Word Association for January 28th

I do this what, every two months or so now?

1. Limit :: Fishing
2. Voice :: Singing
3. Change :: Coins
4. Expression :: Face
5. Tailor :: Suit
6. Lemonade :: Summer
7. Thought :: Bubble
8. Phoebe :: Friends
9. Impression :: Comedian
10. Sister :: Brother

Thursday Threesome for January 25th

Welcome to this week's edition, brought to us by psychedelic nightmares and The Back Porch.

Onesome: Plaid-- Yes? No? Wouldn't even consider it? Makes the outfit? Makes terrible wallpaper?
Yes and no. Depends on the colors involved mostly.

Twosome: Kittens-- Cutest things in the world? Creatures from another planet? Things other people have?
They are so incredibly cute. Unfortunately, they are also things other people have because of my allergies.

Threesome: Attack!-- of the Killer Tomatoes! Okay, what's your vote for the worst movie title of all time?
I actually kinda like that title. Let's see. I've always thought that Santa Claus Conquers the Martians was pretty bad. It certainly doesn't make me want to watch the film. I'm sure I'll think of a worse one later.

Change

So, I've upgraded my template to the new blogger layouts. I think I have everything from the old one here, but if you see something missing, let me know.

I have gotten rid of my old comments. Yes, I'm finally using Blogger's comments after avoiding them for how long now? I have it set so anyone can comment whether they have a Blogger blog or not. Let me know if it doesn't work.

I've also changed the layout, something I can now do quickly and painlessly. I used to have to recreate me side bar everytime I did it. Now, Blogger does it for me. I think I like this new template. At least for the time being.

Speaking of the sidebar, you'll notice I have added the RSS feed for my Epinion reviews. Just in case you want to keep track of what I am reviewing there. The majority of my reviews are still at Amazon, but my new reviews will show up both places within a couple days of each other or at Epinions first in the case of movie in theaters.

So, tell me what you think.

Random Ramblings from Snowy Southern CA

Ok, so the title would have been best last week when I promised Matt I'd have a fun play on blog's title for the post title.

Confused yet? Me, too. Let's just move on, shall we?

Last week it was downright cold here in Southern CA. Highs in the 40's. Lows in the teens. For just about a week. We're finally getting weather in the 60's during the day and 40's at night. Decent winter weather.

And Wednesday last week, we had some seriously freaky weather. Some day it snowed, but the only thing I ever saw was hail. I did hear it snowed in Malibu. That's just not supposed to happen around here.

Frankly, I wish it had snowed. That would have been something fun to talk about later.

Other then freezing to death, I've been busy as always. The 13th we took the youth to a conference down in Anaheim. Yes, I was that close to Disneyland and didn't go. I haven't been in over a year and am having serious withdrawls. Other then that, it was a great day. Several different sessions and some fun games in the afternoon, including human foozeball. And, unlike when we did it in June, I got to play, too.

TV shows are starting up again. Veronica Mars tonight, in fact. And last week was 24, which I guess I won't be watching any more. After they killed me off at 10 AM. Do dead people watch TV? (Yes, I'm joking.)

Saturday night, I had a movie marathon, watching Jump In (new Disney channel original movie) and Guilty Conscience, a mystery recommended by Paul. Very interesting. Look for the review coming soon to an Epinions near you.

And speaking of reviewing, I'm two reviews away from 900 reviews at Amazon. Plan to write both of them by the end of the month.

Thursday Threesome for January 18th

Of course this post is brought to us by The Back Porch, but also curtisy of the freezing weather we've had this last week.

Onesome: No California-- drivers allowed! Do you drive and talk on the cell phone? Come on, fess up...
Well, since I have to fess up...I don't. It helps to not have a cell phone. Makes talking on one impossible unless I've borrowed one. And I don't borrow one while driving.

Twosome: Oranges-- and Apples and Pears, oh my! Do you have a favorite fruit?
Strawberries and, unfortunately this year, oranges.

Threesome: this Year-- I'm going to _______ (go ahead; fill in the blank. No, it's not a resolution !)
Get back into shape now that I have my health back.

Stuff

So, I did this big life update on Tuesday, then realized I forgot somethings I wanted to blog about.

Did you hear about the youth group from Dallas that got stranded in the snow storm in Colorado over New Years? Well, that wasn't my brother and his youth group, but it was very close. Apparently, they and that bus were at a rest stop at the same time. Bro decided to seek selter in the town, while that bus kept going, slid off the road, and got stuck.

So instead of the youth group staying in a hotel and skiing, they camped out at a church for the duration of their trip until the weather cleared up and the roads cleared enough for them to drive home. God, and the church, really took care of them. Still, some people got sick. No permanent damage, however. I'm just thankful he has enough sense not to continue on when it looks dangerous out there.

