Monday, December 28, 2009

Senator McCain Update: He's On His Last Leg, Folks........

Monday, December 28, 2009



Sad news........Senator McCain is "literally" on his last leg........that 5 1/2 year stint in the North Vietnamese prisoner of war camp pales in comparison to what ol' Murphy has put him through.......in just 5 short months.....

As you can see from his "before" and "after" pictures, he's had a hard life the last few months.  He had his leg chewed off by a big black dog with soulful eyes (I'm not naming names, Uno...); he was left out in the brutal 110 degree heat this past summer for days on end; we found him last week in the neighbor's back yard in the sleet and snow; we've lost count of the many times he almost drowned in the heavy rains; we rescued him from the lake once; and yes, Murphy has taken "advantage" of him on more than one occasion.





Not sure how much longer he was going to be with us, so thought I'd give you an update on him while he's still hanging in there...........

Friday, December 25, 2009

Dodo Dodo Dodo Dodo Dodo


Friday, Christmas Day, December 25, 2009


Okay folks, I need to let you know that the Blog below was obviously not written by me......but rather by my sweet sister.  When I first received this Blog in my inbox, I thought, "Oh no,  I have a Blog Virus!!!", but upon reading further, nope, its just my sister!!  Unbeknownst (such a BIG word!) to me, she had phoned my husband earlier and gotten my password to my Blogger account......and he actually remembered it!!!  Let me repeat that; He Actually Remembered It!!!!  WOW!  Now..... I had planned on blogging about our "Orphan Christmas" party we went to tonight and explaining the picture to your right, but I'll save that for another day......instead, I'm going to have you read the Blog below that my sister, Debbie, wrote tonight about her youngest sister, ME......I've never been Blogged about (that I'm aware of....) and it felt a little weird, but it probably will give you a window into my world.......Enjoy!!

P.S.  There's no way I could let her Blog about me without me having a say in it too, so you'll see my response in Red.......





Do not attempt to adjust your computer ---
There is nothing wrong with this Blog ---
You have now entered the

BLOG TWILGHT ZONE.

(Dodo..Dodo....Dodo...Dodo...Dodo...
Not to be mistaken by what Murphy does "mostly" outside!)



Murphy's Mom Blog has been temporarily taken over by ---- will let's just stay with "It's been taken over" (by a crazy sister, that's who!!).

For the past 2-3 years (actually, only a year....just seems like 2-3 years), Liz (otherwise known as Murphy's Mom) has been blogging about everyone and most everything that crosses her path.  Always interesting, never dull, sometimes  s t r e t c h e d, often funny, occassionally touching but always uniquely presented as only Liz can do.  The time has come "as the Walrus says, to speak of many things", it's my turn to talk about Liz (Ah Oh....).

Five Little Known Facts About Liz:

1. Favorite Food -- Grilled Cheese Sandwich with pickles on the outside, preferably cooked with an iron (Learned this from Boarding School.  You should try Popcorn on an iron!!  Right Lynette??!!)
2  Nickname --- Softie (Because I had a lot of "padding" as a child)
3. Hero - Lara Croft (Go Lara Go!)
4. Genetically gifted swimmer (you'll just have to ask her about this one) (Thanks, Dad, for the web toes......)
5. Dog Stealer (I prefer to call myself a "Foster Parent" ....)

Little Known Anectdotes About Liz:

As the youngest of three children (I always thought we had 2 too many kids in our family...just kidding; just kidding!!), she was both resourceful and vicious, which may have been necessary (Oh, it was necessary!!).  If Dorothy (Mom), James (brother) and Debbie (sister) wanted to go out to eat, Liz would be the one to go sit in Jim's (Dad) lap, curl up in his arms and ask him to take them out --- sure enough without fail, out to eat they would go (worked every time!!).  But given just a few successful attempts at this, she soon grasped the understanding of the word "bribery", so the next time she was asked to "work" Jim (Dad), she simply asked "What's it worth to you?" (I'm a quick learner!)

