FROM HUMBLE BEGINNINGS....

The deadline for naming my Astro Bear Contest... is tomorrow!

In case you haven't entered yet, and you can't think of a single name.... I thought I'd let you know a little bit of history about Astro Bear...

Life started in a small Build-a Bear town at Downtown Disney in Southern California .....and today? My astro bear is right around two years old.

Astro bear unlike the cowardly Lion, has two hearts. I'll say it again....my sweet bear has two hearts.

Placed in his chest with good wishes and kisses by these two.

Now, Astro Bear has been through thick and thin with me. We traveled from Southern California to Central Texas when I retired. Life has been much more relaxed here..... less hustle and bustle.



He enjoys everyday activities like the rest of us, and is enjoying his life here at the compound with Grandma J.

If you haven't entered my "Name the Bear" contest yet, you still have until noon pdt tomorrow.

This is the grand prize. The best part is my bear will have a real name...chosen by the lucky winner! Could life get any better?

DOUBLE DUTY

I had a feeling Game 5 would be cancelled due to rain...but nope..a little bit of a delay here and there...with some work by the grounds crew, and then it was "PLAY BALL"

It looked like the Phillies had it wrapped up, then in the top of the sixth inning, the Rays scored....tying it up, 2-2.

The umpires called a rain delay around 10:30 PM, and the infield was covered...I don't know, it's after 11 PM, and the rain isn't letting up.

*****UPDATE*****

Game 5 will resume in the bottom of the sixth inning Tuesday on FOX at 8 p.m. ET, weather permitting.

So, when the Fat Lady sings, you know it's in the bag.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I really got caught up in what could be the final game, and yet I was also watching Monday Night Football...and Dancing With The Stars.

I have to say, DWTS was extremely boring. I know, it was probably just me. I mean, I was really into both games.

When they got around to the Olde School Hip Hop group dance, I tried to give it my undivided attention....Then Cloris came bouncing out with a boom box the size of New Hampshire on her shoulder!

I love the woman, and there is so much to admire...but really, she's getting on my last raw nerve. I feel guilty saying that because I couldn't do what she does, and she's old enough to be my mother. Seriously, I try doing Richard Simmons, "Sweatin to The Oldies" vol 2, and after ten minutes I need a break.

It's sad, so sad because I really like her as an actress, and she's sweet. Please tell me I"m not the only one who feels this way?

**Now don't forget to submit a name for my little Bear. See him over there in the column on the right? The little slide show? The winner gets a huge Walmart gift card valued at $25. Contest ends this Friday at noon PDT.

NAME THAT BEAR....please!

I'm having a contest!

Wouldn't you like to win something like this?

Or how about one of these?

Well, the answer is yes you could, if you were entering one of Pioneer Woman's contests The Publisher's Clearinghouse Sweepstakes.

But I love you too, and I want to give you this.....

a WalMart Gift Card valued at $25. I can hear you saying, it's about time yeah!

I have been very fortunate ever since I won two football pools started my blog back in March. I've met so many bloggers over the Internet and some in person...like Her, and Her...on my Major Road Trip to Phlugerville Tx.....and Him, and Him and Her in Los Angeles CA. So, this is my way of saying thank you, and let you know how much I enjoy all of your blogs.

Now, for the contest. Here's what you do. See the slide show in the column on the right? See that pitiful cute little "astronaut" bear? Well, I've been featuring my little astronaut bear in my posts for quite some time, and he's never had a real name....and a reader recently reminded me that he needs one. So, please submit a name in the comment section.

Since I don't have more that six a zillion readers, I won't be using a random computer generated winner picker. No, it will be a random grandchild's grubby little hand picking the winner out of a hat.

So, rack your brain, and shuffle your feet....then come up with a perfect name for my little bear.

Please! Just one entry per person!

Contest ends Friday, October 31st at noon PDT.

That's right, get your entry in before you go trick or treating. I will announce the winner at 6 PM on Friday....unless I can't find a grandchild with grubby hands.

