December 2004 | Main | February 2005
January 31, 2005
More Michigan Beauty
Another pic of the beautiful shore of Thunder Bay in Lake Huron.
Posted by Beth at 6:33 PM | Comments (2)
Beautiful Michigan
Here is one of the pictures I took Friday as I was driving from Alpena, Michigan to Detroit on 23. I highly recommend the scenic route!
And here is a picture of one of the lighthouses at Presque Isle.
Posted by Beth at 6:14 AM | Comments (1)
Rosemary
I mentioned earlier that I had enough time on Friday to stop by and see Rosemary Esmay and Draco. Rosemary looks fantastic, and Draco is as cute as a button!
Posted by Beth at 6:08 AM | Comments (4)
January 30, 2005
100 Things About Me
I have read 100 things about a lot of bloggers, but I have never taken the time to sit down and write one hundred things about me - until tonight!
1. I was adopted by wonderful parents - they brought me home from the hospital when I was only 3 days old, and adopted me on my first birthday.
2. I am a Catholic, and even though I don't go to church to often - I'm still a Catholic!
3. I love critters. When I was 4, I found a turtle that had been run over - I made my mom give me a band-aid so I could protect the crack in his shell - eventually, his shell grew back and he lived!
4. I attended a nursery school called Pegnita (now, apparently Camp Pegnita - VodkaPundit himself attended it!)
5. My first kiss was at Pegnita - a little boy named David Hamilton (later the keyboard player for a '70's group named Pavlov's Dog) would jump out of the Pegnita bus and run to my door and escort me back to the bus every morning. One day, he just hugged me and gave me a little boy kiss. His father was my pediatrician.
6. My dad worked very hard and ended up being a vice-president for Falstaff Brewing Corporation back in the 60s and early 70s.
7. I showed long haired dachshunds when I was 13. Dog shows are pretty interesting.
8. I wanted to be a veterinarian, but way back when I started college (1971), I was told that women were just never picked by the few universities that offered Veterinary Medicine programs.
9. I was a virgin until I was 19 and a sophomore in college.
10. I graduated from St. Joseph's Academy High School - but I only went there for 2 years - before that, I went to Villa Duchesne - from kindergarten through 10th Grade.
11. I have loved horses my entire life.
12. My dad took me to my riding lessons at St. Louis Country Club every Saturday morning for many, many years. My trainer's name was Lillian Lewis.
Dad and Mr. Lewis would drink a six-pack of Falstaff while I was taking my lesson.
13. I was forced to go to Fleur De Lis dance classes and dinner dances in high school - yuch.
14. I turned down the 'opportunity' to make my debut in the Fleur de Lis Ball when I was a freshman at Rockhurst College.
15. My family was the second family to join Forest Hills Country Club. We had the reception for my first wedding there. We have not yet had a real reception for my second wedding - and my second one is a much happier one.
16. My best friend in high school was Nettie Harris. I have not heard from her or seen her for many years.
17. I was an artsy nerd in high school and college.
18. I paint in oils (paintings, not walls!)
19. I love playing with dirt - clay - I have a potters wheel and a kiln.
20. I have never fired up my kiln because I'm a chickenshit.
21. I really like crafty things.
22. I can crochet anything from a doily to an afghan.
23. I can't knit much of anything.
24. I used to be a pretty good seamstress.
25. Back when Andy was a baby and we were broke, I had a lot of garage sales to help make ends meet.
26. I will never again have a garage sale - if I don't want something, I will give it away.
27. I love Kosher food.
28. I love beef - rare!
29. I'm a pretty good cook. Andy likes to come home from college just to get decent food.
30. I am a tomboy. I don't do makeup, I like to wear bluejeans and a teeshirt and if someone doesn't like the way I look naturally, fuck'em!
31. I love kitty cats and puppy dogs - and I miss them when I am traveling.
32. John is the love of my life - and I miss him when I'm traveling!
33. I am a little absent-minded. Well, OK, a lot absent-minded - I have no idea where my car keys are 80 % of the time.
34. I am in awe of the brilliance that is John, my husband - this guy is so smart it is a little scary!
35. I have a wonderful job - challenging but rewarding.
36. I took the LSAT when I was 40 - because I had put my ex-husband through law school and I was going thru the divorce thing - and I was in the 98th percentile - not bad for a stay-at-home mom.
37. I went from making $17,000 a year 11 years ago as a house cleaner to making over $70,000 a year now as a technical consultant. The American Dream is alive, folks. Oh, my, is it alive!
38. I think of my mom and dad every day of my life, even though they are both dead.
39. I am not really fond of airplanes.
40. I have to fly on them anyway!
41. I do like the airbus planes that Frontier has. They have little TV screens in front of each seat, and they are comfortable.
42. I love to go for drives through the country, exploring.
43. I could watch the birds at my feeders for hours - and so can our cats.
44. I am very analytical and I probably would have been a great CIA Analyst. Too bad it's too late to look into doing that!
45. When I was a social worker, I had a little old guy come to his front door with his weenie hanging out.
46. When I managed a convenience store, I had a guy plop a bunch of girlie magazines on the counter - and then his penis.
47. I also got flashed a lot.
48. Laughing usually deflates the flasher. If that doesn't do it, picking up a heavy 18 inch long wrench and threatening him with it will not only deflate a flasher's manhood, but cause it to fold in on itself and hide.
49. I am not as brave as I once was. I don't go careening through the woods on my horse anymore. I wish I was that brave again - it was fun.
50. I got married to my first husband right out of college.
51. I put him through law school.
52. We had Andy - the best thing either of us have ever done for the betterment of the world.
53. Got divorced when I was 40.
54. I once cleaned houses - hard to believe if you were to look at my house right now! Ask Beth Maudlin!
55. I used to work in a call center at Sprint - trying to sell long distance and 800 numbers to businesses who called in.
56. One of my customers bought 2 or 3 800 numbers a week. I think he was maybe a little crazy.
57. He wanted 800 numbers that spelled out dirty words.
58. I didn't care - I needed the darn sales, I'm not a great salesperson, and I had to stay in that job for one year before I could transfer to another part of Sprint.
59. I put up with Sprint managers whose behavior was absolutely beyond the pale.
60. Ditto with managers at Birch Telecom - unbelievable the way they thought they could bully people around.
61. I work for a company that has much nicer managers now.
62. I was in management years ago - it sucks, I'll never do it again!
63. I might be just a little hard to get along with.
64. I hate talking on the phone to people - probably because I do a lot of it at work, if you call me and just want to gab, chances are I will tune you out - not on purpose, I just don't like talking on the phone to anyone!
