Kim's Thoughts
Just a few thoughts I feel worthy of jotting down!
Closing The Gap!
My Yankees are on a roll and closing the gap between the top 3 spots in the AL East!!! The race is getting exciting!!!
The Purse Saga…
I was in Macy’s a couple months ago and walked past the purse section on my way to find an outfit for a special occasion. I wasn’t planning on looking at purses and actually barely glanced in that direction as I sashayed on by. That quick, nonchalant glance was all it took! A purse caught my eye and I uncontrollably stopped to get a closer look. I personally like the “hobo” style purses – you know, the big soft bag like purse with lots of room and little or no structure! This one was that style. It was the most amazing shade of weathered brown leather – like the old aviator jackets! It was soft and smelled incredible!!! It had zippered pockets on the outside that were the perfect size for my cell phone and pager, a heavy braided leather strap, and impressive silver hardware accents and buckles. It was gorgeous!!! I fell totally in love with it! I had to have it! But – I was sensible and looked at the price tag before I just blindly took it to the cashier. I almost fell over in utter shock! It was all a blur and I don’t remember the exact price, but suffice it to say it was WELL over $100! Not being “into” purses, I didn’t recognize that it was a designer bag – a Guess bag, to be specific – no wonder it was the most incredible leather bag I had ever seen. In a daze, I put the purse back on the shelf and walked away – on to finish the task I had driven to Cary to accomplish.
I found an outfit suitable for the occasion, it was on a good sale, and I had a coupon good for all purchases that specific weekend. So, I was happy – I got what I went for and it didn’t cost me a fortune – in fact, it ended up costing quite a bit less than I had planned on spending! It was a successful trip!
On the way down the escalator, I thought about having to walk past the purse section again on my way out the store! I wondered if I should go in a different direction and leave using a different entrance and walk around the outside of the building to where my car was parked. I decided that was totally silly! I’m a grown woman with a will of my own and definitely not a slave to fashion — I could certainly walk past a purse that was way out of my budget and not give it a second thought! But, then again, I remembered that I still had that coupon good for all purchases that weekend – maybe I should see what it would cost if I used the coupon…..
So, I stopped to look at it again and melted over how perfect it was! Then, I noticed the sign — it was actually on SALE!!! I hadn’t noticed that before!!! I was able to use the coupon on a sale item upstairs, maybe the lack of restrictions would apply here, too! I asked the sales lady if I could use my coupon with the sale price and she said I could AND that if I used my Macy’s credit card, I would ALSO get another percentage off on top of the other incentives!!! WOW!!! That was it — the purse was MINE!!!! I got it for about 2/3 the regular price – still FAR more than I thought I would ever pay for a purse, but not at a price that put me into shock!!! I was soooooooooo happy!!! I had my first designer bag and I justified it by telling myself that it would last much, much longer than those regular purses that I paid much less for, but had to replace far too frequently because they just plain didn’t last!
Everywhere I go I get tons of compliments on it — people who tell me what a great purse it is, some who offer to take it off my hands if I ever get sick of it, etc…. I love it – it looks great – it feels great – it actually makes me very happy!
But – the saga continues….
Saturday, I took a package to the post office to mail my Mom’s birthday gift out to her. I used the 24/7 mailing station. I entered all the info and was ready to swipe my debit card and the zipper on my purse wouldn’t work!!! I fiddled and played with it and found that the cloth from the lining was very deeply caught up in the zipper! I tried to get it to slide open enough to reach in for my wallet, but it just wouldn’t budge! I was trying to work the cloth out of the zipper, thinking that if it tore, I could easily fix it, when suddenly, the pull on the zipper came off in my hand and the teeth in the zipper broke loose and the purse opened up!!!! The zipper totally broke!!! OMG!!!!
Now I can’t close my beautiful purse!!! I was heart sick!!! It took me a while to realize that I shouldn’t be so upset — after all, I actually rarely ever zip it shut!!!! I’m not really sure why it was zipped shut on Saturday! So — no bid deal!!!! It is still a gorgeous, albeit slightly damaged, bag! The only problem is that a zipper I rarely ever used isn’t usable anymore! ha-ha-ha-ha And – if I find a good leather person, I can always have it repaired.
So, there you have it…….
Sunday Morning Brain Dump
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Yesterday’s Family Carnival held by Stepping Stones Children’s Center was a great success! I popped in to see Emily and Lindsay and to place some bids on their silent auction items and found a nice sized crowd of kids having a blast!!! It looked like the silent auction items all had a good start on bids that were sure to bring in a nice amount for the fundraiser. And the dunking booth was in full swing with some very wet participants who volunteered to be dunked for charity!!! I was really pleased to see the event so busy! I hope they were able to reach their goal and I look forward to hearing the results — AND — whether or not I won anything in the raffle or if any of my bids lasted through to be the final bid!!!
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I met fellow blogger, Joe Jon, at the Stepping Stones event yesterday — that was very nice!
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I had all my finger nails removed yesterday!!! No – it isn’t as gruesome as it sounds! I had acrylic nails for a couple years a few years ago, but haven’t in a long time – until recently. About a month and a half ago, I had a full set put on and have been maintaining them since. I finally realized why I stopped doing it before – they are high maintenance (have to go for fill ins every 2 weeks) and they are blunt (hard to pick things up and can’t get a nice sharp scratch going to ease an itchy spot)! So – I went in to Love Nails yesterday and said “take ’em off”! I’ll have thin, weak, soft nails for a while until they recover, but at least they’ll be mine! I hope I don’t forget that, although acrylics look GREAT and don’t break so easy, I really prefer my own nails!
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I’ve GOT to get up and out of the house earlier on Saturday mornings — I keep getting to the Farmer’s Market after everything I’d like to get is all gone!!!! I was able, though, to get some baked goods from the folks set up for CARA. Whoever baked the cookies and brownies I bought makes good stuff!!! And I am always pleased to support CARA!
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Back in August, I wrote a post about dancing bugs in my front yard! (click here to read it) I never found out what they were or why they were there. BUT – I had someone from Miami, Florida find that post through a google search with the key words “bee like flying bugs swarming my grass”! It made me curious about their experience – I wish my stat counter would tell me who they were so I could contact them, but it doesn’t…… Anyway — as I sat looking out the living room window out to the BACK yard this morning, a zillion of those bugs are doing their dance all over a section of the back yard! This is the first time I’ve ever noticed them in the back yard! They aren’t bothering the girls and they don’t seem to be noticing them! But, I wonder what is attracting them to that spot! The whole thing really “bugs” me — and it looks like it is bugging someone in Miami, too!!!
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One of the segments on CBS’ Sunday Morning show this morning had me laughing so hard I had tears in my eyes!!! It was a short piece with Mo Rocca talking about the things a potential President should consider when choosing a running mate. He included tips like don’t choose “someone who compounds a weakness” or “someone who wants to hurt you in any way” or a “Vice Presidential Buttinski” (to which he offered his opinion that Hillary might fall into this category for Obama). But the part that cracked me up was his warning to not choose someone who’s name sounds funny with your name – here is a cut and paste from the CBS Sunday Morning web site: “Most importantly, don’t choose somebody whose name is going to sound funny with yours. This is why Obama should not choose Arizona’s Governor Janet Napolitano: Obama-Napolitano sounds too much like a coffee drink (“I’ll take a venti Obama Napolitano with soy, thanks”) or like a Rosemary Clooney song (“O-ba-ma, O-ba-ma Na-po-li-taaaaaa-no!”). Likewise, McCain cannot choose Rep. Mary Fallin of Oklahoma. “McCain-Fallin” … and he can’t get up! At that point you’re just throwing the game.”
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On the same show, critic David Edlestein talks about Mama Mia – he didn’t like it! No surprise there – it really isn’t a “guy movie” and it really isn’t a “critic movie” – and everyone is entitled to their opinion! Also – like I said in my review – it definitely won’t appeal to everyone — you’ll really have to like this type of hokey musical comedy to get any enjoyment out of the movie (I just happen to like “hokey” and found it to be “fun”). BUT – the reason I am bringing up his review is that it cements my belief that critics “think too much” when they go see a movie!!! In fact, he actually said that you should “See “Mamma Mia!” if you’re prepared to work very hard to achieve a state of anti-enlightenment.” Maybe if he didn’t try to think about it so much and just sit back and have fun, he might have liked it – well, probably not “like it”, but my point is that critics always want to find the deep meaning or theatrical genius in every movie they go see! If all movies were made to satisfy those who want cinematic perfection and theatrical genius in telling a profound story, then where would the “fun” come from in going to the movies? One point Edlestein makes that I totally agree with: “…Pierce Brosnan, whose voice in song is the closest a human has come to a water buffalo.” – I wouldn’t have been that harsh in my description, but – yeah – they shouldn’t have let Brosnan sing! ha-ha-ha
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I have a strange habit when I type — if I make a mistake and notice it after typing several characters or words later, I back space everything from the point I notice it back to the mistake and then retype it all……instead of just putting the cursor over the mistake and fixing just that mistake! How inefficient is that???? I hate inefficiency and, yet, I sit here and build major inefficiencies into my typing!!! Of course, it could be worse — I am a fast typer, but if I were the “hunt and peck” kind and I corrected my mistakes in this manner, I’d be here typing a simple sentence all day long!!!! ha-ha-ha
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I’m thinking about making a PetSmart run — I wonder which dog will get to go with me??? hhmm — I’m thinking Katie!!!
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I had a corporate visitor in this week to meet with me, so I took her to Mrs. Lacy’s for lunch and Bella’s for dinner! Both were very nice. I had the BEST duck dinner at Bella!!! It was incredible and perfectly done! It comes with Parmesan grits, which I can’t eat (allergic to cheese, but also cause I just don’t care for grits), so I had them substitute garlic mashed potatoes and it was perfect! My guest got a pork chop dish and another manager that went with us got the special – NC Red Grouper! All were fantastic!!!! She comes down about once a quarter to meet with me and I try to take her someplace different every time she comes — last time, we went to Renalds (now known as Cafe 121) for dinner!
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The Yankees had a GREAT game against the Oakland A’s — 12 innings that lasted over 4 hours in over 90 degree heat!!! AND THEY WON!!!! They are still in 3rd place, but they are only 5 games behind 2nd place Boston – anything can still happen!!! They are at 52 wins, 45 loses! GO YANKEES!!!!
Well – I guess that’s all that’s on my mind this morning (except a renewed recording of Mama Mia replaying over and over in my head – thanks to CBS Sunday Morning!)……I’m off to start my day!
Chuckle
Yesterday’s Dennis The Menace cartoon gave me a chuckle. Not because it was particularly special in any way (it was typical Dennis), but because it reminded me of something that my niece once said to me. Brittany – my brother’s youngest – was, at the time, about 4 or 5 (she is now about 20) and they were going to travel from their home in Charleston, SC to ours here in Sanford for a Christmas visit. It was their first time to our Sanford home. I was talking to her parents on the phone about the plans and she wanted to talk to me. She got on the phone and I asked her if she was excited about coming to see me. She didn’t respond with a yes or no – she responded with a question (I guess she needed that answer before she could decide if she was going to be excited about the trip or not). Her question was: “Is your house clean, Aunt Kim?” I was in shock by the question and replied with “yes, Britt, my house is clean!” to which she replied “oh good, where will I sleep?” and the questions of her accommodations and what food I would have available for her went on from there……ha-ha-ha…….the things that go through the minds of young children!!! Anyway — Dennis just triggered that memory and I thought I would share it!
Movie Review = Mama Mia
I’ll bet no one is surprised to read that I just couldn’t wait to go see this movie later in the weekend…….in fact, I couldn’t even wait to see it at the usual Friday evening shows!! I went to the 5:15 show!
The ads began to tease us about the opening of this movie back in the first few months of the year! From the first time I saw it on the previews of another movie at the theater until 5:15 this evening, I was excitedly looking forward to the time I could actually see it!!! Lately, the songs and clips have been EVERYWHERE – I haven’t turned the TV on any time in the past 2-3 weeks without seeing something about the movie! The anticipation built to extreme levels – I began to wonder if the hype would over shadow the actual experience – would it end up being a huge let down?
