Wow! Bear likey! Bear likey a lot.

Thanks for asking. Talked to the guy this morning and he says they're accepting my counter-offer and bring the contract today! Fingers still crossed. It is $7,000. less than I'm asking but they are paying all closing costs and buying "as is". I'm pretty happy with it. Plus, we are going to try and close by July 11, which would be hot!

I am probably going to room with a cousin while I look for another place to buy. I'm not really in a hurry on that.

Depending on their age and interests, Branson might be a good stop if you haven't been there before. There's a good waterpark, the Wild Ducks to ride on the lake, Silver Dollar City, and a variety of shows to see.

The Meramac is close to St Louis. You might check out the bowling hall of fame if you have any bowlers in your family.

I didn't realize that there were so many caves in Missouri as my son and I have driven through there twice. I guess after Mammoth we were all caved out.

Well, for those of who asked via email.....we are still fighting for the charter school. What a battle! I am going to take a nap and then get my bearings. Thanks all who contacted me and sent positive thoughts and prayers!

Jazzie
From our local not-so-friendly newspaper:

OCEANSIDE ---- The five-year struggle to stay open continued Tuesday for the School of Business and Technology, as Oceanside Unified School District trustees postponed for the second time a vote to extend the school's charter.

The school's five-year charter with the district expires at the end of the month. School officials asked the district to renew the charter earlier this month, but the school board had many questions and concerns and delayed the vote until Tuesday's board meeting.

Because some of the questions still had not been answered, the board decided to postpone the vote again, this time until its July 8 meeting.

Most of the questions are about the school's finances and enrollment.

"This has never been an issue of academics," board President Janet Bledsoe Lacy said at the meeting.

Dozens of parents, students and teachers showed up at Tuesday's school board meeting to show their support for the school, several of them pleading with the board to renew the charter.

"It's not just about a charter school asking about a renewal," said Julius Mesias, whose daughter attends the school. "It's about passion for an American ideal."

The trustees looked flustered as they tried to maneuver through piles of papers the charter school sent to the district that day. Because the information was submitted in such a piecemeal way, the trustees decided to wait two weeks to allow charter and district officials to put together a more coherent information package.

"I need to have more information on this before I can make an intelligent question," Trustee Roy Youngblood said at the meeting.

The school has struggled to attract students since it opened in 2003 with 87 high school students. Schools are funded based on their attendance.

Though only 80 students were enrolled at the end of the 2007-08 school year, school officials are expecting an enrollment next year between 105 and 130, said Sharon Stevens-Allen, the school's director and a part-time teacher.

To keep the school afloat in a particularly rough financial time, the eight teachers there have agreed to take pay cuts next year, Stevens-Allen said. Moves like that highlight the dedication of the educators there, she said.

The charter will officially lapse after June 30 and the school would technically cease to exist, said Dan Shinoff, a lawyer representing the district. However, this won't have any real effect if the board decides to renew the charter at its next meeting, he said Tuesday.

The district initially launched the School of Business and Technology in 2002 to give 11th- and 12th-grade students a business-focused education. However, trustees decided to close it down the following year because of the district's tight budget.

The program then opened as an independent charter school, holding classes at the MiraCosta College Community Learning Center on Mission Avenue.

In January 2006, the school moved into the location it now leases in a shopping center on Mission Avenue.

More information on the school is available at its Web site, www.sbtcharterhigh.org.

Also at Tuesday's meeting, the trustees approved a $167.5 million budget for the 2008-09 fiscal year.

I used to sell timeshare in Branson.
Well I wasn't there...The packages.
And I don't think I want to see those
shows lol
They may have changed some by now.


BUT it does sound nice for
kidlets.. Just stay away from that Jim Baker
compound Chuc.

Don't know what I was thinking...Brason is SW not SE...but KK it's really different there now.

Branson was one of our stops - Dolly Parton's "Dixie Stampede" - indoor rodeo w/chicken dinner(no utensils).

I agree with everything KSBEAR said. Im not a fan of country music but even I liked the shows. Shepard of the Hills is great and the kids can participate. There are some really good go-kart track/family arcades all over town.

