Category: Travel

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Aspiring Musicians

A very good friend of mine I grew up with, is an aspiring musician, and is brilliant when it comes to tweaking his voice to sound like absolute heaven. When I moved to this town when I about twelve years old, he was the first friend I made that lived right next door. Ever since we have been inseparable.

I even remember the first day we moved into our new home, I turned on the music in the garage and started doing cart wheels in the backyard, while he was jumping up and down on his trampoline in his backyard with a friend. Both of them were about 10 years old and had toy microphones in their hands, something I found later to be his sisters toy microphones. They were both singing and raping while jumping on that trampoline, it was too funny.

We noticed we all loved music, and we all started hanging out and playing together. I have watched him grow from that young boy into the talented man he is today. The last time I saw him was two months ago, before he moved about forty miles away to live with his girlfriend, whom is also a good friend of mine since forever ago. Before he left he invited me to a show his was performing at, and I was ecstatic to see him perform finally after all these years.

He expressed an interest in finding a microphone he could find for an affordable price, so he could practice at home before his show date. I remembered the night before coming across a site that offered just that, so I told him that there were microphones for sale as well as some sweet looking new and used mitchell guitars at M F’s, and to check their site out.

He called me a few days later and told me that not only did her order a microphone but he also ordered lehle amp that he found that he is absolutely thrilled to have now. I’m happy I could help him prepare for such a great event I can see him perform at, and see how he can change the world with his beautiful voice.

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Green Issues

I figure that we need to go as “green” as we all can possibly become these days. I’ve been told that there are website hosting companies that are doing what they can in order to become environmentally friendly, which I think is pretty darn cool. I’ve always been a recycling freak. I grew up with parents from the “hippie” generation and recycling has always been something that just came naturally due to their generation and their lifestyles.

There is so much more to being “green” than recycling, but it is something that we all can do and should be doing as much as possible. Where I live our taxes pay for our trash removal and recycling pick-ups. They provide us with the bins, one for plastic and glass, the other one for paper.

Each week all we need to do is place the containers on the curbside and the truck comes and picks them up and hauls them away. The only way that they can make it any easier would be to provide a person to stand in the corner of the kitchen or garage and separate and dispose of the items, and that just isn’t realistic now is it.

So I don’t understand why there aren’t more blue bins on the curb on recycling day. It really irks me to know that people are just to darn lazy to make such a small effort that would make such a difference to us all in the end.

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Dad, My Handy Man

At some point I will take the time and look for some new exterior shutters for the place. Each time my parents come over my father points out what a difference a pair of exterior shutters would make for the front of the house. He has even offered to look around for and with me when I’m ready to commit, so that would be cool.

My father has always been handy around the house and the yard, so any time he wants to give me a hand around the place, I’m all for it!

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Finding The Perfect Boss Guitar Pedals

There was no way that I would have thought it to be such a challenge to find the right boss guitar pedal to give to my kid brother for his 19th birthday, which will eventually come this May 17th. I have  been looking online a bit here and there and I just felt that it was all over my head. I know that he really wants a boss guitar pedal, a tc electronic flashback delay toneprint  but there are just too many of them out there for me to choose from, so I am going to play it safe and give him a gift card for $100 and tell him to find the right one and put that money towards purchasing the correct one that he wants.

There is going to be a good sized birthday celebration dinner at our folk’s place. Not sure how many are expected to show up. But then we never know until it happens with this very large family that is know for last minutes circumstances. It’s such a drag that so many of us have moved so far away and we don’t get together much these past several years. So we will see who turns up to help celebrate Steve’s 19th birthday. This will be that last birthday that entitles him to be called and/or referred to as a teenager! It’s a pot luck dinner so I think that I’ll bring my well received meatballs to share this time around. I haven’t made them in a while and they are always a big hit.

