Top Ten Blues

I'm singin' the Top Ten Blues because life has just been hitting too hard for me to be able to keep up with all the tournaments we've had this year.  Now I'm three tournaments behind, so I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed.  I toyed with the idea of just dropping it, but a couple of the 4-5 people who actually read my blog asked me about it.  So, rather than let down the masses, I decided I'll do a brief recap (like the Top 1) of each tournament.  Here we go...

Louisville '07

This was a heartbreaker.  We got word during the quarterfinal round that Logan Ayres had passed away.  The students and parents showed amazing perseverence and poise by completing the tournament.

Cedarville '07

Beware of Virginia judges who try to assign a double loss, then settle for a loss to a team for NOT using the bluebook.

Naperville '07

Beware of judges in coyote-skin hats.

Currently Reading French Women for All Seasons: A Year of Secrets, Recipes, and Pleasure By Mireille Guiliano see related

Mrs. Colbert’s Top 10 Observations

of the NCFCA Region 6

Arlington Heights Tournament

January 25—27, 2007

#10  People who smash van windows and steal laptops are jerks.

#9  People who have something against CHARGE members because they seem to win everything haven’t ever gotten to know CHARGE people to see what nice folks they really are and how hard they work to achieve what they do.

#8  Tim Blakemore finally came out of his shell.  Yay!  (Watch for much more from him…mark my words.)  Yay Blakemore Duo!

#7  I must be a great expos coach (Way to go Lisa…but first the glory goes to God…then you….but I still take a tiny bit of credit!)

#6  Mrs. Strange is the concession stand queen!

# 5  How fun to see the alumni in the judges room…Kristi, David Rojas, Race…

#4  How great to have David Kuntz back in competition and being an awesome mentor!

#3  Getting second to a Canfield is the same thing as getting first.

#2  Wow…CHARGE dominates outrounds (remember….really nice people who work hard for what they have achieved).

#1  What an awesome tournament….thanks to Mrs. Wolfson, Mrs. Lam, Mrs. Wright, Mrs. Gilles. and all those who worked so hard to make it happen.  Have you thanked your parents today?

Currently Listening Catching Yourself Gracefully By Tim Green see related

Okay, don't hate me for posting this.  You have to admit, at least half of it is true....

From a Facebook Group (Homeschool Alumni):

You Might Be a Homeschool Graduate if...

