Woohoo!! Go Cocks!!

In case anyone at Klempson was wondering, THIS is how you kick a field goal:

photo credits: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/photos?gameId=263290228

Ike Crofoot holds the ball for the winning field goal kick by Ryan Succop

For the first time in several years, and the first time probably in nearly 10 years, USC beat Klempson AT Klempson yesterday!! And thank goodness Klempson kicker Jad Dean missed a 39-yeard field goal (after, might I add, the QB was sacked for a loss of about 10), or I would have had to learn a quick lesson in OT. And I'm not sure I'm confident that would have turned out well. Though... who really knows: I've been pleasantly surprised about this season, that's for sure! Let me count the ways...

1. Mississippi State 15-0

It wasn't pretty, but we got the job done, AND we didn't let them score.

2. #12 Georgia 0-18

Let's not count this one - this one sucked.

2. Wofford 27-20

It wasn't pretty, but we got the job done.

3. Florida Atlantic 45-6

We needed this one. A little big, but a good win.

4. #2 Auburn 17-24

Yeah, we lost, but it was dang close. 7 points close... especially for the #2 in the nation.

5. Kentucky 24-17

Yeah, we won, but it was also close. This still counts, but only barely.

6. Vandy 31-13

This definitely counts. After beating Georgia at their Homecoming the week before, this could have been ugly.

7. #8 Tennessee 24-31

Again, we lost, but it was pretty dang close. We beat ourselves, yet we still hung in there. To count or not to count...

7. #12 Arkansas 20-26

Another loss, but look at the point difference. Can you say 1 TD? Since I didn't count Tennessee, I think I'll count this one. Besides, it's within 1 TD of a ranked team. Yeah, that counts.

8. #6 Florida 16-17

This one was the biggest heart-breaker of all. ONE FRIGGIN POINT!! And it came down to a field goal (which would have given us our first victory AT Florida, I think EVER)... lucky for us, Succop (pictured above) didn't miss... unfortunately for us, Florida has this 10-foot-tall man that blocked the kick. Grrrr... but this one still counts. ONE POINT AT FLORIDA!!!

9. Middle Tennessee 52-7

Ok, this was a little big, too, but it was a win that we needed. One - now we're bowl eligible. Two - we've had three close, crappy losses in a row, and this was a good pick-me-up before the big rivalry game.

10. #24 Clemson 31-28

All I can say is - GO COCKS!!

10 Good Reasons... that's more than I'm used to having! With all that, our record is 7-5, and our SEC record is 3-5. Unfortunately, that is only good enough to rank us next to last in our division, just above Vandy. It's hard to be excited about that, but given the details of our season, I'm ok with it. I mean, how can you - an unranked team - compete with 6 ranked teams - half of your schedule - and 5 of those in your conference?!? I just hope we play well in whatever bowl game we go to.

One last time: GO COCKS!!!!

the beauty of fall...

So the colors peaked and browned in quick succession, but such is the quickness of life. Enjoy some colors, frozen in time:

popcorn

Alpineman loves popcorn beyond belief... luckily, my popcorn-growing trial worked fairly well! For some reason, I still have trouble growing corn... I have yet to be very successful with corn, weeds or not. So... here's what i got, which might last Alpineman a week...

Happy October!

For me, the best month of the year! Fall is here, and that means that Christmas is coming. It's pretty much smack into the heart of "birthday season" in our family. Halloween is close, and that's always a fun time. Then Thanksgiving, colder weather, and a month of Christmas. With luck, we'll see some snow... and that generally makes the arrival of spring and summer bearable, if not enjoyable.

Happy October!

My most recent hobby...

Ok, so I started with a SpongeBob cake about two and a half years ago for a special occassion for Alpineman, and then made two more (for kids this time!)...




















