Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Yee Haw

Tuesday’s episode of Spirit Week had the kids get in touch with their Hillbilly side. Which must come from their dad, ahem, if you remember I am Greek and I don’t think there are hillbillies in Greece. *smirk*


I’m pretty sure there are hillbillies no matter where you go.



Check out my little hillbillies:


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Oops, wrong hillbillies. These would be mine:

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(please notice his billy-bob teeth)


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(refused to wear billy-bob teeth)


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Besides those two up there, my favorite hillbillies were the one’s found in “Kornfield Kounty”. You know the ones.

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“I’m Buck and I’m Roy…..I’m a-pickin’ and I’m
a-grinnin’”



"Gloom, despair and agony on me-e!
Deep dark depression, excessive misery-y!
If it weren't for bad luck I'd have no luck at all!
Gloom, despair and agony on me-e-e!"


"Now, we're not ones to go 'round spreadin' rumors,
Why, really we're just not the gossipy kind,
No, you'll never hear one of us repeating gossip,
So you'd better be sure and listen close the first
time!”


“Hey Grandpa, what’s for supper?”

In honor of Hillbilly Day 2008, I bring to you a blast from my past. And anyone who loved Hee-Haw as much as I did, will certainly *heart* this video. Sit back and enjoy!

All comments can be left at my new number BR-549.

SAA-LUTE!


Monday, September 29, 2008

Spirit Week 2008

It’s a big week for the kiddos at school this week.  Every year, the week of homecoming is called “Spirit Week”.  Now, I’m not sure other schools around the country do this, but I know my school did when I was growing up.  I have a distinct memory of Backwards Day.  No pictures, just memories.  Anywhoo…..

The Senior Class chooses a theme for each day leading up to Friday’s game.  Today’s theme…….”Twinkie Day”.  i.e. dress up like somebody else.  Why it’s not called twin day I will never know! 

The Princess also felt the need to explain to me, “It’s spelled like twin-kie, but it’s not.  It’s TWEE-kie Day, you don’t really say the N”.  Ohhhhhh, thank you sweetie.

I became less of a fan of Twinkie Day Friday night when my son’s scheduled “Twinkie” called and said he would be twinning up with a boy in another class.  We almost had tears people.  Which nearly inspired me to write the Headmaster a letter to ban future Twinkie Days.  But I didn’t.  I faced the conflict head on. 

*DING* That’s when your GRITS hostess came up with her own plan.  I immediately got on the Internet and found this with the Google image ripper:

 

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(http://tinyurl.com/4azdhb)

Next, I went to a local office supply store and bought some iron-on paper for the printer.  Followed by a trip to Old Navy for a couple of Ringer tees.

Voila:

 

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Happy Customers and Twinkies for the Day:

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They are determined to get “awards” for their costumes, so stay tuned all week for more Spirit Week fun!  It’s gonna be good! Very good.

Weekend Update

This past weekend marked the end of Upward flag football season. I can’t say that we are especially sad about it around the GRITS house. With practice on both Monday and Tuesday nights and games on Saturday, we are ready to get a few days back in our week. For more important things like ALABAMA FOOTBALL homework and family time.

So, here’s a few highlight photos of our season:

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Lego-Man, aka Too-Tall


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Look at him go!

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“It’s too hot”


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“Sweetness”


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The Princess brown nosing with the guy in stripes….she calls him daddy. Folks on the sidelines call him ref.

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Hike!

And the greatest regret of the season, occurred this weekend. Time was almost out and the referee told the Coach of the Princess’ team he had time for one last play.

The kids met in the huddle for a few seconds then they all got on the line. The ball was hiked and handed to my little Princess. The boys all surrounded her and she took off down the field, across toward the sideline and then headed to the end zone…….. TOUCHDOWN PRINCESS!!

It was unbelievable and the crowd went WILD! Her coach picked her up and spun her around, and all the boys surrounded her.

What? Did I get a photo of her 100 20 yard run. You bet your bippy I was right there with my camera ready. See:

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Ahem, excuse me Mr. Ref, do you think you could have waited to swing your arm down???

Good thing I am fast on the shutter:

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Well, there she is and there she went!

*sigh*

Sunday, September 28, 2008

One Year Later

As I sat here thinking mindlessly about a new post, I suddenly remembered that my one year blog-iversary would be coming up soon. After checking out my list of posts, I was surprised to find out that this very day marks one year in blog land.

Who would have thunk it? Almost 165 posts later and I am still here. I was almost certain that not long after my beginning, one of my previous English teachers would have found me and shut this place down! It could still happen. Seriously.

