Wordless Wednesday

Cailyn P. Callahan

April 28, 1990 ~ June 21, 2007

"Write These Words..."

Does your family have a special scripture, psalm or verse? Do you have any open wall space just aching for something special?

I would like to introduce to you, a special idea from an extra special family. Some friends of mine have been divinely inspired to create a website where you can order self adhesive vinyl lettering for your walls, mirrors, windows or other smooth surfaces to display God's word!


It's called Write These Words. You will find many photos and ideas and you can shop for 25 different colors and 50 different fonts! The letters can be ordered in many sizes to customize your space.


The possibilities go on and on! You can also use the lettering to enhance the walls of churches or day cares as well!

Ordering is easy and the prices are right on the screen as you go.

Of course you can also request non scripture layouts for those who love poetry or have other ideas in mind. The product comes directly to you with clear & easy to follow instructions. Please consider giving their website a look-see. You won't believe how inspiring it will be!

This is not a paid advertisement!

Knocked Up - Movie review

I recently saw the new comedy "Knocked Up."

It had some bad language, drugs and sex (of course) but despite all that, I thought it was a very funny movie. I have learned to sorta look through that stuff and focus on the story and characters. It was unrealistic in the sense that they tried to make a relationship work from their one night stand, only after she found out she was pregnant.

Bad idea. My review - my opinions.

I liked all of the actors in this movie, and wow did it have alot of them! I'm so terrible with names, but I'll give you my version: there's 'Izzy' from Grey's Anatomy, a bunch of people from the 40 Year Old Virgin (same director) - the curly headed stock room guy, the guy who couldn't get over his girlfriend and these two used to argue about how they know the other one is gay, Steve Carell, the drunk girl from the club that wasn't supposed to drive drunk and then threw up on him, the mom from Growing Pains, the curly headed chubby guy from Campus Ladies (who looks slimmer now, good for him!), the tall guy 'Marshal' from How I Met Your Mother, that funny lady from SNL who outdoes everyone, Ryan Seacrest, Jessica Simpson, and a bunch of other people I've seen before, but can't place.

I also liked the music for this movie too. I actually feel like this movie was a side splitting hit and probably better than the trailers made it seem. Some of my favorite scenes were from the Vegas road trip the guys took. For my friend Patrick, there's a great scene about the best way to get pink eye. Then the room scene with the chairs, I must say, I laughed so hard, I had tears for a minute there. Those chairs were hilarious!! I'm so easily amused.

So there you have it! I liked it, but if you are offended by the 'R' rating, you might wanna pass. There are other funny movies to see!


This is not a paid advertisement!!!

Contest site with a twist update *I WON, I WON!*

Remember when I asked you all to come check out this cool new contest site called Whogets.com to vote for me? Well, I was a finalist in a contest to win a U2 cd and I won!!! Enough people voted, and I won! How fun :)



Here are the tracks from the cd:


1. Beautiful Day
2. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
3. Pride (In The Name Of Love)
4. With Or Without You
5. Vertigo
6. New Year's Day
7. Mysterious Ways
8. Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of
9. Where The Streets Have No Name
10. Sweetest Thing
11. Sunday Bloody Sunday
12. One
13. Desire
14. Walk On
15. Elevation
16. Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own
17. The Saints Are Coming
18. Window In The Skies


It's so fun to win things!! Thanks to all of you who voted for me! I really appreciate it! Get signed up right away and let me know if I can return the favor!

A fatal Lincoln County teen car accident

It happened early Thursday morning around 1:30 am on June 21, 2007, in Lincoln County, MO. The details are still being sorted out, but inside the borrowed car were 2 17 year old girls. State Troopers say alcohol played a factor for both girls. Ashley (probably the driver) was talking on her cell phone to her boyfriend and going too fast. They lost control of the vehicle which rolled and ejected both girls from the car because they were both unrestrained. Cailyn Callahan died at the scene. She is the daughter of my cousin Kathy.


