Pocahontas Day

Well, here I am at work...on Columbus Day (or Pocahontas Day, as I like to refer to it). We're here because our Governor is a B@$!@*!). Yes, he is.

If you haven't heard about the Columbus Day controversy, feel free to read a lil' bit about it here online via our "favorite" local newspaper: http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/the_state_worker/

In a nutshell, our proposed contact with the butth@le in charge was to exchange both Columbus and Lincoln holidays for two floating holidays, meaning we'd be free to use the time at our own discretion. This proposal saves the State money by not having to pay correctional officers double pay for working on said "holidays". However, the governor renigged on his handshake and the contract was never signed and ratified. Technically, this means that our old contract should still be in force since a new one has yet to be agreed upon. Apparently, he and his crackers feel they get to pick and choose what is and is not in effect. We're in the middle of quite the brawl being had between Butth@le and the Union! In the end, we're here on Pocahontas Day AND we're still working with three furloughs! Could life get any better as State workers??? I look forward to receiving my double time in pay (which will end up costing him more money) for working on a holiday!

Answer me this, why is it that Columbus and Lincoln are the two days to be picked on? These holidays have been in place for YEARS! In my opinion, Columbus sailed the ocean blue and discovered us...and Pocahontas! Why not get rid of the last two holidays we were given, Caesar Chavez and MLK?! I'm sure we don't need to wonder too long why those two weren't touched!

Kevin "bowm chicka bowm bowm"

My little Kebs is too stinkin' cute!!!
Be sure to pause the blog music before playing the video.




"Woop Woop!"

Trip to Zion

Amanda was finally done with Paul Mitchell late last week. Dad, Grant and I drove to the UT to bring her on home. We left mid-day Wednesday. It took us a good twelve hours to get to Provo due to road work along I-80, much of it in and around Reno. I knew Amanda needed assistance moving her life back to Sac Town so I was prepared to make the trek. That drive to UT is one I have ALWAYS dreaded. The last time we had driven that lovely stretch of highway was nearly twelve years ago. I had been lucky enough never to have driven it other than that one moment in time. It's not one I'd ever like to do again. However, we enjoyed ourselves as much as we could and made it home in one piece, safe and sound. Here are some highlights from our journey:

First, let me show you what we were up against. Between the orange barrel thingies blocking one of the two lanes, semis galore, and a 55 mph speed limit, we never had a chance to make anything close to resembling "good time". Hi 12 hours! Personally, I think they purposefully left those orange barrels there as their "money makers". Seriously, I never saw any construction going on and yet the barrels were left out. You know that traffic violations within construction zones are doubled! It's all a scheme...


Here is a snapshot of our state of mind just four hours into the trip...


In our travels, we came across this, I've never experienced such a HUGE BM!!!!! hehe...


For entertainment, we went to a place called Cabela's, which I think was the Fry's equivalent of an outdoors shop. Here's Grant trying out the tent cot thingie...


We stayed at some very good friends of Dad's, the Richey's. Here we are playing in their backyard:



I must say that Zion certainly has a great variety of different eateries. Twice, we at ate a place called JCW's which is a burger joint but also has GREAT milk shakes and a variety of other items. LOVED IT! For dinner one night, we ate at a placed called The Pie near "The U" in Salt Lake. Excellent pizza and "Zappis".

Here is Dad and Tom Richey with their two pizzas:

Here is my pepperoni Zappis:

Before going to The Pie, we stopped at Sister (Sharon) Richey's. Dad stayed with Sister Richey before and after his mission as he was adored by the Richey family. It's in the blood! See, I come by it honestly!

Here we all are with Sharon Richey herself. She was DARLING!:

Here is a shot of Dad, Sharon Richey, and Tom Richey:

She happens to live down the street from the Mount Timpanogas temple which was right next to a corn field. Here's a pic. The corn fields always remind me of the Hitchcock film "North by Northwest".

Thursday night my friend Melissa and my new friend Joni came down from Idaho and we went to dinner at the Cracker Barrel. Cute little eating establishment! We enjoyed ourselves while catching up on life.

Here's Amanda and I during our drive home. Thankfully, it only took us 9-ish hours to get home. Thank goodness!

Overall, it was a decent trip. Many thanks to the Richey's for letting us stay in their beautiful home!

Expired: By Date or by Smoke?

