to the draft to get at least part of it!!!! Uuuugggghhhh!!!! So — I was pretty frustrated at that point —- I decided to do this post now and go back and rewrite my review after I get some supper! Watch for it later tonight!
So — I had a very nice, productive, and pleasant day!!! I’m pleased with myself!!! ha-ha-ha Now it is supper time!!!
My blog is having a birthday!!!
Some bloggers stick to a theme, some have a main focus while deviating from time to time, and some – like me – just write about whatever is on our minds!!! My blog is called “Kim’s Thoughts” and my tag line is “Just some random thoughts I feel worthy of jotting down” – I am glad I have stayed true to that! I didn’t want to think too hard about what to write about — I just wanted to sit at the computer and write whatever traveled from my brain to my finger tips! On that first post, Joe Jon left a comment telling me that I’ll be surprised what I find to talk about! And he was right — and, boy have I had fun doing it!!!
I have written a lot about my dogs (even started their own blog that I don’t keep up as well as I had hoped), reviewed a few movies, touched on some nostalgia and sentimental memories, and described my adventures and favorite places around town. And then there has been the “in general” brain dumps!!!
At first, I was really concerned about trying to keep my blog from being discovered by too many strangers – even though I knew it was a public forum and anyone knowing how to do a Google search could find me. I tried to only give out my address to a few friends and hoped it wouldn’t get out too much. In fact, I noticed that Joe Jon added me to his blog roll and I asked him to please not do that — I also asked Billy Liggett to not put me on HIS blog roll, which he honored (for a while). But – as I got more comfortable about it all, I slowly made it more known — then, just as I was about to tell Joe Jon and Billy to go ahead and add me, Billy outed me!!!! ha-ha-ha-ha!!!! And the rest is history!!!
I now have a nice list of regular readers – mostly local folks that I have on my blog roll and personal friends and family – and I get around 40-50 hits on average most days – some days more! That’s not huge and many of them are one time hits that find me through Google searches, but I’m happy with that!!! I still write for my own benefit more than to give my readers something to read — but if they find it interesting or entertaining, then that’s great, too!!!
So — here’s to another year!!! If you are still reading what I have to say a year from now, then I guess I’m doing something right!!! Be sure to check out my blog roll and visit all the other super cool Sanford Blogs! I’ll see you along the Information Super Highway — I’ll be the one with the red Mustang tooling along with the top down rambling on about whatever random thoughts I might have when you happen to cross my path!!!
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