By Popular Request...

I am posting one more roadism in request to my family's urging to add our ALL-TIME favorite sighting which also happens to be in verse. This one needs a bit of explaining though. On our road trip last summer, we were casually driving down I-74 outside of Danville, IL when we spotted not one, not two, but a series of FOUR billboards (bonus!) with the following message:

Big guns made America free.

Little guns protect you and me.

Gun control everytime

Only increases violent crime.

Craig says I should put this one under religious witticisms, because even though it's not overtly religious, we all know it is. The funny thing is that Danville, IL is not like crime central as far as we could tell. I guess it's all relative.

Snippets

I am an avid reader and rememberer of bumper stickers. At least I try to remember them until I am able to write them down in my handy, dandy little black notebook. Since we're moving, I am going to write my favorites down for all posterity and then start my "UK favourites" version.

Here is my collection so please enjoy.

Last time we mixed religion with politics, people got burned at the stake.

God bless the whole world. No exceptions.

Immigration causes problems - just ask the American Indians.

Wag more. Bark less.

Obedient women are never remembered in history.

Leave no billionaire behind. (Part two of Thornton/"Leave no child behind.")

Dogs have so many friends because they wag their tails and not their tongues.

More for the poor, less for the war.

Finally, the all-time fave: Visualize whirled peas.

And then there's my most favorite collection of religious witticisms.

You know how you're driving down the road and pass a church that has a billboard/announcement structure out in front? Well, I love to read these tidbits of advice and ponder on their relevance to today's society. What I really wonder is if there is a giant book entitled something like How to Catch the Attention of Heathen Motorists or maybe just Religion in Five Seconds or Less.

And who IS the decider?

The best vitamin for a Christian is B1.

Exposure to the son prevents burning.

Jesus pitched his tent in the flesh.

Be an organ donor. Give your heart to Jesus.

1 cross + 3 nails = 4 given

If God is your co-pilot, change seats.

Our lifeguard walks on water.

Blessed 24:7

The Telephone

I am not a huge fan of Andy Rooney of 60 Minutes but I was watching a video on the web and heard a funny quote that I can totally relate to. He said, "I wish the phone had a different ring when it's somebody you don't want to talk to." Hey Andy, it's called "Caller ID". Funny thing is that we do not have caller ID, so I can honestly promise that I am not screening my calls.

If all the planets are aligned, Craig should be home Saturday morning and his last trip to Afghanistan will have ended. He said it was very productive. It's a good thing it was so productive because I have officially made it a felony in the McCarter house to travel to any country ending in

"-stan".

A Fifth "Four Eyes"

Well, the fifth member of ClanMcCarter now wears glasses.
Owen chose a stylish pair of blue-rimmed specs with greenish yellow sides.
He said that he feels like he fits into our family because he felt left out before.
If he only knew how lucky he was... but at least he can see everything now.

The Boy Who Smiled Wolf

Owen received his Cub Scout Wolf badge on May 7, 2008. He also received a gold arrow and two silver arrows for achievements. I haven't attached it to his shirt yet and it is still pinned on upside down because he has not completed his "good turn" to complete the Wolf process.

This year, they face-painted the kids with the two stripes and colors signifying different things. It made the ceremony special.

The Final Interior Tour

This video was shot on April 25th, 2008. It's the last tour of the inside of the house. There is one major thing to do and that is our back stair installation. Oh, and painting, painting and oh, did I mention painting? We are very pleased with the end result and it was worth the inconvenience and glitches along the way.

I love our new old house and both Craig and I are looking forward to three years of NO home projects! Then we'll come home and start another one! o-: We already have a wish list started again, but nothing anywhere near as major as this. Now we just need to get our smoke detectors hardwired to meet rental inspection (another Baltimore County rip-off, but that's a whole other story) and we should be ready to go.

Week 6 & 7

I have no video from Week 5 which was tile and trim week. There was a lot of equipment everywhere and not much room for us in there. These videos are from March 16th.

We went to Arizona to visit Craig's family for Easter/Spring Break. While we were there, we visited the campus of ASU, went to Jerome, AZ - it's an artist's colony, saw Tuzigoot National Monument - home of a tribe of Sinagua Indians - and drove through Sedona, AZ. We were one minute too late to get into Slide Rock Park south of Sedona which bummed us out, but it was a little too cold to be sliding down wet rocks anyway.

During our trip to AZ, the floors were sanded and the radiators re-installed. Here is some video shot of April 1st (no April fooling LOL), the end of Week 7.