Friday, May 07, 2004
Happy Birthday, Dork!!
Okay - so it was my sister's birthday yesterday, but unfortunately I didn't manage to get around to blogging yesterday. Didn't have time at work and there was Friends watching to be done last night! Kiersten sent me a note after reading my cheese post that she was offended that I had blogged on that request without blogging on any of hers. What's she seems to forget is that she neglected to give me any suggestions for a blog topic.....hmmmm.. strange how I didn't blog about that... very strange. 
So, the request yesterday was a blog post in honor my big sis that somehow included Starsky & Hutch. Starsky & Hutch??? Now that's random. I would, but she wanted reference to the new Startsky & Hutch, which I haven't seen yet. Tragically this will not be possible.
So - Kiersten and I are about 5 years apart, which is all good now, but made for us to fight like crazy growing up! Although we did fight a lot, we had a lot of good times as well. I've decided to list a few of my memories of growing up with my big sis.
Girl Scouts -
When we lived in St Joe, MO (where the Pony Express Began & Jesse James Ended) Kiers was in Girl Scouts. I don't remember a lot of these years (I think I was 5-6 when we left St Joe), but I do remember when she sold Girl Scout cookies. I remember a wall by the door being stacked with boxes of cookies that she had sold. Apparently the sales skills run deep in the McCarty children.
Kiersten's First Broken Leg (that I remember) - Kiers was chasing me down the stairs (I don't know why, but I'm quite sure it was unprovoked). We were wearing the old school pj's - you know the ones with the slick feet on them. She bit it and went tumbling down the stairs and broke her leg - that'll teach ya to chase me! (she would actually never learn this lesson and still doesn't quite seem to register with her that I'm bigger then she is).
Enid, OK -
When we left St Joe we moved to Enid. Yes, Enid. I don't know why, but it was short-lived (we were there less then a year - nothing against anyone from OK, but your state sucks!) One thing I do remember about Enid was tornadoes were pretty common. One day Kiers and I were at home alone and the sirens went off. Kiersten grabbed me and we headed for my parents closet (no basement, so this was the best place to go). One thing I can say about growing up with Kiersten is that as much her little brother probably annoyed her (I swear I never did anything) she always looked after me.
Kiersten Breaks Her Arm - Actually this should probably be titled Tom Breaks Kiersten's Arm. Appartently (so the fictitious story goes) I stepped on her arm and broke it. I honestly don't recall doing this, but I do recall my mom making me wait hand and foot on her until the cast came off. Dang it!
Scotties -
Kiers was in drum corps in high school (when she was in HS I was in 4th-7th grade - that probably says a lot right there). I actually loved watching them play when mom would allow me to go to the high school assemblies that they were playing at. I was actually very proud of my sis, but no way in hell I was ever going to her that at the time (come on people - I was in 6th grade!). What I didn't like was that whenever Kiersten would lose a fight about what to watch on tv (or just mad at me in general - again always completely unprovoked on my part) she would grab her drum and stand in the middle of the stairwell and hit the damn drum over and over again! Who was in junior high???
The Monkees -
Kiersten got sick her freshman year of high school and was at home for a bit. While at home she started watching reruns of The Monkees. This started an addiction to them that she would NEVER grow out of. Kiersten had all thing Monkees. Every album. Every TV show on tape (as a result I've seen every episode myself). Scripts from the tv show. Coffee mugs. Spent weeks searching for a copy of Head - the Monkees movie that they made. Drove to Tulsa to stand in line for hours to get Davy Jones' autograph. Her room was covered in posters.
Speaking of Monkee's Posters -
Ah - good times!
Kiersten Gets Her Driver's License -
The first week Kiersten has her driver's license she takes me to Andy's to get some frozen custard (sorry people, but Andy's is soooo much better then Katie's). We hope in mom's 9 passenger station wagon and head for the drive through. Kiersten has just a bit of trouble negotiating the turns in this beast of a vehicle and ends up hitting the side of the building while in the drive through. Whoops. She makes me swear that I won't tell mom and dad about it and seeing as how she's just taken me to get ice cream, I agree. A couple weeks later Kiersten and I get into a fight (again - I'm innocent of anything) and she promptly rats me out to mom for something. Seeing myself backed into a corner and on the verge of getting into trouble I do what any smart kid would do. I quickly tell mom that Kiersten had hit Andy's with her station wagon! Kiersten's was shocked! My poor naive sister - she never learned!