1. You went to school in your PJ's.
2. Your biology lab consisted of assisting in your sibling's birth.
3. Your stacks of books to check out was taller than the librarian.
4. Your PE came from chasing little toddlers around.
5. Your school bus was a 9 passenger van.
6. You considered school work after lunch to be cruel and unusual punishment.
7. Your father has ever told the check-out lady at Wal-mart, "We're on a field
trip."
8. Your social life was viewed by some to be one rung lower than that of a
Benedictine monk.
9. Your teacher has ever written your report card on a napkin.
10. You had to move dirty laundry off your desk before your can start school.
11. The signatures on your diploma all end with the same last name.
12. Everyone else in the world is referred to as "Non-homies."
13. Your Mother's wardrobe consists primarily of denim jumpers.
14. Your first real date is on your honeymoon.
15. The word 'homework' sounds like a foreign language.
16. Your yearbook is also your babybook.
17. A snow day meant that you shovel the driveway after you finish your school
work.
18. You enjoyed the pastime of watching public school kids walk home from
school.
19. You had to look at the clock to see if you can call your public school
friends yet.
20. You think that public-school-kid is an insult of the highest degree.
21. Health class consisted of eating breakfast.
22. You had to decide what year you want to graduate.
23. You were always late but just call it "homeschooler time."
24. You can remember nearly every single day you went to public school.
25. The teacher can kiss the principal, and no one thinks it's unusual.
26. You got to school and the teacher asks you if you've done all your chores.
27. You are one of the best people in the world!
28. Your friends talk about waiting in line for seven hours to try out the new
roller coaster in town, so you went and waited five minutes on a school day.
29. Your school lunches contained any food item easily identifiable to a
person without a microscope and extensive scientific knowledge.
30. You've ever listened to Beethoven and Michelle Branch on the same day. Not
counting music lessons.
31. Gym class was actually a fun activity like swimming.
32. You're on a first-name basis with the clerks at the local bookstore.
33. The closest thing to a bully in your school is your slightly strange two-
year-old sister.
34. Your friends complained about a hard day at school, and you have to keep
yourself from giving them "that homeschooling smile."
35. You hear the phrase "socialization" and laugh because you have more
friends and know more people than your public school friends.
36. Your school dress code is: No Nudity Allowed
37. You don't own a television
38. You are firmly convinced that high school causes brain damage
39. You sleep in till 9 am on weekdays but get up at 7 am on Sundays
40. You have more siblings than sweaters
41. You know what a 'Park Day' is
42. Your favorite author is Jane Austen, G.K. Chesterton, or P.G. Wodehouse
43. You have ever suffered through Saxon Math
44. All birthdays were school holidays
45. You have ever finished your schoolwork before breakfast
46. You taunted high schooled friends during finals week
47. You spend more than 2 hours each day reading and writing....voluntarily
48. You are 16 years of age or older and still have never been on a date
49. You know what 'Unit Studies' are
50. You had more than 2 science experiments going on in your room
51. You know more than 1 Latin paradigm
52. You have ever spent the entire school day in pajamas
53. You regularly utilize words such as: "malingering", "tedious",
and "indubitably"
54. You consider sled riding phys ed
55. Your IQ is greater than your weight
56. You checked out more than 10 books each time you visit the library
57. You have ever attempted to teach yourself physics
58. When asked about your GPA, you say: "Oh, probably 4.0."
59. You have no idea as to what rock bands are currently popular...but you can
recite all of the stages of cellular mitosis (in order).
60. You believe that you are the most intelligent human in your age bracket
within a ten mile radius.
61. You actually wanted to recieve books on your birthday
62. Cleaning your room counts as Phys-Ed.
63. Your field trip takes you over seas.
64. Shop class includes watching your brother fix his car.
65. Your track meet is riding into town to race bikes with a friend.
66. Your mom wished you'd stop reading and do something else for a change.
67. Your bedroom was your classroom and your bed or floor is the desk.
68. You stayed up till whenever, and not because you are doing homework.
69. You could get days ahead in almost any subject.
70. You recorded, planed and graded your own school work.
71. You forgot about the minor holidays until you see your dad sitting home in
sweats or your public school friends ask you over the weekend what you did on
your day off.
72. You didn't know what's spring break is.
73. Your mom counted watching a war movie as history and playing out in the
snow as PE.
74. You had more friends way older and younger than you than ones your actual
age.
75. You read for fun

Currently Listening TV Guide: 50 All-Time Favorite TV Themes By TV Guide 50 All-Time Favorite TV Themes see related

Celebrity Review

Okay, just to get this out of the way, I’ll tell you about the celebrity Christmas party we attended, and then I’ll wait until The Lake House comes out on DVD to tell you what it was like spending a day on the set with Keanu Reaves.

So, we were invited to a company Christmas party by one of our clients.  Why?  Not sure, other than we’ve done some awesome framing for him and his company.  It was held at Lovells of Lake Forest (the restaurant owned by Capt. Lovell of Apollo 13—yes, the real one).  There were about 100 or so people there, and we were all seated at tables of 8, with a couple of empty seats at each table.  The master of ceremonies was Mike Caplan, the Channel 7 weather anchorman.  His job was to introduce the celebrities that would be joining us for the evening, and our job was to entertain the celebrities at our table.  This was all a big surprise to us. 

Now, this is where my kids are not as totally impressed as they could be, because they don’t seem to recognize all these famous people.  However, many people—like A) people who watch TV Land and B) parents—will recognize most of them, I’m sure.   