Then there was last weekend when I joined Kurt, Kellie, Kenny, and Katherine (yes, I was feeling outnumbered) for a round of disc golf. It was the first time I've made it to the course here in town. It was quite nice. Only nine holes, but we played forward and backward. I came in third. Lots of fun. And the weather was so nice. Mid 70's.

Then Casey and I went to see Happily N'ever After. Definitely a movie for the kids. Not bad, but not super great either.

The weather sure has been weird around here lated. It was in the 80's earlier this week. Now it's cold. If the percipitation had materialized last night, it would have snowed. As it is, it'll be down around freezing just about every night for the next week with the highs barely reaching 55. I bet you can guess which weather I prefer.

Thursday Threesome for January 11th

That time of the week again. Brought to us by The Back Porch, as always.

Onesome: Strange-- twists and turns on the web? Do you recall how you ended up here at the Back Porch? ...just curious.
That's easy. The Other Side of Glen Road (the web address) refers to the Glen Road that Trixie Belden lives on. It was a web site started and populated by Trixie friends I had at the time. In fact, it used to be a group blog and I was a contributer for a while. And joining that group blog is what got me blogging here.

Twosome: Little-- by little we branch out and bloom. How often do you post per week? Is that more or less than six months ago?
Seems like it's once or twice a week if I'm lucky. I think that's about the same as six months ago but down from a year ago.

Threesome: Bud-- break time is coming later this year. ...but are the bulbs in your area pushing up through the soil yet?
Earlier then week, the temps were in the 80's, there might have been. But it's back down to the 50's now, so I doubt it.

Catching Up

So, it's been way too long since I blogged. So maybe I should update you on my life.

I love my new laptop. Granted, I still haven't moved my bookmarks and files into it. But it's great to sit anywhere I want in the condo and be on the computer. And I can be on the internet anywhere I want, too. Life is good.

And I had a great Christmas. But it was very busy. Hardly had time to turn around with all the people it was time to see. But it was wonderful. Got to see good family friends as well as spend good time with family. And Santa was good to me, too. Got the fifth seasons of 24 and Alias, new Foxtrot and Zits books, Pirates and Cars.

The weather was great both directions, which was a relief considering a bad storm came in while my brother and sister-in-law were heading back to Dallas. There were wind warnings the whole way down, but it was never too windy. The Grapevine had been closed the night before because of wind and snow but was open by the time I got down here.

Then for New Year's I went to Indio (near Palm Springs) and hung out with Donald, Heather, Stephen, Natalie, and Dylan. I was only supposed to be there New Year's Eve, but because traffic was getting bad, I stayed through the 2nd. We hung out and played games with me checking on the Monk marathon every chance I got.

And speaking of Monk, the new tie in novel is great.

Anyway, I was off through the 2nd. I love three day work weeks. Unfortunately, I have to work five days this week.

Last week, my hot water heater stopped working. I could get it to light for a while, but it would go out again later. We discovered this Thursday, and Friday a repairman came out and fixed it. The thermostat was out. It sounds simple. But it was expensive. About half of what it would have cost to replace it. But since it is only six years old, hopefully it was worth it.

That about sums up my life the last few weeks. And I promise to feel guilty if I take this long between updates again.

Two Thursday Threesomes

Yep, it must be Thursday. Both can be found here.

Onesome: Happy--New Year to you and yours! ...any plans for this weekend? Dick Clark? Guy Lombardo? Early to bed?
I went to Indio (Palm Springs area) and spent a couple nights with friends. Donald and Heather hosted, and Donald's sister, brother-in-law, and nephew joined on New Year's Day. We played lots of games and generally hung out and had fun.

Twosome: New--year, old year. Is this the year you take up skiing? ...or knitting? ...or vacuuming every other day ? Do you have any major project you'd like to tackle? (Sure, 'resolutions' count...)
Nothing really big I plan to tackle this year. Other then getting back into shape after last year.

Threesome: Year--end chores? Do the lights and decorations come down this weekend? ...or are you already "done with Christmas"?
I still had to buy calendars a week ago. Got them all now. I took down Christmas decorations when I got back on the 2nd. Sure looks bare now.

Onesome: College-- playoffs? Yes or no? ...or 'who cares?' Is the current BCS system something you think works or would prefer things a bit more 'tidy'?
This is a gimme. NO! BCS? What's that?

Twosome: Bowl-- of cherries? Chips? Tofu? What's on your snack list during a game. ...or a favorite show?
I very seldom snack while watching TV. Might eat dinner but won't snack.

Threesome: Games-- within games: if you're a sports fan is there any sort of 'inner game' you like to watch during the contest? I'm thinking in terms of line work in football or post play in basket ball. ...and if you're not into sports, how about something similar in your favorite pastime?
Nothing really comes to mind.