American Tradition

Chris, TJ and I recently visited the American Airlines C.R. Smith Museum right by DFW airport. It had a lot of interesting memorabilia, but the highlight of the museum was parked in the attached hangar.....a plane!

This was a refurbished plane that was originally commissioned during WWII. It was parked inside the museum and you could climb up inside of it and look around - SO COOL.

Here's the underbelly of the plane - something you don't often get to see!

I thought the outside made it look younger than it really was - it was so shiny and pretty on the outside...

Here's the back - a very cool plane....

When we went inside, the plane showed it's age. Here's the "Lavatory" - very old!!

The seating area was pretty standard, but it smelled really old and musty in there. I suppose that'll happen when a plane turns 65 years old or so and hasn't been in the air in years....

The cockpit area was fascinating - SO old and manual!

The console controller thing looked like some sort of old toy - amazing that this plane was flown in WWII with this simple little joystick-type things!

Look at the freaking ceiling of the cockpit! So primitive!

This plane would've NEVER passed safety standards that are in place now - here's the passageway from the main cabin to the cockpit...

These wires were exposed in that little hallway on the way up to the cockpit - doesn't look too safe or reliable to me! YIKES!

This plane alone was worth the entrance price to the museum!

Here's TJ by a big engine-type piece (I'm no engineer!)...

Landing gear always looks so tiny on planes, but those 'little' wheels are actually pretty big! Here's Chris with a landing gear wheel....

Here are the boys examining an engine...

And here is a 'fake' cockpit that shows the new technology that pilots have....

They have a lot more screens with graphics, rather than gear shifters and manual buttons. Much more technology than that old WWII plane, that's for sure!

Just Tryin' To Make A Buck!

I saw the following truck on my way to work from the gym the other day and I just had to laugh. So of course, my first instinct was to whip out my camera from my purse and snap a picture while I was sitting at the traffic light!

In these stressful times, it's just fun to see something like this - meant only to give you a cheap laugh and make your day brighter (obviously this was a bread truck of some sort). I love it!

Giving Thanks

Since it's Thanksgiving, I thought it was only appropriate to list a few things that I'm grateful for this year:

1. I have a job.

2. I don't dread going to work on Monday morning - I like what I do.

3. God gives grace - and I need lots of it.

4. I love my Maggie-girl. My dog brings me so much joy.

5. I have a home - it may not be big and glamorous, but it's my little piece of the world and I love it.

6. I have my health - this one is huge. I have a co-worker that was just diagnosed with breast cancer and that really puts everything in perspective.

7. I have a very strong mother who raised me right and has always been there when I needed her.

8. Although my Dad is already in heaven, I am thankful that God gave me such a decent man to be my Dad for 25 years. My parents shaped me into a self-sufficient adult and I am very grateful!

9. I had the opportunity to go to college - and had the support of my parents while doing so. I know not everyone has this opportunity and I realize that my parents didn't have to provide this to me, but chose to sacrifice to do it.

10. I am thankful that I now live in a place where I feel I truly belong. It has been a long time coming and I am so happy that I am able to live here and experience all of these new things.

11. I am crazy thankful for the friends in my life. TRUE friends are hard to find and I love the ones that I have!

BIG Art!

About a week ago, I went to the Nasher Sculpture Center for a tour with the alumnae chapter of my college sorority (Sigma Sigma Sigma). It was an absolutely gorgeous fall day in downtown Dallas and we had a great tour guide!

Some of the tour was inside and some was outside, but it included all kinds of sculptures as well as scale models of incredible feats of architecture all over the world (i.e. the Beijing airport).

This sculpture (or series of sculptures) was done by a Polish woman who grew up during WWII and the Communist era. It was both disturbing and interesting at the same time. I guess she purposely didn't put the 'people' on pedestals or 'stands' because they were all supposed to look the same and no one is different from the others and they are all to be equal. Huh......sounds like the direction OUR country is going......but I digress...