That's about all I have for now! Happy Birthday, Dork!!
So, the request yesterday was a blog post in honor my big sis that somehow included Starsky & Hutch. Starsky & Hutch??? Now that's random. I would, but she wanted reference to the new Startsky & Hutch, which I haven't seen yet. Tragically this will not be possible.
So - Kiersten and I are about 5 years apart, which is all good now, but made for us to fight like crazy growing up! Although we did fight a lot, we had a lot of good times as well. I've decided to list a few of my memories of growing up with my big sis.
Girl Scouts -
When we lived in St Joe, MO (where the Pony Express Began & Jesse James Ended) Kiers was in Girl Scouts. I don't remember a lot of these years (I think I was 5-6 when we left St Joe), but I do remember when she sold Girl Scout cookies. I remember a wall by the door being stacked with boxes of cookies that she had sold. Apparently the sales skills run deep in the McCarty children.
Kiersten's First Broken Leg (that I remember) - Kiers was chasing me down the stairs (I don't know why, but I'm quite sure it was unprovoked). We were wearing the old school pj's - you know the ones with the slick feet on them. She bit it and went tumbling down the stairs and broke her leg - that'll teach ya to chase me! (she would actually never learn this lesson and still doesn't quite seem to register with her that I'm bigger then she is).
Enid, OK -
When we left St Joe we moved to Enid. Yes, Enid. I don't know why, but it was short-lived (we were there less then a year - nothing against anyone from OK, but your state sucks!) One thing I do remember about Enid was tornadoes were pretty common. One day Kiers and I were at home alone and the sirens went off. Kiersten grabbed me and we headed for my parents closet (no basement, so this was the best place to go). One thing I can say about growing up with Kiersten is that as much her little brother probably annoyed her (I swear I never did anything) she always looked after me.
Kiersten Breaks Her Arm - Actually this should probably be titled Tom Breaks Kiersten's Arm. Appartently (so the fictitious story goes) I stepped on her arm and broke it. I honestly don't recall doing this, but I do recall my mom making me wait hand and foot on her until the cast came off. Dang it!
Scotties -
Kiers was in drum corps in high school (when she was in HS I was in 4th-7th grade - that probably says a lot right there). I actually loved watching them play when mom would allow me to go to the high school assemblies that they were playing at. I was actually very proud of my sis, but no way in hell I was ever going to her that at the time (come on people - I was in 6th grade!). What I didn't like was that whenever Kiersten would lose a fight about what to watch on tv (or just mad at me in general - again always completely unprovoked on my part) she would grab her drum and stand in the middle of the stairwell and hit the damn drum over and over again! Who was in junior high???
The Monkees -
Kiersten got sick her freshman year of high school and was at home for a bit. While at home she started watching reruns of The Monkees. This started an addiction to them that she would NEVER grow out of. Kiersten had all thing Monkees. Every album. Every TV show on tape (as a result I've seen every episode myself). Scripts from the tv show. Coffee mugs. Spent weeks searching for a copy of Head - the Monkees movie that they made. Drove to Tulsa to stand in line for hours to get Davy Jones' autograph. Her room was covered in posters.
Speaking of Monkee's Posters -
Ah - good times!
Kiersten Gets Her Driver's License -
The first week Kiersten has her driver's license she takes me to Andy's to get some frozen custard (sorry people, but Andy's is soooo much better then Katie's). We hope in mom's 9 passenger station wagon and head for the drive through. Kiersten has just a bit of trouble negotiating the turns in this beast of a vehicle and ends up hitting the side of the building while in the drive through. Whoops. She makes me swear that I won't tell mom and dad about it and seeing as how she's just taken me to get ice cream, I agree. A couple weeks later Kiersten and I get into a fight (again - I'm innocent of anything) and she promptly rats me out to mom for something. Seeing myself backed into a corner and on the verge of getting into trouble I do what any smart kid would do. I quickly tell mom that Kiersten had hit Andy's with her station wagon! Kiersten's was shocked! My poor naive sister - she never learned!
