Attention avid readers, stalkers, family and friends.....

So clearly, I haven't been blogging. What have I been doing ? A lot really.

Since vacation in February, I have been fishing several times, gone to Mega Con in Orlando, been to IKEA and the MOSI museum. I've been side-swiped by a 76-year-old man who took my driver's side mirror with him when he drove off. I've worked some Saturdays and had long weekends that followed.

But, I haven't blogged.

I think I am bored with THIS blog. It has served its purpose, Blogger was a good choice at the time. But, the templates and formatting are limited and I feel like it hasn't and maybe can't evolve.

So, for the 3rd anniversary of my blog....which will be May 2nd, there will be a re-vamp. So, what does this mean for you, dear reader. Well, it means you need to change your bookmark for this blog and if I were you, I would do it now.

The new blog [and permanent] blog address for me will be :

http://www.tracylynnschneider.com/
Catchy, huh ?

Go ahead, try it now.

See.

You come right here. Right where you were. BUT, when the new blog, goes live May 2nd, this same link will send you there. And, in the future, when I go all blog crazy again, and change, you won't even notice because this new link will ALWAYS go where I am.

Neat, huh ?

Well, that's it. New blog, May 2nd .... update your bookmarks, your delicious, whatever it is you use....and stay tuned.

Blog Update

Long time no talk....well, no write. I'm still here. I am leaving Friday to go to Texas for a little vacation. When I get back, I will get this thing back on track.

I did do a little re-decorating today.

See you then.

It was [THIS] big !!

Ha. I suppose a fishing update is in order. First of all, as Joey and I have learned, all the real fisherman use a really cool fishing cart. So, of course, after eyeballing the competition for the best fishing cart - we managed to put together this little beauty :

It can hold up to 10 fishing poles and/or nets and quite easily carries our cooler, our bait bucket, our chairs to sit on [when we sit], our tackle box and pretty much anything else we want to bring with us. It has pneumatic tires, which make it roll with ease from the truck to the fishing pier.

Last weekend was our first to roll out the new cart, and we got several admiring stares on our way down the pier and even one or two comments. Of course, Joey and I were just laughing because trust me when I say - the elaborateness of our cart, in no way reflects our fishing abilities - we're just there to have fun.

So, what do we catch, you ask ? Well, I have prepared a little picture-rama for your review.

These are listed in no particular order but I would say we mainly catch the mangrove snapper and the gag grouper. This last weekend, we caught almost all sheepshead, although we were on a new pier. And, Joey caught one random Spanish mackerel one weekend. We never keep anything. We know we have caught some mangrove snappers and sheepshead that were keepers but at this point we have just been tossing everything back.

We did buy a stringer line this last weekend so the next time we go, we are going to try and keep some sheepshead. We hear they are really good to eat so we decided we wanted to check it out. I'll keep you posted.

So, that's it - my fishing update. Come on down to Florida and you can fish with us. We see dolphins almost every weekend and we've even seen a manatee once when fishing. It's fun.

Christmas Tag

I've been tagged ! No one ever tags me. Thank you Season !

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper
2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial
3. When do you put up the tree? Usually Thanksgiving weekend, this year we were a little late
4. When do you take the tree down? The weekend after New Year’s
5. Do you like eggnog? Yes, but it’s not really in my menu plan these days
6. Favorite gift received as a child? Canopy bed
7. Hardest person to buy for? Dad
8. Easiest person to buy for? Mason and Morgan
9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes, but it’s not up this year.
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? I really can’t think of anything.
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? The Year Without a Santa Claus, because I love the Snow Miser and the Heat Miser
    
