Friday's Feast # 6

Appetizer
What is your favorite beverage?
Coca-Cola! It’s the real thing, baby.

Soup
Name 3 things that are on your computer desk at home or work.
A boring pencil cup, a telephone, and a water glass (at home).

Salad
On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being highest), how honest do you think you are?
I try earnestly to be honest. I would rank myself an 8. Wish I could say 9 or 10.

Main Course
If you could change the name of one city in the world, what would you rename it and why?
I think I would rename League City and call it Southshore. I would combine it with the Clear Lake are where I live. The main area of League City is a neighborhood called Southshore Harbor. I just think it sounds classier than League City.

Dessert
What stresses you out? What calms you down?
Students, my own children, and my job all stress me out. Sitting at the computer writing or blogging calms me down.

Thankful Thursday

We sometimes realize we have so much to be thankful for, and other times we completely forget. I have been having a rough week for a number of reasons, and now is probably the best time, when I'm feeling low, to verbalize (so to speak) my blessings.

1. I have a God who forgives me even when I don't deserve it.

2. I have a set of moral rules to live by.

3. My children are a blessing. No, they're not angels, in fact, sometimes quite the opposite, but I am blessed to have a legacy that I can train up in the way they should go.

4. I am blessed to have secure employment and the ability to save money for retirement, which won't happen for about 15 - 20 years. Another blessing is being able to save for college funds.

5. I have a dependable, paid for vehicle that gets me from point A to point Z and all points in between.

6. I am thankful for my family. Lots of stress and headaches, but the love makes it worth it all.

7. I am becoming more conscious of my need to pray throughout the day and to make an extra effort to make a connection with the Lord.

God bless each and every one of you. Here's hoping tomorrow is a more positive day.

Thursday Thirteen #15

13 Movies in my Netflix Queue
1. The Dead Girl: A small close-knit community near Los Angeles is thrown into turmoil when the brutally desecrated body of a vibrant young girl is discovered in a field. A series of seemingly unrelated dramas in the lives of the town's residents ultimately converge and reveal answers to the murder itself.

2. Reign Over Me: Consumed with grief after losing his family in the World Trade Center attacks, a widower seeks help from his former college roommate , who's now a dentist. A thought-provoking look at friendship and post-Sept. 11 society in New York City.

3. Casino Royale: Film adaptation of Ian Fleming's first novel. Daniel Craig debuts as the new Bond who takes on a corrupt financier in a showdown of Texas Hold 'Em. You'll learn Bond's back story as the action-packed film takes you to the Bahamas, Madagascar and other exotic locales.

4. Deliver Us from Evil: This unsettling Oscar-nominated investigates the life of 30-year pedophile Father Oliver O'Grady and exposes the corruption inside the Catholic Church that allowed him to abuse countless children. A mix of victim stories and a disturbing interview with O'Grady provides a view into the troubled mind of the spiritual leader who moved from parish to parish gaining the trust of congregations ... all the while betraying so many.

5. Hannibal Rising: The myth of the menacing Hannibal Lecter in this terrifying prequel that attempts to trace the murderous roots of the cannibalistic killer. The film follows Lecter from his hard-scrabble Lithuanian childhood, where he witnesses the lengths to which hungry soldiers will go to satiate themselves, through his painful sojourn in France and his final facedown with FBI agent Will Graham, leading to his eventual capture.

6. Stardust: A young man journeys to a magical world to win the heart of his true love in this charming fantasy. Tristan has promised Victoria that he'll retrieve a fallen star to secure her love. Along the way, he battles a pirate named Captain Shakespeare, an evil witch, and other assorted goblins and ghosts.

7. Superbad: (Why is this movie in my queue?) high school comedy - best buddies facing separation anxiety as they prepare to go off to college. Attempting to score alcohol for a party (believing that the babes will follow), the boys' evening quickly dissolves into chaos.