Ashley is expected to be released from the hospital. Her driver's license had been suspended. Cailyn didn't even have a driver's license and according to one of her sisters, had no knowledge or ability to drive a car having a stick shift transmission.

Cailyn was a straight 'A' student at Ace High School in the Hazelwood school district. She was loved and will be missed. Please use this story as an example of how easily bad things can happen, especially when you mix in inexperience, distractions like cell phones and illegal alcohol consumption with driving without the legal right to. Ashley is fortunate to be alive, to be able to recover. Not everyone is so fortunate in these situations. I can only hope there is a lesson learned by many. Things like this keep happening - it's senseless and unnecessary.



Read more or watch the recorded interview for yourself.

Friday's Feast #149

Appetizer:

Name a funny habit you have.
Whew, I'm so glad you didn't ask us to name a grosse habit LOL Well, I have a slight case of OCD so, I have a couple. A funny one would be that I fold paper. If I have a piece of paper, especially money, I have to fold it. I usually keep going until it's too small to fold anymore. Then I unfold, and refold. Sometimes, I have to make myself just put it down and step away.

(I wish I could make this!!!)

Soup:

If you could instantly know how to play a musical instrument, which one would you pick?
Guitar, so I could be a rock star. Bawoooonnnngggg eeeee wowwww!!!!

No wait, the drums, so I could be a rock star, but a sitting-down rock star! Huh! All that rockin and walking back and forth from the monitor to my spot and then over to the lead singer, forget that.



Salad:
How long is your hair?
It comes down to aboooouuuut here. See? (turns & points to lower back)


Main Course:
When was the last time you forgave someone, and who was it?
Wednesday, Jen. It wasn't a big one or anything, but I guess it counts.


Dessert:
What is your favorite kitchen appliance?
I am queen of the microwave for work lunches!

Green Tea for me 3

Well, I have found another great one! Introducing my new favorite ready-to-drink green tea product:




I was really happy when I tried it. It is just sweet enough with the honey, and it does not have any other outside flavors from the tea itself. Nice. Not to mention it is substantially more affordable than the individual bottles of Snapple @ $1.59 each for a 20 oz. I can get a case of 24 tall 23.5 oz cans of the AriZona Green Teas @ a local warehouse store for $15!


Although, my quest to up my intake of egcgs is unknown by drinking the AriZona green tea with ginseng and honey. I searched the label and website to no avail on it's contribution of egcg to my daily count. So, I called the suggested 1-800-TEA-3775 phone number on the product. I had to leave a message, and about 5 days later, someone finally called me back. The kind man on the phone informed me that at this time, they did not have any information on the egcg content of their products. He also said that it was something they were looking into finding out so they could add the information to their packaging. For the time being, I'm going to assume that 23.5 oz of green tea has as much or more than the 55mg offered in a container of Snapple Green Tea.


So there you have it!

Elvis Presley: Yesterday and Today

Today, I'm in an


kind of mood. I realized recently that I really do enjoy a lot of his music. I was always a fan of his movies and music as a kid. Of course, I didn't actively listen much as a teenager. But I am the kind of person who listens to all kinds of music. Especially now.

I was only about 3 or 4 when he died, but I can remember the impact it made. Full on adults were sobbing and gasping and so upset! It was all anyone could talk about for a long time. Now that I'm older, I understand more of his story and I think it's terribly tragic in the end. I have visited Graceland a couple of times on "we're bored so let's drive to Memphis" trips in the middle of the night. Because "you know, Memphis is only 4 short hours away!" I've never been inside. Maybe some day I'll go in!

Anyway, today is an Elvis day. I'm just in the mood for the smooth sound of his voice and the nostalgic feelings he conjures up.

Special thanks to my friend Shell who gave me my first Elvis CD for Christmas last year, I have put it to good use!

All wigged out!

Our pastor was not at church last Wednesday. It just so happened a member of the band found a box of wigs in the costumes, so....

Worship got all "wig"ged out!

Our drummer even kicked it up a notch with a mask and cape! It was fun :)

It's good to worship with lightheartedness sometimes!

