"Once Upon a Time" Obsession

Picture of the Day for 11/30/2013. My sister Robynne loves the TV show Once Upon a Time so I decided to check it out on Netflix and now I'm totally obsessed. Some of the story lines resonate with me in particular. I guess that's why fairy tales have been so popular for centuries; they certainly address universal themes, even when you're nearly 51 years old.

And on a slightly creepy note, I find myself strangely attracted to Rumpelstiltskin. Well, make that the actor (Robert Carlyle) who plays Rumpelstiltskin and his modern day counterpart, Mr. Gold. It's his voice. I'm a sucker for a melodious voice. 

Frisky Santa

Picture of the Day for 11/29/2013. I was at a restaurant with my friend Mary when Santa Claus approached our table and gave us candy canes. He also told us he'd love to give us a ride in his sleigh. "A ride in his sleigh" was definitely a euphemism for something naughty since he issued the invitation with a bit of a leer. Oh my! Frisky Santa!

Awkward Family Photos - Thanksgiving Edition

Picture of the Day for 11/28/2013. My nephew Michael and my niece Lisa were mugging for the camera at Thanksgiving dinner today. These pictures definitely fall into the "awkward family photos" category!

Packing Up Halloween Decorations

Picture of the Day for 11/27/2013. It's the day before Thanksgiving. Figured it was finally time to put away the Halloween decorations. I was able to pack away everything in three plastic tubs except for this spiderweb cupcake holder. Sigh. I hate it when things don't neatly work out. Now I've got to deal with a rogue Halloween decoration. 

Substitute Christmas Move

Picture of the Day for 11/26/2013. My go-to movie I like to watch to start off the Christmas season is While You Were Sleeping. It's not technically a Christmas movie, but the action takes place over the Christmas holiday. Unfortunately, I can't find my copy of the movie and it's not currently available to stream on either Netflix or Amazon. Sigh. Instead I turned to my niece Renee's go-to Christmas movie, Love Actually. It was an excellent 2nd choice. 

The Challenger Disaster Movie

Picture of the Day for 11/25/2013. I'm copying a post I made on my niece Chantal's Facebook wall today merely to torment her. I should be paid to be a professional tormentor. I excel at it and I enjoy it. You know what they say about following your bliss. 

"Hey Chantal Lowry McNeill- you know how you missed the last five minutes of The Challenger Disaster movie? Much to your dismay? I was able to watch the ENTIRE show until the very end and it was fabulous. Not that I'm rubbing it in. Nope. I would NEVER be such a bad auntie."

Dane's Extreme Dessert Consumption

Picture of the Day for 11/24/2013. In case you're thinking I'm a bad great-auntie for focusing yesterday's blog entry on Ethan rather than the actual birthday boy, don't be alarmed. Today's blog post is all about Dane. He got to spend the night as his grandmother's house so he was there for Sunday dinner where dessert was leftover birthday cake from the night before. Dane is at the "eat you out of house and home stage" typical for teenage boys. His serving of dessert was massive! Kind of reminded me of my dad's extreme capacity to eat large quantities of dessert which never waned his entire life.

Retaliation Against "The Henchman"

Picture of the Day for 11/23/2013. Today was my great-nephew Dane's 16th birthday. After dinner we reassembled at my sister Paula's house for cake and ice cream. While I was sitting in the car waiting for Paula and David to arrive and unlock the house, my nephew Ethan (alias- The Henchman) popped up by my window and made the scary face in the picture below in an effort to scare me. This, of course, demanded retribution which consisted of me hugging him and kissing him on the cheek- A LOT. What could be worse for a light-saber wielding/action hero fanatic? Nothing! Ha, ha, ha! His younger sister Sadie helped me out so Ethan was subjected to several group hugs. Ha, ha, ha!

Sleepy Birds

Picture of the Day for 11/22/2013. I'm fascinated by how a parakeet sleeps- with its head tucked underneath a wing. I finally was able to get some good pictures of my parakeets asleep which is amazing since they are so jumpy when I approach their cage- even when they are sound asleep. After several years of residing safely in my home, they are still fully convinced it's only a matter of time before I kill them. They are always on high alert. Sigh. 

Brazen Thief

Picture of the Day for 11/21/2013. At today's family lunch, my niece Chantal rifled through her mother's purse and extracted all the loose cash floating around in the purse while Paula (my sister; Chantal's mother) ran to the bathroom. Upon Paula's return, she immediately caught on to the most unsubtle act of thievery ever committed. When caught in a lie or act of thievery, it is family policy to brazen it out and ask "What?" in a very wounded/innocent tone of voice- as if we have absolutely NO IDEA what the accuser is talking about.

