Farewell for Now?

I drug Jenny to see Nickel Creek last night at the Singletary Center. They are currently on their Farewell (For Now) Tour and I couldn't pass up one last chance to see them play, especially at Singletary which is a great venue for music and (according to the band) one of their favorite places to play. They've played there four times and I've been there for all four. I won't miss a chance to see them live for anything.

The first concert happened just before Christmas and was amazing. They just blew me away with what amazing musicians they all were, especially to only be in their early twenties. And then, for their second encore, they invited anyone who wanted to come, up on the stage, unplugged, and took requests for Christmas carols. Their version of Silent Night was a magical experience.

The next time they came to play, I made sure to get tickets and they once again had everyone up on stage for an encore and finished with the most beautiful version of the hymn Be Thou My Vision that I have every heard.

Their last concert here (before this one) I made sure to get the best tickets I could (5th row) and got Jenny to go with me. This time, when it came time to get up on the stage, we actually got pretty close to the band, and sitting there, listening to Chris Thile sing Green and Grey which is one of my favorite songs off of any of their CDs was one of the greatest moments ever. It really was.

This year, I was afraid that they weren't going to come back. They had always talked about how they loved to play at the Singletary Center, but they had been here the last two years and I thought that maybe they would pass up by on this tour. I was a little late getting tickets, so we weren't as close as we were last time, but any seat is a good seat in that venue. I was just glad to be in the building. They played all their best songs and I got to hear most of my favorites one more time (except for Green and Grey) and while we didn't make it up on the stage this year, we did get to stand next to the stage for the encore. They took requests again, although not Christmas Carols, since it was still a bit early and then finished with When You Come Back Down. It was the first Nickle Creek song I ever heard and has always been one of my favorites, so it seemed fitting that the last song they played was the first one I heard. And, if it turns out it is the last song I ever hear them play live, I think that is a fitting ending.

And on an unrelated note, some long promised, never seen pics of Dean:

Hiding in his bushes

A front shot, sorry about the darkness, but flash and glass don't mix.

Do You Believe in Blue?

There are not many things in this world that can trump UK Basketball's Midnight Madness celebration (especially this year with a new coach and all kinds of new excitement) but what happened Saturday at Commonwealth Stadium was one of them. I would wager that by the time they left the field Saturday night, most UK fans weren't thinking about Patrick Patterson or Alex Legion. They weren't worried about March Madness or Final Fours. And many of them, if you had asked their thoughts on Billy Gillispie probably would have responded with Billy Who?

Why all this madness you ask? Because Saturday was the day that football was King in the Bluegrass. Not forever, mind you, but at least for awhile. Certainly for the day. After all, it's not every day that your team beats the #1 team in the nation. And, if you are a UK fan, it's even more rare that your football team wins out against #1 (the last time was back in 1964). That is a call for celebration!

Now, I will be the first to admit that when I saw the new slogan for this year's football team was "Believe in Blue" I had to laugh. After all, I have been a UK fan for most of my life and so far the one thing I could believe about our football team was that no lead, no matter how large, was safe (at least when we were ahead). The running joke for at least the last five or six years has been "UK, home of the come from ahead loss." Why should I think that this season would be any different? True, we did finish strong last year with a victory over Georgia and a bowl win, but would this team really be any different?

Then the season started. There was an easy victory over EKU and a game with more than a few scary moments vs Kent State and I thought that season was headed the same direction as so many before it--to a land of close games that the Cats should have won but didn't. After all, if we can barely beat Kent State, what would happen when we played U of L? of LSU? or Florida?

Then came the U of L game. It was the day before my birthday. The Cats have never lost a home game played on the weekend of my birthday since I've been in Lexington. And yet, I still didn't have high hopes. I had prepared myself to lose. But we didn't. We won (although we didn't yet know how bad U of L really was). After that game, I started to believe, just a little bit.

Up next was Arkansas. At Arkansas. This would be a real test. Could we win on the road in the SEC? This time, I thought we had a chance, but it was a slim one. After all, this is Kentucky we are talking about here--we always play below expectations. And we did, at least for a little while. We had turnovers. We had bad plays. We let them run a kick back for a touchdown IN THE 4th QUARTER after we gave up a safety! The Cats I know and love would never be able to recover from a 9 point swing that close to the end of the game. But they did. They battled back and scored and scored and scored. Some little guy named Locke came in a just ran away with it. And now I began to believe just a little bit more. Maybe, just maybe this team was different.

After a cupcake game against Florida Atlantic, came South Carolina on a Thursday night on National TV. By this time the entire country was talking about us and our turnaround season. But were we for real? This game would be another test. A real test. But could be do it? Lexington was ready. I've never seen this town that excited about a football game before. That kind of excitement is usually reserved for March Madness and Final Fours. We believed, didn't we? Or maybe we didn't because it seemed, for about 10 days between the disastrous South Carolina game and the LSU game that maybe the clock had struck midnight for this Cinderella and we had turned back into a sooty kitchen maid. It looked like a season that started 5-0 might quickly turn into a season of 5-3 with games against LSU and Florida coming up next.

The LSU game was the one game that I felt from the beginning that we really had no chance to win. I had watched the Tigers play several times this year and each time I was amazed by how good they were. How strong their defense was. And after last year's nightmare of a 49-0 game, I felt like we might be lucky to score this year and we certainly wouldn't win. Then the game started and we scored first and I thought "Hey, good job guys, we got on the board."

LSU exploded for 17 points (and we only managed 7) in the second quarter, and I figured that at least we had scored twice which was 2 times more than we had scored the year before so that was something after all.

And then, after the half, LSU went up 27-14 and I thought there was no way our offense (no matter how good they are) could make up that many points on the best defense I'd seen play all year. I had never expected to win, but I was still disappointed that it looked like we were going to lose. And then something strange happened. We started our comeback. Woodson threw a touchdown pass. And then there were two field goals (from a kicker that still makes me hide my face every time he steps on the field) and we were tied. But really, this was UK we were talking about, so there was still plenty of time for us to screw things up. After all, we proved in 2002 that we only needed :08 to lose a game. And for a minute there, it looked like we might have. But then Colt David's kick went wide left and we were going to overtime and chanting "We Believe."

And, of course, I thought of the 7 overtime marathon vs Arkansas a few years ago that nearly killed me (even though I wasn't at that game, I had gone to Louisville to see the Lion King Broadway show instead) and which we lost anyway. This time the first two overtimes ended up with us trading points, and the third meant that when we scored our touchdown (my boy Stevie Johnson with another big catch) we had to go for 2. When we didn't make it, I was sure that would be the end of us. After all, LSU would score and get the 2 and win right? I mean, there was no way our defense could stop them with the game on the line, right? After nearly 4 1/2 hours of game and seeing the Cats come back from 13 down in the last quarter of regulation, I still didn't believe. Even when we stopped them on the first three downs in that final overtime, even when I saw Braxton Kelly make that final tackle a yard or so short of the first down, I didn't believe. I stood, staring at the field, looking for a flag, trying to see if there was a review or a measurement, not really believing that we had won.

