Stars, Idols, or Losers?

I have a dilemma on Tuesday nights and it seems to fit in perfectly with Tam at Gypsy’s Corner Three or More party on Tuesdays. I am torn about what to watch on television in real time. Should I go with my first love and watch this?

I missed the first season and have not missed one since. I like to say that I knew Carrie Underwood when

she was just a small town girl with a big voice hoping to stay on one more week. Who could have imagined this?

The big winner at the 2010 CMAs—Congratulations Carrie! Or should we watch this? Beloved like to switch back and forth during commercials and keeps the remote in a death grip :) . He really likes

A show that originally received a lot of criticism has turned out to be an inspiration for a lot of people battling weight loss and lifestyle changes. They work under the direction (slave-driving?) of

I like Jillian, but she scares me a little :) Or should we go for the ultimate reality show filled with reality stars dancing in a reality show?

Thank goodness for the dvr! In the end, I have to root on my favorites in real time and leave the rest for later.

I’m rooting for Crystal on American Idol. I love her voice, style, and humility. But a lot of people love this guy

I like him too; I just like Crystal more. Anyway that’s Three or More things that keep me busy on Tuesday night….until nine o’clock. Now should I watch “The Good Wife” or “Parenthood”? :)

Join Tam here for Three or More Tuesday!

What do you watch and who’s your favorite?

Why Haven't I Heard From You?

RSVP --a simple little acronym appearing at the end of many invitations. It stands for "respondez s'il vou plait" meaning "please respond". You don't have to respond in French. Good old American will do. So, in the words of Reba Mcentire: tell me why...haven't I...heard from you? Even if you don't normally have your volume turned on--turn it on today...you'll smile :) In recent months we've entertained a few times...a large formal wedding and a couple of smaller parties. I am appalled (yes, I used that word) at the number of people who do not respond to an invitation. I'm not talking about sixteen year old slackers. I'm talking about the guy who is on the board at the bank, the lady who teaches your kids, the mother in charge of raising the next generation...in short, lots of people. Really in this age of instant communication, there really is no excuse...none. There are lots of different ways to reach me.

I conveniently wrote my number at the end of the invitation. You can try my house phone...I still have one. As the song says, "I have call waiting, call forwarding, you can even call collect". I have an answering machine if I am not at home.

I've got a cell phone. I know you have one too. I see you in your car, in line at the grocery store, and sometimes even in the movie theater. Could you take just a minute to RSVP?

We don't even have to have direct contact. You can email me. I don't mind. I won't be judgemental if you can't come.

I'm "with it" now! You can even write on my Facebook page.

I don't twitt..or tweet, or whatever it is...but I will, if it will help.

I've tried to make it as painless as possible. The envelope is pre-addressed and there is a stamp on it. All you have to do is fill in the name and make a check mark. No explanation or personal message is necessary. Sure, I'd love a note, but I know you're busy.

It's not as if I asked you to send it by carrier pigeon. Any of the above methods will work. It's just a matter of good manners and basic consideration really. Sooo....tell me why...haven't I...heard from you?

I'm linking this to Tam at the Gypsy's Corner for Three or More Tuesday ...three or more ways you can reach me:) I think her regular format will resume this week. You can visit some less disgruntled people here :)

A Stroll Down Television Memory Lane

At long last, it's fall television premier time...and just in the nick of time, at least for me. I don't think I can stand one more dreary night of reruns or those awful filler shows. But I started thinking back to a time when Beloved and I had routine shows that we watched and couldn't miss...back when we were newly married, had young babies, and free entertainment was really important!

Back then our tv was a large cabinet affair in the downstairs basement family room--ughh, I still hate basements! Our Friday night routine was to put the kiddies to bed by eight and the steaks on the grill by 8:30. At 9:00 sharp we were sitting on the floor eating on the coffee table with this family.

I couldn't wait to see what mischief JR and Bobby were up to each week. I eagerly awaited the fashions of Sue Ellen and Pam. And, of course, seeing Miss Ellie was like having a visit with your own mom. They were an interesting, if dysfunctional family.

But they were not the only dysfunctional family I loved to watch! Do you remember the tv show where this matriarch held court?

Jane Wyman was the mistress of "Falcon Crest" which showed us the not so pretty underbelly of a family winery. It's hard to believe this conniving woman was ever married to that sweet mild mannered Ronald Reagan :)

On Saturday nights my favorite sound (besides the gentle snoring of sleeping children) was "da plane da plane!", followed by that deep voice of Ricardo Montelban bidding me "welcome to Fantasy Island". Of course, we also loved to travel to and each week we did.