Bad Idea

Picture of the Day for 11/20/2013. It's a bad idea to eat an entire 10-ounce bag of mint M&Ms in one day. I speak from personal experience...

Past His Prime

Picture of the Day for 11/19/2013. Hmm...do you think this jack-o-lantern is past his prime? Poor guy. His face is starting to melt.

You're Wrong

Picture of the Day for 11/18/2013. I met my niece Chantal and her two oldest kids, Dane and Hayley, for an impromptu outing at McDonald's. We were talking about how Chantal missed out, much to her dismay, on the last five minutes of "The Challenger Disaster" movie that recently aired on the Science and Discovery channels. This led to a discussion of the space shuttle in general. Hayley was asking where the shuttle traveled to and I responded that it remained in low earth orbit at about 200 miles above the earth. It never traveled to the moon (which is a common misconception) because the shuttle was not built for the 240,000 mile journey. Hayley emphatically stated I was wrong about the distance to the moon- that it HAS to be about a million miles. I looked at her incredulously and said, "Really?! Of all the people to challenge on space facts, you're challenging me- the space fanatic?" We laughed so hard over that and gave her a TON of crap. She was a good sport at all the teasing that ensued.

I Am Somebody

Picture of the Day for 11/17/2013. I love the emails my 90+ year old test pilot friend Scrappy Johnson sends out. I think this sentiment is something we should all embrace.

A Sea of Exhibitors

Picture of the Day for 11/16/2013. Today is the last day of the national speech therapy convention where my sister Robynne and I are exhibiting. We went from being one of just a handful of vendors at last month's annual New Mexico Speech and Hearing Association conference to being one of hundreds of exhibitors at this convention. Our booth was located near the orange tent in the middle of the photograph below.


Since the conference also covered medical conditions related to speech (i.e., swallowing disorders), there were a ton of creepy-looking anatomical models. The one below was the creepiest (I'm still haunted by the tortured look on its face), but this picture below is the best I could get of it. I didn't want the staff members at the booth to know I was taking a picture of their model because I was repulsed by it. 

Sublime Pasta Dish

Picture of the Day for 11/15/2013. We ate at the Rosebud on Rush- an Italian restaurant in Chicago. I rarely get to eat Italian food although it's my favorite. That's probably a good thing since I'd eat pasta with cream sauce every day if I could. Not the healthiest choice.

Tonight I ordered the following: "Tortellini Carbonara ricotta filled pasta rings, pancetta, mushrooms, peas, parmesan cream sauce." The tortellini were swimming in a huge bowl of cream sauce. Man oh man oh man was it good! It definitely satisfied my pasta craving for awhile.

The Berghoff

Picture of the Day for 11/14/2013. I'm in Chicago with my sister Robynne where we're exhibiting at a national speech therapy convention. I could document that experience, but I'm more interested in talking about our dining experiences. Yesterday we ate at a pizza place that was reputed to have been a favorite of the late movie critic, Roger Ebert. No disrespect to Mr, Ebert, but it was meh. Tonight's restaurant, The Berghoff, was far better. It's an old German restaurant that was founded in 1898.

Woman at Her Toilette

Picture of the Day for 11/13/2013. Spent an hour looking at Impressionist artwork at the Art Institute of Chicago. So many wonderful paintings! It was a thrill seeing famous works of art close enough to see the brushstrokes. I absolutely fell in love with "Woman at Her Toilette" by Berthe Morisot- a painting I had never seen before. This photograph I took doesn't do justice to the beautiful colors in the painting.

Christmas Tree Transport

Picture of the Day for 11/12/2013. I got stuck behind a convoy transporting this very large tree. I'm sure it's meant to be a Christmas tree at some public venue, but I haven't been able to find out where. It was an interesting sight to see regardless of the mystery.

"I've Always Wanted to Gut an Animal"

Picture of the Day for 11/11/2013. My nephew Rob gets access to a computer for about an hour on Mondays to email friends and family. I'm on his distribution list and I always look forward to reading his weekly missionary updates. His email today was my all-time favorite. Here are the two best quotes:

#1: He spoke about how a church member is teaching the missionaries self-defense. "I got to be used as the dummy when he was demonstrating it. We did a few different senarios and each time i got my butt kicked and almost had my arm broken. It was soooo awesome."