Props to my peep, Teresa, whose blog leadership and words of encouragement led me into the blogosphere. My main purpose in starting this little blog was to have a place where my family and friends could keep up with our daily lives. It provided a way for our "worlds" to be closer despite the miles between all of us. And over time, it has provided me with an outlet to think out loud and ponder some of life's puzzling experiences......such as Chuck E. Cheese and NASCAR racing....which are two of my favorite posts.

Most of you were definitely not here when I got started, but have entered my world somewhere along the way. And I am certainly glad you are here with me today. So,I want to say thanks for all the folks that stop by on a daily basis. Your comments are greatly appreciated. And for those who don't leave me comments, shame on you! ;-)

I've met a lot of great people here and look forward to another year of sharing my life and thoughts with you all. Stay tuned.....

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

‘Fro Me to You-- 80’s Cousins

I decided to roll a few more people under the traditional Thursday bus in this weeks ‘Fro Me to You. Brought to blog land courtesy of Kristen over at We Are THAT Family.

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I am unsure of the exact year in this week’s photo, but it was probably taken pretty close to 1980. This is a photo of me and my three siblings and the two middle kids are a couple of my 1st cousins (sorry, Angela, if you still read this).

Check out my cousin's cool add-a-bead necklace (I still have all of mine). And who else had the super cool belts that you could change the color of the leather?! I promise, I would still wear it today if I had it.

My twin is at the top left and bringing the big glasses home while sporting a classy little embroidery accented dress while draped by a white cotton sweater.

My little brother is at the bottom left. He’s rocking the big pointed collar which is accentuated by the royal blue sweater.

My little sister is on the bottom right. She’s draped in a lovely brown plaid jumper complete with an ecru long sleeve blouse. The HUMUNGO bow completely highlights her lovely blonde pixie cut hairstyle.

Last but not least, I would be the lovely at the top right. My ensemble includes a most comfortable plaid flannel shirt and more than likely Levi’s jeans. My look is completed with the top button fastened which frames my round face and accentuates the part right down the middle of my head! Nice.

I can assure you that this lovely photo has never seen the inside of a photo album. The clothing definitely screams the 80’s! Ahhh….the good ol’ days!

For more Thursday fun, click on over the Kristen’s and flip through all the other carnival participants. I guarantee you WON’T regret it.

Wordless Wednesday – I Got It!

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(first pass reception of the season)

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Got gas, mon?

What do you get when you put two 9 year old boys in the back seat of a car? Non-stop musical comedy :





Photo courtesy of a stop by the Halloween store, mon. I only wish I had video rolling when they broke out into a hearty rendition of "you put the lime in the coconut".

Sunday, September 21, 2008

A shopping we will go…

I took me a little shoppin’ trip on Friday. Yes I did. Not to my usual fav-OH-rite store, Tar-jay. No siree Bob, I found myself at the thrift store. Or as the Princess calls it, the “thrip store”.

Let me make this clear, I do not like the thrift store. I like to drop things off there. I do not shop there. Unless I’m on a mission. Which I was.

Overalls. I was looking for two gently used pair of kids overalls. Ones that could still be worn after a trip through through the sanitary cycle of my washing machine. Because I am a germophobe and I think the “thrip” store might have some germs.

I know you are just dying to know why I was looking for the kids some overalls. But you will have to wait until next week for that. So y’all come back now, ya’ hear?!

Clang, clang-clang, clang, clang-clang…..clang. clang. clang.

Entering the thrift store was like entering a different country, so I forced myself to wander around a bit and see just what this place was all about. After all, the parking lot was full and people were milling about with baskets! And I’m talking about shopping carts full o’ junk bargains.

Once I started milling about, I was SO sad I didn’t have my camera. But I did have my cell phone camera! So I was stealthy about taking photos of some prize finds.

I wanted to stop and take a photo of the college kiddies looking for “70’s stuff”, but I refrained. But oh how I laughed at the things they had in their hands. I mean, who knew you could find PINK polyester pants in men’s sizes. I hope that boy won a prize!

Here’s my Top 5 Thrift Store finds (enjoy them because I am not going back anytime soon):

1. Memories anyone?

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2. Thought I might buy this sweet, polyester seersucker twin-set, complete with elastic waist. I never know when I might need this for last minute cruise plans or a family reunion.

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3. Ummmm, Mom, I’m not sure if you still have this robe?! I got this one in mint condition for you, just in case. I know how much you enjoyed it in the early 80’s. (too bad I can’t find a photo of you wearing yours)

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4. Let me just say, THIS.IS.WRONG!

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5. Heaven’s to Betsy. Do you see what this says?!

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Friday, September 19, 2008

Kid's Conversations

Recently overheard in the GRITS household:

Boy: You want to take the dumb test?

Girl: Ok

Boy: What color is the sky?

Girl: Blue

Boy: What color is the grass?

Girl: Green

Boy: What color is the sun?

