Celebrity Saturday--Crazy Cooter (Ben Jones)

An ex-boyfriend and I were driving through Virginia on our way back from a trip to Washington, D.C., when we passed this little store with the General Lee parked out front. So ... we did what any good ol' Southern kids who grew up in the '80s would do--we did a quick U-turn to go back and check it out. And we were not disappointed.

Guess who just happened to be there?! None other than Ben Jones--you know ... of "Craaaaaaazzy Cooter" fame. "This is Craaaaaaazzy Cooter comin' atcha--gotcher ears on?" Remember that? Growing up, the sibs and I used to say that all the time. Perhaps we related to the CB talk more than others because our parents used to talk on CB radios. (Now that'd be a funny blog post--LOL!) But back to The Dukes of Hazzard ... Oh, back in the day, we loved those Hazzard County Duke Boys--and the whole gang. I mean, really--who didn't?

Anyway ... about Ben Jones ... turns out that this celebrity sighting was at Cooter's Place in Sperryville, Virginia. You can read about it here. It was completely random--but a lot of fun! There was a little shop with tons of Dukes of Hazzard memorabilia. Mr. Jones--who is also a politician, by the way--was so friendly and nice; it was a pleasure to meet him and get a photo!

I was checking out his Web site, and it looks like Cooter's Place has two locations now--both in Tennessee (Gatlinburg and Nashville). Mr. Jones has a new book--Redneck Boy in the Promised Land: The Confessions of "Crazy Cooter"--that is being released next week, too! He'll be going on a big book-signing tour, so check out his schedule to see if he'll be appearing near you.

I'll have to finish this later--gotta run.

ETA: Oh yeah ... I was going to add about the big Dukesfest event, which will take place June 28-29 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Luann mentioned it in the comments--be sure to post about it! With lots of pictures!

Mom Tip--Best Public Place to Change or Feed a Baby in Atlanta

Here's another tip for the moms out there--or for anyone who finds herself at Atlanta's Phipps Plaza and in need of a place to change a diaper or feed a babe (or ... more than likely ... both!). The women's restroom at the Phipps Nordstrom has an outstanding area for taking care of baby business.

Nordies has done an excellent job of providing a private area for mothers to nurse and change babies--it's in a separate room within the women's lounge area. And it is nice. As you can see from the photo, the room is equipped with a padded changing area with a sink, paper towels, and trash receptacle right next to it. The room also features two comfortable chairs--a great place to feed baby and take a breather from shopping.

If I am at Phipps and need to change Kate or give her a bottle (not too much longer of that, though!) ... I will go out of my way to go to Nordstrom just to use their facilities. Word on the Mommy Street travels fast, and I have heard and seen the "mommy chatter" regarding this great changing area. I bet the store gets more traffic because of the inviting and clean atmosphere it provides.

This isn't part of the "room for mothers," but this is another sitting area just inside the women's restroom at the Phipps Nordstrom store.

Across the street at Lenox, I usually visit the women's room at Macy's to feed and change Kate because of its sitting area. When you first walk into the restroom, there is an open sitting area with a kind of circular walkway with a small wall in the middle. It's kind of hard to describe here (and I'm in a bit of a hurry), but trust me when I say that it is a confusing layout. When you walk in, you think the restroom is going to be one direction--but you end up walking around this wall in a circle to get into the restroom. I have done it myself. More than once.

ANYWAY ... When I would give Kate her bottle at Macy's, I would be sitting in this particular area (usually with other moms), and it was amusing to watch how many women would walk in, go the wrong way, and then realize the layout, etc. Perhaps one could liken it to gluing a quarter to the floor of an arcade and then watching the fun ensue. (Remember that old trick?) It really is a bad design. And speaking of quarters, if I had one for every gal I've seen go the opposite direction of the restroom because of that layout ... I'd be a richer woman!

Back to Phipps and Nordies ... looks like someone in the sign department needs a lesson in consistency. Take a look at these photos--both examples of what you will see just outside of the room for mothers. Technically, either of these could be correct--as could "Mothers Room" (sans apostrophe)--but they should be consistent.

Breaking News ...

This just in ...

Kate stood by herself on at least two separate occasions today! These are the first known documented cases of independent standing. While she didn't say up for very long, both cases were witnessed by her Mommy or Daddy and at least one other person! She's on her way!

