Super Bowl XLIV

Who will you be pulling for this weekend?

Oprah's NO PHONE ZONE Pledge

I didn't want to write about this when the show originally aired, but now that my car has been a NO PHONE ZONE for 2 weeks, I thought I'd share my thoughts. The reason I did not want to write about it at first was because I needed to make sure I could do it before I tried convincing others to.

Before I get started on my soapbox, I'm so glad to announce that as of 6:30 pm on 2/4/2010, Oprah's pledge has been taken by 101,750 drivers. Hopefully that number will continue to grow. You can take the pledge by going to http://www.oprah.com/questionaire/ipledge.html?id=4. Also, if you want to watch the full episode of Oprah's No Phone Zone show, here is the link

http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/Watch-the-Full-Hour-Americas-New-Deadly-Obsession-Video.

What I've learned about talking and/or texting while driving:
1.) Your brain can not keep up with driving while talking/texting at the same time. As much as we'd like to think it can, it's just not possible.
2.) Talking on your cell phone while driving is no different than having a blood alcohol level of .08 and driving. Your risk of causing an accident while driving drunk is 4x more likely, the same of that as talking while driving.
3.) Texting while driving increases your chances of causing an accident by 8x. Double that of a drunk driver or a talking driver.
4.) You suffer from inattention blindness and your peripheral vision is blurred just as that of someone who sees tunnel vision when talking/texting while driving. So, those cars or bikes or pedestrians or that stop sign that you normally see while driving, well they don't appear when you're on the phone.
5.) Causing accidents related to talking/texting are 100% preventable. Yes, 100% preventable!

A few of my favorite quotes from the show:
"It's not where your hands are, it's where your head is."
"Don't tempt f8, that txt or call can w8."
"Honk if you love Jesus, text if you would like to meet him"

I'm so glad I took the pledge and I hope you will join me. Save a life, who knows it could be your own.

To find more information on this cause, visit: www.oprah.com/nophonezone or http://www.distraction.gov/.

Question

Do you have a Kindle? What are your likes/dislikes?

Groundhog's Day 2010

Punxsutawney Phil makes his Groundhog Day prediction - Feb. 2, 2010. Unfortunately, it looks like we will have 6 more weeks of winter. YUCK! However, I'm not quite sure we should fall in to believing the cute little groundhog. It seems he's only correct in his predictions 39% of the time. Maybe he'll be wrong this year! Let's hope!

2010 Grammy's

Did you watch the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards last night? Unfortunately, I did not but I was able to catch a few of the performances today on YouTube. Out of what I've been able to see, Lady GaGa, Pink and the Michael Jackson Tribute have been my favorites. What's yours?

Lady GaGa


Pink


Michael Jackson Tribute

One For Jasmina - Remembering Jasmina

In April of 2009, I blogged about a little girl, Jasmina Anema, who was battling cancer. Many celebrities rallied around Jasmina in an effort to find a bone marrow match for her. In June of 2009, Jasmina received her bone marrow transplant and I could not have been happier. Unfortunately, in September Jasmina's family received the terrible news that her cancer had returned with a vengeance. Well, sadly Jasmina lost her battle with cancer yesterday. May this sweet little princess now rest in peace. My thoughts and prayers go out to her family.

Blog post from June
http://behindthewallsofvanderwilt.blogspot.com/2009/06/one-for-jasmina-update.html

One For Jasmina's Video

Great Quote

I heard a great quote today, I'm not sure who said it as it was on a commercial I was watching. However, I heard it and loved it! It goes like this.....

"Is this the Great Recession or the recession that made us great?"

Isn't that a great quote/question? I loved it!

Grandparent-Less

It seems both Tim and I have become Grandparent-less in a months time. I lost my sweet Grandmother December 7th and Tim lost his Grandfather this morning. We were both very fortunate to have had them through our lifetime as I know some people don't have the privilege of ever knowing their grandparents. It's weird though, I lost my first grandparent when I was in High School and it was really devastating. Getting older and seeing my grandparents live such wonderful lives makes it easier to know they are only moving on to something even better. It's also a comforting thing to know they are going to be with their husbands/wives and in some cases their own children.
Our Grandparents will be greatly missed, but we are only given our loved ones as gifts for a short time. One of my favorite lyrics comes from Carrie Underwood's song, "Temporary Home". It resembles what it means when we loose the ones we love. "This is my temporary home. It's not where I belong. Windows and rooms that I'm passin' through. This was just a stop, on the way to where I'm going. I'm not afraid because I know this was my temporary home."

My Mom, Helping Those In Haiti

My Mom is an avid stamper and she's on a crusade to help all those in need in Haiti. I took the following entry from her blog at http://thedailystamper.blogspot.com/.