If you head into STL,I highly suggest going to the St Louis City Museum. Its the most amazing,hands on,family oriented,mind blowing,fun place I can think of. Its for anyone of all ages and I cant say enough good things about this place.

http://www.citymuseum.org/home.asp


Just be sure to see if the flooding could be causing traffic problems and there may be detours.

Oh,and if youre anywhere near Sikeston or Ozark MO,go to Lamberts for some great family style food,and LOTS of it,and throwed rolls. No way in hell you can finish the food you order cause of all the food they give ya. They walk around with pans of chicken-n-dumplings,ham-n-beans,all kinds of vegetables,some casserole they are thinking of adding to the menu,etc... and dont even try to get away without a slice of pie. I swear they cut a pie into 4 pieces,thats it. Only place I know that has Hog Jowl on the menu.

http://www.throwedrolls.com/

Hey, kids! The Shear Genius 2 board (well, Episode 1 thread, anyway!) is up! Some of us have already moseyed on over. Join us; join us; join us.

Oh, I should! I have a niece ( I mentioned on the Finale Finale Thread) who is becoming a Stylist.
However, I only caught the Quick Snip, or whatever they call the Quick challenge.

You'd have to pay me a King's ransom to get my hair chopped by a blindfolded stylist. For realz. *shudder*

However, totally OT here, I did think Oshun deserved to be last in that challenge. The others provided way better cuts. Way better. IMO.

I suppose I should mosey to SG boards, shouldn't I?

Hey all! Long story short: I got fired from the camp. And my girlfriend (the girl who was in my top chef audition video ) dumped me! AND I got voted off Movie Mob (that show I was on)!

tough month! maybe I'll get lucky and Top Chef will call me to be on the show! *crosses fingers*

You'll have to try again next year. Casting for TC5 is complete. Filming begins next month.

Saw Lamberts on one of the FN shows....looked awesome but probably would be a waste on me right now.....

Saw Lamberts on one of the FN shows....looked awesome but probably would be a waste on me right now.....

How many am I allowed??????

When I said you were brilliant..........

You just made my night.

mmmm
Sounds good and I do love Dolly.
Very much... She is a real woman who isn't.
NO I love her.....She's so very talented.
A voice like angel a great song writer and she has a good heart....I just know it.
AND she wrote Butterfly....What better
song that I'm going to listen to right now.
I don't like those kinds of shows. I don't ever want to go to Vegas and didn't like that part of the cruise really. I 've been to too many in Orlando..I'd rather see her in another
venue....It all just seems so...what??
Fake??....Well her wigs are too but....lol

UNACCUSTOMED AS I AM
TO SUCH HIGH PRAISE . . .

. . . I must confess that a friend who knows nothing about Top Chef and the imbroglio caused by the POLISH SAUSAGE SCAM-DAL sent it to me and I just adapted it to fit the boards.

Good Luck on your packing -- I don't envy you one whit! I still have unpacked cartons from my last move nearly three years ago.

.

My favorite is the one she wrote as a farewell to Porter Wagner - "I Will Always Love You" - the song that Whitney Houston sang in the Kevin Costner movie "The Bodyguard".

You don't like what kind of show? The indoor rodeo in Branson carried her name, she wasn't there. The chicken dinner was a nice touch and the rodeo was much like the other rodeos we attended in our around-the-USA tour.

A nice moment happened in a steakhouse in one of our west coast stops (I forget which state). I had my picture taken with a waitress whose other job was a rodeo rider.

I had been living in the same fourth floor walkup apartment for over 15 years. To this day I shake my head in disbelief at the amount of "stuff" I had managed to accumulate over the period. When the time finally came to give my legs a rest and move down the street to a first floor flat both my sisters pitched in to help organize and pack up.

One of them lives in Detroit and made the 250 mile round trip to Cleveland every week over a month and half for a couple of days at a time. My in-town sister would drop by almost daily after work and volunteer for an hour or two. With their help I remained focused and motivated -- never overwhelmed.