Korean Cuisine

Yesterday we ate at a Korean restaurant known for its kalbi. Yummmmmmm ... Kalbi (marinated short ribs) is one of my most favoritist Korean dishes ever. Not that I have that many favorites, but that is beside the point. Kalbi is deeeee-lish! And this is coming from someone who would probably not be eating any sort of Korean food if not for my hot Korean hubby. Also ... Kate ate her first kalbi yesterday--and she loved it!

Yummy kalbi on the grill. Looks so good!
The server is cooking it up real goooood (said in your best Southern voice).
Notice Kate in the background playing with her straw--she loves to play with straws!

Another one of my favorite Korean dishes is kong namul (seasoned bean sprouts). I call them sperm sprouts for obvious reasons. They are really good!
See? Smiling sperm sprout face.
While I was taking pictures, Tanna suggested that I take a pic of the sperm sprouts going for the egg. He's funny, isn't he?

Kate loves kalbi!

The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round ...

Kate has mastered walking behind her Little People school bus! It was kind of an overnight hit. One day, she would just pull up on the blue handle and stand there before plopping back down--and the next day, she just takes off! There is no stopping her now! We've enjoyed watching her go the last few days. She is fast! Go, greased lightning!

Celebrity Saturday--Larry Csonka

Left to Right: Brianna, Jennifer, Ronda, me (in white), Larry, Wendy

With the recent return of American Gladiators, I thought Larry Csonka--a former host of AG--would make a great celebrity subject for today.

I met Larry Csonka in 1992--it was my senior year of high school, and I was weeks away from graduation. A group of us gals were on a journalism field trip, and we went to Ruby Tuesday for lunch. 

There was another carload or two coming, but we happened to arrive at the restaurant first. We sat at a nice big booth and and asked if the booth next to ours could be saved for the rest of our group. We were told that it already was reserved. For Larry Csonka. 

Again ... "Who?"

Come to find out ... Mr. Csonka was a bigtime football player for the Miami Dolphins back in the day. He's in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and everything. You can look it up. 

I didn't know much about football at the time (still don't, actually), but I knew my dad liked the Dolphins at one time, so I thought I'd grab the camera in case there was a photo op. Yes, folks, even in high school I often carried a camera with me. Except I think I actually had to go to the car to get it--now it's usually in my purse or the diaper bag. 

If I remember correctly, Mr. Csonka was in town to speak at an ETSU athletic event. He and his entourage came in and ate. We said hello and asked for autographs and a photo. He obliged. After the group photo (above), he signed these kind of bio cards for each of us gals. I was really surprised at what he wrote on mine, and I bet he wouldn't have written it if he'd known I was only 17. He wrote, "You made my knee hot." Can you believe that!? I still have the card in a scrapbook somewhere.

After all of that, we got our checks and paid for lunch. A few minutes later, our server brought back our money and informed us that Mr. Csonka had taken care of the bill for all of us! Wasn't that nice?

Happy Birthday, Uncle Ted!

If Kymber is the hardest-working gal in show biz, then Ted has to be the hardest-working guy! Isn't it amazing what you can find via Google--check this out! Here's another one! (Kymber is preggo with Jordan in the second shot.)

Happy Birthday!

Law & Order

A couple of years ago, Tanna and I watched Law & Order all the time. I mean ... all. the. time. We still watch it, too (mostly just the regular show), from time to time.

Now, Tanna is very, very smart. Smarter than me, even. (And that's pretty smart, folks--LOL!) But it's funny that he can remember tons of medical stuff and laws of physics and engineering things and such ... but he can see a rerun of Law & Order that we have watched at least twice, but he can't remember the show's outcome. I'll be like, "We've seen this one before. Don't you remember so-and-so ratted him out and then the truth was eventually revealed when the computer guy enhanced the photo and the autopsy woman found the true cause of death?" And he's like, "Huh? I don't remember. But wasn't that guy in The Hunt for Red October?"

Our favorite detective duo is Briscoe & Green. I miss Briscoe. That Lennie, he's a rascal--what a character! Our favorite old-school DA, I guess, would be Adam Schiff. I know McCoy is the DA now, but I like him in the courtroom. You can't hide from Jack McCoy, people. Don't even try.

If you didn't think I was weird before, let me tell you this: My favorite part of the show is when the dead body is discovered at the beginning. I always find it interesting what people are doing when they happen upon a dead person.