I always like going to our local Grocery Outlet. It's always an adventure as one never knows just what they'll find. I've found a variety of items there (i.e. Coleman blowup camping couches, $4.99 DVDs, $1.99 Dreyers ice cream, etc.). I always make that my first stop when food shopping as they may or may not have some of the items I've been needing. The prices are awesome! They have a great frozen foods section as well as a good size produce section. Sometimes some of the produce looks a little sick, but you take the good with the bad, right? This brings me to the issue at hand (allegedly). One does need to check out the expiration date of the foods purchased. I've noticed some items are set to expire anywhere from a month to several months away from the present. Honestly, if I need mayo for a salad for camping during the upcoming summer months, who really cares if it expires just after the summer's end. This is not to say that everything sold there is at the brink of its expiration. Today I purchased cans of Rotel tomatoes, $.69 each!!! That's a STEAL! The expiration is May 2010! HELLO! Works for me.

Anywho, during the past year, I've had to walk through picketers standing in front of the store, trying to shove their fliers in my face. The "activists" claim Grocery Outlet sells some items close to the expiration date. Okay. So. What of it? Today, as I marched through the picket line, I had to pass three people handing out fliers...with cigarettes in their mouths. So let me get this straight - you're concerned that I'm buying nearly expired items because of your concern for my health? You, with the cancer stick hanging from your mouth, are advocating against nearly expired food?

Personally, I'm an advocate of an intelligent consumer. Almost everyone has internet access. Do your own research on your products before going to purchase something. Shoppers of the Grocery Outlet are probably able to make their own judgments as to whether or not they'll buy that jar of mayo that is about to expire in the near future. I just thought it was ironic/contradictory the cause these people are fighting for.

There's my rant for the day. I shall continue to shop at the Grocery Outlet! It's clean, the employees are friendly, and the prices rock!

Storm clouds approaching...How's your ark coming?

Alyssa sent this out a few days ago and I thought it was really well done. Take a few minutes to view it. You will probably end up feeling more inspired to prepare you and your families afterwards. (Note: be sure to pause my blog's music before playing the video)

Here is the blog from where it came. You might find some other little helpful tidbits. http://letusprepare.blogspot.com/

Happy Fourth of July!!!

Two hundred thirty three years ago (July 1776) America declared Independence from Great Britain. The Committee of Five, which consisted of John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Robert R. Livingston, and Roger Sherman, signed their names to the Declaration of Independence.

John Adams wrote to his wife Abigail:

“The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more. ”

Please note he did say "second day of July". If you wantt the details, go and Wikipedia it.

I believe the painting below is one of the most powerful having to do with our country. We believe these men were inspired, by God, to sign this document which declared our independence, thereby creating the United States of America.

May we all continue to take pride in our country...despite our current political leaders...and be thankful for the country we live in today. I can't help but get teary eyed each time I hear our national anthem. "...the land of the free and the home of the brave." Indeed we are.

My two favorite patriotic songs are "God Bless the USA" (which also brings on the tears, I know, I'm a baby!) and "America the Beautiful" by Ray Charles.

What are yours? Feel free to leave them in the comments below.

I hope everyone enjoyed their Fourth of July! I know I did!!

Easter

I realize Easter has come and gone but I apparently failed to upload some great photos from our family festivities. Enjoy the slideshow! These photos are super fun!

Bad week for Hollywood

The world lost three Hollywood icons this last week, one right after another.

Ed McMahon, 86, died Tuesday
Cause of death: Unknown, but he supposedly had bone cancer
I remember him from Star Search back in the 80s and 90s. Also known for Publisher's Clearing House.




Farrah Fawcett, 62, died Thursday
Cause of death: cancer
Yes, Charlie, one of your angels has left the building. I'd say she was better known for her role in Charlie's Angels. Also known as part of the freakshow that was the on and off relationship of Ryan O'Neal and Farrah!




Michael Jackson, 50, died Thursday
Cause of death: Unknown, possibly pain pills and dancing too much (seriously, that's what I heard!)
Freakshow indeed but I can't help but think how miserable and lonely this man was. Hopefully he's in a better place now and the happiest he's ever been.

They say things happen in 3s. Let's hope we don't start another set of 3 anytime soon.

Quick Post

I realize it has been what seems like forever since my last post. Since my return from my European vacay, life has been busy and full! Please know I do plan on posting as soon as I get a moment.

Please stay tuned as I have much to update ya'll on. Highlights include Europe, camping, WiCKED in SF and a lil' something I like to call LC!

Talk at ya soon!
~JT

Arnold, the A$$hole

Here is an article from the SacBee regarding Arnold and the State employee:

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said he doesn't have a problem with state workers making $63,815 in average base pay, but he does not think the "unbelievable benefits" they receive are sustainable.

