Shannon Lingo

So some of my gentlemen friends and I came up with what I believe to be an ingenious plan entitled, Operation Shannon Lingo. What is this you may ask? Well allow me to explain...

Have you seen the movie Johnny Lingo? It is a little gem that was originally made in like the 60's and remade more recently in 2003, I believe. It is the story of a guy named Johnny and a gal named Mahana...blah blah blah...she has a dowry...most blokes in the town aren't interested...Johnny thinks she is the greatest ever...blah blah blah...He pays an 8 cow dowry for her...they live happily ever after...RaRaRa Amen. Okay, so yes, this is the condensed version but you get the picture.

Here is a picture of the happy couple...

How does this movie/story apply? Does it even apply? Yes it does. Well kind of.

Anyway, here is the plan...The search is on to get me hitched. It is up to you to go out and find a suitable match for me, and if you are successful, you will receive a dowry of sorts. My Ma says anything to get me out of the door, and the prize is yours! You will be the proud new owner of 8 new cows! You can fill in that blank with a reasonable request. The common theme has become household appliances. One guy is searching for a mate for me because he is in need of a new refrigerator. Another lady has her eye out for a suitable match to hook me up with because her stove is on the fritz. So there you have it...Find me the man of my dreams, and your household appliance of your dreams shall be yours! It's a win-win situation. (all dowry requests must be pre-approved, as will husbandry requests...)

As for what I am looking for in the future Mr., the majority of you know me well enough, that I trust your best judgement. One thing that is a non-negotiable is a 'Golden Ticket'...he must have a Temple recommend, as if this thing is gonna work out, that is where it is gonna have to end. Another non-negotiable is that he cannot be a New England Patriots or a San Diego Chargers fan... (Sorry, there are just some things that I am not willing to settle on, and these two non-negotiables are some of them!)

So who is in? On your mark, get set, GO!...

Black Friday Funfest

Black Friday is always a spectator's delight. Getting up at unsightly hours to go stand outside of a store for hours as you freeze your bits and pieces off waiting for the doors to open so you can stampede like a bunch of Pamplona running bulls all in the hopes of getting 1 of the total of 4 flat screen television sets they have at a $369 savings...

Craziness. Absolute craziness.

Have I been among the deal seeking crowds before? Yes please I have. Would I do it again? Maybe. But I as mentioned before, it is the spectating that I enjoy most. It was sheer entertainment one year as we waited in line at JoAnn's Fabric Store...women began ramming each other with carts! Yes, full grown women battery ramming each other with shopping carts as they fought over fleece and flannel!

But this year a story hit the news that totally tops the fabric store escapade...

A woman at a California WalMart decided to pepper spray other shoppers that were going after the item she wanted. The claimed item...an Xbox. Yep, this crazy pants decided to go all Reno 911 on her fellow shoppers and mace them to keep them at bay. There were a handful that were treated for the pepper spray and some others with cuts or bruises from the chaos that ensued.

(I will admit that had I ventured out today, I was prepared to go with spray bottles containing some essential oils that are for calming, so that I could spritz a fellow shopper if needed...but never would I pepper spray someone...)

I didn't end up venturing out this year. All of the deals I wanted were available online. Paying the shipping was well worth being able to sleep in and the only crazy people I had to deal with were the ones that dwell inside my home.

Such insanity. Is a good deal really worth it? Maybe?... (And if I do decide to head out next year one thing is for certain, I'm going to make sure that I'm wearing shop goggles and a Hazmat suit. You know, just in case...)

Hey kids, forget putting on your Sunday best to go to Sears...Put on your Hazmat suits, we're going to WalMart!

So Much To Be Thankful For...

I am blessed. Truly blessed. Every day God grants me blessings and tender mercies that I am most times undeserving of. His goodness and love and provision for me, humbles me beyond words.

I can't begin to list all of the things I am thankful for. Many of them you will probably find scattered among the pages of this blog...family, friends, my faith, the good times as well as the tough. For I am a culmination of all of these things. Each has made me better, wiser, and stronger...

And sometimes the things we are thankful for, took some time... The difficulties that we faced and endured were certainly not looked at as bright, shiny, blessings at the time. But as we made it a bit further down the road, we were and are able to look back and see the hand of God, and the good that came from it. It is times such as these, that I am thankful that our Father in Heaven loves us enough to give us what we need rather than what we want.

Blessings. They are all around us. They take on the many forms...the sun rising each morning, offering the hope of a new day...the embrace of a loved one...the encouraging words of a friend...the laughter of a child...the beauty of a sunset...

Each is a blessing. 

Don't let them go unnoticed. 

Enjoy them. 

Embrace them. 

Offer thanks for them.

Amigas

I've been thinking a lot lately about friendship...

I am so thankful for the dear friends that God has seen fit to bless my life with. They are absolute treasures to me. The older we get, I think we begin to realize what a rarity it is to have a true friend, let alone more than one. True friendship is something that is to be treated with care, held dear to the heart, and shouldn't be taken for granted.

The following thought by Marjorie Hinckley is a favorite of mine:

"We are all in this together. We need each other...It is a sociological fact that women need women. We need deep and satisfying and loyal friendships with each other. These friendships are a necessary source of sustenance. We need to renew our faith every day. We need to lock arms and help build the kingdom so that it will roll forth and fill the whole earth...Let us "watch with one another...that we may all sit down in heaven together.""

There are so many out there who are lonely and would give anything to have a friend, someone to listen to them, and to care about them. Let us seek them out. Let's make a commitment to be a friend to the friendless, and better friends to those who are already our friends. We have been given the gift of one another...so let us love, and lift, and pray for one another...and as we stand together, arm in arm, we will be able to make it through whatever this life throws at us.

