Know & Tell Friday Mr. Linky

Since he was being ornery earlier, here he is now, I hope.

Know & Tell Friday: The Famous Edition

Heather and Reese are stressed out and are going so far as to post pin-up pictures on their blog. Okay, now that I have your attention, welcome to Know & Tell Friday: The Famous Edition. Heather and Reese truly are stressed out and busy and I was crazy enough to help out again. Must have been visiting Crazyville a little too often! They have been there too long themselves, because I wasn't kidding about the pin-up pictures either.

Now I hope everyone realizes that the same thing holds true as the first time I did this...please play...otherwise not only will I feel bad, Heather and Reese will feel bad, and they will be in trouble with me...and they have asked me to do this for the next four weeks to give them a temporary break. So now, off to the races red carpet...

1. If you could meet one famous actor, who would it be and why?

I would love to meet Arnold Schwarzenegger. I love him in the movie Kindergarten Cop, and I also like Total Recall, except for the part where he pulls that thing out of his nose. I'd be curious why he chose to act in a movie like Kindergarten Cop, because even though he was a police officer and there were parts of the movie where he was rough, they were minimal. It seemed like it was really one of those "out of the box" choices for him.

2. What one question would you ask him?

I would ask Arnold if he wished he were an American-born citizen so he could run for President of our country.

Hubby was just watching a commercial on tv during Monster Jam and Mr. T was on it, so now he's doing an impression of "I pity da fool," so maybe I should want to meet Mr. T and ask him why he wears all that bling. Because really, why?

3. If you could meet one famous actress, who would it be and why?

I would probably have to say Julie Andrews. I just love The Sound of Music, and then Victor, Victoria was also a movie I really liked that she was in with James Garner. Then as she has gotten older she has been the Queen in the Princess Diary movies, and I loved her in those, especially her interaction with Hector Elizondo's character. Goldie Hawn runs a really close second though.

4. What one question would you ask her?

I would ask her if she regretted having her throat surgery, and if the prognosis was completely different than what she expected.

5. What is your all-time favorite comedy movie and why?

Since Veggietales probably don't count, I'd have to say National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. And I have a special relationship with that movie since I've now had a squirrel in my house, although we were fortunate to keep it confined to the small room off the kitchen. That movie is just a classic for Hubby and me.

6. What is your favorite all-time tv show and why?

Hands down, Seinfeld. If you'd asked me when I was 12, it would have been The Brady Bunch. But as for Seinfeld, I get it...I get them. I could be Elaine. Enough said.

7. What is your all-time favorite action or drama movie and why?

If I go with a current movie, I'd have to say the National Treasure movies. I think they did an excellent job with those, and to come up with such a successful sequel really took some creative imagination and writing. I also loved Helen Mirren in the second one. I also love the Chronicles of Narnia series. If I went with an older movie, I have a lot of trouble picking between Total Recall, Double Jeopardy with Ashley Judd and Tommy Lee Jones, Deceived with Goldie Hawn, and Harrison Ford in the Jack Ryan movies. (Hubby was surprised I didn't want to meet Harrison Ford. I went out of my box.)

So was this more fun than all those sports questions for all you non-sports lovers? You know the drill: link up with Mr. Linky to your post, and be sure to leave me a comment. Hope you enjoyed KATF this week.

Until next time, hasta la vista, baby.

&

The Federal Court System & Wal-Mart Aren't In Cahoots

When I was growing up, the day after Thanksgiving marked the beginning of the Christmas season. As I've gotten older, I've seen that change as mass marketers and retailers want to wring as much money out of our pockets as possible, for as long as possible. For a while I would see the Christmas things come out mid-November, then the day after Halloween. Now the Christmas items start seeping out almost as soon as Labor Day is over. It's like the Christmas decorations have to come out of the closet to make room for the white shoes to be put away.

Well, the Federal Government must not have gotten the memo from Wal-Mart about the Christmas season being in nearly full swing, because Santa has been called to jury duty for Federal District Court in North Arkansas. The good news for all the children, he sent an email and got excused from the week before Thanksgiving all the way through Christmas. Meet my stepdad, whose true location must remain secret since his identity is not.


Mrs. Claus will be driving the sleigh every day, one hour each way, so be on the lookout if you're in North Arkansas. They pay for mileage, but how do you figure that for the reindeer?

Inside Pictures of the New House

Well, and one updated outside picture. They have the posts up on the front porch. The gutters are also up, and some decorative little white things up on the top roof line that you can't see in the picture very well. We've decided they are to keep the rain from flying off the slope and directing it to the upper gutters. The sprinkler system is in too. We will have sod, but no landscaping. There is a point where you have to decide what you should get right away, and what can wait until later. The sprinkler system is kind of a permanent fixture and would have been more to add later. The landscaping can wait until spring, especially based on when we'll be moving in. I certainly don't want to plant a lot of things that will turn around and possibly die in the Michigan winter.

When you come through the front door, you can go right up the stairs, or left into the library/study, which we will be using for the next several years as our homeschool room. Later we'd like to have built-ins for all of our books and make it some type of cozy library.