Again she was the youngest of three, however, she was not without her own resources.  When "wrestling" (we didn't have cable....we were bored) with her two older siblings, in order to defeat them (I didn't have a taser yet...), she soon learned that her long strong fingernails were a very effective weapon, and she wasn't afraid to use them.  So the two siblings took it upon themselves to "trim" those nice long strong fingernails, which to this day she hasn't forgotten or forgiven (Remember the story of Samson??  Well, my nails never grew back hard and long ever again).

Moving on, while attending boarding school in south Texas (it wasn't cause I was a bad kid...really!), close to the Mexican border, she would fly back and forth to her home in Dallas.  On one of those return flights she met a nice young man (he was really cute!) on the flight and decided that it would be a good idea to go with him and do a little Sky Diving rather than returning to school.  Even back then, you could see where she was headed -- To quote someone close to the source, she was headed for "Awesomeness" (I'm liking that description!!).

As we all are well aware, Liz is quite the dog lover.  Murphy is her baby and she would do anything for him.  She loves him so much that before she put the shock collar on him, which was intended to keep him from barking, she put it on herself, just be sure it wouldn't hurt him too much (I'm such a good Mom!!).  Well apparently it is quite effective (just picture Liz running around the house with the dog's shock collar on), because she still talks in a whisper when the collar is anywhere around (this is a true statement).  It was at this time that she decided that this was really something she only wanted to do to her enemies, and since she couldn't figure out how to get these folks to put on a dog collar, the stun gun became her next focus.

Her favorite Reality TV Show is "The Amazing Race", and it has been decided that she should compete in this race.  She can go anywhere and make friends, she can get total strangers to do things no one else would even try to get them to do, she can get her picture taken with cashiers from Home Depot for no good reason at all (right Liz???) (Oh, it was a GOOD reason alright.....that picture is "priceless" today!!), and I have yet to meet anyone who can last long enough to actually win an argument with her or successfully tell her "no" about something she really wants you to do (good point!).

She is a force of nature, she is one of a kind, she is my best friend (Ahhhh), my only sister and I love her more than words can describe (I love you too, Sissie).  She is ALWAYS there for me, gives me the most honest, loving advice even though it may not be what I want to hear. She defends me, she protects me, she makes me laugh, she makes me shake my head.  But most of all she makes me proud.  She loves her family fiercly, she loves her Lord passionately, and she loves her Charlie with everthing she is.

Love you Sissie
(I Love you Very Much, Sissie.....you're the BEST!)












Merry Christmas, Friends!

Thursday, December 24, 2009


"When we were children, we were grateful to those who filled our stockings at Christmas time.  Why are we not grateful to God for filling our stockings with legs?"


Merry Christmas, Dear Friends!



Although our Christmas plans were "adjusted" just a bit due to weather; we won't see our granddaughters open gifts from Santa in the morning; we won't taste the delicious sweet rolls our daughter-in-law is famous for in the morning; we weren't able to attend the traditional candlelight service at Prestonwood with our lake neighbors; and we weren't able to spend Christmas Eve with Chuck's family which has been an Etheridge tradition for many years, we had a very "magical" Christmas Eve right here in beautiful Mt. Vernon.  Let me tell ya a little about it.....


What a treat to be able to visit with our dear neighbors, the Shea's, this afternoon!  We just don't get to see these guys near enough and always have so much fun when we do!  We dined at Pizza Inn (#2 in the State...go Bob & Sharon!!), played Rock Band in their living room, drank eggnog by the fire, learned all about their new restaurant, Urban Crust, in downtown Plano and caught up on life!  Their girls, Caycee, Allie and MacKenzie, all grew up overnight and are so hysterical to be around!  AND.....we learned how to make "cake balls".....whoa....you guys need to try these sometime!  D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S!!



We then headed to the Mt. Vernon Methodist Church, that we regularly attend, for the Christmas Eve Candlelight Service.  Prestonwood Baptist in Dallas has nothing on them..........I don't know what it is about candlelight services, singing The First Noel and hearing the story of Christ's birth, but it always; and I mean ALWAYS, brings tears to my eyes.  I love the "feeling" and "sacredness" of these things........it makes the worries of this old world disappear and carefully reminds us why we are celebrating this event.  And the small, intimate setting at the Methodist Church was perfect; just perfect, for this celebration.  I wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else.