65. I'm not a great friend - I like people, but I'm too lazy to call them up and say let's get together. I'm probably afraid of being rejected.
66. I am something of a snob, I've been told. I don't really believe that, but if John thinks I am a snob, there must be something to it.
67. I was never in the 'in-crowd' in High School or College. I am and was a nerd - only then, I was called a bookworm.
68. If I could live in the backwoods somewhere with all my critters, John and Andy and my hobbies, I'd rarely leave the house. I am really a homebody.
69. But I still love to travel.
70. I love to cook, but I rarely follow all the directions in a recipe - I like to add my own touches.
71. I am painfully shy.
72. First guy who broke my heart in high school was Chris Meyer. He dropped me for one of my best friends - Laurie Lamberton. I still hold that grudge!
73. I hold grudges for a very long time. Years and years. I still have a grudge against Ann James because she told me that her mother said adopted children were unwanted and wicked - when I was in Second Grade.
74. When I was a teenager, my girlfriends and I had a tee pee war with the group of guys we hung out with. Mimi Horning, Maryanne Pernoud, Laurie Lamberton, Melinda (whose last name I have forgotten) would tee pee the houses of Jim Coates, Sean (last name forgotten) and a few other boys - but only after they had tee peed our houses. Not one of us ever got caught.
75. I was in the Army Reserve back in the '70s. But they had a drawdown and I was drawn down. I should have fought it, but I didn't know any better.
76. I am a terrible procrastinator - but the hypnosis tapes are helping!
77. Well, they help if I get around to listening to them!
78. Andy, my son, is the pride of my life. I am very proud of him.
79. I'm also proud of August, Andy's best friend.
80. I need to bake some brownies and send them to both of them (they are at different universities).
81. I suspect that Andy has a girlfriend named Lu, but I don't know for sure. He always mentions her.
82. John is hung like a horse.
83. Anti-anxiety drugs are wonderful for those of us who can barely get through the day without them.
84. If I won the lottery, oh would John and I have fun! Quit the jobs, travel, pay off our bills, our sisters' bills and make sure all nephews and nieces go to college.
85. I really need to hire a maid.
86. Did I mention how much I love John?
87. I love to read science fiction and fantasy books.
88. If anyone has some suggestions for #87, please let me know - I'm about out of authors that I like!
89. I like to make stuff out of stained glass.
90. But I never have time to make the stuff - maybe someday, when I retire.
91. If I ever retire!
92. Leavenworth, Kansas is a very nice place to live - but don't tell anyone, I don't really want a bunch of people moving here!
93. I like exclamation points!
94. When I travel, I forget to pack underpants so often that I have to go and buy some almost every trip - now I probably have 90 pairs of panties.
95. The good thing about that is I don't have to do laundry as often.
96. I should buy John 90 pairs of underpants so I don't have to wash his as often!
97. I doubt that John or I can find 2 pairs of socks that match. It's unbelievable - we probably have 100 or more pairs of socks between us, and nothing matches - nothing!!
98. Some days, I just want to hang out on the couch and read a book - and that's all.
99. Whenever I do the above, I spend the next 3 days feeling guilty about wasting a day.
100. My life is incredibly wonderful. I look at other people and I think about how fortunate I have been - how God has watched over me through thick and thin. I've been poor and now I'm rich (well, I'm rich to me, anyway - don't belong to a country club or anything, but I am richer than probably 99.9% of the rest of the people on earth). I have everything I ever dreamed of (except for a clean house on 100 acres!). Only in the United States of America can someone work hard and get what he/she wants.
Posted by Beth at 2:17 PM | Comments (20) | TrackBack
Polipundit has the right of it
Apparently Polipundit can stand to watch Meet the Press and other Sunday morning "News Shows". Good thing - I can get the gist of what goes on without having to go through the pain of watching John F. Kerry's constant whining.
Polipundit reports:
John Kerry is on Meet the Press and here’s what he just said: “No one in the United States should try to over-hype this election.”
I bet that a very low turn out for the Iraqi election would have Kerry over-hyping it, don't you think?
I am very happy for the Iraqi people who were brave enough to vote, despite the threats of terrorists.
You can count on the MSM and the Democrats to do everything in their power to underplay the importance of a free election in Iraq.
Update:
From Short, Final, Cleared to Land's Post on Political Wet Blankets:
"It is hard to say that something is legitimate when whole portions of the country can't vote and doesn't vote," Kerry said.
Posted by Beth at 10:03 AM | Comments (4)
Carnival of the Recipes #24 is up!
Kin has done a manly job of putting together this week's Carnival of the Recipes #24 - great job, Kin!!
Posted by Beth at 8:44 AM | Comments (1)
January 29, 2005
Whoa, this day has disappeared!
Let's see - got up around 7:15 (pretty late for me) - fixed coffee. Then what did I do?
Oh, I almost forgot - way last autumn, I ordered some everyday dinnerware from a pottery that was at the Kansas City Rennaissance Festival. They make everything to order, so it took a really long time to get my dinner plates, bowls and lunch plates. The mugs are yet to be delivered - but unpacking all of my stuff took John and I some time and made an incredible mess. They used recycled boxes and shredded newspapers to pack everything in - and the boxes were humongous. I'm pretty happy with how it has all turned out so far - now I need to order some serving pieces.
And then, I decided to do something with the just awful wood floor in our hallway - it has been pretty abused. So I got some stuff that strips and cleans the wood and spent most of the afternoon on my hands and knees trying to clean it up in preparation for waxing it. The smell was just awful - so bad that we had to open windows and turn on the attic fan (and it's about 30 degrees outside) to get rid of the fumes.
It's finally dry now, but I think I'll have to go over it some more later tonight or tomorrow before I test some wax on it.
I don't know why I decide to start these projects when I do. This may have been better left until warmer weather.
I still have to download my pictures from Michigan, do more laundry, figure out what to fix John and I for dinner and vacuum the living room/dining room.
Well, I'll be back - oh, and in case you forgot, Kin of Kin's Kouch is our host for the Carnival of the Recipes this week and he will have it up tomorrow - so I suppose if you really, really hurry, he might be able to get your recipe added!
Posted by Beth at 5:42 PM
January 28, 2005
More Airport Blogging!
