Tag You're It

Remove the blog in the top spot from the following list and bump everyone up one place. Then add your blog to the bottom slot, like so.

1. badbadivy
2. musings from malicious
3. Kelli's Ramblings
4. Curly Sue
5. Leann’s Random Thoughts

Next, select 5 people to tag:
Carl, Jacque, Jeff Young, Laurie and Jeff Proctor (this will need to be 2 separate posts, Proctors!)

What were you doing 10 years ago?I was a senior in high school probably trying to decide on plans for prom.

What were you doing 1 year ago?Getting over bronchitis after attending the UNC/Maryland game in College Park…No joke!

Five snacks you enjoy
1. Girl Scout Cookies
2. Cheese and Crackers
3. Brownies
4. Cheese Dip (white cheese dip from authentic Mexican restaurants)
5. Sausage Balls

Five songs to which you know all the lyrics
1. Any Bon Jovi song (like you couldn’t see that one coming)
2. Most Backstreet Boys
3. Make Me Believe by Sugarland
4. Praise Songs and Nursery Class Songs
5. Alabama Fight Song (the real and the phony lyrics)
(6. TV Show Theme Songs)

Five things you would do if you were a millionaire (in no particular order)
1. Pay off my and my family’s debts
2. Buy a house in Indianapolis complete with full KitchenAid kitchen
3. Invest
4. Buy Indianapolis Season Tickets (or at least get on the waiting list)
5. Donate to church and charity

Five bad habits
1. Don’t exercise
2. Eat too much
3. Stay up too late
4. Don’t read my Bible as much as I should
5. Over think EVERYTHING

Five things you like doing
1. Watching TV
2. Hanging out with friends
3. Reading
4. Traveling (even though I don’t do it as much as I’d like)
5. Teaching the Seedlings class at church

Five things you would never wear again
1. Stirrup pants
2. Half shirts
3. Bikini (the last one I had I think I was 7 years old)
4. High tops
5. Baby Doll dresses (unless I’m actually pregnant)

Five favorite toys
1. Best Buy (let’s face it folks…the store is a toy)
2. DVR
3. The babies in my nursery class
4. Anything KitchenAid
5. Creative Memories

RIP: Mr. Parker

Christmas just doesn't seem the same without 24 hours of A Christmas Story. And now the patriarch of the family has passed away. I think we all saw just a little bit of our own father's in that character (good or bad). But the image of him trying to chase the neighbor's hound dogs after they've eaten the entire turkey or him walking off with his broken leg lamp in his hands to bury it in the backyard...oh they're priceless and unforgetable. I can practically recite that entire movie, but there is no other actor I would ever have put in that role.

Veteran Actor Darren McGavin Dies at 83
Monday Feb 27, 2006 8:00am EST

By Stephen M. Silverman

Versatile movie and TV actor Darren McGavin – whose hundreds of roles included that of the grumpy dad in the 1983 holiday perennial A Christmas Story – died Saturday of natural causes at a Los Angeles-area hospital with his family at his side. He was 83.

Among his many TV roles, he starred in Mike Hammer, Riverboat and the cult favorite Kolchak: The Night Stalker. He also won an Emmy, in 1990, for playing leading lady Candice Bergen's opinionated father in an episode of Murphy Brown.

On the big screen, he was memorable as the young artist in the Venice hotel also occupied by Katharine Hepburn, in David Lean's 1955 Summertime; as Frank Sinatra's crafty drug supplier in that same year's The Man with the Golden Arm; and as the gambler in 1984's The Natural.

Born in Spokane, Wash., McGavin was never precise about his background. He told TV Guide in 1973 that he was a constant runaway at 10 and 11, and as a teen lived in warehouses in Tacoma, Wash., and dodged the police and welfare workers. His parents disappeared, he said.

Getting to New York, McGavin studied at the Neighborhood Playhouse and the Actors Studio and began working in live TV drama and on Broadway – appearing with Charlton Heston in a TV Macbeth and acting the role of son Happy in Death of a Salesman in New York and on the road, reports Reuters.

McGavin is survived by his four children – York, Megan, Bridget and Bogart – from a previous marriage to Melanie York McGavin, said Bogart McGavin, who added that his father was separated from his second wife, Kathy Brown, at the time of his death.

RIP: Mr. Limpet

I'm probably the only person on the face of the earth who really never got into The Andy Griffith Show, but I loved Don Knotts and I loved him in The Incredible Mr. Limpet. If you've never seen that movie, I highly recommend it. It's a really sweet, funny story. Mr. Knotts also made me roll my eyes and laugh hysterically many times on Three's Company. He is a treasure of entertainment history and will be greatly missed.