Then some guy pushed past me on his way to the field and I looked at the Jennys and decided we needed to get out of there unless we wanted to go on the field. We made our way to the tunnel and then just stood and watched the pandemonium. We sang along to "Celebrate." We took pictures with the scoreboard. And then we walked back to our car, had a beer, and finally, finally I began to believe.

I don't consider myself to be a non-believer most of the time. I've had faith in the basketball team even in the darkest hours. But this time, with this football team, I couldn't quite find the strength to believe. I apologize for that. I do believe now. This team is won of the greatest teams in the history of Kentucky football. They have been beaten down, smacked around, and trample on but they have come out the other side with an iron will and enough heart to put the great Secretariat to shame. They have proven over and over again that they know what it takes to win and they have the ability to do it. They are destined to do great things this season and when they do, I will be proud to say I Believe in Blue.

Yes, I know it's blurry, but give me a break. I'd been on my feet for 4 1/2 hours and was on such an adrenaline high that I was lucky I still knew how to work the camera.

Fans on the field after the game.

Picture to prove that I was actually there.

Post Game celebrations back at the car. Good thing we decided to tailgate for the game.

The most wonderful cake ever baked by my friend Sarah for the tailgate party. We didn't know at the time that she was psychic.

I'm Melting......

Okay, so it's not "tomorrow" but oh well. Life happened.

Actually, Keeneland happened. Friday was the opening day of Keeneland's Fall meet which means that Saturday was spent at the track because you can't waste a non-football beautiful weather Keeneland Saturday. Those don't happen all that often.

This year, my friend Thai (aka Buddy) decided to tailgate for Keeneland which is almost as big an event as tailgating for football. So, Sister and I decided to join her before we were off to the races.

That part was fun. There was free beer. And free food. Then we went inside to watch the ponies run and It. Was. Hot!!! I have never been to Keeneland in either the spring or the fall when it was that hot! The temperature was somewhere around 92 with about 80% humidity and absolutely no breeze at all. It felt more like mid August than early October. But we had fun anyway. And a horse named Sugar Swirl won me a few dollars so all was good with the world. It was almost enough to make me forget how awful our football team looked on Thursday night.

Where oh where have you been?

So....after an incredibly long hiatus filled with weddings and babies (not mine!) and travel and all sorts of other fun (but not really) stuff, I am back. Really, I didn't forget about the blog that no one reads, I just didn't have the time to do anything with it. But now I'm back with two very exciting tidbits.

First, I am finally the proud owner of a digital camera! So now, I can take pictures! Yea!!! So, expect more photos now, and more updates on what I'm currently knitting since I can photograph whatever and whenever I want these days.

Second, I return just in time for possibly the crazies most random night of TV watching ever seen. Tonight there are 5 different programs that I will be watching or DVRing. Ugly Betty comes first at 8:00, then Supernatural with it's season premier at 9:00 and finally Without a Trace (which moved from Sunday) and Big Shots on at 10:00. As if all this craziness wasn't enough, the UK football team is playing South Carolina tonight on ESPN starting at 7:30 and since the team is actually half way good this year, I really want to watch that game as well.

What does all this mean? Mostly that I will be doing a lot of channel flipping and the DVR will be working overtime for most of the night. Also, Without a Trace may not get recorded if the game isn't over yet since I can only watch/record two things at a time. But, if the Cats win, all will be forgotten (as long as Supernatural gets recorded). Everything else will just be water under the bridge.

Stay tuned tomorrow for a Football/TV update and maybe some pics. (Possibly one of the oft-mentioned but never seen Dean the turtle). Now, I'm off to the gym and then to my oh-so-wonderful History of Kentucky class. Fun times.

Kool Aid Crazy!! And a Random Wrap up!

I have turned into a massive Kool Aid Junkie. I search every place I go to see what new flavors I might find. I scour the shelves for more and more packages. I scared the nice checkout lady at Meijer's when I bought 20 packs all at once. Do I want all this Kool Aid to drink? No way. I need it to dye more yarn!! Yarn that I have no idea what I'm going to make with it. Yarn that may never move beyond it's neatly wound center pull ball. But still, I need to dye more yarn.

Monday, I went on a massive Kool Aid hunt. I searched Target (which does not carry Kool Aid by the way), Meijer (the mecca of Kool Aid flavors), Walgreens (another non-Kool Aid market), and another Kroger store (which had only the basic flavors). Meijer is by far the Kool-Aid Hook up. They had an entire display of Kool Aid with flavors I had seen no where else (although the most wonderful Pina Pineapple was missing). I finally found some blue flavors--Berry Blue and Blue Raspberry Lemonade--as well as some more interesting ones--Maderine Tangerine, Soarin' Strawberry Lemonade, and Watermelon Cherry. They also had some Lemon Lime, Cherry, Orange, Grape, Strawberry, and the ever popular Tropical Punch along with some unhelpful "invisible" flavors (clear drinks with fruity flavors--not good for dyeing yarn).

I made a trip to the new Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market last night since I needed to get some milk and looked at their Kool Aid selection, but they didn't have much variety. I'm hoping that if I pay a visit to the Meijer out in Hamburg they might have more fun flavors for me to play with.

I haven't yet had the chance to try out the new flavors I found. I'm planning to give it a try on Saturday so we'll see how it goes. I may not get to take pictures, though, since I don't have a digital camera here. Oh well.....

Now to wrap up some unfinished business.

1.) The Amazing Race Wrap up.....

Really, after the double episode, I found myself totally bored with the whole thing. I watched until the end, I really did, but I just didn't care anymore. In the end, it was the Boobs that won it all. The Beauty Queens (Dustin and Kandice) took second with Charla and Mirna coming in third. Maybe it was the utter lack of teams I cared about that made me not care. Danny and Oswald did make it to the final four, but after they were Philliminated I had no one to cheer for.

2.) My Bracket Wrap up.....

I didn't win the pool. I didn't even come close despite the fact that I picked Florida to win it all (again!). I just missed too many games in the second weekend to overcome. Oh well, maybe next year UK will stick around for more than two games. Hear that Billy G? We want more than just a one weekend engagement next year in March.

3.) 3K / 5K Racing...

The 3K I ran back on St. Patrick's Day (yes, that long ago) went well. I finished with an official time of 18:41 and placed 6th in my age category. And, most importantly, I ran the entire thing without freezing to death! I've been running pretty steadily since and I can now do about 3.5 miles at a time so I'm ready to tackle a 5K. First up is the Fancy Farm Picnic Run on August 3rd and then Sarah (from work) and I are going to do the Midsummer Night's Run on August 11th. Hopefully both will go well. Hopefully I won't die.

4.) That Stupid Committee update....

I just had to get this most lovely pic of Kyle up here one more time since the Committee that had no end finally ended!! We hired the most wonderful Associate Pastor ever Diane Baldwin back in the spring and she officially started the Sunday after Easter. We couldn't be happier with our choice! And I'm glad to finally be done with that committee, although Kyle wants to make me an elder this fall and so I'll have to serve on Session. Just say No Kimmy, just say No.