    
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Usually not until November, unless I just see something specific before then
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? I don’t think so, I think if I got something I didn’t like or need, I might have given it to someone but not as if it was from me.
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Lemon Bars, but I don’t think those are on my menu this year either.
16. Lights on the tree? Multi-colored all the way
17. Favorite Christmas song? Silent Night
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? This year, staying at home. Usually travel to my sister’s.
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Of course.
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Nothing this year because our tree is in a place where we can’t fit anything on the top, but I prefer an Angel.
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? We used to open one present from our grandparents on Christmas Eve, but now it is just everything on Christmas morning
22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Parking lots
23. Favorite ornament theme or color? ABSOLUTELY NO BLUE !!! Blue is not a color of Christmas. Otherwise, I say anything goes.
24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? Turkey/Ham and the fixin’s
25. What do you want for Christmas? A bedazzler [you know it’s true] and a few other little things, nothing big.

Okay - so now I tag : Mandy, Courtney and JoLynn - either update your own blog with these questions and answers or add them to the comments of this post.
And anyone else that wants to answer, please do !!
Merry Christmas !!

Creative Genius

Yay ! I'm back. And, let's get back on track with something fun that my friend Wendy in the UK emailed me yesterday......

The Washington Post's Mensa Invitational once again asked readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition.

Here are this year's winners. Read them carefully. Each is an artificial word with only one letter altered to form a real word. Some are terrifically innovative:

Intaxication: Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with.

Reintarnation: Coming back to life as a hillbilly.

Bozone (n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating the bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.

Cashtration (n.): The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period.

Giraffiti: Vandalism spray-painted very, very high.

Sarchasm: The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.

Inoculatte: To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.

Hipatitis: Terminal coolness.

Karmageddon: It's like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it's, like, a serious bummer.

Glibido: All talk and no action.

Dopeler effect: The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.

Arachnoleptic fit (n.): The frantic dance performed just after you've accidentally walked through a spider web.

Beelzebug (n.): Satan in the form of a mosquito, that gets into your bedroom at three in the morning and cannot be cast out.

Caterpallor (n.): The color you turn after finding half a worm in the fruit you're eating.

Ignoranus: A person who's both stupid and an asshole.

Ha...more updates tomorrow.

JEFFREY !!

Don't fret.....

....I am still here and I have a Disney camping update coming [trying to get some pics downloaded first], a Thanksgiving update, a fishing update, etc. I'm just busy with after Thanksgiving stuff and work, so stay tuned....more in the next day or two.

Spontaneous Me

You might have noticed a couple of weeks ago I added a little section in the top right of my blog called 'Spontaneous Me'. Basically this is a feed from my Twitter page. What is Twitter, you ask ?? Well, it is kinda like a blog but it was intended for short spontaneous updates from your life as they happen; maybe one or two sentences, at most. You can also text your updates from your phone.

So, the reason I am bringing this up is because I am going camping to Disney World with mom and dad this weekend - we leave on Friday morning. I may or may not take my laptop with me, but regardless I will be able to update my twitter from my cell phone. My blog will resume on Monday, November 24th but from now until then you can still see what I am up to by looking in the upper right corner of my blog under Spontaneous Me.

Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to Disney I go.

Happy Birthday, Morgan !!!

It's hard to believe that my little Morggie is 10 years old today - but she is. I am missing my sister and her family very much while I am living in Florida and it is especially hard to be away for birthdays and other events.

Morgan, I hope you have a perfect day and enjoy all your gifts !!!

Here are some fun pics of Morgan thru the years :

[Morgan - 2 years old / Mason - 4 years old]

[Morgan - 4 years old]

[Morgan - 7 years old]

[Morgan - 9 years old]

BINGO update

So mom and I started playing BINGO pretty much right when I got here, They have a Community Club House where they live and Bingo is every Tuesday night. We've only missed a couple of nights since I've been here and right now we are up :

$ 93.50

Not bad. We pay $10 to play each week [that's for both of us] and we pay that from our winnings. So far, our only out of pocket was the first week and we paid ourselves back from our winnings the next week.

I love Bingo...and when I move back to Texas, I am going to have to find some place to play..and yes, I am sure I will drag some of you along with me.