"I think that it doesn't bother me as much that a state worker makes $60,000," Schwarzenegger said. "What bothers me more is when you have those unbelievable benefits that cost the state an enormous amount of money on top of that. So at one point or the other, something has to give." (I THINK WE, THE CIVIL SERVANTS, HAVE ALREADY GIVEN ENOUGH)
Schwarzenegger answered a wide range of questions from The Bee's editorial board and online readers during an hour-long Web interview. The video will be available for replay later today at www.sacbee.com/live.

The governor said that while he may not feel the same way , "people" tell him they believe state workers should share in the economic pain that the private sector is facing. IS THE TEN PERCENT, SOON TO BE 14.5% NOT ENOUGH?!
He already has required state workers to take twice monthly furloughs. Last month, he began laying off 5,000 general fund employees and asked the Legislature to cut state worker salaries by 5 percent. Altogether, the salary cut and furloughs would reduce state worker pay by 14.2 percent.
"People come up to me and they say, 'What are those state employees complaining about?' " Schwarzenegger said. "'I mean, you just made a cut of 5 percent layoff, in the general fund area only. Not in the special funds, just in the general fund area, 5 percent layoff. And they are screaming and complaining. Are they in touch with reality, that the outside, the private sector has 11 percent unemployment? Where is their 11 percent unemployment.' So those are the questions, that's not my question, those are the questions the people are coming up to us with."

Schwarzenegger added, "I think the bottom line is, we all have to chip in. It's a crisis."
The End.

The State of California is in a world of hurt with this piece of crap running the state. I’m not looking forward to the next election either as our options on either side of the fence seem to be disastrous!

The people of California, the whiners about state civil servants, here’s a big SCREW YOU! Let’s go ahead and shut down the DMV twice a month. SCREW YOU! Let’s have CalTrans stop work on the freeways twice a month. SCREW YOU! All of you pathetic abusers of Medi-Cal and welfare, you shouldn’t be able to call in two days out of the month to either enroll or get assistance. SCREW YOU! You want to continue to cut our wages, your services should be cut as well. After all, as your piece of crap governor has mentioned, “we all have to chip in”!

Bonjour mes amies!

We made it to Paris FINALLY around 1pm Sunday afternoon. We had a few very tight layovers but we managed to arrive.

Today was a very busy day. We hit up the Louvre, Arch de Triumph, Champs Elysees, Eiffel Tower, Sacre Coures, Moulin Rouge, a ride on the Bateaux down the Seine and the Eiffel Tower again when it was all sparkly! A VERY productive day. Yesterday we did Notre Dame and Luxemborg gardens. Tommorrow (Tuesday) we're off to see Versailles and the catacombs. I'm sure we've done more but I can't remember.

Right now I'm using the free internet our hostel. Dustin has been DYING to use his Russian. He justfound two people sitting across from me who speak it! Isn't that exciting...

I think we've spent a small fortune just on metro tickets alone. There's got to be a more efficient way of payingfor these things!

Anywho, after our day tomorrow, we fly to Athens later, arriving at 11:30 and then we're on the ferry at 7:30 the nex morning.

I hope everyone is doing well! Miss me! We're having a BLAST!!!!!!

TTYL,
XOXO
John

Relay For Life

Alyssa's friend Eliza put this video together, showing her journey through her experience with cancer and why she participates in the Relay for Life. Take a look:

When you’re done if you wish to contribute please follow the link below to Eliza's page and click donate. "I know times are tough right now, but even the minimum donation of $5 would be truly appreciated and you are even able to write it off on your taxes as a charitable contribution." ~Eliza

Donate to Relay for Life

Also if you would like them to light a luminaria at Relay for Life in honor or remembrance of someone you know that has battled with cancer you can follow this link to have them set one up for you. The luminarias are an amazing site to see lit up around the track during the night.

Light a Luminaria

Oprah be givin' way come chicken ya'llz!

Oprah… FIX YOUR KFC COUPONS! I WANT A FREE BISCUIT!

http://www.oprah.com/article/oprahshow/20090430-tows-kfc-coupon-download

Now there's gonna be a chicken shortage! BO, you gonna do somethin' about this?!

American Idol - Rock 'N Roll

Adam - This is definitely his gig!!!

Allison - And hers as well, but sing Somebody to Love next time please.

Duet w/ Kris and Danny - I don't think they could hear themselves up there.

Kris - Bottom two!

Danny - Bloody mess. Bottom two!

Duet w/ safe #1 and safe #2 - They were eatin' that song up!

Little Billy

Mom sent me this one. I thought it was cute.

A little 3 yr old boy is sitting on the toilet. His mother thinks he has been in there too long, so she goes in to see what’s up.

