Christmas Specials on TV

Have you watched any of the Christmas specials on TV? Which is your favorite? Matthew K brought up a good point the other night. He said remember when you could only watch "The Grinch" or even "Charlie Brown" on just one night - a special night that you wouldn't want to miss? Now thanks to DVD's our children have already seen both shows at least a handful of times. As I watched "Christmas Eve on Sesame Street" with my boys (a favorite special when I was growing up) I realized that they could probably not share this classic with there children. The technology has changed so much. There is one scene where Cookie Monster is trying to type a letter to Santa about what he wants for Christmas but gets distracted because the different parts of the typewriter looks like different cookies or desserts. My 4 year old has never seen a typewriter before and didn't really understand how a typewriter works. I guess my boys will now have "Shrek the Halls" to pass down to my granddaughters (positive thinking on my part). It was an enjoyable show but there are some satire scenes in the show that they may not ever understand.

DWTS Finale

I know I'm a little late with my opinion but I've been busy with the holiday season. First of all I'm so happy Helio and Julianne won. I would have been happy for Maks and Mel but as you know I'm a huge Julianne fan. I guess what is more intriguing is the rumors that came the next day that Helio and Julianne might be a couple because Helio's engagement is off. I read somewhere online today that maybe it was her brother or Donny Osmond said that Julianne could have chemistry with a broomstick. She sells it well and I think that is one of the reasons why I love her. I also read that she is recording an album Not sure the genre - not sure that I'm interested in her as a singer. My friend has this theory that Julianne will now be stuck with someone with not much dancing talent because she has won 2 times in a row. Cheryl had a shot at 3 but Ian was just too stiff compared to Joey and Anton. I don't think they will have another competition until this fall. I am assuming the Bruno / Carrie Ann dance war will take over from Jan - May. If that is the case I will be bummed because I enjoy watching the stars learn how to dance!

A poll for Cavs fans

Browns Town Again?

Is this crazy? The Browns have won five straight at home this season? I cannot BELIEVE it! Wearing a throwback uni (just one digit off from a legend) Jamal Lewis ran past, over and through the Texans. Lewis has a stiff arm from circa 1949. Given the fact that my Indians far exceeded my expectations, I am starting to think the "P" word might be spoken. And I may be wrong, but this might be the first time in my lifetime the Indians and the Browns were in the playoffs in the same year. I KNOW the Indians, Browns and Cavs have never been to the post-season in the same year. Could we, should we dream?

Here is the really fun part. My four year old son is begging me to skip nap time so he can see the Browns. Now, maybe he just wants to skip his nap. However, it is still cool that I am watching the Brownies with my son, and it is not punishment.

The photo is borrowed from a slideshow at www.ClevelandBrowns.com

That Was Close! Browns Making It Interesting

Last week they SHOULD have beat the Stillers. Just a field goal away. As the lovely Joyce lamented, "How could that exact thing happen two weeks in a row? HOW?" Only because it is a Cleveland sports team. That is how it could happen. All is well that ends well. But now it REALLY hurts the the Brownies didn't get it done last week.

Do you think the ref looked at the tape before they had further discussions? Do you suppose Baltimore sports talkers are crying in their crab cakes about the reversed call. If they are, it gladdens my heart. I hate the Ravens.

Remembering our Troops

As Veteran's Day approaches us I thought I would pass along a few ideas if you would like to take time to thank our troops. The first idea I received in an email.

When doing your Christmas cards this year, take one card and send it to this address. If we pass this on and everyone sends one card, think of how many cards these wonderful special people who have sacrificed so much would get.

Send to: A Recovering American soldier
c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center
6900 Georgia Avenue, NW
Washington,D.C. 20307-5001

An update to my original post (11/20) -

I heard on the radio today that if you don't have a soldier's name on your Christmas card the Walter Reed Center is returning the card to the sender. That is a shame - why can't they just pass them out?

My second idea would be to donate to the Freedom Calls Organization. Here is the link
http://www.freedomcalls.org/ They get the troops hooked up to their families back home when they can't make it back for a birth or a death of a family member.

I think these are two ideas that I will be acting on in the near future!

Thank you to all the Veterans who read our blog!

CMA Recap

I enjoyed watching the CMA's very much. Glad to see the people who won. They deserved it. Now here is my red carpet recap - I guess that makes me a Joan Rivers wannabe without the annoying voice.

LeAnn Rimes - nice dress I guess but she is so pale that I don't think I like it that much.

Taylor swift - nice dress - she looks like an emmy award.

Jewell - can you say boob job?? That doesn't look natural - it looks like it hurts to be honest with you.

Sara Evans is really pretty but this dress reminds me of my sister's first homecoming dress back in 1988. I think it might have helped things if it went below the knees and what is up with the Wilma Flinstone jewelry??

Kellie Pickler looked nice. She did a nice job of not accentuating the boob job.

The elegant award winners go to Carrie Underwood and Martina McBride. Both looking awesome as always!

That's why they call it Fall

Dad didn't mind raking them up again & again & again...

The Office

Last night's episode of "The Office" was awesome as always. The exclusive club was great. As I was driving to work this morning I couldn't help thinking that the Toby/Pam relationship reminded me a lot of Friends Rachel/Gunther relationship. Is Toby only in the club to be closer to Pam? When Michael to Jim to take Karen to a hotel, get on top of her and think of Stanley I thought I was going to lose it. The only thing I was disappointed about is they didn't touch on the Andy/Dwight/Angela triangle. That is a great B story!

Baseball - the off season

Some random thoughts I have about what has happened in the "off season" of baseball. The baseball season ended just 4 days ago but so much has happened. Joe Giradi is now the skipper of the Yankees - good luck with that and Joe Torre is now going to lead the Dodgers. I'm happy for Joe. Maybe he will finally get the credit he deserves without the owner second guessing him in the media.

Today, I read about Barry Bonds playing "hardball" with the Hall of Fame. Here is a link to the article - http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3090631. He said if the hall displays his record breaking ball with an asterisk he will never be in the hall of fame. So if he is elected he won't show up for the ceremony. I think it's rather bold for him to think he is an automatic bid. Look at Mark McGuire. I believe last year he was his first year of eligibility and he did not get enough votes.

I guess the good news is the Curt Schilling has the Indians on his list of teams he would like to play for in the future. I'm impressed because the list included cities that were good enough to raise a family - schools/neighborhoods. I wonder what 'hood' he would live in if he became an Indian. My question is do we dish Byrd and go after Schilling? Then you can let Lee/Laffey/Miller battle it out.

A-rod will no longer be a Yankee. Ok - who is going to sign him to the big contract he will demand? I don't think the Indians will but it would be interesting to throw him in our lineup and put him at 3rd base. I don't think the Indians will do this because of the money and the choke artist that he is in the playoffs.

Stay tuned as who knows what week 2 in the off season will bring!