Glorious Appearing..Not Really

Glorious Appearing...Not a Glorious Read. 

I finished reading The Glorious Appearing by Tim Lahaye and Jerry Jenkins last week. I thought that if I let it digest a little longer I might make a little more sense of it. It didn't help. I still didn't like this book that much.

First. This book, as were many of the others in the 12 book series, was too long. It could have been at least 1/3 shorter, if not more. What takes up a huge portion of this book is straight scripture. Which I really didn't think added to this book. It made it drag on. They didn't just take the passage where they were recounting, they took too many of the surrounding ones. I read the Bible and if I wanted to read the Bible I can do so, that's not what I was reading the book for.

Second. It was a cheesy ending. I felt that the authors reached too far into some passages to come up with what they did. I just don't buy it. I've read the book of Revelations and didn't see what they did at all.

Third. I wasn't happy with how Jesus was portrayed. He was not the loving God that I have come to understand. He's really pissed off in this book. Also, I don't feel that he would return saying the same things he said the first time he was here. If you are God don't you think you might come up with something more original?

Anyways...to sum it up. Too long, cheesy and a bad ending to a series that has been dragging down for several books. It seems that the authors and publishers were just trying to get the most money out of their audience. And since they are talking a prequil and sequel, I see that is the truth most definitely.

Next book Sometimes I Dream in Italian by Rita Ciresi. So far it's pretty funny. Will let you know.

And I am pondering reading ...Anna Korenia by Tolstoy which Oprah's reading for her summer book club...I know it's Tolstoy...but it sounds interesting. I'm glad to see someone on TV pushing more difficult literature. We need more of that

Paranoia can lead to a clean house...

Tomorrow we are hosting our official first shin-dig. My father-in-law's birthday was last week and we weren't able to all get together before this so we thought Memorial Day would be perfect.

So the in-laws are coming. Mom was here one time before early on when it was OK to be such a mess. Now, 2 1/2 months later, there's still boxes and few pictures on the walls and a dirty house to boot. I know we have an excuse, 7 day work week. But yet in the back of my mind I hear...Sarah, they see a gross house what will they think of the woman their son married? (Hopefully that she's tired and her hubby could clean too) but I didn't hear that. I hear must clean the bathroom, sweep the floors and clean the bar. And do the laundry cause you're running low on the clothes....So I did. The house is cleaner. Still boxes, but they are more generally hidden.

Now in the back of my head...no matter what we (hubby and I) cook, the food'll never be as good as mom's...

I am soooo paranoid!


On a good note, I got to see friends Denise and Mark's new 8 week-old daughter Amy for the first time. I was driving by her parents home on the way home from visiting my parents and saw they car...had to drop in. What a doll. Gonna go visit later this week, hope to have some photos. Congrats again you two!

And another great note! Friends Dawn and hubby Jarred are now expecting in January. Congrats you two. We are very happy for you!

Vacation starts NOW

Well, I got to go home a little early today...boss was being nice. So I have a little over an hour to relax to home before heading out to church. I have been attending a bible study on the book of Isaiah. It has been fascinating..And then off to something else. But for right now, relaxing feeols good. I mean I could to laundry, I could do this or that. But you know what? I don't wanna!

Right now I'm gonna sit back and enjoy myself!

Bye-Bye Jo-Ann

Today is Jo-Ann's last day with the Biz department. She's going to work up in Dade City. I will miss her. She's a talented reporter who knows how to break down the most complicated stories. I wish her luck. Now I'm the last lady standing...

You know you want to,,

Ok, you know you have always dreamed of smashing your computer when it crashes or some other issue comes up. Now you can. I stole this from my friend Joe's tagline on an email. I know, it's in Spanish, just use your mouse and click on the area to hit, keep doing it...it makes you feel better...really...

Smack the PC!!!!Best Flash Game!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"I need a hero..."

Thanks to Dave "Skippy" Simanoff for making me a copy of his newest compilation the Nashville mix. It is awesome and so hard not to sing out loud and dance to. I told him he could be a DJ cause he knows how to mix a mean CD. Hopefully I will have some more meaningful thoughts coming in the next week. My brain is truely shot at this time.