Now instead of doing either of those things when you come in the front door, you can go straight a little ways and go right down a hall directly to the garage, or veer off that hall right to the basement, right to the mudroom/laundry room/powder room/walk-in closet or left to the kitchen (there is a larger alternate entrance to the kitchen). Or instead of going right down that hallway you can go left into the living room. Here it is:


The back wall has three windows. The fireplace is gas burning.

Standing against that living room wall looking toward the kitchen, this is the view:

You can kind of see that hallway I mentioned just barely in the right of the picture. You'll also notice a lot of doors not hung up in a lot of these pictures.

Here's another view of the kitchen standing in the dining area. The lighter color of the cabinets that came through in the pictures is more acurate. I was originally going to get an island but changed my mind at the last minute and opted for the snack bar. I'm so happy I did.

Now something funny happened as we were leaving the house today (Tuesday). The stone guys drove up in their truck, and they had the granite for the kitchen cabinets. We went and ran an errand, and then drove back over to see what they looked like. I had been just dying to know how they would look, because it's difficult to imagine when you see a four inch square piece that has a pattern on it, and I don't care how well it matches. I was honestly a little scared I might hate it, and this wasn't something I was going to get to change my mind on or switch out on my own after we moved in. This was one of the few upgrades I got to pick. I took a couple of pictures while they were working on them to try and get a good shot of the colors so you could see them. I don't know how well they will show up on the blog, but it looks absolutely awesome! The primary background color is black.



There are four bedrooms and two bathrooms on the second floor, one of which is the master bathroom. There is a loft on the second floor right when you come up the stairway. It is located where you see that large window on the second floor in the front of the house. That picture didn't come out today. It's hard to get these shots with no lights in the house and white walls. There is also a "rec room" over the three-car garage. Here are a couple shots of it. The first one is the back wall of the house and the second one is the front wall of the house. You will probably recognize the three little windows that are located over the garage in it.




Standing against the far wall of the rec room, this is the view down the hall (that door you see way down the hall is actually just propped up and won't stay there). Buddy's closet is located behind all those doors that are propped up, and to the right of those is a closet that holds the second heating and air-conditioning unit for the second and third floors. Where you can see darkness at the far end of the picture and to the left would be Sparky's door to her bedroom. She has the front bedroom in the corner of the house opposite the garage.

Now standing a little before the light you see in that picture above is a bathroom. It's basically on the other side of that open closet (which will eventually have doors) that you also see in that picture above. I'm standing in that bathroom doorway here:

To the immediate left would be Caboose's bedroom, right would be Buddy's bedroom (technically you have to cross that little hall that leads to the rec room, but what's three feet), that doorway you see to the right is the master bedroom, the open area is the second floor loft, you can see the stairwell area which came up from the first floor and will lead to the third, and then down there at the end where it's kind of dark you turn left into Sparky's room.

This is the sink in the bathroom where I'm standing. All the cabinetry in the house matches the kitchen. The powder room on the first floor and this bathroom have matching countertops. It's a little darker than it showed up in the picture. The countertop in the third floor bathroom is lighter and completely different, but I wasn't able to photograph it today.

This is the master bedroom. There are two windows along the back wall. You can see the entrance to the master bathroom. The walk-in closet is off the bathroom.

We upgraded the master bathroom to included a tiled shower and floor and a jacuzzi tub. We also got corian countertops.

This is a view of the bathroom from the walk-in closet. It's not as big and fancy as some people have with their master suites, and we're sharing a sink, but we're happy. You know, we haven't had our own bathroom (as in sharing it with our kids) since 1997, so it doesn't take a whole lot to make us happy. We didn't even have the master bedroom in our house for the six years between 2000 and 2006, so I'm not too picky. And to digress just for one second, or you might not think it was me writing, if we had been in that master bedroom, we couldn't have used the bathroom, because it had carpet. Carpet in a bathroom. Yuck! That is on my list of one of the yuckiest things ever. I hope I didn't just add to Reese's list, too.

When you head up to the third floor, you can go right or left. You could go straight, but you'd hit your head. If you go left, you'll head into Chatty's room. There is a full bathroom to the left right before you go in, but here's her room with her and her sister today, and a few doors. I was standing in the closet.

And if you'd headed right instead, you would have ended up in the third floor loft. Technically I guess you could call it straight too, but really you do have to go right if you want to be in it and use it. This is where we're planning on having my scrapbooking stuff and we're not sure what else right now. Probably a couple of comfy chairs and a tv, but we'll see.

And then this is the view going back down from the third floor to the second. You can see a little bit of that big window that's in all of the house pictures.

How cool is that to have so much extra space between the rec room and both loft spaces? We just think this house design is awesome and it fits our family so well. We love that it doesn't have a bunch of wasted space that we won't use. There is an unfinished basement, so the kids can scooter and roller blade when it's snowy outside.

We may have to sit and watch our finished house for a couple of weeks while we wait for VA to get everything done. From what we understand they are dragging their feet getting our subdivision VA qualified, even though our builder already is, and even though another phase of our subdivision already is. I don't know how it all works, and we just found this out today, but Hubby's going to call tomorrow and see what he can find out. We may end up getting in the house exactly when we originally thought we would, even if it is done early!

