Conversation overheard 11-28:
Owen: Hey, listen to me, you bad boy!
Stewart: I am listening!
Owen: (thoughts of being “bad” obviously leading to thoughts of Santa, he runs upstairs to look at the hanging stockings) Look, Stewie, when Santa comes, he will bring me toys and candy and goodies!
Stewart: Oh, yeah! Goody! Santa will bring me a birthday cake!
Owen: (trying to let him down gently) Well, I don’t know if Santa will bring you a birthday cake. Birthday cakes are for birthdays and Santa will bring Christmas.
It was so funny how Owen sounded just like me, “Well, I don’t know if…” is something I say a lot to him when he is wrong, but I don’t want to come right out and say it.
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Friday, November 24, 2006
Fun Forward From Cluff
If your life was a movie, what would its soundtrack be?
So, here's how it works:
1. Open your library (iTunes, iPod, Winamp, Windows Media Player,
et cetera)
2. Put it on shuffle
3. Press play
4. For every question, type the song that's playing
5. When you go to a new question, press the next button
Opening Credits:
One World (Not Three) - The Police
Album: Ghost in the Machine (never heard this before)
Waking Up:
Reptilia - The Strokes
Album: Room on Fire
First Day At School:
Across the Universe- The Beatles
Album: I think this is on Let It Be, but Kyle has it in itunes on some box set, Beatles 1967-70
Falling In Love:
Gold Digger - Kanye West (what are the odds?)
Album: Late Registration
Fight Song:
Forget the Flowers - Wilco
Album: Being There
Break up song:
Bubble Gum Years - Gomez
Album: Bring It On
Prom:
Ma! She's Makin' Eyes at Me! - Billy Eckstine
Album: Compact Jazz (something of Kyle's- actually it would be a fun one to formal dance to)
Life's Okay:
What It Feels Like For a Girl - Madonna
Album: Music (nice selection, iTunes!)
Mental Breakdown:
The Metal - Tenacious D
Album: The Pick of Destiny (actually has a nice mental breakdown rhythm)
Driving:
Respectable - The Rolling Stones
Album: Some Girls (The Stones are ALWAYS great to drive to-hey I'm pretty impressed with how well the "shuffle" button has chosen my soundtrack!)
Flashback:
Gasoline - Audioslave
Album: Audioslave (ah... just as I was complimenting the shuffle, it picks a stinker. This song is NOT a great flashback song- I was hoping for some Tori Amos or Sarah McLachlan for my misty filtered memory scene.)
Get Back Together:
Valentine's Day - Bruce Springsteen
Album: Tunnel of Love (Okay, so just to get back at me, the shuffle has to pick a song from TUNNEL OF LOVE- not just any song, but one called VALENTINE'S DAY for getting back together! Nicely played, shuffle. But what will my wedding song be? Guerilla Radio? Dr. Feelgood?)
Wedding:
I'm a Cuckoo - Belle & Sebastian
Album: Dear Catastrophe Waitress (Hmmm. Not sure what to make of this. Is this a comment on marriage in general?)
Final Battle:
Saludos Amigos - The Disney Studio Chorus
Album: And the Winner is: A Collection of Honored Disney Classic Songs
Death Scene:
Pablo Picasso - David Bowie
Album: Reality
Funeral Song:
Everybody Needs Someone Sometime - Jewel
Album: This Way
End Credits:
Thank the Lord for the Night Time - Neil Diamond
Album: The Greatest Hits- 1966-1992 (Well, I can't argue with Neil Diamond as a closer.)
So, here's how it works:
1. Open your library (iTunes, iPod, Winamp, Windows Media Player,
et cetera)
2. Put it on shuffle
3. Press play
4. For every question, type the song that's playing
5. When you go to a new question, press the next button
Opening Credits:
One World (Not Three) - The Police
Album: Ghost in the Machine (never heard this before)
Waking Up:
Reptilia - The Strokes
Album: Room on Fire
First Day At School:
Across the Universe- The Beatles
Album: I think this is on Let It Be, but Kyle has it in itunes on some box set, Beatles 1967-70
Falling In Love:
Gold Digger - Kanye West (what are the odds?)
Album: Late Registration
Fight Song:
Forget the Flowers - Wilco
Album: Being There
Break up song:
Bubble Gum Years - Gomez
Album: Bring It On
Prom:
Ma! She's Makin' Eyes at Me! - Billy Eckstine
Album: Compact Jazz (something of Kyle's- actually it would be a fun one to formal dance to)
Life's Okay:
What It Feels Like For a Girl - Madonna
Album: Music (nice selection, iTunes!)
