Great; 365 more days of....

hearing the non-stop yammering of Orange Faithful -- and trust me, some of them will yammer on and on and on.

Worse, we deserve it. We played badly. WHY, WHY, the ol' ball coach kept Chris Smelley in the game is beyond me. He should have put Beecher in, if Garcia was unable to play (stomach flu all week). Smelley stunk. After the 2nd interception, he should have put Beecher in. No question. If Beecher flubbed it, THEN put Smelley back in after a good smackaround by the coaches.

What was the deal? We'll never know.

Tagged by Kate/Susan

It's that time again!!! Tagging for a fun quiz from Kate/Susan!

The rules:

• Link to the person who tagged you.
• Post the rules on your blog.
• Write 6 random things about yourself.
• Tag 6-ish people at the end of your post.
• Let each person know he/she has been tagged.
• Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

Six random things about me???? Okay........ but if I repeat myself from earlier posts, just bear with me.

1. I don't have stage fright. Not to say I don't get butterflies on occasion, but as far as being absolutely terrified to get up in front of people ..... not a prayer. It doesn't bother me in the least. There was some statistic years ago that something like 2 out of every 3 people would seriously rather die than do public speaking. PLEASE! I'd rather have to give a speech on a daily basis than die!!!
2. I actually can be quiet. Most of my friends will immediately double over in laughter and be yelling, "Stop! Stop! It hurts!" But at work, I'm fairly quiet. Not that I don't have anything to say, but most of the time (especially now) I'm trying to balance 14 plates on 2 hands. Ya know?
3. I love sportstalk. I do not listen to talk radio, because 95% of it is WAY too conservative for me. And believe me, no broadcaster around here would dare carry Air America, and upset all the poor little Carolina people who beleive that people who actually use the brain God gave them are pinko godless commie hippie freaks. But sports talk? Now that, my friends, is another story entirely. What can I say? I love sports, therefore I enjoy sports talk radio. Now, having said that, please allow me to express my extreme frustration with the local sports station -- not because they're the flagship station of the archrival school, but just because they have no idea how to hire someone who can actually (a) show up on a night or weekend and (b) actually have the cognitive and motor skills necessary to push a button for a satellite feed. TWO nights in a row without Westwood One coverage of football is making me one very cranky girl.
4. I'm no Adrian Monk, but.... I do not like germs, in the least. And most of all, I cannot tolerate a nasty kitchen. I honestly think a lot of that goes back to that one weekend I had a case of food poisoning. Salmonella will change your attitude about many things. You will pray for death, if you never have before. And when you survive, you will think very differently about germs. Now, I'm not saying I wash EVERY single dish, utensil, etc. immediately upon use. I don't have that much time on my hands! But I do believe in washing them as soon as possible, very thoroughly, and in the hottest water my hands can stand without being scalded. Or at the very least, putting them in the dishwasher for the next cycle. I know, I'm a little obsessive.
   
5. I'm a bit disorganized. Okay, I'll give you a chance to quit guffawing. Everything is in a pile somewhere, but I can almost always get you what you need within minutes. It's odd. I can't be perfectly organized. I've tried a million times. It just doesn't work. But the pile system works. Go figure. Does "savant" figure in here?
   
6. I am the worst nightmare for an Adult Contemporary PD. I'm their perfect P1 -- pushing 40, career person or soccer mom (I'm the first), female, and not really up on who the latest craze in teen music is (okay, I know who the Jonas Brothers are only because they seem to be plastered all over People but to name a song of theirs... Please.). And here's the deal: I hate the format. Celine Dion makes me wretch, and Shania's music is something I haven't enjoyed since the song "Any Man of Mine." Faith Hill is not the second coming, and Josh Groban doesn't make me swoon in the least. And ... get ready for a shocker ... I am damn tired of Christmas music shoved down my throat 6 weeks before I plan to shop. On that point alone, you will rarely catch me listening to an A/C station. Oh, and I am not a fan of either Delilah or John Tesh. Oddly enough, between the two, I prefer John Tesh's format -- he just records drop-ins and lets the station choose the music. That, at least, allows for a little creativity!
   

Ok, now to find six people whom Susan didn't nab already. YOW!!!!
1. Stoney
2. Cary from LOTD
3. Stacey
4. Ballz
5. Sunny
6. Toucan

Have fun! Looking forward to learning some new facts about everyone :-)

They were FABULOUS!!!

I went yesterday to our local large venue to see Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

Not only did they not disappoint in the least, but they wowed me. I actually sat there for a few songs and all I could say was "Whoa!" or "WOW!" or "Holy mackerel!" The pyrotechnics and lights were amazing. The music was great.

If they come to your area, RUN to the ticket office and get your seats. Next year, I'm taking the whole family. My father will love it, my brother will (being a metal fan), and my mom will take a pair of earplugs. (HA!!!!!)

I'm serious, though. They are a must-see. Absolutely incredible. The only caveat is that they do use a lot of strobe and flash lighting -- so if you have a sensitivity to that at all, stay home. I had nosebleed seats (but right over the stage), and one of the floodlights near me was heavily involved in the flash lighting for one song. So I had to just shut my eyes during that segment and focus on the music instead.

And the new album -- probably next year. I can't wait. I will be getting it. REALLY good..... But in the meantime, you can get a download FREE at Amazon.com -- check out "Night Enchanted"! It's awesome -- and only good this week! HURRY!