The little boy is gripping onto the toilet seat with his left hand & hitting himself on top of the head with his right hand.

His mother says: “Billy, are you alright? You’ve been in here for awhile.”

Billy says: “I’m fine, Mommy. I just haven’t gone ‘doody’ yet.”

Mother says: “Ok, you can stay here a few more minutes. But, Billy, why are you hitting yourself on the head?”

Billy says: “Works for ketchup.”

Monday, Monday

I'm extremely bo(red) here at work today. I'm practically by myself. It's so quiet and it's driving me nuts! Mom Turner and I just did our walk around the Cap. It was nice to get out.

This weekend we cleaned the church building...all four of us that showed up. That's always a delight. I'm just going to go ahead and assume that no other team does as thorough of a cleaning as ours. Nor do I think that the other buildings get cleaned every week, let alone once a month. That's all I'm going to say about that. I will say this: Group 4, you're on your own next month because I'll be enroute to Paris. Happy cleaning!

I also planted 200 bulbs I had ordered direct from Holland. Doesn't that sound so fancy? I don't really think they're that fancy, but probably more so than those from HD or Lowe's. I'm hoping that within the next month or so, I'll have Irises (Iri?), Gladioli, Alliums, and Peonies. Per usual, Paiute Place will be back to being the best looking home on the block. Yes, my backyard still looks like @#$%!

Don't worry everyone, I was able to use Toro on Saturday. It's such a pleasure now to mow the lawns of Paiute Place! It was almost too sad for me when I was finished. I must have looked like a fool as I stood there with the mower running, staring at my neighbors overgrown lawn, itching to mow it for them. I'm sure they wouldn't have minded but I didn't want to insult anyone. Instead I called it done. However, I later found that the fun didn't end there - this nifty new mower of mine has an attachment for the hose allowing the mower to clean itself beneath the deck. How cool is THAT?! Pretty snifty, right?! I know, I know, you all want mine...but you're gonna need to back off because you can't have Toro. He's mine! I will tell you that Costco had it for $10 less than what I paid for it. No, I'm not going to haggle over a $10 difference but my point is that if Costco has it, then I know it's a great product!

Let's see, what else do I have to share with you. Those of you who have seen my DVD collection know that it has been in dissarray for nearly three years. They have resided on my dining room floor, carefully stacked along the wall NOT in alpha order. Gross, I know! I finally had DVD shelves made. In usual John Turner fashion (Meja, I know you'll feel me on this), I had to stress about the paint/stain color for a few days. Don't worry, a decision was made and I'm okay with the results. The shelves look very nice in the corner of my living room. I have a lot going on in my living room but I really have no choice. My home is quite small and until I can upgrade, this is how it's gotta be. I'll try and post pics soon as I know everyone will be just DYING to see them! I know, right? Pretty exciting stuff!

With that, I think I'll sign off and figure out what in the crud we're doing tonight for a FHE activity. That is the neverending question!

AI Entertainment!

OKAY!!!!! So many things to cover.

1) What is with the lip syncing? It looks so cheesy!
2) Paula may be a loon but that girl can sure move!!!! Gotta give a girl that! Props to her!
3) Dang, Kris can move. Who knew?! Go white boy, go!
4) They did NOT waste any time getting get rid of Lil (short for "Little")! For real, yo!
5) Which brings us to out first set of performers...Let's start with Miss Freda Payne and her Band of Gold. Oh my. Did ya'll catch that last move she she made at the end of her performance? I WAS DYING!!! Then we had Big Bird...gone black! FRIKKIN BIG BIRD!!!!!!!!! You know which one I'm talking about too!!!! Oh my word. KC and the Sunshine Band, what a strange group of individuals...
6) Little David Archuletta - I have to say, he talks like a muppet! For reals! His live performance didn't sound so hot but that could be because I've had his CD in my car that last three weeks or so and I couldn't help but compare it to that. Bless his heart...
7) Anoop daWg is gone! Take your hand out of your pocket...screwball.

What a fantastic night! Who knew it was going to be so entertaining?! The final two lackees were sent home! YES! Now we're down to the top five. I think we should stop here. I don't want to see what happens after this. They're all really good.

For more of Paula, click here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cX9dXTxeGLg

American Idol, April 21

Ryan said "Pool of Abdul" when referring to Paula after Adam's performance! HAA! While I thought the song was drawn out tooo slow, I agree with Simon when he referred to the performance as "immaculate". That dude can sing anything!

Kris rocks.

I thought Lil's performance was entertaining and I thought she gave it everything she got. Was it the best performance? Not even close. Poor thing spent the entire song chasing after the right notes...and never found any of them...