Go Lightning!

Too hyper!

Because of coffee and some booty-shakin' music I am all hopped up! I started typing faster than I knew I could. I had to change to some Vivaldi to calm myself down. I was beginning to almost shake. Whew! Is it Friday yet?

"When I was Young and Didn't Give a Damn..."

So far today I have listened to John Mayer plus the most excellent jam Skippy Simanoff put at the end of the CD he made for me, Cyndi Lauper and now onto the Cranberries. I must resist the urge not to sing out load during some of the songs.

Days here at work have been hellish...taking a brain break to write this. So Aaron won't be disappointed that I didn't blog and of course all my other fans. ;-)

I am still bummed about the Lightning's loss last night. But that's Ok because they can still redeem themselves and I expect them to.

Back to work...so much to do and so little time!

This is Dedicated to My Aunt Pat

I got this e-mail forwarded at work today. This bad math teacher joke is dedicated to my Aunt Pat who is retiring from teaching high school math at the end this week. Wish we could be there to celebrate with you! Congrats

A man later claiming to be a public school teacher was arrested at New
York's Kennedy airport today, trying to board a flight while in possession
of a ruler, a protractor, a set square, a slide rule, and a calculator.

At a morning press conference, Attorney General John Ashcroft said he
believes the man is a member of the notorious al-Gebra movement. He is
being charged by the FBI with carrying weapons of math instruction.

It's Been a Hard Days Night!..

Finishing up the day with One by the Beatles which is a good selection of their #1 hits. And this song I seem to relate to well.

"It's been a hard days night, and I've been working like dog. It's been a hard days night, I should be sleepin' like a log.."

Very productive day and the music made it much happier. When I was listening to the Best of Cher I told a co-worker it was like having a dance club in my head and I found that it was very hard not to get up and shake my booty.

What what tunes I'll select for tomorrow...hmmmm...

"Hold me, love me...eight days a week.." Gotta love the Beetles.

You've Gotta Groovy Thing Goin' Baby!

Listing to the Simon & Garfunkel Old Friends CD's at work today to keep me a little more focused on all the work I have this week so I won't be getting involved in the conversations going on around me. Especially with Lightning Fever overtaking the newsroom.

..."And the leaves that are green turn to brown..."

Let's Go Lightning!

Coming to a Town By the Bay Soon...The Stanley Cup! 

Congratulations to the Tampa Bay Lightning for beating the Philadelphia Fliers tonight 2-1 and advancing to the Stanley Cup final. This is our hocky teams first and very well deserved trip to the finals. We are looking forward to this series and know that you will be bring the Cup back to Tampa where it should be!

(Psst. Aaron, hopefully this will quench your thirst for more Sarah Says for the day. I will be working Sunday, so it may not be until later when I get to post again. ;-)

Now Why Would you Do That?

The Funniest Mayor's Name of Them All 

So I am going through my picture files on my computer tonight and see this photo. I know, you are thinking what's soooo funny about this sign? Well, this is a sign from up in Ft. Wayne, Ind., my mom's families and my birthplace. H.W. Baals is a previous mayor of the city. His name? Harold W. Baals, but everyone called him Harry, so it's Harry Baals (pronounced Balls).

This is especially funny because my mom's mom, Josephine Kinder, always thought it was the funniest thing. Give her a glass of wine or a beer and she would be chatting on and on about how who in their right mind would name their child Harold when their last name is Baals??

If you have a funny real life person's name let me know. Besides the baby Apple.

Call in Exhausted?

Getting out of bed was really hard today. When hubby started poking me imploring me to get up I wanted to "reach out and touch someone." After I got up and got dressed he says to me, why don't you call in sick. I knew I couldn't, too much to do in preparation for getting the privilege of getting time off, I had to do the work for that week ahead of time (how many other jobs require that?)

I did want to call in exhausted. It could have gone something like this... "Boss, it's me Sarah, I'm calling in exhausted so I'm not coming in today. Working seven days a week has caused my brain and body to basically shut down and I need a break."