Girl: Yellow

Boy: What's the first question I asked you?

Girl: What color is the sky?

Boy: Nope! Do you want to take the dumb test?! *Insert HYSTERICAL laughter*

Girl: Hmph!

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

‘Fro Me to You -- Justification

Praise the Lord that we are continuing with our Thursday tradition here in blog land. For those of you who do not know, our hostess with the mostest, Kristen, had to evacuate her home in Ike’s aftermath.

Thankfully, she and her family have temporarily relocated and are now spending some quality time with family and cows. Great thing about the Internet, you can take your blog with you wherever you go. Lucky for all of us our Thursday show can go on!

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I feel as though I need to justify myself after last weeks post. If you remember I rolled myself under the bus by revealing photos of yours truly playing basketball in some ULTRA-conservative culottes, which had a tent-like look to them.

So, in order to redeem myself, this week I will present to you a less conservative look in my sporting attire. This photo is from somewhere around my 8th grade year. I was also attending a Christian school, but one whose dress code was a tad bit more relaxed than the school I attended my senior year.

Because girl’s soccer back in the 80’s was not what it is today, I only played one year. But I’ll tell you, it still was my favorite sport. I could’ve been Mia Hamm. Maybe. I was just playing in the wrong decade!

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Seeeeeee, no tent-like pantaloon thingys. I’ve got a decent length short on without revealing too much skin. Which would have been impossible with my TUBE socks pulled up to my, uh, knee. Too bad those folks at my graduating school never realized this.

And look again, what else did y’all notice?!

Looks like this is my B.M. photo. Before Mullet.

So perhaps my entire 80’s decade was not mullet laden. Phew, what a relief.

For a continuation of our Thursday fun, click here to head to Kristen’s hurricane-proof bloggy home for more Sincerely ‘Fro Me to You fun.

Wordless Wednesday— Sketti

 

 

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Monday, September 15, 2008

Geronimo!!

 

 

We took Lego-Man to a classmate’s birthday party on our local lake this past Sunday afternoon.  To my utter shock and disbelief this was how he made his entry into the water.  Over and over and over again. 

 

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The kid spent almost the entire 3 hours in the lake playing with his buddies. 

 

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He even made a new friend, whom he wanted to bring home.  Meet “Wags”, who was quick to show me why that’s his name.  “Splash”  or “shake” would have been more appropriate.

 

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It was a great way to wind down the end of summer.  But not without one last splash! 

The little daredevil asked, “Hey, mom, are you gonna put this on Greek GRITS?”   Absolutely!

 

Greek Goodness

Despite crazy gas prices, we threw caution to the wind and took a trip to the Birmingham Greek Festival. We left our city filled with crazy Alabama football fans and headed to the food fest.

Since Alabama and Auburn were playing night games, we thought the festival might be less crowded. Not! I think everybody and their Greek brother thought the same thing. So we waited in line to purchase our food tickets. But let me tell you it was well worth the wait. Because one thing Greek folks know how to do is COOK some food.

The hubby went with the Souvlaki (shish kabob lamb), I had the Pastichio (Greek style macaroni/cheese/beef ), and the kids both had the basic Greek chicken and rice pilaf. Each plate was served with a Greek salad and roll. The food was soooooo good.

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While enjoying our meal, we were entertained by children doing traditional Greek dancing. My kids were highly disappointed that no plates were broken during the dancing. The hubby put that idea into their head. I had to inform Mr. Smarty Pants that I have not once seen a plate broken at any Greek function in my entire life, that I remember.

There was a shopping area with several Greek items. The Princess chose a Greek hip scarf, which is a LOUD scarf:

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Lego-Man chose a Greek flag to hang in his room.

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My husband was quite pleased when he found a T-shirt with this logo:

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It completely verified the existence of a secret society that he firmly believes my family and I belong to.

Now he thinks just because he can throw a Greek fisherman’s hat on he can become a full fledged member.

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Sorry, dear, I’m not teaching you the secret handshake or knock. Nor will I reveal the location of my secret decoder ring. I took an oath during Greek school and I’m a Greek woman of my word.

No Greek festival is complete without the goodness of traditional pastries. Unfortunately they were out of my favorite cookie, kourambethes, which is also known as a Greek wedding cookie. So, we all settled for my other favorite pastry, baklava.

Here’s where I have a little beef with my sisters in Greekness. Not only did they offer traditional baklava, they had chocolate dipped baklava. WHAT?! Even though I’m quite the chocolate lover, traditional baklava should NOT be dipped in it. No how. No way. Was there a vote taken or did somebody slip this past the Greek pope? I am almost sure that my Yaya, who was the queen of baklava, would not approve.

Before we took our traditional and not so traditional baklava home we toured the beautiful church.