Woo hoo !

Movie Review : Madagascar 2

So, I haven't done a movie review in awhile, mainly because I haven't gone to any movies. But, I broke that streak last weekend when we all went Sunday afternoon to see Madagascar 2. It was the perfect movie to get me back in movie mode.

The penguins are by far the best characters in the movie, as far as I am concerned. They should have their own movie.

So, Monday, I went to McDonald's at lunch to see what animal they had for happy meals this week - I wanted the penguin of course - it talks. Here is the exchange between me and the the drive-thru girl [my thoughts in blue] :

Me : What toy is in your happy meals this week ?
DTG : Madagascar
Me : [Duh, what ? the whole movie?] Yeah, I meant do you know which character ?
DTG : Um, the giraffe and the lion I think. Were you looking for a particular one ?
Me : Yeah, the penguin.
DTG : I don't think there is a penguin.
Me : [Do you not watch your own commercials.] There is. I saw it on a commercial.
DTG : Oh......do you have kids ?
Me : No, it is for my brother. He loves that character.
DTG : Oh, how old is he ?
Me : [Starting to wonder if the DTG is writing a book about me.] He's 31.
DTG : He has kids ?
Me : Nope, it's for him.
DTG : Did you see the movie ?
Me : [Surely this has already been established as a yes.] Yes.
DTG : Was it good ?
Me : Yeah, it was for kids but there was enough adult humor in it to make it fun.
DTG : I need to go see it.
Me : [Ready to pull forward, get my diet coke and move on.] Yeah, well, have a good day.
DTG : You too.

Anyway, go see the movie, it is cute and fun for the whole family.

How can a water tester be water-proof ?

LivSure Water Tester



* Measures Contaminates in Water
* One Touch Operation
* Pocket Sized
* Takes Just a Few Drops of Water
* Results in Just a Few Seconds
* Smiley Face for Clean Water
* Frowning Face for Dirty Water
* Shows Number of Contaminates
* Waterproof
* Batteries Included

Fishin' Franks

I remember a story my dad and brother told me several years ago when they first moved to Florida. They had decided to take up fishing and as any good fishermen would do, they had gone to Wal-Mart to buy their supplies. After that they decided to stop by the local fishing shop, Fishin' Franks to get some bait and find out a little about local fishing.

Mistake !

Frank of Fishin' Franks was not pleased to learn that while they bought all of their gear from Wal-Mart they had come in his store for FREE advice. Needless to say, when it was all over they left with some fishing advice from Frank and their tails between their legs along with an oath to never return to Fishin' Franks.

Well, since I have been here, Joey and I have also decided to take up fishing. Of course Joey has all the gear and a little more expertise since the Fishin' Frank incident. However, one morning when we left particularly early to go fishing we started a conversation about where to get bait. We had found a place the weekend before but we weren't sure of the store hours and we were leaving pretty early. So the debate began.....do we take a chance at that place or do we go to Fishin' Franks which we knew was open early enough.

After weighing the pros and cons, and chastising ourselves for being such wusses when it comes to Fishin' Franks, we decided to go there. As we arrived Joey formulated a plan on what to bring in to get the bait and what to say so that he had a chance to sound like he knew what he was doing to avoid a confrontation with Frank. And I removed my 'Offshore Angler' hat in order to remain low on the Frank radar. As we entered the store, I thought of the Seinfeld episode with the Soup Nazi and hoped we would not hear Frank say : "No shrimp for you !!"

Needless to say, Frank was not there.

Can you help me ? There is a frog in my car.

People are so funny.

A few weeks ago, Joey and I were coming home from one of our night-fishing trips and we were stopped at a light in downtown Punta Gorda. On the corner to our right is a auto repair place and there is a woman who has clearly pulled her car into the parking lot of the place and is now out and walking around her car, looking in windows.

A minute later, a car pulls up behind us and to our right, right next to where she is and she walks over to the car and says :

"Can you help me ? There is a frog in my car."