I got back to Detroit in time to have a nice visit with Rosemary Esmay and Draco - well, he doesn't really talk yet, but he has a very nice gurgle.
I took the scenic route down 23 from Alpena - got a couple of what I hope are great pictures of sunrise over Lake Huron.
I kinda missed one turn and it took me about 40 minutes longer to get to the Esmay's house than it should have - but at least I found them!
For the first time ever, the alarm went off when I walked through the metal detector here in Detroit. I wore exactly the same thing that I wore when I walked through the Kansas City metal detector on Sunday.
This tells me that the sensitivity for the Detroit metal detector is set to pick up anything metal at all - I'm guessing that with the large foreign population here, it is perhaps a riskier place.
It was my underwire bra - now, I expect it to beep when I get picked for special wanding, but it has never caused a beep when going through any metal detector anywhere I have flown - and that is a whole lot of airports!
The young lady who searched me was very nice, a bit embarrassed and quite apologetic and kind. I appreciate that kind of attitude - it is all too rare among the TSA.
Posted by Beth at 3:18 PM | Comments (4)
I love Fridays
If I'm traveling, I get to go home!
I have a five hour drive to Detroit this morning, then I am going to go see Rosemary Esmay and the her baby, Draco!
Then I'll fly home to John.( :
Posted by Beth at 4:48 AM
January 27, 2005
Michigan is a beautiful State!
I got finished around 3:45 this afternoon, so I had some time to do some exploring. My client told me that I ought to go see the two lighthouses - the old one and the new one (the new one was built in 1890 or something like that).
It was a long drive on snowy roads, but well worth it.
Tomorrow, when I get home, I'll publish some of the pictures. I would love to come up here for a week or so in the summer - Thunder Bay must be something then.
I have traveled through a lot of our country, and I am always struck by how beautiful each part of the USA is. From desert to beach to forests to plains to mountains to sand dunes - it is all remarkably beautiful.
Posted by Beth at 6:30 PM | Comments (3)
Wishful dreaming
Last night I dreamed that there was a small Scandinavian airline that had great deal - $54.23 for a round trip flight from Kansas City to London.
Wouldn't that be nice?
Posted by Beth at 5:19 AM | Comments (4)
January 26, 2005
The heck with bar blogging
I had to come up to my room. There was a tiny little blonde 45 year-old woman talking about her recent hysterectomy - it all its gory detail - and everyone in the hotel bar heard every damn word.
She was sitting about 20 feet from me - at the bar - talking to some poor man who made the ultimate mistake of mentioning that he was a doctor.
Everyone out there in blogoland - listen to me - do not talk about any surgery - ever - in public - especially in an establishment where food and drink are served. And in private, be sure the poor soul you are talking to really wants to hear about it all.
Posted by Beth at 7:25 PM | Comments (1)
Brrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!
When I got up this morning, it was 26 degrees and snowing like crazy. When I left the client's office, it was down to 6 degrees. It is cold, cold, cold!
Too cold to leave the hotel.
So I am all set up with my laptop in the hotel's bar - nice bartender moved my table close to the wall so I could plug in.
I suppose I'm bar blogging! It's even cold in here. But I know if I went to my room, I'd be chilled and get under the covers and watch tv and fall asleep and then wake up around 2:00 am.
Posted by Beth at 6:18 PM | Comments (1)
damn laptop
My Dell laptop, which I usually like a lot, is acting weird. All of a sudden, I will be typing away and when I hit the space bar, a 'b' will be entered - and then other letters don't show up when I type them and the backspace key stops working - has anyone ever seen anything like this?
It's crazy. I have to shutdown my laptop, close the case, unplug the powersupply and start it up again before the keyboard starts working right - have any of you ever seen anything like this?
It's weird!!!!!!!!!
Posted by Beth at 5:29 PM | Comments (4)
Academy Awards
How many of you have seen any of the movies nominated for Best Movie?
Anyone? Anyone? Buehler?
Posted by Beth at 6:51 AM | Comments (11)
Stuff
It snowed all night long here in Michigan. It is a beautiful fluffy snow, but I don't look forward to going out and cleaning off the car and slipping around the streets while headed to work.
I had a nightmare last night - I dreamed that I had to talk to Hillary Clinton on the phone. I dreamed that I was faking an Arkansan accent while talking to her. She was pretending to be somewhat moderate in her political views. Ha.
I am amazed at the gall of the Democrats (Barbara Boxer, Robert Byrd and Teddy Kennedy, etc.) in the confirmation of Dr. Rice. It looks like these people are going to do everything possible to be obstructionist.
I cannot think of anyone more able to be President Bush's Secretary of State than Dr. Rice.
Just how many infomercials are on TV, anyway? Flipping through the channels here this morning, there are about 30 channels with infomercials, 10 with religious shows and 3 with news.
I'm just rambling.
Posted by Beth at 6:00 AM | Comments (2)
January 25, 2005
Gmail, anyone?
I have 10 Gmail Accounts to give away - let me know at bhdonovan - at - gmail - dot - com.
Posted by Beth at 12:27 PM | Comments (6)
January 24, 2005
Aborted Babie's Ashes Buried!
Church Plans to Bury the Ashes of Fetuses From Abortion Clinic
BOULDER, Colo. — A Catholic church plans to bury the ashes of as many as 1,000 aborted fetuses Sunday, raising a storm of protest from those who accuse it of exploiting the pain and grief of women for political purposes.
Anyone who thinks that Catholics are burying babies for political purposes has absolutely no understanding of the Catholic Church. These remains deserve a respectful burial. The Church doesn't even know who the mothers are, so how could they be upset - if those mothers feel guilty, well, they should - they decided to end the life of their babies.
Posted by Beth at 6:32 AM | Comments (5)
January 23, 2005
Michigan in winter is very pretty
I finally made it to Alpena - about 240 something miles from Detroit to my hotel. Took me 5 hours - I imagine it will take a lot less time on my way back Friday because I won't be driving at night.
Just a beautiful drive. This is a beautiful state. People around here do talk a lot like Canadians, though!
I saw my first snowmobiles in action - along the road I was driving, a snowmobiler was just off the shoulder, and it seemed like he was racing me - it looked like a lot of fun!
Posted by Beth at 8:56 PM
Nerd
figures.
Snagged from Margi!
Posted by Beth at 9:53 AM | Comments (6)
It's always something
I checked with Dean and Rosemary Esmay to see how the roads are in Detroit.
