Friday's Fave Five: Zoe Gets a New Bed and Toy--Giveaway!

Go see Susanne at Living to Tell the Storyfor the complete list!

1. The new toy. The princess bed fell apart, so we had to get another bed. This one came with a squeaky toy, so you can imagine the elation. But just in case you can't, there is a 30 second silent video of her playing with it that cracks me up. In her frenzy she throws it up onto the sofa where my daughters are lounging, reading and doing homework. I don't know what all the blue circles are on the video, unless they're her little angelic auras floating around her.







2. Starbuck's Cinnamon Dolce Syrup. My friend told me how to make an Apple Spice drink with this, and I am in heaven. This is the face of someone hopped up on Cinnamon Dolce.

3. Facebook. I'm still reconnecting with old high school friends, and it's a lot of fun. I "trained" my blog to jump right over and post on FB every time I post here. If you're on and we're not friends yet, friend me! Oh, yes, and Jorge finally jumped on board the book of faces, too. He is a loose cannon. Our kids are shaking in their boots.

4. Apron Giveaway! This is the first action shot I've ever taken of myself. Niiiice. Anyway, a friend at church makes these adorable aprons and donates the proceeds to a goodwill venture in Kazakhstan, where I have traveled twice. I'm giving this one away because it's so darn cute with its coffee theme and all! How can you win? Tune in Monday!












5. Song parody of Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire." I know it's not really a funny topic. I know that disease is really nothing to laugh at. And I'm a little concerned for my college student regarding H1N1. But I am a sucker for song parodies, and this is pretty cute and clever. It starts slow and goes on about three minutes too long, but my favorite line is "Don't blame me; I'm your little buddy." You might enjoy a couple of minutes of it, or your kids might. Or you might never come back here.

At any rate, go see Susanne, have a great weekend, and come back Monday to see how to win the apron!

This is Just Funny! A Video About Youth Pastors

Oh, please, anyone who reads this, especially anyone who reads this and happens to employ me, please don't take offense. This is just good clean fun, and I say that while offering you the biggest "Awkward Side Hug!" ever!

The vid:
This is Just Funny!

30 x 5 Tool & Another Video to Inspire You

OK, 30 x 5'ers, in the "home stretch" (pun!) of the carnival this week, if you are having trouble sticking to your commitment to move, I want you to remember this video. Picture me coming to your home and lifting you onto a treadmill like they are this cat. You will hear my voice saying, "Come on ... Just walk!! Just walk!! What's wrong? Try it again!" Hysterical laughter, if that helps, can be part of the picture, too. I SO enjoyed this cat's attitude. He would rather roll onto his head and keep his legs limp than move. What a great picture of the way we often feel--especially Sundays!



The Tool:

Calories Burned Calculator

I'm Pretty Bored, So You Should Be, Too, Video #2

It's not even "I See What You're Saying--Blizzard Edition." It's just, "I'm So Stinkin' Bored and Will Do Anything to Get Out of this House and Create Some Pseudo-Fun."

Points of Interest (maybe):

1. I don't know why I'm standing like that except that deeper snow throws you a little bit off balance, so I think I planted my feet and ended up looking like your kid does when he has a full diaper.

2. The jeans. NOT flattering trouser jeans, but thigh-hugging ones that I generally wear around home to clean in or out in the snow, not really thinking about how they might photograph. And for this, I am truly sorry.

3. "Saturday Night Fever," not "Saturday Night Live." Ah, the oldness. It is loitering around my brain waiting for any and every chance to humiliate me.

4. When I came in the house to take a shower (because I shoveled our drive right after the video) the first song I heard on the radio was "Staying Alive," which I thought was ironic, and I love irony. But not ironing.

5. I was not in the "Blair Witch Project." I just managed to get only half of my face in the picture during part of this. Snow was falling off the tree in clumps on me, it was cold, my tape was running out and I remembered why you don't drink liquids before you suit up to go play in the snow, so I was distracted, all right??

6. The whole reason I'm telling you about the blizzard of '78 is because I meant to ask everyone to leave a favorite or worst snow memory comment, and that blizzard was mine. Like I said, I was about 16, and I couldn't see my boyfriend all that time, but he worked at Kmart, and they had him come to work a few days when no one else was in the store, so he called me from there and we talked for hours. You can see that my teenage years were eerily similar to the those of the glamorous kids on 90210 and One Tree Hill.

Bonus: The truck drowning me out in the beginning cracks me up.

Coffee Church?

I picked this video up from a site called Beyond Relevance. I don't know enough about the organization to endorse it or distance myself from it, but I saw this video, and it made me laugh, made me frustrated, but most of all, made me think.

The church for which I work is, of course, always looking for ways to draw the community, and all in all, I think we do a pretty good job. But the times, as Dylan said, "they are a changin'." They always are. The message must stay the same (Gospel) but the method of delivery has got to be relevant ... and a bunch of other churchy buzzword things.

