No Wonder...

...I'm the only one who can spell in my office. Apparently, everyone else suffers from typoglycemia:



"I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd what I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid. Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch taem at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn’t mttaer in what oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Such a cdonition is arppoiately cllaed Typoglycemia."

What Kind Are You?

You are a freeform writer. Individualistic with a
sense for the different and challenging, Walt
Whitman and his poetry lacking meter and rhyme
is just what the doctor ordered. You're quick
to write something that the rest of the world
doesn't accept as poetry, quick to separate
yourself from the average joe. An author with a
true sense of self, you have confidence in your
abilities and aren't afraid to show it. :) GO
YOU!


What's YOUR Writing Style?
brought to you by Quizilla

Twinkle, Twinkle

Here's a question for you... which came first, the Star City, or its giant freakin' neon mountaintop star?



If you've never been to Roanoke (and what are the odds, really?), let me introduce you to the Star City's lone landmark: the Mill Mountain Star.



Now, the Star is pretty cool, don't get me wrong. You can drive up and get a pretty nice view of the city...



... so it's become a tradition. We have family or friends come in, we take them up to the Star. They oooh and ahh, then we go eat and go home. But it got me thinking. Is Roanoke the Star City because we have a giant neon star, or did we get a giant neon star in honor of our being the Star City?

Hmmmm.

Role Reversal

It's official. I am the man of my house.

Was fighting over the thermostat with the hubby this week. He's too cold.

Isn't that backward? I'm the one telling him to add a layer. Meantime, he's burning me up and I'm wandering around the house in shorts and a t-shirt at night.

Then again... he works with mostly women and I work with mostly men... so maybe we've just got everything backwards at our house. I wonder what other stereotypes we buck...

No worries, though. I have no plans to wear boxer briefs.

This Is What We Call a Bad Idea!

I love the Muppets as much as anyone else, and probably more. In fact, I own all but one of their movies.

But. Then. I. Saw. This.

70-some-odd Things You Didn't Know About Me

1. I am a reporter/anchor for a news/talk radio station by day, and I do freelance copyediting and proofreading at night.

2. Most of my underwear is either purple or blue.

3. I love jazz, especially seriously old school stuff like Dizzy Gillespie or Duke Ellington.

4. I ate chocolate cake for lunch today.

5. I don't believe in wishing on stars.

6. I don't have a favorite color.

7. I especially love fall weather.

8. I can't call my sister unless I block out at least two hours or more for the conversation. :)

9. I am REAAAAALLLY afraid of scary movies.

0. My birthday is September 20.

11. I have a big weakness for General Foods International Coffees. (Jean Luc!)

12. I will never give up my love for my Kentucky Wildcats.

13. I colored my hair for the first time ever a month ago. Reddish highlights.

14. My eyes actually got better after I gave birth to my son - I was farsighted before and now I have 20/20 vision.

15. My dog sleeps on my bed.

16. I can't stand coconut anything.

17. My favorite food is peanut butter and jelly.

18. I went to see "Elizabethtown" this weekend, enjoyed myself immensely, and recognized a number of the places filmed as being either around the corner from one of my first apartments or down the street from it. And yes, I know what Ale8-1 is... and no, I don't drink it.

19. I am ashamed to admit I have recently become addicted to Desperate Housewives.

20. I yell when I am angry.

21. Sometimes I throw things.

22. I am horrible with things that grow. I could kill a plastic plant.

23. I am a hugger, not a hand-shaker.

24. If forced to make a choice, I'll pick raspberry over blueberry every time.

25. I have self-esteem problems.

26. I am a proud graduate of the Kentucky public schools. They're better than you think.

27. I can roller skate, but I don't understand football at all.

28. My dining room table doubles as an art studio and writing desk.

29. I cry at the drop of a hat... especially when it involves weddings, Christmas or happy endings. I cry every time I watch "It's a Wonderful Life."

30. I can't close my closet all the way because of all the junk on the floor of it.

31. I met my husband in junior high. (But no, I didn't date him then.)

32. I don't celebrate Halloween.

34. I love to sing.

35. The idea of losing my little boy in a crowd terrifies me silly.

36. The best hamburger in the whole world used to be at a place called Banana's on Richmond Road in Lexington, KY. Sadly... Banana's is no more. A moment of silence, if you will.