Dean sent me an email and he says they are "TERRIBLE". And Dean never writes stuff in all caps.
So, I am at the KC airport, my plane is here - first it goes to Nashville, then Detroit. When I get there, I will get my car (and see if I can upgrade to a four wheel drive car) and if it is still awful, I have reservations at a hilton at the airport there. If it is not awful, I'll drive to Alpena, where I have reservations at a hotel. The trick is to remember to call and cancel the reservations before 6 pm at whichever hotel I don't stay at, or they will charge me!
Posted by Beth at 9:41 AM | Comments (1)
Decisions, decisions
I keep checking the Michigan State Police road conditions web site, (thank you, Tom Carr, for sending me the info on that) since I am supposed to drive 240 miles from Detroit to Alpena this afternoon.
It looks like it's not totally awful once one gets out of the Detroit area, but the Detroit area is really bad.
I'm trying to decide - do I put the entire trip off until tomorrow, or do I fly there today, drive as far as I can and find a hotel until early tomorrow morning and then continue on to Alpena, or if I should just push on through today?
Perhaps once I get to Detroit and get my rental car, I'll be able to make a decision about that.
I'm still better off going to Michigan than to Bridgeport, Connecticut as originally planned!
Posted by Beth at 6:15 AM | Comments (2)
January 22, 2005
Weather
Well, it seems that Michigan has been having a bit of a blizzard, also! So, my trip tomorrow should be ... interesting.
I'll arrive in Detroit around 2:30 tomorrow afternoon, and then I'll drive up to Alpena.
The conditions don't look real great at the moment!
Posted by Beth at 10:14 PM
Recipes, Recipes, Recipes
Everyone is invited to submit their recipes to the Carnival of the Recipes at recipe.carnival at gmail dot com, despite what Geoffrey says!
This week, the Carnival will be up on Sunday instead of Friday, so you have an extra day or so to get those recipes in -
And Geoffery, I want your shortbread recipe in it! And any other recipe you want to share.
Geeze. Some people need extra special personal invitations, apparently!
Posted by Beth at 10:04 PM | Comments (1)
I am lucky yet again
Originally, I was supposed to travel to Bridgeport, Connecticutt tomorrow. That trip was canceled a week ago, and a trip to Alpena, Michigan is taking its place.
The last time I was in Bridgeport, about 2 years ago, there was a blizzard.
Looks like a blizzard is heading that way this weekend. I'll have to email my client and thank them for putting the trip off!
It is very cold here today - 12 degrees - and extremely windy. I wish it was a tad warmer, as I'm sure other folks in the area do.
Posted by Beth at 12:37 PM | Comments (4)
I need a favor
My beloved spouse works very hard on his blog - much harder than I do on mine, that's for sure!
Anyway, he is about 3 links away from being a Mortal Human on the TTLB Ecosystem. In fact, yesterday, he was a Mortal Human, and it made him very, very happy.
I love it when my husband is very, very happy, so I beg of you, if you do not already link to John's blog, would you add him to your blogroll? Please?
Here is his URL: http://www.thedonovan.com
And if any of you are friends of Glen Reynolds, tell him that John has a very boutique kind of blog - it has a niche, and it's very well written.
Thank you!
Posted by Beth at 8:27 AM | Comments (3)
January 21, 2005
Rude students
If my college kid was in a crowd like this, he'd be cut off from all funding! Fortunately, Andy is a sensible young man, and he calls his political viewpoint - Andyism.
Hat Tip to Glen Reynolds.
Posted by Beth at 6:09 AM | Comments (7)
Carnival of the Recipes
Caltechgirl has probably the most imaginative carnival yet! Go see her ABCs of Cooking - this week's Carnival of the Recipes!!!
Posted by Beth at 5:53 AM
January 20, 2005
Baby Draco!
Dean and Rosemary Esmay's baby boy, Draco, entered the world yesterday. Go look at his pretty pictures!
Posted by Beth at 5:33 AM
January 19, 2005
Florida
John is going to be in the Orlando, Florida location the first week of February. I plan to fly there and join him for the weekend of February 4th.
We would love to meet some of our favorite bloggers/commenters. So, I need to know what Marriott owned hotel we ought to stay in (I have enough Marriott points we can stay free) and where and when we can meet.
Tammi, Pam and Boudicca - I know that probably only Pam is close, but if you are not too far off, give me a holler.
And I'm looking forward to a nice weekend in hopefully warm weather!
Posted by Beth at 8:26 PM | Comments (6)
Bad Hal!
Hal has learned a new, evil trick.
He can turn on the water in the sinks.
And he likes it.
Especially the hot water.
But when he's bored with the water... does he turn it off?
No, of course not. He's a cat. He has staff to do that. And if the staff don't notice it, well, that's the staff's problem, now isn't it?
And no, it's not a one-time thing. It was yesterday morning after I left. Last night after I went to sleep. This morning again after I left.
Bad Hal. Bad, evil Hal.
He's gonna get his ass kicked out the Pod Bay if he doesn't close those damn valves!
Posted by John at 5:37 PM | Comments (11)
Get those recipes in!
This week, the Carnival will be hosted by Caltechgirl of Not Exactly Rocket Science.
So get those recipes and links sent to recipe.carnival - at - gmail.com!
Posted by Beth at 7:06 AM
Does not feel like winter!
Here I brought all kinds of warm clothes for this trip to Denver, and it is going to be 67 degrees today.
Posted by Beth at 6:23 AM | Comments (2)
January 17, 2005
I'm here in Colorado
The flight was fine, though my seatmate was a jerk! This guy had his elbow in my side the entire flight. He was one of those tall people who think that those of us who are short should give way to them.
I had the aisle seat, he had the middle seat. He asked me to move to another seat because he was not comfy. I explained that I had picked my seat a month ago, and had he thought ahead, he could have had an aisle seat too - and no, I'm not going to move - why don't you!?! You see, this guy had two daughters sitting 8 rows in front of him. There were empty seats in the row across from them, but I suspect he didn't really want to deal with his children. Then he pulled out his own beer (glass bottle) and the flight attendant politely took it away from him, and showed him the law that disallows BYOB on airplanes.
Anyway, finally got to Denver, and I had to find the co-worker I had never met who was picking me up.
I felt kinda silly - there was a crowd of people waiting to pick people up at the assigned meeting place - the fountain between all the bagage carousels. I had no idea what this guy looked like, so I yelled at a bunch of total strangers - is anyone here named Reed?
