I just want to play a game...

OK, I know it is wrong. I will admit it. But, as one of my breaks at work I will clear my mind by playing a game of Canasta on Yahoo! Hey, it is better than taking up someone else's time by talking to them. So, I was demoloshing this player and this is what happened...







Then, by the time I was actually getting to play a game Justin was ready to go to lunch and he turned by computer off in the middle of it (it was VERY close too and about over).
Boo on Justin.

Byee!

3 Important Things

1 - Justin

I know that client is a bad, bad man and u want to go crawl back in your mailbox to get away. I will do my best to fix you something scrumptious for dinner tonight, be sure to provide you with soco and coke, and celebrate with you as you whop my Dad's ass is fantasy football (although it will hurt me inside because he lost).

In addition, THANK YOU!! You did an excellent job providing me with things over the weekend while I was feeling crummy. Can I have my GameCube memory back now?

2 - My thoat

No, this is not my throat, but that is not the point. Mine still hurts and if I get pissy with you that is why. So, this is a disclaimer and that is why it is important.

3 - The Packers
or
They have started 0-3, and I am sad. Please remember even if they lose they are still my favorite team. The important part is that Detroit is 1-1, Minnesota is 1-2, and Chicago is 1-2 so the division is sucking it up so they might still have a chance at making division champs.

Pet Enjoyment

Pets can protect our children



Pets can look out for the smaller ones



Pets can show us how to relax



Pets can chat it up



Pets can support you



Pets can decorate the house



Pets can test the water



Pets can hug their bear



Pets can show each other who is boss



Pets can make you laugh



Thanks Mom!

Word Resurrection

So, I am trying to coordinate with my buddy Allen in order to set up a time where he and his wife Joyce can come visit us, and hopefully take in a good ole' Carolina Football game. So, in an effort to move things along I sent Allen an e-mail earlier today, and concluded it with, "Miss ya dewflotchy." (Dewflotchy being a word we often used in high school.

Allen responded with, "Awww...dewflotchy...how I do miss that :)"

So, that prompted me to google the word, and wel - I spell it wrong.

My first search was for "Dewflotchy" but you can see that what I got was not helpful. Then I googled "Doflotchy" apparently someone uses a form of this term as their username. Finally I googled, "Dooflotchy" and I am quite glad that something came up because my spelling options were pretty much at the end.

This is the core of what I found.

Pseudodictonary's Definition: Can mean anything meant to mean something one says. Use it anywhere for anything. e.g., "You stupid Dooflotchy!" "This Dooflotchy's giving me a rash."

I 100% support this definition.

It is also properly defined on SlangSite.com

So, I proudly resurrect the word in my vocabulary! :)

--Lata

BEAUTIFUL Wedding

Over the weekend Justin & I got to see Todd and some other old friends (more his friends than mine) at a wedding for Jennifer Johnson (now Kilkelly). It was up in Rock Hill and she was gorgeous, as she most always is. Justin was PC is saying, "Jennifer, you are the 2nd most beautiful bride I've ever seen." :) Everyone got a kick out of that. The reception was over in York at the Latta House and was fantastic. Jennifer and her new husband, Ryan, headed to St. Lucia for their honeymoon.

Justin had told me that we were not returning to the house, and that we were staying somewhere free, so we had packed clothes, etc. Turns out we drove all the way to my parents' house for the "romantic getaway." He knew I wanted to see the new horse, an I got to. He is HUGE! Much bigger in person than on the pics. Ruffian was even semi nice to me. It was weird. I reckon she feels like she has to be nice because she is jockying for position with this new creature. Still no name for him yet though, but maybe they will find one soon. It it difficult to talk about him, or to him, with no name. "Champ" has been my most recent suggestion.

The weekend was pretty good. Looks like I am going to loose fantasy football to Ben though. Only the games tonight will tell though. Speaking of tonight (or writing of ti) things should be kind of busy. Justin and I need to drop off some clothes at the evacuee center, and I need to grab a prescription, and then we want to go to Hoke's house for the Monday ritual, then football comes on. Go, Go, Go. We will just have to sit down and figure everything out.

I reckon I need to get back to work though. My brain was tired of looking at prospects, sending e-mails, and making calls so I had to do something else. Time to get back to it though....

Lata!

A Personal Connection

As I am sure you saw on Justin's blog, we worked with some friends and colleagues to feed about 30 evacuees at the Knights Inn here in Columbia. One of the people that clearly stood out to me was Mr. Sterling, which Justin mentioned. He also shared Thomas' article that was in the LA Times.

Well, we also met another man, Arnold Learson. Although we did not talk to him much we did witness a long conversation between Beth (the coordinator at the Knights Inn) and Arnold. In that conversation he talked about how he as very thankful because the doctors and dentists he had seen that day were very kind. He also talked about how good his lunch was at the W. Columbia Tony's Pizza. I also vaguely remember that they mentioned some of his family was still missing...

