Oh, The Weather Outside is Frightful!

It's 9am Thursday and after a night of steady rain, we are now getting freezing rain and ice, with a bit of snow mixed in. It's very nasty outside. Despite the current weather, and the predictions of worse to come, our school district chose to go ahead and have school. My kids are tucked safely in their beds becasuse I didn't want them out in this. Close call, but I'd rather have them here and safe, than on a school bus.

Of course, it looks like our big plans for tonight's concert are off. I'm hoping the radio station re-schedules it so we can go at a later day. It figures that we try to plan something to fill the long days of the off-season, and this happens. What luck! Rain in the summer that cancels our races and snow in the winter that kills our concert. Grrrr.

Ah well, there is always a positive side to every story, and since we won't be at the concert, that just means I'll be home listening to a radio show that has offered to plug Girls Gone Racin' for us. K-Mac Sports does internet radio broadcasts for racing and other sports and sends releases publicizing their shows to us for publication on WhoWon. They have appreciated our help, and offered to do a few plugs for us on their show. Today I received the scripts for three thirty second spots that will air not only tomorrow night, but on all of their 2007 broadcasts. How exciting! Now I just hope we have some good stuff on here for anyone who decides to check us out. To listen to the show, head on over to http://www.kmacsports.com

Spring is (still) working on her piece from the Phoenix NASCAR experience and told me she will have it up very soon. I hope she gets it edited to her liking because I want to read it and see the photos that she plans to share. Of course right now her concerns are taking care of her home and her animals. Because they live on a farm and rely on a well for their water, she is busily gathering up containers and filling them with water. They have already lost power once with this storm and when it goes out, the pump on the well won't work and they won't have any water.

With all of this cold and nasty weather coming through, racing season seems even further away than before. Of course, many people I know will be attending the big Chili Bowl down in Tulsa come January, but with Spring's big Vegas photo convention falling on that same weekend, we won't be able to make it. Lucky for us, there will be several cars with our stickers on them, which is pretty cool indeed. If you are going, check out Joey Montgomery and Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. for starters. There will probably be a couple of other ones, but for now, those are the only ones I know for sure, so keep your eyes open and report back to us if you see one somewhere else!

To all of you in warmer climates: Enjoy! Meanwhile, we'll just be hanging out here, watching the ice and snow stack up outside my window.

Music Review: Brad Paisley Christmas

We've done book and movie reviews here, so I figured, hey, why not music? Since Spring and I are both huge fans of music, it only seems right that we throw in an album review now and then. As a big fan of Brad Paisley, I just couldn't resist grabbing a copy of his Christmas release while at Wal-Mart yesterday during my ongoing chase for Cars diecast.

Out just in time for Christmas, Paisley's newest release is a compilation of classic Christmas songs (Winter Wonderland, Away in a Manger, Silver Bells and the like) combined with several of Brad's original compositions. As on all of his CDs, there is an instrumental, and on this album it's a beautiful version of Jingle Bells, performed in Paisley's own unique style.

There is a formula to Paisley’s CDs that fans have come to expect and he does not disappoint us here. He always includes a hymn, at least one or two funny songs, and starting two or three CDs ago, an episode of the Kung Pao Buckaroo series. The Kung Pao Buckaroos consist of "Little" Jimmy Dickens, Bill Anderson and George Jones, who play country music cowboys on what is supposed to sound like an old radio show. The dialog generally consists of lots of double entendres, a little singing, and several inside jokes. On the Christmas CD, the Buckaroos attempt to sing Christmas carols but are continuously “bleeped” because the lyrics are politically incorrect. The bit is really funny, and pokes fun at those in our society who are offended by virtually anything to do with the Christmas holiday.

Among the other original compositions is Penguin, James Penguin, which is a cute, bouncy song about a secret agent Penguin who assists Santa in his annual duties. A take off on James Bond, the song is fun and something kids and adults will both enjoy.