No one even glanced my way. I was a wee bit concerned that no one was going to pick me up. Finally, Reed came running to the fountain area - right to me (I must have looked awfully obvious!) and he said "Beth?". I said, "yes!". So, I got to the hotel! It is a Hilton Garden Inn - free wireless access. I love to stay at Hilton Garden Inns - you get a nice room, refrigerator, microwave and wireless - what more can one ask for? Oh, and there is an indoor pool and a gym. I plan to swim early, early tomorrow morning - so no one else can see my chubby self!
I walked to the closest restaurant, Hacienda Colorado, and it was quite good. They make a decent top shelf margarita and I had a dish that was just delicious - jumbo shrimp - stuffed with jalapeno peppers and wrapped in bacon.
Good God - what could be tastier? Yum, yum, yum!!!
I like Colorado. The air today is very clear and sharply cold, but not as cold as the weather at home!!!
Posted by Beth at 7:35 PM | Comments (7)
Airport Blogging
I'm flying Frontier today. The security guys went through everything in my suitcase, and started to leave my expensive lotion out of the suitcase as he was closing it. I'm glad I hung around to watch the inspection, otherwise, I would have lost yet another item to TSA.
Sigh.
I like Frontier - they have TV screens at each seat, and though it costs money, it's better then just sitting there worrying!
I want to invent something for women travelers that we could spray on airport toilet seats and it would make them clean and dry immediately! For some reason, the Kansas City International Airport has the ickiest ladies rooms. The women here straddle and leave tinkly stuff all over the seat. And they never clean up after themselves. And using one of those toilet covers isn't helpful if the seat is wet!
Clean up after yourselves, women! It's really gross! And then, some people are apparently incapable of making sure the toilets flush - even grosser.
Of course, on the plane, a lot of men are very thoughtless about how they leave the potty - they spray all over the place, and on most of the planes I fly, there are not a lot of choices for relieving oneself. Don't you guys realize that the lady waiting for you to finish getting out of the bathroom sees you as you leave? Several times, I have been tempted to hunt down the passenger who left a mess. Yuch. Yuch. Yuch.
I, of course, am always thoughtful and clean up after myself, and mostly after the slobs in front of me.
Posted by Beth at 1:01 PM | Comments (6)
back on the road
Well, must prepare for my trip to Denver this afternoon. I have to run a load of wash yet and make sure all the bills are done. For once it is a short trip - just 3 nights. I'll be home Thursday night.
Next week, though, it will be a very long week. I will fly to Detroit on Sunday and then drive 5 hours to my final destination, Alpena, Michigan.
My boss told me on Friday that I can expect to be traveling 9 out of the next 11 weeks.
I mostly like what I do, and it certainly pays the bills, but flying back and forth does get a bit tiresome. And now, it looks like there are bad folks trying to take down planes again.
Posted by Beth at 6:35 AM | Comments (3)
January 16, 2005
Quitting Smoking
I quit smoking about 18 or 19 years ago. I smoked quite a lot - two packs a day. And I started when I was all of about 13 years old - so I had smoked for 19 years when I finally quit.
It was hard to quit, but I did, and I'm very glad I quit.
Michele of A Small Victory is working on kicking the habit. I wish her well in doing so.
I will also admit, though, that even after all these years of not smoking, I dream about smoking from time to time and sometimes I would love to light up a cigarette, but I don't.
I probably quit smoking 4 or 5 times before I finally succeeded. It is possible to quit on your own- even without the nicotine patches and aids that are available.
So good luck, Michele. I know you can do it.
Posted by Beth at 11:51 AM
This is an important survey
From COUNTERCOLUMN: All Your Bias Are Belong to Us
The Army Times has published the results of the latest survey of Army Times subscribers, more than 2/3rds of whom are on active duty.Here are the highlights:
Do you approve or disapprove of the way Pres. Bush is handling the situation in Iraq?
Approve: 63%
Disapprove: 20%
No opinion: 8%
Declined to answer: 9%Notably, Bush's approval ratings on the war have increased substantially among this group, rising from 56% in 2003 to 63% in 2004.
Civilians polled by the Washington Post/ABC News around the same period (Dec 16-19) broke very differently: 39% approve, 58% disapprove.
The results bespeak a radical dissonance between the way the average American perceives the war - of necessity, as it is portrayed by the media - and how the war is perceived by the soldiers who have actually been on the ground.
Posted by Beth at 10:45 AM | Comments (1)
Update on post below
Edrienne, who I like quite a bit, seems to think I believe all Democrats to be morons.
No, I don't think all Democrats are morons - but there are so many of them like the incredibly nasty commenters on Zephyr's site, Kos's site and Atrios's site that the normal, sane Democrats are pretty much overshadowed by them. I see no excuse for that kind of vitriol anywhere.
And Zephyr is one of their own - that's how they treat a fellow democrat.
Now, Michelle Malkin is being harrassed by likely the same morons who are harrassing Zephyr.
As for Armstrong Williams - he was fired, as he should be, and I have never said there is any comparison between what Kos did (he partially disclosed his clients) and what Williams did.
However, Kos's claim that he was merely a 'technical consultant' is a little silly. He was still payed by the Dean campaign, so you can't tell me he wouldn't be more likely to lean toward Dr. Dean for $3,000 a month.
Posted by Beth at 9:53 AM | Comments (1)
January 15, 2005
Poor little Deaniac Zephyr
Zephyr is the young woman who pointed out that the Dean Campaign was hoping that the payments they made to KOS (Markos Zuniga) would encourage him to write a lot of pro-Dean propaganda on his blog.
Now, all the other Deaniacs have come out from under their rocks to spew indignation and hate in the general direction of young Zephyr. Go read her post here, then scroll down and get a load of the absolutely hateful, spiteful, threatening comments from people who are on the same side of the political spectrum that she is on.
It will take some time - they have a lot of anger (as did Dr. Dean during his scream moment).
Now, after you have read such lovely comments to this young woman - like this one -
I would not walk across the street to piss in your mouth if you were dying of thirst.Your are the most wretched scum I have ever seen. I remember meeting you in Iowa & thinking that you were not only harsh to look at but so full of yourself that you will probably always be single.
Now I understand what a truly putrid piece of human debris you are. You would probably kill your own pets for $20 or sell out your own mother if it would get you a TV interview.