It was landscaped beautifully and there were so many cool types of trees and fountains - I could've sat out there and read a book all day!

Everything was soooooo green and well-maintained! But I suppose it WOULD look like that when it rains for about 2 months straight this fall.....lol

And there was this big weeping willow tree there - it reminded me of home because our next door neighbor had a huge one in the backyard. Good memories!

Our docent said that sometimes sculptors will actually push their finger into the clay or soft material as a 'finishing touch' when they are done with a sculpture and we asked why.....it's so that no one could claim their work of art as their own - prevents 'plagiarism' of sculptures. Their fingerprint would be permanently in the piece of art! This sculpture below has the fingerprint in it. So cool!

I thought this one looked like an internal organ or something - very neat.

This is our group 'following the leader' on our tour.....

I loved this one - it's to symbolize "reaching for the sky." It's literally a huge pipe thingy sticking up in the air with people walking up it with no end in sight. Cool!

Even the street outside the sculpture center (and the Dallas Museum of Art) was landscaped beautifully - nice job, Big D!

Dinner Table Talk

OK, recently I was at an event where there were women of all ages - from about 22 to about 72. We were at a restaurant and it was a pretty large group, so there were many different conversations going on. I happened to be in the section of the table where the following occurred:

The women at my end of the long table were all different ages/generations and we were talking about fun things to do around the Dallas/Fort Worth area and where we were all from. Seems neutral and interesting, huh? Yep, it was. We were all contributing to and participating in the conversation and it was very enjoyable.

Then the food that we ordered arrived. At the time of the food arriving, one of the older ladies (maybe late-60's) was talking about her elderly mother and how it was getting harder for her to get around and do things. Then we all start eating......

(insert: record scratching halt!)

The minute we all start eating our food, she takes the conversation about her mother in a VERY GROSS direction. She begins the inevitable transition into 'all of the medical problems her 90-something mother has.' UGGGHHH. As someone who is grossed out by a lot of medical things, I was probably the most horrified by the change in conversation.

The things she discussed WHILE WE WERE EATING were so disgusting! A sampling of some of the topics would be: vein stripping in her legs (in great detail), the fear that she might have shingles, retina issues behind her eyeballs, etc. I was sooooo creeped out and I was sitting next to her so I couldn't just ignore it or pretend it wasn't happening!

WHY OH WHY do older people think that 1. people want to know this crap and 2. it's appropriate for you to discuss while people are eating??!! I just don't get it! These are usually very proper women who have old-fashioned values and manners in all other ways, but for some reason, they lose all of their appropriateness when this subject comes up.

Am I the only one who thinks this is crazy?!

More Cowbell!

About a week ago, Chris and I went to a minor league hockey game in North Richland Hills (Fort Worth) - the Texas Brahmas! I learned at the game that a 'brahma' is a kind of bull. Ya learn something every day, I guess.

Something we found out right away was that Brahma fans bring cowbells and use them to cheer with at the games! Chris thought I was crazy, but I just HAD to have one! So I went to the gift shop and bought a Brahma cowbell and used it proudly.

Here's Chris using the cowbell.......reluctantly.......

Here are some of the other fans ringing their cowbells - some of them were from home and probably were worn by actual cows!

Our seats were great - right at the glass and next to the Brahmas bench! Here are their 'back-up' hockey sticks...

The view was great from the front row!

Even the zamboni was painted with the state flag of Texas....

Here's the team....

I saw this door in the hallway that had a security keypad and then no doorknob - they bolted pieces of a hockey stick to the door as the doorknob!

The goalie taking a break.....

Apparently the team is really good!

We got to see all of the action on the bench because we were right next to it - unfortunately, nothing too exciting happened over there.....

And here's the Brahmas mascot - a purple bull!

I love hockey games - reminds me of Minnesota and home.

When we got home, we decided to see if the mini cowbell would fit on Maggie.....she HATED it! The more she shook to get it off, the louder it got! haha

It was a great time - a small scale local game!