CONGRATULATIONS TO THE NEW ORLEANS SAINTS

I thought these photos, fireworks (above) taken at a St. Louis Rams game and a bottle of champaign with the word "WOW" on a building on Washington Street in downtown St. Louis, would be appropriate for this post as we all extend our CONGRATULATIONS to the New Orleans Saints on winning the Superbowl XLIV. I did not win the office pool. Even though I, like many others, thought the Colts would win, I was happy for the Saints. I predicted the scores would be Colts 24 Saints 21. I would have been half right if Manning did not throw that interception in the 4th quarter. When the Saints Marching In, the Party begin!

WHO'S DAT?

I am so looking forward to a relaxing, yet exciting Superbowl Sunday. This week was another hectic week with work related functions on Tuesday evening and again Wednesday night which did not adjourn until 10:15 p.m. I was so tired that on Thursday evening I skipped the delicious salad dinner and went straight to bed. The snow started late afternoon on Friday but covered less than an inch on the ground. It was rather warm and sunny yesterday morning while I drove around taking care of a few errands. We also attended 4:00 p.m. Mass and today we plan to stay inside all day and just be comfortable. (I realize that we are really senior citizens when we started using the word "comfortable" a lot when deciding whether to go out or stay in and which activities we should be doing.)
One of the features I like most was when all the Quarterbacks of previous Superbowl championship teams were honored before the game started. I am not sure if every Quarterbacks were present or someone just holding the banners with their names. (On my "foolish" wish list I dreamed that I would hold the banner while standing next to Tom Brady. But I might be overwhelmed and fainted, let go of the pole and hit my beloved quarterback in the head!) My favorite is, of course, Tom Brady of the New England Patriots but my husband disagrees because his choice is Kurt Warner of the Arizona Cardinals and former St. Louis Rams.

We were not invited to any Superbowl party. We prefer to be in our home, comfortable sofa, watching the game on our HD lcd television, eating, drinking, be merry in our pajamas! Enjoy your party everyone. I will be back after the game to let you know whether I won the office pool (Payouts - $100 end of 1st, 2nd and 3rd quarter; $200 end of GAME.)

These photos were from Superbowl XL capturing images of the Pittsburgh Steelers celebration. I already put $5 bet in the office pool. Someone said that if you make prediction of which team would win the Superbowl XLIV, it would be the Colts if you vote with your head (for an obvious reason that Peyton Manning and the Colts are a better team) or voting with your heart and praying that the Saints would win because the City of New Orleans needs the championship to make up for all the terrible things have happened. It just occurs to me that this game should be called the game of "Peyton v. Payton" - Peyton Manning (Colts quarterback) v. Sean Payton (Saints coach).

THE DAY BEFORE THE GAME (OR THE WHO AT THE GAME)

Here we are again, the day before the Big Game, Superbowl XLIV. These photos of the Rolling Stones performance at halftime at Superbowl XL on February 5, 2006 always bring back wonderful memories. It was one of the moments that I considered I have "enjoyed life to the fullest". (Or one of the items I crossed off on my Bucket List.) I pretended to ask my husband if he knew who will perform at halftime this year. When CP said he did not know and then he asked "who?". I responded, "WHO". Then CP realized that it was a trick question because "The Who" that is who will perform at halftime :)

I was never a big fan of the Rolling Stones, just enjoy listening to a few of the hit songs such as (I Can't get No) Satisfaction, You Can't Always Get What You Want, and Start Me Up. I just did my wifely duty and went along with my husband to the concert when the Stones came to St. Louis on January 27, 2006. These tickets were purchased in December 2005 or earlier. Then in early January, during a conversation with a business acquaintance, I mentioned that my husband family lived in Detroit area and if we could find tickets, we would like to go to the Superbowl XL. We would drive to Detroit, 8 hours from St. Louis, and staying with family. As it turned out, a neighbor of this business acquaintance was an NFL referee and he was able to get tickets at cost. We had to provide our names, home address, phone number and took an oath that we would attend the Big Game and not trying to sell the tickets for 3x or more of the actual face value. (Out of curiosity, I checked a few websites and found that these tickets were selling at $1,500+ each.)

My husband and I share an inside joke that Mick Jagger accused us of stalking him when he saw us again at the Superbowl. We made up the story about Keith Richards said to us, "Did we just see you guys in St. Louis a couple of weeks ago?" then he asked us to get on stage but we were too shy :)

YOUR PHOTO COULD FRONT FROMMER'S BOOK

Above - A sunny afternoon at the Pier in Grand Haven, Michigan. Below - A foggy morning along the lake in Muskegon, Michigan.

I saw the information below in USA Today and thought other bloggers might be interested (just in case you don't already know about this.)

"If your vacation shots are too good just to hang on your walls or share via Facebook or Flickr, you can enter the first cover photo contest from Frommer's guidebooks. Anyone - amateur or pro - can submit any number of photos at www.frommers.com/go/photocontest.

Top prize: $5,000 and a spot on the cover of a Frommer's guide. Four runners-up get guidebooks and travel accessories. Enter by March 31. Winners will be notified in mid-April."

Good luck to all who enter the contest. If you enter your photos after reading this post, remember to mention me, TOTA - the Hockey Junkie, in your acceptance speech :)

SOLSTICE, CANTO C, CAKE

Since I am not as talented as Qaptain Qwerty, I could not put together some kind of fancy collage of photos for this 500th post. Instead I am posting the above sculpture of figures represents the number FIVE. This work of art is called Solstice (1982) by the artist William King, currently on display at Faust Park in Chesterfield.
Next is the sculpture Profile Canto C (1981) by the late Ernest Trova, represents the first ZERO, currently on displayed in front of Bank Midwest at 15500 Olive Boulevard in Chesterfield.

I did not wish to spend too much time looking for another sculpture representing the second ZERO, so the photo below of the cake would have to do. I said to my husband that he has hidden agenda, not to celebrate my anniversary coming to America, but he would not miss an occasion to eat cake (and ice cream too)!

WHEN I WAS YOUR AGE . . . (OR SNOW, NOT PANTS, ON THE GROUND)

These photos of the Awakening were taken with my new camera, Canon PowerShot. The images turned out pretty good. I am giving permission to any parents to use these photos to show their kids that when they were their age they had to walk to school and the snow was up to their neck. And no gloves or snow shoes either!

Or it could be the time when you fell down and could not get up!

EAT

We made it! Starting Monday, January 4th, CP has been eating a small bowl of salad for dinner, and a reasonable nice brunch on the weekend. A week later, Jan. 11th, I joined CP in his quest to eat healthy meals by cutting down on the amount of food (red meat) consumption. For the entire month, well almost, of January, our dinner was a bowl of salad. We both like cucumber, tomatoes, carrots (CP likes baby carrots and I like it spreaded), and a spoon of salad toppings. CP adds fresh onion, celery, and bacon bits to his bowl. I prefer green, yellow and red bell peppers plus garbanzo beans. Instead of our usual selections of ranch dressing for CP and honey mustard or asiago peppercorn for me, we try to add a little flavor by switching to chunky blue cheese for CP and a reasonable amount of sweet viladia onion over my salad. We hope to continue our quest for healthy eating, one month at a time. I will not report about how many pounds we shredded. I will tell you that it is so much nicer not to have to hold my breath trying to button my pants/skirts or to tighten the belt. Next month when the wintery weather no longer around, I hope, we will resume our walks to the parks and around the neighborhoods.On Historic Route 66, the famous classic sign "EAT" at Clanton's Cafe and BBQ in Vinita, Oklahoma, still shines brightly. This vintage cafe, famous for its chicken fried steak, was built in 1927, burned in 1999, was promptly rebuilt and still operated by the same family.

A FEW GOOD PHOTOS

I decided not to go out on Saturday. The book sale at the library and getting new pillows were not high on my to-do list when it is freezing outside. My husband cleaned the snow off my car and offered to get it warmed up. (Before anyone wishes to give CP "Husband of the Year" award, don't! CP only made the offer out of guilt since his precious T-bird, his work benches and all the tools Craftman ever made, took up the entire garage. There was no room for my car and it has to be out in the driveway.) I spent the day re-organized all the 100+ CDs, into separate categories of photos taken from our trips on Route 66, visits to New York, Vacations/Cruises, around St. Louis, Sports/Hockey/Football, and Mics.

It was a glorious trip and we had so much fun that I love looking at photos we took during the Mediterranean Cruise and 3 days in Rome, in 2008 for our 19th wedding anniversary celebration. We did throw the coins backward over our shoulders into the Fontana di Trevi to ensure that we would visit Rome again. I would love to be in Rome at least a whole month, just to walk around, spending a whole afternoon at a piazza, staring at the Colosseum for hours and soaking in the wonders of this accient city.

From our private balcony, we were able to take great photos, such as the above image when the ship approached the port of Valletta in Malta.

Below - A sign in Tunisia showing the words "A bientot" with the carrot top over the letter "O", similar to one of diacritical marks in the Vietnamese language.

ANOTHER WEEK HAS GONE BY!

Another week has gone by, soon the first month, January, of the year will also be "gone". Where did the time go? What have I done the last few weeks? Not much, just the same old routines, 8+ hours at the circus, watching hockey games on ESPN and Versus or spending time in cyberspace in the evenings, then football (NFL playoffs) and taking care of errands on the weekends and dreaming of winning the lottery so I never had to put up with all the clowns, the donkeys, and the bulls at the circus ever again!
This is not a good week for the Red Wings and it does not look like it will get better. For the first time, I don't look forward to NHL post-season match-ups. What happened TOTA, we thought you were hockey fanatic? My ailing beloved Detroit Red Wings, is what happened. It was painful to watch the team struggles, even against lousy team like the Coyotes. It was not the first time that the Wings had a 2-point leads going into the third period, unable to maintain the leads, only to either loss in overtime or shootout. The last five games, the Wings had blown the chance of victory despite of having third-period leads. This time last year the Wings maintained a comfortable top spot, currently they are chasing other teams just to get into the last playoffs spot. It is killing my hockey spirits knowing that the Wings might not even make it into the playoffs this year. Well, I will try not to think about the Wings right now, I will think about it after the Superbowl. On a positive note, I have been pretty good at picking the winning teams for the NFL playoffs the last few weeks. (Another reason why I am depressed - my beloved New England Patriots, defeated by the Baltimore Ravens, could not get into the playoffs either.) I could have pocketed a few dollars if the guys would agree to place their bets. They all said that when it comes to football and hockey, they would have not any chance of winning against me! (The photo below represents what I love, America/American flag/National Anthem and hockey/Detroit Red Wings.)
I was looking for photos of bicycle rides as a way to provide moral-distance-support to Qaptain Qwerty and found these photos taken last December of the new I-64 Grand Opening. According to MoDOT, more than 2,500 people (we were among these brave souls) participated in the ceremony by walking, running, bicycling, dancing and some doing aerobic on exercise mats in the middle of the freeway. Last year, we also attended the first half opening and it was a lot of fun to be able to walk (it was the only time) on the freeway. I also like to watch the American flag, up high on the ladders, waving in the wind against the blue sky, courtesy of the fire department.

A COLD SATURDAY MORNING

Here is my Show and Tell weather report - freezing cold temperature, the proof is in the bottom photo showing the icicles hanging on the evergreen and the fresh snow on the ground from last night. You could tell that we have a very active backyard from the cute footprints of a rabbit, a bird and a cat or a small dog, on the fresh snow. Mind you, we don't live out in middle of nowhere farm land. Our backyard faces a rather busy street connecting the main road (MO-100) and secondary road, yet we have had the pleasure of "hosting" a fawn being born and a whole town of rabbits running around. (We provided shelter and food for both mother and child, but they never visited at Christmas nor even sent an email to say hi.)
I thought the photo below of the snow on our half-dead apple tree looks like a frozen smile on a face of an old person. What do you think it looks like? This summer, we plan to cut down this tree and plant another one but we have not decided on what kind of tree. Any suggestions?
I plan to go out later to a book sale at the library. I promise I will not make any new purchases without giving away the same quantity from my bookshelves. I probably should stop by the department store to get us new pillows. Perhaps I should spend a few more dollars to get the types that would provide therapeutic support. Any recommendations?
I will be back later with additional reports. This is TOTA, signing off from a freezing cold Saturday morning in St. Louis!