5.) Scopeman update....

Really, here there is nothing to update. Haven't seen him much this year so far. He stopped by once in February just as I was getting ready to go to the gym and we chatted for a second, and then I saw him the other day, but he paid very little attention to me. Apparently we can talk once a year at the Christmas party and that's that. Oh well.

6.) Knitting WIPS Updates....

The Aunt Purl's Magic Scarf is still not done. In fact, I haven't even picked it up in months. I need to get back to work on it, but really, I just don't want to, although I do need those needles back. I have started yet another project, however. I am making a lap robe using the very fun Feather and Fan pattern. I started it to send as a Mother's Day gift to my Grandmother, but got about 1 1/2 skeins in (out of 5) and quit. I still pick it up every once in awhile, but it may or may not be done by Christmas.

My newest knitting obsession is Baby Stuff!! since everyone I know is Pregnant. It almost makes me scared to drink the water. So far I have finished two very adorable baby hats for my cousin Logan's little boy-to-be due the first part of July.

This one is done in UK blue and white (since it's never to early to be a wildcat fan) Lion Brand Microspun from the Karlchen pattern I found for free using Crafster. It's knit from the crown down (which is cool) and very easy. I used some size 7 DPNs for the whole thing rather than switch to circs half way through and I like the way it turned out. The Stripes are a simple 2 row white/3 rows blue pattern (although if I had it to do over again, I would make them thicker).

And this one is the hopelessly cute Umbilical Cord hat from Stitch N' Bitch done in a sort of Electric Blue Sugar and Cream yarn. (I refuse to put babies in nothing but pastels.)For this one, I used my size 7 16" circs until it got too small and then switched to DPNs. The I-cord is wider than it should be (8 stitches instead of 4) since I apparently can't read a pattern all that well, but it is cute none the less. I can see more of these on the way.

I also picked up the book Mason-Dixon Knitting from the Library in order to see the Log Cabin Blanket pattern (which I was going to make for another Baby that is one the way). I discovered, however, that there are many, many fun patterns in there and I may have to go buy the book so I have my own copy forever. I have made the Ball Band Dishrag and the Baby Genius Burp Cloth so far both out of Sugar and Cream Cotton Yarn with size 7 straight needles. The dish cloth I have a photo of, the Burp Cloth I just finished last night, so no pictures for you. Notice, I had not yet woven in the ends. Now, however, they are tucked safely away. I need to use it and wash it to see how it holds up before I go crazy and make more, but I want to make tons and tons of these. It was so simple and quick!! And I like quick.

My next project will be the Bibs from Mason Dixon and then, hopefully, the Modern Baby Blanket. I just need to do a few test swatches to make sure I can handle the Log Cabin style of knitting before I jump into that one.

7.) Last but not least, my TV Wrap Up....

Now that summer is here and good TV has gone away until fall, I am longing for the days when I at least had something good to watch on Thursday nights.

Ugly Betty ended very sadly with the possible death of Santos, Henry flying off to be with Charlie who he thinks is pregnant with his baby, but may be pregnant with the crazy dentist's baby instead, and Amanda and the Scottish lady locked in the "Love Dungeon" finding out that Amanda is actually Faye's daughter. Oh whatever will I do until Fall?

Supernatural ended well. No huge cliff hanger this year. The Yellow Eyed Demon is dead, shot by Dean with the last bullet from the Super Special Colt that doesn't always kill everything after a recently released from Hell Daddy Winchester distracted the YED for just a moment. Dean, however, has only one year to live after he traded his life to bring Sam back from the dead, so I'm assuming that will be the crux of next year's plot lines. The CW is showing reruns on both Thursday nights and Sunday night now, so they will get through the entire season before the new season starts (and I have something to watch anyway).

8.) I know, I said TV was the last thing, but I thought of something else....

The little sister is in Italy right now supposedly studying Italian. Check out her blog for more details, but I get the impression she is studying food, wine, and boys more than the language.....

Using Science to Make Fruity Yarn....

So, while being bored at work the other day, I discovered that you can use Kool-Aid to dye yarn. (Thanks Knitty.) Me, being the Science Freak that I am (and a newbie knitter) decided that this sounded like fun and I set out to try it. Needless to say, my Dad was less than thrilled that I was going to take over his kitchen to do this little project since my urge fell on Father's Day weekend and I (being such a wonderful Daughter) had gone home to see him. He was also horrified that I made him go with me to Houchen's Market (a local grocery store) to buy the 20 packages of Kool-Aid in various flavors that I wanted to try. He'll get over it, though. Also, thanks to his digital camera, I was able to take pictures of the process. So, here is my first experience with the Kool-Aid Fruity Yarn making experiment:

First, I bought some Patons Ayran Classic Merino Wool at Michael's. (2 skeins 3 1/2 oz each). I had to do this part in Lexington since the only place you can get yarn in Glasgow is Wal-Mart and they don't generally have 100% Wool Yarn.

Next, Dad and I made the trek to Houchen's Market to get the Kool-Aid. It was on sale 4/$1.00!! and I bought 2 packages of each of the 9 flavors they had: Cherry, Lemon Lime, Black Cherry, Pina Pineapple, Pink Lemonade, Tropical Punch, Strawberry, Lemonade, and Orange.

Once I knew how many flavors I had, I used the back of one of Dad's dinning room chairs to wind the yarn into short hanks. This part caused my Dad to wonder if I really had lost my mind. I tied each Hank in four places with the same yarn since (a) that was the only thing I had on hand, and (b) I didn't want to use anything that might bleed onto my yarn.

Notice the Father's Day presents on the table. I am such an awesome Daughter!

Finished Hanks, wound and tied.

Then, the yarn went into a big bowl full of warmish (just slightly warmer than room temp) water and just a "glug" of white vinegar to soak for about 20 minutes. I must confess that I'm not sure how long they really soaked since I just let them sit for the amount of time it took me to mix up all my stuff and run to Wal-Mart to look for more flavors (which they didn't have any).

This also happens to be the bowl we used for popcorn when I was a kid. Not fancy, but functional.

I mixed up the Kool-Aid using about 6-8oz of warm water and one package of Kool-Aid in some of Dad's canning jars (the wide mouth ones worked really well, the regular ones made it hard to get the yarn in and out). I also found that iced tea spoons (which I didn't know he had) worked really well for mixing it up since they reached all the way to the bottom of the jar easily. Then, I pulled a hank of yarn from the bowl, squeezed out the excess water, and smooshed it into a jar. I used the spoon to squish the yarn down and then added enough water to cover the yarn (if I needed to).

Notice the black trash bag I put down to keep from staining the counter (again, such a wonderful daughter)!

Then, everything went into the microwave for 2 minutes on high. I let it sit for about 5 minutes, then I nuked it again for 2 minutes. Another 5 minute rest and one last 2 minute heat and rest and then it was done.

There were actually five jars in the microwave here, even though it only looks like 3. I did a set of 5 and then a set of 4.