So folks, on this Christmas day, I'm going to leave you with this....."May you never forget what is worth remembering; or remember what is best forgotten."  



Merry Christmas!!  Oh ya, it SNOWED!!!!  What a truly "magical" day its been!!
P.S.  Safe Travels Tomorrow, Ant Ellie, and we are Dubsing you for next year!!!

Saturday, December 19, 2009

How To Tell If A Man Is Married or Not...........

Saturday, December 19, 2009



Have you ever wondered how to tell if a man is married or single??  Well, my sister and I used to sit at the mall and try and figure this out.......we lived in Vernon, Texas and were bored quite often, so this was a way to pass the time...


Well, let me tell ya how to determine a single man from a married man........check out the picture to your right......would you say this is a "married" man's butt or a "single" man's butt??  You're right; it's a "married" man's butt......happens to be my brother-in-law's married butt......

Yep, so folks, thats how its done.....check to see if the pants are cinched in the back.....if they are.....he's married......if they're not.....he's available...

Shhhhh.....Don't Rat Us Out.....

Friday, December 19, 2009


Wondering what Chuck and I've been doing this week???   Shhhhhh......don't tell anyone, but we made a quick trip to Washington DC  and "crashed" the White House Christmas Party...........we went incognito (well, one of us did.....)


Monday, December 14, 2009

I Could Have Taken Out That 80 Year Old Woman......

Monday, December 13, 2009



Are you on the edge of your seats wondering how the Family Road Trip to Wichita Falls went this past weekend??   Check out the pictures and take a guess.......Yep, I took these with my cell phone as we're traveling down the highway.........pretty much in line with what I predicted!!  Dad's topic of conversation, when he wasn't napping, wasn't disappointing either!  My favorite was........DAD: "So, what do you think of pregnant girls playing volleyball?"   Hummmmm.....can't say I've ever thought about that before..........

Okie Dokie.....that's what they say in Wichita Falls, Texas.......actually, they don't say that; Liz does; I don't know why I said they say that in Wichita Falls......geezzzz.........there I go again....rambling .......ANYWAY.....here's a few helpful hints I learned from Family Road Trip Weekend to Wichita Falls for Lance's College Graduation:



1)  Always a good idea to Mapquest your hotel destination prior to leaving home if you don't use a GPS.    I thought it might be "fun" to see if I could remember where the hotel was on my own....unfortunately, The Parents and Chuck didn't think it was that much "fun".......especially after the unscheduled tour of Wichita Falls in the car with everyone needing a bathroom.  I don't know why I insist on doing that!  I do the same thing with my inspection sticker!  Every year, I challenge myself to see how long I can go with an expired inspection sticker and tag before being ticketed.  My record is better than a year with an expired inspection sticker AND expired tag!!   I'm very, very proud of this record!

2)  When preparing for bed in a strange location, check to be sure the alarm clock isn't set.  I figure there is a creep in Losers-ville, Texas somewhere laughing his head off over setting our hotel alarm clock for a REAL early hour prior to his checking out.....


3)  If confronted by an 80 year old woman demanding your reserved seat,  just give it to her.   We sent my sister to the graduation stadium an hour and a half early to reserve us all seats.  She did good.  She reserved 4 handicap seats (two for Mom and Dad and two for Chuck and I) and half the row just in front of them for everyone else.   It was the perfect location.  Or so we thought until an 80 year old lady got in my face demanding our handicap seats.  I told her they were reserved and she just kept saying, "You're not handicapped....you can't sit there!!!" and demanding I give up our seat.  Yes, she was right.  I'm fortunately not handicapped, but my husband is and I would like to sit with my husband.  Plus, there was no other seat available for me if I gave up my seat.   She was relentless and pointing her finger in my face!!  My nephew Matt......you remember Matt......I blogged about him a week ago......well, he saw this was getting ugly FAST and pulled me and the 80 year old lady off each other.  I could have taken her, you know.......(thanks for giving up your seat, Matt......I knew there was another reason I liked you!)