Reunited
(Knoxville, Tennessee) - For Arnold Learson, things have improved over the last week. It was just a few days ago that he was trapped in New Orleans.

“For the most part, I am feeling much better now,” he said.

But even though he was out of harms way, and into a comfortable Columbia hotel room, he was far from being ok.

“My mother and I, we're real tight, as well as my son,” he said. “It's a close-knit family, the three of us."

He hasn't seen or heard from them since he put them on a boat in New Orleans.

“I said, ‘you can take my mother,’ said Arnold of the day he sent his mother and son away for protection from the floods. “And that was the last I'd seen of her, and that was the day after the storm."

But Thursday afternoon, he got a phone call.

His son and mother were in Knoxville, Tennessee. Columbia pilot Jim Hamilton offered to fly him there, and the moments that followed were priceless.

Little Arnold was being interviewed at a Knoxville TV station about being an evacuee. He was talking about his missing father … when the remarkable happened.

His father was brought on set during the telecast. With tears rolling from his eyes, Arnold Learson, III, leaped up from the set, ran into Arnold, Jr’s arms, and didn’t let go for a full minute.

When asked what they would do first together, Arnold said “probably play some basketball, shoot some hoops.”

Dad said simply, “I'm up for whatever.”

Later on, Arnold, Jr. was also re-united with his mother. Now that he's with his family, he doesn't think he'll be coming back to Columbia. He says he's happy with them in Knoxville.

I am really at a loss for words when it comes to describing how I feel about all this. If you have not taken the time to volunteer, donate items, or give money - I encourage it. And, if you can take the time to visit with any evacuees in your area - DO IT! It is easy to remove yourself from this situation, but they have nothing...and most of us have too much.

This personal connection really goes further now though. Last night Justin and I were fortunate enough to get some tickets to the WCOS Loyal Listener's Concert from Ben. Now, we all know Justin hates country music, but he was sweet and went with me. I will be honest, at fisrt I was not so hip to go. I knew a few of the names of the artist's playing, but knew few of their songs by name. The concert was at Ft. Jackson and the lineup included Josh Gracin, Trick Poney, Jamie O'Neal, and Andy Griggs (forgive me for my spelling). The place was packed, like 11K at Hilton Field, and Justin and I were still able to find some pretty sweet spots to plop our chairs. We got there right when things were starting up, and it was still light out, around 7:15pm. The people watcher I am, I was drawn to all the "men and women" in uniform - camo to be specific. The thing is that these people look like kids. Some of these guys could - no lie - be like 15yrs old, but I know they had to be at least 18. Just made me think about who it really is over there in Iraq and around the world fighting that war. Again, I really cannot put into words how it changed the way I think.

Apart from that the concert was fantastic. Instead of each artist playing a set, they lined up across the stage, all acoustic, and took turns playing songs. They each played 4 numbers and concluded with "May the Circle Be Unbroken." I knew about but 2 songs. Thank you again Ben. I appreciate you sharing that with us.

This Disturbs Me

This image distubs me, really disturbs me.



Thanks Ginny

On other things...
Life is good, work is groovy. I really enjoy having Jen around the office - makes my job MUCH more enjoyable. I even have time to breathe. Have not had to really take work home in 3 weeks now. Hurray!! The even better part is that I have only 3 weeks left until my vacation. :) Where am I going? Home, to 2 Creekway, to sit on my butt and relax. It wil be most magnificent. Hey, if I win the lottery in the next 2 weeks I just might take a little trip, but I seriously doubt that will happen. Did get $2 on a scratch and win the other day though, nice.

Might find this interesting. I would really like to get my hands on the video.

Lata - Gobble Gobble!

Back to Normal

I feel like life is finally back to normal. Yes, it did take awhile to get back in the swing of things after Justin was on his trip in July and I was out in LA - but that is long since over with. Life is back to normal because of three letters, ok it is really more like 8 letters, but 3 will suffice... N - F - L. : ) The first week is officially wrapped up, fantasy F - O - O - T - B - A - L - L (the 8 letter word) is completely underway, college football is up and running and life is back to normal. I just don't feel complete in the off season.

The best part about opening week was...



I am Gallinacious and Justin is Bad Mother Chuckers. Note, my number is higher than his! :) - I love u Justin!

The New Guy

So, a few weeks ago I told the story of "Ace Man." My parents' farrier (the person that trims horses' hooves) was kind enough to loan my parents a horse to keep Ruffian company. The "New Guy"'s proper name is Silver Honor, he is a retired race horse that won around $90K on the track. From the pictures, he has to be at least 16.5 or 17 hands easy (a hand is 4 inches and it is measured to the withers (shoulder)). Ruffian is like 15.2. So, these are pictures of the "New Guy" - Mom & Dad just don't know what they are going to call him yet.


