Monday, July 27, 2009

A new Give Away

I can't really think of a good subject for a post so I guess I'll fall back on the old tried and true "Give Away".

I haven't fully jumped into the 21st Century you could say.

Meaning that I still listen to my music the old fashioned way.


No, not vinyl. I'm not that old school.

And it's kinda funny because my son Donald has a record player and he thinks it's quite a treat to play records.

I guess since that's what I grew up with the novelty isn't there for me.

No, my prefered music delivery is listening to CD'S.

I know, I know.

How can she not have a Zune or I-Pod.

I just don't, I like nice simple CD's.

Anyways, I also love to make my own mix CD's. I listen to my homemade CD's almost exclusively. Even when I buy a new CD, I just burn it onto a blank CD so I don't have to risk messing up the original.

Well I have recently made myself a great CD that I have titled,

"Summer of 09"

I like it so much that it's about all I listen to anymore. It really has no ryhmn or reason. It's just a Cd of a bunch of songs that I just happen to love right now. Some oldies, some fairly current ones, and a novelty song or two.

I have decided to share the love.

That would be the love I have for this new CD of mine.

I'm not even going to try to guarantee that you will love it too. Since people have such a wide variety of music that they like best.

I guess it's most interesting feature would be that it's a little look into my head and what I like to listen to.

Anyway.

Details.

I will pick four people to send my "Summer of 09" to. So if you are interested,

leave a comment.

Let me know if you want to be entered. If you don't want to win you can still leave a comment. I like comments you know.

Oh yeah, a little bit of charity here as well.

My middle son Kelly, writes an interesting blog. He feels really sad because he hasn't got anyone who reads it. Except for me and his best friend KaTrina that is.

Kelly tends to have an inferiority complex which is just silly because he is really bright, a really good writer, and he's also very good looking. So do a mother a favor and go read my boy's blog.

And please, please, leave him a comment. Click here to read his blog.

Well that's it for me. Oh, one more thing.

I'll pick the winners Friday.

T T F N!

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Sticking up for an old friend

Lately I've been seeing more and more disparaging remarks and snide references concerning an old friend of mine.

I like to think of myself as a pretty loyal person. If I am friends with someone, I may have a little light-hearted fun at their expense. But for the most part I don't like mean things being said about someone I care about.

And lately it seems that all I hear about this old friend is negative.
I am more than aware of the shortcomings involved here but it really burns me that you never hear of the good.

This good old friend of mine does have a name.
A name that all of you know. I even suspect that a few of you may agree with me more than disagree.

I am talking about my good, longtime friend, Wal-mart.

Yes that's right.

Wal-mart.

I love Wal-mart.

I'm a real stickler when it comes to lower prices. I don't have a problem paying a higher price for something that is of a higher quality.

But.

If you've seen one can of Campbell's Tomato soup, if you need a box of band-aids, if you're after a bottle of Tide, in other words if the quality of the item is already established,
Then why not buy it wherever it's sold for the lowest price?

Ten times out of eleven that place would have to be Wal-mart.

Lately it seems that the biggest slander of all are the people shouting about Target being so much better than Wal-mart.

Now I also love Target.

Therefore I will not denigrate it at all seeing as how it is another old friend. Target has a calm, well arranged, almost soothing, feeling to it. Their prices are also kept pretty low. I like Target and I will always shop there.
I just don't understand why with so many people you have to pick either to support team Wal-mart or team Target.

WHY?

It reminds me of the people who many years ago used to feel that if you liked the "Beatles" then you couldn't also like the "Stones".

Isn't that one of the most ridiculous things.

Well I like Wal-mart and I'm not ashamed to admit it.

Granted, I'm not a fan of going there every day, sometimes even a couple of times a day.

(That would be Shawn's agenda.)

There really are very few things that I wouldn't buy at Wal-mart.

The critics, like to say, that Wal-mart's clothing is atrocious. I don't agree.
If you are a plus sized or an extra large type girl as I happen to be, you'll find that Wal-mart's section of clothing is quite vast.

And as much as I like Target, they don't seem to offer anything more than the most basic items for the Larger woman. Lately their maternity section has been squeezing out their plus sizes.

So I buy quite a few of my wardrobe pieces at Wal-mart. That leaves me with a lot more money to spend at Macy's or J C Penney's (I have known people who have the audacity to look down their noses at Penney's as well. Which is funny because they carry a few of the same lines that Macy's does.)
Anyway, Wal-mart has made it possible for me to drop eighty bucks on a jacket from Macy's since the top to go with it cost only fourteen at Wally's World.

One of my favorite bargains in the Men's clothing section of Wal-mart would have to be their own brand of Men's jeans that sell for eight dollars a pop. Shawn loves them.