The freakiest part of the whole thing: the water at the end was CLEAR. It makes you wonder what is really in Kool-Aid.

Once the yarn had cooled, I rinsed it in warmish water again, and then washed it in Wool-Aid and rinsed it one more time. Everything then went out into the garage to dry. This part made Dad laugh and drew some very interesting comments from our dinner guests that night. It looked like a forrest of strange yarn.

Once the yarn was dry (read: the next day) I took it down, photographed it, and then wound it into center pull balls. What fun.

Left to Right: Orange, Strawberry, Pink Lemonade, Lemonade

Left to Right: Cherry, Pina Pineapple, Black Cherry, Lemon Lime, Tropical Punch

Overall, I was very pleased with the way it turned out. Most of the red colors were very similar, although there were some subtle differences. The Lemonade was a bit of a disappointment since it was so pale and washed out, but I think I may try dying that bit again to see if I can make the color stronger. The Pink Lemonade and the Orange turned out a bit spotty. I'm not sure if I need to use more water, a bigger jar, or just didn't smoosh it enough, but I think it will actually look pretty cool when I knit it up.

My favorite colors had to be the Lemon Lime and the Pina Pineapple, though. They both came out so bright and so pretty! And Pina Pineapple is much nicer looking than Lemonade. I told Dad he may have to go back to the store and get me more of that if I can't find it in Lexington. I did try Kroger last night and found some Grape which should make a nice purple color, but I still haven't run across any blue flavors.

I also have no idea what I am going to make with all my Fruity Flavor Yarn, but I already feel the need to make more. I shall be going on a city wide Kool-Aid hunt this afternoon, so beware!

Evolution vs Creationism--The Eternal Debate

So the new "Creationism Museum" has opened here in Kentucky (where else) and stirred up all kinds of crazy. I'm discovering new things about myself everyday. For example, I am a scientist, therefore I can not belive in God (at least according to a woman named Vickie). I am very glad that I have people to tell me these things, otherwise how would I know? I am still trying to figure out which tihng I'm going to give up (God or my job) but when I do decide, I'll let you know.

I have also discovered that Adam and Eve apparently lived with Dinosaurs in the garden and because they were in the garden, even the great T-Rex was a veggie (I guess that's why he needed those rather large teeth and sharp claws). Noah also had Dinos on the ark (which must have been HUGE to hold two of every thing). Don't believe me, apparently it says so in the Bible (although I admit, I must have missed that part--maybe I was sick that day in Sunday School) at least according to this guy who posted over at MSN.com:

Ok, I want to tell all the people who do not belive in Chrsitanism and do not belive in God and Jesus. That if you read Genesis and understnad it, it will show you that all animals were created in the Garden of Eden. That means that all acutal meat eating dino's and other animals would be herbivours. After Adam and Eve sinned that was the fall of paridise. There was still dino's rouming around after God told Adam and Eve to leave paridise. When God told Noah told build an Ark. He told Noah to take 2 of ever unclean animal and 7 of every clean animal. That means Noah did take dino's with him. He took young ones of birhing age that way they could repopulate the earth after the flood. It has been proven that Carbon 14 dating is not accuret. It is mentioned in another 4 books after Genesis that there was still dino's on Earth. After the flood the climit changed and the Earth had diffrent moutian ranges, and diffrent land masses. I know the Bible is True and I belive it is true. Any man can have faith in something but I know the Bible is True. I have not been tought that the Bible is True I know it is true because I have seen the other side of things and I know that the Bible is True.

(This was a direct Copy-Paste. I wanted you to enjoy this guy in all his Christianism glory.)

Highly educated people over there, I tell you what. And I swear, I don't remember any mention of dinosaurs in the Bible, but then again, maybe I just had the wrong translation. And, I just don't really care how young a dinosaur is, some of those suckers were still HUGE so that boat must have been the size of Rhode Island to hold all of them and still manage to float.
It just aggrivates me that people make this into an All-or-Nothing issue. I've been a Christian and a church goer all my life (and am still a very active part of my church, thanks to Kyle) and a scientist for the better part of my life and I've never had any problem being both. I believe in Evolution. I don't see how you can't with all the evidence we have to support it. I also belive that Earth is just a tad bit older than the 5,000 or so years that Creationists claim. We have fossil records and carbon dating to prove it (and while I will admit that Carbon dating isn't the most accurate method of dating something, it will still get you within a couple of thousand years or so). That doesn't mean that I don't belive in God or that I don't think that God had a hand in creating the world. To me the theory of Evolution as well as the theory of how life got started on Earth give me more evidence that God exists since something had to have a hand in all that mess.

It bothers me when people take the Bible as fact--word for word fact--but only when they want to. Sure, it's okay to say that God literally created Adam and Eve (but boy are we sure inbred if they were the only two people he created) but we are going to overlook that whole don't eat unclean animals bit and that bit about not mixing meat and diary and that part about not working on the Sabbath (which is Saturday by the way). If you are going to argue that the Bible is the absolute word of God and should be taken literally, then you can't just pick and choose what parts you want to take and what parts you want to leave out. Just like in science you can't just choose to show the data that fits your hypothesis, you have to include all the data even if it raises more questions.

And while we are on the subject of Science, I want to make it clear to anyone who might not know (or for anyone who has had this argument with someone) that while Evolution is considered to be a Theory, it is a scientific theory, which is much different from what most people consider a theory. In science you have three basic types of things: Hypothesis, Theorys, and Laws. A Hypothesis is something you are testing. It is an idea you have but you aren't sure about it yet. A Theory is a Hypothesis that has been tested over and over again with the same result meaing that you are reasonably sure that it is true. A Law is something that has been proven so many times that it is universially accepted to be true (like gravity or Newton's laws of physics). Most Theories never move to the Law stage. However, most theories are accepted to be true becase they have been proven over and over again by different people in different labs. A Theory (in science) is not a guess, it is not a conjecture, it is something that has volumes of evidence to support it but has not yet become a Law.

Ok, I'm off my soapbox now, but this whole debate is just ridiculous to me. I guess I have trouble believing that so many people can believe in something so foolish when we have so much evidence to the contrary. But then again, we did elect Bush to another term, so go figure.

Big Blue Crazy

So the two week craziness that followed Tubby's departure for the land of snow, ice, and 1000 lakes is finally over. Yesterday, after weeks of waiting, watching, and about a million prayer circles, Billy Donovan said he wouldn't come to coach our esteemed team. You'd have thought the world had ended. Still, I guess we were all kind of living in a dream world to think that a coach who'd just won his second straight National Title would just up and leave his school to come to ours.

That was yesterday at noon. That was when the whirlwind started.

By the 6 o'clock news, the rumors were flying again about Rick Barnes, Jim Calapari, Travis Ford, and just about any other coach who has ever thought about coaching college basketball.

By the 11 o'clock news it was being reported that UK had asked for permission to talk to Billy Gillispie of Texas A&M.

By 6 this morning, UK had arranged a press conference/pep rally for noon where they announced that Billy (G not D) would be the next UK head coach.