The highlight of this CD for me is Born on Christmas Day which features a recording of then 13-year-old Brad Paisley in his first live performance on a show called Jamboree USA. The song begins with Brad being introduced and then he begins to sing the song. The second verse is sung by Brad as an adult and it wraps with adult Brad singing with his teen self. When I think about how cool it is that this recording exists, and that someone came up with the idea to use it in this way, I get chills. The song is so sweet, and the lyrics about the “little important baby” really say all that needs to be said about why we celebrate Christmas in the first place.

In summary, I would give this offering a solid thumbs up. It’s one that I will look forward to listening to every Christmas for years to come. If you want to treat yourself to a great new CD that will get you in the Christmas mood, this one will do it!

Song List:
1. Winter Wonderland
2. Santa Looked a Lot Like Daddy
3. I'll Be Home For Christmas
4. Away in a Manger
5. Penguin, James Penguin
6. 364 Days to Go
7. Jingle Bells (Instrumental)
8. Silent Night
9. Born on Christmas Day
10. Silver Bells
11. Kung Pao Buckaroo Holiday

To listen to a clip of the songs, or purchase individual downloads, check out www.bradpaisley.com

Girls Get Rockin’

(Val) It’s Tuesday afternoon and right now, our temps are in the sixties. Amazing for November. What’s even more amazing is that by Thursday evening, we’re supposed to be below freezing, with some nasty precipitation on the way. Of course, the timing is perfect, because Spring and I have tickets to a concert that night, and because this is a general admission event, we will need to get there early and stand in line to get decent seats. Oh yes, I am so looking forward to the cold…not!

The upcoming concert should be fun. Performing along with Jason Aldean and Taylor Swift will be Emerson Drive, Jack Ingram and Chris Young. Yes, it will be full night of foot-stompin’ country and we will be there to witness it all. We are still working on getting credentials in order to shoot the event, but time is running out and no one has come through yet. If they don’t, then we will just kick back and enjoy the show, and if they do, we will do our best to get some great pics to share with you.

Spring shot Jason and his band back in April when we were at our first race at Gateway and she’s hoping to get another crack at this whole concert thing. I think it would be cool, and I’m more than willing to go as her assistant. We figured this would be a great way to get out and do something while racing season is in hibernation mode.

Besides looking forward to the upcoming concert, we are knee-deep in basketball season here at home. With my son on two teams, and my daughter managing her high school’s boys varsity team, we pretty much eat, sleep and breathe hoops around here come winter. On top of that, we are all big Kansas fans so when the Jayhawks are on, our tv is tuned in and we’re cheering. Last Saturday night’s game against Florida went a little late for me, and I missed the amazing overtime win, but I heard all about it from the three night owls in my family.

The Cars diecast collecting is still maddening, but at least we are starting to find the “rare” vehicles now. It’s funny how just a few come out and folks immediately start driving up the prices on eBay, when if they would just wait a bit, they could find them for the regular price at the store. We are now down to looking for just a few of the new releases, including Hamm, Brand New Mater, Dirt Track McQueen and Buzz & Woody. Other than that, I know Caleb has them all, and I have most of them myself. Yes, I caved and started my own collection, which is really stupid but the cars are just so darned cute! They were just too much for me to resist.

So that’s the news from here at home. December is almost here, and then Christmas and all it entails. Once the holidays are over and the kids are back in school, it will be a fast-paced race to spring and racing season, baseball and (sniff!) my daughter’s high school graduation. Would someone please pass the tissues?

In Hot Pursuit of Childhood Dreams

(Val) It’s been a busy week here on the home front as we gear up for the holidays. Thanksgiving looms, and Christmas is not far behind. It’s amazing to me, because it feels like we just celebrated these holidays just a short while ago. While we enjoyed the fun-filled months of racing season, all those good times sure make the time pass quickly.

So now we focus on the great American holiday of Thanksgiving and all that it entails. Spring and Caleb will be joining our family, as will my brother and sister-in-law. I haven’t even begun to clean the house or prep anything, but at least my menu and grocery list are down on paper. It’s a start anyway.

One of the reasons I haven’t begun to prepare is because I’ve been so busy doing other things. I’m embarrassed to admit it, but I’ve been haunting toy stores, Target and eBay in search of hard-to-find toys.