I am thinking coffee is in my near future.

Just a Test of the Emergency Cat System...Only A Test

Say Hello Tiger! 

Am just trying out this new Blogger photo program..while you're at it you can AWWWW at my lovely little kitty Tiger. (Don't know how old the photo is.)

$1,000 Omelet?

A New York Restaurant has added a $1,000 omelet to its menu according to a story at CNN.com. So what makes it's worth the big grand? A lobster and lots of $65 an ounce caviar. Probably more of a gimmick then anything I suppose, but I could never imagine spending that much money on one item of food. I think twice about a $10 bottle of wine and spending $3.50 on a gallon of milk. I guess no ones ordered it yet, big shocker. But maybe Trump hadn't heard about it yet. You can check out the article below.


CNN.com - Pricey omelet costs $1,000 - May 17, 2004

Apple?!

Ok, the end IS coming. People are now just naming their children after objects that they might have had for lunch.

If you haven't heard or read Gywneth Paltrow gave birth to a daughter Friday and named her Apple. As if that wasn't bad enough headline writers had a heyday with the name.

Now Apple, next it'll be telephone or maybe even Water. Why not? As if that poor child won't have a strange enough time growing up in the home of a movie star and a rock star, now she's got to be named APPLE!

Am I crazy? Please, do tell me.

Jesus Hasn't Come Yet...

Started my next book the other night. The Glorious Appearing by Tim Lahaye and Jerry Jenkins is the conclusion to their wildly popular Left Behind series of books, this one is #12.

Mom and I started reading them for the fun of it, you know a fictionalized account of what these guys feel the end of the world will be like. Boy, we had NO idea what we were getting ourselves into.

First off, it took 12 books to write about 22 short chapters. It gets a little drawn out at times. I also think that too many times the "fictional" books drag too much into preaching. (I skim those parts often) I want to know what happens, I can read the bible to get all the quotations they often use in them.

The final installment has the last few originals (2) of the Tribulation force and other believers waiting for the coming of Jesus and the beginning of his "1,000 year reign." I'm more than 100 pages in and Jesus hasn't come yet although I've been treated to a visit from Satan. I imagine there'll be lots of fighting between the good and bad guys and there's supposed to be a huge earthquake and huge hail store to come.

So far the book is ok. It seems to drag out the invitable with long scenes. My Mom read this one first. She said she liked the beginning and the end, but the middle was too preachy from Jesus. (But being he's the son of God, that's understandable, I am just curious what words these two fundamentalists put into his mouth.)We'll see. I'm sure he'll be appearing any page now.

Will let you know...

Earn Your $$

Saw an interesting story today on the wires. It said there is evidence that people who had to earn their money rather than being given it (whether inheriting it or winning it) found more satisfaction in spending it than their counterparts.

An excerpt:

Lottery winners, trust-fund babies and others who get their money without working for it do not get as much satisfaction from their cash as those who earn it, a study of the pleasure center in people's brains suggests.
Emory University researchers measured brain activity in the striatum - the part of the brain associated with reward processing and pleasure - in two groups of volunteers. One group had to work to receive money while playing a simple computer game; the other group was rewarded without having to earn it.
The brains of those who had to work for their money were more stimulated.
"When you have to do things for your reward, it's clearly more important to the brain," said Greg Berns, associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral science. "The subjects were more aroused when they had to do something to get the money relative to when they passively received the money."
Berns and other researchers said the study has broader real-world implications, particularly in the age of multimillion-dollar lottery jackpots.
He said that other studies have shown "there's substantial evidence that people who win the lottery are not happier a year after they win the lottery. It's also fairly clear from the psychological literature that people get a great deal of satisfaction out of the work they do."


It makes sense to me....although I have to say I wouldn't turn away a fortune that has fallin' in my lap. I'd just have to think of all the ways of spending it that could make me happy. Starting with a honeymoon...I work a lot now, so having more free time would make me very happy.

Story of the Day

Fellow Biz staffer Alan Snel had a great article on the Tampa Bay Lightning's attempt at getting more people to buy season tickets next year by offering all you can drink beer during the playoff games when they signup.