Still got the scratchies....

Yep. Three full days of Claritin and Nasonex later, and I still have the scratchy throat. I have an awful sense of foreboding that I will be battling this all winter long. I really, truly, deeply, madly hope and pray that it goes away before Christmas and Midnight Mass. The one year that I've actually been able to practice (at least a better part of the time) with the choir ... and I would hate to miss it because I can't sing.

I think this scares me more than anything. Singing is so much a part of who I am that the idea that it can be taken away just..... I don't even want to entertain the thought. I don't want to give it any rent in my head. I will get better. I will get better. I will get better.

***

Mr. Maddox had himself a grand ol' time the last few days at Camp Bow Wow. Normally, I have another petsitter that I would use, but Wednesday and Thursday were going to be late nights for me anyway, so I might as well have kept him close for pickup.

Their idea is "Play All Day, Snooze The Night Away" .... and it's not just a slogan. IT WORKS! Maddox was thoroughly exhausted and pretty much slept or napped from the moment he got home. I had to take him with me to Weight Watchers the other night, and while he kind of sniffed around a little, he was far more eager to find a spot and just poop out. Even now, the day after having spent a full day playing and a full night sleeping, he is still napping!

***

And next on the agenda -- CHRISTMAS CARDS! I'm taking part in a card swap and I have to make some Christmas cards for it. On that note, I had best get to hopping on it and out of these PJ's. Although they are warm flannel PJ's in pink with white polar bears and snowflakes on them. Got them at KMart over the weekend for a STEAL of a price. I may just have to go buy and get myself another pair (in a different motif). These are really warm and I would love to lounge around in them all day. But I have a couple of places to go and things to do first (then get crackin' on those cards!) ......... AND I have to figure out a way to take the family Christmas pictures tomorrow afternoon before the concert. I'm going to see Trans-Siberian Orchestra and I can't wait!!

That's all that's happening in Nettie's World. WHEW!

It's baaa-aaack....

And now I sound like Marge Simpson.

I felt it starting Saturday night, the old familiar scratchy-scratch feeling in my throat. And instead of going to the Johnny Cash/Barry White end of things, it's gone Marge Simpson. So I went to our family doctor today to make sure it wasn't strep.

Whew, thank you saints and angels, it isn't. What is happening is a horrid case of post-nasal drip due to nasal allergies. Makes me remember the old Dristan commercials about "post-nasal drip" ... but that's another thought. Anyway, I'll be taking Claritin and Nasonex and seeing what progresses from there.

Makes me kind of wish I'd had my tonsils and adenoids removed as a child.....

***

IN OTHER NEWS.......

I had a great time Sunday and yesterday with my friends, The Glecks (Tal & Sera). Sera had an entry in the National Gingerbread House Competition at the Grove Park Inn in Asheville NC. I loved her entry, precisely because it wasn't a Christmas-y entry. There's nothing in the rulebook that says "Christmas entries only" and no reason other than pure tradition to associate gingerbread with Christmas. Quite honestly, I think of it as a fall thing myself.

Anyway, there were bookoo entries, all with that overwhelming Christmas theme. I could write an entire diatribe on that, but I won't bore you. Suffice to say that while Sera's house didn't get in the Top 10, it should have, and I am proud to say that the comments I heard about her entry were very positive, and was captured in quite a few cameras.

We also got to meet actress Melissa Reeves, who played Jennifer (Horton) Devereaux on Days of Our Lives for a number of years. She could not have been a more gracious individual, and genuinely happy that her work had been received well. I watched Days for many years in high school and college, and always enjoyed her performances. She and her family live in Tennessee now, and she had a friend who was also an entrant.

As for next year, ideas have been tossed up...... (insert very evil, maniacal laugh right here).

Sometimes, being fully armed...

........just isn't enough. Most of the weekend was spent doing my usual litany of things to do that I can't get done during the week, and speaking hoarsely. Yep, hoarseness-leaning-into-laryngitis. Nothing ached, nothing felt bad, just couldn't speak. And then.......

Yesterday morning came. I woke up and my throat didn't hurt as much, but my nose was starting to feel weird. By yesterday afternoon, I was in Rite Aid, buying more cough drops, zinc lozenges, and anti-viral Kleenex (I won't vouch for the anti-viral part, but I love the triple-thickness!). I'm sneezing. My eyes are watery. My head doesn't ache, but I do feel I'm running around 90% capacity instead of my usual 100+.

Yep. It's a cold. Almost for sure. My face doesn't ache, and I don't have that weird disconnect that I feel sometimes with a sinus infection. My throat STILL hurts and I still sound like a white, Southern female version of Barry White. Hey, at least I have my voice back, right? It comes and goes.... when it's here, I'm Barryna. When it's not, I'm Kirstie Alley during some of the scenes in "Look Who's Talking" ("What do you mean, he looks stoned? He looks PERFECT!")

And I'm still drinking hot drinks (decaf tea with a little honey thrown in, sugar-free cider, sugar-free hot chocolate, even non-iced sodas). And yes, I am still taking Granny's cough syrup at bedtime (it helps, if nothing else but to let me sleep...... HA!)

Oh well..... whomever is the patron saint of the common cold, pray for us. It's gonna be a long winter.