Monday, March 31, 2008

Check out the MK bling:


Friday, March 28, 2008

Answer the Question for $1

Many people know that one of the things I do is ask trivia questions and vocabulary words. For instance, most days on my board at work I post some type of trivia question. With my nieces and nephews I will put $1 bill on the table and ask the definition of a word or ask a general knowledge question. (Thanks to the Gayniers for getting me started on vocabulary words at the dinner table. Ryan, can you say morass?)

Earlier this week the board “question” was list the 23 U.S. states that border an ocean. Everyone could add one or two states to the list. That evening I was at my friends’ home eating dinner so I put $1 on the table for Brian and said I’d give it to him if he could name the 23 U.S. states that border an ocean. I was quite impressed that he pretty quickly got about 15 of them. He then took about 5+ minutes to get 7 more. He was stuck on the final one—RI—for quite awhile. Renae, Glenn, and I were having a good time with this. Brian didn’t want a clue for quite awhile. Finally I offered him the first letter—I; after all, it is the first letter of the second word. He went through Iowa, Illinois, Indiana and was really struggling with it. Finally Glenn said, “Look around, who asked you the question?” Brian, thinking back to where I came from said, “Ohio?” We about died laughing. Finally, he came up with Rhode Island.

He was a good sport.

Someone else at the table said, “Can you name the seven Great Lakes?” I offered him $1 to do so!

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Website

Take a look:

http://www.marykay.com/rhodaklop

The Fat Suit

This just isn't a line in an e-mail that you get every day so I've been laughing ever since I read it:


Yes, see you Thursday! (I hope I don't draw the fat suit!)

On Thursday a team I'm working on will have a workshop on disability immersion in which people will draw a card with a disability they will simulate with various props. One of the disabilities is obesity. We have an obesity suit that is designed as part of a costume. Thankfully we could buy just the suit and didn't have to get the pirate outfit with the parrot on the shoulder as well. The funny thing is that the suit is actually kind of small for someone to fit into it.

Monday, March 24, 2008

March 24

Fifty one years ago today, my parents were married.


One year ago today, we celebrated their 50th anniversary. It was a great weekend with many good memories.


Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad!


Saturday, March 22, 2008

Bracket Stupidity

For 12 years or so I've done a bracket challenge for women for the women's basketball tournament. For several years I did it manually and sent out email commentaries. In recent years I've set up a group on espn.com. This year I again set up Rhoda and Friends and sent out an e-mail inviting anyone I think may be interested in joining. Today I went to see how I was doing in the challenge only to realize that even though I did my entry on-line, I didn't join the group!

At least I won't lose the group this year.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

My New Ride

I've decided that motorcycles are way too tame. This is my new driving experience.


Going to Church

Do you wonder if Obama has attended his church for 20 years and never heard the Rev. Jeremiah Wright make any of his now highly reported racially charged messages just how often Obama was actually at church?

Attending church reminds me of a blog I read the other day where a pastor asked the member of another church how he was involved at the church. "I'm involved right now in the ministry of attendance."

Friday, March 14, 2008

Mary Kay Independent Beauty Consultant

About 8:30 this morning I talked to Becky and told her I would sign up as a Mary Kay Independent Beauty Consultant. Yes I know that 1 of 3 words is correct, and now that the laughter or groaning has stopped, I will tell you that I have my first customer. Less than an hour later a co-worker came over and said, "Are you selling Mary Kay?" I just looked at her stunned and said, "Well, actually yes I am." She said which product she really likes and would like to order some from me! I told her that I just said I would do it this morning and am not even officially signed up yet so she's willing to wait until whenever. I called Becky and said if I knew the customers would just drop in your lap that I'd have done this long ago!

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Lunch

This morning I was putting my lunch in the refrigerator at work. A guy from another department asked what I had that maybe he would want to trade.

My reply, "Well, if you really want to know I'm having fried chicken and funeral potatoes."

He knew that I'd been to my uncle's funeral earlier in the week so he understood my answer.

Thanks, Judy, for offering me some leftovers after lunch on Monday!

Uncle Ralph

On Sunday and Monday I attended the visitation and funeral service of my Uncle Ralph. I can’t say that I remember spending a great deal of time with him specifically although I did enjoy many family gatherings at his home at either the farm house or the big room downstairs of his four plex.