Emmy Winner Don Knotts Dies at 81
Saturday Feb 25, 2006 8:00pm EST
Monday Feb 27, 2006 8:50am EST (updated)

By Stephen M. Silverman

CREDIT: FRED PROUSER / REUTERS

Don Knotts, the comic actor and costar of The Andy Griffith Show who raised bumbling to an art, died Friday night in Beverly Hills of pulmonary and respiratory complications. He was 81.

The actor, who later in his career played landlord Mr. Furley on TV's Three's Company, won five Emmys for his memorable portrayal of rural Mayberry's shaky deputy Barney Fife on The Andy Griffith Show, which ran for 249 episodes from 1960-68.

Former costar Griffith was at Knotts's bedside when he died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, as were his third wife, Francie, and his children, Thomas and Karen.

Speaking on Monday morning's Today show, a despondent Griffith said: "I just lost my best friend." Being with Knotts as he was slipping away this weekend, Griffith said, "I told him I loved him. I told him … You gotta lick this. You gotta pull through."

Of Knott's contribution to their classic sitcom, Griffith said: "He turned our show around. Everything we did came out of our friendship." In contrast to Knotts's jittery screen character, in person he was calm and knowledgeable, said Griffith, who overall considered his costar a "sweet, wonderful man worth remembering."

Knotts began his career by performing at parties as a ventriloquist in his Morgantown, W.V., hometown, and entertained troops as a soldier during World War II. "I went to New York cold," he recalled years later. "On a $100 bill. Bummed a ride."

TV audiences first saw him in the '50s, when he played the unnamed nervous man on the street on The Steve Allen Show (in skits similar to those later done on the Late Show with David Letterman). Before Griffith he appeared on I Love Lucy; afterwards, on Seinfeld.

Knotts eventually appeared in big-screen comedies, including 1963's It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World, 1964's The Incredible Mr. Limpet – a Walter Mitty-esque fantasy in which he daydreamed of being a fish (and became one through animation) – and 1968's The Shakiest Gun in the West.

In 2005, he appeared on an episode of the TV show Las Vegas and did voice work for the animated series Robot Chicken. Saying he never had any intention of retiring, Knotts even played a serious role – on the TV soap Search for Tomorrow, the lone time he didn't go for the laugh.

"That's the only serious thing I've done," he said. "I don't miss that."

Ask And You Shall Receive

I was reading sports stories on my Palm Pilot (thanks to AvantGo) on the way in to work today on the train and wouldn't you know it...Michael Bradley from The Sporting News came through for me. Apparently he reads my blog (yeah I know this isn't true, but a girl can dream). He wrote an article about D'Brickashaw, which included an explanation for the name:

Ferguson's first name was going to be Montgomery until McLendon heard about it. "She thought it sounded too English," Edwin Sr. says. It was on to the second option, which came from the wildly successful novel and subsequent TV miniseries The Thorn Birds. Father Ralph de Bricassart is a central character in the saga, and Edwin admired how the priest navigated his struggle between a love for Meggie, the protagonist, and his devotion to God.

"It was very realistic, and my dad just liked it," Ferguson says of the miniseries. The Fergusons changed de Bricassart a little to make it unique and kept Montgomery as the middle name. Years later, the boy named for a fictitious priest would grow to be a man interested in world religions.

And now we know the rest of the story. :)

The Name Game

As the title states, this blog entry is totally random. Ok, maybe random to you, the reader, but not to me, the author. The NFL Combine starts today in Indianapolis at the RCA Dome. (The Colts can’t win a Super Bowl, but they can get 350 college football players on their home field to run drills and show off their “talent.” At least it’s something.) I have mixed feelings about the Combine. It really can make or break a player’s chances in the NFL Draft, and it’s so agent driven that I have trouble seeing past that to what it was originally designed for. In any case, in reading all these articles about who is at the Combine and who isn’t, I’ve stumbled across my new favorite name. Names fascinate me, i.e., meanings, reasons why parents named their child that (cruel or otherwise), etc. Several years ago, my favorite name was Chidi Ahanotu (CHEATIE UH-HON-UH-TU). He was a defensive end drafted late by Tampa Bay. I have no idea what kind of career he had or what he’s doing now, but I sure did love that name!