Stampin'Up! announced yesterday that between now and February 28, 2010, $2.00 from every I-Heart) Hearts stamp set purchased will be donated to the American Red Cross' Haiti Relief & Development Fund. The Red Cross is already well established in Haiti, and this money will be used to provide immediate relief and long term support through supplies, technical assistance and other support to help those in need.

Please go to my SU Website, http://www.shirleybmckay.stampinup.net/ to order your set now.

I (Heart) Hearts - clear mount (block D recommended) 118571 $18.95
I (Heart) Hearts - wood mount 117010 $26.95
The more stamp sets sold, the greater the difference we make in the lives of those in Haiti. I hope you will join me in purchasing this set ASAP. Thank you for your support!

Got Through....

I finally got through to the call screeners at Hope For Haiti Now. Didn't get to speak with a celebrity, but it didn't matter. I gave, that's what matters most. My heart and my prayers go out to the Haitians for the devastation they are going through. May God be with them and watch over them during this difficult time.

Hell Hath No Furry Like A Woman Scorned

This is what one Cheater Cheater Pumpkin Eater gets for his transgressions.

According to Splash News:

"They say hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

But one scorned mistress allegedly took things one step further - by plastering three cities with massive billboard posters featuring herself with her ex-lover.
YaVaughnie Wilkins, 41, picked out images of herself cuddling up to businessman Charles E. Phillips, an advisor to US President Barack Obama, and then had them made into posters after he returned to his wife Karen.

She then paid approximately $50,000 each for the billboards - one in New York Times Square, one in Atlanta, and one in San Francisco where Wilkins lives."

I feel so sorry for the wife, who probably already knew about the affair, but this just throws it in her face. Men, really think before you cheat! It can cost you everything!

Hope For Haiti Now Telethon

The "Hope For Haiti Now" telethon is tonight at 8PM EST/7PM CT. Hope you watch and can make a donation. After donating, FB or tweet who you spoke with. Many celebs will be answering the phones tonight in LA and it will be cool to see who we all get a chance to talk to.

Remembering Haiti

On January 12, 2010, Haiti was hit by one of the largest earthquakes recorded in the region. The earthquake had a magnitude of 7.0 and devastated one of the poorest areas of the world, Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

Below are images taken of Haiti after the earthquake hit.

Some content may be too graphic, viewer discretion is advised.

Upset in Massachusetts

George W. Bush started out his 1st year running our country in to the ground and continued to do so for 8 years. So, why is it that everyone expects President Barack Obama to turn things around in his 1st year?

As you can imagine, I was really saddened to see the late Edward Kennedy's Senate seat handed over to a Republican. A Democrat has held that seat in Massachusetts for close to 50 years and to see so much good come to an end is very upsetting. I agree, Martha Coakley's campaign was less than stellar. I think she thought the seat was hers, so why fight for it. However, Martha did not let Massachusetts down, the people of Massachusetts let down their own state. In the end they didn't stand for what they truly believed in. The people of Mass are mad and frustrated over Obama's 1st year in office, but honestly, look at what he has on his plate. It's unreal the number of obstacles this President is having to overcome. He was handed this turmoil on a silver platter, yet we blame Obama instead of Bush Jr.?

It makes no sense to me.