Check out his exclusive here. The story showed up on Yahoo's top news stories for the day so you know it's being talked about nationwide. Would you be guessing that they are rescinding the offer? If so, you would be right.

Three Years and Counting

Happy 3rd Anniversary to sister Laura and bro-in-law Greg. Three years ago today you guys were all gussied up and gettin' hitched.

It was a great day as I remember. Lots of good family, food, and friends.

I know there was something about you two sitting up in the honeymoon suite sipping champaign on the balcony watching our inebriated family swim the Gulf...and lots of fun at the bar afterwards.

Congrats and here's to many more!

You Can Cover Up the Noise - But NOT the Odor!

Ok, thanks to co-worker Pat I am featuring one of the funniest dang web sites in a long time. Flatulence Deodorizer.

This "invention" purports to help those with "gas" issues control the smell. And the best part? The Thong and Diaper for your dog! Because you want to spare your pooch the embarrassment of smelling you or your guests out of the room. (Don't count the embarrassment you will put him/her through when you have to explain what that thing is on your dog everytime.)

It's a charcoal filter that either fits in your underwear or in a pad you sit in on a chair.

I can think of a few friends and family who should be getting this for Christmas!

Belated Wishes and Caviar Dreams

I wanted to wish all the moms out there, especially my mom, a Happy Mom's Day.

For all they do for us we, and I, appreciate it all.

DoughNUTs

Krispy Kreme's stock offering was a Cinderella story. They made tons of money and enjoyed an increase in stores and sales.

Then came Atkins and the South Beach Diet. According to the Associated Press shares of the wonderful glazed donut-making dudes and dudettes fell 23 early today on news that they were lowering its earnings forecast. They blame all those who are cutting carbs in America. They announced in March they are planning to introduce a low-sugar version to get those people back in their drive-thrus.

It's amazing how much can change in a short period of time. First KK was everywhere (including in my papers pages) with KK wedding cakes and parties. Now they are being shunned by the carb Nazis. I was amazed that they were soo hot to begin with, I mean a doughnut is fried fat basically, you don't need Dr. Atkins or the South beach diet guy to tell me that it's bad for you. You just can't eat them daily and multiple number of them.

It's common sense to me.

They Say It's Your Birthday!

Happy birthday to long-time friend and college roomy Kathy! She turns the BIG 3-0 today, even though she looks 24 still, maybe that. We had lots of great times. This is also a big year for her, she's getting married in Sept.

Happy birthday Kathy! You get to be 30 first!

Viva Cinco di Mayo!

Happy May 5. For a history lesson behind the Mexican holiday check out this site.

Just thought I'd have a little history lesson today. ... Ok, there it was, not get back to your drinkin' festivities.

Hilarious Read

Finished Seven Up by Janet Evanovich this weekend. What a fun read!

I guess it is in the series of character Stephanie Plum. Stephanie is a bounty hunter. She became one when she graduated from college because she couldn't find another job during an economic downturn. She kept the job because she liked it, and I think because it drives her mother nuts.

This one she is looking for Eddie DeCooche, an old guy on the run because he missed his bond hearing. Stephanie can't do anything right when it comes to this guy. There's plenty of funny situations that come out her trying to bring him in. There's lots of mob humor. Stephenie's Grandmother Mazure is one of the highlights. This spunky lady says just about anything, including how she should get a Harley because when she was riding on one she was awakened down there and she liked it. Lots of twists and turns and a nice surprise, I didn't know what the outcome would be half way through, which really ticks me off!

Next up? Dunno. My mom is finishing the last Left Behind Book Glorious Appearing and I'll prob. get my hands on that one soon. Will keep you up to date.

Rainy

Woke up to the sound of rain drops on the roof. I love the rain. Especially when it's not the monsoon ones that we often get in Florida. It was a little cool and very dark. I wanted to stay in bed and enjoy listening to those sounds. It was tempting to call in "wanting to listen to the rain and that's why I couldn't come in." But I didn't think that would fly.