What's in your wallet? or handbag?

I belong to this group on Flickr that does different photography challenges. Sometimes I participate and sometimes I don't. In an effort for the group to get to know each other better, our "assignment" for the day was to photograph everything that was in our wallet or purse. The reasoning being, you can learn a lot about someone by what they carry around all the time. The only rules were 1) you couldn't take anything out 2) you had to do it today 3) you couldn't add anything to it. So here is mine:

1) My purse. It's a Coach I got at the Outlet while we were in Myrtle Beach this summer. It's time to switch to something a little more "fall" looking.

2) The September 2008 Real Estate Guide. Volume 18. Issue 8.

3) A Bank of Marion drive thru envelope with $9.28 in it.

4) A DirecTV bill that I plan on contesting before paying.

5) A PaperMate pen. 1.4 Bold Point. Black.

6) A Moleskine sketch pad, for those random times I feel like drawing something. (You didn't know I drew, did you? See, you CAN learn something about people by what they carry.)

7) The lid from a Cherry Coke. Gotta save those Coke Rewards.

8) Contact lens case.

9) A Longaberger measuring tape. Hey! You never know when you might need to measure something!

10) A Clinique mirror.

11) A goody bag from Dr. Spraker's office including toothpaste, a toothbrush, and dental floss. I had a dentist appointment at 8:00 this morning.

12) My 30G iPod. I currently have 3,513 songs and have room for 3,987 more.

13) Personal checkbook. This is how long I have had this checkbook cover. The initials on it are HJD and I haven't been HJD since January, 2000.

14) My keys. House key, bank key, office at work key, studio key, and car key. Plus, CVS card, Ingles Advantage card, Dick's Sporting Goods card, and Food Lion MVP card.

15) Cell phone. Motorola Razr2.

16) Business checkbook.

17) 2008 calendar, compliments of the Bank.

18) Trident gum. Peppermint flavor.

19) Excedrin Sinus Headache with 4 pills left.

20) Kotex pad. What? I'm a girl! What do you expect?

21) A book of matches from Crabby Mike's.

22) Pink Nintendo DS with Dr. Mario cartridge in it.

23) Birth Control Pills. I just realized I'm a day behind.

24) Target brand tissues.

25) A random pill that cures something, I just don't know what. I guess I better not take it.

26) Walgreens Hand Sanitizer.

27) A Tide-To-Go pen.

28) Manicure set with something missing in the far left spot. I wonder what went there.

There you have it. So, what does this stuff tell you about me? Why don't you post yours?

Financial Crisis

As a banker, I feel I must write about my opinion of the financial crisis. I have had several people ask me if they should take their money out of the bank. My short answer is, "No! The money you have in the bank is FDIC insured. According to Sheila Bair, Chairman of the FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation), "In 75 years, no one has lost a single penny of insured deposits." When you put your money in the bank, it is FDIC insured up to $100,000 per Social Security number. If the bank fails, FDIC will pay you whatever money you had deposited. What if I have more than $100,000, you ask? First, can I borrow some money? :) Second, you can inquire if your bank is a member of CDARS. CDARS is a company which the bank contracts with to spread your money (anything over $100,000) to several different banks to ensure that all of your money is FDIC insured at all times.
So don't go getting all of your money out of the bank. It is safer there than putting it under your mattress. If your house were to catch on fire, your money is lost. No, homeowners won't pay you back for it. It's gone. Up in smoke, literally.

There's a new category to add to Crime Rates!

And you said nothing ever goes on in small town Rural Retreat! You are so wrong. We have crime and scandal just like everyone else. So there!

Just so you will know...

October 6th is the last day you can register to vote before the General Election. You can get the form to register to vote at the DMV.

The first 2008 presidential debate is this Friday, September 26th.

The vice presidential debate is October 2nd.

Get registered. Get informed. Go vote. It's kind of a big deal.

My parents always went and voted and they preached the importance of it to me from the time I was very young. My mom took me to the polls with her so I knew what to do when I got old enough. It's our right to vote. It's our responsibility. Plus, you get a cool sticker. :)

New blog!

In my list of blogs on the left hand side there is a new kid on the block. Go check out Brian's blog. You will soon learn that his life is as boring as mine. Well, probably not. I doubt he will ever post about freezing green peppers and corn. Whatever.

Brian and I have been friends since high school. Quite possibly, he is one of the funniest people I have ever met in my life. Well, you know, funny in a sarcastic, smart a$$ kind of way. But I like him and you will too. Go check him out and tell him I sent you.

Rude Awakening and Public Service Announcement

In case you have an ice maker on your fridge, do yourself a favor and go make sure the line is attached securely. Last night sometime during the night ours came loose. Our kitchen and part of the basement is flooded. Chris woke me up at 6:00 to tell me this. GRRR! :)

Chris said Brady had been bugging him and trying to wake him up for a while. I guess he knew something was wrong. Good dog! Too bad we didn't listen to him.

I remember.

I was working at The Bank of Rural Retreat seven years ago today. Becky Davis came through the drive thru and said that a plane had hit the World Trade Center. Barry and I went to the break room and turned on the TV just in time to see the second plane hit. It seemed like time stopped at that moment. I got off work at 2:00 that day and went home and was glued to the TV. I will never forget the horror of those images as they played over and over on the screen. That evening Chris and I went to Wytheville to get something to eat and I will never forget on the drive home on the Interstate when we passed a tractor trailor with a huge American flag flying on his truck. The patriotic spirit that took over for the next few weeks after that was humbling and heart warming. I grieved for the families who lost a loved one. I grieved for the loss of innocence. I still grieve.