8. Little Children: The lives of several adult suburbanites, who have yet to surpass adolescence, intersect on the streets of their small town in unexpected ways. While on-the-go wife and mother Kathy is preoccupied with her career, Sarah a mother who does not know how to mother, is busy having an affair with stay-at-home dad Brad -- Kathy's husband.

9. Sleepover: As their first year of high school looms ahead, best friends Julie, Hannah, Yancy and Farrah have one last summer sleepover. Little do they know they're about to embark on the adventure of a lifetime. Desperate to shed their nerdy status, they take part in a night-long scavenger hunt that pits them against their popular archrivals. Everything under the sun goes on -- from taking Julie's father's car to sneaking into nightclubs!

10. Flight 93: Sept. 11, 2001, was a dark day in the history of America. But amid the tragic events, many heroes emerged. This gripping drama recounts the story of the passengers of United Flight 93 and their courageous efforts to wrestle control of the hijacked plane from the terrorists before it crashed in rural Pennsylvania. Originally aired on A&E, the heart-pounding reenactment was produced in cooperation with some of the victims' family members.

11. Memoirs of a Geisha - Set in 1929, this tale follows 9-year-old Chiyo, who is sold to a Kyoto geisha house. Chiyo endures harsh treatment from the owners and head geisha Hatsumomo, who's envious of Chiyo's stunning beauty. Rescued by Hatsumomo's rival, Chiyo blooms in her role as a geisha, but World War II threatens to change her privileged life forever.

12. Something to Talk About: Grace Bichon has a career, a child and a happy marriage -- until she learns that her husband, Eddie, is having an affair. She moves in with her outspoken sister , while her mother, Georgia, and wealthy father, Wyly, side with Eddie in the conflict. But when Georgia finds that Wyly has been a philanderer too, she kicks him out and sparks a war between the sexes!

13. Door to Door: Tells the story of salesman Bill Porter, who came into contact with many people during his decades of knocking on doors. Porter, suffering from cerebral palsy, didn't allow his condition to stop him from pursuing a career, and his story touched the hearts and lives of many of his potential customers.

If you've seen any of these and have a movie review or comment, let me know! The queue can always be updated!

For more Thursday Thirteeners, click here.

Wordless Wednesday

I don't know if you can tell, but this spider has spun an intricate web, and I was very fascinated with her work.

For more Wordless Wednesday participants, click here.

What a Day!

I normally participate in Tackle it Tuesday, and I had planned my tackle to be learning about my new cell phone. My husband and I finally got fed up with company A, and he went and signed us up for company B yesterday, which means new phones. I love my "old" Samsung phone, and I am so used to it! I would like to have had a Razor, like the kids just got, but he wanted us to have the same chargers so we could share. I know! I know! So I ended up with a new LG phone which is probably great, but I'm not used to it. It's more difficult to open, and the backlight goes away so I can't see the time on the front without flipping it open. Minor details I'm sure, but changes, nonetheless. The new phone is on the left in the picture; the phone I like is on the right.

And, even though I am paid up through February 11th, I have to honor my contract with Company A through February 2nd, and if I try to cancel it any sooner, I will be charged $175. Which, in the long run means, I will have to change phone numbers. That's a bummer. That would be like telling a tenant - yes, you're paid up through February 28th, but if you move out prior to that date, you're breaking your contract, and we'll have to charge you for that. I'm paid up, for goodness' sake! Let me go! They don't make it easy for you. So, I will not be able to use the same phone number unless I wait until February 2nd to activate my new service. It just doesn't make sense!

Company A claims they cannot turn off the Mobile Web access without also turning off text messaging. Company B claims that they can turn off the web access and keep messaging. Company B also offers a discount through my husband's employer, and Company B includes unlimited text and picture messaging. The only thing Company A does that B doesn't is let you rollover your minutes. We never use all our minutes, so they roll over forever. Seems pointless.

But I do have a point, and that is that I am going to have to learn how to use my new phone. I didn't get to do that for a tackle today, but I'm going to do it soon!