#2: A neighbor asked for some help butchering chickens. "So we got to catch them, kill them, then cut them open. It was quite the learning experience and Ive always wanted to learn how to gut an animal and now I had the opportunity."

Both statements are pure Rob!

Cool Bicycle

Picture of the Day for 11/10/2013. I'm kind of cheating and using a picture I took a few days ago since I've had a WICKED case of food poisoning today. I wasn't up to doing anything beyond reclining on the couch and running to the bathroom. Neither one of those activities make a good subject of a photograph.

I've kind of had my eye on this bike for several weeks now. It's probably #15,748 on my list of things I want or need, but it doesn't stop me from admiring the bike every time I shop at Walmart.

Answered Prayer

Picture of the Day for 11/9/2013. I love babies. I especially adore holding them. It's like snuggling with a pure bundle of love. Babies are scarce in our family right now so it's been a few years since I've held an infant. I've missed it so much that in fact I actually prayed that I would have an opportunity soon. My prayer was answered today when the student who has her voice lesson right after me on Saturday mornings showed up with her six week old son. One of the first things she said to me was, "You can hold him if you want." Of course I took her up on the offer!

Petty, Petty, Petty Revenge

Picture of the Day for 11/8/2013. I was at an office store buying some supplies for an upcoming speech therapy conference when I saw a package of colored Sharpies on sale for half price. I love colored Sharpies! I had to have them! But that's a side note. This blog entry is about how store clerks frequently react to me. When I brought the Sharpies to the counter I noticed the clerk was practically fawning over the customer in front of me. When it was my turn, the clerk became very businesslike and rather unfriendly. This happens to me a lot. I honestly don't get it. I'm always friendly and smile so it's not like I'm giving off hostile vibes. I got a little bit of revenge for the clerk's bad customer service. I noticed she hadn't asked me if I had a rewards card like she had the previous customer so I waited until she was done ringing up my order before I said, "Oh, by the way, I have a rewards card." She was forced to ring up my purchase again and she was NOT happy. It was extremely petty on my part, but it sure made me feel better.

Google Map - Street View

Picture of the Day for 11/7/2013. I was doing a Google Map search for my house (just as a lark- not because I can't find it!) and laughed when I saw the street view. It's a picture of my house from 2011 when I was completely re-landscaping the property. Anyone looking me up might think all I have is dirt for a front yard. At least I don't have rusted out appliances and spare car parts strewn about the yard!

My Brother-in-Law, Phil

Picture of the Day for 11/6/2013. I was over at my sister Robynne's house tonight when I heard her inadvertently call her husband Will, Phil. We had a field day with that and proceeded to call him Phil for the rest of the evening. I'm still not done being amused over that which means Will isn't done being called Phil for awhile. Fortunately, he's a very good sport about such nonsense.

And speaking of nonsense, I'm posting probably the naughtiest photos I've ever posted on this blog. They are just too good to pass up. While we were in New Mexico, Robynne bought Will one of those stress reliever balls in the shape of a boob as a joke. He placed it on top of a candlestick holder in their bedroom to see if she would notice. I had absolutely NO CHOICE but to take pictures of this. 

100 Fans

Picture of the Day for 11/5/2013. In addition to our official company website (www.teachspeechnow.com), my sister Robynne and I also sell her speech therapy materials on www.teacherspayteachers.com where we just reached the 100 fan milestone. Yay! 100 people like us! Now if we could only reach that milestone on Facebook where we have 88 likes on our You Can Teach Speech Now page. We're so close!

Adult Actress?

Picture of the Day for 11/4/2013. I was looking at my blog stats which allow me to see the keyword searches that bring people to my blog. Imagine my surprise when I saw this one:

michelle merrill adult actress

Oh my! I swear that's not me!

If that's not me, then I wondered who it is. I did a google search of my own. Didn't find any adult actresses named Michelle Merrill.

Treasure Trove of Aviation and Space Pictures

Picture of the Day for 11/3/2013. My neighbor, Diana Stover, has been sorting through her late father's possessions and came across these aviation and space pictures from Lockheed and North American Aviation from when he was an employee at these two organizations. At church on Sunday Diana told me she had something for me that she "hoped" and "thought" I would like. That was the understatement of the year. I just about had a seizure when she pulled out all these pictures. She couldn't have chosen anyone who would appreciate them more!

Lockheed/Aviation












North American Aviation/Space