Your father must be so ashamed. I imagine him sitting outside in his underwear at the trailer park with his head in his hands thinking what a waste of sperm you were. Even now he laments that if only he would have blown his wad into a kleenex, at least he could have been proud of that, far more than the anorexic rat headed beast he has unleashed into the world with a stupid name & hateful countenance.
Oh how your mother must rue the day you slithered out of her rotten womb.
May God mercifully bless them both with Alzheimer's to quell the agony of shame you have wrought upon their lives.
Or the one that simply calls the young woman a dumb bitch
Now, think about all these truly bizarre and horrid comments - all from Democrats. Many from Deaniacs.
Are these the people we want making any kind of decision about how our country should be run?
I was once a Democrat. One of the reasons I quit being a democrat is the blatant hostility and just plain meanness that so many democrats have toward anyone who disagrees with them on anything. Even people on the same side they are on.
Morons.
Morons all.
Posted by Beth at 12:23 PM | Comments (11)
KOS is just an ass.
Just thought you might want my opinion.
Posted by Beth at 11:32 AM | Comments (2)
January 14, 2005
Carnival of the Recipes #22 is up!
VW at One Happy Dog Speaks is our hostess this week. She did a lovely job on the Carnival of the Recipes and included some links to some recipe converter sites - from medieval to modern!
Thanks, VW!!
Posted by Beth at 10:03 AM
Quick Question
Do you have any friends or coworkers who don't know words that you use on a regular basis?
At least once a week, the guys I work with look at me funny when I use a word they are not familiar with. I am amazed at how many words these really smart computer guys do not know. It seems I'm always defining one word or another for them.
They thought that I was making up a word when I told them that a client was persnickety. I had to show it to them at merriam-webster.com
Is it just me?
Posted by Beth at 7:07 AM | Comments (13)
January 13, 2005
Adoption
With all the orphaned children from the Tsunami disaster, I thought that the countries involved would be happy to allow people to adopt those without any living relatives. As we have all seen in the news, though, this won't happen.
I thought I'd do a little research into the reasons why. At heart of it, it is a Muslim thing - Muslims do not look upon adoption the same way Americans do. They are very big on blood relatives, and the laws of Islam forbid a woman from not covering her body, hair, etc., in front of a non-related boy, including an 'adopted' son.
In Islam, those sects that allow adoption do not change the family name of the child adopted. Some sects (Sunnis) forbid adoption altogether. An adopted Muslim child does not gain inheritance rights, in fact, he or she is limited to 1/3 or less of the estate.
That's not to say that Muslims are mean to orphans, they are supposed to care for them, according to the Koran.
I suspect that Indonesia and the other Muslim countries who are saying 'no, no, no' to adoption of the thousands of orphans by Westerners are also saying so because they don't want the children to be raised by non-Muslims.
Anyway, it's too bad that their religion is so wrapped up in blood ties that they cannot truly adopt children in the same manner we in the USA can and do adopt.
My references are here, here and here.
Full discosure - I am adopted.
Posted by Beth at 6:52 AM | Comments (7)
January 12, 2005
Why Social Security is in danger
The Left declares there is nothing wrong with Social Security that removing President Bush's tax cuts won't fix.
Their answer to everything is - more taxes, more taxes, damn the 'rich' people.
But let's think about the real reason Social Security is in trouble - we won't have enough working population to support the elderly in coming years because there are too many of us Baby Boomers and not enough young people.
And let's consider a major reason why that is the case.
Abortion on demand. Legal abortion up until the minute before that baby is completely out of the mother's body.
So, in reality, Social Security will be screwed some years down the line because we are aborting our future generations.
In fact, I fully expect the Left to insist that euthanasia be legalized for folks who are too old to be taxed so we are not a burden to society.
Just wait. It will happen. It is happening in Europe now.
The life of an individual human being means nothing to the Left. Nothing.
Hat Tip to Dog Snot Diaries
Posted by Beth at 6:43 AM | Comments (3)
Busy, busy, busy
I have felt totally swamped at work so far this week. And I had Monday off!
We are short staffed and I'm trying to prepare for two trips out of town - next week, Denver, the week after, Connecticut, and everytime I turn around someone is asking me to do this that or the other. I'm also trying to update and rearrange a training manual that I use with clients. I didn't write it in the first place, and it's order is very awkward to use.
On top of that, Houdini is becoming a bulemic dog or something. He completely bullied his way through the cat door into the kitchen yesterday while we were at work. The little shit pulled the cannister of dog treats off the shelf and ate each and every treat by himself. He also ate the cat food. Then he went into the mudroom and ate the cat poop.
When John got home from work, the kitchen was a mess. Thank God John cleaned it up!
Houdini is much wider then he should be. I have to remove him from doggie breakfast or he will take Shadow and Whiskey's food from them - even they are many times his size.
This morning, around 4:00 am, I smelled that icky doggie poopie smell. Houdini could not hold all the stuff he had eaten any longer. Fortunately, if he has an accident, he uses puppy training pads that I keep on the bathroom floor, but I have to tell you - this dog had a poop that was the size of a Great Dane's poop, and Houdini is a small dog - must have been 1/3 of his body weight!
Thankfully, John cleaned that up for me, too.
So, I'm working like crazy and our little dog is being poopy.
Oh, and one of the cats got her collar for the cat door caught around a tooth - we had to cut the collar, and she has a sore mouth and was pissed and scratched the hell out of my finger. She is on canned food until she is better. Poor Cleo.
Andy is back at Kansas State - classes start today. Hopefully, he will love all his classes and still have some fun.
Oh, and one more thing -
OT: Greg Hammonds, whose wife died of breast cancer, is hosting a comment fundraiser with the money raised to go to the National Breast Cancer Foundation’s programs for education and low-cost or free mammograms for low-income women. For every comment made, he or another of the sponsors will donate $1. So, if you have the time to simply comment or even better to provide a link to direct traffic there, it would be super :D
Got it? All you have to do is visit that site by clicking this link - leave a comment, and *other people* will donate money to the cause.
Not you, but other people. How can you turn that offer down? Why are you still here? We'll be here when you get done. But if you wait too long, you won't be able to score the Karma points.
Go. Comment.
Hat tip to Rae,
Posted by Beth at 6:07 AM | Comments (2)
January 11, 2005
Recipe Reminder
Hi, everyone - just a reminder - send your recipe links, or recipes to recipe.carnival (at) gmail.com, so VW can start putting together this week's Carnival of the Recipes!