Office Visit

Yesterday we went to my old office to drop off some freelance work. I do a little writing and editing work now and then for a former employer--and occasionally for another former employer. I don't make much money doing it (and even less than I thought, as I learned when we got our taxes done this year)--but it's ministry work, and it keeps me somewhat active in the field, I suppose. I hesitate to mention it here because I feel like if people know this, then they may hold this blog to higher standards--and this is for fun. And I am off the clock. ;o) It's funny because I write an annual update at Christmastime (have for more than 10 years now), and my BIL loves looking for typos in it! LOL!

Anyway, Kate and I had fun visiting with folks from the office! The photo is of her and Mary Jane--MJ's a sweetie! She's a former Miss Georgia--what a peach! We love you, MJ!

Kenny's moving ...

Word on the streets of Atlanta is that our fellow resident, Kenny Rogers, is moving.

I met Kenny on a warm summer's evening. We were on a train bound for nowhere, both too tired to sleep.

So we took turns staring out the window at the darkness ... till boredom overtook us, and he began to speak.

Do you know what he said?

Just Because

I can't keep this cuteness all to myself. It must be shared with the world!

You can take the girl out of the country ...

Oh my goodness! When I saw these "Country Dinner" baby food entrees from Earth's Best, I was totally cracking up. Like, totally.

So I bought some because we love us some country cookin' around these parts.

And you soooooooo know I was doing another fun photo shoot.

"How-deeeee!"
(Said in your best Minnie Pearl voice)

Those sandals suck, by the way. They won't even stay on long enough for a photo.

We belong at the zoo!

Kate and I hit the zoo today! It's a beautiful day, and we needed to get out and about. Tanna and I bought a family membership to Zoo Atlanta back in January, so we need to take advantage of it! (By the way, we added the guest option, so we can take a guest for free if anyone ever wants to go with us. Just let me know!) We love going to the zoo. It's a great place to be outside and walk around--not to mention all the cool animals to see and fun things to do!

Here are a few pics from our afternoon:

We saw some nudies at the zoo!
The naked mole rat exhibit is cool--they're much smaller than I thought they would be, though. I guess everyone--and everything--looks bigger on television. Check out those fangs!

Kate and the flamingos--you can't really tell, but her little outfit has flamingos on it. You know I had to get a picture!

There's a new warthog in town!
Spooky Owl Eyes

More flamingos!

And even more flamingos--don't know what's going on with my hair here, but Kate looks cute. :o)

That didn't last long ...

So yeah ... those cabinet lock things. I guess they're not really designed to work with cabinets with knobs, huh? I put one on as tight as it would go, and Kate just pulled it right off. Oh well ... Maybe we should just get new cabinets.
This girl is into everything! She loves opening the cabinets, opening and closing doors that aren't closed all the way, knocking CDs off of the shelves, you name it! She likes to "climb" things, too--whatever she thinks she can climb, she goes for it. Earlier tonight, she successfully knocked over the entire shoe rack. I guess she is curious. Curious Kate.

Gross Story ...

This may be a repeat for some of you--this happened over a month ago. It's gross, but kind of funny. Anyway, here goes ...

We spend a lot of time out in our sunroom. It is carpeted--and we just got rid of the furniture that was out there so Kate can crawl freely and make a mess with her toys, etc., and it is OK. One day, we were out there, and I was trying a bunch of warm-weather clothes on Kate. I wanted to see how things were fitting and if we needed anything else for summer, etc. Well, I didn't put the clothes away. Instead, I stacked them up in a pile against the wall. (I know--baaaaaad.)

One evening a few days later, DH (Tanna) and DD (Kate) were out there--and things got quiet. I looked out, and Tanna was looking in Kate's mouth. I asked if there was something in there and he was like, "Well, there WAS ..." He said it was "some Gymbo-something" off of a tag, and it was round. Well, after thinking about it, I realized that it was one of those little circle stickers that reads "Capri Length." I remembered peeling that off of one of her pant legs. Well, she ate it.

And guess what was in her diaper the next morning? LOL! Eeewwwwww ... glad it came out OK, though!

P.S. The photo doesn't really have anything to do with the story, but I wanted to post a picture, too. It was taken about a month ago, though.

Uh Oh ...

Somebody's gonna be ticked ...