THE MANE EVENT

When I saw the above hair salon "The Mane Event" on Main Street in Chandler, Oklahoma, I immediately thought of Qaptain Qwerty and knew that as a punster, the Qaptain would appreciate the humor and clever name the owner has chosen for this business. This post is for you, Qap. They say laughter is the best medicine, so I hope you get a good chuckle from the above photo.

THAT'S A LOT OF BULLS!

No, I am not talking about the State of the Union address (although that is exactly what it is about). I am not referring to the bickering coming from the Losing Party after the recent historic election in Massachusetts, either. I am just posting a few photos from our trip to Oklahoma. The Sooners State is famous for its castle routes between 1866 and 1889 by Texas ranchers moving their castles to the closest railroads. The ranchers also found the territory a good location for raising castles as well.

Above - A colorful bull appears to be in "deep thoughts" outside Johnny Bench Plaza in Bricktown, Oklahoma City.

Below - Even the noise reduction wall along the highway got decorated with running bulls.

Below - A steel bull is guarding the entrance into Sugar Hill subdivision, near Arcadia, Oklahoma.

AN INVITATION TO QAPTAIN QWERTY

The League of American Bicyclists named St. Louis as one of the 14 cities that are bicycle-friendly. St. Louis offers more than 70 miles of on-street designated bicycle lanes, created by Bike St. Louis. We also have many bike trails, especially the famous Katy Trail, http://www.bikekatytrail.com/. Hey Qaptain Qwerty, how about bringing your bike to St. Louis to participate in Tour of Missouri http://www.tourofmissouri.com/, or see for yourself whether St. Louis is really a bicycle-friendly city or better yet, bring JL and make it father-and-son bike trip?

NEW YORK ALONG ROUTE 66

Brooklyn Heights Baptist Church in Brooklyn Heights, Missouri (not New York). To get to this Brooklyn Heights, from St. Louis, Westbound, take Old 66 Boulevard to the JCT (Junction) with Business 71 (Highway 171). To get to Brooklyn Heights in New York City, take the subway #2 or #3 and get off at Clark St. station (Note - there is no subway from St. Louis to Brooklyn Heights, Missouri - haa haa).

Above - "Always On Alert" is the work of chainsaw sculptor Clayton Coss as a tribune to all firefighters whose bravery and devotion to duty were so apparent on September 11, 2001 in New York City. Mr. Coss, a Tulsa native and a well known chainsaw artist, coverted a diseased pecan tree into the above sculptor. We saw the sculptor when passing by the car dealership (Chrysler,Dodge, Jeep) Crown Bristow, in Bristow, Oklahoma.
Below - A life-size Statue of Liberty waves at motorists at an intersection in Sapulpa, Oklahoma. We just took the photo and were on our way so I don't have any information about this scuplture and its history.

Below - Another Statue of Liberty in front of Route 66 Mall in Chelsea, Oklahoma. The mall was closed when we stopped by.

FLOATING DOWN THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER

This is the proof that my life is so boring that I find it interesting just watching a chunk of ice floating down the Mississippi River. Or you could say that it is truly simple living, enjoy each moment and appreciate the beauty of nature. I sure sound like a typical AARP card-carrying geezer! Now where did I put my reading glasses?

LEWIS AND CLARK RE-ENACTORS

A replica of the boat, the white pirogue, used by Lewis & Clark was on displayed for people to climb aboard to relive the days of the 1804 Corps of Discovery Expedition. Volunteers from the Lewis & Clark State Historic Site dressed up as explorers, fur traders and frontiersmen.

The campsite offered a glimpse of life during the early 19th century.