A couple of weeks ago, Cars was released on DVD and since then, a whole new set of diecast cars have shown up on the market. The new “supercharged” cars include all the old favorites, plus a few new paint jobs. Spring and I have spent a lot of time trying to track down a complete set for Caleb for Christmas, and we’ve done pretty well, but it has become a lesson in frustration.

Why is it that toy companies like to produce limited quantities of items and force parents to go searching for them for their kids? If they know an item is going to be popular, such as the infamous Tickle Me Elmo, then why not make enough to go around? They are going to make a killing in profits, so what do they have to lose? It’s just ridiculous. It all started with those ugly Cabbage Patch Dolls, and has progressed to Elmo, PlayStation 3 and even these little Cars diecast toys.

The thing that is so frustrating is the whole eBay deal. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been buying and selling on eBay for years, and I’ve made some amazing profits in the process, but these people who have multiple copies of the most sought-after items confound and exasperate me. How is it that they can get their hands on 20 Cruisin’ Couples: Radiator Springs McQueen and Sally diecast cars when we have yet to see a single one in a store? Something stinks in retail, that’s for sure.

Yes, people are camping out for days to get their hands on the newest PlayStation for the sole purpose of selling it on line to make a profit, and I can understand that. What I can’t understand is why people are willing to pay thousands of dollars for them, but hey, to each his own. What it comes down to is that for parents like Spring and I, who just want to get a complete set of cars for her son Caleb, the whole thing is just irritating. Why doesn’t Mattel just make enough to go around and rake in the dough instead of letting all the eBay profiteers cash in like they do? Or is it possible that Mattel is actually selling this stuff at auction themselves in order to inflate their own bottom line? It wouldn’t surprise me if some of the sellers are actually Mattel employees who are paid to auction off “hard to find” items to make big money for their employer. Conspiracy? Hmmmm.

Whatever the truth, it’s just nuts to keep up with the chase. They are just little cars that only crazy people pay big bucks for. Folks like us aren’t going to pay $30 for a Hot Wheels-sized toy just to hand it over to a six-year-old who only wants to race Radiator Springs McQueen against Dirt Track McQueen to see who is the fastest!

Trust me, we’re not the kind of materialistic parents raising materialistic children who have to have the biggest and best, latest and greatest of everything that comes out. Our kids are not label babies who wear whatever logo apparel is popular this week. We don’t shell out top dollars for iPods and GameBoys and all that stuff. These are little $4 Matchbox-sized cars for heaven’s sake!

So listen up, Mattel: We’re not buying it anymore. It’s like when we got caught with a piece of gum in grade school and our teacher told us that if we didn’t bring enough to share with the whole class, we had to leave it at home. Don’t tease our kids with your toys if you’re not going to make enough to satisfy the demand because we’re finished with trying to chase them down. Target and Toys R Us have both told us how stingy you’re being with shipments, so if you can’t play nice, get out of the sandbox, take your pail and go home.

As for me, you won’t see my Fabulous Hudson Hornet with the cool decals and my Lightning McQueen with the Radiator Springs paint job on eBay because I’m not out to make a buck. I just want to get down on the floor and play cars.

Jack Roush, Cardinals fan?

(Val) At the beginning of the World Series between the Tigers and the Cards, my former boss and I made a bet. He now lives in Detroit, and works for Roush Performance (part of the Roush Racing family) and our bet was pretty open. Whoever won had to send something representative of their area to the other. My thoughts ran the vein of how would I ever get away with shipping a case of Bud, and my hopes went to seeing a Roush Mustang pulling into my driveway. Ha!

Well, this afternoon my payoff arrived. In the mail was a big kraft envelope and inside was a Michigan magnet, a Mustang DVD and, drumroll....a card featuring the Roush Race cars, signed "To Val, Congrats Cardinals! Jack Roush." What a trip! I totally cracked up. This is definitely the best bet payoff I have ever received!

Thanks to my buddy JC in Detroit. Better luck next year with your Tigers....not! :)

You know it's Monday when...

You walk into the laundry room to find a blinking error message on your eight-month-old washing machine.