Matt's back!

I still think Allison should have sung MacArthur Park. Just sayin...

Disco Tuesday...

I've been putting a lot of thought into the Disco themed American Idol slated for next week. I am very concerned about our contestants. Seriously, Disco? After much consideration, here is how I believe Tuesday night should go down:

Adam Lambert – You Should Be Dancing (BeeGees)
Allison – MacArthur Park (Donna Summer)
Kris – Staying Alive (Bee Gees) OR I Want You Back (Jackson 5)
Danny – Never Can Say Goodbye (Jackson 5)
Anoop – That’s the Way of the World OR After the Love Has Gone (Earth, Wind, Fire)
Lil – Last Dance (Donna Summer) or Everlasting Love (Gloria Estefan style)
Matt – September (EWF)

May the force be with them all! If any choose to veer from this path which I have chosen for them, may they have their bags packed!

Turner OUT!

Comments? Concerns?

It's been one of those days...

Check it - yesterday we went to the Old Pasghetti Factory for Betty's birthday lunch. I ordered the sicilian sausage sandwich with I love but can only get at lunch time. Between the ice cream and salad, (because it's the complete meal at OSF!), I was only able to eat half of the sandwich. I had decided to eat the other half today for lunch. I left it in the fridge with my name on it last night. This morning when I went to grab my breffas, I noticed that my lunch was gone. Somebody stole my food AGAIN!!!!! This has happened to me at least four times since I've been here. I was NOT a happy boy! Don't worry, I shot an e-mail to all four levels of management expressing my disgust with this continuing to happen. I filed a missng item report and dropped it off to the powers that be. I'm over this! I think we should chop the person's had off who is stealing from others. Isn't that what they do in Thailand or someplace like that?!

What irritates me the most is that I have plenty of food at home in my fridge that I could have had for lunch but I knew I had something here. I had to go out and buy lunch AGAIN.

Oh but wait, there's more! I went to McDonald's to get one of those $3 meals. It's a bargain! K-Flo asked that I get her some tea as well. Not sure if you've ever purchased a sweet tea from there but it's in this huge styrofoam cup. I made it all the back to the parking garage without it tipping over...and then I had the nerve to park my car. As I was parking, the little bastard fell out of the cupholder (Ava's cupholders are pretty worthless BTW!) and onto the passenger seat AND it all spilled amongst everything and onto the carpet. WHAT. THE. HELL. Needless to say, K-Flo did NOT get her tea. I had already been toying with the idea of getting Ava detailed but I think this incident assisted my decision making.

If there's anything else that needs to happen, it needs to happen now so we can just get this over with and taken care of!

AI Results -

I don't ever want to see Matt that close to going home again...until I say so. There are two people who need to go before he does. Good grief America!

1. Let's talk about Hannah and her performance -
   That girl does NOT look like she is 16 mkkaayy!
2. I had never noticed that her two BIG teeth are kinda yellow. Not cute! Let's go ahead and get that taken care of!
3. Did anyone else notice how she was dancing/guessturing as if she were singing to a rock song? That was way weird. How about that one part where she had her arm up in the air and she yelped. Yikes...
4. Finally, the best part of the evening, the one, the only JHud! Always a treat to hear from her. She looked good except for those horrid pants she was sportin'. Not cute but we'll let that slide.
   
   Next week the genre is disco. What in the...???? Seriously? Matt's screwed right off the bat. Lil (short for 'little') will most likely sing Gloria Gaynor or Donna Summer. Kris, the only disco tune I can see him doing a semi decent performance of is Stayin' Alive. Allison, can't think of a song she'll be able to pull off in disco. Adam, I think we know he'll pull something out of his bag of tricks to make it work! Danny, he should be scared as well. Anoop, good luck. Seriously? Disco? There could be a chance that more of them could be in that bottom three with that pool of songs. This ain't right.

AI Tues Apr 14

...because it was the judges that took so much time last week and made the show run over. I am so sure...check it, if Ryan would quit shootin' the shiz at the beginning of the show, there would be plenty of time for the performers! We don't need complete introductions to the judges every week. Personally, I would like to hear from all of the judges (and by all the judges, I mean Randy, Kara, and Simon).

What was going on with the diamond studded dog collar and leash Paula was sportin'?

How random was it that Quentin Tarantino was the "mentor" for the week. What in the world does he have to do with the music industry? Surprisingly, he had some very good suggestions. I think Anoop took his advice which contributed to an improved performance.

Matt...if he would stop trying to do those extra curricular woowoos and concentrate more on hitting the right notes, he'd be able to stay in the game!