In 24 hours we went from having our dreams dashed to cheering our new head coach. If only all of UK hires went that quickly, I wouldn't have been stuck with CrazyBoss for an extra four months while the UK Jobs system trudged along.

If I Were in Town, I'd Ask for Your Number

So, as usual, last night (being Sunday) there was a new episode of The Amazing Race. I watched, I swear I did, but I can't tell you what happened really.

If I Were in Town, I'd Ask for Your Number

It was a double episode so we got to see two legs (I thought it might have been one of those double legs, but no--just two legs shown on the same night due to the extreme spread of the teams). There was a lot of time spent in airports (to get to Poland) and lots more anti-bunching because apparently it is impossible to fly into or out of Zanzibar quickly). Then we had some forced bunching (and anti-bunching) to even things up a bit. The double episode had to be due to the fact that for the first time I the teams were so spread out that the first teams were starting the next leg before the last teams had finished the previous one (hence the forced bunching).

The teams went to Auschwitz, which was very cool and very somber. Quite the downer moment in the middle of the episode, but still, I don't suppose you could go through Poland and not visit the most famous Concentration camp in the world. Not surprisingly, each team had their own reaction to it (and Mirna managed to make it all about her). This also led to the revelation that Joe (of the Guidos) was (or has been at some point) Catholic since he made a very nice Sign of the Cross.

Charla & Mirna did a lot of yelling, which I assume means that they were no longer in front. (They yell much less when they are winning.) There was an intersection which is always interesting since it makes teams work together (and is even more fun when teams that hate each other have to work together ie: Guidos & Boobs). The intersection also served to spread the teams out even more by making the Beauty Queens wait on another team to work with as they were the third team to the Intersection after Uchenna/Joyce & Danny/Ozwald.

There was the first (and I hope last) eating task of the race where teams had to eat 2 feet of Polish Sausage (which I hope Charla & Mirna appreciated since they had been pestering their cabby about Polish Sausage since they landed in Poland). This led to much puking and very little drama. It also led to perhaps the only funny thing Eric (of the Boobs) has said on this race, ever which was "Ladies and Gentlemen....Miss California" after Dusting (or maybe Candace, I still can't tell them apart) puked up a pile of sausage.

In the end, it was the Guidos (despite their lovely Catholicism) who were Philiminated. Oh well, I didn't really care all that much.


What we learned this week: Joe is a Catholic (or at least a recovering Catholic, because God knows once they've got you, you are never the same again). Too much sausage is not a good thing. Never try to fly into or out of Zanzibar if you are in a hurry.

Best line of the week: Eric's "Ladies and Gentlemen, Miss California."

It's Thursday (which means tomorrow is Friday)

So really, I don't know why I continue to write on this thing since it is becoming more and more clear that not a single soul reads it except for me (and Jenny once). Still, I feel the need to record somethings forever and ever (or as long as the Internet shall last) so I come back and write more. (And if there is someone out there that does read this, please leave a comment so I know you were here. It gets lonely out here in blog land sometimes.)

What I realized today was that for the last few weeks all I've been talking about are my favorite TV shows and nothing else, so I decided that today I needed to talk about something else. And, what that really means is that today is going to be one of those random days where I exhibit my ADD and talk about all sorts of things.

First.....my bracket is limping along towards the finals. After my strong first weekend, I got slaughtered last weekend. In round three I only picked 4 of 8 games correctly and in round four I managed to get 2 of 4 right. That leaves me with two teams in the final 4, both of whom I have playing in the finals. As much as I hate to do it, I may have to cheer for Florida to win it all if I want to have any shot at winning my bracket pool.

Second....I finally (and I mean finally) finished the Harry Potter-Esq scarf. It is done. Bound off, blocked, and fringed. Now, if only I can find someone to love it because after 6 months of looking at the stupid thing, I have no desire to wear it ever. It did turn out pretty, though, so maybe if I just put it away for the summer I will feel better about it next winter. It should be nice and warm since it's double thick and about 7 feet long. Maybe I can find someone up in Minnesota to love it. (A parting gift for Tubby perhaps.)

Which brings me to random rambling number three......just in case you haven't heard (read: have been living under a rock without TV, radio, or newspapers) Tubby has left our darling Lexington for the much colder and snowier University of Minnesota. Apparently he didn't feel wanted here anymore so he went to somewhere where he was wanted. Who knows what really went on. I guess we'll find out when he writes his tell all book. The big news now is who the new coach is going to be. Everyone has their list of names and there are a thousand rumors swirling around right now, but nothing is for sure yet. I refuse to make any predictions or get my hopes up until I know something for sure.

It was quite funny, though. Yesterday one of the local radio stations decided that they had had enough of the rumors floating around so they were going to start their own. They let all their listeners in on the joke before they started a big story about how Pat Riley was going to come and coach here before he retired. They asked all their listeners to spread the story, simply saying "I heard on the radio...." In less than two hours, the rumor had spread all the way to Canada where it was picked up by a local news station. They were, of course, found out eventually, but still. The distance that the rumor traveled in just a very short amount of time was quite astonishing. It just goes to show you that this is big news.

Fourth.....I'm sure there was a fourth thing, but I have no idea what it was anymore. Maybe it was a knitting thing, I did finish another hat. This time it was the Odessa hat from the free pattern at Magknits. Mine looks pretty much like the picture, although the yarn I chose is a little more blue and a little less purple. Still....it turned out well for my first foray into beading. I will have to say, though, that I had some troubles in the beginning. It took forever to thread the beads onto the yarn since I couldn't find a needle with a big enough eye to get the yarn through that would also pass through the beads. I ended up having to string them without a needle, and that was a nightmare, let me tell you. It took about three hours to get all the beads I needed on there (actually I ended up with more than I needed, but you better believe that they aren't ever coming off). Then, I started the pattern at least three times but I kept messing up and having to frog and start again. The first time I got through all the ribbing but forgot to switch to my larger needles when I started the pattern. The second time, I did the ribbing with the larger needles instead of the smaller ones like I was supposed to. The third time I managed to get all the needles right, but messed up on the pattern after about four rows, so I had to start again. Finally, I was smart and put markers after each repeat along the row (ten markers, one after every eleven stitches). That helped me keep up with where I was in my row and I didn't have nearly as much trouble after that. (This is why I can't knit patterns and watch TV at the same time.) Still, I'm pleased with the way the hat turned out. It fits. It's pretty. And I will never make it again, so it's a one-of-a-kind. What more can you want?

The Amazing Airport Debacle

Yes, I know it's Tuesday, not Monday and so I really should have talked about this week's Amazing Race yesterday, but oh well....you get it one day later.

This week's episode was titled We are Going to Trade you for Food Now which was just one of several jokes made by [my favorites] Ozzy & Danny that Mirna didn't get at all. I swear, for a lawyer, she isn't very with it sometimes.