*********************

WORLD SERIES SCHEDULE

Game 1: at Rays, PHILLIES TAKE IT 3 -2

Game 2: at Rays, RAYS TAKE IT 4-2

Game 3: at Phillies, PHILLIES TAKE IT 5-4p

Game 4: at PHILLIES TAKE IT 10-2

Game 5: at Phillies (if nec.), Mon., Oct. 27, 8 p.m. ET
Game 6: at Rays (if nec.), Wed., Oct. 29, 8 p.m. ET
Game 7: at Rays (if nec.), Thurs., Oct. 30, 8 p.m. ET

MY NEW TOY

Remember back on Friday I took my BFF JJ to the vets? And I took his siblings, who are also my grand kidlets, along for support? After taking JJ back home, we headed out to WalMart, because, let's face it...those kids are troopers. They could have stayed home playing wii, or watching Hannah Banana instead of going to the vets to hear JJ scream in pain getting the poop scooped out of him shots and stuff like that.

My grandson wanted a couple zipper binders, and his sister wanted a new digital camera nothing. They both wanted McD's and got it.

I wanted to look at laptops. Not that I could afford one, but the thought of going on my cruise, and then heading down to OC for three weeks without my little blogging fingers flying away left me in a cold sweat. It's either buy a laptop, steal hers when she pulls into port, or cancel the whole trip.
It almost killed me to even ask a sales person for assistance because I'm a bit ticked at the folks at WallyWorld. Last Sunday afternoon I got an email from them saying they were advertising Toshiba Satellite laptops for $399, in store only. Additionally, the email said there were only ten per store, and the ad was for THAT DAY! The last time I saw a deal like that I had advance notice, and still wasn't fast enough to nab one.

So here we are, Friday after the Sunday and the sales associate asks me if I have any preferences. Yeah, I have to have internet! Oh, music would be nice too. She tells me they have a great deal for $399....a Toshiba 15.4 in. blah, blah, Vista, wireless something, DVD R/W+ and other regular stuff. According to the sales associate, this particular store got 100 laptops, and people assumed (like me) that they were gone. So just know, that if you are in the market for a new laptop this one is a steal. Check your local WallyWorld.

I buy it, yes I do! But hears the catch. I don't know a thing about laptops.

Here it is.


And what the heck is with the light show? I'm not sure when it's off, sleeping or hibernating....or what the difference is. My desk top is a Sony Viao, and I never turn it off....tornadoes be damned!



Am I missing something? I could probably read at least one of the three pamphlets that came with it. I'm getting brain freeze just thinking about this . I'm gonna have to purge the third grade. That means out with the multiplication tables, and California State history. Yeah, like we already know that Father Junipero Serra freed the swallows from Capistrano. And now, everyone shows up once a year to moon the Amtrak train watch the swallows come back. What the?

Tomorrow is nominations on Big Brother...stop back to take the poll for who will be the third houseguest evicted.

I will also give you a recap on my crazy Saturday.

ONE POTATO, TWO POTATO
...how many of you have tried one of these...are any of them worth it?

Some of you know that I get excited about As Seen On TV products. But I have the crappiest luck with them. For instance I really thought the ShamWow would be a safe bet, with Vince the pitchman telling me "ShamWow, you'll say 'WOW' every time". Yeah well as you all know, he lied to me...

Then my good friend Pumpkin Delight bought the Green Bags from Debbie Meyer. She did an experiment with bananas and documented it on-line with pictures. The results where good! The Green Bags worked. Go check it out!

Now, I have a renewed sense of trust in the products I see on TV. One item that really interests me is the Tater Mitt.

But I want to make sure I don't throw my money away on junk. I went on the internet to learn more about them and this is what I found. The ones on TV are $19.99, but....
These are from Fits My Budget for much less....
And you can get them at my favorite shopping mall in Central Texas for the same price.
Then I found these gems! Could they be the same thing? Maybe just a different color? By the way, these are all over EBay for $7.99.

Or these fancy shmancy ones for sure, because they actually say "potato"...and they can be cleaned in the washing machine or DISHWASHER!

Now, I'm asking my friends out there in blogger world.....do you have these? Which ones? Do they work?

Of course, when you Google Potato Mitts, you also get this!

Mr. Potato Head's glove!