Patience is a virtue, right?

By Golly, We're International Travelers

Neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet, nor hail...okay, maybe just the rain part, and some mist, and some waterfall coming at like some multiple hundred miles an hour, or kilometers if we'd been on the Canadian side, which we weren't at the time...would keep us away from our goal of seeing the Niagara Falls after driving over four hours and going through customs twice, so far. But it didn't. We had to go through customs two more times to get home, because it's closer to go to Niagara Falls from the Detroit area via Canada. And more interesting too when you realize your Rand McNally Atlas is only the United States version and no longer includes Canada. Hey, Mom, we drove through Canada without a map! We even detoured up through Toronto!

Here was our first view of Canada, courtesy of customs. We chose to enter by Port Huron.

We arrived in Niagara Falls, Canada, after dark. We'd heard they light up the Falls, so we were anxious to see how they looked. We only took pictures of the American Falls because there was so much mist down by the Horseshoe Falls. This was the only picture that came out, but it sure is a beauty. It is the full American Falls and the little fall on the right side is called the Bridal Veil.

We stayed overnight in the U.S. and then went to view the Falls from that side on Friday morning. Our first stop was to a souvenir shop to purchase ponchos for everyone because it was pouring rain. It eventually slowed down to sprinkles and mist, but the ponchos were still much needed, especially for the camera carrying Hubby and picture taker Wife. Here's one of our first pictures of the Niagara River on our way to see the Falls.

Even though the river looks really calm in the picture below, it wasn't.

These next pictures were all taken from Luna Island, which is in between the American Falls and the Bridal Veil Falls.

The American Falls

American Falls in the background

American Falls in the background

Below the Bridal Veil Falls, where we'll end up later.

Maid of the Mist boat tour, which goes right under the Canadian Horseshoe Falls...we're doing that next time.

We walked over to Goat Island next, where Caboose felt right at home with his goat kin. Goat Island is a large island between the Bridal Veil Falls on the American side and the Canadian Horseshoe Falls on, you guessed it, the Canadian side. Mist is continually rising from the Horseshoe Falls.


See how lovely and windy it was and what great things it did for my hair pulling the poncho hood up and down. I wasn't going to have my picture taken repeatedly with the poncho hood up. Thank goodness the one with it up didn't come out.

Canadian Horseshoe Falls in the background

Canadian Horseshoe Falls in the background

Now you know how men don't like to ask for directions? They also don't like to ask other people about tours. There are all these people with these yellow ponchos on that have obviously gone on the Cave of the Winds tour, but he doesn't want ME to ask anyone how it is. Because really, I don't want to spend $54 for my family to go down and get wet unless it's really good. And because I also don't want to get wet unless it's really good. So I start talking to a lady in a wheelchair that's getting ready to go on the tour with her family (of adults) to find out what she's heard about it. Lovely lady, just didn't find out enough. Hubby has started dragging kids away. I start scoping some more. I see the ladies that I just saw in the bathroom drying their hair with the hand blowers. They have short Reese-type hair, not long Kayren-type hair, but I'm still willing to try for my kids. When I saw them in the bathroom I didn't know Hubby was thinking about this tour or I would have asked them when they were compromising themselves under the dryers, but instead I walked up and asked them on the sidewalk how the tour was. They said it was one of the best values in the area and second only to the Maid of the Mist. They added in that my boys would love it (wet factor) of course not knowing that my girls would love it just as much.

Here we are in our yellow ponchos. They also give you sandals to wear. The kids thought that was pretty great that you get to take them with you. The little fall is the Bridal Veil, and the one on the far left is the beginning of the American Falls. The Bridal Veil is the one that will get us.

It's hard to believe that this beautiful, calm picture is surrounded by all that crashing water.

Look at Sparky's tongue.

We couldn't get pictures under the Bridal Veil Falls or remotely close to it. There was just too much water to safely get the camera out. It will suffice to say that every child was wet from head to toe and that the ponchos did no good. Of course, if you walk up next to a wall of splashing, blowing water with the hood down, more than likely the poncho will not keep you dry. I surprised every member of my family by walking into the waterfall also, but I did it backwards. I had to keep my glasses as dry as possible, you know.

Hubby decided it would only take about an extra hour to drive to Toronto, and he wanted to go find a Starbuck's and get me a mug. Well, it took way more than an hour, but look what I got:

We got the Niagara Falls one on the Canadian side on Thursday night when we were taking pictures of the Falls lit up.

Here are some highlights of Toronto:

They have a Space Needle wannabe, the CN Tower

The Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays play, including Chatty's favorite player, Scott Rolen, who used to play for the 2006 World Series Champion St. Louis Cardinals ~ he's the far right picture

On the road signs it said "squeeze" instead of "merge," but I couldn't get a picture since we were going too fast at the time.

They have black squirrels too. This one was one of many at a park where people obviously fed them frequently. They would come up and see if you had food in your hand.
The Dawn Treader
I wonder if Prince Caspian, Edmund, Lucy, and Eustace are missing their boat?

We even saw Canadian Geese in Canada! You can't ask for much more than that.