Mental Breakdown:
The Metal - Tenacious D
Album: The Pick of Destiny (actually has a nice mental breakdown rhythm)
Driving:
Respectable - The Rolling Stones
Album: Some Girls (The Stones are ALWAYS great to drive to-hey I'm pretty impressed with how well the "shuffle" button has chosen my soundtrack!)
Flashback:
Gasoline - Audioslave
Album: Audioslave (ah... just as I was complimenting the shuffle, it picks a stinker. This song is NOT a great flashback song- I was hoping for some Tori Amos or Sarah McLachlan for my misty filtered memory scene.)
Get Back Together:
Valentine's Day - Bruce Springsteen
Album: Tunnel of Love (Okay, so just to get back at me, the shuffle has to pick a song from TUNNEL OF LOVE- not just any song, but one called VALENTINE'S DAY for getting back together! Nicely played, shuffle. But what will my wedding song be? Guerilla Radio? Dr. Feelgood?)
Wedding:
I'm a Cuckoo - Belle & Sebastian
Album: Dear Catastrophe Waitress (Hmmm. Not sure what to make of this. Is this a comment on marriage in general?)
Final Battle:
Saludos Amigos - The Disney Studio Chorus
Album: And the Winner is: A Collection of Honored Disney Classic Songs
Death Scene:
Pablo Picasso - David Bowie
Album: Reality
Funeral Song:
Everybody Needs Someone Sometime - Jewel
Album: This Way
End Credits:
Thank the Lord for the Night Time - Neil Diamond
Album: The Greatest Hits- 1966-1992 (Well, I can't argue with Neil Diamond as a closer.)
What a Difference a Year Makes
Stewie at the Long Beach Turkey Trot, Thanksgiving Day 2005.
Stewie at the Long Beach Turkey Trot, Thanksgiving Day 2006.
Owen at the Long Beach Turkey Trot, Thanksgiving Day 2005.
Owen at the Long Beach Turkey Trot, Thanksgiving Day 2006.
Stewie at the Long Beach Turkey Trot, Thanksgiving Day 2006.
Owen at the Long Beach Turkey Trot, Thanksgiving Day 2005.
Owen at the Long Beach Turkey Trot, Thanksgiving Day 2006.
Northern Illinois, thank you very much.
| What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Midland "You have a Midland accent" is just another way of saying "you don't have an accent." You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri) but then for all we know you could be from Florida or Charleston or one of those big southern cities like Atlanta or Dallas. You have a good voice for TV and radio. | |
| The South | |
| Philadelphia | |
| The West | |
| The Inland North | |
| Boston | |
| North Central | |
| The Northeast | |
| What American accent do you have? Take More Quizzes | |
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Grandma
I was back in Illinois this past weekend for my grandmother's memorial service.
I'm glad that she's with my grandpa now, and with her sister Lois whom she was very close to, and all the other friends who went on before her.
But I will always miss her.
After the service, we had lunch at her house for the last time.
It was strange being surrounded by her things, her dishes, her antiques, her old photographs and framed samplers and quilts- each item familiar to me, each with a story, and each in its place, same as they had been for the last twenty odd years.
It was like basking in her presence for one more day- being with all the things she had gathered around her- and remembering all of the holidays, birthdays, graduations and other major life events we celebrated as a family with her as the heart and soul.
We stayed at her house until after the sun went down, watching old family videos trying to feel that nothing was changing- that this house would always be here, furnished just so, for us as a touchstone throughout the rest of our lives- but knowing, in truth, that this was the end.
I'm glad that she's with my grandpa now, and with her sister Lois whom she was very close to, and all the other friends who went on before her.
But I will always miss her.
After the service, we had lunch at her house for the last time.
It was strange being surrounded by her things, her dishes, her antiques, her old photographs and framed samplers and quilts- each item familiar to me, each with a story, and each in its place, same as they had been for the last twenty odd years.
It was like basking in her presence for one more day- being with all the things she had gathered around her- and remembering all of the holidays, birthdays, graduations and other major life events we celebrated as a family with her as the heart and soul.
We stayed at her house until after the sun went down, watching old family videos trying to feel that nothing was changing- that this house would always be here, furnished just so, for us as a touchstone throughout the rest of our lives- but knowing, in truth, that this was the end.