Full pic


Full pic


Full pic

Suggested names have been...
Ruffiout, Bay, Chuckers, Shithead, please feel free to make suggestions.

So far, the horses seem to be getting along. The farrier did say to him (the horse) when pulling him off the trailer, "Listen, you see that old mare over there, she already killed one so you better be careful." Fortunately, we are all able to laugh about that now. :)

For Justin

He said that I need to prevent this...



So, I did this...



I guess he will tell me if I did it wrong...

24 - Yea!

I was spontaneously moved to google "new season fox 24" and am excited to find the following...

The clock has already started ticking for the thrilling and unpredictable fifth season of 24, which will involve new cast members Sean Astin ("The Lord of the Rings"), Jean Smart ("Garden State") and Connie Britton ("Friday Night Lights) along with newcomer Brady Corbet ("Thirteen"). 24's "Day 5" will start with a four-hour, two-night season premiere on Sunday, Jan. 8 and Monday, Jan. 9 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. The second hour on Monday, Jan. 9 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) will be the series' 100th episode. The fifth hour of 24 will air in the show's regular time period on Monday, Jan. 16 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT), and the intense series will then unfold on a weekly basis without repeats or preemptions all the way until the heart-stopping season finale. Season five picks up 18 months later as national security is brutally breached and the thrilling clock begins to tick again. A presumably dead Jack Bauer is actually living a new life with DIANE (Connie Britton) and her son DEREK (Brady Corbet). Panicky PRESIDENT LOGAN (Gregory Itzin) is running the nation, while composed BILL BUCHANAN (James Morrison) commands CTU alongside key operatives CURTIS MANNING (Roger Cross), EDGAR STILES (Louis Lombardi) and CHLOE O'BRIAN (Mary Lynn Rajskub). Also featured in season five will be Emmy Award-winning actress Jean Smart as First Lady MARTHA LOGAN. In addition, TONY ALMEIDA (Carlos Bernard) and AUDREY RAINES (Kim Raver) return in the upcoming season.
Source - Fox

courtesy The 24 insider

Take a minute, amuse yourself...

Try this little quiz, only like 1 minute of time is required. A few notes though...

1 - be truthful on the names and stuff, it makes it better
2 - no one can see the answers to the questions, the wish thing either...
3 - Thanks SJ.

Funny Ha Ha

Women's Revenge
"Cash, check or charge?" I asked, after folding items the woman wished to purchase.
As she fumbled for her wallet I noticed a remote control for a television set in her purse. "So, do you always carry your TV remote?" I asked. "No," she replied, " but my husband refused to come shopping with me, and I figured this was th! e most evil thing I could do to him legally."

Cigarettes and Tampons
A man walks into a pharmacy and wanders up and down the aisles. The sales girl notices him and asks him if she can help him. He answers that he is looking for a
box of tampons for his wife. She directs him down the correct aisle. A few minutes later, he deposits a huge bag of cotton balls and a ball of string on the counter.
She says, confused, "Sir, I thought you were looking for some tampons for your wife?
He answers, " You see, it's like this, yesterday, I sent my wife to the store to get me a carton of cigarettes, and she came back with a tin of tobacco and some rolling papers; cause it's sooo-ooo--oo-ooo much cheaper. So, I figure if I have to roll my own ......... so does she.

Wife v Husband
A couple drove down a country road for several miles, not saying a word. An earlier discussion had led to an argument and neither of them wanted to concede their position. As they passed a barnyard of mules, goats, and pigs, the husband asked sarcastically, "Relatives of yours?" "Yep," the wife replied, "in-laws."

Words
A husband read an article to his wife about how many words women use a day...
30,000 to a man's 15,000. The wife replied, "The reason has to be because we have to repeat everything to men... The husband then turned to his wife and asked, "What?"

Silent Treatment
A man and his wife were having some problems at home and were giving each other the silent treatment. Suddenly, the man realized that the next day, he would need his wife to wake him at 5:00 AM for an early morning business flight. Not wanting to be the first to break the silence (and LOSE) he wrote on a piece of paper, "PLEASE WAKE ME AT 5:00 AM." He left it where he knew she would find it. The next morning, the man
woke up, only to discover it was 9:00 AM and he had missed his flight!!! Furious, he was about to go and see why his wife hadn't wakened him, when he noticed a piece of paper by the bed. The paper said, "IT IS 5:00 AM - WAKE UP." Men are not equipped for these kinds of contests.

Thanks Lisa!

$2.69 a gallon

It was 14.18 gallons for just over $38!! That was the first tank of diesel we put in O.P. (optimus prime). The free tank from the dealership took us 478 miles! When I do the math, that is only 33.779971 mpg, which makes me sad, but hey $2.69 is a heck of a lot better than the $3.60 we would have had to pay for the premium in the passat. $3.60 for 15 gallons would have been $54, and easy savings of $16. That does not outweight the extra $55 a month in cary payments, but its cool.