Over the years I’ve had my fair share of favorite names from the NFL William “The Refrigerator” Perry, Flozell “The Hotel” Adams, Lofa Tatupu, Troy Polamalu (just the last name—I can finally pronounce that without looking at it first), and the like. But I…yes, I have a new favorite name. I don’t know where he’ll go in the draft (he’s projected as a top 10 pick—one reason why he’s not at the Combine—no improvement necessary), and I don’t know what stats or performances make up that prediction, but my new favorite name is:

D’Brickashaw Ferguson

I’m calling him D.B. for short. He’s from New York, played at UVA (shout out to my favorite UVA grad--guess who) and in the Senior Bowl recently where I was first introduced to him (sorry I don’t pay much attention to ACC football beyond Florida State). But, get this, his middle name is Montgomery. D’Brickashaw Montgomery Ferguson. Now there’s a name, ladies and gentlemen. The funniest part, his brother’s name is Edwin (who is named after their father). I’d be interested to know where D.B.’s parents came up with his name. :) Of course, if he were at the Combine, I’m sure his agent would tell us the whole story.

See what I mean...RANDOM!

Happy Birthday, Jill Ann

Happy Birthday to one of the strongest, funniest, sweetest people I know. Mrs. Jill Young.

There is a happy for you sitting on my kitchen table all wrapped and ready for its recipient.

I hope you have a great day today.

Smile and know that you are loved!

Happy Singles Awareness Day

OK. I'll bite...

Four Things

Four jobs you have had in your life:
1. Movie Theater (box office, snack bar, projectionist, etc.)
2. Bath and Body Works sales clerk (at least I came home smelling better than I did from the theater)
3. Business School Student Services (there are a lot of whiny smart people in this world)
4. Auditor (DoD and Senate)

Four movies you would watch over and over (ONLY 4):
1. Somewhere Tomorrow
2. Sixteen Candles
3. The Breakfast Club
4. Forrest Gump

Four books I could read over & over:
1. Manning : A Father, His Sons and a Football Legacy
2. Going Home Again (Roy Williams's first season with the Tarheels)
3. This Place Has No Atmosphere by Paula Danziger
4. The Bible (there's always something I missed)

Four places you have lived:
1. Bronson, FL
2. Port Charlotte, FL
3. Tuscaloosa, AL
4. DC Metro Area

Four TV shows you like to watch (AGAIN, ONLY 4):
1. Gilmore Girls
2. The Dead Zone
3. Numb3rs
4. Grey's Anatomy

Four places you have been on vacation:
1. North Carolina (Mountains, Beach, City...you name it...I've been there)
2. New York City (and Newark, NJ by default)
3. Hollywood, CA (and Corona, CA by default)
4. Memphis, TN (and Tunica, MS by default)

Four web sites I visit daily:
1. Colts.com
2. ESPN.com
3. Bon Jovi.com
4. Gmail.com

Four of my favorite foods:
1. Outback Cheese Fries
2. Chili
3. Eastern North Carolina BBQ
4. Authentic Mexican cheese dip

Four places I would rather be right now:
1. At home still in bed
2. North Carolina Mountains
3. Hawaii watching Pro Bowl Practice in person
4. Touring sporting venues (preferably NFL stadiums)

Monday Morning Motivation

Time to do this thing all over, again...it's Monday.

Stand Back Up ~ by Sugarland

Go ahead and take your best shot,
Let 'er rip, give it all you've got,
I'm laid out on the floor, but I've been here before,
I may stumble, yeah I might fall,
Only human aren't we all?
I might lose my way, but hear me when i say,

I will stand back up,
You'll know just the moment when I've had enough,
Sometimes I'm afraid, and I dont feel that tough,
But I'll stand back up,

I've been beaten up and bruised,
I've been kicked right off my shoes,
Been down on my knees more times than you'd believe,
When the darkness tries to get me,
There's a light that just won't let me,
It might take my pride, and my tears may fill my eyes,
But I'll stand back up,

I've weathered all these stroms,
But I just turn them into wind, so I can fly,
What don't kill you makes you stronger,
When I take my last breath,
That's when I'll just give up,

So, go ahead and take your best shot,
Let 'er rip, give it all you've got,
You might win this round but you can't keep me down,

'Cause I'll stand back up,
And you'll know just the moment when I've had enough,
Sometimes I'm afraid and I don't feel that tough,
But I'll stand back up,

You'll know just the moment when I've had enough,
Sometimes I'm afraid and I dont feel that tough,
But I'll stand back up.

My Hug For RICHIE

I put a moratorium on bad news on Bon Jovi Day yesterday and I almost made it. I didn’t officially receive any bad news until 15 minutes before midnight. As for the concert, I could sit here and talk about how awesome the concert was. (Shout out to J-Mo for going with me at the last minute. Hope you’re feeling better Ilonka. I missed you last night.) That it was the most perfect concert I’ve ever been to. That Bon Jovi played songs that I love and have never seen performed live. That Jon played three (Yes…THREE) songs in the audience finishing Bed of Roses while walking on the rim of the hockey rink (he’s got balance) and shaking hands with fans all the way to the stage. Yes, I could tell you all about that and it would be amazing to type every last memory I have from that show, but something else happened that few, if any, concert-goers were aware of at the time of the concert. Something that I knew without having anything confirmed. I just knew.

