Elvis Presley - Blue Suede Shoes

So we are taking a trip down memory lane around here as one of my children is playing Blue Suede Shoes on the piano.  So funny how things we thought everyone knew, they did not.  We found a couple of links to help him get it right.  Hope you enjoy!

We also found this link of Elvis doing a screen test and of course, he is singing it too!

Rebuild a Jeep in under 4 minutes...

I have boys and they like Jeeps so when I saw this video I figured there were other boys out there who would like to see it too!

There are also some comments right below the video that give some information about the whole process.

Hope you enjoy Rebuild a Jeep.  Pretty cool!

How to...

So I came across some really cool videos and thought I would put them all in one place -- I may even add links here as I find them.  With all the uncertainty in the economy, some of these videos will help you save money on groceries for your family by doing-it-yourself and making your food supply more organic because you grew it!

Most people today have lost touch with the art of growing their own food, raising their own herds, sustaining their own life...these videos will bring you back to days gone by.  ENJOY!


LIST OF HOW TO VIDEOS:
Bees and Beekeeping for Honey in Your Backyard
Raising Chickens this clip is from Cincott Nursery and Market Garden (Canada)

Doc Watson Teaches Guitar

Doc Watson Teaches Salt Creek (with host Steve Kaufman) guitar is and incredible video.  On this video, legendary guitar player Doc Watson will teach a fiddle tune Salt Creek from his Homespun Tapes DVD, Flatpicking With Doc. Steve Kaufman, also a flatpick virtuoso and acclaimed teacher, helps breakdown the melody and backup parts for this standard.  This is a must for every picker out there to have under their fingers.  Enjoy!

2011 American Idol

Ran across this clip from the 2011 American Idol auditions and had to share this incredible voice and his touching story.

16-year-old Brett Loewenstern has faced a life of reticule and teasing yet he persevered and continued to press into what he does best, singing.  The song of his selection is bit less than one of my favorites (Bohemian Rhapsody) but his creamy voice makes up for what the lyrics lack.

Enjoy this up and coming voice.  I am sure we will be hearing more from him in the future.

Beach Body and Shakeology

So as many of you know, I have recently signed up to be a Beach Body Coach.  I stumbled into this as I was really interested in feeling better and I heard about their fabulous nutrition drink called Shakeology.

I am sure many of you have heard of P90 or P90X and many others including Insanity.  Well, these workouts are all from Beach Body.  So what does a mother of six have in common with a beach body you may ask?  Well, I wanted to get my health back and with that, get back into shape.  I can't tell you have pleased I am with the products.  Shakeology has been so great for me.  It is quick, easy and can be used on the go.

See, most the time we eat bad only because we are pressed for time and have limited choices.  Think about it...you are running to pick up the kids and get them to the next event, everyone is tired, hungry and you are out-of-time so what do you do?  You pull into a fast food place to grab a quick bite.  Well, with Shakeology, I just have to have a bottle of water with me (or stop and get one or a bottle of milk), pour the powder in, shake it up and boom - your meal is served.  Quick, easy and best of all, nutritious!  In one drink is the comparison of 5 servings of salad!  Best of all, it tastes great!  There are two flavors, Greenberry and Chocolate and they are packaged in individual packages or in a bulk bag.

I use the base mix at home for breakfast every morning and add my own fruits and veggies for a fabulous smoothie.  I get all the nutrition comparable to handfuls of supplements in on easy to drink mix.  Since drinking shakeology, I have more energy to WANT to exercise and I also have lost my cravings.  You know, the need to have something sweet or salty at about mid-day or late-night.  I even went to Olive Garden last week and passed on the bread sticks!  WOW - that was first!  I LOVE their bread sticks but I was content with the salad.

They also have a great results and recovery drink to take after those extreme workouts.  It is called P90X Results and Recovery Formula.  It helps to rebuild your muscles and give you what you need to replenish your body at the cellular level.  Great stuff!

To purchase all these products you have to be a "customer" and sign-in with Beach Body.  I can offer you a "free customer" sign-up if you are interested in seeing the products, reading the nutritional values of products, buying work-out programs and also allow you to track your work-outs!  Let me know by sending me an email, I would love to help you achieve your fitness goals.  There is nothing stopping you but you!

Just wanted to close with a couple of inspirational testimonies.  This woman has an inspiring personal testimony, Cammie and I wanted you to read it.  Then there was this one, don't know if he used Beach Body products or not, but his 120 pound testimony was so inspirational that I wanted you to see it.  It is never too late and you are never too far...start now and get moving!

Casey Jones Show

Totally random today.  How many of you remember the Casey Jones Show?  Even better, who remembers the theme song?  For those of you a bit short on memory, here is a piece of history for you!

Do you have any other favorite songs from T.V.Land?  Well, the site above will help you recall it too!  ENJOY!

Happy Birthday to You - Chipmunks

Just thought this was cute.  Nothing special.  Just a Happy Birthday Song that is appropriate for everyone!  Happy Birthday to YOU!