We start where we left off last week in Mozambique and the first clue tells our teams to "Go directly to the airport, do not pass go, do not collect $200 dollars (but here's your money)." The teams have to fly to Tanzania (which turns out to be the most challenging part of this leg of the race). Mirna & Charla leave first this week and have decided they are "Too Hot to Handle" (really, they had matching shirts with that on it--yeah, I know). The BQ's leave next ahead of Teri & Ian in their funky awful hats which they wore through the entire leg (special people, those) as they implemented their strategy of Stop, Look, & Listen (a close cousin to Stop, Drop & Roll).

Ugly Hats

Ozzy & Danny decided they might have careers as hand models after the race is over and if that doesn't pan out, Ozzy can sub for Tim Gunn on Project Runway since he did a wonderful Tim Gunn impression in the cab on the way to the airport when he found out their diver's name was Andre (either that, or he did a great impression of Santino doing a Tim Gunn impression). That was, hands down, one of the best moments ever (right next to Ozzy & Danny chasing Phil at the Pitstop last week).

Danielle (of the boobs) informs us that she is not letting Eric take charge and make all the decisions because they are team and teams don't work that way. My response: Really? Because so far your purpose on this race is limited to carrying an extra bag and giving Eric something to talk about. But good for you if you are finally going to do something.

Charla/Mirna make it to the airport first thanks, I'm sure, to their wonderful accents as they were directing their cabbie to the airport. I don't get how they can have almost no accent when they are talking to normal people but if they are talking to someone who's first language isn't English, they have the most bizarre accents. They accents may have gotten them to the airport first, but it didn't do them much good since it was the middle of the night and everyone had to wait until morning before they could do anything. You gotta love that beginning of the leg bunching (although this would be the last bit of bunching on this leg).

Once everyone is collected at the airport, we spend the next 20 minutes watching the teams jockey for seats. Charla/Mirna manage to find an early flight to Johannesburg that will connect to Tanzania (although they will have to be on standby for the connecting flight). Everyone else is left sitting at the airport waiting on seats to open up on the only direct flight. None do, so we have more scrabbling. Now, everyone wants to fly to Jo'burg, but we have to wait for the ticket counter to open--or do we? The Guidos and Teri/Ian decide to wait in line, but everyone else goes up to the airline office and gets the agent there to book the tickets to Johannesburg as well as put them on the standby list for the connecting flight. Everyone gets tickets to Jo'burg, but only the first three teams (BQ's, Uchenna/Joyce, Ozzy/Danny) make the connecting flight. The Boobs got on the plane, but then got pulled off because they had been given someone else's tickets, so they were left in Jo'burg with the Guidos and Teri/Ian. Eric was calm and managed to get their names on a Priority Standby list for the next flight out (the next morning) while Danielle helped out by crying hysterically (way to take charge, babe). In the end, only the Boobs get on the early flight out of Jo'burg while the other two teams have to wait another couple of hours.

Now that all the teams are finally out of airports, not much else went on. We sailed on some boats (where Charla lost her breakfast). The Detour was pretty lame (Solve it or Schlep it) and most teams picked solving the fish puzzle. The Roadblock was kind of cool--the best part being Phil's description with his trademark eyebrow lift--where Uchenna got to "jump with the Maasai". Charla/Mirna came in first (although I'm not sure either of them appreciated their prize--a Catamaran--since they didn't seem to have any idea what that was until Phil explained it to them), Ozzy/Danny second, Uchenna/Joyce third (even after their 30min penalty), the BQ's fourth, the Boob's Fifth, Guidos sixth, and Teri/Ian came in last and were Philiminated.

What we learned this week: Always take the first flight to Jo'burg you can get. Charla gets seasick. Ozzy & Danny may not be a help in an avalanche, but they do know some first aid "beauty tips." Stupid looking hats won't help you get on a plane.

Best line of the week: Ozzy's Impression of Tim Gunn "Andre, where are you Andre."

Supernatural shout out?: Charla/Mirna were helped onto their connecting flight in Jo'burg by a well meaning airport worker they hijacked named, of all things, Christo. I guess there is not way he could be possessed, huh?

Better Late than Never....a Heart to Heart

So, I meant to post a bit about this week's Supernatural after it aired on Thursday, but I got kind of busy on Friday what with some actually work to do and yet another trip to the optometrist (but not the cute one this time). So, you get this week's Supernatural update today!! What fun.

This week's episode: Heart because it involves a lot of heart-less corpses (in that they have had their hearts removed, but we never really find out what happens to the hearts. Do they get eaten? Frozen? Used in some kind of freaky ceremony? Cast in plaster and turned into art?)

The Monster of the Week: Werewolves. Yup, they finally went there. Now, I'm not all up on my werewolf lore, so I might not have appreciated the finer points of this monster, but it was pretty cool....although while the moon cycle seemed to be important, it didn't have to be a full moon for them to change (unless they managed to have three nights of full moons in a row). They seem to like to kill people and rip out their hearts, which is.....well gross, but no more so than protruding guts, splattered brains, or heads sawed off by large saws. Werewolves also apparently like to have hot sweaty Sammy sex, but that comes later.....

Actually, maybe the sweaty Sammy sex doesn't come later. There wasn't a lot going on in the episode for me. We meet Madison. Madison is being stalked by crazy-ex-boyfriend. Madison's boss is killed, flayed, and left heart-less. Sam and Dean show up to fix this. Sam and Dean play rock, paper, scissors to see who gets to stay with Maidson. Sam wins. Dean follows crazy-ex. Sam watches All my Children. Madison is the Werewolf. Sam ties her up (kinky, huh?) Dean kills the werewolf who bit her. Madison and Sam have sweaty Sammy sex (and let me tell you, Jared Padalecki has been working out!! That boy is ripped! And I'm not even Sammy girl). Maidson is still a werewolf, so she asks Sammy to kill her. Then we have perhaps the most touching scene ever written where nobody says "I Love You" but it's all over every word. Dean takes the gun from Madison (who is trying to give it to Sam) and offers to kill her himself so Sammy doesn't have to. Sam refuses, and both boys end up in tears along with a good portion of the audience.

Not a bad episode--actually the end saved it for me--but it wasn't great either. Still, any new Supernatural is a good one.

Geeky Dean, because Werewolves are cool.

A very intense game of Rock, Paper, Scissors...

Which Sam won.

Sam discovers Soap Operas

Sammy tears.

And one perfect Dean tear.

Bomb Sniffing Rats (And a Bracket Update)

First, my March Madness Update.

I did okay in Round 1 getting 25 out of 32 games correct. Not the greatest ever, but not too badly. I also only missed two games where I had the team going on to the third round, so no long term damage done. Round 2 went much better for me. I picked 13 out of 16 games correctly (and the 3 wrongs includes the 2 games I couldn't get right because I picked them wrong in round 1). The only game I missed that I could have gotten right was Texas. I thought Durant would have been able to get them to at least the Elite Eight. Oh well. My Final Four is still intact, though, so that is good. And I have 7 of my 8 Elite Eight teams still going (Boo Texas).

The best news of the day, though? That Kyle had Wisconsin winning it all and only 6 of his final 8 are still standing. That means that I stand a very good chance to beating him in the brackets this year. And everyone knows that is the entire point of March Madness.