4)  When taking pictures from a long ways off, double check to be sure you are taking pictures of the "right" person.  Yep, I took many, MANY pictures of the wrong graduate.  The graduate I have the most pictures of was sitting three rows behind Lance.  UGH!!  Sorry about that, Lance....Check out the pictures and see if YOU can tell the difference.......errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

5)  When showing a DVD presentation that you put together for someone 









you love, get your crying done and out of the way PRIOR to the presentation.   You would think after seeing it a ZILLION times while making it, I would be immune from being emotional; but NOOOOOOO ......I cried like a baby......UGH......


6)  Oh ya, when planning an event such as this, definitely, definitely, definitely hire Lance's girlfriend, Sarah Long to help in the organizing!  Without her help, we would have been stuck at a restaurant instead of the clubhouse of her apartment complex.  It worked out sooooo much better having this at a nice, quiet Clubhouse instead of the noisy restaurant.....plus, we wouldn't have had any sugar for the tea or any way to scoop out the potato salad.  Thanks Sarah!!


Well folks, thats about it.  It was a fun, irritating (see Item 3 above) and emotional (see Item 5 above) weekend all wrapped up in one.  We couldn't be more proud of Lance and his accomplishments and we love him so very much!  Now, on to our Calloway Christmas Weekend coming up this coming weekend.........stay tuned!!

To View Lance's Video Montage, head on over to ......... 


http://www.lizetheridge.com/Liz_Etheridge/Remember_When_DVD_Video_Montage.html

Friday, December 11, 2009

I Think I Ate A Spider Last Night......

Friday, December 11, 2009



GULP!.......I received an email several years ago that said the average person consumes 20 spiders over their life time while they are sleeping.......That little email fact (or fiction??) has taken up space in my brain all these years and refused to be removed every time I hit the "delete" key.  Why am I creeping you out with that piece of information?  I think I may have eaten one of my 20 spiders last night!  I woke up this morning with what felt like a spider in my throat......actually, its quite possible it was just flem, but what if it was one of my 20 spiders?????  I think I can actually feel it moving in my stomach after I washed it down with very strong coffee........


Today we head to Wichita Falls for my nephew Lance's college graduation tomorrow at Midwestern State University.  Wow.......Little Lance graduating........it seems largely impossible.  He is my brother, James' son (some of you know him as "Eddie"......he's going to KILL me for putting that in here....) and my only nephew on the Calloway side of the family.  Why, it seems like just yesterday he and I were driving down the road singing, "The Wheels On The Bus" and making up new verses to it.   Here's a sampling of a few verses we came up with...."The Gunman on the Bus goes Boom, Boom, Boom" and "The Robber On The Bus Goes Stick Em Up, Stick Em Up, Stick Em Up".......maybe this is a good time to remind you that I was the "crazy" aunt.........


Anyway, I will be picking up "The Parents" aka, Jim and Dorothy, in Garland and heading northwest today.  I know I rarely Blog about my parents (thats because Chuck offers so much material), but today, you need to know what this trip to Wichita Falls is going to look like.  First off, the trip is about a 4 hour drive from our home in East Texas and about 2 1/2 hours from Garland (where we add Jim and Dorothy as passengers).  My mom, Dorothy, suffers from Parkinsons and is confined to a wheelchair.   She took a bad fall on Wednesday which left her sweet face bruised and one eye almost swollen shut.  I haven't seen her yet, but Dad (Jim) says she looks like she lost a round to Sugar Ray Leonard.  She and her dog Missy will be sitting in the front seat with me as she gets car sick sitting in the back.  Now, lets move to the back seat.  Dad (Jim) and my sweet man Chuck.  We'll start with Dad.  My Dad is a conversationalist.  He has a wonderful ability to keep a conversation going......usually about things like, "So why do you think they make curbs 18" high as opposed to 12" high?" or "What would you say are your top 5 reasons for shopping at Wal-Mart?".....well, you get the picture.  I get my ability to talk about "anything" from him.  Now, let's move to Chuck sitting next to Jim in the backseat.   Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz ......Yep, my hard-of-hearing husband, Chuck, who is going to be hearing "BlizZARD" when Dad mentions "CURB" is most likely going to be asleep most of the trip when he's not thinking about Dairy Queen Ice Cream Blizzards.   