37. I drive a ten-year-old Chevy Cavalier.

38. I think poodles are mutants and an abomination against dogkind.

39. I have no less than ten keys, six key-cards and my work I.D. card on my key chain.

40. I got my first real radio job (not college radio) six months before I graduated.

41. I think Tuesdays rock, and I don't know why.

42. I went to four different elementary schools and two high schools.

43. My husband and I have spent Christmas in a different place every year of the seven that we've been married.

44. I don't like to sleep with my head under a window.

45. I get up at 6:45 every day.

46. Given the choice, I'd pick pearls over diamonds.

47. I am addicted to Law and Order: SVU.

48. I think reality shows are contrived and dull.

49. I usually don't eat breakfast.

50. My middle name is Rose.

51. I am a huge closet Lisa Loeb fan.

52. I am the baby sister.

53. I don't like sour cream potato chips at all.

54. I love the Mary Tyler Moore show. Thank you, TV Land!

55. The turkey reuben at Macado's is to-die-for.

56. I detest snobbiness.

57. I also detest low-riders.

58. I hope one day to visit Scotland.

59. I originally majored in music and attended the University of Kentucky on a piano scholarship for two years before changing my major.

60. I don't like to be too hot.

61. I think I'd like to retire to the mountains. I'm already here, so I know how pretty it is.

62. My favorite time of day is before my son wakes up!

63. I have a sister, a brother, two step-sisters and one step-brother.

64. My son is a miracle baby - I wasn't supposed to be able to have him.

65. I prefer RC Cola, generally, though it's hard to come by anymore.

66. My feet are really small.

67. I was born blonde. (I am decidedly NOT blonde now.)

68. I briefly lived in Winston-Salem, North Carolina as a child.

69. My earliest memory is my third birthday party.

70. My worst habit is probably that I eat chocolate rather than cope with stress.

71. My best childhood memory is riding a toboggan with my older brother down a snow-covered slope behind our old house.

72. The crappiest job I have ever held was working as a Kroger deli clerk.

73. I play six musical instruments - seven if you count the guitar I got for Christmas. But you probably shouldn't!

74. My dad used to call me "Boodles."

75. I have pierced ears.

76. My eyes are hazel.

77. When I was young, I wanted to BE my sister when I grew up.

78. I once spent a whopping two hours in Canada.

79. I flunked my driver's test the first time.

If I Ever Throw My Dog a Party...

...beat me senseless... or else beat some sense into me, OK?

Of course, when you see the picture of the dog who got the Bark Mitzvah, it sort of makes sense. Thank God I've got a beagle.

Didn't See That Coming

If you'd asked me to predict which movie I am most like, I probably would have said "It's a Wonderful Life" or "The Muppet Movie." But whatever... the test was fun, so go check it out.

What Classic Movie Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

Feeling Sheepish

It's almost time for animal sitting for the church's live nativity. Sheep provided a real object lesson about how God thinks about people the last time we had to watch the animals.

In case you didn't know, sheep are incredibly dumb.

Two years ago, DH and I had to untangle them (let's not get into why in the world someone thought staking and leashing the poor things was a good idea - that's another issue) -- they had gotten wrapped around each other and the stakes so well that they couldn't move. Took us an hour to get them undone, because they didn't want to let us help them.

Fifteen minutes later, we did our rounds to check on all the animals, and sure enough... sheep were tangled.

Just think... we're His flock. Humbling, ain't it?

La la, la la la la... KABOOM!

You have to see this to believe it. The Smurfs are making a comeback... in an ad campaign against child warriors in Burundi!

That Poor Sheep

I cringe every time I think about this. I have a coworker who, twice in the last week, has written a story about a prison inmate "on the lamb."

As opposed to... on the calf?

Geez.

I Have a New Hobby

Not that I really have spare time, but...

I have taken up sewing.

Do you know how wrong that looks on my computer screen? I am Betty Crocker's nemesis. Martha Stewart yells, "It's not a good thing!" when she sees me coming. I have no idea what the difference between braise, broil or burn is. (Just ask my family!)

But I decided to remedy my lack of domestic knowledge after my mom died last summer. Mom always promised to teach me to sew, but between us we kept putting it off and I never learned. One of the things I inherited was her sewing machine, and now I have learned how to use it. I'm far from good - in fact, I'm rather bad, but I enjoy it immensely and I did manage to make a rather crude train-patterned blanket for my engineer - oops, I mean, my son, Sam-the-Man.

Who knows? Maybe I'll even learn to cook next.

No Seven Year Itch Here

Happy anniversary, hon. Here's to 77 more!

Tony and Becky
10-2-98