Now, on to the Amazing Race (yes, I watched a lot of CBS yesterday)....

This time, with Rob & Amber gone (heehee)the other teams could finally concentrate or racing rather than on what Ramber was doing right?. Well sort of. We start off with everyone talking about how glad they are that it was Charla & Mirna that got to keep racing rather than Ramber and how much they didn't like Ramber and how much more interesting things were now, without them. Then. Finally. I think we are done with Ramber. Moving on.

The first thing we get to do this week is....dig in the snow while looking for buried avalanche beacons. Interesting, I guess, but let me just say that if I'm every buried in an avalanche, I want Joe & Bill to come looking for me rather than any other team. They were the only ones that seemed to be able to work the beacons. If the Beauty Queens (who can't follow arrows) or Ozzy & Danny come looking for me, just go ahead and start planning the funeral. It might be a while.

Next....stupid travel agents and airport jockeying with the end result that every single team ends up on the exact same flight. Oh well. At least we leave this hemisphere and end up in Africa!! Then there is some totally pointless argument between the Guidos and the Boobs which was totally built up in the promos to be way more than it was (which was nothing). So much for all that excitement.

And finally, we get to the most awesome Roadblock ever!! Really. It involved landmine sniffing trained rats! How cool is that! Although about half the people there thought the rats were gross, so maybe not so cool for them. Joyce, however, thought her rat was just adorable, so props to her. Just another reason I love Joyce and Uchenna. Apparently, rats love them too but not as much as rats love the Guidos. Their rats (Nelson) was some kind of super mine finding machine. Rats don't like Charla & Mirna (see, I always knew those rodents were smart) since their rat was not all that interesting in doing anything. Too bad that even though they left in last place, they made up time on the Detour.

Speaking of the Detour....this time is was a choice between Pamper (paint nails) or Porter (fill bags and haul coal). Now me, I would have chosen the non-lifting heavy bags task, but apparently nail painting is a scary things because everyone except for Charla & Mirna, Kandace & Dustin, and Teri & Ian chose to do the coal task. Ironically, the three teams which picked pamper finished 1, 2, 3 even though they were some of the last teams to finish the Roadblock. That coal is a bitch.

Ozzy & Danny finished 4th with the Guidos right behind them in 5th. That left only the Boobs and Uchenna & Joyce. Except, Uchenna & Joyce couldn't find the right house to deliver the coal to, so they fell behind. The Boobs finished 6th leaving Uchenna & Joyce for last. This made me very sad until Phil said those most magic words...."I'm pleased to tell you that you have not been eliminated from the race." (One of these days he is going to slip up and say Philiminated, but not yet.) Uchenna & Joyce are, however, "Marked for Elimination" so they have to finish 1st on the next leg or wait out a 30min penalty which could get them eliminated. We'll see what happens.

What we learned this week: Rats hate Charla & Mirna. The Guidos would make good search and rescue guys. Ozzy & Danny would not.

Eric's weekly Boob comment: Are you ready for this? There wasn't one. We managed to make it all the way through one episode with no references to Danielle's boobs.

Best Moment of the Day: Ozzy & Danny chasing Phil around at the Pitstop because they wanted to give him a hug even though they were covered in coal dust. Priceless.

Ghosts of March Madness Past

It's finally Friday!!! Yea!!! And my first race (a 3K) is tomorrow morning so wish me luck! I'm actually a little nervous because it's supposed to be pretty cold--but at least it's not supposed to snow anymore. I should be thankful for small blessing, I suppose.

Now.....Bracket Update!!

Yesterday there were 16 games. Of those 16 games, I picked 12 winners. The 4 teams I missed were: Old Dominion, Oral Roberts, Texas Tech, and BYU. Not too bad.

Plus: DUKE Lost!!! It broke their string of 9 straight Sweet 16 appearances. That just makes my week. In fact, Duke going out 1st round might actually be better than seeing Duke lose to IU when they played in the Regional Finals at Rupp. There is noting quite like seeing a team you hate crying in your locker room after they lose in your gym. (Sorry to any Duke fans out there, but I'm still a bit bitter about that shot in '92.)

Now, if only the Cats can win tonight, all will be well.

And, because it is Friday that means last night was Thursday night TV. This week was kind of abbreviated, though, due to several factors. Nashville Star ended last week (with Angela as the winner and Zach as the runner up :) ) so that was done. Ugly Betty was new, but I chose to DVR that and watch the first half of the Duke game instead so I will watch Betty sometime (maybe this weekend). I did watch the new Supernatural (because you all know that I can't go without my weekly SN fix, even for March Madness). It was the first new episode in several weeks, so I was anxious to get some new material. Let me just say Kripke and company didn't disappoint.

Last nights Episode was titled Roadkill and guest starred Tricia Helfer (from Battlestar Galactica apparently, although I have never watched or heard of that show).

We started out with the usually teaser where some poor unsuspecting guest star usually dies or sees someone they know/love die. This week we find Molly riding with her husband David as they drive along a dark country road. They are lost and David refuses to stop and ask for directions (guys, note, this leads to all kinds of problems, so just STOP already--it won't kill you). The radio starts playing House of the Rising Sun (which is a creepy song anyway, but here can't mean anything good). Then....man in the road, crash, credits.

I don't want to give too much about this episode away because there are some wonderful twists coming up which I didn't see coming at all and I would hate to spoil that for anyone. But let me say, I really really liked this episode. It was quite creepy at times, very funny at times, and had some really cool twists which they did a very good job of concealing. I liked the Molly chick who ended up hanging out with the boys for most of the episode but didn't take anything away from what we love. The evil ghosty man was very gross and scary, but not over the top. And who doesn't love a good salt and burn? Plus, hanging bones, flashlight-fu, and some slight gun porn. Beautiful!

Best lines of the night:

Dean: "Just once I want to round the corner and see a nice house." (What about that wonderful hotel in Playthings, Dean? That was a very nice--but haunted--house.)

Dean: "You're a walking encyclopedia of weirdness."
Sam: "I know."

Molly: "Oh, thank God."
Dean: "Just call me Dean."

Crazy Girl in front of the car

Why is there a crazy girl in front of the car?

One Handed Gun Porn

Hanging Skeletons....yea!

Can you see the big E?

Yes, I know I've already posted and two posts in one day is some kind of record for me (who sometimes only posts once a week) but I had more to say. And besides, this is my blog (and no one reads it anyways) so Ha!!

Yesterday I got to do one of my favorite things is life....go to the Optometrist! Yea! Fun! You'd think I'd be fine with this by now seeing as how I've been wearing glasses and/or contacts and going to see the eye doctor once a year for more than half my life now, but I still hate it. Why in the world, when they have my prescription sitting right there in front of them do they make me take out my contacts and then ask me to read things? They know I can't see that chart. I know I can't see that chart. Why ask me if I can see the chart? And then, when I say no, ask me if I'm sure I can't even see the big E at the top? If I could see the E, I'd tell you I could see the E. Trust me. I want to be able to see the E. (And who decided that it should be an E at the top of every eye chart ever?) The girl this time went a step farther though. When I couldn't even see the E, she walked over to the mirror where the chart was and then held up some fingers and asked "How Many?" The sad part is, I still didn't answer right. I really am blind as a bat. Oh well.