The Life of...
Betty Plum Wiebers
LANARK - Betty Louise Plum Wiebers, 85, of Lanark died Monday, Nov. 13, 2006, at her home.
She was born on April 13, 1921, near Polo to Wilbur and Edna Kuhn Plum. She was baptized at West Branch Church of the Brethren where her grandfather, Samuel Plum, was the minister. In 1941, she married Lawrence Wiebers in Oak Park.
Betty graduated from Amundson High School in Chicago in 1939. Following graduation, she worked as an X-ray technician in Chicago. After marriage, she moved to Watertown, N.Y., where Lawrence served the war effort working for New York Airbrake. It was then Betty began her lifelong quest for perfect pie crust, a goal she not only attained but taught to many students.
Betty and Lawrence moved to Lanark in 1948, where she was instrumental in promoting the implementation of the first kindergarten class in the Lanark School District.
She also enjoyed camping with her family and friends, and fishing and hunting trips to Canada and the Northwest. She enjoyed traveling to Great Britain, Germany, Mexico, Spain, Denmark and Morocco. During the winter, Betty and Lawrence loved spending time in Florida, visiting the Gulf Coast beaches, enjoying fresh shrimp and playing cards every evening. Betty loved to play and teach bridge, and was an excellent player well into her eighties in spite of crippling arthritis.
Above all, Betty was a reader. She was an excellent wordsmith and enjoyed challenging games of Scrabble which she usually won. She was also known for what her husband lovingly described as a “razor-sharp tongue” and a “lead foot,” able to “lay a patch” of rubber while backing out of the garage.
She instilled in her children a love of music and harmony and loved to sing old hymns she had learned from her grandfather. She was an excellent swimmer, and made certain her children were also.
A lifelong Democrat, she was forced to admit that, as a toddler, she was once “extracted” from the Rock River by Ronald Reagan when he was a lifeguard at Lowell Park in Dixon.
Betty was a wonderful cook and confirmed “chocoholic.” (Her last meal was chocolate cake.) She delighted in her many grandchildren, spoiling them with a fully stocked candy drawer. Betty loved to collect antiques and spent years studying and researching them. For years, one of her favorite past times was going to antique shows and shops across the country.
She is survived by her four daughters, Laurie Ann (Ambrose) Gaines of Placida, Fla., Jennifer (Steve) Schneider of Scottsdale, Ariz., Amy (Robert) Ruch of Lanark, and Melissa (Brad) Finifrock of Cherry Valley; her dear friend, Ferris Walker; her devoted caretaker, Annie; her 12 grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.
Betty was preceded in death by her husband; her baby brother, Sherwood; and her beloved sister, Lois.
Memorial services will be held at 11 a.m. Friday at Lanark United Methodist Church.
Arrangements were handled by the Russell-Frank Funeral Home in Lanark.
LANARK - Betty Louise Plum Wiebers, 85, of Lanark died Monday, Nov. 13, 2006, at her home.
She was born on April 13, 1921, near Polo to Wilbur and Edna Kuhn Plum. She was baptized at West Branch Church of the Brethren where her grandfather, Samuel Plum, was the minister. In 1941, she married Lawrence Wiebers in Oak Park.
Betty graduated from Amundson High School in Chicago in 1939. Following graduation, she worked as an X-ray technician in Chicago. After marriage, she moved to Watertown, N.Y., where Lawrence served the war effort working for New York Airbrake. It was then Betty began her lifelong quest for perfect pie crust, a goal she not only attained but taught to many students.
Betty and Lawrence moved to Lanark in 1948, where she was instrumental in promoting the implementation of the first kindergarten class in the Lanark School District.
She also enjoyed camping with her family and friends, and fishing and hunting trips to Canada and the Northwest. She enjoyed traveling to Great Britain, Germany, Mexico, Spain, Denmark and Morocco. During the winter, Betty and Lawrence loved spending time in Florida, visiting the Gulf Coast beaches, enjoying fresh shrimp and playing cards every evening. Betty loved to play and teach bridge, and was an excellent player well into her eighties in spite of crippling arthritis.
Above all, Betty was a reader. She was an excellent wordsmith and enjoyed challenging games of Scrabble which she usually won. She was also known for what her husband lovingly described as a “razor-sharp tongue” and a “lead foot,” able to “lay a patch” of rubber while backing out of the garage.
She instilled in her children a love of music and harmony and loved to sing old hymns she had learned from her grandfather. She was an excellent swimmer, and made certain her children were also.