Your daughter loses a contact lens up under her eyelid and asks you to help her remove it.

A friend calls and asks if you've heard about the threatening message scrawled on the wall of your kid's high school.

Your daughter still can't find the contact lens, even after trying your first suggestion.

You finally get all your email downloaded and realize that 75% of it is spam.

A second friend calls about the supposed threat at the high school.

Some of the spam you downloaded, particularly that about weight loss, actually starts to look appealing.

Every time you turn on the tv they are showing the last 15 seconds of yesterday's Rams game, and it ain't pretty.

Your son calls from school because he left his gym clothes at home.

Your gas tank is empty, you're out of milk, and pay day is four days away.

Your best race pal is on a her way back from Phoenix and has yet to call you about her experience at her first NASCAR race. Of course, she thinks she has redeemed herself because she called you during the race and held up her phone so you could hear the cars go by!

Life in Technicolor

(Val) As I sit here in my kitchen, glancing out at the beautiful colors God himself painted on our Bradford Pear trees, I am overcome with what an amazing artist He is! It’s hard to believe that it’s the second week of November when the temperature outside is supposed to get into the upper seventies today and the sky is such a vivid blue. Makes me wish there was a race to go to, because the weather is perfect!

Although it will be a few months until I get to attend any races, my pal Spring is headed to sunny Phoenix for this weekend’s NASCAR Nextel Cup event. With garage access that we managed to finagle via a friend who works at Roush (THANK YOU JC!!!), and armed with her big ol’ Canon, I know Spring is going to have the time of her life. I hope the weather is as perfect there on Sunday as it is here today.

It has been a long-time dream of Spring’s to go to a Cup race, and to get to see it from the inside out ought to spoil her for any future events. She will be in the garage area when she can, and then in the grandstands for the actual race. I know she is hoping to get to participate in some pre-race activities as well, so it will be interesting to see what she gets herself into.

This week has been tumultuous, at best. Despite the crazy outcome of the elections, the rest has been good. Disney-Pixar’s Cars came out on Tuesday, so Spring and I met at the local Wal-Mart, picked up our copies of that (the bonus copies with the Rascal Flatts video and behind-the-scenes stuff of course!) along with Keith Urban’s new CD, Love, Pain and the whole crazy thing. After watching the CMA’s on Monday night, I could have spent a lot more on new music, but I limited myself to Keith’s new CD, although Sugarland’s latest will probably be next.

Cars on DVD is just as good as it was on the big screen, with the exception that I can watch it whenever I want to! So far, I’ve played it twice, and watched all the bonus features. I love the making of the Rascal Flatts Life is a Highway video. Those guys are so awesome, and seeing the set and the things that go into the making of the video is really cool.

While we were chatting over breakfast on Tuesday, talking about the future of GGR and what we want to do over the winter, the photos of Jason Aldean came to mind. I decided to contact someone about getting them on his web site, and managed to hit pay dirt. They were looking for new photos to add to his site, and it looks like they will be using a few of the shots Spring took at Gateway back in April. Yay!

With that in mind, and the Keith Urban CD booklet in front of us, Spring mentioned how much she would like to shoot a CD cover for a band. We started thinking about how fun it would be to go check out some local bands and see if we could get anything going there. Then, this morning, I’m surfing around Jason Aldean’s site to see if the photos are up yet (they’re not) and I decide to check out his schedule. It turns out that he, along with Taylor Swift and three other bands will be in our area later this month at a free concert put on by a local radio station. I thought Spring was going to come through the phone when I called her about that!

So now we are trying to figure out how to get credentials so we can cover the event. We’ll let you know here what happens, so wish us luck!

Besides the concerts and Spring’s coverage from Phoenix, we have a few other things in mind to fill in those long winter months ahead. Keep checking back for more information on our plans, and as always, thanks for your support!

Defining Truth

Integrity is telling myself the Truth. Honesty is telling the Truth to other people. – Spencer Johnson

(Val) Yesterday was a day of privilege for Americans. A day where we had the opportunity to cast our vote for people, amendments and propositions that would help to shape the future of our government, both locally and nationally.