We went to exotic places with a wonderful crew and quirky new passengers each week! But the eighties were not without serious moments and some social conscience.

I loved "Thirty-Something"! The characters seemed just a little older and much more worldly than I....not to mention their lives were a little more sophisticated and complicated! And some things I watched purely for ummm...... educational reasons.

I thought Harry Hamlin and Corbin Bernsen in "LA Law" were two of the most educational men I'd ever seen :) So this week and next, I'll be looking for some old favorites--"House","Brothers and Sisters", all the "Law and Orders", and "CSI Miami" to name a few, but I'm looking forward to a couple of new ones too.


The "Good Wife", starring Julianna Margulies and Chris Noth, is about a politician jailed in a sex and corruption scandal. Margulies, the "good wife", is forced to carry on and return to a legal career to save her family...wonder how they came up with this novel plot ? On a lighter note, "Glee" looks like it might be a winner to me. It is billed as a musical comedy with an ensemble cast.

Maybe "Fame" and "Happy Days" all rolled into one! Anyway, thanks for strolling down memory lane with me. These are "Three or More" of my old favorites. What was your favorite show of the eighties? Join Tam, our gracious hostess, at The Gypsy's Corner at http://thegypsyscorner.blogspot.com/ for more collections and lists! Thanks Tam!

Back to School...Do You Remember When?

Labor Day has finally come heralding what most of us consider the beginning of fall no matter what the calendar or the weather say. Lots of children are already in school and the rest will begin this week. Although I no longer teach or even have children in school, it always make me a little nostalgic. I've been thinking this weekend...Do you remember....?




When the most important decision you had to make was what to wear on the first day of school?





When you thought you would die if your best friends weren't in your homeroom?







When you thought you'd be friends forever?





When you were shocked to find out your teacher had a first name besides Mrs.?



When you thought your teacher was older than dirt...and she was younger than you are now?

When your station in life was determined by the size of your box of crayons?

When your biggest worry was who you would sit with at lunch?

When the school paste smelled like peppermint and the halls smelled like fresh wax?

When you could figure out right from wrong by looking for the red marks on your paper?

Me too....Happy Labor Day!

I'll be linking this on Tuesday at Tam's at the Gypsy's Corner for Three or More Tuesday...just three or more of my thoughts on Labor Day.

Three or More Tuesday...And Then There Were Three

I have to admit it wholeheartedly and unabashedly. I am hooked on American Idol. From the silly, outrageous tryouts in cities across America to the twice weekly performance and elimination nights of the top ten, I am glued to the television. It's the only show my husband and I both can't miss. I really think this season has had exceptional talent, but from the very beginning I suspected that the 2009 contest might belong to one of the guys. Sure enough, I'm right. We are now down to the bottom three and they are all great!




First, there is twenty three year old Kris Allen from Conway, Arkansas. He just has such an adorable baby face and a voice that I think has improved weekly.

Then, there is Danny Gokey. Danny, at twenty eight, is the oldest of the three and has the most life experience under his belt. Danny recently lost his wife and said that he entered AI because he wanted new hope in his life. I think he can belt out a song and has been a strong contender from the very beginning.

Finally, the resident "bad boy" Adam Lambert rounds out the top three. Adam is clearly Simon's favorite and is as much a surprise each week with his wardrobe as he is with his song arrangement and interpretation. Adam has already had a role in the Broadway musical "Wicked". I honestly can't say who I think will win. They are all talented young men with bright musical careers ahead of them. One thing I do know. Tomorrow night at eight o' clock I will be sitting right in front of my tv watching my favorite three or more on Tuesday! Tam is our hostess for this event each week. Join her and see what everybody else is sharing at http://gypsycorner.blogspot.com/. And don't forget to vote for your favorite American Idol!

Three or More Tuesday....Keepsake Aprons

Each Tuesday Tam over at the Gypsy's corner hosts Three or More Tuesday. I don't think you'd consider this a collection, but I'd like to share three very special aprons. I think it's very fitting since this Sunday is Mother's Day.








I had these aprons made many years ago for me, my mother, and my mother in law for Mother's Day. I traced my children's hands and the prints are appliqued on in a cute yellow and red fabric. This would be an easy no-brainer project for almost anyone. But I may have told you; I was born without a craft "gene". I think the handprints could be done just as easily in paint. You crafty people know what kind will work. I have even seen white muslin aprons at the dollar store. See that little hand on the left? That is the handprint of our daughter who is getting married soon! Sadly, I am the owner of all three aprons now. Both grandmothers have passed away. But I know how much these aprons meant to them and wanted to share them with you. I know most of you have some special little hands in your lives! Thanks for letting me share these with you and Happy Mother's Day!



