Michael Bublé Almost Live in Concert!

All except five of you missed something really good
last night!
While this concert lacked the thrill and excitement
of seeing Michael Bublé in person, it
gained the comfort of peaceful, air-conditioned,
uncrowded surroundings
at AMC Theatre, The Parks.


It was actually more than a concert, although
we got to hear some of his best performances.
***  G.O.R.G.E.O.U.S.  ***
It also presented a fascinating behind-the-scenes
look at what (and whom) it takes to put on
these spectacular shows.
The glamour and excitement of being a part of
the orchestra and crew is certainly
tempered by the hardships of the travel required.


I would love to go to one of his concerts now.
I feel like I know many of his crew rather personally!
I would be almost as interested in seeing 
Michael's bodyguard in person as M. himself!


Seeing what it takes to pack these productions
up and move to the next location was 
so fascinating!  
It seems like it took 15 trucks, and at one time
we saw all loaded on a ferry!


Michael Bublé himself is shown as
unassuming, humble, and genuinely interested
in and concerned for his staff.
Somehow that's how I had him pictured,
and I certainly wasn't disappointed.



I was spellbound from start to finish!
While this was advertised as a "one night only"
event, surely it will eventually be shown again!
It will be a shame if only 
Brandy and Tyler Burkey, 
Donna and Dave Dupree,
Becky Leffler and I,
and not too many more, are the only ones
who get to enjoy this fabulous production!


I think they need to hire Brandy and me to
be their publicists!
Not nearly enough people knew about this!

An Epiphany to Share With You

Friends...I had this epiphany (a Judge Judy word)

today that I feel I must share with you.

Just an insightful vision.

Say your car needs some gas, so you decide to stop

at the QT to fill up.

And say you devise a great plan to

1. Start the gas to pumping, and whilst it is doing so,

2. Run in to the convenience store to get

some Fritos and a Dr. Pepper, 

so that

3. You can then stop at Sonic for a corn dog.

Great, huh?

But I'm hearing a warning buzzer in my brain.

BzzzzBzzzzBzzzz.

What if your car's gas tank is on the passenger

side?

And you get back in with your Fritos and DP

on the driver's side?

What might you forget???

Well...just in case that might happen to one of you,

the hoses are detachable now, lessening the

liklihood that you will be responsible for

burning the whole place down.
The embarrassment level, unfortunately,
would still be about the same, I would guess.

You're welcome for my epiphany.

It is most helpful for me, too, since some days

I fear I am on a slippery slope and might,

just possibly,

do something like that.

Seven Words I Hate To Hear

"ATTENDANT HAS BEEN NOTIFIED TO

ASSIST YOU"

I know the "Girl" part is a stretch, and

I may not actually scream,

BUT I WOULD LIKE TO!

Now I have friends who refuse to check out

their own groceries.

Maybe they have the right idea.

I don't think I have ever completed a transaction

of more than 3 or 4 items without hearing

 those hated words.

And while I'm on the subject, aren't you supposed

to be able to put heavy stuff in your cart

after you check in out anyway?

There's some kind of "Skip Bagging" button.

Maybe I'm being old and dense, but

I'm never been successful at getting it to work.

No--not me.

I've got stuff stacked and teetering on top of stuff 

on every surface available, trying to avoid hearing

those 7 dreaded words.

So one might wonder why I keep finding myself

in those self-checkout lines.

Well, I'm just so busy, you know,

that I can't wait in those long checker lines.

(I always picture Jack rolling his eyes

when I say something like that!)

No.  It's impatience.  Pure and simple.

Oh, and determination, too.

I'm determined to beat that faceless voice!

Are You Ready to Guess The Price Of My Bargains?

I love Gene Allen's Gifts!

We are so blessed to have Connie and Becky and

all the other sweet employees--and the store--

 here in Arlington!

This was my third (annual, I hope)

brown bag sale.

I was at the Little Road store door at 10:00 A.M.

on Monday morning.

I tried to find some bells to put on, but I'll have

to look for some before next year!

I had SO MUCH FUN!

It works like this.

For $25 you can fill a big brown grocery bag

as full as possible from the sale area only.
There's also a small $10 bag.
But not for me. 

(Just in case you've forgotten what a brown paper
grocery bag looks like.)

Now it doesn't hurt that I've always considered

myself an efficient packer, if I do say so myself

and, of course, I do.

I surveyed the items and calculated how to fill

my bags with maximum effectiveness!
(It's a wonder they welcomed me back this year!)


I filled 4 bags.  Becky had to put one of them
in a plastic sack. My stuff was bustin' out!
(I leave my pride at the door!)



Here are pictures of my fabulous loot!
You can click on them for a better look!

I realize you can't tell much from these shots.
I can see so much better here in person!
The table to the right is kid stuff, and the table
on the left grown-up stuff.


Here's a little bit about what I got.
There are 14 gorgeous scarves which do not
show up well in the pictures.
(Some are hanging over the window shade cords!)
There are 5 tee shirts over the back of that chair,
ironically green and gold and UT orange themed!
There are 4 very nice wooden jewelry boxes,
2 great scarf, hat, and glove sets,
and 6 electric candles, one set of 3 w/remote!
And lots of miscellaneous treasures!


One of the items of which I am most proud is 32 pairs
of children's short socks from a company called 
"notes to self." 
They have positive words on the bottom--
words like "perfectly made," "awesome,"
"smart," and "blessed."
(Grandparents--we should have bought these socks!)
I got a few pairs of tiny ones--birth to 3 months.
Although most of the items I purchased will go to 
Mission Arlington,
those will go to the Arlington Pregnancy Center!


Then there are games!  That tall stack on the
kids' table is Xoom Cubes, for age 6+--14 of them!
I also got 12 Xoom card games, and 7 very special
books.
Some of these are going to the three schools in
which our church will have volunteer mentors
this year through KidsHope USA!



I feel obliged to be honest here.
I am not entirely unselfish.
I'm hearing some of the items call my name.
One of those boxes of Sweet Shop candy may no
longer be suitable for gifting.
You know, expert bow maker that I am, that
the ribbon may end up with me.
Oh, and some of those electric candles flicker.
I've always wanted the flickering ones...


I only got to the one Gene Allen's this year.
I had an appointment at 12:00 and
one at 1:30 that day. Bummer!
  Next year I'll plan better!


So...take a guess at the original cost of these
items for which I spent $108, including tax!
I meticulously (yes, that's me) added up the
prices on the tags.
This year I realized that I should include the
tax which would have been paid on the
full purchase price, so that I did!


Please send me your guess on my Facebook page.
Whoever gets the closest to "the actual retail value"
(Price is Right talk) including tax,
will win a $50 gift certificate, compliments of
yours truly, Bargain Hunter Extraordinaire, to
the fabulous Gene Allen's Gifts!!!


In order to give everyone a chance to guess,
I will not determine a winner until
Monday, Labor Day, evening!


"May the best guesser win!"