.

Well blah!

4th floor walkup sounds like a heart attack to me, especially if you have to carry heavy groceries like a case of bottled water up those flights of stairs.

I just love Dolly! I personally think her version of "I Will Always Love You" is MUCH better than Whitney Houston's. Dolly's version is soft and sounds sweet, while Whitney's version sounds like she is about to pop the blood vessles in her face. As far as favorite Dolly songs go...as much as I like "I Will Always Love You"...I have to say "Mule Skinner Blues"! Just because it is different and I love the sound of it, especially the yodeling!!! I loves me some yodeling...I do!

I haven't owned sweats since high school. After they had "seasoned" for a full semester in my gym locker I swore that I'd never buy another pair! Actually I would tell you what I am wearing right now but Psh would be so jealous he'd forget how to "FLIT-T-T".

As for raw eggs -- <<gag>> how plebian. Raw oysters on the other hand always make a nice snack-i-poo.

.

I'm gald you went. I don't live far from there in KS and need to go back. There are a lot of new Broadway type shows there now that I'd like to see.

As a farewell, I hope you mean when she left his show (where she got her start) to head out on her own. He wasn't happy about her leaving for several reasons; one of which was a supposed affair that no one has proven as true or false because it adds another level to the story. She insisted that they include in the score of the movie version of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (Hard Candy Christmas was also added....loved, loved, loved that song...they didn't include it on the soundtrack...the girls sang great harmony behind her) to sing it to Burt.

Dolly once said she was "tickled to death" by Whitney's successs...Whitney's version sold more records and Dolly made a boat load of money in royalties!

Hey Supe,

I see youve added Project Yawnurs banner to your siggies. It was one of my all-time favorite blogs and I wish I had half the PhotoShop skills he had.

I think his name was Paul and he had joined the BPR team but has since gotten a new job and moved to another state so he hasnt done anything new since TD1.

Is he planning on blogging again? He wrote as good as he PhotoShopped and I would love for him to return.
















Here are two TC related pics from Phaolo/Paul.

-



I'm too awed to be jealous even. My own Photoshop experience is limited to resizing and color enhancement. Actually I was unaware of Phaolo/Paul as a person and/or talent and just "stole" the image and squirreled it away in my "favorites" file for future usage.

I'm on pins and needles waiting for the final season of Project Runaway under the heavy handed and often bumbling direction of the Magical Elves. When the show transitions to Lifetime there will be a new production company and it will be interesting to see how they approach the subject.

Watch out for the new "Kotex Accessory Wall".

I can understand why he wasn't happy about her departure as she was likely responsible for whatever fresh material (her songwriting) kept Wagoner's show from becoming stale. Despite their relationship becoming sour and playing a role in her departure, her farewell song "I Will Always Love You" was gracious.

I did catch Porter Wagoner before he passed. One of our stops on that same tour that included Branson was Nashville and the Grand Ol' Opry. Porter Wagoner was one of the featured attractions. One of the singers I was impressed with was Mandy Barnett. Barnett has never made it big but does a wonderful rendition of Patsy Cline songs.

Dolly tells the story of turning down Elvis Presley's offer to record the song years ago.

"I got the word that he was going to record it, and I was so excited," Dolly says. But her bubble burst when Elvis' manager, Colonel Tom Parker, demanded that she sign over half of the publishing royalties to them.

"I said, 'Well, now it's already been a hit for me. I wrote it and I've already published it. And this is the stuff I'm leaving for my family, when I'm dead and gone. So I can't give up half the publishing,'" Dolly says. "And he said, 'Well then, we can't record it.'"

Dolly says she cried all night after the incident. "Other people were saying, 'You're nuts. It's Elvis Presley. I'd give him all of it,'" she says. "But I said, 'I can't do that. Something in my heart says don't do that.' And I didn't do it and they didn't do it." Dolly says she's always wondered what Elvis' version would have sounded like. "I know he'd kill it," she says. "But anyway, when Whitney Houston's came out, I made enough money to buy Graceland!"


http://www.gactv.com/gac/nw_headlines/arti...5453350,00.html

http://www.elvis.com.au/presley/news/dolly_parton.shtml

http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=4941

Graceland was also one of our stops. Somehow I expected more.