They’d never talked about problems. They’d never said there was a rift in their relationship. For all we, as fans, knew, nothing was wrong and they loved each other and were devoted to each other. But according to reports about 3 ½ hours prior to Richie Sambora taking the stage at the MCI Center, his wife Heather Locklear filed for divorce without telling him about it. I didn’t read these reports until 11:45 last night when I turned on my computer to find out the score of the UNC/MD game (man did I miss a good one…but the concert was worth it…GO HEELS!) and there it was, the breaking news. Now, I can’t sit here and tell you what the reason behind the divorce is. I don’t know if anyone cheated. I don’t know who, if either of them, fell out of love. And I certainly don’t know what all is lumped into the term irreconcilable differences. But, I do know that Richie was oblivious to her filing as well until some reporter asked him about it right before the show. And, even though I didn’t read the reports until 75 minutes after the show ended, I knew there was something wrong 8:35pm.

Richie came out in true Richie fashion playing his guitar and decked out in clothes that only Richie Sambora can get away with. But…it was missing…the ring…it wasn’t there. When Richie plays his guitar solos, the big screens show his guitar playing up close and I could see the mark on his finger where the ring used to be as if he had just taken it off. Some guitarists will remove their rings because it gets in the way of playing, but Richie’s wedding band was always there, and you got the sense that he never wanted to take it off for any reason. So, when it was missing, my heart dropped.

In the last year, I have been witness to the definition of strength more times than I’d like to admit. I’ve seen the Dungy family hold together through faith after their oldest son took his own life. I’ve seen my best friend go through a divorce, something she never, ever expected to go through. I’ve watching my friend, Katherine, give birth to a beautiful baby boy (she was definitely my hero that day). I’ve watched a dear friend of mine stare uncertainty in the face because of an impending unemployment. Through the internet, I’ve watched little baby Lauren Schwamb fight back with God’s help through everything the doctor’s said she couldn’t do. These are all definitions of strength to me in today’s world. And in every person’s life, strength is defined to them in different ways. My definition of strength may be completely different from yours, but it doesn’t make my definition or yours the right one. But how you see strength is all your own just as mine is. Last night, I discovered another facet of strength.

What do you do when you’re the lead guitarist of one of the longest running rock bands in the world, a reporter has just informed you that your wife filed for divorce without your knowledge, and you have to go out and play to a 20,000 member screaming audience that wants nothing more than to hear you sing and manipulate your guitars with the flare only you possess? Well, you go out and put your entire heart into it. Richie had to go out and sing songs like “Born To Be My Baby,” “I Want To Be Loved,” “Who Says You Can’t Go Home,” “In These Arms,” “I’ll Be There For You,” “Bed of Roses,” and “Livin’ On A Prayer.” Of course he did get to sing “You Give Love a Bad Name,” which in my opinion he played his best guitar riff of the night on that song. He put his entire body into that solo and it showed. Richie did an amazing job, exemplifying his professionalism and devotion to his fans. He said we’ll deal with this later, we’ve got a show to do, and those fans out there have paid big money to see us, so let’s go.

From the Mohegan Sun Show (2/1/06)

Now, I’ll admit even though that was the most perfect concert I’ve ever seen and they played every song that I can think of that I’d want to see live, I could tell their minds were somewhere else. Hopefully this wasn’t obvious to everyone. I could tell that they wanted to finish that show, get off the stage, grab a bottle of whatever, and just sit with their friend. Jon and Richie had their moments on stage where they showed what being together for over 20 years means. It’s a friendship that I admire greatly because there are few like it. Richie showed poise and strength last night that I will never forget. I will cherish his singing of the second verse of “Wanted Dead Or Alive” (SOMETIMES I SLEEP, SOMETIMES IT'S NOT FOR DAYS, THE PEOPLE I MEET, ALWAYS GO THEIR SEPARATE WAYS, SOMETIMES YOU TELL THE DAY, BY THE BOTTLE THAT YOU DRINK, AND TIME WHEN YOU'RE ALONE, ALL YOU DO IS THINK) as if those were the last words he was ever going to speak. And beyond my memories of how perfect that show was, how awesome it was to have Jon sing Bed of Roses 50 feet from me, or seeing “In These Arms” performed live, I will never, ever forget what Richie gave to us, the fans, that night. He gave his heart and soul and he definitely played for keeps, but I know he’ll make it back.

Richie: May God bless you and keep you strong through this trial. Keep the Faith!