Head over to Tam's at http://gypsycorner.blogspot.com/! Tam has "three or more steps" to help you repair your own keepsakes and a list of participants just waiting to share with you!

Three or More Tuesday and Thoughts on Weddings

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Tam at The Gypsy's Corner graciously hosts Three or More Tuesday each week. Many of you share things you collect...plates, family heirlooms, plants, and sometimes even children or pets. My offering today is a little nontraditional. If you have read my blog more than once you probably know that I am dead in the middle of planning a wedding for our one and only daughter. Not only that, but, having three children in their twenties, Beloved and I are invited to a lot of weddings....I mean A LOT of weddings. What started this whole idea was cutting these three roses to put on a bedside table. The red rose, so perfect and beautiful, has long been the symbol of love. These three roses got me to thinking about some things I've learned and some observations I've made during the whole planning and attending process. If you are like me and have been involved recently in planning or attending weddings, you may have noticed some of the same things!

There was a time when the only requirement for a successful wedding reception was that the punch and the mints matched the exact shade of the bridesmaids' gowns. Life was simple-- pink gowns, pink punch. Green gowns, lime sherbet punch. This is definitely no longer the case! The trend is stations--carving, pasta, and seafood. Then there are ethnic stations--Mexican with margaritas, Italian with wine, sushi with Saki, barbecue with beer, you name it! And my favorite are sendoff stations--milk and cookies, Advil and bottled water, or jelly beans and chocolates.

1. There should be a law requiring anyone, especially vendors, who receives a telephone call containing the words "my daughter" and "wedding" be required to return that call within a twenty four hour time period.


2. Mother of the bride dresses can be very tricky. In my search I found that unless I was very careful, the dresses often fell into one of three categories: 1. old 2. trampy 3. old tramp. Somebody should tell these designer we mothers don't have any desire to upstage the bride, but neither do we wish to look as if we have never watched the red carpet arrivals!


3. The nicety of replying to invitations is an almost dead tradition. RSVP has become a meaningless addition to invitations in most cases.


4. Tissue paper in formal wedding invitations has outlived its original use and is now used only to torment the poor person left to assemble the invitation--me! It does not slide easily and will wrinkle, crease, and tear at the drop of a hat!


5. We have a new dirty word our house--favor. Beloved who has been a real trooper throughout this entire process went temporarily insane when we were pondering what favor we should buy for the guests as a memento of the event. I can't really repeat what he said, but we got the impression he thought they were unnecessary. We're still having them; we just renamed them.


6. Finally, this is probably one of the best and most exciting times of our lives and if we're lucky, we'll live to tell about it!

Now head over to Tam's at http://gypsycorner.blogspot.com/ and see a some great collections of three or more!

Three or More..What's on Your Bedside Table?

I've had a lifelong love affair with books. I began my fascination at a young age with an appetite for biographies about anyone in any time period. I love mysteries, whodunits, and true crime. I read the Bible, devotionals, and the occasional self-help book (although I can't say that self-help books help). I buy and read cookbooks the way other people read paperback novels. I like historical fiction, chick lit, and the classics. My favorites are legal thrillers; my least favorite is the Harlequin romance. I refer to Harlequin romance novels as "milky white bosom" books! Did you ever read one in which the heroine didn't "heave her milky white bosom" at least once? So this is what's on my bedside table now...now, when I shouldn't be reading at all (except the devotional). Now, when I should be planning a wedding.

The devotional is Experiencing God Day by Day by Richard and Henry Blackaby. I am beginning my third year in a row with this book . Like the Bible, I find something new in it each time I read and appropriate for different times and circumstances in my life. True Evil is a novel by an author I love, Greg Iles. Iles grew up in Natchez Mississippi and writes about people I understand and places I know. The Bride's Book of Etiquette is my working manual now that we are planning my daughter's wedding. It's helpful, but not much has really changed since Amy Vanderbuilt advised me almost thirty two years ago. Bunny Williams's An Affair with a House is providing me with much needed time to daydream and bask in beauty created by others. That's my collection of Three or More things sitting on my bedside table. Join our hostess Tam at http://gypsycorner.blogspot.com/ and see some other collections and let me know: What's on your bedside table?