As I stood in line to cast my vote, I looked at the words stenciled on the wall above the voting booths. The honesty and integrity quote by Spencer Johnson stared down at me, and I couldn’t help but think about the irony of those words hanging over the heads of hundreds of voters as they checked “yes” or “no” next to one of the most deceptive and contentious items ever to be put before Missouri voters.

In the weeks and months leading up to this election, I had prayed that the truth about Amendment 2 would be known. The truth that it would actually allow for the legalization of human cloning for scientific research, research that would be paid for by Missourians for now until eternity because there is wording built in that mandates funding that can never be taken away or decreased. It also makes it illegal for this amendment to be challenged in a court of law, making any attempt to remove it, even if no cures are ever found, a criminal offense.

I thought to myself that surely Missouri voters would not be as radically nutso as the Californians who passed their own ridiculous piece of “scientific legislation” two years ago. I knew that true Missourians live up to their “Show-Me” reputations with pride and would not allow big business to shaft them again the way they did with the gambling disease that has infected our state like a parasite.

As I fell asleep last night, the numbers looked good. Amendment 2 was losing by a healthy margin, and although I knew that anything could happen as more votes were counted, I closed my eyes with a calm heart.

When I awoke this morning to the news that Amendment 2 had passed, I honestly thought I was going to be physically ill. How this could happen is beyond my imagination. How could so many people fail to educate themselves on such an important issue? How was such misleading wording allowed on our ballots in the first place? Who was responsible for the craftily-worded deception that blinded so many people to the truth?

At first I was angry. Very angry. All I could think about was what I wanted to say to the Stowers family: “Bravo! You bought the outcome you wanted so now you can start raking in your billions of dollars off the backs of Missouri taxpayers. You are masters of the ultimate conspiracy, sellers of the big lie, and you will now be responsible for the sacrifice of unknown numbers of potential lives. You must be so proud.”

Then I sat back, took a deep breath and prayed, and I realized how sad it the whole situation is. I wanted to cry with the understanding that so many people cling to this false hope because they are hurting and will grasp at any available straw, no matter how tiny the chance that any cures will ever be found using embryonic stem cell research. It breaks my heart that people like Michael J. Fox, who, like so many Missourians, never even read the amendment, put their hopes in man and science instead of the only One who can really help them.

Deception and lies are the opposite of honesty and integrity. The group responsible for the creation of Amendment 2, who supported it, pushed for it and actually got it passed are experts at the craft of treachery. They are so deep into it that they actually believe their own lies and are so blinded that they can’t see the truth when it is right in front of them. In other words, they have no integrity because not only did they lie to the public, but they lied to themselves.

Today I made a choice. Rather than hold on to my anger, I let it go and gave it to God. Instead of being mad at the people who did this, I pity them and pray for them. I pray for those who lied to Missouri voters, and I pray for those who were deceived because eventually the truth will come out, and righteousness will prevail, and they are going to feel a terrible sense of shame and guilt.

Yes, we conservatives lost a battle yesterday with regard to our candidates, and more importantly, this huge stem cell debacle. But for those of us who know that this earth and the things in it are fleeting, our hearts are not troubled. We are simply on a brief detour. Yesterday’s battle is over, but others will follow. The good news is that each and every one of those battles belongs to God, and He has already won.

Knowledge is relevant. Truth is absolute. Problems arise when we confuse the two. – David Tait

When the new wears off

(Val) My Dad has only bought one brand new car in his entire life, and my Mom has never owned one at all. Likewise, I had gotten quite used to driving “pre-owned” vehicles myself, that is until last year.

In May of 2005 I bought my very first brand new vehicle: A Dodge Grand Caravan SXT (with Stow ‘n Go seats!) that I absolutely love. It’s the perfect vehicle for our family, especially for trips, whether for a weekend or a week. It’s a dream to drive, gets decent mileage, and unlike my old Jimmy, everything still works, including the speedometer.

