Yoda Dale Jr. Finishes SECOND at Daytona

Pardon me a moment while I...

YEE HAW! WOO HOO! WHOOP WHOOP! GRRRR YEAH!! THAT'S HOW IT'S DONE! 

...'Kay, I'm back now. I was SO freaking nervous going into the last ten laps that by the end, by body was SHAKING! 

Jimmie Johnson won it, but it was DALE JR who made THE move of the race. Frankly, for most of Daytona, it didn't seem like anyone wanted to actually RACE--meaning make stuff happen, make moves, try things. When Kasey Kahne wrecked out, he mentioned how he wanted to race, not ride along in a string up against the wall. He was right. 

Maybe what happened yesterday in the Nationwide race made drivers a little gun-shy--can totally understand it. At the same time...this is the Daytona 500.

Towards the end of the race, Dale said on his radio, "We need to be braver." He wasn't going to ride around and get stuck with whatever finish he gets...he was going to be BRAVE, TRY, and TAKE the finish he wanted. In doing so, he ALMOST got that win. 

Not sure how many times I have to say it, but if you want to learn about restrictor plate racing, you learn from the best. That's Dale Jr. Period.

I'll end with this from Dale Jr. following the Daytona 500: "We're gonna be strong this year." 

Yes, you most certainly are. 

GO DALE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Will You Be My...What was it again?

I’m posting on Vile Day—totally unexpected, but when the brain travels off into oblivion, you’re kind of forced to comply. 

Mind starting wandering around the long-lost notion of the question, Will You Be My Valentine? I realized that hardly anyone ever asks it anymore. Nowadays, Valentine’s Day is all about the ‘gimme factor.’

Women expect gifts (not all, but there are some seriously obnoxious ones out there who live to rub the single gal’s nose in her 14th extravaganza, like it was some personalized Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade held solely for her benefit. Um, that was a bit of a wheeze, huh? Sorry). I think it’s probably the result of so much commercialization for the day itself—strange how advertising can effectively mold expectations, isn’t it? The consequence? Men feel obligated to buy things for this highly superficial day, then expect (or at least hope) for sex in return. Hence, you have the gimme factor: She expects gifts (gimme); he feels obligated to buy, expecting/hoping for sex as his reward (gimme). Where’s the love in that? And this is what has me pissy about Valentine’s Day—a day that was once something sweet and innocent.

Remember those days when Valentine’s was nothing more than decorating a white paper bag with red & pink hearts cut out of construction paper or colored in with markers? How about when you’d fill in those little tear off Valentine’s that featured the Peanut’s Gang or Garfield or the Care Bears and slip them into those carefully decorated paper bags now attached to the back of your chair or hanging somewhere along the front of the classroom? Those are the days I miss—when Valentine’s was small and simple, yet full of meaning.

I asked a guy friend when he last actually asked a girl to be his Valentine. His answer? “Not since first grade.” So, I pushed a little more, asking why he doesn’t think to ask that iconic Valentine’s question. His answer? “That’s just it—I don’t think about it. I just know I better buy some flowers or chocolate or some sh*!”

Welcome to a now fully manufactured day.

I miss the white paper bags.

When Life Interrupts

I've missed you all so much! SO. MUCH. *Sending many, many, many huge hugs to you all*

Um, I've been so bogged down that I TOTALLY forgot to post the following before Christmas. *hides head in utter shame* So, here's a little pre-holiday-post-holiday post. I know, I know, I'm awful. 

Share your traditions surrounding the Christmas stocking.

We hang our stockings everywhere! Three that my mom made when I was little hang above the fireplace every year; my mom’s stocking from when she was a little girl hangs in the family room; and one my dad got me also hangs in the family room.

We even have one that belonged to my puppy—it’s so tiny and sweet. Every year, he knew when it was time for the “stocking box.” He’d jump on my lap, watch me take each stocking out, and when it got to his, he took it out of the box, ran to the fireplace, and waited for me to hang it up. From then until Christmas morning, he slept, sat, and stared up at it.

In his honor, we still hang it up every year…and I still cry every time I remove it from the box.

On Christmas Eve, Santa fills them with goodies (you know, because it’s ALWAYS Santa), and come Christmas morning, we’ll open them first thing.

How many hours of sleep do you average at night? Is it enough?

*Bwahahahahaha* Oh. Sorry about that. Yeah, me and the old fart Sandman aren’t exactly BFFs. It varies—4, maybe. And no, it’s never enough. But, when I can sleep in—dude, I can crash for 10 hours. Lol

If you had to give up one thing for the remainder of this year what would it be?

BBQ potato chips…and Cheetos…and, well, soda.

I’m going to definitely give this a go…starting on December 31st.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (or Wills and Kate as I like to call them) have announced they're expecting a baby. Do you follow news of the Royals?

Well, I adored Princess Diana, so I do follow Wills, Harry, and Kate a bit, but not overly so. I’m SO happy for them, though! I think Wills and Kate make an absolutely stunning couple!

For me, the sound of childhood is__________________.

Gotta go with laughter.

Fruit cake-yay or boo? What's your favorite dessert made with fruit?

Boo, oh, very big boo!!! I gag if it gets near me. Not kidding.

Uh, well, I’m not much of a dessert-with-fruit kind of gal. I’ll be blunt: I don’t want goody-goody good for me fruit in my dessert. No. Just no. If I’m gettin’ dessert, give me chocolate layer cake, chocolate crème pie, chocolate peanut butter cake…

What is one thing you want to accomplish before 2012 comes to an end?

Honestly, the more you look around, the harsher things appear lately. For some reason, I’ve noticed some pretty ugly things recently, not just in a personal capacity, but universally with friends, family, and people I don’t even know. For those of us who continue to abide by that good old Golden Rule, we can’t allow others to knock us down and keep us down.

So, I’m thinking we learn to adopt the “Sometimes you have to say, ‘WTF,’” mentality. Sticks and stones, remember?

Insert your own random thought here.

I want to fly on Santa’s sleigh. Never claimed I wasn’t dorky enough to wish for these kinds of things. It’s like wishing on a star, Pinocchio-style…until you realize it wasn’t a star…it was a plane. You wouldn’t believe how many times I’ve done this…and, no, I ain’t tellin’ the number.