B-I-N-G-O

Tonight I went to play Bingo. Not just any Bingo. It was for charity, and was lead by a group of delightful drag queens...

Me and the Queens!

My fave is the delight with the light up Christmas tree/light up star boobs. So envious! He was lovin' my MooMoo and I told him I'd trade him straight across for his rack...

A Table Divided...

Tebow vs Cromartie 

(This picture was taken right before the game started to get ugly, hence the fact that I still have a smile on my face. Shortly after the photo op, began the table pounding, yelling, and real lady like behavior...)

It's Thursday. You know what that means, Thursday Night Football! Which also means throwing on some athletic supporting attire and heading to a local sports bar with the girls to watch the game.

Tonight we were split...half were cheering for the Jets...half were cheering for the Broncos. I was cheering loudly for my Jets as this game was a necessary one for them to win. Sadly, they didn't come through. All I can say is, damn Donkeys!

A Refuge From The World

As I mentioned yesterday, I made my first trip to Las Vegas this weekend. And one of the things that I really wanted to do while I was there, was visit the Temple. What an adventure that turned out to be...

As we were approaching the city, I put the directions into my phone so they could just drop me off at the Temple before they headed to the hotel. So when we were about 10 minutes from the Temple, my brother, who was driving, turns to me and the ensuing conversation went a little something like this:

Him: "You know I was serious when I said I'm not coming back to get you, right?"
Me: "What?!"
Him: "I'm not coming back to get you. You can take a taxi."
Me: "Are you out of your poker loving mind?! A freaking taxi?!"
Him: "Yeah, a taxi. You're a big girl."
Me: "Yeah, well you're an a-hole. Fine! I'll figure it out."

Fast forward a bit...I got the curbside drop off, and went in and had a wonderfully inspiring session at the Temple. As I went to exit, a kind sister tossed me a phone book so I could get a lift to the hotel. I called and finally got to talk to a real live person after spending 69 minutes on hold. She said they would send a taxi, but to call back if they weren't there in 25 minutes. I made the call 25 minutes later and was told they were just sending someone out for me. Over an hour later my mini van arrived. I jump in and my limited-English-speaking-driver proceeds to tell me that it's gonna cost me 60 clams to make the not quite 20 minute journey to the hotel. I said I only had $50 (Yes, that was a lie. And a sin. And the fact that I was just leaving the Temple,  probably makes it a double sin. I will repent later.) We took off and I was at the front of the Mirage in roughly 15 minutes. I will spare you the details of what the ride consisted of, as it was scary enough I have tried to block it from my mind. I will suffice it to say that it made the countless NYC taxi rides I have taken, look like the epitome of safety and as un-thrilling as the kiddie rides at Disney Land.

But to see and experience this, was worth it all...

I am so thankful for the Temple. As I was here, it came to my mind so strongly what a refuge from the world the Temple is. When you think of all of the hustle, commotion, and the not so good that fills the Strip of Las Vegas...just a few miles from all of that sits this. A gorgeous place full of quite, calm, and the goodness of God.

What a blessing it is that our loving Father provides us with a place to go and leave the world behind for a moment, and spend some quality time with Him. Just looking at the Temple is a tender reminder of His eternal love for us...

"The Temple is a house of God...A place of love and beauty"

Viva Las Vegas

I made my first trip to Vegas this weekend. It was a two day quickie. I don't think I got the full effect of the city, as I didn't even make it out onto the Strip to be bombarded by fine gentlemen clicking and leg slapping to toss me a pamphlet of porn. I didn't make it to see Celine. Nor did I pay $69 to catapult myself off the top of the Stratosphere. No I didn't have time for any of these delights, but here is what I did have time for...

Hanging with the King of Queens and the guy Everybody Loves...

Yep, that's right, I went and hung for a moment with Ray Romano and Kevin James at the Mirage Hotel before their comedy show. These guys are incredibly nice, and incredibly funny.

I do feel like I will be making another trip to the L.V., probably sooner rather than later. What are the 'must do-s' you seasoned Vegas goers suggest?...

Temple Grandin and the Guardian...

Last night some of my dear friends and I went to listen to Temple Grandin speak. (If you are not familiar with her, get familiar. You may be asking yourself, where would one find the HBO movie 'Temple Grandin' starring a young Ms. Claire Danes, that tells her story?...Yep, you guessed it...NetFlix!)

She is an incredible woman who has made such a difference in the world. From the time she was born, the doctors and professionals were telling Temple's mother that she wouldn't amount to anything and that she should just be institutionalized. Temple's mom refused to listen. She tirelessly worked with her daughter, offering her all she could so as to help her reach the potential that she knew was deep within her little girl.

Long story short, Temple Grandin is now known as Dr. Temple Grandin, having earned a doctorate degree. She is a professor at Colorado State University. She has published multiple books and articles. Amounting to nothing...Far from it!

As I sat there last night, it was so evident that she flourished and came into her own and achieved a level of greatness all because she had someone believed in her and refused to give up on her and refused to allow her to give up on herself.

We all need a cheerleader don't we? We need someone in our life to tell us we can when the world, tells us we can't. We need someone to cheer us on and believe in us when we find it difficult to believe in ourselves.

I am thankful for the cheerleaders in my life. Those who encourage and believe in me, and see the good and the positive when I can't.

I've decided that I need to be a better cheerleader. I'm going to make it a focus to help others see their greatness and potential, when they are blind to it. How bout it...wanna join me? 'Go, fight, win!'