Posted by Beth at 6:26 AM | Comments (2)
January 8, 2005
Tsunami Relief comes not from the UN
If you have not been reading Diplomad, you should start now. Find out about the all the stuff the UN is NOT doing to help people in the Tsunami-striken areas.
Posted by Beth at 4:30 PM
Would you trust anyone from the UN with your children?
U.N. Troops Exploited Congo Girls
United Nations peacekeepers in Congo sexually exploited women and girls, some as young as 13, a U.N. watchdog office said Friday in a new confirmation that efforts to curb abuses by U.N. troops are not working. Peacekeepers regularly had sex with Congolese women and girls, usually in exchange for food or small sums of money, investigators from the world body's Office of Internal Oversight Services found. "We have had and continue to have a serious problem of sexual exploitation and abuse," William Lacy Swing, the United Nations' special representative to Congo, said at a news conference. "We are shocked by it, we are outraged, we are sickened by it. Peacekeepers who have been sworn to assist those in need, particularly those who have been victims of sexual violence, instead have caused grievous harm."
Somehow, I just don't trust the UN to save any people in the devastation left by the Tsunami.
Posted by Beth at 12:29 PM | Comments (1)
Who died and make Kerry a Diplomat?
Good Lord. John Kerry is meeting with the head of a country that is supporting Islamic terrorists:
John Kerry Meets With Syrian President
Former Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry met Saturday with Syria's president and said he was hopeful that strained U.S.-Syrian relations could be improved, provided Washington seized "a moment of opportunity" currently available in the Middle East.
This is *not* a smart move on John Kerry's part.
He does not represent anyone outside of Massachusetts and has no right to make any promises to a foreign leader. Isn't this behavior almost treasonous?
Posted by Beth at 12:23 PM | Comments (1)
Opinion Payola
What Armstrong Williams did was very wrong. It was also very wrong for the Education Department to offer him money to promote the No Child Left Behind Act. He is paying for what he did, though - his column has been dropped by his newspaper.
However, the reaction from the Left is a bit on the outrageous side, if you ask me.
Alex Jones, director of Harvard's Shorenstein media center, said he is "disgusted" by what he called "the worst kind of fakery and flackery" on Williams's part. "It's propaganda masquerading as news, paid by government, truly a recipe from hell," he said. "It would make any thinking person hearing any pundit speak want to say, 'Okay, how much did they pay you to say that?' " Jones said the contract also shows that "the Bush administration neither understands nor respects the idea of an independent media."
Independent media? Where was this guy when Dan Rather was cooking up faked documents in an attempt to bring down President Bush? I don't recall anyone from Harvard condemning CBS news about the 'worst kind of fackery and flackery'.
And then, this guy - a black liberal - writes an extremely bigoted post - "Massa, I sure do likes No Child Left Behind " - where he insists that
... this ought to expose the character of the negro conservative. They have no soul and no morals. They can be bought by their white overlords because they apsire to their status, but think themselves unworthy to be treated as the same. Now, I'll freely admit both Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson have used their position to gain personally. But this kind of craven greed is a feature of the negro conservative. He shuffles and bucks along for his master, losing his soul and dignity in the process.
Yeah, I guess it's okay for a black guy to make rascists comments about other blacks, or so he claims in his comments. That, of course, is total bullshit. The man has no respect for anyone who has different political beliefs. He is as bigoted as a member of the KKK.
Anyway, LaShawn,Jeff Jarvis and Michelle Malkin all have good commentaries.
Armstrong Williams was wrong, wrong, wrong and the Department of Education (which really ought to be abolished anyway) was completely wrong, and whoever thought up this scheme should be fired and prosecuted!
Posted by Beth at 11:31 AM | Comments (2)
January 7, 2005
Why do men pee standing up?
God was just about done creating man, but he had two things left over in his bag and He couldn't quite decide how to split them between Adam and Eve.
He thought He might just as well ask them. He told them one of the things He had left was a thing that would allow the owner to pee while standing up.
"It's a very handy thing," God told them, "and I was wondering if either one of you had a preference for it."
Well, Adam jumped up and down and begged, "Oh, please give that to me! I'd love to be able to do that! It seems like just the sort of thing a man should have. Please! Pleeease! Give it to me!" On and on he went like an excited little boy. Eve just smiled and told God that if Adam really wanted it so badly, he could have it. So God gave Adam the thing that allowed him to pee standing up. Adam was so excited he just started whizzing all over the place first on the side of a rock, then he wrote his name in the sand, and then he tried to see if he could hit a stump ten feet away - laughing with delight all the while.
God and Eve watched him with amusement and then God said to Eve, "Well,I guess you're kind of stuck with the last thing I have left."What's it called?" asked Eve. "Brains", said God.
Hat tip to my friend, Yvonne!
Posted by Beth at 5:44 PM | Comments (7)
Carnival of the Recipes #21
Physics Geek is hosting this week's Carnival of the Recipes. I don't know how early he got up to post it this early in the day, but I am impressed it is up so soon!
Thanks, Matthew!
Next week's Carnival will be hosted by VW at One Happy Dog.
Posted by Beth at 5:48 AM | Comments (2)
January 5, 2005
My Recipe for this week's Carnival
This is a pretty simple recipe for a pork roast.
Place your pork roast in a glass bowl and marinate for at least two hours in marinade:
1/4th cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 cup brandy
2 cups white wine of your choice
1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons rosemary (dried) If you have fresh, use several sprigs
6 garlic cloves, crushed or minced
1 medium onion, sliced thin
3/4 teaspooon thyme
salt
1 bay leaf
After marinating (sometimes I marinate it overnight), remove the pork roast from the marinade and pat dry. (be sure to save the marinade).
Heat a large pot on high for a few minutes, add some olive oil to slightly cover the bottom and then quickly sear the pork roast in the hot oil. Pour the marinade (without the onions and bayleaf) over the roast - this will smell soooo good!
Turn down the heat to a simmer and add some more white wine.
Cover the pot.
Watch the roast to be sure that you don't simmer away all of the wine - you may need to add more wine.
This really cooks quite fast - most roasts will be finished in about 40 minutes to 60 minutes - use a meat thermometer and it is is done when it reaches 160 degrees. Don't overcook!
Take the meat out, let it rest a few minutes, then slice and serve. You can make a very rich sauce by adding heavy cream to the drippings and remaining marinade, but you won't need it. This is my favorite pork roast recipe. It adds such great flavor to the pork and the whole house smells wonderful while it's cooking.