Wordless Wednesday

Sky over St. Louis, 6/19/07

My current fav magazine

'World' magazine is a very interesting publication. I'm not sure how I got turned onto it, but I really enjoy getting a new one in the mail. It comes out almost weekly, and has a full range of articles. I believe the idea is, 'Weekly news - Christian views.' It has a full range of coverages: current events, movie and book reviews, travel issues, human issues, political issues, financial issues and my favorite section "The Buzz" (go figure). I love the short stories taken from around the world that are just well, sometimes odd. This week, they have blurbs about a strange fish found in the Ohio river that has actual teeth (yep, they look like a redneck's teeth, but human nonetheless), that guy that was taken for a ride in his wheelchair for about 2 miles lodged on the front grill of a semi truck and other stories of strange and interesting caliber. Anyway, it's very cool, very affordable (24 issues for $24.95 or 48 issues for $49.95!) and I recommend it to anyone, Christian or not. It's a nice publication!!

This is not a paid advertisement!!!

How would you survive?

True Story:

I've never been one to stay somewhere that I didn't want to be. That may sound like a silly way to begin a post, but stick with me here.
I went on a 3 day road trip with a couple of friends a few years back to Nashiville, Tennessee. It's about a 5 or 6 hour drive or so from St. Louis. Being young and inexperienced and no credit cards to fall back on, I quickly ran out of money while we were there.

To this day, I'm not 100% sure why, but the one friend who's car we took on the trip, who also seemed to be in charge of everything else, decided to cop an attitude about helping me out by paying for me, the morning we were to come back to St. Louis. Honestly, we are only talking about breakfast, lunch, and a drink for the road. It's only 5 hours!

We stopped at a local fast food restaurant to get some breakfast. When we got out of the car, I asked her if she could open the trunk so I could put my purse inside since it was useless to me anyway (no cash!). Again, not sure why, but she copped an attitude with me about opening the trunk! So, I decided, forget it. I would just sit on the curb and wait for them to finish and come out. I already felt bad enough for running out of money and having to ask for help.

So there I was sitting there looking around. The longer I sat there, the more upset I got. I thought, I wish I could just leave on my own and get my own way home. I'll show her I don't need her help or her attitude!

So, I began to think. How can I get home? I have no money, no cell phone, no car, no credit card, no id (my purse was in the trunk, remember?). How in the world would I be able to get home on my own? Just then, I noticed a church, and it all came to my mind how I could possibly get home. I felt that I could walk over to that church (or another one) and simply explain my situation. I could ask them to use their phone (even if I had to call collect) to call home and have them wire me money for a bus ticket and some food. I had it all worked out in my head and was 98% convinced to get up and walk away from that curb, when my friends emerged from inside, finished with breakfast.

I didn't go to the church that day and ask to use the phone, but I have always wondered what would have happened if I had. Could I have gotten home on my own that day from Tennessee?

Have you every had to figure out a way to survive in an unfamiliar setting? Starting June 28th Michael Weston, a CIA Operative on USA Network's Burn Notice a new TV series, will show us how he deals with a similar situation (minus the crabby 'friends' I'm sure) and much much more!

Self inflicted power outage

Wow, duuuuuh - me!

I was just sitting here at my desk working along, reading, typing, you know whatever. When all of a sudden, the screen went completely blank! The music stopped.


I thought, "That's weird, usually when the power goes out, the lights and every thing go off all at the same time. It is slightly raining, but....." and then it dawned on me. I am sitting in my office chair with my left foot tucked up under me. Which means, my right foot is dangling carefree. My CPU is under my desk and low and behold, yep, I turned off the computer with my big toe!!! Wheew, that was freaky! Guess I'll have to remember that next time. Mental note:




Of course, my boss didn't think it was all that funny. He simply used the opening to remind me again, that's another good reason to keep my shoes on. Point taken, but my shoe would have done the same thing in that position!

When it's all said and done...

You might not make as much as you hoped on some ebay sales. Boy o' boy do they stick it to ya with the fees! What's the deal, ebay and paypal? Aren't you both owned by ebay? You pay to put your item on, you pay after it sells, and you pay to get your money!