Gymboree's Memorial Day Sale

Gymboree's big Memorial Day sale has started. Get an extra 20 percent off of all marked-down/sale merchandise--and you CAN use a coupon on top of that to get even more of a discount! FYI, there is a coupon for extra 20 percent off of your total purchase in the June issue of Parents magazine. It expires June 30.

Also, Gymbucks earning starts today, which means that for every $50 you spend (before tax), you earn one Gymbuck worth $25 off of a $50 purchase. Of course, Gymbucks can be redeemed only during the Gymbucks redemption period. More on Gymbucks later ...

One more thing: Gymbo also is offering $6 shipping if you place an order of $100 or more. For a long time, Gymboree's shipping was a flat rate--I want to say that is was $5.95, but I am not sure on that. But apparently that was only for a limited time. When it went (back?) to being based on the purchase amount, there was a bit of an uproar. Maybe this is an attempt to calm the fury? ;o)

P.S. There was a big sale last week at Gymbo, but it was so hit-or-miss I didn't even bother with it. Basically old-old stuff (as in last summer and prior) was marked down to 99 cents and even lower! My kind of sale ... BUT you'd have to find a store with old stuff and then find the stuff. For me, it wasn't worth making a special trip, especially with gas prices what they are these days.

The Lost Art of Prank Calling

I kind of feel sad for today's kids. Because of technological advances, there's a lot they will probably miss out on. Like having to get up and walk to the television to physically change the channel. (Yes, I remember pre-remote control days.) Or using a typewriter. Or listening to records and learning how to hold the needle just right when a scratch was coming up.

And, of course, prank calling.

The days of the old-fashioned prank call are but a memory, thanks to caller ID and other fancy phone features. But there is a way to relive some of the finer moments of telephone pranks--and that is through the recordings of John Bean.

Now, before you read any further, let me set one thing straight. John Bean was the REAL "Leroy Mercer," the guy from the Knoxville area who--some 25 years ago (or longer)--recorded himself calling unsuspecting businesses with phony problems ... and then threatened bodily harm if his requests were unfulfilled. And no, I am not talking about the guys on the radio. Or most of the "prank calling CDs" that may come to mind. In fact, most of those are blatant copies of John Bean. In fact, I have heard one CD that uses some of John Bean's actual recordings! Some of the imitations are not funny at all--and some are downright mean and cruel.

The real John Bean pranked folks for fun--not for profit. He died in 1984, and after his death a friend of his made copies of some of his pranking tapes for some of his other friends. What happened over the next several years is really a grassroots phenomenon. The tapes--which are definitely not PC and which contain a lot of adult language--were so wildly popular that friends made copies for friends and so on and so forth. (The "so on and so forth" is an understatement--the tapes spread like wildfire.) It was not uncommon for someone to bring up in conversation, "Have you heard that prank-calling tape?" (Yes, this was back in the days of cassette tapes.) I first heard the tape in college, while I was driving, and I literally almost ran off the road from laughing so hard. The "boots" and the "Eddie's Auto" calls would have to be my favorites. Pure East Tennessee humor.

In 1999, Atomic Audio and Betty Bean, John's sister, released a CD of some of John's prank calls: The Real Leroy Mercer Is John Bean. I was working as a reporter/entertainment editor at the time and covered the event. You can actually see a photo of me interviewing THE Eddie Harvey (of Eddie's Auto fame) here. Be sure to click around the site to read more of the history behind John Bean.

Anyway, as you remember the lost art of prank calling, I thought you should know who the REAL Leroy Mercer is. It's John Bean.

More Pacimals Pics

OK ... almost two weeks later ... here are some of the pics I took of Kate in the cute shirt that the folks at Pacimals sent her for volunteering for their recent photo shoot. She is loving her pink pig Pacimal!

Yay! Another photo shoot!

Hey--that baby looks familiar!

Here's a good look at the shirt ...
(It's more of a challenge than it might seem.)

I'm coming to get you!

Nap time!

And an extra photo, just for fun ...

Watching Jeopardy ... almost ready for bed!

BlaBla Saturday

So on Saturday we hit the BlaBla Kids Spring Fling. What a fun event--it's really for older kids (older than Kate, I mean), but we wanted to stop by. They had food, drinks and some sweet craft projects for the little ones. Fun times!

Kate loved crawling around the store. Here are a few snaps: