Just a Second, Say That Again

"Birds sing because life is sweet."

I didn't say that and I don't know who did, but I heard it and have been keeping it like a marble in my pocket for years. Say it a couple of times to yourself. It starts to feel good.

Happy Birthday Todd

This past week we celebrated Todd's 34th Birthday. Here are a few things about Todd that you may not know.

*He is extremely disciplined in every aspect of his life, except when it comes to cookie dough
*You may think he is so serious, but don't let that fool you. He can sing along to all the songs in "High School Musical."
*It is nearly impossible for me to get him to take a vitamin. He thinks he can just eat the right kinds of food.
*He used to have a lot of hair on his head when we got married 9 years ago. He blames it on me. I think he is joking.
*Every time a helicopter flies by, he cranes his neck to identify it.
*Does not like olives, tofu or the Texas Longhorns
*He is very good about using Listerine and flossing daily
*He has been to 2 Van Halen concerts
*Todd has some pretty good dance moves
*He has lots of patience (I seem to test it alot)

Todd is great husband, father and friend. Love you babe.

Bella after enjoying birthday cake.

The Big Tuna is Canned!

Disclaimer: This is totally boring if you don't like football.


Monday, Coach Bill Parcells retired, via email. All I can say is hooray. I was waiting for him to get fired or leave for 3 years now. I was definitely not a Parcells fan. Todd says, "But Sandi, he is a LEGEND." I can't even begin to tell you how many times I have heard that lately. A legend huh.

It got me to thinking. What really is a legend? What makes someone so special they become a legend? After some serious thought, here is Sandi Walker's requirements of becoming a legend and if Big Bill meets them.

1. You have to be memorable, a little controversial and maybe even somewhat notorious.
*I guess the "New Jersey Con Man" fits criteria #1
2. When people think of you, some sort excitement surges through their brain
* Not now, only excitement is because he is gone. (Does not meet)
3. Sets new fashion trends
* I think we can all agree here that Bill needs a little help in that area. See picture below.





4. A legend's life work breaks all barriers.
*With the Cowboys' postseason appearance in 2003, Parcells became the first coach in NFL history to lead four different teams to the playoffs. Todd thinks that is so awesome. Well, I have lead four different kids into Walmart, with no nap...on a Saturday afternoon. He is one of only five coaches (Don Shula, Dan Reeves, Dick Vermeil, and Mike Holmgren) in NFL history to have led two separate teams to the Super Bowl. (I guess he qualifies)
5. A legend is a person of integrity.
*Don't really know much about Bill, but when he retired, he let the people of DFW know via email and no media interviews. Then he turns around and does a 31 minute interview up in New York. I guess he forgot about all the fans who bought tickets, season ticket holders, and the people who bought all the cowboys merchandise and supported this team. He owes them a reason. (sorry Bill, you didn't meet requirement #5)

So, Bill, your score is 2 out of 5.

Cowboys' New Hire Jason Garrett

I like this guy for the OC coaching position. He is really nice guy and went to Princeton so he has some brains. A few of you may know that during my Pre- Todd and family days, I worked a brief stint for the Cowboys. Jason Garrett asked me to help him with his summer camp and here is a picture. It is Jay Novechek and me wearing our Jason Garrett shirts. I have pictures with the usual dudes, Troy, Emmitt, Darren Woodson , Maddon and even Irvin (wearing a red suit), but I put them somewhere for safe keeping. I just need to find where that spot is. I have some pretty funny stories about my time there. If you are curious, just ask about my Troy Aikman and muffin encounter.

24 - round two

So last time we talked, I was only up to 6am season 1. 10 hours and a bottle of tums later, here is what I think:

Kim, the teenage daughter still totally bugs me. I mean she likes that loser Rick who kidnapped her. I just want to shake her. Just don't get it. Also, she totally disobeys her parents. Jack says, "Don't move. It dangerous." What does the little twit do, she moves and almost gets nailed by a sniper. It's not like her dad was telling her anything complicated, but she is rebellious. Are all teenagers like that? Is her IQ just low? How could you go against freakin Jack Bauer?! oh another thing while I am on my Kimberly tangent, when she finds out her mom is pregnant, she is "like mom, why didn't you like tell me you were trying." All I can say Kim is NYOB - stay out of it. (For all of you over 30, just ask a 12 year old what NYOB is) Kim - ugggg. I am predicting many episodes of frustration that she will be bringing me in the future.