Believe it or not the guy in the car with his girlfriend/wife/sister - pulls into the parking lot to help her as the light turns green and we are on our way.

Jesus for sale ?

Disclaimer : This post is not intended to offend, just go with it.....please.

So, Joey and I were at WalMart a few weeks ago and we decided to run down the CLEARANCE aisle to see if there was anything noteworthy when we found this :


I don't know what is more disconcerting; the fact that Jesus is on sale at WalMart or the fact that the discount is a mere 97 cents.

.

WOW !

No, that is not an exclamation of excitement - it is actually the abbreviation for an on-line game called WORLD OF WARCRAFT - it's been around a while and my sister is addicted, I mean, has been barely interested in it for about 2 years. She came to Florida by herself for a visit in September and while she was here, she bought my brother and I the software and a one month subscription.

We've played on-line a couple of times.....once with her here to guide us and then together with frequent phone calls back and forth.

I think the main thing about it is that it is FOREVER ... there is no end to it, no win. It's basically just an alternate universe where you have a character and you constantly go on quests to accomplish tasks. It seems, although I am new to it, that it is best played with a group. I think as you gain levels and start having more complicated quests, you can't do them on your own anyway.

If I remember correctly, I am a Druid [Night Elf] in the Sentinel realm for those of you that are familiar and may even have a player yourselves.

Anyone ?

Halloween

So, yesterday was Halloween. We actually went camping at a local campground two weekends ago to celebrate the holiday. They have a Halloween weekend where everyone decorates their campsite and people are there with their families. It was a lot of fun and there were TONS of kids, we ran out of candy [300 pieces] before it was over.

My niece and nephew did their trick or treating Thursday night at church....here are pics of them :

Morgan - the construction worker

Mason - the Ninja

And last but not least, here is my friend Courtney in her Tony Romo costume, complete with pinky splint - hee hee :

Happy belated-HALLOWEEN !

Hello....testing.....1, 2, 3....is this thing working ?

Um, yeah....so, I haven't been blogging again. To be honest I have more to blog about here than I ever did in Texas, as far as me doing stuff, but for some reason when I get off of blogging, I really get off of it. Who knows if anyone will even see this at this point....

I'll take my chances.

Believe it or not, I have been making short notes of things I want to blog about, they just never seem to make it from my white board in my room, to my blog.

So, every other day for the next week or so, I have scheduled some posts to kick start my blog back on track.....so check again in 2 days for something new and then 2 days after that, and so on and so on.......

And, if you are out there and still reading, let me know with a quick comment .... please.

Ciao for now.

REMEMBERING RAYMOND YORK

In 2006, 2996 was formed. It was a coalition of bloggers brought together by D.Challener Roe to pay tribute to the lives of the victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Each year since then, on this day I have remembered forty-five year old Raymond R. York who was a 20-year veteran of the New York Fire Department. He is survived by his wife - Joan and their four children.

Although, the coalition does not have as organized an effort anymore, I have still been thinking about Ray as the date approached and I want to remember him each year. Periodically, I check his Legacy Guest Book when I am notified that new entries have been made by those that also remember him throughout the year.

This entry is for Ray and all of the others that lost their lives that day. My blog will again be silent for one week in honor of his memory.

A Fireman's Prayer

When I am called to duty, God, whenever flames may rage;

Give me strength to save some life, whatever be its age.

Help me embrace a little child before it is too late

Or save an older person from the horror of that fate.

Enable me to be alert and hear the weakest shout,

And quickly and efficiently to put the fire out.

I want to fill my calling and to give the best in me.

To guard my every neighbor and protect his property.

And if, according to my fate, I am to lose my life;

Please bless with your protecting hand, my children and my wife.

Additional Tributes to Raymond R York

http://raymondyork.i8.com/

http://www.legacy.com/GB/GuestbookView.aspx?PersonId=93194