Then I did some other characters for other people. I really enjoy doing these, though they take a little time. They are far from perfect, but it's still fun to do. With the help of a buddy, I've actually accepted payment for one now... for some reason, it doesn't seem right to take money for them! Oh well... I could use some extra cash right now, so maybe I'll get over that. I'm afraid the downside is that the smell of the icing is now permanently lodged in my nose... and that really shouldn't be a bad thing! Anyway, here's my portfolio, if you will... =)




In case you don't know, this is Boba Fett from Star Wars. Colors aren't perfect, but they'll do.



Obviously, Jeff Gordon. I had to free-hand this one, so I kindof messed up with both 24 numbers. At any rate, it was very difficult for me not to smash this cake right into the wall...


Special request for a Largemouth Bass... used the racecar pan above. (yes, I know the worms aren't "hooked" correctly!)







R2D2 from Star Wars, though he is probably more recognizable than Boba Fett if you aren't a Star Wars fan





This is a liver-spotted Dalmatian, and is supposed to be modeled after my own liver-spotted Dalmatians, rather than the more common black-spotted ones. The brown really should have been darker... and getting the correct colors is one of my weak spots (no pun intended).


This was requested for some local volleyball teams (duh!). The R2D2 pan shown above was used. I'm not very good at smoothing the icing!

A game for you...

Here's an addicting game for you that will also help you perfect your parking skills:

http://www.107.peugeot.co.uk/peugeot.swf

Enjoy!

Fall is here!

Today is the first day of Fall... I welcome the cool air, the changing colors, and the anticipation of winter. Gamecock football is in the air, Halloween is coming... I love this time of year!

Always a day late...

For some reason, I had it in my mind that Constitution Day was today. Oops! It was actually Sunday, but was celebrated yesterday. I guess that's kind of sad that I couldn't tell it was Constitution Day, though I'll admit that I didn't watch much of the news yesterday. So, here it is, a day late... but better late than never!

http://www.constitutionfacts.com/Bookstore/bookstore.cfm

Go ye and order a free pocket-sized copy of the US Constitution! You only pay $2 shipping. I received a copy in my college government class, and we have kept it on the coffee table for several years now. It's a good reference. Get one! (HODAR, if you're reading, that means you!)

Race time!

Well, a couple of weekends ago was race time... Richmond, baby! I missed last time, but this time was worth the wait! Not only were we lucky enough to go to the race, but we were also lucky enough to get to go into the pits! We also had hospitality tickets (thank you, A's mom!), and we got to see Scott Wimmer, driver of the 4 car, and Mark Martin, driver of the 6 car. Martin, of course, is my favorite driver! So, here are a few pictures for your enjoyment...

Let's learn a little...

I watched CNN Pipeline today "realtime", when it actually happened. Yuck. I didn't want to watch it, but I couldn't look away. I know that many people are just wallowing in their pity and sorrow of what happened... some more justifiably than others. It was a big day in American history, though, and we all need to reflect with a little more objectivity on the events that happened before, on, and after Sept 11, 2001.


If only we could learn something.

Misc photos... enjoy!

Last weekend was our family reunion... here are some pictures taken throughout the weekend:

We went biking on the Virginia Creeper Trail. An outfitter drove us and our bikes from Damascus to White Top, and we rode the 17 miles back down. Being that the Creeper Trail is an old railroad bed, the grade is low, and mostly downhill in this direction. So the 17 miles isn't nearly as bad as it seems, and there is some beautiful scenery at almost every bend:

My parents have some hummingbird feeders on the front porch, and while we were waiting to eat Saturday night, we witnessed some very interesting hummingbird interactions! There was a red-breasted hummingbird that seemed to be a little mean and territorial... when other hummingbirds tried to eat from "his" feeder, he'd fight them. They would fight and peck each other continuously, while also climbing so high in the sky that you could hardly see them! Crazy... but, after trying desparately to get a good picture, I actually got a couple of decent pictures. Maybe a little lightening of the picture will do some good, but... here are a couple of pictures of the hummingbird:

We went on a hay ride Sunday morning, and this was just another beautiful scene in southwest Virginina... such a beautiful place!