Senator Palmer, you know, I really like this guy. His voice is really soothing. He should do books on tape. His wife is a little white house hungry and is kind of shady but I think I can overlook that for now because she dresses nice and I like her lipstick. You know what I find interesting about him. He doesn't seem to care how his race is going. I mean it is the primary election as they remind you 24 times, before each episode. He doesn't ask his staff for exit polls or anything - he is one confident senator. That's why I like him. Also, he is one tough dude. When he demands to see Bauer at CTU, he will not take no for an answer. He sees Jack and straight up asks why are you trying to kill me? (I will get to my thoughts on Jack in a minute) Jack persuades him that he is not a killer and all is well, at least for the next 5 minutes. My last thing about Palmer, I like how he isn't going to run to Nebraska to get away from the assassins but says he wants to stay and smoke them out. Oh yeah! That's the kind of president I like. Kind of reminds me of Harrison Ford in Airforce 1.

Jamey - computer girl / traitor. She committed suicide - what!!! That was a total shocker there. She was telling us this boring sob story of how she did it all for he son and she loves him and then she slices her wrists. I thought they would teach you to be tougher at CTU, you are fighting terrorist for crying out loud. And if you want to commit suicide, why would you slice your wrist with a broken coffee mug? swallow some poison or knock your head against the wall or something.

Milo - like him, he is freakishly tall and skinny and his goatee is really thin, but he is smart.

Terri, the wife, I like her a little more. She has Nina all figured out. I am starting to like her short hair a little bit better too, just a little bit. So she is pregnant, that was a twist, not too shocking but more interesting. I just wanted her to tell Nina, "I'm pregnant, na na na na na na, I'm having Bauer's baby not you." But she doesn't. I guess she is more civilized than me. I was impressed how she killed the bad guy and was trying to get away, she is dodging bullets (all with stomach pains) but then she get lost with a personal GPS. I saw that GPS. It was totally cool. Even a blind person could find their way to the water tower. whatever. Jack rescued her as usual and they head back to CTU, then the safe house. That's where I left off.

Nina - ugg, still don't like her, and acting like a woman scorned is really obnoxious. when she talks,all I hear is blah blah blah. Jack, I will say it again, what in the world were you thinking?!!! Anyway, Nina is acting a little suspicious. You know I still think and desperately hope she is a bad agent so she will die. Plus her debriefing skills are terrible. Wasn't she trained better at CTU? When she is debriefing Kim and Terri at the safehouse, she doesn't ask any good questions. She was like, who's Rick, how did you meet him. What, who cares about Rick, lets find Gaines you idiot. I would at least have a notebook and pretend to write stuff down to look smart or something. Nina has to go. I am not a fan.

Robert Ellis- Jack's friend from "Operation Nightfall." We first meet this guy in a smokey club in New Orleans, gambling and smoking. I like him already. He says the greatest line I have ever heard . "If you could read what is in my eyes, you would crawl under a rock and cry." WHAT! That is awesome. Did he just say that? Yep, I replayed it about 12 times. I started saying it around here but it doesn't get the same reaction. My coolness factor is lacking. Anyway, Robert is introduced. I am intrigued. He is the most interested character on the show besides Jack. I am looking forward to these 2 cowboys fighting terrorists, using cool CTU toys, slinging one liners around. And what do the producers of 24 do? They kill him off 15 minutes later. 20th Century Fox, can you hear my cry of outrage! What were you thinking. These are the same people that brought us Nina. Let's move on.

Jack , Jack, Jack, the hero. (Imagine with me here, a low, gravely voice, like you have had a few cuban cigs )

"Right Now, terrorist are plotting to assassinate a Presidential candidate . . . My wife and daughter are in danger . . . And people that I work with may be involved with both . . . I am Federal Agent Jack Bauer. . . and this . . .is the longest day of my life."

Jack, it's been a long day for me too buddy watching you all in 1 sitting, but I do it. What can I say about Jack. It amazes me how many fights and gun shoot outs, car chases etc. he goes through, yet his hair still looks good. I wish I knew his secret. Jack's been a busy guy, he has discovered who the terrorist are, saved his family, only for them to get in danger again, got arrested, then reinstated, beat up a couple of guys, shot a few, stabbed one, he is also trying to discover who the mole is in CTU. What can this guy not do. One thing that impresses me about Jack is how he ends phone conversations. He just hangs up. You have to be really cool to pull that off. He gets to the point and moves on. He doesn't waste anybody's time saying bye or talk to you later. It's just. . click...
Love that. Think I am going to try it. Don't be offended.