Our entire staff is going to be reading "Simple Church" together over the next few weeks, so it will be interesting to hear what comes of that.

So don't be offended by this video. Just look at it as a thought/discussion provoker. I'd like to know your thoughts about the topic.

Gov. Palin in Muncie & "All the mavericks in da house, put ya hands up!"

Photo by Chris Bergin.
I realize I've been intertwining political topics into my posts lately, which might be risky for some bloggers, but since anyone who reads this blog regularly is probably not diametrically/violently opposed to what I'm saying, it's not that risky.

And really, if you knew me, you'd understand I've held it in about as long as I can. I do have opinions, y'all; OH yes I do. Still, I'm trying to rein it in. Therefore, if you disagree with my intermittent opinions popping out, hang in there; it'll all be over soon, and you'll have four, eight or probably twelve years of "Nah-nah" to revel in. Let me have a scant moment or two.

At any rate, it looks like we've only got a few more days before the blue haze settles in on the nation for at least four years, turning red states purple, as in "bruised." Sigh.

Anyway, the other day I was picking up my daughter from school, when on my way past our tiny municipal airport, I noticed a police car blocking the entrance, with its light going but no siren. I wondered what was going on.

Later, I heard that instead of flying into Indianapolis, Gov. Palin flew into Muncie and was then driven to her speaking engagement about an hour away. Fancy that.

She exited the plane with Trig in a car seat/carrier, as you see in the pic above. She was here for about an hour, took questions from the press and zoomed away. And that's the story of how my husband's crush flew into town and didn't even text him or anything. Now I suppose he'll come crawling back to me.

(Note of historical interest: Obama also flew into Muncie earler this year as did Richard Nixon and JFK once upon a time. What can I say? We're kind of a political hub like that. But instead of the Beltway, we're more like the Belchway. Or the Gravelroad Way.)

Did you catch Gov. Palin on Saturday Night Live? What do you think about politicians guesting on SNL and other entertainment venues? I think it's pretty indicative of parties catering to Americans who want a national leader who is witty, articulate, nice-looking, and above all, smooth enough to be an entertainer.

After the Alfred E. Smith dinner where both candidates told jokes, lots of people said that if McCain had loosened up and been "funny" like that during the campaign, he would have fared better. This sticks in my craw, even though I don't know where/what a craw is. "Sticks in my craw" sounds gruff enough to express my frustration without actually cursing.

Can anyone tell me why we want stand up comedian/rock star political leaders?

Would Abraham Lincoln have passed the rock star test?







Did Taft wear a lampshade on his head at state dinners?








Did Woodrow Wilson play jazz clarinet? ["Woody Wilson!"]







Did you catch the SNL rap sketch? I'm admitting I enjoyed the humor, but I also feel a little weird about enjoying it for the reasons I stated above. It just goes to show I'm steeped in American culture, too.

But what a great sport Gov. Palin is. I love how she joined the "Obama/Ayers!" chant. Very funny. So, as we wind down to the last hurrah, "All the mavericks in da house, put ya hands up!"

Take On the '80s: "Magic Frame!"

OK, there is a "*" word in this, "*ss," but other than that, it's clean, and it cracks me up. This is the first music video I remember watching. At least it made the first big impression on me. It takes a couple of seconds to get going, but then the silliness starts.

Without futher ado, here is the girl with the great hair and the band "A Ha" ... 1985 ... Take On Me!



Band Montage!

Sometimes I Wake Up Grouchy

And sometimes I just let him sleep. (Ba da boom-crash)

Get your kids for this one. They'll love it.

Welcome to "I See What You're Saying!"

Hello! Welcome to "I See What You're Saying," a chance for bloggers to meet and greet each other with a video post.

The purpose of this project is simple:

1. To answer the natural questions many of us have concerning blogs we've been reading for quite a while: "What does this blogger look like? What does she sound like?" It's almost like meeting ... IRL! Only not! It's virtual IRL!

2. To have fun. (I like fun. A LOT.)

I'm considering doing a regular video project if this goes well for everyone, so we'll see.

If you are new to 2nd Cup, before you view my video, you should know that there has been ongoing oppositional dialogue between readers and me about the sense and sensibility of musicals, thus the reference to "The Sound of Music," and that there was a great tide of overwhelming opinion about which wallpaper pattern I should choose for my kitchen, thus the torturous droning "Tour of Thrills" section shot in my kitchen, where many a cardboard circle has been baked beneath a frozen pizza and many a can lid has been incorporated into the soup pot. For more fun disclaimers, see yesterday's pathetic post.

BTW: Make sure you turn your sound up for all posts, and at the end of mine, that is my daughter's real voice. And my dog's real bark.

Have fun meeting nice people. Be sure to leave a nice comment wherever you visit today; it's the NICE thing to do!