Sunday afternoon we went shooting... yes, I should probably be posting pictures of that, but instead I'm posting a picture of some blackberries... I can't believe they are still around, and that there are still some red ones!

Garden of Weeds

Ok, so I'm not usually good at weeding my garden to begin with, but this year has been extra bad. Just too many things going on and not enough effort on my part to get out there and "get 'er done", so to speak. However, I am starting to get a few things out of it... we ate the first tomatoes tonight, and I should have a handful of beans probably read for the pickin', too. We've already had squash and zuchini... hopefully my corn will turn out this year. (I'm not holding my breath.) I have some beautiful sunflowers, though, as well as a mutant or two:

This is one flower, but i think i saw another one out there today. On this last shot, you can see little sunflowers budding out of just about every leaf stem... I've never grown sunflowers before, but that seems a little, uh, "nucular" to me. Maybe this belongs with that three-eyed fish from Springfield... =)

One more pretty picture... it's not as pretty as it should have been, but still colorful and pretty nonetheless. Nature, after all, is beautiful in just about any condition!

Off to water my garden of weeds... it's been really hot - here, and everywhere else. Hopefully i won't get fried green tomatoes out of it, and hopefully we won't taste the weeds.

Farm Wars

Fun at the farm the weekend of July 4... don't try this at home! =)

Congratulations, Alpine!

Alpineman is now, officially, a Certified Nurse Aide! Got his letter Friday indicating that he was on the state registry, and then got his "scores" from the school... seems like he got 70 out of 75 right! Rock on... I knew you would kick ass! =)

Next stop: LPN school this fall. And in December of next year, you can move on to the next phase - RN, or whatever you wish. Good luck!!

Happy Birthday, America!

Hope you had a great 4th of July, and took a little time to review (or learn) some American history. (Image above found here: http://www.globalfuture.com/images/declaration.jpg I have no idea what this website is about... I just wanted the image)


I watched Richard Dreyfus narrate a pretty interesting little bit on the Hamilton - Burr duel... the only thing I really knew about it was what I saw in that commercial that aired years ago: I think this guy gets a phone call from a radio station, asking him to answer one trivia question, probably to win something really cool. The question was something like "Who shot Alexander Hamilton in a duel on July 11, 1804?" Unfortunately, the guy had just taken a bite of peanut butter... his answer was: "Awah Buh! Awah ... Buuuh!!" Too bad his answer wasn't clear enough to win the glorious prize... =) Needless to say, I learned a lot. =) Go here for more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamilton-Burr_duel



Another cool thing happened today... the space shuttle Discovery lifted off for a 12-day mission to space! It tried to launch Saturday and Sunday, but was cancelled each time for weather. Today, however, was a timely opportunity to watch some "rockets red glare", NASA style! Go to the NASA website for more information on this mission: http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/sts-121_front/index.html



Last, but certainly not least, today is a good day to pick up your copy of the US Constitution that should be on your coffeetable, or within quick reach, and read a little of it. Heck, read the whole thing... it doesn't take long. Understanding it... well, that might take a little longer. =) And if you don't have one, order one... you can get a pocket-sized copy (which also includes the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights) for free! http://www.constitutionfacts.com/bookstore/bookstore.cfm

For more info about the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, go here: http://www.archives.gov/national-archives-experience/charters/charters.html

Enjoy, and Happy Birthday, America!

Right Now !

Right now, you will watch this video...

Go Cocks!

ok, ok...