One Thanksgiving when I was in jr. high Dad and I drove to Illinois to pick up a new Suburban. (My sister says we had Suburbans before they were cool.) Jamie, a cousin and Uncle Ralph’s granddaughter, and I stayed at Uncle Ralph and Aunt Catherine’s that night. The next morning they asked how late we stayed up. We honestly told them a very late hour. Uncle Ralph said, “Well, we know you’re telling the truth because we know exactly how late you were up!” I guess we weren’t as quiet as we thought we had been. My dad just said, “Be sure your sin will find you out.”

Dad asked Uncle Ralph and Aunt Catherine to bring my grandmother to AL for my high school graduation, but that trip didn’t work out. They visited later in the summer, and then they were in SC when Mary was in Othello and graduated with her master’s and I graduated with a bachelor’s degree.

At Mark’s wedding Uncle Ralph suggested that I make it easier for family and get married in central IL. I still smile at the lack of necessity of that request.

A niece on the other side of the family commented that Ralph was their famous uncle. That was true for us as well. It was impressive to tell others that our uncle worked in the Reagan administration. It was interesting at the funeral he was described as a modern day Joseph since his job at the USDA was to monitor the surplus grain supplies of the 80s.

I thought this comment in the on-line condolences shows just one of the many characteristics of his leadership:
For so many of us, Heinold was a family and Ralph was the head of that family. He taught us, championed and mentored our goals, listened to our challenges and helped us move forward. The Klopfenstein family opened their home to us all on many occasions and the company's feeling was also about hospitality. The camaraderie was unbelievable in those days. Whenever we get together, we thank our stars for having had the work, fun, and friendship interactions in the Heinold years in our memories. Life is good, but in the work/family department, so far, nothing has compared.

On Thursday and Saturday as my friend and I traveled I read my father’s recently published memoirs. I had read a pre-published edition last fall and this didn’t stand out to me. However, on Thursday when I knew that Uncle Ralph had very little time left on this earth, I was really humbled and touched when I read that when my father in his mid-20s was living for a short time with Uncle Ralph and Aunt Catherine in LaGrange, Uncle Ralph invited Dad to church on a Wednesday night. Through that Dad became acquainted with several young people in the church and eventually became a Christian. In that group of young people was the lady who became his wife and my mother. I am thankful that Uncle Ralph was willing to step out and invite Dad to church that night—something that my not have come naturally with a family member. Had he not, who knows how my father’s steps would have been different.

The weekend was good to reconnect with aunts, uncles, cousins and meet others as well. There is always some sadness at the passing of an individual yet there is joy knowing that Uncle Ralph is in the presence of God in a body no longer ravaged by disease.

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

I found an SD card with pictures from my Washington trip this morning and realized I hadn't downloaded those pictures yet. I think these two quotes are good to remember in an election year. I'll let you guess on which monuments they are found.








Hillary wins Texas and Ohio

I think it's good Hillary won last night. It makes watching the primary season much more interesting; after all, it's not as if it has lasted long enough. It's good for states like Pennsylvania and others that have late primary or caucuses to finally have a say in who the candidate is. But most importantly, let the Democrats spend their money fighting each other before the general election.

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Say It Ain't So

Nooooooooooooooo, Brett Favre is retiring! He's the reason I bought a Packers sweatshirt--he and the fact it was on the $5 clearance table at Sports Authority in Chattanooga in 1998.

Monday, March 3, 2008

Wounded No More

I went out lunch to have the stitches out. I handled it like a man--like a big wimpy man. : )

There's still a band-aid on until tomorrow, but the PCA said it looked good. Personally I think it looks crusty and gross. He also said it could take weeks and even months to get the feeling back since I apparently knicked the nerve.

Sunday, March 2, 2008

Wounded Day -1

Only one day until the stitches come out. Last night I could tell that the would is really healing as the skin has come together, and it isn't hurting.

Meet The Press

Funny comment on Meet the Press today:

Hillary Clinton is the Beach Boys of this campaign. The Beach Boys had to be thinking when the Beatles came to America, "What do you mean taking away our rightful position???"