I couldn’t imagine being let down, so I eagerly went to the theater tonight. Was I disappointed? Absolutely NOT!!! I was entertained by a movie that totally lived up to all expectations!! Was it funny? YES! Was it fun? YES! Was it hokey? YES! Did I care that it was hokey? NO! It added to the fun……… I would not recommend this for EVERYONE — it won’t be the type of movie that will be universally enjoyed! You have to be a musical comedy fan and you have to be an ABBA fan — if you are, you’re gonna love it!!! If not, don’t go – it will only irritate you and give you another reason to hate musical comedies! I, personally, really enjoy musical comedies! The hokier the better! And this one didn’t disappoint me!
I always like Meryl Streep – the range of this actress is incredible! From roles like the tormented woman trying to overcome her memories of living through the holocaust in Sophie’s Choice to a lonely farm wife in Bridges of Madison County to a woman caught up in a hysterical twist on vanity and desire to stay young forever in Death Becomes Her to the powerful fashion magazine editor in The Devil Wears Prada to Donna in Mama Mia and every role in between — she can do it all — drama, comedy, romance, and now musical comedy! Her characters are always memorable! This one is no exception! Her portrayal of Donna is full of emotion and fun! She’s not a singer or dancer, but that didn’t stop her from taking the character on and doing a slam dunk job! I was surprised to see how well she did – will she win a recording contract for her singing talents? Um – no — but she wasn’t bad and she tackled the role with enthusiasm and energy! I thought she was quite enjoyable!
I also enjoy Pierce Brosnan, but wasn’t sure about how I would react to hearing him sing! My apprehension had some merit — his singing left a lot to be desired — BUT — he tried and he wasn’t “terrible”! He was a good choice for the role, just probably not the best choice for the solos – they should have gave him songs that he was just one of many voices! But, that’s OK — he did a good job!
I would have liked to have seen more of Christine Baranski — she has sang and danced her way across Broadway for years and they could have used her talents more! But, she was perfect for the character they cast her in. The other one of Donna’s best friends was good, too.
The story was cute – the music was great – the dancing was fun – the experience was entertaining! I liked it!!!! But, like I said, not everyone will…….
Silliest scene: There was one dance number where all the young men on the island run out on the pier wearing swim trunks and flippers and they sing and dance and jump around on the pier with those flippers — it is funny, but really silly!!!
Up and Coming
Things to check out this weekend:
The Stepping Stones fundraiser at the old Walmart store on Saturday the 19th!!! Lots of fun planned and plenty of ways to get some goodies (raffle, silent auction) all while helping a great organization build a playground that will be accessible for ALL their special children!!! Click here for more info!
Mama Mia at the Spring Lane Cinema!!! Yep, looks like Sanford got a copy!!! Just two more days until it opens on the 18th!!! How many of you are planning to see this sure-to-be-entertaining movie????? You can get show times at the Spring Lane Cinema web site once they are posted!
Other movies opening this weekend: The Dark Knight and Space Chimps — not that you’ll likely find me at either, BUT, someone might enjoy them!! ha-ha-ha
Looks like there is something for everyone this weekend!!!
- So, what’s your preference, Sanford????
- What’s everyone planning to do????
- Did I miss something great happening this weekend we should all know about????
Talk to me,,,,,,
Four Days and Counting!!!
July 18th — Mama Mia Premier — WOO HOO!!!What has grabbed my attention lately….
Let’s see — what has grabbed my attention in the past few days? I have found the following worth writing about:
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There was a great human interest story on the news today about the World’s Oldest Blogger – click here for the CNN version of the story! Miss Olive Riley passed away in Australia over the weekend – she was 108 years old. I started to check out her blog and intend to go back and read more. What I have read is fascinating! What a great story! I hope I’m still around and blogging when I’m 108!!! There are two blogs for Miss Olive — Worlds Oldest Blogger (a temporary blog) and All About Olive (her original blog – I understand there is some glitch causing trouble accessing this one).
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One of the segments on “Sunday Morning” – the CBS news show on Sunday mornings – was a very nice story on Doris Day. In the segment, they were interviewing Day’s friend and fellow actress, Kaye Ballard. Kaye made a great comment in quoting her friend as saying in a statement about why she prefers animals to people, “animals will never disappoint you” — how true, how true!!!