Presley was one of my early heroes. My younger brother had all of his early records including singles he recorded on the Sun label. I was in high school at the time and pink was the popular color.

Later when I was in the military one of my roomates liked to boast that he knew Elvis when he was stationed in Germany.

Funny you should mention product placement, Note! It started me thinking (and that's a terrifying prospect.) Just who solicits and benefits from "Product Placement?" We take for granted that commercial ads are placed through the channel as a major part of its revenue which it then divvies up with the property owners (The Who-zee-wazzis Brothers), producers, and staff. But just maybe product placement is something generated by the property owners themselves -- just a highly speculative thought.

.

Well, in spite of how much I've sucked lately at KK's trivia game, my team won on Saturday. We raised $300 for the fireworks for Saturday. I think the club has plenty o money now. Should be a good show. Have to work the concession stand for X hours (somehow cannot get a specific number). Someone better have a brewski waiting for me when I'm done with that.

Actually the story about the 4th floor walkup is a true one and the guy carrying the bottled water was me. Cardio workout indeed.

LMAO,cant wait to see if they can top the coffee filter dress with the Kotex dress.

Is anyone else having a problem with an unusually high amount of ticks this year?

Chase is in his 3rd Scout day camp,has 2 more to go,for a total of 15 days of day camp. Then,he has had 4 days of overnight camp and has 3 more days of it in late July. Of the 12 days of camp he has already had,he has had ticks on him every time he comes home. We put Backwoods OFF(I think thats the name) on him in the morning and its reapplied at lunchtime but hes still getting ticks. Its always worked before but maybe we need to switch brands.

Last night,after he took a bath,I did my usual tick search. I found 1 and thats it. He got up this morning and was getting dressed and let out a yelp. He came running to me and was like "LOOK!" There was a tick on his penis and it was pretty engorged. I know it was not on his body last night so I assume it was on his shoes or clothes. I removed the tick and did another search and sure enough,there was another on his leg.

They were both tiny Deer ticks and those are the ones that carry Lyme disease. Im calling the dr when the office opens.

Weve even had problems with our dogs and ticks. They both get Frontline Plus from the vet and its put on every month except in the winter. For some reason,they are still biting Fido. One day,I took 3 ticks off him. Ive only removed one from Wishbone but I have seen a few crawling on him.

We dont have a lot of yard so Im kinda freaked out by seeing so many ticks. I dont think I removed but 1 or 2 ticks from Wishbone or Chase last year ,we didnt have Fido until Sept. and neither tick was sucking blood,just crawling around.

We are probably averaging 5 ticks a day here and thats just unheard of. If ticks are already this bad,how bad will the mosquitoes be? They were already terrible and I dont even want to imagine how bad they could get.




Edited to add: Just got off the phone with the Dr and he wants to see Chase. He said he has had an unusual amount of people getting bit by Deer ticks this year. Was the same way a few years ago with brown recluses and I got bit. So,kid aint gonna be happy with having to do blood work but it must be done. He doesnt go until Thursday so will be a few long days here.

Oh,I also called the vet and explained about the dogs and the ticks and he thinks they,the ticks,have become immune to the meds so we are switching brands. Too bad I bought a years supply,24 tubes,and have 18 left. I bet he will let me trade for the new ones,I hope.

The Project Yawnur website is still there and I highly suggest checking it out. The humor is spot on and the pics just add to it. I checked it out yesterday after I posted to you,hoping he was once again was doing what he does so well but nope,nothing new.

http://projectyawnur.blogspot.com/

Its like Laz West and his blog,funny as hell but life calls and you gotta do what ya gotta do. He is such a sweet guy and I was lucky enough to work with him on our Bravissimo blog. He is almost as good with PhotoShop as Phaolo was.


http://www.lazaruswest.blogspot.com/

I miss both blogs.