So one person reads my blog, and he is getting onto me for not blogging. And frankly, he should! Thanks to a friend, J, I have thought about using this blog to post day-to-day stuff I'm doing, not just "spew" as Alpine does. "Spew" would be fine, too, but I just don't spew that much. Or at least I don't think I do! So, I'll start with an update, and try to do better about posting more frequently. A post doesn't have to take an hour... a few minutes will do. =)

I'm taking a class online this summer... Research Methods and Statistics through the University of Louisville. I'm grateful for the opportunity to take classes given my very rural geographical location, however, it's hard to see that three weeks into a summer graduate level class. Alpine is back in school for a career change, and he's taking two undergraduate courses... not that "undergraduate" should appear any less than my class. These days, we both get home and take a nap, if possible, before fixing supper. We try to eat around Jeopardy! so that we can at least veg the brain a little. Then, it's off to homework. Poor Alpine works on math for about 4-5 hours each night, leaving hardly any time for Anatomy and Physiology... meanwhile, I have my nose in a book or a computer for most of the evening, hashing out my research "study". Of course, we do not actually conduct this study, but we do everything but. We haven't really said much to each other that didn't have to do with supper, homework, or working out schedules, so last night we accidentally had a conversation not about any of the above that lasted for over an hour. That was nice. It didn't do much for finishing homework to get some sleep, but nevertheless, it was nice. Enough about the lack of time for anything this summer... maybe this will change... or not!

I started a project just before my class started at the end of May, but it was taking longer than expected, and I kinda fizzled out. Well, last weekend, I decided to "get 'er done!" I'll post pictures when it's totally finished, but I'm redoing my "office" with a Gamecock theme. Our house had mostly white walls, and there was hardly even a thin coat of paint. I've taken care of that! I painted our bedroom a sky blue color... sky blue, but still fairly bold... our living room an off-white color... subtle, but not white... and our upstairs office ("my" office) is becoming a nice, bold shade of garnet. Quite different from the thin coat of white up there before! I've learned something that I would like to share with whoever might be reading: It seems that if you paint with a dark shade, it takes way more paint that you expect. Three coats later... my garnet is finally starting to look like a solid garnet color, rather than a nasty shade of streakiness! Oh well... pictures to come later.

So that's all for now... must - do - homework. Ugh...

¡Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

Alpineman and I went to the local Mexican restaurant (local = the next town over) to celebrate Cinco de Mayo... and new beginnings. Alpine's last day of work was today, and his first day of school is Monday... and hopefully next week, we'll learn if he's been accepted to the LPN or RN programs. It's a leap of faith, and sometimes you have to take those leaps... and if they don't work out, you figure it out. And we will.

I'm missing the Richmond race this weekend for the first time in a LONG time. I hate to miss it, but I'm tired. And it might rain. And if it runs on Sunday, I can't really stay for it, or at least not until the end. And I don't want to do that! If I went, it would get rained out. Now that I'm not going, my man, Markypoo, will win the race. We'll see tomorrow... My racing buddies will be there, and I hope they have a great time. So, Yogi and Roy, be careful and have a great time. A and J, keep them in line... and GO MARK!! =)

Today is my uncle's birthday, and his daughter was also born today a year ago. She's an 05-05-05 baby... that won't happen again for quite some time! So, happy birthday, uncle and cousin, and we'll see you tomorrow to celebrate!

television these days

Alpineman generally can't stand the television shows that I like to watch. (He's also freaking out because I don't write very often. So, alpineman, read this!) ER is probably the worst of them, though we did watch House together a few weeks ago (a girl he knew growing up was in that particular episode, and that was the only reason he kept watching). He has been in more than his share of hospitals, and doesn't like the personal drama that goes on while we watch people suffering. I understand his point, but I guess I just see it differently.

To me, watching those shows are an escape from reality. Yeah, ER is set in, well, an ER, and yeah, there are doctors and nurses and patients with real ailments. There are some dramatic episodes where they focus on the sufferings of one patient, but typically, the patients are simply a backdrop for the show. Often times, their ailments are real but funny, and the situations that the doctors and nurses are thrown in because of those funny ailments are even more funny. But again, those moments in between the drama are just background moments, or small bits of comic relief. For me, I like the drama, and that's why I watch it. It ISN'T real, so whatever happens is ok. It's JUST a tv show, for pete's sake, and I watch it purely for entertainment.