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The entire GRITS clan enjoyed getting in touch with their Greek side, except the hubby, he has no Greek side. He just married into it, mafia and all.

"There are two kinds of people - Greeks, and everyone else who wish they was Greek." --Gus Portokalas in My Big Fat Greek Wedding

OPA!

Friday, September 12, 2008

I am no Picasso

And I certainly am no Monet.  Not that I thought I was before tonight.  I was just made more abundantly clear.

Tonight I had dinner with a couple of friends followed by a couple of hours at a local art gallery.  I spent two hours creating my very own masterpiece on canvas under the supervision of an art instructor.  Not him:

 

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Tonight’s theme:  a man in a sailboat 

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Yes, the left-handed artistically challenged Greek girl was going to recreate this photo on her own canvas.  Riiiight.

No laughing please.  This was serious business.  When my own money is involved, it is serious.  We sat down to a blank canvas atop a desktop tripod, a large jar of water and our palette included several colors of acrylic paint plopped on a Styrofoam plate!  Nothing screams fancy art gallery more than Styrofoam.

First task at hand, create brown paint from the blobs of color on our plate.  Couldn’t they spare me the right-off-the-bat failure by putting brown paint on our plate.  Has anyone tried to make brown paint from red, yellow, blue and magenta???  It ain’t easy, let me tell you.

After using a template to trace the outline of the boat, the painting instructor walked us through the mixing of paint colors and how to apply it to our canvas.  Let me just say, my type-A instincts were trying to let go and just feel the painting.  I wanted to be the painting.  I wanted “happy trees”.  As you can see, I meant serious business:

 

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The perfectionist in me found herself a bit behind the instructions.  My friends were sick of me saying, “now what do we do next” and “how do we mix that color”? 

After two hours of instructions, my friends and I found ourselves with self-painted masterpieces of some guy in a sailboat.  Ta da.

 

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Now the next question is, what in the world am I going to do with my creation?  Maybe I’ll hang it in the bathroom  or use it for a blog giveaway, since I’m famous and who wouldn’t want this hanging on their wall.  I’m sure I could get a couple bucks for it on e-bay.  Or not.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Let’s Roll

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Seven years ago today, I was sitting at work in the Trauma/Surgical ICU. I was assigned to beds 3 and 4. A good friend of mine was right next to me at beds 1 and 2. My patient in room 3 had their TV on the Today Show that morning. I remember it so well.

I wasn’t really paying attention to it as I went about my morning routine. I can’t exactly recall how I heard the initial report of the attack. However, I do remember while watching the news of the first plane, I witnessed the second plane slamming into the other building.

I remember the feeling of shock and the thoughts of disbelief. Why? How? What? Is this real? Who would do this?

I watched both buildings fall. I remember the photos, videos and interviews. I cried and I prayed. It is still so vivid.

And today, it all replayed in my mind. I prayed for the grieving families and for our country as well. I heard this song on the way home from work and wanted to share it with you.

Please take a moment to say a prayer for all the families who lost loved ones. Give thanks for those who have and currently serve our country in the armed forces. For without them, we would be nothing.

Let us never forget! I know I won’t. God bless the USA.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

‘Fro Me to You – 80’s Super Star

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For the rules of this wonderful Thursday carnival click here.

This week I am definitely bringing it all out. The humiliation factor has reached new levels. And it is off the chart. These two little ‘Fro jewels are from my senior year of high school.

The year, 1986. The school, a VERY, VERY small Christian school. The rules, VERY strict by today’s Christian school standards. The dress code, RIDICULOUSLY strict…keep that in mind!

My family moved to a new city during my 11th grade year. After attending the local public school for just one semester, my folks put us in this VERY small Christian school for my senior year, per our request.

I was a basketball star player and had previously played this school at my prior high school. So I sort of knew some of my new team mates. Anywhoo, that’s where my photos come in. Each year the faculty played the basketball team for a little roundball fun.

These photos were recently uploaded by my Speech teacher on her facebook account. She is the one wearing the blue. I would be the one in the, ahem, spectacular uniform #33:

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Yep, I believe I am wearing a tent. Those would be the VERY conservative Christian schools answer to comfortable basketball shorts. I appreciate the fact my legs were toned and “hot” back then, but who knew?? It sure put a damper on my dribbling between my legs trick.

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How’s that for an action shot taken in the 80’s? And you can see, I’m proudly sporting my mullet. I just noticed that if you squint your eyes and look to the right of the person wearing the white coat on the bleachers-- the little boy, that’s my little brother who is now 33. Wow!

That’s it folks, move along now. Go right on over the hostess Kristen’s at We are THAT Family for plenty of Sincerely ‘Fro Me to You fun. I’m not exactly sure how I am going to top this next week.