Top 5

As I attempted to find time to write my blog post this week, every opportunity/brief opening I had suddenly seemed to fill up with meetings, errands, reports, etc.  For some reason, tasks that should have taken 10 minutes suddenly took an hour.  And things that I delegated soon came right back in my inbox.  Even now, A just came downstairs to see what was going on.  So given this madness, I feel that this post should just be fun! 

I not sure how we got talking about this, but someone began talking about favorite episodes of "older" TV shows - Seinfeld, Friends, etc.  And, of course, someone mentioned the "Top 5" episode from Friends (you know - the one  all consider what five celebrities would be on their "freebie list?).  So today's post is all about who would be on your "freebie list."  (And yes, we are all happily married...but this is just for fun!!)

My top 5 list is:
1. Matthew McConaughey - from Dazed & Confused to his Dolce & Gabbana ads..."alright, alright, alright."  This man looks great in a $3,000 suit, in a pair of ripped jeans ("A Time to Kill) or without a shirt.  Plus, I love his accent.
2. Sean Connery/Pierce Brosnan/James Bond - I have had a huge crush on James Bond ever since I was a little girl.  The cool cars, the style, the confidence.  And who doesn't love Sean Connery's voice?
3. Mark Harmon - I love the tv characters he plays.  Plus, he played QB for UCLA!  And if Scott were to go gray...please be like Mark Harmon!!
4. Aaron Rodgers - QB for the Packers.  Hot guy who loves sports and just seems like a regular guy.  Let's hope he stays on the list longer than the last Green Bay QB. 
5. Any of the hotties from the USA network shows (Matt Bomer from White Collar, Gabriel Macht from Suits, Jeffrey Donovan from Burn Notice or Christopher Gorham from Covert Affairs).  Can you tell what my DVR is set to?  And yes, NCIS also shows reruns on USA too!!

So that's it!  There have been many changes over the years (thank you Brett Favre and Tiger Woods for your scandals!!).  And this list is not static (although Matthew M has always been there). 

How about you?  Who would be in your top 5?  I love the hear what people have to say - there are always surprises!  My favorite one was "David Beckham is my #1, #2, #5, #17, #95 etc." 

I hope this makes you smile :)

Jean Anne

The Rise and Fall of Technology

Last night, for some inexplicable reason, we had a black-out.  Not just a “blew a fuse, back on in 3 minutes” black-out, but a proper pitch black, city wide and potentially county-wide, black-out.  It happened about 6:30 p.m., so there was not even a drop of daylight left.  After about 3 minutes of shrill blood-curdling screams from 7 year old H – who is really afraid of the dark – our little family banded together and went on a search for candles and flashlights.  Thank goodness the kids weren’t in the basement alone, as they sometime are at that time of night!

Once we got all the candles lit and H settled down, and realized that this was a potential long-term situation, we all hunkered down in the living room.  Now, judge me if you will, but I can’t remember the last time all four of us were in a room together and it didn’t involve a meal, TV or videogames.  It was REALLY nice.  When conversation began to lag, I started telling them “B & H Stories.”  When the kids were really young, before bed, the three of us would snuggle on my bed and I would tell “B & H stories” and they always start the same way: “Once there was a little girl called H and she had a big brother named B, and they liked to go on adventures.” Then I would spin an impossible story about where they went and what they did.  We haven’t done B & H  stories for at least two years, and Steve had never heard one. So I spun the tale of how B & H wanted to go to the highest mountain in the world but couldn’t be bothered to climb it so they used a hot air balloon, got unbalanced at the very tip of the mountain and rolled down it, only to eat pizza and dance party with the sherpas.  We were all in stitches, and when it was over, B promptly asked for another. 

Just then, the lights came back on. It seemed glaringly bright and I asked B to turn them back off, but he was having none of it.  As quickly as that, the spell of our black-out night was broken and the the almost full hour of perfection was over.  The kids darted away to their normal “lighted” activities and I was alone. 


I sat there for a while, musing about how easy it was to get into a lovely “family only” moment when there were no other distractions, and about how truly few of those we've had as a family.  About how nice it was and how I wish there were more, and about how, despite all of the hardships, the families of the distant past must have been much closer and stronger as a unit than we are today, because there were so many fewer distractions. It makes me sad for our current, rushed, tech-filled, independence-driven families. We are really missing out on something fantastic.  Maybe I’ll implement a monthly “pioneer times” night, with nothing but candle light, board games, and B & H stories…

Christine 

I Love March!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!! It is set to be a beautiful day and I, for once, don’t have any meetings over lunch, so I can go watch the parade at noon – woo hoo!! Or…I can head to lunch and watch something much more exciting…


Yes, folks, it is that wonderful time of year again. It’s tourney time baby (and say it like Dickie V would!)! No serious, thought-provoking post today. Nope – I have spent way too much time agonizing over my bracket to even think about a meaningful topic. And have I chosen correctly? Will my 12 pick over the 5 seed really win? Who will be the Cinderella team this year? All these questions and much more to be revealed on CBS over the coming weeks!

Whether you are a college hoops fan or not, March Madness® cannot be ignored. It changes our TV viewing schedules, topics of discussion around the “water cooler,” and top articles in the newspaper. Luckily, my family LOVES college hoops, so we are excited for March (even if my team is not in it!). And, I slyly try to work in some “learning” during the games. Such as identifying numbers and names on the scoreboard, or working on time using the shot clock. Plus, spelling also comes into play with “I-L-L-I-N-I!”

So what does your family do to celebrate? Do you have everyone fill out the brackets and whoever wins gets a prize/bragging rights? Are you sporting your favorite team colors or jerseys? (This was difficult today for my hubby, as he is a Wisconsin Badger fan, but had to wear green for St. Paddy’s Day!) Did you take the day off work to watch the games?

Well, whether you are a “Rock Chalk Jayhawk” or one of the “Cameron Crazies,” enjoy the fun! And next year, let’s hope the BU Braves can make a run for the MVC tourney title!

Jean Anne