I'm giving you...

the benefit of the doubt and assuming that you all didn't know about it either. But, if you did know about it and didn't tell me, well then, I'm mad. I am talking about ChaCha. In case you don't know... ChaCha is a question answering service. Say you are out with your friends and you are having an arguement about who won the 1997 World Series. You can text "Who won the 1997 World Series" to 242242 (spells Cha Cha) and within a few minutes you will get an answer texted back to your phone. Isn't that the coolest? It is free but standard text messaging rates apply. So if texts cost you 10 cents each, it will cost you 10 cents. But, if you have unlimited text like we do, there is no cost. Isn't that the greatest? Here are a couple of samples of some of the questions they have received just so you can get an idea of how useful this could be when you don't have access to a computer to look it up yourself.


How old is Neil Diamond?
Neil Diamond is 67 years old. He was born on January 24, 1942. He got his first guitar as a birthday gift at the age of 16.

What golf course in Spain did Bing Crosby die on?
Bing Crosby died at La Morajela golf course near Madrid, Spain on the 14th of October, 1977 from a heart attack.

Kate Hudson is the daughter of which famous actress?
Kate Hudson is the daughter of actress Goldie Hawn. Looks like talent runs in the family.

Who is the richest female in the world?
Alice L. Walton, the daughter of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton and Helen Walton, is listed by Fortune as the richest at $18 billion.

What is paprika?
Paprika is a red, powdery condiment derived from dried, ripe sweet peppers often used in cooking. Have a great day!

How many beers are in a keg?
Based on a 12-oz serving with .5 to 1 inch head, it will be anywhere between about 200 to 220 servings of beer. It depends on the pouring.

What does each color mean on the gay flag?
Hot pink=sexuality, red=life, orange=healing, yellow=sun, green=nature, blue=art, indigo=harmony, violet=spirit.

What is the college mascot for Purdue?
The Boilermaker has been the official mascot of Purdue University since 1940, while Purdue Pete has been their athletic mascot since 1956.

What is the name of the Indiana professional basketball team?
The Indiana Pacers, originally of the ABA basketball league, is the pro team for Indiana in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

What is Paul Bear Bryant's all time football record?
Bryant's record in 38 years at Maryland, Kentucky, Texas A&M and Alabama was 323-85-17 (.780). He died 28 days after coaching his last game.

In which city were the Olympic Summer Games in 1960?
Games of the XVII Olympiad were held in Rome,1960. There were 83 Nations and 5338 athletes (611 women, 4727 men) who competed in 150 events.

My thoughts exactly!

I'm not one to talk politics. I don't know enough about the issues and I don't invest the time in researching it. I do an online quiz before I go vote that asks me how I feel about this or that topic. If I don't know what the question is talking about, I select neutral. And then I vote for whoever the quiz tells me to vote for. Maybe I shouldn't admit that, but it's true. I just can't stand the continuous coverage, the ad campaigns. It's too much.

But, I have to say..............

Rudy Giuliani is not my favorite person. I liked him for about a week after September 11th. But when he said this last night at the Republican National Convention, my heart skipped a beat.

"One final point. And how — how dare they question whether Sarah Palin has enough time to spend with her children and be vice president. How dare they do that.
When do they ever ask a man that question? When?"

My thoughts exactly, Rudy.


And now, back to regularly schedule blog postings about pointless, mindless, aimless stuff.

P P P a P of P P

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. Well, actually, that is a lie. It wasn't Peter Piper, it was Chris Robertson. And it wasn't exactly a peck because a peck, as defined on mathforum.org is "2 gallons, 8 quarts, or 1/4 bushel." He picked more like 13 peppers. And, if the truth be known, they weren't pickled.

But somehow, Chris Robertson picked 13 regular peppers just doesn't have the same ring to it if you know what I mean. :) Whatever. They are chilling in the freezer even as we speak. More fresh, frozen goodness for this winter. Bring it on, Old Man Winter. I'm ready for ya.

By the way... Do any of you have a good stuffed pepper recipe? My mom used to make these when we were little and I loved them. Well, I loved the stuffed part, but the peppers, not so much. I'm over that now and I have a real "hankering" for some stuffed peppers. Post me a recipe in the comments please. Pretty please!

Home again!

Chris and I spent the weekend at Grindstone Campground in Grayson County. It was nice and relaxing, but we are home ready to start back to work tomorrow. On Sunday, me and Chris and Brady went on a 5 mile hike. Yeah, you heard me right. A five mile hike. The funniest thing was Brady acted like he could barely take a step as we were going up the mountain. He acted like he could barely put one foot (paw) in front of the other. When we turned around to come down, he FLEW!! I mean, he was literally running back down the trail.

Brady also met a pretty girl Corgi named Ellie. He wouldn't have anything to do with her. We think he might be gay. :) Brady turned four while we were gone. His birthday was August 30th.

We had a nice surprise when we got home too. The guys working on our house finished this weekend. We have new soffetting and new gutters and a new storm door on the side of the house. It looks great and we are very happy with what a good job they did. It was nice to come home to all the gleaming new vinyl work and the new Cranberry colored storm door with glass from top to bottom. Stop by and check it out.

The honey bees are still in the tree because no one has come to get them. Does anyone know someone who keeps honey bees? Let us know.