That's about all I have for now! Happy Birthday, Dork!!
Wednesday, May 05, 2004
Let Them Eat Cheeze!!
Okay peeps - I put out a request for blogging topics, but had no comments posted. This is leading me to believe that the infrequency in my posting has led you to no longer read my blog. This sad for me. Please forgive me, come back, post, suggest, read, enjoy. So - they only suggestion I received was a request to blog about cheese. Actually the request was to blog about how cool the word cheese is and how it should be spelled cheeze. I'm not really sure what to say about the coolness of the word, however I shall blog about cheese. Since I shant blog about the coolness of the word, I shall at least honor a portion of the request by spelling it cheeze going forward.
My favorite cheezes:
Extra Sharp Cheddar - did you know that this is very hard to find in Texas? My love for Extra Sharp came from growing up in MO. Very tough to find here though. My mom likes to put this on apple pie - strange, very strange.
Mozzarella
Grated Pepperjack
Brie - really good with some vino.
Velveeta - I don't know if this counts as a type of cheeze (but you can ask them), but I LOVE IT! Ummm... good queso material! Retro?
Mexican Style- You know- the Mexican white cheeze that makes my absolutely FAVORITE type of queso. There was a Mexican place that I went to when I lived in Nashville that had this. sooo good!
Did You Know?
That cheese.com has over 700 types of cheezes? That's a lot of freakin' cheeze!
That mozzarella was made from the milk of water buffalo?
The World's Largest Cheeze
The World's Largest Chee-to
Monday, May 03, 2004
Not Feeling The Blog...
Not Feeling The Blog...
Okay - so my blog has been a bit dry lately, or just non-existent. Whichever you want to go with. I just haven't felt like I've had much to blog about, or can't think of what I want to blog on. Suggestions? What's the cure for my month-long bloggers block?
I guess I can at least give you an update on my weekend and other past activities. Friday night we had a surprise party for Beth's birthday - definitely good times. We had it on the roof of her apartment building. I always wanted to have a roof-deck party and I can now check off that box on my life things to do list. Drew and I were comparing it to the roof party on Friends, except for without all the soap-opera stars and with the addition of a large (massive) AC generator thing that was just a touch on the loud side of things. Sat was a nice lazy day. I actually slept in a bit - which is something that I haven't really been able to do anymore. For some reason I always wake up by 7-8 regardless of how late I want to sleep in. I think I got up somewhere around 10:30-11:00. I had every intention of heading out for a nice long run first thing, but it didn't quite happen. I poked my head outside to see what the temp was like for the run and saw that it was raining a bit, felt about 40, and the wind almost knocked me over (maybe not quite that bad, but it was windy). So - to my couch I went. I spent the afternoon doing laundry and cleaning my room (desperately needed to be done) and watched some TV. Went to a wedding on Sat night - never seen so many groomsmen and bridesmaids in one wedding! Headed out to the Grape afterwards with Beth, Jaclyn, and Michelle. Cool wine bar out towards the lake on Valley Mills. The back room reminded me of an old basement of friends houses in MO. They had the old school wood paneling up. All I needed was an old school TV (the ones with knobs) and a original Nintendo and I would have been back in elementary school (minus the bottle of wine)!
Sunday was absolutely beautiful out! Went to lunch at Panda Express after church with a bunch of peeps. They have the best orange chicken - love the stuff! Headed out to the new HEB in Woodway after that (exciting times in Waco when the new HEB opens). Quite impressive... My shopping experience was also combined with a Mariachi (SP?) band that they had brought in. Good times! Headed out to Lowes after that. I love my backyard, but it is impossible to sit outside in the spring and summer because of all of the mosquitoes that swarm the yard. I've decided to take action this year to reclaim the backyard. I bought a few torches and candles to put around the yard and porch. Seems to be working so far. Jeremy, Emily, Craig, and Tim and I sat outside Sunday night for dinner. It was nice evening and good to be sitting outside. Good food (grilled salmon - one of my favorites), good conversation, and good company (see above). I definitely need to have more dinners of grilling and sitting on the porch. Makes for a nice relaxing evening. After dinner was the viewing of the next to last episode of this season of Alias. What up with the final episode not being for another 3 weeks???? Seriously.