Nobody's Darling But Mine - Jimmie Davis

My brother was reminiscing about days from his childhood and remembers how our dad used to play the ukulele and sing to our mom.  This is special because many of the memories of our childhood some would say were, not so great.  Mom was trying to hold the family of eight children together with very little money, bills and a husband who was inconsistent.  There definitely were hard and many sad times, but in the midst of the trouble there were very special and wonderful memories as well.  My parents loved each other even though they divorced because of my father's irresponsibility and his drinking.
See my dad was an alcoholic but through much prayer and finally repentance, he changed.  He went to treatment (again as he had done several times in the past.  This one was a six week program) but he was there for nine months.  (It took him a bit longer to unwind his messed up thinking and acknowledge his mistakes than most, but he stayed and dealt with his issues.)  His counselor told him how he should just move forward knowing that he didn't deserve his wife and family back as he had caused so much damage from his behavior. The incredible part of their story was my dad finally understood his failure and he came to my mom and repented of ALL he had done to destroy their family and marriage and he acknowledged how he didn't deserve her love but wanted her to know that he would always love her.  This was the first time in all the years they were married that my dad owned his issues toward my mom and he didn't blame her, the boss, the government, no one but himself.  This was a "new" perspective for my mom and she knew something had changed.  She had never seen this side of my dad.  She forgave him and accepted his apology and they began to date again.  Shortly after that, they remarried.  See, God can fix ANYTHING!

Life is a choice and we can choose to dwell on what is (or was) wrong or we can choose to focus on whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is ANY excellence and if anything worthy of praise, DWELL on these things. (Philippians 4:8)  We each have to decide what we are going to hold in our hearts.  We choose to lock or unlock our hearts!

See my brother chooses to remember the good times as we were kids and in doing so he found this song.  He too used to play the ukulele and recently decided to pick it up again.  He and his friend (who plays guitar) have been playing every evening and then remembered this old song my dad used to play and sing to my mother before the divorce.  See my parents did love each other, they just had to learn how love should act toward one another.  In this world of easy divorce and quick turn-arounds, we all could stand to give those people who we think are too far gone another chance if they, like my dad, show that they have changed.

With some help from the Internet, they found the chords and the words to the old song, Nobody's Darling But Mine and he sent me the link.  In talking to a few of the siblings, he asked if they too remembered the song as my dad would sing it to my mom.  Of course they did and it brought back great memories of days gone by.

Nobody's Darling But Mine - Freddie Stewart (3/25/1925 - 8/15/2000) sings in this version. 
Nobody's Darling But Mine - Guitarist.  This could be how my dad sounded.
Nobody's Darling But Mine - Merle Haggard.  I share this link because Merle's voice was similar to my father's minus the heavy southern accent.
Nobody's Darling But Mine - Rosemary Clooney.  I put this link because my dad loved Rosemary's voice and I think he would like hearing her sing it again.
Nobody's Darling But Mine - The Whitstein Brothers.  This was just a great rendition of the song.

Northwestern National Bank - Weatherball

Today a friend on facebook brought up this old Minnesota Jingle...do you remember it?

When the Weatherball is glowing red, warmer weather's just ahead.

When the Weatherball is shining white, colder weather is in sight.

When the Weatherball is wearing green, no weather changes are foreseen.

Colors blinking by night and day say, precipitation's on the way.

So,  intrigued I had to so some checking and I found out some interesting facts. 

During its 33-year existence, the Weatherball did more than flash forecasts. It was perched atop the Northwestern National Bank building in downtown Minneapolis, and became a landmark on the downtown skyline, a common word in the local vocabulary, and the basis for a jingle that all residents could recite.

Hailed as the tallest illuminated sign between Chicago and the West Coast, the 12-story Weatherball was introduced to Minneapolis amid great fanfare on October 7, 1949. Built to withstand winds of up to 140 miles per hour, it survived hurricane-force gales just three days after it began operating.

Unfortunately, the Weatherball succumbed to a fire on Thanksgiving Day in 1982 that destroyed the bank building. It was not rebuilt.

Here are a couple of fun fact links...

Song only :MN Historical Society. Click under image on Real Player.

History of Weatherball in MN.

Info regarding the history of this bank - click here.

A interesting quote I ran across regarding the announcement by Northwestern National Bank (or possibly it was called Norwest Bank by then) regarding why the weatherballs were being discontinued was because they "no longer matched the bank's corporate identity."

"That's correct," said Dave Moore, a local news anchor. "The weatherball was usually right."

Here was another little nugget I thought I would share as well because my husband grew up in Richfield and his parents could have been one of those who received the "Magic Key".  What is the "Magic Key"?

Well, in 1954 the Richfield News ad reports Mr. Weatherball has a new location at 78th and Penn.  He now has a treasure chest that only a "Magic Key" can open.  Apparently all the residents living in Richfield, Bloomington and Edina received a "key" in the mail but only one would open the treasure!  It was the "Magic Key"!  What was in the treasure box you ask?  Well a treasure...it contained more than $10 cash!  WOW!!