I was all excited, I had 2 similar shirts to sell I had purchased on clearance, I marked them up, they both sold, and with all the fees, I ended up losing $.07!!! Sheeshk.

I am beginning to see the benefits of plumping up the shipping costs because ebay doesn't base their fees on the shipping portion. Hmmm...

Friday's Feast #148

Appetizer:
Fill in the blank: The best thing about where I live is _________________…
The best thing about where I live is, all my stuff is there and no one can tell me what to do!

Soup:
Create a new name for a deodorant (like “Flower Fresh” or “Shower Scent”).
"Fresh Princess-Extra Strength" for all the high & mighty b&*%$es out there, you stink.

Salad:
What was the last piece of software you installed onto your computer?
I don't honestly remember. Maybe an update to our payroll program.

Main Course:
If you were to receive a superlative award today beginning with the words ”Most likely to…”, what would the rest of the phrase say?
"Most likely to ... be missunderstood."

Dessert:
What two colors do you like to wear together?
Black and white. Exciting, huh???

Best spent 50 cents - ever!

So I was in a local thrift store the other day, looking for ideas for a craft, when I turned the corner and was suddenly overjoyed!!! What did I see you ask?

Well, only the soundtrack on vinyl from my fave movie musical of all time, that's what!


Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!

I was so excited and then I discovered it was ONLY 50 cents! What? Sweeeeeet!!

Mind you, I do not own an actual record player right now. But I'm still all too happy to have it. It makes me happy inside. Yes, I do have the CD.

Also, the front opens to many photos from the movie and fun 'yearbook' type notes all around.


Very fun! Sometimes, it's the little things...


How about you? Have you ever found something small or inexpensive that just brought you child-like joy?

Burns Family Reunion June, 2007

'Burns' is my maternal grandmother's maiden name. She was 1 of 13 children.

When I was little, the Burns family reunion was the highlight of family get-togethers! It was held for years on the grounds of Current River @ Owl's Bend, which is about 3 hours south of St. Louis. Just saying it now stirrs joy and nostalgia. I can almost smell the chicken and dumplings (my childhood favorite).

There were so many relatives in one spot (many times over 100), the food was outstanding-the best to date in the world and it was truly something special to kick off your summer off from school. It was almost always HOT, which made gathering at the river side even sweeter. All of us cousins would be so excited to see each other. We'd play in the cold waters of the spring that ran along side the river until time to eat. After eating and visiting, we would beg and beg our parents to let us put on our suits & go swimming in the river. Of course they were happy to let us. The boys would almost always spend the next few hours hunting crawdads and honing their rock skipping skills. Us girls would walk up the campground carrying our inner tubes and float down to the boat dock. Of course, we'd always follow that up by walking back and doing it again and again!

These days, however, there are only 2 of the original 13 siblings still with us. The Burns family reunion is held in a park about 10 minutes south of South County, St. Louis and now consists of the children, grandchildren and great grandchildren of the original 13 brothers and sisters. Unfortunately, alot of them don't attend. But for the few who do, it's still nice to see the faces of family members who seem to grow more and more distant every year.

I still look forward to the family reunion but I think now, for me, it's almost like an homage to the memory of reunions past-when I could still sit on the lap of my grandmother who almost always wore a dress and sat on a lawn chair, visiting with her brothers and sisters. I can almost hear her sweet laughter and feel the cool breeze that blew in from the river.

My brother, his girlfriend, my mom and me.

~ Burns Family Reunion June, 2007 ~

Horticulture at Work 4

An update in case you've been following my little herb & veggie project at work.

Well, when the plants were young, they grew really fast! But now they seem to have slowed down some. For the radishes, I hope that means they are growing underground faster!

Here's a photo update.

You can check out the progress, if you'd like!

I'm especially excited about the growth from the basil.

It seems to be doing very well. The smell is just great!!! I wonder how long it will be before I can begin to harvest some of the leaves? I guess, I should have started sooner! I'm sure I'll be enjoying them in a month or two...