Okay, here’s a run-down of the people who were there…

Beaver, Wally, and Eddie Haskill from Leave it to Beaver (the real actors—yeah, they’re pretty old now, but still cute)

Four of the actors from A Christmas Story—Ralphie, Randy, the “I-triple-dog-dare-ya” guy, and the bully.  Believe it or not, the kid with the buck teeth really had teeth like that; it wasn’t part of his costume!  Now he’s like in his 30’s with a wife and kids. Nice guy.

Professor and Mary Ann from Gilligan’s Island.

Angela Cartwright—Brigitta Von Trapp from Sound of Music (When I asked which one Brigitta was, she said, “Mi…I was Mi…you know, Do-Re-Mi…") (also Penny Robinson from Lost in Space)

June Lockhart—Tons of things, including Lassie, Petticoat Junction, and Lost in Space. What a classy woman.  Very lovely….such a contrast to the trashy Hollywood women of today.

Jon Provost—Timmy from Lassie

Charlotte Martin—a singer we’ve never heard of before.

Joyce Dewitt—Janet from Three’s Company

Ruth Buzzi—Oh my goodness, if you never saw Laugh In, I feel so sorry for you. But some of you younger folks may remember her from Sesame Street (Ruthie).  What a hoot…and a nice lady, too.

Larry Thomas—the actor who plays the Soup Nazi on Seinfeld (“No soup for you”).  We had met him last year when he threw out the first pitch at a Cub game.  This same client had invited us to his skybox at Wrigley Field, and we spent most of the game talking with Larry, rather than watching the game because we’re really not Cub fans, and neither is he, since he’s from Los Angeles.  So anyway, it was kind of fun to see him again because he remembered us from last summer.

Of course, Capt. Lovell and his wife were there (after all, they own the restaurant…and their son is the chef), but we had also met him last year in the skybox at another Cubs game.

So, those were the people at everyone else’s table….now guess who as at OUR table????

Okay, only your parents will probably remember Family Affair with Brian Keith (Uncle Bill), Sebastien Cabot (Mr. French), and Buffy (and her doll, Mrs. Beasley) , Jody, and Sissy.  Well, Cathy Garver, who played Sissy, sat on one side of me, on the other side of my husband was….

Nick Torrence—best known for his role as a Credit Card Customer Service Representative, alongside David Spade, in the Capital One: What's In Your Wallet advertising campaign. He has also appeared in several commercials, including (but not limited to) Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Volkswagen, Golden Grahams, and NFL.com

Really nice, fun guy.  Grew up in a small town in Ohio, married his high school sweetheart, got his start at Second City in Chicago. He reminds me of a big Micah.  In fact, he was cracking up over “Micah stories” and said, “I have GOT to meet this kid.”

So, after dinner we got to mingle with all the celebrities and take pictures.  They were all very nice and friendly.  Then, in our goody bags—besides fun things like a leg lamp nightlight and an autographed ladle from the Soup Nazi—we got personalized autographed pictures of all of them. 

And that was it.  When we left home that evening, we had no idea what we were in for.  It was refreshing to meet these down-to-earth people who were stars in the good ol’ days when TV was for families.

Next time…The Lake House…a great movie, truly underrated.  You’ll see….

Currently Reading Good Housekeeping The Complete Household Handbook: The Best Ways to Clean, Maintain & Organize Your Home By From the Editors of Good Housekeeping see related

15 Healthiest Foods

According to Good Housekeeping Magazine

After a great deal of research, Good Housekeeping Magazine has determined the 15 healthiest foods.  Now, this doesn’t mean these are the only healthy foods; there are many foods that didn’t make the list that are very good for you for various reasons (like bananas, broccoli, green tea, coffee, etc.), but if you include as many of these 15 in your diet as possible, it will be a good thing.

Here goes (in order):

Salmon

Oatmeal

Blueberries

Strawberries

Soy Foods

Nuts

Pinto Beans

Cauliflower

Tomatoes (cooked)

Garlic

Spinach

Grapes

Sweet Potatoes

Flax

Sesame Seeds

Bon Appetit!