RIP Scott Penninger

William Penninger 'Scott' MOORESVILLE -- Mr. Penninger, 40, joined our Heavenly Father on Saturday January 16, 2010. Scott was born on May 7, 1969 in Charlotte, the son of Bill Penninger and Ginger Stubbs Penninger. Scott graduated from North Mecklenburg High School in 1988. Following high school Scott worked on the pit crew for NASCAR driver Rusty Wallace. Shortly thereafter Scott joined the Hough Family when he wed Wendy Hough in October of 1989. Scott and Wendy welcomed twin girls Meghan Brooke and Brittany Lauren in 1990. Scott was a longtime active member of Trinity United Methodist Church in Charlotte. He had a strong presence in the annual Bar-B-Q. Scott also frequently donated his time to the Urban Ministry Center in Charlotte through programs such as 'Room In the Inn' and the soup kitchen. Scott joined his father in the family business, as a part owner of Universal Voice/Data in 1989. Scott immensely enjoyed surf fishing at the Outer Banks (specifically, ramp 55). Scott also enjoyed playing poker and tailgating at Panther home games. Scott was a wonderful brother, son, husband, father, uncle, brother-in-law, son-in-law, friend and most recently grandfather. He truly enjoyed his family and friends. Scott is survived by wife of 20 years, Wendy Hough Penninger; by daughters Brittany and Brooke Penninger, both 19 years, daughter Bethany Harper, 21, and grandson Lucas Kahne, 2 1/2 years of age. Survivors also include parents, maternal grandmother Virginia Stubbs, sister Robin Penninger McGraw, and brother-in-law Mike McGraw. Scott is survived by loving niece and nephews, Hayden Scott and Cole McGraw, Brandon and Zack Washam, and Kelsey and Trevor Hicks. Lifelong friends Jimmy Hunter and James DeArmon were much more than friends alone, their relationships could more adequately be described as that of 'brothers'. Scott is also survived by a loving family of in-laws, including Butch and Peggy Hough and sisters-in-law Julie Hough Washam, Cindy Hough and Jana Hough Hicks. The weekly Sunday afternoon gatherings and frequent road-trips to the Outer Banks will never be the same without Scott. Scott possessed a unique combination of positive attributes rarely seen in a single individual. He loved to see people laugh and be happy; he was giving, kind and supportive. His love for his family and friends never faltered. Scott was adored by many and will be deeply missed. The family will receive friends Wednesday January 20th from 2 to 4 p.m. at Trinity United Methodist Church, 6230 Beatties Ford Road in Charlotte. A service celebrating his life will begin at 4 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to either of the following: Urban Ministry Center, 945 N. College Street, Charlotte, www.urbanministrycenter.org, or, Outer Banks Preservation Association (OBPA), PO Box 1355 Buxton, NC 27920, www.obpa.org. Wendy, along with the rest of the family, would like to express our sincere appreciation for all of the kindness, support and prayers during this challenging time. Arrangements by Raymer Funeral Home Huntersville, NC.
Published in Charlotte Observer on January 19, 2010

Special Mommy Hugs to Savannah from Indiana!

1st Mommy Hug of the year goes to 5 year old Savannah from Indiana. Savannah saved her dad's life by calling 911 after she noticed he was having trouble breathing. Listen to the 2nd clip below to hear the 911 call in its entirety.



911 Audio Only

Is Sarah Palin really Rouge?

Sarah Palin was given a golden opportunity yesterday to take a stand and explain who she was and once again she failed to deliver. Why would you not take advantage of such a platform as being on stage with the Queen of interviewing herself, Oprah Winfrey, and not give solid, direct answers to the questions you're being asked? I don't know any more about Sarah Palin today than I did when she was running for VP. She skirted around the questions just as she did on the campaign trail. She's not even in politics anymore, yet her answers were very scripted, very politician like. I'm curious to see if she'll run in 2012. I hope and pray she doesn't, but I'm a little concerned that it is actually on her radar screen even though she said in the Oprah interview that it wasn't.

Anyone who knows me, knows I am far from being a supporter of Sarah Palin or the Republican Party. However, I did go into the interview with an open mind. I wanted to see who Sarah really was. I wanted honest, direct answers and I didn't get that. Take for example the question about Levi being invited to Thanksgiving. That's a simple yes or no question and doesn't require much if any explanation. We all know what kind of person Levi is, so just answer the question, YES or NO! Not, "Oh the thought of that is just so lovely"? Huh, lovely how?

Now, with all that said I do have to give her credit for even doing the interview with Oprah. Her supporters and non-supporters were not too thrilled that she was even going to do it. However, I do think Oprah was very respectful as was Sarah regarding each others political views and choices.

Did you see the interview and if so, what are your thoughts? Supporter or not, are you going to be reading her book, Going Rogue?

How Could This Happen?

My thoughts and prayers go out to the father of Shaniya Davis, whose body was found yesterday near Sanford, NC. To this day, I can not understand how anyone can harm a child. If the allegations are true, that Shaniya's mom has any responsibility for her murder I hope they throw her under the jail! We're not supposed to harm our children!

Question

Who will be watching the Oprah Winfrey interview today with Sarah Palin?

Busy, Busy, Busy... Now Relax.... AHHHH

The last few weeks have been so busy and I've not had a chance to blog. Oh, how I've missed it!

Let's start with 4 weeks ago... we started the Saturday (10/17) out at a fall festival with Lisa and Wyatt. Wyatt and Laura had a great time playing in the pumpkin patch and picking out their pumpkins. Laura and I had to leave a little early this year so that she could go to her friend, Crystal's Birthday Party. The party started at 4:00, but lasted into the night. They all had such a good time together and had a hard time when it was time for the parents to disburse.