Well, I am up to 4PM. What's going to happen? Will Palmer get whacked? Will Nina's jealousy about Terri come to a head? Will Kim get some sense? Will Jack at last save the day and get some sleep?

Have a good day my fellow Jack fans.

A Bunch of Weird Things About Me

• I Love all infomercials! Especially the ones that are selling CD compilations and handy things you can use around the house.
• Every night before bed I put Vaseline on my eyes and lips.
• I can't leave my house unless I have brushed my teeth.
• I make a pot of coffee each morning and only drink about 4-5 sips.
• I sleep with 3 pillows and the fan on every night even if it is below freezing outside. Todd has even had to put on thermal underwear before just to stay warm.
• I think name tags are cool. I save everyone I have ever gotten.
• The smell of Right Guard deodorant, citrus orange cleaner and cat food commercials make me gag really bad.
• Speaking of gagging, I have an extreme phobia of barf, otherwise known as Emetophobia. I even locked my daughter in the backyard onetime when she was sick and spoke to her through a cracked window.
• I have been told I laugh pretty loud and maybe not at the right time. When I hold my laughter in, I snort.
• I like to follow people home and see where they live. Todd thinks this is so weird ,but he always drives me.
• I have serious aversion to hot dogs and pork. gross. I can hardly even write about it, it creeps me out so bad.
• I am a total heath nut. Organic stuff, supplements, stuff like that really excites me and I get really pumped up. I've had fewer than 1 cold per year for the last 6 years.
• I love Karaoke and sing with the microphones everyday. I also use the microphones to talk to everyone in the house and tell them what to do just to be obnoxious. It seems to work.
• I have a very high threshold for breaking into tears.
• I know the words to 99% of all the Beatles songs.
• I like to hide and scare Todd at random times. He does not think this is weird, but more juvenile. I think he says that because I really do scare him.
• Once a month or so I usually scream in my sleep and then can't quit giggling in the night because it wakes Todd up and he gets mad, which makes the uncontrollable giggling worse, which makes him get even madder -the cycle never ends.
• I can squat 60 pounds.
• When I do something, I am either all or nothing.

Have you had enough yet?

What's coming up on my blog

Here is a preview of things I am working on for your enjoyment.
1. Bill Parcells's - Is he really a legend?
2. Commentary on the latest 24 that I've watched
3. Weird things about me

So stayed tuned blogger friends.

Gloomiest Day of the Year

"The BBC is reporting that misery is expected to peak on Wednesday, as 24 January has been pinpointed as the worst day of the year. January has been long regarded as the darkest of months, but a formula from a part-time tutor at Cardiff University shows it gets even worse this Wednesday. Foul weather, debt, fading Christmas memories, failed resolutions and a lack of motivation conspire to depress, Cliff Arnalls found. He found 24 January was especially dangerous, coming a whole month after Christmas festivities. Any energy from the holiday had worn off by the third week of January, he said.
By Wednesday, most people will have fallen off the wagon or abandoned the nicotine patches as they fail to keep New Year's resolutions. That compounds a sense of failure and knocks confidence needed to get through January."

Personally, I am not feeling especially gloomy. Are you?

The Answer

Well, I guess my readership of 3 people didn't know the answer. It was George Harrison of the Beatles, song "Good Day Sunshine", Album "Revolver".
Maybe next time.

The Sun is Out!

All I can say is it is finally sunny! Get out there and enjoy it. This song came into my head after church today.
Whoever is the first to guess correctly where the following lyrics are from, I will buy you a coffee at Starbucks. You have to guess the singer and Album.
Hint: Liverpool

"Good day sunshine
I need to laugh, and when the sun is out
I've got something I can laugh about
I feel good, in a special way I'm in love and it's a sunny day
Good day sunshine Good day sunshine Good day sunshine
We take a walk, the sun is shining down
Burns my feet as they touch the ground
Good day sunshine"