Books - Tried to get into reading The Art of War, but no luck with that. Picked up Blue Like Jazz last week at Craig's suggestion, but haven't started it yet. Looks good though.
Music- Don't ever get tired of Jack Johnson. Doesn't seem to matter how many times I listen to either album, just never get tired of it!
Running - another race in two weeks. May 15th at Indian Springs Park.
Baseball - Cards took 2 of 3 from the Cubs and the Bears took 2 of 3 from K-State. Pretty good weekend overall for my teams. Needed sweeps, but I'll take 2 of 3.
Okay - so my blog has been a bit dry lately, or just non-existent. Whichever you want to go with. I just haven't felt like I've had much to blog about, or can't think of what I want to blog on. Suggestions? What's the cure for my month-long bloggers block?
I guess I can at least give you an update on my weekend and other past activities. Friday night we had a surprise party for Beth's birthday - definitely good times. We had it on the roof of her apartment building. I always wanted to have a roof-deck party and I can now check off that box on my life things to do list. Drew and I were comparing it to the roof party on Friends, except for without all the soap-opera stars and with the addition of a large (massive) AC generator thing that was just a touch on the loud side of things. Sat was a nice lazy day. I actually slept in a bit - which is something that I haven't really been able to do anymore. For some reason I always wake up by 7-8 regardless of how late I want to sleep in. I think I got up somewhere around 10:30-11:00. I had every intention of heading out for a nice long run first thing, but it didn't quite happen. I poked my head outside to see what the temp was like for the run and saw that it was raining a bit, felt about 40, and the wind almost knocked me over (maybe not quite that bad, but it was windy). So - to my couch I went. I spent the afternoon doing laundry and cleaning my room (desperately needed to be done) and watched some TV. Went to a wedding on Sat night - never seen so many groomsmen and bridesmaids in one wedding! Headed out to the Grape afterwards with Beth, Jaclyn, and Michelle. Cool wine bar out towards the lake on Valley Mills. The back room reminded me of an old basement of friends houses in MO. They had the old school wood paneling up. All I needed was an old school TV (the ones with knobs) and a original Nintendo and I would have been back in elementary school (minus the bottle of wine)!
Sunday was absolutely beautiful out! Went to lunch at Panda Express after church with a bunch of peeps. They have the best orange chicken - love the stuff! Headed out to the new HEB in Woodway after that (exciting times in Waco when the new HEB opens). Quite impressive... My shopping experience was also combined with a Mariachi (SP?) band that they had brought in. Good times! Headed out to Lowes after that. I love my backyard, but it is impossible to sit outside in the spring and summer because of all of the mosquitoes that swarm the yard. I've decided to take action this year to reclaim the backyard. I bought a few torches and candles to put around the yard and porch. Seems to be working so far. Jeremy, Emily, Craig, and Tim and I sat outside Sunday night for dinner. It was nice evening and good to be sitting outside. Good food (grilled salmon - one of my favorites), good conversation, and good company (see above). I definitely need to have more dinners of grilling and sitting on the porch. Makes for a nice relaxing evening. After dinner was the viewing of the next to last episode of this season of Alias. What up with the final episode not being for another 3 weeks???? Seriously.
Books - Tried to get into reading The Art of War, but no luck with that. Picked up Blue Like Jazz last week at Craig's suggestion, but haven't started it yet. Looks good though.
Music- Don't ever get tired of Jack Johnson. Doesn't seem to matter how many times I listen to either album, just never get tired of it!
Running - another race in two weeks. May 15th at Indian Springs Park.
Baseball - Cards took 2 of 3 from the Cubs and the Bears took 2 of 3 from K-State. Pretty good weekend overall for my teams. Needed sweeps, but I'll take 2 of 3.