A lifelong Democrat, she was forced to admit that, as a toddler, she was once “extracted” from the Rock River by Ronald Reagan when he was a lifeguard at Lowell Park in Dixon.
Betty was a wonderful cook and confirmed “chocoholic.” (Her last meal was chocolate cake.) She delighted in her many grandchildren, spoiling them with a fully stocked candy drawer. Betty loved to collect antiques and spent years studying and researching them. For years, one of her favorite past times was going to antique shows and shops across the country.
She is survived by her four daughters, Laurie Ann (Ambrose) Gaines of Placida, Fla., Jennifer (Steve) Schneider of Scottsdale, Ariz., Amy (Robert) Ruch of Lanark, and Melissa (Brad) Finifrock of Cherry Valley; her dear friend, Ferris Walker; her devoted caretaker, Annie; her 12 grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.
Betty was preceded in death by her husband; her baby brother, Sherwood; and her beloved sister, Lois.
Memorial services will be held at 11 a.m. Friday at Lanark United Methodist Church.
Arrangements were handled by the Russell-Frank Funeral Home in Lanark.
Thursday, November 09, 2006
"Lost" in Yonkers?
So Kyle and I and the kids were all in New York for the last few days for Joanna's wedding.
Interesting thing about New York: the people were pretty nice for the most part, belying the popular wisdom that all New Yorkers are rude.
However, the homeless people are downright mean compared to the ones in L.A. And I used to live in Santa Monica, which has a homeless population second only to downtown's Skid Row, so I know what I'm talking about.
Maybe it's all the warmth and sunshine that makes L.A.'s transients genial and New York's assholes. Who knows? All I know is that the homeless on the Third Street Promenade used to say good day and God bless me and inquire kindly about my kids, except for the ones who were insane, and they at least kept to themselves.
In New York, I encountered exactly three homeless people in Joanna's wealthy, Upper West Side neighborhood. The first one called me a bitch, the second one made a slapping motion at me to wave me off the sidewalk, and the third told me to "get the fuck out of the way."
Well, I guess if I had to sleep on the sidewalk in below zero weather, I'd be bitter, too.
Joanna's wedding was wonderful- it went without a hitch and I think all the guests had a great time. I was so happy for her and Steven. And, next time you see her, give her shit because her last name is Klopfer now. Hah!
In other news, Kyle and I are catching up on all the shows we missed while in New York. I watched last week's Lost last night instead of this week's. And can I just ask WHY the ominous black cloud sounds like a cash register? I can't handle it!
What kind of sound is that for something so threatening? "Hi, I'm a spooky black cloud and I'm going to RING UP YOUR GROCERIES! Oooooooohhhh!"
Then of course the Cash Register/Black Cloud thumped Eko around like a rag doll, thus proving on the eve of the Christmas shopping season that retail is the Devil.
Interesting thing about New York: the people were pretty nice for the most part, belying the popular wisdom that all New Yorkers are rude.
However, the homeless people are downright mean compared to the ones in L.A. And I used to live in Santa Monica, which has a homeless population second only to downtown's Skid Row, so I know what I'm talking about.
Maybe it's all the warmth and sunshine that makes L.A.'s transients genial and New York's assholes. Who knows? All I know is that the homeless on the Third Street Promenade used to say good day and God bless me and inquire kindly about my kids, except for the ones who were insane, and they at least kept to themselves.
In New York, I encountered exactly three homeless people in Joanna's wealthy, Upper West Side neighborhood. The first one called me a bitch, the second one made a slapping motion at me to wave me off the sidewalk, and the third told me to "get the fuck out of the way."
Well, I guess if I had to sleep on the sidewalk in below zero weather, I'd be bitter, too.
Joanna's wedding was wonderful- it went without a hitch and I think all the guests had a great time. I was so happy for her and Steven. And, next time you see her, give her shit because her last name is Klopfer now. Hah!
In other news, Kyle and I are catching up on all the shows we missed while in New York. I watched last week's Lost last night instead of this week's. And can I just ask WHY the ominous black cloud sounds like a cash register? I can't handle it!
What kind of sound is that for something so threatening? "Hi, I'm a spooky black cloud and I'm going to RING UP YOUR GROCERIES! Oooooooohhhh!"
Then of course the Cash Register/Black Cloud thumped Eko around like a rag doll, thus proving on the eve of the Christmas shopping season that retail is the Devil.
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