Famous In Our Own Lunchtimes

If you were to put your ear up next to my ear, I swear you would hear crickets chirping.  My head is empty.  Empty.  A wasteland of unbloggable nothing-ness.  So I was mightily relieved when Catez came to the rescue with a meme--and one she wrote herself, to boot.  So here we go.

What do you like most about where you live?

The people.  I have never lived in a place where the people are as friendly as Oklahoma, USA.  Strangers are kind, and the friends are even better. 

Is there anything strange about where you live?

The wind. Oh, the wind.  (Sing it with me)...

O-o-o-o-o-oklahoma
Where the wind comes sweepin' down the plains
And makes it impossible to have neat hair and painful to wear contacts
And can turn your lawn chair into a missile
And pull your baby's stroller right out of your hands...

Another unusual thing is that my city is considered a international hub of the charismatic movement, and it really permeates the culture around here.  As in, it wouldn't be all that unusual for someone in the produce section to give you "a word from the Lord". 

What's one of your all-time favourite music albums and why?  (I'm keeping Catez's sophisticated New Zealand spelling of "favourite" to inject a little culture around here).

If I had to nail down just one, I guess I'd say Billy Joel's Greatest Hits.  And the why is because...well, because he's Billy Joel. 

Some other good albums I have enjoyed in my lifetime are

• True Blue by Madonna (y'all give me a break--it was 1986)
• Beauty and Beast (remember this TV show?)  This is a gorgeous album.
• John Mellencamp's Greatest Hits
• Ultimate Manilow (of course)
• Showstoppers by Manilow (another really great Manilow album)
• No Fences by Garth Brooks  (I'm not a huge country music fan, but really, this is a great album)

Did you have a passion for something as a kid that you still have now? (If not - what is one of your passions now?)

I've always had a passion for a really good story, whether it's reading it, watching it in a movie, or hearing someone tell it to me. 

What do you like most about having a blog?

Honestly?  I'm feeling a little burnt-out on the blog front these days, so this is a good question for me to answer.  I suppose what I like the most is just the daily writing.  I can tell a difference in how my brain is working, now that I have a reason to sit down and write every single day. 

Also, of course, I really enjoy the friends I've made in Bloggityville. 

I don't think I'll tag anyone, but if you want to do it, just leave a note in the comments section.

Comments

[Heth]

Turn your lawn chair into a missile? Seriously? Has that really happened to you? Fun meme Shannon.

[Alisa]

good morning Shannon
did you see that Barry came through his surgery and that he took his recent award with him to the hospital? my hubby pointed the article out to me and wanted details-he considers me the go-to girl on all things manilow-so i decided to email the orginial go-to girl-put on some coba cabana and dance girl-it'll give you insppiration!!!

[Heather]

This is a great meme. I think I'll do it on a day when my brain is mush, and I can't think of a thing to write!

[Shalee]

See? Just when you think you know a girl, she comes up with even more reasons for you to like her. Great meme, Shannon. And Billy Joel totally tops the list of my top 10. (And I have Madonna's Immaculate Collection. I still play it and love to sing along. I may just have to bring it in October for some good old back-to-the-80's good time.)

[Beck]

I don't live anywhere near Oklahoma, and yet once a homeless woman walked into my house, lifted my baby out of his crib and told me that the Lord had demanded that she heal him. Okey dokey then, put the baby back.

[Adventures In Babywearing]

I know how it is getting in the blog slump lately... you must hop on over and see what your "slogan" would be... it really has cheered me up today! (I tried one for you:
Grab Life by the Rocks In My Dryer!)

P.S. October 4th- Lost is back, baby!

[lori]

Ah, Shannon....Billy Joel's Greatest Hits. You're right, my friend, you can NOT go wrong with that. And....Garth Brooks. Oh, the memories. Pledges....out for the first time.....I remember hearing a lot of Garth Brooks that night :)

[Karla]

As a fellow Okie, I really appreciated your humor about the wind here. When I hear people complain about how windy it is in Oklahoma, I always tell them - hey we warned you before you ever came - didn't you listen to our state song? We put a disclaimer in the very first line!

I'm new to your blog, but just love it! So glad I stumbled upon your Rocks in the Dryer!

[Kim]

I did this one hope you like it!

[Mama Koch]

...and people are amazed at why we have the windtowers in Western Okieland?

http://www.cityofweatherford.com/docs/Wind%20Energy.pdf

[hogphan]

Hi Shannon, it's dad (notice the correct apostrophe!). Even I can learn things about you on (in?) a meme! Ah yes, that awful OK wind. If your mom and I retire there, as we likely will, at least I take comfort in knowing almost all my hair is gone and I don't have to worry about keeping it in place!