Friday's Feast #147

Appetizer:
What do you consider to be the ultimate snack food?
I love chocolate!!!!!!!!!!!!

Soup:
On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 as highest), about how popular is your last name?
Well, It's probably about a 10. I don't want to give it away, but it's a 'widely' popular and household name.

Salad:
Who is your all-time favorite sitcom character, and why?
I'm not sure I can pick just one! I'm digging 'House' right now, but 'Mike Seaver' was definitely a fave a few years back!

Oh who am I kidding???

Still!!!!

Main Course:
Do you shop online? If so, name some sites you like to browse for goodies.
Yeppers! I like to shop Joann.com, ebay of course and a few others for price comparisons.

Dessert:
Fill in the blank: I think ___________ should be ___________.
I think throwing cigarette butts on the ground should be punishable with a fine. I can't stand to pull up at a stoplight and look down to see the smokers of the world treating the outdoors as one big ashtray, like the smoldering filters somehow disappear after they've left their hand. Well, no more! And yes, I used to be a smoker, and yes, I did do this, that's why I'm saying it!!!! Ack!

Yucko, I can smell it from here....bleh.


*climbing down from soapbox*

Contest site with a twist UPDATE!

I just signed up this afternoon, and already I'm a finalist to win a U2 cd! You can vote for me to win, if you would, please do. I'd appreciate it! I'm the last one listed, look for "Beccagirl" under the tiny pic of Garfield. Check out the site while you're there, it's pretty cool!

Buy my stuff on eBay

Go check out the great stuff I have for sale on eBay!
You know you need some of it!!!
I'd bid high if I were you, this great stuff won't last long!
:)

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

"On the Lot" rocks! 2

Well, the next installment of "On the Lot" was on last night. The directors were given 1 week to put together a 3 min. short film. This week, they showcased only 5 of the remaining directors' films, and will eliminate 1 from that group. I suppose the plan is to feature the second set of 5 directors next week, and the final 5 the week after that.
Tuesday's episode served us 5 unique films...one stood out to me as clearly the best. It just so happens to be made by the same director as my favorite film from last week, Sam Friedlander. It's called "Broken Pipe Dreams" and can be viewed here:


I really didn't have a second favorite this week. Frankly the others paled in comparison, but I will give a short review as follows:
~Laughing Out Loud: A comic journey - Yeah, I really didn't get this one. It wasn't funny, it wasn't scary, it wasn't deep and meaningful, it was action less.
~The first time I met the Finkelsteins - It was just ok. It had some funny moments, but mostly I felt like this one had more awkward moments that they were trying to pass off as just funny. Didn't work for me.
~Dough: The Musical - I think this one was at least funny, in a sense. Maybe I just don't find humor in a girl being attracted to a guy so she can get out of debt. Eh...
~Teri (Blind Date) - This one I felt, had potential. The guy's fears are played out in characters with extreme personalities, but I think it could have had a better ending. It just felt wow-less.
I can't wait to see what next week will bring us!!
Also, you can check out a bunch of indy short films submitted by people who aren't on the show for your entertainment purposes. Enjoy!
Don't forget to come back here and post a comment!

(This was not a paid advertisement, I just like the show!)

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Friday's Feast #146

Appetizer:
Name something you think is “the best.”
I think 'Heart's Desire' ice cream by Pevely Farms is "the best!"

Soup:
On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 highest), how stressed are you today?
Well, I'm getting ready for a yardsale tomorrow and a family reunion the next day, but all in all, I'd have to say about a 3.

Salad:
What kind of cleanser do you use to wash your face?
I just started to use Avon's 'Solutions' line. I like it and it's affordable!

Main Course:
Tonight is a blue moon! What is something that you believe only happens “once in a blue moon.”
PMS, although I believe it sometimes happens more often than that, and certainly lasts longer and has stronger powers!

Dessert:
When was the last time it rained where you live?
Yesterday. It poured for a few minutes and then cleared up.