VALIDATION

This was a video a friend posted on Facebook and it is just WAY too good to not share with everyone out there. It is over 16 minutes, but worth EVERY SINGLE SECOND. I wish more people created movies like this. The world would be happier and we would all treat each other better.

A BIG thank you to Carol for posting this. I have watched it 3 times already tonight. Rick got teary-eyed with me. And I giggled through the first 5 minutes. This video is going on here as a tribute to all the people in my life, especially in the last year, who have validated me, made me smile and just plain loved me, even when I was so unloveable, unsure of my future or just plain needing to be told I was okay just as I am.

"Validation" is a fable about the magic of free parking. Starring TJ Thyne & Vicki Davis. Writer/Director/Composer - Kurt Kuenne. Winner - Best Narrative Short, Cleveland Int'l Film Festival, Winner - Jury Award, Gen Art Chicago Film Festival, Winner - Audience Award, Hawaii Int'l Film Festival, Winner - Best Short Comedy, Breckenridge Festival of Film, Winner - Crystal Heart Award, Best Short Film & Audience Award, Heartland Film Festival, Winner - Christopher & Dana Reeve Audience Award, Williamstown Film Festival, Winner - Best Comedy, Dam Short Film Festival, Winner - Best Short Film, Sedona Int'l Film Festival.

Hey! HE IS CUTTING IN LINE!

I turned into a 1st grader today. There needs to be a police department for "cutting" in traffic. Most of the time I am a pretty patient driver. Most of the time. This morning -- not so much. Since it was raining, I left early to take Rick to work. I got in the correct line to enter the freeway and immediately traffic came to a dead stop! Then, as we are crawling forward one inch per minute, people are zooming by us on the right then slamming on their brakes at the "front of the line" to get onto the freeway. I felt like screaming, "Your schedule is not any more important than the rest of ours -- get in line and wait your turn!" But, I held it in and just enjoyed a few minutes to be with Rick on a Monday morning. And, since morning is his absolutely favorite time of day, anyone who knows him knows how communicative he is at 7:15 in the morning (side note for those who don't know him: this is the man who is kind all day, BUT in the morning. The first week we were married he said, "I love you, but PLEASE don't be so cheerful in the morning and PLEASE don't sing until after I have had a shower. Cute songs in the morning are NOT funny to me." I can laugh about it now because I am still a morning person -- I just don't talk to him).

Anyway, so I am put-putting on the freeway now, going 3 mph, thinking of my friend Kriste's blog about how marching band should be a requisite to driving so people learn how to merge, when I realize that people are zooming by me on the right in an exit-only lane and then stopping traffic to try to get back "in line" before they have to exit. ARGH!

The funny thing about all of this is that I woke up in a good mood and when I got home, I was in a good mood, but seeing that really ticked me off this morning. I wasn't allowed to "cut" in school -- didn't anyone else learn that?

This is How We Do it in Texas!

Okay, I don't eat it, but I can MAKE it..... My husband said this was the best burger ever - Big Smoky Burgers! They were fabulous smelling and I don't even like beef. So, I was a little proud. Homemade buns, homemade burgers (well, kind of homemade - Caleb said they weren't homemade since we didn't raise the beef and butcher it) -- my husband was happy! I usually just buy a pack of burgers at Costco. I was feeling adventurous, especially considering how much I hate touching raw meat. Caleb and Emma loved them, too.

Here is a secret to good burgers I have learned recently -- mix all your burger stuff together and let it sit overnight to let the flavors meld. This burger has chipotle peppers and a little liquid smoke in them -- so it smelled a little like beef jerky when I pulled it out of the fridge to form the patties.

Just a tidbit of fun.