[dcrmom]

The wind... argh! We have that too. Our development is called Windridge, and for good reason. :-)

I played. Thanks!

[Redneck Diva]

Up here in the NE corner of our great state we don't have the wind like y'all do, but man, did my sister get the shock of her life when she and her husband moved out too Goodman to go to Panhandle State! She said it was so flat she could see the curvature of the earth and that she could literally SEE the wind blow, lol. We should change the state song according to what part of the state we're from - up here we could say "Ooooooooklahoma - where the humidity's so high you wear the air".

[Catez]

"As in, it wouldn't be all that unusual for someone in the produce section to give you "a word from the Lord"."

LOL. That is funny. Would they give you a word that you can get it at half price? Cos if so I'm emigrating!

I'll link this up later on. Loved it.

[Redneck Diva]

Oh, by the way, I'm doing the meme on my site!

[MomInTandyLand]

Okay, your dad's comment cracked me up! And I'm a little further south than you, but where we live (on a hilltop with no trees and thus nothing to break the wind), it seems the wind is ALWAYS blowing 90-to-nothing. We are forever picking shingles up out of the yard, going down the road to get the kids' pool because it blew away AGAIN, and replacing the duct tape that holds the window in the back door.

[MomInTandyLand]

Oh, and I'm totally doing this meme on my site. Soon.

[Kathleen Marie]

What do I have to lose -- so here I go. Give me about 15 min from 2:45 MT though ;)

[Charlsie Swadley]

Shannon,
Sorry you are feeling a little burnt-out on blogging, but I wanted to let you know that I really, really enjoy your blog and I know that many other do as well. You put a smile on our faces. Thanks

[joyfuljourney]

I know how you feel - not having much to write about. If you have a second, you should check out what I wrote today. I think you'll like it!

[Overwhelmed!]

I'm a Barry Manilow fan myself. :)

As for the blog burn-out, it happens to all of us at one point or another, which is why I'm taking a 5 day, unplugged vacation. My blog isn't getting a vacation though, I'm lining up guest bloggers to take over for me while I'm gone. :)

I love that you didn't tag anyone for this. I prefer to operate that way as well. I figure if someone is interested in doing a meme, they'll do it without my prompting. :)

[Sarah's in the midst of it]

Oooh, I want a word from the Lord, delivered in the produce section! That would make grocery shopping a LOT more fun. (Of course, the word would probably have something to do with being wise enough not to take all three shopping at once.)

[Addie]

"As in, it wouldn't be all that unusual for someone in the produce section to give you "a word from the Lord".

Bwah-ha-ha-ha! That is hilarious! :D

[Melessa]

I played along too.

[Clemntine]

We've covered that we're fellow Okies, and I'm with you all the way on the wind!

I was not prepared for our identical tastes in music, though. Someday I'll scan the photo of the Billy Joel shrine in my room when I was in 7th grade. He was my boyfriend then. I had to break up with him, though, because I didn't want to two-time him with Wesley Eure. What do you MEAN you don't know him? Will from Land of the Lost! Come ON!

[Megan]

Mellencamp - now that is a great album. Little Pink Houses, all that...

[Kelli]

O K L A H O M A

Oklahoma!

[kep]

Love Billy Joel! Love Barry Manilow! and also love True Blue. You have good taste in music. :)
Word from the Lord in produce, I like it.

[HolyMama!]

i have GOT to go get fruit up there. sounds like something worth making a special trip for!!

[Susan G.]

"it wouldn't be all that unusual for someone in the produce section to give you 'a word from the Lord'."

I would love dinner ideas from the Lord while grocery shopping. Maybe He knows what my seven year old will eat!

Shannon - I'm sorry you are feeling burnt out. Please know that I always have a smile on my face when I read your blog!!

[Barbara H.]

Interesting meme! I saw it yesterday, pondered the questions, and gave it a whirl today.

[Barb]

I can sooo relate to the flying lawn chairs. Here in western Colorado we get wind that blows our fences down.

And I'm just going to swallow my pride and jump on the Barry Manilow bandwagon with you. I have two daughters. Krissy. And. MANDY. Need I say more?

I really stopped by to let you know, as requested, that I did this meme, too. It's in my Sunday Meanderings post.

This one was fun! And I needed a little fun today. So thank you, Shannon.

[Lynn S]

Hi, I found you via the Okie Blog Awards. I liked this little questionnaire so I posted my answers on my blog.

[tricia]

I'll be doing this one shortly - it's a good one! : )