Posted by Beth at 3:52 PM | Comments (5)
Recipe Reminder
Don't forget to get your recipes in to recipe.carnival (at) gmail.com by midnight Thursday!
This week, our host is Physics Geek!
Posted by Beth at 3:36 PM
January 4, 2005
Stream of Consciousness Post
We are in the midst of what is going to be the mother of all ice storms. I worked from home today because I'm about 40 miles from the office, and boy, am I glad - freezing rain for the past few hours - expected to continue until tomorrow night. I just hope not too many people lose power from transformers blowing and powerlines coming down.
Already, the trees have an icy coating that is thick enough to make it difficult for even the squirrels to climb up them. I admit, it's kinda funny watching our neighborhood squirrels try to scamper up a limb, only to slide back down.
I went to K-Mart this morning to pick up some toilet paper (we were almost out), and when I walked out of the store, there was a huge number of police cars from Kansas City, Wyandotte County, Leavenworth County, Lansing, Kansas and Leavenworth Kansas - sheriff's cars, state trooper cars - sirens blaring - going up 4th Street (aka 7 highway) not a whole lot faster than the speed limit. There was a lone jeep in between all these law enforcement vehicles. I have never seen anything like it. On my way home, I saw several more police cars flying down our street. John happened to call home, and I told him about it - it ends up that the jeep was a stolen car - stolen in Kansas City, Mo, and every jurisdiction along the way started 'chasing' the car. It was much like the OJ Simpson chase - and they did get the guy. But .. I counted 24 official law enforcement vehicles. 24. For a stolen car.
Now, don't get me wrong - car thieves need to be caught and property protected. However, it took 24 of them to catch this guy. 24. Twenty four!
I can't help but think that there might have been other crimes worthy of attention during this time. Was it necessary for each police department along the way to have a couple of cars included in the chase? So, police people - tell me - was this necessary? I will say that the chase was at a safe speed, thank you police departments in the Leavenworth/Lansing area!
Our house is finally becoming a home to me. I know, I know - John and I got married nearly 7 years ago, this is home. When John bought this house, he was still with his ex-wife, and even after all these years, I always felt like it was not really 'my' house, so I hesitated to make any changes. In fact, when I sold my house and married John and moved here, we just piled all of my stuff in with all of his stuff, and we've never gotten around to figuring out what to do with it all, or how to make our house more homey.
I am a terrible procrastinator. Awful, I am. There were things I wanted to do with the house, but I just couldn't get started. So I ordered some hypnosis cd's - don't laugh, I think they are working! In the past 2 1/2 weeks, I have turned our awfully cluttered and dirty mudroom into a mini-workbench area and a closet full of crap is now a pantry, and I went through every single cabinet in the kitchen and threw out all kinds of stuff we don't use, and gave away nice stuff we don't use, and I cleaned and I rearranged stuff, and I know have a kitchen that I really like a lot more - we need to paint the walls, and maybe the cabinets, and John suggested a border of some sort - he is right - but the kitchen is now really great. We even purchased a lovely Boos Block work table for a center work area. I'll have to take a picture, I can't find the exact table on the web anywhere.
Then I took an old butcher block table we got at an antique store, and put it in the breakfast area with a couple of old chairs, and it works as a dinette for two. I even found a 'throw' that makes quite a nice tablecloth for it.
Wow, I really feel like I have accomplished a lot lately! I really think that the hypnosis cd's are helping a lot. I also had John move the bar into the living room area, and he put up shelving in our computer room for all of our books, etc.
It has taken us seven years to get started on this stuff - pitifull, eh? But we are finally doing things we really like to our house .. our home.
Posted by Beth at 5:38 PM | Comments (7)
January 2, 2005
Redesign needed
I really want to change the look of my blog, but I don't have the time or expertise to do so. I am willing to put out a few bucks for help, or better yet, for someone to redo the whole darn thing (except my banner. I love my banner).
If you are interested, let me know, please. And tell me how much money it will put me back.
Thanks!
Posted by Beth at 8:36 AM | Comments (1)
Time to update the Blogroll
I have not really paid much attention to my blogroll lately. If I should have your blog on it, please let me know in the comments, and I'll add it. I know I am missing a lot of you, especially those of you who I've met virtually through the Carnival of the Recipes. So, feel free to leave a comment, and I'll add you!
Posted by Beth at 7:28 AM | Comments (6)
Carnival of the Recipes - Hosts for January thru March
All these wonderful blogs have offered to host the Carnival of the Recipes over the next few months:
January 7th - Physics Geek
Jauary 14th - One Happy Dog Speaks
January 21st - Not Exactly Rocket Science
January 30th (this one date is moving to Sunday) Kin's Kouch
February 4th - The Glittering Eye
February 11th - Anywhere But Here
February 18th - Inside Allan's Mind
February 24th - Note-It Posts
March 4th - Rocket Jones
March 11th - Pamibe
March 18th - The Flying Space Monkey Chronicles
March 25th - Pajama Pundits
I am putting together a list for April and May and I'll post it as soon as it is finished.
Posted by Beth at 7:25 AM | Comments (2)
January 1, 2005
Roster of all the Carnival of the Recipes!
Posted by John at 9:48 AM
My Dead Pool Roster
Here are my picks for the Dead Pool:
1. Pope John Paul II - born in 1920 - he's the Pope.
2. Ted Kennedy - born in 1932 - Senator and drunk
3. Cher - born in 1946 - supposedly a singer
4. Fidel Castro - born in 1926 - evil dictator
5. Michael Moore - born in 1954 - makes pretend documentaries.
6. Dick Cheney - born in 1941 - Vice President
7. Mick Jagger - born in 1943 - Rolling Stone
8. Ted Turner - born in 1938 - TV mogul and all around rich guy.
9. Paul McCartney - born in 1942 - former Beatle
10. Victor Yushchenko - born in 1954 - President elect of the Ukraine
(he looks bad after that poisoning!)
11. Richard Pryor - born in 1940 - comedien and actor
12. Walter Cronkite - born in 1916 - former news anchor
13. King Fahd - born in 1923 - King of Saudi Arabia
14. Kofi Annan - born in 1938 - UN Secretary General
15. Gerhard Schroeder - born in 1944 - German Chancellor
In 2004, I only got one right - Yassir Arafat. Maybe this year I'll do a little better, but I have to admit that numbers 2, 5 and 14 are sort of wishful thinking.
Posted by Beth at 6:53 AM | Comments (3)