I think Lil should probably sing gospel because realy, she's just not suttin' it anymore with this other stuff.

I think everything else is self explanatory. Hear from me tomorrow!

American Idol Cuts Off Adam

From realityblurred.com -

Ryan Seacrest blames producers for overrun; critics call director Bruce Gowers “incompetent”

Ryan Seacrest’s DVR recording of the show he actually hosts was also affected by its eight-minute overrun that left Adam Lambert’s performance out of DVR recordings for many viewers. But the American Idol host says it wasn’t his fault and blamed the show’s producers, although at least one blogger is calling for the show’s “incompetent” director, Bruce Gowers, to be fired.

After the show ran over, a viewer complained to Seacrest on Twitter: “WTF, Seacrest! Host your f****** show better! I don’t get to see all of the performers because it ran over and I record it.”

Seacrest responded by blaming producers: “idol went long. producers build the show time… 8 singers 4 judges… my tivo cut out too.” Later, he announced that he’d put video of Adam’s performance on his site.

But Bruce Gowers, the director who left last year but returned this season, is getting the blame from in-the-know bloggers and critics. His direction is often pretty abysmal even when the show comes in on time. As Marc Hirsh previously wrote, one of American Idol’s “lies” is “Directed by Bruce Gowers,” saying Gowers “ability to pace a broadcast to come in on time is nonexistent” and calling him “incompetent from a technical standpoint.”

Vote for the Worst’s response to last night said “Bruce Gowers is a f****** idiot who can’t get a show to finish up in an hour (ever thought to get rid of the stool chats, Bruce? How stupid are you?).” And MJ says, simply, that he “needs to be fired. I swear.”

American Idol Results - April 8

How totally random to have Frankie Avalon on American Idol! I know who he is but does the rest of young America? Should they? Absolutely. Do they? Probably not. I wonder how Annette is these days...

Anywho, what is going on with Matt's facial expression in that opening number! Yikes!
I hate Adam's shoes. Gross.
Flo Ride THIS! How do we go from Frankie Avalon to Flo Rider?! What the...ghettoness...

BOOYAH BOTTOM THREE!!!

Oh the Pickle, I must say that I've heard this song on the radio and it rocks. Girl was having a great time with this performance. AND I think I just saw KP's tampon string. That dress...gracious! Ryan said CALAMARI!!!!!!!

Scott should be going home but let's see if the judges pull a politically correct move and waste their save on this guy...

Was anyone else uncomfortable while the judges made the decision to send him home? Good grief. he's not the best one, send him home.

SEE YA!

TURNER OUT!

American Idol - Tuesday

Danny - I agree with the judges. Really didn't like the arrangement but he did it well.

Kris - He good!

Lil Rounds - I think I'm officially not a big fan of Lil (not just a stage name) Rounds. The way she sings each and every word...and I think it's the type of songs she's singing. I think she should probably try more R&B. Maybe that will make her sound better?

Anoop - He shoud stick with the ballads and we'll go from there.

Scott - Another GREAT song choice. I'm still okay with him going home soon. And then there's the screech of that last note...oops. Is it just me or did he look extra "special" when he started strumming that guitar.

PAULA HAS LIPTSTIPCK ON HER TEETH!!!

Allison - Great job, but she's wearing another Mexican fiesta!

Matt - Still top 5!

Adam - AWESOME!

BTW - While listening to track 9, To Be With You, on David Archuleta's CD, I wondered who the female background vocals belonged to. After looking through the CD insert, I discovered it was Kara DioGuardi! Well done Kara!

Toro! Toro! Toro!

I had my last fight with my ol' Snapper lawn mower last weekend. That thing was always so sensitive. If all I had to mow was my front yard then Snappy was sufficient. Since I've had to mow about four lawns (both sides front and back), it's had a hard time keeping up. Last weekend, the rope broke going to the recoil. That was it. Dad had spent some time working on it's other issues several months ago but now this. I think it's had a long enough life. Dad got it used years ago and I've had it since I've lived here at Paiute Place. I've decided I'd be done with such nonsense and buy my first lawn mower.

Everyone, meet my new Toro!

Let me tell you that I don't think I could have been more excited about my brand new shiny red lawn mower! It's self-propelled AND it starts right up! How fantastic is that?! I wanted to mow everyone else's lawn in the neighborhood it was such a great experience!!!!

That's my story. May Snappy rest in peace! I can't WAIT until next week when it's time to mow the lawn again!

Kevin and Landon

What do you get when you put Landon and Kebs together at church in Sacrament meeting? Ringling Bros!

.

But in the end...so worth it! Check it out!