I've Discovered Jack

Ok, so yesterday at the Library I was checking out and I happened to glance at the DVD section and saw 24 season 1. I thought might as well see what all the hype was about. Todd and I were told how great it was, so we gave it a whirl. Here is what I thought of 24:
1. Totally Addicted now! We have only seen the first 7 hours and it was great.
2. Love the real time thing. Of course you invest hours watching it and only progress 1./2 a day on the show.
3. Jack Bauer - He is one cool dude.
4. What is up with Nina? She really bugs me and I mean the minute we met her. She seemed whiny and insecure and bossy. What a great combination. Her skinny legs sticking out of her skirt with out hose really annoy me. Is she a dirty agent? I kind of hope so, so maybe she will get killed off (don't tell me). Yes , I saw where Jack "fake" shot her.
5. Senator Palmer - Wow, it's the Allstate guy. Have you seen him lately in the commercials? He convinces me that Allstate is great, so when he appeared as the Presidential candidate, I was sold.
6. Another thing about Palmer - Does he give in and cover up his son's little murder problem? Does he win the presidential race? Don't tell me. Speaking of his son, why is he so short and Palmer is so tall?
7. Let's talk about Jack a minute. I like that he is a renegade and does his own thing. He has some tricky moves too. I like when he cut that guy's thumb off , even though I wasn't watching and Todd had to tell me about it. He also has some cool toys. Supped up suburban. The portable scanner is a nice touch. My only downfall with Jack is that he had an affair with Nina and you know how I feel about her (see above). His wife seems ok, kind of hysterical and her hair is kind of bizzare like she is growing it out after a bad haircut. But I gained a little respect after she nailed the fake Alan York with a rock and knocked him out. I probably would have kept running or taken the car but there were 27 minutes left, that would have taken about 30 seconds.
8. The kidnapped daughter. Seems nice enough for a teenager except why is she becoming friends with her kidnapper? She needed to whack him with the shovel and run. And learn to wear age appropriate clothing.
9. Jaime - the computer girl. so sad that she appears to be dirty. I liked her.
10. 24 is intense, but entertaining. I found myself getting tensed up.

So if you see me, please don't talk about anything past 6am season 1 (until I get caught up). Does anyone have any of the past seasons on DVD that we can borrow?????
Have a good day my fellow Jack fans.

Funny Blogs

So I've been spending a lot of time lately looking for funny blogs. The problem is that there are so many blogs and so little time. I know, I know, your blog is funny, but maybe I haven't had a chance to visit it yet, and I probably haven't had a chance to check out everybody on your blog roll, and everybody on their blog roll.... You get the idea. Anyway, I'm sure this isn't an original idea, but here it is: I am looking for blogs that meet the following criteria:
1. They are funny.
2. They are made up of mostly original content (not links to other blogs, YouTube, etc.)
3. They are updated regularly.
4. There is a good chance you've never heard of them. That means they don't have a gazillion other links to them, hundreds of readers leaving comments, etc.
5. Lastly, the material is clean.
Now of course what I'm hoping is that everybody who reads this will try this little exercise on their own blog and give all of us some cool new blogs to check out. If you do try it, please (1) feel free to steal any or all of this post for your own site, and (2) add a comment here with a link to the list on your blog. And remember that the blogs don't necessarily have to be your absolute favorites or the funniest blogs in the world; as long as you enjoy them and you think we might, that's good enough. What we're looking for is the best "undiscovered" blogs.

We Are Moving

More than likely we will be moving to the UK for Todd's job. He will be working on the Presidential Helicopter. (go figure that the US president's chopper is made in the UK). More than likely we will be in the Wessex region. I for sure want to walk on Abby Road since I am a Beatles fan. And do the Eifle tower thing. Now I am asking all my British friends, where should we live, do, see etc.?


Are you jealous yet ? Just remember, we have to fly over there with 4 small kids and a dog on a 10 + hour flight. We will probably have many humorous stories about our life in England so stay posted.

Here is a sampling of the landscape there. Way different than Texas.

Snow Break

After all the snow fun, we went to Starbucks and got a warm vanilla milk. Good times.

More Snow Fun

All the kids in the street having fun.

Madeline, Savannah, Landon & Bella
Running down the street to the park.

Landon tasting snowflakes.

Madeline having fun.

Bella's First Snow Day

Today was a snowy day in Fort Worth. The kids went outside to play and Bella LOVED it. She and the other kids played for about an hour.

What Todd Does At Work

This is what happened to Todd at work today. He sliced his head open on his cubicle cabinets. Sounds like something that would happen at Dunder Mifflin (for fellow office fans). This is the second time this has happened to him believe it or not.

Pursuit of Happyness

Saw it - Loved it!! Go see it.