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The Tootsie Roll

My all time favorite candy is the Tootsie Roll. I always buy Tootsie Roll’s to hand out for the Halloween trick or treaters and what ever is left over I get to enjoy. My second choice would have to be the Butter Finger candy bar, I like my chocolate!

my favoriet all time cany
Tootsie Roll Man
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Sound Great On Or Off Stage

It really thrills me to hear from my youngest nephew Todd that the amplifier for the acoustic guitar is totally appreciated. And that it is being used, along with the beyerdynamic headphone set, so I am told, almost on a daily basis as well as providing a sound great on stage when they manage to actually land a gig.  I managed to get a few of my sisters and brothers, his aunts and uncles, to contribute enough of their hard earned cash together to get him a good quality amp that I found online for a real sweet deal. It arrived in plenty of time and we didn’t have to pay any shipping or handling, so that was a major plus that helped me convince some of these relatives that aren’t known for wanting to spend any money on anyone other than their selves.

It’s pretty cool that over the past couple of years I have been doing more and more of my shopping online. Last Christmas holiday, I didn’t have to go to the local mall or any of the other numerous brick and mortar stores in the area. The only things that I had to go out and purchase were the food and of course the gas that it took to get there and back. There are places that will and do deliver food products but they come with a price. It’s hard to get anything for free around this part of the country, except for online purchases.

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Memories of Beauty Pageant Contests

I spent the afternoon cleaning out my closet. After I got the clothing situation under control, I just had to do something about all the shoes that used to be so organized, but has turned into one big pile of smelly footwear that just gets on my last nerve, so I took control over that real quick like and moved onto the shelves that I had so much crap crammed on that I’m surprised they hadn’t fallen down from it all.

I found a box, way in the back of the top shelve that I haven’t seen in so many years. It has the home made crown and banner from my oldest daughter’s first beauty pageant that she was in. The youngest age bracket for that pageant was for 3 and 4 year old girls, my daughter turned 3 only 2 days before the actual pageant so she just barely was old enough and was the youngest contestant by far in the entire pageant. We video taped it and I wish that I had put that video tape in the box along with the other mementos from that wonderful day. She did so well and actually came in and blew the other toddlers away, many of which had all ready been in pageant contest and came home with the largest and prettiest crown of the day.

I still have the little sailor suit and hat that my mother purchased for her to wear, but some how the pageant fancy dress has disappeared throughout the years, it cost me $48, a lot of money back then for a new mother to come up with at that time, but it was worth every penny of it and at least we have the video to watch and enjoy for many years to come.

 

 

 

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Turkey Day – a yearly hassle

Even though I have been divorced for some time now, the kids and I are still having to deal with the decision of which grandparents we going to spend Thanksgiving and Christmas with. The kids adore my ex’s folks and I get along fairly well with them also, which makes for the holiday season a stressful situation even though my ex is well out of the picture and doesn’t attend any family functions in an effort to avoid any hassles that may arise during these celebration events.

It really sucks that each and every year we end up playing this game of who will win out with our attendance, and their is no way to please everyone, no matter what. It would be so much easier if they all lived a bit closer to each other, that way we could try and make both dinners, but a 4 hour drive between the two is just too much to deal with.

Time is running out, Thanksgiving is next week, a decision needs to be made soon, what to do, oh what to do!

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IED Up Close

It is truly amazing that more of our soldiers weren’t getting hit and hurt by these things. My best friends son is serving in the Army and sent her this video and she sent it to me. Amazing, truly. God Bless each and every one of them that are serving their country for you and me.

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My Mother’s Buying List

I have always wanted a nice set of Hartmann Luggage or the ever popular Vera Bradley Luggage that looks so good on the luggage carousel at the airports at the end of the trip. Or at least if you are lucky enough to have your luggage arrive along with your arrival. I’ve never had my luggage lost before but I’ve heard some horror stories from folks that have had to deal with all the hassles and inconvenience of an airline losing your precious belongings that were being stored in your Luggage.

As I stated before I’ve always wanted to own a nice set of luggage and my mother is trying to make that happen for me for my birthday that is fast approaching this winter. My mother is expecting a nice sized tax refund from Uncle Sam next year and wants to purchase a few things that she has had her heart on for the past year. I’m just lucky enough to be on her buying list this year!

Of course I’m sure that if she finds herself in need of some nice luggage she can always count on being able to borrow mine any time she needs it. That is a plus!

Anyone remember this commercial. It took less than 3 minutes to find it on YouTube! It still makes me laugh even after all these years of not seeing it at all.