When your kids are used to riding around in older cars, they tend to get used to being slobs, so when we bought the van, I had to work really hard to re-train them. It took quite a while before anyone was allowed to eat or drink in there, and muddy shoes are still an absolute no-no! (Not easy when you are a frequent visitor to dirt track infields!)

They whine and grumble, but they usually comply. So for over a year, the van has stayed in pretty darned good shape. I don’t wash it or vacuum it as often as I would like, but I do it when I can. I keep it cleaned out, take care of the maintenance, and work really hard at maintaining that sense of newness.

Last Friday was payday, so after running my usual errands, and since it was a nice sunny day, I decided to take Ol’ Blue to the new Green Lantern Car Wash for a Super and I even splurged on a basic inside clean up. Since I hadn’t done a thing after our return from Minnesota, it was way past time.

Well let me tell you, when I climbed in after it was all cleaned up, I was excited. That blue paint gleamed, the inside was free of dog hair and crumbs, and it even smelled nice! I rolled happily out of the lot with a new sense of pride. All too soon I was reminded of that saying about how pride goeth before the fall!

Later that afternoon I had an appointment to have some warranty work done on the van, and my daughter followed me to the dealership. Just a few miles from our destination, there was some building construction, and, following the city’s code, the street was being washed down after the dump trucks moved each load from one place to the other. You probably see where I’m going here, but I’ll continue anyway. With no warning about the wet pavement, I had no time to slow down, and when I hit that water all I could do was try not to say all the nasty words that came to my mind. I was alone, but still, God is always listening!

I sighed, thinking maybe the van was just wet and would dry to its former shininess, but alas, that was not to be. I soon discovered that it was covered with a dirty film from front to back. So much for my spotless paint job, but at least the inside was still sparkling.

The next day, I had both my kids and my son’s friend with me and we had had a very busy day volunteering at our church, so we stopped at McDonald’s for lunch on the way home. The deal was that we would get food only, and get our drinks at home. My son, being 13, is not the best listener, and he thought he was getting a good deal by ordering a meal, so he and his buddy both ordered meals, which of course, come with drinks.

You probably see what’s coming here too, but again, I’ll finish the story.

On the way out of the parking lot, I hit a pothole, and the next thing I heard was my son shouting, “Get me some napkins, and I need a bunch!”

Well, wouldn’t you know it but there wasn’t a napkin in the entire van, but my daughter quickly tossed back the box of tissues I keep handy. I chanced a look backward and saw a river of Coca Cola rolling toward me and I started yelling at my son. No, I’m not proud of it, but I’ll admit it, I yelled, and it wasn’t pretty. And when my daughter told me to quit yelling, I did, and everyone got the silent anger treatment the rest of the way home.

As the kids hopped out and headed inside to eat, I quickly got to work trying to sop up the mess. There didn’t appear to be as much as I had feared, and fortunately, the carpet is Scotchguarded, and I was able to blot it up rather quickly. I was feeling pretty good when I went in to eat my own, cold lunch.

Later, I went back out to really go over the mess and see what I had missed, plus blot up the carpet cleaner I had sprayed on, according to the directions. A pool of brown caught my eye, and I realized that my lovely Stow ‘n Go seats, as wonderful as they are, had also caused a problem.

You see, these seats, when in the upright position, lock into big brackets that are bolted to the floor of the van. The brackets are in a slightly recessed area, and poke up through slits in the carpet. It turns out that Coca Cola, like most liquids, seeks the lowest point around, and it had flowed through those slits and down into the dips in the floor of the van, under the carpet. I had to wipe up a mess I could only feel, but not see, soaking it with a rag, wringing it out, then starting the process again. Oh boy, was that ever fun!

Not only did I have to do that, but when I was done, I had to explain to my son why I had yelled, and do my best to apologize and set things right. Then I had to humble myself in front of his friend. Talk about eating crow. Yes, even McDonald’s is better than that.

So the moral of the story is, don’t get too attached to anything new. No matter how much you appreciate it, and work hard for it and do your best to take care of it, the new will always wear off eventually. And even those “new car smell” air fresheners can’t change that. And besides, stuff is just stuff, no matter how old it is. It’s our relationships that matter the most.