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The other segment on “Sunday Morning” that interested me was on Carousels. I LOVE Carousels. I have a collection of Carousel Horses and get all excited when I see one in person! Whenever I am somewhere that has a Carousel – especially a vintage one – I have to ride it. It gives me a huge thrill and really makes me happy! I don’t know what it is that makes them so special to me — the carnival music, the feel of the horses galloping and the wind blowing through my hair, or the excitement of trying to grab the gold ring — whatever it is, I just love them and can’t resist one when I see it!!! I have had the thrill of riding two of the most famous Carousels in the world — the one in Central Park in NYC and the one on Santa Monica Pier in California. This pics below are: 1st = Central Park Carousel; 2nd = Santa Monica Pier Carousel; 3rd = from my Carousel Horse collection – the one on top of the curio cabinet is a hand made one that was a gift from a friend many years ago!
Definitely NOT what I expected to find….
OK – now, I’m getting concerned — I have been trying to lure her in for about 20 minutes or so — too long!!! Something is obviously not right!!! So, I put my shoes on and grabbed the flashlight to go out and see why she isn’t leaving the spot she has claimed by the shed. I head out there cautiously – it’s dark – I don’t know what I might find – my fear is it might be a snake or something or that she is hurt or sick or something! As I get closer, I see that she is guarding a dark pile of something — too big around and short to be a snake – one concern down!!! I slowly approach and shine the light on it and see that it is a DEAD RABBIT!!!! OMG!!!! My first thought is sadness that a cute little rabbit is dead!!! Then it dawns on me that she must have killed it!!! The poor little thing squeezed its way through the fence into our back yard and met its demise!!! And my sweet girl must have done it — maybe alone — maybe with the help of her sisters — don’t know, but…..I am always upset to be slapped back to reality and realize that my sweet girls are actually DOGS — they are treated and talked to like kids and usually act like kids, but every now and then, they remind me they are dogs and do “dog” things!!!
I came to my senses and realized I had to pick it up and toss it over the fence – YUCK! I reached for it and noticed that its little butt has been eaten on one side and its tail is gone — eeeewwww — not a pleasant sight or thought! Just as I start to grab it by the hind leg, Katie rushes in, grabs it, and runs!!! I yell, “DROP IT”, and she does — so I get up close again and this time I’m successful in picking it up by the hind leg. By grabbing it and running, Katie actually did me a favor – she dropped it closer to the fence, so it was easier for me to toss it over into the overgrown brush on the other side. Success!!!
Katie still won’t go in the house — I end up chasing her around the yard trying to get a hold of her collar to get her in the house!!! I finally grab her and get her in the house!!! WHEW!!!! Luckily, I was smart enough to shut the back door so Megan and Amy couldn’t get outside and complicate things — all three were inside!!
And the strangest part of the whole fiasco????? Yep, there was something even stranger than finding my dog guarding a dead rabbit with a half eaten butt!!! When we finally got in the house it was about 12:10 am, the TV was still on and Iron Chef was on — guess what the secret ingredient was??? Yep – RABBIT!!!! ha-ha-ha I couldn’t believe it!!! I just sat on the couch and cracked up!!! I laughed so hard I had tears in my eyes and my stomach started to hurt!!! The girls got all excited and thought I was nuts!!!
Katie keeps whining at the door — not sure if she didn’t have a chance to do her business and now needs to pee or if she just wants to go out and find her prize, but I’m not chancing it — she’s in, she’s staying in!!! If that means I end up with a mess to clean up cause she can’t hold it until morning, then so-be-it!!! No one goes back out tonight!!!
Bald is Beautiful….
….or at least those who shave their heads for charity are!!!
I attended the St. Baldrick’s event at Local Joe’s tonight and had a BLAST!!! We had a very loud, noisy gang from Wyeth cheering on our co-workers, Hope and Melanie, as they shaved their heads and were successful enough to be the largest money raisers – over $6000!!! Woo Hoo!!!!
I also hung around to cheer on fellow blogger and Herald writer, Gordon Anderson!!! He did great, too — and looks pretty cool as a baldie!
Here’s some pics to show what a great thing they all did:
Hope – Before:
Melanie – Before:
Hope and Melanie – After – what a pair:
Gordon – Before:
Gordon – During – nice look……do we have a new fashion trend here???
Gordon – After
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