Is this not PRESH?!?!?!
Just melts my everlovin' heart!

Happy Birthday to Kebs!

For his 3rd birthday, I decided that Kebs and I needed to spend some time together. We went to McDonald's for lunch where he thoroughly enjoyed his Happy Meal and his toy. Little did McDs know that they also threw in an extra for Landon! Upon completion of our tasty little burgers, off we went to the park where we fed the duckies (which BTW seem to be well fed).

Kebs carried the bread.
It took everything he had to haul it to the duckies.

Feeding the ducks.

"I'm gonna get you duckies!"

"I'm getting closer..."

"muahahahaaaa!"

We sat on the bench and waited for the ducks to come to us.
Kebs needed a moment to ponder the situation.

"I think I'm kinda hungry."

"The ducks have had enough. I'm going for it!"

American Idol Results

Don't stop and believe this! Those kids are lip syncing again!!!! Could Scott look anymore ridiculous pretending to play the keyboard????

Ryan, why do we care who can do who?! Let's wrap this up real quick all nice and tight!

Oh look, Fast and Furious #48, how...original.

April Fools...shfee shfee shfee...can we just get through this already?!

Megan said she didn't care what Simon said...and that's obvious. She's boring. What's with the flapping of the wings?

What was the little kid having a seizure on stage with Lady Gaga?
I'm not sure I've ever seen Ms. Gaga before. She is quite the interesting creature. Goodness.

Simon said "NOR DO WE (CARE)!" Fantastic! Well said Simon. And look at her dance like a white girl as she sings her song again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She is retarded!!!!!!!! UH HUH!!! I think she's on something tonight!

I'm out!

American Idol - The Nine

I just finished watching the show. Before I forget, here are my thoughts really quick:

1) Anoop is not a very good singer.

2) Megan Twist - snoooozzeee... OF ALL THE SONGS! Seriously, how did she look over Adele and Duffy! Right. Up. Her. Alley!!!!

3) Danny - He's in my top four...but I'm just not seeing what was so great and wonderful about this performance. I thought he was over shooting much of the song. I don't agree with the judges. It was not a good performance.

4) Allison - WHAT WAS SHE WEARING? It was like she was sportin' a Mexican Fiesta in celebration of Cesar Chavez day! Yikes! Not a fan of the performance but she can still sing. Keep her!

5) Scott - Ya'll know how I feel about him. He is NOT in my top four/five. However, at least he figured out how to pick the right song!

6) Matt - I don't think it was that bad of a song choice. He just really over sung some parts. he could have sung it better. A little dissappointed.

7) Lil' Round - She broke the "Nobody sings Celine except for Celine (and sometimes Kelly)" rule. I must say that she did a decent job...if you can disregard all the bad notes she hit. Girl has the power to sing such a song. Seriously though, MJB YO!

8) Adam Lambert - BOO. CAN. SING!!!! He can hit those notes dead on. Definitely one of the top two performances of the evening.

9) Kris - The other of the top two performances of the night. Those other kids better watch it because this kid is quickly rising to the top making my top four a top five!

American Idol Results

I'm just getting to the results show. Some quick notes before I forget:
1) Were they lip syncing that opening number???
2) Having been in a REAL production like WiCKED, you know Adam must be DYING having to pull off that hokey choreography!
3) Rubey Doobies - What a waste of an American Idol. Gaiken has been more of a celeb than this boo and that's fo sho! I miss Luther V...
4) Let's talk about this bottom three. What is Matt doing there?
5) Since we haven't heard enough of Stevie Wonder from the contestants throughout the tryouts, he's performing for us. Scott should be pleased...that's all I'm saying.
6) WHAT was Kara attempting to sing with Stevie??? HILARIOUS!
7) Of course we had to throw in a holla at B.O. Please, that fool has monopolized enough of my TV this week.
8) Michael is finally gone! He kinda reminds me of a fatter version of whatshisface from Everwood.

Turner OUT!

American Idol

Let's do this:

1) Matt - He's still my favorite. Definitely needs to made it to the top three.

2) Kris - He's like a Jason Mraz Jr.! Nice.

3) Scott - Definitely should have sung "Reach out and touch". Honestly, that's the song that came to mind first...but no. I still can't believe he's in the tour now instead of blondie/pink hair girl.

4) Megan "Twisty" Joy - Let's see how she twists tonight. I counted five twists. How about you? Ummm, if there were any less dress... Ugh, and that tatoo...

5) Anoop noop noop shoobayyy doo doo doo - I'm BORED.

6) Michael Sarver - Ughhh, he's still here?