That next week Laura and I stayed pretty busy preparing for her Birthday Party, which was 10/24. Her theme this year was Hello Kitty, so we had to get all of the supplies; cake, balloons, napkins, plates, goodie bags, etc. ready for Saturday. She wasn't too thrilled with the planning part of it, all she wanted was the actual party itself. I was very surprised at the kind of party Laura asked for this year. Tim and I take her to this place near our house and it has bowling, laser tag and gaming machines. Well, that's what she wanted to do this year. As girly as she is, I was surprised she wanted to have it there. But, I have to say all the kids seemed to enjoy it. Because Laura's Birthday was actually during the week, we decided to go ahead and give her the big gift before the big day.Now Tim and I both thought we would get a much bigger reaction than we did. Tim showed up with Laura's new puppy, Lilly, that she had been asking for all year and her response to Lilly was just "Hello". Are you kidding me? We thought there would be jumping and screaming and all we got was "hello"? Oh well, I guess you never can tell how they're going to react, can you? Laura and Lilly were able to spend a little bit of time together and then it was off to her party.They all seemed to have a really good time, and the boys really enjoyed the laser tag . I think that was the highlight for all of them.

My Parents always come in for Laura's Birthday, so the week they are here I try and find fun things for them to do. One of the Keener traditions is going to Dewberry Farms so Laura can pick out another pumpkin from the pumpkin patch. So, we headed there for our Sunday afternoon. This year, now that Tim's Dad and Stepmother live in Katy, we ended up having a larger crowd - me, Tim, Laura, Grame, Pops, MawMaw and PawPaw. Now that Laura is older we decided to do the Corn Maze this year. That was a lot of fun and will be a new tradition at Dewberry from now own!

The next week seemed to be a little hectic. Laura's dance instructor gave them all permission to wear their costumes to the Tuesday class but before Laura could wear hers, Grame had to do some alterations. Luckily Grame came through and had her outfit all ready for her when we got there Tuesday afternoon. The rest of the week we were all getting ready for Halloween and Tim and I actually got a few date nights in. What fun! It's nice to be able to get out and have adult nights from time to time. One of our date nights was a movie night. We saw the Michael Jackson movie, "This Is It". It was really good!! We both enjoyed it. The movie seemed to be a little long, but all in all it was nicely done. It's hard to imagine putting together a movie about MJ's final dance/dress rehearsal, but they did and did it well!

Saturday rolled around, which happened to be Halloween (10/31). I had gotten tickets for me, Laura and Grame to see the musical, Mary Poppins.Laura thoroughly enjoyed it. It was fun to watch her expressions during the show. At times you'd see her little hands go up in the air when Mary was singing in a higher octave and when the orchestra played, it was like she was the conductor. Too funny!

After the musical, we had to hurry home to get dressed up for Trick-Or-Treating. Laura ended up being a Hollywood Starlet. This was the first time we've ever let Laura wear "dress-up" make-up. I have to say, she looked so pretty. Looking at her all glammed up, made me think about 10 years from now, when she's getting ready for her prom. Oh, time is just flying by so quickly. Lilly also got dolled up for the festivities. She went as a Princess Pup. Too cute!! By the time we got both Laura and Lilly home, they were pooped from the day.





Sunday, Mom and Dad had to head back to North Carolina. That day always seems to be a hard day for everyone. We all get a little sad that we wont be seeing each other for a few months. So, I had planned earlier in the week for Laura and Wyatt to get together and go to the park for the afternoon. I think that seemed to help a little bit, but even when we left the park the tears came because Grame and Pops would not be there when she got home. Now that she's older, it seems to affect her more.

Now, fast forward to the next weekend (11/6). For Tim's Birthday (in September), I surprised him by flying his best friend from childhood, Chad along with his wife, Joanna down for a weekend in November. This would be that weekend. They got in around 6:30, just in time for dinner. We all went to Pappadeaux's and it was wonderful. This was one of the first restaurants I visited after moving to TX and have loved it ever since. After dinner we headed back to the house to get ready for an adult night out. Laura was having a sleepover with MawMaw and PawPaw. We ended up taking Chad and Joanna to see a local band that Tim and I really like, Lounge 4407. We had such a great time. The band was, as always, fabulous! Tim really enjoyed catching up with Chad and it was so nice to hang out with his wife. They were both so nice and great to hang out with.

Now after a month of being busy and on the go and what seemed to be nonstop, we finally had a calm, relaxing weekend. This past one was one of the first in quite some time that we didn't have anything planned. I got so much done around my house. Don't get me wrong, I still have a ton to do (my piles never seem to go away). But, we had a great time. Last night we ended up having movie night so Tim and Laura made homemade pizza's. Earlier in the day, Laura asked if she could open up a concession stand and sell popcorn and candy at the movie. So, she and I had gotten some things for her to "sell" at her concession stand. She had such a great time doing that. She charged me a little more than I would have liked to have paid for a candy bar, but to her it was so much fun.

Ah, I think I've rambled on long enough. Hope everyone is doing well. Just think, in a few more days it will be Turkey Day. YUM YUM!!