So, there you have it!   Family Road Trip..........it should prove to be entertaining......But I still think I may have eaten a spider last night........

Saturday, December 5, 2009

It Was A Super-Dooper Zipper-Down Day........




Saturday, December 5, 2009



What a Super-Dooper day.........which is weird since I dreamed our ex-neighbor, Kim, and my wonderful husband, Chuck failed to tell me that my zipper was down on my jeans in front of a large crowd for a very long time.....matter of fact, all night long....and let me walk around town gaping open.  Crazy, bizarre, no good, very bad dream.......  I must have dreamed it was Kim cause they are visiting this weekend, staying in the Browne Suite, otherwise known as our Guest Room.  Once I finally got over being mad at Chuck and Kim this morning (yep, they were clueless), we scooted on over to Winnsboro to get a massage from our very favorite masseuse, David.


Let me tell you a little about David.  First off, I have girlfriends from Dallas who drive the 2 hours to get here, just to get a massage from this dude.  He's that good.  He's a steel worker by week and masseuse by weekend, which sounds like a crazy bizarre combination, huh??  Actually, its a "perfect" combination.  Everyone should have a masseuse thats a steel worker.......they have arms of IRON; strength like SAMSON; yet, gentle enough for a woman!!  And for those times you're stressed and your shoulders are all in knots; you know, from walking around with your zipper down all night, who better than a steel worker to work those knots out!?  He works for this INCREDIBLE spa called Copperleaf Spa about 20 minutes from our house.  Never in a million years would I have thought a spa in East Texas could ever compete with spas from Dallas, Hot Springs or Cruise Ships, but this Spa not only competes, it flies right past them.  And to top it off, its a Christian spa........go figure!  Never heard of a Christian spa before??  Me either.....and actually thats MY name for it not theirs.......but they have the most amazingly wonderful people working there.   You really, really need to check this place out.  I've included their link below cause I know you want to check out the Spa and the Steel Worker Masseuse.......you know you do!


And to top off this Super-Dooper Zipper-Down Day, our little town of Mt. Vernon had their Annual Christmas Parade (and yes, we're still using the term "CHRISTmas") tonight and our neighbor, Steve, had a huge part in making it a success.....He played the part of a convict for the Crime Stoppers Float.  The only problem is, he was just a bit TOO convincing for my liking; being as I'm a "want-to-be" Private Investigator and all.  I think I'll be Googling him tomorrow...........


http://www.copperleafspa.com/
(P.S.  Helpful hints to Family Members:  Go here for Liz Christmas Presents.....)









Friday, December 4, 2009

I Fear A Lawsuit From the Chuck Fan Club........



Friday, December 4, 2009



Ok, here's the crazy Hard-of-Hearing Miscommunication between Chuck and Liz for this week:  LIZ:  "Chuck, did you put Murphy up on the bed?"  CHUCK: "Who has diarrhea??"


Well, now as most of you who have followed my Blogs know, without Chuck, I would have absolutely no material to write about at all.  And I've actually heard from his Fan Club implying that I'm picking on him too much, but hey, it is what it is, right??


So because I fear a lawsuit from the one and only (literally) Chuck Fan Club, I've decided to show you the "other" side of Chuck........my Charlie; his brothers' Bur; his granddaughters' Grandpa Charlie.......  I hope you enjoy learning about him as much as I have been blessed by him........he's truly a one-of-a kind guy that my world revolves around.....Click on the link below to learn all about my man.....

http://www.lizetheridge.com/Liz_Etheridge/Charlie.html