7) Lil Round - What's...going on...with that...hair... Girl ain't no Kelly Rowland, that's fo sho!

8) Adam Lambert - Did you catch the shoes (without socks) he was sportin'?

9) Danny - Bringing things back to life! This boo can SING!

10) Allison - Cute hair style. It'd be cuter if she'd wash the Kool Aid out. Girl can sing too! We won't discuss her outfit... Kara apparently REALLY liked her!

Bottom three shouldn't be hard. There are easily four to choose from - Scott, Lil Round, Michael and Anoop. Nobody else should be in that bottom three, but that's just me.

TURNER OUT!

Netbook?

I think I've decided I want one of these little guys. I don't really need a laptop - I have a PC that I'm quite happy with. However, there are times when I'm sitting in my living room and I want to check my e-mail or see what's happening on the Face. I DON'T want to pay AT&T any more money than I am already for my cell phone just to get internet access via a teeny phone screen. Plus they charge more than what I'm charged for my home internet, which is faster! It's not that serious to me. I think one of these little guys would sufficiently meet my needs.

Take a look -

Stay tuned as I make an attempt at a decision in the near future...

Homies of the Traveling Levis

Every year Dustin Bankston of the Bankstons, our friend from Ole Miss’, leaves the country to go gallivantin’ across the world. It seems like he’s been all over. We got to talking about Mamma Mia…which led to Greece…which lead to "I want to go there someday"...which lead to “Hey, let’s go!”

Ladies and gentlemen, holla atcha boy because he’s about to get GREECE-Y! That’s right, Dustin, Loren and myself will be going to Europe!!!! Don’t worry, we’re stopping in Paris on the way! If you’ve ever been á chez John, you’d know how much I’ve always wanted to go to Paris. After 4+ years of class de Francais, I’d like to use it! After some discussion and planning with a travel agent in Greece the last few days, the itinerary has been ratified and approved (unlike the SEIU union contract for the State…but stay tuned on that one).

Actually, our itinerary includes an assortment of destinations including New York, Iceland, Paris, and Greece (Athens and Santorini).

You’ll want to go ahead and check out some of the pictures I have found of Santorini…BEAUTIFUL! You’re gonna fart when you see how gorgeous it is…and I’m gonna be there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Flickr - Santorini

We leave Saturday May 16 and return May 29. More info will follow.

"Look, you seem like a sweet kid... actually you seem like a real pain in the ass... " ~~The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

Kelly's back!

So check it out dawgs, my girl Kelly's new album dropped on Tuesday.
That's right, my life would suck without you!

Of course the timing was perfect. She was able to perform her new song on American Idol last night. I noticed the lack of excitement in Kara as Kelly was performing and I almost had to crawl through the TV and slap her face. I like Kara and think she's a great addition to the posse but that was unacceptable last night!

http://www.kellyclarkson.com/

On another note, I'm not sure I'm happy about Anoop being the one to stay. No, I'm pretty sure I don't like him. He picked a horrid song to sing Tuesday night. BLEK!

Turner OUT!

This Too Shall Pass

Here's a fun little story of two Mo's in the news!

Check it out:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29462344?GT1=43001

Thanks to Jenn Harlow for finding this!

Goat Milk

Ya’ll know how I try to stay healthy and combat my persistent acid reflux (aka. heartburn) by eating healthy, right? I’ve been going to the nutritionist (Scott), taking my supplements, etc. Milk, as we know it, isn’t really good for anyone (For starts:
http://beandiet.blogspot.com/search/label/milk). Scott suggests rice milk, almond milk, goat milk and raw non-pasteurized cow milk. I prefer the raw cow milk. Unfortunately, it’s about $8 a gallon and doesn’t last long. The rice and almond milk really aren’t bad and fairly inexpensive. Unfortunately, once opened, they don’t last very long either. However, they are great for storage as they are housed in boxes and have long shelf lives. They work great for cereal, baking, cooking, etc. As I am a faithful gymster, I look for things with protein. I miss my yogurt! Finding a yogurt that does not use pasteurized cow milk without sugar is very difficult. Scott suggested that I try yogurt using goat’s milk and/or Greek yogurt. I was at Trader Joe’s and thought I would try the yogurt made with goat.

This morning I tried my cereal with the goat’s milk. Ummm, you know how goats smell? That’s how this stuff tastes. Then I had the yogurt. I had put some blue agave in to sweeten it up as well as some blueberries. All the berries and sugar in the world would not be able to cover up the taste of goat. At this point, I think I’ll stick with my almond and rice milks and try the Greek yogurt.

Moral of the story:
GOAT’S MILK=GROSS!