OODLES OF NOODLES

I didn't do a Friday Matinee on Monday today for several reasons. First, I went to see Hancock last Friday, July 4Th, and there's nothing playing that I care to see, or that I'd even be willing to sit through for the sake of my readers. The Love Guru is too weird for me to enjoy. But I can't wait for Momma Mia! I might see it twice.

But...today was aqua aerobics day. That's right! When I join in with a group of other people who live here at the compound. We kind of wiggle and kick, and splash, and giggle, and wiggle again.

That's why I go in the pool every morning and early evening by myself to do real aqua aerobics.A few weeks ago I bought one of these noodles to use in the pool when I do my aqua aerobics. The first time I used it, it was very apparent to me some of the folks were green with envy.
I didn't realize what a commotion I had caused. So today, just to show what a good egg I am, I went to WallyWorld and bought some to "share". Have you ever seen a happier group?
Oh this Romeo, can't seem to hang out with the ladies enough. He even goes to the stretch and sew classes.

So now, it's almost time for the Bachelorette Finale. Will DeAna pick Jason, the father of a three year old son, or the ever so hot Jesse, the professional snowboarder? On that same subject, I can hardly believe that my readers voted overwhelmingly for Jason. We shall see.

I AM WOMAN HEAR ME SNORE

or as my oldest granddaughter said, "Grandma, you scare me"

So today I was up at the crack of dawn, heading 30 miles up the road to Temple Texas...which is half way to lovely Whacko Waco Texas. I had the first appointment of the day for a consultation with a sleep specialist. Can you imagine? Specializing in sleep? I wonder what jobs like that pay because hello? I specialize in eating.

After filling out the multi-page medical history stuff, that I strongly objected to since they can get that from any number of departments within their organization. It seems redundant to me when they can make copies so everyone knows when I had hemorrhoid surgery my tonsils out.

It was determined that I should undergo a sleep study. Report at seven in the evening, after dinner, because they don't feed you, get wired, then try to sleep all night while being monitored. I hate the idea of people watching me sleep and snore, if in fact I really do, on a 42 inch Sony HDTV. I return in August for this event.

On my drive home, I have a few landmarks that I use to determine whether or not I'm making good time. Does anyone else do that? Like when you pass Jack-in-the-Box, do you look to see if it took you twelve minutes like last time? No? I try to reach this same landmark at the 20 minute point.
It's the water tower that beckons drivers to Dog Ridge, TX. Some day I will get off the highway and drive around because I'm really curious about what is there.

Then I stop at this place to pick up some groceries. Other than this place, the only other option is Wally World.
My grandkids told me H.E.B. stands for Her Enormous Butt. I wonder.

I made it home in time to go for a quick swim then go out to lunch with a friend...to the newly opened Golden Corral. Oh yum. Can life get any more exciting?

DEAR MR. WALLYWORLD,

I placed an order recently on the Internet. It was for a USB cable for my Sony MP something player. You don't carry these in your stores, because people steal them it's all about the "i" products in your electronics department. I understand, and so right there in the middle of your store, I jump on your computer and order the cable using your Site to Store option, saving me shipping charges. That was last Friday. So fast forward to today, You send me an email telling me to "come and get it". That was fast and very much appreciated because my MP thingy is dead, out of juice.

I jump in my car and drive the 4.7 miles each way to your store, wondering if the shipping charges would have been cheaper that the gas. Let's see, almost ten miles, with gas at $4.83 per gallon to your store...my head hurts, you do the math.

So, I park, go in, wander aimlessly to the back of the store to your Site to Store counter. I get my cable, stop to pick up a case of water and some batteries. I make it out to my car and guess what happened?

I can't believe it either. It's bird poop. I wasn't sure at first, because..HELLO? Do I put my hand in my hair to find out what just fell out of the sky? Would that put all doubts out of my mind? Once I'm in my car, I look in the rear view mirror...not pretty.

Now, Mr. W., your probably wondering why I'm sharing this with you, right? Well, I see signs like this everywhere.
As the grandmother part time guardian to a dog named JJ, I understand it's my obligation to properly collect and dispose of any poop he deposits in public or on an other's property.

I would appreciate it if you would do the same and post signs like this on your property. As a precautionary warning.And maybe at least tell me how I shampoo my hair without touching it.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Love,

Grandma J