Saturday Nights at the Walker house

On most evenings at our house, you will find at least one of us performing karaoke. Tonight we went out with our friends Richard and Cyndi. Saw a movie, went to dinner and then came back to our house for . . . karaoke! Totally fun. Here are Richard and Cyndi singing "You are The Wind Beneath My Wings."

Madeline's 7th Birthday

Madeline's Birthday was December 28th, but she had her friend party today. She had a good time!

Lost Tooth

Savannah lost her first tooth. It was just barely hanging there and it was driving me crazy, so I pinned her down and pulled it out myself. She freaked out when it was happening but felt better afterwards. She looks like a little cutie.

Monster Ballads - Even tough guys have a softer side

After seeing the commercial for it for years. I finally got it. Are you jealous? It is awesome.

Here is a sampling of what is on it. Totally rocks!

1. Heaven - Warrant
2. Something To Believe In - Poison
3. High Enough - Damn Yankees
4. Almost Paradise - Mike Reno/Anne Wilson
5. Is This Love - Whitesnake

6. To Be With You - Mr. Big
7. Carrie - Europe
8. Don't Know What You Got Til It's Gone - Cinderella
9. More Than Words - Extreme
10. Headed For A Heartbreak - Winger
11. When I Look Into Your Eyes - Firehouse
12. Wind Of Change - Scorpions
13. I'll Never Let You Go (Angel Eyes) - Steelheart
14. When I See You Smile - Bad English
15. Don't Close Your Eyes - Kix
16. When I'm With You - Sheriff

Why I Hate Step Classes

I recently went to a step aerobics class and here are 10 thoughts on why I will never go back.

1. It is for coordinated people only. Trying to remember what a grapevine, crossover, revolving door , to the knee etc - too much.
2. You are surrounded by wall to wall mirrors so you get to see exactly how stupid you look. Great for your self esteem.
3. After my heart felt like it was going to quit on me , I just knew class was about over. I look at the clock, we were only going for 6 minutes. . . I felt like crying.
4. All that bouncing and jumping really made my curls go crazy.
5. Eventually I was getting the hang of it and thought I wasn't doing too bad. I look over at the lady next to me to measure my progress. She is going full force and is not even sweating - she was probably 55, smiling and cheering. I'm 29 and was drenched.
6. Speaking of cheering, the teacher would get us to cheer along with her. I just couldn't do it. Too embarrassing. Random whoohees and oh yeah's - no way.
7. The teacher would speed the music up really fast. It really annoyed me especially since I was trying to sing along.
8. Apparently you're not supposed to sing along according to the looks I got.
9. At the end of class, my face was an attractive color of tomato red.
10. . Last reason I will not go back. The next day, could not even walk. Had to roll out of bed.

I think I will stick to the treadmill.

Searching

Looking for some new mystery authors to try out. Let me know if you recommend anyone.

2006 - Looking Back

Here are a few things that I am thankful for in 2006 (in no particular order):
Healing of Savannah's legs - no surgery
My sweet family
My brother
Keystone church www.keystonechurch.com
Awesome friends
Getting a Karaoke machine
New puppy
Tennis Business
BSF - the bible study I attend
Todd's job opportunities

Here is what I am looking forward to in 2007:
Todd's Job opportunities
Another child?
time with my family
vacations
future of my church
growing closer to Jesus
working out

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

New Year's Eve

We had a great night with some of our sweeet friends Jeff & Theresa Knowles. Their 5 kids plus our 4 made for lots of fun and noise.It was 1 big slumber party. We did fireworks, ate good food, played games and stayed up late. Todd and I actually stayed up past 2am. As most of you know, we usually go to bed by 9 every night so we were totally dead the next day!! But it was worth it.

This is Jeff. He was a tight end at Texas Tech with Todd. He now works for Remax. He is also an ordained pastor.

Thanks for the great memories Knowles' family!

Christmas 2006

We had a great Christmas. Thank you everyone for the presents! Here are a few pictures.

Madeline, Landon, Savannah & Bella opening their stockings.

Workout Revsion

After Todd saw the latest blog posting, he said I forgot to mention a few other things he purchased.
2 Treadmills
Tae-Bo
Core Secrets
Weight Watchers
Windor Pilates
Free Weights
Stability Ball
Some Exercise cushion
Various Diet and Exercise books
Personal Trainer that came to the house

I sound like I am in great shape huh!