After the embarrassing eye chart episode, things got better. The place where I go has several doctors practicing there. This year, I saw a one I had never seen before. Unfortunately, I didn't get his name. Last year's doctor was good. He was fine. He was normal. This year, the doctor was tall and blond and very talkative. He talked and talked and talked, but I learned more from him about my eyes than I have in the previous 15 years of visits put together. Apparently blue eyed people (like me) tend to have worse night vision. We also tend to be more sensitive to the sun so we wear sunglasses more. He then went on to explain why some contacts dry out more than others. And what kind of contacts he thought I should wear. And why. And what we would do if these didn't work for me. And the truth is, I could have sat there and listened to him talk to me all day because I maybe was just a tiny bit attracted to this guy (and he was without a wedding ring--not that I was looking). It was a bit weird. But in a good way, I guess. So once he was finished talking, he loaded me up with free contact solution and sent me on my way. And maybe (just maybe) I'm a tiny bit sorry that it will be a year before I have to go back.

March Madness

So tomorrow is the official start of March Madness which rivals Christmas as my favorite time of the year. I know non-sports people hate this time of year, but I love it!!! And the best part of March Madness? (besides the office pool) The first two days when you can literally watch college basketball All. Day. Long. from mid morning until after midnight. Gotta love it!

I filled out my bracket today and now my fingers are crossed that I picked the right ones. I won the family bracket pool one year (about four years ago) but since then, I haven't done so well. My sister won most of the pools last year (by being the only person in the world to pick George Mason to get to the Final Four) but I chalk that up to luck more than anything. After all, who knew that George Mason would go that far?

I don't know who this year's George Mason will be, but I can't wait to find out. I don't think my Cats will be going too far, but there is always hope. I'm also rooting for Texas A&M since one of the guys I work with is a big fan and I need a team that has half a chance to win some games to cheer for. (They also get to play in Lexington which I'm sure has Matt excited.) We'll have to see how things go. The games tip off early tomorrow!!

Amazing Monday

Ah, another Monday. Today everyone is gone to "Neuroscience Day" so I'm here all alone (and loving it!!) Now, how about an Amazing Race Update?

This week's episode was titled: No Babies on the Race. I second that. Please, no babies on the race. The race is not the time nor the place to be making/having babies. Moving on...

This week we started off with Rob and Amber talking about how they have done so well up to this point and how they are peaking, Mirna talking about how she has to do more than any other person on the race EVER! because Charla is a little person. Eric talking about Danielle's Boobs.

Then we have yet another leg in South America. We stayed in Chile for awhile then moved on to Argentina (or Australia according to Danielle--I can see how you might get those two confused since they both start with A and all). Going to the end of the world is cool and all, but really, let's move out of this hemisphere now.

The Detour was a choice between building a sign post that chronicled Magellan's voyage or using a compass to navigate due South to a building. Uchenna & Joyce were the only team to do the sign and get it right. Rob & Amber tried, but couldn't spell Philippines (Philippeans) right and then spent A LOT of time rearranging their signs rather than checking their spelling. Dustin & Kandace started with the signs, but couldn't figure out that it didn't matter what direction the arrows pointed in as long as you had them in the right order (and spelled correctly) so they jumped ship with Rob & Amber. Charla & Mirna tried, but had some issues getting the materials to where they needed to be. Charla tried hard, but she just couldn't carry things fast enough for her shrieking cousin who did nothing but yell at her until they decided to switch tasks.

The Navigation task was pretty simple (as long as you read the directions). You went to such-and-such plaza, found the sailor, got a compass, and walked due south to the Nautilus Building. Apparently reading a compass is too hard for some teams (Rob) who got confused between North and South. Oh well. At the end of the Detour, we have our mandatory bunching. The teams had to sign up for one of two (only two? what happened to our normal three?) charter flights that leave three hours apart and land in Argentina (Australia). Bunching and Separation all at once? Who'd 've thunk it?

We land and Teri/Ian pull a Fran/Barry where they walk right by the race flag several times before they finally see the darn thing. I think they make them Red/Yellow for a reason guys. We find the clue and get to.....ride in boats! to the end of the world! But only two teams to a boat and they leave 20 minutes apart. Ozzy & Danny and Eric & Danielle are in the first boat. Teri & Ian are in the second boat (alone).

RoadBlock: Search through this massive pile of letters to find one of two letters addressed to your team (from a team from your first race). Then run to the pit stop to find Phil. Ozzy hits first with a letter from Blake/Paige. (And can I just say, it's about time these guys won a leg. They are just too much fun!) Eric is second and their letter is from the former partners whose names I can't remember. Teri & Ian come in third (letter from Flo/Zach).

Back at the airport, Rob steals a taxi from Charla/Mirna. More yelling. Then Amber lies about where they found the clue and lies about lying while they wait on the boat. More yelling. Guidos and the Beauty Queens get on a boat. Waiting. Uchenna/Joyce & Rob/Amber get on a boat. Waiting. Complaining. Charla/Mirna get on their boat.

More letter sorting. Joe/Bill come in fourth (letter from Frank) with a little man on man action at the mat (go CBS). Dustin/Kandace get fifth with a letter from Lyn, but no Karlyn. (She is apparently still hating them.) Uchenna/Joyce get sixth and a lovely letter from Susan/Patrick. Up until this point all the letters are very positive (or at least funny) but things, they are a changin'.

Rob goes for the letters, but he can't find the one he is looking for. Mirna joins him. Mirna prays to her dead Grandmother to help her win. Mirna finds her letter (God might have been in the bathtub, but Grandma wasn't) from Marshall/Lance (who I think are the only team to not make it to a pit stop to be eliminated) and it's not nice. Oh well, they finish seventh with a little help from Uchenna who hauls Charla up onto the mat. Along the way Mirna yells more.

Rob finds his letter (from Susan/Patrick). It's not all warm fuzzy either. Then, joy of joys, Rob and Amber finish last and are Eliminated!! No Non-Elimination leg. No more Rob/Amber. What a wonderful day (even if the Cats did end up as an 8 seed).

What we learned this week: Rob can't spell (or use a compass). Mirna yells (A LOT). Eric is still obsessed with Danielle's Boobs. Uchenna and Joyce hate people who lie.

The weekly Eric Boob comment: "She's just like a man, but with boobs."

Best line of the day: Ozzy & Danny: "Phil, will you go with us?" Phil: "That would be another reality show entirely."

To update, so far we have:

My new favorite (s) to win:



Still around:



Get off my TV now, please:



Note: I am renaming Eric/Danielle the Boobs since Eric seems to see Danielle as nothing but two boobs and he is one. From here on out, that is how they shall be called. Maybe they should change their team picture?