Then the guy who plays Dr. Carter decides to leave the show. I haven't watched from the beginning, but it's my understanding that he was the only original actor left on the show. He's popular among fans, he's a mentor among characters, so it's understandable a big deal - in tv terms, anyway. So they decide to bring in some dramatic crap to build up to his departure. All in all, that's fine... for as long as he's been on the show, he deserves some drama build-up. But they have to go all humanitarian on me, and bring in a "shock" of reality to my fictional drama.

I think that's when I started rolling my eyes during the show. So Carter goes to Africa with Doctors Without Borders and does some great humanitarian work and comes back. Shew - thank goodness that's over! But it isn't really... he brings his new, pregnant girlfriend... so we know it's not quite over yet. She loses the baby and goes home. Surely, this is the end of it. Nope... Carter's exit has him going back to Africa to work and win his girlfriend back. Ok, fine... so Carter had to leave somehow... whatever. That was last season.

But we love Carter so much that we want to see him this season, too! So we have these lame reasons to go back to Africa so we can see Carter and all the horrible things that are going on there. Now it seems that it's turned into some humanitarian effort or something. And then I read this:

http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/TV/05/04/apontv.er.indarfur.ap/index.html

Yeah, I'm glad that television can use celebrity status to raise awareness to help fix something that sucks, but come on - this is a FICTIONAL DRAMA. This is not the History Channel. If I want reality, I will watch History or the news. I don't want reality, I want fiction. Not real. Made up. FAKE.

It's a good thing I set up to record ER, because now I hardly remember when it comes on. I used to be ready for it and even wait for it to come on... now, I'm lucky if my tv is on and hope that I've set the auto-tune to the right channel so I won't forget. Maybe I should just forget it all... not to be mean, but we've got plenty of problems right here that we can work on and be aware of (can we say ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION, kids?). If you want to raise awareness for these poor African people, create a documentary about them. Include doctors from Doctors Without Borders and ask for donations. Great, fine. But please leave my freakin' drama alone. I don't need ER to educate me, and I don't want to see celebrities use their status to push some agenda or notion on me. I just want to escape from reality for an hour once a week... is that too much to ask?!?

59380...

While that number may not mean much to you, it's bragging rights for me. And conveniently for Alpineman, the game "messed up" while he was trying to regain the high score. =)

Now, off to finish (hopefully!) my exam...

number 2...

So, I'm getting yelled at for not posting again. For one thing, I don't play on my blog all day - oops, I mean, work from home. =) Second, I have a final due Monday, which I am desparately trying to avoid - hence, my second post. =)

Well, I've just been challenged to a duel of sorts. Alpineman has the high score of 58990 on Pole Position (yeah, one of those REALLY old games that we bought in a new joystick), and he thinks I can't beat him. He's questioning my "NASCAR fan" status based on his so-called "ability" on this game, and now I have to step up. Here we go...

Alpineman would be proud...

...that my very first post is about my carry gun of choice. See the post that prompted the creation of my very own blog...

http://alpinespew.blogspot.com/2006/04/xavier-says.html

(and then let me link Xavier directly: http://xavierthoughts.blogspot.com/2006/04/show-your-carry-gun.html)

...and then take a look at my choice of protection...




...and my choice of holster...

Mine's a Glock 19 (9mm) with a 15rd magazine and a lovely Glock light. Most days I also carry an extra 10rd mag, at the insistance of the Alpineman. While it makes the "holster" heavy, I'm sure that'll be the last thing on my mind if it is ever needed. This fine machine is about 5 years old, but since it is typically surrounded by fabric, it doesn't show much "carry wear."

So, that's that. My first post. Quite possibly my only post. I guess it could be considered the best thing to post about, by some anyway. At any rate, that's it for now. And only time will tell if this blog becomes something more than just a reply to the Alpineman's commentary. Later...