He's secure enough to not care if they don't have a Levi's or Abercrombie tag on them.
In fact, I kind of think, that it takes a certain amount of self esteem to shop at Wal-mart.
People who claim to hate it, I think that at least a little of that, is being afraid of looking like losers who admit to shopping at Wal-mart.

Well, I am NOT a loser. And I have a healthy enough sense of self to gladly admit to liking Wal-mart.

Now I'm the first to agree that the people who work there aren't always the brightest or best trained. But I have never been treated rudely or badly by them. Instead I find them as helpful as they can be. And as pleasant as they can be.

Many of them wouldn't know how to speak one sentence without butchering the English language. Quite a few may have missing teeth or outdated hairstyles, but you know what? That is only skin deep.
In my experience they are good, kind, helpful, people who are just happy to have a job.

I have only been treated poorly one or two times. And I have been shopping there for more than twenty years.

I realize that other parts of the country may have Wal-marts closer to the image that they are usually portrayed as.

With mean and surly employees. Where the stores are filthy and the shelves are a disordered mess. Dirty walls and floors and a bathroom in worse condition than the one down the street at the local Gas Station.

The Wal-marts we have here in the Tri-Cities however are quite clean. With nice, high, well lit, ceilings. Wide aisles. Clean floors. Well organized racks. I certainly don't feel like I need to shower after leaving the store.

And yes, the customers can be, very much, the underbelly of society.

But even those people can be thoughtful and kind.

So the next time you read or hear of the "Lowly Wal-mart" please don't be so quick to agree.

Wal-mart started out as one, smallish, local, backwater little store. The fact that it has grown to be a retail giant proves that it must be doing something right.

I know that in this country it's, for some reason, become popular to hate those small businesses that have found success. Isn't that anyone's goal when starting out?

I say stop punishing those companies that have found success. Be glad for them.

After all, isn't that the "Real" American Way?

Sunday, July 5, 2009

A day for Celebration!

There is a BIG occasion here in SorensonLand today!!!

My youngest son Shawn is having his 23rd BIRTHDAY!

Shawn is my most special boy.

This Summer he is attending the ARC daycamp Monday through Friday, called Partners and Pals. He LOVES his P&P!

But even more than P&P,

SHAWN LOVES HIS BIRTHDAYS!

Ever since last July 5th, at least a few times a month (sometimes more like a week) we hear about his "Birthday on July 5th".

He truly does look forward to it the whole year long.

The really funny thing is that I don't think Shawn has ever had much love for The Fourth Of July.

I'm pretty sure he see's it as an intrusion on what is HIS day.

Oh well. He has learned to be patient and wait for the next day.

The truly Important Day.

The Fifth of JULY.



That glorious day know as Shawn Makenzie Sorenson's Birthday!!!!

And as of Today, He has now celebrated 23 of them!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!HOORAY SHAWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And now for a special treat, below I have put a few pictures of my sweet SHAWN!



Here is one of my favorite pictures of Shawn sharpening pencils







Shawn's birthday last year

Shawn at Christmas (another Shawn favorite) a few years ago

And last but not least. . . . . . .

I know that many of you have enjoyed Shawn's lists, so here you are.

Well,

off you go,

and be sure to have a

Happy Shawn's birthday!!!!!

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Happy me

Do you wanna know something that I just LOVE???????

Just out of the blue (well, kinda) finding a new song that I absolutely



!!!!!!!LOVE!!!!!!

If you have occasion to watch T L C, then I'm sure you've seen the various commercials for all of their shows. Quite a few of them feature really great and instantly "catchy" songs.

One of their newest ones I loved the first time I heard it.

And bless those T L C people's hearts. They are so accommodating that they even show the title of the song and the name of the performer.

Isn't that just so thoughty of them?

I certainly think it is.

The song I'm referring to,

The new "listen to it a thousand times, in a row, and still feel deprived when it gets turned off"

The new, "go out and buy the CD, even though the last time you did that your, "new song" was the only one on the whole album you liked."

The new, "listening to it on You Tube just won't suffice" song.

That newly beloved, " can't express enough how much I love it" song, is

Cue the drum roll please. . . . . .


. . . . Rock N Roll by Eric Hutchinson!

Have you heard it???

If it was blood, I would ask for a transfusion.

If it was a cookie, I would eat them till I was sick.

If it was a pillow, I would sleep with it every night.

Well, I guess it's pretty obvious just how much I love this song.

I love it so much that I, for the very first time ever, Am going to put it here on this post so that you can hear it for yourself.

You know, just in case you haven't heard it?

So here I go.

NO more TALKING!

! ! ! ! ! ! ! ENJOY ! ! ! ! ! !