I too cant wait for the season to start but Im almost sad to see it start. Its like every episode will be a goodbye to something I love. I dont wanna say goodbye.

LifeTime may do a wonderful job and I will give the show a chance but without the Magical Elves,I just cannot see it happening. Also,the tone Bravo has compared to LifeTime is like Playboy compared to Disney.

Hey, kids! The BBB has generously given us an OT thread on the Shear Genius board! I'd like to think it's 'cause I requested it, but I don't think I have that much influence!

Eh, Growing up in a house of women, Kotex was a memorable word, especially after I found a box as a tot and tied them into a "choo-choo train" and dragged them down the hall to the livingroom. You would have thought I burned down the house from the screaming!
I never did find out why I wasn't to have any..

When I was in college there was a tradition that when one of our members gave his fraternity pin to a co-ed as a token of his love our entire chapter would serenade her as she stood on the second story balcony of the women's dorm with her sorority sisters.

Prior to the event the brothers would construct a 12' x 12' frame covered with chicken wire. Secured to the wire were flammable materials spelling out an affectionate tribute to the recipient.

Imagine if you will a balmy, dark spring night with all the girls in their best dresses waiting nervously on the balcony for the festivities to commence. Without warning a huge flaming billboard appeared at the end of the driveway as 75 lusty, cheering men dashed down a hundred yards to serenade the Chosen One.

Oh yes! I forgot to mention . . . that flaming sign was made of Kotex doused with kerosene!

For those that may be interested AMC is showing Roadhouse--Patrick Swayze, Sam Elliot, and the Jeff Healy Band.

I'm MIA for 4 days and when I come back, I'm rewarded with this.


Life is good. *dies laughing*


Just a mini (otherwise known as, long-azz post ) update for anyone who may give a rip :

Fri.-P's finally made it in after what seemed like an Eternity. 2 bottles of wine later, all is good. Tele had a terrific show going on, as usual. *clink clink*

Sat.- 4 year old birthday bonanza for twins! Yippee!!! Pinatas! Candy from the Pinata! Popped balloons! Obnoxiously loud noise makers! No food! *blank stare*

Sun.- DD's 4th birthday party at a bowling alley; loud! bowl-a-rama mighty mites! Pizza! Cake! Fruit punch! Cookout later at home with the adult family members! Copious amounts of alcoholic beverages!
Kids asleep by 9 pm! Food enough for an Army! Adults get their Buzz on!

Mon.- DS starts baseball camp! Loves it! Hangover subsides by lunch, worked on leftovers, P's went to NYC for three days to watch the Yankees!

Tues. - 2nd day of baseball camp, DS's team wins the scrimmage game 5-2!, still worked on leftovers.

Wed.- 3rd day of baseball camp, DS plays 3rd base and makes a throw to second getting the runner out! his team wins again 3-2, actual REAL work for Moms before the 4th weekend holiday, ate the last of the leftovers for work lunch, liquid adult supper while kidlets enjoy the backyard sprinkler and eat sausage sandwiches (Italian! gasp!). Parental Units enjoy guacamole and tortilla chips.

*Up-to-the-minute-play-by-play: Still liquiding while posting. You may now, at this point, reference every post I make as PUI.

Do I dare go back and start reading or just amuse you all with my PUI?

Keep it coming with those lucious, er, lushous servings of Americana!
And Supe is the whipped cream on top.. (npi)

I'm waitching a repeat of the first episode of Shear Genius on Bravo, and then the new episode at 10pm. Or trying to..

Brill ...it probably has to do with the way the weather has been cycleing ..... either wetter this year or dryer (use whatever applies) .... the ticks probably have had a good year to reproduce so they have a larger population.....

. . . here's a fresh Kotex pad to wipe the whipped cream offin your chin.
.

Did you know that not only would the Magical Elves no longer be involved with PR after this (the 5th) season but Elle is leaving as well?

And that Nina Garcia is no longer working at Elle?
I had no idea...

I posted links to a few stories on the PR boards...

Harvey Weinstein is asking for some big bucks to be involved with PR on Lifetime....

Check it out...